Trip Report Choosing Disney Over Iceland... Duh.

Hi all!

Time for another trip report from yours truly. I was dreading starting this because that means it is OVER.. but we are officially 262 days until our December trip so it stings a bit less.

This trip was planned very last minute for us, only about a month out. Our plan for our tax return was to visit Iceland to see the Northern Lights (a bucket list item for my husband Ian). The volcano situation got a bit wild over there over the past few months so we had to put that on the back burner for now.

The question arose - what to do now?! Obvious answer - Disney World!

When: March 1-6
Where: originally AS Sports, upgraded for a small amount more to Pop for skyliner access two days before our trip began!
Who: me (Annie), Ian (my husband), and Nora (our newly 2-year-old)

cover photo.jpg


Here we go!
 
Click to expand...
annienevells

annienevells

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
annienevells

annienevells

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
On to the room tour!

As I mentioned, we requested a king bed and were granted one.

11.jpg


Ian: "did you get a picture of the TV?!" 😅

12.jpg


And now a photo of Nora's room...

13.jpg


Nora's sleeping arrangement was a much discussed item leading up to the trip. My girl is a 10/10 sleeper. She takes 2 hour naps and sleeps 12 hours straight... in the right setting. She has never and will NOT ever sleep in a stroller. So, we knew the nap situation needed to work for us in room. Her pack n play fit into the sink area of the bathroom and we were able to close the door to it.

This is also our last trip in a crib/play yard. Which is why we are staying in an AoA family suite this December!

We decided that our room was close enough to the pool bathrooms that if we needed to use the facilities while she was sleeping we could just go there instead.

The things we will do for a well-rested child...

ANYWAY.

Ian needed a minute to lay down and relax, so Nora and I headed out to the pool. She was SO excited.

14.jpg


Had to get a photo with her groovy glasses in front of the flower wall!

15.jpg


I was a bit thirsty so I decided to grab my mug and Ian's while I was at it. We used the Dining plan on this trip and were very happy with it!

Cheers to Nora (water in her mug)

16.jpg


Snagged a quick picture with my happy girl before our swim. It was pretty overcast but warm for us Mainers.

17.jpg


She had the time of her life and did NOT want to leave.

Well except to play some games on the pool deck...

18.jpg


And then back into the water we went.

Silly girly kept wanting to put her face directly into the splash zone lol

20.jpg


Ian had joined us after about 30 minutes or so of rest time.

It was getting close to 6, so we changed Nora into some dry clothes and headed to get a quick dinner. Our plan was food and then a spin around the Skyliner to end our first day.

A quick picture of my pasta and meatballs, Nora's mac and cheese, and Ian's brisket mac and cheese (that he LOVED)

19.jpg
 
annienevells

annienevells

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We all enjoyed our meals and finished bellies full.

We decided to stop back at the room first to put Nora in her jammies before the skyliner ride.

21.jpg


Once we got back to the room and got Nora changed she promptly looked at us and said "bed now. Nora go to sleep"

WELL THEN. Girl knows what she wants and needs.

We got her teeth brushed and she went down immediately, no books no songs just SLEEP. She was tired.

Ian told me I should take a little solo ride, so I did just that!

22.jpg


Peeked in on my sleeping beauty before heading out.

23.jpg


It was a quiet and warm night and I really enjoyed my solo tour around the World.

24.jpg


I made it to HS and decided it was time to loop back to Pop.

25.jpg


Once I made it back to the Pop/AoA station, I knew Ian would want a snack. Last time we visited AoA they had Mickey pretzels so that was where I headed.

26.jpg


I was sad that they only had regular jumbo pretzels, but decided to get one for him anyway!

27.jpg


I made it back with the snack and really carbs and cheese always hit the spot (but we did miss the Mickey shape if we are being honest)

We both passed out pretty quickly and were excited for our first full day in the morning!
 
annienevells

annienevells

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 2!

As much as I hate not starting our trips at MK, I just knew that on a Saturday it was going to be packed. So, we started with AK!

My alarm went off and I headed down to the pool bathroom for a quick shower to get as ready as I could without waking Nora up. Note - I fully did my hair and makeup and the MINUTE I stepped outside it was wet humidity central and ON went my baseball cap for the rest of the trip 😅

I bought Genie+ for LL all four park days of the trip. It's just.. worth it to us. Regardless of how much we use it. She's 2. IT'S WORTH IT lol

We got ready and had some yogurt before heading to the bus. The line was a bit longer than we were expecting.

