“Dreams Come True Momma!” A 2 year old’s first trip ~ May 2015~Complete {NEW TR LINK!}

[pkondz]

We weren’t sitting long when a CM came over to us and made us stand.

Why do they do that? Has anyone in the history of the world been trampled because they were sitting waiting for a fireworks show?

We have no pictures from the projection show or the fireworks because I just wanted to soak in the magic and be in the moment on Mother’s day.

I did the same. Thanks, I want to enjoy this.
Want me to take pictures instead? Pay for my ticket!

We did have one instance where DH had for some reason to stand behind the stroller and moved it back a little. This allowed room for a mom to bring her kids (probably in the 8-10 year old range) up and into an area where people weren’t supposed to stand and I missed a good portion of the projection show protecting Little Miss from being shoved off the rail by the kid who kept pushing us.

That stinks.
I would think that everyone has a similar story... but shouldn't if you've FP'd it!

While the view is nice, being forced to stand and then still dealing with late arrival fools shoving themselves where they want it just isn’t worth it. I don’t see us wasting FPs on that again.

Good to know. Seriously doubt I'd FP this anyway, but... good to know.

Thankfully once we got to that side we caught the eye of a CM who had one of those light up traffic directing wand thingys (whatever they are called)

There is a technical term for them.
It's: light up traffic directing wand thingy.

And I lost count of the number of times I loudly repeated “Excuse me! Sorry! Trying to get to the Baby center and this is the only way” I know we ticked quite a few people off in the process but many got a look of understanding once I threw out the explanation.

Good to know that there are still some decent people even in a mob.

Once the lights went out I just had to laugh. Little Miss’s only reaction was a very cute “Uh-Oh” She actually really seemed to enjoy it.

Good! My DDs weren't brave enough to try it at that age.

With Liberty Square EPMTY we decided we would find a good spot on the wall and sit.

Whoa. That place is empty!
I'll have to try and remember that for future trips.

Being one of very few small children there along with her enthusiastic dancing attracted the eye of many of the performers. The White Rabbit even approached her and gave her a bow.

Nice! I bet she really enjoyed that parade!

We then decided we would slowly PhotoPass our way out of the park after a magical night.

Uh... did I say zero? I meant five! Five is what I meant!

All of the bus depots had been condensed down and we ended up on an almost empty bus.

Nice! No standing on the ride home.

It was then that we decided that THAT was the way to exit the parks at night. It was a truly magical way to end a day and it made for an absolute dream of a Mother’s Day.

That's terrific. So glad you had such a wonderful Mother's day!

Bonus Questions:

1. Which Park do we go to first?

2. What's our First ride?

3. What time did we get to the park?

DHS
TSMM
9:00

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Thanks... I've heard this before and this just kind of confirms my lack of desire to book FP+ for Wishes. It seems like an awesome area, but I hate the idea of using the FP if I'm still going to have to get there early and stand around. There's other places to see the fireworks...

Indeed!

I totally understand. That area is just a huge bottleneck. I remember going through there a few years ago with BiL leading the way, me holding the stroller up in the air over my head and my dad and DW carrying the kids.

We ended up using the stroller like a battering ram (hence the annoyed people in our wake)

I'm glad it worked out ok!

She had fun in there.

Wow. Where did everybody go???

I know right!

That is awesome!

I'm kinda hoping that the schedule for March gets revised and a second parade gets added. Such an awesome parade experience for Little Miss!

Thin out? Seriously?

There was a (Minimal) bit of a wave of people leaving after the parade ended.

That is a great way to end the night. Great pictures on Main Street. I'm glad that Little Miss was still awake and appeared to be happy. Not often you get night time pictures of a little one dancing in Main Street without a stampede bearing down on them.

I know right! Benefit of having a night owl I suppose.

Woohoo I'm moving up in the rankings!

What a fun night!

Was Little Miss tired at all? She's such a trooper

Nope not in the least!! She's quite the night owl!

I've never done FP+ for Wishes - I wasn't sure if it would be worth it, but it sounds like it isn't. Maybe for a really crowded park day...

I doubt it would be worth it even then. There are better off beat places to watch the fireworks from that don't require waiting around ahead of time.

Glad you were able to avoid the crowds at the end of the night. What a lovely mother's day! Love the PP pics! How many did you end up taking?

