We nailed it with a newborn, why not tackle it with a toddler?!? Updated with Trip Video!!

[TheMaxRebo]

I definitely think for families with little ones FP+ is so helpful vs having to get there early and have a "runner" to get a FP- for the big attraction.

an empty aquariam sounds wonderful for a toddler to run around in

Okay, maybe not! But despite this ride not getting a lot of love, I really do like it. I wouldn't mind a well done refurb, but I would hate to see a Maelstrom-type butchering. Imagineers, if you are reading this, you can refurb this ride, but please keep Figment!

Not sure if you have seen it my the way they did Mystic Manor in Hong Kong Disneyland I think would be a really cool way to do Jounery Into the Imagination:

Looks like you hit up a bunch of good food! Those shrimp tacos look really good and I heard nothing but good things about that hash

The Chase lounge always seemed to be pretty crowded - but it was nice for a hot day and you can re-charge your phones as well there

 

[ksinniger]

It's too bad you weren't allowed to bring food into the lounge -- different CMs must enforce that rule or not, as we were allowed to bring our ice cream sundaes up that same week. And yes, I do have a trip report going -- it's 8 days at the Contemporary with Memere.

 

[DisneyParkLover]

I definitely think for families with little ones FP+ is so helpful vs having to get there early and have a "runner" to get a FP- for the big attraction.

an empty aquariam sounds wonderful for a toddler to run around in

I agree! And with a three generation group with a toddler, we don't do much running! We all appreciate a more relaxed touring style!

Not sure if you have seen it my the way they did Mystic Manor in Hong Kong Disneyland I think would be a really cool way to do Jounery Into the Imagination

This is my first time seeing that, but that looks really neat! I can see how that would work well for Journey Into Imagination!

Looks like you hit up a bunch of good food! Those shrimp tacos look really good and I heard nothing but good things about that hash

We love Food & Wine! Everything we had except the noodles and potstickers in China was very good! We would happily have any of those items again!

The Chase lounge always seemed to be pretty crowded - but it was nice for a hot day and you can re-charge your phones as well there

I can definitely see how it would be nice and relaxing - it just wasn't for us.

It's too bad you weren't allowed to bring food into the lounge -- different CMs must enforce that rule or not, as we were allowed to bring our ice cream sundaes up that same week. And yes, I do have a trip report going -- it's 8 days at the Contemporary with Memere.

I guess it doesn't really matter as it didn't work well for us anyway. Before Luke, I could happily sit on the floor resting in the A/C for hours, but chasing a toddler in a room with tons of outlets, phones, and antique looking desks is not at all restful!

 

[kastoney]

Ahh, the figment ride. I have a total nostalgic appreciation or it too, but still miss the old one. That said, wait till Luke gets a little older and really has a "say." Trip before last my daughter must of had us ride that thing about ten times ; )

Those frozen shirts are great. May have to find myself one for the future. Love being passive aggressive when disney changes things without asking me.

We did food and wine last year too and also loved the farm fresh booth. Can't believe the visa experience, what a shame. At least the caramel afterwards made up for it ; )

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Meeting the Mouse

When I left you, we had just begun a relaxing boat ride from Germany to Future World. When we disembarked we still had some time before our next fastpass and our dining reservations, so we headed over to Innoventions. This wound up being a better rest choice than the Chase lounge. It was nice and cool with plenty of seats and Luke loved running around in there!










Our next fastpass was for Living with the Land, so we walked over to The Land and were enjoying a tour of the gardens in no time! I wanted to do this ride before dinner, since we would soon be seeing this area from another vantage point. After the ride, DH and I rode Soarin and Luke and my parents took another spin on Living with the Land. Then my parents took the rider swap to ride Soarin and DH and I took Luke outside. He was really tired, so we put him in the stroller and walked him around until he fell asleep.

Luke napped for a little while, but before long it was time for our dining reservation at Garden Grill! We were super excited about this reservation! Luke had met the characters when he was 9 weeks old, but obviously he didn't remember that. Plus, when he was a newborn, not only did he have no idea who the characters were, but he also completely slept through the meet & greet with the Fab Five. On this trip, not only did he know Mickey, but he loved him! Mickey has always been his favorite character! When he first starting dancing it was to the Mickey tunes. And there were car trips when he could only be calmed by listening to "ot og" (the hotdog song) over and over. So we were very excited to have him meet his much beloved Mickey Mouse!

We had intentionally not met any characters up to this point, so that this would be his first character interaction. But the time came for our reservation and Luke was still fast asleep. They said it would only be a few minutes until we were seated, so I went ahead and had James carry in a sleeping Luke.






We had agreed to wait a few extra minutes for an outside booth, so we sat and waited a few minutes.






