"I've Gotta Get Out of Town!": A March 2021 WDW PTR

[Paulaparm]

Love the shirts!

 

[BellesLibrary]

Plans for Day 3: Jambo, friends!
​

We're below 2 weeks until our departure day, and I am SO excited!

I am terrible at keeping secrets, so it's a small miracle that I haven't bubbled over with excitement and told my kids what's happening.

We have had some near misses with other people talking with me about the trip: my best friend and I were working out a camping trip with our families, and she said something to the effect of "We can't go that weekend since you'll be at Disney World!" My kids were right next to us, but they were distracted as they played with their friends.

And, just this week, my dad and I were chatting on my car's Bluetooth phone connection when he asked me something about the details of our trip. It was all I could do to switch over to private mode! Again, the kids were absorbed in something else (this time, it was their after school snacks), so they are still none the wiser.

I'm about done with all of our pre-trip shopping and shirt making. I had to get a stroller for Sonny since he has little legs that won't be able to keep up all day. I also went ahead and bought some snacks and drinks for the drive down and to keep in our hotel room. I'm finishing up their busy bags for in the car, and I'll post pictures of those when they're done!

NOW, ONWARD TO DAY 3!

Tentative plans for Day 3
​

First, let's talk about our outfits for today! (I know--I'm starting off with the really important stuff!)

I made us matching "Safari Mode" shirts. I'll pair mine with a leopard skirt and black slip ons which are comfortable enough that I routinely lecture all day in them. I bought Toni a fluffy black tutu with leopard ribbon, and Sonny will wear a pair of khaki shorts/pants.

I don't know much longer my kids will think it is cool to match with me, so I am milking it for all its worth on this trip!

Once we're dressed in our snazzy outfits, we'll grab something for breakfast (we'll probably eat in our room since Animal Kingdom opens pretty early this morning), and head out to the park.

I know that we're pretty limited on what we can do since Sonny isn't tall enough to ride most of the rides that are available in AK, but we're going to make the most of the learning opportunities in the park. My kids love learning about animals at zoos, so I imagine we'll have a great day even without being able to ride Expedition Everest.

Things we will definitely be doing at some point on this day:

• Kilimanjaro Safaris​
• It's Tough to Be a Bug​
• Triceratops Spin (probably multiple times!)​
• Na'vi River Journey​
• Animal Experience at Conservation Station: the train ride out there should be a favorite for Sonny!​
• Affection Section​
• All of the wildlife trails​

We're also going to try out the Wilderness Explorers program! We attempted a few of the badges when we visited last, but we had so many other things to do that we didn't get a chance to dive too much into this program. The last trip (back in 2018) was one that we did with a national homeschool group, so we got to go behind the scenes at Animal Kingdom, which was amazing!

My kids have seen UP, so they'll have an idea of what the Wilderness Explorers are. They also love collecting stickers, pins, badges, and the like. Any suggestions on approaching the program? Have you been able to get all of the badges in one day or is that no feasible?

I'm not sure where we'll eat for lunch. Restaurantosaurus is usually where we find ourselves in Animal Kingdom, mostly out of habit, but I'd like to try something different. Would Satu'li Canteen be good for kids? Mine are pretty openminded about trying new things.

We're also hoping to catch a few of the character boats throughout the day!

Around 4:30 PM, we'll need to head out of the park to go to Disney Springs. I snagged an ADR for the Rainforest Cafe that night, which is quite fitting for our safari themed day. The kids have visited Rainforest Cafe and T-Rex Cafe before, and it's always been a hit!

After we eat, we'll likely hang around Disney Springs for a bit if the kids want to walk through a few of the shops. If not, we'll head back to the hotel to go for a quick swim before bed.

 

[BellesLibrary]

Love the shirts!

Thank you so much! I was SO incredibly disappointed when we had to cancel last year's trip that I may have gone a little overboard on all of the fun shirts and accessories this time around. It's been a blast creating them, and it's helped the days go by a little faster!

 

[BellesLibrary]

Day 4: World Travelers
​

I just noticed that the hours of the parks are slowly being extended for our trip. YES!

Our fourth day will take us to Epcot! Currently, the hours of the park are 11 AM-8 AM, and I plan on making a full day of it since Epcot is one of my favorite places on the WDW property.

