Disney World ~ Things I Want to Remember

This.  I want to remember this.  I want to remember walking into Disney World with Gabe for his first time and feeling the excitement in his being, experiencing the wonderment all around.  I want to remember the fairy tale of that week.  I want to remember walking in and feeling the sense of bittersweet nostalgia that I was actually taking my son to Disney World, something I inexplicably decided was a rite of passage in the parenting world.  I want to remember watching him see the castle for the first time.  I want to remember seeing the hoards of mouse ears and knowing that the moment he asked for his own pair I was going to cave like every other fickle tourist.  I want to remember being in the “happiest place on earth.”

I’m so glad we took that trip!  It was perfect!

I want to remember how hungry we were when we got there, and how every other tourist arrived at the crack of dawn but we slept in and got there around lunch time.  I want to remember Gabe eating his million-dollar Mickey Mouse-shaped waffle sprinkled with powdered sugar and feeling like I was going to cave in from hunger.  I don’t remember what I ended up eating, but by the time I got it, it was long overdue!

I want to remember our first rides.  I wanted Gabe to experience something tame and overstimulating for his first ride – something like “It’s A Small World.”  I thought we took the right turn, but we didn’t, and instead we ended up at Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain.  Gabe was super excited for Big Thunder Mountain, but by the time we got off he decided he wanted nothing to do with anymore roller coasters.  We already had Fast Pass tickets for Splash Mountain, though, and we dragged him on against his wishes.  It wasn’t his favorite ride, but I’m glad we forced the issue because he saw that the rides were safe even if he didn’t love them.

I also want to remember the random lady who stopped Tahd and asked him to help her figure out her video camera.  Out of all the people in Disney, that she stopped my techie husband made me giggle.  He got things figured out and sent her on her way, but not before a man in a motorized scooter had run over my left foot.  Dude!!   Those things are heavy! My foot hurt for the rest of the week!

We did eventually make it to It’s a Small World and Gabe really liked it.  Tahd took lots of pictures of the different displays, but we ran out of camera card space before we expected to so I deleted all but this shot.

I want to remember Gabe’s favorite rides.  We rode Astro Orbiter at least five times.  Actually, I rode it less than that because it started making me nauseous.  He also loved Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Tomorrowland Speedway, Mission Space, and Pirates of the Caribbean.  Tahd and I were fans of Soarin’, Living With The Land, Buzz Lightyear, and Tower of Terror.

There were mixed feelings in our group about Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain (Gabe disliked, Tahd and I liked), as well as Mission: Space (Gabe and Tahd liked it, I had a panic attack and felt sick to my stomach for a good 30 minutes).  Tahd and I loved Tower of Terror, but it was the only ride Gabe cried on.  As we went up and down and up and down, he started panicking and eventually started crying and hollering that he just wanted it to STOP so he could GET OFF!  Poor guy!

I want to remember sun hats.  And sunscreen, the kind that leaves a greasy film all over you as well as the kind you spray on, creating a cloud of what I’m sure must be toxic to your insides.  And the lack of sunburns because so many of the Disney attractions are actually inside.

I want to remember Epcot – ALL of Epcot!  I want to remember that it stands for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.  I want to remember that during our 5 day trip we went to Epcot 5 times.  I want to remember that we tried and tried to convince Gabe to go to Animal Kingdom but he wouldn’t because he loved Epcot so much and wanted to keep going back.  I want to remember that on the day we were at Epcot most, Tahd walked 32,000 steps.  I want to remember that we all went deaf during the fireworks because of our proximity to the speaker.  I want to remember how Tahd went to the Chinese and Japanese pavillions and asked authentic Chinese and Japanese people how to write Mara’s name in their native languages.  I want to remember how much fun Gabe had doing the Epcot KidCot stations, and how the $10.00 passport we purchased was one of the best $10.00 we spent on our trip.  I want to remember my joy at buying tea in the Great Britain pavillion, and a special teacup for my souvenir.  I want to remember how the Great Britain pavillion also had my favorite chocolate bars – the kind we used to get in Canada.  Gotta love that British chocolate!  I want to remember how Epcot was our favorite, all of us!

I want to remember how Tahd thought it would be fun to volunteer for one of the demonstrations in Hollywood Studios and then proceeded to get absolutely, positively drenched!

I want to remember how we rode every possible mode of transportation on this trip – planes, cars, trains, and boats.  It was a 5-year-old boy’s fantasy!

I want to remember how Gabe believed.  We had the chance to wait in a 45-minute line to meet Mickey and friends at a Character Greeting Spot.  At first I thought it was a waste of time.  But once we got there, I realized he really believes! And I love that.  I want to bottle that up and keep it as long as I can.  He was so proud of all the autographs he got. He even tries to forge them sometimes!  lol

It was a good trip. I replay it over and over in my mind.  Gabe keeps talking about “the next time we go to Disney World” and although it’s probably a long way off since it’s a pricey investment, I would do it again in a heartbeat.  I’m not a Disney fanatic, but the trip was so lovely and so special that it would be priceless to have the chance to do it again.