Hey howdy hey!

We’ve been back from WDW three days, and we are just now able to dry our tears; although waves of Disney homesickness do creep up unexpectedly, so don’t judge if I have sudden mood swings throughout this post.

Last Friday was Day 1 of our trip. We packed up the van the night before, so on Friday morning we snatched the kids out of their bed at 5:30 am and hit the road. Cole slept much of the time; Jack slept none of it. Wee! Luckily, he did very well, staying occupied with his Top 5 Favorite Things To Do on a Long Car Ride.

We arrived at the Wilderness Lodge around noon. Whoop! Tim was so excited, and okay, I was too. I’ve stayed at the Wilderness Lodge two or three times before, but the last time I did I was around fourteen-years-old, so it’s been twelve years since then. {Ay caramba!}

In years past, we have been avid value resorters. However, the difference in value and deluxe is evident in much more than just the price. Upon arriving, we pulled under the impressive overhang and stepped out with cast members at our door. Tim was greeted with a, “Welcome home, Mr. Elrod. Check-in is this way, Mr. Elrod. Feel free to leave your car here, Mr. Elrod. We would be happy to help you unload your luggage and deliver it to your room, Mr. Elrod.” Yeah. And not just that, they accidentally gave us a room with one king bed instead of a room with two queens {we do not, I repeat: do not, co-sleep. Two queens was a must}. This unlikely accident turned in to a very lucky upgrade! “This way to your courtyard view room, Mr. Elrod.”

Nice.

Our luggage was delivered and they installed a set of bed rails on one of the queen beds while we went down stairs to eat lunch in the Roaring Fork. Tim had the pasta creation of the day, which tasted an awful lot like the penne alla vodka at Mama Melrose’s in DHS. I had the pulled pork barbeque sandwich, which is not listed on the All Ears menu {Hey Deb!?! Oh wait. They’ve just updated the Whispering Canyon Cafe’s lunch menu. Hmm…a little product testing in the quick service atmosphere?}. It was fantastic. The sauce was delicious and it came with a peppery coleslaw on top, and homemade potato chips on the side. Yum! Between the five adults, I think someone in our party rotated eating this meal three or four times this trip!

Next we went upstairs and put the boys down for a nap. They zonked out.

While the boys slept, Tim and I unpacked our suit cases and organized our room. “Diapers go here, bibs go here, bag ‘o toys goes there…”

Up and at ’em at 3:30, because we had dinner reservations at the Coral Reef in EPCOT at 5:00. We gave ourselves an hour and fifteen minutes to get there via boat to Magic Kingdom, then monorail from there. I think an hour would have been enough time for two able-bodied adults, but with a double stroller and a two-year-old hollerin’, “I wanna walk!” it took longer than we thought to accomplish the boat ride, monorail, monorail switch at the transportation center, bag check, and then EPCOT entry gates. Ugh! I’m winded just saying it.

Oh, and did I mention the torrential downpour of rain? It rained on us our first day last year, too. I’d better not be seeing a first-day-in-Disney trend.

So we arrived at the Coral Reef soaked and winded, and the boys were getting cranky because they had been shut up in a car all day, and then strapped into a stroller for the past hour. They were hungry, but the last thing they wanted to do was sit nice and happy at a table for an hour long supper. The fish-filled aquarium was an initial hit, but the magic wore off fast; even when the scuba divers took the tank. The food Tim and I ordered was quite tasty, but we scarfed it down in an effort to get out of there faster.

{Tim’s grilled Mahi Mahi with rock shrimp, heats of palm, jasmine rice and a coconut lime sauce.}

{My seared chicken breast served over spaetzle finished with Applewood smoked bacon. That spaetzle was yummy!}

For dessert I had the Chocolate Wave {in the words of Rachel Zoe, “I die!”} and Tim opted for just some vanilla ice cream with Mickey sprinkles. A kid at heart, that one. Love him.

Finally, dinner was over! Whew, we made it. And we also learned our first Elrod Dis with Kids Tip: Don’t book a table service meal for the day you arrive. Sitting in a car or plane for an extended time does not make for happy hearts while sitting at a nice dinner. Maybe you could get away with it if it was a character meal, but we are going to stick with our new rule. Don’t do it!

After dinner Tim and Jack hit up the Nemo ride while Cole and I kept the stroller dry in the Mouse Gear gift shop. We didn’t do our weather research and had left our stroller’s rain cover in the room. Round of applause for the Elrods!

Jack and Tim met up with us after their ride in that big blue world. Tim had been reading all about the new merchandise for EPCOT’s 30th anniversary {which happens to be TODAY! Happy 30th Birthday, EPCOT!} and had his heart set on a new vintage inspired tee. He picked out this one.

{Sneak peek pic from Day 4}

After a bit more browsing, we decided to call it quits for the sake of the boys and head back to the resort. We crossed our fingers, said our prayers, and sang Jesus Loves Me, just like we do at home, and surprise! The boys went down just as easily as they do at home; Cole in a pack ‘n play and Jack in his queen-sized, stuffed-animal-packed bed, which he patted upon waking up from his nap saying, “Daddy, this bed niiiiice.”

“Oh boy!” we thought, as Tim and I snuggled under our newly-updated white Wilderness Lodge comforter. All good signs of a great week to come.

And a great week it would be. See ya soon for Day 2!

With love, Malorie