Balancing Parks, Rest and Birthdays! A July 2023 Trip Report

[amazingact21]

Happy to hear Rise came back online and you were able to go on it. End of the night is the best time to catch that attraction! My kids think it's a "Disney hack" that they know.

Glad your crepes were really good. I'll admit, I'm not running to try this restaurant but your review makes me interested.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I do want to try the Croque Glace someday

It was very filling! Andy and I split it and didn't finish it. Granted we just ate but still. I'm glad I got it. But probably won't get every trip.

End of the night is the best time to catch that attraction! My kids think it's a "Disney hack" that they know.

I mean, it kind of is!

Glad your crepes were really good. I'll admit, I'm not running to try this restaurant but your review makes me interested.

I don't think I would tell anyone you have to go here. But it was nice and relaxing, and just something different. You could even share a crepe between 2 people, so it could be a "cheap" meal. But there are so many places to eat in EPCOT it's hard!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Day Three: Exporing the World

We had a few goals for EPCOT today while we waited for our boarding group to be called. First was the Japan store! The girls have always loved the store.

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This plush is from an anime called Spy Family, Gwen and I actually have been rewatching it this break. Super cute show!
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The little girl from the show.

We used to love this store, and still do, But ever since covid, the merch seems more like stuff we can get at home. We do have a huge asian market by our house, so we can get most of the snacks at home now.

But they don't (or didn't at the time) have all the sushi plates they used have. It used to be my favorite thing to get.

Girls liked looking at the anime stuff all the same. Just didn’t find anything they wanted to get.

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After wandering around the store, we checked out the Kawaii exhibit.

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Gwen really liked it! She really looked at all of the stuff.

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Gwen and I were big Animal Crossing players during covid.

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Gwen would decorate our whole house Kwaii if she could. Gwen really enjoyed the exhibit. Andy and Morgan really enjoyed sitting on a bench in air conditioning. Ha!

Have you ever noticed these guys in Japan?
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We came out the back exit of the store and noticed them, while looking for the entrance to the Kawaii exhibit.

Another goal was to re-enacted a Japan photo from our very first trip.
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The photo on the left being the first trip (obviously) It was our last day in the parks, the girls were exhausted and Gwen was just not having it. So, Gwen pouting by a trash can....

The photo on the right, Gwen really sold the photo with pouting. People must have thought we were crazy. ha. It was MUCH harder getting the photo with no one around!
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Also, look at the difference in cameras! The new one is just on my iphone. Pretty sure that first trip, Andy lugged around a big DSLR camera!

Our next stop was Mexico but I requested a pit stop in Italy for another "treat" that I have always wanted to get but never stop to get. I wanted a Limoncello Mule
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The cart inside the courtyard area had it and the line wasn't that long. So, Andy and the girls found a bench to sit at and I got in line.

I was waiting in line behind a family clearly drinking around the world. They already smelled and got 2 drinks a piece! And for what ever reason, this line took FOREVER!

I told this to Andy once I came back to them. And Gwen was obsessed to finding out what smelling like alcohol smelled like. Life lessons we are teaching our girls...

While Andy and the girls waited (in the shade I might add). They made “friends” with the “little farts” as Gwen called them.
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I have no photo of my drink, and I have to say, it was just ok. After waiting so long it was good but didn't live up to the hype.... I think they serve on in Via Napoli and that one is better.

Around 3:00 we passed by Germany, didn't stop but noted that we did need to come back for Carmel treats before we left and headed straight for Mexico.

Mexico Pavillion

First priority in Mexico... Ride Three Caballeros
Statue

Fiesta Hoy

Fireworks

3 Cabileroes

After our ride we tried to see if we could meet Donald but it was a pretty long line and in the sun. So, we just took a picture and moved on. We did bonded with another couple doing the same thing.

Up Next... will we ever get called for our boarding group?

 

[amazingact21]

Landon has gotten into anime this past year, and I kind of dread taking him into the Japan pavilion next time. I'm sure he'll spend so much time looking at everything.

Oh my gosh, your comment about teaching Gwen what smelling like alcohol is made me laugh. The stuff kids start to learn and pick up on as they get older.

Love the recreated photo. And it really is crazy how far along cameras have come. The first few trips, I lugged around the DSLR camera, the extra batteries, the lens covers. Now it's just part of a phone in my pocket.

Riding the Three Caberellos is a classic!

