Disney Day 0: The Ride

We went to Walt Disney World last week! Since I have about 500 pictures to edit I'm going to start with just a few from our ride down there. Yes, we drove. And because of that I really should begin with the day before our departure, because that was a day of adventure and frustration as well. We went with my parents, while we took Drew, but left Allie at home. So, in order to be more comfortable, we had planned on renting a mini van. My mother made a reservation for one at Budget. We got there Saturday morning before we left and I felt that I had stepped into a Seinfeld episode. Their computer system had gone down or something and they had made too many reservations, so there were not any mini vans there. "What do you mean you don't have any cars? I had a reservation. Anyone can just take reservations, but the holding the reservation. That's really the most important part," as Jerry said when found himself in the same situation at the rental counter. Well, Budget had called someone and they were bringing a van in soon. However, when it got there the transmission wasn't working. And it's not as if the lady was sympathetic or helpful at all. Meanwhile, I am calling all over town and trying to find anyone with a mini van, of which no one has available. I finally made a reservation in Jackson, TN, but then called the Enterprise down at the Memphis airport and was told they had a mini van and I made a reservation. So...we get down there and of course, no vans. We tried more places down at the airport and still no luck. By now the place in Jackson is closing and is a full hour away. Once I got back home I filed a complaint with Enterprise and got a call back ten minutes later, from Reggie Jackson no less. He says give him ten minutes and he'll find us something. And ten minutes later he called me back telling me they would have me a van...and they did! Fully loaded and leather to boot. We picked it up and went to see the Tigers lose another football game afterwards.

We had only told Drew that we were going to WDW about a week before we left. Katie had a shirt made for him with Mickey ears on it and his name written in the Disney font and we had him open it in order to tell him. His eyes got as big as saucers and he ran around the room waving the shirt above his head for ten minutes. Needless to say he was excited. But at 6 AM last Sunday morning he was only tired. He did the typical kid thing on a trip, asking if we were there yet only an hour after we had left and then again multiple times throughout the day. Of course he had plenty of company napping in the back with Katie. My dad and I split driving duties and made decent time despite the most ridiculous stops ever, including the slowest and worst Wendy's ever just over the Georgia border. They gave us a bunch of extra food for the inconvenience, but they couldn't give me the precious 30 minutes of my life back that they wasted. Anyways, we finally pulled into WDW sometime around 10 PM Eastern time I think. We stayed at the Ft. Wilderness Resort and had a fun time playing checkers while we checked in to the hotel. Our cabin was great, as Drew had his own bed so that everyone rested well. In fact, he had a bunk bed, which he was very excited about, but only ended up using the bottom bunk to sleep on at night. There were also various creatures around the room in the form of towels arranged into an elephant, which Drew is imitating, and Mickey ears. Let the memories begin!