Disney World: Shopping & Sentimentality

Well, it's Day 2 of the trip, and I think I've just begun to relax.

I started out the day with a tasty yogurt-berry-granola thingie, then swimming in the "cabana." (Yes, apparently when your resort is nice enough, you don't have a "pool;" you have a "cabana.")

Whatever it was, it was awesome. I was early and avoided the crowds, so I had the pool almost to myself. As I did a few laps, I looked at the palm trees in the sun, and listened to soft background music with the birds chirping overhead. Yeah, I guess I could get used to this. (Obviously, I'm going again first thing tomorrow morning.)

Later, I took some time to go shopping at Downtown Disney, where I observed some bright-colored, over-priced craziness. (See above photo.) It was kind of fun to get a feel for the kind of Disney frenzy caused by this place. Little kids excited, and of course, little kids screaming for their parents to buy them things. Like a two-story WALL-E.


I visited the Christmas store, the magnet store, the Pooh store, the candy store, the LEGO store, the glass store, the pin store, and the MEGA CRAZY DISNEY FREAKOUT STORE.

I have a question. How many dinosaurs does a shopping center need? Apparently at least two.



Oh, and at least one LEGO crab.


And a big den of dead skeletal pirates.


I have the feeling I will be seeing a lot of dead skeletal pirates on this trip, especially at the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in the Magic Kingdom on Thursday.

Speaking of all that, I got my first real pangs of nostalgia today. Coming back from Downtown Disney, the bus stopped at Typhoon Lagoon, the Disney water park where my family went when I was a kid.

Up until now, everything has been new and foreign. I haven't been able to recognize anything, the hotel is different, and we haven't visited the theme parks yet. But I recognized the long palm-lined road leading to Typhoon Lagoon, and I remembered the fun day we spent there.

I guess it reminds me of how much my life has changed. No more family vacations where my parents totally run the show and my sister and I are carefree kids along for the ride. Of course, these great things have been replaced by equally great things: I'm here with my awesome husband this time. Still, it makes a nostalgic girl like me sad for the past.

In the end, Dave made me feel better by pointing out that we'd certainly have future vacations with my family, and maybe even bring our children to the same places that my parents were wonderful enough to take me to as a kid. That's the magic of Disney, after all.