A Whole New (Disney) World Trip Report - January 2017! *UPDATED - 3/1*

[mdsouth]

we realized that the rain was upon us and the skies were threatening to spill any moment, so we headed out to meet back up at Pop. We made it about halfway to the bus stop before the bottom fell out – and the wheels popped off the stroller. Yes… the wheels popped off the stroller and went rolling in different directions in a downpour with one kid screaming that he was getting wet, one kid chasing down a wheel and two complete strangers chasing down the other. And of course, we found out the hard way that you can’t board the buses at the drop-off – you have to walk 500 miles to the pickup location on the other side of the world… I h

UGG! Oh, no! I can totally picture this scene. How frustrating for you all. Not a great way to start your trip.

The Castmember worked some magic and moved us into the 60s section in a preferred room with a pool view and minutes from the food court. Pixie Dust! Yay!

YEA! I am so glad that you were given some pixie dust! You guys needed it after the crazy beginning of the trip you had.

*tap tap* Is this thing on? If you're reading along, check in and let me know you're here!

"I am here! I am late to the party but am here now!" I just finished reading about your first day at MK. I am so glad that you got into the photo in front of the castle with your boys at the end of the day. It will be a wonderful memento of their first visit to WDW with you. Like you, I am not in the shape I want to be in but I have realized that it is important for me to be in photos with my family. They love me and someday when they are old and grown up, it will bring a smile to their faces to see our family photos with me included!

I am loving the photos of the boys! They are just so cute! I had to laugh at your youngest attitude with Eleana. Too funny how she gave it right back to him!

 

[missangelalexis]

Enjoying your TR so far!

 

[Anesthesia Fine]

I'm really enjoying this! I've dealt with a "Magic Kingdom day" or two myself, so I can sympathize. But it seems like everyone had a blast, and I am so excited for my guys to met Elena now!

 

[cosmicmommy]

UGG! Oh, no! I can totally picture this scene. How frustrating for you all. Not a great way to start your trip.



YEA! I am so glad that you were given some pixie dust! You guys needed it after the crazy beginning of the trip you had.



"I am here! I am late to the party but am here now!" I just finished reading about your first day at MK. I am so glad that you got into the photo in front of the castle with your boys at the end of the day. It will be a wonderful memento of their first visit to WDW with you. Like you, I am not in the shape I want to be in but I have realized that it is important for me to be in photos with my family. They love me and someday when they are old and grown up, it will bring a smile to their faces to see our family photos with me included!

I am loving the photos of the boys! They are just so cute! I had to laugh at your youngest attitude with Eleana. Too funny how she gave it right back to him!

There's more Pixie Dust coming, more frustration with the kids acting up (SAME park, different day!) and a very Unmagical start to a day coming too... just been busy at work today and haven't been able to finish up my Animal Kingdom report!

 

[cosmicmommy]

I'm really enjoying this! I've dealt with a "Magic Kingdom day" or two myself, so I can sympathize. But it seems like everyone had a blast, and I am so excited for my guys to met Elena now!

Elena was great!

There's ANOTHER "Magic Kingdom" day in this trip at...where else? Magic Kingdom, LOL!

 

[cosmicmommy]

I just saw your report and am enjoying it. Your boys are absolutely adorable! Looking forward to the rest of the trip.

Thanks, there's a lot more to come!

I'm here... enjoying your report!

Welcome!

Nice detailed report! So far looks like a good trip, even though the first MK day was a little stressful TOT is my absolute most favorite ride in all of WDW and luckily my DH and oldest DS14 happily ride it with me! When younger DS11 was 10 we bribed him to ride it and he was a mess lol. Last Nov. he and I went down a few days before DH and DS14, and younger DS felt bad I couldn't ride our first day in HS so he sucked it up and rode again with me

Tower of Terror is definitely in my Top 3!

Reading along and remembering our first few trips with DS. Thanks for bring back some great memories!

Welcome!

Lovely family!

Thanks!

I'm here! All caught up now. Your boys are precious! And there is no denying the 3 of them are related. I'm sure you've heard that before. I can't wait to read more.

