Disney, Day 4 (Magic Kingdom)

(Confused? Check out Disney Day 1)

 The Heart of WDW
Saturday was our big day in the Magic Kingdom -- the boys' favorite because it has the most "rides." It was the first day we saw some sun alternating with the clouds, and it was the only day we encountered some lines. We especially loved...

Daddy: Thunder Mtn, Pirates of the Caribbean (POTC), and Buzz Lightyear Spin
Mommy: Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, Under the Sea
6-yr-old: Thunder Mtn, POTC
4-yr-old: Buzz Lightyear's Spin*

*It's hard to get a straight answer from Aaron about his favorites, since he doesn't separate the various parks, he tends to tell whatever he did most recently, or he repeats what Noah says. In fact, my neighbor asked him today what his favorite thing was at Disney World, and he said, "Eating!" Then he turned to me and said, "We ate at Disney World, right? Because I was so hungry (rubbing his belly)!" That said, he enjoyed everything he did -- all of which he still refers to at various, random times. (He didn't attempt Thunder Mtn or the Haunted Mansion, which Noah loved.)

A few highlights...

Astro-Orbiter: I'm a sucker for high, smooth rides with a view.

Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid

Two full days later, on the way home from the airport, Aaron piped up with, "How did Ariel get her voice back?" Someone was paying attention! (He is our silent processor. He may give you an instant answer, but it's often just to please you and thus meaningless. Once he's had a chance to mull something over, he comes up with great questions or answers -- minutes, hours, or days later.)

POTC was Noah's favorite last year, and he has spent the 12 months since dissecting it, asking me questions such as, "How did the mermaid get up on the beach before she died?" Meanwhile, Aaron soaked it all in with tentative curiosity, immediately followed by pride at his ability to now speak

See the golden-handled sword sticking out his back?
Ready at a moment's notice.

Noah's POTC language. We also caught the Jack Sparrow live show outside the ride, but the real post-show highlight which continues to entertain? The Gift Shop. The boys had saved their Christmas money to spend at WDW, so they went in together to buy a Star Wars Lego book in HS and weaponry at the POTC shop. Considering how often they are seen carrying these items around our house, I'd say they were good choices.

When we told Aaron (at Christmas) that we would be going back to WDW, he started talking about the "carpet that flies." It took me a few seconds to realize he was describing this ride! To him, it seems to represent WDW, so he wasn't sure we were actually in WDW until Saturday, when we finally rode the magic carpets.

Tomorrowland Speedway: Too bad teaching them to drive someday is not likely to be this fun.

We happened onto a character parade mid-afternoon, and I love this moment where Aaron and Mickey are waving to each other...

Then I took Aaron to Peter Pan and the Carousel...

...while Josh and Noah hit Thunder Mountain and the Haunted Mansion.

Thunder Mountain Railroad and Noah describing the twists and turns

Our last Family Movie Night before the trip was "Swiss Family Robinson" (or the first 1/2 of it). When we got to the full-size re-creation of their treehouse, I couldn't help feeling like we might be the only ones appreciating it. So go watch the movie! Right now! It's really great (though the end was a bit violent in my opinion = the boys loved it).

I took the boys through "Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin" first thing that morning, and as we walked through the mostly empty queue, Aaron spotted the robot/hologram-faced Buzz below middle. He started waving and shouting, "Hi, Buzz Lightyear! Hi! Hi, Buzz Lightyear!" It was the cutest thing I heard all week. So of course we went back later in the day. Twice.

Anyone look competitive here? Oddly enough, our scores improved exponentially through the day, and I don't think we were getting any better. Seems possible even the scores could be rigged to make it the "happiest place on earth." ;)

We ended the day with dinner at Tony's Town Square, where the movie in the lobby, Italian food,  reasonable prices, and prime MK location have made it a favorite for us. Then the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, which was funny and amazing; I don't know how they make animated characters react to a live audience like that!

In recent years, whenever someone has asked Noah if he has ridden a boat, he brings up the ferry at WDW, which he rode with Papa Denny 3 1/2 years ago. So after the fireworks, we took the ferry back to the parking lot. He was thrilled. The people next to us may not have been, as Aaron brandished his sword and said he needed to use the potty. (FYI, there are no potties on the ferry.)

