The Flower and Garden, Work and Play Trip – Day 1
A little backstory to this trip…Brendan and Caden headed to Puerto Rico today, and several months ago, when they booked their tickets, I agreed to take them to the airport in Kansas City. About a month ago, I found out we were only going to have clinic on Monday this week, and since I can work from home on non-clinic days, I decided if I could find cheap tickets and a room, I would take a few days and head to Disney, where I can work as needed, then the relax the rest of the time. Of course, I have a few things planned at the parks, such as visiting the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival, a tour of the elephant habitat at Animal Kingdom, and the After Hours Party at Hollywood Studios. But besides that, I have no plans except to work and relax. I was initially supposed to fly home on Saturday, but after discovering there was no clinic on Monday either, I extended it until next Tuesday.
I found a flight that left at the same time as the boys, which was very convenient, but leaving them at their gate and heading to mine was bittersweet. I’m super happy and excited to see what adventures lie ahead for them, but it sure will be quiet at home when I return. Now, the boys did go to New Mexico for a couple of months this fall, but this will be the first time Caden will be that far away for an undetermined amount of time. And even though I know he will be fine and have an amazing experience, it still tugs on the old heartstrings. So, this week at Disney is just what I need to decompress. The nice thing is Mom, Dad, Marc, and I will be arriving in Puerto Rico in about a month, and we will be able to spend a week with them and Shane.
We left home around 7:30 this morning and headed to Kansas City to catch our 2:15 flights. My first flight was only about half full, so everyone had space to spread out, and we departed a few minutes early. Both flights were smooth, and we got to Orlando about 30 minutes early.
After arriving in Orlando, I called an Uber and arrived at my resort around 8:15 to settle in. I am staying at Disney’s Pop Century Resort for the first three nights of this trip, then moving to the Dolphin for the last 4. Pop Century is one of Disney’s value resorts, but I have never stayed here before, and I scored an excellent annual pass-holder rate, so I decided to try it.
Once I got to my room, I called bell services to deliver my Owner’s Locker. For anyone wondering what an Owner’s Locker is, it is a big purple tote stored in a warehouse here in Orlando. I can leave everything I need for my Disney trips, such as toiletries, ponchos, umbrellas, coffee mugs, a set of plates/silverware, alcohol, and anything else that allows me to pack my clothes and not worry about all those items. The Owner’s Locker team will deliver the tote to just about anywhere in Orlando, and it will be waiting there for you when you arrive. Then, when you leave, you drop it off with bell services, and it is picked up on your checkout day.
Once I got settled into my room, I took a walk around the resort. I grabbed a beer from the pool bar and found a spot by the water to watch Luminous, Epcot’s nightly fireworks show.
Then, I decided to walk over to Art of Animation Resort, across the lake from Pop Century, to have another beer at their pool bar and check out the resort lit up at night.
Once the boys safely landed in Puerto Rico, I returned to my room to relax and head to bed.
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