AN AP-ALOOZA with a baby! October TR turned year of Disney! NEW 2/7 AUG FINISHED!

[CandleontheWater]

Sorry about the rental car drama, I know how stressful things can get when you're technically *on* vacation, but not actually at your destination yet. DH and I can get very snippy at each other too. I know my DH hates transitions, so the traveling part of vacation is always a potential mine field, maybe you DH feels the same way.

I think we're probably going to have to end up with an SUV or mini van for our April trip. I've always been able to get away with a mid-sized car before, but now we'll not have the luxury of extra backseat space. Just something to think about I guess.

Thanks for posting the pics of your BLT studio, I found them really helpful. I've been wondering if I made the right decision to do CR room instead of renting BLT points for a studio, but from the look of it the CR room actually has more usable space. I will not have the microwave, but I'm not sure we'd be using it anyway.

I think having drinks at the ToTWL is a great way to kick off a vacation! Bummer the food choices were not what you were expecting, but that beef flatbread does look yummy! I hope you guys were able to get up there again during your stay, it really was an awesome vantage point for the fireworks!

 

[Imagineer5]

im here, thanks for the message you started...i read along your PreTR, but was also late to the game there so didnt comment.

yeah DTD was fun in your arrival rain, going from one side to the other...actually was a comical "run" through DTD.

i guess you are paying for the location and not hte size of the rooms there huh?

does seem a little small but maybe the pictures make it seem smaller.

Thanks so much for coming over! LOL so funny what everyone was up to during that Rain! Must have been pretty funny, at least looking back on it lol.

Definitely paying for location, which IMO is still worth it. The walk to the mk and having the monorail was really awesome. Pictures IMO show it pretty true to size lol. There is this ridiculous kitchenette area that without it there would be so much more space.

I'm here! Great start!! Love all the pictures. Bummer about the rental car debacle. That's never easy to get through. Every time I've ever rented a car it's been a nightmare. I'm glad that the flight went so well. It's nice when you have people around you that like babies.

Yay! Hi! The thing is, I hate how he makes a huge deal over everything. Like the luggage stuff too. I was just so happy to be there and I didn't want to let his sour mood get me down but it did. Yes, having a nice woman behind us was so so nice!

Popping in to say I'm subscribed, but I don't think I will have time to get caught up today. We are leaving our house at 8:30 tomorrow morning for the airport and I still have not packed a thing!! But I'll get all caught up when we get home.

Totally understand! Can't wait for your return, I hope you will pop onto your ptr and just let us know how things are going! Lol I think last minute packing is better than spending weeks throwing stuff into suitcases. We ended up bringing so much bc I forgot what I had already packed.

Sorry about the rental car drama, I know how stressful things can get when you're technically *on* vacation, but not actually at your destination yet. DH and I can get very snippy at each other too. I know my DH hates transitions, so the traveling part of vacation is always a potential mine field, maybe you DH feels the same way.

I think we're probably going to have to end up with an SUV or mini van for our April trip. I've always been able to get away with a mid-sized car before, but now we'll not have the luxury of extra backseat space. Just something to think about I guess.

Thanks for posting the pics of your BLT studio, I found them really helpful. I've been wondering if I made the right decision to do CR room instead of renting BLT points for a studio, but from the look of it the CR room actually has more usable space. I will not have the microwave, but I'm not sure we'd be using it anyway.

I think having drinks at the ToTWL is a great way to kick off a vacation! Bummer the food choices were not what you were expecting, but that beef flatbread does look yummy! I hope you guys were able to get up there again during your stay, it really was an awesome vantage point for the fireworks!

Yes you are very right, we were both snippy. Dh at traveling and me at him for being snippy lol.

Once there's a 2nd car seat or someone else in the back, it'll be an SUV for us as well. But we had two seats to stack dtuff on and were able to get 3 suitcases plus the stroller disassembled back there so it totally worked.

The CR room is going to be great! I don't remember if you've said where? The tower? I liked BLT itself and if we stay there again we will prob splurge for a 1 bedroom. The pool was fun and location great and view was really nice, plus I enjoyed the price which was about 520 for 3 nights. Price would go down if they were mid week days.

Oh and yes top of the world was seriously the best way to end the evening! I was so happy that the first night transferring her to the pack n play went so smoothly too I would go back to BLT for the top of the world lounge! DH thought it was "excellent, quiet, and great view for fireworks"

 

[Imagineer5]

Day 2 – Friday October 5th, 2012

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me!! LOL. My 30th birthday dawned very early with me very excited and Andrew wondering why we had to wake up at 6:30. I gave him the job of waking Aria and putting her in the Pooh outfit I had laid out the night before while I took a quick shower, so that he could shower while I fed her. I had also laid out my outfit, so after showering was able to get dressed and ready only to find…Aria was not in her Pooh outfit! Ugh! So I finished up his (easy) task (ok sorry will try not to bring too much of this up constantly…ahem) and he showered while Aria nursed, then I got the stroller ready (this was the morning I realized we had to have the stroller 100% packed and ready to go the night before LOL) – we headed out the door when I realized I had wet hair. So back to the bathroom for me to quickly dry/straighten hair (THANK YOU Brazilian blowout for giving me straight hair in about 3 minutes that held up to the first couple of steamy days in Orlando!!).

