We had planned in some extra time in case anyone wasn't ready so we were at the airport 3 hours early. But it gave us time to check in, go through security and get settled before it was time to go.
We left GR at 11:20 am. Everyone was super excited to be on our way and the added perks of first class were nice too!
We had just 45 minutes of layover in Atlanta and our departing gate was quite far from the arrival gate. So, after restroom stops, we took off through the halls, on the train and over to our new gate. Made it just as the previous plane was unloading (they had arrived late).
We loaded the next plane with a different seating arrangements and were off. Disney here we come!
As we came down the escalator to baggage claim, William (our driver) was waiting for us. He brought us to the right area and we grabbed our luggage.
It was great to see the sun and feel its warmth. Just after we landed, my mom sent a text showing 2" of fresh snow at home and reminded us of what we were missing :)
On the drive to the resort, William made a quick stop for us to get some McDonalds as we had yet to eat lunch and it was closing in on 4:00 pm. William was a biologist in Columbia, here in the US seeking asylum. Just fascinating.
Disney had already texted us with our room numbers and our Magic Bands were already programmed to open the doors. Since we had all our luggage plus tons of McDonalds bags, we decided to have a picnic lunch before heading to our rooms. We found a picnic table near where we were dropped off and quick ate.
Next, we headed out to find our rooms... ten of us, walking, pulling our luggage... I'm sure we were a sight.
We got settled in our rooms. Sarah and Jeff are room 8721, Ray and Bev 8712, and our family is 8711. We are just down the hall from one another making it really convenient to borrow / share items and meet up before leaving. We LOVE the accommodations.
The girls grabbed a cab to buy some groceries while the guys hung out at home. Scott and our kids unpacked, Jeff and their kids went for a walk to explore. It was nice to have some down time.
Around 6:45 pm we met to take the bus system over to Disney Springs and find our restaurant for the night. It was a beautiful night... we truly loved seeing the Christmas decor!
We had previously made reservations at a restaurant named T-Rex. The kids loved the decor. We were all super-excited to eat here, and were lucky to land a table in the "ice cave".
After dinner we checked out the Lego store. Its fun that all the kids have this in common.
We stopped at the lobby to fix the DeYoung's Magic Bands and then headed home for the night.
We all went our separate ways and tucked in our darlings. It was a big day for us all!
