Figment78
05-01-2009, 02:52 PM
Day 2 – Epcot & MK
Cast:
Me – Disney fanatic
DH – Disney fan
DS, 1 – Disney fan-in-training
I purposely planned on visiting Epcot first. Although I was certain that the MK would hold fantastic experiences and magical moments for DS, I know how crowded, excited and overwhelming it can be. And I know my son. He’s easy going, but I wanted to play it safe and ease him into the whole experience. So off we went, early in the AM, to visit Figment and Nemo.
20 year ago, my sister and I rode JIYI or “Imagination” for the very first time. I have seen all the reincarnations of the ride since and honestly, as much as I LOVE figment and all he stands for, it is SO sub-par compared to the original. I didn’t mind so much when DH and I would go and either skip it or be able to just be nostalgic about it. But I really felt let down for my son – it could be so much better….
Next we headed over to ride Nemo. This was one ride that I wasn’t into prior to taking DS. But he really enjoyed it and now I do too. Fortunately, it was also soothing enough to calm him for his morning nap. After the ride, we changed him and put him in the stroller for a nap. But not before he noticed all the fish swimming around! Surprise to me, my son LOVED looking at the fish tanks. We made a plan to return and give him time to really look around and maybe visit Crush as well.
Napping him in Epcot was a cinch! Epcot is so soothing, with the beautiful flowers and wonderful area music. We managed to snag a soft pretzel snack and to avoid the jammitors (what a wake up that would have been for DS)! And just took in our surroundings while DS napped. DS is a catnapper – typically 2 30 minute naps a day.
After his nap, we headed towards the World Showcase and the “Mexico boat ride.” I did some very quick shopping in Mexico to get DS some fun authentic maracas and then off to see Donald and his amigos. This would be the first indication we would have of our son’s new favorite character – Donald Duck! Even before the refurb, I’ve always felt that the “Mexico boat ride” was underrated and underappreciated. It is really beautifully set up and peaceful. But that’s okay – less riders mean shorter lines for me.
After the ride we had to hurry over to China for lunch. I wish we had more time to spend in Mexico. It’s one of my faves and I think DS would have had fun looking at the instruments and sombreros. Lunch at Nine Dragons was… hot! I had something that said it was spicy. I thought, that’s okay – I like spicy! And I do. But what possessed me to actually try to chew one of the hot peppers in the dish I will never know. I think I drank three glasses of water and my mouth was still on fire! It was delish though… Lunch was our first TS meal with DS and we were unhappy to find out that we would not be able to send his baby food jars back to the kitchen to be heated in the microwave. They will bring you steaming hot cups of water though. This would happen at every restaurant we visited. WDW policy. While it makes sense to me that they can’t take food back, it was a bit inconvenient. But, ever the planner, I switched to Plan B and started packing the food that he doesn’t mind eating lukewarm.
After lunch we did a little shopping and then planned to head back to the hotel for afternoon rest and naptime before going over to the Magic Kingdom for dinner. As we passed the Character Spot, we just had to go in. I really wanted DS to see the Characters for the first time in Epcot, away from the chaos of MK. We peeked inside, and held DS up so he could see Mickey. The smile that spread across his face sealed the deal and we got into line to see his Clubhouse buddies. After 30 minutes of entertaining him (and everyone else) in line, we tentatively met Mickey. Simply adorable! He was more relaxed with Minnie but wanted nothing to do with Pluto. Donald got a big smile and Goofy, one of his favorites at home got ignored! There were moving stars projected on the floor near Goofy and they caught DS’s eye. Instead of going to Goofy, he just kept chasing the stars around the floor. Goofy played right along with him – making me feel better! DS did eventually get a pic and a hug, but it was quite funny.
That evening, we headed over to MK for our dinner at the LTT. We knew there wouldn’t be characters, but there would be mashed potatoes! Something DS had recently started eating and learning to feed himself. The wait staff was really great to us and all the families around us. Even without the characters, it was a very enjoyable place to eat.
We only had time for one ride after dinner and since we would be returning the next morning for AM EMH, we decided to save Fantasyland for later and hit POTC. DS was rather neutral to it, but again, no meltdown, so that was good!
Afterwards, we went back to our hotel and settled in for the night. DH and I watched a few episodes of the Office on our portable DVD player after DS went to sleep and then conked out ourselves. The next morning would be an early one and I was looking forward to my first-ever ride on Dumbo!
