First, I want to say thank you to EVERYONE on here that helped me plan my trip. I don't get to go but once every 4 years or so, so this site has helped me out quite a lot!
First things first. We had a 6am flight, so we had to leave our house by 415 at the latest. Well our daughter wasn't feeling good the night before and ended up throwing up around 10pm. Then she tossed and turned until after midnight. It wasn't a great start to things needless to say.
We got there last Monday, just before 1 in the afternoon. Checked into our resort and went straight to Epcot. For getting there in the afternoon, it really wasn't too bad. Rode spaceship Earth, Nemo, and Frozen. SE is still a nice little ride break the ice. Nemo is a cute ride that my daughter loved. Frozen, I have to admit, I had no idea what to expect. I really don't like the movie all that much and I"m not a huge fan that my daughter is just now getting into it. BUT, I have to admit that I really enjoyed the ride. It was really cute, well done, and the visuals were great. That was a great treat.
That night we went to Teppen Edo. Not the best experience I've had at a steakhouse like that, but it was fun and the food was good. Our dinner was at 6pm and our daughter was really tired by this point. Luckily she ate well and wasn't too cranky!
Tuesday we went to Magic Kingdom, and I have to say, I was shocked by how crowded it was. I was expecting lower crowds, but it was packed. I've heard many times that January is one of the slower months, but I"m pretty sure most of South America was in Disney World last week. It is what it is, and it wasn't horrible it made it hard to do things. We also learned that we needed to come up with a plan and stick with it. Tuesday we tried to wing it too much and we went all over the place and wasted time. A good learning experience.
That night, we ate at Crystal Palace, and again we were pretty disappointed. 520 reservation, and we didn't get to meet our first character until 620, and then about another 15-20 to meet the rest of the characters. By that time our daughter was getting whiny about not getting to meet them and just having to sit around and wait since we were done with dinner. Also, the food was very meh. It was a disappointing night there, but it happens.
Wednesday, we went to AK. It was a fun park and my daughter loved all of the animals. There was more to do there than I expected, but we were done with everything by 1. That's kind of what I expected, and that's ok. It provided a good spot for a nap. EE is still a great ride, lots of fun and Dinosaur was more fun than I remembered. We went to Tusker House for dinner and we had a much better time there. The food was good and the characters were very interactive.
Overall, a good day!
Thursday we went to Hollywood studios, and I love this park. I got to ride all of the major rides (TSM, RR, TT, and SW) multiple times and they are all a blast. The great movie ride was a nice way to relax and take a break from things.
For lunch, we went to Sci Fi, and we had a blast there. My daughter got chosen to be the Jr Chef for lunch and she ate it up! She loved the hat, meeting people, and of course the free ice cream. The food was great, the service was really good, and the atmosphere was great!
I'm a huge Star Wars nerd so I ate up the March of the First Order, the meet and greets, the shows, and everything else. I think Disney has done a great job incorporating SW into Hollywood studios.
Again, it was a great day!
Friday we went to Epcot and, we had a great time. We got to explore more time time in the world showcase and take our time to just enjoy things. My daughter got to meet all of the characters there and had a great time with that.
The art festival was very underwhelming. just over priced art tents set up. It was nice to look at them and talk to the people, but over all, very underwhelming. But by no means did it take away from anything.
For dinner, we went to Biergarten. It was a lot of fun, great atmosphere, good food, and my daughter LOVED dancing. I'm not sure if I would go back, but I'm glad that I was able to go. It was worth it.
That night the wife and I went to Disney after hours, and I have to say, it was well worth the price. It was walk on for everything we wanted to do. 7DMR I think we rode 4 times, Space Mountain I rode 5 times, and there were others as well. Plus the food and drinks included made it well worth it.
I have to add though, 7 Dwarfs was VERY underwhelming. At least compared to the wait times that are usually posted for it. I think we said that 30-40 minutes is long enough for that ride. Hard to believe that it's 2 hours at times.
Saturday, we were back at the Magic Kingdom and I actually thought the crowds, before noon, weren't bad. We got to focus more on my daughter and what she wanted to do. We ate at CHH (good food, very good lobster roll) and then went back to rest. When we came back, we watched the parade (loved it) and got to do a little more things that my daughter loved.
