MainNewLook

All trip ratings are on a 1 - 10 scale: 1 the worst, 10 the best, 4 roughly equivalent to watching Jeopardy on t.v. with my mom.

12/30/10

Flying to Fort Lauderdale: 8

Gettng Priority seating and no bag fees: 9.95

Su, Adam, and Hannah not coming (yet): 1.1

Warm feeling in jetway upon arrival: 8

Hearing various melodies at baggage claims: 8

Flying during the day, avoiding typical exhaustion: 9

Having to wait roughly 3 hours for Z and Lisa: 5 (not that bad, I was in Florida after all!!)

Seeing Z and Lisa arrive: 9.5

Finding out they were pregnant: 9.75

Lisa and Z both being under the weather: 2

Not stopping at Primanti's like last year (or similar) due to overall tiredness and lateness: 2

Falling asleep, ehausted: 9.75

12/31/10

Weather: 7 (WAY better than last year, but windy)

Relaxing on beach: 9

Seeing Cross-Country Skier on beach: 9

Dinner at Zucherillo's: 9

Actually being able to get in this year: 9.5

Food quality: 9 -- One of the best meals of the trip

Not going out for New Year's: 2.5

Lisa feeling way sick and crashing: 4 (not really her fault given the circumstances, but disappointing nonetheless)

It being too cool to go out on the balcony: 2

Me actually being awake all the way through New Year's this year: 9

Me and Z drinking at the condo and watching Dick Clark: 8

Me drinking almost an entire bottle of champagne and somehow not getting sick: 9.5

Falling asleep, full, drunk, and exhausted: 9.95

1/1/11

Weather: 6.5 (Still windy, and cloudy too, but not cold)

Relaxing on beach: 7 (good, but a little too windy)

Me trying to get Z and Lisa to give the baby a pre-birth name: 9

My great suggestions: 9.5 (if I do say so myself)

"Little Honey Bunny"

"Tummy Bunny"

"Root Beer Bottle Cap"

Z and Lisa not liking any of my suggestions: 2

Z and Lisa going with "Peanut": 1.5

Note/explanation: Z can't even have peanuts anymore, he's alergic to them!!

Them at least modifying it to "Little Peanut": 6

Lisa still feeling under the weather: 3

Tailgators: 7

A new sports bar opening at this location: 9.5 (mostly due to historical significance for the Florida trip)

Tailgators overall quality: 7

Food: 6 (but we only had appitizers)

Drink Specials: 7

TV setup: 7.5

BC easily beating South Carolina in basketball: 8

TCU/Wisconsin Rose Bowl Game: 8

Game Room setup: 7.75

Z and I competing at Bean Bag Toss in Tailgators: 7

Z actually somehow sinking a long toss to win in front of about 15 "fans": 9.75

The fans not even reacting to this amazing feat: 1.25

Tailgators spelling its name with an 'o': 4

Note: Z argues that they're making a pun on "gators", but I believe there's at least a 50% chance they just spelled it wrong (further note: The official Orange Bowl information guide refers to "tailgaters" with an 'e').

Tiajuana Flats being closed for New Year's: 3

The Whole Enchilada: 4

Them not having any rice left: 1.5

Z having so much money on coupons that everything we got at CVS was basically free: 8

Us sitting up drinking again: 8.5

Me drinking almost another entire bottle of champagne and somehow not getting sick: 9.5

Falling asleep, full, drunk, and exhausted: 9.95

1/2/11

Weather: 8 (Still a little windy but much warmer and very sunny)

Relaxing on beach for a long time: 9

Seeing Manatee in the water: 6 (cool, but I wasn't getting anywhere near it!)

Throwing the football with Z on the beach and in the water: 9

Lisa starting to feel a little better: 8

Me realizing after the beach that I had a bad sunburn for the first time in years: 4

On the good side: I was so happy that it was sunny and warm enough for me to get a sunburn!

On the bad side: I had put on sunblock after putting on a shirt and shoes, then took off both shirt and shoes on the beach -- so my check and feet really hurt from the burn!

