Trip for Four (including two little kids) to WDW (5/25-6/1): WHOAAAAAAAAAA (see pg2 )
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kaysmommie
DIS Veteran
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Love your trip report! Your DS is 2 like my DS who turned 2 in May. We also have DD 6. We are traveling in September over Labor day and it will be hot. How was it doing Disney with a 2 YO? I'm a little worried because we only had DD on our last trip. Your pictures are great too! Any tips or advice for traveling with 2 little ones would be great. We plan on taking afternoon breaks. Also what kind of stroller is that? Your kids look awfully comfy in it. We plan on renting at the parks but now I'm thinking of buying a nice double. Just don't know how long DD will fit in it. She is very small though. We are staying at Poly too. Can't wait.
bigbabyblues
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- Mar 25, 2004
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I'm loving your report as well, keep it coming! We're going to WDW next year, almost the exact same dates as you had, so I'm interested to know how it goes, how the crowds aer, etc.
Trip Report: Magic Kingdom Day II (Saturday May 27)
Our Agenda:
Kona Café dinner at 5:30 pm
Must rides:
Dumbo
Goofy's Barnstormer
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
It's a Small World
Our original plan was to visit Disney Studios on this Saturday but since we did not make so much progress at the Magic Kingdom yesterday, we made a shift and opted to spend another day riding the rides instead of "battling" (pun intended) the Star Wars Weekend fans. This was probably a smart call anyway as Nat is no fan of Star Wars characters at least yet.
The "how do we get to the MK?" vote for today was for the MK monorail from the TTC. We head up the ramp to the monorail (push heave push ho) and the CMs were great in directing us to a handicapped entrance to accommodate our double stroller. Just a few short minutes and off we went to the MK.
We made it in time for the park opening, and yes, we got to see Mickey and friends at the Walt Disney World Railroad station for the pre-park opening show.
First goal Buzz Lightyear followed closely by Dumbo! We headed down Main Street and walked toward the Castle, and decided to make the right turn to go by the Rose Garden as the lines through the Castle were fairly long and with a double stroller, hard to maneuver through. We were at Dumbo in no time and there's a very short line! WOOHOO! The view of the Castle is beautiful, of course:
and we managed to get the three of us on:
After Dumbo, we headed to Tomorrowland for Buzz Lightyear "To infinity and beyond". Or, as Nicki says it, "To Finny and Be Yon". I was a little hesitant about this because I figured the lines would be LONG even though it was early. Well, I was wrong. We waited a little while, but it was only about 5 to 10 minutes. Hardly worth doing FastPasses. I had not been on this ride before because when we came in December 2004, Yogi rode this with Nat during Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party when Nicki was sleeping in the stroller. I remembered that Nat really loved the ride at the time, so I figured Nat could ride with Yogi for this visit and I could ride with Nicki.
Yogi had given me some hints for the ride and I had read other tips and tricks, of course. But all those tips and tricks go out the window when riding with a 2 year-old who just wants to spin the car around. Then I couldn't figure out where the laser pointer was pointing at. So I "racked up" something like 20,000 points. Nicki got 1,000 because I managed to reach across him as he was spinning the car and hit something using his laser. And Yogi was in front of us with over 200,000+ points showing on his screen. It was a very fun ride, and the theming was great.
Next we headed to Mickey's ToonTown Faire so we could be there for rope drop. There are three people there at 9:25 am. Okay, let's go ride something else in Fantasyland before rope drop.
So off we go back to the Mad Tea Party. No line (WOOHOO!). This time Yogi rides with Nat and Nicki. I was trying to take pictures which is a pretty hard thing to do when you have to focus on moving tea cups and I often saw Nicki mouthing "I want Mommy" and him trying to crawl out of the moving tea cup.
Since we had some time, we decided to head to It's a Small World. Nat is a big fan of dolls, and the last time we were at Walt Disney World, It's a Small World was closed for refurbishment. So silly me, I wanted to go on this ride too. So we walked on (less than 2 minute wait in line) and as we were in line I mentioned to Yogi that we would have lunch right next door at Pinocchio Village Haus. I have to try and clue Yogi in on my plans for the day when we are doing counter service as I have flashbacks occasionally to a pre-kids trip to Walt Disney World when I had all the plans and he knew next to nothing and accused me of leading him on a Bataan Death March through the Magic Kingdom. Nat and Nicki both love the "boat ride" and all the dolls, the balloons, the animals, etc. and of course there is that song
After that, we headed back to Mickey's ToonTown Faire. It's now closer to 9:45 am and there are about 50 people there. Well, no go for a ride with Goofy on his rollercoaster. Oh well. But his rollercoaster is still pretty high on the agenda, so we take a break there under the trees, get some water to drink, mist the kids a little with our mister. And I make a run for Frontierland to get FastPasses two for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and one for Splash Mountain. FastPass return times are now 1:15 PM for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and 1:25 PM for Splash Mountain. (EEK!) I hustle back to Mickey's ToonTown Faire.
