Wills First Adventure Trip Report COMPLETED

[Wills Mom]

So just to give a short background of our recent trip

Travel Dates: May 4th - 21st

Travelling: Me (Pam), DH (James), DS1 (Will), my parents, my sister and her OH. Also travelling were my aunts family which included my aunt and uncle, their son and his pregnant wife and their 2 year old son.

Accommodation: Off site. We rented two separate villas at Glenbrook. Rented two separate cars also.

Ok so here we go!

Travel Day

Our indirect flights meant we had to leave home in the early hours of the morning of May 4th. We all travelled together in a mini bus which was very handy, it collected myself, DH and DS last and that was at 4.15am. DS loves his night time sleep so we found it a little hard to wake him at this stage but once he spotted his grandad he was wide awake and ready for action



We flew from Dublin to Gatwick with Aer Lingus which was DS's first ever flight. Luckily since he had been awake since very early he decided that take off was time for a nap! He slept the 40 ish minutes until we landed in Gatwick. It was a 2.5 hour stopover so we all split up and did our own thing deciding we would meet at the departure gate. DH, DS and I hit Frankie and Bennys to use a 20% off voucher I had printed. We shared a portion of fries and a California Club pizza - which was delish! DS doesn't really like pizza but even he nibbled on a slice. Service was verrrrrrry slow but since we had a long wait we didn't mind.
Before we knew it it was time to board. We flew on Jersey Girl with VA and the flight took 8 hours and 6 minutes. The flight itself was fine. Food was (as usual) gross. Had pre ordered kids meal for Will and that was decent enough. Will slept for about an hour after take off and for a total of about 90 minutes before landing. He was so very good the entire time, we kept him occupied with games and apps on my phone. He wanted to sit with his grandparents for a while so that was nice that DH and I got a break. Will did not cry once the entire flight so we were more than happy with him!
We landed at 4.20pm local time and had a wait at immigration for over two hours! It was awful with the kids, although they were as well behaved as they could be but we had to remember that if we were at home they would have both been fast asleep for the night at this time. Eventually we made it through immigration. The guy we got was SO rude, telling me I had the wrong address on our blue form. Took ages to explain to him that the villa company assigns the actual villa when we collect the keys so it was the only address he was getting off us! The rest of our family got through with no questions asked but this guy was obviously having a bad day!
We eventually got to the villa company at 8.30pm after having huge problems with the hire car. We hired from Budget (accidentally I might add but thats another story!) and the guy at the rental counter was the pushiest (insert nasty word!) I've ever met in my life. Eventually I actually shouted at him that we did not under any circumstances want, or need, any extras and that we were happy with our package. He got his revenge for my shouting but I'll save that story til later.
Found the villa in Glenbrook without a single problem, DH has drove in Florida on every one of our trips so we know pretty much where we're going. Will slept from the airport until we got to the house (so less than an hour all told) but he woke up when we tried to move him into the house so we dumped our luggage at the house and hit Walmart for a few essentials. Took about an hour, the closest Walmart was about a 2 minute drive away (if even) and we just picked up food items and got back home fast. Had a quick "dinner" of whatever we could stomach and everyone hit the hay. We had a four bedroom villa so my parents took one master, DH and I took the other and put Will in the closest twin bedroom. My sister and her OH went in the bedroom to the front of the house which was farthest away from everyone for some semblance of privacy. On the first night DS and I slept together in our master bedroom and DH went into the twin which was intended for DS. It was just for the night until DS got used to his surroundings. This was around 10.30pm and we were all out like a light after a long day!

 

[Wills Mom]

Day 1 - May 5th

Will woke at 3.30am this morning. Not too bad considering the time difference. I kept him in bed and played until 4.30am when we got up and I gave him a big bubble bath. James heard us from his bed in Will's room and got up to play with us, which was very nice of him and definitely earned him brownie points We had a light breakfast of jam on toast and then DS wanted a bottle of milk so I brought him back into our queen bed and he went back asleep. This was around 6.30am. We all slept again until 8.30/9am when the rest of the house started to wake up.
My mother made a big hot breakfast for everyone while the rest of us checked out the pool and got ready for the day ahead of us.



