So, I just sat down and realized I only blogged like 6 entries for 2013...probably because if I don't have time to write them...no one has time to read them anyway, but here we go. Way back in October we took a whirlwind trip to Orlando. Mostly because I really wanted to go back to the American Academy of Pediatrics Conference, but also because it's in Orlando and we all wanted a little Disney experience.
 |
| Downtown Disney |
We found the best flights from Allegiant Air out of Knoxville actually, so Rolland, Weston and I and My Mother & sister-in-law and niece piled on the plane and headed out. We stayed at a type of "condo" hotel. It was a weird arrangement, but had a fridge and microwave and place for all the essentials...and a tub in the middle of the room (which Weston though was his personal pool). We arrived a couple days before the conference specifically so we could do Disney as a family. We went to Downtown Disney and picked up our park-hopper passes (...Weston got to ride for free because he was still under 3!) and awed at the crazy wonder of it all.
 |
| Magic Kingdom |
The next morning we took the shuttle bus from our hotel (it was included/complimentary) to the parks. We started at Magic Kingdom, which the kids loved, and ended up at Epcot, which was a little less than exciting for the little people. Mostly we walked around, ate some food and killed time until our shuttle came back for us. Lesson 1: don't take the shuttle if the return time is ridiculously later than you would like to leave...we left at 6:30 pm, and after 9+ hours of Disney (and walking), we were spent. We were so worn out that we decided to fess up the $15 per car parking fee to be able to drive ourselves the next day so we could leave whenever we wanted (boy was it worth it!).
 |
| Weston and Mickey...all smiles at Animal Kingdom! |
Day 2 was my favorite, we started out at Animal Kingdom. The kids got to see Mickey and Minnie first thing in an uncrowded, no wait line...this was enough for Weston, he loved it and didn't care if he got his picture taken with Mickey again the whole weekend. Arianna, on the other hand, wanted to see every princess in the place - different story. The kids loved the Dino Dig, which had nothing to do with digging, and was a supervised, padded, play place with tunnels, slides and things to climb. We liked it too because they got to run free for the most part. That afternoon we went to Hollywood Studios, but by that time we were all hot and exhausted and the lines were long and the fast passes were gone. Weston wanted to do Woody's Shootout, so the next morning while I was sitting in lectures, the boys waiting in a moderate line for almost an hour to be able to go on this ride. Weston loved his 3D glasses and shooting anything that moved (go figure)...we even got to ride it again when we went back that night for the AAP exclusive evening at Disney.
Overall the conference was great, the conference center was a good setup with decent food and easy parking. I went to a bunch of lectures about newborn problems to boost my expertise in the nursery and a few on common clinic problems. The vendors were good, but I definitely tried to limit the amount of free crap I brought home with me this year. No my poor work office is getting constant samples for random items that we may or may not use. All-in-all, we had a great time. The family even got to take a half day trip to the beach, which I was a little jealous of. We weren't too adventurous with eating...we packed most of our lunches for the Disney Parks so we could avoid the expense (plus, who can beat a PB&J and fruit), and we had a few dinners out. I have to admit my favorite was Bonefish and some Mexican place that Erin's friend took us to. Would I do the Disney experience again? Of course!! But next year the AAP is in San Diego...and as I think about it, I've never been there and I'd really like to go to the San Diego Zoo, so its a possibility!
No comments:
Post a Comment