So as you know, this post has been a long time coming. It is very long, with lots of pictures! And I promise that it will be no where near as detailed as my ever-so-talented brother and sister-in-law's blog. Let's just say I am not quite as gifted in the literary sense. I also do not remember half of the things that happened on this trip. It really was quite the whirl wind. But thankfully all of these pictures seem to be more or less in chronological order. And that is how I am going to tell most of the stories for the rest of our trip. Unfortunately our camera died after about the third day, and we did not remember our charger, soooo, we had the memory maker doing most of the work. Again, Heather and Nathan get lots of props. I think they took more pictures of us, than we would even if we had our camera. Anyways, enough about our inability to have a camera.
Disclaimer: It is very possible that I WILL mix up the days and places. I did not keep a log and we often went from park to park all in one day. I may also add to this blog post in the future. This is a start and I feel good about getting something down so that I can move on with my life.
Let's do this...
The first day that we were off land and at Disney world, we went to Epcot. Here are sequence of most of the family as we entered. We wanted to try out our picture taking abilities with the memory maker. we got some pretty special pictures. My favorites are the ones of the girls looking at fairies. Lucy looks totally uninterested.
Jimmy had told me that he was super excited about Epcot because it didn't really have any rides. But it was a good cultural experience. We decided beforehand that we would eat some Moroccan food. It was super yummy. It had hummus. It made me happy. We walked around half the world to get there, which was fine, except that I was kind of tired. After lunch we went over to ride a boat with the tres cabaneros. Slow and peaceful. Again, much needed especially after getting off the cruise. After that I wanted to go back to sleep, and Jimmy went reluctantly. He was super excited about experiencing Disney. I just wanted to sleep. There may have been some tears on my part, but mostly because I was feeling so sleep deprived. We ate at the resort, I think we decided to switch rooms with Anne and Tod somewhere in there and headed to bed after that.
The next day we went to the Magic Kingdom. The Magic Kingdom has all the very princessey things, and one of my favorite rides, Space Mountain. I am more of a ride junkie. In fact I remember going to Disney World with my family when I was a teenager. We did Space Mountain over and over. Jimmy and I did this ride together. He liked it, probably not as much as me.
We also got to meet with Repunzal, which is one of Lucy's favorite characters, hence the Repunzal dress. She was very lucky in that she had Repunzal (and Snow White) all to herself. They danced and talked, and had a jolly good time.
This might be one of my favorite pictures of Lucy. You can tell just how much she loved seeing the characters.
And her she is with both of them. What a lucky little girl.
We walked around a lot of the Magic Kingdom, mostly seeing what sort of people Lucy could meet. I know that we did the Peter the Pan ride, and Dumbo and the Barnstormer several times. And again, I know that Heather and Nathan have some fun pictures/videos of the kids doing this. I am sorry, I am just happy to get some of this written down. Lucy loved the Barnstormer the second time around, when she did it with me. I think she was in a little bit of shock the first time around. Insert thumb in mouth and twirl hair -- Lucy's way of coping with something new and different.
We tried to take some naps at the hotel the first couple days. It ended up being kind of time consuming and most of the time after that we just tried to get her to nap in her stroller. I think that is why she is in different clothes in the following pictures.
We also were able to see several parades in the Magic Kingdom. I am not sure what day we saw the Electric Parade, but it was at night and it was at the Magic Kingdom. Joe and Ada were with us. Let's just say Joe was quite the lifesaver. He would hold kids or strollers or just be there keep an eye on things. He was a trooper. Thanks Joe!
Sidenote:we saw Annie and Tod on a lot of the rides and at the family meals, but those two "newly weds" were off doing their thing most of the time. Lucky! We were all a little jealous. But we were glad to see them when we could. Lucy loves having an uncle with the same birthday!
The night time was always so pretty, so we got quite a few pictures taken while waiting for a parade. Lucy might have been a little tired by now.
And so we went home and went to bed. Exhausted. Sam still wasn't sleeping all that well, but at least the beds weren't swaying, so I felt a little more rested.
We had a day off, Tuesday, while a group went over to Universal Studios. We went over to Downtown Disney kind of early in the day. We ate at Wolfgang Pucks (so good, by the way) and looked around a bit. Then we came back, Lucy went swimming with Jimmy and I did laundry. Heather and Nathan also took Lucy for a bit and we went back to Downtown Disney. It was a breather sort of day, but we still filled it up.
The next day we went to the Animal Kingdom. It was raining a lot. But we got some good pictures of us as we walked in. Lucy only knows what a Baobab tree is because we have a fabulous book called "Hug Time." I highly recommend it. She has it practically memorized. I digress. I really like the Animal Kingdom. It is like one large zoo. And it had another one of my favorite rides. The Safari, which consequently is not a thrill ride, it is Safari through conservation land. We saw some awesome animals. Lucy was quite thrilled to see more Baobab trees and lots of animals. Although I thought the Safari was great, Lucy was more interested in seeing the goats, which was good because they had a great petting zoo of lots and lots of goats. This was a lot of fun for Lucy. She would brush and brush until the goats would run away. Sorry, we didn't get a picture.
