Animal Kingdom with a (Almost) Toddler

Baby O is a huge animal fan so we suspected that we might end up spending a full day at Animal Kingdom. We arrived right as the park opened (Extra Magic Hours again, thank you very much!), toured around, grabbed lunch, Husband and I took Baby O to the hotel for nap while the rest of the group explored, and then we met back up with them later in the afternoon. A note about Animal Kingdom's hours: the park often closes earlier than the other Disney parks because the animals need their rest so be sure to confirm park hours before you show up too late in the afternoon! Even if the park itself is open, some of the animal-themed rides may be shut down for the day so just plan ahead!

Can you spot the lion? Our tour guide did - he is snoozing
on top of the center rock!

The highlight of Animal Kingdom is the Kilimanjaro Safari. This is a ride in a real off-road vehicle that travels though various animal habitats. It is a bumpy ride, so hold onto any children you may bring. In fact, I think they actually asked that small children not sit on the outside of the vehicle! Because Disney tried to build habitats, rather than just a zoo, you might not get to see all the animals, but the tour guides are really great at spotting partially camouflaged animals and pointing them out. Ours was also good at speeding around the corner if she spotted something out in the open!

Not surprisingly, this is a really popular ride and will most likely warrant a Fast Pass unless you want to wait a while. Even with our Fast Passes, we stood around for a few minutes waiting for them to load and unload the vehicles. It's totally worth it though and a must see for visiting Animal Kingdom.

While we waited for our Fast Pass appointment, we checked out Rafiki's Planet Watch, which is in the back of the park. The entrance is right near the entrance to Africa where Kilimanjaro Safari is so we didn't have to venture too far which was nice. The train takes you out to a nature trail area with a path to a conservatory and petting zoo!

Baby O is a big fan of looking at animals but we learned here that he really wasn't a fan of touching them. He wasn't doing a ton of talking during our Disney trip (only 22 months), but he very clearly shrieked "no goats!" when we tried to get him to stand in the same hemisphere as a goat! Luckily a very sweet and helpful Cast Member was on hand to warm him up to the animals a bit and by the end he even managed to gently pet a few!

"Okay, maybe goats"

The petting zoo also had some pigs and larger animals which were kept in pens (only the goats and pigs were wandering around). Inside the conservatory were a few other animal as well as exhibits that would interest older kids. In the summer, it's a nice place to cool off and use the bathroom. The train ride was a big hit, although the Cast Members were a little grumpy about letting us take a picture (they didn't like that we were standing to reposition ourselves. I guess they are concerned about people falling off the train and getting eaten by the animals next door at Kilimanjaro Safari?)

We bypassed Camp Mickey and Minnie and Discovery Island and made our way to Dinoland U.S.A. Baby O immediately spotted the Triceratops Twirl and it peaked his interest. This ride is basically Dumbo but in Triceratops form. Husband and Brother-in-Law rode the Primeval Whirl (height requirement of 48 inches) and both agreed that it was painful. Apparently it was very herky jerky and the seats had no padding.

Dinoland also turned out to be a great place to meet some characters. I had made an autograph book for Baby O and had the idea that we'd take pictures of him watching the characters sign autographs and put the pictures in the book as a souvenir. Baby O kind of didn't care about the autographs but he had fun being near the characters (not too close, and certainly not by himself, but near). Well right outside the Triceratops Twirl exit, we spotted Santa Goofy and Pluto! The line weaves a bit so it can look deceivingly shorter than it actually is, but Husband and I waited while Baby O was entertained by his entourage out of the line. Then when it was close to our turn, they passed him over to us.

After meeting Santa Goofy, it was time to eat. The restaurant that I had circled and double-starred in my guidebook was Flame Tree BBQ, which is at Discovery Island. Obviously the draw here is the barbeque ribs and pulled pork sandwiches. There is additional seating if you follow the jungle paths so you can feel as if you are really eating out in the wild! Seriously every single resource I found said how great this restaurant was.

