Disney Day 4

Travel 2 Replies

Our morning started with breakfast at the Polynesian Resort – my favorite fake Hawaiian spot on the planet. Many have tried to recreate Hawaii away from Hawaii but I think this hotel is probably the best because there is a 70s vibe locked into it somehow. Like it’s ingratiated into it’s DNA. Maybe because I use to see it on TV growing up in Disney specials.

Why there so early, you ask? For Tonga Toast Kona Cafe, of course! Imagine two really thick pieces of French toast, stuffed with fruit, slapped together and covered with slightly cinnamon infused sugar. It was about the size of a baby. And delicious. Don’t use the syrup, use the strawberry coulis – you will thank me for it.

After we roll ourselves down to the dock and take a jetty over to Magic Kingdom. Don’t forget to grab transport trivia cards from the captain!

Our day in the Kingdom was decadent. Since we were going to return and spend an entire day doing the rides on Monday, this day we reserved for wandering and photographs. I think we only rode 2 rides and visited one attraction during our visit that day. An entire day of no-stress wandering in a place where so many people feel like they need to get things done was almost like we were rubbing it in stressed out parents’ faces.

You’ll see a couple pictures of characters in the mid-day show – take notice in their faces. Disney is phasing in full-head animatronic characters for shows. You’ll note that some action shots make Donald look kind of stoned: eye lids half closed, mouth open in a breath. I like it!

We headed over to Downtown Disney for dinner and a walk through the shops. Over at the Lego Store, I think they were giving away free air or something – it was mad house packed in there. So busy I had an Apple Store flashback where all I could think about was how long it must take the staff at the end of the night to reset the store. It’s was about this point that I really noticed all the sick kids. Sure I noticed kids coughing in various other parks, but as I fiddled with a jar full of Lego heads, I saw a kid cough into his hand then dig his mitts into the jar next to me.

That night at the hotel, I could feel a tickle in my throat. I passed it off as too much A/C on my Canadian constitution…

2 thoughts on “Disney Day 4

  1. jtree

    You know, I’ve been thinking a lot about that “escaping reality” comment from Day 3. I think modern life and society is dis-enchanting for almost everyone, not just the GLBT community. Sci-Fi, Horror, Comics, and even Disney arose out of the loss of magic in our culture — we no longer perceive magic or wonder in the world around us because of our scientific, economic, capitalistic, ambivalent political views and practices. Yes, Disney and Marvel and DC are all part of that system, but what they offer is paradoxically an escape from that. You can get that other places. You can go camping, whale watching, sailing, star gazing, have sex… and we do all of that, too. But even those parts of our lives have become commodified and so what are we left with? Finding what you love, finding what makes you happy, and keeping both a critical mind and making sure you are ethically in balance with what is ultimately important in your community, family, and the larger world. That’s all.

    1. Tedhealey

      I agree… but I think the only people who witness magic these days are religious fanatics. “That rock! How does it attract that metal? HOW??”

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