We checked into the Hampton Inn in Bedford, just over the river from the airport, and then went over to Bugaboo Creek for dinner. We sat near the talking bison, which Ava enjoyed! After dinner, back at the hotel, we put our bathing suits on and had a great time in the pool for the rest of the evening. There was even a hot tub and a sauna, and we enjoyed both of those as well. Finally we dragged a reluctant Ava back to the room for a bath and a good night sleep before our 7am flight the next morning.
The alarm woke Patrick and me up at 4, and Ava amazingly woke up on her own at 4:30 – ready to go! So it was easy to get everyone dressed and packed up and we were in the car on the way to the airport by 5:15, boarding the plane right on time at 6:45. As we began to taxi down the runway, the plane came to a stop, and the pilot came on the P/A, saying, “We’ve just heard from the FAA, and because we always do exactly what the FAA instructs us to do, we must make the following announcement: … So-and-So is the worst cribbage player in New Hampshire!” Everyone had a good laugh, and the plane started rolling again.
Ava took a window seat, and had fun looking out the window and playing “aminals” for the entire flight. She got to try out the tiny bathroom, which she thought was pretty interesting. The pilot had announced to us earlier in the flight that we’d be landing a full 50 minutes early!! Instead of 10:30, we arrived at 9:40! Descending into Orlando, Ava began to cry because her ears hurt, but she recovered by the time the wheels touched down, and was cheerful for the walk to the Magical Express terminal.
We hadn’t walked very far from the gate when Ava spotted a display of bananas for sale, and so she munched on a banana while we made our way onto the little train that took us to the main terminal, and from there we walked to the far end of the building to get to the Magical Express area. We had no line to stand in, and were on the bus in minutes.
It was a beautiful sunny day, and we sat in the first rows on the bus for the ride to Ft. Wilderness, stopping first at several other resorts. We had a quick, easy check-in and were delivered to our cabin (2823) by 11:30.
We still had to wait for the groceries (scheduled for 1:30) and luggage to arrive, so Patrick took a Ft. Wilderness bus to the store at the marina to get some refreshments for us while Ava and I explored the cabin and played animals out on the picnic table.
The groceries arrived right on schedule, and the suitcases not long after that, and then we were free to begin our vacation! Epcot was planned for the afternoon, with a dinner reservation at 6pm at the Biergarten in Germany. From our cabin, it was a little bit of a walk to the bus stop – we’d be using the “Outpost Purple” bus for any park except Magic Kingdom. The Outpost Purple bus took us to the Outpost (the area where we had checked in) bus stop, and from there we’d jump on whatever bus was going to the park we wanted to visit. The Outpost bus stop was fun, because it was near the stables and we could visit with the horses and watch people getting ready for trail rides while we waited for our bus. The wait was never longer than 10 or 15minutes.
It’s about a 10-minute bus ride to Epcot from the Ft. Wilderness Outpost, so we were there before 3:00. We had packed a backpack with a rolled-up warm fleece blanket and extra clothes for Ava, her thermos of apple juice, the video camera and the digital camera – Patrick was lugging it around (being the good Sherpa that he is) and had to go through a security check where they went through the bag each time we entered a park.
We got a stroller for Ava first, and then went over to “The Living Seas” – going on the “Finding Nemo” ride, taking a picture with Bruce the Shark, and sitting through “Turtle Talk with Crush” which was too corny for Patrick and me, and way over Ava’s head with the excessive surfer-dude talk. She had sat on the floor with all the other kids, and Patrick and I were in the front row, and toward the end of the show she looked back at us as if to say, “… Are we out of here yet?” so we scooped her up as soon as it was over and got her cozy in the stroller – next thing, she’s sound asleep.
Patrick and I decided to walk over to the World Showcase and get a beverage. Then we saw the boat going over to Morocco, so we jumped on with Ava still sleeping cozily in her stroller, and rested our legs for a little cruise across the Epcot lagoon. We explored Morocco a little bit, and I went into the “Kidcot” station there to get Ava a mask. There’s a Kidcot station in every country, with a representative from that country sitting at a little table – they stamp the mask with the name of the country, and write the kid’s name in the language – then the kid can take the mask to another little table with chairs and color their mask. The Kidcots are sponsored by Sharpie, so there’s a big bowl of fat Sharpie pens of all colors on the table. You can also buy a passport in any of the gift shops, and get those filled out at the Kidcots, too, but we thought Ava was a little young for that this year.
