Day Two, Part 1 - "Let's Swim in the Rain"

Day Two  - Part 1: “Let’s Swim in the Rain”

So, we are in Florida for a whole two days, and this day greets us with a steady rain, and heavy black clouds. It has rained most of the night and the ground is soaked.  Our agenda for the day is to check-in to our resort early and go to pool.  After all, this is Florida, and what do you do when you come to Florida? Swim, of course.   We were texting back and forth with our niece, Laura, whose family lives about 45 minutes away from Disney, in Orlando; hoping we could work in some time to visit and let the kids play together.  Her girls had soccer games today, and her son, Sam, and husband Cliff were going to a Scout camp out weekend.  But now with the rain, maybe we could manage to get together.  Anna Grace’s game was cancelled early, but we were still waiting to hear about Lydia’s. 

We ate a quick breakfast at the hotel, packed the car and drove until we saw the famous purple signs for Disney property.  I gave Savannah and Kayna a quick lesson about the purple signs, to realize we were indeed entering the “Happiest Place on Earth” zone.  It was still pouring rain, on and off, and we unashamedly offered up a little prayer that we sure would like a break in the rain, since we were only there a short while.  We discussed our plans with the kids and options: we could go to Downtown Disney and spend some time inside the stores, especially the World of Disney Store, which is like a city block, we could go ride the monorail and let Christian see the Castle, or we could just swim in the rain.   I talked to Laura and her kids loved the idea of swimming in the rain – so swimming it was!

We checked in – DISNEY’S PORT ORLEANS, RIVERSIDE RESORT, and decided to take our own bags to the room, yes, even in the rain, rather than wait on bell services (they were running behind because of the rain). We were in building 18, and of course, not easy to get to from the parking lot, so we got a little wet.  No worries, clothes off – swimsuits on.  I started the unpacking process while everyone else got ready.  Just a few short steps from our door: the “quiet pool” for our section of the resort. As we walked out the door, our little prayer we whispered earlier was answered and the rain just stopped. Thank you, Jesus. No sunshine, but it was mid 80’s, and the pool was warm.  We played for a while, and Christian got brave and started jumping in to me from the side.  Lydia’s Soccer game was finally cancelled and Laura and family would be here soon, and we agreed to meet at the big pool, “Ol Man, Island”. 

We went on early, and walked over the bridge to the main pool. This is a large resort, and a lot of walking for little legs, but it was truly beautiful and peaceful.  Loved the pool here, too – spacious, clean, plenty of shade and tables, and a fun waterslide.  Kayna took Christian to the water slide and I stood at the bottom and he came flying down and I caught him.  He was laughing and said he liked it, and then said “ but I don’t want to do it again “  J

I went to get lunch and Laura’s group arrived while I was in line. 

Let me stop here and explain the Magic Bands :   Magic Bands recently replaced the old Resort Key Card, which acts like a Cruise Card and is your charge card, room key, theme park tickets and now your Fast Pass and schedules are loaded onto the band. It is totally waterproof, customized with your color of choice, comfortable, easily sized to your wrist and your name on the inside.  Over the past 8 months, many different opinions have been published on various forums from resort and park visitors, and quite a few people did not care for them, expressing very negative opinions.  After using them, Dennis and I both are huge fans of the magic bands. Good job, Disney!

Now, back to lunch – We had opted for the pre-paid Dining plan, so I went through the Resort Food Court and grabbed a full lunch, drink, our refillable Resort Mugs, and dessert for Kayna, Christian and me.  Chicken and Fries for Kayna and Christian (again) and a Turkey Club sandwich for me, with a yummy Apple Blossom Dessert.  I tapped my band on the checkout post, it read that I had a Dining plan, I signed the slip and ready to walk out the door – except…. it was pouring again.  I got to go covers for the food and set out to try this walk to the pool in the rain, and all of a sudden when I got to the door, the rain stopped again – thank you, Jesus, again (I sincerely did appreciate this intervention).   Dennis then went to get his and Savannah’s (Chicken and Fries and a Hamburger, and an apple blossom dessert).

Laura’s kids, and our three(3) swam and played pool games with the host.  Anna Grace won the hula hoop contest (every time I looked over at her she was still going…. like the Ever-Ready bunny). Kayna won a trivia contest and got a small inflatable flower as a prize.  Christian practiced jumping into the pool to me, in-between several RR breaks for him.  I was getting to know the inside of all the Disney RR’s very well, by now. They are all quite clean and comfortable feeling (thank goodness).

 San and Anna Grace hula hoop

 Bop with Lydia, Savannah, and Kayna (with her prize flower)

Nana and Christian

Savannah and Lydia

About 2:30, Christian and I said goodbye to Laura and her family, and I took him to the room for a bath and an afternoon nap, before our big dinner tonight.  We stopped by the check-in desk for our rental stroller and it was waiting for us.  I had pre-ordered a 2 day double stroller from Apple Stroller Rental Company (recommended from THE DIS forum).  Christian hopped right in and off we went to our room (1832 in building 18).  We had a ground room floor, which was great, because this particular part of the resort (one of the original buildings from Disneyworld Resort’s opening in 1971) does not have elevators.

About 3:45, Dennis brought the girls to the room to begin showering and getting ready for dinner.   After showers, Savannah laid down beside Christian (already sleeping) for a nap.  I finished unpacking, and sat down for about 10 whole minutes.   Before I knew it, it was five (5:00 p.m.) and time to wake kids up and head to the bus stop – time for dinner!