Taking a 1 and 3 year old to WDW: A Story of Survival, and Maybe a Little Fun! *FINISHED 1/16

[DizMomAndWife]

Hey there! Welcome to my trip report! Our trip was nothing short of magical, and I cannot wait to share it with you! First, let's do some introductions.
Me- Kimberly. Stay at home mama with two girls, lover of all things Disney.
DH- William. Sports and Recreation Pastor, Star Wars enthusiast, puts up with my Disney love (and loves it too)!
DD3- Reagan. Obsessed with any and all princesses, finally tall enough to ride Barnstormer (actually turned three while on the trip!)
DD1- Mckinley. We call her MJ. Basically just along for the ride on this one, liked princesses, disliked Mickey and friends (didn't actually turn 1 until a few days after we got home, but close enough)



The plan
Tuesday, December 12th- Leave after William gets off work that night, around 8pm. Reservations for a hotel off site (Fairfield Inn and Suites).
Wednesday, December 13th- Have breakfast at the hotel, leave around 10:30 to go check in to Bay Lake Tower. Head to Disney Springs, lunch, shop, and head back to the room around 4, or whenever our room is ready. Dinner at 1900 Park Fare that night.
Thursday, December 14th- Magic Kingdom day. MJ's haircut at 9, lunch at Columbia Harbor House. Park closes at 6 for Christmas party, pizza in the room that night.
Friday, December 15th- Reagan's birthday, and Epcot! Lunch at Liberty Inn, dinner at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall.
Saturday, December 16th- MK that morning, lunch at Chef Mickey's, then on the road home.

Tuesday
William had basketball practices that night, so we knew we would get on the road late. The hope was for the girls to sleep in the car. He went to work after dinner, while I finished loading the car. I got the girls in their PJs and left the house around 7. I filled up the car with gas, and went though the Starbucks drive through before heading to the gym to pick William up. By this point, MJ was already exhausted, and Reagan was wired...so I was really hoping we had made the right choice! I got a text from William at 7:30 saying he was on his way to the car- yay! We got on the road about 30 minutes before we were expecting!
MJ fell asleep almost as soon as we got moving, while Reagan watched a few movies. She would fall asleep every now and then, but she couldn't get comfortable, and never rested long. We got to the hotel just before midnight, with both girls awake for about the last 30 minutes. I thought for sure the girls would pass out once we got them settled in the room, but we were not so lucky. MJ ended up screaming for almost an hour before she finally passed out. She was so tired! Reagan did pretty well, but I had to share a bed with her to keep her from trying to talk to MJ. These kids... We all managed to get to sleep around 1am. Of course, the girls were still up and ready to go around 7:30 the next morning. We got up and just threw on clothes so we could go downstairs to grab breakfast. They had a great assortment, and the employees were very kind!

Reagan didn't eat much, but MJ made up for it. That seemed to be a trend this trip...This was our first time using a good neighbor hotel, and we loved it! We usually leave in the morning and only have a half day on property. This was a good way to get a full day in on Wednesday. After breakfast, we packed up the room and headed to the lobby. William took MJ in her carseat and brought the car around while I stayed with Reagan. She loved the Mickey stuff in the lobby. We left from there and we to BLT to check in! This was our first time staying at BLT. We rented DVC points through Davids Vacation Club Rentals and I would HIGHLY recommend them! Not one were we able to stay within walking distance to MK and just a monorail ride away from Epcot, but we were able to get a 1 bedroom! In our budget!
William and MJ waited in the car and I took Reagan with me to check in. They had our request for early check in down, and the CM even let me choose between two rooms! She said the room would be ready in a few hours and just to keep an eye out for the text. We headed to Disney Springs next. We were waaaayyy ahead of schedule at this point, and most places at DS don't even open until 10. On the plus side, this meant we got a great parking spot in the lime garage!

I took these around 9:30, so yeah, we had some time to kill. Also, it was COLD! I want to say it was in the low 40s this morning. We bundled the girls up and even wore hats ourselves. Since we had extra time, and we were in desperate need, we headed to Starbucks. Reagan got to play with the super cool drawing wall while we waited.

