Ride all the boats, meet all the characters - a first-timer's Jan '15 TR 7/28 updates and conclusion

[Sailormoon2]

Great report. So up beat and succinct and your son seems just delightful! Sorry your US day was so rushed, that would be frustrating for the cost. Guess there wouldn't have been many other rides G could handle? Excited to hear what he thought of the grand finally boat cruise.

 

[ursalita]

Sorry your day at Universal wasn't all you'd hoped for. That wand is really neat, I'd never heard about that before.

Raglan Road looks so good. It will be our first choice of restaurant if we ever go back to Downtown Disney.

So glad you had a great day at MK, you did so much. Looking forward to hearing about the cruise.

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Hi Amy! Sorry I've been a bad diser, I've missed a bunch of updates, but I think I'm finally all caught up!

(sorry for the long comment!)

Grant is so adorable! I love that sweater too!

After that, since we know Grant loves a good boat ride, we headed for Livin with the Land

Here's a picture of the whopping 0 min wait time

I love Living with the Land too, and there's never a long wait I'm glad to hear you guys enjoyed it.

We headed over the Mexico for an early lunch at the Counter Service on the water. I had nachos, which were not that great but did the job.

Oh, I'm disappointed to hear that the nachos aren't great. They look amazing!!! I haven't eaten at the quick service at Mexico yet, I definitely fancy it though! Maybe I'll avoid the nachos

Wow, WHERE did you get this?! It looks and sounds delicious.

These four pictures are so cute!! I love the idea of getting a hat photo in each country Next time you should complete the set

I told Grant to pick the hairiest/ugliest ones he could find.

Haha of course, what everybody looks for in a clam

You definitely captured some of the best meet and greet photos I've seen! Grant looks like he loves meeting the characters.

I have to say, as a non ride person, this was amazing! I really enjoyed it, I thought you felt really secure and when the simulation felt too fast I would just close my eyes for a second. I wish we had been able to go again later in the day.

Aww it sucks that your Universal day wasn't all you'd hoped. I think Grant will appreciate it all much more when he's a little older, as a lot of the rides are pretty big and intense! Hopefully you'll enjoy it much more in the future. But Forbidden Journey is definitely one of the best rides at Universal! I'm glad you got the chance to ride it

Once the presentation was over, Olivander had us stay back. He said we were alone now and I was allowed to take pics. He dramatically found a wand for Grant (I was in heaven) and since he had taken note of Grant's reactions, this first wand was magically made just for him and caused good things to happen!

This sounds great!!! I've never been to Olivander's before, but it sounds a lot of fun. I bet it's awesome for the kids to perform the magic around the park

Great shot!

We were working on a spell outside of a shop nearby and it 'went off' and, I kid you not, G started shaking and just ran off into the crowd of strangers (because that's the logical reaction).

Oh no!! I'm sorry but I laughed a little at this - mainly at the "because that's the logical reaction" that must've been scary for you guys at the time though! That dragon is super loud I'm not surprised it frightened him.

I wanted to stop by Goofy's Candy Co and make our own treats so that was our first stop.

This is one of my favourite snacks! We always go to Goofy's to create our own rice krispy treat What's the topping on this one?!

Aww yaay, more pictures of Grant hugging the Princesses You should get some of these printed and framed - they're wonderful!

Love this picture of the two of you!

So when we got into the room and G heard him, OMG he lost his mind with excitement! He still says this was his favorite thing he did at WDW most days.

Awesome!!! I need to meet talking Mickey on our next trip. What kinds of things does he say? And do you have any idea how it works!?!

Loved catching up on your TR, and I'm looking forward to hearing more

 

[ariane37]

I love how happy Grant looks when he's meeting the characters! Interesting to hear you liked your Elsa better than your Anna, usually I read people feel the opposite. My boys haven't been interested in meeting them so I haven't had any experience

 

[librarygeek]

Your candy creations look delicious! I still haven't done that yet.

And dinner at Raglan Road looks quite good. I love the interaction with the kids and the dancing, it's so nice that they do that - Disney is the best!

I've noticed from lots of pictures that sometimes the face characters aren't all that spot-on with their cartoon counterparts - but I think that Merida that you met is awesome! She really looks the part.

How fun that you met talking Mickey! I met him once but I was by myself so there wasn't a whole lot to say, lol. I would love to see the interaction with a child.

