Doing WDW 7 Mos Pregnant & At A Snail's Pace - Just Returned Trip Report 3/25/11

[trickybug]

I apologize if I'm not posting this in the proper place...

We just returned from our first WDW trip yesterday, and I'm SO sad it's over. It was me (7 months pregnant), DH and DS4. Weather was in the 90's and humid. We arrived Friday early afternoon and left Tuesday morning.

My DH hates walking around in the heat, and I was very cautious, being pregnant, not to push myself too hard, so we took it very slow. We had a blast, but I was disappointed that we weren't able to do more. (I think I could have done more, but DH was worried about me and insisted on leaving when we left - those darn husbands!)

Upon arrival at the Contemporary on Friday, DS got his gigantic welcome basket that I ordered from Memories by Betsy. He loved it! She did a great job, it was mostly Toy Story items with a few pirates and Mickeys thrown in. Our theme park view room on the 11th floor was breathtaking, and I was so glad we splurged on it, because it allowed us to experience the fireworks every night even though we weren't in the park during evenings.

Once we were all freshened up and changed - oh, and we ordered room service pizza which was mediocre at best but got the job done -, we went over to Magic Kingdom. I wanted to accomplish DS's ultimate goal as soon as possible - meeting Buzz Lightyear. Fortunately, we got there at the perfect time. Buzz came out about 15 minutes after we got to Tomorrowland and got our Space Ranger Spin FP's, and the line to meet him was short. I managed to get a photo of the look on DS's face when Buzz came out, and it was simply priceless.

After meeting Buzz, we rode his ride, which DS LOVED of course!!! I thought it was sorta neat myself. That Fastpass sure came in handy, because the line otherwise looked long, and it was blazing hot outside (at least when you're coming from WI and 30 degree temps!)

By that time, we needed to head back to the Contemporary for our Chef Mickey's ADRs. Chef Mickey's was terrific! I wasn't expecting much culinary-wise, but I have to say that the food was really delicious! I especially loved the ribs, the chicken, and the Mickey domes. DH and DS agreed that it was very tasty. We had a 5:20 ADR and the restaurant wasn't packed, but not empty either - just right.

I wasn't sure how DS would react to the characters at WDW - he's kind of shy and I thought he might be scared since they are so much bigger than they appear on TV. He was really excited about Buzz earlier, but a little hesitant when he was up close with him. However, at Chef Mickey's, DS gave them all hugs and even prepped and handed his autograph book and pen to them all by himself. It was so cute! We met Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Pluto all in about an hour's time.

After dinner, we took the monorail around for a full loop to the TTC, Polynesian, Grand Floridian, and Magic Kingdom, and headed back to our room for showers and sleep. Oh, yes, and DH and I caught the fireworks. DS was sound asleep.

Will post next about Day Two - Saturday

 

[trickybug]

Day Two - Saturday - I had planned for a full day of Magic Kingdom. I really wanted to be up and at the gates by rope drop - but DH simply refused. Everyone was FINALLY ready by about 7:45, DH wanted to go downstairs to have the new breakfast buffet at the Wave. It was good, quick, and priced right ($19 adults, $13 kids I think?)

We arrived at Magic Kingdom via monorail about 8:45. Headed straight for Dumbo and got on with only a ten minute wait. It was already HOT and humid outside. After Dumbo, Pinocchio was out right next to his Village Haus, so met him. We grabbed Fastpasses for Pooh, and out also came surprise Fastpasses for Philharmagic, which was very neat.

Next, we asked DS what he would like to do. He wanted to meet Woody and Jessie, so off to Frontierland we went. We had about an hour and a half until Woody and Jessie were out, so we rode the little steam train around the Magic Kingdom. DS loved it, and it was a great way to cool off and rest.

I should also mention that we rented a stroller from Orlando Stroller Rentals for the duration of our trip, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. The stroller was ready and waiting when we arrived, it was clean, extremely easy to fold, and DS loved it. We would never think of using a stroller for him at home, but with the heat and all the walking - it was a real life saver.

