Post trip musings

Cool !!! :slight_smile:

I think there is a good chance that we’ll have them back in a few years. We have to build a new, smaller stadium downtown though.

Clearwater would be a good choice with kids. The beach is very nice. There is a boardwalk and a park. When we were there, they had a huge inflatable water slide. There are multiple places that rent water sport equipment. The Clearwater Aquarium (where Winter and Hope the dolphins live) is there. And as mentioned Busch Gardens is an easy drive from Clearwater (we went on two separate days the week we stayed at Clearwater). BG does have some big thrill rides, but there are also a number of shows and rides for kids. And, of course, lots of animals. I think there is plenty for a 7 year old to enjoy.

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Yes! I love Clearwater aquarium! I was going to write this but you beat me to it! You could watch the movies and then go meet Winter and Hope in person!
Or I also just google mapped Captiva island to WDW. It is 3hr 45 min. South Seas is our favorite place to stay and relax. It is so beautiful there. There are kids clubs, golf course, all kinds of water sports and cruises. Or just hang at the pool or beach.

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I deserve a medal for all the people I didn’t kidney punch for doing this, tough they totally deserved it.

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I used mobile ordering for CHH, Peco’s Bills, and Flame Tree BBQ. All orders were prepared correctly and accurately and relatively quickly (compared to the lines at the time).

One thing to note: there didn’t seem to be any way to customize the order in the app, i.e. “no mayo” or “sauce on the side” or whatever. I don’t know if that’s allowed at the QS counter either because we used mobile ordering for 100% of QS meals, but if you have dietary restrictions or picky kids it might be worth noting.

I would absolutely use mobile ordering again, no question.

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LOL glad to see I was not the only one feeling that way !!! My wife thought I was a bit too intense about this but man !!! SO ANNOYING !!! :rofl:

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My wife is on the same page as I am. We each grab a kid by the hand, say “keep up”, and wind our way through the crowd with purpose. Ain’t nobody got time to drag their feet on vacation!

Special shout out to the people that walk in the middle of a path and then suddenly stop to look at the map.

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We say, “In formation.” This means dad takes the lead, then the kids follow, with my wife following up in the rear to make sure none of the kids get separated. This keeps us in a single file line, able to weave through pretty efficiently.

The downside to this formation is when I’m on a mission, and my wife, who is 20 ft behind, discovers there is a shop that requires a stop into first. I check behind me every 10 to 15 seconds…but you can cover a lot of distance in that time. In crowds, it means I’ve lost my family entirely. I have to backtrack until I find some evidence of something that may have distracted them. Last resort, I have to pull out the cell and call my wife. We hit the last resort many times! :wink:

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I make sure to run into those people’s shins with the stroller !!! :grin:

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BAHAHAHHAH
Samesies here.

Near the end of our Epcot day, Jr whispered to me, “Hey, can we slow down and walk like the fat people? I’m tired.”

It’s ok, I can say that. I’m fat.

Listen, we laughed, he KNEW he was wrong for saying it that way, before we corrected him, but c’mon, it was funny. We ALL knew that it was definitely not only the pooh sized people that were walking like they had 200 lb backpacks on them. I just can’t walk that slow unless i really concentrate on doing so. I forget that Jr’s a little, and his strides are nowhere near as long, but he has far too much energy, and likes to bounce around, which, as a non-forward thinking youngling…TIRES YOU OUT, so you should just walk like a normal person, instead of taking 5 steps for my 2, and then jumping on top of a rock, or bench, or curb surrounding a flower bed at any chance you get. (I think we had that conversation every single day - but I never once got mad.)

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:rofl::rofl::rofl:

Seriously though, and I don’t mean to be disrespectful or mean or anything, I saw a lot of very severely obese people in this trip. Like their lives were in danger, litterally. It made us really sad quite a few times, especially when this really really big guy just a little ahead of us in the SDD queue had to walk away because he could not fit in the seat…after over an hour of waiting under the scorching sun… :disappointed_relieved:

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I honestly had this thought:

If I were a comedian, I could probably get big laughs by saying, “If you ever want to feel less overweight, take a trip to Disneyworld.”

Listen, I’m well overweight. Obese by medical definition, but I have big shoulders, and not a big belly. I do my gym work, and I’m athletic, my weight fluctuates. I’m fat. But holy balls…Lots of people with bigger issues than me, like you’ve said. I was actually pretty nervous about FOP, but no issues at all.

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Yeah I’m overweight too but only by like 25-30 pounds. I saw people who were at least 400 pounds overweight !!! And we had the exact same thought, Disney is good for self-esteem !!!

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Or were they trying to lose you?:confused:

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You are just jealous that you can’t do that anymore!

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Don’t think I haven’t wondered that, myself!

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Same with my boy. And climbing on the queue fences and swinging on the queue chains. I did get a bit mad a few times LOL

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Due to ever-worsening arthritis Cindy had to use a scooter for all-day touring in the parks last trip. She didn’t realize that there was a speed control knob, so I spent most of our EP day (our first day in the parks) half jogging behind her to keep up…

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LOL very sorry for the arthritis but that’s still a pretty funny story !!! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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My DD is 10 and a thrill junkie; she had a great time when we went this year, but didn’t want to do everything. Your 7yo will either dominate the day, in which case the older people may be a touch bored, or they will be bored while the older members of your party experience the park.

Honestly, of the affiliated parks, I’d do SeaWorld with the 7yo before BGT.

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