#I’d take him to Epcot and we’d drink around the world | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sheerfreesia007 · 4 years ago

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Most Magical Birthday On Earth

Title: Most Magical Birthday On Earth

Fandom: Kingsman

Pairing: Agent Whiskey x Reader

Author: @sheerfreesia007

Words: 4,054 (Y’all can enjoy that. Haha!)

Warnings: Fluff, just tooth rotting fluff

Permanent Tag List: @paintballkid711, @fioccodineveautunnale, @phoenixhalliwell, @synystersilenceinblacknwhite

Author Notes: The International Gang of Mischief is together in fic! I absolutely loved writing this. It was a true labor of love for me. I hope you did you all justice. This was so much fun to write and I think it’s a fitting ending for the day. I don’t even know if this is my longest fic word wise in one shot. All together I know FAIY takes that cake (it’s over 100,000 words!!) but this might be the longest one shot I’ve done if I’m not mistaken. ANYWAY I hope you all enjoyed today! I know I did while writing these. Thank you for celebrating with me today! Too many more birthdays! P.S: The Welsh Dragon is an actual drink at the Rose and Crown Pub and I haven’t tried it yet but when I make it back to Epcot I will drink one in your honor ladies and take pictures of it.

Gif Credit: google

“Jack is this really necessary?” you asked as you sat on the couch in the Statesman jet. Jack was readjusting the blindfold over your eyes so that you couldn’t see anything.

“Yes, it’s necessary I don’t want to spoil your surprise. I and Tequila have been working on it for the better part of three months.” he said on a sigh. You sat there shocked not realizing all the work your boyfriend and best friend put into your birthday vacation. Jack had just told you this morning to pack for a warm climate and for a whole weekend with at least one fancy dress. He had then swept you off in the Statesman jet explaining that Tequila would meet you two there since he had to pick up your first birthday surprise.

But now the jet had landed and Jack had immediately put the blindfold over your eyes so that couldn't see. You felt him lean forward and press a soft kiss to your lips. When he pulled away you smiled lovingly.

"What was that for?" You asked softly and he chuckled lightly.

"It's probably gonna be the last time we kiss until later on tonight. You're gonna be quite busy today sweetheart." He said knowingly before pressing another sweet kiss to your lips. "Couldn't help myself." He explained softly and you laughed delighted. His hands then gripped yours and helped you stand. "C'mon then sweetheart I'm gonna slowly walk you out of the jet."

And he did, once you had stepped out the air conditioned jet the heat and humidity hit your body making sweat immediately bead on your skin. Your feet had finally hit the tarmac and Jack easily guided you along. Your hand was tucked in his elbow and you were pressed to his side looking for reassurance in your steps. You could hear voices not far off and when you stepped closer they all stopped talking making you a little self conscious.

"Oh my goodness it's Whiskey!" Came a soft squeal that you knew immediately. Loud groans were heard as your hand came up quickly to whip the blindfold from your face and your eyes took a moment to focus.

"Bubbles! You weren't supposed to ruin it!" Hissed Sparkles and the grin that spread across your face was reflected on five other faces standing only a few feet away from you. Lizzard stood in front and quickly held her arms open. Your grin never ceased as you bolted over to them quickly being engulfed in the group of women. Tears pricked your eyes as they greeted you and wished you a happy birthday. You were being passed from first Lizzard then to Flames who's fiery red hair curled in front of your face making you burst out in a watery chuckle. Then it was Scrubs who held you close as she squealed softly and rocked you from side to side. Bubbles was next and you could hear Tequila muttering behind you.

"It's like their twins, just American and British. Whiskey there's two of them!" His words made both you and Bubbles chuckle happily.

You then turned to Sparkles, who you considered to be the leader of the group, and again with tears in your eyes you hugged her tightly.

"I was hoping for a better bloody surprise but it was ruined." She said kindly and you laughed softly before pulling away.

"Best surprise I've ever gotten." You responded before hugging her once again.

"Well be prepared ladies we've got more surprises yet!" Called Tequila. You turned to look at him without leaving Sparkles arms.

"Where are we?" You asked suddenly.

"Florida." Said Flames matter of factly and Tequila groaned loudly before throwing his hands up.

"That's it! Whiskey you're in charge! It was damn chaos goin' and gettin' them from the airport! It's like herding cats with this group. One wants to go this way, the other wants to take a million pictures, and another just wanted to take it all in! They're a fun group but Jesus, Mary and Joseph! They're gonna give me gray hairs!" Tequila burst out in a rant as his hands gestured to different members of your group. You grinned as you watched Lizzard sidle up next to you and slung an arm around your waist.

"Is he always this bloody dramatic?" She asked low enough for just you and Sparkles to hear making the two of you burst out in laughter.

"Sometimes." You said with a shrug that made the two of them laugh. "Wait a minute?! Are we going to Disney?!" You cried out suddenly and both Whiskey and Tequila turned to you with crestfallen looks.

"It was supposed to be a surprise damnit!" Tequila shouted and threw his hands up again. You pulled away from Sparkles and tugged Tequila into a tight hug.

"You know I don't do well with surprises, but I appreciate the effort. If we're going to Disney you're my bestest best friend ever." You said into his shoulder.

"Yes, we're going to Disney." Tequila said kindly as he hugged you back. "Bestest best friend ever." Squealing you bounced on your toes in his arms.

"Oh! Oh! We have to go on Space Mountain and the Haunted house ride!" You began naming excitedly and Tequila laughed as your excitement began to infect the whole group as you all began talking about what you wanted to do first.

“Alright, alright. Before we start making plans let’s go over a few things.” Whiskey called out over everyone. You all turned to him expectantly and he blinked owlishly at you all. “Okay, so we’ve got dinner reservations at Restaurant Marrakesh at six and I’d like to go get drinks at the Rose and Crown pub beforehand if y’all are alright with that.” You smiled and nodded your head eagerly at him.

“That gives us plenty of time to get some roller coasters and other rides in before we’d head over to the Rose and Crown.” you said knowledgeably. Just as you had finished talking a large black SUV pulled up alongside Whiskey and he smiled as he opened up the back door.

“Alright everyone get in we’ve got just enough time to drive to the park before it opens.” he said with a wide smile. You squealed as you broke away from the group and ran for the car. Pecking Jack on the cheek you quickly climbed in and he chuckled at your enthusiasm.

The drive from the airport wasn’t very long and as you continued to get closer and closer to the park you began to vibrate in your seat in the back. You were sitting up against the window and right next to Scrubs. The whole group of you were figuring out which rides would be best to include everyone so that you all enjoyed yourselves. It was quickly decided that you, Tequila, Lizzard and Flames were the daredevils and would go on at least two roller coasters and then the rest of the rides would be others. You had told them that the must go ons were Pirates of the Carribean, Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid, Haunted Mansion, the carousel, and Peter Pan’s Flight. Everything else was up in the air. The one that you refused and immediately took off the table was It’s a Small World, that ride would drive you bonkers for days afterwards and you were not a fan of having that dang song stuck in your head for days on end.

So with that game plan in mind y’all got to the park as early as you possibly could and as you were driving under that all too familiar canopy that led into the park you couldn’t help yourself but grab onto Scrubs in excitement. She grinned over at you and slung her arm around your shoulders.

“Happy Birthday love.” she said softly and hugged you into her side tightly.

“Thanks sweetheart. I’m so glad you’re all here.” you said happily and saw a few of the other girls nodding their heads.

“It was all Whiskey’s idea. He knew it’d be a wonderful surprise for you and got in touch with Sparkles to set it up where we could all come celebrate with you.” Scrubs explained and your eyes darted to the rearview mirror where you saw Whiskey looking back at you. You could feel your cheeks heating up in a blush and saw his wide grin before he winked at you and turned back to the road.

Not long after entering the park area the SUV was directed towards the preferred parking and you smiled knowing that Whiskey was pulling out all the stops for your birthday. Once the car was finally parked you all piled out and walked to the front turnstiles where you’d be checked into the park and your bags would be checked.

