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

[Gabes_mommy]

Originally Posted by 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.

The pool at CBR is amazing - we loved it. 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!

Originally Posted by 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... 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.

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


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

[CandleontheWater]

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

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"! 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!

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!

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!

[Gabes_mommy]

Originally Posted by CandleontheWater

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

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"! 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!

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. 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.

Originally Posted by Pollito916

Joining your TR - your little boy is adorable!

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!

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

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.

[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.



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". Gabe did have fun running around in the lab part though.



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



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



We quickly stopped for a photo op:





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.

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. 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.

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.

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.

[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

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?

[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]

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.....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]

Originally Posted by 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

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?

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

Originally Posted by 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.

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. 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.

Originally Posted by Lamping3

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.....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. 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. They do take down the age when you make ADRs.


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

[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.

[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:



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.

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



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



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



The detail work really was amazing:



I got this nice picture of my parents:



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





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



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".



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

[Gabes_mommy]

Next we headed to my favorite, Norway.





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:



Mimi:



DH & I:



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.

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





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:



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





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







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.



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. Such a boy thing to do, I swear! Needless to say I deleted those lovely pictures right away.

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:







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.

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.

[Gabes_mommy]

Originally Posted by 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!

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

[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!

Originally Posted by 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.

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. But he really enjoyed it!

at the MIL-beater! 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.