Disney World with a toddler January 2019 COMPLETE - Link to new trip report 10/6

disgeek009

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jul 23, 2012
Welcome to my third trip report! Without purposely planning it, we have gone on a Disney vacation each year for the last three years. Aulani in 2017, Disneyland in 2018, and now Disney World in 2019.
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A little pre-trip background:

This trip materialized when one of DH's dive buddies came for a visit. I'll call him DB. DB moved to Florida a couple years ago. During the visit, unknown to me, DH and DB decided that we should visit him in Florida so they could dive together again and DD and I could go to Disney World. Of course, I was on board after they enlightened me, and started planning.

We timed the trip to be right before DD's 3rd birthday so she would still be able to enter the parks for free. And with a little bit of flight research and coordination with DB, we worked out this schedule:

Saturday: Fly to Tampa
Sunday: DH and DB go to dive in the morning, drive to Orlando in the afternoon
Monday-Thursday: Parks!
Friday: Drive to Miami, DH and DB would do more diving
Saturday: Morning dives for DH and DB, explore Miami in the afternoon
Sunday: Flight back home

I searched for nonstop flights, and was able to book all our flights with points (hurrah!). We would rent a car in Tampa, which we would drive to Orlando (about 1-1/2 hours according to Google Maps) and return once we got to Disney. We would pick up another rental car on Friday to drive to and use in Miami.

As a side note, I costed out how much it would be to keep the rental car the whole week and pay the parking fee ($23/night) at the Dolphin and it was much cheaper to return the car and get another one when we were ready to leave Orlando. I decided to rent with National, since they had pick-up/return locations inside Disney property.

For accommodations, DB generously offered his house so we would stay with him on the first night. In Orlando, we would stay at the Dolphin (booked with Starwood points). Finally, we would spend two nights at the Mondrian South Beach in Miami (also booked with points).

I bought tickets through Undercover Tourist and ended up getting five-day/one-park tickets. The original plan was to get four days, but five was just a little bit more (I think $30 more per person?) since they were having a special promotion. I had hopes that we could squeeze in a half day on Sunday, our arrival day.

I dutifully made ADRs as soon as I could. Since we had so much fun with character meals at Disneyland, the plan was to have a character meal at each park. There were also a few other restaurants I wanted to try after reading so many trip reports. And I tacked on Ohana on our arrival day and Kona Cafe for our last day. I got everything I wanted except for Garden Grill, which I ultimately concluded must be closed during our Epcot day, since there was never ANY availability.

Up next: The week before our trip
 
The week before our trip was a bit hectic. In addition to the usual things (work, school, etc), I tried to pack as much as possible during the week because we wanted to get to bed early on Friday. I work Monday-Thursday and have Fridays off. On Thursday, I was practically in vacation mode already and had a hard time making myself work! I took a break to pick up some pastries for our flight and a host's gift for DB.
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Friday was SUPER busy. In addition to the usual weekend things (laundry, errands), we also had a hot tub technician coming, a furniture delivery, I had to pick up some sofa cushions from the upholsterer, AND we were going to a friend's house for dinner. However, I was very relieved to read that the government shutdown finally ended.
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Up next: Finally on our way, SUPER early in the morning.
 
Following !!
I too am trying to take advantage of my 8 month old son getting in for free as much as possible before he turns 3!
 


Sounds like a fun trip, following along!

Welcome! I'm following your trip reports as well and it's so fun to see what bigger kids can do. I hope DD will be able to enter the jedi academy someday too.

Following !!
I too am trying to take advantage of my 8 month old son getting in for free as much as possible before he turns 3!

Welcome! I fully support your plan. Traveling with a baby or toddler is totally worth it.
 
This day started at 3:30a. DH and I carefully arranged everything the night before so this morning would be quick and easy. All the luggage was already in the car so we just had one carry-on to remember. Right before we had to leave, I pulled DD from bed. She was confused but perked up immediately when I told her we were going on a trip.

We left the house at 4:08a, just 8 minutes later than planned. We went to my parents’ house and my dad drove us to the airport. There was no traffic so early and we arrived in just 30 minutes. Contrary to expectations, DD did not sleep AT ALL during the drive. DH and I tried to nap a bit and I heard her chirpy voice talking. “Daddy! Blue lights. Green! And yellow.” “Yesterday me went to park. Daddy! I got ouchie on my knee. Mommy gave me band aid and lotion. Two band aid.”
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At the airport we printed luggage tags and got in line to drop them off. We weighed our checked luggage last night and it was exactly 50 lbs. We checked one big luggage and DD’s car seat, and had two rolling carry-ons. At security I had TSA Precheck, but DH didn’t. We asked the agent there and she said we would have to separate. I took DD and the carry-on with the liquids through the TSA Precheck line. After security, we walked back toward the general screening and met up with DH. It was perfect timing. He said there was no wait at all.