Sadly, I got outvoted and we went to my number two choice: Restaurant-a-saurus. This is not to say that Restaurant-a-saurus wasn't tasty, but it just wasn't the recommending dining option at Animal Kingdom. The appeal of Restaurant-a-saurus is the toppings bar. You order your burger or chicken sandwich and then go to a huge toppings bar to select any number of toppings: standards like lettuce and tomato to more gourmet choices like sautéed mushrooms. The kids meal came in a cute plastic bucket, which sadly did not make the cut when we were packing at the end of the trip. The inside of the restaurant has a bit of an elaborate backstory going on (something about a group of students who went off exploring), but the jokes were a bit over Baby O's head and it was a nice day outside so we sat at a picnic table outside. There is a big camper attached to the building which is also seating, but people don't realize it so you might be able to snag an indoor seat on a hot, crowded day.

Disney Dining Plan Tip: One thing to note about the Disney Dining Plan: there is no distinction between a child dining credit and an adult dining credit. Our meal plan gave each person one snack, one counter service meal (entrée, dessert, and drink), and one table service meal (at a sit down restaurant) per day. Children under 3 years old do not need a dining plan. So at Restaurant-a-saurus, we used one of our counter service meals to buy Baby O's lunch (rather than shelling out $7). Also, Brother-in-Law wanted a light lunch so he ordered a kids' meal and used one of his own counter service credits. Alternatively, if you have a 5 year old who is a big eater, order an adult meal for them, rather than something off the kids menu. Disney has no way of distinguishing who is ordering or eating which meal: they are all coded the same way.

Another dining option I had written down was Kusafiri Coffee Shop (near the Kilimanjaro Safari). The draw here is that they brew "real" gourmet coffee. On the meal plan, they take a snack credit but the portions are huge. Some of the highlights are: Elephant Ears, White Chocolate Elephant Cupcake, and Paw Print Brownies. The downsides are that there is limited seating and no shade. I included it as an option in case we were on the other side of the park and Baby O needed food immediately!

Our group did most of its Asia exploring while Baby O was napping. The grandparents took in Finding Nemo: The Musical which they thought was great. We met up with them at the Flights of Wonder bird show. If your child likes birds, this is neat to watch as the birds fly and swoop through the audience. The banter between the show "host" and a tour guide that shows up is funny and kept the adults chuckling. The line at Expedition Everest was also short enough for our group to ride a few times. After Mission: Space Orange at Epcot, I was a bit wary of thrill rides, but Brother-in-Law assured me that this one was not too wild. The best way to describe it is as comparable to Big Thunder Railroad at the Magic Kingdom, but at one point you briefly travel backwards and while in the darkness a yeti appears. I admit that I squealed at this point! The height requirement is 44 inches.

This is the day that we had our biggest issue with Disney transportation and it is worth mentioning. Husband said he'd take Baby O back for nap but then wasn't sure he could handle the stroller and all Baby O's accessories on his own. I said I'd go back with him and suggested we take the car. No, Husband thought the bus made more sense so off we went to the bus stop. We managed to just miss a bus pulling away and had to wait nearly twenty minutes for another one. Once we got on the bus, it first pulled into Blizzard Beach! Apparently due to low traffic, the Animal Kingdom bus was not a direct one back to the Art of Animation Resort! What should have been a ten minute trip turned into nearly thirty minutes! Unfortunately at that point we were back at the hotel without the car so when it was time to return, we had to go through the same rigmarole and stop at Blizzard Beach a second time. This was definitely a day I wish we had just taken the car!

We left late in the afternoon to rest up a bit before our dinner reservations that evening. Older kids might find more to do here to warrant a second trip, but our one day spent at Animal Kingdom was just enough for Baby O. We got to see some animals and he got to ride on some rides too. Next time, we're definitely eating at Flame Tree BBQ though!

