wallyworld 2.0....

The adventures in Florida continued this week.  What an amazing experience so far. 

Dec 22 - We slept in this morning and then spent a couple of hours at the resort using the waterslide, lazy river and pool that is as warm as a hot tub.  We then drove to downtown Disney and ate at the Rainforest Cafe which was a throwback to our last trip to Florida in 2007 when we ate here.  We walked around Downtown Disney and then headed back to Universal studios to do the wet rides.  we had been avoiding some of these rides so that we didnt have to walk around the park soaking wet.  we did blutos barge, thunder falls and the jurassic park ride.   the kids liked blutos barge the best so we went on a few times.  we then rode the hulk roller coaster to dry off before heading home.  This was a good full day and everyone was exhausted by the time we got home. 

Dec 23 - We planned to get to the park early this day as the christmas crowds are starting to form, but we ended up sleeping in a bit.  we were at the park by 9:45 but the crowds had already started.  we hit a few rides that we had not been on yet including transformers, ET, and shrek.  the lineup for despicable me ride was over 2 hours.  Luckily Cheryl chatted up a team leader and he managed to sneak the 5 of us in the express pass line saving us over 2 hours of wait time.  Chery's friendly nature and ability to chat up strangers sure paid off here.  The kids were super impressed.  we went on a few rides and left by mid afternoon before the biggest crowds hit.  Then we came back to the resort and went to the pool where the kids played and cheryl and I split a pitcher of draft.  we ordered a pizza from the resort which was great and watched tv with the kids. 

Dec 24 - Christmas eve.  We spent the day at wet n wild which was amazing.  It was like magic mountain only 10 times the size.  it was a great day, but because the locals find it cold this time of year there were not lineups.  We hit every ride in the place and there were some crazy rides.  The kids made friends with another group of kids from saudi arabia and we hung out at the park until mid-afternoon.  We stopped at popeye's chicken and ordered a big pile of food for Christmas eve.  We spent the evening watching  christmas movies as a family including the new annie movie, elf and christmas vacation..

Dec 25 -  we were at the park early and ate at the Harry Potter Resaturant, the Leaky Cauldron.  Good food and Cheryl was able to get the traditional breakfast which included blood pudding.   we hit all of our favourite rides one last time.  favourites include the rocket roller coaster, the hulk roller coaster, the dragon challenge roller coaster, the mummy, the simpsons ride, men in black ride, gringotts ride, harry potter hogwarts ride, hogwarts express, and despicable me.   We also went to the fear factor live show which was pretty cool.   We left the park around 3:00 and everyone agreed that we didn't need to go back for our last day.  We took our tickets back to a used ticket broker and got $35 back for the remainder of our 14 day pass.  Not much, but considering we were going to throw out the tickets it was better than nothing.   We ate leftover popeye's chicken for supper and  watched movies with the kids.  Talked to Dad who is in Toronto for Christmas as well as Chris & Jackie.  Everyone had a good Christmas but it was certainly different as it was the first Christmas without mom. 

Dec 26 - It is going to be a quiet day.  We are hoping the weather is nice so we can make use of the pool.  This is going to be a day for packing and any last minute souvenir purchases before our 8 am flight home tomorrow.

I can't stress enough how good this vacation has been for all of us.  I didn't take much vacation this summer and this break from dec 15-jan 5 is much needed.  As Andrew moves into residence in january and dan has been accepted to upei in the fall, I really see this time as a transition time for the kids.  This will probably be our last real family vacation with just the 5 of us as the kids branch out and start their own separate lives.  I am so glad that we were able to take our kids on this trip so that they will have these memories of our family adventures. 

Wallyworld part 1

 



Well.... the Griswold.... I mean Wartman Christmas vacation is at the halfway point and it has been an amazing experience so far.

Dec 15 -  Up at 4 am and on the road to Boston.  Beautiful day for a drive.  Sunny and +7 degrees which made the driving quick and easy.  We crossed the border with one minor issue.  We didn't realize that the Nexus line was for VIP only and a cranky border guard started the vacation off on the wrong tone.  Once that issue was settled things went smooth.  We stopped in Clinton, Maine so that Vicki could go to the bathroom and realized we were 5 minutes from Jenny Galusha's store so we stopped in for a quick visit with her and Jay.  We stopped for lunch at Buck's Naked BBQ along the way.  The name is misleading, but the bbq was awesome.  Great pulled pork and a variety of sauces.  We stopped at the liquor store in NH and managed to find the zaya rum that Mark Wells and I had been looking for for years.  Made it to Boston airport around 6 PM.  Man it was crazy traffic leading up to the airport.  The last 20 miles was gridlock.  Valet parking at the hotel was great as they will bring us our car when we return instead of us having to dig it out.  We had a great evening watching the original national lampoons vacation and having snacks as a family.

