Magic Kingdom Morning!

With just 2 days left until Christmas, I think this is a very fitting post. It involves one of my all time favorite Christmas activities at Disney!

This day was originally planned for Hollywood Studios for the whole day and Saturday was to be Magic Kingdom...until we found out that the Christmas Parade was going to be taped on Saturday and the crowd levels had changed to a 9 out of 10.

So the hubby and I grabbed the baby and headed over to the Magic Kingdom for a few hours and my parents would meet up with us later.

As we walked down Main St we were stopped by a Photopass Photograher...Kennedy was a big hit in her Minnie Mouse Ears!

We were shocked when we arrived and saw MASSIVE crowds.  People were EVERYWHERE! It turns out that they were filming today too but the Beibs wasn't schedule to be there until Saturday. Turns out Scott McCreery, Cee Lo Green, Jennifer Hudson and the Muppets were there. For the Christmas party tapings you have to have a special ticket, but we got pretty close.

We had grabbed Fast Passes for Mickey and Minnie but had some time to kill before then. We headed to Tomorrowland and the Carousel of Progress. After that she had a quick bit to eat and it was off to see Mickey and Minnie. I really love the Fast Pass idea and it was pretty smooth getting in and out. I think Hubby and I were almost as excited as the kids!

After Mickey and Minnie we decided to see if we could ride Snow White one more time before it's gone forever. Luckily the wait wasn't too bad so we hopped on. I'm excited for new things to come but terribly sad to see that ride go!!

The park was getting busier and busier so we wandered down through Adventureland for a ride on Pirates. Kennedy defintiely loved this one! We also got to watch part of the Pirate Tutorial with Captain Jack...it was pretty amazing! A must do if your little one's love Pirates.

My parents were just arriving so we headed out to the Ferry to meet them and head over to Hollywood Studios.

I have to say that her Minnie Mouse Ears were a HUGE hit! We were stopped by so many people!! HeadtoToeDesigns is the name of the Etsy shop were I bought them so I wanted to do a little shout out to her!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/head2toedesigns

Next up...Hollywood Studios!

Restaurant Review-Via Napoli

Hey Gang!! Christmas has kept it pretty crazy busy around here so I apologize for the lack of posts! When we left off we were just about to enter Via Napoli for dinner.

I want to back up for a second. It's been quite a few years since I have dine in an of the Italian restaurants in ECPOT..mainly for one reason.

This is L’ Originale Alfredo di Roma Ristorante. It was definitely one of my all time favorite restaurants at Disney. At Alfredo's, pasta was made by hand every day. They had an amazing Fettuccine Alfredo on the menu and to die for Tiramisu. Sadly the restaurant closed in 2007

So I admit I've been a little gun shy to try either of the new restaurants. HOWEVER...Via Napoli has been getting rave reviews so we thought, let's try it! I'm still not brave enough for Tutto Italia as I'm afraid I will be overly disappointed.

Our reservation was for 7 p.m. and we were seated practically right away. There was quite a long line outside for those without a reservation. This is why it's so important to make your dining reservations in advance...or better yet, let your Travel Agent do it for you!!

I'm sad to say we don't have any pictures so I'll be borrowing a few.  First thing I ordered is one of my favorite drinks, a Bellini!! Bellini's are made with Peach Nectar and Sparkling wine. So yummy!!  My Mom ordered a Rosa Regale and Hubby had some Sangria.

One of the things I was most looking forward to on the menu was the Arancini which are friend balls of Risotto.  My dad wanted to try the Calamari and since my hubby was feeling adventurous, they decided to split it.  My husband and I don't really eat seafood but he's been wanting to try it more and more.  He deemed it delicious and they both really enjoyed it!

Three of us decided on Pizza's for dinner while my Dad ordered the Veal Parmesean.  Via Napoli is known for it's wood fired authentic Pizza's so we were pretty excited. Mom and hubby ordered pepperoni (lol boring I know!) and I ordered Prosciutto e Melone without the melon. It came with Fontina and Mozzerella cheese as well as Prosciutto.  It was a tad on the salty side but it was SOOOO good. Hubby said this might be the best pizza he's ever had!!

We were all stuffed but there is no way I was missing dessert. I of course ordered the Tiramisu as did my Hubby. My mom ordered the Zeppole and my dad just had a few scoops of Lemon Sorbet.  Everything was just amazing!!

Overall we absolutely loved this restaurant. Maybe it's just me and my soft spot for Italian men but they were all so nice and courteous. Toward the end of our meal our server was seated with a very large party and we think one of them might have been a celebrity.  He took a while getting back to us for our dessert orders, although he did have someone come and clear our plates.  When we received our bill we noticed he comped our appetizers. We didn't complain or say anything so it was completely unnecessary.  This restaurant was all around just fabulous and we can't wait to go back!!

EPCOT

Hello and Good Morning!!  Sorry the days just seem to be getting away from me! I guess with Christmas coming up time is just flying!

When we left off, our vacation was HALF over! Can you believe it? I can't believe we are already home!  Thursday of our trip was dedicated to visiting EPCOT. We were so excited to get my Dad on Soarin' and we had a very yummy meal planned.

We got to the turnstiles fairly early and things were kind of nutty! There was a large tour group in front of us and no one could figure out if they were in line or not so people were kind of everyone. Official park opened happened and my Dad was sure to share his opinion with the Cast Members that the music was too loud!! LOL!

We headed straight over to The Land for Soarin...amongst all the people running.  I don't get it? We all are going to get there, why run and push people down?  I'll recap our trip at the end, but one of my biggest pet peeves was lack of manners!

Stroller parking had been moved (not happy with a sleepy baby!) but we were one of the firsts!

