Orlando Trip Day 3: King Kong Row 311

Tuesday was a big day as we were scheduled to head out to see The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. This was one that we the parents and Abby were really excited about. The day proceeded as follows.

7:30 a.m. - I have a song on my iPod by SheDaisy (I will pause for 2 minutes while all the jokes about my iPod selections are made...are we done? Ok we proceed) that has the line "the day goes off like a rifle." That applies this morning, especially if the rifle was pointed at my head. After the "Our car is stolen" episode the night before, everyone is exhausted. I get up, shower and then force Shannon to do the same. In order to avoid the ugliness described in the last post, I go down to breakfast and then head off to see Igor at the gas station. (By the way, this name is not meant as a description. His name really is Igor.)

8:30 a.m. - The kids are up and they head down to breakfast. Since I took the bullet for the team and got up first, Shannon allows me to stay in the room and lay down while she takes the kids to breakfast. Had Kate been on the trip, I don't believe I would have been afforded that luxury.

8:52 a.m. - Family is back and Logan has puked again. This time in front of a crowded room of people eating their complimentary breakfast. I guess most people didn't realize that their complimentary breakfast came with entertainment as well. Fortunately, he made it behind a pillar before he got going. Unfortunately, the pillar did not come with any sound proofing so the audio was on full display. We drug him up again, wait a few minutes then we load up and head out to Universal Studios.

9:05 a.m. - We are on the freeway when I flip out realizing I forgot the Universal tickets back at the hotel. I want to curse loudly because I had reminded myself no less than 3 times not to forget them. I hate that more than anything when you tell yourself repeatedly not to do something and then you do it anyway. So now we have the unfortunate task of trying to turn around and go back to our hotel. I am convinced Florida locals sit in hidden blinds watching the tourists try to navigate the roads around theme park alley (Disney World, Sea World and Universal Studios are all within 5-8 miles of each other). I am sure it provides much more entertainment to them than any theme park could. We finally see an exit for Sea World. We can't see how that exit will get us back to the freeway, but at this point, it is the only exit we can see so we take our chances. The idea being that if we refuse to pay them, they will find a way to get us back out of there.

9:14 a.m. - We are at a stoplight with the entry gates to Sea World right in front of us. No where to turn around. However, I can see the on-ramp back to the freeway that we need to take right around the corner. I close my eyes, hit the gas and make what I am sure is an illegal u-turn and we are headed back to the hotel. I crack my eyes and look in all directions for hidden cop cars that are now speeding toward me, but I don't see any.

9:31 a.m. - I have the tickets and we are on our way again. The kids are in the backseat mocking my anger roar from earlier when I realized that I had left the tickets. That's nice.

9:47 a.m. - We are at the parking booths and they have an option for preferred parking. I ask what that is. It means we get to park on the same level as the entrance to the park. Had it been any other day, I would have spit in the man's eye, called him a charlatan and grudgingly paid the lower of the two costs to park in the regular parking area...oh wait, no offense to the memory of my mother but that is what she would have done. She was never a big fan of the having to pay for parking concept at theme parks and was never afraid to unload on the poor unforunate souls who worked the booths collecting money. Anyway, I would never have considered the preferred parking either except for the whole car incident the night before. I look at Shannon and we both nod. We pay the extra and we are preferred parkers.

9:53 a.m. - As it turned out, I don't know that the preferred parking was needed, because when we park, we are in King Kong area row 311. Everyone makes a point of remembering this. In fact, Abby, always the funny little comedienne (#@%$@) points out the roaring King Kong looks like me when I realized I had forgotten the tickets. She is so hilarious. Braden especially makes it his mission to make sure that he remembers where we are parked.

10:05 a.m. - We get to the entrance to the Universal Studios Islands of Adventure park. For those who are not familiar with Harry Potter theme park world, it is only a small part of a larger theme park which is Islands of Adventure. We get in, get strollered and are off to Harry Potter.

10:07: a.m. - Braden, "King Kong, row 311"

10:12 a.m. - Of course they place Harry Potter in the very back corner so after much walking, we arrive at Hogsmeade and are able to see the Hogwarts Express.



