Disney Part 1

I've never spent so much time planning for a vacation until Disney. After deciding that this would be the year we would go, I quickly discovered there's a lot more to it than just booking a room and buying some tickets. Danny is typically the vacation detail planner around here, but I took over on this one. He was thrilled. All he had to do was be in charge of navigation... and pay for everything.

Day one - We took a quick dip in the lazy river before heading out to meet Aunt Shirley, Uncle Jimmy and the Travis' for a family reunion dinner. It was so great to see cousins I hadn't seen in a long time. And, we were lucky that when a motorhome ran into the restaurant right outside our window, it didn't come through the building!

Day 2 - We were up early and arrived at Epcot by 8:15am. Erick, Angie, Autumn and Peyton saved us a place at the front of the line. The gates opened just before 9am. We (I) already mapped out the day to the minute. First up was Test Track. 

Drew's expression is priceless!

Rain showers limited our time in the World Showcase. Drew shed a few tears because he thought they wouldn't get to do Agent P's Adventure. Well, we managed to work it in and then Danny and I nearly shed a few tears because we didn't have time to enjoy the massive amount of food and beverages.

We rode Maelstrom and rushed through the World Showcase to make it to our 7:30 dinner reservation in Japan where we had a great hibachi dinner. After dinner, we saw Illuminations and then headed back to our condo after a long but wonderful day.

Day 3, Magic Kingdom - It was another early morning. I think we made it to the parking lot by 8am and then caught the ferry boat over to the park.

We were able to see the opening show for the park, and when we walked through the gate and saw the castle, it's safe to say I was overwhelmed with excitement and a little bit emotional. --And then, I quickly pulled myself together as we refocused on our agenda.

First we grabbed fast passes for Space Mountain and went straight to the standby line with no wait. I never dreamed that Grant would ride it, but he got on with no hesitation! And rode it again! Drew would've too if he had been tall enough.

Out of all of the parks, Grant's favorite ride was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. I absolutely love this picture. I snapped it during the ride... Grant is cautiously looking to see what's coming up next and Drew is cheesing at the camera.

Sadly, we were only able to ride it one time as is was shut down for part of the afternoon. After getting soaked on Splash Mountain a couple of times, we left for a break at the hotel. Then came back until the park closed. 

It's safe to say, my touring plan was a bit ambitious for Magic Kingdom. We never even made it to Adventureland, but we got to do everything that was at the top of our list (and we REALLY needed those 2 hours of rest at the condo).  The afternoon was more relaxed as we enjoyed Mickey's Phillarmagic, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin (again), Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor (Danny was "that guy"!), and Wishes. 

They boys are still talking about this being their best day ever. 

Day 3 and 4 coming up next!