Confessions of a Disney Convert: A March 2017 Trip

[ChaseTheWind]

Hello! I have spent most of my short time here on the boards lurking about, enjoying the chance to read everyone's well planned and even more wonderfully lived trips to the most magical place on Earth. In some ways I'm hoping to show my gratitude for the favor you didn't even know you paid me by sharing my story in return.

When I began planning this trip I really had no interest in this being a particularly special destination: even though I have a few fond memories of the trips I took there as a child, those memories mostly centered on being with my family. I was the odd combination of tomboy and fraidy-cat, which meant I cared for neither princesses nor roller coasters. I did care about the books I read on the long car rides down from Illinois, about who I'd have to share a bed with once we arrived at the hotel, and how often I could get a Mickey ice cream bar. I had no special attachment to this hot place in the middle of Florida.

Even the planning of this particular trip was punctuated with more than a bit of reluctance on my part. My mother and father in law are frequent visitors to Disney, and when our daughter R was born 3 years ago, I knew it was only a matter of time before we made the trip. I started off insisting she should be at least 5 before we visited, as I didn't want to "waste money" on "something she'd never remember." (Anybody ever heard that one before?!?)

But then.

R caught a virus.

The Disney Princess Obsession Virus (DPOV), to be exact. Living with a person suffering from DPOV, as some of you may know, is filled with challenges. I had no previous familiarity with its symptoms: repeated demands to watch Frozen, a keen need to don the simultaneously very beautiful and ridiculously itchy poofy Belle dress at all hours of the day, bouts of shouting "the Merida song! The Merida song! I want to listen to the Merida song!" upon entering any vehicle. Before long we had the movies, we had the dresses, we had the placemats and soundtracks and comforter sets. But you may well know that the only surefire cure for DPOV is a trip to Orlando. I couldn't let my little one suffer any longer: we needed that cure!

Evidence of another symptom of DPOV: the hugging and hoarding of all princess related toys:

So here we are, having just returned from a five day early spring break trip to R's happy place, and now, I can fully admit, my happy place too. "We" includes me - I'm happy to go by my name, Allison, my husband, B, my daughter, R (3). Here she is squeezing the life out of our necks after her first sighting of the castle.

The trip also included my mother- and father-in-law (K and D). It was so wonderful to have them along. Having eight hands to wrangle the kid felt like an absolute privilege. They were a big reason for my state of happiness throughout the trip.

Sharing our story way is of course a selfish way to prolong the trip for me, but I do hope that it's also one way of seeing through the eyes of someone who was prepared to be disappointed, to be let down, and who instead found joy at every turn of the trip. I hope that you find it interesting!

 

[ChaseTheWind]

Post 1: Travel Day!

Though with the help of this board I began planning back in August, securing resort, dining, and FP reservations, we officially began our countdown with R about 25 days in advance, which meant that R's poor daycare teachers suffered through the countdown as well. R clearly and carefully (and repeatedly) informed them of her plans to "ride the horsey ride," to "tell Gaston not to be so mean," and to meet Rapunzel. Spoiler alert: we covered 2/3 of those bases. Stick with me to find out which ones we accomplished!

Our plans also included the following:
Sunday: travel, check in, relax and explore the resort
Monday: Magic Kingdom
Tuesday: DHS
Wednesday: Ohana breakfast with Lilo and Stitch, swimming, Disney Springs
Thursday: a second day at Magic Kingdom, BOG lunch reservations
Friday: make the sad trip home

As you might be able to guess from our plans, I was hesitant to overdo it with trips to lots of different parks (to say nothing of park hopping). I wanted R to get the most out of the Magic Kingdom, and I wanted myself not to be exhausted and cranky. Overall, I'm very happy with how much we accomplished and even more in awe of those of you who manage to do/see more.

We woke up bright and early on Sunday morning. R was positively vibrating with excitement. It's about a 2 hour drive to Dulles from our home, so we got on the road at about 7:30, arrived at the airport at 9:30, passed through very short security lines and managed to get a quick bite to eat before we got onto our Southwest flight to MCO.

