I didn't take very many pictures with "my" camera. Keeping track of a camera in Disney World was less of a concern than keeping track of my children. And, as it was, we did, in fact lose Evie for about 15 minutes! It was at a water park, on the lazy river, when the rest of the family was being quite lazy, but she kept pushing further and further ahead, un tip, during one of my every five minute head counts ("one, two, three, four, five six, seven, okay good, everyone's here still" whew!) I realized I hadn't seen Evie in a while. We looked around but immediately discovered she wasn't within our vicinity.
Not sure if she was further down the lazy river or not, and having all the other kids with us, we quickly decided Ben should jump out and look for her while I tried not to panic/stayed in the water with the kids in case she was still near there.
Thankfully, Ben found her within minutes waiting under the "Lost Children" tent- the tent that I had seen coming in and wondered whether it was a joke or not. Apparently not.
Imagine how many children I would have lost if I had tried to keep track of my camera, too. (That was a joke.)
I didn't think about anything during the trip. I read about one sentence in Atlas Shrugged. I knit about a half a row. I put all my mental energy into avoiding wait times on the rides and trying to stay cool at every opportunity. The energy was well spent. Between fast passes and stroller passes (for those waiting with the children to short to ride) and getting to the park 20-30 minutes early, we were able to steer clear of heavy crowds and long lines. And making a beeline for every air conditioned store (Disney has a LOT of places to shop as you walk along, don't you worry about that), water mister, fan, and shade (Disney has plenty of those as well- do they ever want you to be comfortable and happy and have a wonderful time while you are there! It's actually mind-blowing.) ensured that the heat and humidity didn't kill us. Though it felt as though they tried.
Oh, and I tried to keep us fed. That's what else I had to concentrate on. I think we walked about ten miles a day. I have never seen myself or my children eat so much. We consumed huge quantities of cashews, fruit roll ups, beef jerky, trail mix, goldfish, cheez-its, almonds, and granola bars. That was in between meals.
It's hard to use words to describe Disney World. If you ever have a chance to go, no matter your age, or the age of your kids, or whether or not you think you like Disney in general, just go. You will love it. Their propaganda works wonders. I'm only sort of joking. For instance, going into the trip, none of us, particularly Ben, Cate, or me, cared for the movie Frozen, or the characters. But look at us now, posing for pictures with Princess Anna! We went to the Frozen sing-along twice! And now all of us accidentally sing "Let It Go!" under our breaths all day long!
Right, that's probably not selling it for you, is it? (And I still don't care for the movie, but I think the art from it is beautiful)
Somehow, from the very first moments there, walking down Main Street, USA, while classic tunes are playing, nostalgia and coziness begins to set in. Employees, excuse me, CAST MEMBERS are smiling, waving, high five-ing, and calling you either Princess or Prince Charming. Everything smells wonderful, the flowers are growing, the shops are clean, and Mickey Mouse and his friends are standing around to pose with you in pictures. And as the day progresses through castles, and pirates dens, and forts, and tree houses, and songs, and fireworks, and as you walk back down Main Street headed home at night (yes, they make it slope downhill on your way out so that when you are worn out from the day your feet have an easier time trudging out to your car), same music playing as before, you discover that you actually ARE a Disney fan, and you just never knew it before.
I must make some breakfast for the fam, now. As wonderful as Disney feels, like something out of a dream, waking up to a reality of home, where spring is here and everything is growing and alive, our home sweet home is the very best.
