Sawyer's 3rd Birthday - Trip Report

We leave tomorrow!!! =) We have changed some of our ADR's as other restaurants we wanted have opened up. We are so excited!!

Here we go!! We are home so I should probably do my TR before I forget everything Our trip went by so so fast!! Let me recap before I give you the daily dish.

Hotel: All Star Movies. This was our first time staying at this resort and I probably would not choose to stay here again. We always do value resorts mainly because we would rather spend our money elsewhere since we have very little time in the room. Pop and AOA are our choices but they were both booked. Positives: I LOVE the value refurb. The hideaway bed was super easy to use and gave us a ton of more space. It took 2 seconds to raise and lower at bedtime and in the morning. We stayed in the Toy Story section which was very convenient to the buses and food court. Negatives: I didn't like the transportation time to and from the resort. I found myself wishing we could take the skyliner at HS and Epcot. I also hated that we were the last stop for All Star Resorts. It was tiring when you're exhausted. All in all, I wouldn't complain about the resort, but it would not be my first choice. When our kids are older we will for sure be booking a moderate!

Table Service Restaurants We chose some different restaurants than normal because with our toddler we wanted to do more character meals.
*Sci-Fi: This is always a must for us and we love it! 5 stars as always! I had the BBQ Burger and Brandon had the regular cheeseburger. We both had oreo shakes and Sawyer had a sundae AND a cupcake (queue the Birthday button cupcakes at every meal!)
*50's Prime Time: This was our first time to eat here and we will be back for sure! Our "cousin" was so fabulous and we were glad we didn't get the annoying waiter the table next to us had! haha. I had the chicken pot pie, Brandon had the sampler, and Sawyer had the mac n cheese. We tried the Electric Lemonade and Mowie Wowie. Sawyer loved the color changing ice cubes and our "cousin" brought here a birthday gift for her to open. It was a color changing Ariel. She was so excited!
*Chef Mickey's Breakfast: I originally cancelled this res, but found an early morning one and we snagged it. I am glad we did. Breakfast is always good at Disney and Sawyer loved seeing her favorite characters!
*Askerhaus Breakfast: This was more of a brunch for us, but we very much enjoyed it. I loved that they brought the main dishes to the table. The princesses were so wonderful and made our girl so comfortable!
*Cape May Breakfast: We have done this before and enjoyed it, but now I am not sure if we would go back. I wasn't impressed with our service. But we did love the characters.

Our quick service meals included Casey's Corner, Yek & Yeti, Pizza in our Room, and the food court at the hotel. Haha, nothing fancy!

I will start my daily report soon. Gotta go pick up a sick baby!

Day 3 - Magic Kingdom

This day started out COLD!!! We could not believe the temps. Originally the weather foretasted 70's. I also have family in central Florida who said "of course you can wear shorts in November" lol! Everyone was WRONG! It did not get out of the 50's on Saturday or Sunday. We layered up and I ended up buying a blanket for Sawyer and I jacket for myself.

This morning we had breakfast at Chef Mickey's. It was an 8:00 reservation so I was happy it wouldn't really affect our park time. We took the bus to MK and then hopped the Monorail to the contemporary. CM's was a blast, the food was good, and we got to meet all the characters! They even had a birthday card for Sawyer signed by everyone.

From there, we took the monorail back to MK and started our day. It was SUPER crowded. I guess we shouldn't have done MK on a Saturday but it was the only day while we were there that MVMCP was not going on, which meant we could have more time at the park. If I had it to do over again we would have picked a different day, but we still had a great time.

Our first FP wasn't until 10, so we headed for Storybook Circus for Dumbo and the Barnstormer. Sawyer LOVED both of them! After that was Under the Sea and Enchanted Tales with Belle. Sawyer was too shy to volunteer for a part but we finally got her to get in line to meet Belle at the end. It was such a cute experience. The little girl that was chosen to be the Beast cried so hard during their dance. It was cute and sad at the same time!

Next we did Peter Pans Flight, It's a Small World, Meet Cinderella and Eleana, and the Carousel. We never did make it to Winnie the Pooh or Seven Dwarfs because the wait times were outrageous!

We had Casey's Corner for lunch (it was a MAD HOUSE!!! even with the mobile ordering, it took us about 40 minutes to get our food) and happened to grab a great spot for the Festival of Fantasy parade as we were leaving the park for nap time.

Brandon and Sawyer took a nap while I watched some of the Auburn football game! Then we headed back for MK. We grabbed some photo pass pics, hit Buzz Lightyear (which is totally disappointing after TSM) & Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. Brandon was chosen to be the guy that they hypnotize... He did SO GOOD!! I was crying laughing. We walked around aimlessly for a bit trying to figure out what our plan was. We knew we wanted to grab dinner before the fireworks and had about an hour and a half. So we headed to the Magic Carpets and then had dinner at Pecos Bill. I really liked this dinner. I will be back for sure!

