Do you remember your first time? I sure do, it was like a week ago. UPDATED 3/2

[Bama Mom]

Joining in. From one Crimson tide fan to another...ROLL TIDE!

 

[suse66]

As a first timer going to Disney, I can't say enough good things about the theming in the parks. Everything is so thoughtfully planned out, clean, and just beautiful. I lack enough words to fully describe how I was feeling in the moment as we were walking over the bridge to Tomorrowland. It's just magical.

Awwww, I love it! I felt the exact same way on my first trip ten years ago. There really is nothing like it!

After the tour de death on the teacups, we made our way to 7DMT. We breezed right on through the FP+ line and we were off! I LOVED this ride. LOVED IT. As a curvy gal, the lap bar was tight on my thighs, but I made it work. The three of us loved every moment on the ride.

I love the look of joy on all your faces!

We were called inside the entry foyer of the castle. I turned the corner and let out a squeal. Like, a loud squeal and I just started tearing up (I'm tearing up again as I write this); Cinderella was just standing there and I managed to choke out "Oh my God, you're just right there!"..the Photopass photographer got a good chuckle out of my reaction to meeting Cinderella for the first time.

Such a perfect moment!

Hands down, the most magical part of our evening was watching the fireworks from inside of Cinderella's Castle for Happily Ever After. Honestly, eating inside of the castle with princesses walking around with fireworks going on outside? That can not be topped. Everything that led me to this moment was so incredibly worth it and, again, I was overcome with emotion.

So, yeah, Disney makes me weepy.

I randomly cry at so many things at Disney. Disney makes me weepy too ....

 

[LeiaIsAPrincess2]

What an exciting first day! Last year was my first trip to WDW that I could really remember and it was so special.

 

[alohamom]

Amazing TR so far!

 

[smilie]

So excited to read more!!

 

[cadien]

I'm about to start a report for my first trip, so I'm really enjoying reading yours. Especially since you did different things than we did. Inspiration for next time!

 

[dbb727]

Joining in, loving your trip report so far! Your excitement is contagious!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

It's so fun to read a trip report from a first timer! I've gone many times, so it's fun to remember all the things that are so unique and magical about Disney.

 

[a1tinkfans]

Great report. Beautiful family! Sounds Magical so far...

 

[RollTideinMD]

Happy Happy Happy Update! I just booked my solo trip for this fall for 10/28 - 11/2/19! Woohoo!
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[Bethislucy]

Joining in. I love hearing about Disney from a newbie's perspective it's always so exciting. I've yet to do CRT I've got to do that one day and your description makes me want to try for a firework time slot

 

[RollTideinMD]

Day 2: Magic Kingdom (aka this is the happiest place on earth, why are you grouchy!?)

After dinning at CRT on night 1, we made our way back to Pop and got settled into our room. We had a renovated room and it was very nice! The beds, especially the pillows, are ridiculously comfortable at Pop.

I woke up around 6:00am with the plan to be at the bus stop to head to Magic Kingdom by 7:15. We had breakfast reservations for Crystal Palace at 8:25am. We made it to the park pretty quickly and joined a small crowd as we waited to be let in for breakfast. We were checked in and seated at The Crystal Palace well before our 8:25 reservation. The restaurant was mostly empty during our time there. The kids enjoyed Mickey waffles, bacon, fruit, and pastries. I enjoyed a mimosa along with fajita eggs, cheesy hashbrowns, sausage, and bacon. We all thought the food was good, especially the cheesy hashbrowns, I went back for more.

Not too long after we started eating, the characters made their way around the restaurant and we got some really great character interaction. I was, of course, super emotional as Pooh & friends were making their way around the tables. The whole experience was wildly magical.



I had intentions of still making rope drop and since we were seated before our actual reservation time, we were able to eat and run to Adventureland.

This worked out VERY well because we were able to walk right onto Jungle Cruise! Our Skipper on Jungle Cruise was hilarious. I wish I could remember her name. We really loved the ride and it was a great way to kick off the day. I had every intention of hopping off Jungle Cruise and running to POTC, but it was CLOSED! They said it had to do with a fire alarm issue and they didn't know when it would be back up. I was pretty disappointed, but figured we could maybe stay in the area and try again. DD6 wanted to ride the Magic Carpets and after a 3-5 minute wait, we were already on our next ride. We checked again on POTC and it was still down, but since Adventureland was still pretty empty, I wanted to stay in the area and try to wait it out since we had a while for our first FP+. DS9 wanted to check out the Enchanted Tiki Room, so we walked over there and were immediately seated for the show. It was actually pretty cute, I think that I may have enjoyed it more than the kids.

We tried a third and final time to hop onto POTC, but it was still closed. Splash Mountain didn't have a very long wait, so we hustled over to Frontierland and waited for maybe 10-15 minutes for our first ride on Splash Mountain.



