4 times the magical terrible twos (November 2011 trip)

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Disney World with 4 two years olds. I cannot believed we survived, then this is actually our 4th trip this trip more amazing then the others. Our family are Disney fanatics, we have travelled to Disney world more times than I could count. We were married in 2006, honeymooned in Disney World. In 2007, we took 4 trips, and the last trip being the most memorable as I we found out that I was pregnant in Disney World and that is was not a flu bug which we thought. When we got home we found out that there was not one baby, not two, not three but four we were shock beyond belief. . . but also realized that Disney World would not be in our immediate future probably for the next 5 years or so, as we would could not manage four young kids in the most magic place of all, until our parents thought otherwise. . .

We went to this multiple babies retreat when the quads when they were 3 months old, the leader talked about how parents of multiples tend to get caught up in routine that they forget to live life too. She says, the number one thing you can do is plan get away / day trips to remember to live life and see what is important. There was still no way I planned to go to Disney World with 4 babies in the near future but I dreamed about it, sometimes I guess out loud too because Christmas 2008 my parents & parent-in-laws bought all of us annual passes, and all six of us went when the quads were 8 months old, then 16 months, then at 22 months. I could not have been more ecstatic. That I could not wait to return the favour when I was eager to go again . . . so DH and I bought everyone passes so that we could start our family Christmas Celebration in Disney World.

Before I get started maybe I should introduce ourselves:
Me, Amy (26): A stay at home mom to 4 lovely kids that keep me on my toes. A Disney Fanatic, who is a type-a planner, that has learned to let that go to some degree in the last two years.

DH, Graham (28): The love of my life, who puts up with my craziness and quirks, and who is the most amazing dad in the world.

DGrams: My best friend and my mom, I do not know what I would do without all her support and love throughout my life. She is the one who let me fall in love with Disney World, with our annual family trips every summer, and lets me pass it on to my children.

DGramps: Not much of a Disney fan, but goes along for the ride, without much complaining. Loves spending the time with his grandkids every chance he gets.

DNana: The most amazing Nana I know, she loves her grandkids to pieces, and I love that she wants to be so much part of their lives; she is one of my best friends.

DPapa: The most laidback, non-emotional guy I have ever met. He knows how to calm down a screaming room in a matter of seconds, especially with 4 screaming kids someday.

Wyatt(2): Our 1st born by 2 minutes. He is our outgoing boy who knows how to entertain a room in a matter of seconds. His favourite Disney Character is Buzz Lightyear, and on any given day I will see him trying to fly around our house like Buzz.

Emmersyn (2): 2nd born, and our stubborn go-getter. Once she has her mind set on something there is no turning back. She is a true-blue terrible-two child. Her favourite Disney Character is Belle; I think it has to do with her love of reading just like Belle.

Hartley (2): 3rd born, out shy quite mommy girl. She usually is attached to my hip in new places which can make for quite a challenge in new places. Her favourite Disney Character is Cinderella, because she loves to Dance.

Lydon (2) 4th born, and more reserved child, he is our thinker and observer; he really feeds off of his brothers and sisters. He loves Lightin’ McQueen, and anything to do with cars.

Now that you know everybody, I hope you enjoy our family report.

 

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Our Vacation started on November 9th, 2010. It started off like anymore at 5:30 AM. Wait, who am I kidding? We were all unusually perky this morning. I could tell the kids were confused that they were allowed to get out of bed when their lamps had not turned on. (We placed timed lamps in their room, because we had a lot of issues with getting up in the middle of the night and early in the morning when transitioning them to big kid beds.) Wyatt, Hartley & Lydon slowly started heading downstairs, while Emmersyn decided she would say goodbye to all their stuff animals. When Lydon heard this, he thought he had better say goodbye too – from the hallway, I could hear him shouting “Bye! See you after Disney World!” Emmersyn panicked, and responded, “No! I’m coming with you! Wait for me!” Kids say the cutest thing.

