A Food and Whine Festival Weekend (Our First Mini-Trip as Parents) FINAL UPDATE 11/23

[holleypie]

Awww.....sorry to hear you had a rough ending to the night. Though I'm glad you had at least a couple of people help you out. The late nights and hard ticket parties will get easier as Luke gets older. On my son's 1st trip he was 2. We took him to MVMCP. He was asleep before the fireworks. Here we are two years later and at 4 years old, he was able to stay up until 2 am the night of the ToT race and midnight the night of MNSSHP.

I was so surprised, and grateful, that people were willing to help. Last trip when I was enormously pregnant, people on the bus and monorail would just glare at me like, "Yeah, you're not getting my seat."

 

[holleypie]

I woke up on Monday in a fantastic mood...because I was THRILLED that it was our last day. My first thought was, "Thank God we're going home!"

Our plan for the day had us at Hollywood Studios, but obviously we had already gone there yesterday. Brian asked what I wanted to do and I said, "Nothing."

"You want to do nothing?"

"Yes. You and Tom can do whatever you want, but I am doing nothing."

"You know we have to check out of the room this morning."

"Yes. That's fine."

My bags were packed and ready to go:

And I just wanted to sit in the lobby until Magical Express picked us up that afternoon. Seriously. I had no desire to do anything or have any fun. I am ridiculous.

We'd never taken Magical Express before this trip, so Brian had gotten on the internet Sunday night and did our airline checkin and picked our seats. But apparently Disney had done the same thing, so now we had two different seat assignments. We dragged all our luggage down to the airline counter and got it straightened out. Brian also tried to get my ticket fixed so that it had Luke's name on there too. They told him all they could do was note it in the system, but if MCO security was anything like BWI, I knew that wouldn't be good enough and we'd have to get it fixed at the airport.

After we ditched our bags, we went to Artist's Palette for breakfast.

It shouldn't shock you that I perked up after breakfast. Luke and I shared the cheese omelette and a biscuit.

Brian got a platter.

I think Tom either got a platter or the Mickey waffles. I obviously wasn't as obsessive about photographing his food on this trip.

The potatoes were a little too seasoned for my taste and not soft enough (Brian didn't like them at all), but overall breakfast was delicious. I could have saved money AND gotten a Mickey waffle if I'd gotten the same platter as Brian and just gave him my meat, but it didn't occur to me until afterwards.

At Artist's Palette, they have easels set up at various tables. Tom sketched while we ate but I was sitting across from him so I didn't know what he was drawing. Also, I was really in love with breakfast so I wasn't too concerned.

Then, after breakfast was over, he revealed his masterpiece to me.

Remember the New Girl clip I made you watch at the beginning? Why don't you get in your spaceship like McMouse!

McMouse seriously cheered me up, and I was now amenable to the idea of having some fun. I narrowed down our options to Epcot (because it's my favorite, and it was worth a try) or Animal Kingdom since we hadn't been there yet. Of course, the guys picked Animal Kingdom.

We caught a bus from The Springs stop.

Naturally, Luke fell asleep on the bus.

I can't believe I forgot the part about Luke's Pokemon. That's what he's holding in this picture. On one of our Epcot days, Tom bought Luke his first Pokemon from the Mitsukoshi Department Store in Japan. It's Tepig, a fire Pokemon that we've named Piglit because it just makes more sense all around.

Eventually we arrived at Animal Kingdom.

We headed straight to Expedition Everest. Brian and I went in the single rider line while Tom and Luke headed toward Dinoland. We had practically no wait. I rode first then Brian rode right after me.

Then we walked over to Dinoland.

We walked around and checked out the gift shop but didn't see Tom and Luke. Brian called Tom and he said they were on a trail. Brian thought he was coming to meet us so we waited at a picnic table outside of the gift shop. When a few minutes passed and he didn't show up, I walked a little ways down the trail and saw Tom on a bench waiting for us. See Lesson #3.

Tom and Brian went off to ride Everest while I sat in Dinoland with Luke and serenaded him with Randy Travis's "Diggin' Up Bones." I can't believe they are still playing the exact same soundtrack. It's awesome.

