Undoubtedly, this was the worst travel day of my life...
I woke up feeling sick to my stomach and proceeded to vomit all the way home... I had really hoped at this point that this sickness would elude me... no such luck...
I pretty much attempted to sleep for most of the drive, which I'm sure made it a miserable trip home for Phil, as well.
By the time we reached our driveway, I was feeling well enough to help unload the van, unpack the stuff, and attempt to bring some sort of order to the house...
Some final, random thoughts on the trip...
The kids raked in the souvenirs...
I am looking forward to one of my favorite parts of the "post trip"... processing and organizing 3,248 pictures and some 20 hours of video into a DVD that we can watch over and over again to relive the memories...
It's funny, but it doesn't seem to matter how long we're gone; time always seems to fly on vacation. Grace said it best when we arrived home and she exclaimed, "It almost doesn't even seem like we went!" I am almost always sad when a trip comes to an end, but this time I was ready to come home. I'm not exactly sure what made the difference, but it just felt right. Give me a couple of months, and I'm sure I'll miss Florida...
Although I have always felt that the "magical" age for Disney World is 4 or 5, I think Ian sort of broke the mold on that. Undoubtedly, he had a great time, but as we found out, he really doesn't love to ride, and the characters were just sort of OK for him. I am wondering if part of this lack of immersive magic has to do with older siblings who are no longer quite as enamored. They are all going to be getting some instruction on this before Miah turns 4!
Vacationing when you're sick is tough... simply put.
I would not trade this trip for the world. Having always wanted to experience Disney at Christmastime, we can now say that we have. We needed this time away, and we needed this time together. It was very, very good in ways that I am struggling to put into words. Maybe I don't need to...
Lisa
Happiest Place on Earth
Showing posts with label Florida Vacation '11. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Florida Vacation '11. Show all posts
Friday, January 6, 2012
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Finish Strong…
… And Go Home!
After getting ready for the day, packing and reloading our things, and having some breakfast (Phil and I weren’t too impressed with breakfast, but Caleb ate 5 waffles, and I think Seth ate more than that); we drove to Hollywood Studios and reached the parking lot right at opening.
Bag checks… tickets at the turnstiles… handed them off to Phil… and he took off running! I really wish I’d thought to pull the video camera out at this point, because the kids were just in awe. Among our soundtrack was, “Wow!” and, “Dad took off like lightning!” and, “I didn’t know Dad could run that fast!” Please insert the Rocky theme music here…
Just minutes after park opening, we held 6 Toy Story Mania fastpasses for 12:15-1:15pm in our hands.
We took in the Little Mermaid show as well as Disney Junior. Miah is pretty excited at this point every time she sees, “The Mouse” (as she has dubbed both Mickey and Minnie). “Ducky” (both Donald and Daisy) are a close second.
What to do… what to do…
Back to Epcot in an attempt to ride Soarin’!
The park sign said that Soarin’ had a 55 minute wait, so I dragged my four biggest kids through The Land while Phil took off with Miah in an attempt to finish my penny quest. When we arrived at the Soarin’ entrance, the sign said 75 minutes instead of 55, and there were still fastpasses available for 2:55pm-3:55pm. Unfortunately, I did not have my phone on me, and Phil and Miah were already long gone with the tickets, so with no way to communicate with them, we got in line.
It was definitely 75 minutes, and it was definitely worth it. I didn’t expect Ian to love it, but he was in awe. Just moments into the flight, he turned and looked at me with huge eyes and said, “Is this real?” He wanted to ride it again, but we really didn’t have another 75 minutes…
Phil and Miah had a nice stroll around the showcase and presented me with pressed pennies from Japan and China. The machine in France is still broken… quest over.
With precious little time, we ran back to the parking lot… got in the van… drove across the street (in a sort of roundabout way) to Hollywood Studios (who would have imagined we would enter that park 4 separate times on this trip)… ignored the parking attendants and grabbed a better parking spot… ran to the entrance… went through bag checks and ticketing again… booked it to the ride… and presented our fastpasses for Toy Story Mania! This was especially exciting for Phil and Ian who did not get to ride in ’08, because Ian was sleeping! Toy Story Mania is a great ride, and for the first time in my life, I had the high score (amongst my family) on an interactive game ride, so it’s all good…
We stopped at Pizza Planet for lunch and sat in our “regular” spot with our favorite aliens…
And then it was time to say good-bye to the parks…
I had Phil drop me off at Downtown Disney to spend the remaining Disney Dream Reward Dollars we had accumulated, and he went to the Hess station with the kids to fuel the van and get ready for our return trip…
And I have been blogging ever since to make up for the crazy schedule we’ve kept on this trip!
Final thoughts to come…
Lisa
Day 15 Photo Count: 24
Photo Highlights:
After getting ready for the day, packing and reloading our things, and having some breakfast (Phil and I weren’t too impressed with breakfast, but Caleb ate 5 waffles, and I think Seth ate more than that); we drove to Hollywood Studios and reached the parking lot right at opening.
Bag checks… tickets at the turnstiles… handed them off to Phil… and he took off running! I really wish I’d thought to pull the video camera out at this point, because the kids were just in awe. Among our soundtrack was, “Wow!” and, “Dad took off like lightning!” and, “I didn’t know Dad could run that fast!” Please insert the Rocky theme music here…
Just minutes after park opening, we held 6 Toy Story Mania fastpasses for 12:15-1:15pm in our hands.
We took in the Little Mermaid show as well as Disney Junior. Miah is pretty excited at this point every time she sees, “The Mouse” (as she has dubbed both Mickey and Minnie). “Ducky” (both Donald and Daisy) are a close second.
What to do… what to do…
Back to Epcot in an attempt to ride Soarin’!
The park sign said that Soarin’ had a 55 minute wait, so I dragged my four biggest kids through The Land while Phil took off with Miah in an attempt to finish my penny quest. When we arrived at the Soarin’ entrance, the sign said 75 minutes instead of 55, and there were still fastpasses available for 2:55pm-3:55pm. Unfortunately, I did not have my phone on me, and Phil and Miah were already long gone with the tickets, so with no way to communicate with them, we got in line.
It was definitely 75 minutes, and it was definitely worth it. I didn’t expect Ian to love it, but he was in awe. Just moments into the flight, he turned and looked at me with huge eyes and said, “Is this real?” He wanted to ride it again, but we really didn’t have another 75 minutes…
Phil and Miah had a nice stroll around the showcase and presented me with pressed pennies from Japan and China. The machine in France is still broken… quest over.
