Epcot Revisited

Rick grilled pork chops Thursday night for dinner, then we went over to Rob & Michele’s cabin to visit with Rob’s parents. They seemed tired from the day spent at Magic Kingdom. Jerry & Sherry stayed at the All-Star resort over night and left Friday morning. Friday was our last day with Michele, Rob and the kids, so we chose to go back to Epcot. Michele was interested in the Kim Possible spy activity which takes the kids on a clue hunting scavenger hunt around the World Showcase and Epcot.On the way to the World Showcase, Papa spotted Cinderella with no one waiting to see her. Hailey walked up to her with the sweetest shy look on her face. She's normally pretty chatty but she stood there in stunned silence. Seth got Cinderella's autograph, "Oh I see you got Ariel's autograph. She's a friend of mine."

The weather report said to expect thunderstorms about 3 PM. Knowing both Gr Creech and Maggie don’t care for storms, Rick & I headed back to the camper early. The weatherman got it right on. About 3 PM the thunderstorms hit and the television announced tornado warnings for Orange County (Orlando!) We didn’t experience any thunder or lightning only wind and rain. Nearby Melborne did have wind damage and possible tornado.

During all the weather activity, Rick dropped me off at a restaurant with WiFi access so I could update our blog. I felt pretty safe in the restaurant (Davy Crockett’s Tavern). I figured if things got too bad, I could order a cocktail!
I was trying to make room in the refrigerator for the food that the kids had left over. I took all the taco fixings, added kidney beans, more lettuce and grape tomatoes. It was enough to feed Michele, Rob & family, plus all of us.

Kids Leave, Parents Arrive

Yay! Finally SUNSHINE!
Our son-in-law, Rob’s parents, Jerry & Sherry drove over from Bradenton to spend the day with their grandkids. They arrived early and they left for Magic Kingdom. Matt’s family had to leave for home as they took the kids out of school. We spent the morning with them as they packed and got ready to leave. In all the planning, Rick arranged for transportation to and from the airport by van. What a guy! About noon they left. While we waited, we watched the little lizards(skinks)laying in the sun. Even that was fun! Bye Guys! It's been an unforgettable birthday!



While the rest of the family was at Magic Kingdom, Hannah and Sean just hung out enjoying the sunshine. They tried the pool (too chilly) and drove around Fort Wilderness in the golf cart. (Rick also arranged for 3 golf carts for transporting all of us around. GREAT!) Rick, Gr. Creech and I drove over to Downtown Disney (a Jefferson Pointe type of mall done Disney style). We enjoyed seeing all the Mickey gear (anything you could posssibly want). Here's a picture of Gr Creech and her new man.

American Idol Experience

Today we celebrated Hannah’s 17th birthday. I’m so happy to be able to share my birthday week with her, especially in this way. At Disney’s Hollywood Studios there is an attraction called ‘American Idol Experience.’ Candidates show up in the morning to audition for spots in their American Idol show. The winner for the day wins a ticket to go to any of the national American Idol auditions, sending them to the front of the line. Carrie (Rocker Mom, singing ‘Hit Me With Your Best Shot’) and Hannah (our own singing/dancing/acting talent, singing ‘Rock Star’ by Miley Cyrus) auditioned in the morning and both made it through to the second round in the afternoon. Each hour, three performers vie for a place in the finals at 7 PM. The stage is a replica of the one on the TV show. Just like the TV show, 3 judges give their opinions but the audience votes for their favorite. Both Hannah and Carrie performed well but both lost in the semi-finals. We all were proud to support them. Both of them agreed that it was fun and helpful. Good job Hannah and Carrie! I am happy that Hannah especially could have this experience for her birthday. We love gifts that money can’t buy… Now if she could just get a job performing here, she would totally be in her element!



During the day we hung out at Hollywood Studios while Hannah and Carrie prepared for their auditions. We watched a wonderful live performance of ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Sean and Brendan rode the Tower of Terror, TWICE! There was very little, if any, wait time on the rides. I rode the Rockin’ Roller Coaster with the boys, TWICE. Lots of fun.




Back at Fort Wilderness, tacos were on the menu. Everyone came to Rob & Michele’s cabin to eat. Again, being with the family and just hanging out was one of the best parts of the day.

