2012: Boca Raton, Florida

Several days earlier I was digging my van out of snow. Today, I was eating breakfast at the pool, enjoying an 85 degree day

In the early 1990's I hired a guy to work for me and we quickly became friends. We worked together for 16 years through various organizations. Then, in January 2007 he decided to move to Boca Raton. In the book Marley and Me, the main character lives in Boca Raton. One day his boss makes him go on vacation. In the book the author asks "When you live in paradise, where do you go on vacation?"

We spent the day touring paradise with the friend I haven't seen in 6 years, then had dinner. We walked on a pier, hit a bar, and then took a driving tour past all the mansions. He told stories of how he fishes along the shore and all the strange creatures he has hooked over the years. As a result he refuses to go into the water more than ankle deep because he knows what is swimming out there!

Oddly, a year after visiting these beaches? There were video of schools if sharks swimming along the beach and around swimmers. I guess he was right! Ankle deep is deep enough for me now.

Long after this trip was over I still remembered eating breakfast outside at the pool in the middle of winter!

House Sitter

This year's trip to Florida will be 37 days (5 days traveling, 32 enjoying Disney and the surrounding area). That is a long time to leave our house! Leaving a house for any period of time requires a plan: house sitting, pets, lawn, and plants.

My college aged daughter wants to stay home again this year. She wants to spend the summer with her friends and making money. She will house sit and take care of the pets.

My parents live close. My Dad is in retirement and loves taking care of the lawn (any excuse to get is riding lawn mower out). My mother will keep an eye on my daughter to make sure parties are kept to a minimal.

For last year's trip I found a great deal on wireless security cameras and placed them inside and outside the house at various locations. The cameras are great because in addition to recording they alert our cell phones and send us pictures when they detect motion.

We have 55 feet of flower beds that require a lot of work. More work than my daughter really has an appreciation for. So this year I am trying to install a watering system. I purchased a hose that acts like a sprinkler and ran it through the flowers, connected to an automated timer. What I learned is the sprinkler isn't sprinkling all the flowers. This weekend I will add a soaker hose to the gardens.

Long trips need a plan. Our plan is in place!

Florida Real Estate

Our plan is to move to Florida someday. I would go tomorrow if I could, but there are many factors that place our move years into the future.

In 2013 we toured several communities to get an understanding of the area. It is very difficult to look at houses on the Internet without the perspective of knowing the towns, cities, and areas. Driving through the neighborhoods was very educational. For example, in Alta Monte Springs the poor neighborhoods are mixed in with the better neighborhoods so you really have to look at the surrounding area.

When we toured in 2013 we used an Internet real estate site and a map. It wasn't very effective. Many of the houses we wanted to see sat behind gated communities. We did attend one open house near the house we were renting and had the best experience.

For this year, I contacted the real estate agent we have been working with. Because our purchase is so far away I don't want to waste her time. Instead, I just asked her for a list of open houses. Our hope is that we can just tour open houses this year to help us understand out options.

The odd thing we keep coming back to? We really like the neighborhood we are renting in (Indian Creek). Perhaps the answer will be the west gate area of Kissimmee?

Space Bags

We go shopping before every Disney trip. The kids always outgrow their summer clothes and we need to load up on bathing suites, shorts, tank tops, flip flops, and sun screen.

We have invented a unique way to pack. Packing for 37 days ( even with access to a washer) requires taking a lot of items. Our minivan is stuffed full. Our answer is to pack everything that we can into space bags. Space bags are bags that allow you to suck out the air using a vacuum cleaner. Some items, like clothes, compact into incredibly small blocks. The space bags are water proof, bug proof, and stack easily. Since we are renting a house and the houses always have vacuums, we are assured we will be able to deflate the bags for the trip home.

Our shopping is finished and we have a good stock of space bags. With only around 4 weeks left before we leave we are getting very excited!

Running Program

Here are some of my times as I prepare for Disney. I'm not breaking any records here, just trying for a goal of 5 miles in 12 minute miles so that I can run every morning while at Disney. In addition to running, I spend an hour on an elliptical every day to help prepare. Here are some of my times:

4/8 12.2 mm/2.5 miles
4/13 12.3mm/2.5 miles
4/15 11.9mm/ 2.5 miles
4/23 11.85mm/3 miles
4/29 11/6mm/3 miles
5/1 11.6mm/3 miles
5/8 11.3mm/3/5 miles
5/13 11.3mm/3.5 miles
5/14 9.3mm/4 miles
5/21 11.3mm/ 5.3 miles
5/25 11.2mm/5.35 miles

2013: Fork and Screen

After work yesterday, we headed into Down Town Disney to experience AMC's Fork and Screen. This is where you watch a movie and eat dinner at the same time!