We headed off to the Premium Outlets on I Drive around 11am. Will slept in the car for maybe 25 minutes but we woke up crying. We didn't know what was wrong with him but later realised he had a sick tummy. He had diarrhea twice at the outlets so we rushed to get what we needed. James needed new trainers which he got for about $70. Not a great bargain based on previous years. We got Will some nice sandals in Stride Rite for $30 plus tax.



We headed for home but poor Will had diarrhea another three times that evening so we didn't do anything else. Everyone had a swim in the pool and then Will and I napped for about an hour. Got some more grocery shopping done in Walmart later on, had dinner around 8.30pm which we all helped in making and Will went down shortly thereafter. The rest of us stayed up a while and had a drink or two but it was an early night to prep for our first park day the next morning!

 

[pascalstongue]

Glad to see you have started your TR. sorry that you didn't have the best of starts with Immigration/Budget/DS being ill. we Lso found that there were very few bargains to be had shopping, but at least me credit card appreciated it!

 

[pascalstongue]

Please excuse all the typing errors in my post above, blinking IPad! Don't know how to edit my post on the IPad either??

 

[Laurafoster]

Yay you started!

Glad Will was good for you on the flight, I've always found that DDs meal has looked more appealing than mine!

Hope he recovered quickly and was able to enjoy his first park day

 

[Wills Mom]

Thanks for joining guys You know what they say though, a bad start leads to a good finish Immigration and Budget were the most frustrating part of the holiday but when compared to the overall experience it doesn't even come close to ruining it

We were delighted ourselves DS was so good. My cousin and his wife (who was six months pregnant at the time) had a terrible time with their two year old. But more on that later!

I'll get back online later today to update with at least day 2 and 3. Day 2 was Universal Studios, but day 3 was the big day! Magic Kingdom day which I had been looking forward to more than anything. It wasn't without a few hiccups of course lol.

 

[janeyb]

Great trip report, thanks for sharing. The villa looks lovely. Looking forward to reading more.

 

[janeyb]

I've just realised that we were there at the same time, we arrived on the 16th May. It was our DD3 first trip as well. It was so easy as she was still only 6 months old, however when we return at Christmas she'll be 13 months. I'll be interested to see how Will managed and how he interacted with characters etc. She is already into everything and already walking a few steps so I think I too will be having to invest in one of those cute teddy backpacks that I spied on Wills back to keep her within reach at all times!! Now my husband and I are outnumbered we always seem to mislay one of them

 

[Wills Mom]

I've just realised that we were there at the same time, we arrived on the 16th May. It was our DD3 first trip as well. It was so easy as she was still only 6 months old, however when we return at Christmas she'll be 13 months. I'll be interested to see how Will managed and how he interacted with characters etc. She is already into everything and already walking a few steps so I think I too will be having to invest in one of those cute teddy backpacks that I spied on Wills back to keep her within reach at all times!! Now my husband and I are outnumbered we always seem to mislay one of them

Oh I think 13/14/15 months is a great age to bring them! Will walked at 9 months so he was flying around by the time we went which was handy. He didn't have to be in the buggy the entire time. Have to say the backpack was cute but not the best as far as harnesses go. I was never a fan of the wrist strap harnesses BUT we use one with DS now and he has great freedom with it but he is still kept close and under control. I'd highly recommend getting one and trying it Any questions about bringing kiddos at that age just fire away! I did so much research before we went but I needn't have. Will completely surprised me. He was an absolute

 

[Wills Mom]

