joedisney
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Sep 1, 2000
- Messages
- 70
Anyone that remembers the famous poop incident from one of our previous trips knows that I don't give up easily. Faced with adversity, I pride myself on rising to the challenge, giving my all to turn a bad time around. Under normal circumstances, the shaky start to our day wouldn't even register on my radar screen. Unfortunately, I am beginning to feel ill. I will NOT let this happen. I'll push on; no one has to know. A little mind over matter that's all.
Let me formally introduce our new set of characters. My dearest sister Janet is a true gem. Sure, she's never on time to anything, but her heart is in the right place. Caley is a lot like her Aunt Janet in that they are both spunky. Neither will back down when they feel they are being wronged. Actually, neither will back down from just about anything. Janet always has too much to do, but never wants to be left out of anything new that may come around. Thus, she is here with us at Disney. Her husband Mike is just the opposite. Mike gets dragged around from place to place wondering why he is there and when he can go home. Mike is your classic meat and potatoes, made in America, kind of guy. They are joined by their two daughters, Caitlin and Bridget. Bridget is sixteen and won't say more than a handful of words during the entire vacation. Caitlin is a studious Seventeen year old attending her first year at Boston University. It was very difficult getting Caitlin to take two days off from school to join us on this trip. Janet tells me that these two can argue like an old couple, but I have always found them delightful to travel with. I'm sure they save the best arguments for mom and dad's ears only. So here I am, not feeling well and trying to recover from a failed attempt at a magical breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table. Trying to keep this eclectic crew, with ages spanning from 2 to forty something, happy will be a real challenge. I start by pointing out the Cinderella statue behind the castle. I have read about this, but never remember to look for it. If you bend down and look at Cinderella from just the right angle, a crown in the background appears to rest upon her head. No one is impressed. Joedisney takes another strike.
Undaunted and unwilling to waste anymore time I press into action. We all get Fastpasses for the Pooh and then split up. The little guys go with mom, while the big people head over to Space Mountain. The line for Space Mountain is the longest we will sit in during our entire stay at about 30 minutes. It isn't a bad wait, however, as we are able to catch up on all the gory details of why they were late for breakfast. Best I can tell it was Michael's fault, but only because it is always Mike's fault. After the ride we meet up with Kathy and the little ones and walk by the site of the famous poop incident. Next, we all do the Space Ranger Spin and Christopher finally beats me. He is pleased, but we are both crushed by Uncle Mike who gets a whopping 168,000 points. I'm not one to complain, but there is no way the scoring is fair on that ride. Christopher, who has logged hundreds of hours of video game time, loses dramatically to his Uncle who couldn't tell you the difference between a Gamecube and a toaster oven. It's just not right. The Pooh ride is next, followed by Splash Mountain (5 minute wait). We get Fastpasses for Thunder Mountain before going to get some lunch. Janet and her crew go for the big turkey legs and some popcorn, while we go to Pecos Bills. By now, I am feeling worse and finally come clean and let everyone know that I am not feeling well. I skip lunch and sip on a Sprite while the rest of the group chomps on burgers and fries. I will not let this slow me down! After lunch, I get the privilege of riding Thunder Mountain with four year old Alex. Alex has all of the rides he is big enough to ride on memorized and this one is high on his list. Like his oldest brother, he is a daredevil and will try anything. He absolutely loves Thunder Mountain. He is laughing hysterically when we hit the first turn. Riding with Alex is like riding again for the first time. Sheer joy. Alex's not-so-adventurous brother, Connor, also goes on the ride for the first time. Connor rides with the seasoned veteran Christopher and also has a great ride. Notch another mark for Connor as he slowly attempts all the mid-level coasters of Disney. Next we do the Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise, the Enchanted Room, the Swiss Family Tree House and a leisurely train ride around the park. We finish our day at the Magic Kingdom with Mickey's Philharmagic. Everyone loves this new show. It is fun watching Caley block her eyes as 3D images come zooming her way. I am always amazed at how Disney can create a show that captivates an audience of all sizes and shapes. With 6:30 reservations at O'hana's, we decide to head back to the Polynesian.
