We nailed it with a newborn, why not tackle it with a toddler?!? Updated with Trip Video!!

[DisneyParkLover]

Mmmmm, love meatballs! Yummy!

These were delicious, as was most everything we had at Food & Wine!

Ha, great shirts!

I know, pretty clever. It would be neat if they were DISers.

Oooh, thanks for reminding me about this (the non-ham one that they have all the time at Sommerfest, that is). I've been trying to think of what Izzy can eat for lunch when we wander the F&G food booths - I'll have to keep this one in mind. She loved it last time.

I'm sure she would love that! I don't think Luke tried it when we were there (maybe he was napping?), but I know he would enjoy it!

Well, when you put it that way... Sorry it wasn't the relaxing experience you were hoping for.

I think it would be nice if you were there with no kids or older kids and if it were less crowded.

Yep, been there.

One time we listened to the hot dog song on repeat for almost an hour. It was the last hour or so of a very long car ride and Luke was over it! The hot dog song was the only thing that calmed him down.

Awwwwwww! So glad he snapped out of the nap-crabbiness when the characters appeared!

It was such a sweet moment!

Well said! It's really incredible to see them meet their heroes!

It really is! I know toddlers are a handful, but there is so much innocence and raw emotion at that age that is really wonderful to experience!

Glad to hear it. Planning on heading back there next month (went in June and once years ago, but loved it - that character interaction is great!)

We loved it! Now we are trying to choose between repeating Garden Grill or trying Tusker House for our fall trip.

So many cute photos! So glad Luke had such a great time hugging his pals!

Thanks!

It's so funny how toddler minds work sometimes.

That's an understatement!

"Amazing" paragraph!

Hahaha! Thanks!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Joining in, love this TR just like the last!

Thank you and back!

Luke is just adorable and so well behaved! He also has a gorgeous smile, and doesn't stop which is just lovely to see!

Thank you! He is usually a pretty well behaved and happy boy!

Luke's first character interaction, was just priceless those pictures are just amazing!!

Thank you! It was such an awesome moment to see his excitement!

Front of the limo on RnR is the best...get the best thrill from the ride!

I think I agree, although I prefer the back on most coasters.

Can't wait to read more about your trip!!

Stay tuned! Hoping to keep posting pretty regularly until our next Disney trip in 4 weeks! I know I won't be done with this one by then, but hope to have made good progress! Plus it's getting me super excited for our May trip!

 

[meejay]

Jumping to say you've inspired me to ride RnRC! I haven't rode in years since DH hates coasters and the kids are too little, but I think I will be hitting it up the next trip!

Love the TR - my youngest was 9 months her first trip, 18 months last year and will be 2 1/2 this fall. I love reading about other's trips with littles! So much fun!

 

[Dugette]

Have I asked you what your May dates are? Do we overlap? We arrive on the 14th.

 

[Shimmyb812]

Meeting the Mouse

When I left you, we had just begun a relaxing boat ride from Germany to Future World. When we disembarked we still had some time before our next fastpass and our dining reservations, so we headed over to Innoventions. This wound up being a better rest choice than the Chase lounge. It was nice and cool with plenty of seats and Luke loved running around in there!










Our next fastpass was for Living with the Land, so we walked over to The Land and were enjoying a tour of the gardens in no time! I wanted to do this ride before dinner, since we would soon be seeing this area from another vantage point. After the ride, DH and I rode Soarin and Luke and my parents took another spin on Living with the Land. Then my parents took the rider swap to ride Soarin and DH and I took Luke outside. He was really tired, so we put him in the stroller and walked him around until he fell asleep.

Luke napped for a little while, but before long it was time for our dining reservation at Garden Grill! We were super excited about this reservation! Luke had met the characters when he was 9 weeks old, but obviously he didn't remember that. Plus, when he was a newborn, not only did he have no idea who the characters were, but he also completely slept through the meet & greet with the Fab Five. On this trip, not only did he know Mickey, but he loved him! Mickey has always been his favorite character! When he first starting dancing it was to the Mickey tunes. And there were car trips when he could only be calmed by listening to "ot og" (the hotdog song) over and over. So we were very excited to have him meet his much beloved Mickey Mouse!