I get that a lot! If they're sitting, I get asked if they're triplets or at least twins. Truth is, my oldest was just shy of 3.5 when my youngest a born, but they're all singles! You can tell when they're standing...

I'm here and enjoying this review! As the mom of two boys I feel I can relate to so many moments! I am going to HS for the first time in many years and determined to get my 4 year old into JTA! It was great to read about your experience.

Welcome! It was a breeze for us, but it was January, so maybe we got lucky. Just be there EARLY! We also went in WANTING a later time, so that helped tremendously.

I am so loving your TR. Your boys are adorable.

Thanks! Welcome!

Enjoying your TR so far!

Thanks!

 

[Anesthesia Fine]

Elena was great!

There's ANOTHER "Magic Kingdom" day in this trip at...where else? Magic Kingdom, LOL!

HAHAHAHA! Every time! Every. Time.

 

[cosmicmommy]

HAHAHAHA! Every time! Every. Time.

I know... I was like, "Yo, we are at Disney World at the Magic Kingdom, let's act a little more magical!"

 

[morrik5]

You mentioned the red cards, what are they for exactly?

 

[cosmicmommy]

You mentioned the red cards, what are they for exactly?

They're used to measure an attraction's wait time. Then scan it in and hand it to the next guest, then that guest hands it in when they get to the end of the line and it's scanned in again.

 

[gopherdame]

Enjoying your trip report. Your boys are adorable. I came over from the January facebook group. I'm not sure I would have taken my kids by myself. We just got back Monday. Not sure we will be able to go next year so kind of sad about that. We might be able to go to Disneyland though as that is what my grandson wants for his graduation present. We went once when he was 5 and have only gone to Disney World since. It would be fun to go back.

 

[mdsouth]

Especially not if paying cash for them – they were in no way worth anything near $6. Phoenix may beg to differ as he ate his entire cupcakes and half of his brother’s, but the kid eats stuff off the floor and occasionally dirt, so his opinion may be the best one to accept when it comes to food

I just had to laugh at this statement! I just love your style of writing. It makes for a very fun and entertaining TR. I just finished reading about your day at Hollywood Studios.

A Galatic day! Some of your experiences reminds me of going and doing things with my kids when they were younger, especially my son. He has sensory issues too. And like your sons would often say he wanted to do something and then when the time came to actually do it, he would balk at it and back off. I often would have to put a little pressure on him, if I thought that he really wanted to do it and would regret it if he didn't. Awkward times that I know people watching thought I was a mean momma, but he would be so happy when he did these things afterward. He just gets nervous and anxious about the unknown. He still does somewhat today, at the age of 20, but not at the same level that he did when he was young. He was 8 years old on his first trip to WDW too! Another blond boy with glasses. Here is a photo from that trip when he was 8. Just one of the reasons why I am loving your TR!

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[mdsouth]

since The Lion King is probably my favorite Disney movie of all time, this show hit me in a special way that nothing else could – it just made me smile all the way to my toes and will definitely be repeated next time we go, albeit without a FastPass since it didn’t appear to be necessary.

I have to highjack this thread again but just because The Lion King is your favorite movie. This weekend my daughter is in her school's production of Disney's The Lion King Jr. She plays Sarafina, Nala's mother. Here is a photo of her in her costume. And, yes, this is the same girl that was in the photo I shared earlier sitting in front of Minnie's fireplace. That photo was taken when she was two and a half on her first trip to WDW. She is now 13.

I am loving the show! All the wonderful numbers, we have the Broadway show's soundtrack and have been playing it all the time for the last few months and her show has most of the songs in it too. They just cut out some of the songs to make the show shorter and I assume easier for students to do.

 

[cosmicmommy]

I have to highjack this thread again but just because The Lion King is your favorite movie. This weekend my daughter is in her school's production of Disney's The Lion King Jr. She plays Sarafina, Nala's mother. Here is a photo of her in her costume. And, yes, this is the same girl that was in the photo I shared earlier sitting in front of Minnie's fireplace. That photo was taken when she was two and a half on her first trip to WDW. She is now 13.

