Jack & Dad Conquer the World!

Brandishing three pin lanyards and a booty of Disney Dollars, Jack and I (your intrepid heroes) conquered WDW in three glorious, action-packed days.
Some may remember the non-stop excitement of my adventure last year with my oldest son, chronicled in Tom & Dad Go Commando!

This year, it was middle son Jack’s turn for a whirlwind tour of WDW with Dad. Our amazing journey began at 5:35am with your brave explorers waking up before the alarm could wake us. We were on the road by 5:44am. On a side note, I was astounded by the number of commuters on the road before 6:00am.

We reached O’Hare in plenty of time, which was good because Jack’s gymshoes glowed blue or something on the x-ray machine (perhaps they were of elvish antiquity?) and required extra screening by TSA staff. Having cleared security, we eventually boarded the plane and chatted with the pilots for a few minutes (“Hey, you’re Kareem Abdul-Jabbar!”). Here’s a shot Jack took from our seats:

"Check out the big clouds and all their little cloudlettes!”

 

[TakeMeThere81]

Fun Fun Fun trip report!!

 

[maggiegrace1]

Loving it!..

 

[blackthidot]

Nice magic shots!!

 

[DznyGrlSD]

LOVE you TR so far - nothing better than a bit of humor :wave:

 

[GenerationX]

Wow, thank you all for the cool responses! I'm having a lot of fun writing this.

After the dinner break at Pop, we dashed back to DHS. We were lucky enough to get the front center seats for our elevator ride to ... the Twilight Zone. ToT is still the greatest ride anywhere, and I was so glad Jack enjoyed it.

Then, something unusual (not!) happened:

”It’s coming down pretty hard. Eh, I don’t see Jim Cantore anywhere, so it’s probably safe to walk over to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster!”

 

[GenerationX]

Luckily, I had stuffed emergency ponchos in my pocket (yeah, I’m OCD), so we splashed through the rain over to R’n’RC. After another great ride, we dashed back to ToT’s standby line. We usually FP it, so it was cool to walk through the queue – the attention to detail is meticulous. Or, should I say “meticullous”, heh:

"Can we cut the extraneous 'L' here, please?" I told you I was OCD.


By 10:00pm during the DHS EMH (after a 9:00pm close), TSMM, was still 60min. standby (no FPs were distributed for EMH). If you read and understood that last sentence without having to consult an abbreviation listing, you are a certifiable Disney geek. Be proud! We figured we’d kill a few minutes and give the old man (me) a chance to sit down, so we ducked into Voyage of the Little Mermaid. It’s an amusing show and much better than I expected. After, TSMM was still a 60 min. wait, so we headed back to Pop for our last night.

Coming in the final installment: Epcot at park open, Soarin' (top row, baby!), and a lot of really cool drumming. Stay tuned!

 

[PotteryGal]

I'm really loving your TR! Can't wait to hear more.

 

[GenerationX]

We got up early our last day, and because we hadn’t charged anything to the room, did not get a bill left on the door. We packed and headed out. I was afraid the wet swimsuits and t-shirts would get all “mildewy” if I packed them, so I stretched them out in the back seat of the rental car (they were “crispy” by the end of the day, heh).

We hit Epcot at rope drop. After the previous day’s wacky park open production at DHS, the Epcot one was kind of meh in comparison. We bolted straight to the Soarin’ FP machines, then dashed over to the Test Track standby line. We ended up sharing a row of seats with a single rider who was, like us, from little old McHenry County, Illinois (gosh, it really is a “small world” after all … *groan*). This was her first time on Test Track. As the car lined up for the outdoor portion, I got the camera out and said “here we go!”. She freaked out, thinking the barrier test was real.

”Maybe she’s right! We’re going to be crash test dummies!”

 

[GenerationX]

We survived the barrier test (phew!) and went on again right away, figuring we’d go while the standby was still under 30 minutes and the ride hadn’t broken down yet. We headed back toward Soarin’ and could not believe our luck. Just as we were passing through the breezeway, the Jammitors were starting their act. Now, Jack has been taking drum lessons for years and played in his 5th grade band, so I knew he would appreciate them. They did not disappoint. The patter was fun (they even tossed in a “Who’s on first?” reference that I caught), and the drumming was excellent.