All the movies were sold out except for Disney's Lone Ranger. The Lone Ranger is Disney's latest flop staring Johnny Depp. They attempted to recreate the Pirate of the Caribbean franchise. But instead they created a $200M loss. No one cares about westerns anymore. No one knows the actor who played The Lone Ranger. No one remembers the Lone Ranger. And they went for a younger audience but made the movie unnecessarily PG13. They put too much crap into the movie that took away from the story. Mix that with a story that was suffering from ADHD, and you produce a very expensive flop - on the magnitude of John Carter.

The dining experience was nice. The chairs are similar to a lazy boy that reclines back allowing one to rest their legs on bars that run under the table. When it is time to eat, however, it becomes a challenge to sit on the edge of the seat so you can lean on the bar like table. The tables are dimly lit and it is nearly impossible to see anything. When you need the waitress, you press a button and wait, and wait, and forget she is coming and get back into the movie and then WHAM there she is. She gives you a quick 15 seconds to explain what you need before running away.

There is a challenge with eating in the dark. It didn't know it until I put it in my mouth that my Macaroni and Cheese was covered in Ritz crackers. All I could do is sink my fork into the darkness of my bowl and hope I stabbed something I wouldn't regret putting into my mouth. My son, who was dipping his French fries, kept accidentally dipping into the mustard!

The ticket prices were expensive, but not unreasonable (as movie tickets go these days) - $11 for a non 3d movie. As everyone knows by the popcorn and candy prices, eating at a movie is very expensive. And eating dinner is outrageous. My wife and I had Macaroni and Cheese (with chicken and bacon). One son had a burger and Another had a grilled cheese. We split deserts. With tax and tip it came to nearly $100 (not including the movie ticket).

Would I do it again? Probably not. I thought the idea of dining while watching a movie was a great idea. But now that I have experienced it? I think that eating a big bucket of popcorn is better than trying to eat a dinner, and would be a lot cheaper.

2012: Broken Toe

Some of my favorite times on vacation are when I go to the gym, walk around the hotel's neighborhood, or take long hikes up and down the beach. All those things, I have determined, are difficult to do when you have a broken toe. It would be nice if I could say I broke it during a wild volleyball game or jumping off the pier. No. I walked into a chair. But it was a very large stealthy chair.

There is nothing you can do for a broken toe other than take aspirin and drink heavily - both of which I have done in excess.

Today was beach, bikinis, hula dancers, and margaritas. I'm not looking forward to trading this for a snow shovel next week.

2012: Fire Alarm

While Our home town is measuring snow in feet, temperatures are in the low 70's today in Ft Lauderdale.

Our hotel in Boca Raton might have been the best. Our first group of friends we were traveling with went to Cape Canaveral and stayed in a creepy hotel out of a 60's horror movie, but they made the best of it by watching Star Trek on their laptop. Our second group of friends stayed at the Swan at Disney but arrived late and their reserved room was gone. They were given a room that didn't fit their family. After settling in, the fire alarm went off at midnight and they had to evacuate. The next morning they had to fight for refunds at Swan and for a better room. Considering the experiences of our travel mates, we did OK.

Yesterday we needed some groceries so I pulled into a store named "The bazaar" near Boca Raton. We walked in and my daughter immediately said "this place smells like a combination of **** and cinnamon". It was some kind of ethnic store with raw meet laying out. It was scary so we immediately left.

Today we toured the Ft Lauderdale area before checking into the hotel - a large room with two bedrooms, living room, and kitchen!

Ft Lauderdale is like on a different planet. It is so very different from anything I am used to in the north. It is completely beach focused - from people riding bicycles with surf boards strapped to their back, expensive restaurants with patrons in their beach attire, yachts, ferrari's, porches, and lines of beach front condos towering into the sky and stretching down the beach mile after mile.

The plan for tomorrow is do do absolutely nothing. It sounds like a perfect plan, what could go wrong?

Health Check In

A Disney Vacation can be physically challenging. The time invested in getting in shape will pay back with a great trip.

