Andover Class of 88

THE GILBERT 2010 DISNEY TRIP

4-19-2010 200 pounds
We weighed our suitcases to make sure we didn't exceed any limits. We are checking 200 pounds of luggage!

2" too long
Bigger isn't better. One suitcase was 2 inch too long and we got charged $49 extra.

4-20-2010 Magical Express
For this trip, we signed up for magical express. It is magical because you bring your luggage to the airport and then you don't see it again until it magically appears in your room. It is express because the luggage appears at 1 am while everyone is trying to sleep. Wait.... 1am? That's not express!

Buffets
Buffets are always a lot of fun for the Gilberts. The waitress is guaranteed a sweet 9 percent tip. My youngest always eats until he barfs. Someone always dumps a drink. And when we leave, we toss a few bananas and apples and other things in our backpacks for snacks later in the day (what are they going to say?).

Stroller
We consider ourselves to be Disney experts. That is why, even though our kids are 6, 10, and 16, we have no problem with bringing a stroller with us. Many people look at the stroller expecting to find a new born - one mother even said "shhh- the baby is sleeping". In actuality, when we go into the parks, it is like going camping for the week. We take six back packs. One security guard asked "are you guys moving in?" We have to have lots of bottles of water (not paying park prices!), sweat shirts, cameras, toys, towels, rain gear - all the necessities!

4-21-2010 Vacation Efficiency
This vacation is a perfect example of Gilbert Efficiency. When we return in the evening, we have a 15 point check list. In the morning, we have a 35 point checklist. This allows a family of 5 to get bathed, dressed, packed, eat, and get out the door in only 2 hours every morning. Waters repacked? Check. Toys put away? Check. Kids use the bathroom a billion times each? Check check. Shoes sprayed with Lysol to get the park germs removed? Check.

It's a small world
Monroe county usually schedules spring break at off peak times. I'm not sure whether it is intentional or the highly educated administrators at BOCES can't figure out when Easter falls. Either way, we benefit because we miss the rush.

Perhaps a quarter of the people here are from the Rochester region. I see the collection of sports shirts and business emblems and have talked with a few. At one show, they asked someone in the audience where they were from. After answering "Rochester NY", half the theater cheered.

It is funny that we have traveled so far to be with people who live so near.

World is built for short people
I am so tired of having my knees crammed into the seat in front of me. There is never enough leg room! On the bus ride between the airport and the hotel, I had to hang both legs into the isle, spilling across two rows. . With rides, I usually sit with a kid so I have extra room to put my legs.

Park Cycle
We have a somewhat annoying habit that has turned into our routine. Eat a snack, ride a ride, use the restroom, repeat. I thought girls were bad, but my boys have to go every 5 minutes!

We take sun tan lotion very seriously. We use Spf100. It is as thick as Spackle and we apply it with a putty knife.


4-22-2010 The Musical Family
For today? Some 3rd grade humor.

While at Disney world, our diets have been poor. Not that our diets are normally good. They have become worse. For example, a half pound double cheese and bacon burger (very very well done) seems to be on every menu, and I think the meat comes from expired game reserve inhabitants.

As a direct result of this horrible diet, we have become the musical family. It is not a pretty thing. In fact, it can bring tears to your eyes.

I haven't laughed so hard as I did last night. I was sitting at a bench when the mood struck. My daughter said very seriously "guys, I think the bench just vibrated". I laughed so hard, I fell off the bench, tears streaming down my face.

Ok. Sorry for the third grade humor. It was very funny.

We went miniature golfing last night. It took us 2 hours to figure out the bus system to get there. The theme was Santa's summertime vacation spot. Lots of fun.

Cheer!
Today, we are touring the various Disney resorts and checking out lobbies, restaurants, and the pools. We are currently at All Stars. There is a cheer leading competition and hundreds of cheerleaders are at All Stars. Lord have mercy.

We stumbled into a rather secluded Toy Story themed courtyard where several cheerleaders were sun bathing and attempting to erase tan lines. Not very healthy thing for the kids to see.

4-23-2010 Six Legged Friend
We have to deal with bugs in the North - but not like they do in the south! Yesterday evening, I went to retrieve the boy's bedtime snack from the refrigerator and found a cockroach inside. A short chase across the carpet and I killed it.

But that wasn't the challenging part. If my wife found out, she would make us throw away all of our food and tell the hotel to move us. She's probably right... But I didn't want to deal with that at 11pm. I just wanted to collapse in bed and sleep.

So, I bagged up all of our open food and tried to do it in a way she wouldn't see. Success! I just hope we don't bring any friends home inside our luggage!


Civilization
Perhaps 15 years ago, I came across a game named Civilization. I became thrilled with it when I was able to play the game in my car on a clunky 386 laptop. Civilization was a big game around the turn of the century and I became famous when I made Kevin Gilbert's Star Trek Mod Pack - an add-on to the game that was written about in gaming magazines around the world.

In the past ten years, as newer versions came and went - so did my interest. Until I came across Civilization Revolution of the iPhone and Touch! For this vacation I downloaded the trial and loved it.

