Baby's First Trip to WDW...Part 3 is up! (pg 2)

[Strawberry Lemonade]

First off, a little background. I’m Jennifer – 31, married to DH(32) for 5 years. His name is Sal, but will be known as DH here on in. 2 letters is easier to type than 3. We’ve gone to WDW together every year (with the exception of 2002) since 2000. DS (named Lucas; if 2 letters is easier than 3, then you can guess what he'll he called) is 15 ½ months and this was his first trip. Speaking of firsts, this is my first trip report…here goes!

Pre-Trip:
We had been planning this trip for a year and a half. Our last trip was in February 2005 (when I was 5 months pregnant) and DH was getting a little antsy for his WDW fix. We decided to spend 10 days at the beginning of October, splitting our time between the Boardwalk Inn and Port Orleans French Quarter. I had been wanting to stay in the Epcot area for some time now, since Epcot is my favorite park. We had stayed at POFQ on a previous trip so we knew what we were in for there.

Day 1:
We found a great fare on Southwest, direct from CT to Orlando. We decided to buy DS his own seat and he seemed to like it very much.

Maybe a little too much.

Our flight went off without any trouble and we landed at MCO 20 minutes early. We used Magical Express so our luggage was taken care of and after a quick trip to the food court, we walked right on the bus with no wait. Once we were dropped off, we checked in and found our room. We didn’t bother to spring for a room with a view, but ended up with a corner room with a balcony that looked out into a courtyard. If we looked to the faaaaarrrrrrrrr left, we could see the Eiffel Tower and some of the Illuminations fireworks.

Now, I didn’t mention this before, but I was sick. I had a sore throat and sinus issues since the day before we left. By this time, after a really uncomfortable plane ride (sinus-wise), I really needed a nap. DH took DS down to the Boardwalk to check it out while I crashed.

I woke up in time for dinner, and since our lunch consisted of Goldfish crackers on the plane and McDonald’s fries at the Orlando airport, we were hungry. We had planned to have dinner at the ESPN Club so off we went. DH was pretty excited. Not only is he a fan of ESPN, but he works for them. Too bad it was terrible. Neither DH nor I were impressed with our meals. I had some chicken wing sandwich and DH had a Caesar salad. (Note: you won’t be hearing much about what DS ate during this trip as he is an extremely picky eater. Most of his meals consisted of bread and grapes.)

After dinner, we explored the Boardwalk. We walked to the Epcot International Gateway and back, then headed over to check out the Swan and Dolphin. The Boardwalk is pretty fun at night. People were renting surrey bikes and there were caricaturists and street performers every few steps.

Day 2:
We decided to take the ferry to Epcot. Next time I won’t bother – walking is much quicker. We thought we’d grab some breakfast at the park after seeing how long the line for the Boardwalk Bakery was. I don’t even know what they serve for breakfast at Epcot and never got to find out. The Food and Wine Festival had hijacked the Fountainview bakery so unless we wanted a nice Merlot, we were out of luck. Also, by this time it was about 10:30 or 11:00 (Ok, so we slept in. We had a long trip!) and I believe the Land Pavilion had stopped serving breakfast (or so said the CM at the door who told us we couldn’t bring in our stroller). Instead, we headed over to the Electric Umbrella and had cheeseburgers. Lesson learned: just wait in the darned line.

After “breakfast” (and I use that term loosely) we decided to peruse Future World. Since DH and I had been several times in the past and we were now wheeling a restless 1 year old around with us, we knew we weren’t going to be able to see and do everything. First up was Spaceship Earth. I can’t help loving this ride because it’s a fascinating look into…ok, fine. I have a little thing for Jeremy Irons. During our trip through the history of communication, DS fell asleep. I had read horror stories about lost or stolen strollers and CMs who make games out of stroller parking reorganization. Ours was right where we left it. Big sigh of relief

We walked through Innoventions East and West while DS was napping. Upon seeing the segway exhibit in I-West, DH freaked out. Woo-hoo! You can ride a segway for 2 minutes between 1pm and 7pm. It wasn’t yet 1pm so we continued on our way.

