The Magic Kingdom

Rick had meetings in Orlando, so we decided to all go & make a family vacation out of it. They say that Disney World is the happiest place on earth. We would say that is only true if you derive happiness from large crowds, long lines, hot days, and blistered feet. We don't particularly enjoy those things, especially when combined with 3 kids under the age of 5.

Despite all that, we did have an enjoyable experience and the kids were absolute troopers through it all. It was lots of fun to hear the kids laugh through so many rides. They were a little scared on some of the rides, but even that was fun for them. After screaming "so terrible" (Lexie's words) through the Thunder Mountain rollercoaster, she still said, "Maybe I could do it one more time." That changed to, "I want to go on the big one again with daddy!" So she did, along with Splash Mountain (she and dad got soaked!) and several times on the smaller rollercoaster. Cheryl even went on her first rollercoaster ride ever - and she didn't even get scared.

Our favorite rides/experiences were:
Dad: Splash Mountain & Thunder Mountain with Lexie (he was just happy to have someone go with him on the big rides)
Mom: Just seeing how excited the kids got on the different rides
Lexie: Thunder Mountain "because of the colorful bats" & Mickey's PhilharMagic (she laughed so hard all through this 3-D movie, even standing up and trying to grab things as they appeared to float out in front of us)
Joseph: It's a Small World & the Goofy Rollercoaster ("but I'm ready to get off when it's done")
Andrew: It's a Small World (This was a great ride to nurse him on - he will probably think it is time to eat every time he hears that song now.)

We packed a lot in during our two days at Disney, but we learned a few important lessons, too.
- The day after Memorial Day is not the best time to go (Wednesday was much less crowded).
- FastPass tickets are better than gold (especially when you win the Dream FastPass like we did, it let us go to the front of the line on each of the rides that offer FastPass).
- We are not going back until the kids are too big to say "Carry me!"
- The Florida heat and humidity should not be underestimated, even in May.
-If you take a video camera it's better to use it in the park than to leave it in your hotel room like we did.
- Going first thing in the morning, returning to the hotel for a mid-day nap, and then going back to the park for the evening is a great way to avoid the most intense heat, lines, and crowds.
- Three small children are too many to fly with only one adult (it's hard enough to take one kid into an airplane restroom).
- You can't miss the fireworks, especially if you have a Tinkerbell fan in your party.
- A family season pass to our local Six Flags costs less than a fourth of what we paid to go to Disney World for 2 days (not really a lesson learned, but something to consider the next time we think about a vacation).

Overall, good times were had by all.