When Magic Collides

The plan was to do Downtown Disney this morning and Disney-MGM Studios this afternoon. However at breakfast the discussion leads us to believe that no one really wants to do Downtown Disney, so the morning is easing going and relaxing. Just an easy way to start the day. Which is going to be a problem when I get back to work next week.

But we will not be denied Disney-MGM Studios.

Our first goal is to arrive in time to catch the Stars and Motorcars Parade. We do. It's a great parade. More accessible than the Magic Kingdom parade. We're right there on the street. And the characters walking the street before the parade help keep Kyle entertained. Because the parade is more accessible, I think we all enjoy this one more than the one in the Magic Kingdom, but it is not quite the spectacle of the parade in Magic Kingdom. That spectacle would be hard to top.

But as soon as the parade is over, the first question is "Where is Lightning McQueen?" Momma has done her homework and carts us off to the location where in 1/2 an hour Lightning will appear. And promptly at 4:00, here come Lightning and Mater. They make a U-Turn and Lightning stops directly in front of where we are standing. And Kyle is off! His hero is here! For the next 15 to 20 minutes, Kyle will not be separated from the car. Bribery will not pry him loose. He knows where he needs to be and that is with Lightning.

Our magic is beginning to collide. I cannot believe he is so attached to that car.

Pretty much anything else we do at this point is anti-climactic. The ride in the Star Wars Flight Sim is no fun. The ride thru the backlot is probably boring. The magic of the day, in fact possibly the whole trip to this point was found with the connection to Lightning McQueen.

Dad goes off to ride the Aerosmith Roller Coaster.

But the final of the day is the Fantasmic light and sound show held in the amphitheater. This show is spectacular. The ultimate in the marriage of light, sound, sight, special effects, and drama. It is an incredible show. Should you get the chance to see this show you should attend.

And it is at this show that our magic collides. Kyles magic and my magic. No major epiphany here. Just some hope that the magic will continue. In Fantasmic we're both taken back by the special effects and the show itself. It's exciting. It's new. It's different. Nothing we've ever seen before. And though I can't imagine "Life is a Highway" having the same singabilty as "Zippity-Do-Dah", time changes things. And maybe it will. And when Kyle sings it, it will have the same meaning for him.

If I want Zippity to survive and the magic it holds for me, I must carry that message to Kyle and his generation.

If that particular magic can not carry the message, then I must allow room for new magic. Or more precisely that I must allow room for new symbols for the magic because I don't think the magic changes. The magic is telling us we can be whatever our heart desires.

If that message is delivered, no matter if it is a Cricket or a Car carrying the message, I don't have to worry.

Return to the Magic Kingdom

Today provides early hours in the Magic Kingdom. For those staying at Disney resorts and hotels, early admission means you get to enter the park 1 hour before anyone else. Not a bad deal till you see how many people actually qualify for early admission.


OK. So were not there when the park opens. Be we're there early and we are off!

Today the front section of the Magic Kingdom is filled with characters. We've not seen many characters yet, but today they are out with abundance.

Chip and Dale meet us at the front gate. Inside we find Daisy Duck and Pluto. Since we already have Pluto's autograph, we hit the line for Daisy. Autographs and pictures secure we head just around the corner to Pinocchio. Further in to the park we run across Tigger and Pooh. That's just to mention a few of the ones we see today.

There is an aggressive plan laid out for the day and it begins with a run thru It's a Small World. Small World is supposed to be boring and flat as an exhibit goes. Kyle thinks it's so boring he wants to do it twice. We do. The line is short.
And we hit a few other rides and look for more characters to harvest for autographs. The Dumbo ride is a hit. We also do Mickey's PhilharMagic, a 3D presentation. I love these things. Kyle is not so crazy about them. Soon it's time for lunch and given that it is hot and we've been at it for 3 to 4 hours, we decide to head back to the hotel for some rest.
But we will not rest long. Tonight we are guests of Cinderella in the ball room at her castle. Rumor has it that the castle was built to be the home of Walt Disney and his family, but was never used for that purpose.
We meet Cinderella and have our picture taken with her before heading off to dinner. At dinner we party with the Fairy Godmother and a few of her mice. Then it's off to do the park and rides. Don is off to do Thunder Mountain. Kyle, Stacie, and Janie hit the Jungle Cruise. I wander around looking for some photo ops for me and my camera. The final ride of the evening for Don, Janie, and Kyle is Splash Mountain. Not sure Kyle wants to try that one again anytime soon. We beat a hasty retreat after that one heading back to the hotel where we catch the fireworks at Cindy's place from the beach at our hotel.
It's late and it's been a long day. We'll sleep tonight I bet.

