The Hotel

On Friday we took the kids out of school a couple hours early in order to get started on the road. We wanted the kids to get a decent night sleep for our big day at the Magic Kingdom. They were VERY excited! The van was all packed and ready to go. Dean took out the window paint and had them all sign their name on the back window. They loved it. They were very good in the van. They watched tv, played the gameboy, and read a joke book. I think I’ve heard enough jokes to last me the rest of the year! Of course, we did get the occasional ‘are we there yet’ but not too bad.

It was dark by the time we got there and Roan had fallen asleep, but Alyssa and Kai were awake to see the big ‘Welcome to Disney World’ sign! We woke up Roan and went to check-in, then went straight to the food court to eat a late dinner before finding our room.

As an aside, I should mention that we have been saving up for 6 years for this trip. (since BEFORE Roan was born!) I grew up near Disney and went with my family as a child and stayed at Fort Wilderness a few times. They are some of my best memories. I wanted my kids' first visit to Disney to be awesome, too. I was hoping to recreate the experience I had that will live on in their memories forever. Hopefully this record will help!

We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside Hotel, one of Disney's moderate resorts. We were in the ‘Alligator Bayou’. The hotel is beautiful and of course now that I’m home, I’m thinking of all the pictures I should of taken but didn’t! These pics were obviously not taken the first night because it was dark, but it makes sense to put them here. Also, it was overcast for most of our stay so I don’t think there is a blue sky in the batch. (But, it did help keep the temperature down.)

We unpacked our suitcases and basically got to bed as soon as possible. Tomorrow, the Magic Kingdom!