Blog 3 Disneyworld

Arriving at Walt Disney World was exciting for all of us. Primarily because this was the main focus of the trip. To get Seth to WDW! We, as a family, have been several times. But Seth had not had the pleasure, and being a Disney family, we had to introduce him to the Wonders of Uncle Walt. As Normie says, “if you want to be a member of this family, you must be Disneyfied.” The only member of the family who has not been is Cooper, and she is already setting her sites on changing that! “Oh, it WILL happen”!

Our first “hotel” was Disneyworld’s Fort Wilderness RV Park. This is no ordinary campground, folks. This place is pure Disney. We had access to all of the parks through the web of transportation available to us. Buses, boats, shuttles, etc. Seth and Lyss had been given a tent for Christmas, so they opted to use it in our campsite. Hmm, newlyweds wanting to have a tent outside in the heat? Why?
As we got to the check-in booth at Fort Wilderness, there was an RV apparently “stuck”. People standing around, looking, but no activity. Anyway, turns out that two young ladies from New Zealand had purchased an RV in California and were roadtripping around the U.S. for 8 months. They were 3 months into their adventure when now they had somehow backed their RV into the gatepost and impaled the back side corner on the protruding gatepost. Suffice it to say, that going forward or backward would rip a huge hole in their rig. They were at their wits end, and on the phone to a tow service for assistance when we arrived. After a few minutes of contemplation, and assurances from me that this was not a deal-breaker to their road trip, and the assistance of a 12 thousand pound bottle jack conveniently stored for just such an occasion, we literally “jacked” the rig off the impalement, started the engine and floored it! Totally exciting when it “popped” free!! Cheers and celebration abounded! A couple of days later we came home to a bottle of wine and a “thank you” for our help. Serendipity.

Somehow helping others seems to only improve the quality of our own lives. Funny how that works. Plus, from someone else’s point of view, “That rv is blocking our access to the Disneyworld Magic! Get out there and move it!”

So, after finally setting up in our spot, we found out that there was a Triathlon scheduled for the Sunday morning in two days. We went to bed late the night before. Well, apparently setting up for a triathlon takes a team of hundreds, riding four-wheelers, and starting their setup at 3:00 am. Needless to say, from 3-7 there was much activity on the road behind our rig. Then at 7, all you could hear was, “passing on your left”! Good night’s sleep? Not in the tent!!!! It’s amazing though, how if you mention any disappointment to a Disney Manager, they will go out of their way to turn that frown into a smile. We were immediately offered a refund for the lost night of sleep amongst the mosquitoes, biting flies and lovebugs, did I mention the bugs? OMG!! (not Disney’s fault, though). They then followed it up with free passes to the waterpark for the day and a one year discount pass to “Tables of Wonderland” discount dining program. And you all wonder why we love Disney!!!

We used the passes on Mother’s Day to go to Blizzard Beach waterpark. Great waterpark with a lazy river that always gets Normie excited, since she doesn’t do the thrill rides of sliding, dropping, drenching and almost drowning. WUSSIE!! Actually, we did convince her that the family raft ride was fun, so she agreed to go, having done it once before on a previous trip. Not a good memory for Lyss, who on the previous trip, felt like she was going to die when the raft went vertical on a side wall and she was looking down at a raft and her family and her doom! We told her later that all she had to do was hold the handles and she would have been fine. To which she screamed, “THERE WERE HANDLES????!!!!”

With that experience in mind, Normie made sure she had a grip on the handles. However, having chosen the position she did, she ended up taking most of the ride in reverse, not seeing what was coming and duplicating the vert-wall of days gone by! Hilarious, fun and exhilarating. . . . for the rest of us!!! Happy Mother’s Day, Normie. Lazy river beckons.

Since we love discounts, we found that we could get a discount on our camping as well, if we had an annual pass. Well, we are California residents, why would we want an annual pass here? WHY? Because this is freaking Disneyworld!! Besides, They had just recently announced that there was a special Premier Pass being sold. What is a Premier Pass? Only the greatest thing since Steamboat Willie! This pass is a bi-coastal, all park annual pass. That’s right, all of Disneyworld at your fingertips, and then, wait for it. . . . . All of California waiting for you when you get home!! Wish we could take advantage of that! Wait, we can!!! For a price. But seeing that we can stay in Florida for as long as we like, and take advantage of the passes, it really did seem the right way to go. So far, no regrets. Considering all we spent on gas @ $4 a gallon just to get here, we have to sit still for a couple of months just to catch up! Just doing our part to help save the economy and being eco-friendly by not driving all over. Anybody out there believing this?

Seth’s first Disneyworld Park was the Animal Kingdom. He was as thrilled as a six year old meeting Mickey for the first time! Made the whole trip worth it. The best part was when we were at the Hollywood Studios Park, (formerly MGM). Seth and I volunteered to be a part of the special effects show reenacting the bombing of Pearl Harbor. We were asked if we could “ham it up”. Between the two of us, you could have served enough ham to feed the homeless on an Easter Sunday!!! Serendipity.

We spent a fun week with Lyss and Seth visiting all of the parks, some, twice, and just enjoying the “being there” experience. Magic Kingdom, monorail ride, Epcot, Mission Space, singing and dancing in the streets, and being together. Magical memories were made on this trip.

The togetherness came to an end when Lyss and Seth had to catch their flight home. They were going to Denver to visit his folks for a few days and driving home from there. We were sad to see them go, but looked forward to the adventures that lay ahead. Can you say “Shuttle Launch”?
VIEW PHOTOS HERE