A Tale of WDW in the "Terrible 2s" - Days 3 & 4 Completed =)

[Gabes_mommy]

Hello everyone and welcome to my Trip Report of our recent trip to WDW with my 2 year old DS.

Here is a link to my PTR if anyone is interested:

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2237497

Let me provide some background information about my title. When my DS was 18-24 months old he was very challenging. There was a lot of running away from me in public, screaming, tantrums - the whole enchilada. Then all of the sudden when DS turned 2 he totally changed. He turned into the sweetest, most agreeable little boy. You could take him anywhere and people would rave about how cute and good he was. He also developed wonderful manners, always saying please and thank you. I was such a proud mommy.....well you know how in the Bible it says "pride comes before the fall"? Boy did it ever! Fast forward to about a month ago when the terrible 2s emerged with a vengeance - we're talking screaming, hitting, total defiance. :scared1:

Needless to say, I started to get nervous about taking this child to Disney World. :eek:

So, how did it turn out???? :rolleyes1

Well, if you were at CBR on Thursday, that child running around shoeless in the food court at lunch time? Yeah, that was my DS. And the mommy trying to contain him who looked exhausted? Yeah, that was me. :rotfl:

Yes, we had our challenges, but we had our wonderful moments too and overall, I am so glad we did it and I can't wait to tell you all about it. :goodvibes

[mommyof2Pirates]

I cant wait to hear this story:rotfl: I too know all about the terrible two's. I am hoping ours are finishing up just in time for the trip. The story about the food court is classic. I am sure you can laugh about it now but at the time its not funny at all.

Well I am glad you enjoyed the time none the less and I will catch up on your TR when we return.

[Gabes_mommy]

I cant wait to hear this story:rotfl: I too know all about the terrible two's. I am hoping ours are finishing up just in time for the trip. The story about the food court is classic. I am sure you can laugh about it now but at the time its not funny at all.

Well I am glad you enjoyed the time none the less and I will catch up on your TR when we return.

Have a great trip!!! :goodvibes

[Gabes_mommy]

OK, let's talk about the Who's, When's, and Where's of the trip:

The Who's

Gabe - my wild son, the star of the show :rotfl: Gabe will be 3 in December so he is 2.75 years old :thumbsup2

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Me - Joy, aka mommy.

DH - Steve, aka daddy.

Recently DS became obsessed with stealing my camera and taking pictures - this continued througout our trip, so lots of the pictures I have were taken by a 2 year old. :rolleyes: Also, lots of my pictures are blurry due to a smudged up camera lens. :sad2:

This picture of DH and I was taken by DS and it cracks me up - mommy and daddy from Gabe's perspective. :laughing:

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Mimi - my mom, Gabe's grandma

PopPop - my dad, Gabe's grandpa

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3242.jpg

The When's

We live in South Florida and drive to WDW so we take shorter, more frequent trips. For this trip we were there for 4 days and 3 nights, September 15th - September 18th. The 18th was PopPop's birthday so we celebrated that during our trip.

The Where's

Over our many trips I have discovered that I am truly a "moderate" kind of girl. I love the theming of the moderates and I love the outdoor entrances and walking to the food court to fill up my mug. For our last 3 trips we have stayed at POFQ, but for this trip we decided to try something different and stay at CBR for the first time. So we were at Caribbean Beach Resort for 3 nights with free dining. :cloud9:

[Angies1274]

Joining in!!:goodvibes I'm excited to hear all about your trip!! Okay, now I'm off to read your PTR so I can catch up!!:thumbsup2

[Gabes_mommy]

Joining in!!:goodvibes I'm excited to hear all about your trip!! Okay, now I'm off to read your PTR so I can catch up!!:thumbsup2

Welcome!!! Thanks for joining! I need to get caught up on your TR now that I'm home. :goodvibes

Day 1 coming soon. :thumbsup2

[Gabes_mommy]

I started planning this trip back in March so it was really exciting when the day of our trip finally arrived.

Here is our planned itinerary from Day 1:

Tuesday, September 15th
8:00 - Depart from the house, stopping for breakfast on the road
11:00 - Arrive at Caribbean Beach Resort and check in
11:30 – Visit Downtown Disney for lunch and shopping. Counter Service Lunch.
3:30 – Depart CBR to head to the Magic Kingdom for the Halloween Party!
4:35 – Dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern

I was actually pretty nervous about Day 1 because DS really needs his nap everyday. He isn't a great sleeper at night so we rely on him getting a 2 hour nap midday to have a good afternoon and evening. I was worried because I knew if we didn't get an early check-in and DS didn't get a nap he would be a grouchy mess for the Halloween Party. So, what happened....did DS get a nap? Did we stick to our itinerary??? :rolleyes1

[Gabes_mommy]

So we were scheduled to leave our house at 8:00 and at about 7:45 we were all ready to go and DH was packing up our van.

DS was so excited. Here he is pulling his suitcase out to the van:

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While DH was loading the car and moving DS's carseat to the backrow of our van I turned on the Disney Channel on Sirius Backseat TV for DS and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse was on. DS was so excited pointing at Mickey knowing that he was going to see Mickey that day:

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Here is DS peaking over the backseat while DH loaded everything up:

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My parents were supposed to meet us at our house so we could all ride together and 8:00 rolled around with no parents in sight. :confused3 This was not a good sign. :laughing: Thankfully they rolled up at about 8:10. Here is DH greeting his PopPop:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3079.jpg

Once my parents' luggage was all loaded in the van we said goodbye to our pug Gigi and hit the road. Gigi seemed to understand that we were leaving her and didn't want to go in the house. :guilty:

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Fortunately Gigi loved her dog sitter and had a good time without us.

Finally we were on the road. :thumbsup2 DS watched the Disney Channel with Mimi and PopPop until we stopped for breakfast. At some point Special Agent Oso was on and my dad made some rude comments about Oso's mental prowess. :rotfl:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3083.jpg

[MickeyisBeast]

I'm joining in!
Your son is too cute! And I LOVE his suitcase!
Can't wait for another update :]

[Gabes_mommy]

I'm joining in!
Your son is too cute! And I LOVE his suitcase!
Can't wait for another update :]

:welcome: I'm so glad you stopped by! :goodvibes

Thank you for the complimemt about DS. I think he is cute too! I got DS's suitcase at Walmart and they had other animals too. :goodvibes

Another update will be up later tonight. :thumbsup2

[Lamping3]

:cool1:I'm here!

[jana616]

I'm in as well! I thought that suitcase was cute in your PTR, but it's even cuter when being pulled by an adorable almost-3 year old! He looks so excited! Can't wait to read more.

[Gabes_mommy]

:cool1:I'm here!

Yay!!! :dance3:

I'm in as well! I thought that suitcase was cute in your PTR, but it's even cuter when being pulled by an adorable almost-3 year old! He looks so excited! Can't wait to read more.

Thanks!! I was just reading your TR this morning. Drinking the puddle is so something my DS would do as well. :sick: Yesterday when we were driving home DH saw DS eating something in the mirror - it turned out it was a tissue - I have no idea where he got it. I only hope it was unused. :scared1: Boys! :rotfl:

[Gabes_mommy]

About an hour after leaving our house we stopped for breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Being the Disney fanatic I am, I would have rather stopped for something faster or not stopped at all, but I was overruled. :rotfl:

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Ready to go eat:

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At the table in the restaurant:

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Finally with full bellies we were back on the road and on our way to Disney! Back in the van PopPop put Finding Nemo in the DVD player. Gabe had never seen Finding Nemo before and it was a hit! He loved it and ended up watching it at least 3 times throughout the week. :laughing:

About a half hour from our destination we had to make a "potty break" pit stop. I always like stopping at the rest stops on the Turnpike because they have Disney Brochures and other fun stuff.

My boy with his PopPop:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3089.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3090.jpg

Notice the blankie in DS's hand? That is his lovey named Little Blankie. DS is very attached to Little Blankie and cannot go to sleep without it. After everyone used the facilities and we stocked up on brochures for Gabe to look at we briefly stopped to look at the sunglasses and then we were on our way out to hit the road. As we were walking into the parking lot, running up behind us was the woman who worked at the sunglass stand with DS's blankie. He had sat it down and we almost left it there. :scared1: I am so grateful to that woman. Losing blankie would have been a serious tragedy for DS and would have caused a lot of hardship on our trip. Sunglass lady - if you are out there bless you!!! :lovestruc

Tragedy averted, we were back on the road. Not long after we started seeing signs for our destination:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3092.jpg

When we passed Gaylord Palms I knew we were getting close:

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And then there it was....Disney World!!!

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When he spotted the big sign DS was so excited. :cool1:

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Yay, we're here!!!!

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Soon we saw a sign for our resort:

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And there it was...Caribbean Beach Resort:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3101.jpg

[Gabes_mommy]

Pulling up at CBR I had butterflies in my stomach. Partly because I was so excited but also because I was nervous.

First I had heard that CBR was huge. We love to use the Food Court and I knew we were planning on using the pool a lot so I was concerned about being really far away from everything.

When I booked our rooms this summer I did not want to pay extra for preferred rooms, but I did request either building Aruba 51 or Jamaica 45 because they were directly across the lake from everything. Would we get our room request filled?

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/cbrmap1.jpg

Next, like I already mentioned I was very concerned about DS being able to take a nap and I was really hoping and praying that our rooms would be ready early.

Up next: Checking in!

[Gabes_mommy]

When we pulled up to the Custom House to check in we were all really excited.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3102.jpg

The parking lot was empty so that was a good sign.

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http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3104.jpg

Once inside we hopped into the short line for Online Registration. DS was literally running laps around the Custom House. You can see him in this picture. :laughing:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3106.jpg

Soon it was our turn and the CM grabbed our packet. This was the moment I was waiting for.....where would we be staying? Were our rooms ready?

The CM told us that our rooms were ready (:dance3:) and that we were in Jamaica 45 - one of the buildings I requested. Woohoo!!! :woohoo:

I was so excited!!! We were so lucky!!!! This vacation was off to an amazing start! :cool1:

[scoot241]

Sounds like you had a smooth check-in. Ours was similarly smooth and we had our room requests fulfilled. CBR is a resort I'd like to stay at in the future.

Looking forward to reading more!

[Gabes_mommy]

Sounds like you had a smooth check-in. Ours was similarly smooth and we had our room requests fulfilled. CBR is a resort I'd like to stay at in the future.

Looking forward to reading more!

Welcome!!! :goodvibes I love the new Online Check-In system. I think it helps the hotels place people in rooms that are ready when they arrive since they know people's arrival times. :thumbsup2

[Sunset Cliffs]

Joining in! Love your title...it is something I'm sure that I will be facing in my near future, since my son just turned 2. It's nice that you live close enough to take shorter trips. So glad that you go the room that you wanted!! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that a nap for you son happened.

[Gabes_mommy]

After we got our room assignments we were back in the van to drive over to Jamaica. I love the color scheme of the Jamaica buildings - so bright and cheerful. :lovestruc

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3107.jpg

I am so glad we watched Finding Nemo on the way to Disney because DS was so excited when he saw Nemo on the bedspread in our room.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3108.jpg

Our room was nice and clean - we were very happy with it for our stay.

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Once we had unloaded all our luggage into the room we decided to head to Old Port Royale to check everything out. We had originally planned to go to Downtown Disney that first day, but the excitement of checking out the resort won out. :cutie:

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Our first view of Centertown:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3118.jpg

While we were at the Food Court we bought our refillable mugs and headed back to the room to change into our bathing suits to hit the pool.

I unfortunately forgot my camera in the room because I was rushing, but DS LOVED the new kids' area at the pool. He went down the slides non-stop for about an hour and had a wonderful time. :love: I did get lots of pictures of him at the pool on our 2nd day, so I'll post those later.

At this point it was about 1:30 so we headed back to the room to give DS a nap. In all the excitement of arriving at the resort we had accidentally left Little Blankie in the car when we unloaded and when we got DS into bed for his nap it hit him that LB was missing and he had a FIT!!! He was wailing for LB. DH immediately headed to the car to get LB and I turned on the TV for DS. Almost immediately upon seeing Stacy and the WDW must-do's DS stopped crying and was captivated. :rotfl: It's the power of Stacy I guess.

DH did rescue LB from the van and we had a happy little boy who konked out for a solid 2 hours. :cloud9:

While DS was napping I took a shower and walked over to OPR by myself to check everything out again. As soon as I got back my mom knocked on the door and wanted to walk over too so I spent most of the afternoon walking back and forth. :laughing: CBR is a lovely resort and I was already falling in love with it. :lovestruc

[Gabes_mommy]

Joining in! Love your title...it is something I'm sure that I will be facing in my near future, since my son just turned 2. It's nice that you live close enough to take shorter trips. So glad that you go the room that you wanted!! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that a nap for you son happened.

