*COMPLETE* "You know he won't remember!" - 9 wk old baby's 1st visit to the World!

[TheMaxRebo]

first, best of luck with the house hunting/buying!

Thats pretty funny with the huge order of green beans and then getting mad when your dad couldn't finish them all!

Wow, Luke really does look mesmerized by Fantasmic! Like you said, he won't remember it, but you totally will!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

All caught up!
Wow, you definitely took advantage of the low crowds at F&W! All the ones you chose look delicious!
The photos of Luke watching Fantasmic are so cute : he is such a happy baby, especially through the fireworks!

We definitely took advantage of the low crowds for F&W! We wouldn't have been able to try half as any booths during peak hours!

Thank you for the compliments on Luke.

 

[DisneyParkLover]

What a great night at DHS!! How sweet that Luke enjoyed Fantasmic so much.

It was a magical moment for sure!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

first, best of luck with the house hunting/buying!

Thank you! It is a crazy process.

Thats pretty funny with the huge order of green beans and then getting mad when your dad couldn't finish them all!

It was hysterical! Some people may not enjoy getting "picked on" but we had a good time!

Wow, Luke really does look mesmerized by Fantasmic! Like you said, he won't remember it, but you totally will!

He watched the whole show in awe. It was so cute to watch his amazement!

 

[Dugette]

I really need to get to 50's Prime Time some day...looks so fun (and tasty)!

Glad that Luke enjoyed Fantasmic so much! So fun to watch the little ones' reactions to all the magic!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

I really need to get to 50's Prime Time some day...looks so fun (and tasty)!

We really had a good time. It isn't one I would go back to specifically for the food (although everything was very good, just nothing special), but I would go back for the experience alone.

Glad that Luke enjoyed Fantasmic so much! So fun to watch the little ones' reactions to all the magic!

He really enjoyed it. There was nothing I can think of on our trip that he seemed to be afraid of or that he really didn't like. Most things he didn't really seem to care one way or the other. But there are things he definitely enjoyed and got something out of and those are some of my favorite moments. As I've mentioned, this trip was never about him. I mean, it kind of was, because it was a celebration of all the wonderful things that were going on in our lives of which he was the most wonderful! I guess I should say the trip wasn't FOR him. We never expected him to get anything out of it, so what enjoyment he did get was just a plus!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Sorry again for the length of time between updates! I am really going to have to move things along...especially since I will have another trip report to do come November!! That's right, we are going back to the World!! I couldn't pass up the opportunity to go at a time when free dining overlaps Food and Wine and overlaps the Christmas decorations/party. Our 5th anniversary is this fall, and we had originally planned to take a trip just the two of us, but we didn't want to leave Luke for that long when he is still so little. So as a compromise, my parents are coming with us and are going to be our babysitters so we can have an anniversary evening just the two of us.

But back to this trip for now!

We got up early this morning because we had somewhere important to be! I was very excited about our plans, because had a reservation at Crystal Palace before park opening. I don't know if I was more excited about seeing the characters or photos on an empty Main Street! In honor of the occasion, we got Luke dressed in his Winnie the Pooh finest.






We all got going and on our way quickly so we wouldn't be late (a small bit of foreshadowing here ). Our reservation was at 8:20 for a 9 a.m. park opening. We arrived at the MK parking lot well before 8 and headed over to the TTC. We got there and the ferry had not started to run. Which wouldn't have been a problem except both monorails were down! For a few minutes, we just stood there dumbfounded until we could finally find someone who directed us to the bus stop. We took a seat expecting a bus to be along shortly (you would think they would have extra if all other modes of transport are down, wouldn't you?). Bus after bus came for all the other parks, but nothing for MK. Finally, a bus came after about 30 minutes. By then, a huge crowd had formed (we were the first ones at the bus stop) and when the bus pulled up it was chaos with people pushing and shoving to get on. Even as the first ones there, we barely made it onto the bus as I didn't want to get in the middle of all that with the baby. We managed to get on (and someone did let me sit, although I believe both the guys had to stand). At this point, we may have just made it if they went straight to MK. But of course, they didn't. I realized at this point we would be late, so I called Disney dining to ask what to do. The lady on the phone was not nice at all, and all she said was "if you are 15 minutes late you will lose your reservation". And the bus stopped at EVERY stop. We sat at each resort stop for over 10 minutes, even though nobody wanted off and we couldn't have squeezed anyone else on if we tried. I was so sad and frustrated at this point, but we finally got to MK shortly before park opening. I knew at this point we had lost our reservation, so we decided to at least take advantage of the empty Main Street. We took several Photopass pictures.


















