Bateman Family Reunion – Disney World 2010

Day 1 – Saturday August 14
We left home at about 10:00 in the morning. During the drive I discovered that I have a new favorite fast food restaurant. Chick-Fil-A. I don’t know about the ones here in Kentucky, but all through Georgia they all have playgrounds. And the food is a lot better than McDonald’s. We drove to a bit south of Atlanta where we stayed with a friend of mine.

Day 2 – Sunday August 15
On Sunday Gabi turned 15 months old. We went to church on Sunday morning in a branch in Pine Mountain Georgia. Rachel and Gabi were particularly “active” during Sacrament Meeting. I figured if we couldn’t be disruptive in our own ward, it only made sense to be as disruptive as possible in the branch of a bunch of complete strangers. I was extremely impressed with the friendliness of the members of the branch. A lot of people greeted us and chatted with us. The lady who sat in front of us in Sacrament Meeting even wanted to invite us to her house to eat. We couldn’t do it, though, because we really wanted to get back on the road and get to our final destination in Orlando. We arrived in Orlando at about 10:00 that night. We went to the room of Brennan and Tammy where the party was happening. Rachel, being gregarious, joined right in. Gabi, being more of an introvert, mostly clung to me.

Day 3 – Monday August 16
We moved into our room in the Disney Resort. We walked around our area, and found the pools, then we took a ferry to Downtown Disney. We walked around there to see what there was to see. Gabi was getting tired (cranky), so we decided to just grab something to eat and take it back to our room. We went to Planet Hollywood and ordered to go. However once Gabi got a little food and drink in her she cheered right up and we were able to eat there (in a booth) after all. Nevertheless, we took most of our food home so the girls could take naps. In the afternoon we went to one of the pools in our resort area. The girls had a blast. After dinner we went back to the pool again where all of the family met for some fun in the water. Rachel loved playing with her cousins.

Day 4 – Tuesday August 17
We were supposed to get up really early for a “character breakfast” at Chef Mickey’s (a restaurant). It was to begin at 7:00, and it took about 45 minutes to get there. Unfortunately we woke up late and didn’t get there until closer to 7:45. Nevertheless Rachel and Gabi got to meet Goofy, Minnie Mouse, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and they saw Pluto from a distance. Then we took a family picture. We were pretty wiped out, so we went back to our room for a nap. After the girls got some sleep, and after lunch we went to Magic Kingdom. There they met Buzz Lightyear, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. They really liked meeting everybody. Then we went back to our hotel pool. That night the older kids and adults went to Epcot for the laser show, but we figured our girls (and us) needed a good night’s sleep before taking off again the next day.

Day 5 – Wednesday August 18
We met in Tony and Luella’s room for breakfast. We had pancakes and scrambled eggs. We had a lot of fun visiting with all of the family. Then we checked out of our room and spent the morning at the pool with some other family. Luella spoiled us by getting us Disney shirts. Rachel and Gabi got matching Tinker Bell pajamas, and Jeff and I got Mickey T-shirts (not matching, though). We got on the road at about 2:00 (an hour later than intended), and arrived at my friend’s house in Georgia (our stopping point) at about 10:00.

Day 6 – Thursday August 19
We had our last day of travel, from south of Atlanta to home. The trip was remarkably uneventful. I was psyching myself up for enduring hours of crying and whining, but the girls both traveled extremely well. Nevertheless, I plan on staying home for the foreseeable future. We got home at about 9:30 that night.