August 2024 first trip with a kiddo … Down in Port Orleans! UPDATED 8/18

YOU ARE A LIFE SAVER! My mom and I are Celiac and just the other day she was talking about how she loves POFQ but she wishes they had gluten free beignets. When I read this, I googled and then instantly called my mom to tell her and we're so excited to try them! Thank you for the tip!
YOU'RE WELCOME!! I hope you guys enjoy them!!

I'm 23 and "mom and me" trips are still so special,
I tried so hard to get my mom to join us on this trip, but she just had knee surgery in May and doesn't want to push herself walking miles and miles in Disney. I'm going to miss her being there but I'm beyond excited to continue the tradition with my own kiddo!

I hope you and your mom have a blast!!
 
We are T-12 days, people! 12 DAYS!!!

In less than 2 weeks my DD7 and I will be in Disney and we are so stinking excited! It’s been a crazy busy summer and I haven’t posted as much as I thought I would / wanted to.

I think this is going to be one of the last couple posts on this Pre-Trip Report, so I’m going to try to tie up any loose ends.

Let's start off with some changes!!

In the months leading up to our trip I did all my research on Genie+ and I had a whole itinerary planned to make the most of our trip using all the tips and tricks I learned. Then Disney threw a curve ball, and I had to switch it up. Don’t get me wrong, I was beyond thrilled to learn they are bringing back a facet of the old fastpass system. I really liked getting to pick fastpasses in advance and honestly, I still do. BUT this meant I had to do a little more solid planning to know what times would be best for each “multi-pass” selection. (Sorry… but I will almost always refer to these as fastpasses, lol)

I never really worried on past vacations about what times I got our fastpasses. I didn’t have much else planned and was very much more go with the flow. This trip, however, is different in that I have ALLLLL kinds of plans and honestly not enough time to do them all, LOL.

Which lead me to update my plans…. I had big time FOMO and added two reservations to our trip. I originally had 1900 Park Fare and ‘Ohana during our trip and that was all. Then I added Fireworks Dessert w/Plaza Garden Viewing at MNSSHP. THEN I added a breakfast reservation at Akershus. I have problems! I fully admit it. :laughing: I wanted to do EVERYTHING and make this the best trip ever…. But during all my meticulous planning, I realized I couldn’t fit everything in.

So.

DD7 and I talked through our options and decided to cancel one of our dining reservations. I made too many plans hoping to get everything crammed in and I just had to admit defeat, and something had to go. DD7 said she wanted to prioritize rides rather than character interactions. All our dining reservations are character meals. After talking about who/when we were meeting, and where, we came to the sad conclusion of cancelling our 1900 Park Fare reservation. I hope one day we’ll get another chance to check it out.


I also flipped our EPCOT and Hollywood Studios days thanks to the Akershus reservation.


Here are our new plans:

Day 0 – Travel day (flight time got pushed back again via the airline. UGH) – late arrival in Orlando, we probably won’t get to our resort until 11pm

Day 1 – Typhoon Lagoon in the morning, Hollywood Studios in the evening

Day 2 – Magic Kingdom rope drop until early afternoon, pool break at the resort, back to Magic Kingdom for MNSSHP (dessert party)

Day 3 – EPCOT regular park opening until mid-day (Akershus breakfast) – back to the hotel for the evening. Maybe check out Disney Springs.

Day 4 – Magic Kingdom, possibly for rope drop, until mid morning. We have the latest “breakfast” at ‘Ohana at 12:10pm. Probably back to Magic Kingdom for some shopping and another ride or two, then hang at the resort for the rest of the afternoon/evening.

Day 5 – Travel day home 😭 - we’ll have enough time to check out and walk over to POFQ for some beignets then a MEARS shuttle is due to pick us up at 11:50am for a 3:20pm flight.

I am a freak when it comes to planning and organizing. I love it and it comes in handy at work, so I’m pretty good at it. When I tell you I have lists and spreadsheets…. I have alllll the lists and alllll the spreadsheets, LOL. Every time I would create one, I thought of a way to improve it or change it, so I just kept building more and more. I finally have a set that I love and is super helpful to show me where the best spots were for fastpass selections (and times to try to get). I’m going to try my best to get time slots I can work with.

