Day 8 - Part 2 Forget Alligators: Frogs Can be VERY Dangerous!!

[CJK]

The Cast:

Goofy Gal (me) - Obsessive Disney Planner
Goofy Guy (my husband) - Tolerant of the Obsessive Disney Planner
Dapper Dad (my dad) - A fellow Disney lover!
Fanlover (my mom) - Fan of Disney, not fan of the heat
ToT Sis (my sister ) - Likes Disney, but Tower of Terror? Not so much...
Cocoa Bil (my bro-in-law) Likes Disney, especially their hot chocolate
Splashboy (my nephew) age 6 Never been to Disney, excited and nervous to try the big rides
Boomer (my nephew) age 4 Never been to Disney, age 4 going on 14

Dining Report
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=901786
Introductory Report
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=903652
Day 1 Peter Pan PLEASE teach me to fly!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=904193
Day 2 - Part 1 Prison or Disney?
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=904890
Day 2 - Part 2 The broom kissed the balloon
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=905052
Day 2 - Part 3 Conquering the Magic Kingdom
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=905863
Day 2 - Part 4 Splash Mountain vs. The Boy
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=906053
Day 3 - Part 1 Tower of Terror: Enter With Caution
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=907362
Day 3 - Part 2 Sittin' on Stranger's laps
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=908266
Day 3 - Part 3 Thank goodness for Dinosaurs!!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=908703
Day 4 - Part 1 Beware: Crush 'n' Gusher has a 48-inch height restriction
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=910433
Day 4 - Part 2 My Heroes: The Lifeguards
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=910561
Day 4 - Part 3 Move Over Tom Hanks - There's a New Man in Town!!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=911269
Day 5 - Part 1 Newsflash: Disney Waterslides Reveal Hidden Talents
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=912197
Day 5 - Part 2 Ghiradelli Sundaes and 4yr old Boys
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=913168
Day 5 - Part 3 Who Says Disney Isn't For Adults?!?
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=913984
Day 6 - Part 1 Becoming Famous in the Magic Kingdom!!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=914878
Day 6 - Part 2 Ballet Dancing Never Looked So Good!!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=915472
Day 7 - Part 1 Gorillas & Giraffes & Rhinos - Oh My!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=916191
Day 7 - Part 2 Flyin' to Mars, Soarin' Over California - All in a Day's Work
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=917232
Day 7 - Part 3 & Day 8 - Part 1 Anything But the Dreaded Good-bye!!!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=921037

Day 8 - Part 2 Forget Alligators: Frogs Can be VERY Dangerous!!

I have a confession to make.

When we booked this trip, Goofy guy and I purposely booked an additional 3 days in order to have some alone time together. The reason?

I assumed we’d need some down time from our family vacation. I know, I know – where was my optimism right?

When 8 strong-minded people (with 3 of them being Drama Queens no less…) all get together for 7 days, anything is possible right? I had visions of fistfights happening.

And that was just between the adults.

And what about the children? What about temper tantrums? With a 4, 6yr old and not to mention a 31yr old like me – anything was possible. Just ask Goofy guy.

Quite honestly, I never expected the trip to go so well. I had high hopes for sure, but I was also realistic. I think we all had some reservations that all turned out to be unfounded. I certainly didn’t expect to feel so sad driving towards Cocoa Beach. I even expected to feel a little relief.

I didn’t.

But, I didn’t want to waste the rest of our trip longing for my family back. We were in the Sunshine State. True it was pouring rain, but it was still the Sunshine state nonetheless! If I continued my moping, I’m quite sure Goofy guy would throw me out the window.

Or worse yet – turn me over to the tollbooth police.

We arrived at our friends’ house within a couple hours. This friend was an old college roommate of mine who has since moved to Florida. The funny thing is that when we were in school, it was always me who dreamed of Florida in the middle of February. Yet SHE is the one who ended up moving there while I moved to a house in Ontario where lots of snow falls each winter.

I need a new real estate agent.

We enjoyed a tour of their new house followed by a nice lunch. Of course, no trip to Cocoa beach is complete without a walk on the beach. Halleluiah – the rain had stopped. As we walked along the beach, there in the distance, shining in all its glory was one of the Disney cruise ships. I vowed then and there to one day board that there ship.