But before long, we were taken to our booth with Luke still asleep. A picture of the scenery:




Luke woke up as we got seated and, as anyone who has had a prematurely woken toddler knows, he did not wake up in a good mood! He was fussy and had no interest in his food or toys whatsoever. I was really second guessing this whole meal until the characters started coming around. Dale came by first, and Luke was interested. But Luke doesn't know him as well and wanted Mama to hold him for a picture while he leaned over for a hug!



Next up was Pluto, and Luke definitely knew him! He was still warming up, so he still wanted Mama to hold him. But he went in for the full hug with Pluto.




A few minutes later, he saw the Mouse himself at a nearby table and he went crazy! He got so excited and he no longer needed Mama to hold him. When Mickey was done with the table next to us, we put Luke down and he ran right into Mickey's arms!








It was so sweet! Luke could not have been more excited to see his favorite character! That one moment seeing him run to Mickey for a big hug made the whole cost of the trip worth it! This is why I think taking a toddler to Disney is great. Yes, they come with their own set of challenges, but this age is so full of awe and pure unbridled joy! Seeing your toddler's eyes light up when they meet their favorite character is just awesome! It is really beyond words, so here are some more pictures:





























Continued in next post...

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Meeting the Mouse Part 2

A few Garden Grill pictures without characters:








The characters all came around at least twice each and spent lots of time with him. Luke was so thrilled and any fussy mood was long gone! After that he couldn't get enough of his character friends! It was all hugs, smiles, high fives, waving, and clapping!

I will also talk briefly about the food, but just know it will be somewhat anticlimactic after all the character awesomeness. The food is brought out family style and is all you care to eat. First up they bring the Basket of Warm Bread with Orange Blossom Honey Butter and Harvest-inspired Farmer's Salad. The salad is made with veggies grown in The Land. It was very fresh and tasty, but I was saving room for other stuff so I just had a little.




The bread with orange blossom honey butter is pure deliciousness. I could eat my body weight in this! The bread was warm and soft and paired perfectly with the combination of salty from the butter and sweet from the orange blossom. YUM!

Next was the entree plate. Char-grilled Filet of Beef with Red Wine Butter, Roasted All Natural Turkey Breast - with Stuffing and House-made Gravy, and Sustainable Fish of the Day with Tomato Jam. This was served with mashed potatoes and veggies.




These were all very good. I especially liked the filet of beef, but I enjoyed all of it. We got seconds of the beef! They also brought out a kid's plate for Luke.




He was too excited to eat much of this, but I tried it and everything was good. Nothing special, but just fine for kids' food. The mac and cheese was like Stouffer's, but I like Stouffer's so it was good enough to me!

Dessert was Fresh Baked Harvest Fruit Cobbler with Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream.




This was so yummy that I managed to eat two servings despite being totally stuffed already! But I do agree with other reviews in that I wish it had ice cream instead of whipped cream. But that is just a minor thing. Overall we loved this meal! The food was great and the character interaction was stellar!

I also really enjoyed rotating around the scenes from one of our favorite rides. I didn't notice the rotation, because it turns pretty slowly. We made almost exactly one rotation during our dinner, so that allowed us to enjoy all the scenery (although we were so busy with the characters we didn't spend a lot of time looking at scenery!). We would definitely return to the Garden Grill!


Up next: why not see more characters?

 

[lauraleh]

I love the Luke/Mickey pictures! I can't wait to take my (will be) 21 month old this year. It's so fun seeing them discover Disney!

 

[crepemyrtle]

I remember the "hold and lean" character hugs. . The picture of Luke hugging Mickey is so sweet, and has me all teary-eyed...again.

 

[JKeenz]

love love love the character pics! Totally made my commute that much more enjoyable on the train!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Ahh, the figment ride. I have a total nostalgic appreciation or it too, but still miss the old one. That said, wait till Luke gets a little older and really has a "say." Trip before last my daughter must of had us ride that thing about ten times ; )

I see it coming! He gets more opinionated every day!

Those frozen shirts are great. May have to find myself one for the future. Love being passive aggressive when disney changes things without asking me.

I loved them too and I love those strangers for making them!

We did food and wine last year too and also loved the farm fresh booth. Can't believe the visa experience, what a shame. At least the caramel afterwards made up for it ; )

We love Food and Wine! Excited for it again this year! The lounge is probably great for some, just not for us.

 

[DisneyParkLover]

I love the Luke/Mickey pictures! I can't wait to take my (will be) 21 month old this year. It's so fun seeing them discover Disney!

Thanks! We are taking Luke again next month at 21 months and are really excited - this age may be even better than last trip!

I remember the "hold and lean" character hugs. . The picture of Luke hugging Mickey is so sweet, and has me all teary-eyed...again.

Thank you! Me too!

love love love the character pics! Totally made my commute that much more enjoyable on the train!

