Overheard at Disney

We’re walking to the bus stop from the Wilderness Lodge, passing families going in the opposite direction, their morning park adventure already done. It’s 94 degrees in the shade and we’re already sweating. A family is coming up behind us, three kids, a mom and a dad, trying to make a bus that just pulled up. The father’s wearing a black t-shirt. Beads of perspiration are accumulating across his forehead and he wipes them away with his hand.

The mom looks at him over her shoulder without missing a step and says, “Why are you wearing your black shirt?”

The father answers, “Because I’m not that smart.”

Spoken like a true Dad-dito.

Disney in August

With M-ito 8 years old these are  some of the things we did right this time:

• We went for 6-nights and 7 days which was just enough time, not too much and not too little (though we’d rather have stayed on vacation another week). We left on a Tuesday, early so we could go to a park in the afternoon and evening. We left in the evening on Labor Day so we had the whole day to play before we loaded up and got to the airport. Mom-ita planned everything out and it was just about perfect.
• We slept in almost every day and didn’t get to the parks until 11 or 12 each day which was just fine with all of us. I got up and did my yoga practice as the sun rose, before Mom-ita and M-ito got up. We hit two parks almost every day but one in the afternoon and one in the evening. It didn’t feel rushed that way.
• We spent a lot of time in EPCOT exploring the countries, the attractions, and the fireworks. There’s still plenty more to explore on future trips. I am amazed at how much there is to explore there.
• We used fast passes only once but that was because it wasn’t too crowded and the most we waited for anything was maybe fifteen minutes. Mostly we walked on rides without a wait or a five-minute wait.
• We came the last week of August when kids in Florida are back in school. The parks were pretty empty (as empty as I’ve ever seen them) which meant there were minimal lines.
• We spent a lot of time at the hotel pool almost every day.
• We went to Wilderness lodge – a good choice even if the food choices are not the greatest (Animal Kingdom lodge had the best food as far as we’re concerned). It’s beautiful and the rooms were good size – the staff very nice and helpful.
• We found a ride we liked and went on it again and again. This trip it was Buzz Lightyear’s ride. M-ito loved it and going on the ride (with no line) meant we could actually get better and better at ray-gunning invading aliens so that by the time we finished with it all of us felt like we had some proficiency and M-ito’s confidence on rides in general was boosted.
• Half of our trip was with a friend of M-ito’s and his mom. M-ito and K-ito played well together and were good company for each other. We all got along and had a good time together. The second half of the trip we were on our own and had some good alone family time. It was a nice balance.

Some things that didn’t work out:

• As great as it was to have empty parks and few lines for most of the time we were there it is HOT HOT HOT in August. So we sweat alot and we found ourselves doing the it’s-ninety-plus-and-we’re-sweating-shuffle. It’s a slow walk from shade spot to shade spot, cooling station to cooling station. M-ito had a little trouble with the heat on our second to last day, needing to sit down, drink, and cool off. Mom-ita bought him a canvas hat. I soaked it in a vendors ice water and put it on his head. Then I had him put his hands up to his wrists into the water. Along with drinking lots of water these things brought him back to himself.
• The middle restaurant at the Wilderness Lodge was okay but not something we looked forward to eating at so that left us with the fast food area (crowded and an okay selection but again not something I looked forward to every day). Note, we did find the expensive restaurant to be excellent and had our last evening meal there – well worth it but not feasible for every day because of the price.
• Bus to Animal Kingdom took an hour each time – way too long.
• We never made it to Disney Studios – M-ito just didn’t feel like it so we skipped it this time.
• We never made it to Harry Potter at Universal – different park experience, and needs its own trip to do. Also we heard it was packed and the lines were too too long.

Some things we did that were either new or just fun:

• We took small two person motor boats out onto the lake for an hour. Very cool.
• We could take ferries to Magic Kingdom and back. Very cool.
• Pin trading again was a blast.
• We did two Kim Possibles (Japan and Mexico – both were excellent and lots of fun) at EPCOT.
• M-ito went on his first official roller coaster – Goofy’s Barnstorming – which looked very slow but once you got on was really a good ride and a good one for him to go on first. We went on once and that was all but M-ito said he really liked it. This was the same roller coaster we tried to get on in April and left after one look at the coaster roaring by. Good confidence builder for M-ito. Plus I had fun.
• We spent an hour in Dino Land at Animal Kingdom in the Boneyard playground playing hide and seek then digging for fossils. Some things never get old.
• We went on the Animal Safari at Animal Kingdom 2x and it was just as good as all the other times we’ve been on it over the years even if the “poacher” chatter is getting a little old.
• Pangani Jungle Walk was a great experience and the gorillas were awesome. This trip M-ito seemed to want to see all the animals in Animal Kingdom – which was great, if tiring for Mom-ita nd Dad-dito.
• Buzz Light Year at Magic Kingdom was a great surprise. A large shooting video game with a real skill factor that we all enjoyed about eight times (I think).
• We also went on Soaring at EPCOT which was great. M-ito loved it and it was also a great confidence builder as it dealt with heights (even if imaginary), movement, and the feeling of flying.
• We went on an hour guided tour with a naturalist/botanist behind the scenes at The Land in EPCOT that was really great. They showed us their hydroponics gardens and fishery. Great for ideas about future science projects even if it was hot in the hot-house.

