An amazing five days

I barely know where to begin….what an amazing five days we had!

With a couple of exceptions, the logistical details all went pretty well. We stayed in a two-bedroom two-bathroom unit at the Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort, which is surrounded by Disney on three sides so a quick drive to the parks. There were a few glitches on the first day. First, as we left the airport in our rental car, the engine was making a terrible noise, and we decided to take the car back and exchange it. This turned out to be fortuitous because, for reasons we were never able to solve, our own GPS was not working, and the second car had built-in GPS.  Second, the local oxygen supplier seemed unable to provide the entire five days’ worth of supplies, so I found myself having to call every morning to arrange for more cylinders to be delivered. It came as no surprise when they delivered the whole weeks’ worth on the last day! Third, we arrived at Cohen’s Delicatessen only to discover that it had gone out of business. Note to self: never assume that restaurants you have patronized are still in business. Fortunately, there is a second kosher restaurant, Lower East Side Deli, and we were able to find our way there to pick up food. Joshua loved their fried chicken nuggets, and their chummus was really delicious.

Here is the list of the rides/shows we did. We are still working on our ratings, but I have put in bold the ones that were the biggest hits. Joshua doesn’t feel that he can pick an overall #1 – there are just too many contenders!

Monday 17 June – EPCOT

1.    Soarin’

2.    Living with the Land

3.    Captain E-O

4.    Canada

5.    France

6.    Innoventions East and West

7.    Spaceship Earth

Tuesday 18 June – Hollywood Studios

1.    The Great Movie Ride

2.    Muppet Vision 3D

3.    Studio Backlot Tour

4.    Indiana Jones

5.    Toy Story Midway Mania (Fast Pass)

Wednesday 19 June – Magic Kingdom

1.    Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor

2.    Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin (Fast Pass)

3.    It’s a Small World

4.    Peter Pan’s Flight

5.    Mickey Philharmagic

6.    Enchanted Tiki Room

Wednesday 19 June (Evening) - Hollywood Studios

1.    Fantasmic!

Thursday 20 June – Animal Kingdom

1.    Kilamanjaro Safari

2.    Kali River Rapids

3.    Flights of Wonder

4.    Maha Raja Jungle Trek

5.    Finding Nemo

6.    Festival of the Lion King

The weather was a challenge. It was brutally hot, and by late afternoon the thunderstorms began. In some ways this was just as well, because we were exhausted. But it meant that we only went back for the fireworks the one time. And that show was incredible!

But the true highlight of this trip, with all due respect to the Disney folks, was Joshua. This trip was a unique and priceless opportunity to really get to know our grandson independent of the distractions of his parents, his sister, and his friends. We could see glimmers of a really terrific young man ahead of us. He was the best travel companion ever! He was a good sport about everything, was helpful and funny and flexible - everything you want a travel companion to be! When our return flight was delayed by a couple of hours, he was the one who said “let’s play cards!” and managed to pass the 2+ hours delay keeping us in good spirits. We were so proud of him!

We arrived home in the wee hours of Friday morning, exhausted but already talking about the lessons learned for the next trip. #1: need to go during a less oppressively hot time of year!

Somehow, on the first day, spent at EPCOT, we did not find any of the Disney World photographers, so we were not able to get a picture of the three of us in front of Spaceship Earth. But I took a picture of Barry and Joshua, and we do have the professional pictures from the three other parks, which I have posted here.

To say I am exhausted is an understatement. But I would do it again in a flash, and I pray I will have the strength and good health to realize that dream.

Love,

Rebecca