Tips for Disney with a (Almost) Toddler

In November we took then Baby O to Disney World. (In my mind the transition to official Toddler didn't happen until his second birthday last month so since he was only 22 months old for our Disney trip, he was still a baby!) A lot of folks thought maybe we were taking him too soon but we went anyway because:

1) It was a fun opportunity to get the whole family together. And by whole family I mean me, Husband, Baby O, Mimi and Poppi (the in-laws), Lolli and Pops (my parents), Great Grandma, Aunt Suzanne and Uncle Brad (my sister and her hubby). The ratio of adults to child for our Disney trip was, at times, 9:1. Pretty awesome!

2) I really like Disney World and wanted to go back. You may recall that the Princess in my blog title is from my running the inaugural Disney Princess Half Marathon back in 2009. I hadn't been since then and thought it would be fun to take Baby O.

Husband was initially in the "he's too young" camp. He wanted to wait until Baby O was old enough to remember the trip, but honestly I'd previously been to Disney World three times and the only time I had actual memories of was the time when I was 27! I have vague memories of being there as a 5 and 9 year old but nothing specific or concrete. So if we were waiting for Baby O to retain actual memories, it was going to be a long time!

Finally, Lolli said that she'd go with us whether Husband came or not. Because he didn't want to be a party pooper, Husband agreed and we started planning.

Disney World with a (almost) toddler is not a trip you can plan on a short time table. The fact is that you need to do research before you go: where to stay, where to eat, and even what rides to go on. Because Baby O has such a defined schedule, it was really important that we not ever be stranded an hour away from the hotel at naptime. Or if he wanted to eat, we needed to have a list of acceptable restaurant options all around the park so food was never more than five minutes away!

Luckily both my mom and I like planning vacations so we each got to work, came together to compare our decisions, and made a final list.

Our first decision was when to go. Summer was out: it is ridiculously hot in Florida during the summer and Disney World is crowded because of school vacations. Same goes for weeks in February, April and October when schools are on break. Holidays are super popular too: Halloween, Thanksgiving and, of course, Christmas and New Years. There are a few formerly slow weeks that Disney now hosts various running events so we avoided those as well.

 

In the end we settled on the week of November 14-21. In 2013, this was a Thursday-Thursday and our trip ended one week before Thanksgiving. This week turned out to be perfect because the weather was pleasant (we were able to wear shorts and enjoy the pool, but it was never unbearably hot), the lines were short (we joked that the longest line we stood in was when my sister wanted Starbucks one evening!), and, best of all, some of the Christmas decorations were up! By visiting during this particular week, we managed to get the whole Disney Christmas experience with crowds significantly smaller than would be there for the next six weeks! Perfection! 

 

Our next big decision: where to stay. Our options were a bit limited in this department because we needed a suite for our group. Lolli, Pops and Great Grandma were staying with me, Husband and Baby O so we could tag team nighttime babysitting. Surprisingly, Disney doesn't have a lot of rooms available for groups this large, but the suites that were available were cheaper than asking for adjacent double rooms. Ultimately we zeroed in on the Art of Animation Resort.

 

Let me back-up a bit and explain why we wanted to stay at a Disney resort. There were a few reasons actually. First, staying at a resort means that you can take advantage of "Extra Magic" hours. Each day one of the four main Disney parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom) opens early or stays open late in the evenings. While the evening options turned out to be nice, we were really interested in the early morning options. Baby O is habitually a painfully early riser in the morning. Rather than hanging out for hours in the hotel waiting for the park to open at 9am, we were able to be up and out for a 8am park arrival. That extra hour was key, especially when naptime can strike anywhere from 11am-noon!

 

Second, we considered renting cars for transportation, but ultimately utilizing Disney transportation made more sense. My parents drove to Florida and we had a car seat for Baby O, but we knew that there was a possibility that we would not all be arriving/leaving the parks at the same time. By staying on the Disney property, we had constant access to buses that could take us to the parks (or to the other resorts) whenever we wanted. This way, Husband could take Baby O to the hotel in the car and put him to bed then when the rest of the crew was ready to leave the park, we'd hop on the bus and be back in less than 15 minutes.

