Should Florida be this cold?

We decided a winter trip would be a nice break from Chicago snow, although it turns out we had a cold snap for about half of the trip. Since we carefully watched the forecast leading up to the trip, we were well-prepared complete with hats, gloves, and coats. So although the crowds seemed to be kept away by the 40 and 50 degree weather, we didn't let that stop us. The third day of our trip, while not actually the coldest day, was the one that felt the coldest. I think it was windier than the other days and the Magic Kingdom has fewer indoor places to escape than Epcot does. But this was the ony day we'd be able to see Spectromagic (Florida's version of the Electical Parade) so it was definitely a Magic Kingdom day.

We started this day in Tomorrowland with a ride on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. Benji's score "tied" Mommy's so he was very excited (actually, mine was 10X Benji's; he just didn't see the extra zero on mine). We also rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (commonly known as the Peoplemover), which is truly an underappreciated ride. It has a few quick turns to keep Benji happy, a nice breeze when it's hot out, and some time to rest your feet — all with a nice overhead overview of Tomorrowland. We were a bit chilly from the Peoplemover, so we took a spin on the Carousel of Progress and I had the catchy tune "It's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" running through my head the rest of the day.

After lunch at the Columbia Harbor House, we made our way aross Fantasyland to the favorite roller coaster. It was the longest line I have ever seen for that ride, so Matthew took a ride around the park on the train while Benji and I waited for Goofy's Barnstormer. We actually squeezed in 2 rides before Matthew got back, but of course Benji wanted more. With a bit more time in the line, we actually took our time to notice more of the theming, including the chickens in the first show building and the fact that the roller coaster trains look like airplanes.

We rejoined Matthew and headed over to the teacups. While I think I may enjoy teacups more than Matthew, it really is a special ride for Daddy and Benji. Matthew spins the teacups so much faster than I ever could — and Benji would probably be happy if he could spin even faster. On this trip the two of them developed a little ritual game of "I can't spin it" where they try to spin the wheel before the ride begins.

After teacups we tried to go over to Winnie the Pooh, but Benji shied away. On the previous trip he really liked it, but when we rode earlier on this trip he got a little scared. There's a dream sequence with psychedelic huffalumps and Benji covered his eyes. We thought he might still like to go on for the good parts and just cover his eyes for that part, but it quickly became clear that we won't be going on the Pooh ride again anytime soon. Instead, Benji started doing pretend rides in the middle of the walkway. He stopped right in the middle of the thoroughfare and started spinning around and mimicking the teacups ride. Then he decided we all needed to ride the roller coaster. We convinced him that we needed to move off to the side so people could get through and then we happily went on his "ride". He lined us all up in a row and then we had to go up the hill, around the track, and back to the station — all while doing muted roller coaster screams. Finally we "rode" Soarin' complete with the boarding instruction video (in which you need to remove your mouse ears) and seat belt buckling and with Benji telling us the various scenes we're flying past. It was amazingly imaginative, although we must have looked awfully ridiculous to a bystander as if we were doing Candid Camera. Still, I enjoyed losing myself in Benji's imagination and just living in the moment. The real rides would still be there, but his sudden need to show us his favorite rides would only last so long. I really wish I had a video of this, but then I wouldn't have been fully participating in the moment.

After our exciting "rides" we took a rest on a nearby bench and Benji ate a snack out of Mommy's purse. Later that day he told us he was hungry but he refused to go to a restaurant. He kept saying he wanted to eat on a bench. It turns out he wanted the snacks in Mommy's purse. So we had a snack at the Main Street Bakery instead of dinner. It's vacation, after all, right? Benji actually fell asleep in the middle of eating his cookie so when Matthew and I were done we headed off to Big Thunder Mountain for a quick "big person" ride. (Since Benji is now 40 inches tall, he could technically ride Thunder Mountain, but Matthew and I felt that some of the 40 inch rides were still not appropriate for him. Besides, that means we still have new rides for future excitement.)