 

It is time for a health check in. To prepare for the 2014 trip I wanted to drop some weight and be able to run 5 miles in under an hour. I am 8 pounds below my goal weight. Weight loss has slowed to about half a pound per week. I have also reached my running goal! Here is my running log additions:

4/08 - 12.2mm / 2.45 miles / Treadmill
4/13 - 12.3mm / 2.43 miles / Treadmill
4/15 - 11.9mm / 2.52 miles / Treadmill
4/23 - 11.8mm / 2.95 miles / Treadmill
4/29 - 11.7mm / 3.01 miles / Treadmill
5/01 - 11.6mm / 3.01 miles / Treadmill
5/08 - 11.3mm / 3.46 miles / Treadmill
5/13 - 11.3mm / 3.52 miles / Treadmill
5/14 - 12.1mm / 4.05 miles / Outside
5/21 - 11.3mm / 5.28 miles / Outside

2013: Hollywood Studios

Disney's Hollywood Studios will forever be known as "MGM" to me, because, that is how it was originally named. I'm not going to necessarily change my thinking to match Disney marketing. It is MGM Studios.

Under a gray sky, we headed to MGM studios for the day. It was an odd kind of a day in that it would often rain, prompting us to dig the rain ponchos out of the backpacks. As soon as we put on the ponchos, it would stop raining. We would take the ponchos off, carefully fold and pack them away. And then it would rain again. We played this game all day - taking the ponchos out of the backpacks, and putting them back in. It was as if we were on a movie set and someone was playing a prank on us. After several hours of this game, we gave up. And decided to just get wet.

It is just as well that we stopped using the ponchos. People who know me know I like to pinch a penny. These rain ponchos are easily 13 years old and have never been cleaned. They get used once every couple of years, dried off, and then packed away. They smell. To say they were fowl would be an improvement to their actual smell. Removing them does not remove the smell from one's body. So, each time I must go to the restroom and wash my hands. Washing one's hands at Disney is impossible. Even though Florida is surrounded on three sides by water and dotted by hundreds of lakes, they must conserve water. When washing your hands, the automatic sinks disperse just one ounce of water in a spray. I know it is one ounce because I measured it in my water bottle. I can do a better job washing my hands by spitting on them. Which is what I often reverted to doing.

We devised a cleaver plan to avoid using ponchos every time it rained. When it rained, we would jump into the nearest store because all the stores on the street were interconnected. We would pass through from one store to the next until we reached the end of the street. Run across the street. Then into the next store.

The problem with this plan is that others would run to store too, take one step inside, and then stop - blocking the doorway from anyone else who would like to enter. They would gather their party together "It is really raining out there";. Well, no kidding! I'm still standing in it. Can you please move into the store? Others liked to stand in the doorway and watch people running up and down the street in the rain. I'm sure it was a great pastime activity, maybe they were watching for Brazilian blonds, I don't know, but please don't block the door while you are watching! There was one teen who was eating her ice cream in the middle of the door way. She was easily 1/3 my weight and I'm running through the rain charging right at her, thundering with each footfall. She didn't even flinch as I barreled past. Are you nuts? If I had hit her, I would have knocked her clear into the next store!

Lunch at the Scifi Drive in was perfect. Other than Mike dropping his toasted cheese on the floor and then trying to pick it up so he can eat it, and the outrageous price ($9 for onion rings?), we love the SciFi Drive in.

We went to the Indiana Jones Stunt Show. Unfortunately, it had been raining and the set was wet so they need an abbreviated show. To make it worse, the show had some bugs in it. No, I mean, really, there were bugs. Insects. I was watching the show when I noticed a lady near me squealing, jumping around, and smacking herself. I thought, perhaps, it was a medical condition. Until I saw the person next to her do the same thing. And very quickly, that entire section was on their feet, stomping their feet, squealing, and slapping themselves. I could see all these green beetles on the floor scurrying all around their bags and belongings. I became concerned... For myself. I picked up my bag and slid away from the group. They grabbed their belongings and ran out of the theater. I thought - geez, that was really gross! But I didn't bother to say anything when another couple saw the open seats and came to sit down in the bug infested row.

