You know that old joke, "I just flew in from ____, and boy are my arms tired!"? Right now, I can totally relate.
We got back from Florida late Saturday night (technically Sunday morning), and I've been in recovery mode ever since. Exhausted, slightly toasted - with sore feet and an aching back. But, as it turns out, the well of sympathy is pretty much dry when you ask for pity after spending a week in Florida.
Nevertheless, vacation is over - and it's time to get back to the normal swing of things.
But first, let me tell you about our trip. I tried to take pictures when I remembered - and I'm inevitably going to forget or leave something out, but here's the gist of our last week:
A week ago, we woke up at 3 on Saturday morning and headed to Tulsa.
Unfortunately, we started our trip by finding out that our house (well, really our garage) had been egged - and I couldn't help but think that with our being up so early, we probably didn't miss the culprits by very long.
That would have been interesting, walking out of the house with suitcases in hand only to find some teenagers chucking eggs at our house.
Either way though, when you're headed to Disney World, very few things can break your good mood. This wasn't one of those things.
Our flight went smoothly for the most part, however we did hit a bad spot of turbulence each way. I'd never flown with the kids before, so it was a bit of an experience watching them react to scary flying weather. On the second flight though, the Delta plane we flew on had screens in the back of every seat with a huge selection of movies and games to watch or play. Genius.
We ended up getting to Florida early that afternoon and were bussed immediately to the hotel where our luggage would soon join us. My step dad Warren, who planned the trip, wanted to get in as much Disney time as possible - so that meant hitting the ground running.
But that being said, I have to point out how cool it was to have a Pirate Room. I may be biased, but a ship bed is by far cooler than a race car bed.
We spent our first half-day there at Epcot, and let the kids get their feet wet a little, opening them up to the experience in front of them.
I think one thing we hadn't accounted for however, was just how BIG everything is there.
Remember when you were a kid, and you were excited about something? You'd look forward to it for weeks and then when the day came you'd be mostly prepared for the thing you were excited about. With Disney World, that's pretty difficult to do.
The kids had a hard time deciding what they wanted to do first because surprisingly, "All of the things" isn't easy to coordinate all at once.
Thankfully though, we have great kids and for the most part this week they were able to agree on close to everything, so everyone ended up getting to do what they wanted to do.
After our first half day at Epcot, we retired to the hotel - already exhausted. However, while our room had two full sized beds, Jade decided that she didn't want to share a bed with Jaxon because "He kicks!"
... and so began her nightly ritual of making a cot on the floor because sharing a bed with her brother was way worse than sleeping on the ground.
The room was super though, and we found ways to live together in close quarters for the entirety of our stay there. While Jaxon spent most of his free time there watching Hulu on his phone - Jade fell in love with the magnifying mirror in our bathroom. She ended up putting on multiple shows for an audience of herself in this mirror.
I'm thinking it would make for a good birthday present in the not too distant future.
Also, funny moment from the week: Our bathroom had one of these in it.
Have you ever seen one of these in the shower of your hotel room. I just assumed that everyone knew it was a clothesline that you could put towels/swimsuits on during the day. There was no part of me that thought it would be a mystery to any of my traveling companions.
Shelly and wanted to know why we had a bell in the shower.
I was more interested in who they thought would answer a bell in the shower if they runt it...
Day two was Hollywood studios. Basically, everything there is related to the movie side of Disney. The rides and shows are all based on things we had seen time and again - and that made for some really exciting experiences.
While I was hoping to see Marvel represented there a bit more, the nerd in me was still excited at just how much Star Wars there was. I mean, it was everywhere. From the merchandise in the stores to the hourly storm trooper marches that took place down the middle of the park - it was awesome.
I did realize while there however that I've not done my job as a father and a husband when I realized that none of the people I live with have seen Indiana Jones. We went to a stage show there, and while the kids and Shelly loved what they saw - most of it was lost on them because it all correlated to scenes from the first movie.
I mean honestly, the kids I can get. I just haven't shown them the movie.
...but Shelly? You honestly wouldn't believe how many "classic" movies she hasn't seen.
It's overwhelming.
Day three had us at the Animal Kingdom. While there, we went on the safari where I spent more time watching Shelly get excited about how close we got to certain animals than I did looking at the animals themselves.
