A week of Tinkerbell and fairy dust has come to an end. Disney still has the ability to spin magic for me. And given the throngs of people who frequent the place, I’m not alone. Already looking forward to going back with the kids before too long.

It’s normal to think of Disney World as a place for families with young kids, and that certainly is true. But it’s also amazing how many people in our age bracket are part of the package. Perhaps we meander a bit more than race, and revel in the topiaries at Epcot’s Flower Festival instead of simply zipping by them to get to Test Track, but we’re there in droves.

We’re a bit more selective on the rides these days. Without kids, we can bypass Dumbo, and opt out of anything where you’re likely to get soaked. I still love the Haunted Mansion, but sadly, I may have taken my last ride on Thunder Mountain. It was closed for refurbishment the last time we were there, and the kids were pretty young the time before that, so it’s been years since I was on it. It was much steeper and rougher than I remembered. After that experience, I decided to take a pass on Test Track,, but Frank went on it twice.

Frank calls it the Disney Fitness Center. He noted that, according to the counter on his phone, we averaged 24,000 steps per day. Granted, this is not a beach vacation. We managed to visit three parks on most days. This does have the huge advantage that you can pretty much eat whatever you want on vacation and not gain weight. Well, you might run into a problem if you ate the hotdog smothered in macaroni and cheese that was featured at a fast food venue in Animal Kingdom on a regular basis!

Back to reality and lots of laundry. And blogging. I made a deliberate choice to take a break from my daily routine, but I’m happy to be back at my computer. Even after a wonderful vacation, it’s nice to feel that home is best.