Always Let Your (Preschooler) Be Your Guide. My First Trip Report! COMPLETE

[shan23877]

I'm late to the Party!

I also went to the wrong side for the Magical Express!
Been home 3 weeks now, still bummed out.

That's ok! and thanks for coming!

I had all the info written down, and still went the wrong way! It's such a let down when the trip is over! I guess that's why we're always planning the next one.

I Love the way you titled all the chapters!

And I'm loving your "Disney trip report"

Thank you! I love Friends

I'm all caught up!!! Way too much to comment on. Just know I couldn't wait to click on each link! Your Maddie is such a cutie!

I believe I read this is your first TR? Wow. You're a pro already.

Wow! Thanks for reading! And thanks for the compliment, we think she's pretty cute...

It is my first TR, I really appreciate the compliment!

 

[kmedina]

Now that you say that, you're right. I don't think RC takes DDP. I had to think about it when I saw your question. Oops! Totally inaccurate trip reporting! Maybe the server really wanted us to order drinks?

How do you like doing DxDP? We're strongly leaning towards it for next trip. I fear that I would feel like we're "wasting" credits if we go to DH's #1 pick (EoS), or if we grabbed a quick lunch at the food court on arrival day. Have you done the Luau? We're really thinking about trying it if we do DxDP. We've done HoopDeDoo and liked it, and would like to try a different show.

It's okay. I just got excited for a minute thinking it was a recent change. We are probably doing the regular dining plan in two years for our 10 year wedding anniversary trip to try V&A, so I will squeeze Rainforest Cafe and probably the T-Rex restaurant then.

We love the deluxe plan. I am with you on wasting credits. On our last trip, we used 25 of our 27 credits toward TS, and only used 2 for QS. We did not waste a single credit and had almost 50 (of 54 -2 a day x 9 days x 3 people) snack credits left over to take goodies home. This next trip, we are planning on using all 21 toward TS meals. Many say that as long as at least 2/3 of your credits are used for TS that you will come out ahead. For a week long trip, that allows you to have 5-6 QS meals if you want to. Every one is different but I limit them to get the most value (plus I love taking multiple 60-120 minute breaks for meals).

I want to do the Luau, but DS4 is such a picky eater. There is nothing on the menu he would eat. Hopefully, his taste buds will expand, because I really want to try it on our annniversary trip. I know some say that the kitchen will prepare special meals, but I would rather pick a restaurant where he likes the menu to avoid any hassle. We love Hoop Dee Doo too. On our next trip (starting 12-01-11), we have plans to do MBYBBQ. I will come back here and let you know how that goes once we get back. The reviews are pretty split, so I just want to try it for ourselves.

 

[kmedina]

I think it is really cute that Maddie calls C3PO the golden robot. The picture with the soldier is cute. You got some really great family shots too. DH says I pack too much clothes for DS too, but there are still days where he needs multiples. It is better to over pack than under pack, because I do not want to do laundry on vacation.

Maddie seemed like she had a good time at Akerhaus. Ariel was not at CRT, so we have not met her yet. It is too bad there is not a friendlier one. We get to eat at Akerhaus next trip, which I am excited about. The friends waiting for Maddie’s return are too cute.

 

[shan23877]

It's okay. I just got excited for a minute thinking it was a recent change. We are probably doing the regular dining plan in two years for our 10 year wedding anniversary trip to try V&A, so I will squeeze Rainforest Cafe and probably the T-Rex restaurant then.

We love the deluxe plan. I am with you on wasting credits. On our last trip, we used 25 of our 27 credits toward TS, and only used 2 for QS. We did not waste a single credit and had almost 50 (of 54 -2 a day x 9 days x 3 people) snack credits left over to take goodies home. This next trip, we are planning on using all 21 toward TS meals. Many say that as long as at least 2/3 of your credits are used for TS that you will come out ahead. For a week long trip, that allows you to have 5-6 QS meals if you want to. Every one is different but I limit them to get the most value (plus I love taking multiple 60-120 minute breaks for meals).

