Our travels to and from Florida went very smoothly. We drove up to Chicago and then flew directly from Chicago to Orlando. The kids loved the shuttles, the airport, and flying on the plane. They played and did crafts and read books and ate snacks and watched movies. Although traveling makes for a long day, all 3 kids did great!!
Our return flight was a little less than ideal. Disney lets you check in for your flight and check your bags right at the resort, which is AWESOME! They also transport you to the airport. The downside, however, is that they have you board your bus to the airport about 3-4 hours before your flight. Although we had a later morning flight, we had to have the kids up, fed, and on the bus before 8. We started off on the wrong foot as Staley got carsick in the shuttle bus on the way to the airport. Luckily we had enough warning to get it all contained in a plastic bag, and she felt fine afterwards. We still had 3 hours to kill at the Orlando airport before our flight. We boarded our flight on time, but due to some bad weather in the Midwest, our flight was delayed as we were rerouted and then had to return to our gate for more gas. After an hour on the plane without leaving the ground, we then had a longer flight due to our reroute. When it was all said and done, we were on the plane for over 5 hours. The kids did amazingly well, but it was a long flight for all of us.
Briggs did not nap on either flight, but he never cried or fussed either. He started to get a little antsy towards the end of our return flight. Luckily a nice grandpa sitting across from Briggs entertained him for the last little bit of the flight until we landed. As soon as we landed, while waiting to get off the plane, Briggs fell asleep on Zach's shoulder. Figures!
They also both fell asleep on the shuttle bus to our resort after our first flight.
As smoothly as our travels went, things were so much better once we were at Disney. We stayed at Art of Animation again, which is where we stayed last time. Last time we stayed in a Cars-themed suite, so this time the girls requested staying in the Lion King area. They both declared it "even better" than the Cars room. If Briggs had remembered the Cars room, he might have disagreed with the assessment.
We love Art of Animation! The family suite is so nice for us. With 2 bathrooms, a bedroom, a kitchenette, and several sleeping areas, we have plenty of space. At least for now, the extra money is worth it for us to have the space...and for Zach and I to not necessarily have to go to sleep when the kids do. The kids love all the little details that Disney puts into everything they do, and I love how well-kept and clean everything at Disney is.
The master bedroom
The kids bathroom. They loved that Pumba and Timon were featured on the shower curtain.
Staley's bed that, when not in use, folds into the wall and becomes a table.
Adelie and Briggs' sleeping area/living room/kitchenette.
The grounds at Art of Animation provide lots of enjoyment for the kids as well. In each themed section of the resort, there are plenty of things to explore and do. There are 3 pools, a playground, a splash-pad, walking/running trails, and big themed statues/replicas in each area. Briggs LOVED the Cars section, where there are life-size replicas of all the cars from the movie.
The very first thing we did upon arriving at our resort was walk through the Cars area so Briggs could see all his favorite cars. He was SO excited to see them all!! He ran from one to the next, naming them all. It was a great introduction to Briggs's Disney trip.
All the kids enjoyed posing with the various characters.
Our resort had 4 areas: Cars, Lion King, Nemo, and Little Mermaid. It was so fun that both Briggs's and Adelie's favorite Disney characters were represented.
Our first day was primarily spent traveling. We arrived at our resort in the late afternoon. We took time to check out our room, walk around and explore the resort, eat supper at our resort food court, and get to bed early to get ready for a full week of fun. When I had asked Staley where she most wanted to eat on our return trip to Disney, she picked our resort because it had a pasta dish that she really liked. We were able to check that off the list on our very first day. The full day of traveling provided plenty of fun and excitement for the kids, and it was only the beginning.
Shuttle buses,
airplane fun,
and food court dinner were only the beginning.
Stay tuned...
