Take Your 2-Year-Old to Disney! Aug '17 TR * COMPLETE 1/10/19

[jrmint427]

I'm joining in late, but loving your TR already! We went last year with a 1 and 3 year old and are going back this year when they will be 2 and 4. I hadn't heard of the Water Wow books before, I've already added them to my Amazon cart! I'm looking forward to reading more about your adventures with a toddler.

 

[jrmint427]

DD loved it again. But something was different this time. At the bottom of one of the drops a big splash landed right on my side of our bench seat and soaked the bottom of my shorts. Luckily my behind seemed to absorb all of it because DD didn't get wet. Once we got off the ride I realized my underwear was just as soaked as my shorts. It was pretty uncomfortable for a while before I finally dried. Too bad we changed plans and weren't going back to the resort before dinner...
​

My bottom got soaked when we road FEA the first time too! We were in the front row, my daughter got water in her face. She hated the ride, probably because of that

 

[jrmint427]

I'm all caught up now! I wish I had read about your HS day before our trip. We rope dropped HS and went on Toy Story Mania first, then went to meet Buzz and Woody. We waited about 50 minutes at that point. I will know to flip flop next time!

 

[jchurch0409]

Joining in!

 

[heathsf]

This. Picture.

Ugh I know. Merida was the best.

Ugh, this is my DH. Doesn't remember anything and honestly, sometimes it's a good thing, cause then I can change my response the second time around if i'm wanting to change plans!

Good point!

Looks like you all had a great meal at 1900, but that is odd that the characters interacted so little. Maybe they were behind or something?

Yeah, maybe that and/or that it was the end of breakfast

I'm joining in late, but loving your TR already! We went last year with a 1 and 3 year old and are going back this year when they will be 2 and 4. I hadn't heard of the Water Wow books before, I've already added them to my Amazon cart! I'm looking forward to reading more about your adventures with a toddler.

Thanks for joining in! So happy to have you here
The Water Wow books are seriously amazing. I bought new ones for our next trip (a 6 pack ) because the ones we have are really wearing down because she uses them all the time.

My bottom got soaked when we road FEA the first time too! We were in the front row, my daughter got water in her face. She hated the ride, probably because of that

Oh no! That's so disappointing. I don't understand why ponchos aren't allowed on this ride. Maybe next time I'll just wrap it around my butt

I'm all caught up now! I wish I had read about your HS day before our trip. We rope dropped HS and went on Toy Story Mania first, then went to meet Buzz and Woody. We waited about 50 minutes at that point. I will know to flip flop next time!

Oh wow that's quite a wait! Yeah, I was so torn over what to do and my instinct was really to ride TSM first but I decided to trust the people of the Disboards over myself

Joining in!

Welcome! So happy to have you join in

 

[heathsf]

Chapter 22
In Which The Rain Rain Rain Came Down Down Down

We had just finished our brunch at 1900 Park Fare and hopped back on the monorail back to Magic Kingdom. The Festival of Fantasy parade was scheduled for 2pm so we headed right to Frontierland to look for a spot in the shade. We actually found a great spot that was both shaded and roped off at a corner right next to a walkway so DD would have a great, unblocked view of the floats coming. You can see in this pic there were still plenty of good spots available on the other side of us. It was 1:30pm.


I went to the bathroom and came back to find a woman and her two kids had squeezed in on the ramp next to us, basically sitting on the taped-off walkway where strollers/wheelchairs needed access. I was so annoyed because they would block DD's views and they weren't even allowed to be sitting there. Plus, there was plenty of spots still available that weren't blocked off with a giant X! I'm not the type to say something (but oh how I wish I was!) A few minutes later she actually made a comment to me about how we were blocking the people behind us! What!? We've been sitting here on the ground since this area was totally empty!! What are you even talking about lady!? I don't know what she was getting at, or where she thought we would move to, but I basically ignored her and sat there seething.

Well... here comes karma because this rude woman wasn't going to get to see the Festival of Fantasy parade today. Although neither would we...