I want to do the Luau, but DS4 is such a picky eater. There is nothing on the menu he would eat. Hopefully, his taste buds will expand, because I really want to try it on our annniversary trip. I know some say that the kitchen will prepare special meals, but I would rather pick a restaurant where he likes the menu to avoid any hassle. We love Hoop Dee Doo too. On our next trip (starting 12-01-11), we have plans to do MBYBBQ. I will come back here and let you know how that goes once we get back. The reviews are pretty split, so I just want to try it for ourselves.

Thanks for all the info! I really hope you'll do a TR, because I'd love to hear how you navigate DxD with a 4 year old. I also like taking breaks during the day, it's rejuvinating. I know we'd do 2 CS meals-arrival day and EoS. Otherwise I think we'd do all TS. We'd probably also do CRT, Luau, and one signature.

MBYBBQ does seem to get lots of mixed reviews, but so does the SoA show. THe only show that seems to be consistently enjoyed is HDDR , but we'd like to try a new show.

Again, can't wait to hear all about the trip!

I think it is really cute that Maddie calls C3PO the golden robot. The picture with the soldier is cute. You got some really great family shots too. DH says I pack too much clothes for DS too, but there are still days where he needs multiples. It is better to over pack than under pack, because I do not want to do laundry on vacation.

Maddie seemed like she had a good time at Akerhaus. Ariel was not at CRT, so we have not met her yet. It is too bad there is not a friendlier one. We get to eat at Akerhaus next trip, which I am excited about. The friends waiting for Maddie’s return are too cute.

Good ol' CPO--drives her Dad crazy!! Bryan asked me if we could skip a family portrait this year since we took so many at Disney! Some of them are really nice, I may use one for the Christmas card...

I ALWAYS overpack. I will never be the person who has no dry socks/undies to wear. Why do dads not seem to understand that children spill things, get dirty, etc. and may need more than one outfit per day?

Akershus was fun, and I hope you'll enjoy it too. Have some salami for me!
spoiler alert!! we might just meet a nicer Arial on day 5...

 

[kmedina]

Thanks for all the info! I really hope you'll do a TR, because I'd love to hear how you navigate DxD with a 4 year old.

MBYBBQ does seem to get lots of mixed reviews, but so does the SoA show. THe only show that seems to be consistently enjoyed is HDDR , but we'd like to try a new show.

Again, can't wait to hear all about the trip!

I ALWAYS overpack. I will never be the person who has no dry socks/undies to wear. Why do dads not seem to understand that children spill things, get dirty, etc. and may need more than one outfit per day?

spoiler alert!! we might just meet a nicer Arial on day 5...

I have considered doing a trip report. DH is private, and is not fond of me posting pictures of our kids online. Without pictures of the kids or DH, I just did not think anyone would care to see it. For years, he was concerned about it and was hesitant to even open a Facebook account. His job wanted him to open one, so he finally did. I just opened one on Friday at his urging, so he may be okay with it now. I guess we will see. Whether I do one or not, I will come back here and let you know how MBYBBQ went.

There are so many things that could cause an experience to be bad. I condsider reviews, but unless every single one is negative, I like to give things a shot. If some people can have a good time, then I can too. The only WDW restaurant I've ever really had a bad time at was the Coral Reef, but I would still be willing to go again in the future.

I agree that they should not complain about over packing when they benefit from it at times too. My baby needed a back up onesy two days ago, and it was one of the few times I forgot to pack one. It stressed DH out too, since it was really cold where we were. That is nice that you met a nicer Ariel. If it is at her private meet and greet though, I will never get to meet her until/unless I have a daughter. DH always complains about doing girly things, so I have to pick my battles.

 

[shan23877]

Day 5, our last full day had arrived. Our alarms went off very early. Bryan got up at 5:45 because he had a 7:40 tee time at Magnolia Golf Course. I’d found a package deal that included 18 holes, golf cart, range balls, club rental, and cab rides to and from the course for $110. Bryan loves golfing so this was to be his anniversary present from me. He’d meet back up with us around lunchtime.

