Orlando 2021

23 November 2021 - We're finally taking our Spring Break 2020 trip! COVID-19 protocols and masking are still in place, but this trip is doable now. we pulled the kids out of school a day before their Thanksgiving break, so they didn't miss much. My parents are joining us for this trip, and went down out of Minneapolis earlier in the day. We were packed up and the house was set early, and we were on the road to Milwaukee by 8:45 am. I spent over an hour on the phone making sure our tickets for Disney were good. Beautiful, chilly day. We stopped in Madison for some charging and a snack, then drove on to Milwaukee. we were going to eat lunch near the Oak Creek supercharger, but the brew pub was closed. We ended up pairing off for lunch - Felix and I got Potbelly's sandwiches while Nick and Iris got 5 Guys burgers. After we finished, we drove to the airport to park. We quickly got ourselves settled and on a shuttle to the terminal. We got to the gate with about 2 hours before our flight, after checking bags and going through security (no hassles with either). We relaxed at the gate until it was time to board (shared a Starbucks coffee while waiting - had to keep Iris from drinking too much). The kids handed all that well. Our 3:25 pm flight took off on time, and we were able to sit in the same row. The flight was uneventful, though Felix was nervous when we took off. We got to see a beautiful, cloudless sunset. We got in around 7 pm local time. It took us about an hour to get our bags and rental car sorted (better than the two hours my folks had). We chose a Kia Forte among the midsize options available (though Nick was not thrilled with any of the choices - he's so spoiled by his Tesla 3 now). We managed to make our way to our Airbnb at the Villas of Somerset in Kissimmee, a half hour away. We stopped for some provisions at a Publix near our destination (grocery prices are high!). Our condo suits are needs (large rooms, three bedrooms, two baths, full kitchen - all a bit faded and very 1980s, but not too bad), and we settled in. We ate dinner at 9 pm before watching some Robin Hood: Men In Tights before bed.

Ready for takeoff!

Sunset with a hint of Gulf coast

24 November - I woke up at 7 am after a decent night of sleep. We were up and ready to go by the time Mom and Dad arrived at our rental, bearing coffee. We relaxed a bit and showed them around before caravanning to Animal Kingdom. We got there around 9 and made our way to the gate, where the trouble began. I was told my tickets needed to be "woken up." I proceeded to spend over an hour while several staff tried to figure out how our tickets had gotten screwed up (likely happened when I made these reservations - we were given admission, but the ticket's weren't attached from the old system). Very frustrating, but I stayed calm and polite, and they were very apologetic. I could see the spirits of the rest of the family falling the longer I waited... Once they finally got everything sorted (or sorted enough that we would have working tickets), they gave our party free ice cream and each a free Lightning Lane pass.

It felt very good to actually enter the park after all that. Much relief! We made our way though the throngs of people and strollers towards Africa. We used our Lightning Lane passes to skip the 1+ hour line for the safari ride. (Almost made all the ticket stuff worth it. Almost.) We saw numerous interesting African animals (no big cats, unfortunately), and the kids liked it overall. After our ride, we decided to get some lunch. Mobile ordering made that easy. We got a table and enjoyed our lunch and beers. Afterward, we took the train to the conservation area because Iris wanted to go to the petting zoo. 

All aboard!

Silly Geepa

Petting a sheep

The kids enjoyed that interlude, and it wasn't terribly crowded. Once they had their fill, we headed back and made our way to Asia. Iris wanted to go on the Expedition: Everest coaster, so I went with her while the others went to the river ride (which was closed, unfortunately). They chilled while Iris and I waited about 50 minutes for her to go on her first real rollercoaster. I think it might have been a little intense for her, because she doesn't want to go on it again for a few years. 

Ready to ride Expedition: Everest

We got off the ride and found the others. We walked to the Dinoland area. It was cloudy and cooler after this morning's upper-60s and clear skies. We redeemed our ice cream voucher and enjoyed them before the kids played at the playground. We chatted while listening to the variety of Christmas music playing (too soon!). Once the kids were done, we gave them a souvenir-buying opportunity (both chose enormous lollipops), and walked over to Pandora. That area wasn't open on our last visit, so we walked around to see what it looked like before calling it a day. 

All parked out

We headed out around 4:30. We saw some missing states in the license plate game as we found our vehicles. We headed out and drove to Walk-On's Sports Bar and Bistreaux for a Cajun dinner and to watch the Badger basketball game. We stayed for the first half while enjoying our meals. The kids were getting testy and our patience was running on fumes, but we made it through. My crawfish-two-ways was good. Mom and Dad went back to their hotel afterward. We ran to Aldi to get breakfast foods for the rest of the trip. We got back to the condo around 7. We tried to let Iris swim at the complex's pool, but found it's closed for the rest of our time here. Instead, they played sheepshead while I caught up on this entry. They're impatient for me to join them so we can play four-hand. :) Once I stared playing, it wasn't long before everyone had it. Had to lecture Felix about kindness. Grrr.

