Wosmama6
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2015
I owe a lot to many of you who gave great advice (to which my husband said, “nah, YOLO!”) to prepare me for the meltdown portions of the trip. Had I heeded your advice, we could have avoided the meltdowns period… but we also might not have made it to Disney, period.
About us/why we went:
We took DS to AoA on free dining when he was 2 for a nice, 5 day, Disney-only trip that was great. Now DS is approaching 5 and we recently found out #2 is on the way. I wanted to do something fun that my son would remember forever before baby and kindergarten and moving across the country in 2019 rock his world as he knows it. Problem is, with crappy maternity leave (read: no vacation time) and hip problems that get serious mid-second trimester w/ pregnancy and a husband that works most weekends, we have to do it now. Our next WDW trip will probably be when #2 is 2ish, so, you know, years! AND kiddo is 44" tall with shoes, so let's go!
The trip:
Our first Spirit airlines flight was… fine from the standpoint of it was on time, check in was easy, etc. BUT THE TURBULENCE. Whoa. I don’t get scared flying and that was easily one of the worst flights I’ve ever taken. Hubby is convinced that it has to do with the airline itself… I have had turbulence just as bad on the major domestics, so I was overall satisfied with my spirit flight.
Since we were going to Legoland and TPA flights were much cheaper, we landed at TPA on time at about 9 am… holy trains and stuff! Had no clue it was such a huge airport. When we got to the rental car area, there was at least a 3 hour line in at the Budget counter and ONE person working. We stood half an hour and it barely moved. Thurs was our only day at MK and we knew we’d miss it if we waited in that line, so I walked around, found the shortest line, booked on hotwire on my phone, and we were in a glorified lawnmower (Nissan Versa) and on our way to MK within half an hour.
Thankfully I4 traffic was minimal, but given our 4 am wake up for our 630 am flight, we were already tired by the time we hit MK. To all of you who said “don’t make your arrival day your only day in a park,” well, duh. DH thinks I’M the stubborn one, but he wanted to do it all and only had two days off, so away we went.
We arrived at noon and hopped in the long line for our first FP+, Buzz. By the time we got to the scanner in the line, we were within our grace period and hopped on Buzz within 10 minutes. DS LOVED the ride, and DH made his first of many comments about imagineers using psychedelics LOL. We had some time before our next FP to meet Ariel, so we hit up the splash station, the barnstormer (DS LOVED) and the excruciating 45 minute Dumbo wait. That play area is a great idea but the line to even get into it was LONG.
My son meeting Ariel was HILARIOUS. He was obsessed with “mermaid” for about 6 months, and went full on “it’s a pretty girl I don’t know what to do” shy mode. This is the best picture I got.
The line for Under the Sea wasn’t atrocious, thankfully, and he loved it. Just good Disney stuff right there. To kill time before our Belle FP, we hit philharmagic (which mostly just confused my son, but he does love Donald Duck) and the carousel.
The Belle FP was worth it… we walked right on, and I was a little disappointed that he didn’t get one of the major characters (he would’ve been the cutest Chip!) for the second time (he was the salt shaker when we went at 2), but today he insisted on taking his Belle bookmark to preschool. He kept talking about the magical mirror that turned into a door. Great for preschoolers.
We also got some LeFou’s brew. WOW. Is it better than butterbeer? Can I say that and still maintain my chops as a serious Potter fan?! DH and I loved it, and DS was not impressed to say the least.
I asked my son “do you want to ride more rides or go see an awesome parade?!” At 4, I thought he’d answer parade. Nope. I think this was our first on-the-ground mistake (coming on arrival day being a pre-planning mistake). FoF is supposed to be magical, and I think it really would’ve sold the Disney experience to my anti-disney hubs.
Anyway, Belle was our 3rd FP, so I immediately hit up the app. All I could get was Mad Tea, but it was for right away, so my husband forgot I was preggo for a second and almost made me puke all over the dang cup. DS LOVED it.
Somewhere between here and getting another immediate FP for Winnie the Pooh (one of my faves), I lost my FP card (plug for the magic bands, right here). I retraced my steps several times while DS and DH played in the Mr. Sanders area, but nowhere to be found. Luckily, the lady manning the FP line saw my distress and let us through. We loved this ride and laughed and smiled the whole time. About a 5-10 minute wait for FP.
At this point, we had to go back to Guest Services to get my FP card, and as they say, Things Fell Apart. I suggested we take the park's train. DS is still young enough to love trains, there was no line and my pregnant back was already screaming at me. So we hopped on the train. The second we got on the train, I checked for more FPs, and lo and behold, 7DMT!!! I had been checking several times daily since the moment we booked, and this was the first one I’d seen PERIOD, and it was in 15 minutes. SCORE! We figured I’d get the new card and we’d just walk through the castle, plenty of time before the window closed.
