Here it is nearing the end of January; the joy of Christmas
has now faded into the long cold winter.
The other night on the news, I heard we were now in the top 5 for most
snow in the winter. A combination of
heavy snow fall followed by below freezing temperatures had cabin fever setting
in on everyone. A trio down to sunny
Florida was just what the doctor ordered for our severe case of cabin fever.
The plan was to drive the motor home down to Jacksonville
and see cousins there for a few days, then enjoy Disney and finally to Spring Hill to deal with
some rental property. We held off on
telling Little Man our plans for a bit but call it a side effect of our cabin
fever we finally told him and his reaction was not what I had expected. He was okay with the idea but not jumping up
and down at the thought of going to Disney.
I think it’s more because he just thinks of Disney as a channel on the
T.V. and not the magical place in Florida.
We did our best to load up the RV in the freezing temperatures, warm
Florida thoughts got us through the loading.
With the Jeep in place behind the motor home we started out on our
adventure.
Auntie GiGi and I traded off driving the giant Motor home
towards the warmer climate. A popped
fuse on the heater and a tire blowout slowed us down a bit but we pushed
on. As the kids watched movies, played
and finally fell asleep I drove through the night, a rediscovery of coffee had
me going all the way to dawn and a stop at the Florida welcome center. I was so excited! Wait until the kids see we
are in Florida and that we can get orange juice here. I pulled the RV into the rest area and turned
around excited to tell everyone and as I turned around I was met by a bunch of sound
sleepers. Oh well, l guess I will still
stretch my legs and grab some Florida orange juice. When I returned Auntie GiGi was awake and
ready to continue the drive. We grabbed
some orange and grapefruit juice for the kids of course Jame did not like the
grapefruit juice at all.
We arrived in Jacksonville and Little Man was excited to see
his cousins, he talks to them all the time on the phone, well that’s what he
tells us who he’s talking to on his play phone.
Shortly after seeing his cousins again they asked if he liked to play
video games with them and from that moment on he could care less if we were
there or not. They all seemed to have a
great time playing with each other. Little
Man is terrible with names so his cousins became those girls (Kelly, Lucy and
Sara) and that man with a beard (Peter).
As she always does Hope had fun just being around all of them and the
staircase that Jame loved to climb when he was one was also Hope’s favorite
place to be. One time the cousin man
with a beard told us that she was upstairs by herself as if it were normal; we
quickly ran up and got her down.
After a couple of days of relaxing and catching up it was
time to leave for Disney but Little Man did not want to leave he wanted to stay
with his cousins. We did finally
convince him that he will like Disney and reluctantly he climbed into the motor
home. We were now Disney bound with more
excited adults then kids.
A few years back we vacationed at Disney and bought park
hopper tickets that never expire; somehow we managed to hold on to them for all
these years and now we are collecting.
We have friends who are Disney Fanatics and we made a phone call to them
for advice on our trip, their daughter Katie is a Disney planner. Since our trip was so spontaneous we needed
all the help we could get and boy did she help us out. Katie got us a camp site at Fort Wilderness
in the loop we wanted, reservations at Chef Mickey’s and a hair cut appointment
for Hope in the Magic Kingdom. Trust me
it wasn’t easy even as our plans changed a bit and luckily Katie continued to
help.
We arrived at Fort Wilderness and they quickly gave the kids
First Visit buttons to wear which they did for maybe five minutes after we got
there and then they were handed off for us to hold on to. We parked the motor home got set up then went
for a little walk to explore, boy do some people get into camping at Disney
with lights strung up all over the campsite, inflatable Mickey’s, pink
flamingos with Mickey ears on and even portable lamp posts.
That night we headed over to Downtown Disney to shop and
explore. I had already picked up Disney
shirts for the kids at Once Upon a Child and boy was I glad I did after looking
at the prices for the kids shirts. We
arrived grabbed a quick bite then walked down the boardwalk. One of our first stops was the Lego store and
then that’s when Little Man stated to get excited about Disney. He loved the Lego store the big Lego statues
of The Incredible Hulk, Buzz and Woody, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and the
sea monster in the water across from the store, although he never could figure
out why they would put all those Lego’s in the water. We sat down at a few tables and started
building whatever came to our minds.