She enjoyed that, and even made friends with a little boy who wanted to play too. We were trying to get MJ to take a morning nap, but she was fighting it hard. We did some more walking, waiting for stores to open.
We went by the Welcome center first to grab a 1st visit button for MJ and 2 birthday buttons, one for each girl. We had been to DS just a few months before, on our anniversary trip, so we skipped most of the new stores and headed straight for the madness: World of Disney. This place is always insane, but if you don't find something here, you probably aren't going to find anything. We managed to come away with some Rose Gold ears for me (my very first set of ears! ), a stuffed Ariel for Reagan, and a pair of Minnie PJs for MJ. William found a few things he liked, but didn't buy anything. I took Reagan to the potty while William checked out, and we met over by the train.
Here's Reagan showing off her Ariel toy

We checked out a few more stores and finally got ready to eat around 12. Earl of Sandwich is probably our absolute favorite, and a tradition for us! we try to make this our first meal, every trip. William took MJ and ordered our food while I took Reagan potty (again!), then got us a table.

Continued in next post!

 

[DizMomAndWife]

We got a great corner table! William ordered me the club, and the girls a side of mac and cheese to share. I'm not really sure what he got...

Reagan ended up eating chips and basically nothing else. MJ ate a nutrigrain bar we had brought with us, and some of the mac and cheese. We finished lunch and William noticed we had already gotten our room text! We still needed to visit the Christmas store, but we decided to cut out the plan of seeing the Christmas Tree Trail in favor of naps, now that this was an option.

Another one of us enjoying DS!

We always get an ornament, and had already talked about getting a monorail one. So William looked around for it while I saw about getting the girl's buttons personalized. Did you know the Christmas store will do this?? I was so excited when I found out. However, its not immediate. I should have expected that. I wanted to be sure the girls had their buttons for that night, so I decided not to have it done. I just wrote their names in later. We headed back and loaded up in the car, ready to see our room!
We absolutely loved having the 1 bedroom. All the extra space was amazing! Plus the storage, laundry room, and two bathrooms! I don't know if we'll ever go back to a studio! Here are a few pictures:

We pulled the chair out, to explain to Reagan that it was her bed for the trip. We weren't sure how she would do with that, and had brought a toddler cot to put in our room, just in case. We set up the pack and play in our bedroom and put MJ down for a nap. Reagan was busy exploring and loved checking everything out. After naps, We had some time to explore the contemporary and get the cold groceries we needed. We loved seeing the gingerbread house!

We finished getting our groceries and looked down in the stroller to see Reagan passed out!


Pook kid, that morning had worn her out!

Up next: Dinner at 1900 Park Fare! Reagan finally gets to meet her favorite princess, and MJ gets to eat- win win!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Following along! Hope you had a great trip!

 

[DizMomAndWife]

Following along! Hope you had a great trip!

Yay!

 

[DizMomAndWife]

We strolled back to the room, snapping these pictures along the way, from the skyway bridge.


I was so sad Reagan was asleep, she had been trying to catch a glimpse of Cinderella's castle since we had parked that morning.
We got back to the room and just let Reagan sleep in the stroller. MJ enjoyed getting to explore the room on her own, and I snapped a picture of the few from our living room.

Once Reagan started waking up, we got everyone dressed for dinner. MJ was sporting her new Cinderella outfit we had bought before we left, including a massive bow. Wanna take bets on how long that thing lasted?

Once everyone was ready, we loaded up and headed for the monorail. Our reservations were at 5:20, and I took this picture at 4:50, so we were right on time. Notice where the bow it...in the cup holder.


The girls' first monorail experience! Also, our first monorail with a stroller experience! I have to say, the Contemporary did a great job with this, all the CMs were helpful in directing us where to go so we never felt lost. The girls definitely enjoyed riding, too!