By this time it was getting close to parade time so we woke Benji for a ride on Pirates of the Caribbean. He was not pleased to (1) be woken, and (2) go on a ride he didn't perceive as being thrilling. Once he figured out there's a hill hidden in the dark, he was much more excited about future rides on the "pirate boat ride". We headed back to Frontierland for the parade (the back of the park is our favorite place for the Spectromagic parade since it's less crowded and you don't have to stake out a place an hour or more in advance). Since it was definitely getting chilly, we all bundled up, including hats, mittens/gloves, and a scarf. We must have looked a little silly, but it sure made a difference in being able to stay later in the park after I saw a mass exodus earlier in the day when the sun was going down. A few rides on the magic carpets and one fireworks show later and the third day of our trip was done.



Benji poses with the evil emperor Zurg after the Buzz Lightyear ride.











Benji and Daddy trying to spin the teacup before the ride starts.


Now we can start to spin it!





A chilly ride on the magic carpets.

Libellés : Benji, Disneyworld

Forty inches tall

On this trip to Disney World we decided not to get Park Hopper passes. Since we didn't have free dining, we knew we wouldn't be eating as many sit-down meals and wouldn't have to go to Epcot as many days to get to the good restaurants. But we did still go for a few of our favorite meals (we went for lunch instead of dinner and actually had to pay attention to the prices, but we still had some really nice meals). On our second day, we snagged a lunch reservation to Le Cellier, the Canadian steakhouse. We split a bowl of their yummy cheddar cheese soup, I had a salmon sandwich, and Matthew had a burger (Benji had a PB&J we brought with since we knew from past experience he won't eat anything at Le Cellier, except maybe breadsticks). So much nicer than a counter service chicken strips meal and not too much more expensive!

Of course Benji didn't go to Disney World for the meals. He is a thrill-seeking rideaholic! He remembered that Epcot has the Nemo ride, so that's where we went first-thing when we arrived. We also followed that with Turtle Talk with Crush, as we always do. That really is a cool show.

On our way to lunch we stopped at The Land to pick up fastpasses for Soarin' — Matthew's favorite ride. On a whim, we had Benji measure at the entrance. If he stood up super tall (not tip-toes; just not slouching), he was just barely tall enough! We had heard stories of kids who were tall enough for rides in the morning but had actually shrunk enough by afternoon (apparently we all shrink a little as the day goes by and our spines compress) that they weren't tall enough, so we decided to hop in the standby line right away. It was about a 45 minute wait, but they have interactive video game screens for the entire audience to play while you wait so Benji didn't get too antsy. Since he didn't know what ride was waiting for him (and we didn't want to get him too excited since there was still a chance he could be measured again at the end of the ride and not allowed on) we thought he would quickly lose interest and get cranky. But the video games made a big difference!

As we predicted, Soarin' was a fast favorite! Benji couldn't stop talking about the "flying ride" for the rest of the trip. And we loved that we could now take Benji on Matthew's favorite ride — more rides on Soarin' for Matthew, fewer baby swaps, and a really cool ride for Benji! Unfortunately, it also meant that Benji now loves the ride with the hottest fastpass in the park so we can't just get back in line over and over again like with Goofy's roller coaster or the teacups. He did adjust pretty well to the fact that we needed a ticket to get on and that sometimes the ticket wasn't good yet. We'd have him read the time on the ticket and show him the clock over the fastpass return. That way he could see for himself that the ticket wasn't good yet. In general, he's more willing to accept rules if they come from an entity other than Mommy and Daddy (i.e. he knows the fireworks mean the park is closing so he doesn't argue with us when we leave then).

While waiting for Soarin' fastpass times to come up during the rest of the day, we visited Mickey and Pluto, played the game show in Innoventions, went to World Showcase, rode Spaceship Earth (the golf ball), played the games at the exit for Spaceship Earth, and ate dinner. The game show in Innoventions is called "What's Your Problem?" and solves problems using Velcro. It's definitely corny, but it was a total riot with Benji. He stole the show from the other kids and I have a fantastic video! While in World Showcase we went to the United Kingdom pavilion where I knew the toy store sells the Mr. Men/Little Miss book series. It's the same price as any bookstore so I thought it would make a great souvenir. Benji picked out Mr. Dizzy and Little Miss Twins. We also watched street performers in the UK and saw the new Canada movie with Martin Short.

