Not only did we survive, I can honestly say we had a great time. I can also honestly say it was without question the most physically exhausting vacation we have ever taken.
By my calculations we spent 60 hours of last week in theme parks. I'm still amazed at how well the girls held up, especially considering daytime temperatures hovering in the mid-90's.
They really hung in there, kept up with me and Keith (or did we keep up with them?), and only complained about the heat once and that was on Day 6.
A detailed account of our trip is just too overhwelming too think about right now, but I do want to record some things before I forget them, so in no particular order, here are a few Disney memories:
1. Day 1 - Peanut is beside herself with excitement .... about riding a bus. Disney buses transport resort guests from their hotels to and from the parks. We are on our way to the Magic Kingdom in one of them now, and Peanut keeps looking around and giddily whispering, "I can't believe we're riding a real BUS!"
2. Day 5 - En route back to the hotel, Peanut announces, "I hate these buses. They're no fun any more".
3. Riding Splash Mountain in Magic Kingdom ... while slowly being chain-cranked up a steep hill, you see nothing but sky until at the very top of the hill, the Cinderella Castle comes into view. You have .5 seconds to reflect on its beauty before the bottom drops out from under you and you are sent screaming down the other side. Coolest view in the whole park.
4. There are people in this world who will flatten you with a stroller on their way to meet Mickey. And they won't even think twice about it (shudder).
5. Heaven is a cold, wet bandanna around your neck on a 95-degree day in a concrete jungle.
6. I heard the phrase "That was SO AWESOME!!!" about 1000 times during the week.
7. After riding Rock n' Rollercoaster with Sissy, I was saying it too. That baby goes zero to sixty in less than 3 seconds!
8. We saw child after tired, overstimulated child in various stages of emotional meltdown .... almost all appeared to be under six or so. We watched parents struggle to quickly fold and unfold contrary strollers as they were boarding the buses. And it made us SOOO thankful that we waited until the girls were older before trying this. At 9 and 8, they were old enough to go on their own power and take last minute changes in plans in stride, but still young enough to get into meeting the characters and riding Dumbo.
9. If heaven is a wet bandanna, the pineapple ice cream floats in Adventureland are the next closest thing.
10. When walking through crowds I still instinctively reach for my daughters' hands. At Disneyworld though, it was so hot we held pinkies instead.
11. Speaking of hands, if my daughter's learned only one thing last week it was how to wash theirs. Three females means several bathroom trips per day. With swine flu and other nasty bugs making the news, I taught a course in Handwashing with every bathroom trip. We would have contests to see who could scrub up the most suds on their hands. Then we would rinse , dry, and leave, avoiding door handles like the plague -- and board the next ride, holding onto a lapbar that thousands of other hands had already touched that day. Thank goodness for hand sanitizer.
There should be no more to that place than you can see and do in three days. After which, you could use the remainder of a week's vacation to go lie on a beach and recover.
We made it home in one day --- 12 hours and 15 minutes to be exact. The girls did so well traveling, that I wonder if in a year they might be ready for that Northwest trip we've always wanted to take .... Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons ..... but that's too much to think about right now.
It's good to be home.