My parents immediately got in line for Soarin while we let the baby sleep.  Once they got back we all got Fastpasses for later and headed over to Sunshine Seasons for breakfast. This is one of my favorite quick service locations! Most people are so busy getting on Soarin that it's pretty quiet and the food is yummy! We had a variety of foods for breakfast...eggs, bacon, sausage.  My mom enjoyed a new breakfast bread pudding they had that was pretty good!!

After breakfast we thought we'd check out Living with the Land, which I knew my dad would enjoy. Living with the Land used to be driven by cast members but was replaced a few years ago with automated voices. I definitely don't like it as much.

After Soarin we stopped in at the Art of Animation to get our yearly picture. We lucked out and our buddy Eddie was there and he remembered us this time.  He and Eric chatted for quite a while and caught up.  Eric and I picked our drawing out for Eddie to do and it was delivered later at our resort. I love it so much!

Next up was Test Track. My dad had decided rides weren't for him so him and my Mom watched the baby while we went. It was fantastic as usual...Kennedy kept busy while we were gone, lol.

At this point my parents decided they were going to head back to the hotel for some down time. My mom's feet were killing her and dinner wasn't until 7 p.m. So we said good bye to them and headed out to World Showcase.

I don't have a ton of pictures but we really had a great time. We started in Mexico and had some lunch...we devoured it pretty quickly. This really is one of our favorite restaurants all around...quick service, table service, you name it!  We split Tacos de Carne - smoked beef brisket tacos served on fresh handmade corn tortillas with Pico de Gallo, lime and corn tortilla chips.  It was delicious and even better...it came with a Churro for dessert!!

After that we continued our way around World Showcase. The baby was just enjoying people watching and we were taking our time, checking out all the Christmas decorations.  We decided to stop in Norway to try some of the world famous School Bread. Let me tell you...boy did this live up to the hype! OMG It was so good! There were a ton of tasty treats to try....the bakery is now on our list of things to try again!

We had several hours before dinner so we just took our time, shop and explored. We tried to get a picture  taken with Santa in the American Adventure but the line was just too long.  While we were there we did get to see the Spirit of America Fife and Drum Corps. While we were waiting a Photopass photographer stopped us for some pictures.

We eventually decided some hot coffee would be nice. We wandered back over to a coffee kiosk by Mexico (before you get to Mexico) and ordered 2 coffee's with Kahula and whipped cream...again, another thing to add to our list! YUM YUM YUM!!!!

It was just about time to meet up with my parents for dinner in Italy.  I'll do that in a separate post, but after dinner we did manage to get some pictures of Kennedy with Santa!!!

Next up....Restaurant Review Tutto Italia!

Restaurant Review- Raglan Road

Good Morning and Happy Hump Day!!! Today's post will be short but sweet. My dad forgot his camera so we don't have any pictures (I'll be borrowing a few).

After we got back to the room we did a quick change and headed to Downtown Disney. Raglan Road is one of our favorite restaurants and is located in Pleasure Island.  We were seated fairly quickly although the restaurant looked pretty busy. We were seated in one of the rooms off to the side which was great for us with the baby.

To begin with we ordered drinks. I had a Sangria which is  blend of Magners Cider, Peach Schnapps and Fruit Liqueurs & squeezes, while my dad ordered just a Magners Cider.  Hubby ordered a Beer Flight although I can't remember the 4 beer's he chose.   Hubby and I also ordered an appetizer of Dalkey Duo - Dalkey-battered cocktail sausages with a Dalkey mustard dipping sauce.

We both really enjoyed these and I like the sauce that comes with it. Kind of a mustard sauce I think? 

Dinner was up next and I was really torn as to what to order. I really love the steak here but  after the risotto I had earlier in the week, I was hungry for that too!! My mom ordered the Steak and since she never finishes her meals I knew I could have at least a taste. I ordered the Risotto which was mostly mushroom and I added the grilled chicken.  My mom ordered the steak that came with Mashed Potatoes and Fried Onions.  Hubby got the slow ribs and I don't remember what my Dad got lol.

Up until this point, every thing was pretty ho hum. The waitress seemed disinterested in us and while the food was ok, it wasn't great.   The mashed potatoes were super bland and everything was just kind of dull...not at all like I remembered.  Also, a recurring problem we had throughout Disney was the High Chairs were just too big for our daughter. She is sitting up almost by herself and didn't want to be contained in her car seat if she was awake.  We really struggled keeping her in the high chair and she was starting to get cranky. Just as she was falling asleep one of the Irish Dancers came into our room, put down a piece of wood on the ground and started dancing. In hindsight it was pretty funny timing and had we been there any other time we would have really enjoyed it.  I ended up taking the baby in the bathroom and rocking her to sleep. Who would have thought she'd sleep through Wishes but not Irish dancers?

We were now ready to order dessert.   My Mom and mainly came for the Bread and Butter Pudding.  Hubby ordered and my Dad ordered....well I don't remember. I swear he was there lol!!

Now so far our experience had been very lackluster...and here is where it got worse. We waited...and waited...and waited for dessert.  It finally showed up but were very ready to leave at this point. HOWEVER, I would never leave without having my Bread and Butter Pudding. I know not everyone is a fan of bread pudding but I love it. This dessert is HUGE and easily can be shared by two people. It's hot and full of golden raisins.  It's served with two sauces that you can pour over the top. It's seriously heavenly!!

Overall it was a very disappointing experience but one bad experience won't deter me from going back. I really love this restaurant and am chalking it up to an off night.  

Up next...our second day at EPCOT!!

Day 4- Cape Canaveral

Hey everyone!! Sorry I've been MIA for a few days.  We had a nasty bug hit our house and then I had an allergic reaction to something yesterday. We are all feeling better so let's get back on track!!

Wednesday of our trip was originally supposed to be for Animal Kingdom but we had changed our plans.  There was no rush to get there so we got up casually in the morning and headed down to the Peppermarket and had breakfast. I really enjoy this counter service location as it has a wide variety of choices.  After breakfast we hit the road. It took us probably about an hour and a half to get to Kennedy Space Center.