They were cracking us up! Reagan kept talking about it the rest of the trip, she thought it was a ride Bless her, so sheltered.
We got to the Grand Floridian and took the elevator downstairs. William and I had stayed here on our most recent trip, and it felt like coming home. We love the GF! The lobby was pretty packed with people looking at the Gingerbread house and taking pictures in front of the tree.
Here's a stock picture in case you haven't see it.

It really is amazing, theres even a little shop built into the back of it where they sell snacks.

 

[lynnirene]

Following along! We'll be taking our one year old son soon!

How far in advance did you rent the points? I really want to try it, but have heard that there's not a lot of availability at times.

 

[DizMomAndWife]

We made our way over to 1900 to check in. We got everyone's jackets off and William took the stroller to park it outside. We checked in and hung around in the little waiting area.
I took these pictures at 5:20, so we checked in on time!


We didn't have to wait long, and were seated right inside the doors, close to the buffet. Our waiter let us know that Lady Tremaine and the sisters would be coming to our table, but we would wait and meet Cinderella and the prince on our way out. I was a little bummed by this, but it worked out well, and their was a photopass photographer with then, so that made it worth it.
William got MJ all set up with a placemat and bib while Reagan and I went and fixed a plate for the girls to share. I absolutely loved that the kid's portion of the buffet was at kid's height! I know, I'm sheltered too, but I had never seen that before! It made things easier when asking Reagan what she wanted, that's for sure. I took Reagan back to the table and went to fix my own plate. They definitely have a great assortment. The carving station had prime rib that night, and I got salad and pasta to go along with it. Reagan ad MJ had chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, and fruit, mostly. Well, MJ ate. Reagan had a few pieces of fruit. She was too excited. William and I had talked before we left that we wouldn't push too much on this trip. Especially when it comes to food. We figure she gets enough nutrients at home, if she wanted to fill up on snacks and fruit while we're on vacation, let her.

The first character to come over was Lady Tremaine. She immediately saw both girls in Cinderella dresses and just played off of that.

She kept asking us how we have two maids, when she only had one. She said it wasn't fair, and that she would take one of ours to make up for it. She told Reagan to report for work at noon the next day. Of course, Reagan went absolutely silent during this encounter, and all others, actually. She wasn't scared, just speechless

After this, Reagan knew more of what to expect, and the step sisters were getting closer. She spent most of the meal like this, just watching them roam the dining room-

She would tell me every time she saw one of the ladies that she was going to give them hugs, and show them her dress, and twirl, etc. Nope, she clammed up every time

Next was Anastasia. She made some crazy faces!

She asked Reagan why she was wearing such an ugly dress, but said it did look better on her than on someone else she knew. She said since Reagan has red hair like her, she needs to wear pink.


Last up Drisella. She was the only one who squatted down by MJ, so that made it easier!


She kept talking about the girls' bows, saying she liked then, but they need to be bigger. She said she wore a bow because she was a gift to the world!

We pretty much booked it out of there as soon as Drisella was gone. We knew we only had so much time left with happy kids, and we wanted to see Cinderella in that window!
Overall, we loved 1900 Park Fare. The food was good, buffet quality. The staff was great, and the character interaction was fantastic. The Tremaine family was hilarious. We will definitely come back!

 

[DizMomAndWife]

Following along! We'll be taking our one year old son soon!

How far in advance did you rent the points? I really want to try it, but have heard that there's not a lot of availability at times.

Glad you're here! You'll have so much fun! Its cool to see them just take it all in, and really experience it through their eyes. For this trip, we rented points 12 months in advance, to pretty much make sure we got what we wanted. For our trip in June, I think we reserved in February! The farther out you can reserve, the better!

 

[DizMomAndWife]

Next, we finally got to meet Cinderella! She's Reagan's favorite, or at least was for this day . She was starstruck again, but the characters did great with her.

Very pleased with this interaction. We headed to the lobby, and William went to grab the stroller. While he was gone I noticed there was a photopass photographer taking pictures in front of the massive tree in the lobby, so we grabbed one really quickly when he got back.

