Yes, almost two weeks ago now we returned from our first family trip to Walt Disney World. Was it magical? Did the kids have a great time? We've heard all the questions, and want to provide as many answers as possible. But some things are best remembered in pictures and pieces than in whole, and this trip was one of them.
Why, you don't sound thrilled to pieces with your trip, you ask. Um, well… it was a terrific trip and the kids had a great time. However, as any parent of small children whose been to WDW might tell you, the trip is less vacation and more frenzy than I'd expected. They both did really well with the flights and hotel, and they really enjoyed meeting all of the characters. Except for the Mad Hatter. He was scary. But we had a bit of an adjustment period. It seems we thought that being big enough physically for a ride means being big enough emotionally for a ride, and that is just not the case. Plus, in a 5 year old's head, hyping up the Lego store before the visit generates an intense desire to see the Lego store quickly, a fact we hadn't taken into account initially. So, after a few tempestuous days, we made a few adjustments and had a much better trip.
We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge, which was really nice and very close to the Magic Kingdom. The outdoor pool area was really awesome, but it was cool most of the week so we had little opportunity to explore. We did let the kids swim one day when it hit a whopping 70 degrees. I had never seen lifeguards in parkas before, but we saw that most of the week at WDW.
Rather than relay the entirety of our visit to Disney, I'll just describe a few great moments:
… the night we arrived we ate at Cinderella's Royal Table (abbreviated CRT by those in the know). It was outrageously priced (though we were on a meal plan which made that irrelevant) and really hyped, which made me skeptical. To talk Sam into enjoying the evening, we let him know that boys receive a special sword when they visit—he liked that. We went for dinner, and I was pleasantly surprised by the experience. Not only was the atmosphere great—it was neat to see into the castle and be treated as "royal family Matthews"—but the food was terrific. While we were there, we were even able to watch fireworks out the windows. I would highly recommend it to anyone.
…At CRT, and most everywhere else at Disney World, they refer to little girls as "princess." Kate would look at me and say, "I not a princess, right mommy? Right??!!" So I asked her, "What are you, then?" "I'm a jedi" was her regular response. What a woman.
…I'm not sure where it came from, but one of Sam's new techniques is to run down the long corridor to the hotel room and dive and roll on the ground, like Indiana Jones. I would blame it on the Indiana Jones stunt show we saw, but he began doing it immediately upon arrival. So, of course, Kate had to dive and roll too.
…Sam was selected as a participant at the Jedi Training Academy at Hollywood Studios. He and about 20 other little boys and girls went on stage and learned a fight scene with their plastic light sabers. Then Darth Vader came out to test their skills, complete with the breathing, two storm troopers, and special light saber sound effects. I thought Sam and some of the others would run right off the stage. But when it was Sam's turn, he went right up and fought Vader. Such a proud moment. It was definitely one of the highlights of his trip—he told Matt and Meaghan all about it Sunday.
…When the kids were really fussy Tuesday, we let them take a LONG nap and Daddy came in with a suggestion: How 'bout McDonalds and Legos tonight? Woo, the excitement. To think, we flew all the way to Florida for McDonalds. I always wondered who those people eating at McD on vacation were… Oh. Now I know.
…We went to this Mickey's Backyard BBQ dinner show one night. Sam didn't really dig the dancing with the characters thing, but boy, Kate did. She went right up to Mickey with about 20 other kids and couldn't understand why he wouldn't hold her hands and dance just with her. I have two theories: one, Mickey couldn't see her—she was right at his feet and I think she was easily overlooked. Two, Mickey was trying to group dance. It's a common mistake. She was so disappointed that he didn't SEE her though.
…We ate at the restaurant in our hotel one night—we were just too tired to make the reservations across at another theme park, so we chanced no reservations! We got in and the place was so fun! They had stick horse races for the kids around the restaurant and when Sam asked for ketchup, the waiter yelled, "Does anyone have KETCHUP????!!!!" Sure enough, here comes every bottle of ketchup in the joint. Sam just laughed and laughed. The waiter asked if that was enough and I gave a sarcastic look—he brought out 5 more bottles. Then when it was our turn, we, with the help of a cute 4 year old girl at the next table, delivered the 20+ bottles to someone else. Stu was smart enough to keep one, just in case.
…Sam's favorite rides change all the time, and we figured out that sometimes we were interpreting his disinterest in reriding something (like a rollercoaster that only one parent could ride on at a time) as fear. We figured out later it was really boredom/a desire to keep us moving so he didn't miss anything. His favorite ride list seems to be: Big Thunder Mountain (which we tricked him onto), the Barnstormer, Buzz Lightyear (which he rode 6 times one afternoon with dad during naptime), Toy Story Mania, and Star Tours. Kate's favorites were the tea cups, the Barnstormer, Buzz, and Toy Story Mania. Oh, they really liked Small World too. And after going to some of the shows… Little Mermaid and Philharmagic, Kate left reluctantly, in tears, because she wanted "more movie, mama. More movie!"
Okay, I'll post pictures later, but here's finally the recap you've all been waiting for. Enjoy.
Kate and Cinderella. Kate is doing her "CHEESE" which involves closed eyes. We have LOTS of pictures of closed eyes!
Kate and Sam working the drums at Animal Kingdom.
Kate demonstrating how we all felt at the end of our trip-- totally wiped out!