We had intentionally not met any characters up to this point, so that this would be his first character interaction. But the time came for our reservation and Luke was still fast asleep. They said it would only be a few minutes until we were seated, so I went ahead and had James carry in a sleeping Luke.






We had agreed to wait a few extra minutes for an outside booth, so we sat and waited a few minutes.






But before long, we were taken to our booth with Luke still asleep. A picture of the scenery:




Luke woke up as we got seated and, as anyone who has had a prematurely woken toddler knows, he did not wake up in a good mood! He was fussy and had no interest in his food or toys whatsoever. I was really second guessing this whole meal until the characters started coming around. Dale came by first, and Luke was interested. But Luke doesn't know him as well and wanted Mama to hold him for a picture while he leaned over for a hug!



Next up was Pluto, and Luke definitely knew him! He was still warming up, so he still wanted Mama to hold him. But he went in for the full hug with Pluto.




A few minutes later, he saw the Mouse himself at a nearby table and he went crazy! He got so excited and he no longer needed Mama to hold him. When Mickey was done with the table next to us, we put Luke down and he ran right into Mickey's arms!








It was so sweet! Luke could not have been more excited to see his favorite character! That one moment seeing him run to Mickey for a big hug made the whole cost of the trip worth it! This is why I think taking a toddler to Disney is great. Yes, they come with their own set of challenges, but this age is so full of awe and pure unbridled joy! Seeing your toddler's eyes light up when they meet their favorite character is just awesome! It is really beyond words, so here are some more pictures:





























Continued in next post...

 

[Shimmyb812]

Katie's Mom weighing in: As a grandparent, seeing Luke meet Mickey was absolutely magical! The only thing better than taking your kids to Disney is taking your grandkids! Character interaction aside, we loved Garden Grill. I expected that w the focus on characters, the food might not be quite as good as we've previously experienced at WDW , but I was very pleasantly surprised! Katie has already commented that everything was delicious, and I would 2nd that. Also, my husband - not a dessert lover at all, and on a restricted diet so has to limit his carbs - was just going to try one bite of cobbler, wound loving it so much he had a full portion and then had 2nds!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

I feel like we have always wrongly ignored Innoventions - seems like people have a good time there and there are opportunities to let the kids run around a bit. I didn't even know they had a real fire truck there - we could have just gone there and my son would have been happy! And now it seems like they are redoing them completely so might never get to experience them. Oh well.

I didn't realize they were redoing them! That was the first time we spent much time in there, but it was really nice for a toddler. Air conditioned and not so crowded so he could run off some energy!

Glad things worked out with the Garden Grill - all in all seemed like Luke recovered pretty quickly (my son can sometimes be a grouch for like 20-30 minutes after he wakes from a nap). So sweet seeing how happy he was to meet Mickey!

Luke is pretty crabby too when he is overtired, but seeing the characters snapped him right out of it!

... a.k.a. - here Disney, take all my money! It is true though, getting to experience Disney through their eyes brings a whole new layer to the magic. I think that is one reason WDW is so popular - you can enjoy it solo, adults only, with babies and toddlers, with teenagers, etc.

Hahaha - so true! And they know we are hooked! But truly, right now our Disney vacations are not very expensive. Luke flies free, gets in the parks free, and eats free at buffets. And for our May trip, we are staying offsite and sharing a condo with my parents. So after taxes and fees it is costing less than $50 a night per couple for a 3 bedroom condo. We already have annual passes, and I have gift cards that were given as gifts and from my Disney Visa points for expenses while we are there. So with our share of the lodging and flights, it is costing us less than $900 for this trip. We really can't even go to the beach without spending about that much! And Disney is one of the few places that I feel you can take a toddler and both the child and the parents enjoy it. So for the next few years at least, I expect Disney will get the majority of our travel budget!

We were pretty surprised how much we liked the food at Garden Grill. Not exactly fine dining or anything but just good solid food and getting it family style lets you try a number of things. Agree about the dessert needing ice cream though

We really did enjoy it and would happily go again!

and how cool Mickey was able to change out of his farmer clothes and into is suit so quickly to meet Luke again! [sarcasm]

I know! Luke was very impressed with all Mickey's different clothes and houses!

it is a shame that you can never get a picture of Luke smiling[/sarcasm] - I love the pictures of him when he first sees the new character - his face just lights up!

