So, we conquered Disney World.  Jeff had a work trip come up and at the last (I’m talking very last) moment, we decided to tag along.  We spent a few days at the beach near Tampa and one full day at Disney World.  We also ended up going back for the Disney Halloween Celebration on Thursday evening.

I was super anxious about Disney.  I have seen people plan for years to attend this Magical (pardon the pun) kingdom.  I was going in with about 10 days to plan.  I put out the all call for tips from my Facebook friends and got back advice ranging from…

Three key strategies: 1) Rent a stoller / it’s good to keep him from having to walk from attraction to attraction which will save you grief and you and use it to carry your bags 2) if you are staying for the fireworks take a break mid-day and go have a nap or rest at the hotel (or find a place in the park to sit and relax a while) 3) dress him in a highly bright / visable shirt. I use to give my kids shirts “from Mickey” (they would wake up with a shirt from mickey in the hotel room – think santa) I bought at a discount Disney store before arriving. This saved me money and I knew I could dress them in things that I could see.

Or this…

Drink heavily. At all times. And also enjoy what I refer to as the “3p Meltdown” – this is where parents and children alike completely lose it due to exhaustion, crowds, and frustration and everyone begins screaming at each other at once. There will be tears.

Damn, I love my friends.  So, after all of that, here is what I learned after doing 15 hours in the Magic Kingdom with a toddler…

Go to the back of the park first.

For us, the back of the park – specifically Fantasyland was the place we knew we wanted to go to first.  I wanted to catch Cameron while he was still not too overwhelmed and tired to have that amazing picture on the Tea Cups.  We walked right on to all the rides at 11:00 AM.  When we came back through there around 3, there was a longer line.  The Tea Cups, the Disney Ride and some Winny the Pooh ride were all back here and a great way to slowly get us all in the Disney spirit.

Do the Photopass, but have them always take pictures on your camera also.

Unless someone else takes a picture, I would never exist in family album.  At 7 months pregnant, the last thing I wanted was my picture taken, but this is a big trip so I tried to put on my best smile.  There are photographers all over the park who are willing to take your picture with their camera.  Then then scan a card for you and you can go online when you get home to download the pics.  They don’t tell you that every DOWNLOAD, not all but each individual one, is $14.99 each.  For one picture.  So, every time they took a pic, we had them take one with our camera too.  Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t, but at least we didn’t feel as obligated to spend that much on pics with all three of us in it.

Don’t rush your meetings with the characters

Granted, we didn’t have to wait in too many lines just given the time of year that we went, but when we did get a chance to meet a character, we really made sure that we took our time and didn’t feel rushed out by others waiting in line.  This was a one time thing for Cameron to meet these “people” and he had plenty of questions.  The characters are in their own environments which is different than when I went as a kid.  It is much more organized and civilized so be sure to make the most of the time you are spending to meet the characters.  Also, be sure to see the note above about the pictures…

Pack for a hike with a stroller

We brought our own stroller, but you can rent them there.  If you have two kids or maybe a bit older kids than Cameron, those strollers are a lifesaver.  I will say, there were times that we felt like we walked 5 feet and then re-parked our stroller, but overall, it was totally worth it.  Also, every time you leave your stroller, we felt like we had to unpack it again.  To do it again, I would have brought a smaller backpack and a camera with a smaller lens.  I didn’t want to feel like a shirpa, but at the end of the day, it was unavoidable.

This pic is Jeff, trying not to ruin the memory, but not get an “accident” on his shirt.  Let the memories begin!

Bring snacks and extra clothes

You pay alot for food in the park.  They do allow you to bring in snacks and I’m really glad that we did.  We were able to time it out so that we only did one meal  and one popcorn snack in the park.  Everything else was stuff we brought in from granola bars to fruit pouches.  We did break down towards the end and go into the candy store, but luckily Cameron was sleeping so Jeff and I didn’t have to share our loot.  Disney is for the kid in all of us right?

Also, about extra clothes…Cameron had a little accident on the monorail on the way into the park.  Luckily, I had extra clothes.  In addition, we worked hard to help him avoid the new splashpad that they added in Fantesyland.  In any case, I would suggest extra clothes or even swim suits if you are going on a warm day.

Buy water there – Drinking Fountain water is AWFUL

We brought collapseable water bottles in our backpack thinking we could fill them up at the water fountains at the park.  Let me tell you, that little plan backfired.  The water was terrible and I was worried it was going to make us sick.  We ended up buying water bottles at the park, but saw a bunch of people bringing in water bottles as well so to do it over again, we would have bought water outside of the park and brought that in or filled up our bottles before we got into the park.

We also did the ticketed Boo To You Halloween event one evening as well.  It was amazing and I am so glad we spent a little extra for that.  Well worth it.  October was a great time to go.  Not as many lines, still warm enough but not too hot.  Hope this is helpful for those of you wanting to make the trip to the Magical Kingdom!

I know, I look at that face and melt too.  Honestly, this kid is the greatest….*she says in a hushed voice* but, there are those times when I think he is a little jerky….and I mean that in the nicest way possible.  Case in point, two second after I took this picture above, Cameron tackled the snowman and knocked his head off.  Then of course he felt bad and put it back on his head and resumed playing – even telling the snowman he was sorry and giving him a hug.  That was a sweet parenting moment, but for a moment, I thought, wow, that was a dick move to the snowman.