With Janet in tow, at least I know she won't be late. After giving a quick tour of the room and the concierge lounge, I head over O'hana's with Janet and Mike for a drink before dinner. Janet's girls stay with Kathy and the kids for a little down time before dinner. I am still feeling ill and not getting any better. I get a coke, Mike gets some sort of normal drink and Janet gets this huge drink inside of a real pineapple that is about the size of her head. Soon we are joined by the rest of our crew and are seated at our table by a complete stranger that believes we are all cousins. With a worsening stomach virus, I am suddenly surrounded by skewers of grilled beef, turkey and shrimp. O'hana's is definitely not the place to be if you don't feel like eating. Even if I felt better, however, I'm not sure I would have been impressed with the food at this restaurant. The beef was kind of tough and the shrimp was, well umm, shrimpy. It wasn't all bad though, Caitlin did like the turkey and the kids liked their chicken fingers. Kathy was absolutely ecstatic about the coconut ice cream. Speaking of coconuts, Alex and Caley had fun pushing them around the restaurant with a broom during the coconut races. Brother-in-law Mike looked absolutely miserable during the entire meal. Actually, let me take that back. There was a brief glint in his eye during the hula hoop competition when three young ladies in skimpy clothing shook their stuff right by our table. I, of course, was not the least bit interested. No, really.
After dinner, I felt worse than ever. Luckily, Connor was not that interested in taking that late night swim that I had promised him. I probably would have gone, but since I wasn't pressured into it, I opted to call it a night. We said our good-byes to Janet and her family and made plans to meet up with Caitlin and Bridget the next day at 4pm. We have 5pm reservations for the Hoop De Doo Review, while Janet and Mike would have a nice dinner for two at the California Grill. As we walked back to the room, I tell Kathy that it didn't seem like Mike had a very good day. I'm thinking I let the group down. Our magical breakfast failed miserably, I struggled with a stomach virus all day and we finished with a flop at O'hana's.
Vacations are often filled with those same ups and downs we encounter in our every day lives. Times of great joy and sadness, elation and sorrow form a chain that is strengthened by each of life's experiences. I read once that the trees inside the Biosphere 2, one of those experimental ecosystems they created in Arizona, could not survive. Even though they were given everything they needed from good soil, to plenty of water and nutrients, they just couldn't survive inside the dome. Eventually, they figured out that the trees needed wind. The wind provides a constant resistance that helps the trees grow strong. Without this resistance, they would grow weak and tip over. Like the trees, we need those hard times to keep us strong. Although a family vacation contains just a few links of life's chain, it inevitably contains those same ups and downs. Buoyed by the knowledge that the down times are there to keep us strong, to help us to better appreciate the good times that follow, I hold out great hope for the remainder of our vacation.
Let me formally introduce our new set of characters. My dearest sister Janet is a true gem. Sure, she's never on time to anything, but her heart is in the right place. Caley is a lot like her Aunt Janet in that they are both spunky. Neither will back down when they feel they are being wronged. Actually, neither will back down from just about anything. Janet always has too much to do, but never wants to be left out of anything new that may come around. Thus, she is here with us at Disney. Her husband Mike is just the opposite. Mike gets dragged around from place to place wondering why he is there and when he can go home. Mike is your classic meat and potatoes, made in America, kind of guy. They are joined by their two daughters, Caitlin and Bridget. Bridget is sixteen and won't say more than a handful of words during the entire vacation. Caitlin is a studious Seventeen year old attending her first year at Boston University. It was very difficult getting Caitlin to take two days off from school to join us on this trip. Janet tells me that these two can argue like an old couple, but I have always found them delightful to travel with. I'm sure they save the best arguments for mom and dad's ears only. So here I am, not feeling well and trying to recover from a failed attempt at a magical breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table. Trying to keep this eclectic crew, with ages spanning from 2 to forty something, happy will be a real challenge. I start by pointing out the Cinderella statue behind the castle. I have read about this, but never remember to look for it. If you bend down and look at Cinderella from just the right angle, a crown in the background appears to rest upon her head. No one is impressed. Joedisney takes another strike.
