The Happiest Place on Earth....Most of the Time....(Part 2)

So after our awesome meeting with Jerry and Debbie, we piled back into the RV for the last leg of the drive. Since we had stopped in Gainesville, Joshua's birthplace, Orlando was just another 2-3 hours away!!! It was a WONDERFUL thought because it had been a VERY full 2 days of driving. I love my children and my parents, but I was ready to get OUT of the RV. The coolest part is that we were staying IN Disney World...like camping there. It was the best idea ever. It was called Camp Wilderness and I would absolutely do it again because we had our own space, as in our own private area and our own large camping spot. Which, if you know our family, 'camping' with the Fyocks means going 20 MILES back into the bush and setting up tents, having a camp fire not only for warmth, but to boil our water and cook our food. Yes, I'm very serious. The one and ONLY time we've ever camped any other way was when we went to Sterling Reservoir and basically encountered a flood of sorts. It wasn't leaving a good taste in our mouthes. LOL So going to Camp Wilderness was pretty awesome!

 It was quite comical watching my dad and husband park this ginormous RV. And because every KOA we stayed at on our way down to FL happened to have a pull through option, backing this big boy into our camp spot in Camp Wilderness was slightly overwhelming. Mom and I grabbed all the kids and headed to the back of the RV where we would be safe from any language or seeing what was actually happening. But because my dad and hubby are rockstar RV parking masters, it shouldn't be any wonder that they got it backed in without a hiccup!

As soon as the kids were allowed to go out and scope the campsite, they immediately ran for the little swampy area. Because I am not afraid of poisonous bugs or alligators in Camp Wilderness, I was okay just letting them scatter to the 4 winds. Just kidding, I was hyperventilating. And in my mind I knew that surely Disney would properly maintain their property for children-eating animals, however my mother instinct had to relax and drink a little bit. LOL And truth be told, THERE WASN'T A SINGLE MOSQUITO!!! Talk about complete service!!! Yes, even where the girls are standing, not an alligator nor a mosquito. I was shocked and pleasantly relieved.

Josh was not to be left out. He immediately enlisted Grandma's help to scout out the area.  It was just after dinner when we got there, so we ate a late dinner and decided to relax, put on a Disney flick and chill so we could get up bright and early to experience ALL the Disney Magic the next day.

 And off we went! Now, let me back track a second here. We have NEVER been to a Disney park as a family nor in the last decade of the latest and greatest technology. We only just upgraded to the iPhone in March...yes, leave me alone, I had my reasons. So at this point we were only walking into Disney World Magic Kingdom armed with a map and an idea. NO BUENO. You don't even understand the sheer magnitude of people we were about to encounter (its SPRING BREAK) and the glaring issue that we had NO idea what the hell we were doing.

If any of you know my mom, she's a machine when she gets an idea into her thick skull. I love her, but since these were the children I actually gave birth to and quite frankly, they hadn't paid for themselves yet, regarding the blood, sweat, and tears I have poured into them, I was FREAKING OUT that I'd lose one of them in the crowd. Yeah, my mom waits for no one when she's on a mission, man. LOL She's completely unconcerned that we don't know where we are going, by God, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE SOME FUN! Holy Disaster. Okay, so those of you who have been to Disney can attest to this: time is EVERYTHING. The time you wait, the time it takes to walk from one ride to another, the time the Disney Princess is taking pictures, the time that Mickey will be in whatever place, TIME TIME TIME. Oh my goodness. I am aware of the time...like crap, its lunch TIME and I have to figure out something to feed my kids, or Yay! Its nap TIME. This Disney time was SO NOT anything I was even mentally prepared for...nor were my kids and because we wanted to have fun, my children were willingly dragged along by grandma...it was only a 1/2 hour into it and I was on the verge of tears. I cannot handle not having a plan. I have 4 small children, life doesn't go anywhere without even a sketched out plan...to walmart...It was too much for me to even wrap my mind around and I'm the adult! Let me also say that on our first day there were over 20,000 people in Magic Kingdom. Nono, you read that right...20 THOUSAND. It was completely overwhelming...so imagine that maybe 15,000 of them are all racing, with my mom, to Splash Mountain. Apparently Splash Mountain was overwhelmed because it broke after my parents and kids had been waiting in line for 30 minutes. RIDICULOUS. It was at that point that we realized how unprepared we were because we kept seeing signs for 'Fast Pass' and then blinking back tears when it would let us know that there was a 95minute wait. It was then that God showed us mercy and a dad that we had seen earlier that morning on the ferry, as we crossed the lake to Magic Kingdom from Camp Wilderness, saw me in distress. He came over and asked how it was going and I'm pretty sure it was a rhetorical because he then asked if I had an iPhone...which I limply handed to him. He laughed as he told me to quickly download the Disney App and it'd tell me the times of the rides, what the wait was, when fast pass (when you get to go to the FRONT of the line: BEAUTIFUL) was available, and you can even see where the different Disney celebs were going to be where and what time! I would have hugged him, but it would have been weird for anyone around. Word of advice: GET THE DISNEY APP FAST!!!! After my parents located us, in the midst of the mass exodus from Splash Mountain, Rob and I had made a plan and explained the time stuff and the fast pass. My breathing was returning to normal without the oxygen mask and I unhooked the valium IV.