Whew! Out the door, down the elevator, and to the MK path we go! LOVE WALKING TO THE MK! That was the coolest thing ever, and the walk was only a couple minutes long. I wanted to get to the guest relations booth by 7:30, but the park opening at 8 vs. 9 was a little sad due to the fact we had a 8:20 ADR at Crystal Palace that was supposed to get us in the park before opening!

Andrew must have taken this while I was at guest Relations!

Guest relations was very quick about swapping our AP vouchers for AP’s, buying the TiW card ($75), and also picking up our MNSSHP tickets (which BTW were printed on TiW card paper, this comes up later LOL). We were informed there would be a $50 fee if the TiW card was lost – kind of annoying but good to know! I immediately took photos of the backs of everything, though I’m sure that was unnecessary, and then went to find Andrew. I sent him to the left hand entrance to get in line for early breakfasts. There was a CM asking for breakfast times and I told her 8:20 and she said “Sorry, this line is only for those with reservations before 8AM”. What? Since when did CP have reservations in the 7AM range? I thought that was weird. So we went into a regular line, and around 7:45 they started letting us through.

After that I went to a different CM guarding the breakfast line and told him the same thing and he let us into that area! Whew! We made it onto Main Street before the park opened, so we were still able to take some pictures and enjoy the nearly empty park!

One of my favorite family pics from the trip! Another family took this.

How freaking adorable is this!

Also took some photopass pictures!

This may be my favorite photopass pic! LOVE!

Instead of waiting for 20 minutes with a pager for our ADR, we decided to get in a ride beforehand since the park opened at 8! Might as well enjoy the early park opening! So we headed to find some adventure…

And…ding ding Aria’s first ride was…

Sorry no time for an outside shot LOL! Yep – PotC! WoohoO! Overall she seemed to enjoy it, but was a bit nervous when it got really dark. And did NOT know what to think when we went through the mist. No crying or anything, just didn’t seem overly excited.

It was nearing 8:20 so we hoofed it back to CP to check in. Luckily the huge 8 AM line had subsided and I only had to wait a minute to check in. Aria enjoyed playing with the couple behind. She has old men wrapped around her little finger! LOL! That sounded dirty…

Waiting…for about 40 seconds before our name was called…

Door behind Andrew is opening for our hostess ha!

We were seated on the Main Street side which was new to us, at the entrance to the kitchen. No big deal to me, more stuff for Aria to watch! This was our first Disney dining out experience, and it did take a few meals to learn how to keep her totally happy throughout. We tried out a new cinnamon apple oatmeal breakfast thingy I had purchased, which she adored, though Tigger was almost at our table when we were seated so we met him before doing anything else! Our first character interaction at Disney! How’d it go?!

Pretty darn awesome!!

After that, Andrew got Aria situated with her breakfast while I went up to get my plate(s). I think this should be the ONLY meal (no promises, but pretty sure) that I totally forgot about food porn pics. So sorry! But I do remember getting the chocolate chip mickey pancakes made to order, plus some yummy potatoes, puffed French toast, among other things! After I went up we switched so Andrew could get some food as well, and by the time he was back, it was time for another character!

The big man himself – Pooh! This turned out to be kind of an awkward character interaction. Aria was eating and Pooh sort of surprised us from around the corner, so Aria didn’t see him coming. She was sitting in her high chair and wanted more oatmeal when Pooh sort of popped out at her, and she immediately teared up! Andrew took her out of the high chair so she could meet Pooh while he was holding her, but Pooh was motioning for him to put her back…so he did though I don’t know why we listened to him because it made her more upset! Poor thing. After that he played a little peek a boo with her (while I held her) and she was much happier.

Yes, my baby has finally started a bit of separation anxiety from me, and yes, I am sort of enjoying it. LOL.

Next up was Eeyore, who I was most excited about for her as she has a little stuffed Eeyore that she plays with during diaper changes in her room at home.

I love this pic!

Continued in next post...

 

[Imagineer5]

Continued from previous post...

He also played peek a boo and she was eating it up!

Breakfast was over by about 9:15 or so (yes I was a bit surprised at the time, if it was just Andrew and me we’d have been out of there by 9, but luckily no rope drop rush that I had originally anticipated so I wasn’t too upset! Also, decided it was time for a diaper change, and for some reason decided CP would be a great place for it (the bathroom of course). Well there was a huge line to get in, and the bathroom was tiny! Considering we were next door to the BCC, I should have gone there. OH well, no biggie. For anyone considering diaper changes at CP, just go next door!