After Soarin’, it was boating time. As Tom had done the previous year, Jack wanted to drive a Sea Raycer. Three years ago, Jack and I had parasailed at the Contemporary, and due to a mechanical failure, splashed down into Bay Lake (which is chock full o’ bacterial goodness, btw). For our trouble, we were awarded matching Sammy Duvall t-shirts when it was clear we weren’t going to press charges (Otherwise, we may have been awarded matching boats). Not the least bit superstitious, we wore the t-shirts on our boating day.

So, we caught the Monorail from Epcot to the TTC, then took the resort line to the Contemporary:

”I’m the King of the Monorail!”

 

[GenerationX]

After a fun ride around (but not in!) Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon, we headed back to Epcot. We still had Soarin’ FPs. We had to wait an extra cycle to secure top row seats. Was it worth it?

”Oh, yeah!”

 

[GenerationX]

We needed to visit China for flipping sticks. Jack had purchased flipping sticks a number of years ago, but had lost them. Luckily, they were still being sold, and Jack immediately began playing with them in crowded walkways:

”Jack, could you put away the flippin’ sticks for a while? You’re going to hit someone.”


We cruised over to DisneyQuest before the airport. We didn’t get to do Pirates, because of the lengthy line, but we did have fun playing the Mighty Ducks, Donkey Kong, and Air Hockey. We also went on some crazy simulator ride with chairs and fans and a mine car video. Eventually, it was time to go. As we approached the car, I realized I no longer had our rental car keys. D’oh! Deep d’oh!! Panicked, we ran back into DisneyQuest (we were in such an obvious hurry, they let us skip the Cyberlator). We found the crazy simulator ride and there, right between the seats, were our keys. That, my friends, was a close one.

We made it to MCO with 30 minutes to spare, which is a good thing, because airport security had a problem with Jack’s shoes (again) and his flippin’ sticks. They wanted to confiscate his sticks, because they looked suspicious. Eventually, they agreed to let us go with the shoes and the sticks, which was outstanding because my wife would have killed me if Jack had come home shoeless or stickless. We even had time to buy chips (3 bags for only $4? Do these vendors not subscribe to the “soak the captive audience” theory of retail?).

Overall, the trip was fantastic. And we hardly noticed the cutbacks, other than the tip jars everywhere.

My wife is a saint for letting me do this, and my sons will always have their memories of their cool trip with Dad. These are blessings.

Coming next year: Part III of the trilogy – “Mike & Dad Prove That You Can Pack Even More into 3 Days”. I need to start getting in shape now!

 

[DecWDW]

Oh, that was a fun TR! I've taken my sons separately too. I really enjoy the one on one time. Looking forward to your next one!

 

[WDWFigment]

Nice pictures--I like the WDWMagic shirts! By the way, what is the deal with the 'black box family' did I miss something, there?

Looking forward to the conclusion of the trilogy...although it seems it'll be a long wait!

 

[wdwmagic]

Great report!!

 

[popsicletrees]

I really enjoyed your report. That is such an incredible thing that you are doing with your boys!

 

[GenerationX]

Nice pictures--I like the WDWMagic shirts! By the way, what is the deal with the 'black box family' did I miss something, there?

Looking forward to the conclusion of the trilogy...although it seems it'll be a long wait!

Thanks for the comments. Eh, the black box thing was a bad joke. I wanted to show a picture of the TSMM FastPass line, but these two people's faces were clearly visible in the picture. I debated between cropping them out, putting black squares over their faces, or obtaining a photo release. I chose the black boxes.

Thanks to all for reading and particularly to those who have posted. I appreciate the words of encouragement, particularly for next year's report! I'm looking forward to next year's visit and report, too. :wave:

 

[sweetpee_1993]

That was a fun report! I loved it! I think your idea of a short-n-sweet whirlwind with each of your sons individually is awesome. As much as I loooove me some Disney, I think it'd be awesome to send my hubby off with each of our boys.

Looking forward to next time! :sohappy: