(The Disney photographer made us pose like this!)

 

      

 

I do have to make a confession. We were tired our first day. We were really, really. dizzily and stupidly tired for a lot of our trip. And on our first afternoon, we went back to the room AND NAPPED! Just like old people! But, it turned out to be a good idea, as we were able to keep going until midnight like pale and out of shape Energizer bunnies!

When I posted pictures on Facebook, a friend wondered if someone had come along with us to take all the shots of my mom and me together. We had no qualms about asking random strangers to take a shot every now and again, but there were also photographers stationed at all key photo opportunity spots at the park. You’d hand them your handy photo pass card, smile, and then hand them your own camera and smile again. That’s how we got some of our shots. But some of them came via crafty internet…

 

For some reason, I would not want to pay $14.95 for two 4 x 6 prints of this picture. Wonder why?

 

Anyhow, back to the adventure!  I can’t recall the actual schedule of events, so I’ll just pretend that what I write here really happened.  After lunch, we headed to see A Bug’s Life. It’s a 3D movie where they squirt water at you and poke you in the back to simulate a bee sting and all. The glasses were particularly charming.

 

 Next, we headed over to the Disnified version of Asia. We braved Mount Everest and an encounter with the Yeti.

We didn’t really enjoy our encounter with the Yeti as the roller coaster was a bit jerky and went backwards. Motion-Sickness-Prone me (remember that cruise?) and Ow-My-Neck Mom decided that we should try something else, like the Kalahari River Rapid Ride!   (I think this picture was taken outside the ride, but I can’t remember. Either way, Disney does know how to give you interesting sights while you stand in line!)

 

 

The rapids ride declares that you will get wet. You might get SOAKED, but you will get wet. Mom wisely brought ponchos for us to wear (not just for me to use inside a chilly restaurant). Being an experienced Kalaharian, she gave me detailed instructions on how to hold the poncho and fold it around me so I would stay nice and dry. I listened. I wrapped it up just right. The water splashed and doused and made the little girl in our raft cry. I was feeling smug. Then a huge wall of water came tearing over the side of the raft and right down the neck of my poncho. I looked over at Mom who sat there pinching her poncho neck closed as a definite feeling of wetness spread across my bottom.

But, on a 90 degree day, one dries pretty quickly, especially when shopping for cool sandals and getting an awesome Yak and Yeti bag! (What is Yak and Yeti? It’s the name of the store where I bought my sandals, and it’s also the name of a Disney restaurant. But basically, it’s just a lightweight shopping bag o’ happiness.)

 

Later, we went on the Dinosaur ride. There was such a short wait and we enjoyed it so much that we went on twice. I swore I wouldn’t jump like a fool the second time through, but when that big dinosaur leaped out at me, I just couldn’t help it!   (This is not the scary dinosaur. This one looks rather dead.)

 

Here’s my favorite Animal Kingdom shirt. I didn’t buy it.

 

I think the nap happened here, but I’m not 100% sure. However, the next thing recorded by my camera was not Mom stretched out in air conditioning and snoring away. It was The Magic Kingdom!  If you are not familiar with the Empire of Disney, perhaps a lesson is in order. Way back whenever (in the 1960s), Walt Disney built The Magic Kingdom. This is the place with the castle and all the rides that DisneyLand in California has. Twenty or so years later, EPCOT was built. EPCOT stands for “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow,” and at this park you will see all sorts of rides and displays about the future and our planet and world and that big, silver ball. This is also the location of World Showcase where ten countries are featured with buildings in the architectural style of the country, shops,  and some “tour” rides.  The next to come into being was Animal Kingdom. Not surprisingly, this park features animals and also focuses on Africa and Asia. The fourth park is MGM Hollywood Studios which shows you behind the scene things, is decorated like a Hollywood set, and features the Pixar creations and the Disney movies that aren’t “cartoony.”

The Magic Kingdom at night is very pretty.

 

The first time I went to Disney (which was only the Magic Kingdom back then), I was seven. I don’t remember much except that I wet myself during the Electric Light Parade. This time, I made sure we did not have a repeat (re-pee?) of that event!  During the parade, I fell in love with my camera. It took pictures in the dark of moving lights! What a wonderful camera! And many times during the trip, I would look down at it and say, “I love you, camera!” See if I am not justified!

                  

 

                

 

The parade was enjoyable, but eating ice cream cones as big as our heads was a nice bonus. (I had a waffle sundae, so mine was even more decadent!)