We decided to head to fantasyland while it was still early and while Aria was still awake! First stop, IaSW! Funny how growing up on the west coast, I STILL get FL mixed up with FL at DL. Everything seems like it’s just in the wrong spot! Anyway, this one was really really great. We got some videos that I haven’t watched yet, but Aria was just in awe of everything and we had such a blast watching her look around on this ride.

After that ride it was nearing 10AM and Aria had been awake for 3.5 hours, so we decided it was nap time for her! Got some FP’s for PP and then headed in the direction of Space. Took a quick pic of construction walls on our way over, can’t wait for the Mine Train to open!

Aria got into an awesome routine – for naps we just laid the stroller back, put the muslin blanket over top and she passed right out. Until that point she rarely (if ever) fussed over being too tired or hungry or anything really! She was just SO EASY. It was amazing.

I hopped on Space while we got a rider switch for Andrew – the wait was posted at 10 minutes and it took about that much time.

I came out and Andrew hopped inside while I sat with the napping baby. Andrew took no time at all and we decided to book it over to Splash so Andrew could hop in line and we could get a rider switch and some FP’s for later, but that plan backfired when we realized the app was way off and the 15 minute wait time had jumped to 40 minutes. So he got into the Btmrr line and we got a rider swap for that, and around that time Aria woke up so I headed to the BCC. This is the only pic I took inside (and consequently the only time the nursing room was empty!)

She was a hot little baby – I hadn’t mentioned this before but it was STEAMY today. Very humid and it did eventually downpour but it just felt like it needed to rain all day long. Aria ate and then got a quick diaper and outfit change to something cooler. I decided that despite getting motion sick on the last carousel we took Aria on, that I wanted to take her on the Prince Charming carousel. Andrew stood this one out (yes, we are getting old apparently HAHA) and took pictures instead.

I saw other people getting up on the horse with their kids, and with the height the horses go I liked that idea better – it would have been hard to hold onto Aria when she was above my head! It worked out GREAT and she seemed to really enjoy it!

Even better, I didn’t feel sick at all (this one goes around slower than the one in Providence, I think!). I never got back to ride it again but I look forward to doing it again in December.

Next up was Dumbo. Yes it was nearing Noon and I had ridden 4 rides. This pace was killing me, so maybe I was a little crabby too (Andrew was dragging at this point) but there was obviously nothing we could do about it! Honestly I have never really cared for Dumbo, and had never really read anything about the new rides. So, the fact that there was a play area as the wait was totally new to me. We got into the 20-minute line, which ended up with about 2 minutes of waiting to get into the play area and then watching Aria play for the other 15 or so minutes. SO FUN! This ended up being one of my favorite things to do.

Aria really will be walking soon, she loves to stand up and play, so this little wall was a great spot for her out of the way of the bigger kids!

She’s so tall – this little boy was over a year old but she was taller than him!

She got a turn to drive

LOL kids were just piling in there with her…

Our pager went off and we were back outside and ready to ride!

 

[Imagineer5]

Continued ...

After Dumbo, our PP FP’s were active so we decided to head over there. Take note, we had missed our Wave ADR for lunch. It was now about 12:45 and instead of heading back we just weren’t ready to leave MK yet. Andrew was ready, but I was not. So we rode PP (remember it was also my birthday and I wanted to do more!! LOL)

After Peter Pan I was still a bit upset at the few rides I’d ridden after being in the park for 5 hours. Everything had way too high of a wait time and we hadn’t been able to utilize FP much, since I wanted to enjoy things WITH Aria while she was awake. I finally thought of the TTA though, and that turned out to be a perfect last ride before we left for an afternoon break. First things first we stopped at the BCC for a diaper change and some photopass pics! Hehe

Back to the TTA…

We got to see Space broken down…actually it was running with people on it with the lights on, kinda cool!

Aria had a great time!

Pictures on the way out!

We put Aria down for a nap (this is the only day we did this – pushed her for 3 naps like at home! after today, she napped just 2 times a day and nursed 4 total times – once at wake up, around 11, around 3, and at bedtime!).

It was so hot we didn’t want to put the blanket over, but she wasn’t falling asleep…

We were HUNGRY! Once the blanket was covering her, she promptly fell asleep. Since we took the monorail it dropped us conveniently off near the Contempo Café where I had a delicious chicken artichoke flatbread and Andrew got a salad, which I don’t remember what it was but he commented it was awesome he was able to ask for it pre-tossed. LOL. We ended up bringing those back to the room! I had birthday presents to open! On the walk back -

Opening presents – I got some new clothes including 2 shirts that I wore later in the trip! AND a GPS with European Maps to replace my 5 year old GPS which takes like an hour to find satellites! YAY! I didn’t expect any of it, so that was a very nice and sweet surprise. Andrew had also done a little bird house art project with Aria, which was very sweet.

