Disney part 1

When the chance came up, we jumped on it. Deals on the hotel, the plane tickets, and even a deal on the park tickets...we were in. A trip to Disney was planned, and then got pushed UP and all of the sudden we were going in March (before Champ turned 2 and we have to purchase a plane ticket for him...). Spring Break of all weeks, which we know will be crowded but at least Phillip won't be missing any ZOE and the girls won't miss any preschool. It was really fun to plan, and the planner in me even made a sheet protected binder with all the "to-do's", times for our planes, shuttles, park openings/closings, rides to go on, where to meet the characters, etc. I also decided the week before to make the girls pillowcase Minnie Mouse dresses...how hard could that be right? Well it really isn't...and after a few (many) mistakes, I did make them skirts and dresses and sewed mickey heads on some shirts the boys already had. I'm all about cheap and saving money...and this was a very inexpensive project. Only downside...because it was a surprise I didn't get to try it on them and the dresses are huge and the skirts are a little small... They happily wore them anyway and I was grateful. Phillip designs shirts all the time for ZOE, so when we saw some cute shirts on Etsy, he decided to just make his own for our family. Our original intent was to have the characters sign the backs of their shirts instead of getting an autograph book...but on the first day we found out they are not allowed to sign any clothing that you are wearing. Good thing our kids are so young they had no clue to get signatures anyway and didn't care at all:)
We told the kids a while ago that we were going to Disney, but kept the flying part a surprise until the night before. I had also purchased Minnie and Mickey plush animals from the Disney store about a month ago when they had a buy 1 get 1 free deal. I went to Walmart, $1 Tree and Party City (this was the best place to go) and got lots of great Disney items for $1 each. I made little bags with their names on them and each day while we were there they got to open presents to take to the park and play with. This really did help curb the appeal of ALL the crazy expensive souvenirs at the park. We also had the taxi driver stop at CVS on the way to the hotel and I ran in and bought bread, water bottles, diapers, and some grapes. I had packed PB&J and tons of granola bars so we were able to make our own lunches every day (Disney lets you bring in your own food). Our hotel (we stayed off the Park about a mile away) had an amazing continental breakfast each morning and we took advantage of that. We only ate at the park once for dinner, and other nights ate pizza by the pool when we came home. We did eat ice cream EVERY DAY at the park...I could not resist the chocolate covered mickey head ice cream...SO FUN and great and needed because it was hot there! Three things we couldn't live without
1. Planning in advance...we saw so many families who were just arriving in flip flops, no food/water, no stroller...I would have cried when I walked in the park and saw the crazy amount of people there...
2. 2 double strollers. Our kids needed a safe place to sit while we manuvered through the park amidst ALL the people. There is a LOT of walking and they would have been complaigning by the time we made it to the gate if we hadn't had two strollers. We took our own, and we rented one from a company there in Orlando. It was NICE (I have a stroller obsession so this was fun for me to get to push it all week), and they bring it to your hotel, its there when we check in...and they pick it up from your hotel after you leave. It was MUCH nicer than the Disney park strollers, cheaper and you get to keep it with you all week so you don't have to turn it in each day and then drag your kids to the monorail, shuttle, hotel without a stroller. It was essential.
3. My fanny pack. Yes, I wore a fanny pack ALL week. I would have totally worn it around my waist not caring a bit what I looked like all week...but Phillip had me wear it over my shoulder like a satchel and I have to say...that thing was amazing. We could leave our strollers parked while we went on rides/to shows and all our important info was attached to me and safe. It wasn't as heavy or hot as a backpack...it was so perfect.
Taking 4 kids so young in age to Disney was quite an event and I felt a little like a traveling circus with people staring at us everywhere we went. It was not always easy and we had plenty of complaining kids and fits to overcome...many times Phillip and I would look at each other like "we must be crazy". But over and above, it was worth it! And we did a lot of keeping our eyes on our kids...especially after the first day at the airport when I was talking with some people and turn around and Champ is GONE! He ran around the corner and was all the way at the walking escalator before I got to him...scary. This is another reason I liked that we wore matching shirts at the park every day...people know we belong together and actually help us keep track of our kids. I also made lanyards for the kids and had our important info on them in case the kids got lost someone would know who to call.
And finally, we had the time of our life. Disney is awesome and everything is magical and done so well. The first night when we walked in it was about 6pm and we walked straight up to Cinderella's Castle and a show began. They see all their favorite characters as part of this singing/dancing show...complete with fireworks at the end. It was awesome. We then went and rode "It's a Small World" and then "Winnie the Pooh" and headed back for the "Wishes" fireworks display. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. We headed through the very crowded main street hoping to catch our shuttle back to the hotel in time, and a lady who lives in Orlando saw us and helped us get on the monorail to the resorts saying it was actually faster than the one for the "commuters". That saved us a TON of time and what an added blessing she was to our night, especially when we made it back in time and realized we wouldn't have if not for her.
And finally, on to the pictures:)
These are just from the first day...I'll add other days later















blessed blessed blessed
Woke up this morning and Phillip had made a 32 min dvd of our trip with pictures/video, all set to Disney songs...made me cry happy tears. SO Blessed and grateful and thankful for my family. For my LORD who gives us good gifts and blessings and for His favor and protection over us on this trip. Though in these pictures our kids are all smiling, our life is not perfect or easy on any day, but blessed...yes, we are blessed:) Thank you Jesus!!