When it Began…
In 1971 Walt Disney World opened in Orlando, Florida. In 1971 Matt Bocanegra came into the world. At age 25, Matt took me to Walt Disney World—when both of them were celebrating twenty-five years. Twenty-Five years later, we were back celebrating FIFTY years—both Matt and the theme park. (Let's put it this way, parking ain't five bucks anymore.)
Did you follow all of that?
Good. Moving on then. It has not been twenty-five years since we have been back. Six years ago, we went as a family of eight—one last hurrah before our family exploded in every direction. This time, it was just the four of us; the brochure family: a mom, a dad, a son, and a daughter.
The kids got an extra-long fall break this year—a full week. I, however, was not on fall break. Try as I might to get a week ahead in my schooling, I only got three of my five classes completed. Some assignments are not unlocked early. So, I packed up my folders and my new laptop and we headed out on
October 10th, 2021.
Checking in on the progress at Salt Lake International
Off to Tampa, FL—Matt's mission stomping grounds (thirty years ago!). He now insists on flying direct.
Tampa airport is really pretty. Callie and I couldn't figure out what this ginormous tapestry was made of.
BEADS!
At the airport, I grabbed a LIFE magazine appropriately commemorating Disney's 50 years where I learned all about the beginnings of Disney. Walt was detail-oriented. More oft than not, these details racked up the cost of a project. When someone would point out to him that there was a cheaper way to go about it, Walt would answer back, "It'd be cheaper to not do it at all!"
As far as my schooling goes, I live by this same philosophy, I could aim for a lesser grade or, "I could just not do it at all!" I know that worthwhile things require time and effort. Do I ever wish I wasn't going to school so vacations were easier?
Never.
With that said, my math test prep was no joke. Doing my best resulted in a cold sore and a rash, maybe from heat, maybe from stress. Do I wish I didn't have to do it?
Nope! Glad to brush up on my quantitative reasoning, excel spreadsheets, and fallacies:/
To say my crew is understanding and supportive would be a gross understatement. THANKS, GUYS!
We juggled things around from our original plans. We were going to do one day at Epcot, one day at Universal, one day at Kennedy, a beach day, and a down day. Instead—thanks to killer tickets from the Vacation Club—we did two days at Universal and scratched Kennedy. Looking through the brochures, we saw that a Titanic Museum was right down the road. Callie was a sport to go through yet another museum featuring one of her brother's passions. I had come across this quote in my curriculum just that week:
"The living of one protective principle of the gospel is better than a thousand governmental programs—which programs are, so often, like 'straightening deck chairs on the Titanic'" (Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, November 1974, p. 12).
Thought that was a good one.
Graham does not appreciate a lot of our commentary at museums. We did our best to respect that;) Therefore, it pleased me when he asked for my help deciding on a souvenir in the gift shop. We agreed that a hat was the best option:)
I keep saying this after every vacation, but we love the Vacation Club Villas. There is no other way for us to travel. It was great on our down days to have room to relax, do school work, etc. One thing I realized is that, even on vacation, we are still homebodies! Our home away from home became our sanctuary to prepare meals, get laundry done, and just. be. 
EPCOT—October 12, 2021
We opted for Hollywood Studios six years ago, so this was the kid's first experience at Epcot. They did not know what to expect, so the first lift-off at Soarin' over the World produced chills and tears (for me anyway). I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. It is so beautiful! We enjoyed our day so much. New for the 50th celebration is a cute Ratatouille ride in France and an evening World Showcase spectacular. The Ratatouill ride involved an online digital queue reservation that we only accidentally heard about and got a spot in the nick-of-time. Better than a five-hour wait, I'd say!
October is also the food festival. The concierge recommended the mango smoothie from India; it did not disappoint.
I took the advice of an influencer and gave the kids each a Disney gift card. It worked out well; they could grab a funnel cake, pretzel, or ice cream (or all of it) when they desired.
We digitally designed our cars for the Test Track. Graham went for silly instead of sporty.
To enter the park was by reservation only. I also snagged the last reservation at our favorite Mexican restaurant, San Angel Inn in Mexico. Super yummy, but a bit too fancy/foreign for Graham. Or maybe he had just been enjoying his gift card too much. We were all a little Templeton Ratatouille at the fair that day. We left with sore feet and full bellies.
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| I had a cold sore in 1997 as well. That time it was from having to leave my Treenie for 10 days. |
The crowds were decent, the heat was bearable, and—I'm not gonna lie—there is a feeling of magic in the air at a Disney theme park. My Utah shirt helped us meet other friends from our great state. One lady was surprised to learn there is a ride inside the big Epcot ball. In turn, she gave us the heads-up that Universal closes at 5 pm for Horror Nights. However, Island Adventure was open till 8. This info helped us plan our next day accordingly.