Mommy didn’t quite understand the whole Lego thing but she was happy to
watch her boys and Mimi play with Lego’s.
We played for a while there and of course Little Man was very excited
when Mimi bought him some Lego’s but what are Mimi’s for? It took some convincing but we got Little Man
to leave although I think he would be happy still playing there if we would let
him. Ghirardelli was our next stop for
some ice cream and man was it good. We
took the ice cream and headed out on the board walk when we heard a concert
going on for kids. We headed over and
sure enough there was a DJ performing for kids Little Man’s age. He looked up at me with the Please Daddy look
that is impossible to say no to but for this I had no problem saying yes. Before I finished saying go ahead he was down
there with the rest of the kids dancing around and being silly. I’m not sure what exactly they were doing. I
do remember a song about McDonalds, Kentucky Fried chicken and Pizza Hut. Whatever this was all about the kids sure did
love it. We then headed home the next
morning was going to be very busy.
I awoke the next morning to rain and decided to delay our
start a bit. I awoke the kids and told
them that it was true! I had already
been outside the Motor home and as promised Tinker Bell had left gifts for the
good boys and girls at Disney World.
Little Man was very excited and came out to get the gifts for him and
Hope. Little Man had not believed me
when I told him about Tinker Bell but now he told me that I was right she had
left them gifts.
We loaded up the
stroller and made our way to the boat that would take us to the Magic
Kingdom. I had read on my new friend,
Pintrest that the transportation cast members carry transportation trading cards
with them and all you have to do is ask.
Sure enough they had a bunch of trading cards with all the different
boats on them and Little Man got a bunch of them. We arrived at the Magic Kingdom and once
again Little Man started to get excited especially when the Monorail went by. We then faced the task of changing out old
hopper pass cards into the new wrist bands that Disney now uses. This was no easy task and even after we
entered we still had to go over to the Chamber of Commerce to complete the transition.
Soon we were transited over the new system and the Magic
Kingdom called. We headed down Main
Street and of course had to take photos with the castle in the background
wearing the Mickey Mouse ears we bought at Downtown Disney. I
don’t think Jame was fully understanding where we were at this point we tried
to explain to him that this was the Magic Castle, the same one at the beginning
of all his favorite movies. “Okay” he
responded.
Maybe when we hit our first
ride or start seeing some characters he will understand but at that moment all
this felt like to him was another one of Dad’s photo shoots and the faster he
smiled the faster we get done. We did
our best to take the pictures and move along but it’s hard when you have such a
wonderful place to take pictures and such wonderful kids to take pictures
of. We got as many pictures as we could
not only were the kids done taking pictures but so were we as we were at
DISNEY!
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As we got closer to the castle we found ourselves in a
strange gap in the crowd, we had left the hustle and bustle of Main Street and
it felt as if the crowd had not. I
couldn’t believe my eyes as there sitting in front of the castle was the Disney
fire truck all by itself. Both the kids
were very excited and had no problem jumping up on the fire truck and of course
I couldn’t help myself and the camera started clicking away. We got some great pictures and the kids had a
bit of fun and after a few minutes we noticed the Main Street crowd had discovered
our little secret and a line had formed waiting to get on the fire truck.
Next it was the walk through the Magic Castle and looking
for the first ride. Dumbo? Peter
Pan? Small World? What ride to start our Disney visit? We didn’t have much time we had brunch
reservations at Chef Mickey’s at the Contemporary hotel. It’s a Small World had a little line so
that’s where we headed. As a kid I asked
to go on this ride over and over again.
We got in the boat and headed into It’s a Small World, the music started
playing and the animatronics were dancing and Hope’s eye’s grew as big as
saucers. Hope soon started clapping with
the music; I think it’s safe to say it was her favorite ride at Disney. After the ride Little Man started asking to
go again but we needed get to our brunch.
We raced out of It’s a Small World and headed out of the
park and up to the Monorail platform.
When I was a kid we would stay at the Contemporary because we liked how
the Monorail would go into the building.