Felix's big burger

25 November - Happy Thanksgiving! We all slept in this morning, waking around 8, then had a leisurely breakfast with our groceries from last night. Mom and Dad came over a little before 10, then we piled into our cars and headed to EPCOT. We had another beautiful day! No ticketing problems today (cue happy dance)! The kids were excited to see the World Showcase, so we headed there first, starting with Canada. Nick and I decided to try a beverage in each country, so we split a Blanche Chambly while taking a look around. 

O, Canada!

Not much was open there, so once we took a few pictures and finished our beers, we walked on to the United Kingdom. There, I ran into an old coworker from my KL Engineering days (Michael Plessel) of all people amongst the tens of thousands there. Chatted briefly, then joined the others for another beer (Smithwick's). I didn't get much of a chance to stand and savor it, because I was helping Iris find some popcorn to ease her hunger. Alas, none there, so we took our beers and walked on. We found some at the next gift shop and the kids were placated. They ate their rainbow popcorn while we finished our beers and walked to France. It was pretty crowded, but we found the wine line. I treated this time, buy the folk $8, 3-oz pours of Vouvray, while I got a $14, 5-oz Nicolas Feuillatte champagne to share with Nick. We enjoyed those on a wall outside the shop, and did some people watching while the kids had some French suckers. 

Viva le vin!

Once we finished there, we escaped the crowds of France for the quiet corridors of Morocco. Iris enjoyed the fountains, but little else, as not much was open. 

Moroccan beauty

We headed to Japan, where we caught part of a drum show. The kids were hungry, since it was 12:30 and they're always hungry. We joined the line for the quick meal eatery there, and got three orders of sushi and an udon order to share. The kids enjoyed the novelty of the noodles. Mom and Dad snagged us a table in the shade outside. That was nice and topped up our energy levels again. Nick had a plum wine while I got a Asahi Extra Dry. The kids liked the giant koi in the pond as well.

Watching the koi

We stopped briefly at The American Adventure before walking to Italy. Mom stood in line to get the kids gelato cones while we picked out some wine I got the Moscato d'Asti while Nick got a red with a longish name we can't remember. Mom and Dad got the same two. We didn't have many seating options, so we stood at a table under the sun. It felt a lot warmer than the forecasted 77°. We finished our wine while Iris threw a quarter in a fountain, then we walked on to Germany.

Italy-ish

Nick got us beers (a grapefruit radler and a dunkel) while Iris and I picked out a Christmas tree ornament (a little wooden own with an Austrian hat and a pretzel in its beak). A group let us have their table as they left, so we all had a place to sit in the shade while Mom and Dad ate their bratwurst lunch and we enjoyed the Gemütlichkeit. We had a cast member joke to Dad about spilling some beer, and how that wasn't allowed in Germany. We told her we're from Wisconsin and understand. :)

After enjoying the shade in Germany, we walked to China, then over to Norway to use the restrooms, before going back to China. We were just in time to go in and see the 360° show about China's landscape and culture. The kids fell in love with the marionettes being sold there, but we told them no souvenirs until the end. We walked back to Norway after that. We skipped the Frozen Ever After ride because the wait was about 2 hours and Iris is done with Frozen anyway. We did enjoy some of the gift shop offerings, though. 

The giant troll in Norway was not for sale.

Next, we walked to Mexico. Nick and Dad stood in line to get us tequila-based drinks. I got a cucumber margarita, while Nick got himself a Negroni. Mom and I looked over the souvenirs there with the kids while we waited, but nothing really jumped out at us.

Salud!

Since we had been to all the countries, we let the kids pick their souvenirs. We walked back to Japan to get Felix a shiba inu plush. Nick ran to Morocco and got us white sangrias while I helped the kids in the store. We sipped those as we walked back to China, where Iris got a dragon marionette. We walked back to find Mom and Dad as the sun was setting.

Souvenirs acquired

Nick and the folks took our stuff to the cars and brought back sweatshirts as the kids and I waited. Once they returned, we stood in line for Spaceship Earth. The wait was about 25 min. The kids enjoyed the virtual games at the end of the ride.

Trying to power a virtual city

We decided to get dinner, and went with the easiest option (fish and chips from the UK). We scored another table, albeit in a poorly lit area, and ate our meal. Nick and I shared a Bass and a Harp. After we finished eating, it was about 8 pm. We walked around and got in the Test Track line, which had a wait of only an hour. It took exactly that from start to end. The kids especially Iris, enjoyed "making" a car and riding the ride (my first time on it, too). 

