The Magic of Relationships

We just returned home from another Magical Disney trip.  To those of you who think we go all the time... you're right.  To those who don't get it... I don't blame you.  To those who always want to go in our suitcases... I don't blame you either.

After our first trip, Dan immediately started planning our second.  By our third, I would roll my eyes each time he mentioned "next time..."  Seriously.  I love to travel.  I love a good vacation.  Why not go somewhere else?  While I know the pastries are amazing in Epcot's France, they're actually pretty good in Real France, too... why not go there?  Or more local?  Sure.  There are tons of places our car can drive to... let's look there instead?

But Dan was hooked.  And now E was, too.  There was no turning back.

Our trips quickly became part of "us".  We were able to mark growth of our little girl in recognizing which rides she was able to ride- both because of height requirements and because of her own trepidation after a not-so-great moment on Thunder Mountain.  We noted restrooms where we'd first changed diapers, then took a "big girl" shortly after she was potty trained, then later allowed her to go into her own stall.  We experienced the luxury of meeting up with friends at various points along the way and have those memories engrained in our hearts forever.

So whether or not I planned to be a Disney Mom, I became one.

This most recent trip ranked up there among my very favorites.  We had some new experiences- The Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot was new for us, as well as the whole reason for this trip: Star Wars Weekend! Dan had booked the trip back in February as a Daddy/Daughter trip for just him and Elizabeth.  It was to be their one last Disney hoorah before the baby came.  We knew it would be a while before we'd make it back as I'd already declared I would not travel with an infant.  I had planned to stay home and have time to prep the nursery... and relax.  Once we lost the baby, Dan immediately booked my airfare.  Apparently there would be no relaxing, but instead my mental health would be cared for with Mickey Bars and fireworks.

So off we went in search of Jedis and healing in the land of the Mouse.

(**An added bonus of this trip was that our dear friends, the Pettys, were going to be there for their Make-a-Wish trip.  Miss Leah (and her siblings) added to the joy of our "new" experiences.)

On our Epcot day, we had just finished the Nemo ride in The Seas and E wanted to explore the aquarium/learning area.  I honestly thought she might want to skip that and head out in search of more rides.  Thankfully, she did not.  We went upstairs to check out the exhibits... and I couldn't leave.  The dolphins.  Oh, the dolphins.

Quick side story: I've been a big dolphin fan since our honeymoon when we were able to watch them from our resort both morning and night as they went to feed.  We continue to seek out the dolphins when we're at the beach.  There's just something so majestic about them!  The dolphins this trip provided the same awe-inspiring experience for me.

Eventually Dan and E went off to play in the shark learning area, while I stayed and watched these amazing creatures.  I'll admit that while I love Disney, I don't love that the dolphins are in such a small area.  There were two of them on the side of the tank where I was, and appeared to be at least 2 on the other side.  One of them never left the "window" in between where he/she could see the other dolphins.

I watched these dolphins for a long time.  I wondered what it was that connected them.  Was one the other's baby?  The other's mate?  Was one just curious what was on the other side of the "window"?  Or could they see the treats that were being given to the other?  Was it merely environmental?  Or was it relational?

Dan and I debriefed this for a while after he finally pried me away from the window.  I'll never know what it was.  My guess is that it was relational... probably because that's my view of the world.  I long for connection and I ache when it is taken from me.  Like that dolphin, I'll often times ignore the rest of my "tank"... and even the freedom that it brings... by hanging on to the relationship just on the other side of the window.  My hope is that I'm able to balance life on both sides of the tank and focus on the relationships on my side... but I can't be sure I'm able to make that happen.

Leaving The Seas that day, I couldn't stop thinking about those dolphins.  And connections.  They were all around me at Disney.  People were celebrating family and princesses and characters and running for hugs and skipping to the next event.  And that's why I love Disney.  Not for the hype of the park- though I do get caught up in that as well- but for the connections that it brings.

Regardless of which side of the window you're on... there is magic in relationships.

What I learned on my Disney Vacation... Volume Two

Here's a bit more about being "those people"... Disney is Dan's thing.  Well, now it's Dan and Elizabeth's thing.  Don't get me wrong- I grew up in this Disneyfied Country.  I loved Snow White from an early age.  I sang "A Whole New World" in the car with my high school boyfriend.  I owned Little Mermaid sheets (which E now sleeps on... funny, huh?)  And I vividly remember watching Bambi at a church lock-in one night and losing my poo.

