Mouse in the House

Turning back the clock one year... I was down bad with mono, and spent a weekend at Disney inside the Swan and Dolphin all hours of the day.

Now, it was time to avenge that,

and enjoy The Most Magical Place on Earth. My mom, brother, and sister flew down to Tampa, where I picked them up and headed east on I-4. We made a quick stop in Celebration where we ate at one of our favorite restaurants the 'Celebration Town Tavern'. After a delicious bowl of clam chowder, we arrived in Disney and checked into the Caribbean Beach Resort. We stayed on the Aruba island of the resort, which had very convenient access to the Skyliner (a gondola transportation method), which we took advantage of to get to Epcot. The

room was a bit dated, but served its purpose.

Our first full day was spent at my favorite park Epcot. We got up early and hopped on the Skyliner. The first ride we checked out was Ratatouille. Where you put on 3D glasses and ride around from Remy's perspective. It was a cool ride and a good way to start off the day. Rather than telling you every ride we went on because that is very boring, I will tell you a few of the highlights. The first being a picture with the one and only Winnie the Pooh. A huge highlight from our day at Epcot was the short lines. Perhaps the early rain showers on us scared some people away, or it was possibly a transition day with people coming and going from Disney. We did not wait more than 30-40 minutes for any ride, which was awesome for someone like me with minimal patience. Test Track was a thrill as always and one of my favorite rides. My favorite ride of all though, also agreed on by my siblings, was the New Guardians of the Galaxy ride. For someone who refuses to go on roller coasters, this ride ended up taking me out of my comfort zone. It was not a full blown roller coaster, but had its fair share of drops and twists and turns. All while playing Earth, Wind, and Fire which made it even more funny paired with my screams. A ride that is under appreciated because it has been there for a while is Soarin'. That really is a cool ride, and gives a unique perspective of all the places that you soar to. Finally for Epcot, as always, walking around the worlds is always a fun time. Getting to "travel" to multiple countries within a little area is very cool. I made sure to stop at England to get some fish 'n chips which hit the spot. We finished the day in Disney Springs at the House of Blues restaurant where I had a good smash burger.

The next day was spent at Animal Kingdom. We again got up early, and hopped on a bus to take us to the park. We started the day with the animal safari which was really cool. We got to see just about every animal there. From giraffes, to rhinos, to lions, to hippos, and much more. It was pretty freaky looking at a lion from a safari van. The Disney animals are well behaved, but not sure if I could do a safari tour out in the wild in Africa. Fear that the animals one day flip a switch and decide to make me their lunch. Following the safari I mistakenly got in line for Expedition Everest. Little did I know waiting in that line that I would be going down drops backwards. As soon as we reached the top where the track is "broken" I saw my mom start to laugh and at that moment I knew I had made the mistake... "put your head back and close your eyes" were the wise words she told me, and I did just that. This was another reminder that I do not like roller coasters. After fearing for my life, we did the dinosaur ride and it's tough to be a bug. I really enjoyed seeing the animals, but will stick to Epcot when it comes to rides that I enjoy.

We also made our way to DinoLand, where my brother played his fair share of carnival games. I also had to make sure to assert my sibling dominance and win the water gun race. But since I'm a good big brother I gave my sister the triceratops that was won. My brother also won a Mickey Mouse from playing the basketball game, where it only took him three times of playing it ;) Don't show him that I said that. They were "double rims" so that's why, right Brody? Following DinoLand we needed some food and opted for Rainforest Cafe which is steps away from the entrance of the park. They have some good food.

Overall, this really was a fun weekend. I am always very thankful to get to spend time with my family, but this was even more special since I did not get to experience this last year. Very happy that the opportunity presented itself again. Disney did not disappoint! I hope to make it back sometime again.