DS's First trip to WDW and My First Trip Report** Days 3 & 4 and Pics Added **

[tmasingo]

Ok, so I've been lurking on the Trip Reports board for awhile and love to hear about everyone's trips We're headed back in a few days and I was thinking I'd write a trip report. But since work is sporadic at the moment and I've got some downtime, I'm excited about our upcoming trip, and we weren't there too long ago, I figured I'd write one for that trip first.

So here goes....it was the end of March, so a little late in the reporting, but not too far off.

The Cast:

Me: Tara, more often referred to as Mommy. 31 year old divorced mom of Domenic.

DS: Domenic. Smart, cunning 3 year old with huge brown eyes that he knows how to use to get him just about anything. He was just under 3 at the time of the trip.

DBF: Craig, (crcormier to the DIS. He's got a couple of his own trip reports out there). Lover of Disney and on whom I depended to lead us on this trip.

(A little detour for background here....Craig and I "met" about 2 years ago, shortly after I separated from my ex. I say "met" because we knew each other in High School. Different grades, lost touch a bit over the years, he heard through the grapevine about my situation and being the nice person he is, despite a 15 year lack of contact, wrote to see how I and my son, whom he'd never met, were doing. The rest is history, but that's a totally different report )

Also good to note here....he treats DS with a love and respect I thought I'd only dream of finding for him

Auntie Tiff: My sister. 7 years my junior and in a PhD program in Los Angeles. Spoiler of Master Domenic, especially since she only sees him a few times a year. He eats that up

The premise...

I want to take DS to Disney World. Simple as that Craig has been numerous times. Last time I went was in 99. On my honeymoon. We won't go there.

Last summer we went to CA to visit Auntie Tiff. The whole family, my parents, my brother, Domenic and me. We spent 1 day at Disneyland. One. Actually, 1/2 because we went to CA Adventure too. It wasn't enough. Domenic met Mickey and I was in love. I soooo wanted to take him to WDW for a real vacation with the mouse.

Fast forward to last fall. Craig is planning his second December solo trip. I was green with envy. I wanted to go. Bad. So, we start discussing a spring trip for the three of us. I'm excited. We're both busy at work, but every couple of days I inevitably ask that imminent question "Sooo, think about when we could go yet " This goes on for a few weeks. Finally the day comes when it's decided. March. We can go in March I run to work the next day and ask...is there anything going on in March I need to be here for?!? No? Yippee!!! I'm going to WDW

Hmmmm....but when in March? So now the questioning begins again. We go a little while. I don't remember how long. One day at work....the instant message comes....that one I've been waiting for.....the trip is booked!!! We're going March 26-30. YAY!!!

(sidenote....Craig is a DVC member, so part of the waiting was to see how many points he had and where we could use them)

Ok, so now we've got dates and where. Old Key West. We could've had Wilderness Lodge also, but he's never been to OKW and would like to try there. They're his points. He's taking us. Sure, I'll stay wherever you want

Next up....Time to Start Planning or How much can we cram into 5 days?

 

[pumba]

that is so exciting.....just plan and hope and then GOOOOOOOO.....your little man is adorable

 

[scanne]

YOu totally hooked me!

Your little side note about Craig and the love he shows your little boy brought tears to my eyes. So sweet.


I'm subscribing because I want to hear MORE!

Thanks for sharing!!!

 

[tmasingo]

Thanks scanne and pumba It's a bit daunting after reading some of these great reports, to write one, but I'll give it my best

Part 2

Where was I? Oh yes. It was about December and we'd decided we were going the last week of March and we knew we were staying at OKW. So, now onto the planning

Craig headed to WDW the 2nd week of December for a solo trip. As I said before, I was extremely jealous. BUT, now I knew I'd be going back with him in March, so it wasn't quite so bad. Good thing, too, because green just isn't my color So anyway, he's at WDW and I'm home planning for our trip. What to do, where to go? Oh my goodness. It's been SEVEN years since I was last there. A lifetime. I feel so Disney-dumb compared to him He is a Disney fanatic and amazes me with the knowledge he has.

So, It's time to start Disney-fying my son. Now, it's not that he hadn't been introduced to Disney or that he didn't know what it's about. He does. He's had some interaction (Disneyland) and with Craig around, there's no missing out! And, at this time, Domenic was obsessed with Toy Story. Seriously. Obsessed is the only word for it. I don't know where he saw or heard about it first, but one day he was talking about Woody and Buzz and I was sitting there going I knew what movie he was talking about but had no clue where this sudden fascination came from. So, I borrowed the movie from Craig (who of course, had it and Toy Story 2). We watched that movie. Oh, we watched it a LOT. We watched it non-stop. It was breakfast, lunch and dinner for Domenic. I was amazed at the mesmerizing power this movie had over him. He would literally sit and watch the whole thing. Once. Twice. Three times a day if I let him.

We decided maybe it was time to introduce some new Disney movies, so that the only people he knew weren't the gang from Al's Toy Barn. Hmmm, what movie to start with Oh! I know Let's show him Dumbo. That way, he'll be familiar with a ride, too, not just some characters. Yeah. Great idea! (Remember this for later, that I, the mother of this child who is persistent and impatient first showed him this movie) Ok so we watch Dumbo. Not real interested in the movie, but when we tell him it's a ride he will go on at Disney, he's in! So now, as we prepare him for Disney, this becomes a running question. "What ride do you want to ride first when we get to Disney, Domenic?" "Dumbo!" Yeah. Really. I'm not that smart sometimes

Dumbo is down and we start in on some more. Monsters, Inc. Yep, he likes that one. Ok, so we've got some characters covered at MGM Hmm, what else? Oh, yeah, let's show him A Bug's Life. Animal Kingdom down. Check Ok, we're doing good here. He knows all the main attractions, Mickey, Goofy, Pluto, Donald (this is Craig's favorite...no getting around knowing him ) and now we've got some extras thrown in. Ok, we're good. Domenic is sufficiently Disney-fied, at least for his first trip