 

After the parade, there were fireworks. I know you know what fireworks look like, but here’s a picture anyhow. My favorite firework was the one that was in the shape of Mickey Mouse’s head. Did I get a picture of it? No.

 

 

After the evening festivities, the park really emptied out. But, since it stayed open until midnight, I thought we should stay as long as we could to take advantage of the fact that there was little to no wait on all of the rides. Space Mountain? No problem. Peter Pan? Hop right on. But, what made me the most excited was Pirates of the Caribbean! If I dream about Disney World (which every now and again, I do), it is always this ride that features in my dreams.

 

They changed the ride a bit. Yes, you still get in a boat and sail through pirate-infested waters, wind up in the middle of a battle with “cannonballs” splashing in the water around you, and watch Tortuga burning. There is still the omnipresent singing of A Pirate’s Life for Me. But now, Jack Sparrow features in most of the scenes. This picture is of the “wife auction.” During this scene, the pirates start chanting, “We want the redhead!” which proved to be amusing as my hair looked very red in many of the pictures we took during the week. Mom would chant, “We want the redhead!” Okay. Fine. It amused us.

 

We also went on Prince Charming’s Carousel. It was my first time to go on it, and I do love carousels. Happy me! (Oh, you can see the new sandals I bought at Yak and Yeti!)

 

But, I soon realized it might be time to head back to the hotel.

 

Good night, Magic Kingdom. We’ll see you again tomorrow!

 

Someone keeps nagging me to blog, so I must. 

We slept rather poorly in our hotel, which is a common problem when one is afraid that the wake up call will be missed, the rescheduled flight will be missed, and Disney will never be reached. But, we did wake up to the 4:30 am phone call and alarm and cell phone alarm and made it to the airport in plenty of time.  We got to the airport about 5:30, and both decided that only a McDonald’s egg and sausage biscuit would do. After walking through two concourses, we found the McD’s and had the biscuits. Of course, eating fatty, greasy sausage biscuits at 5:45 am might not have been the best plan…

 

 

Finally, FINALLY we were in Florida! We took the Magic Express (okay, it’s just a bus) to our hotel, Disney’s All-Star Music. When we checked in, the worker said, “Oh, I see that you are here to celebrate a birthday. Happy birthday, Debra!” She took out a badge, wrote Mom’s name on it, and gave it to her. So, for the rest of the day, almost every Disney worker we saw said, “Happy birthday!” to her. It was pretty fun, actually.

 

All-Star Music has several sections. We were in the Broadway section in a building advertising Beauty and the Beast. And if you stood just right, the giant top hat on the side of the building looked like it was made just for a head.

 

 We put our carry-ons in our room, prayed that our suitcase (delivered via even MORE MAGICAL express) would show up and be delivered to our room while we were out, and headed out to hit the parks.  Guess where we went first?

 

Clever you. It WAS Animal Kingdom! I had never been there, as the last time I was at Disney was 25 years ago (!!!), and Animal Kingdom did not exist. After all the trouble and delay we had in getting there, we were ready to explore!

 

We wasted no time hopping on the safari ride. Perhaps you’ve never been on a safari ride? I shall explain. You board a bus and ride around for 20 minutes or so looking at animals while the bus driver/tour guide pretends that you are about to be shot by poachers or fall of a washed-out bridge. Mom and I played along very well, which was appreciated by the bus driver.

 

 

I am not sure which animal I enjoyed more, the rhino

 

or the lion.  They were both so feisty!

 

I’m just teasing. There were lots and lots of animals up and about.  Like the okapi

 

And the elephant.

 

I’d show you more pictures, butt…

 

 After the tour, we were just climbing the walls to see more animals!

 

So we headed on the walking tour of the zoo. We found a family reunion! (I won’t mention which family…) 

 

One adorable thing we saw was a baby gorilla. The worker told us she was a year old. We were all ooh-ing and aah-ing when she started to chase a bunny. Now, this was one mammoth rabbit; it was almost as big as the baby gorilla! Now, before you get all squeamish and say, “Ick! Did she kill it?” remember, gorillas are vegetarians!  She was only playing with her friend. And oddly, the bunny seemed to enjoy it, hiding and waiting for her to come closer before he’d run.  I didn’t get a good shot of her. She was fast and little!

