First Trip With Kids - MNSSHP - F&W Festival - Sept 2017 TR

[Tink2Day]

Loving the report so far!! The girls are adorable. Mine all had hair but two were so blond you couldn't tell. My Mom put Lanolin on our hair when we were babies (all but one brother who had curly hair that looked like a wig) and we all still have mops of hair in our 'older' ages (like grandma and grandpa ages). Don't feel bad about 'losing' the baby, My Mom once lost my much younger baby sister. What was REALLY bad is she had all of us running around the store, climbing under the clothes racks looking for her and........you guessed it, she was holding her the whole time. Makes it hard to be chided by your teenage boys when they were also frantically searching for her.

 

[jrmint427]

What a horrible feeling that must have been. I haven't done it with my children but I have had my phone in my hands and start searching for my phone for way too long before I realized I had it in my hand.

I have sadly done that before too! It was a terrible feeling, but it all happened so fast. I carry her around so much she almost just becomes part of me lol.

Such a good grandma.

We were lucky to be traveling with some awesome grandparents! The girls got so spoiled.

Here looking at Elsa is the best.

I know we took them at young ages, but that picture is why I am so glad we did. Once she warmed up to being at WDW, she was seriously in awe of some of the characters. She’s already telling me who she wants to meet on our next trip. Anna, Elsa, and “Eugene” (she won’t call him Flynn Rider) are high on her list

We read a Frozen book tonight and she told me she doesn’t want to go on the Anna and Elsa ride again because it splashed water in her eyes. We seriously haven’t talked about that incident for months!

Loving the report so far!! The girls are adorable. Mine all had hair but two were so blond you couldn't tell.

Thank you! The toddler didn’t even start getting real hair until almost 3, and at 3.5 still has never had a haircut. Her sister is almost 1.5 and just beginning to see the beginnings of light hair, but is probably following in her footsteps.

Don't feel bad about 'losing' the baby, My Mom once lost my much younger baby sister. What was REALLY bad is she had all of us running around the store, climbing under the clothes racks looking for her and........you guessed it, she was holding her the whole time.

I’m so glad to hear I am not the only one who has done this!! She must have been terrified. It’s amazing you can forget you are holding something so heavy!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

She’s already telling me who she wants to meet on our next trip. Anna, Elsa, and “Eugene” (she won’t call him Flynn Rider) are high on her list

You def need to book the Bon Voyage Breakfast over at Trattoria Al Forno. We just did that on our trip this February and it was soooo fun. And Eugene is there! Def a reservation to book right at 6 month mark if you can!

I know we took them at young ages, but that picture is why I am so glad we did.

You won't regret it! We took the girls for the first time when my oldest was 5 and my youngest was a month shy of 3. And they most def thought they were meeting the real princesses. Just magical.

 

[jrmint427]

You def need to book the Bon Voyage Breakfast over at Trattoria Al Forno. We just did that on our trip this February and it was soooo fun. And Eugene is there! Def a reservation to book right at 6 month mark if you can!

I have it planned for the last day of our next trip!! I learned about it right before we left for this trip and it was too late. I think I am most excited for that breakfast. And the 5 year old me can’t wait to meet Prince Eric!

 

[jrmint427]

F&W / Around the World

Meeting Anna and Elsa was the last "must do" on our list for the day, and we finished that around 1:15pm. We decided to loop back to Mexico and eat/explore our way around the world for the rest of the afternoon/evening.

We started with a ride on the Gran Fiesta Tour. We were desperate for any break from the heat that we could find this day! I think it ended up being the hottest day of our trip.



This scene with the Donald Duck pinata cracks me up for some reason!



I love the fireworks at the end. We went on this ride just for the toddler, and I think she was starting to fall asleep.



We decided to stay in the air-conditioning a little longer while I fed the baby a bottle. There wasn't a lot of great seating aside from the restaurant, so I ended up balancing on a small ledge somewhere. It wasn't ideal, but the baby guzzled her bottle, and then we reluctantly headed back out to the heat.