Now, onto what else we're going to do. Character dining? A must We'd eaten supper at Goofy's kitchen at DL last summer and loved, loved, LOVED it. Yep, definitely a character meal or two. We booked breakfast with Pooh at Crystal Palace (The BEST fried french toast! I would've eaten there for breakfast every day we were there....and am sooo sad we haven't booked it for our upcoming trip. It was fantastic ) and we booked Donald's Breakfastasaurus at AK. Ok, so two ADR's. Not bad. I had originally thought that we really didn't want to make a ton of them (why? I have no clue. I just did) and figured that would do. But then it seemed like we had all this other time for dining which we would end up eating junk. So ok, back to checking out food. We don't want to do ALL character meals. What else? Craig suggested HDDR for Domenic, since my main concern at all meals was that it be an environment he'd do well in and hold his interest for a fair amount of time. So yes, HDDR sounds great. A table for 3? Yes, they have one. We decided for the night we arrived to kick off the trip (This will have been a not so great idea once we actually get there. Not terrible, just not the best planning given our travel schedule).

We have 3 dining reservations down. We're there 5 days, afterall....may as well check into some more Ok, so let's eat at Epcot twice. Yeah, sounds good. (At this point I'm in high gear planning mode. You know...commando I'm dreaming up this great trip where we will do ALL this stuff and have all these fantastic memories. This is not to say this didn't happen, and certainly my expectations didn't exceed the outcome that much. Actually, they were pretty on target. But I WAS afraid I might be setting myself up for disappointment in trying to plan the "perfect" vacation.) Craig continuously pulled me down out of the clouds to point out that we were traveling with an almost 3 year old, and that plans could change at any time while we're there. Hmmm, guess I'd better jump back into parent mode so as to not let him out-parent me here, lol.

We did make the two Epcot ADR's. Germany and Morrocco. So now we've got a good deal of ADR's set. But wait, let's add just one more. We set up lunch for the 50's Primetime for our MGM day. Ok, that's enough. We're set for food.

A schedule. We need a schedule. At least Ms. organized, obsessive-compulsive, needs to have control of the situation does. (That would be moi )So we sit down and Mr. almost as organized computer-guy sets up a spreadsheet in Excel to keep track of ADR's, where we want to go, when, etc. We even had naps for Domenic in there. I felt like a Disney guru at this point (or at least a computer programmer's girlfriend). We were cruising. We've made our reservations, we've got a "plan." Now what do we do? WAIT?! Uggggggggggggggghhhhhh!!

Next up: We're going to WDW for WHAT?!

 

[3princesses+aprince]

I can't wait to read more

 

[tmasingo]

Part 3:

Ok, so we're waiting. And waiting. Yep. Waiting some more. Even Christmas can't divert the excitement of an upcoming trip to WDW (Ok, well maybe just a little bit )

(Note: Some of the planning in Part 2 was actually in this post Christmas time frame. I am going back a bit here )

So, Christmas comes and DBF gives me my gift. A Disney calendar, which I've asked for There's something else. A book. The 2006 Unofficial Guide to WDW. Cool! But wait, what's that? Stuck inside the pages? Is that a park pass? It IS! OMG, he's bought me my park pass And what's that other card? A WDW gift card? I can shop? Oh, this is way too much! But wait, what are all these papers? Itineraries? Holy Moly! He's given me my entire trip to WDW for Christmas Including airfare For both me and Domenic I protest the enormous generosity of the gift. No, I'm told. It's what he wanted to give me. He told me it's my first time taking DS to WDW and he doesn't want me to have to be worrying the whole time about what I'm spending. So I'm responsible for my food and souvenirs. That's it. Have I mentioned he's the best?!?!

Ok, so planning is in full force (see part 2...sorry, I said this was a digression) and we're pumped to go. So when, you ask, does Auntie Tiff come into the picture? Well, that would be now.

My sister lives in CA and is enrolled in a Masters/PhD program. She calls up mom and dad and says she's thinking of coming home at the end of March. The week Domenic and I are going to be in WDW. Yeah, that doesn't sit well. How can she come home and not see him. (This is her question, not mine) So, she thinks about postponing and coming at a later date. Craig muses "Why don't you see if she wants to join us at WDW?" Ooooh, great idea! We've got a one bedroom suite. We REALLY want to go to Jellyrolls (This is Craig's favorite night spot and I've never been) one night and I wasn't keen on leaving Domenic with a babysitting service. Yeah, this works out great So on the phone I get and ask her if she'd like to join us. She thinks about it for a bit, works out some details, and decides YES! She's in. Woo Hoo!! An extra set of hands. This is going to be great!

Uh oh, though. We've got all of these ADR's made for 3 people Ok, no problem. I'll just get on the phone and try to change them. We're still over a month away from the trip. Should be fine, right? Wrong. Well, not really....I was able to change everything but HDDR. By now they only have tables for 2. Well, I'm sad. I'm NOT separating and sending Domenic with my sister and not being able to watch him experience it, nor am I wanting to have to sit alone with him and not experience it with my sister and Craig. I'm being difficult. Yes, I know, but it's our FIRST night. I do not want to have to separate for our first night! So we start checking into other possibilities. Whispering Canyon Cafe? Yeah, sure, but no ressies until after 7pm. That won't work, as we've realized several DIS friends will be at WDW at the same time we are and have plans to all meet up at MK that night for Wishes and Spectro. Nope, can't do that. After many phone calls we decide on Tony's at MK. It'll work out well. Early ressie, right there at MK for our mini-meet, sure. That's good.......................but I'm still glum. I SO wanted to go to HDDR, now that I'd been told about it. Craig tries calling one more time. They say we can get 2 tables for 2 and they'll put them together. Hmmm, when I called the first time and asked to do this I was told no. I question him. Are you SURE they can do it? Yes, he says. Positive? Yes, that's what they told me. You explained to them that I'd already been told we couldn't? Exasperation sets in. Yes, he did. He's sure. It's all good. Ok, then, I'll take your word for it

