Little Man and I joined him on just such a trip at the end of September. We are especially spoiled this year, because in addition to our fall Disney mini-break, we'll be returning in December for our annual visit.
For this trip, Little Man and I were on our own for most of the trip while Husband worked. I was a little apprehensive about handling a toddler in the parks on my own, but Little Man handled the crowds, attractions and change in schedule like a champ.
We arrived at Disney's All Star Sports Resort around 7 AM, having driven all night. Husband and I almost always choose to take the seven hour drive through the night, allowing Little Man to sleep and wake up in a good mood.
Little Man and I spent our first day exploring our awesome resort. Little Man couldn't get over the huge footballs and helmets decorating the resort. Right outside our room was a football field that provided a great place to run and goof off.
After an epic nap, Little Man and I hit Downtown Disney. He was on his best behavior, sitting in my lap at Planet Hollywood while I ate and walking next to the stroller while we meandered in and out of all the shops. Little Man's favorite shop was the Lego Store, which offered big Lego building tables and little blocks in every shape, size and color. We spent a lot of time creating towers and ramps to drive little Lego cars down.
As the sun went down and the air cooled off, the trees in Downtown Disney lit up with twinkle lights, and Little Man relished being outside past his bedtime. He darted from window to window, delighting in recognizing Mickey, Goofy, Pooh and all his friends from TV and stories.
I couldn't wait for him to see them in "real life" the next day when we went to The Magic Kingdom.
Little Man and I were up early the next day and caught one of the first buses to The Magic Kingdom. Armed with my backpack and no stroller (yes, I braved the morning with no stroller!) we arrived in time for the opening of the park, when the train pulls up to the entrance of the park carrying Mickey and all his friends.
When Little Man heard the train whistle announcing its arrival, he clapped with delight. When he realized who was riding the train, his whole little body wriggled with excitement. When he saw Mickey for the first time--a real, big Mickey right there in front of him--I thought he was going to fall to pieces. He grinned and waved and pointed, exclaiming to me the whole time: "Mom! Whoa! Whoa! WOW!"
Now, I mentioned before that I didn't bring a stroller with me. Before you have me committed, hear me out. I had a plan. After struggling to get the stroller and my toddler on the bus alone the day before, and Little Man walking more than riding around Downtown Disney, I opted to spend the morning stroller free and rent one when we returned later that afternoon. I knew in the morning there were certain places I wanted to hit in The Magic Kingdom, and I could reach all of them by riding the train to and from the front of the park.
We gazed down Main Street, USA for a few moments before climbing on the train, which chugs around the perimeter of Magic Kingdom.
My goal for this mother-baby trip to Magic Kingdom was simple: relax. If you've ever been to Disney with a toddler, you know it's not relaxing. But I wanted our day to be about being together, and watching him experience the joys that come along with seeing Magic Kingdom through the eyes of a child. I knew there were a few things I particularly wanted Little Man to experience while we were in Magic Kingdom, but overall I left it up to him--if he liked something, we stayed there as long as he wanted to.
This is how I ended up riding Dumbo seven times in a row.
Oh, how he loved Dumbo. Since we got there so early, there was no line. We just kept hopping off and getting back in the que. We rode it so many times that Little Man got a special Dumbo sticker.
We rode the spinning teacups, which were not his favorite and that was more than fine with me. We rode Prince Charming's Regal Carousel twice, and the Peter Pan ride once. We spent a lot of time playing in the interactive que for the Winnie the Pooh ride, but we didn't ride that particular one--we were saving it for our December trip with Husband since the silly old bear is such a favorite.
After a long nap in our resort, and a rainstorm, we headed back into the park. By this time, Little Man was a pro at the bus and insisted on sitting by himself. He was an excellent bus rider: sat on his bottom, holding the pole and smiling at everyone who went past him.
Back in the park we grabbed a stroller and ventured off to see what the kingdom had to offer besides Fantasyland. We caught the stage show, watching Mickey and his pals dance and sing on the castle.
We rode the riverboat, the Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover, bypassed the racecars to do with Husband, and found ourselves back in Fantasyland. We took in the castle for a few minutes while we had a drink in the shade.
We rode Dumbo. Again.
(That's 8 times, for you guys keeping count).
The best thing about getting sea-sick on the flying elephant was the view you could see of the soon-to-be-opened New Fantasyland--which will be up and running when we return in December.
But the highlight of our day at Magic Kingdom was, easily, when Little Man spotted Winnie the Pooh and Tigger outside their ride, meeting guests.
"Mom!" He said. "Mom! Mom!" He pointed as though he couldn't believe his eyes.
"Do you want to meet them?" I asked. I was hesitant after the stealth attack Minnie Mouse put on him last year, traumatizing him.
"Yes, yes," Little Man babbled.
So we got in line. Every time another child left and we got closer, I'd repeat my questions.
"Are you sure you want to say hi to Pooh and Tigger?"
"Yes, yes."
Finally it was our turn. I snagged the cast member who hung out in Hundred Acre Wood and let her know Little Man was a little hesitant. Pooh got down on one knee to wave at him, and while Little Man gripped me tightly through the whole experience, he grinned and waved and talked away to them. The cast member caught a great photo of us, and whenever Little Man sees it on my desktop, he gets excited and we talk about the day he got to meet Pooh and Tigger.
The last ride we went on was It's A Small World. I thought we needed to go on it, since it's a classic. We boarded the little boat and off we went into the world of singing, happy little people. I had only been on It's A Small World once before, and I had forgotten how incredibly creepy that ride is. I don't think it will be a repeat in December.
One last time around the park on the train, then we said "see you real soon!" and exited to the very best part of the day--Papa Bear waiting outside the gates to take us to dinner. Little Man flew to him, chattering about his day, and then got to take his first monorail ride of the trip.
The next day we were up and at 'em again early to head to Disney's Hollywood Studios--only this time, Husband got to join us. We started our day at a character breakfast where Little Man was thrilled to wave at Donald and Goofy, as long as they stayed on the other side of the table. He still didn't want to go anywhere near Minnie Mouse.
We got to watch Disney Junior Live, a puppet show full of Little Man's favorite characters from his morning TV shows. He also loved the larger than life "Honey I shrunk the Kids" playground. He was very brave and climbed all over by himself, with one of us behind him, hurrying to keep up. And the highlight of the day was the "Lights, Motors, Action" car stunt show that Husband had been dying to share with Little Man since the moment we found out we were having a son.
We returned from our mini-break exhausted (and I got sick, boo!) but it was worth every minute. I know I'm a stay-at-home-mom, but that doesn't stop me from having commitments and things I have to get done around the house. Going to Disney allows me to focus solely on Little Man, to listen to everything he has to say and watch him play and love life. I can't wait to go back for our family vacation in a couple of months and be able to focus all my attention on not only Little Man but my husband as well. And that is well worth the price of admission.
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