As we headed back toward Norway, the girls were fast asleep. I can only hope they sleep so well in the stroller on our next trip!



Since we had already spent so much time in Norway, we quickly moved onto China. I considered stopping for lefse first, but I wasn't very hungry (probably thanks to the heat), and knew I wanted to save some room for more F&W Festival snacks.



I don't remember what they got, but I think my parents got a dish at the China pavilion. I know we at least stopped there for some drinks, and to cool off as much as we could in the shade offered by the outdoor restaurant. Even I was losing steam at this point.

When we started moving again, I spotted the India booth and decided I needed to try the Madras Red Curry with roasted cauliflower, baby carrots, chickpeas and rice. I think it was pretty good!



I'm pretty sure that right after that, I got these spinach and paneer cheese pockets from Africa. These were great too!



We were in Germany by around 3:00pm, a little later than the schedule I had initially planned. Snow White was supposed to be there at 2:30, and that was the original plan, but with both girls sleeping, I decided to not stress about missing some of the princesses. Their sleep was more important. But I did make a mental note of when Snow White would be meeting later, as I had also packed Snow White dresses for the girls!



Italy was next. We walked around a bit, and I was tempted by some kind of limoncello drink they had at a drink stand. I want to say it was over $10 - maybe $12? But we loved limoncello when we were in Sorrento, and it sounded refreshing. So I ordered one and shared it with the rest of our group.



Up next... the girls woke up and we ate more food!

 

[jrmint427]

F&W / Frozen Ever After

As the girls were waking up, we sought out a place to sit and get them a snack. We ended up setting up the girls just inside Tangierine Cafe, while my dad and I went to find more F&W festival food. I think they got a snack at Tangierine Cafe (don't remember what - maybe hummus for the girls?), while I went in search of our next vegetarian treat.

We walked a long way before finding something that caught my eye at the Brazil stand. One of my favorite F&W Festival snacks was the Pao de Queijo, or Brazilian cheese bread.



It was a favorite for everyone, so my dad ended up going back for a second round, which he graciously shared as well. I also had to get a crepe from France, which is always a favorite of mine. I couldn't decide between the chocolate or strawberry, so I asked the Cast Member which he recommended. He said, "Both!" I said, "Together? Can I do that?" Duh, this is Disney, of course I can So I got both!



While we were there, my dad picked up drinks for him and my mom. A friend of theirs had strongly recommended a drink there. I think it was the Grey Goose citron slushies?



While my parents enjoyed their drinks, I realized we were back on track for the princess meets I had originally planned. According to my notes, Jasmine was going to be in Morocco at 4:35pm, and it was just about 4:30pm. I asked my toddler if she wanted to meet Jasmine, and to my surprise, she very much wanted to!

I took her on my own to find Jasmine. I couldn't find anywhere that looked like a meeting location, so I asked a Cast Member at one of the restaurants, and he pointed me down an alley, but said he wasn't sure if she would be there.

The Disney app said she would, so we headed down the alley. I still did not see Jasmine, a line of people, or anywhere that looked like a good meeting spot. At this point, my toddler was reminding me that she wanted to meet Jasmine, and I wanted to take advantage of the fact that she was excited to meet a character.

I finally saw another Cast Member, and asked her about where we could find Jasmine. She said, "I'm so sorry, Jasmine won't be able to make it to this meet." I asked if she would be there later, and she said no, unfortunately, Jasmine wasn't going to make it to her meets for the rest of the day.

My toddler didn't want to take "no" for an answer. She asked, "But why?" about a million times - finally someone else had to be on the receiving end!

Cast Member: "Jasmine won't be able to make her meets for the rest of the day."
Toddler: "Why?"
Cast Member: "Because she went to meet Aladdin."
Toddler: "Why?"
Cast Member: "Because Aladdin was lonely."
Toddler: "Why?"
Cast Member: *pause* "... do you like Anna and Elsa?"
Toddler: "Yes!"