True my husband would be hurling over the side of the ship, but damn it, it’s worth it for Mickey.

Before walking on the beach, I was told to be ware of tar blotches on the beach. Apparently pollution has become a real problem and tar is now polluting the beaches here. Once it gets on the bottom of your feet, it takes a special tar removal to get it off. I was so sad! This shouldn’t be happening. I tried not to think about it while we walked, soaking in the salt air. We always enjoy our time together, catching up with all the latest news. Of course, she finds it rather amusing how I continue to nurture my Disney obsession. Can you believe that she lives in Florida and she only goes to Disney to visit us when we’re there???

It’s a wonder we’re still friends!

While we walked, we all managed to avoid the tar. My friend did say that they’re trying to work on the tar problem. We all need to do our part.

We then visited with some more friends who were staying at a condo on the beach. We were thinking of leaving in order to get back to see Dapper Dad and Fanlover, but they said the magic words to us – HOT TUB.

As much as I love the All Star Movies Resort, there is no hot tub there. We needed to get our fill so we agreed to stay a little longer. I know – this was yet another big sacrifice for us to make. There’s nothing quite as relaxing as hot tubs.

Except maybe a hot tub IN Disney.

Before we knew it, it was really time to go. We bid farewell to our friends, but with no tears this time.

I’m pretty sure my tear ducts had completely dried up by now.

Before heading back to Disney, we made a quick stop at a nearby Publix. I was on another mission. As a Canadian, we don’t have Excedrin or cherry coke at home. I know – it’s a wonder I’ve survived all these years. I needed to stock up. The cashier thought I was a little crazy buying so much cherry coke and Excedrin. She probably thought I was a twisted drug addict or something.

Our plan was to grab a quick dinner before getting back to the hotel. The problem was, we had become spoiled brats on the free dining plan. I’m not ashamed to admit it. The thought of buying food and having to…gasp…fork out money was causing a dizzy feeling. I was feeling faint.

So I popped an Excedrin with cherry coke.

I was feeling a bit better now. But, we still didn’t want to have an expensive dinner, but wanted to eat at least one meal outside of Disney property. It’s all about broadening our horizons you understand… Our compromise was to go to McDonald’s.

I know – there’s a gazillion McDonald’s at home, but we wanted to experience an American version. Take it from me – they’re all alike. Employee accents are just a little different – eh!

We drove back to the hotel where we were to meet up with Dapper dad and Fanlover. Turns out they weren’t there. The nerve! We phoned their cell but there was no answer. Not only were they not at the hotel, they had also turned off their cell.

I think they were trying to tell us something.

I was about to ransack their hotel room, when Dapper dad phoned us. Turns out we phoned them while they were in Spaceship Earth and they didn’t hear the phone ring. Likely story I thought, but I let it go. He told us that they were about to ride Soarin’ again and he wondered if we wanted to meet them at the Boardwalk in an hour. We had to return our rental car to the Dolphin hotel anyway, so we thought it was a good plan.

I think Goofy guy was looking forward to returning the car. He had become quite used to letting Dapper dad do the driving. We filled up the car with gas at the onsite station. Hess is it? The price was actually cheaper IN Disney, than out. That’s another first for us. I suppose pigs fly now too? Returning the car was pretty slick. We just gave the keys to Valet and we were done. No fuss! We’ll definitely consider doing this again on future trips.

We wandered around the Boardwalk for a little while enjoying the atmosphere. I was still stunned by the fact that my feet didn’t have blisters all over them. I could practically do back flips. Well, I could have done back flips had I known how.

A magician was putting on a show so we decided to watch while we waited for my parents to arrive. The most adorable little girl with enormous pigtails was asked to be in the show. She was the most adorable little girl we had ever seen.

She reminded me of myself at that age.

After a few minutes, Dapper dad and Fanlover arrived on the boat. They told us all about their great day. Apparently Soarin’ is just as good the second time round. We were definitely going to find out for ourselves tomorrow.