The Monorail ride was one of our easiest at Disney since we did not have
to break down the stroller to get on. I
truly wish Disney would run the Monorail to more places. Unfortunately the ride was very short from
the Magic Kingdom to the Contemporary but at least we got our Monorail ride in
and just in the nick of time, since when we stopped, they announced that the
Monorail would be out of service for maintenance.
I was nervous how Chef Mickey’s would go, all I could do was
think back to the Michigan Avenue parade and how Little Man told me that was
not Mickey that was just a man in a costume.
Here we are to eat and meet Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy and
Donald. As we headed to our table we ran
into Pluto, I was able to get a quick picture but I was a bit confused as it
seemed Pluto did not really want to spend too much time with us, later I found
out it’s because they make the rounds to all the tables. The breakfast buffet was good and of course
they had Mickey waffles. Soon after we
got our food one of my favorites stopped by, Goofy, here was the moment of
truth what was Little Man’s reaction going to be? His eyes lit up and he headed right over to
Goofy and Goofy did not disappoint. He
was Goofy with all of us and Little Man jumped right in to take a picture with
Goofy and get his autograph. I had read
about how kids would get character autographs at Disney and even bought a book
for Little Man at the Dollar Store before we left for the autographs. I’m still amazed that not only do they sign
autographs but how well they do. Goofy
being one of my favorites, I had to get a picture with him as well but I did
forget to ask him one of my biggest questions in life. Is Goofy a dog? Mickey already has Pluto and Pluto only barks
but goofy can talk so what exactly is Goofy?
There I had him and I forgot to ask so the world may never know.
We finished the rest of our meal and all the characters
stopped at our table for a visit. Donald
stopped by next and once again Little Man could hardly wait to get his
autograph and picture taken with Donald.
Hope was a bit of a different story she was okay with Goofy but started
not to like it as much with Donald. Next
was the main guy himself, Mickey. Little
Man jumped up again to get the picture and autograph and I had to get a picture
with him as well after all it all started with a mouse. Next up was Little Man’s favorite, Pluto once
again he jumped up to get the autograph and Pluto took his book, put it up on
his nose, signed it on his nose, then bent down for Little Man to take the book
off his nose. Little Man thought this
was silly and laughed.
The last one to stop by was Minnie Mouse, I found it
interesting that all the guys were dressed up as cooks and now Minnie was
not. I also thought it was funny that
the only female in the group was last and running a bit late. Minnie was very funny but she came over
behind Hope and gave her a scare and that was it, Hope wanted nothing to do
with Minnie Mouse. Little Man got his
autograph and we did our best to get a picture but Minnie had burned her bridge
with Hope. The breakfast was great even
with the evil Minnie Mouse scaring Hope.
Little Man still laughs about Pluto and we got to eat and meet all the
characters without having to stand in line for an hour.
Off to Animal Kingdom and all we had to do was get on the
bus which meant another stroller breakdown on to the bus off the bus put
everything back in the stroller push to the security check point take
everything out of the stroller so they could look at it put it all back push to
the entrance put our wrist bands on the magic spot then our fingerprint on the
next spot and then we are in. I get
tired even writing all of that again.
None of us had ever been to Animal Kingdom before so we thought to give
it a try. We used the fast pass on a few
rides and even used Disney ride switch.
Ride switch allowed one of us to stay with Hope while the others went on
a ride and then when they got off we switched who stayed with Hope, it worked
out great.
One of the first rides we went on at Animal Kingdom was
Dinosaur where you ride in a Jeep back in time to recover a dinosaur, needless
to say things go wrong and dinosaurs are jumping out at you. Little Man did not like this ride at all, it
was dark and scary, in fact when we got the rider swap he didn’t want to go on
again. We also went on Kilimanjaro
Safari’s ride we piled into a supersized truck and they drove us off on
safari. We saw zebras, elephants, zebras
and were even surrounded by giraffes.
Hope just loved being on the truck and Little Man loved all the animals
around. Expedition Everest was next Aunie
GiGi and Mommy went on the ride with Little Man while I walked around with
Hope. There was a bit of a problem
getting him on since he was just tall enough to get on depending on the
measuring stick used but, Mom knew how much he wanted to go on and with a
little convincing she got Little Man on the ride. When they returned with the rider swap,
Little Man did not want to ride again, so Mom and I did and it wasn’t long
before I saw why he did not want to ride again.
