PTR: A mother and daughter try WDW one more time! - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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PTR: A mother and daughter try WDW one more time! UPDATE on 4/3
I've never written a trip report before (a fact that will be painfully obvious soon!) But I've enjoyed reading everyone else's over the years, so I thought I would give it a try.
A little background....my name is Donna and I'm a single mom to Emma, who I adopted from China more than seven years ago. She's a delightful child...very smart and funny, but a bit shy. She's a second grader at a French immersion school and speaks fluent French (we'll have to impress the folks at France in Epcot!) I'm a magazine editor in Kansas City - and I had been to WDW twice before adopting Emma in 2002.
We took our first trip to WDW together four years ago, which probably was a mistake. She just wasn't ready. We had a nice time, but Emma was pretty much afraid to try anything. She loved the Princess dinner at Akerhaus, Dumbo and Cinderella's Carousel. But she wouldn't try anything else. Oh wait, one correction...I drug her crying and screaming onto IASW one day at MK. She ended up loving it so much that we rode it like ten times in a row (at which point I was crying and screaming!)
Again, we had a nice time, but ended up mainly hanging around the pool at the Boardwalk Villas where we stayed. Here are a few photos of Emma on our first trip - where she's actually having fun:
Okay, so fast forward four years...Emma is now 8 years old. I can't believe how much she has grown up!
Since our last trip, her tastes have evolved from the Princesses to Wizards of Waverly Place and Phineas and Ferb. But she's still as sweet as can be!
So we are going to try WDW again! We will be at the Kidani Villas at AKL from April 11-16, and we're both very excited! We are on the Basic Dining Plan. Emma swears she is going to be much braver this trip and will try more rides - even Splash Mountain and Soarin'! Keep your fingers crossed!
Here's our itinerary:
April 11: Catch SWA flight from Kansas City to Orlando (nonstop - thank you!) Arrive in Orlando around 11:30 am. Hopefully will make it to Kidani by 1:00 pm. Tentative plans to go to the MK and maybe do a few rides (IASW, here we come!) And Emma wants to get some custom mouse ears. We have a 5:50 reservation at Ohana's for dinner. I've never eaten there - but it sounds wonderful - can't wait! Hopefully by the time we get back to the hotel, our luggage will be there - and the basket from Memories by Betsy I ordered for Emma.
April 12: Up bright and early to get to rope drop at the MK. I think Emma reallys wants to see Tinkerbell, so we may try to hit Dumbo or Peter Pan before we head to the fairies. If the line is too long, we'll just get in more rides in Fantasyland. We have 11:30 reservations at Crystal Palace for lunch (Piglet was the only non-princess character Emma would even come close to on our first trip - so we have to go back to see him again!) Maybe back to the hotel for awhile to rest and swim after that. And then back to MK for more rides and attractions - and Spectromagic and fireworks if we last that long.
April 13: Our day at Hollywood Studios. Emma really wants to do Toy Story Mania, so I guess we will have to get there at rope drop. We'll also hit the Little Mermaid show (which terrified Emma last time - but she says she's not afraid of Ursula any more so we can go) And we want to see Beauty and Beast - my all-time favorite Disney film. We'll probably grab lunch at Pizza Planet. We have dinner reservations at Chef Mickey's in the evening.
April 14: Our day at Sea World. Emma loved aquariums and sea life, so I know she'll enjoy this. We have dinner reservations at Boma that night - we ate there on our first trip and loved it!
April 15: Our day at Epcot! We didn't spend enough time at Epcot last time and we probably won't this time either. But we'll try to get in as much as possible. We'll try to make rope drop and get in line for Soarin'. Emma says she's game, so we'll see. I'm not sure what else we'll do in FW (I think we can rule out Mission Space!) I'm sure we'll make our way to the WS before lunch - Emma wants to do all the Kidcot stops and maybe take on a Kim Possible mission or two. We both love the WS so much. We have dinner reservations at 1900 Park Fare at 6.
April 16: Time to pack up. Our flight doesn't leave until 4 pm, so I'm hoping we can get to AK in the morning and maybe some last minute shopping at DTD. We'll just play it by ear. We should be back in KC by 7 pm.
So anyway, those are our plans. We are both getting super-excited and talk about the trip every day now. As I said before, keep your fingers crossed that my timid girl is a little more adventurous on this trip. It wouldn't be a disaster if her courage fails her at some point - we'll still have a great time. But I'd like her to try some new things too. If anyone has any advice in this area, please share!
Great start!! Your plans sound awesome and your daughter is beautiful!! I'm sure everything will turn out great. Make sure to do a trip report when you get back so we can see all of the wonderful things you do.
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Stephanie
Riding the Magic Carpets with Jasmine and Aladdin
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Yeah, I can't wait to hear all about your trip! I can TOTALLY relate about your first trip too- DS's first trip is was of the same (we had to leave It's Tough to Be a Bug mid-show and he bawled through Festival of Lion King), so if it makes you feel any better, he actually tried every ride this past trip (loved Rockin Rollercoaster!)
Yeah, I can't wait to hear all about your trip! I can TOTALLY relate about your first trip too- DS's first trip is was of the same (we had to leave It's Tough to Be a Bug mid-show and he bawled through Festival of Lion King), so if it makes you feel any better, he actually tried every ride this past trip (loved Rockin Rollercoaster!)
Mel
Oh Mel...that brings back (bad) memories! We had to leave FOTLK after like 5 minutes because Emma was crying!
A couple of recommendations for you... use the fast-passes, that will help you tremendously. I also recommend trying the SiFi diner in Hollywood Studios. You get to eat in a car! Wilderness Lodge: Whispering Canyon Café is one you should check out. We really enjoyed the canyon skillet. They have lots of fun at that restaurant. Ask for some ketchup while y0u are there...wink wink
Great start. I'm sure your daughter will be more adventurous this year. Even a year can make a big difference. DS was 6 when we first went to WDW and he was really scared of 3D shows (mostly Honey I Shrunk the Audience and It's Tough to be a Bug). We had to leave both shows. The next year when we went back he loved them both. My only advice is to maybe start with the least scary rides first and work your way up. For example, start with Goofy's Barnstormer, then Big Thunder Mountain Railroad , then other coasters. This is what we do every year, not for the kids though, I need to warm up before I go on scary rides, like RNRC, lol. Have a great trip. By the way, we loved Kidani.
A couple of recommendations for you... use the fast-passes, that will help you tremendously. I also recommend trying the SiFi diner in Hollywood Studios. You get to eat in a car! Wilderness Lodge: Whispering Canyon Café is one you should check out. We really enjoyed the canyon skillet. They have lots of fun at that restaurant. Ask for some ketchup while y0u are there...wink wink
Thanks, Caroline! We have a 2:00 pm reservation at Sci-Fi on our Hollywood Studio's day (we couldn't get lunch ressies.) So maybe we'll just pop in for a milkshake and to enjoy the atmosphere.
We went to WCC on our first trip in 2006...loved it! We wanted to try a few new places this trip so we didn't book it this time. But I know we'll go next time.
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And we want to see Beauty and Beast - my all-time favorite Disney film. We'll probably grab lunch at Pizza Planet. We have dinner reservations at Chef Mickey's in the evening.
I'm sure we'll make our way to the WS before lunch - Emma wants to do all the Kidcot stops and maybe take on a Kim Possible mission or two. We both love the WS so much. We have dinner reservations at 1900 Park Fare at 6.
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Make sure to do a trip report when you get back so we can see all of the wonderful things you do. 
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
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Your plans also look terrific! Emma is a beautiful young lady and I hope she finds many new adventures this time around. 
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