Trip Report 40 year old first timer AND a Foreigner

Hi everyone,

I've been anonymously surfing these forums since the start of the year to help plan our trip last June 2017. Literally every question I had already had an answer thanks to the search function so i never really needed to post. I decided to post something now to go over my wonderful memories of the trip one last time ( my friends and family are tired of my Chewbacca stories!) and hopefully help out any other foreigners flying into the happiest place on earth.

Quick background:

Myself. 40 year old male. Never been to any Disney park.

DW. "Don't you dare post my age!" Female. Last visited the magic kingdom when she was 12 yrs old.

DD. 7 years old going on 13. Female. " I don't like princesses. I want buzz light year as my magic band web site icon". First timer just like her father.

DS. 4 years old. Male. "What's wrong with princesses? They're pretty. " First timer.

We flew in from our home country in Asia. Flew on emirates so routed through the Dubai hub. 25 hour flight from our door to touchdown in MCO (including airport wait time, stop over, etc. )

Next post. Arrival day or "That's a SMALL stroller?!?"

 

[Minnie1986]

Hi everyone,

I've been anonymously surfing these forums since the start of the year to help plan our trip last June 2017. Literally every question I had already had an answer thanks to the search function so i never really needed to post. I decided to post something now to go over my wonderful memories of the trip one last time ( my friends and family are tired of my Chewbacca stories!) and hopefully help out any other foreigners flying into the happiest place on earth.

Quick background:

Myself. 40 year old male. Never been to any Disney park.

DW. "Don't you dare post my age!" Female. Last visited the magic kingdom when she was 12 yrs old.

DD. 7 years old going on 13. Female. " I don't like princesses. I want buzz light year as my magic band web site icon". First timer just like her father.

DS. 4 years old. Male. "What's wrong with princesses? They're pretty. " First timer.

We flew in from our home country in Asia. Flew on emirates so routed through the Dubai hub. 25 hour flight from our door to touchdown in MCO (including airport wait time, stop over, etc. )

Next post. Arrival day or "That's a SMALL stroller?!?"

Your kids sound hysterical.

 

[FirstTimeForeigner]

Your son changing his mind about participating in the Jedi Training was likely a GOOD thing. The show is loud, overwhelming and can be frightening for young children. My 5 year old nephew had fun during the "practice" run (when a CM teaches them how to wield their light sabers) but once Darth and the other villain arrived he began to cry. He put on a brave face to "fight" but as soon as it was over he ran crying to his dad and said, "Daddy that was so scary! I don't want to do that ever again!"

And his 4-year-old sister, who was watching the show, cried the whole time out of fear for her brother.

Thanks for the support. Yeah. I joke about it now but I could see during the prep interview that he wasn't really ready for it. If the CM had rejected him then I wouldn't have complained. So when he wanted to watch little mermaid I quickly caved in. Hopefully the slot went to a kid who enjoyed it.

I can always start prepping them for Star Wars land !

 

[FirstTimeForeigner]

I'm going to be traveling to WDW in September with an 8yo and your report is giving me hope that I won't want to pull my hair out.

Yeah. I think the trick is figuring out when they're about to crash and trying to find a place to rest before that happens. My wife was pretty good about noticing stuff like that and telling me to slow down a little. I lot of our happy memories are also just sitting in a nice little corner enjoying the atmosphere.

The kids were in awe of the murals at the Contemporary. "They're ginormous!!" If you look closely you'll see the stroller... the 5th member of our family.

 

[FirstTimeForeigner]

Day 3. EPCOT

Similar to previous days we woke up early due to jet lag and an early breakfast ADR - Akershus Banquet Hall. But today we'd be taking the Monorail to our destination. It was a pretty easy trip. I want to say we left around 730 and made it In time for our 830ish ADR.

It was a great way to start the morning to see the EPCOT sphere closing in from the distance. Kids were excited to know that we were actually to go in it later in the day. We got in before rope drop but that walk to the Banquet hall was pretty far. Rides and attractions felt much farther apart in Epcot for us. Not sure if that's factually correct. But it was still pretty cool to pass by the sphere and the different country locations. The kids had a lot of fun climbing the rocks in front of the Banquet hall. Honestly I think that was one of the advantages of WDW. there were always other kids to interact with during the lulls.

