I never really got it. Disney, that is. I never went as a child, and my siblings and I never begged our parents to bring us. We had lots of other family vacation experiences growing up, and we were happy spending a week in the Adirondacks. As an adult, I still never really had a desire to go to Disney. Money. People. Money. People. The people part is most certainly my father's influence.
Then I had Jenny. I think the first words out of my mother-in-law's mouth in the hospital, was "I can't wait to bring her to Disney!" I think I cringed at those words, or maybe that was just because I had given birth. Once Kirsten was born, all bets were off. My only stipulation was that all children had to be potty trained.
Enter spring break 2011. I get it. Oh, no doubt, money and LOTS of people. BUT, add into that equation fun, dumbfounded-ness at this Walt Disney guy, princess', cleanliness, beauty, warmth, something for everyone all the time, and a ton of priceless memories. Notice I did not enter relaxation into this equation, because that certainly is NOT what Disney is all about!
So, I must admit, although I am not driving around with a Mickey bobble head on my dash, I can say with certainty that I get it, and I actually want to go back . . .someday! :-) I loved seeing Disney for the first time through my girl's eyes.
So, here follows a brief synopsis of our special vacation. I tried to keep it short!
Friday, March 18 - Plane leaving Newark at 8, depart from Stanley Ct approx. 6 a.m. First plane ride for the girls. We arrived at Orlando Airport, and eventually via monorail and bus, made our way to our Disney World Hotel, Port Orleans, Riverside. First order of business: flip flops and summer attire! Sunny, and 85 degrees! The girls were tired, so we had some pool time and then went to Disney's Wilderness Lodge for dinner. Our night ended with Jenny's caricature, mermaid of course! As you can see, Kirsten was already exhausted night 1!
Saturday, March 19 - Let the fun begin! We had an 8:00 am breakfast appointment at the castle with Cinderella. There was no time to be wasted! We were let into the park early, and I literally walked through the gates and my breath for a moment was taken away. So began our trek down that famous road to that famous castle. Did I have goosebumps?? Yup! I admit it! All of our favorite princess' greeted and talked with us, the looks on the girls faces (an my mother-in-law's) were precious! We spent the bulk of our day in Magic Kingdom, lots of rides (Thunder Mt, Jenny's first roller-coaster), some more pool, and then off to Disney's Polynesian for dinner. Whew, what a day!
Sunday, March 20 - Next stop, Animal Kingdom. What a cool place! We spent hours here interacting with real animals and characters, taking in an incredible Nemo production, and enjoying the grandeur of this park. Some more pool time, and off to Epcot at night for dinner in an aquarium!! We then stayed for Illuminations, a spectacular fireworks, music, and lights show. Wow!
Monday, March 21 - Tired yet? Off to Hollywood Studios. Yikes! Another incredibly huge and diverse theme park that we saw and experienced only a tiny bit of. Jenny got to go on the Toy Story ride, and that made it worth it. Matt and I continuously said "It's not about us, it's about the kids" and privately wished maybe we should have come here for our honeymoon!! (Okay, not quite that drastic, I wouldn't take Hawaii back for an instant!!!) Since it was super hot, we took a ferry ride down to another part of our hotel and spent the afternoon in a really cool pool. Even Pop went down the water slide! Matt and I went back to Epcot and into Downtown Disney at night while mom and dad crashed with the kids.
Tuesday, March 22 - Our last full day. A cool breakfast at Chef Mickey's in the morning, and back into Magic Kingdom to pick up where we left off on Saturday. Teacups, Aladdin's carpet ride, the silly cruise, ya know, all the important ones! (Please no comments about the bug sunglasses, I left mine in the hotel!!) More later afternoon pool, then back to Magic Kingdom to have dinner at The Lady and the Tramp restaurant, before settling in for the awesome electrical lights parade!
Wednesday, March 23 - Back to Epcot in the morning. Epcot had their garden festival going on, so plenty to see! Temps were rising though, and everyone was tired. The girls spent some time in the fairy gardens, and the misters to keep cool. Back at the hotel, we were checked out and our bags were headed to the airport. The girls had their hair wrapped, and then we took a pontoon boat cruise down the river. By looking at the girls faces, is it obvious they were shot?? We then boarded our bus back to the airport, a near end to an awesome trip!
Flight Home - We were scheduled to leave Orlando at about 5, but a 2 hour delay had us off the ground around 7. While watching the weather channel, it was obvious the tornadoes in PA and VA and the sleet in NJ were gonna slow our trip a bit. Sure enough, after circling South Carolina for over an hour, we landed in North Carolina after the pilot came on and said "we are running out of fuel and we need to consider our options." Just what you want to hear! Eventually after re-fueling, up again, and through some serious turbulence, we arrived in Newark at about 1am, in snow. Need I say more? Nothing like a reality check, but I was SO happy to be on the ground and home. The girls? Slept through the entire thing!
So, Disney was an awesome time together as a family. I am thankful for my in-laws who sacrificed and saved to show this crazy place to their granddaughters. I get it. This is what Disney is all about.
