A Spell Casting, Rocking, Terrible Twos, B'day Disney Exploration – May '18 TR & Sept '18 Mini TR

[Smilelea]

Here we go again! I’m back to tell all about our third Disney adventure with our third set of grandparents. We had lots of magical moments as well as a few frustrating moments. Welcome to anyone that wants to read along!






Let’s begin with introductions. For purposes of making my husband happy we will be using initials and nicknames throughout this report .



My name is Smilelea and I am 34 years old. I am a Special Education Teacher and have worked in the public school system for 15 years. I love reading, scrapbooking, Harry Potter, and of course DISNEY!



My husband is C and he is a logistics manager for a well-known telecommunications company. Because of him, our house has lots of crimson, grey, and white. Roll Tide! He is also our personal travel agent (not really but I keep telling him he should be). There were lots of spreadsheets made throughout the planning of this trip.







We have been married for 9 years and we have two crazy children.



D is 6 and has just completed his kindergarten year. He is our worrier and does not like change. He loves superheroes, Disney movies, books, Transformers, Chickfila and mac-n-cheese.







G is 2 and is into EVERYTHING! He’s notorious for running in the opposite direction you want him to go and he loves books, hats, shoes, Mickey Mouse, Buzz, Woody, and most of the princesses. He also has a fascination with giraffes and loves to eat (especially fruit).







Our other trip members for this particular trip include Gran and Papa. Gran loves to quilt and garden. Papa does whatever Gran tells him to do *wink*. They decided after we planned this trip to join us for a few days. They drove their camper down and camped at Fort Wilderness.







This is from my Harry Potter Murder/Mystery Dinner Party I had a few years ago. We have Molly Weasley and Dumbledore




We recently became DVC members and this was our first trip staying as such. We also celebrated G’s birthday on this trip.




If you wish to skip directly to the updates, the chapter links will be in the next post. ​

 

[Smilelea]

Chapter 1: Travel Day – “Are we staying with the animals!?!”

Chapter 2: Epcot – “I Rock Dude!”

Chapter 3: Animal Kingdom – “You look so hot in those glasses.”

Chapter 4: Hollywood Studios – “A Minnie Van Disaster”

Chapter 5: Magic Kingdom – “It goes down!!!!”

Chapter 6: Magic Kingdom – “The Prince of Alabama”

Chapter 7: Animal Kingdom & Epcot – “Mine! Mine! Mine!”

Chapter 8: Travel Day – “Slide. Slide. No Slide!”


Mini Trip Report - September: Moonlight Magic HS & MNSSHP

• Resort Hopping Part 1
• Resort Hopping Part 2
• Day 1: Moonlight Magic Hollywood Studios Part 1
• Day 1: Moonlight Magic Hollywood Studios Part 2
• Day 2: Animal Kingdom & Chef Mickey’s Part 1
• Day 2: Animal Kingdom & Chef Mickey’s Part 2
• Day 3: Magic Kingdom & MNSSHP

 

[missjackiemcg]

I'm excited to hear about your trip! We celebrated my son's 2nd birthday at Disney World in 2011 (gulp, how can it be that long ago?!) We have often had the itch to become DVC members, so I'll be interested to hear how your first trip as members was!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Here! Looking forward to hearing about your trip!

 

[Smilelea]

Chapter 1: Travel Day – “Are we staying with the animals!?!”

Rise and Shine! Or so G thought at 5:45am!!! I think he was just excited even though I’m pretty sure he didn’t realize what was going on. By 6:15 we were all up and trying to get all of the last minute things taken care of. The plan was to leave the house about 9ish. We managed to make it happen.


We arrived at the airport, checked bags, went through security and made it to our terminal with an hour left to waste. The boys went exploring and I guarded the bags. Finally it was time to board.


This was G’s first flight to have a seat all his own. He did so well!



We arrived in Orlando and headed to our usual lunch place – ChickfilA. We didn’t realize at the time but this lunch set the tone for the entire trip when it came to meals. G screamed and fussed almost the entire time. He refused to sit and would only eat while standing. For this particular time, he refused to eat until I gave him some ice water in a straw cup . We finally made it through lunch and then headed to catch the bus. Geez! I feel like that walk gets longer and longer every time! Anyone else feel that way?

We made it down there and had to wait maybe 5 minutes. We loaded the bus and only sat there about 10 minutes before we headed out. It was raining. We hoped this wasn’t a bad omen.

Every trip we try to get a decent picture and this time was certainly the best yet.



Now, for those that might be just joining in on our family’s Disney adventures, D did not know where we were staying. We kept that detail a surprise. He also didn’t know the names Jambo or Kidani – thank goodness. Since this is how everyone referred to where we were going, he didn’t figure it out until we pulled up in the front.


Look at his face!



His response, “Are we staying with the animals?” He was so excited!


I apologize for not taking pictures of the entrance and lobby. We were in such awe and I was watching the boys’ faces more than anything. So here is one from the internet.



C got us all checked in and we were told that our room was ready. She saw that we were celebrating G's birthday so she told C to hold on while she got us pins. She wrote G's name on the birthday one and gave the rest of us celebration pins. Then she told him to hold on while she got something else for the boys. She came back with 2 animal-print visors. The boys had a fit over them. (Sadly, G's didn't even survive the entire week. The were made out of foam, though). Then we headed to find our room. We were a little anxious that we might be all the way down at the end of the building. But we weren’t! We were only 6 rooms down!!!!




The first thing we did was look to see if there were any animals outside. Nope! Not that we could see. The second thing we did was look for the pack-n-play that we thought was in the closet. Nope. There wasn’t one. So the boys explored the room and C and I reorganized so that we would only be carrying two bags into the park instead of four. Then we headed back down to find out about the pack-n-play and to see if the stroller was ready. The boys saw animals outside so C took them down to the viewing area while I took care of the other 2 things.


They made a note to bring us a pack-n-play and the stroller was there. We were set to head to the buses.

We waited less than 10 minutes for the HS bus. On the way, it started raining again. As soon as we got off the bus, we stepped off to the side and got the rain cover out. It was at this same moment that I realized our ponchos where in our checked bags. Mom fail #1! After a few minutes of struggling with the cover, we went with what we had and headed to security. G passed out before we made it all the way into the park . Once inside, we started trying to figure out what we wanted to do. C had a plan but we were either too late or we decided we didn’t want to do whatever it was. Sadly, I can’t remember. I do remember it was raining and we had an hour to kill before our dinner ADR. D finally decided he wanted to go see some characters so we headed to the Disney Jr. area.


It had pretty much stopped raining by this point. Sadly, by this time, I had seen another stroller with a rain cover just like ours and I saw what we’re doing wrong with the rain cover .



This is what he did while the bigger boys met some friends...
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Continued in next post...

 

[Smilelea]

Chapter 1 continued...

C said that BB8 was frightened by D's shirt because it had storm troopers on it.




After these, we headed towards Sci-fi but it was still early. We walked a bit so that G could keep sleeping. Finally we could check-in. I parked the stroller and yep… WOKE the SLEEPING TODDLER! Mom fail #2! Oh my, was he cranky! We tried popcorn, water, walking, holding, bouncing… nothing worked. Finally we were seated and she brought him out some ice water and some goldfish. She became my favorite person! She brought some out for D too, so we had two happy boys.




It's so dark in there that I didn't bother trying to take any other pictures.


We ordered: mac-n-cheese, fruit & milk for G; burger, fries & milk for D; Burger for C; and turkey breast sandwich for me. G ate happily, while standing of course. D couldn’t eat for watching the movie clips. We had to threaten him within inch of his life to get him to eat. We ended up ordering fruit to go for their desserts since we planned to leave soon and I knew G would eat it later.


C had gotten me a FP for RnR since I never got to ride it on the last trip.



Oh how I do not like this picture, but then, I rarely like any picture of me. It really was fun though!


The boys enjoyed some time with a family of ducks while waiting on me. It took about 25 mins and oh so fun!


Then we headed out. We waited for a bus for maybe 5 mins.


When we got back to our room, the pack-n-play and our luggage were there . So far so good for our first DVC trip. We checked for animals outside (a new nightly routine for this trip), unpacked, took baths, and went to bed. We had an early morning to get ready for. ​

 

[missjackiemcg]

Love how you took care of lunch, checking in and immediately headed to the parks That is exactly how we like to start a trip, too! Dive right in!

