Beach blast

The boys and I wave goodbye to their mom and grandparents and head out the door to the courtyard. We walk past the bubbling stream flowing down towards the volcano pool. Tiki torches flicker all around us. This place really is awesome at night!

There are a few dozen people already at the beach for the fireworks, and it looks like the beach chairs are all taken. We move a short distance away from the crowd, and I plop down in the sand in front of a palm tree. Could be worse.

The boys ask if they should go look for beach chairs. I really don’t care either way – I’m semi-comfortable already, but they trot off and soon return dragging two lounge chairs. Good kids. I think I’ll keep them.

We’ve barely positioned ourselves on the two chairs when the lights go down on Cinderella Castle. Fireworks time! Unlike in 2003, there is music piped into the area, so we can hear the show as well as see it! The music isn’t too loud, though – certainly not loud enough to distract me from the fact that a lady nearby is on her cell phone for almost the entire show! Come on.

Fortunately she doesn’t raise her voice very much, so it doesn’t spoil the show for me, but I mostly feel sorry for her. If you’re going to be here, be here. If you want to chat on the phone, go somewhere else.

The fireworks are incredible. They have some very innovative pyrotechnics on display. Some burst in the shape of a cube. Others create a smiley face in the sky!

At one point, when the music is “O Christmas Tree,” the Castle is lit in dark green and jets of fireworks are shot up at an angle from each side, meeting above the Castle – making the Castle into a tree! Disney fireworks never fail to dazzle.

Holiday Wishes is great from the beach, but this just whets my appetite for our fireworks cruise tomorrow evening. We’ll have a boat to ourselves, parked near the Magic Kingdom, with the music piped in! Can’t wait.

With the show completed, the boys and I walk back up to the Great House and start looking through the gift shop. Brandon is looking for a Polynesian Resort cap, but doesn’t find one. When he asks a CM, he is told that there aren’t any for guests to buy, just some that the CM’s wear.

Hmm, first a generic free-refill mug, now no resort-specific hat? If this is a trend towards generic merchandise, I don’t like it.

Okay, it’s now getting close to 9:00 and we head back to our room.

As I said, we as a family are generally early to bed, not the types to spend late nights in the parks. On any normal school night, the boys would be headed for bed. On our previous two trips, our evenings would be over by this time.

That’s about to change.