amazingact21
Upendi
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2010
June 11th, Day 6 Plans:
The halfway point in our trip! Well, sort of. Technically, it’s a day after the halfway marker but that’s close enough to count, right?
Sadly, this is departure day for my mom. She is an early bird like me and will want to get on the road early. We’ll say our goodbyes to her, help her load her luggage into her car, then Alex and the kids will go back to the room to sleep and/or watch tv. (Bet you can’t guess who will be watching the television and who will be snoozing) I have to knock out another training run this morning, but at least this time around I won’t be rushing.
That's because this day is our official down day. Because our trips are usually four and five days long, Alex never wants to schedule a day off but with a trip of this magnitude I insisted we schedule one.
The morning will be comprised of laundry runs, pool time, and coffee on the balcony. The four of us will rest our weary feet and enjoy the offerings at Shades of Green. Perhaps Alex will take Landon to the arcade and introduce him to a new world of games…
When we are ready, Alex and I have agreed to spend the day with his older brother and sister in Orlando. They are Season Passholders to Universal and have asked if we would go to lunch at Toothsome with them. I went there last vacation with them and it was an enjoyable experience.
The restaurant theming is quirky and fun, and it will be yet another new experience for Alex. He loves milkshakes and will get a kick out of choosing one of these behemoths:
I’ll probably hold off on the ice cream and save my sweet tooth for VooDoo Doughnuts. I am such a sucker for doughnuts…it’s my ultimate indulgence. When I want to treat myself after a long week or an accomplishment, I go to my local bakery and grab a coffee and a doughnut.
Of course, the sugar always makes me feel terrible afterwards and I regret the carb overload decision the minute I finish the food, but I can’t resist.
Some people like ice cream, some French fries, some margaritas…mine is bread. In stick, pizza, or cake doughnut form I’ll take them all. (Obviously, I war with myself every time I go into a supermarket here where there a bread machines! Fresh croissants for cents…and bread trucks that deliver in the village. Goodness, it’d be an easier life if I liked cauliflower instead.)
The kids are still young enough – I hope – to be content with visiting City Walk but not the Universal parks. As much as Alex and I love frozen butterbeer and Escape from Gingotts, we want to wait until both kids are tall enough to hit all the minimum height requirements before bringing them back into the parks.
And let’s be honest….this will still be what entertains them the most:
Moving walkways are a million times more fun when they’re not in an airport and accompanied by heavy carry on backpacks and exhausted parents.
If the siblings don’t have anything else specific they want to do, we will all just head back to Shades to spend even more time at the pool:
(Shhh: if you listen closely you might be able to hear Alex groan in dismay over that last sentence. He is NOT thrilled with the amount of pool time I have allocated. Sitting besides an over-chlorinated pool is his definition of boredom.)
For kicks and giggles, I scheduled us Fastpasses for after dinnertime in the Magic Kingdom. But they are not a high priority. Should we get caught up in an outing with family or prefer to stay away from a park, nobody is going to lose sleep over missing these passes.
If we do venture inside the MK, I might try and grab our traditional shot of Alex and Landon at the sword:
Circa 2015
Circa 2018
**I need to go through my photos and find someplace Alex has taken a picture with Evie in order to give them something traditional. I guess I could use the carousel. Goodness knows, he has taken her on that attraction enough times.**
The first Fastpass we have is for 7DMT. This ride made me ill the last time I rode it, and we have to see if Evie hits the 38” mark so this is not something we care one way or the other about. Landon liked it, but Landon likes ALL attractions; we will probably have to let him skip it this trip.
Our next pass is for Enchanted Tales with Belle. Yet another attraction none of us have ever done before. I think the kids are finally old enough to understand the show and handle the disappointment if they are not picked for a role. Whether we do this with our passes or another day, Enchanted Tales is high on my wish list of things I want us all to do this vacation.
Our final pass is for Dumbo. There’s something beautiful and calming about riding Dumbo at night, and it's an attraction Landon will miss when he goes on Space Mountain with Alex and me.
Alex might be dreading this “down day” (and hanging out with his no-plan, fly by the seat of their pants siblings) but I am really looking forward to it. Open plans tend to lead to some surprising and wonderful moments, and I think it will be a good way to allow the kids to transition from having Nana around to being us four again. Pushing a new dynamic on them too quickly can lead to meltdowns and heightened emotions, so by doing it this way we are allowing them decompression time.
