Trip Report We were on a (Disney) Break...

Helloo Everyone!

As our trip report title suggests after our last trip report in Sep 2022 we were most definitely NOT going to be visiting WDW for the foreseeable future.

We were determined!

And we failed

We lasted until June when we used some disney maths to figure it would be 'cheaper' for us to return to disney this year rather than a 2024 trip. I'm not going to lie to you, i dont remember the math and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't stand up to scrutiny but who cares! We had our next magical trip booked and we were the happiest people in the world.

If you've read one of our trip reports before welcome back! We can't wait to share our time with you all

If you are new here we are Tash, Adam and our toddler Tobias.

Tobias was 2 and a quarter years old at the time of the trip (yes hes a big boy!)

The time of the trip was 2 weeks from the 30th of September. We LOVE spooky season at disney although travelling with a toddler (and no babysitters) prevented us from doing all of the night time spooky events we would usually do.

Also yes it's taken us this long to have some free time to write our trip report. The tail end of 2023 was full of sickness in our house and we're finally on the up!

The aim of the trip was just to enjoy disney from a chilled perspective and go with the flow. We've learnt that trips to disney with a toddler go by their schedule and you best be prepared for all your plans to change last minute.

Our home from home this trip was Port Orleans French Quarter. It holds a special place in our hearts in that its the hotel we stayed in for our wedding in disney in 2019. We couldn't wait to return as a family of three and enjoy everything the hotel had to offer.

So sit back and enjoy our trip (keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times). We hope you enjoy it as much as we will reliving it!

 

[mpaulam]

Looking forward to Fantasmic in January!!

 

[Spash007]

What a rat and unexpected way to end the night! I feel like those are some of the best memories

 

[Tashifer90]

It sounds like you all had a fun evening! We really enjoyed the new Fantasmic show too!

Wow, what a great day packed full of fun!! The pictures are just priceless

Agree, your pics are priceless, you tell your tale so endearingly and your sweet family is such fun to follow, thank you for sharing.

Ahhh thank you so much guys! This was definitely a day we just 'went with it' and it definitely paid off! So glad you all enjoyed it

 

[Tashifer90]

What a rat and unexpected way to end the night! I feel like those are some of the best memories

Most definitely! The unexpected joys are the best!

 

[Tashifer90]

Monday 09th October

Naturally we had a slow morning due to our late night, unfortunately this meant we missed a virtual queue for guardians as we woke at 07:15! But we did manage to grab a LL for Frozen so we had a slow wake up and quick bath for Tobias then a steady drive to Denny's to fill our stomachs for the day!

Of course Tobias had the pancakes. (The mini slam) in hindsight because Tashas food came with 2 full pancakes, we could have easily just let him have one of those and he would have been done!

Tasha had the lumberjack slam. Additional pancakes in the bottom of the picture

and i had a the Santa Fe skillet! This was the super tasty it had Chorizo Sausage, Fire Roasted Bell Pepper & Onions, Mushrooms & Seasoned Red Skinned Potatoes. Topped With Cheddar Cheese & Eggs.

Definitely a good way to start the day!

Whilst we had some spare time before our LL in Epcot we decided to get some shopping done at the Vineland outlets. We managed to grab some decent jeans and sketchers before Tobias started to get grumpy. There was a huge queue outside the character warehouse so Tasha decided to get in line to see what the fuss was. Unfortunately, it was nothing but disappointment inside! I feel like our last few visits to the character warehouse have been fairly disappointing since Tasha's great Mickey ear haul of 2019!

Tobias was getting bored of shopping and then decided to fall asleep on the way back to the resort so we quickly dumped him in the room and Tasha relaxed with him whilst i had a wander round Port Orleans.

And it also looked like the gift shop had been restocked so i grabbed a tin of this tasty blend!

I do like the cafe du monde coffee, however when we actually went to new Orleans in 2019 we actually preferred the beignets from cafe beignet

After Tobias woke up, we did a bit of swimming ( i did my best manatee impression in the pool as i had just eaten three beignets whilst he was sleeping)

We headed to Epcot for the afternoon for our LL at 4pm! We also had a dining reservation at Via Napoli to look forward to.

nicely timed epcot arrival photo!

Tobias enjoyed his time on frozen for sure, he loved all the singing from Elsa, however not 100% sure he was a huge fan of the drops. But at least he didn't cry haha!

