Three Kids, Three and Under (My First Trip Report!!) March 2016

[amberdc1987]

Love your report!! Your kids are adorable!! I can't wait to hear more. We are heading down there Feb 24-March 3 so it's interesting to see how others have faired during that time. Keep it coming!!

 

[MrsSykes2014]

I am loving this. I am a new mom my daughter is 3 months old and we are taking her next October for her first trip So seeing the breaks and stuff helps with my planning. Cant wait to read more.

 

[Ltrainn03]

Epcot Part 1 [3/2]

So, B got into a pretty good groove of sleeping soundly until 3 and then again until 6. It still SHOCKS me that the five of us were in a studio and no one, except me of course, woke up with B. B turned into our 6am alarm clock, which was quite nice. I nursed him and then the Mr. started getting the girls ready. I'm not sure if I mentioned out system for getting the girls dressed, but I packed the girls outfits together for each day. So for this day, I had both of their outfits together in a gallon ziplock bag. I do this for each day. On each bag, I label the date, what they're wearing [so far they have worn matching outfits, but in the future I would make sure to identify who is wearing what or pack separate bags for each child], any hair accessories, and which shoes they're wearing. I typically pack two pairs of shoes for each child, tennis shoes and sandals.

So, the Mr. got the girls ready and he headed out to grab the van. Just after 7am, I finished getting everything together, the girls jumped into the double stroller, and B into the ring sling. We made the five minute walk from our room to the lobby, hopped in the van, and we were off! I updated my lock screen with a screen shot of our fastpasses for the day.

Yes, we're off to Epcot for the day. This is my absolute favorite park and I'm thrilled that my kids love it as much as they do. We only have one day here this time, and with a mid day break that leaves us with not a whole lot of time.

This was one of those moments where I over planned. Here in Chicagoland, it takes 45 minutes to get anywhere. Naturally, that's how I plan. We ended up staying Kidani by accident. We planned this trip a few months out and Kidani was the best option for us. I was a skeptic, but it worked out perfectly for us since we hope to stay at all of the resorts and knew we'd be using our van [not Disney transportation] this trip with the three kids plus the double stroller. Many people consider Kidani to be pretty far away from the rest of the world so I wanted to leave plenty of time to make our 8:05 Akershus breakfast. I do want to note that we made the 8:05 Akershus reservation well after the 180 day window. Side note: on our June trip last year, we also made an 8:05 Akershus well into the 180 day window. I've done both breakfast and dinner at Akershus [dinner was a DAY OF ADR!!] and I definitely prefer the breakfast. The food is more 'American' and it's mostly family style. I also prefer Akershus to CRT. My CRT experience was during my CM days, but it left a lot to be desired.

Anyway.... so we ended up arriving at Epcot at about 7:25 and parked in the very first row. I didn't realize we'd get there so quickly! We unloaded and quickly arrived at the gate. There were a few other families there and we waited and waited and waited. As a babywearing mama, I will note that we did see some other families that had little ones, but they were transporting their little ones in travel systems. I seriously cannot imagine experiencing Disney with that much stuff. I recommend bringing as little gear as possible into the parks. After waiting for a bit, we got checked in with a cast member. Just before 8am, we were let through the gates. Unlike out Crystal Palace pre-park opening breakfast, we do not take any special pictures here. For early breakfasts, we've entered through International Gateway and the main entrance and we've never seen a photopass photographer.

Once entering, we paid a quick visit to ME. My dad took me to Disney for my 16th birthday and we got my first Leave of Legacy [circa October 2000]. I have a second one with a blast from my past, but I've never visited it.

Excuse the blurriness.

We enjoyed our leisurely walk to Norway [home of my grandfather]. After parking the stroller we were soon greeted by an old friend of mine.

We were seated just off of the main dining room, which turned out to be a great location and early in the princess rotation. I stayed at the table and the Mr. brought M to the buffet. In all honesty, we don't get much at the buffet. It has lighter options. We mostly enjoy the eggs, bacon, and waffles. The Mr. realllly enjoys the bacon!

After settling in, we met Cinderella. It definitely took awhile for the girls to warm up to the characters.

Then came Ariel.

Aurora came, but I don't have any pictures. Snow White came shortly after. We were all set in about an hour, maybe slightly more.

Overall, we love Akershus!!! The most recent times I have been there have included Cinderella, Belle, Aurora, Ariel, and Snow White. Belle is the only guaranteed princess. I have had friends visit with others including Mulan and Mary Poppins. I've had breakfast and dinner here and breakfast is by far my favorite.