By: Paul Morrone
A trip to Disney is a right of passage for a child. And the further you get away from childhood, the harder it is to remember that. It’s overwhelming as an adult, but for a child it is equally magical and sensory overload. Everything from the timing of your first visit to the schedule while you’re there needs to be planned with military level precision. We purposely waited until our kids were ‘old enough’ to remember their first experience at Disney. This also came with the added benefit of them being able to walk around the parks (stroller free!) and go on most of the rides that have height restrictions. The price of waiting, however, was that many of both Kyle and Ryan’s peers made the pilgrimage to Orlando before they did. That fear of missing out only made it sweeter when we told them a mere 3 days before we left that we were going to Disney as part of our upcoming family vacation. Once reality hit, the kids peppered us with questions about the trip and their excitement continued to build until we were boarding our flight.
The real magic of Disney doesn’t happen on a ride or during a show, it happens when the kids’ eyes pop out of their head when they first see the castle, take a picture with Mickey (or Donald) or see the fireworks at night. Ryan almost melted when he saw Donald, who quickly became his favorite Disney character. The sights and smells of Disney create an immersive experience that really does have to be seen to be believed. There is so much to do, see and experience that it is impossible to cover everything in one trip. If you can simply accept that fact prior to going, it will make your experience infinitely better. We did what I would call a crash course, four parks in four days – which was a lot. Over 90,000 steps to be exact, but who’s counting?!
With the time we had, we checked most of the ‘must do’ boxes in terms of rides etc., but we still left a lot on the table. And I’m ok with that. We went all-in on the experience – stayed at a Disney hotel (Polynesian), rode the monorail, dined exclusively on property, saw Disney Springs and got our obligatory souvenirs. And of course we did the rides. Kyle, in particular, would have ridden space mountain until his brain was scrambled.
As exciting and action-packed as the first four days of our vacation were, it was equally as exciting to relax and decompress in Anna Maria for a few days after the Disney extravaganza. That little slice of heaven on the west coast of FL has held a special place in my heart since I first set foot on the beach there, and it has become a family tradition to vacation there together (including my parents and Kelly and her family as well). The best part, however, is that the kids truly value the time we all get to spend together and hearing them talk about how much they enjoy being together as a family is the better than anything I could possibly imagine.
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