“We should take the kids to Disney.” Such a simple statement. We figured it would make sense to go now before Logan is old enough to actually cost us money. We just needed to figure out a date. At first I was toying with the idea of going in November.
Why November? Well, work has a trip for us to Florida then. I figured we could take a free flight and just extend our trip while there. I did not really work out the logistics (I kind of assumed Lindsey would skip the work trip and just meet me in Florida with the kids…hahaha, yeah, I know). It just would not work out, Adam2 & Kayla could not make that time frame work and we wanted our kids to go together.
Then came another curveball: my brother and his fiancée set a date and location for their wedding…Florida in May. Now we just had to make that work with Lindsey’s family. No problem. I went through a travel agent for the Disney stuff, she was great with everything.
The plan was to fly Spirit Airlines from Latrobe to Orlando. Then we would rent a car and drive to St.Petersburg for the wedding, and fortunately Spirit had a flight from Tampa to Latrobe. Boom, super simple! Yeah, here come the hiccups.
First–Spirit canceled the Tampa to Latrobe flight. They gave us a credit, but there was no other options. We would have to drive back to Orlando for a 10:00 a.m. flight. Yeah, we would be getting up very early to drive almost two hours to the airport.
Second–I misunderstood the travel agent’s one email. I thought she said she would book us a rental car. Then I read it again and guess what? She gave me a link to the rental place. It was three days before our trip and all the cars were already booked. It was like ten o’clock at night and I was in the midst of a panic attack. I emailed the agent and explained the situation. I figured she would get back to me the next day. I started looking at other options. A direct flight to Tampa? Yeah, not a thing for that day. The only flight that day would be Orlando to Indianapolis to Tampa, which would be about nine hours. A bus was a better option, but it would still take a decent amount of time. Technically, it was looking like a train may be our best bet, but all of those options left us with a ton of problems.
Fortunately, while I was researching helicopter rentals, the travel agent responded. She found me a rental car, but it was off Disney property so I would need to Uber my way out to the rental company, but it would not be that far. She was awesome!
Do you know how much luggage you take for four people to fly to Disney? Now add in there that we needed to take my suit for the wedding, as well as Payton’s dress. I put them in a suit bag and decided to pay for a carry-on. Four big suitcases, two car seats, my carry-on, a backpack for each of us, and a double stroller. Oh and did I mention two kids?
Traveling with kids is the best! Lindsey packed them so much stuff to keep them entertained in their little backpacks…and guess what? They did not want any of it. Logan just thrashed around the entire flight, wanting to climb all over me. Also, our kids never put down their tablets. We have to rip them away from them at home. Guess what? They would not touch them during this trip. Any time we wanted to get ready in our hotel room, a good time that they could sit on the bed and play on their tablets? Nope, they just ran around like crazy kids. It was great!
Anyways, we arrived in Orlando on Saturday and made our way to Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort. Yep, we are officially ballers, staying at a resort on site. Okay, real quick side story. When Lindsey said about staying at a resort at Disney, I assumed the place was inside the park. So I figured we would be able to just roll out of bed, go on a few rides, then come back and do some swimming or take a nap. Yeah, I was wrong.
After we had some food, Payton wanted to go to the pool. We did a little swimming before bed. Not a smart move. Payton ended up wanting to leave Disney everyday to come back to the pool. We never got back early enough, but it would always put her in a mood at the end of the day that she just wanted to leave. In her mind, the pool was the greatest part of the trip.
The first day we went to Animal Kingdom. We started with the safari and that is definitely one of the best parts. I love how it feels like you are actually just driving through Africa. Honestly, I could probably spend the day hanging out in Harambe. I made the mistake of taking Payton on the rapids ride (I do not remember names, sorry). I did not think anything of it since she loves water. Well, the tube stopped directly under a waterfall and Payton was the one to get hit with all of the water. She was drenched and she freaked out. After that, she refused to ride any rides (unless they were incredibly slow and we could promise they did not have waterfalls). That put her in a mood and when we went to the Lion King show, she ended up hating it because she thought it was too loud.
Day two was Epcot. that was my first time there and I loved it. Okay, another funny story. A friend in elementary school told me about going to Epcot. I thought Epcot was the the giant ball. He told me that inside of Epcot is basically every country and you can go around getting food from all of them. Like I pictured stalls of countries, where you got food and drinks. Yeah, I was way off. I look forward to going back and trying more food and drinks. We did the Frozen ride, which Payton liked, but it was hard to get her on that boat. Logan liked all the rides we put him on, but he is two, so I doubt he will remember any of it.
