"Thanks, and have a magical day!!!"
This past weekend, I became a woman.
Ok, let me explain:
Last Friday, I hopped on the Florida Turnpike to return to Disney World after a 13-some-odd year absense. The last time I was at the most Magical Place on Earth, the Gulf War just ended, Bush Classic was running for reelection, and Curt Cobain had this cool new band called, "Nirvana." Yeah. 1992.
It's hard to believe it's been that long. I mean, we are technically not that far from Orlando. I guess my family had other things to see...like California, Mexico, Europe, and, of course, New York.
Anyway, back then I was 9, and Mike was 15. Our one goal (other than making the Best Damn home video ever) was to ride Space Mountain.
Aaah. Space Mountain. We could see it from the window of our hotel room. It was like a beacon of the ultimate thrill. It was calling to us, "Hey, you two! You wanna have a magical experience?? RIDE ME!!"
One small problem, though. My parents aren't necessarily "rollercoaster" people. We went on those 3-D simulator rides and the slow-moving rides at Epcot the whole vacation. And since my parents didn't ride, they didn't want Mike and I to go by ourselves. So, that meant Space Mountain was off-limits.
Oh, we tried to negotiate. We tried to tell our parents, "It's not that bad! We'll be ok! It's a rite of passage!" No dice. This time, they didn't budge.
Fast forward to last weekend. After having one major case of Deja Vu, I realized something: Disney World is HUGE! Usually, whenever I revisit places from my childhood, they look tiny. Disney World, however, added 2 new theme parks, 2 mini golf courses, and 2 gas stations. The prices still suck, though.
Did you know that a single-day ticket into ONE of the theme parks is 60 bucks?? Oh, and if you wanna go to 2 parks in one day, add thirty bucks to that price. I guess the folks there need to generate SOME kind of revenue to keep the mechanical Country Bears waving at passers-by. Or maybe it's just a rip-off.
Anyway, after spending our Friday night at the 21+ nightclub area (yes, they have nightclubs there. Might I add they have a 70s and 80s DANCE club??? :) :) ), we hit the Magic Kingdom the next morning.
Our first stop? Space Mountain.
Here it was. The source of an early Piazza family controversy. I was walking around the line and hopping into the (very tiny) car...
I was engulfed in darkness from the very beginning. We went up the first hill and BAM! We zipped around and dipped and turned so fast, I couldn't believe it. Oh, and I was completely IN THE DARK. The only light source during the whole ride was literally 6 seconds of blue flashing lights at the halfway point. Other than that, it was the ultimate rush...
When I got off, Whit's mom said, "So, you think your parents made the right call in 1992?"
I said yes. I don't think I could've handled that at 9.
One final thing I noticed: EVERY DAMN RIDE DUMPS YOU OFF AT A GIFT SHOP. Either this is a prime study in the weakness of the American consumer, or Walt Disney is the greatest marketing mastermind of our generation. He's doing anything but turning in his grave...
I will leave you with the official Disney sign-off; something that every sales rep, front desk worker, shop owner and cafeteria worker said to me while I was there...
"Thanks, and have a Magical Day!!"
Now I know why people only stay for a week...:P
Ok, let me explain:
Last Friday, I hopped on the Florida Turnpike to return to Disney World after a 13-some-odd year absense. The last time I was at the most Magical Place on Earth, the Gulf War just ended, Bush Classic was running for reelection, and Curt Cobain had this cool new band called, "Nirvana." Yeah. 1992.
It's hard to believe it's been that long. I mean, we are technically not that far from Orlando. I guess my family had other things to see...like California, Mexico, Europe, and, of course, New York.
Anyway, back then I was 9, and Mike was 15. Our one goal (other than making the Best Damn home video ever) was to ride Space Mountain.
Aaah. Space Mountain. We could see it from the window of our hotel room. It was like a beacon of the ultimate thrill. It was calling to us, "Hey, you two! You wanna have a magical experience?? RIDE ME!!"
One small problem, though. My parents aren't necessarily "rollercoaster" people. We went on those 3-D simulator rides and the slow-moving rides at Epcot the whole vacation. And since my parents didn't ride, they didn't want Mike and I to go by ourselves. So, that meant Space Mountain was off-limits.
Oh, we tried to negotiate. We tried to tell our parents, "It's not that bad! We'll be ok! It's a rite of passage!" No dice. This time, they didn't budge.
Fast forward to last weekend. After having one major case of Deja Vu, I realized something: Disney World is HUGE! Usually, whenever I revisit places from my childhood, they look tiny. Disney World, however, added 2 new theme parks, 2 mini golf courses, and 2 gas stations. The prices still suck, though.
Did you know that a single-day ticket into ONE of the theme parks is 60 bucks?? Oh, and if you wanna go to 2 parks in one day, add thirty bucks to that price. I guess the folks there need to generate SOME kind of revenue to keep the mechanical Country Bears waving at passers-by. Or maybe it's just a rip-off.
Anyway, after spending our Friday night at the 21+ nightclub area (yes, they have nightclubs there. Might I add they have a 70s and 80s DANCE club??? :) :) ), we hit the Magic Kingdom the next morning.
Our first stop? Space Mountain.
Here it was. The source of an early Piazza family controversy. I was walking around the line and hopping into the (very tiny) car...
I was engulfed in darkness from the very beginning. We went up the first hill and BAM! We zipped around and dipped and turned so fast, I couldn't believe it. Oh, and I was completely IN THE DARK. The only light source during the whole ride was literally 6 seconds of blue flashing lights at the halfway point. Other than that, it was the ultimate rush...
When I got off, Whit's mom said, "So, you think your parents made the right call in 1992?"
I said yes. I don't think I could've handled that at 9.
One final thing I noticed: EVERY DAMN RIDE DUMPS YOU OFF AT A GIFT SHOP. Either this is a prime study in the weakness of the American consumer, or Walt Disney is the greatest marketing mastermind of our generation. He's doing anything but turning in his grave...
I will leave you with the official Disney sign-off; something that every sales rep, front desk worker, shop owner and cafeteria worker said to me while I was there...
"Thanks, and have a Magical Day!!"
Now I know why people only stay for a week...:P