Wesley’s Week (Nov. 13-19, 2006)

by Wesley

The office is still recuperating from my absence last Friday because I took the day off to join my sister, her husband and their two kids at Disney World. Yes, I performed my duties as uncle while the 6-year-old nephew and 4-year-old niece (who will be 7 and 5 in January, as they will eagerly point out to you) enjoyed their first taste of the Magic Kingdom and Disney-MGM Studios (alas, I had to leave before they went to Animal Kingdom). It was really fun and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but as anyone who has gone to that Orlando entertainment oasis knows, it can wear you out if you do not take proper planning ahead of visiting the area. Wisely, our family did just that, so it was not too difficult to see all the sites we wanted to visit.

The only real problems I faced was arriving and departing there. I had to take flights both ways going through Atlanta, and each time the first leg was delayed nearly an hour and a half from scheduled departure due to “mechanical failures,” as the airlines like to put it. Heading down, that meant that I had to catch a flight leaving at 11 p.m. rather than 9:30 p.m., since I missed my connection, and so I did not get to check into my hotel, the Coronado Springs Resort, until after 1 a.m. The advantage was that since the resort lies on Disney property, I only had to catch a bus with my family to go on the rides next morning, thus saving some time in having to get up. On my way back home, my delayed first flight meant I had just 15 minutes to get from my arrival gate in Terminal D to my departure gate in Terminal C. I made it in time without straining a muscle, which when you are over 40 means you feel especially good about the accomplishment.

Back to the park events. The kids were quite enthusiastic and enjoyed riding attractions I thought might scare them, such as the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad roller coaster, which we rode three times (like I said, good planning let us get on this attraction quickly that normally has up to an hour wait some days). They did not do it all, though – Space Mountain was too dark and noisy for my nephew’s taste, so only we adults took part in that one. We had time to see the nighttime parade down Main Street, watch the evening fireworks and get pictures taken with characters like Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan (my niece’s favorite; she said his ride where you “fly” over London was her favorite too). Yeah, I would say we conquered the Magic Kingdom, especially since the children already went to Fantasyland the day before I arrived and got that out of their system.

The next day was Disney-MGM Studios, which the kids did not like as much, probably because there was a mob of ladies there attending the “Super Soap Weekend” featuring interviews and autograph session with stars of ABC daytime soap operas like General Hospital. We could not care less about it, but the kids were excited to have their pictures taken with the Power Rangers. I was partial to the Great Movie Ride, which has a stunning montage at the end of memorial scenes in film history. I was also stupid enough to go up again on the Tower of Terror and drop some 10 stories to the ground for several times, with only a seat belt to hold you in place. And I did that after eating a turkey leg. I swear, sometimes common sense and I part ways at big parks.

Despite my little complaints, I wholeheartedly recommend that anyone visit Disney World at least once in their lifetime to experience it. There truly is nothing like it to me in comparison to any other theme parks I have attended. Just be ready to wait in line, do not go in the summertime if possible (way too busy and hot), and do it with your family if you can – it will bring you the memories of a lifetime, I guarantee you.

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