We loaded up and headed back to the monorail.
I snapped another picture from the skyway bridge on the walk over to BLT. Reagan was awake for this one!

We got back and gave the girls baths in the big jacuzzi tub. MJ wasn't so sure about it, but Reagan kept trying to swim laps I had bought a set of matching PJs just for this trip- I promise my kids don't match at home, its just the Disney Magic!

We read a story and got them settled in their beds. They had never slept in the same room without us with them, so we weren't sure how this would go. Reagan was on the fold out and MJ in the pack-n-play. We heard them talking to each other for awhile, but they eventually got quiet.

Up next: Will the girls sleep in their own room the whole night?? And our first day at Magic Kingdom!

 

[DizMomAndWife]

The next morning, William and I got up a little before 7 to start getting ready for the day. I checked out the monitor and saw this amazing sight...

They both slept in their beds through the night! The magic of Disney never ceases to amaze me!
We got the girls up around 7 and got everyone dressed and fed. We had grabbed some frozen waffles from the Fantasia Market, so we had those every morning. We headed out the door around 7:25-7:30, MK opened at 8 this day. We took the walkway, and went through the security check point. Shortly after, we realized we had forgotten to grab a paci for MJ, so I took the stroller and all the bags, while William ran back to grab one. We slowly walked towards the main gates, then waited for William to catch up. I took this picture at 7:45, and he showed up shortly after...

Again, it was cold! But we bundled, and the weather later was amazing. We made our way into the park and walked towards Tomorrowland first. We heard the end of the Welcome Show as we walked, so we weren't too far behind our original plan. We had some trouble finding the stroller parking for Tomorrowland, but a very nice CM saw our struggle and pointed us in the right direction. Its in front of Carousel of Progress, in case you were wondering. We went on Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin first. MJ's first ride!! Honestly, neither girl seemed very interested in this. But we enjoyed it
Next, we headed to the People Mover.


We still had some extra time after these two rides, and Reagan had been asking to see Cinderella's castle, so we walked up that way. Seeing her walk through the castle was one of those "Go ahead Disney, take all my money!" moments. She was in awe!


We headed back down Main Street around 8:45. We had a 9am appt at Harmony Barber Shop for MJ's first haircut! We did Reagan's first there, so we had to do it for MJ too, even though she didn't have very much hair to cut! We made it a few minutes before 9, and there was a long line waiting! We used the extra time for some snacks.
It was starting to warm up and we could tell it was going to be a really pretty day! The CMs showed up right at 9 and opened the shop. Three of us had the first appointments, so they had us go in first, then got the list going for the walk ups. MJ did pretty well, but I did have to help by holding her head still at one point. Here are a few pictures...


Continued in the next post...

 

[DizMomAndWife]

Continued...



My favorite part of this is the end, with the special set of ears!

Our sweet CM even offered some Pixie Dust for Reagan's hair. She was excited to be included!
We finished here just before 9:15 and took a few after pictures!


We continued on for our plan and headed to Fantasyland. Specifically, to Reagan's first roller coaster- Barnstormer! I wish I had gotten a picture of her standing in from of the height measurement, but I didn't. She told me she was excited, and she seemed to enjoy the line, but this the the face she made when we got on...

I look excited, and slightly crazy. She looks like we're torturing her. She put her hands up until we went down the hill. Afterwards, she said she had fun, but her face still looked the same
We met back up with William and MJ and headed over to Dumbo! When we took Reagan here on her first trip, the play area was closed. We were excited to get to check it out this time! We let the girls play for a few minutes.

We didn't want to spend too much time, we still had a lot to get done!We headed out and rode the ride next.

MJ seemed to like this one! She sat still and just hung out.

Continued in next post...

 

[DizMomAndWife]

We finished Dumbo and headed to Mad Tea Party. Reagan is still talking about this ride, she loved it so much! There wasn't a wait, so that was nice too!

