Day One:

Getting out of New York and over to the Disney Beach Club was interesting, but let's get right to the main event.

Once we got checked in, we needed to eat. There's a lounge upstairs with a nice variety of snacks and beverages, including surprisingly fancy herbal teas; I poured myself a cup and promptly spilled it everywhere. (Hey, I didn't want Thing 2 to be the only one with wet pants.) Then we made our way to the lobby. We considered taking the boat to the Disney-Hollywood Studios Theme Park, but the helpful guide pointed out that Epcot was only a 4-minute walk away. (I didn't time it, but, amazingly, I think he was correct - definitely under 5 minutes.)

Then came the dreaded FINGERTIP SCANNER. For the record, the kids were not asked to put their fingers in, but my wife and I were. The reader is fairly exacting in that if you put your 'tip in the "wrong" way, the turnstile won't turn. The cast member at the gate wasn't exactly stern but did request that we stick our fingers in the thing, without offering another alternative. Since they didn't ask the kids to do it I was somewhat more willing; I'm probably in more databases than I'd care to know about. I still agree with Cory that it's a strange practice, and maybe it'll be worse at The Magic Kingdom.

Once through the gate, and after a little initial map confusion (note to park map designers: a "you are here" indicator is a nice thing), we started our quest for food. This was everyone's first time at Epcot, and it's really amazing. As an adult, you notice different things. I doubt Things 1 or 2 were all that interesting in the landscaping, which was the first thing I noticed. While you don't ever think you're in France, Japan, or anywhere else other than Epcot, you do forget that you are in Florida. The "magic" is so all encompassing that you really do feel as if you've entered another dimension, which I suppose is the whole point. Its nice to know that even a jaded New York parent can allow himself to become enchanted (sorry! I know, I'll turn in my Cynical New Yorker Card when I get back) by the Disney experience.

French food seemed like a bad idea for everyone, and Thing 1 nixed Japanese, although Thing 2 *really* wanted to go up the steps of the Japanese teahouse. After some coaxing, mostly promises of french fries, we went to the American pavilion and had, yes, burgers and fries. The eatery-the food was nothing special, although the burger buns were whole wheat, which was interesting-was decorated with state flags; I had no idea that New York's state flag was "Excelsior" and Massachusetts' was "An Appeal to Heaven" (at least it used to be, it's been changed).

After an aborted mission to get ice cream-the French crepes station has a sign that says ice cream, but there is, in fact, no ice cream for sale-we decided that Thing 2 wasn't going to make it much longer without a nap, so Thing 1 and mom took the boat to Disney-MGM and Thing 2 and I retreated to the room. Napping wasn't exactly in the cards but eventually he dozed off, like a cat, on an ottoman in front of a sunny window.

We've only been here half a day but I have to admit, I'm impressed. I was very prepared to be underwhelmed by everything, as was Thing 1, who confided in me that he was enjoying it "much more" than he thought he would. I still cringe a little when I see grown women dressed as scullery maids cleaning up fallen french fries. But overall, they do a pretty amazing job of taking care of things so that you don't have to think much about anything.

Next: More Epcot, and then...The Magic Kingdom.