Boo to You 2012

It was time to come home, although we did sleep in quite a bit.  Everyone was very well-rested.  We packed everything up, and got in the car - but made one last stop:  the resort's gift shop.  We got a souvenir pin, a few pressed pennies (that Madison loves), and even a book on how to make a lot of the classic Disney characters.  Madison enjoyed drawing Mickey yesterday so much that we'll keep her drawing when we got home.  Daddy will have fun with that too.  Also, Mommy got Daddy a great book about the names on all the windows on Main Street.  Can't wait to read that one!

So we left a little later, and the drive home was uneventful.  Madison was awake the whole journey, watching movies for the most part.  Not surprisingly, she watched all three "Little Mermaid" movies, having gone on the ride and stayed in a hotel with that theme.  She also watched "Nightmare Before Christmas" once again, and really enjoys that one.  She likes Sally - last night just before the fireworks, she got very excited when she saw a girl in a Sally costume.

We stopped at a few rest areas on the way home, and got caught in a bunch of traffic in Atlanta, but the ride home was pretty quiet.  We got home early in the evening, and were ready to get to bed.  It was a sweet moment when we put Madison to bed, a beautiful smile on her face - what a wonderful vacation!

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2012

Boo To You 2012

We slept in quite late this morning, which was just fine by all three of us.  We didn't have anywhere we needed to be until 4:00, so this was a perfect opportunity to check out the resort, which we did.  After getting up and getting ready, the first plan of action was to go get some food, which we good.  We got waffles and fruit, and had a nice breakfast at the Landscape of Flavors dining area.  

We walked around the area after that, checking out the statues in the Lion King area, looking at the ginormous Crush in the Finding Nemo section, and of course seeing all the items Ariel collected in our own Little Mermaid area.  Madison ran through the Elephant Boneyard, just like we warned her not to. Fortunately, she got away from the hyenas. 

We decided to take advantage of the Big Blue Pool, a very large pool and a wet play area as well.  Madison loved running around the reef, and running by the large colorful jellyfish.  

Unfortunately, they squirt water out too, and soon Madison and Daddy were pretty wet!  No matter:  we got into that pool and swam all around, and even under the water, where you can hear musical tunes themed to the area.  Seriously, you can hear music under the water.

We hopped out of the pool, and Madison was in the mood for ping pong.  So we played that for a while - until we heard the announcement for Bingo!  Oh boy, that's one thing we don't miss, apparently.  Mommy, Daddy and Madison got the bingo cards ready, each one covered with characters from different Disney movies.  There were only three rounds played this time, because each was so long - but guess what?  Yes, you guessed it:  we won again!  Mommy had the winning card this time, although we gave it to Madison so she could run up and claim a prize.  Her choice:  a beach ball!

Right after that, we had time to head indoors, where an animator was waiting for us.  This was a scheduled little class, where anyone could come and learn step-by-step how to draw a Disney character.  Of course, today's drawing was Mickey!  Mommy, Madison and Daddy sat there with our paper, pencils and easels, following each step of the way.  I say things came out pretty well for everyone.  Madison was so focused on this, following each step very carefully.  She did very good, and the teacher was complimentary of our efforts - even noting that Mommy and Daddy looked like they've had quite a bit of experience doing this.  Not quite - although that was always one of Daddy's little dreams:  to be an animator.

We saw the clock and realized after our art class that we had to get back and get ready for the main event:  Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.  Everyone met there - all eleven of us!

What a big group!  Madison had a lot of family here today, but she was standing next to her favorite from the get-go:  she and Hannah rode a lot of rides together throughout the day.  Actually, we all rode rides together:  our first stop was the Jungle Cruise, where we took up an entire side of the boat.  When we rode "It's a Small World," we took up an entire boat - just like we did when we went aboard for The Pirates of the Caribbean.  This was the perfect night for Madison:  she ran around with a big smile on her face, even when we had to give her a time-out!

She insisted on putting her head through the stocks at Liberty Square, which I suppose is somewhat of a tradition for us.  As you can see below, David and Jonathan couldn't resist either:

You can see everyone is dressed up for the night - it's a Halloween party, so there were a lot of people in costumes tonight.  Aunt Shain, Nana, Ye-Ye, David, and Jonathan all wore steampunk outfits, which were pretty cool.  Hannah was Alice, and Madison was Jasmine.  Mommy and Daddy were pirates - those are easy costumes to put together and move about the park in.

