Saturday, June 13, 2009

Disney Review


We've been home from our Disney World vacation for over a week, but I was waiting for everyone to get their pictures uploaded/downloaded or whatever.

We had a great time. When you check in, you can get a button. If you're a newlywed you can get one that says, "Happily Ever After". Jessica and Savannah were wearing ones that said, "Celebrate". Someone asked Jess what she was celebrating and she said, "I'm not at work!" Since I'd never been there before, Jodi got me one that said, "1st Time Visitor". It was cute, but I didn't wear it out in public. Everything is so real there that I thought if they knew I was a "Disney virgin" they might throw me into a volcano or something!

Emery got his picture taken with "The Donald", among others. Savannah got her picture with Cinderella. And I got my picture taken with Goofy! Yes, it truly is a small world after all. My BFF Shirley and her family were there the same time we were...and were staying at the same resort! We all met up briefly one evening and then I got to spend some quality time having breakfast with her and Ken the next morning. That was great.

Disney was -- and always is -- mind blowing. Yes, it was hot and yes, it was crowded. But that's not what we'll remember. I so much enjoyed being there to see the kids and grandkids enjoy it and to go on the rides...especially with the little ones. They are at good ages now to go there. Because Disney is so good at what they do, the Kingdom (and all the rest) is truly magical. But as an adult you find yourself in awe of the vastness of it all and the behind-the-scenes workings. I kept saying, "I want to see some statistics about all this! I want to know how many acres, how many buses, how many employees, how much laundry...." It's just unfathomable. When I got home I did some research on line and found out the answers to many of my questions...and then some. So, here are some interesting stats on the happiest place on earth:

Walt Disney World covers 47 square miles.

Walt Disney World employs more than 54,000 people.

More than 230 buses transport guests around the vacation kingdom.
Nearly 2,000 miles of irrigation pipe are needed to water more than 3,500 acres of landscaping.

If you were to wash and dry one load of laundry every day for 44 years, you'd clean as much as they do in a single day.

If you stayed in a different room in one of the hotels or resorts on WDW property at the rate of one per night, it would take more than 72 years.

And...I don't want to ruin the mystique...but, did you know:

Cinderella's castle is not made of stone. It is entirely made of fiberglass!


Thanks, y'all for a great vacation trip!
PS: Oh, I almost forgot. There was a ride called "Soarin'" and Jess and I took Savannah on it. We should have thought more carefully about that. Jessica was embarrassed by all the yelling and crying and screaming...and Savannah didn't like it, either!