We went to Disney World in December. It was a great trip, but I have some difficult feelings regarding it, because we failed to fulfill some of our usual traditions.
I SHOULD just concentrate on the positive, but this is my blog and I want to dwell a bit on our failures.
So...here's what we didn't do.
1. We didn't go on Everest. Well, Jack went on it. Tim and I did not. I feel extra regret about this, because Jack and I also didn't ride Everest when we visited last April. So that's two trips in a row in which I failed to have an encounter with the Yeti. This is really bad, because our cat is named after that Yeti.
2. We didn't get ice-cream at the Anandapur Ice-cream Truck. We almost always get ice-cream there. I mean not every time we go to Animal Kingdom but usually at least once per trip. Actually, though, I think we skipped this as well in April. I'm not sure we even went to Animal Kingdom at all in April. For the most part, we kept to Magic Kingdom and Epcot.
3. I never went into the shop at the Norway Pavilion. I am pretty sure there has never been a time, before this trip that I did not go into that store...multiple times. What's really sweet, though, is Jack surprised me later, at home, by ordering me the Norwegian perfume they have at the shop.
4. We did not get the snow cone in Japan! This is mostly Tim's thing. The Anandapur Ice-cream is mine. But we share the snow cone and the ice-cream, so it was kind of a loss for all of us.
5. I didn't ride three Magic Kingdom rides that I almost always ride: Tomorrowland Transit Authority, It's a Small World, and Big Thunder Mountain.
I still feel weird about missing those.
But you know what? The reason I missed all three? I wasn't in the mood. And the same goes for the ice-cream and Everest. Maybe that's why I have the regret. It's like I feel guilty, because I didn't partake in these things by choice. I think it would be different if I had wanted to go on and we ran out of time or it was closed.
Except Norway. That actually was about running out of time. Or...running out of energy. On the last day, I started heading over there. It was hot and crowded. Then I saw Jack exiting the Norway Pavilion. He was heading towards China or Japan to get a drink. I love the Norway store but love being with Jack even more. And he's going away to college soon.....
So I walked with him, thinking maybe I'd turn back around later and go to Norway. I never did.
I think that's about it for the the things we missed...AND regret. It's not a full list of every missed attraction. There's a lot of those. It's impossible to go on every ride, see every show, visit every store, and eat at every restaurant on each of Disney Trip. There's just certain things that become traditions, and it's hard to miss those.
On the other hand, we did do some new/unusual things. Well, some of the things are unusual for us...not unusual for people in general.
1. We went on Rise of the Resistance. Twice! And Tim went on three times! Our first ride was on the day it opened. I'm so proud of the that fact.
We were boarding group 42.
The ride was fantastic...though probably more appreciated by longtime Star Wars fans. (Tim and Jack fit much better into that category than I do).
What I liked even more was the hassle getting onto the ride. It was such an adventure. We got up before 6 am, rushing to the park. We thought we'd be standing outside the entrance for hours or, worse, told that everyone else got there three hours ago, and the ride was already booked up for the day.
Instead, Disney opened the gates AND the rides. We got to experience short lines in Toy Story Land...which is a rare treat.
2. We rode the gondolas for the first time. That was lovely. It would have been less lovely if we got trapped up there in the hot weather and had to pee or poo. But that never happened.
3. We ate Mickey Ice-cream treats. We rarely get those. But we did this time, because we did the Magic Kingdom After Hours event. This includes all you can eat ice-cream and popcorn. So, of course, we had to partake in all of that.
You know how you sometimes look back at a food. You miss it and look forward to having it again. I do NOT feel that way about Mickey Ice-cream. And it's not that I ate a huge amount. I had one and half ice-cream sandwiches. And yeah. Anything more than one is a lot. But it's not like I had like ten of those things.
We had been so excited about it, though. Even though we're not really into it.
I guess what I learned on that trip is that food doesn't necessarily taste better when it's free.
