Me And Walt (Disney)

So, yesterday I went to Walt Disney World to celebrate my birthday. Why, you ask? Well, I saw an advertisement on TV stating that everyone (and that means EVERYONE) gets to go to either Disneyland or Disney World this year on their birthday for FREE!! What a deal! So, I registered online and yesterday I went to Disney World. As soon as I got there I received special treatment. I was given a "birthday button" to wear. Sounds silly already, doesn't it? However, as soon as I entered the Magic Kingdom, I realized how important wearing this button was going to be. Immediately people greeted me by wishing me a Happy Birthday. Employees of the park went out of their way to say hello. Executives called me by my first name. (Of course my name was on the button in BIG, BOLD letters!) And the best part was that other people wearing the birthday button were waving and extending greetings. And that is when I, too, sought out my shared birthday buddies. How fun was that!! I had formulated my plan of attack for the day. I was going to ride on all the big attraction rides. I breezed right through Main Street and all the shops. I didn't want to buy anything anyway. I made a beeline for Tomorrowland and set my sight on Space Mountain. Oh, yes! The ride is basically a giant indoor roller coaster located in a pitch black room with twinkle light stars as the only source of light. Fantastic and scary! I huddled into the seat, afraid to move lest I accidentally loose a limb to the erector-set style construction of the ride. I laughed the entire time. Happiness abounds! I left Tomorrowland and headed over to Fantasyland, waving to all my birthday friends along the way. Ok, I just had to ride on the "It's a Small World" ride. This is a boat ride in the dark through various gigantic rooms decorated in BRIGHT colors. There are all these animated childlike characters dancing around to "It's a Small World" music and it's wonderful!! It should never change. This ride is a keeper. I remember seeing this attraction at the World's Fair in New York in the 1960's. And it has lasted all this time. It's still wonderful. And I even enjoyed the music repeating itself every couple of minutes or so. Next, I was off to Liberty Square and the Haunted Mansion. I love a good scare as long as I know it is just temporary and no one is hurt. Frontierland was next. I took the raft over to Tom Sawyer's Island. There were five birthday celebrants on the raft with me. All ages, of course. I walked through every scary, dark tunnel I could find. The oil barrel bridge was quite shaky but fun. After leaving the island I headed for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Bummer! It wasn't working that day. Neither was Splash Mountain. (Something wrong in the mountains, I guess.) I went over to Adventureland, waving as I went. Who knew so many January 14th babies were visiting the park. JACKPOT!!! Swiss Family Treehouse, the Jungle Cruise (this is where I ran into the identical twin sisters wearing the birthday buttons)and Pirates of the Caribbean. All three rides in one convenient location. And, yes, there is a new animated character in the "Pirates" ride that looks like Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack Sparrow. How sweet! I decided to by-pass the Country Bear Jamboree and the Tiki Tiki Bird Show in favor of another ride on Space Mountain. I hurried over to Tomorrowland and stepped in line. When it was my turn to step into the queue I asked the attendant if I could ride in the first car. EEEK! I guess he gets asked that a lot. I thought for a moment it was going to be a no go. Well, just for added insurance I flashed my birthday badge. (flashing my birthday button sounds well, you know, kinda dirty) He laughed and said He had a birthday coming up soon. "So what!" I thought. "Today is MY birthday! (Forget about all those other birthday celebrants for a moment!) Anyway, it worked! I rode in the first car!!! Beautiful!!! I loved it! I laughed the entire time. I felt like I was flying. Nothing ahead of me but the twinkle light stars. Perfect! A great ending to a wonderful day. And as I left the Park at the end of the day I was smiling and still being greeted by perfect strangers with a big "Happy Birthday" to me. TO ME! I'll drink to that. Cheers!