We have this fun little tradition in our family that every Friday is doughnut Friday, which literally means we just have doughnuts for breakfast on Friday mornings. I'm not sure if the Swan or Dolphin will have fresh pastries (I'll have to check this out earlier in our trip), but my fallback is the Boardwalk Bakery which is within walking distance of the Swan. Either way, we'll stuff ourselves with some sweet treats that morning.

With such a late open and with such early risers, we'll likely be up and moving hours before we have to make our move towards the park. We may use some of this time to catch up on Toni's schoolwork since her teacher is being wonderful and sending us a packet of materials to keep her from getting bunches of incompletes.

When it's time to make our move, we'll don our daily outfits (matching again, of course!). When I found these adorable tie-dyed shirts, I decided to add some Minnie and Mickey designs. I love how they turned out!

(I have one, too, but it didn't make it into this shot.)

I'll pack up the stroller before walking over to the park--I love how close we will be to both Epcot and HS!

The Flower and Garden Festival will have started just a few days before we visit. I haven't seen that festival in years, so I plan on spending plenty of time soaking in the pretty additions to the park.

Any suggestions on highlights in the festival would be great!

We will also:

• try to see as many character cavalcades as possible​
• do as many distanced character meets as possible​
• attempt to fill up a Kidcot passport for the first time ever​
• sample lots of yummy food around the World Showcase​
• cruise on Living with the Land​
• visit Figment in Journey into the Imagination​
• hang out with the Phoenicians in Spaceship Earth​
• look for Donald in the Gran Fiesta Tour​
• visit Elsa and Anna in the Frozen Ever After ride​
• swim with Nemo and friends​

Sonny is too short for Soarin' and Test Track, which means we won't have to fight for those lines.

Since Epcot is a great place for moments of exploration, I'll probably let the kids take the lead as different elements strike their fancy!

I didn't plan any ADRs for this day since we love trying a bunch of different things around the World Showcase rather than eating one big meal. This approach definitely appeals to my snack-obsessed kids!

Depending on how tired Toni and Sonny are, we'll explore until they're tired and head back to the hotel. I can't imagine they'll still be hanging in there until the park closes, so maybe we'll go back to the resort for some more pool time.

BACK TO THE PTR MENU​

 

[BellesLibrary]

Day 5: Spring Break Relaxation​

I try to build in some rest days while in Disney now that I have little travelers with me! On our last few trips, I've including at least one day as a divider between the parks, and that has been fantastic in terms of keeping the kids happy and focused.

On this trip, our rest day falls on a Saturday, which means we have a whole day to do whatever we'd like!

I plan to kick the day off with the big breakfast buffet that the Garden Grove restaurant at the
Swan offers on Saturdays. During non-covid times, I LOVE the character breakfast options in Walt Disney World, but those aren't an option right now. This breakfast buffet has Mickey waffles, so we're getting that little bit of magic from our usual character breakfasts, at least!

Breakfast is also my kids' favorite meal, and they'd happily eat breakfast food for all 3 meals if that were an option. The buffets are pricey (especially for my two-bites-and-done 4 year old), but I am more likely to get my money's worth at a breakfast buffet. If nothing else, it will be a fun and relaxing way to kick off our Saturday together at the resort.

After we've eaten our fill, we'll return to our room to get ready for the pool. If the weather is nice, the pool is where my kids are going to be for as long as I let them. I'm hoping to find a comfy chair by one of the pools and hanging out while the kids splash one another.

We'll probably do lunch poolside, and then evaluate how sleepy everyone is. If the kids need a nap, we'll head back to the room. If they're still lively, I might see if I can convince them to change into regular clothes so we can try out the swan boat rentals or a surrey rental.

If the weather isn't very nice on this day, I might take them to the arcade or back to Disney Springs. What else could we do if neither of those options appeal to my fellow travelers?

Finally, dinner will be a burger or sandwich from the onsite Fountain restaurant, where we'll end our day with a sweet ice cream treat!

P.S. I didn't make special matching shirts for this day since I'm not exactly sure what our plans will be. Don't worry--more custom shirts on their way in the PTR!