Sethism of the day: While we waited for Matt & Carrie & family to get back from the park, Seth saw a group of young men near their cabin. He shouted. “BRENDAN!” Then ran and tackled one of the kids. The kid yelled, “I’M NOT BRENDAN!!” The kid’s mom said, “We don’t know a Brendan!” Seth ran into the cabin, embarrassed. Oh well. The tacos were a hit anyway!

After dinner we drove to the Beach where the Magic Kingdom fireworks can be seen. They pipe in the music and narrative to go with the fireworks. The kids played in the sand and chased the ducks looking for a handout. After the fireworks we headed to Mickey's Campfire for S'mores. By the time we got there, it was done and the outdoor movie had started. Oh well...we had lots of laughs just running around in the golf carts.

More Rain? Laundry Day

We awoke the sound more rain. The temperature rose but the rain made it still seem chilly. We were in no hurry to get to the parks so we dressed and I did laundry while we hung out at the camper. We ate lunch then met Matt & Carrie and the kids at Magic Kingdom. Before we found them, Rick and I rode the Buzz Lightyear ride which is a pretty fun kids’ ride even for grownups!

Matt, Brendan, Kendall and I rode Space Mountain, an indoor roller coaster. Rick and I rode it last year but he wasn’t thrilled about going on it. Now I remember why…I don’t think I’ll go again! It’s very disorienting and not very smooth and the entire ride is in the pitch black. We went back to the Buzz Lightyear ride which is more my speed!


We walked over to ride Big Thunder Mountain but it was closed when we got there, as was Splash Mountain. The next thing on our list to do was ride Pirates of the Caribbean! This is another ride that we are nostalgic about from our trip in 1987. We rode it then with four teenagers giggling like little kids…Sweet memories. This time I were trying to distract little Addie who was a little afraid of the dark, the drunk pirates, the fire, etc… For some reason we had to wait at the end of the ride to get off. Not so sweet.

Rick and I left to head back to the camper. I’d been talking this whole time about getting ice cream but never got the chance. On the way out of Magic Kingdom we stopped at the Edy’s Ice Cream Parlor. I got fat free vanilla/chocolate swirl, which was pretty good for fat free. The scoops were leaning a little bit and I tried to adjust it with my licks when SPLAT! My long-awaited ice cream was lying in a pile right in the middle of Main Street USA. I quickly re-scooped it and threw it in the trash. SIGH.


Back at the Fort Wilderness, Michele was craving burgers so that was dinner. Since the park food is pretty pricey, we have all enjoyed the dinners at the cabins.
A side note, Rick and I had discussed doing a special trip this year with the family. Rick’s 60th birthday was in August, my 50th birthday was of course this week and our 25th wedding anniversary is in April. It is indeed a special year. We talked about doing something special with the family but we thought there was no way we could swing taking the family on a trip. As it turns out Rick got all the tickets when Disney was offering specials to attract visitors and he planned ahead enough to get the plane tickets, etc. at good rates. I cannot describe how grateful I am that he did this for me and for our family. Although I am disappointed that not all our family could join us it has been such an unforgettable vacation.
One of our friends who has brought his family here was very encouraging to Rick. We are all grateful for his moral support in all of this. He told Rick, “Hey, you’re already committed for the big price tag. All the small stuff is just about creating memories.” He is so right. I have tried to not stress about the prices of things, knowing that you cannot put a price on time or memories. He said, “the littlest kids will most likely not remember this trip but you will remember the look on their faces.” We love that he gets it. Thank you so much, Terry.

Princess Breakfast

Rick made reservations for the moms and little girls (and Nina!) to have breakfast with the Disney Princesses. We had to be in Epcot at 9:40 am. We left Fort Wilderness about 8:30 then took the bus to Epcot. We walked to Norway in the World showcase where other little princesses were waiting for their turn. The cute blonde hostess (they were all Norwegians) took us into the reception room to meet Belle from Beauty and the Beast and have our ‘complimentary’ portrait taken. We were seated and told that the princesses would be around to visit our table as we ate and that we were welcome to visit the buffet. We chose from smoked salmon, bagels, fresh fruit, yogurt, cinnamon rolls and Danish, plus they brought a platter of hot food to our table: scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon and potato casserole.

