Tim Cimbura

Technology, Speaking, and Entertainment

Band-Aids

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Earle Dickson invented the band-aid in 1921. What ever did kids do before that time?

Band Aids are a big deal for kids. In the times of BK (Before Kids) we had a small first aid kid for emergencies. Now we’ve got bags of band-aids stashed in locations throughout the house for when the wailing begins “I fell off my scooter!” “I slid off the swing!” It happens all too often. Sometimes I fear someone will think we’re abusing our kids they have so many bumps, bruises, cuts, and scrapes.

Kids seem to fall down and get hurt way more often than adults. Maybe it’s because they’re taking more risks and getting involved. They sure play hard.

I believe one reason that band-aids are a big deal is because they fall into the sticker category. Did you know that band aids come in varieties of sparkly, colored, Muppets, Dora, Transformers, Phineas & Ferb, Sponge Bob, Tinkerbell fairies, Spiderman, Toy Story, Barbie, Mickey Mouse, My Little Pony, Cars, Disney Princeses, and Hello Kitty? My kids do…and they’ve taken inventory of every type we have. There are even “collector series” band-aids. Does someone actually have a collection of band-aids?

The practical side of me wants to buy the mega pack generic band-aids with 120 strips all the same size and all one color…flesh tone…and get the most for my money. It’s just a band-aid…and like toilet paper you end up throwing it away…so who cares what it looks like?

But colored Band-aids announce to the world that something tramatic happened. You got hurt and there’s a story behind it. No sense in hiding it. Let it out! Away with the flesh-tone! “Look! I fell down…and it was a big fall. But it’s OK. I’m going to get better. Wanna see!?”

Our girls are constantly asking for band-aids. I should buy stock in the company. They want to put a band-aid on even when there isn’t an owie. As parents we protest “There isn’t even any blood! You don’t need one.” Maybe that’s the point. If I put one on my body, then I feel better.

Band-aids represent healing. They are something that you can do…even if there’s not a lot you can do. You got hurt. It’s going to be painful for a while and you just need to wait it through. Once we put the band-aid on, your pain is redirected to the pretty sticker on your body and it doesn’t hurt as much. It’s actually a small miracle…and worth the $2.95 for the special box.

So yesterday when we were at the store, I let them each choose a box of fun band-aids…and maybe I’ll even choose one for myself next time. For now, I’ll use the flesh toned ones and draw on them with a marker for some pizazz. The best of both worlds.

The next time you’re in pain, think about what your band-aid is…a distraction from the hurt. Maybe it’s a listening to favorite song, immersing yourself in your hobby, talking to a trusted friend, taking a bike ride, or escaping for a walk in the woods. Whatever it is, relax in the fact that you’ll get through this. Even if your band-aid doesn’t completely take away the pain, it may make it tolerable and remind you that you’re OK and you’ll get better soon.

Trampolining!

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Tried something new a couple of days ago…Trampolining! A new place opened nearby called Zero Gravity devoted to bouncing around. Fun new things you can try:

  • bouncing from trampoline to trampoline like you’re on the moon and off the wall.
  • dunking basketballs.
  • letting out your aggressions by throwing nerf balls at others in a game of dodgeball.
  • flipping into a huge foam pit.

It was super fun and I want to go again…but be prepared. One hour is long enough and you will be sore for a couple of days afterwards which proves it’s great exercise.

DisneyWorld!

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Visiting DisneyWorld in Florida can be an ultimate Child at Heart experience for anyone. Around every corner is something new and fun that you’ve never done before. It’s a world that was created to appeal to kids but also to the child at heart. If you can’t enjoy something about Disney, then you may have a condition that requires medical attention. (Kim & Jason call this “adultitis”.)

On the other hand, I’ll admit that it is easy to fall out of your great Disney experience and into a meltdown if you’re not careful. Crying and tired kids, long lines, bad weather, and other factors can make Disney a difficult place to be in spite of being the most magical place on earth. Here I’ll share some tips to ensure that will NOT happen to you. If you’re going to Disney, it can be the most wonderful trip ever.