 

[ariane37]

Oooohh, just found you I'll be back to catch up!

 

[yesdnil]

Following along! My DD will be 2 on our next trip, so I'm scared about what exciting times we've signed up for

 

[ariane37]

That’s so awesome that you surprised D with AKL and I love his reaction! Funny about leaving your ponchos in the checked luggage, only because it’s something I’d do lol.
Our plans seem to go out the window to some degree when it rains, it just throws us off. Some things we can’t do, or we don’t want to be out in the rain, we’re running too fast, our mood changes, whatever. Our schedule is usually somewhat loose anyway but gets looser in rain!

 

[Smilelea]

I'm excited to hear about your trip! We celebrated my son's 2nd birthday at Disney World in 2011 (gulp, how can it be that long ago?!) We have often had the itch to become DVC members, so I'll be interested to hear how your first trip as members was!

Yikes how time flies! It's so hard to believe that D is already 6. Time slow down! It really was a great first DVC trip. We didn't have any really extra special moments with being DVC members but we did enjoy some nice little perks that I hope to remember to tell about throughout this trip.
So glad you're following along!

Here! Looking forward to hearing about your trip!

Yay!

Love how you took care of lunch, checking in and immediately headed to the parks That is exactly how we like to start a trip, too! Dive right in!

Our very first trip we didn't have AP's so we couldnt dive right in - and we were good with that (it honestly probably was a good thing since G was only 7 months old). Now that we've had APs the last two trips, I don't know what we will do the first trip we don't have them again (we really don't intend to renew them at the end of this year - but we were also those people that intended to go once and then wait a few years ). We are those people that are ready to GO as soon as we get there.

Following along! My DD will be 2 on our next trip, so I'm scared about what exciting times we've signed up for

We loved seeing Disney through his eyes but he certainly had his moments

That’s so awesome that you surprised D with AKL and I love his reaction! Funny about leaving your ponchos in the checked luggage, only because it’s something I’d do lol.
Our plans seem to go out the window to some degree when it rains, it just throws us off. Some things we can’t do, or we don’t want to be out in the rain, we’re running too fast, our mood changes, whatever. Our schedule is usually somewhat loose anyway but gets looser in rain!

I think it threw us off more that it was raining when we arrived more-so than it would have if we were already in the park following the "spreadsheet" . The other times it rained we were already in the park and were able to stick to the plan (as much we usually stick to it which honestly isn't very well )

 

[Smilelea]

Chapter 2: Epcot – “I Rock Dude!”

Steps: 22,426

We had to make an early start of it because we had a PPO ADR @ Garden Grill (first time). We were up by 6am and at the bus stop by 6:51am. I have in my notes that we waited for a bus for 25 minutes. C reminded me that it was posted “every 20 minutes” when we arrived and then it kept changing once an actual time was posted.
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We still arrived at Epcot in plenty of time. We made it through security and the first thing we saw was…
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Our first time during Flower & Garden!
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We easily found the line we needed to get in for our ADR, had our bands scanned and headed to The Land. As we approached, C and I looked for our ‘stroller Nazi’ (previous TR) but there wasn’t anyone standing there. They were actually over by the stroller parking. So we parked the stroller and because it looked like rain, went ahead and put the rain cover on. Then we headed inside about 15 minutes early. They let us check-in and we were seated immediately.
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Then cranky G showed up. He refused to sit in the highchair so we alternated between my lap and standing on the floor. Almost immediately Pluto arrived.
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Then…
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Our waitress took our drink order in between characters and then brought out the food in stages. To be honest, I don’t know what came out when and I certainly didn’t get any pictures of the food. G made it impossible to pay attention to anything but him. He fussed and complained the entire meal. He kept asking for Mickey. We would see him at other tables but it was awhile before he made it to ours. Then finally…
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G wouldn’t let go of his leg and then his hand for a while. We joked that he was just going to stay with Mickey. Mickey turned around and started walking away with G holding his hand . All of the characters spent a decent amount of time with us. We actually got to visit with all of the characters twice except Mickey. After we finally saw Mickey, G was ready to settle and eat – in my lap . Needless to say, I didn’t get to enjoy the food as much as I would have liked. What I did get to eat was good. The big boys loved it. G didn’t eat near as much as I thought he would. We did think it was cool that every time we looked up we were looking at something different because of it rotating. So… I have already told C to add it to our list for the January trip in hopes I can actually enjoy it .
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We finished up and headed out. C checked the time and saw we were a few minutes before Rope Drop. We had talked about trying to make it to see Anna & Elsa before the line got too long. So we headed that direction. We were almost into Mexico when we looked behind us and saw the crowd coming. So we sped up. We made it to Norway and I sent C & D to get in line while I parked the stroller. We joined them and were the second family to be in line. We were happy – goal met . We waited a few minutes until a couple of cast members came out. One cast member asked the first family if everyone was there. The mom said that 2 of their party were in a nearby shop. So they asked that family to step aside and motioned for us to come forward. They asked if we were all there and we said yes. Then they said “Welcome, you are our first family of the day!” We were thinking “Oh, okay. Cool!” So we headed through the first part of the queue to the house. Then we see Anna coming out. That’s when it hit me! This was a big deal!!! This was going to be awesome!

