Looking Back On Disney

Well we made it. I guess, all in all, we had a great time. It's just that Disney is just SO MUCH for the brain to consume. As an adult I feel overwhelmed so I can just imagine what kids must go through. I tried to watch and record as much as possible this trip and came up with a few thoughts about the whole experience.

• I was surprised how much the boys forgot from four years ago. Matt remembered a bit more, but Ryan didn't remember a lot of his trip when he was four. Thus, proving that going to Disney with very young children is not worth it. Wait until your kids are out of strollers at least. That being said, I am glad we took the boys when they were four and six because I have pictures of them with all the characters. This trip...no go! They were way too cool for that and didn't want to wait in the lines.
• Amazing! That's the the word I would use for the total operation of Disney World. I am in awe about the whole package. From check-in to check-out and everything in between. The whole experience is a thoroughly oiled machine. Even when there is a hick-up in some way you can see it has been planned for and practiced, so the fix can be quickly taken care of. Homeland security could take a page from Disney's book. We only saw one crabby ride operator...and man, she was having a bad day!
• Check-in at the parks disturbed both myself and my husband. Talk about Big Brother watching. In the past, all you had to do was scan your ticket or room key through the kiosks and go through the turnstile. Now if you have an adult ticket you also have to have your index finger read on the machine. So somewhere out there is my fingerprint. We asked about this -the Disney official told us that it was a way of keeping people from going outside and handing off your card or ticket to someone else. Nice try. Think about how many people go through the turnstiles in a year! I was not impressed!
• This visit was the year of the rides. Gone were the easy peasy rides. Space Mountain, Everest and Mission to Space were all conquered. I have to say that Everest is the best roller coaster I have been on in years. Space Mountain will never be rode again by me...it absolutely freaked me out. The only one we didn't hit was Rockin Roller Coaster (which is my fave). The boys were just not sure of that one.
• Take breaks! For your sanity and those around you. Plan that into your total experience. If you need to rush your visit, don't. We've all seen it at Disney, parenting at it's worst! We planned our breaks everyday and still fell into the traps of bad parenting. I think we even resorted to the "we paid a lot of money to come here..." line. Our kids weren't whinny, they just decided to beat each other up while waiting in line. Oh the joys of Disney!I guess that's it. We have memories to look back on for the next few years. I think that's how long it will take to forget the negatives and want to go again with my children. Next time they will be teenagers...I don't even want to thing about that yet!