Just so you don't think I am a horrible person for not mentioning anything about the bugs, let me explain what Disney is like in July. At Disney, English speaking natives are a minority. I don't know why, but Spanish is the natural language in the land of Disney. Perhaps it is winter in South America so many visit Florida (we have seen huge tour groups from all around Latin America). Or perhaps the weak US dollar is encouraging travel. Whatever the case may be, chances are? If I said there were bugs on their bench, they wouldn't know what I was saying anyways. In this land of babble, it is easier (and more enjoyable) to just to sit back and watch the show of another group get attacked by green beetles. I have seen India Jones a hundred times (big secret - the guy who stands on one leg? Is the paid actor). But this is the first time I have seen The Attack Of The Green Beetles.

I suppose the beetles might be attacking as revenge for all the roaches we are killing back at the house. By the way, eleven dead insects versus 0 dead humans - we are winning! I read that there are more bugs in a square mile of dirt (not a cube, a square) than the entire population of humans. Each human would have to kill 100 million bugs for us to win the Star Troopers war! With this obvious problem, I don't understand why there is human starvation in the world.

We road on Star Tours. Or, as I call it, the vomit comet with pilot Lou-Up Chuck. The ride isn't as bad as it used to be. When it first opened, you were almost guaranteed someone was going to pass up their lunch on the ride. Usually that someone was me. They redesigned the ride and now it is much better. You have a one in four chance of seeing someone puke.

After a fun day in the park, we road the tram back to our car. We walked with a crowd from the tram to our cars. In the crowd was a man and woman in their late forties. The man suddenly stops, pauses, and rips the loudest sloppiest fart I have ever heard. And then his wife pauses and rips and even louder fart. That is love! A couple that farts together stays together. After the momentary pause, they continued to their car unaffected, while those of us down wind held our breaths until we were blue in the face.

It really isn't this couple's fault. I give them no bad will. The bathrooms are so bad at Disney, I too have considered crapping myself to avoid using them. The toilet paper is the worse in the world. I can only imagine the execs at Disney sitting around the table at a meeting saying "We need to cut down on our costs, what can we do?" and someone says "I have designed a way to make the TP even thinner." And the leader says "That is great news! How do we make our TP even thinner?" and the executive says "We weave sand paper grit into the TP fibers." And the leader says "That is an awesome idea. Lets put it into production right away." The execs pat each other on the back and collect a big bonus check at the end of the quarter. They should invite me into the meeting. I can tell them what to do! Disney is the chief of marketing all kinds of things: Mickey watches, and shirts, and pins and pens - they have everything! How about Disney Depends undergarments? You are standing in that long two hour line and you don't want to lose your place? Just let it go! And maybe there is a computer chip with Mickey's voice that says "Way to go!". That couple walking in front of us in the parking lot could really have used some Disney Depends. And think of the money Disney could save by shutting down all the bathrooms. This could be the single best idea Disney had had since bring back Michael Jack's Captain Eo.

We had a nice day at MGM. I hope the weather improves because we are in Florida to see the sun shine!

New Shoes For Disney

Take a look at your shoes. A Disney vacation usually requires walking for miles every day. Occasionally I will see a woman touring Disney in should built for style, not function, and can only imagine how crippled her feet will be with blisters by the end of the day.

Do you have a good pair of walking shoes? If you are in need of some new shoes, you should get the shoes in time to break them in before your vacation. Failure to wear good shoes to Disney will result in sore feet and blisters. Don't let that happen to you!

2013: Epcot

The day started with Breakfast at Ohana. This is an all you an gorge yourself meal until you pass out and enter a food coma broken up by character visits. We saw Mickey, stitch, lelo, Pluto and that goofy waiter. The food was good. But then again, it is difficult to screw up scrambled eggs.

Afterwards we headed to Epcot. The journeys into the park are a physical challenge. Not just because it is hot. And not just because we tend to walk for ten hours. But also because I am the family pack mule carrying almost everything anyone might want in my back pack. This includes heavy batteries for cameras and ten water bottles! Of course I encourage proper hydration (only so I can lighten my load). Drink up everyone!

In National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Clark cuts down the neighbor's pine tree and drags it into his living room for a Christmas tree. What Clark didn't know was the tree was home to a squirrel who pounced on Clark.

When I saw that scene in the movie I thought it was ridiculous. But I was reminded of it as we watched one of the many squirrels at Epcot. As we watched, a second squirrel out of no where pounced on the first and a wild chase started. It was fun to watch until the chase lead the squirrels running around my feet! I broke out dancing right there in Epcot as I tried to get away without stepping on one! Could you imagine what the mob would have done to me if I had stomped a squirrel at Disney?

