Here You Leave Today...

...And enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy.

The first time I was at Disney World, I was a baby, and my mom put a white bonnet on my head. I really don't remember anything more about it, other than my Uncle Bob fed me my first ice cream in EPCOT, right near one of the shops. It was chocolate. I was in love.

I have been to Disney World about fifteen times.

Now, listen up. My parent's aren't psycho. The weren't exactly bored, either. They just knew that Disney was the perfect place to go if you wanted memories. I'm not talking the "and then auntie sue burnt the sauerkraut" kind of memories, but the kind that go somewhat like this:

It was Magic-hours. EPCOT was empty, save for the several souls wandering the park with their special passes. Mom and I wandered through the thick Floridian night. The parks always smelled of palm trees and those water fountains they have everywhere, that make everything smell of nickel and concrete, and it is absolutely fabulous. Spaceship Earth has a smell of it's own. We walked through the gigantic mouth of the huge, silver dome, and heard the tingling music as we boarded onto the marine-blue cars. The cave boy painted his hand onto the wall. The monk fell asleep at his desk. Michaelangelo laid on his back with his paintbrush poised to the chapel ceiling. The paperboy called out "EXTRA!" as bleeps of communication echoed through the wires of the world. This is what EPCOT is about... this is what Disney is about: bringing people together from across the globe, and being excited about it.

It's those kinds of memories: the kind where you remember how wide your eyes were as you made a discovery, the kind where you remember how hard you laughed, how tight you held your breath, how at home you felt, and how you permit yourself - just one time - to wish as the fireworks pierce the sky.

Bedtime at Disney is time to pass out. Breakfast at Disney is time to PIG out. And all times at Disney are times to bond with family and make memories, and not just the kind that hide in a photo album, but the kind your family laughs about together. It's about those kinds of memories.

(A picture my brother took of The World Showcase at night)