Oh wow, I can't believe this trip has come and gone. It was somewhat last minute for a Disneyworld trip. Kyle came home one day in Mid-November and said he had a Christmas present for me, but the boys might like it more. So immediately I thought, wow this is a great present. I don't even get my own presents anymore, awesome. He really wanted to plan it without me and surprise us all around Christmas, but being the smart man he is, he knew that wasn't a possibility without totally stressing me out. I'm not much of a planner as it is, I kinda prefer to go with the flow and not have every second of my trip planned out, but in this case I needed to know. So we sat down and started looking at where to begin. I got really overwhelmed and kinda wished he had just surprised me after all. We took a couple days break and then I was ready to look at it again. We picked the days we wanted to go and from there started planning it all out. We figured the week that everyone went back to school after Christmas break would be an ideal time...and...we were right. We are fully aware Jett will not remember any of this trip and Holt will be lucky if he remembers anything as well. However, we have pictures to prove it was the time of our lives! One perk of Kyle and all his traveling, he gets a lot of points for additional travel. This trip was one of those perks. We did have to sit through a 2 hours Hilton rewards meeting in which they would comp our entire trip, airfare and hotel. In addition to that, we had to pay $150. So we made it through the meeting without getting suckered and voila, we got a trip to Disneyworld for $150 plus park tickets. We figured with the boys being so young, and this trip being so cheap, why not go ahead and go and learn the ropes. That way our next trip will be easy peasy. Holt really is at a magical age to discover Disneyworld. He had a wonderful time. To see the joy in his eyes day after day was just truly a dream for Kyle and I. He was so excited to meet his favorite characters and to see him laugh on rides was just so magical.
We left the house at 5am on Thursday for the airport. The boys were a dream come true on the plane, I think they were still very sleepy. We went to Epcot the first day. We got as far as buying ears (you bet I got me some, it was my first trip to Disneyworld too!) and riding the Nemo ride, which we walked onto with no wait, before the torrential downpour started. We were not going to let that stop us from having fun, so $40 later in Disneyworld ponchos and we were ready to go! We did grab a bite to eat while it was raining and we spent some time at an inside play area before braving the rain. Luckily the sun came out and we were ready to see the rest of Epcot. I would have liked to spend more time here but with it already being a short day and the rain, we were limited. There really is not a whole lot to do there for kids, so it worked out for them. Jett was ready to sleep so I walked him around while Kyle took Holt to see Donald in Mexico.
Holt decided he had to see Anna and Elsa from Frozen. We told him there was a long line and they were taking a break, but Jett was still sleeping so Kyle said he didn't mind waiting while I took Holt to look around some more. So for two hours Kyle waited. Holt went to meet Snow White and get a pretzel from Germany. We returned to the line and luckily only had to wait another 20 minutes or so. Queen Elsa invited me, a Queen as she called me, to stand by her. Holt has been singing the Frozen songs since we've seen the movie twice and it was his entertainment on the airplane. I know he's a boy, but if he wants to meet some pretty princesses then by golly he can meet some pretty princesses! They're all celebrities to him.
After this, it was time for dinner and almost time for the Illuminations show. Holt was mesmerized by the fireworks but Jett was not. He wanted OUT of there. And he was exhausted. Somehow Holt managed to stay awake all day, even with a 4:45AM wake up time. I don't know how he did it!
