A Trip to Disney

We just go back from hanging out with Mickey and friends down in Florida. It was a week long adventure that was so full of magic and wonder for us all. I still can't believe it is over.

My little Ava had been talking about going to Cinderella's castle [Disney World] for the longest time. I guess it all started when I accidentally, out of desperation, told her we would go if she would just get the potty business down. Potty training was horrible. Months and months of frustration, tears and a short-tempered mama. But the bribe worked, obviously.

Brian was away from us girls for two straight months for medical away rotations. We thought this trip would be very much deserved and enjoyed once the two months were over. So that is exactly what we did. Brian rotated in Georgia [September] and South Carolina [October]. The girls and I flew to Georgia to stay with my parents for a few days at the end of October while he finished up in South Carolina. Brian drove down to meet us that Friday, [finally!] and we took off to Florida the next day.

We arrived at the resort around 4pm, dropped off our bags and headed to the park. Both girls were such troopers during that car ride, but Ava was a bit anxious to finally meet all the princesses. Meeting Cinderella and Rapunzel were the first on the list.

We learned a lot about Ava during that week. For instance, she is absolutely scared of princes. She wanted nothing to do with Aladdin, Prince Charming, or even Mickey when he pretended to be a prince when he saw Ava dressed as Elsa. Silly girl. Also, when she gets nervous, her hands immediately go to her mouth. You'll notice this in many of the pictures taken. But her excitement overcame her nervousness most of the time, since she ran up to each of the characters [besides the princes, of course] and gave them a big hug when it was her turn. That night we also saw the electrical light parade. Our girls were wide-eyed the entire time. It was a great way for Ava to see all the characters at once. It confirmed to her that certain characters really were at Disney World, and were waiting to meet her that week!

[I made Minnie Mouse witch hats for each girl to wear around the park since we went the week before Halloween. That is a great time of year to go, by the way!]

Sunday morning we had breakfast with some of the Disney characters. We saw Pluto, Goofy, and Minnie Mouse! Ava was on cloud nine, and had an eye on them at all times. I don't think she touched much of her food. When they came to our table she gave them all big hugs, put her hands over her mouth and tried her best to smile for the camera. Oh, I love that girl.

Although the day started off the best way possible, it began to go downhill once we hit the two o'clock mark. Our girls were tired, and incredibly whiny.  Lesson learned: do not stay out too late the night before. A good amount of sleep was required by both girls in order for the following day to go smoothly. We left the park around three that day, thinking that Olivia wouldn't nap in the stroller. Turns out she conked out on the monorail right after we left. We went back anyway, had an early dinner and put the cranks to bed. Mom and Dad enjoyed Netflix, so not all was lost.

Another tip:  If you have little ones, buy a box of Uncrustables and pack one for each child that day for lunch. Those little sandwiches saved us during that mad lunch hour. Brian and I didn't eat much of a lunch while we were there. We survived off of small snacks like granola bars and apples. We would grab a treat or two, [you can't go to Disney without getting a Dole Whip. That would just be cruel!] but would go to an early dinner each night, then head to the resort and put the girls to bed.

Once we discovered this little routine of ours, the rest of the trip was golden.

We tackled Magic Kingdom the first two days, then took on Animal Kingdom. Animal Kingdom can be done in one day, in my opinion. We saw the Lion King Show [it was amazing!], went on a Safari, and even found Pocahontas!

[Ava surprised us by jumping out of the stroller when she saw these girls dancing. She went right up to them and joined the fun.]

We went to Hollywood Studios the fourth day, where we sang songs with Anna and Elsa, met the Disney Junior Characters, and Brian and I about peed our pants riding the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. Maybe if I read the description of the coaster, like he did, I wouldn't have been in such shock right out of the gate. Holy cow.

There isn't much to do in that park with little ones, so we got on a ferry boat with the intention of going back to the Magic Kingdom. The ferry dropped us off at Epcot, but the ferry entrance is nowhere near the monorails that we were planning on riding over to the other park, so we ended up spending our time in Epcot. I knew nothing about this park, and was pleasantly surprised by it! Epcot is so unique, and a definite must see! I could have spent hours there tasting all the different cuisines and enjoying the various shows and music. Some day when I am kid-free, I will do just that.

We spent the rest of our days at Magic Kingdom. We saw just about every character there, rode rides multiple times, and just about wore ourselves out. I couldn't believe how smooth the trip went with two little ones though. We hit the jackpot. Most people don't advise tackling Disney until your child is at least 7. I beg to differ. If you start each day with a bit of patience and flexibility, taking young children is a blast and well worth it.

Other tidbits of the trip:
- Ava hates Splash Mountain and the Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom [bad idea, Brian].
- I think Ava loved waiting for the dumbo ride [due to the play area] more than the actual ride. Olivia throughly enjoyed both.
- Both girls loved the carousel.
- It is still unbelievably hot in Florida that time of year. Noted for next time.