Trip Report Reach out and find your Happily Ever After! *COMPLETED*

A lifetime of dreaming, a year of planning, a hurricane, and a slight MODification left us with one week to plan a whole new trip... so we said Bring. It. On.

Who: Me, J, and 1 year old Baby Boy.
What: Baby's 1st Walt Disney World trip!
When: Original: August 31st-September 7th. Actual: September 7th-September 14th.
Where: Port Orleans French Quarter
Why: 2 years ago, J and I were at WDW... enjoying our time as always, but wishing we had a little one to share it with. Well, now he's here, and he's in for the time of his young life. So without further ado, let the memories begin!

As you might have surmised, Hurricane Dorian threw us for a loop. My Pre-trip Report has the details as it unfolded in real-time, but long story short, we traded a great rate at Pop Century for the next most-affordable option available, which was French Quarter. Peace of mind, only a few days of delay, and a brand new experience for the three of us to share made it totally worth it.

For the most part. I am a big Value resort fan, and in the past, have said that I am not a big fan of Mods because of things like multiple internal bus stops, and that the price jump didn't fit our needs at the time. This time was different, however. The whole trip was. But we did miss the automatic doors that Values have... which J was quick to rag on. This would be a running joke for the entirety of our trip.

After 0 minutes of sleep on the flight, Baby fell asleep on me on the DME ride and we transferred him to the stroller, where he continued to sleep while I checked in and admired the fountain in the lobby. Another bonus!

We stopped by Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory to pick up some food to take to the room for when Baby woke up.

It was nice and quiet, and had a lot of interesting variety of foods to fit in with the New Orleans theme.

Meals in hand, we headed outside to a beautiful view that we would have plenty of time to enjoy over the next week.

Our room location was ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. A few steps down Rue D'Baga, a left onto Neptune's Parade, and BAM! Building 2. First floor.

Room 2147.

Home for the next 7 nights. Cool and pristine. Until we took over, at least.

But, I was informed that "The toilet paper is the same 1-ply quality as Values."

I think we'll be okay.

 

[belledream]

So far, Baby has shown that he's not interested in park naps... so we opted to go to Tomorrowland and take a ride on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority to at least attempt to be relaxed and calm.

Blue Ride has always been one of my favorite rides...

...but now I have even more reason to love it.

Because Baby fell asleep after we came out of the Space Mountain tunnel.

That darkness and AC, I tell ya.

I was a human recliner... with Baby sit-lying on my lap, as comfortable as that can possibly be.

When the CMs saw we had a sleeping baby, they told us we could stay on... and we were A-OK with that! We stayed on for a total of... FIVE rides. My body couldn't take it anymore. We got off and Baby woke up, but we calculated that he got almost an hour nap, AND in one of the best places... good breeze and people-watching... we'll take it!

I was also able to get a Peter Pan FP while we were on the ride so here we gooo! Off to Neverland!

Baby was rested, and therefore super antsy and wanting to walk everywhere. I practically dove into our ship. We needed lunch ASAP.

 

[belledream]

Stroller parking was not something we had to do a lot at Hollywood Studios, but it was a constant at Magic Kingdom.

Luckily, one of our most-frequented spots would be at the Tangled Restrooms so I could jollily bask in the music.

LUNCH! We were all hungry, it was surprisingly crowded. I tried to Mobile Order but the app and phone were not cooperating, so J had to order like a commoner while I wrestled with Baby upstairs. This was the only meltdown we had during the trip, and it wasn't even that bad. He just didn't want to stay still, but I didn't want to leave our table and stuff unattended. But I was embarrassed at the fuss he was making. A nice lady at the next table said she'd watch my stuff for me. I think she understood my struggle.

All was well again when J arrived with the food. I got Grilled Salmon... which Baby really enjoyed. I'm used to being hungry all the time now, so it's just another day in the life.

J got the Trio Platter (Fried Shrimp, Breaded Chicken Nuggets, and Hush Puppies). SHARE!

To Haunted Mansion or not to Haunted Mansion? That is the question. I asked a few people for their opinions on this and I got answers ranging from "Don't do it. Darkness scares babies." to "Babies don't get scared at that age, duh."

We went for it, and *drumroll please*...

He was fine.

Now when he's older and doesn't want to ride, we'll tell him, "Well you went on when you were 1, so what's the problem?"