The next morning after our Hilton meeting was over at 10, we headed to Hollywood Studios. This was a day of characters. Unfortuntely, the Toy Story Mania ride was out of service which was a big time bummer for us. Holt had no idea, but we were sad. We had a character lunch at Hollywood and Vine with some Disney Jr. characters including Jake, Special Agent Oso, Handy Manny and June from Little Einsteins. Again, to see the excitement in his eyes was pure joy. We went to the Disney Jr Live show after lunch and headed over to meet Buzz and Woody. Daddy waited in line with Holt while I sat on a bench while Jett slept for a bit. This poor kid was running on E. A 45 minute nap was better than nothing, but I'm sure he would have slept for hours had we been back at the hotel. No time for naps, gotta see Disneyworld! We were headed over to the Star Wars area when we stumbled upon a street lined with characters. Belle walked over and took Holt out of his stroller and personally walked him along the street to meet all the characters he wanted to meet. There were so many characters! Chip and Dale were also very playful and they played with his new Zurg toy. Daddy spoiled Holt the entire trip and said he would do it all over again. He pretty much got anything his little heart desired. We walked to the Star Wars store where Daddy let Holt build his own light saber. I took Jett to watch the Jedi training academy, where kids 4 and up learn to fight Darth Vader in person. He comes out with his own light saber and everything! From here we recharged by sitting and having some snacks and an adult beverage (or 2) while watching the Jedi training again, this time Holt was in tears and terrified of Darth Vader. Then we headed to Pizza Planet for dinner.
An arcade is a great place for two little boys to walk around and "play" games. I don't know how much money Kyle spent trying to win one of those aliens for Holt, but he sure tried. We started to make our way to the Fantasmic show at 7 only to discover that it had been cancelled for technical difficulties. How in the world were we going to keep these boys happy for another hour and a half before the next show, oh take them to another gift shop of course. Also let them stuff their faces with ice cream sandwiches. Before we knew it, it was time for the show. I enjoyed it, but it was mostly about the villains and my sensitive Holt is not a fan of the bad guys. He mostly watched with his eyes peering through his fingers.
It was now day 3 and we were ready for Magic Kingdom and all the magic it had in store for us. This park could easily be a 2 day park! Luckily since it was the slow time of year, the longest wait we had was maybe 10 minutes. Also thanks to FastPass we were able to wait in line without waiting, allowing us to ride everything we wanted to that day. Holt's favorite by far was the Buzz Lightyear ride where you can defeat Zurg. I think Jett's favorite was It's a Small World because there was just so much to see. Holt got a little upset on The Little Mermaid ride because, well, Ursula is just really 'cary to him. Kyle and I actually took turns and rode on Space Mountain. It was our trip too...and yes, I still had my ears on. We walked all over Magic Kingdom seeing shows and riding rides. We did it all that day. Buzz Lightyear, Tea Cups, Dumbo, Magic Carpet Ride, It's a Small World, Peter Pan, you name it if Holt and Jett could ride, we did it! Right after Peter Pan, we decided to head over to the circle in front of the castle for the parade. And here came the rain again. We all got in our ponchos and found a great spot. Holt finally gave in and slept for the first time, aside from night time, in 3 days. After waiting for the parade for about 20 minutes...it was cancelled. We decided to call it a day because there was no way we could wait for the fireworks to start over an hour a later, if they started at all. This day we had to ride the monorail back to parking, which I was dreading. We saw the line for the monorail and could not figure out how to get there. We were so frustrated because it was pouring. Even the ponchos weren't helping. Somehow we saw the monorail in front of us and walked right up to get in line. This was too good to be true. Why were there thousands of people in line for the one on the other side and we managed to walk right up to the door of this one? It was a true blessing. As our monorail was about to pull away and take us back to the parking lot, the other one with the thousands of people in line, shut down for maintenance. How could this be? We got truly lucky. After getting absolutely soaked running back to the car, we had survived our 3 days at Disneyworld. We made it back to the hotel and were even able to relax after the boys went to bed. It was truly a special trip. As much "work" as it was with the boys being so young, I would do it all over again just to see the joy and excitement on their faces. I wouldn't change a thing! We live a blessed life and I am so grateful for it.
The plane ride on the way back, was not so nice as the one going. Jett was that kid who screamed the entire time. Kyle and I were at a complete loss. I was 99% sure he was going to fall asleep immediately and sleep the entire time, I was so wrong. He was beyond tired, he couldn't even calm down. Holt also stayed awake the entire plane ride home some how. We were so tired when we got home, but again, it was the trip of a lifetime for us and we would leave again tomorrow...ok not really, but sometime in the near future and do it all again!