After touring the exhibits and taking the bus tour, it was time to leave. We had plans to make a quick visit to the beach before heading back to Disney!

After the beach (it was getting cold) we headed back to Disney.  We had a few mishaps along the way including an incredibly poopy diaper and getting lost but we made it back in time to clean up and change for dinner.

Coming up tomorrow...Restaurant Review: Raglan Road!

Restaurant Review-La Hacienda De San Angel

Last time I checked in we had just been heading back to our hotel for some downtime before going to dinner. We had late dinner reservations at 8:00 p.m. at La Hacienda De San Angel.

EPCOT is one of my favorite places to be at night. It's just so pretty and there is something magical and special about it.  The park was a bit busier than normal because of the Candlelight Processional.  We opted to skip it this year because I didn't know how the baby would do and I didn't want to get seats and have to leave. I was SHOCKED at how early people were showing up!  Later in the week we were at EPCOT and around 3:15 p.m. there were already a good number of people in the stand by line for the 5:30 p.m. show.  The line for people with tickets wasn't much better. I can't imagine the craziness when it gets closer to Christmas!!

We had about 30 minutes until our reservation so we decided to take the long way to Mexico.  We decided we would do no shopping or anything, but just take a leisurely stroll over around the World Showcase 

Lagoon.

Since we'd have an hour and a half before Illuminations we waited until right about 8 p.m. to check in to La Hacienda De San Angel. I requested a window seat and was told that IF a window table was available when our name came up then they could accommodate us. Basically you can't wait for a window seat.

Our buzzer went off fairly quickly so we were pretty sure we didn't get our request. Low and behold we had an amazing table right in front of the window!! We decided it would be a leisurely dinner so we started off by ordering drinks (A Mango Blueberry Basil Maragrita for me and  Dos Equis for my hubby) and some appetizers. We ordered:

Taquiza - taco trio featuring Rib eye taco with chipolte salsa, roasted chicken taco with salsa verde, and Chilorio (marinated pork)

and 

Queso Fundido - melted cheese with poblano peppers, chorizo, and flour tortillas

The Taco's were amazing! If you have eaten at the counter service location during the day, they were pretty much the same.  The Queso was also very good. A different consistency then I'm used to with Queso but the flavor was amazing!!

After the appetizers were finished we placed our dinner order. I have to say our Server was amazing! He was incredibly patient and attentive. We didn't feel rushed at all!!

For dinner, my hubby and I split the La Haciend which is a Mixed grill offering flank steak, chicken al pastor, chorizo and vegetables, served with beans and fresh salsas. My mom got the Arrachera - Flank steak served with spring onions, tamal with rajas, cactus leaves, and beans and my dad got the Pollo al Pastor -Achiote marinated chicken served with roasted vegetables, beans and pineapple relish.

I can't say enough about this food. It was one of the best restaurants of the entire week.  I can only speak for the Mixed Grill (although my parents gave rave reviews to their dishes).  The chicken was the moistest chicken I have ever had. The steak was cooked perfectly and we LOVED the Chorizo! My hubby loved the vegetables although I didn't try them.  

After dinner we ordered coffee and dessert (Apple Empanadas for everyone).  Just after dessert arrived, the lights were dimmed in the restaurant and Illuminations began.

After the show the restaurant applauded and my Mom said she's watching Illuminations like this every time. It was truly an amazing experience with wonderful food. A perfect ending to the evening.

After dinner we headed over to the Boardwalk (my favorite resort) to check out the Christmas decorations and wander around a bit.

Next up...Cape Canaveral and Kennedy's first trip to the Ocean!!

A change of plans

Even though we had only been through one full day at Disney, I was getting the feeling the parks were busier than expected. I wanted to take a look at our plans and see what I could change.  The plan was to visit EPCOT on Tuesday, Animal Kingdom for EMH on Wednesday and Cape Canaveral on Thursday. I was worried that EMH at Animal Kingdom was going to be crazier than normal so we opted to move Animal Kingdom to Tuesday, Cape Canaveral to Wednesday and EPCOT to Thursday. Since we had the park hopper option, we could keep our dinner plans at EPCOT on Tuesday night.

 My hubby was very excited about this plan as Animal Kingdom is his favorite park and now we were heading there even soon! Since the day we were visiting Cape Canaveral was also the night we had plans to eat at Downtown Dinner we decided to also move our breakfast at Boma. I was able to snag a last minute reservation so we were off to Animal Kingdom!

We enjoyed a very yummy breakfast consisting of fruit, pastries, eggs (scrambled with goat cheese and omelettes), sausage, french toast and much more. This really is our favorite table service breakfast in all of Disney!

After breakfast we went outside for a few more pictures!

It was finally time to head over to the Magic Kingdom. I'm not sure if it was coincidence or if my idea paid off, but the wait times were super short! We headed over to Everest to grab a few fast passes but the line was so short my Dad and Eric jumped on. Unfortunately that was the last "real" ride for my dad as it made him super motion sick!!

After Everest we headed over to the Safari for only a 20 minutes wait (although I don't think it was even that long!) I'll try not to go overboard on the pictures from the safari.  On our way though we ran into Turk! It was Kennedy's first character experience!

We seem to get lucky and catch a glimpse of DiVine every trip! This was no different. I love watching all the people walk by and not even realize whats going on. You really have to know where to look for her.  She walked right past my dad, practically knocking him over!

Next up was Dinoland! The baby was ready for a bottle and a nap and my parents offered to watch her while the hubby and I went on Dinosaur. I love this ride even though it scares the beejuzus out of me!!

While they waited, look who showed up!

