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Disney Family Vacations – It’s the Memory That Lasts

Filed Under: Disney Vacation Planning, Family Life, One Word Challenge, Vacation Tagged With: , , ,

“All good things must come to an end and it is the memory that lasts.”
I have heard this saying for years now and have felt a bit of the blues when the larger than life moments have indeed come to an end here.
 
So, I had an inkling that when our recent Disney vacation would end that I would be a bit down and deflated from the awesome times coming to a complete and sudden halt.
 
Don’t get me wrong, I am so thankful and grateful that we could take this trip and make so many magical memories, but still I would be lying if I said re-entry into our normal, everyday lives was a smooth or easy transition for me.
 
In theory, we landed and did return safely and smoothly, but trying to re-acclimate back to normalcy has been a bit bumpy to say the least as our vacation was much needed and a long time coming.
 
Yet, we landed at 7 pm on a Saturday night after being away from the previous Saturday (over a week of downtime and being off the grid for most of it).  By the time, we returned home, grabbed a bit to eat (fast food totally comes in handy at times like these), unpack, do laundry and attempt to get settled, it felt like pre-vacation and vacation was another lifetime ago.
 
It is only now that I am sitting sifting through the photos we have amassed (almost 500!) from the week at Disney that I am letting all the magnificent memories wash and flood over me, because Disney is truly magical and my favorite place to visit.
 
So what can I say now?
Walt Disney World Photo of Magic Kingdom Fireworks
Isn’t magical?!
Disney is most definitely, “The Most Magical and Happiest Place on Earth”, but even at Disney you take the good with the bad and the ugly, too.
 

The Good…

1.  Staying at a World Class Disney Resort that featured the following:

Three different, but equally unique dining experiences, a temperature controlled pool with a fun water slide for the whole family, a kid’s water play park experience, pool side bar with all sorts of yummy, alcoholic beverages, two relaxing spa hot tubs, a beach for late evening Disney movie viewing, as well as a boat docking area that allowed for quick, easy and direct access to Disney’s Magic Kingdom all day and night long.
Wilderness Lodge Disney with the Girls Posing in Front of the Fountain
The girls loved this hotel fountain and grounds.

2.  Access to all of Disney’s Parks, including Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom and their two water parks and Downtown Disney, as well.

Our First Day at Epcot with Pluto
Our First Day at Epcot with Pluto

3.  The Park experiences that we attended each in their own right were extraordinary and well worth the time to visit. 

The girls visiting the Magic Kingdom with Tinker Bell
Magic was all over the place!

4.  Hands down though was Magic Kingdom being our favorite with our girls first trip to Disney, as they loved all the rides and attractions geared more towards their age here, including Fantasyland section of Magic Kingdom, which houses the huge and grand carousel, It’s a Small World, Peter Pan’s Flight, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Journey of the Little Mermaid, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Mad Tea Party, Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train, The Barnstormer and so much more.

Dumbo lit up at night
Dumbo all lit up at night – One of both of my girls’ favorite rides

5.  Plus, I would be remiss if I didn’t include the princess aspect at Magic Kingdom with Cinderella’s Castle, which found us meeting Elsa and Anna, as well as at the enchanted Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, where my girls got to experience a complete princess makeover with their own fairy godmothers to transform them for that evening dinner at the castle in Cinderella’s Royal Table with Cinderella and all the princesses.

Cinderella and the Girls
Hands Down Both Girls Agree The Bibbiti Bobbiti Boutique and Dining at Cinderella’s Castle was there most favorite part of Disney

6.  The Dining Plan, which allowed for some of the best eating experiences I have had in years, including the aforementioned Cinderella’s Royal Table, our hotel’s own Whispering Canyon Cafe with interactive dining, as well as Downtown Disney’s Irish Pub Raglan Road, which included not only a fabulous traditional Irish menu (the bread pudding is to die for!), but also live entertainment with children getting the opportunity to learn basic Irish Step Dancing on stage with the restaurant’s trained performers/dancers. 

