Especially if the Captain that it leads me to is none other than Captain Jack Sparrow. Whereupon we could discuss so many things....
but I digress.
This is, after all, a family board.
So here we are dear friends, 68 chapters later. Sixty-eight chapters! Who knew I had it in me, and who could even fathom there was so much to discuss before the trip even took place. Bless you all for wading through my verbosity, through my ongoing descriptions of how and when I will do this and that, what and where.
It's been fun.
And that being said, it begins.
The final countdown. Which makes me have some 80s anthem in my head. NoEurope.
Nevertheless, we're in the home stretch. Just fourteen, count them, fourteen more days until the TK clan sets sail for Disney. So in a tradition begun by LL, I'm going to do the where I'll be two weeks from now. Because it's fun, I enjoyed that on her ptr, and it'll make me post every day. Which will help quell some of the, man I wish I was there now feelings! Which I really don't anyway, because, oy, the weather! A prayer for all the people who have had to evacuate their homes.
Mother nature...you don't mess with her.
Where was I? Ah, yes. The in two weeks thing.
So in two weeks, it'll be Sept 14th. At this exact point in time, 8:40 am, I'll be on a plane to Orlando. But let's backtrack shall we. To almost the 13th, and for some it will be.
DH has to work the night before we leave, and it's a really late night. So late, that it's quite possible he won't be going to bed. By my estimation we need to be up by 330, 400 at the latest, and out the door at 430, 500 at the very very latest in order to comfortably have enough time to make our flight. So my plan is to start going to bed (and putting DS to bed) earlier and earlier incrementally that week, so as to offset the horror of waking up that early. Now, we plan to wake him up in the last 15-20 minutes before we leave, and let him stay in his jams if necessary. I'll get some of his favorite cereal to have with us in the car (he likes to eat it dry), and some new books and toys (thanks LL), for him to play with if he doesn't fall back asleep.
I'll have pre-printed our boarding passes the day before, so once we get to the airport, we'll just need to check our luggage. I'll need to make sure DH is loaded up with $1s so that he can easily tip if we use the outside to get squared away, if not we'll head inside depending on the line.
I don't anticipate a long line, but you never know. I hope to have enough time to get through security and have a bit of a sit before we board, which since we're flying Southwest I've heard is a better process than it used to be. Having not yet experienced it, we'll see.
On the plane, I know we'll get settled in, and most likely, once electronic devices are approved, we'll let DS (if he's not sleeping at this point) use the Nintendo DS, or turn on a movie on the portable DVD player. I plan on having plenty of snacks, and by plenty I mean a variety so that he'll have lots to choose from. That's key, variety.
Speaking of which, to purchase said snacks, I'll be heading to the Dollar Tree. They have so much! And I know I may be able to get larger quantities at
Walmart for a little bit more money, but the Dollar Tree snacks are so travel size, just perfect for our trip down.
After arriving in the airport, we'll do what we always do. Use the restrooms, freshen up, and call Mr. Transportation, whom I've known since I was...hmmm....I think in high school, at least college. He's as much a part of our Disney experience as staying on property, and he's become like family to us. Our trip isn't right if we don't start with him picking us up at the airport. So we'll let him know we're in, go to claim our luggage, and meet up outside.
And then, it begins...
(verbosity, who knew I could talk about leaving for that long....is this a precursor to how long I'll be dragging out my trip report I wonder
)
the journey to the World.
Now, everytime I'm in that car, DS in his car seat, everyone buckled in, I always think the same thing, as we're chatting with Mr. Transportation about how everyone is doing, how he's been, the weather, politics, you name it, we discuss. I think to myself, here we go.
It seems simple, but here we go. And how in exactly eight days, I'll be sitting in that same vehicle, thinking to myself, all done. You know what I mean? How time is relative? How when we want things to go by quickly (like work) it can drag and drag, but how when we want to slow things down (our children growing up) it just whizzes right by. I feel that way about my
Disney vacations. And every trip, on the ride to the World in the car, I think about the end. Not to be defeatist, not at all. Because every time I go, I'm grateful. Grateful that I'm there, grateful that I'm healthy, grateful for my family. And knowing that it'll all be over in x amount of days just makes you all that much more appreciative of the time you have there.
