Every single trip, no matter how steady we think we are taking things or how early we get the girls to bed, there always comes a day when one (or more often all) of us reach that ‘crash and burn’ point. I think it’s just a way of our bodies telling us to have a break, but we definitely reached that point today (which means this blog will be much shorter than usual!)
The girls woke a little bit later today and decided they definitely couldn’t face a day at Universal as we knew it would be full on. We had been given 2-week tickets as our annual passes didn’t get used much at all due to the pandemic, so we all agreed rather than using them for one single day (especially a day we were tired on) we would hold onto them for a trip where we could spend multiple days at the parks if we decided to. Steve went to Mara to get the girls some breakfast which we ate in the room (so nice to have a table and chairs to sit around) We then decided to have some time by the pool before heading to Animal Kingdom for a few hours later on. However, we forgot that the pol doesn’t open until 10am in winter months, regardless of how hot it is, so we had a bit longer in our pyjamas watching the animal and a few more Mickey cartoons than expected in our room before we finally headed down.
The girls were really excited to be first in the pool, and loved it being so empty compared to previous days when we’d arrived mid-afternoon and it was at its busiest. However, you could tell the girls were tired as they wanted to sit around the pool colouring and reading for a large chunk of time. They were still happy enough, and a bit of time chilling out was what we all needed.
By mid-afternoon we decided that we all needed a change, so we set off for Animal Kingdom with the plan of doing the safari before watching a few floats and seeing the Tree of Life light up. However, when we got there Polly started to feel poorly again. She had a drink and said she felt well enough for the safari, which was again brilliant as loads of animals were out and out (very early or as late as possible tend to be best for seeing most animals).
We got off the safari and grabbed a corn on the cob from the cart just outside of the ride entrance. I’ve wanted one of these for ages, but we always tend to visit Animal Kingdom early when the cart isn’t open. It’s basically just a whole cob dipped in butter then sprinkled with curry flavoured salt (you can have regular salt) and my goodness, it was divine. I could honestly just have eaten them for the rest of the trip and been happy!
It’s a good job I got it when I did though, as Polly really wasn’t feeling well so we decided to call it a day and all head back to the hotel. The girls were disappointed about not seeing the Beacon of Magic, but we told her we could try again another night, ad if not it wasn’t the end of the world because sometimes plans change, and it really doesn’t matter. Missing out on a lit-up tree is better than feeling poorly at a theme park and trying to keep going for other people (been there, done that and it isn’t fun) And as Winnie said, we could always watch it on YouTube!!!!
Anyway, by the time we got to the room she was starting to feel hungry, so we ordered 3 children’s butter chicken and a bread service from Sanaa to go, and Steve picked it up and bought it back to the room for us all to share.A bit of TV and a few snuggles later, and she was feeling a lot better and ready for a good night’s sleep (well, until midnight when a bad dream woke her and she ended up sleeping with me putting Steve, the wriggliest sleeper in the world on the squeakiest bed in the world with Winnie!!)
With a Disney trip, no matter how much you plan, or how desperate you are to do something, in our experience it is always best to just stop and readjust if things go awry. Pushing on never ends well at all. So, we didn’t get to Universal or do the things we wanted at Animal Kingdom. So, I had butter chicken and bread service for the second night in a row (wait until tomorrow…best you can’t guess what I have for tea again then!!) Did it ruin the trip? Or even the day? Not at all, because you know what I realised. That although our love for Disney is huge, and it truly is the most magical place on earth, the real magic comes from being with the people I love most. Whether that’s riding Flight of Passage or snuggling up watching some Disney Junior show that looks and sounds exactly the same as every other one doesn’t matter at all. What matters is being together. And that is what makes me the happiest and luckiest lady in the whole wide world.
Doodle & Peg Do Disney 