Life can be complicated. It is so easy to just get caught up in the day to day living and doing what it takes to make ends meet and make sure that little ones are fed, clean, educated, and put to bed each night. We run from work to home to school to home to after school activities and then fall onto the couch to relax for the last little part of our day before going to sleep and starting all over again.
Do you remember how much fun it was to be a kid? I do. I used my imagination and played and dreamed up all sorts of wild adventures and I didn’t even think about if people were watching me and what they might think of me.
When I grew up real life started and some of the fun and freedom went away. My day can start to be like a routine, sometimes good and sometimes bad, but a lot the same. And the stress adds up for me and my husband, there are bills, jobs, customers, deadlines, little people who demand things from us constantly, a house to clean, homework to do, car to fix, more bills to pay…
That is why it is so important for everyone to have something that helps break them out of this routine periodically, something fun that adds some healthy excitement to life. This could be traveling, a hobby you have, or activity you participate in. It is something different to each person and family.
For my family, it is Disney World! We love just about anything Disney. We enjoy individually, we enjoy it as a couple, and we enjoy it as a family. Disney is a way that our family breaks out of the mundane part of life. It helps keep us from getting bogged down by the stresses of life. It helps us not take life so serious.
And for this reason you will notice that I periodically I will write about our experiences and lessons we have learned from Disney. It motivates me and adds fun to my life. Here are some of the reasons I enjoy it so much:
The stress of real life magically disappears. Before going on vacation we are forced to make sure all the upcoming bills are paid and things at home and work are taken care of. Disney requires you to pay the complete balance of your package before your vacation starts and we budget in for souvenirs and some extras so we don’t have a worry in the world when we drive under that Welcome sign. When we get to our hotel we park the car and let Disney do the rest. We stay at the Disney resorts and use their transportation the whole time.
You can laugh and play and it’s not only ok to be silly but encouraged. I can smile and laugh with my family. We can play and try to pull the sword out of the stone and not care what anyone else thinks. Why? Because just about everyone is enjoying themselves (or at least the ones that remember how to have fun)! The first time we went, our children were too little to ride Thunder Mountain Railroad, which I had waited to ride since I was their age, so I rode by myself while Dustin watched the girls. I smiled the goofiest smile and laughed the whole time! You can act like a kid again!
It’s pure family time (except when we use the babysitter service)!
There are no jobs to go to, emails to respond to, or phones to answer. We have time to play with our children and each other. Our kids have our undivided attention in the morning, at lunch, at dinner, in between, all day long. We get to see those moments and share in their excitement of meeting their favorite princess or going on their favorite ride. We hold their hands and sit them on our laps and laugh with them.
And then usually once during our stay we get a sitter from Kids Nite Out and we go act like kids together. We either shop or eat at Downtown Disney or we ride Dumbo together or go on all 3 of the mountains. We have our picture taken together and pick out a treat or get a drink. Disney is a great place for adults too.
All the kids in the restaurant are loud so ours blend right in.
I don’t feel so judged at Disney because there are kids everywhere that are loud because they are so excited or they are having a tantrum. And people are too busy having fun to be bothered by what my kid might be doing when it isn’t their shining moment. The whole place is designed to entertain so it’s easy to keep my little ones distracted from a wait in line or for a show to start.
There is an indescribable magic at Disney World. And it is something that you can only understand by experiencing it. My eyes water when I see Cinderella Castle at the end of Main Street and I get excited when the bus gets close to Magic Kingdom and the music starts to play. There is an enjoyable peace I get when I watch my girls run and play and have the time of their life.
So, during the year as stress builds up we plan and look forward to our next trip. We scrimp and save and bust our butts to make sure that we can take that next trip. And then we take our yearly trip to Disney World and as the sign says walking into Magic Kingdom, “Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy.” And the stress melts away.
Cat @ MaryMarthaMama says
I love to read about how other families do Disney. I went once as a child and we went once as newlyweds but we have yet to take our boys (3 and 1). I’m really hoping that we can save up to take them at the end of next year.
Stephanie says
Those are such fun ages for Disney! We do lots of princess stuff but with boys you would probably be more cars and pirates! I would recommend getting the Passporter’s book. We get one each year to help us plan and to record our trip memories in it. Thanks for stopping by!