Here is my fastpass wish list:

Monday – Hollywood Studios MultiPass

Slinky Dog Dash
Tower of Terror
Star Tours

Single Pass: Rise of the Resistance



Tuesday – Magic Kingdom MultiPass
(I read there will be no fastpasses/LLs/whatever they are now, as well as no VQ’s available during the MNSSHP)

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid
Winnie the Pooh

Single Pass: 7 Dwarfs Mine Train



Wednesday – EPCOT MultiPass

Frozen Ever After
Spaceship Earth
Living with the Land

Single Pass: Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind



Thursday – Magic Kingdom MultiPass

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure OR Peter Pan’s Flight ***
Dumbo
Magic Carpets of Aladdin

Single Pass: TRON Lightcycle / Run – and I might have to talk DD7 into this

*** Peter Pan’s Flight is due to re-open on this day (Thursday 8/22), but I’m not sure if I want to ride this or Tiana’s again – DD7 is really looking forward to it and when given the choice she chose Tiana’s ***


I just hope everything is available for the times I want. If not, back to the spreadsheets!! LOL. I WILL make it work!! We have less than two weeks to go and only five days until our 7-day window to make the MultiPass selections. My alarm is set and I have my list all ready to go!
 
Do any of your days overlap with MNSSHP Days? We went in August last year and our last MK day was the first MNSSHP day. It was magnificent. During the mid-day parade, my youngest and I went on TMRR three times in a half hour. The party days seem like a rip off, but you can get so much done with the low crowds.

If not, just enjoy. There's nothing better than enjoying Walt Disney World with your kid.

I'm 39 with a 9 year old, a 6 year old, and a 4 year old. I love seeing the way they see the World. You'll have better memories this time around, I know it.
 
Do any of your days overlap with MNSSHP Days?
Yep!! Our 1st Magic Kingdom day is on Tuesday, which is a party day. I was hoping there would be lower crowds during the day due to the earlier closing time. Thanks for the insight! We also have tickets to the party later that evening, so it would be awesome to get a bunch of rides in during the day and focus on the trick or treating and meet and greets during the party :goodvibes
There's nothing better than enjoying Walt Disney World with your kid.

I'm 39 with a 9 year old, a 6 year old, and a 4 year old. I love seeing the way they see the World. You'll have better memories this time around, I know it.
Aww, thank you!! :blush:
 
Now that the planning is just waiting for the finishing touches (come on August 11th!!!:rotfl:), I can focus on the packing part. Everything I've ordered has been delivered - woo hoo! I’ve packed the majority of our things this week, so I don’t have to do any big last-minute loads of laundry or store runs. While going through our drawers for vacation outfits I swear DD7 has lost all her shorts this summer! Every time I find her lounging around the house, she’s pants-less! I seriously think she's lost them because for the life of me I can't find them anywhere! Good grief.

ANYWAY. I got our Disney luggage tags in the mail last week! Look how super cute they are!

luggage tags.jpg

Since I already have luggage tags that match our suitcases, I added the Minnie luggage tag to our stroller since we're checking it at the airport. Yes. You read that right. Stroller. I decided to pick up an inexpensive stroller (that I got on sale from Target AND had circle bonus reward dollars to use) for our trip. I plan to sell it after we return since we won't need it. It was honestly cheaper to buy an inexpensive compact stroller (and recoup some of the cost by selling it) than it was to use a rental company. I know my DD7. She’s a lazy daisy. I love her to pieces, but I'm gonna be real. She won’t last one day doing the amount of walking that is required in Disney. So yes, we’re bringing a stroller for everyone’s sanity :laughing:

I have all our park outfits planned out and we have a few Minnie Mouse headbands to share between the two of us AND I have our MNSSHP costumes too!!

headbands.jpg headband packing.jpg
We prefer these kind of headbands, with the adjustable elastic. They are less painful behind our ears and just all around more comfortable than the regular Minnie ears headband. Plus they're easier to pack too!


I have all our summer vacation essentials: Alllll the fans! Hand fans. Stroller fans. Waist fan. I also have cooling patches (like the kind used for fevers), cooling towels, and a cooling neck ring thing that looked pretty cool on Amazon, but now that I looked back at it, it has a poor rating, so we’ll see how it works for us. I have sunscreen in a range of SPF’s. I have aloe and after sun moisturizer. I have our stainless-steel water bottles and filters to attach to the straws that go in them. I have some Pedialyte powder to add to water to help with hydration.

