“Shhh! You’re Ruining the Magic!” A Family’s First Disney Trip Report NEW 10/6

caitlinnf

Mouseketeer
Joined
Oct 2, 2012
Shhh! You’re Ruining the Magic!” A Family’s First Disney Trip Report!


Hi there! We returned this week from our first Disney vacation. The PDD has set in, so I figured there is no better way to combat that depression than by reliving it through a trip report. Lucky you!


For the back story, feel free to check out my little PTR

Here


For the short version, here goes:

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Me: Caitlin, 29. Disney addict and trip planning obsessed.
DH: Ben, 31. Loves Disney, but mostly just happy to get a break from work.
DD1: Bethany, 5 (turning 6 next week). Loves all things princess and is also a budding adrenaline junkie.
DD2: Becca, 3. Also loves princesses, wants to be like her sister and was often sad on this trip to not be big enough for thing.
DS: Greg, 18 months. We call him Gigs. He is constantly moving and the busiest kid I know. He loved every ride he could do, probably because it got him out of the stroller.


This trip report will also include Ben’s parents, who we will just call Grandma and Grandpa. They are the reason for the trip, as they generously offered to take us.


The quick rundown: 6 nights, 7 days at POR. 5 park days, no hoppers. 6 character meals. A mom who planned obsessively and a family who willingly followed along.


This was a really great trip. I was instantly in my happy place. Things mostly went smoothly…there are always issues when travelling with young kids, but nothing too terrible. I’m looking forward to reliving all of the fun we had! :goodvibes


Short disclaimer: I have a list of every activity we did but didn’t take many notes otherwise, so I am going off of memory in terms of details. Also, our camera isn’t great, so picture quality is pretty crappy, and at other times we just didn’t take many photos (too much kid juggling). However, I will still do my best to keep it interesting. Please let me know if you decide to follow along!
 
Chapters


Day 1: Arrival

It’s Disney Day! (And the boring travel part)
Checking into POR
Dinner with a mouse and his friends


Day 2: Magic Kingdom

There's No Show Today
A Fantasy-filled morning
Some Major Typecasting
Lunch fit for a beast
Friendship Day and nighttime adventures

Day 3: Animal Kingdom

Meeting a Yeti and lots of giraffes
Fun and Games with Some Special Friends
Monkeys and Goats
"I Can't Believe Mickey Just Did That!"
Dinoland and a Useless Poncho

Day 4: Hollywood Studios

"I Can't Stop Thinking About It!"
Taking a break from the thrills
Waiting on Jake and Manny
A Fantasmic Evening

Day 5: Epcot

“It’s so beautiful!!”
Testing the track and other things without photographic evidence
Dining with Royalty
Secret Agent F
A lucky surprise

Day 6: Magic Kingdom

A better view
Some new, some old
A very anticipated princess
One last character meal
An evening without the kids…or photos 

Day 7: Goodbye


“I wish we had known about this two hours ago!”

Final Thoughts

Real Life Update and October Trip ADRs
 
I am following along. i can't wait to read all about your first trip. Your family is adorable.
 


joining! Sounds like fun!

We have a trip coming up and staying at POR so interested to hear how that went!
 


Get busy girl! I'm ready to start reading all about your wonderful vacay. :)
Sharon

I'm getting busy! I should have the first update up tonight or tomorrow :woohoo: Thanks for joining in!

I am following along. i can't wait to read all about your first trip. Your family is adorable.

Thank you! I think they are pretty cute too ;) It was a really great trip.

Just read your PTR. Waiting to read your TR now.

Thanks for reading along! It's more fun to write for someone else to read :goodvibes

joining! Sounds like fun!

We have a trip coming up and staying at POR so interested to hear how that went!

We absolutely LOVED POR. In fact, we rebooked for the fall!

Following along! :)

Welcome!! :yay:
 
Hi Caitlin! I'm joining in for sure! :woohoo: There is nothing more exciting than a family's first trip. :goodvibes
 
It's Disney Day! (And the Boring Travel Part)


Wednesday, Feb 26. This was one of the most highly anticipated days ever! The kids and I had been counting down for months, and it was finally here. Disney Day!!!! Now, one thing you should know about me is that I am NOT a morning person. Never have been, never will be. But believe me when I say that I flew out of bed when my alarm when off at 5:45am, with a pep in my step and a smile on my face!


While I was getting ready, Ben took it upon himself to start waking the kids. I was in my bathroom packing the last minute toiletries, when I heard a familiar tune coming from the girls’ room: Ben was waking up the girls by singing “When You Wish Upon a Star.”:cloud9: That was the first time on this trip that this emotional mommy teared up…but not the last :rolleyes1

We had gotten everything packed and set out the night before, so it was pretty easy to get out the door at 6:30. We drove over to the IL’s house, about 25 minutes away, transferred luggage and people into their car, and headed off to the airport! This was one of those ridiculous days where all you seem to do is switch modes of transportation all day. Our next stop was at the airport parking, where we had to take a shuttle to the airport. We got through the long security line without too much trouble, and Ben even found a ring that some lady was freaking out about having lost. We had about a 30 minute wait once we got to our gate, so we just hung out for a while and the kids watched the planes.