We did a lot of rides:  of course, we went back to the Haunted Mansion.  While the older ones went on Thunder Mountain, the rest of us visited with the Country Bears.  They've shortened the overall show, but it's still fun to see.  Afterwards, we hopped on our boats and went on Daddy's favorite ride, Peter Pan.  The lines were fifteen minutes max all night, which meant we got to do a lot more than expected, including Winnie the Pooh.  And this night, Dumbo was a short line too!  Yes, we all hopped on the elephants again and went for a whirl.  It was a really fun night.

But I haven't mentioned the candy yet, have I?  Trick-or-treat stations were everywhere, and all of us had bags for Madison to hoist up in the air.  She and everyone yelled out, "trick or treat!"  And the candy rained down on us.  We took pictures of the booty afterwards, and the candy could last us a really long time.  We're talking a few pounds!  We're sitting on lots and lots of candy!

We could have kept riding rides, but it was time to get in good position for the best fireworks show Disney does, which is pretty much the best fireworks show any of us have ever seen.  Readers of this blog know we've seen a lot of fireworks displays, but this one is not to miss - it's called Hallowishes, and it is absolutely "spooktacular!"

It was completely epic.  We had a perfect spot, which I am now officially keeping secret!  God's grace was on us the whole night, and we found a place where we didn't have to worry about large crowds pushing against us.  In fact, Madison was even able to stay in the stroller to watch.  It was fantastic - absolutely perfect.  

Afterwards, we had to go and find a spot for the parade, which again is the best Disney does.  We've seen a lot of parades, but the Boo-To-You is certainly the highlight of the evening.  Again, Daddy was concerned about finding a spot, but we started walking the parade route towards Frontierland and found a spot right there at Liberty Square, right in front of the Sleepy Hollow buildings, and right underneath the castle.  This was very cool, because there weren't as many people there - all eleven of us were able to sit and watch the most amazing parade Disney has to offer.  First, and very cool because of the Sleepy Hollow location, we saw the Headless Horseman go by.  Seriously, none of us could see how this guy can see anything as he rides - yes, this is probably because he has no head.  But we've heard that the horse has the route memorized and the driver doesn't actually see anything along the way.  Very cool.  

Next came the parade itself.  Everyone was thrilled when the music started, the theme song of the parade is one that gets stuck in your head - and never leaves.  Even when you wake up the next morning.  Here are a few snaps from the parade, starting with the 100 Acre Woods characters, all dressed up to get some candy.

The highlight for grown-ups might be the haunted mansion gravediggers, a team of spooky guys with shovels that swing about wildly and make dramatic sparks as they spiral, twirl and clang their shovels.  The white ghost dancers are pretty cool too - and of course there's Jack Sparrow and Hector Barbossa.  The pirates were great - at one point or another some character or another would interact with Madison, Hannah, and even with one of the pirates, Mommy!  The ghosts got close to Nana and Ye-Ye and yelled out "Boo!"  Everyone had a good time, even when the villains arrived.

This was their night after all.  Daddy snapped this picture as the Evil Queen passed by.  As you can see, we were right there at the castle, and it made for a fantastic backdrop.  All the villains were having a good time - even the hyenas from the Lion King were walking along, getting high-fives from Madison and Hannah.  It was a lot of fun, all the way to the very end, where Goofy was ready with even more candy!

The kids (and adults!) had their bags ready, where lots of Goofy's friends were ready to pass out even more candy.  Tonight, we received an amazing amount of candy!

The park was still open a few more hours, but Madison was pretty ready to go by that point.  So were Ba-Ba and Nana, who had to drive back home an hour north of there.  So we parted ways with the rest of the family, concluding a marvelous day.  The others went back to Tomorrowland, while we made our way down Main Street, exiting as that Boo-To-You song played, making sure that everyone would have it stuck in their heads for at least another week.

We rode the ferry across the Seven Seas Lagoon - a beautiful night.  It was quiet on the boat, as I'm guessing everyone there was worn out.  Madison was already asleep.  Daddy carried her on the tram, and we made our way back to ZURG, where had parked once more.  Then, it was time to part ways with Ba-Ba and Nana, as we ourselves went back to the hotel, quite tired.  But we were also quite happy:  it was an incredible day, filled with fun and family.  Unforgettable!

