Tuesday, July 9, 2019

June 2019: Shasta & Disney World!


Summer started with a bang for us with a trip to Lake Shasta and Disney World (and somehow managed a little bit of work in there as well).



At Shasta, we stayed in these nice cabins in the north end of the lake and just a short walk down to the docks where Nana & Papa had their little jet boat Bumblebee. The days were spent exploring the large wooded lake, swimming to cool off, jumping off the dock, kayaking, and driving E's remote control boat. The evenings we grilled at the communal area and ate on our cabin's deck overlooking the lake. It was so nice and unplugged...we can't wait to repeat the fun next year!!

click below for Shasta Slideshow



Disney World...what-a-trip! And what-a-way-to-spend-my-birthday! We were there with Nana & Papa with a single day in each of the four major parks and a day to explore the hotel. Lisa & kids were first timers, and though I'd had gone when I was 12-ish years old with my family, a lot has changed.

click below for Disney World Slideshow


We stayed at the Art of Animation in a Cars Family Suite (3 beds, 2 baths) and it was great -- plenty space & bathroom for all of us + easy-ish transport on the buses around Disney World. The first day, we spent hours exploring the various pools of the hotel (the cozy cone by our suite, the huge Nemo pool, and the Ariel pool). It was a relaxing day to adjust to the time zone...and the heat.




I thought we were prepared for Florida in midsummer. In concept, we were. In practice...it was very, very hot. The $3 evaporative cooling bandanas that I bought on Amazon just before leaving were CLUTCH and we kept them ice cold with all the various vendors selling drinks out of ice buckets. Being outside made for some whininess and shorter-than-usual tempers, but nothing a dose of AC or roller coaster couldn't fix.





We spend some of the hottest hours of the day visiting attractions & shows we might've skipped and loved that we attended.
  • All of us were in stitches with Monsters' Laugh floor when Papa got flashed up on the Jumbotron 
  • The kids' still giggle about the Country Bear Jamboree (and those songs are a LOT racier than I remember)
  • I was very impressed by the interactive "meeting Belle" where the audience and some animatronics put on a little play for the princess
  • Lisa says that the Magic Kingdom fireworks were the best fireworks she's ever seen. 

  • Though getting stuck on the Carousel of Progress (ironic, I know) was really trying because we were close to another reservation time. Though the funny part was the fact that Papa fell asleep and didn't even realize that we listened to a whole segment of "a great big beautiful tomorrow..." twice!



Even meals were priceless memories (and scheduled to get us out of the heat):
  • Dining with Princesses in the top of Cinderella's castle
  • Breakfast in the Beast's castle (how often does one get to eat in TWO castles in a day) 

  • Dessert Party with Storm Troopers & Kylo Ren who then escorted us to a prime viewing area for the Star Wars fireworks. 
  • Safari Buffet with Mickey + crew and a crazy-good African inspired food. 
  • The Primetime Cafe...which was like being in a 1950's house and our waitress was called our "babysitter." She made J set the table, yelled at the grown ups for having elbows at the table, and made the whole room sing happy birthday to me because I was trying to downplay the event. It was especially cute when J, setting the table, responded to E, "Do I look like I have 3 hands?!" Very much in spirit of the restaurant!


J is now 44.01 inches tall and able to ride everything expect the Aerosmith roller coaster. I mean, seeing a sweet little girl in a princess dress screaming, "faster, faster" at Epcot's Test Track ride as we approach 65mph, is just so cool to experience as a dad. Some of our favorite rides were:



  • Avatar (Nana & E think is the best ride they've been on)
  • Everest (we rode SIX times)
  • Slinky Dog Dash (the kids especially)
  • Seven Dwarves Mine Train (it's like a modern version of Thunder Mountain)

  • Space Mountain (surprisingly different that the CA version)
  • Splash Mountain (a welcome soak)
  • Thunder Mountain (good as always, but it's better in CA)

  • Test Track (paired J's need for speed and E's love of car design ) 
  • Tower of Terror (made me miss the CA iteration, which was better) 
  • Mission Space: an space-mission simulator  (my favorite comment was after E -- the 'commander' of the mission -- who'd just steered us though a daring lading in a Mars canyon, said, "it was really hard since I don't know my left from my right.") 


Since we've been home, the kids keep discussing the pro's / con's of going to Disneyland vs. World next year. We keep reminding them that it's not necessarily an annual type trip....though, after putting together this post, want to know a secret? I'm totally in the same boat!




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