Day 3 - May 6th

Today we were hitting Universal Studios so James and I were awake before the rest of the house, around 7.30am. We usually hit MK on our first park day but crowd calendars told us otherwise so we said we'd go to a park my parents had never been in before. Will woke at 8am and he was quick to wake the rest of the house We had a nice cooked breakfast courtesy of my mum - fried eggs, fried potatoes, turkey bacon, sausage, the works. Will had porridge and strawberries and a scrambled egg so he was fairly set for the day after that mountain of food - we all were
We arrived at Universal Studios at 10am and did preferred parking cause we were a little behind time wise. First stop was of course Rip Ride Rockit which myself, James, my sister, her OH, my cousin and my uncle rode. My uncle was hilarious in the queue, having never been on a rollercoaster larger than Space Mountain before



We were there before Transformers had opened but of course we got the obligatory picture of the building



We headed straight over to Animal Actors knowing that everyone in the group would enjoy the show and a break from the heat. We ate our snack of strawberries, bananas, grapes and glazed donuts in here out of the heat to save time for afterwards







After this we explored the park a bit. Will particularly enjoyed the play area for kids beside the ET ride. He played here while we hit The Simpsons ride which is a must do for us every time.









Thankfully Will had no problem with any characters so we were good for taking pics We explored City Walk for a while and then headed home.




Once we got home Will napped for about an hour while the rest of us chatted by the pool eating more fruit. We all had a swim when Will woke up after which we had a nice home roast chicken dinner followed by some amazing ice cream flavours like Red Velvet ice cream which was SO yum!! I had a bit of a stuffy nose so we went to Walmart where I got some Nyquil and some essentials like nappies for Will. Will went down at 9.30pm and we all went shortly after him. We had a big day ahead tomorrow!!

 

[Wills Mom]

Day 4 - May 7th

Once again James and I were awake ahead of everyone else around 7am. We made sandwiches for the day ahead then Will woke at 7.45am and as became his ritual for the rest of the holiday he proceeded to wake the rest of the family! Thats my boy We got breakfast and got to the TTC at 9am so we barely missed rope drop but we were delighted to have made such good time considering we had met up with my aunts family so there was a large group of us.




We got the ferry over to MK and this is where things began to go downhill. Will started to get very fussy on the ferry, he didn't want to be in the buggy, he didn't want to walk, he didn't want to be carried either in a baby carrier or our arms - we didn't know what was wrong with him We told the rest of the family to go ahead into MK and we'd meet them for the first show of Celebrate a Dream Come True. After spending the best part of an hour trying to calm him down we decided we'd go into MK and tell the family we were going to go back to the villa and we'd be back in the afternoon. When we entered MK however Will started to calm down somewhat. We were supposed to have a first haircut at Harmony Barbershop at 11.30am but we cancelled without a penalty as we weren't sure DS would have the patience for that. We met up with the rest of them at the castle and Will seemed much better although still a bit moany so we took a few quick pics and headed into Tomorrowland.

Here's a pic of the three of us in the exact spot James proposed to me in 2009.




My sister and her OH and my aunts family all decided they would go their own way so it was James, Will, my parents and I who brought Will on his first ever Disney ride. It was the People Mover


He was wide awake getting onto the ride.....



And fast asleep coming out the far side All the fussiness and tiredness had caught up on him, bless!



We rode this twice in a row to make sure Will was 100% asleep before we moved him to the buggy! He slept for almost 90 minutes while the four of us explored the park. We hadn't seen Storybook Circus or the Fantasyland Expansion so those were must see places on our list while the baby slept.



When we hit Storybook Circus we got Fastpasses for Dumbo for between 1pm and 2pm. We strolled along towards the new Fantasyland and my mother asked me to take pictures of the dwarves on the way. She loved them!






We made it halfway into the bottleneck into the new Fantasyland but it was SO hard to navigate the buggy with a sleeping child in it. People were just stepping on us so we pulled a U-turn and said we'd have a look either later on or another day. We had a look around some of the park instead.