If you're still with me, bravo! You must really love us a lot. Last park: Disney, Day 5 (Epcot)

Disney, Day 3 (Animal Kingdom)

(Confused? Check out Disney Day 1)

THE BIG GUY 

A few highlights from Chef Mickey's (at the Contemporary), our favorite character meal. We made

last-minute reservations because the trip just didn't seem complete without breakfast with Mickey and his friends...

And really, if you've spent all this time and money getting to Orlando, you might as well go the extra mile and visit Chef Mickey's. It avoids a host of lines and guarantees you don't leave FL 1) without seeing the big guy, or 2) hungry. #traveltipswithCarolyn

And yes, that's Aaron stealing another kiss. Though I think someone told him to, because afterward he asked if she had a booboo on her nose. ;)

ANIMAL KINGDOM
Was beautiful. I enjoyed just walking around, even in the rain. It's like a cross between Busch Gardens and the Zoo, but better. And like HS, we could do it in one day.

First, we saw "It's Tough to be a Bug" (cute), Josh rode "Everest" (he loved it), he took Noah on "Dinosaur" (definitely too scary for the 4-yr-old), and then Josh headed off to work.

Meanwhile, Aaron and I lived it up on the Triceratops Spin...

We all loved the Safari, where our mighty truck was almost trampled by a bunch of...giraffes. We also saw rhinos, hippos, lions, cheetahs, warthogs, and various things with antlers of many shapes.

The boys claim their favorite ride was the Kalahari Rapids. And when you're already wet, why not?

After a bird show, we took the train to a conservation center with labs and scientists and creepy-crawly things small...

How do you go to Disney World and see scorpions, tarantulas, and elephant poop? Take two little boys. They will find it.

...and large.

We finished with an amazing rendition of Finding Nemo, where each person danced, sang, acted, and moved their puppet, all at once. Perk: It also gave us an extra hour in the park.

Finally, back home to get dry and eat Giordano's pizza in the room...

Not done yet? See Disney Day 4, (Magic Kingdom).

Disney, Day 2 (Hollywood Studios)

(Confused? Check out Back to Disney Day 1)

With little kids, Hollywood Studios (HS) has limited options that are easily covered in a day. In our family, it is a very important day, so we did that first.

STAR WARS
We all agreed on our favorite ride: Star Tours. It's a Star Wars 3-D simulator ride where you're "flying" in a spaceship on an adventure, and it's different each time. On our first time through, Aaron was chosen from the group to be the "Rebel Spy." On our third trip, it was Noah, which worked out nicely.

If you're there on a clear day and arrive at opening time, the kids can sign up (in-person) for the Jedi Training Academy. I was thankful our boys handled it well when we were too late and it was too wet for them to participate.

Name that musical?

CHARACTERS
HS is a great place to see characters. Noah was only interested in the army men from Toy Story, but Aaron wanted to "say Hi" to everyone (include some of the folks in line) and give them a hug. Seeing his delight was -- well, magical.

Private Denny and The Ladykiller (who gave his redheaded sweetheart a peck on the mouth right after this hug)

We didn't wait long enough to meet these superheroes, but our little heroes had time to show off some of their moves.

PIRATES
If Magic Kingdom is the pirates' home base, HS is an outpost with this odd, slightly funny/scary little "Legend of Jack Sparrow" show. To its credit, the hologram of Johnny Depp was incredibly realistic. I thought it was a very good look-alike actor until he disappeared into thin air.

We finished with the Indiana Jones show, the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground, dinner at an oddly overpriced Brown Derby restaurant (adults $35, kids $6?), and dessert on Sunset Boulevard.

From Instagram that Day: Cold + Rain = No Lines! Still, I've seen enough British period dramas to know that since we've spent the last 36hours out in the cold and rain, tomorrow we're all gonna die. ;) #senseandsensibility #misspotter #etcetcetc

Next up? Day 3 (Animal Kingdom)

Back to Disney, Day 1

WHY
How did we become one of those families that "does Disney"? I like to blame it on Josh, who grew up going often, but it takes two to plan a trip like this... ;) This year, our excuses were:

• WORK DISCOUNT: Josh had another medical conference on the premises (as he said, How can I go to Disney World without my boys!?).
• GOOD MEMORIES: We had a GREAT time last year.
• SHORT WINDOW: We saw then how quickly kids outgrow some of the magic, and we want to take advantage of these early years when they still love Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, Mickey Mouse, Buzz Lightyear, The Incredibles, Disney Jr, etc. At the same time, it was nice that Aaron is 40" and so able to ride everything he wanted to ride.
• EXCELLENT CHILDCARE: My mom was available and willing to keep our littlest munchkin, freeing us of nap/diaper/height constraints.

