YAY! My baby's first trip to Disney World! Sept 2007 pre-trip report *w/pics

[reyasmommy]

Welcome one and all to my first attempt at an interesting pre-trip report. I'm new here, just found this wonderful website a few days ago. I'm offically hooked!!

My husband, daughter and I are going to Florida in September. We will be gone from September 12th to October 3rd. 17 of those days we will actually be in Florida enjoying Disney World and a couple of other theme parks in Orlando. We will be driving from Denver Colorado and plan on stopping a few nights on the way. This will prove to be a difficult and interesting road trip due to the fact that my daughter will be 18months old. She's at that stage where she doesn't want to be strapped in her car seat for long periods of time so I'm a little worried. This isn't her first road trip however. We drove to california once when she was 6 months old and once when she was 15 months old and she did wonderfully. Hopefully this trip will be just as great. You might be asking why drive when we can fly!?!? Simple.... Flying terrifies me.

This will be me and my husbands 5th time to WDW. Our first time was in 1996 it was a gift to me from my grandma for my high school graduation. My husband and I were just starting our relationship at that time and had only been dating for 2 months when we took that vacation. We fell in love with each other and Disney right away. We were married at the poly on June 14th 2001!! And now here we are 11 years later after our first magical trip taking our daughter for her first time. LIFE IS SO WONDERFUL!!

The cast

Me, Deanna 29
DH, Will 31
DD, Reya 1

I will be back with all the details as soon as I can figure out how to post pictures. LOL~~ BBS ~~ Deanna

 

[jenna]

We will be there at the same time as your family!! Where are you staying?

Lucky you to have so much time to spend in FL! Your daughter will love it at WDW!! What a great age for her to be experiencing the magic!!

I totally understand the not wanting to fly....it terrifies me too!! So much so that we drove with two young boys (ages 4 1/2 and 2) from PA to California to visit DL back in 2003. And are hoping to do it again next year with our three kids!

Can't wait to hear more!!!

 

[reyasmommy]

Thank you for the welcome Jenna. Maybe we'll run into you and you're family while you're there. Unfortunately we will be staying off site this year. We normally stay at the CBR, but found a wonderful deal at a new resort just outside of WDW. So we'll be staying at a 3 bedroom, 3 bath condo. My cousin will be joining us for 1 week of our vacation and my father will be joining us for another. They were sold on the idea once we told them that we would pay for they're lodging. It will be nice to have any extra set of hands helping us with DD so we can experience ALL the rides.

We took DD to WDW when she was 6 months old and she had the time of her life. I can't wait to see how she'll react to eveything now that she's a little older.

I'll post pictures as soon as I'm allowed too. I'll also be back later tonight to post more info to my pre-trippie.

 

[jenna]

I can certainly understand staying offsite when you are going for that length of time. It's great that you will have family joining you too! My MIL came with us on our last trip, and it was so nice to have the extra help!

 

[reyasmommy]

Okay, I finally found a few moments to breathe so I will BEGIN.

Like I mentioned before we will be driving to Florida from Denver and stopping several times on the way. We have Reservations in Kansas, Missouri, and Georgia. If you have any suggestions or tips on things to do and see on our way please let me know.



SEPTEMBER 12TH- DAY 1
Unfortunately my DH has to work on the day we are leaving, but he will be getting off work early so we can be on the road no later then 11:00 am.

An old friend of mine will be coming to our home to house-sit and watch our dogs for us while we are gone. It's always such a hassle to find someone that is willing to take on our two ankle biters while we're gone, but Dawn always seems to pull through for us and we're truely grateful. I know she takes great care of them and I feel relieved that I don't need to worry about them when we're away.

We have a 6 hour drive ahead of us on the first day and have reservations in Salina Kansas. We are planning on stopping several times so DD can stretch out her legs and explore.

SEPTEMBER 13th-DAY 2
We have another 6 hour drive this day and will end up in Chesterfield Missouri. Our hotel is right next door to a mall and lots of dinning options so we shouldn't get too bored.

SEPTEMBER 14th-DAY 3
Today, is going to be a LOONNGGG day! We will need to get up extra early because we have a 9 hour drive to Kennesaw Georgia.

~~SS if my trip sounds boring so far. We really need suggestions on cool places to see and to eat at on our way. We want to stop and explore new places along the way, so ANY ideas are good ideas.

SEPTEMBER 15th-DAY 4
This will also be a long driving day of 9 hours. We have reservations at the Meridian Palms hotel in Orlando for two nites starting this day. We reserved a room with a King sized bed and pull-out sofa. This way we will have room for DD pack n' play during the day and we could pull out the sofa for my cousin (18) to sleep at night. He will be joining us following day.

