A Quiet Evening

Cameron was supposed to have Snow Club tonight, but due to warm temperatures Swiss Valley was closed.  Thus, he had a quiet night to spend at home.  He was disappointed, but happy that the next one was on his birthday.  He spent his time watching basketball and working on his science poster.  Doug was busy this evening working at home.  That will be the norm for the next few weeks.  We had gotten used to him working a lot when he was with Renegade, so it has been no problem at all.  Plus, I  was still tired from our trip and finishing all of the unpacking today.  Therefore, I was more than happy to spend the night relaxing by the fireplace catching up on Law and Order.  Hopefully, by the weekend we will be able to start Doug's Michigan Beer puzzle.  I did put it on the puzzle table as an incentive to get everything done this week so that we can have a relaxing weekend at home working on it.

Back to the Routine

I took Cameron and Jacob to school this morning and spent the rest of the day unpacking, doing laundry and grocery shopping.  I would have started yesterday, but was too tired from our trip to Chicago.  I got a lot more done than I thought that I would and ended the day with 12,000 steps.

Cameron had a tiring day at school, but thankfully did not have much homework.  I thought he'd have a lot more, but I forgot that their homework was not for a grade, only to prepare them for the tests and quizzes ahead.  He did have a science poster to work on about the Terrapin.  Doug did have quite a bit of work to do tonight, which he started on right after dinner.  He has an extremely busy month ahead with several days of travel scheduled.  He said that the trip was planned at the perfect time as there was a slight lull in his workload last week.

I checked in with Cal, Brett and Meg.  Brett had to work yesterday, but only for five hours.  He said that he made himself go to 9 p.m. mass afterward last night even though he was wiped out.  I appreciated that he helped Meg take everything up to her room yesterday.  I had planned on helping her before the plane cancellation situation.  She got the majority of everything unpacked last night and even had time to rest and go to dinner with her friends.  Cal slept until noon yesterday and then watched football.  He spent tonight cheering on LSU in the college football championship game.  He was tired too, but ready to get back to a routine.  Sounds like a good plan for all of us.

We Made It

Even thought it was midnight by the time we reached our vehicles. Doug decided last night that he wanted to try and drive home from Indy.  We had talked about staying at Brett's and leaving tomorrow, but in the end we were happy that we made the decision that we did. Cal and Meg said that there was quite a bit of sleet on their trip.  Cal felt better once they got to 67 as he knew the road and the weather was a little better.  They were all back in their apartments by 1:15 a.m. more than ready for bed.

We were thankful that weather did not affect our drive as it was long enough late at night.  We stopped once to get something to drink and made it home by 3 a.m.  Doug said that there was only one time that he got tired enough that he thought about getting out to walk around, but overall it wasn't too bad.  Cam and I stayed up talking to him and we listened to ESPN's report on the football games.  We were all definitely glad to be home and headed straight to bed once we arrived.

One last item to take care of today was still in Chicago.  At some point we knew that we had to go get the Pilot and check for the missing luggage.  Doug talked about taking the South Shore train to Midway, but once I woke up this morning I felt that I could take him to the airport.  We made sure that Cam was taken care of for lunch and left by 11 a.m.  I didn't mind the trip as it gave me time to fill in receipts and complete our budget for the trip.  By the time I dropped Doug off at Midway and stopped at Target to use the bathroom and get a drink, he had already found our missing luggage and was on the tram to get the car.  Both of us had easy trips back to Indiana.  I stay occupied by checking in with Brett and Meg and watching the newest episode of Blue Bloods.  I did not really get tired until I got to Nappanee.

The rest of the day was a quiet one.  Cam played cards and ate lunch at Grandma and Grandpa's.  Between our trip to Chicago and dinner out with Doug tonight we had a lot of time to talk about the trip and reflect on how much fun that we had had.  Even yesterday's travel delays and cancellations didn't change our feelings.  On Saturday we still had plenty of time to enjoy Animal Kingdom with the Heinisch children. Brett and Cal rode Flight of Avatar for the first time ever, enjoying it just as much as we knew that they would.  The African animals were in clear view and very active on our safari tour and we all liked the walk along Gorilla Falls.  Afterward each of the four Heinisch children let us know how much they had enjoyed our vacation together and would definitely travel with us again.  Nothing could have been better than hearing that.

Incredibly Thankful

Last night Doug was advised by Southwest to change his flight for tomorrow night due to a predicted ice storm heading toward Chicago.  After looking at his options we decided that it was best for he and Cam to take the 4:15 flight to Midway.  I booked the flight for them on the app and the concierge helped us change their Magical Express times and print off their boarding passes.  We felt good about the decision and didn't think about it again until this morning when Doug got a text at 11 a.m. informing him that his flight for this afternoon had been cancelled.

