"Riding the Bam Tram" A Toddler's First Trip to the World! Jan. 2016 Completed 2/24

[Minniemoo15]

Awesome! We are doing BOG (breakfast) and I am so excited. The cake for your mom is so sweet!! What a thoughtful idea.

I think my DD will enjoy Nemo ride but may get bored with Turtle Talk like your son. Not much else for toddlers to do though in Epcot so we will give it a go!

Thanks for the heads up about the fruit Popsicles. That will be the perfect mid day treat ! (Along with a margarita or two ha!)

 

[KTwiegs]

I'm so happy to have found your report! We are planning a trip in October with our 6 year old daughter and our son who will be 2 and a half. I am a bit nervous about how my son will do because he is not content to sit for more than about 30 seconds at a time! It's very interesting for me to see which attractions Wyatt liked and how his tolerance was for lines and meals and everything. Thanks for sharing!

our sons sound like the same boy! Wyatt is a ball of energy but had amazing time.. Thanks for joining in!

 

[KTwiegs]

Day 4- Epcot- Part 2

Our ADR at Via Napoli wasn't until 6:30 but because we had basically run out of things to keep Wyatt occupied I checked in at 6 and to my huge relief and excitement we were called to sit down at 6:10. I was so surprised but this happened a few times on our trip. if you show up early you might just get in earlier!
This was a new restaurant for us so we were excited.
We had a nice waitress. I loved hearing her say the menu items real names. silly american I am.
The restaurant is nice. nothing spectacular inside (other then the awesome pizza ovens)
It is a bit loud but with a toddler I barely noticed.

we started with the Fritto di Verdura (fried veggies)split between all of us

it was really good! I was so surprised at the 2 huge pieces of artichoke in the mix.
Main courses were next
My pizza
Carciofi Pizza - Individual
white pizza, artichoke, fontina, mozzarella, truffle oil

Bam's Pasta
Paccheri alla Crema con Pollo
large macaroni tubes, cream, chicken, pancetta

Jason's Pasta
Linguine allo Scoglio
shrimp, clams, mussels & squid tossed with cherry tomatoes


All I can say is wow.... This meal blew us all away.
My pizza was insanely good. Bam's pasta was awesome. Jason loved his too.

so did bugs.
We proclaimed that I won the meal with the most delicious dish.

Now in my last post I admitted to being a dessert snob, well this dessert snob was amazed by her dessert!
Coppa Brutti Ma Buoni
“Ugly But Good” Amarena cherry & vanilla gelato sundae

oh my goodness... where to begin.. delicious vanilla gelato with tart juicy cherries and then 2 meringue and almond cookies, whip cream and chocolate.
It was the best thing I ate all week. honestly.

Bam's dessert
Zeppole di Caterina
Ricotta cheese fritters, served with whipped cream and chocolate sauce
pretty good, but I only had eyes for my sundae

Jason's dessert
Tiramisu
Mascarpone cream, espresso coffee, lady fingers, chocolate
I tried to steer him away from this because I had a feeling it would just be like any other tiramisu, which it was. Still good but boring in my opinion.
Wyatt liked it though!


With dinner finished we were heading back to the FP location for illuminations when the infamous diaper waster struck again.
See my son loved to dirty up fresh diapers. I will change a wet diaper and in 2 minutes the fresh diaper will no longer be so fresh.
I had brought 5 diapers to the park that day which should have been plenty, Wyatt had other ideas.
So off to the baby care center I went.
ALL PARENTS LISTEN UP!!!
the babycare center is awesome but be prepared to pay more for diapers then you ever thought was possible.
I asked the girl if I could just buy one size 5 diaper and she said no I had to buy the pack.
i paid almost $13 for 13 diapers.... this nearly killed me. I am a huge couponer and I pride myself for how little I pay for diapers. i rarely pay more then 5 cents a diaper and the fact that just paid almost a dollar a diaper broke my money saving heart.
I changed bugs and was heading out when I saw a women buying a "diaper changing pack"
it was 3 diapers and wipes. it was only a $3.99.
I was pretty annoyed that I wasn't pointed in the direction of that when I asked for one diaper but the girl was very nice and did seem new.
So as I got over the pain of that transaction my husband came in to save the day with these beauties.