FLYING
We left early Wednesday morning and had two lovely flights. I even read a book. As we discovered throughout the week, traveling with kids (vs. babies/toddlers) is a piece. of. cake.

To all my fellow baby/toddler mommas, I have seen the future, and it is EASIER.

It can also be very funny. I wrote down some of Aaron's in-flight commentary:

Aaron, looking out the airplane window...
"Guns!" (Josh: No, engines!) 

"Is [our airplane] going to explode?" 

Passing over a lake...
"Water! Are we going to go under water [in our airplane]?" 

Later...
Josh: Look - the mountains are getting bigger!
A: "And our airplane is getting smaller!" ?? 

Looking at the family behind us...
A: "Oh, I see their mom! (to her) Hello That Mom!" 

Walking off the plane...
Pilot: Good-bye!
A: You're a policeman!
Me: No he's the pilot.
A: Pilots are policemen?
Me: No, he's just a pilot.
A: Well pilots are good.

These pics are actually from Day 6, since we picked up the car
and drove it largely in THE RAIN Days 1-4.

ARRIVING
We rented a car this time so it would be easier for Josh to get to/from his conference duties, and my car aficionado even let the boys pick it by color (blue, of course!).

Upon check-in, we received our super-cool new magic armbands (only Isaac's pictured since we put ours on immediately). They served as our tickets to...everything (hotel, dining, parks, fastpasses, and shopping).

Our flight landed around 2pmET. By the time we got through baggage claim, the rental car, tolls (it's funny how much FDOT charges you to drive from the airport to WDW), lunch, groceries, armbands, and the hotel room, we arrived in Epcot around 5:15pm (which was fine since the 4-day and 5-day tix are the same price, so this was our "free" day).

Test Track, where Aaron is convinced the cars "fly,"
because they go so fast, outside, and
(momentarily) perpendicular to the ground.
Noah was obsessed with designing his car to be
the fastest, including the super plasma engine,
hood/roof/tail accessories, and painted flames.

EPCOT

Overall, our favorite rides in Epcot were...

Daddy: Test Track
Mommy: Soarin'
6-yr-old: Test Track, then Maelstrom
4-yr-old: Test Track, then Spaceship Earth

Spaceship Earth: Aaron loved the end, where you get to choose your own adventure (under water or in space). Meanwhile, I found myself smiling back at the anamatronic people out of courtesy. #toosouthern

FOOD
Each day, we ate breakfast in the room (Art of Animation has kitchenettes), took brown-bag lunches into the parks, and ate at a sit-down restaurant in the parks for dinner. Our first night was at La Hacienda de San Angel in "Mexico," where we ordered 3 appetizers and an entree, tapas-style, and it was delicious! Not to mention warm and dry.

WEATHER
Last January, Orlando was too hot and sunny.

That was not a problem this year. Fortunately, we were well equipped. It was admittedly not ideal for strolling the park, but it was perfect for thinning the crowds. Wednesday to Friday, we rarely encountered a line, and we didn't touch our sunscreen the whole trip.

And then after we were safely back in TN, the spread widened a bit...


Still interested? Disney, Day 2 (Hollywood Studios)

And for past posts on Disney, check out:

To Infinity, and Beyond!

Walt Disney World, Take 2

Disney Debrief 

The Denny Disney Adventure of 2013 (This was supposed to be the first of several posts -- which never materialized. Thus my rabid determination to document this visit!)

The Tiger Run

Noah and Aaron's school mascot is a tiger, so every year the school puts on the "Tiger Run," their major fundraiser. While Aaron participated last year, this was the first year both boys eagerly anticipated the event. They practiced at school in the months before, and Aaron would show me at home how he runs like a tiger: on all fours, growling...

It was a beautiful fall morning, and Aaron's class was up first...

