The Magical World of Disney

I'm finally getting to the last piece of our vacation....Disney World. Sorry it's taken me so long, it's been a crazy week, with lots of showings on the house, work, and being sick and trying desperately to get better...I think it's gone to my sinuses now.

Anyway, Disney World. We did not see all of Disney, so this post is really about Magic Kingdom and that particular park in Disney only as that was the only one we went to. Before I begin into the technicality of Magic Kingdom, I wanted to give you some insight into my thought process.

You know how you have a dream (well we all do), a big dream that you never quite do anything about to make happen, but it's there nonetheless. Then finally you say "we're going to do it" and begin to immerse yourself into the planning and organizing of making that dream come true. You spend so much time planning, preparing, working very hard to get to that point and your so busy doing it that you forget what it's all about till you slow down. THAT was Disney World for me.

We didn't get out of the hotel till after 11am which meant we didn't get to Disney World till almost 3pm. I wanted to get out earlier but it just wasn't in the cards I guess. By the time we took the Monorail and got into Magic Kingdom itself it was like 3:45pm. Oh, well, park closes at 10pm we'll have to cram as much as we can into the 6 hours we had available. When we entered the park, people all around were lined up around the street and when I asked what was going on they said a parade was coming by. Good timing we had so we grabbed a piece of curb, parked our butts and waited for the 4pm start of the parade. And it started....and almost as soon as it started I started to cry. Yup, you got that right, I started to cry.

Remember how I said that your so busy trying to meet a dream that it isn't until you slow down that you can see if for what it is? Well that was me. Finally slowing down while enjoying this parade realizing "I did it". My dream for my kids to go to Disney World has come true. All my children are with me and here we are! All that planning, stress and frustration that brought us here, was worth it, a DREAM COME TRUE. And THAT is what Disney world is all about, Dreams, Wishes, coming true, wishing upon stars and magic...every parade, every show, every song they sing is along those lines, and it all hit me then and there, Dreams CAN come true, sometimes it takes a lot of work and effort, sometimes you have to make those dreams happen, they don't just fall out of the sky, but they CAN come true. The parade was AMAZING! Below I'm hiding my face cause I'm crying...yes, I am a dork.

Now Disney world is all about kids, it's the only amusement park I know that is really geared towards kids ages 2-10ish. We got Bailey a wheelchair, though he could probably have walked *most* of the day, he would have been tired and we would have been exhausted chasing after him, redirecting him and getting him to behave, as well the more tired he is the worse his balance is so it was worth the $10 to rent a wheelchair for him. Also Bailey is NOT good in line ups. Terrible. He blows his raspberries (which many who don't know him think it's spitting and essentially it is but for him it's sensory stimulation), he knocks into people, and if it's a long line up he starts pulling on peoples clothes, purses, and flailing his arms and such. So we got a pass to fasttrack lineups and go up exits...we always do for these sort of things and it's nice in the sense that we don't have to wait in big long lineups and can experience most of the park in a shorter amount of time with the least amount of stress.

So after the parade we went around and did the ride thing, which are geared for little kids, saw a show at the castle, did more rides saw the evening parade and watched the fireworks which they do every night to music at the castle. It was an amazing day.

One thing Taylor really wanted to do since she learned we were going there was to Hug a Princess. I didn't know if I could make this a reality but I was prepared to try, if I had to jump on one walking by and hold her down, my daughter was going to hug a princess.

Well I guess that is not a rare request because they have an entire indoor area where kids go to meet the princesses and give hugs and such and even get autographs! I was not prepared for autographs and when I realized after seeing another kid they did that, I said quietly to Ian how dissappointed I was I hadn't thought ahead and had a book or pen and paper. In an instant one of the princess attendants came over and said they were going to get us an autograph book, to wait for them. I think because of Bailey's disability we got this special treatment but whatever the reason it was sooo nice and touching. When they came with the book, and gave it to us, I then realized that they were giving us a book you normally buy for free...just because. I was overwhelmed by their kindness. The other thing that surprised me was that Princess Belle knew sign language...how cool that she was signing to Bailey....the day just kept getting better and better.

Disney World is a world of magic. You'll never see a cleaner park, you'll never meet more friendly staff, you'll never see a more child oriented place in the world. (I think). When parades pass by even the security guards are dancing, it's a place where the kids are in awe and the adults feel like kids again.

My husband said that he never felt more like a parent than in Disney World. Why? I asked him. And he said because it's really a place for kids, a place where you feel like a parent relishing in the joy the place brings to your kids. There are no rides just for adults, to be adults, everything is about the kids. He is right. It's a place where you feel such immense, I don't even know how to say it, satisfaction? Joy for your kids? I'm not sure how to explain it.

Now I've been to Magic Kingdom before and thought it sucked...I was 14 at the time. It does suck for that age, but for a parent, or a young child, it's a place like no other and something I am so lucky that I was able to enjoy and take my kids to. Anthony was older (almost 14 now), but he was such a champ and made the best of it for the little kids. I have no idea what he and his friend C did as they went off for the day on their own, but was happy to go back to their meeting place and find they didn't get kicked out, and were not real grumpy about being there.

I do plan to take Taylor back in a couple of years, I can totally see why people fly all the way to Florida just to hang out at a Disney World resort and do the parks the whole trip. I want her to be a little older when I take her back and then we're going to do a whole princess weekend...get princess makeovers, have lunch and storytime with princesses, etc. etc. Because of the other kids and time restraints, those opportunities were missed, which is totally okay, but in a couple of years we will go back, just us girls.

I'm not sure how to end this blog so I'll leave it with video below. The song is "When you wish upon a star" and there were vocals though my battery was about to die so I only captured the end, the entire show was almost 15mins long!!

Disney World truely was the best part of the trip to Florida, even my husband agrees. (Though the ocean is a close second)