Maddie and I had big plans for our girls’ only morning. We planned to get her dressed as Arial again then hit rope drop at DHS. At DHS we’d do TSM, get FPs for later, and check out the Disney Junior show. After DHS we hoped to take the boat to the Boardwalk, and then catch a bus to MK to meet some more characters before DH met back up with us. It was an ambitious plan, but we were up to the challenge.

I got up at 6:30 and got myself ready before waking Maddie. I gave her a quick shower and then set to recreating her princess look. The hair was much more difficult to do than I thought it would be, but she seemed happy to sit quietly so it wasn’t as painful as I anticipated. After a quick breakfast at the food court, we grabbed the first bus to DHS.

We arrived about 10 minutes before rope drop, and the entrance was mobbed. We made our way to the turnstiles, and got in about 9:05. I walked as quickly as I could while pushing a stroller, but the FP line for TSM was already about 10 minutes long. We got our FP with a return time of 11:45. It was much later than we’d hoped it would be, but at least we got them!

Standy time for TSM was only about 20 minutes, so we decided to get in line. As we made our way into the building, Maddie was already begging to be carried. Not wanting to start the day with a whiny little girl, I picked her up. When I did, I noticed that she was burning up. It was a very hot morning, so I thought maybe she was just over-heated from the being in the crowds at the entrance and at the FP machines. As we got closer to the stairs, I realized that she wasn’t cooling down at all. She insisted that she was feeling ok, but her energy was as low as I’ve ever seen it. I asked if she wanted to skip the ride, but she burst into tears at the idea of not riding, so we soldiered on. We got on the ride and as we made our way to the first game, I noticed that Maddie wasn’t participating at all. By the end of the ride, she had scored 200 points. This was not good.

We made our way outside, and found a shady spot to sit and talk. Maddie began to cry pitiful little tears when I suggested leaving, but she cried harder when I said we could stay. This kid was sick. Eventually she calmed down and told me that she did want to go back to the hotel. As we made out way to the front of the park, I kept my eyes peeled for a duo. I noticed a friendly looking father and son walking towards Pixar Place, so I stopped them and asked if they’d like to have our FP. Almost immediately, the mom rejoined them and asked what had just happened. I was already about 10 feet away when the woman ran up and hugged me and thanked me. It felt really good to pixie dust such nice people.

In the 5 minutes that it took to walk to the front of the park, Maddie had fallen asleep. I got some pretty strange looks pushing a sleeping princess away from the action at 10am. I hadn’t had the foresight to pack any medicine for Maddie, so I decided to see if any was sold in the park so that I could dose her ASAP. We were the 3rd group in line at guest services, but the people in front of us took one look at DD and let us go ahead of them. I bought some children’s Advil (which was very reasonably priced-I was going to buy it no matter what, but it was nice they don’t take advantage of you when you have a sick kid) and a bottle of water, and pushed DD to the bus stop. I parked her in the shade, woke her up and gave her the meds. She was back asleep immediately so I texted DH to let him know what was going on. We waited about 30 minutes for a bus, but I didn’t expect that there’d be too many running only 1 hour after park open. When we got on the bus, the driver very kindly helped me fold up the stroller so that I didn’t have to make Maddie walk on her own. He played the princess announcement hoping to cheer her up too. When Maddie heard it, she smiled weakly before falling asleep in my arms again.

 

[GeminiAngel]

Oh no!

On the last day?

 

[LutheranChick82]

Poor thing, getting sick on the last day! I hope she feels better before you leave.
I love that people let you get ahead of them in line when they saw Maddie. You gotta love the bus drivers when they try to make a sick child feel better!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Awww, poor Maddie.

 

[mickeyplanner]

YOu did a great job with Maddie's hair but poor little thing getting sick like that. We had that happen to us on one of our trips in 2009 but DD threw up on me on our bus ride to AK for breakfast so things could have been worse for you. I hope the day got better for the two of you.

