Our summer vacation looked a little different this year. Instead of packing up the car for a week in the Outer Banks, we packed up our suitcases for a flight (very early flight!) to Florida for the week! A few minor hiccups along the way, but overall we had an amazing time and I’m finally just getting around to sharing the details of our trip!
Our trip started in Orlando, but before I dig into that, here’s a recap of our travels. 🙂
We flew in first thing that morning on a 6am flight which put us in Florida around 8:30am. As much as we were regretting our decision at 2:30am that morning when our alarms went off, I am still glad we did it because it essentially gave us an entire extra day, instead of wasting it all traveling. Now, the folks at Reagan airport could’ve been a little nicer–everyone seemed to be in a damn bad mood that morning. Oh, and a little FYI, if you are traveling with a lap child, double check with your airline as to what identification you need for said child. We flew JetBlue back in September and needed nada for either kid. We flew Southwest and needed a birth certificate, shot record, or other for Isla and nothing for Josie, the one who actually had a seat. Tell me how much sense that makes?? Anywho, we held up the line for a good 10-15mins while the hubs pulled up the dependent info for Isla on his benefits account, but seriously?! I was so damn frustrated in that moment and just couldn’t wait to get on the plane. Which leads me to another fun fact–airports are busy AF first thing on a Monday morning. Silly me thought we’d be the only ones flying but hells to the no we weren’t. Reagan is tiny as it is, but holy hell everyone was flying somewhere that morning. JUST GET ME TO FLORIDA PLEASE. End rant.
One good thing to know about flying with kids is that even if you are boarding zone B or C, if you have young kids you get to board right after zone A, which is pretty awesome. Especially if it’s an open seating flight! It was this way for all of our recent flights so I’m assuming its pretty standard. Also, this double stroller is a life saver in the airport with two kids!
Once we finally boarded and got settled, it was pretty smooth sailing. Isla was a little antsy at first but we were able to calm her with snacks and toys and eventually she took a snooze. Josie’s behavior on the other hand was….perfection! She loves the airplane and of course insists on the window seat which I happily gave her. She was content looking out the window, eating all the snacks, playing on her Kindle Fire, or playing with one of the fun new toys I got her for the flight. I snagged some fun slime (that wasn’t messy!) and a matching game from the Target dollar spot and she loved them both–especially the slime. Best damn dollar I’ve ever spent! That 2.5 hours went by super fast and thank god for that!
After grabbing all our luggage we headed to the rental car (minivan represent!) and had to install car seats and all that jazz. I think we finally made it to our resort around 10:30. <insert huge sigh of relief> Woohoooo–WE MADE IT! Let the vacation begin!
Since my husband is military, we stay at the Shades of Green Resort which was on the Disney property. It had all the amenities we could need AND was a zillion times cheaper than the others. If you are military, this is the way to go! Unfortunately, I didn’t get any pictures of the resort, but it is very nice. We hung out at the pool for playtime and lunch until our room was ready, then it was to the room we went. Naps all around! After naps, we got up and ready and headed to Disney Springs for mexican and margs at Frontera Cocina then to Sprinkles for cupcakes and the most amazing Capt’n Crunch milkshake. Yes, I said Capt’n mofo Crunch!!
Cupcake ATM!
Followed by a trip in the candy store for the biggest lollipop for my biggest princess. About 5,000 calories later we headed back to the hotel. 😉 I loved that area of Disney and would recommend to anyone traveling in that area. Lots of restaurants and shops.
The next morning we told Josie the BIG news about our day at the Magic Kingdom! She wasn’t as excited as I was hoping, though I think she already kinda knew where we were. All the Mickey’s in the hotel and the huge welcome to Walt Disney World sign kinda gave it away. 😉 Though, she was still excited to get the day started!
We shuttled over to the tram and then trammed over to the park. I will say that the only disadvantage of our resort was that the tram didn’t run directly to it, but that wasn’t really a huge issue. Though with 2 kids and a stroller packed with extra clothes, snacks, drinks, sunscreen, etc., it would’ve made it a little easier to not have to fold down the stroller to board the shuttle, but again….we made it work. Since it was already 152 degrees at 8am that morning, we were drenched in sweat the second we walked into the park. Butttt….we were in DISNEY WORLD!!
I’d like to do a separate post about how we did Disney in a Day, but for now I’ll just dump a bunch of photos from our day. 🙂
Around 5:30pm we had a bit of a sunscreen/cranky kid debacle and decided it was best that we go ahead and leave the park with our screaming children in tow. The girls were clearly exhausted, and so were we. I swear, if it wasn’t so hot we would’ve made it longer, but we had a fun day nonetheless! We headed back to the hotel for a dip in the pool, pizza in our hotel room, baths and bedtime.
The next morning we packed up and headed to our next destination–Daytona Beach. My husbands grandparents live about 30 minutes south so we were able to see them several times during our stay which we all loved!
We stayed at the Holiday Inn Daytona Beachfront Hotel and despite a few things we didn’t like at first, it ended up being pretty perfect for our family for a few days.
It’s not easy to share one hotel room with 2 kiddos, but we made nap time work and all just got into bed a little earlier each night, which definitely wasn’t a bad thing. (Shout out to my husband who chilled back at the room during naptime so this mama could have some quiet beach time. He’s THE best!) The kitchen area was also great, and allowed us to get some groceries and not eat out for every single meal. The pool area was nice and there was a separate splash pad area for the young kids which was great for Isla. Both girls loved the beach so we spent most of our days beachside, then lunch/naptime followed by pooltime. It was a relaxing few days and just what we needed after a busy first part of the week.
Photo dump #2 coming right up! There are too many good ones–have to share them all!
Before we knew it Sunday rolled around and we were packing up! Our flight was delayed a little bit, but we still made it back to DC by 1:30ish.
Since it was Father’s Day, we stopped by a restaurant we love in Fairfax called Coastal Flatts for a quick late lunch/early dinner. Lobster rolls were the perfect way to end the week!
We finally got home around 5pm and were all SO HAPPY to be out of the car and to see our Rileyroo. As much as I love to travel, there is truly nothing like being home. Though we had a great vacation and so many good memories to take away from it, which makes all the planning, packing, traveling 100% WORTH IT.
I’m already thinking about our 2019 vacation….Where should we go next??
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