So here it is – our last morning in Orlando. Up early,
making sure bags are packed. Making sure everything is where it is meant to be.
Sad too because it feels like our family getaway time went by too quickly.
Feels like we just got here. Like we did not have the time to unwind completely
before going back into the real world.
But then again there are some who could only dream about
having this experience so rather than feeling sad about our time coming to an
end, I am telling myself to be grateful that we had the means and the time to have
this wonderful family time together. And to accept that perhaps time went by so
quickly because we were all enjoying ourselves so much. Maybe it’s because we
lived every minute of the time we were together as if it was the last knowing
we had a limited amount of time to do the things we wanted to do.
Sure there was some disappointment along the way. Things we
thought we would do, did not get done as we were redirected elsewhere. Like the
time we spent at the Magic Kingdom yesterday. At first I looked at that
experience as an absolute disaster. Lines that seemed to not move at all. Wait
times increasing by the minute. Making the possibility of getting on all the rides
we wanted to get on impossible unless we wanted to give up our whole day to be
there.
Tempers flaring because of disappointments and the sheer
volume of people that were in the park. Magic was not the word that described
the feeling in the park at all. As there
were so many people just like us who wanted to experience the full array of
possibility offered at the park only to find there were too many of us seeking
the same pleasures at the same time that they could not be fulfilled.
And because I had started the day with my blog based on the expression, "when life give us lemons, we ought to make lemonade," that’s how I decided
to look at the situation facing us. We had a choice – to either allow the fact
that we could not get to every ride we wanted to get to dampen our spirits or we
could just choose the rides that were the most important and get on those. And then
when enough was enough, we would just leave. And that’s what we did.
The rides we were meant to ride became available for us and
the ones we were not supposed to ride did not is how I looked at it. My husband, on the other hand, was angry with Disney for allowing so many people into the park
knowing dreams would not be fulfilled and thus making people angry. But I knew deep
down inside each one of us had chosen to come to that park at the same time for
a reason and some of us had planned it properly while others like us were winging
it so we had to take what we got. It was not Disney’s fault or anyone else’s
fault, it was the choice of all of us to be in that park at the same time. And
it was also our choice to leave whenever we wanted.
So here’s a note to self and to others who want to listen,
don’t go to the Magic Kingdom during the Easter break – it is full of people
from everyone trying to experience the magic of the Magic Kingdom at the same
time. Making it appear to be the least magical experience. But here’s the thing, magic comes from within. It does not come from
without. So if there is no magic inside, there will be no magic found anywhere
even though Disney promises a magical experience. If we want to experience the
Disney type magic, plan it when not everyone comes at the same time and
particularly after a rainy day the day before!
We finally left the park with my daughter holding my hand
and saying, “You know what mommy I don’t like the Magic Kingdom any more. It’s
too crowded. My favourite is the Animal Kingdom because it is so pretty.”
But what I really heard her say was that she had experienced
her magic at the Animal Kingdom because she was able to face her fear over and
over again on the Yeti ride whereas at the Magic Kingdom, her expectations were
not met so she did not feel the magic there.
Teaching me that life is all about the experiences we have
and sometimes depending on the choices we make, we will experience magic in the
least expected ways and then in other instances we will not.
We ended our last full day in Orlando yesterday with a
wonderful dinner at our special restaurant Tu Tu Tango where each one of us
compared notes about what the best part of the holiday was. Enjoying each other’s
company, the food, ambiance and just being together, uninterrupted – a type of magic
onto itself. Exactly what getaways and vacation times are meant to be all
about. It’s not what we didn’t get to do that should be at the top of the list
of memories. It is what we got to do that is special because we did what we
were meant to do; not what we wanted to do.
So as we prepare to leave Orlando to make our way back home,
I am so grateful for having the time and the means to broaden my children’s
horizons and my own by experiencing life outside of our every day. And for our
family time together, despite the lack of magic at the Magic Kingdom yesterday, I am truly grateful because more than anything I realised the magic came from us just being together, fully together as a family and what could be more magical than that.
Thanks for the memories Orlando. We thoroughly enjoyed our escape.…
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