 

[Caretames1]

Poor baby! I know exactly how you felt. Kadence got sick on our Jan trip. We made it to our 7:00am Chef Mickeys, she didn't eat,(threw up) barely interacted with the characters ,didn't want to leave, but we were back in our hotel by 8:30ish.

I hope she felt better later in the day.

 

[shan23877]

Oh no!

On the last day?

Right??

Poor thing, getting sick on the last day! I hope she feels better before you leave.
I love that people let you get ahead of them in line when they saw Maddie. You gotta love the bus drivers when they try to make a sick child feel better!

I felt so bad for her, but the worst part was that her dad was golfing. Nothing makes you feel more helpless than a sick kid, but to be alone with her at DHS? I was so upset. The bus driver was amazing. I was so grateful for the help.

Awww, poor Maddie.

Poor kid, she didn't know what she wanted to do.

YOu did a great job with Maddie's hair but poor little thing getting sick like that. We had that happen to us on one of our trips in 2009 but DD threw up on me on our bus ride to AK for breakfast so things could have been worse for you. I hope the day got better for the two of you.

Thanks on the hair!

You're right, vomit would have been much, much worse. We had no idea what was causing the fever at the time though, so that was scary. By the afternoon we'd figured it out...

Poor baby! I know exactly how you felt. Kadence got sick on our Jan trip. We made it to our 7:00am Chef Mickeys, she didn't eat,(threw up) barely interacted with the characters ,didn't want to leave, but we were back in our hotel by 8:30ish.

I hope she felt better later in the day.

It was the worst feeling ever. I really wish her dad had been with us to comfort me . I think you've got me beat. At least she didn't puke on me.

The afternoon improved a bit... stay tuned!

 

[CandleontheWater]

Oh no, poor little princess! I hope that the advil does the trick and that she is feeling better by the afternoon. Nothing is worse than being sick on vacation!

 

[shan23877]

I have considered doing a trip report. DH is private, and is not fond of me posting pictures of our kids online. Without pictures of the kids or DH, I just did not think anyone would care to see it. For years, he was concerned about it and was hesitant to even open a Facebook account. His job wanted him to open one, so he finally did. I just opened one on Friday at his urging, so he may be okay with it now. I guess we will see. Whether I do one or not, I will come back here and let you know how MBYBBQ went.

There are so many things that could cause an experience to be bad. I condsider reviews, but unless every single one is negative, I like to give things a shot. If some people can have a good time, then I can too. The only WDW restaurant I've ever really had a bad time at was the Coral Reef, but I would still be willing to go again in the future.

I agree that they should not complain about over packing when they benefit from it at times too. My baby needed a back up onesy two days ago, and it was one of the few times I forgot to pack one. It stressed DH out too, since it was really cold where we were. That is nice that you met a nicer Ariel. If it is at her private meet and greet though, I will never get to meet her until/unless I have a daughter. DH always complains about doing girly things, so I have to pick my battles.

I understand wanting to keep photos private. I've watched a lot of Law and Order SVU and it's made me very skeptical about the goodness of people especially when it comes to children. I was on the fence about doing a TR for that reason, but I decided to take the leap of faith (my DH thinks I'm ridiculous, so no one was telling me not to do it though). I'd read you TR even without photos if it helps!

I agree about reviews. I'd heard lukewarm things about Cape May, but we loved it! I've also read mixed things about Via Napoli, but it's one of the ADRs we really want to get for the next trip. I think DH and I are avoiding the BBQ because we really want to try the Luau and we know we enjoy the Hoop Dee Doo. So, we'd do one of those first. For 2 credits, we'd like it to be something we'd all get into.

Maddie ended up using almost every outfit I packed, so I think DH learned to back off Last year we were on the east coast for vaca, and Maddie fell asleep in the car between Cooperstown NY and NYC. She wet her pants and we had to stop at Kohls in NJ to buy a new outfit because we didn't have another one. I think my DH's packing grumbling is usually pretty good natured though, he's just cheap and wants to check the fewest amount of bags.


