Shortly before my summer break started, my husband and I purchased annual passes for Walt Disney World. Their monthly payment program made it possible for us financially, and as we live only a couple hours away from the Happiest Place on Earth, we are likely to visit frequently.
TLB visited all four Disney parks this summer. Although he had been to Walt Disney World at 6 months old, he was really more like a piece of baggage than a visitor at that point. I don't mean "baggage" in the negative, relationship issue sort of way. It's just that we carried him around, but the trip wasn't really for him.
This time, it was all about him. It was the first time he could really take in the experience and enjoy it. In a way, it was a first time for me, too. I've been to Walt Disney World literally hundreds of times, but this was my first real time experiencing it with my child. The whole experience was different than any Disney experience I remember.
With a toddler, you do different things.
You stand in line for character visits.
You watch the parades, instead of using parade times to take advantage of slightly shorter ride lines.
You ride Dumbo and the Carousel instead of roller coasters.
You stay two nights in a hotel instead of making it a day trip, so your kid can spend midday napping in a dark, air-conditioned room.
And you somehow manage to have the most magical time of your life.
Our trip to the Magic Kingdom was my favorite, because we experienced so much that was new. We ate breakfast at the Cape May Cafe at the Yacht and Beach Club Resorts and were visited by Goofy, Minnie and Donald. We stood in line at the park to visit Daisy, Pluto, Mickey and Minnie. We danced at the "Move It! Shake It! Dance Party" on Main Street and again at Chip, Dale and Stitch's dance party in Tomorrowland. We let TLB stay up past his bedtime to see the Main Street Electrical Parade, but left before the fireworks.
It was our first Disney trip in over a decade that we didn't spend an evening at EPCOT to see IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth. This is tradition for our family, as my dad was the manager of the production team that built the barge that carries the Earth globe. We did see the show when we visited over Memorial Day weekend, but TLB was terrified by it (to be fair, it does start off rather loud, fiery and violent). So we gave it a miss this time -- we'll pick up the tradition when he's a little older.
