April 1

The Evolution of a Disney Vacation

Several months ago... Lots of our friends and family love Disney and take their kids often. Maybe we should do it too before our kids get too old for it to seem magical. 

A few weeks ago...this is exciting knowing we are taking the girls to Disney World but they don’t yet know!

Tuesday afternoon...Girls! Guess where we are going tomorrow? (Handed them drink bottles with Mickey/Minnie heads and told them the drinks were a clue. Amy guessed it. Then she was worried that she didn’t know how to pack because she didn’t know what the weather would be.) Ok! Let’s pack! This is exciting!

Wednesday after the plane ride, on the bus to our hotel...what have I done?! Why did I think this would be a good idea? I am already overwhelmed and we haven’t begun. Why do people do this? What was I thinking?!?!

Wednesday after managing food and the pool and food and seeing baby ducks that came right up to our seats, and seeing fireworks from our friends’ room...ok this was ok. We made it. I’m glad we didn’t try anything beyond the hotel today. I still think this may have been a terrible idea overall. 

Thursday arriving at the Magic Kingdom and Sarah having a huge meltdown within the first ten minutes, screaming that she wanted to return to the hotel...really, what the &@#%*~<! was I thinking? I am so stupid. 

Thursday following three injuries (one of which required a trip to First Aid), the Dumbo ride, stroller rental, ice cream including a non-dairy option, hot dogs in the shade while watching an amazing parade, the Ariel ride, a splash park and wet kids, snacks and tv and napping in our room, pool time, and successful dinner navigation...Well, this was rough and there was a lot of whining but we made it and there were even some good parts. (I marveled early on when we took a selfie and looked happy because I felt mostly anything but!)

Friday after less whining and some more rides and more food and more pool time... I can begin to understand why people do this. This is sort of a nice thing. It is crazy crowded and crazy thematic but that is part of the experience. Where else will you find half of the population wearing mouse ears or princess dresses or matching family shirts? Also, renting a stroller was the best idea ever. 

Saturday after going to Epcot, doing two rides, having a fun lunch in the little version of Germany that included music and a dance floor that the girls loved, one last pool time, and tv/phone use with dinner in the room in pajamas...Oh, now I’m a little sad to be leaving. I’m starting to understand how to do our days, though needing to feed my children chocolate every hour or two is ridiculous even if effective. I’m also ready to go home, though a little worried about the trip home and then knowing I will be stressed about getting ready for Monday. School and work are right there waiting when we return. This has been an experience. I’m glad we did it. I maybe wish we had waited a couple of years. I maybe wish we picked a less busy time of year. It was awesome to be here when our friends were here too. I might consider doing this again. The disability pass was wonderful. We only used it twice but it made it possible to do rides we otherwise couldn’t have done. I love that Amy didn’t understand why Sarah got a special pass. I love that when I explained that it was for people who need extra help in their life she easily accepted that. I love that she just sees Sarah as Sarah, if that makes sense. 

There were moments of this trip when I was more mad at my kids than I have been in a while. They also filled my heart. As Carl said, being here didn’t change who we are. It accentuated it, for good and ill. Well, we survived and we even had a good time. But I think this was more of a trip than a vacation. 

The summer after Carl and I finished college, we drove around the country for seven weeks in a car that had intermittent air conditioning. We figured that if we could handle that we could handle anything. Some people renew their vows. We renewed our “if we can handle this....”