Live trip report with a 2 and 4 year old

Walt Disney World Trip Reports
1

First trip report here! DH and I are here with his parents and our DD4 and DS2. Staying at BLT for 7 days. I’m hoping to document as much as I can!

We landed on Saturday around 1:15 and grabbed some quick pizza before heading to DME. It was crowded so we waited about 45 minutes before loading up. We arrived to BLT around 3:15-3:30. We score a great room (though a little high up!) and make the 4:30 boat just in time to head to Wilderness Lodge. We are early for our reservation so hang in the lobby before heading to Whispering Canyon. At this point my kids had been real troopers considering the prior night’s poor sleep, early flight, and lack of naps. But my daughter started complaining of ear pain, so I took her back to the hotel early while everyone else ate. My husband said he enjoyed the food though no one was super hungry for the AYCTE so they didn’t necessarily get their money’s worth. He noted their waitress wasn’t super into the Schtick of the service there, but was good and friendly. My reheated salmon was great, didn’t love the side dish. I bathe the kids and we struggle with bedtime sharing one room but manage 8:30 sleep for kids.

Sunday we wake around 7:45 and are out the door around 8:15. We walk over to MK and go through tap stiles at 8:35. It’s cold!! We are dressed warm though and my kids have two light jackets and hats on, so it was manageable. We head to Dumbo at rope drop and are first on. Head next to Barnstormer for literal walk on and done at 9:20.

We head toward Fantasyland and see Under the Sea is walk on so head in. We had a FP for it later so I switched it for evening Pooh. At this point, DD4 is loving life while DS2 is still waking up but just going with the flow. Short potty break before Enchanted Tales. It’s the first line we encounter at 20 minutes. My kids enjoy the show and cooperate for pictures! This is a big deal as characters have typically made them uncomfortable in the past. They are shy by nature but enjoyed it for sure with no fear.

Next as head to Carousel for about 10 minutes wait. My kids adore this ride and DS2 did not want to get off. Hopped over to Philharmagic just as a new show opened - our timing is spot on today!! The kids love this show too. We get out around 11:05. We have 11:25 ADR for BOG and decide to check in early. I couldn’t mobile order and the line to order is long and slow. We waited at least 15 minutes for this. My husband got us seats in the main ballroom which is loud. We’ve eaten here once before and loved it but this time it was just okay - I had the French dip sandwich.

At this point it’s about 12:30 so we take the monorail back. I take my son to the room for a hopeful nap while DD4 and DH hang outside since now it’s warmed up. My son rests a bit but won’t fall asleep :frowning: but I’m still happy with the break we got and we head back to monorail around 3:15. The loop back is long and my son falls asleep on the ride. We transfer to the stroller and he is out like a light.

We decide to do COP while my FIL stays with my sleeping boy. This ride is so nostalgic and it had been a while since i had done it. We have FP for Buzz and get in line around 4:20. It breaks down for a few minutes while we are on it, and my son was still a zombie since we woke him up right before coming on.

Next we have a FP for SDMT. My husband and I tap in about 1 minute before it is broken down. There was about 15 minutes of confusion, but we get scanned for a free walk-on FP for today and head out. We had an automatic one already put on our accounts so we each scored 2!! But so many rides are broken down at this point we don’t know where to go. The kids are hungry so we pop into Pinocchio’s village haus for chicken strips and flatbread.

I should say at this point my kids are still being angels. We only have one stroller, and I forgot to pack my Ergo carrier for DS2, so the only issue has been which one needs to be carried (obviously DD4 Walked a lot but does get tired!). I’m thrilled with the lack of meltdowns (please don’t let this jinx myself!). We have a nice leisurely meal and leave around 6. We still have no idea where to go but Pooh just came back from being broken so the line is open. We still have to wait about 10 minutes but go standby hoping we can switch our FP to something else. All I get is 7:10 Mad tea left but oh well. When we get off my husband decides to use his bonus FP on Space while the rest of us take the kids to Tiana and Rapunzel since DD has been asking for princesses. The wait is quick and The kids are happy. We have some more time before our 7:10 teacup FP but sit nearby until our time. The kids smile and love it. We meet up with DH and head back to monorail and home. I had originally wanted to be back much earlier but everyone was enjoying themselves. Kids get Mickey bars to eat on the way and go straight in the bath before we watch HEA from
Our window. Bedtime takes a bit thanks fo my husband but kids are down around 9. So much later than I had wanted but whatever, I’m learning to roll with the punches at least a little bit!

