Musings from Walt Disney World®

Expedition Me

“Hey, little one,” I whispered to my sleeping daughter. “It’s time to wake up. It’s time to get our nails painted together.” Even after 12 hours of slumber, Anais was still thoroughly knocked out. I didn’t blame her; part of me wanted to climb back under the covers and snuggle up, too. Yesterday, we had traveled the world and back, so to speak. At Disney’s Animal Kingdom, we had spotted striped bongos, a grazing wildebeest, a baby giraffe and a family of gorillas while on safari in “Africa.” Then, in “Asia,” we braved an insanely harrowing train ride through the “Himalayas” on Expedition Everest – and can I just say that NOBODY warned me that would be riding backwards at breakneck speed about half the time. Of course, that didn’t stop Anais from wanted to conquer the Himalayas – THREE TIMES! I “dutifully” accompanied her -- Expedition Everest was the most dazzling and inventive rollercoaster I had ever been on. I feared for my life, and I loved every moment of it.

Afterwards, we talked about the difference between the Yeti (who makes a memorable appearance during the ride), Sasquatch and Big Foot.  “They are basically brothers, but they speak different languages,” I explained to Anais, only half joking.

“Are they real, Mommy?” she asked, her big eyes searching for an answer.

This is the other thing I have loved about touring Disney World: In every park, there are new countries to explore, with their distinct architecture, animals, clothing and food all painstakingly brought to life.

We parents might associate Disney World with pure amusement, but the parks also bring about so many opportunities for learning – kind of like homeschooling with rides!

“Well, honey, they may be real, or they may just be something we dream about,” I said. “But there are many people in many countries who believe that the Yeti and Big Foot are alive and well, living in far away places where humans haven’t yet built houses.”

“Are they nice or mean?” Anais asked.

“Hmm, well, I think all animals, including humans, are probably truly nice,” I said, as walked out of the ride and past an ice cream stand sign written in Hindi letters. “They just become mean when they get scared. That’s why we have to treat every creature with respect.” How apt, I thought, to be touring the “subcontinent” and discussing the principles of Gandhi, that great Indian leader -- even if I was applying them to a yeti . . .

Since my husband Ajay was born in Delhi, the three of us are veteran travelers to that part of the world.

But still, we were captivated by Disney’s re-creation of the Himalayan base camps as we stood in line for Expedition Everest. The walls were lined with photos of wizened sherpas, paintings of wild-eyed, multi-colored deities, tie-dyed shirts of hippies searching for higher meaning. We could almost smell the aroma of fresh, hot chai wafting from the steel pots.

But the park’s beautifully realized attractions were only half the fun. Anais was content just to follow the leaf fossils embedded in the trail that lead visitors from Africa to Asia and back again. She loved spotting the happy Abyssinian birds idling in the trees. She adored seeing Mommy, called into action by a band of African musicians at Boma – Flavors of Africa restaurant, dance to a frenzy of conga beats in front of a cheering audience. (Okay, I’ll admit it: It was fun for me, too!) By the end of that day, we all felt like both our bodies and spirits had traipsed several continents – and not just several acres of a theme park.

Which was why today was going to be about absolute relaxation and a whole lot of pampering. I had signed us up for the Mommy-Daughter mani-pedi at the Spa at Saratoga Springs. How much fun would it be to put on our favorite spring dresses and walk across the resort’s rolling lawns to that beautiful spa together!

Anais’s treatment was officially called, “My first mani-pedi,” and girls under 12 had to be escorted by an adult – an apt excuse for me to get my own claws tended to. “What color would you like, sweetheart?” the manicurist asked Anais. Two seconds later my five-year old held up a bottle: it was pink, BUBBLEGUM pink. “This is for you, too, Mommy,” she said, beaming. The manicurist was the sweetest. She painted little white Mickey Mouses on Anais’s nails and sent her off with a bottle of polish. Anais proudly showed off our candy-colored paws to everyone who passed by.

We then took our beautiful nails outside and spent the afternoon in the bathtub-warm pool. One part of the pool resembled a beach, with a shallow wading area where toddlers splashed about merrily. “Mommy, watch me swim!” Anais called out, as she paddled around.

“Could we build this pool in our backyard?”

In the meanwhile, Ajay headed to the spa for a deep-tissue massage, and when he returned, we could see that all the cares in the world had drained from his face. “That was the best massage I have ever had,” he said.

