I don't even know where to start. Today started like a red carpet event (literally) and ended like a fairytale. When we were told that this trip was going to be beyond anything we could imagine, they were right!
It all began last night. Kim, Ken, Drew, Ryan and Craig came over for dinner, and why I thought it would be a good idea to give the kids cheesecake for dessert, I have no idea, but the 3 boys went wild, running all around, and Jonah kept yelling "the limo's here!" which it wasn't. At 7pm, a town car arrived to take me and Jonah to the hotel. We rode to the hotel, after being offered drinks (soda, not margaritas!), and the drive seemed to take forever, and I just kept thinking that if this drive seemed long, imagine how long the plane ride would be - waiting to get to the Magic Kingdom.
When we arrived at the hotel, I was immediately mad at myself for not having the car pick us up earlier (we were given the option of arriving at the hotel at whatever time we wanted) because it was beautiful and there was an indoor pool that Jonah would have loved. Jonah went right to sleep, but he refused to sleep in the bed. Instead he made a "bed" of pillows and blankets on the overstuffed chair and slept there. It's like he just didn't want to go to sleep for fear he would miss something and if he slept in the chair then he thought he wouldn't really be asleep (but he was snoring within 15 minutes).
This morning we went to the ballroom for what I thought was going to be breakfast and a live radio broadcast. But it was, oh, so much more!
We walked into the ballroom through a roped off entrance and a red carpet. The back of the room had the radio set up, the middle of the room was filled with a huge beautiful breakfast buffet and round tables with gold-colored tablecloths and black and gold balloon centerpieces, and the front of the room had tons of activities for the kids - a "jumpy" slide, face-painting, a photo booth, a man from the children's museum conducting fun experiments, and a dress-up chest filled with princess dresses, tiaras and boas for the girls and swords, masks and chest plates for the boys. Disney characters were walking around too - Minnie Mouse, Cinderella, Tinkerbell, Captain Hook and...BUZZ LIGHTYEAR! Jonah was getting his face painted like Spiderman (I mean, completely covered in paint - not an inch of natural colored flesh to be seen) when he saw Buzz, and I seriously thought he was going to fall out of his chair!
In addition to all of this for the kids, the moms were treated too. We all got our hair and makeup professionally done. All of this, and we haven't even left Atlanta yet! Actually, all of this and it's not even 7am!
Before leaving for the airport, Amy Moosbrugger gave each of the moms an adorable tote, monogrammed with our family name. The totes were filled with all sorts of wonderful items we'll need at Disney over the next few days, as well as some spending cash and a brand new DIGITAL CAMERA! And each child received a BBA backpack with more great items.
When we got to the airport, we were dropped off in front of a small ASA hangar. Each family was greeted by an ASA employee who knew us all by name. Jonah and I were greeted by a super sweet girl named Sarah. She had a goodie bag for each me and Jonah. Jonah's was filled with Star Wars figures, crayons, coloring books and a congratulations card. Even though I didn't open mine until later, it was filled with bath salts, foot spa treatments, chapstick, sunscreen, etc. Since we didn't have to go through long security lines (something Jonah is too young to appreciate, but something I was very aware of and grateful for), we walked on out towards the plane.
This is when I realized for the first time how unbelievable this weekend is going to be. There were two lines of ASA employees lined up leading to the plane, and we walked in between them. They were all cheering for Jonah, yelling, "Congratulations, Jonah!" and "Have fun, Jonah!" (yes, they knew his name). And they did this for each child. When we got to the end of the "tunnel," we were introduced to the captain, who shook our hands and took a picture with us. Every person we met was genuinely excited for us and SO HAPPY for us. You could just tell from the expressions on their faces and the way they spoke to us that they were thrilled just to be a part of all of this, and that meant the word to me.
At this point Sarah handed us two more backpacks. Mine was filled with small useful items like more sunscreen and hand sanitizer, and Jonah's had more of the same, but his also had a portable DVD player!! Can you believe it? A portable DVD player!
Then we walked up the ramp to board the plane, and it was truly like being a movie star. Royal treatment all the way!
Other than a rocky landing due to inclement weather and Donald Duck and Goofy calling the plane and "talking" to the kids over the intercom, the plane ride was pretty uneventful. When we got to the Walt Disney Yacht Club (where we'll be staying in Orlando), I was completely overwhelmed by our room. First of all, it's huge, Second of all, it's sooo nice. Third, it has a big balcony with 2 chairs overlooking the grounds, and when Jonah and I walked out there, I said, "Jonah, do you know how lucky we are?" and he just threw his arms wide open and his hands out and said emphatically, "VERY!"
We all went to a restaurant for a delicious bar-b-que dinner, and while we were eating, Donald Duck and Goofy showed up. Jonah got their autographs and his picture taken with them. All the kids were very excited by this, especially the younger kids like Jonah. He was pretty proud of his first two Disney character autographs. We sat with some other families as well as some BBA staff, and it's nice getting to know everyone. Everyone's situation is different, and yet we are all bonded together through this experience. We have never met before, and yet it's like we already know each other in many ways.
The plan tonight was to go to Fantasmic. But as things so often do go awry, Jonah - after being unusually not-hungry and uncharacteristically quiet - got incredibly sick on the bus ride to the show. So after dropping off everyone at the show, the bus driver took us back to the hotel, where Jonah got clean and changed clothes. Within seconds of walking into our hotel room, the front desk called and directed me where to take the dirty clothes to be dry cleaned. To say that everyone here is over-accomodating would be a major understatement. I felt so badly for Jonah - he was so quiet, and I just wanted to hug him and make everything better. He seemed so small, and it's times like these that I remember that he really is just my baby.
We took the bus back to the show, but minutes after it started, Jonah got sick again, and we spent the better half of the show in the bathroom. At one point, he looked up at me and said in his tiny little raspy voice, "Mommy, why did I do this again?" It was all I could do to keep from crying, as I tried to explain that this was just his body saying he doesn't feel well and everything is going to be okay. Wearing my fleece as a shirt, he sat in my lap for the rest of the show, totally quiet and pretty much totally mesmerized.
Fantasmic is amazing. It's shown on a lake in front of a small mountain. A sheet of water shoots up from the lake, making a "movie screen" of sorts, and the movie is played there. A medley of Disney music classics are played, flames are somehow all over the lake at one point, and there is an awesome fireworks finale. I watched Jonah's face for much of the time, and he was mesmerized, eyes open completely wide! He said he liked it, but he also was exhausted.
I chalked the sickness up to over-stimulation, exhaustion and the actual arrival of the event he's been waiting for for the past 2 months finally being here. But really, I am just hoping and praying that he is not truly sick. After everything he has been through and everything he will have to go through, to be awarded this trip and then to get sick...? Well, I can't even deal with that. That would be so unfair, even though I know that word is pointless. Back at the hotel, I put him in bed, and I sat next to him singing "Twinkle Twinkle," but he was asleep before I even finished the second verse.
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