I've had this post in progress for weeks, and now that we're officially a week out, I figured I should probably wrap it up! Here's another round of random things pertaining to the Disney trip. Some dig into some details of our plans, and some are just super random things I'm thinking about and clearly needed to write out so I could stop fixating on them!
- The good news for Jacob is that the entire structure of this trip will be different. He and Craig will have significantly more resort time, and hopefully Carter and I can join for some additional time as well. They were originally only going to join us for Magic Kingdom
and Hollywood Studios, but then Jacob decided he liked some Animal
Kingdom rides too much to skip it, so now they're on board for three
parks, but still aiming to make them shorter days. I was originally hoping Carter and I would only need 2-3 days to do the parks, but then we saw a four-day ticket special that was a better value than a couple days of park hoppers and I started envisioning what four potentially shorter, more flexible days might look like. We would have only saved about $50 over the 2-day park hopper, so it didn't really make sense to force ourselves to cram for that little money anyway. Buuuut....then I discovered that the ticket special had blackout dates that fell within our trip--darn you Labor Day weekend. But the park hoppers were still not worth it and our hearts were set on four days, so we're sticking with four. Our tickets are a bit more expensive than initially planned, which stinks, but the four days will hopefully let us structure our days totally differently since we have a better idea of what we need to cover. If we want to stay at one park all day, we can. If we want to go in morning, take a break, and go back in the evening, or even have a free morning and go later, any of those are fine because we don't have to worry about cramming in two parks per day. I don't love that four of the five non-travel days will once again be park days for the two of us, but I think we can still be a bit more leisurely. Not to mention that our travel days are actually really short (if all goes well) and we leave later on the last day, so we actually have significant parts of those days that we didn't have last time to do resort stuff. I wanted to schedule one of the park days for my birthday so we can all be together and I can maximize my birthday wishes, but Jacob was angling for a resort day. I think it's more fun to be in the parks and get birthday wishes (and more chances for pixie dusting (special treatment)) all day long. Right now we only have Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios reservations set because Magic Kingdom has extra hours one day (which Carter and I loved) and Hollywood Studios will keep everyone happy on my birthday. I'm struggling a bit with the rest because it looks like 3-4 days straight of resorts for Carter and me, and I worry we won't be able to do it!
- One interesting wrinkle in this trip is we'll get a taste of another resort for a change. When we finally found flights that worked for us, Craig went back to book the resort and the last day of Old Key West had booked up. We booked the rest of it there, but had to pick something else for that last day. Originally we had talked about staying at Animal Kingdom, which also had a basketball court and would have been a cool change of pace, but we settled on Saratoga Springs mostly because it's close to the food at Disney Springs and Port Orleans, and the pools look really nice. It's funny, though, because Jacob had been so hardcore about Old Key West, and I think all of this resort research has piqued his curiosity enough that he's now suggesting he'd be open to a split stay somewhere else if we ever go back. Part of my struggle with scheduling park days is that we'd like to make our last day a resort day, if only to let ourselves experience a different resort for a little more time than we'd have if it was a park day (even a shorter park day). But that means four straight park days for Carter and me, so that's a little scary! If it gets desperate we'd probably just shift our Animal Kingdom day to the last day and make it a shorter day, which it was last time anyway.
- We've been considering renting a car for this trip, but it looked like cost was going to torpedo that idea. We were hoping to make grocery shopping, dinners off-property, and other basic sightseeing a bit easier. It would make it easier to keep up our stash of snacks and breakfasts, and give us another option when on-property food options were exhausted or expensive. We felt like we would have offset some of the cost since we wouldn't have to pay for delivery upcharges, off-property meals would likely be cheaper, and we wouldn't have to pay for the airport shuttle. Carter now counts as an adult for the airport shuttle, and while that's not a big deal, it all adds up. Jacob and Craig will likely have more free time outside parks, so it could give them a few more options to fill that time. Mind you, Jacob is adamantly against it because he wants us to stay in the "Disney Bubble" all week, but in the end he may not get a vote...and would probably actually be grateful when he got to enjoy Chipotle after five straight days of nothing but chicken tenders, pizza, and burgers. I haven't given up hope yet, especially since some $300 ones just came available with a good company, but we need to decide soon!
- I've been thinking lately how it cracks me up to think about how my dad stayed home from Disney when I was nine because he didn't think we should be going there again so soon--six years after our first trip. Never mind that there was a new park to visit or that we were at great ages for it. We honestly never really went anywhere else super exciting (i.e., having to fly on a plane) during my childhood aside from Disney twice. We did some roadtrips like D.C., Cedar Point, Toronto, and Wisconsin, but it never really got very exotic. Not that I'm complaining, but the point is that if we didn't go then, there's no guarantee we would have gone later, so I'm grateful we went when we did. I absolutely loved it, geeking out over EPCOT especially, but also beginning my love affair with roller coasters as well. But knowing how my dad reacted then after six years, the fact that I'm going two years in a row now sounds absolutely insane. It's funny because last year being my fifth trip sounded like a lot--and for some people it is, I know--but it never seemed excessive because each visit was in such a different phase of life--toddlerhood, tweenhood, married but no kids, little kids, big kids. But this...yeah, it's probably excessive. But again, if your teenager gets excited about doing something as a family, jump on it. My co-worker who has a 15-year-old literally finished that sentence for me a few weeks ago when I was explaining why we're going back, so I know it's a valid point. But suffice it to say, this does seem moderately insane and I think my aversion to planning this all over again is just my brain's way of saying, "Again?! Are you crazy?!"