You waited patiently as Whiskey picked up all of your tickets and the bands that you all would be wearing while in the park. Once he had gathered them all he began handing them out and you noticed that each band had your favorite princess on it. Smiling you watched as he handed Sparkles her Belle band, Bubbles got Cinderella, Flames was of course Merida, Lizzard was Rapunzel, Scrubs was Jasmine, Tequila was Stitch, Whiskey was Mickey Mouse and you were Minnie Mouse. Once all the girls saw that they all snickered behind their hands and you grinned before sidling up to Whiskey’s side hugging him loosely. He grinned down at you and pressed a soft kiss to your lips while everyone else made obnoxious kissing noises at the two of you. You laughed when you pulled away and grabbed Flames’ hand dragging her towards the Ferry line where everyone followed you.

Your whole group gravitated towards the front of the ferry and stood at the railing waiting for the ferry to leave the dock. Other park goers are filling up the ferry and the whole group moves to stay together and you’re all standing in a group at the railing. When the ferry finally takes off the group is just idly chatting about anything that comes to mind and soon you’re standing next to Sparkles when the far off castle comes into view. Your eyes dart to her face and watch as the joy falls over her face at seeing the castle.

“Oh it’s so pretty.” she says softly and you nod eagerly.

“Wait til you see it up close.” you respond with a grin.

The ferry ride doesn’t take very long to get the actual park and once you’re all out and through the little check in kiosks you’re all gathering in a group as Whiskey grabs a map.

“So which way are we headed to first?” Whiskey asks as he looks at the map.

“Well first we have to go get our ears and then we can head to the rides. But we’re going to go left first and make our way around the park.” you said easily and began leading everyone over to the large gift shop where they made the Mickey ear hats. Once inside the store everyone all gazed around in awe at all the different kinds of Mickey ears. But your eyes immediately landed on the ears that had clear Mickey ears with confetti on them, a birthday cake in the middle of the ears, and the words “Best Birthday Ever” on the front. Picking up a pair of them you quickly moved to the register where you asked to have your name stitched on the backside. As you were going to pay another pair of Mickey ears landed on top of yours and you turned to see Whiskey standing next to you. He had picked up a classic Mickey ears.

“ I’d like to add this to the bill please.” he said easily as he fished out his wallet.

“Whiskey, you don’t have to pay for my ears.” you said softly and he shook his head at you.

“Nonsense, the birthday girl doesn’t pay for anything this weekend while we’re here.” he responded. You all waited as your names were stitched into each of your hats and you laughed brightly when Whiskey swapped his familiar Stetson for his Mickey ears. His arm swung around your shoulder as you continued to laugh and dragged you close to his body before he pressed a soft kiss to your temple. “I love hearing your laughter. I’m glad you’re having fun already.”

“Thank you for all of this. It’s absolutely wonderful.” you said softly to him with a wide grin on your lips. He nodded his head and leaned down to slide his nose against yours gently.

“Alright c’mon you two love birds we’re all done!” called Tequila and you smiled turning to the group waiting by the doors. You watched as each woman had a knowing smirk on their face and you rolled your eyes at them before gripping Whiskey’s hand and pulling him along with you.

Your first stop was in Adventureland where all eight of you got onto the Aladdin’s Magic Carpet Ride. With two to a compartment you wound up next to Scrubs who demanded that you not lift the carpet into the air, you laughed and held your hands up in surrender. As the ride started Scrubs watched as the others’ carpets all rose in the air and she looked over to you, you shook your head and she sighed softly.

“Only a little bit.” she said and you did as she asked, raising the carpet only a little bit and she smiled widely. Once the ride had stopped Scrubs climbed out and stood close to you. “Thank you.” You smiled happily at her and hooked your arm around hers and began leading the group over to the Pirates’ ride.

The hours sped by quickly and as your group walked into Fantasyland you knew it was going to be your last stop here. Y’all had managed to get fast passes for Space Mountain earlier and had already ridden it so Fantasyland was going to truly be your last stop. As you walked into the Princess Fairytale Hall you could see the exhaustion starting to show on their faces. Tequila was as wired as he was when y’all first walked in and his eyes danced around the room as he walked in but everyone else was starting to look like they were going to crash soon.

You looked over to Whiskey and saw him smile softly at you and you nodded your head at him before stepping closer.

“This is gonna be our last stop for the park. Everyone’s looking worn out.” you said softly and he looked down at you worried.

“Are you sure?” he asked softly and you nodded.

“Yeah, we’ve gone on everything that we planned to and a few other rides. Plus I think once everyone sees where we’re going for drinks they’ll perk up before dinner and the fireworks.” you say with a kind smile on your face.

“Did you get to do everything you wanted sweetheart?” he asked softly and you nodded your head as you wrapped your arms around his waist.

“I did and so much more.” you responded and he grinned down at you before pressing a soft kiss to your lips. Just then a loud squeal filled the air and the two of you pulled apart to see Bubbles excitedly bouncing on her toes as Cinderella walked into the room.

The next hour was spent greeting and talking with each princess and taking photos with all of them. You knew the photos would be momentos that each and everyone of you cherished. Whiskey had even gotten in some of the photos with Tequila which had made you all cackle as since all the princesses swooned over him making Tequila jealous.

Once you were all done with seeing the princesses you led the group over to the train that went around the whole park and you heard a loud audible appreciative groan come from everyone that made you burst into laughter. They were all tired and were ready for a sit down. The train came not long after you all stood in line and as you were standing next to Lizzard you watched her sway a little and you placed a hand on her back.

“Almost there sweetheart. Soon we’ll go drinking in a place that should be familiar to y’all.” you said kindly to her and she grinned over at you before you all boarded the train.

“So this train goes around the whole park?” Flames asked excitedly.

“Yeah but the back area is all woods and you don’t see much.” you explained as you turned in your seat to talk to her. You turned back around when you felt a hand fall onto your right thigh and looked over to see Whiskey smiling at you. You rested your head against his shoulder and just watched as the train traveled along its track.

Once the train had stopped at the main entrance station it had seemed as if your group was rejuvenated a little. Y’all made your way to the exit gates and easily boarded the monorail that was luckily waiting there. You made sure to get on the one that would bring you to Epcot and you all found seats together so that you wouldn’t be separated.

The monorail ride was roughly about half an hour so the group easily caught up with what was their favorite part of the day and the tired smiles slowly began turning into excited happy smiles as everyone was able to rest their tired feet and relax a little bit in the air conditioned rail car. You were sat in between Sparkles and Bubbles as the two of them gazed out of the large windows watching everything that traveled past. When it was time for everyone to leave so that you could enter Epcot everyone got up with an excited energy hanging around the group.

You all went through the check in gates one more time and Whiskey stepped away for a moment as he made a phone call before he came back to the group. He walked next to you and smoothly held your hand with his. Grinning up at him you happily swung your hands in between each other as you led the group into the park.

When you came to stop in front of the Rose and Crown pub you were met with silence before loud squeals filled the air and you were being rushed into the English themed bar and restaurant. You laughed as the whole group of you found a table that would be able to seat you all and everyone grabbed a menu.

“Oh that’s a no brainer.” Scrubs said with a smirk and you grinned over at her as your eyes found the drink you would all be getting. When the waitress came over you smiled politely at her before Flames spoke up.

“Right, all of us ladies are gonna have the Welsh Dragon and Tequila here is gonna Cider and Fireball while Whiskey over there is gonna have Leaping Leprechaun.” she said proudly with a nod of her head. When everyone nodded their heads in agreement the waitress eagerly left to put in your drink orders.

“So Siren, having a good birthday?” asked Bubbles from across the table and you smiled nodding your head.

“It’s the best.” you said and they all laughed as Whiskey adjusted your Mickey ears on your head so they sat straight on your head. When the drinks came you all continued your conversation and time passed slowly as you all just enjoyed your time together in the loud boisterous busy pub. Whiskey looked down at his watch as he finished the last of his drink and then looked up at all of you.