After the guys rode Everest, we really only had time for one more ride, so naturally we decided it would be the safari. On our way out of Dinoland, we passed by the little stand where I bought my "Vegetarian" dinosaur shirt a few years ago. And now they were selling "Carnivore" shirts! I was delighted. Brian asked me, "Are you going to buy that for me?" Um, obviously. Unfortunately I accidentally grabbed the wrong size, so hopefully they'll let me exchange it in December.

We had a bit of a wait for the safari, but nothing outrageous. Maybe 20 minutes.

I was hoping Luke would enjoy it, but it was a lot bumpier than I remember so I had him in a death grip most of the time, and he had little interest in the animals. The rest of us enjoyed it though.

Brian sat on the end and videotaped while I sat in the middle with Luke, so most of my pictures are of Brian's arm. Here's a few that contain actual animals:

I'd brought a bottle of pumped breast milk with us and I'd bought a manual breast pump just for the trip because I figured there would be a time that Luke would need to eat and we would be separated. But...there wasn't. So rather than take the bottle back on the plane with us, I popped in the baby care center at Animal Kingdom to change Luke's diaper and heat it up. This one was nice and large like the one at Epcot and probably the cutest, but we didn't stay very long. I found a bottle warmer on the counter but I've never used one before so I had no idea how to work it. Instead I got a bowl of hot water and did the best I could. We met back up with Brian and Tom outside, and Luke had his lunch on the go.

Sadly, it was now time to leave.

But we would be coming back in six weeks anyway, so nobody cried.

 

[holleypie]

The bus ride back to the resort was pretty awful. There was another family with three kids, and their overtired little girl was having a complete meltdown. She screamed for almost the entire ride, and slapped her dad in the face at one point. She was blonde and had the same name we had picked out for Luke if he had been a girl, so I told Brian that family will probably be us in five years.

Back at the resort, we had some time to kill until Magical Express picked us up at 3, so we went back to Artist's Palette for lunch.

And look who was Artist of the Day!

I got the cheese flatbread this time.

I think Brian got a roast beef sandwich.

Tom just had a snack.

We lounged around for a bit, and then it was time to go catch the Magical Express.

After we boarded, I attempted to take a family portrait. I think it turned out pretty nice.

I can't even remember if we had to go to any other resorts to pick people up. Maybe Old Key West?

Partly just to make conversation and partly as fodder for my trip report, I made everyone pick their favorite and least favorite things.

Favorite Food of the Trip:
Holly: Lunch at Le Cellier.
Brian: Citrus Swirl.
Tom: Umm...I can't remember what he said.

Least Favorite Food of the Trip:
Holly: Cosmic Ray's, and that $10 cranberry juice I still can't stop complaining about.
Brian: The Saratoga Springs chips.
Tom: He hated those Saratoga Springs chips too!

Favorite Part of the Trip:
Holly: Finally getting on some rides at Hollywood Studios.
Brian: Eating at Le Cellier.
Tom: Spotting the stepsisters at the Halloween party.

Least Favorite Part of the Trip:
Holly: MNSSHP.
Brian: Holly's attitude (Thanks, honey!)
Tom: The bus ride from AK to SSR.

Then we arrived at the airport.

Luke had fallen asleep on the bus.

I went to the AirTran counter and had them note Luke on my ticket, then we made it through security and to our gate. We had a bit of a wait so I found a big empty group of seats where I could let Luke crawl around after he woke up. Brian and Tom wandered off in search of food and came back with Sbarro.

Our flight wasn't delayed this time (woo hoo!) and we boarded on time. We were on the right side of the plane this time, but again I had the window, Brian sat in the middle and Tom had the aisle. I fed Luke as we were taking off.

And then we had the most magical, pixie-dust-encrusted, fairytale-esque, happily-ever-after ending imaginable....

The baby slept all the way back to Baltimore.

(and through the airport, and during the drive home, and all through the night, and until I woke him up at 9 the next morning. Poor little guy was exhausted!)

