WDW in a New York Minute - a 2.5 day Oct 14 TR!

[ofcabbagesandkings]

Hello and welcome to my first trip report! My family and I just got back from our first-ever 2.5 day trip to WDW, staying in the Atrium Club at the Contemporary.

Intros!
Thoughts on WDW with a Toddler, FP+, MM, CL and ADRs
A Beastly Halloween
A Beastly Halloween Pt 2
A Mountain, A Mansion and A Minetrain Pt 1
A Mountain, A Mansion and A Minetrain Pt 2
"Look at the White Rhino, Not Your Shoe!"
Breakfast With Friends

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

First Up, some quick introductions.

There's me, Cabbages.
As the only person in our group who has been to WDW before, I was the planner and cheerleader for the trip. My only previous trip to MK was when I was 9, and I mostly remember the 2-hour wait to get on Space Mountain.

Next up is my DH
A life-long resident of a city often mobbed with tourists, his reaction to the idea of going to WDW was a solid

Would he see the magic by the end of the trip?

Next is my Mom aka Mimi
Mom has mild vertigo, so taking her to a theme park was clearly a genius idea on my part. But she agreed to go, solely to spend time with:

DS 2 The Birthday Boy! Would he flip out, get lost, eat a cupcake at every meal? Stay tuned!

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

This TR has taken me longer than I thought, so I'm replacing the travel day post that everyone skips anyway with a summary on my thoughts about ADRs, FP+, WDW with a toddler, rides for someone with Vertigo, Memory Maker, and staying Club Level. As a first time planner, Disboards helped me make some decisions about what to do, and I hope this helps someone.

First up, the Contemporary. I chose this resort because I thought the subtle theming would appeal to DH, and because we had a very short trip and I didn't want to lose too much time in travel every day. I would absolutely stay here again with a 30% room discount or Free Dining. It is really expensive, so if we ever take a longer trip we may stay at a moderate. The perks of being on-property, such as 60 day FP+ and not having to rent a car are worth it, and the monorail was very easy to navigate with our umbrella stroller. The view of Bay Lake from our room on the 12th Floor was beautiful:



It was very quiet and we could watch the electric water parade from our room. I can't really justify Club Level without the discount. The lounge was great, and the food selections always interesting, fresh and abundant. Getting to watch the fireworks from the CL lounge was also cool. But I wasn't impressed with the Concierge services (we made our own ADRs) and the Mousekeeping didn't come until past 2:30pm two days in a row.

Next up, ADRs. We only booked this trip 3 months in advance. I had no idea that at WDW, that's considered last minute! We got lucky and got all the table reservations we wanted, either through stalking the MDE app or the Oct cancel thread. I'll go through each restaurant on its own day, but in summary, I would definitely return to Be Our Guest, Crystal Palace, Tusker House, and The Wave. I could skip 'Ohana and Chef Mickeys. They were fine but not really worth the price IMO.

FP+ is a huge topic of controversy on the Disboards, but frankly, we couldn't have toured without it. DH and DS (age 2) are both too impatient to wait in lines longer than 20 minutes. Getting a FP was the only way we got to ride Space Mountain, BTMRR, and SDMT. I think WDW should remove them from continuous loaders like Haunted Mansion and Under the Sea. As for which rides my tall almost 3 year old could handle, he was fine on Haunted Mansion, SDMT, Buzz Lightyear and Pirates. We shouldn't have tried BTMRR, while he wasn't traumatized, he wasn't ready. My mom, who has Vertigo, avoided the spinners, Space Mountain, and EE but was fine on Buzz, SDMT and BTMRR.

Lastly, Memory Maker. I got a new fancy point-and-shoot right before our trip, but I'm still happy we splurged for the Memory Maker package as otherwise I would have no photos with me in them (or of the adults in general). The magic shots are cute, and we have a video of DS's first ever roller coaster ride. If you go to WDW every year, I could see why it wouldn't be worth it, but for us, it was worth it as we don't know when we'll be back.

