It has been thirteen years since the last (and only) time I have been to Disney World.  My aunt and cousin wanted to spend our one day in Magic Kingdom, and I agreed, despite my memories of it being a little boring.  I wanted to indulge in my love of travel in Epcot or maybe enjoy the shows in Hollywood Studios, but they promised Magic Kingdom would be worth it.

It was fun enough.  We rode famous rides like “Peter Pan’s Flight” and “It’s a Small World.”  I couldn’t shake my adult cynicism, however, and I made my mom listen to comments about the subtle racism of a majority-white puppet world.  I liked the puns made by the “Jungle Cruise” operator (“What is the scariest plant?  BamBOO”) and I enjoyed climbing through “Swiss Family Treehouse.”  But nothing had awakened my childlike glee since boarding the ferry that took us from parking lot to theme park.

Nothing, that is, until we avoided the mid-afternoon heat by escaping into seated, air conditioned shows.  “Is Mickey’s PhilharMagic like Fantasia?” I asked.  “Yeah, kind of,” my cousin lied.  We put on our 3D glasses, and my heart exploded.  Continue reading →