This summer, our family had the privilege of going to Disney World with the Walquist side of the family. It was our kids' first time to visit Disney, so they were thrilled. We first told them about our vacation plans at Christmastime. We gifted the kids with a set of matching Disney shirts on Christmas morning and announced the news. Here is the kids' reaction.
Fast forward six months and lots of family zoom meetings to plan details, and we were finally Disney-bound!! Our family drove the distance to Orlando in two days. All three kids are great travelers.
The rest of the family was a half-day ahead of us and would periodically text us pictures of their travel status. We tried to copy the photo that Matt and Kim's family took in Mississippi. Sitting on this sign was much harder than their family made it look!
After two days in the van, we were very excited to see the sign for our Disney resort hotel, Saratoga Springs. The hotel stay was generously gifted to our whole family by some of my parents' dear friends from Albuquerque. It was such an amazing gesture! This hotel was so spacious. We had 2-bedroom suites with a separate dining area and living room. It felt like a mini apartment!
The resort grounds had a couple different pools and a community center with games, movies to rent, crafts, and other activities. We felt so pampered!
Our family arrived in Orlando after lunchtime. We spent the evening at Disney Springs with the large family group.
My Uncle Rick, Aunt Mary, and cousin Brielle live in Florida, so they popped over to Orlando to spend time with the family. Rick and Brielle were able to stay longer than my Aunt Mary, so those two joined us at Disney Springs.
Our original plan was to eat dinner at the food trucks, but these were closed down due to lightning in the area. We made the best of our time near the food trucks! ;)
Instead, Jason found a nearby restaurant that, surprisingly, could seat our entire crew!
The kids found great ways to entertain themselves as we waited to be seated.
We had an interesting, new culinary experience at this Spanish restaurant, as we learned all about tapas and paellas. Thankfully, as the adults pored over the menus, the kids were kept occupied with this dining table that doubled as a foosball table. What a great idea!
After dinner, we enjoyed strolling around Disney Springs. The most popular shops were so busy that there were lines of people waiting to enter, so we didn't go inside many places. We loved seeing the amazing Disney Lego creations outside the Lego store. So impressive!
This Rainforest Cafe even had an "active" volcano.
Eventually, the distant storm that had shut down the food trucks headed our way. Little did we know, this afternoon rainstorm would become a standard of our week! Good thing the kids didn't mind a little rain!
We made sure to get dessert at the Ghiradelli shop. Soooo delicious!!
The rest of the evening was spent eating tasty ice cream treats, chatting with family, listening to the live band, and dancing in the rain.
A great start to our full week!
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