Avery’s Disney experience vacillated between exhaustion and exhilaration. She absolutely loved It’s a Small World and rode it three times (which, in her opinion, was just shy of enough). She is at the stage where she believes that things that seem real must be real, and so many of the rides were “too scary” to even attempt. On the first day, during a momentary lapse of judgment, I marched my overly tired 4-year-old onto Journey Into Imagination, the Figment ride. She survived it with amazing gumption, but told me about 30 seconds into the ride, “I will not ride this ride again. Never. Not ever!” And it took a good bit to earn her trust back on our ride-approval scale.
Avery was so timid of rides after that, in fact, that when it came time to ride the Mexico ride in Epcot, she was only coerced into going when the ride attendant offered up her flashlight. Avery proudly shone that flashlight all through the ride, and sure enough, it wasn’t scary after all!
Later, when it came time to ride Nemo, Avery was again timid. Uncle David was along that day, and so we talked her into riding as long as David would come along and protect us. Later, when Daddy wanted a chance to ride Nemo with Avery, she told him, “You can ride with Kate and Mommy. That ride is me and Uncle David’s ride.”
She was such a delight with her relatives – she interacted and attached herself lovingly to each of them. She specifically requested Mimi and Gran to ride on either side of her for It’s A Small World, chose Aunt Erin to eat dinner next to and ride with on the bus, lavished love (and demands) upon Nana and DD, and was quite taken with “that white girl” (second cousin Kathryn, who happened to wear an all-white dress one night).
What was remarkable about this trip for our Avery Girl is that she really did have all of her dreams come true. Anything she could have imagined being true of her Disney vacation happened. She ate breakfast with the princesses (she later told Trey, “it was the best breakfast I ever ate, ever.”), she rode rides, she sat on DD’s shoulders through the Electric Light Parade, she had Nana and DD in the same room as her, she got ice cream and Sprite and toys and trinkets, and she got to experience the Bippity Boppity Boutique.
This is a special experience for princesses in Cinderella’s castle. One of the Fairy Godmother’s helpers do their hair and make-up. The entire event is something to behold, and Avery played the part of pouty princess very well. Then, clad in a sash, a princess dress, and new hair and make-up, she was set free to enjoy the Magic Kingdom and have tourists of all ages ooh and ahh about her. She loved every second of it! It was as if the experience was created with her in mind.
Avery turned to DD the other night and told him, “Disney World is better than Disneyland!” Whether the statement is debatable or not, for Avery Girl, the combination of family and experiences made it true for her!
I just know that while Avery was there, she really did think it was a magical kingdom, and she is old enough now to remember the experience. Wish I could have been a "fly on the wall" to watch Avery, Katie, and Amelia.
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