My family has always been big on nicknames. Mine is “princess,” and at two years old, I had my own version of a Cinderella story. It all took place on my first trip to Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. My mom wanted to make my first experience at Magic Kingdom a memorable one, so she decided that a trip on Christmas Eve would be one we’d never forget.
My parents packed everything necessary and our family took our first trip to Disney. Upon arrival, my little sister and I were excited to be there and wanted to engage in everything in front of us. My dad pushed around a double stroller for us while my mom walked right by our side. We indulged in sweets until our tongues were colored and our cheeks were sore. The blue coloring from the cotton candy stained my face but I had no worries.
We spent our day in the park doing as much as we could before it got dark and once it did, we got ready to experience the fireworks and the Christmas parade. I had a tendency to kick my feet together while in the stroller, and this was the beginning of my Cinderella story. Somewhere along our magical day in Disney, I lost one of my boots. I used to call my boot “mi buta,” since I couldn’t fully pronounce boot in Spanish. When my parents noticed I was missing a boot, they asked me about “mi buta” and started searching for it.
They couldn’t find the boot anywhere and decided to check the lost and found. It wasn’t there either so they decided to file a claim for it just in case it ever did show up. My mom was pessimistic and thought the boot would never show up.
“With all the things that get lost at Disney, they aren’t going to return Princess’ boot,” said my mom. On the other hand, my dad still had faith in the Disney magic.
My mom was set on the idea that the boot would never show up so she threw away the boot that we did have as soon as we got home. To her surprise, the boot was sent to us by mail almost two months later. We received a ridiculously large package for my children’s size 9 boot. The package had come from the park’s Lost and Found team with a letter addressing the claim my parents had made.
My first trip to Disney was not only memorable but unique. Being known as princess and emulating one is quite ironic. Despite my mom’s doubt, my Cinderella story came to a happy ending. I was reunited with “mi buta” which I keep in its original packaging with the letter to this day.
