Mimi's 2nd Birthday Party Trip Report **Updated 12/4** About This Page:

[akleos]

I forgot that I wanted to add the "Memories from our day" from my Passporter to the daily report! Do you mind if I back track a little bit?

9/24 Memories of our journey:
The weather was Sunny and cool when we left and HOT and windy when we arrived.
The best thing about our journey was Roo narrating every thing happening on the airplane.
The worst thing about our journey was Mimi wouldn't nap, or sit still and she just had to cry about it.
The funniest thing was Mommy trying to cope with Mimi (ha ha, real funny )

9/24 Memories of our room [mind you, I filled this out before we feel asleep our first night so it included nothing about our long nights awak]:
The first impression of the room was that the beds were going to be too small
The best thing was... it was... uh... spacious?
The worst thing was it was too much like a motel and too little like a resort.
The amenities were... eh.
We tried Port Orleans Riverside and the result was not our taste and certainly not big enough to be comfortable.
The most magical moment was realizing early that we needed to switch and getting a courtyard room at Wilderness Lodge.

9/24 Memories of our first day:
The weather was warm and windy
The best thing about today was Roo's face riding Test Track for the first time and feeling so proud of himself, and Mimi seeing DOnald Duck in Mexico for the first time.
The worst thing was waiting to eat dinner when we were already famished. I made our reservation about 1 hour earlier than I should have. I didn't quite calculate the right amount of time... note to self - tack on an extra hour to the time you THINK you need!
The funniest thing was Roo's triumphant dance after riding Test track and Mimi dancing in the streets to atmosphere music.
Today we tried San Angel Inn and the result was really good but holy moly the mole sauce was spicy! WHEW! I sweat just thinking about it!
The most magical moment was Mimi trying on an adult sized sombrero that was bigger than she was and trying to walk around the Mexico pavillion with it covering her whole body!

9/25 Memories of our Second Day:
The weather was 83 degrees and sunny
The best thing about today was riding the rides as a family
The worst thing about today was we were all VERY tired and VERY hungry ( = grumpy people)
The funniest thing was Roo on Splash mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - our little daredevil thrill seeker!
Today we tried Grand Floridian Cafe and the result was it is nice, but not very appealing as a resort choice for us.
The most magical momet was Minnie Mouse was smitten with Mimi and gave her a lot of special invidiual attention!
Notes for next time... it took us 45 minutes by bus to get from our resort door to the inside of the turnstiles at MK.

[loubell]

I am loving your TR! the pictures, the commentary, and your kids are ADORABLE! And you are NOT a fat mess.

Can't wait to read more...sorry to hear about your woes @ POR. We're trying a moderate for the first time in Dec (CBR), but a king size bed is a priority for us and that's what we've reserved/paid for. But it looks like it all worked out in the end and you're having a BLAST!

Can't wait to read more!

[Artzkathy]

Your first day looked like lots of fun!!! Sorry you didn't get much sleep though. It's amazing what Disney adrenaline will do for you!!! Can't wait to read/see more!

Kathy

[CelticChick]

Oh Amy I am sooooo enjoying reading your trip report. More more more please.

[wayneava81]

Great updates and pictures! Sorry about your troubles at POR. Glad to hear you will happier in a few days at WL. More, please!!

[chezp]

No problem backtracking - what great memories.

[akleos]

This was the bad day. The day we were all too tired after another crummy night of sleeping. Our plans for the day were to meet fellow Passporters for a breakfast at Boma at 8:55 am, lunch at Biergarten at 12 noon, and since my Mother in Law was arriving that day, to have a romantic dinner at Artist point with my husband. We did none of those things.

We woke up very late, even Roo was beaten up by Mimi's night-long-sniffle-vigil. Epcot was having PM EMH, and we knew that we wouldn't be able to get out of the door early enough to beat the morning rush. It didn't make sense to battle the crowds at Epcot, so instead we went to Disney Hollywood Sudios. We grabbed a bite to eat at the Port Orleans quick service place, and while we were there a woman with two kids (an older boy and a younger girl) stopped me and told me that they were leaving and had two balloons, would we like to have them? Thank you so much we certainly would!!! My kids were crazy for these two balloons - it couldn't have been more of a perfect match! Eventually, both balloons bit the dust, but we loved having them while they lasted. Here is Mimi with hers:


After we dropped the balloons back off at our room (with many protests and tears from our over-tired children about that) we grabbed the bus and took ourselves to DHS. Once we passed through the turnstiles, Dave took our tickets and ran to Toy Story Mania to try and get a fastpass. We actually managed to get three FP around 1:00 pm! The kids and I met back up with Dave at The Great Movie Ride, then went to Muppets 3-D (it never gets old). Here is my wiggly child who wanted nothing to do with the 3-D glasses:






The Muppets were a big hit with Mimi (once the movie began and she realized she needed those glasses to see it) And I, of course, resume my love for Sam the Eagle. WHY don't they have Sam the Eagle merchandise? WHY??? =ahem= After The Muppets, Dave took Roo to ride Star Wars while I walked around trying to find something for Mimi and I to do. All the lines from character meets to Studio Tours, were too long, so I just took pictures. Here is my favorite lady:


When Dave and Roo finished their ride, it was almost time to ride TSM! I could hardly wait! We didn't take any pictures, believe it or not. Since it was our first time riding we wanted to take it all in and enjoy it without the nusance of shuffling cameras and kids. But we all gave it two enthusiastic thumbs up... and I actually got a decent score (or so Dave said)!

