Dreams come true

Here's what we did on our vacation. Ben, Maddie, and Jon stayed with my parents. Will and I flew to meet Allen in Orlando then spent the rest of the week at Disney World.

Day 1 - I woke Will up at 3:45 am and said we were going on an adventure. "We can't go, Mama. It is still nighttime." "Why is the airport only open at night? Do you think we'll see any planes?" "Maybe I can get on an airplane." I didn't tell him where were going, but I did say we'd eat breakfast when we got to the next airport. On the tram in Dallas, some older ladies asked Will where he was going, and he was so excited to tell them, "We are going to McDonald's! and then to the inside playground!" When we landed in Orlando, Will leaned over to me and sternly said, "Mama. I don't like your adventure anymore. I want to go to Disneyland like the people behind us." I told him I would think about it, realizing at that point the people around us were sort of ruining the surprise. Will and I grabbed a bite to eat after we got off the plane and eventually he looked up at the man who was standing near us as we ate. He was definitely surprised to see Daddy there. As we all crossed the airport, Will noticed the Disney store and was thrilled to finally get to see Disneyland (thinking the store was actually the park.) We told him we'd go to the store before we flew home and he was happy with that answer. When we boarded the shuttle to Disney, Will still didn't know where were going (even if he did wonder). The "Welcome to Disney World!" movie on the bus wasn't even enough for him to understand. When Allen leaned over and asked if that's where Will wanted to go, Will said "Can we?" I told him we could if he promised to be happy about it. A while later, Will told Allen, "My brain is cracking! I just can't believe it!" When Allen told me that, my eyes started misting (of course. . .)

That afternoon we napped for awhile then went to Magic Kingdom. We walked right on to "It's a Small World" which was nice, except that the next two lines we were in frustrated Will since we didn't have to wait on the first one. We also rode Peter Pan and Dumbo then got soaked trying to make it to the entrance during the parade and rain storm. We went to Chef Mickey's for dinner and were there until it closed. I am glad Will got to see characters on the first day, but we were still at the restaurant at 10pm. Here is the interview with Will at the end of Day 1.

Day 2 was in Magic Kingdom again. We were there when the park opened at 8am since we had reservations to eat breakfast with Pooh and friends. (Note to self: next time make reservations for meals with ample time in between for sleeping.) We introduced Will to the world of roller coasters with a light version. As soon as we got off that one, he said he wanted to go on a bigger one, so we hit Big Thunder Mountain. He loved it! We stopped many times for photos, but also spent a lot of time in lines. We sat down for a break and watched Captain Jack Sparrow and another pirate teach us how to sword fight like a pirate. Will was one of the kids chosen to go up and be a deputized pirate and he was proud to get the certificate saying as much. Although Will got to meet a lot of characters today, I think his favorites were the princess because he was covered in kisses and had the lip prints on his cheeks to prove it. Many Disney commercials claim that it is the place "where all your dreams come true" (insert Pinocchio theme music here.) When Will and Allen got off the race-car ride, he told Allen, "All my dreams really did come true!" Here is the end-of-the-day interview.

Day 3 we spent at Epcot. We had lunch reservations at the Coral Reef which was gorgeous and calming (mostly). The restaurant wall is a huge aquarium and we watched the fish, sea turtles, sharks, and even a couple of divers swimming. Will was in his own fantasy land pretending that the conch-shaped light next to our table was a microphone. We hadn't planned on spending the whole day there, but between meals, the lines and fast passes, we were there all day just to get to ride the rides we wanted. My favorite was the Test Track, but we also enjoyed Soarin'. On the Viking ride, Will grabbed my hand and said "Mama, hold my hand tight. You seem to be very afraid, but it's okay, it's just pretend." We were fascinated by the children acrobats from China, and Will got to get his picture with Alice (from Wonderland) and Aladdin, Jasmine, and the Genie. Since we rarely have photos with all of us, we anxiously waited for the professional photographers to get us on film. One enthusiastic cast member took us on a tour of the Japan-area and had us pose for several shots. Later, when we were waiting in lines, Will would pose Allen and me so he could [pretend to] take our pictures. After giggling about his posing us, we handed over the camera and let him take some shots. I think the quote from that day was "Hey! I'm not done yet!" as Will yelled at the toilet that decided to flush a little early. Here is the video of Day 3.

By Day 4, we were all worn out. Seriously, how do people spend 10 days at these parks? We went to Disney's Hollywood Studios for the first part of the day, then took at ferry to Magic Kingdom for shopping, the parade, and fireworks. At Will's insistance, we rode the Tower of Terror. When he told me he wanted to ride it, I told him it was pretty scary. "Mama. Don't worry. It is all just pretend, and if I can be brave, so can you. You can hold my hand if you need to." By the end of that ride, I had marks on my hands where he had squeezed all the feeling from my fingers. He said it was fun, but he was certain he didn't want to do it again. We also happened to catch the Block part parade with the PIXAR characters. Will even got to dance on the street with Little Bo Peep from ToyStory. We rode more that day, but by then I was too tired to remember what we had done. We shopped for a few souviniers and Will designed his own Micky Ears. The parade at Magic Kingdom was beautiful and we ended our trip with the fireworks.

Day 5 was spent traveling home. We flew from Orlando to Dallas then to Waco to get the little ones. I was thrilled that my parents had brought them to greet us at the airport, and the babies were happy to see us, too. It was a joyful reunion with lots of hugs and smiles. Then we drove home.

Now it is the day after. I am still exhausted, but there is so much that needs to be done. I have no food in the fridge, but I don't want to take four kids to the grocery store. I have lots of laundry to do, but the soap is one of the things on my grocery list. The house needs to be tidied for the triplets party this weekend, but there is so much to do I don't know where to start. So, rather than start anything, I blog and the kids nap.