He normally loves roller coasters but this one you are being chased by a
Yeti who destroys the tracks and a few times you see the yeti or his
shadow. I still thought it was the best
ride at Animal Kingdom.
Animal Kingdom was closed at five and Hollywood Studios was
open until ten. We climbed on the bus
towards Hollywood Studios. A task that
is not easy with the kids and the stroller, I wish we could just wheel the
stroller, kids and all onto the bus.
When we arrived, we entered and started looking for a place to eat but
without reservations, it turned out to be a bit difficult. Luckily we found some fast food, the kids ate
but you could see on their faces they were just about “Disneyed out”.
After a quick bite and a well deserved rest we headed out to
explore Hollywood Studios. I had heard
great things about a Toy Story ride but couldn’t remember the name of it. One of the problems we had at Disney was
navigating around the parks we had maps and mobile apps but they are hard to
use when pushing a stroller and watching two toddlers.
It took a bit of walking around but we finally made it Toy
Story Midway Mania. We were met with a
wait time of forty five minutes and our time was slipping away to the park
closing. We looked across the way and
there was Buzz and Woody inside a building taking pictures, we headed over and
that was a thirty minute wait, we did not want to wait thirty minutes for a
picture. I took Little Man over to the
window to see Buzz and Woody I stated as excited as I could “Look It’s Buzz and
Woody!” Little Man replied “Dad! That’s not the real Woody and Buzz!” “I don’t know they look pretty real to me.” I
replied. “Well the real Woody and Buzz are
toys and toys are small and those guys are big.” It’s kind of hard to argue with that logic.
We found ourselves with three choices, one navigate to
another ride, two wait thirty minutes to take a picture with two guys dressed
up as toys or jump in the forty five minute line for the Toy Story ride.
We jumped in the line for Toy Story (for
those of you wondering you are only allowed three fast passes a day at one
park. We had used Fast Pass at Animal
Kingdom so it was not an option at Hollywood Studios.)
As we entered the line and headed into the building we knew
we had made the right choice. The line
was filled with overgrown toys to look at, and Etch a Sketch that was drawing
away. Later in the line there was a huge
Mr. Potato Head whose eyes were a video screen and moving his arms and I think
he tried to start a conversation with Little Man. Before we knew it we were nearing the front
of the line getting our 3D glasses and jumping in and taking our weird looking
gun. The ride takes off and soon Woody
is explaining to you how to shoot the gun at the screens. You get so long to shoot at one screen before
your toy box ride spins you to the next screen. It was great fun but with all my shooting, I
didn’t see if Little Man liked it or not but as we got off he was smiling from
ear to ear saying “I want to do that again!”
Why not? We got right back in
line with Etch a Sketch and Mr. Potato Head again. This time I was with Hope who also loved the
ride and was smiling her way through it.
We fired away and once again when the ride ended Little Man wanted to go
again but we decided to see what else Hollywood Studios had in store for us.
We walked over to see if we could catch the Doc McStuffins
show. Doc is one of Little Man’s secrets,
he loves the show but doesn’t like to talk about it because it is a chic show. When we arrived where the show was we found
we had missed all the shows for the day but there was a dance party with some
characters. When we first entered they
were playing “Let it go” from Frozen and a foam type snow falling from the
ceiling. Dancing around with the kids
was Handy Manny and another of Little Man’s favorites Jake from Jake and the
Neverland Pirates. We did our best to
get pictures with the kids but you could tell they told them to dance and not
to pose for pictures with the kids. They
were also making balloon animals; Hope got a flower and Little Man got a
sword. Soon after, Goofy followed by
Mickey and Minnie entered the dance party.
Hope still wasn’t too sure about Minnie but we tried to get another
picture, not to easy with her not sure of Minnie and Minnie not stopping
dancing. The kids had a great time
dancing around with all the music and lights it was a great time to see them so
happy.
Our time quickly ran down at Hollywood Studios and we
started our long trek back to campsite.
Once again, we did our load unload routine on to the bus. Little Man wanted to sit in the back of the
bus so Mom took him and Hope to the back of the bus, Auntie GiGi and I gathered
the bags and the stroller and got on the crowded bus. The bus ride turned, as Hope decided to see
how Little Man’s balloon sword tasted. A
loud POP, from the back of the bus and them some tears, Mom did her best to
soothe Little Man but he was just too tired.
