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

[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]

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.

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.

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]

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!

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.

 

[Gabes_mommy]

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

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



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

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

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

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

 

[jana616]

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

 

[Gabes_mommy]

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

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

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

 

[Pollito916]

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

Yay! I got that one too!

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

 

[Gabes_mommy]

Yay! I got that one too!

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

Yay! Congrats! Where are you hoping to stay?

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

 

[Gabrielsbigtrip]

Yay! Congrats! Where are you hoping to stay?

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

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

Mailed out a box for you today

 

[Pollito916]

Yay! Congrats! Where are you hoping to stay?

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

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

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

 

[loveysbydesign]

Lovin your trip report.

 

[Gabes_mommy]

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

Mailed out a box for you today

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

[Gabes_mommy]

Lovin your trip report.

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