Disney 2018

My original plan for the boys' birthday celebration was a party at Ocean 5, an arcade, bowling, gaming place that recently opened in Gig Harbor. I got in touch with them months ahead of time to book the party and they told me it was too early to reserve. When I reached out the next time, the day was booked. I was annoyed and then, on what could only be described as a whim, decided that we should take the boys to Disneyland for their birthdays instead. Four and six felt like the perfect age to experience Disney for the first time and Hazel was old enough that I was comfortable leaving her behind. When I told Owen that Ocean 5 was booked he was pretty obsessed with having his party at Chuck E Cheese instead. I originally thought we'd make the trip a surprise but when I mentioned the Disney idea to him he wasn't really on board. He didn't understand what Disneyland was and he really wanted fifteen people to come to a party and give him presents. I'm trying to instill value in experiences verses things so we talked a lot about what it meant to go on a trip instead of getting gifts. He eventually decided it was a good idea, we found a reasonable price at the Disneyland Hotel and used miles for our flights.

When we found out that I was pregnant with Weston and the due date was so close to Owen's birthday one of the first things I thought about was how fun it would be to do a birthday celebration trip. And of course Disneyland was at the top of the places to go list. So even though I planned this trip at the last minute, it had been a long time coming.

I didn't grow up going to Disneyland and have always thought it was kind of strange how much people continue to love it as adults. I wasn't sure I bought into what makes Disney "magic." I knew we would have fun and was more excited than I anticipated, but I also carried a bit a skepticism.

We went for a long weekend and only spent one day in the park. We arrived in California Saturday afternoon and spent the evening swimming and exploring downtown Disney. Sunday we were in the park by 8 am and didn't leave until well past bedtime, with a brief break in the afternoon. We used our fast passes like pros and the timing worked out perfectly all day. We didn't wait more than 10 minutes for any ride and we hit all the main attractions before noon. Including Space Mountain, which it turns out, isn't really 4 and 6 year old appropriate. We left around 9 pm and got back to our room just in time to watch the fireworks from bed. Being first timers the boys had zero expectations and they loved every minute of it. With the exception of those 8 minutes on Space Mountain, they actually didn't love fearing for their lives and feeling like they were going to vomit. Sunday we did a character breakfast, played at the pool and took an evening flight home. We all missed Hazel but leaving her with my mom and Marty was clearly the right choice. There would have been nothing for her to do at the park and Ty and I wouldn't have gotten the full experience if one of us was constantly hanging back with her.

What I concluded is that this is the only trip we've ever done that was 100 percent for the kids. We weren't there because we wanted to be, but because we knew this would be a weekend they'd remember forever. And I think that's what makes Disney magical. Well, that coupled with the way the rides stimulate your brain and create a huge endorphin rush. What made me want to take this trip more than anything is that  I know we have such a short window of time to do things like this with our kids. A short window where there is nowhere they'd rather be than with us. I want them to grow up with a fondness for sharing adventures with family. And if they love Disneyland as adults because it reminds them of how magical their childhood was, I guess I'll consider that a win.