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She got the boys’ hands and headed to the door. Elsa opened the door!
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That’s when a cast member said “Now’s a good time for a video Dad” and C started recording.
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G did not cooperate. He kept running away and being silly. Anna tried playing hide and seek with him but he wasn’t having it.
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Continued in next post…

 

[Smilelea]

Chapter 2 continued…

He wouldn’t even cooperate when we got back to their spots and took pictures





They both spent a lot of time with us. It was great! Poor Anna tried so hard to get G to like her. When we left, all he could say was “See Anna, Elsa” over and over .


By this time there was a light rain falling. We decided to see how long the wait was for Frozen before heading somewhere else. It was posted at 10 minutes so we went for it. Then D had a meltdown. He absolutely, positively did NOT want to ride Frozen. He doesn’t like it when it goes backwards and he didn’t want to get wet. He screamed and cried so much that you would have thought we were making him ride Tower of Terror . But we didn’t give in. We made him ride. He kept his face buried in C’s chest the entire ride.




G freaked out a little when it got really dark and then on the drop. But he recovered quickly. Then when we got off D was like, ”Oh, well that wasn’t bad.”


When we came out it was still lightly raining. Dallas insisted we get his poncho out. So we got all 3 of ours out. Thank goodness for the stroller rain cover. G and our bags stayed mostly dry. It pretty much rained a light rain the entire day. There came a point that we just said forget it on the ponchos because it was too hot.


Next we headed to…





It was a fairly short wait. D asked him to show him around. G grabbed Baymax’s other hand and followed along.


Next, D wanted to meet Joy & Sadness. Every trip we’ve missed this meet for one reason or another. Their line was twice as long as Baymax’s but D was insistent. So we waited AND G wasn’t happy about it. I went back to the stroller at least twice while we waited. One trip I got his giraffe harness because he wanted to walk around. Well, that didn’t go as planned either. He was fine with wearing it as long as he could hold the leash . Finally, it was our turn.





G didn’t care for this meet either. But this is also a movie that we haven’t ever watched. I think D has seen it at school. ​

Continued in next post…

 

[Smilelea]

Chapter 2 continued…

By this time, we needed to head to our first FP. When we got over to SSE we realized it was closed. The rain started coming down harder so we took shelter by the bathrooms across from the ride for a bit. We all needed a break anyways. The rain lightened after about 10- 15 mins and we noticed the ride was back open. D isn’t too crazy about this ride either because it goes backwards at one point. But he didn’t have a meltdown or refuse to ride it. This time I was able to select English before G started touching the screen and it was rather nice to hear it all in a language I could understand . G did get a little uneasy at the really dark parts but overall he was fine.
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D wanted to check out some of the games after the ride so we played one of the ones that you have to slide these balls into certain parts of the board. I believe we played in this section…
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Power City – Discover how to responsibly go about managing power and energy within a growing city.
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Then we were ready to move on. The plan was to try to see Mary Poppins so we could get her to sign the boys’ pillow cases. C looked up her meet time and saw it was within her window. But when we got over there she wasn’t anywhere to be seen. There was a line starting for Alice on the other side and D said he wanted to meet her again. We did need her to sign G’s pillowcase so we got in line.
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Before I get too far, at some point we saw…
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And then while waiting for Alice, we noticed…
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After Alice, we checked the times and decided to head towards Belle. On the way, C remembered this was the bridge that we could try and get a certain picture that we were never able to get the last trip.
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There was a photographer on the bridge and when we asked, she said that she didn’t take that one but she could try. Thankfully it worked! This and meeting Belle in her blue dress were the only two reasons the boys were wearing their Beauty & the Beast themed shirts.
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We had to search for Belle. C thought she was in one place … but she wasn’t. Then he thought she was in another so he went and looked and found her spot…but he didn’t read the sign entirely. So we all walked over there just to have to turn around and go back to right where we had been. She had been moved inside due to the rain. The good news was we were only a few families back and she was coming out in less than 10 mins. So not too bad.
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She loved their shirts!
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Next it was time to head back for our 2nd FP.
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Continued in next post…

