Our biggest WDW vacation yet (but with the littlest guests)- A May PTR! Updated 4/27!

[Woth2982]

Aww congratulations! He is so stinking cute! The twins are taking on their big brother and big sister role so well! So sweet to see!

 

[keh422]

Congratulations, Aunt Molly! Ethan is adorable! I'm so glad everyone is adjusting well. How fantastic for Haley and Ryan that they have so much family support. These are precious days for sure.

 

[missjackiemcg]

What an adorable addition to your family (and the trip!) How absolutely precious are those little grins! And not sure I've ever seen a more proud big sister and brother. Congratulations to the whole fam. He is perfect.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Congrats to all of you!!! Now your trip is complete!!! I hope the family is adjusting well to the newest member of the family.

 

[ambula603]

Congratulations to the whole family!! He is perfection!

 

[Mollydolly334]

He is adorable!! Congratulations to your sister and the whole family! So exciting to meet the youngest member of your trip And now your sister can book that flight!

That is awesome! I had 2 c-sections and likely would have struggled with a Disney trip a couple months later, wishing her a quick recovery!

Haha I had to comment on this- Haley was reading along with my TR and she mentioned your comment; she was like "She made a really good point, that would have been so hard!!"

Molly!!! This is SUCH happy news! Happy birthday and welcome to the world, Ethan Robert! He is so perfect and the photos of him with the twins are just too precious! Congratulations to Haley, Ryan, and the rest of the family -- hope you can all enjoy some precious time together while you celebrate and get to know Ethan

Congratulations on the newest nephew! He is precious and does look so much like Ollie when he was a newborn! Glad to hear everything went well with the delivery and your sister is recovering quick. It's great that there's so much family around to help. And I'm happy to hear the twins are adapting to life with a new sibling. It definitely rocks their little worlds!

Aww congratulations! He is so stinking cute! The twins are taking on their big brother and big sister role so well! So sweet to see!

Congratulations, Aunt Molly! Ethan is adorable! I'm so glad everyone is adjusting well. How fantastic for Haley and Ryan that they have so much family support. These are precious days for sure.

What an adorable addition to your family (and the trip!) How absolutely precious are those little grins! And not sure I've ever seen a more proud big sister and brother. Congratulations to the whole fam. He is perfect.

Congrats to all of you!!! Now your trip is complete!!! I hope the family is adjusting well to the newest member of the family.

Congratulations to the whole family!! He is perfection!

Thank you so much everyone for all of your well wishes and kind words!! We are so blessed and everyone is doing so well Thought I'd share a couple more pics!!

]

BIG SMILES!



Such a proud big sister!



And Nana in her prime

 

[Mollydolly334]

Character and Ride Priorities


Hello friends! I wanted to share some of our ride and character priorities while at WDW!

The twins are going to run the show this trip- so they get first dibs and first choice on everything while they are in the parks! Jake, Mom, and I will get our must-do’s in when they’re not with us. Pretty much the only “musts” from Jake are that we visit all 4 parks, and that we get to ride Tron and Cosmic Rewind. He would also like to ride 7DMT if we can, since we missed that one last time! Mom and I have been to WDW countless times, so we don’t really have any must-do’s and are ready to be zen and go-with-the-flow



I say that now… I hope that I can stick to this .

Here are some attractions that I know the twins will love!!

Magic Kingdom:

Dark rides involving their favorite characters are sure to be a hit!



Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin



Dumbo the Flying Elephant (plus all other incarnations)!



Epcot:

I’m sure the dark rides will be another big hit here!



Hollywood Studios:

Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy



Beauty and the Beast- Live on Stage



Animal Kingdom:

Kilimanjaro Safaris



Here are some attractions that I think that maybe the twins will love!



