Disney World was a good time! We really enjoyed watching Kylee as we strolled through the theme parks. We camped at Fort Wilderness inside the park. It was a tight squeeze getting backed into our site, but no damage was done. At $100/night I was expecting a little more, but it was nice being parked literally right at the bus stop so that we could get up and go quickly each morning. I just couldn’t wait to stand in long lines all day! Really, it wasn’t too bad. Okay, yes it was.
Disney Corp. is a masterful marketing organization. I couldn’t help but feel a bit like a sucker consumer in Disney. I realize it is geared towards a child’s enjoyment…but it’s geared towards a parents wallet, so I believe some criticism should be allowed. The “rides” were waaaaaaay outdated. I mean, come on, “It’s a Small World”?!?! That lame ride has been in operation since 1734. Then there was the college kids operating the rides like the Animal Kingdom safari that I just wanted to punch due to their sarcastic canned humor that was clearly written for their own amusement to keep themselves from going insane from repeating the same sarcastic canned humor. Nevertheless, Kylee was blissfully unaware of the commercialism. It was all a magic fairy tale to her…which makes it worth every penny. Well, most of the pennies.
I felt the food was mediocre, too. The World Showcase at Epcot was a cool concept…but I have had better Japanese food at the local sushi joint in Dover, DE than they had in “Japan, Orlando”. We bought the meal plan with our tickets and quickly realized that they were making out like fat bandits given that 75% of the restaurants are buffet-style. I am not fan of all-you-can-eat-and-sneeze-on buffet restaurants. It feels a little too trough-y to me. The chefs do a fantastic job of looking legit with their tall hats, french accents, and big smiles–but, they can’t possibly be that happy to be serving food this way after graduating from the International Culinary Institute.
On a positive note, I was extremely impressed with the ability of the Disney staff to be consistently and apparently genuinely happy to be working there. I mean, they really make you feel like a special guest. And to think, they do this 7 days a week, 365 days a year, year after year after year. The characters were the highlight for Kylee. She had breakfast with her favorite princesses–the highlight of the week for her. If I had to work there, I would no-doubt resort to coming up with some canned sarcastic humor bit. Hat-tip to their hospitality indeed.
In the end, it was a great vacation for us all. Kylee is still at that age where Disney World is a very magical place. At one point during the fireworks I was holding her up and she said to me with a hug, “Daddy this is where dreams come from. You know what my dream was? You, Daddy”. Heart. Melt.
After Disney, we headed off to Clermont, FL about 30 min up the road for a Families on the Road (FOTR) rally. Details to come on that. Oh, and I did not forget I promised to blog about my hillbilly motormount for our new inflatable kayaks.
Here are some highlights from Disney…
House Truckin' 