Here you leave today and enter the world of Yesterday, Tomorrow, and Fantasy.
That little plaque, having above the entryway to Magic Kingdom really says it all. Entering, you leave behind the real world. And when leaving and entering back into the real world, is almost a culture shock.
Disney World is our vacation of choice, in this house. If we are not at Disney World, we are planning our next trip there. We already have the next 2 trips in the planning phase. I dont know if its a sickness, addiction, or just a deep love and appreciation for the magic within. My first trip to any disney park, was in 2006, when my daughter was 1 1\2. We took her to Disneyland, Ca, on a trip out west to visit family. This trip was good, but it wasnt until 2008 when we visited Walt Disney World, Fl, that we became true Disney enthusiasts. We make it a point to try and get a trip every single year.
Our last trip, was less than magical for me. I was in a pretty bad place in my life. The trip brought more dread than joy. This trip however, I was determined to have a great time. We planned out the whole trip, made reservations, put aside some extra spending money, and basically prepared in every way we could think of. Including going to walks, to get our bodies ready for the hours on your feet every day. We got a pretty awesome deal on the hotel, and upgraded to a moderate resort. It was a first time at a moderate! We chose a Royal Room, at Port Orleans Riverside.
The hotel was fantastic, they really make you feel at home. My daughter loved the fiber optics in the headboard, and the magical Genie lamp facet in the bathroom. I loved the waterslide and hot tub at the pool area. My husband, well he loved the whole experiance. It was so fun to watch him go down the water slide like a big kid! He can be too much of a grown up sometimes, and its so nice to watch him unwind, relax, and just be a kid again. Our first day there, we had a cast member sing HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, over his loud speaker, and another cast member stopped to give my daughter 5 packs of mardi gras beads.
Our first day in the parks, we decided to go visit Epcot. Disney is having "limited time magic" and our first day, was the last day of Epcots special magic. Epcot was having a winter wonderland in the Canada pavilion, and we were headed over to see the snow, and special characters. On the way around the world, we stopped at a pin vendor, to buy some collectors pins. We stepped to the side to admire our purchases, when these HUGE doors open just to the side of us. I had no idea what was happening, because usually when giant doors open, there is a parade coming. Seeing as though there is no parade at Epcot, i was shocked at what I did see.
A courtyard filled with characters. We didnt stop and visit them all, because we knew we would see big names like Minnie, and Pluto, at some of our Character meals. We did however, make sure to stop and see the less seen of the Disney faces. Max, and Goofy. Baloo and King Louie from Jungle book. Stitch, because he is my absolute favorite! Wendell from Country bears, Mr Penguin from Mary Poppins, Genie from Aladdin, and Turk from Tarzan, just to name a few. Raffiki was also there, but my daughter wasnt really interested in him. the doors were open for about 10 minutes before they closed them off to the public. It truly was a perfect timing situation for us!
Compared to what we just experienced Disneys limited time scheduled magic, just didnt seem as extraordinary. But it was still neat seeing the snow, and winter dressed characters all together.
I was so happy, and filled with the spirit of disney magic. I walked around the whole day with a goofy grin on my face. I knew the rest of the vacation had better be pretty awesome to live up to this day.
