Disney is freakin' magical.
I don't care if you're three, or thirty, that place is simply amazing. The only other time I've been there paled in comparison to this trip. Yes, our senior trip was fun and exciting, and we got to watch Destiny's Child perform in front of the castle, and it holds fond memories of sweet Michael - but, man.
To see it through Ethan's eyes - and to experience it for myself in such a different way - was incredible! There were things, from an excellence standpoint, that thirty-year old me could appreciate far more than eighteen-year old me.
Like this, for instance...
I mean, really. Who takes such pride in their work that they go above and beyond just cleaning the messy spill off the concrete?!
Then, there were things that I think I could only see through Ethan's eyes. Standing in front of a gigantic aquarium and watching the manatees swim?
Not sure I would have done that if it wasn't for my animal-loving three-year old - or Christy, actually!
A few other favorite magical moments from the trip:
1. Standing at the bottom of the castle, just before the fireworks began.
2. Watching "The Festival of the Lion King" with Ethan, and being just as enthralled as he was.
3. Ethan snuggling Nemo with his own "special fin" during "Finding Nemo: The Musical".
4. The smile that I captured right after Ethan met Mickey for the first time, and that I continued to see throughout the week.
5. And this?
Top magical moment, by far. I promised you the story back in one of my earlier posts, and I aim to deliver - and remember!
It was our second day at Disney and we were in Hollywood Studios. We had just finished riding Toy Story Mania for the first time and the seven of us congregated in a spot just outside the ride. Emma, being the avid pin trader that she is, spotted a Disney cast member with a large assortment of pins on his lanyard. She walked over to him to make a trade and we all followed.
Jeramie and Jonathan had started a pin collection for Ethan the day before so we asked Ethan if he, too, wanted to make a trade. He did, and the cast member bent down in front of the stroller to show him the goods. What happened from there, I'm not exactly sure.
This is what I know.
As the cast member was talking to Ethan about pins, we noticed that we just happened to be standing in front of the meeting spot for Buzz and Woody. Ethan quickly noticed this, as well, and Christy went to check on the wait-time. When she came back, we briefly concluded that we wouldn't have time to wait due to our lunch reservations.
During all of this, I was standing with Ethan and the cast member, halfway in the Buzz and Woody conversation, halfway helping Ethan make a trade. The cast member was seemingly oblivious to the adult conversation happening above him and had moved onto noticing Ethan's "1st Visit" button ... and maybe his hand, and maybe his "stroller = wheelchair" sticker? ... He made a huge deal about it being Ethan's first trip, started to talk to him about what he had seen so far, and then asked if he'd like to meet Buzz and Woody.
Of course, Ethan excitedly yelled, "YES!" and I'm thinking to myself - "of course he does, but we just determined the line is too long..."
The cast member stood up, smiled and winked at me, then held up a finger as to suggest "give me a minute". He stepped inside the meeting room - he was, after all, the cast member assigned to the exit - and came out a few seconds later.
"Give me two minutes," he said with a smile.
Before I could wrap my mind around what he had just done, our entire party of seven was being personally escorted into the meeting room by this man, and Ethan was staring up at Buzz and Woody with wonder and awe in his eyes.
I held it together for the photo, then ugly-cried my way out of the room.
Some of the tears were out of pure joy for Ethan, and the others came from a place of deep appreciation for what this man had done. For noticing the details. For making a memory that will last our family a lifetime.
As we were walking out of the room, he held the door open for us and grinned. Through my tears, I asked if I could give him a hug. He allowed me to do so and, as I pulled away, he kept a hand on my shoulder and said,
"It's all a part of the magic."
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You can read all posts related to our trip here.
3 comments:
oh my gosh- I am in tears now! What a great experience :)
Darn these tears! Oh the magic of Disney and the amazing people who make it all happen! {{{HUG}}}
Disney is so amazing. This is exactly why we got engaged there and then celebrated our honeymoon and 1 year anniversary there. Disney loves to go above and beyond to make everyone's dream come true. I'm so glad y'all had a great time! I've loved reading all the posts!
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