Stay tuned for more adventures!

27 Likes
2

Sounds like a great time! It’s always wonderful when our kids surprise us with their resilience. :grinning:

1 Like
3

This is great! Can’t wait to follow along!

Have to say monorail for the win!! That was my plan if my 2 year old didn’t fall asleep in the stroller. Movement just knocks them out! Mine also fell asleep on it’s a small world and pirates. The rocking boats just knocked her out at nap time.

4

Sounds like a great trip so far, no meltdowns is a huge accomplishment. You are making such great memories.

5

Going to Disney in two week with DW, DS2, & DS4. for 5 days in parks. looking forward to your posts.

6

Up and out in 30 minutes with two littles. You rock! Looking forward to more.

7

Love live trip reports. You accomplished a lot in MK. I’m impressed that you can do a report with a 2 and 4 year old in tow even as a daily wrapup!

1 Like
8

If i don’t do it live, I will forget everything! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

2 Likes
9

Monday is Epcot day and our longest day of the trip. DH and I wake at 6:30 and get kids up around 6:50. We have PPO ADRs for Garden Grill and I want to get there ASAP. I decided we would use Minnie Van this morning to save some time. My FIL also has a hip replacement 7 weeks ago so I knew he’d appreciate any cut in walking. I request a ride at 7 and It says the wait will be 7:42 :grimacing: Thankfully that quickly changes to 7:15 and we head to lobby. It takes some time for her to get to us and load up. Our driver was super friendly and we get to Epcot around 7:40. It’s a nice service but overpriced. We meet up with my BIL and his fiancé who arrived the night before. There is a decent line and they don’t start bag check till 7:50, so I am a bit frazzled. Our reservations aren’t until 8:15 and 8:35 (highest reservation you can make is for four so we had to split) but I want to get seated ASAP for Soarin. I get to the Land at 8:01 and they say they can pull tables together for us. We seat at 8:08! At this time my son peed through his diaper all over his pants so I deal with that while everyone eats the buns and fruit already set out. The platters come so quick and characters come around fast too. I’m still a little frazzled stressing about making Soarin that I definitely didn’t get my money’s worth on food. We pay and head to the line at 8:38 - we should’ve stayed at our table longer! I wish I would’ve relaxed and enjoyed this more.

They aren’t open yet but we are about 15th in line. They open the ride just before 9 and we get in and out quickly. My daughter’s face was priceless!! The kids are rollin with the punches even with a shorter night’s sleep. The in-law’s ride swap and take my daughter again and get off around 9:35. We head to Awesome Planet and walk right into theater. This is good! Living with the Land is next at a 10 minute wait that moves fast.

We head to Seas with Nemo to use our FP. Get on in a few minutes then explore the Seas a bit. Had planned to try Turtle Talk and Figment but lines are longer than I want. We head to the Short Films theater and they are so cute!! My kids liked these too. I will mention that because of all the pathway closures, things are CONGESTED. I’ve never seen this side of the park so cramped. The kids are tired and hungry so DH and I head for monorail while others hang back. We leave park around 11:40 and by the time we get to Contempo it’s 12:25. I had mobile ordered but we wait about 5 minutes. We head up to start resting. DS cries a bit but falls asleep around 1:20. DH took my daughter down for a pretzel but they come back around 1:50. DD plays then asks to watch Mulan. She falls asleep at 3:15! Kids are both so conked.

We have 4:00 FP for Spaceship Earth DH start waking them up around 3:50. DS is happy as a clam after 2.5 hour nap, DD is grumpy from her short one! We manage to make it to Monorail at 4:15 and get kids some snacks. DD is mildly whiny so I worry going back is not going to go well. We get to park at 4:50 and hop on Spaceship Earth. Kids are still a bit out of it. My MIL had called to tell us she got in line for Anna and Elsa and to meet her there. I was not sure how this would work and did not want to cut in front of people. She insisted so we head there. She’s at the very front of the line By herself just letting people ahead of her. I was super uncomfortable doing this but I walk through the line up to her. The kids perk up and love meeting them!! Next we all head to FEA for our FP. Wait about 5 minutes and are on, everyone is in a great mood! The kids talk Grandma into buying them goodies at the gift shop and we head to bathrooms before starting a World Showcase stroll.