After our time in the wilds of Africa, I needed to be fed. So, we headed to The Rainforest Cafe. It was really neat! The whole ceiling was covered in vines and fake monkeys and snakes. We were seated by a big aquarium, so we had live critters to look at. And it was at this time we decided that we should take a picture of everything we ate on the trip. Prepare to be assaulted (salted? snicker) by many photos of food.

 

Even though it was 90 degrees outside (literally) and I left halfway through the meal to stand outside in the sun (and did a few jumps up and down to make myself even more warm), I was shiveringly freezing in the restaurant. So, much to my mom’s dismay and feigned embarrassment, I wrapped up in one of the rain ponchos she had packed to protect us during the water rapids ride. I felt better. I looked ridiculous.

 

We were both very surprised when our waitress asked Mom if she was ready for her FREE birthday sundae! Wow. They brought it out, complete with a song and two spoons. I wasn’t too cold to eat ice cream!

 

 

 

Next up…more of our day!

 

A few weeks ago, I was on a walk. I do some of my best thinking on walks. And what I was thinking was this: “Hey, it’s my mom’s 60th birthday in April. We should take another mother/daughter trip–someplace NOT involving a ship!” Since her favorite place is Disney World and I have not been there since I was 16, I thought this might be the perfect trip! I pulled out my cell phone.

“Hey, Mom. Do you want to go to Disney for your birthday?”

She laughed. “Yeah, that would be great.”

I went on, “I was thinking we could go the week after your birthday, and we could…”

She interrupted, “Wait, are you serious?”

When she realized I was serious and when both husbands agreed, we booked our hotel, a reservation at her favorite Disney restaurant, and our flights. (This was all done less than four hours after the idea was first proposed!)  We began the countdown to TODAY! The day we leave for Disney!

Our flight was to leave State College at 7:00 with a connection in Philadelphia. Mom arrived at my house at 5:00, and we headed out. We stopped at Subway, planning to enjoy a leisurely meal at the airport. And we did!

(That’s Lindt dark chocolate with Sea Salt, a wonderful dessert for a Chicken Teriaki sub!)

 

Mom brought some cookies from home. I really, really wanted to eat the raisin-filled cookie, but instead, I decided to pack it, joking all the while that it would be smashed when we got to Disney! (See me holding it?)

 

Then we noticed that our plane wasn’t in the terminal. Hmmm. It was supposed to leave at 7:00, and it WAS 7:00, and no plane. I spoke to a security guard who checked with the ticket agents who assured us that we would make our connecting flight. Not to worry! (Take note, kids. This is foreshadowing!)  So, we passed the time reading celebrity magazines.

 

 

We waited. And waited. And waited. And we found out Catherine Zeta-Jones is younger than Jennifer Aniston. And Janelle the Teen Mom star never got into a fight before where she beat someone up–except with her family!

Our flight FINALLY left, only 45 minutes late! Considering we only had 40 minutes to make our connecting flight, we were not hopeful. But the stewardess (who had the oddest accent I have ever heard, never could place it. African? Asian? She was a blue-eyed blonde.) assured us that we could PROBABLY make our flight! If we hurried, of course. Even though we’d be landing in Terminal F, and our gate was B11. Just run for the shuttle bus!

We landed, and all of the passengers stampeded from the propeller plane. We looked like the Luggage Special Olympics. (I could take the gold in rolling suitcase, laptop in bag banging against my front, camera case banging against my back 2000 yard dash!) We finally got to the shuttle bus with a bunch of other breathless passengers and watched as we drove by our gate.

“There’s our plane!” I said!

“There’s the loading tube being unhooked from our plane,” said my mom.

We were sad. 

When we finally got off the shuttle, we asked the first ticket lady we saw about our flight. “You might be able to make it still if you hurry!”  Now, why we believed this woman when we SAW the loading thingie no longer attached to the plane, I will never know. But we RAN!  And RAN! AND RAN! Finally, we arrived at a very deserted Gate B11. And then we arrived at US Air Customer Service.  They got us the next flight out–Monday at 6:52 am. Sigh. Mom was NOT happy. We still have to pay for our night of hotel at Disney so we don’t lose our reservation, and WHERE is our luggage? 

She looks bemused in this picture because she had amused herself by making a rude hand gesture just before I snapped the picture.

But the airline put us up in a Ramada Inn with shuttle service. No food, no free flight, but at least we have beds!

We are now in our hotel room with free internet and decaf tea. And I have that raisin-filled cookie!  But, we won’t get to Disney until at least noon. Pout.