Magical Moments

Cinderella’s Castle…this iconic structure greets you as you enter Disney World.  It can be seen in the opening credits of every Disney movie, and I was headed inside to have dinner.  Without a doubt, this was going to be one of those experiences that would make the entire trip worth it.  Martha and Robert had planned a fantastic Disney vacation for their granddaughters, my nieces Haley and Ashlyn, and Alicia, Mike, and I were just lucky enough to get to tag along.

 Our first stop upon entering the castle was to meet Cinderella.  Haley was bursting at the seams…she couldn’t wait to get close enough to let her slender fingers graze against Cinderella’s dazzling blue dress.  Ashlyn, on the other hand, was less than thrilled.  She wasn’t excited.  She wouldn’t let go of Robert’s hand, and smiling was out of the question…it wasn’t going to happen.  Deciding that we would not let her ruin our fun, we drug her into the picture anyway.  She managed a weak smile, but everyone could tell that her heart was not into this evening.  After a few quick photos, we made our way up the spiral staircase to see what magic awaited us in the dining room.

When we reached our table, a fancy waiter greeted us.  His costume reminded me of the footman that helped Cinderella into her beautiful carriage.  He wore a puffy, white shirt, vest, and short pants with socks tucked under the hem of the shorts.  His worn, leather shoes had bright shiny buckles on the tops.  As we found our places at the table, he pulled a stack of stars from his pocket…Wishing Stars.  Each girl, including the grown-up girls, received a shiny, blue star.  “This,” he told us, “is your wishing star.  Make sure you keep it close to you.”  With a large smile plastered across my face, I gently placed my star on the table in front of me.  In just those first few seconds, I knew I was hooked.  The magic in the air had taken over.  The waiter also handed Haley and Ashlyn very special wands.  The wands were made of transparent blue and clear plastic, and they sparkled like stars on a moonless night.  “You will need these,” he said very matter-of-factly, “during the wishing ceremony.”

As I glanced down the menu, I realized that this was not going to be the same type of meal I had for lunch.  This menu was fancy, and so was the food.  While the grownups struggled to choose between smoked salmon, braised short ribs, and seafood stew, Haley and Ashlyn enjoyed the comforts of a kid’s menu...cheese pizza, macaroni, or hamburger sliders.  Like all great kid’s menus, this one also came with word searches, a maze, and a beautiful picture to color.  Shortly after making our dinner selections, a trumpet fanfare blasted through the room.  As Haley turned my way, her tiny smile began to grow.  “This is it, Aunt Nae.  One of the princesses is coming out.  Who do you think it will be?”  Before I could make my guess, the narrator began telling the story of a young girl who finds herself in a large house filled with talking furniture and a magical rose that lets a hairy, scary beast know how much longer he has to break the spell cast upon him.  “It’s Belle!  It’s Belle!”  The castle’s magic was seeping into Ashlyn…she could hardly contain herself.  Suddenly, there she was.  Belle waltzed into the room with a gentle spin.  She smiled and waved to each table, and then she began making her way to around the room to give a personal greeting to each family. 

Just as the grownups began to wonder how we would keep the girls contained while we waited for Belle and the other princesses to reach our table, the tray of appetizers arrived.  We all dove fork first into the food placed in front of us.  Salads and cups of soup began to disappear as our tummies reminded us that, while we had had a wonderful day, it was time to take a break and refuel.  Little did we know that these quiet moments would not last very long.  The trumpet blasts once again signaled the entrance of the next princess.  “Who is it going to be?” I asked Haley…knowing that my own excitement was beginning to rival that of my seven-year-old niece.  The narrator began telling of a young girl “…with skin as white as snow…lips red as a red, red rose.”  “I think it’s Snow White,” she said.  And then she was there…Snow White breezed into the room with her hands held out as if she were carrying birds on her fingers just like she does in the movie.  As Snow White began making her way around the far side room, Belle approached us.  Greeting us all with a smile and a wave, she moved to the end of our table to meet the girls.  Haley proudly showed her the journal I had decorated to document her journey and asked Belle for an autograph.  They talked a few minutes, posed for pictures, and then Belle was off to greet the next table. 

Taking no time to savor the magic left in Belle’s wake, Ashlyn turned to the table and announced, “I have to go potty…and I mean I have to go bad.”  Promising to hurry back before Snow White ventured to our side of the dining room, Mike rushed Ashlyn to the restroom.  A third blast of the trumpets followed by a brief introduction let us know that Sleeping Beauty was entering the room. 

“You know,” said Haley, “her real name is Aurora.” 

“I DID know that,” I told her.  “Did you know that I used to be so scared of that movie?  You know that part at the end when Maleficent turns in the dragon?  That used to scare me so much.”

“Really?” she said. “I used to be scared of that, too…back when I was five.  I think Ashlyn is still scared of it.  I’m not.  Not really.”

Before we could continue to discuss the best Disney villains, Snow White approached our table.  Looking at the empty chair she asked, “Are we missing a princess?”  That voice…Snow White’s high-pitched, sugary-sweet voice…the one from the movie I had seen so many times…amazing.  I had to remind myself that she wasn’t the real Snow White…there was no need to ask her how Dopey was doing.  Instead, we simply told her that yes; one princess was in the restroom.  “Oh, that’s no problem at all,” she said. “I’ll come back.”  She then turned all of her attention to Haley.  She signed her book, asked Haley if she had found her own Prince Charming, and then she told her to beware of apples.  “Not all of them are good for you, you know.”  As she left our table, Haley turned to me and said, “Wow, Aunt Nae, she was really nice.  I hope she DOES come back so that Ashlyn can meet her.”  I couldn’t help it…I reached over and gave my niece a hug.  Her tender heart was flowing out of her little body. 

