Disney Deep Dive, Part 1

Now that our Disney trip is less than two weeks away, I decided it might be fun to dig into the archives and post some notable photos from my four (!) past trips to Disney.  It's funny, because I don't feel like I have some storied history with Disney, but four trips is a lot.  I mean, I know people who go annually and it's not uncommon in that Facebook group I follow for people to go every few months or more.  But I know for some people it's a once- or twice-in-a-lifetime thing so four-going-on-five is pretty good.  It remains to be seen if we'll go back again--there are a couple of factors that could impact that--but at the very least I think Craig and I will need some sort of anniversary trip as a couple to commemorate the one we went on when I was pregnant with Jacob--maybe when he's 25?  Hmmm...we'll see.  I think part of what makes my experiences seem less substantial is that all four of my trips were in very different phases of life, and half of them were before Disney World was in its current form.  That means that there are limited memories and limited experiences with some of the parks, so it doesn't feel like four full current-version trips.  And I think that the parks are so massive that we've never really covered everything anyway, so I still feel like a rookie in many ways.  But let's take a look at what has stuck with me...

My first trip was early in 1982.  I was about 3-1/2.  I have vague memories of that entire trip but vividly remember a few things, including time in Fort Myers with my aunt, uncle, and slightly bully-ish younger cousin, snippets of Disney, and a few things from Busch Gardens, including a peacock, my brother being a helper during the bird show, and the smell of beer from the brewery tour.  Oh, and I also rode an elephant--which I probably forgot until I saw the photo again but always had deep in my head what it looked and smelled like up there.  But just the other day I did a reverse Google image search to figure out what one place was--I have zero memories of going to the Ringling Bros. museum and mansion in Sarasota.  Go figure.  I know some of my Disney memories were preserved by our photos but I swear I remember a bunch.  Here was my first flight I was able to enjoy--my actual first was apparently as an infant to New Jersey.  Look how cute and eager I was!

I recall loving the teacups, and I'm pretty sure that was the beginning of my love of spinning rides that moved on to the Scrambler and peaked with the Tilt-a-Whirl when I rode it about a dozen times at my friend's birthday party (maybe around 7 or 8?) at the basement amusement part of the Skylon Tower in Niagara Falls.  Apparently they didn't have issues with kids crossing the border without parents back then?  Anyway, it's too bad I can't ride them anymore!  Maybe if we're at Disney late and the line is short I can give it a shot with Dramamine in my system (and a stern warning not to spin too much) so it doesn't ruin my entire day?  

Dumbo is a Disney classic, and I'm pretty sure this deep memory was why I was so insistent on riding it with Jacob 31 years later.

And yes, my dad has a mustache!

I have no idea why this one was taken originally, though perhaps we wondered who would EVER buy a souvenir that large and unpackable.  Anyway, remember this photo--you will soon sense a theme.

Note that I am wearing a Mickey sweatshirt under my jacket.  It was the same as my brother's but light blue instead of gray.  We got it because it was cold there and apparently we didn't have enough layers!  I guess maybe it was harder to check distant locales' weather back then?  But to be fair we were on the beach a day or two before this!  Anyway, I loved that sweatshirt as long as it fit me!

I'm a little sad the ride below no longer exists because it looks so freaking cool from above, and I do remember riding it--although if I'm honest I'm not sure if I remember it from this trip or the next, but I swear I have a memory--maybe good, maybe bad--from my first ride.  An octopus, maybe?  I just watched a 1991 video of the ride on YouTube and there seemed to be one right at the end of the deep dive, so maybe that was it.  Anyway, it was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and you rode on a submarine.  It was replaced in the mid-90s with a Pooh attraction and then replaced again by the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, which was being built last time we were there and I am hell-bent on riding it this time, even though it's not going to be easy (either a long line or we'll have to pay).

One of my favorite attractions as a kid (for some unknown reason) was the Carousel of Progress.  I have no idea why it resonated so much.  I think I liked the song and how the scenes moved when I was little, and I think I liked the "future" scene concept when I was older--maybe I watched the Jetsons too much?  EPCOT really enhanced that whole "future" thing on my second trip and I'm sure this just played into it.  But I included this because look at what the future was supposed to look like.  Nice monochrome monitor, lady.  Interestingly, I looked on YouTube for this one as well, and the 1981 version was different from even this one--the computer and track suit were apparently new when we saw it!  Fortunately they have continued to update this one over the years.  

Given that we'll be there for the 50th Birthday celebration that we're going for this year, this picture cracked me up and made me feel VERY old.  Disney World was only 10 years old when we went!  My parents still bemoan the fact that they went to Florida for their honeymoon in December 1970 and Disney World opened up less than a year later.  Ironically, EPCOT opened up a little more than six months after this trip!  It's hard to imagine a time when it was just Magic Kingdom, and my parents didn't recall if they knew what was being built not far away.  

 

It's hard to believe that my trips span 4/5ths of that history (although technically this next one falls past the actual 50th--they're just celebrating extra long).  Believe it or not, my parents went to Disney World without kids at least once when I was a kid, and definitely again when I was older.  Imagine my annoyance when they went and left us kids behind!  Pretty sure my kids wouldn't speak to me for months if we did that!

Here's proof I met Minnie Mouse as a kid.  Apparently my mascot fear didn't start until later...or maybe Minnie was just that special?