 

[jrmint427]

The photo on the left being the first trip (obviously) It was our last day in the parks, the girls were exhausted and Gwen was just not having it. So, Gwen pouting by a trash can....

That is so fun that you recreated the picture!

I told this to Andy once I came back to them. And Gwen was obsessed to finding out what smelling like alcohol smelled like. Life lessons we are teaching our girls...

Haha, the lessons kids can learn at Disney (especially Epcot)...

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Landon has gotten into anime this past year

What does he watch? Gwen watches lots of romance anime, so I am guessing not the same shows! Ha!

Oh my gosh, your comment about teaching Gwen what smelling like alcohol is made me laugh. The stuff kids start to learn and pick up on as they get older.

Sadly, Morgan and Gwen are old enough where some parents need to worry about there kids drinking themselves. I am so grateful that isn't something we have to worry about.

Haha, the lessons kids can learn at Disney (especially Epcot)...

So true! But Morgan and Gwen are at the age where they know all about this stuff. But it's still theoretical to them. Which is good! But funny. Gwen just kept asking. It's not sometime you can really explain.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

I was def ready to leave 2023 behind. And today, on the first day of the new year, I am hopefully that this year will be better all around. We will see!

Today we are all taking it SUPER easy, the girls go back to school tomorrow and it is full throttle for them. Morgan and Gwen had practices and get serious for the play (Gwen) and Indoor Drumline (Morgan) January and February is going to be full on driving the girls around!

But it will all be worth it because..... I booked our next trip!!!! We are going over the girls spring break. We had wanted to go to California, but Morgan has a competition on the Saturday before school starts. So, we don't have as much time as we would want to be in California. So, Florida it is!!!

And we want to do that same thing as we did this trip, and have a few true rest days.... so.... I went with 2 deluxe hotels!!! So we can have a balcony for Andy and I to sit on while we chill each afternoon.

So, we will be staying at Yacht Club and Wilderness Lodge! I am super excited. We haven't stayed at Wilderness Lodge in a LONG time. So, it will be really nice!

I don't think I will do a pre-trip report. I will probably sprinkle in some info in here. But I do want to focus on THIS trip report, so I will be ready for another once we get back. So, I have 86 days to get this trip report as close to done as possible!!!

So, without further a-do...

Day Three: Guardians of the Galaxy? Do we finally get on the ride?!?!

I left us off finishing up in Mexico, but our boarding group still wasn't ready yet, so Morgan and I decided we needed a snack! Andy didn't want to get anything, he was worried about getting motion sickness. And Gwen just didn't want anything in Mexico.

I ordered Margarita and Empanadas from Choza de Margarita
Margarita
I went with the Blood Orange Margarita
Libelula joven tequila, sweet-tart mix of blood orange, gin, LeJay black currant liqueur, Contraluz reposado cristalino mezcal, Hellfire bitters, Tajín chile - lime powder rim

They asked if I wanted a floater each time I ordered a margarita. Which I know they make more money but seems like a bad idea to set folks up like that.... I passed each time.

This was really good. The Tajin Chile on it was perfect for me, I am not a fan of salt on my glasses.

Morgan Empenadas

Empanadas
Empanada de Barbacoa
Empanadas filled with Barbacoa Beef, topped with Chipotle Sauce, Crema Mexicana and Queso Fresco. Served with a side of Corn Esquite

Morgan and I shared these and they were REALLY good! The barbacoa beef was nice a tender and nicely seasoned. Morgan and I were big fans. We ate a little before starting to head towards Guardians.

We saw some disney bunnies on our way...

Bunny

Bunny

We took a pit stop in the bathrooms by test track and mission space and then it was FINALLY time!!!

Starship

4:00 and we were Finally able to ride! The wait is pretty long with the virtual que. I still had some margarita but the CM just said to have it done before a certain point. With, how long the line was, it wasn't an issue.

Wonders of Zandar

Space?
We were so excited to be riding! We didn't care that much to wait.

As we were in line I got a text from friends of ours that they had arrived. And some were more excitied than others...
Casey And Kari have arrived!

Model
We enjoyed the stuff in the que as it was all new to us.

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Starship

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We made it to the first pre-show room! And we were ready to go!
Ready to Ride

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But then we found out there were multiple pre-show rooms!

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We were literally right in the front, which explains the weird angle.