10:16 a.m. - The first ride available is Dueling Dragons. It is basically a roller coaster where your feet dangle. The boys are too short and after a spirited discussion, Abby chooses not to go as well. But it is no big deal, it is only a 10 minute wait while Shannon goes.



10:34 a.m. - Braden, "King Kong, row 311."

10:52 a.m. - We finally get Shannon back. Apparently when she was ready to be next in line, they had a small issue which resulted in a "10 minute" delay. Apparently to Universal, 10 minutes is just a number we throw out there as neither the wait nor the delay were 10 minutes.

10:56 a.m. - Walk down the streets of Hogsmeade. It is really cool. They have done a fantastic job. The only downside is that Hogsmeade is supposed to be in the highlands of Great Britain where is it always overcast and generally cold. They have fake snow on the rooftops to back this up. It is a shame decoration can only go so far as it is hitting in the 80s without a cloud in sight here in central Florida. But that is a small complaint. The shops are incredible and it really does look like the Harry Potter world in the movies. We stop to get a Pumpkin juice. I am feeling really nostalgic for the books until I hear the cashier say, "That will be $6.95." What??? Even by theme park standards this seems excessive. Thankfully it is cold and it tastes pretty good. At least I think so. Everyone else is kind of...eh, so I get almost the whole thing. Yeah!







10:59 a.m. - Braden, "King Kong, row 311." (Let's make this the last entry about this, but know that this continued every 15 minutes to 1/2 hour throughout the day.)

11:04 a.m. - We get in line for THE ride. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. It is housed inside of Hogwarts castle. The line to get into the ride is awesome. The portraits actually look like portraits and they come to life. It is amazing. The ride is also unlike anything I have ever ridden on before. That is undoubtedly as close as I will ever get to flying on a broomstick. I took Braden and Abby and Shannon went with Logan to go on Flight of the Hippogriff because Logan wasn't quite tall enough to ride the Forbidden Journey. We are done in 20 minutes. Shannon isn't done for another 20 for a coaster that is basically a tiny kiddie coaster. So when we get off, the kids want to go with Shannon and Logan wants to ride the Hippogriff ride again so we do. I must love my son Logan because I was ready to feed Hagrid to a dragon by the time we got to ride that ride. His voice plays throughout the queue in the Hippogriff ride and it is on a continuous loop that only lasts about 90 seconds. And Hagrid was never my favorite character in the first place.

12:36 p.m. - Time for lunch. But before we head to lunch, we are all hot and thirsty and so we decide to try a Butter beer. Although it basically amounts to a cream soda with a creamy layer head put on it, it still tastes really good. Especially since it is starting to feel like 100 degrees instead of 80.

12:47 p.m. - As we leave the Harry Potter area, we realize that it is the only part of the park that is jammed packed full of people. And when I say jam-packed, I mean jam-packed. But we decide to eat in the Jurassic Park portion of the park and suddenly walk ways are clearer, people's moods are little better...the air is a little less body odorier. It truly is amazing to think about. We saw a line to shop in Dervish and Banges (a store from Harry Potter). They sell Harry Potter stuff. That's it. But there was a line to go shopping. And it wasn't the day after Thanksgiving. Even worse was trying to shop for a wand in Ollivanders. There was a line with a wait of over an hour...JUST TO BUY A PLASTIC WAND!!! Now there was a little something special in the presentation if you got into Ollivanders, but at the end of the day, people were waiting an hour to buy a fake wand. You have succeeded in business if you can create something that will make people do that. We did not.

12:58 p.m. - Sit down to lunch. When I say nothing special...I really mean nothing special. Logan had started to feel a bit iffy again and needed medicine. Of course, the only thing they had for kids at this place was fried mac and cheese. That is what I said, fried mac and cheese. I would have faked sick if I had been fed that too I suppose. We medicine him up and relax for a while.

1:49 p.m. - Head over to the Jurassic Park ride. We feel like we entered another world (Ha Ha) as we were able to walk right onto this ride. We all got a little wet and it felt good.

2:06 p.m. - We decide to try out the Dr. Suess section of the park but it is on the other side of Harry Potter so we go back through Harry Potter. We decide to stop and get some butter beers for everyone at the Hog's Head. Again, the theming in this section of the park is just amazing. The Hog's Head is connected to the Three Broomsticks which we explore a little bit. After a good rest and a cold drink, we are ready to go.









