After what seemed like forever (we booked in September, so it wasn't that long of a wait but it felt like it!), the time finally arrived for us to head south. Just in time, too, as the temperatures in Atlanta were dropping. Unfortunately, David had a business trip pop up just before we left, so he was out Sunday afternoon through Wednesday morning. This wasn't a huge deal, but it did mean I'd come off of several days of solo parenting, which isn't an ideal way to begin a vacation where you'll need to be at peak performance. Regardless, we managed to get everything together in time and, by 9pm on Wednesday night, the van was as loaded as it could be and we were in bed watching Elementary.
Day One - Thursday, January 29th
We set out around 8am Thursday morning, determined to sit in a little rush hour traffic as opposed to sitting around the house. The ride down was relatively uneventful except for one brief period I'll get to in a minute. The kids did fantastic and played with their activities and toys, listened to music, and watched Peter Pan. We pulled into a Chick-fil-A in Valdosta (our usual stop on the way to FL) and let them run around in a little field beside the restaurant for about fifteen minutes before going in for lunch. Traveling on a weekday was SO much nicer than on a Saturday. Once we got out of the city, the traffic and crowds were noticeably lighter.
We ate and made pit stops before loading back into the van. David had driven the first leg, so I took the driver's seat after lunch. We pulled onto the interstate, got Luke settled in for a nap and Audrey for a rest and were about 15 minutes down the road when I noticed a tiny orange light on the dashboard. You know...the one near the gas gauge. I smacked David's arm in a panic, not realizing he was snoozing. "We forgot to get gas!" I whisper-yelled. (If you are unfamiliar with the whisper-yell, it is an absolute staple for married couples to use while young children nap.) I quickly hit the button above the rearview mirror and toggled through until it told me how many miles we had until empty. The answer? Seven.
SEVEN miles, y'all.
I got over into the slow lane and dropped my speed by about twenty miles an hour (don't do the math on that) while David frantically searched for the nearest gas station. We were definitely not in a prime area and had just passed about five exits of civilization. His phone soon informed us there was one four miles away. As beads of sweat began to appear on my forehead, I threw up a flair prayer and watched the distance-to-empty miles tick down. We spotted the exit up ahead and carefully (as if that had an effect on our gas mileage) steered the van into a station with drops to spare. We attempted to quietly fill up the tank without disturbing Luke or causing Audrey to shout over her headphones "WHY ARE WE STOPPED?!" Somehow, we succeeded at both and got back on the road. We both agreed that we hoped that would be one of those lessons you never forget.
Luke woke up after about 45 minutes and we entertained them some more with their activities and books. Before we knew it (also known as nearly eight hours after departure), this glorious sign appeared before our eyes:
We had made it! We were finally there! We went to our resort and the kids and I waited in the van while David checked us in. He got back in and reported how amazing the service was already - the manager had seen him waiting with only one person in front of him and ushered him over to the concierge desk to be checked in. Hospitality at its finest, for sure. No wonder a good chunk of my college textbooks on the subject were full of Disney references!
We drove around to our building and the kids were stoked to walk up the staircase that looked like a calypso drum. We got to our room - a family suite at the All Star Music Resort - and explored. We didn't have long before we were headed back out towards Downtown Disney for the evening. We'd made reservations at the Rainforest Cafe for dinner and wanted to take in the sights on the way. Little did we know what a stretch we'd get to do that in! Because of the construction (which we knew about) we had to park way far away and make our way through just about the entire area. (For those that haven't ever been to Disney World and are newbies like us, the #1 shocker for people is the sheer size of the place! It's huge as a whole and every individual area/theme park is at least the size of a small town!) Anyway, we enjoyed people watching and seeing some of the store fronts while making the trek over to dinner.
When we got to the cafe, there was an animatron crocodile out front that came to life and snapped at passersby. The kids were just scared enough to keep inching closer. Even with reservations, we had a bit of a wait and amused ourselves looking at all of the cool fish tanks around. We got a seat and ordered before walking the kids around to see the giant elephants, gorillas, and fountains. I left David waiting on the food and took them through the gift shop for a few minutes. When dinner came, we ate quickly and ordered their famous Volcano Dessert ($15.95 but included in our pre-purchased meal plan.) The looks on the kids' faces when it came and we told them to dig in was priceless. It was yummy, but it was far more fun to watch them enjoy it! After about an hour and ten minutes from when we sat down (service was s-l-o-w), we left and walked outside in time to see the volcano at the top of the restaurant go off a few times. Dinner AND a show!
