I realized today that I didn’t finish my series on Einstein before leaving for a few days to go to Disney with my 16 year old daughter.
Three parks, two times on Splash Mountain, two times on the Rockin Roller Coaster, two times on Space Mountain and 22,168 steps later (tracked with my Steps app), I learned that it is much more fun to go to the Disney World parks with a teenager than when they are young. No tears, no pushing a stroller or carrying a sleeping child.
Oh, when they are young they are innocent and see everything at face value and there is something to be said about that. I even caught my daughter reaching out to touch Aladdin’s flying rug in the 3D movie the other day.
But when they are older, you can have a very different dialogue about things. My daughter now understands the economics of Epcot and that without Chevrolet, Siemens and the like, you wouldn’t have all the amazing displays. And she understands that Starbucks pays for the privilege of being the coffee served in the parks now.
And instead of complaining about the long lines, she is busy posting pictures on Instagram for her friends so that they can enjoy the parks right along with her. I’m totally fine with that, as I did my fair share of posting on Facebook and checking in on Foursquare.
We did get stuck on a couple of rides. One was in the big geodesic dome at Epcot, on the way down from the top. Fortunately since we were going down backwards, it didn’t last long. And ironically, we got stuck on GE’s Carousel of Progress.
…..It’s a great big beautiful tomorrow, shining at the end of every day…..
Lessons learned?
- Comfortable shoes are a must and even if they look comfortable, if you aren’t used to them, don’t wear them.
- Get a big bottle of water and refill it at every opportunity
- A small backpack is a must – sunscreen, sunglasses and big enough for your water bottle
- Enjoy every minute. They grow up WAY too fast.
Monday I will be back to finish the series and will come up with something new to write about.
Stay tuned.