The Bad…

1.  The Heat –

Yes, we made the brave decision to vacation at Disney World in Orlando, Florida during the dog days of Summer in August hearing from all who could add their two cents previous to our vacation, “You are going to be so hot!”.  
 
So no surprise that one day during our stay found the temperature reading tipping out at over 100 degrees and found us re-arranging our original plans of spending the day at Animal Kingdom for a leisurely, daytime hotel pool experience and then heading back to Magic Kingdom for cooler, evening plans instead.  
 
Another day found us, sticking to our original Hollywood Studio planned visit, but melting like Olaf would in the summertime for hours on end while trying to at the very least take as much of the sights in.
Hollywood Studio's The Brown Derby
It was a hot day and the picture of The Brown Derby doesn’t even begin to show just how hot it really was!

2.  The Rain-

Again it is August and summertime, which not only means heat, but also means some form of rain pretty much every day.  Most of the rain is short and quick lived, but comes on as quickly as it departs.  However, our first full day at Disney in Epcot, we not only had a very hot, humid day, but that evening we had one of the worst rain storms of our whole vacation to deal with that almost made us miss our dinner reservations for that evening as we were stuck down at the Bus Depot seeking shelter from not only heavy downpours, but thunder and lightening, too.  
After the rain cleared late at Epcot
After the rain cleared late at Epcot in drier times!
Two side notes, here to be added here.  First, ponchos in Disney are a necessity to have on you at all times.  And Akerhaus Banquet Hall for the Disney Princess dinner was hands down one of the worst dining experiences of our trip, because of their poor handling of reservations and thunder/lightening occurrences.  I won’t be wasting a table service credit on this restaurant again in the future and will make sure to stick to the Magic Kingdom with The Royal Table for our princess dining needs.
Girls and Snow White at Akerhaus in Epcot
Akerhaus Banquet Hall with the Princesses truly wasn’t worth the Disney Table Service dining plan credit.

3.  The Long Days –

One day alone we spent over 12 hours at Magic Kingdom followed by an early morning breakfast at the Disney Contemporary Resort at Chef Mickey to meet Mickey and Pals.  Which lead to our next vacation bad…
The Start of the 1st 12 Hour Day at The Magic Kingdom
The Gorgeous Entrance That Greeted Us On The Start of the 1st 12 Hour Day at The Magic Kingdom

4.  The Meltdowns (Kids and Adults Alike) –

We were all worn out, tired and grumpiness found us even at the happiest place on earth after our aforementioned long Magic Kingdom day before.  So right before entering Chef Mickey’s the following morning for breakfast, both girls were fighting over which strollers they would sit in and one of my girls literally couldn’t hold her temper or tears by this point, melting down completely.  Thank god, it was quick lived, but still not a fun moment by any means for any of us.
After the meltdown at Chef Mickey's in Disney's Contemporary Resort
After the meltdown at Chef Mickey’s in Disney’s Contemporary Resort

5.  Stroller Living –

Both my girls normally are past the stroller age, but since the days and nights are long, as well as the amount of walking on the higher side, most with young kids in Disney opt for strollers for kids of all ages, us included.  So we brought our own from home, but having to lug them around and keep track of these strollers was definitely not fun by any means during our week stay.
The Stroller Life for a Week at Disney
The Stroller Life for a Week at Disney Plus Look at that Early Morning Crowd!

6.  The Crowds –

No matter what time of the day, you visit Disney, there are always tons of people at any given park.  Fast passes for rides (you only get three per day) do help a bit, but still you will wait in line at some point or another.  It is just a given!
 

The Ugly…

Dropping my iPhone 6 in the toilet (a clean one, but still) – This one is all on me.  Even though, I had purchased and was utilizing an Otterbox case from Amazon Prime, still found out the hard way that water and an iPhone is no bueno!
 
Although after I did have this occur to me, I was told by quite a few down in Disney that it is quite common for phones to get dropped, wet or damaged in Disney.  Go figure!
 