The CM came out at rope drop to announce the opening. We were pretty far back in the crowd so we couldn't see much. No matter as the kids were happy. So they opened up and off we went to Goofy's Barnstormer. Nat was excited about this because she knew she was big enough to ride this and she wanted her brother to see what it was like to ride a rollercoaster. Nicki was excited about this because I always make comments during The Polar Express movie that the train goes on the tracks like a rollercoaster.
And just a little sidenote about Nicki. Nicholas was a large baby at birth over 9 pounds and all "chubby". He was so chubby that we literally could not fit him in the battery-operated infant swing that we had used very, very frequently with our daughter. We couldn't buckle the belt around his belly, no matter how much we let out on the belt. So this little guy never experienced the "swinging sensation" that so many babies like. To top that off, he has a December birthday, so by the time "outdoor play" time rolled around in the metro Washington DC area, he was a BIG guy, and around April or May, he had absolutely no interest in sitting in one of those bucket swings that you can hang from a tree, from a swingset, etc. So when we went to the park with the two of them, it was Nat that was "glued" to swinging and Nicki who would do anything else but swing.
We have tried for the past year or so to re-introduce Nicki to a swing. No way no how. He will stand behind the swing and push it. He will watch Nat swing. But lift him up to put him in a swing and he yells and screams. We of course do not force it. We just chalk it up to us never exposing him to an infant swing due to his chubby belly.
So as we are planning our trip to Disney, Yogi and I would often ask each other, "Just how is Nicki going to react to motion rides like Goofy's Barnstormer, like the Tea cups, etc.?
Well, we were about to find out on Barnstormer.
We get in line and I am carrying Nicki ("carry me, carry me!") which of course is the wrong thing to do for a height check. The CM stops me and I stand Nicki up way over the 35 inch minimum height requirement. Nat is dozens of steps in front of me so I picked up Nicki again so I could catch up with her. We have about four people in front of us so we "walked on" to the loading area. Nat in first, Nicki in the middle, then me.
Me: Everybody ready to ride?
Nat: Yes, Yes!
Nicki: All Aboard the Polar Express!
Me: Nat, keeps your hands and arms inside, ok? Nicki, I got you, okay?
Nat: (nods)
Nicki: WHOAAAAAAAAAA
And off we went. Now I love rollercoasters. So I yell a high pitched WHOAAAAAAAAAA all the time on rollercoasters. Nat has learned to copy me by now with our trips to Sesame Place and such. But Nicki has never ridden on a rollercoaster before.
Nicki said WHOAAAAAAAAAA through the entire ride.
So we are done with the rollercoaster and note to Disney, if you want to make some money on ride photos, you should have a ride photo on Goofy's Barnstormer for all those Moms and Dads that ride with their kids on their first rollercoaster ride and Nat wants to go to Minnie's house to "play in her kitchen". Nicki wants to go back on the rollercoaster ("Let's go WHOAAAAAAAAAA"). We compromise with a walk through Donald's Boat first, and a short visit to the playground. Then we go to Minnie's house for Nat and then back on WHOAAAAAAAAAA for Nicki.
Next we head to the Judge's Tent to see who might be there for character photos. This is the Princess trip, so you can guess which of the lines we got in to meet the characters
. The sign showed a picture of Jasmine and the Mystery Guest. And the Mystery Guest was Princess Aurora! Nat was THRILLED that it was Princess Aurora and so was Nicki. (And just how many other 2 year-old boys do you know that can tell you the names of at least five Disney Princesses? And know them apart from each other?! 
)
After the Judge's Tent, we decide to head towards lunch before it gets really busy. Nicki sees the The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh line and wants to go "bounce bounce bounce" again. So we ride Pooh (short wait maybe 5 minutes) again. This time Nicki rides with Yogi and Nat rides with me. Not a smart plan as Nicki only wants to be with
"Mommeeeeeee" as does Nat. *sigh* -- pass the Bad Mommy Award this way for forcing this situation. But once he gets going on the ride, he seems to be a bit better.
