Heckman Family Vacation: Mickey's Not-So-Scary-Halloween 2014

We just got back from our very best 4-person family vacation ever!

It was one of those vacations that required a lot of work on the front end (and a lot of worry about weather) but it all paid off in spades once we arrived.

I did a lot of research this year while planning our once-a-year family vacation. I read a ton of blogs, read and re-read the Disney web sites about 100 times, and actually called Disney at least 5 times to verify, change, and double-check reservations.

And it was worth every second.

We arrived at Walt Disney World around 11:30 a.m. on Thursday. The weather was gorgeous, but according to the meteorologists we were in for some rain later in the day. Normally, that wouldn't bother me, but our event - Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party - didn't even start until 4 p.m. So if it were going to be a rainy evening, we were going to be soaked.

Notice the Mickey pumpkins they put out? So cute!

I was told by the reservation person over the phone that Disney "rarely has early check-in available." But I was willing to try so that we could gain every extra second of our vacation. Regular check-in is at 3 p.m. but we showed up at 11:30 smiling and willing to wait by the resort pool if necessary.

Fortunately, the front desk immediately checked us in (no keys anymore folks - it's all on your Magic Band!) and we were able to head directly to our room. And bonus - they give the boys swords and eye patches when you check in. Disney doesn't miss a beat, I tell ya!

Payton's best "Argh Matey!"

We had viewed the resort web site with the kids several times in advance to get them excited for the pools, etc. But when we looked at the pictures, I made sure they only saw the "standard room" pics. Don't get me wrong, the standard rooms are very nice, but I wanted to surprise everyone (not even Brian knew) so I booked a "Pirate Room." It was only an additional $15/day, and it was SO worth it!

The beds were pirate ships, the curtain between the bedroom and the bathroom had a skull and crossbones, the fridge was a barrel, the dresser looked like stacked crates, there was a carving in the shower of a huge pirate ship...it was amazing!

Don't mind our 24-pack of bottled water on top of the fridge. That's a great tip to save money at Disney - pack your own water!

The kids immediately started pretending to "steer" the pirate ship beds and jump from bed to bed. I love letting all the normal "rules" go out the window when we're on vacation.

"You wanna jump on the bed? You betcha! Stay up past 10 p.m.? Of course! Have a second dessert? You got it! Pop Tarts for breakfast...yes sir!"

 

After checking out the room, we changed clothes and headed to the main resort area where we ate a small lunch and hit the pools!

Still beautiful weather! No rain in sight!

The main pool has 2 slides, 2 hot tubs, a zero-entry area, and lots and lots of room to swim (oh, and a great poolside bar).

This kiddie area was really cool but Payton was too tall to enter, so Parker wanted very little to do with it. But if you had little kids, it would be absolutely perfect!

All around the resort there were these cannons. It really made the area look like a pirate ship.

Across the water from the pool, was a large beach area with lounge chairs and hammocks.

Brian got to relax for a few moments in one of the hammocks.

 

After a couple hours of swimming, we headed back to the room and changed clothes for our big night at the Magic Kingdom. 

I bought Publix subs ahead of time and packed lots of water & snacks so that we didn't have to purchase anything at the park. This was a HUGE money saver!

Disney really does an amazing job when it comes to overhauling the park for holidays. It's almost a bit of sensory overload, but it's so fun because everywhere you turn, there's something else to look at!

Every lamp post has a Mickey pumpkin. There are characters dressed up in Halloween costumes, spooky music playing...the whole nine yards!

Obligatory photo in front of Cinderella's castle.

In year's past we found out that even though the printed time on your ticket says "7 p.m." you can actually enter the park at 4 p.m.

Also, there is no "Fast Pass" during Mickey's Not-So-Scary-Halloween, but that starts at 7 p.m. So, I used our Magic Bands online ahead of time and booked 3 Fast Pass rides from 4-7 p.m. And I'm so glad that I did, because we rode Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain and Haunted Mansion with no lines!

Thunder Mountain

After our Fast Pass rides were done, we did a couple of rides around Frontierland, because we wanted to get good seats for the parade. The first parade starts at 8:30, but the Headless Horseman rides through at 8:15, so Parker and I staked out parade route seats around 8 p.m. while Brian and Payton rode Thunder Mountain two more times (in the dark...in the front row!).

Sincerely, this is how he looked throughout the entire parade. Totally mesmerized!

The parade is fantastic! Seriously, it's probably one of my favorite parts of the entire event. They do a great job with the music, dancing, characters, etc. It's really great! Here's a YouTube link to view the entire parade if you're curious.

After the parade, we hit several Trick or Treat stations throughout the park. And let me tell you... they don't play around with Trick or Treating!

