Trip Report Goin' Down the Bayou: Takin' You All The Way **COMPLETE**

I sit here at my kitchen table. Paw Patrol is on the TV, toys strewn around the living room. Breakfast made, eaten and cleaned up, coffee re-heated for the third time, and Malcolm down for his first nap. It feels the same, it’s our routine. Did we really just return from 8 days in Disney or was it just a dream? I see little Minnie and Mickey crocs on my counter…Snow White and Tigger stuffed toys in Kinley’s bed… It wasn’t a dream! It was 8 caffeine-fuelled, whirlwind days through Orlando, and somehow we survived to share the story with you all! Did my WDWMagic dreams come true? Did I accomplish all the things I was inspired to do by reading all the trip reports of the past? You’ll have to read along to find out!

Some quick reminders:

Who we are:
Me! (Teresa) and DH Lukas
Our kiddos Kinley (2.5yrs) and Malcolm (5 months)
My sister Emily (@AKemily)
My parents Marj and Kevin (Or “Baba” and “Oy” as Kinley calls them)

When and Where: Feb 1-8, 2018 at POR

We had a great time but MAN are we ever tired. It is a LOT of work bringing 2 kids to Disney World (never mind your parents ). But we had a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to re-living it all as I share with you because it is all still a blur in my mind. But we kept good notes, @AKemily will chime in here and there with her thoughts and feelings, and if you ever needed to see a thousand pictures of a 2 year old meeting Disney characters, we’ve got you covered!

Coming Up: Travel Day 1 - We forget something VERY important on the plane (Not a kid, don’t worry)

 

[amjt660]

Yellow line??

DOOR!!!!!






Max

 

[krause]

It was 8:30 at this time and we had a 9:05 ToT FP+ but it was only a 15 minute standby so we went there next.

We waited about 20 minutes.

Special blue card! (Okay this is the RNR one but it's an important part of the story so just pretend it's for ToT!)

This is the one ride that as soon as I get on it I get the sense of impending doom. My brain is just liked "This ride is old. And dusty. The cables are going to break. And you are going to die". No other ride bothers me, but I just don't trust this one!

See anything wrong with this photo?

Yes, I am still wearing the blue card that I forgot to hand in. The CMs were actually fairly rude about this (and like legitimately rude, not just part of their schtick they do there) “You were supposed to hand that in already!” the one at the elevator loading area told me. “Now you’ll have wait until you get off!”. And then when we got off the CM said “You were supposed to give that in before the ride!” I know, I know, sheesh, it was like I had committed a crime. Ah well, they gave me the pass that never ended up being used anyways.

It was 9:00am by the time we got off and we decided to get to the first Frozen Sing Along show. I knew from Instagram that @equityben would not be there, and I actually considered skipping the show because of this, but can you skip a Frozen attraction when you have a 2 year old?


We had good seats and the show was the usual. Kinley was excited to see Elsa, and was transfixed basically the whole show.

Malcolm loved it too.

“Replacement Ben” was just fine, I’m sure anyone seeing the show for the first time would have thought he was great, but to me he was just trying to be Ben the whole time . Elsa was found, we were overloaded with snoap, and the Arendelle Winter Celebration could go on!

Up Next: Who is the TSMM champion?

 

[amjt660]

Blue card CM Anger issues?

Just tell them to dock your pay

Wait - it is a volunteer thing

To paraphrase Mark Watney from the Martian..

You could tell them to have sex with themselves - your on vacation!

Max

 

[krause]

We were a bit early for our TSMM FP+ but we headed over to Pixar Place to attempt to get the kids to nap so we could ride. I know both kids could have come on this ride (as the CM when I asked for a child swap was so kind to point out ), but a) it was nap time b) I love this ride and I’m super competitive and didn’t need a kid dragging me down.

Emily made the Minnie for her shorts:

No line to meet Cruz. Kinley did NOT want to get near this one.

The FP+ line was looonnnggggg. Standby had been 150+ minutes already all morning and we took about half an hour to get on and ride.

Em beat me by 800 points! Lukas beat us both though

When we got off the kids were asleep.

Dad didn’t feel like riding, so me, emily and Lukas went again (SHHHH). The second line took about 20 minutes. I was hungry and close to hangry at this point, so I sent my mom the menus for PizzaRizzo and Backlot Express and told them to pick. They picked BE so while waiting in line I put in our order.