DW felt that the Banquet Hall and Crystal Palace ( more on that during Day 4) were her favorite character interactions. She loved the ambience. Food seemed better to us. Banquet hall brings the eggs and meat to your table so you only really go to the buffet for the more unqiue (I.e. Kids didn't want them anyway) items. During the other character interactions I was always afraid we'd miss the characters when they passed our table if we spent too long at the buffet line. And there were so many characters. It's important to bring up the fact that except at the entrance there were no photopass people to capture the interactions with the characters at the table. The princesses were great though. I even did the Cinderella trick someone mentioned on the boards " It's so nice to see you AGAIN". And she didn't miss a beat. We got all the autographs and a bunch of photos. I skipped having with a photo with them this time though because I was getting a lot of ribbing for my solo shots with Cinderella from 1900 park fare. Cmon. It's been 40 years!! How can you not be excited to finally meet Cinderella.

After breakfast we went to Test track. I should've notice the screaming and swooshing sounds as we walked to the building. But I swear I thought it was just build your own car then some sort of dark ride or 3D simulation. The kids loved playing with the screens during the queue, creating their cars. DS: " In call this the Save The Animals Car", and watching their car ad at the end. I was even able to take an iPhone video of it. During the ride though I heard DS shouting behind me as we accelerated " I don't likkkkke thissssss!!!!" Luckily it was quickly forgotten with all the interactive stuff before the exit. But I was once again made to promise, no more roller coasters.

EPCOT to be continued

 

[Notes from Neverland]

Day 3. EPCOT

I even did the Cinderella trick someone mentioned on the boards " It's so nice to see you AGAIN". And she didn't miss a beat.

What happens when you say this? I haven't seen this trick mentioned before.

 

[gdisneyfans]

What a fun read! I can just feel your enthusiasm of your first visit I love the photo of your son and daughter at the Mary Blair mural!

Can't wait to read more.

 

[FirstTimeForeigner]

What happens when you say this? I haven't seen this trick mentioned before.

She's just says that it's great to see you again too. What have you been up to since you last saw each other. I think I mentioned we had met in 1900 parkfare because she apologized that Prince Charming couldn't be in the Banquet Hall that morning. The kids just ate it up. They keep telling their grandparents they saw Cinderella TWICE.

 

[FirstTimeForeigner]

EPCOT continued

After test track DS needed a hug so luckily we passed by a giant Hug on the way to Soaring.


before we flew out for the trip I mentioned I was excited to see Baymax. When DW made the mistake of asking who that was the three of us made it a point to make her watch Big Hero 6 before we left. I guess a lot of people are like my wife because the line was short. So worth it.

After that we went to Soaring and my kids and I kept wondering why we had to put our backpack in that little cubby hold under the seat. It was a fun ride. Somehow exhilarating without being scary for DS. although both of the kids were squealing when the their feet left the ground.

On the way out of Soaring my wife noticed Living of the Land didn't look too long so we queued up. DS fell asleep in line though. DD was very impressed with greenhouses. Maybe a future botanist in the making.

And of course just as I'm finally about to deposit him in the stroller, DS wakes up from his nap. Next on the list was Talking with Crush the Turtle. With all the aquariums in the waiting hold the kids didn't really notice the wait. The show itself was pretty interesting, different from all the rides we'd taken so far. No one believes me but when DS shouted out "me, me, me" and tried to cut off another kid during the Q&A I swear Crush moved to his side of the floor and said "Focus dude, focus".

I think we spent almost an hour looking at the giant aquariums in the Seas. Half an hour in I was trying to get the herd moving but then a diver swims in to do some kind of maintenance or feeding which got the kids excited again and I just gave up.

It was a nice break.

Next was Spaceship Earth. I felt it was a little dated but the kids keep saying it was one of the best rides in Epcot. DW also got a little nostalgic riding in the car with DD remembering when she had gone with her mom. Don't miss the postcard of the future option at the end that asks for your email address. I've had to upload our video to my private YouTube feed because the kids find it hilarious and keep making me show it to people. As Betty White joked... when I was a kid we dreaded having to go through people's vacation pictures now that we've reached the 21st century we have billion dollar computer complexes built to make it easier to share the vacation pics. Haha.

