The Magic of Memories (Day 102, Year 3)

I think the magic of Disney is less in the magical Disney touches and more in all the memories all over the parks. 

Like tonight, as we were running for the hotel bus, I remembered when my mother was totally ready to abandon my father and hop on the last hotel bus. I stopped the madness (she didn’t want to cause a scene or ask for something extra) and the bus driver waited for my dad; who was oddly ungrateful. Apparently, he was looking forward to time alone in a cab. (Right now, on the hotel bus, I completely understand.)

And Space Mountain: we rode it twice today. When Mike and I were kids, Space Mountain was legit. Everyone wanted to ride it. It was all we talked about at school. And once you rode it—you knew exactly who claimed to ride it and really did not. It is still an epic ride. 

But, of course, there are new epic rides. There is Tron—which is so legit that I will brag about riding it to my adult friends and small children I encounter without shame. It is just that good. We rode it once on Monday and once today and I might wake up early to snag a virtual queue spot, again. 

The Seven Dwarves Mine Train is a newer ride by my old lady standards but old by my children’s memories. The first time we rode it, we played the app wait time game (the Fast passes were gone for the day) and hopped in line when the wait time was 25 minutes. Well, that was a lie. We were in line through several bathroom breaks. Nicholas urinated in a water feature. The girls each had to leave to go to the restroom. When we got up to the ride, Nicholas was scared. Mike and I shoved him in the ride as he sobbed, silently. Nicholas, of course,  got off shouting “that was the best!” 

There are so many memories from Lily’s Make a Wish trip—like when Trigger bounced Lily across the room. We laughed; Lily was delighted; and Trigger apologized in the way a cartoon tiger apologizes and it was just amazing. 

The memories are not just Disney. On our last big family vacation to Europe, we all agreed our next big trip would just include sitting on a beach or poolside and not walking 10 miles a day.

And here we are: walking 10 miles a day and starting at dawn and going until almost dawn. 

I wouldn’t have it any other way. But next Spring Break is an island; with adventure sports and that pool to sit by.

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