After TSM, both kids LOST. THEIR. MINDS. We had to eat, and eat quickly, lest we had a toddler implosion or two. So over to ABC Commissary we went for the perennial favorite: french fries and chicken nuggets. After lunch, we all headed over to Playhouse Disney for a little fun with Mickey and the Gang. Here we are waiting for everyone to be seated. We managed to get front row seats, but I wouldn't recommend it - the characters are very difficult for little ones to see from the front row:




Mimi was beside herself. She was dancing and clapping and having a blast without a care in the world:




After that we just couldn't do any more. Me, Dave, the kids... we were just too stinkin' tired and cranky:

"NO MORE PICTURES!!!!"

So Dave and I had the bright idea to walk from DHS to EPCOT via the walkway so the kids could nap. It was a great idea for them, but not so much for Dave and myself since the sun was beating down, and (in my professional opinion, of course ) the path hasn't enough shade trees. When we finally got to EPCOT, we stopped at the Rose and Crown for a refreshing beer and let the kids continued to rest:


Around this time, Dave's Mom called to let us know she had arrived safely at MCO and we decided to meet her back at the resort. She still had to stop at the grocery store with Quicksilver and check in, so we let the kids wake up leisurely and rode Spaceship Earth, and got in a full spin on the EPCOT/TTC monorail before heading back to POR via bus.

Someone was still tired and grumpy, though, and it wasn't me!!!!





"Leave me alone! I'm trying to ride the monorail!!!!"

I got the kids bathed and MIL got them to sleep so Dave and I could go to Artist Point, but we were so exhausted that we didn't have the energy to hop a bus to MK and then transfer to WL. Since we were moving to WL in a few more days we bailed on our AP reservations and headed to Fulton's Crab House at DTD via boat from POR.

We LOVED it!!!

The crab claws are fantastic! If you are on the fence about ordering them, I encourage you to throw caution to the wind and order them, enjoying every succulent moment. Delicious!!!

After dinner, we did some xmas shopping at WofD for the kids. Well, actually, we took pictures so we could mail order the merchandise. Which brings me to a question to ask YOU: I was thinking, when I'm done with my TR and posting the WDW pics in my gallery that I ought to create a thread that just has these merchandise photos. I'm sure there are others out there who would also want to give their children/grandchildren WDW merchandise for Xmas and this might be a helpful thread. I've got all kinds of crap from ornaments to princesses dresses to snowglobes and pirate toys all with their corresponding SKU numbers. What do you think? Should I do it?

Back to the TR... Dave and I crashed with full bellies after dinner. It was only 9 pm and we just weren't able to keep our eyelids from closing. So we boated back to POR and the rest of the night was a blur. Mimi slept better, I slept better. Ronan slept like a champ. Dave snored, but hey - at least he was sleeping!

And that is it - the day we hit the wall. Done aaaaaaand.... DONE!

Memories of our Third Day:
The weather was 83 degrees and sunny
The best thing about today was Toy Story Mania, doing a full lap on the monorail.
The worst thing was Roo and Mimi melting down at the same time.
The funniest thing today was Mimi singing Happy Birthday to herself. She sounds like she is singing "Apple Duirty"!
Today we tried Fultons Crab House and the result was we love crab claws!!!!
The most magical moment was Mommy and Daddy getting some time alone while Grandma watched two over-tired children!!!

[DyanKJ130]

OMG! This photo is HILARIOUS!!! I guess it pretty much sums up the day!

Glad your DMIL arrived safely and you & DH were able to enjoy a night out. Looking forward to hearing what happens next

[disney_duke]

Love Ronan's shirt - I got myself the same one!!!! What a bummer about the sleeping situation catching up to you. But you carried on anyway. Well, at least you got to enjoy some top rides at HS.

Again, I still wished we could have met up, but by the time my family can actually make a decision, we were on the plane home already!!!! Can you say, wishy-washy Charlie Brown??!! Sorry... please continue!!

[lazanya]

Just catching up on your TR and really am enjoying it! Great pics! Can't wait to hear more!

[mcc0313]

Sorry you all had such a rough day...lack of sleep can do it to anyone glad you got to enjoy TSMM and that grandma got there in time to give you both a few minutes to breath and to yourself. Glad you enjoyed dinner (definitely a great choice to go to DTD by boat then traveling to WL after the day you both had). Glad to hear everyone slept a bit better...

Can't wait to hear and see more...

[chezp]

What a shame it was such a rough day and you didn't get to stick to your original plans, but it sounds like the meal at Fulton's was a great substitute for that.

[Lorraine515]

I'm sorry you guys were so tired, but it was another GREAT update!! And I say YES to the merchandise thread!!

[PrincessSharon]

Just catching up, Amy! Those character photos are too cute! Mimi's running away photo is too funny! Sorry POR wasn't comfortable for your family. Glad you were able to switch over to WL. But it's a bummer that you had to cancel some fun plans due to lack of sleep. Sorry I didn't get to meet up with you any time. I'm anxious to see if we were in the same parks at all. Hurry back!

[wayneava81]

Great update! Glad you and DH got some time to yourselves!