I went with Lukas this time and beat him!

Emily went by herself

And beat us both

Up Next: Lunch

 

[krause]

After our game we walked to BE and I clicked on mobile order that we were there when we were getting close. We were so happy that they made the mobile order work with the dining plan just the day before we left! We found a table and our food was ready! Lukas and Em went to get the food, came back to get Mom (because we needed 3 people to pick up 5 alcoholic beverages) and we enjoyed our food.

I had chicken nuggets and fries and they were amazing as I was sooo hungry. I think Mom and Em had hotdogs and Dad and Lukas had burgers.

The real star of the show was this beauty:

Oh. My. Goodness.

I am not a cupcake person usually, I find them too sweet, but this… this was perfection.

We had a FP+ for Star Tours, so me, Lukas, and Emily went to ride that while Mom and Dad stayed back with the kids (Kinley was still having a stroller nap). The standby was at 60 minutes but we basically walked right on with our FP+. I haven’t ridden this one in years and it was good, but it's the only simulator that made me a bit nauseous (the 10pc chicken nuggets, cupcake, and strawberry daiquiri didn’t help with that I’m sure).

We were back at BE by 12:40 and it was starting to rain. One thing my mom really wanted to do was take Kinley to see the Beauty and the Beast show. So we hoofed it over there, but probably because of the rain it was VERY full. We ended up on the back bleachers, and luckily the rain stopped while we were watching.

At some point Mom and Dad took this photopass with Kinley. She does not look impressed haha.

Up Next: Back to POR

 

[krause]

The boys did want to watch the Super Bowl and this was supposed to be a “relaxing day” so we made our way out of the park.

We grabbed a snack on the way.

It started raining again while we were waiting for the bus. Mousekeeping was cleaning when we got back to our room. Lukas had left the park before we went to watch BatB to try and get some work done. Why work inside when you can work outside??

I promptly passed out on the bed and slept until about 5pm. Apparently while I was sleeping, everyone had gone swimming in the rain.

@AKemily says: Dad lost his MagicBand in the water and looked for it for about 15 minutes with no success. I looked for about a minute and found it (and I have terrible, terrible eyesight so this was really a stroke of luck!). Kinley loved the slide which I thought was actually better than the POFQ slide even if it was less themed. Mom and Malcolm hung out at the bar haha until Malcolm fell asleep in the stroller. If we had one complaint about the POR pool area on Ol’ Man Island it was that the hot tub closed at the same time as the pool (8PM). There were many nights where we would have liked to go for a late night soak.

We were originally planning for some of us to go back to HS in the evening as Emily loves Fantasmic! and I really wanted to see the Star Wars fireworks as I have never seen them. But it continued to rain and we were exhausted so it didn’t happen

We were hungry by this point and pre-game was starting. Me, Lukas, and Emily poncho’d-up and made our way to Riverside Mill to grab some food. We got 4 flatbreads to share and Emily got pasta. Again, being that hungry will make anything taste good, but I did really enjoy the Margharita flatbread. We tried bringing 5 drinks back, but Lukas forgot his ID, so only me and Em could bring 2 each back. Will we ever learn? (Spoiler alert: nope ).

I didn't take any pictures of the food or the game, but did take this one of Kinley watching the iPad and eating chips for supper

Thinking about the next day, we were headed back to AK. We did have a 9:25 FP+ for KS and a Chef Art Smith’s ADR for 12:00. We decided to not do AK in the morning and dropped our FP. I pushed back our ADR to 2:00pm and we decided we’d be able to swim and take it easy in the morning as well as enjoy the boat ride from POR to DS.

We watched some of the Super Bowl and enjoyed being able to see the US commercials. I was in bed by 9pm. I’m told my Dad (who is huge NFL fan) dozed on and off throughout the rest of the game. We were so tired.

But the next day would be a relaxing day, right?

Up Next: Disney Springs & Animal Kingdom

 

[ELeigh]

The boys did want to watch the Super Bowl and this was supposed to be a “relaxing day” so we made our way out of the park.