Welcome!!! I'm so glad you're joining in! :goodvibes

Hopefully your DS will never go through the Terrible 2's. For the first 6 months of his 2nd year my DS was positively delightful! I really thought we had dodged the bullet, but that was not to be. :rotfl:

[lilmissie]

I am joining in as well. We make the trip in a few weeks with three little ones. They will all be 2 when we get there. But the eldest two (twins) turn three down there. It will be interesting to hear your experiences.

[Gabrielsbigtrip]

Joining in:goodvibes

We were at the beach for the past few days so I am so behind in everyone's reports!

[Dylan_&_Blake's_mom]

I'm a little behind and just saw that you started your TR. So glad to see that you are back and can't wait to hear all about your adventures. Your beginning is hilarious. My youngest DS is in the terrible two's now. Can be ever so charming and sweet but it also scares the bejeebies out of me about how he will be at disney. The things I am most fearful of are how he will be at the sit down meals(NOT a good thing right now and we avoid them like the plague,lol) and how the nap thing will go. He is very used to getting a two hour nap as well. I hate to leave the parks for about 3 hours because we are all day park people and usually stay from open to close but I don't think missing his nap would be a good idea. I'm hoping for some disney magic on the terrible two's. I can't wait to hear about how your little one was so hopefully I will be more comforted and prepared. Plus we are also staying at CBR so glad to see/hear about that as well.

[CandleontheWater]

Great start to your TR!! :)

I'm glad to see you got on the road reasonably on-time. I don't think I've managed that, and I don't even have kids yet! I also agree with you about stopping for breakfast, I'd rather get there faster too, but on the other hand, Cracker Barrel does have a great breakfast!

I'm so happy to see that you got your room request! I've stayed at CBR a few times and I really love the resort. It is a little spread out, but I don't think that it is unmanageable. I'm excited to hear about how the rest of your trip went!

[Angies1274]

Your son is so cute!!! The picture of him with his PopPop is so sweet!!!:goodvibes

Yay!!:yay: for getting your request!!! CBR looks like such a beautiful resort with so much to see. I can understand why you decided to hang around the resort to check it out.;)

"The power of Stacy":rotfl: too funny--my boys react the same way when they watch her.:laughing:

Can't wait for more....popcorn::

[jana616]

Yay for getting all of your room requests! We had similar luck, and I think it definitely helped to do the online checkin. We also faxed our requests to POP, and that helped a lot too. Can't wait to read more, and I'm so glad for you that your son took a great nap. Hopefully that meant a fun afternoon and evening!

[mothermouse]

Hi, :wave2: I'm joining in :surfweb:I have a two year old DD:littleangel: So I think your TR will be fun to read. I know how it can be :lmao::lmao::lmao: My DD:littleangel:is not always a :littleangel: We are waiting to go to Disney :wizard: You are off to a good start, sounds fun so far. We call are grandpa poppop too and grandma is mommom (too cute DS holding poppop's hand) Looking forward to reading :tink:

[DawnAK]

Looking forward to the rest of your TR. We hope to be in WDW in January with our 2 yr old little boy. He will be 2 in November and is also "spirited". :yay:

I am worried about napping/sleeping away from home as our son is not one to sleep in the car or stroller...or anywhere else away from home. Should be interesting...

Dawn

[Gabes_mommy]

I am joining in as well. We make the trip in a few weeks with three little ones. They will all be 2 when we get there. But the eldest two (twins) turn three down there. It will be interesting to hear your experiences.

Welcome!!! We did have some challenging moments, but overall we had a wonderful time.

Joining in:goodvibes

We were at the beach for the past few days so I am so behind in everyone's reports!

Yay!!! I'm so glad you're here!

I'm a little behind and just saw that you started your TR. So glad to see that you are back and can't wait to hear all about your adventures. Your beginning is hilarious. My youngest DS is in the terrible two's now. Can be ever so charming and sweet but it also scares the bejeebies out of me about how he will be at disney. The things I am most fearful of are how he will be at the sit down meals(NOT a good thing right now and we avoid them like the plague,lol) and how the nap thing will go. He is very used to getting a two hour nap as well. I hate to leave the parks for about 3 hours because we are all day park people and usually stay from open to close but I don't think missing his nap would be a good idea. I'm hoping for some disney magic on the terrible two's. I can't wait to hear about how your little one was so hopefully I will be more comforted and prepared. Plus we are also staying at CBR so glad to see/hear about that as well.

Welcome!!! You hit the nail on the head with your concerns - those were our biggest issues too. Sit down meals were definitely our most challenging times. Does your DS nap in his stroller at all? Mine doesn't anymore so naps were important for us. :goodvibes

Great start to your TR!! :)

I'm glad to see you got on the road reasonably on-time. I don't think I've managed that, and I don't even have kids yet! I also agree with you about stopping for breakfast, I'd rather get there faster too, but on the other hand, Cracker Barrel does have a great breakfast!

I'm so happy to see that you got your room request! I've stayed at CBR a few times and I really love the resort. It is a little spread out, but I don't think that it is unmanageable. I'm excited to hear about how the rest of your trip went!

Welcome!!! :dance3: We did love CBR, but I think if we stay there again we will pay for a preferred room instead of risking being really far away.

Your son is so cute!!! The picture of him with his PopPop is so sweet!!!:goodvibes

Yay!!:yay: for getting your request!!! CBR looks like such a beautiful resort with so much to see. I can understand why you decided to hang around the resort to check it out.;)

"The power of Stacy":rotfl: too funny--my boys react the same way when they watch her.:laughing:

Can't wait for more....popcorn::

Aw, thanks!! :lovestruc My dad actually watches DS for us while I work so the two of them have gotten very close - it's so sweet.

Yay for getting all of your room requests! We had similar luck, and I think it definitely helped to do the online checkin. We also faxed our requests to POP, and that helped a lot too. Can't wait to read more, and I'm so glad for you that your son took a great nap. Hopefully that meant a fun afternoon and evening!

We had an amazing evening!!! I am hoping to get that part of the report up by tonight.

Hi, :wave2: I'm joining in :surfweb:I have a two year old DD:littleangel: So I think your TR will be fun to read. I know how it can be :lmao::lmao::lmao: My DD:littleangel:is not always a :littleangel: We are waiting to go to Disney :wizard: You are off to a good start, sounds fun so far. We call are grandpa poppop too and grandma is mommom (too cute DS holding poppop's hand) Looking forward to reading :tink:

Welcome!!! I'm so glad you are joining in. :goodvibes

Looking forward to the rest of your TR. We hope to be in WDW in January with our 2 yr old little boy. He will be 2 in November and is also "spirited". :yay:

I am worried about napping/sleeping away from home as our son is not one to sleep in the car or stroller...or anywhere else away from home. Should be interesting...

Dawn

:welcome: My DS won't sleep in his stroller anymore either, but luckily he was so tired from all the excitement that he took good naps and slept through the night everyday.


Well in addition to some wonderful memories I also brought home a nasty respiratory infection from Disney. :sick: Yesterday was really rough and all I did all day was lay around. Today is better and I'm back at work so I'll be really busy all afternoon, but I'm hoping to post the report from our night at MNSSHP by tonight.

[Dylan_&_Blake's_mom]

Uh-oh, I was hoping you would say the disney magic hit and sit down meals were ok,lol. At first I thought that maybe since the characters will be there he would be ok. Then I realized that it will probably be worse because when they aren't at our table he will be wanting to get them. I just don't plan on being able to really eat at any sit down meals myself,lol. Oh well, such is life with a two year old. Nope, DS does not nap in the stroller. I looked at our schedule and figured out that all but 3 days there is a space for us to come back to the resort for him to nap. The other 3 days I am just hoping for a miracle for him to either fall asleep in the stroller or be alright without a nap that day:rotfl: Did your son have much trouble with taking naps at the resort since he was in a different place and probably put down for a nap in a different way?

[BlueBayou]

Does your DS nap in his stroller at all? Mine doesn't anymore so naps were important for us. :goodvibes
Loving your trip report so far and looking forward to hearing more.

You know one of my favorite Disneyland pictures is from a trip when my DD6 was right under 2. I recall her fighting sleep in the stroller. We were in DCA - and I kept saying we REALLY need to get out of here. But on the way out of the park - we kept passing rides my DD who is now 8 wanted to ride. My youngest was in a state like I had never seen before when we got out of the park.

My DH put her on his shoulders. By the time we got to harbor blvd she was asleep - resting her head on top of his head - and drooling. You can't see the drool in the pictures - but they are beyond cute. My DH crossed a road and walked up stairs - all with a sleeping baby on his head.

[Gabes_mommy]

Uh-oh, I was hoping you would say the disney magic hit and sit down meals were ok,lol. At first I thought that maybe since the characters will be there he would be ok. Then I realized that it will probably be worse because when they aren't at our table he will be wanting to get them. I just don't plan on being able to really eat at any sit down meals myself,lol. Oh well, such is life with a two year old. Nope, DS does not nap in the stroller. I looked at our schedule and figured out that all but 3 days there is a space for us to come back to the resort for him to nap. The other 3 days I am just hoping for a miracle for him to either fall asleep in the stroller or be alright without a nap that day:rotfl: Did your son have much trouble with taking naps at the resort since he was in a different place and probably put down for a nap in a different way?

The sit down meals weren't horrible - they were just the most challenging thing for us. My son actually napped great in our room - We let him swim and tire himself out right before naptime everyday and I think that really helped. :goodvibes

Loving your trip report so far and looking forward to hearing more.

You know one of my favorite Disneyland pictures is from a trip when my DD6 was right under 2. I recall her fighting sleep in the stroller. We were in DCA - and I kept saying we REALLY need to get out of here. But on the way out of the park - we kept passing rides my DD who is now 8 wanted to ride. My youngest was in a state like I had never seen before when we got out of the park.

My DH put her on his shoulders. By the time we got to harbor blvd she was asleep - resting her head on top of his head - and drooling. You can't see the drool in the pictures - but they are beyond cute. My DH crossed a road and walked up stairs - all with a sleeping baby on his head.

That is so sweet! :lovestruc

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Hi there! :goodvibes

Loving your TR so far!

Thank goodness for the sunglasses lady. That could have been a real tragedy. :scared1:

My boys are mesmerized by Stacy too! :laughing:

It sounds like your vacation was off to a great start and everyone is happy with the resort. That's always such a relief. Isn't CBR wonderful?! :cloud9: We are trying POR in November and are a bit nervous. Hopefully we will like it as much as we do CBR.

Can't wait for more! popcorn::

[Gabes_mommy]

I'm on my lunch break so I have a few minutes to start posting the next installation. :goodvibes

After Gabe's nap we got him dressed in his pirate costume and headed out for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. :lovestruc

My little pirate all ready to go:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3120.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3121.jpg

Mimi and the Pirate:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3122.jpg

Gabe looked so cute in his pirate costume, but unfortunately once we got to the MK he refused to wear his pirate hat anymore. Oh well, he still looked cute. :cutie:

So on the drive over to the MK my dad asked about parking and we realized we left our parking pass back in the room. Doh! :rolleyes:

DH quickly made a U-turn and we headed back to CBR to retrieve the parking pass. Unfortunately this put us a little behind schedule for our ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern so when we got into the park we booked it over and made it to LTT on time. :thumbsup2

Picture time!

Arriving at the MK:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3123.jpg

DH and DS on the parking tram:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3124.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3125.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3126.jpg

On the monorail from the TTC to the MK:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3127.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3130.jpg

DS was fascinated by the monorail:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3131.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3132.jpg

The park was decorated so cutely for MNSSHP:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3134.jpg

Our first view of the castle:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3135.jpg

In all the excitement of arriving at the hotel we totally forgot to eat lunch that first day. This ended up being a bad thing beacuse by 3:30 I was dizzy and nauseus from not eating and DS was definitely out of sorts too. This was a bummer because he has been so looking forward to seeing the castle and because he was out of it he wasn't really interested. :sad1: I felt like such a bad mommy for forgetting lunch that day and we made sure not to do that again.

Up next - our dinner at LTT and the party!!! :dance3:

[Angies1274]

Great update!!!:thumbsup2

There's nothing like walking on Main Street and getting your first glimpse of the castle.:cloud9: Sorry, that you weren't feeling well.:sad2: I'm excited to hear how your dinner at LTT went and especially MNSSHP!!:yay: It's something I'm sure my boys would love to do! Hopefully, we can plan it for a future trip.

[Lamping3]

Gabe looks so cute in his costume! Ummmm what happened to your pirate shirt?;)

[Gabes_mommy]

Great update!!!:thumbsup2

There's nothing like walking on Main Street and getting your first glimpse of the castle.:cloud9: Sorry, that you weren't feeling well.:sad2: I'm excited to hear how your dinner at LTT went and especially MNSSHP!!:yay: It's something I'm sure my boys would love to do! Hopefully, we can plan it for a future trip.