Ok, so ressies are all changed. The excitement builds. Many phone calls are made between CA and MA, discussing what we'll do and how much fun we'll have. We keep encouraging Domenic with all things Disney. It's so exciting, I think, he's going to have such a great time with all the rides and characters and Auntie Tiffy there. "Domenic," I ask one day "What is the first thing you want to do when we get to Disney World?!" I wait in eager anticipation to hear what piece of Disney magic he wants first. I wait. I wonder. I finally get my answer. What does he want to do first? Get a lollipop. A LOLLIPOP! A piece of candy we can get anywhere, not have to travel over 1300 miles and spend thousands of dollars to get. So from now until the time we leave, all this child says he wants when he gets to Disney World is a piece of candy. That's going to be one expensive piece of sugar

Next up: Departure Day

 

[KathyRN137]

The planning is half the fun!
Enjoying!

Kathy

 

[tmasingo]

The planning is half the fun!
Enjoying!

Kathy

I agree! We're leaving on Sunday for a quick 4th of July trip there and just booked it all about a month ago. I'm sooooo not ready to go yet. I mean, I'm ready, but the planning just kind of went poof! with that little time to do it I just now found my shorts I wanted to take

I see you're headed to OKW in November. March was the first time I stayed there (had only stayed at POFQ before that) and that's where we're headed this weekend also. It's lovely

 

[tmasingo]

Part 4

Ok, so we've been planning for months. It seems like years. The weekend is finally here. We're leaving on a Sunday. Ugh. That means we have to get through Saturday first. Ok, we can do this. (For the record, I think I'm more of a little kid when it comes to waiting for things than Domenic ) We've got a birthday party for a friend's child that day. Good way to keep busy. The day comes to an end. We stayed late at the party, so heading home we really just need to eat dinner and then head to bed. Our flight leaves bright and early on this crisp March Sunday at 7AM!!! Given how far the airport is, that means we're getting up by 3 at the latest. Why even sleep But we do. After last minute packing and putting all the bags by the door for quick car loading, we head to bed. Domenic and I are staying at Craig's house because it's closer to the airport and it saves me from having to get no sleep at all, pretty much.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beeeeeeeep. We're up! Really! Geez, 3am comes early! We take our showers and get the final packing done. Toiletries and such, all in bags, we're ready to load the car.

Car is loaded. Next up, wake the prince. Now, he's not one for being risen from sleep. He's a crab. (I dread the teenage years). So I'm not sure how well this will go. But, he knows we're headed to WDW today. "Domenic, sweetie, time to wake up. We need to go get on the airplane so we can go see Mickeyyyyyy." Big smile I don't even think his eyes were open I had packed his clothes in his diaper bag and figured we'd just get him dressed at the airport. I figured he'd sleep on the way so why bother trying to get him dressed just to move him from the bed to the car. Anyway Totally stayed awake the hour drive to the airport. I was about to pass out I was so tired

We arrive at the airport and Craig pulls up to SW Airlines drop-off. We check our luggage curbside (he's already checked us in the night before online) and he leaves me with our carry-ons and Domenic in the stroller. He parks the car and comes back with the carseat in tow. We're ready. Let's find our gate Ok, so we're about an hour and 1/2 before boarding. What to do? I grab a coffee and some donuts for us. We find our gate. We sit. We wait. It's early. Domenic's been woken from sleep. He is getting antsy and he doesn't want to waiiiiiiiit. Sigh. If this is a precursor (it was) of what it's going to be like in line for attractions, this could be a long 5 days.

Craig walks away to go do something. Domenic has a meltdown. Craig comes back and he stops crying finally. We sit and wait some more. I need to use the restroom. I come back and Domenic's melting again. Oh boy, can it just be time to board already? We wait some more

Ok, there's a plane! It's here. We're in the preboarding area. We wait some more. I look around. "Uh, Craig, I think we're in the wrong spot."
Over to our left is a line of about 10 people (half of them kiddies) waiting to board. We ask the attendant. Yep, we're in the wrong spot Domenic's getting antsy. I take him to go look at the plane, which is sitting out there just begging for us to board it. It's a side view. You can see half he plane. My son, my smart, precocious, almost 3 year old son, looks at it, looks at me, and says for everyone to hear "But Mommy, where is the other wing" Laughter from all around as I motor my kid to see the tail end of the plane to show him that there IS another wing and we will NOT be in harms way.

More whining. More waiting. Finally! Time to board. We get on the plane and get decent seats not too far back. We stow everything away and wait for take-off. This is not Domenic's first time flying, so I am not worried about how he'll react. In fact, I'm pretty much banking on him falling asleep during if not just after take-off. I should've placed that bet. We're in the air. He watches a few minutes of some Donald Duck cartoons on Craig's ipod. He's fading..........ahhhhh, the angelic look of a child dreaming of landing at Disney Craig and I settle in and relax for the next 2.5 hours. It's almost here....at last we're on our way. But crap! I never did pick up that darned lollipop to give him

Next up: We're here! Bring on the lollipops and balloons.

 

[TLinden16]

I met Craig a while back. He is a great guy. And what a gift he gave you for Christmas. I can't wait to hear about your adventures in the park. I hope Craig liked the adjustment from all of his solo trips.

Thanks for posting.

 

[tmasingo]

Our flight was uneventful. It was non-stop. No problems. Domenic slept almost the whole way

When we landed (about 20 minutes early, actually ), we headed straight to baggage claim and waited for the luggage. I honestly don't remember how long we waited, but I don't think it was that long We grabbed it and headed to the rental car counter. Craig, knowing that transportation is sometimes slow, prefers to have a car if possible. So, he's in line for that and Domenic and I are hanging out waiting for both him and Auntie Tiff. When she'd booked her flight, she was able to find one which landed just about 20 minutes after ours, which was perfect. While Craig was in what seemed to me to be the longest rental car line ever (and I have worked for a car rental company, so I know how long it normally takes) Auntie Tiff calls and says she's just getting off her plane. We tell her where we are and wait.