UNIVERSAL & ISLANDS of ADVENTURE
October 13th and 15th
Yay! No mask requirement at this park! But if I had to hear the recording of the CDC's guidelines one more time, I think I'd lose it. It sounds like Professor Umbridge speaking. The only thing missing is her giggle at the end.
In Hogsmeade, I recreated a picture of Callie from six years ago that didn't go so well…
Graham sat out the ride in the castle; he didn't want to start the day with motion sickness. Instead, he bought a butterbeer while he waited.
The employee at the cart said, "You are my first customer of the day." From that point on, every butterbeer cart had a long line. It is fascinating that cards are swiped all day long from open to close. And those babies are eight bucks a pop! Every register everywhere I looked had the same thing going on; swipe, swipe, swipe. No Disney gift card was provided by me for Universal so we packed a lot of our own snacks.
However, Matt did fork over some cash for Callie to exchange at the bank in Diagon Alley for wizarding money to use in the park.
The next day, when we all got a butterbeer, a guy asked Matt, "So what does it taste like?"
Matt, being the salesman he is, said, "Like nothing you have ever tasted before!" He had the 'stash to prove it.
The night before, while at the grocery store to stock up on bagels, Graham and Callie asked to buy snacks. They seemed to find me in a "yes" mood. That was only because compared to the prices inside the park, everything seemed to be a bargain.
Soon after the dragon finished blowing fire, a lady came out of Knockturn Alley, "We missed the thingy breathing." Matt hadn't missed it. He snapped a photo at just the right time. There is plenty to take in in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. I tried a pumpkin pasty, Callie a chocolate frog, Graham enjoyed a caramel apple each day. We relaxed that evening at Bubba Gump's.
The waiter had six drinks in one hand!
This cuisine was much more familiar to Graham. Other dining spots we enjoyed on the trip were burgers in Jurassic Park and an evening at Cracker Barrel. That dinner was right after my math test. When confronted with that peg game that sits on every table, I lamented, "I am not doing anything that takes any thinking." And what Boc trip is complete without a trip to IHOP (straight from the airport;)
Our favorite attraction at Universal— outside of the Wizarding World—was the Bourne Stunt Spectacular. Wow. I couldn't tell what was real and what wasn't half the time. It's a must-see! The Bourne franchise is one of Matt's favs.
Everyone was in agreeance—including everyone in the park—that Hagrid's Magical Creature Motorbike Adventure was the bomb-diggity.
Callie was on the fence about going on the Rock-It Roller Coaster. She didn't want to go alone, so I went to go with her. We agreed; it's a head-banger, but not in a good way.
It was our second day at Universal during the King Kong ride that the sleepies came over me. While Graham and Callie ran off, I laid my backpack on a cool stone bench and rested my head for a while. Sure, my head was right by a speaker, but the music was pretty. If it wasn't for that darn Umbridge interrupting every now and again with the CDC guidelines…that no one was paying a lick to.
The rides that I am wishing we skipped were the Barges and Ripsaw Falls. We were soakin''.
Every ride seems to involve water at some point. Matt wondered, "How many times am I going to have water squirt in my face today?" The answer? "A lot!" Universal is a good time. Graham likes to hang back from the rest of us and scope out where he will get his next snack. At the end of the day, we did one final loop of the park to make sure he got his goodie.
We definitely enjoyed good food on the trip—that is what makes a vacation, right? With so many adventures taking place between the first and last day, we agreed that IHOP seemed forever ago.
We set out all we could the last morning for breakfast on the screened porch and then said goodbye to our home away from home.
Since our flight didn't leave till 6:30 pm, we made our way to the coast. We didn't have a lot of time, but we dipped our toes in the ocean and walked on the white sand beaches in Clearwater. Callie and I wore the new duds we bought at Universal. How convenient that there is a clothing shop right outside Ripsaw Falls. We found some bobbles in the gift shop and headed to the airport.
Graham had slept on the smaller of the two beds at the Villa in exchange for a window seat on the way home. I've never sat in a row where there really was no window seat! It was more like half a window. I said, "You traded half a bed, for half a window."
Twenty-Five years ago when we were in Orlando it was the week that Princess Diana was killed. This time, on the plane, I watched a BBC Documentary about the six days after her death. It all came full circle.
On this trip, we missed our party of eight, especially when we had to share a train car with foreigners on the Hogwarts Express. Then, I look at those pictures of me and Matt 25 years ago. We didn't have our tribe with us. We didn't know the literal roller coaster that life would take us on. However, we jumped on with faith and the love of family. This is how you come full circle.