I remember really liking the Astro Orbiter.  It looks a lot different now and I don't know that I've ridden it since.  I sort of want to this time, despite the spinning.  We'll see!

Our next trip was in late 1987.  I was nine, just a little younger than Carter is now.  My brother was 13 and appears to have been in that sort of awkward stage of puberty Jacob's in now--vague mustache and awkwardly tall and skinny.  I recall that we went during parent-teacher conferences so as to not miss as much school.  This trip was notable in that my dad didn't go.  He stayed home in protest because apparently he didn't think we needed to go at that point.  I don't know why--it was actually a perfect time for me in particular and I think my brother would have been a little old had we waited much longer--but my grandma apparently saved the day and came with us.  As a result, we stayed in a townhouse somewhere in Orlando, which gave us two bedrooms and a bit more space.  I remember thinking the townhouse was really cool, and I also recall my grandma's Florida-resident sister and her husband coming to visit us while we were there.  Anyway, as you can see, this was a peak period for loud shorts--aka Jams.
 

Not sure it gets more 80s than this!

I loved EPCOT.  It spoke to every ounce of my geeky soul.  I'm always confused when people skip it because there's something there for everyone, especially these days.  Back then you had the World Showcase and a whole slew of futuristic pavilions that made the future sound so amazing and innovative.  Little did we know, eh?  I adored Journey into Imagination and the Horizons pavilion, which had a ride that reminded me of my beloved "Choose your own adventure" books - I think we rode it more than once just to make a different choice and see what would happen.  One of my vivid memories was getting stuck in the rain at EPCOT.  I remember us panicking a little bit when it started pouring, getting our ponchos, and somehow getting between pavilions intact despite my poor grandma being a little slower than the rest of us. 
  

Speaking of my grandma, how insanely cute is this picture?

Hard for me to believe she was barely a month short of 63 here, and now my mom is far older than this!  Of course, she seemed so old at the time!  She lived almost 24 years more after this.

So, remember the sombrero picture?  Apparently they were still selling them 5-1/2 years later and we thought it would be funny to do another pic!

This meal was on the same night as the downpour and I remember being starving by the time we found food.  This was in China, and I recall being very excited for Chinese food.  I have no idea what my brother and grandma were eating because I know John didn't like Chinese food.  But it all felt oddly fancy to me at the time.  It was due to this meal that I wanted to go back to China and eat when Craig and I went 20 years later.

Imagine my confusion when I found this photo and couldn't figure out what the "200" was for.  Yay for internet research that explained that Disney did a whole thing for the 200th birthday of the Constitution!  But what a nice photo (though pardon my hair--I was still growing it out and apparently the sides weren't yet long enough to stay in the ponytail that I needed in the heat...yikes).

I was grateful to this photo because it was the only proof of my mom wearing a yellow shirt one day, which I needed in a photo below.

We went on the riverboat, which I recall taking forever.  I think I was very antsy to get on with more rides by this point!  We will not be doing that on this trip!

My first ever real roller coaster was Big Thunder Mountain on this trip.  After years of walking across the Viper platform at Darien Lake and waiting for my family to ride, this less wild ride provided the perfect opportunity to get me started.  I was still super hesitant, though, and it was made even worse by the fact that there was a BBC crew there filming the ride!  It took me an extra bit to decide to ride, and I'm so glad I did--it was the start of a beautiful future of coaster riding!  I believe this was a view from part of the ride and I was fascinated by the perpetually burning cabin!

This was a view of the ride, and if you zoom in, you can see my mom in the yellow shirt above waving!  I assume I was next to her or somewhere else there, but maybe this was before I got up the courage?

As much as my dad didn't want us on that trip, I'm so grateful we did it.  Maybe we would have done something as a family a few years later, but those memories really hit me at a perfect time--it makes me thankful that Carter gets to go at the same age.  I just loved the futuristic, computer-based games and activities at EPCOT.  Magic Kingdom was fun, but EPCOT truly captured my imagination.  I liked the World Showcase, too, though I probably only remember the movie at Canada from that section of the park.  Sometime after that trip, my Uncle Mark gave me a cassette tape of music from the parks, and I listened to that thing all the time!  So many of the EPCOT songs were cheesy 80s ballads, but it was definitely a vibe and I loved it!  I tracked them down on YouTube and it brought back a lot of memories.

I think one of the biggest downsides when I finally went back to Disney was that so much time had passed and so many things had changed.  Entire sections of Magic Kingdom were different, many of the EPCOT pavilions had either shut down or changed significantly.  Not unexpected, of course, but for a nostalgic person, it was a bummer that I could relive so few of those memories the next time.  In a perfect world I would have gone back, but I guess life got in the way.  We didn't take a lot of fancy trips as I got older (read: none) and then I guess once I was an adult we either had bigger fish to fry or didn't feel like we had the money.  But eventually, all the stars aligned and it was time to go back...

Chasing Sunsets (or Maybe They're Chasing Me?!)

Last Thursday, Jacob had basketball training in Brighton so I decided Carter and I would stop at Trader Joe's a few minutes away in Pittsford and stock up on some of Jacob's stuff--he enjoys a few of their gluten-free items, particularly the muffins and the frozen mac and cheese.  I was hoping we'd have enough time after to stop at a playground right around the corner from training, at the fields where Carter played his last couple soccer games.  However, it was a cloudy evening and apparently sunset is coming earlier these days because it was getting dark by the time we walked out of the store.  I felt bad because I knew that meant the park was probably closed since most close at dusk.  We loaded up the car and headed out.  I had noticed when we came out of the store that there was a hint of pink in the clouds to the west, but imagine my surprise as we pulled onto the main road saw this!

