Saturday April 5

Time to leave Fort Myers and head to Orlando. Collin and the girls get on a plane very early Sunday morning plus we have to be out of the condo here by 10. The morning was beautiful - clear and calm. This sailboat was right outside.

Caroline and Clare said a sad farewell to the ocean, hoping to be back soon as we all do.

Now on to the adventure for the day...Disneyworld! Caroline had not been back since she was 3 and, as this was her senior spring break trip, this is what she wanted to do. After a long 3 hour drive, we arrive at the famous park around 3. Decided to rent a wheelchair for Mom and get her a hat to keep the sun off. Then we were set!

We got into the park just as the parade was there at Main Street. No time to tarry although I snapped a couple of pictures of the fun characters!

 

This is for you Ben...fire-breathing and cool!

And there's that wonderful castle! Ok. We need a plan. Where to go first? Which ones to use FastPass on to beat the lines? Yes, there are lines. The more desired (high volume) have an hour or more line wait. I believe it was the Peter Pan ride that was 70 minutes when we got there. So FastPass makes that 70 minute ride 10 instead. You get to chose 3 rides to use FastPass on but you also have to pick an available time. That's what can get complicated. You can run from one side of Magic Kingdom to the other trying to make your scheduled ride time! We only had time for one park so Caroline picked Magic Kingdom. Within MK there is Main Street, Frontierland, Liberty Square, FantasyLand, Adventureland, and Tomorrowland. Phew! Lots of ground to cover from 3 to 11. If we were here for more days we could see these other parks; Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and Disney's Animal Kingdom, not to mention their water parks (plural).

First stop...It's a Small World. Mom should be able to go on this,we think, and it's one of her favorites as well.

It was still good after all these years. However, a little difficult for Mom to get out of the boat. The woman in front of us who also had her mobility impaired (uses a wheelchair for the park) mother with her, helped us get Mom out. So there ended up not being too many rides that Mom could do but she enjoyed 5 of them - Small World, Little Mermaid, Jungle Cruise, Snitch, and Tiki Room. The rest of us added Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Peter Pan, Tea Cups and Space Mountain. Clare and Caroline also got in Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain and Winnie the Pooh. Sounds like a lot but there were still many we missed!

Tiki Room with Kim and Collin

 

Tea Cups where I got really really dizzy!

After a wonderful time on Space Mountain, the only roller coaster I enjoy because it's in the dark, we headed to the popular Peter Pan. Still a wonderful ride after 20 years in between visits. Mom really likes this one but cannot get into the cars because they don't stop moving when people get in and out.

We came out of Peter Pan to the start of the fireworks. What can I say - it's just incredible. Hard to believe they do it every night at 10. Mom had a good spot to view them too but I honestly think you can see them wherever you are in the park. The fireworks just make me happy.

One last picture of the lights that transform the castle.

Finally back to the car after a ride on the ferry to get to the parking lot. Find the hotel - an Omni resort at ChampionsGate. Not much to see of it at 1:00 a.m. See you today...in a few hours!

 

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