Ethan's First Trip to Walt Disney World: Animal Kingdom

For our fourth day, we headed to Animal Kingdom.  We got there right after the park opened and headed straight for Kilimanjaro Safaris.  I loved that ride -- we saw so many animals!  My favorites were the baby elephant, baby giraffe, and baby Mandrill baboon.  They were all so cute!  I would love to go back one day and do the safari tour that Disney offers to spend more time watching the animals.

Kilimanjaro Safaris really wore Ethan out!

We then met Sarah and Nathaniel for a ride on Expedition Everest.  We took my brother's advice and waited for a seat in the very front car and it was worth it (especially since we only had to wait for one train to go before our ride).  We also rode Dinosaur and Kali River Rapids and walked through Pangani Forest Exploration Trail.  Ethan liked seeing the bats and tigers on the trail.  He also had fun playing with the dinosaur statues while Cayne and I took turns on Dinosaur.

Trying to get a good view of the tigers

We grabbed a delicious quick-service meal at the Yak and Yeti counter and took it to the baby care center to eat (so we could feed Ethan in an air conditioned area).  Again, the baby care center was super nice and it was a relaxing way to take a break from the park.  After our late lunch, we headed back to the room.

Ethan didn't want to take a nap (because of all the construction noise) so instead of leaving him in the room we decided to try to tire him out some more by taking him swimming.  He loved swimming in Stormalong Bay and playing in the sand and waterfalls.  We ended up letting him take a short, super late nap after construction had stopped.

First time playing in the sand!

That evening Cayne and I went to the Hoop De Doo Musical Revue at Fort Wilderness.  The show was wonderful...very campy and fun...and the food was great too.  I was impressed at what a great show the actors put on for such a small audience though (the room was only about half full)!

Ethan's First Trip to Walt Disney World: Hollywood Studios

For our third day, we had a character breakfast at our hotel and then headed to Hollywood Studios.  The character breakfast was so much fun.  I wasn't sure what to expect with Ethan but figured we might get some cute photos.  Well, the photos didn't come out so great but Ethan absolutely LOVED interacting with Minnie, Donald, and Goofy.  Donald was his favorite but he lit up whenever one of the characters walked anywhere near our table.  It was so cute to see him giggling and smiling at Minnie, Donald, and Goofy...especially since he had never seen any of the Disney characters before our trip.

After breakfast, dad, Cayne, Ethan, and I headed to Hollywood Studios.  We decided to walk since it was a nice day and I had read online that the walk from the Beach Club is not too long.  To make sure we headed on teh right path, I asked a cast member in the Beach Club Marketplace.  She had no idea how to walk to Hollywood Studios but asked two other cast members before one told me the only way to do it was to walk along the road and that I'd know I was going the right way when I passed a "Hess" gas station.  That didn't sound right to me, so we decided that we'd walk to the Boardwalk Resort and that from there we would see signs directing us.  Well, there weren't any signs but after taking a pretty round-a-bout way we found the walkway to Hollywood Studios!

Ethan fell asleep along our walk after all the breakfast excitement so we headed to the thrill rides first.  We rode Tower of Terror and Rockin' Rollercoaster and when Ethan woke up we rode The Great Movie Ride.  After that, we rode Star Tours a couple times and decided we'd had a day and headed home.  As we were walking to our boat, it decided to leave so we had to figure out if we wanted to walk back or wait 20 minutes for the next boat.  Since the walk to Hollywood Studios (going the wrong way) took about 30 minutes we decided we could get to the hotel faster if we walked.

We grabbed a late lunch at Hurricane Hannahs and cooled off in our room for a little bit.  It was Ethan's naptime, and even though the construction noise was pretty loud, we left the baby with the grandparents so Cayne and I could have a short swim in Stormalong Bay before the grandparent's dinner reservation.  The pool was great...the slide was tons of fun and I was really impressed with the eagle-eyed lifeguards.

After mom and dad got back from their dinner and Ethan was asleep, Cayne and I went back to Hollywood Studios to meet Sarah and Nathaniel and rode Toy Story Mania, saw Muppet Vision 3D, and rode Star Tours and Tower of Terror again.

Ethan's First Trip to Walt Disney World: Magic Kingdom Transportation Nightmare

Today we headed over to the Magic Kingdom!  I was super excited about taking Ethan to Fantasyland for all the fun rides there.  It was a hot day but we did pretty good getting lots out of the way.  Unfortunately, this day was the worst Disney transportation day ever.  Our bus to the park was packed (I was lucky enough to get a seat and hold Ethan but everyone else had to stand) -- not a big deal but it all went downhill (transportation-wise) from here.

