You want to ride Dumbo again??! – a Sept TR with two young children - *New - 2/6*

[RatherBeInAK]

Love the reaction of your DS about Barnstormer! So cute!

That's how our DS was the first time he went on. He went on and on about how fast the ride was but then when we asked if he wanted to go on again he replied "Not really"

He definitely wants to go back on it again when we return in January so we'll see how things go this time around.

I was somewhat surprised how aggressive the screening system is for looking for people's wrist bands for the Halloween party so I can see how things felt pressured during your dinner.

That's so funny that your DS had a similar reaction to Barnstormer!

I was surprised over how aggressively they screened for party guests too. And starting so early! I am sure that people try to sneak their way into it all the time. And I've read complaints on these boards from party guests who had problems with non-party guests taking advantage of the special activities. But it was a little frustrating as an honest person who was trying her best to get her family fed and out the gate on time to have the CMs come by so often.

Your DS is so cute with the way he tells about his adventures! I'm glad he mostly liked the Barnstormer. My niece (5 years old) is going with us in January and I am going to test her out on the Barnstormer first and then try BTMRR depending on how that goes. It helps to see that your little guy wasn't TOO scared.

Thanks! I hope she likes it. Though check out what littlenellbell had to say about her DD's experience. It sounds like even if your niece doesn't like Barnstormer, BTMRR is not necessarily out. I thought that was kind of encouraging to hear!

I finally got a chance to read your TR! Looks like such a great trip so far! My DD was amazed with Spaceship Earth too! For me it screams Disney too! I agree this is such a fun age for Disney, the smallest things are so fun!

I can't wait to read the rest!

Thank you! Welcome!

I love how your son excitedly describes his ride on the Barnstormer. My 5 year old DD went on the Barnstormer and it scared her, but she loved Big Thunder Mountain...rode it over and over with her arms up? You never know how they are going to react sometimes.

Thanks! How funny about your DD liking BTMRR over Barnstormer. I'll have to remember that once Little Bear is tall enough for BTMRR. I wonder if it's because it is longer so there is more time to process what's happening? Who knows. Kids are so funny. Little Bear told me at dinner last night that he didn't like the Tigger ride (that we rode about 6 times). Riiigggght.

 

[TruLovesKiss]

Joining in and all caught up! What a great family trip so far! I LOVE the pics of Little Bear describing Barnstormer, too cute!

Can't wait to read more...

 

[RatherBeInAK]

9/18/23 - Do You Want to Meet Rafiki?​

My day started abruptly when the sound of our phone dialing the front desk on speaker woke me from a deep sleep. Apparently the phone was not as fixed as we had thought. I quickly silenced the speaker feature and then explained in hushed tones to the person at the front desk what happened and that our phone still had a mind of its own. They said they’d send a technician. It was 6:30 and amazingly both children managed to sleep through the phone call. Travis had rolled over and went back to sleep quickly. I, however, was awake with no hope of more sleep. So I got Travis’ tablet and started writing a bit about our trip while it was still fresh. Little Bear woke up an hour later and the rush to get out the door began.
We drove to AK, tossed our things into the stroller, buckled our little ones in and we were off to the gate! By now we felt like pros at this. Once inside the park we headed straight back for Little Bear’s favorite ride, the safari. After all, a trip to AK just wouldn’t be complete without it, at least not in Little Bear’s book.

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The giraffes and wildebeest were right by the road again and the morning light streaming through the trees was beautiful.

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After we returned from our two weeks on safari we debated about what we might have time to do and still be able to make the first Nemo show. Little Bear really, really wanted to ride the train. The week before he had seen a short video on youtube about trains and announced that when he was bigger he wanted to ride a train. He was so excited when he learned that there was a train in AK. It immediately went on our must-do list. So after reorganizing our plans a little we parked our stroller and waited at the depot for the train. We must have just missed it because we waited about 10 minutes for one.

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To Little Bear it must have felt like a lifetime. Ever minute he would ask where the train was and if he could please ride the train. We hadn’t had to wait for a ride yet and the concept of waiting for the train was completely lost on him. He was at the train depot to ride the train, so why wasn’t it there? It finally arrived!