We had some time to kill before our FP+ window opened to ride Splash Mountain again, so we walked over and grabbed some cotton candy and two Mickey Pretzels.


Before long, we were back on Splash Mountain!



We got significantly wetter the second time around.

Our next FP+ was for BTMRR, but we had a good stretch of time to kill, so we sat around for a bit, made our way to Tom Sawyer's Island to explore for a little while. The kids absolutely loved the island.

We had lunch reservations at BOG, so I wanted to try to hit BTMRR a little before our FP+ window opened. Fortunately, we were able to make that happen and get on BTMRR a bit earlier than planned. What can I say about BTMRR? I LOVED this ride, the kids did too. They both declared that this was their favorite ride of the trip so far. After it was over, we stopped for a quick picture with a Photopass CM.



Annnnnnd this is about when DD6 hit a wall for the day. She was so grouchy! We fought through it, she's a tiny human with human emotions, so you know..it happens.

We said goodbye to Frontierland and made our way to Fantasyland for lunch at Be Our Guest. Where we had a terrible experience.

I already knew the food was a hit or miss at BOG based on all of the reading that I had previously done, so we really were in it for the experience. Thank goodness we had pre-ordered before our trip started because the line was massive! DS9 had the children's turkey sandwich, DD6 had pasta with red sauce, and I ordered the Croque Monsieur with fries with a glass of wine. After checking in at the front, we selected our own table in the ballroom. The restaurant is MASSIVE, almost cafeteria like. Shortly after we were seated, our food was rolled out to us, so the actual service is truly quick here. The food was awful, none of us finished it. I believe DS9 was disappointed in getting a sandwich and not mac and cheese, which is entirely on me. DD6 finished her pasta, but it wasn't really all that great. My food? I'm a sucker for a good sandwich, but oh man, it was just BAD. It wasn't served piping hot, so the bechamel sauce had gotten this weird mealy texture and my fries were stale!

The saving grace here was the glass of wine - served at the perfect chilled temperature.

While eating, we were pondering what to do next. We did have another FP+ 7DMT coming up, but we were HOT and exhausted. I gave the option to the kids to stick around for the third FP+ of the day or to go back to the resort to relax and cool down. They chose to leave MK! We made our way out of the park back to Pop where we all took a much needed nap.

After a great break in the middle of the day, we freshened up and headed back out to MK. I was able to pick up a FP+ for Haunted Mansion and we had dinner reservations at Liberty Tree Tavern. As soon as we got back to MK, we made our way to Haunted Mansion, goodness..I was SO excited about this ride, and it was everything that I thought it would be. DD6 started by being scared of the ride, but she quickly warmed up to it. After getting off Haunted Mansion, we still had about an hour before dinner, so we were able to squeeze in Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid and It's a Small World, which DS9 quickly declared was more terrifying than Haunted Mansion

Since it was dark out, the lantern Photopass opp had opened up and the line was insanely long. I was disappointed because I wanted to get in on that, but I didn't plan well enough for it.

We made it to LTT for our dinner reservations, which were late in the evening, and ate dinner. I thought that the food was very good, so did the kids. I'm all about some comfort food. I also enjoyed a glass of sangria with dinner.

Our evening was coming to a close and we were heading back to the bus station - DD6 was still grouchy (and exhausted), I was exhausted...it had been a long and hot day. Y'all..the bus line to leave MK to head to Pop? It was INSANE. DD6 wasn't having any of it. Out of desperation to just get back to the resort, we hopped on the first bus we saw and would just Uber to our resort. That plan actually worked well, we rode to POR and then took like a $10 Uber to Pop.

Both of the kids expressed the desire to sleep in tomorrow, which was our Epcot day, so I canceled our breakfast reservations at Akershus. By the grace of all good things, I was able to pick up a lunch reservation because I really wanted to eat there!

Stay tuned for our Epcot report!
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[RollTideinMD]

What an exciting first day! Last year was my first trip to WDW that I could really remember and it was so special.

Thanks for much for joining in!

Amazing TR so far!

Thanks for much for joining in!

So excited to read more!!

Thanks for much for joining in! It's so much fun to write this - I am reliving it all over again!

I'm about to start a report for my first trip, so I'm really enjoying reading yours. Especially since you did different things than we did. Inspiration for next time!

Thanks for much for joining in! I'll keep an eye out for yours!

Joining in, loving your trip report so far! Your excitement is contagious!

Aw thanks! So glad to have you reading along!

Joining in. I love hearing about Disney from a newbie's perspective it's always so exciting. I've yet to do CRT I've got to do that one day and your description makes me want to try for a firework time slot

Do it! You won't be disapointed! Thanks for much for joining in!

 

[Disneychix]

Great trip so far, and man do I know about hitting that WALL! lol, glad you were able to get back to Pop fairly quickly!

