Family Vacation

The twins held their spot amongst the crowd with Mom while Dad bought popcorn from a nearby vendor. The fireworks would be starting in just a few moments, and they couldn’t wait to see the castle light up and the characters make their final appearances of the evening. 

It had been quite the vacation so far! Disney World far surpassed Harley and Harper’s expectations. At Epcot, they each learned how to say ‘hello’ in multiple languages. At Animal Kingdom they got to go on a safari and saw dozens of unique animals. They flew the Millennium Falcon at Hollywood Studies and laughed at Dad as he lived his own childhood fantasies. Now, they were wrapping up their day at Magic Kingdom. 

“Can you both see the castle alright?” Mom asked, wanting their end-of-the-night spectacular to be as magical as possible. 

“Yep,” Harley responded, with Harper nodding along, eagerly waiting for Dads return with the popcorn.

The parks had been crowded the last few days and were no exception in this moment as many more families piled into the limited space, trying to secure a last-minute viewing spot. 

The twins had received several lessons on patience during their trip, finding ways to entertain themselves when they had to wait in line for a ride or a delicious treat. They played a guessing game on Mom’s phone, came up with their own ‘find every color’ game that involved picking out random clothing items on people walking by until the rainbow was complete, and Dad brushed them all up on Disney trivia utilizing the in-park app. 

They learned how to budget their money by only buying one treat a day and packing their own snacks. They had also been told they could pick one souvenir at the end of the trip, which they were taking very seriously by browsing at each shop in hopes of finding the perfect item to remember the vacation by. 

But the biggest takeaway from their trip was the value of time spent together. Surrounded by families of all shapes and sizes, hearing various languages from those who traveled from faraway places to enjoy the same vacation, and seeing kindness displayed by perfect strangers made Harley and Haper hug their parents extra tight as they could see that moms and dads and other family members were doing so much to ensure that their kids had their dreams come true. 

Dad returned with popcorn in hand right as the music began, and soon, they became lost in the wonder of the show. 

While Harper watched, she couldn’t help but think of how fast the summer had gone by! With camps, time at home, their new dog, a few long drives to see Sophia, and their vacation – it was hard to believe that it was almost at an end. Back to school was just around the corner. 

Harley’s thoughts were similar to his twins, but besides the show in front of him, the main thought in his head was which Disney Lego set he was going to get afterwards. 

After the show ended, Mom and Dad held them close and instead of walking towards the exit like most, they jogged towards one more ride. Once they finished, they started walking to the big souvenir shops. Mom was humming a familiar tune, and Harper asked, “What is the name of that song again?”

“A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes,” Mom answered with a smile. “It is from Cinderella, my favorite Disney movie.” She started to sing the song like a real-life Disney princess while they finished their walk. 

The lyrics stuck out to both of the twins, who began to hum the tune while they were let loose to pick out their long-awaited souvenir. They equally enjoyed the urging that if you keep on believing, someday your dreams will come true. 

More than a few moments passed as everyone made their decisions, and they came together in line to share their treasures. Mom and Dad wanted to know what made them choose their items.

“I picked this Star Wars Lego set because it reminds me of all of us on the ride.” Harley held up his choice. 

“I picked this Disney Princess Tea set because it has all of my favorite characters on it.” Harper beamed.

“I like your choices,” Mom smiled, holding onto a picture frame that had ‘her song’ beautifully sketched into the design, “I am going to print my favorite photo of the trip and set this in the living room so we can always remember the fun we had.”

Dad held up a leather wallet with the Disney log on it, “And I’m getting a new wallet so I can always remember how expensive this trip was.” He laughed at his own joke while Mom scolded him, and he set it back down, “I’m just kidding! I’m getting this hat.” He recovered quickly. 

As they took their final steps down Mainstreet USA, they stopped to look back at the castle one more time, and without telling each other, they silently made a wish of their own. Maybe someday, their wishes will come true!

**Have you and your family been on any vacations? Maybe it was somewhere close or perhaps far away? What are your favorite memories from the trip? Remember, you don’t always need a trip away to have fun with your family, time spent together is what truly matters. 

Brittany Richards is a full-time Marco Island resident passionate about all things literary. Creating stories as soon as she could read and write, she seeks to inspire the next generation to put down the screen and pick up a book. Whether as a nanny, camp counselor, or gymnastics coach, she has a history of working with children. She looks forward to combining her two joys with The Adventures of Harley and Harper. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling to new destinations, boating with her husband, or cuddling up with her dogs.