The picture doesn't even do it justice, but it was so bright and vivid and looked like it was going to be an amazing sunset!  I pondered where we could go to catch a better view of it, and suddenly realized we were probably only a few minutes from Cobb's Hill, which is the best sunset view in Rochester.  I've gone there a few times before at the last minute--sometimes making it in time and sometimes not.  I was nervous this time since color can fade in an instant, but I shouldn't have worried--this one was in it for the long haul.  I barely had the time or brain power to tell Carter where we were going because I was so focused on getting there safely and efficiently before it faded.  When we finally got up on the hill and drove past the clearing with the best view, Carter was audibly wowed!  We drove past it to park and he immediately understood what we were doing there!  The view was incredible!

It was actually even more colorful than this--my phone camera couldn't really handle it, but it was amazing nonetheless. 

I desperately wished I had my real camera to have another option and more zoom capabilities, but I stopped carrying it with me full time so I had to make the best of it and be grateful for what I had!

Between the sky and the added bonus of the city lights (which are so much better than they used to be), it was really something to behold.

There were a lot of people there watching--I have a feeling that's the case many nights.  It's hard to predict good ones so I assume the second people see potential and live close enough, they go.  The funniest thing was that a woman walked by us as we were watching and she was like, "I just saw you at Pittsford Plaza!"  I think I remember her and her kids walking by us outside Trader Joe's when Carter was tying his shoe (or trying, anyway).  I think she had the same idea we did when she saw the sky!

It was definitely one of the most gorgeous sunsets I have ever seen, especially considering the view over the city, which is nice on a regular day or night.  And having lived three years in Geneseo with the valley sunset views and working high above Rochester with skyline views for 8-1/2 years, that's impressive for one to rank this high.  I tried to take a video of it to see if it would capture it better.  It does have the lovely sounds that accompanied the peaceful moment, but I'm not sure it did any better with the colors.

Luckily, we were able to take it in for probably about 10 minutes and there was still color, but we had to leave to get Jacob.  We were probably three minutes late, but it was well worth it!

The following night I had to make an evening run to Wegmans and this was my view on the drive home!

Again, it was so gorgeous!  I couldn't believe my luck to see them two nights in a row.  Of course, while this one would normally be a big deal, on the heels of the previous night it was just so-so...haha!

On Saturday we experience the sun back in its normal state!  We finally got back in the pool after a couple weeks of busyness and bad luck with weather or timing.  The water was actually pretty comfortable and we needed it considering it was super hot and humid!  Craig was still in California and Jacob didn't want to go in and tire himself out for potential training that night, so Carter and I went in ourselves.  It was lovely!

I hope someday we can get a deck and let this kid really get his jump on!

That night as I was cleaning up after dinner, I saw this!  Again, gorgeous!

It changed to more pink from orange as Carter and I stood there.  The clouds just looked so fluffy and cool!

On Monday night we found ourselves back in the same area as Thursday for Jacob's training, so we finally made it to the park that I mentioned earlier--the one where Carter played his last two soccer games.  We thought there were two playgrounds but it turns out there were actually three!  I realized at the first of Carter's two games there that we had actually been to that park before, all the way back when Jacob played lacrosse, and I vividly remembered going on the one playground with Carter.  Upon further investigation, it was back in 2016 when he was just three!  I remember it being one of the first playgrounds he really got into, where he could do a lot of stuff more independently and actually had fun with it.  We decided to start on that one even though we knew it was probably almost all too small for Carter now--and sure enough it was!  But I had a plan...I decided we should recreate some photos!

One of the things I remember best was him hanging on the rings.  Sadly, the rings were missing so we improvised!

My tentative bridge-walker is tentative no more!

He was jumping...

...and pretending he was trapped!

Before I had to look over the rock wall at him.  This time he was taller than the wall and made his way around the entire thing!

How has that sweet little boy gotten so big?!

It was quite the reminder how time is flying.  Not to mention how much I miss that sweet little guy, even if the big one is a lot of fun, too!  

We made our way to the back playground, the one we didn't know was there.  It was a pretty good one, with a taller rock wall, a steep slide and a couple interesting climbs to access the structure.

We had fun climbing and checking it out for a while, but I realized we were running out of time already!  We went to the third playground, which was actually pretty busy.
 

They had some challenging diagonal monkey bars and this tube slide with a window!

And once again, Carter is trapped, this time in the tube ladder!

It was time to go...except just as we arrived at the school, Jacob texted me to say he was staying for another half hour.  Ugh.  Carter and I walked across the parking lot and baseball field to the gas station.  He got a snack and we got a Slurpee to share, along with a Gatorade to bring back to Jacob who of course was instantly annoyed when he came out to the car and we weren't there because we were still waiting for him to text his beverage choice back.  Sigh....so much for trying to be nice.  As we pulled out of the school, I noticed the sky looked like it was on FIRE!  It was super bright orange and yellow through the dark rain clouds.  I knew Jacob wouldn't be down with a trip to Corn Hill this time, so I figured we'd just try to get a nice view from 390.  Well...I made Jacob the photographer and of course he took about 60 pictures with my phone, just to be annoying.  He literally hit the button twice per second before I caught him and told him to stop.  Half were blurry and most were still a bit far off.  This was the best we could do.