We grabbed a snack on the way.
View attachment 264394

It started raining again while we were waiting for the bus. Mousekeeping was cleaning when we got back to our room. Lukas had left the park before we went to watch BatB to try and get some work done. Why work inside when you can work outside??
View attachment 264395
I promptly passed out on the bed and slept until about 5pm. Apparently while I was sleeping, everyone had gone swimming in the rain.
View attachment 264397

@AKemily says: Dad lost his MagicBand in the water and looked for it for about 15 minutes with no success. I looked for about a minute and found it (and I have terrible, terrible eyesight so this was really a stroke of luck!). Kinley loved the slide which I thought was actually better than the POFQ slide even if it was less themed. Mom and Malcolm hung out at the bar haha until Malcolm fell asleep in the stroller. If we had one complaint about the POR pool area on Ol’ Man Island it was that the hot tub closed at the same time as the pool (8PM). There were many nights where we would have liked to go for a late night soak.

We were originally planning for some of us to go back to HS in the evening as Emily loves Fantasmic! and I really wanted to see the Star Wars fireworks as I have never seen them. But it continued to rain and we were exhausted so it didn’t happen

We were hungry by this point and pre-game was starting. Me, Lukas, and Emily poncho’d-up and made our way to Riverside Mill to grab some food. We got 4 flatbreads to share and Emily got pasta. Again, being that hungry will make anything taste good, but I did really enjoy the Margharita flatbread. We tried bringing 5 drinks back, but Lukas forgot his ID, so only me and Em could bring 2 each back. Will we ever learn? (Spoiler alert: nope ).

I didn't take any pictures of the food or the game, but did take this one of Kinley watching the iPad and eating chips for supper
View attachment 264396

Thinking about the next day, we were headed back to AK. We did have a 9:25 FP+ for KS and a Chef Art Smith’s ADR for 12:00. We decided to not do AK in the morning and dropped our FP. I pushed back our ADR to 2:00pm and we decided we’d be able to swim and take it easy in the morning as well as enjoy the boat ride from POR to DS.

We watched some of the Super Bowl and enjoyed being able to see the US commercials. I was in bed by 9pm. I’m told my Dad (who is huge NFL fan) dozed on and off throughout the rest of the game. We were so tired.

But the next day would be a relaxing day, right?

Up Next: Disney Springs & Animal Kingdom

My kids ate chips for dinner the day of the super bowl also. I made a huge spread and it was all they would eat lol

 

[krause]

Day 5 - POFQ & Disney Springs & Animal Kingdom February 5, 2018


Kinley was up at 6 as per usual, so Lukas graciously took her to the playground so I could sleep in until 7:15. I packed up the bag and we all went to knock on my parents door at 8:00. They were just finishing getting ready.

We decided to walk to FQ to try out their QS and pool. It was a beautiful walk and not nearly as far as I had expected.

Apparently we all took a ton of pictures on this walk, so please enjoy our amateur iPhone photography:

 

[krause]

We had breakfast at Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory.

I spy Tiana and Naveen...

And Dr. Facilier...

I had a Croissant Breakfast Sandwich and Lukas got the Grilled Steak and Scrambled Eggs and a breakfast beer. Emily got a Mickey Waffle.

I’m not sure what my parents had. My sandwich tasted good but was pretty soggy and Kinley ate all my potato barrels We also tried the beignets (When in Port Orleans…) - yum! They were a delicious treat! I wouldn’t go out of my way to go get them (as I would the Darth Vader cupcake ), but if you’re there anyways then definitely get them!

We were done eating around 9:15am and were waiting for the pool to open at 10. We wandered around Jackson Square Gifts and I bought Kinley a little Minnie tin with mints in it which she called her “Minnie shake” (she didn’t know there were mints in there she just thought it was a shaker toy), and 4 of those little foam keychains.

We rope-dropped the pool opening and Dad, Lukas, and Kinley swam until about 10:45. We pretty well had the place to ourselves. They tried the splash pad the but the water was frigid.

So they went to the big pool and Kinley LOVED that slide. I think it was cold out by Florida standards, but it was perfect for us!

Malcolm enjoyed the sun!

I never noticed in other peoples pictures that King Triton is riding the sea monster or whatever this thing is.

Up Next: Disney Springs and a surprise Celebrity M&G!

