Disney with Twin Toddlers...wait...We are Big Kids Now...Take 3!

[lucyddr]

We are the Sawinski Family and last week was our third Disney trip with our twins! We are professionals who work way too much. I'm 40 and husband is 45. We've been to Disney too many times to count! Our twins, A and A went to Disney the first time at 20 months and again at 32 months. They have no recollection of either trip, as we expected.

My husband and I wanted them to be at least 40" before this trip. Once they hit that landmark, we managed to book both Beach Club and French Quarter, hoping for the opportunity to get free dining through Beach Club. Despite myself and our travel agent being on the phone before the sun rose on the morning they announced, we were unsuccessful in obtaining the free dining promotion for Beach Club. BUT...we managed to snag Boardwalk Inn!

So, Boardwalk Inn became our formal plan! In the end, it was a perfect fit for our family! More on that later...

 

[lucyddr]

Despite planning the trip for over 8 months, I managed to keep the trip a surprise! Our children had been asking to go to Disney World, thanks to Disney Jr. TV! We told them we would try to take them when they turned 5, and they pretty much assumed they wouldn't be travelling until December or later next year.

I thought a ton about how to reveal the news. Our children are very curious and tend to ask us a billion questions about every trip we plan, so I didn't think I could handle 6 months...or even 6 days...of constant "when are we going?" questions. Our son will even wake us up in the middle of the night to ask about future plans!

I decided to wait until the night before since we had a super early flight which would require a 3:30am wake up. Our daughter is NOT a morning person, so I didn't feel a middle-of-the-night reveal would be appreciated. I asked a friend who bakes to make us some cupcakes with Disney characters and a message within them. She was happy to do them and our big reveal was held after dinner on September 15.

They immediately ate their favorite character cupcake...thus why 2 are missing! The video of our surprise was too large to load, but trust me...they were super excited!

 

[lucyddr]

The night before, we loaded the car and put the kids to bed. We all went to bed early, thanks to melatonin! I got up around 3:15am to shower and got the kids up around 3:45am. Amazingly, they were cheerful and super cooperative! They got dressed, we placed our magic bands, and we were off to the airport! Our children are great travelers and made airport navigation and check in a breeze! My husband carried our 17lb Zoe Double stroller in it's bag comfortably through the airport on arrival!

 

[lucyddr]

More to come tomorrow night...

 

[paradesintherain]

I love surprise Disney World trips! Your kids are precious, and I can't wait to read more!

 

[lucyddr]

While on Magic Express, I opened the MDE app and was able to snag a last minute Beaches and Cream reservation for lunch! This was perfect as we were starving and knew our room wouldn't be ready anyway. We arrived at Boardwalk and stored our carry on items, then walked across the lagoon to enjoy a nice lunch at Beaches and Cream...and to give them their first taste of a Kitchen Sink! We went with the chocolate version with added cherries!

After we finished a light lunch and some heavy ice cream, we walked back to Boardwalk. We were able to check in, which took forever, and then we went to our room (3299) and put on our bathing suits to head to the pool!

The kids LOVED the clown slide and went down it without any hesitation...about 10,000 times!

 

[lucyddr]

After swimming about 2 hours, we went back to the room to get dressed and to head to Hollywood Studios. We had fast passes for Star Tours, Toy Story Midway Mania, and Tower of Terror. Our dinner was planned for Hollywood and Vine. We also planned to attend Fantasmic and paid for the VIP Viewing and Dessert Tray.

We managed to get on Star Tours before dinner, then headed to H&V. The kids were so tired and excited that they had no interest in actually eating! They loved every character and this meal was their first time to use their new Disney Autograph dolls. Donald Duck was so excited to see "himself" that he grabbed our kids and took them around the restaurant to show the dolls to the other characters. He even took our kids up to Minnie and broke the line of people waiting for her! It was a truly magical moment for our children and I didn't video it as I just tried to savor the moment.

