A few oddities and interesting things I saw during the trip:
- I watched a very beautiful blonde woman sniff her armpits in the middle of the Animal Kingdom food court. Guess she was getting into character.
- There was a talent search going on at our hotel all week. I've never seen so many 13 year olds in stiletto heels in my life. It was pretty disturbing.
- Cam's cuteness almost made Cinderella cry. True story.
- Bras are apparently optional in the Magic Kingdom. They should make them a park requirement.
- You can eat seafood at Sea World. Is this what happens to the old attractions?
On Friday we decided to trek back to the Magic Kingdom and knock out the few rides we didn't have time for earlier in the week. I got a leisurely start to the day and finished off the Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh and Philharmagic 3D show. Cam made best friends with a sweet family on the Peter Pan ride, and was able to distract a 17 year old boy from his girlfriend for a good thirty minutes. When we parted ways he asked for a high five and knuckles, which she happily provided, and then astounded him when she "blew up" the knuckles at the end. This kid was seriously impressed with her knucks skills and relayed this to his girlfriend, who by this time was less than impressed.
We didn't plan on spending all day at the Magic Kingdom so after we finished off the rides we really wanted to see we headed back to the hotel to rest up and then went to Downtown Disney for dinner and a little shopping. Downtown Disney is pretty much what it sounds like, a long strip of restaurants, gift shops and entertainment like movies and arcades. We'd seen these gift shops a dozen times and only stopped for any length of time at the Lego store, Worlds of Disney (which was freaking huge and had a princess boutique for the little girls to get done up as their favorite princess) and the Art of Disney where Cori picked out a nice print of Jasmin for her room. We then dined at Raglan Road, a fantastic Irish pub style restaurant. I was long overdue for a beer by this point of the vacation and enjoyed an excellent Irish ale called Smithwicks. We then proceeded to eat ourselves stupid with the incredible fare being served. I had the most amazing shepherd's pie I've ever eaten followed by some scrumptious bread and butter pudding. By this point I was in a walking food coma and it was past 11pm so we found our bus back to the hotel and crashed.
Saturday's plan was to use up our dining plan meals at the nicer restaurants at Epcot and see the rest of the countries we'd missed our first time through. Cori also got her chance to get pictures with her favorite princess, Jasmin. I was glad we were able to do this for her since the majority of the trip we'd tried to do events for the whole family or for Camryn. Cori was awesome on this trip and I was happy to indulge her this day. We walked half the concourse and had lunch in Italy at Tutto Italia. Again, super fantastic food, and again, walking food coma so it was time for a break and naps before we came back and did it again for dinner. On our return trip Cori picked the Marrakesh in Morocco for dinner. We went 3 for 3 for food comas. I had a plate of couscous with lamb shank that was just absolutely delicious. As good as it was, the food wasn't the highlight of the evening. This came in the form of a bellydancer that entertained everyone during our meal. No, although the dancer was hot, the true spotlight was stolen by your's truly, Camryn Bean. The dancer invited all the kids onto the to the little stage and she had them follow her moves. At first, Cam hesitated and wouldn't go up on stage, but finally she decided to give it a go. Instead of the joining the other kids she walks right up next to the dancer and starts doing twirls and spins like she's the star of the show. We had a great laugh at this kid and was once again amazed at how crazy Cam is. We finished dinner, managed to catch the fireworks show at the end of the evening and bid Disney's parks farewell.
Today we finally made the journey home. It was a long day of travel and now we're all tucked into bed and trying to get used to the idea of going back to our old routines again. I think Cori is actually kind of excited to go back to school, she's dying to tell all her friends about the trip. I'm not exactly dying to go back to work but some normalcy will be nice.
In thinking about the past nine days I'm left with a few strong impressions of Disney. After seeing firsthand just how well they do this theme park thing, and how they handle their brand as a whole over all, you can't help but be impressed. Disney knows exactly what your kids want, how you want to get it, and how to make it as easy and immersive as possible to provide it to you. For a price of course! But compared to our experiences with Universal and Seaworld, no one does it like Disney. After you see Disney World in action you can't help but be very impressed by the the whole production or maybe a little scared at just how good they are at making spending your money as painless as possible. I'd definitely come back here, and in fact have already planned the next trip in my head for a few years down the road. Maybe next time we can come with more familiy. Cam will be taller and we can enjoy more attractions together. I'll know to avoid certain parks or rides and focus on what is fun or new.
My only wish, and personal disappointment, was that Krissy wasn't here to enjoy all this with us. I know for a fact she was indeed watching from above, but this was really her trip, and I so wanted her to be able to make it. She had planned and booked all of this over two years ago and we had still intended to go even after we learned she had cancer last year. But, the trip was scheduled for last June and unfortunately she never got the chance. I initially cancelled the trip last summer and after kicking it around, decided to take the trip just as she had planned it and we'd go for Cori's birthday. I'm very glad we did. And although every single moment of these past nine days were pure fun and enjoyment, I did still have that bittersweet pang of sadness that she wasn't here with us, laughing and experiencing these moments at my side. I've been thanking her every day for her wisdom and guidance with this trip and there's no way I could have done this myself. I hope she got a kick out of Cam's antics, I know most of Orlando did.
Well I think it's time for me to turn in, I'm pooped and I don't even want to think about unpacking. Tomorrow it's back to the grind!
G'night!
1 comment:
Thank you so much for sharing your adventure with us readers. Every time I read about Krissy, I think to myself....that is what true love is all about.
Thank you Frank.
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