This wonderful Cast Member gave us Fast Passes to ride Frozen Ever After! And she gave the Toddler a Jasmine sticker. The toddler seemed happy with this trade off!



So now we had a dilemma. The toddler hated this ride in the morning. But we also knew this was a coveted FP, and the rest of us wanted to ride again. I asked the toddler if she wanted to go on the Anna and Elsa ride again. She said yes, but I could tell she thought we were going to meet the characters, not go on the ride. However, when we walked up to the ride, she walked into the building with no issue. So I thought, this might not be so bad.

Well she was fine until it was our turn to walk up to the boats, and suddenly she remembered exactly where she was. And this was NOT the Anna and Elsa she wanted to see. We quickly ushered her onto the boat despite a few protests, and my husband and I put her between us so we could cuddle her. I think she ended up on our laps for much of the ride. I knew I wanted to protect her from getting wet this time around.

We pointed out all the fun parts, like seeing Olaf, and she did a little better. But she still buried her face into me as I warned her that we were coming up to the drops. The baby, however, did not seem bothered!



She wasn't happy, but I don't think she was screaming as we got off this for the second time, so I will consider that a win. However, six months later, as we are talking about going back to Disney, she listed all the rides she wants to go on. But she has told me that she does NOT want to go on Anna and Elsa's ride because they splashed water in her face. Hmm, I have a few more months to convince her... or hope she forgets!

 

[BurningRome]

I'm catching up on this trip report! Thanks for writing. We are heading on our first post-kids adventure in August. We'll be there when the oldest turns 4 and our youngest will be be about 20 months. Your report is making me so much more excited! (As if I needed more of a reason to be excited!)

The toddler did not want to see another "show" - "show" was a bad word at this point. I think "show" to her meant it was going to be dark and scary inside. We picked up on this and started to use other words to describe what she would see.

Oooh, what words did you use? Our oldest is also a bit of a chicken (ok, a huge massive chicken) so we do a lot of this re-naming already!

She must have loved it, because she apparently tried to crawl right back up the slide to go again. She is my daredevil!

Our youngest is the daredevil too! So cute!

To my surprise, the toddler actually expressed interest in riding TriceraTop Spin.

This! We took the oldest to Sesame Place last summer and he could not get enough of the spinners! I know people hate on them, but they are apparently like drugs for toddlers!

our server let us know when we sat down that we were going to have an opportunity to ride Soarin' before the park even opened

AMAZING! You've convinced me to try for PPO Garden Grill reservations!

The toddler was warming up to rides at this point,

Glad to hear it got better! I'm anticipating some rocky days at first, but hopefully things will improve!

AKA... Where Things Fall Apart

OH NO!

"She lost her baby," and someone else goes, "You mean the one in her arms?!"

I'm so sorry you had this embarrassing moment - but it's so funny! And so relatable! I'm actually surprised this hasn't happened to me!

She wouldn't stop crying when we got off the ride, so her Grandma told her she could pick out a toy in the gift shop as we walked out.

And this is what grandparents are for!!! I can't wait to be a grandparent...

I couldn't decide between the chocolate or strawberry, so I asked the Cast Member which he recommended. He said, "Both!" I said, "Together? Can I do that?" Duh, this is Disney, of course I can So I got both!

YES! Perfect solution!

At this point, my toddler was reminding me that she wanted to meet Jasmine

Toddlers are so good at reminding you to do things that you're already trying to do...

Cast Member: *pause* "... do you like Anna and Elsa?"
Toddler: "Yes!"

A+++ toddler exchange! Good work, CM!

Also, I love you and your husband's coordinated outfits! Adorable! I can't wait to read more!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

This scene with the Donald Duck pinata cracks me up for some reason!

That's my favorite part too! I do like this ride. I think the fact that there is never a line makes it nicer, for sure. But it is a nice little ride.

