Where's Mickey? Our Son's First Trip to Disney World

[glassslippergirl]

All About the Stuff

With sleeping DS in tow, we made the mad dash to get TSMM fastpasses. It was 10:30, and we knew we were likely to be out of luck. Yep, the FP’s were for 8:30 that night, so they would be brightening someone else’s day on our way out of the park. It was now time for DH’s favorite part of SWW. Bobba’s Bounty, Jabba’s Hut, Darth’s Mall—no matter what you call the store, he is all about the merchandise. Every year, his friend—a huge Star Wars collector—sends DH with a list of merchandise to pick up for him. Add that to DH’s own purchases, and we always leave the Darth’s Mall with a big bag of stuff. This year was no exception.


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Jason Fry, author of Star Wars The Clone Wars Episode Guide was there signing copies of his book. DH got one signed for DS.


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The inscription was quite nice: “For Michael—Hope you enjoy these tales from the galaxy far, far, away.” Fry even signed his name in a Star Wars language—like those they use on the flight schedules in line for Star Tours.

The funny thing was that DS was in full “Casanova” mode. He couldn’t have cared less about the author signing a book for him, but a cute CM off to his right got all of his attention. He would not stop smiling at her. I am not sure that DS will ever appreciate the contents of the book since the future of the Clone Wars series is up in the air, but it is so nice that DH was so excited to share the series with him. If nothing else, I am sure that someday they will be able to share tips on flirting.

I think DH’s favorite find was this tee-shirt. It duplicates the art from the original posters advertising episode 6, which was originally called Revenge of the Jedi, then changed to Return of the Jedi. He has always wanted one of the original posters, but they are rare and incredibly expensive. He was happy with this $30 substitute.


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This was my favorite find. It’s a calendar with all of the logos for SWW past and present.


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During our first two SWW, 2009 and 2010, the special merchandise area was really small, and there was a long line just to enter. With the re-imagining of Star Tours in 2011, the big merchandise tent was introduced behind ToT and next to RnR. It was luxurious with so much space for merchandise, and we could shop without climbing over other people. This year, the merchandise tent was there still, but the crowding was back. D-Tech, which makes personalized items like your head on Han Solo in carbonite or on a Storm Trooper, took up almost half the tent.


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I have not used any D-Tech services, so I cannot comment on that, but I do wish they made the tent bigger or something to accommodate D-Tech and all of the other merchandise comfortable.

We sent our purchases to the front of the park and headed to our first attraction of the day, but DH was enticed by a sign for a truffle oil, bacon, macaroni and cheese topped gourmet hotdog from a food stand just outside RnR. So we stopped for lunch. DH had the aforementioned hot dog (I tried the mac and cheese which topped it—really good), and I had the BBQ chicken which had a flavorful rub on it. We traded sides, so DH had my baked beans and cole slaw, and I had his potato chips. I wasn’t expecting to get lunch then and there, but I’m glad we did. Fairfax Fare never struck me as much of a place for a meal since it is outdoors, and I’m not really a hotdog fan, but had we not eaten there, I probably would have just had chicken nuggets and fries from some other counter service place, and I would have missed out on something more tasty.

After our lunchtime diversion, it was again time for our first attraction of the day—The Muppets. For the first time, we looked for and found the key under the mat (in the queue, off to the right just as you enter the building):


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muppets key by glassslippergirl, on Flickr

DS didn’t love the show, but he did discover a new game. Standing on the floor in front of my chair, he would bend down and “hide,” then pop up again, all smiles.

When the show was over, we headed for the baby center to try out the changing and nursing facilities, but on the way there, DS decided it was naptime. We found a cool, quiet spot and let him sleep.

 

[glassslippergirl]

The Best Part of the Day

Since DS had not napped when we went to the hotel the day before, we decided to go against the advice of legions of Disers and skip the afternoon hotel break. DS slept in his stroller for over an hour; then, we headed to the baby center. We found for the rest of our days at Disney that it worked best for us to skip the afternoon break in favor of stroller naps. We did not make it to fireworks, but we didn't really expect to with a ten-month-old.

Then, it was time to use our Star Tours FP’s and try child swap for the first time. DH made the line first while DS and I played outside the store. He liked standing at these barred openings and looking at the crowds pass below.