This really was our only problem at Disney and it really was not that
bad. As one of my friends on Facebook
later stated
“That’s what little sisters are for. Introducing you to the disappointments in
life. So, when you grow up you can handle the ups and downs.” After a bit of an adventure by getting
confused with Wilderness Campground and Lodge, I’m disappointed that Disney
named two areas the same thing. Where’s
the Disney creativity? We arrived back
at the motor home and the kids quickly fell asleep.
We thought about doing the same but then thought Downtown
Disney sounded like more fun.
Unfortunately most of it was closed but we were able to get a
Ghirardelli chocolate malt and then to an Irish Pub for some food. We took a moment to reflect on the magic of
the day and plan for another day filled with fun and laughter.
The next morning, I was awoken by Little Man telling me the
sun was up. The sun was up but my
stomach dropped since I knew Tinker Bell had been up late last night and needed
some help. I put a cartoon on for Little
Man to watch and I snuck out to help Tinker Bell. When I finished helping her, I went back
inside and Little Man had fallen back asleep again of course. I awoke him with
the news that Tinker Bell had returned last night and brought more gifts. This time she brought some cars and Jake and
the Neverland Pirates coloring book either because she knew he danced with Jake
last night or she knew what happened to his balloon sword.
We got ready and headed off to the boat launch for the boat
ride over to the Magic Kingdom. I had
read that the transportation workers at Disney carry trading cards with them as
well and with the help of Auntie GiGi, we got Little Man some cards. They have trading cards of the boats at
Disney the Monorail and the Busses. He
took them and put them in his special drawer in the motor home. We rode the boat over to the Magic Kingdom
with the plan of staying there all day and the only scheduled event was Hope’s
first haircut at the Barber Shop on Main Street.
We arrived at the Magic Kingdom and I was thankful that this
was the only time we were going to have to do the stroller pack and unpack for
the day. I think it’s hard for anyone
who likes to take pictures not to walk down the main entrance of Disney and not
want to take a hundred pictures especially with two cute kids along. This time
thanks to my new friend Pintrest I had a few ideas for pictures by the
castle. Hope got a Cinderella dress and
what a better place to take pictures of a princess than in front of the
castle. I also got Little Man some
Mickey ears and hands to take some pictures of him in front of the castle. I did see one picture with the brother
dressed up as princess protection agency with the dark sunglasses but I couldn’t
find a shirt. Once again we lucked out
with little to no crowd around the castle and I hope the kids had a bit of fun
dressed up and playing in front of the castle.
After the hundred or so pictures
we headed out for some fun.
Peter Pan was one of the first stops I always forget what a
neat ride that is and of course as soon as we got off Little Man asked to go
again but we had a whole day of rides ahead.
Splash Mountain was also on the list but we were disappointed to find it
was closed for renovation. A new ride
was the Little Mermaid, it was okay, once again standing in line there was a
bunch going on for the kids and even Hope enjoyed the ride so did Little Man
but we won’t tell anyone he enjoyed a mermaid ride. Dumbo was a must with the kids but when we arrived
at Dumbo it had changed, there were two identical Dumbo rides one for fast pass
and the other for everyone else. Halfway
through the line for Dumbo we entered a building and found a huge play area for
the kids and a bonus it was cool inside.
I know it’s hard to believe that in one of the worst winters we have had
in years we were in shorts looking for a cool place. Little Man jumped right into the climbing
tubes and slides and Hope made a friend in the toddler area playing with a fire
truck. After a bit we re-entered the
line for Dumbo. I couldn’t believe my
eyes when I looked over in the Dumbo ride and there was my old neighbor and
third grade teacher. We did our ride on
Dumbo and in true fashion Little Man flew Dumbo high, really high. After the ride they now have an area to take
photos on a Dumbo.
Soon after Dumbo, there was a train, I believe to be Casey
Jones from the Dumbo movie and it was a water park. The Elephants were shooting water and all the
other circus animals were also.
