About six weeks ago, we surprised the boys with a trip to Disney World during fall break (along with missing a few days of school). It wasn't quite a "get in the car we are going to Disney World" surprise but we did wait until the night before we left to tell them. Ralph was genuinely thankful and excited. Henry warmed up to the idea by morning.
I can't even begin to describe what this trip was like. . It was a chance to visit a place I have not been to in 15 years. It was a chance to visit a place I used to work at 18 years ago. It was a chance to "remember when" and to see many, many changes. It was a chance to slow down and enjoy family. It was a chance to not have any other distraction but to be with each other. It was a chance to try new things. It . . . . was a whirlwind of everything all rolled into one.
We may have stayed 5 nights but really only had 4 days to get through 4 Disney Parks. That, my friends, is not enough time. They were long days; only one day did we come back to the hotel to rest late afternoon and even that was not long enough.
The plane ride to Florida was noneventful; luckily everything was on schedule and smooth. Ralph found some humor in the Southwest flight attendants.
Our 1st day was spent at Epcot. We saw Daisy Duck when we first arrived and stopped for an autograph and photo. Soarin' was our 1st attraction. Soarin' was a new attraction to me and I really didn't know what to expect nor did I know how to prepare anyone. I knew it couldn't go anywhere so didn't think it would be stressful for anyone. Wow! What a "ride". Imagine being up close to an IMAX theatre screen and "soaring" to places around the world. Luckily the boys survived their first "ride." Other attractions included Journey Into Imagination with Figment, Ellen's Energy Adventure, Spaceship Earth, Test Track, Mission:SPACE, and Living with the Land.
We arrived at Epcot late and didn't have a chance to go back to the hotel to rest . . and were tired from checking into the hotel around midnight the night before. We didn't make it to Illuminations unfortunately but it was early in the trip and important to get caught up a little. There would be other nighttime activities.
Day two was spent at Magic Kingdom (I need to fire my photographer who didn't have the patience to get decent photo in front of the castle). We arrived just after opening and had good luck getting on a few rides before it got to busy. We had a fastpass for the Pirates of the Carribean and the Haunted Mansion. In between those rides we rode the Jungle Cruise and the Magic Carpet. After the Haunted Mansion we sent to Splash Mountain where we had to wait in line. Then over to Fantasyland where we rode Its a Small World followed by the Mad Tea Party.
We ended up getting a "we are sorry" fastpass for some reason at the Mad Tea Party which we used for The Barnstormer a more kid friendly "roller coaster" ride that one of the kiddos did not appreciate. We let them cool off at a water Splash and Soak Station to make up for it followed by the Tomorrowland Speedway and the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor before we watched the parade and headed back to the hotel for a break. When we returned we did Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin twice before finding a spot for Celebrate the Magic and Wishes Fireworks.
The Hollywood Studios was day three. Our 1st stop was to sign up for Jedi Training that begins before the park opens. Luckily Ralph made the cut, after standing in line for 45 minutes or so. After we got signed up we headed for our 1st attraction: Toy Story Mania! followed by (in no particular order) the Great Movie Ride, Star Tours (where Ralph was shown on the screen as being a Rebel Spy - eek!), Muppet Vision, and Disney Junior-Live on Stage, the Tower of Terror, and Indiana Jones: Epic Stunt Spectacular. Toy Story Mania was very similar to Buzz Lightyear's ride at Magic Kingdom with shooting lasers to hit a target. Unfortunately the Indiana Jones show had a glitch in a scene switch and couldn't continue so we didn't get to see the full show. Unfortunately for the boys the Tower of Terror had no glitches and was fully operational ~ we even got a front row seat . . and we all survived.
We got to meet Darth Vader, Chewbacca, and Kylo Ren, along with Pluto.
Ralph and a group of up to 20 other kids took part in Jedi Training each time. They were given costumes to wear and walked as a group to the training area. A leader provided group lessons then Darth Vader appeared and each "student" fought Darth Vader . . .
We got to Fantamsic a bit earlier than necessary. It was nice to have an earlier night show after the previous late night.
The 4th and final day was spent Disney's Animal Kingdom. Even though so much has changed over the last 15-18 years and the kiosk I usually worked at doesn't exist, I can't help but think this is home. This is the park I know (or used to know) the most about. I didn't sign up for fast passes in time to get a morning fast pass for Kilamanjro Safari so when we arrived I had planned to go there first. We arrived before the ropes went down and stood with everyone else. We did see a bird show that opened the park and we were off . . .with plenty of "friends" in tow and around us with the same idea. Luckily we didn't have a long wait and saw plenty of animals on the safari - and luckily we got in when we did as they closed it down for a bit I noticed when we exited the ride.
As Mike and Ralph went to the restroom Henry had a "magical moment" with a performer.
From here we went to "It's Tough to be a Bug" followed by the Festival of the Lion King which was strange in that the "land" the Festival used to be performed in no longest exists and is performed in a new (to me) theatre. At next adventure was at Kali River Rapids which turned into multiple rides until it got busy and we broke for lunch. After lunch we found some friends to visit including Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Goofy and Pluto, and Donald Duck.
While we were in Dinoland the boys spent time in the Boneyard, we all rode the Triceratop Spin and Ralph and I rode the Primeval Whirl. I think Henry would have enjoyed it but he wasn't quite tall enough.
After "checking out" Expedition Everest (by now Ralph has learned if I say "check it out" it most likely means we will be doing whatever it is I say . . . let's just say the younger Wichman's did not care for the ride), we went back to Kali River Rapids and rode it multiple times yet again. Ralph's total for the day is 10 rides on the Rapids. He rode the last two times by himself (and the strangers on the tube).
Unfortunately I didn't capture a picture of the Tree of Life before it got dark. While this might be somewhat "cool" there is a few settings a bit messed up.
Our trip home was not quite as smooth as it could be. Our layover in St. Louis was more than delayed ~ roughtly a 3.5 hour delay. We made it home eventually; just a long day . . other than that little mishap it was a great vacation!
