Disney Day 2: Magic Kingdom and Mickey's Backyard BBQ

For our second day at Disney we planned to hit Magic Kingdom early, ride the remainder of our wish list attractions and then head back to the resort for a siesta before heading to the Fort Wilderness resort for the Mickey’s Backyard BBQ character dinner that evening. We got to MK with plenty of time to spare and when the doors opened we rushed to AdventureLand to hop on the first Jungle Cruise out of the docks. 

Forest really loved this ride, so I’m glad we rode it since many sources told me it was "meh". 

Afterward we explored the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse which was another hit with Forest. This area of the park was so empty we basically had it all to ourselves so it was nice to explore at a relaxed pace. 

Afterward we walked right onto The Magic Carpet Ride. 

By 9:17 we had all 3 of these finished. We had a fastpass for 10:15 at Haunted Mansion but since it was still early we decided to see if we could go ahead and tour it with a short wait time and the trade our fast pass in for something else. I’m so glad we did this because we walked right in and Forest was immediately terrified so we had to find a cast member to escort us out. Mom fail #2! But at least we got to do a different fastpass. 

We reserved Tomorrowland Speedway for Jon and F and Space Mountain for me and headed over to Tomorrowland instead. Since our fastpasses weren’t until 10:30 we did the Astro Orbiter (I wish I hadn’t gone but Jon and F had fun) and the Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor which was really cute.

Then we split up to cash in our fastpasses and when I got to Space Mountain it was closed! I guess something went awry so I’m glad I wasn’t riding it when it happened, but still, I was disappointed to miss this one. 

I also didn’t know what happened to my fastpass as it just sort of disappeared on the app. I found out later that when this happens you get an email telling you that you can use your FP at one of several other rides instead, but since I didn’t know it at the time I just forgot about it and waited for Forest and Jonathan to finish up at the neighboring race track. To make up for my disappointment, I decided to drown my sorrows in a delicious Dole Whip before heading over to Splash Mountain for our 11:30 fastpass. 

Since you have to be 40” to ride Splash Mountain and Forest is hovering right at 39 ¾ we were unsure as to whether he’d qualify. He just made the cut so we suited him up in his waterproof crocodile coveralls and cut to the front of the line. 

I hypothesized that he’d enjoy this thrilling ride but after so badly misjudging the much more benign Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion I was apprehensive. He did get uncomfortable in the dark and sinister areas especially when the ride broke down for a minute right in the middle of the darkest part, but he loved the coaster aspects and thought the big plunge into the river was awesome. He was all smiles afterward. 

We had about 20 minutes until we could use our final fastpasses at Peter Pan’s flight so stopped to eat our pre-packed picnic lunch nearby. When we parked our stroller at the ride, I noticed Forest grasping at his wrist and then realized that his magic band had fallen off. It had done the same thing while we were eating our ice cream but we noticed right away so secured it back on. This time we had no idea where he’d lost it so retraced our steps back to the lunch table before giving it up for lost. We were about ready to leave the park for the day so didn’t have time to go all the way to the front for a replacement and walk back to Peter Pan so instead Jonathan gave Forest his fastpass and we had a little mommy son date on a flying pirate ship. 

Afterward we went to customer service to see if anyone had turned in a missing magic band or else get his replaced. The worker was kind and gave us a brand new one and got it all set up for us, but Jonathan wore F’s for the remainder of the trip, just in case. 

At this point Forest was so tired he was begging us to nap in his stroller but we really didn’t want to stay at the parks and then have a character dinner with no rest for us so we pushed him to stay away until we got home. This lead to an epic meltdown of him screaming ‘I want to take a nap in my stroller! I want to take a nap in my stroller!’ as we loaded him into the car. It was pretty humorous to hear him saying he wanted to take a nap because I’m pretty sure that’s never happened before. 

Anyhoos, that was the biggest drama of the trip and we ended up successfully getting him home for a 2.5 hour nap in his bed. Bliss. We all felt restored and ready for a dance party with Mickey Mouse!  Rather than waste time in the parks trying to get autographs and pictures with the characters, a friend advised us to try a character dinner. That way we unwind with a meal and get a good chunk of time to meet and interact with some of the big names. We choose Mickey’s Backyard BBQ because it was an all you can eat buffet with endless adult beverages and ice cream included. 

It was held at the Pavillion at the Fort Wilderness Resort which we tucked away in our minds as a potential future vacation spot for us. The grounds were just so spacious and peaceful, like summer camp. Forest loved exploring the mossy grounds and collecting acorns in his water cup. We arrived early to give us time to explore and also to have better seating options once they opened up the buffet area. 

The entertainment was country and western themed and the characters alternated between dancing on delegated dance floors throughout the dance floor and signing autographs. We were seated right next to one of the dance floors and autograph stations so were able to beat the lines when it was game time. Unfortunately we discovered pretty early that Forest was flat out terrified of the characters, especially Goofy. 

Save me from that giant dog, mommy!

With some heavy encouragement from me he handed his autograph book to Chip and Dale and tolerated being hugged by them, but as far as dancing with them- nuh-uh, no way.