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Since the ride was renovated in 2011, we have always talked about the variety of ride opportunities. After our first rides, DH worked out the math:

2 possible openings (Darth Vader or buzz droid) x 3 possible first destinations (Tatooine,
Kashyyk, Hoth) x 3 possible Rebel transmissions (Leia, Yoda, Admiral Akbar) x3 possible second destinations (Coruscant, Death Star, Naboo) = 54 possible rides.

So after riding separately, we compared notes. DH got the Darth Vader opening scene (his favorite), then visited Hoth (another favorite of his), got the Princess Leia transmission, and ended at Naboo. When it was my turn, I got the buzz droid opening, then visited Kashyyk, got the Yoda transmission, and ended at Coruscant (my favorite landing scene where the ship hits the droid, causing him to say “Stop!” then drop to the ground—it makes me chuckle every time).

It was getting late in the afternoon, so before heading back to the hotel, we decided to head to one more attraction. In all my trips to DHS since it first opened, I had never had occasion to visit this place, so it was a total surprise to me as well as to DS. It was the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids movie play set. What a little gem! DS was the smallest child there, but that didn’t stop him from playing with everything he could. He loved pulling himself up on the blades of grass.


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We danced on the bouncy ground.


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And he went back and forth under this arch at least ten times:


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But when he found the water wall, he camped out for about half an hour—I think the happiest half hour of his life so far.


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Now soaking wet but oh so happy, we headed out of the playground stopping for my favorite father-son picture of the trip:


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Then, it was off to the baby center for a wardrobe change and a walk to the parking lot to head back to the hotel. Since we enjoyed our breakfast at the Pop Century food court so much, we headed back there for dinner. I had the pepperoni pizza bread with salad, and DH had the pork shank. Portions were very generous for the money, and DH could not stop talking about the mashed potatoes that came with his pork. It was already 8:00—someone’s bedtime—so we settled in for what would hopefully be a better night in the hotel. It was a little better; we had worked him so hard he fell right to sleep and didn’t wake until 3:30. But it was rough from then until morning.

We awoke super-tired but ready to see Mickey at the Cape May Café.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

He just could NOT be any cuter! I love the photos of him playing at the water wall, and the one on his Daddy's shoulders.

I am really loving your TR - love seeing how much fun it is even for the littlest visitors.

Teresa

 

[glassslippergirl]

He just could NOT be any cuter! I love the photos of him playing at the water wall, and the one on his Daddy's shoulders.

I am really loving your TR - love seeing how much fun it is even for the littlest visitors.

Teresa

Thank you. I am glad you are enjoying.

 

[glassslippergirl]

Everything Popped

When we woke up, it was time to gather our things and get ready for check out from Pop Century, so I will start with a little review of our stay there. Like I said at the start of this trip report, we rarely stay on Disney property. We figure that the more money we save on lodgings, the more often we can come to Disney World. I did a lot of comparison shopping for this leg of our trip and did find a good value at Pop for the weekend. We also thought that, with DS in tow, it might be more convenient having the Disney transportation.

In all, we loved the hotel itself. The food at Everything Pop was so excellent that, though we usually go off site to save a few dollars on meals, we ate there twice and enjoyed it thoroughly both times. The pool was fun, and we were very close to it. We were, however, far from the main building. This was a problem after checking in, when we realized that they had written the wrong room number on our key case. After hauling all of our stuff up the elevator and spending ten minutes trying to get into the wrong room, we called the front desk, who wanted us to come back and sort out the problem. DH was not happy about that and eventually got them to tell us over the phone what room we were really in (the man at the desk had transposed the first two numbers). But it was fun to take the long walk to Century Hall for our meals because there were so many things to see along the way. DS loved the giant foosball game, and after getting lost once, we quickly learned to turn left at the big Mr. Potato Head. We even found it easy to locate our room once we realized that the eighties building decoration was a giant Pac-Man game and our room was behind the giant Blinky.


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The room would have been adequate for us before DS came along, but now it was small for our needs. We had to push the table into a corner to make room for DS’s pack-n-play. We ended up keeping the stroller in the car so we didn’t have to literally climb over it. I don’t know how families without a car could make it work. Also, I know this has been said before about value resorts, but the noise is pretty bad. We woke up to our next-door neighbors on the first night when they returned late from the parks and on the second night when they left at 3:30 a.m. to catch the ME. I can only imagine how bothered they were by DS’s rather loud nighttime waking.

I liked that there was a curtain separating the sink area from the bed area. This made it easier for us to get ready for bed after DS had fallen asleep. And, of course, it is always fun to look for hidden Mickeys in the bathroom wallpaper


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and shower curtain


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and hotel carpet.


