Up The Farway Tree

Florida Part 3: The Magic Kingdom

Friday was a chill out day and another BBQ  - it gives the men something to do at least ;-   We are enjoying the pool and jacuzzi and I must say the grown ups (I count myself and Andrew as the kids for this holiday) seem to be enjoying the pool toys more than us!  Mum has been trying to talk in a southern drawl for most of the holiday and has given us all new names - John-boy (John), Jim-Bob(dad), Mary-Anne (Anne), Jackie-Ann (me), Betty-Lou (mum) and then she got stuck with Andrew and just decided to call him Joey.  Very random.   The most amusing thing however is her attempt at an American accent because invariably it somehow starts to sound Welsh ....

Children playing in the pool (object was throwing balls at dad)

...and dad manages to head the ball  (told you they were bunch of kids....!)

Saturday was a trip to the outlets for some more shopping bargains.  I was actually very reserved (for once) but did make a couple of purchases - would be a wasted trip otherwise!  Andrew wasn't feeling well so stayed at the villa - which gave John a good excuse to not come shopping either under the pretence of looking after his wee laddie.   Poor Andrew has not been feeling well for a couple of days now, with a fever and feeling sick.  At first I thought he has a bit of heatstroke from going for a run in the heat but it actually looks more like some food poisoning from a Chinese take away we had.  Hopefully after another rest today he will be feeling a lot better for the last couple of days.   I don't think he minded missing the shopping (and I got him some treats to make up for it) but Disney yesterday was hard work, which was a great shame.  Just means we need to come back at some point so he can fully enjoy the Disney experience....!

John tending the BBQ

Yesterday was my birthday and I chose to spend it at the Magic Kingdom at Disney!!  I think this is entirely reasonable thing for any 31 year old to do :-)   For those who have not been to Disney before The Magic Kingdom is the park most people think of and is Disney kitsch at it's best.   I guess it is really aimed more for the children but we are all really big kids at heart and anyone can enjoy the place 'where dreams come true'!  We were there for the park opening and with military precision I marched everyone round some of the main attractions so we could miss the queues which form later in the day.   We therefore managed to walk onto Thunder Mountain (roller coaster),  The Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan and Wendy and It's a Small World which I remember from our first visit to Disney 23 years ago!!    These are not high tech rides but they do bring out the inner child.   We had an early lunch before taking a raft over to Tom Sawyers island to escape the crowds for a while, where I was able to climb into a tree house for children 12 and under - I think I got away with it.   We sent John and dad into the Hall of Presidents for a bit of history while the rest of us explored the Christmas shop - not being as high brow as the old men haha.   We also went on a riverboat for a relaxing ride down the river to rest our weary feet.   We were glad to have done some of the rides early as the queues started to reach 40 minute waits and we could happily gloat to ourselves..

In the tree house

Anne and Mum with their purchases

Andrew on Tom Sawyers Island

One of the high lights of my day was watching the little show they have at the fairly tale castle where some of the Disney characters come out and dance around and tell a wee story about dreams coming true.  Mum had presented the ladies with fairy wands that morning (along with daft sunglasses and coloured whistles!) because of my birthday, so I happily waved my little fairy wand at the show.  Yes, I know I am completely nuts but you really do have to just go with the magic :)   I think John did like his wee whistle though for attracting our attention when we wandered off...

Fairy tale castle

Waving my wand at the show

We had a wee wander through some of the shops and headed out of the park about 7pm - pretty good going for arriving at 9am.   I can hardly believe I am able to keep up that pace all day - even 23 years ago I couldn't have done that.  The original plan had been to catch the light parade where floats and carriages are all lit up but I don't think we could have lasted any longer and didn't want to drive home in the dark.  We decided to leave my birthday dinner until this evening when we would be more rested and enjoy it more, so got in a some pizza before all collapsing for the night.    I wont forget that birthday in a hurry though - it's not every birthday you get to spend at The Magic Kingdom and although so so cliché, the slogan of 'dreams can come true' is actually pretty close to the mark when you consider that a few years ago the idea of me even reaching my 31st birthday was a dream in itself.