When we got to the park, we made a beeline for Fantasyland...though we did stop for some pictures in front of the castle.  It was cute to see the Main Street cast members waving a people with their mouse gloves as we walked down the street.  We went through the castle and into Fantasyland, stopping to ride "Snow White's Scary Adventures" first because there wasn't any wait.  Ethan liked it, but he did suck his thumb a little through the scarier parts.  Next up was "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" where again there wasn't a line to wait in but we stopped anyway just to play with the cute interactive exhibits.  We also rode "Dumbo" and by then, Ethan was sleepy so we took him to some air conditioning to nap with his Grandma while the rest of us went on some non-baby-friendly rides.  Splash Mountain was closed so we rode "Big Thunder Mountain Railroad", "Space Mountain", and "Tomorrowland Speedway".  After that, it was lunchtime and Ethan had woken up so we had a quick-service meal at Pecos Bill's Cafe (yummy burgers).

In Pooh's house

Ethan loved the interactive honey drips!

He's pooped!

On Jungle Cruise

Ethan really liked the Jungle Cruise

After lunch, we took Ethan on "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Jungle Cruise" before deciding we would head back to the hotel for a swim before our early dinner at Narcoossee's. We hopped on our Beach Club bus but before we could leave a bus caught on fire coming into the bus loading zone.  We were told that we'd have to wait a little while before our bus could pull out.  A little while later, we were told we had to take the monorail or ferry to the Ticket and Transportation Center and catch a bus to our hotel from there because no buses could get in or out of the Magic Kingdom loading zone.  We were all exhausted but braved the intense mid-day heat to get to the ferry, wait for the ferry, and then walk to the resort buses at the TTC.  The TTC was a madhouse by the time we arrived and lots of buses were going to the Value Resorts and other resorts but eventually a bus was designated for the Epcot resorts.  We hopped on as fast as we could but it was crammed full of people and worst of all, the air conditioning wasn't working!  I didn't realize that until we were on our way or I would have hopped right off.  The "sauna bus" stopped at the Swan, Dolphin, and then Yacht Club before we got to the Beach Club and the 93-degree outside temperature was a welcome relief from the "sauna bus"...it actually felt nice and cool outside!  Ethan was bright red after the bus ride (very scary) so we sprinkled some water on him and headed straight for our room.  Total time from leaving the Magic Kingdom until getting off the bus at the Beach Club was over 1.5 hours!  After that, we didn't want to take Ethan back into the heat at the swimming pool and we only had about an hour and a half before we needed to leave for dinner anyway, so our afternoon was swimming was cancelled.

Bus Fire!

On the ferry...trying to get back to our hotel.

Dad drove us to the Grand Floridian for dinner and it was absolutely fabulous.  Since we were in the first seating group Narcoosee's wasn't open yet when we got there but we got to see Sarah and Nathaniel driving a water sprite while we waited.  Unfortunately, we didn't get a window-side seat (we were right by the bar) but we had a great server and Cayne and I both had amazing scallops for dinner.  We let the grandparents take Ethan back to the room after dinner while Cayne and I went to the Magic Kingdom to watch the fireworks and take advantage of the evening extra magic hours.  Since we were right by the boat dock, we hopped on the boat to the Magic Kingdom.  I have always loved the boats that take you to the Magic Kingdom -- I think they are so cute and fun!  Well, this one started off fine...it was there when we got to the dock so we got to hop on and then we went to the Polynesian before heading over to the Magic Kingdom.  When we were close to the Magic Kingdom, the boat stopped and we waited for over 20 minutes in the water for another boat to leave the dock.  At first it was funny but then the mosquitoes started coming out over the water and it was just annoying.  Finally the other boat left the dock and we were able to get off our boat -- about 40 minutes after getting on!

Waiting, and waiting, and waiting...still waiting to dock

When we got to the park we rode the train to Frontierland and hopped on Splash Mountain, which was now up and running.  Sadly, they were still having problems because lots of the audio-animatronics looked "dead" because they weren't working and all the announcements about ride issues kept Cayne from being able to catch the "story".  We also rode Thunder Mountain again (it's fun at night!) and then headed to Main Street to watch the fireworks.  The Wishes Fireworks show was really neat with awesome choreography and we dashed to the ice cream parlor for ice cream as soon as the show was over.  Then we met up with Sarah and Nathaniel and headed to the Haunted Mansion to ride.  It was, as always, a fun ride and I really liked the updates they gave to the "hitchhiking ghosts" at the end.   It was a little after 10 at that point and even though we could have stayed in the park until midnight, we decided to head back to our hotel after our long and tiring day.

