A Wish is a Dream Your Heart Makes…

We are back…from our very first trip to Disney! In our 8 years of parenting, we hadn’t been–Rico Suave went last when he was in the 6th grade and I went for a day when I was 5 with my grandparents…so it had been awhile! For the past 8 years for our time off we’d been going to Zambia–and taking additional time off for Rico for fairyland just wasn’t in the cards. Rico squeezed in a trip to Zambia for the ministry we are a part of there in June–and I’d chosen not to go as we were expecting…and hosting a teen for the summer. But when Rico Suave asked me if there was anything he could do as we went through a weekend of tough loss that last weekend in August–I didn’t hesitate…smiled and said, “Disney.”

And so we went. We went during homeschool week through the Youth Disney program–so we made it a little educational fun…and getting a huge discount on the tickets was pretty sweet too. I know a lot of believers some times have a hard time with the extravagance and empire of Disney–but there are a lot of great things about it too…like seeing your children’s eyes light up when they see Mickey or a Princess…to catch yourself wiping away a tear as they cover their eyes to make a wish at Cinderella’s table…or sitting next to your 2nd grade boy on a roller and listening to him squeal with delight and shout, “Oh yeah! That’s what I’m talking about! WOOHOO!” It was really a sweet time with our family–and we brought my mom and mother-in-law along for fun.

Here’s a peak into some of my most favorite moments…

Apparently getting a reservation for Cinderella’s table is quite an act of Congress. It was full when we called 6 weeks before when we decided to take our last minute trip. But I called back one day when I was having just one of those days–and there was an opening! It really was quite a fun treat. And Frank said he wanted to go. Soooo…what does a boy wear to Cinderella’s table?? He gets decked out in his best pirate gear of course!

Loo-bear loved meeting all the princesses–especially her favorite…Belle…

And Frank–he took his wish making during the wish making ceremony quite seriously–this is one of those moments you want to bottle up…

We had a day at the park before the grandmothers got there–after comparing the 2…we decided we’ll never do Disney again without the help of the grandmothers! Here is our sweet crew on day 1 in front of the carousel…

I had to snag this picture to remember the memory. The kids liked the race cars way TOO much for mine and Rico’s taste. We still have whip lash:)

Because the Cinderella’s Table opening was only available BEFORE the grand moms got there, we also did Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot. (HONESTLY-they are the same…the food is the same at both–(if you want to know the real difference if you are ever going and want to decide between the two…at Cinderella’s table they get a plastic wand and wishing star and at Akershus they get to walk with the princesses–same exact ones as at Cinderella’s table–in a royal procession). It was SO MUCH FUN to share this with the grandmothers…while Rico Suave chased the 3 boys around the world at Epcot!

Here’s Loo and me before the dinner…

All I have to say about this next picture–is I just love how Loo-bear is holding her hand…

Isaac had a near panic attack when we came out of Buzz Lightyear and he saw Buzz standing there. He ran right to him and gave him a pound! I’ll never forget him SCREAMING, “BUZZ WHITE YE-ER!” in his little squeaky voice…

THEN…the most rememberable moments of all was right after the Dream Along with Mickey show on Saturday…

We have a dear friend who worked for Disney for awhile who wanted to surprise us with a special meet-and-greet time. She didn’t say who all would be there, but we were just told to go tell someone who we were after the show…and they led us around to Cinderella’s castle. They took us into a private room–and to my surprise when we walked in was EVERY princess and prince in the show AND Mickey and Minnie–and they were all lined up just to spend time with our family!!! It was SUCH A FUN TREAT for the kids!

The lighting was dim–and I didn’t have my flash–so it was tough to get pictures but we did get video I’ll have to upload later. Frank ran right into the arms of Minnie Mouse…

Isaac choose to run first to Mickey…

The kids slowly but surely made their way around the circle of new friends…

We had passed every character meet-and-greet with a line while we’d been there all week because we wanted to try and get in all the fun we could–and this was a real treat as they got all their meet-and-greets at once! It was such a sweet and magical time for the kids!

It TRULY was a sweet time together for our kids! I’m so thankful that we had WAITED to go…and that they haven’t grown up going each and every year as I think it’s something that might be fun for our family to do every 4-5 years. I only went for 1 day as a 5 year old and I have sweet memories from that DAY–and I am actually thankful it wasn’t something my family put high on the priority list of things to do. Disney is FUN. It IS magical. It is really amazing to see your children light up and giggle…BUT Richard and I also felt such a void of Christ there. There are lots of pagodas represented in different parts of the world…my children heard their first curse words this past week…and although Disney staff is full of HAPPY…it was very obvious that there is something grand, out of this world amazing, and truly something missing being celebrated at this empire of Disney. Sure they might put Jesus in the Christmas parade–but who doesn’t do that? They are politically correct–and for our family who loves to sing hymns together, pray together, speak truth into each others hearts…I also felt a huge emptiness there and saw that in the eyes of so many people. I want to be careful not to put into the hearts of my children the need or desire to need to be entertained and as it’s truly hard to top Disney entertainment…I wouldn’t want to put that in front of them to much–as that need could look quite different when Mickey is no longer something you squeal at. For this trip it was magical…it was sweet…it was something I’d like to take the kids to enjoy in 4 or 5 years again–and I’m super thankful for how special this trip really was made to be!

I also have to follow that up with there are lots of spiritual lessons to be had here AS WELL. Learning to put others first…to truly live in the moment…to be together–to have fun together–to get away and retreat together. There is something amazing about seeing your little ones light up when they see a character they love–and it feels like such a safe place to be. You get to talk about what is real…and what is not real…and to just squeal with delight with one another. Seeing your child shake with excitement as they jump up and down and wave at a character…reminds me of the joy I will one day feel when I get to heaven and see Jesus face to face. It will be real…and now I can dream about that moment. I wish every child got to experience such fun here on Earth…it truly is a sweet, fun time to simply getting to BE A KID.

Now…just for fun–I’ve shared our most memorable and happy moments–but you can imagine it wasn’t easy with 4 littles 8 and under either. SO…just for your entertainment, I’ve made my top “Nothing Could be Worse with Toddlers at Disney” list from our …in hopes that it will help BETTER PREPARE you on your next trip with toddlers!

NOTHING COULD BE WORSE THAN…

5. Getting off the Dinosaur Ride at Animal Kingdom to realize your 3 year old is now bare-foot…and lost his shoes in the ride. Nope. There’s no getting those back. And the code of new SHOES at Disney World??? Nice. Nothing is worse than that except for…

4. Running across to the other side of Magic Kingdom by yourself to get Fast Passes for Splash Mountain while grand moms ride Dumbo and realizing once you get there that you don’t have the tickets in your pocket to get them…and now you’ve gotta run all the way back…and then a couple miles back again…EXCEPT FOR…

3. Waiting in line for 30 minutes for It’s a Small World for the 3rd time because your youngest loves it SO MUCH…and then feeling like you are really on Stitch’s Great Escape instead of a peaceful ride because of the dude RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU forgot to put on deodorant this morning…all the while your two 3 years olds are asking REALLY LOUD for everyone in your boat to hear, “What smells? Does someone have a poopy?” NOTHING could be worse than that except FOR…

2. An actual poopy…by your 3 year old–a blow out…on Saturday night at Magic Kingdom…JUST as Jiminy Cricket makes his appearance…so you and your sweetie miss the ENTIRE finale…as you are in a bathroom stall cleaning him up. THEN–you realize you don’t have another change of clothes…so you have to come out in a PULL-UP…and people already stare because you look so different–and he is crying that he’s cold. SO…you head in another gift shop for an outfit. And you thought the shoes were expensive;).

and the #1…nothing could be worse with toddlers at Disney is…

1. Breaking down and saying yes to ONE 3 year old after the Pooh ride–that YES…you will buy the stuffed Tiger for him…and then you all turn around to realize the other 3 year old is G-O-N-E. Yep…the #1 Nothing Could be Worse at Disney with Toddlers…is losing your toddler at Disney among the thousands of people. THANKFULLY–Disney even has a system for that…and it only lasted a terrible 10 minutes.

Last but not least…if you are planning a trip soon–here are our 2 cents for what they are worth…

1. Stay onsite or close by. MAKE SURE they have a shuttle running to the parks several times every hour! (We stayed off site and drove in—it was okay–but we never used our kitchen because our kids wanted to get up early and hit Disney…and they even wanted to stay late.)

2. If you have kids 10 and under–RENT a stroller. We rented our stroller from outside of Disney and they dropped off the stroller at our hotel and picked it up after we left. If you have littles who may nap–I’d rent a more comfy, less expensive stroller. We used Baby Wheels Orlando and we were very happy with their service. BUT we also ended up renting a regular one for the 6 and 8 year olds during the day too. The day we had TWO strollers was the BEST DAY because everyone had a place to sit, and it was SO MUCH EASIER to keep up and not lose a child when they weren’t having to take turns in the double stroller. The stroller is a MUST at Disney!

3. If you are going to Hollywood Studios and staying for Fantasmic–consider doing one of the Fantasmic Dining Experiences! It was SO worth it! They save you seating for the show so you don’t have to get there early and save a seat for an hour ahead of time. It was by FAR the BEST SHOW during our week. Every adult agreed…it was truly amazing!

4. Take a backpack full of protein and carb snacks. You can also buy water bottles at Target that have the water filter system in them so you can keep refilling your water bottle as needed in the water fountains.

5. The best place to see the fireworks at Magic Kingdom really is in front of the President’s Hall. NO ONE is there because they try to get near the castle–but unless your kid had a blow out just as the show started and you got to see them in different locations as you scouted out a bathroom…then you might not know that;). Remind me of this when we go back in 4-5 years;)

6. The MOST fun you’ll ever have is when the park stays open until midnight! I would encourage you to try it just once with your older kids and let someone else swap out taking the littler ones home to sleep. My mom and I had the BEST night with our 6 and 8 year old. 10pm to 12am…we knocked out more rides in 2 hours with NO LINES than we did all day!!! It was such a fun memory together!!!

7. Skip the lines for meeting characters and try to do a princess meal–if you aren’t on the dining plan and want to save $…make reservations at the one in Epcot in Norway (Akershus Royal Banquet Hall).

AND my last but not least recommendation…

8. If you have littles–consider twisting your mom and mother-in-laws arms to go with you!!! Sharing the memories and having some extra hands are so worth it!!!

Blessings y’all!!!

And we have some really exciting news to share soon…I think we will be ready to share THIS week!!! Thankful to be back and so thankful for what is ahead!!! Thank you mom and Gigi for going with us last week…we are so thankful for both of you!!! And thank you Melanie for making our week truly unforgettable!

MUCH LOVE!

Andrea