After nursing Aria, we headed down for a little pool time! Everyone was in good spirits, though I knew we were getting a little bit of time crunch since we had Kids Nite Out (KNO) coming around 5PM and it was 3 when we headed down.

I took a trip down the slide. While waiting I was cut by a 12 year old boy and then I unknowingly cut two 20-something (I think) cute lifeguards that I thought were meant to be working up there which is why I cut them, but they came down after me. Whoops. I felt old next to them. BOO. Haha.

We spent some time in the splash pad

I never got a good picture of it, but we played a game where I would get Aria’s attention, then dip under the water and swim up and say “boo” right in front of her. She was having a BLAST and laughing so hard it was awesome. She is such a water baby!

 

[Leger13]

Yay! Hi! The thing is, I hate how he makes a huge deal over everything. Like the luggage stuff too. I was just so happy to be there and I didn't want to let his sour mood get me down but it did. Yes, having a nice woman behind us was so so nice!

Awww well I'm sorry to hear he brought you down as soon as you got there but omg your day at MK looks amazing!!!!! I'm so jealous. I think we only got to do 3 rides when we were there all dang day! So glad things are going well so far into the trip. Sounds like Aria is a perfect Disney baby and just behaved so well on this trip! I really love the picture of the two of you walking towards the castle. That's definitely a framer!

 

[khertz]

So I'm trying to get caught up on TRs while Paxton is napping and Dustin is out getting his birthday cake for tomorrow night when I read your updates and realize, Hey I guessed Aria's first ride!!! The pics look great, it looks like you were having a great time. I totally get it about realizing how much you are NOT getting done with a little one. I have felt that way before now that we are taking DS, yet we always manage to do everything or most everything we set out to do. Where on previous trips, we would do our favorites multiple times over the trip, we have learned now that even if we only get to do it once, that's a success!!

I'm glad Aria was such a good traveler for you. We are learning so far this week that a trip with a 1 year old is VASTLY different from a trip with a 2 year old!!!!

 

[Leger13]

Oh Kristy....now I'm nervous for December

 

[jenny105]

Yay our birthdays! LOL Sorry I missed you at CP. I kept an eye out for you but obviously you weren't on our side of the restaurant!

I think I was in line for SM while you were going through it on TTA! So funny. We waited for about 15-20 minutes for it to come back up. I felt bad for the people stuck in the carts!

Looking forward to reading more

 

[khertz]

Oh Kristy....now I'm nervous for December

He is MOSTLY great, but he is getting upset over the most ridiculous things!! We have had a lot of dropping to the ground in protest but luckily no screaming meltdowns yet. This afternoon nap is a MUST this time!!!

 

[Leger13]

He is MOSTLY great, but he is getting upset over the most ridiculous things!! We have had a lot of dropping to the ground in protest but luckily no screaming meltdowns yet. This afternoon nap is a MUST this time!!!

oh gosh....Alex is really good at the throw yourself on the ground melt downs or relaxing his arms so much when we pick him up that it's almost impossible to pick him up. He normally only does that when we are at home though. Hopefully it will stay that way. Bummer on that afternoon nap. At least he isn't sick! IDK what a normal trip with a kid is like yet so as long as A isn't sick I think that will be much easier than what we had last time. I can handle melt downs LOL

 

[bellaally]

When I go down in December, I will try and knock out all the rides I want to do, so we will be going nice and slow for the boys on our December trip. Your breast feeding schedule turned out great, I mean I wish Jordan will feed only four times, we are down to six to eight BF's a day. I am worried about the humidity for September but no cranky baby yet, she looks so precious and busy taking everything in.....

 

[CandleontheWater]

What a wonderful first morning! I know that you were disappointed about the change in EMH, but you still managed to get some GREAT shots on a nearly empty main street and that is awesome!

I love the photos of Aria with the characters, babies and characters are so sweet!

Pirates! What an excellent first ride choice! That was Everett's first ride as well, maybe we'll do the same for (still-nameless) new baby.

I totally understand what you mean about not feeling productive when touring with a little one. I think that has taken the most getting use to. I swear I could take a three week vacation with DS, and still not get as much done as I used to do on a solo weekend!

Awesome that you were able to get some pool time in, looks like everyone had fun!

 

[Imagineer5]

Awww well I'm sorry to hear he brought you down as soon as you got there but omg your day at MK looks amazing!!!!! I'm so jealous. I think we only got to do 3 rides when we were there all dang day! So glad things are going well so far into the trip. Sounds like Aria is a perfect Disney baby and just behaved so well on this trip! I really love the picture of the two of you walking towards the castle. That's definitely a framer!

HAHAHA so I guess I shouldn't have been too upset with our pace then! It wasn't THAT bad, but I just felt like we were doing a lot of running around, especially during the 40 minutes or so of naptime she took. And during that time I rode Space mountain, waited for Andrew to ride, ran across the park to get rider swap, and then she woke up and went to the BCC to feed her, so it was about an hour I really didn't get to do anything except walk around.

