Walt Disney World
Some of you may recall that last year Dan won the Community Impact award at his work for his service hours as a Scout Master. With the prize came an invitation to the Annual Partners Meeting. Because it was so close to my due date last year, they offered that we could come this year and we did! I had a lot of people call us crazy for bringing our (almost) 1 year old to Walt Disney World. "Don't waste your money" "He won't remember it" "It's not worth it" and let me tell you right now THEY WERE ALL WRONG. Granted I probably wouldn't have planned this trip on our own but we were invited so we went and had THE BEST time!
TL;WR Highlights
(too long, won't read)
+ We had the BEST time at Disney!
+ Flight there was rough, flight back was great
+ Brooks loved the rides and did awesome sleeping in the stroller and new places
+ We loved swimming, it was HOT
+ Brooks made A LOT of friends and would smile and clap often
+ He also learned how to mimic people to make them laugh
+ He was so sweet with the characters!
Sunday
We went to church, came home then were on our way to the airport! Although I was super prepared to fly with Brooks it started off kind of rough. Brooks was tired but the plane got so HOT until we took off. He was drenched, I was drenched and we wrestled for a bit until he finally passed out. We took a shuttle to the hotel where we were staying for the night and it had the perfect little front room to put Brooks in. We put him to bed then ordered room service because we were starving! It was almost like a mini date of pizza and onion rings.
Monday
We ate breakfast at the hotel, cleaned everyone up for the day (does anyone else feel gross after they fly?) then got on our Disney bus to the resort. Our course Brooks fell asleep 15 minutes before we got there but at least he got a power nap in. We stayed at the Yacht Club Resort where the conference was being held for the first 4 nights and it was beautiful! The room was gorgeous. We dropped off some things in the room then went to explore. We walked down the boardwalk at got lunch at ESPN Club, walked around the resort and saw the awesome pools then went back to the room to have Brooks take a good nap.
After he woke up it was swimming time! Their pool was so fantastic! Three different pools with different depths, some with sand bottoms, a lazy river and the kids pool had a sand bar and beach front for them to play in. Seeing Brooks discover sand was hilarious. Thankfully he didn't try to eat it. He was splashing, picking it up, dropping it, wiggling his toes in it, putting his face in the water and giggling. They have a cool water slide that Dan and I went down a couple of times too.
After swimming we all showered and got ready for dinner. Dan was going to a dinner with the partners and Brooks and I had a little date at an Italian place on the boardwalk. Brooks and I had a perfect little corner table. Everything was going pretty good until people were seated at the table next to us. Brooks recently has started mimicking us or making weird noises to make Dan and I laugh. As soon as he saw all these people next to us, he saw an audience. He was squealing, happy screaming and making weird noises to try to make these people laugh. However the vibe I got from them is that they laughed to be nice but didn't enjoy it. By the way they were dressed and the conversations they were having they seemed to be... "above" baby games. AWKWARD. The service was a bit slow and I was just trying to get out.
Since Dan was going to be gone for the evening I decided I needed a GIANT oreo cupcake from the bakery on the walk back so I could have a treat after I put Brooks to bed. Definitely a good choice. The walk bad was so pretty. The sun was setting, you could hear the boats honking and the boardwalk lights slowly turning on. When we got back to our room I wanted to make sure Brooks had ALL his energy out so we played and I chased him around. He slept in the pack n play on the other side of the room but still... it's only a hotel sized room. Thankfully he slept really well and went to bed without a fuss that night.
While we had dinner Dan was at Epcot which is walking distance from the resort. They were all given a park ticket and a gift card for the Food and Wine Festival for dinner. Then they all met at France for dessert and a great view of the fireworks. He said he was a great time and even rode some rides. All while I was eating my giant cupcake in the bathroom because I needed light and B was sleeping. Basically an awesome night!
Tuesday: Magic Kingdom
I was kind of nervous for Tuesday because Brooks and I would be going to MK by ourselves while Dan went to the partner meetings and would meet up with us in the afternoon. I'm still learning how to mom everyday as my child changes and grows older, so I didn't know what to expect taking him to Magic Kingdom all by myself. Overall I think we rocked it! I encountered many helpful people as I got on and off the transport buses, helping me with my stoller etc.
Walking into the Magic Kingdom brought back so many memories of being there and at Disneyland as a kid. We got there at the perfect time so see them open the park and headed to our first ride. I think the best advice I got before the trip was to make sure I had something to keep valuables on me so I could quickly and easily park the stroller, grab Brooks and get in line. We used a small Camelsback backpack for phones, wallets etc so I could easily park the stroller and go!