 

[jrandall]

I loved this report! Your pictures are amazing, your son & his reactions are just adorable. What a cute family you have! I am going in may for the first time with kids so I'm super excited & loving the trip reports!

 

[ach222]

Sounds like a great day so far! Lots of great pictures!
I totally don't blame Grant for not liking when the PeopleMover goes through Space Mountain ... I like Space Mountain and I hate that part! It's not the kind of ride that you expect to be that dark adn it freaked me out too. It's definitely not for everyone.

I hate when adults block kids' views of the parade ... I know sometimes it's not on purpose, but really, look around and make sure you're not blocking someone's view!

I'm glad you guys got a talking Mickey and that Grant enjoyed it so much! It really must be a very special interaction!

I was really thrown when we were thrown into darkness, I was not prepared for that ride to start a freak out haha!

Sounds like a great MK day!!

It was!

Enjoying reading so far! Looks like it was a great trip! My daughter loves peter pan and thats the m&g we couldn't fit it. Im interested to hear about your Pirates cruise, Im looking into that for the next trip!

Loved the cruise! I'll try and write it today or tomorrow!

We have stayed away from DTD recently due to the construction but Raglan Road is one of our favorites! And so great Grant participated in the dancing

What a wonderful day at MK - Grant looks so happy with all the princesses - well, all the characters really ... even the ones he didn't know

Looks like you got on a ton of rides and had some good food - And the visit with talking Mickey was a great topper for the day

I think RR is for sure going to be repeated on future trips, my parents are going to join us on our next trip (2016!) and I think they'd like it as well.
Yes, G was just as pleased with characters he'd never seen as with those he loves at home. I wish we had known how much he was going to like big Hero 6 so much so I would have known to meet Baymax while he was still in HS, I'm guessing he'll be gone next year.

Great report. So up beat and succinct and your son seems just delightful! Sorry your US day was so rushed, that would be frustrating for the cost. Guess there wouldn't have been many other rides G could handle? Excited to hear what he thought of the grand finally boat cruise.

Well thanks! He is a very fun kid, we are going to take him back next year just because this seems to be such a magical age for him.

Sorry your day at Universal wasn't all you'd hoped for. That wand is really neat, I'd never heard about that before.

Raglan Road looks so good. It will be our first choice of restaurant if we ever go back to Downtown Disney.

So glad you had a great day at MK, you did so much. Looking forward to hearing about the cruise.

I hate that I sound so down on WWoHP - just my own personal weirdness! RR was fantastic, you should try it for sure!

I love how happy Grant looks when he's meeting the characters! Interesting to hear you liked your Elsa better than your Anna, usually I read people feel the opposite. My boys haven't been interested in meeting them so I haven't had any experience

I also had read the Annas are usually better so I was surprised, but our Elsa was top notch!

Your candy creations look delicious! I still haven't done that yet.

And dinner at Raglan Road looks quite good. I love the interaction with the kids and the dancing, it's so nice that they do that - Disney is the best!

I've noticed from lots of pictures that sometimes the face characters aren't all that spot-on with their cartoon counterparts - but I think that Merida that you met is awesome! She really looks the part.

How fun that you met talking Mickey! I met him once but I was by myself so there wasn't a whole lot to say, lol. I would love to see the interaction with a child.

I wish G had been a little less awestruck by talking Mickey so he would've talked back and I could've seen what else he would say but gosh it was cool!

I loved this report! Your pictures are amazing, your son & his reactions are just adorable. What a cute family you have! I am going in may for the first time with kids so I'm super excited & loving the trip reports!

Thank you so much! You are going to have so much fun! Hope to read all about it!

 

[ach222]

Hi Amy! Sorry I've been a bad diser, I've missed a bunch of updates, but I think I'm finally all caught up!

(sorry for the long comment!)



Grant is so adorable! I love that sweater too!

He's a big fan of wearing it to school!


I love Living with the Land too, and there's never a long wait I'm glad to hear you guys enjoyed it.



Oh, I'm disappointed to hear that the nachos aren't great. They look amazing!!! I haven't eaten at the quick service at Mexico yet, I definitely fancy it though! Maybe I'll avoid the nachos

Jon really liked the burritos, I would skip the nachos!


Wow, WHERE did you get this?! It looks and sounds delicious.

In La Cava inside the Mexico pavilion (walk in and it's soon on your right!) - you have to get one - it's fantastic! (and sooo many flavors)









These four pictures are so cute!! I love the idea of getting a hat photo in each country Next time you should complete the set

Yes, for sure!