Aria really WAS great. I am nervous for when she gets older after reading about these 2 year olds' trips!!

Isn't that cute! Of course, Aria's not actually walking yet, but standing up

So I'm trying to get caught up on TRs while Paxton is napping and Dustin is out getting his birthday cake for tomorrow night when I read your updates and realize, Hey I guessed Aria's first ride!!! The pics look great, it looks like you were having a great time. I totally get it about realizing how much you are NOT getting done with a little one. I have felt that way before now that we are taking DS, yet we always manage to do everything or most everything we set out to do. Where on previous trips, we would do our favorites multiple times over the trip, we have learned now that even if we only get to do it once, that's a success!!

I'm glad Aria was such a good traveler for you. We are learning so far this week that a trip with a 1 year old is VASTLY different from a trip with a 2 year old!!!!

Aw thanks for stopping by while on vacation! I need to get caught up too! Hopefully today! But I need to get some actual work done first. I hope the birthday cake is DELICIOUS! HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAXTON!! Hope it's an amazing day and taco night is fun!

Yep, that is so true! We eventually do get done the things we wanted to do, but just about once a piece (such as Jungle Cruise). It's crazy - we were there for 10 nights, and that is seriously not enough time! Ugh!

Your foreshadowing is freaking me out! I hope you're still having an amazing time!

Oh Kristy....now I'm nervous for December

HAHA me too

Yay our birthdays! LOL Sorry I missed you at CP. I kept an eye out for you but obviously you weren't on our side of the restaurant!

I think I was in line for SM while you were going through it on TTA! So funny. We waited for about 15-20 minutes for it to come back up. I felt bad for the people stuck in the carts!

Looking forward to reading more

LOL! That is so funny! I looked out for you around the park too. So sad knowing we were there and never met up! Boo!

He is MOSTLY great, but he is getting upset over the most ridiculous things!! We have had a lot of dropping to the ground in protest but luckily no screaming meltdowns yet. This afternoon nap is a MUST this time!!!

Hhaaha oh boy, what I have to look forward to!

oh gosh....Alex is really good at the throw yourself on the ground melt downs or relaxing his arms so much when we pick him up that it's almost impossible to pick him up. He normally only does that when we are at home though. Hopefully it will stay that way. Bummer on that afternoon nap. At least he isn't sick! IDK what a normal trip with a kid is like yet so as long as A isn't sick I think that will be much easier than what we had last time. I can handle melt downs LOL

LOL! It is so funny being about a year behind you girls. I really really hope Alex (and you two too!) are totally sickness free!! You need to be super careful the couple weeks before your trip! LOL!

When I go down in December, I will try and knock out all the rides I want to do, so we will be going nice and slow for the boys on our December trip. Your breast feeding schedule turned out great, I mean I wish Jordan will feed only four times, we are down to six to eight BF's a day. I am worried about the humidity for September but no cranky baby yet, she looks so precious and busy taking everything in.....

What was funny was that I didn't even really care about riding the big rides, I was more excited about going on as much as I could with Aria, but her needing to nap and such pretty soon after we got into the parks made that a little difficult. And it didn't help that all Andrew wanted to do WAS ride the bigger rides, which was pretty annoying. I bet you'll knock one of those nursing times off. There is SO much for them to look at and enjoy that being hungry rarely crossed her mind. Also, we added in lunch for her (about 3 oz of veggies or veg/fruit mix and puffs) which helped, AND increased her breakfast from 1 oz fruit to 3, and dinner from 2 oz to 3-4 plus puffs. She has been able to stick to that schedule happily since returning home, and I love that she has finally dropped that 3rd nap in the late afternoon, since when we pick her up from daycare she is awake the rest of the afternoon/evening until bedtime whereas before we had to put her down for a nap immediately.

What a wonderful first morning! I know that you were disappointed about the change in EMH, but you still managed to get some GREAT shots on a nearly empty main street and that is awesome!

I love the photos of Aria with the characters, babies and characters are so sweet!

Pirates! What an excellent first ride choice! That was Everett's first ride as well, maybe we'll do the same for (still-nameless) new baby.

I totally understand what you mean about not feeling productive when touring with a little one. I think that has taken the most getting use to. I swear I could take a three week vacation with DS, and still not get as much done as I used to do on a solo weekend!

Awesome that you were able to get some pool time in, looks like everyone had fun!

HI! I can't wait to read more from your TR! Yeah that first CM was annoying but luckily I tried my luck with the 2nd one and he let us in. I was so happy to get some great shots! This was probably our "worst" character interaction, because from here they just get better and better!

OOH I didn't realize that about Everett's first ride. I know I lurked on your earlier TR's but forgot that! How awesome! What did he think?

