Day 1: Hoop Dee Doo

Yesterday we drove into Orlando from Lake City. We had a late dinner reservation, so we originally thought we would drive straight to one of the parks and then check-in to the resort and let the kids chill for a little while before heading back out. Instead, we decided to see if the resort had a room clean for us when we got in around noon. They did, so we went ahead and got settled in before heading out to Epcot.

I am going to be completely honest and tell you that the day was not a great one. The kids were whiny (and so were the adults). The only ride that was ridden was The Seas and Maury didn't even want to go on that. I think I'll just leave this part at that. I was really disappointed, though, in how things were starting.

When we got into the park, we found the Photopass photographer and had her take the obligatory photo of us in front of the "big golf ball". She then said she wanted to do something with just Maury and Lizzie. As I listened to her explain what she wanted the kids to do, I realized that she was taking the Tinkerbell pictures. Basically, Tinkerbell is added to the image and the pics are really cute. (I can't share here because there is no way for me to pull the image off of the Photopass site.) I had told Steve that I hoped to find this while we were here this trip, so YAY that it was the very first photographer we came upon!
The kids did want to try the Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure, so we go started on that in Future World. We were to be in Norway to get our mission at 4 p.m. and when we made our way there, it was early, so we talked the kids into going to see the Reflections of China movie. The circle 360 got to Steve after a while, so he and the kids left the movie about 3 minutes before it was over. We headed over to get our Kimmunicator (a special purpose cell phone so the kids could be like Kim and Ron in the cartoon series) and we were off on our first mission in China. Should I be honest again and say that the phone was another thing for the kids to whine about? Thank goodness Disney was, as always, smart enough to build into the game a signal for those playing to turn the Kimmunicator over to someone else for their turn, thus making sharing a part of the process. Even so, we were ready to move on from the game after the initial mission in China and a second one in Mexico.
On our way out of the World Showcase, I had the family wait on me while I stopped in the Rose and Crown in the United Kingdom. I wanted to get myself a Guiness. It was like being in a totally different world in there. Here were all the rowdy adults who had no children to worry with. I swear it was like a frat party was going on at one end of the bar. After a decent wait to get a bartender, I got my yummy brew and headed back out.

Now it was time to put into motion our souvenier plan for this trip. If you asked Lizzie what she wanted to do at any point on any day during a Disney trip, she would tell you 1) she wanted ice cream or 2) she wanted to go to the gift shop. She is usually not hungry, so #2 is the most popular answer. Well, to keep things easier on us, we told the kids they had a certain amount of money each day that they could have for souveniers. They could spend it each day or they could save up for something bigger. This turned the whole shopping experience into a challenge for Lizzie. She pretty much moved through the store checking prices and saying, "Why does everything have to be so expensive?" A-ha! A little insight into the real world. (I'm not crazy...this lesson won't have broad application for her, but it's a step.) Lizzie came away with a cute Mickey Mouse backpack in a tropical print and Maury started a pirate collection with handcuffs and a hook for his hand. He has plans to purchase a hat and an eye patch.

After a short stop back at the resort, we headed out for Fort Wilderness to see the Hoop Dee Doo Revue. Honesty break: getting to and from the campground was not good. I can't believe how difficult it is to get around here sometimes. But, anyway, the dinner was fantastic, particularly the cornbread, ribs and country style pinto beans. Yum. The show was very very much like the Hoot and Holler show we went to in Tennessee. Since that was why I chose this show, I was pleased by that. The kids definitely enjoyed it and that is what it's all about.

Labels: disney

posted by Terri Milstead @ 6:53 AM Comments: 0