I spot her before Domenic does He has his back to her. He knows she's coming, but I don't think the entire situation has really sunk into his little brain yet. So she catches my eye and tells me to not say anything. She comes up behind him and spins him around and all you can hear throughout the immediate area is "Tiffffffyyyyyyyyy!!!" He's excited, to say the least About that time, Craig walks away from the counter with the keys to the rental car. We head outside and find the car, all the while listening to Domenic and Auntie Tiff chatter away, laughter filling the car. Ahhh, I think, this is going to be one great week

Off we head towards WDW. Domenic has already asked if we're "at Disney," when we landed. We tell him no, we still have to drive there. So we drive the 30 minutes excitedly pointing out the signs to Domenic and saying "we're almost there!!" We discuss what we're going to do and all the new things that are there since last time we've been (well, Tiff and I, anyway). I hadn't packed any diapers in the name of saving space, so we need to hit the store. Craig says there's a Publix nearby. Now, I'm sure this is very true. However, if it ever wants to shout out and tell us just WHERE, we'll be waiting to hear Ok, so we can't find Publix. Walgreens. Just stop at Walgreens, I say. We can get diapers and the food items we want for the room there. So, we proceed to purchase the worst store brand diapers ever and several items of food which will go uneaten all week. Note to self for next trip: one or two snack items are plenty The one thing we DID get there worth noting was in fact, the lollipop Domenic so desperately had to have upon his arrival. There they were at the register. Enormous and with his name all over it. Phew. At least we got that taken care of.

Ok, so we leave Walgreens. Domenic asks if we're going to Disney World. We're here, Domenic...well, sort of. We just need to stop and grab some lunch and then we'll be going. Chik Fil-A. Yeah! They don't have those up north. Let's go there. Oh. I forgot. It's Sunday. Chik Fil-A doesn't operate on Sunday. Ok, next up? Wendy's. It's right next door. We head into a very busy Wendy's and grab some grub. We finish and head outside. Domenic asks "Where are we going now?" I say (for about the 5th time since we've landed) "To Disney World. We're going there RIGHT NOW." He looks at us with this serious face as if to say 'yeah, suuuuure we are' (mind you we've been dragging him all over the greater Orlando area for 2 hours when he knows we're supposed to be at WDW) and says "Oh. I thought we weren't going "

Here's a picture of Domenic enjoying the sights and his lollipop

So, we are on our way to OKW. We drive in and I hear what Craig has been telling me about "Welcome Home." Those words have never been so exciting. I'm not even the DVC member, but just hearing Craig talk all the time, I'm so excited to be here.

We head into the lobby and are in luck, our room is ready Domenic and Auntie Tiff relax over on the couches watching some Disney movies and Domenic plays with the balloon he's gotten from the front desk.

After we've gotten our room keys, Craig and I head over to the Guest Services counter to get our HDDR tickets. I swear that was the longest line we waited in all week. It took FOREVER. Seriously. There were at least 2 people working it, I think, maybe three. Either way, it still took us an eternity to get to the front of the line (which was NOT long). Ok, HDDR tickets in hand, we gather Domenic and Auntie Tiff and head off to find our room. We're on the first floor in a corner suite. We walk in and I'm in heaven. It's fantastic!! It's huge and it's beautiful. Oh, I'm already going to ask "Do we have to leave?!" I just know Thursday is going to come way too soon.

Ah well, but back to the task at hand. We need to unpack. We start to put things away when there's a phone call. I'd called ahead before we left and ordered a plush Mickey with a balloon and card to be sent to our room for Domenic. They were calling to make sure we were there and said they were on their way. I'm ever so excited. Just ordering this had tears in my eyes when I thought of Domenic getting such a surprise with a card reading "Welcome to Disney World, Domenic." Oh, I couldn't wait!! The knock comes. I answer and come back with this gift. His reaction wasn't quite what I'd hoped for, but oh well. He likes it. He's overwhelmed. It's ok.

We start to get ready because we have HDDR soon. We had booked the 5pm show so that we could make our DIS meet that night at MK. Craig hops in the shower. There's another phone call. We've all got cell phones, so who could this be It's the front desk. They ask me "How old is the infant?" Ummm, 2. "Does he have any favorite characters?" Ummmm, Goofy "What's his name?" Dommmmmmenic? "Ok. Thank you." click. Now what was that all about I muse. Suddenly I'm filled with that feeling that something special is about to happen. Not 10 minutes later there's another knock on the door. There is a CM with 3 balloons and an autographed picture of Pluto (ok, so good thing I was just guessing on that favorite character thing ) which read "Welcome Home to Disney, Domenic." Oooooooh!!! Seriously. I'm going to cry. I NEVER want to leave here

It's worth mentioning here that Domenic was probably thinking the same thing, as not 5 minutes later he, himself, went over to the door, knocked, then came running to me and said "Mommy, I think there are more balloons here."

Next up: You're not supposed to SLEEP yet!!

 

[tmasingo]

Part 6:

Balloons safely stowed away, (after a minor tangle between the Mylar Mickey one and the fan ) we head out to HDDR. We're driving over to Fort Wilderness and plan to see the show, then take the boat over to MK afterwards. No major problems finding it. Remember, I'm with a pro We wait until they open the doors, watching families take their pictures out front. We opt not to do one since we've been up since 4am, my sister hasn't slept since the day before since she took a redeye flight, and Domenic isn't in the mood. ( He started on the plane and will spend the entire trip covering his face from the mommarazzi, yelling "No! I don't WANT my picture taken!") They open the doors and I'm in a slight panic, wondering if they will be true to their word and have put our two tables of 2 together. (yikes...say that 3 times fast ) They have. We're on the upper level in the row of seating against the railing. I'm not 100% thrilled with these seats, as they're not super close and we've got to turn to watch the show since our backs are to it But, given the fact that we had to change them and at least we're all sitting together, I'm happy enough.