PLAN, PLAN, PLAN

When you’re spending a lot of money to make your Disney trip happen, you want to make sure you’re getting your value out of your investment. Spending time to plan your vacation time before you actually get to Disney will help make it will go well. It will also help you to build excitement and anticipation for what is to come. It’s part of the full experience.

We began telling our girls about seeing Cinderella’s castle and meeting all the characters nearly one year in advance. We watched movies so they’d know the characters. In fact, we used the trip as motivation for our youngest to get toilet trained. She had it down “Daddy, When I go potty in the toilet every time I get to go to DisneyWorld!”. I can see a new commercial for Disney.

Here are some steps in planning your Disney vacation:

1. Choose which of the four parks you want to see: The Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. For each park you choose, plan at least one day to see some of the major attractions. (They’re all great…so you can’t lose.)

2. Choose how many days you’ll be there and the time of year. If you can, choose to go in the off season when you’ll have fewer lines and lower costs.

3. Sign up for Unofficial Guide to Disney site. http://touringplans.com

4. Choose the least busy days for your particular parks according to their web site advice.

5. Buy a couple of books about Disney. Read them and take some notes so that you have the info in at your fingertips. When you’re actually at Disney is not the time to start reading about it.

The Complete Walt Disney World

Fodor’s Walt Disney World with Kids

The Unofficial Guide Walt Disney World

6. Choose your dining options. If you want Disney dining to be a part of your experience (and it can be very fun), make your ADRs (Advance Dining Reservations) for character meals and special meals at specific restaurants you want to eat at for each day. That reservation will be an anchor spot for the day determining which park you’ll need to be at for a specific time. Arrive for your reservation 15-30 minutes early, and you may be able to get in earlier or on time. Arrive late and you may have a more difficult time getting in. We did the Disney Dining plan and it saved us a lot of money and made things easy once we got to understand the system.

7. Buy your tickets and reservations online through The Magic for Less Travel or Disney’s web site.  Having a travel agent (no cost) to help and answer questions is invaluable. Depending on your budget, you can choose from value, moderate, or deluxe accommodations.

Tip: When purchasing your Disney tickets, add the water parks as an option after you arrive IF the weather is nice. We ended up spending $200 extra for the water park option that we didn’t get to use because the weather was too cool for swimming.

8. Listen to Disney planning podcasts. This builds excitement, anticipation, and your knowledge about the parks. Here are a couple I found useful and fun:

MISCELLANEOUS TIPS

Make a packing list. Here’s a list I use to make sure I haven’t forgotten anything.

Check your ADRs, flights, hotels, and car rental at least 1 month before the trip.

Clean your house before you leave. It’s really nice to come home to a clean place.

Set Some Ground Rules:

  • While you’re at Disney, don’t do anything or eat anything that you could do or eat easily when you’re at home. Make your trip full of new and full experiences.
  • Even though planning is important, don’t plan it all. Live in the moment. Take time to smell the roses.

Rent a Stroller

If you have any kids under 50 pounds…rent a stroller. We thought our 3 and 5 year olds were pretty active and wouldn’t need them. We were so wrong. Disney is a lot of walking. We rented one from Magic Stroller and it was a great investment of $125 for 1 week. The stroller was delivered to our hotel when we arrived and we just left it there for pickup the day we left. The Disney strollers are expensive and quite utilitarian (not so comfortable for the kids). I also suggest paying $25 more for insurance and piece of mind that if it is stolen, it’s covered. Amazingly, we had no problems leaving our strollers in various places in the parks. Disney has people there to keep them in neat rows and assist you. We just never left anything valuable in them when they were by themselves.

The stroller worked great for reserving a place for us to watch a parade or fireworks, carrying kids and other essentials around, and giving the kids a warm, dry, out of the sun or rain place to rest their feet. The stroller also allowed our youngest to sleep through portions of the trip while we continued enjoying ourselves late into the night.

Car Rental

We rented a van from National Car Rental. It was convenient to drive to the Publix grocery store, the Animal Kingdom, and some dinner events at other resorts. We took Disney transportation (busses or boat) to the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. We stayed at the Beach Club resort so we walked to Epcot since it was so close.

If you’re using all Disney transportation you can supplement with Uber or Lyft rides occasionally between resorts or parks for convenience.

