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

[kmedina]

Seems like you had a nice overall birthday. Glad you got through getting the annual passes, TiW, and your Halloween party tickets so quickly. It is a bummer that the park opened at 8 instead if 9, but at least you got a ride in before breakfast. I can totally relate to your feeling of not getting in as much as you wanted. Kids really do take a lot of extra time that you do not really think about when you're planning. We have to stop to nurse them, change them, calm them down when they're upset, slow down during their naps, change outfits frequently, etc. I am really commando style when it comes to touring. Between the kiddos and Crap (who prefers a leisurely pace), I had to get used to getting a lot less done than I wanted each trip.

I have also been where your ADR (that you planned so far in advance) is just too far away. You are enjoying yourself or trying to at least and are not ready to go. We cancelled 2 last minute ADRs two trips ago for that exact reason. Sounds like your replacement lunch ended up being nice anyway. I love the pp picture where Aria looks like she is reaching out to touch Tink. You're right. It is a gem. I have always wanted to get a babysitter to have some adult time in the parks followed by an adult meal. Glad you did it. Too bad she did not turn out as well as you hoped. Putting her pajamas over her clothes is strange. Saying she ate everything when you found it was barely touched is concerning though. Hopefully, you have a better experience if you do it again.

It is a shame that your CG dinner was not good. Dropping that much on dinner stinks when it is not worth it. Thank goodness for your TiW card though to take a little bit of the sting away. I laughed like crazy when you mentioned the birthday cake you did not receive. That is so Crap. No matter how old someone is, I think everyone should have a birthday cake. I also feel like no one should buy her own. We've been together almost 17 years. Despite knowing how I feel about cakes, he has not even taken the time to order them for me on multiple birthdays. He has never had a birthday without a cake, but he just does not get it. Your replacement desserts looked good though.

The firework viewing place looks nice, but I see what you mean about staying in your seats at CG.

 

[kmedina]

Having the clock set 15 minutes fast is awesome. I may try that next time, since morning ADRs were hard on us. We were going to stay at Poly this trip but cannot afford it. The Tongan toast will elude me one more trip. It looks really good. Did you like it? It is funny that they cut Andrew out of the future picture on Spaceship earth. You and Aria look cute though. At least, all of your pictures appear in the globe.

I've done the Little Mermaid at California Adventure. While better than Nemo at Epcot, it was not much better in my opinion. It makes me wonder why they decided to add it to the Magic Kingdom. Maybe the line is not always dead at MK like it is at DCA though. I love Turtle Talk too. I know what you mean on not wanting to get called out. Xander was selected last time while I was nursing Connor. Crush asked to speak to Xander's parents. I did not want to have the audience focusing on me while I was nursing, so I remained quiet. Luckily, Crap (who was seated in a different place) noticed my silence and spoke up as Xander's parent. It was really cute though.

It is a pain to be near Soarin with a young one. I wish we had our stroller last time. Biergarten is another restaurant I really want to try. Hopefully, the food is better than average when we finally make it there. The show looks fun. I think Figment is cute too. It was Connor's first ride, so I am a little partial.

It's too bad that it rained through your break but at least you got the packing done and Aria took a nap. Both of my boys really enjoyed the straw discovery too. Xander enjoyed it so much that he did not learn to properly drink out of a cup until he was older. The only 2 times we took food to go at WDW restaurants (Mac and cheese since Xander slept through the whole meal) (and a birthday cupcake from Donald's Safari Breakfast), we were given the items inside kids cups. Both servers insisted. I assumed they used cups because one w family style and one was a buffet. It is interesting to see that they did that for you at a regular restaurant too. I like your birthday crown.

Reading your recaps of what you wanted to do versus what you did reminds me of me. I used to plan so much. It is still taking time for me to slow down my commando style to suit Crap's leisure style and the pace the boys can go. When writing my reports, I always think, wow, we did not get much done, did we! Even though it was cold, I hope your dessert was good. It sounds good.