 



Photo credit

Third, staying at a resort is part of the Disney experience in my mind. One thing I do remember from
a childhood trip to Disney is the Caribbean Beach Resort and it's awesome pools. There is just something that makes the experience all the more magical when it follows you back to the hotel! That said, our room was a really great theme: Finding Nemo (other options at Art of Animation are The Little Mermaid (no suite option), the Lion King, and Cars). I've actually never seen the Lion King (*gasp*) and wasn't particularly moved by Cars so Finding Nemo was a perfect choice. Even more so because after we made the reservations, a girlfriend let me borrow her son's Nemo costume so Baby O was able to dress as Nemo for Halloween! We also got him the Finding Nemo blu ray so he could watch the movie ahead of time and get familiar with the characters!

Our room was small (one bedroom, a pull out couch and a Murphy bed that folded into the wall and became a table), but there was two bathrooms and honestly the point of the vacation wasn't to hang out in the room so it was perfect for us. Baby O was thrilled with the Nemo theme, which carried over into the awesome pool and splash pad that was right outside our door! The resort dining hall (Landscape of Flavors) and the gift shop were close too (if you stay at the Lion King or Little Mermaid themed rooms, both are a serious hike!)


From Top Left: (1) Signage outside the property, (2) Enormous Finding Nemo themed splash pad next to the main pool at the resort, and (3) Mickey fun on the Murphy bed (which revealed this sweet picture of Nemo and Marlin cuddling! Awwww!

 

As much as we liked the Art of Animation Resort, it was not without some issues. One of the reasons it's classified as a "value resort" is it's distance from the Disney parks. Granted, it's not that far away, but we did spend a decent chunk of our day traveling (particularly since we were coming back for nap each day). Husband and Brother-in-Law both decided that next time around, they wouldn't mind paying a bit more and potentially staying a few less days in order to cut down on our travel. I'm not sure I'm in 100% agreement because the only way to significantly reduce our travel time is to stay on the monorail line and those resorts are super pricey! They also really only save you time when traveling to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot since those are the only two parks on the monorail line.

 

We tried traveling both ways to the parks (via car and via Disney buses) and we got burned both ways at least once. Husband and I waited nearly 30 minutes with a super exhausted Baby O before an Art of Animation bus arrived at Animal Kingdom and then once it finally did come, it stopped at Blizzard Beach before heading to our hotel! What would have been a 10 minute drive turned into an hour-plus voyage. Arg!

 

For the Magic Kingdom, however, buses are the way to go as they bring you right up to the park entrance. The parking lot is on the other side of the water, meaning once you park you still have to either take the ferry or the monorail to the main entrance. The monorails come pretty regularly but weren't running the first morning we were there so we ended up on the ferry. Luckily we were the last group that got on the boat before it left, but poor Aunt Suzanne, who arrived five minutes later, had to wait 30 minutes for the ferry to turn back around! Add to that traveling time the fact that you might have to take a tram to the monorail station from the parking lot and you are looking at a pretty long journey (particularly if you have to fold and unfold a stroller four times!) My parents, who took the bus on the other hand, waltzed up to the front gate within 10-15 minutes of leaving the hotel!

 

So basically my advice would be take the bus to the Magic Kingdom and, if you have the option, drive to the other four parks.

 

I think that's enough for today's tips. I have a ton of tips and advice specific to each park that I'll post separately. I hope this is helpful to someone. There are so many choices when it comes to a Disney vacation and I so appreciated reading lots of different reviews and experiences that I wanted to put our vacation experience out there! I also want to make sure to document it somewhere so next time we go back I'm not having to reinvent the wheel!

 

Stay tuned for my tips on each of the four Disney parks - Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios - with a (almost) toddler!