In line at the Haunted Mansion

This time, it took over 45 minutes to get home.  We finally walked in our hotel room door at 11:50 that night. We must have waited almost 30 minutes just for the bus to arrive (and we weren't even the first ones waiting in line)!  It was disheartening to see 2-3 buses for every other resort pass us by while we waited, and waited, and waited.  Finally, a Beach Club bus showed up and we packed in like sardines. I am so glad we didn't wait to leave until the park closed at midnight...we might not have made it back to our room until 2 am!

Ethan's First Trip to Walt Disney World: Beach Club Villas and Epcot

On our first full day at Disney, we left Pop Century to stay at the Beach Club Villas.  That morning the food court at Pop Century was so packed that we couldn't stand to wait in a long line for a fast-food breakfast (or even just coffee) so we ate some breakfast bars I brought and headed over to the Beach Club to check in (transportation courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa Wade).  Disney did transfer our luggage for us -- a nice service but this time our luggage wasn't brought to our room, just to bell services at our new hotel.

The interior of our room was nice (minus the popcorn, fruit-loops, and receipts the previous guests left on the floor and housekeeping didn't bother cleaning up).  Our view would have been OK (it was of a courtyard and car turnaround/front lobby area) but there were ugly green construction lifts all over and we were right above the designated smoking area.  We called to see if we could change rooms but were told the hotel was full but there might be a possibility of moving on a later date in our stay.  The next time we asked, they were still full.  So, unfortunately, with the construction noise Ethan couldn't nap very well in the room and we couldn't use the balcony because of the smoky smell (it seemed someone was always smoking in the designated smoking area).

Our view of construction from our room balcony

Our view of the designated smoking area and ashtray
(that's the corner of our balcony in the foreground).

Construction noise video during one of Ethan's naptimes 

(this was relatively quiet construction noise). 

After checking in and grabbing a quick breakfast at the Beach Club Marketplace, we walked over to Epcot.  It took about 5-minutes walk to the park, which was great.  We headed for Journey to Imagination, thinking that would make a great first ride for Ethan, but he fell fast asleep on the walk there.  Instead, Cayne, dad, and I rode "Soarin", which was a fun ride, while mom stayed with the napping baby.  Ethan had woken up when we finished and we decided to ride "Living with the Land" and the mom, dad, and Cayne used our Rider's Pass to ride Soarin' while I took Ethan to the Baby Care Center to feed him.  It worked out pretty well -- the Baby Care Center was really nice, cool, and quiet!

Eating breakfast in the Solarium at the Beach Club

Waiting for Soarin'...Cayne's first ever theme park ride!

The five of us met Sarah and Nathaniel for lunch at the Coral Reef Restuarant.  We weren't super hungry after our breakfast so planned to order appetizers but doing that must have really upset our waiter because he was very rude with us during our whole lunch...not a good introduction to Disney Dining.  It was a very uncomfortable experience, although seeing the fish in the aquarium is always fun.  After lunch, Ethan enjoyed "The Seas with Nemo and Friends", although I don't think it was as neat as "The Living Seas" used to be.  We also rode "Spaceship Earth", "Universe of Energy" (Ethan napped on that one), "Mission to Mars", and "Test Track" (those last two without Ethan).

That evening we went back to Epcot for some delicious fish and chips (at the United Kingdom Pavilion) and tacos and churros (at the Mexican Pavilion).  Ethan was pretty tired and fussy by the time we got our tacos, so we ended up taking them with us back to our room for a relaxing meal after putting him to bed.

Ethan's First Trip to Walt Disney World: Pop Century Resort

On September 9th we headed to the Nashville Airport to fly to Orlando.  Ethan was good on the plane but he refused to sleep until just before we landed.  Luckily, it was a short flight.  After we landed, we eventually found Disney's Magical Express -- charter buses that take you to your Disney Resort Hotel.  We didn't have to wait at all to get on our bus but once on board, it took about 20 minutes before we left the airport.  There are 2 great things about Disney's Magical Express:  1) You don't have to hire a shuttle or taxi or get a rental car to get to Disney -- the buses are a nice, easy way to get to the resort...for free, and 2) Disney also picks up your luggage and puts your bags in your hotel room for you -- no need to wait at baggage claim (when traveling with kids/babies, this is an awesome feature!).  It was about a 40 minute drive to our hotel.

