"You Can't Pull Your Pants Down in Line!" - Our Toddler Trip Report - UPDATE 10/25 MK

[amberdburke]

Welcome to my TR! If you followed my PTR, you will know that I have been planning (and over-planning) this trip for a year. I have to say that we had the most magical time I could have dreamed of. We had a pretty small budget, but we managed to come home with extra money Follow our trip as we travel, hit the parks, eat some great food, and meet some wonderful characters! Traveling with a Toddler is never easy, but can be extremely rewarding!

Cast Of Characters

Me: Amber. Age 29. I work part-time as a private teacher, and I have the rest of the time free to spend with Paisley. Favorite Character: Mary Poppins and the Muppets. Favorite Ride: Splash Mountain. Favorite Memory from our Trip: The Disney Jr. Show.

Dad: Patrick. Age 37. Patrick is a car salesman at a local Chevy Dealership. He did not grow up as a Disney fan, but he's always up for anything. Favorite Character: Goofy. Favorite Ride: The People Mover. Favorite Memory from Our Trip: Seeing all the characters Paisley loves come to life for her.

Kid: Paisley. Age 2 (Will be 3 in November). Paisley is a super-fun, super-active little girl. She has an amazing memory and is not scared of anything. Favorite Character: Stitch. Favorite Ride: The Great Movie Ride. Favorite Memory from Our Trip: Meeting Mary Poppins. ​

Details​

• Our Trip Took Place from October 1-9, 2011
• We Drove from Indiana to Orlando (and Back) Over a Two-Day Stretch Each Way
• We Stayed in a Two-Bedroom Condo at Orange Lake Resort
• We Did 4 Days in the Park (No Hoppers)
  • We prepaid for our Photopass
  • We ate most of our meals at our condo, but ate 3 Character Meals, 1 CS Meal, and Enjoyed F&W Festival
• We met everyone we had on our list, and rode all of the rides we wanted to and still took a nap most days
• We used gift cards I had gotten from doing surveys to pay for most of our trip
• We had the most magical trip of our lives!

I hope you enjoy reading about our trip - I am waiting for my Photopass CD in the mail, so I will be adding those pics as I go along!

 

[amberdburke]

Disney Then...​

Table of Contents
October 1 - Traveling to Florida!
October 2 - Arriving at Disney!
October 3 - Our Morning Before MK
October 3 - Magic Kingdom (Part One)
October 3 - Magic Kingdom (Part Two)
October 4 - Disney's Hollywood Studios (Part One)
October 4 - Disney's Hollywood Studios (Part Two)
October 5 - Magic Kingdom (Part One)
​

...Disney Now​

 

[amberdburke]

First, of all, let me say that my camera stopped working before our trip started, and I had no idea. For some reason some of the pictures were focused, and some were horribly out of focus. I was SO thankful that we had Photopass so we didn't lose all of our memories. Once I noticed, we switched to our older camera, but that's why many of these first pics are a little blurry

On October 1, 2011, we left Indiana to travel to Disney (about a 16 Hour Drive). We made it to Murfreesboro, TN, and stayed here...

The 1st was a Saturday, and my husband, who is a car salesman, had to work until 6PM. I cleaned the house, finished running errands, and bathed Paisley and put her in her pajamas. Paisley had come home from school sick on Friday, and unfortunately, stayed sick the entire vacation. The Dr. said it was only a cold, so there wasn't much we could do for her.

We ended up leaving at 6:30 PM. We had a quick pit-stop at 8:30PM, and Paisley was asleep by 9:30PM. She was excellent in the car. We had brought many books, her Smurfs, and our car DVD player (although she only ended up watching 2 movies the whole trip). Patrick and I were listening to Sue Grafton's "S is for Silence," so the trip went pretty quickly.

Our hotel was very nice and we only had to pay $9 for the night, because Patrick had gotten a $75 Best Western Gift Card as a reward for doing a health screening at work. We had a great breakfast in the morning. The only negative was that we were extremely close to I-24, and it was very loud all night. After breakfast we filled up the car, and headed out about 8:20 the next morning. Little did we know, this day had some challenges ahead for us!

Funny story....While we were driving through Louisville, we passed a billboard with all these men on it (it was advertising some sort of conference). Paisley asked me who it was, and I said I didn't know. She said, "I think it was John Fogerty." Really?!? I don't know where she hears this stuff!

