Orlando, FL - Day #2 - Marathon Day

This morning was pretty tough: sleeping in an unfamiliar bed always makes me sore everywhere in the morning. I was still operating on a bad sleep deficit that probably rivals our national deficit in terms of hours. And what REALLY didn't help was the fact that Thing 1 was SO wound up from the trip that he didn't sleep until 11pm the night before, kept Thing 2 up all night as well, and woke up at 7-ish.

But that was fine. Getting up early would tire both kids out and also let us get a good jump start to the day. Apparently, we had a lunch reservation at one of the Disneyworld Parks, the Hollywood Studios to be exact. The funny thing about this, or the not-so-funny thing about this (depending on how you look at it) is that this reservation was apparently made months ago and I had no idea that we even had a reservation, what it was all about, where it was, or anything. In retrospect, I recall talking to Kev about it and he mentioned it off-handedly the day before. However, as I inquired more about this and my confusion quickly became apparent he deftly changed the topic of conversation. Slick, but it didn't go unnoticed, Kev.



This reminds me of National Lampoon's Vacation trying to get to Wally World. At this point, I felt like Chevy Chase running through the parking lot. We had finally made it.



So this is what the lunch reservation was all about:

Having lunch while a group of Disney Characters walked around, signed autographs, took pictures, and danced to music. From the kids' perspective I can see how this was loads of fun. From the parents' perspective it was great, too because you'r children could be loud and unruly and it was okay. Because ALL the children in the restaurant were like that when the Disney characters started dancing and singing and you didn't have to worry about your children bothering anyone else's quiet mealtime. Also, it was an all-you-can-eat buffet with decent food. That was KEY!



For some inexplicable reason Thing 1 took a particular liking to Oso. And if you can imagine this picture with both of them jumping up and down in unison, that's exactly what happened. It was hilarious.



Now for some strange reason, Thing 2 really didn't like any of the characters. Not one. I'm not sure if it's because the costumes make them look 10 times bigger or what. He was quite scared when they came by for photos.



Sorry, Thing 2, but this is going on the internet for all to see. Almost as funny as my niece's picture with Goofy when she was about 3-4 or so. Actually, funnier.

After lunch, we headed out and just outside the door was Star Tours. Unfortunately, Thing 1 was about 1 inch too short and wasn't allowed on to the ride. Sorry, kid. Next time. But that didn't stop Kev. So away he went. And somehow R convinced me to follow him so I found myself in line, too.



But Kev and J were too far ahead of me and I didn't want to cut in line. So whoopee! Here I am, riding a thrill ride....by myself. It was then that I realized that parents have fun at these amusement parks when their kids have fun. I couldn't care less about going on these rides on my own. But when I have my family with me and they're having loads of fun, it doesn't matter what ride I'm on, or how lame or awesome it is, or what we're actually doing. If Thing 1 and I went on the Cinderella ride and he loved it, then I'd be enjoying myself, too.....I'd just be getting in touch with my feminine side. Which is what actually happened. KIDDING! There's no such thing as a Cinderellla ride.



So after Star Tours, I came out of the ride and couldn't find anyone. Not even Kev, who was just ahead of me. R and the kids were no where in sight. It's times like these when I'm thankful that I have the car keys. So I called up R and she told me where she was, which wasn't helpful in the least because R had the map. She could have told me she was at the front entrance and I'd have no clue which way to go. So I did what any typical guy would do: wander aimlessly without stopping and asking for directions.


I wandered the streets of Manhattan for a bit. Just like I did when I was a med student and I was doing rotations in New Jersey and New York City. Believe it or not, there are some similarities between Disney and NYC: it's definitely an international place with people from just about every country speaking many different languages, there's a ton of things to do and see, and you can easily get trampled to death by the mob.


Then I wandered the streets of San Francisco for a bit. Not really sure why, though since I lived there for about 20 years. So things weren't looking so good, especially since I was heading back in to the neighborhood of San Fran. Hell, I had to get out of there fast!

