Why we keep going back to Walt Disney World

Cara and I have been to Walt Disney World three times in five years. We took Seth in June 2004. Just the two of us went in August 2007, as a second honeymoon. Then we went again in April of 2009. Nobody came out and asked us directly, but I suspect that a lot of people wanted to ask us why we kept going back.

Why? Why, when there are thousands of other places to go, do we keep going back to Disney? Very good question.

The answers to that question are numerous.

First of all, when you go to Walt Disney World, the experience is never the same twice. Yes, many of the shows and rides are the same as they have been for years. But others have had major renovations, and it is really fun to see the rides and shows and look for the changes. Others have had subtle changes. Still other rides and shows are all new. Disney is constantly adding new stuff, from Monster, Inc. to Toy Story Mania to Expedition Everest, to name a very few.

There is something very comforting in knowing that if you go to the Lion King Musical Show that it is going to be just as spectacular as the first time you saw it. It is fantastic to see the Peter Pan ride, the Snow White ride, the Beauty and the Beast musical, or the Carousel of Progress and know that you will have the same great experience that you had the first time.

It is also fun to see the subtle updates on things like the Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion, the Hall of Presidents, and It's a Small World. Or major changes, like Spaceship Earth.

And Disney is constantly adding new, exciting things, like Toy Story Mania, Soarin' (one of my favorites), Expedition Everest, and the American Idol Experience (one of Cara's favorites).

We also stay somewhere different each time. In 2004, we stayed at All-Star Sports. In 2007, we stayed at Pop Century. In 2009, we upgraded to a moderate resort, the beautiful Port Orleans Riverside. Each experience was unique and outstanding.

Even though we stayed for a week each time, we still never get to do everything we would like to. In 2009, we experienced several things for the first time, including Rafiki's Planet Watch, Rockin' Roller Coaster (just Cara), Finding Nemo Musical, O Canada, Fantasmic, the Magic of Disney Animation, the Little Mermaid show, and Buss Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. Yet, there are still some things we have never done (Tom Sawyer's Island, for example).

I guess my last reason why we keep going back is simple. Do you have anyplace you always return to? My parents love Moosehead Lake, here in Maine. They go there just about every year. It is a special place for them. My sister-in-law, Sara, returns to Peru every few years. It is a special place for her, and now for my brother as well. I have relatives in Texas that always return to Maine. It is a special place for them. Walt Disney World is a special place for Cara and me. That's why we keep going back.

Snow Removal Etiquette

This winter has left me baffled by the lack of snow removal etiquette displayed by my neighbors. Is it just me, or have things gotten worse this year? In the past, we have had large amounts of snow, without any issues with snow removal etiquette. I don't understand why it is an issue all of a sudden. True, some of the neighbors are new to the neighborhood. But some have been here for several years. This is what I have seen.

One of my neighbors, last year, used to shovel the snow out of his yard and into the middle of the road. This meant that those of us who live above him have to drive through that mess until the next time the plow comes by to clean up the snowbanks, which is usually a few days after the storm. Thankfully, he has stopped doing this. Now, he has a plow on the front of his ATV and plows the snow mostly onto the sides of his driveway, and actually cleans up the snow that gets into the road. Of course, he sometimes pushes that snow onto the lawn of his neighbor across the street, but this is an improvement over past behavior.

I watched this morning as another neighbor carried shovelful after shovelful of snow and dumped it across the road onto another neighbors front lawn while she was at work. How neighborly of him.

I am currently watching my neighbor across the road as he uses his new snow blower to blow the snow into the middle of the road. At first I thought it was just laziness, not wanting to readjust the direction of the blower. But then I saw him readjust the blower to purposely blow the snow into the road.

People, there are (or should be) some rules for proper snow removal etiquette.

1. Snow that gets removed from your driveway should never find its way to somebody else's property.

2. Just because a neighbor's yard is full of snow does not mean it is a dumping ground for more snow.

3. The road is not the proper disposal place for snow. There is a reason that snow plows spend so much time during snowstorms removing the snow from said roads. It is particularly improper to add more snow to the before-mentioned roads AFTER the plows have finished their snow removal.

4. Dump snow into other's yards as you would have others dump snow into yours.

Believe me, I know that we are all running out of places to put our (damn) snow. My snowbanks beside the driveway are all over six feet in height. But I sure don't want more snow from my neighbors.

Spring is around the corner. Ah, mud-season.