 

[amberdburke]

On our second day of traveling, we had about 10 hours of driving time left. We left our hotel at 8:20 AM, and hit the road south. We made minimal stops before stopping for lunch at KFC. We had two free KFC gift certifcates that I had earned at RewardTV.com. They totaled $10, and we were able to get the Sunday Bucket special for $10, so our total was $.40!

Our car was having some trouble starting, so we figured we should get the battery checked. We stopped at a local Wal-Mart in Tifton, GA and our car completely died. It was decided that we needed a new battery, so I used this time to do the grocery shopping for our condo while we waited. It added about an extra hour to our time, but I was super happy that it was taken care of!

At 8:30 PM we reached our destination....Orange Lake Resort. We were checked-in in a matter of minutes and reached our room.

We had a newly-renovated two-bedroom condo on the golf course. It was beautiful!

By the time we reached the condo, Paisley was tired and grumpy. She didn't understand that we couldn't go to the park right away. I told her that Mickey and Minnie had left her a surprise. I went into the room before Paisley and Patrick and left this:

The inside of the card said, "We can't wait to meet you tomorrow! Love, Mickey and Minnie Mouse." Paisley was super excited to get the dolls (BTW...I bought these super cheap on Disneystore.com when they had a deal on 2 Plushes).

After opening the plushes, we decided to make a quick trip to Downtown Disney to help Paisley see that she was really in Disney World. She was so excited to see the characters, and I think she thought this was actually Magic Kingdom. She asked to get her pictures taken with all of the statues! She also loved the giant Stitch that spits water.

It was also at DTD that she began her obsession with Disney water fountains. We had to stop at each one for the rest of our trip!

We headed back to the condo around 9:30, and she was asleep before we got there!

Tomorrow - Our First Day at Magic Kingdom!

 

[pld5]

That picture of your daughter holding Minnie Mouse is adorable. She has such a great smile. Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip.

 

[amberdburke]

That picture of your daughter holding Minnie Mouse is adorable. She has such a great smile. Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip.

Thanks for reading along! My sister got our shared Photopass CD yesterday, so I'm hoping I get my copy soon!

 

[deedeew80]

Welcome to my TR! If you followed my PTR, you will know that I have been planning (and over-planning) this trip for a year. I have to say that we had the most magical time I could have dreamed of. We had quite a budget, and even came home with extra money Follow our trip as we travel, hit the parks, eat some great food, and meet some wonderful characters! Traveling with a Toddler is never easy, but can be extremely rewarding!

Cast Of Characters

Me: Amber. Age 29. I work part-time as a private teacher, and I have the rest of the time free to spend with Paisley. Favorite Character: Mary Poppins and the Muppets. Favorite Ride: Splash Mountain. Favorite Memory from our Trip: The Disney Jr. Show.

Dad: Patrick. Age 37. Patrick is a car salesman at a local Chevy Dealership. He did not grow up as a Disney fan, but he's always up for anything. Favorite Character: Goofy. Favorite Ride: The People Mover. Favorite Memory from Our Trip: Seeing all the characters Paisley loves come to life for her.

Kid: Paisley. Age 2 (Will be 3 in November). Paisley is a super-fun, super-active little girl. She has an amazing memory and is not scared of anything. Favorite Character: Stitch. Favorite Ride: The Great Movie Ride. Favorite Memory from Our Trip: Meeting Mary Poppins. ​

Details​

• Our Trip Took Place from October 1-9, 2011
• We Drove from Indiana to Orlando (and Back) Over a Two-Day Stretch Each Way
• We Stayed in a Two-Bedroom Condo at Orange Lake Resort
• We Did 4 Days in the Park (No Hoppers)
  • We prepaid for our Photopass
  • We ate most of our meals at our condo, but ate 3 Character Meals, 1 CS Meal, and Enjoyed F&W Festival
• We met everyone we had on our list, and rode all of the rides we wanted to and still took a nap most days
• We used gift cards I had gotten from doing surveys to pay for most of our trip
• We had the most magical trip of our lives!

I hope you enjoy reading about our trip - I am waiting for my Photopass CD in the mail, so I will be adding those pics as I go along!

Can't wait to read all about your trip!!! Seems like you had a great time!!!

 

[amberdburke]

Can't wait to read all about your trip!!! Seems like you had a great time!!!

Thanks for joining us!

 

[kcandbella]

Joining in! Your DD is a cutie. Can't wait to read about the rest of the trip!

