Our Disney Adventure 12/9-12/14

Our great friends from Germany the Crandalls recently moved to Florida and seeing as how it had been over a year since we'd last seen them, I was looking for an opportunity to visit. Jess threw out that they were planning a visit to Disney in December and I jumped. The timing was right and it had been years since I'd last visited Disney World. To be honest, I wasn't actually that excited about Disney, but I knew we'd have a great time being with our friends. While we were originally planning on driving, when I found out that flying would only cost about $200 more, there was no way I was going to get in the car for a 14+ hour drive.

We started off the trip by catching an early flight out of DC to land in Orlando around 9:40. Then we picked up our rental car, drove to check out the Crandalls' new home and then drove to visit Justin's Aunt Gina. The kids spent time swimming in the hot tub and we ate dinner. From there it was to the hotel. And it was beautiful. I couldn't believe the size of the rooms.. we've paid more for tiny hostels in Europe. I won't be staying anywhere else to visit Disney!

Jess handled nearly all of the planning. She was aware of the sale at Shades of Green (the Disney military resort), so we were able to get our rooms  for 50% off. She had all of the rides mapped out and planned and the bus schedule down pat, which made our trip super easy. We sort of just woke up every morning and followed the Crandalls around. While we did split sometimes, it was always more fun together. Because it was December, there were nearly no lines. Some rides we were able to get on with no wait and for the others we took advantage of Fast Pass.

Some of the rides were just not looking like fun to me, so I stuck with Devin for the most part. Justin and Luke really bonded by going on all the scary rides together and by the end of the trip Lukas wanted no part of sitting with me on any rides :) . At 4, Luke made the requirements for all but a handful of rides.. While I thought things like the Tower of Terror would have him in tears, they actually had him laughing and excited to go again which makes me believe that Luke is the perfect age to take to Disney. Devin had fun, but he had a hard time when rides ended grasping that he could go again or that there were other things to do. He also flipped out a couple of times when Lukas went on rides with Justin that he didn't meet requirements for. 

Our schedule was something like this:
Monday - Magic Kingdom
Tuesday - Epcot
Wednesday - Hollywood Studios/Magic Kingdom
Thursday - Animal Kingdom

Each day we packed some food, but ended up eating 1-2 meals at Disney, which was affordable because I shared quite a bit with the boys. Something I learned from the trip is that I'll probably only ever go during this time of year or another part of the off season. Disney was beautiful at night decorated for Christmas and I appreciated the lack of crowds for most things. The weather was still warm and though it rained off and on, there were plenty of opportunities to escape indoors.

The kids' favorites were Pirates of the Caribbean, all roller coasters, parades. My favorite had to be the jungle cruise. It was funny to me and at the end when the guide asked everyone where they were from Lukas shouted - "Washington D.C.!" to which she replied "I'm sorry." Lukas thought she hadn't heard him and didn't get the joke.. which was funny and sad a little. While Devin loved hugging and kissing the people in costume, Lukas crawled around on the floor at them flashing mean looks and hissing. Luke and the kids provided a lot of comic relief. He and his friend Reese decided they were twins since they were both four and born in Germany. They also discussed going on missions to California in sleighs pulled by reindeer and using arrows to kill bad guys. They discussed these missions in detail: from the number of arrows needed to kill the bad guys to the reindeer that would pull the sleigh.

I had a really great time reconnecting with my friends and appreciate those friendships where you can pick up right where you left off no matter how far apart you've been. I loved seeing Luke and Reese connect like old buddies. In the words of the great cartoon character Kai Lan: My heart felt super happy.

Christmas.

Devin was with me most of the time

While Justin sat with Lukas.

 I also learned that I'm totally in love with my husband. While I thought this trip was going to be rough - it's Disney and I usually end up doing the bulk of the lifting with the kids - Justin and I worked like a pro team. I felt like we were anticipating what the other needed and there was balance and teamwork. We both had a really good time! Justin made me smile when I was getting tense from lines and kept things light-hearted. While I packed all the food and clothes and took care of what planning needed to be done, he got the boys dressed and kept them entertained when I wanted to concentrate or needed a break. I love the family we've built and am happy that the friendship Justin and I have continues to grow. I think being married and having kids is really tough and there have been tough times. But, I feel like time and trial molds you and if you have the right attitude those things will make you fit together better. Anyway, super sappy right? Bottom line: I am going back to Disney World. And my kids rock. And so does my husband.