Trip Report Baby's 1st WDW Trip, Limo Ride, Stay at AOA and, Well, Just About Everything Else!

Well, hello there! This trip report is for our trip we took April 21-27. I know, late much? Between this trip and now, we had ANOTHER WDW trip, 2 birthdays, including a 1st birthday extravaganza, and busy days working and wrangling a toddler. I also wanted to have all the days posted on my blog first so I could make sure I had all my details straight and in order before posting here...mommy brain is in full effect over here!

I did post a Pre-trip report a while back, but most of the actual plans got rearranged once we were in WDW, so read at your own risk: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...-member-new-fantasyland-and-aoa-a-ptr.863451/

I'll start out with a repeat of the cast of this trip:

Me (Lynn) and my husband (Brett)
I'm a CPA and the planner of the family. He's a photographer and perpetual winner of Buzz Lightyear and Toy Story Mania. We live about 3.5 hours from WDW and are annual passholders and Tables in Wonderland members.

Trent: Our son was 10 months old when we went on this trip. It was his first WDW trip and trip in general. We are working hard to make him a Disney fanatic...one trip, and ridiculously adorable and cheesy photo at a time.

Day -1: Saturday

The day before our trip is Day minus 1…just a quick note about getting ready…

For the first time in as long as I can remember, we gave ourselves a day to prepare for our trip, instead of going the very next day after working. Well, I gave myself a day to prepare…Brett had a wedding to shoot for most of the day, so it was me and Trent holding down the fort.

And boy was he a needy little fella all day. I thought I never had enough time to prepare for trips before? HA! I had to pack and clean with him in my left arm for half the day…I’m surprised that arm doesn’t look like one of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s arms – Mr. Olympia style. Then, he wouldn’t take his naps without me being there, either. I guess it was nice the first time I got to nap with him

I was exhausted by the end of the day.

It’s like they know you have stuff to do, so they turn into this…



After a day of preparing, it was also nice to know we weren’t waking up at 4 in the morning like we usually do, so it meant that we might get at least a few hours of sleep. {Ha! Yeah, right!}



Day 1: Sunday

Like I just mentioned, it was nice to NOT be leaving at 3-4 in the morning to make it for rope-drop on the first day. Normally, we don’t see the point in paying for a hotel for a night if we won’t be there until late at night after work, so we tend to just leave really early on our first day.

This time, since we had planned on Trent’s first ever day at Disney World to be at Magic Kingdom on Monday, we left Sunday for travel, IKEA, checking in and dinner…a relaxing “get settled in” type of day.

I woke up around 7:30 to get ready and finish some of the last packing items that I didn’t get to do the night before. Then, Brett and Trent woke up shortly after. We wanted to leave by 9am, but in typical Svenson-family fashion, we left an hour later at 10. Adding getting Trent ready and feeding him to the mix, I knew we weren’t going to leave on time. When we say we want to leave at a particular time, we should just go ahead and add an hour to it from the get-go.

We hit up the drive-thru at McDonald’s (darn you Chick-Fil-A for being closed on Sundays!) for breakfast on the go. We purchased a season’s worth of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to play on the iPad for Trent. We set up the iPad right in front of him and he watched about 2-3 episodes before falling asleep. Our road-trip was going great so far!

 

[Lynn1030]

Here are some more Flower & Garden Festival food kiosk signs. We didn’t get to try something at each one, but we’re looking forward to it in the future!

We decided to go back to the hotel to take a break and relax before spending the rest of the night at a park. Even though we were staying in the Little Mermaid section, we decided to trek it over to the Big Blue Pool, the main pool in the Finding Nemo section. When walking past it the day before, it just looked like the more baby-friendly pool compared to the pool in the Little Mermaid section. For starters, there’s a splash zone…what kid doesn’t love splash pads? Secondly, the main pool has a zero-entry side, which meant our little guy could crawl right into the water however deep he was comfortable with.