After that we did a bit of shopping before heading over to the Festival of the Lion King (my Mom's favorite). I was so excited for the baby to see this show since she loved it so much in utuero LOL!!

After the show we needed a snack!

Then we took a walk on the Maharajah Jungle Trek.

This was pretty neat...a Cast Member came out with this tool that resembled a drill and opened up a cover on the ground. Turns out it was a way to open the gate below and let the Tigers out. There were FOUR tigers we saw that day!

Next we wandered over to It's Tough To Be a Bug...our last attraction before leaving for the day! I've always wanted my picture taken here but never seemed to have no crowds to do it!

We stopped for one more picture before leaving.  Tomorrow I'll post a review of our dinner at La Hacienda De San Angel and the rest of our night at EPCOT...don't miss it!

Restaurant Review- The Grand Floridian Cafe

One of the most magical places at Disney during Christmas is Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, Disney's Flagship resort.  The Grand Floridian Resort and Spa opened in 1988 as the Grand Floridian Beach Resort. The resort is inspired by the Victorian resorts of the 19th Century and while it is Disney's most pricey resort, it doesn't cost a dime to go and visit!

Every trip my husband and I like to make reservations at the Grand Floridian Cafe.  I honestly  can't say enough good things about this restaurant!  The food is always amazing and the service is outstanding!! We had reservations for 5 p.m. with plans to see the Main St. Electrical Light parade and Wishes after dinner. Unfortunately the Magic Kingdom was just so busy, we decided to skip it and visit the Contemporary after dinner for some shopping and to check out the Christmas decorations.

Princess all ready for dinner!

Some decorations once we arrived:



If you haven't seen any of the Christmas specials on Disney, you might not know about the life size Gingerbread House. It's really spectacular and smells amazing!!

We arrived right on time for our dinner reservation and were seated pretty quickly. The baby had fallen asleep by now and was in her stroller.  They were nice enough to seat us at a table in the corner so we could put the strollet of the way. I was a little surprised because the table was for 6 or 7 people and there only 4 of us. It was still early though and the restaurant hadn't gotten busy yet.

By snagging an early reservation you ensure a quieter dining experience, although this restaurant doesn't typically get loud.

For starters  glass of wine (White Zinfaendel for my parents, Reisling for my hubby and Rosa Regale for me).  My hubby loves French Onion soup here and always gets it.  I had a seasonal green salad with parmesean, apples and candied walnuts. My dad got the Sopu De Jour which was this amazing Pumpkin soup.  Seriously the soup was soooo yummy!!  Along with our appetizers we also enjoyed two kinds of rolls, Sourghdough and Multigrain along with butter that has Hawaiian sea salt. 

For dinner two of us ordered Bone In New York Strip that came with House mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables and Bordelaise. The other two ordered the Roasted Airline Chicken which came with Mushroom Risotto, roasted mushrooms and chicken pan juice.  Let me tell you, the Mushroom risotto at Le Cellier is my all time favorite, but this dish was AMAZING!! The chicken was so moist and not at all dry. It was full of flavor and the risotto was just amazing. I got to try a bite of the steak and that too was awesome!! I can't recommend restaurant enough!

For dessert we couldn't decide what to order so we got 2 of the dessert samplers.

From left to right; Key Lime Tart, NY Style Lemon Cheesecake, Boston Cream Pie and Fresh Berry Tart

We all had a different favorite. My mom loved the Berry Tart, my Dad and Hubby loved the cheesecake and I loved the Key Lime Tart. They were all amazing!!

After dinner we hopped on the monorail over to the Contemporary, but not before a few pictures!

Arriving at the Contemporary!

Doing a little shopping!

Finally after some shopping to work off dinner, we headed back to the Grand Floridian to get our car and get a good night's sleep! Next up...another change of plans!!



Day 2- Magic Kingdom

Good Morning!! Now that the nasty stomach bug seems to have cleared our house, let's get back on track!  Our first full day was planned to be at Magic Kingdom. We were going to be there bright and early for park open but  the Christmas party went a bit later than expected. I told everyone they could sleep in a bit before we headed over to the park (very uncharacteristic of us!).

We finally got out of the hotel room and it was a gorgeous day!

We arrived and parked in the Alladin section. On a side note, I'm not sure how thrilled I am with the changes to the Magic Kingdom Parking lot. I think for guests that don't travel to Disney very often it could get confusing. There is now a division between the lots, Heroes and Villians.  I just didn't think it was a great idea.

We decided to take the Ferry over so my dad could get some photos and we could put some sunscreen on the baby.  I forgot our sunscreen at the hotel room...we had to buy some and it was $14!!!

 We arrived and I could already tell that the park was going to be busier than normal.  I normally don't schedule the Magic Kingdom on a Monday and I don't know what I was thinking!!

Our mission was to grab breakfast at the Main St. Bakery.  

We were lucky enough to snag a table right outside which was perfect timing because the Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It Parade was coming through. I knew the baby loved last nights parade and she apparently felt the same about this one!

After breakfast we headed to Fantasyland to see Mickey's Philharmagic.

I was shocked when we got to Fantasyland and saw how much further along the renovations had come since February!

We snagged some fastpasses for Winnie the Pooh before heading to Mickey's Philharmagic. The park was getting busier and busier! We actually WAITED 20 minutes in line for It's A Small World.

After riding Winnie the Pooh we realized the lines were getting a bit crazy but my WDW Lines App said that Splash Mountain didn't have a long wait. We headed toward Frontierland. On the way my dad happened to catch this little guy in the Rivers of America.

Once we got to Frontierland we realized the lines were just too long everywhere! We fed the baby and opted to grab some Dole Whip and leave the park.  