Haha of course, what everybody looks for in a clam





You definitely captured some of the best meet and greet photos I've seen! Grant looks like he loves meeting the characters.

Thanks!!



Aww it sucks that your Universal day wasn't all you'd hoped. I think Grant will appreciate it all much more when he's a little older, as a lot of the rides are pretty big and intense! Hopefully you'll enjoy it much more in the future. But Forbidden Journey is definitely one of the best rides at Universal! I'm glad you got the chance to ride it



This sounds great!!! I've never been to Olivander's before, but it sounds a lot of fun. I bet it's awesome for the kids to perform the magic around the park

It was pretty amazing - I am for sure excited to go back when the boys are older and 'get it'


Great shot!



Oh no!! I'm sorry but I laughed a little at this - mainly at the "because that's the logical reaction" that must've been scary for you guys at the time though! That dragon is super loud I'm not surprised it frightened him.


He just took off, no worries, I was laughing as it happened (I could see him the whole time, not much room for him to run off)


This is one of my favourite snacks! We always go to Goofy's to create our own rice krispy treat What's the topping on this one?!


Mine was krispy treat with white chocolate, peanut butter chips and choc drizzle - soon good!


Aww yaay, more pictures of Grant hugging the Princesses You should get some of these printed and framed - they're wonderful!



Love this picture of the two of you!




Awesome!!! I need to meet talking Mickey on our next trip. What kinds of things does he say? And do you have any idea how it works!?!

Loved catching up on your TR, and I'm looking forward to hearing more

I'm not sure how much he will say if he were to get a chatty adult, we were in there with other kiddos and they were all in awe so didn't say much - i'll have to look out for a report of you meeting him to see what he'll say! No idea how it works at all, would love to know

 

[LindseyJo22]

I just got caught up, so prepare for lots of comments!

More AR people! I love hearing about familiar places, even though I'm living outside my home state now

I'm more impressed that you drove to Disney! Seemed like it was a really nice and uneventful drive, too (except for the guy stopping to take pictures when you got there ).

I've always loved POR; it was where we always stayed once we realized that staying on property was the way to go! The boat to DTD is so convenient.

Glad you had a good Epcot day, and glad to hear your Chef Mickey's experience was good! The characters are really the highlight of the meal there anyway

The MK day sounds like so much fun, and seeing the opening show was one of my favorite things from my last trip; I'd never seen it before then. It's such a perfect way to start the day!

Loved the entirety of HS; seemed like you guys really had a fun time! I'm in love with that Mickey hoodie.

All your Epcot adventures also look super fun I was glad to see some HP photos too; I want to go, but wasn't sure what it would be like. Looks like they really stepped it up for that section of the park.

Love all the character pictures! I'm so glad you had such great interactions, and talking Mickey is amazing I can just imagine how magical that experience was.

Contempo Cafe is definitely great. I stayed at Bay Lake last trip with SO's family, so we ate there a good bit. Much better than we expected!

Seems like an awesome trip, and you definitely got some great photos. Looking forward to reading more

 

[disnmooner2013]

I forgot to post our exact room location for the POR buffs

We were in 1426.

After check-in we made our way over to the bus stop and caught a bus for EPCOT.

I was a little wary of the MLK weekend crowds and I was right to be. Sunday and Monday were a bit of a madhouse! Very tough days to be be starting out/trying to get your bearings.

We arrived at EPCOT around lunch time. After stopping for a photo pass, we headed to Sunshine Seasons for lunch.

So I have no pics of this lunch at all because SS was NUTS - we were trying to figure out how quick services locations/ordering for the meal plan worked and it was tough with the mass of people. There was a sweet CM who clearly saw our bewildered faces and came to our rescue though.

I had tilapia fish tacos and they were great! For sure the best QS meal I had all trip. DH had Mongolian beef and DS had mac and cheese. DS was more interested in the cookie the size of his face than the mac & cheese but as a general rule, he ate very well the entire trip.

After lunch, we reviewed the park map and headed towards our 1pm FP+ for Test Track. We stopped to listen to some drummers (and I had not yet embraced the camera, sorry) which was a lot of fun. G got a sticker from them so he was super pleased.

When their show was done we were only a few min out from our FP time so we sat down for a bit and waited. We quickly were in line and on our way. DS designed our concept car.

