The Happiest Place on Earth

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. ~~Walt Disney

Wednesday, July 2nd

We arrived at the Fort Wilderness Campground around 1:30 on Wednesday afternoon. We checked in, got the camper settled, and then drove to the Shades of Green resort to purchase our annual passes. After getting our tickets, we decided to go to the Animal Kingdom.


We had eaten lunch pretty early in the day and we were all pretty hungry so we decided to eat an early dinner at the Rainforest Café at the Animal Kingdom entrance. As usual, the food was wonderful but I think Jeff and I could order one entrée and share it as they give so much food. After our meal, we headed straight for the Everest ride. This was our first trip where Anna was tall enough to ride it Unfortunately, the weather forecast for our visit in Orlando projected 40-60% chance of showers daily. And, as soon as we got in line to ride Everest, the park shut it down due to the storms rolling in. We waited in line for 1.5 hours before being able to finally ride it. But, at least, we were under cover and out of the rain. Rachel and Anna were getting a bit impatient but they were able to tolerate the wait. Anna was getting more and more nervous about the ride, though, the longer we waited. Once we got on it, she loved it. Both of our daughters love the roller coasters and Anna immensely enjoyed this ride.

After that, we browsed a few shops and then headed back to the RV to relax and get ready for the next morning. Due to the heat and projected crowds, our goal was to enter the parks as soon as they opened. And, then return to the camper some time shortly after lunch when the heat and crowds would peak. This plan worked great for the duration of the trip with one flaw; the kids were complete grumps for the first part of the morning.

Thursday, July 3rd

We visited Epcot on Thursday. We rode Soaring and Test Track and a couple of rides in the World Showcase. We spent the better part of the day walking around the World Showcase visiting the Kidcot stops. The girls got their face painted at one point.

But, as the heat got more intense, so did the complaining from Rachel and Anna. But, I have a bit of advice for weary parents…have no fear, alcohol is near! In all of our many trips to Disney, we have never bought any alcoholic beverages. By the time we made it to Italy, I was ready for a glass of wine. A nice, cold glass of chardonnay seemed to take the edge off. By the time, we made it to France, I decided it was time for one more and I got one of the frozen wine daiquiris. After that, I was perfectly content for the remainder of our walk around the World Showcase. No amount of whining seemed to affect my good mood after that.

We stopped at the American pavilion where the girls participated in saying the “Pledge of Allegiance.”

When we stopped in the Great Britain pavilion, I had to get one of my favorite candy bars; the Curly Wurly. While paying for it, the Disney cast member at the register commented that my “frozen drink looked yummy.” I told her “that it was.” And, that Disney World can be the happiest place on earth for weary parents with fussy children if they drank a few of these.” She got a laugh from that. Jeff was mildly amused by me. I was not drunk by any means. I just felt like all was O.K. in the world. After a few alchoholic beverages, you won’t care that you spent hundreds (or in some cases, thousands) of dollars and all your children want to do is whine, complain, go in shops and/or play on playgrounds. All of which can be done at home without having spent said money.
We decided then to go back to the RV and take the girls swimming for a while. But, before we did that, we made reservations at the Trails End restaurant at Fort Wilderness. We spent a couple of hours at the pool, ate way too much food for dinner, and then returned back to the RV to turn in at a reasonable hour as I knew Jeff would be cracking the whip on us again at 7 a.m.