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I know most hotel rooms have them, but a full-length mirror is always useful.


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Identifying all the items on the Disney eighties collage was also a fun pastime for DH and me, two children of the eighties. (I have such good memories of listening to the Disco Mickey Mouse album.)


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We had hoped to hop over to the Art of Animation resort, but we ran out of time. We had a reservation at Cape May Café, and somebody was ready to go. It was time to get packing.


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[Teresa Pitman]

We're just back from a five-day stay at Pop, and I have to agree with you about the noise. We were on the fourth floor near the bowling pin pool, and we had a hard time getting to sleep most nights because of people shouting, squealing, screaming, and yelling at each other in the pool. There are signs asking people to be quiet after 10:00 p.m. but apparently many ignore them.

I do think it is good value for the money, though!

TP

 

[glassslippergirl]

Where’s Mickey? The Saga Continues

We headed to the Beach Club for our ADR at Cape May Café. We got there a little early, so DS and I found a comfy chair in the lobby. It had been a rough night in the hotel.


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Once we were seated, DS immediately got a visit from Minnie.


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We were worried that the masked characters would scare DS. That is why we tried to visit Mickey the very first day on Main Street; if he was scared, we would try to cancel our Cape May reservation. But as you can see, he was immediately enamored by Minnie’s nose.


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Donald was our next visitor.


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He got a big hug.


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Then came Goofy.


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We really enjoyed the food at Cape May, even DH who does not usually like buffets. His favorite choice was the Latin American-style scrambled eggs with chorizo sausage. I am not a fan of scrambled eggs, so I asked for an egg-white omelet. I was surprised to learn at our first character breakfast (Chef Mickey) several years ago that special order eggs were an option at these buffets. At Akershus, I had to explain to the Norwegian waiter exactly what I was asking for (egg white dishes are not common in Europe), but the chef was able to accommodate. I was happy they could accommodate here, too.

I loved the chocolate chip muffin. In fact, it may be a weird thing to note, but I thought the chocolate chips they used at Cape May Café were the best I’ve ever had. They were also a delicious topping on my Mickey waffle. I was disappointed but not surprised that by my second trip to the buffet, they had run out of the delicious muffins. Everyone else must have loved them, too.

We had hoped to see Mickey at our table this morning, but he must have taken Memorial Day off. It was our second failed attempt to see Mickey and left us asking, “Where’s Mickey?” The other characters visited often.

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They were great and so patient with DS, who had a penchant for touching their face masks—especially mouths and noses. Just before posing for the last photo above, Minnie had run across an empty booth, open on both sides, to get to DS.

This was my favorite photo of the day, taken by the server.


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After breakfast, we walked around the Beach Club and discovered a beautiful solarium. I was fascinated because I had never been in a solarium—they aren’t very common, or necessary, in Florida. In this photo, DS is fascinated by the spinning ceiling fans overhead.


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We found this beautiful statue at the entrance to the Beach Club Villas.


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Then, we took a short walk along the water where we followed this family of ducks. Mama Duck is in the rear rather than the lead because the last baby duck was a laggard, stopping to check everything out.


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Sadly, it was time for DH to return the rental camera lens that took all of these great pictures. We met Ian from the rental company in the Beach Club lobby, too one last look at the hotel’s beauty, and made our way to the parking lot.

DS was asleep before we loaded him into the car, and I was asleep before we were out of the parking lot. Apparently, an accident just outside of Orlando added 40 minutes to the drive home, but I have no recollection of it. We got home and spent a few days regrouping for the second part of our trip the following weekend.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

I love that he was so enthusiastic about the characters!! Great photos - those will be memories you will always cherish! It's funny how some kids find the characters terrifying and others seem to immediately gravitate to them.

I do hope you find Mickey!!

(I also love the first photo of you two dozing on the chair...)

Teresa

 

[glassslippergirl]

We're just back from a five-day stay at Pop, and I have to agree with you about the noise. We were on the fourth floor near the bowling pin pool, and we had a hard time getting to sleep most nights because of people shouting, squealing, screaming, and yelling at each other in the pool. There are signs asking people to be quiet after 10:00 p.m. but apparently many ignore them.

I do think it is good value for the money, though!

TP

I love that he was so enthusiastic about the characters!! Great photos - those will be memories you will always cherish! It's funny how some kids find the characters terrifying and others seem to immediately gravitate to them.