Haunted Mansion. But I’m leaning towards the “definitely will love” side on this one. For Halloween back in 2022 (when the twins were about 15 months), Haley bought them a “Haunted Mansion” Little Golden Book. The kids (especially Oliver) became OBSESSED with Haunted Mansion- and all things “spooky” in general!! This single book has sparked a huge interest in Halloween, ghosts, witches, bats, skeletons, vampires… I could go on and on! It's been read so many times, the spine is hanging on by a thread



They love looking at all of the Halloween decorations during the fall season and listening to spooky music (especially Grim Grinning Ghosts!). So, I’m hoping this one will be a hit I even bought Oliver a Haunted Mansion tee-shirt for Christmas to wear on one of our MK days!



Pirates of the Caribbean. This is another one where I think their “spooky side” will play to their advantage!



Spaceship Earth. It’s a dark ride with lots to look at, but may be kind of slow-moving for them?



Living With the Land. I am a HUGE fan of this ride and will defend it until my death, but I’m no fool- I KNOW that they will think this ride is super boring



Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. They LOVE Mickey and all of their friends! This is just kind of a loud ride with lots of wind/stimulation?? I work with kids on the Autism spectrum, and while Evie and Ollie are not diagnosed with ASD, I'm always really cautious about this kind of stuff, just with what I see at work. I think they’ll be fine, but it could be overwhelming (life in general is overwhelming at 2 years old)!



Disney Junior- Live on Stage. Especially after seeing Disney on Ice, I know that they’ll be super into all of the shows! However, they don’t watch much Disney Junior, so I’m not sure if they’ll know or care about these characters. I haven’t seen this show in so long… I was a HUGE Playhouse Disney fan back in the day (probably until way older than I should have been, haha). My mom says that she has flashbacks of watching this show and 8-year old Molly towering over all of the other toddler-age children, and having just as much fun . What can I say, I’ve always been a kid at heart!!

These are the characters that they will be SO excited to meet!





Throwback picture of Haley and I meeting Patty Mayonnaise from Doug in 2000

When your kids were young, what were their favorite attractions/characters?? Any that surprised you?


​

 

[Newsies]

Looks like you have some great priorities for what the kids will be interested in! I'm obsessed with Ollie's Haunted Mansion obsession... too cute!

I've never traveled with little ones, so I'm no help there. I think it really just boils down to characters, stories, and interests they can identify with.

If you're going to Magic Kingdom and/or Epcot before DHS, I think Pirates and Remy are two great rides to test the waters on before Runaway Railway. Pirates is loud and lowkey stressful for a little one between the unexpected drop and the cannonballs going off in the water scene, and Remy is a very similar layout to Runaway Railway, arguably with a similar stress level. I'd say you could probably judge how they'd react to Runaway Railway given their reaction to either of those rides!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

This is the most adorable thing!!!!

Living With the Land. I am a HUGE fan of this ride and will defend it until my death, but I’m no fool- I KNOW that they will think this ride is super boring

It's weird, something like that could be a big hit for one of them and not the other.

My mom says that she has flashbacks of watching this show and 8-year old Molly towering over all of the other toddler-age children, and having just as much fun . What can I say, I’ve always been a kid at heart!!

I love it!!!!

I think the characters Morgan and Gwen were most excitied to meet were, Anna and Elsa back in the day. Shocking, I know...

And the more obscure Princesses... Mulan and Jasmine. But they are not normal kids!

 

[jrmint427]

Haunted Mansion. But I’m leaning towards the “definitely will love” side on this one. For Halloween back in 2022 (when the twins were about 15 months), Haley bought them a “Haunted Mansion” Little Golden Book.

My kids were so scared of HM but I should have tried that book! Now I'm thinking about buying it ahead of our next trip! My 7 year old is building up her nerve to ride it.

Living With the Land. I am a HUGE fan of this ride and will defend it until my death, but I’m no fool- I KNOW that they will think this ride is super boring

My kids both loved Living with the Land!

hrowback picture of Haley and I meeting Patty Mayonnaise from Doug in 2000

How cool!! I would have loved to meet Patty!

