Disney World Family Photos

Utopia Land Delivers with Side Effects- Day Four, Five and Six

Day four begins early with showers and a quick breakfast. The die hards are up and at em' with no sign of the grumpies but the younger ones are showing a shadow of tired in their eyes. This codger was still in bed not ready to face another day, Nathan rose to the occasion, blistered feet and all and decided to go with the die hard crew on another adventure. This time to Universal Studios where the rides are mega fun and there are a lot of them.

Universal Studios waiting in line for tickets

The die hard crew spent the day riding the crazy rides. The Incredible Hulk roller coaster,  Two Harry Potter rides, and one of Alex's favorites was Twister. We watch Storm Chaser and watch weather documentaries for fun, so this was right up her alley.

Not doing to bad for only 4 hours sleep...

Alex acting out Twister

While the fun commenced with the die hard crew, I sluggishly put my feet up for a full day of R&R. A guilty pleasure during any vacation that I happily indulged in. (You'll see later I was glad I rested) I was starting to feel that run down feeling and I thought I better listen to my body and not push it. I just putzed around the house, did laundry, cleaned up a little, did a little business and called it all good.

Day five I was refreshed and ready to tag-a-long to Downtown Disney where the hunting for plush, stuffed goods was the goal of the day. The kids were raring to go and ready to blow their money. Alex had money from Christmas Nana and Papa gave her and some she earned from her dog sitting jobs.

She found everything on her list except Todd, from the Fox and the Hound. Brantley treated the girls to Mickey bracelets, and was very generous and bought Alex a wolf she was eyeing at the Harley Davidson shop.

We ate at Wolfgang Pucks and were told we had a very nice family by the wait staff who said many people come in and are rude.  Thank goodness they weren't standing in line behind us at the Areosmith ride a couple of days ago...Hahaha, (you know who you are)

The fun didn't end with shopping. The die hard crew's fun meter was a little low so they went back to Sea World after dropping off the codger crew with all the shopping spoils.

Alex rode the Manta roller coaster twice even though she was beginning to show the signs of exhaustion after lunch.  As the die hard crew strolled in for dinner, this mom knew her daughter had been spent. She was still smiling but her face was flushed and I could tell she didn't want to tell me she wasn't feeling well. She downed a whole bottle of water and admitted to a headache. I thought exhaustion, heat stroke, lack of sleep, dehydration on top of poor eating habits; what a concoction for disaster. An unexpected side effect of too much fun. Pinocchio's Pleasure Island and the dancing, puke green faces of the over stimulated donkey boys pranced about in front of me as I realized my baby was not only worn out but full on sick.  Gavin ended up sick as well.

Day six was travel day back home, we dropped Nathan off early because he had a different flight then Me and Alex. Since we had some time to kill we toured Ripley's Believe It Or Not to see the wacky weird anomalies of humankind. We ate at Uno's while Alex and Gavin slept on the bench with fevers raging away. The parents discussed making sure we didn't blow it at the airport and not get on the plane because of sick children.

We all arrive at the airport ahead of schedules and both our flights (Colorado/Texas) are delayed. Alex mustered enough energy to walk down the concourse as I fumbled with two carry on suitcases and two bags. Having the flu and having to get up and walk can be excruciating but she did it with no complaints. We had to connect flights in Dallas and hustle to make the flight in time, then sit on the tarmac for 20 minutes waiting for clearance to take off. We finally got into Austin at 9:10 at night and there was one last haul to the car before the stretch to home to finally get in bed and re-cooperate.

I was glad I took that one day for R&R and listened to my body telling me to slow down. If I had pushed myself and got sick too the getting home would have been a ride from hell.

This trip was a dream come true with all the makings for great memories. Disney delivered on their promise of family fun; next time we'll regulate our dosage so the side effects stay within the realm of smiles with out fevers.

Thanks to all my wonderful family for planning, arranging, giving so this trip could happen! We can't thank you all enough!

Utopia Land Delivers With Side Effects-Day Three

February 29, 2012- Leap Day

On the third day we piled in the two rental vans and headed to Disney Hollywood Studios. We anticipated a day full of action. The rounded metal vintage style entrance reminded us of the movie, Robots.  Upon entering the park you felt transported to a movie set with a street scene.

Mary was our expert navigator and pinpointed on the map the way to the Star Wars virtual ride. We strapped ourselves in the seats and encountered Darth Vader who used the powers of the dark force to fling us into space. C3P0 flew our spaceship through galactic space meteor showers and we crash landed but all in one piece. We were all smiles and giggles getting off that ride.

The Force is strong with this bunch

We ran over to the Indiana Jones set just in time to get front row seats. Alex's expressions were priceless to watch as the rolling boulder scene was played out before her eyes and the stunts and explosions were re-enacted showing how a movie set works.

Alex was gasping and getting ready to cover her mouth at the intense action and explosions.

The scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark when Indiana has to fight the Nazi twice his size and the propeller finishes the job.

We finished off this park with Aerosmith's roller coaster a couple of times and the Tower of Terror. The Tower of Terror was like an elevator dropping you and rendered the theme of the Twilight Zone, one of our favorite old television shows.

We arrived at Epcot and the girls were wondering if that globe was a big golf ball. This park definitely had a more futuristic atmosphere.

