I don’t think I ever blogged about the trip we took to Disney 7 years ago.  I wasn’t blogging back then (almost, but not quite).  I did write about it for an obscure magazine, but I doubt if more than one or two random readers saw it.

It was, in a nutshell, hell.  (The trip, not the article.)

Perhaps I will reprint that article here soon.  I can look back and laugh.

Anyway, it all started with trying to take the kids on the ride It’s a Small World, and the meltdowns we had from the get-go on the morning of the first day of our vacation.  Because of this, I insisted that the first ride on this trip be It’s a Small World. 

There were no meltdowns. 

Taking the ferry over.  Note the short sleeves.  It rained later, but Monday was our warmest day the whole time.

When going to a large, public spot, we always take a photo of all the kids to help identify them should they get lost. Mary did not want to cooperate.

It’s a Small World.  No meltdowns necessary.

Just inane, repetitive singing.  Mary loved it. It made us all smile.

Meltdowns came later.  Even the 3 year old can’t figure out what her problem is.

That first day was pretty crowded.  There is a Disney Half-Marathon and Marathon which was the weekend before we went.  You know who had run in it, because they wore medals around their necks.  We saw Santa Claus, and he had a medal.  FYI: it took Santa just under the 7 hour time limit to complete the marathon.  Santa did not work for Disney.  He was just taking a vacation after the busy season.  He was not in uniform, but he did hand out Santa coins to the kids.  I forgot to get his picture.

Her face needs cleaning, but her mom is on vacation.

Katie.

Never too old for a carousel.

Much happier.

Peter.

Ready to win.

Right after this ride, we got in line for the Flying Dumbo.  We were almost up there when they closed it all down due to storms coming in.  It poured.  We saw lots of shows.  I regretting leaving my jacket in the car.

We kept thinking maybe we should just leave, but we were so far away from the entrance.

And then the rain stopped.

Then we had meltdowns.

Then they stopped.

Then another kid had a meltdown.

And then it was so late that we decided it would be stupid not to stay for the fireworks.

She will make me delete this photo when she sees it. She wishes to destroy all evidence of her sourpussness. That way, when she’s 30, she can pretend that she was always perfect.  But I’m on to her.

The stockades.  Just punishment.

Swiss Family Robinson Tree House. Would be a nice picture except for the rear end of the man in line ahead of the kids.

Finally on the Flying Dumbo ride.

Pretty.

Blurry, but nice.  We’re waiting for the parade. I am quite chilly and really wishing I hadn’t left my sweater in the car.  I seem to be the only one though.

Bill got a good shot.  One good shot.  He took about 20. Fireworks are not easy to photograph. And you can never capture their essence, so why bother?

The thing is, you can’t really do all of Magic Kingdom in one day.  You have to come back.  Have to.

But 11 hours at the park with little children is much more than normal humans can bear.

We took Tuesday off.