BACK TO THE PTR MENU​

 

[BellesLibrary]

Day 6: Stars, Toys, and Droids!​

After what will hopefully be a nice day at the resort, our 6th day will take us to Hollywood Studios!

I'm particularly excited about this day since we get to do lots of things that are new to us including MMRR and Galaxy's Edge.

I know I'll have to get up early this day since I'm going to try and snag a spot in the virtual queue for RoR. Fingers crossed I get these as our kids are huge Star Wars fans.

We'll head over to HS early as we have a morning appointment at the Droid Depot! We haven't been to WDW since Galaxy's Edge opened, so we'll spend a lot of time exploring. My kids adore R2-D2 and BB-8, and they were begging me to let them build a droid after they watched a Galaxy's Edge special on Disney+. They don't have any idea that we're going to WDW in a week, so I've been secretly buying up Disney gift cards so they can spend it on their droid build. I'm guessing that Sonny will go for a blue and green R2 unit, while Toni picks a BB unit that she decorates in every color available!

After they have their droids in hand, we'll carry them around Galaxy's Edge to watch the droids interact with their surroundings. I'm hoping to go on MF:SR this morning, but I'm not sure what to do with the droids while we're riding: take them with us? Put them in a locker? Run back to the hotel? I certainly don't want to leave them in our stroller, so any advice there would be helpful. [Also, I don't think the package-to-hotel service is an option anymore?!]

I also want my Star Wars fans to see the characters as much as possible, so we're hoping to get lucky for the character appearances in GE. Any tips there?

I want to try some of the new Star Wars food, and we got a great suggestion to try Ronto Roasters. I know my kids will love the theming! We'll also sample the blue milk and any other snacks we can find.

The rest of the day will see us bounce between the other rides in the park. Sonny is tall enough for Slinky Dog Dash and Tower of Terror (I think! He's almost exactly 40" and I am interested to see if that will fly with the cast members who measure him). We'll also visit MMRR, Alien Saucers, Toy Story Mania, and Frozen Ever After. I can't forget the Lightning McQueen show since Sonny is obsessed!

We'll end the day with dinner at the Sci-Fi Dine In. I haven't been there in ages, and it will be my kids' first trip. I know we will be tired after such a busy day, but I know it will be a great one.

Oh! I forgot about our outfits for this day. The kids are wearing Darth Vader shirts that I made them paired with a black cape and black bottoms (a black tutu for Toni and black shorts for Sonny).

I'll have my own shirt that says, "Look Like a Princess, Fight Like a Jedi." I didn't get a picture of that shirt yet, so you'll have to wait until I get the trip clothes back out again.

BACK TO PTR MENU​

 

[Kitty & Covs Covs]

I can't wait to go back and read through all of this when I have a break from work today! Your intro is so much like ours--and we're headed to WDW in 18 days! Had the tickets in our account from a cancelled trip--my husband kept telling me to get a refund, but I said "no way, then we'll never go!" and finally a trip with my brother and his family came together. I hope you guys have so much fun! I'll be following along!

 

[BellesLibrary]

I can't wait to go back and read through all of this when I have a break from work today! Your intro is so much like ours--and we're headed to WDW in 18 days! Had the tickets in our account from a cancelled trip--my husband kept telling me to get a refund, but I said "no way, then we'll never go!" and finally a trip with my brother and his family came together. I hope you guys have so much fun! I'll be following along!

Hi!

I was so disappointed last spring when I had to cancel our other trips--including the original Disney vacation and our 10th wedding anniversary to the Bahamas--that I couldn't bring myself to get refunded on the Disney tickets, too. When I was the most miserable over the last year, I would think about my Disney tickets in my account and say, "I will get to use these eventually!" and it would make me feel better. It wasn't much, but I'm taking what I can get in the midst of a pandemic!

When I made the snap decision several weeks ago to rebook for my spring break, I instantly felt happier than I had in a while. It's amazing what planning a vacation can do for your mood! I cannot wait to see my kids' faces when I tell them where we're going--only 6 more days until the big reveal!

Are you doing a PTR? If so, let me know, so I can follow along. If not, I'd still love to hear about your plans!

 

[Kitty & Covs Covs]

I’m not doing a PTR, but thank you for being interested! I might post our plans on the March 2021 thread as I run out of things to do as anticipation builds!

