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

[Imagineer5]

To round off our day, we headed to 1900 Park Fare for dinner!

This was actually a favorite of Lynda's from a previous visit so we agreed right away to eat here.

Check in went smoothly and soon we were taking our picture

Side note - she made it official on Facebook so I can comment that Lynda and Aron are engaged!

also super exciting and not yet official but will be soon, she is pregnant. I hinted at that earlier but she's had a couple ultrasounds now and it seems way more real now. I just wish she lived closer, as I am SO SO excited my bestie is pregnant. Funny enough, she is about 10 weeks preggo, which is what I was during this trip.

Anyway back to dinner -

Do you recognize this dress?

It appeared during our first night of our cruise, when Andrew fed Aria wasabi accidentally? Which resulted in her being sick at our table and furthermore sick at the bathroom? Wellllllll this dress is bad luck I think...

My plate: notice those mashed potatoes? I go up for an entire plate of them in a little bit...

Soon prince charming came by. Aria was still fine at this point, although coughing a bit as she had been all day.

And Cinderella loved her carousel dress

Aria is *not* a villain type girl (I agree) so she doesn't really know what to make of meeting the evil stepmother and step sisters.

Learning to curtsey, that was cute

Aria was still seemingly fine so we got some desserts

But soon afterwards had such a coughing fit she ended up throwing up.

Earlier in the night I had been telling Lynda and Aron about the cruise because the dress reminded me of that night, and here it was hours later and it was happening all over again!! Luckily we were on our way out anyway and skipped any swim time and instead opted for an early night to bed, hoping Aria would be feeling better in the morning!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Welcome back! I can understand being torn about not having Maya there but wanting time with Aria ... guess it works out for the best though as you had that time but will get to take Maya in December

Thanks for writing up that EMH review - seems like you had a blast and I think it is a great option, especially for people on shorter trips. I see some people saying it is a slippery slope but that feels like being upset at something that might happen - as currently constructed I don't really see a downside to Disney offering what they are

looks like fun at Universal - and cool that you found a number of small hidden things like that water slide and ball shooter thing. I always thought it was a weird set up that you had to have a kid to ride the pteranadon flyers (though I thought I read they were modifying it so that adults could ride alone)

Sorry that Aria got sick again ... and in the same dress! Even if just coincidence you are going to think about it every time you see the dress again.

Love the look on her face in the picture with Lady Tremaine

And congrats to Lynda and Aaron - well, double congrats actually!

 

[Dugette]

And YES, I did surprise Aria completely. She had asked Andrew to go to a park (playground) that weekened. So at 3:15AM I went in to her room and woke her up, got her dressed and then said she needed to wear the purple magic band. I asked her if she knew why she needed it and she said "to go to the park?" kind of sleepily. I asked what kind of park she thought we were going to and told her to look at the magic band and she confusedly said "Disney?" and I said we were going just the two of us and she immediately perked up. So excited! She was wide awake then and told me all weekend long how happy she was I surprised her with a trip to Disney!

That's awesome - her reaction kind-of has me tearing up. So sweet!

Update - thanks to an unexpected SREC deposit into our account, I've booked Shades of Green for December 8-13! (SREC are these solar renewable energy credits we get for having a solar system installed on our house. I don't account for them in our annual budget because they are totally randomly deposited and the amount is always fluctuating, but we should technically get 12 SREC credits each year, each one with an approximate value of $420!). Before mentioning Disney, I asked Andrew if he wanted to split the latest deposit and he agreed LOL. Sooo that just about paid for our Shades of Green stay! (we got 2 credits).

Wow, that's super awesome! Wish somebody would deposit unexpected money in my bank account. That actually reminds me - I have a PIN code from Disney that would cover our visit - I should consider booking something just to have it if we need it...

It will most likely just be me and the girls. By then Maya will have just turned 1 though so hopefully I'll be able to do it on my own. Maybe I'll try and limit buffets that trip, as that seems the most daunting lol trying to carry Maya (even if she's walking I'm sure she will be waddling away from me if I try to bring her up to the buffet line) and get food for Aria and myself. Although I guess I can use a carrier or something. I'll also have to plan just 1 afternoon with the babysitting service I used at Universal so that Aria can ride some big rides, and otherwise we'll be sticking to the small ones. Or maybe Andrew will come to his senses and decide to come

I think that will be a good age to take Maya - Izzy wasn't much older than that on her first trip. Maybe you can wear her in a carrier while going up to buffets? Or head to the family-style places. If we do end up at WDW and enter any parks, we'd be happy to help watch Maya so you can go on the big rides.

