Our Disney trip began with a road trip to Indy. We picked up Audrey from school, and then drove straight to Daniel's mom's house where we spent the night. Then the next morning we headed to the airport to fly to Orlando!
Our flight was pretty uneventful. We got there safely and on time! SO much better than driving all the way there. For me at least, it is totally worth the extra money to fly.
We took Disney's Magical Express from the airport to our resort. This is a free service offered by Disney. And it was magical! We checked our suitcases at the Indy airport, and then they magically appeared in our resort hotel room later that afternoon. Daniel was skeptical that our bags would actually make it to us, but they did arrive, just as promised.
We took Disney's Magical Express from the airport to our resort. This is a free service offered by Disney. And it was magical! We checked our suitcases at the Indy airport, and then they magically appeared in our resort hotel room later that afternoon. Daniel was skeptical that our bags would actually make it to us, but they did arrive, just as promised.
Testing out their refillable mugs (courtesy of our free Disney dining plan) while watching a movie in kid sized chairs in the resort main lobby
After a quick check in at the resort (Port Orleans French Quarter, I will do a full review in another post), we headed to Downtown Disney. French quarter has a boat that will take you to Downtown Disney, but it was raining and the boat was down. So we had to take the bus. And everyone else at the resort had to take the bus too. The bus was super crowded, definitely the most crowded bus of our entire trip. But we made it! And then we made a mad dash through the rain to Rainforest Cafe. We didn't pack very smartly, and all of our ponchos were in the suitcases, which hadn't yet magically arrived in our resort room before we left for Downtown Disney!
At Rainforest Cafe, we met my dad, stepmom, aunt, uncle and cousin for dinner. I knew that Rainforest Cafe might be a little nerve-wracking for my scaredy cat girls, so I tried to prep them before we left by showing them youtube videos of the restaurant. I explained that it was loud, and that they had animals and thunder and lightning, but nothing was real. Audrey handled it okay, but Isla did not. She kept her hands on her ears the entire meal and would only eat if we put the food in her mouth for her.
I was worried that the Rainforest Cafe experience would scar Isla for the whole trip, but it didn't at all. As soon as we got out of the restaurant, she was happy and talking and laughing. Whew! She even let my aunt (who she hasn't seen in two years) hold her and was talking and laughing with her by the end of the evening. Amazing for Isla to warm up to someone that fast!
Isla's favorite thing to do with Papa John (my dad) is to give him high fives. He always reacts by saying, "Owww!" in a very animated way, and she thinks it is hilarious. She talks all the time about how Papa John says "ow" every time she gives him a high five.
Uncle Todd took a picture with Audrey at Rainforest Cafe back in 2011...
And he wanted to try to recreate that picture with Audrey this year. But she was being unusually stubborn and didn't want to do it. So they settled for this picture with Buzz Lightyear instead.
In previous years, I have taken Audrey's picture next to a Donald and Daisy statue in one of the Downtown Disney shops. Of course, we got the picture again this year! So it's time for my favorite: a side by side (by side) comparison picture!!
I tried to start Isla in on this tradition. Daniel had her ready to pose with Donald, but I wasn't paying attention and I just missed it! One interesting (to me, at least) note here. Audrey was almost 40 months old in the 2012 picture above. In the picture below, Isla is almost 40 months too...crazy!
It rained continually for the first four hours after we arrived. Such a lovely welcome to Florida!! The weather forecast predicted an 80% chance of rain every day of our trip. I was afraid that this rain storm was going to be a bad omen for our trip. But we were fortunate and did not run into much more rain for the whole week.
We said good-bye to our family and hurried back to the resort to get everyone to bed. We needed a good night's sleep, because we had a big day planned at Magic Kingdom the next day!!
At Rainforest Cafe, we met my dad, stepmom, aunt, uncle and cousin for dinner. I knew that Rainforest Cafe might be a little nerve-wracking for my scaredy cat girls, so I tried to prep them before we left by showing them youtube videos of the restaurant. I explained that it was loud, and that they had animals and thunder and lightning, but nothing was real. Audrey handled it okay, but Isla did not. She kept her hands on her ears the entire meal and would only eat if we put the food in her mouth for her.
I was worried that the Rainforest Cafe experience would scar Isla for the whole trip, but it didn't at all. As soon as we got out of the restaurant, she was happy and talking and laughing. Whew! She even let my aunt (who she hasn't seen in two years) hold her and was talking and laughing with her by the end of the evening. Amazing for Isla to warm up to someone that fast!
Isla's favorite thing to do with Papa John (my dad) is to give him high fives. He always reacts by saying, "Owww!" in a very animated way, and she thinks it is hilarious. She talks all the time about how Papa John says "ow" every time she gives him a high five.
Uncle Todd took a picture with Audrey at Rainforest Cafe back in 2011...
And he wanted to try to recreate that picture with Audrey this year. But she was being unusually stubborn and didn't want to do it. So they settled for this picture with Buzz Lightyear instead.
In previous years, I have taken Audrey's picture next to a Donald and Daisy statue in one of the Downtown Disney shops. Of course, we got the picture again this year! So it's time for my favorite: a side by side (by side) comparison picture!!
I tried to start Isla in on this tradition. Daniel had her ready to pose with Donald, but I wasn't paying attention and I just missed it! One interesting (to me, at least) note here. Audrey was almost 40 months old in the 2012 picture above. In the picture below, Isla is almost 40 months too...crazy!
It rained continually for the first four hours after we arrived. Such a lovely welcome to Florida!! The weather forecast predicted an 80% chance of rain every day of our trip. I was afraid that this rain storm was going to be a bad omen for our trip. But we were fortunate and did not run into much more rain for the whole week.
We said good-bye to our family and hurried back to the resort to get everyone to bed. We needed a good night's sleep, because we had a big day planned at Magic Kingdom the next day!!
0 comments:
Post a Comment