At 1:58 the skies opened up and it started to pour. A lot of people left right away (including the woman who thought it was okay to basically sit on top of us, block the walkway, and then comment about how we were blocking the people who came later and sat behind us -- okay, I'm going to let it go now). We decided to try to wait out the rain since we were able to hang out under the covered area and stay dry. And by "we" I mean me and DH. DD had the time of her life running around in the rain.



You can see in the pic above that our spot was in the corner and the woman and her kids were sitting where the tape is on the ground on the ramp to the left. Okay I'm REALLY letting it go now.

A little backstory on the amazing time DD is having: we have a weather book that she loves and shortly before this trip she had become obsessed with the idea of splashing in the puddles on a rainy day.



She just kept running and jumping in this loop for literally over a half hour. Up the ramp and down the ledge. Over and over and over.

I was so disappointed that we wouldn't get to see FoF but DD was having such a blast, it was hard to stay sad. She was having the best time. At 2:30 they announced that the parade was cancelled and the Rainy Day Parade would happen instead. I totally forgot that this was a thing and I had never seen it. The silver lining is that DD had no idea what she was missing and she got so much attention from the characters, it ended up being a really magical [2 minute] experience.

I love how Goofy kicked the puddle like a dog

Peter Pan actually called out to her, "Did a crocodile sneeze on you?"

She was showing DD that the princesses were coming

Which prompted an adorable two-handed wave

And that was it! We had been waiting in that spot for just under an hour and a half for a 2 minute parade
But DD was so happy throughout it all, that it really didn't matter in the end. We followed the parade all the way to Main Street to the Baby Care Center because DD was completely soaked from head to toe and needed a full outfit change.

(continued in the next post)​

 

[heathsf]

We decided to do Mickey's Philharmagic next. When we left the baby care center the rain had mostly stopped but as we were walking to Fantasyland it started again. Since we had just dried DD and changed her whole outfit I made her put a poncho on which resulted in a kicking-and-screaming temper tantrum. I tried for a minute to reason with her and when that wasn't helping (I was expecting way too much considering she hadn't taken a nap today) DH just picked her up and carried her (still kicking and screaming) to Philharmagic. As soon as we were inside and she had fun things to look at, she totally forgot her tantrum and was totally fine. Plus, her poncho was already off at this point. She loved the show and I loved watching her reach out her hands to help Donald, and to touch Ariel and the gems, etc.

Next we went to meet Peter Pan and got there just as his set was ending. We were third in line for the next set and had to wait just 20 minutes. By the time Peter came back out, the line behind us was super long. While we were waiting the CM gave DD some stickers which kept her busy and happy.

DD ran to Peter with the biggest smile on her face. I made sure I was actually recording this time!

DD asked where Tinkerbell was and Peter launched into this whole explanation about how we could find Tinkerbell on Main Street but first we would have to shrink down to the size of a fairy, etc. etc.



Next we looked for some magic carpets to ride at DD's request.



​

We got to the magic carpets at 4:30 and got in line, not realizing quite how long it was until we were on the back of it. We decided we wouldn't have enough time to meet Mickey with the FP we had scheduled and make it to dinner on time so we told DD we had to leave and we'd come back later to ride. She was not happy she kept yelling I wanna ride the magic carpets! The very kind woman on line in front of us turned around and said to DD that she would tell Aladdin to save a carpet for us later. DD immediately stopped whining and looked amazed at this stranger. Thank you kind stranger! And with that, we left the line without another peep.

We headed down Main Street but before we could meet Mickey I had to do some shopping. My shorts were completely soaked from sitting on the ground earlier in the rain and the situation hadn't improved at all in the meantime. Can you believe I couldn't find shorts in the stores on Main Street!? The best I was able to do was some pajama shorts, but at least they matched the shirt I was wearing

We entered the FP queue to meet Mickey at 4:50. While we were waiting our turn I was able to schedule a Magic Carpets FP for after dinner We met Mickey at 5:14 so we had to wait 24 minutes even with FP. It really was a good thing we didn't try to squeeze in the carpets before. We watched the two families in front of us meet Mickey and they got to pretend to be Roadster Racers and fly like Peter Pan, either of which would have been perfect games for DD to play with Mickey. She even said to me, "I want to fly like Peter Pan." But when it was her turn, Mickey asked her to "wave the checkered flag" just like last time Oh well, at least she actually did it this time and seemed very pleased with herself.

