DISNEY! Day 1

Way back in October of last year, I FINALLY talked Jeff into letting me plan a Disney Vaca for our family! He has always said that he has no desire to go to disney and that he wouldnt ever go. Luckily, our precious daughter is all about some disney princesses and so when her little best friends found out they were going in November (they found out in October), she started asking "Daddy, when do I get to go see the castle? Please Daddy?". And he's a sucker since he adores his baby girl, he let me plan it! Yay!

I knew that there were going to be 3 things that Jeff would NOT like about Disney. 1. The heat 2. The crowds and 3. The cost. So I had a plan ;-)

We decided to go over spring break this year. I know that is normally a super crowded time, but Gwinnett County's spring break was not close to easter this year, so it was slated to be lower crowd levels than usual. It is also fairly mild in early April, weather wise, so we would be ok there. The cost issue... well, my plan for that was to stay on property and do it basically as an all inclusive (with the meal plan) so he never had to know how much anything cost (yes, we talked about total cost, but he didnt see the break down so it made him feel like we were getting a great deal when we would go to a restaurant and he would get a $35 steak and not pay a penny out of pocket!).

We planned to stay at the art of animation hotel on disney property. I knew the kids, seeing as how they are over the moon for the little mermaid, would LOVE the themed hotel. And its a "value" resort so it was pretty cost effective to stay there. Granted, we were all stuffed into a tiny room.. but it really did work out ok. Luckily, our children are pretty well trained to be able to fall asleep on their own wherever so regardless of the fact that we shared a room, they slept fine. (Jeff and I may not have slept as great, but thats a different story...)

Our vacation was Sunday-Saturday with those days being travel days. But after talking about it, we decided to head out on Saturday afternoon to head towards FLA and to stay with Jeff's Aunt Becky and Uncle Brian in Tifton (the same beautiful farm that we had gone to back in March for Samantha's wedding...). They were so kind as to host us!

We got packed up while the kids napped and headed out around 4:00, stopping a few times for Mack to go pee on the side of the road (oh, the joys of a potty trained toddler... at least the side of the road suffices!) and for dinner on the way. OH YEAH! And on the way to Uncle Brian and Aunt Becky's, we stopped for gas and to visit with this MASSIVE cow. The kids loved this thing! It was hilarious!

 

 

 

 The kids were very excited to get to see their farm house and they seriously LOVED it when they saw it! We got to their home around 7:30 and got unpacked just enough for the night/next morning. The kids got settled in their rooms for bedtime and Rhyan told me repeatedly that she LOVED her room and wanted her own dresser with a mirror (Aunt Becky's is an antique). She kept looking at herself from the bed and thought it was so fun to have the mirror! HA! Such simple things please her sometimes :-)

Jeff and I sat and ate a little strawberry shortcake with Uncle Brian and Aunt Becky and just chatted for a bit and then called it a night. After all, we had an early morning coming up!

Sunday morning we headed on out a little after 7am. We were all so excited!!! I texted back and for with my friend and Disney Expert (haha), Emily so as to make the best fast pass reservations for us!

 We had made reservations at T-Rex for lunch in downtown disney for 11am. I had found out, though, that we would have to check into our hotel BEFORE going to lunch in order to get our package activated so that our magic bands would work for lunch. Hence, the 7am departure time! But our travel agent had also said that we could call T-Rex in route and let them know we were running late and that it shouldnt be a problem. Which is exactly what we did. And she was right, they were really laid back and nice about it! 

Seeing THIS sign for the first time EVER was really exciting! I've seen it 100x's in friends blog posts and face book pics so it was fun that it could finally be US posting it this time :-)

 We got to our hotel around 10:30ish and Jeff just stayed in the car w/ the kids while I got us checked in, which was surprisingly easy! They really do have things really well organized and are "people movers"

 The lady who checked us in also gave us directions to the restaurant. It wasnt easy finding parking but once we were there, we all thought it was worth the trouble! Well, Rhyan was pretty scared and stuck to my side but she was able to overcome her fear and ended up doing great. But seriously, the dino's looked so REAL!

 This pic pretty much sums up what the rest of the week was like for pics with Mack. He refused. I took it anyways. I may not like it, but its the phase he's in and I'd rather have pictures than none. This is real life!

 I had let the lady who checked us in know that this was our first disney trip AND that it was Jeff's birthday week so we ALL got buttons to wear to let everyone know it was our first visit and Jeff got a second button to wear announcing that he was aging :-). You know he loved it. ha. ha.  But it DID get him some nice perks... like a special dessert singing!

 Since we didnt really know alot about the meal plan, we had to ask our server how it worked. She assured us that we got ANY entree and a drink and a dessert included. Jeff said "so I could get this $10 burger Or the $35 steak and its all the same to you?". The answer, "YES!". So of course he got the steak ;-). And it was yummy! I dont even remember what I ate... I just remember that it was good but seriously overshadowed by THIS dessert!

 Which, with the help of my family, got devoured!

 When we left downtown disney, we headed to walmart. Why? Because Jeff had forgotten to pack any shorts for himself OR any swim trunks. I swear. I pack for myself, the kids and all our extras and all he has to pack for is himself, yet he forgets PANTS?! Hilarious! Well, Mack fell asleep in the car so we just let him sleep for about an hour while Jeff shopped (and I stayed in the air conditioned car) and then we drove around a little to let him sleep. And when we got to the hotel, we realized we had forgotten to put a diaper on him and he had peed in his carseat. Ugh. He's potty trained, but not for naps yet. So there was that little hiccup ;-). Luckily there were washing machines on property!

We unpacked and pretty much headed to the POOL!

After the pool we got some clothes on and headed to the food court for dinner. One word describes that place for a new comer: MADNESS! Again, we didnt know for sure how it all went and what we were allowed to get, etc. By the end of the week we were pro's but wow, that first night was CRAZY! We were all eating at different times b/c we got one meal at a time, etc. We were just fish out of water ;-) Quickly resolved but crazy none the less!

So our first day was officially fun... and the kids were really great! I was so proud of how we all handled being in one room together for our first night (Rhyan and I tried sleeping together but I got kicked twice so I joined Jeff, who propmptly kneed me in the back... so on night two Jeff slept on the floor... dont feel bad for him, he didnt mind. And Mack slept in a pack and play and did great!). A GREAT Start for sure!