Haha! Yes, he is a pretty happy boy (most of the time!), and he does love his characters!

I agree with you about Spaceship Earth and Living with the Land - we tend to ride those multiple times a trip and we have never ridden Test Track

Love them. If Disney ever tries to get rid of these or change them, I may boycott!

I love Luke's outfit for your DHS day!

Thanks! It was my favorite of his outfits for that trip. Hoping he may still fit in it in a couple weeks, but I doubt it! It is from StellyBelly (on FB). Another DISer (lucyddr), had a similar outfit for her son and she gave me the info on where to get it!

Sounds like a good morning and you were getting on a lot of the big rides with pretty minimal wait (even RnRC) - that is "Crazy" that you got to ride front row ... and you definitely would have been "Cryin'" if you missed out on that! And glad to see you kept your little "Angel" smiling while waiting for others to ride the big rides. Shows you aren't "Livin' on the Edge" by bringing a toddler to WDW - I am sure Luke won't be the "Last Child" people bring ... just gotta do "Whatever it Takes" - plus, before you know it things will come "Full Circle" and it will be Luke who wants to ride the big rides

Bwahahahhaha! Laughing so hard right now!

Absolutely love all of Luke's character photo's. He was clearly in his element.

Thanks! He truly was in his element!

I'm with you on spaceship earth and the land, they are some of my favorites. I still remember when living with the land was actually listen to the land and had this horribly wonderful song they played. My hubby does not recollect this, but that doesn't stop me from belting it out each and every trip through the greenhouse ; )

Maybe the veterans appreciate these and the first time visitors are the ones who don't care about them and that's why they don't see a ton of crowds? I think it is like Carousel of Progress or One Man's Dream - you have to really love/appreciate what the parks are all about to fully appreciate these attractions.

Great start to you DHS day. "Dude" love all the Aerosmith puns and especially your aerohat selfie ; ) Great luck Dad getting the front row on both RnR and ToT.

Haha! My dad may have asked to wait for the front on RNRC since they have a separate line to wait for it. But we never ask for the front on ToT, but we still get the front a lot by chance (maybe because we are a party of 3?). On the flip side, though, we rarely luck out and get the front for Soarin.

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Katie's Mom weighing in: As a grandparent, seeing Luke meet Mickey was absolutely magical! The only thing better than taking your kids to Disney is taking your grandkids! Character interaction aside, we loved Garden Grill. I expected that w the focus on characters, the food might not be quite as good as we've previously experienced at WDW , but I was very pleasantly surprised! Katie has already commented that everything was delicious, and I would 2nd that. Also, my husband - not a dessert lover at all, and on a restricted diet so has to limit his carbs - was just going to try one bite of cobbler, wound loving it so much he had a full portion and then had 2nds!

Yay!! So glad that "Gaga" has come out of lurking to join the party! Hopefully, she can weigh in and either back me up on my opinions or completely disagree with them! But either way it is good to hear things from another person's viewpoint. Although, I don't know that I can picture it being even better going to Disney than it already has been going with Luke. Maybe it's because her grandkids are more awesome than her kids! I know at least one of her children was a real handful!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Jumping to say you've inspired me to ride RnRC! I haven't rode in years since DH hates coasters and the kids are too little, but I think I will be hitting it up the next trip!

Love the TR - my youngest was 9 months her first trip, 18 months last year and will be 2 1/2 this fall. I love reading about other's trips with littles! So much fun!

Yay! I love RNRC so much! And it is such a smooth coaster - just love it! I love to binge read other trip reports with littles as well - gets me excited about our next trip and sometimes gives me ideas for things to try!

Have I asked you what your May dates are? Do we overlap? We arrive on the 14th.

We will just miss you! We leave on the 11th. That's too bad! I would have liked to meet up!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Food & Wine Finale

After a lovely morning at Disney's Hollywood Studios (or whatever the next name will be), we headed towards the boat dock! We were hungry for lunch and had Food & Wine on our minds. Sometime before we left DHS, though, my parents and Luke apparently stopped for a little photoshoot.










