I think we need to book a warm weather vacation every year, post holidays, post January...right at the point where it's getting a bit too much to take the arctic cold that Minnesota often gets this time of year. It makes the prospect of a few more months of cold weather more palpable. So, a big thank you to Grandma Deb and Grandpa Whitey to hosting our late Christmas in February in Florida!
The flight was ok...a little bumpy on the way down, and the kids were mostly good. Thank goodness for Kindles to keep them entertained! We took it easy for the first night, and had a nice dinner at their house. We also then opened our Christmas presents, and the kids were thrilled with all of the fun new toys that they received.
The second day was packed full of...lines. We got up early and headed to Orlando (about an hour southwest of their place) to spend the day with the big mouse and his friends. My biggest impression is that there were just too many lines...we waited in line to get our tix (even though Deb had purchased them online, we still had to wait), we waited in line to take the ferry into the Magic Kingdom, and then we waited in lines all day for the rides. We only had one really adventurous kid (G) so the rides that we went on were really low key...Haunted Mansion, It's a Small World, the Carousel, the Hunny Pot ride, the Carousel of Progress (different than the regular carousel), the PeopleMover (funny story there...), and topped off the day with the Pirates of the Caribbean. And fireworks!
We ate $60 worth of hot dogs (just 4 of 'em...yep, 4) and did some shopping (for Ava) in the different shops throughout the lands. Ava ended up with the pig from Moana (stuffed animal, of course, not a real pig) and G ended up with a little Tigger. Overall, it was a good day, but exhausting and long...and I know we were all ready to enjoy some peace and quiet once we left.
I was a little concerned that G would be scared by the Haunted Mansion, so I let him know that all of the ghosts were very friendly, and there was nothing to be scared of. He and I ended up in a "doom buggy" together, and I remembered (in advance) that at the end of the ride, a ghost would be joining us in the buggy (hologram reflected in a mirror that we passed at the end of the ride.) I prepped G for that since I didn't want him to freak out. Lucky for us, our ghost looked like Santa, so G thought it was hilarious. He liked it even better when Santa took off his beard and put it on G. In retrospect, he might have taken off his entire head and put it on G, but it was dark in there and I'm not 100% sure. We'll go with the beard theory...lol
So...the PeopleMover ride...we had a heck of a time figuring out where the entrance was, and of course there was a long line...but there were a ton of empty seats on the ride, so we were confused why the line was so long. We finally decided that it would be the last ride of our day and then we were going to head out. We waited in line, got into the first car, and enjoyed a brief ride around the second level of the park...and then we entered the Space Mountain ride. I was initially a little concerned because I didn't realize that we'd be going into SM...but whatever, I've learned to go with the flow. Clearly, we weren't going to be riding on the roller coaster tracks with all 6 of us squished into one car. We were chugging along in the dark, and could hear the SM riders screaming...and then our ride stopped. And a voice came on telling us to stay seated on the ride, as it could begin again "at ANY time." This went on for 30 long minutes...
We were stuck at a spot that was right at the point of going into the same room as the SM riders, but we weren't quite in there yet. We could see the Earth, the moon, and the stars continuously flying over our heads. It was dark-ish (they had turned on the safety lights for us, see below), it was warm, and we heard people screaming non-stop (from SM) for those 30 minutes. It was literally, hell. Warm, dark, and people screaming. And we weren't allowed to leave.
But, everyone did pretty well...I think Scott slept for a little bit, G got up a few times (shhh, he's little, no one noticed) and the rest of us tried to keep a good attitude. Two workers finally came to rescue us and we evacuated the ride on foot. We walked by another car that had the unfortunate luck of being stopped right by a piece of screeching machinery...in retrospect, our placement in hell was much better than theirs...eek.
The employees loaded us up with a FastPass and we opted to use it on the Pirates ride, so off we went! And we didn't get stuck again...success!
Saturday was a much more low-key day...after a nice breakfast out (with the exception of G whining about needing yogurt), we attempted to see the manatees at a local park, but it was too warm, so they weren't out and about. We then headed to New Smyrna Beach, and after a ridiculous experience with trying to park (high tide caused some issues with availability of parking), we finally were able to enjoy the day on the beach. G has never seen the ocean before, and he just loved chasing the birds and throwing the shells back into the water. Ava also had a great time playing in the water, and I think she would've enjoyed going out a little further, but it was a bit windy that day and the waves were fairly strong.
We finished up our day with a stop at a beach tavern, had some great food, and then stopped for ice cream treats. We all went to bed early that night, as we had to get up at 3am to leave for the airport, where there were also soooo many lines...and exhausted kids needing to get back into a regular routine...
After a super bumpy flight back (straight turbulence for an hour,) we made it back to Minnesota where Scott exclaimed, "Look, no lines!" We were very happy to get back to our home and our Lucky dog. And this past week has been very normal, very much a routine...and it's been great!
