Disney Daze- Part 1

You know how you need a vacation from your vacation? Well Alex left on a two week work trip as soon as we returned home, so I'm not getting that.

 

I always thought that people who took itty bitty kids to Disney were either stupid or on some mission from God. But now that we have done it, I can honestly say it wasn't that bad. Although I consumed more caffeine than I ever have in my entire life. All in all, we really had a great trip. It wasn't smooth sailing the entire time, of course, because I do have a toddler, and they--by nature--are assholes. But the meltdowns were fairly minimal after a rocky start to our trip. 

We decided to leave home early Monday evening, anticipating that we would put the kiddos in their pajamas and that they would fall asleep in their car seats. You know, because whenever I'm trying to race against the clock in time for a nap, they pass out in the car...so it made sense that they would fall asleep at night. 

Nope. 

Bobby fussed in his car seat the entire way. 

And yes, that is a 6-hour drive, in case you're curious.

We finally got out of the car around midnight and got settled into the hotel. This was Bobby's first time sleeping in a real bed by himself (he still is in a crib at home), and he was unsure about it. We finally got him to sleep around 2 am, and then Vivi spent the rest of the night waking up ever 20 minutes. It was a pretty horrible night of sleep, and then we got up to spend a long day at Disney's Animal Kingdom. 

Animal Kingdom is the only Disney park that we have never previously visited. Honestly, it was our least favorite park of the four. Maybe it's because we lived in and traveled around Asia for three years, or maybe it's because we've ridden elephants and played with tigers in real life, or maybe it's because I already live with a wild animal...I'm not sure why we didn't love it. It also rained on and off all day, which was not great for anybody's hair. The kiddos took some time to warm up to the idea of rides and hanging out in an amusement park with sensation overload. Bobby screamed at pretty much every activity we tried. He hated the rides.

Oh the agony

He LOATHED Mickey and Minnie. We had to drag him kicking and screaming. I was beginning to think we had made a huge mistake bringing him.

To be fair, I'm not sure why so much stock is put into large, culotte-wearing rodents.

Vivi seemed to be a little pissy afterward because Bobby ruined her Minnie Mouse experience.

He totally killed her vibe.

In fact, the only attraction he remained calm on was the jungle safari ride, and I think that's only because we were riding in a truck.

She's more of an indoor girl.

After several hours at the park, Bobby was over it, Vivi was apathetic, and I was in need for a stiff drink and a hair straightener. I appreciate all of the detail that they put into the park, but we just weren't feeling Animal Kingdom.

Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion.

We ate dinner and went to bed ridiculously early because we were all so tired. Luckily we all slept that night. 

Being carried around in mama's weak arms will wear anybody out.

I woke up feeling like I'd been hit by a truck; literally every muscle in my body ached as if I'd run a marathon. Which is pretty sad, considering we had done a half-day at a theme park. 

My parents joined us Tuesday, and we went to the Magic Kingdom. The Magic Kingdom was a little bit of a hike from our hotel, and we had to take a bus, the monorail, and then a ferry to reach it. But it was totally worth the ass pain, because this was our favorite day at our favorite park. 

I swear.

Magic Kingdom is definitely the most kid-friendly park, and I just love all the whimsy and fun of it. 

"Bobby, I will cut you if you screw this day up for me."

We began the day by spending a ridiculous amount of money at the candy store on Main Street, and then we bought Vivi a princess dress. It was worth every penny. 

I've never seen a happier person.

 She really was the belle of the ball, so to speak, and she had established a little cult following by the end of the day.

Probably due to her impeccable Resting Bitch Face.

Bobby enjoyed Magic Kingdom so much more than Animal Kingdom the day before. We went on a ton of rides, and experienced minimal tantrums. 

This is "minimal."

The biggest hits were "It's a Small World," the race track, and the spinning tea cups. Bobby's obsessed with cars right now, and I swear we took him on that race track 6 times. 

This kid has never been happier.

We kept him away from all of the large, furry Disney characters after his disastrous encounter with Mickey and Minnie's safari planet, and the day was mostly smooth sailing. 

There are two more days to go, and there's so much more to say, but I don't want this post to get any more bogged down than it already is. So stay tuned for Part II on Wednesday!

-Annette