Rainy, rainy MONDAY.

So, our plan all along was to leave Sunday night to drive through the night to get to Orlando.  The goal was to have the kids sleep all night in the car...and I'm proud to say that it worked!  We had three drivers since Scott's dad was able to come with us and we took turns sleeping (I never actually drove!).  It RAINED all the way to Florida.  In fact, we left North Carolina in the middle of a tornado on the ground.  Scary!  We got to Disney at around 5:30am and were so lucky to be able to check into the *only* empty cabin at that hour.  Check-in wasn't supposed to be until 3pm, but we got a place and unpacked and then headed to the Magic Kingdom. 

Let me say it again...it was pouring!  We pulled out our Disney ponchos that we were forced to buy on our last trip to Disney because we weren't prepared for the rain.  They didn't help much...we still got drenched!  BUT...it was totally worth it to be in the park during a downpour because there was seriously no one else there.  We rode every single ride that we wanted to as many times as we wanted and we were *done* by mid-morning which was just about the time that the rain let up and people started pouring into the park.

The kids were enamored by everything!  Cinderella's castle, Dumbo, cotton candy, shops, the ponchos, the rollercoasters, Small World, Grandpa being with us, 3D shows, just everything was so magical to them (except for Curvy Road's fear of big Goofy characters!)

We went back to our cabin, changed into dry clothes, set out our dripping shoes in the sun to dry, and took a nap to take advantage of the park again in the afternoon.  Day 1 was a huge success, but I realized early on that I had forgotten how tiring a fun vacation is!

This trip marked the first time that our kids were tall enough for a roller coaster.  We tried Big Thunder Mountain railroad first.  Green Light LOVED it, Roundabout wasn't a fan.  Then Splash Mountain...Green Light LOVED it, Roundabout hated it.  Back to Big Thunder Mountain...Green Light couldn't get enough; it was growing on Roundabout.  It turned out to be one of her favorites by the end, but it did take some time for her to settle in that she did actually have fun on it.