trypnotic
Mouskatool
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2005
- Messages
- 577
Sorry in advance if the report comes out choppy. I started writing at 7am this morning and finally finished just prior to 3pm -- work is always getting in the way of my personal time! I'm also sure my DW will say something about my sentence fragments 
:
Day 1 - June 15 - Travel Day
We got to MSP Lindbergh terminal at around 5pm Central time Thursday and find out our flight is delayed by about a hour. Fortunately our 2 year old DD Kaitlyn was very amused by the moving walkways by our gate and we also eventually found a playground in concourse C. So really, the hour delay was GREAT as it gave us a chance to run the energy out of the toddler! By the time we got on the plane at 8, she was pretty pooped and slept almost immediately and did so for a couple hours. After that point, she was entertained by stuffed animals and coloring books. She really did well on the flight I thought. I was mostly concerned about the air pressure bothering her ears and the noise but neither seemed to phase her one bit.
We arrived at MCO around 12am Eastern time, gathered our luggage, and went to the Budget counter to receive a Buick Le Saber. Got to the hotel, which was the Best Western Lakeside on 192, around 1am and unpacked while keeping the toddler from getting too overstimulated. 2am came and we finally were in bed and had the lights off! Kaitlyn amazingly goes right to sleep! Phew! We've stayed at this particular hotel before via Hotwire.com. At the time, it was a La Quinta and had switched over to a Best Western maybe a month after our first visit. It was a good deal then just as it was this trip @ $40/night. I felt somewhat guilty for not staying on Disney property but this was too good of a deal to pass up. I always figure the less we spend on a hotel, the more souvenirs we can buy later! Of course the downside to staying off property was paying $9 for parking at the parks each day and also we couldn't take advantage of Extra Magic Hours - no big deal since DD would get all the time her two year old little body could handle anyway.
Day 2 - June 16 - Magic Kingdom day
We awoke after our 5½ hour slumber actually fairly peppy as it was our first park day! Who has time to think about exhaustion at a time like this?! We got to the TTC around 8:30-40 and took the ferry boat to the park instead of the monorail. The last time we went to MK for rope drop, taking the monorail was a disaster. I think something had gone wrong that day with monorail traffic or something of the like but I wasn't going to chance it again especially with a stroller and toddler. This was our first experience with the ferry and we didn't regret it. There was soo much room on board for Kaitlyn to run around - it was great plus I think she really enjoyed being on a boat.
We got there for rope drop at 9am and Kaitlyn got to meet her first character almost immediately - Donald Duck had just set up shop in front of the Roy Disney statue. The three of us got our picture taken and we then continued down Main Street getting passed by a fire truck, the Dapper Dans, and a warm welcome from the Mayor. The Mayor did all that he could but could not get Kaitlyn to give him five with his oversized Mickey hand/glove! We stopped for a moment to get our picture taken with the three of us in front of the castle and Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse statue then decided we better make time over to Dumbo! We only waited about 20 minutes before our "flight". We went from there to the Winnie the Pooh ride, a small world ride, then *gasp* the Haunted Mansion! She actually did as well as we expected - which was "handle it just fine" - its all about using the word "fun" instead of "scary". After that we ate at Cosmic Rays and then returned for a fastpass at Peter Pan. Lastly for that first shift, we went to see the Enchanted Tiki Room Under New Management.
DD was getting awfully tired by now so we headed back to the car the same way which we came, via ferry. But not of course until we purchased a Mickey/Minnie balloon on Main Street per Kaitlyn's request. Once in the car, she passed right out. So instead of waking her up by going to the hotel and sleeping there, she slept in the car while we drove around. First we drove to Belz Mall to check out Disney's Character Premiere. Next we drove back down to the Orlando Premium Outlets as DW had her eyes set on The Cosmetics Company Store there. Kaitlyn eventually woke back up and it started pouring cats and dogs. We decided to get some Chick-fil-A and head back to the hotel after grabbing a few supplies at Walgreens.
The rain started to let up so we decide that its time to get back to the parks. But first we had to stop by the Polynesian to grab our traditional drinks from the Tambu Lounge. I always have to get a Mai Tai and DW gets whatever. Afterwards we strolled down to Bou-Tiki and dropped some credit on some tiki mugs that I had been looking for.
We got back to MK around 7pm and DD finally got to meet Mickey Mouse at the Judge's Tent! She was timid at first but she quickly brought down that emotional barrier and eventually gave him a kiss on the nose. The Photopass photographer got a shot of it so youll have to bet on us buying that one. Prior to the photo, we toured their homes. We then headed over to Tomorrowland and went on the Tomorrowland Transit Authoritys people movers, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, and - I hate to say it - our first Carousel of Progress experience. We saw some of the Wishes fireworks but DD mentioned she was hungry so we made a run over to Pecos Bill since she had not been eating well all day and figured if she was interested, then we had better jump on it! We ate there for a bit, went on Haunted Mansion once more then our little daughter was pooped. So pooped she fell asleep in the stroller (uncommon for her)! Turned out to be a good time to leave anyway since the big park exodus was well over after Wishes finished.
Tomorrow, I'll post the second of three installments of the trip -- an early morning Chef Mickeys character breakfast at the Contemporary, a beautiful afternoon at Fort De Soto beach, and much needed margarita at Downtown Disney.
