Cheer Weekend Recap + Covid Disney Tips

It's Wednesday and I think I've finally recovered from my UCA cheer comp girls weekend to Orlando. I had both the girls with me, and with the Covid times still upon us, I decided to drive instead of fly from Atlanta. At several points, on the way down, I regretted this decision. Eight plus hours together in a car, with endless arguments and screeching that even the best of my noise canceling headphones couldn't drown out, will do that to a mom. 

But all hearing loss aside, it was a super fun weekend. I went into this competition season as a cheer mom newbie, and now I can do a winged eyeliner with the best of them (thanks youtube make-up artists), and will forever shed glitter where ever I travel (it's an upgrade from just the dog hair I normally shed). 

| Sometimes God does answer prayers.|

My daughter has loved every. single. second. And seeing her big smile and a passion for a sport she loves (and trust me - it is a sport) has made every extra practice, long drive, and drama over the (direct quote) "worst hair pulling and hair brushing" she experienced each comp weekend - totally worth it. 

I'll take this brief time to shout out to the good people of various Hilton properties for never calling DFACS on the mom with loud screams coming from her child in her hotel room. That bun was always high, tight and right all season. 

UCA weekend was FUN. There's just something about having a comp in the "Happiest Place on Earth". 

We spent our first few days solely focused on the competition and hanging out at the hotel swimming during our free time. 

Our hotel was right across from Disney Springs and hop, skip, and Florida humidity filled jump across a bridge we sweated our way towards Planet Hollywood one day for lunch. The kids loved it. 

And they love their over the top drinkable dessert creations even more. 

The hotel had an amazing set of pools, complete with an oversized hot tub, lazy river, and game area. On the weekends it features a live DJ. Needless to say for a bunch of 5-12 year olds it was heaven. 

There is also a large bar. Needless to say for cheer moms, it was heaven. 

But don't let all the fun and games fool you. These kids work HARD. From top to bottom this season they have overcome every Covid hurdle thrown at them this last year and it shows. Not to brag on them (but I totally will) - they WON! 

But I think what struck me more was the fact they loved doing it with each other. They cried coming off the stage, and not because they were excited to win or upset about something with their performance. They were crying tears because they love each other so much and this was the end of their season. They end of what they accomplished together, and they know they did it with the sweetest group of friends. My seven year old recognized the importance of that. As a parent, what could I not love about that?!

As day two wrapped up, I made a last minute decision to take the girls to the Magic Kingdom. I had tickets to Epcot because that was the only reservation at the time available, but when I saw Disney had Magic Kingdom availability I switched our tickets and hopped quickly on the Monorail before something could happen. 

I'm a planner, but the spontaneity of this moment worked in our favor. Capacity at the park for a Sunday was low. We walked right in. 

| Minnie Mouse Tees |

A mini-parade (because in Covid times parades, character visits, and shows are things of the past) was occurring and the Minniest Magnolia made all her dreams come true - Minnie Mouse waved right at her. 

We rode rides. We didn't wait in any lines! We ate all the yummy food. And we just had a blast together. 

Disney is waaaaay different. Wearing a mask all afternoon in the hot sun wasn't the most pleasant experience, but we did so happily. (And if you happen to forget or pull it down for a second a cast member will pop out of the nearest perfectly landscaped Mickey shaped bush and remind you.)

I was nervous when I saw Fast Passes were no longer a thing, and feared we would be waiting in long lines. My fear was unfounded though because we rode several rides back to back to back due to no one being in line. The girls thought it was the greatest day of their lives. 

And then my winning cheerleader (totally still bragging) decided to ensure it was the most memorable day of her life and lost a tooth. Thank you to the kind strangers who helped locate it on the cobblestone roads in the dark of the evening with the golden lighted power of our cell phones and our Ariel musical bubble makers. 

Tinker Bell. Trophies. And Tooth Fairies. 

I'm not sure about you, but the murderous hair brushing can totally be over looked. 

SOME QUICK DISNEY FACTS & TIPS

I thought I would write these down for you on a quick sheet in case needed. Most info you can find on their website. But I didn't know I would need to use the app as much. Lots of things are hands off, and I wasn't expecting to have to mobile order food. Overall it's an easier Disney experience with some of the traditional fun missing. It didn't slow my kids down one bit, or make them feel like they were missing out on anything. Several of our teammates also felt the same way - it was enjoyable. So if you have an upcoming trip...