When your kids were young, what were their favorite attractions/characters?? Any that surprised you?

They loved all the classics at MK! I think they liked the carpets even more than Dumbo! Their favorite characters were the princesses, they definitely preferred face characters over Mickey and friends (though Mickey Mouse was still special to meet). One thing that surprised me was that the Frozen ride was really scary to both of my kids. One of them screamed and cried when we tried to get them on it on a future trip, and that threw us off! Both the snowman and the drop at the end were scary to them.

 

[cindianne320]

Congratulations on your new nephew! I could tell right away that he was a spitting image of his big brother!

Kids are so unpredictable- my oldest, who liked every ride we brought him on, suddenly threw a big fit in line for the Little Mermaid ride. To this day, we don't know why.

Mickey and Minnie's didn't exist when my kiddos were little, but I think I would have brought them on it at 2.
They all 3 liked anything they were allowed on at that age. It's been harder as they have gotten older, as my daughter doesn't like anything "scary" or too thrilling. My youngest wants to go on Everything!

 

[suse66]

Ethan was born at 2:30 PM on February 1st, 2024. Honestly, we weren’t too surprised that he was a boy; Haley had a feeling all along that it was a boy!! He weighed 7 lbs 8 oz and was 22 inches long! Both Ethan and Mama are doing absolutely perfect We are very happy that Haley was able to have a natural birth so that she doesn’t have the crazy recovery of a C-section.

Welcome to the world, little one! Congratulations to all the family.

He is absolutely perfect and SO chill, which is great because the twins are CRAZY!! He is also Ollie's twin- it is insane to compare photos of the two of them at this age. Haley literally just copied and pasted baby Oliver I wonder if he'll be a redhead like Ollie, too!

Oh my gosh, definitely twinsies!

Haley is recovering well at home. She is super-mom FOR SURE! Ryan’s mom, Carla, is visiting this entire week to help out. My mom went back to work this week, but will then be staying with them for 2 weeks from February 12-26 to help out, so Haley and Ryan will have a lot of support. We are so blessed that everyone is doing so well, and that we have a healthy and happy little boy to join our crew

Love this! Definitely having a natural birth is SO much easier to recover from.

Haunted Mansion. But I’m leaning towards the “definitely will love” side on this one. For Halloween back in 2022 (when the twins were about 15 months), Haley bought them a “Haunted Mansion” Little Golden Book. The kids (especially Oliver) became OBSESSED with Haunted Mansion- and all things “spooky” in general!! This single book has sparked a huge interest in Halloween, ghosts, witches, bats, skeletons, vampires… I could go on and on! It's been read so many times, the spine is hanging on by a thread

This is the best ever!!!! Love that Ollie is a HM fan already!

Living With the Land. I am a HUGE fan of this ride and will defend it until my death, but I’m no fool- I KNOW that they will think this ride is super boring

I think they will love it when you point out all the Hidden Mickeys and share little tidbits about the plants. Have them look for some of their favourite fruit.

 

[suse66]

I feel like you and my mom would get along SO well- just reading your TRs I feel like you two are very similar!! If I do get an AP, I'd definitely try to do a little weekend getaway with my mom. You and @disneyAndi14 could join and we could have some girl time!!!

That would be amazing! Caroline and I are already looking at December. With going to Hawaii this summer (which I am super excited about), there is no WDW trip for a while. I need one in my life.

 

[Woth2982]

One Character that surprised me that my DD loved was Elena from Avalor. We have no idea who she is other than her name, but Savannah LOVED her!

Those rides are all great for that age! When S was 2.5 we let her lead us around, it was so fun watching and doing what SHE wanted to do. One word of caution on MMRR and Figment, the explosions. S did NOT like the explosion at the start of MMRR and the end of Figment. So maybe be prepared to block their ears for that part.

 

[Mollydolly334]

Looks like you have some great priorities for what the kids will be interested in! I'm obsessed with Ollie's Haunted Mansion obsession... too cute!