For dinner that night, we went to 1900 Park Fare. I can not express enough how much we loved it there. The characters were good, the food was very good, but the service and staff made it the best place we went to. Our waiter (Dave) was always one step ahead of things we needed, the man that greeted us went out of his way to come over and talk to us and even brought my daughter a cup of gummy bears to take home with her, and even the bus man played hide and seek with my daughter. Everyone was so nice and went out of their way for us, it really meant a lot and was a great place to eat at.
Sunday we checked out, and went back to Magic Kingdom for a few hours. Sadly the weather yesterday was cool (mid 50s) and rainy in the morning. We used that time to meet some characters and ride some smaller rides. I'm lucky enough to get to ride Dumbo one last time before we had to leave. That was the perfect ride for her and I to end things on.
We stayed at the Art of Animation resort, at the Lion King Suite. It was a nice place, a little better than what I was expecting (since I've never stayed at a value resort before) and we really didn't have many complaints. The only thing I really didn't like was the fact the pillows were very soft. Not a huge deal and other than that it was a pretty nice place. If I had to stay there again I would, but I'll likely stick with moderate resorts.
I have to say that this trip went better than I expected and today has been a hard day not being there. Our daughter didn't have any problems with characters at all, and in fact would run right up to them and hugged them all. That alone, seeing her so happy to meet them, made the trip worth it. She LOVES Toy Story, and she got all dressed up in a Jessie shirt and bows in her hair on the day we went to Hollywood Studios........seeing Buzz and Woody react when they saw her dressed up brought a huge smile to my face.
Today has been a little hard knowing that we sadly, and likely won't be there again for a few years. There's just other things that we have planned coming up that are expensive and that my wife is pregnant, going to Disney with a really young one just doesn't seem fun to either of us. All day my daughter has been going around saying she wants to go to Disney World and see Buzz&Woody again. It's too bad that she doesn't understand the concept of a vacation yet.
With that said, if given the option, I would do that vacation all over again. It really is the most magical place on Earth and having a daughter now just makes it so much better. I'm going to miss it, but we have about 600 pictures to remember it by. Thank you, again, to everyone on this site who has helped me plan. It all really means a lot to me.
First things first. We had a 6am flight, so we had to leave our house by 415 at the latest. Well our daughter wasn't feeling good the night before and ended up throwing up around 10pm. Then she tossed and turned until after midnight. It wasn't a great start to things needless to say.
We got there last Monday, just before 1 in the afternoon. Checked into our resort and went straight to Epcot. For getting there in the afternoon, it really wasn't too bad. Rode spaceship Earth, Nemo, and Frozen. SE is still a nice little ride break the ice. Nemo is a cute ride that my daughter loved. Frozen, I have to admit, I had no idea what to expect. I really don't like the movie all that much and I"m not a huge fan that my daughter is just now getting into it. BUT, I have to admit that I really enjoyed the ride. It was really cute, well done, and the visuals were great. That was a great treat.
That night we went to Teppen Edo. Not the best experience I've had at a steakhouse like that, but it was fun and the food was good. Our dinner was at 6pm and our daughter was really tired by this point. Luckily she ate well and wasn't too cranky!
Tuesday we went to Magic Kingdom, and I have to say, I was shocked by how crowded it was. I was expecting lower crowds, but it was packed. I've heard many times that January is one of the slower months, but I"m pretty sure most of South America was in Disney World last week. It is what it is, and it wasn't horrible it made it hard to do things. We also learned that we needed to come up with a plan and stick with it. Tuesday we tried to wing it too much and we went all over the place and wasted time. A good learning experience.
That night, we ate at Crystal Palace, and again we were pretty disappointed. 520 reservation, and we didn't get to meet our first character until 620, and then about another 15-20 to meet the rest of the characters. By that time our daughter was getting whiny about not getting to meet them and just having to sit around and wait since we were done with dinner. Also, the food was very meh. It was a disappointing night there, but it happens.
Wednesday, we went to AK. It was a fun park and my daughter loved all of the animals. There was more to do there than I expected, but we were done with everything by 1. That's kind of what I expected, and that's ok. It provided a good spot for a nap. EE is still a great ride, lots of fun and Dinosaur was more fun than I remembered. We went to Tusker House for dinner and we had a much better time there. The food was good and the characters were very interactive.