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Destination Disney: Hollywood Studios

This week has been all about Disney! (Are you totally exhausted yet, too?) I'm wrapping it up today, but in case you missed the first parts of the trip you can read about them here...

Disney Arrival | Animal Kingdom | Epcot | Magic Kingdom

Our last day had arrived and we were going to make the most of it! We knew we were headed to Hollywood Studios and after a late night and having learned from our past mistakes we took it easy straight out of the gate from the moment we woke up. The Cutes briefly mentioned the pool again, but then they decided they wanted to head towards the Cars section of our hotel to play for a bit. 

The love seeing the characters from one of their favorite movies in real life. 

We played in this area for about an hour and then we headed towards our destination for the day. The kids had never been to Hollywood Studios before, but from the moment we entered they were already  huge fans!

Their favorite Disney Channel characters and Star Wars...what's not to love? 

First up, we headed to the Frozen sing a long show. It was cute and definitely a big sing a long. Cute informed us he could have skipped this one, but the girls were riveted. 

Everyone's favorite part was when the "snow" started falling from the sky. #letitfoam

Next up we caught the Star Wars show. Cute was beyond excited! He was riveted the whole time and wanted to watch it again (it plays several times a day). 

We made our way after this to sign him up for the Jedi training. This is the only time we hit a parent fail the entire day. We should have signed him up right when we entered the park. We were placed on an alternative list because all the time slots for the day were filled. We checked in a couple of times to see if he ended up making it but after a few hours we gave up. I'm sure as the day goes on we would have finally gotten cleared, but it wasn't worth it for us (and for him) to keep waiting around. 

But we settled his disappointment with the Star Wars ride and the Indiana Jones show. Because nothing makes your mood go from bad to good quicker than seeing something blown up in real life. At least in the mind of a seven year old. He loved the Indiana Jones show. He kept asking if it was really a real fire. I should be nervous. 

It was super hot so I went to grab us some waters and came back with a Dreamsicle for myself. It might have been before 5 o'clock, but I couldn't pass up the Magnolia Mamas signature drink! 

After we were all refreshed we made our way to check out Olaf. Mommy was super excited Olaf had to stay inside in the air conditioning because of melting potential. That pool was sounding kind of nice at this point. 

We grabbed a quick bite of pizza and then we were off on a little Disney and Star Wars character tour. 

The kids wanted to see Chewbacca and by this time Baby Cute had fallen asleep in a post pizza haze so Mr. Cute took them in. The kids had a blast and Chewbacca would apparently only take a picture with Cute if he covered up his shirt. Chewy doesn't support the Dark Side. The kids thought this was hilarious. 

Next up we saw Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and then Doc McStuffins. 

And then L.C. was so excited because Princess Sophia was walking right by her and gave her a huge high five and hug! One fun thing about Hollywood Studios is the potential for the characters to be walking around. We noticed lots of the characters all over this part of the park. I loved that! I remember the excitement of being surprised by them as a child and wish that still happened at Disney as much as it used to. 

B.C. woke up and we let the kids each pick out a little souvenir. The girls went straight for the costumes. To this day B.C. still hasn't taken off the Princess Ariel costume. Unless it's to change into her Anna costume. The batgirl costume from Halloween might have officially been retired. 

At this point we realized we were "in it to win it" for our last day, and buckled down to stay the rest of the night. When dusk came we made our way to the Fantasmic show.

It was so good! I was so impressed with what they could do with the water! 

The kids loved the show and next to the Happily Ever After show it might have been the best we had seen all weekend. 

Once Fantasmic wrapped up we headed back to the main area to see the Star Wars show.

Now I have no clue about anything Star Wars related. Cute only knows what he has read some books, and none of us have seen any of the movies. With that being said it was a really good show! 

Parts of the movies were projected onto the buildings and then music and fireworks occurred all around. Everywhere you turned was a new scene.

It was definitely cool to see. And a great way to end the night! 

And that wrapped up our trip! We went back to hotel after the late night, passed right out, and then woke up the next morning and headed back to Atlanta. It was a whirlwind of a week, and I came home feeling like I needed a vacation after my vacation, but seeing the excitement from the kids and the memories we made with them made it worth it! 

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