Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

Each year Anne and I take one (1) road trip to a different part of the United States and see attractions, wonders, and events we didn’t have back home. One thing we rarely do is fly. We’d much rather drive than be flown unless we absolutely have to…or are given some pretty sweet incentives to do so. Fast-forward to December 2022 and a most unexpected opportunity: The Powers That Be at Anne’s rather large place of employment recognized her and several other employees nationwide for outstanding achievements in the field of excellence. Their grand prize was a Disney World vacation! We could at last announce to friends and family, “THE GOLDENS ARE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!”

For Anne it was officially, legally a business trip. Much of the time, she’d have to work…

…and time was running out in her one free day. We had less 90 minutes to spend before we had to leave the Magic Kingdom for an appointment. We tried to make them count.

For Anne that included crossing one last item off her to-do list: Dumbo the Flying Elephant: The Ride! She had no detailed anecdote to explain this one. She just really, really wanted to soar with Dumbo.

When we’d first begun wandering the Kingdom, our only real “plan” was to start on its far west side and continue wandering clockwise ’round Cinderella Castle till we’d seen every section. I wish I could brag that we cleverly left Tomorrowland for last because we figured it’d look the most awesome at night. Truth is, that was a happy, awesome accident. Even better, we hopped on one last ride that offered a high vantage point to boggle at all the now-illuminated scenery.

Alas, we ran out of new lands to explore and found ourselves back on Main Street U.S.A. We passed by the dense crowds who’d staked out their spots for watching the evening fireworks show above Cinderella Castle. We’d seen the larger portions of that program on Tuesday night, but didn’t have time to stick around for the holograms and other light-show wonders that we’d missed from across the lagoon. EPCOT’s Harmonious on Wednesday night had pretty much sated our light-show needs anyway.

On our way back to the entrance, we passed the remaining gift shops that I’d hoped would complete my side quest for the perfect souvenir shirt. Yet again I was denied that pleasure, but one last round of sights was my consolation prize.

And with that, we left the Magic Kingdom, beat the exodus stampede that we expected would ensue after the fireworks, and sped away on the monorail toward our final event of the evening.

To be continued!

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