A Whole New WDWorld: A March PTR (NEW! 6/27 TR link!)

[oOJulieOo]

Hello friends and welcome to my PTR for my March trip to Walt Disney World!

Yesterday, I booked a one-week trip for my daughter, my mother, and me. Today, after making a ticker, I realized that I have only TWO MONTHS to plan! To most people, two months is plenty of time to plan. Fortunately for me, though, if you’re reading this, you’re a DISer, and you understand that two months might as well be two weeks!

This will be my 7th trip to Disney World, and it will be my first trip with my gorgeous baby girl. I am going to need all the advice/help/whatever you can offer on doing Disney with a baby who will be 11 months old at the time of the trip.

Let’s get right down to it, shall we?

The Who:

Me, Julie, 31 years old, part time physical therapist, full time mom, and full time Disney lover.

Here I am, dressed as Mrs. White from the boardgame Clue at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.

My mom, age undisclosed, part time nurse, full time grandma (or Mimi, as she would like the baby to call her), part time baby-sitter to aforementioned gorgeous baby girl, and full time Disney lover.

Here's Mom, looking like a tourist in Las Vegas, hanging out with a wax Whoopi Goldberg.

And the star of this show (and of our life in general), Claire, 8 months old, my new best friend, daddy’s little girl, and Disney lover in-training.

Here's Claire, telling Santa, "All I really want for Christmas is to go to Disney World." And Santa came through!

My DH won’t be joining us for this trip. He is a lover of travel, but thinks there are too many places we haven’t visited, so we should only go to each destination one time. He has already been to Disney World twice and is not interested in going again any time soon. I don’t get it, but as long as he doesn’t mind me going to Disney World with Claire, it’s fine by me!

Next up: So many questions about Disney with a baby!


Links:

ADRs

Questions, Round Two

Happy New Year! It's going to be a very big year!

Upgrades!

Lots of Trip Stuff

Must-do List

More Food!

Shopping: Part One

Souvenirs!

Practice Makes Perfect

One Month!

Blizzard!

Blizzard Photos!

Ski Trip Mini Trip Report

One week!

Six days!!!

Five Days!!

Three days!!!


We're home!

 

[WDWCP96]

Yeah for your daughter's first Disney trip. We took our sons in October,our younger one was 7 months and our oldest is 4. It is so fun going with kids.

 

[DisMomAmy]

I'm here!! Can't wait to hear about your plans!

 

[hollie1974]

I'm in

Your DD is adorable!

 

[PirateKate]

Hi! So exciting about your baby's first Disney trip. Can't wait to read more!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Hi Julie!

Claire looks like an absolute sweetie pie!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Hi, Julie! I am so excited you started a PTR! I am even more thrilled that Santa came through for that trip that Claire wanted!!! I can't wait to see what fun you have with Claire and your mom on this trip!

 

[DsnyMama]

Aww she is totally precious! We did WDW with our DD at 3 months.

I'm in!!

 

[MeMom]

I happen to know some crazy people who have gone to Disney World many times with babies, if you have questions.

I am so excited for your trip, because all of the magic just multiplies when you take your little ones.

Can't wait to see you again soon and meet that precious little Claire!

 

[oOJulieOo]

Yeah for your daughter's first Disney trip. We took our sons in October,our younger one was 7 months and our oldest is 4. It is so fun going with kids.

Thanks for joining me!

I'm glad you're reading and I hope you'll share lots of advice with me about traveling with a baby!

I'm here!! Can't wait to hear about your plans!

Hi Amy!

Can't wait to share my plans! Oh, wait, first I need to make them.

I'm in

Your DD is adorable!

Thanks for reading!

And thanks...I think she's adorable too!

Hi! So exciting about your baby's first Disney trip. Can't wait to read more!

Hi! Thanks for joining us!

Please share any tips you may have about Disney with a baby. I would appreciate whatever you have to offer!

Hi Julie!

Claire looks like an absolute sweetie pie!

Hi Lessa!

I know I'm biased, but Claire is just the sweetest thing! We got very lucky when God gave her to us.

Hi, Julie! I am so excited you started a PTR! I am even more thrilled that Santa came through for that trip that Claire wanted!!! I can't wait to see what fun you have with Claire and your mom on this trip!

Hi Jackie!

That Santa Claus, he knows what he's doing!

I think it's going to be wonderful to have just the ladies, three generations of them!

Aww she is totally precious! We did WDW with our DD at 3 months.

I'm in!!

Thank you!

Please share any and all advice you have regarding traveling with babies!

I happen to know some crazy people who have gone to Disney World many times with babies, if you have questions.

I am so excited for your trip, because all of the magic just multiplies when you take your little ones.

Can't wait to see you again soon and meet that precious little Claire!

Hi MeMom! I'm glad you found your way over here because otherwise, I would have flooded your PM inbox with questions about Disney and POP with babies!

This Christmas was the best ever because Claire was here. I can only imagine that Disney will be the same!

I'm so happy I'll get to see you again and that you'll get to meet my Claire bear! She can thank you in person for her favorite bib!

 

[oOJulieOo]

For this trip, we are going to keep the table service meals to a minimum. I am guessing that our time spent in the parks will be somewhat limited due to Claire’s sleeping/napping schedule. So I want to spend as little time as possible sitting in restaurants.

I think I would like to do 2 ADRs, maybe one for breakfast and one for lunch or dinner. I would love to do a character meal because that would be an easy way to get pictures of Claire with characters.