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2012

Art of Animation Resort

Today we spent relaxing in the morning.  We basically did absolutely nothing for much of the day, hanging out at Nana and Ba-Ba's house, eating, sleeping in and fooling around with Madison.  We visited with some neighbors, watched television and slowly got ready for a trip back to Orlando.  Even this was a surprise for Madison - we didn't tell her where we were going for the hotel, but when we got there, Madison was quite impressed!

It was the Art of Animation Resort, which just opened.  In fact, the Little Mermaid themed area we were staying at has only been open for a month!  You can see the large figures of Ursula and King Triton there, evidently fighting over the use of the pool in between.  

The rooms have a Little Mermaid theme, as shown in the picture above.  The bathroom shower curtain has the Little Mermaid on it, and the walls of the shower are her treasure trove.  Look at this stuff, isn't it neat?  You can even find a couple Hidden Mickeys in there if you look close enough - we did!

The rooms are nice.  It's a value resort, so it is certainly a step down from the other places we've stayed at recently.  But it's a big step up from most hotels we've ever been at.  In fact, the next day, we spent the morning and afternoon taking advantage of some amenities, having a great time.  Madison likes this one and wants to stay here again some day.  We just might do that:  of all the value resorts, this one seems to be the best.  Although the All Star Movies Resort was a fun one - with a Herbie-themed area too!

Anyway, soon it was time for another surprise:  we got in the car, and made our way over to the Disney Village.  Or Marketplace.  Or whatever they're calling it these days!  It was there that we met Nana and Ye-Ye!  And also Aunt Shain!  And David and Jonathan!  And Hannah!

Madison was thrilled!  She had no idea any of them would be there, so this was a huge surprise for her. How nice to meet down in Florida like that.  Together, we walked all the way across the area to the T-Rex Cafe, where we agreed to have dinner earlier.  Daddy flashed a card, and despite an hour-long wait time, we got right in with some preferential treatment.  I can't recommend that card enough!

Nana and Ye-Ye at T-Rex Cafe.

We all had a marvelous meal - it was a birthday meal for Daddy.  We had all kinds of good food as dinosaurs roared, and a large Ed Wood-like octopus lurked over the bar nearby.  We had a great time, and even after that too.  We walked around the Disney stores, shopping and looking around.  But no visit to the Marketplace is complete without a stop at Ghirardelli's!  The miracle of this stop was that we actually found enough chairs to all sit at tables, eating our ice creams.  It was wonderful.

But it was also late.  We have a big day tomorrow - so we made our way back to the West Side, got to our cars, and headed back to our beds.  In our case, that was the Art of Animation Resort.  The others stayed at Ft. Wilderness, which sounded ideal for the weekend.  Everyone slept well - it was another big day!

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2012

ZURG 104
So we woke up this morning with no plan to go to the Magic Kingdom.  None whatsoever.  But the more we thought about it, the more we thought... why not!?  And the funny thing is that Madison still had no idea!  We took a different route down the road, and approached the sign - that's when we told Madison to take a look.  What did the sign say, Madison?  Here's her reaction:

Yep, we're going to the Magic Kingdom!  This trip, we did something we haven't done in ages.  In fact, it's been so long that I don't actually ever remember it:  we used their parking lot.  The running joke in any parking lot when you want to remember where you park is this:  "Okay, everyone remember we parked in Goofy!"  Well, today we did not park in Goofy.  In fact, there is now a villains section and a heroes section of the lots, and we found ourselves in Zurg.  That's right, Zurg has his own lot.  We were in Zurg 104, which sounds an awful lot like a radio station for some progressive music.

Anyway, soon it was time to go to the park.  But just like in the old days, you had to ride the tram!  Yes, this is technically the first ride at Disney for many.  I remember these things from my youth, which was again pretty much the last time I rode one.  We climbed aboard and went to the transportation center and gave Madison the important choice:  Monorail or Boat.  Madison chose the boat, and soon we were off across Seven Seas Lagoon once again.

We entered the Magic Kingdom for the squillionth time - seriously, we've all lost count.  It was decorated so nicely with carved pumpkins, scarecrows and other fall decorations.  We walked down Main Street, just like always, and went straight for the big moment:  our meeting with Merida!

