Disney 2011 - Day 3 "Our Day of Rest at EPCOT"

I began this first day of the week by going to run some errands before church. This turned out to be a very bad idea as Magan does not know how a clock works, and we had lost an hour that night with the time change. Magan was still on Central Time, and we were now two hours ahead. But I still take the blame, because I did take way to long getting biscuits and some cleaning supplies.

We attended the South Bumby church of Christ where Josh Creel preaches and were looking forward to visiting with him. We all got a late start, but luckily traffic was not bad and we arrived…close to on time. We had a good bible class then a sermon on “The Sermon on the Mount” then made our way to The Boston Market for lunch.

This was an excellent lunch, and a place I wish we had in Birmingham. We may have one, but I don’t know where it is. The meatloaf was not very good, but the vegatables were great. We had a great time visiting with the Creels and seeing their little boy Jared. As our meal came to a close, Magan announced that she had to “go put on her pants”, which is just something that sounds funny when said in the middle of a restaurant. At least Josh and I thought it was funny.

Everyone seemed to go their separate ways to meet up at EPCOT that afternoon. This is Magan and my favorite park, but I have since realized that others in my family do not share in this same joy. But I think we all did have fun, and we began our day getting in line to see Mickey with the Chase Visa Rewards special character greet…unfortunately it was just Minnie and Goofy, but Belle had a blast with Minnie, and Davis loved showing Goofy his little goofy that he was taking all around with him.

We then toured the Living Seas, which is one I could stay in all day, but again…not exactly everyone else’s favorite. It was even feeding time and everybody was ready to go. I bet the kids would have liked to stay and watch. Dude, then we totally saw turtle talk with Crush and it is totally awesome…Dude, Sam like totally used the word totally for the remainder of this trip.

After a tour of The Land and Journey into the Imagination, it was time for supper. One side note for The Land…this is one of the best relaxing rides at DisneyWorld and is a must ride multiple times each trip. Davis loved the desert scene and thought it was cool, and Ben showed us the chomp chomp when we got to see the alligators. But Figment…while this is a somewhat neat ride…why does he have to scare the daylights out of the little kids with some loud booming noises right at the end. Disney just has a thing about creating an experience that is both joyful and traumatizing at the same time.

Supper at A La Cantina el goodo mexicano food was great even with some minor Junkin Family moments. The pico de gallo was great…but just like the Captain Ds of Day 1, did not hit me very well. Katie took the boys on the Donald Duck Mexico Ride…which I am only just now realizing that I did not ride this trip…what a letdown. The KidCOTs were a blast for Sam and Davis as they both got a chance to color with markers their own new Disney Bear (I don't remember the name of this bear and have no idea why Disney is using this in their parks). This was also a great time for me to sit back and relax. You can see below that Davis is still having some troubles staying in the lines.

We then took turns riding Test track, before deciding to leave the park…That is when the meltdown happened. During the fireworks Davis had decided that he REALLY wanted a Figment to play with and to have. He had done really good with his little Goofy, so I decided we would make a quick trip (Impossible with magan) through Mousegears to get him a Figment. We found it right away, and Davis then informed me that he did NOT want a Figment, but wanted to look for something else. It was at this point that the fireworks began, and I made a bad mistake. I thought that my children would enjoy the fireworks more than looking for toys, and took them outside to watch the fireworks. My children have a hard time when they do not have a nap, and this was amplified by my Drama King son Davis…he all of the sudden needed a Figment toy more than anything. So much so that he began crying and bawling to the point of totally ridiculous behavior…So then my patience as a Dad goes to the extreme limits testing the margin of insanity to teach him a lesson that he will not get everything he wants…His out of control wailing continues as I carry him on my shoulders towards our vehicle. What do I do? My inner monologue takes me through various scenarios of how he should be disciplined, or is it OK, he is just tired, how do I make it to my car without going insane…Then I hear Davis’ name being called from behind as my Dad comes running at a surprisingly fast speed up to us. I stop and turn around to see him pull a small Figment toy out of a bag to give to little Davis who was grinning from ear to ear.

Was this the right decision? I have no idea, but as I looked into my father’s eyes, I thought I caught a glimpse of understanding of both my struggles as a Dad along with a hint of childlike joy at the happiness he had just brought to Davis. I love you granddaddy…I may not remember many things about this trip later on, but I will always remember that moment in the EPCOT parking lot.