Cast:
Me – Disney fanatic
DH – Disney fan
DS, 1 – Disney fan-in-training
I purposely planned on visiting Epcot first. Although I was certain that the MK would hold fantastic experiences and magical moments for DS, I know how crowded, excited and overwhelming it can be. And I know my son. He’s easy going, but I wanted to play it safe and ease him into the whole experience. So off we went, early in the AM, to visit Figment and Nemo.
20 year ago, my sister and I rode JIYI or “Imagination” for the very first time. I have seen all the reincarnations of the ride since and honestly, as much as I LOVE figment and all he stands for, it is SO sub-par compared to the original. I didn’t mind so much when DH and I would go and either skip it or be able to just be nostalgic about it. But I really felt let down for my son – it could be so much better….
Next we headed over to ride Nemo. This was one ride that I wasn’t into prior to taking DS. But he really enjoyed it and now I do too. Fortunately, it was also soothing enough to calm him for his morning nap. After the ride, we changed him and put him in the stroller for a nap. But not before he noticed all the fish swimming around! Surprise to me, my son LOVED looking at the fish tanks. We made a plan to return and give him time to really look around and maybe visit Crush as well.
Napping him in Epcot was a cinch! Epcot is so soothing, with the beautiful flowers and wonderful area music. We managed to snag a soft pretzel snack and to avoid the jammitors (what a wake up that would have been for DS)! And just took in our surroundings while DS napped. DS is a catnapper – typically 2 30 minute naps a day.
After his nap, we headed towards the World Showcase and the “Mexico boat ride.” I did some very quick shopping in Mexico to get DS some fun authentic maracas and then off to see Donald and his amigos. This would be the first indication we would have of our son’s new favorite character – Donald Duck! Even before the refurb, I’ve always felt that the “Mexico boat ride” was underrated and underappreciated. It is really beautifully set up and peaceful. But that’s okay – less riders mean shorter lines for me.
After the ride we had to hurry over to China for lunch. I wish we had more time to spend in Mexico. It’s one of my faves and I think DS would have had fun looking at the instruments and sombreros. Lunch at Nine Dragons was… hot! I had something that said it was spicy. I thought, that’s okay – I like spicy! And I do. But what possessed me to actually try to chew one of the hot peppers in the dish I will never know. I think I drank three glasses of water and my mouth was still on fire! It was delish though… Lunch was our first TS meal with DS and we were unhappy to find out that we would not be able to send his baby food jars back to the kitchen to be heated in the microwave. They will bring you steaming hot cups of water though. This would happen at every restaurant we visited. WDW policy. While it makes sense to me that they can’t take food back, it was a bit inconvenient. But, ever the planner, I switched to Plan B and started packing the food that he doesn’t mind eating lukewarm.
After lunch we did a little shopping and then planned to head back to the hotel for afternoon rest and naptime before going over to the Magic Kingdom for dinner. As we passed the Character Spot, we just had to go in. I really wanted DS to see the Characters for the first time in Epcot, away from the chaos of MK. We peeked inside, and held DS up so he could see Mickey. The smile that spread across his face sealed the deal and we got into line to see his Clubhouse buddies. After 30 minutes of entertaining him (and everyone else) in line, we tentatively met Mickey. Simply adorable! He was more relaxed with Minnie but wanted nothing to do with Pluto. Donald got a big smile and Goofy, one of his favorites at home got ignored! There were moving stars projected on the floor near Goofy and they caught DS’s eye. Instead of going to Goofy, he just kept chasing the stars around the floor. Goofy played right along with him – making me feel better! DS did eventually get a pic and a hug, but it was quite funny.
That evening, we headed over to MK for our dinner at the LTT. We knew there wouldn’t be characters, but there would be mashed potatoes! Something DS had recently started eating and learning to feed himself. The wait staff was really great to us and all the families around us. Even without the characters, it was a very enjoyable place to eat.
We only had time for one ride after dinner and since we would be returning the next morning for AM EMH, we decided to save Fantasyland for later and hit POTC. DS was rather neutral to it, but again, no meltdown, so that was good!
Afterwards, we went back to our hotel and settled in for the night. DH and I watched a few episodes of the Office on our portable DVD player after DS went to sleep and then conked out ourselves. The next morning would be an early one and I was looking forward to my first-ever ride on Dumbo!