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We climbed aboard and a short ride later found ourselves at Rafiki’s Planet Watch. Little Bear saw the statue of the elephants and immediately ran over to climb on it. A small line began to form of other kids who wanted to have their picture with the statue. It was clear Little Bear didn’t have pictures on his mind; he just wanted to play on the statue. Travis quickly went over to speed Little Bear’s climbing along so others could take their turn.

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We entered the building and made a stop at the bathrooms. For those of you who haven’t been in those bathrooms, they have a soundtrack of animal noises playing. I took Little Bear with me into the bathroom and the entire time he asked, “Mama, what was that? What made that sound?” We exited the bathroom and looked around a bit. Rafiki was greeting people to our left but Little Bear was disinterested in him. We saw a CM doing an animal encounter with a blue-tongue skink but Little Bear wasn’t interested in touching it. Since the skink wasn’t interested in showing Little Bear his blue tongue we moved on to the vet clinic window. They had just finished a procedure but the CM stationed at the window said that the vet would examine a bearded dragon soon. A duck was going to visit the good doctor a little later. We looked at some of the small animal exhibits and glanced over at Rafiki. I must have looked over at just the wrong (or right) time because I caught the eye of the CM. There was no one in line so the CM welcomed us to come over and visit Rafiki who was standing there all alone. I asked Little Bear if he wanted to meet Rafiki and he flatly said no. We didn’t think to bring our trip journal on the train with us so we didn’t even have something for Rafiki to sign. Not that it really mattered that we collect his autograph but I think the book helped give Little Bear something to do during the character meetings. I think it took a little pressure off of him. I lamely mentioned that we didn’t bring our book with us and the woman whose son had just finished meeting Rafiki piped up and generously offered to give us some paper. Because of her kindness, the CM’s hopeful look, and Rafiki looking so lonely, I asked Little Bear again if he wanted to meet Rafiki. Nope, he still wasn’t interested. Rafiki started playing peek-a-boo with his hair. Little Bear thought that was so funny. For the third time I asked him if he wanted to go meet Rafiki. No. I suggested to Travis that we head out since Little Bear didn’t seem that impressed with what was there. I started toward the exit but then noticed a collection of people around the vet window. I changed the plan again and we watched the vet check out the bearded dragon’s teeth. Apparently the other dragons had a bad case of tooth disease and this little guy needed to be checked. He passed his dental checkup with flying colors. I gave Travis the nod that I was ready to go and once again we headed toward the exit. I glanced around the room once more and the CM with Rafiki caught my eye again. Rafiki had been standing there without anyone to talk to since we had turned down a meeting for the third time. The CM tried again to encourage us to come over say hi. The CM was so persistent (and not in a bad way), and Rafiki looked so bored (though he may have been enjoying the break), that I finally announced that we would go meet him. I reassured Little Bear that I would hold him the whole time but that we should go say hi to Rafiki. As strange as it may sound, at this point it felt like it was the polite thing to do.

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Little Bear was not interested in having anything to do with Rafiki. Buttercup however, was fascinated, completely fascinated. She and Rafiki had quite a moment and in the end I was glad we stopped. I really like the pictures we got of her and Rafiki.

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[RatherBeInAK]

Joining in and all caught up! What a great family trip so far! I LOVE the pics of Little Bear describing Barnstormer, too cute!

Can't wait to read more...

Thank you Rachel! Welcome!!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

I always feel bad for Rafiki everytime we visit Planet Watch because he's always alone and looks bored. There aren't that many guests in that area to start off with. Last year we were there the kids didn't want to meet him. So I went over with my father in law and did the meet and greet. With no one else waiting in line I had a long "conversation" with Rafiki. Talking about the pouring rain outside and how he managed to stay so dry, about Simba and their daily breakfasts, how Simba loves bananas. It was quite entertaining.

 

[geckodani]

Little Bear sounds so much like me. "Again?!" I could ride everything 8 million times in a row.