To Inifinity and Beyond!

While the magic of Disney is technology applied, travel to space is technology derived from magic.


Disney produced (and continues to produce) programming. TV programs. Movies. And as a student in elementary school I loved any movie a teacher was wiling to show as an educational experience. What a break. But my favorite was one produced by Disney on space travel.

I can't remember the name but I can remember at least one space ship they depicted and thinking even then what a clever design and being impressed with, what I know now, was innovative thinking.

So for me Disney and space are intertwined. Could't think of a better complement to a 'Destination Disney' trip than a run over to Kennedy Space Center to check out what is happening there.

Our initial hope was that the shuttle, recently damaged by hail, would be repaired and sitting on the pad awaiting launch. No such luck. It was tucked safely away in the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building) and not viewable.

Kennedy after the constant bombardment of Disney World is boring. Or almost so. Very quiet. But lots of displays. It's a much slower experience. But when we are done, we agree that we'll all know where things are happening the next time we see a launch on TV. And maybe, the grandson and I will figure out how to catch the actual launch one day. Up close and personal.

Kennedy is transforming. There will be a 'ride' soon call the Shuttle Launch Experience. And the new Saturn V complex gives you insight to a moon launch. An impressive display. It is becoming more Disney like.
We catch dinner in Titusville at a restaurant called Dixie Crossroads. We get lost on the way back to Disney world.

But we manage to get back just in time to see the fireworks at Cinderella's Castle from across the lake. In some ways it is better than the fireworks seen from in front of the castle. It too is wonderful, even better from a visual standpoint than being there. But I do miss audio track that goes with the show. It completes the whole experience.

We're back. No longer boring. We're here for the Disney experience.

Disney? Kennedy? Your choice. Most of us wold choose Disney everytime. I won't make a judgement now as to which one is correct. i just hope they develop a synergy to drive each other, as they have in the past. Here is where innovation will take place.

Breakfast with the Stars

My early memories of Disney are the characters and the 'Mickey Mouse Club' program. I used to sing the song for the TV show "M--I--C--K--KEY--Y--M--O--U--S--E. I'm sure it was one of my favorite programs.

What has stuck with me from that time are the characters. Mickey Mouse. Minnie Mouse. Donald Duck (I used to do a fair impesonation of Donald.) Goofy. And on an on. They probably stuck with me because of cartoons and the like.

Today, Disney has changed.

I don't sense any particular connection in Kyle to most of these characters. He know who the characters are for sure, but he doesn't seem terribly excited about seeing them. In fact, when asked about it later in the day, he declared the breakfast 'boring' since there wasn't much to do there.

But he does enjoy attention provided by the characters as evidenced by the pictures.

Kyle relates more to Buzz Lightyear and characters more of this generation. Things change I guess. He's also more excited about riding up front in the monorail than any Disney character you can throw at him.

But I must wonder about some things. I remember on a trip to New York planning a worship service with my college room mate and another friend. We were very much into creative worship in those days. And my room mate suggested we use the song "Zippity-Do-Dah" for the worship service. "Why?" I asked. "Because no one can sing that song without smiling."

I wonder what happened to songs like that? Do kids still sing them? Have we lost that? What's replacing it?

For me, I don't know.

Perhaps the answer is in a place like Epcot, dedicated more to the future than the past. We visited. I really liked the place. New ideas. New things. Technology applied.

Disney is techhnology applied. It is the technology that enables all the magic.

I just hope that a five year old sees more magic than technology.

The Show

He's been in training as a baseball fan for 5 years. Chosen first in the draft, he has been attending baseball games since age one preparing for his big moment. Well on Monday night it happened. He was called up from AAA Durham to The Show. Kyle Nichols made his major league debut at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg Flordia.