28.jpg


A bus was loaded without us making it on but we got on bus number 2. Nora was pumped to see it was a Moana bus!

29.jpg


The ride was pretty uneventful and soon we were pulling up to a VERY foggy AK.

30.jpg


We wasted no time and utilized our 30 early minutes to do Na'vi River Journey. Nora was like this the whole time:

Shocked Face Wow GIF


31.jpg


Successful first ride of the trip!

I wanted to grab a photo since I knew we likely wouldn't make it back to Pandora.

Nora wasn't into the poses 😅

32.jpg


We decided to head to Everest so Ian and I could take turns while Nora had a little snack.

Nora shouted "GUS" as we passed here. She was missing her puppy.

33.jpg


Ian was first to ride. It was a walk on but he still went single rider to be even faster on and off.

Nora enjoyed some Pringles (refused to share with mama)

34.jpg


Ian was on and off quickly and then it was my turn!

Me and my little friend next to me had a blast.

35.jpg


We knew we had to make the rounds for our annual photo.

If you've read my TRs before, you know this is a requirement.

Presenting - 2024 version.

36.jpg


A look back at 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2023!

37.jpg
 
joshsprincess921

joshsprincess921

Well-Known Member
Minnie1986 said:
My personal motto when it comes to travel is "throw money at the problem." Can I do Disney without Genie+? Yes. Am I going to? Absolutely not. My peace of mind is worth a lot more to me than whatever it costs that day.🤷‍♀️
Click to expand...
That's our motto when traveling too 😂 It's funny b/c I'm so cheap at home! I like to see how many days I can go without spending a dime. I just save it all for vacation!
 
annienevells

annienevells

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
After a week traveling for work and then 3 days without power... I am back with a TR update 😅

Now where were we?

Ah yes, Nora spotted something she IMMEDIATELY needed to do. A tamer dino than the one she had just posed with.

She all but ran down to TriceraTop Spin.

38.jpg


Sooooo excited.

The verdict? She LOVED it. She kept saying "hands UP mama!"

40.jpg


After our ride we headed to Tusker House for breakfast. Our very first time here!

We checked in around 9:10 for our 9:15 reservation. It took a good 20 minutes or so of chasing our inpatient toddler around the area but eventually we made our way in.

39.jpg


Okay. Unpopular opinion... This is a one and done for us (for now at least). It is SO LOUD in there. And the lighting is pretty awful. Everyone always has SO MANY good things to say about this meal. It was a miss for me. Not helped by the fact that Nora, while obsessed with characters at distance, was MORTIFIED every time they came up close.

Example 1:

41.jpg


She did love her Mickey waffles as always though 😍

42.jpg


It was packed in there, so I just grabbed items for my plate that I knew Nora and I could both enjoy and share.

43.jpg


Time for example 2:

44.jpg


and 3:

45.jpg


Sigh...

I knew it was a possibility but we had THREE more character meals planned because of her obsession with them. I was stressing about changing all of them to not force her into misery.

Ian suggested letting her warmup (spoiler alert - she did not LOL)

I will say - she LOVED talking about them after they had walked away and were a safe distance from her 😅

She also was so happy during the dance party. She was dancing along with Goofy (from her spot on dad's lap)

46.jpg
 
annienevells

annienevells

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
All trauma aside, Nora did enjoy herself overall.

We had some time before our safari LL, so we decided to do a first for both Ian and Nora. Rafiki's Planet Watch!

Nora was pumped to ride the train (as apprehensive as she looks here haha)

47.jpg



She loved the train ride and soon we arrived at our destination. I thought Nora would run to the affection section. Instead.. she immediately laid down and gazed up adoringly at the fake animals 😆

48.jpg


I just let her. She wasn't in anybody's way. She was happy. You have to pick your battles with toddlers y'all

She did eventually let us pull her away though!

49.jpg


She was so gentle and sweet. she kept saying "awwww so cute" to the animals.

Once she got her affection fill, we headed back on the train and made it to our LL.

She loved seeing all the animals.

50.jpg


Especially the baby elephant 😍

51.jpg


Animal sightings weren't the best on this go around, but that was to be expected at mid day in the heat.

We had time for one more adventure before heading back for naptime.

First, a selfie.

52.jpg


Then Lion King! On our trip last year Nora slept through the entire show.

53.jpg


She was much more engaged this go around.

54.jpg


Another great show and I was glad we were able to fit it in during pt. 1 of this day. We grabbed a couple PhotoPass pics before heading out.

56.jpg

57.jpg
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom