In an effort to take my time reliving our trip (and to not bore you all with constant updates), I am writing my report in pieces (Day 1, Part 1; etc.). I didn't take copious notes this trip, but I did jot some things down. I'm also looking at our pictures and receipts to help jog my memory. So as Peter Pan says, here we GO!
Plans:
Leave home after lunch and make the two-hour drive to WDW. Check into POFQ, unpack and rest or explore a bit, then get ready for our portrait session and head over to the Poly. After our session, have dinner before returning to POFQ to explore and maybe swim. Go to bed at our usual bedtime (especially DS).
Actual:
I woke up at my usual time and went for a run. When I got home, Nick and Andrew were up, so Nick went to the gym while I made breakfast for Andrew. When Nick got back from working out, I took a shower, and Andrew and I went to
Walmart for a few things while Nick ran a few errands of his own. He took a shower when he got home while I did my makeup.
By then it was time for lunch. I made us sandwiches and set Andrew up in his high chair while Nick loaded the car. After he and I ate, it was time to hit the road. We left a little after noon, and Andrew was asleep before we hit the interstate. He slept most of the way there, waking up once but falling back asleep. As you can see, he was out cold!
He woke up for good as we drove onto property, so we pointed out the characters on the welcome sign (sorry, Mickey ... I cut you off!) and all of the sights.
The drive takes us almost exactly two hours door to door, and we were checking in at Port Orleans French Quarter at 2 p.m. I had done online check-in 10 days prior, so I picked up our packet, which included a birthday button for me, and asked for a First Visit button for Andrew.
While I was checking in, Nick and Andrew were playing near the fountain in the lobby (the kid *loves* water), then wandered into the gift shop, which is where I found them. We drove over to Building 4 and lugged our stuff to our room, 4126. Wow, what a great location!
We had a corner room right next to the food court, which was super convenient. Even though we didn't eat there (well, we got dessert once), we went there to fill our Camelbak bottles with ice and water every morning. It was a much shorter walk than the walk to the ice machine, which I think was in Building 7. The only time our room location sucked was around 3 a.m. every night. A CM area was catty-corner to our room, and every night I heard CMs talking -- scratch that, *yelling* -- outside. It sounded like they were standing on our doorstep. It got so bad the second night that I was about to call the front desk when they finally shut up. Luckily they never woke up Nick or Andrew (I'm the light sleeper of the group).
We last stayed at POFQ in April 2010, pre-renovation. The changes aren't dramatic, but I like what I saw. I love purple, gold and green together, and I really like the tile in the bathroom, too (I am not, however, a fan of the dark green wainscoting). Even Nick noticed the changes, which pleasantly surprised me.
I called the front desk for a Pack 'n Play since there wasn't one in our room. We also noticed that the fridge wasn't on, but later we saw that it wasn't plugged in. I'm glad we didn't call about that! That would've been embarrassing.
We unpacked a bit and set off to explore. Our first stop? Mardi Grogs! Nick got a Michelob Ultra, I got a Pina Colava (pina colada, Bacardi Razz and raspberry puree ... holy YUM!) and we got a water for Andrew. Our total was $17.71, including tip.
We walked over to the pool, where the afternoon dance party was starting. The CMs were dancing with kids to "Pumpin' Up the Party," parents were snapping pictures, and even more kids, parents, grandparents, you name it were playing in the pool or sitting in lounge chairs, just enjoying being there.
I'm ashamed to admit that I got teary-eyed at that point. I'd been looking forward to this trip for so long -- planning and adjusting plans and longing for our first real family vacation -- and now it was HERE. I feel so blessed to have been able to take a fun, relaxing vacation with my little family. Nick and I work so hard, both at our jobs and as parents (and I know you all do, too), and I felt such a release to finally BE at Walt Disney World -- my Happiest Place on Earth -- with my two favorite people, and to have three fun-filled days ahead of us. OK, enough sappy stuff.
We took our drinks over to the little playground, where there were a couple of little girls playing. This was the first of many, many stops to let Andrew enjoy some "free play." He and Nick, my kid at heart, joined the little girls on the playground while I sipped my drink and Instagrammed a few pictures.
After an hour or so of roaming the grounds, we headed back to our room to get ready for our portrait session. I changed Andrew, Nick took a quick shower, and I freshened up my makeup and ran the straightener through my hair before changing my outfit. We had our own impromptu photo shoot before heading to the Poly at 4:30 p.m.
Go to Day 1, Part 2
Write a PTR, write a PTR, write a PTR! It's such a fun way to pass the time.