When we started moving again, I spotted the India booth and decided I needed to try the Madras Red Curry with roasted cauliflower, baby carrots, chickpeas and rice. I think it was pretty good!

I'm pretty sure that right after that, I got these spinach and paneer cheese pockets from Africa. These were great too!

I love Indian food and these both look delish! And now I have an urge to order Indian food tonight!

I couldn't decide between the chocolate or strawberry, so I asked the Cast Member which he recommended. He said, "Both!" I said, "Together? Can I do that?" Duh, this is Disney, of course I can So I got both!

Ohhh. My girls love the crepes in France. Next time we might need to do that!

Cast Member: "Jasmine won't be able to make her meets for the rest of the day."
Toddler: "Why?"
Cast Member: "Because she went to meet Aladdin."
Toddler: "Why?"
Cast Member: "Because Aladdin was lonely."
Toddler: "Why?"
Cast Member: *pause* "... do you like Anna and Elsa?"
Toddler: "Yes!"

This wonderful Cast Member gave us Fast Passes to ride Frozen Ever After! And she gave the Toddler a Jasmine sticker. The toddler seemed happy with this trade off!

This is so funny to me! Got to love the Why stage... Awesome that the CM gave you the FP!

We pointed out all the fun parts, like seeing Olaf, and she did a little better. But she still buried her face into me as I warned her that we were coming up to the drops. The baby, however, did not seem bothered!

I think it went better than last time!

However, six months later, as we are talking about going back to Disney, she listed all the rides she wants to go on. But she has told me that she does NOT want to go on Anna and Elsa's ride because they splashed water in her face. Hmm, I have a few more months to convince her... or hope she forgets!

My youngest was 2 years and 10 months on our first trip. And she talked about the Donald Duck statue fishing for a show in Animal Kingdom for YEARS!!! It was over in Camp Mickey Minnie and I had to break it to her that it was gone now. So, I would have a plan B, just in case..

 

[jrmint427]

I'm catching up on this trip report! Thanks for writing. We are heading on our first post-kids adventure in August. We'll be there when the oldest turns 4 and our youngest will be be about 20 months. Your report is making me so much more excited! (As if I needed more of a reason to be excited!)

How exciting!! I hope you will write about it too! We are planning to go back in November when the kids are 4 and 2.

Oooh, what words did you use? Our oldest is also a bit of a chicken (ok, a huge massive chicken) so we do a lot of this re-naming already!

Our oldest is the same! I always say she is the cautious one. We started describing a little more - like, “We’re going to see Belle” or “were going to listen to some music and watch people dance.”

Our youngest is the daredevil too! So cute!

I feel like this is common for the second! She is more of a handful for this reason though lol.

This! We took the oldest to Sesame Place last summer and he could not get enough of the spinners! I know people hate on them, but they are apparently like drugs for toddlers!

I don’t mind them but I wasn’t crazy about going on them repeatedly lol. But now I know to start with the spinners next time to warm them up! How was Sesame Place? I went when I was really little but don’t remember a ton.

Glad to hear it got better! I'm anticipating some rocky days at first, but hopefully things will improve!

Yes, it definitely took a few days to warm up. But day 3 was a turning point!

And this is what grandparents are for!!! I can't wait to be a grandparent...

Haha I say the same thing!

Also, I love you and your husband's coordinated outfits! Adorable! I can't wait to read more!

Thank you!!

 

[jrmint427]

That's my favorite part too! I do like this ride. I think the fact that there is never a line makes it nicer, for sure. But it is a nice little ride.

The no line part makes it better for sure! It’s one we’ve done every time.

I love Indian food and these both look delish! And now I have an urge to order Indian food tonight!

I love Indian too! I so wish we had a place that would deliver Indian to us.

This is so funny to me! Got to love the Why stage... Awesome that the CM gave you the FP!

