Happy Wednesday! It’s time for our weekly check in! I hope you’re all doing well and staying warm. There is a big chill sweeping across the country, and believe it or not, Florida is getting hit too. We had a frost advisory out this morning, temps in the 30’s, and that’s cold for Florida. Granted, we’re not as bad as other parts of the country, but people down here don’t do well with chilly temps. I think we have an advantage because we’re used to being cold, coming from Michigan and all. That being said, besides being cold, lets talk about what else is going on in our household!
The boys had a long weekend this past weekend, in observance of Martin Luther King day, so we had two extra days with them which was nice. We’ve had a rough start to 2016, grown up problems as I tell the kids, and I wanted to get them out of the house and leave the worries behind for a bit. Since our trip to the Magic Kingdom got rained out the previous weekend, I thought we’d try it again. Friday afternoon, we headed over to the MK for some much needed fun. It was a bit chilly, but I have to say, it was darn near perfect. The crowds were the lowest that I’ve seen in months, there was hardly any wait time for rides, and we got excellent viewing spots for the parade and fireworks.
Even though we had a wonderful time at the park, and we got to ride some of our favorites more than once, etc….. I have to tell you what the best part of the evening was. Unplugging and enjoying family time, and REALLY paying attention. I kept my phone in my pocket most of the time, and just wanted to have fun with my family. The kids must have needed that too, because to my amazement, they were really into it, just like when we used to vacation here. Waving at characters, oohing and ahhing at the fireworks, showing excitement for what we were doing…. it was, well, magical. I even cried at Wishes, with a kid on each side of me, watching and not taking pics. No work, just fun. Overall it was a win-win!
Saturday we headed to the Dark Side, aka Universal Studios. As much of a Disney family as we are, the husband and kiddos really love Universal too. I’m not sure what happened but man oh man, it was packed that day. We walked around for hours and didn’t go on a single ride! The lines for everything were just insane, even for little things and food booths. So, while crowds were low on Friday at Disney, Saturday was quite the opposite in that regard. Can’t win em all I suppose! Sunday was a down day, and Monday we went to Animal Kingdom for a few hours. In all the years of us going to WDW, I have never taken the kids back to Rafiki’s Planet Watch! Imagine that! I’ve gone while they were in school, to get pics and such, but they weren’t ever with me, and I needed to change that. I think Rafiki’s is a hidden gem at Animal Kingdom. Getting to see live creatures inside, in addition to the petting area outside, it’s just a great time. They loved it, and want to go back again when it’s less crowded. I fully agree!
On a personal note, 2016 is really off to an unusual start. 2015 was a fabulous year, but we’re starting off on a rocky road thus far this year. Granted it’s only a few weeks in, but still. That’s the nature of the business though, especially when you relocate and uproot from your comfort zone, there are always ups and downs. Life is funny like that. Oh and, my gosh, what’s with all these celebrities (David Bowie, Alan Rickman, etc) passing away so far this year? How depressing. When we were at Animal Kingdom, we saw that Glenn Frey from the Eagles had died. This one hit me a little harder, because he was from my home state, and when I was little, we listened to him a lot. My dad was always in a band when I was small, and we had our daddy/daughter days, sitting in the basement going through all his record albums (yes, vinyl, I’m old) and just listening to music together. He shared his love of music with me, so when I hear certain musicians I always think of my Dad. Billy Joel, Boston, the Eagles….. sigh, memories. So, hearing of Glenn’s passing made me somehow miss home even more. I know it sounds odd, but you know me, I tell you guys everything whether it sounds silly or not, that’s why I love our Wednesday talks. It’s just a very surreal 2016 so far, but I have to have hope that things will look up, being that it’s very early yet. Faith, trust and pixie dust, right?
Well my friends, that’s it for this week. What will the next 7 days hold for us till we talk again? No clue, and I can’t even venture to guess. I am however, glad that we get to do this each week, and I hope you enjoy it too. So with that, as always I thank you for reading our weekly updates, for the lovely comments you leave me on Facebook, and for just being there. Sending you lots of hugs, blessings and true Disney magic! Until then, see ya real soon! ~M
Michele also contributes theme park news for Fox 35 Orlando 11pm news and on the radio on WDBO.
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