It was hot
and Little Man just wanted to run with the other kids so down to his underwear
he went and into the spraying water. I
was able at this point to spend a few minutes catching up with my old neighbor
and third grade teacher. The only
problem we had, was that Little Man needed reminding that his underwear needed
to stay on even if it was wet. After a
short break and a quick visit to the men’s room to get Little Man out of his wet
underwear we were off for more Disney fun.
Tea Cups were a must on our list and they did not
disappoint. Jame, Hope, Mommy and I
loaded into our tea cup.
Mom gave her
warning about not spinning to fast but as soon as the ride started all four
little hands in the tea cup grabbed the wheel and we were off and
spinning. All I could do was sit back
and laugh as both kids could not stop their laughing as the cup spun around
faster and faster. The looks on their
faces is something I hope I never forget.
Just like clockwork when we got off the ride Little Man asked to ride it
again. Mom looked like she had enough
and Hope would have braved it but maybe it was time for Big Brother and Dad to have
a little fun. To the Tea Cups the two
brave Steele men headed and spin we did.
With nothing holding us back we gave the tea cup a mighty spin and once
again the smile and laughter that came from Little Man was priceless.
Naturally after all that spinning it was time for lunch but
while Mom, Hope and Auntie GiGi went for lunch, Little Man and I continued our
bonding on the race cars. I was a bit
disappointed that there was no Lightning McQueen or Tow Mater anywhere and Cars
is one of Little Man’s Favorite movies, so this was the next best thing. All the laughter from the tea cups soon
disappeared from Little Mans face as he took the wheel he was very serious
about driving. Little Man’s driving
skills are a bit scary for a kid of his age.
You can probably guess by now what he asked after the ride was over;
“Can we do it again?” No lunch was waiting.
At lunch a few seagulls decided to help us eat our lunch and
Little Man got a big kick out of feeding them and watching them scramble to
grab a French fry. I remember years ago
feeding the seagulls at Disney and how nervous and exciting it was at the same
time. We finished lunch and playing with
the seagulls and started to head for our only commitment that day Hope’s first
hair cut.
As we made our way to Main Street the kids rode in the
double stroller and it wasn’t long before they were both sound asleep. Nap time had come to Disney. We arrived at the Barber shop a bit early and
of course they were running a bit late but no problem the kids were both sound
asleep. As she always seems to do Mom
made some friends with a couple from New Jersey who had lost so many friends
after 9-11 they decided to move to the happiest place on earth. We talked with them for a bit and they gave
the kids a bunch of Mickey stickers, unfortunately the kids never got to meet
them since they were asleep. Our new
friends soon had to leave because they were parade escorts. The parade started and it was a good wakeup
call for the kids. I’m not sure if they
enjoyed the parade but it got them up.
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With the parade alarm clock passed we headed into the tiny
little barber shop. Hope was a bit
nervous at first I guess it’s not every day you get woken up by a parade for
your first haircut. While Mom talked to
the barber I did my best to relax Hope and get her to laugh a bit. Just like that a quick snip and off came the
first curl. He took some time to
complete the haircut added some glitter then came out the My First Haircut
Mickey Ears. Hope was doing great and
was starting to have a bit of fun.
Ricardo, the barber, put her first curl in a small silk bag with some
magic glitter. Hope also got a
certificate honoring her first haircut at Disney. Little Man then wanted his haircut but there
was no time at the busy little barber shop.
I couldn’t help but to think back to his first haircut.
We were in Jacksonville Florida celebrating Little Man’s
first birthday. We had plans the next
day to get his haircut but for now we were sitting outside enjoying the cool
night air.
Mom asked for me to watch
Little Man as she headed in the house he was sitting on the couch next to me. I was talking to Uncle Cousin Phil as I
noticed Little Man leaning forward to see something on the ground. The problem was he didn’t stop. It was all in
slow motion, as his lean went too far and off the couch, he fell, head first on
to the pavement. The next day we took
our bruised Little Man to get his first haircut.
I have to laugh that both our kids had their first haircuts
in Florida and they both have a story about their first haircut. I just hope Little Man doesn’t have brain
damage from his. I was happy we could
get her haircut at Disney but I wasn’t sure it was going to happen when I went
online to make an appointment and there was none. Luckily one of my good friends family, are Disney
fanatics and his sister is now a Disney Vacation Planner with Fairytale
Journeys by Katie; she helped us not only get a haircut appointment for Hope
but also our campsite in the perfect loop and reservations with Chef
Mickey. All of it last minute and she
put up with the changes we kept making.