This was the first time I really appreciated the Why stage I stood back and let the Cast Member handle it! And it was really nice of her to offer. I guess they had armed her just in case people were upset about missing Jasmine.

I think it went better than last time!

Better than the first... but I guess that’s not saying much!

My youngest was 2 years and 10 months on our first trip. And she talked about the Donald Duck statue fishing for a show in Animal Kingdom for YEARS!!! It was over in Camp Mickey Minnie and I had to break it to her that it was gone now. So, I would have a plan B, just in case..

Oh no lol. I guess worst case we will rider swap. I have a feeling she will still remember if she’s held onto it this long

 

[jrmint427]

Snow White, Sugar Ray & Sunshine Seasons

After our Frozen ride, I knew that Snow White would be coming back to Germany soon, so we quickly changed the girls into their Snow White dresses and went to get on line. Just as we were arriving, they announced that Snow White was going to be taking a break. I was bummed, but then they said she would be back in less than half an hour.

We decided it was worth the wait. The toddler wanted to meet Snow White, and we didn't have anything else on our "must do" list for the night. I talked to another mom in line for a bit, and we did our best to stay in the shade vs. the sun until the line behind us formed and we had to move up.

Snow White was worth the wait. She was wonderful with my daughter, and was the first character she wanted to hug. The pictures from this meet are some of my favorite from the trip!











As I was waiting in line with the girls for Snow White, my husband went in search to find some milk for my toddler. She hadn't had any all day and was hot, tired, and begging for it. He walked all over the World Showcase and couldn't find any. One Cast Member called another, and I can't remember the name of the guy, but they called a manager who was really helpful. Apparently this manager is friendly with Sugar Ray, the band that was going to play at the concert that night, and told Pat about how great they are. Anyway, I think he had to walk Pat back to Future World before they found a place that had milk.

It wasn't until we were walking through the American Pavilion that I realized Sugar Ray was going to be playing, and my husband pointed out the manager who had helped him. Well, the middle school me was extremely excited. We decided to stay for a few songs. Which as it turned out, I think was all that they played.



We came up late so we stood in the very back. There were still a few seats we could have grabbed, but I wasn't sure how long the girls would last, and we wanted to be able to exit quickly.

Sugar Ray was amazing. We sang and danced along, and Mark McGrath was really funny. He had a good sense of (self-deprecating) humor, and made fun of his hair for being from the 90s, the fact that he's past his prime rockstar days, etc. Did anyone else watch him on Big Brother? My opinion of him remained high after that show! It was a great concert. They played the top 3 songs you would think of when you hear Sugar Ray, and I loved it. It was also fun to be able to share this with my girls!



A family picture of us, Sugar Ray, and the milk that took forever to find:



Where else besides Disney do you just stumble upon an awesome concert?!

After the show it felt like the World Showcase was getting really crowded. We were hungry and went in search of more food, but just weren't finding what we really wanted at the festival booths. I don't have photo evidence, but I did try the Warm Irish Cheddar Cheese and Stout Dip with Bread from Ireland. It was really good.

I think my dad bought one more thing for my parents to try on our way out, while I sat on a bench with the girls and chatted with a couple of women who were there for a conference. It sounded like there was a big conference going on, and the conference had given all of their attendees passes to Epcot.

The place was packed at this point, it was getting dark, and people were starting to act a bit rude. One guy purposely ran into me with his stroller several times (I decided it was on purpose after he did it a third time). I was frustrated because the crowd was so thick, there was no where for me to move, and when it finally did break up, he kind of shoved past me.

We were all still hungry for "real" food, and I wanted my mom to ride Soarin' (it would have made my dad motion sick), so we decided to head back to the Land pavilion. The line for Soarin' wasn't bad at all. My mom, MIL, Pat and I rode quickly, then met up with my dad and the girls at Sunshine Seasons. There was something for everyone there. I got to try the vegetable curry, which was amazing!