Well with 5 stops each clicking away I'd say we got around 30-50 at least!

Animal Kingdom

The Safari (because that is usually our first ride too!)

10-10:15am?

Why do they do that? Has anyone in the history of the world been trampled because they were sitting waiting for a fireworks show?

TO cram more people into the area I think.

I did the same. Thanks, I want to enjoy this.
Want me to take pictures instead? Pay for my ticket!

That stinks.
I would think that everyone has a similar story... but shouldn't if you've FP'd it!

Exactly. I gave up FP's at Epcot that morning for the sole purpose of that FP. to then still deal with people pushing forward was disheartening. I'm glad it didn't become a bigger issue though.

Good to know. Seriously doubt I'd FP this anyway, but... good to know.

really not worth it.

There is a technical term for them.
It's: light up traffic directing wand thingy.

Good to know that there are still some decent people even in a mob.

I think it was a matter of an honest apology and quick explination goes a LONG way.

Good! My DDs weren't brave enough to try it at that age.

She enjoyed it!

Whoa. That place is empty!
I'll have to try and remember that for future trips.

Such a magical way to end the day!

Nice! I bet she really enjoyed that parade!

Uh... did I say zero? I meant five! Five is what I meant!

Uh huh. As my family always told me..."Say what you mean and mean what you say!"

Nice! No standing on the ride home.

That's terrific. So glad you had such a wonderful Mother's day!

It will be a hard one to top that's for sure!

DHS
TSMM
9:00

 

[pkondz]

Uh huh. As my family always told me..."Say what you mean and mean what you say!"

I meant every word of it.
Honest.


Really.


Maybe.

 

[Gracefulskinny]

I meant every word of it.
Honest.


Really.


Maybe.

 

[Gracefulskinny]

I interrupt this Trip Report to post a bit of a shameless plug...

Little Miss's music teacher happens to be up for a Grammy in the Children's Music category as well as up for a Parent Choice award. She has already won the Teacher's choice for the year. If you are looking for some great Kids music that is actually fun for the whole family to listen to I can send you no further than her music. (Its also great for long car trips as well.)

http://www.amazon.com/Active-Music-Bodies-Brains/dp/B015D9MA6Y/ref=sr_1_3?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1444998875&sr=1-3-mp3-albums-bar-strip-0&keywords=Miss+Gail+and+the+Jumpin'+Jam+Band​

 

[Dugette]

Sorry the Wishes FP+ wasn't really worth it. Glad that mom corrected her kid, though.

And I lost count of the number of times I loudly repeated “Excuse me! Sorry! Trying to get to the Baby center and this is the only way” I know we ticked quite a few people off in the process but many got a look of understanding once I threw out the explanation.

Ugh, no fun. Glad people understood once you explained, though.

Once the lights went out I just had to laugh. Little Miss’s only reaction was a very cute “Uh-Oh” She actually really seemed to enjoy it.

That sounds like something Izzy would do.

Glad the parade was so enjoyable and Little Miss got all that attention!

Love how happy Little Miss looks!

All of the bus depots had been condensed down and we ended up on an almost empty bus. It was then that we decided that THAT was the way to exit the parks at night.

We love doing the slowly-mosey-out at park close thing too. Granted, that was in our pre-kid days, but I love how quiet and pleasant it is.

It was a truly magical way to end a day and it made for an absolute dream of a Mother’s Day.

So glad that this was a great Mother's Day for you!

@Dugette – 10pts; HM, 5 (Because you said Zero or 5 I’m giving you the points!), bonus for only full answer

Thanks!

1. Which Park do we go to first?

Animal Kingdom

2. What's our First ride?

Safari

3. What time did we get to the park?

10:15am

Little Miss's music teacher happens to be up for a Grammy in the Children's Music category as well as up for a Parent Choice award. She has already won the Teacher's choice for the year.

That is super cool! I'll have to check that out.

 

[mdsouth]

First of all glad to hear you had a wonderful close to your evening. I loved the photo of Little Miss sitting on your hubby's shoulders in front of the castle. The big smiles on all three of your faces says it all!

 

[mdsouth]

My guess is Hollywood Studios and you ride Great movie ride. You get there around 1030

 

[luckylady]

I'm going too guess little miss liked HM. What great PP at the end of the day. It paid too take your time. Can't believe how awake she is. She sleep on the way back to your room?

