An Almost First Family Trip - July/August 2023 PTR

[MarieLightning]

It has been literal years since I last worked on a trip report, and boy have things changed since!

Seeing as I’ve been AWOL for a good while now, it seems proper to start back at the beginning with reintroductions.

Hello everyone! My name is Marie, I’m a 33 (almost 34) year old Disney lover who lives in Quebec, Canada, and is in serious need of a Disney fix. My wife, 30, is a Michigander transplant to Canada and has been my travel partner to Disney since the start.



Our last proper trip dates back to December 2019. Between then and our very first trip in 2012, we visited WDW a total of 14 times, with trip durations ranging from 2 days to 2 weeks, some planned over a year in advance and others the day of, courtesy of my previous line of work which came with handy dandy flight passes on a certain major airline.

Those were the years.

Our 15th trip should have been in March of 2020. I don’t need to tell you what happened.

For a variety of reasons, we stayed mostly on our side of the border for the few following years, except for a family visit.

And then finally, last September, we returned home. With a little additional guest in tow.



Our DS was born in August 2021, and we’ve been looking forward to the day we’d be able to take him to Disney pretty much since before he was born. And in just a few months, that will finally be happening!

But wait - you may be thinking, Marie, whose leg do you think you’re pulling? That baby is very clearly wearing Mickey ears after getting a haircut at the Magic Kingdom!

Okay, you got me there. We have taken him to Disney already. Do I still consider this upcoming summer will mark our first actual family trip down to the house of the mouse? Yes. Almost. Hence the title!

So here’s the thing. I was set to go to Miami this past July, but a few days before my anticipated departure, a certain someone brought home a stomach bug, and that did a number on the household, so the travel plans were canceled and I wound up with a flight credit. We had also accumulated a rather large amount of gift cards for our 2020 trip which still lay untouched, and Labor Day weekend was fast approaching. And what do you know - DS was getting to the point where his hair was covering his eyes a bit. We couldn’t possibly have that, could we?

So long story short, we booked us a three night stay to go get this kid a haircut. The gift card covered the one day park tickets and the hotel, plus some of our food, and my flight credit covered half of our new flight cost. We flew down late on the Friday evening right after work, did some swimming and Disney Springs exploration on Saturday, and visited Magic Kingdom on Sunday before flying home on labor day.

And thus, our upcoming 2023 trip was no longer going to be DS’s first Disney trip.

But, it will be his first time visiting Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. So it counts. Almost.

So stick around if you wish to as we get cracking on planning our next Disney adventure!​

 

[MarieLightning]

Table of Content

The Five Ws
July 29th - Arrival Day
Park Days Schedule
Planning Animal Kingdom
Planning Epcot
Planning Hollywood Studios
Planning Magic Kingdom
August 7th - Departure Day
Food Time!
Getting Snacky​

 

[MarieLightning]

As is my habit (albeit an old, long unused one at this point), these pre trip reports have got to start with the five Ws!

So without further ado, here are some of the technical details of our upcoming vacation

What
A long overdue family vacation to Walt Disney World

When
July 29 - August 7, 2023

Where
Per the norm, we will be doing a split stay, starting off with 2 nights at the All-Star Sports (my beloved), and finishing up with a whopping 7 nights at the Contemporary

Why
We really still don't need a reason, but in this instance I can give two: because it's been waaaaay too long, and because we want to throw a toddler in the mix

And last but not least...

Who

Hi again! As was previously stated, my name is Marie, I am a few weeks shy of turning 34 years old, and I was born (and still live) in Quebec, Canada. My career path has taken a turn over the past few years - I used to work for a travel wholesaler, but after eight and a half years, I had to call it quits and moved on to do a brief stint as an order processing/customer care position for an air filtration manufacturer, before ending up where I am now, as an administrative assistant/secretary for a private school. Which does mean we are now restricted to Christmas, spring break and summer for our vacations. Oh well. I'm honestly happier there than I've been at any of my past jobs, so that seems a small price to pay.

My favorite Disney characters are Cinderella, Moana, Tiana and Baymax. I couldn't even begin to tell you which Disney movie is my favorite, but I can attest the most listened to movie soundtrack on my Spotify this past year has been Encanto, and the comfort movie I tend to turn to if I'm having a sleepless night is the live action Cinderella. My favorite park is the Magic KIngdom, and my favorite land is Main Street USA. My top five rides are Flight of Passage, Big Thunder Mountain (in the back), PeopleMover, Rise of Resistance and Slinky Dog Dash (although I've yet to try Cosmic Rewind, and TRON will be open by the time we visit, so those could definitely be game changers). I could take time out of any park day to meet Baymax, and my favorite nighttime show is Happily Ever After (soooo psyched it's coming back).

Next up we have my wife, Amber. She just turned 30, and she was born in Michigan, immigrating to Canada after we got married. When I last left off, she had just decided to drop out of the nursing program but hadn't quite decided where she was headed. As it turns out, the travel industry was also a draw for her, and although I've left it, she entered it in 2018. She now works as a travel agent assistant, which she enjoys, and lucky for us, it does mean discounts once in a while!

Her favorite Disney character is Belle, though if we expand into the Star Wars Universe, Padme, Grogu and Din are definitely getting added to the list. Her favorite DIsney movie is Beauty and the Beast (the original, definitely not the live action) and her favorite Pixar movies are the Cars franchise. Her top five rides are Haunted Mansion, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Dinosaur, Rise of Resistance and Test Track, but again, who knows if our upcoming trip will change that ranking! She will forever mourn IllumiNations as a nighttime show, she could eat at Teppan Edo for days on end and she loves the feel of Tomorrowland at night.

Finally, our latest little addition is our son, M. You may notice that's not quite his own mug there - we've made the personal decision since he was born to very sparingly share his likeness online, and therefore any pictures we share of him will never show his face. He will be shy of turning 2 when we visit this summer, and his interests include daycare, running around in circles, mispronouncing words in a way that make you wonder, quite frankly, if his way isn't the best after all, and smiling in a way that makes you forget he just threw a handful of pasta on the floor.

He is currently going through a big Cars phase, but his first Disney+ love is Bluey. I'm very excited to see if we will get more reactions out of him on rides this upcoming trip - last September, he rode Winnie the Pooh as one in a fevered dream, and did not appreciate having to wear his shoes to go on the Carousel. Dumbo and the PeopleMover also left him completely unfazed. He had a great time meeting Mickey and Minnie, but we'll see what eleven months of wisdom will do to his willingness to run to giant stranger mice.


This trip is gonna be a very new experience for us. We've done Disney with a three year old before, but we were not in charge of her, and we actually didn't even end up spending that much time together. Other than that, it's always been us alone or with other adults. Don't get me wrong, I'm so looking forward to properly initiate him to Disney, but I also know we will need to manage our expectations and can't do things the way we normally do them. It's a bit daunting, but mostly exciting.

And if this one doesn't go super well, there's always be the next one!​

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

Love this! On our last trip our youngest was also just shy of two - it was interesting to say the least! I totally relate to your description of your son and also to your decision regarding sharing photos of him. We've done the same since our oldest was born. Looking forward to following along!

 

[DLo]

Following along. Looking forward to reading more .

 

[MarieLightning]

Love this! On our last trip our youngest was also just shy of two - it was interesting to say the least! I totally relate to your description of your son and also to your decision regarding sharing photos of him. We've done the same since our oldest was born. Looking forward to following along!

I really can't wait to see how he's gonna experience everything! It's hard to pace myself, sometimes I feel like he's older than he is and so I expect him to enjoy things that are still a bit out of his age range, so that'll be a bit of a challenge.

Following along. Looking forward to reading more .

Thank you for following along! It feels trickier to plan TRs now that ADRs are 60 days out instead of 180, and there are no FPs to plan at 60 days out, but hopefully I'll have enough to share without those details to bring up!

 

[MarieLightning]

Well, old habits die hard - even though I haven't been on here for a while, looks like I'm as consistent as ever in updating these

We are getting into that time of pre-trip planning where we're getting so close and yet still so far! It's taking a lot of self control to stop myself from getting the suitcases out already - I cannot wait to pack!

Our park reservations have been made for a while, and switched around a few times at that.

We have very few ADRs but all the ones we got are what we wanted, so that's exciting! Quite honestly, when I made my ADRs, options were pretty wide open across the board so fingers crossed that means good things for crowd levels. I know summer crowds have been on the decline for a few years now - of course, still busy, but not as much as it used to be. I'm still gonna keep my expectations low, or at least try to!

We will be doing eight park days while we are there, with no park hopping, so pretty straight forward.


Saturday, July 29th
This is our arrival day, but technically, our 'vacation' will start the night before with a stay at the in-terminal hotel at the airport! It's honestly a bit of an unnecessary splurge if I'm being entirely honest, because our flight doesn't leaving until late morning, but we're doing this for a few reasons.

One, this is our first time traveling with a proper toddler. At 13 months he was still more like a baby than a toddler, but now, boy oh boy is he a full on toddler. That means getting out the door always takes much longer than anticipated, even if we try to plan accordingly. I don't want to deal with that stress the morning of our departure.

Two, and that kinda ties into one, we're not gonna be traveling light. Although M will still be under two for both of our flights, we purchased him a seat on the plane because there is realistically no known universe in which he would be willing and content with sitting on our laps for three and a half hours. So, for our own sanity, and probably for that of our fellow passengers as well, he will be strapped in his car seat during the plane ride. But we still need to bring his stroller to the gate, and we will probably have two carry on suitcases on top of that, not to mention backpacks. All of that to say, getting situated the morning of will require some strategic planning, and I'd rather do it in a place where we won't be getting everything situated, then into a cab, and then situated yet again once we exit the cab. I know logically those steps will still take place, but I'd rather they be spread out over 12 hours than 30 minutes, if that makes sense.

And finally, reason number three, Canadian airports have FINALLY started doing Nexus interview again, but this is now done in a two step process. We need to first do an interview with the Canadian border agents, which is scheduled as it used to be, but then for the US side, we just have to complete the process when going through the clearance point during our next travels, which will be this time around. It shouldn't take super long, but they still do recommend arriving earlier. Our own Nexus cards have just renewed without a hitch, but M's has been in limbo since he received his passport at three months old, so we're excited to finally get that out of the way.

All of that to say, on Friday, July 28th, we will check in at the hotel by the airport, and the following morning, we will get all that fun stuff taken care of before finally boarding the plane to our destination.