We walked next door to a Christmas shop for me to pick out our traditional souvenir ornament. It was completely overwhelming, as there were approximately 347, 219 to choose from. Knowing that the kids were tired and David was losing patience, I scrambled to narrow it down and stood in line to get order personalization. I paid and we began the long walk back to the van and drove to the resort.
Since we had been in such a hurry when we first arrived, we hadn't set up the kids' beds. I should've known better - my mom always taught me to make/situate the beds first during a move or vacation! It took a very long time and a bloody finger or two to get everything put together and set up. The kids were on fold-outs, but we'd brought bed rails as well. Those plus stuffing cushions around gaps plus their pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals turned into quite a production. Finally, around 9pm, we put the kids down and I snuck out to go find a grocery store for fresh fruit and cold items we hadn't packed. I was back and in bed by 10:00pm, ready to rest up for the first full day of touring.
Day Two - Friday, January 30th
The day began at 6:45 for me, which is actually sleeping in quite a bit. That said (written?), it still felt pretty early! I jumped in the shower feeling sure that the noise would wake up the kids, which is why I waited so late. Thankfully, though, it did not and they were able to sleep while David and I got most of the way ready. We woke them up at 7:30, got them dressed, and left around 8am, scarfing down cold pop tarts and cereal bars on the way.
After debating, researching, and observing, we had opted to drive ourselves the first day instead of using the resort-provided buses. We pulled through the Magic Kingdom gates and were guided into a parking space. It was hilarious to see the sea of parents stretched out before us unloading the backs of their minivans and gathering up the backpacks and tote bags. The transportation station we had to walk to was filling up quickly and after looking at the monorail lines, we opted for the ferry boat. The kids liked watching the scenery as we glided across the water and then disembarked in front of the Magic Kingdom. We went through a relatively quick line for bag searches, scanned our magic bands for entry into the park and walked through the little tunnel under the train station until...
THERE WE WERE.
Months and months of research, planning, asking friends for advice, listening to dozens of podcasts while running, scheduling late into the night, building up, and counting down had come to this moment. We were all standing on Main Street at Magic Kingdom looking at Cinderella's Castle. There. In the flesh. I nearly cried.
We took a few pictures and walked through the tunnel under Cinderella's Castle. Just on the other side was a carousel and the kids were dying to try it out. We took a ride on it and then ran over to Dumbo. Audrey was jumping up and down in line, ecstatic and excited in a totally un-characteristic way. She and I hopped in one Dumbo seat together and the boys did another in front of us. The adored it and immediately wanted to ride again, but we promised we'd come back later and went to our first FastPass ride of It's a Small World. It was really cool seeing all of the dancing dolls and scenes and I was amazed at how fresh and new everything looked on such an old classic. It was a nice long ride (so many attractions are surprisingly short-lived) and then, with the song stuck in our head, we made our way over to Aladdin's Magic Carpets after, which is similar to Dumbo. We had about a fifteen minute wait there, but the kids liked it and really enjoyed that each carpet seated four so we could all ride together.
Our next FastPass was for Peter Pan's Flight, which was Luke's favorite. You get in a ship and "sail" through the dark night over several scenes from the movie. It was especially fresh in their minds because we'd just watched it on the drive down the day before. When we exited at 11am, I really wanted to attempt to get in for lunch at Be Our Guest, which is a newish restaurant that's designed to look like Belle's Castle. The kids and I sprinted over while David retrieved the strollers (yeah, stroller parking - that's like a whole thing at Disney. All I can say is, I'm glad we borrowed decent ones and marked them with bandanas.) I walked up breathless and asked the "Cast Member" (I kid you not, there is a secret Disney language) how long the wait was. He assured me it wasn't bad - only about twenty minutes - so we decided to go for it.
This is a point in the story where things get dicey. With most people, little incidents like I'm about to share will be forgotten and only the good memories will be recalled for years to come. Lucky for you and my children, I have a blog where I can immortalize the truth. This serves two purposes: It keeps me honest and it reminds our family that nothing is perfect, so when we have the desire to recreate moments or to go back, we are realistic about how things really were!
Anyway, we were all starting to fade a little and David and I had made the mistake of skipping the kids' snacks due to an early lunch. We'd seen and done a lot that morning, and they were a little on edge before we had to wait for twenty minutes to get in. Therefore, by the time we sat down in a huge, crowded, loud dining hall that I thought everyone would just love doing and then I accidentally bumped into Audrey, she melted into a puddle. All of a sudden I had a tired, hungry, overwhelmed introvert boo-hooing that she wanted to go home because she didn't feel good.