 

[Imagineer5]

Hope y'all are doing well and that Miss Aria had a WONDERFUL first birthday!!!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

Thank you SO much!!

Hope everything is ok, can't wait to hear about your other trips!

everything has been GREAT!! Thank you so much for stopping by!

Second!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

LOL sorry to worry you

Subbing to make sure I do not miss the new one. Will catch up on this one soon.

Aria gets cuter every time I see her. I cannot wait to read more about her trip. You got a 3 bedroom condo for 7 days for $350! That is fantastic. I would not pass on that either.

Thanks, yes i know, the price is ridiculous for that amount of space! If only on property was anywhere near that price!

Sounds like Aria did really well on the flight. It reminds me on how well Connor did at 5 months. We just took him again at 21 months, and that did not go as well. The flight home was especially hard. There were 3 lap kids on the plane, and I joked with another passenger that they all took turns crying. While Connor was not the worst of tethered, he was not the best either. The teenager who sat behind us asked Crap if his flight was stressful when it was over. That was not a good sign.

I always overpack too. I forgot I promised Crap I would do laundry during the last trip, because he did not want to buy new swim trunks while he is trying to lose weight. one and a half checked bags were filled with clean clothes when we returned, so I could have done with at least one less bag. I will keep that in mind next time but do not want to do laundry again. I will likely just buy him extra swim trunks anyway if he has not lost enough weight to get into his smaller ones.

Glad everything fit into the mid sized car and that the argument was not too bad. It stinks that Bells made him wait 25 minutes and still did not come. I would have been upset if I was him as well. Although the portions were small, the flat breads looked good, so did the pretzel bites. I cannot believe you are 30. You look so young. Happy belated birthday. Cannot wait to read about it.

Yeah...8m was definitely our EASIEST trip by far

And no, not doing laundry again! Don't like wasting my trip time on it. Granted, now aria's wardrobe is about 99% gentle wash, line dry...hahahah...so I DEF don't want to deal with that!

Thank you for the birthday wishes! haha. We LOVED the tower, and would consider staying at BLT again just to be able to utilize it again. That first night with aria sleeping in the stroller is one of our best memories from the trip.

Seems like you had a nice overall birthday. Glad you got through getting the annual passes, TiW, and your Halloween party tickets so quickly. It is a bummer that the park opened at 8 instead if 9, but at least you got a ride in before breakfast. I can totally relate to your feeling of not getting in as much as you wanted. Kids really do take a lot of extra time that you do not really think about when you're planning. We have to stop to nurse them, change them, calm them down when they're upset, slow down during their naps, change outfits frequently, etc. I am really commando style when it comes to touring. Between the kiddos and Crap (who prefers a leisurely pace), I had to get used to getting a lot less done than I wanted each trip.

I have also been where your ADR (that you planned so far in advance) is just too far away. You are enjoying yourself or trying to at least and are not ready to go. We cancelled 2 last minute ADRs two trips ago for that exact reason. Sounds like your replacement lunch ended up being nice anyway. I love the pp picture where Aria looks like she is reaching out to touch Tink. You're right. It is a gem. I have always wanted to get a babysitter to have some adult time in the parks followed by an adult meal. Glad you did it. Too bad she did not turn out as well as you hoped. Putting her pajamas over her clothes is strange. Saying she ate everything when you found it was barely touched is concerning though. Hopefully, you have a better experience if you do it again.

It is a shame that your CG dinner was not good. Dropping that much on dinner stinks when it is not worth it. Thank goodness for your TiW card though to take a little bit of the sting away. I laughed like crazy when you mentioned the birthday cake you did not receive. That is so Crap. No matter how old someone is, I think everyone should have a birthday cake. I also feel like no one should buy her own. We've been together almost 17 years. Despite knowing how I feel about cakes, he has not even taken the time to order them for me on multiple birthdays. He has never had a birthday without a cake, but he just does not get it. Your replacement desserts looked good though.