2:40 p.m. - We go on the Dr. Suess rides (The Cat in the Hat was our favorite. We rode it twice...maybe three times. I can't remember.) After the Cat in the Hat ride, we had a good time shopping in the Cat in the Hat store. We came really close to buying Thing 1, Thing 2, Thing 3 and Thing 4 shirts for our kids.







3:49 p.m. - We next go to the Marvel comics section of the park. The Hulk roller coaster is massive and is one of the biggies in this park. I go to check how long the wait is and...I am able to walk right on. Did I mention we are still in the same theme park where I waited just under an hour to ride a kiddie coaster that resembled something I saw at the County Fair. I guess the difference is that The Incredible Hulk has not made money in the billions over the last ten years. Anyway, it was an awesome coaster.

4:08 p.m. - Bathroom stops and then Shannon decides she wants to go on the Hulk. The kids and I head over to the X-men ride. It has intense music and a very dangerous sounding name and strobe lights and and everything to make you understand how intense this ride is. At the end of the day however, it is still just the teacups ride.

4:13 p.m. - Discover that the X-men (teacups) following the Hulk can equal nausea. Kids are screaming to go again. My head is screaming...well just screaming. We don't go again.

4:18 p.m. - Continue on down the Marvel comics street when Logan sees a massive Wolverine. He doesn't know anything about the X-men at all. But he knows Wolverine's name is Logan. We have to stop and get a picture.



4:37 p.m. - We go on the Spiderman ride. It is a dark ride in a car with 3-D glasses. But it is WAY COOL! The glasses mean that characters like Spiderman and the villians can jump right on the front of your car. Pretty intense for a dark ride. Logan keeps his eyes shut for most of the ride.

5:00 p.m. - We know that the park shuts at 7 and we want to go back to Harry Potter and ride the rides again and do some shopping so we just walk right through the Sunday comics section. Nothing major to see here, but we do get a pretty good picture of Shannon with a caption over her head.



5:25 p.m. - We ask about Child Swap on the Harry Potter ride and find out Logan can go all the way through the line up to the end and then there is a room where the parent and child who can't ride can wait. Really? Why didn't we investigate this before? Dang!

5:50 p.m. - Logan desparately wants to go on the Hippogriff ride again. I take some pictures and wait. Braden and I don't want to go so we go shopping. I have seen a ton of little kids running around in Harry Potter robes all day. We finally can get into Dervish and Banges without waiting in line. This is where the robes are. They cost $100. I hope that even if I should ever strike a fortune, I will not feel like I need to buy what amounts to a Halloween costume for my kids or grandkids for $100. WOW!!

6:18 p.m. - Shannon and Abby want to shop a little bit. I am content to sit outside and take in Hogsmeade at night. It is just really cool, at least to me.







6:45 p.m. - We leave the park and poor Logan is just about done. Outside of the parks, they have several restaurants and so we decide to go to an Italian place as Abby has decided she LOVES Fettucini Alfredo and begs for it every chance she gets.

7:26 p.m. - By the time dinner arrives, all the kids are sitting there with their heads down exhausted. In fact, Logan has fallen completely asleep. Which of course means only one thing. I get to carry Logan back to the car.

8:06 p.m. - We are in the car and we are headed back to the hotel. The kids are now very excited and tired which means they have entered the silly zone. I get after them a few times, but it doesn't really help. Finally, I (also exhausted) snap at them pretty good and tell them not to make any more noise until I can navigate where exactly we are. When we make it back to the hotel, Logan says to me as we are getting out of the car, "I wasn't making any noise dad." "I know son." "It's cause I was kind of asleep." "I know son." I hug him because he is one sweet kid.

9:09 p.m. - We get the kids bathed, ready for bed and say prayers. Put them in bed.

9:10 p.m. - All three kids are asleep. I mean dead asleep. The amount of time between this and the previous item is not an exageration. In fact, Logan can be heard snoring within 30 seconds of the lights going out.