It was coming up to the time we had organised to meet back up with my sister and her OH so we made our way back to the rendezvous point which was at Town Square Theatre. I ran ahead and met up with them while James and my parents kept the buggy and said they'd meet us back at Casey's Corner. I was craving corn dog nuggets I met up with my sister and her OH and we got FPs for all of us for Mickey Mouse at Town Sq. The return time fitted in perfectly with our Dumbo FPs. We also got surprise Dumbo FPs with the MM ones but we gave them away to another family Will woke up for some corn dog nuggets and fries, he liked the nuggets and then we made our way back to Dumbo. Will loved it, I mean he seriously LOVED it! He makes me play our recording of it over and over again since we came home. Definitely was one of our most memorable moments! My parents rode Dumbo too and I think they were the biggest kids on the ride My father kept going up higher and my mum is afraid of heights so she was freaking out with him but both of them were just laughing. Very funny!



To be continued....

 

[Wills Mom]

Day 4 continued...

We then made our way back for a meet and greet with Mickey stopping for some pics along the way.






Will loved meeting Mickey, he was just amazed by him! Of course he was obsessed with Mickey's nose and kept trying to pull it The interaction was OK, not as good as interaction we had with characters later in the trip but it was fine for a first M&G! My mother was starstruck by the big man We still make fun of her for the way she acted. She's never met any of the characters before so it was completely new territory for her!






We slowly left the park and got the Monorail back to the TTC eating ice creams on the way. Think it gave poor Will brain freeze though





Will napped when we got home and then we decided to go out for dinner. The only place that could be agreed upon was the Ponderosa! It was horrible! I'll say no more. We dropped Will and my parents home and collected my cousin and his wife as we had made plans to go back to MK for fireworks. We got a nice spot on Main Street and enjoyed the fireworks. Sorry I dont have many pics!




We did Philharmagic and The Haunted Mansion before the 10pm closing. Everyone enjoyed both rides, quintessential Disney fun! We headed home and had a few drinks before heading to bed around midnight or just after.

 

[Wills Mom]

Day 5 - May 8th

Today was planned as a lazy day and thats exactly what it was. Not a single pic though, sorry! Will woke up earlier than usual at 6.30am but James got up with him and let me have a lie on I emerged from bed at 11am, had a quick dip in the pool after having breakfast. We gathered ourselves together and decided we would go to Target and maybe Walmart after lunch (homemade pizzas yum!) I bought a pair of shoes in Target for $9 plus tax, and they are fab! Super comfy and really really pretty. Was delighted with my bargain
We did a little more grocery shopping in Walmart on the way home. James and I picked up a box of Corona too seeing as we hadn't really had much relaxing time on the holiday thus far.
We played with Will for a while after dinner, then bathed him and let him run around in the nip for a while as it was still SO hot. Will decided he wanted to wee on his dads feet though James was highly unimpressed but I couldn't stop laughing
Will went off to bed and the rest of us stayed up to have a few drinks by the pool which was nice. We didn't stay up too late as we had park plans for the next day

 

[Laurafoster]

Sounds like your having a great trip

Megan was obsessed with plutos noae on her first trip and kept trying to eat it lol!

Hope you managed to find some time to enjoy those coronas

 

[Wills Mom]

Sounds like your having a great trip

Megan was obsessed with plutos noae on her first trip and kept trying to eat it lol!

Hope you managed to find some time to enjoy those coronas

Kids do seem to love the noses don't they lol! Oh we made plenty of time to enjoy those Coronas!

I've been up to my eyes with one thing or another but I'll get back to the TR within the next few days hopefully Thanks for reading along

 

[tinks_1989]

Only just found your tr. loving it so far. Bless will he is so good I wish Elsie liked to sleep that much lol

 

[wicket2005]

Thanks for sharing.

 

[princess_ariel_85]

Following along! Love the TR so far, Wills a cutie! He handles flying far better than I do lol

The pics of him meeting Mickey are lovely.

xx

 

[Wills Mom]

Sorry I haven't updated in a while! I'm hoping to find time this weekend (between Strictly and X Factor lol!) to get the remaining days done! Watch this space.....

 

[Wills Mom]

Only just found your tr. loving it so far. Bless will he is so good I wish Elsie liked to sleep that much lol

Oh I wish he was still loving sleep that much lol. Hes after cutting his nap time in half recently and I'm finding myself so drained as a result lol!