It was incredible and I was so bummed I wasn't able to get a better shot of this one.  The color coming through the clouds--with such a contrast--was amazing.  Despite this last minor disappointment, I couldn't believe my luck to see all of these gorgeous sunsets in a row.  Tonight's wasn't too shabby either--a nice set of wispy pink clouds.  All I can figure is the high humidity leaves too much moisture in the air, or maybe we just have some pollution or wildfire smoke moving through.  Whatever it was, I'm not sure I ever saw a better string of sunsets in my life!  I was quite a lucky girl over this past week, no doubt, and I hope these sunsets keep following me wherever I go!

Decoding Disney

This Disney trip has been a thing for years.  We started talking about it pre-pandemic, but at the time both timing and money were concerns and that kept extending the timeline.  Between our busy times at work, the kids' school schedules, and the weather, there never seemed to be a good time.  With Jacob starting middle school--at a private school, no less--missing school felt inadvisable.  We'd done that before after all, during his second week of Kindergarten, and I can't say it was advisable even then.  But it was so hot when we went in September that I wasn't sure we could do summer again.  But Craig's job is busy from November until at least April or May, my job gets busy in June, the parks are crazy busy and extra expensive for most of summer and every holiday, so nothing really seemed to work.  On top of that, the general financial aspect made us hesitant.  It's intimidating to think of a significant chunk of your savings being spent on a trip, and with our kids and their behaviors, it seemed cheaper to be annoyed with that stuff at home, or at least somewhere less expensive.  I mean, to be fair, we already had one Disney trip where behavior nearly ruined it, so I can't say I was eager to do that again.  So, all things considered, we kept putting it off hoping any of those aspects might get easier over time.

Then the pandemic hit.  At first travel wasn't possible, then simply unadvisable.  Disney was closed for a long time and was a shell of its former self for a long time once it reopened.  It was still on our agenda for sure, but it quickly became clear it had to be first on our vacation list, even at less than its best.  Not only did the pandemic give us a "you only live once" reminder, but watching two years go by where a lot of things were on hold made it hard to keep holding back, knowing that we only have a handful of summers left with both kids still being somewhat kid-like.  At one point this spring it seemed like Jacob was literally going to stop being compliant about anything unless we proved to him we were serious about going to Disney.  No other vacation was welcome, and no promise was trusted because we'd been promising to do Disney for years and it hadn't happened.  So, after some investigation, we finally booked our resort and flights in June.  We're so grateful to Craig's parents for helping us along on that front, thanks to their Disney Vacation Club membership.  My parents also gifted us some "Christmas in July" money to offset some costs.  The good news is that over the last two years we've also both received pretty decent raises, so the financial strain became quite a bit less.  So, at least one thing was in our favor finally.  But booking the resort and flight turned into the easy step--everything else feels so much harder!

For starters, I can't say I feel great about going as a new wave of COVID spreads, but I guess we're all just trying to live our lives and at least three of the four of us have some form of antibodies, even if mine might be suspect.  But even antibodies don't seem to matter as much with this strain, so we're just going to do our best--KN95s on the plane, masks indoors where we can.  As I mentioned, we pulled Carter out of his last week of camp to avoid him getting COVID before we leave, and Craig is going to mask at the tournament he needs to work the weekend before we go.  My two biggest fears are that we'll somehow get it just as we're leaving, or that we'll get it while we're there and not only ruin part of the trip, but also screw up the kids' first day (or week) of school.  Given the expense of this trip I am super worried, but again, just how much longer could we wait?  This virus isn't going away and Carter and I will get it eventually.  This may not be the way I want to do that, but putting off family vacations much longer wasn't doing much for our mental health either, so I think we all felt a bit stuck.  So, here we are, less than three weeks away.

From a logistics perspective, it turns out that going to Disney is completely different than it was last time.  It's not only more complicated--it is far more expensive in many additional ways.  Previously the shuttle from the airport to the resort was free.  It's not now.  Last time we used a card for everything from food to the room, and while that's still a thing, there are a lot of other things that we'd need to use it for now, and from what I've read, whipping out four cards at a time isn't ideal.  We could also use our phones but that can be a pain, too, so MagicBand bracelets felt like the way to go.  Unfortunately, those also used to be free but we never went to Disney during that time so this time we paid $10 per person for that extra convenience.  There's no dining plan post-COVID, so food will all be a la carte.  That might be a good thing since it forces us to make choices and maybe be more frugal, or it might not since prices are crazy and everyone's going to want lots of snacks (growing boys!), but now we need to add grocery delivery to our to-do list to have the things we need for cheaper drinks, breakfasts, snacks, and maybe even lunches.  We usually just did quick service anyway, but with Jacob's dietary restrictions and a current focus on mobile ordering, which could be a bit more complicated for allergy folks, I'm getting nervous about what we'll be facing.  Part of me wants to do a sit-down meal once in a while, but reservations are actually pretty limited this close.  We have a LOT of menu review to do in the next few weeks.

