Florida Vacation-Part 1

So in November, we went on a trip to Florida.  I've been meaning to blog about it since, wow... I'd make an awful "This just in" type of reporter...lol.  But anyway,  Our family along w/ extended family went to Orlando for a week.  What was best about this vacation is that we managed to relax & have fun as well.  Our sister in law Debbie planned the trip.  She loves Disney & their family has taken many many Disney vacations so we felt ecstatic that she was taking the reins of the trip.  We knew we'd be in good hands.  Debbie was great & included us in the planning, we were grateful for her expertise.  She knew what websites to use, when & how early to make reservations, etc.  She was wonderful & we felt lucky.  She really was such a blessing to us & allowed us to not stress over all the planning.  I could not be more thankful.  Our trip started on Friday November 3rd,  we were driving down from NJ but we got on the road a little later than we had hoped but managed to get on the road by about 3:30 pm (Emily needed to go to school that day... she'd be missing 3 days as was) BUT that became a little bit of an issue only because we had reservations at Hoop Dee Doo Revue dinner show for either 5 PM on Saturday.  Brian did a great job driving & we didn't stop to rest that first night until sometime around 2 in the morning.  One of the more humorous moments came that first night when we pulled up to our "crappy" just for sleeping, roadside hotel.  Right in front of our room in a trash can was the bottom half of a BIG stuffed bear, all that could be seen was his butt and feet.  I just about died from laughing so much! After many "Ted" drinking jokes and pictures we finally went to bed. 

 The next morning we got up around 7:30am and continued the rest of the way.  We got to Orlando about 1:30/2 pm or so, we thought we'd be ok but since check in wasn't until 4 pm at the condo's we were staying at, we ran into a little bit of a delay when it came to check in.  They were willing to let us check in early but none of the condos were ready and so by the time we got in the room I believe it was a little after 3, & we all had to still  get showers.... we ended up being late to dinner but i guess Disney accounts for that & although we were a little late, we really didn't' miss much.  It was yummy & fun!  They served fried chicken,  cole slaw, corn bread, beans.. etc.  It was really good.  Emily was even able to order mac & cheese!  Everyone had a great time... Emily seemed to have a great time X's 10.  It was wonderful seeing her enjoying herself so much!!!! She loves musical theatre so this was right up her alley. We had a great time and even a bit of a "Disney magical" moment at the end of the dinner.  The table next to ours was a table full of young ladies in maybe their early twenties celebrating one of the girls birthdays.  When we were about to leave, one of them asked Emily what her name was and how old she was.   Then she asked her if she wanted this cute pair of Minnie mouse ears she had gotten which were too small for her to wear.  They were super cute!!!  Emily said yes, and I was like, why? Are you sure?  & this sweet young lady was like, "absolutely,  I hope she enjoys them!"  When we went to the park.. we saw they were like $29.99!  I was like WOW! Super nice of that girl and a great way to start the vacation w/ kindness like that! I was feeling the feels! The next morning we slept in and didn't do a damn thing except maybe go to the grocery store. We also each took hour-long baths in the ginormous tub that was in the master bedroom.  LOL! That's what I call relaxing.  Brian & I even got some Epson salts to throw in there to ease our aches & pains! It was wonderful! We knew the next three days would be the busiest of the vacation and we wanted to be as ready as we could be.  This is what happens when you get old...lol  We stayed at this resort called Liki Tiki village or something like that.  Jim & Deb were staying at the wilderness lodge at Disney so we were able to stay at their timeshare.  It was a really nice place, with a washer & dryer in the suite and a full kitchen with a separate dining room & a private bedroom for Emily too.