Category Archives: Disney

Rest

Disney, Life, Parenting February 15, 2016 Leave a comment

This is my newest work. I call it Boys Strangled By Seatbelts.    
This is what they did on the way to the airport this afternoon, which was a mercy. They are so tired. There is only so much fun you can have before your circuits just go right up in flames. They were in bed at 8:00 tonight and I think they were asleep before I shut the bedroom door. 

It was their first night without a story in a while. I mean, sure, they got a book before bed, but Grandma was not there on a mattress in the same room to tell them a 45-minute customized bed time story complete with huge RV campers and people named Squinky. Or something. I wasn’t paying close attention. 

Paul and I were discussing the relative quality of the “stories” they get from us when they are in our room after bedtime and we nearly laughed ourselves sick.

GO TO BED. 

Are you bleeding? Do you have a broken bone? No? Then WHY ARE YOU HERE?

If you make me get out of this bed, I am going to be VERY UNHAPPY. How happy do you think YOU will be then? 

GO. TO. BED. Right now!!!

The poor little urchins. Is it any wonder they adore their grandma? 

You know what I adore? I adore my bed. I may want to marry it. I laid down on it when we got home and literally groaned with happiness. 

There’s probably a lesson somewhere in there about attachment to creature comforts and what that means for my soul, but I will have to think about that tomorrow. 

Tonight, I shall wallow in my homebody-ness. And my giant, cozy, fantabulous bed. 

Tuesday at the Village

Disney, Give Kids the World, Wish Trip March 31, 2013 Leave a comment

We had Easter dinner at our house tonight. Besides my mom and my siblings (less the Canadian contingent, of course), my mom’s sisters came. They asked about pictures of our trip, and I was reminded that I haven’t shared a lot of the snapshots we took. I’ll keep at it.

Just for fun, I took a picture of all Levi’s meds when I was packing. The picture below contains a few bottles of mine and Paul’s, but almost everything there is for Levi.

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This picture does NOT include his Vest, which comes with its own rolling case that just qualifies for carry-on status. it also does not include the dietary supplements – I packed a small/medium rolling suitcase about 2/3 full of his special milkshakes and juice on the way down. Traveling with CF is definitely an undertaking.

Monday was spent in traveling, settling in, and hanging around the Village. On Tuesday, we headed for the Magic Kingdom (you may remember the stern lecture I had to deliver on the way in). We stopped on Main Street USA for the obligatory castle picture.

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Shortly after this was taken, a parade came down the street. We had no idea what we were doing – it was beginner’s luck. We got to see Mr. Incredible and Goofy, among others. The boys decided there might be something to this Disney thing after all – up to that point, it’d been parking, people movers, and lines for strollers.

Their favorite thing at that park may have been the flying carpet ride. They’d just recently seen Aladdin for the first time, and Levi was asking about riding a flying carpet even before he knew about an upcoming trip.

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Back at the Village and after a restorative nap, we headed for dinner and then straight out into Mayor Clayton’s surprise birthday party. (Held every Tuesday night. He’s a terribly forgetful rabbit.) Because it was Fat Tuesday, it was also a massive Mardi Gras party with street performers and a slew of Universal characters.

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Recall that all the ice cream you can eat 24/7 is a major perk of Village life. Elias took advantage of this at every opportunity.

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The meeting with Curious George and the Man in the Yellow Hat was one of the nicest surprises we had, especially for Elias.

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And because the Tuesday in question was also MY birthday …

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I couldn’t resist a quick photo op with the mayor.

Back At It

Disney, Wish Trip February 15, 2013 1 Comment

The boys saw their special friends again at breakfast this morning. I asked, and the girls are here through Sunday, just like we are. Such lucky boys!

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Everyone slept late this morning, so we had a later start, but it was chilly and overcast, and the Disney parks weren’t too crazy yet.

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We got to see the Lion King show (Levi LOVED the acrobatic monkeys), and got to meet Chip and Dale, Mickey and Minnie, and Donald. Oh my.

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We topped off the day with a safari ride, which was really great – the boys loved seeing all the animals, and I thought it was pretty cool myself. Elias fell asleep on my lap on the way back to the car, and we are all taking a little rest before supper and the pirate party. Apparently Shamu will be there meeting kids. Can’t miss that!

Not All Fun and Games

Disney, Wish Trip February 12, 2013 Comments: 3

A day and a half of this treatment has produced a certain amount of entitlement in two small boys. Paul snapped this picture of me addressing the problem at the entrance to Disney.

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I look awfully stern. I wonder why it doesn’t work better …

Fairytale Accomodations

Disney, Wish Trip February 3, 2013 Comments: 2

One of the best parts of our upcoming trip – at least in my opinion – is where we’ll be staying. I’m told that staying on Disney property is considered the absolute best option for a Disney trip, but we are staying off property. I’m totally okay with it, and here’s why:

Because we’re on a trip organized by a wish-granting organization, we’re staying at Give Kids the World, a fairy-tale village located about a 20-minute drive from the Magic Kingdom. The village has more than 200 two-bedroom condos that are available only to children on wish trips and their families. It sounds like a fantasyland, and I keep hearing that it will be even better than I can imagine.

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The condos look gingerbread houses. There are two restaurants on site, as well as an ice cream parlor that is open all day long. All meals and snacks are included in your stay. If you’re extra tired at night after trekking around the amusement parks, and you don’t want to go to the restaurant, they’ll deliver pizza for you instead. There’s a cookie cart that rolls around handing out treats. You can pick up your phone and dial “0” between 8 and 10 every morning to get hot coffee delivered to your door.

I am not making this up. Not even that last bit with the magically appearing coffee. I swear.

There are two pool areas – one’s a little quieter and more laid-back, and the other is like a little water park. There’s a mini golf course. You can go horseback riding, or go fishing off the pier. There’s a party every night. Mondays are Halloween, and Thursdays are Christmas. Every week.

And while this experience is, obviously, engineered to thrill the hearts of children, it’s also designed to make their parents pretty happy, too. I’ve already mentioned the coffee delivery. But get this: When you go to the restaurants to eat, each child is accompanied through the line by a volunteer, who helps them get their food and tableware and drinks and get settled at the table. So the parents can go through the line by themselves and carry only their own food and, perhaps, eat it while it’s still hot.

There’s a train that runs around the village, taking you from place to place. Oh, and a playground that looks like a giant Candy Land game board.

While Wishes Can Happen is paying a fee to Give Kids the World, I’m reliably informed that it’s a crazy low price for everything you get, and it’s made possible because Give Kids the World is run largely on volunteer power and donated resources. There are some full-time staff members, but an incredible amount of work is done by the 1,500 volunteers that show up for shifts every week. Fif. Teen. Hundred. I guess it takes a lot of people to make Christmas happen every week.

Eight days to go. Our paper chain now only reaches to my elbow.