 

[RatherBeInAK]

I always feel bad for Rafiki everytime we visit Planet Watch because he's always alone and looks bored. There aren't that many guests in that area to start off with. Last year we were there the kids didn't want to meet him. So I went over with my father in law and did the meet and greet. With no one else waiting in line I had a long "conversation" with Rafiki. Talking about the pouring rain outside and how he managed to stay so dry, about Simba and their daily breakfasts, how Simba loves bananas. It was quite entertaining.

I'm always amazed with how well the characters who cannot talk can communicate. But wow! You managed to talk about all that?! That is impressive!

Little Bear sounds so much like me. "Again?!" I could ride everything 8 million times in a row.

It sound like you and Little Bear would get along quite nicely!

 

[geckodani]

It sound like you and Little Bear would get along quite nicely!

Especially if he wants to ride Haunted Mansion again and again and again and again... I think I went 5 times last trip.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

I'm always amazed with how well the characters who cannot talk can communicate. But wow! You managed to talk about all that?! That is impressive!

Rafiki's "handler" CM actually did a lot of interpretation of his miming.

 

[RatherBeInAK]

Especially if he wants to ride Haunted Mansion again and again and again and again... I think I went 5 times last trip.

That's impressive!

Rafiki's "handler" CM actually did a lot of interpretation of his miming.

He must have! Kudos to Rafiki's handler!

 

[RatherBeInAK]

9/18/13 - Nemo!!!​

A big thank you to all of you who are still reading along!! I've been MIA for the last week or so due to Little Bear catching a nasty cold. I think it was just a cold but he was the sickest he's ever been. It's been a long week. Fortunately he's the only one who got it. And now, back to the TR...

We rode the train back and had a little time before we needed to get in line for Nemo. Travis took the kids and went off in search of a jalapeno cream cheese pretzel while I sat down to rest. Little Bear’s cold had spread to the rest of us as of that morning and I was feeling tired. I was really hoping that our liberal use of hand sanitizer had eliminated any potential spreading of germs to other guests. With all of us in the same hotel room and occasionally (usually accidentally) sharing water bottles I wasn’t surprised that the rest of us got it. Fortunately it appeared to be a really mild cold and I knew I’d feel better the next day. Rainclouds began to move in and it appeared the afternoon showers were not going to wait for us to return to our hotel room. Travis returned with empty hands and for a moment I thought he wasn’t able to find the pretzel. But upon closer inspection, I noticed a small morsel of the pretzel in Little Bear’s hand and plenty of crumbs on his shirt.
We got in line for Nemo and when the doors opened we pretty much had our pick of where to sit. Little Bear had been looking forward to this show since the first day in AK. When the show began he was enthralled. Buttercup was too though she seemed to like the Festival of the Lion King better. When the barracuda flashed on stage Buttercup screamed and started crying. The poor little girl had gotten scared by the barracuda. Thankfully she quieted down quickly and didn’t have a problem for the rest of the show. I was concerned about the shark scene with Little Bear but he didn’t have a problem at all. I don’t know if it was because they were puppets or if it just wasn’t that scary to him. Either way, he loved the show.

