Okay, first things first I realize people have other things to do then sit around and read our blog, also noted is that the blog is for us more then anyone else, having said all that this post is really long, but I did weed through literally hundreds of pictures of this event to bring you these 16, YIKES! So read if you like, or pass, whatever. The above picture was our first Disney day. We left from UT since we were already in town for Kylah's baptism. It worked out great. We really spent months preparing for both of the kids first plane ride. Which probably wouldn't have been quite the feat, but with sensory issues and sound sensitivity, we just were not sure what we were up against, thank goodness for our fabulous therapists who totally jumped on board and helped us start well in advance, our trip would not have been nearly the success it was had we not prepared for the plane. Both kids did great! There was one 30 minute melt down the end of the first flight, but it was our bad (as in Mom and Dad's) we incorrectly gauged the length of battery on our DVD player, and having left that to the last hour of the flight, were left with 30 minutes of what was suppose to be TV time that one two year had been promised that turned into a void. But really for the girl who use to drop everything and run to a safe spot every time she heard a plane (mind you we lived near an air base) to the girl that now regularly requests to go on a plane again, we really had great therapists and have overcome some huge obstacles. It was a great adventure and gave her so much confidence in her ability to work through her challenges. And well 5 hours on a plane with a 5 month, did the same for me. Our first day we planned a down day to just get adjusted to the weather (VERY HOT, we had coats on when we left UT) so after we landed we got to the hotel and just chilled, literally. The next day we headed to Disney. We went to a character breakfast, and this is us leaving. I love Disney property there is just always something beautiful everywhere you look, here we are loving the walk and bridge back to the car, our preparations also included picking the minds of many of our friends that have or regularly travel to destination vacations with kids, as this was our first time doing that, we really were not sure how it was going to go. But in our prep we decided to rent a double stroller instead of hauling ours along. We loved it, so worth our $40bucks for the week and the kids really liked sitting next to each other. It also worked fabulously with Disney Transportation. In my research for this trip I came across this stat, the average visitor walks 6 miles a day going to and fro and about, yep so other things in our prep included getting use to carrying Jim for long periods of time, getting use to walking long distances at a quick pace so as to not lose time in the parks, and training Addy on her Mickey backpack which has a tail that attaches to an adult.
The other perk of this stroller was one kid could recline and nap while the other was sitting up taking in the sights. We spent mornings and late evenings in the parks, and reserved afternoons for the kids and whomever else needed to have their regular naps (aka Mom) Jim did great with taking his morning naps in the parks. He was such a trooper. One guy stopped me on the fairy and asked me how old our little guy was, I told him 5 months, he looked at me and said I would NEVER do that, hmmm you know we debated this trip time and time again and all I have to say is we loved every minute of it, we would do it again in a heartbeat, so a huge thanks to Doug's brother for inviting us and letting us join their fun! There were definitely some challenges presented by taking a 2 year old and a 5 month old to Disney, but we navigated them well, and strangely I now feel like I can take on bigger challenges, since we did so well with this one.
Addy loVed LoVeD LOVED! The rides, she just had a great time, seeing the magic of Disney in her eyes was worth all the prepping, stressing, worrying, planning, etc What a sweet little girl we have. The horses and Dumbo were her favorites, she even did great with waiting in line for 30 minutes in 97 degree weather to have a turn. So Impressive. There were rides she didn't like as much, like the rocket blaster, and there were some rides we avoided, as we really wanted her to have a positive experience and we are well aware of her sensory situation not to mention one only has so much time, getting our favorites in was hard to do, as there is just so much to see and do.
It wasn't very often that all four of us would go on a ride together, but come on It's a Small world is Meant just for that a family of four to hop in a boat, cool off and enjoy the ride.Jim really liked the rides he got to go on, but more then anything he loved people watching. He was just sitting back soaking it all in. He lit up every bit as much as Addy, and loved every minute of it, when he wasn't sleeping
Yep Our two year old is totally behind the wheel, and loving it, this quickly became a favorite.
And because of the way we worked our schedule we were able to catch some of the night time stuff at Disney, which if you have ever been you know is just a part of Disney you don't want to miss. We caught the Electrical parade one night and Fantasmic another (we did still have to get some rest so we weren't out late every night)
I think overall the best part of it for Doug and I was seeing the kids with the characters. After that first meal and Addy realized that Characters would be coming, she couldn't eat a thing she was so EXCITED to see who would come next (good thing she was free) When we got back to RC we went out for dinner and we are pretty sure she was trying to get the waitresses signature, as she was sure she was someone Magically important. Adorable! So here is Winnie the Pooh and our little Addy girl I think I counted 26 signatures, and there were a few characters we didn't get to have sign the book so probably close to 30 or so, which was just so fun.
We had planned mid week to take another day off and recover from our festivities (as our normal schedule looks very little like our vacation schedule did) We were planning to spend the day at the resort pool, and we made it there, but alas it was the one day it rained all day, so Doug and the kids turned our whirlpool in the apt into a swimming pool and had a great time. We are water people! Here is everyone heading to the pool before we got caught in a downpour
When you enter the gate at Disney or whenever you see a cast member, they will ask little girls"How are you today Princess" Addy was highly annoyed at this, as she is NOT a PRINCESS, but rather, a Minnie, to which she would always correct them, Minnie Mouse, Me Minnie. She does love Mickey and Minnie She was just so incredibly sweet with them, showing the utmost adoration and love. Jim also showed his affection by slobbering both of them on their noses, they no doubt needed to freshen up after our families visit with them. I will never forget the look on her face each time she would see Mickey and Minnie while we were there.
The Princesses were still a hit, and Addy particularly liked this one , we had just the day before watched the live show of Beauty and the Beast and that was all it took, signing, dancing, Addy is yours.
Jim, taking his pick a little early in life.... but a good choice.
And yes we really were there with others in the family. We were so LUCKY to be there with Alex, Ashley and Aubrey, we just love those Kiddos, and their Parents. They are Disney people through and through, which just made it that much more exciting and fun. And even though there is an age difference the Cousins had a wonderful time together. Addy is sure she is one of the A's (Ash and Aubs) They were so kind to our little ones and just really made it a great adventure for all of us. It was the first time any of these kiddos had been to WDW. We are glad we could share that with them. Such Fun Memories we made.
This picture is just priceless, I mean really, if you know our little girl at all you know this is a very rare occasion, but she just had to have a treat, she has very little tolerance for being dirty, hands, face, included, but she just attacked this ice cream treat, and lived to take a picture of it, so I could tell the story. She is actually saying Cheese, in her frustrated get it done and clean me up way.
Another favorite, Chef Donald feeding Jim. The first day we were there, the family sitting behind us had two boys, one of which every time a character would come by he would slip under the table and hold on for dear life, there were tears and screams, my heart went out to those parents, and at the same time I was so thankful we weren't doing the exact same thing, I totally thought it could be a possibility. But our little guys just ate it up, they couldn't get enough of the characters.
Riding the elephants. One day Jim was running a bit of a fever and was acting a bit strange so I kept him at the apt while Doug and Addy joined our group at Animal Kingdom. They had a great time, and the next day Jim was back to himself and doing much better so it worked out well for all of us.
So all in all we had A GREAT time. Our trip came to an end all to soon and we were on the plane home.We learned a lot on our trip, there were things we didn't prepare for that we will next time, there were fears we conquered (kids and parents alike) and There were tons of Magical Memories Made that we will get to treasure forever. We can't wait to go again, although maybe next time not in June....