I'll tell you, if you go to Disney World - get the meal plan.
We started the trip by getting these super hero style wrist bands, each personalized with our favorite color and name - and those wristbands are your key to everything. Literally, you just put your hand up to the hotel door and it opens if you're wearing one.
On the meal plan, you get so many snacks, so many quick meals (fast food type services), and so many dining credits (where you have a waiter and a table).
I say all of that to say that while the food at all of the parks was great, the snacks at the Animal Kingdom were amazing. I got loaded french fries with tzatziki sauce, lettuce, and tomatoes - and I've been thinking about them ever since.
Every day we would use our snack and quick meal credits throughout the parks whenever we got hungry - and most nights we'd use a dining credit at a nice sit-down type of place. I honestly think if we hadn't been walking over 15 thousand steps a day while sweating like maniacs - I would have put on 5-10 pounds.
That night, we went to Disney Springs - a downtown type shopping center with stores and restaurants. The kids got to see their first street performers, and we ate at a restaurant covered in dinosaurs.
(The Hulk is not a street performer. He was just a display at the Lego store that I got excited about - clearly more excited than Jaxon)
Day four we went back to Epcot to spend an entire day there. Sincerely, that park is something to experience. While the front half is more futuristic and sci-fi oriented, the back half is separated into various countries where you can meet workers, see entertainment, and eat food from different parts of the world. I mean, it's not the same as actually going to these places, but for someone who wants to get a super condensed idea of what a country may be like - it gives you a pretty good sense.
... it's also a good place to get thousands of steps into your day. We walked, walked, and walked some more - at one point, we actually watched a show about the history of the United States (eagerly) just because the auditorium had air conditioning.
That evening, we had dinner at a restaurant with a Princess Parade, where the girls got to meet their favorite Disney Princesses.
Watching Shelly meet Belle may be the highlight of my trip.
Most evenings, we opted to stay at the park until nearly closing time - but a few days we went back to the hotel so the kids could swim. The resort we stayed at had a pool for every major block of rooms with one major pool area in the very middle. The pools near our rooms were big but basic - and the middle pool area had slides, a bar, and various entertainment throughout the day.
I think that at least at one point throughout the week, everyone wanted to swim. Something about high temperatures plus humidity really brings out the swimming pool enthusiast in everyone.
This was also where Jade learned that when there weren't many kids around, she could use as many complimentary life jackets as she wanted - turning herself into what I can only describe as a living buoy.
You might not be able to tell from the picture, but she's wearing three life vests here. Two on the top, and one on her bottom - upside down - like a floating diaper.
She looked like a very low budget aquatic Iron Man.
On day five we spent our first day at the Magic Kingdom, where everyone becomes a child.
I mean honestly, walking through the front gate, seeing the gigantic castle in the center of the park just gives a sense of awe. Add to that the fact that throughout the entire place, characters from our childhood were walking around, posing with kids and adults alike - and it becomes a very magical place indeed.
At some point during the week, the kids bought an autograph book and began collecting signatures from the characters they met. I have to say, I was quite impressed in how each character had their own unique (personality fitting) signature, and also with the ease in which they knocked these things out while still making each kid feel important.
Days six and seven were catch-up days. On day six, we went back to Hollywood Studios to take part in the things we had missed on our first time through - and on Day seven, we went back to the Magic Kingdom.
At Hollywood Studios, we met some of our favorite Star Wars characters and competed in a Toy Story themed shooting ride - and at the Magic Kingdom, we endured our rainiest day there to ride Splash Mountain and the Dwarves roller coaster from Snow White.
(the Jawas will actually trade with you if you can give them a trinket they're interested in...)
All in all, it was an amazing week - and one that I can't do justice by writing about it here. We all came back beat, tanned, and worn smooth out - but in this instance, it was a good thing.
Our flight back was a bit scary due to inclement weather - and we didn't get home until SUPER late on Saturday night - but we made it.
Now, we pick ourselves back up and get back to the usual schedule. Make sure you check out the facebook page for our photos from the week. I took a ton!
For now, that's all I've got. I'm going to go take a nap.
I work tomorrow.
(Seriously... we walked A LOT this week.)
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