Giddy at Disney World!
We were SO excited when my Orlando-based company announced they would be flying all employees and their families to Orlando to celebrate our BIG year at the company with a trip to Disney! For one, we had seen the prices at Disney and had pretty much decided Gideon was going to be on his own for that one, haha. And two, Brian and Gideon had never met my coworkers or seen our corporate office (I work remotely), so I couldn't WAIT for them to meet everyone! Plus, as a fun bonus, it would be Gideon's 13th state visited in his first 9 months home. We eagerly packed our bags and counted down the days till Disney World!
The flight to Orlando was Gideon’s first flight since Korea, and he was not a fan. He screamed for basically all of the way, but as soon as he got to our hotel and saw me (I had been at my company's office all week, so Brian and my parents handled the horrible flight with G without me), he smiled the biggest smile and fell asleep within 15 seconds with his arm around my neck. The next night, he was also a bit overwhelmed by all the noises and people at the company holiday party, but then he did amazing and loved his time at Disney World with Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, and Grandpa! He rode "It’s a Small World" twice and "Under the Sea" once, and he was so brave. I was also finally brave enough to make it through Haunted Mansion with Mom without having to leave through the emergency exit like every other time, haha! Gideon napped in his carrier, met Mickey, and especially loved watching Splash Mountain. Brian also got to hold Gideon in the carrier for the first time, and they were both a big fan!
Lots of people come to our blog and ask questions, which we love! But if you're looking for practical Disney World advice, we probably aren't the ones to ask (for that, contact my girl Christa Jordan HERE!). Food at Disney is borderline immorally expensive, so we packed snacks for all of us in Gideon's backpack, and we fought the trend we saw at Disney to buy all of the sparkly Mickey ears and photo packages and gifts. That said, despite doing Disney on a budget (read: we spent less than $50 the whole 3-day trip, because our company covered lodging, flights, and $100 worth of food, which we stretched and stretched), we soaked up every last second in our one day at Magic Kingdom!
It was such a gift to experience Disney together as a family, and I am so grateful to work for a company that celebrates our success as a company by celebrating our employees and their families. It was also the perfect way to say goodbye to 2018, which was our most exciting and most adventurous year yet!