 

[krause]

My kids ate chips for dinner the day of the super bowl also. I made a huge spread and it was all they would eat lol

Haha when a kid is quiet and eating nicely you just leave them be!

 

[riverside]

Day 5 - POFQ & Disney Springs & Animal Kingdom February 5, 2018


Kinley was up at 6 as per usual, so Lukas graciously took her to the playground so I could sleep in until 7:15. I packed up the bag and we all went to knock on my parents door at 8:00. They were just finishing getting ready.

We decided to walk to FQ to try out their QS and pool. It was a beautiful walk and not nearly as far as I had expected.

Apparently we all took a ton of pictures on this walk, so please enjoy our amateur iPhone photography:
View attachment 264405
View attachment 264403View attachment 264404
View attachment 264407View attachment 264408View attachment 264409View attachment 264415View attachment 264417

Amateur iPhone photography—bs!! I love your pictures!! I love Riverside so much that when I see pictures in TR’s it takes my breath away!! I hope there’s more to come!!

 

[krause]

Amateur iPhone photography—bs!! I love your pictures!! I love Riverside so much that when I see pictures in TR’s it takes my breath away!! I hope there’s more to come!!

Aw thanks!! It is such a beautiful resort. We also took a pile of pictures on the walk back so there will be more

 

[riverside]

Aw thanks!! It is such a beautiful resort. We also took a pile of pictures on the walk back so there will be more

I can’t wait to see them!!

 

[AKemily]

Yellow line??

DOOR!!!!!






Max

What can I say? I was excited for ride #2 in the super stretch limo! You don't get backstage passes everyday.

Amateur iPhone photography—bs!! I love your pictures!! I love Riverside so much that when I see pictures in TR’s it takes my breath away!! I hope there’s more to come!!

Well thank you! It was a very stunning resort. I would definitely stay there again if I'm ever lucky enough to stay on property again

And beat us both

Ah, sweet success.

We were originally planning for some of us to go back to HS in the evening as Emily loves Fantasmic! and I really wanted to see the Star Wars fireworks as I have never seen them. But it continued to rain and we were exhausted so it didn’t happen

We also tried the beignets (When in Port Orleans…) - yum!

No Fantasmic! and I forgot to eat a beignet!

 

[krause]

We walked back to POR and Kinley fell asleep on the walk.

I couldn’t help but sing “We’re painting the roses red!” when walking past these guys.

We went back to our rooms to change and grab the backpack, and we were on a boat to Disney Springs by 12 (with Kinley still asleep)!

After a peaceful 20 minute boat ride, we made it!

The girls were going shopping while the boys were finding beers!

 

[krause]

We stopped first at the Christmas store. My mom and Emily buy a Christmas ornament for every trip they go on so at Christmas their tree is a mish-mash of memories. I picked up a 2018 castle ornament as well as one of these “hard to find” Minnies.

Mayyybeee not so hard to find anymore.

We made a stop at Mickey’s pantry. I could literally buy everything in this store, but I resisted.

And then to Once Upon a Toy where Emily bought figurine sets for Kinley (Tinkerbell and friends) and our nephew who wasn’t on this trip (Nemo and friends). My mom bought a puzzle as that is also a family tradition.

@AKemily adds: Here I took a quick detour to go to the D-Tech area in the Marketplace Co-op building. I had a mission to find a phone case for my new phone. I knew that Otterbox had made a deal with the Disney Parks and was hoping they would have some that weren’t on the website. Sweet success! They had one WDW themed case and I loved it! It is a clear, sparkly case, with Cinderella Castle on it and Dumbo flying over. So cute. If only I hadn’t… well, we’ll get to that shortly.

We took the plunge and went into the madhouse that is World of Disney. And what a madhouse it was. I picked out the pink Minnie and blue Mickey crocs for the kiddos, as well as a tank top for my nephew. Emily got the rose gold spirit jersey and a Mickey toy for Malcolm.

We went to meet up with my Mom who had gone ahead to the LEGO store. She found a “new arrival” Ninjago set for our cousin who collects, and a Cars and Beauty and the Beast sets for her house. How magical is the screen that shows you what your set will look like!! I could have stood here all day.

We arrived at our ADR a few minutes early but we checked in and waited outside.

