Checking In (with a list!)

It goes without saying that my brain is Disney-fried after two VERY full days. We are having a great time and I am overflowing with observations. Some might be helpful, some entertaining and all are guaranteed to be random.

• A few things we have done well (for those of you planning future trips):
o Getting help planning our trip. I know some people love the planning, but as first timers I have enjoyed getting to experience some of the wonder with the kids without the stress of wondering if I should have done something differently. My daily life as a Mother is full of enough second guessing as it is. ☺
o Bringing our own water (.15 each vs. $2 each in the parks) and snacks. Additionally, I was able to find the neon glow bracelets and necklaces at the dollar store and bring those for nighttime activities. This also saved us a bundle AND the children love them!
o Packing each child’s daily clothing in clear Ziploc bags with their name and the day of the week. This tip came from a friend and it makes getting dressed in the morning immensely easier! I also included a Disney themed treat from the dollar store in each day’s bag. So far, this has totally eliminated their hunger for expensive park toys and goodies!
o Bringing bandanas to tie on our rental strollers each day. In a sea of parked strollers that all look the same, we are able to spot ours quickly.

• A few things we did not do well so far:
o I spent the first day and a half squinting because I was unable to locate my sunglasses. They were in the outside pocket of my bag the entire time.
o I failed to make a backpack contents list ahead of time. I have a large plastic tub with all my essentials like bandages, bug spray, sunscreen, ponchos, etc…Unfortunately, the first day I realized several of these things did not make it into our backpack.
o I did not pack enough clothing. I had no idea how hot, sweaty and filthy we would get each day. I only brought 2 extra outfits for each of us. We have already gone through those!
o I did not study my Disney characters—I had no idea who Aurora was…I am still not certain…Sleeping Beauty?

• We spent Monday at the Magic Kingdom. This morning we started at the Magic Kingdom again for breakfast with Cinderella and friends then moved on to the Animal Kingdom for the remainder of the day. Tomorrow we venture to Hollywood Studios.
The top three fan favorites so far are:
o The Astro Orbiters (which the males in my family rode 9 times in a row this morning while K and I were at the salon!)
o Buzz Lightyear for R, specifically. P is terrified of this ride because of the bad guy and screamed the entire way through. R adores it because he can shoot things and has ridden it four times. A perfect illustration of the contrast of their personalities.
o K & P LOVE Goofy’s Barnstormer Roller Coaster. They have ridden it four times together. Only two people are allowed per seat, so each time I have had to put them together and ride in the car directly behind them. They are only tall enough to ride by an inch—so it makes me a nervous wreck! The last time we rode, R sat with me and Daddy sat in the very front so he could take pictures of their faces. The pictures (which I’ll post when I get back home) are hysterical. Almost as entertaining was watching my husband’s face as he rode the roller coaster backwards in order to capture the shots!

• This morning at the princess breakfast at Cinderella’s castle R threw a royal fit. He was actually laying on the ground screaming in front of a crowd of about a hundred people. Despite our attempts to ignore him it went on a for a few minutes—all the way up the red royal staircase to be exact. Apparently, he did not want pictures of himself dressed in a knight’s costume hugging a Disney princess to come back to haunt him. (I am kidding, that was not the source of his fit.) P didn’t seem to mind, so the fit will live in infamy as people ask why R wasn’t in the picture with K, P & Cindy.

• One of our best memories so far was the phone call we received on the way to Orlando from a sweet friend. She called as Cinderella to speak with each of the children. R, unimpressed with princesses (see above) wanted someone a little manlier. My friend snagged her kind husband who agreed to serve as the very manly Buzz Lightyear. It made R’s trip. When he saw the Buzz character Monday, he went bonkers and said, “Remember when he called me?”

• This evening I threw on a t-shirt and a towel as I left my husband at the pool with the children and trekked across the resort to get dinner. As I was walked back with a tray full of food and a towel strategically wrapped around my swimsuit clad waist, I thought about how I was going to handle a towel slippage. Would I just keep walking as if nothing happened and pretend I was not the modest soul that I am? Where would I put the tray? Would people be watching? Ahhh! Just then I spotted a table and decided to bee-line in that direction for some preventative tightening of the apparel…as I walked, it happened. Mercifully, I was only a couple of steps away from my destination! My only comforting thought was, “Well, at least it would make for a funny post!”

I have had a couple of spiritual observations. It has been fun for me to really search for God here...amidst so much fantasy. One experience that really impacted me was this evening as we spent some time winding down at the pool.

We are at the Grand Flordian, where the top of the waterslide is not visible from the bottom and vice versa. K & R really wanted to do it, but the water is a little too deep for them at the bottom and they are not quite strong enough swimmers to manage it alone. Since only one person can go down at the time, Daddy positioned himself at the bottom. There were lots of other people enjoying the slide, so K would scream 'Daddy? Daddy! Daddy?" as she neared the bottom so he would know to step in front of the slide and catch her. I started to wonder how she knew when the bottom was coming. Had she memorized the turns after only a couple of times down? I walked up onto a platform to watch her slide and realized the truth of what was happening. She didn't know where the bottom was. Each time she would get on she would start calling for her Daddy and she would shout for him all the way down. She didn't need him to shout back. She did not know when the end was coming...but she knew he's be waiting there, so she was able to slide again and again without fear. The faith of a child a a beautiful thing!

I hear lots of snoring in the beds behind me. I think I am going to sign off to join them.