I should tell you that through the generosity of so many I was able to go to Florida and not go into debt. I won’t lie; I was really stressed out. I had to get back-to-school clothes, some of my favorite clothes were lost en route to Kenya, and apparently I need 4 new tires on my lil ole car. But I put my need out there and my need was more than met.
We stayed at the Magic Tree Resort just a few miles from Disney. A friend’s Mom works there and got us the family discount. These rooms were like mini condo’s! There were 2 bedrooms. One bedroom had 2 Queen beds and the other bedroom had a King-sized bed. There were 2 separate bathrooms, free laundry, a fully equipped kitchen, a table for 6, and a living room! Awesome! We squeezed 7 people in there comfortably. Later, on Friday, my parents and Dean got a 2nd room and we were able to spread out a bit more.
I mention the rooms because they were just what we needed for such a stressful and busy weekend. We could unwind. We baked cookies and had grilled chicken. We settled in for just a few days and were comfortable and there is something to be said for being comfortable. There was also a hot tub, a kiddie pool, and a nice heated pool. When we weren’t at Disney or at the Memorial then we were in the pool. You know I speak the truth.
Debra and I landed Wednesday at 4:45 around the time that Dawn and family checked into the resort. We took a cab there and were in the pool by 6. We swam, made dinner, tucked the kids into bed, and then Dawn and I went in search of the grocery store!
We went to pick up just a few things, you know, some more deli meat and maybe some more hard cider. But after seeing that we were in a fully equipped kitchen, we decided to GET GROCERIES! Again, this was paid for by others who are generous! Thank you! We bought cookie dough, cider, chips, fruit, vegetables, snacks and all manner of good things.
The next day we rose early and were at Disney by 8:15. We met a cousin of a friend of Ryan (or something like that?) who got us into Disney (read: one more incredible gift!). We rented two strollers for the day, packed our stuff in, and set out to conquer Magic Kingdom.
Debra was our tour guide as Dawn and I have not been there since 1988. Debra did great! She knew all the tricks! The day was horribly hot and I was horribly sick. Someone on the airplane shared their cold with me and I was not a happy camper at Disney.
The lines were low and I believe we waited less than 10 mins for everything we tried. We went auto racing, visited the Small World, rode Thunder Mountain, and Pirates of the Caribbean. We conquered the ice cream trucks and found a variety of ways to cool down. We watched two parades and met a giant bunny. We toured Mickey and Minnie’s house, we took a train ride around the Kingdom and we saw Tinker Bell make a glorious descent from the top of the Castle on a zip line.
Chloe fell asleep on Dawn while we waited in line for an event. Levi’s ice cream melted all over him and he looked cute in it. Seth was a trooper, not one complaint the entire day! And Caleb wanted to own one of everything he saw. And secretly, I think we all wished Ryan were with us the entire day. It would’ve been more fun that way.