The show itself was good. Certainly not my most favorite out of all that we saw, but cute. The food was great. Not what I'd consider $52 great, but hey, at least we didn't have to pay for Domenic since he was under 3. In all honesty, given that my child could make 5 meals out of one box of Blue's Clues Mac & Cheese, I'd probably have had to be resuscitated had I paid for a meal for him there! Want to know what he ate? Bread. About 2 bites. Here he is, in all his glory, enjoying it.

Domenic was getting antsy by the end of the show, so I was kind of glad when it was over. We left and headed towards the launch to wait for the boat. "There's the boat, Domenic. See? We're going to the Magic Kingdom!!" Ok, so maybe that's not OUR boat A few more like this (in some pretty chilly weather, I might add. It's only the last week of March and temps at 7:30pm are pretty cool, even to us New Englanders) and finally we're on. Domenic loved the boat ride. So, now he's been in the car, on a plane, on the monorail doo hickey at the airport and in our "carnal car" (yeah, we quickly corrected THAT one It's RENTAL car, Domenic ) and now we're on a boat. He's in heaven.

We arrive at MK and I get a cell phone call just as we're entering the gates. It's one of our DIS friends. Apparently she's on Main Street waiting for Spectro to start. I'm confused. I thought we were meeting at 8:30 to wait for Wishes and THEN watch Spectro? We hightail it through the gates. It's mobbed. There's no WAY we're finding them. We head towards the Ice Cream Parlor, where we're supposed to meet. Spectro has started. Oh no, no, no!!! This is NOT how this is supposed to go. I'm getting frazzled. What has happened here? Tiff has Domenic on her shoulders so he can maybe see part of the parade. No. I am not doing this. I look at Craig and tell him that we just need to go into the Ice Cream Parlor, rest, and wait for Spectro to end and meet up with them. We'll just catch Spectro at 10 like we'd planned because I want Domenic to be able to see it. I turn around at this point to make sure Tiff is with us and look up to find my baby SOUND ASLEEP sitting on top of her shoulders. Head bobbing, he's out. Ooooh! No. We're meeting people. He needs to be awake and alert and his cute adorable self. Yeah. So not happening. I take him down and put him in the stroller, where he napped until Spectro ended. Nothing better than a nap at Disney World...even if the only parking available IS near the trash

Spectro ends and we wait. I see our DIS friends come into the Ice Cream Parlor. One has gotten confused on the time (hence the eager phone call at 8pm) but the rest are just getting there and have not seen Spectro. Ok, so we'll hang around for Wishes and then see Spectro. We meet, we greet, we smile and chat. We head outside where I attempt to rouse Domenic. He's a rock. He's not moving. I'm so sad they don't get to really see him. It's almost time for Wishes, though, and I'm determined to get him to wake up for it. I honestly don't remember how, but we do. He's bundled in "blankie" and is very excited to see Tink come from the castle. We're outside of the Ice Cream Parlor in the middle of Main Street USA watching Wishes on our first night of my son's first trip to WDW. In the few trips I've taken here, I don't ever recall a moment like this one. I find Craig, who is on the sidewalk near the stroller and beckon for him to come over. I want him near me. We watch the display and I'm again struck by how magical this place, that I've been to before, can be. I turn to kiss my baby (my real one....that would be Domenic) who is sound asleep in my arms not 2 minutes after the last firework goes off

Back to the mini-DIS meet. We chat and take some pictures. We wait for Spectro. We've acquired the curbside seats in front of the Ice Cream Parlor Domenic remains asleep. At least he's keeping me warm, though Spectro begins and he's still out cold. As I've stated before, we've been up going on 19 hours. We're tired. We're cold. My sister says that Domenic will NOT sleep through this. We finally get him to wake up to watch the parade. He enjoys it and I snap one of my favorite pictures of the trip

Spectro ends and guess what? My son is WIDE AWAKE! Yep. We're now going on 11pm and he's raring to go We say our goodbyes to our DIS friends and decide to check out a couple of shops on the way out. Afterall, tomorrow is our first big day and we need an autograph book! We find that and a pen and start to head back towards the boat so we can get at least a few hours of sleep before it's time to head off to MGM.

Domenic and Auntie Tiff (and Craig if you can see him back there) on the boatride back

Once back, we settle Domenic down and all fall into a few hours of the most sound sleep ever!! It's been a great first day

Up Next: MGM and my big surprise

 

[Minniespal]

Excellent.

 

[tmasingo]

I met Craig a while back. He is a great guy. And what a gift he gave you for Christmas. I can't wait to hear about your adventures in the park. I hope Craig liked the adjustment from all of his solo trips.

Thanks for posting.

Meant to reply to this last night and forgot I remember him telling me he'd met you And yes, he IS a great guy Definitely different going with others as opposed to solo (especially when one is a toddler) but yes, he did enjoy it. So much so we're going back in 3 days

 

[Disney owl]

Great reports & beautiful son!

 

[tmasingo]

Ooops....wasn't quite ready to post yet

Day 2 coming soon

 

[tmasingo]

Part 7: Day 2

The alarm goes off. Very, very early. Our plan for today is to go to MGM. We have dinner reservations in Germany at Epcot at 5:30 and plans to (at least as far as Craig thinks ) meet up with some of our DIS friends we met last night at Beaches & Cream for ice cream and then walk back over to Epcot to watch Illuminations. We shower and wake Domenic last. He's wiped out. The poor kid protests getting dressed. He is so NOT about this early rising Finally in desperation I say "But Domenic, you get to meet Mike D'Owki (his little mouth just cannot wrap itself around Wazowski) and Sully (or Monster's Inc. to him, because to him, Sully IS Monster's Inc.) today!! and today's the day we meet....gasp....BUZZ and WOODY and JESSIE!!!" As you recall, he's obsessed with the movie Toy Story. Pre-trip, he kept saying how he wanted to hug Jessie and Bullseye. We knew Jessie was a go, but weren't sure on Bullseye. (After some research, we found out he should be at MK if not at Al's Toy Barn at MGM, but were still telling him we weren't SURE we'd see Bullseye, just in case) Now he's interested. For whatever reason, today he's more interested in the Monster's Inc. crowd than Toy Story and all the way to MGM he talks about meeting them.