School Bread, glorious beautiful School Bread.
This is our favorite food in all of Disney World. We had already had one that day and these were to be breakfast later in the trip.
Please, for me, try these if you haven't and report back.
They are from the bakery in Norway. It is cardamon bun filled with vanilla cream covered in toasted coconut. **gosh my mouth is watering just thinking about it***

We ended the day with Illumination in the FP+ location which I highly recommend!
We left Epcot and headed home for some sleep.

Next up our first character meal!


​

 

[MCharpie]

I am caught up on your trip report - what an amazing start (and my goodness, those blue eyes Wyatt has!). I am so glad to read about your day at epcot - we are wavering on taking the kids to Epcot or sticking just to MK. I love Epcot - but will it be enough for littles? I have to ask, would you take Wyatt to Epcot again now that you've been?

 

[KTwiegs]

I am caught up on your trip report - what an amazing start (and my goodness, those blue eyes Wyatt has!). I am so glad to read about your day at epcot - we are wavering on taking the kids to Epcot or sticking just to MK. I love Epcot - but will it be enough for littles? I have to ask, would you take Wyatt to Epcot again now that you've been?

I absolutely would take him back... but he was at that age where he really doesn't know what he is missing though...
Now that I stop and really think about our day I did forget to include that we road the mexico ride and did the inovention thingy too.

I guess it would depend on your child but I knew wyatt would be happy as a clam just running around the countries, going up and down the bridges, etc.
I did see a ton of what seemed to be 5 to 12 years running around from country to country getting their passports stamped, coloring a duffy, and doing that cell phone game thing they have. That made me excited to take Wyatt back to experience a new side of Epcot.
Maybe there won't be a ton of rides for your kids to do but maybe treat the day as a slower paced watch the world go by type of day.
I could never skip Epcot.

 

[KTwiegs]

Day 5- Animal Kingdom- Part 1
We had a 8:30 ADR at Tusker House so we were out the door early and actually very easily. It's amazing the difference when you have to be somewhere at a certain time, it really lights a fire under you!
After we parked in the closest spot we have ever gotten at Disney we made our way to Tusker House.

quick picture with the tree... and a Bam sighting! she never wanted to take pictures
We got to Tusker House and we were sat quickly. We were loaded up with jungle juice and coffee.
I love that they put a whole carafe of coffee on the table so you never have to wait for a refill.
We had time before the characters arrived to fill up our plates so we all took turns loading up.
Tusker house is by far the best breakfast buffet on property. everything was fresh, hot, and delicious!
from the potato and leek frittata to the bread pudding everything was amazing.
and what a selection. It really felt like the biggest and most diverse breakfast buffet we have been to.

this is the only buffet plate picture I have from the trip. I always think buffet plate pictures are kind of yuck.

I wasn't sure how Wyatt would react to characters coming up to him but he was great! he was so excited everytime one got close.
We discovered that as long as he held the characters hands he was happy and comfortable.

Once we were filled to the brim with food and character love we headed to the safari!
I was so excited for Wyatt to ride.
Especially because this boy has been asking to see an elephant for as long as he could speak. We are members at 2 zoos in our area and neither has an elephant.
We boarded pretty quickly and got on our way!

Wyatt just sat and took it all in. In the beginning of the trip he was still figuring out this whole ride thing. Its not that he wasn't enjoying the rides he was just still a touch nervous.
We finally got to the elephants!

and bugs had no reaction haha!
not sure if he couldn't really see or what but he didn't seem to be phased by it all. They do move the quickest through that spot. I get the sense that elephants are pretty sensitive to the human presences.
We moved on and of course the big bad king of the pride land was in the same spot he has been on every other trip I have been on.
cracks me up everytime. what a life.

We finished our safari and decided to head straight to rafiki's planet watch because we knew Wyatt would love to pet the animal and you get to ride a train there. That would make one happy boy!
I think the best part of planet watch is the fact that the train takes through the back area of the safari where the animals are housed at night. you get to see some extra stuff! This time we saw a baby rhino!
We got to affection station and we snuggled up with some goats. The cow was playing hard to get so no snuggles there.
We explored a bit inside, no vet procedure that day sadly. and with that we jumped on the train to head back to the park.