Our flight is scheduled to take off at 10:55 and land just a little after 2. We have booked with Mears Connect for our transfers because they were running a sale, and since we don't have to pay for M, it's definitely cheaper than the other options.

Our room should be ready once we arrive at our first hotel of the stay:

Now, I know people tend to favor Pop Century over the All Stars for Value resorts. And even then, when it comes to the All Stars themselves, the general consensus is either Movies or Music at the top.

Well, we're an All Star Sports family through and through! We're not even sports people, but it must just come down to positive association because we've had (mostly) great trips while staying at the Sports. Also, the difference in cost for AoA especially but even Pop isn't worth it to us - Amber hates heights so she doesn't want to consider the Skyliner as a mode of transportation on site, which means that's not a perk for us. The bus lines also always seem so much longer for Pop than any other resort, and they tend to be the furthest away at the bus depots. And I never understand people being down on the All Stars for sharing buses when in reality, they rarely do - as it happens, Deluxes share buses more often in our experience. Then, within the All Stars themselves, the Music has by far the worst layout, and the Movies tends to be a bit pricier for no good reason to us (especially when you consider that the cutest buildings are the preferred ones). So, when all is said and done, the Sports has our heart sentimentally, logistically and economically.

All of that to say, I'm really pumped to be returning to our favorite Value on site!

Now, I usually love getting settled in hotel rooms as soon as we arrive, but since we'll only be there for two nights, we'll have a few items packed separately specifically for that short stay so once we arrive we can just chill.

We have toyed with the idea of going to Disney Springs that evening, as it's really gonna be the only time and best time to go during our stay, and realistically we should be all set up by 4 which leaves us with the whole evening. Plus, with the timing of our flight, we won't have to wake up ungodly early and M should hopefully get a good nap on the plane. We'll play it by ear I think, but we were talking about it recently, and I don't think either of us will feel like we'll have missed out on anything if we just don't go to Disney Springs during this trip. I think if we're not feeling up to eating dinner at the food court, we'll just have some food delivered through DoorDash or something and call it good. If it's not rainy we'll have time to hit up the pool, maybe catch the movie under the stars for that evening, and get M to bed at a reasonable time.

We will also be getting joined that evening by one of our best friends, who is also M's godmom, Veronica! She's been on a few trips with us to Disney, including for her bachelorette, and she's excited to get to spend some time with M as we don't live very close to one another. She'll be arriving a bit later in the evening, and staying until the 3rd of August, so she'll get to hit up at least each park with us!

And that pretty much wraps up our travel day plans. Considering there's not much to be said about it (and definitely not that much Disney content to it), I certainly managed to drag it out!

Next up, I'll be going over our park and dining plans, albeit not in as much details as otherwise I'll end up creating a short novel out of this pre trip report! And I will not leave it until two and a half months from now this time around!​

 

[Newsies]

Hi Marie! It's really great to see you again, I'm also returning to the DIS after a year so we're in the same boat there. First of all, congrats to you and Amber on your little one! So happy to see such wonderful news. I'm so excited to hear you're going back to Disney as a family and can't wait to follow the PTR/TR!

 

[MarieLightning]

Hi Marie! It's really great to see you again, I'm also returning to the DIS after a year so we're in the same boat there. First of all, congrats to you and Amber on your little one! So happy to see such wonderful news. I'm so excited to hear you're going back to Disney as a family and can't wait to follow the PTR/TR!

Thank you! It's great to be back! I feel a little bit of shame for starting a PTR and potentially following it up with a TR when we have two incomplete TRs dating back 7 and 6 years respectively, plus a PTR that never was followed by a TR to begin with But as Pumba once wisely said:

So here's to giving this another try! I'm really excited to get back into it!

 

[MarieLightning]

Moving on to the real star of the show - park days!

Now, when we started planning this trip, we originally had decided to do six park days - two at Magic Kingdom, two at Epcot, and one at each Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. The logic being that, with M only being on the brink of turning 2, needing lots of rest time and probably time away from the crowd, we'd be able to put in a couple of rest days in there.

The problem with that came down to the Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios days. Now, I know this trip will not be like trips we've done before. There may be days that we get very little done because M just isn't feeling it, and that's okay. We've been many times before, and so long as we are able to, we will keep going. But that's kinda where I like having that second day option for each park - if the first Animal Kingdom day goes down the drain, we have another one to try again. If our second Hollywood Studios day sucks but the first one was fine, at least we'll have had that.

All of that to say, we ended up going for eight days of park tickets instead, and we'll be doing two days at each park. It may be worth noting that this will be our 16th (I believe) trip down to WDW since November 2012, and we have yet to hit up either of the water parks oh well, someday. Definitely not the time for it this summer - M will do just fine with the resort pools and splash pads!

Now, I've been writing things in regards to our first park day for the past half hour or so, and I'm realizing the best way to lay out these plans is to attack it by park plans, not daily plans, because truth be told... well, we don't have that many day specific plans, especially as we're only planning three table service meals. We have a general idea of what we want to do in each park, but it'll be spread out over the two days we're in each park.

But in an effort to make things make sense, here is our schedule for the rest of the week (we do get the half hour early entry every day, so I won't bother listing those, but I will note the extended evening hours for the days that have them while we are staying at the Contemporary - spoiler alert, there's one - I clearly didn't schedule our days around that):


Sunday, July 30th
Animal Kingdom
Park Hours: 9 AM - 7 PM

Monday, July 31st
**Transfer from All-Star Sports to Contemporary
Epcot
Park Hours: 9 AM - 9 PM
Extended Evening Hours: 9 - 11 PM

Tuesday, August 1st
Magic Kingdom
Park Hours: 9 AM - 10 PM

Wednesday, August 2nd
Hollywood Studios
Park Hours: 9 AM - 9 PM

Thursday, August 3rd
Animal Kingdom
Park Hours: 9 AM - 7 PM

Friday, August 4th
Epcot
Park Hours: 9 AM - 9 PM

Saturday, August 5th
Hollywood Studios
Park Hours: 9 AM - 9 PM

Sunday, August 6th
Magic Kingdom
Park Hours: 9 AM - 10 PM


It's not an usual schedule for us as it's pretty rare we don't start with Magic Kingdom, but since I wanted to end at Magic Kingdom (and I didn't want to be hitting it up on a Sunday twice) it made more sense to switch things around a bit. Maybe this will be our new tradition! This is honestly one of the things I'm most excited about as far as going to Disney with M goes. We can create new traditions with him. And I'm the kind of person who's likely to go overboard with them, if I'm being entirely honest - take pictures that we can recreate each trip, have a special song to wake up to on Disney travel days, make fun countdowns, have Disney movie and dinner date nights leading up to trips (not this year, he's seen bits and pieces of a few movies but he won't sit through a whole thing, which is probably for the best screen time wise), etc.

Honestly, we've always made great memories during Disney trips, but I feel like now it'll mean more than ever.

Man I can't wait til the end of July!​

 

[MarieLightning]

Two updates in a row, what is happening!

Well, as I mentioned in my previous post, I had already been working on daily plans when I realized it made more sense to change gears and keep it park related instead. And since I will forget to continue this if I leave it for too long, or lose what I've already written so far, might as well just get it out there!

So let's get started with wild times galore


Animal Kingdom

Part of me wants to say that it will be a first for us, starting somewhere else than Magic Kingdom - but it's actually not! When we did our short trip for the Magic Kingdom After Hours in January 2017, we actually stopped in to AK to spend a few precious hours before mostly failing at taking a nap and staying up until 1:30 or 2 AM after getting a ridiculous amount of sleep the night before.

Now we put our son down for the night at 7:30 and get into bed right after like we're overgrown toddlers ourselves. I'm not sure who's gonna have a harder time staying up past their bedtime this summer - him or us.

On most days, M has us up some time between 6:30 and 7 AM. Some days he stretches his luck on remaining our favorite person in the whole entire world by feeling that 5:30 is an adequate hour to start the day. (I know I will garner very little sympathy considering I did just admit that SOME DAYS he does sleep almost 11 hours a night. Trust me, I know I'm lucky).

All of that to say, I'm pretty sure rope drop will be in the cards most days if that trend continues. Our overall plan for park days is likely to follow the same formula - get in at park open, have an early-ish lunch (11 - 11:30), head back to the resort for nap time/pool time, and then go back to the park in the late afternoon/evening, so long as M is having a good day.

Now, Animal Kingdom has a few experiences we will be able to get on all together. We can do both walking trails, which should be a hit as M loves animals. We can ride the Na'vi River Journey. Triceratops Spin and Kilimanjaro Safari. My thought will be safari first, which isn't actually something we've done before (but then again, that's back when FastPass+ was still a thing. RIP), but Triceratops Spin isn't likely to have long waits at any point of day, and Na'vi River Journey will have a more interesting queue to keep M entertained during the wait than the safari does.

We don't plan on getting Genie+ for either AK days, but we will probably splurge on a Lightning Lane for Flight of Passage and take turns. I'll hang out in the Boneyard with M while Amber rides Dinosaur (I'm entirely okay with skipping that one), and we'll take turns doing Expedition Everest through the single riders line - normally, we hit up Everest first thing in the morning as it tends to have really short waits at that time, but it just makes more sense to go to the safari first. If we make it by the early entry at 8:30, we may switch it around as I don't think the safari operates during that time, but Expedition Everest should. I think with low waits first thing in the morning, we should be able to each take a turn riding it and still make it to the safari by 9 - we'll see how the first day goes and adjusts if need be! In any case, a repeat of the safari will be very dependent on how well M does at staying seated through it all. If we have to spend the whole ride holding him down because he's trying to climb out of the vehicle, that's definitely gonna solve our problem as to where to start off the day on day 2.

Shows are a bit iffy still. I'm not sure how much patience M will have with those, as it'll be a first for us. Veronica isn't a huge fan of Finding Nemo: The Musical - if I recall correctly, her reaction to doing it in 2014 was "are we gonna have to do that again?" (I know, the travesty) so we won't put her through it a second time and we'll save that one for our second AK day, if we want to risk it. If anything, we'll sit near the exit so that we can leave without disrupting too many people. Now, Festival of the Lion King on the other hand... the idea of skipping that one breaks my heart, but we may very well have to as we can't really easily leave mid show, and in any case, we can't select where we sit. Part of me wants to chance it and hope he'll be so enthralled he won't mind sitting still for half an hour, but we may have to try other shows that are shorter or from which we can more easily exit the room before we risk it. Maybe I'll stay behind after everyone leaves for nap time that day and go see it by myself. We'll see!

