The Battle For My Wallet V: Beyond the Number IV (Chapter Eighteen, p.75, 5/18)

[lisalonglash]

Oh boy, I laughed so hard at that last installment that I ended up braying like an onager - coincidentally, coke up the nose is a bad, bad thing!

 

[OhMari]

I feel so left out, I can't figure out the accent for the Long Island lady.

We rented from the same company and we were suppose to get a new Arcadia or similar. We learned when you get a rental from DTD Budget place, plan on a similar, we got a purple PT Cruiser. Luckily when I was in the car it looked like just another car-and the shuttle ride ended up to be a 2 hour ride for my dh. He said he got to see were Orlando actually was.

 

[ZZUB]

You're right, I just got a little excited when I saw the free dining announcement last night.

Judging from the near hysteria on the Resorts Board, you weren't the only one.

For the record, diet ginger ale through the nose is painful.

We're not actually keeping a record, but if we were, it would reflect that diet ginger ale is per se painful.

Did you note the Giordano's restaurant in the strip mall near WD?

I didn't notice much of anything. I was driving down the street with my head out the window. Not easy to drive that way, you understand.

Joey is CLASSIC; I'm too depressed to eat. I'll probably eat in, like, five minutes.

And now you see one of many reasons I like to quote Mr. Tribiani.

Oh boy, I laughed so hard at that last installment that I ended up braying like an onager - coincidentally, coke up the nose is a bad, bad thing!

I have no idea what an onager is but if I made you bray, then I reckon I've done a good day's work.

Oh you said bray not pray?

Nevermind.

I feel so left out, I can't figure out the accent for the Long Island lady.

Do you watch Friends? She sounded a lot like Joey's mom. Kind of looked like her too, now that I think about it.

 

[lisalonglash]

I have no idea what an onager is but if I made you bray, then I reckon I've done a good day's work.

Oh you said bray not pray?

Nevermind.

I didn't think I could say the other word for a wild donkey on the DISBoards, so I went with onager Yep, bray, but I pray too, just not while I'm drinking a glass of Coke and reading your TR

 

[AshClan]

Everything I need to know in life, I learned from my dog.

Troubling. If I learned stuff from the Schpup!, I'd never speak pwopewly. And I'd have a bad attitude. NOSchpup!

I didn't notice much of anything. I was driving down the street with my head out the window.

So admit it, you've obviously learned SOME things from the Schpup!

 

[Montana Disney Fan]

I didn't notice much of anything. I was driving down the street with my head out the window. Not easy to drive that way, you understand.

Hmmm.... That actually explains quite a bit.

 

[mikymouse]

Did you note the Giordano's restaurant in the strip mall near WD? It's the best!

We tried Giordanos this trip... talk about a battle for my wallet...it cost $42.00for two pizzas! I didn't think the crust was that good, but I really liked the cheese. We didn't specifically request the Chicago Style, if that is something you have to do.

We need the tag fairy to visit this trip report, there is a lot of material here.

Zzzub, how much ducks did you save by renting from DTD? I mean before double discount, triple decker on my cell phone customer care calls and lawyering antics. We rented from the Budget at the airport and it was amazing clean including the car seat.

I am assuming you gave the keys a purrell bath before actually putting your skin near'em.

 

[Piglets Mommy]

I have heard all about the wonderful Zzub Trip reports, and I finally found one! I still have a long way to go, but I can certainly see why you have so many fans! Count me in as another one!!!

 

[ZZUB]

So admit it, you've obviously learned SOME things from the Schpup!

Sad but twue.

Zzub, how much ducks did you save by renting from DTD? I mean before double discount, triple decker on my cell phone customer care calls and lawyering antics.

I don't recall, b/c I didn't keep the info for what the National quote was. But the difference was enough to make me go with Budget. I wouldn't rent from Budget again I don't think. But when you're picking up your car in the middle of the week and need to get it at/near Disney World, that limits your options.

I have heard all about the wonderful Zzub Trip reports, and I finally found one! I still have a long way to go, but I can certainly see why you have so many fans! Count me in as another one!!!

Welcome Piglets Mommy! Glad to have you on board. I don't know how wonderful these things are but I'm glad you're enjoying them so far.

