Pre-trip report: Disney through my baby's eyes

[coachlevy]

I’ve always been a fan of Disney, but I officially became obsessed with WDW on my honeymoon 5 years ago. Thanks to the DIS I am now addicted to trip reports and feel compelled to write my own. Out of my 16 trips to WDW this is the most exciting one yet- it’s my baby boy’s first trip to meet the mouse!!!!

Cast of Characters:

Me: 28, teacher turned stay at home mom, completely obsessed with Disney.

Dh: 33, teacher/track coach, loves Disney but says he only likes it for my sake. He’s visited the Mouse four times in the past 5 years.

Ds: 11 months old, brainwashed since birth to love all things Disney. Loves Disney music and Mickey. Will be 14 months for the trip.

Dm: Best mom/grandma. I’m pretty sure she’s only going to experience the magic with her newest grandson.
Dd: Very laid back and doesn’t like to follow a schedule. He would go the parks everyday at 11 AM if he had it his way (he’s in for a rude awakening!).
Da: Dear Aunt who will be joining us for 3 days. Not a fan of Disney (gasp!)

Background Info:
So I started going to WDW when I was 2. My dm and dd brought me back many times and I even had the chance to visit Disneyland and Disneyland Paris. However, my obsession started while planning my honeymoon. Dh bought every book and perused every WDW website to ensure a perfect honeymoon (btw, it was wonderful).
Fast forward two years, and I am in charge of planning a WDW vacation for the entire family (dm, dd, dsis and family). I was in heaven. I made tables for everything from hotel choice to our daily itinerary, printed touring plans for everyone, and fell deeper into my Disney obsession (the trip was a huge success though!). Dh and I also visited twice in 2005 and each time I honed my planning/touring skills. No trip in ’06 because I was pregnant, but we’re on our way once again in August.

This trip is extra special because it is the first for ds. My Disney “brainwashing” began when he was about 2 weeks old. It started by playing Disney music (Spectromagic, Wishes, Illuminations, It’s a Small World).

Next I introduced a Mickey doll (or two) which he adores. He even hugs him on command! Then there’s the Mickey clothing, hat, ears, etc. His first birthday will be celebrated with Mickey. Here are some pictures of ds and his pal Mickey.

1 month old

2 months

3 months

5 months

10 months

Even though planning for this trip started while ds was in utero, we officially booked back in January. We rented DVC points and are staying at Villas at the Wilderness Lodge. I must admit I’m a little nervous because we always stay at the Beach Club. I’ve heard great things about WL and I hope they’re all true!
I will post more pics after the big birthday bash in a few weeks.

 

[OhMari]

Your little guy is really cute. I am going to put you in our New Pre-Trip Boards. When you get home and start your Trip Report, PM me and I will move you to this board.

OhMari
Trip Report Moderator

 

[coachlevy]

Ds celebrated his first birthday and had a blast! The party was a Mickey theme which he loved. I ordered Mickey ears from the Laughing Place store and surprisingly, ds didn’t mind wearing them. He was so excited by the Mickey balloons and his cake. I am even more excited for our trip after seeing his reaction at the party. Here are some pictures of ds wearing his Mickey ears.

Ds, Me, and DH

Ds seems to love Mickey more and more each day. Today I had a bag from the Disney store and he shrieked in delight when he saw Mickey's face. I also received two Mickey cards for my birthday (29) and he crawled over and grabbed it from me. He's too cute!!!
We made our ADR at the 180 day mark and are hitting some of our favorite spots. Chef Mickey's, Boma, Beaches and Cream, and California Grill. We are also trying 'Ohana and Whispering Canyon for the first time.

 

[IluvXU]

It is exciting to read about people who are going when we are... we are at the WL August 13-21st. Check out my pretrip report and who knows we might be doing the same things! My youngest will be almost 18 months... and we told our oldest no trip to WDW until the baby is 1. (We had taken our older one at 9 months, 16 months and 23 months... so it was hard to have a while between trips!

 

[moparop]

Your little guy is so cute!! I am jealous of your trip to Disney. I so want to go this year, but DH seems to think we should save money instead.

How is the trip planning going? Have you made ADRs and tentative schedules?

 

[SwansLoveDisney]

Such a cute little boy! I love it that he is being born and bred a Disney fanatic. If only my in-laws had done that with my husband!

 

[coachlevy]

I have spent many hours devising a perfect schedule for our trip. I think I finally have it, although I change my mind every few days.