This was actually a pivotal point in our trip and all future trips. Since we have a pool at home, we don’t ordinarily leave the parks to go swim or nap. Brett doesn’t even like to nap and I don’t like spending money on park passes to not be in the park. But from now on, we will most certainly have to take breaks in the middle of the day, because this kid could not get enough of the splash fountains and the pool!

He was definitely a little hesitant when we first sat him in front of a splash fountain. It was almost like he was trying to figure out what it was…the water would spray up and just as he thought he figured it out and would go to grab it…poof! gone! Where did it go?

Then, we let him crawl around the pool area in the zero-entry section. We could sit on the ledge or lounge on the ground and he could crawl around on his own. We made sure to sit to the side to avoid any older kids running by and not paying attention.

This was like a whole new world to him and he was smiling and screaching full of happiness.

We picked him up and walked in a little further for a few minutes, then headed back to the room for a nap. This was when I first wished we had been in a suite…our room seemed so far away!

"Brett, carry me"

"No"

{Repeat 50 times on the walk back to the room}

After the nap, we headed out to Hollywood Studios for the night.

 

[myhappyplace]

Gorgeous pictures, and beautiful baby boy! Looks like a a fun trip, indeed and I am enjoying your report Can't wait for more~

 

[Lynn1030]

It looked like it was going to rain (which it looked like all day, so no surprise there really) so we decided it was time for dinner at Pizza Planet. Sure, it may be an overpriced individual pizza, but we love it! We also decided to partake in the Earth Day festiveness and split a Worms n Dirt Cupcake. It was a simple chocolate cake with chocolate pudding filling, but the toppings were what made it interesting…a candy flower pot, a gummy worm and dirt (aka more chocolate!).

By the time we were finished eating, the rain had stopped, so we headed back out.

There were 2 showings of Fantasmic! that night. We didn’t think we would be staying in the park that much later and we also didn’t want to risk the 2nd show getting canceled due to weather, so we decided to attend the first show.

But first, I went to the Baby Care Center to warm up his bottle. The Baby Care center at Hollywood Studios is at the front of the park, to the right just before you hit the turnstiles. I’ll go into more detail on the layout of this Baby Care Center tomorrow, but today I just walked in and used the microwave to warm his bottle so he could eat while we were waiting for Fantasmic! to start. Bottle of milk makes baby happy.

This was the day they started handing out Fastpasses for Fantasmic! (which they passed out earlier in the day when we weren’t there), so there were a bunch of people that could pass us…but there were also a bunch of people that didn’t properly get in line and just walked past everyone to sneak into the line somewhere anyway. Add to that the cast members not doing well at handling the stroller parking and entering Fantasmic was a madhouse.

With the stroller finally parked, we waited in line again to be seated. We actually had great seats due to cast members making everyone scoot over.

Fine, you won’t wear your hat, then I WILL!

 

[Lynn1030]

Trent started to get sleepy while we were waiting…

So we gave him a glow necklace we brought from home and he perked right up!

He stood up on my lap and paid attention the entire time. It was times like these I was grateful that he isn’t an early sleeper. Sure, it’s not the best on a daily basis and makes it almost impossible to get anything done, but we weren’t going to try to change that before the trip and then expect him to stay awake until fireworks at 11pm.

After the show, we left the park and headed to Downtown Disney for some shopping. I was pretty good this trip and only got a picture frame and a toy for Trent.

"Argh, mateys….this be the end of Day 2!!" says Pirate Trent...

Thank you for reading Day 2 - I hope you are all enjoying the trip report! Stay tuned for Day 3!

 

[farrellbarrel]

I love your pictures!!! They are amazing!! And your son is so so cute! I love all you did for him for this trip. I cannot wait to read more!!!

 

[38053WDW]

It started to get late after being there a couple of hours and since I had to hold Trent by the time we got downstairs, I was ready to go…it could have also been because Brett was in “Throw everything I see into the cart” mode. The man is obsessed with IKEA. It’s best to just keep walking and hope he keeps up.