Yep, ditto on the 3 week vacation! I mean, we did a lot of different things, like the character meets, but rarely fit in shopping or many of the rides and such.

Pool time was wonderful! So happy we snuck that time in there! It was very refreshing. The pool itself wasn't amazing (I like the BC pool and AK pool much better) but it was still nice and water temp was MUCH better than our condos...

 

[Imagineer5]

Day 2 continued!

After pool time, it was about 4 and we had to head back up and give Aria a quick bath before getting a 3rd nap in. Bathtime was fun, but she was NOT having a nap or any part of it, so Andrew actually walked her around in the stroller and she finally went down around 4:45, just in time for KNO to come (sigh). Right at 5 there was a knock and a small older woman (maybe 65?) was at the door. She showed us her credentials and we immediately gave her a small “schedule” which included: bottle around 5:15, warmed it hot sink water, not the microwave, play time until dinner of a squeeze packet thingy around 6:15, and nighttime bottle around 7:15 and then bedtime by 7:30. We told her we were going to be stopping in around 7 quickly to change – our plan was to hop over to the MK for about 1.5 hours and then come back to get changed for dinner at CG. She asked a few questions and then around 5:15 we woke up Aria so she could meet her. Well, she was just NOT happy (TMI: she also hadn’t pooped since Thursday morning – prob just due to the travel timing and all that) and I have never EVER seen her so upset. She kept crawling over to me and wanted nothing to do with her. We eventually just had to leave, and she seemed OK with playing on the floor with some toys, and her bottle was warmed waiting for us to go. I felt awful but we’ve never had an issue leaving her anywhere so I figured that she would settle down quickly and have her bottle and be much happier soon.

Remember how I said it eventually rained? Well, after getting out of the pool, it was absolutely down pouring outside, so we had come up with a contingency plan if MK wasn’t a go – we were thinking of bar hopping on the monorail hahaha! But by the time we left our room it was just a little drizzle, so we decided to stick with our original plan and head to the MK to ride some rides minus the stroller and Aria – first stop was the Haunted Mansion which was a quick walk on and we enjoyed checking out the new queue briefly. (Side note – having an umbrella was SO nice!)

We were both impressed by everything there!

We decided against splash as Andrew didn’t want to get his pants wet(TER) and I didn’t want to get my hair gross, so instead we rode big thunder together with about a 5 minute wait.

Ahh I just LOVE this ride! So much fun, and I can’t wait for Aria to experience it. Honestly I think she would love it if she were allowed to ride it. She cracks up with the wind through her hair like that!

It started to brighten a little!

This was a MNSSHP night so we were going to be kicked out at 7, and it was after 6:30, so we picked something pretty close to ride – PotC! Hard to tell, but I got myself some pirate mickey ears and Andrew got himself a set of keys for his Jack Sparrow costume as well as a pirates mug. First purchases of the trip! We headed out of the MK through the shops and I spotted a stuffed Belle that I picked up for Aria.

We popped back into the room. We did listen at the door (who wouldn’t…right?!) and all was quiet inside which was a good sign, and then went inside. Aria burst into tears at the sight of us and I just felt awful. I knew we had made things difficult for her (I can’t for the life of me remember the KNO lady’s name! ugh!). We quickly changed, and I helped her get her bottle ready (this is when I got worried about our baby sitter and not just Aria’s temperament) - she didn’t know how to use a Dr. Brown’s bottle and had just put the nipple haphazardly on the medela storage bottle, despite me preparing the bottles beforehand. I also noticed Aria was already in her PJs that I had laid out, but she had put them on OVER her clothes. When I mentioned that I’d like for her to change her just into her jammies, she stated she thought the mid-70’s room was too cold. Umm nope, she will be fine…and out the door for us again!

It was a nice leisurely walk back to the Contemporary, down the escalators and to the check in podium. We checked in, went up in the elevator and were debating whether to take a seat at the bar when our name was called! It seemed very quiet and empty inside, despite being 7:30 on a Friday evening. Weird! We got an awesome window table with confetti on it for my birthday – very sweet, and the evening started off great! Andrew suggested ordering a bottle of wine, but wanted to start off with a cocktail. I thought that was a bit much so I just got some wine while he had a glass of bourbon. Just to note: he did not order one Manhattan the whole trip. I ruined it by mentioning I had guessed what he would order, so he tried to be contrary at every.single.meal which was annoying!

I knew I wanted the goat cheese ravioli, but did not actually see any vegetarian or chicken dish listed in the entrée section, so I decided to get that for my main dish and find another appetizer. I saw one that mentioned smoked salmon, so decided to be adventurous and go for that. BAD BAD BAD choice. I’m still reeling at how gross it was. Now, I like capers, but did not see ANYTHING about caviar on the menu, if I had I would not have even considered it. Also, this salmon was basically uncooked, not smoked. Coming from Seattle, I have actually enjoyed a little smoked salmon here and there, and it has a much more COOKED texture and a smoky flavor. This tasted like filleted uncooked salmon with gritty caviar on top. EW. Andrew thought it was disgusting as well. I had 2 pieces just to give it a chance, and then I couldn’t fathom eating another bite. I didn’t say anything to our waiter, as for all I know, this is actually how smoked salmon was supposed to be served, and I could have missed the caviar mention.