Undaunted and unwilling to waste anymore time I press into action. We all get Fastpasses for the Pooh and then split up. The little guys go with mom, while the big people head over to Space Mountain. The line for Space Mountain is the longest we will sit in during our entire stay at about 30 minutes. It isn't a bad wait, however, as we are able to catch up on all the gory details of why they were late for breakfast. Best I can tell it was Michael's fault, but only because it is always Mike's fault. After the ride we meet up with Kathy and the little ones and walk by the site of the famous poop incident. Next, we all do the Space Ranger Spin and Christopher finally beats me. He is pleased, but we are both crushed by Uncle Mike who gets a whopping 168,000 points. I'm not one to complain, but there is no way the scoring is fair on that ride. Christopher, who has logged hundreds of hours of video game time, loses dramatically to his Uncle who couldn't tell you the difference between a Gamecube and a toaster oven. It's just not right. The Pooh ride is next, followed by Splash Mountain (5 minute wait). We get Fastpasses for Thunder Mountain before going to get some lunch. Janet and her crew go for the big turkey legs and some popcorn, while we go to Pecos Bills. By now, I am feeling worse and finally come clean and let everyone know that I am not feeling well. I skip lunch and sip on a Sprite while the rest of the group chomps on burgers and fries. I will not let this slow me down! After lunch, I get the privilege of riding Thunder Mountain with four year old Alex. Alex has all of the rides he is big enough to ride on memorized and this one is high on his list. Like his oldest brother, he is a daredevil and will try anything. He absolutely loves Thunder Mountain. He is laughing hysterically when we hit the first turn. Riding with Alex is like riding again for the first time. Sheer joy. Alex's not-so-adventurous brother, Connor, also goes on the ride for the first time. Connor rides with the seasoned veteran Christopher and also has a great ride. Notch another mark for Connor as he slowly attempts all the mid-level coasters of Disney. Next we do the Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise, the Enchanted Room, the Swiss Family Tree House and a leisurely train ride around the park. We finish our day at the Magic Kingdom with Mickey's Philharmagic. Everyone loves this new show. It is fun watching Caley block her eyes as 3D images come zooming her way. I am always amazed at how Disney can create a show that captivates an audience of all sizes and shapes. With 6:30 reservations at O'hana's, we decide to head back to the Polynesian.
With Janet in tow, at least I know she won't be late. After giving a quick tour of the room and the concierge lounge, I head over O'hana's with Janet and Mike for a drink before dinner. Janet's girls stay with Kathy and the kids for a little down time before dinner. I am still feeling ill and not getting any better. I get a coke, Mike gets some sort of normal drink and Janet gets this huge drink inside of a real pineapple that is about the size of her head. Soon we are joined by the rest of our crew and are seated at our table by a complete stranger that believes we are all cousins. With a worsening stomach virus, I am suddenly surrounded by skewers of grilled beef, turkey and shrimp. O'hana's is definitely not the place to be if you don't feel like eating. Even if I felt better, however, I'm not sure I would have been impressed with the food at this restaurant. The beef was kind of tough and the shrimp was, well umm, shrimpy. It wasn't all bad though, Caitlin did like the turkey and the kids liked their chicken fingers. Kathy was absolutely ecstatic about the coconut ice cream. Speaking of coconuts, Alex and Caley had fun pushing them around the restaurant with a broom during the coconut races. Brother-in-law Mike looked absolutely miserable during the entire meal. Actually, let me take that back. There was a brief glint in his eye during the hula hoop competition when three young ladies in skimpy clothing shook their stuff right by our table. I, of course, was not the least bit interested. No, really.
After dinner, I felt worse than ever. Luckily, Connor was not that interested in taking that late night swim that I had promised him. I probably would have gone, but since I wasn't pressured into it, I opted to call it a night. We said our good-byes to Janet and her family and made plans to meet up with Caitlin and Bridget the next day at 4pm. We have 5pm reservations for the Hoop De Doo Review, while Janet and Mike would have a nice dinner for two at the California Grill. As we walked back to the room, I tell Kathy that it didn't seem like Mike had a very good day. I'm thinking I let the group down. Our magical breakfast failed miserably, I struggled with a stomach virus all day and we finished with a flop at O'hana's.
Vacations are often filled with those same ups and downs we encounter in our every day lives. Times of great joy and sadness, elation and sorrow form a chain that is strengthened by each of life's experiences. I read once that the trees inside the Biosphere 2, one of those experimental ecosystems they created in Arizona, could not survive. Even though they were given everything they needed from good soil, to plenty of water and nutrients, they just couldn't survive inside the dome. Eventually, they figured out that the trees needed wind. The wind provides a constant resistance that helps the trees grow strong. Without this resistance, they would grow weak and tip over. Like the trees, we need those hard times to keep us strong. Although a family vacation contains just a few links of life's chain, it inevitably contains those same ups and downs. Buoyed by the knowledge that the down times are there to keep us strong, to help us to better appreciate the good times that follow, I hold out great hope for the remainder of our vacation.
