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

[CandleontheWater]

Glad you enjoyed your meal at 1900 PF! I agree that getting kids in and out of a high chair to meet characters is a pain, and I thought I would really like it now that Everett isn't in a high chair anymore, but as it turns out, I miss having him completely contained. I'm sure Aria will be different, but Everett just wants to move, move, move, and constantly telling him to sit down and sit still gets trying

That dress she was in was just precious! I love the little pink rosettes!

It looks like you guys had fun at MNSSHP. I'm sorry you didn't have the best view of the parade, but at least you didn't have to wait around too long. Her tinkerbelle outfit was so cute too!

 

[Imagineer5]

Glad you enjoyed your meal at 1900 PF! I agree that getting kids in and out of a high chair to meet characters is a pain, and I thought I would really like it now that Everett isn't in a high chair anymore, but as it turns out, I miss having him completely contained. I'm sure Aria will be different, but Everett just wants to move, move, move, and constantly telling him to sit down and sit still gets trying

That dress she was in was just precious! I love the little pink rosettes!

It looks like you guys had fun at MNSSHP. I'm sorry you didn't have the best view of the parade, but at least you didn't have to wait around too long. Her tinkerbelle outfit was so cute too!

Did ÿou see my response about the rental house? I hope you guys use it - it really can't be beat for a deal.

There was a boy that looked like he was 3 or 4 in a high chair at the mall recently. Being the amazing parents we are (eye roll) I commented to DH that he looked way too old for a high chair. His response was that they probably do it on purpose to keep him in one spot. Lol.

I'd love to do the party again when aria is older, can stay up later, and enjoys the things like the trails. I loved the Duffy meet though and the parade was great just the view was awful lol.

 

[khertz]

Michael did Paxton's haircut this year too! He was great!

And there's Norma, she did Paxton's first haircut last year! She wasn't there this year for us to tell her hello, unfortunately.

We had one afternoon similar to that when we went to MK after our break and the lines were just absolutely ridiculous everywhere we turned, so we had to settle for doing just a couple of minor attractions while waiting for the parade and fireworks. Since we have Paxton along, that's not as much of a bad thing as it would have been before.

LOVE her dress for 1900 PF & her Tink costume!! We had a great meet with Duffy too but I think it was mostly because he was dressed as a pumpkin and Paxton was all about Pumpkins this year. The backstory is pretty lame though, and we resisted on buying a Duffy for him. I'm glad Aria liked him!

That sucks about getting a bad spot for the parade. It is so hard to balance finding a good spot where you and your baby can see without having to stand in the same spot for an hour or two.

 

[smile4stamps]

The crowds and lines are what really bummed me out and made my husband say no more parks. I just couldn't believe all the people!! A lot of people said the lines weren't too bad once you got to them but when I saw 40 minutes for the Great Movie Ride I seriously broke down!!

I know I have said it a million times but Aria is just so adorable!! I love all the photos you have of her!!

I also love the pics your DH did get of you on BTMRR!! That is awesome!!

 

[Dugette]

Love the picture of the first haircut ears! Too bad it wasn't quite as magical as you'd hoped, but at least you got some nice souvenirs. I'm excited to do Dug Baby's first haircut there too, but I'm guessing it will be just minimal actual hair-cutting, like Aria's. Right now, she has very fine hair and a bit of a baby mullet...but who knows in a year.

Granted, it was over a year ago, but I think on our last trip that both Mickey and Minnie were in the same location. That must have changed since then, I guess.

Beautiful Tinkerbell costume! Such a little cutie!

Judging by that last photo, I think Winnie the Pooh moved Aria to tears!

I never thought about that with Duffy. We've always thought that he's ridiculous, but to a baby, he probably looks ridiculously cuddly. Dug Baby may like Duffy too! Guess we'll have to stop rolling our eyes at him.

 

[Imagineer5]

Michael did Paxton's haircut this year too! He was great!