Epcot has an aquarium that has been remodeled after the Finding Nemo movie. Mike loved the aquarium. It wasn't long before he wondered off. Finding Nemo turned into Finding Mike as we searched the place for him. We found him on the second floor trying to take a picture of a shark. Every time he took a picture the camera would flash and reflect against the glass. Undaunted, he kept taking the pictures and couldn't understand why none were coming out.

We walked around the world showcase and visited various countries, dodging in and out of air conditioning. We rode on Malestorm, which is a wild boat ride where angry trolls send your boat down a waterfall. We boarded the Malestorm boat, took off, rounded the first curve and the ride broke down. That should have been our first sign that we were in trouble! The ride started up again and when we hit the waterfall area, the ride broke us down a second time leaving us suspended over the falls! Norweigens are known for building boats but obviously not for building rides. We are suspended over the falls when a voice comes on "We are experiencing technical difficulties. Please remain seated". Technical difficulties? Does that mean the safety devices that pervent our boat from flipping over the falls are disabled? And remain seated? I was concerned that if I moved a muscle I might throw the boat off balance and send us hurdeling down the falls! The voice came back on "Please remain seated. We will be starting the ride momentarily". The thought crossed that perhaps they didn't know we were perilously suspending at the fall's edge. "The ride is starting now" and with one great shuv, our boat fell down the falls and we landed with a terrific splash. When the ride ended, I had never been more happy to be on dry ground, I almost knelt and kissed the carpet.

We survived Malestorm and made it to the USA area of Epcot. In the USA building, they have singers who sing several historic US favorites in the lobby. We really wanted to see this so we arrived twenty minutes early to get the best seats. Finally the singers came out in 1800's costumes and lined up in the lobby to begin their songs... Lined up with their backs to us! We arrived early for this? I am sure the show would have been really good if we could have seen the singers.

At the end of the day we got into position to see the Iluminations fireworks show. This is where people stand around a lake and get upset because they cant see the fireworks show through the obstructions nor tell what the heck is on that big ball in the middle of the water. the only comfortable places to stand and watch the show just happen to be all the places cast members tell you to move away from. A cast member had told us the best spot to watch the show was near France at the back of the park. But when we arrived, it was already crowded. We took the best spot we could find, which wasn't very good. For some reason, Disney has several islands on the lake whose only purpose is to grow tall obstructing trees. We tried watching the show through these trees. Who is the moron who grew trees in the middle of the lake? An hour with a chainsaw would have solved the problem and made thousands of people happy!

After the show everyone stampedes for the gates to get out of the park. Since we were in the back of the park, we were in the back of the hurd and had the longest trek to reach the gate. All the while we had to fight the crowd to keep from getting split up. It felt like we walked five miles to get out of the park!

We arrived home, sore from walking so far, but glad we had a great day at Epcot.

Gettysburg

We always stop at Gettysburg PA on the way home from Disney. One year we stayed at the Gettysburg Hotel downtown, but I found that to be expensive, challenged with parking, not welcoming, and in need of refurbishment. All the rest of the time we stay at the Days Inn on York Street. I haven't had luck with most Days Inn, but this hotel is wonderful.

With frequent stops it will take 18 hours to drive from Kissimmee to Gettysburg. We will arrive at Gettysburg late Friday afternoon in time to enjoy dinner and a ghost walk. We will tour and hike the battlefield on Saturday.

Gettysburg has a wonderful visitor center with many things to do. On Sunday we will visit Hershey PA to see the Chocolate World attractions. Chocolate World (not the amusement park) is like a little mini Disney all themed on Hershey Chocolate. Once stuffed with chocolate, we will drive the remaining 6 hours home.

I have the Gettysburg hotel reserved! Now I just need to pick one of the ghost tours (we have our favorites) or perhaps a dinner show.

2013: Brazilian Blonds At Animal Kingdom

We woke up and I offered to make breakfast. The house we are renting has a gas stove. I haven't used a gas stove in 25 years! The oven was easy to use - just hit the button, the oven lights, and all is good.

So I put the pan on the stove and turned the knob. After checking on a few things, I returned to the disappointment that the pan was still cold. What happened? Apparently you have to turn the knob to LiGHT first. I didn't know that. Unfortunately, the kitchen was now filled with gas. So that when I turned the knob to light, I heard a loud "Woof" and found all the hairs on my arm burnt off.

Linda came out of the bedroom and said "why does the house smell like gas?"