The flight was ok...a little bumpy on the way down, and the kids were mostly good. Thank goodness for Kindles to keep them entertained! We took it easy for the first night, and had a nice dinner at their house. We also then opened our Christmas presents, and the kids were thrilled with all of the fun new toys that they received.
Waiting patiently to leave the chilly weather!
Ferry ride into the Magic Kingdom - G was so excited to finally go on a boat ride!
We made it!
Waiting in line for the Haunted Mansion ride...G was being a stinker and was hiding behind the statue
It's a Small World!
Nice and easy on the Carousel
We only saw two princesses, which I thought was odd...there should have been WAAAY more mingling with the crowds!
Waiting in Hundred-Acre Wood for the Hunny Pot ride...I was impressed with the amount of things they had for the kids to do while waiting in this line.
Tigger...bouncy bouncy!
What a great family pic!
Rapunzel, Rapunzel!
Evening show projected on the castle, with fireworks to follow
We ate $60 worth of hot dogs (just 4 of 'em...yep, 4) and did some shopping (for Ava) in the different shops throughout the lands. Ava ended up with the pig from Moana (stuffed animal, of course, not a real pig) and G ended up with a little Tigger. Overall, it was a good day, but exhausting and long...and I know we were all ready to enjoy some peace and quiet once we left.
I was a little concerned that G would be scared by the Haunted Mansion, so I let him know that all of the ghosts were very friendly, and there was nothing to be scared of. He and I ended up in a "doom buggy" together, and I remembered (in advance) that at the end of the ride, a ghost would be joining us in the buggy (hologram reflected in a mirror that we passed at the end of the ride.) I prepped G for that since I didn't want him to freak out. Lucky for us, our ghost looked like Santa, so G thought it was hilarious. He liked it even better when Santa took off his beard and put it on G. In retrospect, he might have taken off his entire head and put it on G, but it was dark in there and I'm not 100% sure. We'll go with the beard theory...lol
So...the PeopleMover ride...we had a heck of a time figuring out where the entrance was, and of course there was a long line...but there were a ton of empty seats on the ride, so we were confused why the line was so long. We finally decided that it would be the last ride of our day and then we were going to head out. We waited in line, got into the first car, and enjoyed a brief ride around the second level of the park...and then we entered the Space Mountain ride. I was initially a little concerned because I didn't realize that we'd be going into SM...but whatever, I've learned to go with the flow. Clearly, we weren't going to be riding on the roller coaster tracks with all 6 of us squished into one car. We were chugging along in the dark, and could hear the SM riders screaming...and then our ride stopped. And a voice came on telling us to stay seated on the ride, as it could begin again "at ANY time." This went on for 30 long minutes...
We were stuck at a spot that was right at the point of going into the same room as the SM riders, but we weren't quite in there yet. We could see the Earth, the moon, and the stars continuously flying over our heads. It was dark-ish (they had turned on the safety lights for us, see below), it was warm, and we heard people screaming non-stop (from SM) for those 30 minutes. It was literally, hell. Warm, dark, and people screaming. And we weren't allowed to leave.
But, everyone did pretty well...I think Scott slept for a little bit, G got up a few times (shhh, he's little, no one noticed) and the rest of us tried to keep a good attitude. Two workers finally came to rescue us and we evacuated the ride on foot. We walked by another car that had the unfortunate luck of being stopped right by a piece of screeching machinery...in retrospect, our placement in hell was much better than theirs...eek.
Waiting patiently...right above us is hell...
Evacuating on foot!
Not happy...! But, we tried to make the best of it!
The employees loaded us up with a FastPass and we opted to use it on the Pirates ride, so off we went! And we didn't get stuck again...success!
Saturday was a much more low-key day...after a nice breakfast out (with the exception of G whining about needing yogurt), we attempted to see the manatees at a local park, but it was too warm, so they weren't out and about. We then headed to New Smyrna Beach, and after a ridiculous experience with trying to park (high tide caused some issues with availability of parking), we finally were able to enjoy the day on the beach. G has never seen the ocean before, and he just loved chasing the birds and throwing the shells back into the water. Ava also had a great time playing in the water, and I think she would've enjoyed going out a little further, but it was a bit windy that day and the waves were fairly strong.
Watch out for this little guy!
We finished up our day with a stop at a beach tavern, had some great food, and then stopped for ice cream treats. We all went to bed early that night, as we had to get up at 3am to leave for the airport, where there were also soooo many lines...and exhausted kids needing to get back into a regular routine...
After a super bumpy flight back (straight turbulence for an hour,) we made it back to Minnesota where Scott exclaimed, "Look, no lines!" We were very happy to get back to our home and our Lucky dog. And this past week has been very normal, very much a routine...and it's been great!
Enjoying a Valentine's Day breakfast at daycare with G!
Feb is "I love to read" month at Ava's school, so Ava is reading to a very unimpressed Lucky
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