Day 6 Goals:
- Rest in the morning
- City Walk time
Up Next: Day 7 Plans
The halfway point in our trip! Well, sort of. Technically, it’s a day after the halfway marker but that’s close enough to count, right?
Sadly, this is departure day for my mom. She is an early bird like me and will want to get on the road early. We’ll say our goodbyes to her, help her load her luggage into her car, then Alex and the kids will go back to the room to sleep and/or watch tv. (Bet you can’t guess who will be watching the television and who will be snoozing) I have to knock out another training run this morning, but at least this time around I won’t be rushing.
That's because this day is our official down day. Because our trips are usually four and five days long, Alex never wants to schedule a day off but with a trip of this magnitude I insisted we schedule one.
The morning will be comprised of laundry runs, pool time, and coffee on the balcony. The four of us will rest our weary feet and enjoy the offerings at Shades of Green. Perhaps Alex will take Landon to the arcade and introduce him to a new world of games…
When we are ready, Alex and I have agreed to spend the day with his older brother and sister in Orlando. They are Season Passholders to Universal and have asked if we would go to lunch at Toothsome with them. I went there last vacation with them and it was an enjoyable experience.
The restaurant theming is quirky and fun, and it will be yet another new experience for Alex. He loves milkshakes and will get a kick out of choosing one of these behemoths:
I’ll probably hold off on the ice cream and save my sweet tooth for VooDoo Doughnuts. I am such a sucker for doughnuts…it’s my ultimate indulgence. When I want to treat myself after a long week or an accomplishment, I go to my local bakery and grab a coffee and a doughnut.
Of course, the sugar always makes me feel terrible afterwards and I regret the carb overload decision the minute I finish the food, but I can’t resist.
Some people like ice cream, some French fries, some margaritas…mine is bread. In stick, pizza, or cake doughnut form I’ll take them all. (Obviously, I war with myself every time I go into a supermarket here where there a bread machines! Fresh croissants for cents…and bread trucks that deliver in the village. Goodness, it’d be an easier life if I liked cauliflower instead.)
The kids are still young enough – I hope – to be content with visiting City Walk but not the Universal parks. As much as Alex and I love frozen butterbeer and Escape from Gingotts, we want to wait until both kids are tall enough to hit all the minimum height requirements before bringing them back into the parks.
And let’s be honest….this will still be what entertains them the most:
Moving walkways are a million times more fun when they’re not in an airport and accompanied by heavy carry on backpacks and exhausted parents.
If the siblings don’t have anything else specific they want to do, we will all just head back to Shades to spend even more time at the pool:
(Shhh: if you listen closely you might be able to hear Alex groan in dismay over that last sentence. He is NOT thrilled with the amount of pool time I have allocated. Sitting besides an over-chlorinated pool is his definition of boredom.)
For kicks and giggles, I scheduled us Fastpasses for after dinnertime in the Magic Kingdom. But they are not a high priority. Should we get caught up in an outing with family or prefer to stay away from a park, nobody is going to lose sleep over missing these passes.
If we do venture inside the MK, I might try and grab our traditional shot of Alex and Landon at the sword:
Circa 2015
Circa 2018
**I need to go through my photos and find someplace Alex has taken a picture with Evie in order to give them something traditional. I guess I could use the carousel. Goodness knows, he has taken her on that attraction enough times.**
The first Fastpass we have is for 7DMT. This ride made me ill the last time I rode it, and we have to see if Evie hits the 38” mark so this is not something we care one way or the other about. Landon liked it, but Landon likes ALL attractions; we will probably have to let him skip it this trip.
Our next pass is for Enchanted Tales with Belle. Yet another attraction none of us have ever done before. I think the kids are finally old enough to understand the show and handle the disappointment if they are not picked for a role. Whether we do this with our passes or another day, Enchanted Tales is high on my wish list of things I want us all to do this vacation.
Our final pass is for Dumbo. There’s something beautiful and calming about riding Dumbo at night, and it's an attraction Landon will miss when he goes on Space Mountain with Alex and me.
Alex might be dreading this “down day” (and hanging out with his no-plan, fly by the seat of their pants siblings) but I am really looking forward to it. Open plans tend to lead to some surprising and wonderful moments, and I think it will be a good way to allow the kids to transition from having Nana around to being us four again. Pushing a new dynamic on them too quickly can lead to meltdowns and heightened emotions, so by doing it this way we are allowing them decompression time.
Day 6 Goals:
- Rest in the morning
- City Walk time
Up Next: Day 7 Plans