I have to share a funny story with you.  While my Mom, the baby and I took a seat in Adventureland, my Dad and hubby went on Swiss Family Robinson.  They were close to the top when they overheard this conversation.  A man and his daughter were discussing the Swiss Family Robinson. He explained to her that the family was on a Cruise Ship when it sunk. He asked her if he knew what happened next? Her response? THEY DIED.   It continued to be an ongoing joke through our trip...The Swiss Family Robinson were on a Cruise Ship and they all died!

I'm sorry I don't have any pics but we enjoyed a bit of Dole Whip (float for my Dad, vanilla for my Mom, Root Beer Float for Hubby and just pineapple for me!) At this point a storm was rolling through and we decided if we wanted to stay dry we had to leave NOW!  We went back to the room for some downtime before dinner (coming up tomorrow!).

After we got back to the resort, my Dad and I took a walk around the resort and down to the lobby.

Coming up tomorrow...our review of Grand Floridian Cafe!

Restaurant Review-Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn Cafe

I have a special place in my heart for this counter service location. I think it comes from when I was a kid and I love watching the Pecos Bill Disney Cartoon!!

I knew it was going to busy when we arrived because of the Christmas Party but everyone was in the mood for burgers.  Check out the menu here: http://allears.net/menu/men_pec.htm

I love the atmosphere at Pecos Bill's. Also if the Tortuga Tavern is close, usually there is a lot of seating up there and it's quieter!

My mom and I ordered Cheeseburgers while my Dad and Hubby ordered Deluxe Cheeseburgers (those are the kind with the Onion Ring and BBQ Sauce on them!).

Another great bonus at Pecos Bills is the fixings bar! I was busy feeding the baby dinner so I couldn't go up, but I had my family bring some mushroom's for my burger! YUM! 

The fixings bar usually consists of ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, salsa, fried onions, raw onions, lettuce, sliced tomatoes, pickles, and saute'ed mushrooms.

We used counter service credits for dinner which entitled us all to a drink, entree and dessert. I had bottled water while the rest of my family had fountain drinks.  We also had 2 chocolate cakes and 2 carrot cakes.  My dad also replaced his fries with Onion Rings.

Overall the food was ok...it's not gourmet or anything and wasn't the best. The burgers were slightly cold but everything else was pretty good. I think part of it had to do with it being a Christmas Party night. Less food options meant that the few places open were busier than normal. I would still go back to Pecos Bill's in a heartbeat!!!

We are back!! Day 1 is up!

We are back!! What a fun and amazing week we had!!  We are tired and most of us are glad to be home (not me...I'm ready to go back lol!).  I'm going to be posting our report over the next several weeks. I'll also be splitting out restaurant reviews so they are easy to access later :)

Day 1 started pretty uneventful.  My hubby works nights so he arrived home around 8 a.m. and we had a bit of time before heading to my parents.  We were packed and ready to go!  Our flight was on time so we headed over to the airport around 11:30 a.m.  Getting through security was kind of a pain since I had to carry the baby, fold up the stroller and put the car seat on the conveyor belt.  We got through without any problems though!

The baby did AMAZING on our flight! I fed her a bottle on take off to help her ears. After that she played for a bit before napping. She slept through our landing!! Once we arrived in Orlando we took a quick potty break before heading to baggage claim. Our bags where some of the first off the plane and we were soon off to Alamo.  We joined Alamo insiders before leaving and got a great deal on 2 cars ($90 for a midsize and $100 for a full size).

We picked out our cars in the parking garage and were soon on our way to Disney!

After we unpacked a bit it was time to get read for the Christmas Party!  We got dressed in our Christmas attire and headed over to the Magic Kingdom.

Our first stop was Pecos Bill's for dinner (Review coming in another post).  After dinner it was just about time for the parade so we snagged a seat outside.  I hear so many horror stories from people about guests pushing their way to get seats and letting their kids crawl over people. I have to say that we had the opposite experience.  Even though Kennedy is only 5 months old, another guest made room so we could wheel her stroller right up to the front.

I love watching the parades from Frontierland. The crowds are almost non-existent and we didn't have to wait hours for a good spot!   Now I was prepared for our little girl to have a good time but I wasn't prepared for HOW much fun she was going to have! The parade started and she was in awe! After a few minutes she was smiling and laughing. We had so much fun watching her. That was hands down my husband and my favorite part of the trip!

By far our favorite was the Toy Soldiers! Here is the video:

After the parade we headed back to Main St. to watch the Holiday version of Wishes and the Magic, Memories and You Show!

During the fireworks, Kennedy fell fast asleep!

We really had a great time and I would highly recommend attending Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party! I would also recommend arriving as soon as you can (4 p.m. without regular park tickets).

Park Hopping

Good Morning from the Happiest Place on Earth! I'm posting from my computer today so hopefully this post is more legible!! It's pretty early but we crashed really heard last night and are up and ready to go today. 

Today I want to briefly talk about park hopping. Many times my clients ask me if getting the park hopping option is worth it.  I always say I like having it for the flexibility but should they chose not to purchase it, I can help come up with a plan to take advantage of base tickets.

But sometimes, plans change. Yesterday the Magic Kingdom was busier than expected. Couple that with rain it was a long day. We didn't get to see or do everything we wanted to. It was still a great day and our backup plan was a lot of fun but we started to rethink the next few days.

So here is our changing itinerary. In order to try avoid some of these unexpected crowds we are going to Boma for breakfast today, followed by Animal Kingdom. We still have reservations for dinner in EPCOT so we'll keep those.  Tomorrow we'll head to Cape Canaveral with dinner at Downtown Disney and then Thursday we'll spend at EPCOT.

It's a small change but here is where having the park hopper pass comes in handy. We can't change our dining reservation this last minute (for dinner anyway) so we'll need the hopper option to be able to adjust our days and keep our reservations. I'm a big fan and for the price of just $58.58 per person, it was totally worth it!

I'll leave you today with a picture!

1st day excitement!

