(Lessons were learned.)Surprise!When my oldest daughter was four and her younger sister was on the way, we decided to take her to Walt Disney World to celebrate her promotion to Big Sister. She had been before and had loved it. She had ridden everything she was tall enough for, including Goofy's Barnstormer-- 10 times in a row. Even though she was just shy of three for that visit, and probably didn't fully remember it, she had been asking to return ever since, so we thought it would be a great idea to surprise her. We were so wrong. The night before, we told her at supper that we were going to do something fun and special the next day and it would make her very happy. She asked if we were going to her favorite park. We just said "It is a surprise." and left it at that. Then, after she fell asleep, we loaded up the car so we would ready to go right after breakfast. In the morning, we woke her up, sat her at the table, and gave her the news about our exciting plans while filming her response. At first, she was just very calm. She continued to eat her hard boiled egg. (Note to other parents: Don't plan to film a small child while eating unless eating is the point of the video. They don't always remember not to talk with food in their mouths. It might not be 100% charming!) She asked some questions, we answered. She smiled some. To be honest, it was a bit of a letdown for me because there were no screams of delight. A short while after we turned off the camera, she had more questions and then her mood changed. Completely. Her displeasure with the situation was made known. Apparently, she had not PLANNED to go to Disney World that day. She had PLANNED to go to the park and have a picnic. We promised we could do that when we returned, but that wasn't enough for a headstrong little girl who had spent the evening dreaming of the perfect day at the playground. Eventually, there was screaming after all, but not the kind we had hoped for, not at all. A full-on tantrum ensued. She had to go to her room. I cried. My husband... said some words. Finally, everyone calmed down, we got in the car, drove to Orlando, and we did, of course, have a truly magical time. You might think surprising her was our biggest mistake of the trip. You might think so. You would be wrong. It was a short trip, just a little hop. We had only two days in the parks; the first at Epcot, the second in Magic Kingdom. It was spring break and super crowded. After a fantastic first day, we arrived at the Magic Kingdom parking lot well before 7:00am. We made our way to the entrance, through security, and waited for them to open up the gates. Just before they let us in, I said the following words to my child: (Parents, pay attention here and learn from my mistake.) "We only have one day in the Magic Kingdom this trip." I said. "Even though I know we should leave and let you take a nap, we will stay. In fact, we will stay until you start whining, crying, being grumpy, or being otherwise obnoxious. If that happens, we will leave. If it doesn't, we can stay all day and for the fireworks." The park was open very late that night and it was so crowded that they actually did the fireworks twice! After the first showing was over, she was very sleepy, and we prepared to leave. She suddenly became wide awake and reminded us of our deal. She asked to stay and see the fireworks again. What was I to do? She kept her end of the bargain. In the end, I kept mine. Long, long after midnight, we pushed her stroller back to the car. She was asleep before we got all the way down Main Street USA. We were all exhausted of course, but it was a good exhausted. There is no tired like Disney tired and it is my favorite kind of tired. It had been a wonderful visit and I was already dreaming of the next one. Last Friday, she turned sixteen. (Sixteen! How can this be?) She still loves Walt Disney World. To this day, she is a "Rope Drop Til They Kick Us Out" kind of girl and while are aren't often the very first ones anymore, we are frequently the very last. Her mantra is "I can sleep at home." She still loves rollercoasters, but the Barnstormer was abandoned at 4 years old because she was tall enough for Seven Dwarf's Mine Train and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. She puts every ounce of her energy into every experience whether posing with a Princess, saving the Galaxy, dining around the World Showcase, riding all of the Mountains in one day, or relaxing by the pool. Her enthusiasm for new adventures and experiences has led us to do some really cool things at Disney and beyond. At Walt Disney World she has snorkeled in The Seas with sharks, sea turtles, and rays; stayed in almost every Disney resort hotel, tried many new foods that she might not have tried at home- she highly endorses the croissant stuffed with escargot at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, by the way; walked a rope bridge over the crocodiles & dined on the Savanna at Animal Kingdom; taken random rides on Disney resort transportation to have unplanned escapades; been escorted to the fireworks by Storm Troopers; had formal afternoon tea at the Grand Floridian, ridden Space Mountain 14 times in a row, and learned about baby flamingos up close and personal at Animal Kingdom Lodge. All those years ago, it never dawned on me that we would become "those people." You know, the ones who go to Disney every year, sometimes more. Somewhere along the way though, we did, and that is fine by me. It is a place of true happiness, where nothing intrudes on family time, laughter, and memory making, where even teenagers walk hand in hand with their parents, giggle like toddlers, and their faces light up with delight and wonder. Most of all, to me it is a place where adulting is left behind and I can exist without all of the stress and busyness of life. At Disney, I am not exactly a child again, but I come closer to the mental freedom and unrestrained joy of childhood than I do anywhere else. It is invigorating and restorative. Before I know know it, summers, spring breaks, and Christmas vacations with my girls will come to an end. They will go off to college, get jobs & internships, perhaps study abroad, maybe take summer classes to stay ahead. Then they will graduate and get jobs who knows where, and they won't have a lot of vacation time. At some point they may choose to marry and have children and then their vacations will be with their own families. These facts have never been more real as they are right now, having a 16 year old who is looking eagerly ahead to her future and her very own life adventures that won't include me. For her entire life we have traveled, taking journeys near and far, exploring every aspect of the places we have visited, doing, eating, and experiencing everything. I don't regret a single penny, dime, or dollar, or even a minute of those times. In fact, I have but two years to squeeze in as many more as possible and just seven left with her little sister. I will sleep when they are grown and gone. Until then, we GO.
