Hello, readers! Welcome to week 3 of my 8-part series called Countdown to Fun. After last week’s cookie project, Gibbs was desperately looking forward to the next box, which I told him all week would come on Saturday. As is my custom, I got up at 6AM and headed out for a run. About 4 miles in, my watch buzzed with a text from my husband: “Boy awake. Running around the house looking for Mickey notes.” …Whoops. “Mickey” hadn’t been there yet.
I got home from running around the time the kids were sitting down to breakfast, and I used the distraction to pull out one scavenger hunt clue (which directed the seeker to the garage) and box #2, which I put on a shelf in the garage for Gibbs to find. I set the clue in the hallway where he’d run into it soon after breakfast.
Gibbs found the clue as expected, and immediately shrieked that MICKEY HAD BEEN THERE! He dashed off to find a sister to read him the clue.
Despite my worries that he wasn’t old enough for a scavenger hunt, he had no problem knowing exactly where the clue led, and running out to find the box.
This time I had the foresight to slit the sticker holding the box shut, so G could open it on his own. Once inside, he found a pair of Disney’s Animal Kingdom binoculars, a bingo card, and another card with a phone number for us to call Mickey Mouse. For some reason, Gibbs LOVES that portion, and gets so excited to hear Mickey Mouse “talk to him” about the upcoming trip.
Of course, we had to go explore our backyard immediately, looking for bugs and plants listed on his bingo card. Once we’d exhausted the options there, we set out on foot to explore new frontiers – Oma’s house. She has a large flower bed and a pool, so we hoped the wildlife would be different. She had just told us on Friday night that she’d seen a toad, which Gibbs was eager to see with his binoculars.
Fortunately, before we even got to the backyard, we found wildlife.
“Look Mama! I found a rabbit!”
Unfortunately, the toad was not around on Saturday but he did make an appearance Sunday morning, so Gibbs got to say “hi” to him after all.
This box was a great experience! Gibbs looks forward to bringing his binoculars on the trip and looking through them at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and I appreciate that the activity got him interested in and excited about the world around him. Disney certainly knows how to start conversations and spark family fun, and I look forward to the next 4 Countdown to Fun boxes!
I hope you will join us again next week!
Want to follow along on our trip to Walt Disney World? Follow me at @amillertx on Instagram and look for the hashtag #MillerWDWMagic2017. We will be there September 9-16, so if you spot us be sure to say hello!
Other Posts in this Series:
Introduction to “Countdown to Fun”
(Photos from the author’s personal collection.)
To learn more about Aly and read her other posts for WDW Radio, visit her author page by clicking the link on her name at the top of this post.
