We got up at 4 a.m. to be at the airport at 5:30. We packed up most everything the night before, and woke up the kids. We told Chris it was going that we had a big surprise for him. We were going to get on a plane and go to Mickey Mouse's house.
He perked up right away and was very willing. We drove to Grandma's, dropped off Fina, and Grandma took us to the airport. Where we met up with Mike, Kathleen and Emily. (The twins had their own party with their Grandparents!) I guess Everyone is a morning person when you're going to Disney World!
We went through Security, and they had this happy little family section where we could pull aside, and get ourselves ready, without holding anyone up, (SO NICE!) we didn't have much time to stop for breakfast, we grabbed grub and ate it once we were seated on the plane. I was worried about how Chris would handle the plane, since he mentioned on the drive to the airport that he'd rather Drive, or take a helicoptor. But I needn't have worried. He did just fine.
For the record, I have Excellent Travelers for children. The worst I can say, is that Take Off and Landing make Sam Poop. Chris and Emily chatted sweetly with each other through the seats, until we wised up and put the kids together, then they watched Up on Emily's DVD player, though they couldn't hear it, and Sam slept on Daddy. It was great!
Once at the airport, we got on the Magic Express Bus, and that was about as big a thrill to the kids as the plane, AND it played Video. We got there, checked in, and hopped another bus over to Downtown Disney, where we were meeting some Fam. Eric's grandparents have migrated to Florida and are about 20 minutes from Disney, so his Aunt brought them over so they could meet Sam and visit. We had reservations at the T-rex restaurant, however, that was rethought after the reactions of two 3 year olds upon seeing a giant animatronic Tyrannasaurus Rex Scream and Growl at them. We moved down the street to a lovely Italian joint called Portobello and ate outside, right on the water. Ahhh. I sat down and got a limoncello cocktail, and that took the edge right off. It was amazing how quickly all our stresses melted away as soon as we sat down for lunch.
After lunch, we took a boat back to Port Orleans, enjoyed a leisurely boat ride, and went in for Naps. Our hotel room was simple, but clean. The best was 2 little care packages for the boys: Mickey Mouse ears with their names on them, and each got a couple packs of snacks and Mickey Autograph Book and pen.
The kids conked out for a while, and awoke when the sitter arrived. Yes, we went 2000 miles, to Disney World, and got a sitter. It was the first time I'd actually paid someone to watch the boys. Mostly friends and family are just honored to spend time with the boys, and though we may pitch in a little cash, or dinner, I've never Flat out paid someone. This gal, Katie, brought games, videos, and the kids were so enthralled they could've cared less when we left. The program was called Kids Night Out, and they were WONDERFUL! Sam didn't take a bottle for her, but apparently he was so tired he didn't put up much of a fight for her, he conked out for her after a supper of applesauce. We returned 4 hours later to 3 beautifully sleeping children.
Meanwhile the Mommies and Daddies went to dinner atop the Contemporary hotel at the California Grille. A bit of history: Eric and I went on our honeymoon, and had such amazing seats in that same restaurant, we saw the fireworks from Epcot and the Studios. On our way back home across the lake to the Grand Flo, we caught the Magic Kingdom show. Mike and Kathleen heard our story and went there too, and caught the Magic Kingdom show from within, they turned down the lights while the show went on.
On our joint night there, each couple took a step outside (didn't know we could, but What A VIEW!) to walk a path and look and catch Cinderella's castle amidst the glow, then we Ate, and watched and listened to the fireworks show from inside. The food was awesome. We had duck on a flatbread pizza, and sushi that was so good, it made Eric cry. Eric got ostrich filet, Mike got a filet mignon, and Kathleen scallops and I got a tuna steak on sweet potato puree, with beef dumplings, and some sort of chocolate lava cake thing for dessert. The Food was amazing. Beautiful and awesome. It was a Good Night!
What a Fabulous Start to our trip!
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