We bought Moroccan beers to go, which really made the already enjoyable strolling around even better! The World Showcase is spectacular and beautiful, and it was such a pleasure to walk slowly, sipping a beverage, and looking around. We went into Japan and walked a quiet path through flowers and trees, and over a bridge that looked down upon a babbling brook ending in a big pool filled with giant koi fish. Approaching Germany, we came across a little village that had been built – tiny evergreens and rosemaries for trees, and a tiny railroad track with a working train – the detail was amazing. A little groom carrying his little bride was coming out of a little church, a miniature castle overlooked the village, farmers worked in their fields – it was magical.
And then we saw Snow White! She was signing autographs and having pictures taken, and we didn’t want Ava to miss it! It was difficult to get the sleepy girl going, but once she realized what was going on she was all over it. Snow White was very sweet to her, and when Ava told her that she was going to ride the teacups the next day, Snow White told her that the teacups are the dwarves’ favorite ride, too. She gave Ava a big hug and gave Teddy a kiss on the forehead, and told her to take good care of him. Ava was thrilled.
By now it was time for our dinner reservation, so we went over to the Biergarten. We had a pretty blond waitress named Daniela who took us to our table. In the World Showcase, all the people working in all the countries really are native to that country, and sign on for a 12-month stay at Epcot. Daniela’s time was almost over – she was going home to Munich on March 10th. She was charmed by Ava and when we took their picture together she gave me her e-mail address so I could forward the picture to her.
We were seated at a long table with another family, overlooking the stage and dance floor below where a live polka band was playing and where a whole bunch of little kids and their parents were dancing – it was so fun! The dinner was a buffet, so we helped ourselves to sausages and sauerkraut and herring salad and all kinds of other German fare, and had some Oktoberfest beer. Patrick and I both spent time dancing with Ava after dinner, and we had a great time.
On the way back through the park, Ava spotted a puppet unicorn that she had to have, and so “Goldy” was added to the family, and spent the rest of the week as Teddy’s sidekick (her puppet strings were cut off by the end of the night!) We stopped at China so Ava could work on her mask, and we went on the “Three Caballeros” ride in Mexico. Ava fell asleep on the bus back to Ft. Wilderness – she had had a very full day.
The next morning, Monday, we headed by bus over to Animal Kingdom.
This turned out to be the nicest day, weather-wise, that we would have. It was warm and sunny and we had fun on the safari ride and walking along the different trails in the park. Ava sat on the left side of the jeep, and had a close encounter with a giraffe! It was eating leaves from a tree right beside her when we stopped, and she told us that he waved his tongue at her! He was so close she could have reached out to pat him.
We didn’t do any rides, other than the safari, but just enjoyed being able to walk the beautiful paths and look at all the birds and animals. 
Ava noticed some kids that had their faces painted, and asked if she could do that, so we found a little kiosk with some ladies doing face painting and got in line. Ava made friends with another little girl in line with her, and they both had fun comparing what design they were going to get and looking at the other kids getting painted. When it was Ava’s turn, she seemed to really enjoy sitting in the tall chair with her eyes closed, allowing the lady to dab paint on her face. In no time, she was decorated with a sparkly unicorn!
We left the park by one in the afternoon to go back to the cabin for lunch. After some sandwiches and chips, we decided not to go back to Animal Kingdom, but to go to the pool instead. It was about 65 degrees, and Steve had called to say he was coming over for a visit. He was at flight school in Orlando, and had a rental Mustang convertible so he could drive over to Ft. Wilderness to see us. Ava met a few more 4-year-olds at the pool (lots of 4-year-olds at Disney!) and she and Gaffer had great fun swimming and jumping and splashing. Steve had called to say that he was going to Daytona, and we decided to hook up on Tuesday instead. It started cooling off as the sun went down and it was time to get out of the pool, and Ava cried and made a ball of herself on the ground and completely pitched a fit – she would have been happy to swim all night. We had a supper of cereal and toast, and an early bedtime – breakfast with Cinderella was tomorrow morning!
