"Come with us!" they cried, but I just said, "I can't."
Turns out, yes, I could. And did. And loved every minute of it!
Scott, Mary and the kids arrived a day before us, and my friend Lori joined us for most of the trip. Because their hotel was sold out, we booked one night at the Disney Yacht Club. Turns out, Disney gave us a room on the private 5th floor, with access to a 24-hour hospitality room (go there just in time for happy hour!) and a killer balcony. It was awesome!
The Magic Kingdom (i.e., Florida's version of Disneyland) park was open late that night, until 1 a.m. We were still on California time, so that wasn't late at all for us. We arrived just as all the other exhausted families were carrying their sleeping children out. By 10 o'clock, the place was empty, and we literally walked right on to all the rides. We rode more rides in five hours than we could've ridden all day, had we been there. The only casualty was poor Lori, who is an early-to-bed kinda gal, and was in her own time zone. (But she's a trooper!)
We slept in until 10:30 the next day, and almost missed our check out time. But after a quick rally, and an even quicker breakfast, we headed off to Universal Studios and more importantly (to the kids), Harry Potter World.
Even though I'm a Disney girl, I'll admit it--Harry Potter World was amazing. Also amazing--the butterbeer.
Mark tried to ditch us at one point, to head off to Hogwarts. Luckily, the train never left the station.
Nathalie, a huge Harry Potter fan, was in heaven. She just stared lovingly at everything as we wound our way through the castle and finally, onto the ride.
"I don't even want to go on it," she sighed. "I just want to stay in the castle."
The kids roamed the snowy town, which was kinda weird, since it was about 80 degrees and humid. We rode the crazy Hogwarts simulator ride (where a giant spider spit on me--just...NO). We watched dancing wizards, a wand show, and rode some roller coasters (OK, not me!). I waited in a crazy crowded wand shop while Mark tested every model, finally picking the perfect wand 45 minutes later (or did the wand pick him?). He immediately gave the wand to Aunt Mary, who took it home to San Diego.
"I don't even want to go on it," she sighed. "I just want to stay in the castle."
The kids roamed the snowy town, which was kinda weird, since it was about 80 degrees and humid. We rode the crazy Hogwarts simulator ride (where a giant spider spit on me--just...NO). We watched dancing wizards, a wand show, and rode some roller coasters (OK, not me!). I waited in a crazy crowded wand shop while Mark tested every model, finally picking the perfect wand 45 minutes later (or did the wand pick him?). He immediately gave the wand to Aunt Mary, who took it home to San Diego.
Friday was my favorite dinner, because we ate at Margaritaville. Lori and I ordered drinks that arrived in glasses shaped like blenders. Mary and Lori discussed menu options, including Cuban sandwiches, which they discussed at great length. Finally, Grant, a little exasperated, asked, "Why does everyone want to eat Cuban people so bad?" That cracked us all up.
We spent Saturday morning at the Wild Kingdom park, where we got super close to some giraffes, and saw the King of the Jungle himself, Simba. Lori, Mari and the kids rode the Expedition to Everest ride a couple times, while Scott took pictures, and Grant and I ate ice cream. Turns out Grant and I like the same kind of rides--fast is awesome, bumpy is okay, big drops are a big NO. We weren't afraid to say no to rides, and were content to wait for the family and enjoy ice cream in the meantime.
I did convince Grant to go on one ride he hated--Dinosaur. It's like the Indiana Jones ride, but with dinosaurs instead of Indy. I thought it would be okay because it was just an off-road jeep ride, no drops--but I underestimated the scariness of the dinos. Grant HATED it.
Sunday we rode the boat to Epcot Center, which was filled with monsters.
It was also home to our favorite ride, Test Track. You design test cars, then race through a course to see who's design was best. Lori and I sank in the green, safe and handling departments--we designed a car that sacrificed all that for POWER. And when it came to racing 65 miles an hour on the open track outside, we killed the competition!
After a day full of Epcot, we rested up a bit, then hit the Magic Kingdom--it was open until 1 a.m. again. We spent another late night there, making sure we hadn't missed any rides. Grant informed me he was going on whichever rides I went on, and I smiled.
"Yeah, stay with me," I told him. "I won't let you down!"
"Well, you kinda did on the dinosaur ride," he answered. He was totally right! (Poor guy!)
By Monday, we were all pretty exhausted--it's hard work being tossed all around for 12 hours a day (and probably walking at least 10 miles daily). Lori had to leave us, and we were all sad.
We spent Monday at the other Universal Studios, which was mostly big auditoriums filled with 3-D shows or simulator rides. It was just okay, in my book. I was more excited to return to the hotel for some swimming and relaxation.
I met up with an old favorite, too, in the San Francisco replica at Universal Studios. This was a sham, though--they didn't really sell Irish Coffees here. Boo!
We passed a huge outlet mall on the way back to the hotel, which my niece Gabi (aka Diva) pointed out.
"I want to go there," she said, longingly.
"Why?" I asked. "There aren't any rides--it's just a bunch of stores, and shopping!"
"That's what I like!" Diva said, and we all cracked up, because it's true.
(Diva also enjoyed having her own room at the hotel--she ate every meal in bed, just because she could. And those meals included Froot Loops, donuts, pizza and cheese puffs, just to name a few things--when the dietician's kids go on vacation, they eat all the junk food they want!)
On Tuesday, Mark and I were headed home. But we managed to sneak in a little time at the Disney Studios park first.
The kids met up with a movie star.
We really had a blast. I was reminded of what a daredevil Mark is, since he went on every big roller coaster there was, and loved it. And I'm not just talking one or two rides--he rode them all multiple times! He's insane!
But as much as he loved the coasters, he loved the family time even more. Because everyone had different interests and thrill-seeking levels, we often broke up into smaller groups. Without fail, every time I asked Mark what he wanted to do, he answered with, "What are the cousins doing?" He didn't care what we did or saw, as long as he was with his cousins.
Which I loved, because that was actually the whole point of our vacation. We live 20 minutes from the original Disneyland--we didn't fly 3,000 miles across country to experience something we'd never see again. The point was to spend time with our family, to have a great time with them all, and to share some fun vacation memories. Mark got that, and I love it.
So, until the next great adventure...keep on doing those seatbelt checks and getting all shook up (and tossed around)!
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