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

[kastoney]

Love your tale of two evenings ; ) How sweet of your parents to take Luke for the night and what a great idea to do the Christmas party. Can't believe how much you all are getting done despite the party being sold out. Especially love jingle cruise, yours are the first time I've actually seen pix of it. Looks like a great time!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

sounds like despite being a sold out party you were getting a lot done.

We never found it to be overly crowded, despite being a sold out party!

That is kind of an awkward situation for CMs to get the non-party goers out and I am sure they want to be pleasant about it but at some point those people do need to get out - not fair for those that paid to be at the party otherwise.

I agree. I was a little worried, though, as the group was resisting pretty hard. I thought it might get ugly.

That is cool that your DH got to be the armor - though it makes for a bit of an odd PP picture given that there is a stranger as the other set or armor, but oh well.

Hahahaha! I never really thought about it that way. Hope random stranger doesn't mind that I posted his picture on this board!

Love all the photos from when you ventured out for the castle lighting - so pretty! You are making me wish we had a November trip planned, since we just love that time of year there (but we're hoping a Disneyland trip this November works out instead - so hopefully that will be magical too).

It was really a fun time of year to go. Weather was great! Some days it was pretty cool, but I prefer that to being scorching. Plus, we got the end of Halloween decor and the beginning of Christmas decor!

So nice of your parents to watch Luke and allow you an anniversary date night! Looks like the sold-out party wasn't too bad, since you were able to jump on so many rides so quickly! I can vouch for how they kick people out, as we left just as a couple parties were starting one trip and we definitely felt the pressure to hurry up and get out.

It was super sweet of them, and we had such a good time!

Love your tale of two evenings ; ) How sweet of your parents to take Luke for the night and what a great idea to do the Christmas party. Can't believe how much you all are getting done despite the party being sold out. Especially love jingle cruise, yours are the first time I've actually seen pix of it. Looks like a great time!

Thank you! It was nice because it allowed us to have him along on the trip, but still have a night of couple's time. The Jingle Cruise was neat, there were even more Christmas touches that I didn't catch on camera.

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Day 7 - Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party - Part 2

When we left off, we had just enjoyed our first Enchanted Tales with Belle. As we walked out, I checked my phone and couldn't believe how much time this attraction had taken. I had originally planned to watch Holiday Wishes from in front of the castle, but I didn't think we would have time to get back around to the front of the castle before the start of the fireworks. So we decided to stay and watch from Fantasyland. I'm so glad we did this, because it was much more romantic this way! Hardly anybody around, so it felt like it was just the two of us with fireworks going off all around us!

It is a little harder to take pictures from this location, since the fireworks explode from every direction, but here a some of my favorites:

















We really enjoyed this! I love regular Wishes, but I loved this one too! I don't know that I could pick a favorite. The classic is awesome, but I am sucker for all things Christmas!

After it was finished, we still had some time before the parade so we went to check off another thing on my list - meeting Pooh and the gang! When we got there, they weren't out, but the cast member said they would be out in about 15 minutes, so we hopped in line. We were about four groups back. After about 20 minutes, it was our turn!







This was a really cute meet. I loved the characters in their Christmas attire! After the meet, we decided to head to Main Street to get a place for the parade. On the way, we stopped to take a few pictures of the castle.






And then, we stopped at a couple different Photopass photographers so we could have castle pictures with us in them!








I thought that with a sold out party and us waiting until the last minute to get a spot, that we would get a terrible spot for the parade. So imagine my surprise when we showed up 20 minutes before the parade and got a spot sitting only one row back on Main Street! And the row in front of us was children sitting on the curb, so even seated we could see everything! Since we had a few minutes, DH went to a nearby cookie and cocoa location to get us parade snacks while I held our spot. The cookies and cocoa were pretty basic, but they hit the spot, especially since it was a cooler night. And a few minutes after he got back, the parade started!





Snow on Main Street!





























The parade was awesome! I really enjoyed this. My favorite Disney parade so far! I was really impressed by Disney's holiday entertainment. The fireworks and parade may have been worth the admission cost by themselves, but the characters and short lines were definitely a plus! The snow was a nice touch too - the parade felt so much more Christmas-y with the snow!

After the parade, we swam upstream and hit one of my favorite rides - Haunted Mansion. This was the longest ride line we encountered all night. It was a lengthy 10 minutes. Hahahaha! Needless to say, we did not have a problem with crowds at the sold out party. Most all rides were a walk on. I hope I can say the same for the Halloween party that we have booked on Halloween this year!

