Our Mickey-Tastic Adventure - The Pre-Trip Report

We’re 10 days out and I just can’t handle the waiting, so I thought I’d post a little pre-trip synopsis a la @TheProphetPaul. Feedback and thoughts are certainly appreciated!

My parents and grandparents took my brother and I to MK for 1 day. I think we were 2 and 4. My dad’s work gave them free tickets, and my grandmother will tell you it was not much fun. In fact, she tried to talk me out of this trip by sharing how they waited in line to see Mickey and then I didn’t want to hug him. :rofl: Thank goodness we have FP now (and this site)! DH has never been and I feel like a newbie as well.

The Start:
This all began last January when DH said he was researching conferences for his boss to pitch as part of their department budget and one takes place in Orlando. Nothing ended up coming from that, but it sent me down the Disney rabbit hole and I never climbed out. Initially, I thought we would be taking a vacation without our DS2 this year now that he’s a little bit older and easier for the grandparents to care for. But then I got bit by the Disney bug and it sounded like a ton of fun, and really like the only vacation we would enjoy bringing a toddler on.

I started my research and compiled a budget to prove to DH that we could do WDW affordably. (The budget has since been stretched a smidge, but not much.) He wasn’t too difficult to convince, especially since my grandparents live 2 hours from WDW and we were already planning to make a short trip to visit them with DS2. (Which naturally means I can subtract airfare and rental car from our budget, right?)

We decided to stay off-site, because it would allow us to keep DS2’s sleep routine as close to normal as possible, without us hiding in the bathroom or outside the hotel room door waiting for him to fall asleep. We booked a 1 bedroom condo on Airbnb about 10-15 minutes away from the parks. And since we already needed the rental car for part of our trip, adding the few extra days was nominal. With parking, rental car, and Airbnb all totaled, it would have been a little cheaper to stay at Pop, so I’m a little sad to stay outside the bubble. But we shared a room with DS2 over the summer and it wasn’t our favorite, so I think we made the right decision.

The Plan
Since we’ll be leaving the park for a long afternoon break, we kept things pretty simple and decided not to do any TS to maximize park time. And TS with DS2 is not very fun right now. We’ll be mobile ordering as much as possible. And one of us will run out and grab dinner during nap time so we can eat on the go. Here’s our itinerary and highlights:

T Jan 22:
Early flight
Exploring AoA Cars section and eating lunch
Checking into Airbnb for nap
MK 5-8:30 - Meet Mickey FP, eat dole whip, see the fireworks

W Jan 23:
AK 9-12:30 - FOLK, Navi, meet Mickey & Minnie, Eight Spoon Cafe
AK 5-8 - Safari FP at 5 (hopefully not too dark), Satu’li Canteen, Rivers of Light

Th Jan 24:
MK 9-12:30 - Meet Pooh & Tigger, BoG lunch ADR
Afternoon solo touring time for me - Splash FP, HM, Sleepy Hollow waffle, parade!!!
MK 5-8:30 - Move It Shake It MousekeDance It (hopefully this is cute! DS2 loves MM Clubhouse!) and ETWB FP

F Jan 25:
EP 9-12:30 - Character Spot, Nemo, FEA, Germany trains, Tangierine Cafe
Afternoon solo touring time for me - macaron ice cream sandwich, Impressions de France, meet Belle, explore WS, Soarin (4th FP?)
EP 5-8:30 - hopefully a 4th FP Soarin for DH, Les Halles dinner, 3 Caballeros
We’re tentatively skipping Illuminations. DS2 goes to bed at 7 when we’re at home, so it just seems unrealistic. And I think ROL and HEA will hold his attention much better.

Sat Jan 26:
AK 9-12:30 - Boneyard with Pluto, Nemo, Flame Tree BBQ, Safari FP at 12
Evening plans are flexible. The current plan is AKL and dinner at the Mara.

Sun Jan 27:
HS 9-1 - RD AS2, TSM FP, Star Tours, Beauty & the Beast Live
Drive to my grandparents’ house

The Overkill
I’ve been packing since we hit 25 days. I made 6 pairs of ears for the parks. I typed up our TP in Word with my added notes so I can print them out like rack cards. I’m packing disposable coffee cups so I can drink my chai on the way to the park instead of stopping at Starbucks. I’ve had multiple conversations with DH about whether or not everything will fit in our car to get to the airport and how we’re going to carry it all to the rental car. DH and all my friends think these things are nuts, but you guys get it… so thanks.

9 Likes

What parade are you trying to see on the 24th? Isn’t the parade while you are out of the park for nap time?

Otherwise looks like a lot of fun!

1 Like

Every time I read one of these, I think “I’m so glad I’m not alone in my craziness”. Your trip looks fabulous. I can’t wait to hear how it goes.

4 Likes

DH will take DS2 back to our condo by himself on both the 24 & 25th, so I will be touring solo roughly from 12:30-5 both of those day. So it’s the Festival of Fantasy parade at 3 pm.

He volunteered to do this after I said how bummed I was to miss the parade. He’s the best. I just hope he doesn’t regret it. :wink:

Ah, I missed that on the MK day, saw it for Epcot. Enjoy the solo time. We’ve split up for nap time, but I usually have DS7 with me while DH and DS4 go back for naps.

1 Like

Honestly, I think it’s the other people who are the crazy ones. How could you not do this level of planning? And, though it can be stressful, it adds to the overall enjoyment of the vacation. It’s not just nine days or whatever. It’s six months!

4 Likes

I completely agree. I’ve gotten an entire year of entertainment out of planning this trip. And I had way too much fun booking our FP every morning at 30 days out. It was like a little lottery game every morning and I loved it.

2 Likes

I had to do this and also hide under the sheets to tweak our plans during nap and bedtime. I had to wait for them to fall asleep first, but I know I looked crazy! He may be so exhausted that he falls asleep quickly. Most of ours did, but we have 4 so someone always stayed awake!

Did you make 3 FPP for each day? I only see the Mickey FPP listed for day 1.

I didn’t spell this out, but he will nap in our bedroom while we hang in the living room. At night we’ll mvoe his pack and play to the living room. But yes, I’m sure he will be wiped out!
And yes, 3 FP every day. Just not necessarily our highlights. I was trying not to include our entire tp each day :wink:

Yup, I knew what you meant. We had a regular resort room with no separate living space so it was tough to do anything when trying to get the littles to sleep or nap. Your setup sounds like it will be very convenient.

1 Like

Hopefully it will be worth all the driving and parking! But we’d have no fun at all if we weren’t sleeping.

1 Like

I took one vacation with a toddler and a hotel room and we were house rentals ever after.

I think every age is a fun age to travel and two is no exception. Have a great time.

1 Like

:heart:️:heart:️:heart:️ I was similarly excited!! Remember to SLEEP as much as possible in the week before the trip. It’s so easy to stay up all night obsessing :grin:

Absolutely! I haven’t given anyone a chance to judge us for a big trip with a toddler. I know it’s going to be crazy but all of life with a toddler is crazy and wonderful.

My husband keeps telling me the same thing!

1 Like

Why am I just now hearing of this AFTER returning from my trip!

Oh no! It’s at the ice cream shop in France.

That was on my list; we ate lunch at Les Halles and should have gone into L’Artison for dessert…Ce la vie!

1 Like

If we had hoppers, I’d figure out a way to eat a meal in France every day! I want everything on all their menus!

2 Likes

Your trip sounds great! I hope you write a report about how it all goes! That is really nice of your husband to let you have solo time in the parks too.

1 Like