Who we are:
DH - 25 (had his b-day while on our trip), hard-working hubby and daddy and all around great guy. Hasn't been to Disney in 10 years.
DS - 2, a little ball of energy, loves Mickey Mouse (was Mickey for Halloween). This is his first trip.
DMil - 48, wonderful grandma coming along to help out with DS. Last trip was in '99.
Me - 24, stay at home mommy and main trip planner (I bought so many guide books that DH thought I was nuts
). Never been to Disney.
Day 3, Sunday April 28th
FIRST FULL DAY IN ORLANDO
We started out the day with a swim in the hotel pool which was nice and relaxing. It got me into vacation mode. Then we headed for our hotel for the week - The Hawthorn Suites LBV. We were amazed at how close we were from Disney! We checked in around 12:30 and were very impressed with the hotel. I have written a review of it on the Orlando hotels and attractions board if anyone is interested in staying there. After check-in, we headed out for awhile. We tried the famous Krispy Kreme donuts--yum! They were very good. We then went to Crossroads and started in Goodings where we stocked up on water, bread, postcards, and autograph book & pen. We checked out Character Connection and got DS a bouncy ball souvenier. Then we went to the LBV Outlet Center. Didn't buy too much, mostly looked. Did buy DS a Rugrats toy, a blow up fish ball, and some Disney books. After shopping, it was back to the hotel for a quick swim and then off to dinner at the 1900 Park Fare. At the gate, we had to give our last name, ps time and show a picture ID. The Grand Floridian was very beautiful. The lobby was filled with fresh flowers and live piano music. The characters at the dinner were Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore. Piglet was in the lobby. DS just loved the characters. He became a pro very quickly passing his autograph book to each one. The big surprise of the evening was the food. I wasn't expecting much since it was a buffet and I am usually not a big fan of buffet food. It was really good!! There was a nice little salad bar, pork and beef, great real garlic mashed potatoes, pasta, and some chinese dishes. Also chicken, rice, corn, carrots, and then the kid's buffet too. Desserts were great as well. There was lemon Merangue (sp.?) pie, cheese cake, strawberry shortcake, cookies, fudge, apple cobbler,and more. We enjoyed this dinner very much. After that feast, we walked around the hotel grounds. It was an absolutely gorgeous hotel. It is a little too big for my taste though. On the way back to our hotel, we drove around the All star hotel area just to check them out. Once back, DH and I hit the hot tub while DMil and DS went to bed. Overall, it was quite the full day even without going to a theme park.
DH - 25 (had his b-day while on our trip), hard-working hubby and daddy and all around great guy. Hasn't been to Disney in 10 years.
DS - 2, a little ball of energy, loves Mickey Mouse (was Mickey for Halloween). This is his first trip.
DMil - 48, wonderful grandma coming along to help out with DS. Last trip was in '99.
Me - 24, stay at home mommy and main trip planner (I bought so many guide books that DH thought I was nuts
). Never been to Disney.Day 3, Sunday April 28th
FIRST FULL DAY IN ORLANDO
We started out the day with a swim in the hotel pool which was nice and relaxing. It got me into vacation mode. Then we headed for our hotel for the week - The Hawthorn Suites LBV. We were amazed at how close we were from Disney! We checked in around 12:30 and were very impressed with the hotel. I have written a review of it on the Orlando hotels and attractions board if anyone is interested in staying there. After check-in, we headed out for awhile. We tried the famous Krispy Kreme donuts--yum! They were very good. We then went to Crossroads and started in Goodings where we stocked up on water, bread, postcards, and autograph book & pen. We checked out Character Connection and got DS a bouncy ball souvenier. Then we went to the LBV Outlet Center. Didn't buy too much, mostly looked. Did buy DS a Rugrats toy, a blow up fish ball, and some Disney books. After shopping, it was back to the hotel for a quick swim and then off to dinner at the 1900 Park Fare. At the gate, we had to give our last name, ps time and show a picture ID. The Grand Floridian was very beautiful. The lobby was filled with fresh flowers and live piano music. The characters at the dinner were Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore. Piglet was in the lobby. DS just loved the characters. He became a pro very quickly passing his autograph book to each one. The big surprise of the evening was the food. I wasn't expecting much since it was a buffet and I am usually not a big fan of buffet food. It was really good!! There was a nice little salad bar, pork and beef, great real garlic mashed potatoes, pasta, and some chinese dishes. Also chicken, rice, corn, carrots, and then the kid's buffet too. Desserts were great as well. There was lemon Merangue (sp.?) pie, cheese cake, strawberry shortcake, cookies, fudge, apple cobbler,and more. We enjoyed this dinner very much. After that feast, we walked around the hotel grounds. It was an absolutely gorgeous hotel. It is a little too big for my taste though. On the way back to our hotel, we drove around the All star hotel area just to check them out. Once back, DH and I hit the hot tub while DMil and DS went to bed. Overall, it was quite the full day even without going to a theme park.
Bumping up for family and friends 
LOL
