Disneyworld

The day we left the Keys it rained 9". Yes, nine inches. Our timing was perfect!
Right or wrong, part of our "parenting strategy" seems to include bribery, blackmail, threats, and other actions that might be illegal if applied to anyone besides your children. When we began this journey we knew we would spend time in Florida; and the kids asked if we could go to Disneyworld. "...of course we will go... if you guys are good...if you do your chores...if your schoolwork is at xxx level...". Well, all of you parents know that we would go there regardless, and we did. I do not think there are bag people in Disneyworld. But, this guy, Elden, was pretty close. He must live here! Elden has every souvenir pin ever made by Walt Disney (he even has personalized plates on this scooter).
We spent our first day at Epcot. They have added quite a few attractions since Jeanne and I were first there about 12 years ago. If you have never been, Epcot is more of an amusement park for adults then the Magic Kingdom. Crowds were OK, and we were able to take almost all of the rides. The picture above was from a greenhouse, run by Disney, were they research and develop more productive ways to grow edibles, without any pesticides or insects. Most of the vegetables and fruits we saw were grown with hydroponics, and the yield was incredible. They had 9 lb. lemons, and many of the species were grown off the ground, like this pumpkin tree above. Note the small amount of soil used.
The following day we trekked to Disney's Wild Kingdom. This is a Disneyfied zoo, with many good amusement rides, and a great "safari-like" zoo adventure that could only be accomplished by Disney. You boarded over-sized safari trucks and zoomed through a re-created African preserve. All of the animals were free roaming as we drove along mud trails through herds of Hippo, lions, elephant, rhinos, giraffes, etc. It was a great zoo-like experience coupled with Disney touches such as bridges that were creaking and moving creating the impression they were about to fall.

The third day we headed to the Magic Kingdom. No different than the one in Anaheim. For some reason the kids still gathered autographs and wanted their pictures taken with every character we passed.

We bought a 7-day pass to the parks; which was too much for Jeanne and I. If we ever go again 3-4 days will be it. The marginal cost for the 7Th day was $2, so there was no reason to not buy the additional days (we only used 5 I think). On the fourth day we moved to an RV park owned by Disney, and inside the Disneyworld complex, called Fort Wilderness. What a great experience! We had heard about this place from people down in the keys. Several of these folks told us that they spend a month here and do not even go into the parks. It was huge, and inexpensive, with bars, restaurants, dozens of miles of bike trails, swimming pools, horse stables, and boat as well as bus transportation directly to the parks if you choose. We will return.