Disney Daze - Part II

After high-tailing it for two days through two Disney parks from 9am-7pm with two little kiddos, I was worn slap out. I woke up early Thursday morning, feeling like death, and seriously debated checking out and sleeping in all day. But then I decided it would be cruel to Alex and my parents to send them to Disney with the kids, so I manned up. Plus, I would have been regretting it all day. Well, maybe..

I mainlined caffeine for the entire day and did my best to not fall asleep on myself. We decided to go back to Magic Kingdom for Round II, since it is such a fun park for kids, and we had completely skipped the Tomorrowland portion the day before. Bobby had mixed feelings about the Astro Orbiter ride, but Vivi seemed to enjoy herself.

Was it good for you? It was good for me.

We rode the flying Dumbos and ate terrible soft pretzels that were stupidly expensive, yet completely necessary.

She's talented enough to multitask.

We took Bobby back to the race cars for another 4 rides on it, rode on Pooh's ride, and then went back for an encore visit to "It's a Small World." And afterward, Alex and I were able to have the ultimate romantic moment--we rode Space Mountain alone together. 

The pictures may be blurry, but you can sense the fear.

After stopping for a quick lunch, we headed for Epcot, where we hit every country in there quickly. We went on an around-the-world dessert tour. The most notable were the macaroons in France and the chocolate caramel apples in Germany. 

Perhaps we overdid it, no?

Once we were suitably high on sugar, we decided to head back to the room, where we ordered room service and passed out before 9 pm. 

Friday was our final full day at Disney, and we visited the Hollywood Studios. This was one of my favorites as a kid, because I really enjoy roller coasters, and this park has the best rides. The Rock and Rollercoaster featuring Aerosmith is my favorite. 

Thought this trip was supposed to be about us..

The Star Wars ride, "Star Tours," is another favorite. I was proud of myself for only riding it three times this trip, which proves that I exerted immense self-control...considering that I rode it seven times during our last trip. When I was pregnant. Oops.

And we both speak Wookie.

Unfortunately, Hollywood Studios doesn't have much for itty bitty kids to do. They seemed to be bored after a while, which was probably due to Alex and me taking turns riding roller coasters while they just sat in the stroller. So we headed back to Epcot. 

Vivi on her eighteenth nap of the day.

 We rode "Ellen's Energy Adventure," and Bobby sat in my lap, so I was able to get a 37-minute nap while I rested my head on his. We rode a couple more rides and checked out the sea turtles, and then we headed back to France for more macaroons. 

We drove home the next day with few incidents, and I am proud to say that we survived our first family trip to Disney World! 

There are a few things worth mentioning:

*The My Disney Experience App is really helpful. It gives you wait times for all the rides, maps, lets you sign up for fast passes, gives you restaurant options, etc. It was pretty awesome for navigating the parks and customizing our trip for us.

*Bring the grandparents. Seriously. It was amazing having my parents with us at Disney. It was great to spend time with them, of course, but it was also really helpful to have another set of hands and another set of wallets :) My parents loved spending time with us and the babies, and we loved having them there.

*If you can't bring the grandparents, the definitely get a stroller pass. This lets you go thru to the ride, and then you immediately get to switch places with your partner who has stayed back with the stroller.

*We really enjoyed staying in a condo/suite style of room. Alex and I slept in a king bed in the master bedroom, Vivi slept in the pack-n-play in our room, and Bobby slept on the pull-out in the living area. It was so nice having extra space to move around and not feel like you are stepping all over each other. Our room had a full kitchen; we had no intention on cooking anything, and we ate out the entire time, but it was helpful having access to a dishwasher when you are traveling with tons of bottles and sippy cups. Our room also had a laundry room, so we were able to wash all of our clothes. This made a huge difference for me when we got back home. I loathe returning home from vacation and having to do a week's worth of laundry on top of everything else. Having a laundry room in our hotel room completely eliminated that!