The firework viewing place looks nice, but I see what you mean about staying in your seats at CG.

Yes overall the birthday day turned out great, though we will never use KNO again - you are right - the whole not eating dinner thing was really awful. Not knowing how to use Dr Brown's bottles? Terrible.

I now have three WDW trips under my belt, and can honestly say i have slowed down a LOT. But probably not enough for Andrew's liking hahah!

Having the clock set 15 minutes fast is awesome. I may try that next time, since morning ADRs were hard on us. We were going to stay at Poly this trip but cannot afford it. The Tongan toast will elude me one more trip. It looks really good. Did you like it? It is funny that they cut Andrew out of the future picture on Spaceship earth. You and Aria look cute though. At least, all of your pictures appear in the globe.

I've done the Little Mermaid at California Adventure. While better than Nemo at Epcot, it was not much better in my opinion. It makes me wonder why they decided to add it to the Magic Kingdom. Maybe the line is not always dead at MK like it is at DCA though. I love Turtle Talk too. I know what you mean on not wanting to get called out. Xander was selected last time while I was nursing Connor. Crush asked to speak to Xander's parents. I did not want to have the audience focusing on me while I was nursing, so I remained quiet. Luckily, Crap (who was seated in a different place) noticed my silence and spoke up as Xander's parent. It was really cute though.

It is a pain to be near Soarin with a young one. I wish we had our stroller last time. Biergarten is another restaurant I really want to try. Hopefully, the food is better than average when we finally make it there. The show looks fun. I think Figment is cute too. It was Connor's first ride, so I am a little partial.

It's too bad that it rained through your break but at least you got the packing done and Aria took a nap. Both of my boys really enjoyed the straw discovery too. Xander enjoyed it so much that he did not learn to properly drink out of a cup until he was older. The only 2 times we took food to go at WDW restaurants (Mac and cheese since Xander slept through the whole meal) (and a birthday cupcake from Donald's Safari Breakfast), we were given the items inside kids cups. Both servers insisted. I assumed they used cups because one w family style and one was a buffet. It is interesting to see that they did that for you at a regular restaurant too. I like your birthday crown.

Reading your recaps of what you wanted to do versus what you did reminds me of me. I used to plan so much. It is still taking time for me to slow down my commando style to suit Crap's leisure style and the pace the boys can go. When writing my reports, I always think, wow, we did not get much done, did we! Even though it was cold, I hope your dessert was good. It sounds good.

Funny - Andrew just pulled out that crown and put it on Aria's head last night!

I LOVED Tonga Toast and can't wait to go back to Kona. it was delicious. Waiting for them to build a DVC resort at the Poly bc then we would definitely buy in! haha. Our June trip I don't have Kona in the plan, so it will definitely be in our december trip! Yum!

 

[Imagineer5]

Well, I did the unthinkable. I abandoned my trip report. I thought about it almost daily, and for some reason it just got harder and harder to come back to the DIS. However I had some research for our upcoming trip in 3.5 weeks regarding the grand 1 yacht, so I finally bit the bullet and came back.

Thanks to everyone who has been posting on FB and here.

It's funny, this trip was actually our easiest we have taken with Aria, but at the time it seemed like it went SO TOUGH!

After that trip, we had three nights at POFQ in early December - I warned Andrew he was not allowed to make any comments about touring style and we ended up leaving the trip never having seen Wishes which I was really upset about, so I immediately contacted my DVC points guy to plan a trip for December 2013 - we are going back the 2nd weekend for 4 nights. I have NOT actually planned out our meals yet, but we are staying at VWL which I am super excited about. Now, to convince andrew we need to renew our AP's (they expire October 5th).

Getting ahead of myself...

So then in March I took a trip with my mom and Aria for 3 nights, we stayed at AKV. I just LOVE AKV! We had a good time. My mom and I are SO different, and she was not very helpful with Aria, and Aria was starting to act like a toddler (she was 13m) but it was still a good trip.