I do hope you find Mickey!!

(I also love the first photo of you two dozing on the chair...)

Teresa

We have always had fun interacting with the characters. Before DS was born, I decided that I was going to win an annual contest at my school by reading to as many Disney characters as I could. The final tally was 58. Their reactions were the best. Darth Vader walked away from me as I read. Duffy covered his eyes at a scary part.

I am glad that DS had a good experience with the characters. Cape May Cafe was highly recommended on these boards for good itneractions, and it did not disappoint.

Sounds like you had a worse time with the noise at Pop Century than we did. But I'm glad you had a good trip. Thanks for reading my trip report.

 

[glassslippergirl]

A Decision, a Banner, and Baby Center

Before we knew it, it was time for the second half of our son’s first trip to Disney World. We had originally planned to spend two nights on the second weekend just like we had on the first, but DS’s bad hotel experiences (and our subsequent lack of sleep) led us to cancel one night of our stay this weekend. So, like the previous weekend, we would be driving up early on Saturday morning, but, instead of driving home on Monday, we would visit a park on Sunday morning and head for home early that afternoon.

Another plan change came when we were deciding which parks to visit. The initial plan had DH introducing DS to his favorite park, Epcot, on Saturday. But as we talked about our time at MK the previous weekend, we realized that there was so much more there that we wanted to show DS. We just couldn’t decide. At Epcot, there was Living with the Land, Spaceship Earth, and the Chase Disney Visa character experience to do with DS, plus DH and I had not yet experienced Test Track 2.0 (I wanted to surprise DH with the new look which so many have compared to Tron, one of his favorite movies). At MK, there was IASW (my first and favorite ride as a baby); the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh; Monsters, Inc Laugh Floor (a favorite of ours); and Journey of the Little Mermaid (a new experience for all of us). We decided to wait and choose in the moment as we entered the park. Heck, with the rise of FP+, it might be our last chance to ever again be spontaneous at Disney World.

As we drove toward the welcome sign, something caught my eye. A plane carrying a banner was circling over the sign. The banner said, “Warning: Gay Days at Disney.” We were horrified by what some people will do. That banner was both hurtful and unnecessary. Undaunted by the “warning,” we continued on; we had a decision to make. When we came to the split in the road—turn right for Epcot, go straight for MK—DH, the biggest Epcot fan that I have ever met, told me to go straight. Huh? There were just too many fun things still to do with DS at MK, he said; Epcot could wait until our next trip.

We arrived at MK via the ferry boat.


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After the long drive, we knew Little Guy needed some tending, so we headed to the baby center. I was expecting it to be like the baby center at DHS—small but efficient. I could not be more wrong! The baby center at MK was HUGE, with a kitchen, changing room, nursing room, and feeding room. First and foremost, I love, love, love the changing tables in both baby centers-- so roomy and with disposable liners! I vowed to never use any other Disney changing tables again—a vow that quickly was forgotten with the next “diaper emergency.” The other amenity that I did not expect was high chairs for feedings, though I preferred the Eddie Bauer high chairs at DHS—really top of the line—to the basic wood ones at MK.


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Later in the day, I tried the nursing facilities at the baby center and found that I also preferred these at DHS where they had two small, private rooms. At MK, they had a gang nursing room with about eight rocking chairs arranged in a circle all facing the wall for privacy. For an older baby like DS, the mothers and babies coming and going were just too distracting in the gang setting, and we ended up leaving after about ten minutes and using a bottle instead. Though, I have to give credit for the way that Disney monitors that gang nursing room. A cast member diligently guards the door, just opening it enough for mothers and babies pass through and making sure that no men enter.

Okay, that is all for my, I am sure totally boring, review of Disney World’s baby centers. I didn’t even know that these existed before I visited with a baby, but they are a great resource, and I was glad they were there through our trip.

Now, rested, changed, and fed, DS was ready for the more rewarding task of having fun at the Magic Kingdom. We headed to our first ride of the day.


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[glassslippergirl]

The Many Adventures of the Winnie the Pooh Interactive Queue

Ready to go, we first picked up FP’s for Journey of the Little Mermaid, then got into the standby line for Winnie the Pooh. Several years ago after we were hit by Hurricane Wilma, my little cousin, then in kindergarten, smiled and told me, “The best part of the hurricane was the ice cream.” She elaborated that when the power went out, her mother let her have as much ice cream as she wanted; it was going to melt anyway. That memory of as much ice cream as a little girl could want sustained her through a bad storm and a week without electricity. My cousin, now going into seventh grade, probably does not remember this story, but I think of it often as it is a good lesson in making the best of a bad situation. I think that is what Disney is trying to do with the interactive queues it’s installing around the park. DH and I really enjoy the queue at the Haunted Mansion. We had tried the queue at Winnie the Pooh before, too, but it was a totally different experience with DS.