With precious little time, we ran back to the parking lot… got in the van… drove across the street (in a sort of roundabout way) to Hollywood Studios (who would have imagined we would enter that park 4 separate times on this trip)… ignored the parking attendants and grabbed a better parking spot… ran to the entrance… went through bag checks and ticketing again… booked it to the ride… and presented our fastpasses for Toy Story Mania! This was especially exciting for Phil and Ian who did not get to ride in ’08, because Ian was sleeping! Toy Story Mania is a great ride, and for the first time in my life, I had the high score (amongst my family) on an interactive game ride, so it’s all good…
We stopped at Pizza Planet for lunch and sat in our “regular” spot with our favorite aliens…
And then it was time to say good-bye to the parks…
I had Phil drop me off at Downtown Disney to spend the remaining Disney Dream Reward Dollars we had accumulated, and he went to the Hess station with the kids to fuel the van and get ready for our return trip…
And I have been blogging ever since to make up for the crazy schedule we’ve kept on this trip!
Final thoughts to come…
Lisa
Day 15 Photo Count: 24
Photo Highlights:
Seth has the right idea... We're beat...
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Hop ‘Til You Drop…
In the very brief planning stages of this trip, Phil and I had a bit of a difference in opinion as to whether the park hopping option was necessary. He was right. It was.
We didn’t manage to get to a park until noon, and when we did, it was Hollywood Studios again. Our plan was to snag fastpasses for Toy Story Mania, but they were all long gone by the time we arrived. Since we really had no desire to wait in a 2 ½ hour line, we forewent this option until tomorrow… we hope…
We did stop at the Toy Story character greeting, where we met Buzz Lightyear, and we also traveled a little further into the park to meet Mike and Sulley for the first time. Again, I am amazed at how much Miah loves these guys! Under 2 years old, and she yells the word, “monsters,” with a smile on her face!
We also finally saw the Beauty and the Beast stage show after 3 unsuccessful attempts in ’06, ’08, and ’09. I thought the casting here was excellent, and Miah enjoyed growling at the Beast. We did stand in the back for the second half of the show, because she was tired of sitting…
Undoubtedly, the most exciting thing that happened to us on this trip was that we made a wrong turn at Hollywood Studios and found ourselves being directed by a real film crew to join a group of people who will be featured on the Walt Disney Resort’s television channel. Three takes later, we are looking forward to having our friends who are visiting Orlando in March keep an eye out for us in our television debut!
Just a couple of hours into our day, we hopped over to Epcot in an attempt to bang out the rest of Future World or the World Showcase. As it turned out, we were reasonably successful at completing part of both of them… again. I’m never planning to do Epcot this way again, but by the end of our time there, I had pressed pennies for 8/11 nations, we had Daisy Duck’s autograph, we had walked on to Journey into Imagination with Figment, The Seas with Nemo, and Spaceship Earth, and we had even played at the Kodak Image Works and explored the Living Seas.
Time’s up… We hopped a monorail to the Magic Kingdom for Wishes…
The monorail took a really long time to arrive (about 25 minutes), but we still managed to squeeze our way through the crowd during the parade and position ourselves for some prime fireworks viewing right in front of Walt and Mickey this time. We made Ian stay up, because we wanted him to actually see the show, and when it started, even Miah woke up. Wishes is traditionally my favorite show at Disney. I am so glad we made it in time… Looking around at my beautiful family, I know that all of my wishes really have come true…
After a few pictures, we booked it back to the monorail station, because the Epcot monorail was threatening to close at 10:00pm… Small problem… The monorail line was packed! Thanks to Phil’s quick thinking, we jumped on the resort monorail… Miah cried all the way to the Contemporary Resort, where some guests disembarked and we were able to sit down and pull her out of her stroller… just in time to travel to the ticket and transportation center… where Phil pushed both strollers down the ramp and I carried Miah… then we ran back up the other ramp and made it on the last monorail back to Epcot for the night with 5 minutes to spare…
We arrived back at the Epcot parking lot, found the van, and were on our way back to the hotel for a few hours of sleep before we attempt to fight the crowd in the morning for those Toy Story Mania fastpasses…
‘Night.
Lisa
Day 14 Photo Count: 141
Photo Highlights:
We didn’t manage to get to a park until noon, and when we did, it was Hollywood Studios again. Our plan was to snag fastpasses for Toy Story Mania, but they were all long gone by the time we arrived. Since we really had no desire to wait in a 2 ½ hour line, we forewent this option until tomorrow… we hope…
We did stop at the Toy Story character greeting, where we met Buzz Lightyear, and we also traveled a little further into the park to meet Mike and Sulley for the first time. Again, I am amazed at how much Miah loves these guys! Under 2 years old, and she yells the word, “monsters,” with a smile on her face!
We also finally saw the Beauty and the Beast stage show after 3 unsuccessful attempts in ’06, ’08, and ’09. I thought the casting here was excellent, and Miah enjoyed growling at the Beast. We did stand in the back for the second half of the show, because she was tired of sitting…
Undoubtedly, the most exciting thing that happened to us on this trip was that we made a wrong turn at Hollywood Studios and found ourselves being directed by a real film crew to join a group of people who will be featured on the Walt Disney Resort’s television channel. Three takes later, we are looking forward to having our friends who are visiting Orlando in March keep an eye out for us in our television debut!
Just a couple of hours into our day, we hopped over to Epcot in an attempt to bang out the rest of Future World or the World Showcase. As it turned out, we were reasonably successful at completing part of both of them… again. I’m never planning to do Epcot this way again, but by the end of our time there, I had pressed pennies for 8/11 nations, we had Daisy Duck’s autograph, we had walked on to Journey into Imagination with Figment, The Seas with Nemo, and Spaceship Earth, and we had even played at the Kodak Image Works and explored the Living Seas.
Time’s up… We hopped a monorail to the Magic Kingdom for Wishes…
The monorail took a really long time to arrive (about 25 minutes), but we still managed to squeeze our way through the crowd during the parade and position ourselves for some prime fireworks viewing right in front of Walt and Mickey this time. We made Ian stay up, because we wanted him to actually see the show, and when it started, even Miah woke up. Wishes is traditionally my favorite show at Disney. I am so glad we made it in time… Looking around at my beautiful family, I know that all of my wishes really have come true…
After a few pictures, we booked it back to the monorail station, because the Epcot monorail was threatening to close at 10:00pm… Small problem… The monorail line was packed! Thanks to Phil’s quick thinking, we jumped on the resort monorail… Miah cried all the way to the Contemporary Resort, where some guests disembarked and we were able to sit down and pull her out of her stroller… just in time to travel to the ticket and transportation center… where Phil pushed both strollers down the ramp and I carried Miah… then we ran back up the other ramp and made it on the last monorail back to Epcot for the night with 5 minutes to spare…
We arrived back at the Epcot parking lot, found the van, and were on our way back to the hotel for a few hours of sleep before we attempt to fight the crowd in the morning for those Toy Story Mania fastpasses…
‘Night.
Lisa
Day 14 Photo Count: 141
Photo Highlights:
Caleb & The Aliens...
Have I mentioned lately how much I love this kid...
Wishes...
Have I mentioned lately how much I love this kid...