Could there be another chapter coming this Monday? Could there be three Mondays in a row with new updates??? Well if we live in a country where a one term senator who holds himself out as a uniter (despite any evidence he has ever united anyone but people in his own party), as post racial (despite clear and damaging evidence that he is anything but) and who makes Hillary Clinton look moderate is a whisker away from becoming president, then I imagine anything is possible.

Stay tuned.

 

[JKMJ441724]

Could there be another chapter coming this Monday? Could there be three Mondays in a row with new updates???

Stay tuned.
Same Bat Time.
Same Bat Channel.

Oh, wait. Can I say that on a Disney Board???

Well if we live in a country where a one term senator who holds himself out as a uniter (despite any evidence he has ever united anyone but people in his own party), as post racial (despite clear and damaging evidence that he is anything but) and who makes Hillary Clinton look moderate is a whisker away from becoming president, then I imagine anything is possible.

To semi-quote the late-great Shel Silverstein

Listen to the mustn'ts child. Listent to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts.
Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me. Anything can happen, Child. Anything can be.

 

[ILMICKEY]

Could there be another chapter coming this Monday? Could there be three Mondays in a row with new updates??? Well if we live in a country where a one term senator who holds himself out as a uniter (despite any evidence he has ever united anyone but people in his own party), as post racial (despite clear and damaging evidence that he is anything but) and who makes Hillary Clinton look moderate is a whisker away from becoming president, then I imagine anything is possible.

Stay tuned.

Though one is CLEARLY much more scary than the other, and I'm not saying which, I can't wait.

I love my Zzub Mondays!

 

[praisehisname]

Could there be another chapter coming this Monday?

Stay tuned.

Makes Monday worth looking forward to!

Denise

 

[MazdaUK]

LOVE your reports! Almost worth coming back from DLRP to find the link in my inbox!

 

[tina_la]

YEA! would love to see another report came Monday. It's prob the one good thing about Mondays! We will be here whenever your ready.

 

[JKMJ441724]

I read somewhere that Disney has something in the neighborhood of 15 Monorails.

Just watching Disney on History Channel's Modern Marvels. They just said that Disney has 12 monorails. I don't know how old this show is. But there you have it.

How's that for a not-being-able-to-let-it-go?

 

[LaLa]

But since I spent a couple of days at Disney myself (and a few more at Universal Studios) this last week, I suppose it was worth it.

But just barely.

You know, I'm not complaining, but I think you could've come up with a better title for this one. I think a better fit would be "Let's see how many times I can say pubic hair in this installment."

The answer is somewhere around 15. Or is it 12? I forget. NOZZUB.

I'll tell you what I wish I could forget. I wish I could forget the thing about the sock and the hair. Now I'M going to have night terrors imaging that disgustingly filthy rental car of yours. Please tell me you didn't let your family touch the seats. God forbid a million times they should touch the seats.

...although I loved the 80s when we didn’t wear them.

Somewhere in Florida there's a ragged out Sperry Topsider with curly cue shoelaces still knocking folks unconscious with its toxic aroma. Sperry Topsiders. Knockin' em dead since 1984.

I fully understand that by doing so I added another tear stain to the cheek of the proud Indian chief.

DED!

I started to get embarrassed until I realized I was at that moment wearing a Mickey Mouse shirt and my big boy shorts; I reeked of sweat and sunscreen.

And THAT was the moment you should've gotten embarassed.

To not eat there would be like going to Orlando and NOT going to Disney World.

Who does that?!

Not the LaLas. Thankfully.

Disney clap trap

I have never heard that term before. Is that like a Disney dump shop?

During dinner, the family next to us wanted to have some fun with the wait staff. But the Dad noticed Baby ZZUB was asleep in her stroller. So he called over their waiter and said, “my girls would like some ketchup, but we don’t want to wake up their baby.” The waiter looked at Baby Z asleep, looked at the Dad’s kids and then looked around.

Pointing at the Dad’s girls he said, “you guys come with me.” They got up and followed him. He walked over to another table and said, “you guys have two new daughters.” He pulled up some chairs for the girls and sat them down. And then he had everyone bring ketchup to the table for them.

