1st trip report - 1st trip to Disneyworld w/ pics

[sunlover13]

This is my first trip report which I am going to try to make as detailed as I could remember. If you have any advice for me, feel free. This was our first trip to Disneyworld as a family. I was there when I was 4, but I don’t remember it at all. DH was there during college. DD (4) first time there and keeps asking when we are going back!

Our trip took place 4/29/07 – 5/5/07. We stayed at POR and we were on the dining plan.

Day 1 – Sunday, 4/29:

6:15AM flight from Chicago O’Hare. Let’s just say the day did not start off well. To make a long story short, we missed the 45 minute time to check in our bags by 1 minute. The not-so-nice United Airlines employee was not very helpful and told us our only option was to fly standby for an 8:00AM flight which was booked. So, I was practically in tears b/c this was our first trip and I thought we would never get to Disneyworld! So, we check our bags for the 8:00AM standby flight and start slowly making our way through security. I decide since it is only 5:45AM, let’s go to the 6:15AM flight gate and just see if we could somehow get on. The nicer United lady says it is a federal law we have to fly with our bags. So, I say, can 2 of us get on this flight and 1 of us fly standby with our bags for the 8:00AM flight. She says as long as the bags are under 1 person’s name. Naturally, they are under my name so DH and DD go on the 6:15 AM flight while I try standby for 8:00. I figure it would be easier for 1 of us to get on standby than 3 of us. So, I end up getting on the 8:00 flight no problem (thank goodness) and am only 1 ½ hours behind DH and DD so they wait at the airport for me in Orlando. So, we start off kind of rough, but learned 2 important lessons. 1.) Get to the airport early and check the time restrictions 2.) Book everything under DH name next time. Although, to tell you the truth, I kind of liked the peace and quiet on the plane by myself!

Magical Express no problems, not a long wait either. Get to POR, the resort is gorgeous, check-in fast and easy, our room was ready and it was around 12:30 at this point (I think). We were in the Magnolia Terrace section of the mansions. Great location near a bus stop and close to the main pool, lobby, gift shop, and a quiet pool. We drop off our carry-ons; grab a quick bite to eat at POR for lunch. DH and I just split a roast beef sandwich with blue cheese and grilled onions on it (it was pretty good). DD was not hungry so she just had a fruit bowl. She is not a big eater so I was fine with that. Next we head to MGM. By the time we got to MGM, the parade was about to start (3:00PM) so we found some shade and watched the parade. Did I mention it was 90 outside and bright sunshine? It was HOT! Glad I got the mini-mister fans from Walmart for all of us : ) After the parade we headed over to catch some shows and rides. MGM seemed pretty empty, we were able to get into all the shows right away and no real waits for any of the rides. Our only disappointment was the characters head in pretty early and we were not planning on coming back to MGM again. We decided we would make room and come back to get photos and autographs for DD. We headed over to our Fantasmic dinner package at Mama Melrose at 6:00PM. The food was OK. We ate most of it b/c we were hungry, but I wouldn’t go back there just to eat. It was OK for the package though. DH and I split a pizza and the chicken parmesian. DD had pizza served on a Mickey plate. DD got picked as honorary Chef of the hour so they brought her a certificate and a chef’s hat and she got to make her own Mickey sundae. Pretty cool for our first day there. Things were looking up after the airport disaster. I ordered the kids sundae too b/c I didn’t want any of the other desserts they offered. I didn’t get to make my own though : (

After dinner, we did some more rides and shows. Then headed to Fantasmic. We didn’t even need the dinner package reserved seat as MGM was pretty empty. The show was fantastic. Definitely, a must see. After Fantasmic, we head to the resort to unpack and crash after being up at 4:00AM, it was a long, HOT day.

Day 2 coming soon! P.S. I don't know why my pics are soooo big. If anyone knows how to shrink them, I'd appreciate it. I'm using photobucket.

