This all started with Joe P attempting to run a marathon this weekend at WDW. He planned to bring his two children down so “invited” us along so we could do the babysitting as he prepared for and ran the race. We gladly agreed, it never takes much to get us to visit our grandchildren. That was the plan anyway. Joe had been suffering from this back problem for a few weeks and was in no shape to run the race (one could argue his half- and full-marathon races contributed to the issue), but decided to take the trip nonetheless. Kuau was planning to be away for the same weekend, so Ellie was looking for babysitting also (but Joe asked first); she somehow got talked into making the same trip, along with her two children.
So we managed to spend a few days with our children and four of our grandchildren. CC stayed in Somerville with Jess.
1/9 Thursday. Both Anne and I got upgraded on our flight down, and we managed to be seated together. Flight was fine, and we got a decent (but small) snack. WiFi, however, was atrociously slow and unreliable. (Since we will be traveling to Australia later this month, I signed up for a monthly WiFi subscription.)
The United APP already showed Anne’s been upgraded for the return flight. For me the confirmation wasn’t until I checked in the day before (1/12).
Dollar Car rental offered various “intermediate” cars, and we picked a Buick Encore. With Apple CarPlay it made navigating the Orlando area rather straightforward.
I do have a gripe about the toll roads around Orlando. I don’t mind paying tolls, but do they have to make it so complex? For Orlando, whose economy depends on visitors, many of them from overseas, to have a toll system that no outsider should be expected to understand is inexcusable. Rental car companies take advantage of that, offering to charge $10 a day. In our case, we would have paid $40-$50 to the car rental company, and the actual amount of tolls I paid was about $20 – and that’s because I made an extra trip to the airport to pick up Ellie, otherwise it would have been $10.50. Some booths and staffed, some use EZ Pass, and some accept exact change only – and you don’t know until you are at the toll booth.
Joe’s flight was delayed a bit, we were happy to see Emmie and DN, they were happy to see us too.
Emmie and DN looking cool in front of the Sheriff's Cruiser. One of the props in the Cars Building.
I vaguely recall this as being the typical motel in our youth (in the 70s).
Accommodations: Cars, Arts of Animation Resort, WDW (4 nights).
1/10 Friday. Today was Epcot day. Joe and his kids left early for the park, Anne and I showed up after 10 am.
We took a couple of rides, including “Soaring” which (I think) brought the passengers up from the ground to face the middle of an iMax-like screen on which various famous scenes are projected, with the feeling of flying effected by movements of the seats. The “Living with the Land” ride probably has changed very little over the years, same for Spaceship Earth.
Joe had booked us for a character lunch in the Land Pavilion, but there was “a small fire” that caused the building to be evacuated, so we couldn’t eat there.
One of the recent “big things” that came to WDW is the Skyliner, which is basically a gondola system that takes visitors to various locations. One station is close to Cars, and we could get to Epcot by making a transfer at Disney Caribbean Beach Resort. For those who are not Disney fanatics, this system is just any other one encounters in many parts of the world. In fact I thought it is much less exciting to ride in than Ngong Ping 360 close to the Hong Kong Airport. Kudos to the marketing team who manages to make this much more than what it is.
However, I must admit for those staying at certain properties (Animation is one of them) getting to some attractions is straightforward with this system. And it’s free – except Disney Hotels are a lot more expensive than area hotels of similar quality.
Again, if the grandchildren are happy, the grandparents are happy.
We concluded our EPCOT day at around 3 pm. Emmie and DN went swimming, and I went to the airport to pick up Ellie and her children.
DN fell of the bed last night, so he would end up walking around with some bruises on his face and a swollen lip for the next few days. He was fine by the end of the trip.
By calling the gondola transport system the Skyliner, and by promoting it heavily, Disney has managed to make this common transportation system a big deal. Even though there were operations issues when it first started running, during our trip they worked very well, and the wait was never long.
This ride has changed little since we first saw it about 30 years ago. A good place to rest your tired feet, if nothing else.
Emmie enjoying the pool at the Art of Animation Resort.
The pool wasn't busy (this is taken after it closed for the day) during our time at the Resort.
1/11 Saturday. Breakfast for all 8 of us were at Cape May Café, a short walk from the EPCOT entrance (which we again took the Skyliner to get to). This was a character breakfast, with standard buffet-style offerings. The kids (Anne among them) enjoyed having the pictures taken with the characters.
As to the rides, the kids seemed to enjoy Alien Swirling Saucers – a variation on the Mad Teacups – with Ellie describing it as at exactly the right level of “thrill” for Maisie.
I did go (by myself) to the Millennium Falcon ride, utilizing the single rider line; it was bumpier than expected.
One has to admit the children are genuinely happy. Here on the Skyliner. (Photo taken by Anne.)
Waiting to be seating for the character breakfast at Cape May Cafe.
Photo with Goofy.
Grandchildren getting Vamperina's autograph. Considering how "artificial" her face is, kudos to the designers who make her look real cute.
Don't they look cool with their 3D glasses?
Alien Swirling Saucers is a big hit.
For about $30 a day you can rent a very basic double stroller from Disney. This may cost them $50, if that.
Emmie is about to turn 7, and she walked most of the way. A few minutes of rest for her. We walked close to 20,000 steps every day while visiting the different parks.
1/12 Sunday. Today was Magic Kingdom day. I was the straggler, so I drove to the Ticket and Transportation Center and then took the monorail to the park. The others left as early as 8 am, but the marathon (this was the Marathon Weekend) caused huge delays on the roads, so they didn’t get to the park until 9:30 to 10 am.
Lunch was at Crystal Palace, at $51 a head for adults. The food was fine, just that I didn’t want to eat all that much. The cost probably kept many people away, so we didn’t have to wait long before all the characters showed up.
Main Street USA at about 11:30 am, people were still pouring in the park.
Character breakfast at the Crystal Palace.
Emmie was picked to be the Beast.
Selfie while on the It's a Small World Ride.
Emmie took this picture. This is "us" 30 years ago.
Cinderella's Castle nicely lit up after sunset.
Joe wanted to stay a bit longer, so the rest of us left the park and got take out from Bob Evans for dinner.
1/13 Monday. Security was relatively straightforward with CLEAR (for Anne and me) and TSA-Precheck (for Ellie). The flight was packed; Anne and I were upgraded again. We had lunch at EWR Garden State Diner before parting ways. Our initial Uber driver for some reason circled around and eventually cancelled on us, so it took us a few extra minutes to wait for the next car.
