2:00 AM July 5...Where Were You?

From the time Jacob was born, I started thinking about and planning our Disney vacation. I had decided the best time to go would be in the spring or fall when Jacob is around four years old. My reasoning behind this being, at four years old, I know he will remember the trip and Disney World weather in the spring or fall would be much more tolerable than the summer heat -- not to mention the crowds should be lighter and lines a little shorter. All good things, right? It's just common sense.

So, where were we at 2:00 AM July 5? We were in the car, sleepily driving back to my Papa's house after a full day at the happiest place on earth -- Disney World (more specifically, Magic Kingdom).

Just how did we end up at Disney World on the hottest and most crowded day of the year???

My sister, JoBeth, and her boyfriend, David, were flying down to Florida for the July 4th weekend and mentioned the idea of going to a theme park while we were all there. We decided on Sea World. I had done some reasearch and learned that Sea World is a great place for toddlers. I knew Jacob would have a good time. I hadn't been to Sea World since high school, so I was excited about going too. We also thought the July 4th crowd at Sea World might be a little lighter than Disney World. Besides, I had our Disney trip all planned out and that wouldn't happen for at least another year.

Saturday morning, we woke up early and headed out -- Heath, Jacob, Annabelle, JoBeth, David, my cousin, Cody, and me. Heath and I were excited to use our third row seat for the first time. We were also excited to find out that the double stroller actually fits in the car even with the third row seat up. Hooray! While we drove, we all became indecisive about whether to go to Sea World or Magic Kingdom. We were warned about the Disney crowds and how long the lines would be, but the lure of the famous mouse is strong. We asked Jacob if he would rather see whales, fish, and animals or Mickey Mouse. Can you guess how he answered? At the last second, right before the Sea World exit, we decided to grant the two year old's request and go see Mickey Mouse.

The lines were long and the weather was warm (ok, so it wasn't just warm...it was HOT), but despite the crowds and the heat, it was a very fun day. Surprisingly, we survived with only a few meltdowns. What made the day easier was having five adults to help with Jacob and Annabelle. We each took turns sitting out rides to watch Annabelle and guard the stroller, so it worked out really well.

He looks thrilled to be here, doesn't he? :)


Me: Look Jacob! It's Pinnochio!!!!

Jacob: Ooooooh! My wah-yuh (water)!

True to form, Jacob was more interested in his water bottle than meeting Pinnochio...for a few seconds, anyway. Pinnochio is one of his favorites. He was the first character we came across and Jacob was really excited to see him.

I really can't blame him for wanting his water. After all, it was 100 degrees.


Waiting in line for his very first roller coaster ride -- Goofy's Barnstormer! (Jacob's first roller coaster, not Heath's) :)


JoBeth and Jacob took a moment to stop and smell the flowers (are those flowers???). Why not? What else are you gonna do while you wait in line?

David and I sat this one out. David kept an eye on Annabelle while I took pictures. I tried to get a picture of Jacob on the roller coaster, but instead I got a couple blurry pictures of Heath. I couldn't even see Jacob's head above the little car because he was too short. He had a good time, though. JoBeth said he looked a bit scared at one point, but it must have been a good scared because he loved that ride!

Jacob, enjoying a post-Winnie the Pooh ride lollipop. The Winnie the Pooh ride may have been his favorite ride of the day. We were actually able to ride it twice thanks to some nice people who gave us their fast passes.

The Disney Fourth of July fireworks were amazing...or so I heard. Heath, JoBeth, David and Cody said it was the best fireworks display they had ever seen. Annabelle wasn't crazy about the loud booms and I was concerned about her little ears, so we looked around the Winnie the Pooh store for a while. At least Heath took a few short videos, so I got to see a little bit of the action afterwards.

For most of the show, Jacob jumped and clapped every time a firework lit up the sky.

We didn't meet Mickey and Minnie until around 10:30 PM, but it was the highlight of the day.

Jacob doesn't usually show any emotion when he rides a ride, even if he's having the time of his life. He tries his best to keep a straight face without letting even a little smile show through. Sometimes I'll get him to smile if I try really hard. Even when he met the characters that day, he didn't really smile a whole lot, but I know he loved seeing them because when he gave each of them a hug, he never wanted to let go. Very cute.

After he gave Mickey Mouse a hug, he turned around and had the biggest smile on his face -- no prompting necessary. He absolutely loved Mickey Mouse!!

Jacob may have hugged Minnie Mouse, but Annabelle took it a step further and grabbed her nose. I think they bonded that night, she and Minnie. It was a beautiful moment. ha ha

Right after we left Mickey and Minnie, we saw the Spectromagic parade. (Here's a link to a video if you're interested: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5273451382515467173 )

Jacob was exhausted and sleepy (as were the rest of us), but he enjoyed it....until the very end. Remember in my last post, I talked about how he was sick? Well, he was still sick. He had been ok throughout the day except for a little sniffle and cough here and there. By 11:30 that night, though, his cough had gotten pretty bad. He started coughing and couldn't stop. He coughed until he threw up. Yuck. As we strolled over to a more lit section of the park to survey the damage, Annabelle started screaming. After we changed Jacob's shirt and made sure he was ok, we realized Annabelle's monkey was gone. AAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!

That monkey was the only thing that helped her go to sleep! I searched and searched, but it was nowhere to be found. I think it probably got sucked up by a street sweeper. We checked the lost and found station later, but nothing. So, Heath and I took Annabelle into a store to find a suitable replacement. We ended up with a Minnie Mouse which, so far, seems to be working -- maybe not quite as well as the little monkey, but it'll have to do. If anything, there is a story behind that Minnie Mouse now. :)

All in all, it was a fanastic day. I'm glad we ended up at Disney World. I'm still planning a Disney trip, though -- this time, in the fall or spring. And I guess we'll have to plan another trip to Sea World too.

Side note: When we awoke the next morning, we learned about the Monorail crash that happened just after we left the park. Scary.