Late in the evening we went over to Soarin' to use our last fastpasses, but we got an extra bonus — two extra rides! The lines were so short very late in the day that after we used the fastpass we got back in the standby line for a super short wait. And then we tried again for a no-wait line for the very last Soarin' flight of the night. The "flight attendants" were surprised we had made it back around so quickly. And we learned that if you go over about 20 minutes before fireworks everyone else is staking out a viewing location and there's no one at the rides — a trick we would use every Epcot night. (While Benji loves the Magic Kingdom fireworks show, the Epcot one is less appealing to him and we figure he'd rather go flying three times.)


Benji holds on for dear life after Mommy put him on the railing for a photo.


A little calmer looking, but the sun is causing him to turn away.











Benji gets ready to play the "Stack It Up" game on the "What's Your Problem?" game show. The game was a tie, so everyone got winner stickers! Also notice the wheel in the background. Benji was the one selected to spin the wheel (which determines which game you play) which made him very happy.








At the Spaceship Earth exit there are various games you can play, including this one where you "push" "power" to the parts of the map that need it.

Libellés : Benji, Disneyworld

Disney again?!

In this family (OK, maybe just Benji and I) you can never get too much Disney World! So when they announced the "Buy 4 Get 3 Free" promo for this year, of course we had to book a trip, even though we had been there just 5 months earlier. We told Benji about the upcoming trip about two weeks before the trip, marking it on his calendar. He kept asking us "What number is today?" meaning "What's today's date?" and would then count the days until February 3. His anticipation was so exciting for me, too. When we finally got to February 3rd, it seemed like the wait at the aiport, the flight, and the bus to Disney World took forever.

After all that anticipation, our first stop had to be the Magic Kingdom! Benji was so excited about getting there that he didn't even want to ride in the stroller. He walked all the way from the bus stop and then excitedly made his way through the entrance gate. Just after getting in the gate, he stopped suddenly as the Mickey confetti on the ground caught his eye. On the previous trip, he had gotten quite attached to the Mickey confetti so it was no surprise he wanted to collect Mickeys once again. It's such a simple touch but one that means so much to Benji.

Once we finished with the Mickeys, Benji had a very clear agenda in mind — to the roller coaster! He clearly remembered all about the roller coaster scream and just loved it! He also remembered how he loves to run down the exit ramp after each ride — so he can get back to the entrance faster! After a ride or two, we decided to take a break. Benji was none too pleased about that idea until we showed him the frozen lemonade. There are two ways to Benji's heart at Disney World — rides and food treats!

During the roller coaster break we also went to buy Mickey ears for Benji and Mommy (Daddy declined). Prior to the trip I had talked about Mickey ears with Benji and he seemed pretty excited about the idea. When we went to buy them, however, he was quite opposed to the idea and we couldn't figure out why. After a bit of digging it turns out that he was concerned he wouldn't be able to ride any more rides with his new ears. He remembered how Daddy had lost his hat on the previous trip so he thought if he had a hat he wouldn't be able to ride. We had to explain that he would take off his ears on each ride and Mommy or Daddy would hold them so of course he would still be able to ride. Then he was very excited about Mickey ears and Mommy and Benji got matching headwear.

Our next stop after roller coaster was Benji's second favorite ride, the teacups. He wanted Daddy to spin it faster and faster! We then continued our tour through Fantasyland with stops at the carousel, the Sword in the Stone, It's a Small World, and Winnie the Pooh. While there I tried to get a picture of Benji and I in our new mouse ears with the castle in the background, but Benji was far too excited to pose for photos.

We had a late dinner then took a trip on the Jungle Cruise and caught the fireworks. At this time of year the parks close fairly early so at 8:00 it was fireworks and park closing. While we were tired from traveling, it was still only 7:00 according to our bodies so that seemed so early! It apparently was not too early for Benji since he fell asleep on the bus on the way back to the hotel. At least he was well-rested for the next morning of Disney World adventures!

Libellés : Benji, Disneyworld