Winnie-the-Pooh…and Tigger too!

On Saturday, Brian and I made an impromptu trip to the Magic Kingdom. Really can you think of a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon in July? My niece Emily’s softball team had qualified to play in a national tournament that was hosted by Disney. My brother, Chris, my sister-law, Vicky, and Emily had been in Orlando for over a week. Since Emily was so busy playing softball, we weren’t sure if we were going to be able to get together. Everything worked out and we met them Saturday afternoon at the Magic Kingdom.

Emily had certain rides she wanted to go on so we just let her lead the way. The Magic Kingdom is primarily focused on younger children, and Emily at age 12 is probably close to the age when some children lose interest, but she has been to Disney two other times so there are certain rides that she remembers and likes. The adults had no problem letting her run the show. Disney is all about the children after all. Besides so many of the Disney characters have been imprinted on our cultural psyche that, unless you are a total grouch with a bug up your butt, you can’t help but enjoy yourself. Most of the rides are fairly benign – Space Mountain was probably the most intense. Of course we had to do “It’s a Small World”. Brian hates that song so I made sure to sing along with the music during the ride. “Pirates of the Caribbean” was another must do. The Buzz Lightyear ride was hilarious! Brian, Emmy, and I were in one car. They were manning the laser guns and I was responsible for spinning the car so they could shoot the bad guys. Yes, they let me be in charge of spinning the car. Yes, I abused the privilege – what else would you expect?

When it came time for dinner, we ate at The Crystal Palace, which is a lovely buffet-style restaurant that has the Pooh characters walking around while you eat. A love of Winnie-the-Pooh is one thing Emily and I have in common. Of course I had my picture taken with all the characters. If you are going to spend the day at Disney, you might as well make the most of the experience. I even got a kiss from Pooh!

After dinner, we rode more rides. There was a lovely parade with floats of Disney characters all lit up. It was really pretty! There was also the nightly fireworks show, which was really nice, too. The park closed at 11:00 pm. Brian and I said goodbye and we headed home to Gainesville. It was a fun day, and it was so great to see Chris, Vicky, and Emily.