4. I spent a lot of time chilling at the Beach Club and Boardwalk area. I feel often we spend so much time at the park and neglect the resort areas. But on this trip, I spent a lot of time sitting on the benches outside and the comfy chairs in the various lobbies. I was going to mention walking around the area, but I actually walk around the area on most trips. So the walking part wasn't unusual.
5. We ate at the new Japanese Signature Restaurant—Takumi Tei.
The food was really good. BUT...strangely, it made me crave the much cheaper mainstream sushi restaurants. My craving was fulfilled a few days later in Gainesville, and I actually enjoyed that food better. Don't ask me why.
6. We ate at PizzeRizzo in Hollywood Studios. That place always seems to be closed, but this time it was open. The pizza tasted better than it looked. It made me nauseous, though. But that happens to me a lot when I eat pizza, so...not the fault of the rats.
7. I rode Tower of Terror not-alone!!! In previous visits, Tim and Jack would never go on, so I'd have to go on. I stopped a year or so ago, because it made me feel lonely. I mean I think it's great to go on Disney rides alone. But there's something about Tower of Terror.....
Anyway, Tim and Jack finally decided to try the ride. And they both loved it! I ended up going on...I think four times? And never alone!
8. We watched a full Fireworks show. I feel bad that this is rare, because Tim likes fireworks. I mean not that I stop him from watching. But it doesn't usually become a family event. I'm more in the camp of let's take advantage of the shorter lines while everyone else is watching fireworks. Or actually more often...I'm in the camp of it's about time for me to start heading to bed.
But the fireworks show was starting around the time we arrived for After Hours. It was easier to just hang out with the crowd instead of fighting past the crowd. And I knew the ride lines would be short once the After Hours event officially began, so there was less of a frantic rush to get to the rides.
The lights and the music was lovely. I think it gave me a few tears.
That's about it. I think.
But before I end this post....
I feel I should also briefly list the old favorites that we (or I) did NOT fail to experience.
So that would be: The Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Spaceship Earth, the Mexico Ride, Soarin, Living with the Land!!! (I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I missed that one), the bakery at France, the bakery at Norway (several visits, actually), the ice-cream at the French crepe kiosk, the Japan store, the UK store, Sunshine Seasons.....
I SHOULD just concentrate on the positive, but this is my blog and I want to dwell a bit on our failures.
So...here's what we didn't do.
1. We didn't go on Everest. Well, Jack went on it. Tim and I did not. I feel extra regret about this, because Jack and I also didn't ride Everest when we visited last April. So that's two trips in a row in which I failed to have an encounter with the Yeti. This is really bad, because our cat is named after that Yeti.
2. We didn't get ice-cream at the Anandapur Ice-cream Truck. We almost always get ice-cream there. I mean not every time we go to Animal Kingdom but usually at least once per trip. Actually, though, I think we skipped this as well in April. I'm not sure we even went to Animal Kingdom at all in April. For the most part, we kept to Magic Kingdom and Epcot.
3. I never went into the shop at the Norway Pavilion. I am pretty sure there has never been a time, before this trip that I did not go into that store...multiple times. What's really sweet, though, is Jack surprised me later, at home, by ordering me the Norwegian perfume they have at the shop.
4. We did not get the snow cone in Japan! This is mostly Tim's thing. The Anandapur Ice-cream is mine. But we share the snow cone and the ice-cream, so it was kind of a loss for all of us.
5. I didn't ride three Magic Kingdom rides that I almost always ride: Tomorrowland Transit Authority, It's a Small World, and Big Thunder Mountain.
I still feel weird about missing those.
But you know what? The reason I missed all three? I wasn't in the mood. And the same goes for the ice-cream and Everest. Maybe that's why I have the regret. It's like I feel guilty, because I didn't partake in these things by choice. I think it would be different if I had wanted to go on and we ran out of time or it was closed.
Except Norway. That actually was about running out of time. Or...running out of energy. On the last day, I started heading over there. It was hot and crowded. Then I saw Jack exiting the Norway Pavilion. He was heading towards China or Japan to get a drink. I love the Norway store but love being with Jack even more. And he's going away to college soon.....
So I walked with him, thinking maybe I'd turn back around later and go to Norway. I never did.
