Delightfully Soggy Walkabout Magic Days 1-2

Well, I’m back. You will once again be subjected to my fractured prose but you only have yourself to blame as you’re not being forced to read it. I’ve returned from a truly magical week with the New Jersey bunch in Florida. I know, corny, when calling time at Disneyworld “magical” but it is, as they say, what it is. Going through a hurricane in Florida wasn’t on my bucket list but we managed that as well. It wasn’t much of a hurricane when it got to Orlando but those with beachfront property would argue that point. Extreme kudos to Wingman who put the entire adventure together and expertly managed the week. It was magical though as we were able to see the wonder and awe bloom on the FBR’s face almost constantly. Disney attaches a firm tractor beam to your wallet but experiencing it with a seven-year-old was more than worth the treasure sacrificed to the effort.

Magic Kingdom Time

FBR With her Parents

Before we get to all the enchantment in Central Florida, I’ve got to relate the days leading up. In addition, so much happened during the trip I’m going to split up the recounting into two blog posts. This first one will cover days one and two in Florida, the Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Before all that fun started, we had to get there. Saturday was a final recon for this upcoming week’s birthday pub crawl. Expertly shepherded down Main Street with Kindergarten Friend, Keene Friends 1 & 2 as well as the Connecticut River Boat Captain. Our stated mission was to check out a martini bar for its efficacy but instead confirmed a new location, Local Burger (I know, burgers and beer!!!). The martini bar was predictably pretentious and not appropriate for the crawl but Kilkenny’s once again identified itself as one of the crawl superstars. For those of you interested, I posted the itinerary on Facebook earlier today. After we made our way home Saturday night, we somehow ended up at the Neighborhood Mafioso’s house for additional celebration. So, a totally great Saturday.

At Kilkenny's with Friends

Keene Friend 2

Margaritas Dinner with Keene Friend

Late Saturday Night at the Mafioso's

Sunday saw the drive to New Jersey to link up with our travel party. The FBR was appropriately happy to see us and was already bubbling about her upcoming birthday week celebration in Florida. She had a new page of stickers which were, in very short order, applied all over my face. My Favorite Panamanian wasn’t immune to the FBR’s attention either. Her silvery gray hair was soon sporting a rainbow of colors. Our trip to Florida Monday morning started with a drive to LaGuardia Airport in NYC. Wingman chose that airport to get a direct flight to Orlando. Driving though Manhattan on a Monday morning was every bit as much fun as you would think. Our problems started when the GPS recommended diverting just short of the George Washington Bridge. As we eased through the side streets apparently the GPS hadn’t known the police were not allowing the required turn we were supposed to make. This allowed us to take an unplanned tour of beautiful downtown Ft Lee, New Jersey. We eventually got across the Hudson and the GPS was again getting a little cagey but my Favorite Daughter, from the very back seat used her phone to get us back on track. We dropped the car off at a long term lot and shuttled to the airport. The drive from New Jersey ended up being longer than the 2 hour flight to Florida.

FBR Doing her Abuela's Nails

Interesting Colors

Time to Decorate Grandpa

One of Us Happy with the Results

Abuela's Hair

At the airport we tried to get my wife and I on the same flight with the rest but, as this is school vacation week in New Jersey, and this flight was going to Kid-Central in Florida there weren’t any seats available. My Favorite Panamanian and I therefore had a two hour wait for our later flight. We used that for a landmark event. I ordered a meal totally online to be delivered to our table. I know this sounds like a simple task for anyone younger than me but, as I said, a first. Meanwhile Wingman, my daughter, the FBR, and Wingmom had arrived in Florida and checked into their luxury hotel, complete with water park. The FBR made a bee line to that location and was still bubbling about it when we showed up a couple hours later. Wingman located a nearby restaurant for dinner which was fun except of the poor service which was a theme for the week at the several eating non-Disney establishments we experienced.

FBR Approving our Rental Car

Showing the Way into the Hotel

First Night's Dinner

Our next stop was the condo complex Wingman had set up for us and Wingmom. Everything went well except for the gate code which had been changed. Wingman figured it out and we were in. The condo was awesome, five minutes from their hotel, 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, a hot tub and resident deer that came by each morning. I dropped the FBR and her parents at their hotel for the night and returned to the condo for the night, after a stop at Publix, which every visit to Florida involves. The deer family greeted our morning and we made our way to link up with a very bubbly FBR. It was a magical (sorry again) moment when we passed under the sign for the Magic Kingdom, after a very short drive from the hotel (again, great job Wingman). It brought back the memories from my last visit thirty years ago with a much younger version of the FBR’s mom and her uncle. There was a lot of that throughout the week as I saw the FBR, who looks so much like her mom at that age, experiencing the same things. A monorail ride to the park entrance brought us to the ticket booth. I had purchased our four-day tickets through the military and Wingman assured me I didn’t need to bring the cards with me as everything was done on line. I didn’t want to leave things to chance and it turned out they wanted to see the cards and we ended up using them the rest of the week.