Okay, now off to lunch at Pinocchio Village Haus. The kids and I found a table and Yogi went to order food. I had not given him specifics on the counter service options on the dining plan, but he seemed to figure it out pretty well. The CMs told him he had a dessert option to pick for all the meals, so he picked cannolis. I had told him I wanted the turkey panini, which was actually a grilled turkey and bacon panini very yummy! DH had the pizza (he didn't like it), Nat had the PB&J sandwich (she liked it) and Nicki had the mac and cheese. I wasn't wild about the cannolis but the kids seemed to like them.
After lunch, we made a quick stop at Cinderella's Carousel (a very short line). We took a quick walk to Frontierland to head to the Mountains with our Fast Passes. We had a little bit of time to wait as it was 1 PM, so the kids played in the play area underneath Splash Mountain. When it was time for our FastPasses, I took Natalie with me to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. She loved it, of course! Then I met Yogi and left Natalie with him and Nicki for my solo run down Splash Mountain. I'm glad that I did not bring Nat on that ride. I for one love it, but I think she would be a bit upset by their not being any "pa bar" to hold on to when riding.
It was about 2 PM now, and the kids were starting to get tired, and it was hot so we took a trip through Adventureland for Dole Whips (love those snack credits!) and then headed back to the Polynesian for a pool break before our dinner reservation at Kona Café. We took the ferryboat to the TTC so we could walk back to our room. The kids were excited to be able to go swimming, but there was a thunderstorm in the area so we had to wait to go into the pool. We opted to take a break inside at Captain Cook's and had Yogi decided to get "a little snack" (counter service meal) since his pizza wasn't that good for lunch. He got the kids some mac and cheese and French fries, too, so they split a counter service meal. After a short wait, we got the all clear to go into the pool, and the pool was not crowded at all. We stayed at the pool until about 4 PM, and then headed back to the room. Both kids were worn out so we got them out of bathing suits and they laid down for a short nap ("cat nap"). At about 5:00 PM we got the kids up and ready to head to the Kona Café for dinner.
Dinner at Kona was probably my second favorite meal for our entire trip (topped solely by Le Celllier more about that meal later in the trip report). The service was fabulous, the food was great, and it is a very kid friendly place for a nice dinner. The three trips for Nat to go potty were easy to handle. The umpteen times that Nicki dropped crayons was okay to work around. The activity going on around the restaurant was great to keep the kids "occupied" so Yogi and I could actually have dinner conversation. We ordered the sticky wings (for Yogi and Nat), the pot stickers (for me!), the Beef Teriyaki (for Yogi), the filet mignon (for me), the grilled chicken (for Nat), and the grilled cheese sandwich (for Nicki). For dessert, Yogi had the white chocolate cheesecake, I had the crème brulee, and the kids split a kiddy cone. Yum, yum, yum!
We headed back to the room so we could take a break before our plans on heading back to the Magic Kingdom to see Wishes. But ..apparently, counter service at Captain Cook's at the Polynesian had not been a good plan. DH had something (the cheeseburger?) that made him so sick that we could not go see Wishes at the MK that night as we had "scheduled". And yes, it upset me. And it's not the first time he's done something like this. But the kids were tired, too so we "settled" for Wishes on our balcony. So for all those that say, "Why would you want to pay more $ for a Magic Kingdom view?" that's why I did it. Because after 15 years of marriage, I know Yogi pretty well. And I'd be REALLY miffed if I was stuck in a hotel room with no view of Wishes.
NEXT UP: ANIMAL KINGDOM DAY
Our Agenda:
Kona Café dinner at 5:30 pm
Must rides:
Dumbo
Goofy's Barnstormer
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
It's a Small World
Our original plan was to visit Disney Studios on this Saturday but since we did not make so much progress at the Magic Kingdom yesterday, we made a shift and opted to spend another day riding the rides instead of "battling" (pun intended) the Star Wars Weekend fans. This was probably a smart call anyway as Nat is no fan of Star Wars characters at least yet.
The "how do we get to the MK?" vote for today was for the MK monorail from the TTC. We head up the ramp to the monorail (push heave push ho) and the CMs were great in directing us to a handicapped entrance to accommodate our double stroller. Just a few short minutes and off we went to the MK.
We made it in time for the park opening, and yes, we got to see Mickey and friends at the Walt Disney World Railroad station for the pre-park opening show.