MNSSHP was excellent!!! I can't wait to tell you all about it. I should have time tomorrow. :goodvibes

Gabe looks so cute in his costume! Ummmm what happened to your pirate shirt?;)

Ugh! I forgot my shirt at home. It was hanging right in the dining room too and I totally spaced on packing it. I did remember my pirate hat though and my dad wore it for the party. At least I can still use my shirt for the actual Halloween. I thought Gabe looked so cute too - I loved how the costume turned out. :cloud9:

[Gabes_mommy]

I had a really stressful morning at work so I need to post some TR to help me relax and remember our wonderful trip. :goodvibes

So we rushed to dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern and arrived right on time at 4:30. Almost immediately our beeper went off - I was so happy because we were all so hungry.

We got a great table in a corner in front of a window. Immediately my dad, a retired history teacher and history buff, started checking out all the decorations.

I took some pictures at dinner, but they didn't get downloaded for some reason. :confused:

It took forever for our server to come but once he finally did the food was very good. We started with salad and rolls with honey butter and then the platter with turkey, flank steak and honey ham along with stuffing, mashed potatoes and green beans. For dessert we got apple cobbler with vanilla ice cream. We were all really hungry and ate a lot.

Just a note about our server - he had no personality at all - I mean ZERO. He did not crack a smile even once. Gabe has really good manners and whenever our server dropped something off at our table Gabe would say thank you and our server just ignored him. I don't know if he was just having a bad day or was a meanie in general. :confused3 It also took him FOREVER to bring the check which was frustrating. Overall, it was a good meal though. I don't think we'll go back anytime soon though unless they bring back the characters.

Up next - the party!!! :woohoo:

[Gabes_mommy]

Right after dinner we decided to hit the Haunted Mansion. I really wasn't sure about Gabe riding this but he loves his Disneyland Halloween Sing-a-long DVD so we figured we'd give it a try.

The ride was a total walk on. We literally walked right into the room with the stretching walls - it was great.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3138.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3139.jpg

Gabe did fine - he didn't seem scared at all. We really enjoyed seeing all the changes and updates.

After the Haunted Mansion we headed over to Fantasyland:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3140.jpg

Peter Pan had a 20 minute wait posted so we hopped in line:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3141.jpg

While we were in line Cinderella's carriage pulled up outside:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3142.jpg

We ended up only waiting for about 10 minutes and then had a great ride over Neverland.

After our ride I noticed the sky was looking very foreboding. I started getting very nervous that it might rain.

(you can actually see my dad from the back in this picture wearing his pirate hat :laughing:)

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3146.jpg

Would the rain come and ruin our fun??? :rolleyes1

[Gabes_mommy]

Hey everyone,
Sorry it's been a few days since I've updated my TR - life has been crazy!

I have exciting news! I just booked a short trip for the holidays. We are staying at Port Orleans Riverside from 12/13 - 12/15 and we will attend Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party on 12/13. It's probably just going to be my dad, Gabe and I because my DH and mom probably won't be able to get off work but that's OK.

I was really hoping to have a holiday trip and I was messing around on disneyworld.com today and found a rate of $93 a night for POR so I called my dad and he said book it! So exciting!!!!

We have never been to MVMCP before so I am really excited about it. :dance3:

I will do my best to post the rest of MNSSHP tomorrow. :goodvibes

[mommyof2Pirates]

Just got back and caught up on your report. I cant wait to hear how MNSSHP went. Hopefully the rain held off. I too loved CBR when I was there years ago. I am glad you got the room you requested. That is a huge resort.

[Gabes_mommy]

Just got back and caught up on your report. I cant wait to hear how MNSSHP went. Hopefully the rain held off. I too loved CBR when I was there years ago. I am glad you got the room you requested. That is a huge resort.


Welcome home!!! I hope you had a great trip - I can't wait to hear all about it. :goodvibes

At dinner DH asked Gabe if he wanted to go back to Disney World and he got the biggest smile on his face and said, "Disney World! Thank you!" - too cute! :love:

[Sunset Cliffs]

His little pirate costume was so cute. We have never done any of the Halloween or Christmas party things. They look like so much fun.

How exciting that you get to go back during Christmas!! And what a good price on the hotel. That just makes it feel so much better, doesn't it?

[teedee]

I'm joining in too. The title of your TR drew me in. You're doing a great job so far and I can't wait to read more. My DD, DSIL and I are taking my much adored DGS for his first trip in June. He'll be 2 1/2 when we go and I'm a little nervous about how he will do. I can't wait to hear how your son did. He's quite a cutie pie by the way.

Terri

[Cory's Gal]

Enjoying your Trip Report! CBR looks like a lovely resort! The bedspreads are so cute with Nemo on them! I just love reading TR about little boys named Gabe...since I have a Gabe of my own! His pirate outfit was adorable! We love to travel with grandma and grandpa too! How cool to see Cinderella's coach!! Can't wait to read more!!!

[Gabes_mommy]

His little pirate costume was so cute. We have never done any of the Halloween or Christmas party things. They look like so much fun.

How exciting that you get to go back during Christmas!! And what a good price on the hotel. That just makes it feel so much better, doesn't it?

Getting a great deal is so exciting! :woohoo: We love the Halloween party - it is really a fun event. :goodvibes

I'm joining in too. The title of your TR drew me in. You're doing a great job so far and I can't wait to read more. My DD, DSIL and I are taking my much adored DGS for his first trip in June. He'll be 2 1/2 when we go and I'm a little nervous about how he will do. I can't wait to hear how your son did. He's quite a cutie pie by the way.

Terri

Thank you and welcome!!! :goodvibes I'm sure your DGS will do fine - there are definitely a few tips I would give you that may help though - I'll get to those as I go through my report. :cutie:

Enjoying your Trip Report! CBR looks like a lovely resort! The bedspreads are so cute with Nemo on them! I just love reading TR about little boys named Gabe...since I have a Gabe of my own! His pirate outfit was adorable! We love to travel with grandma and grandpa too! How cool to see Cinderella's coach!! Can't wait to read more!!!

Welcome!!! :dance3: Gabe's are the best aren't they? :cloud9: My DH actually chose our DS's name but now I can't imagine him named anything else.

Up next...the rest of MNSSHP! :cool1:

[Gabes_mommy]

So when we lost off the skies were looking very foreboding. We were right next to It's a Small World so we hopped on (another walk on :thumbsup2).

At this point it was exactly 6:00 and the clock was going off - I had never noticed the big clock so I took a picture. :cutie:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3147.jpg

Gabe loved this ride! He was fascinated by all the dolls. This is my mom's favorite ride too so the two of them really enjoyed it.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3150.jpg

I love the kangaroo with her baby:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3151.jpg

As we were leaving the ride Gabe was dancing all the way to the exit. There were 2 older couples that had been on the boat with us and they were gushing about how cute he was. It was a proud mama moment. :lovestruc

That reminds me of something that happened on our way to dinner - we were crossing the bridge in front of CP on our way to LTT and a lady saw Gabe coming in his stroller and said something about a pirate coming and her needing to give him space. It was really funny - we all had a good laugh. :rotfl:

So after IASW we rushed over to Dumbo hoping to beat the rain. We ended up having to wait about 15 minutes to get on and it was really hard for Gabe to wait - he was really excited about this ride and the Terrible 2s were definitely surfacing here. We almost had to leave the line because he had a little fit. :sad2: Fortunately we finally made it on the ride and Gabe loved it. While we were waiting to take off he was calling out "hi mouse" everytime the spinning mouse on the top was facing us - it was cute.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3153.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3154.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3155.jpg

After we got off Dumbo the rain started. It wasn't a terribly heavy rain but it was steady. We made a run for the Pooh ride and walked right on.

[Gabes_mommy]

After the Pooh ride we made a dash over to Toon Town Fair in the rain. We hustled into Minnie's house to explore and surprisingly it was pretty empty.

Gabe LOVED the kitchen in Minnie's house. We let him stay in there about 20 minutes and he had such a ball.

Minnie's fridge:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3162.jpg

Minnie was baking a cake:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3163.jpg

Gabe watched the oven over and over - he was so excited. :lovestruc

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3166.jpg

After Minnie's house we headed over to Mickey's house - what a mess! That mouse needs to learn how to clean. :rotfl:

Checking out Mickey's kitchen:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3167.jpg

Since it was still raining we decided to hop in line to meet Mickey. This took about 20 minutes or so. At this point we had done some trick or treating in Mickey's house so we had candy and a lollipop kept Gabe happy in the line. :cloud9:

Mickey and Minnie looked so cute in their costumes - Gabe was so excited!

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3171.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3172.jpg

The whole gang. At this point my camera battery died right after we had this picture taken - I was so bummed but I just put my camera away. :guilty:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3173.jpg

[mommyof2Pirates]

too bad about the rain but at least there was plenty to do inside. I love the pics with mickey and minnie dressed up. So cool! So sad about your battery to the camera. I hope someone else had a working one along. Cant wait to hear more.

[Gabes_mommy]

After meeting Mickey and Minnie the rain had let up - it was still overcast but it never did rain again. :woohoo:

We decided to hit the Barnstormer. I was really excited about taking DS on the Barnstormer because it was going to be his first ever roller coaster.

It was a hit! DS loved it and was giggling the whole time. The CM at the station even gave him a certificate for riding his first coaster. :lovestruc

Since it had stopped raining we made a pit stop in the restrooms and changed Gabe into a dry shirt.

After our pit stop we walked the trick or treating path to Tomorrow Land and got lots of candy. Last year DS didn't really understand the concept of Trick or Treating, but this year he totally got it. He was so excited about getting candy and said thank you to everyone. :cloud9:

In Tomorrow Land we made a bee line for Buzz Lightyear which was another walk on. We had a ball but I officially STINK at this game. I scored a measley 12,000 points. I think Gabe would have done better if we have him a gun. :rolleyes1

After Buzz it was time to head to Main Street for the parade. We got to Main Street about 15 minutes before the parade started so all the front spots were taken, but we lined up right behind a family which put us in the 2nd row.

While we waited for the parade DH went to Casey's and got some corn dog nuggets which we all enjoyed munching on.

Sadly before the parade started a CM came around telling everyone that the Headless Horseman couldn't run tonight because of the wet streets. :sad1: That was a bummer because the Horseman is so cool.

Finally the parade started and Gabe loved it!!!! I am so sad that my camera wasn't working because it was so fun. The family in front of us was so nice too - the mom had her DS stand in front of her so Gabe could be in the front and then I stood behind him. I was so thankful to her and thanked her profusely after the parade.

For those of you who have never been to MNSSHP, the Boo to You parade is excellent!!! The music is really fun and catchy and the floats are amazing. It's worth going to MNSSHP just to see the parade IMO. :cloud9:

After the parade we had about 30 minutes before Hallowishes so my dad and DH staked out spots for us, and my mom, Gabe and I went to the hat shop to get customized Mickey ears for Gabe. While we were waiting for the embroidery we went across the street to the Emporium. While we were in the Emporium 2 CMs came up to us with an autograph book and asked Gabe to leave a special message for Mickey. Being 2 Gabe cannot write yet, but he was still so proud to leave his scribbles for Mickey and the CMs were so sweet to him. It's little things like that which really make Disney World special. :lovestruc

Mickey ears in hand we rushed back up Main Street for Hallowishes. Gabe had never seen fire works before so this was a true first for him. He LOVED IT!!!! :yay: He was so excited he was literally squeeling and kept saying "look Mommy". I decided to try to use my camera and thankfully it turned on and I got my 2 favorite pictures from the trip:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3175.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3176.jpg

Look at the pure joy on his face. This is what makes it all worthwhile - all the money, all the planning - everything is so worth it for moments like this. :lovestruc

[3princesses+aprince]

I'm really enjoying your report. Great first day!!! Gabe is a cutie.

[Gabes_mommy]

too bad about the rain but at least there was plenty to do inside. I love the pics with mickey and minnie dressed up. So cool! So sad about your battery to the camera. I hope someone else had a working one along. Cant wait to hear more.

I started charging my battery every night and every afternoon during Gabe's naptime and thankfully it didn't die again. :)

I'm really enjoying your report. Great first day!!! Gabe is a cutie.

Thanks!!! Welcome!!! :welcome:

[Gabes_mommy]

After the fireworks we made our way to the exit to head back to the hotel for the night. Surprisingly not many people were leaving and we walked right onto an empty monorail.

When we finally got back to the van we smelled something....:eek: We are working on PTing Gabe and it's going very well but all the excitement must have made him forget and he had done a huge stinky in his pull up. :scared1:

Back at the hotel DH, bless his heart, cleaned Gabe up and gave him a quick bath while I ran to the Food Court to refill our mugs. When I got back to the room this is what I saw:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3179.jpg

The little guy was totally konked out.