For weeks leading up to this trip, Reagan and been watching youtube videos of rides, shows, parades, etc. She had gotten really into a video of this ride. We didn't think anything of it until we got in and she knew how to spin the cup! She wanted to go fast! It was fun though, and nobody threw up!
That was over around 10, so we had done a ton in just over two hours! We headed to Its a Small World next. MJ was very impatient during this one, and was super wiggly. Thankfully the people in front of us were kind and throuht she was cute. She kept trying to stand up and was using their backs, and their hair, to pull up . It could have been worse, but it could have been better. We grabbed a potty break after this, and then grabbed the stroller. It was a little before 11, and we couldn't eat lunch until 11:30, so we killed time by getting the one souvenir I had been looking forward to most- silhouettes! We went to the one in Liberty square. We had to wait a while, but it was totally worth it. Of course, as soon was it was our turn, Reagan said she had to go potty. I convinced her to wait a few minutes, just long enough for the CM to cut her out, then William ran her to the potty while it was MJs turn. It didn't take too long, and we were on our way to lunch around 11:15.

Lunch this day was at Columbia Harbor House. We love this place! Also, first quick service experience with both kids. It was interesting. Reagan was exhausted, and just wanted William to hold her. So he had her, and I had MJ. Plus we had the backpack and cooler. We probably looked like pack mules.
We ordered ours on the DP, and paid for a kids meal out of pocket. They were kind enough to put it all on one tray! We had to make Reagan walk, against her will, but we made it. We got a table upstairs. It was nice and quiet up there! Reagan liked all the sides that came with the kids meal- the yogurt smoothie and the applesauce. MJ ate the nuggets and the fries. When she was finished, Reagan asked to go potty. I remember she was acting super fussy, which is not like her. I felt her head, to check for fever, while I took her potty. She felt fine, so I figured she was just tired. We finished lunch and headed back down to the stroller. I knew Reagan just needed a nap, and I was really hoping she would pass out in the stroller. We walked up Main Street to do some shopping and both girls were asleep in no time!

We enjoyed some shopping. Probably a little too much, and let the girls rest.

Up next: Our afternoon at MK!

 

[PollyannaMom]

Sounds like a great trip so far. The girls are adorable!

 

[KMarston]

Love your trip so far! The girls are adorable! We are taking our 2 yo grandson soon! Following for ideas!

 

[disneymommy13]

Love reading about your trip! I have a 6 yr and will be 1yr on our upcoming summer trip. I’m getting many great ideas from your trip. Thanks for sharing

 

[DizMomAndWife]

Sounds like a great trip so far. The girls are adorable!

Thank you! I hope you enjoy it!

Love your trip so far! The girls are adorable! We are taking our 2 yo grandson soon! Following for ideas!

Thank you!! Oh yay! Such a great age. I hope the report helps!

Love reading about your trip! I have a 6 yr and will be 1yr on our upcoming summer trip. I’m getting many great ideas from your trip. Thanks for sharing

Thank you!! That's why I do trip reports, I always get great ideas from others!

 

[DizMomAndWife]

When we left off, the girls were enjoying stroller naps, and we were enjoying some shopping. We got a bunch of super cute things, including a pair of Minnie Mouse shoes for Reagan. I wish she had been awake for us to try them on her, though. We got them home and they didn't fit. At least I can put them up for MJ in a few years. After shopping, the girls started to wake up. We decided now would be a good time to check out the playground over by Splash Mountain, since we has some time to kill. We made the trek all the way over there from Main Street. That is a long walk! Of course, Reagan wanted nothing to do with the playground. I don't know if she was still groggy, or if she wasn't feeling well, but she wouldn't even let me put her down. I was getting frustrated, and the walk over there for nothing had kind of worn me out. We decided the best thing to do would be to go back up to the main path through frontierland and park the stroller in a good spot for the parade. We got a great spot by a trashcan, right on the front row, and with a small curb for William and I to sit on. This picture was taken at 1:15ish, so a lot had happened in a short amount of time.

