Good morning. Yes, I'm behind on the blog, but hey, I just got back from sunny Florida with my
family and we've got all kinds of things to talk about, like the Florida/Disney Trip. First of all, Mia is an amazing kid on airplanes. She's always been a great flyer. Even as a little baby, she's been great. This trip, she got to walk up to the cockpit and sit in the pilot's seat for a quick photo. She thought it was SO cool. The cockpit for this particular Southwest Airline was super tight and I could barely walk her into it. The flight was smooth and before we landed, she colored two princess photos for a flight attendant and one for the pilot. They were both very happy and surprised. We picked up our luggage, the rental car and drove to our very unique hotel.
For a few days, we stayed at the Pop Century Resort, a very fun and HUGE hotel with all kinds of different things to do. Of course the first thing Mia wanted to do, was get into her bathing suit and jump in the pool. She did just that. Her, Jill and Grandma R jumped in the pool for a very short while because thunder and lightning started to get closer and closer so they shut all swimming for the evening. Mia burst out in tears. They changed, and we went down to eatery area and grabbed some seriously over-priced food. Plenty of options to eat, but good grief were they expensive. Later, we went down to the arcade to play some games. Mostly, Mia had fun but damn, this kid gets so competitive if she doesn't win everything. Somehow, we got the kid to relax and get some sleep, for we planned to get up bright and early in the morning. We couldn't decide if we wanted to drive or take the shuttle. We made the right decision taking the shuttle. It picked us up out front at 7:30am and we were dropped off right out front of Magic Kingdom. The park opened at 8am, and we made the absolute most of the day meeting everyone we possibly could (or that Mia wanted to). Upon walking into Town Square, Minnie and and Pluto were meeting guests. We jumped right into line for Minnie. Mia was SUPER excited to meet the mouse and I captured some great photos of her. She had the mouse sign her autograph book Jill made. My sister in law also gave her a special pink bag that can be autographed, so we got about 4-5 characters to sign it.
After meeting Minnie, we walked straight to the spot for the Merida (from Brave) meet and greet spot. Way too early, so we walked a bit, got Mia something to drink and Mia and I got on the Tea Cups. A very classic ride for everyone. Well, not only did Mia and I get on the ride, but none other than Alice and the White Rabbit got into a cup with some lucky people. It was a lot of fun as they were trying to hype up the riders the whole time. Alice found one of those spray-fan bottles that one would use to cool oneself and says "I found this..OOHH! it sprays!" I love how the characters stay
in character the whole time. We walked over to the Merida (from Brave) meet place for our very first meet. We waited a bit, and then they opened it up. There was no FastPass for this meet, so we had to get there first thing. The line wasn't too bad, as we hung out, and photographed the nearby Cinderella castle. They eventually let us in, and we quickly were fortunate to meet the Scottish archer in a very cool meeting spot. She was fun to talk to, and she loved Mia's braided tied up hair. She got to shoot a bow and arrow after the meet and hit the target nicely. After that, had plenty of time before our first FastPass which was Cinderella/Rapunzel so we casually strolled through the castle. She rode Prince Charming's carrousels as well. Lady Tramaine and the step sisters were on the ride before us. It was funny how the sisters were practically falling off and how the mother sat there all poise without a single amount of emotion. We walked to the nearby Fairytale Hall and saw the wait for Elsa and Anna was only 40 minutes, which would end perfectly with time to go to the Cinderella/Rapunzel meet in the same building. Well, it look less then 40 minutes to get to the Arendale ladies. In fact, it only took like, 25-30 minutes.
We couldn't believe it. Mia had a blast meeting the girls. Queen Elsa was first (we were told that you have to give your respects to the Queen first) then we met Anna. She was adorable trying to put her hair up like Mia's and had her try to help put the braids up. Mia loved it and immediately after we said our goodbyes and she gave them hugs she turns to us with her mouth WIDE open "I CAN'T BELIEVE I MET THEM! I CAN'T STOP SCREAMMMINGGG!!!!!" Her reactions after every meet was priceless. It pretty much sums up the magic of Disney for a little 4 year old girl. She loved it and would go running down the halls (or Ariel's grotto) yelling with joy. Every single time, she run out with pure excitement and joy. It was by far, my favourite part of Magic Kingdom. We timed the meet and greet so well, that we just hopped into the FastPass line and met up Cinderella and Rapunzel in the next area!
