Disneyworld

6 August 2008

“Have a magical day” the Disney rep on the phone finishes our conversation. And so we arrive to the land of magic and dreams come true and visit with Mickey for a while. Definitely a highlight for Tatiana, for whom this represents her tenth birthday present. But soon Kuno and I get immersed in the fun too and we happily spend four days exploring the four parks of Disneyworld. Much of it is very similar to Disneyland, just much bigger. There is no way that in one day we can explore each park fully, although a lot of the space is in reality filled with stores selling everything imaginable Disney. Kuno and Tatiana zero in onto the wildest rides in each park, while I am happy to join grandparents and small children in the waiting area at the exit, and watch them emerge with big smiles and a debate on how the rides could be made even more hair raising. Magic Kingdom, with its castle, princesses and some of the most classical rides, remains a favourite for Tatiana. It is fun watching her still getting excited about meeting the characters and getting their pictures and autographs, even when it means lining up for an hour. I thought she was too big for that, but apparently I was wrong. Hollywood Studios has some great exhibits about the original art of Disney movies and we learn about the process of creating a movie character. Tatiana takes a cartooning lesson and draws a great looking Goofy, while Kuno joins a stunt show. We are surprised by Animal Kingdom that transports us to the world of Asia so well that Tatiana says she misses being in Nepal. We get completely soaked on the Kali Rapids ride, down to our shoes and underwear. I am sure it is a ploy to sell more Disney T-shirts, but it works regardless and soon we too are dressed with pictures of Mickey, Goofy and Tinkerbell just like the rest of the visitors. Our favourite park ends up being Epcot as it takes us to France, Italy, Morocco, Japan, China and many other countries. We are thrilled to have breakfast in France, with fresh baguette and pastries rather than the standard American breakfast fare that we are sick of by now. The evening entertainment in the parks is amazing and we don’t tire of watching the nightly fireworks. It is like having the Symphony of Fire every night of the year in three locations… I wonder how much money is blown up over the course of a year here. But it is beautiful. One night we go see the show La Nouba by Cirque du Soleil and Tatiana sits on the edge of the seat the whole time absolutely fascinated by the acrobatics and artistry. We return to our hotel each night tired but thinking:

It’s the truth, It’s actual.
Everything is satisfactual.
Zippity doo dah, zippity ay,
Wonderful feeling,
Wonderful day!

And I can’t help but think how time flies; it feels like only yesterday when little "kindergartner" Tatiana opened Minnie’s fridge and was surprised to see it full of cheese.

Everything comes to an end, even magic and dreams, and it is time to pack up and go home. But none of us have any regrets, not even Tatiana. We are all looking forward to coming home and Blue Moon must be halfway across the continent by now. We arrive to a cold evening in Vancouver and I scramble to pull out my sweater for the first time after four months… We are home!

Fast forward a few days to a conversation between Tatiana and her friend Emma: Tatiana tells Emma that visiting sugar plantations during the trip was really boring. Emma asks Tatiana what a sugar plantation is. Tatiana gives Emma a five minute explanation that describes sugar cane vs beets, management of a plantation, configuration of the windmill and boiling houses, slavery and economic viability of sugar trade. Kuno and I smile and secretly high five each other…

Blue Moon arrived safely in Blaine after 11 days on the road.