AT DISNEYWORLD

Here’s a big tip: You CAN’T see all of Disney in one trip. Admit it. We were there for 7 very full days and we saw a lot…but we could have seen more parades, characters, fireworks, rides, restaurants, etc. We didn’t even get to go to one of the water parks due to weather. The important thing was that we had a ball. Everything we did was fun and we were enjoying the moments together as a family. At minimum I’d suggest spending 1 day in each major park: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios.

So promise yourself that your will come back to Disney in the future. It will help you avoid killing yourself from exhaustion when you realize and become so frustrated that you can’t do everything in one trip.

We were surprised at how important meeting the Disney characters was to our trip experience. Watching our children look up with wide eyes upon meeting Minnie and Mickey was incredible. Several times it even became so emotional that little tears of joy appeared. Arianna loves to dance. One evening at Hollywood Studios she had the opportunity to dance with Minnie at the Clubhouse Mickey. She was so star struck holding Minnie’s hand that she forgot to dance just reveling in the moment. Disney has made it much easier to see characters, get great photos, and autographs than when I was a kid.

Food

We took care of a light breakfast each day with some bars or muffins that we got at the grocery store. That allowed us to get going earlier and take advantage of the parks when they were least busy. The Disney Dining plan offered plenty of lunch and dinner food and snacks.

Use Amazon Prime Now to deliver some essential groceries like water, snacks, etc. directly to your resort within 2 hours at a reasonable cost. This can save you some money and is very convenient.

The Disney Dining classifies food as (1) Quick Service – A place where you stand in line and get your food. (2) Table Service – A sit down restaurant (get reservations or ADRs for these). and (3) Snacks – Fruit, popcorn, drink, etc. Nearly anything under $6 at participating restaurants, gift shops, or food stands is considered a snack.

In fact, we ended up having extra snacks on our plan at the end. We stocked up on Minnie’s Cookies which we found in the gift shops. They’re individually wrapped so you can even bring them home. My favorite was chocolate chunk peanut butter. Yum!

Among all our amazing dining experiences, a few stood out…

  • Cinderella’s Happily Ever After character meal at 1900 Park Fare (Grand Floridian resort, Magic Kingdom) – Here there was an great buffet meal that almost got lost because the entertainment was so fun. There was a processional of Cinderella, Prince Charming, and her evil step sisters. The step sisters were a hoot. They were bossing everyone around and making funny faces when they posed for photos.
  • Princess Storybook Dining at Akerhus Hall (Norway Pavilion at Epcot) – Here the girls had the chance to meet almost every Disney princess at one meal.
  • Les Chef de France – We felt like we were really in France. Everyone spoke French, the food was amazing, and the surroundings replicated Paris. It was incroyable.
  • Ohana at the Polynesian Resort – Great bar-b-que food served family style with entertainment and joy.
  • Boma  at the Animal Kingdom – An amazing buffet with unique foods.

Being Princesses…

Everyone at Disney addressed our girls as “princess” (especially when their hair was styled and they were wearing costumes). Some people even called them “your highness”. One time we were having lunch at Epcot and Arianna spilled chocolate milk on her shirt. Being tired, she began to melt down. A new friend from a nearby table chimed in…”I saw Sleeping Beauty do the same thing the other day. When a princess spills something, it’s OK. It won’t matter in the long run. You can just wash it later and everything will be OK. In fact, it looks kind of nice.” It saved the day.

It turns out she was a Disney employee in training. We had a great conversation. It was meeting people like that that made our trip so special. We also met a new friend from Africa at the Animal Kingdom lodge. We learned a lot from him about the country he’s from and had fun interacting with someone from the other side of the world. Disney employs people from all over the world. At the France restaurant at Epcot, I had the chance to speak French with several of the wait staff. It made the experience authentic…just as if I was in Paris.

Celebrating Everything…

Use the “extra magic hours” if you’re staying on site. This is when you can go into the park early or late if you’re staying on Disney property. It’s a great way to enjoy the rides with less people.

Use Genie+ (formerly FastPass)

Disney has special ways to get through lines faster with Genie+ that allow you to skip the wait on select rides throughout the day. It’s worth it to experience more during your day.