The Animal Kingdom is where we also got to meet up with Pooh and Tiger. Lucy loves Winnie the Pooh, so again she was thrilled. And because it was raining and a not so nice day we had the place all to ourselves. We got lots of attention and spent a lot of time talking and chatting with these characters. Sam loved looking at Pooh.
This is another one of my favorites. He is so cautious of new people, especially big stuffed bears.
I think Lucy was relating to Tigger how much the two of them are so much alike. They sure are bouncy people.
Animal Kingdom also had some fun little rides similar to Dumbo, but dinosaur themed. Lucy did that several times, and she played in a dino fossil park. Animal Kingdom is also where we booked a nice lunch at the Tusker House. It was supposed to be African food. It was really African, but it had a lot of cultural food, and it was a buffet (Jimmy's request). And the highlight was the characters that came around to say hello. A camera would have been great here because they didn't have photographers. Sad day. But Lucy met Safari Mickey and Minnie and Donald (and maybe some others...). It was great and I was full for the rest of the trip. We also did "It's tough to be a Bug" and the "Nemo the Musical." The musical was really cool, in that they had people using puppet to act out the fish. It was quite breath taking to watch.
Instead of finishing the day at Animal Kingdom we changed our plans a bit and went over to Hollywood Studios. We wanted Lucy to see some fireworks, but didn't really want to have to stay up late. Hollywood Studios had a show called Fantasmic, with water and lights and some fireworks. It was on Wednesday (today), so we headed over. We picked up some food and went right to the show. we probably waited an hour, but it was worth it. Lucy loved the show and it had just the right amount of fireworks. Here we are at Hollowood Studios as we walked in. Notice the sleepy Sam and the not so talkative Lucy. That's kind of how they looked by the end of the day.
The next day we had a character breakfast planned with the entire Cooprider clan. It was at the castle at the Magic Kingdom. Lucy and all the girls got to meet with Cinderella. They got some precious pictures.
Doesn't she look so old. Jimmy loves the idea of her wearing jewelry, maybe because I never wear it. Either way, I think she looks like she is 5 years older than she actually she. Sheesh, Lucy, stop growing up!
The food was great, but I was a little frazzled. Sam was kind of cranky and Lucy could not sit still. I didn't enjoy my meal as much as I had wanted. But Lucy met lots of princesses and got a magic wand. Sam was rewarded a sword. It was cute.
Then we walked around the magic kingdom some more.
This was the day that we were actually scheduled to go Hollywood Studios, so that is where we went next. Hollywood studios has Star Wars and Disney Junior and Pixar animation stuff. Lucy was VERY excited about meeting Wreck-it-Ralph. Jimmy was too. So excited that he looked all over the parks for Wreck-it-Ralph gear. They don't have it. Sorry Jimmy!
Sam really didn't know what to think about the big character behind him.
I know that we did some star tours, and we did some other fun things at Hollywood Studios, but things are no becoming a blur. So bear with me. I do remember doing Star Tours twice. The second time I was sitting between Joe and Jimmy. I was guessing who was going to be spy. Yup, it was me. I felt very special. This may have happened on Friday when we had some extra time. I know that we also did the American Idol experience and watched some people sing. Lucy informed us after that if she had a chance to sing she would sing "I am a child of God." Bless her soul. She is so cute.
That evening, like Heather and Nathan and Anne and Tod, we went to Downtown Disney. It was our date night. Much needed, I have to say. We ate at a Cuban place. It was really good, but we were not hungry. I really think I was still fun from the Tusker House. But it was nice to get away and we did like the atmosphere. We also went to Disney Quest, a arcade of sorts. We got there kind of late and only got to play a few games. Truth be told I think we were both starting to catch the cold/flu that was going around the group. I would get sick whenever I had to put on the head gear.
The next day was an open day, so we went back to the Magic Kingdom. We figured we would meet some more characters and ride more the rides that Lucy liked A.K.A Dumbo and Barnstormer. I don't know if we actually ever got there, but it was still a good day. We actually had lunch at the Be Our Guest restaurant. It was one of the best quick service meals. You were actually seated and they brought your food to you. Because it was so popular we went at 10:30 am in the morning. Lucy was crazy wiggly, but they food was great. Guess it is hard to sit still if you have to go potty all the time and you really don't want to use the public potties. Sigh...Yes, we were still dealing with potty.
We also got there early enough to do the Buzz lighter Blaster ride. Sam and Lucy really got into it. You can't see Lucy in the first picture, but she was trying really hard. I think she scored 200 without any help, and little over 2000 when I actually helped her hit the button a few times.
So picturesque. And isn't Sam's face the best in this picture. I wish he didn't look so bundled up all the time.
Because we had really had a great day at Epcot, we decided to got back. Jimmy was dying to try some sushi, and there were actually some rides that we wanted to try.
Here is Lucy with Grandma Coop.