That’s good Disney right there.

That was really sweet. Of both the dad and the waiter. For all the rude people we all encounter in Disney, there are also lots of thoughtful people as well. It's nice to be reminded of that from time to time.

”Really?” I said with mock surprise. “I would have guessed Mississippi.”

She must've been criminally intelligent and exuding class, charm and grace. So....

Loved this one, ZZUB. Can't wait for the next one.

Bring it, my friend.

 

[JKMJ441724]

But since I spent a couple of days at Disney myself (and a few more at Universal Studios) this last week, I suppose it was worth it.

We expect a full report in the morning.

I'll tell you what I wish I could forget. I wish I could forget the thing about the sock and the hair.

I wish I could forget the show Punky Brewster, and Paris Hilton.

For all the rude people we all encounter in Disney, there are also lots of thoughtful people as well.

And that is something we should all strive to be.

Remember when you were little and your mom would drop you off at the movies with a jar of jam and a little spoon?

You're so pretty.

 

[LaLa]

We expect a full report in the morning.

I'm not sure about in the morning, but a small(ish)report may be forthcoming on that trip.

I wish I could forget the show Punky Brewster, and Paris Hilton.

Paris Hilton I can see. But no love for Soleil Moon Frye? She gets points for the name alone. Or does she? At any rate, it's a fun name to say. Kind of like ZZUB was until I found out it was one syllable and not two.

You're so pretty.

DED! I hoped somebody would catch that one and not leave me hanging. That's one of my favorite Joey/Rachel exchanges of all time. Mad props JKMJ441724!

Speaking of leaving me hanging....

Hey Melly.

 

[JKMJ441724]

I'm not sure about in the morning, but a small(ish)report may be forthcoming on that trip.

OK. We will settle for chapter 1.

Kind of like ZZUB was until I found out it was one syllable and not two.

Exactly. I still call him ZeeZubb. Because I talk about him all the time. Or is that just in my head?

DED! I hoped somebody would catch that one and not leave me hanging. That's one of my favorite Joey/Rachel exchanges of all time. Mad props JKMJ441724!

I tried to find a smiling skittle that was taking a bow. But no dice. So
I love all things F*R*I*E*N*D*S.

I'M FIRST! I'M FIRST! Oh wait. You haven't posted anything yet. But when you do, I call dibs on being first.

And one more by Joey: Standard shotgun rules apply. I'm in sight of the [tripe report] and I called it.

 

[ZZUB]

Chapter Fifteen: A Day in the Laundry, a Night in the World

I think it’s only right to again pause and consider how my view of EPCOT has evolved and changed over the last few years. And, as I stated previously, although there are still parts of EPCOT that under whelm me, there is much about it we have grown to love.

And for the second year in a row, we had three days planned there.

Three.

Days.

In EPCOT!

That was unimaginable just two years ago.

It’s amazing how perceptions change. Makes me wonder if two years from now we’ll all be talking about how brilliant George W. Bush is.

Someone pick Ashclan up of the floor. Poor thing just fell over and hit her head.

In our plan for Disney World, our EPCOT days were set out as a stay day, a break day and a half day. Having already done our stay day, this was our break day.

A break day, for those of you who are not ZZUBs, is a day when you take a break.

The collective "duh" is deafening.

We arrived in EPCOT a few minutes before the rope drop. Which, quite candidly is only half the story. We drove to EPCOT that day because although I love me some Wilderness Lodge, the transportation to EPCOT is sucky.

Sucky, for your edification, is less violent than sucks.

Our plan that morning was to head first to the Character Connection and let the girls have some time with their friends. In a way, I miss the old character deal that used to be here. It was less garish, less advertised, less populated. But even though the new Character Connection looks like something you’d find in Disney World, the CMs working there do a great job of it. They were happy and playing with the kids. They moved you along at a decent pace without making you feel rushed.

And man, I love me some Goofy!

As I was standing with my camera taking pictures of my wife and girls with Pluto, Goof came up behind me and stuck his big ol’ face next to mine. So I snapped a picture of the two of us.

Truthfully, we weren’t that hot.

