Many months ago, my father-in-law generously offered to take his three sons and their families on a vacation. Someone- I strongly expect my beloved husband- suggested Disney and there was no turning back. So after months of planning, reservations, airline tickets, and excitement, it was time to fly out on March 3!Before I get into this, let me add a disclaimer: I do not dislike Disney, even though it may sound like it at some points in my story...my opinion was colored by circumstances, and everything gone smoothly I'm sure I would be as infatuated with WDW as my two year old currently is!
So anyway. To start the trip off on the wrong foot, our first flight was delayed. Very delayed. By the time they decided to tell us they were putting us on a different flight, we had of course missed our connection in ATL. And by the time we got to WDW that night - several hours late- we had missed the Cinderella dinner we had schedule. Luckily the kids took it in stride and onward we went.
Day two began with a bang, or should I say a cough. Abbigail woke up terrible congested and her cough continued to worsen through the day and the night. Day two was also miserably (for Fl!) cold and windy. We shivered our way through the Magic Kingdom. I was not feeling the magic at this point!
Day three, Bella woke up with pink eye. That's right, full blown conjunctivitis in her right eye. We had just finished several days of drops just before coming to WDW, and by some miraculous foresight that is totally uncharacteristic of me, I had packed the drops. Having them was one thing, getting her to let me put them in her eye was another. Granted, she was tired from travel and excitement, and she was tired of having drops put into her eyes. Nonetheless, several meltdowns of epic proportions ensued, until I had my own meltdown and ended up sobbing on a bench outside "Finding Nemo", with my mom on the cell phone and a wet wipe for my snotty nose.
*Note: a meltdown is only a true meltdown if you do it publicly. Hiding in the stalls of the ladies room to cry is just being girly.
After some encouragement from my mom, and giving "Eye drop duty" to Kenneth, things looked up. He came up with a way to get the eye drops in, meanwhile I took a $30 taxi trip across Orlando to a Walgreens and came back armed with a humidifier, Vaposteam, and cough syrup for Abby's bad cough.
Okay, I realize I haven't put in any of the good stuff. The kids were loving getting to meet princesses, seeing fireworks, and oh, boy, the rides! They loved the Snow White ride, Peter Pan, Pirates, Winnie the Pooh...my husband even decided that heck, if the four year old is tall enough for the Tower of Terror then by golly she should ride it. And ride it she did. She actually did awesome, although when we got off she said, "Do I have to ride that again?"
By the day we went to the Animal Kingdom the weather was much warmer, and we were mastering the art of traveling with 3 strollers, 4 kids, and 8 adults. We all loved the Safari ride, and my niece Lexi rode the Everest Expedition, her very first roller coaster!
Part Two of our trip coming soon...