If you can’t get a FastPass for a favorite ride, be at the park gates at least 30 minutes before opening to do “rope drop”. See the opening ceremony and head directly for the most interesting attraction in the farthest reaches of the park.

TECHNOLOGY

I used technology effectively to help make the trip better. Since I was on vacation and I work with computers every day, I purposely did not use my laptop. My iPhone provided all the essentials to make the trip work. The best resource I found was “The Unofficial Guide to Disney World” and their mobile Lines web site that tells how long the wait is for each ride as well as park hours, etc. http://m.touringplans.com. It cost $8.95 for a year membership. Sign up at http://www.touringplans.com

Fall back is Disney’s paper maps. They don’t need batteries and are easy to read in the bright sunshine. All my dining plans were made well in advance to get ADRs…and I thought the wait times were not as accurate or easy to read as the Lines mobile site listed above.

I checked the Weather and the time of the Sunrise Sunset using free applications on the iPhone.

Ordering all your meals and looking at your phone all day will take a toll on the battery. Put your battery into low power mode. Order a back up battery and take it with you to carry in a fanny pack or purse.

I also used the iPhone keep up with Mail so I wasn’t overwhelmed when I returned. I had two specific rules for minimizing technology interrupting the fun: (1) If it was an important e-mail, I would file it in a folder for “Action When I Return”. (2) Anything else I would simply delete it. This really helped. I made the decision that I could do without most e-mail for 2 weeks without anything coming crashing down. It’s a good idea to keep backup copies of your travel documents in your e-mail InBox if you need to reference them or if you have a Mobile Me account, you can store copies of your travel documents on your iDisk.

Another technology bonus came via Facebook on the iPhone. I happened to see a friend I hadn’t seen for years post a photo with his kids in front of a ride I had just been to the day before. I didn’t have his contact information with me, but Facebook had his mobile number and so I was able to contact him. Turns out he was staying at the same resort and we were able to meet up and talk for a while.

MUST SEES

Here are the attractions that we felt (as a family of two young girls, mom and dad, and sometimes grandma and grandpa) were the must sees for each park. (Updated rides 2/5/22)

ANIMAL KINGDOM

  • Avatar Flight of Passage
  • Kilimanjaro Safari
  • Expedition Everest
  • Festival of the Lion King
  • Finding Nemo The Musical
  • Tree of Life – It’s Tough to Be a Bug

HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS

  • Tower of Terror
  • Rise of the Resistance
  • Smugglers Run
  • Mickey’s Runaway Railway
  • Slinky Dog Dash
  • Beauty and the Beast
  • Rockn’ roller Coaster

MAGIC KINGDOM

  • Big Thunder Mountain
  • Pirates of the Caribbean
  • Peter Pan
  • Jungle Cruise
  • It’s a Small World
  • PhilharMagic

EPCOT

Future World…

  • Soarin’
  • Test Track
  • Living with The Land
  • Mission: Space

World Showcase…

  • Frozen Ever After ride – Norway
  • Ratatouille – France
  • The American Adventure – Voices of Liberty, Fife and Drum
  • Grand Fiesta Tour – Mexico boat ride
  • O Canada – 360 degree movie

FREE THINGS (no tickets required)

  • Check out Disney resorts – Try the hammocks at the Polynesian Resort
  • Shop in Disney Springs
  • Visit the city of Celebration

MEDIA

And now for some photos and videos to give you a flavor of the fun…

WRAPPING IT UP

You’ll have many memories from your vacation. Anytime you want a little reminder, take out your photos and videos or listen to Magical Mouse Radio. The music will bring you back there in a moment.

We had such a great time together, we know we’ll be back to Disney. Got to get to planning…

RESOURCE SUMMARY

Activating Your Senses and The Hunchback of Notre Dame II

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Although the animation production quality of Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame II is not as good as the original film, the music and message of the film excel.

