Spring Break 2018

The annual Dub Family Spring Break trip is upon us. We have 4 days in Orlando to relax and rejuvenate ourselves for another year. The relaxation part is never part of our vacations though. I live in a house with 3 females so I always have my hands full. And Spring Break has evolved over the years from carefree beach weekend to romantic weeklong getaways with Mrs. Dub to carrying diaper bags and strollers and waiting in long lines to get “It’s a Small World” stuck in my head for weeks. It’s always an adventure though and this year I’m documenting this wild and crazy journey. There will be a lot of fun but I’m sure I’ll write some of this on the verge of exhaustion tears.

Sunday is travel day so we will be on the road most of the day from our sleepy town in Georgia to bustling Orlando, Florida to see everything Mickey. We have taken the kids 4 times before and we’ve hit Disney, Universal, Animal Kingdom, Sea World, Islands of Adventure, Blizzard Beach, Wet N Wild and numerous mini golf courses. We are going back to Disney this year because we think the kids are the right age to get everything. Bailey is old enough to ride all the rides and G is old enough to not be scared of the characters in costume. At least that’s how we have it outlined in our heads. Don’t worry, there will be cards too!

So let’s hit the road!

Sunday

Really not much happening on travel day other than what feels like herding cats. Actually leaving the house feels like a tremendous accomplishment; never mind the 5 hour drive that awaits. We all get hungry in intervals and anybody with a wife and multiple daughters also knows that they all have to use the bathroom at different times. This ride was better than last year because G has learned how to occupy herself with a movie and she also slept a little. The wife slept more than a little and Bailey rotated between angel and master complainer.

We did make it safely though and that’s really all that matters. We had a rather uneventful check in and the room was as advertised. I know it is more entertaining to read about something in the room being broken or somebody already being in the shower when we open the door but I’ll take boring any day of the week when it comes to checking into a room away from home. We do have a nice pool view but that comes with the constant, “I want to go swimming” from the kids. Even when it’s time to eat supper or go to bed!

We did make our normal Target run though to stock up a little and I spent some time in the card aisle staring at the lone box of 2018 Leaf Heroes of the Game. I struggled with whether to take one more chance or stick with the three I pulled and call it a success. Ultimately I left the box sitting on the shelf. My rationale was that I really wouldn’t pull anything better than Ripken, Gwynn or Montana so I was really tempting fate with that $35 of vacation money. It’s only Sunday though and I have until Wednesday to change my mind!

Monday

This was the big day! We rolled out of bed bright and early and headed out for Disney World. This was going to be G’s 2nd trip and Bailey’s 4th. I realized this morning that we have been to Orlando every year since G was born. We were here the year Alicia was pregnant with her too but that trip didn’t go too well if you’ll recall the ups and downs I wrote about in The Strongest Woman I Know. At any rate, when G was 7 months old, we went to Universal and Islands of Adventure. She wasn’t old enough to even remember it. The following year was a trip to Wet n Wild and Sea World. Then last year, Disney and Animal Kingdom with the Collins’, which was a total blast.

We decided that Disney would be the call again this year because G was a little older and she was much more into the Disney scene. Last year was a bit of a letdown when we immediately found out that she was afraid of the castle. We weren’t able to really enjoy any of the shows or castle parties with that being the case. She was much more into the whole castle scene this year and even sat front row for a show. The volume was a little loud but she made it through the whole thing.

We went to another “show” of sorts with a newer attraction featuring Belle of “Beauty and the Beast”. They even asked for the audience to participate and Bailey was chosen to play Mrs. Potts. It was a fun time and Bailey and G both got their photos taken with Belle. Of course, we rode Dumbo and It’s a Small World because that is a bit of a tradition. But we skipped Peter Pan this year because of the wait times and replaced it with The Little Mermaid ride. We also weren’t able to ride the Seven Dwarves roller coaster for the second year in a row because the wait time was never less than 150 minutes.

I finally got Bailey to Thunder Mountain and it was a total blast! We hardly ever go to Frontierland for one reason or another but we made sure that we checked that box this year, even with the daunting 70 minute wait. Alicia and G did the Philharmonic while we road the coaster. Bailey loved it and called it her second favorite ride ever. She has my sense of adventure and she’ll ride all the cool stuff with me. We just can’t ride as much with G not understanding why she can’t go too.

We then met up with Alicia and G to attempt the Haunted Mansion as a family. That was an adventure. G didn’t make it to the elevator before she chickened out so she and Alicia had to take the emergency exit. Bailey and I went through the elevator portion and just as we were about to get in the ride car, Alicia and G appeared out of nowhere because the little one had changed her mind. She and Bailey hopped in the car with me before we could really sort things out and Alicia got stuck riding by herself. We were able to get it done as a family but Alicia got the shaft.

