Ace and I couldn't help ourselves—we officially declared my 57th birthday worthy of a ninth road trip, and since we already had an event lined up in Kissimmee the following day, well... clearly the universe approved.
Our ride to Orlando International Airport was smooth sailing—right up until we arrived and discovered that everyone else had the exact same brilliant Friday travel idea. Crowds everywhere. Not what I had pictured. Not even close. Ace, however, did not panic. He did not hesitate. He simply shifted into professional mode and wove around people, luggage, and a surprising number of wheelchairs like an airport ballet dancer. And yes—there were wheelchairs everywhere. Ace handled it all flawlessly. His pace? Incredible. He even navigated us straight to the relief area first, because priorities matter and Ace knows it.
Absolute perfection.
We settled into a massive hotel that could honestly qualify as its own ZIP code. We immediately got to work exploring and learning the layout. This place had two elevator systems—Cypress and Palms. We stayed on the Palms side, we were living the high life on the 12th floor.
The relief area? Gorgeous. Spacious. Scenic. There was a lake with a water fountain and a view so peaceful that it almost made you forget why you were there. Almost.
Then came the discovery of a beautiful little staircase that looked suspiciously like the Dogs Inc staircase.
Our staircase report: 26 flights down in just under 3 minutes. Ace did not even break a sweat. I, on the other hand, earned my birthday cake.
That first night, the supermoon rose high in the sky, glowing as if it, too, was celebrating our adventure. We logged a ridiculous number of miles just getting around the hotel. The trek to the relief area alone was nearly a one-eighth of a mile and included—you guessed it—more stairs. Friday gave us 26 flights down, and Saturday doubled the fun. I kept careful tabs on our stair ascents and descents because if we're doing the work, it's getting recorded.
Sunrise the next morning was breathtaking. The building in the distance shimmered in the pond as the supermoon slowly faded away, as if handing the shift over to the sun.
Ace and I had been eagerly anticipating an extremely chilly exhibit at Gaylord Palms Resort. That was exactly why I purchased a functional jacket for him—not because of cold weather up north, but because this exhibit clocked in at 9 degrees. And yes, we stayed long enough to explore, admire, and collectively go aww, ooh, and ahhh. Ace saw the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer characters with his own eyes, inhaled cold air, and looked thrilled. It was as if he wanted to revert back to puppy mode—except his focus never wavered. Guiding comes first. We even tackled freezing staircases. Can you believe it? Ace had zero issues climbing and descending. Ace-mazing. And yes—Ace sat on icy blue ice. Did he complain? Not even a little. Calm. Confident. Completely unbothered. That's when I knew he had been successfully acclimated and fully exposed. I am incredibly proud of the work I've put into preparing him for just about anything. And remember—this is all in less than a year since our match.
After we returned to the hotel, Ace crashed hard. Later, I caught him wagging his tail in his sleep. If that's not the clearest sign of a great day, I don't know what is.
We're now officially motivated to master a long walking route to Disney Springs—no bus, no shuttle, just good walkway and a pedestrian bridge. Elevators were skipped entirely because, obviously, staircases are our thing. Finally arriving at Disney Springs was breathtaking. Security was a breeze, we explored Disney character statues, snapped photos, browsed shops, and fully embraced our inner kids. We didn't push it too far—I'm very mindful of Ace's mileage—but we navigated back to the hotel completely on our own. New route conquered. Mission accomplished.
Dense fog gave us an unexpected morning pause before heading home, making us wish we could have extended our stay by just one more day.
But don't worry—there's no slowing down here. Our 10th road trip is already on the horizon this week, because clearly my birthday celebration isn't finished yet.
And honestly? Why should it be?
I combined several video clips into one. The first two clips show the freezing stair work and the final three clips capture the Disney Springs route.