I think it was almost 9pm by the time we left. We could have stayed for Illuminations, but we were ready to go and hopefully beat the crowds on the buses. When we got back to our hotel, we admired how grand it looked at night. I took this picture:



Do you see that light spot in the clouds just above the hotel? I swear it looks like Mickey Ears. A great way to top off what had been an amazing day at Epcot!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Love her smile in this picture!!! Def warming up to the characters. I feel like the face characters aren't as "scary".

Also a great picture. The body language for the two girls is so interesting. They are clearly getting better, but it's interesting that the toddler still felt hat she needed to be touching both of you. And your poor dress, the baby is pulling on the neck of your dress in every picture.

Glad that the toddler finally got to meet someone and was excitied about ti! hopefully many more fun meets ahead!

 

[jrmint427]

Love her smile in this picture!!! Def warming up to the characters. I feel like the face characters aren't as "scary".

Yes! I know now to try to start with face characters next time!

The body language for the two girls is so interesting. They are clearly getting better, but it's interesting that the toddler still felt hat she needed to be touching both of you. And your poor dress, the baby is pulling on the neck of your dress in every picture.

They are really funny! The toddler was in her own little world with Snow White until we turned to get our group picture and she realized that we had a bit of an audience crowding around. People were commenting on how cute she was with Snow White, and she got really shy. It is funny how she was reaching for both of us! The baby seemed constantly afraid that I was going to hand her off to someone else. I don't think she cried at many characters, but she was definitely clinging to me if we got too close. She still has the habit of pulling on my shirt when she's getting nervous!

 

[jrmint427]

Bus Disaster

Our 4th day was our first day at Magic Kingdom. The day did not start or end as planned at all. We got to do a lot and still had a very magical first day at MK, but we had a few mishaps. It all started with the bus to get to MK.

Magic Kingdom was opening at 9:00am and we wanted to be there for rope drop. Our strategy for the morning involved going to the Talking Mickey in Town Square first thing, riding Buzz Lightyear right after that, and then we had a FP to 7 Dwarfs Mine Train at 9:50am.

We showed up at our bus stop just after 8:00am. I think we were the third bus stop for pick-up at POR. We had no issues with the buses being too full prior to this day. When we walked up to the bus stop, it was fairly empty. There were a few families already there, but benches still open, so we initially sat down with the stroller.

And then... we watched as the time for our MK bus to come slowly kept creeping back. And more and more people began to show up. After we had been waiting for about 20-25 minutes and a fair size crowd was forming, we decided to stand up and move closer to where the bus would pick us up. It seemed a little unfair that people who hadn't been waiting so long were walking right for that spot when so many other families had been there early. We realized that all of the other park buses were coming and going, and most people were also heading to MK - and there was no way we were all going to get on the first bus that came.

After we had waited 40 minutes, we had seen 4 Animal Kingdom buses come and go, and multiples for all other parks and Disney Springs. So I called our hotel's front desk to see what was going on. They assured me a bus would be there any moment. I warned them that they needed to send more than one bus given the number of people lined up. I was panicking a bit at this point. I knew our schedule for the day was already blown, and I was worried that the people pushing in around us would keep us from getting on the first bus that came. At 45-50 minutes, a lot of people around me started calling as well. There were probably over 100 people waiting for a MK bus at this point. I called the hotel again at 50 minutes, and when that got us no where, at almost an hour, I called a general Disney customer service line. I was pretty upset at that point. While I was on the phone with them (urging them to send 3-4 empty buses to our location where the crowd swelled way back past the covered bus stop area), a bus finally pulled up.

I quickly got off the phone, and we were able to get on the first bus. But it was already mostly full, so not too many people made it on, and I felt bad for everyone else left waiting. It was about 9:00am when we got on the bus, and by the time we made it to MK it was after 9:30am. I could see on my app that the wait time for Talking Mickey was already almost an hour. So, we shifted gears a bit. Since we had the time, we stopped for a few pictures outside of MK. We were looking into the sun, though.





