Pray For Noah

I just added a new link: "Pray for Noah". My cousin's 22 month old son is fighting a very serious medical battle right now.

Please pray for Noah and his parents.

The Happiest Place on Earth

We went to Disney World last month. FINALLY. My kids LOVED it. It was worth every penny we spent on it to see their faces when the saw it the first time. And to fly. Neither had ever flown before and it was quite an experience for all of us. And still, my 5 year old wants to go back and see Mickey. He even told me last night how if he saw a falling star he would wish for Mickey to come and visit him!

We had a blast! Here’s what I learned:

1 – Stay on the resort. We had never done that before and it was worth it. All transportation is provided and delivers you right to the entrance of the parks. No parking fees, trying to find a place, walking miles to the entrance, trying to find a shuttle or remembering where you parked. And – probably more importantly – extra hours in the parks. Also, much like a cruise, your key card is your park ticket, your meal ticket and items can be charged to your room – I recommend caution on that, but at least you don’t have to haul your debit card around with you.

2 – Magic Hours. Magic hours are on different days for different parks. We made our decisions about which parks to visit based on these. The hotels have schedules for all the parks, including which ones have late night shows to help.

3 – Park Hopper. We didn’t buy it, and don’t regret it. If you base your park visits on the magic hours you don’t need it. Why spend more time on transportation between the parks? Just plan to eat in the park you plan to visit.

4 – Meal Reservations. I didn’t make them as early as I should have. We still had some great food, but missed out on some places my kids may have liked. Make them as soon as you have your trip booked. Especially if you want character meals. And make them in conjunction with your park schedule (see above).

5 – Dining Plan. Purchase the dining plan. Really. We had one quick-service, on sit-down and one snack a day for each of us and it was more than enough food. You still have to pay for the tips, but as mentioned above, you can put those on your room. We did that and used our cash to purchase souvenirs. We probably would have spent close to twice what the meal plan cost us on food.

6 – Characters. I never dreamed my kids would be into the characters, but they really were – except for the princesses. So, we stood in line for them. Fortunately, the lines weren’t long and we managed to get lucky several times and not have to wait at all. So we have tons of character pictures.

7 – Photo Pass. Yet another thing we probably didn’t take as much advantage of as we should have. The Disney photographers are everywhere: at the entrances, with the characters and at strategic points in the park to get the best photo. You get a card for this and scan it every time a picture is taken. Then log on to the website at the end of your trip and you have a month to purchase any that you’d like to have. Even items with the picture on them, scrapbooks, Christmas cards, and a CD with all pictures on them. The prices aren’t all that bad, either.

8 – Fast Pass/Child Swap. Two of Disney’s more brilliant ideas, I think. All rides have a posted wait time. Some of the more popular rides (Space Mountain, for instance) have a “fast pass” time as well. If the wait was more than about 20 minutes, we went to the fast pass machines, put in our tickets and got a time to come back. The fast pass line is usually only about 5 minutes long. The Toy Story ride at Hollywood Studios for instance had a 70 minute wait at 11am. So, we got a fast pass for 5:50, went through the rest of the park, came back and only stood in line about 10 minutes. Perfect. For Child Swap, Colby refused to ride the roller coasters, so we got a ticket from the line attendant and Glenn & Garrett would go through. Colby & I would wait at the exit. When they were done, Garrett & I would go through the fast pass line. Garrett got to ride things twice and Glenn & I both got to enjoy the rides without having to worry about what to do with Colby, or wasting too much time.

9 – Pin Trading. It’s been going on about 10 years and it was fun. Buy a lanyard. Glenn & I bought the plastic card holder for ours so we could carry the tickets/keys and have them ready whenever we needed them. And then buy pins at every park. The kids got into the trading. It’s a souvenir you can add to over time and it’s a lot of fun to go through them all at the shops to find just the right pin.

10 – Rest. We learned after the first day to walk slowly in the park. Take our time. Stop every so often and look at the maps. Maybe find a playground (if there was one) and rest. The kids weren’t so cranky and whiny if we did that. And felt like they had some say in the process as we’d sit down with the map and figure out which section to go to next. And water. We did buy a lot of water. It kept everyone refreshed – even if we did have to stop at the bathrooms more often.

11 – PARADES/Shows. No one does a parade like Disney – not even Macy’s. And there are no better shows on the planet. “Fantasmic” is phenomenal. The “Spectro Magic” parade is amazing. Both my kids still hum or sing the songs while playing or cleaning. Get a schedule and see as many as possible. It’s also good sit down time. (see above “rest”)

12 – Go in the Fall. We went to the modified calendar this year in Sumner County and we planned our trip for fall break. It was the least crowded I have ever seen it. And even though it was hot the week we were there, most Octobers are very mild in Orlando. And it doesn’t rain as much. I've been in summer, spring break and Christmas and this was the best time of year that I've been.

I’m sure there are one or two other things I could mention – and will if you ask me. If you’re my Facebook friend, I have tons of pictures online. My kids are 9 & 5 – almost the perfect ages. It was a fantastic trip. I’m not one to go the same place every year, but I would go back to Disney next year. I’d go back every year till my kids were too old if we could afford it. As it is, we’ll probably go back in 3 or 4 years. When Colby will actually ride the rides.

For us, that week, it really was the “Happiest Place on Earth”. But then, if my family is with me, any place is…