Not on the list of interest for us: It's Tough to be a Bug and Kali River Rapids. I'm pretty sure the former will traumatize M (quite honestly I'm still a little traumatized myself), and I'm just not a fan of wet rides, so we rarely ride Kali. We've actually never seen the bird show (I have no idea what it's called now - is it still some sort of iteration of Flights of Wonder?) and I'm not sure this will be the year. Not that M wouldn't enjoy it - he'd probably be screaming "BIRDS!" in delighted tones throughout the entire thing. But again, shows. One more thing we'll just play by ear.

Onto character meets!

Now, originally, I wasn't sure how character meets were gonna go. If I'm being logical, I should stay I'm still not sure. Things change so quickly at M's age that something that was true last week may not be true anymore by this weekend. The best example - he was hesitant when my parents took him to a local park's splash pad a couple of weeks ago, tentatively touching the water but not really getting into it. This past weekend, he kept putting his entire little self under the water hose while I was trying to clean off his stroller. Point being, things change. Fast.

Last September, he was quite content to meet Mickey and Minnie, grabbing onto their noses and all. Since it will have been nearly a year since that when we go back, however, I've known I can't base my expectations on that one meeting. He has become a bit more shy and wary of strangers, after all. That being said, my parents, brother and sister in law took him to a sugar shack in April where they had a couple of Paw Patrol mascots, as well as Mickey. And from an adult's point of view, they looked a lot more terrifying than any Disney character could be (at least, in recent years).



Like, those eyes. They've seen things.

All of that to say, if he didn't run for the hills then (his face is covered, granted, but I give you my word he's not freaking out, just unbothered), I have hopes that we will be fine. Especially since the kid doesn't watch Paw Patrol but he does know who Mickey, Minnie, Donald, etc.

So, here is a list of current character meets at Animal Kingdom and my take on them:

Chip 'n' Dale (Dino) - DinoLand USA
If I have a say, we will absolutely give that one a try. They are so frickin cute!
Daisy Duck - DinoLand USA
This will be a maybe. I do like her outfit for that meet, but I also don't think we'll wait in a long line for it.
Donald Duck - DinoLand USA
We will most likely try to make time for this one. M is a big fan of Donald
Goofy and Pluto - DinoLand USA
We will probably pass on this one. M hasn't really latched onto these two characters yet. If their line is short to hop into and we have nothing planned, maybe we'll give it a go, but more likely no than yes I think.
Launchpad McQuack - DinoLand USA
Nah. I personally don't care to meet him, so unless M develops a passion for meeting characters and that becomes the main thing we do with him, we will pass on this one.
Scrooge McDuck - DinoLand USA
I don't think so - although it would maybe be funny to watch his reaction as M would probably call him Donald the whole time we're there.
Mickey and Minnie Mouse - Adventurers Outpost
Absolutely, we will do our best to get into a meet and greet line here.
Pocahontas - Tree of Life Trail
Doubtful. M hasn't been exposed to this movie so it feels like a moot point.
Rafiki - Character Landing
Maybe, if we find our way there at some point, but we won't go out of our way for it.
Timon - Character Landing
Same as Rafiki. If we go that way, maybe. Otherwise, no.
Russell and Dug - Wilderness Explorers Clubhouse
That would probably be a really cute meet - M LOVES dogs. This is gonna be a maybe I think.

I do hope we come across Kevin at some point, though I wonder how M would feel about this giant colorful bird. We don't tend to try and stop walking characters for photos (which they rarely do anyway) so if anything, we'll snap a picture from a distance if we see her.

I will be doing an overall post for food, so I will leave that off, but we do not have any ADR planned for Animal Kingdom, so all of our meals here will be Quick Service.

And that pretty well wraps up our plans for how to prepare for our two Animal Kingdom days! I feel pretty confident that we'll get to do a lot of what we're hoping to do here, if only because we do have those two days to spend - honestly, I'm feeling more and more glad about making that ticket upgrade decision! And with daily breaks and late starts if M is having a rougher morning on some days, I don't think we'll miss those rest days. Especially not with how much entertainment this almost 2 year old requires.​

 

[Fitzwoman27]

August 2 has extended evening hours at MK. So you may want to change.just saying. We are going same time. Have fun!

 

[MarieLightning]

August 2 has extended evening hours at MK. So you may want to change.just saying. We are going same time. Have fun!

Thanks for the info! I'll go over the options with the other adults in the group. I'm not sure M will do well sleeping in the stroller so it would probably be a case of splitting up with one of us staying at the resort with him. Our friend also has a very early morning flight on the 3rd so I'm not sure how up for a late night at MK she would be, but it could certainly be worth looking into still!

 

[MarieLightning]

As of yesterday, we have officially entered Disney month! We have three weekends left to get everything prepared and squared away before our departure. I have 12 days of works left this month. It's getting real!

It's so hard to stop myself from getting packing done already if I'm being entirely honest, but seeing as I did pack waaayyy early before our March 2020 trip and then had to unpack our suitcases without actually getting to go (which, let me tell you, is worse than unpacking after a trip that has happened), I'm gonna do my best to hold off.

With that being said, here's what's in the cards for our next park.


Epcot

I'm looking forward to getting to use the monorail for half of our park days. That's actually one of the reasons we picked to stay at the Contemporary for this trip - so that, while M is still consistently using a stroller, we can reduce the amount of times we'll have to empty it and fold it to get on transportation. Next time we hopefully go after this particular trip is likely to be in 2025, and although at 4 he'll most likely still need the use of a stroller on and off, it won't be to the same frequency.

Also, the Contemporary pool is boring. And a 2 year old doesn't need an exciting pool. We had toyed with the idea of doing the Beach Club instead of the Contemporary, but we decided we wanted to save Stormalong Bay for a time when M would actually be able to enjoy it.

But anyway, back to Epcot!

This is Amber's favorite park, so in no circumstance would we ever have cut down the amount of days spent there, even we were considering doing 6 park days instead of 8.

And although a lot of people seem to come down on Epcot for not having enough for children to do, there's a couple of rides we can do with M that I'm pretty sure will make up for that all on their own!

Starting over in Future World, The Seas with Nemo and Friends is one we're expecting to be a big hit. He loooves fishes. We've taken him to the Biodome in Montreal, which showcases something like four or five different ecosystems in which animals live, and man oh man does he always want to linger in the aquarium part. He has also seen bits and pieces of Finding Nemo itself, and he enjoys it well enough. We're prepared to spend a lot of time in that pavilion. We may or may not stop for Turtle Talk with Crush. He'll be a bit small to really understand the concept or the jokes, though he might still get a kick of seeing Crush so it's not entirely a skip. Journey Into Imagination with Figment is another one we'll try out. We have no strong opinion on Figment one way or the other - we never experienced the original ride, so the new one is fine for us, but we're also not Figment obsessed so it's not a must do. Still, I think it'll be pretty captivating for a 2 year old, and there's the few fun games for him to do afterward if he's not traumatized by the big finale.

(I actually mean the blast of air and all, but I don't think that'll help)

Spaceship Earth feels like an obvious one, but I'm actually not planning on going straight for it. It is longer, and it has a lot of down moments that make me think we'll have to try and contain wiggles. I absolutely would love to do it with M, but I think it'll be better to do it after we've seen how he does on other rides. Same goes for Living With The Land, although I am a bit more optimistic about that one. I worry even the little video in the going backward part of Spaceship Earth won't be quite enough to make that long 'return to Earth' portion of the ride tolerable. But still, fingers crossed!

The Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival is a maybe - like with other shows, it'll come down to whether we can get seats where we can make a quick exit should there be a need for it. He does watch TV, but we try to limit it, so he rarely watches anything that's more than 10ish minutes in length. Which is why The Princess and the Frog has been in our 'Continue Watching' on Disney+ for something like three weeks now. And honestly, that's part of trying not to give him too much screen time, part him becoming uninterested after about 10-15 minutes anyway. Since this particular attraction is about 18 minutes in length, it might work out, or we might see a couple of the shorts and then head out. I do find myself wondering what would have better odds of holding his attention for almost 20 minutes - the short film festival, or the fevered dream that once occupied its place.

I remember very little of this experience other than my utter confusion at what was going on.

Moving on to our favorite part of the park - the World Showcase!

There's a few experience we can try out here too. Actually, all the rides and attractions in World Showcase are family friendly, so we don't have to worry about height restriction anywhere - just our own child's general temperament and our willingness to handle meltdowns if we make a bad judgement call on how much he'll enjoy something.

Now, we usually go around the World Showcase from Canada to Mexico (aka, the correct way. I will take no comments). We may, however, change this up at least one of the days we're visiting, because the Gran Fiesta Tour is definitely something we're planning to do. M loves Donald. I'm pretty sure he would go to Donald over Mickey if he had to pick between the two. Unfortunately for Donald's ego, there's no meet that offers that opportunity, but nonetheless, this ride is gonna be on our To Do list. Maybe we should forewarn whoever is in the boat with us that a toddler will yell out "Donald!" whenever he comes up on screen (and maybe even when he doesn't, we all get a little confused sometimes).

Frozen Ever After is a maybe, and it'll come down to wait times. We're not planning on getting Genie+ for Epcot either, and as such it'll be a standby wait. Of course, the waits for this ride aren't anywhere near as crazy as they were when the ride first opened, but I'm pretty sure we'd still tap out at anything over 30 minutes. However, I don't foresee us making a priority of rope dropping it because M hasn't really seen much of Frozen other than the Little People figures he has of them, so we'll just have to keep an eye on it and see if there's a good time to give it a go.

Then, of course, we have the newest addition to the World Showcase - Remy's Ratatouille Adventure. Amber and I have actually already done this ride - during our absence from updating on the DIS, we ended up doing two days at Disneyland Paris in April 2018 during a trip to Paris and London. We were originally pretty sure we were gonna give it a go, but a friend of ours was just there with her kids in May and it did not go well for her 14 month old and 3 year old. The 14 month old was just generally unimpressed with the sensory overload, and the 3 year old thought he was legitimately being chased around and stomped on. My hope is that M will be old enough to enjoy the technical aspects of the ride but too young to be afraid of the scenario it presents and his place in it. Nevertheless, we are thinking of keeping this one for our second day only, unless Veronica would like to try it, then we may just throw caution to the wind and see what comes of it.