Las Olas Blvd. with no cars allowed (due to art festival): 8.5

Big City Tavern: 7.5 (Solid)

Kellwin's for dessert: 6

Ice cream quality: 8

Ice cream price: 5

Them having candy almonds: 8

Candy almond quality: 9

Candy almond price: 1.25 -- $9 for a small bag!

Right before bed, watching sports highlights with Z, and finding out that the Chicago Bears have a player named "Peanut": 9.975

Falling asleep, full and exhausted: 9.5

1/3/11

Weather: 9 (Absolutely beautiful!)

Lisa leaving Florida: 1.0125 (SO sad)

Us at least still being there for a lot longer: 9.9975

Golf at Sunset Golf Course: 8

Us golfing in Florida in great weather: 9.95

Cheap rates including cart: 8

Us flying around the course: 9.5

Quality of course: 5 (Could have been worse)

Us not having time for 18 holes: 2

Orange Bowl: 8

Tailgate before game: 9

Great weather: 9

Food quality: 9

Stanford RB Stepfan Taylor's Dad at tailgate: 8

Mr. Leo not making it: 2

Z getting us 2 game tickets for $20 total: 9.5

PreGame: 9

Parachuters: 9

No flyover scaring me: 9.5

Game Itself: 7.5

Great weather: 9

Annoying FAU kids sitting behind us: 4

Us somehow getting kicked out of our seats with 2 minutes left in the first quarter: 3 -- who shows up a whole quarter late to the Orange Bowl ?

Our new seats being arguably better than the first ones: 7

Z texting OBIE in a contest but not winning the prize: 2.5

First half action: 7 (good game but no flow)

Halftime: 6

DJ Irie: 7.5

No real Battle of the Bands: 2

Goo Goo Dolls concert: 5

Me actually finding a place and writing a letter to the OB Committee imploring them to improve halftimes again: 9

Second half of game: 6 (since it quickly became a blowout for Stanford)

Us FLYING home: 9 (didn't have to go up to Boca, so it was a much shorter ride then usual)

Us NOT going to the Dive Bar: 1.5 (too tired)

Falling asleep, full and exhausted: 9.5

1/4/11

Weather: 9.5 (Warm and calm)

Finally going in pool: 9

Golf at Crandon Park: 9.99975

Getting in the first twilight group: 9.95

Playing partners asking us to go ahead of them: 9.95

This allowing us to get in 21 holes: 9.975

Us being shown two "alligators" lying out on the 12th hole: 7

It being completely surreal: 9

Us being oblivious until we were shown them: 2

Us getting away from them quickly: 9.5

Note: These were actually American Saltwater Crocodiles

Z making a beyond-incredible 100 foot putt over a ridge on the 20th hole of the day in near-darkness for a match-winning birdie: 9.975 (I have to respect it)

Us having to come back and play one more hole after this, in the dark: 9.975

It being the hole where the gators were: 2

It being in the dark now: 1.5

Us both parring the hole to end the day: 9.975

Note: Considering everything, this was arguably one of the top-ever golf days in Championship Cup history.

Dinner at Shorty's: 9.5

Food quality: 9.5 -- One of the best meals of the trip

Waitress calling Z "hon", and him calling her "hon" right back: 9.25

Food coming super-quickly when we were starved: 9.5

Z remembering to get the mini-chocolate-chip-cookies after dinner: 9.5

The waitress throwing them in for free: 9.5

Hard Rock Cafe: 6

Deal or No Deal slot machine: 8

Me finally making it to the "bonus round" (after years of not making it) within 3 minutes of playing: 9

Me winning very little in the bonus round: 2

Amazing Race slot machine: 9

Incredible bonus round where all four people get to compete if one of the four makes it: 9.5

Me getting us into the bonus round after like 5 minutes of playing: 9.5

Me making it through 2 stages of the "race" within the bonus round: 9

Us making the bonus round again shortly after: 9

Us not making the bonus round again for the rest of the night: 3

Z winning $200 in video poker: 8

Z thinking he blew another $200 by not checking the payouts carefully: 1.5

Z making me watch him lose at numerous slot machines at the end of the night: 1.5