Brooks and I rode Peter Pan's Flight and Winnie the Pooh first thing. Although he looked wide eyed and mouth open the whole time, probably confused, I think he enjoyed it! Watching him look at everything and discover something new was so fun. We then had a brunch date at the very popular Be Our Guest. We weren't super hungry so I ordered a treat and got a croissant doughnut. It was divine! We even scored a table in the ballroom and it was so dreamy! Definitely a high light for me that day.
We rode Ariel's Grotto and after that B immediately passed out in the stroller. I put his fan on him, found a shady spot to hang and enjoyed the downtime. After he woke up and had a snack we went to Dumbo. I think this was one of my favorites because they have an indoor (hello AC) circus themed play place before the ride and Brooks LOVED it. I was definitely on the look out for places I could let him run around so he wasn't in the stroller all day.
We rode the Tea Cups and the Carousel then were lucky enough to meet up with Dan! We rode Small World, Dan took Brooks on Peter Pan again then grabbed some food. While Brooks napped I went to Enchanted Tales with Belle, Dan rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Philharmagic, then we watched a parade on our way out. We came back to the resort to get cleaned up from the day (talk about SWEAT).
That night was the actual award dinner for this years Community Impact winner but Dan also got to attend and they recognized him as well. Brooks and I went on another dinner date to the restaurant at our resort. As soon as I walked in I felt like maybe it wasn't a place you take your baby? It wasn't super fancy and some other people had kids there but I still felt out of place. Thankfully Brooks was very well behaved. We had a good dinner and I tried to get in and out fairly quickly... just in case. After dinner we walked around the boardwalk, shared a popsicle then went to bed.
Walking into the Magic Kingdom brought back so many memories of being there and at Disneyland as a kid. We got there at the perfect time so see them open the park and headed to our first ride. I think the best advice I got before the trip was to make sure I had something to keep valuables on me so I could quickly and easily park the stroller, grab Brooks and get in line. We used a small Camelsback backpack for phones, wallets etc so I could easily park the stroller and go!
Brooks and I rode Peter Pan's Flight and Winnie the Pooh first thing. Although he looked wide eyed and mouth open the whole time, probably confused, I think he enjoyed it! Watching him look at everything and discover something new was so fun. We then had a brunch date at the very popular Be Our Guest. We weren't super hungry so I ordered a treat and got a croissant doughnut. It was divine! We even scored a table in the ballroom and it was so dreamy! Definitely a high light for me that day.
We rode Ariel's Grotto and after that B immediately passed out in the stroller. I put his fan on him, found a shady spot to hang and enjoyed the downtime. After he woke up and had a snack we went to Dumbo. I think this was one of my favorites because they have an indoor (hello AC) circus themed play place before the ride and Brooks LOVED it. I was definitely on the look out for places I could let him run around so he wasn't in the stroller all day.
We rode the Tea Cups and the Carousel then were lucky enough to meet up with Dan! We rode Small World, Dan took Brooks on Peter Pan again then grabbed some food. While Brooks napped I went to Enchanted Tales with Belle, Dan rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Philharmagic, then we watched a parade on our way out. We came back to the resort to get cleaned up from the day (talk about SWEAT).
That night was the actual award dinner for this years Community Impact winner but Dan also got to attend and they recognized him as well. Brooks and I went on another dinner date to the restaurant at our resort. As soon as I walked in I felt like maybe it wasn't a place you take your baby? It wasn't super fancy and some other people had kids there but I still felt out of place. Thankfully Brooks was very well behaved. We had a good dinner and I tried to get in and out fairly quickly... just in case. After dinner we walked around the boardwalk, shared a popsicle then went to bed.
Wednesday: Epcot
Although we don't have a little girl our first stop when Epcot opened was Frozen. That was everyone elses' plan too! Thankfully it moved pretty quickly and I loved it. We rode Nemo, saw Turtle Talk with Crush and then let Brooks fall asleep in his stroller. Dan and I traded turns on the Test Track, did the same with Soarin' then had some lunch. We rode The Land, explored some exhibits, rode Spaceship Earth then explored the World Showcase.
Epcot is connected to our resort so we walked back, went swimming ate dinner at the pool. Eating at the pool was awesome because there are ducks trying to mooch your food but Brooks thought they were hilarious! He would chase them and squeal at them. Made dinner super entertaining. We cleaned up then walked to the super cute diner at our resort. We grabbed some ice cream and walked back to Epcot for the fireworks. Brooks of course fell asleep and slept through the whole thing!!