Thankfully, that didn't last very long. We talked through how overwhelming all of the excitement was and broke things down into emotions and experiences we could put into words. I laid out the schedule for the rest of the morning and by the time the food arrived (and, more importantly, dessert), everyone was doing okay again. Of course, we had another mini-meltdown when some kid in the restroom swatted Audrey on the way out the door (lucky for the kid I missed it). She wasn't hurt physically, but super annoyed and then Luke lost his mind because he needed Mommy to hold him right then and there. Personally, I just needed more coffee. Or chocolate. Or a nap. Regardless, none of the three options were around, so I put on my best patient, can-do smile and we went next door to our third FastPass of the day: Enchanted Tales with Belle.
The dear, precious cast member outside was attempting to blow bubbles and drew the kids back out of their funk with light conversation. We went inside and were mesmerized by the magic mirror that turned into a door. The kids didn't want "parts" in the tale (some kids held up little cardboard cut-outs of characters from the movie and had to play a part by saying a word or sound at their appropriate time) so they sat with us. They both opted to walk through the little parade Belle led at the end of the short tale and then they got their picture taken with her and a bookmark keepsake. Forget nearly crying - as I saw her kneel down and watched the kids interact with a real, live-to-them princess, I melted and let a tear sneak out. The money, the preparation, the hissy fits, the drive were all worth it for sweet moments like that. Tell me you don't agree:
We left there on cloud nine and snuck in a quick stop at the Magic Tea Party (aka The Teacups), which the kids had a blast on. I'll overlook the fact that I'm pretty sure part of the reason was that I made such a big deal faking to be sick and they thought it was hilarious. We left the park, rode a monorail back to our van, and drove to the resort for nap and rest time. We got the kids down around 2pm, and up at 3:30pm to do baths and get ready to go to our fancy dinner with Cinderella.
We drove to the Grand Floridian Resort and took a few pictures outside (including beside a Mary Poppins shrub!) then played in the hotel lobby for about fifteen minutes before they were ready to seat us. David, my normally don't-draw-attention husband, actually danced with Audrey to the music the band was playing. He twirled her around as I smiled and thought, "Oh honey, you have no idea what a big, cool deal this is!" Our pager went off and we headed into the restaurant.
Several of the characters were already making their way around the different tables, so we hurriedly got our buffet plates and sat down. The first to swing by was Drizzella, one of the wicked step sisters. After that, the Wicked Stepmother (Lady Tremaine) came over, but she was very kind. Most of them were focused on asking Luke when he'd be old enough to marry one of the step sisters. Prince Charming came, and was very sweet gushing over Audrey. Finally, the Lady of the Hour - Cinderella - made her way into the room and stopped by our table first. Prince Charming even led her over and kissed her hand as he dropped her by to visit us, which the kids thought was great. She wasn't super chatty - none of them were, understandably so - but, like the others, she signed both autograph books and posed for a few pictures. We waited to meet the other step sister while eating dessert and then headed out to catch the monorail to Magic Kingdom. It was such a neat experience to get to see them all close up and spend a moment talking to them face to face!
We had originally planned on seeing a parade, but by the time we got there, every square inch where people were permitted to stand in was taken. Of course this stressful, crowded situation was made worse by Luke losing his magic band and getting super upset about it and Audrey whining continuously that she couldn't see. Ever the flexible parents (Me?! Who knew!) we quickly threw out the idea of a parade and decided to let the kids choose a couple of rides (excuse me, "attractions"!) to do. They picked Dumbo and Mad Tea Party again, so off we went.
It was a different experience riding in the dark and they both loved it just as much the second time around. We had been keeping an eye on the newest ride, The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, all day, but the wait time was always at least an hour. As we passed by, it said 70 minutes, but we couldn't even see where people were lined up, so we opted to give it a shot.
And that, my friends, is how we decided that taking our two young children on their very first roller coaster ride in the dark was a good idea. Because they said they wanted to go (they'd watched it on YouTube) and it was the shortest line we'd seen for it all day.
And, as everyone knows: Letting little ones decide big things + convenience = a good way to make decisions.
About thirty minutes later (the kids were amazing with their patience), we were strapped in and took off.