Sooo...what is your favorite character meal and why?

Also, I am tempted to make a Boma ADR because I just love Boma. However, I feel like we should try something new. What’s your favorite baby-friendly restaurant in all of Disney World? (I know, it’s Disney, they’re all baby-friendly, right?)

Thanks in advance for your knowledge!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I think Crystal Palace is great and roomier than the other character meals in regards to getting the right set-up for pictures. Also it is not as chaotic and noisy as some of the other restaurants.

 

[jenjolt]

I'm in!!!! Hey we have similar DHs LOL!! Mine is not a Disney fan at all, but has agreed to try to go again at some point with me LOL!! (He keeps putting it off LOL)

Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

 

[MeMom]

What have you not tried?

For me, for the first visit, I would want to do Chef Mickey's just because it's the classic one. You could go for either breakfast/brunch or dinner. Do you want them both to be character meals? If so, I might go with Crystal Palace for the other one just because that gives you a wide range of characters between the two. Again, that one could be either breakfast/brunch or dinner. One that we really enjoyed was Cape May for breakfast. The food was awesome and the character interaction was very fun. The characters there were Minnie, Donald, and Goofy, I believe. I guess you just have to list what priorities you have for the meals - characters or food - and then go from there. Maybe you could pick one for Claire and then let your Mom choose one of her favorites or a new one?

I don't think we are doing any table service meals this time. We'll have to be creative to get a good variety of food on our quick service dining plan.

 

[Roxychica7]

Excited for this TR!
We REALLY enjoy Ohana's breakfast. The characters are great, especially Stitch and there's lots to eat, including fresh fruit and waffles for baby, plus they bring it TO you, so you wouldn't have to juggle food and the baby at buffet. Can't wait to hear your decisions!

 

[oOJulieOo]

I think Crystal Palace is great and roomier than the other character meals in regards to getting the right set-up for pictures. Also it is not as chaotic and noisy as some of the other restaurants.

We had lunch at CP a couple trips ago and I was in love with the food there. I'm not sure about the characters there, though. I would love for Mickey to be there!

I'm in!!!! Hey we have similar DHs LOL!! Mine is not a Disney fan at all, but has agreed to try to go again at some point with me LOL!! (He keeps putting it off LOL)

Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

Yay for your DH agreeing to go with you again sometime! My DH keeps saying that he's not going to Disney till our daughter is 5 years old. Whatever! As long as I can go!

Thanks for reading!

What have you not tried?

For me, for the first visit, I would want to do Chef Mickey's just because it's the classic one. You could go for either breakfast/brunch or dinner. Do you want them both to be character meals? If so, I might go with Crystal Palace for the other one just because that gives you a wide range of characters between the two. Again, that one could be either breakfast/brunch or dinner. One that we really enjoyed was Cape May for breakfast. The food was awesome and the character interaction was very fun. The characters there were Minnie, Donald, and Goofy, I believe. I guess you just have to list what priorities you have for the meals - characters or food - and then go from there. Maybe you could pick one for Claire and then let your Mom choose one of her favorites or a new one?

I don't think we are doing any table service meals this time. We'll have to be creative to get a good variety of food on our quick service dining plan.

There are SO MANY places I haven't tried. I rarely eat at table service restaurants when in Disney World. I just don't like "wasting" precious park time in restaurants. Boma has a special place in my heart (stomach?), so that has become a staple of my Disney trips. Other than that, though, there's nothing that is drawing me in. I'm perfectly happy with counter service. I want to do a character breakfast sheerly for the ease of picture taking that will afford. We missed out on the free dining by about a week because I was too slow to book our trip. The free quick service plan would have been PERFECT for us. Too much food, I'm sure, but too much free food is better than paying for just the right amount of food!

I made ADRs at Chef Mickey's and Crystal Palace after reading Lessa's and your recommendation. So now I have to decide which one! I like the idea of Mickey being at Chef Mickey's. Maybe we'll keep both?

I like the idea of letting my mom choose the other place. Would you believe I never even thought of that? My Disney planning obsession just jumped in and took over!

Excited for this TR!
We REALLY enjoy Ohana's breakfast. The characters are great, especially Stitch and there's lots to eat, including fresh fruit and waffles for baby, plus they bring it TO you, so you wouldn't have to juggle food and the baby at buffet. Can't wait to hear your decisions!

Welcome!

YUM!!! I am going to look into that one also! I like the idea of the servers bringing the food to us!

 

[oOJulieOo]

Do you SEE all that snow out there on our deck?

Quick! Get us to Florida!

 

[BrooklynnsMommy]

I'm here. So excited I'll get to meet Baby girl on her first trip to the World!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Brrrr! All that snow sure looks cold!

Character meals? Well, you know we love the Tusker House breakfast and that has Mickey. There is also the Cape May Cafe breakfast -- that might be fun! Of course, there is nothing quite so iconic as Chef Mickey's. Oh, and don't forget the princesses! That would make for some very cute pictures! What about one of the meals in Norway?

 

[jenjolt]

Awww that picture of her standing at the door with all that snow is too cute!!!! I'm sure it was cold outside LOL!!!

As far as Character meals I have done a lot of them and really enjoyed them all...nothing beats a before park opening at Crystal palace (if you are an early riser), but I loved Chef Mickeys and Tusker House also!! Great meals and great interactions!!!