Finally, we have the movies/shows - The American Adventure, Impressions de France, Reflections of China and Canada Far and Wide. We actually haven't done any of these in ages, with the exception of maybe The American Adventure, but I don't actually remember doing it in 2019. And actually, we've never done Canada Far and Wide, but even before that, I don't actually remember the last time we had made time to watch O' Canada. Which is a shame because I loved that movie. I'm still willing to give Catherine O'Hara and Eugene Levy a try because I do love them, and clocking in at about 12 minutes, it may be something we try out with M. We may need to hold him as he probably will be very confused with what it happening around him otherwise - I know even I sometimes get a little unsteady during that movie - but it shouldn't be too bad. And it's usually pretty easy to leave during that show if we end up needing to. Which feels a bit anti-Canadian.

If Canada Far and Wide goes well, I'd certainly be willing to check out Reflections of China again. And although I love the American Adventure, I think we'll have to pass it up this time around (unless we split up for a bit). Clocking in at 30 minutes, it just feels like a bit of a stretch to expect M to sit through it. As for Impressions de France... well, it did not make that great an impression the first and only time we've ever seen it, and I don't think even a Beauty and the Beast sing-along will entice us to return. At least, that's my take on it. We'll see how Amber feels about it when we get there (or when she reads this).

All of that to say - we've got kid friendly options galore, even if we skip some.

As far as rides which M won't be able to get on, I don't foresee us going on Mission: SPACE, as we enjoy it just fine but no more than that. We will want to do Test Track, but if need be we'll do single rider on that. I will probably want to do Soarin' at least once, even though my heart still breaks over the memory of Soarin' Over California and the sight of the warped Eiffel Tower (what'd it ever do to you, Imagineering?). I don't know if Amber will give it a go or skip it - she's not a fan of heights and that fear does actually affect her enjoyment of Soarin', to where she always has to be squeezing my hand throughout the whole thing. Granted, she would have Veronica's hand to squeeze if we do it on our first Epcot day, but she might also just take the time we're riding to chill with M in the Land pavilion and call it good once we're done.

And then, last but not least...

I'm really excited for this one! I have read people say that the soundtrack can make or break it, but I've been trying to stay as spoiler free as possible on how it all goes so I don't really know which songs are an option. Hopefully that'll help avoid any disappointment over a given song not being the one we get. We will get an ILL for this one, and if there's still a virtual queue for it by the time August rolls around (which, there seems to have been signs indicating that's on its way out but we'll see), we may try to do both. Then again, Amber is prone to motion sickness, so one might be more than enough for her (she is planning on taking medicine beforehand to help with that though).

So, that gets rides out of the way. Of course, there will be exploring of the pavilions on the agenda, and although Journey of Water isn't slated to open until Fall 2023, they seem to have been making great progress on it lately so who knows - maybe we'll get a Disney miracle!

And now to add to this already getting out of control in length post... characters!

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I can't believe they got rid of Baemax

I'll be entirely honest, I'm using lists off of the internet for this because I have not been keeping up with stuff as much as I used to when Disney news are concerned. I still follow groups on Facebook, but I'm also... like, not on Facebook that much anymore. Hopefully, I'm getting my information from a recently updated and accurate source.

Now, for the sake of trying to power through, I'm actually just gonna divide this section in Yes, Maybe and Probably Not. You're welcome.

Yes
Donald Duck - again, the kid is obsessed.
Mickey Mouse - although we do think M seems to favor Donald, he still loves Mickey. And if I'm not mistaken, this is the only place you can meet Mickey in his original costume.
Minnie Mouse - see above; exactly the same reason!
Winnie the Pooh - the obsession does not run as deep as Amber's here, but Winnie gives such nice hugs!

Maybe
Anna and Elsa, Daisy Duck, Goofy, Joy, Pluto and Vaneloppe Von Schweetz - most of these are queues that are more likely to be in the shade/inside, and M has some awareness of some of these characters. Also, here again we have the opportunity to meet Goofy, Daisy and Pluto in their original costumes, which is less likely or simply not the case in other parks

Probably Not
Alice, Aurora, Belle, Jasmine, Mary Poppins, Mulan and Snow White - obviously, nothing bad to say against these characters, and this has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that M is a boy and these are princesses. It just so happens that most of these princesses meet in areas of the park that has little to no shading at all, and the waits can get pretty long since to be early in line you usually have to get in line well before the next meet time. Also, we just haven't introduced M to most of these stories yet. However, the reason this is a 'probably not' and not a categoric no is that of course if we have the opportunity to meet any of these characters and M is looking intrigued/interested, we will go for it. It's just not gonna be on our list of priorities.


And this, finally, concludes the very vague plans we have made for Epcot. Looking it over, it certainly doesn't feel like there's gonna be a lack of things to do! And that's without the other things we will likely make time for - letting M play in the water jets (we will have changes of clothes, so why not if it's sweltering hot) and the Family Play Zone they may have set up during the Food & Wine festival (you didn't think I'd forgotten about that, did you? But that'll be food related so, to be continued!)

So all in all, I think we're gonna fill these days up real well!​

 

[MarieLightning]

My countdown app today says we have 23 days left - but like, today is almost half done so does it really count? And since we are headed to the airport on the Friday night, one might say I could very well consider the 28th to be the start of our vacation instead of the 29th. So like, three weeks to go, am I right?!

One must do what one must to survive the wait. Also, it's been super hot these past couple of days in Montreal - like, close to the same as Disney hot - and we don't have air conditioning in our apartment right now so one might say I'd willingly trade for Florida heat if it means I can get my butt frozen off by their A/C on blast all day long. I was actually off of work these past three days, and I was excited to get back to work specifically for the sweet relief of proper indoor temperature.

All of that to say - I hope these three weeks go by fast! And to try and make the wait a bit more bearable, let's plan another park!


Hollywood Studios

Yes, I know the hat is gone. Never forgotten. RIP.

Technically we are doing Magic Kingdom before Hollywood Studios (unless we do change for the extended evening hours at MK on August 2nd, we'll see), but I figured I'd save that for last. Besides, I'm hardly following a regular pattern of day planning here anyway.

This one is a bit rough to plan with an almost 2 year old who doesn't enjoy sitting still. It's basically three rides (two, if your kid is a bit on the short side) and then shows. We do still want to do two days here, because the grown ups also want to have some fun, but it will be really easy to take long breaks on these days I think. As it is, we were thinking about going to Art of Animation on one of the days we're doing DHS (probably in the afternoon after we're done with our resort break) before taking the Skyliner back to the park for a few hours in the evening. I'm pretty sure M will go crazy over the Nemo and Cars section, so the detour feels worth it (enough so that Amber did agree to the Skyliner thing, I'm not planning this behind her back).

With Hollywood Studios being set up the way it is, and rides being what they are, this is the one park we are planning on splurging for both Genie+ and probably ILL. There's just so many rides that M can't access but that we still want to do at least once, but we also don't want to be apart for the whole day just taking turns with Rider Switch and spending 30+ minutes in queues plus however long the ride is. Hopefully, if we can get some decent return times, using Genie+ will allow us to experience some of our favorites while still maximizing family time.

Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway will probably be our rope drop goal (or pre rope-drop with early entry I should say). I really think M will enjoy that one, although I've mostly managed to stay spoiler free on it since it premiered - because we've actually never ridden it, seeing as it opened in March 2020. I am looking forward to trying it as I've heard great things about it, especially from families with young children. And although I enjoyed the Great Movie Ride just as much as the next person, it was never one of my favorites, so I hold no grudge against the replacement. I did, however, see the comments about the queue being boring and sometimes feeling like it's moving really slowly - hence why we're hoping to get on before it gets crazy. And if M loooves it, we can hopefully get a LL for it.

The only other two rides in the park that we can bring M on will take us over to Toy Story Land - Toy Story Mania and Alien Swirling Saucers. And I think these right here are one of the reason why we'll probably forgo EEHs at Magic Kingdom and keep our day schedule the way it is. I feel like doing something like the teacups at Magic Kingdom will be a good test drive to seeing how M does with spiny rides. Not that I'm too worried about him getting motion sick, but he may just not enjoy the sensation in itself. And if he doesn't do well with the teacups, then it's unlikely we'll chance Alien Swirling Saucers. This is actually one of two rides with height requirements that he can do - possibly three, we haven't measured him since February, but I'm not sure we'll do the third one even if he is tall enough.

Now, here's the thing with this kid. He loves being dangled all over the place, twirled, swirled, you name it. Amber will literally hold him upside down over her back by the ankles and he could not be more delighted. He's an active kiddo and he just enjoys having his vestibular system developed. That being said, some time in May if I remember correctly, a small carnival set up camp in the parking lot of our local mall. And we figured, why don't we try one or two rides with M to see how he does? As it turns out, we only did one - the carousel. All the other rides he was tall enough to ride had a height limit, and he was too small to go alone, regardless how tame. Amber took him on, got him settled on the horse and stood beside him. And once that thing started moving, you'd have thought we tossed him on this.

He was clinging to her for dear life, trying to climb off the horse and into her arms, and just generally straight up having a bad time. So, ultimately, we have no idea how he's gonna end up reacting to any of these rides. We did speculate that the fact that he was sitting by himself on the horse may have made things worse, and that if we're sitting next to him it'll help. But only time will tell. I'm crossing my fingers he'll be fine with most of the rides he can do since they're primarily omnimover or boat rides. But for the ones that take it up just a notch, we're gonna play it by ear.

Now, of course, just because M is only tall enough to ride three rides at Hollywood Studios, doesn't mean there's nothing else for him to do. And we will certainly be testing the waters on some of the shows, because I think most of them should be fairly easy to ditch if he starts getting fussy. I think the one that's likely to be the biggest hit is Disney Junior Play and Dance. They have dance parties at daycare so he'll be familiar with the concept, and although he doesn't watch Disney Junior shows, I think he'll still be intrigued by all the characters - and in any case, there'll be Mickey. I think he's likely to also enjoy Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy, if only because it is Cars related. We've never done that one either so I honestly have no idea what to expect. but seeing as it's only 10 minutes from what I can find, I think it should be fine.