We now had about 45 minutes to kill before the parade started. We had the stroller facing away from the rope, towards us, and we were just doing a small snack time. The country bears were out meeting, so that was fun! Reagan decided she needed to potty, so I took her, and we stopped for Dole Whips on the way back. We met a CM in line who's name is Reagan! She was sweet, and said her parents named her Reagan Kennedy, so she could decide if she wanted to be republican or democrat
That Dole Whip hit the spot. It got me out of my afternoon slump and ready to tackle the rest of the day. MJ enjoyed it as well, but Reagan didn't seem to. The parade this day started at 2, so we turned the girls around a little before, and got ready. The crowds were growing, so I was glad we had our spots so soon!
This was our first time seeing a parade on purpose, I'm happy we did! Reagan had seen it on youtube 100 times at least, but it happens during nap time! I was pleased with our decision to skip naps in the room. Here are a few pictures.

Her little hand sticking out to wave at them gets me every time. Reagan still talks about this parade and all the people she saw. She loved it.
When it was over, we followed it down the path until we turned off to go back to the bathrooms. I took MJ in to change her entire outfit. She had made a massive mess during our stroller snack time and was covered in who knows what. She was gross. After, I put her in a front carry in the ergo and gave her a paci. I was thinking if I wore her, she may pass out. She was still so tired. Out first fastpass window had just opened, so we walked towards Fantasyland. First up was Enchanted Tales with Belle. We waited less than 5 minutes and were in Maurice's workshop. Reagan just wanted to be held both in here and in the room where the roles are chosen. We all enjoyed the show, even though I had to take MJ out of the ergo towards the end. The nap was not going to happen, I could tell. At the end, the CMs asked if Reagan wanted to take a picture with Belle. William walked her up to the line, but she chickened out and wanted go back to her seat. William tried a few times, but she wasn't having it.
We went from here to Gaston's Tavern for a snack. We love the LaFou's Brew, but I also knew I wanted a pretzel, so we u-turned and walked towards the ariel attractions to find one. Once we did, we headed back to the Tavern. William ordered the drinks, while I got us a table. i started breaking the pretzel apart to share with the girls. MJ was excited, but Reagan didn't want any. She asked me to put her sun shade up, and then laid back for a quick nap. Ummm Okay
Mj was excited that this meant more pretzel for her! Girl loves to eat.

We finished our snack and did some exploring in fantasyland. We eventually headed back towards tomorrowland to do some shopping over there we had missed. We took advantage of the photo booth in the shop at the end of Space Mountain. This was an epic fail. Have you ever done a photo booth with 4 people? 2 of them littles? Yeah, it was interesting
Here's the results:

My personal favorite- with William pushing MJ down to make it into the frame

Oh these pictures. Such fun memories. Not great ones, but fun ones!
We went for another quick potty break and Reagan was SUPER fussy. She was on the verge of tears and just looked miserable. She told me, "Mama, me sick. Go doctor." She tells me this all the time, even if she just hurt her finger or something, but I could tell she didn't feel well. We asked if she wanted to go back to the room, but she said she wanted to ride the Ariel ride. Our FP window had just opened, so we headed back that way. She was still super fussy the entire time. We enjoyed the ride, and she seemed to have cheered up a little after, so we asked if she wanted to ride a few more rides. We still had almost an hour before our last FP window opened, and there were a few rides we had missed in tomorrowland. She said she wanted to go home, though, so we didn't push it. We left the park around 4:30 and walked back to BLT.
We had grabbed a frozen pizza for dinner tonight, so I got that on and we set up for the night. Everyone went to bed early, and we prepared for the next day- Epcot!

Up next: Our day at Epcot!

 

[Mskia]

I am really enjoying your TR. My daughter and I will be doing our first trip this month and I like to read how people do Disney with small children!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Enjoying your report! Your girls are so sweet! Hope Reagan wasn’t too ill.

 

[DizMomAndWife]

I am really enjoying your TR. My daughter and I will be doing our first trip this month and I like to read how people do Disney with small children!

Thank you! I love doing that too, I always find good ideas!

Enjoying your report! Your girls are so sweet! Hope Reagan wasn’t too ill.

Thank you! It was the weirdest thing ever- kids are so strange!