Ariel, Belle, Aurora, Snow White and Mary Poppins all came to our table and took pictures and signed autographs. The big girls, Cassie & Kendall enjoyed it all while Adrienne and Addison were too interested in the princesses to eat very much. Hailey, who is 2 ½ and ate free, got her money’s worth and then some! Hailey was too interested in the food to even put it down when the princesses came (with the exception of Snow White who is her favorite.) I gave the waitress my Disney card to pay the bill but it would not clear. I only had $20 (which would have covered the tip) and no other way to pay. Luckily Carrie paid the bill with her charge card. I was so embarrassed!

By the time we met the guys in Epcot, it was pouring RAIN. We donned our ponchos and plodded on. We hit the Nemo ride, ate lunch and rode the Soaring ride twice. Soaring was our favorite at Epcot, a ride that lifts you up to a domed screen showing video of flying over various national parks, orange groves, mountains, a golf course and pine forests while the seats rotate to make it seem real. They even pipe in scents to match the scenery. WONDERFUL.

We were all wet, tired and cold so we headed back to the camper. The rain tired us all, including Grandma Creech who was stuck in the camper with the dogs all day. For dinner we had grilled burgers at the Freewalt cabin while the Creech family stayed at Epcot to tour the World showcase and eat dinner in Italy!

The Sethism (Seth’s words of wisdom) of the day: The guys were on their way to Epcot on a very crowded bus. Seth turns to the guy next to him and says, “Now that we’re getting to know each other, I just got over pneumonia.” Matt says, “Yah, just took him off IV antibiotics last night!” The guy says, “REALLY?...yah they thought typhoid was extinct…” He moved away quickly as soon as the bus stopped.

The BIG 5-0

Rick, Carrie and Michele did a good job of planning all of the activities. We headed to Animal Kingdom first thing to see the Finding Nemo the Musical. I expected to see a movie but it was almost an hour show with live actors manipulating large puppets. It is so hard to describe but what a wonderful show! While we were waiting on the Nemo show, we rode a few rides and got fast passes to get on Expedition Everest, a roller coaster. By that time we were hungry and stopped at a corn dog stand for a snack before heading back to the cabins & camper.
I got a cute little Happy Birthday button with my name on it. Everywhere we went the “cast members” wished me a happy birthday! So fun! The temperature never got above the mid-fifties. Everyone dressed in layers, but they mostly brought shorts so we spent the day trying to stay out of the wind and inside. Back at the camper, I put on another shirt, leggings under my jeans and my winter coat.
Carrie made plans to take Kendall horseback riding and asked if anyone else wanted to go. Hannah, Cassie and I were IN! Our reservation was for 2:30 and we registered, got our helmets and our assigned horses. All the horses had names of characters from Disney movies: Pongo, Sebastian, etc… The horses knew the route but also tried to sneak a bite from the bushes as we passed. I was on the rear horse on Louie, a big bay paint horse. It just occurred to me that my dad’s horse, Dixie was a bay paint horse…I know the girls completely enjoyed the horse ride. I was reminded why we no longer have horses. Each of them relieved themselves at some point during the ride and someone has to clean up after them…
Back at the camper we decided to fix spaghetti which tasted wonderful after a day outside in the cold. On the go again, we headed to Hollywood Studios to see the Fantasmic but did not know what to expect. I don’t even know how to describe it…it’s a video, water, pyrotechnic, live act that was fabulous. The star was Mickey (of course), but was an allegory about the triumph of good over evil. Who knew?? We all loved it. It only plays on certain evenings and the theater is HUGE.
Afterwards, we headed to the Rockin’ Rollercoaster (Carrie’s Favorite.) It was my second time on the ride (the first time being with Rick who I conned into riding with me!) I loved it too! Rick and Rob stayed back and entertained the non-riders. The park was closing by the time we finished and we headed back to the campground. The Magic Kingdom stayed open late and the die-hards went back to ride MORE! I think I was asleep when my head hit the pillow. Best birthday ever!!

