#MomLife: Is Disney really that magical? 

Nate, Mickey, and Cade.

Ever since I can remember I have wanted to go to Disney World. I was always jealous when one of my classmates would come back to school with tales of magic and wonder. I would live vicariously through them and wish I was in their shoes. It was always my dream vacation when I was a child. 

I am the oldest of six children, so you can imagine how expensive and disorderly going on vacation would have been for my family. Instead of traveling, my parents bought us a pool for the backyard and called that our staycation oasis. We had so much fun in that backyard, however, in the back of my mind I was always thinking about going to Disney. About a month ago my childhood dream came true. 

For Spring Break, my husband, mother-in-law, the kids and I packed the car to the brim and headed out on our journey to Florida. Armed with our Mickey and Minnie Mouse ears we were ready to take on Disney, and boy were we surprised when we arrived at the most magical place on earth. Disney is chaotic to say the least. It’s a fun chaotic, but it can be overwhelming. Navigating the parking situation is stressful. Getting through the metal detectors gives me anxiety. I mean, am I the only one who is always worried that they will find a random thing in my bag that goes against the rules of items allowed in the park? It never happens, but I just have this pit in my stomach every time I go through the line. 

Once you get through that line you get to enter the entrance line. That’s a different world right there. Basically everything is digital now so your tickets are on your phone. You have to scan them just right and put in your fingerprint, and if it doesn’t work, they call someone over to override it and check your tickets and take your picture. Of course, it didn’t work twice for us. There’s always at least one hiccup during vacation. So after what seems like an eternity you finally get to enter the park! 

Walking into Disney is a wave of emotions. The first thing I saw when I walked into Magic Kingdom was Cinderella’s Castle. I had always dreamed of watching the fireworks over Cinderella’s Castle, so I immediately started to get emotional. Was I really in Magic Kingdom right now? I don’t want to say this was the happiest I have ever felt but it was up there with some of the happiest moments I have had. 

As magical as Disney can be it can also be overwhelming. The parks are huge, the crowds are almost unmanageable at times, the maps are hard to follow and you can easily get turned around and not know where you are. But we managed to get in some rides and shopping and just enjoyed our time together. Don’t let me fool you, we had some tense moments, but we made it through and still had an amazing time. 

Can you guess what we did at the end of the night? Fireworks at Cinderella’s Castle! I’m a sucker for a good fireworks show but this show was the best fireworks show I have ever seen. I loved it so much I watched it two days in a row. With music and Disney characters projected on the castle and fireworks in the background, it was perfectly timed and beautiful. I may have cried a little bit. I can’t be the only one who has cried at Disney multiple times in a day right? 

Leaving Disney was both bittersweet and exciting. I was sad to leave the magic and wonder but I was also ready to go home. I will admit, two days at Disney is not enough to experience the whole thing, but it was perfect for our first time. We were able to dip our toes into the Disney water so to speak. I think if we would have spent more time there, we would have gone into sensory overload and wouldn’t have been able to enjoy it as much. I’m looking forward to our next trip to Disney.

I just hope it doesn’t take 37 years to get there again.

Although it might take me some time to save money, because what I didn’t tell you is how expensive a trip to Disney is. Don’t worry, I won’t ramble on about cost and numbers. I’ll save that for another column. Overall it’s safe to say that my first experience at Disney was both magical and wonderful. 

Steph Hightree is a hot mess mom who is fueled by stress and too much caffeine. She is a Three Rivers native who talks about the good, the bad, and well, everything else about parenthood.


Any views or opinions expressed in “#MomLife” are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Watershed Voice staff or its board of directors.