First goal Buzz Lightyear followed closely by Dumbo! We headed down Main Street and walked toward the Castle, and decided to make the right turn to go by the Rose Garden as the lines through the Castle were fairly long and with a double stroller, hard to maneuver through. We were at Dumbo in no time and there's a very short line! WOOHOO! The view of the Castle is beautiful, of course:
and we managed to get the three of us on:
After Dumbo, we headed to Tomorrowland for Buzz Lightyear "To infinity and beyond". Or, as Nicki says it, "To Finny and Be Yon". I was a little hesitant about this because I figured the lines would be LONG even though it was early. Well, I was wrong. We waited a little while, but it was only about 5 to 10 minutes. Hardly worth doing FastPasses. I had not been on this ride before because when we came in December 2004, Yogi rode this with Nat during Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party when Nicki was sleeping in the stroller. I remembered that Nat really loved the ride at the time, so I figured Nat could ride with Yogi for this visit and I could ride with Nicki.
Yogi had given me some hints for the ride and I had read other tips and tricks, of course. But all those tips and tricks go out the window when riding with a 2 year-old who just wants to spin the car around. Then I couldn't figure out where the laser pointer was pointing at. So I "racked up" something like 20,000 points. Nicki got 1,000 because I managed to reach across him as he was spinning the car and hit something using his laser. And Yogi was in front of us with over 200,000+ points showing on his screen. It was a very fun ride, and the theming was great.
Next we headed to Mickey's ToonTown Faire so we could be there for rope drop. There are three people there at 9:25 am. Okay, let's go ride something else in Fantasyland before rope drop.
So off we go back to the Mad Tea Party. No line (WOOHOO!). This time Yogi rides with Nat and Nicki. I was trying to take pictures which is a pretty hard thing to do when you have to focus on moving tea cups and I often saw Nicki mouthing "I want Mommy" and him trying to crawl out of the moving tea cup.
Since we had some time, we decided to head to It's a Small World. Nat is a big fan of dolls, and the last time we were at Walt Disney World, It's a Small World was closed for refurbishment. So silly me, I wanted to go on this ride too. So we walked on (less than 2 minute wait in line) and as we were in line I mentioned to Yogi that we would have lunch right next door at Pinocchio Village Haus. I have to try and clue Yogi in on my plans for the day when we are doing counter service as I have flashbacks occasionally to a pre-kids trip to Walt Disney World when I had all the plans and he knew next to nothing and accused me of leading him on a Bataan Death March through the Magic Kingdom. Nat and Nicki both love the "boat ride" and all the dolls, the balloons, the animals, etc. and of course there is that song
After that, we headed back to Mickey's ToonTown Faire. It's now closer to 9:45 am and there are about 50 people there. Well, no go for a ride with Goofy on his rollercoaster. Oh well. But his rollercoaster is still pretty high on the agenda, so we take a break there under the trees, get some water to drink, mist the kids a little with our mister. And I make a run for Frontierland to get FastPasses two for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and one for Splash Mountain. FastPass return times are now 1:15 PM for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and 1:25 PM for Splash Mountain. (EEK!) I hustle back to Mickey's ToonTown Faire.
The CM came out at rope drop to announce the opening. We were pretty far back in the crowd so we couldn't see much. No matter as the kids were happy. So they opened up and off we went to Goofy's Barnstormer. Nat was excited about this because she knew she was big enough to ride this and she wanted her brother to see what it was like to ride a rollercoaster. Nicki was excited about this because I always make comments during The Polar Express movie that the train goes on the tracks like a rollercoaster.
And just a little sidenote about Nicki. Nicholas was a large baby at birth over 9 pounds and all "chubby". He was so chubby that we literally could not fit him in the battery-operated infant swing that we had used very, very frequently with our daughter. We couldn't buckle the belt around his belly, no matter how much we let out on the belt. So this little guy never experienced the "swinging sensation" that so many babies like. To top that off, he has a December birthday, so by the time "outdoor play" time rolled around in the metro Washington DC area, he was a BIG guy, and around April or May, he had absolutely no interest in sitting in one of those bucket swings that you can hang from a tree, from a swingset, etc. So when we went to the park with the two of them, it was Nat that was "glued" to swinging and Nicki who would do anything else but swing.
We have tried for the past year or so to re-introduce Nicki to a swing. No way no how. He will stand behind the swing and push it. He will watch Nat swing. But lift him up to put him in a swing and he yells and screams. We of course do not force it. We just chalk it up to us never exposing him to an infant swing due to his chubby belly.
So as we are planning our trip to Disney, Yogi and I would often ask each other, "Just how is Nicki going to react to motion rides like Goofy's Barnstormer, like the Tea cups, etc.?
Well, we were about to find out on Barnstormer.
We get in line and I am carrying Nicki ("carry me, carry me!") which of course is the wrong thing to do for a height check. The CM stops me and I stand Nicki up way over the 35 inch minimum height requirement. Nat is dozens of steps in front of me so I picked up Nicki again so I could catch up with her. We have about four people in front of us so we "walked on" to the loading area. Nat in first, Nicki in the middle, then me.