Another post-COVID change is that you need to make reservations for parks ahead of time.  It used to be that you bought your number of days, showed up at any park you choose, and that was your park for the day.  Now they're trying to control crowds, so you need to pick far ahead of time and make a park reservation.  The problem, of course, is if the weather is looking bad, you're basically at the mercy of the schedule.  And if other parks are booked, you may not be able to change things.  It's a little scary to have so little control over things when there's so much at stake.  Some people who book trips last minute are finding out they can't get into Magic Kingdom at all during their stay!  We secured Magic Kingdom for my birthday, at least--and we get extended hours that day--but hopefully things will go so well we won't need them!  The only backup plan I think I can muster is that our last day is Animal Kingdom and that's a short day because they close earlier than the other parks.  If I feel like we need it, I may try to add a Park Hopper to that day (I have to do it at least a day ahead, if it's even possible to just do it for one) so we could make the most of the evening elsewhere.  But again, hopefully it won't be needed because everything else goes so smoothly! ::crossing fingers and toes::

Another major complication is that the old Fast Pass system is no more and you now basically need this app called Genie+ to make it through rides without long waits.  It's $15 more per person per day, but everyone insists it's worth it and not the place to skimp on budget.  You have to buy it the day of use, and at promptly 7am you can pick a ride to jump the line on once you're in the park.  After you check into that one (or two hours later), you can pick another, and so on.  It puts you into the Lightning Lane queue, so most people say it leaves them with waits under a half hour for busy rides.  But it takes a lot of coordination and some slots fill up quickly.  On top of that is an individual Lightning Lane option that costs $15 per RIDE per person, which just makes me sick.  Luckily only one ride per park uses that, so in most cases people say to "rope drop" it (go there immediately when the park opens) or just budget to wait in an eternal line after that.  So I need to brush up on my strategy there so we can avoid that extra cost.  Gone are the days of just waiting in lines and grabbing a couple Fast Passes for ones you can't miss!  I don't like that it gives richer people an upper hand, though...that just seems wrong.  I think Walt would be spinning in his grave seeing how inflated costs have become, to the point average families can't even dream of going, and the ones that get there may need to make some tough choices.

Another complication is that our party of four is basically split down the middle on ride philosophy and tolerance.  Carter and I want to ride everything, and Craig and Jacob are just happy to be there.  I think they can ride more there than most amusement parks, but I'm trying to keep an eye on ride reviews on this Facebook page my friend added me to because I want to know what they might want to avoid.  I've thought about getting them SeaBands or those behind-the-ear patches just to be safe, since motion sickness on the simulator-type rides seems to be the biggest issue.  Some of the best rides are that style and some people say they rode one of those and were done for the day.  I definitely don't want that to happen.  I think it will be a balance between satisfying Carter and me and making sure the big boys are content (without spending tons of money on food or souvenirs) while we're riding.  Down time is not a bad thing, and they both insist they just want to enjoy being there, but it's giving me some stress just thinking about it.

One thing I find challenging is deciding what we need to do since Carter is the only one who doesn't remember anything from last time.  I'm sure Jacob's memory could use some refreshing, though.  But I look at certain rides that are traditions, or certain shows that might broaden their horizons, or things we did last time that I don't need to do again but that I think Carter might enjoy, and I'm stumped.  Like, let's take "It's a Small World".  It's a little boring, really annoying, but an absolute Disney classic.  Is it bad if Carter never gets to experience it?  Or the Muppet-Vision show, which is really cute and might resonate since Carter saw The Muppet Show on DVD not long ago, but we've done it before and may not want to spend precious time on it again.  I did the Country Bear Jamboree and the Hall of Presidents as a kid and liked them, but haven't done them since, so maybe I should expose my kids to them.  And then there's the issue of water rides.  A couple parks have them and I can't say I want to cart around extra clothes so we're not walking around wet in Florida humidity (that "refreshing" factor only lasts so long in 90% humidity), but I think Carter will be disappointed if we skip Splash Mountain in particular.  I think he also probably wants to try one like Kali River (the round raft through the rapids and waterfalls--my nemesis!).  I think I need to get him to Darien Lake and suffer through their version of Splash Mountain instead so I can talk him out of wasting our time on it at Disney!  But there's just so much to do!  We only have one shot at each park and I'm not planning to go back anytime soon, so I worry about what we'll miss--maybe forever.  I know that we'll fill our time with lots of great stuff and those "misses" should pale in comparison to the rest of our memories.  That said, I still remember some of what we missed last time--Soarin' NEEDS to happen this time but The Little Mermaid will probably miss out again.  We also never got to Test Track or Mission Space last time, but Mission Space is one of those simulator ones people complain about, so we'll see if we even need to do that one.  Add in all of the new stuff--multiple new coasters, two of three Star Wars attractions, and a couple other things--and I have no idea how it will all get done.  My family better be ready to burn the candle at both ends and sacrifice comfort a bit!  And trust me, I'm working on tracking down things to help with the heat and rain and keep us moving!  I already bought moleskin for our feet and a couple neck fans, and my Amazon cart currently has motion sickness patches, cooling towels, waterproof pouches, a kid's poncho (Walmart has cheap adult ones), and KN95 masks, plus some zipper pulls to hopefully repair one of our carry-on suitcases.  

