9/7/09-Day 1 Arrival With Video

The afternoon before Chris and I had finished packing. Once the girls went to bed there were only a few odds and ends to take care of. I will always make sure we pack this way, it went so much more smoother then I ever thought it would. We waited until it was just dark enough to load the van. We try not to draw too much attention that we are leaving. We showered and believe it or not we actually slept!!

When 4 am rolled around we had gotten about 6 hours of sleep! We knew we were going to need it! We finished taking the final items to the van. Then it was time to wake up the girls!! I had been telling Lily that she would know that we are really going to Disney the day we came in and it was still dark outside. When we went into get them, Charlotte stood right up and started saying hi, Lily took a minute to realize what was going on! It was a slow start for her!! They were very surprised by the shirts that Mickey left for them. Lily was VERY impressed that he knew her nickname!! Before we all knew it we were on the way to the airport!!

Even though it is more costly we like to park in the garage, here is the first of our little miss steps. We had parked in there when we visited and picked Lily up, so we thought we knew what we were doing. Some how we ended up going the wrong way on a service road. Thankfully we turned around and found the right entrance, found spot and parked. The original plan was for Chris to drop the girls, luggage, and I off at the terminal and then go park. But when we left that morning we were just so excited we decided to get rid of that plan and go all together on the shuttle. It actually worked out better then we thought it would. We did the curbside check in and made it through security in a matter of just a few minutes.

Thankfully on the other side of security we found well really Charlotte saw a little (very expensive) shop that had bananas and coffee perfect! We found our gate and waited. We tried to make sure that Lily had ample potty breaks before the plane took off, and had her in a pull-up just in case.

Before we knew it, it was time to board. We headed straight to the back. We figured that we would disturb less people in the back, and we were close to the bathroom. Lily had gotten a little nervous right before we boarded and told us that she now wanted to sit with me. She had been saying for a while that she wanted to sit with Chris. We told her that it was fine, but that once we got on she could not get up and change. She was fine with that. Charlotte stayed with Chris. We lost one of Charlotte's shoes getting to our seat. A flight attendant did help us find it. Take off was fine, we had both girls drink from their sippy cups to help with the pressure. Lily was still very nervous. I am glad that she stayed with me. I am always nervous during take off, so it was a nice distraction of getting her through it.

The flight was BUMPY to say the least. The girls really loved the airplane bags we made. That really helped pass the time. Charlotte actually fell asleep while we were landing. We were about 3/4 of the way there when Lily announces to me that she has to pee. I told her that we would when we landed, she said ok. About 2 secs later she tells me she has to go in a hurry. Funtimes. Did I mention the flight was bumpy? She and I made it through ok and with dry pants- thankfully. Once we got on the ground we gathered up ourselves and stroller and headed towards the nearest bathroom again just to make sure everything remained dry. After our bathroom stop, Lily was a little put of that Mickey and the castle were not right there. It took a lot of explaining, I still don't think that she really understood at that point... she got it crystal clear the nesx day!

It was only a matter of minutes for us to make our way to the Magical Express. We had everything we needed so we just breezed right through to the waiting area for our bus- thankfully it was indoors. FYI Florida is H O T! LOL It was less the 10 minutes and we were being greeted by our bus driver Hugo. The bus was empty, except for us and one other couple. Remember that bumpy plane ride?? Well the combo of that, heat, and now this wide ride to our resort had my motion sickness kicked up way high. It surprised both Chris and I because it had been so long since I had a problem with it. There is one picture from the Magical Express that I look pale as can be!! I had to keep my eyes closed during the last half of the ride, Lily kept asking Chris if I was sleepy! Too sweet!

Finally after months of planning we made the turn into Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa!! This place is mammoth. They dropped us off at the main entrance and since we had done the online check in it was very smooth. We didn't get our request of rooms, but I am so glad we didn't fight it. They told us that we could have bell services drive us to our room or we could walk. I had quite enough of motorized transportation so we walked it. Again I am so glad that we didn't get what we asked for. We were located within sight of a bus stop and literally 50 feet one of the quiet pools. Over the week Lily called this pool the red pool!

We made it around to our what Lily called our 'Yellow Disney Home'. It was beautiful, big and jut wonderful. More then enough room for us to spread out. Once we had another potty break we decided to head over to Downtown Disney to get some lunch. We took the boat over. I think the girls rode every possible mode of transportation that day!! Chris and I forgot what day it was. Being Labor Day it was packed to say the least. The girls started to become cranky so waiting too long wasn't an option so ended up having lunch at McDonald's. Not as magical as I had hoped, but they were happy. We shopped a little on our way back to the boat. We rode back on the boat and got the girls down for a needed nap.

They slept so hard that they didn't even notice that our Garden Grocer order was delivered! When they did wake up we had a snack and then headed to the pool. This was a favorite! They had horse heads that sprayed water and a pool. We stayed for a while until everyone was starting to get hungry again. We headed back to the room to get dried off.

*** This is where the first of our mishaps begins. While we were in the bathroom drying off Chris left and in her excitement Charlotte tripped over her towel and fell head first into the tile floor. O M G!!! She is wailing. Chris and I are trying to check her over to see how bad it was. I hate rope you walk as a parent to freak out or not freak out. We choose the latter, although we were a nervous wreak watching over her.

We made it over the Artist Palette for dinner, all the while checking Charlotte for signs of a head injury. She continued to be ok. After dinner we headed back and gave the girls a bath. While they were bathing *Mickey visited our room and left brand new PJ's and stuffed Mickey's for both girls. After *Mickey was done I went into tell the girls that someone had been in our room and left what seemed to be a present for them. Lily yelled out 'Was it Santa??' LOL. I told her I didn't know for sure and that she had to get out of the tub to see. That helped wrap the tubby up quick!! Out they shot, and found the surprise. Lily was floored, and Charlotte kept yelling 'Mittkey' What was really great is that she noticed the night gown was from the Disney Store. The same one we told her didn't come in her size, we told her that Mickey knew she really liked it and had it made in her size. After a few minutes she told me 'Mickey made this for me, see it says Poose on the back!' It was really great!

After the new PJ's were put on it was into bed, the next day we see the Castle!!

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