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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k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Final Thoughts and Souvenirs

Dates/Crowds - May 30th-June 4th - The parks were definitely crowded, but let's be honest - when are they not? We honestly expected it to be unbearably crowded since many schools get out right before Memorial Day, but it wasn't terrible. If we go next Spring, we'll probably go earlier in May, though.

Weather - It was hot. It's Florida in May/June, that's to be expected. The forecast showed rain every day of the trip, but I don't really remember it raining. Maybe a pop-up shower here and there, but nothing too bad.

Resort - We love POFQ, so no big complaints there. My only minor complaint is that we requested a first floor room, and ended up on the second floor. I do wish that the CMs who assign rooms would take strollers/wheelchairs into consideration. It's a pain having to use the elevator anytime you need to go somewhere, but I also know room assignments are probably like a big game of Tetris, so at the end of the day, it's not a huge deal.

Parks - Things were *mostly* back to normal by the time we went. Character hugs were back, although we didn't meet any characters - definitely prioritizing that on our upcoming trip. Masks were optional everywhere, and plexiglass was gone as well. We're in the minority that don't mind park pass reservations - I plan our park days months in advance, and we don't park hop a whole lot, so it's not a huge deal for us. I can imagine that it's a pain for APs (especially locals) who are more go-with-the-flow for their park days.

Dining - There aren't any bad dining experiences that stick out in my mind for this trip. I've remarked to Jason a couple times that I miss when the resort food courts had more unique options. It seems like all of them have the same food now - I don't know if that's a staffing or supply chain issue, or 50th Anniversary thing.

50th Anniversary - Speaking of the 50th Anniversary...longest birthday party ever. I know they made the celebration 18 months long so that more people can experience it, but I'm ready to have our old castle back. I had better see cranes and painters on April 1st.

Merchandise - We haven't been all that impressed with merch the past couple trips. We used to come home loaded down with souvenirs, but the past couple times, we've only gotten a handful of things. We were especially disappointed in the lack of holiday merch available last year, so we're hoping that improves for our next trip.

Speaking of merch - here are most of the souvenirs we came home with:

I got this adorable cake castle mug. I know people love to hate on the cake castle (it was...a lot), but the merch is cute.

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I also got the iridescent purple Starbucks tumbler they brought out for the 50th. I'm an iced coffee girly, so this has been perfect.

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I also got some Crocs charms. The castle, Mickey bar, Mickey croc, and Mickey fannie pack were all included in the pack, as was a Mickey pretzel charm which I haven't used yet.

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We got Lincoln the adorable Mexican Donald plush...

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And Grandmama got him this Mickey shirt from Uniqlo...

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And one of these MMRR light-up, musical toys. He loves this thing, and it kept him happy in the stroller, but let me tell you...the song wears on your nerves quickly. 😂

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She also got him one of the light-up Slinky dog toys.

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And the only thing I can remember Jason getting was this shirt from the Guardians of the Galaxy gift shop. It has tour dates on the back.

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Up next - Baby/Toddler talk
 

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Putting this in a separate post, since not everyone travels with babies/toddlers.

Here are some items that saved our sanity on this trip:

We did not bring a diaper bag on this trip...I know, shocking. We found the diaper bag to be more of a pain than anything on our first trip with Lincoln, so instead, I carried a fannie pack with my personal items (cell phone, wallet, etc), J carried a backpack with his personal items and our rain jackets, and we had this stroller organizer. This thing holds so. much. stuff. I only recall one security CM asking us to remove the stroller organizer - the rest of them let us walk right through with it.

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We bring disposable everything on our trips with Lincoln - disposable bibs, disposable placemats, and disposable changing table liners for the rare times we're not using the baby care centers to change him. I have a diaper clutch that I fill up each morning of the trip with diapers, wipes, a couple poopy diaper bags, and some disposable bibs, placemats, and changing table liners. Anytime I need to change him, or we have to leave the stroller parked while we go into a restaurant, we can just grab the diaper clutch, rather than having to lug the heavy diaper bag everywhere.

Sippy cup leash - Lincoln has reached that delightful age where he throws anything and everything, so this was a must for us.

Portable sound machine - Lincoln sleeps with white noise, so we have a portable sound machine that we bring with us for stroller naps.

Stroller flag - the stroller parking lots get crowded, so it's nice to have something on your stroller that makes it easily identifiable. We have a stroller flag with his name on it, so it's easy to spot in a crowd.

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Lastly, we have a travel stroller that we use on our trips. It's a happy medium between a heavy, bulky stroller and an umbrella stroller. The particular one we have is the Kolcraft Cloud Plus, and it's been perfect - it's lightweight, has a one-handed standing fold, a good size storage basket, snack tray and cup holder for the kid, and two cup holders up top for the grown-ups. I don't think this is an absolute necessity, but we've really liked having it on our trips.