Tropicana field is home to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Great seats and a great game were the beginnings of his major league career. There are still some rough edges to work out. Like he's not always sure which team to cheer for. A home run is a home run after all. And it took a while to get the gear in place. A fan is not a fan without one of those big fingers to wave in the air.

But in the end his efforts were enough to sustain the Devil Rays to a victory over the NY Yankees. But not enough to keep him in the show. He's being sent back down to AAA Durham for a period of further training.

Of course any fan in training must relax before his big debut. So the morning was spent at Animal Kingdom.

There he experienced "A Bugs Life", a water ride, lunch at the Rainforest Cafe, and a safari through the heart of Africa.

In all honesty, we'd been told this was not a great park to visit and not to plan much time there. Wrong. We really enjoyed the park. Wish we'd had more time there.

Magic and Dreams

We're about to leave for the morning when Kyle and I step out into the hall. A housekeeper is there and looks at Kyle and says "Good morning friend. I have a gift for you." And at that moment a chance encounter is transformed into magic. She pulls out a kit grabs a couple of towels, and with skilled hands transforms those towels into an elephant for Kyle. It is truly amazing. She announces "That is not my room but you are my friend." Our day begins with the magic of the place.

And at least one dream is fulfilled. More years ago that I care to count, I ran a Howard Johnson motel. It so happens that it was the oldest operating HOJO in the world. At about the same time, Disney had a hotel on the property at Disney World which is now called "The Contemporary Resort." The hotel was operated by the Howard Johnson company, listed in the directory as the Lake Buena Vista, FL Howard Johnson.

It had always been my dream to spend time at the hotel. I just thought the idea was neat....a hotel with a monorail running through it. Today my dream came true. On my return from Magic Kingdom the monorail I was riding stopped briefly at the Contemporary. My dream of 25+ years finally came true.
But this is not the only magic of the day. Magic is found in a 5 year old who has discovered his ride. Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. And I'm his partner for this ride. We go and shoot the soldier's of Zurg who are out to take over the world. Maybe the real magic for me is in being his riding partner for this ride.
We discover there is no magic in space mountain for the young one, but there is plenty of magic to spread around.

There is magic in a parade of characters that brings light, sound, and movement together on a stage of the street. And there is magic in the most incredible show of light, fireworks, and sound I've ever seen in front of Cinderella's Castle. It is truly incredible.

There is magic in the air.

Priceless

The day starts early. Still packing to do. things to finish massaging into place before heading off to Florida to visit the House of the Mouse.

We breeze thru security at the airport and the late take off arrives only 10 minutes late in Orlando. The bus drops us at the front door of the Polynesian Resort and we're here.

Kyle loves his first plane ride. Running commentary on take off. "There's a house. Hello house!" "I see cars. They're getting smaller." "It's a map." And, about 20 minutes in to the trip "It's a good thing there is not a a bon on the wing." That one is a long story. Check out Nightmare at 20,000 Feet and know that Kyle refers to the creature on the wing as 'bon' and you'll probably figure it out. No problem flying for him.

I'm off to pick up a rental car. Everyone else hits the pool and explores the hotel grounds. You can see Cinderella's Castle, Space Mountain, and the Contemporary Resort as well as the Floridian. Beautiful beaches surround the place. There really is some magic here.

I wonder what Walt would really think about this place.

The event of the evening is the 'Spirit of Aloha' Luau. It's is good entertainment. The food is good. The weather is nice. And it's a good way to celebrtate Stacie's birthday. But things are not cheap.

Dinner with the family at a Disney resort with all the souvenirs and extras: about $350.

The image of one five year old falling asleep in his mother's arms in the middle of the show because he can't hold his eyes open any more: Priceless.

Destination Disney

Well, it's time for new adventure, so Pops is on the road again.

It's not really a photo adventure, though many photos will be snapped as memories of the trip. No, this is the grandchild's first exposure to the wonderful world of Walt Disney World. As it happens, it is Pops' first exposure to the same place. Two different sets of eyes, two different perspectives, wonder what the outcome will be?

Everyone is going on this one. Pops, Mama Jane, mommie, daddy, and of course the grand urchin.

Hopefully we'll be able to post photos and commentary on the trip. Destination Disney is our theme.

Stay tuned to see what two sets of eyes can see for the first time. We might all have some fun with that.