Castmembers:
DD 17 months Mallory (trip #1)
DS 5 yrs Jack (trip #3)
DH 36 Pete
Me 34
Our first day started at 4a.m., I dont know who planned this, but what were they thinking? Oh right. That was me, the planner. I was thinking an earlier start means an earlier arrival to Disney and more fun for everyone. I was deluded.
Actually, the travel portion of the day couldnt have been smoother. Our first flight from Bloomington, Illinois to Atlanta was on time, smooth and it didnt seem like such a big deal that everyone was too excited to nap. In my pre-trip excitement, I had done the pre-check in seat assignment online the day before we left. I went down the list and assigned seats in the order the names were on the list. I realized pretty quickly that I had Jack and Mallory sitting together in one row and Pete and I in a different row sitting together. I actually thought this was not too bad of an idea, but I figured the airline would have other plans. Sure enough, they rearranged my seating plans pretty quickly, but they were very nice about not making fun of me.
Usually when Pete makes the travel plans we end up having to sprint from our arrival gate at one end of the airport to catch our connecting flight. We usually find it at a gate located in a different zip code, scheduled to depart 10 minutes after the first flight landed. Since I was making the flight arrangements, I made sure we had plenty of time to leisurely stroll from one gate to the other. I left an hour and half which I was thought would be more than enough time to make it. And it was. Waaay more than enough time to make it from our departure gate alllll the way across the aisle to our departure gate, a full twenty yards from where we landed. The magic was starting already.
The second flight was just as smooth, albeit nap-free, as the first, and Joe from Tiffany Towncar was there to meet us right on time. We picked up our luggage and we were on our way in no time. As he dropped us off at the Wilderness Lodge, Joe reminded us to ask about being the flag family. I was glad he had said something because travel fatigue was starting to set in, and I doubt I would have remembered.
We were upgraded at check-in from woods view to water view and ended up with a nice room overlooking the outer courtyard. We unpacked and got settled and then had a quick and relatively quiet lunch at Whispering Canyon before heading upstairs for naps. It was nearly 2:00 by the time everyone was asleep. I had made reservations for the 5:30 Hoop-De-Doo, thinking we would all need an early night. I should have called to see if I could change the tickets to later so the naps could have been longer. Unfortunately, I didnt think of that until the boat was docking at Fort Wilderness.
Mallory uses a pacifier, and while she normally just has it at night, I did give it to her more often during the trip. The first time was on the boat to Fort Wilderness. I thought since she was still tired, and kind of cranky, maybe it would soothe her. There is a slot on those boats, about 6 inches long and about 2 inches high just above the deck. I think its for letting water that sloshes onto the boat slosh back off. From five feet away, Mallory threw her pacifier through that slot, hitting nothing but air. As I sat there in stunned disbelief, she realized it was gone and was NOT happy. Fortunately Pete had another one in his pack, and the good sense not to give it to her until we docked.
Fort Wilderness had the most signs of a recent hurricane that we saw on Disney property. As far as I could tell, everything but the Hoop-De-Doo was closed. The building itself was being re-roofed, and there were crews cleaning up downed trees that night. Pete went back with Jack later in the week for a movie, and said everything seemed to be reopened.
We liked the Hoop, and we had excellent seats, but Jack and Mallory were way past tired. In retrospect, it was a remarkably bad idea to even try. Next time well just hang around the hotel and go swimming. Half-way through the meal Jack said he was too tired to continue. Since he is never too tired for anything, we figured he must really be exhausted. We skipped the rest of the meal and headed back to the hotel. We were all in bed and asleep by 7:30.
DD 17 months Mallory (trip #1)
DS 5 yrs Jack (trip #3)
DH 36 Pete
Me 34
Our first day started at 4a.m., I dont know who planned this, but what were they thinking? Oh right. That was me, the planner. I was thinking an earlier start means an earlier arrival to Disney and more fun for everyone. I was deluded.
Actually, the travel portion of the day couldnt have been smoother. Our first flight from Bloomington, Illinois to Atlanta was on time, smooth and it didnt seem like such a big deal that everyone was too excited to nap. In my pre-trip excitement, I had done the pre-check in seat assignment online the day before we left. I went down the list and assigned seats in the order the names were on the list. I realized pretty quickly that I had Jack and Mallory sitting together in one row and Pete and I in a different row sitting together. I actually thought this was not too bad of an idea, but I figured the airline would have other plans. Sure enough, they rearranged my seating plans pretty quickly, but they were very nice about not making fun of me.
Usually when Pete makes the travel plans we end up having to sprint from our arrival gate at one end of the airport to catch our connecting flight. We usually find it at a gate located in a different zip code, scheduled to depart 10 minutes after the first flight landed. Since I was making the flight arrangements, I made sure we had plenty of time to leisurely stroll from one gate to the other. I left an hour and half which I was thought would be more than enough time to make it. And it was. Waaay more than enough time to make it from our departure gate alllll the way across the aisle to our departure gate, a full twenty yards from where we landed. The magic was starting already.
The second flight was just as smooth, albeit nap-free, as the first, and Joe from Tiffany Towncar was there to meet us right on time. We picked up our luggage and we were on our way in no time. As he dropped us off at the Wilderness Lodge, Joe reminded us to ask about being the flag family. I was glad he had said something because travel fatigue was starting to set in, and I doubt I would have remembered.
We were upgraded at check-in from woods view to water view and ended up with a nice room overlooking the outer courtyard. We unpacked and got settled and then had a quick and relatively quiet lunch at Whispering Canyon before heading upstairs for naps. It was nearly 2:00 by the time everyone was asleep. I had made reservations for the 5:30 Hoop-De-Doo, thinking we would all need an early night. I should have called to see if I could change the tickets to later so the naps could have been longer. Unfortunately, I didnt think of that until the boat was docking at Fort Wilderness.
Mallory uses a pacifier, and while she normally just has it at night, I did give it to her more often during the trip. The first time was on the boat to Fort Wilderness. I thought since she was still tired, and kind of cranky, maybe it would soothe her. There is a slot on those boats, about 6 inches long and about 2 inches high just above the deck. I think its for letting water that sloshes onto the boat slosh back off. From five feet away, Mallory threw her pacifier through that slot, hitting nothing but air. As I sat there in stunned disbelief, she realized it was gone and was NOT happy. Fortunately Pete had another one in his pack, and the good sense not to give it to her until we docked.
Fort Wilderness had the most signs of a recent hurricane that we saw on Disney property. As far as I could tell, everything but the Hoop-De-Doo was closed. The building itself was being re-roofed, and there were crews cleaning up downed trees that night. Pete went back with Jack later in the week for a movie, and said everything seemed to be reopened.
We liked the Hoop, and we had excellent seats, but Jack and Mallory were way past tired. In retrospect, it was a remarkably bad idea to even try. Next time well just hang around the hotel and go swimming. Half-way through the meal Jack said he was too tired to continue. Since he is never too tired for anything, we figured he must really be exhausted. We skipped the rest of the meal and headed back to the hotel. We were all in bed and asleep by 7:30.
