Back from Disney and Feelin' (Sort Of) Fine...

We're back. We actually made it to Disney, after two postponements (is that a word?) and believing that we'd never truly find ourselves on Main Street again.

But we did and boy, what a trip it was.

At the all-too-early hour of 4:40 a.m. (yes, that's A.M.), my good friend and New-Year's-Eve-spanking compadre, Susan, picked ZZ and I up and took us to the airport. I greeted her with two-liter bottle of Dr. Pepper and a cup decorated with, "I love Susan," because, wow...what a good friend to get her rear end out of bed so early just to take us to the airport. I hope the caffeine helped.

We made our way to Atlanta and finally to Orlando where we made use of Disney's "Magic Express" service. We completely bypassed baggage claim and hopped straight onto the bus headed toward Disney World. About 40 minutes later, we were in the lobby of the Polynesian Hotel (gorgeous!), gretting by a woman with leis (yes, the "We got leid," jokes were abundant) for each of us.

We quickly checked in and were delighted to know that our room was already waiting for us. We found our way to the Fiji longhouse (apparently, a longhouse is some sort of Polynesian abode) and to room 1307.

It was awesome! It was really big, with separate closets for both of us, a spacious bathroom, a fridge and coffee maker and beds to die for. They were so comfy! Had be been traveling with little ones, there was also a futon. Polynesian decor abounded, including a thatched headboard above each bed, tiki lamps in the bathroom and cool sea grass decor in the doors of the closets. Tres chic!

We had a "Garden View" room which, in any other resort means, "A view of a brick wall," but in Disney means, "An awesome view of a lush garden." They did not disappoint, either. The view was of a garden, the beach and the Disney Wedding Pavillion. It was gorgeous!

After settling in (our bags had not arrived yet, but we set down our carryons), we headed for the Magic Kingdom. Once we got in the gate, ZZ kissed the ground. No kidding.

We headed in and perused Main Street. We smelled the smells, enjoyed the lights and just plain soaked it all in. We were wearing our "Happy Birthday!" buttons, supplied to us by the Polynesian Resort, so every Cast Member (this is what Disney calls its employees -- they're not just workers, they are a part of a show that is put on every day) called out to us, "Happy Birthday!" It was awesome.

We headed through Cinderella Castle toward Space Moutain. I needed to ride it. Here's the story.

In 1987, my family visited Disney World. We rode all the rides, saw all the shows and did it all -- including Space Mountain. As we were waiting in line, though, my 11-year-old fears got the best of me and I chickened out. My mom led me out of the structure while my dad and sister rode the ride. I regretted my decision almost immediately.

So, in 2000, when my dad took the whole family (including Todd, who was not yet even my fiancee!) to Disney World, I was ready to ride. But the ride was down for refurbishment. I was devastated.

So we knew that upon arrival, I needed to ride Space Mountain.

We stood in the queue. We got in the "space ship," and we took off. We quickly jetted through twists, turns and hills and ended up safely back on Earth.

I did it. I rode Space Moutain. 20 years in the making. I even shouted, "20 years!" when I got off the ride. What a feeling!

We made our way over to our very favorite and most sentimental ride, the Haunted Mansion. Ever since we were little kids, this ride has been a family favorite. Even mom and dad would find themselves quoting the ride's most memorable lines such as, "No windows and no doors!"

As expected, the mansion was fantastic and everything was exactly as we left it seven years ago. It's nice when things don't change. I resist change.

By this time, we were starving and we sat down at Pinnochio's Restaurant for a bite to eat while we watched the loading dock at, "it's a small world." During this time, we discussed how sad we were that we had lost out on having dinner at Cinderella Castle and decided we should walk to the Castle to see if there was any way they could squeeze us in.

Well leave it to Disney magic...

The gentleman at the desk said that they did indeed have a spot for two open, but that it was now or never. So, only moments after having lunch, we headed up the stairs to dine with Cinderella, her Fairy Godmother and two of her mice. Despite that fact that we were not at all hungry, it was fantastic! I've always wanted to dine in the Castle and this was the chance of a lifetime! We felt like royalty and were even given special treatment because it was our birthdays. It's a time I'll never forget.

We spent the rest of the day enjoying the Magic Kingdom and its offerings, including a few more rounds on the Haunted Mansion.

We finally made it back to our hotel after the nightly fireworks and crashed. We'd been up since 4:00 a.m. and we were exhausted.

The next day brought us to Epcot where we experienced Soarin', Ellen's Energy Adventure and meandered around the world in the World Showcase and spent too much money in the big, all-things-Mickey shop, Mouse Gear. That afternoon, we returned to the Magic Kingdom for more Haunted Mansion and the nightly fireworks show.

Our third day was spent in the Animal Kingdom, where we rode the best rollercoaster I have ever been on -- Expedition Everest. We also took the Kililmanjaro Safari and enjoyed the sights. Back to the Magic Kingdom that afternoon for more of the same.

Our final full day brought us to the Disney-MGM theme park for a tour of the Hollywood Tower of Terror (which I actually enjoyed this time, since I normally hate rides that drop you), the backlot tour, Muppetvision 3-D and lots of other favorites. Bet you can't guess what we did that afternoon...

Our last day was spent just in the Magic Kingdom, saying goodbye to all of our favorites, finding the talking trashcan (named Push) who sang Happy Birthday to us and finally, tearfully, turning our backs toward Main Street to board the monorail back to our hotel where we caught the bus to the airport.

Once again, Disney's Magic Express came in handy, in that we got our boarding passes and checked our bags at the hotel's front desk, never once having to drag anything through an airport. We didn't actually handle our bags until we got to San Antonio's airport around 10:30 that night.

The trip was a roaring success. I can't wait to take my kids next time and despite the fact that I need a vacation from my vacation and that my toes have blisters the size of quarters on them, I am as happy as I can be with our trip. It was fantastic.

ZZ was the historian on this trip and she seems to be keeping our pictures ransom. As soon as I get them from her, though, I'll post the highlights here. And yes, I know I still owe Christmas photos too.

E