I had only been to Disney World 3 times before this recent rash of WDW trips.  My first time I was about 4, my second was as a tag-along with my brother's Beta Club trip (the joy of having a mom who chaperoned!), and then the summer after 8th grade when my mom, brother and I went.  (Which, btw, I totally had a random flashback to that trip on this one.  While standing in a gift shop I spotted the exact souvenir I bought for someone that I hadn't thought about in YEARS!  Good to know that 21 years (gasp) later, if you need a replacement keychain, Eric, they are still there.)  Disney is definitely part of my heritage, but I don't eat, breathe, and live The Mouse.

And then, I married Dan.

Funny enough, one of my first memories of Dan was when Bryan Broodno (our mutual friend) said to me, "Have you been to that guy Dan's apartment?  He has one whole wall that is nothing but Sleeping Beauty."  What he meant was that Dan collected original Disney animation art and had a wall that had lots of the pictures beautifully displayed.  But what I heard was that Dan was some weird med student with an obsession of all things princess and had painted a mural along his wall... creeper.  Good to know I was wrong.

So, in 2009 when we loaded Miss Elizabeth up and headed south, I was excited... but not over the top.  I was excited because it was vacation... it was a break... it was time with my family... and, it was Disney World.  Who doesn't love that, right?

Here we are... our first day with the Mice!

Even better... our BFFs were at WDW the same time, and we overlapped with them a couple days.  So it was a super trip AND we got to hang out with them some, too.

E riding with the big girls just before leaving

The minute we got back on Highway 4, Dan started planning our next trip.  He had already gone to the Vacation Club schpeal and decided that it wasn't right for us, but he wasn't going to rule it out yet.  And so, in just a matter of months, he was busy at work planning our next trip.

Year two was great, too... although it was a wee bit too long.  My only problem with the second year (besides the length) was I spent a lot of time unintentionally comparing it to the year before.  So either I wanted to redo something we'd done before, or I compared results (ie: that pizza wasn't as good, last year the lines weren't as bad, this walk is much shorter from our hotel, blah blah blah).  It did have it's own set of memories, though, including meeting some Disney VIPs who I hung out with in one night... and this time overlapping with a different set of friends.

Chef Mickey's with Jack!

One of my favorite parts of that trip, though, was on our last full day.  Aunt Allison came to spend the day with us... and if that wasn't magical enough, we were the first guests to arrive at Mickey's House and he gave us a personal tour.

Mickey showing E around his place...

Our little family- plus Aunt Allison- with Mickey and Minnie

So this year, I was pumped and ready to go... mainly because I was ready for some time away.  All in all, this last year was a tough one, and I was ready for a break in a land of warmer temperatures.  Not only did I get that, but I got so much more...

Elizabeth keeps talking about the Tangled meet-and-greet.  This was different than any I'd been to before... in addition to the fact I waited in line an hour (!!!) to reserve our spot, Rapunzel and Flynn came out and danced with the kids.  E loved that Flynn acted like he didn't know where Rapunzel was... she keeps laughing about the shoulder-tap/look of confusion gag.

Clearly, we're no strangers to Snow White.  But I'll tell ya... each one of them kept the dream alive for Elizabeth.  When we first saw her, I quickly "helped" her by saying "Snow White!  We haven't seen you since Elizabeth's birthday party!" and she didn't skip a beat by answering "Oh you're right!!  And how has your... life... been since then?"  When we saw her later in Germany (above), she played with E's hands the whole time (E kept talking with her hands, so Snow played along) and talked to her about being the Princess of the Kingdom of Lewisville.  Well played, Snow.

When we had dinner with Cinderella and all her brood, E told each of them that she liked "their 2nd movie".  (Yes, we watch Cinderella II a LOT in this house.)  Drizella (above) told E not to talk about it too loudly, because her mother had never been too fond of The Baker.  (Her love interest in the sequel, for those of you who don't have to put up with that as often as I do.)  E was completely enraptured: hook-line-and-sinker.

So much so that when The Prince came to our table, E said (quite loudly), "Oh Mommy (sigh), I think he is rather handsome."