 

[Belle83]

Your condo looks really nice, and your daughter looks so excited! Too cute.

 

[amberdburke]

Joining in! Your DD is a cutie. Can't wait to read about the rest of the trip!

Thanks

 

[amberdburke]

Your condo looks really nice, and your daughter looks so excited! Too cute.

Our condo was great! I was a little nervous after reading so many bad things on here about Orange Lake, but we couldn't have asked for anything nicer, especially for the price!

Paisley is always excited about everything. Wait until you see her character pics!

 

[amberdburke]

So it is only the first day of our vacation, and plans have already changed! Originally this was supposed to be our Animal Kingdom day, but we decided to spend two days at Magic Kingdom instead. Since we got to bed late last night, our plan was to get up late, eat lunch at the condo, and head to MK. But darling little Paisley was having none of the sleeping in thing. So we were up early and decided to head to MK early.

Each morning we had a Tinker Bell bag filled with souviners for Paisley. We told her that Tink had left her surprises over night. These were her gifts for this morning:

I was most excited about Paisley's Autograph Book that I had made on Etsy. My plan was to have the characters sign every other page and then make it into a scrapbook for her.

We put on our Mickey and Minnie shirts (Which I got from Walmart or $2 after Valentine's Day)

We decided to wait on lunch and go ahead to MK (this was about 9:45). Our plan was to hit as much as we could and stay until we ran out of energy.

Up Next: Meeting Our First Characters, Riding Our First Rides, Paisley's First Haircut, and How Did My Husband end up at EPCOT?!?

 

[Donaldswife]

I'm here from your PTR!

So sorry Paisley had a cold! We have travelled 3 times in the fall and that is always my biggest worry, that someone will have the cold or the flu when we go! I tend to fill everyone up with zycam or vitamin c and OJ for weeks before the trip....

Can't wait to read about your first day.

 

[amberdburke]

I'm here from your PTR!

So sorry Paisley had a cold! We have travelled 3 times in the fall and that is always my biggest worry, that someone will have the cold or the flu when we go! I tend to fill everyone up with zycam or vitamin c and OJ for weeks before the trip....

Can't wait to read about your first day.

Yay Donaldswife! So glad you're here

 

[amberdburke]

After eating breakfast and getting dressed, we headed to Magic Kingdom. We clocked the miles and it was exactly 10 miles from OLR to the MK Parking Lot. We brought our "big stroller" which was a pain on the trams now that they have the doors, but it was worth it to keep Paisley out of the sun and comfortable.

For our park bag we used our Vera Bradley diaper bag. We had snacks, ponchos, an umbrella, 2 cameras, our Flip Video, and an extra change of clothes for Paisley. We also had a small bag of medicine. Patrick and I brought these filtered water bottles, which fit perfectly in the cup holders, and made it easy to find our stroller. We used zip ties to secure the bag to the bottom of the stroller so no one could take it.

We got into MK using our Undercover Tourists tickets with no problem. It was about 10:30, and the crowd levels were at 5. It was supposed to be one of the 5 most crowded MK days of the month. It felt crowded, but the lines weren't too bad. Our plan for today was to do as many Meet and Greets as possible, get Paisley's first haircut, and ride the rides in Adventureland and Tomorrowland.

As soon as we walked in we saw....

Mary Poppins! I am a big fan of Mary Poppins, and I had never met her before, so I was very excited. While Patrick and Paisley waited for Mary, I jumped over and grabbed FP's for the Princesses.

Then we headed over to meet Mickey and Minnie - the standby line was 25 minutes (we actually waited about 10). I love how they do this Meet and Greet. We weren't first in line to meet Mickey, but there was an adorable little Japanese couple who went first, and the girl was so excited to walk down the hall with Mickey that I didn't mind too much.

After meeting the Mouse and his Lady, we headed to Adventureland. We started to wait for Tink, but Paisley decided she wanted to ride rides. We didn't have much time before our Princess FP's and Paisley's haircut, so we just decided to squeeze in Aladdin's Magic Carpets, which was a 20 minute wait. Paisley didn't quite understand yet about how we had to wait in line, but we made it without much of a meltdown.

And so began Paisley's ride obsession. Next we headed to meet the Princesses, but not without passing up one of these....