I’m not going to Disney again without calling her first. Thanks Katie!
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Nothing left to do at Disney but enjoy the rest of the
time. The Jungle Cruise was a hit, the
kids always like riding on a boat and I love the comical tour guides they
have. Aladdin’s Magic Carpet ride is a
lot like Dumbo but still a lot of fun and Little Man flew the carpet up high
the entire time. Tomorrow Land has a
Buzz Lightyear ride. Little Man was a bit nervous, he didn’t want to see the
Evil Emperor Zurg but he braved it out and we got on the ride and started
shooting bad guys and helping Buzz Lightyear.
The Buzz ride was fun but Toy Story at Hollywood Studios was better.
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After Buzz, the night was closing and a topic came up one
more time, Space Mountain. After the
Dinosaur ride and a few others we were not sure if Little Man would like Space
Mountain or not and given that this may be the last ride of the night did we
really want to end it this way? We
decided to try it and while Auntie GiGi stayed with Hope we headed off to Space
Mountain. It was the end of the night
and everyone was gathering by the castle for the evening fireworks so there was
no line. We raced right up to the front
and the ride had changed a bit. When I
first rode Space Mountain you sat in a seat with someone else, I sat with my
father for my first ride on Space Mountain. I liked the ride but I could barely
breath afterwards from my Dad squeezing me so tight. Now you sit in individual seats, which I
think is an improvement. We loaded in
Mom in the front, Little Man in the middle and me in the back. I didn’t want to scare him but it does get dark
so I put my hand forward on him so he knew we were there. We blasted off on the wild ride through the
light tunnels and out into the darkness of space. We raced around Space Mountain and it didn’t
disappoint. The question was how did
Little Man like it and was he scared in all that darkness. As we got off the ride and asked him how he
liked it he said “I want to ride it again!”
So Auntie GiGi, Little Man and I raced back for one more ride on Space
Mountain, this time with no hand from Dad.
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After Space Mountain we sat eating some Ice Cream Mom had
gotten from a vendor who was getting rid of it before it melted and watched the
Fireworks. It’s always magical watching
the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom but also sad that the day was at a close. The Fireworks were awesome and soon ended but
I had read not to make your way out immediately and the shops stay open later
and why cram yourself into a crowded boat, Monorail or bus. We walked in and out of shops Little Man
tried on a bunch of silly hats. This was
actually a great tip we and our big stroller avoided the crowds and had some
fun as well. After a bit of shopping and
goofing around in the stores we made our way to the exit only to find Aunt GiGi
with Hope and a new friend. Walt Disney’s
brother Roy has a statue with Minnie near the entrance of Disney. Hope had taken a liking to Roy even with him
sitting there next to Minnie who did nothing but terrify Hope. We took some pictures there and outside in
front of the Mickey flowers.
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At the Mickey flowers, I took a picture holding both kids in
my arm, one of my favorite things is to hold both of them. I’m often asked if I’m okay when I’m holding
both of them or carrying one of them for a long distance and my response is always,”
yes I’m fine”. One day soon as they grow
I won’t be able to carry them and that’s when I’m not going to be okay. We loaded on the boat and both kids fell
right to sleep when we docked, Little Man did not want to ride in the stroller
he wanted me to carry him. I gladly
carried him from the boat dock back to the camper.
The next morning, Tinker Bell once again visited in the
night and dropped off some gifts for Little Man and Hope. We started to pack up the campsite and head
out for Spring Hill Florida. We drove
away from Disney with some great memories and I hope Little Man is old enough
to remember some of it and if not he’s got pictures and this blog to help him
remember.
The real reason for our trip to Florida was to help Mimi and
Auntie GiGi fix up a house that they had rented out and the tenants were
evicted leaving the house in not so nice condition. We worked and worked and worked. Then came time for me to head back home for
work, the plan was I would head back for a few days then fly back to drive home
in the motor home. On both my last days
in Florida we spent the day at the beach.