That's it! If anyone has any questions (if anyone is even reading?) let me know and I'll be happy to answer them.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

While waiting for our room to be ready, we sampled the club level afternoon snack offerings. These were the same every day: cookies, goldfish, gummy bears, and yogurt covered pretzels, along with some fruit, coffee and tea. After enjoying a much-needed caffeine boost, we got in costume for our first ever MNSSHP.

Some backstory on our costumes: A few weeks before our trip, I managed to snag a coveted Be Our Guest reservation when a bunch were released for that night. We could all be in costume and have dinner with the Beast? There was only one way to go. DS was a toddler Beast, I was Belle, DH was Gaston, and Mimi was Mrs. Potts (hurray for eBay because I could NOT have sewn that thing). My poor mom was a very good sport about it.

We did just hang her costume on the back of the stroller for the walk over during the hottest part of the day. Around 4:30PM, our Mickey's turned green and we were headed to our first FP of the night: Buzz Lightyear!

And I'm not gonna lie: teapot or not, Mom completely smoked me on this ride. By like 4,000pts. It may have not helped that I was so focused on capturing a video of DS's first ever ride at WDW. But still, she really kicked my butt. Next up was our FP for Space Mountain, a no-go for Vertigo-Mimi and too-short DS. I had hoped they could meet Buzz during this time but he wasn't at his spot, so they grabbed an ice cream to cool off while we rode. It was at this moment that DH's attitude toward all my planning went from general eye-rolling to amazement, as we once again strolled past a standby queue that went almost up to the entrance. "People actually wait in these lines?" he asked. Yes honey, but not you, because your wife is magic.


Continued in next post...

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

Hello Again! If a trip report falls in the woods, does it make a sound? Here's my wrap up of our MNSSHP night:

After our journey through space we caught the end of Dream Along With Mickey and the whole Move It Shake It parade, which would turn out to be the only parade we saw the whole trip. Melting from the heat, we were happy to head to our last FP destination, Enchanted Tales With Belle. DH, in his Gaston shirt, was chosen to be a guard, and DS volunteered to be a plate before deciding that he'd really prefer to watch the show from my lap. He still got to take a pic with Belle afterwards, though! He ran up to me and told me that Belle would be joining us for dinner (that was her line for leaving the show).

When we got out we were already 5 minutes late to our BoG reservation, so we scooted over to check in. This was where DS had his first and really only meltdown of the trip, because he didn't understand why we couldn't cross the bridge NOW. We gave him custody of the buzzer and soon enough it lit up and we were led inside, and seated in the ballroom! The other guests gawked at Mom's costume, and the CMs told DS "welcome home." So cute.

I loved BoG. The food was great, the wine was so good we snapped a pic of the bottle, and it was just so nice to get a break from the heat and crowds outside.
For any foodies, mom and I both got the scallops and shrimp in puff pastry, DH got the braised pork, and DS got the kids' turkey meatloaf with veggies. We all cleaned our plates. DS chose the strawberry cupcake for his birthday cupcake, and we also ordered the passion fruit cream puff and the double chocolate cupcake. All were good, but DS won the night. We may have helped him finish it a little.


We paid and went for our pic with the Beast, only to find he had gone on break and a line had built up in his absence. This would have been fine, except DS was hopped up on sugar and not really about to wait. He bolted to the front of the room and someone shouted, "The Beast is here!" and everyone applauded. He felt very proud and happily came back and waited with us for the Beast to return.

By the time we left, the first parade was over. We still had some time before Hallowishes though, so we made our way to Pirates, where we walked on with no wait and then did some trick or treating.



We then watched Celebrate the Magic and Hallowishes from in front of the Crystal Palace, which would have been a perfect view without the construction walls, but was still a nice, uncrowded spot and we could see most of the castle projections by standing on the bottom steps. After the fireworks DH was exhausted. DS still seemed up for more adventures, and I considered trying to push the group to watch the second parade, but in the end we decided it was better to get some rest for our next day. I was disappointed to miss it, but I guess now that means we have to return soon....

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

Hello again! It's been awhile since my last post but I want to finish this - reading TRs helped me so maybe it will be useful to someone planning their trip.