Thanks! Anything to liven up a commute!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

I've been quietly following along on your fabulous trip report, but my goodness, those pictures of Luke with the characters are ADORABLE! How magical it must have been to see him run right into Mickey's arms!

I can't wait to see more character pictures! I hope those interactions go as well as this one!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

More Character Fun

After our great character dinner at Garden Grill, we had planned to hit one more ride and then head out of the park. But as we passed by the Character Spot, we noticed that it only had a 10 minute wait. Luke had had so much fun with his friends at dinner that we thought "why not?". So we hopped in line and within a few minutes we were visiting Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy! Luke wasted no time here, and ran straight over to give his buddies some love. We had to hold him back while the family in front of us had their turn, but as soon as we set him free he bee-lined right to them! Warning: Luke and character photo overload ahead!!!
















































Luke loved seeing all the characters again! We had enjoyed a wonderful character-filled night, but we still had to stop at our original destination before leaving the park. We needed another ride on Spaceship Earth. I know I have said this, but it bears repeating...I love Living with the Land and Spaceship Earth! They both seem under-appreciated to me. Both of these rides are way better than Test Track. Oh well! I guess it's good for me that they are not that popular! And Luke was again featured in the future. Here is Luke's future:








After that, we called it a night! Stay tuned for Day 4 - it is a two park day filled with food and fun!

 

[lauraleh]

As a mom, I'll never get tired of seeing a toddler run to Mickey! So precious!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

As a mom, I'll never get tired of seeing a toddler run to Mickey! So precious!

Thank you! I never get tired of sharing the pictures, so this works out well!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Early Morning at Hollywood Studios

Since we had not had a late night the night before, we were up bright and early this morning! We got Luke ready and then worked on getting ourselves ready. As I previously mentioned, we had been granted our request for connecting rooms. Luke really loved this arrangement, as he could knock on the connecting door and go play in his grandparents' room. He got used to it, though, and when we got home he kept knocking on the front door of our house and yelling for "Gaga". I had to try to get him to understand that his grandparents aren't always behind every door! Here are a couple pictures of Luke playing in his grandparents' room while mom and dad got ready.






After everyone was ready, we headed over to All Stars Movies to have breakfast at World Premiere Food Court. Since we had a lot of table service meals and meals made of snack credits at Food & Wine, that left us with a couple counter service credits that we needed to use. So we used them for breakfast, even though it isn't a great value for your credit. My parents split the Breakfast Flatbread - scrambled eggs, sausage gravy, bacon, and melted cheese and the Western Omelet - served with Breakfast Potatoes. DH and I each had the Bounty Platter - scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, breakfast potatoes, biscuit, and small Mickey-shaped waffle (you can kind of see this behind the drinks).






My parents seemed to enjoy both their choices. DH and I thought the bounty platter was just so-so. The eggs were a little runny for my taste, the potatoes lacked much flavor, and the biscuit was a little hard/dry. It wasn't bad, just not great. I would order differently next time.

After breakfast, we were off to our first park of the day. We hit Hollywood Studios at rope drop and headed off towards our favorite rides! But first a quick stop for some Photopass pictures!






And the Photopass photographer took one of just Luke!




Since we didn't have a fastpass for Rock N Roller Coaster, we headed there first. We grabbed a rider swap pass and my dad, DH, and I hopped in the standby line.




The standby line only took about 15 minutes until the cast member was telling us to "Walk this Way" to board our stretch limo. I thought the cast member might let us have the front row if we asked. DH said "Dream On", but the cast member sent us up to the front row line! Soon we were "Back in the Saddle", experiencing all the "Sweet Emotion" that comes along with this ride. I never close my eyes if I get scared, because "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (even though the ride is so intense that I think I may have lost one of my "Nine Lives")!


Here is our ride photo:




We had the rider swap pass, but we didn't want to miss our fastpass time on Tower of Terror, so we headed there next. My dad, DH, and I rode and my mom stayed with Luke since she doesn't care for this ride anyway. Here is our ride photo from Tower of Terror:




After our ride in a service elevator, we went back to Rock N Roller Coaster so my parents could use the rider swap pass. Their ride photo:




It appears they sat in the front too. I'm not sure whether they waited for the front or just lucked out. While they were riding, Luke, DH, and I goofed off in the gift shop. Luke had a grand old time with his silly parents!














Our next stop was for our second fastpassed ride - Toy Story Midway Mania! Some pictures from our short wait in the fastpass queue:












Luke enjoyed the ride again! He was in a very happy, silly mood this day which was a good thing since we still had a lot of fun things in store for the rest of the day!

Up next: our third and final trip to Food & Wine!

 

[Dugette]

Wow, I got WAY behind!

the meatball was the best! It did not disappoint this trip either!

