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The Disney Series Part 1 - The BIG Reveal

Let me start by saying I've been dreaming of Disney since I was in 3rd grade.  One of my classmates missed a week of school to go to Disney World, and I remember thinking "WHAT!?  Disney World!! I thought only really rich people went to Disney World!"  Ever since I've been dreaming of Disney, and patiently waiting for my turn to visit the most magical place on Earth.  Well folks, the time has come!  On October 31st 2014 (yes I remember the date specifically) it was decided that we would indeed be visiting Disney World.  I floated around in giddy disbelief for a few days and then got down to planning.  And when I say planning I mean I went about this thing like a research project.  We decided we weren't going to tell the kids until we were ready to leave and it's hard to say whether I was more excited about the actual trip or telling the kids about the trip!  Finally the day had arrived when we could spill the beans.  I had contacted Beau's teacher, and she sent his homework (a vacation journal) home in a sealed envelope.  Which of course Beau opened immediately.  Luckily, although suspicious he didn't put anything together.

The Big Reveal:

To tell the kids I put together a scavenger hunt.  They collected 5 clues hidden in strategic places.
1. Attached to swim trunks
2. Taped to a beach picture
3. In a suitcase
4. In a toy plane
5. Attached to a clothing tag shaped like the state of Florida.
 By the end of the hunt they had figured out how all the clues went together, but not that THEY were actually going somewhere.  Finally the last clue led them to Mickey balloons and a note explaining "YOU'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD".  Their first reaction was disbelief.  We got a lot of "what? are we really?!"  When we finally convinced them we actually are going we hit them with the second half of the surprise....we're leaving TOMORROW!  They were excited to say the least.


As they were getting in to their beds Cora and Beau were talking back and forth between their rooms.
Cora:  "Beau, this is the best day EVER!"
Beau:  "No Cora, tomorrow will be the best day ever!....Well no, actually tomorrow we will just be sitting on a plane all day, so Saturday will be the best day ever!"
After a short break in the conversation so Cora could rearrange the balloons she insisted be displayed around her bed she finishes with "I've never been so happy!"
As for Sylvie all she knew is that we're going to "Minnie's house!"  I'm not sure if she had any idea what that meant, but everyone was excited so she was too :)
Surprisingly, they all fell asleep fairly quickly.

Friday was a long travel day, but we all had a LOT of excitement to keep us going.
Ready to go meet Mickey!

First time travelers
Ready for takeoff! 
For first time travelers they all did very well.  Sylvie wasn't overly interested in staying buckled in her seat, but as long as we kept a constant stream of fruit snacks flowing she did ok.  It definitely wasn't a relaxing pull out a book and tell me when we get there kind of flight.  We rotated between stickers, books, coloring, card games, electronic games, and of course the skymall magazine.  Honestly, it was exhausting, and those books I brought for myself to read....ha!  They didn't even get pulled out of the bag.  Luckily I stopped referring to our Disney trip as a "vacation" a few weeks earlier and instead termed it an 'adventure'.  I was prepared for very little rest and relaxation in lieu of LOTS of fun and excitement!!  We ended up getting to our resort around 10pm.  The kids were wound up when we got there and Sylvie introduced us to the new game she had in mind for the duration of our trip.  It was called 101 ways to keep my brother and sister from going to sleep.

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