I love your approach to planning! It seems structured enough to see what you and the kids want to see, but flexible enough to accommodate what they want to do and last minute decisions that come up. I’m looking forward to no FPs for that reason—it will give us a little more room to decide things on the fly and maybe even see things we normally wouldn’t have tried.

I should really make more of an effort to take my daughter at a minimum every other year—I was doing well with a 2017 and 2019 trip, with the 2020 planned and of course this upcoming one next month. My husband thinks it’s ridiculous so I need to keep coming up with better and better reasons to keep taking her back!

 

[kclark9830]

How exciting to go so soon! I LOVE your Social Disneying shirts! So cute.

 

[AliceNDinah]

Hi, will you do a trip report when you get back? We are heading down in June after a few days visiting Charleston, where we lived for a year

 

[Orion Nebula]

There is a dedicated March thread for all of us going if you haven't seen it. There are a lot of us going, I actually arrive this Saturday.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/official-march-2021-thread.3810097/

 

[BellesLibrary]

I’m not doing a PTR, but thank you for being interested! I might post our plans on the March 2021 thread as I run out of things to do as anticipation builds!

I love your approach to planning! It seems structured enough to see what you and the kids want to see, but flexible enough to accommodate what they want to do and last minute decisions that come up. I’m looking forward to no FPs for that reason—it will give us a little more room to decide things on the fly and maybe even see things we normally wouldn’t have tried.

I should really make more of an effort to take my daughter at a minimum every other year—I was doing well with a 2017 and 2019 trip, with the 2020 planned and of course this upcoming one next month. My husband thinks it’s ridiculous so I need to keep coming up with better and better reasons to keep taking her back!

I am a little excited that the FPs aren't an option for this trip as I am old enough to remember planning trips this way back in the day! When the paper FPs were first introduced, I thought it was so stressful, and then I thought the exact same thing when the digital FPs came out! It will be a blast from the past to try this way again.

My kids are typically good travelers, but they are still young, so I've tried to think comprehensively rather than super micromanaged. I'll have my list of must-dos each day, but the order we do them in will depend on crowd levels and everyone's mood at that moment!

My husband isn't a big Disney fan like I am--I grew up going to the parks about every year, while he'd only been once before we met. He's come around to the occasional trip, but his ideal schedule would be to visit once ever 5 years...which isn't nearly enough for me! I'm always looking for new excuses to go back, too!

How exciting to go so soon! I LOVE your Social Disneying shirts! So cute.

Thank you so much! I am obsessed with the tiny masks on that shirt!

Hi, will you do a trip report when you get back? We are heading down in June after a few days visiting Charleston, where we lived for a year

Yes, I will definitely be doing a trip report after we come back home! Charleston is a fun place to visit and live, too, and I love how close it is to so many great vacation spots. What part of Charleston did you live in while you were here?

There is a dedicated March thread for all of us going if you haven't seen it. There are a lot of us going, I actually arrive this Saturday.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/official-march-2021-thread.3810097/

I joined in the March thread, but I haven't been checking in as much as I probably should be! I am SO excited that my school's spring break is so early this year as I'm looking forward to the Flower and Garden festival and warm (but not sweltering) weather.

You are sooooo close to your arrival day! We won't get there until mid-next week, and I am getting so antsy. I have to do the final grading for my classes and submit everything before I can leave, but I just want to read trip reports!

I've held off on telling my kids since I want it to be a surprise, but it's getting harder and harder to keep my mouth shut as I get more excited!

 

[Kitty & Covs Covs]

I am so happy to hear you say you take your children solo without your husband. I always thought I was so weird for taking my daughter alone (he’s coming this time, finally!) but I’d rather do that and have fun than either 1) not go, or 2) force it and have him not have a good time. Thank you for making me feel normal!

 

[BellesLibrary]

I am so happy to hear you say you take your children solo without your husband. I always thought I was so weird for taking my daughter alone (he’s coming this time, finally!) but I’d rather do that and have fun than either 1) not go, or 2) force it and have him not have a good time. Thank you for making me feel normal!

