Tigger

Magic Moments at Disney

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Hello My Imaginary Friends,

I believe that Disney is a magical place. An exhausting, expensive, and magical place.

On our most recent trip we had some great moments. Here are my top 5 Magic Moments at Disney.

5. Sleepy Pegasus

Bringing a baby to Disney is fun. They get excited about random things and fall asleep everywhere. If you don’t mind lugging them and all their stuff and realize you’re doing it for yourself, you’ll have fun.

4. Dragon meeting Tigger

The first day we went to Magic Kingdom we asked Dragon what her favourite part was, without hesitation she said seeing Tigger. We were pretty surprised since she’d only seen him at a distance. So we made sure to go back. She loved meeting him.

3. Fireworks while Riding The Mine Train

The first real roller coaster that Dragon went on was the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. It’s a fun little coaster that even my motion sick mother in-law can ride.

As we started going up the fireworks started. The ride designers must have expected this since they were right above us. We then rode through the ride with fireworks going off. It was awesome in every sense of the word.

2. Carousel of Progress Breakdown

The Carousel of Progress is a ride that needs updating. It’s four parts with the same family showing the evolution of technology. The last one is a vision of the future from the late 90’s or early 2000’s.

Each section ends with the same song. There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow. It’s a catchy song and nice and upbeat. Very much the hopeful futurism of Disney.

When we went on the ride it broke down and repeated the last part. The first time it repeated no one reacted. The second time people tried to get out and a park person over a speaker told us to sit and wait for our safety. The third, people started heckling and quoting good naturedly.

The fourth time, the sound cut out and when we got to the part where they normally sang, the majority of the audience started to sing the song. It’s like everyone decided at the same time. It was really impressive and fun. It’s the kind of shared experience that Disney can’t manufacture but that makes going so much fun.

We were all given free fastpasses after our concert but I would have been happy just with the experience.

1. Grandparents’ Joy

People say that during a wedding you should always take a look at the groom because they look so happy to see the bride.

The same goes for grandparents at Disney. I love my son and daughter but I don’t always take the time to appreciate their joy and wonder. Their grandparents, however, always seem alert for those little moments.

From shows, to rides, passing by food, statues, and merchandise, whenever my daughter, or son, were excited or in awe; the look was mirrored and combined with joy in their grandparents.

Magic isn’t what you do, but how much you enjoy it with others. I think that’s important to remember.

Later days,

Éric

Growing up Poor and Disney

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Hello My Imaginary Friends,

Growing up, my mother gave us everything she could, but she wasn’t rich. We were definitely poor although she did her best to not let us know.

March break to me meant reading, playing video games, and maybe going to the movies. Summer vacation was much the same but with biking, yard sales, and maybe a trip to Ottawa. The trip to Ottawa was an 8 hour drive and us staying with family.

I remember the first time someone I know went to Disney. I was in first or second grade and everyone thought it was awesome. As I grew older I noticed that only the richer families took their kids to Disney. Then I started seeing Disney World on television. The characters in Full House, Roseanne, Boy Meets World, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and many more. It re-enforced to me that only the wealthy went to Disney.

Don’t get me wrong. There are ways to do Disney on a budget but for a kid of a poor single mom in Northern Ontario, it seemed impossible. I went for the first time with my in-laws when I was 28.

My first time at Disney meeting Winnie the Pooh and Tigger too.

In the decade since, we’ve gone to Disney World 3 more times and Paris Disney.

Even during my most recent trip I still got the excitement of being able to do something that young me would never believe I could do. There’s a thrill to getting to experience everything.

Walking around Disney and doing all the activities, eating the food, and meeting the characters is amazing and cheesy. Everything is shiny and cool (except the dinosaur section in Animal Kingdom… yikes) and it all feels like an accomplishment. There’s this feeling of having somehow snuck into an exclusive club where I’m not supposed to be.

Going with my in-laws was great, but getting to bring my children was amazing. It’s ridiculous and silly but being able to give them an experience that I couldn’t have makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something.

However, and this is a topic for a future post, bringing my children to Disney wasn’t about them, it was about and for me. The experience of going to Disney at 7 months isn’t something either kid will remember, and I’m fairly certain that my 3 year old’s memories will fade too.

There are experiences that as a kid I romanticized as “rich people” things. Some were disappointing (looking at you caviar and taking a plane) but Disney wasn’t. Maybe because I built up the vague notion but didn’t really know any details, maybe it was the excitement and childlike wonder on my wife, sister-in-law, and mother-in-law’s faces.

Whatever the reason, it was magical to be able to go to Disney after growing up thinking I couldn’t.

Later Days,

Éric

Dear Pegasus and Dragon – Disney 2020

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Hello My Mythical Brood,

We recently came back from a two week vacation in Florida. We rented a house, with Grannie and Granddad, and visited Disney World, A LOT.

Pegasus, you started teething not long before and kept us up at night. (Mum and I mostly.) You fell asleep on rides and mostly seemed confused as to why we were standing around and not letting you crawl. When you weren’t annoyed you spent the time smiling at people and making their hearts melt. You have a way of looking at people, with your big blue eyes, like you’re judging them and then releasing a massive smile. It makes anyone caught by it ridiculously happy.

Dragon, you will probably not remember this trip. At 3 you’re still very young, but if you do I hope you remember the joy and excitement you felt on the rides. The first time you took a rollercoaster, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, the fireworks started as we were climbing. It was beautiful. I’ll always remember how you would get super excited to meet a character and then completely freeze, and the smile you would have every time you saw something exciting.

The two of you had your ups and downs (Same with us). Some days were harder then others but you did great being dragged around the parks and I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

I also hope you remember the quieter times at the house talking and playing with Grannie and Granddad. Without them, this trip would have been impossible. They are truly remarkable helping with you and everything else required in a big trip. We don’t always agree on everything, but I wouldn’t have wanted to take this or any Disney trip without them.

In the end, Pegasus and I got a cold but years from now I hope we’ll remember the good things.

I had a wonderful time with you, Mum, Grannie, and Granddad.

I love you both very much,

Papa