Disney Day 1

We took a six day trip to Disney....and I took a TON of pictures.
So this is going to have to be split up into multiple posts!



Hurricane Matthew started our trip off a bit differently than we had envisioned.  I'm pretty sure I watched the Weather Channel for an entire week.  We had flights, dining reservations, and fast passes booked for months, so we tried everything we could to keep this trip going.  Thursday afternoon I got an email from Southwest that our Saturday morning flight had been cancelled.  The weather would be clear by then, but most likely our plane would be in Orlando instead of Memphis.  Bummer.

After lots of talk, Mom and I decided we could rent a minivan, leave Friday after school, get a hotel in Montgomery, and drive the rest of the way Saturday.  Booked a minivan and it was done.  Excited again.

Went to pick up that said minivan Friday morning...and they had us a Dodge Journey.  It is smaller than my SUV....and we had six people with luggage.  Double bummer.

After a few angry words, tears, etc., we soon realized there was no other car for us to take.  It was the Journey or no Disney trip.  So, of course we took the Journey.

Then we tried to book hotel rooms in Montgomery.  Unfortunately Georgia was also evacuating for the hurricane and we could NOT find any available rooms.  ANYWHERE.   Triple Bummer.

But all of a sudden two rooms popped up and we grabbed them (I would also like to add they were totally ripping off these poor people on the Coast and charging way more than normal!)

So off we went Friday at 5pm.  Six people in a Dodge Journey with two expensive hotel rooms as our first destination with hardly any luggage because there was no room in that car!  But we were off and happy!  (yes, Brody with his booster seat, Mom, and I sat in one row)

Made it to the hotel.  They were actually pretty excited about this part.  

Up early next morning to drive about 8 more hours.  

It was a beautiful day and we had no problem finding gas which was our main concern.  

Thank goodness. 

There was a ton of traffic once we hit the turnpike.  

All the FL residents getting back in town after evacuating. Thankfully, the hurricane didn't hit FL as bad as they had originally thought.  

Once we got to the resort, we dropped off our bags and John and I took the rental car to the airport. We did get to ride the Magical Express back to the hotel, so that was fun.  

Mom took the boys around to play at the resort. 

Originally, we were going to go to the park after our flight landed, but it was a long day.  We decided to eat at the hotel and go for a night swim.  

We went to Magic Kingdom for our first day at the parks.  

We had a breakfast reservation at 7:35 for Chef Mickey's.  It was dark and early but we were excited!  I booked all of these reservations at 5am 6 months in advance and still had to take what I could grab.  I continued to look for different times but nothing ever opened up, so 7:35 it was!  If you want to eat and not stand in line for an entire week, you HAVE to plan your Disney trip in advance!!

Brody loved riding the shuttle "school bus" to the parks/resorts. 

We were able to get so many group pictures.
Disney has photographers set up everywhere.  They take you picture, scan your magic band, and the pictures appear on the app on your phone.  It is amazing. 

So excited about the characters.  

I didn't know what Mason would think, but he was pumped about getting their autographs. 

Brody and that smile. 

After breakfast, we headed to Magic Kingdom and picked up their new ride. 

So fun. 

Gotta have the Mickey ice cream.

One of the parades.

This was our warmest and brightest day of the trip.  Mason cooled off in the water area.

Buzz Lightyear Ride.

It's a Small World

Waiting for the Festival of Fantasy Parade.

We had an early dinner reservation at Ohana.  I was really looking forward to eating here.  They have pineapple races for the kids plus they have amazing food.  One of our favorites for sure.

Brody was exhausted at this point and needed a little screen time and chicken nuggets.

We headed back to MK after dinner to ride a few more rides before the electrical parade.

Dumbo.

The castle is just so pretty at night.

Got up early and stayed out late.

We just happened to be there for the very last Electrical Parade EVER. They are officially retiring it.  It is by far one of my favorite things to see.  It will go to Disneyland for a couple of months and then be gone forever.

To say a lot of people were there is an understatement.
People lined up HOURS before to get a good seat.

Both boys fell asleep on the bus ride home.  It was a loooooong, but magical day.