At the gate, we had about 30 minutes before boarding began. DH took our water bottles and went in search of a bottle-filling station. DD had no intention of missing a minute of airport time and ignored all our suggestions to rest. She pulled out all the toys from her backpack and played with them for 30 seconds each. DH saw another dive buddy at the gate. He was going to DB’s house too and would be staying with him for the week. DH offered to give him a ride with us when we arrived. I'll call him DB2.

Soon we boarded the plane. DD was tired but too excited to nap. She asked for her iPad but I told her to wait until we were in the air. Cue the next several minutes with constant questions “are we in the air now?”

Everything went smoothly and we were soon flying. I gave DD the iPad and dozed off. For the next couple hours DH and I slept on and off while DD was glued to the iPad. (Pat on the back for our excellent parenting.)

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At some point they came by with food and I got a breakfast sandwich. DD ate the cookies they handed out. We also had a few apple slices I brought from home. I was hopeful that DD would nap during the flight, considering girlfriend woke up at FOUR AM. This did not happen.

In general the flight was pretty good. The captain announced the descent sooner than I expected and we saw the Florida coastline as we approached.

The Tampa airport was pretty big. We went downstairs for baggage claim. DB2 was really helpful pointing out which way to go and once we got the luggage he helped push a carry-on too. We had to go back upstairs to catch the tram to the car rental center (Yay, no shuttle). We rented with National and apparently the reservation was for a mid-size car and not the full size that I thought we got. So we ended up upgrading to a SUV and paying extra to add another driver. The agent wasn’t very helpful. She was able to tell us how much extra it cost, but not the total. And couldn’t tell us when the return center closed. So, I was less than satisfied with that whole deal.

But we got a nice GMC that was clean and didn’t smell like smoke (unlike our last rental experience). All our luggage fit and again DB2 was really helpful in figuring out the car and he programmed the address into the car navigation system.

DD was in a very chatty mood and telling us about her lovey “Fell on knees and smoke come out of ears! See mommy?” “Abu so sleepy. She sleep by herself. See mommy?” And then everything caught up with her and her chatter abruptly stopped when she fell asleep.

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In the front, DH was in seventh heaven talking to DB2 about diving and dive gear. I took the opportunity to make some notes for this super-detailed trip report.

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Up next: Dinner in Tampa
 


(We were pretty tired and didn't take many pictures of dinner, which was a shame because it was really special. So I was waiting to find more pictures before posting this update, but it's taking too long and I figured I would post this first and if I find more pictures later, I'll edit it then.)

We arrived at DB's house and he gave us a tour of his house. We unloaded our luggage. DD slept in the car the whole time. We chatted in the driveway as we waited for DB’s wife to get off work then we headed out to Black Rock Grill. DD woke up just as we got back in the car.

We were really hungry so ordered a lot of food. The specialty at Black Rock Grill is they have rock slabs that are heated to 755 degrees which are brought to the table and you can cook your own meat. I got a 6 oz sirloin and two large scallops. For my sides I got mac and cheese and green beans with DD in mind. DH ordered a 9 oz sirloin with ribs and had creamed corn and fries for sides.

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Picture of the pretzel appetizer pulled from the internet

I also got a "magic potion" martini and DB ordered two orders of pretzels for us to share. The pretzels came with cheese sauce and onion chive sauce, all delicious. Then our main courses came and we finished almost everything. By the end we were all stuffed but DH was deep in vacation mode so we also got a giant slice of cheesecake to share.

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We sat in a booth, so DD was not in a high chair for this meal and was crawling all over us. She ate only a little but wanted to play ALL THE TIME. It was really hard to have a conversation or even eat. I was also afraid that she would touch one of the super hot rocks and burn herself. It was fine in the end but we were annoyed and exhausted. Her toddler sense must have realized this because she was also giving sweet hugs and kisses in between wiggling around.

Back at the house DD loved meeting the kitties (8 in total). She walked behind them wiggling her fingers and whispering "psst psst psst." DBW commented that most kids will chase the kitties, so it was nice that she was calm and walked slowly behind them. I was pretty gratified by this, especially since I haven't thought to coach her on behavior around kitties.

We gave DD a quick bath and put her to bed. I was afraid we would be on west coast time but the early morning and busy day tired us out. DD woke up crying hysterically for water around 10p but fell asleep after.

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Next: Morning in Tampa
 
I woke up at 9a and DD woke up soon after. DH had already left on his diving trip with DB and DB2. DBW made chocolate chip pancakes for us. During breakfast we talked about what we should do. It was raining cats and dogs this day, so the original plan of going to the park was out. DBW suggested the local mall, which had a big two-story carousel.