My kids are also very observant (and smart). Indicative of just how much they were aware of this impending trip, all our luggage is color coded. Mine is red, DH is black and each of the kids has a color. As Hartley was getting into the van and seeing everyone’s suitcases she panics and says “Oh no! Where is the big red suitcase?!” I had no idea that they realized that everyone had a color suitcase; I guess they do pay attention to their surroundings? Crazy. My mother always reminds us to watch what we say and do around our 2 year olds. . . they see everything. ;

I love music, so for every trip so far I created a playlist for our trip to the airport, but between the kids (who never. Stop. Talking) and the rattling of the luggage in the back, I think it lost some of its charm. I didn’t care, we were on our way to Walt Disney World. When we got to the Vancouver Airport, I was glad to see Grams and Gramps waiting for us at the drop off zone, so that DH could drop the kids, luggage and I off as he went to park the car. Nana and Papa joined us 5 minutes later. Our first stop was to get all the kids to go potty and then to have some breakfast. DH called as we were just sitting down to eat breakfast, to let us know he was on the shuttle. As he arrived everyone went to get boarding passes except the kids and me, as the line-up was really insane, so I just finished up our breakfast in a corridor. My husband tells me every day that I am his hero for staying home and raising our children while he is working, on this particular day I think everyone walking by the kids and I in those 5 minutes assumed that I was flying with 4 two-year olds with no help. I swear to you I am not insane, folks.

Eventually, what seemed like forever, with customs, luggage, security and boarding. (Our plane showed up right before boarding). We finally got settled in quickly and got the kids fastened into their CARE restraints, which are amazing, they were utterly adorable, and entertaining everyone around with their cries of “Blast off!” and “Bye, Vancouver! We’re all done with Vancouver!” and “We’re getting ready to start!” The plane was only ¾ full, so we were optimistic we’d all get an empty seat next to us in each row, but at the last minute, a crew of passengers bored and everyone had someone beside them except, DH and Lydon. Nice! At least it was not a drunk guy like our first plane ride.

Despite missing my wifi and satellite radio, the flight was unbelievable. Over the last few trips, a strange phenomenon had started to occur. The flight from Vancouver to Orlando seemed like an ETERNITY, and I was too dense to see it was because it IS a long time to wrangle a baby/toddler in an airplane seat. Not that I would shell out$150 for another baby to have his/her own seat when they don’t have to, but holy crap. It’s worth it if you’ve got it. Even with the lack of onboard entertainment, it was – dare I say it – a relaxing journey… and we were on the ground in Florida before lunchtime! The girls even slept a bit, and all the kid adored having their own snack, juice and trays, and I didn’t even have to get out anything from my “bag of tricks”

At MCO, Emmersyn was immediately disappointed that “the monorail [didn’t] have Mickey Balloons anymore”. We explained to her that it was just an airport monorail, and that we still had to drive to WDW to find the Mickey monorails. She was already a girl obsessed with said transporation form.  While DH and Papa went to get our rental cars, the rest of us got all of our luggage, car seats, etc. off the carousel and to the door (and scored some adorable Duffy stickers) long before they could make it back. Seriously, it was all going too easily and a little part of me kept wondering what giant thing we must have forgotten at home. Instead, it was just a good trip. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

DH and Papa returned with a bright blue Dodge Grand Caravan and a Red Ford Escape. Oh how a longed we could go back to driving a SUV, but a less not enough room for our growing family. We made a quick stop at Walmart for a few essentials, and were at our hotel by 2 PM –but not before passing “A Mickey bus! With balloons on it! There it is! And “Epcot! There it is! I see it!”
It was going to be a fun, fun visit.

 

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As we checked in at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, we just continued to be blessed. We had requested a building in a particular location and got it, our room was ready (a first in several trips if it’s ever happened), and I have to say, the moderates are really nice. I have to admit that I thought of our days of staying in Moderates was over, but when we realized that we would have to share our time between a DVC resort and another hotel, my mom suggested trying to find a hotel with connecting rooms, for a couple of days and we would figure something out from there. We ended up getting connecting rooms with Grams and Gramps and the boys slept in one room and the girls slept in another. Nana and Papa were right next door so it was perfect. We were thrilled with the space, the beds, and the storage, the kids were delighted at the Nemo décor, and all was well.

Instead of going to the Magic Kingdom as planned (you’ll find we did a lot of pants-seat-flying this trip!), we just hung around the hotel to get settled in and explore a bit. I admit those that I’m not cut out for “split stays: (staying each half of a trip in two separate hotels), because I never truly settled in there – but it was good enough to get our vacation underway!