He started by playing drums on some of Rabbit’s vegetables. He loves anything that makes a noise when he hits it.


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Then, he played with more vegetables,


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spun a flower or two,


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and was busy as a bee playing with the bees to make “hunny” for Pooh.


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I think he had more fun playing the interactive queue than he did on the ride itself—I know we had more fun with him there. To think, there are still parts of this queue that he is too little to enjoy like the virtual wall of honey (he just didn’t get it) and the place where you step on something and make gophers appear in the garden. More fun to come!

Our next stop was the carousel, which we rode not once, but twice. The first time we sat on the bench.


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The second time, DS rode a horse.


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I really like this photo taken on the carousel. I think it captures DS experiencing the wonder and magic of Disney World.


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After a quick stop at the new FLE gates, we headed off to our first experience Under the Sea: The Journey of the Little Mermaid.


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[glassslippergirl]

Under the Sea without any Water

We headed to use our fastpasses at Under the Sea: The Journey of the Little Mermaid. We were able to practically walk onto the ride, so no special adventures in this queue today. For all of us, it was our first time on this attraction. Since we’ve been to Disney World so many times in our lives, it is rare for us to have a totally new experience on a ride, so we were really looking forward to this. I had even spent the last six months avoiding any discussions and videos of the ride on Disboards and the blogs I read so that it would be a surprise. Overall, we found the ride visually stunning. There was always a lot going on—in the wrong hands, it would have been too much—but here it worked.

To me the biggest surprise, and my biggest question about the overall design, was that it was not a boat ride (yep, I really had avoided finding out about this ride). Especially when I consider that this ride was so close to the old site of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, I would have thought that a water ride about the Little Mermaid was a natural fit. After riding, I understand that the vehicles allowed for greater freedom of movement through the ride—turns and such that would have not been possible in a boat—but I wish the imagineers had done more with actual water. I also question whether two attractions telling the story of the Little Mermaid are necessary in Disney World (Ariel's Undersea Adventure does the same in DHS).

No photos from this ride because we were busy enjoying our first experience with it. DH is excited to practice his photography skills in the big room the next time we visit.

We passed Gaston’s Tavern and suddenly felt thirsty. The memory of LeFou’s Brew was compelling us to stop for yet another. We had talked about it so many times over the week between our visits. DH also wanted to try the pork shank, so I asked him to get one of the cinnamon rolls I had heard so much about. What was just supposed to be a quick stop for a drink turned into a full-fledged lunch.


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DH really enjoyed the pork. He said that it was even better than the pork shank he had the previous week at the Pop Century food court, but he missed the mashed potatoes from Pop—those were the best mashed potatoes he had ever had.


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As for the much-acclaimed cinnamon roll, it was, as one reader commented on this trip report, as big as my head. Size was definitely something it had going for it. It was not the best cinnamon roll that I’ve ever had, though—very sweet and a bit doughy. I am glad that I tried it but doubt that I will again. The LeFou’s Brew was excellent as usual—sweet, icy, and refreshing.

We headed to Frontierland for the Country Bear Jamboree. When I was little, my grandparents took me to Disney World a few times a year. My grandpa had heart trouble, so rides which involved sitting down in air conditioning were a must throughout the day. The Country Bear Jamboree became a family favorite, especially since my grandpa and dad were both big guys named Al—insert Big Al joke here. I was excited to introduce DS to this family tradition, but, with a full belly, he fell asleep before we got out of Fantasyland.

We stopped at the Rapunzel bathrooms. I had to stop and take some pictures of the incredible detail. This mural, focusing on the healing flower from the movie, was inside the the ladies’ room.


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This was on the ceiling of the ladies’ room.


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No place but Disney would put so much time and detail into a bathroom. It’s really such a pretty little place both inside and out.


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And it’s good to know that DH’s favorite character from the movie is still getting work.


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It was beginning to drizzle, and DS was still sound asleep. We headed to Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe. There is a quiet place with benches and shade behind the store where we waited for either a break in the weather or for DS to wake. When the weather broke, I ran to the City Hall to get a Fastpass to see Mickey. Would we finally get to meet the Mouse?