So at least I had achieved one of my two goals - we got lots of nice pictures on a nearly empty Main Street. I was happy, even though I knew I may not get to have breakfast with my favorite characters. So we walked over to Crystal Palace to see if they could work us back in. And they said, "Sure, no problem! We'll get you right in!" We had just enough time for a few photos before they called us back.









Only about 5 or 10 minutes and we were headed in to dine with the Hundred Acre Wood gang!

To be continued....

 

[Dugette]

Yay on another trip!

Gosh, what a terrible experience getting to the MK! And that non-helpful CM on the phone to top off all the transportation problems.

However, I'm glad you managed to achieve both of your objectives anyway! And nice pictures!

Looking forward to seeing how your meal and character meets went!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Yay on another trip!

Gosh, what a terrible experience getting to the MK! And that non-helpful CM on the phone to top off all the transportation problems.

However, I'm glad you managed to achieve both of your objectives anyway! And nice pictures!

Looking forward to seeing how your meal and character meets went!

In the end it didn't matter since we managed to get in anyway, but on the trip there it was pretty stressful and there was just nothing I could do. I would definitely love to hear if you have any hints or tips for our next trip, since Luke will be about the same age Izzy was on your trip!

 

[SmallWorld71]

In the end it didn't matter since we managed to get in anyway, but on the trip there it was pretty stressful and there was just nothing I could do. I would definitely love to hear if you have any hints or tips for our next trip, since Luke will be about the same age Izzy was on your trip!

Chiming in to say that I am loving your trip report!

If you have to get to MK real early again, I would suggest one of two things:
1) Take the bus from your resort if you are staying on-site
2) If # 1 isn't doable, drive to the Contemporary, pay to valet park for the day and then just walk over

 

[Dugette]

In the end it didn't matter since we managed to get in anyway, but on the trip there it was pretty stressful and there was just nothing I could do. I would definitely love to hear if you have any hints or tips for our next trip, since Luke will be about the same age Izzy was on your trip!

Hmmm, I'm sure I have plenty of tips, but I don't know where to start. I guess the big thing is to expect everything to take longer than you anticipate, as he'll probably be wanting to wander around and explore. I'm sure every kid is different, but Izzy didn't care for shows and much preferred being on rides. If he'll nap in his stroller, that's a great time to do the coasters or roam World Showcase. If there's specific things you're thinking about, just let me know. I thought it was a really great age to go to WDW, by the way!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

We were seated and I couldn't contain my excitement waiting to meet the characters! I can pretend this was for Luke, but let's be honest, this was all for me. Pooh and his friends have always been some of my favorite Disney characters (along with Dumbo) and I was like a kid on Christmas morning waiting to meet them. But we had a few minutes before they came around, so we went up to the buffet to get some food. Here are a couple of our plates (I don't know who they belonged to).





You can some of what we sampled, but more importantly I had my first tastes of puffed French toast and Mickey waffles! The verdict: . I thought the Mickey waffles were very good, but the puffed French toast was excellent. They also had an omelet station which I believe my dad tried. I would have liked to order one, but I didn't want to risk missing a character!

Soon enough they started coming around. We got to meet Eeyore (he's my mom's favorite).








You can see in that last one that Luke seemed fascinated by the characters. He wasn't entirely sure what they were, so he just kept watching them. We also visited with Tigger.








I believe we met Piglet last and I remember that by the time we got to him, Luke was no longer interested in meeting characters. So we just snapped a quick shot with him.




Pooh wasn't the last to come around, but I saved the photos for last since he's my main man.






Actually, based on the photos it appears that we saw the tubby little cubby first, since Luke is still asleep in the carrier. After we had seen all the characters, we headed out into the park. Overall, I really enjoy this breakfast. It was nice to meet the characters without standing in line and I enjoyed getting into the park before opening. The food was nothing special, but it was good. Luke was too little to really be scared of characters on this trip, but we will have to see how it goes next time!

