Disney World

So we finally made the big decision to visit the land of children's dreams, the ultimate theme park, the pinnacle of imagination: Disney World!

It all started out nice and simple. We left earlier than planned, had extra room in the trunk, made pretty good driving time. We arrived in sunny and humid weather. Enjoyed chilled cocktails on the porch. Then, as the kids splashed in the pool out back, an all-too-familiar cry of pain penetrated the air. Yes, just 2 short hours after we arrived in FL, we found ourselves at the emergency room. My daughter broke her arm!

Interestingly enough, this did not dampen our spirits for the trip. We decorated her sling with Disney trading pins and she got plenty of sympathy from passers by. In fact, one woman said, why are you waiting in line for this ride? Go to guest services for a special ride pass - after all, it's the land of a million dreams, they'll take care of you. And bless their hearts, they did. The friendly staff gave us a special assistance pass so that Maddy wouldn't have to wait for hours in the heat. Truly a Godsend.

What can I say about Disney World but WOW! Walking down the main street of the Magic Kingdom brought tears to my eyes. We saw a mama duck with her 7 little ducklings walking down the sidewalk (was that planned!?!), a barbershop quartet serenaded us on the street, a carriage with two beautiful Clydesdale horses clip-clopped right by us, and who can resist the statue of Walt himself holding hands with little Mickey Mouse in front of the infamous castle.

We booked special lunches with the Disney characters - avoided standing in huge lines, enjoyed fabulous food while relaxing in the A/C and got autographs to boot! My daughter led the Winnie-the-Pooh Parade around the dining room of The Crystal Palace and saw all the princesses!

The Tiki Room is still there but "under new management" with new songs and new birds. The Pirates of the Caribbean is also but now features Captain Jack Sparrow. Believe it or not, my daughter loved the Carousel of Progress, I think the moving theater was what impressed her the most. We also loved the 3-D PhilharMagic theater show. The special effects were great, including the wind in your face, spraying water and glittering jewels that hovered right before your eyes.

Other favorites were Test Track at Epcot where you're testing a new car, sort of like a crash test dummy. Another is Soarin', where you fly above the earth, past mountains, the ocean, San Francisco and finally right down Main Street Magic Kingdom, up the castle and into the sky with the fireworks!

MGM Studios was hopping with dramatic actresses, directors and clueless policeman characters roaming the streets. The Tower of Terror at the "haunted" Hollywood Hotel is a blast as well as the Aerosmith Rockin' Rollercoaster. Both have great concept setups - the hotel has an "you've entered the twilight zone" theme and the rollercoaster whisks you away in a "stretch limo" with a crazy driver.

And of course, we saw the Cirque Du Soliel show "La Nouba". Believe it or not, it was the 4,000th show, on the dot. They passed out glow sticks to the audience. When the show was over we all cracked them and spun them in the air. Quite a sight.

Now we are home and my daughter is sporting a bright pink cast that practically glows in the dark like those glow sticks! The good news is that the break was minor and she gets the cast off in a few days. What a story, what a trip - truly one of dreams... imagined and unimagined!