I have learned that these long weekend trips are almost more work than they are worth I am planning the 4 night trip in December, with maybe just going to MK and EPCOT - trying to not plan much at all. We will see.

Next up, is our family reunion trip in early June. First 7 nights are offsite at a 6BR rental home (DH's parents are paying!) and then everyone leaves and we get to spend 3 nights at BCV. SO SO excited for this trip. 10 nights is the perfect length of time IMO, since you really can plan some pool/relax time and not feel like you are missing out on other stuff.

 

[Imagineer5]

As for what I have been up to...it is going to sound silly but i have delved even deeper into the world of cute kids clothes! HAHA. I host shows for Matilda Jane, and am constantly buying and selling fun customs - so Aria's closet is pretty ridiculous right now. It has become a really fun pasttime though. I don't remember the timeframe we left off, but I did have a Minnie themed birthday party for Aria which went great, and she is now 15 months old! Crazy.

 

[Imagineer5]

I am going to *attempt* to continue, if only because I HATE when people do exactly what I did and leave in the middle of reports. Which, yes, is very hypocritical because it is now May and my last update was in December. HA!

So anyway, on with the show (need to remember font and color I used hmmm)

After the photoshoot, we hightailed it back to EPCOT as we had dinner reservations at Coral Reef. It had been a LONG time since we had dinner here, and I had read very mixed reviews. We were seated quickly but on the highest tier unfortunately.

we started off with some delicious drinks of course!

I tried to be adventurous and ordered a lobster pasta dish. Unfortunately it tasted like they used fish stock as the base for the sauce, so it was WAY too fishy for me. Andrew agreed it was too fishy!

However, one of their specials was a fish I have never heard of before, with a spicy tomato sauce. Andrew ordered it, and it was one of the best dishes he had all trip - and I loved it too!

Aria had a good time and probably ate a veggie squeeze packet for dinner!

After dinner we spent a little time in the WS, first in Mexico

Could NOT get a non blurry hat pic but I can't believe how tiny she was here!

We had a nighttime nursing session while we waited for our FP's for Maelstrom to come up, and then hopped on the ride before putting Aria to bed in the stroller.

Then we came across the Chinese walking puppet things and had to see if Aria liked them LOL

She chose a purple one and then it was really bed time for her!

No more photos from the evening but we both enjoyed a small drink each and walked a bit around the WS before heading back to the car.

 

[Bamadisdreamer]

Welcome back! I'm the one that stalked you down on facebook btw lol!

 

[Imagineer5]

Welcome back! I'm the one that stalked you down on facebook btw lol!

HAHA i was wondering which one you were!! I think you gave me the final oomph to come back with my tail between my legs! LOL!

 

[tinkgurl]

I just spent the last hour or so reading your whole TR! Aria is adorable!

You have me so excited to eventually take my little one to WDW. I am due in October!

 

[Imagineer5]

I just spent the last hour or so reading your whole TR! Aria is adorable!

You have me so excited to eventually take my little one to WDW. I am due in October!

Awww congrats!! it is soooo much fun, and sooo different taking little ones. I have never before stood in line to meet a character!

 

[Imagineer5]

While I'm at it, might as well move on to the next day!! On Thursday October 11th, we headed to Animal Kingdom, lunch at Y&Y and then a late dinner at Flying Fish.

First stop after entering the park a bit later than normal...Rafiki's Planet watch!

Ahh the days where you could plop her down and she'd stay there...!!

We had to visit the farm animals outside of course -

Future Vet?

Ahhhh one of the BIGGEST reasons I miss this trip - She wasn't yet afraid of the characters!!

Then we moved on to the Pagani forest exploration trail

Then it was nap time for baby cakes so I got to ride possibly my favorite ride on property...Dinosaur!!

Aria was still napping when it was time for lunch, so thankfully Y&Y was able to seat us at a table with space to park the stroller!! She just kept on sleeping!

These were delcious:

Andrews burger was...a burger...

