Anniversary Trip to Disney World

 Sean and I have been married for 10 years as of May 4th and several months ago we started talking about taking a trip somewhere to celebrate.  I was pretty determined that we were going to Disney World and I guess I won Sean over to the idea because that's what we did!  I had several reasons for wanting to go on that particular trip.  First, neither he nor I had been there in 20-25 years.  Second, it was probably our last chance to go to Disney World ALONE without Kaelyn noticing.  Third, if we were able to go alone, we would be able to do what WE wanted to do when there and not worry about you know who!

So we very briefly planned the trip.  By that I mean I got on the Disney website, booked a hotel, flights, and meal plan.  That was the extent of our planning.  We had dates and the essentials and that was about it.  As the time drew near, friends and family that had been recently and frequently gave us tips and that was helpful.  OVerall, we just looked forward to exploring and seeing what we could.

 Leaving Kaelyn behind wasn't easy, even though I knew she'd have fun with my parents.  When I put her down for her nap the day we were leaving, she didn't want to let go of my hand.  She said, "Mama hold your hand sleep?" which mean she wanted me to hold her hand while she slept.  She NEVER does that.  It was heart wrenching to tear myself away.  I almost just held her hand and skipped the flight entirely. :)  But I knew she'd be fine and she was.

We spent the rest of that afternoon/evening flying and traveling and finally got to our hotel and settled in at like 1am.  WAY late for me.  Let me tell you, though, Disney has quite a slick system.  A bus to take you from the airport to your hotel, buses to take you to all the parks and so on.  Our room key was also our park ticket and our meal ticket and our credit card for if we wanted to buy anything.  All very convenient.

Anyways, we spent the first day at Magic Kingdom.  We rode Space Mountain first.  We totally should have bought the picture because my face was hidden by my hat but Sean's showed and it was one of shock and surprise.  Very funny.  Neither of us liked it, though.  It was total darkness!  I normally like roller coasters but I didn't like being in the dark.

Then we went to Monster's Inc the comedy show, which was very funny.  They made Sean get up and dance and they said I was hiding a third eye under my hat.  We also rode IT's a small world, the Pirates of the Carribean and all of the other favorites and classics.  We were surprised not to even have to think about fast passes because we pretty much walked on to all of the rides.  We enjoyed the shows and parades and  saw everything we could.

That night, we didn't get a good place for the lighted night parade so we planned to come back later in the week.  At least we could see the fireworks.

 The second day we went to Hollywood Studios, which we both thought would have even MORE for us to do.  We first rode the new Toy Story ride, which was SO much fun.  It was like a big video game you got to play.  The line was short so we just rode it but when we were done, we got Fast Passes to go back later.  We then went on the backstage tour, which we both remembered parts of from when we were there decades ago.  There were a lot of shows at Hollywood studios and we spent a lot of time in 30 minute sessions here and there.  Toy Story ended up being our favorite ride of the trip.  We went to Fantasmic, the night show there that evening.  It was okay but not as good as I was hoping.  Especially after we waited SO long to see it.

The third day we went to Animal Kingdom, which neither of us had ever visited since it opened way after we had last been there.  We didn't think it would have as much for us to see but we were wrong.  The park is HUGE.  We heard all of the other three parks would fit inside it and have 30 acres to spare.  HUGE!  So it was a lot of walking.  We really enjoyed the Finding Nemo Show and the Lion King show was cute too.  We both liked the Bugs 3-D show a lot and the safari ride was worth it (especially with a fast pass and no wait!)  We were able to see what we wanted to see and leave by 4 so we could get back to Magic Kingdom so catch the lighted parade from a better angle.  When we got to Magic Kingdom, we went to Mickey's Magic 3-D show that my niece recommended and it was cute.  Then we had supper and claimed our spot by the train for the light show.  We sat there for 2 hours, but it was worth it.  We had a perfect view and even got to see the fireworks again.

The last day we went to Epcot, which was largely what we remembered as kids.  Not nearly as fun as the other parks! :)  The entrance area was cool and had several space rides that were fun.  The one in the big globe was my favorite because it took a picture of us at the beginning and then put us in a little show at the end.  IT was funny because Sean had his mouth open in surprise and half of my face was completely missing because of my hat.  It looked very interesting. :)  We got to see the Michael Jackson Captain EO 3-D show, which we both slightly remembered seeing when we were younger.  We walked all the way around the World Showcase, which didn't impress us much.  I guess we're not into shopping and culture. :)  The Finding Nemo Ride was cute, though.  IT took longer to walk around all the rails then to go on the ride, even though there was no one in line.

We did miss out on Soarin, which is supposed to be the best ride there.  We should have gone straight there and gotten a fast pass but we didn't and when we got there, the fast passes had times of 8-9pm for return and the actual line was 90 minutes long so we didn't bother.  Maybe next time.  We watched the fireworks there that night, our actual anniversary.

The worst part of the trip was the exhaustion!  I guess we're not used to being up and going like that ALL day everyday!  I thought Kaelyn was tiring!  I felt WAY older than my 31 years on the trip.  About halfway through day 1 I started having back issues and spent the rest of the trip in mild to severe pain because of it.  Even though it was 90 for most of the days, I had a heating pad on it at all times and was popping asprin like candy just in the hopes of being able to walk.  It wasn't pretty and now, a full day after we're back, I'm still hurting.  We also found that we got up later everyday.  The first day it was like 8:30.  The second day 9.  By the last day, we didn't even make it to the park till 11!

It was a great trip, though and I can't wait to take Kaelyn back when she's a bit older, easier to manage, and would enjoy it all.  She'll have a ball and be just as tired as we were.  Hopefully. :)

As for Kaelyn, she did really well while we were gone.  I think she had a blast with Nana and Gramps and didn't really notice we weren't there until we came back.  When we drove into the driveway, I jumped out of the car before Sean could pull it into the garage because she was swimming out front and she came running over and threw herself at me and gave me a big hug.  I was so glad.  I thought she might ignore me and just keep playing. :)  She does that.  But she didn't.  She sat in my lap the rest of the afternoon, wrapping and unwrapping her Mickey stuffed animal.  She looks so much bigger!  Is that possible?  That I'd forgotten in just a few days?!  I guess so!  We're back into the swing of things today, though.  I think the break was good for us because I'm finding her games really amusing again.  Though I was glad for her nap today so I could try to catch up on some things.  Which I should probably go do now! :)

Now Sean and I know what all is at Disney so that when we take Kaelyn back, we'll know what she might like and what to avoid.  IT'll be a fun trip when it arrives.  I'm glad we went alone this time.  We saw enough kids melting down to be VERY glad it wasn't us!  And it was nice to get away just the two of us.  That hardly ever happens these days.  Now we'll have to start talking about our next big anniversary trip... hmm....