We get to America and stop for food. End up getting hot dogs for kids and DH and I share a turkey leg. The Disney on Broadway show is playing and the kids dance while we listen. After a bit we walk over to France so I can get goodies at Les Halles. The line is slow but I grab some eclairs and macaroons. We scarf them as we walk the rest of the showcase.

DH and I leave kids with the in laws and go walk on Mission Space. Green is so relaxing, actually. Grab popcorn and meet the crew near World Showcase entrance Where they got spots for Epcot Forever. It’s only 8:30 but the kids are having a blast and my daughter scores a free giant cookie from a nearby stand. So glad we have family with us on this trip!!

Epcot Forever is good but I feel like the fireworks are a bit weak. The kites and projections are great. We walk with the drives to the park entrance and manage to get on first monorail. Make it back to room a few minutes after 10. Kids fall asleep 10:45-11. As a bedtime stickler never in my life did I think I’d let my kids be up this late. They have enjoyed every minute and been so good though!!

We are so ready for a free morning though! Thanks for sticking with me through this novel of documentation!

11 Likes
10

For what it’s worth, I would have no problem with this. Grandma was holding a place in line for people to meet Anna and Elsa, people met Anna and Elsa. If Grandma was holding a place in line for three different families to meet them, and they wanted photos with kid A and then kid B and then all the kids and then the whole family and on and on, I would probably be annoyed, but this wouldn’t bother me at all. (that being said, my husband would be so uncomfortable with this that he would refuse, and then I would be mad at him for the next hour for making life difficult. Different strokes. :slight_smile: )

11

Definitely! I might even say that for some kids, I’d prefer Grandma to wait in line and then the kids join at the last minute. Like the little boy with the strawberry bar who kept hitting me in the knee with it for 20 straight minutes or the little girl who said how much longer 20bazillion times each minute–you know the ones. Full disclosure–these may or may not have been my own kids :rofl: But you get the idea

8 Likes
12

I’m loving your trip report! I’m staying at BLT in March. How do you like BLT? It seems like a very nice resort. Did the Minnie Van pick you up from BLT or did you have to walk over to Contemporary?

13

Minnie Vans will pick up at BLT (no need too walk to Contemporary).

14

You didn’t ask me … but I will answer anyway :slight_smile:

I love BLT with little ones. We have stayed at BLT twice (once when my kids were 4 and 2 and once at 3 and 1). It is so convenient to walk over to MK and take Mid-day break. And with young kids, we spend about half our Disney time at MK.

With older kids, I would probably prefer one of the Epcot Deluxe.

With adults only, I prefer GF.

1 Like
15

We have really loved it!

16

Well all these comments were reassuring!! :wink:

17

loving this report, thanks!! Also going with DD2 and DD4 in a week and a half. Excited to live vicariously and learn from you!

I had planned to stay for HEA as our late night when we go to MK… we can’t see it from our room like you can, that sounds so awesome. Last time we didn’t leave for naps and this time I am planning for that every day. :crossed_fingers::crossed_fingers:

18

Phew, I’m back! Hopefully I can remember all the details from a few days ago :wink:

I had planned for Tuesday to be a light day. We all woke to no alarms just before 8AM, stayed in bed and watched cartoons. We slowly got ready then went down to Contempo Cafe around 11 for early lunch. They don’t open lunch till 11:30 so we meandered until then. I got a chicken wrap which was good. I took DS2 up to the room for a hopeful short nap. It wasn’t very successful so I swapped with my husband and played with my daughter in the community room. They had great toys and stuff for the kids to do all week. We ended up aborting the attempt at a nap and headed to Animal Kingdom around 1:30.

