Mad Adventures in the Sunshine State

So I got to tell you, it is hard during the school year, but when you get the chance to spend some time with your kids, you really try to pack it all in! If you get to annoy your Ex in the process..that is just an extra bonus! LOL!

So, I got the opportunity to have my kids for 5 days straight when the Ex was going out of town. WELL....I saddled up my horse, picked 'em up and called in sick for the days the fell during the week (OH...and the kids got a cold too...if you happen to see their teachers...*cough*) I figure when you have the chance to surprise the kids and actually have some extra cash...why not go a little nuts!

I promptly proclaimed a road trip and we went to the beach, A day at Busch Gardens and then over to Disney for a couple of days. The beach was awesome and despite the hesitation from my son ( I think the overwhelming vastness is what gets to him) we all had a great time. MANY, MANY treasures were found along the shore and being buried in sand, I now believe I will be finding sand in places I was unaware I had for MONTHS!!! LOL! I love taking the kids to the beach and being FL kids, they love it too. They all have built in, year round tans so even sunscreen is not needed as much, but still used. By the way, I still love making sandcastles but I must insist on a moat. A moat is very important and must be used! LOL!

Next was a day at Busch Gardens, where we rode rides and played hard (I hate roller coasters but will tolerate them because the kids like them) and they kids loved it. We have passes there so going there was nothing new. For something new we headed over to Orlando for a couple days at Disney. Now, I loved taking the kids to BG, but Disney is a WHOLE different experience, and you will have to forgive me if I carry on a bit, because it was my first time taking the kids (after many MANY times promising to go IF we could manage it...ya...sometimes shit takes awhile to get pulled together alright!!)

If you ever get a chance to visit there, you need to stay at a Disney resort, because they take care of EVERYTHING ...really they do!! I told them what I needed...it was done!! We got a 1st floor room (away from the pool for noise reduction) and upon arrival they had all this info for us. The tickets were attached to the keys (LOVE THAT) and we could even charge things to the room AND have any purchases delivered there (man...does this save you from having to carry bags all day at a park!!) Kudos to the staff at the All Star Movies resort! They were great! Also, they provide all the transportation to everything Disney (just hop on a bus to where you want to go and hop on one to come back!)

I was a little apprehensive about how my son would handle everything, but I was really surprised that they have a special card for autistic kids. This was a lifesaver! BRILLIANT!! Major points to Disney for recognizing the autistic kids can NOT wait in line sometimes...it just is not possible! Now, I will tell you that I was told many times that this card is not good for all character lines but most of them let us in anyway. My daughter about went nuts for the HSM 2 show at Hollywood Studios (what is it with this stuff?? I do not get it!) and the boys loved the rides the most and then of course, meeting the characters! We got to meet Buzz & Woody, Power Rangers, and even the Incredibles at Hollywood Studios. Had lunch with some characters (more on that later) and then went on the Backstage Studio Tour and then to Playhouse Disney. Fantasmic was amazing (HS end of the day show/fireworks). Oh...and I would avoid Tower of Terror unless you really love thrill rides. I could hear the screams from the walkway and that was enough for me to keep a-walking. As a park, we liked HS, but the real fun came the next day at the Magic Kingdom.

At Magic Kingdom most of the day we spent looking for important people to fill those damn autograph books I was foolish enough to buy them (word to the wise...if you buy these your kids become obsessed with filling them! DO NOT GIVE IN! Stick with pictures only and you will be able to ride more and wait less!!! Also, with each book, each kid wants their own pen which the characters never use! They usually use the first one handed to them! Save some money and bring your own!)

My daughter wanted to do this boutique thing where they turn them into a princess for a mere $200...uh... I offered to allow her anything she wanted for a gift. THANK GOD! That saved me a ton! Why do they charge so much for this?

We met the Princesses (something that someone would just die if it did not happen! LOL!), Mickey and Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Donald (can Disney make a point of having more boy friendly characters?? Most are geared towards girls!) I have got to say that even I enjoyed meeting Mickey! I have always liked Mickey!

Then we found Snow White at Minnie's house. We thought this was a weird place for her to show up but her watcher said she loved to visit Minnie's gardens and since Minnie was not using the Gazebo, she thought she would say hello for a bit! WHERE DO THEY COME UP WITH THESE STORIES I ASK YOU??!! ARE THEY TRAINED TO MAKE THIS SHIT UP??? Ok..I know this the nitpicky adult in me and I should allow my inner child to be protected, but I am sorry ... every character had its own stories and they would never give you a straight answer! I think they are all brainwashed into believing this shit is real because no one goes on break...they are going for honey or for tea or to go to a picnic! THEY ARE JUST IN COSTUMES (which btw must be awful unless they have some sort of cooling system built in)! I get that they want the kids to believe it but why can they not be straight with the adults??! Just tell me they need to go pee or that it is time to switch people! Oh...that is another thing. They will not tell you THAT either! I kept asking this one watcher (these people who escort them around the park) about how many they have and she would not give me a straight answer. It was always just 1!!!! I am not a kid nor am I stupid, so why can they not be straight with me?! I did not ask loud enough for the kids to hear and they could have just whispered the answers...but no... they act like I am strange for even asking!

Now, having said all that, I will tell you that if you also want to have a great time and a great meal...do the character dining thing. #1 You get to eat a ton (and we did the disney dining thing and this was an option that normally would have been a fortune! Totally do the dining plan...it saves you A LOT) and #2 the characters come to you! We did two of these. Play & Dine at HS and Liberty Tree Tavern at MK. Both great but both totally different characters and experiences. I recommend both but my kids loved the P&D the most. #3 Since they come to you, no waiting in lines in the HOT SUN!

As for rides, we went on Buzz Lightyear (this is like a ride in arcade game where you try to rack up points by shooting lasers at stuff), Splash Mountain and the Haunted Mansion. My son hated the HM and promptly went into a meltdown. He was fine once we got into the little black cars that ride thru the mansion but we will not go on that again! (I managed to avoid Small World since the kids were not interested but was forced to endure Winnie the Pooh and the Teacups!) We saw the parade in the afternoon but was disappointed that they did not have the night time parade when we were there. I heard it was cool and thought they did parades every day, so that was the only let down really. The fireworks that night were very cool and set to a soundtrack. The mad rush to leave the park after them was not so fun though.

Well, after several days of crazily spoiling my kids rotten (but hey...that is what we do when we only see them every once in a while) we headed home. The kids were exhausted, I was exhausted (and practically broke! LOL!) and the best part of all came when we got home and everyone just sat around and watched movies and sat together on the couch. Ok...I know we had some amazing memories but the last one is the one I think I may remember the most.... hmmm... I could have saved a lot of money and just stayed home and chilled out with them for 5 days..... NAH!!!

PS... My ex was not thrilled that the kids missed school and were exhausted and the fact that they are now thinking Dad is the coolest for taking them all over for mad fun really annoys her! LOL! OH WELL!!!