Dapper dad also told us that they were able to use the last of Cocoa bil’s table credits. ToT sis and family left today before using up all their table credits so they gave one of their cards to Dapper dad to use tonight for dinner. It worked great! The only problem they encountered was finding a last minute restaurant that had reservations available! They tried Mexico and the Garden Grill and both were booked for the night. They didn’t want to continue walking from restaurant to restaurant (they didn’t use body glide on their feet I guess), so they asked if they could exchange 2 table credits for 2 counter service credits at a restaurant in the Land pavilion. A manager had to come and put the order through, but it worked fine. I must admit that Goofy guy and I chuckled over this one. Our family thought we were crazy to book all of our dining reservations so far in advance, but tonight, I think my parents realized that we were certifiable out of necessity. We all enjoyed being able to eat at our desired restaurant this trip without having to wait in long lines.

We sat and enjoyed the boardwalk for a while before deciding to call it a day. When we arrived back at the hotel, we were a little sad walking past ToT sis’ room. There would be no little boys excitedly jumping out of the room anymore. Well, there could be, but we wouldn’t know them.

Just as I was starting to feel sad again, a frog jumped out in front of me. I’m quite sure he was mocking my pain. In chorus, Fanlover and I screamed an earth-shattering kind of scream. I’m sure we woke up anyone within a 5-mile radius.

Wanting to be the hero in the situation, Dapper dad tried to scare the frog away from us. So what does he do? He makes the frog leap TOWARDS us causing us to scream yet again – even louder if that’s possible.

This time, I’m sure we woke everyone up within a 10-mile radius. Now EVERYONE knew there were still two drama queens in their midst.

On the brightside, we momentarily forgot that ToT sis had left the building. On the downside, I soiled my underpants.

After a quick change of clothes, we all went to the pool for a late night swim. No one had to baby-sit tonight. See? I’m TRYING to see the bright side! Fanlover told us about what ToT sis and family stocked up on today in the food court. They still had a whole whack of snack credits left so they stocked up on water and fruit. They were all out of rice crispy treats. Here’s a tip for y’all. (I’m practicing my southern drawl for when I move to Florida in 2030). If you’re on the dining plan and don’t think you’ll be using up all your snack credits by the end of the trip, buy some rice crispy treats or cracker jacks a couple days prior to leaving. Otherwise, you may be stuck with apples.

You know, the kind of apples you find at the bottom of your stockings each Christmas.

Don’t get me wrong. I like fruit as much as the next person. It’s just that when given the choice to have a Mickey Mouse rice crispy treat or an apple, it’s no contest.

We made a plan to have a buffet breakfast the next day at the Yacht Club Galley restaurant before my parents started the long trek home. We went to sleep willing ourselves to believe that our vacation was just beginning. There’s no place like Disney…there’s no place like Disney…

 

[kathymc]

another great installment -looking forward to the "down time"

 

[dazzled]

Thanks for posting. Can't wait to read more. What wiil I do when your fantastic trip is over.

 

[Angelrose]

What is Body Glide and where can I buy it? I've heard several people talk about putting it on their feet to prevent blisters. I sure could use that.

 

[CJK]

Thanks all!

For more info about bodyglide, check out this link:
http://www.bodyglide.com/

Basically, you rub it on potential problem areas just like a deoderant. I rubbed it all over my feet each morning and I didn't get one single blister or sore spot in 10 days. I bought it at a local chain called "The Runningroom". Do you have such a store near you? Otherwise, you can buy it online.

HTH!

 

[Angelrose]

thanks, I'll definitely try and get it.

 

[LeslieM]

Still enjoying!

Question - we never rent a car so I don't pay attention at the right time -- from what rental company can you get a car at the Dolphin? Quite handy to know that piece of info. Thanks.

Reading on...

 

[CJK]

LeslieM - Wow - you've been busy!! Thanks for taking the time to read and post. I'm glad some people don't mind my long-windedness.

We got our car through Avis. I *think* you can get another company car there as well, but I can't say for sure. We usually use Avis at MCO so we were happy to hear we could use them at the Dolphin too.

 

[LeslieM]

You come and sit by me and be long-winded any day, honey!

Thanks for the info.

Now, go. Write!

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your report ~ Thanx for posting.