Now I had thought about stopping at a grocery store on the way, as Mr. Transportation always offers to take us to run any errands we may need, because he's just cool like that. But I don't think I will. Every year, for free dining, it's always too much food. And the only thing I had really thought about purchasing was some cereal, dry snacks, and maybe soy milk. Well, that's easy enough, you know? I can pack cereal and dry snacks (not that we'll even need a lot) and soy milk I can get down there with a meal or as a snack credit. I'm not worried about the "best" use of my snack credits or the dining plan. 1. It's free. 2. It's silly to try to milk it for what it's "worth" if it's out of your realm of normal and you're not even enjoying what you're having. 3. We're pirates. That's how we roll.
So most likely, we won't be stopping and enduring the harsh reality of the real world, oh no! We'll be heading straight for the Disney bubble folks!
Now, I'm anticipating that we'll get to our resort around 1100 am. I'm hoping this will work to our advantage in two possible ways. One, I'm hoping that by the grace of God, there may be a room ready for us. Two, I'm just a little teensy tinsy bit hoping in my secret heart, there may be an upgrade of the pixie dust sort. And truthfully, if there isn't, no big deal. Although, I would love for DS to have some bunk beds, and I think he'd find it to be tons of fun. But fact of the matter is, I paid for standard view, and if that's what I get, I'm cool with it. Because just staying at the Wilderness Lodge is enough for me, folks. And who knows how much longer my little nugget will actually want to snuggle with us as he falls asleep at night? So I'll take my snuggles and standard deluxe room where I can get them, thank you.
Of course, I will be rubbing Humphrey's nose for luck before we check in.
I'm hoping that the room is ready so that if we want to crash, we can. If not, on to phase two.
Swimming. There is no way that I'm going to drag my toddler, who I woke up at 400-430 in the morning, to a park right away. Okay, scratch that. The only way I would drag him to a park is if he was outright wired. And I mean, bouncing off the walls, needing to burn off energy wired. But I see a better use of our time (if the room's not ready), as checking the bags we don't need with bell services, grabbing a bite at Roaring Forks, and then heading to the pool. If DS is awake, and ready to swim, we'll swim. This will certainly wear him out for a nap later, hopefully once our room is ready.
So the plan, regardless of whether or not swimming is included, is to get some lunch, get things settled in our room, take a nap (because I swear by this point, I'll need one), and then head out to the Magic Kingdom. And get that first moment of zen. Because although I may post a moment of zen elsewhere filled with pirates and quotes, my true moment of zen on vacation is that first view of the castle. That first moment where you come out on to Main Street and see that beautiful beacon of vacation. The castle screams out, "You're here! You made it through another year!" But only on a wave frequency that I can hear, savvy?
I'm sure it says different things to different people.
Upon which I've had my fill of my moment of zen, or DS or DH has broken the foggy haze of romanticism of concocted for myself with a question based in reality, I'll shake loose the rampant imaginings of my brain and direct us onward.
The plans are loose at best, but there are some key things to be accomplished on this day. Let's call it Magic Kingdom Lite, shall we? Hoping to, in no particular order
1. Soak it in
2. Ride some rides
3. Eat a Casey's hot dog
4. Find out when/where/if you can meet Jack Sparrow
5. Meet LegoMom and clan
So there you have it. Our first day. I don't know whether or not we'll stay for fireworks. It's totally dependent upon if/how long we napped for, and what mood we're all in. But that's the beauty of the first day folks. That you have all week to catch the fireworks...ride the rides...enjoy your family time...the beginning of vacation always holds such promise, don't you think?
.
. I've had the actual day planned from start to finish for a few months now
THE moment. THE sum of all the planning.
for a room upgrade! It sounds like you have good ideas for how to occupy your time in case the room isn't ready. 