Although we don't have a little girl our first stop when Epcot opened was Frozen. That was everyone elses' plan too! Thankfully it moved pretty quickly and I loved it. We rode Nemo, saw Turtle Talk with Crush and then let Brooks fall asleep in his stroller. Dan and I traded turns on the Test Track, did the same with Soarin' then had some lunch. We rode The Land, explored some exhibits, rode Spaceship Earth then explored the World Showcase.
Epcot is connected to our resort so we walked back, went swimming ate dinner at the pool. Eating at the pool was awesome because there are ducks trying to mooch your food but Brooks thought they were hilarious! He would chase them and squeal at them. Made dinner super entertaining. We cleaned up then walked to the super cute diner at our resort. We grabbed some ice cream and walked back to Epcot for the fireworks. Brooks of course fell asleep and slept through the whole thing!!
Thursday: Magic Kingdom Take 2
Because Dan was with us only for the afternoon the first day we went to Magic Kingdom, we planned to do all the rollercoasters this day so we could switch off and do rider swap. We went to 7 Dwarfs Mine Train first (like everyone else in the world) and while Dan rode, Brooks and I did Pooh and Tea Cups again. I wanted to go play in Dumbo but the line was long. We used our fast passes on Space Mountain, one of my favorites then while Brooks napped we rode the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We had Mexican for lunch at Pecos Bill then rode the River Cruise, Aladdin, Pirates and got some delicious dole whip! We wanted do let Brooks run around and Dumbo still had a long line so we let him run around the splash pad and get soaked. We rode the Tea Cups again then I rode the Mine Train while Brooks napped. When he woke up we did the Haunted Mansion.
We shopped for souvenirs and bought some treats before heading back to the resort. We of course went swimming and had dinner at the pool. We got Brooks ready for bed and let him sleep in the stroller so we could go to the creamery on the boardwalk- so good! The resort was having a movie night so we watched Moana on the grass until it woke Brooks up and he was not having it. We went back to the room, put him to bed then packed up because for the last night we were staying at a different resort.
Because Dan was with us only for the afternoon the first day we went to Magic Kingdom, we planned to do all the rollercoasters this day so we could switch off and do rider swap. We went to 7 Dwarfs Mine Train first (like everyone else in the world) and while Dan rode, Brooks and I did Pooh and Tea Cups again. I wanted to go play in Dumbo but the line was long. We used our fast passes on Space Mountain, one of my favorites then while Brooks napped we rode the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We had Mexican for lunch at Pecos Bill then rode the River Cruise, Aladdin, Pirates and got some delicious dole whip! We wanted do let Brooks run around and Dumbo still had a long line so we let him run around the splash pad and get soaked. We rode the Tea Cups again then I rode the Mine Train while Brooks napped. When he woke up we did the Haunted Mansion.
We shopped for souvenirs and bought some treats before heading back to the resort. We of course went swimming and had dinner at the pool. We got Brooks ready for bed and let him sleep in the stroller so we could go to the creamery on the boardwalk- so good! The resort was having a movie night so we watched Moana on the grass until it woke Brooks up and he was not having it. We went back to the room, put him to bed then packed up because for the last night we were staying at a different resort.
Friday: Animal Kingdom
We gave our luggage to the front desk who would transfer it to our new place then went to Animal Kingdom for the day. First stop was Kilimanjaro Safari and boy was it cool! We saw a lot of animals pretty close and B loved it! We walked the Gorilla Falls trails and saw all sorts of animals and it put Brooks to sleep! We shopped a bit while he napped then waited for the next Lion King show. That's when Dan realized he had left our car keys in our room which we had already checked out of. Oops! We called the resort and they said he could come get them phew!
We watched the Lion King show which was song, dance and acrobats. I thought it was awesome and hoped it would keep B entertained. It did for maybe 15 minutes? We wrestled with him for the rest of the show, I think he just wanted to be out there dancing too. We then headed to our character lunch at the Tusker House in Africa. I wasn't sure about booking a character meal because I wasn't sure if Brooks would like it or be scared. Plus he's still pretty young, he might just be confused. However I couldn't have been more wrong- he loved it! He giggled and laughed, gave kisses and was so obsessed with their noses. The characters were so sweet to him and spent a good amount of time interacting with him. We saw Goofy, Donald and Daisy twice then Mickey once. The food was African influence and delicious! I loved everything about that lunch! In the bathroom and on my way out I had people come and tell me they loved watching Brooks interact with the characters and how sweet it was to watch.
