Disney World (Day 1 of 4)

Good news... the temperature finally dipped back below 90 degrees. So with an 88-degree forecast for Orlando, we headed to Disney to use Day 1 of our 4-Day Play Pass. I mean, it sounded like a good idea at the time. You know, before we actually arrived, started sweating, and realized the lines for the rides were 30-45 minutes long. Quickly after arriving, we knew it could quite possibly be a rough day with two little ones in tow. So, we did what any normal parents would do - we gave Braedyn the map and let him guide us through the park.

The first stop was the Jungle Cruise. Figures Braedyn would pick a boat ride, which I'm sure is only because he had yet to realize there was a train that rode throughout the park. As Chase was wanting to walk around on the boat, Ben realized pretty quickly that his sole job throughout the day would be keeping Chase preoccupied and entertained. And I must say, he did quite a good job at it. Here are the two of them enjoying the ride.

And here is a picture of Braedyn and I on the boat ride. Again, this is a classic Braedyn face (does the kid ever smile) - when it comes to trains and boats and anything that moves, he's quite the serious little boy, as he likes to focus on what is going on at all times! But he's still cute regardless.

After the Jungle Cruise, we went on one more ride and then let the boys run around for a little bit. That wasn't the plan, but once Braedyn saw a gift shop and managed to wiggle loose from my grip, we kinda just threw "the plans" out the window. While running around, Braedyn discovered this fun little steering wheel, which I think he very well may have enjoyed more than the actual Jungle Cruise boat ride. Go figure...

At this point, we realized that maybe we should get the boys some lunch soon. As we tried to figure out where to eat at, the boys had different plans in mind.

The time was approximately 11:15 am (I kid you not). So while the boys slept, Ben and I took the opportunity to sit down in the shade, enjoy some ice cream, and create a new game plan. Our new plan was this: Ditch all the rides unless the wait is 10 minutes or less... which translated to, "Ditch. All. The. Rides." Find the play area for kids and let them run wild.

So after the boys woke up, we ate a very overpriced lunch, and headed to Pooh's Playground. And guess what, in the hour we spent here, the boys had the most fun ever! Braedyn loved the slide, treehouse, and umm... did I mention he liked the slide?

Once Chase discovered the water area, he was in heaven. Especially considering he was already sweating buckets at this point. Both him and Braedyn had a good time playing in the water. But boy-oh-boy, they were soaking wet when they got done. (I was secretly patting myself on the back for throwing in a spare pair of socks for the boys at the last minute before we left the house that morning.)

We discovered the Fast Pass option for Tigger & Pooh's ride, and quickly took advantage of that - twice.  We realized that Braedyn is at the age where he understands that he has to wait in line (but even he has his limits). However, Chase is a different story, because he just wants to walk around everywhere. So thank goodness for the Fast Pass - instead of waiting 40 minutes, we waited less than 10 minutes. For the most part, Chase did pretty well on all the rides. But during the Pooh ride, there is a small section where it is dark for about a minute. And yeah, Chase wasn't a fan of the darkness. I caught this picture of him right as he was starting to get a little scared.

Once we moved back out to the bright sun and the carousel, he was a much happier little tot.

So after several hours of heat, crowds, and too-long lines, we were all extremely exhausted, worn-out, and so not looking forward to the long drive home.

So there wasn't much left to do, except to drop $35 on some dinner at the Magic Kingdom. Is it even legal to charge $8 for a cheeseburger. As in, a cheeseburger without a coke to wash it down with?

So this is what Ben and I learned... forget the weekends, they are not an ideal time to take little ones to Disney World. We will have to take a day off during the week the next time we go. And while Chasey enjoyed all the action and colors and entertainment, 15 months is still quite young for Disney World. The upside to it all... our next visit is planned for early December, which means cooler weather and lots of Christmas decorations. I'm already counting down the days!!