And there's Norma, she did Paxton's first haircut last year! She wasn't there this year for us to tell her hello, unfortunately.


We had one afternoon similar to that when we went to MK after our break and the lines were just absolutely ridiculous everywhere we turned, so we had to settle for doing just a couple of minor attractions while waiting for the parade and fireworks. Since we have Paxton along, that's not as much of a bad thing as it would have been before.

LOVE her dress for 1900 PF & her Tink costume!! We had a great meet with Duffy too but I think it was mostly because he was dressed as a pumpkin and Paxton was all about Pumpkins this year. The backstory is pretty lame though, and we resisted on buying a Duffy for him. I'm glad Aria liked him!

That sucks about getting a bad spot for the parade. It is so hard to balance finding a good spot where you and your baby can see without having to stand in the same spot for an hour or two.

I'm glad Michael was great with Paxton, he was just okay with Aria, pretty unmemorable. We were in and out in like 4 minutes, and considering how empty it was it was kinda weird? IDK.

Yeah a couple days we literally turned around and there were just hoards of people, and we looked at each other wondering where they all came from! So weird!

I'm not a parade waiter, so I guess I shouldn't complain, but I've never had a problem finding a spot last minute either, until now. Oh well, live and learn. I want to see more parades from now on so maybe I will have to start holding spots!

The crowds and lines are what really bummed me out and made my husband say no more parks. I just couldn't believe all the people!! A lot of people said the lines weren't too bad once you got to them but when I saw 40 minutes for the Great Movie Ride I seriously broke down!!

I know I have said it a million times but Aria is just so adorable!! I love all the photos you have of her!!

I also love the pics your DH did get of you on BTMRR!! That is awesome!!

I'm sorry the crowds bummed you out! I don't mind them as much as DH does (sounds familiar...) because I just LOVE being at WDW, whereas Andrew wanted to be doing something.

YES! we actually waited like 20 minutes to ride the GMR! hahahaha

AWw thank you so much!

Love the picture of the first haircut ears! Too bad it wasn't quite as magical as you'd hoped, but at least you got some nice souvenirs. I'm excited to do Dug Baby's first haircut there too, but I'm guessing it will be just minimal actual hair-cutting, like Aria's. Right now, she has very fine hair and a bit of a baby mullet...but who knows in a year.

Granted, it was over a year ago, but I think on our last trip that both Mickey and Minnie were in the same location. That must have changed since then, I guess.

Beautiful Tinkerbell costume! Such a little cutie!

Judging by that last photo, I think Winnie the Pooh moved Aria to tears!

I never thought about that with Duffy. We've always thought that he's ridiculous, but to a baby, he probably looks ridiculously cuddly. Dug Baby may like Duffy too! Guess we'll have to stop rolling our eyes at him.

LOL Aria had a funky hair thing going on until she rolled over and started sleeping on her tummy...luckily it filled in quickly.

Yeah they put Minnie in the back with Daisy I think, in the circus tent. We didn't do that meet, so I'm hoping to do it this trip. Mickey was still fun though!

Thanks, the tink costume was cute but so uncomfortable for her, and she would NOT wear the cute little wings. Those lasted about 10 minutes...hahaha.

HAHA yes I have never cared to meet Duffy but I'm so glad we did, especially because she wasn't having the happiest of evenings and she really loved him.

 

[Imagineer5]

I thought this deserves its own post...Aria took her first solo steps over the weekend!!

Recently she has gotten super fast at "cruising" and knows to cruise over to her walker things, take them out and walk around with them, so I knew it was just a matter of time. She's obviously not running all over the place solo yet but I'm sure it's coming. So fun!

 

[Dugette]

Wow, congrats on Aria's first steps! That's awesome!

 

[khertz]

Go, Aria!

Watch out, Mom & Dad, nothing is safe now!

 

[Tropics]

How freaking adorable is this!

