It's A WONDERful 2015 - Feb Cruise, May WDW grand tour, and France/DLP! NEW 10/25 Nice & End!

[Angeejoe]

Hahaha that was very nice, especially while Aria napped and Andrew shopped, it was nice to just enjoy the scenery out there. I wish we had done that every day!

I did look up Lyra, thank you! I enjoyed that series. I told DH about the name and he immediately thought of the old currency, Lira, and said no way.

Thank you so much!! We leave TOMORROW!!

Really enjoying your TR! Have a great trip in France!

 

[Dugette]

I did look up Lyra, thank you! I enjoyed that series. I told DH about the name and he immediately thought of the old currency, Lira, and said no way.

Haha, so I guess it wouldn't help to tell him it came to me in a dream?

Thank you so much!! We leave TOMORROW!!

In case I don't get back on here before you go, I hope you all have an AMAZING trip full of pixie dust (and baguettes)! Cannot wait to hear all about it!

 

[UnderTheRialto]

So how was it?!

 

[Imagineer5]

Really enjoying your TR! Have a great trip in France!

Thank you so much! We had a blast!

Haha, so I guess it wouldn't help to tell him it came to me in a dream?


In case I don't get back on here before you go, I hope you all have an AMAZING trip full of pixie dust (and baguettes)! Cannot wait to hear all about it!

Thank you! I can't wait to relive it!

So how was it?!

We had a really wonderful trip! Work has been crazy and it has taken a while to get back into the groove of things but I plan to pick back up the TR today!

 

[purplelover88]

Glad you had a good time; I would imagine that it would be hard to adjust back to regular life after that long away in a different culture. Can't wait to read all about it

 

[Imagineer5]

SO finally an update!! Phew, September just disappeared on me while we were in our time warped trip. We had a truly FANTASTIC trip to France - it was really wonderful spending all that time with Aria considering we work full time and every moment spent with her is precious to me. I am SO glad we decided to add in the DLP portion, but seriously every stop we made was a highlight.

Now I am back and excited to continue talking about the Cruise, if you don't mind me going back that far! LOL. 2015 has been so great and busy and there is so much to talk about.

Speaking of that, I am about 31.5 weeks pregnant. Here is a pic of me from our time in Nice (actually this was from Eze) at about 29.5 weeks along.

Funny story - 2 days after we returned from France I had an OB apt at 30 weeks. My doctor went over the gestational diabetes test results and just reiterated that I passed and that I could "eat anything I want" then saw my weight gain between my last visit and the appointment and ended with "well, actually it looks like you have been!" he just laughed since overall I haven't gained much weight (lost some in the first 15 weeks, overall I've gained about 16 lbs but it was a 7 lb increase between appointments). I'll chalk that up to eating VERY well in France

Anyway things are going great on that front. Work was touch and go when I got back - I got back to find out that the new fiscal year project I thought was all set up to start on October 1st wasn't happening, so come 10/1 I had no work. Thankfully that day I found something and so that is why I was pretty absent after returning from France! All is settled now and I even got my leave sorted out for starting the week of thanksgiving - hoping the baby comes that week!

So back to the cruise! I left off talking about our 2nd at sea day! Now it's time to talk about our last full day on the cruise which was at Castaway Cay! Something we were both SO looking forward to!

This day started bright and early for me - I was awake again by 6:30AM or so - and headed up to the Cove bar for my usual "good" coffee (probably a mocha latte).



Then I creeped past my sleeping family and sat out on the verandah for about 5 minutes, realizing that we were not yet docked but about to be!



So instead I went in search of a good spot to drink my coffee and watch us come in to Castaway Cay! I found a nice area right up front on Deck 8 - good to know these very quiet spots are here in case we ever do sail via an inside stateroom.







I decided Andrew would really want to see this so I went and woke him up - he was very interested and Aria woke up as well, so I brought her back (PJ's and all!) and we watched the ship going in.





Eventually we headed back inside to get dressed for the day. I believe they said over the speakers that we could disembark at 9AM, so I decided we should check out Triton's sit-down breakfast this day (had to try out all the options!!).



Cute napkins



Aria had a "yogurt and fruit ship" that was cute but the yogurt was very sparingly used so it was basically a fruit bowl. We asked for some additional yogurt and she also ate some croissant that came with one of our meals.



Surprisingly there wasn't really much on the menu that excited me so I ended up with a whole wheat crepe with egg whites, and it was SOOOOO bland. Ugh I still remember the awful taste of this thing. Definitely steer clear! (Or maybe they have taken it off the menu? IDK).



Andrew enjoyed a lobster benedict however



Soon after breakfast we were able to head off the ship so that is what we did! From the navigator I knew that Chip & Dale were meeting at the post office in about 15 minutes, so Andrew went ahead with our stuff to find some beach chairs and Aria & I waited for Chip & Dale.



