Trip Report *COMPLETED* A One-derful Birthday Celebration

Helloooooo humans! If you've read my last report, you'll remember that we took our then six-month-old to WDW, and it was a huge adjustment from the way we used to do Disney. It obviously didn't scare us off though, because we are getting ready to go back for more! I hope you all enjoy following along! Let's get down to business!

Who: The usual crew, me (Katie), my husband and Disney partner-in-crime for many many trips, Jason, and our son, Lincoln, PLUS my mom (we'll call her Grandmama), and my younger sister (we'll call her Auntie A, or A) - you may remember my mom and sis from my cruise TR. We're looking forward to having some extra hands to help with Lincoln, and Grandmama has even offered to take care of bedtime a couple nights so J and I can stay out late!

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When: Monday, May 30th - Saturday, June 4th

Where: Port Orleans French Quarter! An all-time favorite for us. We'll miss having access to the Skyliner (makes it sooo much easier when you have a stroller), but I can't pass up a stay at POFQ, especially at the same price we paid to stay at Pop back in December.

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Why: This kid is about to be ONE on June 5th! I cannot believe how quickly the past year has absolutely flown by. I cry every time I think about it, or look at pictures from when he was so tiny, so I'm sure I'll be an absolute wreck on his actual birthday. 😅

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Funnily enough, one of the first things I thought about when we found out we were pregnant is the fact that we're going to be stuck going to WDW in the summer if we want to celebrate his birthdays there. 😂 We've been in mid-May and September multiple times, so we're hoping it's not too much worse, as far as heat goes. We're also nervous about summer break crowds, but honestly, I don't think the crowd levels have felt "normal" since our last pre-COVID trip. I don't know if there's just an influx of people making up for cancelled 2020 trips, or if this is our new normal.

We are leaving two weeks from today, and I hope to post at least a couple more updates between now and then!
 

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Sbk1234

Well-Known Member
How's Lincoln doing? He looks good.
Don't worry. Traveling with babies is definitely a challenge, but doable. And as he gets older it will get a LOT easier and more fun. I've been there when my son was 1, and when my daughters were 1 and 3 (my son being almost 8), and I survived!
 

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Happy Birthday to Lincoln! Can't wait to read about the trip!
Thank you! :)
You are so smart to be bringing family - our plan for baby's birthday trip is just us (I've taken notes from your first trip with Lincoln though 😆 )

Can't wait to read all about it!
I liked having just the three of us on our first trip, but I'm definitely looking forward to having a little help this time around! I'm sure it will be a little easier with your daughter since she'll be a little older on her first trip, if I'm remembering correctly.
How's Lincoln doing? He looks good.
Don't worry. Traveling with babies is definitely a challenge, but doable. And as he gets older it will get a LOT easier and more fun. I've been there when my son was 1, and when my daughters were 1 and 3 (my son being almost 8), and I survived!
He's doing great, thank you for asking! We have follow-ups with both surgeons next week, and if his skull still looks good, we should just have one appointment a year until he's five.
 

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
That year has flown by. Happy first birthday to Lincoln for June 5th. So looking forward to this new adventure.
Thank you! 😊
Happy Birthday to Lincoln! I have taken my son to WDW every year since he was 8 months old! These are the best memories I ever had. Now my son has a son and we are taking them to WDW in October. Can’t wait.
That’s awesome, I hope you have a great trip with your grandson!
 

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
One week from now, we'll be in Florida, nearing WDW! I've started a packing pile on the kitchen table, so that's a sure sign we're getting close. For now, let's talk plans!

Sunday, May 29th - Disney Eve - We'll be taking two cars on this trip - my sis is home from college for the summer, so she and my mom will leave from their house, and the three of us will leave from ours. We live ~15 minutes apart, but we plan to just meet down there, rather than attempting to caravan the whole way. Sunday afternoon/evening, we'll be dropping Max (our dog) off at my parents' house, where he'll be staying with my dad while we're out of town. We'll also be bringing a few things to pack in my mom's car, so we don't have to fill up every. possible. inch. of my car, like we did last time.

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Monday, May 30th - Check-In Day - We'll be up and at 'em by 4:00 am. I hope to get the car partially packed on Sunday night, to avoid playing trunk tetris at the last minute Monday morning. Once J and I have the car packed, we'll get Lincoln up, change him, and then put him in his car seat and hope he falls back asleep. We moved him to a Big Boy (convertible) car seat about a month ago, and he is absolutely loving it. It must be comfortable, because he's taken many an unplanned nap in the car since then. We'll leave the house as close to 5:00 as possible. We'll stop for breakfast and a bathroom break/diaper change at our usual Chick-Fil-A in Perry, GA, and then stop again for gas and another bathroom break/diaper change at our usual gas station just over the GA/FL border. Hopefully it'll just be those two stops this time. 🤞 That should put us in the bubble sometime between Noon and 1pm. I've requested early check-in, but we all know that's hit-or-miss. We've asked for adjoining rooms, so at least they should be ready right around the same time. If our room is ready, we'll go ahead and unpack/get settled. If not, we'll hang out for a bit, maybe take L over to the splash pad at the pool.

