Downtown Disney Magic!!

Before our relocation to the Orlando, Florida area, my wife would always tell me that she wanted to go to Downtown Disney the next time we went on a vacation. Well, we never had a chance to go until this past weekend. From where we currently live, we mapped our way at night through a luxury community, which quickly turned into vast nothingness, until you turn down the street where the tourist area is located. Unbelievable! It was perfect. To my children, it looked like a place just to go and get everything they could ever want to purchase and do just about everything they could ever want to do. To me, it felt like an enclosed downtown area. It had all of the things that I would look for when I go into a traditional downtown environment.

With tons of shopping, restaurants and street performances, it's impossible not to be entertained. There was this awesome living statue performer that I took a picture with. I tried to get him to move before my oldest son took the picture, and even taunted him a bit after the shot was taken. The man made no sudden movements. He was a complete professional. Just as I had given up and was getting ready to return to my family, he slowly turned to me and gave me this super cool look as if to say that he was the one in control. I got the point, got a good laugh, and moved on to the Lego Imagination Center to let Zechariah play a bit with all of the Lego toys. I don't know how they clean up and reorganize that place at night, but it must take them hours to put everything back in order. Yet, it thrilled my son to the core as he slowly began to make his entrance in Nappy-Poo Land for his evening slumber fest. What a relief! We didn't stay long, but were very impressed with the amenities, especially with the fact that we didn't have to pay for parking or any entrance fee. That makes a huge difference when you are going for a night out. My wife and I plan to come back for a date at a later time. Eventually, our hope is to see the Cirque du Soleil show that's in the Downtown Disney area. Still debating if we will take the kids to see that one though. I'll let you know!    

Finally...Some Family Fun!

Before relocating to Florida, my wife and I would take our youngest son to a place where he could just run around and be free. One place that was really cool back in Augusta, Georgia was a place called Monkey Joe's (and there is one here in Winter Park). Monkey Joe's is a great place if you want your child to have fun climbing up inflatable play sets  while you just sit down and watch. However, we wanted to try something different. As we were searching for something new and exciting to do on Sunday, we came across a place called Hukoo's. This place is the total package for family fun! Ironically, we're not too big on crowds, or should I say, unorganized "kiddie bedlam". So, going on Sunday evening was perfect for us and it gave us a chance to enjoy the new adventure without having to compete with long lines. Hukoo's is like a family event paradise, catering to the entire family. Literally, there is something for everyone. There was even a video game for my wife, and she's not that avid when it comes to playing video games. There's laser tag, bumper cars, a walk-through maze, and this huge pirate ship battle game that's designed like a traditional paint ball game. One team masters one of the ships and the other team, the other one. The object of the game is to hit designated targets on the other parties ship for points with the provided air gun and balls. Well, my oldest son and I could not resist, and immediately went towards the game after walking in the facility. After getting on our protective goggles, we went at it. I thought for sure I was winning because all of my shots were hitting the targets, but at the end of a ten-minute battle, we ended up with a tie score. Since we were now living in Florida, I demanded a re-count, but was told to act like an adult by my wife and to accept the fact that I tied with my son. I huffed and puffed (obviously), but then moved onto watching my youngest son embark on a trampoline adventure. That's right! This place has an awesome trampoline where you can run, throw balls at your friends, and do all kind of wall tricks and back flips. Zechariah (my youngest) couldn't do any of those things, but he ran back and forth for twenty minutes on that trampoline with the biggest smile on his face. There couldn't have been a happier child in the world. Unfortunately, Hukoo's is only open on the weekend (Friday, Saturday, Sunday). It's located right across from the Florida Mall which gives families venturing out for a weekend of shopping and dining a chance to stop in and have some fun. Pricing is reasonable and you walk away feeling like you made a great investment for fun, instead of feeling taken advantage of. Bounce in and check it out sometime!