Disney
Disney Saves, Bro.
Why did we go to Disney when we went last summer? Simply, we needed it.
In January, we told the boys we were moving to Pennsylvania and they did fine with that news for awhile. We talked about all of the fun things the east coast would offer us that you couldn't get in Texas - train rides to NYC and DC, cooler weather in the summer - and it seemed like the transition would be smooth. Until it wasn't.
The day our house was cleared out for the real estate listing, panic set in for my oldest. Everything was suddenly really changing and very different. Anxiety crashed down on him like a cartoon anvil, but in a much less light-hearted and hilarious way. Much. Less. Hilarious. Not hilarious at all. His anvil was absolutely heavy. And heartbreaking.
Between running this broken kiddo to therapy appointments and sitting with him in his worry, ensuring him how strong he was and how good everything would certainly end up, I searched my brain for a way to give him something to look forward to.
And nothing - that's right, NOTHING - is more lovely to look forward to than a trip to the happiest place on earth.
I sat down to the computer and for the first time ever, booked us to stay on-property. And added the dining plan. And the park hopper option. Yup. I spent the big bucks this time. Because this trip was for my baby. And y'all, that parenting guilt when you move your family for the 5th time is REAL.
Disney Saves, Bro.
When Charlie got home from school, I told him that we would fly to Florida on a Saturday afternoon in late April so we could wake up and go to Disneyworld on the Sunday he turned 14!
It didn't cure his anxiety, of course. We still had a lot of mental-health work to do on that, but as someone who has battled anxiety for my whole life, I knew that having something he could think of that wasn't scary would at the very least, help it. The anxious brain needs distraction.
And as much as this trip was for Charlie, there was an added bonus: by the time we had packed up and moved and unpacked, we all needed this vacation. It was well-timed. For Charlie. For Mike and I. And y'all, bonus on the bonus? Arbor was just the perfect age and that precious baby girl in Disney made us all blissful.
Disney was, as they say, absolutely magical. Our little princess met princesses. Our Hen was wild and fearless. Our Charlie was funny and helpful. There's just something about these parks that make you feel good about life.
It saved us all.
I concentrated on making a film of this trip, but below are the minimal (for me) amount of pictures I took... Scroll through them and then read my best tips for Disney vacations and see the video I made of our trip at the bottom.