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We have a 5:15 dinner reservation at Raglan Road, so once our room is ready and we've settled in, or once we give up on our room being ready at a decent time, we'll take the boat over to Disney Springs. Hopefully we'll have time to do a little shopping beforehand. After dinner, we'll head back to the room to get L ready for bed, and ready for our first park day!
 

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
It sounds like the perfect plan!!! It will be here before you know it!
Less than 48 hours to go!
Cannot wait to see more photos of POFQ as we are staying there for 2 weeks next year. I’m sure this week will fly by.
I’ll be sure to take plenty! Two weeks there sounds like a dream!
 

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
This has been a really difficult week, for reasons I’m sure you all understand. I have a tendency to hyper-fixate when something bad happens, so I’ve been in a really low place for the past few days. We have less than 48 hours to go before the trip, so I’m trying to focus on the positive, and put my energy into prepping for our vacation. With that said, back to our plans…

Tuesday, May 31st - Animal Kingdom Day - I’m really hoping we can make early entry/rope drop on this trip. With Lincoln being nearly one, he doesn’t need to nap or take a bottle as often, so I’m hoping I can rally the troops and get us out of the room(s) early enough to make it. This will be the toughest day, because Early Entry is at 7:00 am.

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I got suckered into purchasing Genie + again- I’m not waiting in long lines with a squirmy 11-month-old 🤷🏻. With that said, my goal for this day is to grab an ILL for FoP first, and a LL for Na’Vi River Journey near the same time if I can. We’ll head to either Everest or Kilimanjaro Safaris first during Early Entry, depending on how the crowds look. We’ll head to the Safaris first if it’s already looking packed - J, Auntie A, and I can always ride Everest later via single rider if need be.

I’d like to get L on Kilimanjaro Safaris, Na’Vi River Journey, and the Wildlife Express train this day, and take him on at least one of the animal viewing trails. Grandmama and Auntie A have not done FoP yet, so that’s a must-do for them.

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We’ll plan to have lunch in the park, knowing us, probably at Satu’li Canteen. Dinner that night is at Boma! We were originally hoping to snag a Sanaa reservation, but had no luck. We’ve never done dinner at Boma though, so I’m looking forward to trying some new things! After dinner, Grandmama and Auntie A will head back out to the parks, and the rest of us will head to the hotel to put Link down for bed.

Up next: MK Day Plans
 

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Wednesday, June 1st - Magic Kingdom Day

Early Entry is at 8:30 am this day, so we’ll plan to be up and out of the room(s) by 7:30. We normally hit up Adventureland first, but I believe only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland are open during Early Entry? So we’ll probably head back to Fantasyland to try to get on one of the classic rides before heading to Adventureland when they open the park to all guests. I’m hoping to grab a LL for Jungle Cruise early in the day, and do the rest of the park clockwise from there. We didn’t get on Big Thunder last trip, so I’m hoping to get on this time around!

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We typically just eat quick service lunch and dinner on our MK days. If we need a break from the heat/crowds, we’ll head to one of the monorail resorts for lunch/dinner and some downtime. J and I (and maybe Auntie A) will be staying late this evening, likely sticking to MK, while Grandmama takes L back to the hotel for bath and bedtime.

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Up next: Hollywood Studios plans
 

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Thursday, June 2nd - Hollywood Studios Day

Early Entry is at 8:00 this morning, so we’ll plan to be up and out of the rooms around 7:00, after I’ve hopefully secured a LL for Slinky and an ILL for ROTR. We’ll head to Sunset Blvd first during Early Entry.

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I’m hoping to get L on MMRR again, and have him meet some characters, since there’s not much else for littles at HS. And for the love of Yoda, I WILL RIDE ROTR THIS TRIP. If you don’t know the history there, J and I have been to WDW four times since ROTR opened, and I have yet to get on it. J has been on it once, when I was pregnant. 🙃

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We’ll do lunch in HS, although I’m not sure where. Too hot to eat outside at Woody’s Lunchbox, but L wouldn’t eat a Ronto Wrap, so both of our go-tos are out of the question. For dinner, we have a reservation at Via Napoli! We wanted Beaches and Cream for this day, but weren’t able to snag it. I won’t complain about eating Via Napoli though! After dinner, J and I will take L back to the hotel for bedtime, and Grandmama and Auntie A will stay late in the parks.

Up next: Epcot Day plans
 

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