Pre-Trip A Babymoon Adventure - Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart <3

Well...here we go again. Albeit, this will be a slightly different trip than any other that we've taken. Not only will it be the shortest trip with the least time spent in the parks, but it will also be the first and only WDW trip as a party of 2.5!

You see, this trip is planned for two VERY special reasons. Firstly, we are heading back to Walt Disney World (my home away from home) to celebrate our 3rd Wedding Anniversary (also home to our Disneymoon adventure). Secondly, and more importantly, we are welcoming our first little one at the beginning of December and we wanted to celebrate at somewhere very special to us.

For reason number two listed above, this trip will be very different than any of our others. We will need to find time to relax and hang around the resort. We also won't have a commando touring style and the focus will not be on the rides or attractions. This means that I will need all of your help in planning this trip that seems so different, but familiar all at the same time.

Stay tuned to see what we have in store and please feel free to give suggestions on how best to tackle this style of trip! ​

 

[joshsprincess921]

Congrats on your sweet bundle of joy!

 

[mlegerto]

Let's start with a quick introduction for those of you who may not know me yet! I'm Michelle, Disney addict and long time DVC member. I've been coming to WDW since before I can remember and eventually dragged my now husband Ryan into the world of everything Mickey related. He is not the fan I am, but because he loves me so much he makes regular visits to keep me happy!

Our most recent trips (and kind of explains why we HAD to come to WDW for this momentous trip) includes our proposal trip at the Beach Club in November 2013, our Disneymoon at the Polynesian in August 2015 and our Christmas adventure at Old Key West (our DVC home) in December 2017.

New to this trip, and experiencing his FIRST trip to WDW is "bubs" who is currently 21 weeks old, residing in my tummy.

We have a very short trip planned, but I figured any time in Disney World is better than no time in Disney World. We will be visiting from September 1 - 4, 2018 and staying at Saratoga Springs Resort.

​

Even though this trip is short, we still found some new and exciting things to do along with some old favorites. We will be making our first visit to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, dining at some of our favorite restaurants visited during our honeymoon, reconnecting with some forgotten shows in the parks, laying by the pool to actually relax on holiday and of course shopping! ​

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Ohhhh! So exciting~ Congrats on the baby!! We will just miss you! We are staying at SSR, and arrive on 9/8!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Congrats and and enjoy your trip!

 

[LisaBelle]

Congrats! Excited to read about your plans and trip!

 

[amjt660]

Congratulations to my Fellow Canadians!!

Max

 

[mlegerto]

Congrats on your sweet bundle of joy!

Ohhhh! So exciting~ Congrats on the baby!! We will just miss you! We are staying at SSR, and arrive on 9/8!

Congrats and and enjoy your trip!

Congrats! Excited to read about your plans and trip!

Congratulations to my Fellow Canadians!!

Max

Thank you everyone for the well wishes. We are very excited, but also nervous as first time parents. It will be quite the adventure I assume!

 

[mlegerto]

Let's get into some details!

Vacation Day 1 - Saturday September 1, 2018

We were only able to each take 1 vacation day off based on our available time after our Italy adventure back in June, so we had to decide if we would take the Friday off or the Tuesday after the holiday. We checked out what worked best in terms of our DVC points and flights and decided that we would take the Tuesday off.

Unlike our usual trips, we won't be driving the hour and a bit to Buffalo to fly out of there and instead will be flying directly from Toronto Pearson International Airport - the flights from Buffalo were pretty much the same cost, but came with the additional drive and cost to park (vs. being dropped off) and the flight times were better from Toronto, so first decision of the trip made!

We were able to book ourselves on a direct Air Canada flight leaving Toronto at 7:45 am, which gets us to Orlando bright and early at 10:33 am!

We were also ready to utilize the Magical Express service for this trip, but on a whim I kept checking car rentals and found a pretty good price with Alamo for the 4 days and figured why not - this is always so helpful when going shopping off property, grabbing some groceries and since we are only doing 1 real park day (hopping) to move around. This is still up for debate and MAY get canceled as we approach the trip.

Our typical "arrival day" pattern consists of; trying to check in early, heading to the outlets for shopping followed by food shopping at Target and then dinner at Ohana's.

We are excited to go shopping as Target has some great home decor (thinking nursery items here) as well as I've heard some great maternity clothes. We are hitting up the outlets for stuff for baby and to hopefully get some of our shopping for family done for Christmas done WAY before baby arrives and keeps u busy!

We are staying pretty close to this plan, with the exception of our dinner plans. We elected to swap out our Ohana's dinner for Yachtsman Steakhouse. We dined at Yachtsman on our Christmas 2017 trip and have been dreaming of returning ever since so this was on our "must do" list for this trip and ultimately trumped the tradition of Ohana's.

Part of every trip we try to get an ice cream sundae over at Beaches n' Cream - this has been something we have done since I was a child visiting with my family. So we hope to explore the nighttime activity after dinner and eventually make our way over to BnC for dessert! HOWEVER, we do also have Ample Hills Creamery on our minds as we haven't yet tried this so we are wavering on if we will stick to tradition at BnC or try something new at Ample Hills...decisions, decisions. Any thoughts on which one we should hit up?

Lastly, I hope to also get over to play some mini golf as I LOVE outdoors mini golf and we are quite limited to the options in our area - closest "good" outdoor mini golf requires the hour drive to Niagara which is always jammed pack.

Here's a brief overview of what we planned for day 1;

7:45 am - Flight Toronto to Orlando w Air Canada
10:33 am - Arrive in Orlando
11:00 am - Car Rental Pick w Alamo
12:00 pm - Check in at SSR
Target / Vineland Outlet Shopping
Publix Grocery Shopping
7:35 pm - Dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse
Mini Golf
Explore the Boardwalk
Dessert at BnC or Ample Hills



​

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Definitely dessert at Ample Hills!

 

[mlegerto]

Vacation Day 2 - September 2, 2018

Today we have scheduled to be a busy day, but it's really our only park day so we needed to make the most of it. As a reminder, we won't be focusing too much on rides this trip due to bubs, so our focus for this park day has shifted to the shows/attractions and taking in the scenery and atmosphere - it's great that you can do SO much at Walt Disney World without having to worry about running from ride to ride.

Today will be an early morning as we'd like to get to Hollywood Studios for rope drop. Since it's an extra magic hours morning at HS, it opens at 8 am so we will most likely drive over (here's where the car comes in handy!). The plan to is head directly over to Toy Story Land and ride Toy Story Mania through the standby line. Once we've ridden, we want to take some time to just explore the new land and see all it has to offer. Unfortunately Slinky Dog is off the table for this trip (shucks, @Tuvalu, @TrolleyFollower91, @blgauger and @Doc Disney made me want to ride it so badly!), but that doesn't mean there isn't exploring to do! We're also thinking about trying out one of the "poptarts" from Andy's Lunchbox. Anyone try these yet? Thoughts?

After we've done some exploring of Toy Story Land, we hope to do some standby lines for some attractions, possibly meet a few characters and catch a few shows!

Once we've completed all we have listed to do in HS, we want to head over to Animal Kingdom for a little bit - again, the car is key here!

For years we've wanted to try quick service lunch at Flame Tree BBQ (comes highly recommended by my friend @prfctlyximprct) so we hope to skip over there around lunch hour.

Then we have a few Fastpasses lined up for some of the shows and a ride on Na'vi River Journey in Pandora. We didn't get to ride the river journey on our December 2017 trip, instead we elected a Fastpass for FOP instead and the standby line was just too long to wait in - in hindsight, good thing we chose to focus on FOP since I couldn't ride it this trip, it all works out in the end!

Once our AK adventure is done, we will head back to the hotel to clean up, refresh and head out for dinner at California Grill. This is a meal we enjoyed on our honeymoon back in August 2015, so it only seemed fitting to return on this special trip. We also plan on staying to watch Happily Ever After from the observation deck - if somehow dinner moves quickly and we are done way ahead of schedule, we will skip up to the Top of the World lounge for viewing.