DS had woken up now and was in need of a new diaper and to stretch his legs. We found the Baby Care Center (well-hidden, by the way) and got him changed and let him play.

By now it was time for lunch. We had a quick meal at Cantina de San Angel and went inside to ride Rio del Tiempo. We made our way quickly around the lagoon and decided to go back to the resort to rest, then come back in the evening and do the World Showcase up right.

Yes, we forgot all about the segways.

After our brief rest, we walked back over to Epcot. As we’re trying to figure out where to eat dinner (we had cancelled our ADR at Garden Grill, deciding instead to eat Food and Wine Fest snacks as dinner), a smiling CM zips by on a segway. “The segways!” screams DH and he starts off full-tilt for Innoventions. It was a little before 6:30 when we left the hotel and I had no idea what time it was at this point. I took off running after him, pushing the stroller, panting (I’m out of shape), yelling “Wait! Wait!”, and mumbling apologies to the people I’m crashing into (I can fully appreciate the stroller haters now). After all that drama, we made it in on time and DH got in line while I stood off to the side with DS. DH and his group went in the little room for their segway debriefing when a CM came out and told me I could go too – DH and I could go last and switch off. After signing the release form, we waited for our turn. Riding a segway: really fun. Watching other people ride segways for 20 minutes while you wait for your turn, all the while trying to keep a bored toddler entertained: not fun. I took pictures but they didn’t come out.

I was jonesing for some pizza, so we headed over to Italy for a couple slices of sausage pizza then had chocolate gelato for dessert. (By the way, I don’t know if it matters to any of you, but we were not on any type of dining plan or anything.) We wandered around, watched a little of Starship featuring Mickey Thomas and the Japanese drummers, then I went to pick a pearl in Japan. The pearl is both DS’s and DH’s birthstone and I had it made into a pendant.

DS had enough

So we headed back for the night.

Part 2 coming soon!

 

[AshClan]

Your son is beautiful! Looking forward to the rest.........

 

[pigget74]

Your DS is to cute. Can't wait for more--as we are taking a 14mth old next month. Went when he was 8 mths, but a lot has changed since then as far as he goes

 

[Alice28]

Great start SL! Love the view from your room! Can't wait to read more!

 

[Sooze]

What a CUTIE PIE!!! I too will be bringing a toddler to Disney next fall (she'll be 18 mos) We took her at 6 months and she was a breeze... but I heard toddlers are harder.

Looking forward to hearing more! Your 1st TR is turning out great

 

[pumba]

sounds like you did just right by taking your time and going with the flow.....your little man is adorable .....thanks for taking the time to jot this stuff down and to tell us where and what you did....is the pizza from a wine place or was there an actual place to eat pizza/
Thanks

 

[zalansky]

Yes, it is a great start SL!!! I adore the pics of Lucas. He is so friggin' adorable! BTW, we were also unimpressed with ESPN, however, because my father-in-law paid, it didn't taste as bad as it would have if we had paid the bill.
Looking forward to the next installment!

 

[gottalovethem]

I can look at pics of Lucas all day!! He is adorable. How nice to be able to walk to Epcot. Call me ditzy, but what's a segway?

 

[vald1977]

Looking forward to the rest . We have always had good luck at ESPN. It could be because we always eat the same thing though . We always have burgers and nachos there.

 

[Strawberry Lemonade]

Thanks, everyone!

sounds like you did just right by taking your time and going with the flow.....your little man is adorable .....thanks for taking the time to jot this stuff down and to tell us where and what you did....is the pizza from a wine place or was there an actual place to eat pizza/
Thanks

The pizza is at the wine stand. There are other food items there too, but pizza is all we had so it's all I remember.

Call me ditzy, but what's a segway?

A segway is that two-wheeled scooter thing that you ride standing up. I know they offer a segway tour of the World Showcase as well as the demo at Innovations. I've also seen the security guards at my mall use them.

I too will be bringing a toddler to Disney next fall (she'll be 18 mos) We took her at 6 months and she was a breeze... but I heard toddlers are harder.

