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Did you know that is officially 266.49 miles from my driveway to the gates of Disney World? By Mapquests estimation, I would be there in 4 hrs and 30 mins. Obviously Mapquest has never been in the car with me. On that driving note, let me tell you, Wild Adventures is exactly 78.39 miles (a mere 1.47 hrs driving time). Why, you might wonder, would I know this information so readily? Well friends, that is the beginning of my story…

I’ve got it - really bad. But in all honesty, it’s not really my fault. I was raised in what were the beginnings of the commercialism age. I grew up when cereal came with toys, GOOD TOYS. I remember walking down the cereal isle deciding which one I would eat by the toy inside (by the way, I still do this & don’t buy it until they wise up and put one in.. even a crappy one – although I can be persuaded by a good mail in!). I grew up on Happy Meals. When I moved out of my mom’s house at 18, I had a big black yard trash garbage bag full of them. Sad part? I had whole sets and knew exactly which McNugget went with which costume, etc. And really, the only person to blame is my mother. Yep, I can single-handedly narrow it down so that the blame can be laid on her shoulders. She ‘humored’ me, for lack of a better term (and by the way, my kid, well, he’s just the same!) Now Mom, if you’re reading this, don’t be offended. Here is where I am going to explain how wonderful this ‘disneyitis’ disease really is.

Blame it on the fact that she had too many siblings and not enough fun, or something way more fundamental – like being a kid at heart herself (even if you have to remind her now). Fifteen years younger than my father, SHE was the reason we took vacations. My dad, a firm believer in work now – play later (much later) had no real interested in vacations or movies. When I was a child, my mother was just as excited about going on vacation as I was. SHE was the reason we went to every amusement park in the tri-state area (many times). She is the reason I saw every Disney movie in re-release (at the time I thought this was THE ORIGINAL release – not that I’m complaining at all). She fueled my imagination by buying me the LP story books to the Disney movies. To this day I can still sing and repeat the stories word for word – or lyric (much to my friends amazement and well... embarrassment).

She made sure we went to every amusement park in driving distance; Disney World , Stone Mountain, Ruby Falls, Opryland, Graceland (eh, not that it qualifies as an amusement park – sorry Mom!!), Silver Springs, Petticoat Junction, Miracle Strip, Six Flags, Bush Gardens, Lion Country Safari, Santa Land, The Cabbage Patch Factory, Weeki Watchee & Bellingrath Gardens. And all before the age of 15. But I can honestly tell you Disney World was my favorite. And it still is.

Honestly, if it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have this Peter Pan syndrome. And I thank her for it. I only hope that I will be able to pass it on to my child. I hope that he (but I doubt it, considering the crap they run for cartoons these days) will believe there is a Wonderland. That you really could chase a white rabbit and end up in a land of nonsense. And come out all the better for it. Because I do...

After a long hiatus (grad-nite in ’89) I went back, again due to my mothers diligence (and a state conference she was assigned to work, that made the stay much cheaper for me!!) with my son in 1998. The experience was awesome. I still tell everyone who’ll stay stationary long enough, just how lucky we were to go with her on that trip. My son and I have gone many times since that vacation in ‘98 (making him quite the envy in the neighborhood, I might add), the last being just 4 months ago when my best friend and I (and family in-tow) celebrated my birthday (none of your business which one BTW) and I’m already having withdrawals. Our next trip is planned in October of this year, for her birthday, if we can wait that long.

I was asked once (by a very stupid time-share condo salesperson), ‘Why do you two love Disney so much?’ Dale and I looked at each other incredulously, broke out in huge grins, and responded with, ‘Why wouldn’t you?’ It is truly a magical place. The euphoria that comes over you the moment you step onto that boat to get to Disney World & see the castle off in the distance. This is what fairytales are made of. It comes down to this, real life sucks – it’s all about car payments, electric bills, rent and groceries. The Disney experience is not a feeling you can describe to someone who was not given the gift of imagination. So Mother, if for nothing else, I thank you for that.