It was time to visit my beloved gorillas. I could sit there all day and watch them.
I was lucky enough to catch one of the new baby gorillas snuggle up with his mama then playing and rough housing with his half sister. The absolute coolest thing was when the 2 were playing and fighting they accidentally bumped into daddy while he was sleeping and woke him up... and daddy was not happy!
He quickly got up and put the whole group in their place. the whole thing really was an experience of a life time for me.
If I knew how to attach the video I would.


we continued on and explored some more of the trail.


next up buggy dance party!
​

 

[KTwiegs]

Day 5- Animal Kingdom- Part 2
This day was probably the toughest day for us. We just couldn't get our timing right with the FP+ particularly because we were planning to see the shows. We never made it to Nemo or the Lion King show. hopefully next time.
Also my mom was having trouble with all the walking. She has pretty bad arthritis in her foot and it was very aggravated already on the trip. Of course I warned her about all the walking (the average is something like 7 miles a day in Disney) but until you do it you don't really feel it.

We tried to put in some rest breaks for her so it was time for our favorite AK snack.
Frozen Chai Tea!

Bam modeling the deliciousness
Its creamy, dreamy, full of flavor, cold and probably a touch of caffeine for a mid day pick me up. If you like chai tea in any form you will love this. Also, it is a huge value on the dining plan for a snack credit, it is over $5. The are located in the tea cart in the india area right before the monkeys start.
Jason and I shared one and Bam got her own.
Now bugs loves to dance. So when we came across the women who dance in the india section buggy got to shaking his thing!

he had so much fun. We were having a lot of trouble getting him to nap this day so we used this little dance break to wipe him out.
Thank goodness it worked and he fell asleep in the stroller. Bam sat with Wyatt asleep while Jason and I rode Everest 3 times in a row. It really is the best roller coaster ever. We weren't able to ride on our last trip because I was pregnant with Wyatt and we had forgotten how great it really is!
The rest of the day was just some walking around until Wyatt woke up. I was little disappointed in the day to be honest. We really didn't get to do much. It also was unexpectedly busy and Wyatt was kind of off too.
We finished the day with a pizza at pizzafari and a meet with mickey and minnie. We were the last people in for the meet for the day so it felt like we got some extra time.




The rest of the night consisted of Bam watching bugs in the hotel while Jason and I ran to the Target in town for milk and flip flops (it was going to rain the next 2 days and we didn't want soaking wet feet!) After target we ran (literally ran!) through Disney Springs to grab take out dinner from Wolfgang Puck Express. We all got the rigatoni because its that good!

Next up Hollywood Studios and a really good day!
​

 

[Jessica527]

Oh goodness.... where is Mexico can I find those nachos?

 

[KTwiegs]

Day 6- Hollywood Studios- Part 1

On our drive out of the parking lot with saw an armadillo! I couldn't believe it!


We knew today was not going to be ideal weather. They actually were calling for buckets of rain to fall so we were a bit worried.
We got to HS early but not early enough to ride TSMM in the stand by line. We instead jumped in the line to meet woody and buzz because it was so short

Wyatt was so happy to meet his heroes. He was really starting to like meeting the characters.
As you can see Buzz is pointing to his shoes so I guess this is the time to share my special gift to Wyatt before our trip.
I customized a pair of shoes for him with his favorite characters on them. Wyatt loves shoes already but these were his favorite

I really enjoyed making them and only cost the price of the shoes ($6 from walmart!)
Wyatt got so many compliments and questions about them through the whole trip.
I plan to make a pair for every trip in the future.
After we left the toys in Andy's room we headed over to see when Mike and Sulley would start their meet. They began their meet in 30 minutes so decided to let Wyatt run around in the puddles for a bit.
The weather was just misty rainy... totally manageable and I think kept the crowds down.

I love this CM photo bomb in the back!
We made our way back to Mike and Sulley and we were still the only people waiting. The line wasn't even formed yet.

love this door.
I few others joined the area a bit later. We were waiting for them to clear the area of water that gathered from the rain.
They had us start lining up and a family that obviously came after us jumped in front of us in line. I could see it in the mother's face that it was a calculated moved. I know it wasn't a big deal because we were second in line it just wasn't very nice!
Well it took longer for them to clear the water then they thought so that family that cut had to leave the line to make a dining reservation.. just a bit of karma in my eyes.