R took the window seat and excitedly watched episodes of Elena of Avalor I had downloaded the night before. The jokey Southwest flight attendants are such a comfort to this fraidy cat flyer: upon landing, one announced, "We hope you fly with us again because no one loves you . . . or your money like Southwest!" In the beat before the flight attendant could add "or your money," R got a concerned look on her face and belted out, "No one loves you? EVERYBODY loves you!" which got a few giggles from the other passengers. Before we knew it, we were landing in sunny Orlando! We made our way to the Magical Express, where we encountered a decent sized crowd. We were still clearly in good spirits, though - we made it!

We waited about 15 minutes before boarding a bus traveling exclusively to the Art of Animation, and we were on our way!

Next up: our home for the next five days: Art of Animation!

 

[TEAMJACOB]

Following along. Hope you had a magical time. Your daughter is adorable. Enjoy the time and memories with her. They go by so quick.

 

[Wood Nymph]

We love going to WDW with our grandchildren. I bet all of you had a great time.

 

[dvc at last !]

The beginning of a great trip report - give us more !

 

[Mjtsmami]

You're daughter is adorable! We don't have to deal with the princess virus here...but we have the Rebel Virus...my boys are counting down the days to fight the Dark Side, so I can feel your pain.

 

[Araminta18]

Following! We must live in the same area; Dulles is my airport too.

Glad you enjoyed it more than you expected to--excited to read all about it.

 

[minoh]

Following along! We just returned home tonight from our week in WDW and I'm looking forward to reading along with your report

 

[ChaseTheWind]

Following along. Hope you had a magical time. Your daughter is adorable. Enjoy the time and memories with her. They go by so quick.

Oh, don't I know it! I keep wondering what happened to my precious newborn! Disney made the feeling of time flying all the more apparent, not least because we did so much flying through time with Peter Pan!

We love going to WDW with our grandchildren. I bet all of you had a great time.

It really was a wonderful trip for the whole family.

The beginning of a great trip report - give us more !

Thanks for reading along!

You're daughter is adorable! We don't have to deal with the princess virus here...but we have the Rebel Virus...my boys are counting down the days to fight the Dark Side, so I can feel your pain.

After visiting DHS, my daughter is starting to show early warning signs of that one, too - I've heard it's a bad one!

Following! We must live in the same area; Dulles is my airport too.

Glad you enjoyed it more than you expected to--excited to read all about it.

Home is Harrisonburg for us! Good to know there's a neighbor here!

Following along! We just returned home tonight from our week in WDW and I'm looking forward to reading along with your report

Oh, I hope you had as much fun as we did!

 

[ChaseTheWind]

Post 2: Arriving at the Art of Animation

Back when we booked our trip, we were torn between AoA, POR, and CBR. B and his parents had stayed at both POR and CBR in the past, and wanting to make this a unique experience for all of us, I decided on AoA. It didn't hurt that the Little Mermaid was the current obsession in our house, so the idea of staying in a room with seashells for headboards and Ariel's grotto in the bathtub was just too much to pass up.

B's parents ultimately decided they wanted to stay at the Poly for the first few nights and then make a transfer to our resort on Wednesday. This gave us access to a much closer room if we needed it for a midday break, and it also gave us time for us to be a little family of three as well as a great big happy family of five at different times in the day. This was important to me because we live hundreds of miles from our families, and we spend most of our vacation time traveling back home to see them. This would be our first trip as a family that didn't involve "going home," and I wanted some of the memories we made to be about us, just us.

When the bus pulled into the resort, I got a fluttery feeling in my stomach. In the days leading up to the trip, I had been prepared for this day to go wrong in so many ways. I was sure we'd have a nightmare in airport security or at the gate (once, on a previous trip where I was on my own with R, she took off running toward a secured area and had to be rescued by a baggage handler just inches away from an alarm system that would have shut down an entire terminal at Dulles). Not so. I was sure we'd be delayed on our flight or that R would be antsy or grumpy flying in the middle of naptime. Not so. I thought maybe our magic bands would malfunction, that the bus ride would be interminable, that our reservation would be lost. Of course, not so! The fluttery feeling I was having was complete excitement, but also relaxation. We were where we were supposed to be, with all the time in the world to enjoy every last detail.