We met Cinderella first. She will always be Mia's first favorite princess. They sat and talked a bit too for quite a while. She signed Mia's book and we walked over to Rapunzel. She was very sweet with Mia, and when she was about to sign her book, she noticed that Cinderella signed on the back of a page, and not the page we made for her. She ran over and got her to sign the correct page. Rapunzel bolted back yelling "I DID PRINCESS PAPERWORK!" It was pretty cute. After the meet, Mia changed into her Tinker Bell costume we brought with us for the trip. She wanted to wear it before meeting Tinker Bell. We had some lunch, Mia changed and BOOM! There was the rain. We saw in forecasts that rain was predicted, but this went from a sprinkle to a downpour quickly. They had a little "Singing In The Rain" parade so we watched that for a while. We saw Stitch in it! We had looked in Tomorrowland everywhere in search of the alien from Lilo and Stitch but he was nowhere to be seen. Mickey, The Genie, Donald and others were in the old cars going down the street. It made light of a crappy situation. The rain let up and we made our way to the Tinker Bell meet and greet. Mia was concerned her wings would get wet and she wouldn't be able to fly (reference to the movies). It was funny, the different staff members walking nearby asking "hey, aren't you supposed to be at Pixie Hollow?" Mia would crack a smile every time. We arrived a tad early so in the mean time, Mia and Jill wandered outside to see if there were any characters roaming about. I took a minute to sit down inside. Hey, carrying a 4-year old isn't easy. When they came back in, Mia was super excited. They ran into Snow White! Jill told me that they chatted for a really long time, and Snow White listened to everything Mia said. It was time to meet the green fairy!
We walked into this room, and there was "pixie dust" everywhere when they shrunk you down to fairy size to meet Tinker Bell. Tinker Bell was so excited to meet her "mini me" and they had a lot of fun talking about everything fairies, their outfits and who signed Mia's autograph book. It was so fun to watch Mia interact with her as well as everyone else we have met. After the meet, we noticed that Marie from Aristocats was hanging outside where we first met Mia at 8:00am. Mia got in line immediately and gave her a huge hug. Another classic movie that she's always liked. Later, we had some more rain. A lot actually. We were going to go ride the Aladdin Magic Carpet Ride in Adventureland, and as we sat in line, we saw Jasmine and Aladdin meeting people behind us. We made the quick decision to jump out and make the attempt to meet them. Just as we got out of line, they closed the meet and the characters went to take a break. Ugh..I don't exactly remember when they said they'd be back, but we weren't too happy. Plus, the rain started to pick up. We took shelter at an ice cream store till it would slow down. We had our meet and greet with Ariel in a while, so we made a break for it. With Mia on top of my shoulders holding Grandma's umbrella, we made it through the rain (that thankfully slowed down a bit) We found Ariel's grotto and waited for our meet time. Ariel was real sweet with Mia and she loved Ariel's tail. After we met her, Mia gives her hug and runs out yelling "I JUST MET THE REAL ARIEL!! THIS IS SO AMAZING!" Once again, my heart just melted as she runs through the park with that big smile on her face. Immediately after the meet and greet, we walked over to the Under the Sea ride where you sit in a sea shell, and travel through on a track with the classic film being acted by robots and such. It was fun till we got into a dark cave and Ursula came out. Mia's little heartbeat was going so fast as tears were pouring down from her eyes. The rest of the ride didn't matter at that point, and she told every single person that we met, that she absolutely did NOT like the Ariel ride. She's still telling people that she cried on the ride. She would tell people "I was afraid that Ursula was going to steal my voice"
After that, we went over to the Enchanted Tales with Belle, which is an interactive meet and greet that has the mini guests (and a couple of adults) acting out Beauty and the Beast. Mia wanted to be Chip, but ended up getting the sweet role of the dessert plate. The kids acted out the movie, and were handed bookmarks by Belle as they posed for photographs. It was a lot of fun. Later, we headed BACK to Adventureland and went to meet Princess Jasmine and Aladdin. Once again, they closed off the meet and greet so the characters could get a break. So we waited and waited and then they finally came back out. Mia was very excited to meet them and even hugged Aladdin. It was very sweet. After meeting the Arabian royalty, we grabbed one of those infamous pineapple Dole Whips. Quite tasty. After that, I made a selection for another FastPass, the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. We would attend that fun show after meeting Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen. This was actually the longest we had to wait. Here's why. We went to the rather small line to meet them, and it was closed off. The line attendant told us that the meet and greet was closed off till __insert the next time. From what it appears, they only let in probably, 12-15 people per meet session. "Come back at this time" Okay, so we did. Closed off again. What in the hell...So once again, we made a third attempt and stuck with it. They opened the line up and we got in but had to wait for them to come back. Then the rain started again and word was spreading they wouldn't make it out again. Mia was getting a bit more antsy, but overall, she was patient and was talking to this little girl behind her. Naveen called her a "little cutie patooty" and Tiana loved talking to her about kissing a frog. It was worth the wait. Even while trying to photograph her with the characters in the rain.
