School vacation was special for you guys this year. Grammy and I planned a Florida vacation with your family. What an awesome time. We’re glad we could make this happen!
Here are 50 highlights from our 2018 vacation. Even though they’re numbered 1 to 50, they’re in no particular order:
1. Spending eight days together in the Florida sunshine with you guys; perfect weather in mid 80’s to low 90’s
2. The big house we rented in Kissimmee. Everyone with their own room; our own private pool
3. Seeing Jack @ Cape Kennedy, checking off his #1 bucket list item, so excited & attentive. Master Jack, the master of space and planets. I told him “let me take a photo of you with Alan Shepherd statue (first American in space) because you’ll be famous one day too.”
4. Grammy being a brave trooper all week, pushing through her chronic hip pain. Enduring the beep beep beep embarrassment of her electric scooter. Going from cautious to confident as a driver. Racing the guy in his scooter! Molly pushing Grammy around Disney World in her wheelchair, so caring and concerned.
5. Brunch with Micky & Stitch. Fantastic breakfast! They kept bringing plate after plate of sausages, biscuits, scrambled eggs. Emma ate 9 Micky waffles!
6. Emma & Molly planning & staging their synchronized swimming water show with chairs and signs
7. Ben going on rides he’d never go on before and enjoying the experience. Everest. Aerosmith coaster. Tower of Terror. Ditto for Jack who went on Star Wars, Everest & Haunted Mansion!
8. Our awesome dinner at Teppan Edo, the Japanese steakhouse. Everyone’s #1 dining favorite of the week.
9. The hilarious tag team of Josh & the Mad Hatter scoring points with “Maaam!” across a busy breakfast room. Your Dad is not shy! He’s a lot of fun and a great sport.
10. The safari ride at Animal Kingdom remains one of the best rides. Hippos, rhinos, lions, giraffes and so many other species, all roaming free.
11. Molly & me dancing at our Kissimmee house as Havana & Despocito blasted over the speakers before heading out for a new day.
12. Watching you enjoying the pool every day
13. Going on Pirates of the Caribbean one last time before it gets a politically correct update.
14. Splash Mountain open at last! It had been closed the last two times we went to Disney World
15. Surprise celebration of Ben’s 15th birthday at Rainforest Cafe. I ordered a lava cake; they delivered it with singing wait staff.
16. We flew over famous sites around the world at Soarin.’ I love that ride because it’s a dream come true… my most frequent lifetime dream is me flying in a horizontal position, arms & hands extended forward, tall tree height off the ground. I can go REALLY fast. I don’t ever remember landing.
17. Your Mom bonding with Gerald Giraffe at Animal Kingdom, up close & personal on our Safari tour.
18. Ben being funny crazy in the kitchen on our last night – what language was he speaking?
19. Drinking double punch rum drinks (before noon) in hollowed out pineapples at table #32, the best view in the Polynesian Hotel restaurant.
20. Ben, Emma & Molly ranking their favorite rides & meals at week’s end as we sat together at the big dining room table
21. Drives with Ben every day, peace & quiet at last for him, quality time with Grammy & Papa
22. Marco’s pizza takeout, yummy.
23. Jersey Mike’s tasty subs
24. Everyone designing cool cars and competing at Test Track, the fastest ride at Disney (65 mph)
25. Cockroaches & salamanders in da houz, oh my (Grammy and your Mom did NOT like this)
26. Grilling burgers & hot dogs instead of takeout or going out to eat
27. Molly eating ice cream at 11 am. What the heck, we’re on vacation!
28. Crystal palace yummy food every kid loved. Ben saying, “You can keep going back and forth… rolls, then ice cream then Mac & cheese, then brownies.”
29. Taking the monorail- what color will it be? Having our own private monorail cars twice on the last day; playing musical chairs onboard when no one was around
30. Touching a moon rock, how cool is that?
31. Gummy bears for breakfast, why not!?!
32. Sci-Fi Theatre never disappoints! Chocolate shakes & glowing ice cubes and watching B&W “B” movies from the 1950s and early 1960s films including Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster, Plan 9 from Outer Space, and Attack of the 50 Foot Woman
33. Our lead driver (your Dad) getting lost early in the week; going through Disney World twice and getting home 90 minutes after leaving ( our house was only 9 miles away door to door). I think he stayed up all night figuring it out because the next day he was superb.
34. What a Fantasmic show! Grammy and I had never seen it. Spectacular night time entertainment.
35. 5,000 calories per day can’t be that bad for me, right?
36. Watching Micky mouse appear on a 🔥 Japanese grill- drawn upside down!
37. Drinking beer in “England” within EPCOT.
38. Meeting up with the Beaupre’s at Disney Springs. They went with Aunt Tarah’s family and also had a house, but in a different neighborhood. It was good to see everybody.
39. No orange highway cones were injured on this trip. I have a bad history of getting up close and personal with those on former Florida vacations with you guys!
40. Eating ice cream sundaes on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom our last day
41. The majestic color of the International Flower show at Epcot
42. hearing the (good) news that we’d never have to go on It’s a Small World again! Some people love it, but it’s painful for many of us, including your Dad, Ben and me!
43. Checking the wait time for the newest, most popular ride in all of Disney world – Avatar – and never getting a break. Maybe next time!
44. Buying souvenirs throughout the week. Molly’s Stitch stuffed animal & Stitch sweatshirt. Jack’s NASA spaceships and Disney vehicles. Ben playing it low key all week before deciding what he wanted. Emma getting sweatshirts and clothes.
45. Emma being such a patient big sister with Jack, playing with him, teaching him.
46. Bats @ dusk outside by the pool, look out!
47. The looks on your faces when I was served a whole fried red snapper fish with eyeballs still intact at Paradiso 37 in Disney Springs; you built a wall so you wouldn’t have to look at it!
48. And speaking of fish… Jack training fish in the Rainforest Cafe aquarium to follow his silver wand.
49. Molly and Laura the leopard hanging out together every day
50. A final shout out for your Grammy who walked the first three days until she was exhausted, survived the humiliation of driving a vehicle around Disney World and gave it her all without a single complaint. She’s an amazing woman!