The Time We Became Disenchanted With Disney World

Well, it happened. I didn't think it ever could, but we have become disenchanted with Disney World. It makes me sad to type it, but it's true. Last week we took our third trip to the most magical place on earth. Maybe it was because it was our third trip, the fact that we took 6 kids eight and under, or maybe Disney has lowered the bar. Either way, it was a tough trip, and I'm still recovering days later.
I don't want to sound ungreatful, because I'm not. It was still a GREAT trip with tons of amazing memories, but in all honesty, it was rough, so I want to be fair when telling our story.
The count down was the greatest! We planned our meals, dotted our I's and crossed our T's as far as planning goes, and had fun with the kids getting ready for the trip. We went over our safety plans with the kids so that they would know what to do in case of an emergency. After a few days of preparation, I got everyone packed up and ready to go on Friday night.
At 4AM Saturday the kids were up and ready to go, so we left around 5 for a day full of driving. The drive actually wasn't bad. Manly made it through most of the trip without getting sleepy at the wheel, and the kids did great watching movies, listening to Disney tunes, and playing road games I had prepared for them.

Addi pulling off the last loop in our countdown calendar.

 

All the little dears in their aqua ready to go! Even Eli was up and excited at 4am. CRAZY kids.

Our view from the front. Ha! That's a lot of kids and a lot of bags.

My big girl finally getting some rest. She NEVER sleeps in the car.

 

It took us about 16 hours to get there, which was a little longer than we'd planned, but it ended up taking a lot longer than we thought at stops. I guess it had something to do with getting two diapers changed, 6 people in and out of the bathroom, 1 bottle made, and 7 water bottles filled. Ha! It makes me tired even thinking about it.

When we finally made it to Orlando we were THRILLED with our hotel. I wasn't sure it was going to be very nice since we'd only paid $75 per night!! Seriously! It was minutes from WDW, nice and clean, and the staff was really helpful. We ended up wishing we were just staying there! HA! The only downside to staying off Disney property is the headache of parking each day in the parks.

Eli in his portacrib provided by the hotel. Complete with fresh sheets and blankets in a sealed package so you knew they were clean.

Eli loved looking out the window at the busy town below. We couldn't believe how quiet this hotel was despite the fact that it was right next to the highway AND so close to WDW.

My bookend girls. These two have such a sweet relationship. Mia LOVED sleeping with "Wee-ah"

Finally getting ready for bed. Notice even the American Girls had their place.

We got up the next morning, packed up our overnight bag, and headed into Disney World.

 

Boy oh boy did we ever not know what was ahead...