Not too long ago, pre-babies, Dan and I ventured to Europe and Disney World while I was pregnant with our first little one. We created so many amazing adventures with little one in my belly, ones that she’ll surely love hearing about down the road. Although they were both difficult for completely different reasons, they were so worth it for us to add to our memory book. Just as we were trying for our second baby we had been in talks for our 2015 vacation. We knew we wanted to do another Disney trip but the timing was of course a question. With no luck on the positive pregnancy test front yet we bit the bullet and booked our vacation for spring and two days later learned the excited news. We were so thrilled about the positive test result that we had almost forgotten we had planned a vacation that would put me nicely in my third trimester which for me was a no go. The next day we bumped up our vacation to a new time of year we hadn’t experienced in Disney yet and signed ourselves up for another vacation while expecting.
As the one who was actually expecting, I couldn’t have been more excited to be pregnant and bring my family to Disney again but I have to admit my constant nerves about the unexpected. You just never know how your pregnancy will go and planning a vacation, especially one like Disney where the weather can be really hot and uncomfortable and the intensity level is well, less than relaxing, is a pretty nerve wracking undertaking. Nonetheless, this mommy-to-be was Disney bound with our little toddler who’s surely a Disney baby and our new little one who would get to share a similar story with her sister of her visit in mommy’s belly, how cool?!?! I couldn’t help but be so excited for the vacation ahead, to experience the magic of Disney, create more family memories that will last a lifetime, and enjoy one last trip as a family of three before our new addition makes her appearance.
So as I turned into my 22nd week, I packed my maternity attire and emergency supplies and we were off to experience the magic of Disney. We headed out nice and early for the first flight of the day so we could get in a nice full first day. We all made it through the flight in one piece and were greeted in Orlando with warm and sunny weather, a stark difference from the impending snowstorm in the Northeast. We quickly switched into some summer clothes and were greeted by the Magical Express who whisked us away to our home away from home, the Wilderness Lodge. With magic bands on our wrists, we were ready to start our Disney adventure and couldn’t wait to head over to the Magic Kingdom to ring in our trip.
By the time we had checked in and caught the boat over to Magic Kingdom it was lunch time so we grabbed little one a quick lunch and mommy a little snack too from Roaring Fork at Wilderness Lodge and decided to hop on a few rides first before we lunched on something more substantial. Since our little girl’s favorite attractions are by far those in Fantasyland we headed that way first and caught a few Disney staples before this mommy-to-be was in desperate need of sustenance. For the first lunch of our trip we decided on one of my all time favorites, the Turkey Leg from the Frontierland cart over by Splash Mountain which is also conveniently located right next to a Mickey Pretzel stand that was music to our little girl’s ears.
I manned the pretzel stand and grabbed our little girl her very own Mickey pretzel, which are sadly not gluten free, while Dan checked over the turkey leg ingredients and picked up lunch for us. I’m normally not a huge meat eater, especially while pregnant, but just the thought of a delicious, juicy turkey leg made my mouth water so I knew it would be the perfect fit for lunch for me. And it was just as delicious as in my memory, thanks to the smoking it was a juicy cross between ham and turkey that is a hugely satisfying lunch for anyone out there. Since I hardly ever put a significant dent in a Disney turkey leg Dan agreed to share one for our lunch especially since we were eating an earlier dinner at Hollywood Studios. With both of us devouring the turkey leg, after some time sitting in the shade the turkey leg was no more and the Mickey pretzel, well didn’t really resemble Mickey too well after my little girl was through with it. With Daddy’s finishing touches on the pretzel we were off to enjoy a bit more of Magic Kingdom before a little afternoon nap.
We had a fantastic couple of hours in Magic Kingdom to kick off our vacation and were really looking forward to a perfect first dinner at 50s Prime Time Cafe. We caught our bus over to Hollywood Studios without too much of a delay and arrived for our dinner more or less on time, checked in, and waited a bit too long for our table to be ready. Our little girl was less than patient waiting for our table, pure exhaustion was setting in, which made the waiting a lot more painful, but thankfully we were called back and settled in without too much trouble. I requested to speak to the chef since our waitress hadn’t heard anything about my allergy free fried chicken pre-order which unfortunately was the same response from the chef. Despite my ordering ahead of time via email and phone, the chef told us that he hadn’t heard anything about the allergy order, which was so frustrating for me especially since I had taken all of the extra steps to make dinner easier. Last time this had happened the chef told us he couldn’t make the chicken for me but thankfully this chef was so accommodating and just told us it would take a little while but I could absolutely enjoy the chicken. So without too much delay my Gluten Free Fried Chicken had arrived piping hot and with an allergy pick sticking out of it.
The chicken was just as tasty as I had remembered, crispy coating covering the juicy, tender meat inside. It was perfectly complemented with a garlicky mashed potato and crispy green beans, which my little girl was appreciative of enjoying as well. All together my entree was delicious but I do wish that my extra homework ahead of time paid off and not only guaranteed me my meal but also limited our wait too. Thankfully this dinner we got lucky and had a great chef who looked just as frustrated as we did when he heard what had happened but nonetheless put together a great gluten free meal for me.
We certainly couldn’t finish our dinner at 50s without a Gluten Free Dad’s Brownie Sundae so it was one sundae for us three to split and trust me there’s more than enough to do just that. A perfect gluten free brownie smothered in all kinds of fixings, from hot fudge to vanilla ice cream and a mountain of whipped cream to all kinds of candies. It was perfection, my only complaint was the missing popcorn topping which may or may not still come on the sundae, not sure about that one, but that aside, the sundae was delicious!
Our first day of our Disney vacation was certainly a magical one filled with lots of smiles, delicious gluten free and non-gluten free food, and an extra special purple Mickey balloon for an extra special little girl. After so much excitement on our first day we called it an early night and relaxed back at our room only to find the biggest surprise of all, our room was in perfect view of Magic Kingdom’s firework show. With such an amazing surprise, we pushed off bedtime a bit and snuggled together on our balcony to enjoy the amazing firework show. Can’t ask for a better ending to our first day than that! Stay tuned for more Disney updates from our 2015 Disney vacation!
Sincerely,
Lindsay (24 weeks)