Me: Everybody ready to ride?
Nat: Yes, Yes!
Nicki: All Aboard the Polar Express!
Me: Nat, keeps your hands and arms inside, ok? Nicki, I got you, okay?
Nat: (nods)
Nicki: WHOAAAAAAAAAA
And off we went. Now I love rollercoasters. So I yell a high pitched WHOAAAAAAAAAA all the time on rollercoasters. Nat has learned to copy me by now with our trips to Sesame Place and such. But Nicki has never ridden on a rollercoaster before.
Nicki said WHOAAAAAAAAAA through the entire ride.
So we are done with the rollercoaster and note to Disney, if you want to make some money on ride photos, you should have a ride photo on Goofy's Barnstormer for all those Moms and Dads that ride with their kids on their first rollercoaster ride and Nat wants to go to Minnie's house to "play in her kitchen". Nicki wants to go back on the rollercoaster ("Let's go WHOAAAAAAAAAA"). We compromise with a walk through Donald's Boat first, and a short visit to the playground. Then we go to Minnie's house for Nat and then back on WHOAAAAAAAAAA for Nicki.
Next we head to the Judge's Tent to see who might be there for character photos. This is the Princess trip, so you can guess which of the lines we got in to meet the characters
. The sign showed a picture of Jasmine and the Mystery Guest. And the Mystery Guest was Princess Aurora! Nat was THRILLED that it was Princess Aurora and so was Nicki. (And just how many other 2 year-old boys do you know that can tell you the names of at least five Disney Princesses? And know them apart from each other?! )
After the Judge's Tent, we decide to head towards lunch before it gets really busy. Nicki sees the The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh line and wants to go "bounce bounce bounce" again. So we ride Pooh (short wait maybe 5 minutes) again. This time Nicki rides with Yogi and Nat rides with me. Not a smart plan as Nicki only wants to be with
"Mommeeeeeee" as does Nat. *sigh* -- pass the Bad Mommy Award this way for forcing this situation. But once he gets going on the ride, he seems to be a bit better.
Okay, now off to lunch at Pinocchio Village Haus. The kids and I found a table and Yogi went to order food. I had not given him specifics on the counter service options on the dining plan, but he seemed to figure it out pretty well. The CMs told him he had a dessert option to pick for all the meals, so he picked cannolis. I had told him I wanted the turkey panini, which was actually a grilled turkey and bacon panini very yummy! DH had the pizza (he didn't like it), Nat had the PB&J sandwich (she liked it) and Nicki had the mac and cheese. I wasn't wild about the cannolis but the kids seemed to like them.
After lunch, we made a quick stop at Cinderella's Carousel (a very short line). We took a quick walk to Frontierland to head to the Mountains with our Fast Passes. We had a little bit of time to wait as it was 1 PM, so the kids played in the play area underneath Splash Mountain. When it was time for our FastPasses, I took Natalie with me to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. She loved it, of course! Then I met Yogi and left Natalie with him and Nicki for my solo run down Splash Mountain. I'm glad that I did not bring Nat on that ride. I for one love it, but I think she would be a bit upset by their not being any "pa bar" to hold on to when riding.
It was about 2 PM now, and the kids were starting to get tired, and it was hot so we took a trip through Adventureland for Dole Whips (love those snack credits!) and then headed back to the Polynesian for a pool break before our dinner reservation at Kona Café. We took the ferryboat to the TTC so we could walk back to our room. The kids were excited to be able to go swimming, but there was a thunderstorm in the area so we had to wait to go into the pool. We opted to take a break inside at Captain Cook's and had Yogi decided to get "a little snack" (counter service meal) since his pizza wasn't that good for lunch. He got the kids some mac and cheese and French fries, too, so they split a counter service meal. After a short wait, we got the all clear to go into the pool, and the pool was not crowded at all. We stayed at the pool until about 4 PM, and then headed back to the room. Both kids were worn out so we got them out of bathing suits and they laid down for a short nap ("cat nap"). At about 5:00 PM we got the kids up and ready to head to the Kona Café for dinner.
Dinner at Kona was probably my second favorite meal for our entire trip (topped solely by Le Celllier more about that meal later in the trip report). The service was fabulous, the food was great, and it is a very kid friendly place for a nice dinner. The three trips for Nat to go potty were easy to handle. The umpteen times that Nicki dropped crayons was okay to work around. The activity going on around the restaurant was great to keep the kids "occupied" so Yogi and I could actually have dinner conversation. We ordered the sticky wings (for Yogi and Nat), the pot stickers (for me!), the Beef Teriyaki (for Yogi), the filet mignon (for me), the grilled chicken (for Nat), and the grilled cheese sandwich (for Nicki). For dessert, Yogi had the white chocolate cheesecake, I had the crème brulee, and the kids split a kiddy cone. Yum, yum, yum!