The weather started to turn so we hopped on the monorail back to the hotel. Again. So cool.

After a rest we had dinner at Chef Mickeys. DW was excited to have her pics with Mickey and Minnie. And I don't know why I was so excited to meet Goofey. The character assistant was very helpful. It was crowded and he made it appoint to check with us if we had time with all the characters. I had to explain to the kids why Donald signed our Disney encyclopedia as DONALD #1. All in all it was a pretty efficient way to check off meeting the big 5.

We made our way back to Epcot. I'm not sure exactly what happened but I don't think we went on anymore rides. I suspect we went back to the aquariums. I know we were there at night because we have a cool picture with the Sphere at night. The photopass gal also added tinker bell both as animated and non animated which was pretty cool.

The fireworks were nice but somehow didn't have the same impact as happily ever after. What we didn't realize was that Epcot closed right after the fireworks. I think of all our park days this would've been the one I would have wanted to try and redo. Probably could've gotten a few more shows or rides. But as I pause to play the Epcot postcard for DS yet again I realize that that's just me splitting hairs.

Next. Last full day at a park :-( And I can no longer check 36-39 yrs old in the surveys.

 

[DryerLintFan]

This is great! I'm late but I'm following along!

She's just says that it's great to see you again too. What have you been up to since you last saw each other. I think I mentioned we had met in 1900 parkfare because she apologized that Prince Charming couldn't be in the Banquet Hall that morning. The kids just ate it up. They keep telling their grandparents they saw Cinderella TWICE.

It's so impressive to me how the actor CMs never miss a beat like this. They know every obscure thing their character has ever done. That's so cool that she apologized for Prince Charming!

 

[amjt660]

I am loving the report and the detail that you are putting into it.

And the pictures that you are sharing are great .
Just wish there were a few more......

Still following along with your grand adventure

Max

 

[luvinthemajik]

I love your family's enthusiasm and wonder at everything they are seeing and experiencing. Can't wait for the next post!

 

[FirstTimeForeigner]

Wow. Are all last full days at the park this bitter sweet.

Like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day though we were determined to make the most of our one day. Given it was also my 40th birthday the morning had a pretty good start. DD gave me the birthday card she had been working on during the trip. DS offered me an oreo... men.

We hiked to MK for our 815ish breakfast at Crystal Palace. All the CMs were greeting me because I was wearing my birthday button. As always we were up early and I was surprised that even CMs who appeared to just be on there way to clock in were also greeting me.

Once we got to the restaurant everyone loved the ambience. The misspelled banners were cute. DW loved the architecture. Our server sat us down at a table with a view of the castle. And I got a birthday cupcake and an autographed birthday card. When Tigger started the parade around the room he was at our table so we have a wonderful video of DS walking hand in hand with Tigger around the restaurant. All the characters came by pretty quickly and we were done in less than an hour. Our server said we were pretty lucky because on most days it took a while for them to get around. We took a few more pictures in the lobby and outside because of how much we liked the place. DS wanted to go to Peter Pan but DD didn't want to wait in line (it was 40 mins). So DD and I tried to go to Pirates. Unfortunately it was closed due to some problems so we ended up to at aladins carpets and spending some rifle shooting time in frontier land. I was surprised how much fun we had there. It reminded me of those old fashioned rifle booths in the theme parks of my childhood. We met up with DD and DW for another round of Small World.

We had an FP for Space Mountain and DS didn't want to split up with his mom so while DD and I went to Space Mountain DS went to Dumbo and Under the sea. As we were walking into Space Mountain I was little worried about the number of people walking back. Was it that scary? DS was unfazed so I didn't really have a choice.

