Day 1 Disney (Arrival and Epcot)

Today was the day we have been waiting for and SO excited for - our flight to Disneyworld! This was Donovan's first airplane flight. Aaron was our seasoned flier! And after our trip to China...the 3 hour direct flight from Burlington to Orlanda was SHORT, that's for sure! Both boys loved the airplane ride, and had a wonderful time. They each wore their new Toy Story backpacks, and had their Toy Story lunchboxes inside, along with books, etc. They enjoyed a snack, playing with their tangram travel games, eating lunch, and just the whole experience.

A van picked us (and all our luggage) up at the Orlando Airport and we stopped at a local grocery store, which was great. Since we have a fridge in our hotel room, we plan to eat breakfast in our rooms each morning, and get to the parks each day about 30 min. before they open - to be there for "rope drop" and enjoy the parks before they get slightly more busy. (We feel so fortunate that we are able to go before the crowded summer season, and before the temperatures are unbearable!)

We checked into our incredible hotel, The Dolphin, which is right on Disney property. My mom's room adjoins ours. Our rooms are beautiful. Though we booked standard rooms, when we checked in, we were upgraded (complimentary). We have a view of Epcot and the fireworks!. I had heard from quite a few people that they had a similar experience. The staff mentioned since we are staying for 8 nights, and since they are not full right now, they were pleased to upgrade us. We are pleased too!!!

This afternoon, we went to Epcot. It is a very easy 10 min walk from our hotel.
We are in awe of the topiaries of the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival!
We went to The Seas and literally walked right on to the Nemo ride with no line. FANTASTIC!
We had 5:15 dinner reservations at The Garden Grill. This restaurant is in The Land, on the top floor, and has a rotating dining room (we gave Aaron Dramamine ahead of time!!). This is a character meal, with Mickey and Minnie, and Chip and Dale (or, "those two sweet chipmunks as Aaron was calling them in the days leading up to our trip!) We knew ahead of time that Chip has a brown or black nose (like a chocolate chip) and Dale has a red nose, so we were able to tell them apart right away. Donovan must have hugged Chip and Dale 30 times!

After dinner we walked back over to The Seas and saw Turtle Talk with Crush. INCREDIBLE!
We are happily exhausted - I'll post photos tomorrow night!
Tomorrow...Animal Kingdom!