Welcome to part one of the trip report for our epic Disney World vacation. I took my mom, who had never been, Aidan, who had been three times, and we met my cousin Falandos at the airport in Orlando. He also had never been.

I was a little bit nervous because I knew I’d have to do things differently than I was used to with Adam or Aidan and Adam. For one thing, my mom needed a scooter and I’d never toured the parks with a scooter before. She’s also a slow eater, so I knew we’d be betting a lot of downtime so she wouldn’t feel rushed during mealtimes. I really wanted to make sure she was comfortable and enjoying herself and not getting bored or cranky, but the funny thing is she was doing the same for me! She and Falandos both kept saying, throughout the trip, this this was my vacation too and I was entitled to enjoy myself as well. That was nice. 🙂

Anyway.

Our journey to Orlando began with a massive flight delay. The cause of the delay? THE PILOT HAD TO TAKE A NAP. I am not kidding. There were some scheduling snafus, and the pilot had a mandated rest period. I was unhappy, but my mom told me to calm down and that everything would be OK. So, we had lunch and hung out in the airport, playing Tetris Blitz on our tablets and reading. Let me tell you, it was cruel to see the flight that was scheduled an hour after our original departure take off on time. *sigh* It was also cold in the airport. And on the airplane. And in Chicago in general. I was so anxious to get to Orlando and bake in some heat and humidity!

We finally got to Orlando and rode into town in a Town Car. I went with the car service and it was great. The grocery stop was awesome–we picked up bottled water, pineapple juice, snacks, a poncho for Aidan, and I got some Mickey Mouse pajamas. I know, how sad that I was buying souvenirs BEFORE WE EVEN GOT ON DISNEY PROPERTY.

Our driver was awesome, slowing down so we could take pictures of the Disney World sign! 🙂

We stayed at Pop Century, and check in was easy and pleasant. Soon, we were on our way to Downtown Disney, stopping to take pictures along the way!

We did some shopping at Downtown Disney–of course, Aidan had to hit the LEGO store.

First really big Magical Moment of the trip–Aidan had $60 to spend, and of course, he wanted to spend it on LEGO sets. So he got two. And then he asked about the Jor-El exclusive minifig or something, I don’t know. But he needed to spend $75 to get it. But the guy at the LEGO store gave one to Aidan anyway! It was so cool. Aidan was THRILLED and I was so happy for him. And that’s reason number 4985748953 I love going to Disney World. You just never know what sort of surprises you’ll end up with.

We shopped some more, taking a look at stores at Downtown Disney I’d usually pass over. I also took pictures of the snacks because that’s the kind of gal I am.

We ate dinner in the food court at the hotel. Pop Century’s food court has these delicious “pizza bread” things. It’s like French bread pizza but yummier. I got a meal with two of those, a Caesar salad, and a Vitamin Water. Aidan got the kid’s meal version, which just had one piece of pizza bread, but he put red pepper flakes on his and tried to pawn it off on me. Blech. Still yummy, though. Mommy and Falandos got stuff from the “healthy options” line.

By the time we made it back to the hotel room, we were pretty tired (although excited)! Falandos and I went to pick up the scooter, and then we loitered in the Great Hall, looking at the decorations.

There’s nothing like that very first day of vacation, when you have your whole trip ahead of you. So many possibilities and things to look forward to.

We tried to turn in early, but well, we were at Disney World and excited! Still, we did the best we could to get a good night’s rest for … Magic Kingdom! Which was a great day in itself… but that’s a post for another day.

Till next time….