Definitely one of the BEST castle pics I've ever seen! We'll be there with DD at the end of January when she'll be 11.5 mo and it's looking like she'll probably be walking by then at the pace she's going right now. I wasn't planning on a pre-park opening ADR but after seeing this pic I've booked us into The Crystal Palace for an early morning breakfast just so that I can get a pic like this! I'm definitely inspired.

It's good to know that Aria wasn't too scared by PotC. I'm not sure if I will take DD on it yet. I thought that it might be a bit much for her but maybe she's too young to be scared...

I think that there's something about old men and young baby girls. DD is the same way! In fact, she's that way with pretty much all men... she's a bit of a flirt!

I'm enjoying your take on MK with a wee one as I'll be there soon.

 

[Imagineer5]

Go, Aria!

Watch out, Mom & Dad, nothing is safe now!

LOL it's already gotten pretty bad around the house, it's amazing what she gets into now. toys are totally useless it seems, she would much rather bang stone cup holders on wood furniture, rip apart books, and play with wires... luckily she knows how to go downstairs and get off of furntiure "safely" now...but the dog water fountain is still a big draw. Yesterday she was on the fireplace. hahaha

Wow, congrats on Aria's first steps! That's awesome!

Thank you she's just so fun, and each stage just gets better and better IMO!

Definitely one of the BEST castle pics I've ever seen! We'll be there with DD at the end of January when she'll be 11.5 mo and it's looking like she'll probably be walking by then at the pace she's going right now. I wasn't planning on a pre-park opening ADR but after seeing this pic I've booked us into The Crystal Palace for an early morning breakfast just so that I can get a pic like this! I'm definitely inspired.

It's good to know that Aria wasn't too scared by PotC. I'm not sure if I will take DD on it yet. I thought that it might be a bit much for her but maybe she's too young to be scared...

I think that there's something about old men and young baby girls. DD is the same way! In fact, she's that way with pretty much all men... she's a bit of a flirt!

I'm enjoying your take on MK with a wee one as I'll be there soon.

HI!! Aw I'm so glad you loved that photo, and it inspired you to do something similar! I hope you have an awesome time!! Hope you guys love CP! She wasn't walking at this point but still got the pic with her standing there. We have a trip coming up in 2.5 weeks...think i have enough time to get her from "first steps" to "running down Main St" ?? LOL.

Everything I read said that babies are too young to be scared by stuff like that, but I swear Aria knew when something was supposed to be a little scary! PotC we only rode that once with her, and we never attempted HM. But, I wouldn't NOT ride it, because you never know

Aria definitely loves her grandfather (my FIL) way more than her grandmother (MIL) ,so I guess it is an old man thing. How funny! Side note: i like him more too! Muahahah

 

[bellaally]

For the haircuts do you have to make an appointment in advance

 

[smile4stamps]

I've been off the DIS for a bit and I didn't miss anything! I guess I'm not the only one too tired to DIS lol.

 

[Chelley00]

Yay for first steps!

Although, here in the next few weeks you will be asking yourself why you wanted her to walk because she will be into everything

 

[Tropics]

We have a trip coming up in 2.5 weeks...think i have enough time to get her from "first steps" to "running down Main St" ?? LOL.


Aria definitely loves her grandfather (my FIL) way more than her grandmother (MIL) ,so I guess it is an old man thing. How funny! Side note: i like him more too! Muahahah

The speed at which these little ones progress... I wouldn't completely rule out going from first steps to a "brisk walk" down main street in the time that you have! Enjoy your next trip!

It must totally be an old man thing because we were out at a restaurant this weekend and DD was making eyes and smiling at yet ANOTHER old man! I think that she just instinctively knows who is more of a sucker for little girls! Meanwhile DH is getting a bit concerned about what this might mean for her later on...

 

[Imagineer5]

For the haircuts do you have to make an appointment in advance

We made an appointment but idk if it's totally necessary, might just depend on time of year.