Overview of Day 1:

What an amazing day!!!! This was the day that everything went right! We got our room request filled, our rooms were ready early, Gabe LOVED the pool, we all loved CBR, MNSSHP was AMAZING!!! Even the rain and a grouchy waiter at LTT didn't spoil our fun. :laughing: What a magical start to our trip. :cloud9:

Also, it's worth noting that DH and I had decided to upgrade our one day tickets to Florida Resident Seasonal Annual passes but my parents were still planning on just getting 3 day tickets for the trip. On Day 1 I started working on my dad trying to talk him into getting Annual Passes too so we could come back and that night my mom and dad told us they decided to get APs too! Yay!!! I knew everyone having APs would mean lots more future trips. :lovestruc

[Angies1274]

Wow! I got so behind...catching up now.:goodvibes

Great updates!!!

Glad Gabe enjoyed IASW!! (my mom loves that ride too;)) and :yay: for riding Goofy's Barnstormer!!! That's always a fun ride....short but fun!!:)

Great family picture with Mickey and Minnie!! They are dressed so cute!!

MNSSHP sounds like so much fun!! Gabe looked so happy!! It definitely makes everything worth it doesn't it?

[California Jenn]

What a fun first day! It's great that you were able to get on so many rides with such short waits. It sounds like you had a blast at MNSSHP! Can't wait to hear how the rest of the trip went, and Congrats on getting to go back in December.

[Gabes_mommy]

Wow! I got so behind...catching up now.:goodvibes

Great updates!!!

Glad Gabe enjoyed IASW!! (my mom loves that ride too;)) and :yay: for riding Goofy's Barnstormer!!! That's always a fun ride....short but fun!!:)

Great family picture with Mickey and Minnie!! They are dressed so cute!!

MNSSHP sounds like so much fun!! Gabe looked so happy!! It definitely makes everything worth it doesn't it?

It definitely makes it worth it!!! I am really behind on your report too - I need to get caught up on all my TRs tomorrow. :goodvibes

What a fun first day! It's great that you were able to get on so many rides with such short waits. It sounds like you had a blast at MNSSHP! Can't wait to hear how the rest of the trip went, and Congrats on getting to go back in December.

:welcome: We did have a great first day. MNSSHP is great for short waits since most people are doing the character meet and greets instead. :cloud9:

[Gabes_mommy]

OK, I had to post this....DH and DS are in the living room watching the WDW Vacation Planning DVD again.....too cute. :lovestruc

[Lamping3]

:cool1: It is so exciting that you get to go back so soon! Love the pics of Gabe with the fireworks....he looks super excited!

[CandleontheWater]

I'm glad to hear that your first day was so successful! I'm sorry to hear you got a lame waiter at LTT, a good waiter can make Disney dining even more magical. I'm with you too about not going back until the bring back the characters, it just isn't the same :sad2: Its also really great that you were able to ride so many rides in Fantasyland with low wait times. DH and I have found that going to the MK in the late afternoon when there is a hard ticket event is a great time to hit up the rides with little to no waits. We'll park hop over there just for a few hours because you can get so much done in that window between when most of the day guests leave and the party guest haven't arrived yet.

Yay for Gabe being brave in the HM and the Barnstormer! You are definitely raising him right, as a true Disney fan! :) I'm also happy to hear that the rain didn't get too bad, a soggy party is no fun! Its too bad that the Headless Horseman couldn't make it, but it looks like you guys had a great time and that the party wasn't that crowded!

Awesome that Gabe's first fireworks were Hallowishes, the only problem now is that he is going to have a hard time finding a better fireworks show! Fireworks are one of my favorite parts of Disney, and I hope my little pirate enjoys them as much as Gabe did. The pictures were totally priceless, he is such a sweetheart!

[heaven2dc]

What a truly magical day you had for your first day! The CBR looks lovely - the Nemo bedspreads were perfect after Gabe seeing the video for the first time. My grandson is turning 2 next month and he has been going through biting and pinching (it started when he was taking his meds for an inner infection and on rare occasions now he does it when he's tired or cranky). I can sympathize with you with Gabe and was worried when you mentioned he was back to his "terrible 2's" behavior right before the trip. But the first day seemed to be great for all of you! He is an absolute doll :love:

[mommyof2Pirates]

I am so happy that you enjoyed your first day. Its so awesome when everything goes so right. That stinks you didnt get to see the headless horseman that was my favorite part too. The parade I would agree is worth the money for the tickets. I thought the whole party was just so awesome. Yeah for gabe riding barnstormer and liking it. How exciting. Cant wait to hear more.

[Gabes_mommy]

:cool1: It is so exciting that you get to go back so soon! Love the pics of Gabe with the fireworks....he looks super excited!

I know - I am so excited! Only a little over 2 months and we'll be there. :goodvibes

I'm glad to hear that your first day was so successful! I'm sorry to hear you got a lame waiter at LTT, a good waiter can make Disney dining even more magical. I'm with you too about not going back until the bring back the characters, it just isn't the same :sad2: Its also really great that you were able to ride so many rides in Fantasyland with low wait times. DH and I have found that going to the MK in the late afternoon when there is a hard ticket event is a great time to hit up the rides with little to no waits. We'll park hop over there just for a few hours because you can get so much done in that window between when most of the day guests leave and the party guest haven't arrived yet.

Yay for Gabe being brave in the HM and the Barnstormer! You are definitely raising him right, as a true Disney fan! :) I'm also happy to hear that the rain didn't get too bad, a soggy party is no fun! Its too bad that the Headless Horseman couldn't make it, but it looks like you guys had a great time and that the party wasn't that crowded!

Awesome that Gabe's first fireworks were Hallowishes, the only problem now is that he is going to have a hard time finding a better fireworks show! Fireworks are one of my favorite parts of Disney, and I hope my little pirate enjoys them as much as Gabe did. The pictures were totally priceless, he is such a sweetheart!

Thank you! He really is special even when he's being naughty. :laughing: You are going to love having a little boy!

What a truly magical day you had for your first day! The CBR looks lovely - the Nemo bedspreads were perfect after Gabe seeing the video for the first time. My grandson is turning 2 next month and he has been going through biting and pinching (it started when he was taking his meds for an inner infection and on rare occasions now he does it when he's tired or cranky). I can sympathize with you with Gabe and was worried when you mentioned he was back to his "terrible 2's" behavior right before the trip. But the first day seemed to be great for all of you! He is an absolute doll :love:

Thank you! Yeah having Gabe watch Nemo right before the hotel was perfect and the funny part is I totally forgot about the Nemo rooms so it was a nice surprise. :laughing: I'm sorry your DGS is struggling with biting and pinching. :hug: Gabe's thing is throwing stuff when he's mad - it is definitely not good. At that age it's just hard for them to express their emotions. I understand it but it doesn't make it any easier to deal with. :rolleyes1

I am so happy that you enjoyed your first day. Its so awesome when everything goes so right. That stinks you didnt get to see the headless horseman that was my favorite part too. The parade I would agree is worth the money for the tickets. I thought the whole party was just so awesome. Yeah for gabe riding barnstormer and liking it. How exciting. Cant wait to hear more.

Hey!! Have you started your TR yet? I am so behind in my Dis'ing. I can't wait to hear all about your trip too. :goodvibes

Sorry for no updates the last few days - it has been crazy busy here. I am really hoping to get another update up by tonight. Here's a little preview though - Day 2 was our really rough day - lots of tantrums and tears...and the tears were from me....:rolleyes1

[mommyof2Pirates]

I know - I am so excited! Only a little over 2 months and we'll be there. :goodvibes



Thank you! He really is special even when he's being naughty. :laughing: You are going to love having a little boy!



Thank you! Yeah having Gabe watch Nemo right before the hotel was perfect and the funny part is I totally forgot about the Nemo rooms so it was a nice surprise. :laughing: I'm sorry your DGS is struggling with biting and pinching. :hug: Gabe's thing is throwing stuff when he's mad - it is definitely not good. At that age it's just hard for them to express their emotions. I understand it but it doesn't make it any easier to deal with. :rolleyes1



Hey!! Have you started your TR yet? I am so behind in my Dis'ing. I can't wait to hear all about your trip too. :goodvibes

Sorry for no updates the last few days - it has been crazy busy here. I am really hoping to get another update up by tonight. Here's a little preview though - Day 2 was our really rough day - lots of tantrums and tears...and the tears were from me....:rolleyes1

I did start my report the link is in my signature. Yes I have been so busy too so I have been slow on doing the report. I have the pre-travel and day one completed. Check it out when you have some down time. Oh yes tantrums with children often lead me to tears too. I am looking forward to reading.

[BlueBayou]

Sorry for no updates the last few days - it has been crazy busy here. I am really hoping to get another update up by tonight. Here's a little preview though - Day 2 was our really rough day - lots of tantrums and tears...and the tears were from me....:rolleyes1Yikes... I hope it wasn't too bad...

[Gabes_mommy]

I did start my report the link is in my signature. Yes I have been so busy too so I have been slow on doing the report. I have the pre-travel and day one completed. Check it out when you have some down time. Oh yes tantrums with children often lead me to tears too. I am looking forward to reading.

I am going to check it out as soon as I am done with my update. :goodvibes

Yikes... I hope it wasn't too bad...

No, not too bad - I think I was just having a drama queen moment. :laughing:

Update coming soon!

[Gabes_mommy]

Day 2
We decided to meet for breakfast at 8:30 so after a relatively good night of sleep we were up at about 7:45 and on the way to the food court at CBR right before 8:30. We found the food court to be pleasant in the morning, except on Friday when it was WAY busier.

The food court:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3181.jpg

My boy at breakfast. He was excited.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3180.jpg

Every morning we had to stop on the bridge at CBR and feed the turtles:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3182.jpg

Here's a picture I took of the Jamaica section where we stayed on our walk back from breakfast:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3182.jpg

Today was our Epcot day. I love Epcot and I still hadn't seen the updated Spaceship Earth so I was very excited for this day.

The first thing we did when got to Epcot was go to Guest Services to upgrade our one day tickets to Annual Passes. :woohoo: The woman who helped us must have been new because it took FOREVER and then when she was all done she told us our meal plan might not work on our KTTW now. Yikes! That made me very nervous obviously.....

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3193.jpg

Annual passes in hand we headed to Spaceship Earth which was a walk on. :banana: We all loved the ride - even Gabe. I thought the updates were great. I guess during the end part they showed Gabe riding a bike which he was excited about. I wish my mom had taken a picture - oh well.

After S:E we headed to The Seas:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3194.jpg

This ride was a walk on too and soon we were on the lookout for Nemo.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3195.jpg

After the ride we had about 20 minutes until the next Turtle Talk show so we checked out all the tanks. Gabe really loves seeing all the fish so we had a nice time.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3196.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3197.jpg

I love the Bruce photo op - so funny!

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3198.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3199.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3200.jpg

Next up was Turtle Talk:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3201.jpg

Checking out the sting rays:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3202.jpg

My dad and I:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3203.jpg

While we were waiting for the show was when the day started to go all wrong. My mom gave Gabe candy corn. I don't know about other kids, but when Gabe has candy on an empty stomach it hits his system like a sledge hammer and he goes nuts. :sad2:

Soon we were ushered into the theater and got seats in the front row and Gabe right on the floor right in front of us. Not 5 minutes into the show he lost it - total screaming meltdown. It was awful! I immediately got up to get him out of there and I couldn't find my way out - I was wandering around near the back doors and didn't know where to go and NO ONE helped me. There was no CM in sight anywhere. :sad2: Finally another guest showed me where to go and we were out of there, but it literally took at least 5 minutes. I really do not appreciate the fact that a CM didn't come over to help. That still makes me a little angry when I think about it. There I am standing holding a flailing, angry toddler and the CMs just disappear. Sheesh! :guilty:

After we left the theater Gabe calmed down and we looked at the tanks while we waited for the rest of the family to finish with the show.

After we were reunited I said it was time for lunch. I knew Gabe needed solid food in his stomach to help him feel better. My mom felt bad about the candy incident and promised not to do it again.

We headed over the Sunshine Seasons for lunch and I got my food and drink and dessert and headed to the registers.....at this point I was very nervous. Remember the CM said our meal plans might not work on KTTW anymore.....so I handed my card to the cashier and Viola - it was fine. Thank goodness!!! I don't think I could have handled any more drama at that point. :laughing:

Lunch was tasty and we all enjoyed it. I had the turkey sandwich:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3206.jpg

Everyone else had asian noodle dishes:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3205.jpg

My boy eating a noodle:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3204.jpg

Sunshine seasons is a great deal for CS. We all really enjoyed it and the desserts were fantastic. :lovestruc

[Gabrielsbigtrip]

Annual passes in hand we headed to Spaceship Earth which was a walk on. :banana: We all loved the ride - even Gabe. I thought the updates were great. I guess during the end part they showed Gabe riding a bike which he was excited about. I wish my mom had taken a picture - oh well.