Wishes...Tuesday, January 3, 2012
How To Do Animal Kingdom…
In 8 ½ Hours…
Traditionally speaking, Animal Kingdom is not among our favorite Disney parks. It seems that whenever we go there it is beastly hot (no pun intended), and we have often rented an overpriced double stroller, because someone is always sick! Today we broke the cycle…
To begin with, it was freezing! Some of us had coats and sweatshirts, and some of us didn’t, but as it turned out, Phil had enough extra warm clothes for just about everybody. Miah looked pretty silly all zipped up in Daddy’s sweatshirt, but at least we kept her warm and avoided buying the super expensive Mickey and Minnie Mouse snuggies that so many park guests ended up in today!
So… if you don’t really like Animal Kingdom, why go at all? Here’s the thing… although it’s not our favorite, there are a handful of attractions that we do love. We started the day out on Dinosaur, which Grace was never, ever going to ride again but ended up boarding with Phil and Caleb, because Caleb wanted her to ride so badly. When they got off, I was going to take just Ian, but Caleb wanted to ride again, and this seemed to convince Seth that it wasn’t really as bad as Grace had previously said. With all of her brothers getting on, Grace actually decided to take a second spin on it! I really couldn’t believe it. The picture was hilarious, though, because Seth and Grace both have their heads covered with their jackets, but Caleb and Ian are smiling up at the ferocious T-Rex!
The kids found their dinosaur eggs in the gift shop, and Ian convinced Phil that he absolutely needed to ride again, because he loved it so much!
From there Seth, Grace, Caleb, and I walked on to Primeval Whirl… twice… because we were on the wrong side of the ride for Phil to get pictures the first time. A quick trip on Triceratops Spin, and then we were on to Finding Nemo: The Musical, while Phil ran to grab fastpasses for Expedition Everest. Finding Nemo is probably the one thing that keeps me coming back to Animal Kingdom… makes me cry every time…
Expedition Everest was actually a much better coaster than I remember it being, and Caleb was super excited to ride for the first time, since he was a fraction of an inch too short in ’08. His one disappointment was that we couldn’t find the animatronic Yeti, but since Ian didn’t use his fastpass for this one (and that was definitely the right choice), Caleb was able to get right back on with Phil, and they found the Yeti!
We skipped Kali River Rapids, because it was simply way too cold to risk being hit by a waterfall…
Can I say here, we walked on to Kilimanjaro Safari, and it was the best… safari… ever. I was a little concerned that the animals wouldn’t be out in the cold, but they were more active than ever. We were actually stopped for awhile as the giraffes crossed the plain, and we got close enough to a Rhinoceros that I had to remind Caleb not to lean out to pet it! We also rode the Wildlife Express Train with just a brief stop at the elephant statues, where we got a little piece of Disney history from the cast member there. The elephants actually used to have running water for hand washing purposes in another area of the park. Who knew?
On to lunch at Pizzafari followed by a mad dash to Festival of the Lion King, where the show was delayed beyond Miah’s liking, but enjoyable once it started. A fast run through Camp Minnie-Mickey greeting trails netted us character greetings with Donald Duck, Goofy (dressed as Santa, which was a huge disappointment for Ian), and Minnie Mouse. We skipped Mickey, since we’d already seen him, but jumped in line for Louie (from Tailspin) and Thumper (Bambi). On our way out, we caught sight of Pocahontas and added another character greeting to our total.
Now it was time to run over to Hollywood Studios for the first time on this trip… another of our less favorite parks, but it’s hard to skip it with Fantasmic. It was our plan to see just that, tonight, and maybe to squeeze in a couple of other attractions. As it turned out, Miah was asleep when we reached the venue, and the Disney cast member absolutely would not make an exception for a stroller, even in the case of a sick, sleeping baby. I need to pause here to say that I find that a little irritating. I completely understand that they can’t have every stroller crammed into the shows, but I have observed an awful lot of people in wheel chairs and on motorized carts on this trip who seem at least as capable as my 1 year old. This is not, in any way, a slight against people who have actual handicaps and disabilities, but the fact that there were some people taking up handicapped spots just because they are fat and lazy while I have to wake my child up to see the show didn’t sit too well with me. I wonder how the cast members felt after the show when they had to clean up the massive chunks of vomit that Miah left for them… bet they would have preferred to have that in her stroller…
The show itself was amazing, as always. But since I was also covered in regurgitated macaroni and cheese (whole pieces of it), we decided to call it a night after that…
We checked in to Royale Parc Suites, where we spent part of our ’08 trip. I was disappointed to see that it had deteriorated in the last 3 years, but the truth is the room was big enough for us to spread out and get a good night’s sleep, and everyone got cleaned up, and that’s about all that matters at this point!
Lisa
Day 13 Photo Count: 274
Photo Highlights:
Baby, It's Cold Outside...
You don't get a view like this every day...
Meeting Donald Duck... or "Ducky"
Darth Ian...
And this is how I felt before she puked all over me... Yep... Our trip is winding down...
Monday, January 2, 2012
Add A Day Or Two…
This was supposed to be our last full day in Florida. The truth is, we have park tickets left, and hotel prices drop dramatically after the first of the year. We’re staying a couple more days. We are, however, switching hotels when our time here expires tomorrow morning. For future reference, I would not stay at Nickelodeon Suites again, and I would not recommend it. There have been quite a few issues including the lack of hot water, beds that aren’t made, additional resort fees that caught us by surprise, and “amenities” that are not free… But enough of that…
Today we spent the bulk of the day cleaning up, repacking, and reloading the van. Fun, I know…
We decided to have dinner at Cicis Pizza Buffet, because I guess I don’t have the power to veto pizza buffets, contrary to my earlier assumption…
Some shopping at Downtown Disney rounded out our evening. Another Lego store… World of Disney… and Once Upon a Toy are our favorites. Ian emerged with a “Bruce” from finding Nemo, Miah has a “Minnie Mouse” now, Seth used most of the remainder of his gift card for candy, Caleb got a super deal on Lego robber mini-figures, and Grace added to our growing Puffle collection. Phil and I picked up a few things, as well.
If you ever wondered what kind of idiots allow their children to run through the fountains when most families are wearing winter coats and hats, well… our hands are up… pick us… We did not, however, anticipate, the vigor with which Caleb would completely soak himself from head to toe (that was really not in the plan). He has been sick for most of the trip, taking asthma meds twice a day. “Go ahead and run through the fountains,” did not mean, “take a shower”… I hope we’re not paying for this one for weeks to come. I ran the kids into a store while Phil ran to get the van heated up and back to us.
It hasn’t been an exciting day, really, but it has been about as “restful” as this trip gets… On to more fun tomorrow…
Lisa
Day 12 Photo Count: 44
Photo Highlights:
Today we spent the bulk of the day cleaning up, repacking, and reloading the van. Fun, I know…
We decided to have dinner at Cicis Pizza Buffet, because I guess I don’t have the power to veto pizza buffets, contrary to my earlier assumption…
Some shopping at Downtown Disney rounded out our evening. Another Lego store… World of Disney… and Once Upon a Toy are our favorites. Ian emerged with a “Bruce” from finding Nemo, Miah has a “Minnie Mouse” now, Seth used most of the remainder of his gift card for candy, Caleb got a super deal on Lego robber mini-figures, and Grace added to our growing Puffle collection. Phil and I picked up a few things, as well.