 

[glassslippergirl]

Where’s Mickey? He’s Right Here, and Here, and Here, and There

The time had come. After two failed attempts to see Mickey on our son’s first trip to Disney World, we were determined to finally succeed. DS awoke, and after a quick trip to the baby center, we headed down Main Street to use our Mickey Fastpasses. On the way there, the nineteenth century women stopped us to meet DS. They and Smokey Miller, the fire chief of Main Street, sang him a little song.


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It was finally time to meet Mickey. I had checked the Fastpasses several times to make sure they were for the Mouse and not the princesses. We got in line and were soon ushered into what looked like a dressing room. And who was standing there? You got it-- the leader of the club that’s made for you and me, M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E.

As with Minnie, DS loved Mickey’s nose. Mickey was patient and understanding.


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We also go a great family photo courtesy of the Photopass photographer. I think Mickey is performing some kind of magic.


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It was a great experience, and I left commenting to DH about how efficient it had been. We had been able to see Mickey so quickly and easily. But –SPOILER: NO KIDS SHOULD READ THE REST OF THIS INSTALLMENT—as we were leaving down a corridor lined with doors, another family came out of a room into the same corridor. Without their children hearing, I asked the father if they had just seen Mickey. “Yes,” he replied, smiling ironically as he realized that we had just seen Mickey too in another room. So it seems that the efficiency that we had been lauding comes at the expense of a little magic. Isn’t this a violation of one of Walt Disney’s cardinal rules—that a character should be in only one place in a park at a time to keep up the show? Or maybe Mickey is now like Santa, needing a lot of helpers to see all the children who want a visit.

Next, we headed for a ride on the train.

 

[glassslippergirl]

Laugh Floor Trifecta


IMG_2151_IJFR by glassslippergirl, on Flickr

DS was so happy on the train, and DH and I were getting tired, so we rode the train around the Magic Kingdom two full times, finally getting off at the Frontierland station to see the County Bear Jamboree. Of course, the parade was coming through at just that time. We could not cross the street so decided to save Big Al and the Gang for another trip.

But we couldn’t be in that part of the park without stopping for one of the best Disney treats ever. That’s right-- the Dole Whip. We usually get floats with pineapple ice cream and pineapple juice, but this time DH decided to mix it up with orange ice cream in his float. I thought he was crazy to mess with pineapple perfection—until I tried it. The orange ice cream is so refreshing that I will definitely be ordering it in the future. Yum!


Dole Whips by glassslippergirl, on Flickr

After crossing Main Street and heading to Tomorrowland, we took a quick ride on the Peoplemover.


IMG_2197_IJFR by glassslippergirl, on Flickr

DS enjoyed the parts of the ride that were outside, but I had forgotten how much of that ride takes place in complete darkness. He was a trooper—no tears—but I think we were all relieved when the trek through Space Mountain was over.


IMG_2206_IJFR by glassslippergirl, on Flickr

After the Peoplemover, we headed to our favorite MK attraction. We have a long history with the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor. In 2009 on our Christmastime trip, DH was chosen as “that guy.” We put his “that guy” sticker on the back of a Tinkerbell ornament, so now every Christmas, we remember this experience.

Then, last year when I was six months pregnant with DS, I was chosen as the woman who “telepathetically” communicates the number to Buddy Boil. We had a long conversation before I communicated the number; it went something like this:
BB: Who is beside you, Laura?
Me: That’s my husband, John.
BB: John, you know there’s a room in this building named after you. Where did you meet?
Me: At college.
BB: What did you study?
Me: Education… and each other.
BB: You’re kinda stealing my jokes here.
BB: (to John) How long have you been married, John?
DH: Six years.
Me: Actually, it’s five.
BB: John, I bet you wish you were in that room with your name right now…

For the rest of the day, people kept wishing us a happy sixth anniversary.

Now, it was DS’s first visit to Monstropolis. The show was almost over. Marty Wazowski had delivered the jokes from the audience and was ready to close when he said to the audience, “Hey, do you want to see something real cute? It’s a human baby.” To our surprise, DS showed up on the screen! Everybody oohed and aahed. DS didn’t really know what to do, so he turned into my chest, which just made everyone ooh more.

Later, I asked DH what his favorite part of the trip was. He said it was this moment at the Laugh Floor—pretty magical.