Thank goodness just past the next snack bar I caught up with our baby caravan. R and Thing 1 had lined up to take pictures with Buzz and Woody, leaving everyone else outside. It was a 45 minute wait and so while I tried to amuse Thing 2 outside, Thing 1 and R were slowly making their way towards the promised land.

That's not to say we weren't amused, though. While we were waiting, Thing 2 had fun pushing around the stroller in circles. And I had fun watching the Green Army Man character from Toy Story scare the crap out of Thing 2.


Good work soldier! Keep on scaring those kids; it's a matter of national security.


Meanwhile.....



Thank goodness they had things for kids to see and do during their 45 minute wait to see Buzz and Woody. I'm not sure what his expression was all about...maybe making a face makes you fly higher?








Finally, the promised land!!! What amazed me about this whole thing is that Thing 1 was such a good boy during this whole time. And I could tell that by R: she was smiling and pleasant. See, there's no need to ask, "How did things go with the kids? Did Thing 1 misbehave? Was he difficult?" It's all readable in the Mom. When Mom is happy and laughing, smiling, and pleasant, then you know the kids behaved and were good. When Mom looks disheveled and her eyes are glowing crimson with a dark expression, no need to ask. You know the kids were bad. And the first thing you don't want to ask is, "how were the kids?" But if you are clueless/brave enough to ask, be sure you're out of projectile range or that you can dive for cover behind something close by.



Uhhh.....who is this guy, again?

By this time, it had been about 2 hours after lunch and Thing 1's bladder must have been exploding. First order of business: Thing 1 to do Number 1. So we walked a bit further and found the washrooms. Ironically, we wandered in to the area where there were a bunch of OTHER Disney characters taking pictures, signing autographs, etc., etc. I figured why not just check out the lines, see how long they were, and if they weren't too bad we could line up some more.


More Jake the Pirate. I still have no idea who this is or what he's all about.


Thing 1 had no clue who these guys were or what they were all about but I had him take pictures with them anyway.


First thing he did was hug Pooh. Not even sure why. Maybe it's because he's a big furry animal and the first instinct is to hug him?

After that we headed back towards Star Tours because I had seen earlier they actually have a little skit for people to see and for kids to participate in. I was hoping Thing 1 would be able to take part; lightsaber battles with Darth Vader. Who wouldn't love that? But as we did a 180 and began our walk back, we noticed a crowd starting to line the streets. Apparently, a parade was about to begin. So we jockeyed for a spot in the front row and waited...and waited...and waited in the hot sun and slightly humid air with other hot and sweaty people hovering just over us. And so finally the parade started.

Just when they went to sleep!

So the dilemma was: the kids were obviously tired. Should we wake them up to see this parade that we've all suffered and waited for or should we just let them sleep and catch up on rest and have them miss out on all the Disney characters parading? Who knows when the next opportunity would be to see all the characters all at once so close, again. It's times like these when for some reason I can clearly hear Gah's voice telling me,

"Ah, let 'em sleep later! They'll won't have a chance to see this again for a long time." Okay, wake up! Wake up!

Funny thing happened during this parade. We actually saw a Thing 1 in the parade! Since when did they make a character out of my son?
Can we collect royalties on that? So just in case you can't really see the resemblance...




See? No difference, right? I swear Disney has our family pegged. Check out these other pictures:



Yeah, I can't tell the difference either.

But anyways, seeing the characters from Up was probably the highlight of the event because it was like seeing Thing 1 as himself in the parade. Journey on!

Back at Star Tours, Thing 1 watched as all the stories about Darth Vader not being real faded away. Seeing him live and in person made Vader just as real as the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, or the Tooth Fairy. Which is fine because that's exactly what I believed in when I grew up: Easter Bunny, Santa, Tooth Fairy, and Darth Vader. (Yes, a very disturbed childhood)




By this time, it was late. The sun was setting and it was about 5-ish. At this point we had a choice between calling it a day and going home, or checking out Fantasmic. Again, this was another dilemma: we were all tired and hungry. Should we go home and rest or should be press on and get every penny's worth out of our admission ticket regardless of how excruciating it was? We opted for the latter, which in retrospect was probably a big mistake for reasons I'll explain later. So we bought dinner (park food, or overpriced fast food. Whichever term you prefer) and went to go get seats for Fantasmic.