And I just said "I don't know, maybe there is something wrong with the stove... Lets pick up breakfast on the way."

We headed to Animal Kingdom at the crack of noon. It was a beautiful warm, sunny day in Florida when we left. But as soon as we arrived at the park? Gilbert luck kicked in. Tropical Storm Chantal decided to pay a visit. At first, it was just a drizzle, which gave us enough time to jump into Pizza Safari before the skies opened and it down poured for an hour.

This week there are many tour groups from Latin America visiting. They were caught in the down pour and cracking thunder and were running in herds for shelter anywhere they could find it. Eventually the storm passed but it left most of the rides we wanted out of order.

Animal Kingdom is our least favorite park. We live in the country surrounded by wilderness: bears, foxes, coyote, beaver, otters, deer, possum, and those guys that hang out at the corner down town. Walking on trails through the woods to see an animal is too much like home. If you love the zoo? Animal kingdom is for you. But not for us.

The Lion King and Nemo shows are good. Tough to be a Bug's 3D is very old and needs to be updated. Having all the rest of our favorite rides out if order made a bad park that much worse.

Before coming to Disney, Linda finished her first Karate class. In this class she learned how to break a board with her bare hand. She just leans into the punch and crack! The board breaks in half! I feel safe going into strange places now because I know my wife can defend me.

We walked around the Animal Kingdom and everything and everyone was soaking wet from the tropical down poor. The sun was starting to come out, but there was still a cold dampness to the air. That it when it happened. A tall Brazilian blond in her late twenties came by. She had been caught in the down poor and unfortunately wore a white shirt to the park. And I guess they don't wear bras in Brazil because this had the effect of a wet t-shirt. She seemed completely comfortable with her wardrobe malfunction.

Guys are wired just a certain way. It is unavoidable. When this woman came by, even a blind man would have turned his head to look. A gay man would had gawked. And me, being a normal healthy straight guy? It was impossible to not at least notice this. It was such an oddity to see in a family oriented park. This isn't a wet T-shirt contest during spring break at Daytona Beach! This is Disney! And for her to be so oblivious to it seemed even more incredible.

Suddenly I heard a loud crack and pain shot through the entire left side of my body. Had I just been hit by lightening? Was this the last thing I would hear before seeing Jesus? No. Linda had delivered one if her board breaking karate punches into my arm. She followed it with "You look at her again and you are sleeping on the couch."

My arm! My arm was now dead and limp for the rest of the day, useless, as a reminder of my innocent transgression.

With Animal kingdom sucking worse than it normally sucks, we decided to leave and go to Down Town Disney. Unfortunately, everyone else decided this too. We parked at Down Town way out in the over flow parking lot's over flow lot. We were so far away, it would have been faster to walk the other way around the lake to get to Down Town. After an hour fighting traffic and crowds we decided the place was too packed. We walked around for a while, then gave up on any chance of doing something fun and left to find dinner.

Dinner was found at the Sizzler. We haven't been to a Sizzler since our honeymoon in 1991 when Linda upset a waiter by giving him a dirty look for seating us so far away from the buffet. The Sizzler was an interesting experience. Like Ponderosa (or, Pound of Gross Out, as we used to call it when they were still open in new York), you order a meal and eat at a buffet and take your meal home. And afterward had the additional benefit of cleaning you out gastronomically.

We returned home in desperate need to use a restroom. But the sprinklers were on again. Faced with getting wet or crapping myself, I ran through the sprinklers and became more wet in that dash than Tropical Storm Chantal had made me all day.

I woke the next day, rubbing my still sore arm. Hoping for a better day!

Dinning Off Property

Dinning is one of the most expensive parts of a Disney vacation. Quick service meals tend to be the cheapest, and by cheapest I mean usually $40-45 for the four if us. We will be cooking most of our meals in the house that we are renting. But we will have to eat out on the days we are at the park all day.

During the 2013 trip, we learned an interesting trick. Instead of fighting the quick service lines, the crowded dinning rooms, trying to find a table with four chairs, balancing our food on a tiny table while people run into you because you have to sit in the walkway, and paying the a big price for burgers and fries, we could just eat a snack that we brought and wait to eat until we left the park.

Parking lot to our rented house was never more than 15 minutes. There are all kinds of fast food on Rt 192 with cheap value menu options that could give is the reward of eating out without all of the expense! We could get more food (and sometimes better food) and save $25-30.