When I was a kid, I got to go to Disney Land 2 times with my childhood best friend. I won't post a picture and reveal my shame, of wearing a NEON PINK fanny pack, BRIGHT spandex shorts...and bangs. Ohhh...the humiliation. LOL Anyway, I have been sucked into the idea that we've been robbing our children, somehow, by not taking them to one of these Disney parks. Our big kids are definitely at the ages that they would have a GREAT time, and even though Josh was only 15months, he's easily worn in the Ergo or pushed in the stroller. (and when I say 'worn' I really do mean 'worn'. Observe pix of Rob and Josh. Side note: I DIE laughing every time Rob wears Josh because all you can see from looking at Rob from the front is little black arms and legs sticking out like Rob is morphing into a bug of some sort. And when Josh laughs and gets excited, therefore flailing his arms and legs and feet, it just makes it all the more hilarious.)

And off we went to check out all the rides and embrace the Disney App and all of its MIRACLES.

 Swiss Family Robinson!

 Isannah's not so sure about this ride.

Even though it was only April, and here in CO that means the weather is often still chilly and unpredictable, in FL its absolutely beautiful. It was actually HOT.

My kids had SUCH a great time. Normally I'm not into the splashpark in a massively used area...such as this...but if Disney can ensure that mosquitoes aren't apart of the experience, then I am betting they are clean and I don't have to worry about ringworm. Thats my thought too, nothing kills fun faster than the thought of ringworm. LOL

Duncan is definitely my son...he keeps his shoes on. Natty is more daring...and it paid off this time!

One of my dearest friends is a Disney ADDICT. She has taken her 3 kids BY HERSELF to Disney many times. I don't think theres enough alcohol in the state of FL to convince me to even CONSIDER doing this by myself. A month before we left, I was talking with her and she was giving all of this wonderful and applicable information. GOLD...gold is what she handed me...she had told me about making the plan, which was completely forgotten in the craziness of just getting to Disney. Another nugget she gave me was to stop in the middle of the day, between 1-3pm and go back to our RV and take a nap, eat, rest, and make another plan for the evening. This was the BEST piece of advice ever. Sadly, this nugget, along with the plan nugget, was set aside. Thinking we had paid all this money and to stop would be wasting something. WRONG. We were in Magic Kingdom until 3pm and my children...ALL 4 of them, HIT.THE.WALL. My oldest even had a meltdown. I looked at Rob, who was also having a meltdown and said, "Alright, we are going to go to the RV and nap." This spurred on another massive fit, but the adults grabbed one child each and we trudged back. We made it back to the RV, ate a solid meal, wiped off everyones faces, and we ALL laid down. We all slept for 3 HOURS. Obviously, we were exhausted and it was only the first day!!!! When we got up and had a light dinner, we made a vow that the next day's itinerary would absolutely include a nap at 1pm. So we cleaned up dinner and made our new plan for an evening out. Unfortunately, about 30minutes before we packed up to head out, Isannah became sick. Earlier she had gotten dehydrated and now she was showing signs of heat exhaustion. Josh was ready to go to bed too and so Grandma and Grandpa decided that they'd keep #2 and #4 children (yes, we actually call them by numbers sometimes to avoid little ears perking up to adult plans) and Rob and I'd take the other 2. It was beginning to sprinkle, but we headed out anyway, planning on a fun night!

Sprinkle...notsomuch...it POURED. And because Disney is ON THE BALL...they were selling plastic ponchos and umbrellas everywhere. So we bought kids ones for $8 each! Ugh, like buying candy at the movie theater!

It was really strange just having two kids with us. It was a great evening with Natty and Duncan. I think sometimes it's healthy to split them up and take different kids to different activities. The idea that they have their own time with us is important.




 Around 10pm, we decided that was probably enough for one day and headed back to the RV. Disney has a way of really making each day and night special. The firework display is absolutely breath taking. So as we crossed the lake to Camp Wilderness, we enjoyed the spectacular view.