2013: Magic Kingdom

I decided to take my coffee this morning to the pool, but as I grabbed for the door I noticed something was in the pool. An alligator? Otter? No! It was the neighbor’s head bobbing up and down in the five foot area. I know, you are asking "Why would the neighbor be in your pool?" The owner of the home we rent pays the neighbor to do all the maintenance, which includes pool cleaning. He was in the pool with a long brush scrubbing the sides of the pool. I guess that if you are going to clean a pool, you might as well enjoy the pool by getting in!

An update on our Star Troopers style battle? 9 dead bugs versus 0 dead humans.

Every morning we have our work lists. There are no playing or TV watching until each person completes their list. With military precision, we move through the work list every day. I serve the role of the drill sergeant - barking out orders, keeping everyone on task, and degrading their sorry performance. Eat Breakfast. Get dressed. Fill backpacks with water...

Yesterday, we were under the constant threat of thunderstorms. Several had moved in, and there was rumbling all morning in the distance. So, we figured it would be a perfect day to go visit the Magic Kingdom.

The Magic Kingdom has several additions since we had visited in 2011. There is a Fantasy Land expansion that has opened which is excellent. I thought the Fantasy Land expansion was completed, but they are still working on the Snow White area. In Peter Pan Ride tradition, there is a little mermaid ride that takes you through most of the story. I say "Most: because they get about midway through the story, then abruptly fast forward to the end… thank you for coming… good bye. We each had a giant cinnamon roll at Gaston's. The cinnamon rolls must have been the size of bowling balls! And at Belle's castle, we were treated to an adventure where we traveled into the story book and actually met Belle.

Also new is an interactive game like Kim Possible /Agent P in Epcot (or for those familiar, it is like MagiQuest). You are sent on a mission around the Magic Kingdom to fight off a villain. Ours was to rescue the puppies from Crudela around Main Street. You have to find these hidden portals, wave your identification card, and then a hidden video screen will play a message with clues. We had fun, and it gave it an opportunity to see Main Street in a way we normally wouldn't have taken the time to see. It was fun, but time consuming. I don’t recommend playing the game unless you frequent the parks and have lots of time.

The crowds are very heavy this time of the year at Disney. Fighting our way through the crowds is made additionally difficult when combating people with double wide strollers. There are narrow channels between people who are standing in the walk way gawking, and it is difficult to get through. But then add a double-side stroller and you get people-grid-lock.

A new challenge I hadn't seen in previous years? Walking while texting. You thought it was only dangerous while driving? People are doing this in the crowded parks! It becomes very dangerous to avoid getting run into by a distracted walker. I can only imagine the rate this epidemic is spreading will lead to serious park injuries that Disney will need to address with bumper guards around fountains and attractions.

It was fairly warm as well. At first the heat didn't bother me, but as the day went on I was putting my deodorant to the test. We each entered the park with two bottles of water and quickly learned that wasn’t enough. I refilled my bottle with bathroom sink water, all the time thinking "I really hope they don’t recycle the toilet water to the sinks". It tasted like recycled toilet water. Anyone who knows me knows I like to pinch a penny, so, recycled toilet water or not, that is what I drank. To help mask the tainted flavor, I poured a lemonade flavoring packet into the bottle. That made it taste like lemonade flavored toilet water.

As we looked at others around the park, we couldn't understand why they weren't drenched with sweat like we were. I suppose we haven't adjusted from our cool northern climate. I was so drenched that I would have changed my clothes half way through the park if I had thought to bring an extra set. It wasn't like the heat and the sweat were unbarable. We would be in the heat stroking out in a bath of sweat, then enter an air conditioned ride or store and the sweat would freeze. When we returned to the heat, it took a while for the sweat to thaw, so, in that way - we were creating our own portable gross cooling systems.

We took advantage of the time between the Disney fireworks and the Disney electric parade to jump onto some rides with short lines. When the electric parade ended it was well after 11pm, so we fought the massive crowds to get back to our car. From the Disney World parking lot to our house? Was a short 12 minute drive.