And then we went to Disney World...

As I've mentioned before, my husband Dan is an ER doctor. And like most doctors, he's required to get a certain number of Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits each year (I could ask him the exact number, but he's in the basement, and this couch is really comfy.) The point of CME credits is to keep doctors up to date on new technologies, advances in medical research, etc. To get those credits, he takes courses online or at conferences. Since there are a lot to choose from, conferences try to entice doctors by holding the conferences in places that people might actually want to visit. Like Orlando, Florida.

And since Dan was going to Orlando anyway, we figured Lucas and I might as well tag along and extend the trip by a few days to make it a family vacation.

The resort where we stayed (and where the conference was held) was pretty dang fabulous.

I'm pretty sure that it's against the law to visit Orlando and not visit Disney World, especially when you're only staying a mile and a half away from it. So we figured that on our last full day there, we'd check out the Magic Kingdom for one day and see what the hype was all about (I had never been to Disney, and Dan hadn't been since he was a little kid.) I thought that maybe if our trip went especially well (or especially horribly,) I could share some tips on taking a toddler to Disney World. But I basically only have one tip:

If you are pregnant, and your pregnancy-induced irritability makes you want to "accidentally" run your stroller into the back of people's legs when they suddenly stop and block an entire walkway to have a conversation about the weather, and you have a toddler who really does not function well without a nap, and you're sick with a cold, and you happen to be in Orlando during what is apparently Disney's second-busiest week of the whole year - do NOT go to Disney World. Just don't. Stay in your hotel and let your toddler ride the glass elevator for an hour. Because the elevator will cause him to make this face:

Whereas Disney World will cause him to make this face:

To be fair, he had just woken up from a short nap in his stroller when I took this.
He did smile at other points throughout the day.

And then you'll make this face:

There were some highlights, though. Like when Lucas met Mickey Mouse and was beyond thrilled about it.

Let's take a moment to notice how gigantic my 20-week- pregnant belly is. Sweet Moses.

And the carousel ride.

And when he got to dance in the streets with Disney characters, (none of whom he recognized.) And a show at Cinderella's castle where we were in the very front row and Lucas waved at Mickey the entire time. And when we bought Lucas a Mickey Mouse toy that he loved madly (and lost at the airport the next day. And I felt so sad about it that I immediately bought him a new, larger one on Amazon, even though he never even noticed the first one was gone.)

And when we left early to go have dinner at a Mexican restaurant instead of dealing with the crowds for another second.

I think we'll probably attempt a Disney trip again sometime in the future once our kids are older and less in need of naps (and when it's not one of the two busiest weeks of the year.) But this time was kind of a bust.

Still, the vacation as a whole was about as good as they get when you have a toddler in tow (in spite of the killer cold I caught.) He slept well, and I feel like that will probably be the standard by which I judge the success of any event, ever, for at least the next three years - "Did everybody sleep? Yes? Well ok then. No whining."

So... there's my vacation story. Does anyone have any fabulous Disney tips in case someone stumbles on this post by Googling the phrase "tips for taking a toddler to Disney World" and then ends up majorly disappointed by my post?? Please and thank you. :)