They're Here! They're Here!

The big day finally got here and our family arrived safely. They tried out the "red eye" nonstop flight from Seattle to Orlando. The Alaska Airlines flight left Seattle at 10:55 pm and they arrived in Orlando around 7:00 am (Eastern time). They had tried to get some sleep on the plane, but as anyone who travels by air these days knows, that is almost impossible.

Anyway, here they come getting off the Disney Magical Express bus which delivered them to the Contemporary Hotel. Zoey and Mackenzie are first off the bus. There were no other passengers on this trip, so they actually had that entire bus all to themselves! Like a giant limo just for them. Our daughter, Stephanie, and son-in-law, Darin were next off. Even though they were looking a bit bedraggled, they were happy to see us.

Checking in at the front desk was a breeze as Stephanie had done an online pre-check in a few days ago at home. It was early in the morning and the room wasn't ready yet, but their bags were held for them.

The girls found some Disney cartoons playing on a TV in the lobby, so they waited there while the grown-ups finalized the check-in process.

After a quick breakfast bagel for them, we went off to the Magic Kingdom to purchase their park tickets. We got those and then went into the park for a couple of hours. I took a photo of my special girls, Mackenzie and Zoey.

Our Pacific Northwest family isn't acclimated to the intense Florida heat yet, so we didn't stay at the Magic Kingdom very long today. Besides, they are all wiped out after the long flight and need some rest and maybe a swim in the hotel pool. Here is the room we got for them in the Garden Wing of the Contemporary Hotel.

SPECIAL TIP: I can't claim credit for this idea (I read it somewhere) but I thought it was a great one! When taking children to places where there will be a lot of people and/or confusion it is a good idea for parents or grandparents to take a quick full-length photo of the kids each morning before setting off. This way, should the kids get lost or separated from you for any reason, you will have a perfect photo of them in your camera or in your camera phone. In your panic to find them you won't have to try and remember every detail of what they were wearing, etc. You'll have an exact picture to show authorities of how your precious kids were dressed and the search for them can begin immediately. Then the next day, delete the old photo and take a new one of how they look then.