home again,home again ... wdw for ds's 1st bday! any ?'s

[lynetteSC]

Just returned from our 1st wdw trip with ds. This was a major difference from our usual trip (usually dh & myself). We took ds and my parent's. My parent's are not exactly WDW fans, they mainly wanted to go to see ds on his 1st bday and to see all of his 1st's! I will say they were good sports, albiet we did have the comments about their vacations not requiring planning/scheduling/or walking as much. AND, this was certainly a more laid back trip b/c we had ds with us. Overall, it was the best trip ever. It is amazing how much joy you can get from watching a one year watch firewrks/Illuminations/characters/etc. I will give a rundown on the highlights. If you have questions please ask! I will try to answer them!

Drove down from SC on Sat ... stayed at Pop one nite (nice place for the $$$)
Sun ... moved over to Port Orleans French Quarter (excellent moderate resort) for 6 nites

High lights:
-DS's 1st birthday ... he got soooo much attention and lots of freebies (mainly desserts and cards to save for his scrapbook)

-DH being "Veteran of the Day" at MK. He got to participate in one of the last flag ceremonies on the original flag pole in MK. They retired the flag pole two days later (5/5/05).

-Baby Centers ... can't say enough wonderful things about these. They have anything and everything you could possibly need and not to high $$$. Also, a great place to cool off, escape the rain storms, potty break for you and baby, and get some ice cool water.

-Food was great everywhere we ate: Le Cellier, Whispering Canyon, House of Blues, Prime Time, Marrakesh, Crystal Palace on ds's bday ... also had counter service and food court often.

-All cast members with the exception of ONE security guard/parking lot were awesome! Everyone seemed to be happy and glad to be at WDW. The one security guard, we later found out it was his 1st day, so he was showing his "authority".

-POFQ was great! The hotel has been renovated and is so pretty. Rooms are very nice. We were in bldg 5, so close to boat route to DD and also closer to Riverside. Not too far from main bldg,food court and shopping. Food court was good!

-It was a "different" trip than our usual trips because of the baby. We seemed to be fine with doing things at a slower pace. We still did everything we wanted (Wishes/Illuminations/Spectromagic/1st haircut on Main St/saw all important characters), so we didn't feel like we were missing out on anything.

-We tried to do a mid-day nap or rest for baby (and parents ).

Thanks so much for all the tips (espcially baby ones) we read about on the boards!

 

[Boodsadel]

Lynette... (hey, that's my middle name!) So glad to hear the trip went so well! I just posted this on another back with baby thread, but oh well! Any major tips you have, as we will be taking our little guy for his 1st birthday as well in less than 2 weeks! How did your guy do with the haircut? Any pics to share??!! Any favorite/not-so-favorite rides he had? How did he do with characters?

Thanks again for the trip report... sounds like a great trip!

 

[lynetteSC]

Hi! WELCOME TO THE DIS!

The best advice I can give you about bday is to go by the City Hall/Guest relations at each park to pick up a birthday pin. We attached it to his stroller more than him, since the pin is large. Also, we told them at the restort it was his bday.

He was great during his haircut ... we were worried b/c the kid infront of him cried the whole time! I was afraid he would cry as well. They were so nice and gave me some of his hair along with the mouse ears and certificate.

He LOVED the characters ... we weren't sure how he would react! Je tried to touch them, and also it was sooo funny ... he tried to smack Cruella. Like he instinctively knew she was evil! Her castmember asst, thought that was so funny.

He rode ... Cinderella's Carousel, It's a Small World (fell asleep), Philharmagic (he really liked), Buzz (he LOVED), Pirates of the Caribbean, Snow White, Maelstrom in Norway, Safari in AK (also fell asleep). He was great on all the rides, but espcially liked Buzz and Philharmic. (I guess Philharmagic is not really a ride ...lol)

Good luck and I know you will enjoy your trip. I will say it was our best one yet. We had a totally different attitude once we arrived, that it didn't matter how much we saw or did, as long as were were all together and and at WDW! Usually, we try to cram everything in! It was funny, this time dh was the one asking when we could come back before we left. Usually, I am the one!

 

[Boodsadel]

Thanks for the welcome!! I'm so glad I found this board!

Those pics are SOOO cute.. makes me even more excited to go with our little man! What time of day did you do the haircut, and was there a wait? I'm worried about food for him, because he is now refusing to eat babyfood, but is picky about regular food! We've just weaned him to regular milk.. I assume you can get milk at all the food places? What did you feed your guy?

We're staying at Pop.. you thought it was pretty nice?

Thanks for all the answers and pictures!

 

[lynetteSC]

HIya! The barber shop ... we went as soon as we got to MK ...maybe 9:30amish. We had about a 5 min wait. Not too bad.

We carried baby food, the only mushy thing on the kids menu was mac&cheese. DS has only 4 teeth, so he still needs mushy stuff. DS was still on formula, so I didn't pay ettention to milk! Sorry ... I am sure it would be available though.

Pop was very nice ...

 

[lynetteSC]

Sorry to leave short answer, got interrupted! Yes, Pop was very nice, especially clean since it is so new. Food court had lots of choices ... Rooms were same size as the other value properties ... not large, but roomy enough unless you will be spending tons of time in your room. I like that the lines for the bus have queues, not just a free for all when the bus does arrive!