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At the mall, we stopped in the Disney Store for a quick look. DD wanted me to buy boots and an umbrella for her, but I resisted.

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We made our way over the the carousel and got tokens. DD chose a seat that was a cup that rotated, similar to the Mad Tea Party. I made her stop spinning after a few rotations, and we all enjoyed the ride after that.

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When the ride ended we walked around some more and found a kid's play area. DD played for a while. Then we went back to the carousel for another ride. This time we sat on the top level.

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Then we were under a time crunch to return the car in Orlando by 3:30p. We stopped in Publix to pick up some snacks for our tip. DD stayed in the car with DBW and I ran in to buy blueberries, Pediasure, water, and granola bars. Then back to the house for a potty break and packing up the rest of our luggage.

Then we were on the way to Disney! It was still pouring rain and traffic was bad. DBW looked it up and there were two accidents on the way there. I hoped DD would nap, but no such luck. The 1-1/2 hour drive was actually much longer, closer to 2-1/2 hours. I broke down and let DD play with her iPad.

Finally, we drove under the Disney World arch but, alas, I did not have my camera ready (and it was still raining). We pulled up to the Dolphin around 2:40p. I gave our luggage to the bellman and told them to leave the car seat. I thought I would need it to go to the car rental center, and I would just carry it back to the hotel on whatever shuttle they provide. But when I asked the valet, he said they could just return the car there! I still had to fill up gas, though.

We went in to take a look and the check-in line was LONG, snaking back and forth and spilling into the lobby.

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(That's not the line. Just people at the bar.)

Worried about the car return time, I decided to take care of that first. So we went back out to fill up gas. Then returned to the valet, returned the car, and had the bellman take the car seat. I got in line for check in. We were booked for a room with two doubles but they were able to change it to a king bed instead. I think it was an upgrade because we also got a great view. We were on the 14th floor in the central tower.

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Up in the room we admired the view and waited for our luggage. The bellhop told us we would be able to see fireworks at both Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

It was still raining but we had an hour to kill so DBW and I decided to walk around a bit. Along the way I asked if they would be interested in joining us for dinner. She said yes so I called the reservations line to see if we could add more people to our reservation. I had to wait for about 20 minutes on hold.

Along the way, we walked to the Swan and luckily, they had umbrellas we could use. We asked directions to the Boardwalk and had to backtrack. This part felt like we were walking around a lot, getting wet and not really enjoying it. I was still on hold with the reservations line, trying to steer the stroller and hold the umbrella. The rain was still really strong and it was hard to hold the umbrellas in the wind. We finally got to the Boardwalk, which was absolutely deserted. We stood under an awning and looked a little bit but decided we would not enjoy a walk in the driving rain, so we returned to the Dolphin. Around this time I also abandoned hope of visiting any park this evening. Our extra ticket would have to be for our departure day.

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Thank goodness we brought the rain cover.

The reservations line finally picked up and of course we couldn’t add more people to our reservation for Ohana. But they were able to waive the cancellation fee and we decided on booking House of Blues in Disney Springs at 6p instead.

Continued next post
 
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After this was settled we were just about to go back to the room when the guys texted that they arrived. We met them in the lobby and returned to the room together. They changed clothes and we decided to go to Disney Springs a bit early. I thought that we would be able to walk around a bit but it was so windy and rainy that we just went straight to the restaurant instead.

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The view from our table.

The server was very friendly but service was slow. I ordered blackened salmon that was delicious. DD had pasta with marinara on the side (of course that remained untouched). DH got ribs. Everything was really good and we finished with bread pudding which was also good. Over dinner we discussed plans for Miami and DB said there wouldn’t be a night dive on Friday so that gave us enough time that we could potentially visit the parks on Friday before driving to Miami.

After dinner, DB dropped us off at the hotel and we said our goodbyes. I was sorry that we wouldn't see DBW again on this trip. She was so helpful giving directions, watching DD and generally being great (and patient!) company.

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The lobby had a nice starry night feature on the ceiling, complete with shooting stars.


DH and I unpacked and called for a crib with a blanket and pillow. The crib was delivered but no blanket or pillow. The woman that delivered it said she would be back in five minutes. Fifteen minutes later, we gave up and prepared DD for bed and put her down with no blanket. DH called again as I went to take a shower. When I came out, there was still no blanket but I found a pillow and blanket in the closet so we didn't need it in the end. (But, come on! THEY didn't know we found an extra blanket. DD could've been freezing in her crib for all they cared. No one followed up on our request later, either.)

Convention guests were yelling in the hallway and DD was still awake. Occasionally she would ask about the muffled voices. She eventually fell asleep at 9:30p. I spent some time on the iPad and turned in an hour later.

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Up next: First parks day!
 
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Wow, what a great view from your hotel room! What a yucky rainy day to arrive at Disney, hopefully you got some better weather the rest of the time!
 