Well..my photos are uploaded and ready to order..gotta run for now!

 

[soarinup]

Wonderful! Thank you for that report. I will be staying at CR and doing Chef Mickey too, so your report interested me.

 

[trickybug]

Thanks, soarinup! We LOVED LOVED LOVED both the Contemporary and Chef Mickey's. I see you have a son the same age as mine, you can't beat the convenience (and fun!) of simply hopping the monorail over to MK.

And, I had read so many so-so reviews about the food at Chef Mickey's, but we thought it was fabulous. My husband particularly raved about the carved turkey!

 

[trickybug]

Back to Day 2, after riding the steam train...

After we got off the train, we still had some time to meander before Woody and Jessie appeared at 11:00 am.

(I have to say, that even though we did not get to MK until about 45 minutes after rope drop, the crowd up until about 11:00 am was considerably smaller than that of the day before at 2:30 pm, and we were able to hop on Dumbo with maybe a ten minute wait and move around with ease. And, this was a day where crowds were predicted to be at least 9, if not 10)

Still in Frontierland, DS, who up until this time didn't even like riding tiny kiddie rides at the local carnival, notices Splash Mountain as we are walking by and tells DH he wants to ride it. We both laughed and DH asked him about five times if he was sure, as we watched people come roaring down, getting totally drenched. DS was super excited and insisted (keep in mind, he is only 4!) - so off they went to ride Splash Mountain. Of course me being pregnant, I couldn't, so I waited at the bottom to watch for them. I wasn't sure if I would see them on the ride, or see them walking back after DS changed his mind, but sure enough, after about ten minutes, there they were, coming down! DH looked terrified. DS looked like he was having a blast His response? Let's do that again!

This was about 10:15 am - DH said they only had a 5 minute wait. Later on, about 11:30, we walked by Splash Mountain again and it was a huge line with a 30-40 ish minute wait time posted.

After Splash Mountain, we sat down for a Mickey bar - absolutely yummy! Marveled at how close the birds and squirrels will get to you, especially if you have food. It was then time to get in line to meet Woody and Jessie. The sun was absolutely BLAZING hot. Again, so glad I had the canopied stroller for DS to escape the rays.

When Woody and Jessie came out, my DH asked the CM working the line "Don't they get hot in there?" - The CM looked at him like he was nuts. "Toys don't get hot. What do you mean?" He then looked at my son. "Your daddy must have gotten too much son today." Then some little boy piped up from behind us, "Yeah, toys don't get hot!" It was so funny.

DS loved Woody and Jessie and we got some nice Photopass pics here, as we did with Buzz the day before.

(A note on Photopass - we saw tons of photographers and they were at all the character meet and greets in the park, and scattered all over Main Street and near the castle. I wrestled with whether to preorder the CD, and ended up not doing so because DH isn't much of a picture guy and I knew we'd have to make every second count. We only had Photopass pics taken at Woody and Jessie, Buzz, and then a very beautiful scenic spot right along the walkway from Tomorrowland to the castle - produced a lovely family photo. Even though we had very few taken, it's still going to cost me just a smidge over $100 to order prints of the ones I really want.)

After Woody and Jessie, we meandered back towards Tomorrowland because DS wanted to ride Buzz again. We took our time, and walked very slowly. DS spotted a merchandise cart where a lady was using a bubble gun, and he was enthralled. We stopped so he could play in the bubbles she was blowing, and DH bought him one of his very own. I got some delightful photos of DS playing in the bubbles, and then trying his own out for the first time. Goes to show that the smallest, simplest things in WDW can yield the greatest happiness.

We bubble-d our way to Tomorrowland, with DS spraying forth bubbles from under his stroller canopy at everyone walking by.

By this time it was close to noon, and raging hot and humid. We got Buzz FP's and stopped at Cosmic Ray's for lunch. I was surprised at how big Cosmic Ray's is. It was jam packed, but the line moved very quickly and there were CMs to help you find a seat. I ordered the rotisserie chicken which came with green beans and mashed potatoes. DH got the ribs and DS got chicken nuggets. All the food was good, and a nice change from standard fast food.