Day 4 Summary:
I'm glad I was able to get over the trauma of Sunday night and end the trip on a positive note. It would have been nice to have a little more time at Animal Kingdom, but since we'll be staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge in December, our leisurely breakfast was worth the wasted park time.

 

[holleypie]

We survived our first family vacation! Luke is such an easygoing boy, I probably shouldn't have worried as much as I did. Both the flights were better than I expected, and he did a great job putting up with us dragging him around the parks. It was disappointing that he didn't have much of a reaction to anything, but that's okay. He's still so young and he has many many many many many years of Disney fun ahead of him.

When we planned this trip I wasn't thinking of it as practice for December, but that's pretty much what it ended up being. I want to cut down on the amount of time I'm annoyed or frustrated, because vacation obviously shouldn't be annoying and frustrating. Here are a few things I think we can do to make the December trip easier for me:

1. Bring the jogging stroller. I was planning on doing this anyway since we'll be driving and it will be easier to bring all the extra gear I want. It's bigger, it reclines, and it has cupholders and baskets and all that fancy stuff. Luke had ZERO interest in napping in the room, so I want him to be comfortable napping in the stroller if that's what he's going to do. And imagine how much better my MNSSHP night would have been if I'd had a cupholder for my huge free soda.

2. Keep expectations reasonable. After almost a year of motherhood, I've figured out that EVERYTHING now takes approximately five times longer than I think it will, but I was still disappointed on our first two days when we only made it onto one ride. I think it might help to pick just one or two things each day that we "MUST" do, instead of making a list of five to ten things that I WANT to do if we have time.

3. Don't get hungry. I would estimate that hunger causes approximately 90% of my mood swings. I'll have to carry snacks, and have a better plan (and backup plan) for meals.


In other news, I updated my pre-trip report today with a delightful tale about some unexpected excitement on our way to Thanksgiving dinner. It's also possible I may update the PTR again before we leave, if I'm not too busy googling restaurant menus and tracking down all our Disney shirts.

Well, that's about it. Thanks for reading!

 

[amandaw]

So glad that your trip ended on a happy note! It's definitely different doing Disney with kids and can take some adjusting. Your December trip is already almost here! Hope y'all have a safe & magical trip!

 

[holleypie]

So glad that your trip ended on a happy note! It's definitely different doing Disney with kids and can take some adjusting. Your December trip is already almost here! Hope y'all have a safe & magical trip!

Thanks! I can't believe it's almost time to start packing!

 

[Imagineer5]

Well your last day sounded great, esp after you got some breakfast in you! Glad it was good and I really hope you're looking forward to your december trip. Photo of luke holding his bottle is cute - Aria still doesn't hold her own bottle LOL though she only has 6 per week. Hmmm.

 

[Joyciemc]

Oops, somehow this ended up on the wrong TR! Stupid phone.

 

[holleypie]

Well your last day sounded great, esp after you got some breakfast in you! Glad it was good and I really hope you're looking forward to your december trip. Photo of luke holding his bottle is cute - Aria still doesn't hold her own bottle LOL though she only has 6 per week. Hmmm.

He was pretty lazy about holding it up correctly--I had to feed him the rest of it on the bus. But my mom says he feeds himself when he spends the night with her, so I don't know!

I'm definitely excited for the trip! I'm not even scared about spending 16 hours in the car with Luke...although I probably should be.

 

[CDolacki2003]

Found your reports by mistake, and I am loving them. Just finished your PTR and on to this one. DH and I are going to Food /Wine and MNNSHP in October so I am excited to read your report. Thanks.

 

[holleypie]

Found your reports by mistake, and I am loving them. Just finished your PTR and on to this one. DH and I are going to Food /Wine and MNNSHP in October so I am excited to read your report. Thanks.

I hope this TR doesn't scare you! Haha. We've been to Disney for F&W/MNSSHP the last three years, so obviously we LOVE it. I would definitely avoid Epcot on the weekends if possible, unless you're fully prepared for the insane crowds (I wasn't prepared for it to be as bad as it was!) MNSSHP is just awesome. The parade is amazing and the general atmosphere in the park is so much fun. I'm sure you'll have a great time!