Disney 2012 - Day 1

I WILL finish blogging about this trip, or at least make it to day 2 since my blogging of our last trip ended with day 1. :P

It may be ridiculously early, but Alyssa and Joel are ready to fly!

Our day of flying was long after heading from Omaha to Minneapolis then to Orlando (really, we have to fly 6 - 7 hours straight north before heading waaaay south?!), but all the flying was worth it when we got check into our room in the Martinique Village of the Caribbean Beach resort and saw our view:

After dropping our carry on bags and jackets (so long Nebraska winter clothes, hello flip flops and capris!), we jumped back on the bus for Downtown Disney. I had made reservations at the T-Rex restaurant for our first night.

We were seated near the "ice cave", which was amazing! Honestly, the entire restaurant was amazing. You really felt like you were back in dinosaur times. Although with central air and electricity. :) Every 15 - 20 minutes the lights would dim and there would be a "meteor shower" complete with shooting stars and thunder. All throughout the restaurant there were lifelike (probably not life SIZED) animated dinosaurs and various animals from that era. We were sitting near a Mommy/Daddy Woolley Mammoth and baby that would start moving and making noise at random intervals, it seemed especially frequent if someone went over and scratched the baby between the eyes. One of my favorite parts of the restaurant was the giant squid/octopus that hovered over the bar.

One of the most amazingly fantastic parts of the meal came at the end. In the form of the "chocolate extinction" dessert. I think we may have to plan a trip back, purely for this dessert. It definitely trumps the Goofy Candy Company Cupcake that I previously thought was the most delicious thing I'd ever had. The dessert was perfect for our family ~ 4 servings of unbelievable chocolate cake drizzled with chocolate, caramel, butterfinger-ish pieces and whipped cream served alongside 4 scoops of vanilla ice cream. The kids' favorite part was the "volcano" in the middle ~ a martini shaker with water and dry ice in it, so that smoke spilled out over the plate.

After dinner we stopped by the Lego store to check out the impressive wall-o-legos as well as the impressive lego "statues", like Woody!

We had seen a sign earlier in the day by the main stage at Downtown Disney that there was going to be a dance party that night. I thought Alyssa and Joel might have fun watching people dance, but we were all pleasantly surprised when we found out that it was a dance party FOR the kids. They had one of the Disney choreographers teaching the kids different dances to popular Disney/Disney Junior songs (think High School Musical to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse's Hot Dog song). I was floored by how quickly he could teach them the dances, just by breaking it down and teaching it 2 - 4 moves at a times. The dancing was followed by a hula hoop contest, which the Koch kids did NOT participate in, but they had a great time watching!

The current theme at Disney World is "Let the Memories Begin". Amen! :) Stayed tuned for day 2 ... Joel's birthday day!

Disney Day 1

Our day started bright and early with Adam and I getting up around 4:30 and the kids getting up shortly after 5. We were out the driveway by 5:15 with Alyssa and Joel still in their jammies ... and me wishing that I was still in mine. This trip marked Joel's first plane ride, but Alyssa had flown with me to Colorado in May, so she was a seasoned veteran. She took Joel under her wing, per usual, to make sure that he had a good first flight.


As soon as we stepped on the plane the flight attendants were really sweet to Alyssa and Joel and let them check out the cockpit. Then the pilot got out of his seat so that the kids could sit up front and I could take pictures. Then the co-pilot turned the microphone/speaker on and tried to get Alyssa to give a "shoutout to her Daddy in row 12", but she wasn't going for it. :)

Joel's "what do you mean I have to take my binky out for a picture" face.


I can't say enough wonderful things about the "Magical Express" transporation available to people staying at the Disney resorts. We walked up to a counter after we landed, showed them our baggage claim stub, then loaded a bus and our luggage "magically" arrived in our hotel room about 3 hours later.

We checked in at Disney's Caribbean resort and got to our room in "Jamaica", then headed off to check out the Downtown Disney area. My favorite stop was Goofy's Candy Company which housed THE. BEST. CUPCAKES. I have ever tasted in my life. I would go back just to get another one.

The kids had a lot of fun at the lego tables outside the Lego store and I was overwhelmed by the "wall 'o legos" - every color you could imagine.



The kids also loved the animated animals, especially the crocodile/alligator outside the Rainforest Cafe. We got back to our hotel room in time to enjoy our water view - both the lake and the pool - and a Floridian sunset.