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This room was Gwen's favorite. Being right in the front we got the full effect of the pre-show.

Pre-Show Monster
We were the stupid newbies that watched the whole pre-show where we were standing before they opened the side area. So, we were at the end of our group, but we didn't care.

An hour later, we were REALLY ready to ride!
Really Ready to Ride
We all loved it and no one got nauseous! I didn't write down what song we got but we all really enjoyed the ride!

After we poked around the gift shop.
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No on bought anything. We just had fun playing with the stuff as you can see.

It was about 5:20 by now, and as we were headed across the way to Figment, I remembered about Club Cool! So, we went in!
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I think this face is for the BBQ tasting one.

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Gwen tried Beverly because as she said "it's a requirement to be a true disney fan"

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Club Cool is always fun to taste all the flavors! And we hadn't done it in so long, so it was a little more fun.

Up next, more EPCOT fun!

 

[jrmint427]

I booked our next trip!!!! We are going over the girls spring break.

So exciting!! Wilderness Lodge is my favorite, woudl love to stay there again some day.

Gwen tried Beverly because as she said "it's a requirement to be a true disney fan"

I was just thinking the same thing! I plan to take the girls to Club Cool for the first time on our next trip and am dreading it but think I will have to try Beverly again - it's probably been a decade since the last time I had it. I can't wait to see everyone else's reactions to it!

 

[Disney102015]

The photo on the right, Gwen really sold the photo with pouting. People must have thought we were crazy. ha. It was MUCH harder getting the photo with no one around!

Wow, so cool to recreate this photo!! I love it.

But it will all be worth it because..... I booked our next trip!!!!

So exciting to have your next trip booked! Love both resorts.

 

[missjackiemcg]

Happy New Year, Saucier family!! So excited (and jealous!!) about your spring break WDW trip! I am itching to figure out when we can book a trip, too, especially now that they've announced some free dining plan news.

 

[amazingact21]

Hooray for another trip! And only 86 days away; it'll be here before you know it! Ahhh, Wilderness Lodge, the perfect resort.

Glad you were finally able to get on Guardians and nobody got sick!

Club Cool is such a fun spot to visit when having a low-key Epcot day. Although that bbq tasting soda...yuck.

 

[vamassey1]

Happy New Year and congratulations on booking your next trip. I have no idea when we'll be back. We loved staying at Wilderness Lodge last month, glad you're going back. Tell the girls to rub Humphries nose on the way to the busses. We had the best bus karma when we did that. The only time we didn't, we had bad karma.

Glad you did better on Guardians than I did. I keep telling myself to give it another go but keep chickening out. JP rode it but said "It was pretty much the worst thing ever". He didn't like Slinky dog either but loved Thunder Mountain.

We enjoyed Club Cool too. Got the best reaction out of JP, it was his first time trying it. Gwen is correct that true Disney fans have to do it.

 

[SEAGULL59]

Yay for another trip over Spring break!!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Good Morning Everyone,

I hope everyone had a good weekend. I will admit that I started this post over the weekend but we got completely consummed by putting Christmas decorations away and the "storm" that came through our area. It was a brutal amount on rain and windbut that was it. Thankfully. I was kind of hoping for snow, it's been awhile since we have seen snow here in Jersey.

Morgan and Gwen are in full swing of practices, drumline and drama. So, I am back to literally just driving in circles to pick up and down them off. I don't mind though, I am glad they are doing activities. But some days it's exhausting!

76 Days till our trip!!! And man, I am so glad we have a trip planned! I don't think I mentioned here but I was able to save us a big junk of $$ with the room discount Disney released, so I was excitied about that. Really helped with staying at 2 deluxe hotels! I am also worried that next Spring Break might need to be visiting colleges, and we might not go next year! EEAk!

Anyway, back to THIS trip report!

Day Three: Filling out Our Day

I left us off finishing up at Club Cool. Somewhere along the way we decided to try and go to Magic Kingdom to see Fireworks that night. Since we started later in the day, we figured it would be a good day to try..... We wanted to ride a few rides on our way towards the front of the park. We also had no solid dinner plans at the moment.

Somewhere along the way we decided to try and go to Magic Kingdom to see Fireworks that night. So, we wanted to ride a few rides on our way towards the front of the park.

First we headed to Figment.
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I know... figment is terrible... but as long as there is no line, I don't might riding it.