Magical Entry

Walking in from Parking Lot

Still Walking

Main Street USA

Someone is Psyched!

Merry Go Round with Abuela

Little Mermaid

Walking up Main Street USA brought another of those memorable reactions from the FBR which made the week so special. She saw the castle and her jaw dropped and she excitedly pointed it out the scene that had preceded so many movies she has watched. We walked through the castle and she took her abuela with her for her first Disney ride, the merry go round. We followed that up with a Little Mermaid ride and then my first experience with something that became a signature treat, the Lightning Lane. Wingman had arranged this through the Disney app which gave us expedited entry to certain rides. My last time at Disneyworld had been marred by Brazilian tour groups who paraded through the long lines not waiting in line. This time we were the ones and it was legal. We mounted our first of what turned out to be many rollercoaster rides, Barnstormer, which propelled us through a billboard. My Favorite Panamanian and Wingmom didn’t chance any of the many rollercoasters we tried and my wife was particularly concerned about my health. I told her not to worry. I did feel a twinge in my neck on that first ride but was fine with the many that followed. I wasn’t going to miss going through them with the FBR.

Our First Rollercoaster

FBR and Daughter 

With Abuela

Wingman, The Hero of the Week

FBR Meeting a New Friend

Space Mountain was up next and though it’s pretty dated now, it is still a wild ride through the pitch black that had the FBR screaming in joy the entire way. I was a little unlucky as my sunglasses emerged from the ride in two pieces. My daughter innocently (fairly) asked me why I hadn’t stored them in the convenient bag on the car. Don’t you hate it when the kids prove they’re smarter than you. Target practice with lasers at the Buzz Lightyear ride was followed by Splash Mountain (still very wet) and the venerable Pirates of the Caribbean (now featuring a lot more Johnny Depp).

Wingman and Daughter Space Mountain

FBR and Abuela in Buzz Lightyear

Into Adventureland

With Grandpa for Jungle Cruise

The FBR was particularly excited about the Jungle Cruise ride which she took in from my lap. We were blessed with a guide that was trying to set a record for the number of Christmas puns. Some were so achingly bad that we had to laugh. We had just left the cruise when Hurricane Nicole showed up for the first time. It had been a beautiful first day up to this point but we were hit with what turned out to be the heaviest rain of the week over the next few hours. Since this was our first time, we were a little disjointed in the donning of the 99 cent ponchos which ended up going on over some already wet clothes. Through extensive experience during the rest of the week, we got much better and quicker. We dodged sporadic rain squalls that were the first lines of Hurricane Nicole for the rest of the day. While the FBR and her parents went on to Mine Train, I joined the grandmothers in eschewing that experience because of a very long wait (bad for the knee). We ended up in Liberty Square for hot dogs and chocolate chip cookies we shared with a huge flock of birds that seemed like they owned the place.

Then the Rains Came

FBR (in green) Not Pleased

With Wife and Wingmom in Liberty Square

We rejoined the younger member of the group after they finished up with Winnie the Pooh. They had linked up with some friends who live in the area. They are Disney aficionados and were impressed with what we had been able to accomplish so far (thanks in large part to Wingman’s expertise with his smart phone). We had reservations for an early dinner at Cinderella’s Castle. I didn’t even know that was a thing but, again, Wingman overachieving. This included a meet and greet for the FBR with Cinderella herself, for which the FBR hastily donned her Cinderella gown. They were so cute together. I never imagined being inside the iconic castle, much less for dinner and I found my mind reaching back to the 1960s listening to Uncle Walt Disney on Sunday night’s talking to a very young version of myself through the construction on the Wonderful World of Color. It was so special.

Two Princesses

Deep in Conversation

Comparing Dresses

Favorite Panamanian Inside the Castle for Dinner

The Ladies

The Guys and the Birthday Girl

FBR Gets a Birthday Candle

Happy Princess

This was followed by another iconic location as we hit the Haunted Mansion, which has lost nothing off its fastball despite the years. Once again, the lightning lane was a  true blessing as we bypassed the very long line. Our day was drawing to a very wet end but the FBR wanted one more roller coaster and we were off to Thunder Mountain. A roller coaster in the rain turned out to be a lot of fun. I blame the company I had for the ride for most of that. We were all pretty well soaked by this time and we used a ferry boat to return to the car.

