A quick trip to Disney, not quite long enough, but in some ways too long

When we first planned our trip to Florida, Disney wasn't in it.  The plan was one full week in a beach house.  Then, I ran into trouble finding that, since most houses rent from Saturday thru Saturday and we were arriving on a Tuesday. I arranged to get two condos on Siesta Key, one over the other at a weekly rate.

Next thing I knew, the family was saying, we can't go to Florida and NOT head to see Mickey!!!

So, adjustments were made, rooms were switched, and we lost our weekly rate.  But it was worth it, I knew the girls would be thrilled. And since I LOVE Disneyworld, I was all for it.

Then, we decided to invite Miss Tree and her girls, and I was on the phone again, rearranging, cancelling one condo that wasn't big enough, finding another nearby, and shuffling Disney rooms and plans. I put in hours on the phone planning, changing, switching, exploring options, and it wasn't exactly easy, while planning Birdsong, but we loved having those three join us, those girls are wonderful people, and I think that all of our arrangements were ideal once made.

(I do admit to some whining on my part while switching things around so much, and do suggest that you should have firm plans when you decide to book rooms, we ended up losing a rather hefty deposit)

But as I said, I was glad the plans changed, I LOVE Disneyworld! And even better, Ry Guy said he wanted to come to the park too. Now, he has been a bit of a recluse for the last 10-15 years.  He doesn't like crowds, and doesn't get out much. He is a big, ole, sweetheart, but has a lot of anxieties.  I was worried about him coming on the trip at all, let alone spend time at the park with the hoards of people. I promised him his very own room, so he could retreat if needed.

And you know what?  He didn't need to hide.   Ryan gets the Happy Camper Award for best vacationer. He was amazing, and I saw a side of him that I didn't know he had.  I could tell that at times, it was not easy for him, but he made himself stick it all out, even when he had the option of going back to the hotel to get away from the heat and the people.

 He stayed with me, knowing I was tired, and hadn't got much rest, and was there for me all day when I needed him. And when hotel rooms needed to be changed around, he stepped up and offered to share. I was proud of my son, and how he left his comfort zone behind when he joined the family on this vacation.

We arrived on a Sunday afternoon, and had lunch Downtown Disney. Then checked into the Caribbean Beach resort, and had a few shuffles there too with the rooms that connected and some other little issues that delayed check in, but eventually we got settled and hit the pools.  

Not everything goes exactly as you might plan it, no matter how hard you try. In hindsight, I'd have changed some things, but that doesn't help now, does it? I think that a day and a half at the resort simply is not enough to really get into and experience it, but I wouldn't trade away a single moment we had on the beach.  It was a lot to squeeze into a short time, and I for one was a bit fried and needed a nap.  

I'm afraid that I was so tired at the park, I did something I've never done in my life, I fell asleep standing up, waiting for the party to gather up at the gate to leave at the end of the night.  

Like a horse.

Like a worn out, old workhorse.

Ready for the glue factory.

Dewdrop tends to turn foul if she misses her nap, and doesn't do very well with uncomfortable situations like extreme heat and lines.  But she was a pure delight all day. I told her afterwards that she might have been the only kid in the whole park to not cry once and I was so proud of what a big girl she was. 

She said, "I was sooo happy!"

And she was.  4 is an exciting age to see all that magic come alive.

We didn't have reservations for any of the nice, sit down restaurants, but I researched online to find out where to feed vegetarians.  I saw that you could request veggie versions of most meals, even if it wasn't on the menu, but then when we got in line at one place, we found that wasn't true. 

But we did discover that there was a counter service place with air conditioned seating in Tomorrowland, with live entertainment from this space alien, lounge lizard, that had some pretty good veggie fare, as well as the burgers others were craving.

It was a hot day, which was draining, but we still had a great time, and hopped from shade to shade, plus used umbrellas that we'd brought to create our own shade.  Fast Passes are wonderful, you can now plan weeks ahead of time and coordinate your rides.  And we found that if you see any adventures with a sign saying 20 minutes or less, you should pop in immediately!

We fit in a ton of rides, including the carrousel, Small World, and Mickey's Philharmagic twice.  Dewdrop didn't care if she did something twice and had no idea that we didn't do everything that there was to do.  We did the things that were quick or shady and she was thrilled with it all.

I'm afraid that I wasn't at my tip-top best.  A bad cough, some stress from travel, and pure, standing up sleeping exhaustion by that time, but I still LOVE Disneyworld. 

And so do they.

Comments

[Linda P.]

I love so much about this blog post--the honesty about the difficulties and the fact that there was still a lot of joy in the midst of it all! I really enjoyed hearing so much about your trip.

I am proud of Ryan along with you that he pushed himself to leave his comfort zone and participate more with the group. What a wonderful thing that was for you to see and experience.

I am so sorry that you were so exhausted some of the time, Karla! I hope you can take as many naps as you need to now that you are back home. I am a BIG believer in naps, believe you me!

Still smiling about my happy time at Birdsong . . . :)

[Lisa]

How fun and what wonderful memories!

[Beth Leintz]

So glad that Ryan joined in the family vacation and made himself step out of his comfort zone. I bet memories of the trip will make him smile for a long time. You should make him his own travel journal or photo album.

I love Dewdrop's comment "I was soooo happy"- that's a sign of a good vacation even if it didn't go exactly the way you had planned.

[Karla Nathan]

Ryan was big on souvenirs, he might like a photo album, thanks for the idea, Beth. I know what Ill make him for Xmas now!