Cooling equipment.PNG


I found some fun pool toys for our afternoon swim breaks and some light up wands and glow sticks for the late nights in the parks.
Light up stuff.png
I also have a bunch of fun stuff for our flight. The airline we’re flying on doesn’t offer wi-fi, so I’ll need to download some movies or shows for DD7 to watch/listen to. We won't need too much. Our flight is only 2 1/2 hours. I have sketch, coloring and activity books. Markers and colored pencils. Thinking putty and little squishy animals. Sticker pages of Tiana and her friends. I’m going to download a few episodes of my murder shows (my current binge series is American Monster on Discovery+) and I also need a new book for my kindle.

Finally, I think the last thing I need to worry about is placing a grocery order. But I’m stuck. Right now, all I have on my list is bottles of water, pretzel sticks, Cheez-its, and potato chips. Any suggestion what we should add?
 
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Woot! Safe travels on Sunday. Hehe, hope you both get some good sleep tonight. How exciting. T minus 1, today to get done. Squeal, so close for you now.

To get my luggage out soon today. I’m a last minute packer. Our flight is an early evening one tomorrow too, as have a night event 2 and a half or more, hour’s drive away tonight, the exact opposite direction from the airport. So we changed our crack of dawn flight, to that later early evening one, to give us some time to sleep a little tomorrow morning, and stop by home, to pick up our bags, that we won’t be bringing to the place we are staying overnight tonight.

Then we are lucky, as family member, either my DH or other adult kid, to drive an hour or less, to drop us off for our also 2 and 1/2 hour direct flight. Though actual flight time is 2 hours. Hoping the rain that they say are chanced tonight, are not tomorrow night. And no delay taking off or landing, and no circling as did last time we were there. Hope your flight is uneventful too, tomorrow.

Great looking plans. I suggest fruit chews or other small and not easy to melt, food that your and daughter like. We also pick up fruit, apples and tangerines to snack on, as both we may also toss in our backpack we bring into the park. My daughter also likes dip with her chips, so we have that and also buy a small vege tray, as nice to snack on in the room too. And I sometimes pick up some muffins or other bakery items. We rent a car, so we do a Target or grocery store run before we go to our hotel. Though with an evening flight, we may find a place to eat, and save the shopping until later on Monday.

So exciting weekend in store.
 
Woot! Safe travels on Sunday. Hehe, hope you both get some good sleep tonight. How exciting. T minus 1, today to get done. Squeal, so close for you now.

To get my luggage out soon today. I’m a last minute packer. Our flight is an early evening one tomorrow too, as have a night event 2 and a half or more, hour’s drive away tonight, the exact opposite direction from the airport. So we changed our crack of dawn flight, to that later early evening one, to give us some time to sleep a little tomorrow morning, and stop by home, to pick up our bags, that we won’t be bringing to the place we are staying overnight tonight.

Then we are lucky, as family member, either my DH or other adult kid, to drive an hour or less, to drop us off for our also 2 and 1/2 hour direct flight. Though actual flight time is 2 hours. Hoping the rain that they say are chanced tonight, are not tomorrow night. And no delay taking off or landing, and no circling as did last time we were there. Hope your flight is uneventful too, tomorrow.

Great looking plans. I suggest fruit chews or other small and not easy to melt, food that your and daughter like. We also pick up fruit, apples and tangerines to snack on, as both we may also toss in our backpack we bring into the park. My daughter also likes dip with her chips, so we have that and also buy a small vege tray, as nice to snack on in the room too. And I sometimes pick up some muffins or other bakery items. We rent a car, so we do a Target or grocery store run before we go to our hotel. Though with an evening flight, we may find a place to eat, and save the shopping until later on Monday.

So exciting weekend in store.
I'm such a doofus! I didn't specify why I was looking forward to today, lol. It's not a travel day for us but the very last thing I had to plan, which was choosing MultiPass LL's. Sorry!! We don't actually leave until NEXT Sunday, so just 7 days away now!

BUT AHHH..... Today is YOUR travel day! I'm jelly but excited for you to have an amazing trip!! Hope the weather cooperates for an easy flight and you have the BEST time!!!!

 
Today was Lighting Lane Selection day!!! I spent too much time trying to get what I wanted WHEN I wanted. I was only half successful. I'm really happy with most, but super bummed about a couple. Here's what I got:

Monday 8/19 - Hollywood Studios (PM only - the morning will be spent at Typhoon Lagoon)

~ Tower of Terror- 5:10 - 6:10p
~ Star Tours- 7:00 - 8:00p
~ Rise of the Resistance- 7:05 - 8:05p
~ Slinky Dog- 7:10 - 8:10p
Tuesday 8/20 - Magic Kingdom (MNSSHP day)
~ Journey Under the Sea w/Little Mermaid- 8:30 - 9:30a
~ 7 Dwarfs Mine Train- 9:25 -10:25a
~ Winnie the Pooh - 9:35 - 10:35a
~ Tiana's Bayou Adventure- 4:35 - 5:35p

Wednesday 8/21 - EPCOT

~ Frozen Ever After- 9:20 - 10:20a
~ Living w/the Land- 12:00 - 1:00p
~ Spaceship Earth- 12:55 - 1:55p
~ Guardians of the Galaxy- 1:20 - 2:20p

Thursday 8/22 - Magic Kingdom

~ Dumbo- 9:15 - 10:15a
~ TRON - 9:15 - 10:15a
~ Magic Carpets of Aladdin- 10:20 - 11:20a
~7 Dwarfs Mine Train- 10:35 - 11:35a
~ Tiana's Bayou Adventure- 4:35 - 5:35p

How I feel about this new MultiPass system:

I chose to prioritize my Magic Kingdom days first in the hopes of getting early-ish morning slots for Tiana's Bayou Adventure. NO LUCK. I couldn't get anything at all in the morning. I chose a couple times and after all my selections were made I played with the modify button for an hour or so until I eventually admitted defeat, and rearranged my itinerary to best fit in the ride with everything else already in place. It's still such a bummer that even 7 days out they had ZERO morning times for Tiana. I'm going to keep looking as the week goes by, but I don't have high hopes.

PRO: I had the ability to modify the times right away.
CON: The app will have an "earliest time available", like down below the earliest time for Slinky says 6:20.

screenshot1.jpg

BUT when I click on "Change to This Time", I get:

screenshot2.jpg


Not 6:20! But I was able to change it to 7:10PM which was better than the 7:55 - 8:55pm time I had before. And closer to what I wanted for my planned itinerary.

PRO: It's pretty easy to use! I was nervous that it would take me a while to figure it out, but it was pretty simple.
CON: The price! Man, it was not cheap for these. I know even when it was Genie+ there was a cost to get Lightning Lanes but spread out over the week it wouldn't come as one big blow, lol. I did have to pay for each day of MultiPass AND SinglePass selections this morning.


Here is the breakdown:


Monday - Hollywood Studios = $24per person
Tuesday - Magic Kingdom (MNSSHP day) = $25 per person
Wednesday - EPCOT = $19 per person
Thursday - Magic Kingdom = $27 per person



Overall, I'm happy with my Hollywood Studios and EPCOT selections. It's still the Magic Kingdom rides that didn't quite match up with what I had planned. It's still do-able and I'm so happy to have this very last piece of planning done!!!

I was also checking the weather (I KNOW it's still a week away and weather changes frequently) and I saw a bunch of rain and thunderstorms.... which kind of not a surprise bc ya know... August in Florida. BUT because of this I ended up placing one final last-minute Amazon order with rain jackets for myself and DD7. I already had disposable ponchos, but with all the rain and thunderstorms predicted, I got us some reusable rain jackets.


GUYS. I'M PRETTY SURE EVERYTHING IS PLANNED AS MUCH AS CAN BE. EVERYTHING HAS BEEN ORDERED. MOST OF THE PACKING IS DONE. NOW ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS WAIT. GAH!!!

7 DAYS TO GO!!!!!




 
How about some breakfast items for your grocery order? Saves time and money when you can eat in the room.
Your plans sound great!
 
Today is the day!! Day zero. AKA TRAVEL DAY!!!

Everything is packed. All our devices are charged. We're just chillin and waiting for 4:30 to get here so we can head to the airport. Unfortunately, it's thunder storming here, so not a great way to start vacation. (I'm already a nervous flier as it is)

I already got our room ready text!! BUT, I'm not really happy with it. I requested a first floor room and what did we end up with? Third. 😮‍💨

So far we're two for two for things not going great today. I really hope this isn't a sign of what this week will be, lol. It can only go up from here!! 🤞🏻

To get us through our last sleep before vacation last night we watched a Disney movie in bed. What did DD7 pick? The Princess and the Frog of course! We crashed pretty quickly after that and managed to sleep in until 7:45 this morning. It's been a very productive day and we can't wait to finally get this vacation started!

A really big :thanks: to all those who joined in my first ever pre-trip report, commented, gave advice and were just generally excited for our first ever mom and daughter trip!!

See ya real soon!!
 
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Yay hope your travel was uneventful yesterday.

We got delayed yesterday, due to weather at home, and came home 3 hours later than we expected. Midnight. Oh well. At least was not cancelled.
 












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