With our monster meet in the bag I felt so relieved. Any other meet we had today would just be icing on the cake.
We headed to our first FP+ of the day at The Disney Junior Live show.
Wyatt loved it! it is such a cute show! He sat through the whole thing without any problem.
I was also happy that they had bench seats in the back of the room so my mom didn't have to sit on the floor, I knew that would be uncomfortable for her.
As we walked out we saw that Doc McStuffins was meeting and Wyatt was very excited to meet her.

This was a great meet. Doc was full of life and made the experience wonderful.
She gave Wyatt a hug and wouldn't let go!

it was so darn cute!

this is her shooing us away so she could continue hugging him!

after our Mcstuffins snugglefest, we headed to our TSMM FP+.
Wyatt rode with Bam because I wanted to finally beat Jason! and I DID! gosh I was proud of myself!

Next up a sing-a-long and rainy fun night!


​

 

[KTwiegs]

Oh goodness.... where is Mexico can I find those nachos?

the quick service restaurant there its on the lake side across from the temple. they are sooooooooo good!

 

[Jessica527]

the quick service restaurant there its on the lake side across from the temple. they are sooooooooo good!

I know what snack I am getting now in Mexico!

This will be our first time traveling with our DD who will be 21 months at the time. Looking for all the tips/tricks everyone has. We have been there so many times solo but never as a family of 3.

I totally know how you feel about the diapers. I can't imagine paying $1 each!

 

[KTwiegs]

I know what snack I am getting now in Mexico!

This will be our first time traveling with our DD who will be 21 months at the time. Looking for all the tips/tricks everyone has. We have been there so many times solo but never as a family of 3.

I totally know how you feel about the diapers. I can't imagine paying $1 each!

That was the exact boat I was in before this trip. My husband and I know everything about DW but with a toddler we knew it would be different.
I plan to do a tips/what I learned post about our toddler filled trip! hope it helps. thanks for joining in!

 

[tinkerbell1991]

I customized a pair of shoes for him with his favorite characters on them. Wyatt loves shoes already but these were his favorite

I really enjoyed making them and only cost the price of the shoes ($6 from walmart!)
Wyatt got so many compliments and inquires on them through the whole trip.
I plan to make a pair for every trip in the future.

​

I LOVE those shoes! I definately need these for my next trip I don't suppose you do these in your spare time do you? I would definately but a pair

 

[KTwiegs]

I LOVE those shoes! I definately need these for my next trip I don't suppose you do these in your spare time do you? I would definately but a pair

haha thanks.
my family told me I should sell them but I don't know..

People on Etsy sell customized shoes like this for $80+ that is just crazy!

 

[MamaJinji]

Those shoes are so adorable! Great trip so far!

 

[KTwiegs]

Day 6- Hollywood Studios- Part 2

As I continued to rub my toy story win in Jason's face we walked over to Frozen Sing-along.
It was pretty cute but I was surprised how much of just watching the movie it was.
Wyatt was able to sit through the whole thing though.
After we left Arendelle we decided for a mid-day break back at the hotel. The rain was supposed to get heavier in the middle of the day and we needed to do some laundry.
We put Wyatt in his stroller and walked out to our car. By the time we made it to the car he was asleep.
We were able to transfer him to his car seat, drive to the hotel, take him out of his car seat and lay him in bed without him waking up.
All you parents out there know what a big deal this is.
Wyatt end up sleeping for 2 hours and woke up so happy! We also got a load a laundry done in that time too!
We made it back to HS and explored some stores. It was raining pretty steady but manageable.
We headed to our ADR at Sci-Fi
This was new to us so we were excited to see what it would be like.
We were sat in a car instead of a table and I was happy about that at first.

If I was to go back with a toddler I would request a table because I was basically left completely alone to manage the crazy boy. Like all toddlers he can only be good at a sit down restaurant for so long and the giant screen with movie clips was not working like I had expected. I even tried switching seat with Jason for a break but Wyatt was having none of that. He was having a super mama day and only wanted to be with me...
which got very exhausting.

he is so darn cute though. haha
On the dining plan you can have a milkshake for your drink! so obviously we all got one!
Our dinners were very good. I had a burger, Bam had a rueben, and Jason had the steak.
I got bugs a grilled cheese. He wasn't really eating much... Our server noticed and told him that if he would give him a light up buzz if he ate his dinner... I was shocked. Those buzz things are for a special drink that is $6!
well bugs heard buzz and got to eating! he ate about half his sandwich which is good for him and he got the buzz! he was so happy and I was really touched that our server did that.
the toy looks like this.