The third day was Hollywood Studios. And c’mon, the main thing was Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Adam2, Tip, and I rode Rise of the Resistance, which was INCREDIBLE! During the space battle, it felt like we were attacking a Star Destroyer and space looked so real. The entire area was amazing. And it was ruined by Payton being a jerk. I love my kids. I really do. BUT, she annoyed me on that day. I just wanted to walk around and see everything. This is my land. These are my people. She kept crying that she was scared of the stormtroopers (not like they can hit anything) and the blaster sounds. She did like seeing Rey and Chewie. I got to drink blue milk and saw most of it, but did not get enough time. So I guess we will definitely go back. This was also my first time at Hollywood Studios.
The final day was Magic Kingdom. The kids loved it there. Not going to lie, I like it there as well. There is something cool about seeing the castle and riding some of the iconic rides. The best part of the day was actually at the end, we got to see the characters (Mickey, Minnie, etc) walking out of the castle (I think?) and the kids were able to wave at them and say hi.
The next day we woke up and packed our bags. I ordered an Uber…okay, is that the right term? I have never Ubered before, why would I? The last bunch of vacations have been to places where we had our car and kids, so no need for an Uber. Would I Uber in Johnstown or Ebensburg? So I got to Uber for the first time. Yay me. My driver was a funny guy, had plenty to say about marriage haha. I got my rental car AND found my way back to the Disney resort. We got on the road a little later than we wanted and we were starving, so we stopped for breakfast.
Eventually we made our way to St.Pete Beach for the wedding. The whole way there I was saying that we should get to the hotel and unload our stuff and keep everything organized so it is easier to pack and leave. HAHAHAHA. As soon as we got there Payton and Logan wanted to go to the beach. So naturally, we dumped everything and ran out to the ocean. Our room was trashed from that moment until we left.
The wedding ended up being an amazing time. Rachel was beautiful and my brother looked alright. I gave a pretty great best man speech (if I do say so myself). My kids danced around and acted crazy for awhile. The day was fun. Well, having kids at wedding kind of sucks (yeah, I will admit that). I mean, you cannot get too drunk and you are constantly checking up on the kids. Getting ready with a two year old is great! Logan went into complete meltdown mode when we got to Adam’s room with the rest of the guys. Yeah, that was cool. Other than that, they were well behaved.
The return trip was just as crazy. We were on the road by six (I wanted to leave at five, but Lindsey thought I was crazy). By the time we dropped off the car, checked our bags, got through security, it was time to get on the plane. It was not a fun flight. I am pretty sure the ticket agent decided to rearrange our seats (she was being nice–but it did not work out). Originally we each had a kid with us and would sit on different sides. She switched it so three of us were together and the other seat was across the aisle. This did not work out. Logan was being crazy, either screaming or throwing stuff. Payton was fairly good. We landed in Latrobe around 1:00, which meant we had not eaten or had any coffee. Yeah, we had to go somewhere…that may be a story for another time.
Okay, some random thoughts about the trip…
-I probably said “this is the last time I ever bring you kids to Disney!” at least 253 times. And yet, I am already thinking about when we go again, weird.
-It is always great seeing so many wonderful people at a wedding. But I especially enjoyed hanging out with Pap, Aunt Lori, Addy, and James… being so far away means not seeing each other much, so it was nice to spend quality time with them. Also, I loved getting the chance to BS with John in person instead of just commenting on each other’s Facebook memes, haha.
-I hope Logan enjoys rollercoasters and other fast rides. Payton definitely takes after Lindsey, so amusement parks will be totally lame if no one will ride anything.
-The mask restrictions were lifted our first day at Disney. You still had to wear a mask inside or while waiting in line, and they are very strict about it. In fact, I got yelled at for not having my mask on when I went to the restroom. Seriously, I was the only person in there and the guy yelled at me to put my mask on. Like dude, I practiced social distancing in public restrooms well before COVID (shy bladder!).
-Okay, one other mask thing. So much of the masking and social distancing is illusion. Or the appearance of control. For example, when you pick up your food (the restaurants were mobile order now) you have to stand behind this line and the employees will yell at you if you cross the line while someone else is getting their food. But, the area is tight, so when they walk through with their food, they have to pass right beside you. So why scream about staying behind the line? It was just something that made me laugh.
Okay, I think that is enough about the trip. I did not detail everything and I could have mentioned way more about the wedding and the few days there, but most of you that read this thing were probably there. And those that were not…well you missed out, but you probably saw the ten thousand pictures on Facebook.