Awww, our Gabriel love SE too!

We had never been inside the "Big Ball" as Gabriel calls it. He loved it and we had to ride three times:sad2: I spent the next two times looking for hidden mickeys WHICH I FOUND TWO!

Every year we get to add something new. It's a good place to cool down that's for sure!

Gabriel now thinks SPACE is inside the "Big Ball":goodvibes

Sorry about the meltdown incident.....that is how I felt when Gabriel was getting ready to chum at the top of Astro Orbiter! The CM wouldn't help me at all. Thank goodness he didn't spew!:mad:

[Gabes_mommy]

Awww, our Gabriel love SE too!

We had never been inside the "Big Ball" as Gabriel calls it. He loved it and we had to ride three times:sad2: I spent the next two times looking for hidden mickeys WHICH I FOUND TWO!

Every year we get to add something new. It's a good place to cool down that's for sure!

Gabriel now thinks SPACE is inside the "Big Ball":goodvibes

Sorry about the meltdown incident.....that is how I felt when Gabriel was getting ready to chum at the top of Astro Orbiter! The CM wouldn't help me at all. Thank goodness he didn't spew!:mad:

We call it the Big Ball too. :laughing:

Little update coming soon! :goodvibes

[Gabes_mommy]

After our lunch at Sunshine Seasons we decided to head back to CBR to swim again. Luckily I remembered my camera this time and got lots of pictures. :cutie:

Gabe absolutely LOVED the kiddy pool area at CBR. That alone would have made this resort a huge hit for us. He was so happy there:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3207.jpg

On the big slide with PopPop:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3208.jpg

On the big slide with daddy:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3212.jpg

Hanging with daddy in the pool:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3214.jpg

Riding the big slide by himself:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3215.jpg

In the kiddy play area:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3216.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3217.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3218.jpg

He played with a little girl who looked about 5 for a long time. She was so sweet to him:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3219.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3220.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3224.jpg

He rode all the slides in the kiddy area over and over:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3221.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3222.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3223.jpg

We stayed at the pool for probably an hour and a half or so and had a really nice time. After our pool time we put Gabe down for a nap and relaxed before returning to Epcot that night.

[Gabrielsbigtrip]

Sounds like he's gonna be a WATERPARK fan!!:goodvibes

[leslie826]

Joining in! My DD2 will be just 3 when we go, but I know that terrible 3's can be worse! :scared1: I love the photos of your son with his grandparents. Mine were Mimi and Poppop too, and I have great memories of going to Disney with them as a kid.:) Thanks for helping me remember!

[Gabes_mommy]

Sounds like he's gonna be a WATERPARK fan!!:goodvibes

Definitely! I need to get in shape ASAP. :laughing:

Joining in! My DD2 will be just 3 when we go, but I know that terrible 3's can be worse! :scared1: I love the photos of your son with his grandparents. Mine were Mimi and Poppop too, and I have great memories of going to Disney with them as a kid.:) Thanks for helping me remember!

Welcome!!! I'm so glad you've joined! The terrible 2's and 3's are rough aren't they? What a battle of wills. :rotfl: That is so neat that your grandparents were Mimi and Poppop too. :goodvibes

[mommyof2Pirates]

the swimming pool looks like so much fun. I would stay there just for that. How horrible that no one helped you during turtle talk. Cant wait to hear how your night at epcot went.

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Subbing! I love TRs with 2 year olds! I have 2 year old twins and I really wanted to take them this year...but alas...the Army will be calling in May, so I was asked to wait until he returnes from deployment. (Apparently...like...seeing his family in N.Y. before he's defloyed for the first time is more important than Disney...OOOOOKAY...:lmao: Totally joking)

Your son is too cute. You 2 favorite pics of him are mine as well. Sometimes it can be very hard to capture a child's true, pure, emotion in a picture. But all you see in those is 100% joy.:lovestruc

[Gabes_mommy]

the swimming pool looks like so much fun. I would stay there just for that. How horrible that no one helped you during turtle talk. Cant wait to hear how your night at epcot went.

The pool at CBR is amazing - we loved it. :goodvibes The incident at Turtle Talk probably wasn't as bad as it seemed to me, but you know how it is at that moment when your child is melting down - so stressful!

Subbing! I love TRs with 2 year olds! I have 2 year old twins and I really wanted to take them this year...but alas...the Army will be calling in May, so I was asked to wait until he returnes from deployment. (Apparently...like...seeing his family in N.Y. before he's defloyed for the first time is more important than Disney...OOOOOKAY...:lmao: Totally joking)

Your son is too cute. You 2 favorite pics of him are mine as well. Sometimes it can be very hard to capture a child's true, pure, emotion in a picture. But all you see in those is 100% joy.:lovestruc

:welcome: I'm so glad you are joining in! I'm so sorry your DH is getting deployed. :hug: I hope you get to have the trip of your dreams when he comes home. :goodvibes


I have had a very stressful week at work and I am exhausted but I am hoping to post the next installment tomorrow. :goodvibes

[CandleontheWater]

Congrats on the annual passes and welcome to the dark side! :goodvibes

What is that old saying? Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, give a Florida resident an annual pass... and they will find any and every excuse to go to Disney World! ;)

Yeah, I remember when I convinced DH to go for the AP, I cleverly sold him on "how much money we would save"- I'm sure all those extra trips I was able to rationalize saved us "so much money"! :rolleyes1 I went so many times one year that when I broke it down (full AP, not FL Res seasonal) that it worked out to less than $10 a day! I wish you many, many happy trips!

I'm sorry to hear that the CM weren't helpful at Turtle talk! I hope it was just an isolated incident! I also agree that Sunshine Seasons is a great place for lunch! I'm also partial to their croissant sandwiches for breakfast! :goodvibes

It looks like you guys had a great time at the pool! I love the CBR pool, its my second favorite next to SAB. I think the themeing is great, and the kiddie area looks like so much fun! I agree that Gabe looks like a water park fan in the making!

[Pollito916]

Joining your TR - your little boy is adorable! :goodvibes

My DS will be 3 in February and I definitely know how you feel with the terrible twos - they can be so trying, but they are so cute at the same time! :upsidedow

[Gabes_mommy]

Congrats on the annual passes and welcome to the dark side! :goodvibes

What is that old saying? Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, give a Florida resident an annual pass... and they will find any and every excuse to go to Disney World! ;)

Yeah, I remember when I convinced DH to go for the AP, I cleverly sold him on "how much money we would save"- I'm sure all those extra trips I was able to rationalize saved us "so much money"! :rolleyes1 I went so many times one year that when I broke it down (full AP, not FL Res seasonal) that it worked out to less than $10 a day! I wish you many, many happy trips!

I'm sorry to hear that the CM weren't helpful at Turtle talk! I hope it was just an isolated incident! I also agree that Sunshine Seasons is a great place for lunch! I'm also partial to their croissant sandwiches for breakfast! :goodvibes

It looks like you guys had a great time at the pool! I love the CBR pool, its my second favorite next to SAB. I think the themeing is great, and the kiddie area looks like so much fun! I agree that Gabe looks like a water park fan in the making!

I sold my DH on the "it will save us money" line for APs too. :laughing: We already decided to do a spring break trip in March too so we will definitely get our use out of them. The kiddie pool area at CBR is amazing! I'm sure your baby pirate will love it too in a few years. :goodvibes

Joining your TR - your little boy is adorable! :goodvibes

My DS will be 3 in February and I definitely know how you feel with the terrible twos - they can be so trying, but they are so cute at the same time! :upsidedow

:welcome: Thank you for joining! Oh yes, the terrible twos.....what a delightful age. :rotfl: Actually it seems like at this age they are either great or terrible. The sweet moments are so sweet but the terrible moments....eek! :scared1: :rotfl: I wouldn't trade it for anything though. :goodvibes

My next update will be a big one and I haven't had the time to do the story justice but I am hoping to get it up soon. Darn work, getting in the way of my Dis'ing. :rotfl:

[Gabes_mommy]

After a nice break back at the hotel we headed back to Epcot that night for our ADR at Biergarten. Another goal for the evening was to see Illuminations, which we had never seen before.

We got to Epcot around 4:30 and the skies looked a little foreboding. I was just hoping it wasn't going to rain again.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3226.jpg

On our way back to the World Showcase we rode the Imagination ride. According to my father this ride showed a "shocking lack of imagination for a ride about imagination". :laughing: Gabe did have fun running around in the lab part though.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3229.jpg

On our way off the ride we saw hundreds of little finches on the hedge - they were so cute.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3230.jpg

After Imagination we headed over the bridge to Canada. Gabe was having fun in his stroller:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3231.jpg

We quickly stopped for a photo op:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3232.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3234.jpg

At this point Gabe said he was thirsty and I realized I forgot to bring his juice so I stopped at a stand to buy him a juice. At the stand they had these huge, yummy looking cookies. While I was paying Gabe told me, "I want a cookie too." This is notable because Gabe was a very late talker and just recently started talking a lot. I am pretty sure, "I want a cookie too" was his longest sentence to date at that point so we all got a good laugh about that. As a side note, he did not get the cookie. :rotfl:

We then headed straight to Germany for our ADR. At this point Gabe started getting very grouchy. He was crying and kicking and would not listen at all. It was also seriously hot outside and we were pouring in sweat as we waited for our buzzer to go off.

I think one of the major problems we had today was that Gabe refused to eat anything other than sweets. Remember my mom had given him candy which led to a meltdown? Well after that he barely ate at lunch (maybe 3 bites). He also refused to eat anything that afternoon.

Finally we got seated at Biergarten and I was really hoping he would eat something.....

Well he didn't eat anything! Not one bite. :sad2: At this point I was so worried about him and hot and tired. The lines for the buffet were so long too and it took forever to get our food and even when we finally did get our food I couldn't really eat because I was trying to control Gabe. He wasn't terrible at this meal, but he refused to sit still and kept crawling under the table. :sad2:

Towards the end of our meal DH and my parents were commenting that they did not enjoy Biergarten and I felt so bad. Finally it was time to get our check and our server had charged us for Gabe. Since he is only 2 Gabe was not on the meal plan so I had to get that fixed which took forever. It all just got to me and I started to cry. It was terrible. Thankfully my dad had taken Gabe outside so it was just DH, my mom and I. I was so embarrassed because here we were sitting at a table with strangers (who were very unfriendly) and there I am crying. I think I was crying because of exhaustion and disappointment. I had worked so hard planning and I thought everyone would like Biergarten and we didn't like it at all. :guilty:

Thankfully I pulled myself together and dried my tears and paid the bill and we were on our way.

Next update up soon (hopefully)...and a sneak peek - it gets much better. Dinner was the hardest part of the day. :goodvibes

[Gabrielsbigtrip]

Oh man, sorry you had such a bad time. Look at it this way....at least he didn't throw a fit when you didn't cave on the cookie:goodvibes

It was always hard for us at dinner with Gabriel when he was smaller - it sometimes still is.

I started carrying his portable DVD player, leapster, gameboy, (insert electronic distraction device here). That made it much easier. Now I have my Ipod Touch so I always have something tucked away for him so Mommy and Daddy (and everyone else for that matter) can eat in peace;). Can I get an AMEN?:lmao:

[mommyof2Pirates]

ahh I am so sorry that you got upset at dinner. The experience was out of your control. You shouldnt be so hard on yourself. My 2 year old very rarely ever sits still at a meal. Ive learned just to try to always get a booth and pin him to the inside. He stands up....sits down....rolls around on the booth etc. So dont feel bad I bet alot of moms of 2 year old boys knows what you went through. I am glad to know that this was the worst part of the day.

[Lamping3]

:hug:I know exactally how you feel. We are almost to the point of not going out to eat because of how bad Amelia acts! I kinda miss the days when she would just sit there and eat goldfish and cherios and let us eat our meal without fighting her!

I can't believe they almost charged you for Gabe:scared1:.....did they ask his age at all? I was told when I made some of my ADRs over the phone that at buffets we would be able to get her a plate her own....I know other TR have talked about getting their kids under 3 free meals at non buffet restraunts! I might have to make a point to state that she is under 3. I thought when you made reservations you had to give the childs age....don't they keep track? Sorry I will stop ranting now!!!!

I am sad to hear that the Biergarten disapointed...this is one meal Dave is looking forward to!

Amelia is in that toddler eating stage right now...some days she eats anything and everything you put in front of her and others she barely eats at all. I am sure the heat had something to do with Gabe's loss of appetite.

Can't wait for more!

