During the Easter weekend it was my birthday and my daughter took my husband and me to Walt Disney World® for the day. She said I could choose any one of the theme parks and I chose the Magic Kingdom. Although I've been into the Magic Kingdom 27 times, I haven't been there in the past 9 or so years and I wanted to experience its magical atmosphere once again on my special day.
And what a special day! First of all because we have a standing agreement in our family that, within reason, the Birthday Person is King or in my instance Queen for the day and all the other members of the family have to obey and do the bidding of the Birthday Person. Secondly, Disney are running a special offer during 2009 of a free ticket for the birthday person on their birthday and they provided me with a large "Happy Birthday" pin with my name on it and everywhere I went people called out "Happy Birthday Pamela". What fun that turned out to be!
Somehow Disney and the Magic Kingdom can bring out the child in you and no matter what your troubles they all drop from your shoulders for the day as you enter the wonderful world of fantasy. The magic truly begins the moment you step on Main Street, USA. What a bustling, animated and exiting street! Within minutes you are absorbed into a different world and whether you are 2 or 82 you become a child of Disney.
No matter what the ride, you are not expected, for instance, to stand next to your child on the carousel of horses, or wave at your child as he goes by, or even have a child, no way, you can ride it LIKE a child. Get up on that gee-gee and go up and down to the carnival music as it goes on its merry-go-round way with all the other big and small kids!
So here I am on the Gee-Gee and here are Michael and me in front of Cinderella's Castle
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I got soaked on Splash Mountain before our log boat even began its journey through the caverns of Brer Rabbit. Just a few yards along the waterway another log boat swooped down from the mountain and swoosh, I was rained upon. I dried out on Big Thunder Mountain (by far my most favorite roller coaster) as it rattled and twisted in its furious flurry around the mountain and the abandoned mining town of Tumbleweed.
Those are some, but if I were to mention all the wonderful rides at the Magic Kingdom that I love, I would simply make this into a brochure for Disney but without a doubt "It’s a Small World" and the SpectroMagic Parade tops my list of what makes the Magic Kingdom …… well magical!
Now some people will say that it's ludicrous to sit on the curb of a hard sidewalk for one and a half hours from 7.30 p.m. till 9.00 p.m. to secure a front row seat to see SpectroMagic but I say it's worth every minute. Besides the fact that it is only in Disney where I would contemplate sitting on the sidewalk, it also gives you a chance to rest after a long day of walking, where you can munch a burger and get to know your neighbor.
This is what I did and my neighbor to my left turned out to be a British couple from Kent, living only 30 minutes from Canterbury where my grandfather was born which resulted in one dickens of a conversation. My neighbor to the right, a young women from Australia married to an American with two delightful little girls and living in Bradenton, Florida also had lots of stories to share. The exchange between these two couples was so enjoyable that when the lights dimmed on Main Street and the music started and Jiminy Cricket introduced it, only a dazzling parade like SpectroMagic could possibly have hushed our chitter-chatter.
I would like to thank my daughter for a wonderful birthday gift of a day in Disney's Magic Kingdom and for the delicious lunch and later, the stop at Mrs. Potts' Cupboard for a sundae of chocolate and vanilla soft-serve with hot caramel topping. Happy memories are made because of days like this one.