After Space mountain though I felt a little bad about DW missing out on all the roller coasters. Luckily after a fun round of PhilharmahicbDS was ok with the team reorg so DW and DD were off to splash mountain and big thunder mountain. (I had also promised DD that we'd find more air conditioning). Since everything was in the same area I decided to bring DD back to magic carpets. He fell asleep before we got there though. But as I was standing I the shade looking for a place to park I felt the breeze of artificial cooling coming out of a door... The Country Bear Jamboree! CM told me the next show would be a while but given there were benches in the air conditioned waiting are I didn't mind as I had DS snoring in my arms. It's kind of hard to explain the show to somebody from outside the US but I had read about it when I was younger. I think the highlight was when the CM was trying to warm up the crowd with some jokes and audience participation. He asked who had travelled the farthest. After some "California" answers I felt it was time to end all the back and forth and raised my hand to answer. I felt a little guilty because everyone else put down their hands after I said where I came from. Mic drop. Still the show was fun and since the ladies took a while I ended up watching it around three times but i decided to stop raising my hand about where I came from. DS woke up in the middle of the third show and was a little confused as to where we were.

After DS and DW came back we decided to shop a little on Main Street. We walked straight into some dancing parade at the hub and the kids were quickly energized. Hats off to all the CMs in those costumes in that heat. Yet they were smiling the whole time interacting with the kids.

The rest of the day was spent lining up at the rides with short wait times. The kids just wanted to redo the rides they had enjoyed previously and DW and I felt we should just let them do what they wanted. They were willing to skip the ones with 1 hour waits.

By evening we found ourselves at the Polynesian for dinner at Kona. The food was pretty good. I was worried it would be a little too exotic for the kids but they found something they liked. I just can't remember what it was.

We were planning to go back to MK for the fireworks but the kids found the beach area. Since there weren't any hazard signs around and there were a few other families we just decided to stay. We were surprised to see the electric water pageant! After that I just remember watching the fireworks in the distance and hearing a little of happily ever after on the resort speakers as the kids played in the sand. It was a pretty good birthday.

We flew out the next day. We had a domestic flight to visit some friends in DC so we were able to use Magic Expresses check in at the hotel. That was pretty convenient. Had to pay for the check in baggage though. I don't think that would've worked if we were flying back internationally right away.

It was an amazing trip. After everything I learned reading these boards i do regret missing some of the rides (Pirates!) even though everyone says, you'll never do it all. I can't find it anymore but the post that sticks with me the most, however, is the one of a dad with a 16 year old daughter who was tired of going to Disney every year and convinced him to go to NYC to watch Wicked instead. I think after I read that post I tried to make sure that I wouldn't get caught up too much in all the planning and just enjoy my kids experiencing WDW for the first time.

I woke up DS for school recently and he said he dreamed we had gone back to MK and "we rode Small World five times!"

Thanks again to everybody for their advice and help.

 

[luvinthemajik]

Wow. Are all last full days at the park this bitter sweet.

Like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day though we were determined to make the most of our one day. Given it was also my 40th birthday the morning had a pretty good start. DD gave me the birthday card she had been working on during the trip. DS offered me an oreo... men.

We hiked to MK for our 815ish breakfast at Crystal Palace. All the CMs were greeting me because I was wearing my birthday button. As always we were up early and I was surprised that even CMs who appeared to just be on there way to clock in were also greeting me.

Once we got to the restaurant everyone loved the ambience. The misspelled banners were cute. DW loved the architecture. Our server sat us down at a table with a view of the castle. And I got a birthday cupcake and an autographed birthday card. When Tigger started the parade around the room he was at our table so we have a wonderful video of DS walking hand in hand with Tigger around the restaurant. All the characters came by pretty quickly and we were done in less than an hour. Our server said we were pretty lucky because on most days it took a while for them to get around. We took a few more pictures in the lobby and outside because of how much we liked the place. DS wanted to go to Peter Pan but DD didn't want to wait in line (it was 40 mins). So DD and I tried to go to Pirates. Unfortunately it was closed due to some problems so we ended up to at aladins carpets and spending some rifle shooting time in frontier land. I was surprised how much fun we had there. It reminded me of those old fashioned rifle booths in the theme parks of my childhood. We met up with DD and DW for another round of Small World.

We had an FP for Space Mountain and DS didn't want to split up with his mom so while DD and I went to Space Mountain DS went to Dumbo and Under the sea. As we were walking into Space Mountain I was little worried about the number of people walking back. Was it that scary? DS was unfazed so I didn't really have a choice.