Of course, we had her new Chip & Dale stuffed animals with us!



A small line formed before they showed up but we were first! Woohoo!

Aria was very excited to show them her Chip & Dales



And they put them in their swimsuits! LOL





We got a big kick out of that! Such a cute meet, and love meeting them in different attire than what we'd see at WDW.

From there we continued on our way!

We really hadn't gotten very far when we stopped at the post office and still had quite a long walk- esp when I didn't really know where Andrew was! I had looked at the map and told him to stop at the 2nd beach (where the big slide area was) but didn't know if that plan was going to work or not.



I still have this dress. We are going to need to bring the baby on a cruise before she is too old for it - this is a favorite!



Along the way we spotted Mickey AND pluto out! So we sort of stalked them and were 2nd in line to meet them!







Signing her cruise pillow



Then we really did need to find Andrew as he was probably upset over having no clue where we were! Thankfully my big red stroller was easy to spot so he flagged us over and we got settled. Our first order of business was the slides!! We had to swim out to get to them - and the water was COLD!



I was impressed with Aria jumping right in though and swimming over



They have some fun water sprayers to play with



A nice view of the ship!


We climbed up to the top - the slides had a 38" height requirement (just like on the ship) so we decided to go for it with Aria. Andrew went down first and I had him bring the water camera down, then I sent down Aria and went down after her. While she was going down I could see she had turned around and was going head first (I'm sure that was an accident). Well she came out head first and was NOT happy. I have a video but Aria is crying and unhappy so I won't post it. This was our only visit to the slides this trip.

Since the water was so chilly, we decided to split up at this point. Andrew was very excited to go snorkeling (we had brought our snorkeling gear) and I brought Aria to the splash pad area.





After a while we decided to head back to the beach chairs and play in the sand. (We had also brought some beach toys)



continued in next post!

 

[Imagineer5]

Shortly after Aria started digging, Andrew returned after a fun time snorkeling. He hadn't taken any pics since I had the camera though! So we switched and I went snorkeling while he played with Aria.







It was pretty wavy and took a lot of effort to swim around but I did manage to swim in the whole snorkeling area before returning to shore. I am not sure if it was because of the windy weather but it wasn't all that clear under the water and there weren't really that many fish to see (at least in comparison to snorkeling in Hawaii or Grand Cayman which are my comparison points).



Still fun though!

I got back to shore and Andrew wanted to go back out snorkeling! LOL! So I decided to take Aria for a meet & greet with Captain Jack Sparrow! Even though he is Andrew's favorite, he chose snorkeling over that so we went to say hi for him.

Aria was a bit unsure of him (understandably) but warmed up after I exclaimed to Jack that he was my husband's very favorite!





Then we made our way to the splash pad for a few more minutes



When we returned, Andrew was waiting for us. I think we were all a bit chilly at this point and we decided to get dressed. The weather was turning from sunny to pretty dreary but I thought it would be fun to check out the bike rental to see the island.



This ended up being SO much fun! I am so glad we took the time to do this.





At the top of a tower we had some really cool views over the wet land areas of the island.



Some beach areas that were not cleared for guests



I peeked at the adult only area (looked nice!) and on another trip if we had a full day of nice weather, I could see putting Aria in the kid's club and spending some time there!

On our way back to the main beach area, the skies were turning BLACK! We could just watch the storm coming. So we quickly returned the bikes and headed towards the ship. I really wanted to find a Castaway Cay souvenir, and I *think* I ended up with a magnet that I plan to turn into an ornament since they didn't sell any ornaments (??) - but since I haven't actually had a Christmas yet to put it up I don't really remember. Andrew stopped and picked up a cute Disney Cruise Line small foldable cooler - which I will say we used a ton this past summer!



I took some walking pics as we headed to the ship





Then the skies opened up and we RAN!

We were at the front of the pack though since we had decided to skip lunch on the island and made our way back on the ship quickly. I think we stopped at Beach Blanket Buffet for a quick lunch for Aria before her nap, but no photos as the camera had been stored due to rain. While eating we saw the HUGE line to get back on the ship - WOW! It was absolutely downpouring now.

Coming up - a Kid's Club show starring the kids! Plus some adult time! We have a fantastic final evening aboard!

 

[Imagineer5]

Update on upcoming trips:

For Jan/Feb: Last week I ordered the tickets (Andrew has a 10 day Park Hopper, Aria has an annual pass - ordered JUST before the announcement so I hope HOPE my base got the order in on time before the price increase!!, and IL's have 4 day base tickets). (I still have my AP from the May trip).

I was able to book our Wild Africa Trek tour as well, so one morning of our trip Andrew and I get some time to do that while the IL's watch Aria & baby!

