How appropriate. It’s been five weeks since our trip to the Happiest Place on Earth and I’m blogging day five. I never imagined it would take me this long to document our family vacation but then I never imagined before I became a mother just how much energy it would drain from my 31-year-old body and how, at the end of the day, I would have nothing left in me, not even the little amount of effort it requires to draft up some narration so here it is. Day five.
We returned to the Magic Kingdom to round out our third day of park passes. After doing it the first day and then trying out Animal Kingdom the second, our only other option was Epcot and we had heard it wasn’t really kid friendly. We knew that there was probably a good bit at MK we didn’t see the first go round so we felt it was the best choice. And we were right – there was TONS of stuff we never even got to.
For the record, I walked this entire day with what I believe might have been a broken toe. That’s a feat in itself but what makes it even more heroic is that I did this while following Speed Racer, aka Dallas Darnell. I know it’s just his normal pace but dang! I didn’t even try to keep up with him. I figured he would eventually get lonely walking two miles ahead of us so I went as fast as I could. I did contemplate one of those motor scooter buggies until I saw the $75 a day price tag. Not a chance. I would suffer in silence {okay, that’s never been a true statement} and deal with the pain of the wound later.
Earlier I said we only met one character. I must have forgotten about this handsome little guy. Too bad d3 is petrified. I think this was the same look he had standing next to Pinocchio.
We were there when the park opened the gates and spent the entire day. We hit up some repeat favorites like Buzz Lightyear & People Mover along with some new favs like Peter Pan and It’s a Small World. d1 and I tackled Splash Mountain together, which was fun to do one-on-one but I was a sopping mess when that was over. Apparently the first car equates to the wettest car. I didn’t know that until afterwards AND I was wearing a white shirt. Perfect. I vote a warning sign be placed near that first slot but that’s just my whiny opinion….
Enjoying a nice, indoor ride on It's a Small World - can you see the exhaustion in their eyes?
Once again, we packed a cooler full of goodies for lunch and snacks which saved us a bundle of cash. This time, for our afternoon treat and at the suggestion of our Disney-crazed Harris friends, we splurged on Dole Whips. Sure, they were good but with the scorching temps, it didn’t take long for it to turn into a Dole Smoothie. I will admit – it was a tasty pineapple-vanilla treat that I can’t pick up just anywhere.
Adventureland - home of the Dole Whips
We ended the day with an attraction called PhilharMagic and it was my favorite of all three days. Call me lame, old, whatever but it was super cool. It was a short 3-D show with extra effects like wind and rain and lots of fun music, led by none other than Mickey Mouse and friends. It was just really neat. Funny thing - I remember my grandma always loving ‘shows’ and I remember thinking that it must be an ‘old person’ thing. I guess that confirms my suspicions. I’m old. But at least I’m not in denial.
I was further reminded of this fact yesterday when I spent less time examining calories and fat content of a cereal box and more time on the fiber, searching for the highest grams per serving. Now that’s when you know you’ve hit a new level in life.
Oh good. The lovely 'rock & roll' hand gesture made it in yet another photo. I was afraid it wouldn't.
Before we headed for the parking lot, we made a stop at one of the million gift shops to let the boys pick out a souvenir while a quick storm rolled in. They really had no interest all week long to look in these shops but we told them that they could bring something back home. However, the actual selection process was an ordeal in itself. Earlier that day, d2 had spotted this Mickey Mouse foldable brush/mirror that he loved. Random, yes, but it was $5 so, along with him, I loved it, too. I told him that, at the end of the day, if that’s what he wanted, he could pick that. All day long he talked about it so naturally it’s what he asked for in this store.
I had the brush in hand {and d1 decided he wanted the same thing so we had two and ready to pay}, my sweet husband asked the dreaded question – ‘Are you sure that’s what you want to take home?’ What? Why? Why would you ask a 5 year old that? He’s highly overstimulated, he has so much to choose from that he could spend hours deciding but he had made a decision, one that he was very excited about and you ask him if he was sure?
Can you guess what happened then? Uh huh, we spent at least 20 minutes in this store with a thousand other drenched tourists while BOTH boys looked for another souvenir. Yes, both. Obviously d1 wasn’t sure now , either. Awesome. We were all tired, d3 was D-O-N-E in all sense of the word and we’re walking circles around buckets of junk in a gift shop but let's make them second guess their choices. Brilliant, dear.
After a very intense decision-making process that resulted in a Mickey water bottle, a Buzz drinking cup and a plastic Mickey doll, we put on our bright yellow ponchos {the ones I bought at Wilson’s 5¢, just in case} and started our journey back to the van. This is where life got interesting.
As we were heading to obstacle number one of the exit {i.e. the Monorail}, D1 was pushing the double stroller which carried d1 and d3. He was doing a slow jog because the rain was still steadily falling. I was trying to keep up with Speedy Gonzalez at my gimpy pace and d2 was, as usual, lagging behind me, getting his last few moments of Disney People Watching in. {In his defense, it really was one of the best people-watching locations we’ve experienced.}
As the rain picked up, we started going a little faster and once we made it to the monorail station, we caught our breath and decided to wait for the next train. We were the only ones that didn’t get on the previous train but we weren’t all accounted for. ‘d2 was missing. OH.MY.WORD. My child was missing. At DISNEY WORLD. I don’t think I’ve had that kind of panic. Ever.
Just then the doors of the monorail opened and someone yelled, ‘Whose kid is this?’ as they pointed to d2. Apparently he had followed another yellow poncho onto the monorail {they were probably smoking and, for some reason, my kids can’t seem to look away from smokers these days}, thinking it was us. Praise the Lord that someone thought to ask him where his mommy and daddy were because he didn’t speak up. I’m convinced he was still staring. We really need to work on that with these boys. Not just for safety reasons but it’s embarrassing. It happens everywhere we go – grocery store, restaurants, gas stations.
So, now that we had our moment of terror out of the way, we felt pretty good about the rest of our night. We headed out of Orlando, grabbed a big dinner that would help the little people sleep sound, and settled in for a nice EIGHT hour drive {you were right, Kelley C}. If you read day one, you understand why we decided to drive at night. There is NO way we will EVER attempt a daytime drive again until they are in their teens {if then}. Sure, we were exhausted when we rolled into Greer at 4am but it was such a peaceful drive. No complaining, no bodily noises {at least not intentionally}, no repeating questions - just me and the big D, lots of Dr. Pepper and a kickin’ Pandora playlist.
All in all, it really was a good trip. Would we do it over if given the chance? I don’t know. Obviously we are so grateful at all that my aunt and uncle provided for us in the way of lodging and meals and we can never thank them enough but I’m not sure the boys were at the right ages to appreciate such amazing adventures. That was made painfully clear when they asked if we could go back to the waterpark instead of Magic Kingdom on day five. It's not their fault - they’re just not old enough to fully grasp the colossal Disney experience. Who does, really?
That being said, if you do go with small children, here are my recommendations – do take a stroller, don’t go in the middle of the summer, and do bring a full cooler. Unless, of course, you’re loaded with money, in which case, we probably don’t know each other…….
One overlooked photo from day two I couldn't resist adding. Who says eye rolling starts in the tween age? He's got it perfected at two.
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