And the countdown is on…

With less than three weeks to go I seriously can not contain my excitement. Our reservations are made, our Fastpasses+ are booked, our flight is scheduled, and our Magic Bands have arrived. Now comes the hard part…waiting. To say I’m looking forward to spending five days with my husband running around the world’s largest theme park like the overgrown children we are is an understatement (to say we’ve both earned this vacation over the past few crazy months is an even bigger understatement).

I’ve mentioned before that this will be Scott’s first adventure to the World of Walt and my first trip back since I was in middle school. And what better way to celebrate the anniversary of the happiest day of our life than a trip to the happiest place on earth? This trip is also kind of a turning point in our lives. It’s one last vacation to completely be a little immature and carefree before we start looking to our future (though, let’s be honest, neither of us is the type to truly ever grow up).

But it’s also a chance for me to experience a lot of things that I didn’t get to do when I was fourteen.

For starters, my last trip included eight family members; my mom, two aunts, three cousins, my sister, and my two-year-old baby brother. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love family vacations (if you can’t tell from some of my previous posts, I think my family is pretty friggin’ awesome) and I definitely want to make another family trip to Disney World. Especially now that my family has more little ones to share our love of all things Disney with. But if you’ve ever taken a family vacation with that many people before, you already know that, logistically, it’s not easy getting everyone to the same place at the same time. This time around I only have to wrangle my husband.

I also missed out on experiencing a lot of amazing rides and attractions when I was young. Not because of time constraints or long lines, but because I used to be a little bit of a scaredy-cat (seriously, I made it all the way to the front of the line for Tower of Terror and chickened out). This time I’ve already booked FastPasses+ for some of the rides I was too scared to ride last time, so I’m already committed to riding them (and, with the advantage of less wait time, I have less time to over think it). Not to mention my fear of rides has evolved a lot since I was a kid. The younger me worried about what could happen of the ride malfunctioned or what if I got sick or holy-crap-that’s-really-high-up. Now, I’ve hit a point in life where I realize my only regret would be not taking a chance on something I might love. (Know what else helps? Having an awesome friend like DammitHali that can talk some sense into you.)

We’ve also made plans to check out several Disney World restaurants. I got to try a couple of places back in middle school, but my family did most of our meal planning off property. There’s no getting around the fact that a trip to Disney World is expensive, and food is no exception. Feeding two people on property at the parks and resorts costs a pretty penny…feeding nine costs a fortune. But for me and Scott, food plays a big factor in our vacations. Having both built our careers in the restaurant industry, we both really like to eat. More so, we both really enjoy a good dining experience. And Disney World is all about the experience.

There’s also a lot of things I’m looking forward to experiencing again and, even better, sharing that experience with my husband. One of the biggest things I’m looking forward to? The Happily Ever After fireworks at Magic Kingdom. I’ve read all the articles and tips and tricks that say the fireworks show is the best time to get in line for rides because lines are a lot shorter with everyone watching the show. But I can’t imagine going and not crowding on Main Street to see the show. It’s too magical too miss.

It’s only a matter of time now…19 days…465 hours…27,940 minutes. Not that I’m keeping track.