The Start of Our Trip

 Hi! So we told the kids on Easter that we were taking them to WDW. That way we could still surprise them but they could also weigh in on the things that they wanted to do in advance so we could plan. WDW is not an entirely easy place to "wing it." 

The trip was not without snafus, what trip is? But nevertheless, we persevered and had a great time. On Friday, November 4 we were packed and sitting around the house too excited to go to sleep. (Husband and I, the kids had no choice but to go to sleep at the regular time.) And we got a text message that our flight was canceled! 

Luckily, since we were awake and got the text immediately, I was able to rebook us. Only we had to fly through Denver instead of Chicago. Yep. We flew west to go east and spent an extra 2 hours in-flight because of that. It was not our favorite but beats driving 17 hours so... 

Then the strangest thing happened. At our home tiny airport, we were asked if we wanted to be extras in a movie. We had ample time to kill so we said yes. So that was a fun little way to start the trip. 

Because we weren't on the original flights, the kids were sitting behind me on the first leg. (Not how I picked seats FYI. But we had to do what we could.) 

We made it to Orlando at like 9:30 at night on November 5. I had booked us a room at the airport hotel because I knew it would be the best bet for my not-so-night-owl kiddos. 

A room looking over the terminal was kinda cool actually! 

We had dinner at the hotel restaurant because we were starving. We didn't have time to eat in Denver with a short 1-hour layover and quite a distance between gates. 

Sunday, November 6 we were up bright and early! 

We tried to go to Mass at the airport, but apparently Fr. Bob was sick and we didn't really have time or transportation that hadn't already been budgeted for to come up with a plan B so we said a prayer that Jesus would bless our trip and our best effort. We headed down to the Sunshine Flyer bus service to take us into WDW. 

In no time at all we pulled into our new home away from home. The Wilderness Lodge.

I loved it so much, and I will probably write an entire post about it. 

We dropped our stuff at bell services and headed right out to Animal Kingdom. We stopped for a snacky lunch of a shared hot dog, Mickey pretzel, corn and apple slices we brought from home. 

We had a great time on Kilimanjaro Safari, and even saw two elephants tussling. 

 

N'avvi River Journey is a favorite, we rode it twice. 

And of course, we met the most important mice in the world. 

Our time at Animal Kingdom was short because we just wanted to do the highlights and then go check out our room. And boy did our travel agent and Disney deliver. Because look at what we could see right from our balcony?! It was magic I never got over. Being able to wake up and see the castle from my bed was amazing. 

We managed super last minute, like Friday, to get a reservation at Story Book Dining at Artist Point right downstairs in our resort. We had SUCH a wonderful time. Not only was the food delicious but the character interactions were just amazing! 

The desserts you guys. I didn't take a picture of The Hunter's Gift to the Queen, but it was fabulous too. 

These are the Miner's Treasure, Gooseberry Tarts, and the Poison Apples. And all were divine. 

It was the perfect way to kick off the trip, and our favorite dining experience of the entire trip if you want to know! 

We got back to the room, and changed into swimsuits for a little night swimming. (It was great!) Then we got showered and into pajamas to take advantage of our room's entertainment! 

We were so lucky, all the preview videos I had seen of a fireworks view room, the trees covered the castle so to be just over enough to see it was such a treat! It still makes me giddy! 

And we snuggled into bed early so we could rest up and prepare for the day ahead!