Now I have no problem getting to shows early for good seating, especially when I'm on vacation. But we were about 1 hour early and we had 2 restless and tired munchkins whom we had to keep amused without scolding them or going crazy. Ethan Hunt, where are you? But we did it, we lasted and so did the kids. They watched and enjoyed the show even though they had no clue what was going on. It was all eye candy for them: lights, and fireworks, and dragons, and canons, etc., etc. And the blaring music that was 10 decibles too high from speakers that were too close to the audience. 2 minutes in to it and my ears were ringing and my head was pounding. Hell, I had no clue what was going on either at that point.



Finally! It was time to go home. Remarkably, we got home around 8-ish and were able to bath and put them to bed by 9pm. I thought that after this day, the kids would be so wiped out and they would go down like a ton of bricks. That was true of Thing 2 because he was unconscious the second we put him in his crib. I have no idea where Thing 1 got his energy but he was wound up again and was fooling around until about 10pm before drifting off to sleep.

Orlando, FL - Day 1

When you have that feeling that you've forgotten something when you leave the house, you probably have. Especially when it's 7am and you're on your way to the airport. The adventures started already when we left the house. The kids were packed, we were packed and we were running late as usual (It probably didn't help that I played hockey the night before- a possible explanation for me moving a little slowly). About 5 minutes in to our drive to the airport, R realized that she had forgotten her glasses.

"Oh well, that's okay. Everything will just be really blurry for a few days, then." Well, what's the point of going to Disney World and Universal Studios if you can't see? So I turned the van around and returned home. We picked up R's glasses and headed out to the airport once, again.....not realizing that I had forgotten my checkbook, as well. Not something you want to leave at home when you're going on a trip.

The 180 minute plane ride was grueling as could be expected with a 4 year-old and a 19 month-old. But we survived (barely) and arrived in sunny Orlando where it was a balmy 80 degrees. NOT the perfect weather for jacket, jeans and long sleeves. But when you're leaving an area where it's 40 degrees, how do you dress?

So already when we disembarked the plane, we were all already uncomfortable, sleepy, tired, and hungry. Now add to that hot and sweaty. Next order of business: collect luggage and get the rental car. Sounds simple enough, right? For those of you who have never driven at Orlando, FL international airport, let me say that it is a little stressful. The signs to return to the terminal are about as confusing as trying to navigate the Los Angeles freeways. The signs read:

"Return to Terminal A, far right. B, far left." So you go right. Then,

"Return to Terminal A, far left. B, far right." What? Crap! So you change 3 lanes over, almost ramming the 2 cars flying up behind you in your blind spot. Then,

"Return to Terminal A, far right. B, far left." Dammit, I was just there! You try to change lanes back, but too late. You're leaving the airport. Then you have to decide if you'd like to leave the airport via the north exit, or the south exit. Uhhh.....what difference does it make?

After 2-3 laps of this I finally got the hang of it and made my way back to the correct terminal where R and the kids were waiting. Kev waited there with R so that she wouldn't be left all alone with the kids. That was super cool. The next 5 minutes or so was spent loading up the car, getting the car seats installed, and....figuring out where I was going.

Which brings me to another point: always know where you're headed from the airport. The Top Gun Maverick "Fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants" thing doesn't work well in these situations. I was planning on following Kev to the hotel since we were all staying at the same hotel. And being that he was driving a minivan and I was driving an SUV, it should be no problem keeping up.

Wrong again. That guy has a lead foot regardless of what vehicle he drives, so needless to say I lost him. More stress. I quickly asked R to help me navigate via her Maps app on the iPhone, but of course we were in a location where the iPhone couldn't get a good signal. So much for fancy shmancy iPhone 3G blah, blah, blah. More stress. At that point I got a little snippy, but unrightfully so. So I kept my mouth shut and just drove.

About 20-30 minutes later we reached our destination, the Sheraton Vistana Resort where I met up with my good buddy from residency, Kris and his family. By that time it was 3-4pm. Too late to do anything interesting with kids, so we just got some take-out and called it a night.