9:15 p.m. - In order to make it to Florida without having to pay a small fortune in checked bag charges, Shannon only packed 4 days worth of clothes. We could get away with this because each room comes with a washer and dryer. We load up the washer, put in the soap, hit the on button and...nothing. We try not to panic as we are now faced with four days in Florida wearing dirty (Stinky!) clothes. We call maintenance and fortunately, they get it fixed. That is good news for us and them as the room possibly would have had to be fumigated following our departure had they not got it working. Just from Braden's socks alone.

11:00 p.m. - We have to wait for the laundry to finish so it is a while before Shannon and I can get to bed. I may have fallen asleep two or three times before we finally turned the lights off. I can't remember. With the Magic Kingdom looming on the morrow, I just pray some magic healing occurs in the night to my aching feet.

Orlando Trip Day 2: Today is A Little Weird For Me

6:30 a.m. - Can't sleep any longer in anticipation of visiting Disney World with my kids. Ok, maybe it is more along the line of my hips hurt and my bladder will not survive one more instant without some relief. Either way, I am up and going.

6:50 a.m. - I am dressed and ready to go. Shannon is just getting out of bed and the kids are still asleep. Clearly something is going to have to happen or she or I will be dead within two hours from me bugging her to go and her telling me to chill out. I decide to go down to breakfast. The hotel has no Dr. Pepper and breakfast didn't take very long so I get in the car to scout out where the sweet nectar will be available during our stay in beautiful Central Florida. I find a gas station and purchase a 20 oz. bottle. I also meet Igor. He and I will become fast friends before the week is over. Now the funny thing is, Shannon and I never mentioned this once the whole week, but she knew I was going out to get my Dr. Pepper and I knew that she knew. But again, now matter how pathetic she may find this...what should we call it...addiction, it saved us both from me being my annoying self trying to get people out the door and to the parks. So a silent truce was called and mutual understanding formed.

7:30 a.m. - Get kids up. Logan's face breaks into a grin before he even opens his eyes as he says he is going to Epcot. That is the kind of excitement that makes this whole thing worth it. Unfortunately...

7:40 a.m. - Logan has stripped down to his skivvies and is getting ready to put his clothes on for the day when he looks at me with tears in his eyes. He says, "Today is a little weird for me." I thought he was going to follow this up with how hard it will be to not be in school and how he will miss his friends. Those thoughts went out the window in a millisecond as he follows this statement with the little cough of doom. You know the one. The signal cough for I am going to puke in 10, 9, 8...and he does. At least he made it to the toilet. Poor kid is running a fever and now shaking all over. CRAP!

8:02 a.m. - Logan goes to sleep on me while the rest of the family goes to breakfast. We have entered that holding pattern while we try to figure out what we are going to do without really having any idea what we are going to do.

8:43 a.m. - We have drugged Logan up and we are waiting to see how this goes in the next ten minutes. The fever seems to be going down and he is showing signs of life and so we say, "The heck with our child's health, we paid big money to be here and we have a schedule to keep." And we loaded everyone in and headed to Epcot.

9:16 a.m. - We park and we join the masses heading for the front gate. The night before we saw a sign remarking on the fact that all bodies of water in Florida have snakes and Alligators in them. That is comforting as we walk past a body of water in the parking lot...OR DID WE?????????? (More to come on that later)

9:18 a.m. - Nice man offers to take a picture of our whole family at the entrance to the park in front of the giant golf ball. Unfortunately, he totally leaves out the golf ball. For that matter, he leaves out Braden as well. Oh well, I guess it is the thought that counts. Right?



9:23 a.m. - Logan still isn't doing great so we decide to rent him a stroller. We would come to realize this was the best decision we made the whole trip. However, he wasn't crazy about being 5 years old and riding in a stroller...until we came up with the idea that he is King Logan and we are his servants wheeling him around the park. He was fine with that. So the rest of the day when we wanted him to get in the stroller, we simply said, "All right King Logan" and he would hop right in and away we would go.

9:42 a.m. - First ride of the day...Spaceship Earth. A pretty cool ride that is similar to pirates in that it has a lot of animatronic figures, similar to the haunted mansion in that it is a continuous car ride AND it takes place in what looks like a giant golf ball. Those three things add up to awesome ride. Then you factor in that at the end of the ride, they take your picture and place your face on a cartoon character and tell a little story about what your life will be like in the future. This is very fascinating and comical. Braden looked slightly drugged out with his picture and so through the whole cartoon he had the appearance of DUHH! Logan and Shannon's car didn't quite work right and didn't get a picture of Shannon I guess, so there were two Logans in his cartoon.

