Things Hyrum Remembers: Disney World

Hyrum's intention going into Disney World was to find characters. He wanted to see, in this order: Mickey, Buzz, WALL-E, and Pop and Boo (Grandpa and Grandma). WALL-E apparently lives at Tokyo. Between character breakfasts each day and finding Buzz and Woody together the first day, his character needs were met. He was excited to see anyone else along the way, but felt no need to visit any of them, unlike last trip. Joy interjects, "Except for Mary Poppins, who we saw and couldn't meet, but he wanted to. Hyrum really wanted to stop but we had to go on to a lunch reservation." He hadn't paid her much attention last time at Disneyland.

His regular refrain was "Let's go on more rides" - particularly after anything we went to that didn't impress as much... and after we got off the plane at home... and today again at the CT Mystic Aquarium.

His first ride was his clear favorite: Toy Story Midway Mania. He went on it 3 times and asked for it several more times in later days at the other parks. The other ride he asked for several times was Spaceship Earth (the Epcot ball). When he saw it, he stopped in his tracks, pointed, and said, "Daddy! It's Epcot!" He took a nap in it the first time we went through.

He also got used to eating at restaurants. "I want to go to restaurant and eat." Not that he ate anything they offered - he only barely sipped the milk - but he quickly learned that was where he got fed. (Actually, today he asked to go to a restaurant too.*) As we were waiting Friday evening for our last restaurant, he announced "I want to go to the dark restaurant with the cartoons." The Sci-Fi Diner that shows old scary B-movie trailers and a few outer space cartoons was memorable enough to make him want to go back. It was Joy's favorite restaurant when she was there last time, but she sees it with new eyes having brought a toddler there. "I still like it for me," she says, "I really like the atmosphere. Then I realized it really focuses on horror films...."

Hyrum is now big enough to go on water rides and we took him on the Animal Kingdom raft ride. We told him he was going to get wet. We gave him a special rain slicker. He still got wetter than anyone, which made his lower lip quiver. I asked at the end if the ride was fun. "Yes." Do you want to ride it again? "No." He reminded us of the ride today, talking about the kids in another raft who were screaming and that he didn't want to go on it again.

He randomly talked to us today about a hedge maze that Grandma Boo and Mommy showed him in Epcot.

He remembers watching the 30 minute musical play version of Finding Nemo. Joy sang a parody version of one of the songs and Hyrum sang the real words in response.

He hasn't talked about these yet, but we know he particularly enjoyed the Country Bear Jamboree (he clapped along regularly and in pretty good rhythm), the Tea Cups (asked for them by name before we got to the park and loved how dizzy I made him - boy, that was a blissful boy in the cup with me!), the line for Winnie the Pooh, and the trains around Germany. He did not enjoy Prince Caspian (dark and scary) or the Hall of Presidents (nap time!).

Hyrum demonstrated the ability to tell the difference between Disneyland and Disney World on t-shirts. "Pop, your shirt says Disneyland, not Disney World!"

* - Joy tells me that even before Disney, he asked to go to a restaurant. We go to one so rarely I'm not sure how that happened. It's probably because we went to one in March when Pop was in town for a night and took us to Applebee's. Joy told him that we couldn't because Pop wasn't there. He said, "No. Go to restaurant without Pop." Joy couldn't figure out where he was coming from either.