This was the big one here.  Madison colored a sheet of paper while she waited, and when she got to Merida, she gave it to her as a gift.  She got an autograph, and as you can see above, she posed very nicely for a photograph together.  This would be the only character we met on this trip to Disney, but it was a good one:  Madison could have gone home happy at that point.  But obviously, we didn't!  So much more to do!

In fact, Madison actually went on the Teacups before meeting Merida - what happened was this:  we had different people waiting in line for Madison (Daddy at one point, Mommy and Ba-Ba at another), so she could enjoy the rides as we held a spot in line.  It was about a forty minute line, and that was pretty much the theme of the day.  Very crowded!  In fact, get this:  we went to see the new Dumbo, which is essentially two Dumbos with twice as many elephants.  The wait was seventy-minutes!  We decided to use the fast pass, which told us to come back in two hours or more.  Unbelievable!

We decided we'd go over to Fantasyland and kill our time there for a while, and that was a good choice:  it was there that we saw the new Little Mermaid ride already open!  It's supposed to have a grand opening in December, but apparently it was a soft opening today.  SO, we waited in another epic line there, and had a unique opportunity to ride a brand new ride at the park.  Madison loved it.  It's a theme of the weekend, the Little Mermaid.  She'll see more of Ariel tomorrow, in fact.

Afterwards, we saw Daddy's favorite 3D movie, Mickey's PhilharMagic.  We had a Fast Pass for that, so there wasn't really a line.  Plus, it was inside, which was a big deal.  The temperature in the sun was very, very hot.  Madison loved the movie - she jumped at the popping corks during "Be Our Guest," and really got into the 3D elements.

After that, "It's a Small World."  One funny moment is at the end when the boat is put on the conveyor belt.  It sort of has a roller coaster feel to it, and Madison threw her hands up in the air, making a noise:  "Whoooo!"  It was really funny to watch - where'd she learn that from?

Yet even that ride had an immense line.  Again, most of it is in the shade, so that was a bonus.  Still, we were downgrading our expectations for the day a bit.  It didn't matter, we were all having fun - a nice, relaxing day.  Madison sat with Nana and Mommy for many of these rides, which was great to see.  We had dinner at the Pinocchio Village Haus, and rode on the carousel afterwards.  We even got to have our traditional Mickey-shaped ice cream.  You've got to have one of those when at Disney!

Finally, it was time for Dumbo.  We made our way back to this elephant that everyone seems obsessed with riding.  It's one of those can't-miss rides at the Magic Kingdom, apparently.  Madison rode with Ba-Ba and Nana, which was good.  We decided to wait on the roller coaster ride until next time:  Goofy's Barnstormer looked like fun, but the line was just too darn long.

One new experience for Madison was this one:

But as you can see, Nana and Mommy were having a hilarious time with it.  Mommy couldn't steer quite right - evidently, the car's steering wheel was overdoing it a bit, so the end result was a back-and-forth sort of ride around the track.  Madison was doing the same thing, meanwhile, and everyone really enjoyed the ride.  When asked later, this was one of Madison's favorite rides:  Daddy hit the gas and brake, while Madison steered us around the track.

The next ride was another first for Madison:  The Haunted Mansion.  They have a new area in the line where people can interact with different themed objects, and everyone had a good time there.  But soon it was time for the ride.  Daddy and Mommy were slightly apprehensive, but our fears were unfounded.  Madison had such a good time on this ride.  She screamed a funny scream when the Ghost Host tells everyone, "Of course, there's always my way."  If you've been on the ride, you know what I'm talking about.  Anyway, she hopped in the Doombuggy with Mommy and Nana, and everyone had a great time.

One final ride:  Pirates of the Caribbean.  They've added a hint of mermaid to it, by the way.  That's new.  Anyway, Madison enjoyed this ride as always, making a big deal about Blackbeard, Captain Barbossa and Jack Sparrow.  She laughed when the cannon fire hits the water, splashing nearby.  She called out, "You missed us!"  She was having a great time!

It was time to go after that - everyone was tired and ready to drive home.  We got on the Monorail, and then found our tram back to Zurg.  And then it was time for the ride back to Summerfield.  What a fun day it was - but the vacation was only just starting!