Disneyworld Nanny

June 2005

As my birthday was approaching I was becoming homesick for my loved ones in Canada. Those of you who know me well know that I am not a big fan of christmas or really any holiday. My birthday, however, I make into a holiday of its own every year. Being in Aventura, I had no friends with whom to go out, no family to celebrate with and I had to work on the day of (and through the night and the next day. 24 hour job!) my birthday.

Then, the weekend before my birthday, we were to have the girls for an extra day because their mother was going away. That gave us from friday afternoon until monday evening. That thursday Brad decided we should go to Disney world! So i spent all day friday packing and we drove up there friday evening while the girls slept in the car.

When we arrived around 11pm the girls woke up as we got them into the hotel. We got all settled in our room and then Cory decided that she would stay awake until 5 am. Of course, Alexa, having slept well, got up around 7. So, we all went out for our first day and went to Epcot and the Magic Kingdom with two confused and one rather cranky toddlers. It was very hot and very rainy, but we didn't mind. we had a good time.

The girls being so little, we didn't go on many rides, but we did go on the "Peter Pan" and the "It's a small world" rides. I'm glad i've finally seen the famous faces of "it's a small world" and Yes, it is as creepy as you would think. Hundreds of tiny pretend children singing in different languages, and dancing with jerky movements from point a to point b. extrememly weird, but the girls loved it. We also saw the beautiful Epcot fireworks display.
On our second day we went to the animal kingdom. For any of you who shared my fabulous experience of working at the African Lion Safari, you could probably save yourself several hundred dollars. Same idea. Although, we got to see an interactive Lion King performance which was really neat to watch. Between trying to convince the girls that they need not be scared.

The trip was extrememly enjoyable. At first i couldn't quite put my finger on why it felt so different from other family-type trips i'd been on. Then i realized, to my shock and an accompanying eery feeling, that I was the adult on this vacation. When you participate in family holidays (Pirate BBQs etc) or activities with your family, even though you are almost 24, you are still one of the kids. And then here I was being the one to say "I don't know, you've already had so much candy" and "little girls who whine don't get to have a balloon" **Shudder**

And so, I had a low-key birthday with Brad, his parents and the girls. Brad's mom got me a nice cake which the girls were thrilled to eat instead of their dinner. And I was happy at having been able to enjoy a family vacation at Disneyworld with my borrowed family.

I was extremely impressed at how accessible the parks were. We, of course, were sporting a double stroller and the usual toddler accessories (times two) such as diaper bag, favourite toys, sippy cups, rain coats etc. The whole time I was there I was scoping it out for the great Disabato trip of 2006(7?). There were employees everywhere who were happy and helpful getting you where you needed to go with strollers, wheelchairs or whatever. I can't imagine how they managed to implement such accessability. But i was impressed. It was a relief to see that our unique family dynamic will in no way impede the great Disabato adventure to Disneyworld that has been so long in the planning.