DISNEY WORLD

Okay, let's talk about Disney World. We are not particularly Disney people. We are likely more Disney than some people since we have been three times now in the last ten years. We took my oldest daughter alone when she turned five. We brought both girls right before my middle daughter turned three (mostly because kids are free at Disney until they turn 3!) And then we decided we should take our 2-year-old before his 3rd birthday too. Probably a bad idea. 

Let me just say it. Girls are easier than boys. This is my experience and I'll likely change my mind by middle school. But for now - my 2-year-old boy is MUCH more difficult than either of my girls at this age. 

For instance --

It rained on us in Disney one day (well, a few days) We were prepared for afternoon showers with ponchos and rain coast. John was in the best shape of all of us because he was in a covered stroller. (Don't even get me started on strollers. I never want to see another one again!)

But yet, he wanted to get OUT of the stroller and bemoan the fact that the OUTSIDE of his stroller was getting wet. Well, I tried to explain to him, if you get in the stroller you won't be wet .... I'm reasoning with him as I'm dripping wet myself. Meantime, Avery (my 6-year-old) figures if he's not going to sit in the covered stroller, she will. She's no dummy. 

Then he's pissed she's in HIS stroller while he's getting wet. "Do you want to get in the stroller?" NO! So, John doesn't want to be inside the stroller. He doesn't want Avery to be in the stroller. And he's still yelling about how the outside of the stroller is wet. This is what I'm dealing with.

{We're all soaked}

So, needless to say, he was a little young for this trip. You might have a 2-year-old who is a dream. I did with Avery. I don't remember her crying even once when we took her three years ago... isn't she cute?

{Avery in 2015}

It likely helped she wanted to do EVERYTHING her big sister did and she was a laid back kid. She did whatever we did and even stayed up late, skipped naps and followed along with the plans of the day. 

I was spoiled. I didn't even know it. 

THROWBACK PHOTOS: 2015

SO THIS YEAR... we spent a lot of time without John. Luckily, my saint of a mother came with us and was able to take John back to the hotel when he became unbearable.

Now I know I'm making him sound like a terror. Don't get me wrong - sometimes he is. But he's super cute and sweet when he wants to be. For example, when he met the love of his life (at the moment): Rapunzel. He was absolutely awe-struck by seeing his favorite princess in real life. He flirted with her by telling her "I'm a bull" and doing his best Ferdinand impression. 

(We're going to have to work on his courting skills before college.)

She left him with a lipstick kiss on his cheek that he wanted to keep forever!

Another lesson learned from this trip was age spans. My oldest daughter turns 10 this month. She wanted to go on the great rides like space mountain, Everest, etc. ... My 6-year-old rode everything her height would allow (even space mountain and everest!), but she was more interested in waiting in line to meet the princesses. John, of course, couldn't go on any of the "cool" rides and so we were left trying to cater to a lot of different needs.

I was truly surprised that Riess was still as into the princesses as she was! I was weary that she wouldn't find them as celebrity like this time, but she did. Or maybe she was just pretending for the sake of her little sister...

As for Disney suggestions ... I'm no Disney planner, but some of my favorite things to do there are:

• Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party

Only on certain nights in the fall. Tickets are bought separately from the park. This year, we arrived around 4pm in the afternoon on our flight, so I got tickets for that night. I think it's a little bit of a rip-off to pay to go to the Magic Kingdom during the day and then pay for the party that night. If you are able to just pay for that evening, you can start arriving early (like 4 or 5pm). We got to ride a lot of the rides that night that usually have super long wait times. We rode The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Space Mountain, It's a Small World, Peter Pan, the Haunted Mansion ride and others without having to get Fast Passes. (More on fast passes)

• Princess Dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table

This was another experience I wasn't able to get during a regular time at the park. I tried for MONTHS to get reservations for the dinner in the castle. We had taken Riess when she was little, but the castle was closed for renovations when we took Avery in 2015, so I really wanted her to experience it. The princesses come to your table and talk to you individually and you get pictures, autographs, etc. (More on autographs later) The food is really good too. I enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine too ;)
It's super expensive, be warned. But it is the only way you can actually go inside Cinderella's Castle. The girls loved it. 

• Animal Kingdom

The first time we went to Disney we almost skipped Animal Kingdom. I don't need to go to a zoo when we have one here, right? Wrong! It is one of our very favorite parks at Disney. The rides are great. Everest and Kali River Rapids and the Safari ride are our favorites. The Avatar rides are supposedly spectacular but we certainly never got to ride them because we could never get Fast Passes and the waits were ridiculous!

Yes, that's a 4 1/2 hour wait! No, thank you. So I'll take everyone's word for it. It's great. Try to get a fast pass. Good luck.

• Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios

This was the first year we went to the "Fantasmic" Show at Hollywood Studios. It was actually fantasmic. We bought the "VIP dessert package" beforehand and got great seats along with a massive amount of desserts and drinks. (The margaritas were a game-changer at this point in the day!) I would highly recommend the show. I love the shows, fireworks and all the spectacle at Disney, so that's just me! But it was really the only time I thought John felt the magic - when Mickey defeated the villains in the end and showed up on top of the mountain with fireworks, John raised his hands and said "Mickey!" and was truly in awe. At that moment, I was glad I brought him!