But still, I very much managed to drop my phone while texting my brother, who was vacationing with us, but had gone on his own for a few hours and was now wanting to meet back up with us in the toilet of our hotel room three days into our vacation.  
 
Thankfully the toilet was clean, but I had gone into our bathroom as I thought I had forgotten something in there and my phone ended up taking a not so planned dip in our hotel room toilet.  I googled how to possibly fix the situation at hand.  Rice seemed to be the overwhelming response.  
 
Special thanks and shoutout to the Wilderness Lodge hotel staff member that got me a bag of rice from one of their three restaurants.  I left the phone in overnight as he instructed, but sadly my iPhone was still not functioning right with the touch screen being the worst of the damage incurred.  My biggest fear losing all the photos I had taken that had not seemingly clouded onto cloud from my phone from the first few days of our trip.
 
So off to the Apple Store in the local mall by taxi, which cost me over $60 to get there, three hours of wait time without a phone or any other communication with the outside world, $350 to get a new phone, plus another $50 plus cab ride back to my resort before putting the whole sordid, ugly tale behind me.  
 
Moral of this ugly story of our Disney vacation is that water by any means is seriously no good for the technically, advanced inner working of an Apple iPhone. Expensive and costly lesson for me for sure!
 

The Bottom Line…

Disney was absolutely amazing, indeed magical and all we dreamed of and more even with the bad and ugly that reared its head, the good most definitely outweighed it by far.  That said, it is honestly a favorite place for me by all accounts.
The girls and Tinker Bell
It can’t get much more magical than Tinker Bell!

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About Janine

Janine is a published author of the books, The Mother of All Meltdowns and Only Trollops Shave Above the Knee. She has been featured on The Huffington Post, Mamapedia, Today Parenting Team and SheKnows. She also runs her own graphic design company at J9 Designs.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Melanie says

    We are headed to Disney in December and I can’t wait!! I loved the pic of your daughters with Cinderella. We have one similar to that when we went when my daughter was about their age. They believe so hard at that age and it is awesome to see Disney through their eyes. We also love Raglan Road. I have to get my bread pudding fix too!! It is amazing!! Sorry to hear about Akershus. We have gone every time we go and have superb service and the food is always so good. We are headed back for an early dinner this time too.

    • Janine says

      Melanie, I agree and loved seeing Disney through my girls eyes, especially with Cinderella, the princesses and even Mickey and friends, to. As for Akerhaus, I am still in shock at the treatment we received and glad you have had better experiences, but still not going to go back there the next time we go to be quite honest. And as I write this, I dreaming about Raglan Road and their bread pudding now. So that should tell you how much I loved it 😉

  2. Seana Turner says

    Welcome home from a wonderful trip. Your girls are the perfect age to visit this magical destination. I remember being there and visiting some of the places. Wish we had known about the boutique because I think my girls would have had a lot of fun there! Sorry about your phone – I put mine through the washing machine the night my dog was killed… had to get a new one. It happens…

  4. Leanne@crestingthehill says

    I can’t imagine how thrilled your girls would have been with all those princesses and the disney characters. We have nothing like that in Australia (besides a movie world on the other side of the country to us) I feel like I’ve been to Disneyland now with your pictures (without the heat and crowds!)

    • Janine says

      Aw, Leanne happy to share and give you a feel for Disney World here and honestly my girls were in 7th heaven with the princesses and more. They keep asking when we can go back now 😉

  6. Carrie Groneman says

    Janine, I LOVE this post and am so glad your family had the adventure and memories of a lifetime. I am so glad you put all your tips so others can glean from it to prepare for their trip. I hope you can all go back again very soon. Carrie, A Mother’s Shadow

    • Janine says

      Aw, thanks Carrie and I was so happy to finally put into words here our experience for others to hopefully gain further insight if they have never gone before. And I truly hope we can go back soon now 😉

  7. Dara says

    Downtown Disney SO needs an apple store. When I was there, I’d just gotten my iphone 5 and I forgot my charger. since it was so new at the time, no one had a lightning charger available and I too had to go to the apple store to buy a new one. would have been so much better had there been an apple store close by! anyway, it looks like you had a great vacation otherwise and the girls look happy in the pictures, meltdowns aside!