Falling asleep, completely exhausted: 9.75

1/5/11

Weather: 9

Golf at Inverrary: 8.5

Me playing great on the front 9: 9

Us playing in 3.5 hours: 9

It feeling slow after the day before: 2

Us "only" playing 18 holes: 7

Happy Hour at Mugs: 7

Us making it to a Happy Hour: 8

Mugs somehow still being open: 8

Actual quality of Happy Hour: 6.5

Christina Wan's: 8.25

Falling asleep early, pretty exhausted: 8

1/6/11

Weather: 8 (Warm, but a little windier and overcast)

Looking like rain would wipe out golf: 2

Us looking at Doppler and deciding we might escape the rain if we played in Miami, even though it meant a longer drive and teeing off later: 5

It actually somehow working: 9.975

Golf at Crandon Park: 9.95

Looking for the crocs on #12 when we got there, and immediately seeing them: 9

One of them having his jaws wide open: 2 (It was honestly pretty scary and exceptionally surreal)

Us getting the 3:37PM starting time: 3 (it meant we were likely to only get in about 10 holes since there were a number of players directly in front of us)

Z somehow sweet-talking the starter into letting us tee off with the 3PM group, jumping the line of players: 9.925

Them being the same 2 guys as the other day - who then asked us to go ahead of them: 9.95

There being another croc lying out on the first hole: 3 (started making me feel a little uncomfortable)

Me thinking my ball was near a log on the 11th hole, and then realizing the log was a real croc: 2

Having to pick up my ball: 3

The cros standing up on all four legs and starting to walk toward us: 1.000000000000000000005

Us zipping as quickly as possible in the cart WAY around the croc and further up the fairway: 9.9999999999999

Me realizing that the croc was walking toward the 15th hole, and we would likely have to see him in play again: 1.00000000000000000000000025

The great stretch drive of the golf match: 9

Us only seeing that croc again when he was swimming in the water at the 16th hole: 9.5 (i.e. not that close to us)

Z somehow winning the match to split the series: 8 (I hated it, but he deserved it)

Rain pouring down on us about 5 minutes after leaving golf: 9.975

Us looking for the Roadhouse Grill: 2

It taking us way out-of-the-way: 2

Horrible traffic: 2

It being closed and no longer there: 2

Dinner at Texas Hold 'Em BBQ: 3

Rib Tips: 7

Other Food: 4

TVs not working yet: 2

No beer on tap yet: 2

Service: 1.0000025

Us not making it out to the Dive Bar: 2

Falling asleep early, exhausted: 9

1/7/11

Weather: 6.5 (Much cooler and windy)

Su, Adam, and Hannah arriving at 5:30AM: 9.5

Them actually taking a nap at the condo: 9

Beach: 8

Adam and Hannah in the ocean, jumping waves, etc.: 8.75

Hannah getting buried in sand: 8

Touch football on beach: 7

Hannah constantly asking if we could go in the pool when we were trying to just relax on the beach: 4

Swimming in the pool with the kids: 7 (fun, but notall that warm as the wind was picking up)

Horse Races at Gulfstream: 6 (traffic was bad, and we only made it in time to see one race)

Boomers (video games, etc.): 7.5

Guy worker showing that H was too short to ride "The Cyclone" even though the Girl worker REALLY tried to let her pass the height restriction by angling the height pole: 2

Dinner at Shuck and Dive's NOT happening because it was mobbed due to an LSU bowl game: 1.5

Dinner at Nick's: 6

Service: 1.0000025 (Second night in a row!)

Kids being exhausted and cranky: 2

Kids "Make your own pizza": 8 (but they were still pretty cranky)

Food quality once it arrived: 8

Us canceling Jai Alai due to kids' exhaustion: 1.5

Us sitting up drinking: 8.5

Me drinking last three glasses of champagne and still somehow not getting sick: 9.5

Falling asleep, full, drunk, and exhausted: 9.95

1/8/11

Weather: 6.5 (Clear, but cooler. Not cold though.)

Z leaving Florida: 1.00125 (SO sad again)

Us at least still being there for longer and getting to go to Disney World: 9.999975

Us having a small but reasonable lunch during the car ride (unlike last year): 8

Us checking into the hotel then hustling right over to Epcot as quickly as possible: 9

Epcot: 8.5

Spaceship Earth: 8.5

The video at the end with the kids' faces: 9

Me missing "The Land" boat ride while getting fastpasses to TestTrack: 2 (H loved that boat ride, particularly the large fruits and vegetables they showed off that they grow there).