 

[Bondfan531]

Can't wait to read more. I love the different trip reports especially with pictures. As for their size, you can go into photobucket and resize the pictures

 

[Fuddrules]

Not sure on the pictures but that shirt you're wearing in the last picture looks good

 

[sunlover13]

Day 2 – Monday, 4/30 – Animal Kingdom day

Wake UP! We slept in a little, but we were excited about our first full day at Disney since we got a later than planned start on arrival day. As a surprise for DD, I bought a bunch of Disney jibbitz for her crocs from ebay before we left. I made up notes from Tinkerbell on the Disney letterhead they send you via email and sprinkled some pixie dust (glitter) on her nightstand and left the note and 2 jibbitz for each morning. DD loved this and woke up right away the whole trip to see what Tinkerbell left her. She would grab them, turn her back to us so only she could see them first, then have me read the note to her. The note also gave our agenda for the day. Good way to get around “I want to go back to the castle today!” DD would say, "I didn't even hear Tinkerbell come in the door last night, did you?" She would tell everyone on the bus in the morning that Tinkerbell visits her every night. Here is a pick of her crocs at the end with all her jibbitz from Tinkerbell:

Since we were up late unpacking and soooo tired, we decided we could not get up for the Extra Magic Hours and we would just get there when we get there. We figured maybe AK would be empty like MGM. BIG MISTAKE! We headed to Kilimanjaro safaris first and Fastpasses were already gone and about a 50 minute wait. It was only 9:30AM. It was HOT again too! AK was not empty, it was really crowded. DH went a grabbed a fast pass for Kali Rapids and then we decided to wait for the safari which was worth it. We did see a lot of animals and the line probably would have been longer later on. Naturally, DD had to go to the restroom while we are in line. Luckily they let us back in line by the stroller dropoff area. Our guide was pretty entertaining and we were in the last row which was kind of cool to look back at the animals as we passed them and try to get pics.

Then we went to Kali Rapids. Got wet which felt great. Did I mention it was HOT! I took DD to the dinosaur land while DH went to ride Expedition Everest. DD is too short. Otherwise, she would have wanted to go too. DD and I went on a couple of rides and played in the bone yard. When DH got back we ate at the McDonalds place (forgot the official name) for convenience b/c it was right there. And I wanted DD to eat and she loves chicken nuggets. I know, not exactly healthy, but fast and convenient. After eating we went to see more shows, rides, etc. It was sooo HOT, we decided we had enough of AK and the crowds; so we went back to swim at POR. Lessons learned: AVOID EXTRA MAGIC HOURS PARKS UNLESS YOU ARE GOING TO USE THE EMH'S.

DD loved the kid pool at POR and made a lot of friends to play with there. Here's a couple of pics from POR:

After swimming, we went to DTD, took the boat from POR which was nice and relaxing. Although, sit towards the front. The motor in the back was really loud.

We shopped, got DD mouse ears personalized and had dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express. The food was really good for a counter service and well worth it. DD had pizza, I had BBQ quesadillas, and DH had some sort of sandwich. After dinner, more shopping, DD rode the carousel, played at the Lego store, bought some princess stuff, etc. Thinking this would be a pretty good X-mas card next year

Headed back to POR around 9ish to get to sleep early b/c we were determined to be at MK rope drop early in the morning!

Day 3 coming soon...........

 

[sunlover13]

Sorry, I can't seem to figure it out. The only time I can see it change the size is thumbnail which is too small. The others seem to be the same size even though they show different sizes????? For now, you'll have to deal with my giant pictures

 

[nicolemarie]

The pics are great!

But you're right - they're huge!!

You can resize pics in Photobucket. Click "edit" and "resize."

I'm looking forward to hearing more about your trip. Your daughter is precious!

NM

 

[Mom2CJ&Kitty]

Great report, love the pictures. Can't wait to hear more.

 

[sunlover13]

You have to rename the picture in photobucket in order to resize it. All figured out now so smaller pictures now

 

[Cory's Gal]

Wonderful TR so far!! In Dec 2005 DH and I stayed at POR in the mansions. It was a very pretty resort! Your daughter is adorable! Keep up the great writing!!

 

[Baghdad Bob]

Great report, makes me even more excited with our trip next week.

 

[hollybearsmom]

I can't wait to read more! I love the idea about glitter on the note too.

 

[sunlover13]

Day 3 – Tuesday, 5/1 – Magic Kingdom day

Got to MK by 8:30AM and were in front for the rope drop. It was extremely HOT out already with the sun shining bright. Did I mention our mini-mister fans were the greatest idea ever? Thanks to the DIS for that suggestion. I really wanted to capture my daughter’s reaction to seeing the castle, but she was sooo HOT and tired of waiting for the gates to open, she really didn’t have much of a reaction. She just kept saying, “Yes, I can see it!” Oh well. Our plan was to hit Fantasyland first and DH ran to get a fast pass for either Big Thunder Mountain Railroad or Splash Mountain. Made the mistake of going to Dumbo first and still had to wait a good 30 minutes. Partly b/c I had no idea where the entrance line was and walked the scenic route. My DD is very adventurous so this ride for her was pretty boring. Walked on to everything else pretty quickly, It’s a Small World, Peter Pan, Mickey’s Philharmagic (loved this), the carousel, Snow White’s Scary Adventure, Indy Speedway.