    • Janine says

      I wholeheartedly agree and wish we could petition to get an Apple Store in Disney. I mean they have everything else, including Starbucks! So, an Apple Store shouldn’t be a stretch to ask for. But still great time had and glad I could share here with all 😉

  8. Bill says

    Great experience for the girls. Oddly enough I’ve never gone to Disneyland…..probably explains some of my character defects. 🙂 Glad you’re back, Janine, and Happy Wednesday to you.

  9. Lisa @ The Golden Spoons says

    That stinks about your phone – I did that many years ago with the very first iPhone I had. It was in my back pocket and fell right out directly into the toilet. I wondered about the heat. Nobody in my family deals well with hot temps. The one time we have been to Disney, we went in November so the heat and crowds were much better, but with school, etc. not sure we will ever be able to do that again. Anyway, glad you had a magical trip and hope you can finish getting settled back in soon!

  11. Diane Roark says

    Janine,

    I loved hearing about your trip . I have been visited Disney to many times to even count and totally agree with everything you said. Akerhaus Banquet was our worst experience ever but we truly enjoyed the places you loved too.

    I am so sorry about your phone. Replacing it is so expensive especially when paying for a Disney vacation. The let down is always coming home and being so overwhelmed with everything!!! To ease the pain of not being on vacation anymore, we normally try to plan or Dream about our next vacation while traveling home. This gives us something to look forward to.

    I am so glad you had fun in spite of the heat, storms, and melt downs. No matter what age you are a melt down is going to happen at Disney. You just get so tired and overwhelmed from wanting to see all that you can see in the short amount of time you are visiting. When you get home, you are exhausted and have so much to do.

    Thanks for sharing! I am so thankful you had fun and are back home.
    Blessings,
    Diane Roark

    • Janine says

      Aw, Diane what can I say, but huge thank you for all your Disney advice leading up to our trip as so much of it I kept meaning to tell you was such a help and godsend. And that said Disney was even int he craziest of moments amazing and you weren’t lying all the times you told me this. Thanks so much always, my sweet friend 🙂

    • Janine says

      You said a mouthful Lisa and days are totally long, ponchos are a must, as are strollers, too. Thanks Lisa and seriously had over 400 photos, but narrowed it done to a few of my favorites here 🙂

  13. Stephanie @ Life, Unexpectedly says

    This sounds like a wonderful trip, I bet the girls won’t stop talking about this one for quite a while! I know what you mean about re-adjusting. Our re-adjustment after major trips (US-bound usually) generally include Lily getting sick at some point of the trip. Poor girl’s stomach doesn’t like the stress of travelling too much, it seems! Thanks for sharing all those beautiful pictures, Janine!

  15. Chris Carter says

    OH MAN Janine!! That just SUCKS about your phone!!! I’m so sorry you had to deal with that, and PAY for that while trying to enjoy your trip!! UGH.

    I just love all those pics of the girls and your family!! I’m SO glad the good outweighed the bad, my friend. Meltdowns, crowds, rain, bad service… it’s all BOUND to happen, isn’t it?!

    BUT the memories of all those golden moments will last forever!!

  16. Mo at Mocadeaux says

    We are heading to Disney World in January with the whole family: our kids, their spouses and 3 grandchildren. It is absolutely our gang’s favorite vacation destination. Your recap has me so, so, so excited for our trip!

  17. Jen says

    Haha! I have never had a trip to Disneyland (with my kids) that did not have the good, the bad and the ugly too. It is a wonderful place, but it is just so busy that meltdowns are almost to be expected. I am glad you had a great time and that hotel, wowza, amazing!