“Alright finish your drinks we’ve got to head over to the restaurant for dinner.” he said adamantly and you all easily finished your drinks.

You felt the excitement fill you as your group walked through your favorite part of the park. It was back here in the Morocco part of the park that your favorite restaurant sat. And while walking through the area you couldn’t help but to admire the detail that Disney had put into making the area feel authentic. Or as authentic as you believed it to be without ever visiting Morocco.

Sitting down at your table you smiled as the dim lighting cast a glow over everyone at the table. You were sitting in between Sparkles and Flames at the head of the table across from Whiskey who sat at the other head of the table. He sent you a wink and you grinned happily. Soon your food and drinks were ordered and everyone was gazing around talking about the decor when you heard the music begin to play. Turning in your seat you watched as a belly dancer came out in the middle of the restaurant and began to dance along to the music. The jingle of the dress around her hips kept in beat with the music and you clapped along as she danced. Everyone was enraptured with her dance moves and when she finished everyone clapped and cheered loudly for her.

Not long after the food came out along with a refill of your drinks. Conversation slowed and you were happy to eat and just look around the table full of your loved ones. This truly was a magical birthday and you couldn’t be more grateful for the people around you.

Suddenly you heard loud singing coming from behind you and you ducked your head sheepishly as grins appeared on every face around you. The wait staff came by with a plate held up with a small desert and candle stuck in the middle. As the singing ended you laughed and blew out your candle as cheers rang out in the air. You shook your head as a blush heated your skin and your eyes darted over to Whiskey across the table who was grinning at you with happy eyes.

“Happy Birthday Siren!” cheered out Sparkles as she held her glass up in the air. Everyone followed suit and you clink your glass with everyone.

Walking out of the restaurant you grabbed onto Whiskey’s wrist and moved it so you could glance at his watch. It read eight thirty. You quickly slipped your fingers in between his and turned to the group.

“So the fireworks start in half an hour. I'd like to get a good spot and I know others will be already lining up around the railings so let’s all go find a spot to watch them.” you instructed easily and the group quickly moved to see if they could all find a spot large enough for everyone. Luckily you didn’t have to go too far to find a big enough spot to view the fireworks and as your group moved in front of the Japan area you quickly found a spot to gather against the railing.

Standing between Lizzard and Tequila you felt arms wrap around your middle and a sturdy chest press to your back. You smiled warmly as you leaned back into Whiskey and he pressed his lips to your ear.

“Did you have a good day?” he asked softly into your ear and grinned nodding your head.

“The best day ever.” you responded as your hands came up to cover his own.

“Good I’m glad.” he whispered into your ear. Soon the sky was darkening and a hush came over the park as everyone waited for the fireworks show to begin. When it did begin everyone gasped in awe at the display of pyrotechnics that lit up the sky. You felt Whiskey’s breath graze against your neck and you felt a peacefulness come over you as your eyes watched the fireworks explode in the sky. “I love you sweetheart.” he whispered into your ear as the finale of the display began and you tilted your head back to look up at him and he grinned leaning down to press his lips to yours in a loving kiss.

“I love you too.” you responded back once you had pulled away as the last firework went off.

#my writing #birthday indulgence #agent whiskey #agent whiskey x reader #kingsman the golden circle

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lollercakesff · 5 years ago

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Happiest Place

PT 3 / 3

For @katia-dreamer - here's the last instalment of your secret Santa gift! I hope you've enjoyed it and it brought a little light to your day. Have a wonderful day!

We eat our way around the mock globe of Epcot, tasting everything we can fit in our bellies from the Holiday Feast and then relaxing under the hot sun as Diana, Bash and Mary test out all of the virtual reality rides that are available to them. By the time evening rolls around on our fourth day in the parks I find myself content, the growing camaraderie I feel with Gilbert and the Lacroix’s something I hadn’t expected from this trip. I know Diana feels it too - her friendship with Mary having bolstered over the sweet Dellie she dotes on like her own kin.

By the time the weekend arrives, I'm ready to take a break and relish the idea of a vacation for a few hours by the pool. It’s not hard to convince the others and we order in take-out and eat and drink in the hot sun.

“Did you want to go check out one of the resorts and get dinner with me tonight?” Gilbert asks as we walk back together from the lobby, our hands full of food from the cafeteria.

“That would be cool. I’m assuming Bash wants to go to Sebastian’s at the Caribbean resort?”

“Oh, I mean, maybe he does. But I was thinking just, um. The two of us, if you wanted,” he adds hastily as I stop and look up towards him. My mouth hangs open as he slows and turns to look at me, his smile hesitant.

“Like - one on one?” I sputter, disbelief in my voice. Was he asking me on a date? In Disneyworld of all places?

“Well, kinda yeah. Just the two of us. I thought maybe - It’s okay if not, I just - “

“No. I mean. Yes. I mean - that’s not clear at all. Yes. I’ll go to dinner with you,” I blurt and feel my cheeks heat, my feet starting to carry me forward with a clipped pace as we near the pool.

The afternoon rushes by and when I tell Diana about the dinner back in our room she nearly collapses from excitement on my behalf.

“Oh, Anne! If my Jerry were to have met me in Disneyworld I think we would already be married! This is so romantic! You absolutely must choose somewhere amazing - I’m going to start looking now!” She squeals and drops onto the bed.

Two hours later and I’m brushing my hair frantically back from my face, trying to contain it as I ready for a night out. Diana has taken to assuring me - repeatedly - that she is dying for a night where she doesn’t have to do anything, her feet already propped up as she reclines in her bed.

“Have fun. Make good choices,” she bids as I open the door to Gilbert’s knock. He looks fresh and bright, his eyes sparkling in the low light of the evening as he bids goodnight to Diana.

“Where are we going?” I ask as we head past the pool and towards the lobby. Where I expect to head towards the buses, we instead veer towards the front entrance where Gilbert steers me into an Uber.

“It’s a surprise,” he says as the driver leaves the round-about. We drive for almost ten minutes before turning into the Wilderness Resort, the treeline becoming dense as we head by campsites decorated with lights and beyond little cabins adorned with bows and puffs of smoke rising from the chimneys.

Pulling up outside of a brightly lit restaurant that’s designed like a frontier-style western eatery dropped in a snow globe, I glance at Gilbert as he smiles wider and pulls open the door. Inside the waiter takes our names and settles us onto a bench with 20 other guests wearing their holiday best, all seats facing towards a stage with bright red curtains fluttering in the breeze.

“What is this place?” I ask over the crowd’s noise, my senses trying to take in every detail, every delicious smell and sight.

“Well what do we have here Otis?” A voice calls out around us before there’s a crash and a puff of smoke from the stage.

“It’s dinner and a show. A Hoop-de-doo Musical Review,” he adds and I can’t help the laugh that escapes me, the idea so preposterous and yet so amazingly delightful that I couldn’t even have thought it up myself.

The show is spectacular and the food delicious, my spirit running high as we finish our third drink and start heading out for the rest of the evening. To say the night was magical was an understatement. It had been amazing. Gilbert had been the perfect gentleman, funny and kind, smart and generous. Though I’d offered to go dutch, he wouldn’t hear of it, sneaking off to the till and paying before the check could even be brought to our table.

When it was time to head home we crawl off of the benches with our bellies full, our cheeks red from the liquor and the laughter that had kept us occupied for hours.

“What a show,” I sigh as we walk along the dirt road, heading in some direction that I’m not sure which. Not that it matters. I don’t want tonight to end.

“It was pretty good. I’d hoped for something decent but that so much more then just time well spent. Good food, good entertainment, exceptional company…” He trails off and I spare a look towards him, enjoying the view of his profile in the moonlight. “What do you say we take the boat across to Magic Kingdom? We could probably catch the fireworks from the ferry, if we’re lucky...”

I don’t hesitate to follow him across the road and down the pathways towards the water, willing to follow him anywhere he was ready to lead me. I couldn’t help but think about how quickly I was falling, how easy it all seemed to be in his presence and the way we fell into sync with one another once I gave him a chance to not be the bane of my existence.

