Ever since we returned from vacation, Leon has been asking when we will go to Disney World again, and most of his play has involved reenacting our adventures. At bedtime each night, when asked about his favorite part of the day, he always shares his vacation memories rather than the actual events of the day. The boys is in firm denial that vacation is over.
We had another (not so) awesome night at our house last night, and consequently, I'm going to follow Leon's lead. Sometimes it is just better to pretend you are at Disney World.
We drove to Orlando in one day, leaving at 6:15 a.m. and arriving in our hotel room around 5:45 that night. The kids actually did pretty well with the car trip, but they had a lot of energy when we arrived at our hotel. So much energy that they would not go to bed, especially in a new place. We had planned on going to the Magic Kingdom the next morning, but when they finally passed out after 10:00, we considered changing our plans.
We shouldn't have worried. The next morning I stumbled into the kitchen at 6:11 because I'd heard squeaky little voices. Michael looked at me and smiled as he hugged my legs and exclaimed, "I'm awake, Mom!" All the boys had slept in a separate room from us girls, and apparently Michael woke up Jeff at 5:45 when he looked out the window and asked, "Where's the sun?" He was ready to go!
Because we were staying off property, just getting to the Magic Kingdom was an epic adventure. As Leon will tell you, you have to get in Goldie (our van), then get in the stroller, then "get on the purple bus that says 'Magic Kingdom'," then get back in the stroller to get there. My aunt, who has had an annual pass to Disney World for years, bravely volunteered to help us navigate the park the first day. This was us actually arriving at the Magic Kingdom. She was carrying Ree, Leon and Michael were "back in the stroller," and Natalia was in the sling, which is where she pretty much spent our entire vacation.
The first thing we did inside was meet Mickey and Minnie. This was one of Leon's favorite moments of the whole trip. One of my favorite moments was when Leon told Mickey that he was him for Halloween and Mickey gave Leon a giant, spontaneous hug. Forget Santa. That was an amazing moment for Leon.
My aunt was holding Ree when Ree first spied Cinderella's castle. I thought her eyes were going to pop out of her head. Yes, we were really there!
The kids all LOVED It's a Small World. The first time we rode it, Natalia was sleeping in the sling when we boarded the boats. She woke up about a minute into it and literally had to shake her head in disbelief. Had she really woken up in this crazy world filled with singing, smiling little kids?!? She was ecstatic and started bouncing up and down and clapping her hands.
It's always so funny to see what captures kids' attention. One of the big kids' major highlights of the day was watching a tube of water with bubbles in it while we waited for the Monsters Inc. comedy show.
But truly the best part of the day was that we made it the whole day with no tears. Now that is some Disney magic.
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