Wow, what a great view from your hotel room! What a yucky rainy day to arrive at Disney, hopefully you got some better weather the rest of the time!
Oh yes, the weather got better, but it was never what we expected when we thought of a vacation in Florida!
 
Hi! So happy to find your TR!

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I love 85 degrees! We don't have any in NYC. I went to one in Taiwan and it was so yummy!


This looks delicious! I lam a sucker for soft pretzels with cheese dipping sauce!

We went in to take a look and the check-in line was LONG, snaking back and forth and spilling into the lobby.

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Woah that is the longest line ever! I hope it was quick! I guess there was some sort of convention going on.


Lovely view! Can't wait to see how dinner is!
 
Hi! So happy to find your TR!



I love 85 degrees! We don't have any in NYC. I went to one in Taiwan and it was so yummy!



This looks delicious! I lam a sucker for soft pretzels with cheese dipping sauce!



Woah that is the longest line ever! I hope it was quick! I guess there was some sort of convention going on.



Lovely view! Can't wait to see how dinner is!

Welcome! I'm so glad you're here.

Be thankful you don't have regular access to 85 degree bakery. It's a daily struggle NOT to visit, especially for their egg tarts (my fav!)

Can't go wrong w/ carbs and cheese, amirite?

Those convention guests were so annoying! I'll get to it later in the report but there were a menace.
 
Today we were going to Hollywood Studios! I woke up around 8a and got myself ready. A bit later DD woke up and we got DH up. We left the room around 9:15a with ambitions of making our first fastpass for the Disney Junior Dance Party. As soon as we got outside it was evident we needed our coats. I ran back to the room and ran back just in time to see a boat pulling away. When I rejoined DH and DD, I was hot enough from all that running that I didn’t need the coat at all. But we bundled up DD with a coat, blanket, and hand warmer.

Since we would miss our fastpass window for the Disney Junior Dance Party, I got another one for 5:15p.

A boat pulled up but it was going to Epcot so we had to wait for the next one. When we finally got on the boat to Hollywood Studios we met a couple from Georgia on board. They were impressed with DD's hand warmer and I felt like someone appreciated my obsessive planning.

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Who's a good planner? Me!

When we got to the park, bag check and ticket scan was fast but we immediately had magic band envy since we had to pull out our tickets at the tapstiles.

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It felt crowded that day.

We checked in for our dining reservation at Hollywood and Vine a little early and they had us wait in the patio area. There was free hot chocolate. I looked up and was delighted to see Eddie Valiant’s office above us.

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Once inside we were shown to a table close to the buffet. They took our drink orders and no characters were out so I got a plate for DD then went back for myself. DH got a plate and we saw Goofy come out. DD was so scared that she wanted DH to be RIGHT NEXT to her, kneeling next to her high chair.

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That's close enough, Goofy.

This breakfast was for Disney Junior characters so we saw Goofy in his Mickey Racers outfit, Vamprina, Doc McStuffins, and Sophia the First. DD was afraid of Goofy (whiskers) and Vapririna (pokey pigtails). She was neutral about Doc McStuffins, since she only knew her character from her pull-ups. But she LOVED Sophia the First. She gave waves and kisses and when Sophia made a heart sign, DD responded with a diamond sign.

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I don't know you, but your face is on my underwear.

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Is she still there?


She mentioned "headband" while Sophia was there and only after she left did I understand that she wanted to show Sophia HER headband. I let her hold it and she waved it at Sophia as she made the rounds at the other tables. When Sophia passed by on the way to another table, DD waved the headband so enthusiastically that Sophia stopped again and played with DD for a minute. My heart swelled. DD was so earnest and Sophia was so generous with her time.

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Meanwhile, we saw the table next to us get cupcakes and birthday cards signed by all the characters. I tried to add DD’s birthday to our reservation through the Disney app, but it didn’t look like it was an option. DH flagged down our server to tell her and she got someone else to help too. A father at a nearby table said he had to call the dining reservation hotline to get his daughter’s birthday noted on their reservations. The cast member that stopped to help was fantastic! She asked about our other reservations and said she would reach out to them. Since today was our first day, I scrolled through our plans and said there were a lot. She was unphased. She took down my name and DD's name and went to work. A bit later she came back and said she was able to reach out to all our reservations and told them about the birthday. We thanked her profusely.

A cupcake and card materialized at the end of the meal and DD liked blowing out the candle and picking at the frosting. She really liked the card and asked what everything said. It was signed by all the characters.

After our meal, we walked out of the restaurant right into a troop of marching stormtroopers. We followed them to the stage and we watched their brief show. At the end, we got out of the way and they marched right by us. DH was thrilled.

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They might be part of an autocratic regime, but they're also celebrities.

Next: Our first ride of the trip!
 

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