Gilbert Blythe had snuck up on me and now that he was here I didn’t want to let him go. Maybe it was the ease of life here, or the magic of everything surrounding us, but when we step onto the ferry and lean over the front rail to watch the castle light up in the distance I can’t help but lean into his side and relish the feel of him next to me. When the first firework cracks across the sky I turn to him and catch his gaze already on me, his fingers lifting up to brush the loose hair back from my face.

He leans in first, hesitating a breath away from my lips, before I exhale and tug him towards me for a kiss that nearly knocks us overboard.

--------

All of us spend the last few days together, revisiting our favourite places and getting as many Fastpasses as we can manage in the few hours we have left in the parks. It’s easy to be with Diana and the Lacroix’s, even easier to be with Gilbert whose light demeanor and quick-wittedness make the days seem brighter than they do at home.

On our last night in the park it’s simple to get lost in the magic of everything, our minds spinning as we eat as much as we can and ride all of the rides just to feel the glow of happiness seep into our bones.

“Are you ready for the fireworks?” Diana asks as we spill off of Space Mountain for the last time.

“More than ready! Though the fireworks also mean it’s time to go home and I’m markedly not ready for that!” I answer and spin my friend around as we walk up the ramps. It was our last ride with just the two of us, our plans to meet up with Gil and company meaning these were the final moments we could soak in this trip together. “Did I tell you yet how happy I was that you came up with this idea, dearest Di?”

“Only a few times,” she replies, slowing to link our arms together. “Did I mention how excited I am for you after this week? I know it’s not why you came here but it’s a lovely turn of events, wouldn’t you say?” Her words make me pause, the realization that going home also meant leaving the cocoon of Gilbert too.

We hadn’t really talked about any of this. How could we have? It was only a blur of a week with so much to do and so much excitement and wonder and beauty there was no way I could have thought about returning to reality. But we’d have to, tomorrow, and I didn’t want to.

“Oh, Di… It’s been such a bittersweet week. I’ve just met him only to say goodbye already. It was such a thrilling time and yet it’s over so soon!” I exclaim as she leads me towards the main entryway.

“Well, yes, goodbyes will be had, but surely they don’t mean forever? You can keep in touch!”

“I know, but it won’t be the same,” I lament as she sighs and pulls me closer.

“Nothing back home is ever the same as Disney, darling. That’s why they call it the happiest place on earth - because the real world can’t hold you back here. But what they don’t talk about is that you can take the memories with you and create a new piece of happiness for yourself back home made just from them. Even if it doesn’t work out, you still have the memories you made and that’s what counts.”

“When did you grow so wise?”

“Right about the time you came into my life, I presume. Made all the difference,” she adds as we slowly come upon the group. I pull her in for a tight hug, holding my best friend close as I try to remember this moment in my mind.

“How was space?” Gilbert asks as I lean against the railing and into his side. His arm comes around my hips and I pull his hand tighter, not wanting him to let go.

“It was fine but I’m happier here just like this,” I admit and look up at him with a cheshire grin.

“Me too. Hey - I was thinking, since you like writing and all, why don’t we try being pen pals when we get home? Would you be interested in trying that?” He questions just above a whisper, his breath tickling the side of my ear.

“That sounds like an excellent idea, Gil,” I murmur and shift closer to him so his arm crosses my chest.

Bound against him, I look up at the sky as the first burst of light shines overhead, the castle's Christmas lights flickering and shifting to display a story of hope, friendship, happiness and love. It seems fitting to end the week here, with new friends and new dreams. A nearly missed flight had lead to this moment and I couldn’t have timed it better. Magic had been spun around us all and whatever came next was bound to be another great adventure that we could face together.

#awae secret santa #anne x gilbert #anne of green gables #anne with an e #kindredspiritssecretsanta #kindred spirits secret santa #awae #@katia dreamer #@royalcordelia

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thekimmiandjackieshow · 7 years ago

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Four Parks, One Day

A vacation at Walt Disney World is so different from having access to the parks all year in so many ways. Standard WDW vacations usually have guests visiting one park per day, or park hopping between two parks max on any given day. Experts have studied guest movement, hoping to understand how people prefer to spend their days and it is quite a bit different than how passholders or visiting Cast Members spend their WDW days. Passholders and Cast Members have the freedom to go to their parks during normal park hours throughout the year. Save for a few block out dates here and there, the all-year access means that not everything has to be experienced in one day. As a vacationer, you may have a list of attractions that are considered “must do” and “can’t miss”. You plan your vacation accordingly, accounting for every minute of each day, filling it to the brim with attractions. As a frequent visitor, this pressure is off. You have the freedom to come in and do one or two attractions, and then save the rest for another day. You can come in just for one show, or lunch at your favorite restaurant, before leaving. You can also complete absurd “challenges”.

There are SO many challenge ideas available online. You can eat or drink your way around the world at EPCOT, attempt to ride every single Walt Disney World attraction during one business day (or the variation of doing it within 24 hours), find all the hidden Mickeys, ride all of WDW’s famous mountains, see every single WDW show, meet every WDW character, the list goes on and on. One of the most famous challenges among frequent visitors though is the 4 parks in 1 day challenge. Everybody has different parameters for how this should be accomplished, but I can tell you that for us, it was one unexpected day!

Eduardo and I had been visiting Animal Kingdom once a week for a while, knowing our programs were coming to a close and that DAK was easily our favorite park. We wanted to see Festival of the Lion King as many times as we could, and it also cheered us up from the mundane work week. That week, Animal Kingdom was gearing up to celebrate its Birthday AND “Earth Day”. As a special treat for guests visiting on Earth Day, Jiminy Cricket was scheduled to make a special appearance at Rafiki’s Planet Watch. It just happened to fall on a day we’d normally visit the park, so we made sure to add the meet and greet to our to do list.

Our schedule had always been pretty relaxed when it came to visiting Animal Kingdom on our days off. We never arrived at park open because there was never any reason to. We slept in a little bit, got a relaxed start to our day, and then headed out for a day of fun.

The first stop was Rafiki’s Conservation Station. We knew that meeting Jiminy Cricket would be popular for guests with the flexibility, so we made sure to try to do that first. The line was only a few guests long, so we walked into the conservation station first to hang out. I had walked through the building quite a few times, but I had never really paid attention to the Song of the Rainforest rooms. It was always just a backdrop for Rafiki as far as I was concerned. Rafiki wasn’t greeting guests at that time though, so it was easier to see that the Song of the Rainforest was actually an assortment of rooms where guests could wear headphones and hear the varying sounds of the rainforest.

It was an interesting experience. If nothing else, it was nice to experience something new having visited Animal Kingdom so many times. Our next stop was to meet Jiminy! As we were leaving the Conservation Station I ran into Emily, who worked at Strollers with me. She had work later that day but was determined to meet Jiminy Cricket because it was her all time favorite character. She was there with her best friend Katie, and they invited us to join them in line. We waited for a while in the hot sun, watching the line grow longer as it headed down the trail towards the train station. He was going to be a very popular character. Sadly, Jiminy took too long to come out so Emily had to go before she was late for her shift. I promised her I’d come back with her the next day to get a picture with him, because I had the day off anyway and wanted to visit Animal Kingdom on its actual Birthday.

Katie, Eduardo, and I got our picture and headed along to Festival of the Lion King.

We caught the very next show of Festival of the Lion King. It had been a gorgeous day. Not too hot, not too cold, the perfect spring weather. We were having the ultimate day in Animal Kingdom and FOLK added to that amazing mood. I attempted to capture pictures with my DSLR, but having little to no experience doing it (as almost every time I sat in the theater I put down my camera and enjoyed the show), they weren’t perfect. Still, the show lifted my spirits and we left the theater dancing and singing in the Florida breeze.

With Earth Day being the very next day, Animal Kingdom had a few signs created for photo ops in front of the Tree of Life. I had Memory Maker throughout my entire program so I wasn’t shy about taking advantage of Photopass pictures. Any chance I got of capturing memories in the parks, I took, knowing this experience wouldn’t last forever. Eduardo and I snapped a few pictures in front of the Tree of Life and the main entrance before taking off.

