I am a giant child (remember how much I love Halloween?) and since I hadn’t been to Disney since I was 5 years old, I was determined to get there again before I turned 30. Plus, my sister-in-law and her husband are currently calling FL their home (until the Coast Guard tells them otherwise) and I knew my chances were running short cashing in on a free place to stay visiting them.
I’m not going to give you a play by play of the entire trip but rather an overview of the major highlights (yes, I promise to explain the title of this post). We left for FL late night on 3/16 and landed in Orlando around midnight. Thursday was spent next to the pool before headed to an AMAZING place called World Of Beer – a magical place in and of itself I assure you – with over 560 beers from all over the world. Are you kidding me??? And they had a band of drummers and bagpipers play to celebrate another Irish excuse to drink St. Paddy’s Day, to boot!
Amazing – and donations were made for their Fire/Police Department!
On Friday, we headed to the destination I was probably most excited for – The Wizarding World of Harry Potter… and the rest of Islands of Adventure, I guess. We practically bee-lined it for the HP entrance only to be given a Return Pass ticket for 5:15. It was 2:00. Awesome. But I didn’t let that discourage me and we headed off to hit up some of the other rides including The Hulk (a massive roller coaster that we waited no less than 45 minutes for) and although it was a blast (and I totally wasn’t expecting the awesomeness of the beginning – which I won’t ruin for you all), after the ride was over, I felt like The Hulk himself personally squeezed my brain matter in a fit of shirt-ripping rage. I had a serious headache. At 5:05, we were standing outside the HP entrance and headed into Hogsmeade and I think I was more excited than the majority of the children I pushed out of the way rushed past to get inside. First stop after scanning the park? Hog’s Head for some Butterbeer… where we waited for 40 minutes. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot????*** This place is supposed to be full of magic… and YOU HAVE ONE BARTENDER? Can’t they just use a wand to whip up several drinks at a time? I’m confused… really confused. I had plenty of time to think about what I wanted to order – they did have beer on tap and a selection of liquors so when I FINALLY got up to the bar, I asked if they could put some rum in the Butterbeer. “No Ma’am.” Wait, what? Did you just call me “Ma’am?” Again, I’m confused. I’d rather be called a Dirty Muggle than MA’AM! And in conjunction with telling me that I couldn’t create an alcoholic beverage out of Butterbeer, the one bartender (again, what?) was my least favorite magical person (oh who am I kidding… he was super nice and totally rocked his costume). I ordered the Butterbeer anyway (sans booze) and I am SO glad I did (until later, but again… I’ll get to that). That little plastic cup (which I’m sure is not the kind of cup that Harry, Ron and Hermione drink from) contained the sweetest, frothiest, frozen butterscotch treat I’ve ever had (you can Google and come up with tons of recipes – I’ll have to test them out and see what I can find… I’ll report back when I’m successful).
Mmmm… delicious. Would have been even better with Rum.
Since we had stood in line for almost as long as we had left in the park, we ran over to the Dueling Dragons NKA The Dragon Challenge and the line was so short that we got in the “Front Row” line in order to have more time to finish our drinks AND have the best seat on the coaster but we still had to drink pretty quickly because before we knew it we were boarding the ride, screaming our heads off and having a blast. Immediately after, we ran up to Hogwarts/the ‘Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey’ ride. We knew the line was going to be long so we jumped in the Singles Line (not to be confused with a dating adventure) and before we knew it, we were up front, running and jumping into our broom closet seats. And wouldn’t you know, I was put in one cart with 3 pre-teens (who luckily took their shoes off which made me realize that I should do the same) and my 3 family members all randomly got put together in the cart right behind me. SOOOOO… when the ride reached the part of the storyline where the GIANT F-ING SPIDERS come flying out at you and spit in your face (which I can’t believe I didn’t remember since I freaked out while reading the book and in the movie theater) it was all I could do not to piss myself and keep from screaming like a child. Did I mention I’m TERRIFIED of those 8-legged freaks? And when they’re the size of my SUV, I turn into a shrieking girl who currently had no one she trusted sitting next to her to tell her when the terror was over. So I did what every self-respecting 29 year old does – I squeezed my hands over my eyes, tucked my feet up as high as I could get them and prayed it would be over soon. But I didn’t scream because THAT would have been embarrassing next to the pre-teens who were clearly enjoying the torture ride.
I was terrified just Googling “scared of spider cartoon.”
I would have taken the Dementors and the Whomping Willow Tree for twice as long if it meant no Aragog and his hundreds (or what felt like hundreds) of arachnid babies because the REST of the ride (once I pried my fingers away from my eyes) was fantastic! But, needless to say, having your eyes closed and getting completely disoriented while you’re being tossed around with your smelly Birks in your face (because they’d fall off if you weren’t holding onto them) while simultaneously trying to keep your dignity in tact AND keeping the frothy, frozen butterscotch goodness that is the Butterbeer swishing around actually in your stomach and ohmygodiknowyoucanseewherethisisgoing.
I didn’t have to be a fortune telling witch to know it wasn’t going to be good.
As soon as the ride was over I started walking (quickly) to the nearest restroom (oh my gosh where WAS that bathroom I saw earlier?) and proceeded to the furthest stall away from the entrance. Thank God it had just been cleaned (at least I’m assuming that’s why the seat was up) because I knelt before it and willed myself to expel the Butterbeer (and fried chicken and fries and delicious churro that I had eaten in Dr. Seuss Landing). Aaaaaaannnnnd NOTHING. What? I feel so awful! Why can’t I get RID of it? I sat, spitting my self-respect into the toilet, praying to the Porcelain God to free me of the pain and nausea I was feeling. No dice. So I left, deflated (my ego, not my stomach, clearly) and walked out to the sinks where my sister-in-law so nicely asked if I’d like a piece of gum and holy crap, that did it. I ran back to my stall in the corner and, although the Weasley’s sold Puking Pastilles at their joke shop, I was in no need of them now. The Butterbeer was working just fine. And I’m sure the St. Paddy’s beer from the night before was helping a bit too. And the best part of this whole thing? Moaning Myrtle’s creepy little voice over the loudspeaker of the bathroom which I started to drown out with my own moaning.
