Disney Fourth Day

We spent the fourth day with my cousins and their parents. We met uncle Warren and his family early in the morning and together we walked to Hollywood Studios. It was peaceful in the morning. We saw ducks on grass fields. Bà’s camera got foggy in the cool air.

The park was open an hour early for people who stayed at Disney resorts. We got here early with the idea to ride the Toy Story Midway Mania, but it was closed at that time. Dada and Bà went up Bà’s favorite ride, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. They rode it twice, the first time with aunt Christy, Andrew, and Aiden, the second time with uncle Warren and Andrew. Aiden bowed out after his first ride. I don’t blame him. Andrew didn’t really want to go either, but he put on a brave face and finally agreed to go again with his dad. The four of them got the whole elevator of the Tower of Terror to themselves! They said they held hands and screamed their hearts out. 

Mama took me to Honey I Shrunk the Kids. I played around with the cousins until Dada and Bà got back from their Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. Dada and Bà thought the ride would be outdoors, so Bà left her sunglasses on. Bà’s sunglasses slid down her nose and rested on her lips and she couldn’t adjust them because she held tight to the bar while experiencing unexpected twists and turns and loops. We then went to Muppet Vision 3D with uncle Warren’s family before splitting until the evening show.

Dada and I waited while Mama and Bà rode the Star Tours. When they got back, they watched the Jedi Training Academy with me while it was Dada’s turn to ride the Star Tours. The Jedi training with the lightsabers was fascinating, I had to crane my neck to watch because the Disney photographer kept blocking my view. I wish I were one of the Jedi knights but I’m not old enough yet. Uncle Warren must have known my wish because later he got me a lightsaber of my own.

Afterwards, we went to the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show and I was somewhat bored because there was too much talking and not enough action. All I wanted to do was run up and down the bleachers and slide down the railings, but Bà kept an eye on me and swooped me up as soon as she thought I was in danger. I tried to appease her by sitting on her lap for a bit, but it was extremely hard to keep still. Bà got excited sometimes and pointed and took pictures, but I don’t really understand what the fuss was all about.

Oh, did you say something about an explosion? I’d rather see Mickey Mouse any time.

It was nice to watch beautiful dancing and hear beautiful songs from Beauty and the Beast and Voyage of the Little Mermaid. It was also nice to catch a break from the heat to watch Walt Disney One Man’s Dream. I rode with Dada on the Toy Story Midway Mania! while Mama and Bà rode together. Bà was no match to Mama, but Mama wasn’t too happy to hear that Dada got a much higher score than she did.

Before dinner at Hollywood & Vine, we rode The Great Movie Ride which was relaxing. There’s talk that my ancestors were in the banking business.

We met up and hung out with uncle Warren and his family after dinner. Aiden pushed me around in my stroller. Dada posed with Warren. Christy posed with Aiden and Andrew. Bà tried to help me apply what I learned from watching the Jedi knights with the lightsaber. Mama posed with Hadley.

We ended the evening with two fantastic shows: Fantasmic and Frozen Fireworks Spectacular. What more can a fellow ask for?

It would be too soon the next morning when I had to kiss Bà goodbye. As Ông says, you should leave while you’re having a good time. And we did, with just a touch of regret and tons of fond memories.

Disney Third Day

We went to Epcot on the third day. We actually slept in today and had Dada with us the entire time. We started out with Spaceship Earth which chronicles the history of human communications. I rode with Bà and we planned our future vacation together. With the help with the spaceship computer, we designed a postcard to send home to our loved ones.

Then we followed the three caballeros in their Gran Fiesta Tour in Mexico, twice because I wanted to and there was no line. Dada didn’t enjoy the tour that much, but the murals are very impressive. We rode The Seas with Nemo & Friends and spent some time at the Caribbean Coral Reef Aquarium.

We rode Living with the Land twice through farmed fish tanks and innovative green houses where scientists research techniques to grow fruits and flowers in the most efficient ways. On my second ride, Bà took me with her to the unassigned bench in front of our assigned one. I sat on her right until the thunderstorm in the dark forest scared me. I scooted to her left as far away from the storm as possible, which means at the edge of the very long bench. Bà slid over to pick me up and put me on her lap and that was nice. We saw many exotic fruits as well as familiar ones. Some flowers are supposed to be edible. Dada thinks perhaps we can copy the techniques to grow our own garden. Among the exotic fruits we saw are Nigerian drum gourds, fluted pumpkins, and dragon fruits.

We learned about conservation through the film Circle of Life and took the Journey Into Imagination With Figment.

In the evening, we watched Impressions de France before dining at Biergarten. Bà was excited to see a musician play the alpine horn in the all-you-can-eat German restaurant. The only other time she saw the alpine horn was earlier this year when Ông took her to Enzian Inn in Leavenworth, WA to celebrate their anniversary. The food was good, the music was great, the ambience was charming. Dada and Bà each ordered a beer flight. Mama helped Bà drink it all.

After dinner, we watched the IllumiNations Reflections of Earth. It was a great show with a glowing globe gliding across the water and bursting into a blazing lotus at the end.

As we walked back to our hotel, thinking that Epcot was closing, Bà noticed that people were still entering The American Adventure. It turned out that there was an extra magic hour that night and that allowed us to delay our bedtime by sitting through a film that explored the past and future of this great country where creativity and innovation are allowed and encouraged to flourish to the benefits of us all. I fell asleep on Mama’s arms. It was a great way to end the day.