Day 2: Magic Kingdom Full Day

After our whirlwind travel day and MNSSHP night, I knew there was no chance we would make rope drop the next morning. However, my crew was up and done with our Club Lounge breakfast reasonably early, and we strolled in to the park around 9:20, not too bad. Our first stop was a classic - Dumbo. We walked right on, which was almost a shame because the play waiting area looks really great and I'm sure DS would have loved it. But no complaints here! DS loved this ride, no surprise, but Mimi sat it out since it's a spinner.

Our next stop was Winnie the Pooh, which I wanted to get on before the line got too long. We waited about 15 minutes, no problem for DS with the cute themed queue.

We wanted to use our first FP, for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, next, but the ride was down. After being assured we could use our FP later when it went back up, we went for a spin on the Teacups. Again, Mimi sat this one out.

Now it was time for our ADR at The Crystal Palace at 10:45AM. I got this one by sheer luck stalking the MDE app in August, and although pre-park times came up before our trip I thought this might make a nice break. I think it was the right call - everyone was getting hungry at this point and the park was starting to heat up. We were seated near the buffet, and the CMs had put birthday confetti on the table for DS which was a nice touch. On to the food!





Here we've got Breakfast Pizza, Breakfast Lasagna (good but very sweet), Puffed French toast (almost like a beignet, oh my, so good) smoked salmon (good but too peppery for DS) and some fruit salad. Shortly after we got our food Pooh and friends made their rounds. The look of sheer joy and delight when DS first spotted Pooh is one I will never forget.

We will definitely eat here again if we have the chance. Aside from the characters, who were all wonderful, and the lovely waitstaff CMs, it's just a really beautiful restaurant. Mom compared it to Tavern on the Green in NYC and I think it's even nicer. We breezed through our brunch in an hour, paid, and headed out to a much hotter afternoon.

The MDE app showed Mine Train as still down, so we headed to the Haunted Mansion, which we missed the night before. The line was long - it read 20 minutes but I think it was closer to a half hour. I can see why FP+ gets people irate with certain rides - since this is a continuous loader there should be no need for FP here, and it was large chunks of FP groups coming at once that held the standby line back considerably. The themed queue helped but by the end DS was about to lose it. I think I gave him another glow stick I had in my bag. I was really worried that DS might get scared on this ride, especially the stretching room, but he did great. At the end the ride got stuck, and when it started up again we were the only car that didn't get a hitchhiking ghost! In the end that may have been for the best as it could have freaked DS out, and we could see Mom's ghost in her mirror from our doombuggy.

We got out and the grownups needed to visit Rapunzel's tower, then we headed to Peter Pan. The line was 45 minutes so I was really glad to have a FP for this. DS was very excited to get in a pirate ship and even DH was charmed by the "flying" affect. Then the MDE app showed that the Mine Train was back up so we headed over there for the moment of truth - would it work? Would we get green Mickeys?


Continued in Next Post.....

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

The standby queue at the Mine Train had already built back up to 75 minutes. We held our magic bands up to the scanner and ......

Success! We hurried along the queue where another scanner waited - with a measuring stick! Gulp. DS was measured at the front of the line, but so too presumably was the little girl who was being told she couldn't get on. I felt so bad for them, she stood up as tall as she could and was really so close. DS made the cut, which was lucky as I doubt he would have taken it as gracefully as the little girl did.

I loved this ride, and from Mimi's squeals of delight she did too. DS was fine at first, but after the first rush he was less happy. The climb through the mine with the animatronic dwarves cheered him up again, but then we were zooming back down! When we got off he declared "the mine train made me dizzy, Mommy." Still, he said he liked it. The best part of pre-ordering Memory Maker was the video that came with this ride. It's just so cool to have DS's first-ever roller coaster ride on video.

After this we had to hurry back across the park to make our FP for Big Thunder Mountain. We asked DS if he wanted to go on this ride and he said yes. He got measured and was taller than the limit, so we got our green Mickeys and got in line. This one didn't go as well. When the ride slowed down, DS tried to get out! DH had to hold him down as he probably could have squirmed past the lap bar if he tried. He didn't cry though, and when we got out and he saw other people getting in our car he said "why are they going in our seats?" So I guess that means he's not traumatized...