10:01 a.m. - Next ride, Mission to Mars. This ride simulates blasting off in a rocket and travelling to Mars...hence the name I suppose. The ride offers two different options as the full simulation can be pretty intense. Everyone but me chooses the less intense version. I go for the gusto. Let me just say that I have never had problems on a ride before in my life...until now. That was the first time I seriously considered puking on a ride. Not only that, it started a headache that would plague the rest of my morning. Neat ride, but Wow.

10:25 a.m. - Next we rode Test Track. Cool ride sponsored by GM. So after the ride they have all these cars you can sit in if you wish. One was a Camaro. Abby was very excited as she climbed in. While I took the picture, I could see her in a driver's seat and nearly hyperventilated. Then I realized it is still four years away and calmed down. Then I realized it is only four years away and full on hyperventilated. Ok not really, but I did make her get out of the car fairly quickly.



10:55 a.m. - After Test Track we were off to the Nemo ride. Now, I had just recently been through the Mission to Mars situation and was still trying to get my bearings. Shannon has never been good with crazy movement on screen. So you can imagine how that set when we had our car stop in the Nemo ride right in the middle of the scene depicting the EAC (not Eastern Arizona College, the something something current...go watch Finding Nemo if it is important to you what it actually stands for). It was a room that makes you feel like you are in the middle of swirling water zooming past you along with fish and turtles. Both Shannon and I started to get a little nauseous again.

10:40 a.m. - Exiting the Nemo ride, you come into a big room dimly lit with lots of fish. After a bathroom break, I come out and cannot find my family. I am still dealing with my headache and the low lighting is not helping. Of course cell phone coverage is crap and so Shannon won't answer her phone. Starting to get a little angry when I discover them in the area ready to do Turtle Talk with Crush. Logan is a little freaked out because this puffer fish keeps looking directly at him and following him. He ends up standing behind Shannon so it can't see him anymore. Shannon and I are both feeling a little iffy and agree getting out of the dimly lit area filled with screaming children might be in our best interest.



11:30 a.m. - Logan is heading south and so we agree that lunch is in order and another dose of Motrin. After Mission to Mars, Nemo and the whole dimly lit area, I take a shot of Motrin myself.

11:42 p.m. - Kids have first of many chicken nugget meals

12:47 p.m. - Do Test Track again. While in line, I look over and this guy has on a massive ring. I look closer and it looks like a Super Bowl ring. I have never seen one in person and so being a total idiot, I say, "Excuse me, is that a Super Bowl Ring?" "Yes." Now the conversation has reached a point where I am in awe and yet out of anything intelligent to say. So I can't remember if I responded Wow or Cool. I try to make a little more small talk, but it fails miserably.



12:59 p.m. - Ready to head over to the World Showcase. No wait, all the kids want to do the big golf ball again. Cool ride so I don't argue. Plus, I use the ride to lean my head back and catch a small cat nap. This is day one. Not a good sign.

1:18 p.m. - Finally, we are ready to head over to the World Showcase. This is the part I have been looking forward to. But wait, we pass by an ice cream stand and everyone but me agrees that is what should come next...FINE! But hurry, you have 5 minutes. I lost that one too. Anyway, while I am waiting for them, I go into a Coca Cola store thinking I might find something to drink. Boy did I!!! Free soda from around the world. You could get as many samples as you wanted. I got them all. And I didn't feel bad about it. Especially since the one from Italy, I think, tasted like what I imagine motor oil to taste like. But the Ginger Ale from China and the Costa Rica drink were, dare I say, the soda BOMB! Even in print I can't pull that off.



1:32 p.m. - OK, now finally we are ready to go to the World Showcase...except wait. For some reason everyone thinks now is the best time to stop at an outdoor cart selling silly hats. We spend 10 minutes all trying the hats on and then taking pictures. Not terrible I guess, but now I am REALLY ready to go to the World Showcase.











1:41 p.m. - OK, NOW WE ARE REALLY FINALLY READY to go to the World Showcase...No. Shannon and Braden must stop for the bathroom.