And my lettice wraps were delcious. MM I LOVE Yak & Yeti!!

BEST PART - I'd go back just for dessert!

Aria woke up just as we were leaving (why can't all lunches be that easy!! ) and after a quick nurse, we headed over to Festival of the Lion King. Amazing show and it had been a looong time since we had seen it.

Aria sat through the whole show and seemed to enjoy it, though she couldn't see much with the way the bleachers were set up. Luckily we were seated right near the exit, which put us very near the beginning of the line for some character meets!!

 

[Imagineer5]

Photopass catch up!

I forgot to include some photopass pics from the previous evening at EPCOT - some of my favorite from the triP!

And then some from AK morning:

Ok next post will pick back up at present TR spot haha!

 

[tinkgurl]

Y&Y is so good! DH and I love it. And that's so great you were able to bring the stroller in there too. Seems like you have found quite a few places that let you! Did other people seem to mind it?

I love that photopass picture from Epcot. The last one of that group..Aria was just smiling so well!

 

[Imagineer5]

After Minnie, Andrew headed over to get the stroller while I hopped into a short line to meet Baloo.

I will say, I'm sure glad we did meet a lot of the characters during this trip, because on subsequent trips she has freaked out seeing characters from afar - even worse when they come close

Something about this silly girl makes me want to spend $100 on a very breakable snow globe...

And another photopass stop on the way out! AK Photopass are the BEST IMO!

Then we headed back to the condo for a refreshing dip in the chilly pool

Then we had a little bit of relax time in the condo before heading back out for dinner!

We parked at the Boardwalk since our ADR for the evening was at Flying Fish!!

We were seated quickly at the REAR of the restaurant with a bunch of other families - works for me! It was a late ADR (7:30PM I want to say - which is typically Aria's bed time). (Not sure what I was thinking...). About 15 min after we sat down a couple was seated nearby, not directly next to us but definitely in the midst of many families. The man was NOT happy - immediately they got up and left, huffing about being seated near families. Which I did find sort of funny, considering they WERE at Disney after all!! (BTW, Aria was an angel at dinner! seriously!)

Wine flight for mama!

Mmm cheese plate!

Andrews soup, must have been some kind of chowder.

Deleriously happy baby!

Vegetarian lasagne, it was pretty good. I missed my amazing swordfish special from the last trip with kalamata olives. I couldn't have swordfish due to BF'ing but didn't see it on the menu either.

Andrew did however order their swordfish and it was good, he says, but nothing compared to the last one we had!

After dinner we headed straight back to the condo so Aria could go to bed, and we relaxed with a bit of wine and TV for the evening!

 

[tinkgurl]

And I just realized we are going to just miss each other at WDW! Bummer.

 

[Imagineer5]

Y&Y is so good! DH and I love it. And that's so great you were able to bring the stroller in there too. Seems like you have found quite a few places that let you! Did other people seem to mind it?

I love that photopass picture from Epcot. The last one of that group..Aria was just smiling so well!

It really IS delicious. I loveee Sanaa too, so it's a toss up for food around AK. We love it all! Luckily we never really had an issue with the stroller (which is GIANT) being parked in restaurants or whereever. In Y&Y they removed two chairs on one side of the table and we parked it along there, so it was not in the way really.

And I just realized we are going to just miss each other at WDW! Bummer.

Aww that stinks!! I looked at your ticker - yay for BLT!! I'm jealous! ahah, though excited for our next couple stays at BCV and VWL.

How long are you going for?

 

[tinkgurl]

It really IS delicious. I loveee Sanaa too, so it's a toss up for food around AK. We love it all! Luckily we never really had an issue with the stroller (which is GIANT) being parked in restaurants or whereever. In Y&Y they removed two chairs on one side of the table and we parked it along there, so it was not in the way really.

Aww that stinks!! I looked at your ticker - yay for BLT!! I'm jealous! ahah, though excited for our next couple stays at BCV and VWL.

How long are you going for?