If you ever wondered what kind of idiots allow their children to run through the fountains when most families are wearing winter coats and hats, well… our hands are up… pick us… We did not, however, anticipate, the vigor with which Caleb would completely soak himself from head to toe (that was really not in the plan). He has been sick for most of the trip, taking asthma meds twice a day. “Go ahead and run through the fountains,” did not mean, “take a shower”… I hope we’re not paying for this one for weeks to come. I ran the kids into a store while Phil ran to get the van heated up and back to us.
It hasn’t been an exciting day, really, but it has been about as “restful” as this trip gets… On to more fun tomorrow…
Lisa
Day 12 Photo Count: 44
Photo Highlights:
Epic Fail...
Sunday, January 1, 2012
My Mammaw Always Said…
The way you spend New Year’s Day is the way you’ll spend the rest of your year...
Well, if there’s any truth to that, then what better place to welcome the new year than the Magic Kingdom?
I have often heard that the Magic Kingdom is “dead” on New Year’s Day because most people stay up late the night before. While we did not find it to be empty, we did find the crowds much smaller and the lines much shorter than on Christmas Day!
We had to ride the ferry again, as opposed to the monorail, because the monorail was shut down. This seemed fairly odd, but we went with it. Upon entering the park, the first thing we did was to meet Mickey Mouse. I continue to be amazed at how much Miah loves the characters.
Then, we made a beeline straight for Fantasy land where we jumped on Dumbo (the last time we’ll ever experience Dumbo in quite the same fashion, as the ride will be moving next week to New Fantasyland), had almost no wait for Peter Pan, and walked on to Small World. Later in the day, we also rode Prince Charming’s Carousel, The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh, and Snow White’s Scary Adventure (one last time, as this ride will be disappearing altogether soon). That completed Fantasyland for this trip. As a sidenote, Fantasyland is really the heart of Disney World for me. When I think of Disney as a kid, that’s what I think of. I am super excited about New Fantasyland, but by the same token, I am exceptionally pleased that I had the opportunity to experience “old” Fantasyland one more time…
Ian had a huge accident after this, soaking all of his clothes including his socks and shoes. I really do not understand how he manages to never, ever have an accident until we are in a crowd or at the very least away from home, where I am totally unprepared for this, because he never has accidents! In this case, I think it was because he has called wolf too many times on this trip. As we near the area to board almost every ride, he says, “I need to go to the bathroom!” I think this is because he is trying to get out of riding, but as it turned out, he really did need to go as we sat down for Small World, and I guess all that water just did him in. I actually happened to have a pull-up and some shorts in the diaper bag, and we deemed the shirt wearable. The socks and shoes… not so much.
So we made a quick decision and Phil and Grace headed off to the Haunted Mansion (which none of our kids have ever ridden as I feel relatively negatively about the theming), and the rest of us went toward Splash Mountain in hopes that there might be a gift shop that sold water shoes. The best we could come up with was a pair of crocs for $35.00… uh… no. This mean Mommy set the shoes out to dry and shoved them back on as soon as it was reasonable. We did, however, come out of the store with Miah’s first pair of Mickey ears, a Goofy hat, and two “puffles”. And I got an education about Club Penguin…
We reconnected with Phil and Grace at this point. Grace hated the Haunted Mansion, as expected. Phil said she kept her eyes open for about three seconds… We grabbed fastpasses for Thunder Mountain and jumped on a raft for Tom Sawyer Island. I hate Tom Sawyer Island. I don’t really know why. But Phil loves it, and the kids do, too. I was crabby and grumpy and Miah matched my mood. I’m thinking we’re going to scratch that part for the rest of 2012 if that’s OK with everyone else. We explored for what felt like forever, and I finally got on a return raft with a wiggly, screaming baby and told the rest of my family that I’d meet them back on the mainland. As it turned out, the raft driver waited so long to launch that not only did our whole family make it on, but so did dozens of other people. I really need to work on my attitude about Tom Sawyer…
We made it to Thunder Mountain before our fastpasses expired and then went in search of lunch, which ended up landing us back in Fantasyland at Pinocchio’s Village Haus, where the kids had pizza for the zillionth time, and Phil and I had chicken…
I grabbed my only raspberry lemonade slush of the trip, and we decided to wait in line to see Rapunzel. I don’t think the casting has been all that great for the characters this time around, but Rapunzel was quite excited when it was our turn and she exclaimed that, “the whole kingdom had come out to see her”! She also reminded us to carry our frying pans at all times and instructed the boys not to overuse their smolders…
Later in the day, we made it over to the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor where Phil got in line with the kids and I went off to change Miah’s diaper. Except I couldn’t find a restroom, so I just changed her on a bench and hoped no one would notice… which I guess they didn’t… Miah and I joined the line and kept the other guests entertained, as Miah seems to think that every show is actually about her! When the doors opened, we were able to run down a few choice people and made it to the section where our family was seated. It’s been an interesting trip in that regard… The monsters were funny, as always, and I did not meet Miah’s loud requests to nurse during the show, because there is audience interaction, I thought that with my luck I would be feeding her and suddenly we would appear on the big screen… ha…
We used our fastpasses on Space Mountain, and I bought the picture of me, Seth, and Caleb, because Caleb looks awesome, Seth looks intense, and I look… well… to be honest Seth said I look weird, so maybe I’ll just crop myself out…
Phil took Seth and Caleb back to Splash Mountain while Grace, Ian, Miah, and I waited in line for the fairies. Ian was pretty ticked off when he saw them, because his whole objective was to prove that fairies aren’t real… I savored every moment, because as Grace conversed with Tink about pixie dust and actually convinced Tink to rub some off on her arms, I realized that this is undoubtedly the last time Grace will believe in that kind of magic…
We actually left the park as “Wishes” was beginning, which is an absolute travesty for us, but Ian and Miah were both asleep at this point, and it is our plan to come back on the last night of our trip, so it’s all good…
Happy New Year!
Lisa
Day 11 Photo Count: 322
Photo Highlights:
Well, if there’s any truth to that, then what better place to welcome the new year than the Magic Kingdom?
I have often heard that the Magic Kingdom is “dead” on New Year’s Day because most people stay up late the night before. While we did not find it to be empty, we did find the crowds much smaller and the lines much shorter than on Christmas Day!
We had to ride the ferry again, as opposed to the monorail, because the monorail was shut down. This seemed fairly odd, but we went with it. Upon entering the park, the first thing we did was to meet Mickey Mouse. I continue to be amazed at how much Miah loves the characters.
