Bag of Magic Kingdom Randomness

• Hey, I get it, I’m on vacation and shouldn’t be blogging.  But I’m doing it while the rest of the family is asleep and this is a great way for me to replay all the great moments I had for the day and allows me take it all in and appreciate what’s actually happening.
• The day started off by getting some notifications from friends that Junior Miller of The TICKET talked about the hug I gave him at DFW Airport.  I was able to listen to it on The Unticket’s website, and he got part of the story wrong.  He said I referred to him as Junes, but I actually called him “Mr. Miller” as a way of showing him respect, though I admit it’s can be seen as odd.  He also said that I said thanks for getting me out of bed and off to work, but the truth is that I told him I know what he does for a living is just a job, but how he does it gives me sanity in this crazy world and makes me smile and laugh, and for that, I wanted to say thanks.
• I’m a dad at Disney World and now that I’m forty, I’m old, so I thought I’d dress the part wearing long black socks with shorts and sneakers, but WifeGeeding wouldn’t let me leave the room in that wardrobe.
• We took the ferry from the hotel to the Magic Kingdom. It was the first time either kiddo have been on a boat.  During the ride, DaughterGeeding was staring at a park map intensely.  I quickly took it away and told her she can stare at that piece of paper anytime, but for now you need to check out all of our surroundings and take it in.
• After I scanned my wristband to get in the park, I was also required to have my index finger scanned, and will have to use the same finger to scan again from time to time for park entry.  But another great perk about the wristband is that if a Disney photographer snaps your picture (and there are many) or if a ride snaps your picture, you can see it on the Disney park app (watermarked) and choose to purchase it.
• I didn’t record it but forever etched in my mind is the look on DaughterGeeding’s face as she turned the corner to get on Main Street USA and saw the castle in full straight ahead.  It dawned on me that kids might be having a hard time to see things and take it all in because of their limited perspective with adults blocking their view, so I made sure they rode my shoulders a lot.
  
• I thought my brother-in-law was going to go all Clark Griswold when he found out the castle was closed for construction/repairs/upgrades and he couldn’t take his daughter through it.  But you could take a look on the inside from the rear entry.  I did witness two castle related engagements, one just outside and another inside of it during a lunch with the princesses.
  
• I noticed a lot of the male Cast Members (regular park employees) were wearing makeup.
• One of our Fast Passes were used to spend just a few minutes with two princesses, one of which was Cinderella.  BoyGeeding is a big Paw Patrol fan and the leader of the group is a boy named Ryder.  That’s the name he gave Cinderella and she asked him his name.
• I got to watch a Down syndrome girl, about five years old, meet Cinderella.  The girl was wearing a Cinderella dress and was nervous and shy walking up to the character.  Cinderella was exceptionally kind with her, even taking the time to straighten up her outfit before posing for a picture with her.  At first I thought the girl wasn’t enjoying the moment, but as soon as Cinderella told her good-bye, she looked at her parents, started to jump up and down with pure joy and a huge smile and laugh, and ran into her teary-eyed mother’s arms.
• I challenged a few princesses to a thumb war, just because.  Ariel was the funniest, prettiest, and hardest to beat.  If I didn’t take BoyGeeding to the restroom, I could have challenged at least four more.
  
• Speaking of BoyGeeding and Ariel, he did not want to get his picture taken with his sister and cousin with her.  But he did so begrudgingly with his new toy sword. Just look at his face as he refused to move it away.  I think these sort of things are better than “the perfect” picture because it makes for a better memory, and in my mind, a better picture.
  
• I rode Space Mountain three times, and the longest I had to wait without a Fast Pass was no longer than twenty minutes.  But due to bad weather, two of those wait times was less than three.  You have to be 44-inches to ride it, and DaughterGeeding was just tall enough.  She wasn’t scared at all and loved it.
  
• I used to not like holding hands with anyone, but I have this great sense of pride when holding my daughter’s while walking around the park.  But I noticed she rides the slow rides with a bit of sass.  Most five-year-olds don’t sit like that, do they?
  
• Parade time.
  
• One of the best pieces of advice I got was to break up the visit to the Magic Kingdom into two parts, that way no one is grumpy and worn out as the day lingers.  So after the parade we were going back to the hotel, and I decided the fastest way out was to follow the back of the parade, which kinda turned into me with BoyGeeding on my shoulders being in the parade waving at the crowd.  That lead to one of the Cast Members taking DaughterGeeding’s hand and escorting her with the parade as they waved to the crowd.  All of that was a bit too magical for WifeGeeding who actually teared up with joy.  It means a lot to have her whole family here, and as a Disney lover, seeing all of us get to be part of the parade.
  