Then, this:
Overall, they really didn't do badly at all. Audrey loved the first half, but I think the combination of fireworks booming overhead (WAY cool for D and I) plus the twists and turns in the dark proved to be too much. We knew this going in. We told each other this in line. And yet, we did it anyway. And you know, I'm glad we did. Neither kid was crying when we got off and neither kid said they hated it. Now, neither kid will probably get on another roller coast for the next year or so, but we're okay with that. Only a thirty minute wait and then fireworks going off overhead on Disney's most popular ride with my family? An unforgettable experience for all of us, that's for sure. (Update: Luke has since decided he wants to go back and try one again!)
We gathered the strollers and began to make our way to the front of the park. It was crazy chaos on the way out. It took quite awhile to exit and then wait on a monorail and then ride on the monorail and then walk a long way from the resort where we ate back to our van and then drive back to our resort. We promptly put the kids in their pjs and tucked them in around 9:30 before sinking into our own beds at 9:31.
It was an amazing first day full of fun and adventure and we were more than ready for day two.
Day Three - Saturday, January 31st
Day three started out much the same as day two. Audrey and I did run down to the resort food court to get our free refillable souvenir mugs and pick up an extra magic band for Luke from the front desk. Because of this little jaunt and more sluggishness in general, we ended up leaving about thirty minutes later than we'd planned.
By the time we got to our destination for the day - Hollywood Studios - we were feeling rushed and stressed. We managed to walk in about 5 minutes before it it opened to the public. (Some theme parks have extra magic hours on certain days where they open early or stay open late for guests staying on Disney property. This one opened an hour early, but we didn't get to take much advantage of it.) I snapped at David to figure out how to get us where we were trying to go and he replied in kind.
So, to recap: we were hurried, stressed, and short-tempered. Got that?
Then, Luke fell out of his stroller and David accidentally ran over his finger. Sheesh.
Thankfully, he wasn't hurt, but man, what a way to start the day. I quickly realized we needed to regroup or this was going to become a day in Hollywood Hell. We jumped in line to see Buzz and Woody and as we were waiting, I apologized and tried to turn the mood around. By the time we met the big guys from Toy Story, everyone was just fine. (Okay, Luke's fingers still hurt, but he was a trooper and was easily distracted.)
The kids loved seeing Buzz and Woody in person, especially Luke. They each signed the autograph books and posed for pictures. In my research, I'd read that most character interactions only last for about one minute and in order to make it count and/or stretch it out, it's good to have a question or comment ready to help engage them. Buzz and Woody were some of the ones that don't talk, so that made it a little more difficult, but we still asked about Andy's name on their shoes. They mime-answered that it was there but had been worn off.
We walked outside and met a green army man from the movie and got his autograph. After that, we explored a little bit before jumping in the FastPass line for The Frozen Singalong with Elsa and Anna. We still had to wait about fifteen minutes before the doors opened and then about ten minutes after that before the show started, but we had excellent seats right at the front. Anna came onstage and introduced us to two more characters who were the narrators of the show. They were funny, but we all agreed at the end that there could've been less of them and more of the movie characters. In truth, the show was not what we expected. Elsa and Anna only sang one song together at the end and the rest of the show was movie clips with the words at the bottom of screens and interspersed dialogue by the narrators. Still, the kids enjoyed it and had fun singing.
We left there and hauled it over to the other side of the park for the next show we had FastPasses for: Disney Junior Live On Stage. There aren't seats for that show; everyone just sits on the floor. We were near the back, but the kids still had a decent view. A host came out and then Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, Donald, and Goofy puppets talked through a problem that they needed other Disney Junior characters to help them solve (I think it was preparing for Minnie's surprise birthday party, but forgive my lack of detail due to a marginally riveting plot.) Sophia the First, Doc McStuffins, and Jake and the Neverland Pirates characters all popped up in puppet form for about 5-6 minutes and did little skits and their musical numbers. With each one, things floated down from the ceiling ("snow" for Sophia, Bubbles for Doc, and paper Goldebloons for Jake), adding to the excitement.
Audrey loved it way more than the Frozen Singalong!
It dawned on me a few minutes before the show ended that since we were near the back, we could be the first ones out and jump over into the line to meet Jake. Sure enough, we pushed through the doors and waited less than five minutes before meeting the #1 pirate himself. He spent a long time with the kids (though, like Buzz and Woody, he didn't talk) and I wished I'd had more to say to interact with him. He signed their books and Luke gave him a huge, long hug.
