What will normal life feel like? Also, a Christmas surprise!

RanchersWife

I’m starting my day wondering what it will feel like to not spend my days worried about the next fall or my LO waking up dead. 

This has consumed our thoughts and actions for so many years and changed our lives so much. Someday we will go to basketball games at the school. Eat dinner out. Work on the ranch until we are done with the job and not have to look at the clock. Sleep in the same bed like married people. 

My BIL had gifted the 7 of us a trip to Disney World in May. Other siblings are coming to do ranch work and care for their mom. We aren’t really Disney people. We’ve never been. We are more Yellowstone National Park people. But we won’t say no to the trip. It will be a much needed break and is a very generous gift! Disney is apparently pretty complicated. It takes a lot of planning. But maybe the people saying this are fanatics. Who knows. I’ll research enough that I know what’s going on I guess. I’m not having matching shirts made for each day. Insert eye roll. I am taking my 9 year old to Universal one day to see the Harry Potter attractions. He’s my Potterhead. He gets a wand too! Everyone else can do what they want that day. 

harshedbuzz

Ranchers Wife-

It's weird to think about Stage 8 and I was nowhere as hands-on as you have been. For me there was a period of time where I seemed kind of stuck processing the previous few years and trying to make sense of things.

And then there was a need to step up my availability to my mom- not so much because she needs a hands-on caregiver- but because she is frail and alone (I'm an only, her last sibling is 300 miles away and most of her friends have either died or are living a distance away) and can no longer drive. In a lot of ways, the responsibility for her emotional well-being weighs more heavily than dad's ever did. Keeping her safe and happy in COVID-times has been a challenge. 

That's quite a generous gift. My DH and I are not huge fans of all things Disney either. I would rather a world capital, pristine beach or dining mecca. LOL, when DS was in preschool and it was Disney Day, he didn't have a single article of clothing or licensed toy to bring in, so I had to borrow something from my godchild. We've been a couple times when DS was younger; he's been as his senior class trip and had a blast. 

That said, WDW in May is a lovely time to visit. It should be warm, but not oppressive and overly crowded. The water parks should be perfect then and might be something the kids would enjoy. The comprehensive transportation system means older kids can have some freedom safely to pursue what interests them if you feel like lounging around a pool instead or having a date night. Some of the behind-the-scenes tours are very interesting and worth checking out. For me, watching how the Disney organization manages/manipulates the various aspects of entertainment, customer relations and retail so seamlessly is fascinating to watch. 

Do some research around strategies to maximize your time so you understand how things work and avoid the frustration of waiting in lines and missing things you didn't know were available to you. And spending a day or 2 at Universal is totally worth doing.

dayn2nite2

Please accept the Disney trip.  I am a very cynical person and I absolutely LOVE Disney World.  At least go to Magic Kingdom and go on "It's a Small World."  

It is complicated now.  I think it's easier if you're staying on the property.  There are any number of travel agencies that specialize in Disney trips and they can walk you through the process because evidently you need your hotel AND you actually have to have park reservations for the day you want to be there.  Don't get involved in the Lightning Lanes (used to be Fast Pass) or anything that costs extra.  You just want the experience of going and that's enough.  There are tons of podcasts about Disney and strategies also.

RanchersWife

I have been researching a lot. I do have a question I’m afraid to ask on the Disney group. Do families split up in the park? It seems like everyone just happily walks around all day together and everyone agrees on what to do. With our age ranges (22 years - 9 years and two 50 year olds) I don’t see that happening. That is one of the reasons we wrote off Disney years ago as not important enough to spend that kind of money. Would you let a 16 and 14 year old with phones loose in a park together? Before anyone freaks out at this question please remember our closest neighbor is 1/2 mile away.

dayn2nite2

Yes, families split up.  With phones it makes it easy to locate someone now and all I do is just agree we'll meet at XXX at XXX time.  Teens are perfectly safe there.

Quilting brings calm

We took a 5 and a 15 year old to WDW.   Yes, absolutely let the 14,16 year olds roam anywhere on the property. Let them take the busses.  There are Disney  employees everywhere.they are well trained on watching for anything that shouldn’t be happening.   

There are many parts of Disney that you will really enjoy even if you aren’t Disney people.  Epcot center, especially the countries.  Downtown Disney - shops and restaurants.   We had supper one night at ESPN and watched an NBA star be interviewed. Ate supper in the restaurant at the Living Seas at Epcot surrounded by the aquarium. 

When you enter the parks… go left.  Most people go right.  You will avoid more lines that way. 

Seriously though, it’s nice that people let you know they know you’ve sacrificed quality time with your kids.  Go and enjoy 

harshedbuzz

RanchersWife wrote:

I have been researching a lot. I do have a question I’m afraid to ask on the Disney group.

I understand. They can be a little, ummm, intense. One of the moms I know from boy scouts has created a travel agency that specializes in Disney and another very dear friend of mine has a timeshare and goes to one of the properties 2 weeks each year- her younger son has done Imagineer internships in CA and FL and now works for company that does projects with them.

Do families split up in the park? It seems like everyone just happily walks around all day together and everyone agrees on what to do.

That's the beauty of WDW. Families can break up into smaller groups/individuals and do what most appeals to them. DS is really into trains; he railfans and works on a tourist railroad. He's gone off on his own, or with his dad, to check out all of the various train and monorails things while I checked out the landscaping that appeals to me. DH and I love wine and have enjoyed sampling bottles unavailable where we live. (Artist Point in Wilderness Lodge and California Grille in The Contemporary have amazing wine lists and Cali Grille is my favorite place for the fireworks) Onsite the resort pools are very nice places to spend time. 

With our age ranges (22 years - 9 years and two 50 year olds) I don’t see that happening.

One of the nice things is the conversations you can have at dinner when you meet back up about what everyone saw and did when they went their separate ways. The other weird thing that has always happened to me was running into people I know from home- it has happened every single time I have gone so we compare notes on who we ran into. Last time I ran into one of my scouts in a gift shop attempting to by feminine hygiene products which was sort of embarrassing for me, but DH and DS thought it was hilarious. 


That is one of the reasons we wrote off Disney years ago as not important enough to spend that kind of money.

I hear you on this. The last few times we cobbled the trip onto a visit to my parents when they wintered in FL. I was already down there and a couple days and with dad in the early stages of dementia when his personality had gotten really nasty but we didn't know why 3 days with them was enough. 

Would you let a 16 and 14 year old with phones loose in a park together? Before anyone freaks out at this question please remember our closest neighbor is 1/2 mile away.

Of course. I think my kid was 12 the first time we let him loose in the parks when we'd run out of energy or interest and there were things he wanted to see or do. It was fine. LOL, he ran into the scout from the gift shop riding the monorail.