I've never traveled with little ones, so I'm no help there. I think it really just boils down to characters, stories, and interests they can identify with.

If you're going to Magic Kingdom and/or Epcot before DHS, I think Pirates and Remy are two great rides to test the waters on before Runaway Railway. Pirates is loud and lowkey stressful for a little one between the unexpected drop and the cannonballs going off in the water scene, and Remy is a very similar layout to Runaway Railway, arguably with a similar stress level. I'd say you could probably judge how they'd react to Runaway Railway given their reaction to either of those rides!

That's such a great point- we are planning on MK and Epcot before DHS so we will definitely try this out!! I feel so out of my element- this is my first time traveling with kids as well (I have always been the youngest one on all of our trips ) So I have no idea what to expect!!

This is the most adorable thing!!!!


It's weird, something like that could be a big hit for one of them and not the other.


I love it!!!!

I think the characters Morgan and Gwen were most excitied to meet were, Anna and Elsa back in the day. Shocking, I know...

And the more obscure Princesses... Mulan and Jasmine. But they are not normal kids!

Haha- I love that they love the obscure princesses! Evie and Ollie are already becoming Disney character experts- they will pretty much know all of the classic characters! During Disney on Ice, Aurora came out, and immediately, Evie asked, "Where's Prince Phillip??" I was like HOW do you know that???

My kids were so scared of HM but I should have tried that book! Now I'm thinking about buying it ahead of our next trip! My 7 year old is building up her nerve to ride it.

My kids both loved Living with the Land!

How cool!! I would have loved to meet Patty!

They loved all the classics at MK! I think they liked the carpets even more than Dumbo! Their favorite characters were the princesses, they definitely preferred face characters over Mickey and friends (though Mickey Mouse was still special to meet). One thing that surprised me was that the Frozen ride was really scary to both of my kids. One of them screamed and cried when we tried to get them on it on a future trip, and that threw us off! Both the snowman and the drop at the end were scary to them.

Ugh, Haunted Mansion is such a toughie!! On our last trip, my mom and I saw a girl (probably 9 or 10 years old) absolutely terrified and sobbing in the stretching room We felt sooo bad!! I hope your 7 year-old works up the guts to try it out!!

Ohhh I didn't even think about Frozen Ever After!! It is kind of dark and thematic. I hope the twins enjoy that one- they both absolutely love the movie and ask to watch it all the time. The Frozen characters are huge in that house!

I told Jake that there used to be Doug Live show at MGM and he was FLABBERGASTED

Congratulations on your new nephew! I could tell right away that he was a spitting image of his big brother!

Kids are so unpredictable- my oldest, who liked every ride we brought him on, suddenly threw a big fit in line for the Little Mermaid ride. To this day, we don't know why.

Mickey and Minnie's didn't exist when my kiddos were little, but I think I would have brought them on it at 2.
They all 3 liked anything they were allowed on at that age. It's been harder as they have gotten older, as my daughter doesn't like anything "scary" or too thrilling. My youngest wants to go on Everything!

Thank you so much Yes- I think this trip will definitely be eye-opening on their personalities, like if they scare easily, if they're dare-devils... etc. You make a great point though- sometimes anxiety actually comes through the older they get because they know more and have more to think about!

Welcome to the world, little one! Congratulations to all the family.

Oh my gosh, definitely twinsies!

Love this! Definitely having a natural birth is SO much easier to recover from.

This is the best ever!!!! Love that Ollie is a HM fan already!

I think they will love it when you point out all the Hidden Mickeys and share little tidbits about the plants. Have them look for some of their favourite fruit.

Thank you so much We are so in love with our little man!!

Great point about Living with the Land! Ollie especially loves all fruits and vegetables so I bet he would like looking at them!!

One Character that surprised me that my DD loved was Elena from Avalor. We have no idea who she is other than her name, but Savannah LOVED her!