Occasionally we would splurge so we could have an experience, but usually we were just eating to fill our bellies - and we can fill our bellies cheaper.

Myth Of Staying On Property

Most people want to stay at a Disney resort because they want to be close to the parks. I stayed in Disney resorts across almost twenty years and I am here to dispel that belief.

I believe that if your resort is on the monorail and you are only visiting parks of the monorail? Good.

The free bus service is another story. At the resort, you wait at a bus stop. The bus is suppose to come every 15 minutes, but I have waited over 30. And sometimes the bus arrives and it is full. Or, it has standing room only. And sometimes you have to wait for the next bus.

After boarding the bus (which can take a while if scooters are boarding), you then ride around the resort to all the other bus stops. Finally, you head to your destination.

I have been on bus rides that, once I boarded, took an hour to get to the destination. In fact, I always plan at least an hour to get anywhere by bus.

The bus doesn't drop you off at the gate. Each park has bus corrals. You must walk from your bus corral to the gate.

Compare that to staying off property. My driveway to parking lot is never more than 15 minutes. Trams run continually between the parking lot and the gate. From my driveway until I walk through the Animal Kingdom gates is only 15 minutes flat.

If you think you need to stay at a Disney resort to be close to the Disney parks? Think again!

Character Breakfast

Dinning is one of the most expensive parts of a Disney Vacation. Luckily, with a house, we will be able to make most of our meals in our kitchen!

We love the character meals but they are very expensive! The breakfast is the cheapest, and by cheapest I mean over $100 for four of us (after tip). $100 would buy a lot of pancake and eggs at home!

We decided to cut expenses during this 2014 trip by cutting these sit down meals. We decided to only have one character breakfast. But which one? Tusker House? Crystal Palace? Chef Mickey? Ohana? We love them all! Our living room is filled with all the dining pictures because we always get the dinning photo. We have a picture at Chef Mickey for every year we have ever went to Disney - how could we break that tradition?

We settled on Ohana for our character breakfast. Ohana is comparatively nice and relaxing. They bring the food to you, so you don't have to deal with the buffet line and there are fewer children running around unsupervised. Chef Mickey can get very load die to the way it is designed, and always seems packed with people, but Ohana is quieter, spacious view out the window, and relaxing. Aloha cousin! I just made the ADR for July 19!

2013: Magic Kingdom

I decided to take my coffee this morning to the pool, but as I grabbed for the door I noticed something was in the pool. An alligator? Otter? No! It was the neighbor’s head bobbing up and down in the five foot area. I know, you are asking "Why would the neighbor be in your pool?" The owner of the home we rent pays the neighbor to do all the maintenance, which includes pool cleaning. He was in the pool with a long brush scrubbing the sides of the pool. I guess that if you are going to clean a pool, you might as well enjoy the pool by getting in!

An update on our Star Troopers style battle? 9 dead bugs versus 0 dead humans.

Every morning we have our work lists. There are no playing or TV watching until each person completes their list. With military precision, we move through the work list every day. I serve the role of the drill sergeant - barking out orders, keeping everyone on task, and degrading their sorry performance. Eat Breakfast. Get dressed. Fill backpacks with water...

Yesterday, we were under the constant threat of thunderstorms. Several had moved in, and there was rumbling all morning in the distance. So, we figured it would be a perfect day to go visit the Magic Kingdom.

The Magic Kingdom has several additions since we had visited in 2011. There is a Fantasy Land expansion that has opened which is excellent. I thought the Fantasy Land expansion was completed, but they are still working on the Snow White area. In Peter Pan Ride tradition, there is a little mermaid ride that takes you through most of the story. I say "Most: because they get about midway through the story, then abruptly fast forward to the end… thank you for coming… good bye. We each had a giant cinnamon roll at Gaston's. The cinnamon rolls must have been the size of bowling balls! And at Belle's castle, we were treated to an adventure where we traveled into the story book and actually met Belle.

Also new is an interactive game like Kim Possible /Agent P in Epcot (or for those familiar, it is like MagiQuest). You are sent on a mission around the Magic Kingdom to fight off a villain. Ours was to rescue the puppies from Crudela around Main Street. You have to find these hidden portals, wave your identification card, and then a hidden video screen will play a message with clues. We had fun, and it gave it an opportunity to see Main Street in a way we normally wouldn't have taken the time to see. It was fun, but time consuming. I don’t recommend playing the game unless you frequent the parks and have lots of time.