It was still raining when we left, so packing up the car was super fun.

We had dinner reservations at Cape May Cafe within the next 30 minutes, but we still wanted to check in to our hotel. The problem? Torrential downpouring. We live in Florida, so we’re used to heavy rain, but this was ridiculous. So I checked on my phone to see if there was a later reservation available for dinner and there was an 8:40pm. A little late, but after telling Brett he was about to have all-you-care-to-eat crab legs, there was no taking it away. So I made the new reservation and when I went to cancel the old reservation it wouldn’t let me and told me I had to call the number listed. The number listed did NOT go to a Disney phone..I have no clue where it was making me call and I tried 3 times. So I called the normal Disney Dining line and was forced to speak to someone after giving the automated system ALL of my information.

Did I mention that we were still sitting in the car in the Art of Animation parking lot during all of this? I didn’t even think about going in to the concierge desk. Du-oh!

So I finally get someone to help me on the phone and wouldn’t you know…signal loss. Thank you, Sprint! I can always count on you to drop my calls.

At this point, our reservation time had passed 5 minutes before, so I told Brett just to drop me off and I’ll go into the hotel. Trent was sleeping, so I figured I would just go in and check us in and ask them to cancel my dining reservation.

While the cast member was checking me in and swiping all my Disney gift cards, I called the dining phone number again, since the concierge desk had a long line that I didn’t want to stand in, and had them cancel my dining reservation. He was about to charge me $10 until I told him I rescheduled. Phew, I’m glad I rescheduled.

Speaking of those gift cards, I use my Target Red Card to get 5% off Disney gift cards at Target. I bought enough to pay for the hotel and food and a little leftover for souvenirs. I bet that cast member loooooved me.

When I went back out to the car (still downpouring) I told Brett what room we were in so we could head to the room until our reservation. His response? “How do you know what room we’re in?”

“Ummm, because I checked us in…what do you think I went in there for?”

Boy, his look of disappointment was like a knife going through me. “Oh, I thought you just went in to cancel the reservation. I thought we were going to check in with Trent so we could take a photo of him checking into his first Disney hotel.”

I felt so bad. Trent was still sleeping and I was so agitated by the rain and the reservation system that I didn’t even think about it, but I also wouldn’t have wanted to wake him up either. It was too late to do anything about it, so we headed to the room and just as we pulled up, he woke up…great timing, kid!

We were up on the 4th floor, looking over the pool in the Little Mermaid section, where we were spending the first 4 nights of our trip. Hmm, the 4th floor. It wasn’t fun carrying a baby up to the 4th floor or waiting for the elevator, especially after a long day, but the view was nice, minus the yucky clouds and rain. We could see our former usual hotel, Pop Century, across the water.

New rFID door locks!

Normally, we just live out of our suitcases, but this time, with a third family member, we decided to put Trent’s stuff in the drawers. The top drawer was for diapers, swim diapers, and wipes; the second drawer was for his snacks; and the third drawer was for his clothes. (So I guess that means WE still lived our of our suitcases and Trent got the nice drawers ) We also brought a pop-up mesh basket to put our dirty clothes in to keep them separate. This was a big help, as it was out of the way and ready to go into the washer when we returned home.

The hooks they provide were also very helpful this trip.

Within 2.5 seconds, toys were spread out all over the room. It was like we were back at home. Speaking of home, Trent made himself at home and started exploring immediately. We didn’t bring anything to babyproof, so we had to constantly pull him away from outlets, nightlights and trash cans. We definitely learned for next time.

Do a quick walk around when you first get to the room... We were at POP and our young daughter found two pills on the floor near the bed ..I guess HK didn't catch that ! No clue what they were but you know little ones and finding things ...

 

[Lynn1030]

Gorgeous pictures, and beautiful baby boy! Looks like a a fun trip, indeed and I am enjoying your report Can't wait for more~

Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it!

I love your pictures!!! They are amazing!! And your son is so so cute! I love all you did for him for this trip. I cannot wait to read more!!!

