Disney World Trip Report

I apologize, it's very fragmented but it's best I have right now :) This is from our trip back in April 2010.

Day 1

Left for SF at 1:00 am, Emerson was awake the whole way, Sam slept the whole way.
Traveled with breastmilk so I had to have my hands swiped for explosives.
Sam was a little spooked going through security. Sam liked flying, he slept from MSP to Detroit. Emerson did pretty well, didn’t cry on take off or landing. Slept a little. In MSP we walked around and found the children’s play area. Shaun and I had bagels from Einstein Bros & Sam had a hot chocolate. In Detroit, our next flight was just at the next gate thankfully since we didn’t have any time. They were already boarding. We had way too many carry-ons to haul through the airport, Shaun actually got blood blisters from the straps. Had to wait quite a while for the Magical Express Bus to come pick us up. Caught Sam singing, “Highway to hell, come on everyone, highway to hell, sing it!”
Feeding Emerson jarred food on the airplane was messy.

On the Magical Express Bus, we sat in the far back. When Sam saw the Epcot ball he said “I can’t believe we are in Disney World!” Went to the Wilderness Lodge. It was as impressive as I thought it would be. I went to check in while Shaun pushed the kids around in the lobby. They went to rub the bears nose on the totem pole since it’s supposed to bring good luck. The lady checking me in wasn’t too bright and I needed her to call a manager. He was very pleasant thankfully and helped much more. Emerson was given a button for celebrating his 1 year adjusted birthday. We ended up with an upgrade to a courtyard view room instead of a woods view. Before when we were booking we didn’t think we’d like a courtyard view since it overlooks the pool and people had said it could be loud. We were wrong, we ended up loving the courtyard view. The best part was that every night we could see the Electric Water Pageant perfectly from the balcony in our room. As soon as Sam looked out, all he wanted to do was go swimming (and asked to do it constantly!). Our room was number 5127, a pretty good walk from the elevator but not too bad. It was spacious and clean, although we quickly filled it up with all of our stuff. We never heard any noise in the night (or even daytime) so the soundproofing must have been great. The theming in the room was fantastic, Sam was very excited about the light switched being built into the bedposts!

Went to Magic Kingdom via boat. First ride was Jungle Cruise, Emerson fell asleep. It was packed. Rode Magic Carpets, Tried to catch the fireworks but Sam fell asleep right before so we decided to head back. Emerson tried to go to a random dude waiting for the fireworks. Dinner at Pinocchio’s Village Haus. The kids mac and cheese was actually pretty great. Sam stayed sleeping on the way back to WL. They didn’t make us take the kids out of the stroller on the boat ride back. We got back and laid Sam in bed. He woke up all confused and wondered how he got there. Then we went down to the RF for a bedtime snack. Shaun and I shared a magic cookie bar (excellent!) and Sam had a mickey rice krispy treat dipped in chocolate. It was very good also. Weather was upper 70’s, nice and cool at night. Worst part: Haunted Mansion, Emerson cried when people screamed and Sam was afraid of the dark. Shaun lied and said it wasn’t scary. The first ride we went on was it’s a small world. Sam said, this is what happens when you let a girl pick your ride. The best part of the day was when a castmember was talking to Sam about Pluto and telling him that Pluto’s owner was Mickey.

Day 2

Epcot in AM
Took boat to Contemporary, monorail to TTC, monorail to Epcot. Sent Shaun for FP for Soarin’ Breakfast at Sunshine Seasons food fair- Chocolate Croissants (very tasty). First we went and did the Innoventions pavilion, Emerson was sleeping. Sam had a blast doing the piggy bank adventure and the recycling one. He also did the Velcro frog and I did one for Emerson. I rode on Soarin’ with Sam but then he and Shaun went to go and Sam had to go to the bathroom & didn’t want to ride again so Shaun didn’t go. Soarin’ was very cool, I can definitely see the appeal now! Sam had a smile on his face the whole time. A nice older couple next to us asked if Sam had been on it yet and he said no. The guy told him it wasn’t scary and was lots of fun. Weather was warm and sunny in the mid 80’s. Best part of the day was Emerson laughing on the Seas w/ Nemo and friends ride. The worst thing was the long wait for a boat to MK @ night and the jerk making us wait to get into the gate (checking bags). Did the Coke place and tried the different things. Bought Mouse Ears and had them personalized.
Did WS later, bought the Passports, both kids fell asleep after 1 country (had permanent markers at the Kidcot Stops??) so Shaun and I walked the entire world showcase with them sleeping. Finally found photopass people and got our pics taken. Lunch @ Boulangerie Patisserie. I had a croissant, Shaun had Rustic Cheese Tartine (like a pizza) I had a bite, it was good. First time I had anything with sauce in many years.
Went back to WL via bus, it was way quicker (10 minutes). Sam went swimming, he loved it, especially the slide. Snack/Lunch for Sam @ Roaring Fork: Nuggets for Sam, brownie, magic cookie bar, refillable mug (great deal!).
Dinner @ Roaring Forks: I had a Cheese Flatbread no sauce (so good!), Shaun had a veggie sandwich, Sam had chicken nuggets.
-Emerson made friends with everyone by smiling. He would wait until someone would look at him and then he’d smile so they had to smile back.
Sam said he was part farmer on living w/ the land.