Yay for Dole Whips! We headed back just in time for our Princess FP's. Paisley was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the Disney experience at this point and was hesitant about going in. I knew she would love it, and a very nice CM gave her a button to help calm her down. We had made CM cards before we left, so I gave him one. (On a side note....if you have time to make CM appreciation cards, do it! Every CM we gave one to was delighted, and it really made us smile to make them smile!)

Up Next....The Princesses!

 

[amberdburke]

We headed in to see the Princesses. I really like that these are FP attractions now. We waited about 5 minutes before meeting the princesses. The lady in front of us (who incidentally caused a huge buildup at the FP machine because she didn't know what she was doing, and she kept aruging with the CM) was putting a full-face of makeup on her young (maybe 4?) daughter while we were waiting. It was kind of bizarre, because the girl was not dressed up at all, but mom put on foundation, blush, and red lipstick on her

We met Princess Aurora...

Belle...

...and Cinderella

We had been working on potty-training with Paisley (and we're still working). She received a call from Cinderella as a Huggies promotion, so when she met Cindy, Paisley told her that she "poopied on the potty." I'm sure Cinderella was thinking, "Why is this kid telling me this?!?"

After our M&G, we headed to Harmony Barbershop for Paisley's 1st Haircut. Yes, she's almost 3, but she is "follicly-challenged." Our appointment wasn't until 1:30, and even though there was no wait, they wouldn't take us until our time, which was about 45 minutes away. We had made Paisley's special autograph book, but we forgot it in the car. Patrick decided to run back to the car to get it while we were waiting. We ended up being in the perfect spot for the Move It, Shake It Parade, and Paisley had a great time taking pictures of herself.

About 10 minutes before our appointment, I get a text message from Patrick telling me he's at EPCOT. Apparently, he took the wrong monorail from the TTC. At this point the shop is getting crowded, and I know we can't wait, so I went ahead with Paisley's appointment alone. We had a fabulous lady from Shelbyville, IN (about 30 minutes from where we live) who cut her hair. Paisley sat nicely through it, and it was well worth the $18, although Paisley refused to wear her Mickey ears for the rest of the trip.

After her haircut, I got Paisley some popcorn, and we rode the Train while waiting for Daddy to get back.

When he finally returned, we grabbed some FP's for the Jungle Cruise, and headed off to ride Pirates of the Carribbean (it said a 20 minute wait, but we basically walked on). I was a little hesitant about taking Paisley because I thought it may scare her, but she LOVED it.

We decided to go to Pecos Bill's for some Taco Salad. I did not know that you added your own toppings. Here are our Before/After pictures. It was ok, but I probably would have liked the BBQ Sandwich better.

We finished eating just as the parade was ending, so I thought we should try to catch Tiana's line while it was short. We waited maybe 5 minutes before she came out (no Naveen though....Boo). I have to say, I was not impressed with this Tiana, but Paisley was excited, so that's all that matters

After meeting Tiana, we went to use our Jungle Cruise FP's. We had a super funny skipper who reminded me of my brother. He told a great joke about "Lost" and I was the only one who got it. Here are pics from Paisley's first Jungle Cruise, and our trip this year.

We headed to Tomorrowland and picked up Buzz Lightyear FP's. While we were waiting, we rode the People Mover and watcher Monsters Inc. Paisley didn't care for the movie, but she loved this attraction. Even now she randomly says, "Hello Humans!" One of the ladies they picked to participate freaked out on camera. I felt really bad for her, but it was super awkward for everyone. Paisley loved Buzz Lightyear. Once we finished these rides, we went back to the condo (about 6:30) and ate Sloppy Joes for dinner. We went to bed early to get ready for our big day at Hollywood Studios!

Up Next....Disney's Hollywood Studios and our Disney Jr. lunch!

 

[Disneychix]

Very cute TR!!
We were there on your 1st MK day. It was sadly our last day It was however, the most crowded we saw MK on this trip. It was insane! I'm glad to see you got so much done.

I love the pic of your DD with Cinderella! Sooo cute!

 

[dilligaf212]

I'm in can't wait to read more ~Dawn~

 

[amberdburke]

Very cute TR!!
We were there on your 1st MK day. It was sadly our last day It was however, the most crowded we saw MK on this trip. It was insane! I'm glad to see you got so much done.

I love the pic of your DD with Cinderella! Sooo cute!

I can definitely see why it was the "Park to Avoid" that day, and I'm glad our other days weren't as busy. Thanks for your kind words - I love the Cinderella pic too