We met my BIL and his fiance in Pandora and used our FP for Navi. This was a nice ride. We had a FP for Kilimanjaro Safari at 3:20, so we moseyed to Africa at which point my son fell asleep in the stroller. My daughter saw a face paint stand so I let her get a cute Minnie face (I’m a Yes mom this week!) My FIL stays back with my son while the rest of us walk through the Gorilla trail where we got to see a LOT of gorilla action! We wake up my son and all head to Safari around 3:45. It was an absolutely beautiful day! The animals were all active, so this was great. We get off the ride around 4:30 and so we head to Flametree BBQ for an early dinner. I got the pulled pork mac n cheese which was great. My MIL wants to go to It’s Tough to be a Bug next. My daughter didn’t like this too much so I ended up taking her out a few minutes early. It is a little creepy and she had grown tired. We have FP for Dinosaur so we walk to DinoLand. My husband and I stay back with the kids and get them Mickey bars hoping to ride swap before Rivers of Light at 6:45. The ride takes too long so we take them on Tricera Top Spin real quickly and then get last minute seats at the show.

I had never seen this one and I actually really enjoyed it! The kids liked it too. We head to the entrance with the masses afterwards and get on the bus quickly. I give the kids a bath and still don’t manage bedtime until 8:45 or so! I have spent the least amount of time in Animal Kingdom but overall this was a great day!

5 Likes
19

On Wednesday, my husband and I woke up bright and early to head to Hollywood Studios. My MIL came over to our room to stay with the sleeping kids while he got on a 6:15 Lyft to the park. It was a quick ride but we had to wait a long time in the drop off lane. We skipped bag check and got through the turnstiles by 6:45 and met my BIL inside. We head toward Galaxy’s Edge to wait for rope drop. We all obsessively refresh our phones when they make the announcement and I land Boarding Group 19 for Rise of the Resistance!! I am thrilled. At this point we are standing right outside Frozen Sing A Long but we book it ahead of as many people we can to get to Smuggler’s Run. It helps a lot and the walk with the queue is steady. We get on the ride at 7:40 basically without stopping in an actual line. My husband and I are in the middle row - I definitely think being a pilot in the front would be funner, but it is an exciting ride. As we are on the ride, our boarding group gets called so we stop at a bathroom then head to ROR. We get through the first 4ish stops on the ride, but it breaks down just before we get on our ship/the actual moving part of the ride. This is a bummer, but I knew this day had been going too perfectly so far! We got FP to come back at any time. My husband and I run over to Rock’n Rollercoaster where we have the longest wait of the trip at around 35 minutes. It’s a ride where the line isn’t very long but just doesn’t move fast. This is a great ride and then we head back over to Galaxy’s Edge to try Rise again. This time we go through with no issues. It really is a very complex ride and great! We accomplished everything I had hoped at this point (with exception of Tower of Terror) and it’s around 10:45, so my husband and I head to the buses. We get back and eat at Contempo again before nap time. My in-laws head to Disney Springs to meet the others for lunch and ride Skyliner back to the HS.

We have FP for the 4:00 Beauty and the Beast show, so we meet them there around 3:45. I’m glad they are changing the FP tiers because the tier 2s literally do nothing for you now. We enjoy the show then head over to use our Star Tours FP. Everyone else goes on while I get the kids in line to meet Olaf since it’s right across the walkway. They all get off so my husband jumps in line with me a few minutes before it’s out turn. This was actually probably a 25 minute wait but the kids had so enjoyed meeting characters and otherwise we would’ve just been sitting around. They also love Olaf!

Next we head to Toy Story Land where we have FP for Slinky. The standby had been steady at 60 minutes the whole time but we got ride on with FP while my FIL stayed with DS. My daughter absolutely loved this ride - and so did the rest of us!! Honestly, I think it was a favorite of the whole trip. My FIL had no interest in using his FP so my husband went back with his band. Our bonus FP from ROR also had never gone away so he used that for my daughter and they rode a second time right away while I went to Woody’s Lunchbox to get a table and order. Honestly, this meal was disappointing. We all got grilled cheese because the menu is limited but I wouldn’t bother eating here again even though the atmosphere is cool.

Next we go to Alien Swirling Saucers with probably a 15 minute wait. This ride is fun too! It’s dark now and we mosey over toward Hollywood Boulevard, stopping for popcorn along the way. I didn’t want to head into Fantasmic so we go see the cars over by Lightning McQueen before going into stadium around 7:45 for the 8:00 show. I enjoy Fantasmic but I think it’s ready for an upgrade now that Rivers of Light uses the water projections too. The walk out of the park surprisingly isn’t too bad, but we did seat close to the exit. Overall it was a very efficient day!

8 Likes
20

Thanks for letting us follow along. I love trip reports!