The Frozen Sing-Along and Muppets Vision 3D and the Mickey and the Mickey Shorts Theater are maybes. I think he might enjoy them well enough because of the content (the music for the sing-along, the general hijinks with the Muppets, and Mickey and Minnie in Vacation Fun) - so long as his attention is captivated enough, I feel it's more likely to yield good results. Which is why I feel we might skip Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage - it's lovely and full of music of course, but unless we sit right up front, the set up of the theater isn't likely to be as much of an attention grabber as the screen usage with the other shows. That being said, the theater on its own does lend itself to an easy getaway if we sit on the edge of a row, which means we could give it a go if we feel like it. But I think it's still more likely to be a probably not than a maybe. Indiana Jones is another one I think we'll probably skip, in this case not so much because I don't think there'll be enough to hold his attention but the opposite - there might just be too much going on, with the fight scenes and the fire and explosions and etc. I think we'll wait until he's a bit older for that one. And it's hard to make a call on whatever is playing at Walt Disney Presents seeing as they tend to change it up short notice.

Fantasmic is gonna be a toss up.

I really, really want to see it - I love that show, it always hits me in the feels, and I'm so excited to see the added scenes! However... it may just be too late for M, plus the fact that unlikely fireworks show, we can't try to get him settled in his stroller while the show is happening. And it's a long one. That being said, I may have a few bargaining chips that could allow me to see it even if Amber and M don't. It'll depend on a few factors as to whether or not I use them here, but I'm keeping it in mind.

As far as the non kiddo friendly rides go, we'll do our best to use Genie+ to our advantage, as well as the precious few single rider lines the park has to offer. Star Tours can typically be caught at a low wait at a few points throughout the day, but even if not, I don't think it's the most popular LL to go first. Slinky Dog Dash is likely to be what we prioritize as far as that goes, as I've heard it goes FAST. Otherwise, I think we'll just rope drop that one and use a LL for Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway. Naturally, Amber will pass up Tower of Terror, so we'll see how we plan that one out - hopefully, if all elevators are functioning, we can catch it without too long a wait, or again, use a LL for it. Amber and I have pretty well agreed that neither of us feels the need to ride Rock n Roller Coaster this time around. I always spend more time worrying about my glasses than enjoying the ride - either losing them (if I'm wearing them) or accidentally breaking them (if they're in my park bag). Also, the last time we rode it we were in the very back and that did not leave a good impression.

And last but not least...

Galaxy's Edge, of course!

We were actually super lucky in that we were at Disney when Rise of the Resistance opened in December 2019. We actually got a park hopper added to our tickets specifically to try riding it. We got up at the crack of dawn (I can't remember if it was the second or third day of operation - it wasn't the first, but it was close) the morning after staying up late for a Christmas party, luckily got a ride as our travel companions had rented a car for a few days of our trip, and managed to snag a boarding pass! Then it broke down while we were in line and I cried we did manage to ride it the following day, though it took three tries in total. Anyway, fingers crossed we have better luck this time around! We will be getting an ILL for this one at least one of the two days we're there, as the long wait combined with the long ride experience (I personally view it as starting from stepping foot on the transport shuttle though I know that can be considered part of the pre show) would just mean being separated for too long. Honestly, we may end up splurging on ILL both days for this one. And of course, we can't forget Smuggler's Run. We're gonna cross our fingers for a LL for this one too, but otherwise, there's always the option of doing single riders. Either way, we're getting our Star Wars fix!

And per has been the norm (in the last two posts), let's finish this up with some characters!

Side note: Star Wars Weekends were such a fevered dream.

Anyway, I'm gonna divide this up as I did with Epcot, as Hollywood Studios also has a pretty large number of characters available to meet (not counting those in Galaxy's Edge that just roam). Again, I have no idea if all of these characters are still available to meet or if I'm using an outdated list. Feel free to correct me if you know!

Yes
Mickey - Listen. He's just a safe bet, and so long as the first Mickey meet goes well, I'm pretty sure we're gonna keep it up.
Minnie - Once again, a safe option. And her Hollywood dress is so fab, how could we pass it up? (We will actually very easily pass both of these up if lines are ridiculous but I digress).
BB-8 - I'm not sure how interested M will be, but in all honesty, this one is for Amber anyway.
Ariel (Live Action) - If she's still there, I'm gonna do what I can to make the time to meet her. I haven't seen yet anything saying how long she's meeting for as we know it's a temporary set up, but hopefully she doesn't leave before the end of the summer!
Goofy and Max (Powerline) - That would be a super fun meet to do as we've never met Max in his Powerline costume! Come to think of it, I'm not sure we've ever met Max period. Unless it was during a Characterpalooza on the Streets of America (RIP). But I can't remember off the top of my head.

Maybe
Buzz Lightyear, Chewbacca, Darth Vader, Edna Mode, Frozone, Sulley, Mr and Mrs Incredible, Olaf, and Woody and Jessie - we've not shown M a whole lot of Pixar yet other than Cars, but we do have three more weeks to go so maybe we can try and introduce him to bits and pieces of a couple of these movies. We could actually just show him some of the Toy Story shorts, now that I think about it. Also, a lot of these are characters Amber and I haven't met yet. I don't recall meeting any character from the Incredibles, and we've never met Darth Vader.

Probably Not
Chip and Dale, Doc McStuffins, Fancy Nancy, Pluto, Vampirina - If we've already met Chip and Dale and Pluto elsewhere, we're not likely to do repeats. And we're not really into Disney Junior shows as of yet, so seeing some of them at the dance party will do just fine.


I'm really looking forward to being back at Hollywood Studios. We've dealt with our fair share of drama in that park (it somehow seems to be where it happens for us for some reason), but we've also had some great times there, and I love the ambiance of the park so much. I've missed it a lot and I can't wait to be back!

Only one more park to plan - it's gonna be a big one!​

 

[MarieLightning]

I have now officially started my second to last week of work before vacation! I do have a week off before we actually travel, which will be perfect for getting things ready, but still. We're under 20 days until we fly out, which is wild, and yet still feels like forever away. Also, let me tell you something - working as a receptionist in a private school when students are out for the summer is hella boring. I used to yearn for these quiet times at my old jobs, but I guess when you actually enjoy your job you'd rather be doing it

Obviously, I'm not gonna complain too much either, but in the meantime it's making days that would normally be dragging, because of the vacation anticipation, drag even more. Once we're back from Disney, the next thing I'll be looking forward to is our girls coming back to school!

Now, back to the main topic at hand - there is one last park to plan for, and of course, I saved the best for last.


Magic Kingdom

This is undoubtedly the park in which we'll have the most things to do with M. I've been looking over all the various rides with no height requirements (or short ones), and at 32 inches, 78% of the rides in Magic Kingdom can be done. That's compared to Hollywood Studios where only 33% of rides are accessible to little ones, or even Animal Kingdom where 50% of rides can be done (of course, that's not counting shows, just rides proper). As it is, M may very well be at or over 35 inches by the time we go down, which would give him access to Barnstormer and bump the amount of rides he can do at Magic Kingdom to 83%. Don't mind me, I enjoy statistics.

Starting off in Tomorrowland (which, ironically, we never do), we have several options that we can ride all together. We very recently (as in this past weekend) introduced him to Toy Story, because with Hollywood Studios in particular there's so much Toy Story theming that it seemed it would be more fun for him to have some sort of awareness of who the characters are. So, with that in mind, he may very well be excited to try Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. I think he'll also like pointing the laser gun all over the place, so hopefully that'll help him sit still for a bit. The PeopleMover is another given, so long as we keep practicing the fun game 'staying seated in mamas' laps', as we've been doing on his daily metro ride to daycare. Astro Orbiter is likely to be a pass - it's just such an uncomfortable ride anyway, and the wait time always shoots up so quick, not to mention the fact that the queue is one of the worst out there in my opinion. The Tomorrowland Speedway, however, I think we will try out with him, so long as the wait isn't too long.

Moving on to Fantasyland, which undoubtedly has the most attractions for M to ride. The Mad Tea Party should be something he enjoys, he does like being twirled around quite a bit so I don't think that'll be too unsettling for him. We'll probably start if off without extra spinning anyway. Honestly, the biggest challenge here may be that Amber does not do this ride and he may not be thrilled to find mommy isn't coming along. Winnie the Pooh is absolutely a must, and he does like Pooh bear so that'll be a familiar face for him. Our last Carousel experience (be it at Disney or not) did not go particularly well, but although he's still not a huge fan of shoes he does do better keeping them on than he did last September, and I think he would still be able to fit on the same horse as Amber, so that should help. We will most likely end up doing It's A Small World, so long as he's done well on other boat rides at previous parks. Peter Pan's Flight is not a favorite of ours and the wait is never worth it to us so we most likely will skip that - we don't care that much for the movie either, so he won't know the story or characters anyway. Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid should be a pretty easy going ride to do all together, and he should be pretty excited to see the fishes during the Under the Sea scene. Dumbo is of course a must, and that'll also give us the opportunity to check out the play area which I think will be fun for him. Finally, we have the Barnstormer, which we're not sure yet if he'll fit on, and to be honest, even if he does, it might be a bit intense for him still, so that'll really just depend on how he's done on other rides up until then. If he gets scared of tamer rides (like the drop on Frozen), we're not gonna chance this one. He would probably get a kick out of the theming though, and it's a decently smooth ride, so we'll see!

Liberty Square doesn't have too much for us to do, although it does hold Amber's heart with the Haunted Mansion. That one's gonna be a toss up. On one hand, very chill ride. On the other hand, pretty spooky. But for a 2 year old who doesn't have much awareness of spooky things, they may not actually be that scary to him. He doesn't currently need a night light to sleep, either, so the dark isn't really a problem for us. In any case, we will give it a go I think. Then we have the Liberty Square Riverboat, which Amber and I have actually never ridden, so it goes without saying that it's not a must do for us. It could be a nice spot to relax in if the crowds get to be too much though.

Frontierland has no ride for someone M's size, so that's a pretty easy one to plan on that front. I guess here would be the proper place to say that we will not be taking the time to go on Tom Sawyer Island, though

Adventureland is probably the land we visit the least for some reason. I don't know why - we don't dislike the rides in this land, Amber actually quite enjoys the Jungle Cruise. I think it's just that it doesn't have any of our favorite rides so we keep it to a lower priority. It does have a few options we can do with M though. For one, the Magic Carpets - if he still enjoys Dumbo, this feels like a given. Then we have Jungle Cruise, which I'm a little more on the fence about. Similarly to something like the safari at AK, there's a potential for him to enjoy things, but I'm not sure how well it'll capture his attention that he's gonna be fine sitting around for the duration of the ride. Thankfully, seeing as Magic Kingdom isn't our first park, we'll be able to test out other rides that may be a bit shorter to see how well he does, so if all goes well, we will try to ride the Jungle Cruise. Then there's Pirates of the Caribbean, which is another one that's gonna come down to how he's handled other rides previously. As for the Swiss Family Treehouse, I was not a fan the last time we did it - it goes a lot higher than I expected! It's never a must do for us and I don't think having M with us will change that.