He was, however, a fan of the gift shop

Surprisingly skilled with an axe in his hands

After Frozen ever after we took a slow walk over to Via napoli for our reservation. We waited 45 minutes for our table despite already having a reservation. Eventually it transpires we weren't on the system despite checking in. At one point i spoke to one of the CM's at the front desk and he printed off our ticket and said 'ok' began to walk inside the restaurant so we followed, then was told to go back to the reception area and he would send someone to bring us in. Then we waited another 15 minutes...

Eventually we got sat down and ordered ourselves one of the half a metre pizzas, which tasted absolutely fantastic.

Tobias's pasta... did not arrive until a good 25 minutes after ours had arrived... We wouldn't have minded if he could have had some of our pizza, however he is lactose intolerant so he couldn't join in without some dire consquences. Keeping a hangry toddler entertained whilst you eat tasty looking pizza before it goes cold is no joke.

When Tobias food finally arrived he thoroughly enjoyed every bite so I guess all was not lost. I do say though, our server Giuliana was brilliant at hunting down our food. We could see her frequently checking our table and going to and from the kitchen to see if Tobias's food was done and she did come over on a couple of occasions to apologize. I'm not sure what was going on with the kitchen during this visit. Its made us hesitant to want to come back in the future.

We were firmly defeated by the shear quantity of ppizza we ordered. I think the 50cm pizza is probably best for 3 hungry people.

I know... two slices, but we literally couldn't move!

After this we headed over to Moana for our Virtual queue (We managed to snaffle one whilst Tobias was sleeping) to see it all lit up at night!

To be continued...

 

[Tashifer90]

Monday 09th October - Continued

Unfortunately the waterworks weren't working tonight, but the lights were on so it still looked very nice despite being down. Luckily we were the last people allowed to enter!

The only bad thing was you could see the grate in the bottom of the pool. Otherwise it looked great!

After walking through we thought we might be able to quickly grab a sneaky single rider go on test track before we left, however test track was closed as well. (We really weren't having the best luck with ride closures this holiday!)

Instead we had a quick peruse through the gift shop, i was tempted to treat myself to the starlord mask, however seeing how far back my hair line went in comparison to the mask i decided against it...

We had a slow walk out the park and back to the resort but got some quick photos in front of the epcot ball. Tobias still hasn't figured out to look at the camera

Not going to lie, there are about 15 photos like this one above and this was the best one of the lot!

We thought we'd let him have a quick run round the park at the resort once we got back, but apparently our ride closure curse had affected that too! Another child had managed to leave some 'skid marks' down the slide and would you like to know why we know this? because Tobias slid down and we only realised mid slide much to our terror! I managed to grab him before he got to the bottom of the slide but unfortunately the damage was done

We took him straight back to the room for a bath then let him come back to the park (After it had been cleaned) as we felt bad he hadn't managed to have a proper run around.

Tobias rocking his jammies for the park ( we weren't going to ruin another outfit if we could help it!)

Afterwards we headed back to the room and we were asleep for 10 pm!

 

[Spash007]

Most definitely! The unexpected joys are the best!

Not sure what I meant by “rat” but I think great? Definitely a positive word and not rat hahaha

But for the slide marks… definitely rat. That is just gross and glad you caught it when you did!

 

[k8einwdw]

Another child had managed to leave some 'skid marks' down the slide and would you like to know why we know this? because Tobias slid down and we only realised mid slide much to our terror! I managed to grab him before he got to the bottom of the slide but unfortunately the damage was done

 

[Minnie1986]

Sunday 1st October 2023

I went to pick up the order from Sassagoulas whilst Tasha and Tobias were watching Bluey.

View attachment 771948
Tasha and Tobias shared a pepperoni pizza and i got myself the Pollo Guisado it was a limited time menu item for hispanic and latin american heritage month, it consisted of Braised chicken, carrots, olives, jasmine rice, sweet plantains, and fried garlic cilantro. It. Tasted. Amazing...

You may also see i got some beignets... Be rude not to right?

Although i forgot to get cutlery so we were using Tobias's fork tonight!

View attachment 771952
Those plantains were so tasty!!

...and these two were loving their pizza!
View attachment 771953

He tried his best... But was ultimately defeated...
View attachment 771954

Then it was bath and bed!

But not before someone danced around the room with his mardi gras beads!
View attachment 771955

We flopped in bed around 9/10 pm ready for another fun day tomorrow!

I will never get tired of seeing his beautiful smile

 

[lindawdw]

Even with a dining reservation, we find there is almost always a long wait for our table at Via Napoli. We do usually enjoy our meal which is why we return each trip. The whole slide story was pretty gross but I'm happy that Tobias was able to return for some "fun" time after his bath.