We had dessert (2 turtle cheesecakes for bam and jason and I had the warm apple donut)

We liked Sci-Fi. The food wasn't fantastic but very good. Probably not a restaurant we will go to every trip but we will return eventually.
After dinner it was raining pretty steadily. We all decided that even if they had fantasmic we didn't want to sit in the rain and watch it so we let bugs run around and splash in the puddles with bam while Jason and I rode Tower of Terror.
**We totally made the right choice on Fantasmic, it was cancelled and seeing the masses of disappointed people leaving the theater was sad**

After, we rode that great falling elevator in the sky we started to head out. We got to the center where the stage is and they were having some kind of dance party. A group of cute cast members (I think they were in the college program) were dancing around with a few guests. Well there was dancing so bugs had to dance. He was having the best time dancing. A cute CM started dancing with him. It was such a cute and special interaction. I wish I was able to get a better picture.


We were all soaking wet but very happy. We had a great day and felt like we got all we could out of Hollywood Studios.

Next up a wet but wonderful day in Magic Kingdom
​

 

[KTwiegs]

Day 7- Magic Kingdom- Part 1

Be prepared for a lot of pictures! I purchased this day of my photopass.
We were in for another wet day but yesterday had worked out so we had high hopes for this day as well.
My mom's feet were hurting so she jumped on the tram in the parking lot and it was officially renamed the Bam Tram! (Title explained!)
We made it to MK about 9:30, today I had only later FP+s so we were on our own for rides.
Our plan was to try and hit a many rides as we could in the morning.
We started with The Little Mermaid ride because buggy insisted! We also met her right after.

this was by far our worst meet of the trip. Bugs was a little hesitant at first and she didn't try to make him feel comfortable or happy in anyway. She just stuck to her fishy scripted lines. It was disappointing because Wyatt really had started to love everything little mermaid during this trip.
We moved on and headed to its a small world. My mom had road this ride back when it was premiered at the worlds fair in i think 1967 so she was excited to ride again. After we finished that ride we jumped on The Haunted Mansion because my husband is OBSESSED with this ride. we have art all over our house from this ride.
I gave him the 4 stretching room pictures for valentine's day years ago and I know I will never top it!
Jason really wanted to ride with bugs. We were little nervous how he would react but he was great on it and Bam liked the ride too.
Our next goal was to meet Woody and Jesse. I knew if the rain got worse that meet would definitely not happen because it is not covered. Wyatt did great waiting in line.

checking out the shoes again.

Wyatt and I yodled for Jesse.

This Jesse was great! So energetic and engaging.


After a great meet Jason really wanted to see the country bear jamboree. I'm not a huge fan but we thought bugs might like it.
The show was fine but I could take it our leave it. The very beginning when the heads on the wall come to life actually scared Wyatt.
It was about 12 so it was time for lunch at possibly my favorite QS on property.
Columbia Harbor House!
As we made the short walk from the bears to lunch Wyatt completely passed out on Jason shoulder. So rare for him. I ordered our meals and Jason headed upstair to grab a table with the sleeping baby.
We ended up sitting with a sleeping child in our laps while we ate.

It was super cute and actually came in handy because it was raining pretty hard outside.
Our lunches (sort of)


Tuna Sandwich with chips,fried shrimp and chicken tenders with broccoli and bam got fish and chips.
I looooovvveeee this tuna sandwich I get it everytime.
This is a great restaurant if you are dining with young children/toddlers because you really don't need to get them their own meal. Wyatt (when he woke up) had a few bites of sandwich, chips, chicken, and broccoli. plenty of food for all.
The fruit cobbler dessert was really really good as well.

Next up a very wet parade and dinner
​

 

[KTwiegs]

Day 7- Magic Kingdom- Part 2

Wyatt had woken up from his nap, ate some lunch and was ready to get moving. We explored the adventureland area then we wanted coffee for a pick me up as well as a warm up. We headed to starbucks to use a snack credit. and of course you know what starbucks sells...
cake pops.