 

[belledream]

We needed a pick-me-up, and I reminded J that he wanted to try the Peter Pan Float at Storybook Treats, so we got our hands on one. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Lime would not be one of my top choices ever, but it wasn't too intense, and with the Sprite, it just worked. The afternoon heat had arrived, and this was so refreshing.

With it being afternoon now, we started to think about another nap for Baby. I know I said I'd be perfectly willing to go back to the hotel to take naps, but I was just worried we wouldn't be back in time for our dinner reservation. J agreed it wasn't worth it, so we decided to go with Plan B:

Walk to Contemporary where, hopefully, we could find a quiet spot where Baby could take a nap.

Seeing the resort up close just made me so happy. Lots of good memories here, and now we're making more with Baby!

We perused Bay View Gifts where Baby looked around pleasantly in his stroller, giggling and smiling at us.

We decided it was time to take matters into our own hands. We went to one of the lower floors where the convention rooms were, and J started rocking Baby to sleep. Took a little bit, but eventually he fell asleep and we chilled on one of the couches. Even though we weren't 'doing' as much as we would normally do on a Disney vacation, we were still pretty tired ourselves. We traded off closing our eyes for a little bit.

While the area was pretty quiet (for which we were really grateful), some vuvuzela-type noise ended up waking Baby up under an hour. But he seemed recharged and ready to go. Anything is better than nothing! We went outside and it was HOT. We reapplied sunblock and watched all the water action going on for a little bit before deciding it was time to head back to MK.

Via Monorail, of course! Baby was fascinated. It will never get old, Baby.

Cue another rant from J: "Man, if you stay at a monorail resort you have multiple stops too. Hey, want to go to Epcot? You gotta get off at the Transportation and Ticket Center and wait for another monorail!" Yeah, J, but you're staying in a place like this.

Anyways, we'd be home soon.

Dinner was calling and we. were. hyped!

 

[belledream]

Before dinner, we stopped by Magic Kingdom's Baby Care Center. This was the first time we've been in one, as we didn't use the one at Hollywood Studios the day before. I was impressed with how practical it was, yet still cute. The germaphobe in me really appreciated the sheets of paper to cover the changing tables. Explains why I've heard nothing but good things about Baby Care Centers! I don't have any pictures to share, so here is our walk back through MK instead.

I don't have many pictures to share of our dinner at Crystal Palace dinner either, but trust me, it was amazing and everything we had hoped it would be!

The buffet selection was more impressive than I remembered (despite J's sole plate picture consisting of 50% corn dog nuggets) and as a busy mom who was trying to balance feeding both herself and her child healthily yet yummily, this was like heaven. Baby and I devoured something from every meat group, and I indulged in things like chicken wings, deviled eggs, and buffet mac n cheese.

Our character interaction was spectacular. Baby's been pretty quiet so far, but the moment he saw Eeyore (from kind of far away) he pointed and exclaimed one of the loudest AHHHHs! I've ever heard from him. Of course, when Eeyore came up close, he got all shy again. But we got some pictures and an autograph, and up next was Pooh! Our guy! Baby was sporting a Pooh bear shirt and Pooh's 'friend' was dying over how cute their whole exchange was. Baby stared in awe and grabbed Pooh's nose. Baby wasn't that into Piglet, but he absolutely adored Tigger, probably because of how playful Tigger was with him. He stooped down low to Baby's height and engaged in a game of peekaboo, to which Baby cracked the biggest smile of the trip. My heart absolutely melted.

During the Friendship Parade, all the characters marched by our table and Eeyore gave Baby a pat on the head and he craned around in his high chair to see what was going on. It was just such a happy atmosphere!

Desserts were pretty good too. I really enjoyed Rabbit's Garden Chocolate Pudding, bottom right.

It's been a while since we've done a character buffet, and out-of-pocket at that. I asked J if he ate $52 worth of food and he said he did.

After we left, we let Baby walk outside to his stroller. He literally started running and shrieking with laughter. Sugar + seeing your best friends will do that to you. Completely worth every penny.

 

[belledream]

We ventured through Adventureland into Frontierland for the first time today.

While I wish I could say I was perfectly content, I was not. Evening was approaching and so was the question of whether or not we should try to stay to watch Happily Ever After.

