We left on Wednesday night- way later than planned- to drive to Birmingham. Our flight left Bham at 8:30 the next morning. By the way, we = all 4 of us. We had originally planned to leave Ellie with Nana and Papa in North Carolina, but then I began to feel like she would really, really miss us for 6 whole days. It worked out wonderfully that my dad had some business in Orlando and could bring Mom down with him to help with Ellie. A good reminder that God works out even the smallest details of our lives. We still didn't think she would end up going to the parks with us much, being SO VERY TWO and SO VERY GIRL and prone to dramatic DFO's and all. But with the exception of a couple afternoons, she hung with us like a champ, and I am so so glad we decided to include her. Absolutely made the trip so special for all of us.
One more thing before I start my long, boring narration of our trip. I had planned this trip to a T. I had an itinerary for every day, mapped out on my WDW phone app, backed up on my computer. I had plans for days with naps and without naps. Back-up plans if it rained. Crowd predictors and line alerts. Dining reservations, fast passes, bus schedules.
By the grace of God, I realized a few days before the trip that I better Re. Lax. or this trip wasn't gonna be much fun for anyone. So I prayed for patience and flexibility. Ha. Haha. You get what you pray for. But let me say, while nothing in our trip went according to plan, nothing went wrong either and we had the most wonderful, relaxing, fun time. I didn't worry about lines or wait times or whether we would get it all in. If my kids wanted to 'waste' 30 minutes playing at a fountain that wasn't a 'rated attraction', who cares? I saw so many families fussing at each other to hurry up and dragging each other all over the park, instead of just enjoying the magic of it all.
And let me tell you people, make fun of me all you want, but it is magic...
So anyway, we drove to Bham Wednesday night. I had planned (hahaha) to be at the hotel by 8:00 so we could get in the bed early, be well rested for our flight the next morning, and ready to hit the parks after check-in. Hmm. We didn't even leave Tupelo til 8:00. We got in the bed at 11:30. Sam and Ellie wanted to sleep together in the same bed. Sweet thought. Lasted about 5 minutes. So Ellie got in the bed with me and played Kick Mommy in the Face until at least 12:30. Clay snored all night. 6:00 wake-up call came way too early.
sweet babies snuggling in the bed
Our flight was pretty easy. At least once we were on the plane. Crazy me didn't want to check anything and wanted the kids to sit in their car seats on the plane, so poor Clay had to lug 2 huge car seats, a shoulder bag, a backpack and 2 pieces of rolling luggage through the airport. I should've taken a picture but he didn't seem to be in a picture-taking kind of mood.
Sam was a little scared of the plane and squeezed the fire out of my hand the entire time. Ellie barely noticed. Landed in Orlando and proceeded to walk all over the airport looking for the Magical Express to take us to our resort. Finally found it and waited in line to board for about 45 minutes. Then once we got on the bus, the driver said we'd be at Caribbean Beach Resort in 30-40 short minutes. 40 more minutes! My schedule was already way off...
More waiting once we got to the resort, but yay for Disney staff and all the tricks up their sleeves... stickers and hula hoops kept the kids busy until it was time to check in to our PIRATE ROOM!
"Argh Matey!" Sam loved the pirate bed. And Ellie loved her 'special Mickey Mouse pack-n-play just for you to sleep in and be where you can't kick Mommy in the head'.
We were all excited and hyped up but we all needed to nap after our horrendous night's sleep. We finally SACKED OUT from about 3-6 pm. Then it was time to hit the parks!
-to be continued-
1 comment:
Can't wait to see all the pictures and read all about your trip. And yes, it really is magical!
Post a Comment