Monday 7th August

Hello darkness my old friend. 5am alarm. Today is the day we leave cool, rainy Michigan and (literally) hot swap for 95f of Florida sunshine and humidity.

Stacey did an amazing job all week cooking is amazing meals, keeping the children entertained and just being an awesome host. Stacey also drove us to the airport this morning.

We passed 8 Mile (road) which made Mummy excited and tried to send a picture to Kirsten. The flight was bumpy but overall good. The boys are now complete experts at flying. They jumped into their chairs, plugged in headphones and selected the Mario film to watch.

We had a slight delay but we weren’t in a rush as the room isn’t ready until 3pm. After arriving into MCO we needed to make a long cab trip.

Daddy was already crying at the thought of it. First stop Laura’s house in Winter Park to get our suitcases, then onto Disney All Star Music! We happened to meet the animal exterminator at Laura’s who was trapped a wild possum! It made for an interesting story why a bunch of English people had pulled up and started asking him questions. The final damage for the cab ride was $130, but we made it.

We got checked in and grabbed our “First Visit” badges, everyone in Team Hunter must wear the badges!

Once we checked in and got unpacked we got a call from reception. Our Walmart delivery had arrived! Winning! The bellhops had brought the shopping into the hotel and onto a giant carry cage for easy transportation to the room.

We decided once unpacked to head to Disney Springs (imagine a giant outdoor Westfield shopping centre ran by Disney). We wanted to get some Magic Bands to ensure we could go on the rides, unlock our room and buy things! After a long time deciding we settled on the following designs:

Nate: Black Panther

Elliott: Star Wars

Mummy: Pink Disney Characters

Daddy: Magic Kingdom Castle

The Lego store opposite had some amazing sculptures, we didn’t go into the store as there was a 20 person deep queue. I’ve queued for a concert, clubs and bars before but never a Lego shop!

Nate wanted to pop into the Harley Davidson shop and sit on the display motorbike. Part of us thinks we shouldn’t be encouraging this, but the other part thinks he loves it and it makes him happy!

The overview of activities happening this month at All Star Music.

We agreed to take a quick swimming before bed. We noticed before we arrived at the pool, they were handing out marshmallows and sticks to roast over a fire! The girls running it were trying to provide order and control to 6/7 years who wanted to set fire to their marshmallows. Elliott roasted his marshmallows no problems, Nate roasted one and eat the remaining three.

We needed a dip in the pool. We were all sticky and hot, jumping in the pool felt warm. It would have been nicer if it was chillier! But that Florida sun has kept the guitar shaped pool as hot as bath water.

We headed for the shower and bed, tomorrow is our first official day in Disney. It’s Nate’s favourite Animal Kingdom!