Overall, a good day!
Thursday we went to Hollywood studios, and I love this park. I got to ride all of the major rides (TSM, RR, TT, and SW) multiple times and they are all a blast. The great movie ride was a nice way to relax and take a break from things.
For lunch, we went to Sci Fi, and we had a blast there. My daughter got chosen to be the Jr Chef for lunch and she ate it up! She loved the hat, meeting people, and of course the free ice cream. The food was great, the service was really good, and the atmosphere was great!
I'm a huge Star Wars nerd so I ate up the March of the First Order, the meet and greets, the shows, and everything else. I think Disney has done a great job incorporating SW into Hollywood studios.
Again, it was a great day!
Friday we went to Epcot and, we had a great time. We got to explore more time time in the world showcase and take our time to just enjoy things. My daughter got to meet all of the characters there and had a great time with that.
The art festival was very underwhelming. just over priced art tents set up. It was nice to look at them and talk to the people, but over all, very underwhelming. But by no means did it take away from anything.
For dinner, we went to Biergarten. It was a lot of fun, great atmosphere, good food, and my daughter LOVED dancing. I'm not sure if I would go back, but I'm glad that I was able to go. It was worth it.
That night the wife and I went to Disney after hours, and I have to say, it was well worth the price. It was walk on for everything we wanted to do. 7DMR I think we rode 4 times, Space Mountain I rode 5 times, and there were others as well. Plus the food and drinks included made it well worth it.
I have to add though, 7 Dwarfs was VERY underwhelming. At least compared to the wait times that are usually posted for it. I think we said that 30-40 minutes is long enough for that ride. Hard to believe that it's 2 hours at times.
Saturday, we were back at the Magic Kingdom and I actually thought the crowds, before noon, weren't bad. We got to focus more on my daughter and what she wanted to do. We ate at CHH (good food, very good lobster roll) and then went back to rest. When we came back, we watched the parade (loved it) and got to do a little more things that my daughter loved.
For dinner that night, we went to 1900 Park Fare. I can not express enough how much we loved it there. The characters were good, the food was very good, but the service and staff made it the best place we went to. Our waiter (Dave) was always one step ahead of things we needed, the man that greeted us went out of his way to come over and talk to us and even brought my daughter a cup of gummy bears to take home with her, and even the bus man played hide and seek with my daughter. Everyone was so nice and went out of their way for us, it really meant a lot and was a great place to eat at.
Sunday we checked out, and went back to Magic Kingdom for a few hours. Sadly the weather yesterday was cool (mid 50s) and rainy in the morning. We used that time to meet some characters and ride some smaller rides. I'm lucky enough to get to ride Dumbo one last time before we had to leave. That was the perfect ride for her and I to end things on.
We stayed at the Art of Animation resort, at the Lion King Suite. It was a nice place, a little better than what I was expecting (since I've never stayed at a value resort before) and we really didn't have many complaints. The only thing I really didn't like was the fact the pillows were very soft. Not a huge deal and other than that it was a pretty nice place. If I had to stay there again I would, but I'll likely stick with moderate resorts.
I have to say that this trip went better than I expected and today has been a hard day not being there. Our daughter didn't have any problems with characters at all, and in fact would run right up to them and hugged them all. That alone, seeing her so happy to meet them, made the trip worth it. She LOVES Toy Story, and she got all dressed up in a Jessie shirt and bows in her hair on the day we went to Hollywood Studios........seeing Buzz and Woody react when they saw her dressed up brought a huge smile to my face.
Today has been a little hard knowing that we sadly, and likely won't be there again for a few years. There's just other things that we have planned coming up that are expensive and that my wife is pregnant, going to Disney with a really young one just doesn't seem fun to either of us. All day my daughter has been going around saying she wants to go to Disney World and see Buzz&Woody again. It's too bad that she doesn't understand the concept of a vacation yet.
With that said, if given the option, I would do that vacation all over again. It really is the most magical place on Earth and having a daughter now just makes it so much better. I'm going to miss it, but we have about 600 pictures to remember it by. Thank you, again, to everyone on this site who has helped me plan. It all really means a lot to me.
And love the idea of riding space mtn so many times!!!