While I was in GS getting a new FP card and booking the dessert party for the fireworks (at this point I was convinced we’d make it til 8!), DH and DS decided they were hungry. I said “well, if we grab a quick hot dog at Casey’s, we’ll still have plenty of time for our 7DMT window”.
Three bites into the hot dog, DS hits his wall. MY TUMMY HURTSSSSSS. He wailed in the bathroom for 15 minutes, complained about how it smelled, refused to drink the apple juice I bought him (this usually does the trick), and then wailed in Casey’s. DH has almost no tolerance for this. I kept thinking “I just bought these dang dessert tickets AND got the most coveted FP, WE ARE NOT LEAVING”
But DH asked DS if he wanted to ride more rides or go to the hotel and DS said hotel. We asked him multiple times. I went to get my money back at GS, released the FP (OH THE PAIN) and stopped for a mickey bar on our way out of the park because dangit, I deserved it. Of course, stomach pain magically lifted, DS wanted a bar. I got him one because whatever.
In the monorail line, DS says “what ride are we riding next?!” Half a mickey bar, and he’s cured.
At that point, I should’ve gone back in. We should’ve just sucked it up and fought the crowds and seen HEA from inside the park. But I had already given up. DH had given up before we even GOT there. My pregnant back was screaming. It was 630 and we had been up since 4 and walking for 6 straight hours.
By the time we got to our Best Western Gateway near Universal (our destination the following day) (I also DON’T recommend this hotel but it was free so meh), kiddo was wide open and ready to roll. Did not conk out until 830 (after his normal bedtime) and was up bright and early at 530.
After universal the next day (read report here), we booked a very last minute 1900 Park Fare dinner so that we could view the fireworks at Grand Floridian. THAT was phenomenal, except my son passed out after one piece of pizza (and after the fireworks), but the characters made it fun and hilarious. Gotta love Lady T and the sisters. At one point, Anastasia shouted to the whole room “Be quiet! This baby is sleeping!”
I almost cried watching the fireworks, even from outside the parks. I would’ve been a mess to see them from the plaza garden viewing. They were so lovely and the score was excellent (piped into the dock at GF). So magical.
Lessons learned:
1. Listen to the DIS boarders, not your hubby.
2. Don’t make arrival day your only day in a park, and try not to make it a park day, period.
3. Push through the meltdown!
4. To hop between systems (WDW, UOR, etc.), you need at least 3 non travel days.
If you want my Universal “see it all in one day” report and Legoland “great for kids, snore for parents” report, check out my thread in universal here.
About us/why we went:
We took DS to AoA on free dining when he was 2 for a nice, 5 day, Disney-only trip that was great. Now DS is approaching 5 and we recently found out #2 is on the way. I wanted to do something fun that my son would remember forever before baby and kindergarten and moving across the country in 2019 rock his world as he knows it. Problem is, with crappy maternity leave (read: no vacation time) and hip problems that get serious mid-second trimester w/ pregnancy and a husband that works most weekends, we have to do it now. Our next WDW trip will probably be when #2 is 2ish, so, you know, years! AND kiddo is 44" tall with shoes, so let's go!
The trip:
Our first Spirit airlines flight was… fine from the standpoint of it was on time, check in was easy, etc. BUT THE TURBULENCE. Whoa. I don’t get scared flying and that was easily one of the worst flights I’ve ever taken. Hubby is convinced that it has to do with the airline itself… I have had turbulence just as bad on the major domestics, so I was overall satisfied with my spirit flight.
Since we were going to Legoland and TPA flights were much cheaper, we landed at TPA on time at about 9 am… holy trains and stuff! Had no clue it was such a huge airport. When we got to the rental car area, there was at least a 3 hour line in at the Budget counter and ONE person working. We stood half an hour and it barely moved. Thurs was our only day at MK and we knew we’d miss it if we waited in that line, so I walked around, found the shortest line, booked on hotwire on my phone, and we were in a glorified lawnmower (Nissan Versa) and on our way to MK within half an hour.
Thankfully I4 traffic was minimal, but given our 4 am wake up for our 630 am flight, we were already tired by the time we hit MK. To all of you who said “don’t make your arrival day your only day in a park,” well, duh. DH thinks I’M the stubborn one, but he wanted to do it all and only had two days off, so away we went.
We arrived at noon and hopped in the long line for our first FP+, Buzz. By the time we got to the scanner in the line, we were within our grace period and hopped on Buzz within 10 minutes. DS LOVED the ride, and DH made his first of many comments about imagineers using psychedelics LOL. We had some time before our next FP to meet Ariel, so we hit up the splash station, the barnstormer (DS LOVED) and the excruciating 45 minute Dumbo wait. That play area is a great idea but the line to even get into it was LONG.
