Now...it's time to talk about the disappointing part of our trip to Florida.
I was born and raised in Tampa, only a little over an hour away from "The happiest place on earth!" (BULLSHIT)... I remember my grandparent would always buy my sister and I those yearly Disney park hopper passes for Christmas...or our birthdays. There were many summers I felt like I went to Disney World every friggin' weekend, but I guess that's kind of what you did when you live in Tampa or Orlando. I think it's safe to assume that just about every kid who grew up close to the theme parks had yearly Bush Garden, Adventure Island, Disney World, Sea World, and Universal passes...I know I did...what else was there to do during summer breaks?
With as many years as I have been frequenting these theme parks, I am well aware of when the busy times are. I know when the Brazilians will come by the bus load, waving their flags as they walk around the parks...and mall...and even when they go to the bathroom. I know when the British are on holiday, and come over to buy as much Etnies, Quicksilver, and Roxy crap as they can for half the price they would pay in their country. I felt very confident that I knew exactly what I was getting myself into when Mark and I decided to take Knox to Disney World for his first Disney experience....boyyyyy, was I wrong.
I could see things were going in the shitter quickly the day my sister and I decided to spend our "sister time" at "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" in Island of Adventure. Again, I just want to say that I spent most my life going to these stupid theme parks, so I knew what to expect. When I saw the signs that show the wait times for all the rides, 120 mins for The Hulk, 80 for Spiderman, I wasn't surprised at all. Then we get to where TWWOHP should be...and what do we see?...the entrance is completely blocked off! We are then lead to a line that had a 3 hour wait time! WTF! 3 hours just to GET INTO THAT SECTION OF THE PARK!!! Seriously, what...the...fuck! But...we waited...in a 3 hour line...to see the HP...sigh. Of course there were people trying to cut in line and fights were breaking out. I myself thought I might be taken to jail because of some encounters I had with obnoxious people (Just so you know, tourist, respect my personal space or I will cut a bitch!).
While waiting in line, we met an interesting little family (a mom and her two tween boys). We conversed with them the entire time we were waiting in that effin' line. One of the boys (who was a super HP enthusiast) made the comment "I can't believe they allowed this many people in the park! And can't believe how many people are actually here! Aren't we suppose to be in a recession?"....haha, kids and their little observations.
Once we actually got into the TWWOHP, I was pleasantly surprised with how awesome it looked. The only problem was that there was NO WAY my sister and I could enjoy it. It was wall-to-wall people, and there were 2 hour lines just to get into the shops. My sister and I said "Fuck this shit!" and left. I was extra super pissed because I have NEVER in my life experienced this kind of bullshit crowding at a theme park! I decided to go complain (something I never do unless I feel it is completely warranted). When I spoke to one of the "managers" I told her that I was expecting to have to wait a while for some rides, but no one said anything about having to wait in a line to actually get into a portion of the park. If I was informed about that I would have never spent 120 dollars on a ticket. I also told her that I know it was my choice to wait in that 3 hour line, but I thought that the purpose of the line was to control the crowds that were going into TWWOHP, so that when I actually got into the park, I might be able to enjoy it. I was a little irritated that when I walk in I was bombarded with wall-to-wall people (which by the way was a fire hazard because if a fire broke out everyone would have been dead...I know, I sound like a mother, but these are facts) and I have a 2 hour wait to get into a store, then I'm pissed. The lady was nice enough to give us 10 fast passes so My sister and I could actually ride some rides, since the majority of our day was spent waiting in line for nothing. With that said my sister and I rushed through both parks trying to ride as many rides as we could.
A little side note here, Lo and I got a super awesome video of us riding that Rockin roller coaster thing (Name? One of the workers at the park actually called it "The Red Rocket"...no lie) at Universal. It was AMAZING-FUN!
The day before this Harry potter debacle, we had gotten word that, for 2 days in a row, Disney had stopped admitting people into the park because they were at capacity. When Lo and I got back to the rental house we talked with everyone about or little ordeal at Universal, and decided we shouldn't take Knox to Disney...it really sucked cause we had the tickets ready to go and everything.
This was how the last couple days in Florida went.
Cracker Barrel, Bahama Breeze, swimming in the pool, boat rides at Downtown Disney, and fireworks with marks family at their camp sight in Fort Wilderness.
Chillin' at the rental house...
Knox's first time in a pool! (I know it was kind of cold out, but the pool was heated so we could actually enjoy it)...
Downtown Disney...
There was live music, so of course Knox had to get out of his stroller and dance...AKA spin...
At Fort Wilderness. It was nice cause Marks mom and dad had their RV parked right across from his sister Marcy and their families RV.
Picture by Jake
Some people get serious about their golf carts....
I was surprised to see how many people actually decorated their campsites with Christmas lights.
Fireworks over the water.
It was definitely nice spending time with our families and having them spend time with Knox, but I don't think I'm going to be able to handle a trip like this again for a long time. It's challenging with a toddler (life in itself is challenging with a toddler), and you definitely have to buy your child their own seat for the plane ride. Knox had his own seat on the plane ride back, and things went much smoother.
For Christmas 2012, I hope we will be spending it in a cabin, out in Lake Tahoe, surrounded by snow.
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