And finally, we were inside! We had a few minutes until our 7 Dwarfs Mine Train FP would work. But I really wanted to take the girls on their first ride at MK, and I knew exactly which ride that should be. So we all headed back toward It's a Small World.

Before we go on with our day, I should mention that Disney did help alleviate our situation. The Talking Mickey stayed at about an hour (or more) wait every time we checked, so we did not get to see him this day. We just could not do hour long waits with the girls. I was really disappointed, so I went to the front desk to complain about the bus situation the next day.

We had another MK day coming up for the toddler's birthday, but we did not have time built into that day to wait an hour to see Mickey. I barely had to say anything at the front desk beyond what happened with the bus (he seemed already aware of the situation) and missing Mickey, and the Cast Member immediately offered us an any-time FP to see Mickey on our last day. Problem solved!

I wrote a brief Facebook post that evening about the day not going as planned (my mom also lost her phone, and we ended up at Urgent Care this evening), so our travel agent texted me the next day to ask what had happened. I didn't expect her to do anything about it, but I found out the next day that she had also called Disney on our behalf, and got us a FP good to any ride (a few exclusions) at any time on our last MK day - which left us with 5 FPs on the toddler's birthday!

All this to say, this is why we Disney. When something goes wrong, they more than make up for it.

 

[jrmint427]

It's a Small World / Seven Dwarfs

It's a Small World was my favorite ride when I was three, so it was exciting to be able to take my own toddler (and baby) on it, and perfect for our first ride of the day. No surprise, they loved it too - and rode it 6 times this day!



My pictures didn't come out great, but the girls loved the music and having so much to look at. Both were pointing at things they were excited to see.



I loved it too. This ride always delivers a great dose of nostalgia.



The last room has always been my favorite. I think my toddler agreed it was her favorite room too!



The first FP of the day for me, Pat and my MIL was for 7 Dwarfs Mine Train at 9:50am. It was already half an hour past the start of our window, so we hurried off for our first trip on the mine train! My dad doesn't remember what he and my mom did with the girls, but I think they might have ridden IASW again and I think they were on the carousel when we caught up to them.

I was so excited to ride the Mine Train for the first time! We took a selfie in our train:



I loved the ride, but was glad that we had a FP and didn't have to wait a long time for it.



We met back up with the rest of our group at the carousel. My toddler wanted to ride again, so I was happy to ride with the girls. Our plan for the day was completely out the window at this point, and I realized our toddler was really interested in the rides here, so we let her lead a little more this day.





Even the baby loved this ride! She seemed so old to me, sitting on a horse by herself (my hand on her back the whole time, of course).



But maybe she was still a little nervous, there's her hand clinging to my shirt again!



We finished just in time for the beginning of our FP window to Peter Pan's Flight at 10:50am. I couldn't believe how long the line stays for this ride without a FP! I enjoy the ride, and it's always been a favorite of my dad's, but I can't picture waiting more than 15-20 minutes for it. Luckily we had a FP for this trip!

My parents took the baby, and we took the toddler. I think because it was a dark ride, the toddler wasn't too excited, but she didn't seem too scared either.

After the ride, we headed to Liberty Tree Tavern for our 11:25am lunch reservation.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I called the hotel again at 50 minutes, and when that got us no where, at almost an hour, I called a general Disney customer service line. I was pretty upset at that point. While I was on the phone with them (urging them to send 3-4 empty buses to our location where the crowd swelled way back past the covered bus stop area), a bus finally pulled up.

Ugh! That sounds terrible. I feel like the hardest time we had was a first thing in the morning as well.

We had another MK day coming up for the toddler's birthday, but we did not have time built into that day to wait an hour to see Mickey. I barely had to say anything at the front desk beyond what happened with the bus (he seemed already aware of the situation) and missing Mickey, and the Cast Member immediately offered us an any-time FP to see Mickey on our last day. Problem solved!

Glad that they took care of it as best they could at that point. They were probably doing a lot of damage control that day!

