We "announced" this trip with our dry erase wall calendar. At the beginning of the month, we wrote Disney World on the days we'd be there, and just waited to see who would notice it first. It was up one whole day before Alexis caught it. She was walking, glancing at the calendar and then paused. And really slowly walked closer. And just stared at it. Then she ran and got Max, and they were standing at the calendar trying to figure out what it really meant. I was watching this all happen from the kitchen, and it just made me smile! It was a fun way to spring on a short term surprise, but still have some time for the kiddos to be excited and plan for it together.
Our road trip was under four hours - so we kept the "car" stuff to a minimum - books, a movie, some felt boards, snacks and the classic legos box. It was enough to keep everyone engaged just long enough. A big jump from the years of traveling with toddlers!
Our first day was Epcot, and we spent most of the day in the back exploring all of the countries! The kiddos were initially hesitant - wondering where the "rides" were, but after our first stop in Canada, we set some family goals and they were all in. First, to collect a stamp from each country. Second, to collect three facts from each country. While we didn't realize it initially, the folks who sat at the tables giving out the stamps were from that specific country, and it became an awesome opportunity for the kiddos to chat with the crew members, ask them questions and learn little details about their favorites from their home country. The crew members lit up when we could say right where their country was (Max actually won a prize in Morocco for being the first kid to know where it was), or when we attempted to speak in Spanish while in Mexico. It was a fun adventure! Our favorite ride of the day was the test track - Abby loved the speed, and they all had fun designing a car. The girls loved Norway (and so did I!). It was a fun boat ride, and meeting Elsa and Anna was a bit magical for them. They were so excited, they were all speechless with Elsa, but warmed up enough to chat a bit more with Anna. We had potato pancakes with fresh applesauce in Germany. And great tacos in Mexico. The drum performance in Japan was beautiful. And went back to America so we could catch the show - love those figures and how they share such a great glimpse of American history in a short amount of time. And going on Spaceship Earth together was just fun. We loved the relaxed pace, finding the tables where the person had the stamp in each country, and exploring the areas.
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