We don't typically go to Disney World two times in one year, but we did in 2018. Do we just have so much cash laying around that we thought we would take a second Disney trip? Definitely NOT. Our much anticipated Jan 2018 trip was planned over our youngest's (Elly's) 1st birthday and we were all very excited to spend her birthday with her at Magic Kingdom, unfortunately things didn't quite go as planned. 

The first morning we were at the parks Emma and Joshua were excitedly participating in the Jedi Trials of the Temple where kids can train to be Jedis and then put on a show for the guests. Being Star Wars nerds they were SO happy about this, but not long after they started Emma started crying and complaining about intense stomach pains and she also had a fever. We put her in the stroller and waited for Joshua to finish his show but even that didn't go as planned, something broke which meant Darth Vader couldn't come out and fight so all the disappointed little kids had to leave the stage without preforming their show. That should have been the omen that our trip was going to be a bust. 

We took Emma back to the hotel and to make a long story short both kids were sick off and on all week. Once we thought they were better we would try to do something and then they would get sick again. It was horrible. We ended up leaving Disney early and Disney was kind enough to issue us tickets for the days we didn't use to use for another trip and they also refunded our money for the rest of our hotel stay. 

For the next two months Emma experienced intense stomach issues and pain until she was finally diagnosed with food poisoning. After two rounds of antibiotics she finally had some relief but continued to have issues. She was sent to a specialist and put on medicine and a special diet. FINALLY almost year later we are seeing her start to feel normal and eat regular food again. 

Because of the timing of this we were left with some stress from the situation, we were already going through a lot of intense changes and hardships in our life and this just added to that. Instead of being the peaceful (as much as Disney with 3 kids can be peaceful) respite it ended up being terrible. 

Fast forward to December 2018. It was decided that we use our tickets and go over my birthday and it ended up being wonderful. The whole reason I explained the horrors of our first 2018 trip and the ensuing year was to share what a difference this trip was and how it gave us such sweet family time that we will always ttreasure. Added to the sweetness are these beautiful pictures that I just love. My friend Sarah convinced me to just use film on my trip which made sense since I still have digital Disney pictures from years ago still sitting unedited on a hard drive somewhere.....

I did not bring my film camera out for Animal Kingdom because it was calling for rain and it did downpour half the day. I also didn't bring it to Hollywood Studios because honestly that park is just a big mess right now and I didn't miss bringing it there at all. 

These were taken over two days at Epcot and Magic Kingdom, my two favorite parks. As a birthday gift to myself I spent a few moments alone just photographing the little details which I enjoy the most. I love to find secluded spots or overlooked areas or details I have never noticed before. Film made me slow down and look for those even more. I was hoping to capture my feelings about these parks in pictures and I am glad to say that I did that for myself. I know that others may not understand why people like Disney but I cherish that childhood feeling of possibility and magic and for me Disney still can represent and bring those feelings back even if its just seeing it through the eyes of my children. 

These were taken on a Canon 1n with a 50mm lens. The daytime pictures were taken on Fuji 400h film and the nighttime images were taken with Portra 800.  They were processed and scanned by Boutique Film Lab.