The Happiest Place on Earth? Yeah, Right!

Over Christmas break, we went to Disney World, aka The Magic Kingdom, aka The Happiest Place on Earth. This was our second visit. Back in 2003 we went and Anna absolutely loved it. Had breakfast with all the princess characters which she loved, rode on "It's a Small World" countless times. Overall, a great day. Cameron was just 1 1/2, so he didn't remember any of it.

So we thought now was a good time for a return trip so Cameron could experience the magic. We were staying at a beachfront condo in Tampa (thanks to Dorene's sister) and drove over to Orlando on Christmas Eve to re-experience the Disney magic.

Flash forward to the next day. Anna and Cameron were pleading to us to never, ever take them back to Disney World. So, what did Mickey and Minnie do to them to make them feel that way?

They just weren't all that enthralled by it all. Let's start with Cameron. When we get there, the first thing we go to is the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride, which he loved. When you leave the ride you oh so conveniently exit through the gift shop. We told each kid they had $20.00 to spend however they wanted to. Cameron saw a toy pirate gun he wanted. We told him we'd come by and pick it up when we were leaving. About an hour later, Cameron starts asking us when we're leaving, and basically doesn't stop asking us all day long. Didn't he realize we paid $61.00 for him to come to Disney? Come on kid, it's the land of Mickey, Pluto, etc. You're supposed to HAVE FUN. But no, he wanted to get his gun and get out of Dodge.

Anna just wasn't into it either. She enjoyed the rides, especially the ones that were more of the thrill ride variety (which Disney doesn't really have, so our next amusement park visit needs to be along the lines of Cedar Point or Kings Island). By the end of the day, she was in tears. It was time for the electrical light parade, but she didn't care. She just wanted out of there. One problem is she got motion sick on back to back roller coaster rides. That coupled with the fact of probably too much snack food, and just being tired out from all the walking, she was d-o-n-e.

For me and Dorene? We don't care if we ever go back, unless it's an all-expense paid trip to one of the Disney resorts where we have several days and we go on an off-peak time. To say Disney was insanely crowded would be a massive understatement. It was literally wall-to-wall people and just going from place to place was difficult, and we had a dual stroller to make navigation even more difficult.

So farewell Magic Kingdom. The rest of the week was just spent on the beach collecting sea shells or in the pool. The kids never said one word about Disney. Cameron spent most of his time running around the condo with his gone and shooting at dolphins or birds in the ocean.

Just a couple days ago at breakfast, Cameron again said, "Dad, remember, never, ever, ever, ever, ever take us back to Disney World." Not a problem, kid.