(Squirt was so cute)
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As soon as it was over he said, “again?” As we exited the theater there was a kiosk of Nemo merchandise (well played, Disney, well played). Little Bear saw the plush Nemos and said that he wanted one. That was the only thing he asked for or seemed to want during the whole trip. We didn’t get it for him at the time but we did get one later in our trip as his souvenir.
The sky had been looking ominous on and off all morning and now it finally made good on its threats and began to rain. We made it to Restaurantosaurus before we got too wet. I didn’t have much time to look around the restaurant, this time I was on kid-duty at the table while Travis went to get our food. We thought our burgers were good and Little Bear thought it was pretty neat that his lunch came in a sand pail. Once again I wished I had asked for a cookie instead of getting their regular dessert. When I saw they had cheesecake in a jar I was hopeful that it would be more like cheesecake and not just a cheesecake flavored pudding. After scraping the whipped cream off of my “cheesecake” I took one tentative bite and discovered that it was just cheesecake flavored pudding. I really hate wasting food. Next time I will request a cookie, or grapes, or something, anything else. Or maybe I will bestow a dessert on some unsuspecting, creamy-things loving, person in the restaurant.
We were hoping that the storm would pass while we were eating. No such luck. We thought about waiting out the rain but Little Bear needed to get back and nap so he would wake up in time for our ADR that evening. We braved the rain. Without rain gear. I put Buttercup in the carrier and between the blanket I wrapped around her and the nap hood on the carrier she was protected from the rain. And then we just walked as quickly as we could to our car. We were wet but not soaked by the time we made it to the car. After a change of clothes all around, Little Bear settled down for a nap. We couldn’t tell if the phone technician had been by yet but we didn’t want him to disturb the nap time so we hung the “do not disturb” sign on the door. Travis had also experimented with leaving the phone off the hook. We didn’t do that earlier because typically phones like to remind people they’re off the hook with a really obnoxious noise. Disney phones do not. So we left the phone off the hook and enjoyed a quiet couple of hours.
Little Bear woke right in time for us to head out to dinner. We had an ADR at Sanaa and I was really looking forward to our meal. I had heard so many good things about it. Little Bear and I like curry but Travis isn’t the biggest fan of it. I was a little concerned about that when I chose the restaurant but Travis was the one who convinced me to go for it.
Little Bear really enjoyed watching the animals while we waited for our table. We chose not to wait the 60-90 minutes they said it would take for a table by the window. With two little ones, there was no way we could wait that long. So we sat on a bench watching the animals and waiting for the next available table. We were seated 5 minutes later and I was pleased that from our table we could see the animals. Our table wasn’t directly in front of the window but off to the side. Little Bear and I could watch the animals though Travis missed that part of the experience.
We started with the bread since I had heard so much about it. I was tempted to do all 9 accompaniments but ended up only doing 3. The bread was incredible. Travis said he wished that we had gotten all of the accompaniments. He could have made a meal of just the bread. We both really like lamb but rarely eat it. We couldn’t decide between the two lamb dishes so he got the lamb shank and I got the tandoori lamb. Little Bear got the chicken pot pie. All of our meals were very good but I did like Travis’ lamb shank better than the tandoori lamb. It was so good. We decided to skip dessert. After the meal we went outside to their observation area to watch the animals. Both the meal and the atmosphere were so wonderful. We’ll definitely be back. We also learned that it is worth it to upgrade to the regular dining plan if staying at a value on free dining. The two meals we had at table service restaurants were fantastic. Whereas the quick service we’d experienced ranged from meh to good. Next time we go back we’ll definitely do more table service restaurants!
After dinner we went outside to watch the animals for a little while. Little Bear was so excited to see them. It was a wonderful way to end a very enjoyable meal.

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Up next is another of my top 3 favorite moments of the trip! Oh, and there will be lots of pictures! (Hopefully it won't take me a whole week to post it.)

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Hope your Little Bear is feeling better!

Our kids used to find the Nemo Musical a bit intense too when they were younger. For the most part they like it and for our next trip in January we'll definitely include it in our touring plans especially since FotLK will be on hiatus.

Good to hear that you enjoyed Sanaa!

 

[RatherBeInAK]

Hope your Little Bear is feeling better!

Our kids used to find the Nemo Musical a bit intense too when they were younger. For the most part they like it and for our next trip in January we'll definitely include it in our touring plans especially since FotLK will be on hiatus.

Good to hear that you enjoyed Sanaa!

Thank you, Little Bear is feeling much, much better. Whew.

I'm looking forward to seeing FotLK in their new theater (though I really hope it's mostly like the old one - I liked feeling surrounded by the action). But it will really be missed while it's on hiatus!

 

[SAT887]

Hi!

So I have only gotten through the first page... However looks like a great day! Minus those bizarre Disney phones! I also unplug them - I have a 2 & 4 year old and do it so they don't call anyone.... I will catch up on the rest soon! Also, what an adorable family!

 

[RatherBeInAK]

Hi!