Little tip, the cake pops are only $1.99 at starbucks and are $3.99 at other disney bakery type locations.
We headed to get our giggle on at Monsters Inc laugh floor. It is a cute show. Wyatt was able to sit through it fine and overly laughed along with the show like he understood all the jokes. He is such a ham.
Bam's flip flops were giving her some nasty blisters so she decided to take a disney bus back to the hotel to change and we stayed at the park.
We had a FP+ for the parade but I wasn't sure if they were still going to have it. it was raining hard. We got to the spot before 3 and then I realized we were at the end of the parade so really we didn't need to be there so early.
The parade amazingly still went on. It seemed that even the CMs were surprised they had it.


Snow White snuck under our golf umbrella to escape the rain for a minute.

The dragon at the end of the parade scared the living hell out of Wyatt. He freaked. And the funny thing is that the dragon was the thing I was the most looking forward to seeing. We shielded his eyes as best we could.
The rain had slowed down a lot so we headed to meet the wonderful scottish princess.


What a meet... wow. she was sweet and kind to Wyatt and he fell in love with her instantly. It was a magically meet. We ended up getting him a Merida doll because he wanted it so much after this. He only had eyes for her.
After meeting his love Wyatt was just so happy. He was dancing and jumping down main street and a wonderful photopass photographer said she had to capture his happiness so she quickly grabbed a few shots. Well I am so happy she did because I will treasure these pictures forever. I appreciated her doing this so much. The photographers are really hit or miss.

We met up with Bam and decided to head out of the park to make our way to our dinner ressie. Off to the Grand Floridian!

We got to 1900 Park Fare a bit early and we were seated soon after. I was pretty annoyed because they didn't have a high chair with Wyatt. They kept laughing it off like "wow so many high chairs tonight, so strange" Its Disney World, the land of children, how could you run out of high chairs!?!? Anyway, thankfully we were very close to the character coming by right away so we did all that.


The meets were fine. Honestly we weren't here for the character part. Really it was the proximity to MK and that it was a buffet.
This buffet was so good!! We had tried 1900 for breakfast on past trips and it was fine but dinner was so great! It gets mixed reviews on the boards but I was so happy and impressed by this dinner.
We ate quickly and headed back to MK because we had an important FP+ to get to.

Next up letting it go and the Disney Bug officially bites the bug.
​

 

[KTwiegs]

Day 7- Magic Kingdom- Part 3

After dinner we jumped back on the monorail because we had FP+ for Anna and Elsa. It had started to rain pretty steady but not soaking so we just decided we would be wet and make the best of the night. I guess we had just missed a bit of a down pour because the streets were very wet but more importantly very empty!
We headed off to meet the queen and princess.
Elsa was first.


Wyatt wasn't sure about her. I think he was a little shocked. I had realized we hadn't done any face characters until today and at dinner he didn't know any of them and now he was meeting someone he knew and loved so he was confused and a bit overwhelmed.
Elsa was fine and actually spent some time getting him to warm up because I was actually rushing a bit. Its the hottest ticket in town so I felt like I had to.
Next it was Anna. Wyatt loves her.

Wyatt warmed up to her quickly and started tell her this big story in his baby gibberish. He was very into telling stories on the trip. Most times you can only understand a few words here and there but it is so cute.
I love this picture of Anna reacting to his tale.

so anna and so cute.

After we were finished we decided to head to Fantasyland because we wanted to finally ride the pooh ride.
It was like a ghost town. We walked on to the pooh ride and wyatt loooovvveeeddd it! not sure if he like the ride or the fun things in the line more. We rode it 3 times because buggy just kept saying "pooh ride more"
Bugs officially got disney and rides this night. He wanted to go on everything. He was saying "neigh" for the carousel and then it was "jack boat" for pirates. So because of the extremely low crowds we just jumped from ride to ride making the baby happy!

This was a great night. Everyone was in such a great mood and we were doing so much.
Even though I had the FP for the fireworks we only stayed to watch the show on the castle and then we headed out. we were exhausted and getting out of Magic Kingdom after fireworks is probably my least favorite thing about Disney World.

Next up Bam heads home and its just the 3 of us for one last day ​

 

[MamaJinji]

That is really very cute! <3