The crowds are very heavy this time of the year at Disney. Fighting our way through the crowds is made additionally difficult when combating people with double wide strollers. There are narrow channels between people who are standing in the walk way gawking, and it is difficult to get through. But then add a double-side stroller and you get people-grid-lock.

A new challenge I hadn't seen in previous years? Walking while texting. You thought it was only dangerous while driving? People are doing this in the crowded parks! It becomes very dangerous to avoid getting run into by a distracted walker. I can only imagine the rate this epidemic is spreading will lead to serious park injuries that Disney will need to address with bumper guards around fountains and attractions.

It was fairly warm as well. At first the heat didn't bother me, but as the day went on I was putting my deodorant to the test. We each entered the park with two bottles of water and quickly learned that wasn’t enough. I refilled my bottle with bathroom sink water, all the time thinking "I really hope they don’t recycle the toilet water to the sinks". It tasted like recycled toilet water. Anyone who knows me knows I like to pinch a penny, so, recycled toilet water or not, that is what I drank. To help mask the tainted flavor, I poured a lemonade flavoring packet into the bottle. That made it taste like lemonade flavored toilet water.

As we looked at others around the park, we couldn't understand why they weren't drenched with sweat like we were. I suppose we haven't adjusted from our cool northern climate. I was so drenched that I would have changed my clothes half way through the park if I had thought to bring an extra set. It wasn't like the heat and the sweat were unbarable. We would be in the heat stroking out in a bath of sweat, then enter an air conditioned ride or store and the sweat would freeze. When we returned to the heat, it took a while for the sweat to thaw, so, in that way - we were creating our own portable gross cooling systems.

We took advantage of the time between the Disney fireworks and the Disney electric parade to jump onto some rides with short lines. When the electric parade ended it was well after 11pm, so we fought the massive crowds to get back to our car. From the Disney World parking lot to our house? Was a short 12 minute drive.

Christmas 2014 Trip

We should be planning our summer trip. Instead, we are spending most of our spare time planning our Christmas 2014 trip. This is an 18 day adventure. We drive to Florida, go to Disney, then stay at Coco Beach, Ft Lauderdale, then the Keys, and finally drive home. The trip is very exciting, but this will be our first Christmas away from home. Our college-aged daughter isn't available to go with us, so, it will be our first Christmas without her. This is a peak time for Florida traveling. And so there is a lot of planning that must be done! I will share some of those plans as we put them together.

2013: Winter Garden, Florida

Last night we took a trip to Winter Garden and ate at a Mexican restaurant name Tosquitoes. There were four kids (13 to 17) who played music for tips. The food was great. The music was great.

I had heard great things about Winter Garden and wanted to check it out should we ever decide someday in the far future we might want to move there. I researched all the houses we could afford so we could see what the neighborhoods looked like. I then plotted a map for the most efficient investigation as we drove around town.

Unfortunately, we didn't see much because everything was in gated communities.

Disappointed, we decided to head back to our house. Doing so requires taking a toll road. As we approached the toll booth we had two choices: speed pass or exact change.

I slowly approached the exact change lane because I didn't know how much it cost. It said Lane Closed. I didn't want a ticket so I started backing out of the ramp. But as I saw how fast the cars were coming I realized that wasn't a safe option.

We returned to the booth. I didn't know what to do. So I started tossing quarters into the net. After ten quarters the booth still wouldn't let me pass! What was I to do? I hit the gas and floored it, squeezing out of the booth. The booth's loud klaxon alarm started firing and red lights were blinking. My hope was if I blew through the booth fast enough my license plate would be a blur on the camera and I won't get a ticket! Now, I will probably get a ticket for not paying the toll and for speeding.

That was a great welcome to Winter Garden! We couldn't tell if we might like Winter Garden because we really couldn't see the neighborhoods. And if I get a toll ticket, I won't be very happy!

Activity while driving to Florida

It takes us over 20 hours to drive to Florida. The kids are usually entertained with new video games and watching movies. My wife is the navigator, steward, and responsible for climate control. I am occupied as pilot and chief of the radio dial.

There is a new trend that you can find with a quick YouTube search. The trend is to make a video lip syncing the song from Frozen while driving.

This sounds like an interesting way to pass the time. I simply need to convince my wife - it could be a lot of fun and leave us with a lasting memory of the trip.