The Wonderful World of...

Well, here I am, finally blogging about our amazing trip to Disney. The Thomas family took of from chilly Cincinnati on December 30 and landed in Orlando, ready for balmy, humid weather and memories to keep forever. Mom and Dad had a timeshare in Kissimee, roomy enough for each of us (including me and Brandon, Sonya, Mom and Dad, Robyn, Treva, and Treva's boyfriend Josh) to have our own room. It was quite comfortable, and as soon as we were all in the same room, the planning and scheming to see every inch began. Of course I already had several possible itineraries, contingent upon crowds, weather, and the general mood of little Sonya. Overplanned to be sure!


We spent our first day (Monday, December 31) at Animal Kingdom, since it was New Year's Eve, and we would be fighting crowds everywhere. It was a smart choice, no crowds for the entirety of the morning, leaving us ample time to enjoy the Festival of the Lion King show, in which we were had to be lions in the show, take our first ride ever, on the Triceratops Spin (very similar to Dumbo), play in the Boneyard, and meet and greet with Mickey! Sonya wasn't real keen on talking to the characters, but seeing them from afar was topic for much chatter in the following hours. Unfortunately, no pics of us and Mickey, one of my few complaints about Disney, their photographers are not very good. Since Sonya was still in sensory overload and sleepy from the travel the day before,


most of the day was spent strolling around observing the different animals in their enclosed habitats. The otters were so cute and playful, and the tigers were breathtaking. Sonya did enjoy climbing on what she declared a parysauralophus, and seeing Aladar, one of her favorite Disney characters from Dinosaur.


She said,"Mommy, this music is Aladar!," as the we approached the prehistoric lizard to its own soundtrack. Such keen ears! We ate at this great new restaurant in Asia called the Yak and Yeti, completely amused at Sonya's attempt at chopsticks! Our waiter was kind enough to give us a faspass (the only was to ride at Disney) to Mount Everest,


the coaster around the corner haunted by the Yeti, and with Dad's spy skills, he palmed the pass and we rode twice in 10 minutes!! Awesome first day.

Second day (Tuesday, January 1) we spent at Sea World. We saw many incredible animals, but among Sonya's favorites were the manatees,


puffins, and beluga whales (so serene and peaceful, almost ghostly to watch, we stayed at the exhibit for nearly 30 minutes). The puffins were very active, diving and zooming through the water, or staring at you through the glass for no particular reason, such personality. B and Sonya had some quality time going through the shark tunnel, and our lunch was in place on the other side of the glass, face to face with some toothy neighbors. We saw a couple shows, including the hilarious sea lions, and the larger than life orcas. B and I were a little disappointed with Shamu, but it left a big enough impression on Sonya that she chose a mother and baby orca to take home with her, compliments of her Aunt Treva. Even with all the animals to marvel at, Sonya's favorite time was at the climbing apparatus in the kid's section, climbing nets until her feet fell through the holes and then riding on Daddy's back like an arabian princess on her royal camel. So cute. Another successful yet exhausting day.

The third day (Wednesday, January 2) was the first day that went awry. The plan was to spend half a day at Epcot and the head to Magic Kingdom. Temperatures dropped so low that we stayed in Epcot for the duration, since most of attractions were inside. Record lows caused B to purchase a hat to take the chill off, but it gave is a chance to ride Nemo and Figment thrice, memories that Sonya will not soon forget.


Nemo was definitely one of Sonya's all time favorite things to do, and it was followed with something I will treasure forever, Turtle Talk with Crush! It was an interactive chat with the animated surfer dude from Nemo, and he actually talked to the kids! Strangely enough we spent a good portion of our time in Mouse Gear, a large store with all sorts of things kids of all sizes can get into. We had a fashion show of hats,




made Potato Heads, played with toys, and generally forgot that we were the adults in the group! While in England waiting for our table at the Rose and Crown, we ran into little Alice in Wonderland in a nearby toy store, and she was cordial enough to indulge Sonya in a concerned conversation about the location of Alice's cat. Sonya always seems more concerned about the absence of a sidekick than the presence of the lead character! We also saw Mary Poppins, Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore. Good hotspot for characters. We ended the day back at the Kodak area beyond the Figment ride, getting pictures of the family swimming with the cast of Finding Nemo, as a token of appreciation to Mom and Dad for their generosity and an image of the favorite caption on Disney thus far.

For the first time since the trip began, the young adults started to get the hang of the schedule, and rebounded with enough energy in the evening to venture out after putting baby cakes to bed. Under the watchful eye of the grandparents, Sonya slumbered while Robyn, B, and I took a short trip to peruse Downtown Disney. Much to my dismay, we did not see the Cirque du Soleil that is in residence there, La Nouba. We had a riot in the Lego Imaginarium, marveling at the creations outside the store from people with way to much time on the hands. We also poised coyly alongside some of our favorite characters including Buzz and some princesses.


Brandon and I had been on a mission the entirety of the vacation to find the most obscure stuffed character we could find. Brandon's attempts included Jiminy Cricket, a woozle from Winnie the Pooh, and a hairy looking creature that wasn't immediately recognizable. Then... it came to me. It was a baby Chewbacca!!! I had to have, and it is now comfortably perched at my bedside.

