I CANNOT believe that it's been more than a month since we returned home from our magical Disney World vacation!
I also CANNOT believe that it's taken me this long to get a post together! I guess I can chalk this up to life happening while I made other plans? Anyway, there is SO much I want to say/write down/remember about our perfect trip and I'm not sure how to do it, so I figure I'll just go day by day and post correlating pictures.
Cool?
Cool.
We left for the airport early Thursday morning and made it in plenty of time for our 6:30am flight (yuck). As I expected, Jackson slept almost the entire flight, which meant that both Brandon and I got some much needed rest as well. Upon arriving, Brandon's cousin James (who works for Disney) picked us up at the airport, took us to our resort, ran us to Walmart to pick up a few groceries, and then left us at the condo to get settled in/kick back a bit. Later that evening, James and his roommate, Josh, picked us up and took us to dinner at B.J.'s Brewhouse, which was delicious! We were all exhausted after our yummy dinner and decided to turn in early before our first day at Disney.
Fake smiles at 4:30am :/
Napping on the most uncomfortable plane EVER -- we've always flown with Frontier, but after all their cutbacks, we've decided to spend the extra money to fly with a different airline (which will average out to be about the same price in the end since they'll have already included bag, seat, etc.). End of rant.
We sat next to the sweetest lady who was more than happy to accommodate Jax's need to look out the window :)
We were able to get checked in right away at Wyndham Bonnet Creek (which was an unexpected surprise), but when we arrived to the room, it still wasn't fully cleaned and maintenance hadn't been in yet to do their final inspection... anyway, the resort manager sent up an apology basket, which was nice, but I still have some not-so-nice things to say about Wyndham (more on that below).
Watching the Pope via our borrowed stroller.
On Friday morning, Brandon made a big breakfast before we jetted off to Disney Studios with James! The four of us had an absolute blast, but holy moly was it humid!!! As always, my favorite ride was the Great Movie Ride, Brandon's was the Rock n' Rollercoaster (which is actually pretty epic), and Jax's was the giant Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playset.
One of my favorite parts of the day was when I had alone with just Jackson -- when Brandon and James rode Rock n' Rollercoaster, Jax and I got ice cream (which Jax was nice enough to share with Brandon when I got on the ride with James :D); when the guys went to ride Star Wars (twice), Jax and I rode the Great Movie Ride (again) and took in the Muppets 3D show. I know that I spend all day, every day with Jackson, but it was special to spend some one-on-one time with him at such a magical place!
Since my parents and brother flew in earlier that afternoon, we started heading back to the resort at around 5 and made a pizza dinner for everyone.
Surrounded by three good looking guys!
He could have spent all day on this slide.
I felt no guilt over the foods I ate that day.
Saturday was Animal Kingdom day! Once again, the weather was miserably humid, but we had so much fun with James, Josh, and my family. Since James works for Disney and his roommate goes all time, they were able to show us all the ins and outs so that we didn't wait in line for anything!
A few of us rode Expedition Everest, Jackson played at the play area, we took in shows, enjoyed lunch together, and adventured through the safari before calling it a day. That night, our gang (minus James and Josh) ventured out for dinner and a little shopping before it was time to crash.
Brave Everest explorers!
Dad wasn't ready for the selfie.
Deciding what kind of ice cream to get at Steak and Shake.
This Cookie Butter Milkshake was the greatest thing I've ever tasted.
Sunday was Epcot and after a big fiasco with parking, we all headed into the park. Our first stop was Spaceship Earth -- coolest. ride. ever. I am EXTREMELY claustrophobic, so I figured it'd be a small, confining ride and had never tried riding it before, but it wasn't like that at all; in fact, traveling back in time was the perfect way to begin our day! From there, the gang headed to Soarin' while Jackson and I "swam" with Nemo and rubbed elbows with several big Disney stars! Since James and Josh had tickets to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, they left early in the day, which is when the rest of us began walking the World Showcase.
After lunch and grapefruit beers in Germany, a show in America (where Jackson leaked out of his diaper and got the both of us soaked), and a little shopping in Great Britain, we grabbed the tram back to the van. About halfway through the parking lot was when we experienced the biggest torrential downpour I have ever seen, which resulted in all of us getting soaked on the walk run to the van. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard! Once everyone was dried off, Brandon and my parents went to pick up Popeye's and make a quick Target run while my brother, Jackson, and I stayed back to watch the Broncos and get some work done.
My little navigator :)
This kid sure loves Mickey!
He wasn't too sure about Goofy, though...
He's out!
Our final full-day in Florida was saved for the most magical park of them all: Magic Kingdom. We once again hobnobbed with several Disney stars, took lots of pictures, rode several rides, watched the 3:00 Parade, and overall just enjoyed our last day at the Happiest Place on Earth.
Not even two and already embarrassed of his parents...
Jackson's BFF, Grandpa Tony.
When Brandon, James, Joey (my brother), and I rode Splash Mountain, my parents took Jackson on the train!
On Magic Kingdom day, we wear Disney shirts.
Jackson's first trip to Disney World was truly perfect and I'm so glad we were able to take him this year!! I know that this vacation won't be one that he'll remember, but we'll always have the pictures to show him and the special memories in our own hearts.
Now, onto why I'm not a fan of Wyndham...
My parents have been Wyndham owners since 2000-ish and it is INSANE how badly they get treated by this company. I seriously had to laugh when we checked in, found our room messy, and were sent the basket because they were obviously wining and dining us to get us to become members.
Since booking our rooms in the early spring, we'd kept in contact with Wyndham Bonnet Creek to make sure we'd be next door (or at the very least on the same floor) as my family -- when my parents checked in Friday afternoon, they were given a hard time by the front desk, who said they'd have to wait at least an hour for their "special request." Okay, whatever; as long as we'd be on the same floor, it didn't matter. My family waited 3 HOURS for their room to finally be ready, and it wasn't even on the correct floor! Seriously? No apologies, no gift basket, no nothing for my parents, because they're already owners and already pay them buku bucks to stay.
Between that, our room keys not working at the end of each day (even though they were nowhere close to our phones or wallets), and the constant harassment, we'd had it. Fortunately, my parents have found a way out of this company and I highly, highly encourage everyone to stay as far away as they can from Wyndham.