It was time for our third and final FastPass of the day: Toy Story Midway Mania. The queue for this one was especially fun. It was decorated with oversized toys like Etch-a-Sketch, giant crayons, game pieces, etc. We grabbed our 3D glasses and waited about ten minutes until boarding the spinning car equipped with cannons to "shoot" at targets on screens as we whizzed around. I sat with Audrey (for most every ride, actually), who didn't quite get the hang of how to fire the cannon, but still had fun. We got off and walked over to Pizza Planet for lunch, which was a mockup from the Toy Story movie. (Are you detecting a theme to this day yet?)
The line was huge, but moved quickly. We ate...pizza...and let the kids sit on a few of the arcade games before beginning the long trek back to the car. Several times I'd wished I'd worn a pedometer! We mistakenly opted to board a parking lot tram, which was frustrating with strollers and not at all worth the minute it may have saved. The lady behind me was cranky and negative, which didn't help my attitude as we were getting off. Suddenly, we were back into stress mode but turned it into a life lesson by the time we were in the car. We decided it was way more Christ-like and fun to spread positive joy and renewed our resolve to aim for that the rest of the day (one can hope, right?!)
We got back to the resort and all took rests and naps for a little while. After waking up Luke (Audrey amazingly never fell asleep for rest times), we loaded up and went back over to Hollywood Studios in time for a late afternoon viewing of Beauty and the Beast Live On Stage. Audrey saw the movie over the summer and was familiar with the story line, but Luke had never seen it. He was pretty enthralled with it all, especially the beast. They kept the tale moving along quickly (the whole show was just under 30 minutes) and the scary parts weren't as bad as they are in the movie. It was really enjoyable and was probably my personal favorite of the whole day.
We walked back across the park, enjoying the amazing breeze and south Florida warmth in January. Dinner reservations were at 5:15 at Mama Melrose's, an Italian place that offered us a break from character dining. There were a couple of fake piles of snow near the restaurant that the kids had stumbled on earlier in the day and loved "playing" in. It was hilarious that here we were, spending a small fortune and doing all of these amazing attractions and Audrey just wanted to pretend to play in this 2' x 4' stretch of plastic snow drift. Go figure. We did that for a minute and then went inside for yummy pasta and, of course, dessert. (It came with the meal plan...who were we to turn it down?!)
After dinner we wanted to squeeze in one more show and saw the Muppets in 3D. The kids weren't super familiar with the characters and most of the humor was over their heads, but the 3D experience made up for all that. It was funny to look over and watch them trying to reach out and touch something! Not to mention how cute they looked wearing their little 3D glasses.
When the show ended, we walked over near the Disney Jr. Courtyard to find a gift shop we knew would have some special Disney Jr. merchandise. Sure enough, we went into one and the kids spent about ten minutes looking before settling on a stuffed Jake (Luke) and a stuffed Lambie from Doc (AJ.) We swung by one of the snack kiosks and grabbed some popcorn to munch on on the way out because, hey, vacation. The guy ringing us up accidentally charged us for two snack credits, so we got extra popcorn and a Mickey pretzel, which I'd had my eye on for two days. Yay!
We happily headed out to the car, this time avoiding the tram and walking while munching and discussing the day. We ended on such a good note and, thankfully, a little earlier than we had been, which I think we all needed. The kids were in bed around 8:15...still later than their 7:45 norm at home, but we'll take it. I blogged for a bit and then D and I watched a show on my laptop before turning in. Day three was in the books. It was a little shaky at the start, but sure had a happy ending. Pretty sure that's a rule at Disney.
Day Four - Sunday, February 1st
Our last day at the parks started around the same time as the others. We were headed back to the Magic Kingdom and aimed to get there by "rope drop" (I'm telling you, the lingo is a whole thing.) We got the kids some hot chocolate and loaded into the van. We opted to drive again, because it had worked out well the first time and we didn't feel like learning a new system on our last day. We pulled into the parking lot around the same time as we had on the first day, but because it was Sunday, the crowd was bigger. We chose to ride the ferry over and docked just before 9am. We went through bag check, scanned our bands, and hurried to Peter Pan's Flight, because we thought the kids wanted to do that one again and without a FastPass, we knew the line would get nuts. Sure enough there was a thirty minute wait by the time we got there. The queue was really neat, though, and offered entertainment we hadn't seen when we used the FastPass. There was a room set up like the nursery from the movie and Tinkerbell even floated around, moving from drawers to inside lamps.