1:48 p.m. - Braden returns from the bathroom.

1:53 p.m. - Thinking about telling Braden to go back in and see if Shannon has fallen in.

1:58 p.m. - Now I am not sure if I care that she has fallen in, I am about ready to leave her. (I didn't say any of this out loud did I? I did? Crap. That will undoubtedly lead to...)

2:01 p.m. - Shannon finally shows up and I throw a small tantrum for which I get in trouble. Of course no one can control nature any more than someone can control a theme park bathroom only having two stalls. Once I am properly chastened we move on to...THE WORLD SHOWCASE

2:16 p.m. - The first thing we see is Canada. Pretty cool 360 degree movie with Martin Short.



3:02 p.m. - Moving on to England...AAAHHHH England. But wait, before we can get there, there is a stage with a band. What could it be? Men in kilts playing either electric guitars or the bagpipes. Just ponder that for a moment. Done? Ok.

3:28 p.m. - Shopping in England and finally I find what I have been waiting for. Mars Bars! Not the cruddy Mars Bars you get here in the states, but rather the perfection that is the British Mars Bar which coincidentally helped sustain me many a day on my mission. I buy one for the whole family. I don't care that they cost almost $3 each...ok I care a little bit and almost didn't buy one for anyone else but me. But then I pick the other four back up and buy them anyway. My whole family deserves the joy that is a British Mars bar.

3:44 p.m. - Pictures in the UK





4:11 p.m. - Pictures in France.





4:45 p.m. - Abby calls her friend Samantha. The day before she had called her from the car. Now keep in mind they had not talked about this trip prior to us leaving because our kids didn't know about it. So when they talked on Sunday it was "You won't believe what happened to us today. (Followed by full explanation.) So today when Abby calls, she says to Samantha, guess where I am calling you from. "Where?" "Paris, France." I have to wonder what went through Samantha's mind. If it were me, I would be thinking, "Holy crap, my parents need to get with the program. First Abby gets to go to Florida and now she is in France? Clarification is made and they have a nice chat.

4:56 p.m. - Braden states unequivocally he does not want to meet the Princesses stationed in France.



4:58 p.m. - Logan has started back down again and is freezing. So before we leave France, we bundle him up in the stroller in two different jackets.

4:59 p.m. - Logan is asleep in the stroller. Probably for the best.



5:03 p.m. - Abby picks up from earlier and begins trying out different headwear of which we get pictures. We actually had a lot of fun with this.



5:12 p.m. - Logan said the only people he wanted to see were Aladdin and Jasmine. Well as we come up on Morocco, who do we see but Aladdin and Jasmine. We hold a 10 minute debate on whether we should wake him up or not. We go for not and will ask forgiveness later.

5:17 p.m. - They are holding the annual Food and Wine Festival at Epcot and so every few yards there is a little stand where you can purchase a sample of food from a different country. We see someone who has purchased the Belgian waffle and decide we will break down and try that. OH MY GOSH!!! Totally delicious!

5:20 p.m. - Shopping in Morocco. Abby fascinated with Belly Dancer costume. Not good for Shannon and I on so many levels.









5:35 p.m. - Heading into Japan, the little booth with food from Japan is selling California Spring rolls (Sushi). I buy one and offer $10 to any kid who will try it. No takers. Somehow though, I get Abby to take the smallest portion possible of Wasabi and put it on her tongue. I am still not sure if I have been forgiven for that.



5:45 p.m. - Wake Logan up unceremoniously and carry him into the American Adventure show. Neat show. Also nice opportunity to sit for a moment after a full day of walking. I am not going to lie. I took my shoes off. I didn't smell anything, but I wouldn't have cared if I did. It felt like a little slice of heaven. Unfortunately, while putting them back on, I caught my phone in the seat and broke my phone clip. Karma I guess. Although, I would still make that deal.



6:10 p.m. - Time for dinner. Italy is up next and something everyone would enjoy so it makes since doesn't it?

6:18 p.m. - Not when you see that the cheapest pizza costs $28, and that will feed two people. Now I am the biggest proponent of just biting down and accepting that prices are going to be inflated when you go to a Disney park. If you stress about prices, you will be miserable. But even I have my limits. So now, we don't know what to do. We decide that Shannon and Abby will continue on and look for something while I will go back to Morocco and get a Kebab. We will meet back at the America pavilion where we will get the boys...wait for it...Chicken Nuggets.

