Disney Vacation: Making the trip to Florida

For our much anticipated vacation to Disney World, we drove from Columbus to Florida rather than fly. We borrowed Scott's dad's van, so my sister and nephew were able to drive down with us. The months leading up to the trip, Scott kept talking about how he was going to take the back seat to himself and sleep the whole trip, and he did. However, I don't think it was nearly as comfortable as he thought it was going to be. Zoey and Trey rode in the middle of the van. Trey pretty much listened to music or played on the Kindle the majority of the trip. Zoey watched movies, read her books, and yelled at Trey (Lol). I drove while Tiffany rode shot gun.

The road trip started with a Tiffany road trip tradition of Burger King breakfast. Despite how it looks in these pictures, Zoey enjoyed her first taste of French Toast sticks.

The first half of day one of the trip went by pretty quickly. We stopped in West Virginia for lunch, which was terrible.

We then hit road construction in North Carolina, which delayed us about an hour. Once we finally got to our destination for the night, we checked into the hotel and then attempted to find a place to eat. We all kind of figured that since we were in South Carolina we should try to find some good BBQ. I did an urban spoon search and found a place with good reviews. However, either this place was really well hidden or it closed because I could not find it anywhere. We did however, find a place called City of Lights, which we all decided was some sort of cult compound (It had gates and a check in booth, as well as tire spikes). After that adventure, we figured we should just go back to the hotel and grabbed some Taco Bell on the way.

We were then up bright and early in the morning for the remainder of our drive to Orlando.

Zoey's ready to hit the road

The trip to Orlando felt like it took forever!!!! Once we got into town, we stopped by a grocery store to pick up some supplies. Our room had a full kitchen, so we grabbed some stuff so we could eat breakfast and lunch in the room most days. After our grocery trip, we were finally able to check into our room. Scott's mom and step-dad were already there, so they helped us unload the van and get settled.

We stayed at The Animal Kingdom Lodge - Kidani Village. I had booked us in a two room suite that I rented from a Disney Vacation Club member for way less than I would have paid booking it as a normal booking. The room was really nice. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures until we had already thrown all our stuff into the room.

Bathroom in the main part of the room

View of the living area from the door

In room washer and dryer

Bathroom in Tiffany and Trey's bedroom

The bedroom Tiff and Trey were in

Kitchen area

Living area

The bedroom Scott, Zoey, and I were in

Our bathroom

Wonderful jetted tub in our bathroom

Shower and tub in our bathroom

One of the coolest things about staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge is the savanna outside the hotel. From many spots in the hallway of the hotel, as well as from the lobby, you could see animals roaming around. They also have outdoor observation areas were you could go outside and see the animals. Tiffany and I spent a little bit of time checking out the different animals and taking some pictures.

Once we got all settled into our room, we jumped on the Disney bus and headed to Downtown Disney to meet up with my dad and step-mom for dinner. Zoey thought the bus was pretty cool (that changed after riding it so much).

Waiting at the bus stop

I had made a reservation at Paradiso 37 (It was the only place I could find a table for all of us even when I called 3 months in advance).  The food was pretty good, but nothing too special. Most of us had a cheeseburger that had pineapple on it, which was just kind of bland. It was nice to spend the time with my dad and step-mom though, so it was well worth it just for that.

After dinner, we spent a little bit of time walking around Downtown Disney. Scott and I took Zoey to T-Rex and the Build-A-Dino store, where she made her very own Ankylosaurus.

While everyone else went into the giant Disney Store, Scott, Zoey, and I walked over the the fountains. Scott let her play in them a little bit and then turned her over to me. They fountains were rhythmic and would go on and off. Zoey ended up staring right into one as it turned on and she got it right in the face. LOL! After that I figured she was already wet, so I let her run around in them.

We then took the bus back to the hotel and got some sleep so we were ready for the first day at the parks.