After lunch we rode Rafiki's Train to a petting zoo. B loved the goats and would squeal and talk to them. He doesn't quite understand how to be soft but he did pretty good. Brooks fell asleep so Dan and I switched off riding Everest. We both rode it twice with fast passes and using the single rider line. It was easily our favorite roller coaster of all the parks. So fun!
Next we headed over to Pandora which is the newest exhibit and wow was it pretty! They have two new rides- Flight of Passage and Navi River. You can only get a fastpass for one so I chose Navi River because Brooks could go on it too. However Flight of Passage looked amazing! A special seat with 3D views so it feel like you're riding a banshee. From what I've heard it's amazing but most of the time it was over a 2 hour wait. I made my peace with not going on it before we came.
We headed over to Dino Land and it started to rain. I was prepared for this because I know Florida weather is unpredictable and was surprised it hadn't rained on us yet. Stroller cover and ponchos and we were good. B and I found some cover while Dan went to ride and outdoor roller coaster ha! When it lightened up we rode a dino ride with Brooks and let him play in the rain. Dan left to go retrieve the keys (which took an hour because the resort couldn't find them, luckily they finally did) so Brooks and I found some final souvenirs then went to the dino playground. It was outside but thankfully the rain cooled it down and Brooks had such a fun time! We stayed there as long as we could before he got hungry.
As we walked through the park they had live music. Brooks was waving his hands, clapping and smiling. People walking by were pointing, smiling and watching him it was so cute. During dinner B was way more interested with the birds than dinner but then found a friend across the eatery and stared him down with smiles. He even gave him the eyebrows too! They loved it.
Dan finally found his way back to us, keys in hand yay! I grabbed my last dole whip and we made our way to our new resort Port Orleans French Quarter. By the name you can tell it was New Orleans and Mardi Gras themed. We got B ready for bed then once again, put him in the stroller because Dan and I were starving plus we were waiting for housekeeping to bring a pack n play. B had dinner eariler but we were still full from lunch at the time. We walked down to the resorts marketplace called Sassagoula where I tried a shrimp po boy and beignets. Yum!
Saturday: Disney Springs
Our last day! I woke up kind of sad but kind of ready to sleep in our own beds. B did better than I expected but the last night was the night he had the hardest time sleeping. He woke up twice and I'd just give him his binky, which I'd NEVER do at home, but because we were sharing walls with other people I didn't want to let him fuss. Because of all this and the week we had, we were tired! Thankfully we planned to take it easy this day.
We had breakfast and went to the playground to let Brooks run around. He was more interested in the trash cans than anything else... kids! We let him get a good nap in the room then went swimming. This resort had a super fun splash pad for kids with all sorts of cool things. However for some reason Brooks was so unhappy and didn't want to swim. So we changed and decided to go to Disney Springs (formerly known as Downtown Disney). As soon as we put him in the stroller he passed out. We were confused because he just had a good nap in his pack n play but we thought the week was probably catching up to him.
We had lunch at DLuxe Burger and it was amazing! Among my top 5 in burgers! We walked around, looked at shops then got a sundae at Ghirardelli's (SO yummy!). We went into one more store and B woke up just before we took the boat ride back. He slept the whole 90 minutes we were there! We took the Disney Bus back to the airport and got ready to fly home. We were at the airport super early to we tried to let Brooks run around as much as possible and Dan and I would take turns chasing him. He would walk up and down the rows getting people's attention, smiling at them and making them laugh. It gave me a new appreciation for people who were sweet to him.
Our flight home went so well! We had the row to ourselves to B practically got his own seat. He took ANOTHER nap (that's 3 for the day when he usually only takes 2!) in Dan's arms, watched some of a movie and played with stickers. He fell asleep on our drive home while Dan and I chowed down some Chick Fil A. It felt so good to be home but we also had such a wonderful trip!
We gave our luggage to the front desk who would transfer it to our new place then went to Animal Kingdom for the day. First stop was Kilimanjaro Safari and boy was it cool! We saw a lot of animals pretty close and B loved it! We walked the Gorilla Falls trails and saw all sorts of animals and it put Brooks to sleep! We shopped a bit while he napped then waited for the next Lion King show. That's when Dan realized he had left our car keys in our room which we had already checked out of. Oops! We called the resort and they said he could come get them phew!