It was almost dinner time, so we decided to head out. We checked into our hotel, the Extended Stay America just outside of the DTD entrance to the park, had a take-out dinner, and settled in for the night. Tomorrow would be the last day of DS’s first Disney adventure, and a SWW day, too. Exciting!

 

[glassslippergirl]

I Am the Rebel Spy-- At Last

We awoke for our last Disney day and our last SWW day. DS had, as usual, slept poorly in the hotel, so I have to admit that I was glad we only had one hotel night this weekend. Still, fewer hotel nights meant less theme park time. We would have to leave Orlando today by 1:00 P.M. to get home by a reasonable hour. We ate the hotels continental breakfast and headed out to DHS.

It was Sunday, June 2, the day of Disneys annual ticket price increase. We were using the last day on our Discover Disney ticket, a deal for Florida residents, so we did not think that the rate increase would affect us. But I hadnt done my homework. Parking prices also increased, just by a dollar, but it was now $15 to park. Thats not really important, but it took me by surprise.

DS had his first tram ride, at least the first one he was awake for. He has always loved the wind in his face, so he had a lot of fun on the open-air vehicle.


Untitled by glassslippergirl, on Flickr

We got there soon after rope drop, so there was hope that we could get FPs for TSMM. Well, the FPs were for after our 1:00 cutoff date. We took those to give away as we left, but the line for the ride was less than 30 minutes. Yeah! We were going to ride Toy Story Mania!

DS would not wear the ride glasses.


Untitled by glassslippergirl, on Flickr

But he did have fun riding. I got my lowest score ever because he kept trying to help me. I cant wait until he can play for himself. He will have so much fun challenging his dad to see who can get the higher score.


Untitled by glassslippergirl, on Flickr

I always got a kick out of the oversize toys in TSMM. We as we exited the ride, we stopped for a picture at this book. The lines at the bottom of the page, The baby giggled! He was happy, reminded me of DS, whom it seems is always smiling and laughing, except, of course, in this photo.


Untitled by glassslippergirl, on Flickr

Next, we had to do some SWW stuff. DH needed his Star Wars fix. It was still early, so the characters were not out in force yet, but we did find this Clone Trooper.


Untitled by glassslippergirl, on Flickr


Untitled by glassslippergirl, on Flickr

For more Star Wars fix, we did a child swap on Star Tours.


Untitled by glassslippergirl, on Flickr

It was a big event for DH. When the ride reopened during the first SWW in 2011, he literally rode the it 20 times in that one weekend. (Really, we would walk off, then get right back in line over and over again.) We also went to the other three SWW that year and rode at least five times more each weekend. And we had visited the park and ridden another five or six times since. (You can tell that this is one of DHs favorite attractions.) On all of those rides, neither of us had ever been selected as the Rebel spy. We always hoped and always were just a little bit disappointed when it didnt happen. (Of course, the ride helped us quickly get over our disappointment.)

Well, this was DHs weekend. As the ride began, he broke out his best Down Under accent (like Boba and Jango Fett in Episode 2) and drawled, There better not be any Rebel spies on board. That must have made someone backstage laugh because, during his Millennium Falcon opening, his picture was posted as that of the Rebel spy. Back in 2011, we had vowed that if either of us was ever chosen, that person would get the I am the Rebel Spy tee-shirt. We finally had cause to make good on that vow!

After Star Tours, we trekked to Darths Maul for the Rebel Spy tee-shirt and a few more SWW goodies that DH could not live without. We got FPs for RnR (again for past 1:00 -- but they would go to brighten someones day as we exited the park ); the standby line was 120 minutes, and we werent about the try that, so a RnR child swap would have to wait for another trip.

It was getting on our 1:00 deadline. Lunch was in order. We chose the Backlot Express, which is something of a SWW tradition for usmostly because of its close proximity to Star Tours and the other SWW events. I know there are a lot of complaints about the food service choicesboth counter service and table service-- at DHS, and I generally agree with that, but we have always found that the limited menu at Backlot is at least prepared well, and we love the refills from the open soda fountains there. (I really wish that Disney would go to this model in all counter service restaurants, but I know that RFID chips in drink cups, limiting refills, are a more likely prospect).

Speaking of the soda fountain, this sign over the fountain always makes me laugh (DH's name is John, and his family calls him Johnny).


johnny sign by glassslippergirl, on Flickr

I had the nuggets, DH had the hamburger, and DS had Cheerios and baby food. We all left happy and with full bellies.


