Florida: NASA and Cape Canaveral

Bright sunshine and clear skies greeted us this morning and it was a scorcher. Perfect! Today was the day for Cape Canaveral, NASA and a rocket launch. From Kissammee, it takes about an hour to drive direct to the Cape, but be prepared to be nickled and dimed by tolls. The toll road definitely can be tricky. It is direct but the tolls certainly slow you down. Nonetheless, the drive was over and you were marshaled into the parking lot. On arrival, be prepared for lines for tickets, including web ticket conversions into tour tickets, and lines for security, and lines for buses.

 However, once inside the Kennedy Space Center, you are directed to lockers to leave your lunches etc. and can play to your hearts content. We started with the early years of the Space Program exhibition and then got totally sidetracked by the Angry Birds exhibition. I think we spent over 45 minutes there before heading to Atlantis. This exhibition hall was incredible. Lots of inter actives engaged the children, while the adults could read and admire the displays to their hearts content. But, we had a tour booked and had to cut the visit short. The reason was I had prebooked the Launch Pad Tour. This was so worth the money. We were able to get up close and personal with Launch Pad 39A where the space shuttle used to launch from. The guide, John, was very informative and was able to inject enough humour to keep the children engaged. We saw wildlife like the bald eagle and alligators snoozing in the ditches. The landscape was lovely and the tour took us around the launching area with in depth descriptions on the whys.

We were dropped at Apollo visitor center to end the tour. Because time was short, we quickly hopped a shuttle bus back to Atlantis. Back at Atlantis, we went through the gift shop and back into the facility to try and finish. We did the space shuttle experience and felt the G's of having our faces pinned back. Awesome. Then, we explored the kitchen, bedroom and living area of the shuttle. There just wasn't enough time.

Notes to the visitor:
* Arrive when it opens. Don't wait. In fact be early.
* If you can spend two days, you really need it.
* Book a tour, as the guide will give you so much more than just going it alone.
* Pack a lunch, the food on site is expensive, especially if traveling with children.
* Beware the gift shop...there are many fabulous things that want to come home with you.

The main reason that we chose this day to visit was because there was a rocket launch scheduled for 8:40 p.m. So after closing the park down 1 hour and 10 minutes after it officially closed...again...I am surprised they let me back in with engineer (s) in tow...(I had three today but two were very time efficient on the closing time, while one was time efficient on the opening time), we wandered into Titusville for dinner.

 Dinner was at Portofino Italian Grill. This place should be remembered for amazing food, but even better service. We had a large group (16) and they were able to seat us, feed us, bill us in time for the launch at 8:40. They did it in under 90 minutes. We walked out the door and through the park to the boardwalk where we were in time to watch the launch. Which didn't happen on time. So the kids ran amok in the park and we waited. And then it happened. 90 seconds of fire, lift off and then the sound waves and the rocket curved into the night sky and disappeared. AWESOME.

I got to see a rocket launch.

Fantastic.

Cape Canaveral on Dwellable

Florida: The Magic Kingdom

Traveling with children, Disney feels like it is inevitable. So, morning broke and we scrambled together a lunch, water and drove to the park to pay our $15 parking fee. I am sure there is a way to get around that, but I was already tired and did not want to think about it. From there, we walked to the gate and wandered onto the Monorail to be transported to the most magical place on earth. That is the slogan. I would suggest that it a crazy, insane cacophony of sound and people.

On arrival, the lines were huge to get onto the Monorail. If you wanted to meet the characters, the lines were at least 45 minutes long. So, we skipped that and went to Tomorrowland to get our Fast Passes. You are only allowed three per day. Then, we rode on Buzz light year and then wandered to the Pirates of the Carribean. We watched the street dancing parade, which was OK, but blocks every route imaginable.