  18. Nellie says

    Janine! Omg what a trip!! I can’t believe your phone, your beautiful PLUS that you love so much went through that!! I loved ALL the pictures, I am so happy you guys went to the most magical place on earth–you guys totally deserved it! You did a great job of planning and going with the flow too. Awesome job mama!

    • Janine says

      Oh Nellie not going to lie it wasn’t pretty with my phone. Thankfully I was able to replace without losing my photos, but still it was ugly at first. And thank you for your kind words as we did plan, as well as amend those plans to go with the flow, too 😉

  19. Dana says

    Sounds like a fabulous trip, aside from the phone debacle. We have never been in the summer; I can only imagine how hot it is. I do know how crowded it can get during Spring Break week, and you’re right – you just have to be prepared to wait in line.

    We go at the end of March, and my kids are already counting down!

    • Janine says

      I was actually originally looking for end of March or beginning of April, but then we had to change that as we were supposed to be going to a family wedding out of town, but still would love to try different times of the year. But still was so much fun and hoping to get to go back soon to count down here again. 😉

  20. Tamara says

    We always go in January and while we had nice weather at Disney – 75-80 – it can be quite cold too. Another side of the coin! It was 55 when we went to Universal Studios!
    And your phone. Your poor phone! I know how excited you were to get it. A new one would be fun too.
    Like I said, we go in January, so there’s not much heat, crowds or rain, but we do have kids too old for their strollers, and meltdowns too!

    • Janine says

      I was wondering about the temps in January and February. August is definitely hot, but think January might not be warm enough either. I was thinking maybe May the next time, but undecided still. And the phone was definitely a downer not going to lie, but just glad that is over with now, as well as the meltdowns induced from long days, heat and more!!

  21. Allie says

    Oh Janine – my friend was there and August and I heard all about the rain and the heat. God bless you:). The last time we went it was May and it was hot – so I cannot even imagine. And yes – exhaustion takes on another meaning after a long day in WDW. Sorry about the phone , but it sounds like a great trip.

    • Janine says

      Allie, as I mentioned to Tamara, I was wondering about May and how the temps were there. I heard April still can have a few chilly nights sometimes, but as I do love warmer temps maybe not 100 and August heat, was curious about how it was in May, because was thinking possibly for the next time to try May or June instead, but still it was a great trip and if I had to do August believe it or not would do it again! 😉

  24. Kristen says

    Oh girl let me tell you about the heat. It’s sweltering and suffocating in the summer. I long for fall, which starts mid-November for us. Sorry it was such a hard trip! I always tell people to do a park every OTHER day, and then go to Downtown Disney, or other smaller attractions in between. It’s REALLY hard to do them back to back!

  28. Kristi Campbell says

    Your trip sounds amazing and also awful with the crowds, the rain, that… I just booked a trip to Florida to meet my brother and his family to go to Legoland. I’m really excited about it but we also didn’t book Disney and instead will drive to Anna Maria Island (I so hope this isn’t a mistake but felt guilty about not being at the beach this summer). I love the photos so much of your girls>!

    • Janine says

      Aw, thanks Kristi and I did the beach also a lot this summer with girls, so my guilt level is low there. As for LegoLand, we went to the one in Downtown Disney and the girls absolutely loved it, so I think Tucker will have a blast, too 😉

  29. Tianna says

    this sounds like such an awesome trip! I live in Cali and have an annual pass to Disneyland which I use all the time with my boyfriend. We frequently see what we like to call “100% done” or “the look of defeat” on faces of parents and children alike. Long hot summer days are hard on anyone and kids seem to get overwhelmed by the environment after a few hours haha.

    stop by and chat ♥

    • Janine says

      Was such a great trip and truly would love to live close enough to Disney World to have season passes, but we have to settle for a vacation when we can. Still, was a blast and truly hope to get to do it soon again. Will stop by your site soon now, too 🙂

  31. Jennifer | The Deliberate Mom says

    Oh wow, this was epic, exciting, and awesome.