For May: I am booked in a standard room at Shades of Green (138/night). Considering that we can walk to the Poly/monorail I think I'll just stay there unless I can find some crazy deal elsewhere on property. It will just be Aria & me and I haven't told her about the trip - thinking of keeping it a total secret until the morning of. Baby will be about 5 months old, so I will need to bring a pump and deal with that (which is why I am only going for 4 nights). I could see deciding to bring baby along, but right now I am looking at this trip of "rewarding" Aria for being such a great big sister and giving her some one-on-one time - and also enjoying the big rides with her, which we would have to skip if baby comes (and Andrew stays home). My thought process might change once the baby is here, so I might book ADR's for 3 instead of 2 just in case. I haven't sat down and done daily plans yet but need to soon - our ADR date is Halloween!

After May: no plans. We'd like to spend a week out in Seattle hopefully next year, and a weekend in Texas. I would REALLY like to do Disney in December for Baby's 1st birthday and the holiday stuff, but that will have to be a cheapie trip so I am waiting on that. (Maybe will use the military villas at $349/week for that?). Or possibly a cruise, if I can get a last minute deal.

 

[Stasieki]

Great update. That goodness you got to enjoy CC before the skies opened up. We will have to do the bike riding next time. As of now we are booked on the Fantasy Western Caribbean next September.

 

[Imagineer5]

Great update. That goodness you got to enjoy CC before the skies opened up. We will have to do the bike riding next time. As of now we are booked on the Fantasy Western Caribbean next September.

Thank you!! Yes I am so glad we had a nice morning there at least! We lasted until almost nap time so made it for about as long as I was hoping (granted, had it been warmer I would have wanted more beach time). The bike riding was a great activity though! September will be gorgeous! The water will feel amazing.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

gotta say that whole wheat crepe even looks blah ... bummer breakfast wasn't better (well, Andrew's looked good)

Looks like some good character interaction on the island which is neat!

Too bad things didn't work out better with swimming and the slides, but the splash pad area looks really cool!

This is just the latest example of positive things I have read about the bike ride option on Castaway Cay .... if we ever do a Disney Cruise we will definitely want to do that.

Wow, glad you decided to head back early - a downpour while waiting to get back on the boat would just be not so much fun!

 

[purplelover88]

I still have this dress. We are going to need to bring the baby on a cruise before she is too old for it - this is a favorite!

That dress is absolutely adorable. Aria has a dress for every occasion doesn't she? I hope baby gets to wear it too. I also loved your matching swim cover ups too cute!

Well she came out head first and was NOT happy

I bet so, coming out head first into cold water can't be fun. Too bad the slides weren't more fun for her.

I *think* I ended up with a magnet that I plan to turn into an ornament since they didn't sell any ornaments (??)

No ornaments! That is completely undisney not making money where they can?? I too have started buying ornaments for every trip and that would have upset me. Good thinking with the magnet.

 

[purplelover88]

I like the idea of an Aria-mommy trip after the baby as a reward for being a good big sister. A surprise will make it even more fun. I would make the reservations for 3 just in case you change your mind though. I have always been curious about shades of green but seeing as how I can't stay there I guess have to see about it through you. A Christmas trip for baby's first birthday sounds delightful, a $349 villa doesn't sound like a bad thing if it means you can go to disney world! Would Andrew go on that or just you and the girls?

 

[Dugette]

SO finally an update!! Phew, September just disappeared on me while we were in our time warped trip. We had a truly FANTASTIC trip to France - it was really wonderful spending all that time with Aria considering we work full time and every moment spent with her is precious to me. I am SO glad we decided to add in the DLP portion, but seriously every stop we made was a highlight.

I'm so happy that your trip went so well! I am super excited to hear all about it! As much as we love Disney trips, we really want to get back to Europe (it's been 10 years since Italy!), but since it's not in the budget right now, I'll live vicariously through you!

I'll chalk that up to eating VERY well in France

Sounds like a totally reasonable overall weight gain anyway. Baby was clearly hungry for some French treats!

All is settled now and I even got my leave sorted out for starting the week of thanksgiving - hoping the baby comes that week!

I hope she does too! What a great thing to be thankful for this year. Glad you got everything sorted out with work.

Adorable! Though, I must admit, before I saw the picture I was thinking it would be pretty gross to stuff them in their swimsuits. By the way, love her dress! Really cute!

Well she came out head first and was NOT happy. I have a video but Aria is crying and unhappy so I won't post it. This was our only visit to the slides this trip.

Oh no, poor Aria! Yeah, I can see how that would ruin the slides for her. Hopefully she won't remember next time (whenever that may be).

Aria was a bit unsure of him (understandably) but warmed up after I exclaimed to Jack that he was my husband's very favorite!

I bet that was a switch for him, as he's probably used to being the favorite of the ladies.

Then the skies opened up and we RAN!