Us skipping Soarin' due to huge line: 9 (for me, since I didn't really enjoy it last year)

Captain EO: 9

Them actually having it instead of Honey I Shrunk the Audience: 9.5 (a great surprise, plus I didn't really enjoy Honey I Shrunk the Audience)

Movie itself: 9 (Way way way better than I remembered it, or than I expected)

Imagination: 5

Innoventions: 8.5 (we finally got to explore it a little more, and it was good)

A and H "putting themselves in a video game): 8

The Great Piggy Bank Adventure: 8.5

Innoventions closing at 7PM, not giving us time to do more (or go to Innoventions East at all): 2

The Seas starring Nemo: 5 (not good, but better than I remembered it)

Fish Tank aquarium part of the Seas: 8 (a tremendous positive surprise - dolphins, sharks, turtles, starfish, scuba divers, etc.).

Mission Space (H and Su only): 8.5

Them not having to do the "spinning" part of it that Su hated: 9

Me not having to ride at all: 9.5

Test Track: 6

Me actually having/getting to ride with H: 8

Most of the ride: 6

The fast part at the end of the ride: 2.5

H repeatedly trying to calm me during the ride: 9.975 for H for being great, 1.5 for how awful it actually made me feel since I was actually pretty scared during the fast part)

Illuminations: 7.5 (It was getting a little cool and our view wasn't that great)

Late dinner at Pepper Market: 6

Choice being reduced a bit from previous trips: 5

Adults dinners: 7

Kids' dinners: 7

Service: 7

Overall Price: 4.5

1/9/11

Weather: 7 (Warmer again by about 11AM)

Animal Kingdom: 8.5

Safari: 8

It's Tough to Be a Bug (H and Su only): 8

(I got fastpasses with Adam for Everest while they attended this show, so I didn't have to go)

Awesome ice creams in waffle cones for Su and H: 8.5

Expedition Everest (H and Su only): 9.5

Me not having to go on this ride: 9.975

Dinoland playground-area with Adam: 5

Primevil Whirl (H, A, and Su only): 7

Me not having to go on this ride: 8

Carnival games: 8

H and A both winning prizes: 9

Finding Nemo stage show: 8.75

Flights of Wonder: 8.5 (Really good)

Festival of the Lion King show: 9 (even better than I remember it)

A and H swimming at All-Star Sports Hotel: 8 (but too windy for me to go in)

Magic Kingdom: 8

Monsters Inc Laugh Floor (for first time ever): 8

Monsters Inc Laugh Floor again: 7.75

H and Su getting a joke in the show: 8

"What's brown and sticky? A stick!"

Audience not responding at all to the joke: 8.5

Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin: 6.5

Tommorowland Terrace being closed: 2 (we were REALLY hungry)

Dinner at Pecos Bill's: 5 (Su loves the taco salad, but the rest was only OK)

"Wishes" Fireworks show: 8

Tea Cups (H, A, and me only): 5

Snow White's Scary Adventures: 7.5

Mickey's Philharmagic: 8.75

Dumbo: 4 (Su and A only)

Prince Charming Carrousel: 6 (formerly "Cinderella Carrousel")

Trying to pull the sword out of the stone: 2 (I didn't do it!)

It's a Small World: 6 (I was scared H was going to drop her iPod in the water while trying to take pictures)

Peter Pan's Flight: 3 (the wait was pretty long, we were all exhausted, and it just wasn't too good once we finally got on the ride)

Chip n Dale being a bit crazy while we waited for H to meet them: 3

Them hugging and dancing w Hannah when then finally met her: 8

1/10/11

Weather: 7.5 (Warm, but heavily overcast)

Magic Kingdom: 8

Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin: 6.5

Space Mountain: 9.5 (Su and H only)

Me not having to go on the ride with them: 9.5

Arcade with Adam while they rode: 8

Goofy's Rollercoaster (Su, H, and A only): 8

Me not having to go on the ride with them: 9.5

Mickey's House/Minnie's House: 5

Haunted Mansion: 8.75

Pirates of the Carribean: 8

Cinnemon Almonds in Adventureland: 9

Note: This was a surprise as I have never noticed this snack at WDW before. Quality was good, and price was WAY lower than in Fort Lauderdale a week previous.