We also found some time to get a ride on the carousel in but we eventually closed out the night with Winnie the Pooh, at G’s request. We sort of owed it to her after the Haunted Mansion ride and then the fireworks scaring her way more than some cheesy spook house effects. I had to take her into a gift shop during the firework show and one of the shop workers even came over to talk with us and offered G some stickers to help her feel better. She took the stickers and put them on her ears! So Winnie the Pooh was a must and she loved it so we were able to end the night on a high note…..almost. It took us over an hour to get on the monorail and then the tram to finally get to the car. G fell asleep on my shoulders with a huge sucker in her hand, which stuck itself to my hair.

All in all, it was one of the better days we’ve had at an amusement park. I’m not saying that any of the days are ever too bad but we tend to experience occasional meltdowns when we get too tired, too hot or have too much fun to choose from. Besides the occasional “I haven’t gotten to ride anything I want” and “I’m hungry”, we had a pretty solid day in that department. We had one particular moment that I’ll cherish for quite a while. We got stuck inside Gaston’s Tavern because of some rain but we all sat and shared popcorn, a cinnamon bun and frozen apple juice and nobody complained, everybody loved the food and we had a good time laughing at each other.

Now, everybody is fast asleep except for me as I’m trying to recount this day before I lose some of the smaller moments to sleep. But sleep is coming because my feet are swollen, my back is tight and we have a full day of swimming ahead of us tomorrow. But for now, today was a damn good day and one that feels like we did it the right way.

Tuesday

Today started off the right way; ripping! Even though it’s wrestling and not a product I rip a lot, it’s always fun. I’m more of an old school wrestling guy so this isn’t really my speed but I can still get down with it. I’ve got a real nostalgic wrestling post in the works but it will have to wait until after spring break.

The product is Topps Road to WrestleMania and includes two hits with at least one autograph guaranteed. There is a cool tribute to André the Giant so that’s right up my alley!

Of course, the Undertaker is an old school guy too!

Of the modern wrestlers, I like watching Asuka because she is very entertaining. Undefeated too if I recall correctly.

In a modern/throwback combo, here is a nice Charlotte Flair. The Nature Girl?

But my favorite lineage duo has always been The American Dream and Goldust!

As for the hits, I hope Nikki Cross pans out because I’ve opened 2 WWE products in the last few months and I now have 3 of her autos. My 2 hits in this box were the same autos but one is numbered to 50.

After the rip, it was time to hit the pool!! This is really what the kids had been waiting for probably more than Disney. All I’ve heard for the last week is, “I want to swim at Liki Tiki!” We’ve stayed here a few times and the kids are familiar with the slides and the volcano fountain and all the other stuff that gets their attention. Our pool view room didn’t help when we got here either but I’m not complaining about that.

I will say that spring break in late March always has the possibility of being a little on the chilly side. Don’t get me wrong, 75 degrees isn’t exactly chilly but its borderline swimming weather for South Georgians. We have Christmas Days that are warmer than that. The breeze was pretty strong and as long as we stayed in the water, we were good. The minute you got out, you felt like you were at Polar Bear tryouts. The kids didn’t seem to mind so that’s really all that mattered. Even though it was a little chilly, I’ve got red shoulders, Alicia’s neck is red and Bailey has a red face. G dodged the sunburn bullet.

Tomorrow is travel day back home because the Orlando trip was really only a venture for the first half of the week. We’ve got some plans in Ocala and I have a Donruss box that I haven’t ripped yet so we’ll see if there is anything left to post.

Wednesday

Well, the trip ended on a sour note for me. I was hit with a bout of food poisoning during the middle of the night and spent several hours hanging on for dead life. I’d never had full blown food poisoning but I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. I’m going on about 20 hours with no food and just drinking water and Gatorade. It changed the ride home for me as I just slept but Mrs. Dub and the kids did some touring of stables in Ocala and got some trail riding in so it was a good time for them.

I won’t let that last part ruin my memory of the trip because it was a fun excursion. We had a lot of fun at Disney and the kids are enjoying it more now when we go. They are sort of in that perfect age range to get the most out of it. Bailey is wanting to do more scary rides now so she is probably going to want Islands of Adventure or Universal for the next trip. But this year was really good. We still have half of a week to rest and enjoy ourselves and I still have that box of Donruss to rip when I’m back on my feet so it’s not over yet! But this part of the vacation was a “4” on the Dub-O-Meter. Would’ve easily been a “5” if not for the severe abdominal pain over the last several hours!

J-Dub