That Time We Rode Expedition Everest 11 Times
I have so many stories to share from this year… Life has been non-stop, especially since May. I thought I’d share awesome moments and learnings. Why not start with one of my favorite memories when Jordan and I visited Walt Disney World Resort this past May.
That’s when Jordan and I had an opportunity of a lifetime: Disney Parks gave her a special award, the Dream Big Princess Innovator award. It was a part of the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration and we had an opportunity to take part in that conference. It really is a one-of-a-kind blogging conference and it happens to be the one I was attending when we bought our house last year.
After the award, Jordan and I had a chance to play in the parks and in honor of her special award, we were given time with a VIP Guide! Seriously. We met up with a guide who drove us backstage of the parks and gave us door-to-door service to all of our favorite attractions. Most of our favorites are the fast rides. Our guide was able to walk us onto any FastPass line we chose.
We got to walk DOWN from the top of Expedition Everest!
Near the end of our VIP day, Jordan and I decided we wanted to ride Expedition Everest as many times as possible. We decided ten times was our goal. TEN times? That’s crazy, right? The funny thing? As we sat in the front row of our tenth ride, the coaster stopped and we had to be evacuated for safety. There was a computer glitch and they needed to reset the system. It was a wild tenth ride, but we had a hard time counting it as ten.
The day after the end of the conference, we had a chance to play for a half of a day in the parks before our flight home. Jordan and I decided we needed to ride Everest at least one more time to count it as our tenth. But since Animal Kingdom Theme Park had Extra Magic Hours that morning, we decided to ride it as much as we could for an hour (which was five times). And we booked a FastPass later that morning. Of course, some of the Cast Members remembered us from our previous multiple-ride day. We’re kind of memorable. (And goofy.) We took a ride break and saw the two stage shows in the park, including Finding Nemo The Musical. We had a magical experience (that is worth its own blog post) and we walked away with a gift of an extra FastPass. Of course, we planned to use it on Expedition Everest. We had gathered up enough FastPasses to say we enjoyed a total of seven rides on the attraction. But magic from Cast Members helped expand our time on the ride. A couple of Cast Members found ways to give us even more FastPasses (pixie dust, perhaps) and we got to ride Everest ELEVEN times!
At the end of our 11th and final ride on Everest, Jordan grabbed onto me and gave me the sweetest and most loving hug. We knew the day had to end. We didn’t want to go to the airport. But we knew it was the end of an amazing and special experience. That hug will be imprinted in my memories forever.
Not every kid gets this kind of opportunity. Not every kid wins awards and gets free trips to Walt Disney World. I hope she remembers these amazing unforgettable moments. I am shocked time and again how Jordan has packed so much into these ten and a half years of life. This was one day I hope she remembers forever.