We headed back to the room so we could take a break before our plans on heading back to the Magic Kingdom to see Wishes. But ..apparently, counter service at Captain Cook's at the Polynesian had not been a good plan. DH had something (the cheeseburger?) that made him so sick that we could not go see Wishes at the MK that night as we had "scheduled". And yes, it upset me. And it's not the first time he's done something like this. But the kids were tired, too so we "settled" for Wishes on our balcony. So for all those that say, "Why would you want to pay more $ for a Magic Kingdom view?" that's why I did it. Because after 15 years of marriage, I know Yogi pretty well. And I'd be REALLY miffed if I was stuck in a hotel room with no view of Wishes.
NEXT UP: ANIMAL KINGDOM DAY
Trip Report: Animal Kingdom Day (Sunday May 28)
Our Agenda:
Rainforest Café lunch at 11:30 am
Kona Café dinner at 5:30 pm
Must Rides:
Safari
Expedition Everest (for Boo only)
Nat had been looking forward to visiting the Animal Kingdom for months because she wanted to have lunch at the Rainforest Café. We used to have a Rainforest Café near us at the Tysons Mall, but it curiously closed last fall right before the new "expansion wing" opened up at the mall. So Nat's special request was lunch at the Rainforest Café. certainly manageable even with the double stroller, a backpack and a diaper bag. We decided that we would split up so that I could go to get Fast Passes at Expedition to Everest and Yogi could take the kids in the stroller to Africa so we could meet at the Safari. After rope drop, I hightailed it through Dinoland to Asia and managed a standby ride on Everest (very cool!) and three Fast Passes before heading to meet up with everyone in Africa. The walk way through Asia is quite narrow, especially with strollers, ECVs, etc. It is very, very congested through there, and I saw lots of little ones almost get separated from their parents/traveling parties.
The safari was fun. The ride seems a bit more "tamed down" since when we went on it in December 2004. Or maybe it was our CM (Justin). Very well done and the animals were a bit active despite the early morning heat. Nat really liked all the zebras (yes, white with black stripes, not black with white stripes), the giraffes (one we could have just about touched it was so close to our "jeep"), and the elephants. Nicki saw the baby elephant and went "WOOOOO" with his arm up in the air. We saw many hippos, several rhinos, some gazelles, and both a lioness and lion. The flamingos are always fun, too.
Here are eight pictures from our safari -- we took lots more:
My FastPass for Everest was another 20 minutes out so we stopped by at the Tusker House to pick up some goodies for a snack. Nat needed a potty break so we opted to cross the way for the restroom so we could hear some of the African musicians. She was a bit sleepy still and wasn't impressed. But on our way back to the Tusker House, I spotted Nicki in the window doing his best drummer impression so maybe he's the musician in the family? After we finished snack, we headed back to Asia to ride Everest. Unfortunately (pass the bad mommy award here) Nat was not tall enough to ride Everest with me. DH insisted that I ride again so I did (walk on with Fast Pass) and also insisted that I get a ride photo. Talk about a slow moving line! It took me at least 25 minutes to get through the ride photo line! By this time we are approaching our lunch reservation. So I paid for the photo and arranged for resort delivery. I met up with everyone and gave away two walk-on-now Fast Passes to a family sitting next to Yogi talk about a beaming girl's face! She was VERY thankful.
So then we tried to get out of Asia (traffic jam) and the slow pace and the bumpy terrain resulted in two crashed kids in the stroller.
No, they did not wake up when we got to the restaurant and no, we were not about to wake them. We placed out orders and skipped theirs, taking photos of them under the Rainforest Café elephant.
About 2/3 of the way through our lunch, Nat woke up. Then Nicki woke up a few minutes later. So we ordered them some food to share (the ubiquitous mac and cheese) and were thankful we had not cancelled our reservation at Kona Café for later in the day as they would certainly both be hungry later.
After lunch, we headed back to the bus and back to the Polynesian. Everyone wanted to go swimming, so we had the kids take a little bit of a break in the room and then we went to the pool. We also played on the beach in front of our longhouse -- the beach in front of Tahiti is very quiet and a great spot for little ones to play in the sane. We had packed sand toys (pails, shovels, etc.) and I'm so glad we did.