Can't wait for more--as we are taking a 14mth old next month. Went when he was 8 mths, but a lot has changed since then as far as he goes

I wish we had taken DS when he was an infant, but since we had gone earlier that year, it didn't work out. Taking a toddler was difficult, but I thought it was a lot of fun. At least we had him outnumbered.

I'll have the second part up soon.

 

[joats]

Thanks for sharing your trip report (Part I). Can't wait to read more. Lucas is such a cutie pie!! DH and I like the ESPN meals we have had so far but I always have gotten Nachos and DH the biggest most disgusting Hot Dog I have ever seen.
Looking forward to Part II!!

 

[lissawynn]

You're off to a great start SL! I can't wait to read more, especially about Lucas' first day in MK!

 

[swankybeth]

Great start! Your son is so cute, I love his smile and his big eyes.

 

[ReneeDisney]

Great Trip Report- can't wait to read more!

 

[meloneyb21]

Love it so far. Your DS is a DOLL! He is A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!

 

[T16GEM]

Hey SL! Great Trippie so far, I can't wait for the next part! Lucas is so cute I love the pic of him on the plane!

 

[Strawberry Lemonade]

Day 3:
We woke up bright and early for our breakfast with Pooh and friends at Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom. Anytime we were in the room, whether it was for a break from the parks or getting ready in the morning, DS would keep himself amused by playing with this:

No need to buy this kid expensive toys.

We boarded the bus to MK and were the only people on board, except a really nice couple from Massachusetts who were on their anniversary trip. We got into MK before it opened and enjoyed a leisurely walk down Main Street, waving to all the CMs there to greet us. I had made DS a t-shirt commemorating his first visit, which we saved for our first day at MK.

We checked in at Crystal Palace and were seated not too long after that. DH and I took turns going up to the buffet and during my turn, I missed Piglet visiting our table. DH reported that DS did not enjoy that visit. We ate and waited around a little bit, but no other characters came to our table. We could have gone up to see Tigger (he doesn’t go from table to table, you have to go see him) but since DS wasn’t too thrilled with Piglet, we decided to cut our losses and head out. One bad idea, excuse me, I mean ‘character meal’ down, 2 to go.

Our day was spent riding the rides. We went on Pirates of the Caribbean, It’s a Small World, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, and saw Mickey’s Philharmagic. DS was a trooper through all of it (with the exception of a mini-fit during Philharmagic) so we took him over to Pooh’s little play area to run around a little.

He also tried to steal balloons off other people’s strollers. We looked into buying one of those huge mylar balloons for him, but I’m cheap and they’re $6 so it didn’t happen.

For lunch, we were dying to try the infamous turkey legs. We got one to share, figuring if I didn’t like it (Wonder where my son got his poor eating habits? Good old Mommy!) DH would finish it. He eats anything. We sat down with our turkey leg, ready to chomp down despite it smelling oddly like ham. We each tried it and I’m pretty sure we both made the same “ew” face. Personally, I thought it tasted like corned beef. At least we can cross off “Try turkey leg” from our list of WDW to-do’s.

We headed out early and went back to our room to rest. That evening, we walked back over to Epcot (I LOVE staying at the Boardwalk!) and had another quick dinner: cheddar cheese soup from the Canada Food and Wine fest stand (DH loved it, I wasn’t impressed) and chicken strips at Electric Umbrella. Next up, we rode Journey into Imagination and had a little fun at the What If Labs. We checked out the line for Soarin’, but standby was too long and they had run out of Fastpasses. We strolled around the World Showcase again and headed back for the night, our last at the Boardwalk Inn. We first inquired about transferring our luggage to POFQ, which is where we would spend the remainder of our trip. As we entered the lobby, lo and behold, they were attaching balloons to the rope posts so we asked for one for DS.

He clutched that thing for the next 2 days.

Day 4:
This was our day at Animal Kingdom. I don’t know what it is about this park, but I just can’t get into it. We often skip it altogether but we thought DS would like the animals. We ate breakfast from the Boardwalk Bakery (the line wasn’t even all that long) and hopped on the bus.