The Surprise

We left St. Augustine in rain and 52 degrees. The trip to Orlando took a few hours and it finally quit raining near Daytona Beach. Rick asked me to check the Disney World reservation sheet for directions into the campground. I couldn’t find the directions but noticed that the reservations were for an entire week and that it had a group number. He explained that he made the reservations so long ago he reserved extra days and we could cancel the days we didn’t need. We made our way to Fort Wilderness Campground, stopped at the gate and Rick got out of the truck. I really didn’t think too much but I heard something about arrivals and departures but still didn’t think much of it. My only thought was that our friends might be stopping to meet us here. (wrong.)
We parked, setup the camper and made sandwiches for lunch. Out of character, Rick didn’t have anything planned for us in the afternoon so I decided to take a little nap. I woke up and Grandma Creech and I sat out under the awning because it began raining again. Not sure where Rick was, but I figured he went to the men’s room. My phone rang and it was Michele. She said the kids wanted to sing happy birthday to me but her phone was going dead and she would call me right back. Just then I heard 13 voices singing happy birthday as they walked around the truck! My mind could not figure out what was happening! My wonderful hubby arranged for the family to help me celebrate my 50th birthday at Disney World. It was a HUGE project getting 9 kids and 4 adults to Orlando without me knowing or even suspecting! He’d been planning this since the fall and everyone knew it but me. Matt saw me tearing up and said, “Don’t do it! Don’t you do it!!” I think if I had started crying, everyone else would too.
After I caught my breath, the ‘kids’ returned to their cabins here at Fort Wilderness. After dark we took the boat from the Marina to the Magic Kingdom for the SpectraMagic Parade. All the floats in the parade and the performers were covered with colorful lights. It was so beautiful standing there watching with the kids and grandkids that I shed a couple of tears.
We walked back through the park on our way to the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (one of our favorites). We rode it twice because the crowds were clearing and we could get right on. The fireworks began to go off while we were riding. We rode the Magic Carpets and the Merry-Go-Round. When we rode “It’s a Small World” it was nostalgic for me, reminding me of when we brought Michele, Missy, Matt & Janel here in 1987. That was a memory-filled trip just as this one will be. Last we went to Mickey’s Philharmagic, a 3D movie with really good special effects. Hailey, Adrienne and Addison fell asleep on the boat ride back.

St. Augustine

Since we had an extra day in our schedule before we could check into Walt Disney World, Rick arranged for an overnight stay in St. Augustine. An historic city, I’ve always wanted to visit there, especially from an architectural standpoint. The sign at the city limits says it was founded in 1565, apparently by Ponce de Leon.
We left Eagle Roost in Lake Park, FL about 9:30 this morning. We took our time getting ready and then made the short trip to St. Augustine (about three hours total). Rick called lunch at Cracker Barrel near Jacksonville. We had that timed just right so we would arrive at the campground at check-in time: 1PM. Good thing they gave us specific directions to get here. It isn’t easy dragging this Big Rig through the twists and turns of the city streets. Once we got to the campground, it was worth the effort (North Beach Camp Resort). The campsites are tucked within palmetto shrubs with little or no visibility from site to site. The roads are sand, the sites are sand, but the views are wonderful and are in walking distance of the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the bay on the other end with water access.
We parked the camper and then drove downtown to sightsee in the Man Truck (F350 dually). I had flashbacks of Charleston, SC where there was very little room to park or pass in the narrow streets. I think if we had another day we could have parked and done a little walking. Since we only had a few hours, Rick drove through the streets while I snapped pictures. We did find a place to park at the “Castillo de San Marco” Fort. Grandma Creech sat down on the park bench while Rick and I walked inside just in time to watch them touch off the cannons. Gr Creech had no idea what was about to happen! BOOM! We fully expected to find her passed out on the bench! But no, she said she was not surprised at the shot after seeing the cannons on top of the fort. Smart lady. After our visit to historic downtown we headed to…Where else?? Wal-Mart! I wanted to stock-up before heading into WDWorld where everything costs more!
We stopped at the camper then headed for an early dinner on the beach at The Reef restaurant. Of course we all are shrimp lovers and we each ordered our favorites in honor of Bubba Gump: Fried shrimp, broiled shrimp, sautéed shrimp (with fettuccine and sun dried tomatoes). MMM! Even the broccoli was yummy. (Grandma Creech says so and she doesn’t even like broccoli!) We are sitting here in a food coma trying to keep our eyes open until 9 PM.
Tomorrow to Walt Disney World!