Days of Future Perfect - Day Eight

The end of the future vacation approaches like a trip around Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom with stops at Frontierland and Mickey's Toontown Stations, passengers should stand by to BOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRRDDDDDDDD! Uh, sorry, a little lost in the clouds there. This post is/was/willbeagain dated September 15th, 2006. I hope you enjoy it as much as I likely will one day.

The Happiest Place on Earth

When you see the delight on a child's face as he runs around Disneyworld, excited beyond words, his cheeks glowing red with pleasure and love for you, for the world, and for everything he can possibly experience in a short amount of time, you are reminded of the motto, "The Happiest Place on Earth". Indeed, it is only as we grow older and worry about cash, and eating, and politics, and travel plans, that the words diminish in our minds. A trip to Disneyland when you are young is like Crack Cocaine for young minds - it alters them in ways that make the idea of pleasure and enjoyment and fun a serious addiction.

Can't we all just get along? Rodney King was mocked for those words - as if his simple plea was ridiculous. But its the sort of hope that perches in your soul when you are living the good life. You don't ever want it to end. But even as a kid, that kind of hope is unrealistic. We know that at the end of the day, or week, or vacation, the whole world must return to its conflict driven status and our time in complete happiness must end. Still, while we are here, we are allowed to dream and to be happy and to forget about our troubles or the real world. Any place that can do that is truly magical.

I no longer run the streets of the Magic Kingdom carefree and happy as I did when I was a child, but I can remember what it was like by watching today's children do it. Perhaps its seeing the hope and joy on the face of a child that makes Disney special for me now. We are shaping the lives of future generations. We need them to have a place of complete and utter happiness to remind them of the ultimate goal.

Today was my nephew Joshua's Disney/TAC Day. He is almost three years old and the joy that has radiated from him during the week has been mostly infectious. For a kid, any kid, to be allowed to run around at will at Disney parks for a week is pure magic. To get a Disney/TAC Day on top of it, well, that's just the cherry on top.

Today was a manly day. The men woke up and took Joshua out for a manly breakfast at Chef Mickey's Character Buffet. Then we went to the Magic Kingdom for the first stop on our manly voyage - Tom Sawyer Island. This island paradise is a place especially designed for kids. From rope bridge swings to secret kid sized passages through dark and scary mines, this is a place to play and to imagine and to have fun. Joshua was a little too young to catch all the nuances, but he liked bouncing on the bridge and he liked climbing the rocks. He didn't quite grasp the entire dark mine tunnel things, but he did easily grasp the air rifles in the fort - in fact, it was almost impossible to get him away from them once he got going.

After Tom Sawyer Island, we took him on a manly voyage on the train around the Magic Kingdom, stopping at Main Street USA and disembarking. We left the MK behind and headed to the bus stop where we took a manly bus to the Disney Studios, home of the Honey I Shrunk The Kids Play Area.

This giant play area has slides and ropes and things to climb and dirt to dig in and all sorts of things to do. Joshua ran around for the first five minutes just trying to figure out what to do first. The manly men with him were finding it tiresome to keep up. But we took turns and Joshua was fast wearing himself out.

We stopped for a manly snack at the bakery, reloading Joshua's batteries with a pure sugar rush, and then headed back to the main gate again - this time catching a bus for the Animal Kingdom. By the time we arrived at Animal Kingdom's Bone Yard - a giant play area with slides, ropes, things to climb and dirt to dig - Joshua was ready to go again. He ran around the Bone Yard and did anything his little heart desired, while we monitored him from afar. He quickly grew tired of this arrangement though and joined us on the bench.

The manly men rested, having accomplished our manly task for the day, and waited for the women folk to join us. They found us at the Bone Yard and we all went off to try Expedition Everest again and to take one final ride on the safari after lunch first at Tusker House. We were all more than ready to head home at that point and spend a long afternoon by the pool.