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Has the ride gotten any longer now with the meet and greet with Figment? We will def want to do that on our next trip!

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This room is literally the same as when I was a kid! I think! Time to update it Disney!!!

All I think while riding is how they could take the Runaway Railway tech and make that an awsome ride again. One day... maybe...

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I will admit, I did love Figment when I was a kid. I got a beach towel with him on it. My parents gave it back to me the last year. So I have it! It's vintage... also very used...

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The girls messed around in the area after the ride for a hot second and then we moved on.

We headed to Seas with Nemo next.
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This was a request by Gwen and me. I requested we ride the seas with nemo as we haven't done it in forever!
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It's actually a nice ride. I think it is very under rated.

After we checked out the Manatees.
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We watched them for awhile.... probably longer than most...

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There was a CM there feeding them lettuce and they were moving around a decent amount.

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One was doing donuts in the tank and Gwen thought that was just great.

Eventually we moved on to try and find "Mr. Eel" Who is Mr. Eel? Molly from Mamouth Club alwasy finds him in her videos and Gwen NEEDED to say hello.

We ended up finding the Dolphins first.
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The Dolphins were kind of hard to spot. But we saw them briefly and moved on.

Next we ended up discovering the main fish tank.
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We moved on and found an area with smaller tube like tanks.
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And Finaly found the Eels

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Gwen was VERY happy to have found Mr. Eel! She tried talking for him, much like Molly but in her own goofy way....

Maybe we were tired, but I couldn't stop laughing...

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Misson accomplished!

We spent a good hour in that area, and finally headed out. We needed to do one more ride on the way out, Spaceship Earth.
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Always got to snap a pic of space jesus!

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Anybody notice this guy? The is on the other side of the Foxy lady in the computer room. Poor guy gets no attention.

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My face didn't register at all. Guess my future isn't great.

By the time we got off they were closing the ride down for the night. It was right at 7:00. Not sure why but I was glad we had gotten on. We were pretty tired by now, and we probably should have just gotten an uber and headed back to the room but we needed dinner still, so we forged on!

It was a little after 7:00 when we headed to the Monorail.

Getting to sit down, really did Morgan in. She realized how tired she was, and wasn't in the best mood when we got to the TTC and realized that we needed to switch trains.

When we got off, Andy thought, we should just walk instead of getting the train... this was not the right desiction...
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The walk wasn’t long but it broke Morgan. By the time we got to the poly she was done! She was hungry and tired. Sign.

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I do love the Poly... Not sure if we will ever stay here again. But maybe we will try Ohana again. Has anyone done it recently? Is it good again? Do they have the peanut sauce again?

First we went to Trader Sams’. I knew it would be a long shot but we went to see how long the wait was. It was an hour but it would be too late for Morgan and Gwen to get in. Sigh...

Then we tried to see if we could get a seat at Tamu Tamu Lounge. No luck. All seats were taken.

So, we ended up going to Captain Cook’s. We grabbed a table and Andy and I went and ordered food.

I knew that I def wanted to get the Pork Nachos!
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Pulled Pork Nachos
Topped with Cheese, Spicy Mayonnaise, Pico de Gallo, and Pineapple Salsa
These were great as always. Andy, Morgan and I shared them. We all liked them.

We also ordered the Noodles to share.
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Asian-style Noodle Salad with Chicken
Rice Noodle, Mandarin Oranges, Mixed Vegetables, and Candied Cashews served with Honey-Miso Dressing
These were just ok. I think they were cold, which threw me off. But not terrible.

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Gwen went with the kids Mac and cheese with double grapes. this became a theme this trip, double grapes. And each time we asked the CM would look at us slightly confused but then said ok.

We ate in silence for awile, as not to anger the teen. But as food settled into all of us, we leveled out. (well, kind of)

Anyway, we talked about what to do. And decided it was just best to head back to the hotel once we were done.
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The girls were punchy... it was def the right move....

We did go into the gift shop on the way out.
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Morgan picked a small Ola Me Turtle and Gwen picked out a tiki room shirt. I wanted a fake succulent plant but I didn’t know if it would get home ok.
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After some quick retail therapy, we headed out.
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Andy called for an uber and we were back at the resort in no time. We were able to be dropped off again by our room, which was really nice!

The girls started to settle in for the night and I dragged Andy to the main area of the resort to find some sort of dessert for the room.