Aaron's sweet little preschool class

The Tiger, running

Then came the kindergarteners...

Noah running with his friend, Robert (who I always want to call Kenny...)

Noah ran until they called time and finished 2.5 miles!

Go Tigers! :)

A New Birth Story

People often talk about how easily children believe in God -- or whatever you tell them. That has never been true for Noah. When he was 3 or 4, he would question whether angels are real or whether God could hear our prayers. As one who has consistently probed various church doctrines to make sure they're sound, I could get behind this. We absolutely want our boys to be critical thinkers. So we just committed to encouraging and answering his questions as they came.

And then suddenly he was 6 years old, and he understood all he really needed to know. It all seemed to pile up in one day, last Sunday:

1) The communion plate had to pass him by in worship service (as usual, but this time it really struck me),*
2) His Sunday school teacher pointed out that he knows "all the answers."
3) He and Josh listened to the audio from my Bible study teaching last week, about how Jesus offers us "eternal life," and Noah seemed really excited about it.

Which led to a conversation Sunday night about how we decide whether we want to follow Jesus. We've discussed it several times over the past year and have encouraged him to ask others how they made that decision. Frankly, at 6, I'm not sure how much he can possibly understand the concept of placing his functional trust in Jesus and resting in His finished work rather than his own fickle desires or efforts to be "good enough." It's a lot to take in. BUT, I kept hearing Matthew 19:14 playing in my head: Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Plus, I could imagine that as Noah grew, his natural skepticism could lead him to feel increasingly on the outside from our church community - not because it was excluding him (doubts and questions are welcomed), but because he had not made the decision to join it.

So Sunday night we put out the invitation: Do you want to believe in Jesus? Do you want to follow him? He said he'd sleep on it.

The next morning, out of the blue, he said, "I'm still thinking about it Mom, though I'm leaning toward Yes."

And Monday night (11/11/13), as he was getting ready for bed, unprompted by me, he said, "So Mom, I've decided Yes."

Honestly, I struggled at first with how to respond. He gets embarrassed when I ask him questions about it, and he prefers to pray memorized lines, which made it hard at first to tell what he really understands. But with time, he confirmed his grasp of the facts -- and his change of heart was immediate and obvious: he was smiling ear to ear and making statements like this ever since...

Me: Do you want to call someone and tell them what you've decided?
N: Yes!

N: When is the next church day?
Me: It's in 6 days, but we won't have communion this Sunday (I thought he might just be excited about the "snack").
N: That's OK, I just really want to go to church. I wish it was sooner.

N: Do you think Aaron wants to decide, too?
Me: I hope so! But he may be a little young to understand what we're talking about.
N: Yeah - maybe he'll be ready when he's 5.

Me: I was thinking maybe I could get you up a little earlier and we could read the Bible and pray together before school. What do you think?
N: Yeah! I really like reading the Bible.

First day of morning devotions (11/15/13): "Someday Heaven"

Me: Did you tell anyone at school what you decided last night?
N: No, it's too busy there. But I felt happy inside all day.

Me: We're going to have a special dinner tonight to celebrate with Gigi and Papa.
N: Who's going to pray?
Me: I don't know. Do you want to?
N: Yes! I really like praying.

N: Mom, can you read the Bible to me? (more than once)

And as we reminded him that...

You can talk to God anytime.
He is always with you.
He will never leave you.
He always loves you, no matter what you do.
He made you for a reason - you have a purpose.

He responded with mouth-open wonder. It is startling to see and hear my teen-like skeptic responding with such unabashed enthusiasm. And it has been a powerful reminder to me that God is clearly at work in my son's life.

I realize that Noah will have to revisit this decision as he gets older and better understands the options before him (as I did). I also expect his enthusiasm to ebb and flow (as mine does). But I am astonished and grateful to see that he is already beginning to find the hope and peace and security that Josh and I have found in Jesus.

Which means I really wanted to mark the occasion. If we had a party for his baptism, we were certainly going to have some sort of party to celebrate his decision to join the church. Playing on the metaphor in John 3, we had a "birthday party" the next night. Noah was surprised and delighted - but not more than we were, and are.

*In our church, you don't take communion until you've confirmed that you understand (and accept) what it means.