What an amazing first day! I'll make this post short as I don't have any pictures yet. My dad has been dubbed official family photographer and took hundreds yesterday!
Our flight was great and took off right on time. The baby did amazing! She took a bottle on take off and then a short nap on landing. She slept through touchdown and everything.
We grabbed our bags and rental cars and were off to Disney! Check in was a breeze and we got the baby her 1st visit button and me a birthday button.  I had gotten a message that our garden grocery delivery had arrived too.
We had a little trouble finding our room but once we did we found it in a great location. We are in Casitas one right near the parking lot.
We got to the Christmas party a little late and we had just sat down to dinner at about 7 p.m.  Pecos Bills was a great place to have some quick burgers AND when we left there was a spot right outside to watch the parade. The parade was at 8:15 and people had been lining up on Main St since before we got there! Frontierland is my favorite place to watch parades and you don't have to wait as long.
A side note...many people made comments about our daughter being too young to go to Disney but let me say...watching her face light up with the biggest smiles during the parade was all worth it. She won't ever remember this trip but we will never forget that moment.
We headed back to Main St. to watch the Magic, the Memories and You show and the holiday version of Wishes.  That was one of the best fireworks displays I've ever seen. I love Wishes anyway but great job Disney.  Oh and the baby was so pooped she slept through all the fireworks!
I'm posting from a dark hotel room while everyone sleeps so I can't grab my pedometer but yesterdays count was over 8000!  We are getting a later start than planned due to our late night but we'll head back to the Magic Kingdom today!

She's a model...if you know what I mean!

Yesterday I talked about some of the necessities that we need to bring with us as we are traveling with a baby. Today I'd like to talk about some of the fun parts of traveling with a baby.

WARNING! Lots of cuteness ahead...if you don't like babies or baby clothes you might want to skip today's post!

We last traveled to Walt Disney World when I was pregnant. One of my favorite memories was watching Festival of the Lion King and feeling that little baby kick my belly. I'm so excited to return and have her experience all the sights and sounds of Disney.

But she needed an outfit!I decided that it would be cute for her to have a Christmas outfit for the Christmas party! I came across this at Babies R' Us.

So we kept shopping....Target will send me to the poorhouse any day!!  We started finding some really cute onesies on clearance.

Then she started outgrowing stuff...and fast! I found that some of the toddler clothes came in her size!

Mommy is obsessed with Snow White so this was perfect!

And my latest favorite? The new Disney bodysuits!! I love the Disney bodsuits to begin with and they just keep getting cuter!

Who can resit?

Then I kept seeing these adorable pictures of families with matching shirts. So the hunt began on Etsy...the other place that gets all of my money! I'm not usually crazy about the normal iron on Disney stuff on Etsy. I don't like that you have to put it on a white shirt because it's normally done on white transfer paper.  I also wasn't crazy about the rhinestone stuff and no one was going for the Tie Dye shirts.  Then I came across MissMorgan...O.M.G.

I couldn't get my family on board but I could still get the baby a few  things right?
This is where it started...this of course is the finished product. Her Iron On's are more like vinyl then the normal transfer paper.  it works great and you can put it on ANY color!

This is her Animal Kingdom outfit. I also have a matching Giraffe Bow and Giraffe Leg warmers!

But she needed something special for her first trip right?? So this one is up next:

(the V is missing on Visit due to a small user error...I'm waiting for a replacement V, lol)

But my princess still didn't have a princess outfit!!  So that was next on my list (plus tutu!)

After seeing how easy these are to apply I had to buy a few more! So these are currently on order:

Minus the candle. I did this one in Green for a bright pink onesie!

A few months back I bought these great ears! So I needed something to go with them.  A great option if your little one is too small for traditional Mickey Ears

http://www.etsy.com/shop/head2toedesigns

The bow will be light pink to match the ears!

I also couldn't resist this one for our trip to Ohana!

Of course we have a few other goodies for her, like these:

You can find MissMorgans shop on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/MissMorgan.  I can't recommend her enough! Her iron on's are amazing and so easy to use! Shipping was super fast too!!

We've had so much fun shopping for this trip and I can't believe it's only 2 weeks away!

You're bringing a baby??

Happy Saturday!! We have begun the countdown...15 days and counting before we head home!!

Today I wanted to talk about our decision to bring our 5 month old (she'll be 5 months 3 days before we leave). A lot of people think we are nuts and ask why don't we wait until she's older? It's not like we have other children that are older traveling with us. My philosophy is, you can't ever be too young for Disney!!

The decision was made partially for selfish reasons...my husband and I wanted to travel back to Disney as we always have and felt that having a baby didn't change that! The other part was, and call me crazy, but I really think she's going to enjoy it.  She's very aware of her surroundings and constantly interested in EVERYTHING that's going on...even if just a simple trip to the grocery store. She loves bright lights and music (what baby doesn't) and she travel really well.  Except if she's hungry, she's a very easy going baby!

On a positive note, Disney makes it very easy to travel with a baby! Before that, we have to get to Disney right?  Another reason we are taking her now is....she's FREE!!  The airline allows children 2 and under to travel for free when they are sitting in your lap.

I've mentioned before that I will be trying to order several things to make our traveling easier.  From Garden Grocer* we will be ordering diapers and I will be shipping her formula ahead of time to the resort.  I'll still be bringing a diaper bag with enough formula and diapers for the day.

We debated bringing  a small stroller and renting a car seat from Alamo but in the end decided it was just easier to bring our own travel system and check it at the gate.   Our daughter is comfortable in it and it makes the most sense.