After the party, it was almost midnight, so we slowly worked our way out of the park. There was no line at our bus stop, and in a few minutes a bus arrived. Before long, we were back in our cozy resort bed and fast asleep!

 

[Fastpassminus]

Awesome report of MVMCP! I have nevef been but it's on my Disney Bucket list!

 

[Dugette]

So we decided to stay and watch from Fantasyland. I'm so glad we did this, because it was much more romantic this way! Hardly anybody around, so it felt like it was just the two of us with fireworks going off all around us!

That's how I saw Wishes on this last trip too! It was really cool and different. Like you said, not crowded at all, which was nice.

This was a really cute meet. I loved the characters in their Christmas attire!

I was just thinking how cute they are with their little scarves.

Sounds like a wonderful Christmas party!

 

[kastoney]

Wow, you're really making me want to book a Christmas trip. The castle, the parade, characters, and no lines to boot = Total Score. We are huge fans of fireworks from Fantasyland. I don't have much tolerance for crowds, so would you believe I've never even seen it from in front of the castle. Will have to change that one of these days, but until then we'll be alone in Fantasyland ; )

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Bonus Post - Memory Maker Pictures

Hello all! Unfortunately, it does not look like I will be able to finish this trip report before we leave for our trip next week. I have one more day to post about, but you guys will just have to wait. Hope you will all wait - it's worth it. We still have a full, exciting day plus a wrap up to do. In the meantime, I wanted to leave you with this bonus post. When you order Memory Maker, they include all kinds of stock photos in addition to your personal photos. I really like some of the stock photos, and I wanted to include some from Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party for those of you who haven't been! They do a better job than I do of showing how awesome this party is. So without further ado...

 

[manicstreet]

Very good report. Where are you staying in a few days?

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Very good report. Where are you staying in a few days?

We are at All Stars Sports next week and Beach Club Villas this fall. We are running the gamut of lodging this year - one offsite, one value, one villas/deluxe! And just found out that my friend M (from my first trip report) will be overlapping us some for our fall trip so I am super excited about that!

 

[Dugette]

Thanks for the bonus pictures! Have a wonderful trip!

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Good updates on the xmas party! Safe travels next week!

 

[daisygirl902]

OH MY, I can't believe our boys are so big now! I started reading your last TR when I was pregnant with Sawyer, who is turning 1 next week!! Luke is HUGE and adorable So excited to read about all of your adventures with Luke - we're going again in September! We seem to continue travelling when our boys are similar ages, so I get kind of an advanced preview of what it may be like

 

[Burgermom]

Day 1 - World Showcase Crowds...on a Saturday...during Food and Wine...when it's Jersey Week

So I purposely left off right before we headed into World Showcase as I am really bad about taking "food porn" pictures at Food and Wine. Between juggling the food and Luke, I usually don't have a free hand to take photos. But my mom is pretty good about it, so I was waiting until I got her pictures. Now that I have them, we are good to go!

So we headed into World Showcase with very low expectations. On our last trip, we went to Food and Wine on a weekend night and it was wall-to-wall people. The lines for the booths were outrageous and it led to some frustration. We expected the same or worse since this was also a weekend night and the crowds were supposed to be elevated due to Jersey Week. So imagine our surprise to find World Showcase practically empty! I don't know if it was the chilly weather keeping people from coming out, but it was wonderful!!! And the cool weather was actually really nice since it can get warm with all the food booths.

Our first food stop was in Scotland for the seared sea scallop with spinach-cheddar gratin and crispy bacon.




I remember this being delicious...and I'm picky about seafood. The scallop was fresh and cooked perfectly! From the looks of the following picture, my parents ordered something else!




Until this moment, I didn't even realize they had tried this. It is a crannachan: a traditional Scottish dessert trifle with raspberries, toasted oats, and whipped cream. And upon speaking with my mom, apparently this was fantastic! Sorry I missed it!

Our next stop was Greece where I had the griddled Greek cheese with pistachios and honey.




This was delicious, but I thought it was a little better the previous year.

Our final booth stop of the night was Canada. I had the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup with some pretzel bread leftover from lunch. This was so good! It was so much better with the bread. Why can't they just serve it at Food and Wine with a piece of pretzel bread? I would pay extra.




