Disney World, Day 1 (Epcot)

We hadn't told the kids about the trip to Disney World, but instead waited until they woke up on Tuesday morning. I'll admit we were a bit underwhelmed with their excitement. I think it was just too big for them to get their heads around. It took several minutes until they understood what we were saying.

I chose to book our trip on JetBlue because they are so reliable. In the end, that's ended up being true, but temporarily, it wasn't. The 9:45 a.m. flight was delayed after we boarded because they couldn't close the cargo door. So we all had to get off, without being given info of what would happen next. This is when I started to see the entire trip through the eyes of "The Amazing Race" reality race-around-the-world TV show. Every time we would make a decision, I'd envision talking to the cameras about whether or not it was a good idea.

Ultimately, they found us a new plane, so I'm glad we didn't try to swap to another flight. (Even if we had, our luggage would have gone on the first flight and I would have had to go back to fetch the bags, so it was just best to stick with the flight we had.) JetBlue had some good personnel, and one person who had been very helpful searched for us in the food court to ensure we made the new flight. So we were now about 2 hours behind schedule.

The younger boys seemed to be so happy just to be in the wide open spaces of the airport. They just seemed to skip and play and such. On the train from the gate to the terminal in Orlando, Matthew was introducing the whole family: "Hi, I'm Matthew, and this is my whole family. That's mom...her name is Kathryn...."

We had another bit of a delay at the rental car counter. I went with Budget to save money and because -- unlike the mighty Hertz -- they were located on-site, so no shuttle needed. I went downstairs with Sammy, who had a major tantrum kicking and screaming on the floor while I secured the car. They promised us a van in about 20 minutes. So we waited, while the clock ticked. Matthew wanted to get in shorts NOW, so he started to undress in the waiting area of the airport. I took him to a restroom to change. Funny -- he has no problem pulling off every last stitch of clothing in front of the public, but in the restroom, he wouldn't allow me in the stall as he changed his pants.

In dealing with the parking lot Budget space, they told me they had a van in slot 325 as the other van hadn't come. I went over and it was a car. They assured me it was a van. I went back again .... I swear it's a car! I explained to the attendant the difference between a van and a car. Eventually we were on our way.

I did a quick check-in at the All-Star Music resorts to just drop off our bags. Then off to Epcot. We entered the park at about 5 p.m. -- had the flight not been delayed, we would have been there at 3 p.m. as scheduled. But some Epcot was better than nothing. (With the way the Disney passes work, 5 days for the family cost us a grand total of $15 more than 4 days....so Epcot was only costing us $15, so every minute was "bonus").

The plan/hope at arriving at 3 p.m was a fastpass or two may still exist for Soaring or Test Track, but alas, no such luck at 5 p.m. May not have been an option at 3 p.m. either as it was crowded and the wait for both was 135 minutes, so I bet they "sold out" of fast passes in late morning.

We immediately did Spaceship Earth, and Matty said "I've never been in Space before!" Then we did the boat ride for Living with the Land. Then the fun (and one of my favorite rides) Nemo ride in the Seas exhibit. Very cute and well done. I'd ride it again if I could. Kathryn then toyed with waiting 135 minutes for Soaring, but ultimately did not. We ate and headed to the World.

We quickly were able to do the Mexico ride (which is now Donald Duck themed) and then scouted out space for the Illuminations. We took turns using Fastpass on the Norway ride (as we waited for the show in Norway). Kathryn got the kids "MIckey Mouse lightsabers" and Matthew and Sam were in heaven. They just danced and waved and it was very funny, though at the time I kept fearing they were going to bonk someone. Some nice people next to us helped keep me relaxed.

The show was good. Then I carried Matthew out of the park asleep (first time of many for the week). We felt like it was a good first day. Josh was saying how this was the best day ever, best vacation ever, etc. I think we succeeded.....

TOMORROW: First experience at Magic Kingdom