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We picked out 2 desserts and brought them back to the room. I have no photos of them, which is always a sign that we are tired. I forget to snap pics... But we got a

Tropical Paradise Cheesecake
Classic Cheesecake topped with Passion Fruit Coulis, Mousse, Popping Boba Pearls, and White Chocolate

Key Lime Tart
Key Lime Filling with Graham Cracker Crust topped with Meringue and Tropical Sauce with a White Chocolate Garnis

Both we good, but I am partial to Key Lime Pie, so that was my favorite. We all shared both in the room later.

I also poked into the gift shop. I wanted to get a plush to put up out on Gwen’s birthday. I picked out the weighted Marie. Gwen had a few Marie’s already, so I knew she would like it.

We headed back to the room shared the treats, watched some tv and went to bed.

It was a long day even with the later start!

Up Next: Our first true rest day!

 

[jrmint427]

I know... figment is terrible... but as long as there is no line, I don't might riding it.

Can you believe I’ve still never ridden Figment? I keep saying we need to do it at least once but never end up making time for it.

We spent a good hour in that area, and finally headed out.

I’ve never spent more than a few min in the aquarium after the ride, we need to slow down there next time!

But maybe we will try Ohana again. Has anyone done it recently? Is it good again? Do they have the peanut sauce again?

I’ve also never done Ohana before but booked it for dinner on our next trip! Excited to try it.

We ate in silence for awile, as not to anger the teen.

You are making me nervous for those teen years I’m starting to get a small taste with my 9.5 year old.

 

[amazingact21]

It's always hard when you can tell the kids have hit a wall and can't do any more. Definitely sounds like it was for the best that you skipped fireworks and head back to the resort. And Capt. Cook's is always a solid QS choice.
Landon always orders double grapes, too.

Your next trip will be here before you know it! Glad to hear you were able to save some money with the discounts released, too. It's great when you can save on a Disney trip!

 

[vamassey1]

I remember the teen years and I'm glad they are gone. I will say that girls are harder than boys at that age.

Nice afternoon doing the classics.

 

[rdkeim]

I enjoy following along on your family's adventures! Sounds like a good but tiring day. Nice you have a rest day coming up. We don't always have a long enough trip to work in a day off but it's great when we can. Thanks for sharing your trip experiences!

 

[missjackiemcg]

Figment is still one of Jimmy's favorites, so we always ride it, too. There are things I love about it, but I totally agree it needs an update. I'm always afraid they might close it in favor of something new and more exciting, but now that Figment is meeting and getting more love, I'm hopeful the ride has more staying power!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Can you believe I’ve still never ridden Figment? I keep saying we need to do it at least once but never end up making time for it.

You really aren't missing much. But I do love Figment as a character! He is cute but that is probably still nastagic for me.

I’ve never spent more than a few min in the aquarium after the ride, we need to slow down there next time!

It's worth a little bit of exploring. If it was a stand along aquarium, it wouldn't be great but as a side thing in EPCOT it's great.

I’ve also never done Ohana before but booked it for dinner on our next trip! Excited to try it.

I mentioned Ohana to my husband the other day and he was like "meh" So, now I don't know if we will book it or not!

You are making me nervous for those teen years I’m starting to get a small taste with my 9.5 year old.

My girls are pretty good when it comes to being teenagers but it does come out every once in a while. We also, ALWAYS have one point in the trip where everyone gets super crabby. This was pretty early in the trip for. But I did ruin Morgan's life the other day by telling her to shower and then make her eat dinner with us.... so....

I remember the teen years and I'm glad they are gone. I will say that girls are harder than boys at that age.

I will take it, I can't handle the boy wrestling and physicalness when they are young. I will take the girl teen-ness any day. I am just more well equiped for it, for sure!

I enjoy following along on your family's adventures!

Thank You so much!!! I love sharing our trips and re-living the fun. Fills the time between vacations.

We don't always have a long enough trip to work in a day off but it's great when we can.

I know what you mean. It can be hard to say no to a park!

here are things I love about it, but I totally agree it needs an update. I'm always afraid they might close it in favor of something new and more exciting, but now that Figment is meeting and getting more love, I'm hopeful the ride has more staying power!

I feel like at this point, they HAVE to update it. Right? Figment is on all of the Festival of Arts merch. They seem to have leaned into it and it's almost silly that they haven't updated anything on that ride. It is nice to have a ride that you can just go and get on.