6:38 p.m. - I had gotten back with my Kebab and waiting to get started when Shannon and the kids arrive. She found Abby some raviolis at one of the little vendor carts, but couldn't find anything she liked. She resigned herself to eating whatever there was at the American pavilion...until I gave her a bite of mine. Now, I am making the trek between the American pavilion and the Morocco pavilion for the third time. Had I sent her back again...what am I saying...that would never happen. However, the end of our conversation ended with me saying, "Yes Dear." and you can probably fill in the rest of the conversation. Actually I volunteered, but I did point out that I had offered this in the first place to which she replied, "But I didn't know I wanted it then." Guys will realize that that was the end of the conversation.

6:40 p.m. - During the Food and Wine Festival, they hold a concert series. Well on my way to Morocco (again) (sorry honey, I will let it go now) that night's concert was wrapping up. And tonight's performers? Hansen. That's right, THAT Hansen. Not only that, they were singing MMM Bop. I have seen Hansen perform MMM Bop in person. Kill me now, my life can only go down from here.

7:03 p.m. - Have to use the bathroom again. Guys, quickly in and out. Girls, huge line. However, we watch a guy take his girlfriend right into the guys bathroom and stand guard outside the stall. I guess if you really gotta go, you really gotta go.

7:16 p.m. - Stop in Italy, get a good picture.





7:21 p.m. - Stop in Germany, can't really get a good picture.



7:28 p.m. - Watch some Chinese gymnasts in China. Running out of time so we move to Norway.

7:38 p.m. - Norway ride is a huge hit with our kids. But not near as big a hit as the helmets and troll statue in the store following the ride.









8:01 p.m. - Visit the Mexico pavilion and go on their ride. A lady asked Braden why he wasn't in school. He was lost for words so I told her it was because he had bad parents who felt family vacations were more important.





8:30 p.m. - Park it in spot by the lagoon to watch the Reflections of Life show that starts at 9. I have to use the restroom and ask if anyone else does. No one does.

8:42 p.m. - Get back and...Logan needs to use the restroom.

8:52 p.m. - Get back and...the guy standing next to our family says he needs to use the restroom and can I take him. I hadn't realized that he, his wife and Shannon had been talking for a while and so it caught be completely off guard. Good joke though.



9:00 p.m. - Show starts...and Shannon and I forgot how loud the fireworks were for this show. Braden did not remove his fingers the entire show. Wouldn't have been a big deal except he had his Mars Bar in his hands when it started. At the end of the show, his hands were full of melted Mars Bar that could not be salvaged. Ok, now I am little peeved that they cost $3 each.

9:38 p.m. - Shannon and I lead the way back to where we parked the car. Shannon and I did not confer on where the car was parked, we both knew where it was. We both went to the same spot. And yet, no car. We walked for a half hour around that parking lot. No car. Almost all of the other cars have left. No car. Braden is crying, Logan is freezing and Abby is doing her best teenager impersonation. No car. We have no answer other than it must have been stolen. So, our family huddles together in the middle of a huge parking lot, and at Braden's suggestion, we have a prayer. He says it. We walk out to the main road and flag down Disney security and explain that it appears our car was stolen. The security person asks us when we arrived that morning and says we should be in a different lot and then proceeds to drive right to our car. I have never felt quite so stupid. Except...

Have you ever been so convinced about something that when you were wrong, you can't even conceive how that is possible? That is how Shannon and I felt. To this day, I remember parking on the north side of the monorail track. So does Shannon. We walked past the body of water separating the two parking lots. I swear we did. I remember the conversation we had when we did. I believe they somehow moved our car on us, because I honestly can not remember parking where that car ended up. It was crazy.

10:20 p.m. - Finally get everyone down. Unfortunately, we still need to do laundry or no one will have anything to wear the next day. Crap! Looks like another short night.

11:45 p.m. - Reflecting on the day. In spite of throwing up, lost cars, nausea, and a women's bathroom with only two stalls, it was an awesome, awesome day. Truly one that I will remember forever.