@AKemily had a bit of a situation: During our short wait for the table I decided I would put my new phone case on my phone… Only to realize it was for the iPhone 7 Plus instead of iPhone 7! It was WAY too big! How had I not noticed this?? I ran back to the Marketplace Co-op (not exactly a short distance) and made the exchange. I was glad they actually did have one for the iPhone 7. We have learned since that the Disneyland version only has the iPhone 7/8 Plus option. The girl at the counter had never done an exchange before so went to get her manager, who must not do them very often either. They went through the process and had me sign a receipt and I was good to go! Or so we all thought… not long after I sprinted out of the store one of them came running after me saying I had to sign another receipt! *Sigh* back I went to sign another receipt and finally I was free! Me and my sweat raced back to Chef Art Smith’s where my family had been seated. I think I still got there and back in about 15 minutes. Time for a drink.

Up Next: Chef Art Smith's!

 

[krause]

While waiting, one of the chefs just stopped and talked at our table. We told him where we were from and he was trying to remember the name of the Winnipeg CFL and NHL teams and we chatted with him for a while about that. We told him we were impressed that he even knew we had a CFL team! Our NHL team (Winnipeg Jets) is doing very well this year so he should have known that one . He told us he’d send a “treat” by because we were so patient with him.

We were wondering what the treat would be. Turns out it was a WHO not a what!

Chef Art Smith himself!

I knew who he was (Dad and Lukas had no idea), and went ahead and embarrassed myself by yelling out “Hey! You’re the actual guy!!” .

They were actually filming some kind of promo or commercial in the restaurant. They had a table with what looked like the entire menu on it, and Chef Art and friends were sitting there “chatting” and being filmed. It didn’t seem like anyone else in the restaurant recognized Chef Art. At least no one else yelled at him that he’s the “real guy” .

I ordered the deviled eggs for an appetizer as I had heard so many good things about them on here. And yep! You’re all right again - they were yum! Enjoy this picture of the empty dish:

I had a Cucumber Cooler made with gin and it was the best drink I had the whole trip.

So I ordered a second - not good. I told the waitress it wasn’t good, maybe they had made it with vodka instead of gin? She took it back and brought me another one - slightly better but still not as good as the first one. I was very disappointed.

Most of us got Art’s Famous Fried Chicken. It was absolute heaven. And the mashed potatoes were soooo good. They just melted in your mouth.

Lukas had the Florida Grouper which he said was very good.

Dad had the Turkey Meatloaf with Vidalia Ketchup which he also said was very good.

For dessert, me and Em went with the “famous” Hummingbird cake. DELISH. It was huge. I needed more ice cream for a better cake:ice cream ratio but it was soo good.

Lukas had the Shine Cake which he said he didn’t taste any alcohol in at all. Mom had the Pecan Pie which she said was the best thing she has ever eaten. Dad had the chocolate cake which I believe he polished off as well (with Kinley’s help!). Apparently no one got the memo to take a picture. It was all so good, I'm not surprised everyone devoured it before taking pictures for me.

Up Next: Back to the Animal Kingdom

 

[krisri18]

While waiting, one of the chefs just stopped and talked at our table. We told him where we were from and he was trying to remember the name of the Winnipeg CFL and NHL teams and we chatted with him for a while about that. We told him we were impressed that he even knew we had a CFL team! Our NHL team (Winnipeg Jets) is doing very well this year so he should have known that one . He told us he’d send a “treat” by because we were so patient with him.

We were wondering what the treat would be. Turns out it was a WHO not a what!

Chef Art Smith himself!
View attachment 264546

I knew who he was (Dad and Lukas had no idea), and went ahead and embarrassed myself by yelling out “Hey! You’re the actual guy!!” .

They were actually filming some kind of promo or commercial in the restaurant. They had a table with what looked like the entire menu on it, and Chef Art and friends were sitting there “chatting” and being filmed. It didn’t seem like anyone else in the restaurant recognized Chef Art. At least no one else yelled at him that he’s the “real guy” .

I ordered the deviled eggs for an appetizer as I had heard so many good things about them on here. And yep! You’re all right again - they were yum! Enjoy this picture of the empty dish:
View attachment 264548
I had a Cucumber Cooler made with gin and it was the best drink I had the whole trip.
View attachment 264551
So I ordered a second - not good. I told the waitress it wasn’t good, maybe they had made it with vodka instead of gin? She took it back and brought me another one - slightly better but still not as good as the first one. I was very disappointed.