As time ticked by, I started sweating over whether we would make our first FastPass window and tried to keep a flexible attitude. We finally got on the ride and soaked up the familiarly displayed scenes below as we "flew" around in our ship. The kids enjoyed it even more the second time around, which made the wait worth it. We jumped off and jetted to get our strollers and make it to the Little Mermaid Under the Sea ride before our window expired. We walked through with a minute to spare and piled into a clam shell as it weaved us in and out of animatronic scenes. The music and characters greeted us around every corner and we all laughed as we pointed out our favorites. The Little Mermaid was to me what Frozen is for most little girls these days. I adored that movie! I watched it countless times and knew every word of every song...heck, every spoken line...so it was nostalgic and a little more magical than the others for me. We finished the ride and searched for restrooms and then snacks.
After enjoying frozen strawberry bars - perhaps more on their clothes than in their mouths, but laundry worries would have to wait - we headed over to meet Ariel herself. We scanned our FastPasses and walked right into her grotto, where she sat in her mermaid version and waved hello with a big smile. We asked her what she missed about human legs (thanks for the tip, Kenny the Pirate website!) and where Max the dog was. She said she could change back to human form anytime she wanted, which was good because she missed Prince Eric the most. Turns out he was off sailing for the day with Max, but they would meet up later. Well, sure! I'm telling you, the level of interaction these characters do and the way they engage with the kids is so special. We left after a few pictures and autographs and waited outside for David to round up the strollers.
We had planned on doing the Astro Orbiter ride next, but once Audrey and Luke saw how high up it was and we saw the wait time, we decided it was not worth it. Instead, we jumped in line for the next must-do on our list: Tomorrowland Speedway (little road cars on tracks.) I jumped in one with AJ and Luke got in with David behind us. I operated the pedal and she steered us. Let's just say I'm glad it a) was on a rail, so couldn't deviate far and b) we have a few more years before the driver's license test. Afterward, the kids started to get whiney, so we sat down and watched the cars drive by for a minute while David and I worked out the next stops. We'd promised Dumbo and the Mad Tea Party again, but wait times were a little longer than we wanted to do at that moment, so we went over to Pete's Silly Sideshow to do some character meet and greets.
Once inside the big circus-like tent, we didn't have to wait long for Goofy and Donald Duck. We got autographs and pictures and I think I asked Donald about how hard it is to communicate sometimes, but since this set didn't talk, he didn't...well, communicate. We had to exit and then get back in line for Daisy and Minnie on the other side, and the kids were starting to get antsy. I decided to cave and pull out my phone for a couple of games. (I was determined that the kids would see more of Disney than a screen, so we used it very sparingly.) We made our way to the front of the line and asked Daisy about her favorite flowers. She took a long time with us and then ushered us right over to Minnie, who was adorable. More pictures, more autographs, more yes or no questions (is your favorite color pink? Of course!)
It was about 12:15pm by this point, so we decided to get lunch on the way out of the park.
We visited Casey's Corner for some huge hot dogs and sat outside in the warm sun eating them up. As we chowed down, a little parade went by with a few musical machines and some dancers and stilt-walkers (though AJ insisted they just had really, really long legs!) It wasn't a big deal, but it one of those little extra things that made our trip so special. Here we are just eating lunch, kids, and there goes a WHOLE STINKIN' PARADE. Because stuff like that just happens at Disney World.
We wrapped it up and headed back by way of the monorail to the parking lot and then walked out to our parking space. Back at the hotel, I helped get the kids down for naps and rest and then went inside to the lobby gift shop (which was the size of an entire Disney store) to pick up the personalized ornament I'd gotten a few days earlier. (Yup, they can just send stuff you buy anywhere to you at the resort so you don't have to deal with toting it around.) Back in the room, I began packing up a little and then we got the kids up for snacks and baths. We changed clothes and headed to the Magic Kingdom for our final hoorah.
We opted to ride the tram in from the parking lot and then got on the monorail over to the park. (Yes, at this point, we realized a bus might've been easier for this leg, but we didn't feel like dealing with the insane crowds when we left that night.) Even with getting through bag check and band scanning, we were still a little early for our first FastPass window. We'd told the kids they could each pick one last thing to do and Luke and Audrey both wanted to do the Tea Cups, so we walked over. We got on and I faked being sick and dizzy again, much to their delight. We promised Audrey that yes, that was indeed the fastest we'd gone, and smoothed our clothes and hair down in an effort to get presentable for meeting Princess Anna and Queen Elsa.