After lunch, DH and DS rode Buzz again. I sat and waited for them. I was pretty warm and starting to feel worn down, so after the ride we went back to the Contemporary to cool off and rest. It was shortly after 1:00 pm at this point.

Day Two dinner at Crystal Palace coming up next....

 

[trickybug]

Day Two - after resting for the afternoon at our hotel, we made our way back over to MK for our 4:40 ADR at Crystal Palace. Extremely busy, but it's a beautiful place, and once again, we were pleasantly surprised at the quality and variety of food. It really was delicious! DS enjoyed meeting Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger. He found a button on the seat next to him and gave it to Eeyore as a present. Eeyore was so sweet, he clutched the button to his heart like someone just gave him the most precious thing in the world.

After dinner, I REALLY wanted to use those Pooh and Philarmagic FP's that we collected earlier in the day, but DH just wanted to go back to the hotel. So that's what we did. I guess it was for the best, DS was starting to look a little warm. They were both showered and sleeping before 8:30. I stayed up to watch the fireworks from our room.

Next - Day Three, morning at Hollywood Studios, afternoon at MK.

 

[trickybug]

Day Three - we woke up, got ready, and headed to Hollywood Studios for our 9:25 ADR at Hollywood and Vine.

Even though DS is a Toy Story fanatic, I decided to not even try for TSM FP's. It would have required us to be there at 8 am for the EMH opening, which was not happening easily with my sleepyhead family, and we only planned on spending the morning at HS, so our FP return time would likely have been much later. So, we just pretended TSM didn't even exist and no one was any the wiser.

Hollywood and Vine was fun. I chose it because DS loves Handy Manny and Special Agent Oso. The restaurant has a fun 50's feel, and the breakfast buffet was good (not great, but not bad by any means, I would eat there again). DS was so excited when we walked in and saw Handy Manny making the rounds, that he did this funny little skip-dance all the way to the bathroom. He had a great time getting his autograph book and pen ready for Handy Manny, Special Agent Oso, Leo and June. Word of caution on the character meals - your child may likely be so distracted that he/she won't eat enough to fill their tummy, thus being hungry ten minutes after leaving. This was our case today.

After breakfast, we headed over to get in line for the new Disney Jr show. DS loves Disney Jr and especially Jake and the Neverland Pirates, so this show was a must do for us. The line was long, but there doesn't seem to be a bad seat in the house. We all sat down on the floor (we were in the second row on the left hand side). The show was maybe 25 minutes long, and extremely cute, DS was thrilled! At one point bubbles came floating down from the ceiling, I can't remember exactly when, and then at the end of the Jake and the Neverland Pirates segment, tissue paper "gold doubloons" showered down. There was also confetti at the end for Minnie's birthday party. It was a lot of fun and definitely worth seeing if your child is a fan of Disney Jr.

After the show, I wanted to explore HS at a leisurely pace, maybe find some characters, but DH was hot and uncomfortable so we made our way back to the buses. (Rats!!) We did stop at a few places to look for the extremely rare bubble-gun refills. Everyone was sold out of them. Finally at the kiosk located at the HS entrance, we found 7 refills and bought them all. We made our way back to the Contemporary via bus. I was worried that the bus system would be complicated and hard to figure out, but it was a piece of cake. We never waited more than 7 minutes or so for a bus to anywhere.

We rested for an hour or two at the hotel and then made our way to MK again. DS really wanted to ride one of the ferry boats that go back and forth across Bay Lake, so we hopped on after taking the monorail over to MK. He loved it, and after the boat ride we went into MK.

We asked DS again what he wanted to do next - "Ride Buzz Lightyear again!" - so we got FP's for our third spin on Buzz. Then we went back over to Main St and ate at Casey's Corner. Boy, that REALLY hit the spot! I had a chili cheese dog and let me tell you, I could have had three of them, they were so good! Great place, I can't wait to eat there again.