Going alone was a strange feeling the first time I went on a trip without him! I worked as a travel writer for several years when my kids were tiny, and he often couldn't get off to go with me on my travels, so it was often just me and one or both kids. Traveling with 2 kids and 1 adult is possible, though I feel like there are more logistics to pre-plan--I only have 2 hands to handle a stroller, both kids, snacks, drinks, etc!

I did Disney with my daughter but without my husband for the first time when she was around 18 months old. It was an impromptu add-on after I'd gone to the Space Coast for a press trip, and she and I had a BLAST on that WDW visit!

Going with just the kids allow me to get my Disney fix while letting my husband decide when he's happy to come along. You should definitely plan more mom-daughter trips!

 

[AliceNDinah]

Yes, I will definitely be doing a trip report after we come back home! Charleston is a fun place to visit and live, too, and I love how close it is to so many great vacation spots. What part of Charleston did you live in while you were here?

Hi, we lived in the West Ashley area; kind of off Playground Road and Highway 17 - I remember we loved the Harris Teeter over there, ha!

 

[BellesLibrary]

Hi, we lived in the West Ashley area; kind of off Playground Road and Highway 17 - I remember we loved the Harris Teeter over there, ha!

I have a good friend that lives right near there, and she loves it! I grew up in Mount Pleasant but moved out to the Awendaw/McClellanville area right after my DD was born: we liked the quiet and the community, but the drive (especially when I went back to work) was TOUGH. As if 2020 weren't crazy enough, we decided to move back to Mount Pleasant, which is much closer to our jobs and my family. Everything has grown up so much just in the few years since we left for the country!

Are you planning to do any sightseeing when you visit CHS on the way to WDW? My kids are getting big enough that I am thinking of doing some touristy stuff with them this summer--maybe taking the boat to Fort Sumter or going to Charlestowne Landing in between all of our pool and beach time!

 

[BellesLibrary]

Day 7: Magic is in the Air​

Life updates!

As I write this, I'm battling a head cold which is the WORST. At least, I'm getting this over with before I get to Disney World next week!

My resolve to surprise the kids crumbled completely last night (I'm blaming my cold), and I had a big reveal with some of the Disney books I'd bought them for the trip. One of the books was the Birnbaum's 2020 kids WDW planner, and my 7.5 year daughter is in LOVE with it. She even carried it to school today, though she was under strict orders not to bring it out or read it unless they had free reading time. Now that the surprise is revealed, I'm happy with my choice to let the kids in on the secret and have them get excited with me!

The kids are pumped about their vacation t-shirts, visiting Galaxy's Edge, and building their droids. I think I might have overwhelmed them with all of the info last night but they seemed overwhelmed in the best sort of way. Sonny (DS4) doesn't really have a frame of reference for all of our WDW chatter since he was so little the last time we visited, but he loved watching some YouTube videos last night to learn more about the rides.

Toni (my DD) has decided she's going to help me plan out the trip with her book, so I'll be intrigued to see what input she provides.

We're only a few days out from leaving, and I've never been more ready to finish grading for my classes and submit final grades.

On to the tentative plans for our last day (SOB!!! ):

I love to end our WDW trips in the Magic Kingdom since it is so iconic! This trip will be no different in that respect, so Magic Kingdom once again will finish off our visit.

I JUST saw that the park hours for MK have been extended to 10 PM for our visit! I really doubt we will get anywhere close to shutting down the park, but it's nice to know that we aren't being rushed out of the park right after dinner.

Of all of my daily plans, MK is probably the loosest: I know that we're going to have to roll with the punches here since several rides are being refurbished and there are no FPs to help me direct our day. We will be going into the day with a positive and adventurous attitude to see where that will lead us!

These are the things I'd like to do:
-Barnstormer
-Dumbo
-Mad Tea Party (if the refurbishment is complete)
-Tomorrowland Speedway
-Astro Orbiter
-Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
-It's a Small World
-Pirates of the Caribbean
-Haunted Mansion (I don't know if Sonny will chicken out before we get on this as he's a sensitive little soul. We'll attempt it and see how that goes.)
-Jungle Cruise
-Tom Sawyer's Island
-Swiss Family Treehouse
-Flying Carpets
-Space Ranger Spin
-Carousel
-Winnie the Pooh
-7 Dwarfs Mine Train (if the line isn't too long)

There's no Space Mountain or Splash Mountain on this ride since I can't take Sonny on those (he's too short!), and I don't feel comfortable letting Toni ride by herself. She would argue that she's fine by herself since she's 7 going on 27, but she got separated from our family three visits ago, and I don't think I can do through the terror of losing a kid at Disney World again. (The cast members were AMAZING when I ran up to them to tell them my child was lost--they had her back with us within 10 minutes! She'd stopped to watch the parade when the rest of us went around a corner. It was still the 10 longest minutes of my life.)