I am loving the show! All the wonderful numbers, we have the Broadway show's soundtrack and have been playing it all the time for the last few months and her show has most of the songs in it too. They just cut out some of the songs to make the show shorter and I assume easier for students to do.

View attachment 222195

I am pushing my kids towards theatre and I think it might actually stick to one... if he can get over his fear of fire! He hated the Be Prepared part...

 

[cosmicmommy]

1:30 PM: Snack at Yak & Yeti

2 Chicken Fried Rice - $3.99 ea = $7.98 – 2 Snack Credits

Total: 2 Snack Credits - $7.98 Value

2:00 PM: Maharajah Jungle Trek *20 Minutes*

3:00 PM: Expedition Everest (2:30 FastPass) *3 Minutes* - 44”

[The order of this got flip flopped a LOT. We were ahead of schedule and near the entrance to Asia once we exited out of It’s Tough To be A Bug, so we went ahead and decided to wander over that way and make sure Phoenix was going to be tall enough to ride Everest before we attempted to use our FastPass. That way, we could reschedule the FastPass if necessary. This was the first attraction we encountered with a 44 inch height requirement. At home, Phoenix is 43 and 11/12 inches tall barefoot. With shoes, he is always well over 44 inches, but it’s all about the stick. He walked up and slumped under the stick, then stood up straight and knocked himself in the head on the stick. He was tall enough! Unfortunately, it was also super early for our FastPass! We checked the standby line and the wait indicated was shorter than the wait until our FastPass window opened, so we just hopped into the line to experience the queue. All three of the boys were nervous about this ride because of the backwards portion, but all three were ready to try to conquer the mountain.

After winding around through the queue for about 15 minutes, we found ourselves at the gates, ready to go. Even though it had taken 15 minutes to get onto the ride, we had really never stopped in the queue, so most of that time was spent simply walking through the queue. When the train arrived, Phoenix started to whine a little about being scared, but I reminded him that he waited all this time and that it was something he wanted to do, so he relented and we boarded. Phoenix and I were in front and Orion and Apollo were situated right behind us. After shoving the bar down as hard as I could onto Phoenix’s lap (I was beyond trusting this kid to stay put at this point!), I arranged the backpack at my feet and got my bar secured, then glanced behind me to make sure the big boys were properly secured. I held onto Phoenix throughout the entire ride and Apollo was a bit iffy at first because it was a train (Remember, he HATED Big Thunder because it was “clacky”). However, everyone agreed that it was one of the best rides we rode and it immediately sailed onto the list of favorites, although Phoenix was not keen to ride a second time, so I switched our FastPass to Dinosaur as we walked into the Everest dump shop. Knowing Phoenix had been a super big boy and deserved it, I got him an “I Conquered” t-shirt and we swapped out his shirts, then went to find a PhotoPass photographer.

After we had taken several rounds of photos, we decided to skip Maharajah Jungle Trek because the boys were hungry and getting grumpy. The tigers will have to wait until next time! So off we went to Yak & Yeti Café to grab a snack of Chicken Fried Rice. This might have been the worst decision of the day if the rice hadn’t been SO good and the break so welcome. It took literally FOREVER to get through the line and get food and definitely killed both our lead on our schedule AND the ability to even consider Maharajah Jungle Trek, which was probably fine because I don’t think Phoenix’s attitude would have allowed him to survive another walking tour of animals. He was done and near meltdown. We felt like it was an off-time, but apparently everybody in Animal Kingdom was craving some Yak & Yeti! My older two boys are crazy about any food that is remotely Chinese, so we got two Chicken Fried Rices and Phoenix a souvenir Panda cup. Phoenix continued his grumpy streak and vehemently refused to eat any rice, so he was largely ignored while the rest of us chowed down on Fried Rice doused in a little soy sauce and a ridiculous amount of Duck Sauce. I am not ashamed to say that we probably used 4 packets of Duck Sauce per container and we had two containers. Yes, condiment lady, I am the one who snagged ALL the duck sauce the minute you filled it up… okay, I didn’t take it all, but we made a good dent in it. What can I say? My kids LOVE duck sauce. After we’d eaten, I could feel myself starting to droop a little like a wilted flower, but it was Day 3 in parks and I’d had a rough night with very little sleep. I honestly wasn’t surprised. I swung by a coffee cart and got a Chai frozen drink to try to perk myself up a little bit and then we fast-walked across the park to Finding Nemo to use our FastPass. ]