ZZUBY loves her some Goofy, too. I’ve got the greatest picture of her waiting her turn to see him. The look of anticipation on her face is not unlike the look I have when I’m standing in line at the Double D.

I’ve got another sweet shot of her giving Goofy a big ol’ hug. It’s pure puddin.

Unless you consider that inside that suit is just some sweaty, lanky college student making less money per hour than my wife pays for a decaf chai soy latte.

When we finished up with the characters, we headed to Soren Lorenson. Again. We drew Fastpasses and then ZZUBY and I got in line and we also grabbed baby swaps. While in line, we befriended the family standing behind us. They were all about Universal Studios and their son who was, I think 10 or so, kept us entertained with talk about the Hulk and the Mummy and other rides that sounded “wicked cool.” Whatever that means.

They had only been on Soarin once before, and of course we’ve ridden it 8 gabillion times. ZZUBY told them you have to sit in the front row and I added, preferably in the center.

“Really? Does it make that big a difference?”
“Oh, it makes a difference,” I said. I was wearing a Wilderness Lodge shirt and a ball cap with a tiny red Mickey Mouse on it. And of course, a pair of big boy shorts. I looked authoritative.

“Which section should we ask for?”
“If y’all want to ride with us, I’ll just tell them we’re together and then they’ll seat us in the good seats.”
“Hey, that would be great.”

So when we got to the end, I told them we were 6 and we wanted to wait for Section B, first row.

Enrique must have been off that day. Stripping those nasty trans fats out of every dessert on property. We didn’t encounter any attitude at all.

Soarin was as it always is: fantastic. And when it was over, the family who sat with us agreed it was “wicked cool” sitting where we did. We said goodbye and went off to catch up with Mrs. Z and Baby Z. Then we tagged up and she took ZZUBY and rode while I walked around with the baby. I started chatting up a CM at that little Schpupin sized gift shop area. She was from my home town and I asked her where she went to high school. Turns out she graduated from my alma mater 20 years after I did.

I felt as old as John McCain looks.

After they finished Soarin, ZZUBY wanted to talk with Crush. We headed to the Seas and accidentally rode Nemo again. Which was more pleasant than our accidental visit to Mexico. And then we talked with Crush. But Crush had a cold. Because how else could I explain that he didn’t sound a thing like Crush?

I snapped some pictures of Spaceship Earth while my wife strollered up the girls.

And I thought these birds were funny:

On our way to lunch, we bumped into this rolling Muppet deal.

I thought it was wicked cool, but ZZUBY, whose never seen the Muppets, thought it was totally lame. And Mrs. Z wondered where she could score a decaf chai soy latte.

So we moved on. It was lunch time. I didn’t care too much for the Land Food Court and even if I did, you have to take your kids out of the strollers to go in there and we were trying to lull Baby Z to sleep. Which would have been pointless if we had to take her out of her stroller.

I remembered that the Electric Umbrella was now serving free refills.

Free Refills might as well be my nickname. ZZUB loves him some free refills.

Plus, we were craving burgers and fries. Remember when you used to be able to get burgers and fries at Disney World? Before the food police started force feeding us wheat rolls and Mrs. Smith’s Fat Free Frozen Pies.

We had a great meal at Electric Umbrella and enjoyed countless refills of our beverages. We saved our cups and used them for the rest of the day. Sure it was inconvenient to walk all the way back to the Electric Umbrella from China, but dadgummit, the drinks were free! When we came home I put them for sale on Ebay. Got $15 for one and $13.75 for the other.

I think the buyer was a Diser: the name LaLa looked vaguely familiar.

After lunch, we played around in Innoventions for a bit. And then ZZUBY and I were craving ice-cream. EPCOT = ice-cream to her. So we walked out and looked for a cart to buy some treats. After I finished paying for our treats, we walked around for a bit, looking for some shade to sit down in. Shade is elusive at EPCOT. Then we spotted some shade off to the side and as we walked over there, I heard the music start up and so did ZZUBY.

“Daddy! It’s the fountain show! It’s the fountain show! Can we watch it?”
“Sure. Let’s sit right here and we can watch it and eat our ice-cream.”