We take the bus from OKW to MGM. Not a long wait, Domenic enjoys it. We get to MGM and head in. I've only been here once before and have no CLUE where we're headed. Craig makes a bee-line for Rockin Roller Coaster fast passes while Tiff and I stand with Domenic by the fountain, watching the CM keep changing the wait times as they crawled higher and higher and higher. Phew. Good thing Craig is an expert on this fastpass stuff! He comes back and we head over to the Playhouse Disney show. Domenic saw this last year at CA Adventure and liked it. We arrive just in time for them to not be letting anyone else in the main door But quick, she says, park the stroller and I'll take you in the back. Awwww, thanks!! We head in and watch the show. It's cute. Same as the one in CA. A nice cool, relaxing thing to start the day off with.

We come out and decide to head over to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play yard. This proves to be a HUGE (pun intended ) hit. He loves it. The water spraying out is his favorite part. Auntie Tiff indulges the little prince as he drags her around to each and every square inch of this attraction. Ok. We've been here going on 20-30 minutes. It's time to move on. Maybe. He's not interested in going to the next fun thing. We let him play a little more. We coax, we plead, trying in vain to avoid what I know is going to be a major tantrum It's inevitable. I pick him up and carry him from the play yard screaming as if he's being tortured.

We get him out to the stroller and try to bribe with the promise of coming back later. We tell him we're going to go find Mike Wazowski. Ok. He settles down. Craig checks the map to find out where the Monster's Inc. set up is. What's that? They're not LISTED on the map?! You're kidding me, right? Oh this is not going to be pretty We tell him we're not sure where it is and head over to Al's Toy Barn. Oh good, at least THEY are here. Domenic stands in the lines to meet Woody, Buzz and Jessie. We are told that Bullseye is in the toybox and not able to come out. Domenic takes this info in stride and accepts his hugs from Jessie instead. Two he got. He was happy Now, in honor of knowing (or thinking we were knowing) that we'd see Mike and Sully today, Domenic has on a Monster's Inc. t-shirt. to the CM who was handling the line to see Woody, as he asked if we'd seen them yet. What's that you say? They're here?! WHERE?!? "Over bla bla bla bla..." (I have no recollection of exactly where he said they were) I dumbly ask if Craig knows where that is. Uh, yeah. Of course he does

We head over to see Monster's Inc. and get some pics with them. Domenic's getting to be an old pro at this. He's had 3 pictures already and now we head towards 2 more. He has a routine. Walk up to the character. Give them a hug. Hand them his autograph book and pen. Give another hug. Turn around, nestle in with his back to them. Smile for the camera. This will be what he does for each and every character for the rest of the week. He's a natural.

After this I believe we came across Donald and JoJo and Goliath and had some more pictures. This was definitely a character trip for us. We saw tons

We walked around the park, attempted the Muppet 3-D movie. Domenic was resistant at first and was not happy that he had to turn the special glasses in at the end, but he wasn't too bad. We headed over to Rockin Roller Coaster to use our fast passes. There were 3 of us and we were planning to use the baby swap option. *******Note to anyone doing this....get a fast pass for each person wanting/able to ride. You don't have to, but it gives you an extra fast pass, essentially...more if there are more of you. We had 3 adults. We walked up to the line and handed over 2 of our fast passes for the first two going on the ride. They took them and gave us a baby swap pass. This allowed one of us to go back on with up to 2 other people, needing nothing other than the baby swap ticket. So, the 3rd one of us got to ride using the baby swap ticket (with one who'd already gone on using one of the fast passes) and that left us with an extra fast pass. Are you following? It took a couple of these for us to figure out how it was working out, and we never ended up using the extra fast pass, but it DID come in handy when we went to AK 2 days later and rode Everest

Anyway....so I've never been on RRC but Craig and Tiff have. So Tiff and I head on and Craig stays out with Domenic. We're pushing it because we've got 11:45ish lunch ressies at 50's Primetime. I ask what the wait is and we're told we'll be out in less than 20 minutes. Do we have time? Ummm, sure. We think. Line moves quickly and I love the ride. But what time is it when we get off? Uh oh! We need to run. So we find Craig and Domenic in the gift shop and high tail it over to lunch. We're a few minutes late, but not to worry, we're still ok they tell us. Lunch was yummy. I had the chicken pot pie and loved it. Craig got pot roast and I don't really remember what Tiff had. Domenic had a hot dog and grapes (which ended up rolling all over the room we were in ) Our waitress was ok. Not very engaging or even really that funny, IMO. This is the second time I've been to MGM, second time to this restaurant, and second time I've not gotten that appealing of a server. Maybe next time But the food was great, so at least that was worth it.

After lunch I don't even remember what we did. Domenic was getting very tired and I think we all agreed it might be best to get him back to the room for a bit. We let him play for a bit again at the "giant playground" and we decided on swimming at OKW for awhile before heading to Epcot for supper. Little did we know we'd not even make it to the bus stop to catch the bus back to OKW before Domenic would be sound asleep And boy did he sleep. All the way back and until it was time to leave for Epcot. No swimming was done that day.

Up Next: Epcot and My Big Surprise

 

[tmasingo]

Day 2, Part 2

We headed over to Epcot. Domenic in his disheveled t-shirt ( I so wanted to change his clothes but he was having none of that. As I've mentioned before, he's NOT fun to wake up) and carrying cheerios and a bar of Mickey Mouse soap. Unwrapped. I don't think I mentioned it before, but he was enthralled by this upon arriving at OKW and scoping out the room. He loved it. Stole the "big bar" from the shower and wouldn't let Craig use it. He had to use the hand soap to shower with Domenic just loved the soap. So yes, we enter Epcot with a child in a stroller carrying cheerios and......soap.