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The flight was fairly uneventful. Bethany sat in front of us with her grandparents, and worked on her math homework. (A kindergartner, sent with math on a trip!!) Becca and Gigs sat with Ben and me, and we did our best to entertain them with lots of snacks and some coloring too. We had brought a tablet with episodes of Sofia the First, but I think someone (ahem…little boy) dropped it, and it wouldn’t turn on. Gigs entertained himself with the buttons.


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And visited his grandpa at one point too, in order to have a different view for awhile. It turned out to be an easy peek a boo spot!


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That kid is BUSY BUSY BUSY, and I was exhausted by the time the flight was over. I hate flying, so I tried to listen to some Disney podcasts to distract myself, but Gigs kept pulling out my earbuds. So I gave up. We also got some snack boxes for lunch, and they were pretty yummy. Eventually, it was almost time to land, so we all put on our magic bands!

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Up Next: We're Here!
 
I love travel day!! It's so exiting. I remember trying to keep the wee ones entertained on a plane. I miss those days. They grow to fast.. :(
 
Wow that so sounds like our last flight with DS bouncing back and forth between sets of seats we were in - definitely exhausting! Glad you made it a the trip has officially started!
 
Hi Caitlin! I'm joining in for sure! :woohoo: There is nothing more exciting than a family's first trip. :goodvibes

:woohoo: The trip has begun!!!

Hi! Thanks for joining in! The first trip was definitely exciting. Seeing my kids' faces when they experienced everything was the best.

I love travel day!! It's so exiting. I remember trying to keep the wee ones entertained on a plane. I miss those days. They grow to fast.. :(

It was super exciting! You know, I think entertaining kids on a plane is one of those things that I will look back on fondly, but honestly do not enjoy when it's happening. :confused3 It's exhausting!

Wow that so sounds like our last flight with DS bouncing back and forth between sets of seats we were in - definitely exhausting! Glad you made it a the trip has officially started!

I know, right? Don't these kids know that we just want to sit quietly and dream about the upcoming fun? :rotfl2:
 
Can't wait to hear more! We leave is 53 days!! I have a 4yr old (celebrating 5th bday on the trip) and a 3yr old, so I can only imagine the stories you will have! :rotfl:
Keep it coming!!
 
Can't wait to hear more! We leave is 53 days!! I have a 4yr old (celebrating 5th bday on the trip) and a 3yr old, so I can only imagine the stories you will have! :rotfl:
Keep it coming!!

53 days! :yay: That's exciting! Yeah, it's not a very easy age to travel with, but there are some truly magical moments that make it all worth it! :)
 
Checking into POR​

After we finally landed in Orlando, we were ready and raring to GO!

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We found the Magical Express area without any problems, and got in line for the buses. It was maybe a 10-15 minute wait. Not too bad, but I was ready to get on a bus!

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I was happy to see that we got a real Magical Express bus. It was full and we had to sit in the back, but that was fine since I was too busy juggling a wiggly kid to get any pictures of the Disney signs.

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It was a very welcome sight when we first got onto Disney property and we started driving by all of the places that I had been reading about for so long.
Not too much later, we had arrived at our home for the next six nights: Port Orleans Riverside! I cannot even say how beautiful this resort is. Even the best of pictures (not mine, obviously) cannot show its true beauty. The trees, buildings, river, music, lighting, everything comes together to create a peaceful setting amidst the hustle and bustle of Disney. I LOVED it. Love.

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We went into the main building and went to online check in, where they couldn’t find our check in info, but it was fixed very quickly. I also spoke to concierge to make sure I understood how to get to our dinner reservation. The kids entertained themselves with the tiny chairs and cartoons.

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We ended up with two rooms next to each other, but without the connecting door. This was no problem. I was super excited to see that we were in Magnolia Terrace (I think the mansions are beautiful). Even better, it was an easy walk to two bus stops, the main building, the main pool, and a quiet pool. Great location! We went to check out the room…I couldn’t keep anyone out long enough to get pictures without people.


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Poor Gigs was worn out.

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After we settled in a bit (and called our travel agent about the bounce back offer…more about that later!), we set out to explore a bit. I only took a couple of pictures before it started to rain pretty hard. No worries, because this was the only bad weather of the entire trip!

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Once we walked around in the rain, we decided that we should just hop a bus and start heading towards our destination for dinner. It wasn’t for two hours, but we were in the mood to explore!
 

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