We are booked at Coronado Springs in a standard room.  I like the benefit of having  a small mini-fridge and more space. We have also requested a Pack-n-Play, a free amenity provided by Disney. We also requested a connecting room with my parents which will offer more space and easy access to some very helpful Grandparents :)

Did you know that each park offers a baby care center? The baby care centers offer a cool and quiet place to take your baby. They offer a fully stocked kitchen so you can heat bottles, a high chair for feeding, nursing rooms and changing station. They also offer a variety of items available for purchase like diapers, baby food, infant and children’s medications, binkies, clothes, etc.  While I'm not sure we'll need to use these centers, it's definitely a nice perk to know I have somewhere to go should we need a quiet space to feed or change her away from the hustle and bustle.

I mentioned that we will be bringing our own stroller. Another reason we are doing this is to avoid renting a  Disney stroller. While these might work for older children, they definitely won't work for us.

We will more than likely keep the car seat in the car and let her ride in the front of our stroller, the busy body that she is.  It will offer us a great place for her to nap but also works while she's awake so she can scope out the "world".

While we won't be bringing food into the parks, we will be bringing in bottled water as well as formula and possibly baby food. Disney doesn't allow coolers (the large rolling kind, lol) but they do permit you to bring food into the parks.  We will of course need to bring our diaper bag and there will probably be at least 2 camera bags!!

So now that we are all packed up and ready to hit the parks, what do you do with a baby? At Walt Disney World children can go on any ride there isn't a height requirement!  There are quite a few rides and shows that I'm excited to take her to.

It's A Small World

Snow Whites Scary Adventure

Peter Pans Flight

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Journey into Imagination

The Seas with Nemo and Friends

The Great Movie Ride

The Voyage of the Little Mermaid

Beauty and The Beast on Stage

Disney Junior Live on Stage

Muppet Vision 3-D

Festival of the Lion King

Kilmanjaro Safari

Finding Nemo the Musical

So what about the big kid rides? Hubby and I don't want to miss out either!  Since we are traveling with my parents we will have the opportunity to see everything!! Here are our two options:

1) If someone isn't interested in riding (like my dad) then that person can stay with the baby while the rest of us ride

or

2) We take advantage of Baby Swap

What is baby swap?  Baby swap is a great service Disney offers for those traveling with children too small to ride but everyone else can!  Ask a Cast Member at each attraction for more details but usually  how it works is EVERYONE gets in line for the ride. When it comes time to actually board the ride, in our case 2 people will stay back with the baby. Once the first 2 return we will "swap" the baby and the 2 waiting now get to ride. This allows us to stay together and not spend ALL day in line.

After all, our last trip was while I was pregnant and I have several things in mind that I just don't want to miss!!  Overall this trip might be a little slower paced and more relaxed than past trips because we are bringing her along but it works for us and we are so excited to share our favorite place and continue the magic!

*NOTE: I no longer recommend Garden Grocer. We stopped using their services back in 2012 and only use WeGoShop.com now.

It's time to pack!

Ok, so maybe it's not quite time to pack yet, but let's talk about what is important to bring to Disney. This question is asked a lot by my clients so I thought we'd go into a bit of detail today.

Before we talk about what to pack, I'd like to talk about Disney's Magical Express. This is a FREE service offered by Walt Disney World to take you to and from the airport. We are going to be renting a car, but that is for a few reason:

1) We are traveling for the first time with a baby
2) I lived in Orlando and know my way around fairly well
3) I have control issues
4) My husband is the worlds biggest baby and I have spoiled him by renting a car EVERY trip.

Honestly, Magical Express is an awesome service and works really well so don't hesitate to save yourself some money and use this free service!!  If you haven't been to Orlando before, once your plane arrives you'll get to experience your first bit of magic.

The airport monorail...OOHHHH!! AAAAHHH!!

This will take you to the main terminal where you will skip baggage claim proceed to the Disney's Magical Express Welcome Center in the Main Terminal Building, B side, Level 1.


They will then direct you to one of the many Motorcoaches waiting outside.  Disney's Magical Express service will collect your luggage and deliver it directly to your Walt Disney World hotel room within 3 hours after you check in at the resort.

Since you won't be getting your luggage for a few hours, be sure to pack anything you will need in a carry-on bag. This includes:

-Sunscreen
-Any medications
-Swim Suits
-Resort and dining confirmations
-Formula or baby food if you are traveling with infants

If you decide to drive, don't forget quarters for the toll road that takes you to Disney!!!

Now let's move on to general packing. You can google packing lists and find dozens of variations. I think a lot of it is kind of excessive so I'm trying to break down the must have items.

Check the weather before you go. I like to look at accuweather.com...mostly because I can scope out the forecast a month in advance. 

CLOTHES
If you are traveling during the cooler months be sure to pack at least a pair of jeans/pants and a sweatshirt or light jacket. It can get down right chilly during certain times of the year. Of course bring t-shirts, tank tops, shorts, cropped pants...etc. Whatever you bring, be comfy!!

SHOES
Did you know that on average you can walk up to 10 miles per day while at Walt Disney World...yes 10 MILES!!  During our upcoming trip I will be wearing a pedometer and posting my results to give you an idea of how much walking you will be doing.  A comfy pair of shoes is a must. Personally I bring two pairs of shoes.  One pair of Crocs sandals and one pair of sneakers.  Now it might be obvious but this is NOT the time to bring new shoes. Bring at least one pair of shoes that are well broken in and have good support. I personally love my Crocs but I also need the support of a good sneaker.

I know many people think Crocs are ugly, but I don't mind mine! They are one of the comfiest pairs of shoes I own! I also bring a good pair of walking/running shoes and alternate every day.

Toiletries

Of course with toiletries there are the obvious, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, etc.  Don't forget to pack both the sunscreen and aloe (just in case!).  I would also recommend bringing things like Tylenol, allergy medicine, cold medicine or similar items can be extremely pricey in any of the gift shops on property.

Bandaids are another must have but I also like to bring the bandaids made especially for blisters.  There is also a glide on product out now that is supposed to help prevent blisters. For the warmer months,  you might also consider packing some type of talcum powder.