As we exited the bus K and D stepped out from behind a pillar and surprised R, who didn't know they'd be joining us on the trip! Hugs and squeals were exchanged, and they took her inside to explore the lobby while I got us checked in (I had done online check in but unfortunately my credit card had expired since booking the trip and I couldn't get the reservation online to accept the new expiration date). They took in these great sketches:

I got our room assignment, in building 7 of the Little Mermaid section, and off we headed in that direction.

Again, I was prepared by posts here and elsewhere for a looooong walk to our room. I was pleasantly surprised (a theme for this trip if there ever was one) by how short the walk turned out to be compared to my expectations! Plus, wandering through the Lion King section was such a treat! Here's R and K goofing around in the boneyard on our way to our room:

R loved seeing Simba and "Scarf," her lion friends, every morning and evening. But the main attraction was, of course, the Little Mermaid section. Hold on for a bunch of pictures now!

So our room was in the Ursula building:

R loved her fingernails!

R also loved seeing King Triton every day, too.

After dropping our carryon bags in the room, we set out for a stroll around the rest of the property, walking along the water and counting the bowling pins at Pop Century. When we reached the Nemo section, R insisted on trying out the little playground while I snapped a few more shots of the great exterior theming in the area.

We took a quick tour of the Cars section, but R has not been super interested in the first movie (and I *loathed* the second one), so we didn't linger too long. The pool looks adorable, though! Although it was a bit on the early side, we were all a little hungry, so we headed inside to get a bite to eat at Landscape of Flavors.

That is, until we passed the arcade. R is a sucker for driving games, and the beauty of this - at least for now - is that she doesn't care if there's money in the game or not. She just wants to press the buttons and steer (which is why the only tantrum she had on the whole trip happened after we got off the Tomorrowland Speedway). So she pushed buttons and steered for a bit, discovered the photo booth and dragged us into it, and finally announced she was ready to eat. Thank goodness because I was starving!

And yet another moment when my hesitancy about Disney reared its head: fully prepared to find the food inedible, I walked into the cafeteria, took a breath, and ordered a chicken burger. B had a turkey sandwich, and R had a kid's pizza with apple slices. D had a salad, and K had some sort of burger. The food was . . . good! Not a bite left on any of our plates, with plenty of room for gelato, which is what we had next. Well, everyone but me. I had a turtle brownie.

Scratch that. I inhaled a turtle brownie. It was delicious. I shared with no one. It was delightful.

After dinner, D and K headed back to the Poly with plans to meet bright and early at the Magic Kingdom. We traipsed back to our room and opened the door hoping to see our luggage, but it was not meant to be. We waited another hour or so before the bags arrived, and another hour after that for my package from Amazon Pantry with a few breakfast staples and bottled water to arrive. Meanwhile we got cozy in our pjs, watched lots of cartoons, and talked excitedly about plans for the next day.

Once our items arrived, we turned in very early. R, who is a notoriously bad sleeper (has been since the day she was born), was out like a light by 8:00 or so, and by 9:00 even the two of us adults hit the pillows. I had lucked out with my own bed as R had requested Daddy share a bed with her the first night, and I luxuriated in the space! Soon we were all dreaming, and no one stirred until my alarm went off at 6:00 am, shooting me straight out bed and into the beginning of our day at MK!

 

[Araminta18]

What a fantastic arrival! I'm so glad it all went so well for you.

 

[Backstage_Gal]

Great report so far, love your writing style and looking forward to more

 

[KnK]

Following along.

 

[nvsnot]

I'm in!

 

[ChaseTheWind]

Post 3: Morning at Magic Kingdom!

It didn't take long for us to be up and dressed on this morning; even B, who is a habitual late sleeper, was ready to go a bit before seven. We ate cereal bars in our room and double checked the backpack I'd packed the night before: a change of clothes for the mostly potty trained kiddo, ponchos in the event of rain, a few snacks, and two water bottles. It was a bit chilly this morning, so it was pants under the Minnie Mouse dress for R and sweaters over the Minnie and Mickey shirts for the grownups, and we were out the door.