Around 4:45 PM we got the kids cleaned up and got ready to go to dinner at Kona. Service was great again, and the kids were a bit better behaved this time. We ordered the sticky wings (for Yogi and Nat), the crab cakes (for me), the Pan Asian Pasta (for Yogi), the beef teriyaki (for me), and the grilled cheese sandwich (one for Nat and one for Nicki). For dessert, Yogi had the passion fruit mousse (which was absolutely unbelievable -- if I had known it tasted that good, I would have ordered one for me) and the rest of us skipped dessert.
After dinner, we headed back to our room for a rest. The kids really wanted to watch the Electrical Water Pageant on the beach, so we did that -- then brought them back to the room to get into their jimmies as we had an early morning ahead of us. Nat was asleep by the time Wishes started and Nicki woke to watch the fireworks, but then was fast asleep within minutes.
NEXT UP: EPCOT DAY
Our Agenda:
Rainforest Café lunch at 11:30 am
Kona Café dinner at 5:30 pm
Must Rides:
Safari
Expedition Everest (for Boo only)
Nat had been looking forward to visiting the Animal Kingdom for months because she wanted to have lunch at the Rainforest Café. We used to have a Rainforest Café near us at the Tysons Mall, but it curiously closed last fall right before the new "expansion wing" opened up at the mall. So Nat's special request was lunch at the Rainforest Café. certainly manageable even with the double stroller, a backpack and a diaper bag. We decided that we would split up so that I could go to get Fast Passes at Expedition to Everest and Yogi could take the kids in the stroller to Africa so we could meet at the Safari. After rope drop, I hightailed it through Dinoland to Asia and managed a standby ride on Everest (very cool!) and three Fast Passes before heading to meet up with everyone in Africa. The walk way through Asia is quite narrow, especially with strollers, ECVs, etc. It is very, very congested through there, and I saw lots of little ones almost get separated from their parents/traveling parties.
The safari was fun. The ride seems a bit more "tamed down" since when we went on it in December 2004. Or maybe it was our CM (Justin). Very well done and the animals were a bit active despite the early morning heat. Nat really liked all the zebras (yes, white with black stripes, not black with white stripes), the giraffes (one we could have just about touched it was so close to our "jeep"), and the elephants. Nicki saw the baby elephant and went "WOOOOO" with his arm up in the air. We saw many hippos, several rhinos, some gazelles, and both a lioness and lion. The flamingos are always fun, too.
Here are eight pictures from our safari -- we took lots more:
My FastPass for Everest was another 20 minutes out so we stopped by at the Tusker House to pick up some goodies for a snack. Nat needed a potty break so we opted to cross the way for the restroom so we could hear some of the African musicians. She was a bit sleepy still and wasn't impressed. But on our way back to the Tusker House, I spotted Nicki in the window doing his best drummer impression so maybe he's the musician in the family? After we finished snack, we headed back to Asia to ride Everest. Unfortunately (pass the bad mommy award here) Nat was not tall enough to ride Everest with me. DH insisted that I ride again so I did (walk on with Fast Pass) and also insisted that I get a ride photo. Talk about a slow moving line! It took me at least 25 minutes to get through the ride photo line! By this time we are approaching our lunch reservation. So I paid for the photo and arranged for resort delivery. I met up with everyone and gave away two walk-on-now Fast Passes to a family sitting next to Yogi talk about a beaming girl's face! She was VERY thankful.
So then we tried to get out of Asia (traffic jam) and the slow pace and the bumpy terrain resulted in two crashed kids in the stroller. No, they did not wake up when we got to the restaurant and no, we were not about to wake them. We placed out orders and skipped theirs, taking photos of them under the Rainforest Café elephant.
About 2/3 of the way through our lunch, Nat woke up. Then Nicki woke up a few minutes later. So we ordered them some food to share (the ubiquitous mac and cheese) and were thankful we had not cancelled our reservation at Kona Café for later in the day as they would certainly both be hungry later.
After lunch, we headed back to the bus and back to the Polynesian. Everyone wanted to go swimming, so we had the kids take a little bit of a break in the room and then we went to the pool. We also played on the beach in front of our longhouse -- the beach in front of Tahiti is very quiet and a great spot for little ones to play in the sane. We had packed sand toys (pails, shovels, etc.) and I'm so glad we did.
Around 4:45 PM we got the kids cleaned up and got ready to go to dinner at Kona. Service was great again, and the kids were a bit better behaved this time. We ordered the sticky wings (for Yogi and Nat), the crab cakes (for me), the Pan Asian Pasta (for Yogi), the beef teriyaki (for me), and the grilled cheese sandwich (one for Nat and one for Nicki). For dessert, Yogi had the passion fruit mousse (which was absolutely unbelievable -- if I had known it tasted that good, I would have ordered one for me) and the rest of us skipped dessert.