After breakfast we headed over to Tomorrowland. We enjoyed a relaxing spin on the PeopleMover.






After that, we took turns riding Space Mountain.






Next stop was New Fantasyland, but not before taking a couple pictures of a sweet, happy baby!







Continued in next post!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

When we got to New Fantasyland, the Little Mermaid was down, so we headed over to ride Dumbo! All my favorite characters in one morning! They wouldn't let Luke stay in the carrier, we had to take him out and sit him in between us. I'm sure there is a reason, but this seemed really odd as he was much more secure in the carrier. I didn't mind, though, as it made for much better pictures.










Luke seemed to have a good time on this ride. He would smile when the Dumbo went up and down, so we just did that the whole ride! After Dumbo, we headed back and rode the Little Mermaid. I thought it was a neat ride, very nicely done. Next we got in line for Enchanted Tales with Belle. Unfortunately, even though the line was shaded, it was just too hot. We waited until the next group went in and we could tell that there were at least 2 more groups ahead of us so we got out of line. We stopped and took a couple pictures.






Luke was due to eat, so we headed over to Mickey's Philharmagic. A show had just went in, but we were first in line for the next show. I don't know if something had went wrong, though, because we waited and waited and waited. It was probably 30 minutes before we went in. In that amount of time, Luke had gotten frustrated with waiting and was fussy. When we sat down, the gentleman in front of us turned around and said something along the lines of "you better get him quiet before the show starts". I wanted to explain that as soon as the lights went down I was going to nurse him and he would be happy as a clam. But I felt uncomfortable staying after he said something, so I just took Luke out and found a place outside to nurse while my parents stayed and watched the show. With Luke fed, we decided we were all hungry too. We decided to head over to Columbia Harbor House and enjoy some lunch.








DH and I both got the fried shimp with the seasonal cobbler (it was peach on this day). My mom got the lobster roll and my dad got the grilled salmon. They both said they couldn't eat dessert. Not wanting any free food to go to waste, I had them order yogurt which I packed up to take back to the room. After this we decided to split up. My parents wanted to stay in the parks until our dinner reservation, while DH and I thought it best to get Luke out of the midday heat. So we headed back to POR and agreed to meet them at Epcot that evening.


Next update: another meal with M and her family!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

congrats on having another trip booked! Free dining during F&WF is great as you can use the snack credits on F&WF booth items. Oh, and Date Night at Disney World is pretty darn good too

That's, um, kinda ridiculous about the transportation situation that morning. I get the need to minimize the time the monorails are running due to maintenance, etc., but if the whole design is set up to take people from the TTC to the MK by either monorail or ferry, one of the two should be running!

Glad it worked out in the end though and you were able to get into CP

That is kind of odd that at Dumbo Luke had to come out of the carrier. Only thing I can think of is that the carrier is up higher and thus, maybe, above the edge of the elephant car? If so might be a standard rule that all kids must be below that or something - but definitely seemed odd in your specific situation.

And bummer about that rude guy in front of you in line at Philharmagic. I mean, who could have expected a fussy child at Disney World! Seriously, the Magic Kingdom would be great if they could just get rid of all the darn kids!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Chiming in to say that I am loving your trip report!

If you have to get to MK real early again, I would suggest one of two things:
1) Take the bus from your resort if you are staying on-site
2) If # 1 isn't doable, drive to the Contemporary, pay to valet park for the day and then just walk over

Thanks for the suggestions! We usually drive to the parks because we have so much stuff with the stroller and everything. Plus, I don't want to have to try to stand and hold him if the bus is full. But maybe we need to re-evaluate if we have an early day at MK.

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Hmmm, I'm sure I have plenty of tips, but I don't know where to start. I guess the big thing is to expect everything to take longer than you anticipate, as he'll probably be wanting to wander around and explore. I'm sure every kid is different, but Izzy didn't care for shows and much preferred being on rides. If he'll nap in his stroller, that's a great time to do the coasters or roam World Showcase. If there's specific things you're thinking about, just let me know. I thought it was a really great age to go to WDW, by the way!

