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Disney Day Mania





Disney Day Mania

  It was a picturesque day to visit the mouse at his fun house!  The year was 1998 when we rolled up in our motorhome to enchantment and mischief.  We hopped out on the sunny pavement ready to put our mouse ears on.  Excited and anxious, my brother, Joseph and I were skipping ahead of my dad and mom.  You could tell they were just as giddy.  My dad was a child at heart, his eyes lit up along with ours.  Every child’s dream is to walk through the gates at Magic Kingdom and cast their eyes on Cinderella’s castle.  Their fantasy is to view the elegance and realness of princesses and giggly characters.  The happy day was here! We were going to live out our “Goofy” imaginations!

With tickets in hand, we rowed a stroll to the entrance.  My glasses shone with Minnie and musical Main Street.  My long, blonde hair flew in the wind as my brother and I rushed towards Minnie.  Even though I knew there was a person under the costume, I still wanted her cherished autograph.  I was the big 11 at the time, daffy and free-spirited.  My mom, the camera lady, as my dad called her, made sure we all got our close-ups.  She was strapped and wired with both camera and video recorder.  Remember it’s 1998, no smart phones.  Click, click, snap!  Stand-still memories were made around every corner.  Christmas sparkled and glowed everywhere.  Ornaments sprinkled trees and garland wrapped every terrace.  It was a Christmas “Mickeyland”.  We were making our way towards the mythical castle.  Bumpy rides were next on our “mousy” agenda.

There it was, the infamous “Thunder Mountain”!  We couldn’t wait to ride “the wildest ride in the wilderness”!  My dad loved the feeling of “Frontierland”, because he was a secret cowboy.  “Splash Mountain” was the monument of this old-timey era.  Splash, crash! Screams and laughs echoed down towards “The Haunted Mansion” and beyond. We were inching up in line, anxiously awaiting our turn.  I’d always get nervous before getting on an overpowering rollercoaster.  My dad would always say, “Look at those little kids getting on.” That did not make me feel a lick better, but my dad was sweet and he tried to build me up.  We were finally ready to board the “Thunder Mountain” train.  My dad sat with little 4 year old Joseph and my mom sat with jittery me.  We were off!  We inched up the hill, sights and scenes all around, getting us ready for the unexpecting fall. Here we go! My dad turned his cap backwards, making sure it was along for the ride.  We sped down the not-so-terrifying hill.  “Fun-screams” and chuckles were amping with every drop and turn.  My dad, being his silly self, yelled, “Get me off this thing!” Another loopy loop, “OH! Get me off this thing!” Our fellow Mouseketeers belly laughed along with us.  “Dad! Dad!” We would yell with tears in our eyes.  He added “mousy mayhem” to “Thunder Mountain”. 

Our day finally came to an end at Magic Kingdom.  Joseph, being a mini-man, whined and said, “I’m not tired.”  My mom knew it was time to take the boat ride back to Fort Wilderness.  We clung to my dad as we walked through the crowds of tired vacationers.  The Christmas lights dimmed in the background as we walked toward the moon-glistened water.  Our motorhome was a precious site to behold.  As we hit the door, we hit our beds.  My dad said to my mom, “What a great memory day, San.”  It was a merry “Disney Mania” day indeed.  



        

Mousy Memory Day

Anxious, nervous, shaking, breath-taking!
We enter the gates into kid-at-heart land
I stampede for the polka-dotted giddy mouse
My chubby-cheeked brother right on my frilly dress-tail
Mom (the video camera lady) right on both our heels
She always had to document and imprint the "memory day"
(As my dad would call those ripened sweet apricot days)
We stand, twirl and crack a pose, snap! Mousy moment stamped
Dad reams a smile while sipping dark-roasted aromatic coffee
Fudge knocked on our noses, drawing in our prancing taste buds
We spurred our feet into a trot, on to whimsical wonderland!
Loopty loop, spin, arms flailing, and whopping grin
Chants, rants, tattoo smiles, and harmonious screams
Dad being his silly ole' self bursts, "Get me off this thing!"
(That monstrous thing, not monstrous at all)
Chuckles trickle down the adrenaline-pumping ride
Snack shack, sight-see to no avail, time to sail
One more timeline snapshot before the day totters away
Dad's simple statement, "What a mousy memory day"

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