I was with the Heinisch children on the Flight of Avatar when he heard from Southwest, so I wasn't much help to him at first.  Once he told us what had happened I instantly got on the app to change his flight.  Unfortunately, we had already checked our luggage in with the Magical Express service so we could not change his flight online.  At that point we realized that it would take some time to solve our problem, so the boys decided to go to Expedition Everest and Meg went shopping.  I called Disney while Doug was on hold with Southwest.  It took awhile, but we finally got their bags released.  The only flight to Chicago was for Sunday night at 7 p.m.  Doug went ahead and booked that just so he and Cam had someway home this weekend.  There were several flights open to Indy, but the agent on the phone said that it would cost $1100 to change airports.  At that point we realized that the next best step would be to get Doug and Cam to the Orlando airport to see if there were any other options there.  I felt bad that Cam missed Tough to Be a Bug and Figment, but I knew he had ridden those dozens of times in past trips.  It was more important that they made it home than it was for them to go to anymore attractions.

The bus was not at the station when we left so we ordered an Uber.  Our driver arrived within minutes and we were quickly back at the Boardwalk.  Cal had gone with us, while Brett and Meg decided to stay at Animal Kingdom to watch It's Tough to Be a Bug.  Bell services was quick with their travel bags and soon they had another Uber ride to the Orlando International Airport.  Since we had already checked out of our room, Cal and I hung out in the lounge.  There were sandwiches, trail mix, candy and cookies to enjoy while we waited for Brett and Meg to get back.

We heard from Doug about a half hour after he left.  Southwest had switched him to a 4:50 flight today that would get him back to Indy a couple of hours ahead of us.  Doug and I were incredibly relieved by this news.  I tried to put the four of us on that flight as well, but it was too expensive.  None of us minded the difference in time.  Cam used his afternoon at the airport to watch IU beat Ohio State while Doug worked.  The rest of us walked over to EPCOT for a few last minute rides before our Magical Express arrived.  Our time at the airport was spent eating dinner, getting through security and waiting for our boarding time which was delayed by an hour due to the storm affecting flights in Chicago, Atlanta, Kansas City and Dallas.  I was a little worried as I knew we were the last plane scheduled to Indy for today.  Fortunately, we took off right at 9 p.m.  The flight was relatively turbulent free as the plane flew toward the Carolinas to avoid the storms.  We were all exhausted, so the downtime was appreciated.  I watched Downton Abbey through Southwest's free movie app.  Cal used it to catch the Titans victory over the Ravens.  Meg enjoyed Little Mermaid on the iPad and Brett tried to sleep.   We were happy to see Doug and Cam when we landed.  We found out that their luggage did not arrive with them, but Doug was hopeful that it would be in Chicago tomorrow when we picked up the Pilot.  Although it was sad to see the end to such an awesome vacation, all in all, the six of us were extremely happy to have made it back safely to the Hoosier state tonight.  For awhile we weren't sure that that was possible.

A Day of Favorites

We were up by 6:30 a.m. this morning to get to Magic Kingdom for early morning magic hours.  We arrived at rope drop so that the Heinisch children could ride Space Mountain.  It was the only of the top tier attractions that they couldn't get Fast Passes for during our stay.  Doug and I watched them in line while we took a turn on Tomorrowland Transit Authority which was much more our speed.  By arriving early we were also able to ride Winnie the Pooh, Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, and Pirates of the Caribbean before it was time for our first Fast Pass of the day at Big Thunder Mountain.  It was a great way to start the day and I don't know if I had more fun on the Jungle Cruise listening to the "skipper's" jokes or watching Doug laugh at them.

 We finished the morning using the rest of our Fast Passes for Peter Pan and the Seven Dwarf Mine Ride.   We took a break from riding to eat at everyone's favorite lunch stop - Cosmic Rays featuring our number one singing comedian, Sonny Eclipse.  The food and the jokes were just as we remembered and the Heinisch children enjoyed getting a picture for Grandpa Cutes.  As we walked out of lunch we were extremely glad that we arrived early this morning as the crowds had really picked up.  We had saved Philharmagic and the Hall of Presidents for the busy time of the day.  The boys couldn't wait to see Trump in animatronic person.  Once the shows ended Cal and Doug decided to travel to EPCOT for a couple of beers and then back to the Boardwalk to rest.  My legs were officially done by the time they left, but I opted to stay with Meg, Brett, and Cam.  I knew that I'd be disappointed if I didn't finish out our time at Magic Kingdom.

While the parade was going on, we were able to walk right on a couple of rides.  The four of us then did some shopping at the Emporium and picked up our new phone cases at the front of the park.  We were also able to get Fast Passes for Rock N Roller Coaster.  Cal was too tired to join them, but the other three were more than eager to go back to Hollywood Studios one last time.  I thought about heading back to the Boardwalk, but went with the three of them instead.  Thankfully, the bus arrived right as we got into line.  Once we got to Hollywood Studios they went on ahead as it took me awhile to get through the park.  I met them at Alien Swirl.  I loved that ride from our trip a year ago, but hadn't had time to take a whirl on it this time.  The line was short which I appreciated plus the attraction was just as fun as I remembered.

We were all ready for dinner once we finished, so the four of us walked back to the Boardwalk to meet Cal and Doug.  I told the boys to go ahead of us as I knew it would take me awhile.  Meg stayed back with me talking about her favorite parts of the trip.  Dinner was delicious once again with meatball marinara.  We packed afterward and then enjoyed our last night of desserts.  We finished in time to get to EPCOT before the fireworks started.  We even had time for our favorite drink of the trip, Grey Goose slushies.  I couldn't think of a better way to end a fabulous day.

