A Magical Week

Well, we're back. Of course, since I am not blogging as frequently, you may not know we were gone. On the 12th, we met up with my parents and aunt to head to Disneyworld for a big, ol', family vacation. We would have loved to have my sister and nephews along, but my big, grown nephews are a little past Mickey and friends.

Fin, however, is not. She was completely stoked for the trip. We had an earlier-than-planned stop in Florence, SC because of snow. Blinding snow on 95... in South Carolina... huh?. But, we started out early planning to finish up our trip in time to find a Chinese restaurant in Orlando so that we could go out for Chinese New Year.



It was not to be.


We spent 4 hours on the side of 95 in rural Georgia to get a new tire after a screw mauled ours into an irreparable mess. It wasn't bad. We listened to the Nationwide race on the radio and even visited with old friends from home who were coincidentally traveling to another area of Florida on vacation and saw us sitting on the side of the road. And, in fact, Fin thought it was all part of the "adbenture" we were on. She thought we should play in the grass (riddled with trash and soda bottles filled with urine), swim in the river (a large drainage ditch where I am certain most of the missing people in Georgia end up) and "potty in the woods like a bear". Needless to say, the rest of us were glad when the very kind tow driver returned with my dad and a new tire, regardless of our boundless opportunities for relieving ourselves in the wild.



We eventually made it to the condo and were pleased to find it spacious, clean, and very close to the parks. So, on Valentine's Day, we set out for Animal Kingdom.

We road the Dinosaur! ride first and really enjoyed it. I thought Fin would be scared, but when we reached the quiet, suspenseful part of the ride, I whispered, "How do you like it?" and she said, "Where's the T-Rex?"


The animals were beautiful and Fin had a blast taking pictures with her "new" Christmas camera. At one point, I asked if she was able to get the picture that she wanted and she said, "No. The light was not good." Hmmm. Something tells me those photography excursions with Grandma are rubbing off.



The Bugs 3-D movie was fun as was the Lion King show. Even Duma the Cheetah enjoyed it.



The flying triceratops with Grandpa was a hit. Just look at that smile!



On Monday, my parents stayed at the condo and were visited by three other couples, friends from the campground in Maine where they spend the summers. While they were enjoying food, company, and friendly games competition, Em and Fin and I struck out for the Magic Kingdom.



I thought I would capture a happy, mother/daughter portrait on the Astro Orbiter. Yeah. That worked out nicely.


We ended the day with Fin and Em meeting some stars... though Fin did not get to dip Buzz Lightyear.




Tuesday we went to Epcot. It was chilly and windy and that is a big park, but we still hit all of the highlights including the fantastic Soar and Test Track rides that were new to us all. We also enjoyed lunch in Morocco at the gorgeous Restaurant Marrakesh. That is where we get our quote of the week. Musicians and a belly dancer came out to entertain. Fin watched the belly dancer with some skeptical interest, then turned to me and asked, "She's not shy, is she?"


Now, you may notice something missing in the picture above. That loose front tooth had been dangling from her mouth for long enough and it was driving us all nuts. So, each of us offered Fin $1 in addition to anything the Tooth Fairy brought if she yanked it before the end of our trip. She thought it over for awhile then went to work on that sucker. Woo hoo!

We continued through the countries and stopped at Germany where Snow White was holding court. She had to go take a dwarf feeding break or something, and I overheard another parent say that Mulan was in China. Now, I would much rather have Fin's picture taken with a princess who saved China that one who fell asleep after eating fruit, so we booked it over to China to find that Mulan had no one waiting to see her because of a performance that was beginning. So, Fin had a long chat with Mulan and Mulan took her into the temple and showed her around. It was lovely getting to interact with one of the characters at leisure.




Wednesday, we all headed over the Hollywood Studios, a park with alot to do, but still doable in a day. We saw several shows and rode all of the big rides including the fabulous Toy Story Mania twice. We could have ridden it a dozen times!


There were more celebrity sightings...


... a chilly car stunt show...


... and amazing front row seats for Beauty and the Beast!


Everyone enjoyed Hollywood Studios, but we needed some down time. Our friends who were vacationing in Florida came for a visit and lunch then we headed over to Downtown Disney for some shopping. I even got a nap. Nice! No pictures, though.

Friday was marathon day at Magic Kingdom and we got to do everything we wanted to do. We didn't stay for the night fireworks and parade, but we rode all of the rides and met one very kind mermaid which FINALLY made Fin a bit star struck.

Argh! It's the Pirates of the Virginian!


It's a small world, Grandma.


Ariel! SQUEAAAALL!


Racing Grandpa on the carousel.


Getting dizzy on the teacups.


Why was she slamming us all over the track?


Oh, that might explain it.


On Saturday, we started our trip after Dad successfully wedged everything into the car.


and we were happy to get home Sunday to see our cats and sleep in our own beds. Giraffe and Duma rubbed their new souvenirs in the face of the other stuffed babies.


Now, like all vacation pictures, it looks like we had fun from sunup to sundown. That just isn't possible when family travels together. It was much harder accomodating various interests and schedules than it was when Fin and I traveled alone. But, it was great doing this as a family and giving Fin the experience. When I asked her what she enjoyed most about the trip, she said, "Rides, Grandma, Grandpa, and Emmy." Now THAT is magical.