Then it's back to the resort for a chill night for maybe some swimming or just general relaxation - I will be 6 months pregnant so I may need it!
​

Here's a brief overview of what we planned for day 2;

6:45 am - Wake Up Sunshine!
7:25 am - Depart for Hollywood Studios (drive)
8:00 am - EMH for Hollywood Studios
Rope Drop Toy Story Mania
Explore Toy Story Land
Meet Buzz & Woody (time dependent)
Muppet Vision 3D (time dependent)
Meet Mickey & Minnie (time dependent)
10:00 am - Voyage of the Little Mermaid
11:00 am - Beauty & the Beast Live on Stage
12:00 pm - Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
Depart for Animal Kingdom (drive)
Lunch at Flame Tree BBQ
1:30 - 1:45 pm - FP for 2pm Fesitval of the Lion King
2:30 - 2:45 pm - FP for 3pm Finding Nemo The Musical
3:45 - 4:45 pm - FP for Na'vi River Journey
Depart for SSR
6:45 pm - Depart for Contemporary Resort (drive)
7:05 pm - Dinner at California Grill
8:30 pm - Happily Ever After from Observation Deck
Resort relax time


So what do you think? Too much LOL? We are really flexible with our time at Hollywood Studios - really the trip there was because I really want to see Toy Story Land and didn't want to wait until our next trip as we aren't sure when that will be at this point. I thought that the FP time for Animal Kingdom line up pretty well and should be manageable. Plus, it's a semi-early night in terms of what we have planned, so I am hoping that we (more so me) can muster through.


​

 

[LSV]

Remember it will still be summer = lots of humidity + 6 months pregnant... It has been 19 years since I was pregnant at Disney, but I remember needing lots of cooling time in air conditioned spaces(and I live in central Florida). Also, you can get a cup of ice water at any QS location, if you don't mind Florida water(some do not care for it).

 

[LisaBelle]

We're also thinking about trying out one of the "poptarts" from Andy's Lunchbox. Anyone try these yet? Thoughts?

I was there in July. I tried the raspberry one and enjoyed it. I wish they heated them up. It is served room temperature and was good, but I think it would taste even better heated up with a cup of coffee. My husband had the chocolate hazelnut one and he said it was okay. I tasted it and I liked it but preferred the raspberry. The seating area for Woody’s Lunch Box is adorable, but not air conditioned. As long as you get a table with an umbrella & some shade it is fine early in the day. Definitely plan on getting some a/c after TSL because very little there is in a/c. I know when I was pregnant I always felt the heat more than my companions (and that wasn’t at Disney.). You have lots of shows planned so that should help. Sounds like you have an easy going attitude and that’s what it’s gonna take. You never know how your body will feel when you’re pregnant, so listen to your body and take as many breaks as you need. You’ll still have a blast because you’ll be in your happy place!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

My husband and I ate at Woody's Lunchbox a couple weeks ago. We had the S'mores breakfast sandwich and it was okay, personally I would have liked more of the filling but it was still gooey and sweet. We also had the BBQ Brisket sandwich, meat had good flavor and was tender but the bread was dry and had a weird burnt garlic taste to it. The the sandwich we choose the tots and they were good decent tots and there are 8 of them portion, I know because we shared it and he had 4 and I had 4 and 4 tots go down pretty quick! You can also get pasta salad or tomato basil soup, either of those would have been fine with me but my husband was against them. So overall, it was interesting and I'm glad we tried it but I'm not eagerly putting it down for the next trip.

 

[prfctlyximprct]

Omg late as always but congrats! I am crying!! Both you and @sheriffwoody !! I hope this thing is catching because this girl wants a Disney babymoon!

I must catchup when I am home from work! Saw the notification and am sneaking from my desk!

Disney babies are the best babies!!!!! Ahhhhhh

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

Congratulations! Even though it is a short trip, your plans look awesome! I second Ample Hills (you need to get the ice cream flight) and Flame Tree BBQ. Baby will thank you!

We also did California Grill on the last night of our Disneymoon!

 

[dizfan917]

Having just had a scoop at both Beaches & Cream and Ample Hills, I'd vote for AMPLE HILLS, no questions asked. We only had cones, but the flavor choices were MUCH more interesting at the BoardWalk shoppe and prices were comparable.

The chocolate / peppermint patty scoop in the chocolate cone was GOOD!

 

[mlegerto]

Remember it will still be summer = lots of humidity + 6 months pregnant... It has been 19 years since I was pregnant at Disney, but I remember needing lots of cooling time in air conditioned spaces(and I live in central Florida). Also, you can get a cup of ice water at any QS location, if you don't mind Florida water(some do not care for it).