Ugh, this sounds familiar. Glad you got to do so much on Castaway Cay before it started, though. We pretty much did a bit of beach time and the splash pad, then hid under the food shelter the rest of the time before giving up and getting back on the boat (which, of course, is when the rain stopped). Snorkeling looks cute with the hidden Mickeys and all. The bike ride sounds fun!

After May: no plans. We'd like to spend a week out in Seattle hopefully next year, and a weekend in Texas. I would REALLY like to do Disney in December for Baby's 1st birthday and the holiday stuff, but that will have to be a cheapie trip so I am waiting on that. (Maybe will use the military villas at $349/week for that?). Or possibly a cruise, if I can get a last minute deal.

I vote that you get a last-minute deal on a cruise. I don't know what we're going to do next December. We still have the 4-night Dream that we booked onboard. We keep talking about how much fun it would be if you guys were there....and if it was a week on the Fantasy. But I think that might be just a fantasy, unless one of those last-minute deals materializes. And then part of me thinks that, as much as we loved the cruise, maybe we're better off saving up the money we'd use on this trip towards a European trip. Not to mention that there are some places in the US we'd like to get to sometime soon as well (mostly visiting family). So, yeah, I guess we're pretty up in the air - keep me posted on your plans.

 

[Imagineer5]

gotta say that whole wheat crepe even looks blah ... bummer breakfast wasn't better (well, Andrew's looked good)

Looks like some good character interaction on the island which is neat!

Too bad things didn't work out better with swimming and the slides, but the splash pad area looks really cool!

This is just the latest example of positive things I have read about the bike ride option on Castaway Cay .... if we ever do a Disney Cruise we will definitely want to do that.

Wow, glad you decided to head back early - a downpour while waiting to get back on the boat would just be not so much fun!

Yeah doesn't the crepe look terrible? Just dry and gross. The Castaway Cay characters were great - we hit them at great times with no lines and I liked the meets better than on the ships.

That dress is absolutely adorable. Aria has a dress for every occasion doesn't she? I hope baby gets to wear it too. I also loved your matching swim cover ups too cute!


I bet so, coming out head first into cold water can't be fun. Too bad the slides weren't more fun for her.

No ornaments! That is completely undisney not making money where they can?? I too have started buying ornaments for every trip and that would have upset me. Good thinking with the magnet.

Ha yes it is my hobby I suppose! I have so much fun with her wardrobe. We sized up on the cover up for Aria too (in May) so baby gets her smaller one! Now we will all match

Yeah I searched every shop - I'm not much of a t-shirt person and am particular with the quality of towels, so it was really the only souvenir I wanted/needed from the island! I'll have to take a photo of the magnet when I turn it into an ornament, I can't even picture what it looks like though lol.

I like the idea of an Aria-mommy trip after the baby as a reward for being a good big sister. A surprise will make it even more fun. I would make the reservations for 3 just in case you change your mind though. I have always been curious about shades of green but seeing as how I can't stay there I guess have to see about it through you. A Christmas trip for baby's first birthday sounds delightful, a $349 villa doesn't sound like a bad thing if it means you can go to disney world! Would Andrew go on that or just you and the girls?

Thank you! I think it would be fun, and yes the ressies for 3 would be nice just in case. I guess if baby comes along I could maybe plan out a morning with a babysitter to ride the big rides with Aria? IDK. She is so excited about riding the FL rides with baby that she may not even care she would have to miss the big ones.

For Christmas I'd hope DH could come along! Until the baby is Aria's age/size it will be tough to do the solo parent trips with different ride abilities. If Andrew can't based on leave issues maybe I can talk my friend Lynda into a trip

Adorable! Though, I must admit, before I saw the picture I was thinking it would be pretty gross to stuff them in their swimsuits. By the way, love her dress! Really cute!

bahahahahaha i'd have spit out my drink at this if I had some tea in my mouth! Hilarious. I guess the statement does sound pretty horrible before you see the picture! hahahahahahaha

Oh no, poor Aria! Yeah, I can see how that would ruin the slides for her. Hopefully she won't remember next time (whenever that may be).

I hope so too! She didn't love the idea of the Boardwalk slide in May, but thankfully was okay at Blizzard Beach so I never know with her!

I bet that was a switch for him, as he's probably used to being the favorite of the ladies.

I LOL'd at this too. So funny as I never thought of it that way - he's always been a bit dirty for me in the movie, and overall a bit too strange for me to ever really admire in THAT way - I think he is a fantastic actor, but DH is def the one into pirates lol! But again when written down it does sound pretty strange to be telling Captain Jack Sparrow that he is my husband's very favorite character!