I think the ones of Luke were taken while we were taking turns on Rock N Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror, but I have no idea when they stopped for photos in front of Starring Rolls.

On our way out of the park we stopped for a couple Photopass pictures:

I think the first two were actually taken between Rock N Roller Coaster and Toy Story, but they fit nicely here with the other Photopass picture (plus I forgot to put them in my last update).

We had a short wait for a boat, and we seized that opportunity to run around and take some photos. (I'll give you one guess who did the running and who did the photo taking! )

















Before long, we were boarding a boat to Epcot's World Showcase - a wonderful place full of delicious international delicacies! I love riding this boat - so peaceful and such beautiful scenery. I believe it was our most frequented Disney attraction this trip! Hahaha! Good thing we enjoy it, since I imagine we will use it a lot when we stay at Beach Club! And this particular day was such a beautiful day for a boat ride - sunny with a nice breeze! Here are some highlights from our boat ride:






















We disembarked with a goal - finish Food & Wine! For us, "finish" meant hit the rest of the must-haves on our lists. The year before we hit every booth! Even with three separate visits and sharing everything it was still too much food! So this year we just repeated favorites with the addition of new items we wanted to try. That wound up being a much better plan!

Our first stop was France, where DH and I split the Tartelette aux escargots: Escargot tart with garlic, spinach, bacon and parmesan and the La Passion Martini Slush: vodka, Grey Goose Le Citron, cranberry and passion fruit juice. My parents split the Escargots and the Boeuf bourguignon: Braised short ribs in cabernet with mashed potatoes.




Everything was very good here, but I must say that I preferred the escargots from the year before in the little bread bowls. The tart was very yummy, though, and I enjoyed the slush very much! After our snacks, I really wanted to see Impressions de France. I really enjoy it and we missed it the year before. We didn't think Luke would sit still, so DH stayed outside with him while the rest of us watched the movie.




It was lovely, as always, and Luke entertained himself with the fountains!







You will see from the rest of this trip report that Luke was (and still is) infatuated with "wa-wa" (water). From puddles to fountains, he will play in any water he can find! In fact, I think the water obsession has only gotten worse, so I imagine we will spend a lot of our down time on our May trip at pools, fountains, and splash pads!

Once we were able to tear Luke away from the fountain, we headed for our next Food & Wine stop - Brazil! This booth was new this year. Between us, we tried all the food items on the menu! My parents split the Moqueca de Pescado – Regal Springs Fresh Tilapia featuring Coconut Lime Sauce and Steamed Rice, the Crispy Pork Belly with Black Beans, Tomato, and Cilantro, and the Cocadas – Brazilian coconut candy. DH and I split the Cocadas and the Pao de Queijo – Brazilian cheese bread.





We really enjoyed everything here, but the Cocadas was really sweet and rich! Plan to share this - even sharing it was a little too sweet for DH and me! The cheese bread was my favorite here!

Our last Food & Wine stop was Ireland, where DH and my parents had the Lobster and seafood fisherman’s pie. I had the Kerrygold® cheese selection: Reserve cheddar, Dubliner with Irish Stout and Skellig.




The fisherman's pie wasn't my favorite last year, so I skipped that. The rest of my family all enjoyed it, though. The cheese plate was very good. I preferred it to the one at Hops & Barley, but some of the cheese was a little sharper, so the non-adventurous cheese eater should probably start with the one from Hops & Barley. Strangely, cheese also seems to be a popular choice with birds, and the crumbs that Luke dropped attracted a lot of attention!

Thus concludes our Food & Wine adventures for 2014! While most everything was very good, we had some definite favorites (and least favorites). My votes:

Best New Item & Best of the Fest - Nueske’s® Pepper Bacon Hash! Yum, just yum.
Least Favorite: Black Pepper Shrimp with Sichaun Noodles
Biggest Drop: Griddled Greek cheese - still good, but no longer a favorite
Most Improved: Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup (with the addition of pretzel bread)
Disappointed it didn't return from 2013: Tied - Blue cheese souffle and Lobster roll

(And here's hoping that my mom will come back and visit this thread so we can hear her votes!)