SEPTEMBER 16TH-DAY 5
We will be going to universal studios this day and leaving the park at 2:00pm to pick up DC from airport. Having dinner at Planet Hollywood in DTD.

SEPTEMBER 17th-DAY 6
Check out of Meridian Palms hotel. Spend the day at Islands of Adventure. We will be going to the grocery store this night to stock up on items for the Kitchen at our condo. Check into Mike Ditkas lighthouse Key Resort. This is where we will be staying the the remainder of our vacation. We got a 1937 sq ft. 3 bedroom/ 3 bath condo. This place is bigger than my home, so I'm soooo excited to be staying there and not having to worry about cleaning it since they have housekeeping. YAY!!!

SEPTEMBER 18th-DAY 7
Back to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.

SEPTEMBER 19TH-DAY 8
MGM STUDIOS. LUNCH AT SCI-FI CAFE'

SEPTEMBER 20TH-DAY 9
Florida Aquarium in Tampa and swimming in Clearwater

SEPTEMBER 21ST-DAY 10
SEA WORLD

SEPTEMBER 22ND-DAY 11
DC Leaves back to Colorado and my Dad arrives from California.
We will be using this day to relax and regroup. Might go to DTD for some shopping and dinner however.

SEPTEMBER 23RD-DAY 12
MAGIC KINGDOM

SEPTEMBER 24TH- DAY 13
EPCOT

SEPTEMBER 25TH- DAY 14
ANIMAL KINGDOM

SEPTEMBER 26TH- DAY 15
DAD Goes back to California. We will be using this day to relax and regroup again.

SEPTEMBER 27TH- DAY 16
MGM STUDIOS

SEPTEMBER 28TH- DAY 17
MAGIC KINGDOM

SEPTEMBER 29TH-DAY 18
EPCOT

SEPTEMBER 30TH-DAY 19
ANIMAL KINGDOM .... Last day in Orlando.

We will be taking 2 days to drive back to Colorado, I have yet to decide where we are staying on the way. I also don't have plans on where we will be eating everynight and need your help on the best places to make reservations at. Keep in mind I have a 18month old and would like to go to places she would enjoy.

I still have a lot of planning to do and look forward to sharing those plans with you.

Hope you enjoy... Below are some pictures of my family and I. Thanks for reading. ~~ Deanna

DD REYA ~~ (16mos)

DD and my Dad(48)

DD and DH winter storm 2006

DD 1st birthday in March

DD and DH

 

[reyasmommy]

Thought I would just add a few pictures of our trip to DL from last year. Reya was 6mos old at the time. We stopped in Vegas and The Grand Canyon on the way.

Grand Canyon..... So BEAUTIFUL

Me in the room of our hotel room in Vegas

Reyas 1st time on It's a small world ~~ She LOVED it

Reya having fun in the hotel room

ToT... my favorite all time ride

Will and Reya after riding Alice in Wonderland

 

[2tinkerbells]

Sounds like a lot of driving. You are brave, we decided to forgo an 8 hour drive to the beach this year because our 17month old hates being in the car. I can't wait to hear more about your plans. We are going in early Sept and are staying at CBR. Any suggestions about disney with an 18 month old would be great and any related to CBR would be great too.

 

[mydogisbo]

Great report--can't wait to hear more. We're going in September too.

Good luck on your road trip! We took DS when he was not quite 1 & it was not nearly as difficult as I worried that it might be.

 

[reyasmommy]

Oh, I'm so glad somebody is reading my trip report. I know it's not as interesting as most but I'm not much for words and I still have A LOT of planning to do. I'm more of a picture person and plan on posting TONS of them when I get back.
CBR is a lovely resort, I would have gotten reservations there but decided that DD needs more room to roam around. It's a very LARGE resort so I would try to ask for a building that is closer to the clubhouse. I loved going to the lake everynight to relax in a hammock and listen to the fireworks.

As far as advice on taking an 18mo old to disney I don't have much. DD was 6mos old when we took her to DL and luckily she slept a lot in her stroller. We also traveled with my dad and his fiance' so we had help which was really nice. DD went on a large majority of the rides and loved them all. The only things she had problems with were Muppet Vision 3-D (too loud for her) and the moving room before going onto the Hanted Mansion. If I were you I would probably go back to the hotel in the middle of the day for some rest and nap time. This is going to be difficult for us since we are not staying on property unfortunately.

 

[reyasmommy]

Great report--can't wait to hear more. We're going in September too.