Even with a FastPass, the wait was about 15-20 minutes for this one, as it is by far the most popular character meeting in Disney World right now. I'd stayed up until midnight on the day our FastPasses opened up sixty days prior to try and reserve it and was thankful it paid off. As we stood in line, I caught sight of a young boy in a hospital-bed type wheelchair in front of us. My eyes welled up as I looked at the adults with him and read their t-shirts: Make a Wish Foundation. Oh Lord, THANK YOU for my healthy kids. I just can't even imagine. I prayed a silent prayer for that family and looked at my kids with renewed gratitude.
When it was our turn, I had trouble scanning my Magic Band, so by the time Luke and I rounded the corner, Audrey was already talking with Elsa. I scrambled to get the video camera going and simultaneously soak up the moment listening to her talk to the kids. I was so flustered, I didn't even have a cool question to ask her, but oh well. We went straight from her to Anna and repeated the process. Audrey beamed in her Frozen dress and they chatted briefly about chocolate, I think (?!)
We finished the royal introduction and were ushered out into a gift shop attached to the building. I went over to a FastPass kiosk to see if there were any left I could get (you can get one more at a time at a kiosk after you use up your initial three.) There wasn't anything available that we wanted to do, so we headed to do our third and final Dumbo ride.
This time, we let the kids play in the play area in the middle of the queue for a minute. Luke stubbornly didn't want to leave when we were ready to do the ride, so there was a moment of meltdown when David had to go retrieve him from a climbing tunnel. The tears quickly vanished when we walked outside and climbed aboard our little elephant. This time I rode with Luke and AJ rode with David. I made her promise to raise and drop David quickly like she'd done with me the past two times (each elephant seat has its own lever to manually adjust the height.) We got off the ride and headed straight to the Crystal Palace for our 6:15 dinner reservations.
They were running a bit behind and didn't seat us until 6:30. The kids ran around outside while we waited and Luke shout-sang "Let it go, let it gooooo!" at the top of his lungs to passersby. Thankfully, most didn't seem to mind too much. Once we got a table, it was buffet style, so we got to fix plates right away. Piglet came by first, then Eeyore. There was a long break before we saw Winnie the Pooh make his way to our side of the restaurant.
Since it was about 7:15, we decided David needed to go scout out a place for the 8:00 parade we were trying to make. Pooh was one table away when his "handler" said he needed to go see Christopher Robin and would be right back. We waited about ten more minutes and then, just as he approached our table, Luke fell off the bench seat and burst into tears. I asked Pooh if he could do the table behind us for a minute and quickly tried to talk Luke down. I may or may not have even bribed him with another bite of dessert if he would dry his tears immediately. You do what you gotta do when you've been waiting an hour to meet Pooh. It worked and Pooh posed for pictures and did autographs for the kids.
Because we'd cut it so close, we didn't have to wait long for the parade to begin. Soon, lit up floats came down Main Street and made us forget everything except what was right in front of us at that moment. The parade lasted about 15-20 minutes and included Cinderella on a carriage and Peter Pan and Captain Hook jousting on a ship. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs walked by in lit up costumes and waved right at us. The kids were enthralled but when it ended, so did their upbeat excitement. I pulled out bubbles and tried to keep them happy while we waited for the next show to start. Crowds filled in around us and the kids were really starting to fade. I knew if I could just make them hang in there for few more minutes it would all be worth it. (How often has God thought that about us?!)
Sure enough, the lights dimmed on the buildings around us and Cinderella's Castle lit up for the Celebrate the Magic light show. I held Audrey up to see and David held Luke and we could almost feel their excitement as each scene was projected and the music changed. Tinkerbell floated around the castle and waved her magic pixie dust, changing the different images. At one point, Audrey said out loud, "Tink! Whatcha up to now, babe?!" I about died laughing.
There was a short break before the Wishes fireworks show began and we turned to the commotion beside us, realizing that a nearby couple had just gotten engaged. What a cool thing to witness! Suddenly the lights dimmed again and then it was time for our third and final entertainment of the evening.
Y'all. I can't even put into words the sheer joy those ten minutes were for me. It was such a stinkin' Disney commercial cliche, I almost couldn't bare it. My face was hurting from my huge smile as boom after boom lit up the sky. I realized this was the first fireworks show the kids had ever seen and MAN, what a display. They are forever ruined for 4th of July. Audrey squeezed me tightly as she whispered oohs and aahhs. I'm not going to lie, I totally closed my eyes and made a wish. I teared up and sighed a big sigh as the grand finale signaled the show was over. What a way to end the trip!