After this, we decided to go rest until Illuminations. We had been going non-stop since early morning after a long travel day and a late night. We were tired! So we grabbed a table in the outside area next to Rose and Crown and ordered a few of these:




It's a Cider & Black - hard cider and black currant juice. I love these. It may be my favorite drink in World Showcase, even above slushes in France and margaritas in Mexico. Appalling, I know! So we sat sipping on these for a little bit while Luke rested, and before long it was time for Illuminations. He woke right up when the music started, but wasn't crabby since he was too interested in what was going on to be upset at being woken up! Here are some blurry photos of his wide eyed wonderment:






Pretty much the same face as last time:

And here are a few favorites from Illuminations:












It was a perfect end to a perfect day!

After Illuminations, we had planned to take the boat back to our car at DHS. I didn't realize that once DHS closes, they no longer run boats there. We were starting to panic, but the captain agreed to take us back anyway.

I assumed the boats ran until Epcot closed, for park hoppers? There was another family in the same predicament (or should I say another family in the same boat? Bwahaha - I crack myself up with my puns!) as us, so it can't be too uncommon an occurrence for people to want to get back to DHS.

We managed to get back to our car and were back at our resort a few minutes later. And I think we were all asleep a few minutes after that!

Where did you sit/stand to watch Illuminations?

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Where did you sit/stand to watch Illuminations?

This was at the outside seating area next to Rose and Crown. I don't know if you can sit there without ordering, we all ordered drinks.

 

[DisneyParkLover]

OH MY, I can't believe our boys are so big now! I started reading your last TR when I was pregnant with Sawyer, who is turning 1 next week!! Luke is HUGE and adorable So excited to read about all of your adventures with Luke - we're going again in September! We seem to continue travelling when our boys are similar ages, so I get kind of an advanced preview of what it may be like

Glad I can help! I always feel that way with Dugette's trip report, since Izzy is older than Luke. I always get an idea of what to expect on the next trip.

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Sorry for my extended absence, friends. Time has gotten away from me between trying to sell the house, Luke's birthday and his birthday trip, and the loss of my grandfather (and spontaneous trip to see him before he passed). But I am committed to finishing this trip report, so let's get to it!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Day 8 - Pre-park opening breakfast with Pooh!

So we have arrived at the last day of our trip, and it is a full one. Despite our late night the night before, I had planned an early dining reservation at Crystal Palace for this morning. Fortunately, we had no trouble getting up and we arrived at the Magic Kingdom via monorail nice and early!




We actually got there before they started letting anyone in. We got in the line for people with dining reservations and within about 5 minutes they were letting us in!

I took a couple pictures of mostly empty Main Street and Christmas decorations.








And of course, we had to get some Photopass pictures!















After our pictures, we still had some time before our reservation so I let Luke frolic around an empty hub and took some pictures of him in front of the castle.















It looks like my dad did some frolicking as well!



After a little while just enjoying being in the park without the crowds, it was time to head over to the Crystal Palace!







We were seated quickly and were soon enjoying our breakfast. The omelet station and puffed french toast are always big hits here. We come for the characters and the empty park, but I really do feel like the food here is quite good.

Before long, Luke spied the first of the characters coming around.



Luke was still warming up and was a little shy, but Tigger really engaged him by playing peek-a-boo and giving high fives!






Piglet came around next. Luke was really more interested in his bacon than in Piglet. (The irony is not lost on me! Hahaha!)





Eeyore was next and Luke was much more interested in him. He really seemed a little star-struck. It was really cute because he kept trying to hug Eeyore, but he was so big that Luke could only hug his foot!







And last but not least was the main man himself!










Luke was quite happy to see Pooh! Pooh got lots more love than the other characters (Eeyore was second, but not really a close second). Pooh is one of his absolute favorite characters, and Luke's love for him has only grown since then!





Our breakfast here was a great success, and it was a great start to the day!


Next up: our final day at Magic Kingdom!

 

[Dugette]

Glad I can help! I always feel that way with Dugette's trip report, since Izzy is older than Luke. I always get an idea of what to expect on the next trip.

Happy to help. I am the same way with Imagineer5's and khertz's TRs (among others), since their kids are a bit older than Izzy. We're all paying it forward to the slightly-younger kids.

Lots of cute pictures! Love those pre-opening ADRs just for the chance to do that frolicking.

It looks like my dad did some frolicking as well!

Good for him! Disney brings out the kid in everyone.

Piglet came around next. Luke was really more interested in his bacon than in Piglet. (The irony is not lost on me! Hahaha!)

Awesome!

We also love the CP breakfast for the same reasons as you. It's been a couple trips since we've been there, so I miss it!