The heat at this point was getting pretty intense. We considered Splash Mountain but the wait was 45 minutes. DS declared that he was really tired, so we decided to head back to the Contemporary. After another quick lunch at the Contempo we headed to the pool to cool off! It's a nice pool, if a bit boring for little ones with the splash zone shut down. Then it was nap time.

After naps we went back to the CL Lounge for the evening appetizer selection. This changed daily, but included cheese and bread, olives, cheese and some hot apps. Today was fried scallops and spanakopita. Mimi, DS and I headed back to the park to try to catch a few more rides before dinner. We had a 4th FP for Under The Sea, and it felt like it took forever to get there! The FP wasn't really needed at 7pm. Little Mermaid is Mimi's favorite Disney movie so she was really happy we got to go on it. After this we were going to be late to our dinner ADR at 'Ohana so we bolted back to the monorail to head to the Poly.

We met up with DH and my best friend from high school who lives in Orlando. They had checked us in but there was still a wait. It was about 30 minutes before we got our table. Once we did the food came quickly. I ordered a Lapu Lapu which was strong! Or maybe I'm just a lightweight. Everyone loved the food, especially DH. Our table was right by the windows with a great view of Cinderella's castle, so when Wishes started we could see the whole thing. It's nice that they dim the lights and pipe the music in. The famous bread pudding came out, and it was amazing, but even with four adults and one hungry toddler we couldn't finish it! They brought DS another cupcake, he blew out the candle but just had a nibble, too stuffed for dessert! Then we hopped on the monorail to head back home.

Up Next - Animal Kingdom!

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

It's December - time to finish this thing before the New Year!

Our last park day was AK. I chose this park because I thought the Safari and Expedition Everest might have the greatest appeal to Disney-averse DH, especially after two days in heavily themed MK.

We took the bus from the Contemporary and got there shortly after 9:30. We spotted the famous and elusive DiVine and of course had to snap some pics of her. She's amazing. I had to drag us away before DH fell in love.



We scurried to Africa for our first FP+, Kilimanjaro Safaris. The stroller parking is a bit confusing here but once we sorted it out we were good to go. I was so glad we had a FP for this one. The standby queue was long and it was already getting hot. The ride itself was disappointing for me. We may have just been unlucky but we didn't see much. No lion, no zebras, and just a barely glimpsed giraffe's neck. When we finally saw some white rhinos we tried to get DS on DH's lap so he could get a better look, but he was strangely insisting on staying in his seat and staring at his shoes. After 2 park days, I think he was just overstimulated and done. After this ride, I was worried about how the rest of our day would go.

My crew was hungry so we stopped at Kusafari for coffee and snacks. The coffee was terrible, but the giant cinnamon roll was hot gooey deliciousness. It was at this point that I noticed DS had a leak in his pull-ups. Luckily I had a full change of clothes in my pack, so we got him cleaned up and then we were ready to head to Asia. The construction walls really overtook the sightlines here. I don't know when we will go to WDW again, but I think we will wait to visit AK until they have Avatarland completed.

Our next FP was for EE. I knew we wouldn't be long so DS and Mimi took a water break while we rode. DH LOVED this ride. The backwards part would not have been good for Mimi, but it thrilled DH. The yeti was even working at the end! Success. I had hoped to check out the tigers in the Pangani trail, but our many potty breaks had eaten up too much time, so we hurried to our last FP+, Finding Nemo. I don't think having a FP mattered here as the theater was already filled when we arrived at ten minutes before the show. We got great seats in the third row. This show was just gorgeous. The puppetry was well done, the songs were charming, everything just worked well. DS sat happily through the whole thing and was never bored our wanting to leave, which shocked me given how out of it he seemed that morning. It's a perfect show for preschoolers and all ages, really.



We had some time before our lunch ADR so we stopped in Dinoland so DS could ride Triceratops spin. I don't get the point of Dinoland. I get it's supposed to be kitchsy, and the whole point is to look like an off-highway tourist trap, but that doesn't seem very Disney to me. Maybe it's supposed to be an Imagineer inside joke, but the whole area is an eyesore and completely unshaded from the blazing heat. It has nothing to do with existing Disney IP. Why not make a Land Before Time attraction here? DS loved Triceratops Spin of course. I wanted to go on Dinosaur, but the line was too long to safely make our lunch ADR. If Mimi could have gone on spinners, DH and I could have done Dinosaur while they rode Triceratops, though, because the ride doesn't hold that many people so the queue took several turns to get us through, at least 15 minutes, and combined with the dig play area they would have had plenty to do while we rode.

