Been Dere. Done Dat. Don't Care.

We're rapidly closing in on one year since our Disney extravaganza.  Sometimes it seems like we just got back, other times (like right now) it feels as if we haven't been there in twenty or thirty years.

I WANNA GO BACK.

So does my wife, oddly enough.

Eva's vacation philosophy, pre-Disney, could be summed up quite simply. "Why would I go somewhere I've been, when there's a whole planet I haven't been to yet?"

I can certainly understand her reasoning, but truth be told I'm more of a "find someplace good and milk it" kind of person. I still have to resist the urge, lo these elevenish years later, to book us in at the Bonnie View Inn for a honeymoon reprise. And as for Disney...

The pull is unbelievable, almost magnetic. I've taken to frequenting the Disboards for some vicarious Disnification, expecting Eva to scoff at me. She didn't. She commiserated, and said she's working on getting us back there. This kind of shocked me.
I asked her last night, "what was that moment that upended your vacation philosophy?" She said there was no one moment, it was just everything about the place. I have to agree. For me, it wasn't so much any one ride, park, or experience. It was all of it, in an atmosphere that simultaneously bespeaks limitless adventure and the comforts of home.
If money wasn't a concern, we'd have joined the Disney Vacation Club by now. (It's considerably cheaper to buy into DVC resale, and I'm not ruling that out for the future...)  We're told it only makes financial sense if you go down at least once every other year. Given that friends and family are starting to sprout children, and further given that we have this urge to be the REALLY COOL AUNT EVA AND UNCLE KEN!!!!!!....it's possible. Not likely, I'd admit--damn money tree won't root in our backyard, must be the soil--but possible. Put it this way. I'm willing to sacrifice a fair bit just to see that wide-eyed look of wonder on a child's face. And to see just how long that look can be sustained.

Eva wants to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge at least once. Animal Kingdom was the one park we didn't really get to see--we were pretty walked out by the time that day came around. And animals are Eva's great passion...I could as like bugger off to Epcot or Hollywood Studios for the day and she'd not miss me in the least.
There are a couple of other resorts I'd like to sample, chief among them the  Poly, which made a favourable impression on me from the monorail, all the way back in '84; also the Yacht Club. But invariably we'd be looking to book--and maybe, just maybe, buying in--at Old Key West. There aren't enough superlatives in the English language to do this place justice, as far as I'm concerned...

To be perfectly honest, I never expected "peace and quiet" to be part of a Disney vacation. To find such a relaxing atmosphere just minutes from the hustle and bustle elevated our stay from "magical" to "otherworldly".  I still recall the Cast Member--his name was Anthony--who provided something far too good to be called "customer" service...call it "family service", maybe. Everyone greets you with "Welcome home!" and a genuine smile. For us, the equation is simple: Old Key West = Paradise.

Not sure when we'll be back...life has a way of scuttling our vacation plans. But just knowing it will happen has me all atwitter with excitement.