Then headed over to use our fast pass for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. DD loved this and we went on this several times during our 7 day stay. It was nice that all 3 of us could sit in one row. Here's a pic during the ride. It looks like she is scared, but she really did love it!

Then used a fast pass for Splash Mountain. DD loved this one too, we also rode this several times. DH lost his sunglasses off his head on this one so beware! Her favorite part (besides the big drop) was seeing the Bear being pushed in the butt through the whole. Tip: You get wetter in the front row. You can ask the CM if you can have front row and she will have you wait for a second and then put you in the front!

Grabbed an early lunch at Pecos Bills. DH and I split the chicken wrap which was pretty good. DD had chicken nuggets again. Cookies for dessert. Nice to get some A/C. No swimming break today b/c we had an early ADR at 5:00 – Crystal Palace. We did some more rides in Fantasyland and headed over to Adventure Island. DD played in the water there and then rode the Aladdin ride, not too long of a wait.

We finally used a snack credit and got slushies in Adventureland. Refreshing! We noticed Aladdin, the Genie, and Jasmine just arrived for pics & autographs so DD got their pic and autograph. One of her first ones so she was very excited. She loves Jasmine.

Next we headed over to a line for a couple of the lion king characters and we were next when they decided to go on a 10 minute break. We had to leave b/c we had ADR’s at Crystal Palace for dinner. You would think the CM would cut off the line knowing the characters were going on break. He didn’t. So, people behind us were not happy either. He just kept saying, “2 more minutes, 1 ½ more minutes, etc. Oh well. Crystal Palace was awesome. We saw all the characters (Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore) 3 times and DD joined the parade around the restaurant twice. She loved it. The food was really good too. I am very happy we decided to eat at CP. My DD is not really familiar with Pooh and friends, she is into the princesses so I was not sure how this would go. She was really excited the whole dinner and anxiously waited for them to come to our table.

After CP went on a few rides, including Splash Mountain, BTMR, and the Jungle Cruise and then stuck around for Wishes. Here's a pic from Wishes:

Oh yeah, we did see the daytime parade earlier too. Pretty good spot right in front of the castle. Not a lot of shade though so everyone was extremely HOT after the parade finally ended. My only thought afterwards was we should have stood on the other side of the parade to get the castle in the background. Next time : ) Best tip was getting there at rope drop. We were able to get through most of Fantasyland before the crowds came which was great! This allowed us to split our 2nd day and MK with MGM : )

After wishes, headed back to POR. The bus line for POR was really long so we went to POFQ and took the boat to POR. Glad we did this b/c I think it saved some time and gave us a chance to see POFQ too.

Day 4 coming soon!

 

[Bondfan531]

Great pics!!! Waiting for more

 

[BlakeNJ]

Great trip report. I don't read too many but your stuck out to me since it was your daughters first. She looks so happy. My son is 5 and loves all the rides that seem to be your daughter's favorites.

I love the picture on the corosel with the castle on the background. I'll have to remember that shot for next time!

Waiting for more!

Blakely

 

[Marc A.]

Great reports. How old was your DD for this trip? My DD will be around 3 1/2 when we go in October. Your DD seems very brave for all those rides.

 

[sunlover13]

Thanks for the replies and I'm glad someone is reading. My biggest fear was writing a trip report that no one wants to read : )

My DD was 4 1/2 during this trip. She is pretty tall for her age. She has no fear of rides at all. I was bummed she was too short for some so we skipped those. DH went on some of them. I didn't really want to ride alone so I took DD elsewhere while he rode those.

She is afraid of deep water, even with water wings though so that is the next obstacle we can hopefully overcome this summer!

I'll probably post the rest of the trip report over the long weekend.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

 

[FergieTCat]

I'm reading too!!

Your daugther is adorable -- I love the picture of her on the carousel!

 

[VanniGirl]

Great photos - thanks for sharing!

 

[IcePrincess467]

You daughter is only 4 1/2 ? Wow- she looks older than that! I thought she was at least 6...maybe 7 Anyways, she is such a cutie!! It seems that y'all had an amazing trip! I'll keep checkin for updates and keep the pics coming

 

[Punky's Mama]

I'm in!! This is just like my upcoming trip, our first trip with DD4 1/2, I'm excited to hear all about your trip. I will be taking notes, ha ha!!