We were early for our ADR at Tusker House. We were seated in a small room to the left of the main buffet area. I agree with others who find the seating here cramped, but I didn't really mind. The theming in the buffet area is really well done.


The food was my favorite of any Disney buffet we ate at this trip. We were there for lunch, and the carving station options were great - especially the coffee rubbed pork! I also loved the seafood stew and the salmon.



The desserts were skippable, but after 2+ days of stuffing myself with sweets I didn't really care. The character interactions were great, if shorter than at Crystal Palace. DS was so excited to meet Mickey and friends. They also did a cute parade that the kids all participated in. We had a great experience here and would absolutely return.

We got out of lunch and DS was feeling ready for his nap. We took a quick jaunt over to see the gorillas, then made our way to the exit. We passed a photo pass photog who was able to do some Olaf and Tinkerbell magic shots for us, my favorite PP pics of the whole trip. We hopped on the bus back to our hotel and took a big nap! I had hoped to drag everyone to Epcot that night to sample the Food and Wine festival, but my group just wasn't up for it. We got a table at The Wave - wow. The food here was really, really good. If this restaurant was in our neighborhood, we would go all the time for date night. And it's locally sourced and organic! That's one thing I really like about WDW, you can get this kind of meal and still bring your kid without getting hate stares from the other patrons. At this point, food at the Contemporary was 2 for 2 and I found myself wishing we had a longer trip (and infinite funds) so we could try California Grill.

We went up to the club lounge and enjoyed the free desserts while watching Hallowishes from the terrace. The view from here was better than any view in the park, in my opinion. You could see all the perimeter bursts perfectly. And the best part was just going down the hall and putting DS to bed immediately after. This aspect of CL really spoiled me, I have to say.

Next....Breakfast With Friends, Planning Our Next Trip?

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

Our last day was DS's actual birthday. Luckily a nice Dis member gave me their unwanted Chef Mickey's breakfast ressie, so we still got a little Disney magic in that day! My best friend came and met us again and soon we were seated. The food here was standard breakfast fare, but this was the first spot where Mickey waffles were offered on our trip, and DS was very excited to try them. The quiche and cherry pancakes were also great. Soon the characters came around, and DS was most excited to meet Minnie who had not been at Tusker House the day before. (Neither had Pluto, but DS didn't really seem to care about that. Poor Pluto). She was really sweet with him.

We got late checkout so DH got in one last swim at the pool. The Magic Express wanted to take us several hours before our flight, so we opted to forego that and take Uber again. (I know there is a way to get around that by lying about which flight you're taking, but I didn't really want to risk the ME taking too long and missing our flight, either). We said goodbye to Mimi (different terminals) and were soon on our way home.

Soon after we got home, DS announced that he wanted to go back. DH said OK, for your 6th birthday. That, for him, is pretty generous actually, since he never felt the Disney magic the whole trip. On the flight back, he even described it as Las Vegas for children, similarly overstimulating and addictive. He may be right, but on me and DS.....it worked.

Every year, Mimi and I make it a point to be together on Mother's Day. Either she flies to us or we fly to her. What if we spent this Mother's Day in WDW? Epcot will have its flower festival, which she would love. We could even have Mother's Day brunch with my best friend and her mom. It would be early May, just after the spring break crowds but just before the Star Wars Weekends madness. Not too hot, perfect, right?

Well, I still have to sell DH on the idea. Going again 6 months after our first trip IS really soon. He wouldn't want to come, but would he mind if we take the trip without him? We have miles for the flights but the rooms are still crazy expensive, it being Disney after all. We would just go for a weekend again, 2 park days is really more than enough for DS at this age. I can't really justify it other than to say, I wanna. I may have booked a few ADRs just in case while I keep my eyes peeled for room discounts...

Well that's it for our October trip report! If anyone has been following along (crickets) thanks for reading!