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like a pretty good day! Crystal Palace is great! I'm sorry you didn't have a good experience at Be Our Guest.

 

[Weese's Pieces]

Is this going to be finished? I'm excited to know about the rest of you trip!

 

[kimmie316]

Day 1: Arrival and MK Day!

Um, it's hotter than I imagined. No seriously, we left snow on the ground in Baltimore. What is this big ball of fire in the sky?

There was basically no wait to hop onto a bus at Pop headed towards MK. By way of what could only be Pixie Dust and Magic, we were almost immediately off to Magic Kingdom. That initial bus ride felt like it took forever! Eight months of planning went into this trip and it was finally here. It was such a surreal feeling. On our ride to MK, we saw ToT and Galaxy's Edge as the bus rode by. Before I knew it, we were passing The Contemporary and making that left hand turn to the bus depot at Magic Kingdom.

We disembarked the bus and I tried to unfold the stroller. Honestly, I didn't think I was going to be able to do this. I rented a City Mini, which was super easy to fold up when we got on the bus, but I couldn't undo what I had done! I panicked, started looking for someone to help, but we were basically alone at the bus depot at that moment. My 9 year old tried to help, I started looking for YouTube videos. After what felt like 15 minutes, I got the stinkin thing back in the upright position and DD6 climbed in.

Uhhh..I hadn't used a stroller in, like, 3 years. Also, DD6 was a lot heavier than I expected. I thought to myself "well, everything that I eat this week will work itself out by the time that this is all said and done."

After we made it through the security check and Magic Band scan point - there we were.

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We came out on the other side of the tunnel and I felt like screaming; MAIN STREET. THE CASTLE. I've basically dreamt of this moment since I was a child. I've read blogs, I've seen pictures..but nothing compares to that moment of stepping onto Main Street for the very first time. I will not lie, I totally got emotional.

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Also, people. People everywhere. I genuinely thought that by going during the school year in February, it would be a little less crowded than what is was. I knew it could've been so much worse than what it was, but I was still surprised.

And this folks, is how I got super overwhelmed.

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After making our way down Main Street (slowly, taking every moment in), we popped into Casey's Corner for a quick lunch. I ordered the chili cheese dog with fries, DS9 ordered the bacon mac & cheese hot dog with fries, and DD6 had a plain hot dog with fries. We all liked our food, especially DS9 who is a mac and cheese lover. We could've all split one order of fries, so let this be a lesson if you're a first timer like me! The fries were hot, crispy, and salty. Basically everything that a french fry should be. Casey's Corner is chaotic and I highly recommend using Mobile Order at Casey's Corner on the Disney app. As we were enjoying our lunch, the piano player came out and was soon joined by a gentleman who was singing. Despite being on the dining plan, I chose to pay OOP for this meal because we were dining at a 2 credit restaurant during our stay. For 3 hot dogs, 3 fries, and 3 drinks, the total was around $47.

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With our bellies full, we made our way to Tomorrowland for our first FP+ of the day - Space Mountain!

As a first timer going to Disney, I can't say enough good things about the theming in the parks. Everything is so thoughtfully planned out, clean, and just beautiful. I lack enough words to fully describe how I was feeling in the moment as we were walking over the bridge to Tomorrowland. It's just magical.

We moved through the FP line pretty quickly and we were all filled with a ridiculous amount of excitement. This was DD6's first big kid ride! Ever. OH MY STARS - I LOVED Space Mountain. Out of everything we rode, it's by far my favorite ride.

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Our next FP+ was Buzz's Space Ranger Spin, but we had some time to kill. We hopped in line for a Meet and Greet with Buzz Lightyear and then took a breezy ride on the People Mover.

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Can we talk about our faces here? Goodness gracious.

So, I really wanted to get a picture with the insta-famous Purple Wall, but I couldn't find it. Well, I didn't look hard enough. So, that's saved for a future trip.

After time spent in Tomorrowland, it was time to head to Fantasyland for our 7DMT FP+. Again, with more time to kill before the FP+ window opened, we decided to hop onto the teacups since DD6 really wanted to and there was less than a 10 minute wait for standby. I ALMOST chose to sit this one out and decided to ride with them last minute. I can't do things that just spin round and round without getting stupid nauseous. The ride started out innocently enough, but soon the kids had that tea cup spinning around like mad and I knew I was going to feel like death walking off of it. Thinking about it now makes me want to hurl.

After the tour de death on the teacups, we made our way to 7DMT. We breezed right on through the FP+ line and we were off! I LOVED this ride. LOVED IT. As a curvy gal, the lap bar was tight on my thighs, but I made it work. The three of us loved every moment on the ride.

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Up next - dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table!

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I can NOT do the teacups!. I told DD7 that she can ride with her dad on this one.