Then, we made a beeline straight for Fantasy land where we jumped on Dumbo (the last time we’ll ever experience Dumbo in quite the same fashion, as the ride will be moving next week to New Fantasyland), had almost no wait for Peter Pan, and walked on to Small World. Later in the day, we also rode Prince Charming’s Carousel, The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh, and Snow White’s Scary Adventure (one last time, as this ride will be disappearing altogether soon). That completed Fantasyland for this trip. As a sidenote, Fantasyland is really the heart of Disney World for me. When I think of Disney as a kid, that’s what I think of. I am super excited about New Fantasyland, but by the same token, I am exceptionally pleased that I had the opportunity to experience “old” Fantasyland one more time…
Ian had a huge accident after this, soaking all of his clothes including his socks and shoes. I really do not understand how he manages to never, ever have an accident until we are in a crowd or at the very least away from home, where I am totally unprepared for this, because he never has accidents! In this case, I think it was because he has called wolf too many times on this trip. As we near the area to board almost every ride, he says, “I need to go to the bathroom!” I think this is because he is trying to get out of riding, but as it turned out, he really did need to go as we sat down for Small World, and I guess all that water just did him in. I actually happened to have a pull-up and some shorts in the diaper bag, and we deemed the shirt wearable. The socks and shoes… not so much.
So we made a quick decision and Phil and Grace headed off to the Haunted Mansion (which none of our kids have ever ridden as I feel relatively negatively about the theming), and the rest of us went toward Splash Mountain in hopes that there might be a gift shop that sold water shoes. The best we could come up with was a pair of crocs for $35.00… uh… no. This mean Mommy set the shoes out to dry and shoved them back on as soon as it was reasonable. We did, however, come out of the store with Miah’s first pair of Mickey ears, a Goofy hat, and two “puffles”. And I got an education about Club Penguin…
We reconnected with Phil and Grace at this point. Grace hated the Haunted Mansion, as expected. Phil said she kept her eyes open for about three seconds… We grabbed fastpasses for Thunder Mountain and jumped on a raft for Tom Sawyer Island. I hate Tom Sawyer Island. I don’t really know why. But Phil loves it, and the kids do, too. I was crabby and grumpy and Miah matched my mood. I’m thinking we’re going to scratch that part for the rest of 2012 if that’s OK with everyone else. We explored for what felt like forever, and I finally got on a return raft with a wiggly, screaming baby and told the rest of my family that I’d meet them back on the mainland. As it turned out, the raft driver waited so long to launch that not only did our whole family make it on, but so did dozens of other people. I really need to work on my attitude about Tom Sawyer…
We made it to Thunder Mountain before our fastpasses expired and then went in search of lunch, which ended up landing us back in Fantasyland at Pinocchio’s Village Haus, where the kids had pizza for the zillionth time, and Phil and I had chicken…
I grabbed my only raspberry lemonade slush of the trip, and we decided to wait in line to see Rapunzel. I don’t think the casting has been all that great for the characters this time around, but Rapunzel was quite excited when it was our turn and she exclaimed that, “the whole kingdom had come out to see her”! She also reminded us to carry our frying pans at all times and instructed the boys not to overuse their smolders…
Later in the day, we made it over to the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor where Phil got in line with the kids and I went off to change Miah’s diaper. Except I couldn’t find a restroom, so I just changed her on a bench and hoped no one would notice… which I guess they didn’t… Miah and I joined the line and kept the other guests entertained, as Miah seems to think that every show is actually about her! When the doors opened, we were able to run down a few choice people and made it to the section where our family was seated. It’s been an interesting trip in that regard… The monsters were funny, as always, and I did not meet Miah’s loud requests to nurse during the show, because there is audience interaction, I thought that with my luck I would be feeding her and suddenly we would appear on the big screen… ha…
We used our fastpasses on Space Mountain, and I bought the picture of me, Seth, and Caleb, because Caleb looks awesome, Seth looks intense, and I look… well… to be honest Seth said I look weird, so maybe I’ll just crop myself out…
Phil took Seth and Caleb back to Splash Mountain while Grace, Ian, Miah, and I waited in line for the fairies. Ian was pretty ticked off when he saw them, because his whole objective was to prove that fairies aren’t real… I savored every moment, because as Grace conversed with Tink about pixie dust and actually convinced Tink to rub some off on her arms, I realized that this is undoubtedly the last time Grace will believe in that kind of magic…
We actually left the park as “Wishes” was beginning, which is an absolute travesty for us, but Ian and Miah were both asleep at this point, and it is our plan to come back on the last night of our trip, so it’s all good…
Happy New Year!
Lisa
Day 11 Photo Count: 322
Photo Highlights:
Caleb learned about King Arthur a few weeks ago in school. He loved The Sword in the Stone!
Just look at that "Goofy" kid...
Tink & My Girls...
Seth's favorite part of the trip was eating... He is downing the last few bites of ice cream here... Ian is in the background on a sugar high...
The only way we could get a picture of Miah wearing her Mouse Ears...
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Build A Better Legoland Trip…
Although we enjoyed Legoland on Ian’s birthday, we went into this day really hoping that the crowd would be diminished, particularly because it is New Year’s Eve, and Legoland is only open until 7:00pm, while many of the major parks have midnight celebrations. We were right, and this made for a wonderful day!
We were actually able to walk on to major attractions multiple times! Today we checked off three roller coasters, the Lego Stunt Show, and a variety of smaller rides and experiences. In the end, between the two days, we rode everything in the park!
I was most impressed by the “Driving School” rides, which were the most innovative children’s rides I have ever seen at an amusement park. The kids were actually able to drive Lego cars through a course, without utilizing a track. Ian was too young for “Driving School”, but there was a “Junior Driving School”, which he rode twice. And even Miah got to pretend to drive a stationary car, which we dubbed, “Baby Driving School”! What we could not have anticipated was how much Miah loved this car. When we took her out of it, the most intense baby temper tantrum in the history of this family ensued. I think we need Grandpa to come up with some plans to build a car for Miah...
We did some shopping at the Lego stores and caught glimpses of the early fireworks, and then we were on our way back to the hotel. Not too long after we got there, our four oldest kids all fell asleep on the couch, and Miah and I fell asleep, too. Phil went out to get pizza, woke us in time (minus the baby princess) to watch the ball drop, and we downed a couple of slices apiece, some breadsticks, and a few sips of sparkling lemonade, which wasn’t very good…
Welcome 2012!
Lisa
Day 10 Photo Count: 315
Photo Highlights:
We were actually able to walk on to major attractions multiple times! Today we checked off three roller coasters, the Lego Stunt Show, and a variety of smaller rides and experiences. In the end, between the two days, we rode everything in the park!
