At first I felt tired, then I felt awake and then I felt really sad! It was 6:21am and the last 2 hours on the ship were already started.

While we got everything ready and packed the last items Emily started to wake up. After we got her dressed we were ready to leave with 2 backpacks and a carry-on size suitcase.

The first thing we did was going back to Royal Court, the restaurant where we were “expected” for breakfast. Emily and mama had pancakes, I went for a bacon, egg and hash browns combo.

This was also the last time we would see our Head Server, Server and Assistent Server . We catches the last 2 for a picture before we left. And not to forget we gave them the tip envelops.

After breakfast we went for one last time restroom stop before we stepped in the saddest line of the whole cruise, the one to leave the beautiful Disney Fantasy. As soon as we reached the bag claim room I asked a porter for assistance as I didn’t feel like carrying 3 suitcases and a stroller, Emily most likely wanted to walk and thus it was wrapped.

We found the suitcases quickly in the Gray Daisy section and in 10 minutes we cleared customs and were on the bus towards the airport! THE AIRPORT?!?! I thought there was a second part to this vacation…

Yes, there is but it was a lot cheaper to book a rental car at SIXT which had its closest location at Orlando International Airport that this was the best option. At 9:40am we arrived at the airport and from there we needed to figure how we would get us and the luggage to the rental car pickup location, that was a lot easier as we had imagined, Disney dropped us off at pole B23, SIXT picked us up at B14 about 40 Meter away from where we were.

10 minutes later I was arranging the paperwork and at 10:05am we left SIXT with a white GMC Acadia and an installed child seat. Next stop Walt Disney World! Emily slept as soon as we reached the highway, and thus we took a detour with a Starbucks stop to get some holiday cups!

First plan was a theme park but a long the way we figured that there was a runDisney event, which meant that there was a health &fitness expo where we could buy fancy running gear only available in the USA during events or online. That was a no-brainer and Danielle scored some shirts and we all scored a picture with Chef Mickey!

After the expo it was still too early to go to the Townhouse as check in was only at 4pm. The next stop was Disney Springs for lunch and a visit to Pandora (the jewellery store). Danielle scored 2 new beads, a limited edition one and a park exclusive one.

We had a late lunch at the new Planet Hollywood, it’s weird after being on a cruise for so long that we needed to pay for food again… the service was really terrible too by the way!

After lunch we left Disney Springs and decided to do some grocery shopping at Target prior to going to our house for the next 11 nights. First purchase was a bed rail for Emily to ensure she not falling out a one meter high bed.

Finally it was 4pm and we drove to the Windsor Hills community, it’s a gated community for which you need to get special access at the front gate. This wasn’t entirely easy as our paperwork didn’t show an end of stay date but a simple call to the rental agency resolved that.

As we arrived at the address we saw a beautiful and well maintained townhouse. As soon as accessed the house I was surprised it looked way better as in the pictures. Danielle and Emily loved it too.

Emily was told she could not walk on her Crocs in the house, she thought that it was a silly game and she went in and out the house while taking her shoes off and putting them on the whole time we were unloading the car.

After we figured out some of the essentials it was time to install the bed rail and get Emily in bed. She slept from 4:30 to 6:15, she must be exhausted after this adventure full week. After she woke up the first she asked was to go in the pool, but as soon as we got in the pool she wanted to get out again. But I stayed to enjoy a beer…

At 8:00pm Emily asked if she could go “naar bed” and so she went to bed. Mama worked on he suitcases while I was working on the first couple blogs of last week!

At 3:15am the alarm clock went off. Way to early but it was for a good cause. Today we were leaving for Orlando and our flight was scheduled to depart from Toronto Pearson International Airport at 8:15am. After packing the last things and putting the suitcases in the car we woke Emily as late as possible at 4am and at 4:15am we left Brooklin. They advise you to be at the airport 3 hours before departure, even for US flights because of the extensive security checks. But all went well and after half an hour we entered the Maple Leaf Lounge to enjoy some breakfast.

Time went by and around 7:30am we arrived at gate F70 where the boarding process already had begun. Because we are still traveling with a small child and stroller we skipped the whole line and were able to board. We had three seats in the middle which was perfect. Emily was listening some Disney music and drawing in her Elena of Avalor colouring book. Push back was at 8:15am as scheduled and it was a smooth flight.

Normally we would rent a car and go to our hotel but this time was going to be different. Our first night in Florida we’re staying at a Disney Resort hotel for the very first time. We didn’t have to pick up our suitcases from baggage claim since Disney would do that for us and deliver them directly to our room at Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter. After walking to the Magical Express desks and waiting in line with an overly tired Emily we got to board the bus and soon we were on our way to the hotel. Emily slept the entire ride.

After check in we went to our room and changed into more appropriate clothes for Florida (t-shirts and shorts). Ow it was lunchtime so we went to the food court to get a bite to eat. As soon as our tummies were full we took the boat to Disney Springs where we walked around and enjoyed the beautiful weather. And after being cooped up in an airplane and bus the only thing Emily wanted to do was walk and stretch her legs.

On our way back from Disney Springs we spend some time in our Resort playing, walking and we had dinner in the food court.

Because it was such a long day for all of us we returned to the room early where we reorganized our suitcases, Emily took a bath and we all went to bed early because tomorrow is going to be another exciting day because we are leaving our hotel to go to the cruise terminal in Port Canaveral to board the Disney Fantasy.