Mmmmm, love meatballs! Yummy!

Ha, great shirts!

DH and I had the Schinkennudeln: Pasta gratin with ham and cheese

Oooh, thanks for reminding me about this (the non-ham one that they have all the time at Sommerfest, that is). I've been trying to think of what Izzy can eat for lunch when we wander the F&G food booths - I'll have to keep this one in mind. She loved it last time.

No one really wants to wait 20 minutes for a thimble of soda, then have to drink it on the run because you have to save the baby from electrocuting himself!

Well, when you put it that way... Sorry it wasn't the relaxing experience you were hoping for.

And there were car trips when he could only be calmed by listening to "ot og" (the hotdog song) over and over.

Yep, been there.

When Mickey was done with the table next to us, we put Luke down and he ran right into Mickey's arms!

Awwwwwww! So glad he snapped out of the nap-crabbiness when the characters appeared!

This is why I think taking a toddler to Disney is great. Yes, they come with their own set of challenges, but this age is so full of awe and pure unbridled joy! Seeing your toddler's eyes light up when they meet their favorite character is just awesome!

Well said! It's really incredible to see them meet their heroes!

We would definitely return to the Garden Grill!

Glad to hear it. Planning on heading back there next month (went in June and once years ago, but loved it - that character interaction is great!)

Luke loved seeing all the characters again!

So many cute photos! So glad Luke had such a great time hugging his pals!

I had to try to get him to understand that his grandparents aren't always behind every door!

It's so funny how toddler minds work sometimes.

The standby line only took about 15 minutes until the cast member was telling us to "Walk this Way" to board our stretch limo. I thought the cast member might let us have the front row if we asked. DH said "Dream On", but the cast member sent us up to the front row line! Soon we were "Back in the Saddle", experiencing all the "Sweet Emotion" that comes along with this ride. I never close my eyes if I get scared, because "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (even though the ride is so intense that I think I may have lost one of my "Nine Lives")!

"Amazing" paragraph!

 

[I_Luv_Stitch]

Joining in, love this TR just like the last!
Luke is just adorable and so well behaved! He also has a gorgeous smile, and doesn't stop which is just lovely to see!
Luke's first character interaction, was just priceless those pictures are just amazing!!
Front of the limo on RnR is the best...get the best thrill from the ride!
Can't wait to read more about your trip!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I feel like we have always wrongly ignored Innoventions - seems like people have a good time there and there are opportunities to let the kids run around a bit. I didn't even know they had a real fire truck there - we could have just gone there and my son would have been happy! And now it seems like they are redoing them completely so might never get to experience them. Oh well.

Glad things worked out with the Garden Grill - all in all seemed like Luke recovered pretty quickly (my son can sometimes be a grouch for like 20-30 minutes after he wakes from a nap). So sweet seeing how happy he was to meet Mickey!

That one moment seeing him run to Mickey for a big hug made the whole cost of the trip worth it!

... a.k.a. - here Disney, take all my money! It is true though, getting to experience Disney through their eyes brings a whole new layer to the magic. I think that is one reason WDW is so popular - you can enjoy it solo, adults only, with babies and toddlers, with teenagers, etc.

We were pretty surprised how much we liked the food at Garden Grill. Not exactly fine dining or anything but just good solid food and getting it family style lets you try a number of things. Agree about the dessert needing ice cream though

and how cool Mickey was able to change out of his farmer clothes and into is suit so quickly to meet Luke again! [sarcasm]it is a shame that you can never get a picture of Luke smiling[/sarcasm] - I love the pictures of him when he first sees the new character - his face just lights up!

I agree with you about Spaceship Earth and Living with the Land - we tend to ride those multiple times a trip and we have never ridden Test Track

I love Luke's outfit for your DHS day! Sounds like a good morning and you were getting on a lot of the big rides with pretty minimal wait (even RnRC) - that is "Crazy" that you got to ride front row ... and you definitely would have been "Cryin'" if you missed out on that! And glad to see you kept your little "Angel" smiling while waiting for others to ride the big rides. Shows you aren't "Livin' on the Edge" by bringing a toddler to WDW - I am sure Luke won't be the "Last Child" people bring ... just gotta do "Whatever it Takes" - plus, before you know it things will come "Full Circle" and it will be Luke who wants to ride the big rides

 

[kastoney]

Absolutely love all of Luke's character photo's. He was clearly in his element.

I'm with you on spaceship earth and the land, they are some of my favorites. I still remember when living with the land was actually listen to the land and had this horribly wonderful song they played. My hubby does not recollect this, but that doesn't stop me from belting it out each and every trip through the greenhouse ; )

Great start to you DHS day. "Dude" love all the Aerosmith puns and especially your aerohat selfie ; ) Great luck Dad getting the front row on both RnR and ToT.