 

[Smilelea]

Chapter 2 continued…

G did his usual, ‘I can’t wait to see them… hurry when will it be my turn…yay, my turn…never mind I don’t want to see them…oh no, it’s time to leave…I want a picture with them!‘


Then we were ready for lunch. I knew G was going to pass out soon and I wanted him to have a full belly in hope’s he’d take a good nap. We headed to the Electric Umbrella. We’d eaten there before and it was okay. To be honest, there just really aren’t any good QS options for our family in Epcot. But we make-do. We got the boys mac & cheese and chicken tender kids meals. C got a cheeseburger and I got the cheese flatbread. I had packed applesauce pouches and a variety of other snacks so G got started on some of that while we waited on C to bring our food. G did well at this meal and stayed in his highchair the entire meal. He ate one piece of chicken and a decent amount of my ‘pizza’.


By the time we finished we were within our FP window for Test Track. The plan was for me to go first since I’ve never ridden and the boys were going to play in the design area because that is all D wanted to do. C planned to push G around until he fell asleep. So I went to get in line. Around this same time is when I got the text that Gran and Papa had arrived at the camp grounds at WL and were getting set-up. We wouldn’t see them until the next day, though.





Obviously I don’t know how to design a car





Just in case anyone was wondering, rain at 65 mph HURTS! But it was still fun. We ended up being the last car to go due to rain. They shut down the ride so C didn’t get to do it. He and D ended up with a multi-experience FP.


When I got off, G was asleep so we played around in the design center a little longer before heading to the butterfly house that was set-up just for F&G. D had seen it when we first came in and we promised we’d go through it. There was a cast member giving out complimentary Go-Go squeeze applesauce at the entrance. D ate his immediately. C and I put ours up for later.





It was raining pretty steady again so we headed over to a section we hadn’t ever explored before - the pyramid where Figment was. We found a covered section that I could sit with G while he slept.




C & D went to check out the Disney Visa meet & greet.





Then they went in the pyramid to see if they could find the DVC Lounge. They did and were quite impressed. The only con was that no strollers were allowed. So I had to stay outside with G because there was NO way I was waking a sleeping toddler. C & D hung out for a while in the lounge getting drinks and snacks. After a nice break, they came back down and I suggested we go get a snack (because I didn’t get to go to the lounge like they did ). I wanted one from Germany so we decided to catch a boat to take us across to the WS. We weren’t sure if we could take the stroller as is or if we’d have to collapse it. So we waited and watched and saw others getting off with kids in strollers. So we were set. G woke up about the time we got to the other side.


I got…





And I didn’t have to share


Then D informed us he wanted to ride the “Donald Duck” ride. We also needed to make a stop by the Baby Care Center for G.


On the way we saw….


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Continued in next post…

 

[Smilelea]

Chapter 2 continued…

G was in a good mood





After the “Donald Duck” ride (which both boys love), we stopped to get D an ice cream and we headed back to the Disney Visa meet so that G could see…





Then we headed to another one of G’s favorites… Nemo. G loved seeing the seagulls and them saying “mine mine mine”. Sadly we used the multi-experience FP for this because there was nothing else D would do. C managed to get me a FP for it, too. It was a waste of a FP but oh well. The boys love this ride and that is all that matters.


