Disney World Trip - Day 1

 Our much anticipated Disney World trip finally began on June 8th, 2012 about as early as humanly possible.  We headed to the airport at about 11pm on the 7th in preparation for our red-eye that would be leaving the airport at 1am on the 8th.

This would be the first flight for Jesse and Soleil.  The experience was fun for them as well as Rhett, who hasn't been on a plane since he was about 2 years old.  After parking and making our way through the airport and security check, we boarded the airplane and waited.  Jesse was fascinated with the appearance of the clouds from above, and thought they looked like pillows.

We had a short layover in Houston, and then were off to Tampa, where we landed at about 10:30am.


 After picking up the rental car, which we were pleasantly surprised to find was a small SUV, we made our way over to our hotel, the Intercontinental in Tampa.  It was very nice, having comfortable, rooms and a beautiful, large lobby area with fountains and restaurants.  I think it tends to be a business hotel given that half the building was actually dedicated to office space.  The kids loved the glass elevator which allowed you to see the inside of the big atrium and the office spaces, which were all glass.

We got to the hotel relatively early, and we were told our room wouldn't be ready for about another hour.  That being the case, and the fact that we were all starving, we headed across the street to a retail area where there was a Panera Bread.  It's a great sandwich place, and apparently everyone knows because it was packed.  We finally found a place to sit and eat outside.  Oh, did I mention that the forecast all week was for afternoon thunder showers?  Well, it was.  And, it was pouring while we were eating.  We did have a little umbrella canopy to eat under, but it was just wide enough to drain the water right down our backs (or at least Ang's back).

After lunch and getting settled in the room, we relaxed, slept, and watched a PBS concert which turned out to be really good (no kidding).

After a few hours of sleep, which we desperately needed, we got up and decided to run over the the mall which was about a block away.  We wandered around, just browsing and enjoying time together, and then finally had dinner at the food court.

When it was finally time to go to bed, I thought I'd get stuck with the floor as we only had two double beds.  That would have been no big deal, but Rhett selflessly insisted that he take the floor.  Such a good kid.