Our trip to DISNEY in a nut shell....

As I sit down and begin the blog about our trip to Disney, I feel overwhelmed with how much there is to share!

To begin, it was a trip of lots of UPS and DOWNS. But isn't that what family vacations are for :)

The girls had a blast; the trip of their childhood thus far. They went into the trip with these TOP 3 things in mind (which we successfully accomplished!):

1. Meet as many characters as possible (especially princesses, Jake and Anna and Elsa)
2. See as many shows as possible
3. Swim

And as there mother, I was bound and determined to give them the Disney trip they wanted :) Rob on the other hand wasn't quite sure we had to meet "every" character but was a champ and did it for his girls. 

So we set out on the cruise all fresh (Ashley was getting over strep and Anna did have a minor cause of the runs but we were feeling good) and ready for what laid ahead. The cruise was awesome and things actually went our way (except for us missing play time with Peter Pan in the Kids Center). It felt like a lot was crammed into the 3 days we were on the ship (my teacher "planning" personality would have meshed better with a longer cruise) but it was great. Character meets, awesome Broadway nightly shows (Anna's favorite part of the trip), a fun pirate night, an amazing private island in the Bahamas and great service and food. Really the only thing I didn't care for were the pools. They were tiny and super crowded and since they were playing movies on the jumbo screen on the pool deck you had children so focused on the movie that they forgot they were in a pool (by the way never would I want the job as a Disney Cruise pool life guard). And another negative of the pool; swim diapers weren't allowed so Abby was only able to hang out in the splash pad which she hated. And try to tell Abby she can't get in a pool with her sisters; not fun :) But all in all, the cruise was a success!

Then we headed to Disney. Things were looking up and in our favor. We were off the ship, shuttled to disney and checked into the hotel room by 9:45 am and were ready to hit Magic Kingdom. That was until Ashley started throwing up and throwing up until 4:30 that night. So needless to say, Ashley and Daddy missed out on the first day in Disney (which ended up forcing us to combine 2 days of planned stuff at the Magic Kingdom into 1 day. Don't try it, it's impossible and overwhelming). So with Daddy at the hotel with Ashley, I tried to tackle my first day in Disney solo with Anna and Ashley. Single parenting multiple children is no fun in Disney. Folding the double stroller, carrying a baby and then finding a place to sit on crowded Disney transportation (ugh- next time we are paying the big bucks and staying on the monorail) is not my idea of fun. But we survived. Anna, Abby and I tackled a good 2 1/2 hours of fun in the sun at the Magic Kingdom (unfortunately we couldn't use all our fast passes since Abby was too young for some rides and Anna didn't want to meet any characters without Ashley) until it started pouring down rain on us. I was prepared for rain so I got out the stroller tarp, clips and poncho's Keeping spirits high and not letting the rain ruin our time, I tried to convince Anna that there is no better place to be when it's raining then Disney but after hours and hours of rain, she thought I was crazy :) So we head back to catch a bus covered in plastic tarps and ponchos and on the way Abby falls asleep. So Anna and I decide to press some pennies and window shop until she wakes up. After several concerned people asked me if my child was ok napping in plastic Abby woke up after an hour nap and we tackled the way home in the rain. And then we joined Ashley and Daddy at dinner at the fast service food court in our resort.

Day 2 Disney- Magic Kingdom- We wake up to a sunny day in Orlando with Ashley in much better spirits. So we headed out with 1000 of our closest friends to see the Welcome show and open up the Magic Kingdom. We had a fun first hour riding the rides as a family (Peter Pan was a favorite) until we realized Ashley's hands and feet were one big swollen rash. Panic set in and we got a whole of Aunt Laura (Dr. Laura!) and figured out it was a reaction to the virus Ashley had had the day prior. Ashley kept taking her socks off and itching like crazy. Poor baby. People were looking at us like we were crazy letting our child go shoeless in a stroller in Disney (they probably thought she had measles or something when they saw how red/swollen she was!). After what felt like days of searching for children's benedryl we finially found some and were able to go on our character/ride hunt. We met most of the characters that we hadn't meet in the cruise that the girls wanted to meet at the Magic Kingdom, ate lunch at the Beasts castle (we tried the grey stuff and it was delicious!), rode rides, ate snacks and had a good 5 hours of family fun at Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom. Things were looking up...... We headed home for a nap around 3 and that is when it all went downhill again for the Stilley's. This time is was Abby throwing up non stop. So after naps, I took Anna and Ashley out to eat at a character meal with Cinderella, Prince Charming and the Step Family. After a series of transportation delays we arrived 30 minutes late but still got to meet the crew :) And eat. Then after dinner we went to see the Magic Kingdom at night and Anna decided she likes it best at night. It was so crowded, it was crazy (I think it was because fireworks were canceled the night before due to rain because it was like bumper to bumper crowded). I don't know how we managed to do it but we got through the crowds waiting to see the fireworks but we got through to ride on last ride, the Magic Carpets. And to our surprise we had one of the best views of fireworks! So we rode it 2 times :) Then we went back and watched the Castle "come to life." As we were heading out, the girls got to watch the beginning of the electrical lights parade but since it was 10 we had to keep heading home. This is where I sprinted probably 1/4 of a mile to try to catch our bus only to see it pull out when I was literally yards away. And in Disney world that means at least another 20 minutes for another bus :( Magic Kingdom was intense. I really think you need 3 days there. We only made it to 1 of the 4 areas of the park and could have easily spent more time there. If sickness hadn't gotten in our way I think we would have had a better experience. The girls thought it was magical.

