Falling In Love All Over Again

I grew up here. In Orlando. At Walt Disney World. And I couldn't be more thankful to my parents for giving me the opportunity.



I mean... the memories are endless. From the meeting of Dale for the very first time as a three year old to taking a behind the scenes tour in the present day.... I have loved every minute of it. It has entertained. It has fed my imagination. It has taught lessons. It has made me feel happy and special. It has given me a place to forget about my every day trials and relax.



I cannot imagine visiting today for the very first time. I would be so overwhelmed. I have had the luxury of going for 35 years ( yikes) and have grown right along with it. I have experienced it as a child... and then re-experienced it as an adult. And let me just tell you this... adults have way more fun. This place is not just for kids!



So, because of my love for this place, I have been wanting to take a behind the scenes tour for years. I enjoy knowing how things work. I enjoy knowing secrets. And I enjoy experiencing new things.



Bethany and I had been talking about it ever since she started working there. And we finally made the reservations. To take the tour on our last day of Girl's Weekend.



And OH MY WORD. I'm so glad we did!


It started bright and early at 8am. The park was empty except for the 20 something people in our group and a handful of others going to eat breakfast in the castle. ( no, I haven't done that yet and yes, it is on my "list")



We started at the front. At the train station.....

And literally walked the entire park. Inside and out. Up and down. Did you know that the Magic Kingdom is actually the SECOND floor of the park. The first floor is a series of tunnels and offices and break rooms and storage and people driving around on motorized carts.

Every single inch of this place is filled with extraordinary details. Details that I have NEVER noticed in all my many years visiting.

Details that made me fall in love with the park ALL OVER AGAIN.

Our amazing tour guide even took us on three rides. And pointed out cool facts about each one. He told us the history of the rides. What they look like from behind the scenes. And any other interesting pieces of information that he thought we would like to know.

And we wanted to know EVERYTHING.

We even had a lunch break. At the Harbor House. Which just happens to be my favorite place to eat in the park.

We had pre chosen our lunches that morning. And when we arrived, every thing was all set up for us with name cards and seating arrangements by family.

I was absolutely on CLOUD NINE during the entire experience. My mouth was literally sore from smiling so much.

And then our guide told us the sweetest story at the end. A story that involves the two statues. One being right when you walk in - Roy ( Walt's brother) and Minnie. And the other being directly in front of the castle - Walt with Mickey.

The story filled me with emotions. And tears. And then I started to panic thinking... "am I supposed to be crying right now?" But one look at my Mom and Bethany... and I knew that we were related. Because we all had the same feeling.

Our weekend ended with one last treat... Dole Whips. Bethany just got the delicious pineapple ice cream but I made mine a float with Sprite. ( our tour guide suggested that and it did not disappoint). Mom got a Mickey ears ice cream bar. And apparently so did her phone.

Note to self: don't sit next to Mom when she is eating that treat. And don't let her borrow my phone.

And then we had time for one last ride. Bethany and Mom went to ride It's A Small World. Dad and I finished the day up old school style. Meaning the same way we did when I was about six years old... by riding Space Mountain.

I hadn't ridden it since it had been re-done. It's renovation caused a lot of screams. From my Dad of course.

There is something about riding a roller coaster ( no matter how tame) IN.THE.PITCH.BLACK.DARK. that totally freaks me out. I actually had a little anxiety. And I laugh in the face of roller coasters. Mostly.

And then it was time to say our good byes. Even though I was only there for 3 days... 2 of which I was driving for 7 hours... it was the most fulfilling and action packed trip.

And the memories we made are endless. All bazillion of them. And the laughs... well, we laughed more than what is humanly possible. And we lived to tell about it.

And I'm counting the minutes until I'm able to return.

Every one should be able to enjoy such an incredible GIRL'S WEEKEND. It's good for the soul.