We tried to hit Turtle Talk but it had too long of a line and was going to be closed by the time we got done supper. Didn't matter anyway, we were headed straight for Beaches & Cream after dinner anyway. He did manage to ham it up for the camera with the Nemo characters, though (note what's in his hand).

We meandered over towards World Showcase, stopping at some fountains so Domenic could enjoy the water, because that's another thing he loves. Water. Any form. If he can get wet, he's there.

We get to Germany and he's getting antsy because he doesn't want to wait. Luckily it wasn't long and we got seated at a GREAT table. One of the ones right in front by the dance floor. We were right there in front of all the action. This is great, I thought. Just what I wanted for Domenic I've eaten at Germany before. The food is good. Not fantastic. I'm picky, so that's part of my assessment. But I find the atmosphere excellent. Fun and lively. The band was good. There were a lot of kids dancing and Domenic joined right in. We had the four seats at our table closest to the stage and a party of 4 (Mom, dad and 2 kids...boy and a girl roughly 11 and 8ish) got seated at the other end. They end up on the dance floor as well. Domenic takes to them like a fish to water. He's got a buddy. He's got 2, actually.

Oh were they cute, dancing around and playing. It reminded me of when my sister was little and on family vacations she'd find any child willing and make friends. Domenic was in his glory. Running around an open floor, 2 children following him like puppy dogs, not being told he HAS to come sit and eat supper. I'm wondering if we'll ever get him to leave! We asked the parents of these children if they'd be willing to rent their son out, as he's clearly got a way with children. They said we wouldn't want him We begged to differ.

The sweetest thing was that there was another child out there doing handstands (rather good ones, I might add) and he had been getting lots of attention. Once he saw Domenic was getting some from these other 2 children, he was obviously a bit put out. He had his face painted and it was frightening Domenic.....and he'd realized that I watched as he'd keep going up to my son, purposely trying to scare him. Domenic would back away and try to go play. He'd do it again. I kept watching, since Domenic seemed to be holding his own against this child twice his age. His little buddy from our table caught on and took up guard duty. He followed Domenic like he was being paid to do so. He blocked him. He covered him. He did whatever he could to make this other child stay away. I was struck by the genuine concern this 11 year old stranger had for my son's fear of this other child. It was very heartwarming to see a child act so kind and kudos to his parents for raising him that way

At one point Mr. mean child was close enough when he tried to scare Domenic that I butted in and told him very politely that that wasn't very nice and it would be nice if he'd stop. I don't think he was expecting that and not long after he was joining in the fun and buddying up with the rest of them

Just as we were about to start leaving, the band came out for another round. All the children in the place headed down and for whatever reason ended up in a semi-circle. Domenic, not wanting to go un-noticed, apparently, proceeded to do the following

His eyes are open in this picture, I think, but he kept going out there and pretending to sleep. And the more I went to go get him, the more he'd do it. I thought the performers were going to choke on their long horns chuckling at the whole scenario. I finally rounded him up, though, we said goodbye to his new friends, and headed to Beaches & Cream.

Once over there, we found our DIS friends right away. We got some yummy ice cream and then we headed back over to Epcot to find a spot for Illuminations. But wait....I said there was a surprise Right after Christmas, when I realized that all the money I had put aside for the trip wasn't going to be needed on some of the essentials, I decided that I wanted to do something special for Craig for being so generous and an overall great guy to Domenic and me. I'd heard of the Wishes and Illuminations Cruises and thought that would be perfect. We could all do it together, I knew he'd never been on one, and it would be (hopefully) a fun experience. So I called and was able to reserve Breathless for Illuminations. Since it held 7, I'd asked if the friends we were meeting would like to join us, rather than waste so much space on a boat. They said sure. So she was in on my plan. I knew we were eating at Epcot that night but had to figure out how to get him OUT of Epcot before Illuminations. A believable reason since he knew we were meeting them for the show and it made no sense really to walk to The Beach Club to get them just to walk back. So I made up the ice cream premise (which really wasn't just a premise....I wanted to try that place!!) and he bought it

We leave B&C and head over to what he thinks is cross the bridge back to Epcot. But just as we start walking towards the dock at the Yacht Club and he's starting to wonder what we're doing, I spill the beans. He's surprised He had no clue he said. He's excited YAY! I pulled off a surprise. An actual real surprise! (I'm not an easy person to surprise, so being able TO surprise was the next best thing!) We head over to the boat. Domenic's very excited. Our driver is a fantastic man who so very kindly puts up with Domenic's constant harrassment to "Go too fast!!" every 5 seconds after first experiencing what this boat can do when the driver lets it. I swear he was probably wishing we'd been the ones sitting in the BACK of the boat

Here we all are on The Breathless

For anyone who's never been on one of these, I HIGHLY recommend it. It was a fantastic way to watch Illuminations. We were so close and I'd read about it sometimes being too smoky or windy, but the wind was in the right direction and we didn't have any problems like that. We docked under the bridge, were given sodas and snacks and had the best time watching the show. Seriously, if you can do it, you must!!!

After Illuminations we headed back to shore, said goodbye to our friends and headed back to Epcot so we could get our car and head back to OKW. Another long day, another late night, but another one soooooo worth it

Next Up: Finally....the Magic Kingdom

 

[daisy_77]

Hi!
Great trip report! I look forward to more!
Your son is adorable!!

 

[tmasingo]

Part 9: Day 3

Tuesday we planned to spend the day at MK. We had breakfast ressies at Crystal Palace at 8am and hoped to enter the park just about opening. Craig and I had researched with Tourguide Mike and knew we had to hit Fantasyland first and get on Dumbo right away.