We walked over to the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. Our last FastPass we used. Totally worth going to. Mia loved it. It was very fun. My mother in law headed for the bus and was done for the night. Back to the hotel. We stayed longer and tried to find some food. Things were closing and we were getting worn out. The very last thing we wanted to do was see the infamous Disney Light Parade. It kept getting delayed and delayed and delayed (because of the little rain that was coming down). We were at the point of giving up. Mia was beyond antsy, very tired and in no mood to keep waiting. Finally, they started. Mia's eyes lit up like Christmas. Tinker Bell, Mickey, Peter Pan and others were in the parade. Just as it finished, we decided to call it a day. We didn't think we could make it till the fireworks since we've been up since 6:30am so we made it through the crazy busy crowd, got to the shuttle and headed back to the hotel. She fell asleep on my shoulder while walking through the crowds and stayed asleep all the way home. The shuttle back to the hotel was a painful ride with the 40 pound kid completely passed out in me, but it was defiantly an amazing day at Magic Kingdom. We proved everyone wrong that told me "you can't possibly see the whole park in a day and meet everyone". No, we didn't see
everything but we did meet just about everyone Mia wanted. She didn't do a lot of rides, but we spent most of the time meeting characters, and besides, she did the rides
she wanted to do. It was a day I'll never forget. Seeing Disney through the eyes of a 4 year old is surreal. She loved Magic Kingdom so much. Planning ahead defiantly helped and utilizing the FastPasses was a huge plus. Going on a Wednesday turned out to be a perfect day because Mon-Wed the park opened at 8am instead of 9am. We kept our eyes on wait times for rides and such, but mostly stuck with meeting people, and getting her stuff signed. The other night, she proudly was showing my parents all of her autographs and who everyone was. Then she stood at the door, backpack and all, and said "I'm going back to Disney! BYEEE!!"
The next day, I felt like my body went through a hurricane of pain. It was like a Disney hangover. Both Jill and I were really feeling it that day, and were just physically exhausted. Since it wasn't raining, Jill, her Mom and Mia went to the pool as I caught up a bit on sleep, and had a little breakfast. We later checked out, and drove straight to Downtown Disney for Mia's Bippity Boppity Botique appointment. Her auntie Ashley gave her some money towards this unique experience where Mia could dress up as a Disney princess for the day. Hair, makeup, outfit, nails etc. So Mia decided she wanted to be Princess Jasmine. An hour later, and the kid was completely transformed into the Arabian princess. She sat like a champ through the process but you could tell getting towards the end of it, she was getting antsy and wanted to get out of the chair to see how she looked. We picked up some souvenirs for some family members and were on our way to Rain forest Cafe. It literally has been over 12 years since I've been into a Rain forest Cafe. Maybe even longer. The food was tasty, but people come for the atmosphere. Mia loved all of the different animals and the fish tank inside (except the giant snake). Later, we went over the Lego Land to see what all the hype was. Outside, they had this race track with kids putting together little cars. They give you a set of tires, and let you go nuts on making a car to race. You don't win anything, but the object of the race is to simply have fun. Mia and I put together a car, and when it was her time to race, she won! She was pretty happy she beat out all of these older boys. We walked around a bit, and later made our way out and on the road to Sebastian. One thing I noticed that is simply adorable, is how even the construction workers at Downtown disney are super nice to the kids. One guy goes to Mia "well good afternoon Princess". It's just a real nice touch. She loved it.
An hour and a half later, we were in Sebastian visiting Grandpa Gangnier. For the remaining of our vacation, we relaxed with him, went out for dinners, and explored the beaches. Our last night, Jill made fresh flounder. It was incredibly tasty and very good. In the airport, I got "randomly" patted down. It was a VERY thorough body check as the guy was trying to make light of a bad situation as the
other guy went through everything in my backpack. I kept thinking "please don't break anything". Mia was giving me the thumbs up as he had his hands EVERYWHERE. Ugh...When she went through the metal detector, they had made her put her recently purchased rice krispie treat in a bin and through the scanner. Some kid or parent on the other side swiped it! She was pretty sad. Not the best way to leave the sunny state of Florida. but the kid was real good on flight as usual. Watched a movie, drank her juice and before long, we were at Mitchell International. Great vacation. Tons of memories and lots of stories to share.
Wednesday, she had her very first swim class. I was excited to attend and watch her. To my surprise for the swim class for preschoolers (and the other groups) parents who are not swimming do NOT get to watch. So there I sat, in silence outside in the hall till they were done with the other parents quietly on their smart phones. I could hear the whirring of a light saber from the parent next to me. Must have been playing a Star Wars game. One by one, the kids started to come out and eventually I saw my little girl with the kitty towel on walking to the bathroom. She did really well and can kick very fast. She's already excited for the next class. Father's Day was great. She and Jill wrote me a song on the ukulele and made me tasty cupcakes :)
More things to discuss another time, so I'm done for now. I've been trying to write this entry since we got back from the trip. but just haven't had a lot of time. Thanks for reading!
Good Morning everyone. It's been a busy week (and from the looks of it, July will be just as busy as June) but before we get a head of myself, I wanted to share something awesome that happened on Father's Day. Early in the afternoon, I got a call from the owner/head coach of the Milwaukee Torrent. He called and asked how I thought the team's jerseys turned out, and wanted to let me know he was going to give me one for free. I was so stoked. It'll take a few weeks for it to be complete because the next day, he texted me that he was going to CUSTOMIZE it for myself as well! It seriously doesn't get any better than that. Sure, it'd be nice to get money for this project, but this is WAY better. The fact that right now, they are making my very own custom jersey for the club that I helped create is pretty amazing.