And the people keep pouring into the park. Fast passes are a god send, but you only get three. We still had to wait about 20 minutes with the Fast Passes. The thing to note with Disney is that they do their best to be friendly and kind but of course, you get those that are inept. We thoroughly enjoyed Pirates, the Haunted House, the Speedway, Buzzlight Year, It's a Small World and Disney's Philharmagic. However, we lost 30 minutes at the Fairies as the wait time posted was 20 minutes and they meant an hour, but worse than that was Jungle Boat where we dutifully noted the wait time of 45 minutes, did some calcuations and figured that with 90 minutes in hand we should be OK for our next fast pass. TWO hours, we waited and eventually, did not even get to go on the ride. The girls were upset and I was incensed. I hate crowds and to be trapped in a line that long without the opportunity to get out due to sheer misinformation shaped our day. Fortunately, when the fellow at Thunder Mountain heard me talking about it, he apolgized on their behalf and offered a free fast pass for that ride. I was somewhat mollified by that. As I said, the majority of the staff were great.

We also had a Royal Dinner with the princesses in the castle. This was worth the time and energy. The food was magificent and the girls got to be up close and personal with the princesses which made their day. After dinner, we slipped down the ramp to watch the fireworks. Next time, we will watch from behind the castle, they would be better. And heaven help you if you have a toddler that needs restrooms, it took me 30 minutes to negotiate four girls to bathrooms through the fireworks crowd. Disney staff contientously had every logical route blocked off for public safety. That is more important than a direct route to public washrooms. I have a lot of pithy comments to make about that but perhaps I shouldn't. And perhaps the staff should know the park well enough to be able to clearly communicate the best route to find restrooms instead of just saying ma'am you can't go that way, or maam you have to go back. (Visualize a 6 year old barely holding it and being asked to walk 20 minutes back the other way). These staff were just doing their job. I just think their job should be more reasonable in nature.

In the end, I enjoy Disney in part. I hate it in parts too. It is not my favorite place and it is not magical. It is an exercise in patience and a struggle to keep the children entertained in the endless lines. I think that we will try Epcot, or somewhere not so magical. I think we will have to go back, but I really don't want to. Is that wrong?

Disney / Orlando on Dwellable

Grateful for the Little Things

Having just spent the past ten days travelling in the proverbial planes, trains and automobiles, I have decided to take a moment to step back and reflect on the small things. People are asking how the trip to Disney World was. What was the best part? Did I have fun? Did I relax?

As you know, no trip is ever perfect and there are those stories that will make me wonder and reflect on the wisdom shown  by those in the tourism and travel industry. Those are the details like the hotel losing the reservation, no seats on an aircraft due to overbooking even though those seats were purchased last June, the blustering winds that chilled the bone in Florida, and the endless lines of Disney. I remember thinking that I was so tired of people complaining. Doesn't it sound like that is what I am about to do? I think not.

The above is just background information to say that I am grateful to those that understand their jobs and know how to make people happier by going the extra mile. We had the hotel clerk that allowed the girls to bounce off furniture while he checked us into a deluxe room for half the price. There was the delightful lady at Epcot who noticed that I was distressed as I was not to be permitted my rolling wheeled bag and so gave me a voucher to take to get a backpack from the gift shop. That moment alone made the day special and much less stressful. The airline clerk that went the extra mile to ensure that we did get on the aircraft, even though it was not her station or her responsibility. The people that we met in the lines were funny, caring and from all over. We now share memories.

There are more moments and memories to be had. The cold breeze chilled everyone at NASA so we did not have to contend with long lines. The dinner at Port St. John was downhome delicious and the best chocolate cake ever! People are more friendly when they are sharing your warm patch. Meeting all the Disney characters and seeing the children's faces light up when they got to meet their favorites. The thrill of thunder mountain, soarin' at Epcot and safari at Animal Kingdom. We dined well and watched amazing fireworks and parades. I think that we had a great trip.

The best part? The girls wishes and dreams were not disappointed. They saw Daisy and Cinderella. They left out the magic key for Santa Claus and he found them. The wonder in their eyes was phenomenal. Most of all, they were treated like princesses and that made them shine brighter.

The most satisfying thing for me was that after two days of travelling, we arrived in Seattle. I had been seated next to a Dr. of Pychology who said I had the most wonderful children she had ever had the pleasure of flying with. (I couldn't make that up if I tried!). They might irk each other, but they play hard and love harder. They are special and unique. It was quite a compliment. And the hotel clerk offered them warm cookies from the kitchen on arrival. What could be better? Little things. Smiles and thank yous. Cookies. Going the extra mile. Yes, I am grateful.