  
• After a little rest, it was playtime at the beach.
  
• In the evening we attended the Not So Scarry Halloween Party and did some trick-or-treating and then swapped kids with WifeGeeding’s sister, who wanted to ride little kid friendly rides and we and her child wanted to ride more exciting rides.  WifeGeeding’s sister got the raw end of the deal as ours became so tired from such an eventful day, they simply fell asleep at the park.
  

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Bag of Randomness for Friday, October 2, 2015

• As you may have guessed, we ain’t in Texas anymore, we won a trip to Disney World.  And when I say won, I mean my in-laws were kind enough to basically foot the bill.
• Many of you longtime readers may recall that I once stated something to the effect of I could never pull a kid out of school to go on a vacation because it sets a bad precedence regarding the importance of education.  Well, perhaps I have lightened my stance over a lot of thought and reflection over time, or perhaps money talks, or perhaps it’s a combination of both.  Of course, we are tempted to use this well known excused absence letter, but we won’t, at least I won’t.
• This whole thing started because WifeGeeding’s brother, his wife, and daughter made plans to go to Disney World at this time.  Next thing you know, all of WifeGeeding’s immediate family and their spouses and kids jumped on board, and then her mother and father wanted to tag along as well.  After the trip was purchased, WifeGeeding’s father was kind enough to send a check that basically covered it all.
• The plans for this trip started about ten months ago, and we never told the kids about it until yesterday.  Thankfully all aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents also kept it a secret from our kids.  And even once they were told we’re all going to Disney World, they still didn’t know all any family was coming along, though only found out as one family appeared after another.  This whole thing makes me feel like I’m in some kind of Brady Bunch reunion show.
• I’m very happy for WifeGeeding.  As someone who doesn’t have living parents or close siblings with families, this is a great moment for her family.  I hope she, and her siblings, understand how rare of a thing this can be and how fortunate they are to do such a thing.  And of course, I’m happy I can tag along.
• For those of you that are interested in how it was revealed to the kids, you can watch it here.  It’s not one of those grand moments where the kids get uber excited or cute, but it was a nice moment for our family.  As I said earlier, they had no idea until we told them today.  They both went to school as usual, but then we picked them up early from both of their schools and told them we had a special lunch, which turned out tp be CiCi’s Pizza, a place they have been begging to go to.  We then stopped at home and WifeGeeding did her reveal.
• The absolute coolest family in our neighborhood graciously dropped us off at the airport, thoughtful enough to have Cinderella playing in the minivan, and gave each of our kids a Disney goody bag of treats for the trip.
• Here we are about to go into the terminal.  WifeGeeding forced us all to wear the mandatory Disney gear she selected.
  
• DFW Airport used to be so easy to navigate when driving to terminals, but the remodeled version is awfully confusing.  However, the inside is much nicer and thankfully there are no more tiles.  Longtime DFW passengers are used to that annoying sound of luggage being rolled over those tiles for about two decades.
• I noticed that both DFW and the airport in Orlando have kid friendly sinks.  There’s a step ladder device under at least one sink that the child can fold down and step on.
• After I checked in our luggage, I saw Junior Miller of The TICKET and spoke with him briefly, actually hugging the man to make it a bit goofy.  I think he was there to pick up a friend.
• I recorded DaughterGeeding’s reaction to her first takeoff.  Once again it’s nothing all that special or stands out, but it was a nice moment I got to share with her.  However, I’ve never seen anyone so focused on pre-flight announcements, she definitely had her game face on.
• Our plane was only six months old and I was impressed with how nice it was.  Each seat had a tablet/iPad type device that was positioned on the seat in front of you which provided music, movies, e-reader, shopping, and in-flight entertainment and information, along with a USB and s-video port.   Each seat also had an outlet plug, so there’s no fear in losing battery life on your devices.  However, I can’t get over how grumpy American Airlines flight attendants and gate agents can be.  I’ve flown AA the most, and rarely do I find an employee that seems like they enjoy their job.
• I was really proud of the kids’ behavior on the plane.  Thirty minutes into the flight, DaughterGeeding asked if she could start on her homework and class assignments.  Thirty minutes into the flight, BoyGeeding asked, “ARE WE IN THE AIR YET?”  But ten minutes after that, he was out cold.
  