: Day 1 - June 15 - Travel Day
We got to MSP Lindbergh terminal at around 5pm Central time Thursday and find out our flight is delayed by about a hour. Fortunately our 2 year old DD Kaitlyn was very amused by the moving walkways by our gate and we also eventually found a playground in concourse C. So really, the hour delay was GREAT as it gave us a chance to run the energy out of the toddler! By the time we got on the plane at 8, she was pretty pooped and slept almost immediately and did so for a couple hours. After that point, she was entertained by stuffed animals and coloring books. She really did well on the flight I thought. I was mostly concerned about the air pressure bothering her ears and the noise but neither seemed to phase her one bit.
We arrived at MCO around 12am Eastern time, gathered our luggage, and went to the Budget counter to receive a Buick Le Saber. Got to the hotel, which was the Best Western Lakeside on 192, around 1am and unpacked while keeping the toddler from getting too overstimulated. 2am came and we finally were in bed and had the lights off! Kaitlyn amazingly goes right to sleep! Phew! We've stayed at this particular hotel before via Hotwire.com. At the time, it was a La Quinta and had switched over to a Best Western maybe a month after our first visit. It was a good deal then just as it was this trip @ $40/night. I felt somewhat guilty for not staying on Disney property but this was too good of a deal to pass up. I always figure the less we spend on a hotel, the more souvenirs we can buy later! Of course the downside to staying off property was paying $9 for parking at the parks each day and also we couldn't take advantage of Extra Magic Hours - no big deal since DD would get all the time her two year old little body could handle anyway.
Day 2 - June 16 - Magic Kingdom day
We awoke after our 5½ hour slumber actually fairly peppy as it was our first park day! Who has time to think about exhaustion at a time like this?! We got to the TTC around 8:30-40 and took the ferry boat to the park instead of the monorail. The last time we went to MK for rope drop, taking the monorail was a disaster. I think something had gone wrong that day with monorail traffic or something of the like but I wasn't going to chance it again especially with a stroller and toddler. This was our first experience with the ferry and we didn't regret it. There was soo much room on board for Kaitlyn to run around - it was great plus I think she really enjoyed being on a boat.
We got there for rope drop at 9am and Kaitlyn got to meet her first character almost immediately - Donald Duck had just set up shop in front of the Roy Disney statue. The three of us got our picture taken and we then continued down Main Street getting passed by a fire truck, the Dapper Dans, and a warm welcome from the Mayor. The Mayor did all that he could but could not get Kaitlyn to give him five with his oversized Mickey hand/glove! We stopped for a moment to get our picture taken with the three of us in front of the castle and Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse statue then decided we better make time over to Dumbo! We only waited about 20 minutes before our "flight". We went from there to the Winnie the Pooh ride, a small world ride, then *gasp* the Haunted Mansion! She actually did as well as we expected - which was "handle it just fine" - its all about using the word "fun" instead of "scary". After that we ate at Cosmic Rays and then returned for a fastpass at Peter Pan. Lastly for that first shift, we went to see the Enchanted Tiki Room Under New Management.
DD was getting awfully tired by now so we headed back to the car the same way which we came, via ferry. But not of course until we purchased a Mickey/Minnie balloon on Main Street per Kaitlyn's request. Once in the car, she passed right out. So instead of waking her up by going to the hotel and sleeping there, she slept in the car while we drove around. First we drove to Belz Mall to check out Disney's Character Premiere. Next we drove back down to the Orlando Premium Outlets as DW had her eyes set on The Cosmetics Company Store there. Kaitlyn eventually woke back up and it started pouring cats and dogs. We decided to get some Chick-fil-A and head back to the hotel after grabbing a few supplies at Walgreens.
The rain started to let up so we decide that its time to get back to the parks. But first we had to stop by the Polynesian to grab our traditional drinks from the Tambu Lounge. I always have to get a Mai Tai and DW gets whatever. Afterwards we strolled down to Bou-Tiki and dropped some credit on some tiki mugs that I had been looking for.
We got back to MK around 7pm and DD finally got to meet Mickey Mouse at the Judge's Tent! She was timid at first but she quickly brought down that emotional barrier and eventually gave him a kiss on the nose. The Photopass photographer got a shot of it so youll have to bet on us buying that one. Prior to the photo, we toured their homes. We then headed over to Tomorrowland and went on the Tomorrowland Transit Authoritys people movers, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, and - I hate to say it - our first Carousel of Progress experience. We saw some of the Wishes fireworks but DD mentioned she was hungry so we made a run over to Pecos Bill since she had not been eating well all day and figured if she was interested, then we had better jump on it! We ate there for a bit, went on Haunted Mansion once more then our little daughter was pooped. So pooped she fell asleep in the stroller (uncommon for her)! Turned out to be a good time to leave anyway since the big park exodus was well over after Wishes finished.
Tomorrow, I'll post the second of three installments of the trip -- an early morning Chef Mickeys character breakfast at the Contemporary, a beautiful afternoon at Fort De Soto beach, and much needed margarita at Downtown Disney.
We should have remembered to pack a lunch, eat before our arrival, or bring snacks -- unfortunately we left after only about a hour and a half as DD expressed interested in something to eat. It was our fault -- we had a toddler with us and should have known better 
We headed back to the hotel and DD slept in the car. 
He was running around the crowded fairly quickly and stopped now and then for photos. At one point, a little girl of a similar age got her photo taken next to him. It was a pretty cute and humorous moment -- I think the best part of it was that he wasn't my child!
In retrospect, I can't say I'm surprised she was a little nervous to meet a couple of monsters! 