FBR in Haunted Mansion

Omnipresent 3D Glasses

Wet but Undaunted

Soggy Ride Back to Car

Wednesday meant a trip to Hollywood Studios or, more correctly for our group, Star Wars Day. While I have always been a serious Star Wars geek, I met a kindred sprit in Wingman. Under our joint tutelage the FBR has bred true and she could not have been more excited as well when we walked in and she saw an imperial walker looming over her. We started out with the Star Tours ride which ended up being the first of three different times we went on the ride. I was once again reminded of our trip thirty years ago when this ride was brand new. The ride had been updated and we saw a different story each time we took the ride. The big event of the day was the new Star Wars ride, Rise of the Resistance. We couldn’t lightning lane this but waited the 45 minutes and it was more than worth the wait. It was probably the best ride I’ve ever been on anywhere as we walked through a series of stops culminating with a walk through an imperial destroyer chased by Kylo Renn. Just way too much fun for this geek. Disney has created an entire Star Wars town in Galaxy’s Edge where the FBR made a bee line for the souvenir shops armed with her birthday money. She (and I) was really excited when she walked around the corner and saw a life size Millennium Falcon. She got to meet Rey and Chewbacca there. My daughter had been keeping a close eye on the weather which offered a two-hour break in the rain for our tour of this remarkable town. We were now expert at quickly donning and removing the ponchos.

FBR and Imperial Walker

Rise of Resistance Waiting Line

Wet but Happy

Toy Story Land

Star Wars Geek

The rain came back and we went inside to see the Muppets 3D which might have been good but for which I slept through most of. Next up was a live Frozen sing along which we got into after a very wet wait. I wasn’t that excited about the event but it turned out to be a lot of fun mainly due to one of the hosts who was the funniest guy we saw at Disney. Incredibly funny. Yet another wet roller coaster ride followed at Toy Story land with the Slinky Dog Dash. I walked across the park with the young’uns to the Tower of Terror but let them enter without me as there was an advertised hour long wait. I found that waiting in line was much tougher on my bad knee then the omnipresent walks required. I wandered back across the park to link up with the grandmothers near Star Wars land. The very effusive FBR and her entourage returned from the tower and we entered yet another lightning lane entry to the Millennium Falcon ride. It was so cool as the ride had our six person crew the cockpit of the falcon. The FBR was the pilot and while she drove us through a couple cliffs it was all too much fun. We ended the day with yet another trip through Star Tours. Time well spent. It was a very wet day but the crowds were still there, poncho encased. Everyone, as well as us, had too much invested in the trip to miss out on a day. I also noted, to my Favorite Panamanian’s ire, that the Star Wars crowd seemed a lot more overweight than the Magic Kingdom’s had been. The price of geekdom usually involves a lot of sweets.

FBR Spotting C3PO

Into Galaxy's Edge

With Grandparents in Line

Spotting the Millennium Falcon

Channeling her inner R2D2

Sometimes Waiting in Line Was Fun

Wet but Undaunted

Still in Line at Rise

And Still

We made our way back to the condo as the FBR was staying with us for the night as her parents were going out with the aforementioned local friends. We stopped by the hotel enroute to the condo and the FBR gave us a tour of the central atrium which featured alligators. We went in search of another restaurant dinner and the FBR was concerned when we chose the Red Lobster because, she patiently explained, that she didn’t eat lobster. We assured her that wasn’t required. An indication of how much energy had been sent down range was the FBR eating everything on her plate without the usual requisite encouragement. The eye of the hurricane was inbound overnight and the Publix was mobbed but we were able to score three kinds of desserts for the FBR (and her grandfather). It was birthday week after all. So that’s the first couple days of this very special time in Florida, hurricane and all.

Almost There

Worth the Wait

Wife and I With Storm Trooper Escort

Stealing her Abuela's Cotton Candy

Galaxy's Edge

Way Cool

Meeting Chewbacca

In Front of the Falcon

FBR and I in Front of Kylo Renn's Ship

Two More Star Wars Princesses

Galaxy's Edge

Inside Star Tours Again
I Could Have Given Safety Brief by End of Day

Winding up the Day

Wet Crowd

Poncho Drill

Atrium of Hotel

With the Alligators

Inside Condo with her Day's Acquisitions

Waking up with Abuela

Our Morning Guests

Only two movies fell in my A-Z effort since I was gone all week, neither a keeper, Charlie’s Angels (hasn’t aged well at all despite great cast) and Cheaper by the Dozen (Bonnie Hunt and Steve Martin can’t save movie from annoying kids)

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                     

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Connecticut Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor of the big river; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew – son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course