Day 3

Breakfast at Chef Mickey’s. It was fantastic, not crowded at all. We went early 7:15am. Took the boat from WL to Contemporary. Emerson loved the characters. He grabbed Minnie’s nose and pulled Pluto’s whiskers. Got lots of great pictures. Sam said he was Pluto’s #1 fan. Chef came out to talk to us and ask about Emerson’s food allergies. Made special dairy free Mickey waffles and told us what things in the buffet were dairy free. They also brought out soymilk for him. Emerson loved the waffles and the breakfast potatoes. They brought out a cupcake for Emerson’s birthday but since he couldn’t eat it they gave it to Sam. It was cute. Sam loved the character parade through the restaurant and did his part by waving his napkin around. It was well worth it and next time we’ll do a character breakfast every day. Weather was warm and sunny, mid to upper 80’s. Went to Magic Kingdom in the morning. Sam and I went on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, he said it gave him a heart attack. It was darker and bumpier than I remembered. Shaun and Sam went on Splash Mountain right when the park opened, they liked it. It was really nice getting there at opening, we got to watch the ceremony and the train arrive with all the characters. Plus the park was not crowded at all and there was hardly a wait for the rides. When it got crowded we left to go back to WL for some swimming. Emerson took a nap while I walked him around in the carrier checking out the grounds. Later we went to Hollywood Studios. Went on Toy Story Mania, it was so much more fun than I thought it was going to be. I rode with Emerson on my lap and did the controls with one hand. We tried to go to the Playhouse Disney show but after waiting forever, they said it was cancelled 

Day 4

Woke up early to go swimming. Sam was having a hard time waking up so we said we were going in the pool and he jumped out of bed and took off running with his eyes barely open. Took Emerson in the baby pool. He liked it but got bored quickly. Then Sam and Shaun went in the big pool, there was only one other person swimming but lots of ducks! Shaun held Emerson in the big pool for a little bit. Then we got ready and headed to Epcot for the morning. We got FP for Soarin’ again and Shaun rode first this time, then I used the rider switch and rode again with Sam. Still love the ride! Had lunch at Sunshine Seasons. Also went on Nemo and friends again. In the afternoon we did the World Showcase again so they could finish their passports. We ran into Winnie the Pooh and Tigger in England. There was no wait and we got tons of great photopass pictures. Hot and sunny all day. Sam kept saying, “Soarin to tower, ready for take off” He clearly loved the ride even though he wouldn’t admit it  The worst part of the day was getting stuck at the top of the ride in Spaceship Earth. The ride stopped forever, it was dark and hot and Emerson started screaming. Maelstrom was way more intense than I thought it was going to be and freaked us all out. Now I know why they have a FP for that ride! Sam fell asleep after the first country so we had to walk it again with them asleep. Shaun and I definitely got our exercise. Went back to WL, Shaun and Sam swam again after dinner. Then we went down to the beach and Emerson played in the sand for the first time, while Sam played on the playground. The movie area looked really neat, they were showing Tinkerbell and Emerson was laughing like crazy at the beginning where the baby laughs.