Day 3 Disney- Epcot- We all sleep in. Abby wakes up feeling great, Mommy wakes up with the runs. Yes, it may be too much information but I had it bad. We took our time that morning and got to Epcot around 10:30. Rode some rides (Favorite was Soarin where it felt like we were flying), went to the World Showcase to travel around the world and meet more characters, ate some good food, tried different Coca Cola's from around the world and walked around and shopped. All while Mommy hit up at least 20 different bathrooms in the World Showcase. If you ever need to know where a bathroom is Epcot, I'm your lady :) But at least the kids were feeling well. We let Abby nap in her stroller by the fountain where she got a good hour of sleep. During her nap the girls and I shopped for souvenirs. After the nap, we went on come ride and then headed to our 5:00 character dinner with the princesses. Abby starts puking once again (only once) during dinner. Then we headed home. Overall we liked Epcot. Epcot was low key and less crowded; it was just a little intense getting our girls to the characters they wanted to meet during the times they were available while having the runs :)

Last day- Day 4 Disney- Hollywood Studios- We checked out of the hotel at 7:20 and got to the park before park opening for an 8 am breakfast with the Disney Junior clan. It was a blast and Ashley's favorite part of the entire trip. Abby puked once during breakfast but by this time it was no surprise that someone was sick. We just felt so sorry for her. We walked around Hollywood studios, enjoyed shows, rode the tower of "terrible," ate lunch, and enjoyed the most relaxed day we had in Disney (mostly in part to not having many characters to meet). Rob left early to get our rental car and after almost not getting a car, we left Disney to head to Destin. The 6 hour car ride went great. That is until Abby started puking in the car as we were within sight of the house. Sweet. Hollywood Studio was fun. So many people told us not much was there but we were able to easily fill 7 hours since our girls LOVE performances and shows.

Destin- Was nice being at the beach with family. Abby continued to puke off and on; Ashley had a little bug which caused her to dry heave and feel sick for a god 5 hours and Rob and I were under the weather one morning. But besides sickness we played on the beach, went into Seaside a couple of times, ate good food, went out to a nice adult cousin dinner, painted tiles on Valentines day, Rob went for a nice bike ride and tried to catch up on rest and relaxation before our flight home Monday.

Haha.... hear how I said flight?!?!?! Well that didn't happen. The icing on the cake. Sickness had already exhausted us and made us more lax on things we couldn't control but this was the icing on the cake. Winter Storm 2015 caused ice/snow to hit every state east of Missouri. This shouldn't have been a problem because we didn't drive and those are the states you drive through but see we were flying through Nashville. And they were under 1-2 inches of ice. When booking the flight I even took note of our layover in Nashville thinking that it was better then Chicago and that we'd be ok in February flying through Nashville. Not so much. Our flight was cancelled and the earliest flight they could get us on was 3 days later; Thursday at 4 pm. Normally being stuck at the beach is a good thing but Rob has got to work to pay for our trip :) So we decided to drive. Not drive straight home (which takes around 16 hours) but to go around path of the ice storm. That involved driving straight west to Shreveport, LA and straight north to KC, a 19 hour drive. So we contacted AVIS to extend the rental of our car and they wanted close to $1000 more. You have got to be kidding me. So we headed in the opposite direction of NE to switch rental cars and get a minivan for $380, easily adding 2 hours onto the trip. And then we drove from 12-9 that day and 7-6 the next day. We split the driving up with a horrible night sleep at a Super 8. They don't have pack n plays or cribs and neither did we. Rob and Abby tried to sleep together on a bed pushed up against the wall. I slept in between Anna and Ashley sideways on a bed. Needless to say, no one slept much :) The girls were amazing the entire trip, no one got sick (thank the lord) but at this point we just wanted to be home. Rob did mention that during the drive I became a drill sergeant and was on a mission to get home. In my defense if I hadn't been the trip would have taken us 22 hours instead of 20 :)

So there it is, the drama of our trip in a nutshell. I hope I don't sound too negative because it really was a great trip. But so much happened that we couldn't control. And that was hard for me. You spend so much time (and money) planning a trip (that you probably won't go on again) and then it all goes astray. I had to keep reminding myself that the girls were having a blast and not to get too upset over stuff we couldn't control. As the trip came to a close and as I was beginning to panic during the first hour of the 20 hour car ride, my sweet girls reminded me, "Akunamatata means no mommy and daddy worries!" And I tried my hardest to have no worries.... :)

More posts to come with pictures and stories! Until then :)