Hold On To Those Mouse (Y)ears!

June 15, 2017 Dana Hemelt

Dana Hemelt and her family at Disney World. (Handout photo)

Disney World visits are something to savor with older children, too.

We’re a family of late sleepers. It’s not unusual for the four of us to be pajama-clad and bed-headed at 11 on weekend mornings. But under rare circumstances, my teenagers do pop out of bed before 7:30 a.m. and do it without complaining or hitting the snooze button.

They will do this for seven consecutive mornings if we are at the most magical place on Earth, because the right way to do Disney World is to get there when the park opens.

Why do we keep going back, forgoing lazy vacation mornings for the earworm that is “It’s a Small World”?

The Kids Have Fun Together. Being of different genders and three years apart, my daughter and son haven’t played together since he was young enough to eagerly do whatever she told him to do. But Disney is their shared love. They trade pins together, discuss favorite parks and rides and sit next to each other as they careen down the roller coaster track, hands high in the air.
The Kids Have Fun With Us. My husband and I behave like kids at Disney, and the four of us have a blast. We aren’t Mom and Dad who make them do homework and clean up their rooms; we’re Mom and Dad who scream on Space Mountain and shoot laser beams with Buzz Lightyear. We are apparently far less embarrassing at Disney World than in real life.
The Parks Are So Much Easier With Potty-Trained, Adult-Sized People. No ride is height-restricted and no strollers must be maneuvered through the crowds. We have walked more than 60 miles over the course of seven days at Disney World, and the kids covered it all on their own feet with no complaints.
No Screen Time. Sure, the kids can Snapchat their friends while we’re waiting to board a ride, but most of the time they are too busy interacting with other human beings to stare at their phones.
Adolescent Angst Magically Disappears. There are no tantrums or mood swings and grumpiness dissipates quickly when surrounded by Disney magic. While younger kids are prone to meltdowns, my teenagers understand how fortunate they are to be there.
We’re Creating Memories For All Of Us. College and jobs make it increasingly difficult to take family vacations, so the ones we take now are more meaningful. The inside jokes and amusing anecdotes are now a part of my children’s memories, and they will recall our days at the parks with nostalgia when they are adults.
They Can Be Little Kids Again. Being a teenager is stressful; the demands of high school and college are higher than ever before. Disney allows them to firmly plant all 10 piggies back in the days of carefree youth. On rides, they laugh and squeal with abandon. They pose with characters willingly, because you are never too old to love Mickey and his friends.
They Leave Their Bubble. While I’m sure the majority of Americans have not been to Disney World, there is certainly a diverse cross-section of the population in the parks. People-watching is superb, with families from all over this country and the world. A visit to Morocco at Epcot is not the same as venturing to North Africa, but any opportunity for my kids to interact with people who aren’t just like them is a learning experience.
They Keep Asking To Go Back. We have visited every other year since my oldest was in kindergarten, and she just finished her freshman year of college. My husband and I always suggest other options, but they both vehemently request Disney again. As we set off on our seventh trip last year, I assumed it would be our last. But neither kid is ready to let go of this staple of their childhood. And if they aren’t ready to let go, I’ll grab my mouse ears and hold on tight along with them.

Top photo: Dana Hemelt and her family at Disney World.

A Baltimore native, Dana Hemelt lives in Howard County with her husband and two teenagers. She blogs at kissmylist.com and tweets @kissmylist.