Mommy Goes to Disney World

Oh my stinking heck, I love this place. It's hotter than hooey, it rained in the middle of the afternoon, and the Magic Kingdom was packed with every variety of human ever created by God. However, I repeat, I love this place. I went to the left after walking down Main Street (an old Jim Reed trick), and started in Adventureland. I passed by the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, the Magic Carpets of Aladdin (but I saw him!), and went right to that perennial favorite, Pirates of the Caribbean. The line went pretty fast, only 15 minutes or so. It's such a classic Disney moment. However, I swear, back in the day, Captain Jack Sparrow did not used to look like Johnny Depp. He does now.

This is why I love Disney: Since International Talk Like a Pirate Day is September 19, I wanted to get the whole KHS English Department eye patches to mark the moment. In the Pirates Gift Shop, they had a combo eye patch and earring for $2. As I started to gather 24 packages of the combos, I asked a "Cast Member" if I could just buy the patch. When she asked why, I explained that I was a teacher, and wanted 24 eye patches for my teacher friends. She said, "Let me talk to my manager." She came back with a little Disney Logo bag of 24 eye patches for me-- FOR FREE! Now, where else on earth could that happen besides Disney World? I told Miss Helen from Wilkes- Barre, PA (I love how well the Cast Members are labeled) that she just made my whole trip one thousand times more special.

Next, I headed over to Frontierland and rode Splash Mountain after a 30 minute wait. I had two very special red haired, freckled faced young Guests in front of me who caused me to enjoy the 70 foot drop even more! Next, it was on to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. This is where I lost lots of steam. The sign said 30 minutes--my personal max---so I went for it. Fifty eight minutes later, I boarded the ride. I always, and I mean always, get behind grumpy New Yorkers during these ordeals. At the end, we bond and exchange email addresses, but getting there is not half the fun! Then it was on to Liberty Square, and the newly refurbished Haunted Mansion, which had a 40 minute sign. Jim wanted a report, as it just reopened this week, so I stayed. It was fun and fast, only 20 minutes, but 12 month old Aiden from PA kept his Mom yelling every, single, second of those 20 minutes. It was fun, and everything smelled new, but it seemed very much like the old ride to me.

It's a Small World had a 45 minute sign. No thanks. After almost running down a four year old to get to the Mad Tea Party teacup ride, I decided it was time to move on. The Reeds are intrepid, early morning park people. I have never seen the Magic Kingdom so crowded, and combined with the heat and humidity, the magic was dwindling. It was time to head off to my favorite park, Epcot.