 

[annie170]

That is a fantastic family photo in front of the castle! Definitely frameworthy!

It sounds like you had a dream Mother's Day to me. Very memorable!

If everyone is up for it, we try to do the later parade and avoid the mass exodus. So much less hassle.

I'll guess Animal Kingdom with an arrival of 10:10 and riding the Safari first.

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Sorry the Wishes FP+ wasn't really worth it. Glad that mom corrected her kid, though.

It wasn't horrible but I certainly wouldn't bother with it again.

Ugh, no fun. Glad people understood once you explained, though.

I have found an honest apology freely given goes a LONG way toward good will.

That sounds like something Izzy would do.

Glad the parade was so enjoyable and Little Miss got all that attention!

I am really really hoping they add a second parade for our one park day in March. Little MIss enjoyed that SO much!

Love how happy Little Miss looks!

Wanna know one of our secrets for photos like this? If you look at that pic again and pay close attention to it you will see that DH is holding her hand down so that she won't cover her (or my) face and you will see that I am in the process of gently tickling her.

We love doing the slowly-mosey-out at park close thing too. Granted, that was in our pre-kid days, but I love how quiet and pleasant it is.

Perk of having a night owl.

So glad that this was a great Mother's Day for you!

It will be a hard one to top!

Thanks!

Animal Kingdom

Safari

10:15am

That is super cool! I'll have to check that out.

If Izzy is a music lover like Little Miss is she'll Love it.

First of all glad to hear you had a wonderful close to your evening. I loved the photo of Little Miss sitting on your hubby's shoulders in front of the castle. The big smiles on all three of your faces says it all!

Magical evening for sure!

My guess is Hollywood Studios and you ride Great movie ride. You get there around 1030

I'm going too guess little miss liked HM. What great PP at the end of the day. It paid too take your time. Can't believe how awake she is. She sleep on the way back to your room?

Little Miss is very much a night owl. She had no trouble staying up. Also her usual bedtime is 9:30 - 10pm so it wasn't a huge difference from usual.

That is a fantastic family photo in front of the castle! Definitely frameworthy!

Its another favorite for sure!

It sounds like you had a dream Mother's Day to me. Very memorable!

It was one that's hard to beat that's for sure!

If everyone is up for it, we try to do the later parade and avoid the mass exodus. So much less hassle.

Its great! And for us, the magic of being in the park that late almost beats out Pre park breakfast crowds.

I'll guess Animal Kingdom with an arrival of 10:10 and riding the Safari first.

 

[Gracefulskinny]

The 4 Parks 1 Day Challenge (5/11/15 Part 1)



When the plans for this day where being decided it had been jokingly discussed in the PTR that it would be cool I could pull off 4 parks in 1 day. Going into the trip there were zero plans to actually try to make that happen, but this day’s plans did call for 3 of the 4 parks in one day.


It was on the bus on the way back to the resort the night before that we realized that it was after 12am when we left the main gate of MK. Therefore by technicality it could count as park 1 for the day. The 4 Park Challenge was ON!


Due to our late night we had no intentions of hitting up Rope Drop. We had a goal of sleeping in and getting to the park about 10ish.


By 9:53 we found ourselves here:

As we were entering the gate I made mention to DH that I wanted to keep an eye out for De Vine. Sure enough, when we walked in what is the first thing that we see?

Why, Hello there De Vine! After a quick hello and a photo we were on our way.


Because we weren’t in much of a hurry we stopped a few times when we saw some Photopass spots.

As we make our way into Africa we stop to watch a show and I ended up getting pulled into it.

After our dancing fun we took a picture with the performers and were on our way for our first FP of the day. It was time for our Safari!

We were a smidge nervous going into the Safari because Little Miss hasn’t always done well when Animals get close but it’s one of my favorite attractions and so it’s always a must. Turns out the Little Miss LOVED it! Big fun was had by all.