We all enjoyed the first ride we went on called Soarin'. We got to be hang gliders over different scenery. It was nice to land and go have a beer and some sushi while we decided on what part of the park to go to next.

We toured the Land and Nemo exhibits, gentle rides compared to the one we decided to go on next; The Mission to Mars. Of course we chose the Intense Program Module. As we waited for our mission detail from Gary Sinise the apprehension built as we wondered if we should have picked the fiercest level. One traveler backed out and was escorted to the mild program. My Dad, Husband and I looked at each other in a 'what did we get ourselves into but I'm not going to chicken out' look. My dad was the Pilot, Nathan was the Navigator and I was the Commander. We pressed our buttons on time and made the orbit in order to land with the gusto of the Astronauts from the movie The Right Stuff. My dad still wonders how Gary Sinise our base mission controller made it to Mars before we did to congratulate us on our successful mission. Ha, the details he doesn't let get past him cracks me up.



 We got to be crash test dummies and go through a test course cars go through to determine safety and performance.

The best parts were the near collision with a MAC truck, the fake cement wall separating just before you thought you were going to slam into it and the 60 mile per hour speed test at the end of the ride.
Nathan would have liked his car to have been a Porshe or a Lamborghini.

We really enjoyed the countries of the world walk path along the lake, we would love to go back to see it during the day. We sampled some delicious Japanese green tea, ginger ice cream. We watched another out of this world fireworks show over the lake.

But the fun didn't end there, at least not for the die hard crew. Brantley, Dom, J'Den, Brooke and Alex all headed over to the Magic Kingdom for an all night ride fest. Since it was Leap Day the Magic Kingdom stays open all night. This mom and dad were already to pooped to try to prove our fun factor so we waited to hear about it at four in the morning when they all came home. It was an absolute zoo, with people trampling the grass in order to get to the rides that had more than an hour wait, so the codger crew who just couldn't muster the strength were happy they stayed home. The die hards now hold the title of holding a once every four year occurrence of an all nighter at Disney. Both parties happy!

Leap Day All Nighter at the Magic Kingdom With Mickey and Minnie

Utopia Land Delivers With Side Effects -Day One and Two

Where does one begin to describe a whirlwind week in Disney World that spans seven parks in five days? Conjure up the the scene from Pinocchio's Pleasure Island and that about fits the bill for our trip. OK, I exaggerate a little but we sure did gorge ourselves on all the fun we could muster with some consequences on the side.

Our first day was pleasantly spent strolling the grounds at Sea World. The oceanic wonders amazed us in different ways. The Dolphin Show included parrots in their theme, the Sea Lion and Otter Pirate Show was hilarious and the Killer Orca Whales promised splashes that soaked to the bone. The Wild Arctic virtual helicopter ride brought out the sarcasm in John and Chandra as they threatened to turn the pilot into the FAA for grievous infractions, and the Manta roller coaster really did make you feel like a Manta Ray swimming through the water. Alex went on that one a couple of times.

They used 6 different Sea Lions for the show

               SEA WORLD              

Susie treated Brooke and Alex to their own genuine pearl. A diver harvested the oyster from the sea bed and the girls got to see the oyster opened to reveal the pearl. They measured them, you could see the variation in color. Alex got a peach pearl and Brooke got a golden pearl. Susie remembers the family trip to Disney Land where she received a pearl the same way and wanted to pass on the nostalgia to her girls who are as precious as pearls.  

Day two we ventured to the heart of it all, The Magic Kingdom. We encountered a parade the first minute we stepped into the park. All the kids eyes were as big as Quarters as they saw the characters from their favorite movies walking down the street towards the infamous castle. Aunt Johnna made sure the girls were set for the day with their Mickey ears and we were all on our way to the rides.

We were lucky Dom had a phone App for all the rides because we timed each one perfectly and didn't have to wait long for any of them. We saw The Swiss Family Robinson Tree house, Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, Small World, The Haunted Mansion, drove a race car and did our favorite ride; Space Mountain a few times. Nathan, even conquered his childhood fears and rode Space Mountain with us. He remembers his mom taking him on the ride as a child and how scared he was. I have to admit it was a little scary being on a fast roller coaster in the dark.

We were all proud of J'Den for facing his fears too, he rode Space Mountain a few times even though he doesn't really care for fast, dark roller coasters.

Tatum, was quite a trooper. Her first ride was the Aladdin Carpet ride. She sat next to Auntie and Nana. She was an amazingly good baby the entire trip. She loves hanging with the big kids.

It was a packed day with lots of walking and rushing to the next attraction. We were lucky to spend the day with Anastasia; Denny's oldest girl. She's beautiful,all grown up and going to college in Saint Petersburg, Florida. I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday.

Nathan being brave, handing over the wheel to Alex.                

Mary and Brantley, Dom and Johnna's in-laws were sweet enough to plan dinner with Winnie the Pooh character's. Gavin really enjoyed Eeyore and he beamed every time Piglet, Tiger or Pooh came by to give him a hug.

After feasting on multiple plates of food, we were awed by a fireworks show. It started with Tinkerbell, flying down from the castle with her wings lit up. A perfect end to a Magical Day.