We cut through the parking lot to get to the bus stop (I knew R would want to greet and converse with the Lion King statues at length, so I thought it best to skip it!), and we waited in the long MK line. I initially worried that it would take forever to get on a bus, but once I realized that close to a third of the line was made up of double wide strollers, the inner third grader in me stopped shrieking, "We'll NEVER get there! NEVER!" I think we got on the second bus to come through while we waited, which felt lucky. R and I spotted the castle in the distance at the same time, and we chattered excitedly about being almost there. The lines were quick at bag check and at the tapstiles, and we met up with D and K who had taken the ferry over.

Once inside, we moseyed toward the castle and got as close as we could. I'd say it was about 8:30 by that time, and the crowds slowly filled in behind us. R didn't quite understand what we were waiting for!

But at 8:55 on the dot she was jolted to attention by the beginning of the Welcome Show. We have never seen a different welcome show, so comparisons would be impossible. For these first timers, the show was adorable and sweet and filled with excitement for this particular 3 year old. Here's what we saw:

MICKEY!!!

As the show ended we waited to be allowed to follow the crowd through the castle, and then we headed to R's first ride ever: Peter Pan! Already the posted wait was 30 minutes, but we moved through the adorable queue in about 15. I had no idea how R would react to the ride - to being in the air, in the dark, and so on - but she loved every moment, even as she squeezed Daddy's arm super tight at the sight of Captain Hook.

Next up was R's choice - she probably would have done this first if we hadn't coaxed her into Peter Pan first - the carousel, of course. I can not adequately put into words how filled I am with happiness at the sight of this joy on her face. R is a pretty easy-going kid, very loving and sweet, but also showing signs of a feisty threenager who has already perfected the art of the well-timed eyeroll. So the fun of this day for me was simply delighting in her unabashed happiness. It was absolutely contagious.

After we hopped off the horseys, we walked onto It's a Small World, or "the boat with the dollies," as it came to be called. Upon exiting this ride, R made an immediate friend out of another little girl, the two of them holding hands as we walked toward the Rapunzel toilets for a needed break. How easy friendship is when you're 3!

By now it was time for our first FP of the day: meeting Rapunzel and Tiana! Note that's 2/3 bases covered as promised above! R turned shy with shock upon setting eyes on Rapunzel, her most favorite princess of the moment. She compared her pink shoes to R's, which got a little giggle out of her.

And Tiana was so attentive, talking to R about frogs while R tried to maintain her composure. As a decidedly non-princessy type, I was so impressed with the care and dedication these young women put into making a magical moment for my kid. They were kind and thoughtful and gave my daughter the sweetest experiences.

Now it was on to lunch. I should note that it was not quite 11:00 yet, but that was part of my plan. I got a few sidelong looks from the other adults in my party when I suggested we eat, but when we walked into Columbia Harbor House, had no wait to order, and a quite empty upstairs area to eat in, I think they were glad for my suggestion (demand?). I am an absolute bear when I am hungry, even more so when I have to wait in line for food/search for a table/clean a dirty table before I can eat. Plus, R's typical school schedule involves an early lunch, so I knew she'd be ready to eat. Eating so early seemed like a logical choice to keep mama and baby happy. Thus, lobster rolls were polished off by all of the adults, and chicken nuggets were consumed by the little one. I learned about this restaurant from the boards, so I must say thank you so very much for a tasty suggestion!

Next up: an afternoon with Ariel, Belle, and the Festival of Fantasy parade!

 

[ChaseTheWind]

What a fantastic arrival! I'm so glad it all went so well for you.

Thank you! I'm seriously still in awe of how smoothly this entire trip went. It will be hard for any future trip to live up to!

 

[ChaseTheWind]

Following along.

I'm in!

Welcome, welcome! Thanks for reading!

 

[Glam]

Great report. Your pics are wonderful- you can see her joy! I love it

 

[balty74]

Love your photos, can't wait to see more!!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Following along! R is just adorable! Can't wait to read about the rest of your magical trip.