“Really?” I asked. Ajay and I have been lucky enough to experience massages all over Asia – Bangkok, Bali, Hong Kong, the Himalayas, Phuket. Our backs had been rubbed down by the best of them. “The masseur was so dedicated,” said Ajay. “He said he just loves his work, that he really believes in its healing value. He even made this vibrating movement on my shoulder and back muscles – you know, I get so tense there because I’m always on the computer.”

Well, I would see first hand. Now, it was my turn for a little pummeling at the spa. An hour later, I returned to the pool, the same beautific look spread across my face.

“Mommy,” said Anais. “You look happy.” You just can’t hide anything from kids.

I stretched out on a lounge chair and gazed at the clouds in the sky. The mild late winter sun felt so good on my face. This was our last day at Disney World. We had had more than a good time. We had gone on a journey that renewed us, that made us feel alive again. The joy these past six days at the resort brought to my family was immeasurable. And, the fun, glamour and romance the trip brought to me as a woman was priceless. I’m glad I brought my walking shoes AND my high heels, my t-shirts and jeans AND my sassy red dress. I bonded with my daughter over princesses and castles, and I also snuck in a few unforgettable moments alone with my husband. Sure, you could say I found the spirit of Disney during this trip. What’s even better is I know I found ME again.

Go On—Pack the Red Dress

Whoever thinks about bringing a red dress on a Disney World vacation – I mean, who other than Minnie Mouse?

Well, I’m glad I brought mine. It’s Valentine’s Week after all, and Ajay and I planned to celebrate by having a night out at the resort.

My mom was happy to do baby-sitting duty – more time alone with her youngest granddaughter. “They are so cute at this age,” Mom said, gazing at Anais, who was wearing the Pocahontas dress we had just picked up at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and cradling a teddy bear dressed up in a Mickey Mouse onesie.

So I put on my red dress and my Stuart Weitzman heels and we slinked out the door.

Who knew you could have so much grown up fun at Disney World? Yesterday at Epcot, as we toured the World Showcase, Mom and Anais watched an Italian clown juggle soccer balls in the Italian Pavilion piazza, while Ajay and I indulged in a wine tasting at La Bodega Italiana. Luciana from Torino poured us two whites, a red and a sparkling red, all from different regions in Italy. We like to think of ourselves as budding connoisseurs and it was great fun trying out foreign vintages we had never before sampled. Then, knowing that Anais and my mother were happily wandering the streets of “Italy,” Ajay and I climbed up onto Epcot’s Venetian bridge and gazed across the lagoon together – a well-deserved, if stolen, moment for a couple who’s just celebrated their ninth year of marriage.

It had been a lovely day for all of us, in ways we had not anticipated. Earlier in the afternoon, we had lunched at Epcot’s China Pavilion, at the Nine Dragons Restaurant, a stunning red lacquered establishment with carved rosewood chairs and antique wooden screens. Frankly, I would not have complained if our meal had consisted of the run-of-the-mill fare you usually find in most Chinese-American restaurants – you know, the chow meins and sweet-and-sour porks of the Western dining world. I mean, that’s basically the level of cuisine I would expect to find at a theme park. Instead, we were presented with a mini emperor’s feast: scallion pancakes like the ones I once ate on the backstreets of Beijing, freshly steamed dim sum, a sautéed filet of white fish in a delicate sauce. I loved too that all of the wait staff was on an exchange program from China – they made this fantasy China feel that much more real. What a surprise. A pleasant one.

Once we left Epcot, Anais was ready to settle into our hotel room, content to spend the night with a cheese pizza, a video, and Grandma.

On the other end of the spectrum, Ajay and I, decked out in red, were ready to hit the town.

We jumped into a cab bound for Disney’s Wilderness Lodge -- one of Disney World’s most popular hotels and with good reason: With its shadow boxes lined with raccoon hats, Native American jewelry, and other turn-of-the century Go West artifacts, the hotel is beautiful and clever, meant to evoke the great stately lodges of the National Parks. We strolled through the charming lobby, which has a lively stream gurgling through it, and popped into the Territory Lounge for a quick cocktail.

Then, we headed to Artist’s Point, a lovely craftsman-style restaurant decorated with Frank Lloyd Wright-era chandeliers and oil paintings of the American Northwest, circa 1900. Our waitress poured us tastes of three luscious wines, two Chardonnays and one Cabernet, all from Oregon and Washington. As we shared a selection of artisan cheese on walnut toast, and supped on Cedar Plank Roasted King Salmon and Potato and Chive Pot Stickers, Ajay turned to me and said, “Wow, with food like this, it’s hard not to admire West Coast hedonism.”