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading how other mothers have seen the same thing – take for instance these two posts from Domestic Diva:

• Toddlers vs. Assholes
• Toddlers vs. Assholes continued

Here are a few that really resonated with me….

1.  Someone comes in your room at 6am, on a Saturday, wakes you up by jumping on your bed and demands that you immediately get up and make them breakfast.

6. Someone who unfolds or dumps clean folded laundry

Dare I add a few more?

• Someone who asks for one thing, then when given that one thing throws it on the floor and screams that they don’t like that anymore.
• Someone who rubs your legs the one day that you didn’t shave in the winter and says oh, gross mommy.
• Someone who asks you to help vacuum the house and proceeds to dump every open container or food or crap on the floor so they can vacuum it up like a Hoover Salesman

For the record, I’m not saying my toddler is an asshole.  I love this little boy.  What I am saying is that there can sometimes be a bit of blurred line between the actions of the two. See that face – this is the face I get when we play balloon – he is so “cited”.  Who cannot love that.

I have some amazing women in my life.  One that I don’t know what I would do without is our babysitter, Lois.  I love her.  I bring her coffee.  I thank God every day for her.  She loves my child and takes care of our entire family as well as her own.  Case in point, was telling her yesterday about the lack of success with the paci.  She casually mentioned that she will try to see what she can do at naptime today.

At 12:30 pm yesterday, I got this text:

Lois: Cameron is a bit boy, right?

Cam: Right!

Lois: Big Boys don’t need paci’s for nap, right?

Cam: Right!

Lois: Can Lo Lo have your Paci?

Cameron hands over the Paci, lays down and goes to sleep

HE WENT TO SLEEP!  And slept for a few hours!  When he got home that afternoon, he was so full of pride!  He ran into my office yelling “Hey Mama, I’m a Big Boy now!”  I cried.

So, last night we tried to keep the streak going and just didn’t say a thing about the Paci.  We snuggled him into his bed.  He fell right asleep with no mention of the p-word.

Fast forward to this AM…5:45 am..through the monitor we hear…”Paci, Paci.”  I went into his room to check on him and reminded him big boys don’t need Pacis and Lo Lo has his Paci.  He laid down and looked so defeated, depressed.  About an hour later, Jeff went into his room to get him and he was standing there, so confused asking for his Paci.  We brought him into bed with us and he was restless, jumped down from our bed and ran back into his room to look for his Paci and turn his sound machine back up.  He came back into our room and laid on the floor, just defeated.  We ALMOST cracked….

Luckily, while on the floor, he spotted the iPad we brought up to the room from the night before.  Saved by the Wiggles.  A few hours later, this proud little boy got to choose his special breakfast (popcorn and orange juice) and we went on about our day, Paci free.

I am so proud of you little man! (Now close your mouth when chewing...)

Yeah, remember last week where I was so hopeful at the end of the Paci era?  Remember when I thanked Elmo in advance for his amazing insight and support?  Well, I believe I spoke too soon.  I won’t get into the specifics of what went down last week, but I will leave you with a few tips after what I experienced.  We are not there yet, but we did identify some chinks in our parenting armor when it comes to fighting the tears and gaze of a two year old.  If you are in this same standoff at your house, here are a few lessons we learned.

• Commit – Look at your calendar and commit to making a new routine that doesn’t involve the Paci or an opportunity for them to ask for a Paci.  For us, it was bath time in the morning and/or watching his night time tv show in another room.  Just different enough that they don’t realize what they are missing.
• Work As A Team – About day three, we realized that Jeff and I were not on the same page on this.  I was determined to get rid of this Paci.  Jeff was holding onto his little baby boy and was having a hard time adjusting to the change himself.  That rubs off on your kids and if one parent is weaker than the other, good luck with getting any true change to stick.
• Engage the Hype Machine – Elmo was a good motivator for this.  Creating a sticker sheet for every night with out the Paci was a nice idea, but Cameron wasn’t ready for that yet.  He put the stickers on his face and his clothes.  Basically just wanted to carry them with him wherever he went.
• Be Sensitive but Firm – Easier said than done.  When I brought up the idea of getting rid of the Paci, his little eyes filled up with tears and he had a look I will never forget.  This leads me to my next tip…
• Don’t Look Them In The Eye – You will cave.  They will win.
• Don’t Cave – Seriously, make this your mantra.  You are the adult here.  This little piece of plastic will not win.
• Reward – your child and yourself.  This sucks…eat and give M&Ms.
• Keep Trying – It doesn’t happen overnight.  It makes your nights long so be sure to ask yourself why are you really wanting to do this?
• Whine and Wine – They will wine and cry but they will survive.  While waiting for your child to figure out the new normal, be sure to have a glass of wine on hand…just helps to calm the nerves.
• Let them keep it – This week in addition to Daylight Savings Time, Cam also came down with ear infection (probably caused by the Paci but I digress).  We weren’t ready, he wasn’t ready, so we have planted the seed and will try again another time.

Cam still has his Paci.  We realized the strength it takes to change behaviors and we have to be just as mentally prepared and he does for change.  Right now, we aren’t there but will keep trying.  How have you gotten rid of the Paci?  Any tips or things we should try?