4:00 PM: Finding Nemo: The Musical (3:30 FastPass) *40 Minutes*

[It was about 3:45 when we slipped into the line after parking the stroller about a mile away – not really, but that stroller parking is not very convenient. I am honestly glad I booked a FastPass for this show. It was an incredibly popular time and we were running a little behind. The standby line was enormous, but we zipped through the FastPass line and took the hint when the usher said, “The bubble section is down front.” Obviously, something special was going to happen down there, so down we went. As soon as I sat down, I knew I was in trouble. Even sucking down the latte, I just couldn’t fight off the drowsy feeling completely and I know I took a catnap somewhere between the Shark bit and the Aquarium bit. Not sure how long I dozed off, but I do know I was a bit confused for a few minutes. (I don’t think the kids noticed because when I mentioned to my oldest later, he seemed surprised I had fallen asleep.) I think it was exactly what I needed though – and sitting in the bubble section? It meant there were bubbles blown everywhere around us and the kids LOVED that, so yes… bubble section, always. I will say that the kids enjoyed this show immensely and weren’t startled or spooked by anything. It was hands-down their favorite show of the trip (except when they did Jedi Training, but that’s a totally different ballgame.) and just barely edged out Mickey’s Royal Friendship Faire.

At this time, we were a little ahead of schedule again, since I had allowed an hour for the show, so we wandered up to Character landing to see about meeting Pocahontas, but her line was at 45 minutes, so we decided we had better move on. We then decided to check on Russel/Dug – also over 30 minutes. As we checked the Times Guide with a Castmember for Tarzan, we realized that meeting another character was just not going to be in the cards for us as he had JUST stopped meeting at 4:30. Not one to be defeated, we walked on up to the Tree of Life and had some PhotoPass pictures taken – when in doubt of what to do next, just take more pictures! These actually turned out kinda cute and we ended up getting caught up in the parade (not sure it’s a parade, but it was definitely like one – lots of dancers and stilt-walkers). By now, Phoenix was whining that he was starving (because he hadn’t eaten any Fried Rice) and everyone else was starting to get hungry again, so we headed back to Dino-Land for what would be the rest of the day – once we could escape the parade-like thing that kept trapping us in place. Once we finally broke free, we headed for food – and disaster!