Iris's crazy car

After we finished up there, we walked back to Canada to find a place to see the night show. We waiting about a half hour in a good spot. nice water/lights/fireworks show lasting about 15 minutes, set to Disney music. 

We then joined the thousands of people leaving the park as it closed at 10. 

The orb beckoned.

We got back to the rental at 10:45 and put ourselves to bed for the night. If only I could sleep!

Only missed China and Norway. Cheers!

26 November - 7 am came early. We all got up and got ready for our last full day in Florida. Mom and Dad came over about 8:30, and we set off for the east coast. It's another beautiful, clear-skies, to-be-mid-70s day. We got to Kennedy Space Center about 10 am. There were far fewer people than at Disney, but it got busy. We already had our tickets, so we went right in. Nick, Felix and Dad examined the Rocket Garden. Mom, Iris and I took a look at the gift shop. 

Rockets and blue skies

We met up to go in the Atlantis attraction. We had to deal with a cranky Iris, who wanted to go in the kids play area first. we reminded her that we are doing things for everyone, not just her. We watched the short films about the shuttle program, then got to see the Atlantis shuttle and other components up close. The kids like that. 

In the command module

Next, we stood in line for the play area and gave the kids 15 minutes while inside. Nick and I sat on the floor and I meditated. We met back up briefly. Mom and Dad went to the IMAX show, the kids and Nick tried to find another open exhibit, and I picked up some souvenirs (t-shirts for the kids, mugs for Nick and me, socks for Nick, a winter hat for me, a magnet, and a necklace for Iris). We went to the Mars Exploration exhibit and show, which ended at the same time as the IMAX show. We met up with Mom and Dad, and headed out. We saved the bus tour for our next visit when we have more time. While getting in the car, Nick rolled up the window as my hair was blown through. Ouch! We drove down to Cocoa Beach from there. The folks and the kids got subs at Jimmy John's. Nick and I treated ourselves to poke bowls from Poke Fin up the road. We met up at Lori Wilson Park, where we ate, then changed into swim stuff before heading to the beach. The water was chilly, but the sun and breeze were nice. The kids swam a bit with the waves, Nick and I waded, and the folks rented beach chairs and watched for the hour we were out there. It was a good time, and the kids enjoyed it. Iris especially like it because it was her first dip in the ocean. 

Nick, kids, biplane

We got dried off and to the cars as clouds rolled in. We headed back to the Orlando area. Mom wanted us to eat dinner at the Celebration Town Tavern, so that was our destination. My dad's bag tag is by the bar from a previous visit. We found it and ordered drinks while waiting for our table. I got a Daytona Dirty Blond ale because when in Florida... Unfortunately, I spilled Iris's kiddie cocktail as we were going from the patio to our table, but it was quickly replaced. It was quite a busy restaurant. Felix wanted to try lobster, but we told him he couldn't order anything marked "market price," so that ended up being a thing... Nick got lobster chowder and a crab cake. I got a fried oyster roll. The kids got mac and cheese. We had a nice dinner overall, and caught a little of the UW volleyball game on Mom's phone. We bid the folks goodbye in the parking lot, since they are also flying back in the morning. we arrived back at the rental around 7. We all packed up and the kids showered. Nick was feeling a bit frustrated about Felix, so we talked. All set and ready for bed around 9 pm. Slept better tonight.

27 November - I woke at 6:45 and got ready. the rest of the family followed suit. We got everything packed, everyone fed, and out at 7:30. We fueled up ($5.59/gal!!) and returned the rental. Long lines for bag drop and security. We forgot Iris's full water bottle in her carryon, so that was a wait only to have it confiscated. Oh well, only $4. We got to the terminal, got beverages (coffees and smoothies), and waited for a half hour before they started boarding our 10:30 flight. Uneventful flight, but I can go a long time without smelling another dirty diaper... We got to Milwaukee around 12:20, quickly collected our bags, caught a shuttle and were in our car and on our way home. We picked up some sandwiches while charging in Madison and got home around 3:45 to two very relieved kitties (Roary and Robin). 

Final thoughts:

• Iris's favorite thing: She loved it all, but definitely wants to do the beach again. 
• Felix's favorite thing: He loved EPCOT and KSC, but everything was great, and he loved having the room to spread out (not being in a small hotel room).
• License plates: 47 of 51! We missed Alaska, Hawaii, Montana and New Mexico. Bonus: Nuevo Leon, Manitoba, Quebec, Ontario.
• I wrote a long email/letter to Disney about the issue with our tickets, but was sure to mention favorably the two people who helped us the most. Not sure if I'll hear anything back, but it was good to get that off my chest.