School tomorrow. First day of Third Grade. So it goes. We’re all breathing big sighs and preparing ourselves for the fall. We’re going to pick up Spike today also! Dog in the house again!

Disney in the Rain

My favorite moment at Disney had nothing to do with the parks or the world of Disney. My favorite moment occurred the morning it rained and we couldn’t do anything but hang out in the room The day before the rain had started and driven us out of the Magic Kingdom and back to our room. It rained all night. It poured all morning. At ten o’clock the three of us were in one of the beds, Momita and M-ito reading their books and me drawing my pictures on a small sketch pad. Our legs were under the covers. We had nowhere to go and nothing to do but just hang out and read and just be with each other. That afternoon the rain finally stopped and we got dressed, travelled to the Animal Kingdom where we had a great time at the African Safari ride and playing hide and seek in Dinoland. But the three hours we had that morning eating breakfast and lying in bed together made it all come together for me. It just made things perfect.

Disney World Pin-Possible

We went to Disney World for spring break. It was M-ito’s second time there. He’d been there before just after his grandmother died when he was almost 5. Things haven’t changed much, though there are some new attractions. You still can’t tell what’s real and what’s fake. Is that a real rock or some kind of plaster one? Is that wood or molded plaster? Is that a creature or an animatronics animal? It’s like Alice falling down into the rabbit hole sometimes. Other times it is wonderful and beautiful. Most of the flowers are real and they take your breath away.

The first three days were hard because Mom-ita and me , well, we both (me more I have to admit) thought M-ito would want to go on the rides. And M-ito is not a rides kind of kid. He’s gentler and not into roller coasters. He wants to be that kind of kid but knows he’s not. He kept saying no to rides and Mom-ita and me kept getting more and more frustrated about suggesting rides to go on. Finally we got on line for Goofy’s Barnstorming Rollar Coaster – a mild one that’s good for starting kinds off on these kinds of rides so the guide-book says, and as soon as we got on line the coaster roared by. M-ito looked at me and said, “No. I’m not going on.” I said, “That sounds fine to me.” Then we sat down just past where the line started and I told him how proud I was of him for knowing what he could do and what he couldn’t do. I told him this was a great quality to have and that I loved him for it. And for once I do’nt think I talked too much because he didnt tell me to stop talking. He seemed relieved.

It took me until that moment to realize what I should have known from all the clues and hints I’ve had for the last seven years about my son but for some reason have ignored in my haste to see that he rode the rides at Disney because… that’s what you do when you’re there. Well, not my son.

Here are four things my son really enjoyed while he was at Disney and if your kid is like him they might like these kinds of attractions too:

1. Trading pins. Disney has pin stations everywhere. I bought a lanyard for M-ito to wear around his neck and a starter set of pins then M-ito traded with Disney workers who had lanyard or belt holders, or holding a big board with pins (these were the real gold mines because of the large number of pins they had). He had to go up to them and ask to trade then traded for a pin he liked. My son asked Disney workers all over EPCOT and Animal Kingdom – for a shy child not an easy thing to do, but he did it easily a dozen times. It took me a while to figure out that I should buy really cheap pins (the green label ones) that he didn’t like so that he could trade up for more expensive pins or pins that he did like. I bought a good $100 worth of pins before I figured this out. I’m slow when it comes to these things. M-ito loved doing this – asking people to trade, searching for just the right pin to trade for, and displaying them around his neck like trophies. And we did this on a off for two whole days. While we shopped he was on the lookout for Disney workers with lanyard around their necks. He was never bored.
2. Kim Possible in EPCOT. We spent two days at EPCOT and did one mystery/adventure each day. They took about an hour to do and are like being a secret agent on a mission for Kim Possible. We completely explored France and Norway doing each mission and had pictures taken of us from hidden cameras, searched for clues behind pictures, ran back and forth from one side of the country to the other, and laughed while we puzzled out where the right doorway was hidden. M-ito loved this “attraction.” And I had a lot of fun doing it with him.
3. Pirates of the Caribbean Become a Pirate – not the ride, that was too scary. I’m talking about the full costume and make-up turn your kid into a pirate deal. It also took an hour (and cost ugh you don’t want to know), but M-ito enjoyed every minute of it. And we ended up with a great costume for Halloween and a great picture of our son in full pirate costume.
4. Lego land at Downtown Disney. We spent at least an hour on line (go early not late as I think the lines are smaller) but an hour before that playing with Legos at all the different stations. And you could buy your own brick packages (you pick your own bricks and put them in a small container making your own set – sooo cool I made up one myself). M-ito loves Lego. Just beware of being there too late as folks are out drinking later on and wandering around from pleasure island.

Other suggestions. Take at least one day to not go to any park and hang out at the pool at your hotel. Kids love pools. And if the sun is out and it’s not too cold… you will too. M-ito wanted to learn how to play poker so I taught him how to play. We made great use of a single deck of cards the whole trip (I brought them everywhere) and it was really fun. Who would have thought?