Our Disney World Vacation, Day 1: Arrival Day

Here we go!! So the night before our trip I was up late packing and just being incredibly excited about our trip!! So, needless to say, I didn't get much sleep that night!! We woke up bright and early at 5:45 a.m.! Our flight was at 8:40 a.m. and we live about 30 minutes from the Memphis airport. So we got dressed, ate a quick breakfast (well I ended up eating mine in the car), and getting things packed into the car. There wasn't much traffic since it was a Saturday morning but we ended up leaving a little later than I had liked--so I was a little stressed! We arrived at the airport around 7:40ish and the check-in line was LONG! Usually we get into the Platinum Elite line with no wait--but they didn't have that available for some reason. So we waited and it didn't end up taking as long as we had anticipated. (thank goodness) Oh--and the family in front of us were headed to WDW as well!! Then we headed to the security line (which was SUPER LONG) but again, thought we could go through the Platinum Elite line. The man told us we couldn't use that line with our family?! OK--we've done it before--oh well. Another worker overheard him and told us to go down to the next terminal--that the security line was nonexistant down there. So we did and just walked back to our terminal (all the terminals in Memphis are connected). As we arrived at our gate, they were already boarding! YIKES!! But we made it and got settled into our seats! Whooo hoo!! We were on our way to WDW!!!

Ally is super-excited!!

Brent & Claire
The flight took about an hour and a half and then we landed at MCO!! I took out our Magical Express booklet, looked at the map of the airport, and we were on our way!! We got down to the Magical Express line and I couldn't believe how many people I saw!
But we checked in, they scanned our Magical Express tickets, and they directed us to the Polynesian line. The line was not bad at all!

Ally waiting patiently
Brent & ClaireThe line started moving again and we got excited!! But when we got to the front of the line they pulled that black rope out and said we'd be on the next bus. Oh man! Oh well--so I took a pic of the sign since we were standing right beside it!
I told Brent that it was fine--it just meant that we would get on the bus first AND get front seats!! I would be able to get a decent picture of the WDW sign!! YAY!! So about 10-15 minutes later we were boarding our bus!
on the bus

Claire was such a wiggleworm during the busride--she was letting her freedom go to her head!! It was quite exhausting trying to keep her still and safe!

Claire & me

Then I started getting excited when our driver said we were almost to the sign! I took TONS of pics to make sure I got a decent one! Here is the best I got (excuse the bugs from the bus' windshield)!We were officially in Disney World--it was so surreal!!! I wasn't sure in what order we would be dropped off at our resort but we ended up being first!!

The entrance to the Poly (I couldn't believe we were FINALLY here!!)

We were all given leis and were warmly welcomed ("Welcome cousin!")

waterfall outsideWe entered the lobby and check-in wasn't that crowded!

Ally in the lobby

We ended up not having to wait at all! I was nervous wondering if we had gotten the longhouse that I had requested (Tokelau) and if we just MIGHT get an upgrade?! The cast member who checked us in was really nice. She explained everything in detail to us, gave us our anniversary and first trip pins, etc. But while she talked Claire was throwing a fit (it was way past lunchtime and she was hungry--not to mention tired!). I was so embarassed and was almost in tears myself. Finally the cast member finished up and we headed to check out our room (it was ready!!!). We DID get Tokelau!! Whoo hoo!

I knew we had a 3rd floor room but that was it--would it be garden view or Magic Kingdom view? We headed up the elevator and our room was the very first room on the left--so I knew we didn't get an upgrade. Oh well!! Our room was still VERY nice!! We were surprised to see a special gift from our travel agent!!

The girls just LOVED their Minnies!!

Ally with our Mickey towel!!Hey mom--check out the view!!

Our view was wonderful!! It overlooked the quiet pool! NICE!!!

So after we got settled I decided to see if we could get our Garden Grocer things delivered. So I called the front desk and they got me in touch with Bells Services. The front desk lady said, "Have a magical day!" Well Bells Services was not so magical for us! I called, gave the guy our name, and he checked and said he didn't have our things. I thought that was wierd as they were supposed to be delivered between 9:00 and 11:00 a.m.! Hmm. . . so I checked my voicemail on my phone and had a message from GG saying they HAD delivered our groceries to Bells Services. Uggh!! So I called them back and the guy was really rude--not magical in the least! He said that he had just checked but he'd check again and call me right back. Well, I waited and waited and hear nothing! By that time we were all starving and wanting to go get something to eat. I didn't know what to do! Finally, there was a knock at the door and it was our stuff!! Thank goodness! Everything was accounted for and put away in our fridge. We headed straight over to Captain Cook's for some lunch!

I couldn't believe how much came with the meal plan!! We were so excited!! So we all chose what we wanted (I got the BBQ flatbread--YUM!!!) and sat down to eat. It was ready almost immediately! For dessert Brent had a Mickey ice cream bar!

Ally in one of the Poly's shops

After lunch we headed to the bus stop to catch a bus to Downtown Disney.

the monorail next to the bus stop

Ally waiting for the bus

We waited about 15 minutes and then a bus arrived!! Once we got to Downtown Disney the first thing we did was let the girls pick Mickey ears and autograph books. Ally chose the pink and silver princess ears and I chose the red/black Minnie one for Claire. They both got their names embroidered on them! Here are some pics from our day--we just shopped and looked around.

Then we found this grassy area and let the girls run around for awhile!

Then we headed back to the Poly. We had planned to meetup with some friends that night at the Poly beach to watch Wishes at 10 p.m. So we just watched the Electrical Parade, walked around the Poly for awhile, and let the girls play in the sand.
Brent

me and my girls

So then we metup with Sara, Nichole, Michelle and their families and watched Wishes from the Poly beach!

Sara, me, Nichole, & Michelle

So we hung out awhile and then we had to call it a night since tomorrow was our first day in the parks!! The girls fell asleep immediately!