D wanted to do TT after Nemo so the plan was to get at the front so D & C could have front row seats (C could have a seat right by D on the carpet) and G and I would go to the very back. The last time we had tried to do this, G freaked out when Crush came out and started talking. D really wanted to get to ask Crush a question so he had to be up front. Well, it turned out to be a magical event for us.


Crush came out and D was chosen to introduce himself to Crush. Crush asked what his name was, where he was from and who he was there with. D answered all of the questions very clearly and promptly (this may not seem like a big deal but it kind of was for him. He doesn’t always do well being put on the spot especially in front of other people). Crush then asked to speak to one of his parents so C was given the microphone. C and Crush chatted for a moment about parenting. It was so cute! I loved how interactive it was. G also loved it. He got so excited when Dory and Nemo swam out for a moment. Then at one point G started yelling out “I rock Dude!” over and over. I was laughing so hard that tears were streaming . At the end, Crush told all of the kids to end every statement with “Dude!” for the rest of the day and then he added, “You’re welcome C!”


When it was over we had to go checkout some of the fish tanks before leaving.


Another pic of the awesome F&G décor…





We were ready to head back at this point. We had to be back by a certain time because our groceries were supposed to be delivered anyway. Side note: We had originally planned to order the groceries through Amazon Prime Now and have them delivered the previous day (arrival day). But by the time C went to place the order there were no available slots. So he had to schedule it for the next day.


Since there really aren’t any good QS places in Epcot we decided we’d go to Jambo and eat at The Mara. The boys really wanted pizza so we got them the adult pepperoni flatbread and I got the kids salad and turkey sandwich meals so that the boys could have the drinks and sides. C got the chicken tenders and fries. It was a typical QS meal as far we were concerned.


Then we headed out to catch the shuttle back to Kidani or so we thought. We asked where we were supposed to go but we got a little confused once we got out there. I was ready to walk it. After waiting a few minutes where we thought we were supposed to be and no signs of a shuttle, C consented to walking. About halfway to Kidani, the shuttle passed us going to Kidani . We made it back to our room and took care of baths. The boys looked for animals outside but G refused to go out there because it was dark.


As far as our grocery delivery:


C kept a check on the status through the app. It told us they were on the way. Then it showed the guy in the parking lot of AK Park. Then he was on the move again. Then we got a phone call to confirm where we were. Then it alerted us that he was pulling in. C took the stroller down to get the groceries with no issues. This was our first time to use Amazon Prime Now. So now that we know what to expect, we will use it again. We didn’t realize that it would alert us when he was specifically coming to deliver ours so that is a very nice feature.


Then it was time for bed.

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[MeghanEmily]

Our first time during Flower & Garden!​

Yay!! It's the most wonderful time of the year!

G wouldn’t let go of his leg and then his hand for a while. We joked that he was just going to stay with Mickey. Mickey turned around and started walking away with G holding his hand .

So cute!! Mickey's great at taking kids' cues like that and making funny little special moments.

They both spent a lot of time with us. It was great! Poor Anna tried so hard to get G to like her. When we left, all he could say was “See Anna, Elsa” over and over .

How cool was that that you got to be the first family! Nice meet, despite G's lack of excitement.

One trip I got his giraffe harness because he wanted to walk around. Well, that didn’t go as planned either. He was fine with wearing it as long as he could hold the leash .

G didn’t care for this meet either. But this is also a movie that we haven’t ever watched. I think D has seen it at school. ​

Ooh, you should watch Inside Out! I love that movie!! Might be a little intense for the boys, or at least for your littlest one. The theme about emotions, and sad/bad emotions being an acceptable part of like, etc., might be a little heavy for young kids. But as an adult, I thought it was excellent. You picture from this meet was cute!

This time I was able to select English before G started touching the screen and it was rather nice to hear it all in a language I could understand .

Once Nathan accidentally put it on German for us. Now occasionally I do different languages just to spice things up.

We headed to the Electric Umbrella. We’d eaten there before and it was okay. To be honest, there just really aren’t any good QS options for our family in Epcot. But we make-do.

I kind of agree that there's not much to pick from for QS at Epcot. I really like Sunshine Seasons though. But it might not be your kids' kinda fare? I just like that they have "real" food, even for some of the kids' options. Also, last month I ate at the QS place at the American Pavillion for the first time, and I didn't have very high expectations, but I thought it was relatively decent for a burgers-and-fries kind of spot.

