A BIG mousekesecret.
Thanks to the incredible generosity of Mima & Pop Pop the Sunday after Thanksgiving we were heading down to Florida to see a man about a mouse.
So here we are telling them. We both knew they had no concept of what 'going to Disney World' actually meant (for that matter, neither did Greg!) but we had been dropping little gems here and there.... like who LIVES at Disney and who VISITS Disney from time to time...
Disney or Boston, Disney or Boston.... the choice is an obvious one. Right?!
No, seriously, how DID she know Aunt Elena is joining us?!?
A little background: Elena planned our trip. The ENTIRE trip. From WHEN we would go to WHERE we would stay to WHICH vacation package to chose to WHAT we would eat. It took a year (more?) of her drilling into me that I 'WASN'T TAKING THIS SERIOUSLY ENOUGH' to finally realize... she was right. Oh so very, VERY right! Planning this trip (NOT a 'vacation', a 'trip' - big distinction) was no joke. You can't 'wing it' with 6 people, 3 of whom were Disney-virgins!! Elena truly IS my fairy godmother!! Thank you thank you thank you nouna / aunt / cousin / BF / roomie for making sure our ENTIRE family had such a spectacular experience!
So anyway, after spending countless hours scouring promotions, tutoring me on tips & tricks and even elbowing me out of the way to book our dining reservations, she couldn't take the torture of planning such a fantastic trip without getting to enjoy it herself - and at the 11th hour, she booked her OWN family's trip the same week!
Back to our regularly scheduled programming (aka the video below)....
Nick semi-lost-interest in the conversation and adventure at hand until a critical factor came to mind: ensuring the availability of an elevator..... only THEN was he ready to pack his bags.
Not only is this their first trip to Disney AND their first time on an airplane but it's ALSO their first ride in a limo! They were wide-eyed over the fact that they got to go carseat-less.
Sorry it's a little hard to see the planes guys... being that it's BARELY 6am and still dark out, but I SWEAR we really are at the airport!!
Settling in at the gate with Mima and Pop.... WAIT A MINUTE! What's HE doing there!?!? That's the wrong grandfather!! As it turned out, Papou Nick had a flight to Florida an hour after us - so he hopped a ride up in the limo. The kids were completely unfazed by this UNTIL the return trip when poor Nick kept asking why we were leaving without Papou!
Diligently studying the Disney maps. Well who else do you think is going to act as the tour guide for the next 6 days?!
Nothing like a family-photo-op at 6:30am after minimal sleep.
Now that's what I call pretty.
We back up from the gate, start rolling & come to a halt: "Folks, we're just going to sit tight for a minute. There's some ice on the wings. We're going to have that taken care of."
Don't planes CRASH because of 'ice on the wings'!?! I know there's been a news story or 2 (or 17) about just this type of thing. For the love of all that is holy..... don't TELL me that it's there. Just deal with it and get us from point A to point B in one piece!!
Meanwhile the kids are thrilled, "Hey mom! The plane is getting a bath!"
haha... haha.... yeah, sure (please don't let us crash please don't let us crash......)
And we're up!
Our seat selection wasn't opportune. We had to split into 3 groups of 2 - with Nick and me in the VERY LAST row, Greg & Adrienne in front of us and Mima & Pop Pop in the exit row. As it turns out we had the NICEST people around us... even the dyed-orange-haired, black-nailpolished kid who had CLEARLY stumbled out of a club and onto the plane. I asked Nick if he wanted orange hair like that and well.... you'll see...
Halfway through the flight things got a LITTLE interesting... And here I was worried about Carrot Top Club Kid on my right tossing his drug-and-alcohol-saturated-Gray's-Papaya....
... ok, ok. They were AMAZING the whole flight so we decided to have some fun.
(*phew* Stress #1 over & done: I did NOT want to be the parent of the a**hole kid on the plane.)
OUR FIRST SIGHTING! After I snapped the picture we started walking away & Nick ran back - gave him a kiss on the nose. Too cute!
One of those I-wish-I-got-THIS-on-film moments: On the bus from the airport to the resort (again - no seatbelts!?!? they're going to be addicted to vacationing for this one & only reason!!) Nick passed out but Adrienne was bright eyed & bushytailed. She happened to be leaning over the seat in front of her as Cinderella's castle came into view. Her eyes turned to SAUCERS and she stammered, "I can see... (hyperventilate) I can see... (hyperventilate) I can see CINDERELLA'S CASTLE."
That did it. We can turn around and go back home. THAT was the moment I wanted and it was PERFECT!
Backstory: For those of you who haven't been in Adrienne's presence for more than 5min, let me explain.. She takes after MY Uncle John and his rather communicative GI tract. Needless to say, her tooting (ok, ALL of our tooting) is the cause of much uproarious laughter.
So when we finally arrived at the Beach Club we hopped out of the bus and what's this?!!? She tooted so hard she blew a hole in her pants!!
One look at those faces and you know EXACTLY where we are! Why the Happiest Place on Earth, of course!
We threw our bags at the conceirge and a hop, skip & a jump later we were in Epcot! Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Yes, Mary Poppins was there the minute we turned the corner! Our very first character spotting! Being that the kids really aren't all that into Mary Poppins and there was quite a long line, I borrowed this photo op of some other cute little girl. Ehh, good enough.
Now for their first Disney RIDE.....!!!
Just as Figment was MY favorite as a child, Nick was hooked!
(He's now saying he wants a Figment birthday party... with the ride... I can throw a good themed-party but I'm not THAT good...) 
Even Greg had fun with the purple dragon.
(as you can tell, the crowds were brutal)
Over to The Seas with Nemo and one of their FAVORITE movies... I mean, really, can't you tell by those gleeful faces!?
All kidding aside, this was one of the longest days in the history of the world and they were AMAZING from beginning to end. Keep in mind it's only noon and we've been up since 4.
An Uncle Arthur style self-portrait... no idea where Greg was or why he didn't take it of the 3 of us.... I don't know... it was all a blur at this point. And did I mention it was only noon?! 
Poor, POOR Nick. Crush said if anyone had questions to raise their hand. So Nick did. Long after Q&A was over his poor little arm was still up in hopes that he would eventually get chosen. He was crushed (ba-dum-bump!) and gave the most sorrowful refusal when we suggested going back later that night.... broke my heart!
"I'm having kid tonight!"
Everyone knows what the Epcot globe looks like... but this is a much better perspective. 
Another one of Nick's favorite rides - Spaceship Earth. I think the final count was 6 times.
At the end it lets you make lifestyle choices and photoshops your face into your chosen "world". I honestly don't remember the question about desiring 70s style fondue-eating attire...
Apparently in their perfect worlds Adrienne is Catwoman & Mima is a skinny Stay Puff Marshmallow Man.
Coming out of Spaceship Earth we got a surprise that was out of this world!
My favorite part.... at the VERY end.... Achoo lives at Disney, didn't you know!?
Sometimes you just have to stop and smell the pointsettas....
Or be uber silly.
OK, great shot of the 4-some. Check.
Heading back over to the hotel check in and get ready for dinner......
C'mon!!!!!!!!! LOVE IT!
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