Untitled by glassslippergirl, on Flickr


Untitled by glassslippergirl, on Flickr


Untitled by glassslippergirl, on Flickr

And so ended our DSs first trip to Disney World. After a quick trip to the baby center, we found a young couple to give the RnR FPs to (they were so happy) and a mother and child to give the TSMM passes. We always try to do this if we dont use the passes; it spreads a little pixie dust. Then, we went through the gates the sad way. Thats how I always think of it when we exit the park at the end of a Disney tripgoing through the gates the sad way.

Of course, that just means we have to come back again soon and enter the happy way.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

Great report! I have enjoyed this so much! Your son is adorable, and you have some fantastic photos.

I love how you hit the Laugh Floor trifecta! How cool that your son got on screen. And then to have your DH chosen as the Rebel Spy after so many tries! This is like the perfect trip!

I went in the spring with a friend who hadn't been on Star Tours before. When her face came up on screen as the Rebel Spy, she was afraid it meant something bad was going to happen to her - like she'd be in the ejection seat or something! I had to get her a T-shirt too.

I sure envy you guys living so close - your baby is going to be a Disney veteran before he's three!

TP

 

[glassslippergirl]

Lessons Learned

Before this trip, DH and I had never traveled with a baby. I started planning by asking a bunch of questions on this threadhttp://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3069147. The information was invaluable. I took a lot of the advice. Here's what I learned from the experience.

1. Everyone, and I mean everyone, suggested going back to the hotel for an afternoon nap. We tried it, and it did not work for DS. We spent a really miserable hour trying before just going to the pool. I am sure we will try afternoon breaks again on a future trip when DS is older, but for now, stroller naps worked so much better.

2. We have never been regular on-property guests. We can save so much money staying off-property, and that means more trips. I thought that might change with DS's arrival-- that the convenience might trump the savings. After trying both, we remain in the off-property camp. Pop's room was smaller and noisier than our room at Extended Stay. It was easier to use our car than Disney busses, so no added convenience there. I do enjoy on-property theming but will trade it for the savings.

3. The baby centers are awesome. I had no idea there would be microwaves, a sink to wash bottles, a TV playing cartoons, high chairs, or big, luxurious changing tables. I don't know what I expected, but I look forward to using them again.

4. In my initial post with questions, I asked for the best character breakfast for character interaction. Cape May Cafe got the most "votes." It was great! Ohana came in second, and we can't wait to try it in the future.

5. The first haircut experience was THE BEST. They made such a big deal about such a little thing. I would recommend it to anyone. DH wanted to get his hair cut, too, but there was no sink for washing it after being sweaty all day. I think I will schedule a father-son haircut first thing in the morning on a future trip.

6. I wish we had tried staying for fireworks one night even if we watched somewhere less crowded like Poly beach. It might have kept DS out late, but he probably would have had fun like he did watching Fourth of July fireworks. What's the worst that could have happened? DS would be up late crying in the hotel? Oh, wait, that happened anyway.

7. I am so glad we took the advice to bring our own stroller and the baby carrier. DH is very protective of our stroller, so I bought a used one very in expensively on Craig's List. I fixed it up, but when I took DS for a walk, one of the inflatable tires went flat. It was irreparable, and the company no longer made replacement parts. With time running out, I bought an umbrella stroller at Target. When I tried it, oh my! I'm almost six feet tall, and the stroller was made for a shorter demographic. I had to hunch over to push it. And DS was even more uncomfortable. We made the last minute decision to take our own stroller which made DS happy and probably facilitated the good stroller naps. As for the baby carrier, I used it in lines and with characters.

8. DH's birthday present of renting an expensive camera lens was money well spent. DH got so many great pictures and had so much fun. And the rental company was good to work with. We will do this again.

9. DH's birthday gift of renting an expensive camera lens will probably be a very expensive gift in the long- run as he now wants to buy the lens.

Thus ends my trip report. It was a great first trip with DS.

Best wishes,

Laura

 

[Rmurphy005]

Great TR!! My daughter was just born 3 weeks ago and this was really helpful for planning our first trip to disney. What kind of lens did your DH rent and where did he rent it from?

 

[anpeck]

DH and I are taking DS to WDW in October for his first trip. He will be 13 months old and we are very excited as he loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Thanks so much for this TR, it's given me a lot of ideas for our trip. I am excited for the first Dumbo ride and hoping my little man enjoys it as much as yours did.