Speaking of carry-ons, we're hoping to somehow do carry-ons only so we don't have to worry about our luggage missing close connections, but we'll see if we can make it work between rolling suitcases and backpacks!  Flying is a whole other set of stress, by the way.  Everyone is having flights canceled left and right or delayed heavily, and our connections only leave about an hour as it is both ways, so it's going to be tight.  We'd miss out on some Disney Springs time if we're delayed on the way in, and getting ready for school will be challenging if we have issues on the way home, but I'm probably most worried about the luggage stuff or extra long delays like 12 hours in an airport or (God forbid) a whole extra day lost.  Flying is only great once you're there, I guess!  But we are not fit to do a drive like that!

On the bright side, going with the kids at this age means that a lot of the activities people drive themselves nuts to do don't need to be a priority for us.  For example, my kids aren't really into the characters so we don't need to do an expensive, fancy character meal.  Those are all booked anyway at this point, so we'd have disappointed kids if they did want to do it.  I remember last time looking at the line of little girls, all in princess dresses, waiting to go in and see the princesses, and feeling lucky we had boys.  Same with the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique girls--so expensive!  If we'd have gone a few years ago I think Carter would have wanted to see the Disney Junior characters and things like that, but we're all sort of past that now.  In some ways it's sad, but in others I'm relieved for anything that makes this experience easier.  I also think souvenirs will be less of a problem with big kids, but Jacob seems to be getting his "souvenirs" ahead of time--he's asking for new sneakers, Crocs, slides, sunglasses, and a hat so far!  And anyway, nothing will really top the amazing, giant, underpriced bear puppet he got at Canada in EPCOT last time--it was so cool that it's still the last hold-out on a bed that was once completely covered in animals!   

The Facebook group I follow really runs the gamut from those who are absolutely clueless to those who go all the time or have all of these crazy plans.  Sometimes I feel like I'm doing it wrong because I don't have custom-made t-shirts for each person for every day of the week and a different pair of ears to wear at each park.  They do crazy, elaborate reveals to tell their kids that they're going to Disney--one just had a Mickey in costume show up!  They go all out booking their restaurants at the crack of dawn the minute they get access.  They give their kids $100 per day for souvenirs.  Some people spare absolutely no expense and stay for 10-14 days!  I'd say that it's not terrible to go big if this is a one-time thing, but for a lot of these people it's an annual or even more frequent thing.  I can't imagine what job they have that makes it possible, but I guess good for them?  It all just blows my mind--and this coming from someone who's usually really into planning and maximizing a trip.  These people are fanatical.  At least there are the cost-conscious ones who buy Disney trinkets, activities, and outfits ahead from the dollar store or wherever they can find them cheap, so they can have ready-made souvenirs for their kids upon arrival or throughout the trip, which saves them some money on the trinkets their kids are inevitably going to ask for later. I can respect that, but again, thank goodness that's nothing we need!

I'm trying not to be stingy about spending money to do this trip or to prepare for it.  It's a lot, yes.  But we only have so many years to make these memories and we're a bit overdue on a good one.  We've taken a lot of budget-conscious trips over the years--some good, some not as good.  We haven't really done a big one since our last Disney trip nine years ago, so I think it's time.  I don't want to be stupid with our money, of course, but I'm trying not to nickel-and-dime us any more than I need to.  We will spring for Genie+.  We will likely do a couple sit-down meals and try to be fair about snacks or any unexpected souvenir requests.  We will have the things we need to stay comfortable, even if they seem superfluous, because they're probably cheaper here than there.  I'm not going to potentially derail this once-a-decade sort of trip because of a few bucks.  I mean, I might not want to spring for the $200 Memory Maker photo package people insist is a must-do--although having family photos is tempting--but at least I'm listening to their praises of Genie+ and the MagicBands!  The way I see it, our kids will remember this trip forever (hopefully for all good reasons) and I don't want my typical frugality to get in the way of that.  In the long run, we'll miss the money way less than we'll miss the memory, you know?  It's not going to be easy, but I'm trying!

I'm a little nervous that all of this overthinking is going to invade my dreams and distract me endlessly in the weeks ahead.  And I'm really nervous I'm going to screw it up anyway.  I keep thinking about how that one crappy hotel and one day's hesitation on buying Legoland tickets completely screwed over what could have been a great vacation last year.  I do not want a repeat because Jacob in particular might never let me forget it, especially because this vacation has been years in the making and expectations are high.  Letting him down would be awful--and potentially expensive if he insists we have to do it again to rectify things.  In fact, just as I was typing this and showed him a funny picture from the New Jersey trip, he said (maybe only half jokingly), "That trip sucked", and then said something like, "Good thing the person who planned that one isn't doing our Disney trip!"  Haha, very funny.  Ugh.  No pressure or anything.  

Anyway, I know from experience that these memories will be something my kids will carry with them forever, so I really hope we can make it good.  How do I know that?  Because I have Disney memories I've carried with me since I was three.  Stay tuned, I'm going to dig into some classics soon!  Regardless, this all feels like one big, life-changing puzzle and I have a lot of solving to do in the next 20 days!

News & Notes, Annual August Panic Edition

How is it August already?  I know we're only technically about halfway through summer vacation, but it definitely feels like summer is slipping away.  I thought Carter was going to cry the other day when I told him it was August 1st.  I feel ya, buddy.  

