Trip Report Thank Heaven for Little Girls.

A few years back my son and I took a trip out West and along the way spent a few estrogen free days in Disneyland. This year was the girl's turn, even if that wasn't part of our original plans.

Planning vacations as your children get older can be a difficult task. Demands from college, high-school, camps, activities, and even part time jobs end up leaving very few open spaces on the calendar. Lately it seems that mid July to mid August is our sweet spot for getting away and so it was again this year. Based on a great deal on a condo found by my wife Val, we came up with a somewhat last minute plan to visit Clearwater Beach Florida...and oh yeah, we decided to drive down from Pennsylvania. I also had an eye to sneak away to WDW for at least a day during our week stay.

My son Sterg had to bow out of the trip. He's starting college at Penn State this year and since he's on their swim team he needed to stay behind and train. See what I mean about other demand? Don't feel too bad for him however, he has had a few nice trips of his own over the last six months. It may have also saved his life as I'm sure having to deal with him for 18 hours in a car would have stirred some primal blood anger in me.

Without Sterg it would leave myself, my wife Val, my 21 year old daughter Alex (about to become a college senior) and my 13 year old daughter Toni. Not quite "little girls" anymore but as most Dads will attest to; they are always little girls. Anyone who has read my previous reports knows that Val is not the biggest Disney fan - but how could we be so close to WDW and not go? After much deliberations on the scale of the Yalta conference we hammered out an arrangement to make one day on our trip "Chris, Alex and Toni get to go to Walt Disney World" Day. Where there is a will...

The big day came - we departed on a Saturday at 3pm in the afternoon after loading up our trusty stead/Ford Explorer. Leaving Sterg home by himself for a week brought it's own set of issues but he was all smiles and willing to play photographer as we said our goodbyes...

At this point we had no idea what we were getting into...

Sterg's long arms came in handy here...

Alex and Toni settling in for a long voyage and adventure while Sterg makes sure we say our goodbyes to Prince our dog.

We were on our way to Florida!

 

[fractal]

Awesome TR! I can't believe how much your family has done in a day! Your pictures are amazing!

Thanks! we did get a lot done.

Kojak is having dinner at St Angel Inn.

Who loves ya baby?

Really enjoying the trip report. Four parks in one day? That will definitely go on the "future trip challenge" list (maybe someone crazy out there can do four parks + two waterparks in one day? I'm not the one to attempt that).

I noticed the changes at the GMR when we were there too (the meet and greet, the change in the line). It's like they removed the hat and suddenly everyone remembered there was a theatre back there.

Sounds like your two girls are the same as my son and daughter when it comes to picking restaurants (i.e. they can never agree on one place they both want to do). Glad you enjoyed Nine Dragons. On our last trip we actually had San Angel Inn booked, but changed it at the last minute (which in Disney speak means at least 24 hours before your reservation), since one of our kids doesn't like Mexican either.

Looking forward to the Magic Kingdom part of your day (assuming you made it there after Illuminations (which assumes you stayed at Epcot until after Illuminations)).

Thanks @gwhb75 , likewise! GMR was great. Dinning decisions even harder for one day - next time we will do San Angel Inn. Thanks for following!

You convinced me to walk around the world in Epcot. Last year we didn't because of the crowd and the heath! Looking at your pictures gives me the feeling we really missed it! So we will do it during our next October trip.... just 39 days left

You won't regret it @FlaggNL Won't be long now!

 

[fractal]

UGH that's infuriating! Line cutting really get's to me...so much so that I couldn't eat lunch in the cafeteria in school because people constantly cut line. I have to try to take deep breaths when people do it at Disney so I don't lose it. *in-two-three-four-out-two-three-four* haha! But I love that you and Alex called her out. Even if that doesn't change anything, I hope it at least embarrassed her.

Rude people succck! thanks for following @sheriffwoody !

After his precious wife had snuck by us and pulled that one off I would have greeted that man like a welcome friend and ushered him loudly to his wife. Once there I would have (again, loudly) thanked him for his patronage, made sure that his wife knew he was finally there, and asked if he was having a wonderful day.

That would have been good!

Wow. Kudos to you and Alex for being willing to speak up. I've never been quite so brave myself. The pathetic thing is that on Soarin being a few places ahead in line, in all likelihood, is not going to save you any time since so many people go on the ride at once. Its simply a complete lack of respect to others in the line.

Thanks @Lyear - yes, very disrespectful. thank you for following!

Yes, totally infuriating! But usually people like that don't get embarrassed or feel shame, otherwise they wouldn't be cutting lines in the first place. We can only hope that karma does one day come around and bite her in the butt!

Karma is a b**tch, as they say. Thanks for following along

[QUOTE="fractal, post: 6889862, member: 65986" . . .]the line was not moving and they slid along side the wall like a family of snakes while everyone was distracted.

Well stated, my good man!! P.S.: You and Alex make a great tag-team!

Funny, as I was reading your story, I was thinking about the word, "entitled", for someone to exhibit this type of boorish behavior, in line. However, snake is far more apropos! [/QUOTE]

Like Jafar; snakelike. thanks for following and your comments!