Glad you are back and hope all is going well!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Happy to help. I am the same way with Imagineer5's and khertz's TRs (among others), since their kids are a bit older than Izzy. We're all paying it forward to the slightly-younger kids.

Agreed! I love getting tips from those with slightly older kids and I also love being able to pass on tips to those traveling with a newborn, infant, or toddler. After our October trip, Luke will have been to Disney World five times in 27 months, so I feel like I have some experience with this!

Lots of cute pictures! Love those pre-opening ADRs just for the chance to do that frolicking.

I know. It is so nice to be able to let him enjoy running around. Later in the day it is too crowded in most areas to let him run around.

Good for him! Disney brings out the kid in everyone.

Hahaha! My dad's inner child is not buried too deep - it doesn't take much to bring it out! Disney also does that to me, too.

We also love the CP breakfast for the same reasons as you. It's been a couple trips since we've been there, so I miss it!

I love it! I actually really like the food there, so for me it is a triple win - good food, empty park, and cute characters.

Glad you are back and hope all is going well!

Thanks. We are all doing well except for fighting colds. The weather has been unusual this summer and everyone in my area has had colds, allergies, bronchitis, etc., which are usually unheard of this time of year. But we very much enjoyed our short Disney trip for Luke's 2nd birthday. I am not sure if I will do a trip report or not. I would like to, but we have had two trips since this current trip report, so I think I may be getting too far behind!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Day 8 - Last Magic Kingdom Morning

Today was our last day, but it was packed quite full. So far we had enjoyed romping around an empty Main Street and hub and ate a delicious breakfast with Pooh and the gang. But we were just getting started.

My next notes state that Luke was being a little crabby. I don't remember when this was. I know he was quite happy while visiting characters and he is usually happy on rides, so perhaps this was while waiting on the check at breakfast or possibly on the walk to Adventureland? I wouldn't have noted it if it wasn't true, though, so I will include it in the trip report!

He must have gotten over it fairly quickly as he was well behaved at our first ride - The Jungle Cruise!











It kept his attention, but it wasn't one of his favorites. We rode Pirates of the Caribbean next and he liked it much better! No pictures since they never really turn out without flash, but here are some of Luke pretending to be a pirate in the gift shop!






Is he the cutest pirate ever, or what? Next we were headed to use our fastpasses at the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Luke fell asleep on the way, so we used the extra time to take turns riding until we had all been twice.









By the last ride, Luke was waking up and so we made our way towards our next fastpass - Peter Pan's Flight. On our way, we stopped to check if Be Our Guest would have a standby line today. It was fastpass only on this day, so we moved along.



Luke rode with his grandparents, and we all had a lovely flight! I would love to check out the new queue for this ride, so we may try to catch it at rope drop on our next trip. Luke just isn't patient enough to wait an hour in line.

Since Be Our Guest was out, we had lunch at our second favorite - Columbia Harbour House. My mom (being the excellent trip reporter that she is) got a picture of her lunch, but no one else did. So we know my mom got the Lobster Roll - with potato chips.



I have no idea what my dad got. Perhaps the same as my mom? I know James and I both ordered the Fried Shrimp Plate - with French Fries. But they accidently gave me the chicken nuggets instead. When I brought this to their attention, they let me keep both. So I shared both of my meals with Luke. I definitely had the seasonal cobbler for dessert and my mom obviously had the chocolate cake. My dad and hubby - well, your guess is as good as mine. I know they both like cobbler and chocolate cake, so it could have gone either way. What I do know is that my lunch was delicious and I left totally stuffed! We also encountered a super nice cast member here who offered to refill my drink for free even though they normally don't do refills. I meant to write down his name, but by the time I was writing trip notes I had already forgotten it. I did thank him profusely though!

Rejuvenated from lunch, it was time to use our final fastpass to visit Anna and Elsa. Now in all truth, Luke had absolutely no idea who they were. He has never seen Frozen. However, he does like pretty ladies and considering the Frozen craze, I figured he'd enjoy seeing the pictures later on. So when I saw available fastpasses for the Frozen sisters, I snagged them. And I'm glad we did. This turned out to be a really sweet meet and greet. Luke really loved Elsa and she got some big hugs. He didn't like Anna as much (maybe he digs blondes?), but she engaged him by playing peek-a-boo with him using the curtain. It was adorable and I really appreciated the time she spent with him. Here are our Photopass shots:


















So glad we did this! Especially since I don't know how many trips we will have before he is unwilling to meet princesses. We had a great morning for our last morning at Disney, but we still have a lot of day left to go!

Up next: Magic Kingdom afternoon