    Loved the photos and the info/low down on the good and bad.

    So sorry to hear about your phone. It never fails, when I’m on vacation, I always break or lose something expensive. It makes travel VERY expensive for us!

    I’ve never been to Disney… I so want to go. I heard it’s amazing at Halloween. It would be a heck of a lot cooler (temperature-wise) too.

    Thanks for sharing.

    Wishing you a lovely weekend.
    xoxo

    • Janine says

      I keep hearing about Halloween, but my husband wouldn’t go for taking the kids out of school, but still would love to trick-or-treat on Main Street in Magic Kingdom totally. And yet as hot as it was when we were there, we still had so much fun and loved going at night and it being cooler yet not freezing by any means either. So happy to share and have wonderful weekend, too 🙂

  33. Rea says

    I can’t get over the fact that you had to get a new phone? Awww. Because I’d be crying ifever I break my phone. Sheesh! I’m so glad you had that trip though because really, your girls look the happiest! I’m sure it’s costly but heck, it’s a one of a kind experience.

  34. LeSlow says

    What a trip! I think meltdowns & heat are just a part of the Disney experience. We still haven’t gone, but it’s on our very long to-do list. Thanks for the tips, we’ll definitely be looking back to them in a year or two.

  35. Julie S. says

    This title makes me think of the Metallica song “the Memory remains” 😉 OOh Disney, it just sounds like such a fun and magical and yet stressful trip. I know I’ll be taking my litte one eventually.

  36. Anonymous says

    We absolutely love Disney! When we moved to Florida last year, we bought annual passes and try to go whenever we can. I absolutely agree with you that Magic Kingdom is the best!!! Our passes expire in 6 weeks and I’ll be so sad (it’s not in the budget to buy another year).

    We also LOVE the Raglan Irish Pub…such a fun place! It sounds like you had a wonderful vacation, despite a couple setbacks. You’ll have those memories forever!

    • Janine says

      Wow, if I lived in Florida and close enough, definitely think I’d buy the annual passes, too if I could. So, sorry about this year and hope you can do the passes again very soon now.

  38. Ginny Marie says

    Oh, my goodness, Janine, I loved reading your account of your Disney vacation, the good, the bad and the ugly! I don’t think any vacation can avoid the meltdowns that are bound to happen! We were late for our reservation at the Akerhaus because my husband’s magic band fell off his wrist and we had to look for it. They were not very accommodating, even though we were only a few minutes late! We did get in eventually, but we were definitely not happy with how they handled it.

    I’m glad you had a wonderful time regardless!

    • Janine says

      Christa, I felt the same way about Akerhaus. Not very accommodating at all and they seemed more than put off by having to do anything more than they should have to do. As I said, we will not be dining there again for the next time, because of it at all. And so glad you had a great trip other than that, as well 🙂

  40. Aunt Gloria says

    I’m finally catching up with my e-mails…..and enjoyed your recap of your memorable trip….the good, bad and ugly. The girls looked like they really enjoyed the magic of Disney. Fortunately, there were no hurricanes. Hot, humid and wet is I guess the norm in FL in August. So sorry about the phone incident. Do you have insurance? It’s a hectic time when you are there but the memories linger for a long time! Glad you all had a great time. Hope to see you soon. Good luck to the girls as the new school year begins this week. Love to all……..

    • Janine says

      Aw, so glad to see you here tonight, Aunt Gloria and the good memories are truly abundant even weeks after this trip even though it all. No phone insurance sadly and just an expensive lesson sadly that I had to learn. Thanks for the good back to school wishes for the girls and love right back at you!! Xoxo 😉

      • Aunt Gloria says

        I know it will be a busy week with school starting and all…..have a good one. I hope the classrooms won’t be too hot for the girls….they don’t all have AC. Hope to see you soon. xxoo

      • Janine says

        I am hoping the same. I know kindergarten does have AC, but not sure about 1st grade to be honest. Hope to see you soon, too xoxo

  42. Lindsay Klein says

    So awesome!!!!! loved the photos and your girls are beyond cute!!! I always get depressed after such a rush of a wait for a big event, then the ending;( Awesome photos, and YES ponchos are 100% necessary for bipolar Florida weather! Glad you had a wonderful magical experience!

