The Big Trip, part 2: Disney World!




Tuesday: Nico kindly volunteered to drive us to the airport at Ungodly O'Clock on Tuesday morning to catch a six a.m. flight to Orlando. We somehow fit our six bags and stroller into the car with the four of us and dropped the three large bags and car seat at ticketing without incident (hooray for being Skymiles members - no charge for the luggage). We were towards the end of the line boarding the plane, so they ended up gate-checking our carry-on bags as well. Flying was uneventful; Owen slept for about two hours. With a one-hour connection in Atlanta, we just had time to grab Chik-fil-A for lunch before the short flight to Orlando. Then we found the Disney transportation center in the airport (which includes luggage service, yay) and it was off to Owen's first visit to the House of Mouse.

[Please note: from this point forward I was be assuming both a familiarity with and an interest in reading about Disney World on the reader's part. If this does not apply to you, you'd better stop now.]

We were staying at the Pop Century resort with my parents and brother, who had all arrived earlier and settled in at the poolside bar. After some initial confusion we were placed in adjacent rooms with the promise that the luggage would be arriving in a few hours. It was too late, and we were way too tired, to do more than eat dinner at the resort and then trade off shifts at the bar. Eric drank with my folks while I got Owen bathed and ready for bed, then he came back to the room, along with the luggage, around 9 and I went out to the bar. I'm not sure how many drinks my family got through but we were well sorted for pina coladas by the end of it.

Wednesday: We were up and ready for the Magic Kingdom, but first we had to stop for the best breakfast in all of Disney World: Tonga Toast at the Polynesian Resort's Kona Cafe. If you go to Disney regularly and have never tried this, you are missing out. Basically, it's a giant piece of banana-stuffed French toast encrusted with cinnamon sugar. It is seriously good fortification for the day. Plus, it gave us an excuse to take Owen on the monorail.

Enter the Magic Kingdom. Owen is a little freaked out by the array of stimuli, but he starts to get into it when he sees the castle. "What ride do you want to do first, Owen?" (Pause for the inevitable...) "'UMBO!!!" Ah yes, there is already a 30 minute wait for Dumbo and you know how hot that line is. So Eric, Owen and I get in line for Dumbo while Patrick takes the tickets to go get Fastpasses for Space Mountain. Tick, tick, tick, it's hot and sweaty, Owen is wilting in Eric's arms while we wait, why oh why can't they put some misters or air blowers or something in this line, finally it's our turn and we get into our Dumbo... and Owen starts to cry because he has to sit on Eric's lap in order to fit us all in. "MINE!! WAAH!" Mom and Dad, watching from the fence, think he's scared, but we know he's just pissed off. Eric distracts him with the control button, whew, tantrum averted and here! we! go! up into the air for sixty seconds or however long the ride lasts. And we get off... with a magically transformed Happy Disney Kid. Hooray!!!

After Dumbo, we ride the carousel (Owen rides with Grandma), Pooh Bear, and Peter Pan. Then it's time for the Fastpasses to Space Mountain and we have to split up. I have a great idea... Mom and I will take Owen on Small World while Dad, Patrick, and Eric ride Space Mountain; then they can take him on the, uh, what used to be called the Wedway Peoplemover (Tomorrowland Transit?) while we go. So off they go... we take Owen for a restroom break, then Small World, now he's really hungry so let's get some ice cream (I told him about the Mickey bars with chocolate ears weeks ago, and he's super excited to get one), speed-walk to Tomorrowland... uh oh, I think our trip took longer than theirs, because those are three grumpy-looking dudes sitting on a bench by the Starjets. I think maybe they are jealous about the ice cream. Mom and I retreat to the air-conditioned comfort of Space Mountain and giggle.

New Space Mountain is a smoother ride and even darker than before, but has shorter drops. Mom and I emerge to find Owen fast asleep... according to the guys, he fell asleep literally mid-bite of his Mickey bar. Seems like a good time for lunch. We head across the park to Frontierland, and Mom and I get Fastpasses for Thunder Mountain while the guys stand in line to buy lunch at Pecos Bill's. Owen never wakes up the whole time we are eating. After lunch, Mom, Dad, and Patrick do Thunder Mountain first while Eric and I try to find some shade. Owen wakes up and nibbles at his applesauce, but is too full of ice cream to show real interest. When the first coaster shift returns, they take him on the rafts over to Tom Sawyer's island while Eric and I go on Thunder Mountain. After that we plan to get Fastpasses for Splash Mountain but the return time is something like 6:00 (and it's only about 2), so instead we go over to Pirates of the Caribbean. Wait time is only 15 minutes so we call the rest of them on the cell phones and they come over. On the way in, Owen gets to meet Goofy, and he runs right over and gives him a big hug.

We've really been looking forward to this one, because Owen is completely obsessed with pirates. I don't really know why or how it started, but pirates are just about the coolest thing in his world. Every car trip has to start with "Yo Ho, Yo Ho" on the iPod. Every boat, flag, or skeleton is evidence of pirates in the immediate vicinity. So does Owen like the pirate ride? Yes... but not as much as the pirate store at the end of it. After much consideration, he settles on a pirate kit with sword, hook, eye patch, and compass that Patrick buys for his birthday present. Our last stop for the afternoon is the Jungle Cruise, and after that point the kiddo is just about to drop. We head back to the hotel for pool time.

Mom and Dad have graciously agreed to babysit for the evening, so that Eric and I can go out for a late anniversary dinner (it was on Saturday). We get nicely dolled up and go over to the Grand Floridian for a leisurely dinner at Narcoosee's and an excellent view of the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the resort's ferry dock.

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