Disney without a mobile device.

Our family had the opportunity to spend Christmas in Florida this year. In case you didn’t know already, Florida in December can have quite a few days of rain.

Nevertheless, we had an amazing time and there were a few sunny days that we were able to soak up. But the best day of the trip for me was in fact, a rainy day.

Though we were staying in Miami, we had planned to head north for a couple of days to do the Disney thing. We had been to Disney Land a few years back and loved it. Plus, our boys, at ages 5 and almost 3, were in prime Disney enjoyment years!

As we parked the car, I grabbed my wallet and my phone, but then paused. “I think I’ll leave my phone in the car.” I said to my wife.

I had plenty of good reasons to bring my phone. After all, my wife had left hers in Canada, to save on data usage. So we only had one between the two of us. Also, after already visiting Disney Land, I knew there would be numerous Twitter, Facebook and Instagram opportunities.

We were in Disney World with our boys!

Needless to say, I had been focusing on disconnecting from media the entire trip. Though, I had kept my phone in my pocket most days. Today, for whatever reason, it really felt like I needed to abandon the iPhone temptation all together. I was going to spend a day at Disney World with my 2 little boys who were going to be blown away at every turn.

I felt like God was saying, “You are not going to want to miss this!” Of course, it either rained or was overcast for the entire day. It happened to be the Saturday after Christmas, which according to park staff was one of the busiest days of the year. Lines were long, people were bored and cranky; which meant every other adult in the park was on their phones, except us.

But it really didn’t matter.

I spent the entire day with not a single status update and not a single pic upload. I caught every moment! My wife and I had amazing conversations and shared so many laughs, watching our boys experience Walt’s world of wonder. Our boys were able to show us everything that caught their eyes and tell us every thought that crossed their minds. Zero distractions.

While in Adventure Land, Pirates of the Caribbean had a 80 minute wait posted, but my oldest boy and I really wanted to go. So, we agreed that Nicole and our youngest would hit up Swiss Family Robinson’s Tree House and the Train. When we were finished, we’d meet at the Jungle Cruise.

That’s right; kicking it old school with a rally point!

Instead of wandering around with cell phones in hand, “Where are you? Can you see me? I’m by the popcorn cart.” (All the while, Junior just left because he saw Donald by the bridge.) In the end, Pirates of the Caribbean had some technical difficulties when we first arrived. Most people left which brought the line down to a 20 minute wait. My oldest and I had a blast, but had an hour to kill before our rally time with no way to let Nicole know.

We decided to head over to Swiss Family Robinson, monkeyed around for a bit; but didn’t see them anywhere. Instead of trying to get on the train and missing them, we got some ice cream and headed to our rally point. We just sat and talked, and people watched. Though he’s only 5 years old, we connected better in that 80 minutes then I think we ever had before in his life. It was absolutely amazing!

Rain or shine, it didn’t matter; because you can’t Instagram what I experienced that day. Hands down, one of the best days of my life. All because I left my phone in the car.

Join the Conversation; Share Your Thoughts

Have you ever cut out media for a period of time? What were the benefits of taking that phone-fast?