Our 1st trip as a family of three!----Update 11/3 Our Favorites/Trip Wrap-Up

[LilAnn]

We woke up Saturday morning bright and early for our breakfast ADR. My husband and I weren’t as cheerful and carefree this morning since we were fast approaching the end of our trip. Our little princess on the other hand, she was in heaven when we told her she was going to have breakfast with Minnie and Mickey Mouse. This morning we were headed to……

A character meal at Cape May! My daughter was excited to see her favorite characters again, and I was just eager to see the characters all dressed up in their beach and pool outfits. Lucky for us, since we were at the Dolphin, it was only a short walk over to the Beach Club. There was barely a wait at the Cape May check-in podium, so before we knew it, we were being shown to our table.

We were still getting ourselves situated in our chairs when we had our first visitor to the table!

Minnie Mouse stopped by to say a quick hello on her way to the beach party. However, as much as our little munchkin loves Minnie Mouse, she was a little distracted at the time.

A whole mini pail of brand new crayons and a table full of paper to draw on? I guess that would be a hard choice for any toddler. Maybe if Minnie had stopped by a few minutes later, once the novelty of the arts and crafts had worn off, she would have met with a more cheerful little girl. Oh wait, that’s right, we took so long to eat, that we got to see her a second time! No worries! (I apologize now if this post is a bit random or disjointed. I just finished with work last night – I do 12 hour overnight shifts, so my train of thought is not always the most coherent)

So while our little girl got busy with her crayons and scribbling away, we took turns going up to get the food. I had a little bit of everything on my plate.

There were some scrambled eggs, bacon, Mickey waffles and a chocolate croissant. Not exactly a healthy start, but I couldn’t resist. Apparently our little girl couldn’t resist either.

While we dug into our meals, we had another visitor stop by our table. A pretty tall one.

I love that Goofy is wearing a life vest!

Our next character brought our little girl out of her chair and into a huge all encompassing hug.

Donald just looks so cuddly and is definitely not as tall as Goofy. How cute is he in the sailor outfit?

I may have mentioned it earlier in the TR, but just in case I didn’t, Donald was a favorite from her first Disney trip. It obviously doesn’t look like her affection has died down at all.

And look who stopped back around our table a second time?

This was a much better photo with Minnie Mouse. She was in better spirits at this point and was eagerly showing her the new necklace that she just got. It was a Minnie Mouse necklace with her birthstone on it.

She barely had time to take another bite of her food before Goofy was making his second visit to our table. I wonder if the restaurant wasn’t that crowded? Or maybe we just take longer than other people to eat? Either way, we got plenty of character interaction during this meal.

We eventually just gave up on the high chair at this meal and just tried to grab food however we could.

We had to eat fast because Donald was making his way back around.

I didn’t get more pictures of this interaction because I was too busy taping it instead. Donald decided he wanted to dance with our little girl. I have to admit that I may have gotten tears in my eyes again at this point.

I have to say that we enjoyed ourselves at this meal. I love breakfast foods, so I am usually pretty happy with breakfast buffets no matter where we go. My only complaint with this meal was that I thought Mickey was going to be there too. Otherwise, it was a great start to our day.

Sorry for the short update, but as I mentioned, I worked last night so my bed is calling to me. I hope everyone has a nice holiday weekend! Thanks again to everyone for reading along.

 

[Dancegrl624]

Your post just got me SO excited for our breakfast at Cape May! I love the beach outfits that all of the characters are wearing. We are big lovers of breakfast buffets in this family...you can never go wrong with Mickey waffles! I wish they would ship them to my house!

 

[heaven2dc]

What cute pics! I loved Cape May Buffet when I took my DGS back in Dec 2008 He wouldn't look at Donald directly - he would bend way back each time the characters came then finally look at them. It was so funny!

It is always sad when you know you are getting to the end of your trip but always fun to plan the next one!

 

[RachelNinja]

I think I could see myself doing that too. I am already thinking Small World may not be as happy a ride for me anymore......jk, maybe?

I'm about halfway through the second one and I have to say, imagining all the animals gone wild in AK is freaking me out. That would definitely be a scary park if it went evil!

I was reading on Wikipedia that Ridley Pearson is contracted with Disney for 10 books! The teens will be in their 20s by then! And that he has submitted it for a movie premise twice. Hmmmm.

Haha, that's what I was afraid of - "it's a small world" becoming scary for me! But since I'm not alone on the boat, AND you know the key stopping the dolls from attacking you, it'll be fine. I actually took a pic in IASW with a huge fake smile plastered on my face!