One notable sequence is when Quasi Moto falls in love with Madeleine. He takes her on a tour of Paris. Paris is known as a city of incredible outward beauty in its architecture, parks, monuments, etc but on this particular tour Quasi Moto focuses on the beauty of Paris by utilizing the other senses:
First, they TASTE a souffle straight out of the oven.
Second, they SMELL Rosemary that isn’t pretty but have a wonderful fragrance.
Third, they HEAR the noisy crowds and from a distance they sound magnificent.
Fourth, they TOUCH the rain that would normally ruin a beautiful day.

In each case, something that potentially negative is seen in a new way. It’s really easy for children to see these things and be fascinated by them but we need to make a conscience decision as adults to appreciate them. As with Quasi Moto, you need to look past his exterior to see the beauty of his character. So many things are illusions in life. What you see on the outside is not always what is really there. Often what is really there is more than you can see. Another example of this in the film is the bell in the tower of Notre Dame which looks ugly on the outside but in reality is filled with amazing and valuable jewels.

In this film, magician and juggler Sarousch is the bad guy. Particularly funny was his line at the end as he is taken away “Did I mention I do birthday parties!?”

The film itself is a bit like Quasi Moto. It’s not so much to look at, but valuable and good. The movie is less scary than the original and has romance appropriate for all ages.

Jennifer Love Hewitt (the voice of Madeleine) wrote and sang the closing song “I’m Gonna Love You”. It has special memories for me as Brenda and I had at our wedding.

Appreciating the Moment

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Last Tuesday seemed like a normal day. Our daughter woke up with a fever and so we gave her some Tylenol and let her rest. One minute our little girl was quietly resting watching cartoons, then suddenly she was shaking uncontrollably, her eyes rolled back, and her face turned purple. My wife flew into action to see if she was breathing. Her jaw was clenched.

I immediately attempted to dial 911. The phone wasn’t working! I reached for my iPhone. The last time I used it, I was listening to a podcast…so the voice came on. In that moment I wanted a phone, not an iPod! I thought about the First Aid application on the phone…but there was no time to get to that. After a few seconds I was connected to 911. They got our address and sent an ambulance. In a few minutes we had three policemen and two paramedics at our home…administering oxygen and asking questions. Her little sister Brielle got a towel from the kitchen. She was all confused and wanted to help.

Arianna was rushed to the hospital with Brenda in the ambulance while I followed behind in the car. In the emergency room she looked so sad and hurt. After the initial monitoring we tried to get her to drink some fluids and keep her fever down. The doctor gave some little bear stickers to Arianna. She thought about her sister “I’ll get one for Brielle.” I wore one on my hand like she did. (My goodness it really hurts to take the sticker off when it pulls off most of my hair with it.)

After nearly 6 hours at the hospital we found she had a bad urinary tract infection. Evidently kids under the age of 6 can have “febrile seizures ” set on by high fever. She got dual shots of antibiotics in both legs. We told her “A shot hurts for a little bit but it helps you feel better for a long time”. Soon after we were on the way home with Arianna.

The whole experience reminded us again that life is so frail. Those minutes of not knowing what was happening were the longest minutes ever. We needed to know that she was safe and out of danger. Through that scary time you see what really matters. You gain perspective. At that moment money was not a concern. It didn’t matter how much the ambulance cost…if it could save our little girl. We’re thankful we have good medical care available.

That night we were back at home and Arianna was feeling better. She wanted some french fries at 10 pm. Normally, I wouldn’t go out just for the fries but that night I did. I made a late night run to the McDonald’s drive-through and then the video store to get a movie she’s been asking to see every time we passed by it. Upon seeing a 43 year old man renting “Barbie and the Diamond Castle”, the guy at the video store said “Going all out tonight, huh?” “Yes, I am.” I replied…and I was.

It’s amazing how quickly we fall back to “normal” patterns. I’m determined to appreciate life and remind myself every morning it is a new day. I agree that yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. It’s appropriately called the present.

After feeling that you’ve almost lost your little one, you want to make each moment count. What would you do differently if today was your last day together with the people you care about? Why not do it now?

I put together the following action plan that is a good idea for everyone:
* Know the way to the nearest hospital. Google maps can get the directions wrong.
* Know how to dial 911. I think it’s 9-1-1…right?
* Learn CPR and First Aid. You never know when you might need it.
* Appreciate every moment of time with your loved ones.