After dinner, we headed back to our room for a rest. The kids really wanted to watch the Electrical Water Pageant on the beach, so we did that -- then brought them back to the room to get into their jimmies as we had an early morning ahead of us. Nat was asleep by the time Wishes started and Nicki woke to watch the fireworks, but then was fast asleep within minutes.
NEXT UP: EPCOT DAY
Thanks for reading my trip report and for all the replies!
OhMari: No, it was not an early entry day at the MK -- it was just VERY crowded in parts of Fantasyland. Touring tips had to be used to the max -- at least that was our experience.
kaysmommie: Traveling with a 2 yo is a joy and of course a little bit of a challenge.
Our "tricks" were to make ADRs for character meals so he could get in from the heat (a/c in the restaurants) and get a break from either walking or sitting in the stroller. We made ADRs for early times (as you can tell from my trip report) and I really believe that is key. Likewise getting an early start, especially if a child is anything like mine and up at the crack of dawn anyway. But my number one tip is listen to your children -- take their cues and be flexible. That way you avoid the meltdowns, etc.
We opted to bring our double (that's a Maclaren Twin Traveler you see in the pictures) and I'm glad we did. It was a little bit of a challenge on the bus but it really wasn't bad. The CMs are awesome with folks with strollers (single and double), too. We LOVED Magical Express -- it sure beats lugging (and installing) car seats! Bring changes of clothing, snacks, and lots of water into the park with you. I put everything into clear bags so it was easy to check the backpack through security's bag check line.
bigbabyblues: I think this was a great time of the year to go, but the parks are definitely crowded. Touring is quite doable if you have planned things. My suggestion would be to have a clear plan on what you would like to see which day, and which are the "must dos" for each park. I love going in December for the decorations, but I love going in May for the pools.
Thanks again for reading!
OhMari: No, it was not an early entry day at the MK -- it was just VERY crowded in parts of Fantasyland. Touring tips had to be used to the max -- at least that was our experience.
kaysmommie: Traveling with a 2 yo is a joy and of course a little bit of a challenge.
Our "tricks" were to make ADRs for character meals so he could get in from the heat (a/c in the restaurants) and get a break from either walking or sitting in the stroller. We made ADRs for early times (as you can tell from my trip report) and I really believe that is key. Likewise getting an early start, especially if a child is anything like mine and up at the crack of dawn anyway. But my number one tip is listen to your children -- take their cues and be flexible. That way you avoid the meltdowns, etc.We opted to bring our double (that's a Maclaren Twin Traveler you see in the pictures) and I'm glad we did. It was a little bit of a challenge on the bus but it really wasn't bad. The CMs are awesome with folks with strollers (single and double), too. We LOVED Magical Express -- it sure beats lugging (and installing) car seats! Bring changes of clothing, snacks, and lots of water into the park with you. I put everything into clear bags so it was easy to check the backpack through security's bag check line.
bigbabyblues: I think this was a great time of the year to go, but the parks are definitely crowded. Touring is quite doable if you have planned things. My suggestion would be to have a clear plan on what you would like to see which day, and which are the "must dos" for each park. I love going in December for the decorations, but I love going in May for the pools.
Thanks again for reading!
kaysmommie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2006
- Messages
- 6,861
Thanks for the suggestions. We made our ADR's all around 6pm. We plan on the breaks with the heat and definatley some Poly pool time. I was wondering how our DS will do on the rides too, because he doesn't even like the toddler slide at the park 
. My DD is also enjoying your pictures. 
. My DD is also enjoying your pictures. 
OhMari
WDW PreTrip and Trip Moderator
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2000
- Messages
- 15,183
Love your pictures. Glad you got on Dumbo.
I am trying to decide if I should make ADR's for Kona, everyone talks about Pot Sticklers (sp) what are those? We will be at the MK on Sat. the day before Easter and I want to do counter service in the park, but then go either to Kona's or Lands End for supper. We will probably be in the park till it closes that nite like midnight, so is Kona a more relaxing place?
I am trying to decide if I should make ADR's for Kona, everyone talks about Pot Sticklers (sp) what are those? We will be at the MK on Sat. the day before Easter and I want to do counter service in the park, but then go either to Kona's or Lands End for supper. We will probably be in the park till it closes that nite like midnight, so is Kona a more relaxing place?
disneynewbee
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2004
- Messages
- 1,799
Great trip report. My 3yo dd is enjoying looking at the pictures. Keep em coming.
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