Those rides are all great for that age! When S was 2.5 we let her lead us around, it was so fun watching and doing what SHE wanted to do. One word of caution on MMRR and Figment, the explosions. S did NOT like the explosion at the start of MMRR and the end of Figment. So maybe be prepared to block their ears for that part.

Evie has been really getting into Princess Sophia for the last month or so, so I bet we'll have to make a special stop to see her!!

Great point about Figment and MMRR! I'm also anticipating some nerves with the popping champagne during the BOG scene in Philharmagic- I don't even like that part!!

 

[Mollydolly334]

Why I Love Traveling to WDW in May


When we were first planning this trip last year, we were pretty much “dead set” on going the first week of June, since it would line up perfectly with the twin’s birthday. However, based on pricing/availability, we decided to switch the trip to May. Secretly- I was SO excited and happy that we switched!

Fun fact- I have now traveled to Disney World during every single month of the year. May is one of my absolute favorite months to go to Disney (it may even be my favorite month- I’ll have to re-evaluate this year). This post here is a love letter to May trips…

Disney world in May…. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways!

#1- Weather







Let’s face it, the weather in Orlando is never perfect. I feel like it’s always too hot, too wet, too humid, too stormy, too windy… But, in May (especially early May), it comes pretty much as close to perfect as I can ask for. Lower levels of rain/clouds, hot temps (but not stifling), lower humidity than usual, and perfect pool weather! It also doesn’t get too cold at night, which is a big plus because then you don’t have to pack millions of layers.

Also, another great advantage- May is not during hurricane season . If you’ve read my past TRs, you know that I have LOTS of experience of traveling to WDW during hurricane season . It will be so nice to have that stress off of us!

#2- Flower and Garden Festival

I have had the pleasure of visiting Epcot during all 4 festivals, and hands down, the Flower and Garden Festival is my favorite. I love looking at all of the beautiful flower topiaries, and I tend to prefer the food and drink options more at this festival. I think it’s because it focuses on cocktails/slushies vs. wine, and sweet vs. savory (unlike F&W). If I’m given a choice between sweet and savory, sweet ALWAYS wins. These menus actually just came out TODAY!! I can’t wait to look at pictures once the festival starts and plan out my must-eats. Here are some of my favorite items from F&G past!



Violet Lemonade (2021)



Frushi (2019)



Beef Brisket Burnt Ends Hash (2017)



Mickey Peanut Butter and Jelly Tart and Cookie Butter Worms and Dirt (2019)



Honey Tandoori Chicken Flatbread (2019)



Key Lime Tart (2019)

#3- Crowd Levels



(This picture was actually taken in September 2019. But, you get the jist )

Although May is not the least crowded month in Disney (September takes the prize for that one), crowd levels are pretty moderate, especially in the beginning of the month! Less crowds ALWAYS makes me happy! I find that I don’t really get bothered by crowd levels in the sense of wait times; I more so get anxious and affected when the shops, pools, and walking paths at the parks are really crowded!!

#4- Past memories

I have been to WDW in May three times in the past. All of those trips were a blast and had some amazing memories! Our first May trip was in 2005 (I was 10 years old). My mom had a dental conference over at the Swolphin, so we stayed at the BC!









(Don’t mind the PhotoBucket watermarks)

In 2013, we returned again in May for the same conference! I was 18 years old and had just finished my freshman year of college. This time, we stayed at the YC!









AGAIN with the PhotoBucket watermarks!! Don’t worry- I’m now a Flickr girly through and through

Saving the best for last, in May 2019, I went on an EPIC girl’s trip to WDW with about 25 of my closest DISboards ladies This was a split-stay at the YC/BC, with @lesleywake and @disneyAndi14 as my roomies (I seem to love staying at the Boardwalk resorts in May)! This was a trip of a lifetime and still lands in my top 3 Disney trips I’ve ever taken!!

