They give you a trick-or-treat bag when you enter the park, and then when you walk through the stations, they literally use both hands to grab as much candy as they can from the barrel and then dump it into your bag.

Needless to say, the kids don't even need to trick or treat on Halloween now with as much candy as they collected!

We rode several more rides and then accidentally found a fantastic spot to view the fireworks display. Both Brian and I agreed that it was the most spectacular fireworks show we've ever seen!

My little tid bits of video here and there really didn't do it justice. Here's a great video of the whole show:

After hitting most of the rides in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, the older "boys" wanted to ride Space Mountain. So Parker and I found a cozy spot outside the ride to wait for them. The next thing I knew... Parker was totally asleep.

Of course, it was almost 10:30 p.m. so the little dude held on as long as he could!

At that point, Payton was fading and all of our feet were dog tired! So we headed back to the park entrance and caught our bus back to the resort.

The castle is all lit up in purple lights at night. It's so pretty!

Main Street at night.

I was positive the boys would sleep until at least 8 a.m. the next morning after being up past 11 p.m. the night before... WRONG! They were both up by 7:30 a.m.

Both boys were under the impression that we were only staying for one night (as we had always done in the past). Little did they know that Mom & Dad had a little surprise up their sleeves!

Brian took the boys for an early morning walk around the resort and I busted out a bag full of decorations, candy, and gifts and decked out the entire room in Halloween!

The confused look on their faces when they came back into the room was priceless! They thought I was in the room packing up, so when they came in they had no idea what was going on. I asked Payton, "So.... do you want to stay another day?" I'll never forget the look on his face! He said, "What? What did you say? We can stay tonight? Until tomorrow??" It was so great.

Then about 45 minutes later there was a knock at the door and I said, "Oh, that's probably maintenance." Payton opened the door... and there were my parents! "Surprise!" Payton was once again in total shock.

My parents went with us back to the main resort area for breakfast and some arcade and pool time. Then they headed back to Orlando. It was so great seeing them on our vacation.

The boys really just wanted to stay at the pool the rest of the morning, despite our attempts to offer up other resort pools, Downtown Disney or other things. They absolutely loved the pool and the slides. So after several hours of swimming, I made them some sandwiches (another money saver!) and this is what Parker looked like for the next 4 hours...

Brian and Payton explored the resort, played in the arcade, and kept busy while Parker napped. And then we decided to take the bus back to the Magic Kingdom and ride the monorail around to all the resorts. By the way, this was one of the only times that it rained. And since we were on the monorail, it didn't even matter!

They loved riding the monorail and it was fun exploring the other resorts (they loved the Contemporary). Afterward, we headed back to our resort for dinner and then... back to the pool for a night swim!

Mickey cookies at 9 p.m.? Yep!

The one and only rain shower that impacted us moved through around 9:30 p.m. (we were soooo fortunate with the weather all weekend!!) so we went back to the room for bedtime. 

All of the Disney resorts have a channel that plays bedtime stories every 15 minutes from 6-11 p.m. It was great. The boys got in their adorable matching PJ's (thanks Nana!!!)...

...and watched a bedtime story on TV. We all cashed out after that and slept HARD!

The next morning we packed up and headed to the pool for breakfast. Mickey waffles of course.

The boys played in the arcade while Brian and I enjoyed the cooler weather and quiet morning by the resort pool.

Then we rented a surey bike built for 6! Parker rode up front and the rest of us peddled. There were some serious hills, but they were followed by some seriously fun downhills!

After all that bike riding, we were all sweating and looking forward to one last dip in the pool.

Then we changed clothes and headed to Downtown Disney for our goodbye lunch at Rainforest Cafe.

With full bellies and happy hearts, we headed back down the I-4 corridor while listening to our beloved Gators WIN their game! It was the perfect ending to a fantastic vacation.

I hope someday my boys will look back at this post and remember all of the fun we had as a family. 

Totally unplugged for 3 days (e.g. no computers or phones except for pictures)... it was a little slice of heaven and I'm feeling very grateful for the memories we created.

I love you boys!!!

Spring Break Whiplash

Sorry for the silence on the blog.

Last week was Spring Break.

Enough said.

In fact, we went speeding along so fast; had so much fun; did so many things; that when it all came screeching to a halt on Monday morning...I felt like I was suffering from Spring Break Whiplash. I'm sure it's a real medical condition. If not, it should be.

It's like somebody played a cruel joke and combined Day Light Savings time, a week off of school, and two exhausted children and said, "Here ya go...good luck getting them up and ready and off to school on time" (with an evil laugh to follow).

