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]

Out of all the unknowns for a first time at Disney with a baby, and I think food was my biggest concern. We feed him a pretty healthy diet (even though we may not always follow that ourselves) so my plan was to order some basic dishes and just hope that Baby would find the extra flavor a nice bonus, He enjoyed my Chicken Alfredo so much, that I was still hungry after eating what was left for me! (It was okay, nothing to write home about).

J's Shrimp Po' Boy was delicious, however. Crispy on the outside, hot on the inside, and the sauce had a nice kick.

The view from our room was lovely. We couldn't wait to get out there!

We dressed Baby up in his cute Mickey swimming trunks/shirt/hat/water diaper and headed to the pool. I know Mods have pools with slides, but I totally didn't think about the kiddie splash area. It was AWESOME! There was so much going on with water jets spraying everywhere, funnels of water flowing here to there, and the big tub of water that poured down on you every few minutes. We got out just in time. Don't think Baby would appreciate that just yet.

After dabbling in that just a little bit, we moved into dipping our toes in the big pool.

Baby loved going under the giant sea serpent tunnel.

And getting sprinkled by the clamshell.

A hop, skip, and jump and we were back at our room so Baby could take another nap before we explored what was my favorite part about the resort.

Strolling along Sassagoula River.

Beautiful buildings to our left, river to our right, pushing the stroller on an empty walking path as we headed towards Riverside for dinner.

The fun was just beginning!

 

[belledream]

I stayed at Riverside as a kid, but I only remember bits and pieces, so I was excited for a refresh.

The Magnolia Bend mansions looked so bright and stately in the sun!

Me to J: ZOOM IN ON THE FOUNTAIN!

With a nice breeze blowing, we felt very comfortable and casual as we explored the dock area before heading inside.

I love lobbies.

I was getting budget Boardwalk vibes here. Done well!

I kept trying to get J to say SASSAGOULA not SASSALOUGA.

Boatwright's Dining Hall was on deck for dinner. This was obviously a last minute addition once we found out we were staying at Port Orleans. Otherwise, we'd never have a reason to come here.

J got the General Fulton's Prime Rib. It was really juicy. I'm glad he enjoyed because he usually eats so much steak at Disney, but with the baby, we weren't planning on doing many Table Service restaurants this trip.

In true me-fashion, I got the All-You-Care-To-Enjoy Chef's Platter, which consisted of Ribs, Nashville Hot Chicken, Smoked Sausage, Barbecued Beef Brisket with Mashed Potatoes, Macaroni and Cheese, Street Corn, and Green Beans. Winners: Nashville Hot Chicken and Street Corn.

Baby was a little fussy at the beginning of the meal. I think he was still like what'sgoingon?! Luckily, we had the most fun waitress ever. She was such a jokester... it seriously felt like we were at a character buffet or a dinner show. She also gave Baby one of those glowing ice cube, which made him happy. After all, it does glow.

 

[belledream]

An all-you-care-to-enjoy dinner calls for a nice, long walk to make oneself feel semi-comfortable again.

We walked over to Alligator Bayou to check out the pool, which looked awesome. We'd keep it in mind if we wished to pool hop, but the chances we'd make it over for that were slim.

Watermill! This was a familiar sight. It must attract kids, because Baby could not stop staring at it.

Actually, he loves ceiling fans, so I guess he likes spinning things.

It was so comfortable outside. We opted to walk back again instead of taking the boat.

We passed a horse-drawn carriage on the way.

Back in French Quarter territory, we stumbled upon the campfire session and roasted some marshmallows! New parents may know, every little milestone is a big deal. So... Baby's first marshmallow!

We ran around this nice open field for a little bit. Baby was happy.

Mommy was happy too:

As the sun set, we made our way back to our room. Though it was our first day at Walt Disney World, it never truly sinks in until we step foot in the parks.

Tomorrow... Hollywood Studios, here we come!

 

[DisneyGigi]

Following! Great start, that Po’ Boy and Prime Rib look amazing.

 

[krisri18]

I love a good baby's first trip!

 

[belledream]

Following! Great start, that Po’ Boy and Prime Rib look amazing.

Yes indeed! J indeed ate like a king (this day only - lots of burgers and fries on the horizon
)

I love a good baby's first trip! ❤

Yay! Thanks for following along. Hopefully it lives up to the hype. Trip reporting with a baby is challenging.

 

[belledream]

Hollywood Studios seems like an odd choice for Baby's First Park Ever. Of course, in our original plans, we were supposed to go Magic Kingdom first, but there were a few reasons that HS came to be.

1. Today was a Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party day. And while turning in early may always be the wiser choice, I was really holding out hope that we could catch Happily Ever After on our first MK night, whenever that may be.
2. We were unsure of how crowded HS would be due to Galaxy's Edge, and we were interested in seeing that ourselves as well. But we noticed wait times looked pretty low and hadn't seen any indication that the crowds were picking back up after Dorian, so we decided to give HS a shot.
3. In rebuilding the trip, I searched far and wide for another Oga's Cantina reservation, and came across one for Sunday, 9/8. So, that sealed the deal.

Baby woke up around 7am and we fed him his oatmeal sans high chair... on the bed. There might have been a few stains on the sheets from where he face-planted face-full of oatmeal. We checked some wait times as we made our way out and saw that Smuggler's Run only had something like 30 minute waits, and decided to go for it. Now, we wanted to get to the park before 9 when Extra, Extra Magic Hours ended!

Hollywood Studios was the first park J and I went to on our first-ever Disney trip together. It all fits.

Though that was a slightly different MGM Studios back then.

We strolled down Hollywood Boulevard making remarks to Baby about this and that, and then realized that we didn't quite know where we were going. Haven't picked up a park map (for non-souvenir purposes) in a loooong time. We just decided to follow the small crowd.

We've avoided all pictures/videos/reviews, so the anticipation was palpable.

Going through the archway into the tunnel was pretty cool. I felt like we were successfully shielded from the rest of Hollywood Studios and transported to a different world.

Of course, I know nothing about Star Wars, so I had no idea what I was looking at, but I was excited for J. Watching him take it all was wonderful.

Baby was still in what'sgoingon?! mode.

Same, Baby, same.

But I didn't need to be a Star Wars fan to appreciate the thematic touches.

Both big and small.

It was crazy-empty! We freaked out when SW:GE's opening date was announced, and not in a good way. We didn't know if we'd even be able to go to Hollywood Studios, much less Galaxy's Edge. But look at us now!

 

[belledream]

Smuggler's Run was sporting a glorious 30 minute wait, so it was full steam ahead.

J went first. I hung outside with Baby and we ate snacks, people-watched, and huge-spinning-fan watched.

He was in and out so quickly! I barely had time to ask how it was before I went in myself. I had Rider Swap set up, but the CMs sent me down the Single Rider line instead. Blurry cell phone pics incoming:

Apparently the Engineer is least-preferred, but what do I care?

This was the first time I've ridden a ride without J. It was weird. I looked weird.

Turns out someone really wanted to be an Engineer I guess, because this guy insisted he had an Engineer card, so I became a Gunner instead.

I enjoyed the ride, but what I really enjoyed was watching the guy in front of me see his dream come true. He audibly gasped when the doors opened, yelled at his sister to go left/right, and yelled at his mom behind him to SHOOT! Hey, I gotchu, bro.

Outside, J and Baby had encountered some Storm Troopers.

J had expressed that he thought the ride was cool, but that as the Engineer, he thinks he focused too much on button-pushing and that he thought being the Pilot would be the best. Then I realized that since they sent me down Single Rider, we never used my Rider Swap. So I convinced him to go on again and BE PILOT.

He came back out and said there were two people that wanted to be Pilots sooo badly so he let them have it, and he was Gunner this time. I married such a nice guy. (Though he also said they sucked).

 

[belledream]

Baby had been such a good boy while Mommy and Daddy played. So we were ready to finish up our tour of Galaxy's Edge.

We popped into the shop but it was getting crowded. 9am was here.

We walked around a little bit but felt kinda unwieldy with the stroller.

Though everything in here was foreign to me, I did enjoy watching this... thing... for a little bit.

I cancelled our Cantina's reservation since it turns out we didn't really feel the need for it, and I was sure that they would appreciate having the extra capacity. No issues there. The CM just said to leave our reservation as-is in MDE and they would cancel it at the end of the day.

Snapped some pictures on our way out.

We felt very lucky that our experience went so flawlessly. Galaxy's Edge was cool, but I was ready to get back to Disney World as I know it.

 

[belledream]

First order of business for Baby... meet Mickey Mouse!

Never been to Red Carpet Dreams before. We only usually hit Meet & Greets that were a FP+ option. I enjoyed the theme very much.

First up was Minnie in a beautiful white gown, gloves, bow and all. Baby was a little shy, so J held him the entire time while you could just see the gears in his head spinning trying to comprehend this giant stuffed animal. They did a nose kiss, which was so adorable. I brought out the Autograph book (ah, fond memories), and then we bid Minnie goodbye and waited in the next hallway for a few minutes for Mickey. Mickey was Sorcerer Mickey! The next scene brought me to tears. J put Baby down and he waddled slowly to Mickey, then wrapped his arms around Mickey's neck, and rested his head on his shoulder. It was the sweetest thing... one of the best moments of my life. We took a family picture, Mickey and Baby shared one more hug, and told Baby it was time to go. As we walked outside, J and I were both sniffling. Baby also had the smallest of tears in his eyes, but I think it's because we 'took Mickey away from him'.

After such emotions, it was time to eat. J has literally said over and over that his #1 reason for wanting to go to HS this trip was to get the Cuban Sandwich from Backlot Express. He maintains it's one of the best things he ate on this trip. I will say, it was pretty good...

My Southwest Salad with Chicken was okay. Again, it was for Baby... though I did enjoy the vinaigrette dressing.

After lunch, we wandered around Echo Lake, hoping Baby might sleep. He usually takes a morning and afternoon nap, but can definitely skip morning, which he chose to do today.

We went into some shops where we let Baby walk around. He was instantly attracted to a small Toy Story ball. BALL! He says Ball more than Mama or Dada. However, we didn't buy it for him because we wanted to see what else was around over the next few days. I know, mean.

We still had some time to kill before heading to Toy Story Land so we headed to Old Hollywood Studios where we popped into Launch Bay and One Man's Dream. Baby absolutely had a ball walking around One Man's Dream touching the different plaques. He also pressed his face up against the case that had the vintage Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto stuffed animals displayed.

We had reached a fairly empty, quiet Pixar Avenue, so we grabbed one of those fabled Num Num cookies. It didn't seem that impressive at first glance...

...but breaking it open, I was like, "Oh yeahhh, that's the good stuff."

Baby agreed. Eat up, little one! You'll need the sugar to keep you going through an afternoon of Toy Story MANIA!

 

[riverside]

Following along!!
Loved the POR pictures!!

 

[WildcatDen]

Following. Love the pics.

 

[belledream]

Following along!!
Loved the POR pictures!!

Something tells me you're a POR fan.

Following. Love the pics.

Yay! Thanks and welcome aboard.

 

[belledream]

We're probably one of the last people to experience Toy Story Land. But hey, better late than never. While we just missed Buzz...

...we got special attention from Woody on his way out! He stopped and gave Baby a howdy and a high-five.

The above Woody may be a little scary looking, but this Woody scared me when he start talking unexpectedly.

Slinky Dog looked so fun! Was thrilled to have snagged a FP with a week to go.

Baby was initially startled by the noise of the coaster as it came by. But his intrigue surpassed any fear he may have had, and we watched a few of these go by.

Bring on the lack of shade! Baby's got his hat on. And there is his beloved BALL.

Sorry for the super blown out picture, but next up was Alien Swirling Saucers. Did we ever refer to it as Alien Swirling Saucers? No, we did not. Did I think that it would be Baby's First Ride? Certainly not. But the wait times were so low that we thought we might as well give it a shot. We weren't sure that Baby would measure in at 32 inches, and it was close, so the CM said they would measure him again before loading, and she sent us down the FP line even though we didn't have one.

Upon 2nd measurement, we put Baby down next to the stick and he immediately tiptoed and bumped his head on the top of it. The CM was like, "Perfect!" Not sure if she was too busy or what, but J and I got a good chuckle out of Baby's behavior and held onto him tightly on the ride.

He reciprocated, of course.

Not sure what he thought of it, but I don't think he hated it.

I will say, hearing a techno version of 'When She Loved Me' was very interesting.

 

[belledream]

It was hot out, Baby still hadn't napped, and the window to our Slinky Dog FP had opened, so were planning to do a quick swap on Slinky Dog and call it a day, but we saw that Toy Story Mania's wait was posted at 10 minutes. Whaaat?

We looked at Baby and he looked wide-eyed and alert. We decided to give it a quick go. At least we'd be in the AC.

Whenever I see open plugs now, I freak out. This was no exception.

And right as we were standing in this area, Baby's head rested against my shoulder and his eyes started to close. Noooo Baby, what is you doing!? I Mommy-shamed myself as I woke him up as we boarded the ride, but my guilt didn't last long. He was fine. He wore his glasses for a total of 3 seconds, and we had a good time. And of course, once we got back outside, he did not want to sleep. We would recline his stroller and he'd immediately sit right back up. Why doesn't that thing lock?! Chicco Bravo fail!

So instead, we found a spot under one of the many green umbrellas with a nice view of Slinky Dog as it comes down the first hill. J doesn't let me bring the nice camera on rides, so cell phone it is. I enjoyed the ride! Forgot all about the great view of Galaxy's Edge, so that took my breath away. Also loved the up and down section. Those are my fave.

And I got to see J and Baby from the ride, so that was super cute.

After J's turn, we marched out of Toy Story Land to the sound of Army Men.

We did a quick tour of Sunset Boulevard, popping in and out of some shops. I look forward to the day I take Baby on Tower of Terror!

This would be our one and only day at Hollywood Studios, but we were stunned by the amount of things we were able to do and enjoy!

It was a breezy walk back to our bus stop. J went on another rant about Value Resort Haters.

"Look, our Moderate resort has both Port Orleans resorts sharing one bus. AND those at Riverside have FOUR internal bus stops."

"Man, those people who say that they won't stay at Values because of shared buses... look, a bus for Wilderness Lodge... & Contemporary... & oh. Wilderness Lodge."

The guy lives to make me laugh and no actual offense is meant to anybody. Obviously it was mid-afternoon so this is normal, and we really appreciated the small capacity of POFQ which rarely led to crowded buses.

 

[belledream]

Ah... welcome home.

Baby took a nice, long nap in the room while J and I ate Sweet Tarts and argued about what we should do for dinner: Food court or Disney Springs. I was worried we were going too hard for Baby but I could tell J really wanted to go to Disney Springs since we were *right there* and it's been a few years since we've gone. I did not feel like doing a Table Service and a lot of the Quick Service places were burger/fries type that wouldn't be good for Baby. We finally made a decision, however, and when Baby woke, we got ready for Baby's First Boat Ride.

I really loved the scenery transitions!

Cookes of Dublin. Fish 'n' Chips.

See below: (J's)

I got Hog in a Box. This picture is so bad, I am so ashamed. The meat was pretty good, but the stuffing hidden underneath was delicious, and that weird crisp thing was a favorite of Baby's.

However, he was not well-behaved during this meal. We picked up everything we had and took it to a table outside where he immediately calmed down. I don't know if it's because we were outside or if he was sitting in a big person chair instead of a high chair/stroller, but he was much happier.

We enjoyed gazing at the water, but I could tell that we needed to make this visit snappy, so we zipped past the regular stores and devoted our time to the good stuff.

 

[belledream]

First time seeing World of Disney in updated form.

It hurt me.

Outside was getting real comfortable, so we continued plowing through the highlights.

Ah, this is more like it! Love all the action going on up there.

A quick stop into Goofy's Candy Co. where we took funny mirror pics and called it a night. Told ya I'd make it snappy. Back to the boats we go!

It wasn't supposed to be a long day, but it was. I couldn't believe we were in Galaxy's Edge this morning.

Baby handled his parents' crazy like a champ, but I was really invested in making sure he was rested and comfortable tonight.

We got back to the room and took a nice, refreshing bath, and went straight to bed. Tomorrow would be one of the biggest days of our lives: Magic Kingdom!

 

[belledream]

Baby is his mother's son. He surprised us and woke up at 6:30am! Someone was itching to go to the Magic Kingdom...

The early morning It did a number on our camera, that's for sure.

Every morning, Baby and I would stroll down this lovely path to the lobby while J ducked into Floatworks to fill up our bottles with cold water. We'd look into the fountain and wait for Daddy to show up. This morning, a New Orleans Joker guy handed Baby a few coins to toss into the fountain and make a wish.

We held onto them because Baby does not like things being taken away from him, but hoped to come back and make a wish at some point during the trip.

Next thing we knew, we were on our way to the Magic Kingdom. Upon entering, the familiar, cheerful sights and sounds greeted my ears, but I only had eyes for Baby. We took him out of the stroller and walked right down the middle of Main Street, U.S.A. He was fascinated by the Main Street Vehicles!

A pretty empty Main Street and Castle Hub was perfect for him to toddle around. We kept saying, "Look at the castle, Baby!" and he would crane his head up high. I really wonder what's going through his mind.

We walked through the castle, tingling with excitement. We had gotten here so early and had (hopefully) a full day ahead of us.

Made a stop by the Cinderella fountain before Baby's First Magic Kingdom ride.

He was entertained, but not nearly as much as the next ride. Pooh is definitely a really familiar character to him, as it's the theme of his nursery. I loved seeing his little face in the mirror during the Heffalumps and Woozles section.

He was let loose in Hundred Acre Goods where he ran around shrieking with happiness.

My heart. ❤

 

[belledream]

Onward to Storybook Circus, where we took flight on Dumbo, my favorite childhood ride. Baby's arms flailed a few times and the sudden up and down changes... it was adorable. We then lingered by Casey Jr. Splash n Soak Station for a little bit. Baby was still a little shy about venturing around on his own, so we just watched a few kids play around. Watching him gain confidence as the trip went on was really rewarding and validated one of the many reasons this trip was completely worth it.

As we walked onto Journey of the Little Mermaid, we spotted a teenaged girl Disneybounding as Ariel and climb onto the rocks to take a picture by the waterfall. Of course, J was rooting for her to fall in.

Favorite part of the ride:

J was obsessed with trying to take dark ride pictures with the new camera this trip. Hopefully we'll see some improvement...

Next up was one of our most anticipated and favorite rides of the trip... front row, yeah Baby!

Baby sat between us and kept one hand on each of our thighs. His eyes were just so wide. He was taking it all in, and I was one happy mama.