Oh! Well that worked out putting the stroller in place of chairs!

We are so excited about staying at BLT! We love love love VWL! It's such a nice resort. And the villas pool is usually quiet for the most part!

We are going from the 21-29!

 

[Dugette]

I am SO glad to see you back here! I'd been wondering what happened to you. Aria is my window to Disney future, after all!

You have been busy! Great updates. So strange that now Dug Baby is close to the age Aria was on this trip (she's 7.5 months now, so not quite there). I hope you do a report on the March trip, as that will be pretty close in age to when Dug Baby travels (she'll be 14.5 months). Sounds like it gets more challenging at that age and she may not love characters, huh?

So, this December trip you mentioned...we might overlap briefly. We don't have our flights yet, but assuming that works out, we'll be there 12/7-12/14.

Can't wait for more Aria updates!

 

[Imagineer5]

Oh! Well that worked out putting the stroller in place of chairs!

We are so excited about staying at BLT! We love love love VWL! It's such a nice resort. And the villas pool is usually quiet for the most part!

We are going from the 21-29!

Yay!! It will be our first stay at VWL, and over the holidays so i just can't wait!! YEP we will just miss you - we arrive may 31st!

I am SO glad to see you back here! I'd been wondering what happened to you. Aria is my window to Disney future, after all!

You have been busy! Great updates. So strange that now Dug Baby is close to the age Aria was on this trip (she's 7.5 months now, so not quite there). I hope you do a report on the March trip, as that will be pretty close in age to when Dug Baby travels (she'll be 14.5 months). Sounds like it gets more challenging at that age and she may not love characters, huh?

So, this December trip you mentioned...we might overlap briefly. We don't have our flights yet, but assuming that works out, we'll be there 12/7-12/14.

Can't wait for more Aria updates!

HI!!!!!! OMG I can't believe she is 7.5 months old!! How have things been going? Still updating your PTR? Need to check it out

It gets more challenging in some ways, and more fun in others!! I'll do little TR's for december and march too to give you an idea! Sounds like we ARE overlapping, just booked plane tickets for december 12-16!!

 

[Imagineer5]

I left off after a delicious dinner at Flying Fish and then a relaxing evening at the condo! We were able to sleep in the following day, with no plans for the morning! Our plan was to spend a little time at DTD, and then head to... the 3D party that evening! It was going to be a late night and we cancelled Kids Nite Out, and paid for a 3rd ticket for Aria so we could bring her (asleep in the stroller) into the party. More on that later!!

So around 10 or so (after Aria's 1st nap!) we headed to downtown disney! Just wanted to do a little shopping and we had lunch reservations for raglan road.

Gosh I need to put aria here on the next trip to show how much she grew - seems like at least 6" from here! haha!

Raglan Road was incredibly quiet during lunch. Side note - this was the ONE day I was worried about my stroller. Just something about DTD made me a bit nervous to park it outside out of sight, and we had misplaced the stroller lock for the remainder of the trip. Andrew got up a couple times to check it was still there. Thankfully it was fine but I just had a weird feeling about it.

Anyway...before lunch I had to find a "secluded" place to nurse Aria, which ended up being a side alleyway which I thought would be pretty quiet but ended up being a cast member walkway. I sat on a curb and attempted to nurse her but it was very awkward!

We *really* need to take photography lessons!! Andrew enjoyed a beer flight -

A leek tart

And a pot pie - everything was delicious!

Andrew's meal was great as well, and those fries were sooo good!

Aria didn't want to sit in the high chair but she happily played on the bench seat (no one was nearby to annoy!)

And OH MY GOODNESS I finally tasted their bread pudding!! MMMM!!! Just looking at this picture makes me want to plan a dessert/drinks date here sometime!!

Being silly!

She loves princesses!

Something I thought Andrew would enjoy for his bar!

Always have to stop to watch some glass sculpting action!

After that we headed back to the condo to get cleaned up, let Aria take her afternoon nap, and then head out to EPCOT!