What’s your favorite month to travel to Disney World in, and why?


​

 

[disneyAndi14]

Hi Molly
I just found this and read all your posts! Wow your trip sounds exciting and very different for you! I know you always did mom and daughter trips. You will have a big party this trip!
Your niece and 2 nephews are absolutely adorable
You are staying at a couple of my favorite resorts! I love Gran Destino and POFQ.
Did you check to make sure the pool is open at POFQ. We were just there and the pool was a gigantic work zone. We were fine with this since we usually never swim!
You and Jake have to check out Dahlia! It is amazing. A beautiful lounge with wonderful views.
i love all the pictures from the Dis trip! I loved touring the parks with you! Like my adopted Disney daughter
I’m so happy to se you on the boards again and I love your reports!
Get that AP and travel with Susan and I lol
Have a wonderful weekend!

 

[jrmint427]

Ugh, Haunted Mansion is such a toughie!! On our last trip, my mom and I saw a girl (probably 9 or 10 years old) absolutely terrified and sobbing in the stretching room We felt sooo bad!! I hope your 7 year-old works up the guts to try it out!!

Ohhh I didn't even think about Frozen Ever After!! It is kind of dark and thematic. I hope the twins enjoy that one- they both absolutely love the movie and ask to watch it all the time. The Frozen characters are huge in that house!

I told Jake that there used to be Doug Live show at MGM and he was FLABBERGASTED

That was my daughter last time, 5 years old and sobbing in the stretching room! But she said she'll try it this time because we've been watching POV ride videos. I hope she sticks to that! I'm also flabbergasted that there was a Doug show at MGM, I had no idea and would have loved that!

These menus actually just came out TODAY!! I can’t wait to look at pictures once the festival starts and plan out my must-eats.

I was SO excited to see the menus posted! It was so hard to concentrate at work when I wanted to pour over those menus... I'm also excited to see the reviews come out but won't have too long before the start of the festival and our trip!

Violet Lemonade (2021)

Ooooh, we loved that one in 2022!

Frushi (2019)

Also loved this one, the pink sushi is so fun.

What’s your favorite month to travel to Disney World in, and why?

September! I've only traveled to WDW in January, June, September and November so far and September was by far my favorite, for similar reasons to why you like May. The weather was great, warm enough to swim but not too hot like June, and the crowds were so low. We didn't think the crowds were low at the time but after going in November, we saw a huge difference and suddenly appreciated the September crowds. We went in September when the girls were little but now we would have to pull them out of school to go in September, and we're not likely to do that (especially so early in the school year).

 

[Newsies]

Obsessed with this update! This will actually be my first time visiting WDW in May and this made me so excited. I think May will be closer to our summer trips which I'm lowkey excited for -- warmer temps and slightly lower crowds. We've been traveling in March only for the past few years, and while I love the weather in March most of the time, it can still be too cold to swim if it's cloudy and it can get chilly at night.

I find that I don’t really get bothered by crowd levels in the sense of wait times; I more so get anxious and affected when the shops, pools, and walking paths at the parks are really crowded!!

This is TOO real... you want me to wait 60 minutes for Pooh, that's fine. You want me to stand in a 20 minute line to check out at Emporium while there's a CM doing literal guest flow in there??? I'm going back to the resort to hide in my room.

I'm right there with you on the Flower & Garden love!!!! Totally agree on your assessment on the booth offerings -- I think the fact that soooo much fresh produce is a heavy focus of these menus is what makes everything seem a bit sweeter and lighter. I love Food & Wine a lot too but Flower & Garden just has a special place in my heart!

As always, you have the BEST photos. Love going down memory lane with you! That 2019 trip was literally epic!

 

[PoppyJ]

Just read through your whole PTR so far! I will be in there at the same time, also from WI!

My husband and I went last May but rushed through everything with my brother in law. I am so excited to spend more time checking out everything at Flower and Garden festival this year!!