Our Disney Trip in a Nutshell

I have to start off this post by thanking my sister, Kendra, and my Mom and Dad for such a wonderful family vacation. I'm so glad that my sister hit the big 3-0 and wanted to spend it with us! I'll admit, we provide more entertainment than Paris ever will.

Life at the Troyer Home has been busy. We are still recovering from our Disney trip and our kids are catching up on their sleep, too! Isn't it funny that no matter where you go, be it a tropical island or a mountain resort, it's always good to be home?

So, to start from the beginning of the trip I really wanted to post a picture before we left that showed the snow on the ground. Thankfully we headed out the day they were calling for 2-4 inches in Ohio. Not so thankfully, we headed to Orlando with 3 sick children in tow. Dawson ran a temperature for our entire trip, Lane had a double ear infection and Audrey had Bronchitis. We had more medicine tested by airport security than you can even imagine and Audrey's nebulizer was scrutinized as it was the smallest one they've ever seen come through the gate. I'm sure we did look like we could destroy a plane, but it surely wouldn't be by explosives :)

When we arrived in Orlando it was a wonderful 70 degree day! We loaded the bus and headed to Disney. On the bus ride to the All Star Sports Resort they showed a Disney video showcased the rides at each Disney park. Dawson was just beside himself. At this point he was still asking questions like, "Is the castle taller than Daddy?" You just have to love that Daddy's are, in fact, larger than life to a four-year-old. Once he saw the castle, he realized that Daddy was just a little shorter.

We spent our first evening at the Magic Kingdom. Nina took over her grandmotherly duties and as soon as we walked in the door both boys had a Disney autograph book with a giant Mickey Mouse head pen. Oh, the memories from my youth come flowing back. I distinctly remember Meme doing the same for us. Although that first night at Magic Kingdom was fun, I'm thinking that Disney should really just skip over 2 year-olds in their ticket offerings. Lane did not want to be couped up in a stroller all evening, but the park was so busy that we had no choice. Did I mention the kids got wheels? I mean, he's a runner. You honestly cannot let him out of your sight. So, the idea of letting him down to stretch his legs when the park was so packed was out of the question. Just then it hit me-why didn't I bring that leash? As much as I don't like leashes for kids, I now understand why people use them. Actually, I seriously considered searching the Disney gift shops for one. A cute little toddler leash, you know the kind, it would surely have had a Mickey Mouse hanging from the back. Nope, I just couldn't do it. He would survive the week in a stroller. And for most of the week, he looked like this...

The second day we were off to Hollywood Studios. This is one of my faves because of the Tower of Terror ride. What a blast! This was the only ride that was exhilarating that Dawson didn't get to experience. I thought it would be too scary for him, however, he did thoroughly enjoy the Haunted Mansion at Magic Kingdom. Dawson was not too impressed with Hollywood Studios after spending the evening before at the Magic Kingdom. He wanted to know where all the rides were. We did see the stunt driver show and he was quite amazed by that. All I could think about while watching that was that my dad found his "retirement profession." These guys were crazy! If you ever get the chance to check this out, you have to see it. This day was pretty low-key. Dawson got to have some fun in "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" (notice the pick of him on the Tonka Dump Truck), Kevin savored a Turkey Leg and the rest of us enjoyed the Beauty and the Beast show (or as Dawson refers to it as Beauty and the Roast Beast). After a fun-filled day at the park we went back to have dinner and the kids stayed with mom and dad so Kendra, Kevin and I could head back to the park. We were at the park for 3 hours and rode one ride. Did I mention this was after midnight? The parks were open really late for guests that were staying in their resort hotels. The long wait for the Rock n Rollercoaster was well worth the wait; however, it was over in about 2 1/2 minutes. I may rank this as my favorite ride, just for the shear fact that its the only ride that goes upside down at Disney.

The third day we had breakfast with the characters before heading out to explore the jungle at Wild Kingdom. The breakfast may have been my favorite part of the trip. Dawson and Lane were both in awe at the characters. It was nice to have them come to our table for pictures and not have to wait in line or chase them down. After breakfast at Chef Mickey's we headed off to our jungle adventure. As we walked into the crowded park I heard Dawson say something about Jesus. I asked him what he said and he replied in a proud and excited tone "Mom, I said way to go Jesus!" Not sure what he meant by this I had to ask. What he said was so cute, "Mom, look at this place-Jesus made all of it!" He was so amazed by this great big world and the new things he was getting to experience. We got to see some celebrities at this park as we were exiting a train ride. Carl from Fresh Prince of Bel Air and some singer from a boy band were walking in a back entrance as our train was pulling in. As you can tell, I don't know too much about celebrities real names or frankly who the other guy even was, I just knew his face. I want to say it was Joey, but not the New Kids on the Block Joey. As my Dad says, "they put their pants on the same way we do." Oh my goodness, I almost forgot to tell you the best thing about this park! Expedition Everest is an amazing roller coaster that has the theme of Everest and the Yeti. Dawson, who I remind you is 4 years of age, rode this rollercoaster. My mom, who's age I won't remind you, also rode this rollercoaster. Mom, not the real theme park enthusiast, kept her eyes closed through the entire ride. Dawson, on the other hand had to be reminded several time by Dad to put his hands down out of the air and hold on to the lap bar. Oh my goodness, I'm going to have my hands full with that kiddo!

Next, was the Magic Kingdom for a full day of fun. This place takes the cake! There is nothing like the Magic Kingdom for reminiscing your childhood. As soon as we entered the park we were greeted by Chip & Dale, not Chippendale as I referred to them mistakingly. I got a little "hey, this is a child friendly park" from the man who was chuckling behind me. Dawson and Lane got many, many autographs throughout the day with characters they adore. It took Lane a little to warm up to them, kind of like seeing Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny.

One thing I love about Disney is many of the rides are safe enough for the entire family to enjoy. Audrey even rode rides. I just know Olivia and Meme were with us as Audrey took her first boat ride through "It's a Small World." Lane was mesmerized by all the bright colors and everything there is to look at, not to mention, he probably heard his native language while we were on that ride. We're still trying to figure out which one it was!

Another family favorite was the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. I still have "Yo-Ho, Yo-Ho, a Pirate's Life for Me" ringing in my head. We loved this ride so much that we have decided to have a Pirate Themed birthday party for Dawson when he turns 5 in June and he has also decided he would like to dress up as "Captain Jack Sparrow" for Halloween. Oh, how I wish you could hear Dawson say his name.

I could go on forever about all the fun that was had at the Magic Kingdom. Long story short, Kevin and I tuckered out well before Dawson. So, although he was sick and not feeling well he kept up with Kendra, Mom and Dad while Kevin and I took Audrey and Lane back to the hotel. Dawson was so spoiled! He came back to the room that night with a "Captain Jack Sparrow Sword," he was quite proud of that!

Our last day was spent at Epcot Center. Believe it or not, Dawson really enjoyed this park. Epcot does a really neat activity with kids. At each of the countries the kids get a charm to add to their mask that they received at the first country they visited. They also get a stamp on the wooden stick that held the mask. Dawson loved going into each country and getting his charm. We had to write the name of each country on the actual charm so he wouldn't forget where it came from. Since we've been home we have looked at that mask a number of times. He loves to talk about the countries and why the charm was picked for that country. He also played Mission Kim Possible. So, so cool! I can't even go into full detail or this will be the longest post ever, I will say if you go to Epcot, you have to do this! We saw grown adults without children playing the Mission Kim Possible activity throughout the park.

I think this picture sums up the great time we had at Disney...