How to Knit Your Way Around Disneyworld

Edited to add: Lala reminded me that was my title, because in every line, I knitted. Every. Line. It saved my sanity, and several people told me they wished they had theirs with them.

Last week, we went to Disneyworld! My in-laws took us, and that was AMAZING -- we can't be more grateful. It was so great to spend real time with family. I was trying to work, actually, putting the last touches on a proposal, but by the second day there, I sent my fabulous, understanding agent a note: "Please excuse Rachael from working this week. She just can't pull it together when having this much fun."

 

Ahhhh. Doesn't that look gorgeous? I took that picture in the morning last week, before anyone had dipped their toe yet. I meant to spend more time at the pool, but spent only one late afternoon there (with a vodka tonic in hand -- I still haven't reached my life goal of swimming up to a swim-up pool bar, but any pool bar is a good bar).

The ostensible reason for the trip was my nephew, Isaac, 21 months and DARLING. He knows his letters! His numbers! And how to beat his chest when asked if he is a baby gorilla!

And he went in the wading pool for the very first time in Florida (okay, I missed the actual event due to an unfortunate case of food poisoning. But I caught the next day's action):

 

 We also got to babysit one night, which was really fun. It's good if you're staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and can let the kid run around looking at zebras and giraffes. Also good if you can stuff him in a Hawaiian shirt and feed him sugar (JUST KIDDING) (MAYBE).

 

This was the view from our balcony. It was kind of ridiculously cool, really.

We spent four days at the four parks (I *loved* Epcot! So much more fun than I thought it would be). We spent the least amount of time at Hollywood Studios (although riding Tower of Terror while fighting food poisoning is HARDCORE, yo) and the most at Animal Kingdom, which was full of animals we like to stare at: gorillas, meerkats, anteaters and teenagers from Texas (who were apparently on spring break, along with Mississippi).

And we got in one day at Universal Studios for one reason: Harry Potter World.

 Snow! In Florida! I mean, just outside Hogwarts.

 

Um. Walking through Hogwarts, seeing Dumbledore himself (it was him, I know it was), was so awesome. I waved at Harry Potter and didn't feel dumb doing it. The ride, however, which makes you feel like you're flying through the castle, being chased by the Whomping Willow, and playing Quidditch? Urp. People recovering from food poisoning should think twice. Glad I went, wouldn't do it again. Then I got IMMEDIATELY on the dragon ride which goes upside down A LOT. Hardcore, I told you. I'm still not quite recovered.

 

Everyone was knitting, I tell you what.

 

Happy!

And I have no idea what this is at Hollywood Studio, since when we were there it was closing up, but I did indeed stop: 
 
 

I LOVE THIS PHOTO: Isaac with hippo under water. I think I loved the hippos best of all the animals. (And the employees there! They were AWESOME. The docents are obviously kids with brand new shiny degrees, and they are DYING to tell you about the animals that they love. I asked the guy at this hippo exhibit how old the hippo was. His face fell so that I almost had to catch it. "I don't know," he said sadly. "I have to find out. You're the second person to ask me that this morning." Then his eyes brightened in hope. "But I can tell you so much about hippos, if you want me to. So much.")

 

Now we're home and getting back to normal, but I miss looking out the window to see what animals were wandering by, and I miss carrot cake being a side item for breakfast. Reality is a little less loop-di-loop and more bumper-to-bumper traffic, but there were no cute dogs there, or demanding, pushy cats, and I'm happy to be home.