After Casey's Corner, we strolled very leisurely back over to Buzz's ride. It was so nice just to take in all the sights. We caught the stage show in front of Cinderella's castle at least twice during our visit without even knowing when it stopped and started. It was extremely hard to miss, they have everything elevated off the ground and very easy to see.

We rode Buzz and then back over to Main Street again, it was 2:45 and nearly time for the afternoon parade. It was pretty crowded, but we found a great spot right off the circle at the other end of the castle, DS and I sat on the curb, in the shade. What a magical parade! So many characters, and almost all the ones walking came up to DS to wave or high-five. It was truly wonderful. He was especially excited to see Captain Hook and Smee.

After the parade, we grabbed a bucket of popcorn and went back to the Contemporary for the night.

Next - Day Four - our last day - and it POURED all day - such a bummer

 

[trickybug]

Day Four - our last day at WDW and we awoke to pouring rain and gusty winds. I had planned for at least the morning (K. Safari, Rafiki's Planet Watch) and lunch (Flame Tree) at Animal Kingdom, so we ate downstairs at the Wave's breakfast buffet (pretty good!) and then attempted to stick to our plan even with the horrible weather.

We loaded the bus for Animal Kingdom and the windshield wipers couldn't even keep up with the rain. Not a good sign. Dressed in ponchos and armed with the stroller, we got off the bus at AK only to see streams of people exiting the gates and making a dash for the buses. Totally depressing. We got off the bus and right back in line for the bus back to the hotel. Some people who'd been in the park that morning told us that most things, including the food stands, were shut down due to the weather.

Back at the hotel, I was so terribly sad. DH actually seemed a little bummed. DS could have cared less, he was happily playing with his bubble gun and all the toys from his welcome basket. I sat rather unhappily for awhile and then attempted to find a fun place to have lunch that was on the monorail system and not far away. No luck.

DS and I went down to the Contempo Cafe and ordered lunch to bring back up. We bought a refillable mug pretty much just for the fun of it. Fortunately, CC food was quite good - DS fell in love with the carrot cake.

We spent the afternoon checking the weather in vain, watching Disney Channel and playing. I tried to get a last minute reservation at Chef Mickey's but, as I expected, they were jam packed. So we made reservations at the Wave for dinner, just to get out and do SOMETHING. I wasn't that impressed, the menu is not that large and nothing really appealed to me. I ordered the pork tenderloin which came with a little bread pudding muffin-thingy and a smidge of warm spinach salad. On the bright side, DS loved his Buzz punch drink, which came with a light up Buzz on a clip. The whole dinner was very unremarkable. For over $100, I would have much rather at ate Chef Mickey's again.

After dinner, I tried to rouse the troops at the Contemporary's arcade. It was stuffed to the max with other people looking for indoors entertainment also. We were fortunate to find DS's favorite game, with semi trucks and a long chute that you try and dump your tokens into the trucks. We spent a couple hours and a good $50 in the arcade. It was still raining and windy. Blech.

After we left the arcade it was after 9:00 pm. We went back to our room, looked out the balcony, and finally the rain had stopped. I would have been all for heading to MK for two hours, but DS was tired and DH wanted no part, so we cleaned up and got jammies on for bed. Boo. They did have the fireworks that night, and DS and I stayed up to watch them. He was pretty entertained by them, and I was at least glad to see that much on our last day.

The next morning we packed up and headed to the airport. It was the hardest vacation I have ever had to leave, especially with losing that last day.

At least, however, we have something to look forward to - DH actually called his brother to ask him if they wanted to bring their family down with ours in spring 2013 - our yet to be born baby will be a year and a half. I definitely want to stay at the Contemporary again (or maybe the Polynesian?), and I can tell you that Animal Kingdom will be first on our list, unless we get drawn in by the castle right away - we really loved MK.

Now to find something to occupy my planning time until then.......