Vacation: Part VI

Day 8: We spent the day driving around Florida visiting some of Rick's clients who live there. After four days of Theme Parks my feet were a bit sore and I had a nasty case of heat rash but I was otherwise OK. The ride in the car made my feet swell until my shoes barely fit. Still, it was fun to see people and Joanna had a great time.

Day 9: After Breakfast we made our way to the train station.

Joanna soon found a friend.



Joanna had Minnie and Beatrice had Princess Minnie. Joanna loaned Bea my hat.

We had a little wait for the train so we went to the play area.



Joanna was determined to climb the blue rails. She would not try any of the other parts of the play structure until she conquered the rails.



We check out the engines that would pull us north.


We had a the family bedroom on this trip so we made use of the extra space.




Bea turned out to be our "neighbor" so she and Joanna played for a while until they both got tired.

Joanna decided to watch movies in her bunk.



At least I think she was watching movies.



Soon we were all engaged in our favorite leisure activities.



When it came time to sleep Joanna wanted to curl up with me. The ride was pretty rough so I could understand why she didn't want to stay in the bunk. Still, this picture just doesn't seem right.



One of the drawbacks of the family bedroom is the fact that you sleep perpendicular to the tracks. I had a lot of trouble sleeping. I think I was awake more than I was asleep.

Day 10: It took a while before our van was unloaded so we didn't get on the road until 10:00am. We took the scenic route home and went through PA. It was a nice change. We got home around 9:00 pm which wasn't too bad.

On arriving home the license plate game was declared over and here are the results.



47 states! I wasn't expecting to see Hawaii so I had to draw it in. We also saw 3 Canadian provinces, District of Columbia, 1 Consular Corps plate on the back of a speeding BMW Z3, and a US government plate.

Vacation: Part V

Day 6: Back to the Magic Kingdom.

The parents can be taught.



We made a deal with Joanna. We would get a stroller and push her around the midway but she had to walk/stand in the lines.

After her day at Epcot, Joanna was ready for roller coasters. First up was the Barnstormer in Toontown.




We had a bit of fortune when we found that the Mouse himself had just arrived in the judge's tent and we were able to get to see him without a long wait.





We then went on the roller coaster tour. We did all the mountains. Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain. After Big Thunder I asked if she thought it was scary. She said "Yes." I told her Space mountain was a lot like Big Thunder except it was in the dark. I asked if she thought that would make make it scarier. She said "That would be really scary. Let's go!"

We had tried to get into a character meal but it seems they book up very far in advance. We did manage to get a 9:00pm character dinner buffet in the Chrystal Palace with friends from the 100 Acre Woods. We had a bit of time before our meal so we completed a running joke.

Rick: Let's go to the Hall of Presidents.

Joanna: Noooo!

We took her to the Hall of Presidents. The animatronic George W. Bush spoke clearly and intelligently. It was weird.

After that we checked in for our meal and waited for our table.



Look carefully at the next photo.



This is probably the most expensive plate of macaroni & cheese with chicken strips you will ever see.



The adult meals were very good but I don't think I have ever paid $28 a plate for a buffet. Joanna's was $23.

It wasn't really about the food.





Joanna was pretty tired when we got to the van.




Day 7: Disney-MGM Studios

Because of Rick's seminar schedule this was our shortest day at the park. Just as well because Disney-MGM Studios is the kind of place the park hopper pass was made for. I can't imagine spending a whole day here.

There are several shows but only 3 rides. Joanna loved Star Tours and we rode it twice. We didn't bother with the Rock & Roller Coaster and I was afraid if I took Joanna to the Tower of Terror I would never get her in an elevator again.

We enjoyed the Muppets and saw several other shows.



The best show of all was Fantasmic! It is the only this in the park I would list as "not to be missed". At the end of the day I think we had enough theme park to last us for a while.

Vacation: Part IV

Day 5: Epcot. When we were planning the trip I wasn't sure we would go to Epcot. I didn't think there would be a lot Joanna would enjoy. Boy was I wrong!

The first thing she wanted to do was go in the "Big Ball", more officially known as Spaceship Earth. I remember this as being a long slow ad for the phone company. The ride has been recently renovated and is now sponsored by Siemens. It is a lot better. Joanna loved it and kept wanting to go back.

The next thing we went to was GM Test Track. The line was quite long and all the fast passes were gone. I showed Joanna how fast it went and she still wanted to ride. I got in line and Rick and Joanna went to check her height against the requirements. There were two employees at the height sign who help check to see if Joanna was tall enough. Rick and Joanna joined me in the line and about a minute later the two employees approached and asked if we would like a back stage tour of the ride and a trip to the front of the queue. Hmmm, let me think.

The two young ladies took us through the ride and into the dispatch booth. After the tour we were loaded in the ride and told that if we enjoyed it we could go again when we returned. With a top speed of 64 mph I wasn't sure what Joanna would think of it. She wasn't too sure afterward but she said she wanted the second ride.