Disney Second Day

Back to Magic Kingdom we went the second day. We were sad that Pirates of the Caribbean was closed for renovation. It was our favorite last year. We did the other must-do rides like It’s the Small World, Under the Sea, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, and Mad Tea Cup. Bà said she always liked carrousels, so we also went on the Prince Charming Regal Carrousel, though no prince charmings showed up. Bà tried to take a picture of Mama and me when we were both looking in her direction during It’s a Small World but it didn’t work out too well for her. Maybe she should invest in a faster camera, but at her age, changes are hard and she’s happy with the camera she got. It’s also kinda special because Ông gave it to her.

Mama thought I’d love riding a roller coaster, so she took me on the Barnstormer. I was scared, but I tried to be brave. I told her it was fun, but it gave her the idea that I wanted to ride again, even though I said I didn’t want to. I went with Bà the second time, but not after a break of calmer rides and getting wet at Casey Jr. Splash ‘N’ Soak Station.  

Bà held me the whole time on the Barnstormer, but she didn’t know I was crying until she watched Mama’s video later. In fact, no one knew I was crying until then. At least that put an end to more roller coaster rides for me. I hope I’ll grow big and strong next year and will enjoy the rough rides more. For now, when I don’t need to exert my independence, I just want to be cuddled or carried, especially on Dada’s shoulders.

We repeated some rides and went to shows with Dada after he was done with his conference. We attended Country Bear Jamboree, Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor, and Mickey’s PhilharMagic shows. This year I am old enough to enjoy the 3D shows with their special effects. I kept my 3D glasses on instead of breaking them as I did last year. Mama remembered that my uncle cậu Thal stood up and waved to Mickey Mouse at the end of PhilharMagic when they watched it in 1995. I bet he was almost as cute as I am.

I sat with Bà at Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. Bà juggled shooting lasers at her own targets, helping me shoot, and spinning us around so Mama could take pictures of us. As far as I could tell, she didn’t do too well and Mama’s pictures didn’t turn out. But I had fun in the frenzy of lights and sounds and laughter. As last year, I drove the Tomorrowland Speedway with Dada on the passenger’s seat. Mama took pictures but I am too short to be seen. If you look closely, though, you can make out my Mickey ears (and Dada’s silly grin.)

At the end of the second day, we had dinner at Narcoossee’s where we could watch both the Epcot and Magic Kingdom fireworks through the windows from our table. We decided to go out to the balcony for the Magic Kingdom fireworks, however, leaving our untouched plates behind. As a measure of good service, the servers covered our plates to keep the food warm. The grown-ups passed their plates around while I made sure I didn’t miss anything they had, except for the beer and wine.

Disney First Day

We met my bà ngoại in Disney World. Is there a better place to meet her when we live far apart? I don’t think so. At least not when I’m two-and-a-half years old. It was three months ago that my parents planned the event. Who knows how long it took them. Bà didn’t have to plan because she was happy to do whatever we wanted. All she had to do was to arrange her vacation and book her plane ticket. We took care of the rest. By we, I mean G&L, my handsome, ambitious, and adoring parents.

We spent the first four days with Bà and visited all four Disney parks: Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios – in that order. I made sure I was in my best charming self. It worked most of the time, at least that’s what Bà thinks. She likes to snap pictures of me.

She also snaps pictures of Mama sometimes. She likes this picture because Mama’s dress matches colors with the dinosaur and the sun in Dinoland.

There I rode the TriceraTop Spin with Mama while Bà went by herself on the Primeval Whirl which has a height requirement I didn’t meet. She claimed that it was not as fun as she remembered riding it with Mama last year. She did enjoy the Expedition Everest, however, but she had a lot more fun when she went with Dada than when she went by herself. She said there was no point of screaming when she was alone. I empathize. 

We walked the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, twice in fact, once without Dada and once with Dada, where we saw gorillas, hippos, zebras, okapis, muskrats, monkeys, turtles, lizards, toads, and fish. I love fishies, if you must know.

The Wildlife Express Train took us to the petting yard at the Affection Section where I brushed goats and sheep.

The Kilimanjaro Safari ride was really cool.

We learned that the bald eagles are no longer endangered and watched exotic birds fly, sing, and play tricks at the Flights of Wonder bird show. A flock of white birds flew out of nowhere in unison and created a rush of air overhead. The exciting thing for Dada was that he got to be on stage with another volunteer. They didn’t have to do anything but sit there prettily and watch an owl fly to a spot right above their heads. I could have done that even better.

Not to let Dada have all the glory to himself, I got on stage myself at the Festival of the Lion King show. It was an experience to parade in front of hundreds of adoring fans; you should try it if you have a chance. I relished every moment of fame, although I acted shy at first so Mama didn’t think I was eager to leave her. Dada videotaped me so I can watch it again and again and tell my grandchildren about it.

Other shows we watched included Finding Nemo and It’s Tough to be a Bug. My ambitious parents wanted me to go on the Kali River Rapids raft ride so badly that they padded my heels so I could qualify. We “traveled through the turbulent rivers of a jungle landscape.” I think it was totally worth it.

We ate dinner at Jiko, Mama’s favorite restaurant of all the ones we’ve eaten at. Bà had a St. George beer in honor of Dada and we all enjoyed the grilled wild boar tenderloin and smoked salmon appertizers. The parade and fireworks at Magic Kingdom were pretty magic, but that was not our last thing. We rode the Haunted Mansion before retiring for the first day.