Several months ago my parents, sister and brother-in-law, and all of us decided to head to Florida in lieu of a family Christmas celebration. The kids, having never been there before were so excited. For weeks before we left, we were hounded with questions like “When do we leave?” and “Will it be hot in Florida?”
Of course, it will be hot in Florida. Wrong!
The evening we arrived, Florida was experiencing some of the coldest weather in a long time and frost warnings were out. To amply things a bit, we left sunny Minnesota where people were experiencing record breaking HIGH temps for this season. So when it was 60 degrees in Minnesota, it was only about 40 degrees on our first day in Florida. Instead of spending a day at the pool as planned, we headed for SeaWorld. This decision ended up being a great one, as we all loved SeaWorld. The crowds were low, the middle of the day was sunny, and the interactions with the Dolphins ended up being a trip highlight.
Traveling with nine people was a blast, but we quickly experienced one of the week’s major destinations; the bathroom. It seemed like someone always had to go, so we became experts at scoping out and “touring” all bathrooms along the way.
Of course, the kids were excited to spend three days at Walt Disney World, and we visited Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Epcot. When asked which one they liked best, none of the kids could choose. The day we went to Magic Kingdom, we got up very early and were there by the time the park opened. This ended up being an excellent decision. The crowds were manageable, there were no lines for any of the rides, and the weather was fantastic! The biggest tip I have is RENT A STROLLER, if you have a younger child. What a blessing it was to have a place for our youngest to sit, not to mention a place to pile sweatshirts and other items so we didn’t have to carry it all.
I don’t know what happened to Mickey’s status at Disney, as the girls didn’t have to wait in line at all to have their picture taken with Mickey and Minnie. The line for the princess posse was an hour, so we skipped that at the urging of our kids. Hey, if they didn’t want to wait, why should a bunch of adults. Did I mention that the adult to kid ratio was 2:1 ? It really made for a nice time for all of us and plenty of supervision for the kids.
The “free” shuttle from our hotel to Disney was a mixed blessing. While it was very nice to have a free ride both ways, not have to rent a vehicle, pay a taxi, or park at Disney, we definitely were at the mercy of the shuttle service. One night we decided to pay for a taxi instead of wait for the shuttle, as we were all tired and hungry. It was $30 well spent in my opinion. Another night we had to run, and I mean RUN to catch it. That made for a hectic few minutes, but a fun memory of me flinging myself in front of the bus to force the driver to wait for my parents running with my youngest. Ok, I didn’t fling myself in front of the bus, but I did hold it for them. Lastly, there was one time when we were waiting a bit too long for the bus. A picture captured the sentiments of our crew that day. [Read more...]
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