Two years ago, Mom donated 10 inches of her hair to Locks of Love. LoL is an organization which takes donated hair and transforms it into wigs for children who have lost their hair as a result conditions such as alopecia areata or cancer treatments and the like.
We awoke unnaturally early and braved snow flurries and security check points to pile all 6 Tokarski's and the ensuing mountain of cargo aboard a 737 to head south for some much needed fun in the Sunshine State.Friday:This was the first time that the girls had flown and they were a little nervous as the plane began to taxi but they eased up once we were airborne. Alex, of course, was fascinated with trying to ID landmarks as we flew over. And Aidan; he was very awake for the majority of the flight. It wasn’t until we began our decent to land in FL that he opted to fall asleep. Figures…
Once we got checked in at the resort, despite the cooler mid-70° temps, we found the pool water to be very nice and we promptly jumped in for the remainder of the day.
Saturday:Despite the still cooler temps, the majority of the day was spent at River Island: One of three pools at the resort which also has a couple of nice water slides and a lazy river. After the pool and dinner, we headed over to Downtown Disney for some evening shopping. Time quickly got away from us and we ended up getting the kids in bed after 10. Oops.
Sunday:The morning kicked off with the resort being kind enough to take Mom and I on a brief tour, show us a movie, feed us some yummy cookies, and try to convince us that we really don’t understand our own finances and that we really should purchase our own place there. Once our salesman was fully convinced that he was trying to squeeze blood from a stone, we were free to go. Later that afternoon, Mom, Grammy, and the kids tackled the first of the 3 Putt-putt courses at the resort (victory to Grammy). Afterwards, we were off to the pool again.
Easter morning was beautiful with loads of sunshine and warmer temps. We kicked the morning off with worship at River of Life; a great little church we found in 2004. After lunch at Waffle House, where I discovered a great new Chicken sandwich (yes, at Waffle House), Mom took the big kids to Splash Lagoon: A 2nd pool at the resort which was closer to our condo. Splash Lagoon offered a smaller, Amanda-sized water slide that she was able to slide down by herself.
After dinner, we celebrated Alex’s 10th birthday with cake (sans candles as we couldn’t find a match) and ice-cream which we promptly followed up with an Easter Egg hunt around Grammy’s condo. Mmmm…chocolate bunny head.
Monday:
Despite the threat of showers this morning, we passed Aidan to Grammy, parked out in lot “Dopey 6000”, and headed for the place “Where Dreams Come True”: The Magic Kingdom. This was Amanda’s first time in Disney and she wasn’t disappointed. A bit soggy, perhaps, but not disappointed.
Upon entering the park, we made a B-line for Cinderella’s Castle and the land that lay beyond: Fantasyland; home to, among other things, the Tea Cups, Dumbo, and the Carousel. We kept good and busy here until lunch which we ate overlooking the entrance to It’s a Small World.
From there, we were off to Liberty Square and Frontierland. We kicked things off here by running all the kids through the Haunted Mansion. Alex and Abby thought it fun, though a bit lame, while Daddy had to cover Amanda's eyes the entire ride. After a ride on the Riverboat, we moved onto Big Thunder Mountain...with all the kids. Everyone loved it.
As the day progressed, we paid our respects at the Hall of Presidents, jammed at the Country Bear Jamboree, and rode the steam train to the Buzz Lightyear ride and the Indy Race Cars in Tomorrowland. Alex and I finished our ride time out by taking a spin on Space Mountain.
By this point it was past 9 o'clock and we had missed the first parade. As we began making our way to the front of the park we stumbled on a great spot to stop and watch the 10 o'clock fireworks show. This was pretty spectacular.
After the fireworks, we opted to not fight the flood of people making for the exit. Instead, we did what any sane person would do: We went shopping. Abby and Mom picked up some very nice earrings while Amanda picked up a very cute necklace. By the time the crowds had cleared, the 11 o'clock Spectromagic parade was bearing down on us. We had to stay for it.
In the end, periodic rain showers aside, everyone had a great day.
Tuesday:
Wednesday:After sleeping-in a bit due to our busy day prior, we headed out to a leisurely morning game of Putt-putt (victory to Mom). It was a good thing we started this early as it rained the rest of the day. We ended up chalking this one up as a recovery day.
Now fully recovered and being faced with a day full of sun and high 80° temps (it's a hard life, I know), it was time to try something new: Typhoon Lagoon; a Disney-owned water park which is themed as a tropical paradise that has suffered a recent hit from, you guessed it, a typhoon. There are wrecked boats and cars, busted surf boards, etc., strewn about the park in typical Disney fashion.
The centerpiece of the park is the lagoon. A wave pool which boasts wave heights up to 6 feet. Surrounding the lagoon is Castaway Creek; a lazy river that takes about 20 minutes to fully circumnavigate (which we spent significant time on). Beyond the creek are a series of tube slides and body slides. These were all great fun.
The highlights of the day were Alex's foray into the world of speed slides (the Humunga Kowabunga, which he loved immensely) and our rides on the Crush'n Gusher. The Gusher is a water coaster; a tube slide featuring several notable drops during the ride. In order to accomplish this, there are a series of high pressure jets that propel you and your tube up hill to set you up for the next drop. This was tremendous fun.
I'll post pictures for this later as we used an under-water camera that we still need to get developed...
Thursday:
Worn out again (but in a good way), we arose a little late and headed out for another game of Putt-putt (victory: Tie - Grammy and myself). Afterwards, it was off to the pool again. Today, Abby took her first run down the water slide in the resort. Here initial reaction? "That was lame!" Hey, it's hard to compete with the Gusher.
Dinner was worth a note today as Granddad, Mom and myself headed out to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse for dinner. In the famous words of Ruth Fertel, "Life's too short to eat anywhere else..."
Friday:
This was our last full day in FL. Packing aside, we spent time in both pools at the resort, had dinner at Waffle House, and headed back over to Downtown Disney so that Alex could pick something up for his birthday.
