Tanya & Matt's Big Adventure: Day 7 - The biggest day ever - Disney on 3 hours sleep in an airplane

Today was enourmous! We were stuffed before we boarded the place at LA and we were well and truly gone by the time we landed in Orlando. We both probably smelt like Darth Vaders farts, and we certainly didn't look like well rested people. Nevertheless we waited for our baggage, which Tanya feared had been sent to Albuquerque, then boarded the Magical Express to our Hotel.

The First taste of Mickey puts a smile on the dial.

This was the best "Smile" after about 5 pictures, we gave up trying after that.

Now, for those of you who have no idea about the size of Disney World let me sum it up for you with these words;

"Oh My God this place is HUGE!"

And that was the bus driver who drives the route everyday!

The airport is a good 45 minutes away from the Disney property, and then once you get inside the Disney property the actual themeparks and hotels are a good 15 minutes away from each other by bus as well!

We drove in through the gates and didn't actually see a theme park or hotel until we got to ours. Thats because everything is not only spaced apart, but is surrounded by trees and built up hills to keep prying eyes out, and sounds of screaming people in.

We arrived at the Grand Floridian at about 8am, it is an amazing hotel;

The Victorian era Hotel, the Grand Floridian

The Wedding Carriage and Jalopy awaiting passengers outside the hotel,

We were lucky enough to be offered an early check in, which was music to both our ears. Tanya checked out the lobby, daunting though it is for the little lady she was no doubt impressed, and who wouldnt be when you have this at the heart of your hotel. No gondola here!

Speechless Tanya was too tired to cry, but I could tell she wanted to.

Across the courtyard to get to our room

The moment of truth

Mickey awaits for us

The view from our room - HOO HAA!

We were very impressed with our room, which overlooked the man made 7 Seas Lagoon, we could see Cindarellas Castle, the Entrance to Magic Kingdom, the Contempory hotel and the half hourly ferry. But those sights would have to wait. "Lets try and stay awake and make the most of today" one of us said, we were asleep less than 15 minutes later. We awoke after lunch feeling groggy and out of place, but decided to check out Downtown Disney during the dying hours of the day.

Downtown Disney is the shopping district of the Disneyworld Resprt, shops aplenty along the lakeside, fine dining and fountains for the kids to jump around in. It is not a themepark, just a free area of the resort to come and mingle. It was very serendipitous that the first store we came across was this one.

Tired? Not anymore! Get ready to spend Matty!

In good company

The toy store was terrific too!

Tanya was unimpressed she was not offered a giant play-doh tub to stand on.

Oh the Humanity! Mr Potato Head Everywhere!
This store was terrific, you can pick up an oversized potato head and fill it with whatever bits you want for a flat rate! It's like a Potato Head buffet!

The middle of this wall is the centre of Brad Gavin's universe.

This cake topper would have needed a cake with structural support akin to that which holds the Harbour Bridge in place

Tanya skinned her first wookie - it's an Orlando tradition

That evening we took the ferry to the Fort Wilderness Lodge and Campground to partake in the "Hoop Dee Doo Revue!". Both of us knew we were in for some grub and a bit of a show, we were blown away by the entire experience. You are seated inside the barn, metal plates with the best tasting Cornbread ever (ok so I've never had it but it was delicious), with our server bringing us soft drinks, or "Soda", by the jar full...literally the Jar Full, then the Hoop Dee Doo -ers come out and sing and dance and tell bad jokes, pianee and banjo in tow, then the food... OMG the food! They slam buckets of Southern Fried Chicken, Beef Ribs, Mashed Potato, Baked Beans and Corn - it was the best meal I have ever eaten, the chicken was out of this world, crispy and tasty, the ribs melted in your mouth, the mashed potato was creamy and the beans were mixed with pulled beef in a delicious sauce - I was in heaven. AND THEY KEEP BRINGING YOU MORE WHEN YOU FINISH! It was incredible.

The show was terrific, 3 Cowboys, 3 Cowgirls in an all singing all dancing, comedy review! This is apparently not very well known even within the Florida community - but it should be, I would recommend it to everyone who even stops over one night in Orlando.