Then we were off to our car. I had watched the ride videos with DS before we came but we didn't realize it was fast while you were still inside. DS was not a fan of that at all. He was ok once we were outside (said he liked that part) but wasn't a fan of the ride overall.

You can see in the ride pic that we are both spending our ride making sure DS was doing ok haha.

Jon enjoyed the chevy concept car before the ride as well as the showroom afterwards. He is a truck guy and this was right up his alley. In retrospect, we could've started DS out on a bit less intense ride but that's when I could snag a FP, so oh well.

I knew we needed to get g on a ride that would in no way be scary before proceeding, so we headed to Mexico and visited Donald's boat ride. We would be back many times throughout the week as Grant LOVED it.

We decided to meet Donald as well.

I had also planned on snagging an avocado margarita but La Cava was insanely busy. So we headed back to Spaceship Earth for our next FP. The wait for SE was something like 50 min so I'm glad we had the FP as G was excited that you could ride in the 'giant golf ball'.

Our future ...

Grant was again not a huge fan of this ride. Too much darkness for him (I told you he was timid). An alternate trip report title could easily have been "I liked it, but don't want to do it again".

We had a FP for the character spot but the wait was only about 10 min so we went ahead and got in line before our FP time. This was a hit (as were all character meets throughout the week)

This was all amazing for Grant. After meeting these guys, we jumped back on a bus for POR.

Next up - evening in DTD

AWESOME PICS AND THE MAP OF BUILDING 14 @ PORT ORLEANS IS AWESOME

 

[Anliena]

I just got all caught up and have to say your trip sounds like so much fun! I'm planning a trip in January '16 for my 3 and I know we won't be able to do any of the coasters either. My oldest is skittish of faster rides and just doesn't enjoy them.

 

[Chicago Mo]

How did i miss all this?!?! gah the new dis...

I have to tell you i want to squish G. He is such a sweet loving little boy. the pictures of him with all these characters the amazement in his eyes.. This is why i love Disney as much as i do!
all new people going to Disney should read your report.

 

[Glittercat]

Grant looks so kind and friendly and you are all a beautiful family!

 

[ach222]

AWESOME PICS AND THE MAP OF BUILDING 14 @ PORT ORLEANS IS AWESOME

Thanks! I adore all of the info on portorleans.org - it is such an amazing resource

I just got all caught up and have to say your trip sounds like so much fun! I'm planning a trip in January '16 for my 3 and I know we won't be able to do any of the coasters either. My oldest is skittish of faster rides and just doesn't enjoy them.

We will be back in Jan 16 - I'm guessing still no thrill rides this year for us!

How did i miss all this?!?! gah the new dis...

I have to tell you i want to squish G. He is such a sweet loving little boy. the pictures of him with all these characters the amazement in his eyes.. This is why i love Disney as much as i do!
all new people going to Disney should read your report.

Thank you, that's so sweet! It was a special trip, 5 was the perfect age for G to experience the magic!

Grant looks so kind and friendly and you are all a beautiful family!

Thank you! he's a pretty cool kiddo!

 

[ach222]

Oh hey look, I have a trip report ... maybe I should finish it!

Friday; Pirates and Pals Fireworks Voyage

When I last updated, we had finished a QS meal at Contempt Cafe, and killed some time in the Contemporary shops before our cruise. When it was time to check in, we headed to the ballroom where the Pirates and Pals cruise meets. There were some amazingly comfy couches outside the space where we crashed while G ran around making new friends. We chatted with several nice families, one from Jersey with an adorable little girl and one set of DVC owners who come all the time.

Patch and Patch, our hosts, welcomed us into the ballroom soon after and invited us to get a snack. The food was fairly simple. Pretzels, popcorn, a cake and some punch/lemonade type offerings. There was a freezer with ice cream treats so that was a hit. Hook and Smee were available for a meet and greet in the ballroom. It was a great meet, they took their time and were a hoot.

There was a lot of downtime in the ballroom and the kids had a blast. Grant formed a 'Pirate crew' with a few other kids and had so much fun. I could have done with a little less downtime but it was probably one of the highlights of G's trip.

The room was divided into 2 boat groups and each were led out to the dock by their respective Patch. Both Patch and Patch were incredibly entertaining. They had great banter between each other and excellent rapport with the kids.

The boat ride over consists of Patch getting to know the passengers aboard, singing songs, and doing a bit of trivia for small prizes. It is basically a comedy routine at sea. The hosts truly make this experience.