I may tolerate those chipmunks hugging me but don't you even try, scary dog thing.

He would barely even give Mickey a high 5, despite the sweet mouse’s persistence in trying to get Forest to engage with him. 

Oh well,  Jonathan and Forest ate their money’s worth of BBQ and ice cream and once we had our fill, we left a bit early to do some more exploring on the resort grounds. 

We had an early morning again the next day as we prepared to take on Animal Kingdom. Stay tuned!

Disney Day 1: Magic Kingdom and Epcot

We got back last Saturday from our first family trip to Disney World and I have to say it was pretty successful. We went at a slow pace, kept our expectations low, and were prepared to call it a day if Forest (or his parents) started to get cranky or tired. We had park hopper tickets (meaning we could get into any of the 4 parks each day) and spent 3 days there. 

Our tentative plan was to split day 1 between Magic Kingdom and Epcot, Day 2 we’d go hard at Magic Kingdom in the morning and then rest at the resort until a character dinner that evening, and Day 3 we’d start at Animal Kingdom and if Forest napped in the stroller we’d pick a park to spend our remaining evening, and if not, we’d just call it a trip and head back for some down time at the resort pool. 

The biggest advice Disney Veterans gave us before going was to arrive 20 minutes before the parks open. We are early risers but this still meant waking Forest up at 7:30 (6:30 Texas time) each morning so that we could leave the resort around 8, park and walk/ride the monorail to be at the gates for the opening ceremony and rope drop. But it was excellent advice because we were able to get so much done between 9-10 AM before the crowds started pouring in. 

Our plan each day was to race to a ride with a notoriously long wait time and then try to pack in as much as we could before 10 at which point we’d start using our 3 daily fastpasses or ride attractions with short lines. With technology these days it was super easy to check wait times using the My Disney Experience App so we could really minimize our waiting times. 

Patience is not a 3 years olds strong suit so we never waited in a line that was listed as more than a 15-20 minute wait. Because we went in early November, crowds were moderate/low but even so called “low” crowds at Disney are pretty crazy! Especially since they use their ‘low season’ to refurbish some of their biggest attractions which pushes more people to the remaining open rides. 

Ok, so our day 1 itinerary went like this: We rushed straight to Seven Dwarves Mine Train and still waited about 15-20 minutes. By the time we got out it was already listed as a 35 minute wait and only got longer as the day went on. Forest LOVED his first coaster. 

His hair is sticking straight up. I can't even.

Next we walked right onto Dumbo and Barnstormer, all of which he loved as well. 

Then he and Jonathan road Tomorrowland Speedway while I shopped and looked for coffee. 

At this point it was after 10 and the lines park wide were starting to get lengthy so we used our first fastpass for the Under the Sea Little Mermaid ride and then hopped on It’s a Small World which never had a line longer than 10 minutes or so. 

Scotland!

After that Forest showed some tired signals so we quickly used our next FP to ride Winnie the Pooh and then plopped in the stroller hoping for a hail mary that he would nap. 

He has such a 'Fear of Missing Out' personality so I really figured we’d just stroll him and let him rest before hitting our last FP at Pirates of the Caribbean (Jonathan had  FP at the same time for Space Mountain). Well he shocked me by falling fast asleep for an hour! 

Of course if I stopped strolling he would instantly start stirring so we took turns power walking the stroller the whole time but it was awesome! 

I don’t think he’d fallen asleep in the stroller since before his first birthday so we were really stoked! When he woke up the line for Pirates was pretty short so Jon ended up riding in the standby line around the same time as F and I with our Fast passes. 

PS. Forest hated the Pirates ride and kept asking ‘is it just pretend? Is it just pretend?’ the whole time so I really felt bad about taking him on this one. Now he keeps asking if there are pirates in the bathroom (last week it was monsters) so we can add that to his growing list of irrational fears.  Mom fail. 

Around 2 pm we left Magic Kingdom and headed to Epcot via the monorail. Y’all the monorail was Forest’s favorite ride by far. He would have happily ridden it all day. 

Epcot is my favorite park though most people rank it pretty low. I love the world showcase and the educational nature of the attractions. It also has a lot of hands on exhibitions which make it feel more like a museum than Disney Park, at least compared to Magic Kingdom. We were there in time for the International Food and Wine Festival which is so much fun. Forest was still pretty tired so he happily colored and did sticker books in his stroller while Jonathan and I went on a quick food (and beer) tour around the world. 

We were very disappointed that the Scottish booth didn't have haggis or sticky toffee pudding.

So we opted for beer and waffles from Belgium instead.

Afterward we took Forest to ride Finding Nemo which he was obsessed with. I realized that of all the movie-themed things we had ridden, this was the first one with characters he knew really well and it made a big difference. He just went on and on about Marlin, Nemo, Dory and the gang (though he kept asking where Hank was!). The ride spits you out into a pretty decent sized aquarium which he loved as well. 

He could have spent all day there but it was getting close to bedtime and Jonathan still wanted to ride Test Track so he ran to do that while we picked up some souvenirs and then we boarded the monorail back to our car. It was a really successful first day!  I’ll fill you in on days 2 and 3 later on this week. Stay tuned!