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by Anura Guruge

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OK, so how many of you thought that the Malaysian government had managed to silence me? Wow, you give them that much credence.

Sorry, but I was just gone for a ‘week’ as I am wont to do a few times each year. Last year it was the Grand Canyon. The year before that it was Las Vegas and prior to that New York City. The kids, within reason, decide where they would like to go. I had, for reasons obvious to me, been putting off the inevitable trip to Disney. I know, from experience, that it can be overwhelming for young kids — especially if they are from New Hampshire and not used to the gruelling 90°F heat (in April). But, Teischan is now eight and she really wanted to go … I basically go where the kids would like to go. Given my druthers I would have gone back to Arizona, this time to Canyon de Chelly — my favorite place in the U.S. Right after the Grand Canyon trip the kids were all gung ho about going to the other Canyon but as the months passed away, and they realized that Disney could be an option, they obviously wanted to go to Disney.

The last time I was at Disney with kids was in 1995 — 19 years ago. Matthew was three. I have been there after that, but for work — i.e., doing seminars at various corporate functions. Deanna has been there before too, but not for over 15 years. It was the first for Devanee and Teischan.

Of course Disney World is fun. How can it not be. Yes, it gets hot and all you seem to be doing is hurrying from one attraction to another, dodging strollers, fat people and folks in scooters. More on that on another post. I really can’t fathom why very pregnant women go to Disney with 2 year olds. There has go to be better ways to enjoy being a sadomasochist.

The trip overall was good. Thank YOU, Disney. Thank YOU, Delta Airlines and Thank YOU, TSA. Flying out of Manchester, NH spoils you in terms of TSA security check lines. There is hardly ever a ‘line’ at Manchester. Yes, we have been through Las Vegas — with Teischan trying to sneak through a metal water bottle full of water. Well that was an experience though they were so, so, so nice. Yesterday at Orlando there must have been 600 people in line. We weren’t concerned because we were there in plenty of time — even though the Disney Magical Experience bus was 40 minutes late. There was an Indian couple who were trying to get to the front saying that there flight was leaving in 20 minutes. They were complaining to a TSA official. We were right behind them because I left them pass. The TSA official ignores them, asks me how many in our party, lifts the rope and waves us across to the TSA√PRE line. Wow. Talk about a Magic Carpet ride. Don’t have to take off your shoes or belt or remove your laptop. You are through security in no time. I was impressed.

The whole Disney Experience works flawlessly.

That is impressive. Even the airline baggage check in from the hotel. Very slick.

We recommend the full Disney Experience — without caveats.
Go for it. Well worth it. No hassles.

We stayed at the Disney ‘Wilderness Lodge‘ resort.

 It was kind of Deanna’s choice and it was good.
Very clean. Quite compact.
Laundry room with dryers for when you get SOAKED by the rain.

No monorail but getting about wasn’t bad.
The boats worked well and were fun.

We went to the Magic Kingdom 2.5 days: Monday evening and got to see the parade, the Castle extravaganza (which is something else) and the fireworks; Tuesday & Wednesday. Went to Epcot on Thursday. On Friday went to the Animal Kingdom but didn’t stay long since it was raining and we had a flight to catch.

We had the Deluxe Meal Plan.

Well we, or at least I, ate well. Like a king. Kept to my low carb diet — other than one exception. I had the no sugar added, ‘For Diabetics’, Butter Pecan Milkshake.
I still managed to put on 6 pounds in 5 days. 1.2 pounds a day. Impressive. Food was plentiful and good 90% of the time. More on Meal Plan strategies on another post.

It is NOT cheap — at least not for us. I think it was more than TWICE what it cost to go to the Grand Canyon and we stayed at the Park and had expensive meals.

But it was worth it. Kids loved it on the whole. They do get tired.

I, as is my wont, did some research, spoke to a lot of people and learned a lot about meal plans, FastPass+ and the rides. I plan to do a spate of posts in the coming days. So brace yourself for large doses of Disney.

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