So Much Fun for All

We decided to sleep in this morning as we were all still exhausted from yesterday.  We still made it to Hollywood Studios before our reservations for Oga's Cantina.  We didn't know exactly what to expect when we arrived.  We waited in line until we were taken to our spot inside.  The cantina was pure Star Wars with a droid DJ, little room to move, loud bartenders and plenty of drinks to try.  We'd tried ones called Jedi Mind Tricks and ate Batuu Bites as a snack.  It was a lot of fun and one of the highlights of our trip.

We rode the Skyliners from Hollywood Studios to the International gateway between EPCOT and the Boardwalk.  I thought that it would be extremely scary, but it actually was a lot of fun.  It was also a quick way to get back and a great way to rest our feet.  The afternoon was spent playing miniature golf at Fantasia Mini-Golf.  It was a tight match with Cam beating me by one and Brett and Cal losing by two.  Doug had a tough day on the course, but he didn't mind.  Meg had fun and tried to stay out of the competitiveness of the match.  Afterward we toured the countries of EPCOT once again where Cal tried poutine and Cam had a turkey leg.  Brett stuck with his usual fish and chips and Meg ate Mexico's chips with queso.

 

 

Our night was spent back at Hollywood Studios as we had Fast Passes for Slinky Dog Dash.  Cal, Cam and Brett left early to catch Twilight Tower of Terror.  I agreed with Cal that the anticipation of the ride was much worse than the actual drop.  All of the Heinisch children tried to get on Rock N Roller Coaster tonight, but it was stopped for awhile, so we road Toy Story Mania instead.  While Meg and Brett went to Fantasmic, Cal, Cam and I rode Millennium Falcon.  The line was much shorter than yesterday morning and the ride was just as fun.  We all met back at the Boardwalk afterward for an evening of desserts and drinks.  It was the perfect way to end a fantastic day!

What a Day!

It was an early morning for everyone today as alarms were were set for 5:30 and we were all out the door by 6 a.m.  Cam and Doug had an 8:15 a.m. flight and the rest of us had hopes of securing boarding passes for Rise of the Resistance.  Thankfully, both groups were successful, although the adventure for Brett, Cal, Meg and I was definitely more stressful.  I have been to Disney World dozens of times and never experienced a morning like we had.  We were at Hollywood Studios at 6:18 and through the turnstiles at 6:33.  We were shoulder to shoulder in a large crowd inside the park waiting for its opening.  At 7 a.m. we got onto the My Disney Experience app as instructed to secure our boarding passes.  The app would not load, no matter what we tried.  Meg found a Disney employee to help us and right as we walked over to him a boarding pass opened and we found ourselves in boarding group 101.  We felt extremely fortunate to have secured a pass as there were only 114 groups for the day and all passes were distributed by 7:04 a.m.

As soon as we finished at the front of the park we walked in a large line to Star Wars land in the hope of riding the Millennium Falcon.  The amount of people doing the same thing was overwhelming, but the sights of the new land completely made us forget how crowded it was.  I actually felt as though I was walking on Tatooine.  There were land speeders, secret hideouts in the rocks, and storm troopers.  We had to have "credentials" to be in the land and paid for everything with "credits." The coke bottles were shaped like droids and we even got a glimpse of Chewbacca.  Our journey was awesome as we walked right by the Millennium Falcon to get into our jet fighter.  We each had a role on the ride as Brett and I were gunman and Cal and Meg were pilots.  In the end we flew well enough to bring back one container of fuel.  We checked out the rest of the land once we finished and then headed to Toy Story Mania.

        

The rest of our morning was spent back at the Boardwalk eating breakfast and resting before Doug and Cam arrived.  Their plane had arrived early and they were thankful to get two of the last few seats on the Magical Express.  Once we filled them in on our morning, we all walked to EPCOT for lunch.  Doug's first drink was a grey goose slushy in France.  The boys and I enjoyed them as well.  We ate brats in Germany and then headed to Norway to ride Frozen.  We had time to ride Test Track, Mission Space, Living with the Land and Soarin' as well.  Doug, Brett and Cal opted out of the Donald Duck ride to get jalapeño, blood orange and avocado margaritas.

          

While we were at EPCOT we received a message that we had two hours to board Rise of the Resistance.  This gave us enough time to eat at the Boardwalk club lounge.  Dinner was delicious once again this evening with steak salad and shrimp Alfredo.  Since we could only get four boarding passes this morning, I decided to let Cameron take my spot.  He asked me several times if I was ok with that, and I definitely was.  It had been crazy this morning trying to get them and there was no way that I wanted to do that again tomorrow to get more passes.  I was just thrilled that they would all get a chance to experience it.  Cameron did have to go as "Hadi" as I had been called multiple times this trip.  It was still a long wait, but the Heinisch children absolutely loved it.  It was based on The Force Awakens and was a ride like none that they had ever experienced before.  I was so happy they liked it and relieved that they all got to try it.  It was a fun walk back to the Boardwalk listening to their stories.