Disney World!

The only thing I really remember from my first trip to Disney (which occurred during my birthday month when I turned 11) is my older brother getting blisters on his feet and my dad getting upset because he'd told him to wear socks, which obviously was not "cool" with sandals. Oh, and my family got lost while I was in a candy store with a wall of Jelly Bellies (I obviously wasn't lost, I knew where I was the whole time!).

So when my momma invited my little family on a Disney adventure, I said yes! (So long as we could evade the blisters and artificial food dyes...).

J isn't big on Disney. So the fact he had to be on travel for part of our Disney stay, and thus could not be a part of our vacation, was A-Okay with him. He has agreed to "do Disney" with me and the kids some day when they're over 40" tall. But any way, I was happy to go with or without him because, well, it's Disney World!

I will admit I wondered how the babes would do. For countless reasons.

1.) They had been without their papa at that point for over a month.

2.) It's hot.

3.) It's a bit fast-paced.

4.) Lack of sleep.

5.) They really don't know much Disney, with the exception of having seen a handful of Disney cartoons while on vacations, H having watched The Little Mermaid once, and of course, we've read a lot of books. So they were familiar with Disney, but not to the same extent as many little ones venturing on their first Disney trip.

I won't lie. The trip overall was...FANTASTIC.

H was off the walls excited long before we got there.

The first thing H insisted on doing when we arrived to Orlando was swim. Despite it being 8 o'clock at night all ready (past their bedtime!), I happily obliged her. I mean, it was vacation after all!

B was in 7th Heaven the next morning when he awoke and Momma flipped on cartoons in bed. Only hotel living is so luxurious!

 

That morning while at the Clubhouse purchasing our Disney tickets H, my mom and I had gone for a potty break. When it was time to exit my mother said to H, "Say, 'open sesame.'"

Without skipping a beat H responded with, "Grandma J, can you open the door for me, please?"

She's far more eloquent than I could ever hope to be, that's for sure.

Our first day at Disney World we stood in a long, hot line so that H could see Merida, the Brave princess. We had just read the book two days before while at Barnes and Noble, so she was excited to recognize her!

I had told H about her Grandpa S (my dad) getting sick on the Teacups once, so as soon as H saw the ride she immediately wanted on them.

That's my slightly twisted girl!

The highlight of her day, and pretty much her trip though, was seeing Ariel. Because that's the one princess whose movie she has seen.

The whole trip was totally worth her seeing Ariel. And hearing her, even now days later, still talk about it.

(Do you see B there with his hands covering his mouth and nose? That's how he hides. Though pretty appropriate for "underwater." And ignore that I'd lost my shirt by then and was just wearing a shelved tank...it was hot!)

It rained pretty much every day we were there. But it was more than welcomed as it helped cool things down a bit. At Magic Kingdom the kids played in the train splash pad while the skies poured down on them. It was so fun to witness them enjoying themselves so much!

We ventured into a big ol' circus tent with various characters when we'd finally had enough of the rain. I thought H would enjoy it. B fell asleep while in line.

The second we got up to Goofy H lost it. She went ape shit bananas so I whisked her back outside. Goofy was a no-go.

A few days later Miss H got the royal Treatment at the Bippity Boppity Boutique. She picked out Aurora's dress because it was pink. It seemed to be an original choice as I never saw another little Princess Aurora. Lots of Belle, Merida, Cinderella and Tinker Bell's. H was over the moon with her "makeover."

But she's too cool for a Prince Charming, and chose a bonified astronaut instead. Those guys are going places!

H and B both loved Animal Kingdom. It was likely their favorite. But they're animal people.

We'd been in Orlando for a few days at this point. These kids were running off of 6-8 hours of nighttime sleep (they typically have 10-12). It was hot. They were without their papa. And yet they were still totally being troopers. I won't lie, I was impressed. I was expecting a lot more meltdowns, more aggression, and over all just a more difficult time. But they had this whole thing down!

After our Safari ride, which had hippos, much to Miss H's delight, the kids and I stopped for a break in the Pangani Forest and played mancala (Sidenote: this is the best game in the world. I used to love it as a kid!). A 6ish year old girl sat down with us half way through and immediately said, "Grandma, I want to play! Make them play!" Without skipping a beat H handed her a handful of marbles (clearly they were playing their own version of mancala ) and said, "There are plenty of marbles here for sharing. Would you like to play with me?"

It makes me happy to know that even out of her element, trudging on too little sleep, too much sugar, without her papa, with new people, and in a loud and over stimulating (though totally fun!!) environment, my girl still had a lot of generosity and thoughtfulness for others.

We saw an absolutely spectacular Finding Nemo show, which both kids were totally enthralled in. It was likely the best show I watched while there.

We partook in the Bug's Life show. The kids didn't really know what to think of it.

H's only request was to ride the flying dinosaur ride. It was the last thing we did before leaving the park that day.

Our last day there we went to Epcot. The first thing we saw after entering the gates was Goofy. H said  to me, "Momma, I want my picture with Goofy. I'm not afraid now!"

And sure enough, she wasn't!

And B got a "horsey" and was good to go. For life. Pretty much.

Until Momma abandoned him with Grandma J for a whopping 20 minutes to enjoy a big kid ride for herself.

He'll probably need therapy for that in 20 years. I'll just show him the below picture and tell him he was having fun and totally imagined the tears an abandonment.

Just kidding.

Maybe...

And after our fantabulous trip I arrived home to discover that my dear, sweet husband had made me my dream bed, customized for how it best suited my preferences! (Now, if I can just get him to work on that horrid paneling behind it...)

We had a really super, magical time at Disney World. I had no idea how awesome it would be just to watch my kids excited and mesmerized faces at all the enchantment around them. I never could have imagined that a theme park would have been so magical.

But it was.

Oh, and I must leave you with the very best quote of the trip, which I honestly have no idea where my daughter heard it from, but brought me to fits of laughing tears, it was so terrible and hilarious.

Grandma J: No way, Jose.
H: My mom is going to fuck you up.