My son meeting Ariel was HILARIOUS. He was obsessed with “mermaid” for about 6 months, and went full on “it’s a pretty girl I don’t know what to do” shy mode. This is the best picture I got.
The line for Under the Sea wasn’t atrocious, thankfully, and he loved it. Just good Disney stuff right there. To kill time before our Belle FP, we hit philharmagic (which mostly just confused my son, but he does love Donald Duck) and the carousel.
The Belle FP was worth it… we walked right on, and I was a little disappointed that he didn’t get one of the major characters (he would’ve been the cutest Chip!) for the second time (he was the salt shaker when we went at 2), but today he insisted on taking his Belle bookmark to preschool. He kept talking about the magical mirror that turned into a door. Great for preschoolers.
We also got some LeFou’s brew. WOW. Is it better than butterbeer? Can I say that and still maintain my chops as a serious Potter fan?! DH and I loved it, and DS was not impressed to say the least.
I asked my son “do you want to ride more rides or go see an awesome parade?!” At 4, I thought he’d answer parade. Nope. I think this was our first on-the-ground mistake (coming on arrival day being a pre-planning mistake). FoF is supposed to be magical, and I think it really would’ve sold the Disney experience to my anti-disney hubs.
Anyway, Belle was our 3rd FP, so I immediately hit up the app. All I could get was Mad Tea, but it was for right away, so my husband forgot I was preggo for a second and almost made me puke all over the dang cup. DS LOVED it.
Somewhere between here and getting another immediate FP for Winnie the Pooh (one of my faves), I lost my FP card (plug for the magic bands, right here). I retraced my steps several times while DS and DH played in the Mr. Sanders area, but nowhere to be found. Luckily, the lady manning the FP line saw my distress and let us through. We loved this ride and laughed and smiled the whole time. About a 5-10 minute wait for FP.
At this point, we had to go back to Guest Services to get my FP card, and as they say, Things Fell Apart. I suggested we take the park's train. DS is still young enough to love trains, there was no line and my pregnant back was already screaming at me. So we hopped on the train. The second we got on the train, I checked for more FPs, and lo and behold, 7DMT!!! I had been checking several times daily since the moment we booked, and this was the first one I’d seen PERIOD, and it was in 15 minutes. SCORE! We figured I’d get the new card and we’d just walk through the castle, plenty of time before the window closed.
While I was in GS getting a new FP card and booking the dessert party for the fireworks (at this point I was convinced we’d make it til 8!), DH and DS decided they were hungry. I said “well, if we grab a quick hot dog at Casey’s, we’ll still have plenty of time for our 7DMT window”.
Three bites into the hot dog, DS hits his wall. MY TUMMY HURTSSSSSS. He wailed in the bathroom for 15 minutes, complained about how it smelled, refused to drink the apple juice I bought him (this usually does the trick), and then wailed in Casey’s. DH has almost no tolerance for this. I kept thinking “I just bought these dang dessert tickets AND got the most coveted FP, WE ARE NOT LEAVING”
But DH asked DS if he wanted to ride more rides or go to the hotel and DS said hotel. We asked him multiple times. I went to get my money back at GS, released the FP (OH THE PAIN) and stopped for a mickey bar on our way out of the park because dangit, I deserved it. Of course, stomach pain magically lifted, DS wanted a bar. I got him one because whatever.
In the monorail line, DS says “what ride are we riding next?!” Half a mickey bar, and he’s cured.
At that point, I should’ve gone back in. We should’ve just sucked it up and fought the crowds and seen HEA from inside the park. But I had already given up. DH had given up before we even GOT there. My pregnant back was screaming. It was 630 and we had been up since 4 and walking for 6 straight hours.
By the time we got to our Best Western Gateway near Universal (our destination the following day) (I also DON’T recommend this hotel but it was free so meh), kiddo was wide open and ready to roll. Did not conk out until 830 (after his normal bedtime) and was up bright and early at 530.
After universal the next day (read report here), we booked a very last minute 1900 Park Fare dinner so that we could view the fireworks at Grand Floridian. THAT was phenomenal, except my son passed out after one piece of pizza (and after the fireworks), but the characters made it fun and hilarious. Gotta love Lady T and the sisters. At one point, Anastasia shouted to the whole room “Be quiet! This baby is sleeping!”
I almost cried watching the fireworks, even from outside the parks. I would’ve been a mess to see them from the plaza garden viewing. They were so lovely and the score was excellent (piped into the dock at GF). So magical.
Lessons learned:
1. Listen to the DIS boarders, not your hubby.
2. Don’t make arrival day your only day in a park, and try not to make it a park day, period.
3. Push through the meltdown!
4. To hop between systems (WDW, UOR, etc.), you need at least 3 non travel days.
If you want my Universal “see it all in one day” report and Legoland “great for kids, snore for parents” report, check out my thread in universal here.
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