I think that's about it for the the things we missed...AND regret. It's not a full list of every missed attraction. There's a lot of those. It's impossible to go on every ride, see every show, visit every store, and eat at every restaurant on each of Disney Trip. There's just certain things that become traditions, and it's hard to miss those.
On the other hand, we did do some new/unusual things. Well, some of the things are unusual for us...not unusual for people in general.
1. We went on Rise of the Resistance. Twice! And Tim went on three times! Our first ride was on the day it opened. I'm so proud of the that fact.
We were boarding group 42.
The ride was fantastic...though probably more appreciated by longtime Star Wars fans. (Tim and Jack fit much better into that category than I do).
What I liked even more was the hassle getting onto the ride. It was such an adventure. We got up before 6 am, rushing to the park. We thought we'd be standing outside the entrance for hours or, worse, told that everyone else got there three hours ago, and the ride was already booked up for the day.
Instead, Disney opened the gates AND the rides. We got to experience short lines in Toy Story Land...which is a rare treat.
2. We rode the gondolas for the first time. That was lovely. It would have been less lovely if we got trapped up there in the hot weather and had to pee or poo. But that never happened.
3. We ate Mickey Ice-cream treats. We rarely get those. But we did this time, because we did the Magic Kingdom After Hours event. This includes all you can eat ice-cream and popcorn. So, of course, we had to partake in all of that.
You know how you sometimes look back at a food. You miss it and look forward to having it again. I do NOT feel that way about Mickey Ice-cream. And it's not that I ate a huge amount. I had one and half ice-cream sandwiches. And yeah. Anything more than one is a lot. But it's not like I had like ten of those things.
We had been so excited about it, though. Even though we're not really into it.
I guess what I learned on that trip is that food doesn't necessarily taste better when it's free.
4. I spent a lot of time chilling at the Beach Club and Boardwalk area. I feel often we spend so much time at the park and neglect the resort areas. But on this trip, I spent a lot of time sitting on the benches outside and the comfy chairs in the various lobbies. I was going to mention walking around the area, but I actually walk around the area on most trips. So the walking part wasn't unusual.
5. We ate at the new Japanese Signature Restaurant—Takumi Tei.
The food was really good. BUT...strangely, it made me crave the much cheaper mainstream sushi restaurants. My craving was fulfilled a few days later in Gainesville, and I actually enjoyed that food better. Don't ask me why.
6. We ate at PizzeRizzo in Hollywood Studios. That place always seems to be closed, but this time it was open. The pizza tasted better than it looked. It made me nauseous, though. But that happens to me a lot when I eat pizza, so...not the fault of the rats.
7. I rode Tower of Terror not-alone!!! In previous visits, Tim and Jack would never go on, so I'd have to go on. I stopped a year or so ago, because it made me feel lonely. I mean I think it's great to go on Disney rides alone. But there's something about Tower of Terror.....
Anyway, Tim and Jack finally decided to try the ride. And they both loved it! I ended up going on...I think four times? And never alone!
8. We watched a full Fireworks show. I feel bad that this is rare, because Tim likes fireworks. I mean not that I stop him from watching. But it doesn't usually become a family event. I'm more in the camp of let's take advantage of the shorter lines while everyone else is watching fireworks. Or actually more often...I'm in the camp of it's about time for me to start heading to bed.
But the fireworks show was starting around the time we arrived for After Hours. It was easier to just hang out with the crowd instead of fighting past the crowd. And I knew the ride lines would be short once the After Hours event officially began, so there was less of a frantic rush to get to the rides.
The lights and the music was lovely. I think it gave me a few tears.
That's about it. I think.
But before I end this post....
I feel I should also briefly list the old favorites that we (or I) did NOT fail to experience.
So that would be: The Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Spaceship Earth, the Mexico Ride, Soarin, Living with the Land!!! (I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I missed that one), the bakery at France, the bakery at Norway (several visits, actually), the ice-cream at the French crepe kiosk, the Japan store, the UK store, Sunshine Seasons.....
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