We had an 8:10am reservation on Tuesday for Cinderella’s Royal Table, so we had the alarm set early and woke to pouring rain! Crap! But we got Ava all dressed in her beautiful gown, and she got Teddy into his (matching) beautiful gown, and then she stuffed Goldy into Teddy’s gown also. Patrick and I both felt bad for Teddy, having to share his big day with a new pet, but he was very gracious about it, and I wrapped him and Goldy in a plastic bag so they wouldn’t get wet on the way to the bus stop. We trotted in the rain to the bus stop, where we were lucky enough to find a purple bus waiting. When we boarded and told the driver that we were going to Magic Kingdom for a Cinderella breakfast he got on the radio and asked the dispatcher if he could take us all the way to the park! And he did!
It was 7:30 and by now the rain had let up, but the wind was fierce and cold, and we still had to wait for the park to open. We stood shivering with ten or twenty other people until they opened the gate just before 8. We bee-lined it for the castle and in no time we were inside and Ava was getting her picture taken with Cinderella. From there, we went up red-carpeted stairs to the dining room where we were seated at a table near the windows and, after Ava was given a magic wand, were served a wonderful breakfast of coffee, juice, pastries, fruit, eggs, bacon and sausage. Princesses made the rounds, one at a time,
and stopped at each table to give autographs and get photos taken. Ava had colored a picture for Snow White, and anxiously waited to see her. When she came to our table, Ava gave her the picture and Snow White hugged it and said she had to take it back to show the dwarves – she left the dining room holding the picture to her chest, and a lot of little girls watched her leave wondering why they hadn’t had a chance to see her! But she came right back and continued working the room. It was a wonderful experience – not too crowded and noisy as we had kind of dreaded, but rather surprisingly cozy and relaxed. We all enjoyed it very much.
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For the rest of the trip, every time Ava told people about her breakfast with the Princesses, the next question to her was always, "Which Princess is your favorite?" Her answer cracked us up - "...Myself!"
After breakfast, we hopped on the boat back to Ft. Wilderness.
It was still very cold and windy, and we wanted to get Ava changed into warm play clothes to go back to Magic Kingdom in. We were the only ones on the boat going back to the campground – all the other traffic was heading in to the park – so we sat in front with the captain and Patrick had fun chatting with him about duck hunting and boating. Or actually, the captain had fun chatting and Patrick did a lot of polite listening. Ava was happy because the captain had given her a couple of fancy plastic rings and some stickers – another person captivated by her charms!After a quick change we took the bus down to the marina for the bus to Magic Kingdom. We saw the pony barn along the way, and walked over so Ava could have a $5 ride. She was given a smart-looking white pony named Cloud, and I led him along the path while she looked around and completely loved the ride. Cloud was a perky little guy, with a snappy step and alert pointy ears – we liked him.
After another cold boat ride, we were back at Magic Kingdom. From time to time we’d see a little bit of blue sky, but for the most part it was a stormy overcast sky with ferocious winds, and the temps never warmed up beyond the mid-50’s, but we made the best of it – Ava loved the teacups and the carousel, riding them both several times over. The lines weren’t bad, and we never had to Fast Pass anything. After Peter Pan’s Flight, Ava fell asleep in her stroller so Patrick and I took the opportunity to go on the Haunted Mansion and the Pirates of the Caribbean rides with a sleeping Ava slung over our shoulders.
When she woke up, she wanted to do the Pirates (twice) and then we had lunch at a little restaurant across the way – Ava ate a taco and grapes and carrot sticks and chocolate milk… Hungry!! Then we went on the Haunted Mansion, and she loved it – not scared at all. She likes to sit on the outside when the three of us get onto a ride together, so Gaffer and I both had the middle seat at times. Teddy and Goldy also went on all the rides, so there was a certain level of vigilance to make sure that a little brown guy or a little white guy weren’t being left on the seat or on the floor or dropped into the water during the ride!
Steve was coming to the cabin for supper, so after a few more rides we left the park on a bus – due to the wind the boats weren’t running. Steve brought us a couple of frozen pizzas, and we had a fun visit. We were really glad we had the cabin, and were able to relax and stretch out just like at home rather than cramped into a hotel room.
Ava fell asleep after I read her a story, and the next morning I was up early, reading my own book, when I heard her little feet trotting down the hallway – she had woken up before Gaffer, ready to start the day! When we asked her where she wanted to go today, she said “Epcot!” so that’s where we went after breakfast in the cabin. It was still very cold and windy and overcast, so we bundled up in layers. Once in Epcot, we went to “The Land” and watched a little environmental movie starring Simba from the Lion King – Ava liked the movie and we liked the warm theatre. Then we did a boat ride that took us through Epcot’s greenhouses and other displays of vegetation; very cool. Next was Innovations with another fun ride for Ava (“Figment”), and now the sun and swaths of blue sky made occasional appearances, and it turned into a decent day.
