Walt Disney World is the most popular Florida vacation spot for millions of tourists, domestic and international. I know firsthand. Because the very first time I took my kids many years ago, they were all there the same day I was.
Growing up in South Florida, I had the luxury of a close proximity to the Magic Kingdom for numerous childhood visits, where animated movies, rides, characters and other figments were emancipated from my imagination into reality. But raising a family in Atlanta turned my Disney vacation into a grueling, ten-hour, stop-and-go drive where I found myself imprisoned by throngs of fellow tourists, toll booths, and screaming children (my own) as we inched our car toward the park entrance.
Upon finally arriving, we endured hour-plus waits in stop-and-go lines surrounded by throngs of fellow tourists and screaming children (still mine, plus a few others) as we inched toward the ride entrance.
One of those was “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh,” and after finally reaching the honey jar-shaped car, we found ourselves on a stop-and-go trek through the Hundred Acre Wood surrounded by fellow tourists, screaming children (all of them) and characters from A.A. Milne’s imagination that took much, much longer than expected as the ride kept breaking down.
It wasn’t quite the “magic” you see on those TV commercials… Though I definitely witnessed some other magic at work:
Spells cast on the attending masses, convincing them to shell out money to stand in hot, sticky, hour-long lines for three-minute ride experiences
Illusions of thinking we were almost at the end after waiting an hour in those ride experience lines and after rounding a corner where—poof!—four more long rows stacked with waiting people appeared
The exits of all those three-minute ride experiences instantly teleported us directly into gift shops and pleas of, “I want that” from screaming children (still mine)
Certain heard songs that stay in your brain forever
The Kingdom wasn’t feeling very Magical on that first trip. Especially after our two-year-old had a fit and knocked a drink all over our lunch. One that wasn’t cheap, prompting my wife to command us all to suck it up and eat our Coke-soaked slices of cheese and pepperoni pizza.
But then, while going round and round in a flying Dumbo cart after an hour-long wait, I looked down at my child (who was delightfully screaming) and realized something… That first family trip was different, because for the first time, I came as a parent and was experiencing the moment as an uptight adult, rather than through the eyes of my kids.
Despite the heat, crowds, soggy pizza, and long waits, our kids wore enchanting smiles the entire day (except for lunch), proclaiming even the infamous Pooh’s Adventure “the most awesomest ride ever.”
Nothing’s enjoyable when focusing on the negative. So, I learned from my kids and re-entered the kingdom with the heart of a child. I soon found myself experiencing the Magic, too. It works for Disney trips. And the rest of life, too.
As for getting that bewitching “It’s a Small World” song out of my mind? That magic spell can't be broken.
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