[Gabes_mommy]

Oh man, sorry you had such a bad time. Look at it this way....at least he didn't throw a fit when you didn't cave on the cookie:goodvibes

It was always hard for us at dinner with Gabriel when he was smaller - it sometimes still is.

I started carrying his portable DVD player, leapster, gameboy, (insert electronic distraction device here). That made it much easier. Now I have my Ipod Touch so I always have something tucked away for him so Mommy and Daddy (and everyone else for that matter) can eat in peace;). Can I get an AMEN?:lmao:

I can't wait until DS is old enough to use handheld electronic devices - that sounds like a great idea. :thumbsup2

ahh I am so sorry that you got upset at dinner. The experience was out of your control. You shouldnt be so hard on yourself. My 2 year old very rarely ever sits still at a meal. Ive learned just to try to always get a booth and pin him to the inside. He stands up....sits down....rolls around on the booth etc. So dont feel bad I bet alot of moms of 2 year old boys knows what you went through. I am glad to know that this was the worst part of the day.

I think all the planning involved in a Disney trip puts so much pressure on the planner and then when everything doesn't go perfectly? It's a recipe for a meltdown, at least in my case. :rotfl: It really wasn't that bad and after I got it out I pulled myself together and changed my attitude and the rest of the trip went great. :goodvibes

:hug:I know exactally how you feel. We are almost to the point of not going out to eat because of how bad Amelia acts! I kinda miss the days when she would just sit there and eat goldfish and cherios and let us eat our meal without fighting her!

I can't believe they almost charged you for Gabe:scared1:.....did they ask his age at all? I was told when I made some of my ADRs over the phone that at buffets we would be able to get her a plate her own....I know other TR have talked about getting their kids under 3 free meals at non buffet restraunts! I might have to make a point to state that she is under 3. I thought when you made reservations you had to give the childs age....don't they keep track? Sorry I will stop ranting now!!!!

I am sad to hear that the Biergarten disapointed...this is one meal Dave is looking forward to!

Amelia is in that toddler eating stage right now...some days she eats anything and everything you put in front of her and others she barely eats at all. I am sure the heat had something to do with Gabe's loss of appetite.

Can't wait for more!

Gabe is exactly the same way about eating - some days he eats non-stop all day and some days he barely touches food. My dad and I were just talking about this last night actually. :laughing: I feel he is at a healthy weight though (not too skinny) so I don't worry about it too much usually.

No, the server never asked us his age - I guess he just assumed Gabe was older. He does look older according to a lot of people. At 2 they are free at buffets - it's really nice actually. :thumbsup2 They do take down the age when you make ADRs. :confused3


I'm hoping to get to the next update this afternoon. :goodvibes

[Gabes_mommy]

Update about our Dec trip:

We were originally booked at POR but lately Gabe has been obsessed with the Toy Story movies so I switched our reservation to a ASMo preferred room and requested the Toy Story section. It will save us $30 a night and I think Gabe will love it. :cool1:

[jana616]

I'm all caught up and loving your report! Epcot was our hardest day too, by far. (Although my tears actually came the next day at AK!). You have definitely made me want to go to MNSSHP, it looks like such fun! Can't wait to read more!

[Gabes_mommy]

When we were finishing up at Biergarten I changed my attitude and tried to snap out of the sad funk I was in and I was ready for the rest of the night.

As we excited the restaurant my dad and Gabe were sitting right outside by the fountain and I rushed over and gave my little guy a hug. I tried to get a picture of him sitting there but this is all I got:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3235.jpg

He wanted the camera so bad. About a week before our trip he had gotten a hold of my camera and discovered that he loved taking pictures. He took at least 100 pictures all over the house, at least half of our dog's butt. :rotfl:

We decided to stroll around WS while we waited for Illuminations that night. Our next stop was China.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3236.jpg

We went into the temple area and were amazed by the beautiful ceiling:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3237.jpg

Gabe was in awe and loved looking at it and I got this cute picture - he was so excited:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3238.jpg

The detail work really was amazing:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3239.jpg

I got this nice picture of my parents:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3242.jpg

We went to see the Tomb Warrior display which was really amazing:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3244.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3243.jpg

Gabe was in much better spirits now and was having fun:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3246.jpg

We stopped by the gift shop in China next and bought these really neat little magnetic rocks for Gabe. Those were a GREAT purchase - he played with them in lines non-stop for the rest of our trip and still plays with them all the time at home. DH also bought a back scratcher. As we were walking out of the shop my mom asked DH was the back scratcher was and he told her it was a "mother in law beater". :rotfl:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3247.jpg

To this day we still call the back scratcher "mother in law beater". :laughing:

[Gabes_mommy]

Next we headed to my favorite, Norway.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3248.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3249.jpg

The line for Maelstrom said 20 minutes, but we decided to hop in anyway. This was probably the longest line we waited in during the trip except for TSMM, but it went fairly quickly. I let Gabe play with the camera to keep him happy. He got some funny pictures.

Mimi & Pop Pop:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3255.jpg

Mimi:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3256.jpg

DH & I:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3259.jpg

Soon we were on the ride which was fun as always. Right as we were pulling up at the dock to exit the ride they closed the Exit doors which meant we were trapped there for 5 minutes. Well we actually had a really good time - Gabe was taking pictures the whole time and we kept telling my mom to "pose sexy" - it was hilarious!!! We were laughing so hard. :rotfl:

Unfortunately Gabe never got any pictures of the "sexy" poses but he got a few funny ones:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3266.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3267.jpg

I guess my mom was doing a "mad" face and Gabe got this picture. When I saw it I was DYING laughing and heckling her about it. She would kill me if she knew I was posting it here: :rotfl:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3270.jpg

When we finally escaped from Norway the sun had set. I love Epcot at night - it is so lovely.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3291.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3320.jpg

At this point Gabe actually still had the camera so all of these pictures were taken by him. We headed to Mexico next:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3325.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3327.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3328.jpg

We rode the boat ride and Gabe loved it! I swear that was a highlight of the trip for him. He was all into looking for Donald.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3350.jpg

After we finished in Mexico it was about 8:15 and we decided to stake out a spot for Illuminations.

We got a spot right in front of the railing between Norway & Mexico which ended up being a perfect spot.

While everyone was waiting I took Gabe to the bathroom to change his pull-up. I was nervous about putting him on the changing table because it was up so high so I let him play with the camera to distract him. Well, he spent the whole time taking pictures of, um, his "boy" parts. :rolleyes1 Such a boy thing to do, I swear! :rotfl: Needless to say I deleted those lovely pictures right away. :laughing:

During the time we were waiting for Illuminations DH and I went and got Gabe some chicken nuggets and fries. When we got back with his food he scarfed it down. I was so relieved since that was his first real meal that day. :)

Here are a few cute pictures I got of Gabe waiting for the show to start:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3402.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3404.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3405.jpg

Illuminations was great. We loved it! After it was over we headed out and stopped at the big Epcot Gift Shop - I love that shop - it is one of my favorites! We spent about a half hour in there shopping and Gabe fell in love with a little plush Wall-E which we bought him. He loves that Wall-E and sleeps with it every night now. :lovestruc

We finally made our way out of the park and back to CBR. Our 2nd day was challenging at times but it definitely ended on a high note. :cloud9:

[Gabes_mommy]

I'm all caught up and loving your report! Epcot was our hardest day too, by far. (Although my tears actually came the next day at AK!). You have definitely made me want to go to MNSSHP, it looks like such fun! Can't wait to read more!

I am going to go get caught up on your report now. :goodvibes Is it wrong that I'm glad I'm not the only one who cried at Disney? :laughing: MNSSHP is great - it is definitely worth doing - we love it. :lovestruc

[Pollito916]

Aww, sorry to hear you didn't enjoy Biergarten. We've never tried it, but it looks like it would be fun. We often have the same problem with people assuming my DS2 is older than he is. He was born with a full head of hair, so people have always assumed he is older than he is. He hit most milestones early too, so I worry that sometimes people think I am just being cheap since he looks and acts older - but I swear he is only 2!!

And we have the same issues with eating too - it sounds like most 2yo's are a a lot alike!

Update about our Dec trip:

We were originally booked at POR but lately Gabe has been obsessed with the Toy Story movies so I switched our reservation to a ASMo preferred room and requested the Toy Story section. It will save us $30 a night and I think Gabe will love it. :cool1:

I was considering the same for our next (unplanned) trip since my DS is also obsessed with Toy Story. We are normally moderate ppl too, so I would love to hear what you think of ASMo. Did you take Gabe to see Toy Story in 3-D at the movies yet? We just took Alex on Sunday (under 3 is free!). We only stayed for the first movie since it was Alex's first time at the movies and if we stayed through both it would have gone through nap time. :scared1: But he really enjoyed it! :thumbsup2

:lmao: at the MIL-beater! :lmao: and at Gabe taking self portraits while you changed his diaper - totally sounds like something my DS would do! Out of curiosity - what kind of camera do you have that you let Gabe use? Ours isn't super expensive, but I am still too worried about DS breaking it to let him use it.

[Gabes_mommy]

Aww, sorry to hear you didn't enjoy Biergarten. We've never tried it, but it looks like it would be fun. We often have the same problem with people assuming my DS2 is older than he is. He was born with a full head of hair, so people have always assumed he is older than he is. He hit most milestones early too, so I worry that sometimes people think I am just being cheap since he looks and acts older - but I swear he is only 2!!

And we have the same issues with eating too - it sounds like most 2yo's are a a lot alike!



I was considering the same for our next (unplanned) trip since my DS is also obsessed with Toy Story. We are normally moderate ppl too, so I would love to hear what you think of ASMo. Did you take Gabe to see Toy Story in 3-D at the movies yet? We just took Alex on Sunday (under 3 is free!). We only stayed for the first movie since it was Alex's first time at the movies and if we stayed through both it would have gone through nap time. :scared1: But he really enjoyed it! :thumbsup2

:lmao: at the MIL-beater! :lmao: and at Gabe taking self portraits while you changed his diaper - totally sounds like something my DS would do! Out of curiosity - what kind of camera do you have that you let Gabe use? Ours isn't super expensive, but I am still too worried about DS breaking it to let him use it.

I will definitely post with my opinions about ASMovies. I am a little nervous about it after hearing reports of the rooms not being updated but since I know DS will love the Toy Story section I decided to go for it. :goodvibes

That's so fun that your took your DS to the movies theater. I'll have to ask DH if we should try to take Gabe.

I love the pic of your DS in your siggy - what a cutie! :cutie:

[jana616]

Sounds like your day ended really well! I was LOLing at Gabe taking pictures of his boy parts! Believe me, I have two boys and that is a totally normal thing to do (either that or both of my boys are freaks!!). Can't wait to read more!

[Gabes_mommy]

Sounds like your day ended really well! I was LOLing at Gabe taking pictures of his boy parts! Believe me, I have two boys and that is a totally normal thing to do (either that or both of my boys are freaks!!). Can't wait to read more!

I'm glad to hear that my boy is normal. I got a good chuckle out of the whole thing. Boys! I swear - it starts early doesn't it? :rotfl:

I got my very first PIN code in an email tonight - 40% off deluxe room rates. I am hoping to convince DH to go for a Spring Break trip in March at a deluxe - wish me luck!

[Pollito916]

I got my very first PIN code in an email tonight - 40% off deluxe room rates. I am hoping to convince DH to go for a Spring Break trip in March at a deluxe - wish me luck!

Yay! I got that one too! :yay:

Now I just have to pick a date, convince DH, and find some money! :thumbsup2

[Gabes_mommy]

Yay! I got that one too! :yay:

Now I just have to pick a date, convince DH, and find some money! :thumbsup2


Yay! Congrats! :cool1: Where are you hoping to stay?

My DH really wants to stay at the WL so I am going to call to book this weekend. I work at a college and I get March 8 -13 off so we are going to go that week. :)

[Gabrielsbigtrip]

Yay! Congrats! :cool1: Where are you hoping to stay?

My DH really wants to stay at the WL so I am going to call to book this weekend. I work at a college and I get March 8 -13 off so we are going to go that week. :)

You lucky duck!:yay: Hope you can get it. We love love love the WL!

Mailed out a box for you today:thumbsup2

[Pollito916]

Yay! Congrats! :cool1: Where are you hoping to stay?

My DH really wants to stay at the WL so I am going to call to book this weekend. I work at a college and I get March 8 -13 off so we are going to go that week. :)

Our favorite deluxe is the BC or BW, but we are also kind of liking the new pirate rooms at CBR. And DS would really like AKL....so many choices!

I haven't thought too much about dates yet - DS's 3rd b-day is 2/15, so maybe before then so he is still free. ;)

[loveysbydesign]

Lovin your trip report.

[Gabes_mommy]

You lucky duck!:yay: Hope you can get it. We love love love the WL!

