Family at Disney April 2009

Family at Disney… what can I say…

What could be better !

Every couple of years we have a great time with family at Disney. What makes this even better is we can get most of them in for Free! Since we are seasonal cast members at Disney… one of the perks is free passes to get family & friends in for free…. what a great benefit. While limited to 6 at a time, plus ourselves, it’s still a tremendous savings… but not to fear… Disney makes it up in food and merchandise sales to the point where it’s hard to tell what you really saved.

First stop… Magic Kingdom. While most of the attractions at Magic Kingdom have been there for years… it’s always great to see them again. Of course there’s always something new … a new show, new attraction, new ride, or merely upgrades and improvements to the older favorites. Something new, something fresh, and old favorites… what could be better! ? ….maybe… taking in family that has never been to Disney before!

Family this year included Doug & Cindy, Kelli & Kevin… their 3 kids… Bayne, Shyler, & little Kevin, Kayla our grand-daughter… and of course, me (Richard) & Shelly… 10 in all! Kelli, Kevin, their 3 kids, and Kayla are all new to Disney…. the rest of us have been there before… and of course, me & Shelly are there several months each year… working and playing… okay… mostly playing. This was especially true for 2008 were we worked a grand total of 67 hours in 4 months… that’s a lot of play time! With so much to do… so much to see, it was hard to keep everyone from scattering to see things that most interested them… so plans were made to split up and rejoin each other through out the day. It was a bit busy at Disney with the upcoming Easter Holiday… so splitting up part of the time made it easier to see the things on everyone’s list… and made getting back together all the more enjoyable… everyone had a super story to tell about what they had seen or done.

It’s still is … as past years themes were so appropriately called…

“Magical Gatherings”, “Happiest Place on Earth”, and “Where Dreams Come True”.

The following days took us to EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, and a return trip to Magic Kingdom.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios and SeaWorld would have to wait for another time. The planned trip to Seaworld gave way to a much needed time to rest and relax… a Disney vacation is no vacation without relax time… and this was no exception… certainly this close to Easter… too warm & too busy. I have a preference to go in when it’s slower & cool… no crowds… walk right onto most rides… and a cooler 70 degrees is just perfect for me!

There were far too many specific things to mention tell exactly what we all did… 4 trips into the parks… countless shows, attractions, rides, and character greetings… needless to say… we did a lot! Only one person truly missed seeing the one thing they really wanted to see… Kevin really wanted to see Ariel… not little Kevin… big Kevin… but such is life… maybe next time! But… he still has a great shirt to have forever. After a fun filled week of Disney and 18-20 meals on the run… it was time for everyone to return to a normal life and go home to jobs and such…. and a well deserved rest.

Kayla had her first airplane flight when she flew down to Florida with Doug, and she will be with us for another two weeks at Disney/Seaworld… than another week at Myrtle Beach… right on the ocean… and than will return to her momma & papa once we go to Virginia. But that’s another story!