I vote that you get a last-minute deal on a cruise. I don't know what we're going to do next December. We still have the 4-night Dream that we booked onboard. We keep talking about how much fun it would be if you guys were there....and if it was a week on the Fantasy. But I think that might be just a fantasy, unless one of those last-minute deals materializes. And then part of me thinks that, as much as we loved the cruise, maybe we're better off saving up the money we'd use on this trip towards a European trip. Not to mention that there are some places in the US we'd like to get to sometime soon as well (mostly visiting family). So, yeah, I guess we're pretty up in the air - keep me posted on your plans.

Hahha I KNOW! And even a 4 nighter from Port Canaveral could work then we could do WDW as well, so I am def not ruling that out. I just don't want to (CAN'T) spend 4K on it. (Well I just looked again and the 4 nighter would be 2600 for us, still seems pricey for only 4 nights). If the cruise doesn't happen then maybe we could at least overlap some time in WDW before or after your cruise - if you decide to go!

BTW Not sure if I ever told you, but Aria is obsessed with Izzy's Doc Mc Stuffins birthday cake. Mainly because we already have Mickey/Minnie decorations and she asked for a M/M cake for her birthday, I am trying to deter her away from the Doc cake, but she won't stop talking about Izzy's. For my birthday she REALLY wanted to make me a Doc McStuffins birthday cake but apparently Andrew forgot (and we don't actually have any small plastic figurines for Doc, only the other shows of course) and she was in tears that my cake wasn't Doc "like Izzy's". Totally random but I thought I would let you know that I get to hear about Izzy's Doc cake at least once per day since I showed Aria the photo you texted me! LOL!

 

[Imagineer5]

Moving on - final night on board! So I left off at nap time. During Aria's nap time we decided to veg a bit (and pack) in the room as well as shower and such. We had a busy evening ahead! Before we left on the cruise I heard about a kid's club show put on by the kids, and sure enough I saw it in the navigator for the day. Kids needed to be dropped off around 4PM and the show was to be at 5:15PM. BUT FIRST - there was some Mickey trivia going on around 3:15 that I wanted to check out! So I woke up Aria around 2:45 to take a quick bath, dry her hair, and get her ready for the night!

Here you can see we had been working on packing! BTW, we didn't intend on putting our luggage out, since we wanted to be first off the ship in the morning, but I didn't want to be rushing around late tonight.



On our way to the Promenade Lounge for trivia



Found some seats!



There were probably 15 groups participating in the trivia



Aria was excited to get the answer sheets



Now, I thought I would do well at this since I am a huge Disney fan (of course) and have read a ton of history books on the subject. At age 14 or so I remember buying myself the new Walt Disney biography and wrapping it for Christmas and saying it was from Santa. I knew my mom wouldn't buy it for me LOL.

Unfortunately the questions were SO hard that we didn't do all that well. I don't remember what (if) there were prizes but we def didn't win anything lol, but we had a good time. Aria even got one right! (sorry, not really remembering the questions!).

After trivia we had a few minutes and had been seeing some people walking by with fresh, hot pretzels! We found out they were serving them up on the top deck at Pinocchios (free of course). So we ran up there for a snack. We all enjoyed these quite a bit!



The view while enjoying our pretzels - you can see the day did not get any better unfortunately!



After those, it was time to drop off Aria at the kid's club. She was very excited to go again and we told her about the show and she was also excited about that (though I had no idea what they were actually going to do/learn).

Once finished with that, we had some FREE, ADULT time! What do you do during this time?? Check out the adult only spaces of course! Despite the iffy weather, we went up to the top of the ship where there is an adult bar. Yes it was only 4PM :-D it was vacation!





Bonus it was empty up there since there were very few people aboard that were drinking at 4PM apparently.

There was a little case of free desserts



And we enjoyed some (not free) drinks



It was a very nice way to spent an hour - relaxing with a beautiful view and good drinks!

Soon however it was time to head to the theater to get our seats. This was the only time we were allowed to take photos inside the theater! We got there and were in about the 5th row back as many other parents had the same idea to get there early!

Pretty soon the show started! They brought in the Kid's Lab kids (7+ I think) first (blue shirts) then the yellow shirted Kid's Club group came in. They seemed to start with the youngest kids (ahem, also the shortest) and Aria was of course in this group - she was only 3 years old plus a few days! Here she is going onto the stage



And here you can see her sort of stepping out of line lol



Once all the other kids were in place, she was totally hidden. Funny enough she popped out the side and got right in front! I was surprised at her courage to do so. Especially when a CM told her to go back into place and she didn't! She is usually very good at listening (and is shy, so it isn't really like her to hop out front!). But I wasn't upset because I could actually photograph her

Look all the way to the right!





The show was super cute - chaotic but what can you expect from 100 kids who just learned what they were supposed to do 1 hour before the show? Haha. It was a highlight of the day and we loved it!