Around 4, we decided we’d all at least go over to the park to get our passes processed. The kids cracked us up along the way, at first pointing out nearly every Mickey Mouse (or resemblance of parts of the big cheese) that they saw. We kept telling them, “You’re going to keep seeing Mickey in a few more places. It’s really not as shocking as you seem to think.” No, of course we didn’t. But we did say that to one another, and found it quite humorous. They were seriously just in awe that he was there(!) and there(!) and there, too! We rode the ferry over which they loved, and I loved watching their sweet faces as they discovered Cinderella Castle in the distance.

When we got to guest services (after stopping by to say hello to our brick!), we heard the most enthusiastic, surprising phrase from Wyatt – “Look! There it is, Main Street, USA!” I could not believe he recognized from the train station I guess (thanks to DVDs, picture books,etc) … so how could we not take them in to actually see Main Street, just for a few minutes before dinner?!

We spent just about 25 minutes (one trip up and back), watching our kids soak it all in. It was magical, if I may use a potentially overused word. But seriously, it was.

It was quickly time to head to Chef Mickey’s for our dinner reservation, so we waited anxiously (especially my obsessed daughter) for the “Mickey Monorail”. If you know WDW, you know there are a bunch of monorails. Currently, all but one (with a Tron theme) are decorated with Mickey balloons in honor of their “celebration” theme for 2009-2010. Or so we thought. Monorail Orange pulled up, and it must have just been put back in use or something – because no balloons. Emmersyn was bummed, but we assured her the rest would have it and we almost certainly wouldn’t have to ride the one without again (Don’t ever say “certainly” (even with a modifier like “almost”) to your children. It will haunt you. We would get Monorail Orange (sans Mickey balloons) about 40% of the time, including later that evening back to our car!)

Dinner was great. The kids took to the characters immediately and couldn’t have been happier to see them. The whole way home, they couldn’t stop talking about the food (particularly the mac & cheese), the characters (namely Mickey and Pluto – who got LOTS of love this trip), and the BEAUTIFUL castle.

Despite having not really “accomplished” anything yet, it was a perfect first day. And this is why we can go back to WDW again and again – for the moments (days) like this, with no lines, no rides, nothing but a picturesque, magical (there it is again) place to spend time with one another.

It was almost ruined by a – literally – 3.5 inch long grasshopper on the inside of Hartley’s van window that she pointed out on the way back to the hotel. It scared the crap out of her, but she was quite brave. This mama did a lot of praying that it wouldn’t move, specifically that it wouldn’t jump on her…. And it didn’t. DH got it out back at the hotel, and it really was a perfect day.

 

[jennyf2]

GREAT TR so far!!!! I can only imagine the looks on their faces Can't wait to read more!!!

 

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None of us slept all that well, but we’ve had worse nights. By about 6, we were all up for the day. As per usual routine, we got a mug o’ Diet Coke, the kids watched Playhouse Disney (including the dreaded Oso), and we hung out a while, wishing things opened earlier for us morning people. Sort of like we do at home.

Out first stop of the day was at Epcot, and Wyatt and Lydon were in awe of Speceship Earth as always.

They were still excited to see all of the characters (sure it had been 12 hours, but you never know with 2-year-olds!) so we visited with Daisy and Stitch before the park opened, and with Mickey and the gang in Epcot’s Character Connection once inside. There were probably 6 or 7 families in the line the entire time we were, and ironically enough there were three sets of multiples in a row (us, boy twins & triplets), which I thought was pretty neat.
The kids – especially Hartley (!) – were just giddy with excitement over the characters. Giddy. Crazy. Filled with joy. It was so much fun for all of us!
After spending some time with our friends, DH, Gramps & Papa went to get fastpasses for Soarin’ and the kids, Nana, Grams & I went to check out the outside of The Seas w/ Nemo & Friends. They were really apprehensive of the seagulls last time, but not so much on this trip. “Seagulls says ‘Mine! Mine! Mine!’ [Wyatt / Emmersyn] LOOOOOOOVES the seagulls!” they screamed. Once the rest of our party returned, we rode the Nemo ride (for the first of many times this trip), say Turtle Talk with Crush (where Papa talked to him and the kids thought that was “SO NEAT!”), and checked out all of the other sea creatures. As in trips past, the kids were thrilled to be there. I think it was about this time that I began wishing I was part video camera.