And some tips if you're considering bringing a baby/toddler to Disney:
- Set your expectations LOW. We got a lot more accomplished on our park days this past trip than we did when he was six months old, but it's still nowhere near what we were able to do pre-Lincoln. You're not going to ride every attraction in one day, and that's okay.
- Get Genie+. Yes, it's expensive, but it's worth your sanity. No one wants to wait in a 45-minute long line with a toddler.
- Rider swap is great, but it's very time-consuming. I'd recommend prioritizing one or two rides a day to use rider swap on., otherwise you'll spend your entire day swapping back and forth, and your little one won't get to ride anything.
- USE THE BABY CARE CENTERS - It's crazy how many people don't know these exist. They are so nice. They have changing tables with liners that get changed out after every kid, they have bottle warmers, rocking chairs for nursing, little tables if your little one just needs a spot to eat a snack or decompress, and you can buy items like diapers, wipes, sunscreen, etc in there...seriously, they're great.

That's everything I can think of at the moment, but I'm always happy to answer any questions! We're getting ready to take our third trip with Lincoln, so Disney with a baby/toddler hasn't scared us away yet!
 

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Excellent TR. I will probably be reading it again closer to my trip to be reminded of all your great tips.

Lincoln is such a cutie. You really summed it up well that the first year being the hardest and best year. Here’s to more best years and less hard ones.
Thank you for reading! Happy belated to Lil' BES, and I can't wait for you to experience Disney with her for the first time! Seeing the magic through your child's eyes is so special!
 

Swissmiss

Premium Member
I just love how you go with the flow on your trips with Lincoln - my daughter was nearing 4 the first time we went and I quickly went with the oh well next trip philosophy which really helps to us to enjoy what we do each trip as opposed to focusing on what may get missed.
 

Loco_driver

Well-Known Member
HS has always been my least favorite park in WDW, but even more so now!
There’s too many headliner attractions with nothing in between(hence the reason it’s so bad for little ones). Also it’s too small and the layout is awful. Anyways, Great TR. I always enjoy seeing L’s adventures!
 

Tinkerfan4ever

Well-Known Member
Great trip report - thank you for sharing!

I am excited to bring my grandson who will be 14 months next October. My youngest is 15 so it has been a long while since I have taken someone so young to Disney. I love your trip report and tips!!!
 

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I just love how you go with the flow on your trips with Lincoln - my daughter was nearing 4 the first time we went and I quickly went with the oh well next trip philosophy which really helps to us to enjoy what we do each trip as opposed to focusing on what may get missed.
We're very fortunate to live just one state away, so we're able to travel to WDW pretty often. It definitely puts less pressure on getting everything done every trip!
Such a great trip and report!! This picture of Lincoln has to be my favorite!!! It reminds me of myself at Disney and eating their cupcakes!

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Thanks for taking the time for this and I'm looking forward to the next one!
LOL he was definitely feeling that frosting. Thank you for reading!
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Great report!!!
Lincoln is a cutie that is for sure!
Thank you! :inlove:
Really enjoyed your report and look forward to Lincoln’s next adventure at WDW.
Thank you! Hopefully the next report won't be as drawn out as this one! 🤞
Loved following along and as a grandmother I appreciate the baby tips.
It's been a long time and so much has changed and I don't want to be one of those, "well we did it this way and it was good enough" grandmothers. (Though sometimes it is tempting)! 🤣
Looking forward to reading about your next trip.
Boy have I heard that one a few times! 😂 Thank you for reading!
Those seems like great tips for those with toddlers.

Great report, thanks for sharing. Go Lincoln!
Thanks for following along! I'm enjoying your report as well!
There’s too many headliner attractions with nothing in between(hence the reason it’s so bad for little ones). Also it’s too small and the layout is awful. Anyways, Great TR. I always enjoy seeing L’s adventures!
YES! Too many headliners in one park, and not enough "filler" rides.
What a great trip! Thanks for sharing.
Happy belated birthday to the little guy :)
Thank you! :)
Great trip report - thank you for sharing!

I am excited to bring my grandson who will be 14 months next October. My youngest is 15 so it has been a long while since I have taken someone so young to Disney. I love your trip report and tips!!!
Thank you for reading! I hope you have a great trip with your grandson!
Thanks for sharing your trip with us!! I loved following along and can't wait to hear about the next one as well!
Thank you! :)
Great TR!! Thanks for sharing!! Lincoln is adorable!!
Thank you!! :inlove:
 

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