Disney Vacation 2012

We returned the first week of June from a surprise vacation to "the happiest place on earth."  Dean and I had been keeping the trip a secret from the boys for several months and were so excited for the day to arrive when we could reveal the surprise.  We woke up Joey at about 4:45 a.m. and told him the news and let him go tell Ben.  Their reactions were priceless and we were all fired up and ready to take off.

all smiles when we first arrived at our hotel...even though it was pouring down rain!

It was wonderful to spend the week together as a family with no distractions, no work, no sporting events.  I would be lying if I said the trip was as magical as the commericals and Disney brochures promise. For one thing, it rained for the majority of our trip and the major reason our trip was at times challenging was our dear, Joey.  Joe was moody, nasty, fiesty and very, very 4 years old for most of our trip.  There were many moments when he was sweet, kind, gracious and super fun like the Joey we love so much but, unfortunately, it really did seem like the bad outweighed the good.  Boo.

Ben is NOT an excellent driver, I pray this was not a preview to what life will be like in 7 years with him behind the wheel.

We all liked the "people mover" because it kept us dry for a bit!

Up until the very last night, Joey did not dig the characters and only "brave ben" would go see them!

See caption above.  Joey = unimpressed

Joe did discover a love of rollar coasters and all things adventure.  Ben discovered the opposite.  Both boys would have been content to just play at the pool all day rather than visit the Disney parks!  We stayed at The Carribbean Beach Resort and the pool really was awesome with multiple water slides, a zero entry area, and pool side entertainment with dance contests and music played all day long. 

We all liked the hamocks on the beach by our hotel.

We visited all of the parks and our unanimous family favorite was Animal Kingdom.  We loved the dinosaur area and all thought the safari was super cool. 

Joey was pumped to find these drums to bang on in "Africa"

We enjoyed ice cream almost every day (much to the boys and MY delight!)

 

We were not a big fan of Hollywood Studios.  It was really hot the day we visited and the crowds were huge.  The boys were super irritable and we ended up calling it a day early and heading back to the hotel for some naps and pool time.

Ben was desparate to cool off...by any means necessary

Our family also really enjoyed Epcot and I wish we could have spent more time there.  We particularly liked the last night at Disney where we ate at a Japanese restaurant and walked around Epcot.

We spent the most amount of time at Magic Kingdom where the boys loved Stitch's Big Adventure and the Buzz Lightyear ride.  Joe really loved Splash Mountain (Ben was not a fan). 

As is the case with most experiences in life, a little bit of time has given me a different perspective on this trip.  I think Dean and I both left Disney not at all anxious to return anytime in the near future.  It wasn't a bad trip by any means, it just wasn't perhaps as "magical" as one expects at Disney World.  That said, the boys have talked about it nonstop since returning.  Ben refers to it as "the best trip ever" (really??) and Joey asks nearly every day when we are going to go back.

I define a good day as one spent with my three favorite guys, laughing, teasing, playing, loving. By that definition, this trip was a very, very good one.