PREVIOUSLY ON THIS THREAD:
INTRODUCTION
DAY ONE: September 27, 2015
I always enjoy planning our trips
almost as much as actually taking them and always try to nail down every little detail. This trip afforded me a little more relaxation and spontaneity as it was truly an
extra trip that I wasn't paying to take (well . . .
mostly wasn't paying to take). Don't get me wrong, I still had all of our dining reservations secured at 180 days out, FP+s secured at 60 days out, and touring plans created; however, I only planned to follow them loosely. Let's not go crazy here. Hahaha! Thank GOODNESS that this was my approach as our first day didn't go exactly according to my plans . . . .
A couple of days before our departure, my daughter was diagnosed with Strep Throat.
Luckily, we have an amazing pediatrician and at my request, she prescribed some stronger antibiotics to knock it out quickly. By departure day, my DD was already feeling almost 100% better and we were only praying that none of the rest of us would come down with it (we didn't--Praise the Lord!).
A day before our departure, I attempted to check-in for our flight online and was unable to do so. I called Southwest to find out what was going on. The representative kept telling me she couldn't find our booking anywhere and that I would need to show up early to the airport to fly standby, asking me what credit card I used to book the flight (which I didn't--we won the vacation), etc. and needless to say, I was
freaking out with our departure less than 24 hours away. We finally spoke with a representative that was able to pinpoint the issue: I had called a few months prior and switched my return flight to a later time and apparently, even though the representative I had spoken with assured me that there were no change fees and the switch was completed in the system, this was incorrect information. The flight which we were originally booked to take was a nonstop flight and I switched to a flight with a plane change in HOU. Since we were taking two planes now, I needed to pay an additional $112 in taxes and since this was never collected we were never booked on this flight! YIKES! I paid my $112 and we were booked. PHEW!
We started the day with a 3:30 a.m. departure from our home for our 6 a.m. flight out of AUS. In my infinite wisdom (haha), I believed this to be an amazing departure time because we would arrive at MCO around 1 p.m. Orlando time, relax at Art of Animation for a bit (maybe grab a bite to eat and take a dip in the pool), get ready for our evening, and shoot for an arrival around 4 p.m. at Magic Kingdom for
MNSSHP.
Family arriving at AUS airport
The first curveball thrown at this plan showed up on my smartphone as we were traveling to ATL from AUS. I checked the Southwest Airlines app to find this little gem:
Southwest Airlines Flight Status
A 3-HOUR DELAY for our ATL to MCO flight!!! YIKES! As we were already scheduled for a 2-hour layover in Atlanta, we were now looking at a 5-hour layover in the Atlanta airport. Not magical. We made the most of our time by eating lunch and checking out the nearby gift shops in our terminal and playing games and reading (thank goodness for smart phones, tablets, and e-readers). We experienced no further flight issues and arrived at MCO around 3:15 p.m. and we were determined to celebrate the bright side--our hotel room was ready!
Outside our hotel room
Our room number
We stayed in room 1511 of Disney's Art of Animation Resort in a Cars Family Suite for the first night of our vacation. This was an extra night that I booked in addition to the trip that we won so that we could use our 5-day Water Park Fun and More tickets to their fullest. I also booked the MNSSHP tickets as an add-on. I
should have taken pictures of the room. And the view from our room. The truth is . . . we were just so late and in such a hurry to get to MK for our evening that we didn't take the time. You can find photos of this resort all over the place with internet search engines if you are interested.
We typically stay in value resorts at WDW and this was quite a step up. There was a lot of room and the two bathrooms were a great addition to this resort. The theming was really fun and colorful and the kiddos loved the novelty of the pull-down murphy bed. The picture I linked to above of my DS and DD by Doc Hudson was the view through the window of our room. We were on the first floor and very close to The Big Blue Pool and the Lobby/Food Court/Bus Stop.
Once we were changed into our MNSSHP gear, we headed out to MK. We arrived at MK around 5:45 p.m. and had already missed our 4-5 p.m. FP+. We picked up our wristbands for MNSSHP, our trick-or-treat bags, our special L.E. MNSSHP Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom cards, and headed to our 5-6 p.m. FP+, The Barnstormer. This is one of my DS's favorites. On our way there, the sky OPENED UP. You know, we are all aware that it rains almost every day in Orlando and we all bring our ponchos in our backpacks every day of our trips in preparation. However, this was not a short, Orlando shower. This was a
downpour and even our ponchos could not save our feet from getting completely soaked through to our socks and getting completely drenched. And unfortunately, the rain didn't ever let up that evening. Needless to say, the Barnstormer was closed by the time we got there and we weren't ever able to ride it that evening. We took refuge on the TTA, one of our family favorites, and then used our anytime FP+ with Rider Switch for Space Mountain (I rode with DS and then DH rode with DS), visited Ariel in her grotto, rode the Mad Tea Party and when the rain let up for about 30 minutes, we rode Dumbo the Flying Elephant.
Me and DS on Space Mountain
DH and DS on Space Mountain
Me and DD with Ariel
Me and DD on Mad Tea Party
DH and DS on Mad Tea Party
DS and DD in front of Dumbo the Flying Elephant
When it started to rain again, we ate dinner at Pinocchio Village Haus. This is one of our family favorites because they serve child favorites like chicken nuggets with fries and cheese pizza. The atmosphere is also fun as you have the opportunity to sit in tables overlooking It's A Small World. It's also a quick service dining location so you don't have some of the other "break-the-bank" pricing found at some of the table service locations. This is one I definitely recommend if you have picky eaters in the family and want something quick and affordable.
Once we were finished eating, we rode It's a Small World and then we had about 10 minutes until the start of the parade. It was sprinkling lightly, we were still soaked, and we were extremely tired from having been up and going since 3:30 a.m. The trick-or-treat lines still hadn't opened due to the rain and the park was extremely crowded and difficult to navigate especially given the closure of many outdoor rides. As such, we decided to head back to our hotel early. This was a difficult decision for me to make as we paid for the tickets to this party out of our own pocket and we had gone to MNSSHP in 2008 with our DS and loved it--the Boo to You parade and Happy Hallowishes fireworks are among our family's favorites. When it came down to it, though, we were no longer enjoying our time at the park. We were wet, our feet were feeling like they were about to blister (on day
one) and we were tired and grouchy. We ultimately decided to cut our losses and head for the entrance before the crowds following the parade and fireworks got there first.
Once we arrived back at AoA, we immediately showered and went to bed in hopes of a better second day.
Coming up:
DAY TWO: September 28, 2015
I'm so glad that overall your trip was great, but that truly stinks about MNSSHP, which happens to be my absolute favorite event at WDW. We've been 4x and luckily have had perfect weather each time; it's just such a crap shoot 
)
