Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Final Dianostic Essay Draft: Disney Surprise

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“I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope they were entertained.” (Walt Disney) Each year I look forward to planning our family vacations, because we work hard all year, by summer we want to be rewarded for it. Whether it’s to the beach down the street from my house or on a Carnival cruise, we are sure to have the time of our lives. In the summer of August 2009, I enjoyed the most unforgettable trip to Disney World with my family and friends.

In particular, I traveled with sixteen adults and children; we drove from South Carolina to Florida. Every time I come to Disney World, it’s like coming for the first time. The anticipation of our arrival was overwhelming, as the butterflies in my stomach felt like they were going to explode at any moment. The closer and closer we got to Disney, the more anxious the children became. Out of all the children, only my 3 had no idea where we were going. We thought it would be a nice surprise if we didn’t tell them where we were going. As far as they knew, we were driving to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. My daughter who is 6, kept saying, “Mommy why are we in the car so long? Are we there yet? How much longer do we have to be in here?” My husband and I looked at each other and laughed to ourselves, because we knew she would be the most excited one. Eventually everyone sees the big “Welcome to Disney World” sign and I’ve not at all heard my children scream so loud. To say they were thrilled would be an understatement.

All of the Disney parks have something special and unique about them, but my family’s favorite would be Magic Kingdom. They have the best parade and fireworks show I’ve ever seen. Besides having the big princess castle as a backdrop, the atmosphere is exciting and fun. On this particular trip, because we arrived at the parks when they first opened, we were able to take pictures with a lot of the Disney characters, and anytime we saw one, we were first in line with our camera in hand. The weather was another advantage to getting to the parks so early, because it was perfect. At times, the heat was so unbearable we would cut our visits short and come back at night when it was cooler. Needless to say, Disney received a lot of our money trying to stay hydrated with water and popsicles. My daughter’s biggest fascination this trip was making sure she saw the High School Musical parade. Being she’s a Disney channel fanatic, she thought she would see the same actors and actresses who played the roles in the movies. What child wouldn’t think that? So it was a big shock to her the people looked different, and she was not a happy camper for about 3 quick seconds. Luckily, she still enjoyed the dancing and singing and even got to shake some of his/her hands. Seeing the smile on her face was priceless. We rode every popular ride each park had to offer and still found the time to enjoy a good swim at our hotel resort.

In short, my Disney World vacation does not compare to any other place I’ve visited. As soon as the trip is over I am busy thinking about when our next trip will be. The influence the entire Disney atmosphere has on families, can’t be explained, but is one everyone must experience for themselves. Disney is not only for children, but for the adults as well. They can join in on the fun and not feel embarrassed about it. It’s a magical place no matter what someone’s age might be. In another two years or so, I will be looking forward to visiting again. I can officially say Disney World has now become our traditional family vacation spot.

1 comment:

  1. I love the addition of the surprise for the kids. It must be amazing to give them the kind of joy they must have felt when they realized they were at Disney, even if it was hot.

    I hope none of the characters took of their heads in from of the little ones. I hear that's very traumatic.

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