There really is only one word to describe DisneyWorld.

Magical.

But first, the entry into USA from Europe.

We got up at stupid o’clock – 4.20am – and headed to Zagreb airport to fly to Vienna. From there to Newark, in NYC and then Orlando. 

The flight from Vienna was nearly ten hours. As we boarded we realised we had been placed in seperate rows. Given we were both in middle seats, there wasn’t much point asking anyone to swap. Turns out the guy beside me seated at the window seat, who didn’t speak much English, clearly had Parkinson’s. The guy on my right was military, on his way back from Bulgaria, heading home to Nashville.

This had to be, with Austrian Airlines, the worst flight we have had yet. The aisles are very narrow, the seats are small, there is no room, even for shorty moi, and the food – according to MoD – was disgusting. I was ok with the food. They had a vegetarian option.

Worse, there was no help from the airline staff for my Parkinson’s friend. We had to help him with everything including asking for water, opening his cutlery and his food packs. When we landed he couldn’t put his backpack on but do you think the people behind us were willing to wait while we helped him? No, they needed to get off the plane. And fast apparently.  People can be so insensitive and tunnel visioned.

Ten hours of joy. 

Arriving in Orlando, we picked up an Uber and got to the Disney resort around midnight, having spent the last 26 hours awake, bar about 2 hours sleep we may have each grabbed at some point.

Our Uber had a 45” TV placed between the front seats for the viewing pleasure of the paying customers 😜

The entrance gate to Disneyworld announced we were now in the World of Disney.

And it really is a world of its own. 

The highway signs are purple/red or blue as opposed to standard green. Street work is done at night and even the trucks have fancy lights. 

We looked at going for a walk to the mall in the coming days to post some things but Mrs. Google Maps couldn’t find any walking tracks. There aren’t a lot of footpaths. They really like you to stay put and spend your time and money either at the resort or travelling to the Theme Parks via the courtesy buses. Although they do have the Disney Springs Shopping you can access, also via a courtesy bus. No UPS there. 

We are staying at the Disney All Star Music Resort which has 1604 rooms and was the second resort to open in November 1994. 

Middle son and grandson are in the Disney All Star Sports Resort, accessed just across the car park from our room. All Star Sports includes 1920 rooms spread between ten buildings. This was the first Disney resort to be built on the WDW property and opened in April 1994. 

All the buildings feature larger than life music or sports icons, respectively. 

Bonus – each building plays relevant music which is heard whenever you step outside your room. Ironically ours is a country building, and you all know how much I don’t love country music. Except our Keith. Oh and the song I sang for our wedding 😜

The resorts all include a number of pools – in ours there is a piano shaped and a guitar shaped one. You need it. The humidity is high, the heat intense, the UV hovering around 6. You can’t worry about your appearance, it’s just too hot and muggy. My hair had a mind of its own – one might say a deranged mind.

The resorts also have a food court, bar (alcohol 😜), a Disney shop and of course a Guest Experience team to help you with your every desire. They are very helpful here.

The food court has some healthy food in the form of overnight oats or yoghurt and fruit in a cup but predominantly it seems people prefer all the good fatty fried food for breakfast…..or these………

Big line up and huge breakfast hit I noticed when I was waiting for our morning coffee.

Our access card gives us access to, well everything. Just swipe that baby and fill up on whatever.

The refillable drink cups are a big hit, they have an RFID-enabled chip in their base that allows unlimited drink refills at any Disney World resort hotel for up to 14 days. If you buy a dining plan as part of your stay package you get one of these each.

Everything here is cleaned and well maintained, they power wash the paths every day. Squirrels, lizards and 5” crickets wander the grounds. True story. We were jumping out of the way of the lizards. They were small and cute though. And I’ve never seen crickets quite that big.

The app allows you to order food in advance at any of the resorts or the parks, plan your day, book a ride for those rides that have virtual queues, and of course it guides you around the park via GPS. You can never get lost. I could.

Everyone is happy here. It’s a happy place.

Quite the experience.

One might say the Most Magical Place on Earth.

And it is.