Mailed out a box for you today:thumbsup2

I'm going to book tonight so I'll post and let you know what we got. I am so excited. :cool1:

Thank you so much for the package!!! Gabe is going to be so excited!!! He still tries to squeeze his head into a santa hat I bought him when he was a newborn so now he'll have one that fits again. :goodvibes

Our favorite deluxe is the BC or BW, but we are also kind of liking the new pirate rooms at CBR. And DS would really like AKL....so many choices!

I haven't thought too much about dates yet - DS's 3rd b-day is 2/15, so maybe before then so he is still free. ;)

I agree - so many wonderful choices!!! I am going to price out a lot of different options when I call to book so we'll see what we end up with. :cutie: Keep us posted on what you guys pick. :goodvibes

Paying for DS on this next trip is going to kill me! :laughing: I have to buy him his own AP and his own ticket to MVMCP. I got so spoiled not having to pay for him.

[Gabes_mommy]

Lovin your trip report.

:welcome: I'm so glad your enjoying the report. I am hoping to have another update up soon. :goodvibes

[Gabrielsbigtrip]

I threw some other items in too. Tried to keep it all Disney:goodvibes
Has he seen Monsters Inc? I put some Sully Feet slippers in there too. Gabriel probably wore them twice!

Hope he enjoys the hat. I used it for Christmas Card pictures. You can even have him wear it for your December trip:rolleyes1 I am sure you will get some great pictures!


Feel free to donate anything that you don't want or doesn't fit:3dglasses

[Gabes_mommy]

I threw some other items in too. Tried to keep it all Disney:goodvibes
Has he seen Monsters Inc? I put some Sully Feet slippers in there too. Gabriel probably wore them twice!

Hope he enjoys the hat. I used it for Christmas Card pictures. You can even have him wear it for your December trip:rolleyes1 I am sure you will get some great pictures!


Feel free to donate anything that you don't want or doesn't fit:3dglasses

Thank you so much!!! :hug: My Gabriel is going to be so excited! He loves getting presents in the mail. :goodvibes

I booked our room for March!!!! We actually decided to go with a One Bedroom Villa at the Jambo House at AKV with a Savannah view! :dance3: I am beyond excited!!!! My dad is coming too and we might bring my little nephew. It is going to be a great trip. I have been on an Ebay selling kick lately and I've sold enough to pay for the hotel for all 3 nights so that is why we are splurging. :cloud9:

[Gabes_mommy]

So I changed our March reservation. I was looking at pictures of Storm Along Bay so I called and switched to the Beach Club Villas and saved $50 a night. :cool1:

[CandleontheWater]

You are going to have a GREAT time at the Beach Club! Gabe is going to love SAB! You are going to have a hard time getting him out of the pool and into the parks! :goodvibes It is such a great location too, definitely one of my favs! I've been trying to talk up deluxe resorts to DH, so maybe in 2011 we could stay at the Poly for our Oct trip. I keep trying the rational argument, like how much extra time we will be spending in our room with a little one, and how if we got a MK view room, even if we did have to go back early for bedtime, we could sit on the balcony with a bottle of wine and watch Wishes. He seems to be warming to the idea, and I still have two years to work on him (although I might need every one of those days! :) )

I'm sorry to hear that the Biergarten didn't work out so well for you. I'm usually the one in charge of planning family trips also and I understand how it can be very overwhelming to make sure everyone is having a good time! :hug: I'm glad the dining snafu got worked out and that you ended up having a wonderful evening. I think fireworks always make everything better :cloud9:

[mommyof2Pirates]

I am so glad your day ended well. I too love epcot at night it is such an amazing atmosphere. Gabe takes some great pics for a 2 year old. I laughed about the bathroom picks. Too funny

[Gabes_mommy]

You are going to have a GREAT time at the Beach Club! Gabe is going to love SAB! You are going to have a hard time getting him out of the pool and into the parks! :goodvibes It is such a great location too, definitely one of my favs! I've been trying to talk up deluxe resorts to DH, so maybe in 2011 we could stay at the Poly for our Oct trip. I keep trying the rational argument, like how much extra time we will be spending in our room with a little one, and how if we got a MK view room, even if we did have to go back early for bedtime, we could sit on the balcony with a bottle of wine and watch Wishes. He seems to be warming to the idea, and I still have two years to work on him (although I might need every one of those days! :) )

I'm sorry to hear that the Biergarten didn't work out so well for you. I'm usually the one in charge of planning family trips also and I understand how it can be very overwhelming to make sure everyone is having a good time! :hug: I'm glad the dining snafu got worked out and that you ended up having a wonderful evening. I think fireworks always make everything better :cloud9:

The Poly is one of my dream resorts. I hope you can talk your DH into it. :goodvibes I totally agree about fireworks - they make every evening better. Before this trip Gabe had never seen fireworks but we discovered he LOVES them. :cutie: Biergarten wasn't bad - it just wasn't our style of mean I think. :confused3 It was very cute inside though and Gabe loved the show. :thumbsup2

I am so glad your day ended well. I too love epcot at night it is such an amazing atmosphere. Gabe takes some great pics for a 2 year old. I laughed about the bathroom picks. Too funny

He is my budding photographer. :laughing: Epcot at night is so amazing. :lovestruc

[Gabes_mommy]

Today we got a package in the mail from Carol (gabrielsbigtrip) and her Gabriel. It was so great!!! Thank you so much Carol - you are the best! :flower3:

My little guy was so excited to open his box. As soon as I cut it open he dived right in.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/IMG_3828.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/IMG_3829.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/IMG_3830.jpg

Here he is modeling the Sully slippers:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/IMG_3832.jpg

And then he discovered the hats....he LOVES hats. First the santa hat:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/IMG_3833.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/IMG_3835.jpg

And then on went the Tigger hat (which he is still wearing an hour later :cutie:):

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/IMG_3843.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/IMG_3845.jpg

The box also had the cutest sweater vest, Mickey Hawaiian shirt, a Disney bag and some really cute t-shirts. One of the shirts even has Gabe's favorite character from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on it....Pete! :cloud9:

Carol, thank you for being so thoughful! My little guy and I really appreciate it. :goodvibes

[Gabrielsbigtrip]

Awwww, it makes me so happy that we could make you and your Gabriel happy! I am glad he likes the hats too!

The Santa hat makes such cute Christmas pics:santa:

[Gabes_mommy]

Awwww, it makes me so happy that we could make you and your Gabriel happy! I am glad he likes the hats too!

The Santa hat makes such cute Christmas pics:santa:

I can't wait to get pictures done with Gabriel waering it - it is so cute. :lovestruc

Thanks again!!!

So sorry to all my readers for no recent updates - I have been crazy busy at work and at home. :guilty:

[praisehisname]

Hi! I just found your report and am reading along!

Denise

[Nicole786]

Joining in! Where in South Fla are you?

[Gabes_mommy]

Hi! I just found your report and am reading along!

Denise

:welcome: I'm so glad you are reading. :goodvibes

Joining in! Where in South Fla are you?

Welcome! We are in Palm Beach County. :goodvibes

Update coming soon - I promise! :cutie:

[Nicole786]

So are we! Wellington, to be exact. Nice to have a fellow Palm beacher on the boards!

[Gabes_mommy]

Day 3

Our plans for today were Animal Kingdom and then O'Hana at the Poly for dinner at 6:30.

After the debacle at Biergarten the previous evening we made a decision that I think will shock most Dis'ers. :laughing: We decided to cancel our ADR at O'Hana and go back to Epcot for the night. We had originally planned to cancel an ADR at Sci-Fi the next day but we decided to keep that one instead.

I have a little regret about canceling our O'Hana ADR, but I think it was for the best. We had a great evening and O'Hana will always be there for a future trip.

We got up and about the door for breakfast at about 8:30 again. After another yummy breakfast at the Food Court at CBR we were on our way to Animal Kingdom.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3417.jpg

Gabe somehow managed to smuggle the "mother in law beater" into the park with us. I thought Disney had a no weapons policy? :rotfl:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3418.jpg

The Tree of Life:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3419.jpg

The first ride of the day was the Triceratops Spin, which was a walk on:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3420.jpg

After that my mom took Gabe to the Bone Yard and the rest of us rode Dinosaur. Dinosaur has always been a favorite of mine, but on this trip it seemed so rough. I didn't really enjoy myself like I usually do....maybe I'm just getting old? :guilty:

After our ride we headed to the Bone Yard. Wow - what a cool place! DS loved this playground. It really is so neat - what a great idea and it's such a nice place for kids to get out some energy.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3430.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3437.jpg

After about a half hour we made our way to Asia so the guys could ride E:E. Before our ride we grabbed some ice cream. It was only about 10:30 in the morning at this point but it was already SO HOT that ice cream actually seemed appropriate. :laughing:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3438.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3439.jpg

The boys were off E:E so fast! It must have been a walk on. After that we headed towards Africa. We got fastpasses for the Safari and then decided to take the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch.

At this point my mom was getting really grouchy so she decided to just sit down for a while there in Africa.

Right after we arrived at RPW I took Gabe to the restroom to change his pull-up. Like the night before I let him play with the camera to distract him. He got some lovely pictures....like this one of me with the mega double chin. :rotfl:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3444.jpg

And he took a bunch of himself that actually turned out cute. :cutie:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3446.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3448.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3450.jpg

After our pit stop we went to explore RPW. Gabe got to meet the main monkey himself:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3454.jpg

After meeting Rafiki we headed out to the petting zoo. This was another highlight of the day. Gabe just loved the animals.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3455.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3456.jpg

[Gabes_mommy]

So are we! Wellington, to be exact. Nice to have a fellow Palm beacher on the boards!

Cool! We're in Palm Beach Gardens. :)

[praisehisname]

So sorry you had to cancel your ADR at 'Ohana; hopefully you can do it next time.

Sounds like your day at AK is going well so far!

Denise

[Sunset Cliffs]

His face looks like pure joy in those pictures where he is opening the box. SO cute.

The Boneyard is one of the things that was on our list to do for Dylan and it didn't happen. I'm bummed about that, especially now that it sounds so cool. We will have to do it next time. BTW - we cancelled our O'hana ADR too, but ours was at 9:20 pm and it would have been too late.

[Gabes_mommy]

So sorry you had to cancel your ADR at 'Ohana; hopefully you can do it next time.

Sounds like your day at AK is going well so far!

Denise

It was a little sad, but I think we are going to wait until DS is older to try table service meals again. :goodvibes

His face looks like pure joy in those pictures where he is opening the box. SO cute.

The Boneyard is one of the things that was on our list to do for Dylan and it didn't happen. I'm bummed about that, especially now that it sounds so cool. We will have to do it next time. BTW - we cancelled our O'hana ADR too, but ours was at 9:20 pm and it would have been too late.

The Boneyard is so cool - Dylan will love it next time. We never manage to fit in everything we plan for our trips either. Times just flies at WDW. :cloud9:

I'm hoping to have the conclusion to Day 3 up by tomorrow. :cutie:

[Pollito916]

It was a little sad, but I think we are going to wait until DS is older to try table service meals again. :goodvibes



The Boneyard is so cool - Dylan will love it next time. We never manage to fit in everything we plan for our trips either. Times just flies at WDW. :cloud9:

I'm hoping to have the conclusion to Day 3 up by tomorrow. :cutie:

I have to agree with you - the dining plan was too much table service with an active toddler, and I don't think I would do it again. I think we will fit in a few favorites, and then stick with counter service and snacks.

And the Boneyard looks like lots of fun. We didn't stop there last time b/c it was so cold the day we were in AK, but it will definitely be on our list for next time!:thumbsup2

[Gabes_mommy]

I have to agree with you - the dining plan was too much table service with an active toddler, and I don't think I would do it again. I think we will fit in a few favorites, and then stick with counter service and snacks.

And the Boneyard looks like lots of fun. We didn't stop there last time b/c it was so cold the day we were in AK, but it will definitely be on our list for next time!:thumbsup2

I love the idea of the meal plan but it is just too hard with a little guy. I figure when he's older we'll have plenty of time for TS meals. :)

Definitely check out the Boneyard - it was a highlight of our trip. :thumbsup2


Ok, I'm not sure if anyone is still reading, but I am going to try to finish this TR up today. Life has gotten so busy, but I hate to leave this unfinished.

Update coming soon! :goodvibes

[Gabes_mommy]

After our trip to Rafiki's Planet Watch we headed back to use some FPs for the Safari. It turns out we didn't need the FPs because it was a walk on.

We ended up having a great safari and afterwards we were discussing where to eat lunch. We really wanted to try Flame Tree BBQ, but my mom was really complaining at that point so we decided to head back to the resort instead.

I was pretty bummed, but we trudged back to the entrance and found the van and headed back to CBR.

