Marie, you stay and record it and I’ll look at it later – I just HAVE to change and go for a swim.
So says my 8 year old companion, 90 seconds into the nightly Disney firework extravaganza which we are viewing from our balcony (the room costing extra for the privilege of course!!!).
To be fair, she has a point doesn’t she – these displays are great when they take off and then again at the finale – we’d all be happy to skip the 10-15 minutes in between!
I’ve visited the US umpteen times over the years – so I suppose I’ve stopped seeing a lot of things. And I’ve never had the pleasure of visiting with an 8 year old raised on tictok and YouTube –
Holly’s wish list was modest – she had to go to Target and Chick-fil-A. And…. ok ….Disney but only if WE wanted to!
Some stand out moments –
Her absolute elation, 3 minutes into our Target visit, when she found Barbie Skipper’s First Job Target (did I mention she’s Barbie-mad!)
The screech from the back seat of the car when she spotted her first YELLOW SCHOOL BUS!
Her awe at seeing FORK LIGHTNING for the first time.
Chick-fil-A sauce is just the BEST (apparently!!)
Seeing not one, but TWO Tesla Cybertrucks!!
A hotel swimming pool open until 11.00pm!!!
So many CHICKEN WINGS – so little time!!! The hotter the sauce, the better!!
MICKEY MOUSE WAFFLES for breakfast.
The EVERGLADES TRAM RIDE being the absolute low point of her holiday! (The Airboat was OK though!)
The SMALL WORLD Disney Ride being the second lowest point of her holiday.
Did I mention she’s a thrill seeker?
The TRON Lightcycle Run (NOT for the fainthearted!!!) being the highlight of Magic Kingdom.
(She’s up there – while I’m getting light-headed just looking up at it!!)
In the same vein – Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure in Universal wasn’t bad!
But – what made the GREATEST impression of all?
It’s our first night and we make sure to be on the balcony around 9.00pm for the firework display. Nothing happens – no show. Tom eventually phones reception because we’ve paid extra for the rooms etc…… They have no idea why the show hasn’t gone ahead but it‘s out of their control, blah, blah…. Anyway – about 5 minutes later, what do we hear? Fireworks! Well!! Holly can’t believe it – TOM MADE DISNEY FIREWORKS HAPPEN WITH A PHONECALL!! That’s my man!!!
Photo Attribution – (Target and Chick-fil-A courtesy Unsplash)
Well, that’s a different blog. So nice to see Disneyland from a child’s point of view, notwithstanding the fact that we are all children when we visit Orlando. Glad you enjoyed the week, looks fun..
We’d a ball despite some very dodgy weather. It’s been many years since we travelled with a child so great to experience it again…
This was fun to visit all the high and low adventures with the 8 year old. Thanks for sharing the story and pictures. 🙂
Glad you enjoyed! It was fun seeing it all from her point of view.
Thanks for sharing ♥️
Very welcome – glad you enjoyed. XXXMarie
Hilarious, love this. Not only an 8 year old’s perspective but a foreigner too. Not many 8 year olds in Canada or the US would get excited over a school bus 😊 Maggie
Ah but it wasn’t just any school bus Maggie – it was YELLOW!!! A staple of every US kids TV programme and cartoon!! And to see one in REAL LIFE!!
😄
This bought back memories of taking a 12year old to New York (from Australia) many years ago. Highlight – FAO Schwartz toy shop – best variety of robots ever. He then wanted to make the robot. Low – the Met. I loved travelling with children
YES! FAO Schwartz in NYC – had to do that! And a while later it was Abercrombie and Fitch – he couldn’t wait to get home with his new hoodie – my memory of those damned hoodies was the hood with 3 layers which would never dry out after a wash🤣.
Many nice memories we shop there and other when my boys were 8 yrs old too, and they took the yellow bus to school !! Thanks
Ah – glad this is evoking good memories for you…
What a special time! I share her love of Target haha
It was actually my first time too!!! 😅
Oh what fun to see travelling through her eyes! Children often surprise us with their choice of highlight – rarely what we expect it to be 😀 Although I do share something of her excitement when I see something quintessentially American for the first time (although not school buses as we can never quite remember the rules about when we’re obliged to stop!)
We’re well out of the habit of facilitating others when travelling so it was a real throwback… Its funny how preoccupied we were with the weather – we’d SO many grey days (Storm Debby coincided with our visit) – but because it was warm she was happy – she could swim and do all the things she wanted while the 4 adults were bemoaning the lack of sun!!
PS – while I have ya….. heading to London tomorrow til Saturday – was going to reach out and see if you’re in town but we’re actually caught with family events most of the time – they haven’t even been finalised so not making any other plans – hopefully another time Sarah….
Aw how lovely to see it through small eyes exploring the world for the first time – the excitement and joy must have been wonderful to see 🙂
It truly was – it was great fun and made for a very special trip…..
You’ve got an interesting theme here! Target, what a shame that the chain has left Canada. I remember Auditors coming from Bermuda twice a year and filling their empty suitcases there.
I don’t know how I never came across the store before this trip!! It’ll be on my US list from now on!
As a Florida native, I’m glad to read you all had a wonderful time visiting. And kudos to Tom for the fireworks! 🙂
We’ve had several great trips to the US – we love the open roads and the great expanses… We’d a great time in Florida, Richard, despite the dodgy weather. We visited before – 1999 with our son – so we mostly retraced steps with our now 34 yr old son and his family. Miami was the only new feature….
And YES – isn’t he the man!!!!😅 Holly is talking about it!!!