Final Thoughts...
Vacationing as a family of six was much easier than I had thought it would be. Our
Little Prince was much more excited about the characters than I had ever guessed possible. Watching him get such great joy out of seeing/interacting with them was a definite highlight of the trip for all of us. Even his big brothers watched with big smiles on their faces.
I am also grateful for his easy going nature. I know that many young babies (he was just about 9 months when we vacationed) would have been very thrown off by the changes in their schedules and locations. I don't know how I was graced by having such a calm baby...but he didn't fuss much at all. Really, I can name the two times he had big crying fits. First when I put a Mickey ears hat on him (who knows why, he loves all other hats) and the second time when we had to pop him into an infant life vest (he turned various shades of red/purple he was so angry over that one). The rest of the time, he just kicked back and enjoyed the ride (and rides
). He feel asleep when he got tired, ate when he was hungry and was happy to do whatever we were up to in between. I am so thankful for that all being true. I know just how easily it could have gone the other way.
Speaking of our
Little Prince...we finally did come up with his very own Disney character name. From here on out, he shall be known as Buzz. For a few reasons. First, he was so enchanted with Buzz Lightyear during our trip that it is hard to imagine 'naming' him anything else. Second, Toy Story is one of the very few things he will even bother to glance at on the television. Third, he seems to believe he is actually capable of flight (even though all he can really do is fall with style).
Seriously, the boy likes to give us all minor heart attacks by launching himself off of anything he can climb on to and by running (or whatever you call an attempt to run by a baby) at full speed until he crashes into things or falls (with style
). So...Buzz Lightyear it is. The name just fits him, the same way that the other boys seem share some traits with those characters with whom they have had a name borrowed from.
My
Aladdin shares the same heart of gold that the 'real' Aladdin has. He can also be counted on to do the right thing in the end (no matter what it costs him). My
Goofy is just that, goofy and he loves to make people laugh. He is also very tall for his age and sort of floppy limbed like the original Goofy. My
Stitch is just as sweet (and 'sour'
) as the 'real' Stitch. My
Stitch is also very loyal to his family and very much prickly on the outside and all soft on the inside.
BUT...back to the trip. Our issues with the housekeeping at the WL, the lost and found run around for
Stitch's shorts and the dry cleaning on the ship were the only negative experiences we had. And even those were taken care of once we found the right person to talk with and expressed our feelings about the situations.
Other than those very infrequent times, Disney once again outdid themselves by providing great service. When I say this, it is coming from someone with very high service expectations. I don't mind admitting that if I pay for something or you say you will do something then I do expect (even in 'everyday life') it to be done. And not just 'done' but done well. I have even higher expectations for the service at Walt Disney World because they pride themselves on providing awesome customer service with a smile and being the makers of magical moments. That's an awfully tall order to try to fill but I believe that Disney not only fills it but makes it overflow. The Disney company has earned my loyalty and repeated business by being in the business of being magic makers, smile givers and being customer oriented.
Many businesses try to be customer oriented. What separates Disney (as a company) from the others is the people who work there. I think that Disney CMs are among the most upbeat, positive, helpful and kind people to ever be gathered together in one work force. No, they are not all saints and they don't even all have pixie dust in their eyes BUT they do share (with rare exception) a desire to make every customer feel special and to make each customer feel happy and like their vacation is the one that 'really matters'. The extra mile that Disney goes with things like mousekeepers waving to you with Mickey hands on, towel animals, CMs offering an extra ride with no wait, saying happy birthday to you if you have a birthday button on, handing a little boy who just feel a handful of stickers, CMs taking the time to stop and ask you how your day is going, gifting small items like pins, stopping to visit with you, making things right and then some...
All of those add up to amazing vacation memories. The bottom line is that, for me, Disney World is great, but without the magical CMs, I wouldn't be back year after year after year.
This all goes double for the officers, cast and crew of the
Disney Cruise Line. They somehow make you feel even more welcomed and special than their counterparts on land. I think that 'extra' comes from the repeated encounters with the same CMs. For our family at least, they really start to become a significant part of your vacation memories.
Vacationing with an infant, tween and two children was more fun than I had ever imagined possible. I am looking forward to enjoying the World with a toddler, teen, tween and child! I was always secretly a little worried that my boys would outgrow enjoying our time at WDW or on the
DCL. I am so happy to find that (so far at least) that is NOT the case. In fact, if anything, they each grow to love our time there more with each trip.
This trip was my every dream come true. Especially on our 'dream day'. The fun we had during our private luncheon, followed by adventure throughout the grounds of the Grand Floridian (led by none other than Idaho Jones himself), followed by a private send off from Mickey, followed by a dessert party aboard the Grand One yacht, finally followed by a cruise aboard the yacht ending with us being dropped off at the Magic Kingdom to enjoy Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party was so very amazing that it did feel as if we were dreaming while it was happening. Being able to share that very special day with very special friends made it even better.
I am truly grateful for each of the days that we were blessed with together on vacation. Having time with dh and the boys away from the stresses and obligations that fill our everyday lives was a very precious gift in and of itself. Although family is still our number one priority (no matter where we are) it's hard to find such long stretches of time to concentrate on nothing more than having fun together. At home their is always something that needs to be done, a meeting that needs to be gotten to, yard work, practices, schooling, and on and on. The things that fill our life are (almost entirely) great things, but it is so nice to be able to step away from our designated roles (teacher, provider, coach, homemaker, volunteer, student, player, church goer, friend, cook, taxi driver, etc) and concentrate on the job of loving each other and having fun together.
Thank you all for sticking with me and reading my trip report. Your comments, feed back and unique views have only added to my enjoyment of our trip memories. Your comments are now a permanent part of our vacation memories as I always print out my trip reports. I really do enjoy going back and reading not only about the vacations of our past, but seeing the comments, suggestions and words of encouragement. So...on that note, THANK YOU!!! I will 'see' you all soon.
PS I will post the link to my next trip report before the week is out.