I was most impressed by the “Driving School” rides, which were the most innovative children’s rides I have ever seen at an amusement park. The kids were actually able to drive Lego cars through a course, without utilizing a track. Ian was too young for “Driving School”, but there was a “Junior Driving School”, which he rode twice. And even Miah got to pretend to drive a stationary car, which we dubbed, “Baby Driving School”! What we could not have anticipated was how much Miah loved this car. When we took her out of it, the most intense baby temper tantrum in the history of this family ensued. I think we need Grandpa to come up with some plans to build a car for Miah...
We did some shopping at the Lego stores and caught glimpses of the early fireworks, and then we were on our way back to the hotel. Not too long after we got there, our four oldest kids all fell asleep on the couch, and Miah and I fell asleep, too. Phil went out to get pizza, woke us in time (minus the baby princess) to watch the ball drop, and we downed a couple of slices apiece, some breadsticks, and a few sips of sparkling lemonade, which wasn’t very good…
Welcome 2012!
Lisa
Day 10 Photo Count: 315
Photo Highlights:
Best... Roller Coaster Face... Ever...
A Friendly Triceratops...
So Happy!
Incredible... Whole Cities Made of Lego...
A Friendly Triceratops...
So Happy!
Incredible... Whole Cities Made of Lego...Friday, December 30, 2011
Have I Mentioned We’re Getting Old…
It’s just not our way to stop in the middle of a vacation and actually take a moment to breathe. This time around, though, we’re finding we don’t really have a choice. We are exhausted. We had to take a break today...
Granted, our style break probably still doesn’t fit the traditional mold, but we really did stay at the hotel until it was almost evening…
We actually used the hotel pool and “waterpark” (if you can call it that). There was also a very small putt putt golf course. Since Ian is not a huge fan of the water and Miah is pretty little for it, Phil and I headed that way with the two of them while Seth, Grace, and Caleb braved the slides in the water fort. In all of my 32 years, I have never, ever seen a child fall into a hole on a putt putt course. Miah managed to accomplish this feat… three times…
We all enjoyed the pool together for awhile, even though I couldn’t convince any of my children that getting “slimed” would be fun. I think this must come from growing up in the 80s, but I was a little disappointed. I mean, who doesn’t want a bucket of slime dumped on their head? The answer to this is every member of my family…
After awhile, we left the pool area, sat in Blue’s “thinking chair” briefly (actually, Miah probably could have stayed there all day), and came to the conclusion that we needed to make it to The Magic Kingdom for the “party before the party” and “Fantasy in the Sky”.
Photo Highlights:
Granted, our style break probably still doesn’t fit the traditional mold, but we really did stay at the hotel until it was almost evening…
We actually used the hotel pool and “waterpark” (if you can call it that). There was also a very small putt putt golf course. Since Ian is not a huge fan of the water and Miah is pretty little for it, Phil and I headed that way with the two of them while Seth, Grace, and Caleb braved the slides in the water fort. In all of my 32 years, I have never, ever seen a child fall into a hole on a putt putt course. Miah managed to accomplish this feat… three times…
We all enjoyed the pool together for awhile, even though I couldn’t convince any of my children that getting “slimed” would be fun. I think this must come from growing up in the 80s, but I was a little disappointed. I mean, who doesn’t want a bucket of slime dumped on their head? The answer to this is every member of my family…
After awhile, we left the pool area, sat in Blue’s “thinking chair” briefly (actually, Miah probably could have stayed there all day), and came to the conclusion that we needed to make it to The Magic Kingdom for the “party before the party” and “Fantasy in the Sky”.
Miah in the Thinking Chair
The crowd was incredible when we arrived, but we managed to push through it in the midst of the Electrical Lights Parade and landed in Adventureland, where Phil took Seth, Grace, and Caleb for another ride on Pirates of the Caribbean, and we all enjoyed the Jungle Cruise. We also took a little cruise on the Liberty Square River Boat and another trip through Splash Mountain. Then, it was over to Fantasyland, where Grace took her turn leaving her camera bag behind… in a restroom. While the boys got on Snow White’s Scary Adventure, Grace and I backtracked and finally found a cast member who thought that something similar to Grace’s bag had been turned in and sent to City Hall. And now it gets tricky…
In order to retrieve the bag, Grace and I decided to fight the crowd… moving in the opposite direction… with a sleeping Miah in her stroller. In addition, I knew this would really cut into our ability to secure great fireworks seating, which I found frustrating, since I haven’t seen “Fantasy in the Sky” since I was a kid, myself, and the show only runs two nights out of the year. Still, the camera (if, indeed, it was her camera) needed to be claimed, so off we went. This went amazingly well, as some very helpful cast members were directing traffic. We made it to City Hall, took a look at the bag, which did turn out to belong to Grace (labeled with her name and address and all), and started back in the opposite direction… on the opposite side of the road.
This new route was a bad idea. We should have simply made our way back the way we came, especially because the parade was running again at this point. We ended up being re-routed through Adventureland… again… and found ourselves running though the streets toward the back of the park, trying pretty desperately at this point to catch a break and make it back to Fantasyland, when Phil called to inform me that he and the boys were sitting right behind Walt and Mickey and that we had better hurry up and get there, because the crowd was growing quickly. This seemed near impossible, but I looked at Grace and said, “If any two people in the world can do this, it’s us…” And we did.
As much as I wanted to see the Main Street Electrical Parade on this trip, I never imagined that I would actually follow it around the park. We finally made it to the castle (taking alleys and roads and cutting through stores that I didn’t even know existed, which is saying something since I consider myself something of an expert on all things Disney). And then I saw Phil waving, just a few yards off, and I thought to myself… This is the point at which I become the person who comes too late for the fireworks and pushes her way through the crowd to a prime spot with her waiting family… Yep… this is the part where I become the lady that everybody hates. And I can’t say that the crowd parted and smiled, but I can say that I was as polite as possible, even when I had to inform someone that I really didn’t want to run her child over with the stroller and if she could just move for a moment I could get to my family and out of her way… Quick sigh of relief, and we took our seats on the pavement… briefly…
At this point, Phil informs me that Seth needs to go to the bathroom, and I just thought, “Good luck, Buddy!” Off they went, all of the other kids fell asleep on the pavement, and I sat there blocking them with my body and hoping no one would trample them! This is as close as I’m ever getting to the kind of crowd you find at Times Square on New Year’s Eve…
Phil and Seth actually made it back a little easier than we did minus the fact that the whole area around the castle was now blocked off, and they had to convince a cast member that their family was really in there! And the fireworks began. All I can really say is, “Wow!” Although the show cannot possibly be exactly as I remember it (there were later music additions from The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast), it was dazzling. The countdown to New Year’s Eve was amazing with fireworks exploding in a circle around us, and the excitement running through the crowd was incredible! One thing we did notice was that there was an unusually high percentage of adults at this gathering. Even the Disney shows that are very late at night tend to draw a pretty sizeable kid population, but that wasn’t the case this time around. I cannot imagine how crazy it will be tomorrow, and although I absolutely love having the memory of being here for this event, I am looking forward to a nice, quiet, New Year’s celebration back at the hotel!