Next up: More Epcot and our second signature!

 

[Gracefulskinny]

So apparently I've missed a few updates....

I'm not going to lie, I'm kinda bummed Little MIss won't get to play on that in May. I was looking forward to the Daddy Daughter Pictures.

Such a great photo!

We would definitely return to the Garden Grill!

Hmm now you have it on my radar as a day of option to consider.

so I imagine we will spend a lot of our down time on our May trip at pools

You're going in May as well? (Unless you've mentioned this and I have forgotten.)

 

[Dugette]

We will just miss you! We leave on the 11th.

Aw, SO close! I'm sure we'll both have a great time, though!

The year before we hit every booth!

Wow, that would be ambitious. Glad you were able to narrow it down this time. Hard to do, but really the only reasonable thing to not stuff yourselves ridiculously full trying things.

Are you planning to do a mini F&W with the F&G Outdoor Kitchens? I'm really excited for that!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

I'm not going to lie, I'm kinda bummed Little MIss won't get to play on that in May. I was looking forward to the Daddy Daughter Pictures.

I'm bummed hearing that they are changing it, but maybe it will be even better? Sorry about not being able to get daddy- daughter pics.

Such a great photo!

Thanks!!!

Hmm now you have it on my radar as a day of option to consider.

You really should consider it - we loved it! Great food and even better character interactions!

You're going in May as well? (Unless you've mentioned this and I have forgotten.)

How had I missed that we are going at the same time?!? I have been reading your PTR, but apparently overlooked dates. We are arriving the 6th and leaving the 11th! We should compare plans and see if we can arrange a DISmeet!

 

[Gracefulskinny]

We are arriving the 6th and leaving the 11th! We should compare plans and see if we can arrange a DISmeet!

We arrive the same day?!? How funny! If you are reading through my PTR, I'll soon be posting finalized plans. Just let me know if any of our stuff overlap and we can try to make something work. How fun! We don't have much time left. 3 weeks and counting!

 

[kastoney]

I just have to say, Luke's smile is clearly made from pure and utter joy and is very infectious. I'm taking a quick break from some Sunday night work to check in here and I must say, after a few Luke smiles my mood is dramatically improved ; )

Thanks for the food and wine insights. This was our first year and we had virtually no strategy, so I'm reading all I can to prep for next time. Some how we missed France in its entirety, so both the short ribs and escargot won't be missed next time ; )

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Aw, SO close! I'm sure we'll both have a great time, though!

I know we will!

Wow, that would be ambitious. Glad you were able to narrow it down this time. Hard to do, but really the only reasonable thing to not stuff yourselves ridiculously full trying things.

I'm glad we did it the first time, but I wouldn't do it again. It was a little much, kind of like when we drank around the world!

Are you planning to do a mini F&W with the F&G Outdoor Kitchens? I'm really excited for that!

Of course! Already have my wish list made out! We only have one F&G day, though, so it's good there are less booths!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

We arrive the same day?!? How funny! If you are reading through my PTR, I'll soon be posting finalized plans. Just let me know if any of our stuff overlap and we can try to make something work. How fun! We don't have much time left. 3 weeks and counting!

I will keep checking for finalized plans. The last itinerary you posted showed pretty much no overlap, so maybe something will have moved slightly that will give us some overlap.

 

[DisneyParkLover]

I just have to say, Luke's smile is clearly made from pure and utter joy and is very infectious. I'm taking a quick break from some Sunday night work to check in here and I must say, after a few Luke smiles my mood is dramatically improved ; ))

Thank you! We think his smile is infectious, but we are biased so it is always nice to hear from someone else!

Thanks for the food and wine insights. This was our first year and we had virtually no strategy, so I'm reading all I can to prep for next time. Some how we missed France in its entirety, so both the short ribs and escargot won't be missed next time ; )

I like to read up on the menus and form a plan of attack, while DH likes to wait and be surprised when we get there. Both good strategies, except that mine is better!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Le Cellier - Practically Perfect in Every Way

After we had snacked our way around Food & Wine, Luke looked like this:



Food & Wine takes a lot out of you! We still had quite a while before the next thing we had planned - an early dinner at Le Cellier! Since we were going with a relaxed mentality for this trip, we decided it was a good time to have an in-park rest break. We found some seats in the shade on the bridge between World Showcase and Future World. We navigated the stroller into the shade and just relaxed, enjoying the scenery.