Dec. 16 - Up early and ate at the breakfast buffet at the hotel.  Great made-to-order omelettes and a full breakfast got us on the right track to start the day.  Check-in at the airport was smooth and the flight was great.  we had 3 rows of seats between the 5 of us, so vicki got her own row to stretch out.  We upgraded our rental car to a dodge avenger so that the kids would have a bit more room in the back seat.   We went to lunch at applebees and then checked in to our hotel.  Picked up some groceries and had a quiet night. The townhouse is great with lots of room for everyone.  3 bedrooms upstairs, and a living room, dining room and kitchen downstairs.  Vicki has her own room with 2 twin beds, the boys are sharing a room with 2 twin beds, and cheryl and I have a room with a king bed and a separate en-suite bathroom.  so far so good.

Dec. 17 - Up early and spent the day at universal studios. Spent much of the day doing Harry Potter rides including escape from gringotts, the hogwarts express, hogwarts, the dragon challenge, the simpsons ride.Tried butter beer, had a duff beer, and ate lunch at diner in marvel world.   Home by 6 or so and realized that it was the finale of survivor, so we all watched as a family and Vicki won the $20 which she insisted should be paid in american money. 

Dec. 18 - Steve and Debbie showed up at our townhouse around 8:30.  we give them the tour and then Steve drives all of us to universal studios.   Steve and Debbie mistakenly buy the VIP pass which entitles them to everything in the park.  We spend much of the day at the harry potter sections of the parks and eat a great lunch at the three witches restaurant.  We ordered the family feast which came with ribs, chicken, corn, potatoes, salad and veggies.  Great meal and we were all stuffed.  Lots more rides in the afternoon including the hulk, the mummy, and the macy's day parade.  We left the park as it closed at 8:00.... we sure got our money's worth.  Everyone was exhausted when we got home.

Dec. 19 - We headed for Kennedy Space Centre as there was a launch scheduled for 1:20.  Unfortunately the launch was scrubbed, but the day was still great.  Cheryl was in full geek mode as we took the 2 hour tour, watched the imax movie about the hubble telescope, and various exhibits on the space program and the moon landing.  The original plan was to hit cocoa beach for the afternoon as it is near cape canaveral, but we spent more time than anticipated at kennedy space centre.  We stopped at cocoa beach anyway and managed to catch the sunset while walking on the beach and got some great pictures including the one above.    

Dec. 20 - Slept in this morning as everyone was tired.  Went up to the pool & waterslide area where we went down the slide a few times, went around the lazy river, enjoyed the pool which felt like a hot tub and laid out on chairs and enjoyed the sun.   This reminded me of being down south with the palm trees and pool area.   After lunch we took a drive and got Dan a new laptop charger at Best Buy, stopped at a knitting place in Winter Haven for Cheryl where the kids and I walked around an open market area.  We then made our way down to zephyrhills and found steve and debbie's place.  had a great afternoon with them and met their friends dan & marie and estelle moore stopped in to say hi.  We then went to the golden coral buffet for supper where we all ate way too much.  the food was delicious, but we all felt tired and too full on the ride home because of it.  dan and vicki got a ride with dan and marie in their mustang convertible.  we took a tour around the trailer park with steve and debbie looking at all of the christmas lights that were up.  it is really different seeing the lights and hearing christmas music in the sunshine.  every day we have been listening to the christmas radio station as we drive to our destinations.

Dec. 21 - Started the day at the resort pool where we spent the morinig swimming and relaxing by the pool.   Still reminds me so much of our resorts down south.   We stopped at walmart and the kids bought some souvenirs.  We ate at 5 guys burgers for lunch which is almost exactly like boomburger.  great food.   We then went to universal to hit some of the rides we had missed.  we did the terminator ride, the twister ride, shrek, and the largest roller coaster the rocket..... it was pretty fast.  We got caught in a downpour of rain.... the only rain so far on our trip, but it was well timed as we were on our way to see the Hobbit in 3D at the Imax....  we were a little wet for the show, but it was a great movie and so amazing to see it at universal in Imax 3D as the whole family is a fan of the series.

We have 5 full days left here in Floriday and we leave on the 27th.  Overall, the trip has been great, although the 3 kids in the backseat has proved challenging at times.   I am glad that we were able to swing this last big family vacation with the kids as I am sure it will be one they will remember when they are older.   Looking forward to the second half of our vacation!