We had planned to make our visit to Animal Kingdom short because we wanted to try to meet Joy and Sadness at EPCOT. They were new characters but by that point they had been meeting guests for a while, and neither of us had gotten the chance to meet them. I’m super awkward when it comes to meeting characters but I knew Eduardo was a pro, so I was excited to go around and meet everybody with him.

It wasn’t until we were in the car, on the way to EPCOT, that we decided to do the four parks, one day challenge. Most people prepare for this day. Most people wake up at the crack of dawn and head to Animal Kingdom right at park open so they can truly do all the parks in one day. We had gotten to talking about things we wanted to do before our program was over, and that was on both of our lists. I realized we didn’t really have many days left if that’s really what we wanted to do, so I said, “Well? How hard could it be? Want to do it today?” and we headed off to our next park.

It was then that we made the rules. In order for the park to be considered “complete” we had to meet at least one character, get a Photopass Photo that was not a character picture with a main icon of the park, and complete one major attraction or show in the park. Animal Kingdom was considered completed because we met Jiminy Cricket, watched Festival of the Lion King, and took Photopass pictures at both the Tree of Life and the Main Entrance.

Animal Kingdom was done! On to the next...

We decided to do Hollywood Studios next. Based on how the parks sit, Hollywood Studios is closest to Animal Kingdom. We also knew that it would get busier at night with Fantasmic. We made the quick turn to Hollywood Studios and headed on our way!

Of course we decided on Tower of Terror as our attraction. Rockin’ Roller Coaster had a terrible tendency to make me really anxious, so Tower of Terror was the logical choice. We hopped on the ride in a matter of minutes, making us feel pretty good about our odds of completing the challenge.

We made friends with a stranger on the ride, who agreed to do the “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil” pose with us. A regular smile was never good enough for ride photos when you visited all the time!

Hollywood Studios was using Tower of Terror as their park icon for a while, so we stopped a Photopass photographer on our way out for a quick photo of our second park!

The last thing we needed was a meet and greet with a character. We decided on Sorcerer Mickey. My two character attendant friends were always telling me that this location was pretty quiet, but it was one of the best character spots in any of the parks. So we went to check it out and neither of my friends were wrong. We told Mickey all about our challenge for the day. He wished us luck, and told us we’d have no problem doing it at all!

Hollywood Studios was officially complete! As we were leaving though, we ran into Character Palooza. Character Palooza is a character event that isn’t published in any of the entertainment guides. It happens on days Hollywood Studios shows Fantasmic, with any of the characters in Fantasmic. I had only run into a Character Palooza once or twice before, but every time I only got a picture with one character before everybody left. We weren’t quite sure we had time to stop, but we couldn’t pass the opportunity up!

Meeting Mary Poppins and Pocahontas was cool, but my favorite interaction was really unexpected. Brer Fox was out and he was quite the character. He said he was hungry and accused me of being a rabbit. I insisted that I was no rabbit, and instantly he apologized and started trying to make it up to me. I usually can’t understand what characters are trying to tell me. I’m the one that stands there awkwardly laughing and nodding my head until a Photopass photographer decides they’ve looked at the awkwardness long enough and collects everyone for a picture. But Brer Fox and I didn’t miss a beat joking around, and it honestly made my day even brighter.

The next stop was EPCOT. The evening was approaching quickly and we were a little worried we wouldn’t have time to get to everything. I wouldn’t have been too disappointed though. It was all so last minute and I knew I would have another chance to do it. Luckily the parks weren’t too crowded so that at least made it easier for us.

Of course our photo op for EPCOT was going to be Spaceship Earth. There are always at least two Photopass photographers right there at the entrance ready to take pictures of everybody, so we hopped in line and grabbed our picture.

By this point we were hungry. We hadn't eaten anything since before Animal Kingdom so we wanted to take a moment to try to eat something. With Flower and Garden Festival happening, EPCOT had about a thousand good options, but we were set on experiencing new things. I had never eaten at the Electric Umbrella before. I can’t even tell you how many times I have passed it and intended to go in, but I never actually went inside. We decided to venture in together.

After reviewing the menu, I realized why I had never eaten there. Absolutely nothing sounded good. Every single normal menu item had some weird addition to it that I was not about. Of course Disney is great about allowing you to customize things but I wasn’t willing to fork over the money to a restaurant that didn’t have anything I wanted on the menu when I could go right down the way to something amazing. I don’t remember where we wound up but we didn’t stay at Electric Umbrella for very long.

Once we ate we meandered over to meet Joy & Sadness. We hopped in line, then noticed that Baymax had a ridiculously short line, only one or two people long. I love Baymax so it was a no brainer that we had to stop.

We could have stopped there. He could have just been our character and we could’ve headed onward, but we were determined to meet Joy & Sadness. I have to say, very rarely did Disney plans go as planned. Most days a plan was made of the things we wanted to do or accomplish, but by the time we got there we were either too tired, didn’t care, or had bumped into somebody that had different plans. This was the first day that we were sticking to what we said we wanted to do and I was so for it.

The line for Joy and Sadness was ridiculously cute. It was all themed to make you feel like you were really weaving through long-term memory to get to headquarters. Eduardo and I got creative and asked strangers for help for a picture.

Normally, I relate a little bit more to Sadness. But that day I was feeling nothing but Joy. The day was everything I wanted my entire program to be. I felt like I was living the dream, bouncing carelessly from park to park, experiencing the things that only Disney offers. The woes of yesterday and the anxiety of tomorrow was left behind for a day of skipping through the parks with a good friend. I felt on top of the world. I was also incredibly excited to finally meet Joy and Sadness.

Sadness gave me a big hug as soon as I rounded the corner. She loved that we both had glasses, and said my purple MagicBand reminded her of her friend Fear. She then told me I better go hang out with Joy again to refill my heart. Sure enough, Joy was thrilled to see me. She jumped up and down, excited by my twirly skirt, and we danced together. I never thought I’d be the person that bounced from character to character, laughing, joking, and dancing with them. I was too socially awkward for that. Yet there I was, spinning and swaying and dancing with Joy, having the time of my life.

I left the meet and greet literally jumping up and down. I felt so incredibly magical. I flipped through the pictures Eduardo had just taken, loving every single one. Now all that was next was the attraction.

We were a little stumped on what our major attraction would be. Test Track would have been ideal, but it was way too long of a line for that. I get sick on Mission Space, so that was out of the question. While there were quite a few smaller attractions to choose, we wanted to choose a major attraction or show to fit within the parameters we set when we first started the challenge. IllumiNations wasn’t an option because we would have to be headed towards Magic Kingdom by that point.

I had planned on dropping by Spaceship Earth though, knowing my roommate Dana was working that night. We headed on over and found her working the front. She whipped out her autograph book and asked us both to sign it, which of course we did. Then she whisked us over to the VIP entrance to hop on Spaceship Earth! It was something they were allowed to do every once in a while as a magical moment. The major perk of the VIP entrance is skipping the line, but there wasn’t much of a line to speak of. It shaved off a few minutes of waiting though, which was helpful because we really needed to start making our way to Magic Kingdom.

Visiting friends at work was one of my favorite things to do on the college program too. Just knowing people everywhere you went made the place feel less like a vacation spot and more like home. Casually running into people at Walt Disney World the way you may run into an old friend on a walking trail or in the grocery store was just the norm during a college program, and those run ins only added to the feeling that these parks were your world.

Spaceship Earth was our last stop at EPCOT before we headed out. Magic Kingdom is actually the park that is furthest away from the others, even though people would have you believe that Animal Kingdom is further. I was nervous about getting there in time for Celebrate the Magic, Wishes, and still have time for a character meet and greet. We figured that we’d probably meet either Mickey Mouse or Tinker Bell in the Town Square Theatre, then just hang out on Main Street for the shows. As we were heading into the park, the electrical water pageant was behind us in the Seven Seas Lagoon. I had never had luck catching the show so I was excited to see it. We watched for a bit, took a few pictures, and turned around to bag check so we could head in.

