Disney Trip Report - Day 1

Day 1 (of 7)

6:00 AM flight meant rolling out of the house by 3:45.  Had told the kids we would be waking them up at “night”.  All it took was a “its time to go to Disney” at 3:00AM and they popped up instantly.  Timed it right, as we drove to Midway, parked and had all the luggage at the Southwest gate within 1 hour of leaving the house, so started the day out strong.  Everyone grabbed a McMuffin (a rare McGriddle for myself) and it was on to Orlando right on time (much better than our 5 hour delay on our trip last November to Playa).   Uneventful flight and we were on the ground within 2.5 hours (9:30 Orlando time).  Quickly grabbed the luggage and headed over to the oversize bin to pick up the strollers we checked in.  However, after waiting 20 minutes or so, no strollers in site.  A visit to the Southwest customer service booth turned up nothing.  Turns out they were mistakenly placed on another flight headed to NY…so we were basically SOL until they got back to Orlando.  All things considered, Southwest handled it flawlessly, and they hand delivered them to the bellhop at our hotel by midnight that night.  We just had night one at Magic Kingdom without strollers.

The Budget car rental counter was jammed – which seemed odd at that time of morning – but we probably killed another 30 minutes just getting to the rental counter.  Luckily, once there it went smooth and we were handed the keys to a Jeep Patriot (got a 7 day small SUV rental for $170 – cheaper than a compact car).  However, between the stroller fiasco, and the lengthy car rental process, probably burned 1.5 hours at the airport.

The time wasted was not too big of a deal, as the plan for the day was to just pick up some groceries, hang at the hotel/pool, and then head over to Magic Kingdom at night (as they had extended hours to 1AM).  Weather was crap when we landed, on and off down pours – so we headed over to the Super Wal-Mart just south of Disney (no, Orlando Wal-Marts are not much fun).  Despite wanting to get out of there as quick as possible, for $80 we picked up enough groceries (PB&J’s, teddy grahams, nutria-grain bars, etc) that probably ended up saving us hundreds of dollars over the course of the week, as the kids (as well as us) were content with granola bars, etc.  for breakfast some mornings, and PB&J’s for lunch some days.

We grabbed a quick lunch and then headed to the Walt Disney World Dolphin resort to see if we could check in early.  Early check in was a breeze, and we were given 4 keys to 11167 (11^th floor), which I think was a top 5 highlight of the trip for the kids…multiple times every day the boys fought over who pushed the buttons in the elevator, and when asked if Connor liked Disney better than Mexico, his response was, “Disney, because they have elevators” (and in essence, he’s right, when we go to Playa, the buildings are capped at 3 stories, hence, no elevators).

We headed on up to the room and given we were all up at 2:30 am, and it was “wet” outside, the boys and mom took a snoozer, and I headed out to explore the Dolphin/Swan (massive, to say the least).

We headed over to Magic Kingdom and in hindsight, thank god we did, as typically (according to multiple web services), the first week in June is the slower portion of the summer high season, and Friday night proved that out (maybe the rain that afternoon helped clear the park out) – come Monday, it seemed to getting massively more busy.  However, that night we were basically walking on rides – maybe 10-15 minute wait tops (later in the week, that would be unheard of).

Unlike me when I was their age, Connor and Carter are pretty fearless – as during the trip (as we will see), they did every ride their height allowed, and loved every one of them.  Connor quickly became a fan of Space Mountain, Carter loved Goofy’s Barnstormer – later they would discover Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain (the freshly unveiled Big Thunder), Expedition Everest, Tower of Terror.  I think we must have rode the Barnstormer 10 times on Friday night.

Friday night also confirmed three things...the boys blossoming love affair with the Disney Parking Trams, the fact that they do better (and love) being at the parks at night, and that they want absolutely nothing to do with any of the Disney World attractions that aren't "rides" - they called BS on any stage show, skit, or otherwise (which was fine by me).

While to me the ride seems very dated and un-Disney - what 5 year old doesn't love driving their own car?

Carter loved driving his own car.

Teacups.  I am not a fan.  I can ride the biggest coasters in the world at Cedar Point, going 0-120 mph in 5 seconds, then 400 feet straight up, but the flippin' teacups- no thanks, its like an instant headache.

Getting ready to board Winnie the Pooh ride.  It's been a favorite of Carter both times we have gone to Disney.  Sadly, I doubt it will be next time we return.

Connor getting ready to board Space Mountain.  This photo is evidence of his desire to ride in the very front (note the 1 on the ground).

More Pooh...

The new Dumbo ride - the second Dumbo was not open yet.  However, the picture does not do it justice...the amount of money Disney poured into this little ride is phenomenal.  The level of detail is really something.

Riding Dumbo...

Another example of a "revamped" ride.  The detail on this little coaster is again, phenomenal...

More Barnstormer detail.

Getting ready to ride, you guessed it, first row.

Riding the Barnstormer...

More of my fascination with the theming of the Barnstormer.

Gas tank running low on night 1...

But still time for another run around the Tomorrowland Speedway.