Loss of Imagination and Magic - Essay Example

We arrived at the park just as the gates were being opened. My daughter jumped up and down, her face shining brightly with excitement. It was the last day of summer and the chilly air was already heralding in the beginning of fall. It was surprising to see the crowds that had gathered already, and a certain sense of panic overtook me. I took my daughter’s small, pink hand in mine and held on tight as the park opened and the visitors began to pour in. After purchasing our tickets, we walked into the park.

My daughter squealed with delight when she noticed the bright red train that was the Walt Disney World Railroad. This attraction took the visitors all around the park, and it was one of the only attractions that didn’t appear to have a permanent line of people glued to its entrance at all times. My daughter began pulling me toward it. The distant sound of carnival-style music churned through the air, and only a few feet away, I noticed a person dressed as Pluto waving at the children that passed by.

The golden glint of the costume caught my eye, and I started to point this sight out to my daughter, but she was having none of it. All she wanted was to get on that train. It was surprising to see how much determination she had considering everything else that was going on around her. Any other child might be distracted by the overwhelming sights and sounds, but not her. We stood in line with twenty or thirty other people for the better part of a half an hour. Finally, it was our turn, and my daughter’s excitement had proved to be contagious.

I knew it was only a train ride, but excitement rose in my chest, blowing up my heart like a balloon when we were finally able to take a seat at the back of the train. Not long after, the train pulled away from its station, and we were off for a jaunt around the park. I attempted to listen to the garbled, tinny voice of the conductor as it blared through the speaker hanging nearby, but it proved to be too much of a headache. Besides, listening to my daughter animatedly point at everything we passed was much more entertaining.

In what seemed like no time at all, we ended up back where we started, but by now, my daughter was bursting to go on the other rides she had seen on our tour. With my stomach cramping and grumbling, I knew that I would need some sustenance before going on any more rides, so I took back the reigns and steered us toward the The Crystal Palace which is a buffet style restaurant where diners can eat with their favorite Disney characters like Winnie the Pooh. The smell of scrambled eggs and french toast wafted through the air making me slightly dizzy and sleepy at the exact same time.

I grabbed a warm plate from the stack and piled it high with scrambled eggs. My daughter frowned at me slightly when we took a seat at one of the open tables. She was irritated by the dining detour, but she seemed to cheer up when I handed her a bowl full of juicy, green grapes. Her eyes continued to rove around the room, taking in every single sight possible, which gave me just enough time to shovel the eggs into my mouth. When my stomach was sufficiently stuffed, we took off again. There was no mistaking where my five year old daughter wanted to go next: Magic Kingdom.

In fact, it was here that we spent the remainder of our day at Disney World. Of course, a