These kind of moments are what made this trip perfect for me.  I'm fully aware that my sweet girl is just moments away from not "buying" what the princesses are trying to sell her.  In fact, while we were at WDW, she'd already started putting pieces together.  She would point out for us that the bears at Country Bear Jamboree weren't real, they were just "machines".  Same for Ben Franklin and Mark Twain in the "America" show at Epcot.  But for now, the characters were the REAL DEAL for her... and for that I couldn't be more thankful.  What I learned on my Disney Vacation was that there really is magic for those who believe.

One final story: back at Epcot one night for dinner at Biergarten.  As we were walking there, we spotted Mary Poppins doing a meet-and-greet.  E took her book to be autographed, we took pictures, and were about to walk away when E said "Oh, Mommy!  Tell her about your stepmom!"  I turned to Mary and said "Elizabeth wants me to tell you that my stepmother's name was Mary.  She just passed away."  (I made it through sentence one okay... sentence two got me.)  Without missing a beat Mary turned to Elizabeth and said, "I'm quite certain she was practically perfect in every way."  Then she got down on E's level and said, "I've always been rather partial to Mary's."

Yep.  The Johnston family was a wreck.

Easily, Mary Poppins could have stayed in character and said "Oh, I'm sorry."  But she didn't... she was Mary Poppins as she spoke to my child... as she spoke to us... as she became part of our Disney Story.

It really is magic when you choose to believe.

What I learned on my Disney Vacation... Volume One

You’d think that in all of my 4+ years of being a mom, I’d have some of the basics figured out.  You’d think that, but you’d be wrong.

We just returned from a magical week at Walt Disney World.  Before you ask, I’ll tell you… we are those people.  Yep, this was Elizabeth’s 3^rd trip.  And, yep, she’s only 4.  We took her for the first time when she had recently turned 2.  And, before you say it… no, I don’t think she was too young to go.  She doesn’t remember everything from that trip- but we do.  And she does remember some things.  Which is super cool.

We went again last year, when she was just older than 3.  Last year was also super cool, except to be totally honest, I think that our trip was a little too long.  And, yes, I realize what a brat that makes me that I think that my vacation was too long.  Poor me.

But this year was perfect…. perfect weather, perfect travel, perfect amount of time… and almost perfect behavior from my child.   Almost perfect because, well, she is a CHILD and I was making her operate on a not-so-child-friendly schedule.

Yep, folks… rocket science.

Day one- she was excited, and fairly well behaved.

Day two- she was still excited, and her behavior was also still decent.

Day three- she was used to being the center of all Disney activity, and was starting to behave a little like a princess… and not in the good way.

Day four- we were starting to see signs of the pouty/fussy/whiney E… oh, wait… she is FOUR.  That’s kind of her MO right now.  So why was I so desperate to make her “behave” when she was going on way less sleep than normal and way more amped up activity?

Because in my world, that’s what you do.  And her world was greatly being ignored… all in the name of “FUN”. 

The evening of day four, we put E in Kid Care so Dan and I could have a date (read: ride the scary rides together instead of taking turns riding them alone).  After a fun date night, we picked her up (again, waaay past her bedtime) and she was back to normal.  Disney Magic you might ask?  Yes… but this time, the Disney Magic was PLAY.  For nearly four hours, E had “normal” four year old activity.  She colored.  She watched movies.  She ate dinner.  She played with toys.  She played “house”.  And she did it on her schedule.

She wasn’t forced to wait in lines, or even meet characters.  (Both of those things she does well, btw, but still, they can wear down a little one.)

She was able to be… FOUR.

In the land of magical children’s dreams… she needed to just… PLAY.

When she got in the car and listed for us all of the fun she’d had, we realized maybe we’d gotten it right.  We weren’t the only ones who needed a night to regroup- she came back to us a “new” little girl… actually, the old one… the one we’d almost let get away.

Fortunately, we’re quick studies.  When her behavior took a nose-dive after another super long day, we quickly rebounded by taking the next morning off.  We walked around our resort, took a boat ride to Downtown Disney, shopped, swam, took a rest… then headed back to Epcot to have one of our best nights in the park.

It might take us a while to get trained, but once we figure it out, it sticks.  And what I learned from my Disney Vacation is this: kids don’t only need a storybook land with characters to meet… they need to be kids and play.