The 5 Stages of Planning a Disney Vacation

I had this epiphany a few weeks ago that I HAD TO TAKE MY GIRLS TO DISNEY WORLD THIS YEAR!  Okay, maybe not an epiphany – but it was my 7 year old saying “Mom do you think that the real Cinderella lives in the castle at Disney?” and her 9 year old sister saying “Um, I’m starting to believe that those princesses are completely made-up” and my 7 year old responding with “You don’t know anything, Eloise. They are magic!” and my 2 year old saying “If I evah see Mickey Mouse I’m gonna hug him and give him the biggest kiss evah!”

Which made me spend nearly a week of my life on-line trying to see if a Disney World vacation was possible. We’ve never been. In all honestly(don’t tell Walt) but I’ve never wanted to go. We talk about trips to Europe, Africa, South America and Asia…but never Disney.  But now I’m thinking we need to go just this once…before the magic of a little girl’s imagination burns out and we start watching Cops reruns, DVR Teen Mom, and they are signing up to be on the Bachelor instead of sweetly watching The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Right?

So I bring you the last two weeks of my life – or what I like to call my 5 Stages of Planning a Disney Vacation:

1. Denial- We are not going to Disney. We don’t need to go to Disney. What’s Disney?  Don’t talk about Disney! I’m pretty sure Disney World is a made-up place..just like Florida. Disney who? How about Paris? Kenya? Costa Rica?

2. Anger – We cannot afford a Disney vacation! Everybody goes to Disney but us! What does Mickey Mouse have to be so cute! Cinderella is using subliminal message in her movies! We are NOT going to Disney! We will be different from everyone else and go to see the largest ball of twine instead! Who needs Disney! Cinderella IS NOT REAL!

3.  Bargaining – If we skip all other vacations for the next three years we can totally go to Disney. If we sell one child we can go to Disney. Braces? Braces can wait until you’re an adult – we need to go to Disney!!! My kids really want to go to Disney – am I a bad mom for never taking them to Disney? Maybe if I dressed-up as ‘Tinkle Bell’ that would be enough for them? I can sing and dance.  If I didn’t buy a new pair of shoes for two years can we do it?

4.  Depression – Disney may not be in our budget. If I cannot give kids Disney will they hate me forever? Will future counseling from lack of Micky Mouse be more expensive than the actual original Disney vacation?  OMG no new shoes? Wine. I need wine.

5. Acceptance - Fine, money can’t buy love or happiness but it can buy magic evidently! This is the perfect time/ages for us to take the kids. It will be totally worth it, right? Off to spend another week planning…because Cinderella lives!

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So according to my kids we are the “last people on Earth that have never been Disney” (which I’m hoping is a slight exaggeration) – have you been?  Say no so I can tell my kids there are more out there like us.

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