 

[fractal]

Cool pics! I've never been on Soarin' and most likely never will, as I don't do well in motion simulator rides, so it's nice to get a glimpse of what you see.

I love this pic best - reminds me of an angel.

It's more like being on a gentle glider vs. a "motion simulator". You should try it sometime, I think you would enjoy it!

Those pictures inside Soarin were a blast! I scrolled quickly down through them, so that it was almost like I was "flying" through the movie, just like the people on the ride!! (Nice job with the photos--I'm impressed that they came out so well, considering that the theater is so dark, but I supposed there was enough light from the big screens to allow for some decent shots.

Thanks @MinnieM123 .

When I was taking them I didn't know how they would look - now I wish I took more!

Oh my gosh!!! I LOVE the Soarin pictures! Soarin is one of my favorite rides and it was great to be able to "ride along" with you. I always try to picture the scenes in my head as I listen to the music. Now I don't have to, I will just come back and browse through your TR. Thanks so much for sharing those with us.

[/QUOTE]

Thanks @LisaBelle ! I love Soarin' too. Thanks for following along and for catching a ride with us.

 

[fractal]

After our 2nd time on Soarin' we exited to a near empty Land.

it was then that we made the very tough decision to skip Magic Kingdom. MK was open until 12 that night but we were spent and Alex was fighting something all day. I had hit a wall. The accumulation of the long drive down from PA, two days in the hot sun, sun burn, waking up early and spending another hot & humid day in three parks took its toll. My pedometer recorded over 11 miles walking. I thought the momentum and thrill of being there would carry us through to the end, but it was not to be. We also had the 2 hour drive back to Clearwater to consider.

It was now nearly 9:30 and we started to make our way out of EPCOT.

wouldn't you know, we hit the crowd leaving from Illuminations.

I took one last picture of SSE on the fly.

By the time we caught the tram and made it to our car it was all but 10pm. As bummed as we were not to go to MK we reflected back on what a great day it was. We started Animal Kingdom at the open, spent quality time in Hollywood Studios, and hit the favorite rides and dinner at EPCOT, all in one day without major incident. My "little" girls overwhelming agreed it was a blast and had them dreaming and talking about our next "real" trip to WDW. I was also able to take 700 photos while keeping up the pace, which made me happy.

Consider we did not utilize Fastpass the entire day. A day that Touring Plans had as a "9" across the board. We still managed the following "E-ticket" rides.

Expedition Everest (twice)
Dinosaur
Tower of Terror
Rock & Roll Rollercoaster
Mission Space
Soarin' (twice)

Our longest wait was Soarin' the first time at around 40 minutes and the same for Mission Space Orange but only because of it breaking down. Typically we waited around 20-30 minutes with EE and Dinosaur being walk-ons.

We also enjoyed these attractions;

Tough to be a Bug
Great Movie Ride
Muppets 3D
Spaceship Earth
Living with the Land
Three Caballeros

and a nice walk through World Showcase.

We had lunch at the new Harambe Market and enjoyed a sit down meal at 9 Dragons. Through it all I never felt overly rushed or in a hurry. The advantage of not having everything planned out before-hand I suppose. I enjoyed myself and the time with my daughters immensely. They may now be past childhood and are or becoming adults but they will always be my "little girls", and on that day I indeed did thank Heaven for them.

That concludes our Disney Day for this report. I'll continue on and include a very condensed recap and plenty of photos of the rest of our stay in Clearwater and a great day in Savannah Georgia we spent on the way home. Thanks to all still following and commenting!

 

[pirategal]

Such a sweet recap, thanks for sharing your WDW day! I have two (still) little girls and it's already going by too fast . thanks again, wonderful report!

 

[Sharkreef11]

Loving the report and of course the pictures! Truly amazing shots. Sorry it didn't work out going for the Disney parks "cycle." It takes a smart person to know when to fold 'em after a long day. Looking forward to reading the rest!

 

[LisaBelle]

You guys packed a lot into your day! Especially without Fast Passes. Too bad you didn't make it to MK, but it was smart to leave before you got so worn out that you didn't enjoy yourselves! Looking forward to the remainder of your report and hoping you book another WDW trip soon!

 

[fractal]

Such a sweet recap, thanks for sharing your WDW day! I have two (still) little girls and it's already going by too fast . thanks again, wonderful report!

Thanks @pirategal ! Enjoy them, time flies.

Loving the report and of course the pictures! Truly amazing shots. Sorry it didn't work out going for the Disney parks "cycle." It takes a smart person to know when to fold 'em after a long day. Looking forward to reading the rest!

Thanks @Sharkreef11 ! MK is my favorite park so it was tough.

You guys packed a lot into your day! Especially without Fast Passes. Too bad you didn't make it to MK, but it was smart to leave before you got so worn out that you didn't enjoy yourselves! Looking forward to the remainder of your report and hoping you book another WDW trip soon!

Thanks @LisaBelle !