There was a cast member giving out complimentary Go-Go squeeze applesauce at the entrance.

YES! This is the DREAM! I'm a big fan of go-go squeeze! And when I get to have them occasionally at Disney it's a treat because at home I usually buy the less expensive brand from Costco. And yes, I'm a grown woman who still likes to snack on squeezable apple sauce.

Crush came out and D was chosen to introduce himself to Crush. Crush asked what his name was, where he was from and who he was there with. D answered all of the questions very clearly and promptly (this may not seem like a big deal but it kind of was for him. He doesn’t always do well being put on the spot especially in front of other people). Crush then asked to speak to one of his parents so C was given the microphone. C and Crush chatted for a moment about parenting. It was so cute! I loved how interactive it was. G also loved it. He got so excited when Dory and Nemo swam out for a moment. Then at one point G started yelling out “I rock Dude!” over and over. I was laughing so hard that tears were streaming .

Amazing!! What a cool moment for D and C and your whole crew! You guys must have been really proud of him for doing such a great job talking in front of everyone.

 

[BabyPiglet]

Great report! We have two boys, so I enjoy reading reports involving little ones. I love how timely you post. So jealous that you're DVC! We might rent points for February to test the waters before purchasing.

 

[Smilelea]

Chapter 3: Animal Kingdom – “You look so hot in those glasses.”

Steps: 20,424

Although we didn’t have a breakfast ADR for this day, we did want to try to be there close to RD. Gran and Papa had texted to say they would meet us at our first FP. The ended up getting there a little after 8 (EMH) and decided to go exploring since it was their first time at AK. The last time they were at Disney, AK was still being built.

We were up by 7am, dressed, breakfast of pop tarts & yogurt, and then made it to the buses with a less than 10 min wait. We spent the wait applying sunscreen. We arrived at the park right at 9am. There was still somewhat of a crowd for those that couldn’t get in at 8. We headed over to the AP line since it was shorter. We stopped at one of the benches in the shade shortly after entering to finish applying sunscreen.

We made another brief stop at the Baby Care Center (this one is my favorite with Epcot’s coming in at a close second). Then it was time to head to our first FP and Gran & Papa. We found them sitting at some tables near the Safari. G was happy to see them but wouldn’t go to either of them. D became their little shadow .

Then it was time for the Safari.
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We didn’t take very many pics because…well, we already have plenty .

Gran & Papa loved the Safari. G wasn’t enthralled as much as he usually is. He didn’t seem to get excited about the giraffes this time but he was happy to see the elephants. We saw a baby one but I wasn’t able to get a good picture.

After the Safari, we explored Gorilla Falls. G and I ended up fairly ahead of the rest of them just to keep him moving. He was rather cranky at this point. He and I headed straight to the first place you see fish since he loved that part so much last time. It worked and he continued to stay happy as long as he kept moving. D had to get one of the bird guides and did a very good job of spotting most of them.

Next we headed to our second FP for…
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I love the one of the boys waving goodbye.

Afterwards, we headed to eat lunch. G was still rather cranky so I wanted to get some lunch in him before he fell asleep. We headed to Restaurantosaurus. Thankfully Gran & Papa were flexible and willing to do whatever we preferred. C got the cheeseburger and fries, both boys got the kids chicken tenders, and I went with the fish and fries. I have no idea what Gran & Papa chose. We ended up at a table in here…


(Taken from the internet)

G was still off and on cranky but was, thankfully, staying in his highchair for the moment. When I finally got some tartar sauce for my fish he insisted on having some. I tried telling him that it wasn’t ranch but he didn’t believe me. I expected him to cry when he tasted it, but no, he loved it. He dipped his chicken in it and ate it . At one point, he tried to drink it.

After lunch we headed to Triceratops Spin – one of D’s favorites. He decided he wanted to sit with Gran and Papa. The cast members told us to load into 2 different cars, the 3 of us in one and the 3 of them in another. So we did. Well, it took a while to get everyone loaded and then a cast member went to their car and told Papa he needed to move to our car to make room for a couple more people. D lost it! He wanted to be in the car with both of them. So he cried the entire ride.