Yeah… no need for these.
As I walked out of the restroom, with a smile on my face and two thumbs up in triumph, my husband and brother-in-law were busting a gut (not to be confused with what I just did) and said they KNEW I had just tossed my cookies based on the conversation and facial expressions of women leaving the bathroom before me. I had puked in Hogsmeade and people knew about it. My work here was done. Overall, the place was amazing and I really felt like I had been dropped into the middle of the Wizarding World and I would absolutely go back in a heartbeat and order more Butterbeer… AFTER I finished the rides.
After seeing the Neon Trees perform at Universal (awesome!) and dinner at Pat O’Brien’s (which looked exactly like the original in New Orleans) we were on to the next adventures of the weekend and I am so so so glad that we went and I could cross this off my list.
But I wasn’t done yet. There was still a Mouse to tackle.
Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Check.
Saturday we spent at a Red Sox vs. Pirates Spring Training game on the west coast of FL before heading to Siesta Key for dinner and an absolutely breath-taking sunset. I haven’t had such a perfect beach day in a long, long time…
Is this for real?
Sunday was spent at the Adult Side of Disney World aka, Epcot, a place that serves alcohol (as opposed to the Magic Kingdom which I learned does not and I love the integrity that the policy upholds). We had so much fun hopping from “country” to “country” eating (and drinking) our way through the park, jumping on the occasional ride and taking some great photos of the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival. After grabbing some dinner at 11pm, it was time for Extra Magic Hours which meant the Magic Kingdom was staying open until 3am for resort guests and we were staying at The Dolphin. Score! There is NOTHING like going to Disney World, in your pajamas, drinking Red Bull and running up the lines with no wait to make you feel like the biggest kid in the park. We accomplished all of the major rides in less than 2 hours and were able to plan our agenda for the next day when John and I went back without my sister and brother-in-law (they had real-life stuff to do… like work or something).
Oh hi Space Mountain in my pjs… nice to see you.
How amazing is this?
Monday was spent really exploring the park to see the things that were closed last night/that morning. I thought my husband was going to be horrified when I insisted on getting a pair of Pirate Mickey Ears but he was a great sport and said I was adorable (it’s so nice that he still dotes on me after 12 years together) and I embraced EVERYTHING about Disney from the Tea Cups to the Lilo & Stitch ride to the Jungle Cruise (which I totally remember doing when I was 5 years old), all while totally rocking my new fashion accessory, if I do say so myself.
I’m a huge Pirates of the Caribbean fan and I know that none of the Pirates sprouted mouse ears… even under the full-moon.
However, nothing could have prepared me for the final hour of the night. The Main Street Electrical Parade was great and all but the “Magic, Memories and You” show followed by “Wishes” was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen in real life. Take a look at the videos – although it can not possibly compare to being there in person. As Jiminy Cricket said over the loudspeaker, “You see, its just like I told ya. Wishes can come true, if you believe in them with all your heart. And the best part is, you‘ll never run out of wishes. They’re shining deep down inside of you. ‘Cause that my friends is where the magic lives,” I was literally overcome with emotions and I discretely wiped tears from my eyes and tried to make my gaping smile a little less obvious, before saying forget it… how can you NOT be happy in the Happiest Place on Earth? As I stood there on horribly aching feet, wrapped in the arms of my very own Prince Charming, with a perfect view of the castle, I realized that I just made my own wish come true – by simply putting something on a list, I shared my wishes with all of you and I’ve realized that there’s more than just me in this adventure now. It’s almost like you are all my very own (much larger) Jiminy Cricket, encouraging me along the way and making sure I don’t tell lies (I promise I won’t say I’ve done something on my list even if I haven’t… I’m afraid my nose will grow). The whole experience was beyond words, and to think that my next visit probably won’t be until we have one (or two or three) kids in tow (even though that’s REALLY overwhelming to think about), makes me so unbelievably grateful that John and I could share the experience as a couple (along with some pretty amazing siblings who I owe so much to for this weekend – getting to spend quality time with them was absolutely priceless and I can’t wait until they’re a little closer!).
So keep commenting on my posts, share your own stories with me about YOUR 30 (or 40 or 50) things and inspire others to do the same! And remember, “The end of childhood is when things cease to astonish us. When the world seems familiar, when one has got used to existence, one has become and adult” (Eugene Ionesco). I can definitely say that I was astonished this weekend and for that reason, I know my childhood will live on for another 30 years… at least.
No need for princesses, this Prince Charming found his very own Pirate Wench!
And like a child, I’m completely OK with the fact that I threw up in a theme park.
“When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you
If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do
Fate is kind
[From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/d/disney-lyrics/when-you-wish-upon-a-star-lyrics.html]
She brings to those who love
The sweet fulfillment of
Their secret longing
Like a bolt out of the blue
Fate steps in and sees you through
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams come true”
*** After discussing these with my Coastie brother-in-law, it’s my mission to memorize the entire alphabet.
so you could take your shoe off on the forbidden journey? i’m planning on wearing flip flops but i don’t want to lose them.
You can! But I’d be cautious if they smell… holding them that close to your face can cause nausea. =) Have a blast!