At AK, we went straight for the Safari Fastpass, at which time DS fell asleep. We wandered around Africa for a little while and decided we’d have lunch, then take the Safari. We had lunch at Tusker House (the chicken sandwich gets a thumbs-up from me). DS was still sleeping. We took a look in a few shops. You guessed it:

When he woke up, he was hot, hungry, and grumpy so we found the Baby Care Center where we changed and fed him. DH and I decided to leave the park and forego the Safari. DS would never have sat for it. You can read about how our big plans to ride Expedition Everest fell apart later.

We took the Port Orleans bus to our new resort (French Quarter) and checked in. I like POFQ – as I mentioned, we had even stayed there before – but moving from a deluxe to a moderate is kind of a bummer. Not to mention, we ended up having a few issues with housekeeping (not emptying trash and a RUBBER GLOVE left on the shelf above our sinks, among other complaints).

Our only plan for the night was dinner at ‘Ohana. DS slept through the whole thing. I really enjoyed the dinner itself and we were at a table with a fantastic view of the Magic Kingdom. The potatoes are to die for! The only thing we weren’t thrilled with was our server. She was extremely neglectful. After dinner, we took the rest of the evening to explore the resort and walk to Riverside.

Day 5:
Breakfast at the food court…finally, a real Mickey waffle! Those sad, soggy little waffles at the buffet DON’T COUNT. After breakfast, we had no real plans until that evening, so we thought we’d go back over to Epcot with one mission in mind: to ride Soarin’. Neither of us had been on it before. We went for the Fastpasses straight away and went over to the Seas with Nemo and Friends (or whatever they’re calling themselves these days) to look at the fish. The Turtle Talk line was really long and the Nemo ride wasn’t yet open, so we just walked around looking at the sea life. DS really enjoyed that.

When our Fastpass time rolled around, we took turns on the ride using the baby swap. Since we never did it before, we weren’t sure how it worked. Basically, we went up with my Fastpass and they gave DH a return ticket (it was really a Fastpass with no time stamp on it). He waited while I rode, then he turned in his ticket and went in the Fastpass line himself. I’m not going to tell you how I thought the baby swap worked, but it involved a lot less waiting.

Believe it or not, the traveling and the one ride took most of our morning and afternoon, so we headed back to get ready for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. DS didn’t like his costume.

Before the party, we had ADRs at Chef Mickey’s. DS had a much better time at this character meal than the last. He was starting to warm up to the characters and would wave at them from across the room. He took a liking to Donald’s bill.

Off to the party. We pushed our way through throngs of people, confident that they were all leaving. Well, they weren’t. DS had ripped off his Mickey ears earlier so people kept telling us what a cute little bug he was. (I’ll give props to Minnie Mouse – she knew what he was even without the ears.) This is going to be short, because I didn’t like the party. They did go all out with decorating for Halloween, but there were wall-to-wall people, DS was too young to care what was happening (and fell asleep anyway), and I get disoriented at the MK at night. I know the last one was stupid, but it just added to my frustration. I’d go again only if DS was older and really wanted to. Never again for me. Yes, the party was my idea to begin with. DS did get to see the Little Einsteins (one of his favorite TV shows) so it wasn’t a total bust. He even let us take him up close.

We knew from our days at the Boardwalk that DS wasn’t fond of fireworks so we hightailed it out of there before they started.


The third (and final) part still to come...

 

[pumba]

I have sooo enjoyed your trip report. I too like French Quarter. We have stayed there numerous times as well as the Riverside part. But the location of the Boardwalk is it. Truly wonderful. Thanks again

 

[gottalovethem]

I'm imagining I'm there with you!

 

[vald1977]

Hi again,
We too had issues with the POFQ housekeeping . They didn't empty our trash, barely made the beds, never refilled our toiletries, etc. . What building were you in? I wonder if we had the same mousekeeper.

We also went in 2004 to the MVMCP and I wasn't too impressed. It was the enormous amount of people there that bothered me. I had this idea that the crowds would be light and that wasn't the case at all.

Looking forward to the rest of the report .