So I have only gotten through the first page... However looks like a great day! Minus those bizarre Disney phones! I also unplug them - I have a 2 & 4 year old and do it so they don't call anyone.... I will catch up on the rest soon! Also, what an adorable family!

Welcome! I'm glad you're following along on our little adventure!

I think I'll follow your lead and the first thing I'll do from now on when I get in our room is unplug my phone!

Thanks!!

 

[freckles04]

I've been wanting to try Sanaa. The bread sounds wonderful.

TS restaurants are half the experience of Disney for us. We just love all the unique experiences.

 

[Jackiemarie21]

I wish we would have seen the Nemo show, it looks so good! I agree it is worth it to upgrade to the regular dining plan. The TS meals really help add new and exciting experiences to a trip.

Sorry to hear your little guy is ill, that is never fun

 

[VbChristy]

Since the previous post my family went and spent 4 nights at Disney with my 5 month old. It was great. Those coolibar blankets were the best! Thanks for the suggestion. And my son LOVED being carried in the carrier for most of the trip.

 

[RatherBeInAK]

I've been wanting to try Sanaa. The bread sounds wonderful.

TS restaurants are half the experience of Disney for us. We just love all the unique experiences.

Sanaa is great, I highly recommend it. I agree with you about the TS restaurants. I've already know which ones we're going to try on our next trip.

I wish we would have seen the Nemo show, it looks so good! I agree it is worth it to upgrade to the regular dining plan. The TS meals really help add new and exciting experiences to a trip.

Sorry to hear your little guy is ill, that is never fun

Hopefully you'll be able to go again and see the Nemo show. I liked it but FotLK was by far my favorite. Were you able to see it? And thank you.

Since the previous post my family went and spent 4 nights at Disney with my 5 month old. It was great. Those coolibar blankets were the best! Thanks for the suggestion. And my son LOVED being carried in the carrier for most of the trip.

Yay! I'm glad you had a good time. And I'm so glad you liked the blankets! Yay for blankets and carriers and great trips with babies!!

 

[RatherBeInAK]

9/18/13 - Dancing on the Dominoes
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We went back to our hotel room to find the phone still off the hook. We never did find out if a technician had come by that morning while we were out or tried during the nap time and left. We didnt want to chance being awakened again by the phone so we left it off the hook for the rest of our stay.
We looked at the clock and realized that we were back to our room the earliest yet. Since we still hadnt been able to explore the hotel as a family I proposed we do just that. I went ahead of Little Bear into Andys Room so I could get pictures of his reaction when he saw it. He was amazed. He just gazed up at the gigantic Woody and Buzz with a smile on his face.

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But he really got excited when he saw the checkers. He repeatedly called them dominoes despite continual corrections. Remember the conversation about the ray/guitar fish? It was a lot like that. He loved to climb up on the dominoes and dance around and then jump off.

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Then he discovered the tunnels made by the blocks and spent a lot of time running through them over and over gleefully laughing.

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We finally made our way out of Andys Room so I could show Little Bear and Travis the Dalmatian section. Little Bear was surprisingly unimpressed with the giant Dalmatians. He did find the big tv amusing though. He and I got behind it and sang and danced to Make them Laugh and Good Morning from singing in the rain for Travis, Buttercup, the little puppy, and the random people unfortunate enough to be passing by at that moment. Little Bear requested that we return to Andys Room to play on the dominoes some more. Buttercup was getting tired so when we got to Andys Room, Little Bear and I played a little longer while Travis took Buttercup to the room.

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We ran through the block tunnels together and had the best time. This was one of my favorite moments of the trip. I also took my favorite picture of the trip during this time. While we played, Little Bear was jumping and smiling and laughing, constantly laughing. I managed to catch one of his smiles with my camera. This is exactly why I wanted to take him to wdw. This is what made it all worth it. This is a picture of pure joy.

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My son is not going to remember the trip when hes older. I have no delusions that he will. But I will show him these pictures. I will show him this picture. And I have no doubt that these experiences, this joy, this blissful time with his mommy and daddy will be indelibly written on his heart.