I can't really say how we're doing on the usual bucket list of stuff I start panicking about this time of year.  We've gone mini-golfing, done the drive-in, had a beach day (more on that below), and Carter and I have already done a lot of playgrounds and one amusement park.  One reunion is done and another is coming.  I feel like we've generally done OK with summery stuff, but then again, maybe not--I'm not even sure what qualifies anymore since COVID got us out of our habits a bit, and the kids' interests have evolved anyway as they've grown over that time.  Now I get to worry about what I'm not even realizing we should be doing, what we might permanently be missing out on, let alone what we know we need to accomplish.  I did want another little long weekend-type getaway for us before Disney, but that seems less possible these days with what we've already got going on.  Carter still desperately wants to go back to Darien Lake, so I need to work on that.  We were hoping to go as a family but Jacob is pretty adamant about not going--even though I think he'd enjoy the waterpark a lot and could find enough other stuff to do in the park.  I recently decided it might be safer to keep Carter out of his last week of camp to avoid COVID pre-Disney, which would mean he'd miss the big Seabreeze field trip.  He said he wouldn't mind that so much if we made it to Darien Lake.  I officially unenrolled him today, so I need to figure that out ASAP.  I probably need to do a full-family check-in and see what else everyone wants to do before we run out of time.

Jacob is at UR basketball camp this week, which is a nice change of pace to have a quiet house again.  He usually gets some good feedback from his week there, and I like the thought of him having time with actual college basketball players.  Hopefully he represents himself well and catches a few eyes.  Carter is eagerly awaiting next week at his camp when his buddy Elias is there again.  He seems to mostly be enjoying his time there, even if there are times he complains.  But I appreciate him getting some social time, going on field trips, and generally having some organized activities after two summers of nothing but screens and nagging.  I'm still not happy with his entertainment choices at home as I look at all the toys that sit unplayed with, but at least he is now making more of an effort to catch up on his summer school work.  Craig is off to California Thursday through Saturday for his college lacrosse league's championship weekend.  It'll make for an interesting end of the week, for sure--getting one kid out of the house has been a challenge so two is going to be more than I feel mentally prepared for.  Apparently my brain and my body decided they need to take the summer off, so mornings have been tough.  I've successfully gone into the office twice per week for the last three weeks, but I can't say I've been on time every day.  How did I do this five days per week for 20 years?

I don't know what has happened to me in recent weeks.  I'm struggling with a ton of indecision and presumably some sort of anxiety.  I can't seem to plan dinners ahead to save my life, and the Disney stuff and all of the other things I'm putting off are just exhausting to me.  I'm not quite sure what happened, although Craig's busy schedule and Carter's busier soccer schedule in July did disrupt family dinners quite a bit and likely got me out of my groove there.  I don't know where the anxiety about things like Disney, Jacob's uniforms, renting Carter's instrument for the fall, or any of that has come from.  I've never been great with that stuff but it's been exceptionally hard to wrap my brain around those types of things lately.  Add in that so many things need to be done early because we lose our last week of break for vacation, and I'm really feeling under the gun.  I'm trying to knock things off the list or at least take the next step, one thing at a time as I have a moment of strength and motivation, but it seems like everything takes time or has interim steps I wasn't expecting.

I suppose I'll get into the Disney stuff in a separate post, but suffice it to say its been so much more to process since we went nine years ago, and I'm still not sure how to work through everything in the next four weeks.  

In the meantime, we're doing what we can to enjoy our summer.  A few weeks ago I randomly found myself describing a Choco Taco to Carter.  I fell in love with them when I worked at Taco Bell and we sold them at the time.  Carter said he wanted to try one.  I knew that the one gas station chain near us sells them, and I actually almost got one the night we went there for ice cream after Carter's soccer team won.  However, I had already snacked on Jacob's nachos that night (he bought them and then realized halfway through the long walk back from the stand that the chips were different and he didn't know if they had gluten.  I couldn't let them go to waste!), so I passed.  But I figured I owed myself a Choco Taco one of these days.  Not long after, it was announced they were getting discontinued.  I panicked a little and decided one day I had to stop at the gas station and pick up a few so Carter could try one before I could no longer keep my promise!  Unsurprisingly, he loved it!

It wouldn't be a summer post without one of my flowers.  I don't love this type of zinnia compared to the normal ones, but this one was actually a nice change of pace when it popped out!

As I mentioned, we finally had a beach day.  Beach days can be hectic and hot so I probably don't make them a priority, but I loved our day in New Jersey last year and I was definitely looking forward to my family reunion when I knew we'd get a beach day this year.  The reunion has been at Camp Pioneer since my dad was a kid, and between the pandemic and financial problems of the camp ownership, we had two years where the reunion wasn't held there.  The camp closed for a bit but thankfully a group organized to buy it and bring it back.  They've done a great job, and it felt so good to be back!  Carter and I went alone because Jacob had some basketball stuff that day.  We were hoping to catch church there, but strangely there wasn't any, so we just tracked down my family and waited for everything to begin.  Interestingly, just as things were getting going, Craig and Jacob showed up!  They decided to skip the basketball stuff and come--for a few reasons--which I wish they would have decided earlier so we could take one vehicle, but it worked out because they left earlier to go visit his dad, who's finally home from the hospital.

