Not Your Average Disney Mom

I have to admit, I was really hesitant to write this post. I mean, I have a lot at stake here. People can be very judgmental not to mention Moms and of course the die-hard “followers”. I feel like this is just as “hot” a topic as breastfeeding, working moms vs. stay at home moms, co-sleeping, and homeschooling, just to mention a few. I finally decided to go ahead and be brave and honest with my readers so here goes.

I’m NOT a Disney Mom! There I’ve said it! Please don’t judge me. I can explain. I’ve simply never been that big of a fan really. I’ve been to Disney maybe a handful of times and it was all when I was a kid. I mean don’t get me wrong, I loved Disney when I was a kid. I’m not a complete monster! In fact, I came across these gems that prove just that.

 

I’m NOT a Disney Mom and That’s Okay

As I grew up I fell out of the Disney life and into reality. I never watched animated movies or cartoons unless a kid was watching them and even then I wasn’t interested. I know! I’m a total weirdo when it comes to this. So many of my friends watch all the latest Disney movies not because they have children but because they actually want to watch them. Weird, right? They would often ask me “Have you seen the latest Disney movie?” and I would look blankly into their eyes and say “No. I’m an adult and I don’t have kids”. Like why on earth would I spend my time watching that? Completely confused until I realized that they were so excited about seeing the movie. Oops! (Inserts foot in mouth.)

You’d think that all of that would change once we had our little baby boy but nope. It didn’t. It also didn’t help that my dear Hubby could care less about this stuff too. We were hopeless. Or at least we thought so until one day when our son discovered the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on TV. After just a few episodes and seeing how our son lit up when he watched it, something changed for us. The magic was reborn. Don’t get me wrong, we didn’t instantly turn into die-hard Disney fans but we were no longer against the idea. Pretty soon we knew all the words to the Hot Dog Dance and even made our own dance moves. Our son was not impressed.

As time went on our friends asked us the big question. “So when are you going to take your son to Disney for the first time?” Dread immediately filling my insides. Ugh! Just the thought of it sounded awful! Walking endlessly through a sea of people with screaming kids to go on some ride that my son may or may not enjoy right before he has a complete meltdown for no reason. Or even worse, he absolutely loves it and we have to go year after year spending money on hotels, souvenirs and overpriced everything instead of traveling to new places because…Disney! So we waited.

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We waited until we couldn’t wait anymore. He was three. The time had come. My die-hard Disney friend was all “We’re going to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party!” I regrettably asked what that was and the next thing you know she “forced” me to get tickets so we could go with her family. I mean of course I was looking forward to hanging out with my friend because I love spending time with her and our sons are close in age and get along great but….what did I just do? Disney?!? Really? Okay. Just breathe…we can do this. I found myself googling “How to Do Disney when You’re Not A Disney Person” and came up empty-handed. This was going to be harder than I thought.
Our first mistake was telling our son that we were going to “Disney”. He just stared at us blinking until finally asking “What’s Disney?” We explained that’s where Mickey lives. In “Mickey’s castle” as his little friend calls it! Our son freaked out and started screaming “We’re going to Mickey’s castle tomorrow!” Whoa, whoa, whoa, little guy! Not tomorrow. it’s in a month from now. This returned blank stares again from our son. After a little Pinteresting, I found this nifty countdown to help my son understand our “Mickey’s Castle” arrival date.

Now that everyone was ready for Mickey’s Castle it was time to start the planning process. Here we go! We’re even doing the whole matchy-matchy Mickey attire one of the days so we fit in with the park pass holder peeps! Next time, I’ll get one of these Disney princess shirts. Next time? What? Ugh. It’s happening already.

Now that our son knows we’re going to “Mickey’s Castle” he’s more excited than ever and so are we. We have even been persuaded to dress up in a family-themed Halloween costume the night of the Halloween party. What?!? Yeah, I know. A new leaf turned guys. It’s been really nice planning this adventure with a Disney fan because she knows all the ins and outs and it’s like we have our own personal guide. Not to mention having someone else to get super excited with about the trip. Yes, I just said “super excited”. I know. I think this is the beginning of the end.  Lol!

In all seriousness, I’m really grateful for my friend encouraging me to do this, even though I was hesitant at first. So, I’m not a Disney mom. So what? In preparing for this trip I’ve learned that I can still get excited about things that are out of my comfort zone. Being a mom means sometimes doing things you don’t want to do, learning that it’s really not that bad, and maybe even liking it in the end. Maybe.

Mothers adapt and we always put our children’s happiness first. In doing this we can find nothing but our own happiness. It’s inevitable. What can I say? When you see your kid light up like that over a mouse, all you want to do is keep the magic alive. At all costs. Even if it means reliving the Disney magic you once loved as a child and remembering what it is all about! Maybe it’s been inside you all along.

Signed,

Not Your Average Disney Mom