Our family vacation is now over - very sad indeed. We took the kids on their first plane ride down to the Princess Mecca, Walt Disney World, this past week for an extended Memorial Day week - Wednesday through Sunday. The plane ride was memorable for sure. Maureen looked very cute with her carry-on, a pink princess backpack. Rowan was a squirmy ball of energy. We did not buy a seat for him because he just qualified by one month as an "infant" or under two years old. He sat on our laps for the two-hour trek both ways. On the way down, we hoped he would fall asleep to make the trip easier, and he did...just as we were landing in Orlando.
We stayed within the Disney complex, at the Port Orleans French Quarter. Our lives were made much easier as our room was situated in the building closest to the main lobby, the counter service restaurant and very close to the swimming pool. The resort was made to look as much like New Orleans French Quarter as possible, with the wrought iron adornments, a lazy horse drawn carriage encircling the grounds and a Mardi Gras theme in the restaurant. The pool was large and accommodating. We only used the pool one time, on Wednesday evening after our arrival.
We visited three of the parks at Disney: Magic Kingdom on Thursday; Epcot on Friday; and the Animal Kingdom on Saturday. The Magic Kingdom was by far the most crowded of the three parks. We did a lot in Fantasy Land - the Dumbo ride, Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, the Carousel and Small World. We stood in lines a big part of the week in order for Maureen to get her picture with a character and get their autograph. She really got into the autographs, and was proud of the Minnie Mouse notebook we bought special for her at the park. She was dutiful in finding a fresh page for each signing, and for having her pen at the ready. We had Lunch at the Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom where Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eyore made their rounds to each table. Maureen was in Heaven - Rowan didn't care for the costumed creatures and cried in fear through most of the lunch.
The next morning, we had a breakfast appointment with Princesses at Epcot in the Norway section. The reservations were for 8:30am - a half hour before the park officially opened, so we had the opportunity to be one of the select few to see the park fresh and uncluttered by tourists. They really did a great job with the breakfast and we were able to see Belle, Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel and Aurora. Maureen was somewhere floating above Heaven - Rowan could care less. We pushed the kids a bit too much and stayed at Epcot a little later than we had originally planned. By the time our dinner came around at the Aquarium restaurant, we were beat like red-haired stepchildren.
The next day we had a great visit to the Animal Kingdom where we saw a spectacular stage show with a Lion King theme, complete with wild costumes, acrobats, singing and dancing. Rowan's highlight of that day was the safari - he enjoyed the animals and wanted to see more. We decided to take it easy on the kids and we cut the visit short and headed back to the room for a little R&R before heading out to our final themed meal at the Grand Floridian Hotel with the cast of Cinderella.
The one thing I can say about Disney is that they do a good job making young kids feel special, from Mickey Mouse to the person in charge of emptying the trash cans. The characters seem to be trained in the art of saying or doing the right thing. An example is when Maureen told Snow White that they have the same hair style, Snow White correctly responded "Why yes, we could be sisters!" Maureen beamed.
All in all, it was a wonderful family vacation. Though the kids were too young to enjoy many of the attractions offered, and Kristin and I were unable to leave the kids unattended to ride some of the more adventurous rides, there were plenty of activities and attractions to keep us busy the whole time. And we were happy to be in bed by 9pm each night. We managed to keep Memorial Day available for the post-vacation rest at home, but I find myself ill-prepared and a tad sad about going back to work today (more so than usual.) We're already thinking about where we can travel next!
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