Most of us got Art’s Famous Fried Chicken. It was absolute heaven. And the mashed potatoes were soooo good. They just melted in your mouth.
View attachment 264549

Lukas had the Florida Grouper which he said was very good.
View attachment 264550
Dad had the Turkey Meatloaf with Vidalia Ketchup which he also said was very good.

For dessert, me and Em went with the “famous” Hummingbird cake. DELISH. It was huge. I needed more ice cream for a better cake:ice cream ratio but it was soo good.
View attachment 264552

Lukas had the Shine Cake which he said he didn’t taste any alcohol in at all. Mom had the Pecan Pie which she said was the best thing she has ever eaten. Dad had the chocolate cake which I believe he polished off as well (with Kinley’s help!). Apparently no one got the memo to take a picture. It was all so good, I'm not surprised everyone devoured it before taking pictures for me.

Up Next: Back to the Animal Kingdom

You got to meet Art?! That's amazing!! My Food Network loving son would have lost his mind!

 

[KaelyLovesDisney]

We stopped first at the Christmas store. My mom and Emily buy a Christmas ornament for every trip they go on so at Christmas their tree is a mish-mash of memories. I picked up a 2018 castle ornament as well as one of these “hard to find” Minnies.
View attachment 264542
Mayyybeee not so hard to find anymore.
View attachment 264541
We made a stop at Mickey’s pantry. I could literally buy everything in this store, but I resisted.

And then to Once Upon a Toy where Emily bought figurine sets for Kinley (Tinkerbell and friends) and our nephew who wasn’t on this trip (Nemo and friends). My mom bought a puzzle as that is also a family tradition.

Woah spoiler alert! Now I know all Bennett’s souvenirs!

@AKemily adds: Here I took a quick detour to go to the D-Tech area in the Marketplace Co-op building. I had a mission to find a phone case for my new phone. I knew that Otterbox had made a deal with the Disney Parks and was hoping they would have some that weren’t on the website. Sweet success! They had one WDW themed case and I loved it! It is a clear, sparkly case, with Cinderella Castle on it and Dumbo flying over. So cute. If only I hadn’t… well, we’ll get to that shortly.

We took the plunge and went into the madhouse that is World of Disney. And what a madhouse it was. I picked out the pink Minnie and blue Mickey crocs for the kiddos, as well as a tank top for my nephew. Emily got the rose gold spirit jersey and a Mickey toy for Malcolm.

We went to meet up with my Mom who had gone ahead to the LEGO store. She found a “new arrival” Ninjago set for our cousin who collects, and a Cars and Beauty and the Beast sets for her house. How magical is the screen that shows you what your set will look like!! I could have stood here all day.
View attachment 264545

We arrived at our ADR a few minutes early but we checked in and waited outside.
View attachment 264543
View attachment 264544

@AKemily had a bit of a situation: During our short wait for the table I decided I would put my new phone case on my phone… Only to realize it was for the iPhone 7 Plus instead of iPhone 7! It was WAY too big! How had I not noticed this?? I ran back to the Marketplace Co-op (not exactly a short distance) and made the exchange. I was glad they actually did have one for the iPhone 7. We have learned since that the Disneyland version only has the iPhone 7/8 Plus option. The girl at the counter had never done an exchange before so went to get her manager, who must not do them very often either. They went through the process and had me sign a receipt and I was good to go! Or so we all thought… not long after I sprinted out of the store one of them came running after me saying I had to sign another receipt! *Sigh* back I went to sign another receipt and finally I was free! Me and my sweat raced back to Chef Art Smith’s where my family had been seated. I think I still got there and back in about 15 minutes. Time for a drink.


Up Next: Chef Art Smith's!

 

[krause]

You got to meet Art?! That's amazing!! My Food Network loving son would have lost his mind!

Yeah it was really cool! I had looked him up a bit when we booked the restaurant and have seen him on a few shows but I’m not like a super fan or anything. My mom watches more of those cooking shows so she has seen him more.

It was weird seeing a real “celebrity” (I use that word very loosely) who’s like a real human not a Disney character haha