Disney Week: Julia Sims at the happiest place on earth

A few months ago, we decided this would be our year to do Disney. At age seven, we thought Will would be old enough to remember it and young enough to enjoy it. Mike and I have never considered ourselves "Disney people," but a few weeks before the trip found ourselves getting excited.

So imagine my dismay when an hour into our first day at Disney, Will said to me "I'm bored. I'd rather be at home reading a book." Panic seized me. We'd saved for this trip for months! I wanted to shake him by the shoulders and say "No, no, no! Don't you know we're at the happiest place on earth?!!!"

Of course, I didn't. Mike and I just gave each other that look like "yep, what have we done?" Well, this is what we did ... or didn't do. We planned the trip at the last minute. (We are not good long-range planners.) Heck, we didn't even have a map of the park. That was our lesson: Do your homework ahead of time for Disney.

Why was our seven-year-old bored? Here it is: We were at Hollywood Studios and there aren't a ton of rides. So, if you plan on going, make sure your "FastPasses" are for the first thing in the morning to really get your day off on the right foot. If we had done that, it would've set the tone for the whole day.

Instead, we went in search of food. Ice cream always makes everything better! Then, we finally got to ride a roller coaster and do other fun things. As all things like this go, the day ended up being a lot of fun!

Our best part of the trip was Magic Kingdom. The place is absolutely alive and full of joy! We found going in January was a good choice. Short lines and in some instances, no lines!

Will went wild over Splash Mountain and, as luck would have it, there were no lines. We ended up going on the ride seven times in a row! Our little boy was in heaven .... and so were we! Maybe we ARE "Disney people!"

Our trip was a short one: We went to Legoland one day (highly recommend) and Disney two days. For us, that was the perfect amount of time. We also drove to cut down on costs. It's an easy drive, but, be prepared: It's long. Will said next time we go he wants to fly.

I'm not sure there's another Disney trip in our future any time soon. Don't get me wrong: We had a blast and I'm glad we did it. It's just that we've got our sights set on other adventures. I'm thinking our next family vacation will be a dude ranch. Saddle up!