I can't WAIT to go to AK so I can see everything for myself! Then I'll have to reread it again so I can picture everything correctly. I read that one maybe 3x? I haven't read it any time recently because Weird borrowed it a while ago. Haha, he doesn't have time to read very often (especially since I don't want him to take my KK books on the dirty NYC subway ).

WHOA, that's a lot of books! That's fantastic though; I know I'll be sad when it's all over! I really want to see them make it into a movie, but I'm scared at the same time. If they do make it, I hope they stay true to the books!

 

[RachelNinja]

I'd definitely be drawn by the pail of crayons too! Ahh, they all look completely new with their nice pointy tips!

 

[lexmas]

How very cute...this is a character meal that I really know nothing about! I love the characters all dressed up...so adorable! And it sounds like you had lots of time with them, which is always a plus. The food looks good, despite the fact that breakfast food is pretty much the same everywhere!

Oh, and my kids would be so delighted with that bucket full of crayons and the table to draw on!

 

[SoonerGirl]

The characters look so cute in their beach wear! It is kind of a bummer though that there are only 3 of them there.

 

[tinkgurl]

Great update! I completely knew what you were talking about with the whole crayon distraction- except Little Guy's distraction was his light up Buzz Lightyear on his straw!

I can't believe there were only 3 characters there! I thought for sure Mickey, Daisy, or Pluto would be with them.

 

[MeMom]

Looks like a fun morning.

Cape May was a big hit with us. We loved the characters in their beach outfits, and the food was wonderful with lots of variety. We had a good waitress, too. It was a very positive experience for us.

 

[LilAnn]

Your post just got me SO excited for our breakfast at Cape May! I love the beach outfits that all of the characters are wearing. We are big lovers of breakfast buffets in this family...you can never go wrong with Mickey waffles! I wish they would ship them to my house!

Do you think Mickey waffles would taste just as good at home? Or is just because we are eating them at Disney that makes them taste so good? Maybe you'll get to see Mickey there too. I have seen mickey out there before, maybe we just went on an "off" day or something. I love breakfast buffets. Something about having someone else make eggs and pancakes makes them taste that much better.

What cute pics! I loved Cape May Buffet when I took my DGS back in Dec 2008 He wouldn't look at Donald directly - he would bend way back each time the characters came then finally look at them. It was so funny!

It is always sad when you know you are getting to the end of your trip but always fun to plan the next one!

Oh my gosh, I love that pic! Too cute! Since we don't have any definite Disney plans at the moment, it was more sad for us knowing the end was near. But we can't wait to take her back!

Haha, that's what I was afraid of - "it's a small world" becoming scary for me! But since I'm not alone on the boat, AND you know the key stopping the dolls from attacking you, it'll be fine. I actually took a pic in IASW with a huge fake smile plastered on my face!

I can't WAIT to go to AK so I can see everything for myself! Then I'll have to reread it again so I can picture everything correctly. I read that one maybe 3x? I haven't read it any time recently because Weird borrowed it a while ago. Haha, he doesn't have time to read very often (especially since I don't want him to take my KK books on the dirty NYC subway ).

WHOA, that's a lot of books! That's fantastic though; I know I'll be sad when it's all over! I really want to see them make it into a movie, but I'm scared at the same time. If they do make it, I hope they stay true to the books!

oooh, that's a good idea. To take a picture at IASW with a fake smile! Since we've done AK a few times, I was a bit freaked reading KK2. Now I just have to get KK3 to read! I wonder if they really will make 10 books out of it. That does sound like a lot. 5 sounds like a good number.

I'd definitely be drawn by the pail of crayons too! Ahh, they all look completely new with their nice pointy tips!

That reminds me of that line from the movie You've Got Mail (a fave of mine) when Meg Ryan's character talks about the bouquet of sharpened pencils. Love it.

How very cute...this is a character meal that I really know nothing about! I love the characters all dressed up...so adorable! And it sounds like you had lots of time with them, which is always a plus. The food looks good, despite the fact that breakfast food is pretty much the same everywhere!

Oh, and my kids would be so delighted with that bucket full of crayons and the table to draw on!

Since we were at the Dolphin, we were off the dining plan by this point. So we did some research and found that many of the cheaper character meals were breakfast buffets. We had wanted to do cape May when we were at BC, but didn't think of it then. So we booked it this time around. I also figured, breakfast is the same everywhere so we're bound to like it.

The characters look so cute in their beach wear! It is kind of a bummer though that there are only 3 of them there.

I was only a little sad since i had promised Mickey mouse and he wasn't there. Dancing with Donald made up for it though. She was super happy, she barely ate anything.

Great update! I completely knew what you were talking about with the whole crayon distraction- except Little Guy's distraction was his light up Buzz Lightyear on his straw!

I can't believe there were only 3 characters there! I thought for sure Mickey, Daisy, or Pluto would be with them.

We got the lightu Buzz Lightyear too! We also got the light-up Tink one. Hey,, we were at Disney, time to splurge! I thought I had seen mickey on an earlier walk by in August, so I was surprised we didn't get to see him. It was fine, though.

Looks like a fun morning.

Cape May was a big hit with us. We loved the characters in their beach outfits, and the food was wonderful with lots of variety. We had a good waitress, too. It was a very positive experience for us.

We enjoyed it too! I liked seeing the characters in something different. Next, I want to try Tusker house for breakfast and see them in safari gear.

 

[dawnbu40]

Nice update
Cape May is one of my favorite character meals because it's not as noisy or crowded as some of the others (and that buffet is huge!)

It's great the characters were able to visit a couple times each and that dance with Donald must have been adorable to see!

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

That sounds like a great breakfast! It's too bad that Mickey wasn't there, because all of the other characters were so cute in their outfits. The beachy theme was so cool. The pail of crayons would have distracted just about anyone!

I love that Donald danced with her. What a sweet picture.

 

[Trinity524]

Your DD looks so happy! Whenever someone asks me why I bring my son when he's so young, I am going to show them your trip report and my pictures as say... Look how happy they are!!!

 

[disney<333]

I was a little unsure of if I wanted to have breakfast at Capemay but after reading your update it's a must!
Great character interaction and pictures.
Your daughter is so cute with the characters.

 

[LilAnn]

Nice update
Cape May is one of my favorite character meals because it's not as noisy or crowded as some of the others (and that buffet is huge!)

It's great the characters were able to visit a couple times each and that dance with Donald must have been adorable to see!

You are right about how it's not as crowded. I liked that too abot Cape May and Hollywood and Vine. Plus, since it's breakfast, I know I'll be happy no matter what with the food.

The dance was cute. She loved it!

That sounds like a great breakfast! It's too bad that Mickey wasn't there, because all of the other characters were so cute in their outfits. The beachy theme was so cool. The pail of crayons would have distracted just about anyone!

I love that Donald danced with her. What a sweet picture.

I think Mickey is usually there, but we just happened to have those three characters. It was fine though because she still had a blast. I loved their beachy outfits too!

Your DD looks so happy! Whenever someone asks me why I bring my son when he's so young, I am going to show them your trip report and my pictures as say... Look how happy they are!!!

Aww, thanks! She had the BEST time on her trip. You can also tell people that even though she was only two she still talks about that trip EVERY day (and it's 4 months later) and asks when we can go back. You are going to have such a great time. It's getting so close! I know we didn't get too much done in terms of attractions and rides, but I wouldn't have traded that trip for anything in the world. her reactions were priceless.

I was a little unsure of if I wanted to have breakfast at Capemay but after reading your update it's a must!
Great character interaction and pictures.
Your daughter is so cute with the characters.

I think that because it's not as crowded and popular as some of the other character meals, you get more time with the characters. Plus we never once felt rushed. It was great!

Thank you! She absolutely loved the characters!

 

[LilAnn]

When I last left off, we had just finished a fun morning meal at Cape May.

We said goodbye to our friends Minnie, Goofy and Donald, and headed over towards Epcot. I absolutely love staying in the Epcot resort area because I happen to love the World Showcase. I love being able to walk out the doors of the Beach Club and be inside Epcot within minutes.

Once again, we didn’t have any set plans for this morning and decided we would walk through Epcot and just go from there. I have to say that I loved having the luxury of being able to just wander around the parks and doing whatever attractions or activities that struck our fancy. It made touring the parks with a toddler that much easier and less stressful.

We hadn’t gotten too far inside the WS before our little one stopped us for a photo op. She wanted to say hi to Bambi and Thumper.

Pretty sure she had no idea who they were since we have yet to read or see Bambi. To her, they were just a cute deer and bunny rabbit.

I have to say once again how much I loved seeing Epcot during the Flower and Garden Festival. The topiaries are just so pretty and make it feel that much more magical to me.

I decided that our little girl wasn’t going to be the only one to take a picture. Actually, I think I may have tried to get her to take another matching picture with me here, but she was not having that. So it’s just me!

It was so nice to get some of these photos in front of the topiaries without having to wait in line or position ourselves around other people since the WS was not open yet. Just another perk of staying near Epcot and walking through the “back entrance.”

I thought I had gotten a better picture of the dolphins, but I guess not. I do remember that my husband was walking at a pretty nice clip so I was trying to run to catch up with him. He forgets sometimes that my legs are so much shorter than his and therefore, I am slower.

At this point I think we started debating walking to the front of Epcot and hopping on the monorail to MK. We just knew that there was so much more for our little girl in that park. And we kept hoping that we might catch the park at a “slow” time. Ha. Wishful thinking for us. But first, we wanted to make a quick stop here…..

We hadn’t gone on Spaceship Earth yet and I felt like the line is usually so short, so might as well hop on board. Well, we parked our stroller and saw that the line was actually a lot longer than we had anticipated. Oops. It wasn’t too bad though, I think 15 minutes? And our little girl seemed to enjoy people watching in line.

Apparently we hopped in line at a good time. Look behind us (once you take in the full effect of our little girl’s Minnie Mouse sunglasses)!

I so want my own pair of glasses like that. Why do they only make them for kids? Don’t they know that sometimes adults are just as goofy as kids?

I managed to snap a photo of us up on the wall, but it’s not too clear. Sorry about that.

When we excited the big golf ball, we realized that Epcot was quickly filling up. We decided then and there that MK it was! I think there were just so many school groups there that week that we hadn’t planned on. If I were in school and there was a field trip to Epcot on the agenda, I think I would have been over the moon! What a great place to go and learn and have fun!

By the time we got to MK, I think it was a bit before 11am and guess what that meant? Time for the Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It parade! So of course we had to stop off and watch it. This time we positioned ourselves near our little girl’s current favorite characters – Woody and Jesse.

I really love how you can interact with the cast members in this parade. It is a fun parade, but after a few viewings in the hot sun, the parade had lost some of it’s appeal to us. By us, I mean my husband and I because our little girl was just as excited as when she saw it the first time. And really, that’s what this whole trip is all about. Our little girl.

At one point she walked over to see if she could dance with Chip and Dale, but there were way more kids over there.

After the parade, we walked over to grab FPs for Space Mountain and then decided it was so hot, we needed to get a cool snack for the munchkin.

It seemed like such a good idea at the time. I mean, look how happy she is with that Popsicle!

However, she didn’t realize that, unlike a lollipop, you can’t take your time with a Popsicle. You need to finish those off quickly before they start to melt! Lucky for me, that meant I got a chance to help her with that. It was the perfect snack on a hot sunny day.

Since we had some time to kill before our FP time, we asked our little girl what she wanted to do. Her answer: drive a car! Ok, the speedway it is!

This time around, we asked if all three of us could go in one car and they said that was fine. Perfect. That way my husband could help our little girl drive (and keep her in the car) and I could snap as many pictures as I wanted!

Checking out the other drivers.

Can you tell how hot we were?

It was definitely time for some AC after that drive. We headed over to Tomorrowland and took turns hanging out in the air conditioned SM gift shop while the other adult rode. SM had been closed for refurb in August when we went so it was on my list of rides this trip. I was hoping the ride wouldn’t be so jerky now, but I was wrong. Same ride, but I still had fun. It’s something about now knowing what’s coming up next that makes it so much fun!

After our thrill ride, we decided it was time to head back to the dolphin for lunch and some pool time. The heat was definitely getting to us this trip!

Up next: an evening at Epcot

 

[Dancegrl624]

I must go to the Flower & Garden Festival! I love all of the topiaries. You guys certainly saw that parade a lot! We've never seen it! I look forward to riding Space Mountain since I haven't been on it since Jan 09. I'm very excited that Madison wants to try it for the first time.

 

[SoonerGirl]

How great that you were able to get some topiary pictures without have to deal with a bunch of other people trying to get them too!

I love your DDs sunglasses, my youngest had some like that when he was little (well, they were almost like that - Mickey instead of Minnie ) and it always made me smile when he wore them, they were so stinkin' cute!

 

[dawnbu40]

Those sunglasses are adorable!
I love how you and your husband toured based on what your little one wanted to do!
I always feel bad when I see parents dragging kids around to things they don't want to do. (we had one girl screaming/crying in terror as her mom forced her to see the Tiki birds )

 

[tinkgurl]

Oh my gosh, those sunglasses are adorable on her!

You really need to do Tusker House for breakfast next time. We loved it!