On the Magical Express bus

We got there just as Grandma and Grandpa Wade were arriving at Disney (they drove from TN) so we checked in, fed the baby, and then planned to head to Downtown Disney for dinner at Wolfgang Puck's Express.  We just missed the bus when we got to the bus stop but the next bus arrived about 10 minutes later...awesome!  It started pouring on the ride over and unfortunately, even though Ethan had a stroller raincover (thank you, Aunt Ashley!) and I had an umbrella, I had left our rain-ponchos in the hotel room.  We hung out in the bus-shelter for a few minutes getting the stroller/rain cover set up and then made a mad dash for the first store we could find...The Christmas store.  We stayed there until the rain slowed and then started looking for a place to eat.

Dinner was OK.  Not bad, but not great either, and after dinner we walked around Downtown Disney.  Cayne loved the Lego store (and the water monster made out of Legos) and I loved the bulk Mr. Potato Head pieces (Disney, Star Wars, Classic...just about anything you could think of).

At Downtown Disney

Ethan's First Trip to Walt Disney World: Overview

Ethan and Donald, Best Buddies

Cayne and I took Ethan on his first magical trip to Walt Disney World in Florida last week.  All three of us had a blast and as an added bonus, Ethan's Grandma & Grandpa Wade, Aunt Sarah and new Uncle Nathaniel were there too.  Ethan's first park was EPCOT (first ride was "Living With The Land").  His second park was the Magic Kingdom and his first ride there was "Snow White's Scary Adventures".  His favorite Magic Kingdom ride was "Jungle Cruise" and his most favorite Disney ride was "Journey into Imagination with Figment" (a close tie with the "Gran Fiesta Tour" at the Mexico pavilion).  Ethan also loved the dinosaurs and tigers at Animal Kingdom but didn't find much to interest him at Hollywood Studios.

We stayed in a 2-bedroom villa at the Beach Club Villas and although we didn't get to spend much time in their awesome pool, Stormalong Bay, Ethan got to go swimming in it once and he had so much fun.  He only ate a little bit of sand on the "beach" and he loved the waterfalls.

Ethan did a great job at the parks with the help of the Disney Baby Care centers (these are really nice air conditioned spots for feeding/playing/changing babies).  Transportation was not-so-good (one trip home from the Magic Kingdom took over an hour and a half and included what I call the "sauna bus" considering the 93-degree outside air felt cool when we finally got out of the bus) so if we decide to ever go back we won't stay somewhere requiring bus transport to either Epcot or the Magic Kingdom (or we will rent a car to get to the parks, a real waste in some ways considering how nice the Magical Express free airport shuttle is).

We went to one character breakfast (at Cape May Cafe) with Ethan and he lit up when he saw Minnie, Goofy, and Donald!  Donald was his absolute favorite (part of the reason he loved the "Gran Fiesta Tour" so much).  It was so much fun to see his cute giggling reaction to Disney characters!

While I wasn't impressed with Disney service or the "Disney Experience" on this trip we did manage to have fun in spite of all the setbacks.  So for now, we don't have any plans to ever return to Disney World but I'm sure when Ethan is 5..or 7... or 9 years old he'll convince us to take him back.  If Disney can somehow convince us that they've returned to their customer-oriented ways, we will be glad to take him again.

M-I-C-K-E-Y...See-ya real soon!

There are just too many pictures for one blog post, so I'll break up our trip into a blog post for each day.  Stayed tuned!

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Holman!

On September 6th my sister got married at Belmont Mansion.  And now Nathaniel really is Ethan's uncle, not just his "soon-to-be Uncle".  It was a beautiful, intimate ceremony and both she and Nathaniel looked so happy!  Sarah had a beautiful dress and the cake, made with organic ingredients from Dozen, was wonderful (my favorite part since I love cake).  I even made citrus-y punch and a sherbet ice ring that turned out tasting pretty good, especially considering I didn't really know what I was doing.

I didn't take any pictures of the ceremony but here are a couple from before the wedding.

Ashley took lots more pictures so I'm going to have to defer to her blog for more photos.

Sarah and Nathaniel are honeymooning at Disney World so we will see them tomorrow when we get to Florida.

Congratulations Sarah and Nathaniel!