I wrote a brief Facebook post that evening about the day not going as planned (my mom also lost her phone, and we ended up at Urgent Care this evening)

Oh no!

It's a Small World was my favorite ride when I was three, so it was exciting to be able to take my own toddler (and baby) on it, and perfect for our first ride of the day. No surprise, they loved it too - and rode it 6 times this day!

My girls loved (and still do) this ride. When Gwen was a little, she called it the dolly ride.

We met back up with the rest of our group at the carousel. My toddler wanted to ride again, so I was happy to ride with the girls. Our plan for the day was completely out the window at this point, and I realized our toddler was really interested in the rides here, so we let her lead a little more this day.

Sounds like you took everything in stride at that point at least.

But maybe she was still a little nervous, there's her hand clinging to my shirt again!

It's just a precaution.. you never know when those carousels will just start moving REALLY fast!

 

[jrmint427]

Liberty Tree Tavern

One of the reservations I was looking forward to most was LTT - simply for the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake. As a vegetarian, I wasn't expecting a whole lot from lunch itself, but I was pleasantly surprised.

I loved the theming in this restaurant. When we walked in, they asked what state where we were from. As tables were ready, they would announce each family and the state they were from. I wish I had taken more pictures of the restaurant itself because it was beautiful!

We didn't have to wait long at all before our table was ready. We had a large round table where we ate family style. I didn't think I'd be able to eat with the rest of the family, but they gave me the option of ordering a pasta dish in place of the meat, and sharing the rest of the sides with the family. This was perfect! Apparently the pasta was also all-you-could-eat, but there was no way I could even make a dent in the initial serving.

I think I liked the salad, but the rolls were amazing!



The serving of pasta was huge. It was more than enough for the girls and me, especially considering all the sides we had to choose from too.



The mac n' cheese and corn were my favorite. You can see some of the meat in the background too ;-)



I think this was a hit for the whole family!



We were so glad to have a cool place to eat inside on this hot day. The food was good, but I knew I was saving room for the real reason we were there. The Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake. I wasn't the only one excited!



How beautiful is that dessert?! It did not disappoint. And was much larger than it looks in this picture.



We did a really good job of eating it :-D



I'm already dreaming of going back for this again...

Now that we were completely stuffed, it was time to change diapers and change outfits for the girls. I was a little surprised that the bathrooms were all the way upstairs, and didn't have a lot of space for changing clothes. I had my husband and I changing our shirts here too. We had a date to meet a couple of our favorite princesses next!

 

[jrmint427]

Rapunzel and Tiana

Going into this trip, Rapunzel was the toddler's favorite princess. We probably watched Tangled every day for 4 months straight. I also happen to love Tangled (and the music from Tangled). Right before we left for our trip, we had a Tangled themed birthday party for both girls. So I was really excited to be taking the girls to meet Rapunzel, and that's who we dressed to see. But I was also excited to meet Tiana. We had just started watching The Princess and the Frog right before our trip, and I love the music and Tiana's character.

Tiana seemed a little stressed when we first walked up. I heard her saying something quietly to a nearby Cast Member right as we walked up, but she quickly turned to us with a smile.



It was a quick meet, but we did get some great pictures. I wished we could have dressed up for both of these princesses, but I didn't want to be THAT mom holding up the line between the meets.



We moved over to meet Rapunzel. The toddler was a lot more shy than I thought she would be. I told Rapunzel that she had just visited our house for the girls' birthday party. She was sweet and spent a good amount of time with us.



The toddler was very interested in getting her autograph!





The toddler fell asleep shortly after meeting the princesses, so we went in search of another indoor ride/show.

 

[Stasieki]

Great updates. I love how you all coordinated in purple for the Rapunzal meet.

 

[DVC LindsayC]

Wow! What a fabulous trip! I love the girls' outfits and all the food! Everything looked delicious

~LindsayC
#dvcrentals