The Beginning of Family Vacations

This week’s PBN  http://blog.parentbloggers.com blog blast sponsored by PickPackGo http://www.pickpackgo.com/family says tell us about your family vacations. Hmm that’s a little hard because the Dr. and I are firm believers that you can’t spell v-a-c-a-t-i-o-n with k-i-d. We did not take them here. And they did not go when the Dr. went here. And they will not be going with me here either. We either vacation sans child or separately. For now.

However, Puddin’ is FuzzyHead’s biggest cheerleader when it comes to potty training because we’ve told her there will be no Disney Cruises until after everyone poops on the potty. Mickey will do a lot for your kids but he draws the line at wiping their butts.

The reason she is so excited over this prospect is:

1. She’s heard all about it from many friends. Disney cruises are the vacation of choice down here in the land of sunshine. Once one boards the ship you can check your kids into various activities while you head up to the lido deck for cocktails, sunshine, and quiet. “We’ll entertain your kids” is built into the cost of the tickets.
2. She got her first taste of both vacations and Disney this year as the Dr. and I took her on her first trip to the Magic Kingdom solo to celebrate the start of kindergarten.

I’ve been meaning to post about that for a month now so let’s talk about that shall we……

It was just what you hope your kids first vacation is going to be: Magic.

We did a good job of not biting off more than we wondered if she could chew. A day in the Magic Kingdom was perfect for a 5 year old. We were there when the gates opened and headed straight for the Peter Pan ride. If you haven’t heard Puddin’ is a Peter Pan freak. Every princess in the world can suck it as far as she’s concerned Peter is her homey. (And for the record she prefers Jane, Wendy’s daughter, over Wendy – cause Jane was the first Lost Girl) 

While she was still high on pixie dust we whisked her onto Space Mountain before she could protest. And she did really well,  only getting a little shaky at the end during the vertical corkscrews. It helped that there is so much to look at. She told everyone who would listen the rest of the day, she rode Space Mountain – quite a badge of honor for a 5 year old.

We rode rides and experience the magic that is Disney for the first time…. And just before we getting ready to leave for an afternoon swim break I steered her towards Adventure Land and  we literally ran smack into Wendy..it could not have been more perfect. Pud and I were holding hands because it was kind of a crowded spot and I had looked down at her so I wasn’t watching where I was going. BLAM – I about knocked the poor girl down. I let go of Pud to help my victim and realized who I had run over. “Wendy!” and don’t you know Peter was right around the corner. My child who is never shy, was too shy to actually talk to him. But he saw her, and waved.  Mission complete.

We checked in at the Caribbean resort. Let me say if you are considering a Disney vacation and you can in any way afford it, stay on property. It is more expensive. It is worth it. Disney just knows how to do it right. Loved the laid back atmosphere, loved the easy dining, loved the convenience. Later  we returned to the park for parades and fireworks – Peter recognized her and came over to her. I wanted to kiss him.

The next day we did SeaWorld. Seaworld rocks because your kids can get soaked by killer whales while you get to kick back and have a Bud. It’s a great follow-up to Disney because as much as the Magic Kingdom is a fantasy come true – Seaworld is a world class adventure. You can see sharks and whales and polar bears, she found it very cool. I was surprised that their dolphin shows have taken on a very Cirque du Soliel feel. They have gotten a lot more artistic. Even the Shamu show is not based on the theme “Believe” which is about following your passion and the trainers have to do a little riverdance… something I think they didn’t count on in marine biology school.

So there we are, the story of our first family vacation. Here are some of the pictures:

Comments

[SusieJ]

I am not a Disney fan, and we are not a Disney family -- but we have been to Disney World several times, and it is truly a magical place. We love it there. I think my little boy thought the characters came out just to see him that day. So glad you had a wonderful time.