I would also recommend brining hand sanitizer or wipes.  Shout wipes or a Tide pen are always a good idea too!  Baby wipes or moist toilettes are also good to have while you are out touring the parks!

Other

We always chose to bring some type of backpack with us.  We don't bring anything too large, but just something that will fit our park maps, bottled water, camera and other item. For those traveling with infants, obviously a diaper bag will probably be necessary.

Don't forget that all the parks have a security check point where all bags must be inspected. If you are on your way to a dining reservation, please allow time. Usually they are pretty quick to get through but during the busier months it could delay you by a few minutes.

Of course everyone always hopes it doesn't rain on their vacation but in Florida it's a possibility. Be sure to pack rain ponchos and umbrellas...also very pricey items to buy at the last minute!

Batteries, Batteries and more batteries!  Enough said, lol!

If you have a smart phone there are a variety of apps you can download before your trip. I am using the touringplans.com app as well as the Mobile Magic app through Verizon. They can be great tools to help with line wait times as well as fast pass times!

If you are interested in purchasing the Photopass CD (don't forget you can put your own digital images on this as well as Disney's photopass images) you can pre-purchase this at a savings right now.  Visit http://www.disneyphotopass.com/ for more details.  I know this isn't something you can pack, but I wanted to remind you to do it ahead of time!

Of course don't forget to bring all your confirmations and dining reservations with you too!

Tomorrow I'm going to talk about a local business that can help you save a bit of money!

I need a vacation from my vacation!

The biggest complaint I always here from people traveling to Disney is, I need a Vacation from my Vacation!! It's important that if you are traveling to Walt Disney World that you understand the type of destination that it is (and what it can be!).  I don't want this to be you...

Let's talk a little about size...it really does matter!!  First, we will take a little trip back in time. The year was 1955 and Disneyland had just opened it's gate.  Disneyland consisted of just the Magic Kingdom and while it wasn't an instant success, it caught on fairly quickly.  Not only that but area "entrepreneurs"  decided they could make a pretty penny off Walt's dream too!  Very quickly lots of tourist trap type business started popping up and Walt had no where to go!! If you've ever visited Disneyland you will notice that the two theme parks are closely surrounded by local business, hotels and restaurants.

Walt need more space! He starting purchasing plots of land in Florida under various pseudonyms like Reedy Creek Ranch Corporation.  He wanted space and he got it! Walt Disney World totals 47 square miles or roughly the size of San Fransisco or TWICE the size of Manhattan. Nearly one third of that is set aside for Environmental Protection and can't be developed on.

My point is...it's big. It's HUGE!!  There are 25 Disney resorts, one residential area, 10 non-Disney resort, 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, 5 golf courses, 2 miniature golf courses, a shopping district and much, much more!

This old photo comes from ideal4disney.com but is a great view of how large the Walt Disney World resort really is!

So let's talk about the game plan.  We are traveling do Walt Disney World for 7 nights, 8 days with one day set aside for a trip to Cape Canaveral.  Here is our general plan:

Arrival Day- Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

Day 2-Magic Kingdom

Day 3-EPCOT

Day 4-Animal Kingdom

Day 5-Cape Canaveral

Day 6-Hollywood Studios

Day 7-Magic Kingdom

Day 8- Depart :(

So how did I come up with this schedule? I take a few things into consideration when planning our itinerary:

-Even thought we purchased Park Hoppers we are planning one park per day. I know our group though and things tend to change so we like the flexibility.

-Park Hours. Even though we are traveling with a baby we like to be in the parks as long as possible.  We have a schedule but the baby can sleep pretty much anywhere.

-Extra Magic Hours. There are several schools of thought on Extra Magic Hours

Avoid them as everyone else goes so the other parks will be less crowded

OR
Take advantage of them as they are less busy and you can see and do a lot of things before regular guests are allowed in.

We subscribe to the latter.  I highly enjoy early Extra Magic Hours at both Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom and evening Extra Magic hours..well just about anywhere!!!

-Crowd levels. Personally I love using touringplans.com BUT I don't follow their advice to a T. Sometimes it's not correct...after all it's not a perfect science!  It does give a  good idea of how the parks were historically.

Bottom line is that itinerary planning is not a specific science but more of an art!

Let's take a look at that schedule again shall we?

Arrival Day- Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

Day 2-Magic Kingdom

Day 3-EPCOT

Day 4-Animal Kingdom

Day 5-Cape Canaveral

Day 6-Hollywood Studios

Day 7-Magic Kingdom

Day 8- Depart :(

Currently we have 6-day park hopper passes. So for Day 1 we are covered with our Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party Tickets (remember, you can access the parks starting at 4 p.m.!) Today is scheduled as the SECOND busiest day of our trip!

Day 2- We always like to start our trip at the Magic Kingdom (and end it!) Plus the park is open until 11 p.m.! Rather low crowds and because of the Christmas party the night before, it should be relatively quiet.

Day 3-EPCOT has early extra magic hours so we are going to take advantage of this.  Today is supposed to be extremely quiet! Plus another Christmas party is scheduled at the Magic Kingdom.

Day 4- You guessed it...Animal Kingdom has early Extra Magic Hours.  We'll end our day either at the resort, the Boardwalk or Downtown Disney

Day 5-Cape Canaveral with dinner at EPCOT

Day 6-Hollywood Studios. Touring plans recommends Animal Kingdom plus there is extra magic hours at EPCOT so we are hoping it will be slow here today

Day 7-One last day at Magic Kingdom.

So there it is!  That's "the plan"...I'm really the only one who would be willing to stick with it. It will be interesting on how it plays out!  Next up we'll talk about our dining reservations and then we'll talk about each park individually and touring plans.  

Don't forget the LIVE chat tomorrow night at 8 p.m. eastern time!  Also, I have a special guest post coming up!