Friday, July 4th
We decided to visit Hollywood Studios (formerly known as the MGM park) on Friday. Both Rachel and Anna used to love Tower of Terror. It was their favorite ride. Now, both seemed afraid to get on. They love the ride itself. It’s the theatrics that they use on the ride that scares them. But, we had to wait a few minutes inside the entrance before the park officially opened. And, the whining had already begun. I snapped a photo of Anna while she was in her prime (see picture above). It’ll give you an idea of what drove me to drinking the day before.
Anna still isn’t quite tall enough to ride the Aerosmith Rockin’ Roller Coaster. Jeff was able to talk her into riding the Tower of Terror once with him while Rachel and I rode the Rockin’ Roller Coaster. The Rockin’ Roller Coaster is by far my favorite ride. Rachel and I had a blast riding it.
After hitting these two rides, we went to get Fast Passes for the new Toy Story ride. The Toy Story ride is new and even though we got Fast Passes pretty early, our ride time wasn’t until 2:30 and it was only 10:30. We got some photos with characters (Prince Caspian and Kim Possible) and then we walked to Star Tours. We arrived just in time for a Jedi Knight training camp. Rachel was selected from the crowd but Anna was not. Rachel did a great job; even dueling Darth Vader at the end (see below). We were so proud of our little padowan.
We enjoyed lunch at the Pizza Planet where Jeff and I played one another in a basketball game. Jeff and I are quite competitive; particularly with one another. I was on a roll when I started playing and I heard some guy walk up to Jeff (who was standing right behind me) and he said, “I hope you didn’t bet her any money.” I was hitting nothing but nets and then when he spoke, it broke my rhythm. We played a few more games and then decided it was time to move on to the next activity.

We were finally able to ride the Toy Story ride a bit later and it was a blast. It is a 3-D ride where you shoot targets; sort of like the Buzz Lightyear ride at the Magic Kingdom; but better.

We stayed for the 3:00 block party parade where Rachel and Anna joined some cast members and other children to play Duck, Duck, Goose. After that, we decided we had enough of the sun and crowds and returned to the camper. We ate dinner at the RV. And, then we rode our bikes to the beach to pick a spot for the evening fireworks.

The girls made friends and played on the beach and picked up shells. Jeff and I settled into our chairs and enjoyed the peace. Jeff visited the Fort Wilderness store and got some cups and some champagne. Rachel took this photo of Jeff and I below while we were relaxing at the beach. We stayed for the evening fireworks and then returned to our camper for some much needed rest after a long day.
Note: For anyone visiting Fort Wilderness during the July 4th timeframe, there are tons of activities at the campground that we did not partake in. You could easily spend the day at Fort Wilderness and be thoroughly entertained. They even have a parade first thing in the morning where you can enter with a decorated golf cart or bike.

Saturday, July 5th
We decided we would go the Magic Kingdom on Saturday morning so we took the boat from Fort Wilderness. I have to admit though, after several long days and late nights…I was starting to feel like the girls....a bit whiny and slow moving in the morning. There is no doubt that going to the park early is the best for beating the crowd but it was tough to get moving this morning.

We were able to easily get on our favorite rides with minimal to no wait. We ate lunch at the Pecos Bill Tavern. And, then decided we had enough around 3:00. We returned to the camper, went swimming for a bit, and then had an early dinner at the Trails End restaurant again. After that, we went to Downtown Disney to browse the shops. I snapped this one photo of Anna and Jeff trying on pirate headwear while in one of the shops. I had not realized how much Anna’s face has changed over the summer until this past week. She really looks like Jeff in this photo.

After about an hour at Downtown Disney, I had decided I had my fill of crowds. I was so ready to go back to the camper and just collapse.

Shortly after returning to the RV, we received a call from our friend Steve. He and his wife Denise were on their way to Fort Wilderness to visit with us and were arriving around 8:30. It was a pleasant surprise and a nice end to our visit to Florida.

Of course, I threatened Jeff with bodily harm if he awakened us early on Sunday.

Sunday, July 6th

We slept in a bit later on Sunday. But, we needed to get on the road as soon as we could because I needed to get home, do some laundry and then pack again. Rachel, Anna, and I are driving to Huntsville, AL, tomorrow. I have a two-week training course and the girls are going with me. We are staying with their grandparents during the two weeks so Jeff will be home all by his lonesome for two solid weeks. I just don’t know how he’ll make it without us. I’m sure he’ll die from being so lonesome. Actually, I suspect he’ll be enjoying grilled steaks, cold beers, playing video games, and the peace that goes with being without three women for two weeks. I'm picturing him playing music loudly and streaking through the house in his underwear much like Tom Cruise did in the movie Risky Business.