I love to travel. I love it so much, that now, as if the universe heard my plea and call, I found a way to make a living at it.
But there is one place I have avoided like the plague. The one place where I am sure, in my cynical little heart, that all of the magic and dazzle that I created in my little 4-year-old brain will suddenly become One. Big. Disappointment.
That place is Disney.
When I was a little girl, I loved- loved- loved ANYTHING to do with Mickey Mouse. My blanket, my t-shirt, my necklace… all of it had Mickey Mouse on it. Don’t believe me?
Note the necklace.
Note the blanket.
Note the T Shirt.
And so on and so forth.
There is no denying my desire to consume Mickey, and not just in fashion, I had stuffed animals, plus all of the records from the Mickey Mouse Club… ” M-I-C.. See you real soon… K-E-Y.. Why? Because We like you!”
Oh yeah.. I was the real deal Disney fan.
There was even a nod to Cinderella at my wedding. Tiara? Check! Big Poofy, Tulle Dress? Check!
Over time.. I just put it out of my head. Why? because the magic sort of.. dissipated.
It was the whole “happily ever after” thing. Life happened and it hit hard. I dealt with the blows, and though it may have humbled me a bit, it left this snarky little mess behind.
And so the cynic was born.
Even as a child, I sort of gave up after years and years of begging my parents to take me to Disney World. What I didn’t realize as a wee lass was how ridiculously expensive it was going to be for a young family (my parents would have been in their 20s.) In my 20s, I could barely afford anything better than Boone’s Farm wine. (I think you get my drift here.)
It wasn’t until my early 40s would I really meet my Prince Charming, and guess where he wants to take our little make-shift family this October? Disney World.
I have to admit,he really should win Dad of the year. Without a doubt, he wants nothing more than for his girls (which includes Me!) to experience the magical world of Disney.
And honestly… I’m starting to get a little excited. At first I thought, “Are you freaking kidding me?” The amount of money we will be dropping on this vacation could quite possibly get the four of us to Europe. I questioned his motives and began to equate Disney to the same cultural experience as eating in chain restaurants.
But then I decided to relax into it. I picked up his book – Hidden Magic of Disney and began to t
humb through it. I knew we would only be hitting the Magic Kingdom & Epcot, so I read through each page carefully, putting little purple glitter gel pen stars by items of interest.
In classic Nicole fashion, I then opened up YouTube and researched the rides. I found every single ride in a video from the POV. Then…
Oh and then…
I started to get a little into it.
And just like when you announce to a small child you are going to do something you know they like, I told my Prince Charming that I was researching the trip and was sort of starting to get excited about it- that’s when it happened: He lit up! By making him happy, I became super happy. And thus… The Magic of Disney took hold.
I made of list of things I always wanted to do as a child: I wanted to ride the tea cups and visit the castle. I wanted my picture with Cinderella and visit the Eiffel Tower at Epcot. I wanted to hear that silly song “It’s a small world” so many times until I can’t get it out of my head.
And I want to wear my Mickey ears.
With all of that being said, we are planning our magical trip to Disney. We booked a weekend during the Food & Wine Festival (yes, you can be jelly if you want to!) And yes, we booked a decent Disney Resort – Coronado Springs. And yes, we got the Magic Bands customized with our Disney character’s names. (We took a Buzzfeed Quiz to find out who we were most like. Unfortunately, I am no Cinderella. More like Megara.) So it is officially happening.
The madness known as Disney is set for late October.
Tickets? Check. Reservations for food? Check. Magic bracelets? Check. Resort? Check.
Boom & Done.
Destination Unknown 