 

[Tashifer90]

Not sure what I meant by “rat” but I think great? Definitely a positive word and not rat hahaha

But for the slide marks… definitely rat. That is just gross and glad you caught it when you did!

Even with a dining reservation, we find there is almost always a long wait for our table at Via Napoli. We do usually enjoy our meal which is why we return each trip. The whole slide story was pretty gross but I'm happy that Tobias was able to return for some "fun" time after his bath.

This part of the trip report was a PSA... Check the slide before you ride

But also agree with you Lindawdw! The food at Via Napoli is always so good that's why it's so hard not to go even when the service does seem to struggle at times!

 

[Tashifer90]

I will never get tired of seeing his beautiful smile

It's his secret weapon! It's how he gets away with everything! haha!

 

[Tashifer90]

Tuesday 10th October

We were going to have a slow morning but as we were getting ready we found ourselves thinking we could potentially get early entry to Hollywood studios.

We managed to just get through the gates at 0829 right before they let everyone in, so we speed walked down Hollywood Boulevard and made a bee line for MMRR! It was a 20 minute wait in standby so we thought we would tough it out with Tobias and keep him entertained and hope that it was an over estimate.

Unfortunately the actual wait was 21.50 so pretty much bang on the money lol.

Someone was very eager to get on the ride.

Followed by a somewhat blurry initial ride photo!

We then pootled on over to toy story land, i finally got my first coffee off the holiday! (Amazed i lasted this long)

It was a latte with cookie butter and dulce de leche, topped with whipped cream, sprinkles and animal crackers. Yum!

We sat here a while and had a mini breakfast. So got Tobias the ham and cheese croissant

and Tasha of course got the giant doughnut...

Tobias decided it wasn't time to share... This time...

After walking through toy story land we paid for the LL for rise and did rider swap. We really enjoy this ride it's such a fun immersive ride and can't wait to take Tobias on it when he's tall enough.

Tasha got on first and i attempted to do some bounty hunting around star wars land with my own Grogu... It unfortunately did not go as planned haha!

Someone enjoyed being a pilot!

Whilst i went on Rise Tasha took Tobias to the frozen sing a long experience. It was actually a resounding success and Tobias absolutely loved it.

I then caught up to them found the pram and waited outside whilst i had a lovely chat with a guy from Texas.

We thought we would try our luck on Lightning Mcqueens racing academy again. So we all headed over and waited... and waited... then waited some more...

Then the medical crew arrived and headed inside! So we gave it 5 minutes and was about to leave when they opened the doors and we all headed inside.

Didn't see any sign of the ill person as we went in so fingers crossed they were ok!

Tobias loved the racing academy and did really well sitting throughout the entire show.

It was then nap time! So we made our way back to our room for Tobias to have a nap. Tasha wasn't feeling super great either and so she decided to have a nap with him.

To be continued...

 

[Tashifer90]

Tuesday 10th October - Continued

After Tobias's nap we got up and went swimming and had some fun at the splash pad!

As Tobias was clearly ready and rearing to go...

The splash pad felt strangely chilly today, not sure we were getting as much rays as normal, but it didn't stop Tobias from having a good time anyways.

Then we had our dining reservation at Whispering Canyon!

Big fan of the waterfall!

I just love how grand it looks too!

It was time to be seated! These two kept themselves entertained with coloring and spinners!

Whilst i kept myself busy with this rather large coke...

Courtesy of our waitress Akira, who was absolutely hilarious and completely loved Tobias.

Unfortunately Tobias only had eyes for the cornbread

Our skillet was also delcious!

Also the mash potatoes here are low key an amazing highlight of the dish! They were super tasty!

Tobias enjoyed eating copious amounts of Corn.

After stuffing ourselves silly we had a wander around the lobby although Tobias decided to run off down the ramp towards the swimming pool. Lucky we did hang around the resort however as Tasha heard a 'TOBIAS'S MOM! TOBIAS'S MOM! YOU LEFT HIS WATER BOTTLE!!' bellowed across the entire lobby She made Tasha promise she would give it back to Tobias before we left haha!

We then waddled back to the resort and let Tobias burn off some energy at the (Now very much clean) park.

We all them collapsed in bed for around 10pm!

 

[lindawdw]

We finally ate at WCC for the first time in May after many years of going to WDW and we loved it!!! I can't wait to go back again on a future trip!