I was looking for an old post of mine when I stumbled across this thread. I kind of promised to give an update on what happened. So here it is, better late than never I guess:
Though my wife and sister and were not entirely convinced whether this trip should happen or not, I had made up my mind. At the very least I was taking my daughters. This was never in doubt as far I was concerned. I made a deal with them, they worked hard to keep up their end of the bargain and I wasnt about to let that effort go unrewarded. As for the other girls (including my sisters daughter), this was a call that would have to made by their respective parents.
In the end my sister decided it was alright for her daughter to come, but my nieces friend could not make it (unrelated issues). Both my daughters friends were able to go. So that was it. It was me and 5 girls. If you had read the entire thread you might be wondering about my other niece from Miami. Well, she ended up getting a different job and wasnt able to make it up to Orlando after all.
We flew in, grabbed the van and made our way to the house we had rented. This was really a sweet deal. Friends of friends had hooked me up with this place. The owners dont normally rent it out. But we couldnt have asked for a better place and the price was more than reasonable. It was an enormous 5 bedroom place. Downstairs was a huge master suite with its own bathroom, huge TV, sitting area and deck. This was perfect oasis for me. The girls split up the other bedrooms upstairs.
The deal was that they would pay for their own park tickets, their own food and all other entertainment options. I took care of the house and the transportation. So here is how a typical day would shake down. They would wake up early and make breakfast for themselves while waiting patiently for me to get up. Of course they learned rather quickly that a pot of strong coffee was the best motivation for me to vacate a warm bed on vacation.
We would drive to one of the parks where I would spend between 2 and 4 hours hanging out with them. I always took off before lunch and found someplace on my own to eat. I figured the less I knew about all the sugar and grease they were consuming the better off I was. They would spend the rest of the afternoon without me, checking in at least once by phone. Sometimes I stuck around the park, sometimes I went off and just explored the resort. Either way I wanted to make sure they had some time to do things without a parent looking over their shoulders. If they stuck around until after dark, I would join them in the park for dinner and tag along the rest of the evening. If they came home earlier, it was up to them to make dinner. Most nights they wanted to hang out at the house. The pool was perfect for this, or they would rent movies and watch them upstairs or they just yakked for endless hours.
This was actually very easy for me, and quite enjoyable. Im not the kind to spend hours and hours in a theme park. I read 4 whole books a luxury I havent enjoyed in years. It was maybe the most relaxing time I have ever had on vacation. The girls were quite determined to impress me with their ability to look after themselves and prove to me just how responsible they could be. And in that they succeeded quite admirably.
So, the end result was a winning little trip.
BTW, my sister is doing very well and is much improved.