Day 5

Took the boat to Contemporary and then Monorail to MK. Had breakfast in room before we left. Did Tomorrow Land right away in the morning. Sam absolutely loved the Tomorrowland Speedway. Went on Teacups, Emerson loved. Had lunch at El Pirata, it was good. Sam went with me on Pirates of the Carribean but would not go again with Shaun so he had to go by himself. Went back to WL in afternoon, Emerson took a nap and Sam swam and did a rubber duck race by the pool. Then he and I went down to RF for cookie decorating and to the Cub’s Den to make a foam airplane. Went back to MK and caught the street parade. It was a ton of fun and Sam and Emerson were dancing in the street. Got it on video. Ate at Cosmic Ray’s, Sam had fun hula hooping while we waited for our food. Emerson tried his first French fry. Then we got caught in a huge thunderstorm so we tried to catch a boat back, bad decision. After sitting on the boat for a while it started lightning a ton so we had to get off and run in the rain to the monorail station. The water was up to my knees and I had to drag the folded up stroller up the flooded ramp. It was not fun at all, when we finally got onto the monorail, we were all soaked and Sam was about in tears and asked, “Are we going to get killed?” We attempted to dry off at the Contemporary and went to ask the concierge about getting a taxi to the WL. She said that they were going to be sending a bus to get us so we went and waited by the bus stop. There was another family there with a young girl. We waited for quite a while and finally the guy called to ask what was going on. They told him that we were now supposed to ride the boat to the WL. Right, like we’re going to get on a tiny boat in a thunderstorm. We were sick of waiting so we took a taxi, it was well worth it. In the car on the way, Sam kept complaining about Disney World saying, “They say it’s the most magical place on earth, it’s not very magical.” My favorite was him saying, “This is supposed to be where dreams come true, but this is a nightmare!” He was obviously paying attention to the travel DVD and used all their slogans against them. Got back to the hotel and into dry clothes. Ate our dessert we bought at the Main Street confectionary shop. The dark chocolate peanut butter cups were awesome.

Day 6

Did Extra Magic Hours in the am at Animal Kingdom. It was cloudy in the morning but didn’t rain. Very humid at AK. Waits weren’t bad at all. Went on Triceratop Spin, Sam and I were almost the only people on the ride. Went on the safari, got to see a baby rhino! Had lunch at Pizzafari, breadsticks were good. Went to Rafiki’s planet watch via train. Sam did the petting zoo and brushed the goats. Emerson loved just staring at the lone cow. I was kind of disappointed in the petting zoo, there weren’t many animals but the kids didn’t seem to mind. Emerson got to meet Rafiki, he loved it!
Sam went on DINOSAUR with Shaun, wasn’t a big fan but he talked about the ride a ton. Then he picked out a rock egg from the gift shop and we bought the ride photo. Saw Winnie the Pooh and Eeyore again, Emerson had a death grip on Pooh’s hand and didn’t want to leave! Shaun and Sam went on Kali River Rapids and Shaun went on Expedition Everest. We didn’t see any shows because the times just didn’t work and we didn’t know how well Emerson would sit through the long show. It was getting pretty warm so we left and headed back to the WL for swimming. Then we went to Hollywood Studios for extra magic hours in the evening. Ate dinner at Rosie’s all American Café. The guy working at the American Idol gift shop told Shaun he looked like John Mayer. Ackward. Went on TSM again, my score with Emerson was 136,100. Shaun went on Tower of Terror and RNR with pretty much no wait. I went on Star Tours for the first time. (And last since they are redoing it). Got to meet the Little Einstein’s and Handy Manny. Emerson loved it because they spent a ton of time with him. Got tons of great pics. Had a Mickey Mouse ice cream bar, they were so good! Emerson still smiled at everyone.

Day 7

Got up early to pack and check in our big bag at the hotel. Wandered the WL and took pictures of everything one last time. Waited for the Magical Express bus forever to take us to the airport. Went through security easily because they had a family line. Got there quite early so we had some Krispy Kreme donuts for breakfast and did some shopping. Sam got a little space bear from the Kennedy Space Center gift shop. He was excited. We couldn’t find soymilk anywhere in the Orlando airport so we ended up having to give Emerson apple juice. Had a bitchy lady in front of us on the plane. She told Sam everytime he colored on his tray it made her back hurt. Quite annoying. Emerson was a grouch and had a poop explosion in the airplane bathroom. Shaun emerged with poop all over himself. Of course we didn’t have any spare pants but when we had a layover in Detroit we changed his shirt and did our best to clean his pants off a bit. Yuck. Clearly the juice was doing more harm, so I finally thought to ask a coffee shop for just some soymilk. They probably thought I was nuts because I was so thrilled that they sold me a cup.


MISC
Had a pin stuck in the wheel of the Stroller!

General Wilderness Lodge review

1. Rooms were nice, we got an upgrade
2. Pleased with the selection at RF, loved the flatbread pizzas!
3. Transportation was good also; bus service was actually very quick.