Still riding the high of the shows, we didn't mind the chaos of the crowd as we pushed our way to the ferry (we'd learned the other night that it was way faster than catching the monorail.) We waved farewell and marveled at the whole night as we disembarked and walked towards the parking lot tram. Determined to keep our positive attitudes, we calmly managed to get on and off it without any injuries or too much frustration. It helped that the people in front of us thought our kids were the cutest they'd ever seen and repeatedly told them so.
We got off the tram and loaded the kids into their strollers for the last time. I made a comment to David about Luke and I beating he and Audrey to the car. He told us he was way too tired...before taking off running. I sprinted to catch up and we all cracked up as we "tied" the race (it was not our first rodeo competing with the kids.)
It was well after 10pm before everyone got into bed, but I assure you that we all had magnificent images dancing in our heads as we drifted into a great night's sleep. It had been a dream-come-true evening, to be sure.
Day Five - Monday, February 2nd
Getting up the next morning was not easy. We let the kids sleep in as long as we could stand while quietly packing up around them. David loaded the car as much as possible before stirring them. It was clear by the grumpiness it had been a short night's sleep and that no one wanted to leave. We turned on some of the old Mickey cartoons that Audrey had grown to love and listened to her laugh hysterically at the slapstick humor while we finished getting them ready.
David took the last of the luggage down to the van and I walked the kids to the resort food court to use our remaining snack credits for breakfast. We scarfed down muffins and went to the gift shop to choose souvenirs. Audrey simply could not decide between a stuffed doll that transformed from Else to Anna and an Ariel figurine play set. Tears filled her eyes and, being a complete push-over, I let her get both even though it blew the budget she'd saved and the spending money she'd gotten by a long shot. I told her she would have to save up for the Ariel toy and earn it at home before she could play with it. Her grin told me she definitely would. Luke chose a Peter Pan figurine play set and I grabbed a fun snack to sneak in Audrey's lunchbox when she started back to school.
David took the kids to the van while I went to check out. I asked the lady at the front desk to jot down a quick note to each kid so I could implement a surprise at home. She obliged and also threw in a couple of autographed pictures of Mickey, because customer service reigns supreme at Disney.
With a little gloom, we made our way out to the interstate. The clouds around us matched our mood and little rain drops gathered on our windows. Somehow it always makes it a teensy bit easier to leave somewhere fun if it's raining.
We stopped at Wendy's for lunch and hurried through our burgers in an effort to get back on the road. We hit major traffic coming into town because a suspicious package had closed the downtown connector, so everywhere was backed up. We still managed to swing by and pick up dinner and get home in just under 8 hours, so it was about on par with our estimation and our trip down.
The kids were happy to see their house and toys again and amused themselves while David unloaded and I began unpacking. I set up the kids' surprises on their beds, but it was like putting a bandaid on a severed limb for all it helped to ease the withdrawal. Still, they appreciated the new toys for a little bit while we rushed through Audrey's homework (she "couldn't" do some of it in the car because it was too bumpy) and got them into pajamas. If there is one good thing about vacation ending, it's getting to sleep in your own bed again. We tucked them in and put ourselves to bed not long after, exhausted and a little down, but really excited about what an amazing time it had been.
In closing (if you've made it this far, CONGRATULATIONS! And also, "Hi Mom and Pam!"), I want to recap my top ten favorite moments of the trip:
My Top Ten Favorites:
1) Standing on Main Street experiencing the parades and Wishes fireworks with my family
2) Watching the kids meet "real" princesses, specifically Belle and Ariel
3) Riding the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at night with fireworks going off overhead. (Even if the kids may not do another roller coaster for quite some time.)
4) Watching the kids sing and laugh during all of the shows
5) Meeting Woody and Buzz from Toy Story
6) Having dessert after every meal
7) Watching David dance with Audrey in the middle of a hotel lobby while waiting for dinner reservations.
8) Feeling childhood nostalgia
9) The amazing weather. Sunshine, seventies, and warm breezes blowing!
10) Getting to say "yes" so often. Yes to missing school, yes to dessert, yes to that ride again, yes to staying up late, yes to that souvenir. YES, for no other reason than DISNEY! I'm pretty sure that must be what it's like to be a grandparent.
So there you have it. That was Disney World. It wasn't without a few meltdowns (mine) and tears (again, mine), but we managed expectations pretty well, got to see and do all that we set out to do, and made truly unforgettable memories that will last a lifetime.
It was, in a word, magical. :)