And I was very pleased with myself when I noticed the Sorcerer's hat in the room.


Watching Mickey while waiting her turn

At this point we left MK to catch a boat to WL.


(continued in the next post)​

 

[heathsf]

We saw the boat approaching as we walked up to the dock.

It was still pretty gray and cloudy even though it wasn't raining anymore.


Happy on the boat






Have you seen the inside of these new cabins at Copper Creek? They look absolutely amazing. Maybe one day...






I love the lobby at Wilderness Lodge


DH went to check in for dinner while I ran to the bathroom to put on my new pajamas
They were a tad short but they beat having a soggy butt!


And then it was dinnertime...​

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

At 1:58 the skies opened up and it started to pour. A lot of people left right away (including the woman who thought it was okay to basically sit on top of us, block the walkway,

I am surprised a CM didn't tell her that she had to move.

I mean me and DH. DD had the time of her life running around in the rain.

What is with running around in the rain?!?

Which prompted an adorable two-handed wave

So cute!!! Sounds like it turned out ok-ish. I love that they do the rainy day parade. It def isn't as awesome but it is nice that you can still see something!

 

[heathsf]

I am surprised a CM didn't tell her that she had to move.

Me too! I was trying to send silent telepathy messages to the nearby CM to come over and make her move. Maybe if the parade had actually started they would have?

What is with running around in the rain?!?

So cute!!! Sounds like it turned out ok-ish. I love that they do the rainy day parade. It def isn't as awesome but it is nice that you can still see something!

It's genius really. If there was no parade at all I would've been so frustrated after waiting all that time. But in the end I left feeling pretty satisfied, even though the parade was literally 2 minutes long. Disney magic

 

[cindianne320]

Ugh. I would have been MAD at that lady, and think I would have sent DH to tell a CM (cause I'm not brave!). I'm sorry you didn't get to see the parade, but it looks like many memories were made, anyway!

I can't wait to see Wilderness Lodge in person! I've been to the new bar, but not inside the lobby!

 

[jrmint427]

A few minutes later she actually made a comment to me about how we were blocking the people behind us!

How rude! I'm always amazed at how bold some people are. I usually don't say anything but have started speaking up in certain situations.

I love this picture and the video of her running in the puddles!! She looks like she is having an amazing time.

I love how Goofy kicked the puddle like a dog

This is too funny! I love it!

Peter Pan actually called out to her, "Did a crocodile sneeze on you?"

It might have been a short parade, but your daughter got so much awesome attention! I would say it was worth it!

The very kind woman on line in front of us turned around and said to DD that she would tell Aladdin to save a carpet for us later. DD immediately stopped whining and looked amazed at this stranger. Thank you kind stranger!

I noticed on our last trip how amazing most of the other guests were. I love hearing this kind of thing!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

I just read your whole TR in a couple hours and I'm loving it! Your daughter is so adorable and it's so cute seeing the pictures and videos of how happy she is with the characters!

We're going at the end of August this year. It seems like crowds weren't bad when you guys were there. I hope it's the same for us!

 

[kastoney]

few minutes later she actually made a comment to me about how we were blocking the people behind us! What!? We've been sitting here on the ground since this area was totally empty!! What are you even talking about lady!? I don't know what she was getting at, or where she thought we would move to, but I basically ignored her and sat there seething.

I'm shocked that a cast member didn't come and ask her to move since she was so blatantly sitting in a blocked off area. I would have been seething too. While I'm sorry you missed the parade, is it bad I'm glad this lady did

And by "we" I mean me and DH. DD had the time of her life running around in the rain.

I love how we put so much effort into planning and waiting for parades and the kiddos just need a good rain storm to have fun in!

She just kept running and jumping in this loop for literally over a half hour. Up the ramp and down the ledge. Over and over and over.

She is just a Disney commercial come to life. #Perfection

And that was it! We had been waiting in that spot for just under an hour and a half for a 2 minute parade

Ah, she melts my heart

DD ran to Peter with the biggest smile on her face. I made sure I was actually recording this time!