About a year and a half ago, I found the music for one of the six fountain shows and downloaded it. ZZUBY likes it a lot and before she discovered the music to Pirates (a movie she’s never seen), she liked this music the best. It was a big deal for her to get to sit and watch the fountains dancing to the music she’d heard in her Daddy’s car so many times before.

We sat in the shade on the little wall in front of Innoventions. We ate ice-cream and watched the water fly and splash and dance to music which tickled our ears.

It’s one of my favorite memories of any trip to Disney World.

And it was completely unplanned.

When it was over, we wiped the ice-cream off our faces and headed out of the park, back to our dusty, but sock free, rental car.

We got back to the Lodge and while my wife put the girls down for a nap, I took the dirty clothes, my phone, my mug and a newspaper and headed down to do some laundry.

About half way through my wash, there was a kerfuffle in the laundry room. This lady needed to do a wash but all of the washers were full. Mine was still going but the others were finished. She left and came back a few minutes later. Same situation. She asked me what she should do.

Remember: I had the hat, the shirt AND the big boy shorts: I looked like I knew something.

I confessed that I didn’t know what Disney World laundry protocol was but back in college if someone had their stuff in the wash and you needed it, you could take it out. We actually would dump it on the floor. I didn’t counsel this lady to do any such thing. But when she asked, “do you think I can just put it in one of these baskets?” I said I thought that seemed reasonable.

She emptied one washer into the basket on wheels and started her wash. Then she left. I was watching the TV and drinking mug of pop and now closely guarding my stuff in the dryer. It was another 20 minutes or so before the lady whose wash had been removed showed up. She was in QUITE A RAGE when she found her clothes out of the washer.

If I calculated it correctly, she left her wash in there for about an hour. Also, as we later discovered, she had her stuff in three different washers.

I’m not taking sides in this thing, but if you’re going to take three washers, you might want to be there when the cycles finish. If not, you shouldn’t get huffy if someone moves your stuff.

And washer lady got pretty darn huffy.

So I couldn’t very well watch the tv with her huffing and puffing.

Then basket lady came back. And I just knew there was gonna be a cat fight. My money was on basket lady. She looked like she could throw down. But there was mostly just a lot of fake niceties. When washer lady left, basket lady asked me if she’d said anything. And I wondered where Potsie and Ralph Malph were. I played it down because there was no point in telling her how huffed up she was. But then washer lady came back in because her bra was missing.

My clothes had finished drying but I hated to miss what was coming next. So I folded them. S L O W L Y. There then ensued an intense search of every machine: washer and dryer for the bra. With her eyebrow raised, washer lady asked basket lady if she’d seen it when she took her clothes out. Basket lady had not. I offered that I hadn’t seen it either. Not that I was looking for it. But I think I would have noticed a green bra.

She put her clothes in a couple of dryers and stood around this time.

Basket lady also wasn’t leaving.

Then another lady showed up to get her stuff out of the dryer.

I unfolded and re-folded my clothes.

Basket lady’s husband/boyfriend/father? came in. She told him her green bra was missing. She didn’t whisper.

“Which bra?” he asked.

”The GREEN one!” she spit back at him. How could he not know which one she meant?! “I know it was in with my clothes but I can’t find it now. Maybe it fell behind the machine when that lady moved my stuff.”

“That lady” was in a conversation with the twins’ mom, but she heard washer lady. She snickered.

Who’s the twins’ mom? She’s the lady who came in to get her clothes out of the dryer. She had twins. And they were up at 6:00 am running around her room. And the neighbors didn’t care for it. So they banged on the door separating their room and asked them to keep it down.

She was a nice lady and I really did want to sympathize with her, but I think you’ve got to keep your kids quiet before 7 and after 11 at Disney World. So I found a nice way of saying I agree it’s hard to keep little ones quiet. I suggested they might do better in a non-adjoining room.

Meanwhile, washer lady’s search for her green bra continued unabated. I caught her eyeing the clothes I was folding. Eventually she gave up and took her clothes back up to her room where, one imagines, she discovered her green bra hanging over the shower curtain.

Convinced the excitement was over, I headed back up to our room, met up with my wife and girls and we headed down to the pool for a little water time.

Then we showered and got cleaned up for dinner in EPCOT. We were meeting some friends in the Biergarten.