We grabbed a spot for the fireworks and here is a story that I am still salty about!! It was about 8:20 when we started looking for a spot. We found one right on the edge of the tape with a perfect view of the castle so that Sawyer could stay in her stroller and we wouldn't have to put her on our shoulders. There was a walking path right next to us and then a flowerbed so it was a great spot. There was a gentleman directing traffic and making people stay clear of the walking path... until the show started. People just piled in right on top of us and we had no choice but to move up to the flowerbed and let Sawyer stand on the ledge. We still had a good view of the castle, but couldn't see the fireworks at all. I was super bummed. =(

Once the show was over we headed for Pirates! We were walking through the queue with some younger 20 somethings, and they were having the best time chatting with Sawyer. She was all excited to show them her wand and made sure to tell them she was taking it on the ride with her. They were giving her props for still going strong! I love this ride and had flashbacks to when I was her age and rode it with my daddy. I remember thinking the drop was soooooo big! She said it was scary but that she wanted to do it again.

So Splash Mountain is my absolute favorite so I had to do it. There was NO line (seeing as how it was 10pm and 40 degrees! haha) so I had a log all to myself and had a blast. We had a 10:30 FP for Jungle Cruise but Brandon and Sawyer were tired so we headed back to the hotel.

It was a great day at MK! I wish we would have had time to do 2 days here. Next time for sure!!

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I should probably finish my trip report! Sorry work has been crazy!!

Day 4 - Epcot and Animal Kingdom
We woke up this morning and headed to Epcot. Yall it was COLD. like REALLY cold!! It was overcast and the wind was blowing and it was around 52 degrees all day. Today is the day I really wish we could have booked FP's at more than one park. We def wanted a FP for Frozen but there really wasn't anything else we needed one for.

We arrived at Epcot right before rope drop and lined up for Spaceship Earth. After that we headed to The Seas with Nemo. We wanted to do Turtle Talk, but it was a 15 min wait until the next show and not many people were in the park yet. We also skipped Living with the Land because we had a FP for Frozen and wanted to make sure we got there in time! We did stop and do Journey into Imagination. I miss the old one =(

After that we headed to Norway. This was one ride I am so glad we FP'd! The line was 45 min long and we were on in about 5 minutes. I always loves Maelstrom and love this even more! It was one of Sawyer's favorite rides. Then it was time for breakfast at Askerhaus! This was a complete surprise for Sawyer and she was beside herself. We waited in line for about 15 minutes before our table was ready. I think this was my favorite breakfast (you can read my review earlier in my TR).

After breakfast and a combination of being really full, cold, and tired we skipped the Elsa meet and greet. We also decided to just forego naptime and head to AK.

I was super bummed to learn the FP's for the Safari were completely gone and there was a 60 min wait. That was really one of the only things we wanted to do at AK. We did the Dino Spin and then had to stop and buy a blanket and a jacket! I jumped in the single rider line for Expedition Everest. The wait was 45 for the regular line and I was off and on in 10!! I should have gone twice. Its my favorite!!! After that was a snack break at Yak & Yeti! We love their eggrolls and fried rice. Then it was time for Finding Nemo the Musical and Tough to be a Bug. We also stopped and grabbed a dole whip. Brandon and Sawyer shared a regular one and I got the one with coconut rum! Yum!! Even though it was freezing we couldn't leave Disney without one!! I checked the Safari again and wait time had gone up to 80 minutes =( So we decided to do a little souvenir shopping, grab some popcorn that I'd been promising all weekend, and head back to our hotel to settle in and pack up!

We still had a couple of quick service credits left so while we packed up, Brandon ran to the food court and got us a pizza, salad, and cookie dough! It was decent pizza and we were tired so it worked. I think we all fell asleep by 8pm!

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Day 5 -

This morning we had one more breakfast reservation at Cape May! We got all of our stuff packed and ready by the door and ordered an uber to take us to the Beach Club. I was excited because we finally got to see a gingerbread house! We missed the one at the Contemporary.

This was my favorite breakfast on our last trip, but it was just okay this time... maybe we were just breakfast'd out! haha!!

Back to our hotel in an Uber and then we checked out and hopped on the ME for the airport. We had plenty of time to eat lunch before our flight too. We got all lined up to board and then they just shut the door without telling anyone why. We were lined up with the family boarding so eventually everyone decided to sit down on the floor. Later they tell us there was an oxygen mask malfunction and they were working to get it fixed. New departure time was in 2 hours!!! ugh! But we made some good friends sitting there and we thankfully had fully charged ipads! We finally made it home later than expected but all was well!

My Takeaways -
Bottom line, Sawyer is now a huge "sydni whirl" fan!! She tells me no less than twice a day how much she "really loved sydni whirl" and how much she misses it! Already counting down to when we can take her back!!!

While I love Epcot & HS, they are not the most toddler friendly. I am sure when we go back for a longer trip we will just do half days at these parks. Or maybe just leave the kids with my parents for the day so we can spend a whole day at Epcot. It is probably my second favorite park, but its boring for kids!

Our next trip with kids will be much longer. Now that we have survived a trip with a toddler and figured out that side of things, I would love to spread our trip out more with more rest time. I would like to sleep in til 8 or so, grab breakfast, hit the pool or Disney springs before naps time and then stay at the park until it closes. Going to the park, leaving for nap, and then coming back was a lot of work and we really enjoyed the parks more in the afternoon/evenings.

We are planning our next trip for 2021. We already have a beach trip planned for 2020 with my parents and they want to go back with us next time. We are planning for Fall 2021 and will take my parents and both kids. Our son will be 2 1/2 and our daughter will be almost 5 by then. We would like to do a Friday night check in and check out the following Saturday, renting DVC points for a 2 bedroom. We will see how it all works out, but that is our plan for now!

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