So, there you are, you just finished booking your Disney Vacation, and my gosh are you excited! Now the planning begins, and so does the waiting. You start to look at your calendar, and try to decide which parks you will visit, in what order, on what days, and where you’d like to eat. It all seems like work, but it’s really a good thing. You want your Disney Vacation to be near perfect, and you want to make sure you see and do everything that’s on your mental itinerary. Then the waiting comes. You wait…. and you wait…. and you wait. What else? Wait for it…… you WAIT!! Then, it’s finally here. Time to go. Time to check into your resort and let the fun begin.
That moment, for me, is a little bittersweet. Don’t get me wrong, once the waiting is finally through, and we’re at our Happy Place, I’m one grateful girl. My heart swells with joy. The anticipation is over, and I’m here. So, why is it bittersweet? The answer is simple…. because it all goes by too fast. I’m so happy to be there, but I’m already not looking forward to having to leave. It might sound silly, but I do it every time.
From the first day…. heck, even the first half day, I start to count days. Meaning, I begin to think “Ok, we’re going to the MK tomorrow, have dinner at such and such, and then we’ll only have 5 days left.” Why do I do that? It’s almost like a bit of panic sets in. I try to savor EVERY moment I can, because before I know it, the amazing vacation we waiting months for, will be done in the blink of an eye. I take as many pictures as I can, try to capture the expressions on my children’s faces, let them go on the Haunted Mansion for a 3rd time if that’s what they want to do, etc. It’s important for me, I believe my Disney OCD kicks in even more when I’m there.
I think another reason for day counting and trying to “be” in the moment while at Disney, is because I know how long it takes, and what it takes to actually get there. For us, like many families these days, we can’t just book a trip to Disney. It takes time, sacrifice, and lots of savings in order to be able to go. Because of this, I also know when I’m there, that I do NOT know how long it will be before we are able to go back. We work hard, but it’s not easy to get by in our economy. Vacations have to take a backseat to necessities in life that we just can’t avoid. It stinks, but it’s true. I don’t know, maybe if I could go to Disney all the time, whenever I wanted to, maybe I’d take it for granted. I don’t “think” I would, but I can honestly say I seriously do appreciate the time I’m given when we’re blessed enough to be able to visit. It’s an effort to get there, but it’s wonderful.
When my day counting is almost through, I feel a little sadness in my happily swollen heart. I know it’s almost time to make that trip home, not knowing when we will be back to our Disney “Home” again. Part of my mental planning, counting, and moment savoring plan is to make sure we visit the Magic Kingdom on that last night. Why? I want the memories of that night to last. I want Cinderella Castle to be the last thing I see. I want those images and memories burned into my mind. It’s part of the plan. It gives me something to hold on to… until the next time the planning, the waiting game, the mental itinerary, and everything else starts brewing up again. Until checking in to our resort comes, and the counting of days begins all over. It’s all part of my Disney OCD I suppose, old habits die hard. Bittersweet? Yes. Worth every second? Absolutely.
Michele also contributes theme park news for Fox 35 Orlando 11pm news and on the radio on WDBO.
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