So, where am I now? I am at the Grand Floridian - one of the few places in Disney that has wireless. Unfortunately, the wireless is dead slow and I'm stuck waiting for the full version (that I just purchased) to download. I paid $4.95 for an hour of wireless and at this rate, I think I'll be here much longer than that!

In the meanwhile, my wife is touring this resort and fuming about how long it is taking. We are suppose to be going to Epcot.

4-24-2010 Not Going Hungry
Food is one of the most expensive aspects of a Disney vacation. Usually, we eat lite. We buy some groceries and eat off the children's menu. But not this trip! For this trip we were eligible for a free dinning plan, which was $300 cheaper than our traditional efforts. There has been so much food - it has been difficult to eat it all. We get one sit down restaurant per day - something we could never afford traditionally. We go to buffets and pig out. We get one fast food meal per day - but instead of getting normal children menu items, we are get meals that are difficult to finish (even for me!). And then we get snacks during the day - drinks, popcorn, pretzels, etc.

Right now, we have a ton of unused credits - I don't think we'll be able to use them all before we leave.

And the groceries I bought? Most of them are unopened. We are going to have to use the groceries to give the maid a food basket with her tip!

Why Hospitals Are So Cold
Anywhere a large group of people gather at Disney (in buss es, theaters, rooms, etc) it is freezing cold. A bus driver explained why.

They did an experiment. They took nail clippings and put them in a dish for 3 days in a warm and humid room. In the end? The nail clippings were covered with mold. By keeping things cold, there is less of a chance for germs to be transmitted from one person to another.

That's also why hospitals are freezing cold.

4-25-2010 Working Too Hard On Vacation
After marriage and kids, you fall into predictable roles. While on vacation, I would get up early, get ready, get breakfast, and then sit around and complain how late we were for an hour while my wife got herself and the kids ready.

Around ten years ago, I decided to fix the problem. I put my system analysis hat on and started documenting everything she did to get us ready to leave. This produced a checklist that I was able to follow.

Now, I still get up early. But while my wife is getting ready for our vacation days, I get everyone else ready and do everything else on the checklist. And wow - it is a lot of work! I'm exhausted!!! Life was easier when I sat around complaining.

Can You Walk and Talk?
My daughter can walk and text. It has been non stop everywhere we go. "I am drinking a frozen pink lemonade" and then "the pink lemonade left me thirsty so now I am drinking water."

And Then Came The Tornadoes
When we arrived at the Polynesian for dinner, the TV in the lounge was warning of a storm and the weather channel web site had a severe weather warning. We ate dinner overlooking a lake with the Disney castle on the far side. We had front row seats for watching the storm. Uncharacteristic for the Gilbert Family, we were inside and safe. The wind bent the trees side ways and the sky dropped hail. The rain was so heavy that we couldn't see the lake! Normally, we'd be outside in this and get soaked. But not this time!

After the sever weather warning passed, we broke out the rain gear and went back into the park.

4-26-2010 When You Have A Hair In Your Mouth...
My youngest has a horrible gag reflex. When he had a hair in his mouth, be barfed all over the hotel room trying to get it out of his mouth.

Ugh....

He made such a mess! I spent all morning doing laundry. We didn't get to the park until 3pm!

4-27-2010 Early Flight
We had a great direct flight back to Buffalo, but when we were planning the trip, my 16-year-old wasn't sure she could go, so, we didn't book it and lost the good flight. We had to pick an 8am flight with layover in Atlanta.

We returned from the parks around 11pm last night and spent 2 hours packing for the return trip. The alarm woke us up at 3 AM!!!!!! With two hours sleep, we got ready, checked out, and made it to the bus stop. The bus picked us up at 445 and we arrived at the airport at 6am. That was crazy! I don't ever want to do that again!

We had the free dinning plan during this trip. Each person got a fast food meal, a table service meal, and a snack each day. At first, we didn't think that would be enough food. But after doing buffets, we were stuffed for the rest of the day. When it is hot and you are walking 40 miles per day, you don't feel like eating. Nevertheless, we did fast food for dinner - half pound bacon cheeseburgers (even for the kids!). By last night, we had 14 unused snacks and 7 unused fast food meals, so, we blew points buying bananas and brownies and muffins and water for breakfast this morning. But we were too tired to eat it. Most of it went in the garbage at the airport (can't take it easily through security)

Remember that suitcase that we paid $65 on the way to Rochester? It cost $75 on the way home for it. We did everything we could do to shrink it, but no luck. It was still two inches too long and they wouldn't cut us any slack. I think those airline people work on commission because they really put the screws to you!

As we passed through security, I got pulled out of line so the could check my hands for gun powder or explosives or something. While they were working on me, they were giving an old nun a pat down in front of me.

It is 11:30 and we are flying somewhere over the Carolina's now. Soon we'll be in Buffalo. I hope I can find my car! The, we stop at That Taco Place in Batavia for the ride home.

We've had neighbors who have spent a year trying to sell their home so they can move to Florida. He just got a job in Florida and I am told they'll be gone before we get home. They have a sale pending on their house too. I can't blame them for wanting to leave New York's taxes and weather! It was beautiful in Florida this trip!