Disneyland. What can I say about our first trip to Disney with Benny? I will start by saying that as the day grew closer and closer, I had started to get more and more excited about what the day would be like! I had high hopes for a beautiful day of strolling through the park, taking my clueless and totally unaware of it all child on my favorite rides, doing a baby swap with Hilary and John so that each of us could go on a bunch of our favorite "big kid" rides, and enjoying a couple relaxing meals at some of the fun restaurants there.
I will say that we definitely caught small glimpses of each of these, but that overall - Disney with a 7.5 month old is not on the top of my list to do again ;) Unfortunately for me (and probably for everyone else around me) I came down with a nasty cold the day we flew down to San Diego. I think I went through a full tissue box each day of our trip, and our day at Disney was no exception. My patience was probably a little lower than usual, so perhaps my perception of the day is a little skewed?
Or perhaps it is not. Ben just didn't seem to be enjoying himself as much as I would have hoped. He seemed irritated with the fact that he needed to be held or strapped into his stroller for the entire day - dude is on a mission to crawl after all, it's probably all he was thinking about! He also just does not possess the ability to sleep wherever he may be in the way that he used to. I had assumed that when he was tired enough he would just fall asleep for a lonnnnng nap in the stroller, but I think he only slept for 30 minutes or so the entire day.
We also scared the ever-loving shit out of him by taking him on the Jungle Cruise for his first ride. My memory of the ride was a mellow-ish boat ride full of animals, waterfalls and lame humor - but in reality (for a baby) it was a ride that contained gun shots, spraying water and a loud BOOMING voice coming through the speaker we were sitting right below. He cried on and off and had a look of terror the entire time.
Violet on the other hand, was a ROCKSTAR all day! She pretty much kept up her normal schedule by taking several naps in the bjorn or stroller and for the most part was happy as could be the entire day!
Because I am an optimist - I will touch on some of the AWESOME moments of our day at the park:
- Disney has an AMAZING baby care center located at the end of Main Street USA. Hilary had heard about this, and I think it is what sold her on feeling comfortable enough to take Violet to Disney for the day. We made several trips throughout the day so that we could nurse the babies (in a comfortable, cool, dimly-lit private lounge) and change them in a nicer environment than the regular park bathrooms. I think the care center was Ben's favorite "ride" of all. (FYI for anyone else planning a trip - they have bottle warmers, diapers, wipes, and literally everything else you may need for your little ones available for purchase).
- John and Hilary took us out to a delicious early dinner at the Blue Bayou - a restaurant I had always wanted to try. (It is the cozy, romantic restaurant that looks out on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride). It would have been even more rad sans babies, BUT the food was delicious and it was cool to finally have the opportunity to eat there!
- The weather was amazing and the crowds were minimal.
- Hilary and John watched Ben so that Greg and I could go on one ride together - the Tower of Terror, which is one of my favorites! I was anxious the entire time in line as it started to become clear that the 35 minute wait Disney had predicted was becoming closer to an hour, but once we were on the ride we had a blast!
- Between feedings, diaper changes, eating meals, grabbing water, trips to our locker, bathroom stops, and putting babies in and out of the strollers/carriers, we were able to go on the following rides: The Jungle Cruise, The Haunted Mansion, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Storybook Land Canal Boats, and The Tower of Terror.
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