I confess, I’m pretty selfish with my family time in Disney World. I don’t quickly share it with other people. We’ve done it in the past and I don’t care for it. I don’t see enough of my wife and girls during the year to share our week in Disney World. So if we’re going to make an exception for someone to spend time with us, we have to have a high degree of confidence that we’ll enjoy our time with them, that we'll be able to follow the same itinerary and that we’ll be sad to see them leave at the end of the night.

Several years ago, some good (at the time) friends of ours went to Disney World with us. They’d never been, but heard us talk about it and thought they’d like to experience it with us. And although we talked at length about what to expect and the heat and the fatigue and we expressly stated that they should not feel compelled to do everything we did, they refused to ever leave our side. It wasn’t a miserable trip. But it wasn’t a great one either. And it was the last time we let friends come along with us.

We’re pretty close to my sister and brother in law and we’ve enjoyed some great times with them in Disney World. But since they go to Disney World every five minutes and we only go once a year, we’ve discovered that our touring styles are radically different. And rather than spending 3 or 4 days together, we now only spend one day together in Disney World. It makes for a smoother visit.

A few weeks before we left for Disney World, I was trading email with a good friend of mine from back east when we discovered we were both going to be in Disney World at the same time. I hemmed and hawed for a bit and then suggested we meet up for dinner if our park days overlapped. Which is to say, we like these people enough to think we’d enjoy taking a meal with them. In Disney World.

Once we figured out that we were both going to be in EPCOT on the same night, we decided to have dinner together and I recommended Biergarten in Germany. We’ve never eaten there before but I’d read good things. And, as I figured it, we’d be sitting with people anyway, why not sit with people we like? And if they turn out to be complete Disney bores, we can ditch them after dinner. The baby is a sure fire excuse.

Not that we’ve ever used her that way.

Gawd forbid a million times.

But I confess, we were pretty nervous about meeting them for dinner. Glenn and Lori are good people and we enjoy them, but still, it’s Disney World. And Disney brings out either the best or the worst in people. We knew Glenn and Lori to be normal, God fearing people who love them some sweet tea and know how to Roll Tide (even if they foolishly pull for an inferior SEC school). But did they appreciate the value of a well-timed Fastpass? If called upon, could Glenn properly unleash the power? Would their kids teach ZZUBY how to cuss? Having been burned by so-called friends in Disney World before, we were hoping Glenn and Lori didn’t turn into raving idiots who fight with each other in front of us.

Mrs. Z and I have been married for either 13 or 14 years now depending on whether you believe the date printed in our wedding album or on the calendar I had made for Mrs. Z for Christmas. Like most couples, we can communicate without words. And we have a signal to let the other know, “get me the heck out of here!” As we walked from the Boardwalk to Germany, we reminded ourselves it was only dinner and if Glenn and Lori turned into horrible people, we’d drop ‘em like stale donuts.

They arrived at Biergarten ahead of us and checked in. They were waiting for us as we walked up. And in about a minute’s time it was clear we were going to have a great time with them after all.

That’s the thing about good friends. You can go an entire life without seeing them and then meet up with them in Germany and feel like you just saw them the week before at Sonny’s.

We had gifts for each other’s kids and traded those and Mrs. Z and I couldn’t get over how beautiful their kids were and how well behaved. Our kids had never met each other but, as kids do, they became fast friends.

We were seated at a table right by the dance floor and Lori wondered who we tipped to get the table. I reminded her that they checked in ahead of us. The location was good. I loved the food at Biergarten. LOVED IT! Mrs. Z pretty well hated it though. She’s not as big on German food. Also, the baby had on a pair of her fussy britches for a bit and that made it hard for Mrs. Z to get to eat too much. After dinner, the kids hit the dance floor while Glenn, Lori, Mrs. Z and I caught up. But for the really loud band, it was a great place to hang out with good friends.

And because they were Disney normal and not Disney idiots, we didn’t suddenly have to leave after dinner. Glenn and I took the kids and headed to Test Track while Lori and Mrs. Z took the baby to find us a good spot for Illuminations. ZZUBY had decided that since her new best friend liked Test Track, she would give it another try.