The first beach day we went to a little beach that also had a playground
and it was a great day.
Along the beach we
found a few small conch shells some empty and some with crabs still in
them. We collected a few of them to
bring home. That night we told Little
Man that I would not be there when he woke up; he started to cry and asked to
go with me. My heart ached and I wish I
didn’t have to leave him, he slept with me that night and in the wee hours of
the morning I kissed his head goodbye, my heart still aching.
Home was cold and snowy with long work days and a quiet
house at the end of the day, I could hardly wait to get back on the plane to
see the kids again. I wasn’t home long
before I received a call from Florida some of the shells we gathered the day
before were now crawling away. Little
Man wanted to fill the donut box with water and Mom well to quote Little Man
“Daddy Mommy is freaking out right now.”
I couldn’t stop laughing when I heard that.
I flew back and we worked
more and more on the house but work was calling and Little Man’s pre-school was
planning his school birthday. The house
was close but not done and we needed to head back. We decided to enjoy our last days in
Florida. We headed out to St. John’s
Pass Mom’s old stomping grounds her family had been coming here ever since she
was little and she was looking forward to being there with the kids.
We spent the first part of the day on the beach and Little
Man loved running in and out with the waves, Hope liked it until a wave knocked
her down and then she was done with the whole water thing. We played on the beach until the sun started
to set. We headed across the street to
the little shopping area and walked around.
Nothing to special; we walked the boardwalk, did a bit of shopping and
found a great place to eat and got some Ice cream afterwards it was just fun to
hang out with the family. We then headed
over to Aunt Jan’s house for a quick visit with her and Cousin Alex.
The next day on the recommendations of the neighbors we
headed out to Homosassa Springs. They
had manatees, alligators a hippo, otters, bald eagles and a host of other
animals.
The park was okay, sort of old
school Florida in the days before the mouse came to town. The place was neat but I think our kids may
have been a bit young for the thing. The
hippo named Lou was interesting and Little Man couldn’t believe how big he was. As you walk around the Hippo area, you will
see a sign that warns of the Hippos splatter zone with a picture to describe
the mess. It was kind of fun explaining
to a four year old why they would have a sign like that and why a hippo would
do something like that. We got to see a
bunch of animals ride on a boat and got a good walk in. Now we needed to head home.
The new plan was for
us to drive my Jeep that we had towed down behind the motor home. We rented a small trailer and loaded it up
with our luggage and toys said our good buys to Mimi and Auntie GiGi and the
four of us in my little Jeep headed north, roughly a 20 to 22 hour drive. The kids had a little DVD player, a bunch of
blankets and some toys. We drove out of
Florida and into Georgia before stopping at a Chick-Fil-A for dinner, we ate
and the kids played and when we hit the road again the kids ate in the
backseat. The kids did great in the car
and soon were soundly sleeping in the backseat.
I would stop refill the tank use the restroom buy a coffee and something
chocolate and off we would go again. I
thought about stopping a few times in the night but thought it was best to
cover as much ground as possible while he kids slept. I loved the view in the backseat of the two
of them sleeping. Occasionally Little
Man would wake up when we stopped so he could go inside the gas station with me
and I agreed mostly just to get another hug.
A lot of people have told me how crazy it was but the fact that we all
got along in the small car was wonderful.
We arrived home in time for Little Man’s school
birthday. He was very excited about his
birthday and we baked some monster cupcakes for his school birthday. Mom, Hope
and I went to his pre-school to celebrate with him. They had a puzzle cake he put together first
and then they sang Happy Birthday and gave him a balloon and a stuffed dog that
looks kind of like Juno. Our lives have
returned to their normal hectic pace and Little Man has a good soccer team for
his last winter session.
All in All Florida was a great time and although we wish we
had missed the long winter we’re still stuck in it felt great to be back. A few years from now when Hope is older we will
return to Disney and I know a visit to the cousins will be in order and maybe
some more beach time. I don’t know if we
will be able to make the trip in the Jeep and I don’t know if I will be able to
pick them both up at the same time but I will always be thankful for the
memories.
I had to type this since Little Man asked what I was doing
and after I explained it he wanted me to type;
Jame went on
Space Mountain
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