Disney trip 2016 - day 1 - travel

We left for Disney World early on Sunday Aug 21. We had to be up and out by 5 am. My folks drove us to the airport and dropped us off. There was a bit of concern if we would all fit with all of our luggage but it was fine.

We had dropped Boo off at the kennel the day before. We don’t normally get as choked up when we drop Gee off at the airport for her trips but Shan and Gee were both a bit weepy as we drove away.

Dee’s first flight was okay. He sat by the window but closed it on the takeoff. Toronto airport is big. We got food at the Tim Horton’s – I got chili and a sub.

Gee and I played the video machines while we waited between flights. They had ipads connected at several of the tables. Thanks to our friends at CIBC, we got Sun chips, a Mountain Dew, and a Water for free.

Shan's sister Cheryl met us in Toronto. The flight was fine - D3 getting used to it and slept most of it. He missed supper. I had the chicken wrap and some tepid soup.

We landed in Orlando around 8 pm. I thought Toronto's airport was big but Orlando was huge. Because we were staying in one of the resorts, we had the resort tags on our luggage which meant that we didn't have to collect them at the airport. Cheryl did not have the tags so we left her at the baggage claim and went on to the buses.

The bus from the airport was nice. The video on the bus was fine and helped to pass the time. I answered most of the trivia questions correctly. I am very glad that I did not have to make the drive to the park.

We checked in to our hotel - the New Orleans Riverside. We are in building 28 and our room was 2828. It is a nice size. It even has a fold-down third bed for D3 but it is too small for him. We dropped our carry-on luggage and made our way to the bus stop near us.

We took the bus to the park at about 9:30 pm. We were a bit concerned as the Magic Kingdom was not listed on the bus times. Originally, we were going to take the travel days as off days, but the Small World ride was being closed for repairs starting the next day so we extended our park days to include the Sunday.

At the park, we rushed in. We had to go around the castle as the fireworks were almost about to start and the crowds were filling in. We made it to Small World at 10 pm - just before our much-moved Fast Pass.

The ride was very nice. Each section represents a continent: Europe, Asia and Australia, Africa, and South America. Then there was the winter celebration.

As the ride ended, they mentioned that we could stay on if we wanted to ride it again. We totally took that opportunity. The attendants were very surprised and excited and sent us through on a boat by ourselves. We would have ridden a third time but D3 had missed supper and was hungry.

We went back through the castle. We got our first park photo with the castle in backqround. We had a late supper at Casey's. It was now 11 pm so it as the end of the park day but we kept hearing them mention that the electric parade was happening. So we stayed for it. It was also very nice.
It was a really good start to our first day.

We got back on our bus at 18 where we were dropped off but it ended up being for New Orleans - Dock Side not Riverside. But our driver was great and took pity on us and dropped us off at our hotel. Crisis averted.

We made our way back to our hotel, glad that our room was on the main floor. Our bags were still not here yet. Shan called the desk and they said that they were out being delivered. They showed up as she went to get ice.