By this time, our entrees had made their way to our table, but we were barely eating.  The excitement of the room was sweeping over all of us.  And while we claimed we were just excited for the girls, secretly we all knew this dinner was bigger than just providing a great experience for Haley and Ashlyn.  Promising to return with Ashlyn so that she wouldn’t miss anything else, Martha exited the table.  Once again, a princess visited us and asked about the empty chair.  This time it was Sleeping Beauty, Aurora, as Haley had taught us, who promised to return to say hello to our missing princess.  Holding out her book, Haley asked Aurora for her autograph.

“This is a beautiful book,” she said.  “Did you make it?”

Haley told her that no, she didn’t make it. “My Aunt Nae did,” she said, giving me a big grin.

Without missing a beat, Aurora gasped and said, “Really?  She is truly magical.  She must be a fairy!  I have three fairy aunts.  Their names are Flora, Fauna, and Meriwether.  They raised me in a beautiful cottage in the forest.” 

Whatever grip on reality Haley had left was gone in that moment.  She was completely swept up in considering that her aunt might truly be a fairy.  I just smiled and told her that one day I would share my secrets with her. 

Not long after Aurora departed, the lights seemed to dim a little, and a booming voice announced that it was time for the wishing ceremony.  Haley reached for her wand and made sure that her wishing star was ready to go.  I, however, reached for my camera.  This would undoubtedly be a picture-worthy event.  “Hold your wand above you wishing star, close your eyes, and wish with all your heart!”  Haley did just as the big voice instructed.  With her eyes scrunched tight together, she waved the wand in circles over the glittering star.  I snapped pictures as fast as the shutter would allow.  In my head, I could hear her words from earlier that day. “You know that’s just a wig, right?  That’s not the REAL princess.”  I have no words for what it felt like to watch her wishing and believing in the power of dreams.  The music in the room swelled, and the ceiling was filled with thousands of glittering and glowing wishes.  Haley could hardly believe her eyes.  “Look at all of the wishes!” she exclaimed.  But I couldn’t look.  Instead, I blinked back tears and gave her a tight squeeze. 

Somewhere amongst our excitement at having Belle, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty visit our table, we missed the grand entrance of Ariel, the Little Mermaid.  As she approached, I noticed a pink blur zooming around the room.  Ashlyn made her grand re-entrance and proceeded to, well, attack Ariel in an extremely tight bear hug.  Stunned, and perhaps a little winded, Ariel returned the hug with, “Now where did you come from, Starfish?”  No one bothered to scold Ashlyn for running through the dining room.  No one asked if she remembered to wash her hands.  All we could do was laugh at the moment…clearly more magic was at work.  Just like the other princesses before her, Ariel spent a few minutes talking to both girls, signing autographs, and posing for pictures. 

As the desserts made their way to the table, we began to wonder if Snow White and Sleeping Beauty would remember to make their way back to meet Ashlyn.  How silly we were to doubt the word of two highly-respected princesses.  One by one, they both made their way back to the table.  Each lady told Ashlyn how glad they were that they got the chance to come back by to meet her.  Needless to say, Ashlyn was on cloud nine.  While Snow White spent a few minutes talking to the girls, I snapped pictures of their meeting and conversation.  Once again, being caught up in the moment, I wasn’t really paying attention to what I was doing; I was too busy watching Haley and Ashlyn and feeling the magic in the air. 

All too soon, Snow White left our table, but it wasn’t long before, as promised, Aurora returned.  She gave Ashlyn her undivided attention.  No one else existed except for her.  They talked a bit, posed for pictures, and then she was gone.   In her wake, Sleeping Beauty, along with the rest of the Disney Princesses, left behind two little girls (and five adults) in complete awe of everything they had just seen and felt.  Deciding we would rather eat the delicious desserts placed in front of us than leave them sitting on the table, we returned our focus to the delicate creations in front of us.  Then it was time to go.  Other families, complete with their own princesses, were waiting for their turn to experience this magical meal.  We gathered our things, and began to make our way back down the spiral staircase. 

As we reached the final few steps, we realized that Cinderella was still waiting patiently for princesses to greet and welcome to dinner in her castle.  This time, the room was rather empty…and Ashlyn was in a MUCH better mood.  Seizing the opportunity to have a happy photo, Martha asked if Cinderella would mind posing for another picture.   Ever the happy hostess, Cinderella agreed.  This time, Ashlyn’s smile could not be contained.  She seemed to radiate joy.  Pure happiness erupted out of her.  Magic was once again spinning and dancing in the air. 

Each princess who graced us with her presence ushered in with them the joy and pure happiness of childhood…of believing in fairy tales, birds that can sit on your finger and sing, roses that float in midair, and the power of making a wish that you know could never really come true.  In fairy tales, everything is possible.  The same can be said for dinner in Cinderella’s Castle…everything is possible.  A little piece of that night will always live inside me.  Words and pictures do not have the capacity to fully explain what those moments felt like…how much they mean to those of us lucky enough to experience this magical meal first-hand.  Lucky for me (and everyone else) my Cannon captured an image that, in my opinion, comes as close as any picture ever could.