Walt Disney World! - Day One!! Downtown Disney

Sunday morning, July 13th Tate and I began our Disneyworld adventure.  

Our journey actually started 5 years ago in July 2009.  My cousin Marcus and his wife Gail had their twins 8 days before Tate was born.  We decided to take all three cousins to Walt Disney World the summer they turned 5!  I thought this day would never come.  But goodness time has simply flown by. When I think that my sweet baby boy is going to be 5 years old this Wednesday I am simply unbelieving. 

Five years old.  

Our WDW adventure began with Aunt Lindsey picking us up bright and early Sunday morning for our 8:45am flight!  Security here has been great so far when traveling with a child in his stroller, because yes, Tate was in his stroller...happily!  As we boarded the plane, Tate asked to see the pilots (at my suggestion with his latest fascination with everything Disney 'Planes')  They let him right into the cockpit to say hello! We took off right on time!  Tate did great on the plane, he enjoyed his little gifts, his snacks and a quick nap with his new Dusty planes pillow and blanket!

Ready for our DisneyWorld Adventure!

Meeting the pilots and introducing
them to Sven! 

We landed in Orlando and made our way to the Disney Magical Express bus which was taking us to our resort.  We didn't even have to get our luggage...it was wonderful!  About 45 minutes after we landed we were walking into the  Polynesian Resort at the Magic Kingdom.  The grounds were gorgeous and everyone was great.  We had been upgraded to club level service at the resort, so we were in heaven.  We received our leis and got situated in our room even though we were early.  The room was fantastic with a small balcony.  Our luggage wasn't due to arrive for 2-3 more hours, so we ran down to the quick service restaurant at our hotel, Captain Cook's, for some lunch.  We were starving.  

Loved our towel animal Mickey Mouse!

Of course I always worry about how we'll be accommodated with Tate's food allergies.  On the Disney cruise in October, it had been so nice and easy...I had been so impressed.  It was not that different here, except that each and every time we went somewhere I had to tell either our waitperson or person taking our quick service order about his allergies.  They would then call the chef (table service) or the manager (quick service) to help us.  This in and of itself would add 15-20 minutes to our dining time.  But we persevered and got us both something to eat.  Of all the meals we had this past week, this was by far the worst...so not a good way to start our trip, but I moved on.  We ate back in our room as we were waiting for our cousins to arrive as well as my dad and my nephew.

My dad had decided a couple of months ago that all children should get to experience Disneyworld.  My sister and her husband didn't have the funds to come themselves after saying they would.  So my dad opted to bring my nephew.  I've always known my dad is just quietly awesome...now everyone knows.  They arrived later in the evening and were staying off property.

My cousins had arrived just a bit after us, rented a car and were waiting for their room to be ready.  They stayed at the Art of Animation, a Disney resort, just not one very near to Tate and me.  We ended up not being able to meet up Sunday, but Tate and I had a great time together anyway.

We watched the last 30 minutes of the World Cup and were thrilled to see Germany win!!

Our luggage arrived, and I got us unpacked while Tate played with the toys I had brought along.  Then we were off to Downtown Disney via the Disney shuttle bus!!  Aunt Dottie and Aunt Rita had given Tate a very generous gift card for his birthday, and he was just dying to make use of it which he did almost immediately upon getting to Downtown Disney!  A happier boy you've never seen!  Almost immediately upon entering Downtown Disney we were able to use our rain ponchos and stroller rain cover...happy! happy! joy! joy! Not :)  This rain was just a sliver of a precursor to the rain that befell us for the next three days.  Tate, however, was not the least bit fazed.  We grabbed some dinner at the  Earl of Sandwich (which was super yummy!) together then headed back to the resort with his new 'Planes' toys!  

Happy Early Birthday!!

We made our way back to the hotel and got ready for bed.  He was asleep at his normal time, and I spent some time on the computer and organizing our bags for the following day's activities...Blizzard Beach and Epcot!!

It was an absolutely spectacular first day at the Happiest Place on Earth!!