Epcot had Mulan. Lucy was so cute when she met Mulan. She just loved talking to the characters. It was like they were her best friends. It was somewhere around here that we saw a really neat acrobatic show. They were stretching in very awkward poses and hold things above there heads with there feet. It was very impressive.
We also did the fast track. Ada helped Jimmy and I make a car. Alice helped Grandpa Coop and Nathan. Turns out we make more safe cars, but it wasn't all that fast. It was fun.
There were a few days that Grandma Coop took Lucy home for a nap. It gave us a break. And Sam usually slept in the stroller. Here is some picture proof. We walked around Epcot a little longer. We grabbed some sushi to go, and that was the supposed end of our trip.
But then it wasn't. On Saturday we woke up and packed our things to get ready. Joe came over to say by and we found out then that our flights were in limbo. Joe's at least was late. Once we brought all our stuff to the lobby we found out that our flights were in fact cancelled. Anne and Tod were also a little delayed, but like Joe they were able to get off on Saturday, as planned.
Now, I know what you are thinking, "stuck in Florida, that can't be all bad!" And it wasn't, but we were just so spent after running around so much that I wasn't really emotional ready for an extended vacation. I actually felt a little like crying. Not because I didn't want to spend more time with my family, just because I knew I was going to be sleep deprived a little bit longer.
As the arrangements were made we found out that Jimmy would return on Monday (he had an internship and didn't want to miss a lot) and we would return on Wednesday. A shout out to all those singles moms out there. Those few days without Jimmy were HARD. And I had people helping.
Saturday we coped with the news that we were sticking around. And thankfully we got to stay in the resort and grandma and grandpa Coop arranged for some more days at the Disney parks. It gave us something to do. We also got in contact with Laura, who took Heather and I shopping. It was nice chatting with Laura and Heather. I felt like I was getting a little time away, even though it was just Walmart.
Now I think my timeline might be a little off. I think in fact that we went to Epcot the one day that Jimmy was still around. So all that stuff about Epcot may have actually happened on Sunday. Either way that was day that Jimmy was still around.
On Monday we went to Animal Kingdom. I wanted to do the Everest ride again. It was a little more of a thrill ride and we were getting as many fastpass as we could. Notice I did it all by my lonesome. This was after Grandma and Grandpa Coop did it with Ada. She is such a thrill seeker.
The parks were totally empty. We did the dinosaur land rides a number of times. I did a tumble whirl ride with Ada probably 5 times without ever getting off the ride. And Lucy did the Dumbo type ride with Grandma several times too. We also went and did the Safari ride again. This time the driver was a little more aggressive and there were a few times I thought we might just might fly right out. But the animals were so neat to look at. I am not sure how we ended this day. Without Jimmy, I was always so glad to get home and sleep.
I then spent some time of my time with Heather, Nathan and the girls. We went to the Magic Kingdom. Getting on the bus was a adventure, let along the park itself. It was nearing night time and cold. Ada had borrowed my jacket before, so I lent it to her again. The wind was crazy. Lucy and her cousins met Buzz lightyear.
And before we left we got a picture. We left as the fireworks were going off. Some of us were pretty spent, myself included.
The next, and FINAL final day we went back to the Magic Kingdom. It had some of the best rides for the kids and lots of characters to meet. I went with Ada to do Space Mountain, while Heather took the girls and a very cranky Sam to see Merida.
Here is Ada and I doing Space Mountain.
While we were thrilling on Space Mountain, the girls also say Tinkerbell and her sister. I don't know her name. She is winter fairy I think.
While we were at the Magic Kingdom we got to participate in one of the parades. Apparently Heather hadn't been to one yet. We had a lot of fun dancing.
We then went back to Hollywood Studios. Heather really wanted to eat a sit-down meal, since quick service was very difficult to handle with kids. I agreed. So we ate a very fancy place, with yummy food. I wish I could remember the name. The kids all ate hot dogs. But it was great.
After I think we walked around a bit and the we went home. I think I was started to get sick.
When we got back to resort I attempted to put my children to bed. Sam went down easy, Lucy talked. I ended up in the hall. By this time I was red faced, but shivering. I also starting thinking that we would never get home because I didn't have any IDs for the kids. When Heather, Nathan, the grandparents and the girls got back they reassured me that it would be fine. I asked to be relieved of my post and I went to get a smoothie. I also bought Jimmy and Disney version of Clue.
I then collapsed in bed.
The next day we finally were on our way home. I sat with Ada and Sam. Lucy sat with Grandma Coop. Ada told me a "short" summary of the movie Frozen and she sang me "Let it Go." She was very entertaining. I think we are good friends.
When we got back to Worcester it was freezing. Grandma Nancy brought our parking ticket and I drove our car home. We met Jimmy that evening. We were so grateful to see him.
Let's just say that this trip did not disappoint. It may have been the most exhausting vacation I have ever experienced, but it was so unpredictable and exciting that I know I will never forget it. It might just take us a few years to re-energize enough to do it again. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Coop for organizing everything!!! We love you!!!