Yes, the heat will be a challenge! This is why I am trying to plan as many show or indoor attractions to beat the heat a bit. Ice water is always helpful - I don't particularly care for FL water, but in a pitch it's a must. We ALWAYS get water bottles to keep in our fridge at the resort and take them with us into the parks, this trip will be NO exception.

was there in July. I tried the raspberry one and enjoyed it. I wish they heated them up. It is served room temperature and was good, but I think it would taste even better heated up with a cup of coffee. My husband had the chocolate hazelnut one and he said it was okay. I tasted it and I liked it but preferred the raspberry. The seating area for Woody’s Lunch Box is adorable, but not air conditioned. As long as you get a table with an umbrella & some shade it is fine early in the day. Definitely plan on getting some a/c after TSL because very little there is in a/c. I know when I was pregnant I always felt the heat more than my companions (and that wasn’t at Disney.). You have lots of shows planned so that should help. Sounds like you have an easy going attitude and that’s what it’s gonna take. You never know how your body will feel when you’re pregnant, so listen to your body and take as many breaks as you need. You’ll still have a blast because you’ll be in your happy place!

Yes, A/C will trump everything on the trip! We were in Italy for a large portion of June and it was 35 degrees C everyday and full sunshine. It made city touring difficult, but we made sure to stop in places for A/C and at different places for water/drink breaks under umbrellas. That really helped. I've heard a lot of ppl comment on how TSL is very limited in terms of shade and A/C so we will NEED to take some time to cool down after. I've been SO fortunate thus far with my pregnancy (no sickness, no food aversions, not much weight gained, only really experienced a bit more tiredness but I won't complain about that!) so I am really hoping that continues through. You are 100% right though, whatever my body says on the trip will dictate what we do.

My husband and I ate at Woody's Lunchbox a couple weeks ago. We had the S'mores breakfast sandwich and it was okay, personally I would have liked more of the filling but it was still gooey and sweet. We also had the BBQ Brisket sandwich, meat had good flavor and was tender but the bread was dry and had a weird burnt garlic taste to it. The the sandwich we choose the tots and they were good decent tots and there are 8 of them portion, I know because we shared it and he had 4 and I had 4 and 4 tots go down pretty quick! You can also get pasta salad or tomato basil soup, either of those would have been fine with me but my husband was against them. So overall, it was interesting and I'm glad we tried it but I'm not eagerly putting it down for the
next trip.

Oh...that sandwich does not sound appetizing at all. Since we will be there early morning, we will probably just grab a snack or two to give some of the offering a try so I really hope we get something fresh and tasty! I'll be sure to report back how we do! Thanks for your mini review!

Omg late as always but congrats! I am crying!! Both you and @sheriffwoody !! I hope this thing is catching because this girl wants a Disney babymoon!

I must catchup when I am home from work! Saw the notification and am sneaking from my desk!

Disney babies are the best babies!!!!! Ahhhhhh

Let's hope it's contagious girl! Can't wait to see a lil' Nikki or Joe running around!!

Congratulations! Even though it is a short trip, your plans look awesome! I second Ample Hills (you need to get the ice cream flight) and Flame Tree BBQ. Baby will thank you!

We also did California Grill on the last night of our Disneymoon!

Mmmm so good! We really enjoyed our last meal at CG. I think what really made it for us is that I am a VERY picky and unadventurous eater and our waiter was fantastic! He helped me to customize a meal that I would love, recommended wines (unfortunately off the table for me this trip!) that would go with the meal and kept everything moving at such a great pace! I've been dreaming about Flame Tree BBQ for so long now, I hope it lives up to my expectations. 100% if we end up at Ample Hills we are getting the flight! I mean there technically will be 3 mouths to feed from it so I don't see anything wrong with it HAHA

Having just had a scoop at both Beaches & Cream and Ample Hills, I'd vote for AMPLE HILLS, no questions asked. We only had cones, but the flavor choices were MUCH more interesting at the BoardWalk shoppe and prices were comparable.

The chocolate / peppermint patty scoop in the chocolate cone was GOOD!

Oh man...looks like Ample Hills is winning in this battle! The question is....does a new highly rated experience trump tradition! YIKES!

 

[becca_]

So happy for you!! And jealous of your babymoon!

 

[Matt and Kelly]

Flame tree BBQ is amazing! You will love it!