5:00 PM: Dinner at Restaurantosaurus

1 Angus Bacon Cheeseburger - $13.79 ea – 1 Quick Service Credit

1 Wildberry Lemonade - $3.99 - Included

3 Cheeseburger Kids Meals - $9.49 ea = $28.47 – 3 Quick Service Credits

Total: 4 Quick Service Credits = $43.25 Value

[Truthfully, the disaster wasn’t at any fault of Restaurantosaurus. In fact, it was a quite pleasant experience and the food was decent. It was nothing special, but the burgers were pretty tasty and we had both BBQ sauce AND chili with which to top them and our fries – although the quick service fries leave a lot to be desired. The chili was mediocre, but spruced the fries up enough for them to be enjoyable. My burger was pretty delicious and the kids all polished theirs off completely without complaint, so that’s a plus. However… that disaster? Yeah, it was enough to make a post on Facebook pleading for help from anyone who may have been at Animal Kingdom – my kid lost his MagicBand. All we knew was that it was lost somewhere between Finding Nemo and the Tree of Life which didn’t really narrow it down too much. It still left a LOT of ground to cover. So once we had finished eating and cleaned up their souvenir buckets, we started off on our grand adventure to relocate his MagicBand. Yes, I had a spare in the room and I know I could have gotten a replacement at Guest Service, but he was attached to THAT ONE. So he HAD to have THAT ONE - which meant we had 2 hours and dwindling daylight to find it. I was trying not to panic, but it was quickly becoming obvious that it was NOT on the ground. On a prayer, I approached a Castmember we had spoken to earlier in the day when asking about the Boneyard hours to see if she could ask around to see if anyone had turned it in. To my surprise, she asked, “Is it Apollo’s?” Now yes, I had been talking to her about the kids, but I hadn’t mentioned their names at all. The surprise must have been all over my face as she produced his MagicBand and told me, “I saw it fall off and tried to stop you, but I was hoping you’d be back.” Out of all the chances and the odds, the one person who picked it up happened to be a Castmember and not only that, but one who remembered us. I wish I’d had the frame of mind at that point to hand her a thank you card, but I was so relieved that I even forgot our schedule and where we were supposed to be going next, until the kids reminded me that The Boneyard was next. ]

6:00 PM: The Boneyard

[We hit this right on time, but kept our time inside short. The first place the boys wanted to go was up to dig. All but one kid wanted to leave their bucket behind and never again will I ever believe what they want. They had a fit later when their buckets were gone, but maybe next time when I ask them ten times if they’re sure they want to leave it behind, they’ll listen and bring it with them. They weren’t the only kids to leave them behind though – there were hundreds of little buckets all over the place! Next time, we will skip Restaurantosaurus since we don’t need the buckets! Once it started getting dark, I nudged the boys out of the dig site and over to the playground area, but warned them to choose their slide carefully because they only got to go down one. Single mom with three kids that tend to scatter in opposite directions – no way was I going to let them run amuck in there! They grumbled a bit, but upon the warning that it was one or none, they begrudgingly chose their slide – Apollo, Phoenix and I went down a swirly two story slide to get back down to the bottom. Orion decided he HAD to climb to the highest level possible and take that one down – smart kid, but it took him forever because that was apparently every kid’s plan.]

6:30PM: TriceraTop Spin *2 Minutes*

7:00 PM: Dinosaur *3 Minutes* - 40”

7:30 PM: Snack at Flame Tree BBQ (To Go)

4 Pulled Pork Cheese Fries - $6.49 ea = $12.98 – 4 Snack Credits

Total: 4 Snack Credits - $25.96 Value

Total Cost of Dining for Day 1: $171.99

Credit Breakdown: 4 Table Service, 6 Snack Credits, 4 Quick Service Credits

[From here on out, nothing went according to plan. I was tired, Phoenix was grumpy (what else is new) and it was getting dark. There were no more characters to meet that we hadn’t already met and we had about an hour until the park closed. We walked over to Dinosaur and three VERY timid kids boarded the time rover. Looking back, I knew good and well that they weren’t going to like the Carnosaurus, but I figured they would enjoy the REST of the ride, especially since it involved dinosaurs and time travel and all those things little boys like. How about a big fat NO. None of them really cared for it, although the little one obviously had the most trouble with the ride. There is just no other way to describe our ride photo other than he was getting the heck out of there, even if it meant being left behind! IF we ever ride it again, he will have to go beside me because reaching OVER my middle son to try to keep the little one in the seat was difficult. This was by far their least favorite ride of the entire trip – although the two older ones claim now that it wasn’t that scary and they would totally do it again. Phoenix is still a big NOPE.

After I’d scared the daylights out of the kids, we stopped off to snap some pictures with the dinosaurs and other DinoLand paraphernalia, then decided on TriceraTop Spin which had no wait other than load time. Apparently Phoenix was still a bit traumatized from Dinosaur because he screeched the moment we lifted off and begged and pleaded not to go high. Big tough boy can handle Expedition Everest, but not TriceraTop Spin… oops on the ride on Dinosaur?