We also used this time to take turns browsing in the nearby shop.




And apparently, DH used this time to hone his dancing skills!



After a long rest, Luke woke up ready to eat! We still had some time before our reservation, though, so we took our time wandering around Canada. This is such a beautiful pavilion! I especially love the gardens and waterfall here.


















After a quick look around, it was time to check in. We had no wait and were led to a table towards the middle of the restaurant.






I got Luke out one of his toys to help entertain him during the meal. This one is a Mickey that plays several different Mickey songs. Fortunately, it has a pretty low volume, so it was not a problem for the restaurant.






We ordered Luke the kid's macaroni and cheese, which they brought out for him right away.




Like the one at Narcoossee's, DH and I loved this, but Luke was underwhelmed. Clearly, he is a man with simple tastes! Since that trip he has branched out some on what he is willing to eat, but it is always a guessing game. One place he will eat an entire bowl of mac and cheese and another place he won't touch it. I ordered him yogurt with fruit at Cracker Barrel the other day. At home, he cannot get enough yogurt and fruit. At Cracker Barrel, he wouldn't eat it! He ate all of Gaga's bacon instead. Toddlers - they are so fickle!

Instead of eating his meal at Le Cellier, Luke entertained himself by playing with his Mickey toy and doing some serious flirting with the waitresses! He kept pretending to be shy and hiding his face. Then he would peek out at them and smile and wave and giggle. The waitresses were really playing into it, and Luke was just eating it up!

My mom and I ordered our usual - the "Le Cellier" Filet Mignon - AAA Canadian Beef Tenderloin, wild mushroom risotto, heirloom toy box tomatoes, truffle butter sauce.




This was just as perfect as it was the first time we had it. The steak was cooked perfectly and was tender and juicy. The risotto was creamy and flavorful. And that truffle butter sauce. There are no words. So delicious!

I also had a side of the Le Cellier Poutine Fries - Canadian Cheddar, black truffle and red wine reduction.




These were also excellent, but there are some strong flavors with the cheddar, truffle, and wine reduction. I loved this, but if you have simple tastes (like Luke), this may not be for you.

My dad and DH ordered the same thing - the Dry Aged Boneless Ribeye - 14-day aged, watercress, piquillo peppers, fingerling potatoes, sherry-thyme vinaigrette, garlic butter. My dad substituted asparagus for the potatoes and DH substituted the risotto.






This was the same thing they ordered last trip and they were equally delighted by it on this trip! Needless to say, we all cleaned our plates! My mom and I didn't have room for dessert. And since we were paying for our meals OOP, we didn't feel obligated to order one. But my dad and DH's meals were on the dining plan, so their desserts were included. My dad had the cheese plate.




This was the same thing he had here on the previous trip, and he really loved it both times! DH had the Caramel-Milk Chocolate Bar - coconut, chocolate crumbs, macaroon, chocolate sorbet. I forgot to take a picture, but I will include one from our last trip.




I had a bite of this and it was yummy, but I was too full to have more than a bite. DH was able to finish it off, so none of that delicious dessert went to waste!

Overall, I have nothing but raves about our meal here. Everything was done perfectly and was delicious! Our server was also excellent. I also like the "cellar" atmosphere of the restaurant, although I know some do not. Our steaks here have been among the best (if not the best) steaks we have ever had, and we have been to lots of upscale steakhouses. Both of our experiences here were stellar and it will remain on our must-do list for every trip!

Up next: Fantasmic!

 

[meejay]

So glad Le Cellier was good again! We went there for the first time this last trip and we loved the food. The service was okay, they forgot a few items we ordered but nothing detrimental to the quality of the food. The waitress kept calling me Mama Bear which was weird, and somewhat irritating, but we laugh about it today. And I hear you on toddler fickle-ness - we have the same problem. Apparently the only chicken nuggets my kid will eat come from Chick-fil-a. LOL