Her favorite part of Test track wasn't the ride, it was the show room you exit into. She tried out a few vehicles.

I wasn't too sure about letting Joanna drive.

This car is too small.

But this one is just right!

Joanna had to try out the very back of the Hummer.

We wanted to make sure Joanna could find us if she got lost. We gave her lots of instructions and this:

The little tag on her shoe had our names and cell phone numbers. We told her if she got lost she should find an employee and give them her shoe.

The park had several "cooling stations" It was a bit windy the day we went so the mist was blown over Joanna's head. Rick helped her out.

We went on a few smaller rides and then got in line for Soarin' (TM). The line was well over an hour and there were no fast passes available. I was very long before Joanna started goofing off in the line.

Then she went into a position that we had many times on this day and the day before.

After much begging, Daddy gave in.

Soon after Joanna was asleep.



Really asleep.

We woke her up when we got to the front of the line. She was in a much better mood but Rick had a really sore shoulder.

The ride was great! I don't know if it was over an hour wait great but I would certainly recommend it. Joanna wanted to go again. We directed her to other attractions.

In the evening we headed into the World Pavilions. We saw our favorite Epcot band Off Kilter.

We were all tired and hungry. We hoped to get some dinner in the World Pavilions but we found that you can't get any sit down service in Disney World without a reservation. We decided to head home and get dinner outside the park.

Joanna wanted one more trip through Spaceship Earth.

We also had a nice rainbow on the way out.

By the time we had dinner and got back to our room, Joanna was out.

Vacation: Part III

Day 4: The Magic Kingdom! We got up bright and early to make park opening. We also wanted to check out the Disney parking lot for more states on our license plate game. After the gates opened we took the boat over to the park. We started to see the advantage of staying in a room on Disney property. No fooling with the parking lot, just take the monorail or a boat over to the park.

Once we were in we went direct to Fantasyland. We wanted to go for the rides with slow moving lines before the park filled up. Our first choice was the teacups. Joanna liked it at first and wanted to go faster. Then it got a little too fast and she wasn't so sure.

She really wanted to go to Toontown but it opened an hour later than the rest of the park.

Our next choice was the carousel. (Yes, I do know the difference between a Merry-go-round and a carousel.)

I sat a couple horses over because the ones that had stopped in the up position seemed a little daunting for my stubby legs. Of coarse the nice low horse I got onto ended the ride in a full up position.

I had Joanna's camera so Rick and I played dueling cameras.

Joanna just enjoyed the ride.

We went through the whole series of kid rides. Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Snow White.

Joanna liked this guy.

Of course we had to go on Small World. Now you know what time we went.

Joanna spent the whole time pointing out things for us to look at and waving at the dolls.

We also went to see Mickey's PhilharMagic. I highly recommend it and not just for sitting down in an air conditioned room. It was very well done and it was a lot of fun watching Joanna reach out to try and touch the 3D effects.

When we were done with Fantasyland, we went to Toontown. The characters have their "houses" there. We went to visit Minnie's house.

We found Pluto out in the back.

Most of the characters hold court in the Toontown Hall of Fame. The lines for the popular characters can be really long. One was almost 2 hours! Fortunately Joanna wanted to see Minnie and she was in one of the shorter lines.

Daisy was in the same area with Minnie.

After all this Joanna was getting tired and it was hard to keep cool.

We left the park for lunch and went back to the room for a nap. Once she fell asleep Joanna slept until 6:00pm. After that we had soon dinner and went back to the park. It was a whole lot cooler when we returned and if you didn't mind missing the parade, the lines were shorter.

We went to Adventureland. Pirates of the Caribbean had a very short line so we went there. If you rode this ride before the movies came out you will notice a few changes. Joanna wanted her picture taken inn front of the ride.

Then she wanted to take our picture with her camera.



Joanna also enjoyed the Jungle Cruise and the Magic Carpets of Aladdin. Joanna really liked the spitting camel that would occasionally get you. We also went to the Enchanted Tiki Room which is now under new management, Iago from Aladdin and Zazu from The Lion King. We couldn't help but imagine Iago uttering Gilbert Gottfried's signature phrase.

After Adventureland we went off to Tomorrowland. We saw Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor which was very well done. We also rode Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and the TTA. The Tomorrowland Speedway usually has really long lines but as we neared park closing it wasn't bad at all. Joanna really liked "driving" her own car.

We had a few minuted left before the midnight closing time we we headed for Dumbo. Since it is another low churn ride it usually has a really long line but there were not a whole lot of kids left in the park near closing. Even so we did have to wait a little.

Since it was a two seater, Rick decided to stand outside and be the photographer.

We got one last picture in the display elephant.

As the park closed the three of us were pretty tired. We took the monorail to the parking lot and again thought about the benefits of staying on property.