Andrea Barnett, photographer photo wdwnews.com
Having made Walt Disney World our home away from home for over a decade now, it is easy to say, when it comes to rides and attractions, I have pretty much done and seen it all at least once. While I absolutely love going and experiencing everything on my must do and favorites list, I still get just as excited when the new attractions come out.
But what’s even more enjoyable?
Bringing first timers on those attractions that we have come to love and enjoy. To watch their eyes light up, hear them giggle and squeal. Take for instance my father-in-law. Now, I will start off by saying when it comes to rides, my father-in-law is not a fan, especially those thrill rides. But what he is a fan of is making his grand-kids happy. When my son asked him to go on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, he was absolutely willing to go, even if he was a little hesitant.
I will admit I did not know how it would go. I had of course brought others on rides that they were hesitant themselves to go on in the past, some of which have not turned out so wonderful. But I had hoped my father-in-law would be a good sport and go with the flow. What I was not expecting was this would be one of the highlights from the trip.
As we winded our way through the cue, my son talked him through every nook and cranny of the ride, the line. With each explanation his eyes light up at the train as riders were hooting and hollering-whether it was out of nerves, joy or fear I did not know. As we got closer to the loading dock, he questioned whether he was really going to like it or not, and we assured him all the way through that if nothing more, he could say he conquered at least ONE of the mountains at Magic Kingdom Park. Before we knew it, it was our time to take a trip on the wildest ride in the wilderness – there was no turning back then.
So how did it go? Well let me be the first to say, I have never laughed so hard on a roller coaster that I spent most of my time wiping the tears from my eyes. Yes, I was laughing that hard. So was my husband, my son and my father-in-law. From the very start he was smiling, laughing and just seemed like he was actually enjoying it. In fact judging from the amount of laughter and the hollering; to me it seemed like he was having the best time of his life in that moment. When we got off and was making our way to the rest of the crew, he admitted it was absolutely fun and worth every minute we spent cry-laughing our way through it all. And you know, he may even go back on it again.
SCORE!
He may not be a huge roller coaster fan, but I would like to thank we may have turned him on to them just a little more that day.
Growing up inn the suburbs of Washington, D.C., Aleisha has never let distance stop her from enjoying Walt Disney World vacations. From an early age, whether it be on a family vacation or tagging along with a friend on her vacation, she fell in love with the magic and the joy that Disney brought. Now making her own memories as a DVC member with a Star Wars obsessed little boy, she tries to capture the same magical feelings into every day life. She has quickly established a reputation with friends, relatives and coworkers as a real-life Belle. Always with a book in her hand and available to help others plan their magical Disney vacations.
Beyond Disney, Aleisha is a lover of all genres of music; craves a good concert from time to time, considers her food allergies a blessing rather than a curse and can be seen at the good old hockey game during the NHL season.