Maybe you should let DH and DS go do boy things for an hour while you get to do girly things. We make DH do ALL girly things. There's got to be a compromise!

 

[shan23877]

Oh no, poor little princess! I hope that the advil does the trick and that she is feeling better by the afternoon. Nothing is worse than being sick on vacation!

The poor baby. All dressed up like a princess and too sick to enjoy it. It was an up and down day, but there were some bright spots.

 

[TanzUnited99]

You did a great job with Maddie's hair...she makes a great Princess!

Oh no on her not feeling well and you being on your own with her. I'm glad to read people were nice to you so you were able to get her back to the hotel safely.

Yay on spreading the pixie dust with the FPs!

 

[ronnmel]

Awww, poor Maddie! Being sick in Disney, and on the last day on top of it! Hope the medecine and some sleep helped make her feel better and that she was able to enjoy her last day in Disney.

 

[Nermel9]

Oh no, poor Maddie! Being sick at Disney is no fun, I can sympathize! That was nice of the driver to play the princess announcement (here's how little I've been on the buses-I had no idea they did that before reading your TR!) and that it got a little smile out of her!

That was so nice of you to give away your FP's! We did that last year with Test Track FP's and the people were so shocked that we gave them to, it almost seems like people think it's a trick or something!

 

[smidgy]

princess dresses, princess hair... I am SO happy I had boys!! I don't even know what to do with my OWN hair!
when we get to go with our grandaughter...no problem.. kaylee was a flower girl for our other son's wedding, and kaylee's mom (dil) did a GREAT job !! on the hair, the glitter, the whole bit!!!
your little girl is So adorable!!! she is so lucky she wasn't dependant on someone like me to make her pretty.

 

[shan23877]

You did a great job with Maddie's hair...she makes a great Princess!

Oh no on her not feeling well and you being on your own with her. I'm glad to read people were nice to you so you were able to get her back to the hotel safely.

Yay on spreading the pixie dust with the FPs!

Thanks on the hair, we used a lot of DH's hair gel

Poor baby girl, she hardly ever gets sick, but of course this happened on her last Disney day.

I knew how hard those FP are to get, there's no way I was leaving with them in my pocket. I was so happy to pass them on.

Awww, poor Maddie! Being sick in Disney, and on the last day on top of it! Hope the medecine and some sleep helped make her feel better and that she was able to enjoy her last day in Disney.

It was an up and down day for sure. Poor kid was miserable!

Oh no, poor Maddie! Being sick at Disney is no fun, I can sympathize! That was nice of the driver to play the princess announcement (here's how little I've been on the buses-I had no idea they did that before reading your TR!) and that it got a little smile out of her!

That was so nice of you to give away your FP's! We did that last year with Test Track FP's and the people were so shocked that we gave them to, it almost seems like people think it's a trick or something!

I can't imagine how miserable it would be to be sick in the happiest place on earth!

Too funny that you learned that about the buses! I think it's a really nice touch, and this guy went above and beyond helping me on and off the bus. I wish I'd gotten his name so that I could send a nice email about him. :

I was so happy to pass those FP along. The people that got them couldn't have been more appreciative. It was the bright spot in the morning.

princess dresses, princess hair... I am SO happy I had boys!! I don't even know what to do with my OWN hair!
when we get to go with our grandaughter...no problem.. kaylee was a flower girl for our other son's wedding, and kaylee's mom (dil) did a GREAT job !! on the hair, the glitter, the whole bit!!!
your little girl is So adorable!!! she is so lucky she wasn't dependant on someone like me to make her pretty.

Just between you and me-- I was a cheerleader when I was in school, so the hair isn't that foreign to me. Princess hair is more difficult that one would imagine though. I so hope you'll get to take DGD dressed up like a princess, everyone makes such a fuss over the little ladies--it's really special. That's awesome that your DiL is good at that stuff, it's not as easy as it looks! DD is WAY girlier that I ever was. Just today she told me that she needs a haircut because she thinks she has split ends I'm not sure that I knew what split ends were until high school. I'm really not sure where she gets this stuff.