On the fourth day (Thursday, January 3) of Disney, the Thomas family finally landed in the Magic Kingdom! Today was us and the rents, poor Robyn was sick, and Treva and Josh hit Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM). Another cold day forced us into a store for gloves, a blanket, and a windbreaker. Strangely enough, our first ride was It's a Small World! Yes, Pap was with us, it was a historic moment for him, as we only rode it one time in total, as opposed to the zillions of times he rode it with his elementary age daughters circa 1980something! The Pooh ride was next, another favorite if Sonya's, the Pooh playground followed. We hosted a tea party inside, with crumpets and honey, of course!


Peter Pan was next, and one of my personal favorites, simply because me and Pete, we go waaaaay back! While on Cinderella's Carousel, Brandon spotted memory of his own in the making: the sword from Sword in the Stone! No, he didn't win the inheritance of the throne of England, but the grin on his face as he gripped the hilt of the weapon was worth all that and more!


As if this much excitement wasn't enough, we ventured back over to Norway (inside the World Showcase of Epcot) to attend royal princess luncheon. Yes, they let me and Brandon in, as well as our nap deprived little one, to a decadent meal of munchies and crunchies. As we were dining, daddy's girl, Little Mermaid Ariel, came by to wish us well. Sonya was a bit shy, to be expected, but Ariel was kind enough to entertain us with conversation concerning the whereabouts of her best friend Flounder and her hunkie Prince Eric. We were also visited by Sonya's favorite Princess, Aurora (aka Sleeping Beauty),


Cinderella, and Jasmine. Sonya played shy with all of them, but once they were out of earshot, she entertained us with her versions of the encounters. We caught a glimpse of Belle from Beauty and the Beast as we were escorted from our table as well. Thanks Grandma for another memory we will not soon forget!

Friday (January 4) was a split day. The weather was gradually improving from the reported two coldest days in Disneyworld history! Robyn accompanied us to Hollywood Studios. Originally we were going to skill this park all together, but after Treva had scoped it out the day before, we thought we would check it out. So glad we did, since we saw Little Mermaid singing in a live show. Wandering around, we ran into several characters, and even though Sonya was excited to see them, I think her mommy was a bit red in the face when we met Buzz Lightyear!!! We also saw McQueen from Cars and the classic Disney characters. Our most fun time was climbing around on the set of Honey I Shrunk the Kids. It was larger than life, with enormous ants, blades of grass, a dog's nose the size of a car, and a can of Play-Doh! So glad we didn't skip that park, for even though there wasn't alot for kids Sonya's age, what was there was priceless.

Having a short morning gave us our first chance to return to the park in the afternoon for what proved to be in Sonya's top 3 list: the parade! Magic Kingdom's parade was exciting, nearly every major character you could think of, even the villains! Dopey came right up to Sonya, since we had front row seats, but she was so busy guzzling her chocolate milk that she didn't notice!! Having a second trip to Magic Kingdom gave us a chance to reride Pooh's ride (also in the top 3), spin in teacups with Roby,


and finally ride the much anticipated and much overrated Dumbo. Sonya and Robyn did have a grand time during our minute and a half flight that had followed an hour wait (longest line in the park, followed by Pooh at 25 minutes). We also stayed long enough to see Cinderella's castle light up the night sky


and be dazzled by the evening parade, with each float lit up like only Disney can.

Our final day of Disney was spent where it all began: Animal Kingdom. Love the symmetry of things. We revisited some favorite things such as the animal exhibits and Dinoland, but the first thing on the agenda was the one thing we hadn't done yet: the Kilimanjaro Safari. We had heard tales of Robyn being accosted by an ostrich, as it starred her down from the middle of the road on their voyage Monday morning. Sonya was on the lookout for such a beast, and we were met with so much more. From crocodiles, okapi (look it up, elegant relative of the giraffe), hippos, and cheetahs to the mainstays of African savannah life, elephants, giraffes, lions, and impalas.


We rode it twice in 30 minutes with nearly no wait! Gotta love faspass. Even though our favorite experiences out of all the parks had been the Nemo ride, we were reluctantly skipping Nemo the Musical, until our Pap scored us an amazing spot in the mile long line to enter the theater. We were 3 rows from the stage, and ended up merely feet from the actors and characters themselves. The theatrical ability to draw children into live theater makes you realize why Disney does what they do so well. The main actors carried large hand puppets of their characters that acted alongside their human counterparts. Mr. Ray was an actor on a bicycle, with the ray strewn overtop by stilts, flapping his wings as the person pedaled in. Crush was a huge turtle with the singer surfing his back, and Squirt was hanging and flipping from the ceiling! Needless to say, I was as entranced as Sonya, and after the show we immediately found the music to take home. Sonya already performs many numbers from the production, and will be putting out a solo album in the fall. Our last memorable moment was our lunch at Rainforest Cafe, in which we dined next to the gorillas, and somehow acquired a cheetah to accompany us home to remember the experience. He is fondly called...Mr. Cheetah.

Moment after moment, memory after memory, exhaustion and cramped legs


(yes, Dad, even I got tired, mostly from having to loop back around to corral everyone!) isn't even the beginning or the end of the time of our lives that we had at a truly magical place. It was so great to be with the whole family and spend some much needed Thompson time,


a rare a precious commodity. Anyone planning a trip, I have loads of advice, and no we do not plan to return until our kids are 52" and scare proof, sitting safely next to Mom and Dad on ALL the coasters!!!