And finally, we have Main Street USA, where we can finally board the Walt Disney World Railroad again. Technically I could have listed this under Frontierland or Fantasyland, but that's just not the same. M loves trains, so I think he will enjoy this one quite a bit, and it's a nice way to spend a few minutes relaxing with hopefully a nice breeze coming through.

We do have a few shows that we're planning on trying out. I think the Monster Inc Laugh Floor could be fun to do, if we find the time to introduce Monsters Inc to M before we go down to Florida. The Carousel of Progress, sadly, will be a skip this year though. We just can't chance it seeing as you can't really exit the theater while the show is happening, and we don't want to ruin it for everyone else if he starts fussing cause he doesn't want to stay seated for 20 minutes. I'm not sure Enchanted Tales with Belle will be up his alley as we've not watched Beauty and the Beast with him, though it might still be fun to watch as it's fairly interactive even being in the crowd. We will definitely give PhilharMagic a go - I'm so excited to see it again, especially with the added scene. We'll make sure to sit near the exit just in case, but if M won't sit still, Amber's taking him out for this one! He loves Donald though, so I think that'll help.

The Hall of Presidents is another one we've never done before, and to be honest, I don't think we'll ever do it. We've only done the Country Bear Jamboree once before, so it might be time to give it another go, and I do think it'd be entertaining enough to captivate M's attention - and again, it'll be relatively easy to leave if we have to. And then we have the Enchanted Tiki Room, which is another one we haven't done in a looong time. I think the last time we did it was when we went with Amber's family in 2015, though I could very well be misremembering. Either way, we might still give it a go since it's not super long.

We've actually watched Mickey's Magical Friendship Fare on YouTube with M, and he really likes watching it, so I think we will be stopping for the castle show. In any case, it's not like we'll be in an enclosed space for this one, we can just walk away whenever we feel like it - but again, he reeeeaaaally loves Donald. Whenever he goes off screen on the YouTube videos, M just goes "Donald? Donald! Donald?". It's adorable.

Festival of Fantasy is another thing we've watched clips of on YouTube which M has seemed to enjoy, so maybe we'll try to catch the one at noon before heading out of the park for nap time. We don't have ADRs at Magic Kingdom that would make the timing tricky, and I don't think we need a perfect view either - so if we can catch a table near the sidewalk at Casey's, that would be the ideal way to go I think. But those tables do get claimed really fast, so we'll see. I really hope I can watch Happily Ever After at least one of the two nights we're at Magic Kingdom, and seeing as we are at the Contemporary it'll be an easy enough walk over once it's done. M does tend to have a pretty steady bed time, so it's uncertain if he'd still be up by then and if we'll want to try for him to go to sleep in his stroller. He has on occasion stayed up later for special occasions and the likes, so he is capable of doing it depending on the day. We'll see how it goes, but in any case, I think we can take turns watching the show if need be.

Now, we have toyed around with the idea of getting Genie+ for the Magic Kingdom day where it's just the three of us. Especially since it would be our last park day, and a weekend day, which can be a bit on the busier side. I think it'll come down to how true we stay to our food and souvenir budget. In any case, we will definitely get an ILL for TRON on both days (unless we find we don't enjoy it that much and don't feel like paying 20 bucks for it each). We usually skip 7 Dwarves Mine Train because the seats are so uncomfortable to us, so I doubt we'll be investing in an ILL for that one, nor are we likely to wait in the standby line for it. We usually hit up Big Thunder Mountain first thing in the morning because everyone else heads off to Tomorrowland or Fantasyland, so we can often get on multiple times in a row with minimal wait. Of course since we'll have to take turns we won't be able to make the most of that trick, but I'm pretty sure it's still gonna be our plan of action to start the day.

And now it's time to wrap this up with some character meets!

Yes
Goofy and Donald - We are actually pretty intrigued to see if M will try to just skip right over Goofy and go straight to Donald for this one
Daisy and Minnie - M will probably see them and want to go meet them while we're waiting for Goofy and Donald so might as well put them on the list!
Mickey - Well, we gotta complete the set of all the different outfits we can meet him in, right?
Stitch - If he's meeting in Stitch's Great Escape, that should be fine in terms of heat and shade, and M does like Stitch! He actually has a giant plushie of him that was gifted to him for his first Christmas. He was smaller than the plush at the time.

Maybe
Jasmine and Aladdin, Cinderella and Elena of Avalor, Rapunzel and Tiana, Tinkerbell, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger - Seeing as we can meet the princesses and Tinkerbell indoor, it's not too daunting to put them on the maybe list. I feel like the spot for Aladdin and Jasmine tends to be more shaded so that's also not bad, and then since he likes Winnie and Tigger, we'll see how hot it is and if we stumble upon a decently short line.

Probably Not
Alice, Buzz Lightyear, Chip n Dale, Fairy Godmother, Gaston, Lady Tremaine, Anastasia and Drizella, Mary Poppins, Merida, Peter Pan, Pluto - These are almost all outdoor, often in direct sunlight, and since they're not necessarily constantly meeting it also makes it tricky to catch them to begin with, so we'll probably not make the time for them.

I do wonder how long it'll take them to retheme the Fairytale Garden, but I doubt Mirabel will be ready to meet by the time we go. Even if she is, she'll probably have ridiculous lines, and that's another one that feels like it's always in direct sunlight, so ultimately, we probably won't stop to see her either.


And that concludes these very lengthy detailings of what we're planning to try and do at each of the parks during our stay! Which means the best part will be coming up next - Food!​

 

[MarieLightning]

I just realized before moving on to food that I should probably briefly touch on our departure day, although there won't be too much to say about it.


Monday, August 7th
The first order of business for this day will be to bring our rental crib down to bell service to be picked up. We rented a crib from Kingdom Strollers because we couldn't really rely on the uncertainty of requesting one from the resort, only to end up with a pack n play. Now, M has spent his fair share of nights in a pack n play - actually, from the time he outgrew his bassinet at around 2 months until he moved to his own room from ours at 1, he slept in a pack n play in our room. And even then, throughout the past year, we have brought him back in our room for a couple nights' stay and broken out the pack n play again (when he was sick, when our heating was broken, after a minor surgery he had at 14 months, etc). And we don't actually plan on having a crib rental transfer from the Sports to the Contemporary, so it will be getting dropped off with bell service on the day we check in to our second hotel. He'll be fine for a couple of nights - but for a whole week which will be tiring and out of his normal routine, we just felt it was better to have a crib. Also, bed rails weren't an option - the kid will yeet himself over them without a fraction of a second of hesitation.

Luckily for us, you don't actually have to be there to meet with the person who delivers and picks up the crib from bell service. They will be picking it up at 9 AM, which means we just have to make sure it's been brought to bell service before then, and that shouldn't be a problem. Once M is awake and out of the crib, there won't be a need for him to go back in it, so it'll just go straight down. We will need to have everything packed up and ready to be dropped off to be held by bell service right around the same time anyhow, as we'll need to leave the resort around 9:30 for some mid morning plans, and we won't return until after check out time.

I'll give you one hint. It'll involve this.

Once we're done with those mid morning plans, we will return to the Contemporary and probably just try to find a quiet spot for M to take a stroller nap in. It's not gonna be ideal, but we won't have our room anymore at that point so that'll be the only option we'll have. As it is, it probably won't make a huge difference if he has a long nap or not since we'll be getting picked up by Mears for our return to the airport at 2.

We should be arriving at the airport about three hours before our flight, which feels like a lot of time with a toddler but is less than the Magical Express used to require of us - 4 hours for international flights even though it's just going through security like every other domestic flight, like what gives? I don't miss that part of it. We might check out the Magic of Disney store depending on what the security line looks like, since M won't have his Nexus card yet so we won't be able to use TSA pre-check. I'm thinking we'll try to have a late lunch while we're waiting to pass the time a bit, too. We'll be scheduled to take off around 6:30 and land in Montreal a little before 10, which does mean it'll be a bit of a rocky night for M. He'll likely sleep on the plane, but then he'll have to wake up when we get off, and odds are he'll fall asleep on the Uber ride home again only to be woken up one more time when we get home. Last time that pattern happened, he called it quits on sleeping for almost 2 hours. Fingers crossed this time around he just goes straight back to bed.

And that concludes our trip as it currently stands. We'll be straight back to every day life the next morning as M has his 2 year check up on August 8th, and Amber is going back to work that day too. I'm lucky enough to have that week off still which means I'll be able to unpack and do laundry right away instead of it dragging for weeks as it usually does, and I'll get to do some planning for M's 2nd birthday party for that upcoming weekend (the fact that he's almost 2 truly is mind boggling to me). I'm thinking a nice Mickey Mouse theme for that ​

 

[Fitzwoman27]

Have fun! Took my son for his 2nd birthday in 1985. Memories for lifetime! Also took him on space mountain -he was a big toddler.

 

[MarieLightning]

Have fun! Took my son for his 2nd birthday in 1985. Memories for lifetime! Also took him on space mountain -he was a big toddler.

Oh wow, that does sound like he was a tall kiddo! Honestly, I'm probably putting too much thought in which rides he'll enjoy and sit still on based on our every day experiences because, well, this isn't gonna be like an every day experience for him!

 

[MarieLightning]

Finally, moving on to the real star of the show - the food!

I'm kinda kidding but also kinda not. I'm very excited to get to eat our favorite snacks and meals again, it's been so long! We honestly didn't do anything very exciting last September. I actually don't even remember where we ate, it was that unmemorable. Probably our resort's food court for one, and quick service at the Magic Kingdom which, as we know, often isn't anything to write home about (although I do love me some Casey's Corner corndog nuggets).