The actual fireworks viewing was spectacular. The view is so wonderful and having the music piped in on the boat while you sit and relax was really a great way to see the show!

There is a meet and greet with Peter Pan once you arrive back at the dock. This friend of Peter was truly fabulous. He was so over the top entertaining. Grant was in awe of him. Again, it was a really laid back meet and greet and we never felt rushed.

I have nothing bad to say about this entire day! The fireworks voyage was the cherry on top. We loved it, and we will do it again (more on that in a conclusion post) - after the cruise, we collected our car from valet at the GF and headed back to POR for our last sleep at Disney.

 

[ach222]

Saturday & Conclusion

Saturday dawned far too soon and we needed to get on the road. Armed with way too many snack credits left over, I hit the POR food court and bought us road trip snacks. Once all credits were used, I helped Jon load the car and we headed out. As we headed towards the exit of POR Grant said "Mom, I have tears on my face, I don't want to leave!". Poor kiddo is a total Disney convert.

We decided to drive straight through and ended up getting home about 2am on Sunday. It was a pretty uneventful drive and going all the way let us have some downtime Sunday before we had to go back to work/school.

I want to take a moment to thank all of you who have followed along with, and before that helped me plan, this trip. It was magical! Jon and I are both completely sold and are secretly dreaming of an adult only food and wine trip someday.

We have booked 2 rooms at POR for the same week in Jan 2016. My mom will be joining us and we will be taking both boys. We are super excited and Grant asks to see the countdown app on my phone daily!

My ADR day was last week. For now I have;
'Ohana dinner
Tusker House breakfast
Whispering Canyon Dinner
BOG lunch
CRT dinner
Crystal Palace bfast
Via Napoli dinner
Les Chefs dinner
Raglan Road dinner

Now, since no post is complete without pics, here is a pic of G's 6th birthday. We had a Lego themed party and he was a happy camper!

and here's a look at the little one, so you can see how big he has gotten! I'm hoping he does well at WDW, I'm a bit apprehensive about the trip with a 22 month old!

Well, I think I'm done! Wow, this has been so much fun! I truly loved having all of you along with me. I love having this record of the trip and your sweet words are a wonderful part of it. Thank you all!

 

[sara1215]

This looks like a wonderful trip! The looks on Grant's face are priceless!

 

[ach222]

I just got caught up, so prepare for lots of comments!

More AR people! I love hearing about familiar places, even though I'm living outside my home state now

I'm more impressed that you drove to Disney! Seemed like it was a really nice and uneventful drive, too (except for the guy stopping to take pictures when you got there ).

I've always loved POR; it was where we always stayed once we realized that staying on property was the way to go! The boat to DTD is so convenient.

Glad you had a good Epcot day, and glad to hear your Chef Mickey's experience was good! The characters are really the highlight of the meal there anyway

The MK day sounds like so much fun, and seeing the opening show was one of my favorite things from my last trip; I'd never seen it before then. It's such a perfect way to start the day!

Loved the entirety of HS; seemed like you guys really had a fun time! I'm in love with that Mickey hoodie.

All your Epcot adventures also look super fun I was glad to see some HP photos too; I want to go, but wasn't sure what it would be like. Looks like they really stepped it up for that section of the park.

Love all the character pictures! I'm so glad you had such great interactions, and talking Mickey is amazing I can just imagine how magical that experience was.

Contempo Cafe is definitely great. I stayed at Bay Lake last trip with SO's family, so we ate there a good bit. Much better than we expected!

Seems like an awesome trip, and you definitely got some great photos. Looking forward to reading more

Hi! Thanks for joining and an extra wave to another native Arkansan! We are crazy road-trippers, it stems from growing up showing horses. We were constantly on the road, so that's what we are used to.
Thanks for all of your comments! We truly had a wonderful trip and we did have a lot of great interactions!

 

[ach222]

This looks like a wonderful trip! The looks on Grant's face are priceless!

Thanks for reading! It was a fantastic trip, glad I could share it here.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

The pirates and pals cruise sounds awesome! Definitely something I want to keep in mind for future trips. That is great that the character interaction was so good - especially when you are paying for something extra I hate when you feel rushed.

Love the lego cake! You might say it, just like everything, is awesome!

Your ADR list looks great for your upcoming trip! Some of our favorites on there like Tusker House and Ragland Road. Every trip is different and I am sure you will have to adapt some to having the two kids this time but I am sure you will do great!