While our last trip was focused on my (then 3 year old) granddaughter, this visit to Disney World she had to share the spotlight with her little brother. So if you are wondering if a 4 1/2 year old and a 2 year old can successfully share the attention and excitement of a Disney trip, then this report might be of interest to you. Or if you are wondering how many adults it takes to keep two young children happy at Disney World (is 5 enough?), then this trip report could be of interest to you. Or if you are just here for the Disney food, then you are definitely in the right place. This trip had lots of food (with a special focus on Kid’s meals and character meals), along with lots of family fun and just a bit of drama…aka a trip to the Emergency Room in an ambulance. So if you are wondering would it would be like to have a medical emergency while at a Disney theme park then stay tuned, lol.
All of this to say, please join me for the Jabead family’s latest Disney World adventure!
A Quick Review of our Cast of Characters
Just like our last two trips, we were again a party of 7. It seems as though 7 is our lucky number. This time though instead of Jake and Becca, we had our son-in-law, Ben, and our grandson, Teddy, with us. This was Ben’s second trip to Disney World, with his first being in 2000 with his family. And as the title of this report indicates, this was 2 year old Teddy’s first Disney trip. The rest of our group was the same as last year, with my husband (Don), son (Andrew), daughter (Allison) and granddaughter (Lucy) again joining me on this trip.
OUR LINEUP OF REVIEWS
Resort/Room Reviews
- Swan Resort Standard View Room #672 – COMPLETE
- Contemporary Resort Garden Wing (Water View) Room #6318 & Connecting Room #6317
Table Service Restaurants
- The Fountain Lunch (Dolphin Resort)
- Chefs de France Dinner (EPCOT, France)
- Trattoria al Forno Breakfast (Boardwalk)
- Liberty Tree Tavern Dinner (Magic Kingdom, Liberty Square)
- Kona Cafe Breakfast (Polynesian Resort)
- 1900 Park Fare Character Buffet Dinner (Grand Floridian Resort)
- Boma Buffet Dinner (Animal Kingdom Lodge Resort)
- La Hacienda de San Angel Dinner (EPCOT, Mexico)
- Cinderella’s Royal Table Character Breakfast (Magic Kingdom, Cinderella’s Castle)
- ‘Ohana Dinner (Polynesian Resort)
- Topolino’s Terrace Character Breakfast (Riviera Resort)
- Le Cellier Steakhouse (EPCOT, Canada)
- ‘Ohana Character Breakfast (Polynesian Resort)
Quick Service Restaurants
- Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie Breakfast (EPCOT, France) – COMPLETE
- Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory Dinner (Port Orleans – French Quarter Resort)
- Ronto Roasters Breakfast (Hollywood Studios, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge)
- Backlot Express Lunch (Hollywood Studios, Echo Lake)
- Contempo Cafe Breakfast (Contemporary Resort)
- Connections Eatery Lunch (EPCOT, World Celebration)
- Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe Dinner (Magic Kingdom, Tomorrowland)
- Gaston’s Tavern Breakfast (Magic Kingdom, Fantasyland)
- Columbia Harbour House Lunch (Magic Kingdom, Liberty Square)
- Kusafiri Coffee Shop & Bakery Breakfast (Animal Kingdom, Africa)
- Satu’li Canteen Lunch (Animal Kingdom, Pandora)
- Golden Oak Outpost Breakfast (Magic Kingdom, Frontierland)
- Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn & Cafe Lunch (Magic Kingdom, Frontierland)
- Woody’s Lunch Box Lunch (Hollywood Studios, Toy Story Land)
Bars & Lounges
- Nomad Lounge (Animal Kingdom, Discovery Island)
- Scat Cat Lounge (Port Orleans – French Quarter Resort)
- The Beak & Barrel (Magic Kingdom, Adventureland)
- GEO-82 (EPCOT, World Celebration)
- Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto (Polynesian Resort)
Miscellaneous Food Reviews
- Epcot Flower & Garden Festival Booths
- Magic Kingdom Pre-Fireworks Dessert Party
- Main Street Confectionery (Magic Kingdom, Main Street, U.S.A.)