Good luck on your road trip! We took DS when he was not quite 1 & it was not nearly as difficult as I worried that it might be.

Thanks~~ I'm not too worried, but everyone I know thinks I'm nuts for attempting it. My DD is really well behaved so I'm lucky... When are you going in September?

 

[SwansLoveDisney]

Your daughter is adorable!

So smiley!

 

[reyasmommy]

Your daughter is adorable!

So smiley!

Thank you, that's sweet! She's the happiest baby I know.

For those of you actually reading this: Has anyone done the Mickey's Not so Scary Halloween party? I was thinking of taking my DD when we go but wondering if it's really worth the extra expense??

Reya last halloween.

 

[SwansLoveDisney]

I'm doing the MNSSHP this year, but I have never done it before, so I can't help with that!

 

[jenna]

Reya is ADORABLE!!! What a sweetheart!!

We are doing the Halloween Party for the first time on our trip. We'll be doing it on our last day- September 21. It's something I've always wanted to do so I'm looking forward to it. But, I still have no clue what our costumes will be!

 

[pixe*dst]

Thanks~~ I'm not too worried, but everyone I know thinks I'm nuts for attempting it. My DD is really well behaved so I'm lucky... When are you going in September?

somehow I was logged in under my old screen name when I posted.

We get there on the 2nd day of your road trip (the 13th) & we leave on the 19th--just when you're getting to the Disney leg of your trip.

 

[reyasmommy]

Okay! So I think I'm ready to start more detailed planning now. My DD is keeping me really busy, so I might only be able to post 1 travel day at a time. Please keep in mind that this is going to be a long trip with lots of driving and other activites that don't involve disney. So if you don't feel like reading until I get to the GOOD disney stuff I understand.

Day 1 ~~ September 12th
*Drving from Denver CO to Salina Kansas (6 hour drive)
*Reservations at the Courtyard Marriott Salina
11:00am ~ Leave for our magical trip
8:00PM~~ ETA into Salina

Breakfast: At home
Lunch: ? Eat whenever we get hungry
Dinner: Order room service or pick up something near hotel

I surfed the internet to see if I could find any fun attractions or activities to do on the way to Salina, but came up with nothing. That is unless I want to see a 6 legged steer or the world's largest prairie dog. NOOOOO Thank you! .... Although, there was one place in burlington Colorado that we might check out if we have an hour or so to spare... ((Old Town Burlington)) It's a recreated turn of the century prairie town that features 21 fully restored historical buildings, housed with authentic artifacts.

OLD TOWN BURLINGTON

Anyway.... Once we get into Salina we'll check into our hotel we'll probably order room service or go somewhere within walking distance for dinner. It'll be an early night since we have more driving tomorrow.

Courtyard Marriott in Salina that we're staying at

I'll be back in a few with plans for day 2. Any comments, suggestions, or tips are greatly appreciated. Thanks ~ Deanna

 

[reyasmommy]

Day 2 ~~ September 13th
*Drive from Salina Kansas to Chesterfield MO (6hour drive)
Reservations at the Drury Plaza hotel Chesterfield
7:00 AM - Wake up
9:00 AM - Check out of room, head to IHOP for Breakfast (((Yummmm biscuts and gravy)))
10:00 AM - Be on the road
6:00 PM - ETA into Chesterfield

Breakfast: IHOP near hotel
Lunch: ? Wherever and whenever we get hungry
Dinner: Macaroni Grill at Mall next to hotel or another restaurant nearby

Couldn't find any fun attractions or activities to do on the way to Chesterfield. After we check in and have dinner I think we will head to the pool for some swimming before we retire for the night.

Picture of Hotel we're staying at in Chesterfield

Picture of one of the rooms at DP chesterfield

Picture of pool, which we hope to use
IMG]http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p218/slackerdeanna/026706D1.jpg[/IMG]

Well that's day 2... I'll be back with day 3 later.

BTW: I forgot to post a picture of my cousin Mike who will be joining us when we get in florida. Here he is ((such a goof ball))

 

[reyasmommy]

picture of pool didn't show up?!?! Here it is again. Sorry

 

[IluvXU]

We are headed down next month (so fun to say that) with our will be 17th month old daughter. I too am interested in what she likes and enjoys! We took my oldest at 9, 16, and 22 months and I must say she was so fun at 16 months and loved loved the characters.

 

[SwansLoveDisney]

Just a suggestion...you should look into restaurant.com for dinner gift certificates in the towns where you're staying along the way. Someone posted a 70% off code on the budget board (the code is PRESENT). That would save you some bucks for Disney!