Andrew did get mussels – score 1 for me (I guessed he would get these)

My main dish – the server had asked if I wanted 2 raviolis if I was getting it for a main dish. I agreed. Yes, I was charged double ($28!!). The sauce was way too runny and flavorless. It tasted nothing like I remember. The ravioli itself was good, but the sauce (or lack thereof) ruined it.

Andrew was different and got a pork tenderloin (I think) and it came with mashed cauliflower. That could have been another title of this TR – regarding the huge inundation of cauliflower on every single menu we saw. It was ridiculous! And he was not impressed. Meat was OK but cauliflower was tasteless. Boo! At least his mussels had been good!

At this point, it was finally the opportunity for my surprise birthday cake that Andrew had spent all that time over the phone with Disney Florist planning out. Oh wait – what birthday cake? Just the one I had dropped about 1001 hints about including showing him pictures of one a friend’s husband ordered for her for their anniversary just a couple weeks before. Well, that moment came and went and no birthday cake for me. I know it is totally not necessary, but it would have been nice of him to spend 5 minutes planning something for the trip…

So instead I Ordered 2 desserts HA. Chocolate and banana.

YUM both delicious! Loved the chocolate a bit more than the banana, but both were delish and yes I did have to share a teeny bit with Andrew.

At this point it was 9:15 and for some reason we had it in our heads that we would rather watch HalloWishes from the TotWL than CG. Looking back, we should have just stayed put in our awesome seats and watched it there, I have no idea what was driving us to get back up to the TotWL other than the fact that it was the only night we’d get to watch them from there until we stay at BLT again. One last picture:

Then we hightailed it out of there! This dinner cost us over $200 and was very disappointing overall. Especially for all the praise I have ALWAYS given it. I guess it really is time for a refurb, CG. TiW saved us nearly $40 though. Side note: a family of around 12 people was seated right next to us, with 3 kids that were running around in circles, and a 12 or 13 year old boy crying in the corner. Super annoying, and we of course gave each other “that’ll NEVER be us” looks. Hehe we’ll see in 10 years ;-)

Somehow we paid, took the elevator to the 4th floor, ran across the Contemporary, ran across the sky bridge, took the elevator down to the 1st floor, ran over to the check in podium, showed our KTTW cards, and got the elevator back up to the 16th( I think?) floor and made it with about 4 minutes to spare. I didn’t get great pictures, but this was our view:

Hallowishes was really fun but we were ready to see our little baby girl so we headed downstairs. KNO Babysitter said she wouldn’t take her bottle at all until after 8PM and was asleep a little after 8:30…ugh… we gave her a tip and then she left. Aria did not wake up during the commotion so she must have been exhausted. We were told she ate her dinner fine, but I saw the full (opened) dinner left out, so she had barely had a bite of it. Overall, I was not thrilled with KNO. It didn’t help that Aria was upset, but it just didn’t seem like the babysitter had any experience recently with young kids. She hadn’t ever seen a squeeze food packet, a Dr. Brown’s bottle, she kept on her clothes under Aria’s PJ’s, didn’t give her dinner, didn’t get her down til way later than she ever stays up, etc. She also was supposed to come with age-appropriate toys. She brought a book and that was all, and mentioned turning on the TV for Aria to watch despite us only really turning on the TV to mickey mouse clubhouse on Saturday afternoons, not as entertainment in the evenings.

Not a warm fuzzy feeling and not the best dinner, but still a wonderful birthday. So glad I chose MK for that first park day and my birthday park day!

Some things we didn’t get to do today that I had wanted to: Jungle Cruise, Splash, Tom Sawyer Paintbrushes which are supposedly extinct but I never had the opportunity to see for myself.

 

[CandleontheWater]

Gosh, I'm glad your birthday dinner didn't go as expected. I wouldn't have been happy with KNO either. Who puts jammies on OVER clothes, that is really bizarre! It also must have been really tough to have Aria upset when you left her.

The one thing I don't like about eating out at Disney is how darn mercurial it is! Usually Cali grill is a homerun, but everyone once and a while you get an off night. I'm sorry that off night fell on your birthday! I really wish Disney restaurants were more consistent, that way you'd know what you were getting into when you made the ADR.

I also can completely sympathize with your birthday cake dilemma. My DH is the same way, completely clueless when it comes to special surprises. We were at Disney for my 30th birthday too, and if it makes you feel any better, I ordered my own birthday cake. I did feel a little lame calling up and ordering a cake for myself, but I wanted that cake, darn it, and I wasn't about to leave it up to chance.

