Disney or Bust - 2013

While I was so excited about this trip, I was also extremely nervous. It was the biggest trip my little family of four had ever taken! While we go to the beach every year (stay in a condo) and also visit family in Atlanta, we have never taken a trip of this magnitude. We had never stayed in a "hotel" together...one room! Also, I was unsure of how the days would go - how could we nap, how far is it from the park to the hotel, would it be crowded, how will my kids act/react to all the stimulation? I was also so worried that someone would get sick!  So much time and money was spent preparing and planning for this trip, I wanted to quarantine everyone the month prior!  If someone had to carry a barf bag onto the plane, so be it - sick or not, we were going!  

Of course, being we are departing from JAN, there are not a ton of flight options.  Our flight out of Jackson left so late - 5:55 pm. We didn't arrive in Orlando until 8:30 pm.  Next time, I may spend a tad more money for the earlier flight.  Then again, I was trying to save money everywhere I could as this trip was EXPENSIVE!!  

The girls were so excited to fly on an airplane.

 I was also worried about my Cade on the plane. At 19 months old, he is not one to sit nice and quietly in a seat. A friend of Micheal's told him he would rather drive 14 hours with a 19 mo old than spend 1 hour on a plan with one!  Thanks for the support guy!  I was thankful the flight was not full, so he could have his own seat. I was also thankful the flight was not very long (a little over an hour). He sat between my dad and me and I kept him occupied with animal crackers, his cell phone (yep, he has his own), and a little water drawing thing. But, he was most fascinated with opening and closing the window shade and playing with the tray table. Hey, whatever keeps him entertained! 

The girls did amazing on the plan. They were really entertained with the flight itself. I was worried they may be afraid of the noise and sensations, but they did great. Michael had the best seat in the house between the two girls - jealous! 

 

Most memorable moment from the flight was when Abby says, "we are up in the clouds with God and Mimi!" I could have cried. Disney holds so many memories with my mom. We grew up going to Disney every other year my entire childhood. Disney was even mentioned at her funeral.  She LOVED it.  I missed her so much on this trip. I wanted to talk to her a lot during the planning - how did she manage with two little ones in Disney??  It just is always going to be hard without her here.  =(

 

The girls were also entertained with their animal crackers and some new coloring books (Disney Princess of course). 

 

We finally landed in Orlando around 8:30 pm. I had no idea what to expect with transferring to the hotel. Disney will transport your luggage for you and deliver it straight to your hotel room, but because our flight was so late, we had to go down to baggage claim and get the bags ourselves. Disney says to allow up to 3 hours to receive your luggage. I didn't want to get it at 11:30 that night. So, off to baggage claim we went - we had TON of luggage between all 9 of us! We were worried how we were going to get all of it to the bus, but SWA had someone ready and waiting to help us load all our luggage onto a big cart. He lead us all the way through the airport to the Disney area and we loaded onto Disney's "Magical Express" bus, which took us to our hotel. 

 

Everyone was super excited to take a ride on the "Magical Express." 

 

We finally arrived at Disney's Art of Animation resort around 9:45 pm and maybe got to our room around 10 pm. It was probably a 30 minute bus ride from the airport to the resort. Once we FINALLY got to our room (it was a pretty long walk from the lobby to our section), all I wanted to do was unpack and get organized. We ordered some items from Garden Grocer and they were already in our room waiting for us, which was great. Also, we rented a double jogging stroller (best thing ever) and it was also ready and waiting in our room. The girls were super excited about our "Ariel room." We surprised the girls with an Ariel doll (Lisa found on sale at Disney.com for $8), then Michael, Bo, and my dad took all the kids down to the food court area to get something to eat. Yes, supper at 10 pm!! Again, not the best flight option!! Ugh! While they were gone, Lisa and I were able to unpack and get somewhat organized...as organized as one can be in a tiny room! 

 

They were gone for about an hour and I was able to get a lot done. Once they returned, I inhaled a piece of pizza and started baths for both babies. While I was giving baths, Michael constructed our tent city. Like I said before, we were worried how everyone would do in one room. So, we had the idea to make little dividers to create little rooms within our room. It took Michael a while to get this to work as our original plan (using 3M hooks) was not working - they were not holding the weight of the sheets. He finally was able to tie twine from the door hinge to the back of the TV cabinet and then again on the back of a Little Mermaid wall decoration. I know people probably think we are crazy, but Emily is a talker. If she could see me, she would continue to talk to me and not go to sleep. Cade also would never sleep if he could see me and I couldn't go to bed right when they did - I had to get things ready for the next day, get a shower myself, etc. So, this was the best option for us. Actually, I would have LOVED to get a "suite," but that was adding $800 more to the cost - not an option! Our "tent city" actually worked out really well.  We removed it each morning, so housekeeping wouln't be bothered and put it back up each night.  Another thing we did was unscrew the light bulbs in 2 of the bathroom vanity lights and drape a shirt over the third one, which stayed lit. This way, we could have some light in the room to get ready after the kids were down, but not too much to keep them awake. It was also Emily's 1st time to sleep in a "big bed." She has a toddler bed at home and sleeps on a small cot at Granny's or when she spends the night with Abby. I brought her cot just in case, but she did great in the "Ariel bed." Cade slept in a pack and play that was provided by the hotel. 

 

The 1st night was MISERABLE because it was hot in the room for some reason (even with the temp turned down) and very quiet. We brought Cade's sound machine, but it still wasn't enough noise for me. Cade probably finally fell asleep at 1 am and Emily FINALLY fell asleep at 2 am!! She WOULD NOT go to sleep. She kept talking to me (even with the sheet up). I finally had to get in the bed with her and lay with her until she fell asleep. She was FIGHTING it. I think it was just way to much for her little brain to take in at once. I also struggled to sleep - just a lot on my mind.  After the 1st night, the other nights were fine. Our 1st morning, I requested a box fan from the front desk. The box fan helped A LOT. Not only for air circulation, but it drowned out the noise of Michael and I getting ready at night after the kids were down and getting ready in the morning before the kids were awake.