Once we had meandered into the World Showcase we found that the International Flower and Garden Festival had begun, and we discovered newly unveiled topiaries and beautiful flower displays that hadn’t been there on Sunday.
One of the things that Ava did the most while we were in Florida was to pick flowers! Flowers were a magnet to her, and she really enjoyed choosing different types and colors to pick and show to us. We also found two new playgrounds where Ava had a blast running around and climbing and swinging – wonderful!! In France, she saw "Marie" from The Aristocats and went in for a hug and a picture. She went into all the Kidcots and finished her mask, which was really fun, and we saved some money by packing the leftover pizza into the park with us, and had a little picnic on a bench in the sun. Ava had another face-painting session,
and we went to Mexico to get Katie Lou a souvenir (and had a body-warming shot at the new tequila bar), then we finished with a ride on the Viking-themed boat ride “Maelstrom” in Norway. We decided that we really loved Epcot!
But then we had to leave because we had dinner reservations at the House of Blues in Downtown Disney. We had a challenging time trying to get there from Epcot – a number of buses and transfers – but we finally made it, only to find that the House of Blues was almost the farthest spot inside the park so we still had quite a hike. Fortunately, Ava was a cheerful little trooper, and was still smiling and happy by the time we arrived at the restaurant. After a very disappointing dinner with no ambiance and no music (and during which Ava spent most of the time lying on her blanket against the wall under the table - just getting some rest!), we had to walk all the way back to the buses. We passed an outdoor DJ with a mike and he came up to us and started asking Ava about Teddy which was funny. He was announcing everything she said over the P/A so the whole park could hear – it was the bright spot in the night. We didn’t get back to the cabin until about 10pm, and weren’t completely happy to know that we were going back to Downtown Disney in the morning for our 11am lunch reservation at the T-Rex Café.
Ava wasn’t so easy to wake up on Thursday morning – the week was starting to tire her out, but she stayed happy and ready to enjoy everything and we were able to get her up and about and out the door by 10. We took the bus to Downtown Disney, and were early enough at the T-Rex Café that Ava had time to shop in the gift shop and buy a bag of dinosaurs before we were seated for lunch. The restaurant was spectacular, with animatron dinosaurs all through it, and special lighting in different areas to create a real prehistoric ambiance.
The lunch was good, and Ava had fun visiting with all the dinosaurs, but Patrick and I were happy to leave and made a vow that we wouldn’t go back to Downtown Disney ever again. It’s really just a big shopping center, totally lacking in any kind of charm for us.We did the “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” again trying to get back to Magic Kingdom, and finally got there in the early afternoon. Once again, little Ava was the cheerful one, as Patrick and I got a little testy with the dysfunctional Downtown Disney commute, and was able to get us laughing again. She’s wise beyond her years and isn’t afraid to speak up! So we did the teacups, the carousel, the pirates, the haunted mansion, and some others, and said good-bye to Magic Kingdom after a final street parade, and got on the monorail to have a last dinner at the Biergarten in Epcot. We met some people from Maine on the monorail and Ava chatted them up during the ride – once she gets talking, you can’t stop her. She told them all about her cat at home, that she had to get home tomorrow to take care of him, etc etc. People really get a kick out of it, although half the time they have no idea what she’s babbling about!
This had been the coldest day of the week, so we hurried to Germany for dinner and enjoyed the same hospitality, music, dancing, and food that we had experienced on our first day in Florida – it was a great way to finish our vacation. On the way out of the park, Ava found some light-up Mickey ears that she just HAD to have, so with a final souvenir we left our favorite place. We flew home the next morning on an 11:25 flight after a nice long bus ride(stopping at several resorts to take on passengers along the way) with “Al”, a personable young Hispanic driver who announced to everyone on the bus that Ava was making sure he took the right route to the airport!
And then, for the first time in a week - Ava got grumpy. On the ride home, it was "Are we there yet?" "I'm tired..." "I'm uncomfortable..." "This is taking too long..." whine whine whine whine whine... We got home at around 6, and she finally got to see her Blue Cat and the smile came back to her face! Now it's just a matter of waiting until next year to do it all over again - we can't wait!!