- Karamell-Kuche Snacks (EPCOT, Germany)
- Aloha Isle Snack (Magic Kingdom, Adventureland)
NOTE: All 5 adults of our group (Don, Andrew, Allison, Ben and myself) participated in the food reviews. Ratings of between 1 – 5 were given as follows:
1 – Really Bad, 2 – Not Good, 3 – Okay, 4 – Good, 5 – Excellent
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27 – Don & I Arrive (Swan)
Our plane landed at Orlando (MCO) airport at 10:54 p.m. Twenty minutes later we were not only off of the plane but already had retrieved our checked luggage. This all happened so quickly and smoothly that we beat our car service driver, who was supposed to meet us at the baggage carousel. After about 5 minutes of texting back and forth, we connected with our Grayson Towncar driver and were soon on our way to the Swan. We arrived there just before midnight, so it was about an hour from landing at the airport to entering our hotel room. For this direct service we paid $215 for the round trip plus tip. In comparison, our son flew in two days later (on Friday night) at 9:30 p.m. He went directly to the Mears pickup location at the airport (since he only had a carryon bag) and boarded a crowded bus. The Swan was the 4th stop (after the All Stars, Animal Kingdom Lodge and the Dolphin) so it took almost 2 hours after landing. I believe the round trip price for this service was about $35 (per person) including the 3% fuel surcharge that they are currently charging. Taking an Uber or Lyft would have been about $100 round trip. So my transportation choice was by far the most expensive but with a late flight, the idea of not getting to our hotel until 12:30 – 1:00 a.m. was very unappealing. Under these same circumstances (late flight, 2 checked bags and a carry on, etc.) I might again opt for the quick, convenient service of the private car on future trips. But I sure do miss the free Magical Express bus transportation that I always used when it was available. Now transportation options are another thing that you must research, consider,/compare and budget for.
Upon our arrival at the Swan, we checked in at the front desk and found out that we had been assigned a room on the 6th floor…
Our Swan Standard View Room #672 Review
THURSDAY, MAY 28 – EPCOT, HOSPITAL ER, DOLPHIN
Despite having only about 5 hours of sleep, I was up early and excited to start my carefully planned day at Epcot, our favorite park.
I had purchased and booked 3 for the two of us, which on this day at Epcot cost $24/each plus tax…
I did this primarily to ride the new version of one of my favorite WDW rides, Soarin’. The new version, Soarin’ Across America, in honor of America’s 250th anniversary, had just debuted two days earlier on May 26th. Because of this I figured it would attract long lines and that purchase of a Lightening Lane would be worth the money to avoid those lines.
In addition, I had a noon lunch reservation in France at Chefs de France before our Lightening Lane for the Remy’s ride. I also planned to start our Epcot day in France by having breakfast at the bakery there. Our evening was to be spent off-property having dinner with friends.
But as they say, “The best laid plans of mice and men (and women visiting the mouse) often go awry.”
So where did things go wrong? Here’s a hint…”What happens in France, doesn’t stay in France.”
But let’s go back to the beginning. The day started according to plan. I was able to get my husband out of bed and going out the door of our room at the Swan at 8:35. We walked (past the Boardwalk) to the International Gateway entrance, also known as the backdoor of Epcot. I’ve heard that from the Swan & Dolphin Resort the walking time to Epcot is pretty much the same whether you go past the Boardwalk resort or go on the side of the lake past the Yacht & Beach Club. Sometime I would like to test out this theory, but on this day I chose my usual route past the Boardwalk because I find it more interesting.
Although there wasn’t really much of a line to enter Epcot when we got to there about 10 minutes later, we had a slight delay when going through security due to my husband having an umbrella in his backpack. He then had to go through the bag check line. We then learned that for the rest of our trip we should pull out the umbrella and hold it in front of us when walking through the security scanners.
So by 8:52 we were in the park and made our way to France to have breakfast at the bakery there…
Our Les Halles Boulangerie Patisserie Breakfast Review
Next up: A Trip to the ER
Taste of Disney 