We hightailed it out of the theater and practically ran to the kid's club knowing that line was going to get crazy long, and we had dinner to get to! Andrew got pick up duties today



And then we went to dinner. It was our final evening so we had the Til We Meet Again menu, back at Parrot Cay which is where we had our first night's dinner.



Aria and Riley had fun at dinner. However, Riley's parents showed up ABSOLUTELY SLOSHED. That's about all I'll say on the matter, never know who will read this - but we had quite an eventful evening with them. Grandparents seemed mortified.

Andrew started off with I believe a crab & tomato type dish (I can't find the menu online?).



And I had a goat cheese & potato starter which was very good - two of my favorite things!



Aria ordered a burger with fries and broccoli (I think we skipped the app for her tonight) and she enjoyed it.



I have zero recollection of this dish, but it was my entrée:



However I'm sure Andrew very much enjoyed his!


A dessert trio for me:



And a mickey bar for Aria:



Then we opted to take some photos of our table!



After dinner, there was a Goofy's Pajama party going on at the kid's club and we asked if they wanted to bring Riley there too so Aria and Riley could play some more. The girls were very excited about the idea! So we all headed up to the kid's club once again.



However when we got to the entrance, Riley's parents realized they didn't have her magic band with them - apparently they had never even brought her to the kid's club once! So we split ways - Aria went in to play and they went up to get her band. We hoped the girls would meet up inside.

Andrew and I decided to go do some more adult area exploring of the ship. First we headed to the duty free shop to check it out - I think we did end up buying two bottles of liquor.



And then we ended up at the Cadillac Lounge


This was nearly empty but had a singer/pianist playing some beautiful music. I think we both enjoyed a martini before calling it a night.



When we went to pick up Aria, Riley & her dad were playing in the kid's club and Aria hadn't seen them so she was off playing with some boy on the slides (I was surprised to see her dad in there? Apparently she was too nervous to go in by herself so they let him in too, but surprised they allowed that). So the playdate was a bust but Aria still enjoyed herself. We headed back to the room.

Final towel animal of the trip:



And they dropped off the photo mat as well!


Thankfully we were able to go right to sleep as it had been a very long day and we had an early morning the next day!!

I will write up about our upcoming 3 nights in the Florida Keys, hope you don't mind! Then I'll move on to my May trip which included 2 nights at the Boardwalk, 7 at Bonnet Creek with my friend Lynda and her bf Aron, and then 2 nights at Universal's cabana bay. After that we'll talk about France! Hope you'll all stick around!

 

[Dugette]

Hahha I KNOW! And even a 4 nighter from Port Canaveral could work then we could do WDW as well, so I am def not ruling that out. I just don't want to (CAN'T) spend 4K on it. (Well I just looked again and the 4 nighter would be 2600 for us, still seems pricey for only 4 nights). If the cruise doesn't happen then maybe we could at least overlap some time in WDW before or after your cruise - if you decide to go!

It would be awesome if we could make something work. The danger in the 4-nighter is that it's Monday-Friday, which almost necessitates weekends at WDW before and after, then things spiral out of control (well, at least that's how our May trip came to be...) I wouldn't want the land/sea 4-nighter to end up costing as much as just a 7-night cruise. My original thought was to only get Christmas party tickets (no park tickets or APs), then just enjoy the resorts and Downtown Disney the rest of the time. Oh, and Trader Sam's. But I think it would be really hard to be right there, knowing there are new attractions open and such, and not go to them (thinking of the Frozen ride, new DHS stuff, new AK stuff, whatever is open by the end of 2016).

$2600 for 4 people isn't terrible (well, for a Disney Cruise, I mean). What room category is that? For reference, our booking on 12/5/16 with the 10% discount is about $2350 and that's a Category 4B (same as last time, just across the hall, since we loved our room but the other side has the island views). I wonder if I can reserve more than one room with the onboard booking discount? I wish these cruises were cheaper! (well, and that my standards weren't so high - I am kind-of intrigued by the magic portholes in the interior staterooms, but the cheapest one there, with the discount, is still about $1900 - a bigger room, better location, and a verandah might be worth $100/night to me). Oh, one bonus of the December cruise that I didn't realize when booking is that it's one of the Very Merrytime cruises with all the holiday stuff. Anyway, I'm babbling - let me know if you find any deals!

BTW Not sure if I ever told you, but Aria is obsessed with Izzy's Doc Mc Stuffins birthday cake. Mainly because we already have Mickey/Minnie decorations and she asked for a M/M cake for her birthday, I am trying to deter her away from the Doc cake, but she won't stop talking about Izzy's. For my birthday she REALLY wanted to make me a Doc McStuffins birthday cake but apparently Andrew forgot (and we don't actually have any small plastic figurines for Doc, only the other shows of course) and she was in tears that my cake wasn't Doc "like Izzy's". Totally random but I thought I would let you know that I get to hear about Izzy's Doc cake at least once per day since I showed Aria the photo you texted me! LOL!

That's hilarious. I told Izzy this tonight and she was very thoughtful for a moment, then smiled and was like, "Her should have Doc McStuffins too!" (I'm not sure if she was referring to you or Aria on that). It's ironic, as Izzy was actually massively disappointed at the unveiling of her cake because it was inspired by looking through our cake person's Facebook feed and seeing this one:



I told Izzy hers would be smaller and different, but it took her awhile to accept this little one:



(It was still WAY too much cake for our little gathering! )

Interestingly, we actually do have a little Doc figurine - I found this one on clearance for like $2 during Target's last big toy blowout: http://www.amazon.com/Just-Play-90808-Doc-McStuffins/dp/B00JNA68YK

You're welcome to borrow it. I hope you enjoyed your non-Doc cake.

 

[Dugette]

Unfortunately the questions were SO hard that we didn't do all that well. I don't remember what (if) there were prizes but we def didn't win anything lol, but we had a good time. Aria even got one right! (sorry, not really remembering the questions!).

I think I've heard before that those trivia things can be pretty hard. We didn't end up doing one, but I think Dug had expressed interest in it. I didn't really care - as much as I like Disney, I'm not a big trivia buff and would probably do terribly. Way to go, Aria, for getting one right!

Once finished with that, we had some FREE, ADULT time! What do you do during this time?? Check out the adult only spaces of course!

Yep, sounds right to me!

Yum, this all looks great!

she was only 3 years old plus a few days!

That kind of just freaked me out, as I always think of Aria as "older", but Izzy is (slightly) older than that right now! Time goes way too fast.

The show was super cute - chaotic but what can you expect from 100 kids who just learned what they were supposed to do 1 hour before the show? Haha. It was a highlight of the day and we loved it!

Sounds like fun, I didn't realize they did something like that. Glad you managed to get some pictures of Aria!

However, Riley's parents showed up ABSOLUTELY SLOSHED. That's about all I'll say on the matter, never know who will read this - but we had quite an eventful evening with them. Grandparents seemed mortified.

WOW. So, I guess you weren't the only ones drinking at 4pm. All I can think is that maybe they went to one of the Mixology classes. Because the one we went to was INSANE! I think all of us, as we left, were just trying to walk straight while going to get our kids from the clubs/nursery. Sounds like an interesting dinner.

Then we opted to take some photos of our table!

Why didn't we think of that? Well, I know I have some pictures or at least some video that our tablemates were in. But we should have posed together, since we actually got along well and all.

So the playdate was a bust but Aria still enjoyed herself.

Sorry it didn't work out, but glad Aria had fun anyway.

I will write up about our upcoming 3 nights in the Florida Keys, hope you don't mind! Then I'll move on to my May trip which included 2 nights at the Boardwalk, 7 at Bonnet Creek with my friend Lynda and her bf Aron, and then 2 nights at Universal's cabana bay. After that we'll talk about France! Hope you'll all stick around!

Of course, I can't wait to hear about all of these things!

 

[Imagineer5]

It would be awesome if we could make something work. The danger in the 4-nighter is that it's Monday-Friday, which almost necessitates weekends at WDW before and after, then things spiral out of control (well, at least that's how our May trip came to be...) I wouldn't want the land/sea 4-nighter to end up costing as much as just a 7-night cruise. My original thought was to only get Christmas party tickets (no park tickets or APs), then just enjoy the resorts and Downtown Disney the rest of the time. Oh, and Trader Sam's. But I think it would be really hard to be right there, knowing there are new attractions open and such, and not go to them (thinking of the Frozen ride, new DHS stuff, new AK stuff, whatever is open by the end of 2016).

$2600 for 4 people isn't terrible (well, for a Disney Cruise, I mean). What room category is that? For reference, our booking on 12/5/16 with the 10% discount is about $2350 and that's a Category 4B (same as last time, just across the hall, since we loved our room but the other side has the island views). I wonder if I can reserve more than one room with the onboard booking discount? I wish these cruises were cheaper! (well, and that my standards weren't so high - I am kind-of intrigued by the magic portholes in the interior staterooms, but the cheapest one there, with the discount, is still about $1900 - a bigger room, better location, and a verandah might be worth $100/night to me). Oh, one bonus of the December cruise that I didn't realize when booking is that it's one of the Very Merrytime cruises with all the holiday stuff. Anyway, I'm babbling - let me know if you find any deals!


That's hilarious. I told Izzy this tonight and she was very thoughtful for a moment, then smiled and was like, "Her should have Doc McStuffins too!" (I'm not sure if she was referring to you or Aria on that). It's ironic, as Izzy was actually massively disappointed at the unveiling of her cake because it was inspired by looking through our cake person's Facebook feed and seeing this one:



I told Izzy hers would be smaller and different, but it took her awhile to accept this little one:



(It was still WAY too much cake for our little gathering! )

Interestingly, we actually do have a little Doc figurine - I found this one on clearance for like $2 during Target's last big toy blowout: http://www.amazon.com/Just-Play-90808-Doc-McStuffins/dp/B00JNA68YK

You're welcome to borrow it. I hope you enjoyed your non-Doc cake.

We may also just do WDW for a long weekend sort of trip, to save some $$ vs the Cruise plus Disney (esp since Aria and I have AP's anyway...) and it would be a fun way to celebrate baby's 1st birthday. We shall see! That price was for a 5B I think? Family stateroom with verandah. I do love the idea of the holiday cruise! That is actually one reason I would really love to do it.

LOL I am sorry Izzy was sad about her cake! It turned out very cute, and was plenty for your group so I can see why you didn't do the two tier! Funny she noticed but glad she got over it quickly.

I think I've heard before that those trivia things can be pretty hard. We didn't end up doing one, but I think Dug had expressed interest in it. I didn't really care - as much as I like Disney, I'm not a big trivia buff and would probably do terribly. Way to go, Aria, for getting one right!


Yep, sounds right to me!


Yum, this all looks great!


That kind of just freaked me out, as I always think of Aria as "older", but Izzy is (slightly) older than that right now! Time goes way too fast.


Sounds like fun, I didn't realize they did something like that. Glad you managed to get some pictures of Aria!


WOW. So, I guess you weren't the only ones drinking at 4pm. All I can think is that maybe they went to one of the Mixology classes. Because the one we went to was INSANE! I think all of us, as we left, were just trying to walk straight while going to get our kids from the clubs/nursery. Sounds like an interesting dinner.


Why didn't we think of that? Well, I know I have some pictures or at least some video that our tablemates were in. But we should have posed together, since we actually got along well and all.


Sorry it didn't work out, but glad Aria had fun anyway.


Of course, I can't wait to hear about all of these things!

The timing is crazy when writing about our kids from last November and February (your Aulani trip) I was just commenting on how little Izzy looked in Hawaii.

They didn't go to a mixology class. In fact they told us about 10,000 times how Riley had slept from about 6PM the night before until 4PM that day and how amazing and fantastic that was. So I think they were just drinking in their room (I didn't ask how they got blitzed LMAO).

 

[Imagineer5]

So my 180 day mark is in just over a week for my April/May weekend trip! And flights come out on Southwest next week! I already decided if flights are cheaper coming home on Tuesday vs. Monday then we will stay an extra night - haha. Currently this is my plan:

Thursday April 28th - fly in early (usual flight arrives at 9AM, at resort by 10). Check in at Shades of Green then head to MK for the day. No ADR's in case of flight delays, but we'll prob do Sleepy Hollow or Pinocchios for dinner.

Friday April 29th - Hollywood & Vine pre park opening ADR, spend maybe an hour at DHS (possibly ride ToT) then head to EPCOT for the rest of the day. Dinner at Akershus (hoping Anna & Elsa might join the restaurant? or else grab a FP for them in the Norway pavilion. Currently it states the Maelstrom transformation should be open 5/1 but hoping that A&E meet is here now). Also plan to ride Test Track and Soarin if it has reopened (it will be closed in Feb, boo).

Saturday April 30th - Crystal Palace 8AM, then MK for the day. Dinner at 1900 Park Fare. We'll get FP's for the mountains!

Sunday May 1st - Chef Mickeys breakfast. Free morning - possibly get FP for the new Maelstrom frozen reincarnation if it reopens and hop over there. Also have been considering the perfectly princess tea party thing at the GF (we'd skip CM if we did that). Afternoon - head to AK for the evening, assuming that the park hours have been extended and the new Rivers of Light show is going on. Dinner at Yak & Yeti unless there is some sort of package deal for reserved seating for the nighttime show.

Monday May 2nd - BoG 8AM then MK for the morning before our afternoon flight home. Unless we stay an extra night of course lol!

One thing I was thinking of is that babysitter we used at Universal last August? If she is still doing what she is doing, I could see hiring her to come along for a day or two. At $15 per hour (and she has AP's) it would be worth it, if baby comes on the trip. Still undecided on that point, but I will be making the ADR's to cover her just in case.

For some reason this trip it is was tough to narrow down the ressies. Maybe because we are going to SO many places during our 12 nights in Jan/Feb and also because so many plans are up in the air due to new things opening (hopefully).



On a personal non-Disney note - I'm 33.5 weeks along and my migraines have gotten so so unbearable that my doc has referred me to a specialist from the hospital. I have an appointment with him today, so I am anxious to see what they will be able to do for my head. It's consumed me the last couple of weeks.