Glenn and I took the kids on a strollercoaster on the way there. Our kids loved us swerving and popping wheelies, acting like we were going to ram our strollers into each other and other things.

Test Track is now ZZUBY's favorite ride. She loved it. Loved it! They grow up so fast.

We were going to ride a second time but it was close to 9:00 and we had to find our wives in time for Illuminations. Fortunately, they’re big Illuminations people too. Glenn called Lori as we came out of TT and she told us where to go to meet her and Mrs. Z. Lori had scored us a prime location. P R I M E! It was so good, I won’t tell anyone where it was for fear it becomes THE place. But when Glenn and I wheeled up with the kids and I saw the location, I said in my big voice, “Lori Mc*****, you know you some EPCOT!” If I had any doubts that they were good Disney people before, once I saw the location she scored, I knew they were our kind of people.

Mrs. Z unfortunately had to take off with the baby to the Baby Care Center to ride out the noise. We told her we’d come get her when it was over. As we stood there, our kids showing out for each other, we mostly talked about Disney stuff. Because they’re crazy-go-nuts for the Mouse like we are. We compared and contrasted Wishes with Illuminations. Wondered which one we liked better. We pondered the efficacy of the globe. It was pure Disney-nerd talk. But in a cool way. It was the kind of conversations people have here on the Disboards. But it was real life with real people. It was nice to be in the company of good friends who love Disney as much as we do.

Watching Illuminations is worship for me. I don’t mean I worship the show, the park in which it takes place or even the Earth it kind of celebrates. But watching Illuminations reminds me of how small I am in the much bigger universe in which I live. And if all creation bears witness to the Creator, then I reckon that includes created things, like Illuminations. I think about this Rich Mullins’ song, “it took the hand of God almighty to part the waters in the sea, but it only took one little lie to separate you and me, oh we are not as strong as we think we are.” I watch the symphony of fireworks, fire, lasers and music play out in front of me. And I am amazed. Awed. I’m reminded that the world God created for us is huge and complex and filled with His manifold blessings.

Including Walt Disney World.

I stand at the edge of the lake with my little girl who’s no longer afraid of fireworks and with our good friends who love Jesus and love Disney too and I notice the lake is lined with thousands of people enjoying the show. And I’m aware that I’m not as strong as I think I am. For all of my so-called wit and alleged talent, I can’t do what God has done.

I doubt the creators of Illuminations had any of that in mind when they created the show. But when I watch it, I see the hand of God almighty separating the waters in the sea, speaking the world into existence. And creating me and you. Not on accident, mind you. But purposefully. We are fearfully and wonderfully made.

And yet, we are not as strong as we think we are.

Standing in the shadow of the final burst of fireworks, I am reminded that I am but a very small part of this incredible world God has created. Yet, even though I am but one man among billions of people, God knows my name and He loves me, too.

I don’t think anything happens by accident and I believe all good things are created by God. So I’m not so surprised as I listen to the post-show song, Promise, and find lyrics which suggest God’s hand is evident in places we don’t always expect to find it:

There is music
If you listen
In the rhythm of each breath we take
Destinations undiscovered
Revelations from every choice we make
And I know
There are diamonds dancing in the sky
All we have to do is open our eyes.

Indeed.

Whether the diamonds dancing are the stars He placed in the sky or a well-crafted fireworks display He inspired, all creation bears witness to the Creator.

We met up with my wife and the baby and we walked out with our friends, laughing and talking. We stopped near the International Gate and let the kids run around. Run around and be kids. They had a time. It was still kind of warm and the pictures we took bear witness to how hot we were.

We said goodbye to our friends and walked back to the Boardwalk. We were feeling a little hungry so we stopped in the bakery for snacks. The incredible aroma that meets your nose when the door opens will make you hungry even if you weren’t already. But I’m ZZUB; it just made me hungrier. I picked up some treats and a couple bottles of water and my wife and I sat with the girls at a table on the Boardwalk and talked for a bit. About our day. About our night. About our friends and how good it was to see them.

It finally started cooling off a bit. There was a gentle wind blowing on the Boardwalk. It’s uncanny how the slightest breeze at the end of the night is such a welcome relief.

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