I do want to do this a little differently, in that I'm not just gonna mention which restaurants we're going to, I'm gonna go over our dining budget as well. For us, looking over a menu months in advance and deciding what we're gonna eat really isn't that far of a stretch - honestly, I do that whenever I go out to eat at a restaurant anyway, albeit usually just the day of or a few days in advance. It's also really helpful in terms of figuring out how much we need to set aside for food, because with the exchange rate from Canadian to US dollar right now, it adds up even quicker. So once we had all of our dining situated, we bought gift cards to cover the costs. The advantage of using gift cards saves us the bank fee on top of the exchange rate, and that can be a pretty penny depending on which bank you're using and how much you're spending.

Of course, this is still, at the end of the day, an estimate. We don't hold ourselves to whatever food item we picked two months ago just for the sake of sticking to the cost we calculated - and I'll be a hundred percent honest here, in that I'm saying we a lot but most of the time Amber doesn't actually participate in this part of the planning. Granted, I do know her well enough that I can generally get a fairly clear idea of what she's gonna want to eat at a given place, and I do consult her as far as which restaurants we're likely to end up at. I also have not budgeted for M to have his own meal every time - if it were up to Amber, we'd not buy him any food anyway and just let him eat off our plates. And we will likely do that a lot because portion sizes are more than enough to share with a toddler. But just in case, I still accounted for a few instances of getting him a kid's meal. That kid can have an adult appetite sometimes.


Day 1 - Arrival day (no park)

This is one meal that's pretty up in the air for us. As I've mentioned previously, we're likely to just chill at the resort for the afternoon/evening after we check in to the Sports, so odds are, we will just be eating at the food court on property.

The one thing I will say though, is that for all the Values can get a poor rep on their food (mainly because they don't tend to have multiple options as the moderates and deluxes do), their quick service tends to have a lot more choices than deluxe resorts. I remember staying at the Grand Floridian in 2017 and chilling at the resort for most of the afternoon while it poured outside, and wanting to grab lunch but just not finding anything of appeal on the menu at Gasparilla Island Grill. I think we just ended up snacking. Now, have we made poor decisions at value food courts in the past and gotten subpar food? Absolutely. Have we ever been faced with nothing at all that we wanted to eat? Nope. I feel like that counts for something.

In any case, I will be entirely upfront that our selection for this meal probably won't be anything to rave over.

Amber: Chicken Strips (served with fries) - 10.49
Marie: Turkey and Cheese Sandwich (sliced turkey served with provolone on multigrain bread) - 10.29
M: Kids Macaroni & Cheese (served with choice of two sides and a choice of small lowfat milk or small Dasani water bottle) - 6.99

Arrival Day Total: 27.77


Day 2 and 6 - Animal Kingdom

So, seeing as we're mostly doing Quick Service meals, I haven't actually gone as far as decreed that one particular restaurant should be dined at on a specific given day. We know where we're likely to want to eat, and we'll try to make time to hit up each restaurant within that time frame.

The first one on the list is one we haven't eaten at in a good while - Pizzafari!

Now, you may be thinking - yeah, and with good reason. But we actually enjoy the cheap Disney parks pizza. It just hits the spot in a different way than like... better pizza In any case, we're trying to keep our options varied, so we had to pick four different locations for Animal Kingdom.

Amber: Sausage & Pepperoni Pizza (freshly baked pizza topped with tomato sauce, sausage and pepperoni served with a small Caesar salad) - 11.79
Marie: Chicken Parmesan Sandwich (breaded chicken topped with marinara and provolone on ciabatta bread served with a side Caesar salad) - 11.59
To Share: Breadsticks (basket of fresh-baked breadsticks topped with cheese and served with marinara sauce, 3 pieces) - 6.99

M will definitely be good to share with us for this. If anything, he loves pizza and bread.


Next up, we have an Animal Kingdom classic - Flame Tree Barbecue

I remember the very first time we were at Animal Kingdom, thinking how goooood it smelled by this restaurant. We didn't end up eating there then (I think we actually ate at Pizzafari), but we did hit it up in 2013. Amber was, unfortunately, not a fan, and to this day she won't necessarily pick this place above others in the park (don't worry, her favorite is coming), but we still give it a go once in a while. I enjoy it anyhow!

Amber & Marie Baked Macaroni & Cheese with Pulled Pork (baked macaroni & cheese topped with smoked pulled pork, onion rings and coleslaw) - 12.49 each


Of course, we can't go to Animal Kingdom without a stop in Pandora for some grub - Satu'li Canteen!

I think we've only eaten here once or twice, but I'm looking forward to trying it out again.

Amber: Cheeseburger Steamed Pods (steamed cheeseburger pods stuffed with ground beef, ketchup, mustard, pickle and cheddar cheese served with crunchy vegetable slaw and vegetable chips) - 13.29
Marie: Slow-Roasted Sliced Grilled Beef Bowl (slow-roasted sliced grilled beef marinated in a blend of garlic, herbs, red pepper spice, and red wine vinegar topped with crunchy vegetable slaw and boba balls served with your choice of base and sauce) - 14.49

I'm very excited to try the bowl. I think I've only ever had the kids 'hotdog' here, which is actually quite tasty, but I'm looking forward to something different. Odds are I'll get it with the noodles, though I'm not too sure on the sauce yet. I'm not usually a big sauce person to begin with so I could go without, but I might get one on the side just to try. It's gonna be between the charred green onion vinaigrette and the creamy herb sauce.


Finally, our last pick for Animal Kingdom will be Yak & Yeti's Local Food Cafes

This is where you will find one of Amber's favorite meals on property - and actually, it's not even an entree, it's technically a side. Which does mean there's no description. And it's actually gone up in price since I last looked at it, how rude! Actually, both of our picks have gone up a dollar since I budgeted this.

Amber: Chicken Fried Rice - 7.99
Marie: Honey Sesame Chicken (tempura chicken, fresh vegetables, honey sesame sauce and white rice) - 14.99

Animal Kingdom Total: 104.61


Day 3 and 7 - Epcot

Now, this one we're doing a little bit differently. Currently, we've only budgeted for three meals because Food & Wine festival will be ongoing while we're there! Therefore, it's likely we'll spend some time eating around the World and won't feel the need for dinner on one of our days there.

Epcot is also one of the two parks in which we are doing a Table Service meal - and anyone who may have, long ago, followed any of our trip reports won't be surprised in the least as to where it is.

Teppan Edo!

The trips we've done where we have skipped out on Teppan Edo have been far and few in between - and in most cases, I think it would have been because it was a short trip during which we didn't go to Epcot. I also don't think we ate there during Veronica's bachelorette weekend since we were hitting up Flower & Garden boots. I can't remember for sure, though.

Amber & Marie: Tori (8 oz boneless chicken breast served with a garden salad, udon noodles, vegetables and steamed white rice) - 32.00 each


Now the next one is one i've been eagerly awaiting to try for 3 years - it was on our to do list for our March 2020 trip, so needless to say we still haven't given it a go yet - Regal Eagle Smokehouse!

So, one thing that'll certainly help my enjoyment of this place is that I love barbecue - but I don't love any particular barbecue. I can understand when people are die hard on Carolina BBQ and they're served KC or Texas BBQ, it might be a bit less to their taste, but I honestly have no preference whatsoever. Montreal isn't exactly famous for its BBQ. We have smoked meat, poutine and bagels.

Now, I will say - and I may very well be misremembering this - I feel like when the restaurant first opened, there was a sort of platter option where you could pick a few different meats to try. Whether that was the case and it is now gone, or my memory is failing me and that never existed, I do feel like it's a lacking option. I would have liked to be able to sample a few different things. Not the end of the world, though.

Amber & Marie: Sliced Texas Beef Brisket Sandwich (rubbed with our secret brisket rub and then slow-smoked and placed between garlic toast and served with your choice of side) - 13.79 each
Marie: Berry Punch (white grape juice with strawberry, peach and blackberry) - 4.79

I'm not sure what we'll do for sides - I'm torn between the baked beans with burnt ends, which is actually a shocker cause I've not eaten beans in years. The macaroni and cheese would be a good option too though, and that would make an easy thing to share with M as well. Amber might get that, but she may also go for the french fries or onion rings. We'll see!


Our last pick for Epcot will take us to Future World - Sunshine Seasons.

This is for one of Amber's favorite quick service meals in Epcot. We did use to eat here for breakfast almost every trip, to get the strawberry shortcake - and maybe we'll end up splurging on one of those this year, too, seeing how long it's been!

Amber: Mongolian Beef (served with vegetable fried rice) - 13.49
Marie: Birria Tacos (with beef, monterey jack, onions, cilantro and lime served with consommé) - 9.99
M: Kids' Macaroni & Cheese (served with green beans, applesauce and a choice of small lowfat milk or small Dasani bottled water) - 6.99

Epcot Total: 126.84


Day 5 and 8 - Hollywood Studios

Here we have our second park based table service of the trip! We actually switched it around recently, however. I had been wanting to do Roundup Rodeo BBQ pretty much since it was announced, and then even more so as menu details starting coming out. On our ADR booking day, I got it no problem at the time we were looking at. And then I started reading reviews.

Granted, I always take reviews with a grain of salt. People have different expectations for their meals, and so I rarely base my choices on whether someone liked their meal or not (unless it's repeated over and over, but even then, we've heard the comments about Tony's Town Square, and our friends enjoyed it well enough. Which I think is doable if you go in with the expectation that it's not authentic Italian food, but basically Disney's version of Olive Garden).

However, one comment that came up A LOT was how long the meal took. People commenting how they were there for 2 hours or longer, even when it was just two adults eating, and not because of their own eating speed. And unfortunately, that's just not gonna cut it for us, not with our toddler anyhow, and not cutting so close to his nap time (because we do want to do a lunch ADR, we don't want to have to stress about getting back to the park for a set dinner time).

In any case, we canceled our Roundup Rodeo ADR, but we still wanted to do a table service in Hollywood Studios, so after looking around at the few options, we decided to give another try to 50s Prime Time Cafe

We've eaten here twice before. I've always enjoyed my food well enough, but Amber hasn't had as much luck. Granted, the first time we went she had just finished chemo so her senses were still a bit awry and she didn't have as much appetite. And then the second time, she got the chicken pot pie, knowing it would contain mushrooms (which she doesn't like), but not realizing that it the taste of said mushrooms would be so strong, so she barely ate. However, it looks like they may have changed their recipe, and it's always a fun atmosphere anyhow!