Baby seemed to mellow out and quiet down as we strolled around Rivers of America. After all, he woke up at 6:30 and napped for a total of under two hours today. But it was sooo nice and breezy. We had made it this far. We were all full and I had snacks stashed away.

We sat on it some more as we stopped by Liberty Square to get Baby's (our) first souvenir: his silhouette. To match the ones we got on our Disneymoon!

Then we found ourselves in Storybook Circus for another flight on Dumbo, then another cruise on the Blue Ride in a last ditch effort for Baby to take a power nap, which he did not.

Then I realized that the longer we stayed, the more reason we should stay, and that WE WERE GONNA DO IT.

And we were gonna do it right. We found our spot with a little more than an hour to go and parked it. Watched the sun set, 'chatted' with our friendly, foreign fireworks neighbors, and guess what?

Baby was having an absolute ball. He was so content and well-behaved sitting in his stroller, but when we took him out to walk around the walkways which were beginning to be cleared, he started doing the running/shrieking thing again. Up and down Main Street, waving at strangers, just pure happiness.

He and I even walked hand in hand to the Baby Care Center one more time for a change before showtime.

I couldn't believe how lucky we were to have such a pleasant little boy who takes in his surroundings like he was doing. He has our DNA.

 

[belledream]

Happily Ever After means so, so much to us. The first time we saw it, it hit us in the heart that our dreams were going to come true. The road may not be as smooth as we thought it'd be, but that wouldn't make it any less beautiful. And almost exactly two years later, we were standing in the same spot, with the dream squished in between us. He planted a big kiss on my cheek right before the show. I swear, he is my angel. He and J both are.

I watched Baby's face during the fireworks pretty much the whole time. He wasn't scared at all. His eyes were as wide as can be, his mouth slightly gaped, and I could just tell that he recognized the music. The three of us bounced up and down and I was just filled with gratitude that not only did today go so well, but that this was our life. It was the beginning of a new era of Disney for our family.

Our luck didn't stop there. The moment the show ended, J and I looked at each other and were both like, OK that was great, now let's go. We fastened Baby into the stroller and took him for a wild ride as we maneuvered through the crowds and to the buses. Our bus was right there! We were one of the last parties on, and a kind woman gave me her seat. I sat down with Baby on my lap and he fell asleep in a matter on minutes. I carried him off the bus and straight to our room. We were in bed by 10:30. It doesn't get much better than that.

 

[PacNWTigger]

What a wonderful MK day! Thank you for sharing your adventure with us.

 

[belledream]

What a wonderful MK day! Thank you for sharing your adventure with us.

Thanks so much for reading! It’s nice to relive everything.

 

[mf1972]

Happily Ever After means so, so much to us. The first time we saw it, it hit us in the heart that our dreams were going to come true. The road may not be as smooth as we thought it'd be, but that wouldn't make it any less beautiful. And almost exactly two years later, we were standing in the same spot, with the dream squished in between us. He planted a big kiss on my cheek right before the show. I swear, he is my angel. He and J both are.
View attachment 412161
I watched Baby's face during the fireworks pretty much the whole time. He wasn't scared at all. His eyes were as wide as can be, his mouth slightly gaped, and I could just tell that he recognized the music. The three of us bounced up and down and I was just filled with gratitude that not only did today go so well, but that this was our life. It was the beginning of a new era of Disney for our family.
View attachment 412162
Our luck didn't stop there. The moment the show ended, J and I looked at each other and were both like, OK that was great, now let's go. We fastened Baby into the stroller and took him for a wild ride as we maneuvered through the crowds and to the buses. Our bus was right there! We were one of the last parties on, and a kind woman gave me her seat. I sat down with Baby on my lap and he fell asleep in a matter on minutes. I carried him off the bus and straight to our room. We were in bed by 10:30. It doesn't get much better than that.

pretty cool story. sounds like u have a very well behaved little guy there for his 1st trip. my sister & her family are joining us for our trip next month. she’ll be bring my 2 yr old nephew for his 1st disney trip. i hope it’ll go as well as yours is going.

 

[JamboAKL]

Aww! I’m loving your baby’s first trip adventures. It takes me back 17+ years with my son.

 

[belledream]

pretty cool story. sounds like u have a very well behaved little guy there for his 1st trip. my sister & her family are joining us for our trip next month. she’ll be bring my 2 yr old nephew for his 1st disney trip. i hope it’ll go as well as yours is going.

He was such a good boy! He just always needs something going on, and Disney has that for sure. Hope you have a great time on your upcoming trip!

 

[belledream]

Aww! I’m loving your baby’s first trip adventures. It takes me back 17+ years with my son.

Aww thank you! That’s so sweet. I keep hearing they grow so fast... 17 years!

 

[Spash007]

Really enjoying your TR - and it may be getting me into trouble. Our son is now 6 months old, and we are (were?) planning on waiting until he's 2-3 to take him on his first trip. This was when we took his sister for the first time, and it was amazing. But now, I'm reading how amazing your trip was, and am like, maybe we could swing one sooner than that?

 

[belledream]

Really enjoying your TR - and it may be getting me into trouble. Our son is now 6 months old, and we are (were?) planning on waiting until he's 2-3 to take him on his first trip. This was when we took his sister for the first time, and it was amazing. But now, I'm reading how amazing your trip was, and am like, maybe we could swing one sooner than that?

Haha! I do think it was a good age. I can't wait for the 2-3 stage though, and all stages really! I will say, I do think we got really lucky with the crowds/weather, and also that we were both able to devote 10000% of our attention on him. I'm sure 2 little ones would be a lot to handle! But it's hard to say no to more Disney!

 

[belledream]

We were up later than usual, which was to be expected since we had a late night. We rolled into Animal Kingdom just before 10, but luckily I had time this morning to push some of our FPs back. So we weren't in any real rush.

After Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom was the park I was most excited to visit with a baby.

Not only are the animals interesting and ever-changing, but the leisurely pace of an AK day is always appreciated.

We embarked on a Kilimanjaro Safari Ride where the animals were out and about.

I always like seeing the Ankole cattle.

But the highlight was seeing the baby giraffe!

It must have been breakfast time for the elephants today. We saw one spooning water into its mouth with its trunk, which was really cool. And this one was reaching high for some food.

And more baby spottings, this time with a baby elephant! Awww...

Clearly, we arrived at AK too late because the lions were already going to sleep.

Encountered a particularly lively ostrich.

I loved having Baby sit on my lap for this ride and seeing his little finger point at the animals.

 

[Spash007]

Haha! I do think it was a good age. I can't wait for the 2-3 stage though, and all stages really! I will say, I do think we got really lucky with the crowds/weather, and also that we were both able to devote 10000% of our attention on him. I'm sure 2 little ones would be a lot to handle! But it's hard to say no to more Disney!

It's such a tough predicament (that I know is good to have!) I think if it was just him, I would be jumping at the chance more. But the rider swaps with our daughter, and then probably a double stroller (if I hold out one more year I think we can just do 1 stroller), are definitely hang ups. But cute baby faces enjoying the rides and seeing characters.... Decisions Decisions!

 

[belledream]

We said "Kwaherini" and disembarked, letting Baby walk around the misty paths for a little bit before we headed to our next, very-logical destination:

Saw some cute Okapis...

...and a lively turtle.

Outside, we spent some time in the aviary, looking at the colorful birds and fish.

And we were particularly taken by hippo-watching.

Missed these guys on the safari ride!

A walk across the bride, and we came across my personal favorite...

He walked across the fall, grabbed himself a salad-on-a-stick, and enjoyed his meal. Very cool stuff!

I just needed to take a moment to appreciate the beauty of this place.

When I think of AK, I hear pounding waterfalls and it makes me happy.

It was a peaceful morning in Africa. We'd be heading to an entirely different planet next.

 

[belledream]

Interesting sights and sounds greeted us as we entered Pandora.

Never fails to amaze us.

But for now, it was straight to Satu'li Canteen. Not looking to have another pre-lunchtime episode like yesterday! (I don't know why I found the below sight so interesting and worthy of a picture, but I did it anyways. Probably because hungry).

I mobile-ordered on our way here and J wouldn't let me press the I'm Here button until we were physically inside the restaurant. It was busier than I expected, so I took Baby and grabbed a table while J waited for my order. He said the CM asked him, "Are you belledream...?" and he was like, "Yes. Well, no. I mean, that's my wife."

We were so excited for this meal. We LOVED (and I really mean LOVED) Satu'li Canteen during our last trip. We ate there like 3 times. I was always intrigued by the tofu option, but had never gotten it because I need real meat But Baby also likes tofu so that was last push I needed.
Chili-Spiced Crispy Fried Tofu Bowl
Base: Red and Sweet Potato Hash
Sauce: Charred Green Onion Vinaigrette
Soooo good. I loved the crunchy exterior, with the slightest kick.

J went with the Slow-Roasted Sliced Grilled Beef Bowl.
Base: Noodles
Sauce: Creamy Herb Dressing
Seeing as the noodles were along the lines of Lo Mein, I thought the sauce choice was odd, but it's also very on par for J.
And guess what? It was all still sooo good.

When rebuilding our trip with less than a week to go, I had miraculously managed to obtain a Flight of Passage FP. So J finished his meal first and head out to ride while I finished feeding Baby.

When he came back, it was my turn. I was called up for being a Party of 1 and the walk was so long that I felt I needed to jog as to not keep everyone waiting and make things awkward. This was my 3rd time on the ride and every time, I think it makes my jaw drop even further.

 

[belledream]

I exited the ride to Windtraders where I found J and Baby playing with those light-up blue drums. Baby was a fan, but we were not buying that. Sorry Baby. We'll take you on Na'vi River Journey instead.

It turned out to be more fun for him than I thought it'd be. I guess the colors are captivating.

I think we have a little drummer on our hands, because he had a blast banging on the drums outside.

We had one more must-do and that was meeting Mickey and Minnie at Adventurer's Outpost. While waiting, we smelled something funky... hopefully Mickey and Minnie didn't mind. Baby held Mickey's hand and waved to him with a smile. He's learning!

We had only been in the park for about 4 hours, so we hadn't done any of the shows, Conservation Station, or even stepped foot in Asia or Dinoland. But we were okay with that. We actually liked the idea of going back to the resort for a nap and swim. So we decided to head out, following a friend around Discovery Island...

Before Kevin headed backstage, he turned around and bent his neck sideways and made a silly face at Baby. There was a dance party going on, and we were approached by Meeko shortly after. Baby doesn't know who Meeko is yet, but we'll make sure that will change.

We stopped by for a closer look at the Tree of Life. A lady was camping out there saying she was waiting for Winged Encounters, which she thought may happen soon. As much as I want to witness this so, so much, there was no guarantee on the time and we were already committing to going back to the room and didn't want to push things. So we said goodbye to Animal Kingdom. We were keeping the option of coming back towards the end of our trip, but if we didn't, we felt good that we had accomplished all our must-dos today.

We waited a little while for the bus, but Baby was very content while waiting. He stood on my lap and looked out the window the entire ride back. He went down for a nap back at our room, and when he woke up, we put him straight back in the stroller and went to Floatworks, where I ordered us a Shrimp and Grits. It looked great for a QS meal, and it tasted fantastic! Generous amounts of shrimp, very creamy, and hot and flavorful. I was very impressed.

J ordered a Beignet Cheeseburger. I know it's a novelty item, but I could not get on board with the taste. The sweetness was too weird and the pickle was the weirdest tasting pickle ever. All his.

Baby did not want to eat at the food court. He did not want to eat at the tables outside. So we carted our entire moving entourage three times back to our room where he immediately became a little saint again.

He just really wanted to go to the pool. Every time we'd pass by, he'd point to it, and so we promised him we'd go today. The amount of confidence he gained since two days ago was astounding. He didn't want to hold our hand walking around the play area. He wanted to go up on the play house when he wouldn't do it the other day. He loved spinning the beaded balls and sticking his hand in the little cyclone bowl. I was secretly having the time of my life too. Thanks for being you, Baby, and giving me entry to the kid's pool.

We moved onto the big pool where we watched some horse-drawn carriages go by and watched a pretty sunset.

Then back in the room, we showered and watched Disney TV, and went to sleep in preparation for another big day tomorrow.

 

[belledream]

It's such a tough predicament (that I know is good to have!) I think if it was just him, I would be jumping at the chance more. But the rider swaps with our daughter, and then probably a double stroller (if I hold out one more year I think we can just do 1 stroller), are definitely hang ups. But cute baby faces enjoying the rides and seeing characters.... Decisions Decisions!

I can imagine! Whenever we have #2, I may need to come to you for advice!