 

[RollTideinMD]

Hey hey! Look who is back to finish this Trip Report from TWO WHOLE YEARS AGO. As we are planning and awaiting our November 2021 trip, I am finding so much joy in reading through PTR and TR from y'all and am motivated to finish this one!



We left off at the end of our Magic Kingdom day and we were getting ready for our Epcot day! Somehow, during all of my planning, I missed learning about Epcot's Festivals and we were there for Epcot's Festival of the Arts and I didn't even realize it really. So now we know..hah!

It was a chilly and rainy morning, so..with ponchos in tow, to Epcot we must go!



Our day started off with a beautiful ride on Soarin' - - - I do NOT have a true fear of heights, but let me tell ya, there were a couple of moments (what felt like a nanosecond) where I would look to my left or right and realize that we were pretty high up there and I would freak out for a split second. Even though I was getting inside of my own head, we had a beautiful flight and Soarin' is a family favorite.

My one big regret is NOT riding Living with the Land on this trip! Awful, but I kind of thought it was lame without even giving it a try. Spoiler Alert: I rode LWTL on my fall 2019 trip and fell in love, I even have a candle that smells like LWTL. It's one of my favorites.

After some additional exploring (including tricking the kids into try Beverly) we made our way back to the World Showcase, starting in Canada.

Our first major stop was France where we made our way into Les Halles for a mimosa and some macarons.



The mimosa was fantastic and I remember just being in so much love with how detailed the countries are.

We continued making our way throughout the World Showcase, stopped in Morocco for flatbread and Japan for sushi to share as a snack.





My kids are adventurous eaters when they want to be. They loved both the flatbread and sushi, but basically ate mac and cheese at every table service meal throughout our trip.

Hey! Look who made it into a picture! A sweet older couple offered to take our picture in front of China.



While we were in Japan, we did Pick a Pearl and it was such a fantastic experience. The cast member that was working with us with insanely amazing, she interacted so well with the kids and it was such a magical experience. We did two oysters, getting two pearls. My daughter choose a necklace and I choose to have mine set in a ring.



Pick a Pearl is a new, favorite tradition of ours and it's a must each trip! On my Fall 2019 trip, I got twins in my oyster and have beautiful pearl earrings.

We had lunch reservations at Akershus where we enjoyed dining with princesses and meatballs. Overall, I thought that the food was really good. Dillon and I enjoyed the cold buffet that featured a selection of cheese, meat, salads, and fruit. Staying true to form, both of the kids ordered mac and cheese from the kids menu and I ordered the Tradisjonell Kjottkake (meatballs with mashed potatoes and veggies) and we all split the dessert trio.





Of the three desserts, I enjoyed the rice pudding and chocolate mousse dessert the most. I don't think that the kids were quite sold on any of the three.

I remember the three of us hitting a wall after lunch and being ready to go back to the resort to relax and take a nap. We had dinner reservations at Chef Mickey's later that night.
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[RollTideinMD]

Dinner with the Fab Five!

Tonight's dinner was booked for Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary. We booked a quick and cheap Uber ride from Pop to the Contemporary (it was around $10) and checked in for our reservation.

We did have a bit of a wait, so we walked around the two gift shops right outside of the restaurant to kill time before ultimately finding a cozy corner to wait until our table was ready.

Going into this, I knew that everyone says that the food is lackluster, so we were in it for the characters. In the spirit of being honest, it was a pretty overwhelming experience. Chef Mickey's is loud and chaotic, plus we were sat right next to the door leading in and out of the kitchen. I wasn't surprised, I mean it's Disney - nor was I upset. Just generally overwhelmed, but I cured that with a cocktail - the Magical Star Cocktail (which became my favorite and I had it at a couple of different restaurants).

From the buffet, we started out with the cold bar. We actually like buffets, especially a good cold bar. Nothing remarkable stands out from the cold bar, except I remember being impressed by the selection. For our meal, I chose to try the prime rib (not a fan), mushroom pot roast (this was good!), seafood pasta (it was fine), potstickers (these were amazing!), shrimp cocktail (wonderful!), and some green veggies to make myself feel better about things.

The kids really loved what they ate at Chef Mickey's which was so great! After sampling a few things from the dessert bar, we were happily stuffed.

The character interaction is so sweet at Chef Mickey's. We were visited by the Fab Five and got lots of great pictures. On a final note - our server was great. He took really good care of us and made sure that we saw all of the characters.



All in all, I would recommend Chef's Mickey's to a family with young children. It's easy to find something to eat that everyone will like and the characters are wonderful. As my children are getting older, I'm on the fence about going back one day, so I don't want to write it off completely.

Stay tuned for our next update - it's Valentine's Day and DHS day!
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[GDubDIS]

Just discovered this and so happy you're back to finish it! Sounds like a great first trip and looking forward to hearing about the rest