Amber: Grandpa Jean's Chicken Pot Pie (a traditional pastry crust filled with chicken, potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, corn and peas) - 24.00
Grasshopper Bar (mint white chocolate mousse with chocolate chips on a chocolate chip cookie topped with whip cream and chocolate chips) - 8.00
Marie: Aunt Liz's Golden Fried Chicken (served with roasted garlic mashed potatoes, chicken gravy, and seasonal vegetables) - 26.00
Lemon Meringue Pie (a lemon curd in a flaky pie shell topped with a toasted meringue and garnished with a raspberry sauce) - 9.00

We may or may not actually have dessert, but I figured there's no harm in budgeting for it just in case. In any case, it's still cheaper than the cost of Roundup Rodeo BBQ would've been.


Our next meal will take us into Toy Story Land, even if it's not for a sit down meal (possibly literally, finding tables at this location is always a pain in the butt) - Woody's Lunch Box.

We've not eaten here that often but I always want to give it a go. I think we may have split a grilled cheese and a lunchbox tart once, and that was about it.

Amber: Totchos (potato barrels coated with beef and bean chili, shredded cheese and signature queso with tomatoes and corn chips finished with sour cream and a sprinkle of green onions) - 9.99
Ice Cream Float with Barq's Root Beer (made with vanilla soft serve ice cream) - 5.99
Marie: BBQ Brisket Melt (shredded smoked brisket, pickles and tangy barbecue sauce between melted cheddar and monterey jack on grilled sourdough bread) - 13.29
Frozen Mystic Portal Punch (Powerade Mountain Berry Blast with flavors of lemon-lime and tangerine) - 5.49

If I'm being entirely up front here, the drink may be the thing I'm most excited for. Though that sandwich does sound good - if I can get it without the pickles!


Now this next one tends to be a big crowd divider. Most people either love it or hate it. And in our case, we love it - PizzeRizzo

Yes, that Disney pizza again. What can I say? The theming here is also on point, and there's always loooaaads of seats available which isn't to be taken for granted.

Amber & Marie: Pepperoni Pizza (pepperoni pizza served with a choice of side) - 11.29 each
M: Kids' Macaroni & Cheese (served with strawberry-flavored yogurt smoothie, a Cuties mandarin, and a choice of small lowfat milk or small Dasani bottled water) - 6.99

You're probably noticing a trend by now that when we plan to get food for M, it's the mac and cheese. It's just a safe option, really. Besides, regardless of if he gets his own food, he'll always end up getting bites of ours, but I just want to make sure he has a bit of variety when the adult meals don't offer much nutrition. Not that macaroni and cheese is the epitome of health, but at least it has those sides.

Speaking of sides, PizzeRizzo giving a choice of sides is new! They always used to just have that Caesar salad side. Which I didn't mind, but it's nice that they have the couple extra options too now.


Our last meal for our Hollywood Studios day is likely going to take us out of the park. While I was going over our park plans, I mentioned we'd try to make time to hop over to Art of Animation during one of our DHS days, so that M could check out the Cars and Nemo sections. Odds are, the most convenient way to do this will be to take a Minnie Van over to AoA after our afternoon break, check out the resort, have dinner there and then take the Skyliner back to the park.

So, that means a meal at Landscape of Flavors!

Now, it does look as though they changed their menu since I had last looked at it, which is a bit of a bummer. But honestly, the other quick service options at Hollywood Studios aren't that appealing either - I know we could eat in Galaxy's Edge, but honestly, I'm not sure how much we'd enjoy most of the sides at Docking Bay 7, and it's a bit of a steep price if you're not gonna eat all that's offered. Anyway, we'll keep this as planned for the time being, and if anything we'll adjust. Even with just doing quick service, we still might have very well hit a food wall by then and just get food for M and something for us to snack on.

Amber: Pasta With Meatballs (served with a garlic breadstick and choice of marinara or alfredo) - 12.49
Marie: Chicken Strips (served with french fries) - 10.49

Hollywood Studios Total: 154.31


Day 4 and 9 - Magic Kingdom

Our first pick is one we've actually never eaten at - or, well, I've never eaten at. Amber took her cousin there to get something to eat in 2015 after he couldn't find anything he wanted at Pecos Bill, and up until then it'd never been open while we visited. Then it just didn't have menu options that appealed to us, but this time around, I think it can be worth a visit.

Tortuga Tavern!

I'm gonna be real - the drink is what sold me on wanting to try this one.

Amber: Barbecued Slaw Dog (all-beef hot dog topped with barbecued pork and slaw served with house made chips) - 12.29
Marie: Peanut Butter, Chocolate Hazelnut Spread and Banana Sandwich (served with house made chips) - 10.29
Desert Pear Lemonade Pirate Slushy (with Minute Maid premium lemonade) - 5.99

I'm especially intrigued by the fact that people have likened it to the frozen desert Violet lemonade from Flower & Garden, which I've always been on the fence about trying because of the floral notes which I'm not usually a fan of. But from what I've seen, although the flavor is similar, this one is a bit sweeter and not so floral. So that should be right up my alley!


Our next pick for a quick service at Magic Kingdom won't take us very far. Actually, it'll be right on the other side of the building - Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe!

This is a favorite of ours - it's pretty rare we'll do a Disney trip without ending up here at least at one point or another. Granted, menu items have come and gone since our first visit, but regardless, we'll be happy to visit it again!

Amber: Chicken Nachos (tortilla chips topped with queso, seasoned chicken, lettuce, tomato, sour cream and salsa) - 11.49
Marie: Pork Carnitas Nachos (tortilla chips topped with queso, pork carnitas, lettuce, tomato, sour cream and salsa) - 11.49

Pretty straight forward - who doesn't love a good plate of nachos?


Next up is another favorite of ours which we can't seem to pass up, in spite of the simplicity of its menu - Casey's Corner

I think the first time we ate here, we both got a plain hot dog with fries and cotton candy for dessert. It was not a hit Thankfully, we're now wiser (let's pretend for a moment that that's true).

Amber & Marie: Corn Dog Nuggets (served with a choice of french fries or a Cuties mandarin) - 10.49 each
Side of Cuties mandarin (3 pack) - 4.19

I will say, I am a little miffed that a side of french fries versus a 3 pack of Cuties mandarin are basically the same price (30 cents difference), but if you get the meal, it's only 1 Cuties mandarin if that's the side you choose? What gives Disney?

Honestly, since we're planning on getting a 3 pack of mandarins anyway, I might just see if we can get just the corn dog nuggets not as a meal. Or, well, one meal, plus one order of nuggets, plus the 3 pack of mandarins. That would make more sense, but the nuggets aren't on the menu as a stand alone option. We'll see what happens!


Our last Magic Kingdom day meal will, like Hollywood Studios, take us out of the park. We figured it would make sense, if we're gonna be staying at the Contemporary, to eat there at least once after napping and relaxing by the pool. However, we didn't want to spend the money on their table service meals (however excellent most of them may be, they're also $$$$$) and the lounges probably aren't the best place to bring a toddler who still needs a high chair.

So, off we go to Contempo Cafe.

For a hotel called the Contemporary, that sign feels extremely retro to me.

As I mentioned earlier, Deluxe resort quick service locations rarely have a very large number of selection. Here is no exception - counting salads and plant-based options, Contempo Cafe offers less than 10 entrees to pick from. That's compared to the 22 choices End Zone Food Court has to offer (not including the full sized pizzas, and the fact that they sometimes have seasonal dine in options that aren't listed on their posted menu).

We'll still make due with the options they have - they don't sound half bad.

Amber: All-Meat Flatbread (fresh-rolled pizza dough layered with marinara, mozzarella, italian sausage, pepperoni and smoked bacon finished with grated parmesan) - 12.29
Marie: Hot Turkey Sandwich (roasted turkey, smoked bacon, arugula, tomato, white cheddar and cranberry aioli served on a toasted multigrain bread served with french fries) - 12.29
M: Kids' Turkey Pasta Marinara (spaghetti with ground turkey marinara served with strawberry-flavored yogurt smoothie, grape, and a choice of small lowfat milk or small Dasani bottled water) - 7.79

We've actually eaten at Contempo Cafe a couple of times before. I can't remember if the last time as in 2017 or 2019 - I know it was one of those two, because we were with the friends we traveled with for both those trips. It was a late night dinner after dessert and drinks at the California Grill so we could watch the fireworks from balcony. Amber got the pasta that comes with, according to the menu, accoutrements, and asked for it without the accoutrements, with a beautiful to behold French accent. The Cast Member had never heard anyone refer to season vegetables that way. Full disclosure - she was drunk (Amber, not the CM). Although in her defence, that is what the menu said.

Magic Kingdom Total: 109.09


Day 10 - Departure Day

Without a doubt, the table service I am most excited about. I've been wanting to do this one for several years, but it's just never worked out that we could. Also, Amber isn't a big fan of breakfast, so we usually try to limit how often we do make reservations for breakfast time.

But this time, it's happening - 'Ohana!

I don't know if I'm most excited about the food or the characters. I'll settle for both! I'm very excited to see M react to the characters anyhow, as he does love Stitch, and of course Mickey. We also have an Animators Collection Doll of Lilo, so he's familiar with her as well although he's not seen much of the movie.

We have great memories of 'Ohana, even if the only other time we've eaten here was for dinner. It was undoubtedly one of the best meals we've had on property, although admittedly, some of that may have been for the ambiance and the company. Still, I'm really looking forward to it!

Amber & Marie: All You Care To Enjoy Fresh Fruit, Freshly Made Pineapple-Coconut Breakfast Bread, and 'Ohana Breakfast Skillet (scrambled eggs, pork breakfast sausage links, hawaiian-style ham topped with pineapple compote, fried island-style potatoes, mickey-shaped waffles and biscuits) - 45.00 each

So, this is undoubtedly the meal we're spending the most on, but I do like that we'll have loads of options to feed M with without having to pay an extra cost for him.

Because our reservation time is set for more of a brunch time, mid morning, we're not likely to have lunch before we head to the airport, and we'll probably just give M snacks here and there throughout the morning to tide him over until we have our sit down meal. As such, this will be our only meal on property that day.

Departure Day Total: 90.00


Grand Total: 612.62


Now of course, that doesn't include tax or tip. It also doesn't include snacks or Food & Wine festival offerings that we'll try, additional desserts and drinks we may choose to have with our meals (although it's honestly pretty rare we have those as we stick to water and don't have room for dessert). We also plan on getting refillable resort mugs, and a refillable popcorn bucket.

Still, it's certainly not a bad total as far as I'm concerned! Fingers crossed there's no menu changes in the next couple of weeks!​