Our flight was scheduled to leave at 2pm on Friday, October 4th. The limo picked us up at 11:30 to take us to the airport. We arrived at the airport and the stress began. We each had a suit case, we each had a carry on, we had Molly's stroller and car seat as well as a small cooler because some of her meds need to be refrigerated. Luckily one of the workers at the airport helped us with our bags. Going through security was not fun. Jay had to take care of the bags, stroller and suit case while I waited with Molly because she couldn't go through the regular metal detector due to her pacemaker. So we had to wait for a supervisor to come over and walk Molly around while I went through and met her on the other side. We gathered all of our things and headed to the terminal. We didn't have to wait very long before we could bored. Luckily, Molly recently developed an obsession with airplanes so she was OK with looking out the window at the plane and ate as many Cheez Its as she wanted to keep her happy. We boarded the plane. Jay held Molly while I disinfected her seat, the tray table and arms of the chair. We also brought a blanket to cover the seat. She was so great the entire flight. She just ate her Cheez Its and played her iPad. Jay did the same thing for that matter :
We arrived in Orlando 2 1/2 hours later. We got our rental car and headed to Give Kids the World and checked in. They gave Molly a Mickey Mouse doll and went over some basics. Jay had to go back later on that night for orientation and to get our park tickets, etc. We went to our room, dropped our stuff and went to eat. At this point it was almost 7pm. We were tired and starving. We ate fast because Jay had to be at orientation at 7:45. While he was there I headed to Walmart with Molly to pick up a few things for the week. By the time we got back to the room we were ready to drop. Jay & I came up with a plan for the next day, tucked Molly into bed and followed soon behind her.
Day 1 - Universal Studios: We know there isn't a whole lot for kids at Universal Studios but we wanted to ease her into the experience. They had a Nick Jr parade that we thought she would like and a Barney show (she LOVES Barney). Plus there was a Curious George water park so there was things she could do. Everything I read before going to FL said that the characters won't approach you because they know that some kids are afraid UNLESS you are wearing a Make A Wish Button. As soon as we walked in Curious George walked up to her. She is petrified of characters. She screamed "bye" to him and we were off. It was 90 degrees that day. It was soooo hot compared to the 65 degress we had just left in Massachusetts. We headed to Barney to see what time the show started. She played in the play area for a few minutes then Barney came out. I took her to see him. I really thought she would've been OK but I couldn't have been more wrong. She gave Barney the same screaming bye she gave to Curious George. We stayed to watch the show and she was OK with that. After the Barney show we watched an animal show. She loves animals so we figured she would be happy and we were right...PHEW! After the animal show they let us stay and meet the host and one of the stars of the show. Supposedly he is the dog from Men In Black. Whether he is or not I don't know but it was fun. Jay's feet were being ripped apart by his shoes so he had to keep stopping to tape his feet up. It just wasn't a good day. I took her into the sprinkler park to cool off but she wasn't having it. We grabbed some lunch and she wouldn't eat and she wasn't really drinking but she cooled off and we regrouped. We walked around a bit more, watched the parade and she fell asleep for a few minutes. She wasn't having any part of this day so we headed back to the hotel to cool off, make a plan for the next day and rest up.
Day 2 - Sea World: We decided to do something that we knew that Molly would love (and to take a break from characters). The night before I had looked online to find out what we were going to do while we were at Sea World..if there were any rides, animal feedings and show times. I made and itinerary to make it a little less hectic and it worked out. First stop was the sea lion show. Because we were with Make A Wish we got to sit up front at just about every show. It was pretty amazing. Molly loved the sea lion show. She was so happy which made us happy. After the sea lions were the dolphins which were my favorite and I think Molly's too. We also saw the Shamu show which was pretty amazing. Molly also got to feed the sea rays, sharks and dolphins. We were able to get up close enough to touch the dolphins. She was a little hesitant about that part. It was a fantastic day and probably our new favorite park in FL!
Day 3 - Hollywood Studios: Jay & I have never been a fan of this park but we decided to go because they had some stuff there for Molly. They had a Disney Jr. Live show that we thought she would like, Toy Story ride, Little Mermaid ride. It was supposed to rain so we figured it would be a quick trip and a good day to go and it was. We saw the shows and Molly loved the rides that they had. It ended up pouring and we got soaked but when it's 90 degrees with 1000 percent humidity you dry off pretty quick. Our favorite show was Beauty & the Beast. Molly was so engrossed. It was a great day!
Day 4 - Magic Kingdom: I had imagined this day for so long. I knew she was going to love it. She loves rides and there was plenty of them to entertain her. I mapped out our day the night before. I should've paid closer attention to what some things were but I was just looking for toddler friendly attractions. We headed to Fantasyland. On our way we walked past a princess ride...so we thought so we went in. It was a Cinderella meet and greet. We didn't know if we should turn and run or give it a try so we tried it. Molly was skeptical at first but ended up being OK. We also met Sleeping Beauty. Now that we had these under our belt we figured we were good to go with the princesses. We spent the day riding rides and trying to stay cool. Jay & I took turns riding the rides with her. This way we could also take pictures and not miss a photo op. It was such a great day. It was every thing I had hoped it would be.
Day 5 - Animal Kingdom: This was our final day in FL and we figured Animal Kingdom would be a good park to save for last since it was the smallest and we were very tired. We watched the Lion King show and Jay was picked to take part in it. They also asked if Molly wanted to but there was no way she would allow them to take her away from me to dance with Timon. We did the other attractions that they had there and were on our way. We made a quick stop to Downtown Disney and headed back to the hotel to pack up and get ready for our journey home the next day.
This trip was the experience of a lifetime. We had a blast and it's something we will never forget. We have plenty of pictures to show Molly and lots of stories to share with her when she's old enough to remember. She couldn't have been better behaved the entire trip! We are so lucky to have her in our lives! The day after we came home Molly came down with a cold but once again she handled it just fine. She had a low grade fever that we treated with Tylenol, a cough and runny nose that she passed along to me and Jay. I ended up with conjunctivitis in both eyes, a virus and an ear infection. Jay had the same virus and conjunctivitis. But we are getting back to normal now. Molly has finished her first week of school with no tears shed at drop off. It makes dropping her off so much easier! I hope everyone is staying healthy!
Kerry