I've been off the DIS for a bit and I didn't miss anything! I guess I'm not the only one too tired to DIS lol.

LOL last week was pretty busy since I was only at work 2 days instead of 3. I had time to write up about the next day but didn't match up the photos until today.

Yay for first steps!

Although, here in the next few weeks you will be asking yourself why you wanted her to walk because she will be into everything

Haha yeah she already is into everything! Still not running around yet but she's up to 5 steps before falling LOL.

The speed at which these little ones progress... I wouldn't completely rule out going from first steps to a "brisk walk" down main street in the time that you have! Enjoy your next trip!

It must totally be an old man thing because we were out at a restaurant this weekend and DD was making eyes and smiling at yet ANOTHER old man! I think that she just instinctively knows who is more of a sucker for little girls! Meanwhile DH is getting a bit concerned about what this might mean for her later on...

Hahah we'll see! That'd be so cute, looks like we need to practice a lot in the next 10 days!!

That's adorable!!

 

[Imagineer5]

First - next trip is in only 10 days!! Which means, I got to do online check in today!! Woot!!


Day 6 – DHS day
Well we finally made it to DHS! Can you tell which park is my least favorite? LOL we’ve already been to MK twice, EPCOT, and AK, and now finally are making it to DHS. Which is sad because RnRC is one of my favorite rides (and ToT is one of Andrews) but I just didn’t have many “must do” things for this park day. We still managed to pack it full, of course, and really enjoyed the day, and missed out on one show we were really hoping to fit in.

Anyway, Aria slept ok overnight but the rough evening for her meant for an early wake up – 5AM – we brought her into bed with us and slept for another 2.5 hours which was very nice, then we didn’t really dawdle at the condo but somehow still missed rope drop and made it into the park around 9:30. Andrew ran to get FP’s for TSMM and as I was walking around the hub I clearly missed out on every character meet because all the lines were closed. I will know better for next time, oh well.

So our first stop was ….. VotLM! HA! I’ve never actually seen that before (not that I can remember anyway). Once inside and waiting for the show to start, Aria was unusually fussy – another dirty diaper it turns out, but luckily the CM directed us to a bathroom nearby and said we can go back in the exit when we are through. Apparently this was a two person job because we both left to go change the diaper, but were back within 3 minutes and walked right into the show. After that, the show was pretty cute I guess. Aria enjoyed it though was pretty antsy to move around but generally an effect would happen and she’d watch for a while before getting wiggly again.

After that we stopped at the animation building because we were told Minnie was inside – YAY I can finally get some PP pictures with her – only to find out it was only sorcerer mickey, so we let Aria get a little floor time

and decided Aria needed a nap

I thought that would be the PERFECT time to go to One Man’s Dream, except apparently strollers are not allowed (even with a sleeping baby), which was really dumb IMO because there was no one there. Oh well, moving on - I was excited to ride Star Tours finally after the refurb! Walked right on while Andrew stayed outside and then we swapped.

After only 40 minutes, Aria was awake again, and since we were right there we decided to take a quick peek in the Honey I Shrunk the Audience play area. I wish we had had more time, or made time another day, because I think Aria would really have enjoyed crawling around.

Instead we crawled through a couple spaces with her LOL and then headed to the front of the park … to the BCC! Oh joy! This was my least favorite BCC, it was super busy, in the same area as guest services which was also busy, and there were only two (very small) nursing rooms. I didn’t really realize that is what they were until I pulled back a curtain and realized I just walked in on a nursing mother –sorry! Both rooms were taken and the only other place to nurse was a couch in the tiny main area – facing the entrance/guest services line, and no one would keep that darn door closed! Definitely not the privacy I was hoping for! But a nice CM took it upon herself to try and keep the door closed after people kept coming and going. About 5 minutes in, a nursing room freed up so I scooted in there. During this time, Andrew rode ToT I think, but honestly I can’t remember. Anyway after that, and another diaper change, it was time to head to lunch! It had been quite a while since I booked an ADR for 50’s Prime Time so I was excited to try it out again.

