“Well, well, well, isn’t this the truth. We’ve had nothing but sun, sun, sun…what are you living through. We went to Disney World yesterday and I was so surprised at what I still remembered from when I was 7.
(We did NOT rush through the park to the P:irate ride.)
A postcard from our daughter when she went with university friends to Florida during her spring break.
With our two daughters in tow, we did rush to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride our first day at Disney World. They found it hard to understand why we would be rushing past the Tiki birds and other sights that appealed to their senses of sight and sound. As seasoned Disney World visitors, my husband and I had been there once before, we understood the need for strategic planning to maximize our time.
Looking back did it really matter whether we went on every ride, saw every show, took photos with every Disney character and visited every pavilion at Epcot? Our girls were thrilled with everything. Almost everything. Our seven year old refused to visit the Haunted House because “Samantha said…” More than once we heard the refrain Samantha said as a young friend had given our daughter a full report on the site following her visit.
“Good parenting” was not the priority on this trip. After the first day, we learned that starting with a good breakfast at our on site hotel was the best option. Lunch and snacks consisted of whatever easy fast food could be found and eaten while standing or sitting on a bench. We would return to our hotel well past any reasonable bedtime for a seven and eight year old and when the monorail stopped at our hotel, we would go to the convenience store where more than once we purchased cheese and crackers for our dinner. While my husband and I were selecting our dinner from the limited offerings, our daughters would ponder over which large stuffed Disney character they wanted to have.
Bribery was not off limits. Our last day ended with a visit to Epcot, not an exciting area for a seven year old. When she indicated that she could not walk any further, she was encouraged to continue with a promise that she could select and we would buy her a Disney character upon our return to the hotel. Pluto became her companion for many years and is now snuggled by her niece.
How I wish that I could again visit Disney World with that seven year old and let her be the guide and set the pace of our visit. We would not rush through the park to the Pirate ride.