This past week marked the 10-day period prior to our next trip to the World. Yes, that's right, we're heading south once again, going to Walt Disney World. I'm getting pretty excited. It's been over a year since the entire family was there together. I've made two, or is it three, solo visits down there since our last family excursion... it's time for the whole bunch to be there together once again. We'll be staying at Kidani Village, at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. We have a 1 bedroom, Savannah View, villa, and I've already done our online check-in. Fun stuff!
This is going to be another No Parks trip for us. Our first such trip was last year - the last time that we were all there together - though on that trip we did go to a water park. But there are so many things to see and do at WDW, that you don't HAVE to go to theme parks. Sure they are the primary draw for guests, but I mean really, with 43 square miles - there's a lot to see and do without ever stepping in the parks. Plus the entire family is pumped about being able to sleep in. We're at the stage in life, with 2 active teens, and 1 getting active elementary aged child, that we're on the move constantly going here, there and everywhere. The entire summer this year has been filled (will continue to be filled) with one activity or another - many of which taking one, two or more family members away from home for a night up to a week at a time. This ONE WEEK where we're going to be in Florida is the ONLY week where we will ALL be together at the same time, for the entire time. So way back in the early spring when we figured that out - we grabbed this reservation, deciding it was better to get away together - than be at home together and ultimately allow the temptation of friends pull our teenagers away from home for this, that, or whatever.
So we're looking forward to sleeping in, hanging out in the room, playing games (regular, wii and whatever the Community Hall has), exploring other resorts, checking out the horses at Fort Wilderness, exploring Downtown Disney in a non-rushed manner, heading over to the Atlantic for a beach day... and whatever else suits our fancy. There are other activities that we could do - several I've discussed previously in the blog - and we might do them, but we might not. We're pretty much going to take each day as it comes with NO AGENDA. Whatever we do, it will be nice to just be together. Time with our eldest at home is fleeting now, as he prepares to begin his Junior year of high school, and soon enough prepares to head off to college. We're grabbing the moments that we can and savoring them before life changes again.
This past week was also the Fourth of July - Independence Day. It's been very, very hot and dry here in Central Indiana, so our county banned all private fireworks for safety precautions. While somewhat sad, I was pretty pleased that they made that call. Just days prior to the decision, a grass fire was ignited in the common area behind our house... just about 4 houses away from our house. How did it begin? By carelessness with fireworks. The burned patch was pretty big too. When I walked my daughter out there to take a look at it the next day, I commented to her that it was larger than her bedroom, she replied, "No daddy, it's much bigger than my room!" We were both amazed at the size of it, but of course fire spreads - and quickly. So there were no fireworks at our house last week. The boys were bummed, my girls were sad for no sparklers - but all in all, it was ok. Plus we'll have the opportunity to watch fireworks in just a little over a week now. We've decided one evening - whichever it ends up being I cannot say yet - that we'll try to watch the fireworks either from the Top of the World lounge at the Bay Lake Tower (since DVC just opened up that perk to any DVC member staying on points at any DVC resort for a limited time), or from the beach at the Poly. We've never done either... so we'll see which one works out for us. (I've watched the fireworks from the ferry dock at the TTC before... but the family has only ever seen them from inside the Magic Kingdom).
The BIG thing for us on Independence Day was going to the movies. That is really not something that we do all too often, simply because of how expensive the whole experience has become - but from time to time we do it. But an Independence Day Movie has become somewhat of a tradition for us. This was the 4th year in a row that we've done that, but sadly this year we separated and went to two different films. While I wanted to see The Avengers with the boys and my wife, neither of us felt that that movie was appropriate for our daughter. Julie had been watching all of the other Marvel action hero flicks with the boys in preparation for The Avengers, so she went to see that one, and I took Annie to see Brave. It was a good flick - I think it would have been better as a mommy-daughter venture, but I did enjoy it. I most loved spending time with my daughter. She's very much into Daddy right now... so I'm soaking it all in while it lasts.
Coming up this week on Wednesday - the 2013 resort reservations will be available at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland. Plus it is highly rumored that a new round of Free Dining at Walt Disney World will be made available for the late fall months in 2012. It's shaping up to be a good week for vacation planning.
And now, it's time for another installment in stopher's theme park adventures (the continuing entries of trip report narratives originally posted over on the DIS boards). This time we go back in time to May 2009, when I took my boys on a Father-Sons Adventure, for Star Wars Weekends at the Walt Disney World Resort. We had a great time on that particular weekend in May, though both boys were a bit disappointed in that the events at Disney's Hollywood Studios were not Star Wars "enough" for their liking. Neither one cares for the "Clone Wars" adventures that have been released in the past few years, and were very disappointed that any part of that was included in the weekend events. They WERE both very happy to have gotten Peter Mayhew's autograph, however. The autographed pictures still hang in their respective spaces at home.
Father-Sons Adventure - Star Wars Weekends 2009
Until next time,
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