Along with our firsts for the day, it was going to be my first time meeting Mickey Mouse in the Town Square Theatre. A little extra magic existed in that theatre that allowed Mickey to speak freely with the guests. It was the only place in Walt Disney World that had this kind of magic. I was a little nervous. I had no idea what Mickey would say to me and I had no idea what to say back. We were brought to a door that looked like a backstage door for Mickey. As soon as we entered we could hear him greeting other guests. Several “Oh boy!” ‘s and “See ya later Pal!” ‘s later, it was our turn. We told him all about our park to park adventure, and how Magic Kingdom was our very last park. All we needed was a picture with him and to see a show at Magic Kingdom. He was really excited for us and suggested we go ahead and get that picture.

As we were walking out of the theatre, Wishes began. We hung back near Town Square Theatre, singing all the words and dancing along to the music. It’s no secret that I wasn’t attached to Wishes the same way others were, but spending the show time dancing around in an empty clearing of Main Street was the best way to spend it. Tinker Bell flew to Cinderella Castle and Eduardo pointed out that we could meet Tinker Bell while we were right there. We let Wishes finish up before flying off to meet her. The line was completely empty. Cleary we were the first ones to head back towards Town Square Theatre.

Our character attendant led us into a room with long blades of grass on the walls, transforming us into pixie-sized people. Pixie dust dazzled along the walls, opening up the door into Tinker Bell’s pixie hollow.

We told Tinker Bell all about how we flew to her from Main Street after watching her fly to Cinderella Castle. She said she visits Cinderella every single night to say hello before flying back home, but it’s always a quick trip since they see each other so often. We posed like we were flying before dancing our way back to Main Street.

Our challenge was almost complete. We had to wait for Main Street to clear out a little bit before getting our Photopass picture in front of Cinderella Castle. A crowd still lingered as everybody waited for Celebrate the Magic. If there was ever a show in Magic Kingdom that made me cry, it was Celebrate the Magic. Celebrate the Magic never failed to remind me how far I had traveled, how much I had grown as a person to be standing on Main Street as a Cast Member, and how lucky I was to be experiencing it all no matter how different the experience was from what I was expecting. I was surrounded by tourists who were inching closer and closer to the castle, putting kids on their shoulders to get one glimpse of the show, and holding their breaths as the castle transformed into several different scenes. The street was filled with guests who were experiencing it all for the very first time, and for some, probably the only time. Intermingled were guests who were there for their annual vacation, breathing happy sighs as they relaxed into their homes away from home. And dispersed throughout this crowd were the few CP’s who were living this temporary life of casually visiting Main Street with friends. We learned every word of Celebrate the Magic just by hanging around so often. We knew when to pull out our cameras to take pictures of the castle turning into something amazing because we had seen it so many times. We knew when the end of the show was coming so we could slowly back away from the crowds and give ourselves a head start to the next adventure. Everything about that moment had become normal for us. It was all just “another night off work”. Our Instagram and Facebook feeds were filled with castle pictures and snapshots of people having similar adventures. Everybody we had recently talked to was doing what we were doing. In some moments it felt like a special and exclusive experience, but in that same breath it felt like the life everybody we knew was living. The show made me feel lucky to call it all normal. The finale was met with applause from the crowd and tears from me. It had been such a perfect day.

As Main Street cleared out, Eduardo and I got our final picture in front of the castle.

Our challenge was complete. We had hit up every single park in one business day. We stopped at Guest Services for “I’m Celebrating” buttons, wrote “4 Parks, 1 Day” on them, and celebrated on Main Street talking about all that we had done. It was then that we realized how tiring it all was. It had been a long day, but such an excellent one. We completed many firsts, knocked a few things off our bucket lists, and checked off a classic challenge. I don’t think I’ll ever get an opportunity like that to complete such a frivolous challenge again. I’m glad I took the chance to go for it, even though it wasn’t planned in the slightest. That was almost what made it more fun though. Instead of having a serious plan, we were just dancing from one thing to the next. If we completed the challenge, we would celebrate. If we didn’t complete it, we would try again another time with maybe more planning again. All that mattered was that we were having fun, and that was an easy challenge to complete. Some may say we didn’t do enough to complete the challenge, but I think we covered our bases well and we had an absolute blast doing it.

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junker-town · 7 years ago

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Tiger Woods is now 'Golf Saban' and other things we learned at the USA's Presidents Cup win

The 2017 Presidents Cup was another uncompetitive bore but it wasn't completely uninteresting. Some observations beyond just the golf shots and match results.

You've already digested a full meal of content on how uncompetitive the 2017 Presidents Cup was and how this American team was one of the best ever and just getting started on what could be a decade of dominance. While the competition was a bore, watching the U.S. team light it up, really from the top of the roster to the bottom, was impressive and worth watching.

We don't need to re-hash all the specifics of a lopsided four-day match play event, but here are some notes beyond the actual golf shots and matches that I gathered from a few days at Liberty National.

These matches feel different with Tiger roaming

Watching Tiger was the most enjoyable and entertaining part of the Presidents Cup. If I'm being honest, I probably never appropriately appreciated watching Tiger play when we had him at his peak. I was younger, dumber, and could not put things in context all that well. Now with him mostly out of public view in the sport, the rare occasions where he does pop up seem so special and carry a certain weight. And that includes when he never swings a damn club.

In all contexts, it was a entertaining to watch him and listen to him and just see him.

It's fun to see all our shitty little jokes on the fantasies of Tiger leading SEAL missions in some remote corner of the globe looking a little closer to reality with him marching the course wired up with comms line earpieces and carrying a TrackMan briefcase that could be some sort of mobile command unit. This will never not be funny or get old.

It's cool to see him become this sherpa guide to what is clearly a superpower of a 20-something group of players coming up in these events. Tiger has likely the greatest golf brain in the history of the game, and has to feel less threatened leaking some of that brilliance to players who can't use it against him in his prime. On Saturday, I called him Golf Saban: he's got the best 'croots, puts in an obsessive attention to every single detail, has no real time for all the media and promotional nonsense that comes with these exhibitions, and is the driving captaincy force behind what is now two straight methodical blowouts (and even mixed it up with an official after what he thought was a bad call). We already knew "process" was one of his go-to words and from all accounts, the way he prepared the team and himself as a captain for last year's Ryder Cup was nonpareil. The way he threw himself into the role was a motivating and contributing factor to the team's success at Hazeltine, and that appeared to be the case again this year. Process and preparation.

He seems to love it too -- US captain Steve Stricker hinted that Tiger was getting as much out of it as the team, telling the New York Times, "This is a two-way street." Tiger having a real purpose in this game, both for him and us, is something we need for the next 20, 30, or 40 years.

It's moving to see him celebrate with colleagues and competitors, so many of whom he was often trying to destroy on the golf course. We're thinking mostly of Phil Mickelson here, with whom Tiger had a ... we'll use ... contentious relationship. Tiger did not have a particularly strong desire to be friends with anyone on Tour, but especially someone hailed as a potential all-time great. Phil played a role in the two being frosty at times too. Now we're in the sunset of both careers, and the two seem legitimately happy to be paired up as the brain trust reformatting how American team golf is organized and outfitted for the next decade or two. I don't care if this is soft as hell, but it's moving giving all the history and scar tissue we have with these guys and they have with themselves.

I'll take "Things I never thought we'd see" for $500, Alex. #PresidentsCup http://pic.twitter.com/dcJiRs9xrZ

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) October 1, 2017

Tiger Woods fist pump for Phil Mickelson at President’s Cup http://pic.twitter.com/DZvpTfXHLa

— Tiger Woods Fans (@TigerQuestfor19) September 29, 2017

A business convention

The location, a short ferry ride from Wall Street, may have had something to do with it. But walking around Liberty National was an entirely different experience from the Ryder Cup, and really any major championship or golf tournament I've been to.