We watched the Lion King show which was song, dance and acrobats. I thought it was awesome and hoped it would keep B entertained. It did for maybe 15 minutes? We wrestled with him for the rest of the show, I think he just wanted to be out there dancing too. We then headed to our character lunch at the Tusker House in Africa. I wasn't sure about booking a character meal because I wasn't sure if Brooks would like it or be scared. Plus he's still pretty young, he might just be confused. However I couldn't have been more wrong- he loved it! He giggled and laughed, gave kisses and was so obsessed with their noses. The characters were so sweet to him and spent a good amount of time interacting with him. We saw Goofy, Donald and Daisy twice then Mickey once. The food was African influence and delicious! I loved everything about that lunch! In the bathroom and on my way out I had people come and tell me they loved watching Brooks interact with the characters and how sweet it was to watch.
After lunch we rode Rafiki's Train to a petting zoo. B loved the goats and would squeal and talk to them. He doesn't quite understand how to be soft but he did pretty good. Brooks fell asleep so Dan and I switched off riding Everest. We both rode it twice with fast passes and using the single rider line. It was easily our favorite roller coaster of all the parks. So fun!
Next we headed over to Pandora which is the newest exhibit and wow was it pretty! They have two new rides- Flight of Passage and Navi River. You can only get a fastpass for one so I chose Navi River because Brooks could go on it too. However Flight of Passage looked amazing! A special seat with 3D views so it feel like you're riding a banshee. From what I've heard it's amazing but most of the time it was over a 2 hour wait. I made my peace with not going on it before we came.
We headed over to Dino Land and it started to rain. I was prepared for this because I know Florida weather is unpredictable and was surprised it hadn't rained on us yet. Stroller cover and ponchos and we were good. B and I found some cover while Dan went to ride and outdoor roller coaster ha! When it lightened up we rode a dino ride with Brooks and let him play in the rain. Dan left to go retrieve the keys (which took an hour because the resort couldn't find them, luckily they finally did) so Brooks and I found some final souvenirs then went to the dino playground. It was outside but thankfully the rain cooled it down and Brooks had such a fun time! We stayed there as long as we could before he got hungry.
As we walked through the park they had live music. Brooks was waving his hands, clapping and smiling. People walking by were pointing, smiling and watching him it was so cute. During dinner B was way more interested with the birds than dinner but then found a friend across the eatery and stared him down with smiles. He even gave him the eyebrows too! They loved it.
Dan finally found his way back to us, keys in hand yay! I grabbed my last dole whip and we made our way to our new resort Port Orleans French Quarter. By the name you can tell it was New Orleans and Mardi Gras themed. We got B ready for bed then once again, put him in the stroller because Dan and I were starving plus we were waiting for housekeeping to bring a pack n play. B had dinner eariler but we were still full from lunch at the time. We walked down to the resorts marketplace called Sassagoula where I tried a shrimp po boy and beignets. Yum!
Saturday: Disney Springs
Our last day! I woke up kind of sad but kind of ready to sleep in our own beds. B did better than I expected but the last night was the night he had the hardest time sleeping. He woke up twice and I'd just give him his binky, which I'd NEVER do at home, but because we were sharing walls with other people I didn't want to let him fuss. Because of all this and the week we had, we were tired! Thankfully we planned to take it easy this day.
We had breakfast and went to the playground to let Brooks run around. He was more interested in the trash cans than anything else... kids! We let him get a good nap in the room then went swimming. This resort had a super fun splash pad for kids with all sorts of cool things. However for some reason Brooks was so unhappy and didn't want to swim. So we changed and decided to go to Disney Springs (formerly known as Downtown Disney). As soon as we put him in the stroller he passed out. We were confused because he just had a good nap in his pack n play but we thought the week was probably catching up to him.
We had lunch at DLuxe Burger and it was amazing! Among my top 5 in burgers! We walked around, looked at shops then got a sundae at Ghirardelli's (SO yummy!). We went into one more store and B woke up just before we took the boat ride back. He slept the whole 90 minutes we were there! We took the Disney Bus back to the airport and got ready to fly home. We were at the airport super early to we tried to let Brooks run around as much as possible and Dan and I would take turns chasing him. He would walk up and down the rows getting people's attention, smiling at them and making them laugh. It gave me a new appreciation for people who were sweet to him.
Our flight home went so well! We had the row to ourselves to B practically got his own seat. He took ANOTHER nap (that's 3 for the day when he usually only takes 2!) in Dan's arms, watched some of a movie and played with stickers. He fell asleep on our drive home while Dan and I chowed down some Chick Fil A. It felt so good to be home but we also had such a wonderful trip!
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