After Space mountain though I felt a little bad about DW missing out on all the roller coasters. Luckily after a fun round of PhilharmahicbDS was ok with the team reorg so DW and DD were off to splash mountain and big thunder mountain. (I had also promised DD that we'd find more air conditioning). Since everything was in the same area I decided to bring DD back to magic carpets. He fell asleep before we got there though. But as I was standing I the shade looking for a place to park I felt the breeze of artificial cooling coming out of a door... The Country Bear Jamboree! CM told me the next show would be a while but given there were benches in the air conditioned waiting are I didn't mind as I had DS snoring in my arms. It's kind of hard to explain the show to somebody from outside the US but I had read about it when I was younger. I think the highlight was when the CM was trying to warm up the crowd with some jokes and audience participation. He asked who had travelled the farthest. After some "California" answers I felt it was time to end all the back and forth and raised my hand to answer. I felt a little guilty because everyone else put down their hands after I said where I came from. Mic drop. Still the show was fun and since the ladies took a while I ended up watching it around three times but i decided to stop raising my hand about where I came from. DS woke up in the middle of the third show and was a little confused as to where we were.

After DS and DW came back we decided to shop a little on Main Street. We walked straight into some dancing parade at the hub and the kids were quickly energized. Hats off to all the CMs in those costumes in that heat. Yet they were smiling the whole time interacting with the kids.

The rest of the day was spent lining up at the rides with short wait times. The kids just wanted to redo the rides they had enjoyed previously and DW and I felt we should just let them do what they wanted. They were willing to skip the ones with 1 hour waits.

By evening we found ourselves at the Polynesian for dinner at Kona. The food was pretty good. I was worried it would be a little too exotic for the kids but they found something they liked. I just can't remember what it was.

We were planning to go back to MK for the fireworks but the kids found the beach area. Since there weren't any hazard signs around and there were a few other families we just decided to stay. We were surprised to see the electric water pageant! After that I just remember watching the fireworks in the distance and hearing a little of happily ever after on the resort speakers as the kids played in the sand. It was a pretty good birthday.

We flew out the next day. We had a domestic flight to visit some friends in DC so we were able to use Magic Expresses check in at the hotel. That was pretty convenient. Had to pay for the check in baggage though. I don't think that would've worked if we were flying back internationally right away.

It was an amazing trip. After everything I learned reading these boards i do regret missing some of the rides (Pirates!) even though everyone says, you'll never do it all. I can't find it anymore but the post that sticks with me the most, however, is the one of a dad with a 16 year old daughter who was tired of going to Disney every year and convinced him to go to NYC to watch Wicked instead. I think after I read that post I tried to make sure that I wouldn't get caught up too much in all the planning and just enjoy my kids experiencing WDW for the first time.

I woke up DS for school recently and he said he dreamed we had gone back to MK and "we rode Small World five times!"

Thanks again to everybody for their advice and help.

 

[luvinthemajik]

Hi There, @FirstTimeForeigner Yes, Last days are always that bittersweet, but, you all seemed to have just a wonderful time and your DS waking the next day with the Small World dream proves what great memories you made for yourself and your family. Happy Belated B.Day. Remember the Magic is ALWAYS with you!!

 

[amjt660]

Wow. Are all last full days at the park this bitter sweet.

Like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day though we were determined to make the most of our one day. Given it was also my 40th birthday the morning had a pretty good start. DD gave me the birthday card she had been working on during the trip. DS offered me an oreo... men.

We hiked to MK for our 815ish breakfast at Crystal Palace. All the CMs were greeting me because I was wearing my birthday button. As always we were up early and I was surprised that even CMs who appeared to just be on there way to clock in were also greeting me.

Once we got to the restaurant everyone loved the ambience. The misspelled banners were cute. DW loved the architecture. Our server sat us down at a table with a view of the castle. And I got a birthday cupcake and an autographed birthday card. When Tigger started the parade around the room he was at our table so we have a wonderful video of DS walking hand in hand with Tigger around the restaurant. All the characters came by pretty quickly and we were done in less than an hour. Our server said we were pretty lucky because on most days it took a while for them to get around. We took a few more pictures in the lobby and outside because of how much we liked the place. DS wanted to go to Peter Pan but DD didn't want to wait in line (it was 40 mins). So DD and I tried to go to Pirates. Unfortunately it was closed due to some problems so we ended up to at aladins carpets and spending some rifle shooting time in frontier land. I was surprised how much fun we had there. It reminded me of those old fashioned rifle booths in the theme parks of my childhood. We met up with DD and DW for another round of Small World.