After spending quite a bit of time in the Seas pavilion, it was time for the adults to ride the greatest attraction anywhere, ever. I swear to you, I can listen to the Soarin’ soundtrack at home and my heart slows, my blood pressure lowers, and I am instantly relaxed. It’s like a drug. You know what I’m talking about if you’ve ridden it, and can probably even smell the orange grove if you try hard enough! All that being said, it sucks to do with kids. Rider Swap and Fastpass mean we can all ride most attractions in a very short period of time, but Soarin’ without fail – takes at least 40 minutes per rider even with a fastpass. That’s insane.

One of my favourite things about the ride though, in addition to just how great it is on its own, is watching other people experiencing it for the first time. A little girl next to me was obviously taking her first flight, and it was so heart-warming. I spent much of the ride (and the long walk out) thinking about how great it is going to be to share the same memories – and all the others we’ll make – with my own sweet kids.

 

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It was time for lunch, so we made our way to Electric Umbrella. How we missed the dining plan! The food was fine, but I didn’t ever been as excited for the Food & Wine Festival booths as I was then. You just can’t experience as much paying out of the pocket if you’re stingy like we are!

Even with the F&WF going on, the crowds were so much lower than they were just a couple of weeks earlier (in October) the previous year. It was fantastic! While the kids napped, the adults enjoyed a couple of treats from the various booths (a fabulous chicken dish from Spain, crème brulee from France, and something else I don’t remember despite it being, I’m sure, delicious). The kids only napped about an hour, but were in decent moods upon waking. Before leaving Epcot we had to say hello to Duff the Disney Bear, and I’m thrilled to report the kids loved him. My kids have had Disney Bears since their first trip in utero, and that I dreamed they would grow up with several varieties and love them forever before Disney let them disappear (or apparently tried to outgrow them). I was thrilled when I heard he was making a comeback, and that we’d even get to hug him in person now! (Come to think of it, though, I didn’t get to hug him. Must remedy that next time!)

Our second half of the day was to be spent at the Magic Kingdom. Nothing went as planned really, but the things we DID were great. First we met a few friends in Frontierland for the “Celebrate Dreams Come True” parade. The kids were enthralled as they always are, and it was even more fun watching them light up than it was watching the (very fun) parade itself.

The only thing we HAD to accomplish that day was to meet Rapunzel, since my girls were wearing “pretty pink Princess Rapunzel shirts” and my boys in their “handsome Flynn shirts” which they were all quite proud of them. More importantly, I had scoured the country and jumped through hoops to get them in their sizes and darn it we WOULD meet them today. It was a disaster trying to make that happen (long story, it shouldn’t otherwise be if you’re trying to go in the future ) but it was well worth it. We had a great time waiting and talking with the few super fun, super friendly Cast Members, Flynn and Rapunzel were phenomenal, and we spent quite a bit of time with them. I also shared my thoughts on some of the experimental things they were doing with the Play and Greet experiences, so it was a win-win for everyone

After meeting the newest Disney royalty (whose movie, by the way, is nothing short of spectacular and I can’t wait for the DVD!), we rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover (name accurate as of right now, I can’t make any guarantees about next week), and took a leisurely stroll back down Main Street to Tony’s Town Square Restaurant for dinner. The kids were crabby and dinner was just mediocre. After dinner we set out to get situated for the Main Street Electrical Parade. The train station area was super crowded even though it was more than an hour early (and the park had been dead), but we got “our spot” and the kids had a great time singing and dancing, entertaining the masses while waiting for it to begin.

I’ll just say it – the Main Street Electrical Parade isn’t Spectromagic. This isn’t a case of which one I saw first/loyalty, because I definitely saw MSEP on more than one occasion before Spectro. Admittedly it was nice to have a change of scenery with different floats, but I’ll tell you what it is – the freaking music. My mom and I love “Baroque Hoedown”, the song that plays during the parade. But it literally hurts. My. Ears. After more than 2-3 minutes, and it plays OVER and OVER and OVER again for the entire thing. If I had a mute button, it would be fine. Instead, I just miss the more majestic, enjoyable soundtrack of Spectromagic. There. I’ve said it. MSEP lovers, bring it on.

The Macarena (or insert any other horrendous song you’d like here) on endless repeat couldn’t have ruined the night for us though, because the weather was perfect, the kids awful moods were temporarily suspended, and we loved every minute of it together. Perhaps it was just going to be an all-around wonderful trip after all…