We just got back from a five day trip to Orlando, Florida, yesterday.  I’m exhausted.  Vacationing is a lot of work.  Just the bullet points and lots of pics for this entry.

Day 1: Settling in.

The kids enjoyed the takeoff and landing on their first plane trip.

The hotel room was the largest I’ve ever been in.  It even had its own washer and dryer.

The view reminded me of what a “Louisiana bayou” would look like in my mind, although I’ve never actually seen a bayou nor Louisiana.

Day 2:  WALT DISMALWORLD

On Day 2, we entered one of the four Disney parks, called The Magic Kingdom.  It didn’t start out well though since it rained and was cold all day.  We dressed for Florida, but we got Michigan again.

The kids don’t care for rides so we tried a show – some space prison thing starring Stitch (from Lilo and Stitch).  Seemed safe enough.

Two words:

COMPLETE MOTHERFUCKINGDISASTER.

Early on, Ooseung averted her eyes away from the large animatronic figures.  Then the immobilizing shoulder racks came down, followed by loud alarms, panicked voices, and pitch-black darkness.  The kids freaked badly.

“I want to leave,” Sun Su rattled his seat rack as Stitch’s shadow became visible in the smoke, “Now!”

I tried to calm him down while Amy tended to Ooseung, “Sun Su, it’s just like a movie.”

“I don’t like movies anymore!!  I don’t like movies ANYMORE!!”

(I have to admit I thought that was kind of a cute response except for the whole terrified tearful child part.)

We got them out of the chair racks and whisked them out of there in the dark.  Outside, there were three other families with crying kids.

“I don’t understand it,” one mom said, “My son watches Lilo and Stitch everyday at home.”

The kids were shell-shocked for a few hours afterwards and didn’t trust any enclosed places in the park after that.  I just couldn’t understand it, especially for Sun Su.  He practically studies monsters.  Did I screw them up with my movie and game choices already?

The weather cleared and we stuck to outdoor areas and shops for the rest of the day and sat through a play with a perfectly pretty Belle.

Back at the resort, Sun Su inexplicably chose a Lilo and Stitch movie that night from the rental shelf and we watched as Ooseung and Amy retired early.

“Appah …,” Sun Su felt compelled to explain to me that night, “Stitch had four arms in that show today.”

“Are you sure?  The box only shows two arms,” I hadn’t noticed any difference, but I was glad he was okay enough to talk about it.

“He grows four arms … when he turns into the evil Stitch.”

“Oh.  Oh-h-h.”

Somehow that made the day’s freak out episode crystal clear for me.  I got it.  I hugged my observant little monster hunter proudly so that he got it too.

Day 3:  Resort day.

We hung out at the resort this day.  I taught Sun Su how to play pool.  My brother and I spent entire summers shooting pool at our dad’s place while growing up.  Amy says she never knew that.

Sun Su doing the blind shot, above.  Actually, he was distracted by the dart game.

He chose to put his hood up.  Cracks me up.

Ooseung played air hockey.  The above pic is her exasperated mad face when she’s not winning.  I shouldn’t be surprised – Ooseung means “victory” in Corean.

“Umma Said Knock You Out!  Ugh!”

We also visited a good friend of mine (Scott has a real-life friend?  I know, right) from high school and college that afternoon.  That will be another story.

Day 4:  Safari

On our last day, we tried another Disney park – the Animal Kingdom.  The kids hate rides but love animals so we saved the best for last.  All the walking was a real bitch though.

There was an indoor museum area which was nice.  Ooseung didn’t like the people dressed up in costumes, as usual.  She didn’t mind Pocahontas though.

Neither did appah.  I.  Assure.  You.

We saw some cool animals on the safari ride.  I didn’t take pictures of most of them, but here’s a few.

Day 5:  Leave the Magic Behind

You pay an exorbitant amount of money on a vacation to Disneyworld and what do the kids seems to enjoy the most?  Playing lightsaber with the balloons and swinging on the railings while waiting for the bus.

“Enjoy it now,” Amy kept saying, “Because we are never coming back.”