Thanks! Yes, he got to do some fun stuff and loved it!

Do a quick walk around when you first get to the room... We were at POP and our young daughter found two pills on the floor near the bed ..I guess HK didn't catch that ! No clue what they were but you know little ones and finding things ...

Oh no! Yes, they will find ANYTHING! I need him to find some money laying around!

 

[fractal]

Great report and awesome pictures!

 

[Lynn1030]

Great report and awesome pictures!

Thanks! I've been reading your trip report, but started late so I'm trying to catch up. I love it!

So, I was going to read the blogs, but decided a good part of my day would be seeing your days when you post them. Honestly, Trent's adorable cheeks was enough to make me smile today. Your husband is a FANTASTIC photographer. Oh and as a fellow (well I'm almost) CPA, you're sure to be pretty awesome too!

Aww what a lovely comment. Those cheeks have seen many pinches! Good luck with getting your CPA!

 

[Lynn1030]

Ok everyone, my mini Mickey fanatic is finally asleep so it's time to continue to day 3!

Day 3 – Tuesday

When rearranging our plans, we did decide to keep our early lunch reservation at 50′s Prime Time Cafe in Hollywood Studios on Tuesday.

We arrived at Hollywood Studios around 10:15. Although we didn’t think we’d be staying that long at HS, we got Toy Story Fastpasses since they were still available, but the return time was for 3:55-4:55, so spoiler alert: we didn’t end up using them – usually we try to hand them to someone when we are leaving the park (even though the last time we did it, the people looked at us like we were crazy for some reason), but I forgot I even had them. Oh well.

We then went to Trent’s first ever character meet and greet…the big cheese himself…Mickey Mouse!

Our park plans may have been completely altered, but I was really glad that Mickey Mouse was the first Disney character he met.

Trent just wanted to touch Mickey’s nose, but luckily he did good and wasn’t scared. He actually seemed in awe (or shock?) of Mickey and couldn't stop staring at him. The Photopass attendant had to bust out a noisy light-up Buzz toy to get his attention long enough to take that photo above. High five for the no-crying-character-photo win!

 

[Lynn1030]

We then went to the next showing of Disney Junior Live. Trent loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Jake and the Never Land Pirates (I think Brett secretly likes them too since he watches them with Trent every day

)

Did you know you sit on the floor?

Yeah, that was interesting, but the kids absolutely loved it. Trent liked how he could roam around a little while we were waiting for the show to start. There is one live girl in the show and the rest are puppets, but there are interactive elements, like bubbles and confetti falling from the sky. Trent actually recognized the characters and seemed to enjoy the show, even though our legs were half asleep by the end of it.

It was a little difficult to see the puppets. I think this is one of those shows where your view gets worse the closer you are sitting. The floor rose up just a little, so I think a seat towards the back and center would be best.

All of us adults participating. No shame, baby. No shame in Disney.

 

[Lynn1030]

It was about time for Trent to eat and hopefully take a little nap, so I headed to the Baby Care Center while Brett wandered around to take photos. He enjoyed taking photos of the street characters this trip, as he had extra time to wander around while I fed Trent or he was napping in the stroller.

 

[Lynn1030]

I liked this Baby Care Center much better than the one at Epcot. It is definitely much smaller, but there are 2 private nursing rooms.

Did you catch that? PRIVATE!

They close with a curtain, so I made sure to pull the stroller in and block the door, just in case. There is a rocking chair and a small bench in the room. The light is a dimmer so you can choose just how bright or dark you want the room. There is also a mirror just in case you need to check yourself before walking out in front of thousands of people. So while it would have sucked if both rooms were taken, I was lucky enough to be the only one in there the entire time.

 

[Lynn1030]

Next, it was time for lunch! 50′s Prime Time Cafe gets such mixed reviews. We love it because we know we can each find something we like, even though we both get the same thing every time. We both clean our plates each time…and not because we’ll get in trouble if we don’t.