As for the reunion, I have taken over the family tree maintenance.  It was built so well for me with a family tree database program, and my uncle felt I would be the perfect person to be the keeper.  I mostly just get people's changes that they write on the printed version at the event (or if they want to email them) and make the changes for next year.  I may need to get more involved with a few other elements, as well.  My cousin is ready to give up leadership of it, and while I'm not the person to make the calls to arrange things (see bad adulting above), I don't mind helping out with things like the email list or the Facebook page we want to start (with the help of a distant cousin-in-law who has experience in that realm).  I'd like to see the reunion survive, even if it seems to get smaller every year.  It's a tough sell as the younger generations have less connection.  But being at the beach helps draw some of us in!

Happily, the beach was so much better than it was last time we were there, when lake levels were abnormally high throughout the Great Lakes (and on the St. Lawrence in the Thousand Islands when we were there) and half the beach was missing.  I was so happy to see that it looked more like the beach I remembered!  Of course, the dead fish have always been a thing there, and this year was no exception!

Yup.  Gross.

When we got down to the beach after lunch and the family meeting, we got to see a bald eagle sitting high above the beach.  Interestingly, later on that day, a turkey vulture took over the spot.  Must be a great perch!

As usual, it was a hot but fun day.  It was so nice to be back there, almost surreal because I was worried I'd never be in this spot again. 

Carter got right to playing in the sand.  He was trying to build a pool that wouldn't leak when water was poured into it.  Obviously it would still soak in, but he just liked to see water dumped in and not escape.

It was a slightly cloudy but still pleasant day!  I got a bit of a sunburn on my back because the clouds gave me a false sense of security and I neglected to sunscreen my back.  My shoulders have gotten burned a few times this year so I was definitely being careful with them.  They came out unscathed, thankfully.  But what would a visit here be without some sort of sunburn?  A couple of my worst ones came from here--once when I was a camper and fell asleep (which made many activities for the rest of the week extra challenging), and once when I got my first bikini.  I always aimed to get a tan at the reunion so I didn't use much sunscreen, and my white, virgin cleavage that the bikini showed off saw the sun for the first time ever.  That one blistered...ouch!

The beach is full of rocks, which gave Carter's pool floor a good base.  I took a couple walks to collect rocks for my flower bed.  I tried to stand up flat ones from camp years ago to edge my flower bed, and those fell flat (literally) so I'm trying with slightly rounder, thicker ones this year.  They're still not big but we'll see if they do what I want.  Believe it or not we're actually going back in a couple weeks (!) so I'll have another chance if I figure out I need more or something else will work better.  Maybe eventually I can build a full wall, adding a dozen or two rocks each year!

Carter worked hard on his creation and we spent hours going back and forth to the water with buckets,  dumping, testing, fixing and fortifying.  We have "wall" sand molds and kept adding more in addition to the rocks.

The beach is still the rocky mess it's always been, but we had good water shoes and did just fine.  I was interested to see if the beach glass supply had replenished at all since the beach had been mostly deserted for the last year and a half (in comparison to years prior anyway--I'm sure there were still walking neighbors).  My mom and I strolled for a bit and I was constantly moving piles of rocks and shells like the photo below to try to uncover glass.  I did end up finding around 8-10 mostly very small pieces, which still felt like a victory since the last time I was there I think one was all I could muster! I even found a super tiny blue one!  Moving the rocks was actually pretty relaxing and almost like a hand massage, oddly.  In the past the shells have been mostly from zebra mussels, which look like little clams, but we found a bunch of tiny spiral shells this time.  I found something on the internet about someone who found shells like that elsewhere on Lake Erie, and they linked them to a type of snail.  Interesting I've never really noticed them before.

We stayed on that beach for hours!  I really didn't want to leave because it was so relaxing and it was a beautiful day. 

The water was pretty nice!  Warm enough and very calm!  Waves were always fun as a kid but it was nice to walk out and not worry about getting knocked over!

This giant rock looked a bit like a turtle hanging out on the shore!

Eventually Carter was pretty happy with the performance of his pool--no leaks and it even took a while to soak in.

I dragged him down the beach on a quick stroll with my aunt because I wanted him to see this crazy rock.  Look at that big round rock exposed among the shale!

The erosion along the Great Lakes has been a big deal for years, but it really seemed to accelerate in 2019 when the lake levels were high.  My aunt noticed a cavity in the rock wall she'd never noticed before, and then we started noticing some at-risk trees.

I wish some of my past years' beach pictures had caught that area to see if there was obvious progress, but no luck!

Eventually we needed to pack up and go.  Not only was it dinner time, but we were among the last few people left and I needed to grab our leftover potluck dishes, the family tree, and the rest of our stuff up in Hickman Hall where lunch had been.  We changed, loaded up, said goodbye to the last few relatives, and headed out.

As I mentioned, we'll be back in less than two weeks!  My family reunion that used to be in East Aurora needed a new home since the former hostess moved, and she decided Pioneer would be a good fit.  Many of the older generation siblings/cousins (including my parents) will be spending the weekend in cabins there.  Should be interesting to hear how that goes!  Hopefully the weather cooperates again and we can enjoy another lovely beach day and some extra family time!

Anyway, summer is going quickly and I feel like we still have more to accomplish before Disney takes over.  My August panic this year is multi-faceted--figuring out what we still need to accomplish for a successful summer, getting to all the boring grown-up stuff I need to do ASAP, and trying to figure out what we need to plan for Disney.  It's a lot, but hopefully it will all be worth it!