The quiet moments of a Disney vacation are often the best. Riding the roller coasters are fun, but the experience is canned. You ride up and down the same hills, scream at the same points, etc... The true experience of a Disney vacation is the one you create with your family, friends, and loved ones. All my favorite moments in Disney travels occured not as a result of a ride experience, but as a result of something that we did to make the moments as enjoyable as possible. Spending a few hours by the pool with my niece and nephew was probably the highlight of my trip so far.

Until tonight. And Celeste.

Celeste was waiting for me in the lobby when I arrived. She was absolutely gorgeous in a prefectly normal outfit that still managed to put my slacks, shirt, and dress shoes to shame. I had been doing a bit of research since the night before and found the perfect place for a quiet dinner. I'd called ahead and made reservations and told my family that I wasn't feeling well and to go out to dinner without me - they'd gone to the Sci Fi Dine In at the Disney Studios for dinner. She greeted me warmly.

"Ready to go?" she asked, when I arrived.

"I've made reservations," I said.

Her eyebrows went up, "You made reservations?"

"Is that okay?" I replied.

"Am I dressed appropriately?" she asked.

"You look heavenly."

I told her to leave the car and we walked down the dark path by moonlight to the boat dock, talking and holding hands along the way. When the boat arrived, we took a seat up front and she leaned her head on my shoulder as we rode across the quiet waters of Bay Lake. We passed the Contemporary and reached the dock at the Magic Kingdom. From there it was a short ride to the Grand Floridian where we disembarked and headed past all the restaurants, much to Celeste's confusion, and towards the beach.

"I thought we'd get a burger at the waterfront beach stand," I said.

She stopped in her tracks and looked at me with a hint of malice in her eyes, "You thought what?"

"No, really." I said, "I hear they make a great cheeseburger here. And the fries and milkshakes are to die for."

Something in my eyes gave me away, however, and she just smiled and played along, "Do they have Chocolate milkshakes?"

"Well... no, so I guess we'll have to go with Plan B," I replied.

"What's plan B?"

As we rounded the corner on the beach, she saw what Plan B was - a 20 foot Bay Yacht with its lights twinkling and the aroma of a perfectly cooked meal waiting us on board. Celeste caught her breath.

"Is that intimate enough for you?" I asked.

The cruise was short but memorable. We rode around the Bay, looking at the various resorts from the water while we served a four course meal by our own personal chef and listened to our own violinist while we drank wine and snuggled in the back of the boat. Mostly, though, we just talked and that flowed from us naturally and pleasantly. There was no expectations from either of us, we were just there in the moment, enjoying ourselves and enjoying the Happiest Place on Earth.

All to abruptly, however, the fireworks came and then we floated back to the dock. We took our time going back to the hotel and then, out by the geyser, we kissed. I gave her a hug and thanked her for a wonderful evening and told her that I'd call again and then it was over.

I floated to my hotel room to grab the laptop and I have to admit its taken me a while to write this tonight - as if putting it into words will pop this dream bubble that I am in. Still, I have to thank Andy for loaning me the money for the boat - I guess he's desperate to win a case of beer ;)

My family didn't buy the whole, I was feeling sick so I went out for a walk story. I think they're on to me. Still, its hard enough meeting a girl like Celeste alone. Its way too early to expose her to the family, even in passing.

Tomorrow is the last full day at WDW and Natalie gets to have the last TAC/Disney Day. I get to explore my feminine side and become a Princess for the Day. Apropo considering I'll be heading back to SF soon ;) See you tomorrow.

Elisa - In case you hadn't caught on, these posts are from the future. As much as Celeste exists in my mind in a quasi Audrey Hepburn type fantasy, I am afraid the rest of the post is just as questionably real. I can only hope that my reality matches the one posted here and in each of the previous seven days of this vacation. As for the rest of you, my future forays are quickly coming to an end and soon good old Bible thumping, soap box preaching Will shall return. I hope you prefer fact to fiction. See you tomorrow.