Our Walt Disney Adventure - Day 1 Airplane Delay, Hotel mix up and Magic Kindom

I've been wanting to update on our adventure in Disney World but I've been so busy and haven't had the time.  So, I'll be writing this little by little and adding it in separate posts.

I have had the desire to take my kids to Disney World for the longest time.  It's an expensive trip.  I'm sure we could travel the world and back for what it costs to go to Disney, but the experience is so worth it.  We finally were able to make the vacation happen with using a chunk from two tax returns, some saved money and ... well ... we have more to pay off.  My husband kept telling us this would be the only trip to Disney we would take but now he's saying he would love to go back someday.  The magic of Disney certainly knows how to suck you in.  You really do feel like a kid again when you are there.

Our trip was from Monday, March 4th - 8th.  My husband and I both took off work and the principal approved the vacation for the kids.  The first day was somewhat of a disaster, though.  Our first flight  from Harrisburg didn't take off at the scheduled time because when they were deicing the plane (we had a snow storm the night before) they discovered a few screws were missing.  Once maintenance came to fix the problem we were off.  My kids were nervous about their first trip on an airplane but they ended up loving it.  Our daughter laughed the entire time.  Being above the clouds is so breathtaking.  Our daughter said, "I love flying.  Where can we go next?  I want to travel the world."  I told her she's going to have to get a really good job or marry rich.  Hey, my kids being able to see the world seems like a dream.  I want them to have as many experiences as possible.  This was also a first experience for my husband as well.

Because the first plane was delayed we missed our connecting flight from DC to Orlando.  Thankfully the airport was so quick to get us on another flight.  That one went much smoother even though we arrived in Orlando later than originally planned.  Once we got to the hotel my husband and I were both frustrated to find that somehow we were booked for two rooms and because of that the luggage hadn't been delivered to us yet.  The hotel seemed to have trouble figuring out how it happened and how to fix it and my husband spent every day at the front desk making sure the problem was fixed before we checked out.  Because of waiting for them to straighten it out and because of now having our luggage on time we were late for our first park visit - Magic Kingdom.  The hotel gave us extra fast passes because of the trouble.  I'm sure it was just a glitch in the system but it's aggravating when you spend so much money on a vacation and expect it to go perfectly.

Finally we got our luggage and was able to change into shorts.  What a mistake!  Orlando was 80 degrees that day but by evening it dropped to an extremely cold temperature.  We were freezing.  My dad warned me that Florida's evenings can be brutal.  I was really looking forward to soaking in the warm Florida air.

So, our first day was a disappointment but we did manage to enjoy an evening at Magic Kingdom.  I would have liked to have had the entire day there but we were able to cram in enough fun even for a few hours.  Because of the chaos we missed out on a few of our fast passes that were scheduled but we did manage to do the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and that was worth it.  A great pick for the first ride of our visit.  It's a roller coaster but even the kids loved it.  The roller coaster takes you around some rocky areas much like Big Thunder Mountain but you go into the mine and see the Seven Dwarfs and then you can see the cottage where Snow White is inside dancing with Dopey.  That ride helped to get rid of the stress from earlier.

 We walked around and checked out some more rides.  Of course, we had fun on the infamous tea cups and Dumbo ride.

I forgot to mention when first arriving at Magic Kingdom once we walked down Main Street we got to see the famous Cinderella's castle.  That's when it hit me we made it. 

And we got to experience the beauty of it at night.

 The evening ended with taking a boat ride to The Grand Floridian Hotel where we had a chance to dine with Cinderella and her family.  It was a buffet style dinner and the food was delicious.  We had a chance to meet Cinderella, her stepmother and both of her stepsisters.  The prince was there too but he never made it to our table.

By the end of the night we were tired and our son didn't feel well.  We took the bus back to the hotel and crashed.

I can't say it was the best start to the vacation but it wasn't all bad either.  I also have to say that I'm not much for sleeping in hotels but that bed was so comfortable and I did manage to have a good night sleep.

We stayed at the Pop Century Resort and I would highly recommend it.  They had themes from the 50's up until the 90's.  The nostalgic decor throughout the buildings were so cool. 

Stay tuned for Day 2 Epcot and Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. 
                       Day 3 Magic Kingdom
                       Day 4 Animal Kingdom
                       Day 5 The Journey Home