Breakfast was excellent As I mentioned earlier on, the fried french toast was sooooo yummy!!! I loved it. The atmosphere was nice and we got to see all of the characters. Poor Tigger got manhandled by Domenic, though, as he was coming around. He was at the table before ours and had his back to us, taking a picture. Domenic was waiting patiently (sort of) for him to get to us, and was standing on his chair (at one point sitting back and landing in his plate ) and reached out and grabbed his tail end We finished breakfast just after the park opened and were in rush mode to get to Fantasyland.

We got there and headed straight for Dumbo while Craig ran to get us fast passes for I think Peter Pan. He comes back and up until now I've been oblivious of this, but apparently Dumbo isn't working Hmmm, yeah, I guess we haven't moved too far. Ok, so now what? We stayed in line for a bit. It starts to move faster, but that's because everyone is getting OUT of line. Hmmmm, what do we do? Do we waste all of this precious time in a line that may not go anywhere? Or stay and be one of the first ones on? After a little more waiting and debate, we decided to forego Dumbo for the moment and head onto Pooh. We tell Domenic that Dumbo is sick and we will come back later. (Everyone remember that we'd watched Dumbo pre-trip and totally prepped him for this ride? Yeah. Keep that stored some more )

We head to Pooh and then Snow White. "Snow White is TOO scary," we're told. He did ok but said he didn't want to go on it again. (Note for upcoming trip....we read him Snow White one night, a book HE chose, and that night he was screaming in his sleep "No! Don't make me go on. Don't make me ride that again!" I guess we won't be going on it this coming week) We hit the Carousel and make it onto Peter Pan and Small World. Those are the highlights I can remember at the moment. Now, as we came out of Snow White, we notice that Dumbo is now moving and the line is very LONG. We manage to get Domenic past saying that he still wasn't quite feeling good and that we'd get back to him later

I will be honest in saying, I do not remember where we headed next. We were at MK that day until 5pm and it all kind of blurs together to me now, 3 months later I'm sure if I go back and see it in pictures (which my compulsive self has in an album in order) I'd remember, but we leave for WDW tomorrow and I need some sleep, so forgive me for not doing that at the moment. I do know that we had a wonderful day. Domenic conked out about lunchtime and slept for a couple of hours. We took the time to do some shopping and grab something quick for lunch.

After he had woken up I do remember we hit Tomorrowland to ride Buzz Lightyear's Spaceranger Spin. We'd gotten the fastpasses while he was sleeping since we knew this attraction was a must for him. He woke up and we rode that. He had a great time and the scene in the gift shop afterwards was one that I DO remember. Domenic rode with Auntie Tiff and we decided to purchase the picture taken of them. So I go and pay and get our slip and then Craig and I go stand in line to get it. Meanwhile, Domenic and Tiff are checking out the merchandise. Domenic is picking things up and I tell Tiff to hand me a Buzz magnet for him and he's seen these spaceranger cards and I said I'd get him one of those too. Now, as I'm doing this, he's picked up a packaged Toy Story watch set. I said we weren't getting it. We continue to stand in line (rivaling in length the one at OKW when we waited for our HDDR tickets ) and I notice that my son has tucked the watch package under one arm, as he "strolls" through the rest of the merchandise, pulling aside shirts, looking at them at different angles, picking up different items. It was hilarious. It was like watching a 30 year old woman walk through the racks at a department store. We were I said to them "Looks like we're getting the watch," since he apparently had no mind to be putting it down. I put back the spaceranger card since he'd seemed to forget about it anyway, and my sister said "Good thing because if you didn't buy it, I was going to," at which point Craig chimes in and says "And if neither of you did, I was." Yeah, he's not spoiled or anything.

Anyway, we're still in line, have the watch and magnet on our list as well as the picture and we see a hat which is Buzz Lightyear and Zurg. It's reversible. It's huge. It's adorable. Craig says he's going to buy it for him for his birthday. I said fine. Domenic wants to wear one NOW. So he plays with a couple and we manage to get out of there with that one bought in secret. He racked up in that store

We spent the rest of the afternoon hitting some other main attractions

and headed out of the park about 5pm (notice we didn't get on Dumbo) as Craig and I are going to Jellyrolls tonight and need to get back to change and head out. We get back to OKW and settle Tiff and Domenic in with some food we bought for her to cook. They are having a grand ole time and we shower and get ready to head out.

We got to the boardwalk and had some pizza and then headed to Jellyrolls. It was quiet when we first got in, seeing as it was still fairly early, but it picked up as the night went on. It was a fun place. I had been to something similar several years back so I knew what to expect. The piano players were great and very entertaining. Sadly, the late nights and early mornings were starting to catch up to me and by about 11pm I was about to fall asleep, so we headed out. Someday I hope to get back there and stay until closing!

After a very special night out for us at WDW, we headed back to OKW to get some sleep. Only to find we were locked out Locked out? But we have the key. We put it in. Nothing. The light is blinking at us. It won't work. WHY won't this key let us into our room? Now, my sister and Domenic are inside so we could've knocked, but we didn't want to wake them since it was late. But we have to get in. Craig thinks maybe it's just the key and says we should just drive down to get it reactivated. We get there and I run inside while he parks the car. They ask me if I need something and I explain the problem. They say the blinking light means the deadbolt is on. You've got to be kidding me. Ok, so I go back outside and meet Craig in the parking lot and tell him not to bother, we're going to need to go wake Tiff. So we start calling her cell phone. Nothing. Nothing.Nothing. Nothing. Five times we try and no answer. Ok...what the heck is going on? So we get back and try once more. Nothing. So I start knocking. And knocking. Finally after a few minutes she comes to the door. She's been sleeping and her cell phone was off, so that's why she wasn't answering. I look at her like "WHY would you put that deadbolt on?" and she says "Didn't you have a key?" Ummmm, yeah, but not for the deadbolt! Oy oy oy. Alls well that ends well and about 45 minutes later we're finally in and able to go to sleep. So much for that semi-early night

Next up: Animal Kingdom and testing Everest