• But once he woke up, he turned around to check on his sister from time to time.
  
  
• Once we landed and started to depart, the new plane started to release some sort of visible cloudy mist to help cool things down, which was neat.  For a second, I thought I was in the middle of a magic show.  A cute memory I’ll forever have in my head is BoyGeeding run up an empty gate ramp at full speed into the airport.
• It wasn’t until I landed that I found out we were going to Disney World on the date it opened 44-years ago.
• Disney provides a very cool option for not having to pick up your own luggage or worry about getting to one of their resort hotels.  They take your luggage from the airport straight to your room, where we found ours after our dinner.  Also, you just take a charter bus from the airport to the hotel.
• I was hoping we’d meet all family members on Disney property, but we actually ran into one batch at the airport that took a little surprise away from the kids.  We met another batch in the hotel lobby, and the kids finally got to see their grandparents waving from the hotel balcony as well walked to our room.  Those kids sure love their grandparents.
• We’re wearing those Disney wristbands that serve as your room key, payment device, and just about anything else you can think of.  There’s no need to carry a wallet.  The first time we used them were at the airport to get on the shuttle, and as soon as it worked, the Cast Member said with a pleasant grin, “The magic begins, now.”
• It feels weird not having my car and house keys in my pocket.
• Here’s another interesting piece of Disney technology.  We had dinner at a fast-food type restaurant at the hotel.  Each paper cup has some sort of chip in it that monitors and limits your refills, and the beverage dispenser won’t work unless the cup is actually placed on a certain base below the spout.  For instance, I noticed after my second refill that it said I had two more remaining until 9:45 PM.  So you can’t bring in your cup from the previous day and outsiders can’t sneak free drinks.
• Of all things for DaughterGeeding to get excited about, it was new pajamas when WifeGeeding have both kids new pairs – “Are you SERIOUS, new PAJAMAS!”
• As we entered the Polynesian Village Resort, a man was playing “Over the Rainbow” on a ukelele.

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Crocodile Cage Dive Experience

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Bag of Randomness for Thursday, October 1, 2015

• When I drive DaughterGeeding to school, I always drive through one neighborhood in which I see an Asian boy, perhaps eight-years-old, walk to school with his special-needs brother.  Sometimes I see the older brother give the younger one a piggyback ride, and sometimes I see the younger brother mimic whatever the older one does.  Yesterday I saw them approach the crosswalk where they had to wait.  The moment they stopped, the older brother grabbed the younger’s hand and held it until they safely made it across the street.  It’s really touching to see one sibling take care of another, and I wonder if any kids make fun of him for holding hands or for having a brother that’s “different”.  Part of me wants to know more about these boys and their family story, but another part of me enjoys the mystery and don’t want to ruin the backstory I’ve made up in my head about how much they love and look out for one another.
• Oddly, and sadly, right after I witness this event, I received this message from a neighbor about something that happened near our homes – Police are on alert this morning after Tuesday’s attempted abduction near Lewisville bus stop
• I made an ill-advised late night trip to McDonald’s to get some McNuggets last night.  After I ordered I asked the cashier how well the all day breakfast was selling.  He said he’s worked all afternoon and evening and the has only been three orders.
• McDonald’s no longer offers McNuggets in the six or nine count variety, you have to go with ten.  Granted, I could eat only six or nine, but if I pay for ten, I’m gonna eat ten.
• I wouldn’t expect any posts on this blog come Friday or Monday.
• Buzzfeed – A New Mother Was Totally Moved By A Stranger’s Kind Act On A Flight
• Albuquerque has an interesting pilot program to deal with panhandlers.  If you see one, call 311, a van will come by to offer to pick them up and take them to a beautification job that will pay them $9 an hour.
• A sixth-grader saw that Hillary Clinton was nearby, so he dressed as a Secret Service agent to try to meet her.  The Secret Service were amused, gave him some pointers and adjusted his tie.  Clinton’s staff caught wind of his bit and he got to met her.
• Perhaps WifeGeeding can heir her tramp stamp to DaughterGeeding – New Service Will Preserve and Frame Your Tattoos After You Die
• Today’s dose of ‘MURICA!
• Here is Twitter’s crazy 136-page handbook for politicians who want to tweet
• A mountain lion in California climbed a 35-foot utility pole and decided to chill for an extended time.

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