We had an FP for Space Mountain and DS didn't want to split up with his mom so while DD and I went to Space Mountain DS went to Dumbo and Under the sea. As we were walking into Space Mountain I was little worried about the number of people walking back. Was it that scary? DS was unfazed so I didn't really have a choice.

After Space mountain though I felt a little bad about DW missing out on all the roller coasters. Luckily after a fun round of PhilharmahicbDS was ok with the team reorg so DW and DD were off to splash mountain and big thunder mountain. (I had also promised DD that we'd find more air conditioning). Since everything was in the same area I decided to bring DD back to magic carpets. He fell asleep before we got there though. But as I was standing I the shade looking for a place to park I felt the breeze of artificial cooling coming out of a door... The Country Bear Jamboree! CM told me the next show would be a while but given there were benches in the air conditioned waiting are I didn't mind as I had DS snoring in my arms. It's kind of hard to explain the show to somebody from outside the US but I had read about it when I was younger. I think the highlight was when the CM was trying to warm up the crowd with some jokes and audience participation. He asked who had travelled the farthest. After some "California" answers I felt it was time to end all the back and forth and raised my hand to answer. I felt a little guilty because everyone else put down their hands after I said where I came from. Mic drop. Still the show was fun and since the ladies took a while I ended up watching it around three times but i decided to stop raising my hand about where I came from. DS woke up in the middle of the third show and was a little confused as to where we were.

After DS and DW came back we decided to shop a little on Main Street. We walked straight into some dancing parade at the hub and the kids were quickly energized. Hats off to all the CMs in those costumes in that heat. Yet they were smiling the whole time interacting with the kids.

The rest of the day was spent lining up at the rides with short wait times. The kids just wanted to redo the rides they had enjoyed previously and DW and I felt we should just let them do what they wanted. They were willing to skip the ones with 1 hour waits.

By evening we found ourselves at the Polynesian for dinner at Kona. The food was pretty good. I was worried it would be a little too exotic for the kids but they found something they liked. I just can't remember what it was.

We were planning to go back to MK for the fireworks but the kids found the beach area. Since there weren't any hazard signs around and there were a few other families we just decided to stay. We were surprised to see the electric water pageant! After that I just remember watching the fireworks in the distance and hearing a little of happily ever after on the resort speakers as the kids played in the sand. It was a pretty good birthday.

We flew out the next day. We had a domestic flight to visit some friends in DC so we were able to use Magic Expresses check in at the hotel. That was pretty convenient. Had to pay for the check in baggage though. I don't think that would've worked if we were flying back internationally right away.

It was an amazing trip. After everything I learned reading these boards i do regret missing some of the rides (Pirates!) even though everyone says, you'll never do it all. I can't find it anymore but the post that sticks with me the most, however, is the one of a dad with a 16 year old daughter who was tired of going to Disney every year and convinced him to go to NYC to watch Wicked instead. I think after I read that post I tried to make sure that I wouldn't get caught up too much in all the planning and just enjoy my kids experiencing WDW for the first time.

I woke up DS for school recently and he said he dreamed we had gone back to MK and "we rode Small World five times!"

Thanks again to everybody for their advice and help.

Great report
Thanks for sharing
Max

 

[*Flynnderella*]

Fab report!! Really enjoyed it

 

[DryerLintFan]

Finishing the night with your family on the beach watching the fireworks sounds like the perfect ending to your vacation!

 

[PeppermintPatty]

Yeah. I think the trick is figuring out when they're about to crash and trying to find a place to rest before that happens. My wife was pretty good about noticing stuff like that and telling me to slow down a little. I lot of our happy memories are also just sitting in a nice little corner enjoying the atmosphere.

The kids were in awe of the murals at the Contemporary. "They're ginormous!!" If you look closely you'll see the stroller... the 5th member of our family.

View attachment 213966

Did you point out the 5-legged goat to them?

 

[Ellen Ripley]

Wonderful report, thank you

 

[Courtney6682]

That was a really nice report!