After we rode on what may have been the scariest incarnation of Dumbo for my kid EVER, we walked on over to Primeval Whirl. Apparently, the older two thought they had grown up enormously since travelling to the past and they wanted an adventure! Plus, the line was like 5 minutes long, so on they went without me… *tear* My big boys growing up and going off on rollercoaster all by themselves… I did manage to snap a photo of them onboard as they were swirling around, then Phoenix and I wandered off to find something to do.

Lo and behold – a photo booth! So we played in the photo booth and took lots of crazy pictures while waiting for the other two, who then had to do the photo booth themselves! Oh, and they LOVED Primeval Whirl, so that was a plus too.

We weren’t very hungry, so we decided to skip Flame Tree Barbeque completely because although we had a Fridge in the room, we didn’t have a microwave and didn’t want to get the fries and then not eat them. Sadness, but it will be on our to-do list next time for sure!

We killed the rest of the park time and wandered back up to the Oasis just in time to see the Tree of Life Awakenings – WOW! It was almost a relief to not have to deal with the uncertainty of fireworks that night. The boys really loved the Tree of Life all lit up and were even pointing out animals.

After we had watched a full set, we walked into the Outpost and the boys immediately decided they ALL had to have stuffed animals – big shocker right? My 8 year old may look and act 12 a lot of times, but he has a “baby” collection to rival a hoarder – and he added one more that night. Each of the boys selected a member of the Lion Guard – Orion picked Kion, Apollo chose Bunga and Phoenix scooped up Ono so each got their favorite. As we walked outside, it was almost refreshing to not be completely worn out and trudging out at 9 PM as it wasn’t even 8 PM yet! We made our way to the buses and hopped aboard to standing room only, but of course my children that can’t make friends their own age because of their awkwardness made immediate friends with an older couple and chatted them up the WHOLE.WAY.BACK. I am SO sorry to that couple because my kids would not shut up the entire drive back about how they “conquered” Everest and how Phoenix was SO scared on Dinosaur. I was firmly convinced that every person on that bus was judging me as the parent that terrorizes their kids! ]

 

[missangelalexis]

Cute PP photos! I love that your youngest conquered Everest! And glad to hear the magic band crisis was averted!

 

[mdsouth]

Wow! Tell your boys I am very impressed. I have not gone on Everest nor Dinosaur yet myself. I guess I am too big of a scaredy cat. Actually, I am worried that I will have a big case of motion sickness since I get physically ill when I ride anything backwards, even the Monorail!

Love the photobooth photos! And I can totally relate to the lost MagicBand and the need to find the exact one. My kids had similar situations when they were younger. They have sense grown out of some of those fixations and needs. So, hang in there!

 

[Anesthesia Fine]

I shouldn't have laughed so hard at their tiny terrified faces on Dinosaur but forgive me, O Lord, I did.

 

[cosmicmommy]

Cute PP photos! I love that your youngest conquered Everest! And glad to hear the magic band crisis was averted!

He still chatters about how fun it was, but how we almost went upside down! All of them seem to think we almost went upside down - I am thinking on the part where it zooms out of the mountain, right before the Yeti? I don't know what ride THEY rode, but whatever kid...

Wow! Tell your boys I am very impressed. I have not gone on Everest nor Dinosaur yet myself. I guess I am too big of a scaredy cat. Actually, I am worried that I will have a big case of motion sickness since I get physically ill when I ride anything backwards, even the Monorail!

Love the photobooth photos! And I can totally relate to the lost MagicBand and the need to find the exact one. My kids had similar situations when they were younger. They have sense grown out of some of those fixations and needs. So, hang in there!

Thankfully, nothing makes me too sick except for the Teacups at the fair. I was fine at Disney, but the fair about did me in last year - could have been because it was 99 degrees outside too...

I fear my Apollo will never outgrow some of his "things" but it is what it is...

I shouldn't have laughed so hard at their tiny terrified faces on Dinosaur but forgive me, O Lord, I did.

I STILL roll in laughter at it... and don't worry - almost every person who sees it bursts out laughing!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Your boys are adorable, and you are one brave soul for taking them to Disney all by yourself!!!! You are my hero...