I made us some baby Yoda shirts for our MK day! Given the number of snacks that we usually find at MK, I thought Yoda's snack collection was quite appropriate. I have a matching shirt, too!

Basically, give me ALL the Mickey shaped snacks.

On that note, we'll probably eat our way through MK with some favorites including the Mickey pretzel with cheese, Mickey ice cream bars, and a funnel cake or two. Rounding out the Disney food groups, we'll also try a turkey leg and Dole whip at some point! (Calories don't count at Disney World--right?!)

I'm debating on making an ADR at one of the sit down restaurants in MK so we can take a break at some point in the day. I've never eaten at Liberty Tree Tavern, and I know my kids would love the foods there, but I also don't want to pay that much for Sonny to eat 5 bites of food, per his usual.

Tony's Town Square Restaurant also has some of my kids' favorites (chicken alfredo and pizza!), and I could probably split a plate with Sonny so we're not wasting money or food.

Or, we might head over to Cosmic Ray's for a few low key burgers. Honestly, knowing my kids, this is probably what we should do even though I'd love to try something else. I just hate paying for food knowing that my kids will stare at it!

Since it will be our last day in the park, I'll spend a little time picking up a few souvenirs for friends and family back home. I'm hoping to do this relatively late in the day so I don't have to haul my finds around the park for too long.

And, then it will be over. I hate that we don't get a big send off with the fireworks, but that's just the time we're living in.

I will definitely be doing a trip report when we get back, so look for that soon!

Back to the PTR Menu​

 

[Isabelle12345]

I love those t-shirts!
Are you making them yourself or do you have a website you use?
DS is obsessed with baby yoda so he would love love love that shirt!

One of the books was the Birnbaum's 2020 kids WDW planner, and my 7.5 year daughter is in LOVE with it.

My kids love that book too! We used it a lot before our previous trip to give them an idea of what Disney World is and to know their priorities ... and since we’ve been back DD regularly asks for it as her bedtime story!

Your MK day looks like a great ending to your trip!
I would probably opt for Tony’s town square just to have a quiet sit down meal as a break from the hustle of the park (I hear the food has gotten a lot better lately and it really is kid friendly food!) - or have you considered there Plaza?

Enjoy the trip, it’s coming soon!

 

[AliceNDinah]

I have a good friend that lives right near there, and she loves it! I grew up in Mount Pleasant but moved out to the Awendaw/McClellanville area right after my DD was born: we liked the quiet and the community, but the drive (especially when I went back to work) was TOUGH. As if 2020 weren't crazy enough, we decided to move back to Mount Pleasant, which is much closer to our jobs and my family. Everything has grown up so much just in the few years since we left for the country!

Are you planning to do any sightseeing when you visit CHS on the way to WDW? My kids are getting big enough that I am thinking of doing some touristy stuff with them this summer--maybe taking the boat to Fort Sumter or going to Charlestowne Landing in between all of our pool and beach time!

Hi, yes, we're planning on sightseeing in Charleston - we're there for two days, and I want to revisit my favorite sites (Isle of Palms, I'm looking at you) and show our soon to be 9 year old son where he used to live. He was 5 when we we left, so he doesn't remember a whole lot, but it will still be fun. Looking forward to King Street and just seeing some of the "old" familiar places. Can't wait to eat at Sticky Fingers and Cookout again, we don't have those here in Minnesota, ha ha. Oh, I love Mount Pleasant; we loved visiting the Yorktown (my little boy was chosen to drive the water taxi), and eating at "The Fish House" over there. We did do Fort Sumter back in the day, very fun.

Hope your head cold is getting better, and I can't wait to read your trip report. That's nice that your kids are in on the surprise now, and can share your excitement. Have an awesome time next week!!