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How I Spent My Vacation
Nov. 1st, 2004 10:18 pmSo. My honeymoon; or 'How Enough Sunshine and Snoodling Can Cure the Common Cold.' Honest.
Actually, the trip was practically perfect in every way. Disney World Cruises are wonderful for people who want to pretend that they're adults, and want to act a little bit like adults, but secretly enjoy reveling in their inner child.
We actually made it down to Orlando a couple of days early, thanks to the extreme generosity of a friend in the area, and spent a day in Universal Studios. I've never been there before, and honestly I don't know if I'll need to go back - an early morning rainstorm that cleared up by 10am emptied the park of everyone but us and a half dozen or so other people, so we managed to catch all of the rides, and visit the good ones twice. The SpiderMan ride rocks my fangirl world, and the Hulk coaster is impressive and intimidating enough that, while it does not quite overwhelm my maximum rollercoaster tolerance, it at least proves to me that I have one.
We were then whisked off to stay at the Disney Resort and visit Disney World for three days. I have heard that some people have had trouble getting the Disney empire to respond to customer problems; I can honestly say that if you stand in the middle of the lobby and cry, your problems get solved very quickly. Especially if you use the word 'honeymoon.' Actually, that word seems to make a lot of things go much more smoothly than I would have imagined. Anyway, the problem (a lost hotel room, an issue that seems to have been the kryptonite of our entire matrimonial process) was quickly resolved, and we marched off to the Magic Kingdom, where we armed ourselves with bride and groom Mickey Mouse ears (remember what I said about the magic of Honeymoonicity? they're dorky, but they work.) and waded through vast oceans of knee-high mini-tourists for the best seats on Pirates of the Carribean. The Small World ride was closed, much to my chagrin, but we managed to enjoy ourselves quite thoroughly. And the new fireworks show is beyond stunning.
I suppose the fact that my favorite amusement park rides in the entire world are the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Cinderella's Carousel says more about me than I could sum up any other way. My sweetie was very gracious, and let me ride the white horsie with the pink flowers. (His had eagle feathers, and an Indian motif. Very macho.)
Magic Kingdom has the best ride, and probably the best atmosphere in spite of all the screaming children, but I want to live in Epcot. Once again we only managed to make it through about half the nations, but at least it was mostly the half we missed on our last visit. I spent too much money on a dress in China-land, and fell madly in love with Restaurant Marrakesh in Morroco-land, and polka'ed with a stranger to an oompah-band in Germany-land. We walked, we talked, we laughed, we ate, we were pursued throughout Florida by ducks and Jimmy Buffett music.
The cruise itself was close to heaven on earth. I am recovering Poor White Trash, and not used to being waited on at all, so the level of service and cheerfulness from the staff was just shy of intimidating. The food was beyond belief, the weather was gorgeous, and there was a perfect mix of stuff-to-do and nothing-to-do. There was a small blot on the joy of the entire trip when I scraped the bottom of my foot while swimming in the ocean on the private beach in the Bahamas, but I sincerely doubt that'll get me a lot of sympathy from my more northerly, less vacationy friends.
If you and your significant whatever ever get the chance to have an hour-long full-body professional massage together in an open-air cabana on the beach, with the sun shining and the ocean just out of reach, take it. Don't even ask about cost, it's worth it. Trust me.
Then, because this wasn't enough for our poor vacation-starved souls, we docked in Port Canaveral and flew off to Ohio, for a filk convention and a chance to see friends I haven't spent time with in way too long. Much music was shared, though I was spared from singing, and much socializing and gossiping was caught up on. Three days wasn't quite enough to feel like I spent enough time with everyone I wanted to see, but that at least can be confronted by going back next year. And the year after, and suchlike.
So now I'm back. My cats are crazy, my dining room is a jenga-puzzle of gifts still in boxes, I haven't unpacked yet in spite of my best intentions, and I go back to work tomorrow. And yet, it's still good to be home.....
Actually, the trip was practically perfect in every way. Disney World Cruises are wonderful for people who want to pretend that they're adults, and want to act a little bit like adults, but secretly enjoy reveling in their inner child.
We actually made it down to Orlando a couple of days early, thanks to the extreme generosity of a friend in the area, and spent a day in Universal Studios. I've never been there before, and honestly I don't know if I'll need to go back - an early morning rainstorm that cleared up by 10am emptied the park of everyone but us and a half dozen or so other people, so we managed to catch all of the rides, and visit the good ones twice. The SpiderMan ride rocks my fangirl world, and the Hulk coaster is impressive and intimidating enough that, while it does not quite overwhelm my maximum rollercoaster tolerance, it at least proves to me that I have one.
We were then whisked off to stay at the Disney Resort and visit Disney World for three days. I have heard that some people have had trouble getting the Disney empire to respond to customer problems; I can honestly say that if you stand in the middle of the lobby and cry, your problems get solved very quickly. Especially if you use the word 'honeymoon.' Actually, that word seems to make a lot of things go much more smoothly than I would have imagined. Anyway, the problem (a lost hotel room, an issue that seems to have been the kryptonite of our entire matrimonial process) was quickly resolved, and we marched off to the Magic Kingdom, where we armed ourselves with bride and groom Mickey Mouse ears (remember what I said about the magic of Honeymoonicity? they're dorky, but they work.) and waded through vast oceans of knee-high mini-tourists for the best seats on Pirates of the Carribean. The Small World ride was closed, much to my chagrin, but we managed to enjoy ourselves quite thoroughly. And the new fireworks show is beyond stunning.
I suppose the fact that my favorite amusement park rides in the entire world are the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Cinderella's Carousel says more about me than I could sum up any other way. My sweetie was very gracious, and let me ride the white horsie with the pink flowers. (His had eagle feathers, and an Indian motif. Very macho.)
Magic Kingdom has the best ride, and probably the best atmosphere in spite of all the screaming children, but I want to live in Epcot. Once again we only managed to make it through about half the nations, but at least it was mostly the half we missed on our last visit. I spent too much money on a dress in China-land, and fell madly in love with Restaurant Marrakesh in Morroco-land, and polka'ed with a stranger to an oompah-band in Germany-land. We walked, we talked, we laughed, we ate, we were pursued throughout Florida by ducks and Jimmy Buffett music.
The cruise itself was close to heaven on earth. I am recovering Poor White Trash, and not used to being waited on at all, so the level of service and cheerfulness from the staff was just shy of intimidating. The food was beyond belief, the weather was gorgeous, and there was a perfect mix of stuff-to-do and nothing-to-do. There was a small blot on the joy of the entire trip when I scraped the bottom of my foot while swimming in the ocean on the private beach in the Bahamas, but I sincerely doubt that'll get me a lot of sympathy from my more northerly, less vacationy friends.
If you and your significant whatever ever get the chance to have an hour-long full-body professional massage together in an open-air cabana on the beach, with the sun shining and the ocean just out of reach, take it. Don't even ask about cost, it's worth it. Trust me.
Then, because this wasn't enough for our poor vacation-starved souls, we docked in Port Canaveral and flew off to Ohio, for a filk convention and a chance to see friends I haven't spent time with in way too long. Much music was shared, though I was spared from singing, and much socializing and gossiping was caught up on. Three days wasn't quite enough to feel like I spent enough time with everyone I wanted to see, but that at least can be confronted by going back next year. And the year after, and suchlike.
So now I'm back. My cats are crazy, my dining room is a jenga-puzzle of gifts still in boxes, I haven't unpacked yet in spite of my best intentions, and I go back to work tomorrow. And yet, it's still good to be home.....