We checked in about 10 minutes early and spent about 5 minutes taking photos in the “living room” before heading in for lunch.

I remember being very hungry for this meal, while Andrew was not. Our “cousin” was fantastic – most memorable part of the meal LOL was being served about 5 different waters before finally getting to keep one – I don’t think that is part of the 50’s act hahaha, but it sure was funny. I think the first time she brought them out, somehow tried them (???) and realized they tasted like Iced Tea so they must have been in a tea pourer first, so she took back Andrew’s and my water but forgot Aria’s, then came back for Aria’s, then brought out ours, but forgot hers again, etc. All the while we hadn’t said a word (never even tried the tea-water or mentioned Aria’s water). Anyway it was pretty comical. Oh and we DID however ask for a small teaspoon – being the awesome parents we are, we totally forgot to bring food for Aria, and a spoon, ugh. BTW Disney baby food is seriously lacking and Aria had her very exciting meal of Gerber Applesauce.

The infamous waters.

I started out with some delicious onion rings – they were cooked perfectly, with a wonderful onion to breading ratio and the sauce was great too.

I also got the chicken pot pie which I stupidly forgot to ask about dark meat inside, which it had, but I just ended up eating around it and it was still delicious.

Andrew had a very exciting meal of chicken Caesar salad….

 
Aria was in very good spirits all meal. We were seated at a booth sort of in between two rooms, so there was a ton of activity and a lot of people walking by, most of whom stopped to say something to her and she was eating it up.

Lunch was delicious and we had a great time! I would definitely go back, though we don’t have it planned on any of our upcoming trips.

Continued in next post!

 

[Imagineer5]

DHS day continued!

After lunch, Andrew ran to get ToT FP’s, and we STILL had time to kill before our TSMM FP became available, so we decided to ride the GMR, which had a highly fluctuating wait time from 10-40 minutes while I waited for Andrew. I took some photos outside:

And then we spent about 15 minutes waiting for the GMR. Aria enjoyed watching the movie clips, getting some shoulder time, and was just being a cutie pie all around.

Once on the ride, she sat in Daddy’s lap while I took some pictures

 

And then we swapped and Andrew got some more photos. She loved a guy sitting behind me but he didn’t seem the type to want to chat with a baby so I tried to keep her attention elsewhere.

After that, we were finally able to ride TSMM. We have never had much luck using FP’s here, for some reason after giving our FP’s we always had to wait at least 15 minutes to go up and over to get to the platform. Today was apparently our day though, as she decided to let us be the first people in the right hand side which had previously been closed! SO we ran up and over and hopped right on. That was sweet. We also were horrible parents on the ride. Aria sat between us and we were both way more focused on winning than keeping her happy and engaged, but luckily she was fine letting her parents act like kids for a couple minutes.

Next up, since Aria was awake, fed, and happy, we skipped meeting the characters (regret this lol!) and went over to One Man’s Dream. It was closed in 2010 so I was excited to walk through it and it didn’t disappoint. Andrew really enjoyed it too.

Continued in next post again! LOL!

 

[Imagineer5]

Apparently my updates are photo-heavy haha...

DHS day continued again!

Next Andrew ran off to ride ToT with the FP and I followed to get a rider switch card, then I wanted to have a fun little mommy daughter time, so started with some photopass pictures!

Then I decided maybe Minnie was back at the animation building! No luck, but I decided to wait for Sorcerer Mickey anyway. For some reason, this wait was the hottest I can remember being. Of course, I forgot Aria’s shoes and the place was packed, plus I had the backpack, camera, my cell phone, and was holding Aria. Everytime I put her on the floor she promptly crawled away. So instead I just held her.

Of course, when I was the next in line Mickey had to take a break, but it didn’t last long and we were meeting Sorcerer Mickey at last!