This felt like more like a convention for "important looking" people to entertain each other or network about "important" things. The amount of finely pressed slacks and button-down shirts exceeded anything I've seen at any other golf tournament. The point felt more like an arena for corporate schmoozing and the attendant golf event was simply an outlet to congregate and for it to happen at this place.

With that kind of vibe permeating the grounds, it's hard to hype the crowds as having some sort of impact in a way we might thought when it was announced this was coming to New York. That kind of scene may be reserved for Bethpage and the 2024 Ryder Cup. The first tee scene was fun, but the crowds tapered off throughout the course. It may have just been the difficulty of navigating this particular venue. But at the Ryder Cup, every match is five to 10 deep along the ropes. Here, that happened maybe around just one or two marquee matches, and sometimes not even at those bigger matches.

When Justin Thomas holed out from the bunker at the 14th on Friday afternoon, he exhorted the crowd to get into it and the response felt, to be honest, subdued. The 14th hole this week, which is the 18th during normal club play, was supposed to be the highlight hole, an arena running up into the clubhouse with captivating views. But the hospitality suites lining the hole and surrounding the green just muted the atmosphere a bit and the response to Thomas' hole-out was a bit flat.

Have. A. Day. @JustinThomas34 from the sand to the bottom of the cup #PresidentsCup http://pic.twitter.com/YjdxMgNU9O

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) September 29, 2017

There were crescendoes here and there, but that flatness existed across the course in my observation.

The Ryder Cup certainly has a corporate schmoozing element to it too, with brand partners and hospitality on the course. But it also has the massive livewire crowds and grandstands enveloping each match. The Prez cup was not that and this is, of course, fine. The purpose of the Presidents Cup can be more business-centered, and it doesn't have to be a same as the Ryder Cup. Just don't oblige the hype about the "rowdy NYC crowds" making this unlike any scene in golf. Maybe that changes in Australia in 2019 or Charlotte in 2021.

Epcot National

Again, critiquing or praising the venue of Liberty National needs to be done with an understanding of this event's purpose. The cup is a largely made-for-TV exhibition and this course was great for TV. You saw the hundreds of pictures and videos all week already, but I really cannot overstate how stunning the vista is from Liberty National.

As a course, it felt inauthentic. One colleague compared it to Disney World and there was definitely an amusement park, albeit an extremely high-class one, feel to it. This was a dump that they filled up, tarped over, and built an emerald golf course, man-made lakes, and a glistening glass clubhouse on top of for $250 million, among the most expensive courses ever built. There are towering walls of concrete, a din of sirens, shipping and truck fumes, and then there's a lush green shade of a perfectly manicured golf course. Nothing about this feels like it was cut and shaped out of the natural land provided and that's how you end up with the inauthentic feel.

It worked just fine for match play, although I'd argue there's way too much water on the course. Red paint hazard lines are running everywhere and indeed, there were stretches were it felt like every other highlight on the broadcast was of a world-class player dumping one in the drink. There were some complaints about the routing leaving us with two par-3s in the final three holes, but I thought that added a funky element I didn't mind.

Photo by Elsa/Getty Images

The views of the Statue of Liberty and downtown Manhattan cannot be oversold.

Again, this comes back to the purpose of this thing — it's not the Walker Cup at a classic LACC. It's big business and TV entertainment. The views were inspiring and stunning and I think the course worked fine for these purposes.

Irreconcilable differences?

The tones of the winning and losing press conferences at these team events are always so fascinating to watch. Press conferences usually don't matter in golf, but they're entertaining and enlightening at these match play contests. Aside from the usual lighthearted partying in the USA winner's press conference (gasp, even Jordan Spieth cursed!), I thought the most notable aspect was the contrast in captain's comments on just where this event may be going.

First came Ernie Els, a veteran of these events, assistant captain this year, and rumored to be the next head captain of the International team in 2019 at Royal Melbourne. On multiple occasions, Els used the phrase "going back to the drawing board" with the PGA Tour. It's clear the International side does not feel like the current arrangement, in which the PGA Tour owns and operates the entire event, is setting up most equitably for them. "We just want to feel that we are being treated fairly and that we get something going our way a little bit," Els said.

We heard repeated refrains about how the Internationals feel they're at a disadvantage not getting to play every year, or less often, as the American team. They also want more control from the PGA Tour, and Els cited scheduling, golf course setup, and team selection process as areas where that could be taken.

The Big Easy also specifically cited "less matches and less points" as something that would be beneficial to the International side — the thinking goes that less points and less matches mitigates the International side's lack of depth compared to the USA.

This is where the contrast between captain's press conferences seemed most stark. The usually understated and diplomatic Stricker was pretty direct when asked if there should be format changes or points reduced.

No, we had the format change for South Korea, and I don't know how many points that we needed to reduce, but I think it's fair. I mean, we weren't really too happy with the reduction of points to start with. We wanted an event that kind of allowed all our players to go out there and play.

So yeah, I don't see anything changing.

Stricker added that they all voted against the reduction in Korea, "and the points system was still changed — ultimately, it doesn't seem like it would be up to us."

So it would appear that after this last blowout, we're headed for a showdown over the rules and format. It again puts the entire viability of the competition on trial, how it's run, and who runs it.

The Fanatics

It's great to have an International voice and superfan group involved in this thing, from Columbus to Korea to NYC. But I have serious questions about who is backing and underwriting this operation. Are you telling me this group spends thousands of dollars to travel the globe every two years to watch their team get its ass kicked? It seems like the people investigating George Soros paid protesters should spend their time digging into the Fanatics' operation.

I think they're a nice element to the competition and creative with their chants, but I need to know more of the why and how behind it.

Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

A subsection of The Fanatics cohort watches their beloved International team at the Presidents Cup in Jersey.

Phil's brutal honesty

Standing on the green immediately following another Sunday singles match win, Phil Mickelson let loose this howitzer of a quote.

We have a dynamic here that is different than I've seen, and that is these young guys are not only great players, fiercely competitive, but they have a quality that's taken me decades to acquire, and that is they are genuinely happy for each other's success.

Piggybacking for the Phil-Tiger observations from above, I think that sheds light on why the USA struggled for so many years in the Ryder Cup and why they seem set up so well for the future now.

Creating a new identity

The blowout reignited all the takes about how the Presidents Cup is a useless competition and I've certainly hit some of the issues with it in the notes above. Maybe being on the ground up close for a couple days imbued me with some empathy I didn't know I had, but the PGA Tour does bust its ass at this thing and is hustling to make it as strong as possible (there are, of course, motivating economic interests too!).

I think it would be stupid to do away with it or completely overhaul it. Team golf is the best — this is an incontrovertible fact. Make some tweaks, give more power to a home team, figure out a temporary way to make it more competitive. The lack of International depth is always cited as the reason why it's not competitive, but their best players have not played well either at many of these, including this year with Hideki Matsuyama and Jason Day. This core group of USA 20-somethings looks dominant, but there will be a swing when the Internationals have a run.

The PGA Tour carving out an identity that's more than "not the one that's as good as the Ryder Cup" may be the biggest Prez Cup task. The Tour has done this really well with The Players, an event that now has the self-confidence beyond trying to force an identity as the "fifth major" into something that occupies its own totally unique space in the game. Maybe it means some format tweaks, or schedule tweaks, or qualification tweaks. But even after this past blowout, I'm hopeful there is a future for the Presidents Cup.

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stickyyouthstudent · 7 years ago

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A visit to Epcot Center in the rain

In the last year of the marriage, the family went on a trip to Florida for a week at the Disney World Resort. I’ve talked about this in other stories. My wife and her sister both worked for their long-time friend, Helen, in a real-estate business up until Helen got tired of supporting them in their roles where they weren’t making her any money, despite it being one of the biggest real-estate booms in recent decades. This was because my wife, sister-in-law, and mother-in-law were still splitting their time working for their old boss, using Helen’s provided space to conduct more business for him than they were for her, and she was paying for it all.