Jungle Cruise: 2 (we hadn't been on this ride for years, and it was WAY WAY WAY WAY worse than expected, I mean really bad)

Downpour starting: 2

Us FINALLY going to Hall of Presidents (if only to get out of the rain): 9.95

Hall of Presidents: 8 (Better than expected!)

H not getting to ride on Thunder Mountain due to rain despite having fastpasses: 2

H not getting to ride on Splash Mountain since it was closed for renovations for 2nd consecutive year: 2

Su calling for Disney Hollywood Studios in the rain: 5 (I was skeptical, but admired her enthusiasm)

Disney Hollywood Studios: 7.5

New "Disney Rocks" show being cancelled due to rain: 2

Rain letting up: 8.5

Toy Story Mania having a 90-minute wait and no fastpasses left for the day: 1.5 (Note: We did not have to wait in many lines at all during the trip, and the longest lines we did wait in were typically only like 15-20 minutes).

Animation Studios: 7 (Kids met a lot of characters and played interactive games)

Hollywood Tower of Terror: 9 (Su and H only)

Me not having to go on the ride with them: 9.5

A STILL being too short for Tower of Terror: 2

H STILL being too short for Rock and Roller Coaster: 2

MuppetVission 3D: 8.5 (STILL better than expected even after a ton of viewings)

Waiting in 60-minute line for Toy Story Midway Mania: 2.5

Toy Story Midway Mania: 9.5 (It's a great ride, super-fun for all ages, but kinda short, not sure if it was worth the wait or not).

Indiana Jones Stunt Show: 7.5

Dinner at Food Court: 5

Me getting something stuck in my tooth and having it bother me all night: 1.5

Not being able to get into DisneyQuest immediately because an "incident" had occured and they weren't letting new people in: 2

Short walk around Downtown Disney West End: 8 (WAY WAY better than expected)

Magic Shop: 8 (Guy did card trick where cards rose up in the air)

Watching steel-drum players with A: 8

Weird red "statue guy": 8

DisneyQuest: 7

"Free Arcade" floor with Adam: 7.5

H "making her own toy" again: 8

Me not going on any of the VR stuff, and missing Su and H doing it: 2

Us running out of time fairly quicly since it closed at 10PM and we were delayed getting in: 3

1/11/11

Weather: 8 (Nice and warm)

Downtown Disney Marketplace: 7

Su shopping REALLY fast (by her standards): 9

Vegan Donuts from new bakery: 7 (but REALLY REALLY messy)

Winter Summerland Mini Golf: 8 (Way better than I remembered/expected)

Squirty the Snowman surprising Adam: 8

Us finding enough time to cram in both shopping and mini-golf: 8.5

Having to leave Disney World: 2

Having to leave Florida: 1.0005

Being delayed in both Florida airport and then Chicago: 2

Finally making it home that night around midnight PT: 8

Trip Ratings:

Z: 9.99999999999999999999999999999985 (what an effort)

Lisa: 9 (Great effort, but next time get your priorities straight and don't do anything that could POSSIBLY make you feel sick during Florida!!)

Su: 10+ as always -- Great effort in packing lots of stuff in and still trying to destress and relax a little.

Hannah: 10+

Adam: 10+

Final Notes:

- The trip being so long again was fantastic, we should try to match it or extend it every year circumstances permitting.

- Su, Adam, and Hannah should DEFINITELY come for longer if not all of the trip. I mean really ALL of the Fort Lauderdale part if at all possible.

- We absolutely have to take more pictures on all future trips, ideally at least some with a camera that has zoom.

- Lisa HAS to come to WDW with us the next time we go. Z you can come too if you want. :-)

- We HAVE to go to the Dive Bar next year. We HAVE to go to Beach Place/Lulu's/Fat Tuesday's next year. And We HAVE to go to Jai Alai next year, ideally with the kids!