As a side note, it was SO HOT at AK this day. Why is it that AK is always so much hotter than the other parks? You think all the foliage there would make it cooler, but not so much. :laughing:

When we got back to CBR we drove around the whole resort and decided to just park at OPR.

This was the day that Gabe was a wild man in the food court. He refused to put his shoes on and was running around all over the food court while we were trying to get our food and no one would help me catch him. I guess that's just the life of a mommy. :laughing:

After we were seated with our food Gabe settled down nicely and we all relaxed and enjoyed the A/C.

After lunch Gabe crashed for a nice long nap and my mom and I hit up the gift shop at CBR....again. :laughing:

After everyone was rested up we headed back to Epcot that evening. I think we left the hotel at about 4:00.

[Gabes_mommy]

After a restful break we left CBR at about 4:00 to head back to Epcot.

After getting through the gates we saw that SSE was a walk on so on we went. This was definitely a favorite for everyone on this trip.

After SSE we headed towards the World Showcase. We spent quite a while exploring Canada - Gabe was fascinated by the waterfalls. We thought about catching the movie, but the timing wasn't right.

Gabe spotted the phone booth and had some fun playing inside.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3533.jpg

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After checking out Canada and the UK, we stopped and got Fish & Chips and sat on the outside patio to eat. After we finished our quick meal the boys spotted a bunch of ducks right over the fence and spent a few minutes trying to feed them crackers. :rolleyes1

After playing with the ducks, we moved on to France where Gabe fell in love with a little stuffed Marie cat (from Aristocats). Daddy bought it for him and we had a very happy boy.

We stopped at the french bakery and got some goodies to share. Right after we finished our treats I started to smell something not so sweet. Gabe had made a mess in his pull up. No problem I would just take him to the bathroom to clean up and change.....except for I forgot to refill the diaper bag with pull ups. Oh no! :scared1:

Steve and I decided to hunt down the Baby Care Center ASAP to clean up poor Gabe. A CM told us that it was at the front of the park. At that point we were right next to the Friendship Boat Dock so we decided to take the boat to the other side of the lagoon.

As we were boarding the boat I noticed Marie was missing. Oh no! DH took off in the hunt for Marie and said he would meet us on the other side of the lagoon.

While we were crossing the lagoon I called DH but he had not found Marie. I was very sad, but knew that these things happen.

When we got off at the boat at the other side I was shocked to see DH there - he had walked super fast. :laughing:

Together we headed toward the front of the park and stopped again to ask the location of the Baby Care Center. The new CM told us it was in the Odyssey building so we had gone too far. Oh well, we quickly backtracked and found our way to the Baby Care Center at last.

Once inside the BCC they did not have any pull-ups and the biggest diapers they had were size 4, but it was better than nothing. I happily paid a small fortune for 6 diapers and we were off to the changing room.:rotfl:

We finally got the boy all cleaned up and he was so happy. He was so patient waiting for all that drama to get changed. In hind sight I think maybe this event put him over the "Number 2" hump for potty-training. It was so unpleasant that he has only used the toilet ever since. :rotfl:

[Gabes_mommy]

After a successful, but expensive, trip to the Baby Care Center we were back out in the World Showcase. We called my parents to meet up. They were waiting for us in Japan. We booked it back around the Lagoon and found my parents pretty easily. Guess what? They had Marie! What a relief. Gabe was so happy. :cloud9:

The next few hours were really nice we just leisurely walked all around the countries and took everything in.

I had my camera with me, but I hardly took any pictures this day. :confused3

Soon it was time for Illuminations so we headed toward the same spot as the night before and waited for the show to start.

Here is Gabe watching the show:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3585.jpg
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Dirty pants drama aside we had such a nice, relaxing evening. We all decided that Epcot is our favorite park at night. It's so relaxing and pretty and Illuminations is a fantastic show. :lovestruc

[Pollito916]

Hmmm, I may have to "accidentally" forget DS's pull-ups the next time we go out and see if that helps the potty training move along a bit faster...:scratchin

Epcot is our favorite park at night too, I just love strolling around the WS at night, looking at the beautiful lit-up buildings, enjoying the variety of music, the ambience, I love everything about it! :lovestruc

[Gabes_mommy]

When we got back to the hotel that night I started packing everything up since we were checking out in the morning. :guilty: I hate the end of Disney trips.

After a good night's sleep we were up for our last day. Like usual, we headed to OPR for breakfast. After breakfast the boys were back to feeding all the critters. :laughing:

First some birds....

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3591.jpg

And then the turtles....

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3592.jpg

They had a whole plate of breakfast leftovers to feed the fish and turtles and Gabe kept taking the food and eating it himself. It was so funny.

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After breakfast we loaded up the van and said goodbye to CBR. I was sad to go. We decided that we really loved CBR. My dad decided he liked CBR better than POFQ, my mom said she liked POFQ the best, and DH and I couldn't decide between the two. :cutie:

For our last day we headed to Hollywood Studios. Once inside the park we headed straight for TSMM. The line was about 30 minutes so we decided to do stand by. It felt like it took forever, but finally we were on.

We all thought it was.....OK. :confused3 Very cute ride for sure, but not worthy of all the hype IMO. Please don't hate me. :rotfl:

After TSMM we headed to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground. This place is AMAZING. Even better than the Boneyard at AK I think. Gabe loved it! He was having so much fun we actually stayed there for almost an hour.

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The playgrounds at AK & HS are such a great idea. I wish they had a larger playground at MK and a playground at Epcot.

After playtime we headed towards the Sci-Fi Diner for our early lunch ADR. This meal was fun. Our waitress was really friendly and the movie clips kept Gabe's attention so I was able to eat with some peace. :cloud9:

My food was only OK (I got the grilled chicken sandwich) but everyone else really enjoyed theirs. I'm glad we got to experience this restaurant but I don't think we'll go back anytime soon.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3622.jpg

After lunch we were all getting really tired. The (record breaking) heat was just so oppressive this trip. We live in South Florida, but I always forget that Orlando is so much hotter since it's farther inland.

We really wanted to see the Playhouse Disney show so we shopped and used our last snack credits waiting for the next showtime.

Finally it was showtime and in we went. Gabe LOVED this show. It was definitely a hit. He was singing along and generally just having a ball. :lovestruc

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3625.jpg

After the show we sadly said goodbye to Disney World and started the trip home. As soon as we were in the nice cool car, the little man was out for the count. :laughing:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/joy75/Disney0909/IMG_3640.jpg

All too soon our trip was over. :guilty:

Coming up - closing thoughts. :goodvibes

[Gabes_mommy]

Closing Thoughts:

* What a great trip! Although we had a few challenging moments, I wouldn't change this trip for anything. What special memories with our little man. :lovestruc

* The Dining Plan is such a great idea, but it's not for us - at least not until Gabe is older. We decided to stick to CS for our next few trips. :thumbsup2

* We love the Mods!!! I actually had booked our first Deluxe for Spring Break, but my frugal (read cheap :rotfl:) heart couldn't handle it and I cancelled it. I am planning on rebooking for either POR or CSR. I really want CSR, but everyone else wants POR. :laughing:

* MNSSHP is a fantastic event and we plan on making it an annual tradition.

* September is a HOT month to travel. I think next Sept we may just stay at the hotel in the AMs to swim or hit the water parks, and then go to the parks at night.

* Room only discounts are better for us than Free Dining.

Thank you to all my readers. It's been a pleasure getting to know so many of you during my PTR and TR. :flower3:

[Gabes_mommy]

Hmmm, I may have to "accidentally" forget DS's pull-ups the next time we go out and see if that helps the potty training move along a bit faster...:scratchin

Epcot is our favorite park at night too, I just love strolling around the WS at night, looking at the beautiful lit-up buildings, enjoying the variety of music, the ambience, I love everything about it! :lovestruc

When we got home from Disney we actually decided to go "cold turkey" on the potty training and just put Gabe in underwear.

I am very proud to say that he is now officially potty-trained. :dance3: It's been 2 months and he's only had a few accidents. He really gets it.

If we put a pull-up on him he would still pee in it, but he knows the difference between pull-ups and underwear and he's doing great. :cheer2:

We still use pull-ups at night and naptime though. I think overnight training will take a while and I'm OK with that. :goodvibes

Good luck!!! PTing took about 9 months here from start to finish, but it eventually happens, I promise. :flower3:

[Pollito916]

* We love the Mods!!! I actually had booked our first Deluxe for Spring Break, but my frugal (read cheap :rotfl:) heart couldn't handle it and I cancelled it. I am planning on rebooking for either POR or CSR. I really want CSR, but everyone else wants POR. :laughing:

Well, if you're in charge of planning, you could tell everyone else that POR was full on the dates you wanted. ;)

When we got home from Disney we actually decided to go "cold turkey" on the potty training and just put Gabe in underwear.

I've been thinking about doing that lately, but I wanted to do it on days I would be home with DS since I usually work FT, and we are so busy on the weekends. I have some PTO with him this week and next since the sitter it out of town, so I think I will give it a try. Thanks for the advice! :thumbsup2

[praisehisname]

Great updates; I'm sorry your trip is over!

[teedee]

I'm sorry your tr is finished, I really enjoyed reading it, especially your insights into going to the world with a toddler. I can't wait until I get to go with my grandson next year! Thanks for writing!

Terri

[Gabes_mommy]

Well, if you're in charge of planning, you could tell everyone else that POR was full on the dates you wanted. ;)

That thought had crossed my mind. :rotfl:



I've been thinking about doing that lately, but I wanted to do it on days I would be home with DS since I usually work FT, and we are so busy on the weekends. I have some PTO with him this week and next since the sitter it out of town, so I think I will give it a try. Thanks for the advice! :thumbsup2

Great idea! My dad actually watches DS while I work so it was key that he was totally involved in the process.

Good luck!!! :goodvibes

Great updates; I'm sorry your trip is over!

I'm sad it's over too. :laughing: Thanks for reading! :goodvibes

I'm sorry your tr is finished, I really enjoyed reading it, especially your insights into going to the world with a toddler. I can't wait until I get to go with my grandson next year! Thanks for writing!

Terri

Thanks for reading! You are going to have a wonderful time with your grandson. :goodvibes

I may end up doing a TR for our short holiday trip next month if I time. :cutie:

[mommyof2Pirates]

I am so glad your parents found marie. And look at the bright side of the pooping incident. He is now going on the potty.:banana: There is always a positive. I would also agree the epcot is the best night time park with MK being a close 2nd. I also felt like AK was a million degrees hotter too.:confused3
I loved reading your PTR and TR. Glad to get to know you on here. I would agree with alot of your comments. Sept. is hot for sure. Mods are great and still a value. Deluxe are special but the money you pay is a little ridiculous, especially with small kids. I wish we lived close enough to make MNSSHP a yearly tradition because that is such an awesome experience. I am excited to hear how your next trip goes. Are you doing a pre trippie for that one?

[Pollito916]

Great idea! My dad actually watches DS while I work so it was key that he was totally involved in the process.

Good luck!!! :goodvibes

Thanks! Just wanted to stop by and let you know that I let DS walk around naked all morning and he used the bathroom 3 times (#1 & #2!!) and had NO accidents! :banana::banana: He only went in the diaper once, when we were out at the dentist office and running errands.

Now if I can just convince DH and my mom to do this the next 2 days while they are with him....

[Gabes_mommy]

Thanks! Just wanted to stop by and let you know that I let DS walk around naked all morning and he used the bathroom 3 times (#1 & #2!!) and had NO accidents! :banana::banana: He only went in the diaper once, when we were out at the dentist office and running errands.

Now if I can just convince DH and my mom to do this the next 2 days while they are with him....

Woohoo!!!! That is great news!!! I think the main thing that helped us be successful this time was that Gabe was ready, but honestly I think I wasn't really ready - diapers are just so easy and no fear of accidents. :laughing: Once I bit the bullet and did it we were good.

I am so excited for you! :goodvibes

[Sunset Cliffs]

Congrats on the potty training! We are getting ready to tackle that and I admit that I am a little worried.

What a great end to your trip. He seemed to really enjoy the Illuminations. He had such sweet reactions!

Hope you will do another TR for your next trip.

[Charlefours]

Wow, I must have missed the notice for your TR being updated! I enjoyed reading the end of it. I am glad you had so much watching Illuminations--it is on my must do list. I have never seen it!

I have to admit, I am nervous about the TS almost everyday. We do not eat out much at sit down restaurants so it will be fun for sure. I am planning on packing an activity bag to take with us (coloring books, crayons, etc) to help keep her occupied.

Love the pictures Gabe took! I had to laugh at him taking pictures of his boy parts--such a boy thing to do. :rotfl: DD loves taking pictures too. :)

:thumbsup2 to potty training!! DD is almost done (occasional accident and we still have her in pull ups at night.) I am not as worried about the nighttime right now--she is doing great during the day. Boy, does that ever save money! :woohoo: