Max's Disney World Inspiration

We just got back 3 weeks ago from Max's first trip to Disney World! He was AMAZING!! We drove 900 miles to Florida and he was such a good traveler! I packed so many toys/books, etc. thinking that he would get frustrated at some point because we were going to drive 14 hours on each day. BUT, he never did! He was always ready for the potty breaks we took for ourselves, but he also willingly got back in his carseat when it was time to leave again. I attribute this amazing out-of-the-ordinary toddler behavior to 2 factors:

One, Max and I have read the story DUMBO together for months and he was not aware that it was also a movie until we started the trip. We basically surprised him the night before we left with the movie and he was so excited about it that he asked to watch it over and over and over again in the car while we drove to Florida. (His exact words were "Watch Dumbo again?") He was so focused on it that he actually watched it for the entire trip, both days which turned out to be something like 25 times!! I never pulled out any toys because we just talked about the movie the whole time. Other than the strange drunken scene in the middle that was a shock for me and just silly dancing elephants to Max, I think Dumbo is the perfect combination of the 2 things that Max knows really well which are elephants and trains! So, it was our saving grace for a long haul!

Two, Max has the amazing ability to self-regulate which has made being his parent a dream!! Basically, whenever Max was feeling uncomfortable from sitting so long, he would pull away from the movie and say, "I going to Disneyworld!" Then, we would talk for a few minutes about how we were going to drive "all. day. long." (which he would repeat, each word, very slowly) and how we were going to see each Disney Character and Most Importantly, Lightning McQueen. It was almost like he was helping himself remember why he was putting up with the discomfort!!! Isn't that amazing??!!!

So, after 2 days of driving, we spent 6 days at Disney World where Max had his absolute dream came true: he was able to ride an actual train!! (His love for Lighting McQueen has not lessened at all but he has accepted the world of Thomas and Friends now.) At Magic Kingdom, there was a train (which he called Thomas or James depending on the color) that rode all around the edge of the park and had stops along the way to the different areas. We just got on and rode the circle over and over again! He almost couldn't contain his excitement!! Then, he experienced the monorail which took him over the edge with amazement that he almost couldn't speak! He called it "Spencer" which is a fast train in the Thomas and Friends series and we had to ride that one over and over!!

In fact, we failed any diehard Disney person's test for efficient use of Disney time because we never really rode any other rides besides the train and the Dumbo ride! Max was so stimulated by the train experience and seeing more people than he could have ever imagined that we had to take him back to the hotel in the middle of each day so he could take a 2 and a half hour nap which he wanted and needed!! Then, we would go back for the evening and ride the trains again! By our standard, a success! To the Diehard, we wasted our money!!

For Max, I think it was also the perfect time to take a trip because he began the week speaking in short, 3 word sentences and ended the week speaking in 6 to 8 word sentences with an incredible new set of vocabulary!! Now, he talks all day long and it is sooo much fun!! Somewhere in the middle, Max created a proverb all on his own that he kept repeating over and over in the car and all we could do was agree with him.

The proverb was: "Don't eat the rocks. Eat Goldfish."

So, there you have it. Words to live by!