*Eat a big breakfast. We loaded up on a huge breakfast at the hotel every morning. Most hotels have complimentary breakfasts. So we ate enough for about 4 families, and it was fuel for a long day at the park. Plus, it was free.

*Load up on caffeine. This probably goes without saying for most people, but due to a medical condition, I rarely consume any caffeine. It makes me sad, because I desperately need it in my day-to-day life, but I just can't. Doing Disney with two little kids creates exceptions, though, and I swear there were some mornings where I would have injected it into my heart if I could have. I drank so much coffee/black tea/coke on this trip that I'm still tweaking a little bit. But it was totally necessary. 

*Let kids nap in the stroller. We wondered how we were going to do nap time, and then we decided we would just go with the flow on the first day and see how things unfolded. I observed some people leaving the parks around noon to go back to their hotels for naps. That may be necessary for some people (ahem, me). But our kiddos simply fell asleep in the stroller right around/after lunch. We positioned the seats to where they completely reclined, and we enjoyed adult time while they napped. They usually napped for at least an hour in the stroller, and then they woke up and we went on with our day. No reason to go back to the hotel (unless you just need to take a nap yourself. And I totally would not judge you for that. I fell asleep during a damn ride, for crying out loud).

*Go with the flow. Although the Disney app allows to to plan your trip down to the minute, we found it easier to go with the flow. We set out a couple of goals for each day, as in a couple of must-do rides, and then we just winged it from there. We went at a slow pace, stopped to smell the roses, took lots of pictures, and set low expectations of ourselves. It should be about fun; it's not a race...especially when babies are involved.

*Don't take a fighter pilot on a roller coaster and expect to get a reaction. I love my fly boy with all my heart, but he's kind of a buzz kill on roller coasters; I guess when you fly fighter jets every day, you can only go down from there. I love fast rides, but I get nervous and excited on them..like a normal person. And I want the person with me to have the same reaction. Well, Alex just sits there. Doesn't throw his hands up, doesn't scream, and I swear his face doesn't budge. I get off of the ride with adrenaline pumping and excitedly shriek, "Wasn't that awesome?!!" And he just shrugs his shoulders and says, "Yeah, it was fine." Total apathy. Although it's still way better than going to a theme park with a Grade-A wuss.

*And finally, Disney really is amazing for all ages. I thought that I would only take my kids to Disney once they were old enough to remember it. I figured that it was pointless to take babies and really tiny children. But once we were there, I realized how wrong I had been to assume that. Vivi truly loved it. She reacted to the rides, laughed at the characters, and loved her princess dress. You could see the wheels turning in her mind as she was taking in all the sights. And she LOVED getting into all of the desserts.

Also a fan of the macaroons.

So although she may only remember this trip through the pictures that we took of her, I don't think it was a waste. Because you could see the magic written all over her face.

Bobby also loved Disney, but in different ways. Since he is a little older, he reacted differently. It did take him a few minutes to get used to rides and the sensory overload, but he ended up loving it. It was the first time he's gotten to drive a race car, fly a plane, and ride on an elephant.

 Although I think that his favorite attraction was stalking the ducks. He stalked the ducks at every. damn. park. He quacked at the ducks. He tried to feed the ducks. He tried to share with the ducks. I don't know what his current fascination with birds is all about. I'm hoping it doesn't require therapy.

Jumping the fence and retrieving that truck out of the duck pen was fun.

With it all said and done, I have to conclude that our favorite attraction was "It's a Small World." We went on it two or three times, and both kids were completely captivated. It was nostalgic for all the adults, and it was so fun to watch the kids enjoying it. And I was singing that song in my sleep for days afterward.

Those little French dolls are pretty hot.

I would 100% do this trip all over again. I can't wait to go back in a year or two, once Bobby can ride a few more rides, and once Vivi is a little more into princesses and dressing up. We owe my parents forever for joining us and helping us out. Hopefully they aren't scarred for life and will come next time with us!

Hope y'all are all having a great week!

Happy Hump Day!

-Annette