Fortunately, the first day back was a rainy one spent inside, doing very low-key things, which helped me readjust my body to this whole "be-there-on-time" thing.

But looking back, our Spring Break was truly amazing.

Nothing too lavish or crazy. But just the right mix of excitement paired with relaxation.

Here's a recap in pictures...

Monday morning we hit the ground running by meeting my parents at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Notice how it's still dark out? We got to the park at 8 a.m.

I love how the sun is just starting to come up in this picture. Although photos cannot do justice to just how amazing this "Tree of Life" really is. It's one of the most incredible things I've seen at a Disney park. Hundreds and hundreds of animals carved into the tree at every angle.

I had done plenty of research ahead of time and it seemed like everything I read said to get there right when the park opened and head straight to the Safari ride. The earlier you can do that ride, the better your chances are at seeing the animals.

I'm so glad I listened, because even our tour guide was surprised by some of the animal sightings. It was really amazing to be up close in the open air with no glass wall separating us from these majestic creatures.

Here you can see the two types of giraffes on the property: Reticulated (L) & Masai (R)

Again, this picture doesn't do justice to actually seeing these animals in person. But we got to hear this lion roar from far away on the property and then got to see him up close. He was MASSIVE!

 

The boys were very happy with all the rides and play areas available for kids. Parker talked both grandparents into riding this pseudo Dumbo ride.

And Payton talked Brian into riding "Expedition Everest" twice! It was more than this mama could handle so I was glad Brian was so willing to go on it (along with other rollercoasters) alone.

My favorites were the shows. The Nemo show and the "It's Tough To Be a Bug" show were both fantastic!

Payton & me waiting for the Nemo show to start

We also went on the Kali River Rapids ride, but of course I brought my own poncho. And boy am I glad I did! Everyone else was SOAKED by the end of the ride!

I had to include this photo because it makes me laugh every time I see it. I took the boys to the bathroom while the rest of the adults stood in line for ice cream. We finished up several minutes before them so we waited outside the bathrooms. The boys played with this pay phone the entire time. They thought it was so fantastic! (I wonder if you can buy an old pay phone on Ebay?!?)

And of course, no Disney trip would be complete without a one-on-one photo with Mickey & Minnie. Parker was really excited and beamed ear-to-ear. Payton was less impressed but did a great job staying animated for Parker's sake. What a good big brother he is.

By the time the parade rolled around at 3:30, Parker couldn't hang on any longer and he crashed in his stroller. And I mean, crashed! He did not wake up with all the parade commotion, noise and our attempts to shake him awake. He was wiped out!

There were some really neat "floats" in the parade that were controlled by people walking in front of the structures.

And of course Mickey was at the end!

 It was a wonderful way to kick-off the week and I'm so glad we had that time with my parents. It was a memory-making day.

On Tuesday, Brian went back to work, but our fun didn't stop. We headed out to the beach the next morning to join some friends.

We were there so early Payton had the whole place to himself!

We took Wednesday to relax and pack and then on Thursday we headed up to our friend's house in Welaka, FL on the St. John's River. 

It is so peaceful there and so full of wildlife and nature. It's one of my favorite ways to really, truly disconnect. 

This is what my mornings look like up there. Coffee in hand, nothing but water & conservation out front.

We did some boating the first day.

The boys played on the tube.

Payton climbed this tree about 100 times a day.

We were so excited when we spotted some manatees!

The first day we saw a few of them swimming in a cove near a natural spring.

I could not believe how close they came to the boat!

The next day, we took out the little fishing boat which is much smaller and our friend paddled us into the same cove. Everyone got to actually "pet" the manatees! They would swim right up to the boat and let us touch them! It was incredible.

We headed back late Saturday and didn't miss a beat by jumping right back into things on Sunday with another trip to the beach, followed by a community St. Patrick's Day party. The kids had a ball running around with their friends, jumping in bounce houses and getting their face painted. It was a great way to end an incredible week.

Sorry, Parker. It was a bit windy that day.

My Superhero.

Late that evening after the kids were in bed and I had finished what felt like the 39th load of laundry, I whipped up a batch of green pancakes...because I knew I wouldn't feel like getting up early the next morning to make them.

I decorated the breakfast table with gold coins and enough rainbows to make it look like a Leprechaun had thrown up everywhere. But the kids loved it. Nothing like sugar overload on the first day back to school!

And just in case there's any confusion...that's syrup in the bottle, not alcohol. :)

Phew.

Just typing up that post makes me tired.

We sure did fit in a lot of fun in 7 days.

So now, as I sit at my desk and review the week with my virtual whiplash neck brace on, I realize...it was all worth it. Even if it does take me another week (or two) to get back into the groove of things. :)