But then his face turned serious -- and sweet. He reached for my hand, raised his glass of wine and said a toast: “To our love -- it’s like one long honeymoon. This is the best Valentine’s Day we’ve ever had.”

After dinner, we ambled through the resort grounds, enjoying the graceful Silver Creek Falls, and the smell of the pine trees. We mused  about a second honeymoon, and all the many places in the world we would love to travel. Morocco, Sweden, a return honeymoon to Tuscany? -- they all seemed possible under that bright moon.

When we finally got home, we found Anais and Mom busy coloring in pictures of Woody and Buzz Lightyear, Aurora and Jasmine. “Oh, Mommy, I missed you,” Anais said, as she wrapped her arms around me. “I like you in that red dress. Did you have a fun Valentine dinner?”

I told her we did. “In fact, little one,” I said. “It was the best Valentine’s Day ever.” I changed out of the red dress. But the magic of the night stayed with me.

Day at EPCOT: Is that a giant golf ball or what?

I have photos of myself at about a dozen international, manmade landmarks – you know...the Eiffel Tower, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Taj Mahal, the London Bridge, Hong Kong’s Giant Buddha, and the list goes on. Now I’ve got one in front of Epcot’s silver sphere – that thing that looks like a shiny, colossal golf ball – and it’s just as cool to me as when I took that first snapshot as a college exchange student in the sophisticated shadow of the Eiffel.

Since I was a teen, Epcot has loomed in my imagination.

It was that amazing place where you could float in outer space, and visit countries all over the world, without leaving Orlando. I mean, in 1982, when Epcot first opened, the word “multiculturalism” hadn’t even been invented, and yet here was an entire theme park devoted to looking outward – and upward.

“Look, Anais!” I cried the moment we saw the sphere. “It’s the giant golf ball!”

“It’s the moon!” Anais said, jumping up and down, and pointing. “It’s a head with a hundred eyes! It’s a snow globe! It’s an igloo!”

“No, it’s the earth,” Ajay said, in dissension. “But not a literal interpretation. It’s a neo-realistic version of the earth.”

Who knew a giant golf ball could inspire so much discussion?

Epcot is a truly gargantuan, sprawling park – thus, its tongue-in-cheek acronym: Every Person Comes Out Tired. What EPCOT really stands for is, “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.” The park was inspired by Walt Disney’s creative genius, and it was designed as a land in which you could “visit the whole world in one day.” I personally think you need about three days for Epcot – it is just so expansive and engaging. 

Moments we loved: Pretending to be Test Dummies and zooming in a racecar on the Test Track. Cruising along in a “clam-mobile” as we followed Nemo’s journey through the ocean. Standing in front of the Living Seas aquarium and watching Anais as she ogled the manatees, a prehistoric looking sea mammal that looks like a clumsy elephant trapped underwater (the two animals are actually closely related – one of many fun facts we learned at Epcot). Taking my mother on the Soarin' ride without telling her it was a simulated hang-gliding experience – ha, ha! The good news: She LOVED seeing California from that rarefied vantage point. “I’m glad you tricked me,” she said after the glider had landed, and she had laughed through the entire ride. The bad news: her coif was a royal mess!

Lingering over lunch at the Coral Reef, a gracious seafood restaurant where diners eat next to a floor-to-ceiling aquarium filled with turtles, stingrays and sharks (and yes, we felt slightly guilty chowing on mahi mahi and catfish as the grouper swam by. Funny how the good Napa chardonnay we were swilling quickly washed those feelings away). Standing at the shining lagoon that looks out onto the World Showcase, and marveling at Disney’s interpretation of Morocco, China, Japan, Norway, Italy, et al  – manifestations so astute it was as if the essence of these countries had been distilled, and then airlifted and dropped into the middle of Orlando, Florida.

But alas, there’s no way we could have seen the whole of Epcot in one trip. Sorry, Walt, we simply could not visit the whole world in one day – nor would we have wanted to. We loved Epcot so much that we decided we would carve time out of the next few days at Walt Disney World to return. We all wanted the time to idle and dream in this fascinating place – that’s one thing we could unanimously agree upon. 

The Epcot sphere – well, we were never going to see eye to eye about what exactly that was meant to be.

“Mommy, it’s a balloon filled with fairy dust, I know it is,” said Anais, pointing at the sphere one more time before we left the park.

“No,” my mother, she of the messy hair, said quietly. “It’s a magic ball. It makes dreams come true.”

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