Last week we went to Florida! It was the first time I had ever done a warm vacation in winter and it was great. We stayed at a nice resort with seven pools, mini golf and other activities but most days we were out and about doing other things...
Jan was already in Florida for work so he picked us up at Tampa airport and drove us to a nearby hotel where we stayed that night (our flight got in at 8pm). The next day was quite cool (jackets and sweaters in the morning). We went to a manatee conservation area, walked along a beach and then headed to Orlando to the science centre. There was a special Star Wars exhibit that Donovan greatly enjoyed and lot of activities for Malcolm. Then it was time to go grocery shopping and check in to the aforementioned resort. The next day...
Above, the boys are pictured at Animal Kingdom. We all had a great time there. We saw lots of animals and we obtained a disability pass for Malcolm. The best part about the pass was that they attached a bright red tag to his stroller which meant it had the same status as wheelchair. This was crucial because at all the rides, attractions, etc then there is a designated stroller parking area and then kids must walk through to get on the ride, often waiting in line for upwards of an hour. With the pass and the red stroller tag, we could access the wheelchair entrance which meant we got to wheel Malcolm right up to the ride etc and then take him out. Often there was a much reduced lineup or no lineup at all!
We all enjoyed a train ride to an area with a petting zoo and bug-related activities. We enjoyed our picnic lunch at a table in the sun since it wasn't a super warm day. Then we had gotten a "fast pass" for a safari ride through the African area and saw tons of animals! It was really busy but the fast pass and stroller tag worked really well, though it is possible we didn't need the fast pass since we had the disability pass (we weren't sure so decided to get the fast pass just in case).
In the afternoon, we wandered around and saw lots more wildlife, got some ice cream (expensive) and Jan and Donovan went twice on a water ride that did not have a very long line, possibly because it was not a super hot day and some people got pretty wet on the ride (including Jan!).
Below was the highlight of the day for me - the photos is a bit blurry but gives the general idea. We went to see the Lion King show at 5pm. It is a 30 minute show that is basically a mini Cirque, complete with acrobats, flame throwers and amazing entertainers. Malcolm got to stay in his stroller - a godsend since otherwise he may have tried to star in several numbers, but was content to sit strapped in. However, he did get to star in the grande finale number - an entertainer chose five kids to bring onstage and rattle some shakers as part of the number. She purposely chose Malcolm and obviously had experience with kids with special needs because she was great with him - kept a close eye while she was showing them all what to do and then when it was their turn to to shine she kept a tight grip on Malcom's hand and he got to lead the way! Jan and I were so proud and Malcolm really liked it, though was also a bit overwhelmed!
The next day we had a quite morning at the resort, lounging in our suite and swimming in one of the "lazy river" current pools. After an early lunch we caught a shuttle to Magic Kingdom. Our plan was to stay for the evening parade and fireworks and it worked well. Below, Malcolm is beaming as he watches the electrical parade. He loved both the parade and the fireworks. The next photo shows Malcolm about five minutes after the fireworks ended...since the stroller we rented at Magic Kingdom did not recline at all, Jan had to carry him through the park and all the way home (involved a lot of walking, a monorail ride, more walking and a shuttle bus ride...).
I think Malcolm's most favourite thing at Magic Kingdom was a little 15 minute show we went to on the first day. We once again had front row seats as Malcolm got to stay in his stroller. It was the Magic Tiki Room show and it is really elaborate bird puppets that put on a little musical. The birds look very life like and I'm sure Malcolm thought they were real. He was so excited, making the "bird" sign with both hands and pointing like crazy the whole time. It was very cute!
We left Magic Kingdom around 5pm and by the time we got back to our suite it was past six so I made the boys a quick supper, we threw them in the tub for a quick bath and off to bed early to make up for the late night the day before and two busy days in the sun. The next day, Thursday, we relaxed around the resort - swimming, playing mini golf, eating a slow lunch on our balcony etc. It was a hot day so really nice to take it easy. The most ambitious thing we did was go shopping at a few outlet stores in the afternoon - Malcolm fell asleep in the car on the way there and stayed asleep in his stroller for most of the shopping. We ended up buying shoes for everyone - Donovan is delighted with his and wore them for the rest of the trip...
After our day of rest, it was time to depart our resort. We were up early and left by nine. Jan and Donovan squeezed in one more trip to the lazy river. Then we were off to Legoland! Below, Malcolm is wearing his Lego Star Wars T-shirt and standing beside R2-D2 made entirely from Lego.
Legoland is a new amusement park - a little over a year old. Donovan
and Jan had been to it last year with Jan's parents. It was the hottest
day yet and very sunny so we were careful to take advantage of many
shady and air conditioned areas. When we got there in the morning, the
park was not busy at all - there were no lineups for any rides so we
quickly went on several. It was a lot busier after lunch. Below, Malcolm loved driving his own boat and everyone enjoyed the carousel.
Below is a shot of how Malcolm rode all the roller coaster rides in Legoland - no hands! He must've seen kids doing this at Disney and decided it was the way to go. He was able to go on some fairly big rides as he is 38" tall and the cutoff for many was 36". Don't worry - Jan kept a tight grip on him on every ride. No knowing when Malcolm may take a notion to stand up or decide to climb out!
That night, we went to a hotel near Tampa and the next day met my Aunt Lynn and Uncle Leroy for a very nice brunch. Then we explored a conservation area with really interesting wildlife, including tortoises and alligators. We saw couple of alligators in the water from a safe viewing distance. Then, we were walking along a path and Donovan ran a little ahead. He stopped and pointed, very excited, and said there's an alligator! I ran over to him and there was an alligator all right - a really big one about 8 feet from the path, down the embankment on the edge of the water. I hustled Donovan back along the trail and was too scared to get close to it again - not even to get a photo!
Then it was to the airport (we flew in and out of Tampa on WestJet) for our 8:30pm flight. Everything went really smoothly but it was past 2am but the time we got to our house. Malcolm slept the entire plane ride (one minute he was excitedly pointing out the window at take-off and the next he had nodded off). Donovan slept a bit on the plane. Both boys fell asleep in the car on the way home and stayed asleep till 9am (Malcolm) and 10am (Donovan) the next morning, for which their parents were very grateful!
All in all, we had a great trip and it worked out really well with Malcolm. We don't normally ask or expect special treatment because of Malcolm's needs but I don't think we would have been able to have such a good time at Disney without the disability pass so strongly recommend that for anyone traveling with a young child with with special needs. I'm not sure if Legoland has something similar (their website says not but then I saw a family that seemed to have one) but we didn't need it as it was not a busy day there.
It was back to real life and our busy routine today. But it sure is nice to look at our photos and remember our good times in the sun....
Mary Ellen