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The Festival of the Lion King is my favorite live show at Walt Disney World. This is a bold statement because I am including fireworks & other nighttime spectaculars, parades, and even the Frozen Sing-Along (Hollywood Studios) in the list of live shows. Having made this declaration, I now feel as though I need to come up with a least favorite live show. I have been trying to think of what that might be, and I am unable to declare any show a least favorite. Festival of the Lion King just really stands out for me. First, The Lion King is quite possibly my favorite Disney animated feature. Second, the rich music and the high-caliber talent of the singers in the show make for a very fulfilling experience. Lastly, the combination of the familiar characters, the distinctly African vibe, and the Cirque de Soleil-style entertainment is mesmerizing. I don’t think that a visit to Animal Kingdom is complete without this show.
2019 was the Year of the Lion King for my family. When we embarked on our first Disney Cruise on the Disney Dream, I was hugely excited about all of the quality time we would share. I had read the Navigator online and had an idea of the sort of family activities that would be available. So much fun! So many memories! So much to do!
We didn't do any of it. When I was a girl, at the end of the school year, summer vacation seemed endless. Looking ahead to day after day of playing with my friends, summer camp, family vacations, doing nothing, and sleeping late was the greatest feeling in the world. Today, as a mom, on the very first day of summer break, the upcoming year is already breathing down my neck. I can see it, looming ahead to take away the unstructured, homework-free, easygoing days. I feel it reaching out already, preparing to steal my kids from me again, for another 180 days. By the end of the summer, I have a greater sense of dread with every passing day. My childhood summers in the 1970s and early 80s were idyllic- unstructured and unfettered. I roamed freely and played with abandon. In my memory, however, the days and years run together and I am not sure what year we first rode our bikes all the way to the beach, how old I was when we had a whole chest freezer filled with popsicles and ice cream sandwiches on the back porch, how long it took us to build the tree house over the marsh, or when exactly it was that I mastered a back flip off of the dock into the creek. My lazy, crazy summer days were wonderful, but my most specific memories are of our family vacations. When I was six we rented a mountain house with friends. It turned out to be an old, poorly maintained mobile home that the seven of us crammed into for a week of awkward hilarity. My seventh summer we went up the coast with cousins and we stayed in a house on a salt-water creek. We swam, fished, played in the mud, and enjoyed all of the nearby touristy attractions like putt-putt golf, seafood buffets, and go-carts. The year I was eight, my granddaddy took me to Walt Disney World. I remember riding It’s a Small World 7 times, that he wouldn’t let me go on Space Mountain, and being awed by the retro submarines of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I vividly recall eating a foot long hotdog at Casey’s Corner on Main Street USA. For breakfast. Now that I am an adult, I know that summer doesn’t last forever, and I have even more appreciation for the memories that do. We vacation together as much as possible. Last summer we cruised to Alaska. We visit the mountains and we visit the beach. We go to Walt Disney World. We spent 8 days there in July. It was hot, it was crowded, it was nonetheless magical. We had a plan. I know how to avoid crowds and manage the heat. There are so many things to do when lines are long! Some years, like this one, our trips are planned months in advance. (I am already booked for next June!) Other years, we go from zero to Disney in a matter of days. However we do it though, the result is the same: Joy. Togetherness. Excitement. Magic. Peace on Earth, goodwill towards man—and sisters. Memories. Summer is fleeting. How many days do you have left before your kids go back to school? How many summers do you have left with them? It is not too late to plan a Disney vacation this summer, or even for Labor Day Weekend. I can help! Spontaneity is great, but you still need a plan. I have the plan. We can get a vacation put together in a matter of hours. The memories, however, will last a lifetime. |
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