 

[DisSplash]

A little sad to see that you didn't get to MK, but I agree with Lisa Belle, if you and Alex weren't feeling great, then all the fun is gone anyway. I remember when we hit HS the first day off of our cruise in 2014 - both me and my son were a bit sea-legged (or vertigo or whatever it was). It did not hit us completely until we were already deep in the park, but in the middle of all of that Disney-fied fun and fantasy all we wanted was a bed to lie down in. So we all left, after only 3 hours there. Best move ever, and I have never regretted it!

I only hope that you and Alex were not sick for the rest of your vacation!

 

[fractal]

The drive back to Clearwater was tough. There was more traffic than I anticipated and I required a couple caffeinated drinks to hold back the sandman. I got a second wind as we approached Tampa and by the time we walked into our rental I was "Jonesing" to look at all my photos. Val was already asleep and it didn't take the girls long to crash while I made myself a "real" drink and spent a good hour reviewing pics on my camera. It was a great feeling having new WDW photos - I only wish I could have added some from MK.

We kept the streak alive since 2007 to go to WDW every 2 years. This was obviously not like those other trips but keeps us on schedule for 2017 family trip which should have us there with Avatarland and possibly some bits of a new DHS. Looking that far ahead now is different and stranger than a few years ago. Alex will be 23, Sterg 21, and Toni 17. Seems not possible. We would have 4 true adults! That doesn't consider any potential significant others, and doesn't take into account that they may not even want to go. On the other hand I'm starting to imagine going to WDW with grandchildren. Strange indeed.

The next day we met some friends, who now live in Florida, for dinner. We ate outside by the beach and it was a beautiful night for dinning and for catching up.

the view to the left...

and the view to the right...

The sun was starting to set after dinner so we hung out to watch the show and also to take more pictures.

There's a cool pirate tour boat you can take in Clearwater Beach - we didn't but I did get some shots of it.

Yo-ho, Yo-ho, a pirate's life for me...

Sailing into the sunset...

Val and our friends -

I could get used to palm trees.

 

[fractal]

Despite not having a tri-pod, I tried a few long exposure shots carefully placing my camera on some rocks.

Alex and Toni were having fun looking for sea shells.

Another great day was in the books for our vacation. The next day we were going to head a little north and go for a boat ride.

 

[catmom46]

The drive back to Clearwater was tough. There was more traffic than I anticipated and I required a couple caffeinated drinks to hold back the sandman. I got a second wind as we approached Tampa and by the time we walked into our rental I was "Jonesing" to look at all my photos. Val was already asleep and it didn't take the girls long to crash while I made myself a "real" drink and spent a good hour reviewing pics on my camera. It was a great feeling having new WDW photos - I only wish I could have added some from MK.

We kept the streak alive since 2007 to go to WDW every 2 years. This was obviously not like those other trips but keeps us on schedule for 2017 family trip which should have us there with Avatarland and possibly some bits of a new DHS. Looking that far ahead now is different and stranger than a few years ago. Alex will be 23, Sterg 21, and Toni 17. Seems not possible. We would have 4 true adults! That doesn't consider any potential significant others, and doesn't take into account that they may not even want to go. On the other hand I'm starting to imagine going to WDW with grandchildren. Strange indeed.

The next day we met some friends, who now live in Florida, for dinner. We ate outside by the beach and it was a beautiful night for dinning and for catching up.

the view to the left...

and the view to the right...

The sun was starting to set after dinner so we hung out to watch the show and also to take more pictures.

There's a cool pirate tour boat you can take in Clearwater Beach - we didn't but I did get some shots of it.

Yo-ho, Yo-ho, a pirate's life for me...

Sailing into the sunset...

Val and our friends -

I could get used to palm trees.

Wow, I love the sailing into the sunset pic! It would totally make a fabulous post card.

 

[epcotisbest]

OK, I have a challenge for you for your 2017 trip. On Soarin' during the golf course flyover, someone hits a tee shot and the golfball flies right toward you. There is a hidden Mickey on the golfball. I have been trying to get that shot for years, but my timing is always off or the pic is out of focus. So keep that in mind for a photo op next time you are on Soarin'.

 

[coachwnh]

while I made myself a "real" drink

Yah yah!!!!!!

Another great day was in the books for our vacation

The pictures on the beach are awesome. I wasnt there, but now doubt, thats how you end a great day on vacation! Great view

 

[G00fyDad]

OK, I have a challenge for you for your 2017 trip. On Soarin' during the golf course flyover, someone hits a tee shot and the golfball flies right toward you. There is a hidden Mickey on the golfball. I have been trying to get that shot for years, but my timing is always off or the pic is out of focus. So keep that in mind for a photo op next time you are on Soarin'.

 

[epcotisbest]

View attachment 110648

Hey, pretty good timing on your photo!

 

[epcotisbest]

While sunset photos are always fun, sunsets and smiles are extra special. Nice shot.

 

[KathyJetson]

Yikes! I was so far behind I was still on the GMR back in DHS. Sorry you didn't make it to MK but it looks like you made some awesome memories with your girls. You got so much done I'm impressed! Your beach pictures are beautiful thanks for sharing.

 

[MinnieM123]

I thought you left WDW--so, what's that pirate ship doing in that photo?!! (Love that picture, by the way! )

 

[G00fyDad]

Hey, pretty good timing on your photo!

Not mine. I found that one.