 

[cbcrockett]

Boo for the night out issues! You know I'm there with you! I know it's slightly different, but the emotions you feel for the little one is totally the same! But, I'm glad your overall birthday-day was good!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[jenny105]

Ok you've convinced me to never give California Grill a try! I'm glad we stayed away from it this trip. Sorry you didn't have a great birthday meal

I feel like Disney has a problem with hiring employees that don't exactly know what they're doing. Some of the CMs I speak to on the phone....really? Maybe it's because of cutbacks I don't know but the service is starting to slip a bit. Sorry you had issues with KNO. Double

But you still had a great birthday overall. You were in Disney World at MK! What could be better??

 

[Imagineer5]

Gosh, I'm glad your birthday dinner didn't go as expected. I wouldn't have been happy with KNO either. Who puts jammies on OVER clothes, that is really bizarre! It also must have been really tough to have Aria upset when you left her.

The one thing I don't like about eating out at Disney is how darn mercurial it is! Usually Cali grill is a homerun, but everyone once and a while you get an off night. I'm sorry that off night fell on your birthday! I really wish Disney restaurants were more consistent, that way you'd know what you were getting into when you made the ADR.

I also can completely sympathize with your birthday cake dilemma. My DH is the same way, completely clueless when it comes to special surprises. We were at Disney for my 30th birthday too, and if it makes you feel any better, I ordered my own birthday cake. I did feel a little lame calling up and ordering a cake for myself, but I wanted that cake, darn it, and I wasn't about to leave it up to chance.

Yeah it's one thing if we asked a friend or sister or something to watch Aria - then I could understand not really knowing the ins and outs (such as keeping clothes on under PJs...though that is really weird) or knowing the Dr. Brown's bottles. But for someone who supposedly does this for a living, it's ridiculous. When I told KNO about her, they said it was all very strange because she usually gets glowing reviews. So IDK what to think. I tried stepping back and thinking about everything after a couple days and I was still upset about the whole thing so didn't think I was being overly ridiculous.

It didn't help that I made a poor app choice. But yes I've never had a bad meal there, and will definitely be going back after the refurb, but it did make for a disappointing birthday meal for sure!

I thought about ordering my own birthday cake, but I honestly thought I dropped enough hints for Andrew for him to actually do it. Guess not.

Boo for the night out issues! You know I'm there with you! I know it's slightly different, but the emotions you feel for the little one is totally the same! But, I'm glad your overall birthday-day was good!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

Yep! It was so hard leaving her like that. I am glad that she wasn't crying when we listened in for a minute before entering the room - that was something! The day WAS great, MK was a lot of fun, though I still want to smack my DH for being so irritating all trip.

Ok you've convinced me to never give California Grill a try! I'm glad we stayed away from it this trip. Sorry you didn't have a great birthday meal

I feel like Disney has a problem with hiring employees that don't exactly know what they're doing. Some of the CMs I speak to on the phone....really? Maybe it's because of cutbacks I don't know but the service is starting to slip a bit. Sorry you had issues with KNO. Double

But you still had a great birthday overall. You were in Disney World at MK! What could be better??

LOL! Sorry I didn't mean to do that. Hopefully you will give it a try after the refurb. I've given it glowing reviews every single other time I've eaten there.

Are you referring to the idiota at the early breakfast line?! YEP she was so so annoying. Did you get in the early breakfast line that morning or go in with regular crowds?

I did have a good birthday. I wish I had worn my birthday button longer than a couple hours that morning, but Aria loved pulling on it every time I held her and it was ripping my shirt so I took it off and never put it back on, so I didn't get the same "happy birthday from everyone" experience as I've had for past trips. Not a big deal of course, but it does make it fun!

 

[Leger13]

HAHAHA so I guess I shouldn't have been too upset with our pace then! It wasn't THAT bad, but I just felt like we were doing a lot of running around, especially during the 40 minutes or so of naptime she took. And during that time I rode Space mountain, waited for Andrew to ride, ran across the park to get rider swap, and then she woke up and went to the BCC to feed her, so it was about an hour I really didn't get to do anything except walk around.

Aria really WAS great. I am nervous for when she gets older after reading about these 2 year olds' trips!!

Isn't that cute! Of course, Aria's not actually walking yet, but standing up



LOL! It is so funny being about a year behind you girls. I really really hope Alex (and you two too!) are totally sickness free!! You need to be super careful the couple weeks before your trip! LOL!

Well you definitely do have to take a slower pace with a baby so I think you guys did great seeing what you wanted to and doing the things you wanted to.

Haha two year olds are a totally different ball game. A different challenge but you will figure it out just like we are

Oh yeah I didn't think she was just thought the picture was cute

haha! Aww thank you Yes I think we will be staying away from everyone just before our trip and I'm going to be cleaning everything Alex comes into contact with. He's even getting his flu shot next week.