A Toddler's First Trip to Mickey's House with Mom and Gram! 11/1-Halloween pics!

[ptcrn]

So I have decided to write my first trip report, even though the trip was 7 months ago. I want to have a record of what we did to share with my son in the future, and to scrapbook by (since I am always so far behind!) Hopefully I can remember everything and make it interesting for other people to read! I am a long time lurker on these boards, haven't posted much, so it should be fun to start writing.

I took a ton of pictures (1400+ altogether ) so I will post a lot of those for your viewing enjoyment! I know I like reading reports with lots of pics.

The cast of characters:

Myself: Jen- age 34. Stay at home mom to David, age 2. I also work per diem at a local hospital as a labor and delivery nurse. Lover of all things Disney. I also love to relax with a good book, scrapbook, spend time with my son, and DIS!

Mom: Carol- she'd kill me for posting her age, but she's about 30 years older than me Retired administrative assistant, is a “snowbird” and lives ½ the year in Maine and ½ in central Florida. She and my dad are very active and love gardening, bird watching. She isn't as much of a Disney lover as I am, but she tolerates it for me!

This is a really old one of Mom and DS (almost 2 yrs ago) but she looks the same!


DS: David, age 2. At the time of the trip he was 18 months. His first trip to Disney! Lover of Mickey Mouse, Pooh, Elmo, music and running around like a crazy person. He actually had been to Orlando a year prior, but we only went to DTD shopping and toured a couple of the monorail resorts. So I was very excited for him to be able to meet Mickey Mouse and have a little Disney magic!

Who was not going: DH (aka Grumpy), G- age 33. NOT a Disney lover, unfortunately! I keep trying to convert him, but to no avail. Maybe once he actually takes a vacation with our son and sees the magic through his eyes, he will enjoy it more. He is more of a hunting, fishing and camping guy.

A recent one of the 3 of us:


A little of my Disney history: I went on a few trips as a child with my parents and younger brother (I'll have to see if I can dig up some old pics to scan). My first “adult” trip was upon graduation from nursing school with my best friend and fellow Disney freak, Diana. We had a great time, stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort, and I vowed to come back as often as I could! Fast forward a few years, I became a travel nurse and took some assignments in Florida. I got a seasonal annual pass and came every off day that I could, by myself. It was a little lonely at times, but most of the time I just enjoyed being able to do what I wanted, when I wanted, and not worry about having to please someone else! I also went every year for 3 years to do Super Soap Weekend and the Food and Wine Festival.

Then I met my DH, and in January 2004 we took our first trip to the “World” together. I think it is partially my fault he hates Disney, because I tried so hard to make the trip “everything,” I think we did too much. We stayed at the Boardwalk on rented DVC points for 5 nights and then moved to CBR for 2 nights. This was after a 2 night stay in Key West (which DH says was much too short.) I had a great time, but it was too much for DH! I definitely have more of a commando touring style, and he is all about relaxing and sitting by the pool on vacation. Or just watching TV in the room!

I've had a few short trips since then, usually with my mom accompanying me (we usually visit my parents in Florida every March.)

How this trip came about: I wasn't originally planning to go to Florida to see my parents this year because of finances. My mom kept bugging me to come down, as she missed DS, but I kept saying, “no, not this year.”

Then I got an email from Delta, saying my Sky Miles were going to expire at the end of 2009. I checked my balance and quickly realized that I had enough miles for a free ticket! Yay! The gears started turning in my head and I thought, wouldn't it be great to take DS on his first trip? My DH thought he would have to work, so I booked a ticket for me with DS as a lap child (Would that prove to be a big mistake???)

[mickeystoontown]

I'm in! I often say trip reports and pictures are what keep me sane until my next Disney vacation. You can contribute to my sanity.

[DWGal210]

Great start so far! Sounds like you guys had a nice time!

[mom2meiko]

looking forward to reading more!

[ptcrn]

Originally Posted by mickeystoontown

I'm in! I often say trip reports and pictures are what keep me sane until my next Disney vacation. You can contribute to my sanity.

Yay, my first reader! I love reading others' trips too- it really helps to live through other people until you can get back!

Originally Posted by DWGal210

Great start so far! Sounds like you guys had a nice time!

Thanks for reading! We had a fabulous trip and I wish we could go back tomorrow!!

Originally Posted by mom2meiko

looking forward to reading more!

Thanks for joining in!!

[ptcrn]

The Plans: Day 1 Sunday 3/29: Arrive to MCO around 9:40, head to All Star Sports via ME, and go to bed!
Day 2 Monday 3/30: Hang out at the pool, resort hop, DTD.
Day 3 Tuesday 3/31: Animal Kingdom in the AM, maybe DHS in the PM. Meet my mom arriving this evening and have dinner.
Day 4 Wednesday 4/1: Magic Kingdom. ADR at Ohana at 10:25. Maybe see Wishes at 9 pm if David isn't too tired.
Day 5 Thursday 4/2: ADR at Kona Cafe at 8:05. Epcot and head out around 2:30.

Then we were going to my parent's house about 1 ½ hrs south of Orlando for the next 4 days, having a family reunion. I was hoping I could convince my parents to come back up to shop at DTD again before we left on Monday!

So Sunday came and we headed out to the airport around 11:30. DS napped in the car, which was good! Our flight was scheduled for 2:40, and I had checked in online the night before, so I didn't expect any problems.

We get to the airport and I head over to the counter to check my bags, only to find out that our flight had been cancelled!! Apparently there was fog in NYC (we had a connecting flight through JFK) so they had to cancel everything. Oh no! I could see my perfectly planned schedule falling apart! I rather desperately said to the ticket agent- “Isn't there any other flight you can get us on? We HAVE to get to Orlando tonight!” A little over the top and dramatic, but I thought it might help! Plus I didn't want to pay for a night in a hotel that we weren't going to use (a Disney hotel at that!)

He punched keys for a few minutes, then looked up with a smile - “You're in luck, I can get you on a flight connecting through Atlanta.” Great, I'll take it! Only it doesn't leave for another 2 hours and won't get in to Orlando until almost midnight. But who am I to complain- it's a free ticket and I will get there tonight! Woohoo!

So we check our bags and settle in to the airport, now we have time for lunch. Our flight actually didn't leave too much later than the original one, we would just have a longer layover. So DH stayed with us and we ate in the one restaurant in our tiny airport. I remember ordering chicken quesadillas and they were so good! Once we had ordered though, we looked at the time and realized we really didn't have much time after all if there were a long line for security! So we flagged down the waiter and asked if they could rush it- no problem! We speed ate and headed upstairs where we said goodbye to DH (who was very sad and regretting at this point not coming with us). We made it through security with no problems and headed to the gate.

Now I digress for a minute to add some pictures, because this TR is awfully boring at this point without pics! These were taken a couple weeks before our trip, trying out the new “monkey backpack” otherwise known as the child leash! Normally I am not a leash sort of mom, but David was at that stage where he thought it was great fun to run in the other direction if you called his name! And seeing how I was going to be alone for the first part of the trip, I wanted to have it just in case. How do you think he feels about the leash?



Continued in next post....

[misskate]

I love those monkey backpacks. Easier than running after a toddler during that "MUST FLEE FROM MOM AND DAD" stage!

Can't wait to read more!

[ptcrn]

Continued from previous post...

The flight was fuller than full, no doubt due to the cancellation of my earlier flight. Still, it was a nice flight overall. We sat next to a nice lady who sat and read her book the whole time. David actually behaved himself on my lap (this flight anyway!) We read books and played with lots of different little toys I had brought- nothing held his attention for too long. Arriving in Atlanta I was a little nervous- we had a long layover here and I wasn't sure what I was going to do to keep him occupied! We found our new terminal and headed for some food. This is when I got a phone call from my BFF, Amy, who lives in Atlanta. My mom had called and told her about our flight change, and she drove all the way to the airport to see us! But of course she couldn't go through security, so she wanted us to come out and have dinner with her in the outer terminal.

Now anyone who has been through the Atlanta airport knows it is HUGE, and I was more than a little nervous about shuttling us all the way back out through security and back in again. David was at that stage where he just wanted to get down and run, and I felt bad strapping him in the stroller again when he had just spent all that time sitting. And I had 3 big carry on's with me! But we never get to see Amy, and it was so nice of her to come all the way out there; so we got back on the little subway and met her in the main terminal.

We sat for a little while catching up, and letting David run and blow off some energy. Then we decided to get some dinner. Gourmet food of choice- Wendy's! Here I actually have some pictures, courtesy of Amy. Here is “Ketchup Man” as she put it!






I am getting nervous at this point about getting back to the terminal, so we say goodbye to Amy and head back through security and back on the train. 18 stops later (ok, it just feels like 18!) we arrive. I stop to get an iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts and we head to the gate. There are hundreds of people sitting around! We settle in next to a dad and his little girl, and David thought it was great fun to climb over her booster seat on the ground. Luckily, the dad was cool with that- thank you sir! That killed a bunch of time. Then a sweet old man next to us to a liking to David and offered him some of his french fries. We chatted with him for a while.

After about an hour, they finally start boarding the plane- the thing was huge! We were seated next to an older lady who again, just read the whole time. But across the aisle was a family with 3 boys and one of them was exactly David's age, within a few days. They had the best time playing together, and a lady behind us kept making faces at them and playing peekaboo. She really kept them entertained! About 20 min before we landed, David fell asleep. This is the picture I took with my phone (sorry for the bad quality) as we were waiting to get off the plane.



We are here! Yay! We head off to ME and they check us in, in less than 10 minutes we are on the bus! I don't remember how many stops we had before getting to All Star Sports, but I don't think it took too long and the movie kept David entertained. We were the only ones to get off at Sports, and walked in to no line. I guess that's what you get for arriving at 1 AM! Check in went smoothly, they gave David a coloring book and a First Visit button, and I reminded them about the Pack-n-Play I requested.

Our room was in Center Court, room 5115. It was on the first floor, and easy to get to. We had a lovely view of the parking lot, but we aren't the type to spend much time in the room, so I didn't care! Once we got to the room of course, David was wide awake again and hyper! I apologize to all the people trying to sleep around us, because he was loud! These are pics I took at 1:15 am, while waiting for the PNP to arrive.









He loved the phone, I ended up disconnecting it and letting him run around the room with it so he could “talk.” The PNP finally came after about 20 minutes and we fell into a deep sleep shortly thereafter!

Next up: Our first day- swimming and exploring!

[ptcrn]

Originally Posted by misskate

I love those monkey backpacks. Easier than running after a toddler during that "MUST FLEE FROM MOM AND DAD" stage!

Can't wait to read more!

They are great, aren't they?? Thanks for reading!

[Sunset Cliffs]

Hi there! I'm subbing in.

Your son is SO cute, and your stories of him already remind me so much of my own son. I can't wait to hear how the rest of your trip went with him. I can't remember if we have already had this conversation, but when is is birthday? Dylan's is Sept 13 and he just turned 2. They are pretty close in age, right?

[ptcrn]

Originally Posted by Sunset Cliffs

Hi there! I'm subbing in.

Your son is SO cute, and your stories of him already remind me so much of my own son. I can't wait to hear how the rest of your trip went with him. I can't remember if we have already had this conversation, but when is is birthday? Dylan's is Sept 13 and he just turned 2. They are pretty close in age, right?

Hi Alison! Thank you! David's birthday is September 26th and he just turned 2 also. I know, I keep reading your stories about Dylan and thinking "David does the same thing!" They are so funny at this age!

[ptcrn]

Okay, I am working on the next update and hope to have it up soon, but in the meantime I had to post some pictures of Halloween!

My little Nemo had so much fun! We took him to my parent's house, my SIL's house, and to a "Trunk or Treat" put on by a local church. It was a great time! He was the only Nemo, so everyone commented on his costume.

Here are some pics.







Here he is playing the piano at my mom's house before going out!


This is us a few days before Halloween doing a "practice costume run"


And passed out with Daddy at the end of the night! (they were just pretending to be asleep, don't worry- we don't really let him sleep with a hat over his face! )


I'd love to see pictures of your little ones if you want to post them! Hope everyone had a happy Halloween!

[praisehisname]

Wow, I'm exhausted just reading about your trip down! So glad you made it safely and were able to get to sleep!

Denise

[teedee]

I'm in too! I love your TR so far. Your son is adorable! I'm taking my dear grandson, Carter who's 2, for his first trip next summer and I'm very interested in hearing how it went with your son.

I stayed at Center Court at AS Sports this past March and loved it. I enjoyed being towards the back of the resort because it was so quiet there.

Carter was a cowboy for Halloween, I haven't downloaded the pics yet, but I will and try to post one. Your son was so cute as Nemo!

Terri

[mom2meiko]

i'm so impressed that you not only flew down by yourself but with such a lengthy layover as well! i would have been nervous being alone with one of my kids under those circumstances. good for you!!!