- Speaking of planning, as all of that has started to come back into focus, I realized that I've been having little triggers and flashbacks to last year at this time. It's bringing back a lot of the anxiety and nervous excitement that permeated August last year. I see my photos from this time last year, or I see the state of my yard, which always takes a turn come August, and apparently those things became deeply associated with the Disney countdown last year. It's like I was in a very specific mental state/panic/excitement through the entire month, and somehow it became connected to so much of what went on during the month. When my Facebook memories pop up, or I see my overgrown garden or fading hydrangea blooms, or I think about an activity we did last year at this time, all of a sudden I'm right there again feeling all the feelings--and this time around I've been even more aware of what a fast and exhausting few weeks we're in the midst of--how quick it would go and how much I needed to do to prepare. August already goes so fast and I didn't want to wish the month away looking forward to the trip, but I also know how much of August was focused on Disney last year and all these little memories have brought up those same feelings this year. It's overwhelming and exhausting in the midst of the excitement...because I also look at my pictures and remember the joy of the palm trees and the little magic moments of being on property and I can't wait. It's so conflicting...worth the work, but yeah, it's a lot.
- A couple weeks ago I was working from home and the boys started watching random Disney YouTube videos on the TV. First it was rankings of the resorts, then it was ride rankings. It was rather entertaining watching their joint indignance over our two resorts being at the bottom of the deluxe resort list, or debating over where some of the rides were ranked. Admittedly it was fun seeing all the rides we'll get to do again, or jokingly complaining about the ones that weren't big winners for us, and thinking about all the fun we have coming. For all the struggles we did have, it's still magical and we still had a good time and made lots of good memories. I feel lucky to have the chance to do it again, even if I might have ultimately preferred a new setting and new memorable activities. Another video showed people walking around EPCOT in the pouring rain, and on one hand it made me recall the extremely rainy day we endured there 10 years ago and hope that doesn't happen again, and on the other, the simplicity of that person's walk through the park brought back to mind the bliss of how it felt to be there and live in that world for a bit. The break from real life and the change of scenery is nice and quite magical. But it comes with a lot of effort and my brain knows it. I definitely had dreams obsessing over planning and needing to get tickets bought and reservations booked. One night I irrationally dreamed that Jacob had some sort of basketball tournament happening while we were there and panicked because I knew we didn't have time for that and Jacob would never want to come out of the Disney bubble to play basketball. What on earth, Brain?! Part of my efforts over these few weeks were to stay as calm and organized as possible so my brain doesn't go into overload thinking about things I might be overlooking. Lots of lists, for sure.
- After I re-read my trip posts from last year, I made the mistake of reading the one about the week after we got back--the rush of getting ready for school and the exhaustion of getting back to reality so quickly--and it was just another reminder of how much we had to do in the next few weeks and how quickly the busy start of the school year will be here...not to mention how quickly the summer weather might be disappearing. So that was all a little depressing. And I knew the key was really making the most of the next few weeks, but that felt overwhelming too, with so much work to accomplish, back-to-school prep, another week of soccer camp, twice-a-week baseball, and still wanting to squeeze in a coaster trip with Carter. It all felt very impossible, but here we are a week out, and I think we managed pretty well. The thing is, I'd kick myself for not front-loading more into July, but to be honest, so much of July is just recovering from the school year, getting ahead at work, and settling into a summer groove. You're just trying to get a handle on things and finally settle into a rhythm, and once you do, you get a couple weeks to enjoy the groove before you're slammed with the reality of August. I never thought I'd say this as a parent, but I feel like summer is just a little too short right now.
Now that we're in the home stretch, I'm down to real thoughts about packing and planning and what happens if we get sick. As it is, Jacob was extra sniffly last week (which I thought he caught from me), and Carter came down with a mild cold on Friday, and now I'm sniffly (probably because I spent all weekend in close proximity to him--more on that soon). I'm hoping mine is just my body fighting off a touch of Carter's germs and either way it'll all pass soon enough and not impact anything. I'm still worried about COVID too, if only because I read two random posts over the weekend talking about having or getting COVID at Disney. One person was complaining about how horribly uncomfortable the bed was, and eventually realized it was COVID causing aches, and the other said her whole family came back with it. With school starting the following week, that would not be ideal. I'm planning on masking on the plane and hope the boys will too, especially going there.
Honestly, I overthink everything at this stage. I always run into the situation where I should be planning and packing at this point but wait because of last-minute laundry, things we're still using, and not wanting piles all over the house. Sometimes I do better anyway with a marathon packing session followed by an extra day to continue to think through anything I might be overlooking. Doing it a little at a time seems too disjointed to me, even with a list. The problem is that I get distracted by the busyness of the week because normal life is enough--work, sports, dinners, cleaning, errands--and then all of a sudden I have a couple days (thankfully a weekend both years) to get everything together. This time we need to do it a little early because we're flying out of Buffalo and need to go the night before, so I will need to be as organized as possible as soon as it makes sense. I did not set myself up for success, I suppose, since Carter and I had a crazy, exhausting weekend and this week we're getting a new fridge delivered. I think ours is dying a slow death since it just started making a new noise and the ice cream has been a little soft. The ice/water dispenser has been broken for a while, so we've been wanting to replace it and now made sense to make sure it didn't die while we were gone and while I had an extra 10% off at Lowe's this month for my birthday. So, that will be a little crazy to close out the week, but at least it will be done. Maybe it will keep my mind from overthinking everything else? Ha. I know everything will slowly come into focus, but this week will be a challenge.
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