Helen still paid for the majority of the Disney World trip like she said she would, despite her friends screwing her over at every turn. My mother-in-law didn’t go on the trip, but my wife, her sister, and both husbands (including Joe) went. My wife and her sister took the lead in making decisions for where we went and what we did every day. I didn’t really care. It was all fun to me.

Of course, this was Florida in June, so it was incredibly hot and humid, and it rained off and on the whole time we were there. This put a bit of a damper on the activities. I didn’t mind, but the kids got all grumpy all the time and my wife and sister-in-law did the same. Also, I don’t think I’ve mentioned this in other stories, but the day we left for the trip, I woke up in the middle of the night with pains in my side. I went to the emergency room and was (preliminarily) diagnosed with gall stones. The family doctor would later give me a hard time about this diagnosis, but that’s another story. The relevance to this story is that I was given some pain medication and special instructions on what I could and couldn’t eat, which mostly included not eating very much fat. Me having a doctor-mandated say in what I ate would come to have an impact on the devil-wife’s ability to tell me things like, “Just eat it and stop complaining.” The worst thing possible for this woman was the ability to use one of her own excuses on her. She was always going on about how she couldn’t eat or drink something for some reason or another, which was usually bullshit because she ate and drank whatever she wanted until it suited her to be more selective.

On our vacation, one day, we set out to go to Epcot Center. We took the monorail there, and as soon as we got there, it started raining really hard and didn’t let up. We decided we’d put on our ponchos and just walk from place to place in the park and find somewhere that would be fun to be inside and spend some time there. This never panned out, mostly because everything we saw would elicit a response of “Bor-ring!” from my wife. She insisted everything we saw was boring and not worth our time. I honestly can’t remember much about the place, except the monorail and all the rain, and that it was a big circle around a lake/pond, plus all the attractions were based on different locations around the world. Since it was raining, we didn’t take a lot of time stopping at any of the locations. Instead, we just started walking around the big circle with the lake thing in the middle.

Right from the start, it wasn’t going well. My sister-in-law had one of those Rascal things “because of her knee” (because she was so fat her hind hooves could no longer support her weight), which she was riding on all week. This also enabled her to get front-of-the-line privileges at all the rides, something that wouldn’t come into play at Epcot that day.

When we got a little ways around the circle, we stopped at a place called “Imagination.” I had to look the name of this up. This looked pretty interesting to me and worth spending some time there, which meant the two women couldn’t stand it, partly because they had no interest in anything that wasn’t superficial, and also because if I liked it, they were bound and determined not to let me enjoy it.

So, we kept on walking and it kept on raining. My son was in his stroller with me pushing him. My niece was in her stroller with Joe pushing her. My wife walked. My sister-in-law rode her Rascal. This was the first time that my sister-in-law suggested we go back. Even my wife argued the point that we had barely seen anything. She explained that when she got home, she wanted to at least be able to say that she’d gone all the way around and had “seen” everything. That was enough of an argument for my sister-in-law, at least for the moment.

We kept walking through the heavy rain. Nearly no one else was in the park, which was a first for us so far that week. Every other day, all the parks we’d been in were packed to the gills with people, even when it was raining, but not at Epcot. I think this was also the first day that we’d gotten an early start on the day, so I think it was a mixture of bad weather, beating the crowds, and probably a lower popularity than the other parks in the resort.

At that point, I don’t think we stopped anywhere else until we got to the midway point, which is called “The American Adventure.” When we got here, my sister-in-law was still complaining about how wet it was and how miserable she was for having to ride around on a Rascal in all that rain. Again, she suggested we turn around and go back. Whether we went to the hotel or another park, she didn’t care. She just didn’t want to be there any more.

I made the argument that we were at the halfway point and that going back was the same distance as continuing in the direction we were going. My sister-in-law seemed to think this was just an excuse to get her to keep going, so I told the joke about the first woman to ever attempt to swim across the English Channel. You know, she got half-way, decided she was tired, then turned around and went back. No one was amused. It may have been the weather. It may have just been that it wasn’t a very good joke. Either way, no one laughed.

We kept on walking and didn’t stop again until we were almost all the way around. When we finally stopped, it wasn’t because anyone wanted to stop and look at something. It was because my sister-in-law was in a worse mood than ever.

“Let’s go back!” She insisted. “I’m tired of this. I just want to go back!”

“But, we’re almost back to the start,” I said.

“You’re just saying that so we’ll keep going,” My sister-in-law said.

“No,” Joe pointed. “That’s where we came in. Right there in front of us.”

“No, it isn’t!” My sister-in-law continued to argue. “We came in that way,” and pointed in the opposite direction.

“Right,” Joe continued to point, “But we came all the way around to right there.”

“You’re just saying that!” My sister-in-law continued.

My wife stood there with her arms crossed. She was no good with directions. We could have been on the moon as far as she was concerned.

“I’m tired of this,” My sister-in-law said. “I just want to leave.”

“If you’re tired,” I began. She was riding a Rascal, but she was tired. “The closest way is that way.” I pointed at the exit. “Look, there’s the Spacechip Earth,” It’s that big sphere thing at the entrance.

“I’m not stupid!” My sister-in-law said. “We came from the other way.”

“Right,” I said, “But now, it’s closer to go this way,” I pointed ahead of us. “The exit is two minutes ahead of us THIS way, or you can go alllllllll the way back around and take half an hour to get back to right there.”

“I don’t care,” My sister-in-law said, and turned around to head back the way we’d started from. My wife gave me a shitty look and followed her sister.

“Well?” Joe said.

“Fuck ‘em,” I said and started walking in the direction of the exit, not the long way my wife and sister-in-law had taken. Like we’d insisted, the entrance/exit was right there.

We were going to have at least 15 minutes to wait for those two to make it back to the starting point. The kids were fairly grumpy from being stuck in the strollers in the rain. Even though they were dry in the strollers, they were still in a bad mood. Joe and I got them a couple of ice-creams and sat down under an awning while we waited for our wives to get back. Neither one of us mentioned the silliness of the two women insisting on going back the other way, but at this point, it was like avoiding talking about the elephants in the room.

When the women caught up to us, I was surprised at how quickly they’d gotten there. When we saw them, my wife was walking at a faster pace than she would normally walk, which was regularly a very slow pace, as if she had no concept of time whatsoever. Here, she was walking as fast as her sister could keep up with her on the Rascal. Those two must have had a plan to get back to the entrance as fast as possible so they could say or do something to show how annoyed they were at having had to wait on us, but that wasn’t to be the case. We were already there, a fact that completely surprised them.

“How did you get here so fast?” My wife asked.

“We didn’t even see you pass us,” My sister-in-law said.

“It was a short walk,” I pointed to the place we’d been standing when they’d stormed off.

My wife looked around and saw the evidence that we’d been there a while already. We were considerably dryer than they were, and the leftovers from the ice-creams were still there.

“You gave him ice-cream?” My wife asked. “You spoiled his appetite. I can’t believe you,” and on and on from that nagging bitch in a way that I had grown accustomed to hearing.

My wife and her sister couldn’t admit that they’d been wrong about going back the other way being closer. Apparently, neither one of them understood the concept of a circle. The rest of the trip, though, any time we’d be on our way somewhere, these two still tried to assert dominance despite being completely clueless about where they were heading. We’d have little conversations like this:

“Where are you going?” I’d ask.

“To the exit,” My wife would say, heading in the wrong direction.

“Ah, okay, but where are you headed before that?” I’d ask, then point in the direction of the exit, “Because the exit is this way.”

I attribute this experience partly to the shitty attitude the two women always had. It was also partly that they were dumb as dog shit. Another contributing factor was how the two of them had grown up going to Disneyland their entire lives and knew that park inside out. Any time Joe or I went to Disneyland with them, they would navigate that place with no problem, but when we got to Disney World (in Florida), neither of them had been there before. Both Joe and I had been there before, not that this mattered much in the way of land navigation, but Joe and I were both good at this, too, while the women were completely clueless. Unlike our trips to Disneyland, going to Disney World was a new experience for both of them where their historical knowledge offered no benefit, and being wrong all the time made them angrier and angrier.

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