Nervous Dad's first trip report Day 1Arrival
Let me start off by apologizing for taking longer to get this out than originally planned. I had a trip report put together, but it was short and so many details were left out. Instead I am opting to post my detailed journal and hope you will excuse my weak writing style and the fact that some of the details contained within are very pedestrian to most of the readers on INTERCOT. Anyway, thanks for reading….here we go.
Cast
Me – the nervous Dad and narrator
Kelly – the Mother of my beautiful children
Matthew – age 11
Mara –age 7
Pretrip report link
http://www.intercot.com/discussion/s...d.php?t=184956
Florida Vacation - Sept 21 through October 1 2011
I’m starting this journal entry on the morning of 9/22 and I am already worried that I am going to forget to include some of the events or cool things that happened because we’ve been in Florida less than 18 hours and it has been a constant stream of “awesomeness” since we left home.
9/21/11
We set our alarm for 3AM to ensure we could be up and finish the final items on our checklist before our 6AM flight out of Green Bay. The alarm went off at 3AM, but it did not wake us up. Kelly did not sleep at all (probably a combination of nerves, excitement and her work schedule) and I slept only sporadically so when the alarm went off – Kelly was already in the shower and I turned it off as a formality. So 3AM – up and at ‘em. Kelly finished showering a few minutes after 3AM and then we both went to “wake up” the kids. The kids were actually sleeping, but I don’t think they had been sleeping for very long. I went in to their rooms and asked them if they were ready to go on an adventure. They groggily answered “yes”, but unlike a school day, were up and out of bed in an instant. We are all dressed, the car is packed and the last of the items on the check list are crossed of so at 4:10 we are backing out of the driveway and on our way to Green Bay.
Got to Green Bay and dropped the car in the lot by 5AM and got on our flight for 6AM. This was Matthew and Mara’s first flight and they both thought it was really cool. The sun started coming up and the sky was so red it reminded me of a scene from the Lion King. I had bought a new GB Packer shirt because I wanted to be sure to wear it for our stopover in Chicago (a “nose rubbing” for the Championship game win over the Bears and the Super Bowl win). Matthew and Mara also got in on the fun and also wore their Packer shirts. We were able to accomplish our mission as we had a lot of good natured “Go Bears” or “GO PACK GO” from a bunch of people in the airport. One of the flight attendants on our flight was from Chicago and gave us some good natured ribbing all during the flight. He even announced on our arrival in Orlando that the final score of the game on Sunday would be – Chicago 21 GB 17. I hope he is wrong on that, but it was really fun to get all the interaction from people. All day people would ask if we were from WI or yell out “Go Packers!”
We touched down in Orlando at 12:20 and got our bags and rental car by 12:50. I couldn’t believe how fast we got through the process of bag retrieval and car rental. Congrats to the team at MCO airport because that was the fasted I’ve been through an airport – ever! Our rental was supposed to be a small SUV, but the rental company didn’t have any available so we were bumped up to a large SUV (a white Ford Flex). On our way we had a slight hiccup as we didn’t have enough quarters for the last toll booth. We were at the last toll booth and needed 50 cents and only had 41! I pulled through and parked because I had to get and envelope to mail a check or money order for 50 cents. The buzzer went off and I grabbed an envelope, but I was worried that we were going to get a citation. I later called the rental car company because I read online that the company would be fined, but when I talked to the rep he said that the car is equipped with a fast pass so it is all good. We were worried for nothing I guess.
We arrived at the Animal Kingdom Lodge about 1:30 and went into check in. This place is absolutely beautiful. My jaw actually dropped as we walked into the gorgeous lobby. The cast members are unbelievably friendly – I’m pretty sure we were told “Welcome Home” 3 times between the walk from the car and the check in desk. The check in was easy and amazing. We met Rashida from Pakistan who checked us in. She gave Matthew a Happy Birthday Button and the rest of us got “I’m celebrating” buttons to wear and asked if this was the kids first time to Disney world and since it was she gave them “it’s my first time” buttons and upgraded our room to a Savannah View room with bunk beds. She said, “It’s your first time – we have to give you a better room.” How amazing!!!
Our room is phenomenal! The kids love the bunk beds and the room is nice and clean, but the view is what is spectacular. We have a balcony that we can watch zebras, giraffes, African cranes, Patterson’s Elands and that is what I’ve seen so far! I was sitting on the balcony relaxing and 4 giraffes came over. The smallest one was playful and started jumping around trying to get the others to play.
At 3PM we went to the “Marketplace” to check it out and the kids wanted to trade pins with “King Pin”. Matthew was told Happy Birthday 2 or 3 times and then one of the cast members working the register told him he had a message. She handed him the phone and Goofy sang “Happy Birthday” to him. The kids traded pins with King Pin and he was really cool. He wished Matthew happy birthday and told the kids some interesting facts about Disney World since they were wearing their “First Time” buttons. Then we strolled over to “The Mara” restaurant and bought refillable mugs. I had to take a picture of Mara at “The Mara” as well. After we filled our mugs we checked out the pool, play ground, and arcade and then made calls to “Papa’s Happy Dog House of Fun” to check on our puppy Lola. I had to give Papa’s house a cool sounding name since the kids were sad a few days before when Lola had to go on her vacation. The renaming seemed to help the situation and it seemed more fun to have Lola go on her own vacation rather just to Nana and Papa’s for dog sitting. We also called Gramma Susie’s to let everyone know we arrived. Then we refilled our mugs and then headed off to Super Target for some snacks. There is a piece of artwork right by the doors with a placard that states to touch this and you will have good luck in your travels. We will make sure to touch this each time we leave. Had another scare as we checked out at Super Target, our credit card didn’t work. The check out girl said that the card company probably put a hold on it to ensure it was ours since we were out of town. After a quick call to clear it up we were back in the car heading “home” to the Animal Kingdom Lodge (AKL).
We had about an hour before our dinner reservation. Kelly tried to catch a nap and I sat on the balcony and watched the wildlife (I can’t believe how cool this is to sit on a balcony and be 20 feet from a giraffe). A small thunder storm rolled in and Matthew and Mara were worried we wouldn’t get any pool time, but I told them that it rains like this every day at this time of year in Florida (I think) and we would be fine. I remember frequent but brief storms from my previous visits so I was hoping the storms would stay away.
It was now time to go downstairs for our dinner reservation at Boma – Flavors of Africa. Our reservation was for 7:05 but it was so busy we didn’t get to sit until 7:15. The hostess gave us a table by the window (awesome) and we were off to the buffet. The server at the prime rib station, Jerry, noticed our Packer attire and asked if we were from WI. We said yes and his button said he was from WI as well. I asked where in WI he was from and he said he was from WI, but was raised in MI. I told him I was born in Escanaba MI and he started yelling “Yooper Yooper Yooper!” He then sang “Happy Birthday” to Matthew. The food was really good and the desserts were out of this world. The Zebra Domes and cinnamon chocolate mousse were beyond words delicious.
Kel was exhausted and wanted to lie down, so the kids and I went to the pool. The water was bath water warm and the pool is really cool. There is a slide, but it closes when the life guard goes off duty so we didn’t get to try it today. We swam for about an hour and then went up to bed. Considering that we didn’t have anything “planned” I think we had a pretty good day.
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Originally Posted by WRWDisney
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