We hung around for a little while after the show in order to let the crowd thin a bit, and then we took a ferry back to the ticket and transportation center, because the monorail line was huge! Another great night to remember…
L.
Day 9 Photo Count: 139Photo Highlights:
Fantasy in the Sky...
Waiting for the Riverboat...
Making Memories...
Waiting for the Riverboat...
Making Memories...Thursday, December 29, 2011
Back to the Ocean...
The "Mine Mine" birds were caught in traffic with us on the way to the park...We decided to use our 2nd day free tickets at Sea World today. Although we got up a little later than we’d planned, we were able to accomplish an awful lot.
Over the course of the day, we saw Blue Horizons (the dolphin show), One Ocean (the new Shamu show), Sesame Street Christmas (which really missed the mark on the true meaning of Christmas… not that I was expecting a whole lot more from Sesame Street… we went because Ian loves Cookie Monster), and Clyde and Seamore Take Pirate Island. Miah was enamored with the shows, and especially loved the part in Blue Horizons when the birds come out and fly all around the stadium. Ian also really enjoyed the shows and was quite pleased to have a break from getting on rides!
Grace and Caleb were brave enough to pet the stingrays for the first time ever, but Caleb was not expecting them to feel slimy, so he pulled his hand back, causing the stingray to become a little alarmed. The stingray, in turn, splashed us pretty good. Caleb was super disappointed with the experience, which makes me a little sad, since petting the stingrays is something I really look forward to every time we visit Sea World. We didn’t have much luck petting the dolphins, either, because no one could quite reach them… although Miah sure gave it her best shot!
We did ride everything in Shamu’s Happy Harbor except for Swishy Fishies, which was closed for the day. Ian loved the Flying Fiddler and giggled through the whole thing. He kept saying, “This ride is funny!” I think it was the butterflies in his stomach! We also managed to convince him to try the Shamu Express… (please read “convince” as “bribe”… Ian is now the proud owner of a Shamu stuffed animal…) Funny story… Near the end of our night in the park we had decided that Grace and I would only ride Manta again if the line was short (the lines, overall, were a lot longer than they were on Christmas Eve). Since the line appeared to be to our liking, we waited, and we got on rather quickly. Phil took the rest of the kids out to the parking lot, and it would have turned out great if Manta hadn’t had some “technical difficulties” just as we finished our ride.
Grace and I spent the next 20 minutes, strapped into the ride and unable to get out, because the lock wouldn’t release… But in the end, we have our picture and a fun story to tell, and it was a nice time for just the two of us… so I really can’t complain…
A quick stop by Chick-Fil-A (finally) for dinner ended in my dropping an entire large lemonade in the hotel parking lot. I’m starting to think I need a no spill sippy cup… for myself… Phil replaced the lemonade for me, times two, which I was thankful for, because I really wanted it!
Sleep would be good now…
Lisa
Over the course of the day, we saw Blue Horizons (the dolphin show), One Ocean (the new Shamu show), Sesame Street Christmas (which really missed the mark on the true meaning of Christmas… not that I was expecting a whole lot more from Sesame Street… we went because Ian loves Cookie Monster), and Clyde and Seamore Take Pirate Island. Miah was enamored with the shows, and especially loved the part in Blue Horizons when the birds come out and fly all around the stadium. Ian also really enjoyed the shows and was quite pleased to have a break from getting on rides!
Grace and Caleb were brave enough to pet the stingrays for the first time ever, but Caleb was not expecting them to feel slimy, so he pulled his hand back, causing the stingray to become a little alarmed. The stingray, in turn, splashed us pretty good. Caleb was super disappointed with the experience, which makes me a little sad, since petting the stingrays is something I really look forward to every time we visit Sea World. We didn’t have much luck petting the dolphins, either, because no one could quite reach them… although Miah sure gave it her best shot!
We did ride everything in Shamu’s Happy Harbor except for Swishy Fishies, which was closed for the day. Ian loved the Flying Fiddler and giggled through the whole thing. He kept saying, “This ride is funny!” I think it was the butterflies in his stomach! We also managed to convince him to try the Shamu Express… (please read “convince” as “bribe”… Ian is now the proud owner of a Shamu stuffed animal…) Funny story… Near the end of our night in the park we had decided that Grace and I would only ride Manta again if the line was short (the lines, overall, were a lot longer than they were on Christmas Eve). Since the line appeared to be to our liking, we waited, and we got on rather quickly. Phil took the rest of the kids out to the parking lot, and it would have turned out great if Manta hadn’t had some “technical difficulties” just as we finished our ride.
Grace and I spent the next 20 minutes, strapped into the ride and unable to get out, because the lock wouldn’t release… But in the end, we have our picture and a fun story to tell, and it was a nice time for just the two of us… so I really can’t complain…
A quick stop by Chick-Fil-A (finally) for dinner ended in my dropping an entire large lemonade in the hotel parking lot. I’m starting to think I need a no spill sippy cup… for myself… Phil replaced the lemonade for me, times two, which I was thankful for, because I really wanted it!
Sleep would be good now…
Lisa
Day 8 Photo Count: 235
Photo Highlights:
Seth telling Miah about the dolphins...
She loved them...
Seth & Grace with the Dolphins...
Sometimes, you just have to make your own fun...
Character Greetings...
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Around the World in 80 Days…
... or less.
It’s funny, but I never really liked Epcot all that much as a kid. Now, I could probably spend the better part of two weeks in the World Showcase, alone. Given that we don’t have that option, this is how our day at Epcot went…
We arrived a little later than we wanted to, which has been an ongoing theme on this trip. Still, when we reached Mission: Space there was almost no line, so Seth, Grace, and I decided to try the less intense mission. They wanted to ride the more intense mission after that, but the less intense one was good for me… We picked up fastpasses for Test Track and wandered over to Universe of Energy, which is not as good since Ellen and Bill Nye have joined the story, but we like seeing the dinosaurs, nevertheless. Miah especially loved the dinosaurs. I had no idea she even knew that word until she got really excited and started bouncingup and down, pointing, and yelling, “dinosaur”!
After a little bit of convincing, I got Ian in line for Test Track (with Caleb, too). Of course, Caleb loved it and Ian didn’t. Ian does love shopping, though, so after the ride he picked up a Disney bus and airplane while we waited for Phil, Seth, and Grace to take their turn. As it turned out, the Test Track shop was popular among all the kids. Seth and Grace purchased antennae toppers (for when they get cars of their own…ha!) and Caleb bought a Pluto car.
