Disney World Countdown...D-Minus 20 days

by Brittany Geragotelis

all photos credited to Disney

I got home last night to a new package from Disney! Upon opening the thick padded envelope, I was delighted to see our Disney luggage tags, basic itinerary and a book full of vouchers for things like discounts on mini-golf, spa visits, Planet Hollywood souvenirs and free games at the hotel arcade.

And then it hit me. In 20 days I will be embarking on my first adult vacation...And we're going to Disney World!


Yeah, I know, that may sound backwards. Taking your first "adult" trip to a kids park. But you have no idea what Disney means to me. Ever since I was old enough to remember it, my parents used to pack us up in the car and we'd head off in the middle of the night to Disneyland (a few times we drove from Washington to California, but mostly we flew. For some reason I always remember taking off when it was still dark out. My mom always warmed the car up for us before taking each of us out to the car wrapped up in our own individual blankets and buckling us in for the ride.). Once we were there, we'd spend a few days riding rides, eating food and spending some quality time together. My mom even used to make us get up early, so we'd be at the park when they cut the ribbon in the morning. Then she'd make us all run from one ride to the next. These are some of my favorite memories of growing up.

So, can you see why Disney is such a magical place for me?

This is why I felt it was apropos that Matt and I spend our first real vacation together (and not the kind where you're surrounded by family. That's nice too, of course, but I'm talking couple time here.) at the happiest place on earth.

And although he'd never admit it to anyone else, Matt's excited to be going too. He's even the one who convinced me we should take a day trip over to Universal Studios to check out Hogwarts. To say I'm excited about this trip is an understatement. I made our dinner reservations at some of Disney's finest dining areas about three months ago, and plan to wake up early every morning to have my gluten-free Mickey waffles (yes, they have them!). I'm going to line up at the ribbon in the morning before they open the park and then I'm going to (try to) convince Matty to run with me to the first ride. I've even been working on getting him to agree to take silly pictures with me while we're there (I think he still needs convincing on this one though).

Either way, we're looking at an opportunity to build some new memories, just the two of us. And I can't think of a better place to do it than the magic kingdom!

5x5,
B.