I will say, it was totally worth the wait. She was SO CUTE. I could hear many people commenting on the meet too. A CM grabbed my camera, plus I gave our PP card, so we ended up with a bunch of photos which was really sweet.

By the time we left, Andrew had ridden ToT and RnRC and he met back up with us outside the Animation Courtyard. I’m so glad I added texting to our cell plan for we left LOL. We switched since it was time for Aria to nap, and I went off to use the SR line – BIGGGGGGGGGG mistake! Man I wish we had gotten a rider swap for RnRC too! ouch! I waited at the top for a good 30 minutes because they apparently decided to “close” the single rider line. Ugh! There was a CM change while waiting and the new person apparently had NOT been informed of the closure because he let us through and we all were not looking back of course. It was an awesome ride of course, gotta love the take off.

Whew! I still had to get on ToT after that, and had a RS card, but this time half of the elevators were closed! I waited outside for what felt like forever, then finally when I was inside I heard a CM calling for a single rider so was able to bypass much of that and get on the ride finally.

Andrew spent that time in AC shops perusing around. Since he was shopping, I texted him saying I wanted a particular mug I had seen in the animation building shop, but apparently he missed reading that because he had no idea what I was asking about when I came out of the ride wondering if he had so nicely went and purchased that mug. Oh well! Aria had a 1.5 hour long nap and then was hungry again so I used the BCC (this time a curtained room was open yay!) and we made plans to drive over to the Beach Club when I was done since we had dinner reservations there.

We were sad to leave without seeing BatB, but I’m hoping to squeeze that into our upcoming December trip.

We also still had to get dinner for our little munchkin, so we stopped in the BC shop but unfortunately their selection was equally limited and I think we walked away with a plain old peach. Blah. After that we checked in for our dinner and took some more pictures while waiting.

It felt like we were “home” – BC/BCV is definitely our favorite resort, and I am so excited to end our family vacation next June with 3 nights just the 3 of us at BCV! We both just feel so comfortable there, and walking inside we were both pining for it. It really made Andrew unhappy about staying offsite too, so I was happy that we both agreed on the onsite vs offsite issue. The $$ just is hard to beat, though!

 

[Imagineer5]

DHS day concluded!

So where are we eating? Cape May of course! This is Andrew’s absolute favorite restaurant. We have plans to go back in June as well, either with his whole family or just us when we stay at the BCV, depending on whether anyone wants to eat there or not.

We were seated after about 15 minutes, we placed our drink orders (sauv blanc for me, manhattan for Andrew), and then I ran up to get a plate of food.

Came back to the table and our server brought Aria a light up Tinkerbelle on her water cup – how sweet of him! It’s in our cupboard at home, and she just loves drinking through straws! So fun!

Andrew was in heaven yet again with all the seafood though he always laughs at the size of the crabs and the meat that comes out of them.

I went back up to try some salads

Sad my miniature molten lava chocolate cake was no more

I ended up giving Aria some mashed potatoes and green beans from the buffet, along with some noodles, but most of that was still very new to her so she didn’t eat much. It would be a lot easier now, as she eats a lot more finger foods and would really enjoy being allowed to scarf down some noodles – I think meals out will be even more fun during our December trip! (no, that wasn’t sarcastic lol).

It was nice to have an early meal, and no place to go after dinner, so we decided to go back to the condo and have a relaxing evening - I nursed Aria and put her to bed by 7:30 and we stayed up watching a bit of TV and drinking some wine.

DHS turned out to be a lot of fun, and actually the lack of things we “had” to do made it pretty nice considering we didn’t feel a tug to do a long list of things. Both lunch and dinner were delicious! We never made it back to DHS this trip, but do have plans to *finally* see Fantasmic (eating at MM with a F! package) in December, and we will see the Osborne Lights, possibly have some Buzz/Woody meetup, and see Santa Goofy, and maybe watch BatB. It will be a long time before I need to see VotLM again hahaa…but it made for a funny start to the day!