by Jennifer Olson

Created on: November 05, 2009

When I was an infant, my parents won a family vacation to Walt Disney. Due to my age, my parents decided to give the trip to another family. My older brother and sister have never let me live this down and constantly remind me how spoiled I am because I spoiled their vacation. We never made the trip and it was and is my fault.

I now have a son of my own who is ten years old and we still had not been until last summer. My ex-husband won $2,000.00 from a Florida lottery scratch off card. The winning dispersement department is also the child support dispersement unit. Needless to say, these winnings helped pay for the best and most memorable vacation ever!

Hearing from friends who vacationed annually at Disney,there are time restraints because there is so much to do and pack into the days that you are there. Therefore, I planned a day in the middle of our vacation with nothing planned so that we can rest. This day was used and just as busy. We were exhausted everyday and passed out as soon as we got back to the hotel!

Since my mother and father gave our trip away when I was an infant, I took them with us. The most rewarding part of our Walt Disney vacation is the memories it provided to all of us. To my parents who missed out on the first opportunity to go, to my son and myself. In those memories are moments we will cherish for as long as we live.

During this vacation, my son grew closer to my parents by allowing them to play without any restriction. My most cherished memory is that I conquered a huge fear and the faith my son had in my ability. After swimming with dolphins which was an amazing experience alone, my son wanted to go snorkeling. This is my fear, water. While swimming with the dolphin, I believe I was the only one with a life vest on. The dolphin swim was mostly in shallow water and only required one quick swim out to deeper water to hold the fin of the dolphin while he swam you back to the safety of shallow water. Snorkeling did not provide a dolphin fin! Still in my trusty life jacket, I stood on the edge of the deep water drop and repeated told myself out loud that I could do it.

My beautiful child, wading in the water was patiently cheering me on. He took a moment to come beside me and tell me that I am a wonderful mother and he would understand if I couldn't do it. He is much wiser than his years. While looking in is blue eyes that matched the blue of the water sparkling in the sunlight, seeing the hope and potential disappointment, I slid in. Underwater is a different world and was truly inspiring to me. Words cannot express how amazing this experience was for both of us.

During our vacation, there was a lot of walking and waiting in lines. The most valuable advice that I can provide is to pay the expense to purchase the express tickets when you visit. The express line tickets are worth more than the price! The lines get unbearably long for the seemingly short rides. When you take the express line, the comparison between the wait and ride time are not as extreme and make the rides more fun and exciting.

Our vacation was in June, one of the very hot months of the year. Thank you to Disney for the cooling stations! These stations were life savors and allowed for a much needed rest for the adults. During this vacation, my son swam with a dolphin, rode the most exciting thrill rides in our country, play a pirate child in a Mystery Theatre show, eat with his fingers while watching swordsmen in battle, eat tons of junk food, play in goo and run wild with his mom and grand parents and watch a live Fear Factor show which made his grandfather eat something that was gag worthy. What more can a child ask for from only one vacation?

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