***Bonus Question***

Where do we stop for snack? (Can be as general as the section of the park, however the more specific answer you give the more points you get)

What do we get? ​

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Trip Report Game Points


@chunkymonkey – 8pts; AK,Safari, 10:00, 1st answer bonus

@Dugette – 4pts; AK, Sarfari, 10:15

@annie170 - 5pts; Ak, Safari, 10:10





Totals:


Dugette – 38

Afwdwfan – 24

annie170 – 24

Cajunfan – 22

Princessesandpascal – 19

Chunkymonkey – 18

NJLauren - 13

BlvInMagic – 12

Vleeth – 11

BibbitybobityLu – 11

Pkondz – 11

Kadrachb – 7

Loves The Mouse – 6

ashw100 – 5

Mdsouth – 4​

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Oh and for the nerds out there....

Happy Back to the Future Day!

​

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Ok, fell a bit behind - apologies for that!

Funny that you mention Elsa was a bit flat in the meet as Little Miss seems super animated in it! Guess she had to make up for Elsa being toned down

Bummer about the FP for Wishes not being any better. We have only done the one for Illuminations which I did feel provided more room/less stress, but doesn't sound like that was the case here

Kinda sad when it is such a victory just to move from one area to the other - but it does just get nuts there after the show with people trying to move/exit! I think as long as you are aware and doing the best you can most people understand - it is the people who clearly "don't care" that annoy me

sounds like such a nice time at the later parade - so great that Little Miss got all that attention

I love how you used "PhotoPass" as a verb!

So glad you had a great Mother's Day!!!!

Sounds like a good start to the day - how fun you got pulled into the dance group! Glad Little Miss enjoyed the Safari!

Oh, and Happy Back to the Future Day! Remember, hoverboards don't work over water ... unless you got power!

 

[vleeth]

Snack in Africa

elephant ears (do they even still have that)

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Ok, fell a bit behind - apologies for that!

Happens to us all!

Funny that you mention Elsa was a bit flat in the meet as Little Miss seems super animated in it! Guess she had to make up for Elsa being toned down

Little Miss and SUper Animated go hand in hand. Its just her nature!

Bummer about the FP for Wishes not being any better. We have only done the one for Illuminations which I did feel provided more room/less stress, but doesn't sound like that was the case here

There is a chance if you sit at the back of the space you won't deal with the crowds asa badly but DH wanted to sit up front.

Kinda sad when it is such a victory just to move from one area to the other - but it does just get nuts there after the show with people trying to move/exit! I think as long as you are aware and doing the best you can most people understand - it is the people who clearly "don't care" that annoy me

We were swimming across stream. That made it harder. I did my best to let people know I wasn't just being obnoxious for no reason.

sounds like such a nice time at the later parade - so great that Little Miss got all that attention

It was amazing! Its the way to watch the parades for sure!

I love how you used "PhotoPass" as a verb!

Well it is what we did. we stopped at every photopass stop on the way out of the park.

So glad you had a great Mother's Day!!!!

It will be a hard one to beat. That's for sure!

Sounds like a good start to the day - how fun you got pulled into the dance group! Glad Little Miss enjoyed the Safari!

It was a fun start to the day.

Oh, and Happy Back to the Future Day! Remember, hoverboards don't work over water ... unless you got power!

Snack in Africa

elephant ears (do they even still have that)

 

[afwdwfan]

Therefore by technicality it could count as park 1 for the day. The 4 Park Challenge was ON!

Technically, that's correct. A little weak... but correct.

As we were entering the gate I made mention to DH that I wanted to keep an eye out for De Vine. Sure enough, when we walked in what is the first thing that we see?

Cool! I'm glad you got to see her and get a picture with her. Apparently most people must have just gone on by. I'd expected to see more people around.

We were a smidge nervous going into the Safari because Little Miss hasn’t always done well when Animals get close but it’s one of my favorite attractions and so it’s always a must. Turns out the Little Miss LOVED it! Big fun was had by all.

I'm glad she enjoyed it!

Where do we stop for snack? (Can be as general as the section of the park, however the more specific answer you give the more points you get)

What do we get?

Harambe Market

Jalapeno pretzel

 

[KathyM2]

Turns out the Little Miss LOVED it! Big fun was had by all.

The safari ride is the absolute best!! Worth going to AK just for that in my books! Great pic with DeVine too!!

 

[chunkymonkey]

YES YES YES I got 8 points woohoo!!

That's a really cute video of you and little miss dancing. And she made a friend too! LOL

Gosh...hmm, snack time...there are too many options! I am thinking the Jalapeno cheese stuffed pretzel because that's usually my pick and I think it's right outside of the Safari, although I think they have then near Discovery Island too.