Disney Days May 16

We awoke at 4 a.m.... Yep, you read it right. 4 a.m.! Ron and I got showers, woke Sam up and got ready to hit the road. Sam was a little disoriented, but cute and excited nonetheless.


On to the airport... I had explained several things to Sam about being on planes and their rules and going through security and having to take off our shoes and all that, but I had failed to mention one very important piece of information.... His blanket must go through the security thingie along with everything else. It took several minutes and several things going through the screener and coming out on the other end to convince him that he would, in fact, see his prized blanket once more.

He did great on the plane. I made sure he was chewing gum and put EarPlanes in just to ward off any potential ear pain. On the way to Charlotte he mostly talked and colored and talked and looked out the window and did I mention that he talked a lot? From Charlotte to Orlando, he watched Spongebob. All in all, both flights were successful.

Here are Ron and Sam waiting in the Charlotte airport for our flight to Orlando:


It's a shame I don't have video of Sam on the people movers in the Charlotte airport. He thought those were the coolest things since Spongebob Gogurt! He would have gone down every terminal if we would have let him!

And here is Sam on the plane coloring... You can see his ear plugs sticking out of his ears. LOL I told him he only needed them for take off and landing but he insisted on wearing them the entire time. :)


We got to the Orlando airport and it was like mass chaos in that place! Little to no signage on where to go or where to pick up transportation. But we made it to the Disney Magical Express area and waited in line... The first of many lines, but I guess you have to expect that.

We had a little bit of a wait for our bus, but it wasn't too bad. Then... the bus driver from hell. He was nice enough and courteous and informative enough but he said some things that reeeeeeaaaalllllyyyyy put a new spin on our vacation. He told the kids on the bus that Mickey Mouse had 3 rules for children at Disney World. He said that we were going to Mickey's place and had to follow Mickey's rules. Okaaaay...

Rule #1: Kids have no bedtime.
Ok, I can get with that one. We obviously weren't trying to keep a strict schedule that week anyway.

Rule #2: Kids can eat dessert first. And, if they want to have ice cream for every meal, they can.
This one wasn't too earth-shattering either because I knew Sam wouldn't do it. Yes, he would have more sweets than usual, but he's just not addicted to sweets like some kids can be so I wasn't really worried.

Rule #3: Kids are in charge.
WHAT??? Did you really just say that to a bus full of children and tired parents? What a maroon! I could have ripped that damn drivers vocal cords right up outta his eyeballs. Honestly, I really didn't think that much about it when he first said it. I just thought, "Oh, how cute. The kids think they are in charge." I didn't think about it much until the first time I tried to get Sam to stop doing something (picking up the hotel phone receiver and pushing buttons willy nilly) and he retorted with, "Mickey said that I'm in charge!"

Oh dear God, we have created a monster... and this sadistic bus driver didn't just say it once, he just kept repeating it and giving scenarios that the children could best use their new found sources of power over their parents. I heard it over and over again that week. I swear I dreamed of the many, many ways I could hurt that bus driver if I ever saw him again.


Anyway, enough of that.

It's a pretty good drive to the hotel, so we are ready to get off the bus when we pull in. We go in to check in and they have a little area set up with a small movie screen and little theater seats and a little stage area for the kids to play in. Ron checks in and made sure we were in the Buzz Lightyear building. I think Sam would have been heartbroken had we been put in another building.

First things first, RC car from Toy Story:


Sam was just amazed with our room. "Look! We have a phone!" "Lookie! A TV! We can watch TV! I wonder if Mickey has Spongebob on his TV" "Look at the bathroom, mom! The sink is outside the room!" LOL It was quite funny.

We wanted to hit Magic Kingdom first because I just didn't think Sam would really feel like he was at Disney World until he saw


He was in absolute awe of that castle... As was I. I have to say, it's pretty magical walking down Main Street with that sight on the horizon; however, the damn stroller getting caught in the trolley tracks were enough to drive even the most patient person insane! LOL

The kid wanted a roller coaster so we rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and he loved it! Ron even rode it and he loved it too! It was a lot of fun, especially being able for all 3 of us to share in it together. I often feel so bad because Ron isn't able to ride a lot of stuff. I feel like he is missing out on some of the best parts which is watching Sam react to the ride and its surroundings.

Then it was on to Splash Mountain! I had showed Sam this ride online so he knew it was themed around Brer Rabbit. We've been watching the Brer Rabbit movie a lot lately and he was so excited!



He LOVED Splash Mountain. He just giggled the entire time! There were a couple of dark parts that could have been a little scary, but we just repeated our Disney mantra: Mickey Mouse would never do anything to hurt me. I had warned him previously that some stuff might be dark or loud or even scary, but that Mickey would never do anything to hurt him so he didn't have to worry or be scared. It worked like a charm. Anytime anything was dark or scary, he would take my hand and say, "Mickey would never do anything to hurt me. Right, mom?" I would squeeze that little hand and reassure him that he was right.

After Splash Mountain it was time for dinner at Tony's Town Square Restaurant in Magic Kingdom, with a quick stop off to visit with Goofy outside. This thing had a motion sensor in it so every time you got close to it, Goofy would talk to you. Fuhreaked Sam out the first time it happened. LOL



Dinner was delicious!! Ron and I both had artichoke and spinach dip for an appetizer. I had the beef and spinach cannelloni for my entree and some to die for cheesecak thing for dessert. It was really good!

After dinner, Ron and Sam took a spin on the cars; however, I couldn't seem to get a good picture of them so here is one of Sam in the car outside the ride.


And then on to Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin which was a huge hit for all of us. It was really fun!




And is my little guy completely and totally tuckered out after his big first day at The World...


Second day to follow soon...