Unfortunately, our waitress didn’t really play the role very well (or at all) but it didn’t bother us too much.

The entire restaurant has such a fun theme, with the waiting area being no exception. After having just woke up from his nap, Trent was in an exceptionally playful, happy mood...so we took advantage of it with some photo-taking.

 

[Lynn1030]

Babies just have to bite everything, don't they? Caught!

 

[Lynn1030]

I tried the Peanut Butter and Jelly shake for the first time. It was dee-LISH! I didn’t taste the jelly so much, but anything peanut butter is good in my book. I may have snuck in a few spoonfuls to Trent...after all, this trip was full of new treats for him.

I got a Disney recipe book for Christmas last year and this milkshake is in there...I need to go make that ASAP!

Biting stuff again...nom nom nom.

Finally, a table with a TV!

 

[Goofnut1980]

Holy Moly! I love all of the pictures... Such a great report... What kind of camera do you use??? I guess I need to learn more about my SLR... I wish my pics where half this good!

 

[Lynn1030]

Trent chowed down on some Puffs while we waited. Puffs...food of (baby) champions.

Brett got something new we hadn’t seen before, lemonade topped with passionfruit foam.

Fried chicken for Brett.

Meatloaf for me. I say this every time and maybe next time I'll remember, but I would have liked more sauce on the top. Other than that, no complaints...both plates wiped clean.

 

[Lynn1030]

With full tummies, we left and walked around with no particular place to go – which pretty much was our theme for the trip at this point, now that everything was rearranged and we were afraid to plan anything. There also isn't a whole lot to do with a baby Trent's age without doing rider swap. We thought he would have liked Lights, Motors, Action, but the timing of the shows that day just wouldn't have worked out, so we didn't get to do that.

We ran into Mulch, Sweat n Shears performing, so we hung out and enjoyed the music. We even danced a little. Trent is too young to tell me I’m embarrassing him, so I’m taking advantage of it while I can. And yes there was video taken, so I can still embarrass him in the future, too.

We walked into the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids play area, but it was extremely crowded and Trent was just a bit too young to do anything, so we quickly walked right back out. We decided it was about time to head out, but not before taking some must-have photos….

Mimicking Mickey Mouse in front of the Chinese Theater…

and the first of his ride height photos. We couldn’t decide, so we did both Tower of Terror and Rock n Rollercoaster. We plan on taking these at least once a year until he’s tall enough to ride!

 

[Lynn1030]

We then headed right over to Animal Kingdom, which closed at 7 that night. Our parking spot was the furthest back we’ve ever had, which was good because Trent had fallen asleep in the car, so we let him sleep for a little while longer while we took advantage of Disney wi-fi. Ah, the joys of having a kid with us now…no longer on our own schedule, but plenty of decision-making based on their needs instead of your wants. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Brett took some photos on the way in, but we were arriving just as the parade was about to start, so we headed in quickly. The front of the park was packed, so we ventured to the right towards Asia, hoping to just kinda find a spot to casually stand in. We ultimately stopped at a spot near a taped-path. We were standing behind a family, but they had young kids so we felt we would be able to see just fine. Trent was still sleeping in the stroller anyway, so we planned on just leaving him be.

It turns out, we stopped right next to a margarita stand….ah torture! There was a LONG line. All the adults waiting nearby for their kids to watch the parade needed a frosty alcoholic drink…Well played, Disney. Well played.

Pre-parade entertainment.

Here they come!!

Just as the parade was about to start, the family in front us made room and asked us if we wanted to move up to be against the rope. I took the opportunity to wake Trent up so he could see from our new front row spot.

Poor kid, he’s off in dreamland and gets woken up to a bear in his face.

Trent got so much attention during the parade…I’d say 70% of the characters interacted with him and I even heard the parade families saying “Look at the cute baby”. I swear it…totally not making it up. It was then that I decided Trent is not allowed to grow up...he must stay small and cute forever so that we get all the attention during parades. (P.S. I totally changed my mind later)