We started planning this trip along with my parents many months ago, and after months of (im)patiently waiting, planning and packing, it was finally time to go. We drove down to Milwaukee the afternoon of March 26 and checked into our hotel with a chirping smoke alarm outside our room (thankfully, they put in a fresh battery before bedtime). We swam in the pool, ate dinner, and got ourselves ready for the travel day. We were in a pickle, because the hotel said no shuttles between 7 am and 9 am, and we needed a shuttle around 8:30. Scheduled an Uber for the next day.
After we feasted on
the hotel breakfast the following morning, we packed up and waited. Lo and
behold, we got a hotel shuttle all by ourselves at the right time. Not sure
what happened exactly, but it worked out in our favor. We checked in our bags,
and gave the kids their first taste of queuing for a ride - in the security
line. :o) We had some time to kill at the gate, so we wandered a bit. Iris and
I found a play room - and so did a friend of hers from daycare who was also on
our flight! They played together until it was time to board. We flew a direct
Southwest flight to MCO. Nick and the kids took a row, I sat across the aisle,
making for one of my most relaxing flights. :o) This was Iris's first flight,
and Felix's second flight (his first was to Mexico when he was 1.5 years old).
The lovely people at Southwest gave them first flight certificates and wings.
We arrived in sunny, warm Orlando mid-afternoon. We got a shuttle to our hotel,
Disney's Pop Century Resort, checked in, and met my parents there. First stop
after unpacking: the pool! After swimming, we had a low-key dinner at the
resort and got ready for the next day.
Tuesday was Magic
Kingdom day. The kids were very excited to join the throngs of people also
going there that day. It was hot and sunny. The day was made extra-magical by
the Pixie Dust Iris got in her hair. We rode the Barnstormer, the Seven Dwarfs
Mine Ride (Iris said the drops on each ride "scared her private
parts"), the Haunted Mansion, the carousel, had lunch at the Colombia
Harbour House, took a ride on the steamboat, and waited for our Big Thunder
Mountain Railroad FastPass times. Iris declined to go on it, so my mom took her
to the Tiki Room show instead. Felix loved the roller coasters after some
initial fear. We all joined up to go on Splash Mountain. Iris freaked out as we
approached the boarding point. She DID NOT want to go on any more drops. Mom
took her out of line, but then suddenly, Iris changed her mind and wanted to go
on the log ride after all. They ended up being on a log a few back from us, so
we couldn't see how she handled it. 😬 She
was all smiles after, but that was it for rides. She had had enough of hiding
in Grandma's lap on the drops. 
We caught the train
back to Main Street and waited for the parade. While the rest of the family
watched that, Felix and I were on a quest for his souvenir - a foam sword. We
reconvened and decided it was time to go. Further delays ensued: someone cut
their leg on the bus that was to take us back to the resort, meaning EMS was
there for a long time, then they had to take that bus away for cleaning and we
had to wait longer. Anyway, finally got back to the hotel, and went to the
pool. Ordered in dinner. It was nice having adjoining rooms for the adults to
chat after the kids went to bed.
 |
| What could go wrong? |
Wednesday, we went to
Animal Kingdom. The park was much less crowded than Magic Kingdom. We wandered
through the different areas, which were shady and cool. We went on the safari
ride, pet a snake in another nature area, had lunch under the burning sun, and
cooled off on the river rafting ride. The kids enjoyed earning Wilderness
Explorer badges. Nick and I rode Expedition Everest while the folks watched the
kids in the Boneyard playground. We hunted down some stuffed animal souvenirs
and then called it a day. We took so many steps in these two days! More
swimming back at the hotel. Nick and I left the kids with the folks, and headed
to Disney Springs. We ate our way through the Sushi and Sashimi Pagoda at
Morimoto Asia, and enjoyed Irish beverages and dancing at Raglan Road. It was a
lovely night to walk around. |
| YES. |
Thursday, we checked
out of the hotel, and all headed over to Disney Springs. We went to the Disney
Store and the Lego Store, then ate lunch at Raglan Road. From there, the folks
took the rental car and the kids and drove up to Weirsdale to visit Grandma
Maxine and Grandpa Dennis, and we followed. We had a nice time chatting and
relaxing. The kids swam three times in their pool, and met the horses. It was a
clear night, and we were able to see the launch of a SpaceX rocket from 90
miles away. This was especially exciting for Nick and Iris. It was a quiet
night.
And a quiet morning on
Friday. The kids swam and swam again. They also went riding on one of the
horses. I also gamely went for a ride in the yard. The kids liked it. We said
goodbye after lunch and headed back to Orlando. We checked into our hotel for
the night. The kids went swimming again. We decided to go to an "authentic
German restaurant" nearby for dinner. It was quaint and kitschy, and
completely deserted except for our family. A rather strange experience to be
the only ones in a restaurant for over an hour. But the food was good, and the
kids didn't bother anyone else. So, yay? We had a quiet night back at the hotel
afterward.
Saturday, we goodbye
to the folks (who were driving back), packed up and headed out. I was cranky
until we got to the airport, then I settled down. Waiting in line to check
our luggage took a lot longer than the security line. The kids were still
excited to ride on the plane, which helped. What didn't help was that our
flight out was delayed an hour because a nor'easter cancelled our inbound
flight. Once they started boarding, they did it so quickly that I forgot about
my phone at the charging station until we were on board the plane! Thankfully,
my panic was short-lived, because the flight attendants were able to get it to
me before the door closed. Whew! The kids had a tougher time with pressure in
their ears on the way into Milwaukee. But we survived with no major problems,
got back to our car, and treated the kids to ice cream to celebrate our return.
The drive home was uneventful, and I scheduled pizza to be delivered minutes
after we arrived.
It was a great time, and we left a lot for us to do the next time we go down. We saw the license plates from 38 states, which was a new personal record. :o)
Felix: 7.5 yrs & Iris: 4.5 yrs
