Monkeys in the Magic Kingdom

 

When Matt first suggested that my Ella, Summit, and I travel to Orlando with him to hang out while he was attending a conference for the Autism Society, my immediate reaction was, "Are you freaking crazy? What the hell am I gonna do with those kids by myself for three days in Disney World? No way!" Then I started to think about it: probably the same thing that I would do here for three days with the little monkeys. Yell, discipline, threaten, break up fights, scold, etc. At least in Disney, with Mickey and his pals so close by, the threats would be new and more effective, so I thought an adventure to Florida might be a good idea after all. I booked a hotel for us right down the street from Mickey's digs, and packed our bags.

And, let me tell you, I was a little really apprehensive about taking those two to the Magic Kingdom all by myself. We'd made that trip around Christmas last year, and, even with 4 adults to manage the rascals, it was wild. However, I had a game plan. I mapped out everything we would do in 6 hours, and I was prepared. Prepared, people. And, I'm not typically a big planner. I prefer to live more spontaneously... let things happen naturally... but I knew that lack of preparation in this regard would lead to me naturally scaring other visitors of the park with my mean mommy voice. Surprisingly, our excursion went off without a hitch. Really, I don't think it could have gone better if I had another adult with me to help manage the kids. First of all, they know better than to mess with me. Secondly, Mickey threats are amazingly effective.

Since we had to drop Matt at his conference so dang early, we arrived at Magic Kingdom before the gates even opened. This was rare for sure, as me and mornings/early are NOT friends. Literally, we were the first people into the park that day, the first guests to get on Snow White's Scary Adventure, and we had ridden 7 rides and visited one other attraction before 11.30 am, when the kids had appointments for makeovers at the Pirate League in Adventureland. 7! What?! There have been times when I've visited that place and I don't get to ride 7 rides in one day! Anyhow, the pirate makeovers were something else; Ella and Summit Samantha Goldstealer and Ben Swordcutter (their new pirate names) L.O.V.E.D them. And, I loved them, too. They looked awesome!

With a couple of hours left before we had to leave, we added lunch, four more rides, and a 15 minute rain/ice cream break. My little loves couldn't have behaved better for me. Don't get me wrong... they weren't perfet... and there were definitely times when I wanted the Disney Police to take them off my hands for a couple of hours... but all in all they were great, and we had a blast!

That night, we used our park hoppers to go to Hollywood Studios with Matt, where we rode a couple super-cool rides before ending the night with Fantasmic. Just a little FYI: that show is not for the weak of heart. Who wants to see Disney's most beloved character on an island engulfed in flames with the most evil queens ever trying to kill him and every other good character? Who? It gave me nightmares, so you can imagine what it did for the kids. My arms are still sore from Ella holding on tight for protection. It was scary for 20 of the 25 minutes that it lasted. Thanks for that, Mickey.

The rest of our trip was great fun and relaxing. Hanging out at our hotel pool (that was crawling with astronauts, because they were all staying there for the launch... too cool!) with a slide, waterfalls, and a bar that made a killer pina colada was fab. La Nouba at Cirque du Soleil was incredible, too. A late check-out on Sunday and sleeping most of the way home = perfect end to a sweet trip!

A huge thank you to my dad's best pal, Steve, who hooked us up with those awesome park hopper passes. You rock! Also, a big shout-out to ME. I rocked it out, too.