Too bad she doesn't like meeting characters

Can you believe I couldn't find shorts in the stores on Main Street!? The best I was able to do was some pajama shorts, but at least they matched the shirt I was wearing

No, very strange they don't sell any but who doesn't want to wear pajamas when given the chance

 

[heathsf]

Ugh. I would have been MAD at that lady, and think I would have sent DH to tell a CM (cause I'm not brave!). I'm sorry you didn't get to see the parade, but it looks like many memories were made, anyway!

I can't wait to see Wilderness Lodge in person! I've been to the new bar, but not inside the lobby!

I know, I'm not brave either! You're right, we definitely made some special memories despite missing FoF.

Your trip is so close!!!!!!

It might have been a short parade, but your daughter got so much awesome attention! I would say it was worth it!

You're totally right. It was worth it.

I just read your whole TR in a couple hours and I'm loving it! Your daughter is so adorable and it's so cute seeing the pictures and videos of how happy she is with the characters!

We're going at the end of August this year. It seems like crowds weren't bad when you guys were there. I hope it's the same for us!

Wow! Thank you!
I'm so sorry that you read it all at once and now have had to wait so long for another update.... My explanation for my absence will be in the next post...

Crowds were SO light for this trip. We've gone a few times in August and this trip was the lightest crowds I can ever remember. I feel like we hardly waited for anything ever. Fastpasses were plentiful even really late in the day. Walkways were really uncrowded too which was nice. I'm afraid we got spoiled and will forget how to deal with crowds for our trip next month Hopefully it's the same for you this August!

I'm shocked that a cast member didn't come and ask her to move since she was so blatantly sitting in a blocked off area. I would have been seething too. While I'm sorry you missed the parade, is it bad I'm glad this lady did

I was trying to send a nearby CM telepathic messages to come move this lady. Nope, not bad at all! Because it ended up being a fun time for us! Karma!

I love how we put so much effort into planning and waiting for parades and the kiddos just need a good rain storm to have fun in!

Right!?

She is just a Disney commercial come to life. #Perfection

I would gladly let Disney put her in a few commercials in exchange for some free trips or maybe even just an annual pass and some flight vouchers

Too bad she doesn't like meeting characters

I can't wait to see her on this next trip. She talks non-stops about the characters she wants to meet and what she wants to say to them. Hopefully she's more talkative with them this time around.

No, very strange they don't sell any but who doesn't want to wear pajamas when given the chance

Good point!

 

[heathsf]

Hi Disfriends!

I am so sorry for my long absence and lack of updates. But I have a good reason:

We have a future mouseketeer on the way!


And DD is SO excited to be a big sister


The last few months have been really rough for me and I just haven't been able to find time to spend on the boards. This past week I've finally had a few days in a row where I feel pretty good so I'm hopeful that better days are coming.

I was getting really worried that I'd be completely miserable and sick while we were in Disney next month but hopefully I'm turning the corner. Our trip is less than 3 weeks away!

We have a busy day today but I really want to try to get back on this evening to get an update posted. Sorry again for my absence and thanks for sticking around!

P.S. If you're facebook friends with me, I won't be putting anything on facebook about my pregnancy until after we come back from Disney.​

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Congratulations!!!!!



Glad to hear you are starting to feel better. I had pretty bad morning/afternoon/evening sickness with both of the girls. So, I know how that is. Fingers crossed it will be completely gone by the time you head to Disney!

 

[ariane37]

We have a future mouseketeer on the way!

I'm a couple posts behind on your TR but saw the "life update" and right away thought................... So CONGRATULATIONS!!!! I'm very happy for you all! I also remember when you announced your pregnancy here with Ryann

I was getting really worried that I'd be completely miserable and sick while we were in Disney next month but hopefully I'm turning the corner

Glad you're starting to feel a bit better and I hope it continues. My DIL is due in July with her first and had an extremely rough first 4 months. Luckily she's feeling great now.

P.S. If you're facebook friends with me, I won't be putting anything on facebook about my pregnancy until after we come back from Disney.

 

[kastoney]

Congratulations Heather!!!!!! So happy for you all. I went to Disney pregnant with Casey (I was about 4 months) and all I can say is know where all the bathrooms are and eat all the food!

 

[TinkLoverSam]

Congratulations!