Our basic day consists of waking early, arriving at the parks for opening, leaving before lunch, taking a nap/swimming in the afternoon,

dinner, and visiting a park in the evening. Here is what the schedule currently looks like:

August 18th: We arrive to Orlando at 6:50 PM. Ds normally goes to sleep at 7:30 so he will either sleep in the car or be completely wired. He always wakes up when we transfer him from the car seat to his crib so I’m expecting him to fall asleep very late. I can’t decide if we should hit MK the next morning or sleep late. Ds wakes up very early on vacation so I think we’ll give the park a try. If he’s tired he’ll sleep in the stroller.

August 19th
MK in the morning. We arrive 30 minutes before opening and leave after a few hours. In the past I’ve been able to see all of the major rides before 11 AM. This year should be quicker though because we’re mainly visiting the rides for ds. Hopefully we’ll be in and out before the temperature and humidity become too uncomfortable. We’ll return to the hotel to rest/swim and spend the evening at Epcot and the Boardwalk. I think we’ll eat at Beaches and Cream. The food is okay, but the ice cream is sinful!!!

August 20th
AK in the morning. It should be a short visit because I only want to ride Kilmanjaro Safari and see Festival of the Lion King. We’ll also see the characters and maybe catch one of the other shows (Flights of Wonder or Nemo?). We have reservations at Whispering Canyon Café in the WL. Ds should be entertained by the silly games they play there. We hope to see Spectromagic at night (I hope ds can stay awake and doesn’t fall asleep in his stroller).

August 21st
Epcot in the AM, Chef Mickey’s for dinner. Hoping for an early evening, but DH wants to go to Downtown Disney to walk around and shop. Either way ds will probably fall asleep in his stroller (he is not a big fan of the pack n play, so he falls asleep in the stroller and then we transfer him to the PnP or our bed).

August 22nd
Relax in the morning or MK. DH wants to visit a park every day, but I know we’ll need some down time. We’re eating at the California Grill and then heading back to the MK to watch Wishes.

August 23rd
Another morning to relax. We have ADR at Boma and we’ll walk around AKL. DH wants to go back to MK to see Spectromagic again. We’ll see how everyone is feeling, especially ds.

August 24th
MK or MGM. I’m seeing a pattern here of visiting MK too much. I never thought I’d say those words…lol. I didn’t think there was much for ds at MGM, but I guess he’ll like Playhouse Disney. We’re eating at ‘Ohana which I’ve heard great things about. No evening plans except for packing and maybe walking over to Fort Wilderness to see the Chip and Dale Singalong.

August 25th
Our flight departs at 1:50 so we’ll spend some time at the pool in the morning. We’ll probably eat breakfast at Whispering Canyon.

A few words for those of you reading my pre trippie:
IluvXU: maybe we’ll see each other at the pool or at Spectro on the 20th.
SwansLoveDisney: thanks for the kind words.
Moparop: I hope you like my schedule and ADR picks for the week.

 

[Avivasmom]

Hi from a former Long Islander...I am from Syosset now live in South Florida. What a cutie you have there. Got to start them when they are young.

Great you can go with family. For my DD 7th birthday my dd is coming, she loves going with grandpa. And a good excuse to come to Florida from NY in January!

 

[coachlevy]

I just received a call from the airline and they changed our flight times. What’s even better is that instead of a layover on the way home, we now have a nonstop flight. Ds will be so much happier! My next project is to find a rental car. Thrifty seems to have the best rates so far. I figure it will be much easier with the baby to have a car and not have to wait for transportation.

Avivasmom: Thanks for the kind words. What a small world that you used to live on Long Island. I'm jealous that you're closer to Disney now!

 

[coachlevy]

I booked my rental car at Thrifty and got a great rate using the Orlando Magicard. I’m really getting so excited for the trip. Ds has expanded his repertoire of Disney music and LOVES “Hakuna Matata” and “Winnie the Pooh.” He dances and shakes his head as soon as he hears “Hakuna Matata.” It also helps that I play Disney music at least once a day for him. I’m really preparing him (ok, maybe brainwashing) so that he is familiar with the characters and music during our trip. He’ll enjoy it so much more if he knows what it’s all about. I can't wait!!!!

 

[coachlevy]

I can’t believe we leave tomorrow! I’ve been packed for days and have “don’t forget” lists as well (I guess I’m a little Type A). I made two shirts for ds with Mickey. They were really easy to make using transfer paper and an iron. Here is a picture of one:

I’ve been so excited for this trip for months and now that it’s here I’m a little nervous. I just want ds to be happy while we’re there. I’ve packed so many new toys for ds and snacks to keep him occupied on the plane (oh, I hope he sleeps for part of the ride!). Wish me luck and look for the real TR in a few weeks! I couldn’t resist including this picture of ds sleeping with his favorite doll: