Trip Report The beginning of something special

I've been reviewing my last 5 years of going to WDW. This is from our first trip as a family. A short Labor Day trip 2013. We flew down from NC to MCO. We were worried because our younger daughter's carseat got lost in luggage. No worries. Rental car spot, or general baggage claim had a room full of extras! My parents drove up from Broward for the trip. We stayed at a condo that is part of their time-share.

We did Downtown Disney our first day. Day two was Magic Kingdom, with an early 3rd birthday lunch at Crystal Palace. We met some friends with their similarly aged kids at either Rainforest Cafe or T-Rex, again back at Downtown Disney. Day 3 was Animal Kingdom where my older daughter got lucky from her Nana and got a wilderness explorer uniform. We did the character lunch at Tusker House. Dinner was at the Boardwalk at ESPN club. I have a vivid memory with my younger daughter in the Boardwalk parking lot, which was more important because of events a few weeks earlier.

Four pictures from the trip. What do they have in common? What keepsake did I get on this trip?

 

[Dave B]

I am confused at to what this post is? Is this a live trip report or your current trip?

 

[winstongator]

I am confused at to what this post is? Is this a live trip report or your current trip?

Old trip Labor Day 2013. First of many trips.

 

[winstongator]

Common theme of the pictures: younger daughter on my shoulders in each. We got a double stroller the first day and she did not like it. She also refused to walk. Dad on the spot with big shoulders for her to ride on. The 30lbs were not kind to me, so my keepsake was some lingering pain in my right knee.

 

[DryerLintFan]

Common theme of the pictures: younger daughter on my shoulders in each. We got a double stroller the first day and she did not like it. She also refused to walk. Dad on the spot with big shoulders for her to ride on. The 30lbs were not kind to me, so my keepsake was some lingering pain in my right knee.

I know that struggle!!

 

[winstongator]

Anyone wonder if character meals are worth getting the ADR and added expense? Here's my answer:

The excitement in my younger daughter's expression is priceless. We did a lunch at Crystal Palace our MK day, and Tusker House our AK day. Looking back, they were both definitely worth it. We've been back to Crystal Palace since then, and my daughters ask about it every time we pass it. Not sure if my younger daughter actually remembers it or if it is looking back at the pictures and talking about it has created this idea. It was also a full-on party of 8 with my parents, my sister and her then boyfriend (now husband). My daughter definitely enjoyed celebrating her birthday at both places too.

 

[winstongator]

Even though it was only 5 years ago, I am surprised at how little of the actual ride experience I remember. I did do some things right:
1. Don't worry about doing everything - you'll be back. If I only knew how many times I'd be back!
2. Enjoy the moments with family. More on this later.
3. Don't push time spent at the parks. We did moderate stays, then went back to our off-site hotel and did dinners at Downtown Disney & Boardwalk.
4. Meet up with friends when possible. I forget the details, but we met up with friends for the Downtown Disney dinner and our kids had a great time with our friends' kids.

I debated letting my wife take the kids without me and meet her parents at WDW. I am so glad I went and we met my parents. I love my in-laws, but they are now doing much better physically than my parents. We've been able to spend a lot of time with them at the parks the last year, while my parents haven't been able to travel since Thanksgiving 2016. I was also a huge part of the trip as I was the one that carried my younger daughter everywhere! That had the potential to cause serious problems - terrible twos. Luckily Daddy could fix it.

At the MK, we did Aladdin's carpets, teacups (my phone background was from that trip for a few years), Dumbo, Ariel, and we met Tiana.

Animal Kingdom was mostly our viewing the animals. I was unsure what to expect from that, but was blown away. The safari was a lot of fun, and my wife got some awesome pictures.

 

[winstongator]

Overall it was a great trip, even without any of the tier-1 rides I remembered from my childhood - Space and Big Thunder Mountain, or the ones my older daughter would favorite: Everest, Splash Mountain. I don't even remember if we used fast passes or not. I went back and checked the touringplans.com crowds from those days and it was a 2/10 for the MK day and 1/10 at AK. I wouldn't see another day with crowds that low until the Thursday before Hurricane Matthew hit. The next 18 months brought a Thanksgiving trip to Orlando for my sister's wedding, 4 days at the parks, moving to Florida, and becoming annual pass holders.