Family finds Disney magic has plenty of 'character'

Our bank account is a little depleted.

But then that's understandable. We just returned from a weeklong trip to Disney World.

Mickey's gang knows how to make money.

Not only that, they make you feel good about spending all your hard-earned cash on everything from park passes to souvenirs. That's the true Disney magic.

There's no faulty accounting here. We know where our money went and we couldn't be happier.

Our whole family loved Disney World. We've been several times. Joni would retire in the Magic Kingdom, if she could.

You've got to love a place where Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck sign autographs. Even the Queen of Hearts executes signatures, one of several Disney villains that signed autographs and posed for photos at the park.

Becca and Bailey loved the villains. It's easy to like Disney villains who aren't really scary and don't mind being mugged by a bunch of excited kids clamoring to fill their autograph books.

An excited Bailey cried out with delight. Gov. Ratcliffe, the villain in the "Pocahontas" movie, even put his hand over Bailey's mouth as I snapped a picture of Becca and Bailey. The whole episode greatly amused Bailey who couldn't stop laughing for several minutes.

We stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort, one of the many Disney hotels in the giant mouse's kingdom.

We were lodged in the Martinique section, but fortunately we didn't need to know French. The hotel complex of 2,000 rooms nestled around a lake full of friendly ducks has a food court, shops and seven swimming pools.

Of course, shopping isn't a problem. Disney World has its own shopping center complete with the largest Disney store in the world with everything from Pooh dolls to jewelry. Just shepherding your children through the store is a major ordeal.

We managed to get out of the store without declaring personal bankruptcy, which I consider to be a huge achievement.

Of course, our kids loved the Disney rides. Becca, 10, and Bailey, 6, rode over and over again on the Space Mountain roller coaster that dips, twists and turns in the dark.

Then there was the Tower of Terror ride, which crams you into a "hotel elevator" and drops you 13 stories.

Becca kept her eyes open the entire time. Of course, she's a pro, having been on this ride during a previous visit to the Disney paradise in Orlando, Fla. She loves that pull of gravity, which thanks to Disney engineers ends without killing anyone.

But it does generate plenty of screaming.

I prefer the non-cardiac-arrest rides like the Haunted Mansion with its swirling ghosts and the Pirates of the Caribbean ride which depicts happy pirates plundering a town. But thanks to Disney robotics, this kind of plundering is suitable for family viewing.

Throw in a light parade and fireworks after dark, and you've got a party that even a grouchy parent would love.

Disney knows how to keep the streets clean.

The ants surely starve at Disney, except in its Animal Kingdom park which pampers the animals while still giving us a safe, safari ride full of appropriately bumpy paths and fake poachers.

With Disney, every ride has a story.

Our own story included a lost carry-on bag at the Orlando airport on our return flight to St. Louis. Unfortunately, it wasn't a Disney ride so it took a week to locate our bag which is now on its way back to us via UPS.

If it were a Disney ride, the whole trip would only take a few minutes and the lost luggage would talk.

But outside of the Disney empire, life doesn't come with Pluto autographs.

It's why we treasure those memories long after we've used up those traveler's checks.

Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.