Our Trip to Disney World
Justin, Christopher, Joshua, and I just got home last Saturday evening from an 8-day trip to Walt Disney World with Justin’s side of our family. We went to celebrate my Father-in-Law’s retirement. It’s what he wanted in lieu of a huge party. He paid for almost the whole family (we left Andrew at home with my parents) to spend a week at Disney World! It was an incredible gift to all of us!
First, I want to say that all the tips for traveling with children to Disney World are true. Use them! Joshua is an incredibly picky eater, so snacks were our friends to keep him full. We also dipped into the children’s Tylenol I had in my backpack a few times for sore legs and heads. And ponchos are key, people!! Get the cheepos from Walmart, put them in your bag along with a small trash bag, and after you use them put them in the trash bag to keep everything else in your bag dry. Be sure to hang them up at night to dry! Disney sells ponchos at the park, but they’re $12/poncho. I wasn’t gonna spend $50+ of my hard-earned spending money on those! Anyway, before I head down the rabbit hole further (pun intended!), I’m gonna get back on track.
For me, the most magical part of the whole trip was watching the Disney magic unfold in my children’s eyes. They watched in wonder at the fireworks, the food, the characters, the rides, and of course, the castle! They were so in awe of everything, that I’m pretty sure they didn’t know where to look first or how to take it all in! Justin and I took them on “Big Thunder Mountain Railroad” for their first ride, and I’ll never forget the excitement in Christopher’s eyes as he learned he actually enjoyed riding rollercoasters! He absolutely loved the thrill of the fast pace and the twists and turns! And then, we introduced them to Dole Whips. Again, their world was turned upside down! It took some courage for Josh to try the new food, but he did it, discovering that he’s not a fan of the treat (at least right now!), but Christopher gobbled his down! He couldn’t spoon it up fast enough! After this, we went on more rides, spending most of that first day riding all of the classics- “Splash Mountain”, “Space Mountain”, “Tomorrowland Speedway”, “Haunted Mansion”, “Pirates of the Caribbean”, “It’s a Small World”, as well as enjoying some of the new attractions. It was absolutely perfect!
The rest of the trip went just as smoothly for us. We got to spend time with my aunt and cousins who live in the Orlando area- a true blessing for all of us! And, we got to spend time with Justin’s family, including our nephew who lives in Montana with his dad. This precious family time is something both Justin and I have put a lot of value into, making sure that our children spend time with both sides of our family. It’s something that we both had growing up. We knew our grandparents, our aunts, uncles and cousins, and- in my case- extended family beyond that! It’s a blessing that we can raise our boys in an environment where our family time really does come first.
Anyway, Josh now swears that his favorite ride is “It’s a Small World”, and Christopher says it’s a toss-up between “Big Thunder Mountain Railroad” and “Expedition Everest”. Justin’s has always been “Rockin’ Rollercoaster”, and mine? Well, mine changes depending on the day, but I love “Big Thunder Mountain Railroad”, “Splash Mountain”, “Expedition Everest”, “Jungle Cruise”, “Pirates of the Caribbean”, and “Peter Pan’s Flight”. They are all so magical, and every time I ride them, I notice new things!
While the trip was amazing, the best part of all was coming home and seeing the joy on Andrew’s face as we were all reunited!! Our little guy would have been miserable on the trip because he couldn’t ride most of the rides and he would have been scared of the characters, which is why we didn’t take him with us, but we did miss him and he missed us. The absolute joy on his face when we got home was just what my momma heart needed to see. It encompassed us all, and to see Christopher and Joshua sweep him into their arms for hugs and kisses was all I needed to see to know that these three boys of mine are close as can be.
I can’t wait to take everyone back in a few years when Andrew is old enough to go with us!