We have been to H&V several times, but have never been huge fans until this trip. On this trip, the food was good and the desserts were wonderful! We didn't eat many of them in anticipation of the Dessert Party, which was a mistake since Fantasmic ended up being cancelled that night...and everyone stood in line for over 90 minutes. This totally changed our trip plans for Monday...which will come in another post. I felt that the food and desserts there were wonderfully themed and cutely presented...and they tasted good too! The character interaction was just awesome and set a stage for a wonderful trip!

 

[lucyddr]

We finished dinner and went to ride Toy Story. We then rode Tower of Terror. We had showed the kids YouTube videos of the "scary elevator" and they felt able to ride...even at only 4 years old. They were a little scared, but they LOVED it and asked to ride it again and again! Unfortunately, we only rode it once that night and then got into a LONG line for Fantasmic, stood there an hour, and were then told the show was cancelled due to "technical difficulties." I went to Guest Services to try to reschedule our VIP for the next night...that became a 2 night saga and the end result was a refund and that was it. We left the park earlier than planned and went to bed around 9:30pm after some dessert from the Boardwalk Bakery on our room balcony(made sense since we had been up at 3:30am).

 

[paradesintherain]

They're so brave! They don't even look scared on Tower at all. Loving the adventures so far

 

[mcjaco]

We took our twin boys at 15 months, 2 1/2 and then again at 4 1/2. The last trip, well adventuresome with Hurricane Matthew, was a lot of fun since they could go on a lot more rides, and really understood it.

We keep getting asked when we're going back! So much fun to watch their faces during these trips.

 

[Stasieki]

Looking forward to following along!

 

[lucyddr]

We took our twin boys at 15 months, 2 1/2 and then again at 4 1/2. The last trip, well adventuresome with Hurricane Matthew, was a lot of fun since they could go on a lot more rides, and really understood it.

We keep getting asked when we're going back! So much fun to watch their faces during these trips.

Ours went at 20 months and 32 months (trip reports are still on here somewhere but photos have expired). This trip was far more enjoyable! I doubt we will go again until they are 45-48" tall.

 

[lucyddr]

The next morning, we arrived at Magic Kingdom well-rested and ready for our day! The kids had a 9:50am appointment at Pirates League, so they chose to wear their costumes into the park. We had shown them some videos and websites about the Pirates League and Bippity Boppity Boutique prior to the trip. Andrew was adamant that he wanted the full face paint pirate and Anna was adamant that she did NOT want to go to BBB! She was not impressed with the videos at all, and frankly with their new changes...it doesn't seem to be that amazing anymore. I was relieved as it kept us from having to go to two different places!

We managed to ride the Magic Carpets of Alladin, go into the Tiki Room, and ride Pirates of the Caribbean before their appointment! We then entered Pirates League...which deserves its own post later today or tomorrow!

 

[kandb]

Great trip report, your children are so cute. We have twins too. Have great memories of them going yearly to WDW and they are now 14 years old. We also have an 8 year old who is Disney obsessed as well.

 

[mamamelody2]

Great start to you report!

 

[lucyddr]

After a few rides, we entered the Pirates League. We checked in at the desk, and were immediately taken into the first room. Andrew had to spin the wheel to determine his pirate name, which was Davie Starfish, and Anna had to sign her Mermaid Contract saying essentially that she wouldn't bite the toes of the pirates and would be nice to them!

After we had our name and contracts were signed, we were taken to the salon area. The kids were seated side by side and their makeovers began. Andrew chose the full face makeup, which he had chosen long before our trip. We thought it wasn't a wise decision, but we figured we would let him choose.

 

[lucyddr]

The makeover!

 

[lucyddr]

Taking his very long Pirate Oath before his big reveal!

 

[lucyddr]

Meet Davey Starfish! Costume courtesy of Ali Express...super cheap! He was so amazed by himself and the Pirate who did his makeover was just amazing! We tipped her an extra $20 in cash and waited for sister to make her reveal as a Mermaid Ariel (kind of a Mermaid/Princess hybrid)!

 

[lucyddr]

Then it was time for his sister's big Mermaid Announcement! She LOVED the attention and entire process and we are so happy we chose this over BBB!!! I had the dress made by an Etsy shop before our trip. It was perfect and is built into a leotard, so totally comfy and not itchy!