I'm not even sure what I want to know. I already learned about going slow on the last trip! But any tips on things you brought that were helpful, how you entertained her at meals, any rides/shows that scared her, etc. This is a whole different ball game, since in our last trip he was content to just be held all the time and now he wants to get into everything!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

congrats on having another trip booked! Free dining during F&WF is great as you can use the snack credits on F&WF booth items. Oh, and Date Night at Disney World is pretty darn good too

That's, um, kinda ridiculous about the transportation situation that morning. I get the need to minimize the time the monorails are running due to maintenance, etc., but if the whole design is set up to take people from the TTC to the MK by either monorail or ferry, one of the two should be running!

Glad it worked out in the end though and you were able to get into CP

That is kind of odd that at Dumbo Luke had to come out of the carrier. Only thing I can think of is that the carrier is up higher and thus, maybe, above the edge of the elephant car? If so might be a standard rule that all kids must be below that or something - but definitely seemed odd in your specific situation.

And bummer about that rude guy in front of you in line at Philharmagic. I mean, who could have expected a fussy child at Disney World! Seriously, the Magic Kingdom would be great if they could just get rid of all the darn kids!

We are definitely excited about another trip! It was a bummer about Philharmagic. The thing is, I would have been courteous enough to take him out anyway if the nursing hadn't calmed him down, but the comments made me feel like I had to leave even though my mommy instincts told me he would have been fine.

 

[Dugette]

I'm not even sure what I want to know. I already learned about going slow on the last trip! But any tips on things you brought that were helpful, how you entertained her at meals, any rides/shows that scared her, etc. This is a whole different ball game, since in our last trip he was content to just be held all the time and now he wants to get into everything!

Let's see here:

*Helpful things: Pacigrip and Sippigrip (keep pacifier and cups from getting lost), munchkin snack cups and cheerios/goldfish/etc., sticky placemats for meals, Thermos straw sippy (actually, forgot to bring to WDW, but love it), Zoli straw sippy, take and toss sippies for water and utensils for meals, individual wet ones wipes, Buckle Toy for transportation/mealtime amusement, food pouches to supplement table food at meals, bumpkins toddler and/or long-sleeved bibs, dish brush/sample dish soap for cleaning baby meal items each night, individual serving packages of snacks (puffs, etc.), favorite sleep/comfort items (teddy/blankie), inflatable nursing pillow (if needed), probably some other stuff I'm forgetting. All nice things to have for us, but every kid is different.

*Biggest thing at meals was a constant flow of new things, spread out throughout the mealtime. Crayons, food, drink, more food, utensils, munchies, etc. Another important thing is trying to have meals well-timed so that he isn't overly tired or hungry. She was generally in a good mood. She was still throwing a lot of things on the floor at that age and doesn't anymore, so hopefully he won't be too much maintenance during meals.

*To be honest, I don't remember any rides or shows scaring her. Of course, we did avoid some things that I'd heard are known for scaring little ones (i.e. Tough to be a Bug, Stitch's Great Escape, etc.) My understanding is that they are typically too young at this age to be scared by things like the Haunted Mansion, but a few years down the road, they may be. I found that to be true. It didn't phase her at all. She was pretty easy to please, but got antsy in shows. Rides she was great for, though. She loved the dark rides.

If you have any other questions, let me know. Happy Mother's Day!

 

[DisneyPride072308]

Just joining in! Your trip sounds like it was so much fun so far. I've seen folks with babies in the parks and wondered how they did it. Even with the leaking diapers, you all seemed to manage it well..

On another note: Oh my goodness Luke Is such an ADORABLE baby! I've been joking with my partner that we need to have a baby but haven't been serious about it. This cutie pie really makes me want to have a little one!!!

I'm finally caught up so can't wait to hear more about your trip

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Just joining in! Your trip sounds like it was so much fun so far. I've seen folks with babies in the parks and wondered how they did it. Even with the leaking diapers, you all seemed to manage it well..

On another note: Oh my goodness Luke Is such an ADORABLE baby! I've been joking with my partner that we need to have a baby but haven't been serious about it. This cutie pie really makes me want to have a little one!!!

I'm finally caught up so can't wait to hear more about your trip

Thanks, we think he's pretty adorable too!. He was such a good baby on that trip - he really made it easy on us. I think it will be a lot harder this fall. I will try to add more this weekend - I don't have much free timid during the work week.

ETA: I vote you go for it on the baby thing. All I can say is - you will never regret it!