And this is where things get a little bit tricky…
I sometimes have these great ideas that don’t work out all that well in practice. Today the plan was to hit every country in the World Showcase… to taste something from each culture… to press a penny at each location… and to take a picture. If we were visiting during a value week, I don’t think this would have been an issue, but remember the parks are swarming with people during the holidays! It become obvious pretty quickly that we didn’t have enough time to stand in line for food at every country, so we switched the plan up a little bit and purchased snacks in some places at the gift shops. The fish & chips in New England were awesome, though (I want more), and the cashew baklava in Morocco was a pleasant delight (I want more of that, too)… The whole pressed penny thing has become somewhat of a joke with my close friends and family, but I continue to remind everyone that you can’t often find a souvenir at Disney for 51 cents! Other than the fact that I had a slight nervous breakdown at the France pressed penny machine, which was out of order, this quest is going quite well…Taking pictures in each country, of course, has been easy to accomplish. The Photopass photographer in France did push a few too many buttons on my camera, but we (uh… Phil) eventually fixed the settings…
We only made it about halfway around the world before we needed to leave the park, because we had a dinner date with friends from home! We met at Tony Roma’s, which turned out to be a very excellent place to eat! I think this will be another favorite memory for years to come. It was so fun to connect with June and Jimi, and the kids were super excited to see Josh, Sammy, and Mojade (who unfortunately got stuck at the “kid table”, but there were benefits, because she got free ice cream!)
After dinner we decided to run back to Epcot for Illuminations, and although we didn’t get a great seat, it was still a good show, as always. That makes fireworks five nights in a row… We walked in the “wrong” direction after the show, allowing us to enjoy a quiet stroll through part of the World Showcase and to exit the park after closing… an excellent end to the night…
Lisa
Day 7 Photo Count: 170
Photo Highlights:
Dinner with Friends
Illuminations...
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
It’s the Little Things…
Last night, we put the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door and determined to sleep in as late as possible. Apparently, for Miah, that is 7:45am.
Over the years, “Vacation ‘til You Drop” has sort of been our motto. Well… maybe it still is, but we dropped a lot faster this time around than usual. We had to have a day of rest.
We enjoyed our day, watching cartoons (the kids actually watched several episodes of Dick Vandyke), snacking, playing, blogging, etc. We didn’t even make it to the pool.
As evening approached, however, we decided that if we wanted to take in the Fort Wilderness campfire, sing along, and movie as well as the Electric Water Pageant, this was the day to do it. So, we loaded up the van a little after 5:00pm and drove to Fort Wilderness. I have looked in to staying at the cabins there, and it has always seemed like a nice place, but I had no idea how big it is and how very awesome!
We took a Disney bus back to the campfire area (finally, a “ride” Ian enjoyed, although he did ask repeatedly if it was going to go up and down), walked a short distance, and waited for the campfires to be lit. I came armed with enough “supplies” (marshmallows, graham crackers, and Hershey’s bars) to make more than what I thought was a reasonable number of s’mores. Let’s just say it’s a good thing I brought as much as I did! We did have to purchase marshmallow roasting sticks for 59 cents apiece… Seems we don’t actually own anything like that (well… I guess we do now…)
There is just something about a campfire that makes us come alive. The fact that even my 11 year old son was willing to engage in the Chicken Dance is saying something! I am going to cherish that one for a long time to come. Phil took charge as the master marshmallow roaster (after I set mine on fire… typical…), and I think Caleb holds the record with six… or seven… or heck, I think he said the count was at ten at some point… s’mores…
We sang and danced with Chip and Dale. Ian got to stand up in front of the crowd since he celebrated his birthday this week, although he did not sing and dance with the other birthday people. The video is hilarious. Toy Story played on the big outdoor screen (one of the reasons we picked this night was because of the movie options). And when it was over, we took a nice, long walk to the beach, where we staked out some beach chairs as far away from the rest of the world as possible.
I remember seeing the Electrical Water Pageant as a kid, so I really wanted to see it again. It is a short parade of electrical water floats, and we really enjoyed it. Then it occurred to us that we would have a very nice view of the Magic Kingdom fireworks if we just sat tight, and as we waited several of our little people fell asleep. I’m not sure you can top laying on the beach, snuggling with your sleeping kids as Disney fireworks light up the sky. Perhaps the best vacation moment ever… and so sometimes, it’s in the little things…
Eventually, we made our way back to the bus station and went on our way. A quick stop at McDs for a late night dinner was in order, and then back to the hotel for what I hope is a good night’s sleep. Another busy day awaits!
Over the years, “Vacation ‘til You Drop” has sort of been our motto. Well… maybe it still is, but we dropped a lot faster this time around than usual. We had to have a day of rest.
We enjoyed our day, watching cartoons (the kids actually watched several episodes of Dick Vandyke), snacking, playing, blogging, etc. We didn’t even make it to the pool.
As evening approached, however, we decided that if we wanted to take in the Fort Wilderness campfire, sing along, and movie as well as the Electric Water Pageant, this was the day to do it. So, we loaded up the van a little after 5:00pm and drove to Fort Wilderness. I have looked in to staying at the cabins there, and it has always seemed like a nice place, but I had no idea how big it is and how very awesome!
We took a Disney bus back to the campfire area (finally, a “ride” Ian enjoyed, although he did ask repeatedly if it was going to go up and down), walked a short distance, and waited for the campfires to be lit. I came armed with enough “supplies” (marshmallows, graham crackers, and Hershey’s bars) to make more than what I thought was a reasonable number of s’mores. Let’s just say it’s a good thing I brought as much as I did! We did have to purchase marshmallow roasting sticks for 59 cents apiece… Seems we don’t actually own anything like that (well… I guess we do now…)
There is just something about a campfire that makes us come alive. The fact that even my 11 year old son was willing to engage in the Chicken Dance is saying something! I am going to cherish that one for a long time to come. Phil took charge as the master marshmallow roaster (after I set mine on fire… typical…), and I think Caleb holds the record with six… or seven… or heck, I think he said the count was at ten at some point… s’mores…
We sang and danced with Chip and Dale. Ian got to stand up in front of the crowd since he celebrated his birthday this week, although he did not sing and dance with the other birthday people. The video is hilarious. Toy Story played on the big outdoor screen (one of the reasons we picked this night was because of the movie options). And when it was over, we took a nice, long walk to the beach, where we staked out some beach chairs as far away from the rest of the world as possible.
I remember seeing the Electrical Water Pageant as a kid, so I really wanted to see it again. It is a short parade of electrical water floats, and we really enjoyed it. Then it occurred to us that we would have a very nice view of the Magic Kingdom fireworks if we just sat tight, and as we waited several of our little people fell asleep. I’m not sure you can top laying on the beach, snuggling with your sleeping kids as Disney fireworks light up the sky. Perhaps the best vacation moment ever… and so sometimes, it’s in the little things…
Eventually, we made our way back to the bus station and went on our way. A quick stop at McDs for a late night dinner was in order, and then back to the hotel for what I hope is a good night’s sleep. Another busy day awaits!
Lisa
Day 6 Photo Count: 138
Photo Highlights:
Roasting Marshmallows
Mmmm... (Phil ate his "s'mores" one course at a time)
Some s'mores that are actually put together...
Our somewhat innovative version of the chicken dance...
Electrical Water Pageant
Love My Babies...
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