    • Janine says

      Aw, thank you so much Lindsay! As for the slight depression once the big event over, you are so right and most definitely felt it when we returned from Disney. Oh and the ponchos are truly a necessity for the crazy Florida weather for sure!

  43. The Pinterested Parent says

    I cannot wait to take Mai for the first time. I love all of your pictures. You have some a amazing ones. I love the dancing video. That looked like fun. It is a lot of work vacationing with the kids. I was only away for a few days this weekend & am wiped. That sucks about dropping your phone though. I have been there.

    • Janine says

      Kim, I agree about vacationing with kids, but still I am already trying to plan to go back next year now as overall it was a magical experience for me included. Hope you get to take Mai soon as I have no doubts that she will love it, too 😉

  44. Jack says

    I just got back from Orlando on Saturday night. It was a good trip, stayed at the Swan and had a fabulous time. Coming from LA I wasn’t bothered by the heat at all and since I didn’t have the kids with me I didn’t have to deal with some of those meltdowns.

    But I did have ridiculous amounts of work so that kept me out of trouble…more or less.

  45. Allison B says

    We went to DisneyLand a few years ago with our kids and we managed to time it perfectly thanks to the stomach flu. The morning we were going I woke up with the flu. So our day in DisneyLand was pushed back a day. The crowds went from a 10 out of 10 to a 1 out of 10 so it ended up working in our favor. I think the exhaustion at the end of the day is the hardest. But the memories do last.

  46. Eli@CoachDaddy says

    The end of vacation is like the last slice of pizza. Bittersweet.

    Grace has never been to Disney. I wish she’d win a contest or something so she could go.

    I’d love to go to Florida for all of spring training. Watch baseball by day, find a great restaurant by night, stay up late, get up early, for as many days in a row as I could.

    • Janine says

      You know how much I love the pizza references! Seriously, best analogy ever. And I would love to do spring training one day, as well. Maybe someday! Oh and if I could win a vacation to got back to Disney, you wouldn’t hear any complaints from me either!!

  48. catherine gacad says

    as a new parent, I am already wondering when I need to take franco to Disneyland! you provided some great tips (stroller for the long days / all the walking). if it makes you feel any better, while I was in seattle, I accidentally dropped dean’s phone on the pavement (it fell out of my pocket) and it shattered the glass. why he does not have a protective case, I do not know!!! regardless, it was my fault and although it is functioning, he needs to get it fixed and we seriously do not have the time to even look into it…so he is working off of a cracked screen. argh.

    • Janine says

      So sorry about Dean’s phone and sounds like vacations are the time for stuff like this sadly. And also just glad to give some pointers for Disneyland for when you take Franco in the future.

  49. Honeybee says

    Glad you posted. I enjoyed all your pictures. Disneyland visit is a magical enjoyment. I can get enough of Disney. We went to visit Disneyland Hong Kong last year and plan to Disneyland Tokyo next year.

  50. Bev says

    I remember the first time going to Disney World with my family when I was in 4th grade. It was amazing! The next time I was in high school so I didn’t spend as much time with my family. I’m glad you survived the heat. It sounds like your family had a blast and I’m sure your girls will always treasure the memories of this trip!

    • Janine says

      Aw, Bev that first time is definitely so magical and we are hoping maybe to do it again next year as we will be celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary, but hoping to still keep some of the magic for thus upcoming time, too 😉

  54. Allie says

    I remember reading this last year – and laughing at your “bads.” All soooo true. We went as a family – FIVE years ago!!!!! In May. The heat was unreal. The lines, the strollers, the meltdowns. We didn’t have rain, though. We need to do it again, for Cammy. But man – the energy I’m going to need. I’ll have to really rest up!

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