Next we headed back over towards Africa. We passed by where Pocahontas meets and considered getting in line until the cast member said 30 minutes. I said no and we headed to Dug and Russel – D’s choice. At this point I was hoping G would go to sleep. C and D got in line, Gran & Papa found some shade, and G and I took a little stroll. Unfortunately he did not pass out so we headed back to everyone else just in time for him to join D and meet…​

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Continued in the next post…

 

[Smilelea]

Chapter 3 continued…

Next we met…
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While waiting in line, we saw Brer Fox come out and head towards Africa. We wondered where he was headed.

Then it was time for C and me to ride FOP for the VERY FIRST TIME! Gran & Papa stayed with the boys (and thankfully G finally did fall asleep). C and I weren’t sure what to expect. We didn’t realize there was so many different parts before you even get on the ride – but we should have seeing as it’s Disney . So we finally got to the actual ride and we put on our glasses. I looked over at C. He had this goofy grin on his face and said “You look so hot in those glasses.” We waited what seemed like forever for it to start. And then we were off! I jumped back at one part when it looked like we were going to hit the animals. C laughed at me. Then it was over. And it was fabulous! We easily saw what all of the hype was about.

It took us a few minutes to find them after the ride. They had found a shaded spot under one of the floating mountains. I texted Gran at one point and she said they were under one of the mountains by the waterfall (like that helped). We finally found them. Papa had struck up a conversation with a group sitting nearby and G was sleeping soundly.

We had about 2 hours before Gran & Papa FP window for their turn on FOP, so we headed to catch the train to Rafiki’s. Since G was asleep, I asked if we could take the stroller on as is. The cast member said if there were no wheelchairs, then we could. So we got in line and hoped. If there were any wheelchairs then, G and I were staying behind at the BCC. No way was I waking him up. Well, we ended up waiting for what seemed like forever on the train to arrive and G woke up right before it pulled in. So it was a moot point.

On our way to Rafiki’s, the train stopped mid route. Apparently someone stood up. Disney doesn’t lax on safety – good for them! When we finally got there, we all kind of split-up. D immediately went to see Doc. G was excited to see her and then changed his mind almost immediately. Gran and Papa went exploring a little and then found a bench to chill for a bit. G changed his mind about meeting Doc and went back over.


Afterwards, G and I went out to the petting zoo. C and D joined us eventually. G loved walking around talking to the animals. Finally, it was time to head back so Gran & Papa could ride FOP.

We decided that we would split ways at this point. We had planned to head back early to have some pool time and Gran & Papa were about done for the day, too. We headed over to the BCC for a brief break while they headed back to Pandora.

Lion King was playing at the BCC so they boys parked themselves in front of the TV to watch for a bit. I decided that now was the perfect time to try another snack I had on my list. I asked C to find the nearest place that sold it. Good news was there was a place just over the bridge into Africa. I went to Tamu Tamu Refreshments to get my very first Dole Whip!
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It was delicious! G thought so too. . But no one else liked it – more for us.

After a discussion on supper options, we decided to just eat in the park and then head back for some pool time. When we walked out of the BCC, we decided to take the route around the Tree of Life to get to where we were going. C and D were ahead of us. As they rounded a corner, C said something and I could tell by his face it was something good. Well, remember how we saw a certain character come out while waiting to meet Timon…
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I was so excited! I even said that out loud and that he was one of my favorites and I got a big ol’ hug! C even asked if he needed to be worried

Then we headed to Flame Tree. I did the ordering and C took the boys to find a table. G got the kids hot dog meal. D chose the mac & cheese. C and I got the Baked Macaroni & Cheese with Pulled Pork and French Fries with Pulled Pork and Cheese. (I like what we ordered this time much better than what we got last time.) We ended up having some guests join us for dinner almost immediately.
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The one duck actually begged. He would quack periodically and look up at C and D. I’ve never seen a duck beg. The boys loved watching them and, at the end of our meal, feeding them. We know it’s a big no-no but…

We finished up and headed to the bus. I don’t have anything in my notes about the wait so apparently it wasn’t anything noteworthy.

We got back to the room and the boys immediately had to check for “aminals” as G says.
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We changed and then headed to find the pool. I didn’t take any pics so here are some from the internet.
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It was fairly busy so we ended up finding some chairs to the back right.​

Continued in the next post…