The Oregon Corrigans: February 2017

There is nothing quite like a mad rush to plan your "once in a lifetime" family trip to Disneyland. We originally planned to take the kids in November, but then Kyle's work trip required a postponement, so we had slated a week in January when the kids had a couple days off teacher work days. We had been meaning to really get on top of the planning, but then we encountered so much insanity all at once (broken cars, beloved pets being killed by predators, Kyle's work stress at an all time high, Marin's health crisis, not the mention the regular increase of holiday preparation). So needless to say, we got way behind. Right around the time of Marin's diagnosis, we finally got airplane tickets and booked our condo. Both at astonishing low rates (off season baby!), only to face the huge daunting task of facing regular Disney planning now including a Celiac girl in the early stages of healing. Red alert! (but see, we had already told the kids we were going! So another delay would have pushed the trip out AGAIN possibly another year).

We just decided to go for it. And boy are we glad we did... We had literally, the time of our lives. I prepared and researched for Celiac, I read the Disney guide book, we bought all the "ahead of time" stuff online to make things smoother, and we had a BLAST.

Southern California sun (75-80 degrees during the daylight hours, so amazing), low to medium wait times for rides (although it did seem pretty crowded still at times), a 4 day Park Hopper which we used to the fullest (there from open to close every day with NO NAPS, besides stroller naps) and four sweet kids who now adore Disney as much as me. Even the anti-crowd Daddy of the family had a total blast, and it was the first time in a LONG time he has totally unplugged from work stress, he slept well, he felt good, we had so much fun. What a gift.

We had our share of struggle balancing all the needs (dietary needs, ride speed, sensitivities to being scared, being wet, waiting in lines, where to go, when to go) but aside from a few well placed meltdowns (adults included), I must say WE WERE CHAMPS. I'm proud of us! We had so much fun, I'm still smiling when I think about all we did together. I cannot think of one aspect missing from our trip, it was truly a beautiful thing. Lifetime of memories. We SAY we will only take the kids to Disney once, but someone should invite us to come with them (maybe that would get us there again!)