Cute photo - she just looks so happy!

While short, this is definitely a favorite ride!

That looks really fun - I'm sure Izzy would love it.

One positive for not drinking alcohol is that I could always share my fun drinks with Aria, and she enjoyed this milkshake very much.

Nice!

We did not order dessert, but they brought this out for Lynda as she was just a day or so away from her birthday!

Since it's May again, I'm guessing Lynda's birthday is soon, so happy birthday to her!

Unfortunately she only slept about 20 minutes before a coughing fit woke her up and kept her awake poor thing!

Aw, poor girl!

It's so random and hidden, there was never a wait for it. I went down it a couple times, plus Lynda and Aron went - I think Aria got to go more than 10 times in a row!

Wow, I bet Aria loved that! What fun!

Side note - she made it official on Facebook so I can comment that Lynda and Aron are engaged!

Yay, congratulations to them! They were both so nice when we met and seem like a great couple.

also super exciting and not yet official but will be soon, she is pregnant. I hinted at that earlier but she's had a couple ultrasounds now and it seems way more real now. I just wish she lived closer, as I am SO SO excited my bestie is pregnant. Funny enough, she is about 10 weeks preggo, which is what I was during this trip.

That's so awesome! I'm sure they will be great parents.

It appeared during our first night of our cruise, when Andrew fed Aria wasabi accidentally? Which resulted in her being sick at our table and furthermore sick at the bathroom? Wellllllll this dress is bad luck I think...

Ugh, not good.

But soon afterwards had such a coughing fit she ended up throwing up.

Poor girl! I hope she was feeling better in the morning!

 

[Imagineer5]

Welcome back! I can understand being torn about not having Maya there but wanting time with Aria ... guess it works out for the best though as you had that time but will get to take Maya in December

Thanks for writing up that EMH review - seems like you had a blast and I think it is a great option, especially for people on shorter trips. I see some people saying it is a slippery slope but that feels like being upset at something that might happen - as currently constructed I don't really see a downside to Disney offering what they are

looks like fun at Universal - and cool that you found a number of small hidden things like that water slide and ball shooter thing. I always thought it was a weird set up that you had to have a kid to ride the pteranadon flyers (though I thought I read they were modifying it so that adults could ride alone)

Sorry that Aria got sick again ... and in the same dress! Even if just coincidence you are going to think about it every time you see the dress again.

Love the look on her face in the picture with Lady Tremaine

And congrats to Lynda and Aaron - well, double congrats actually!

Yeah the way the party is held now, I don't really see it having an affect at all on crowds (but I also think it can't hold up if it continues to have such poor numbers). Either way we had fun even if they don't do it again!

I didn't hear that about the pteranadon flyers! I Hope they also add the express pass option to that.

Well, I actually sold the dress haha. (Don't worry, it was clean). Honestly its history just made me too paranoid to let her wear it again!

That's awesome - her reaction kind-of has me tearing up. So sweet!


Wow, that's super awesome! Wish somebody would deposit unexpected money in my bank account. That actually reminds me - I have a PIN code from Disney that would cover our visit - I should consider booking something just to have it if we need it...


I think that will be a good age to take Maya - Izzy wasn't much older than that on her first trip. Maybe you can wear her in a carrier while going up to buffets? Or head to the family-style places. If we do end up at WDW and enter any parks, we'd be happy to help watch Maya so you can go on the big rides.


Cute photo - she just looks so happy!


That looks really fun - I'm sure Izzy would love it.


Nice!


Since it's May again, I'm guessing Lynda's birthday is soon, so happy birthday to her!


Aw, poor girl!


Wow, I bet Aria loved that! What fun!


Yay, congratulations to them! They were both so nice when we met and seem like a great couple.


That's so awesome! I'm sure they will be great parents.


Ugh, not good.


Poor girl! I hope she was feeling better in the morning!

The surprise was awesome. Seriously, she was SO happy all weekend. Her attitude of late totally disappeared (she has been talking back a bit, not listening as well etc, I'm sure it's just due to the attention on maya) and she was so good, ate her food well, listened well, it was really great. Also I think she is naughtier to Andrew bc he is a push over and she can usually get him to concede to what she wants whereas I stand my ground

Hahahha it is and you reminded me I meant to place a birthday order for her. so I did that, phew! Next weekend, I have a baby shower and a little boy's birthday party so between those two, mother's day and Lynda's birthday my gift account just got reduced significantly lol!

 

[Imagineer5]

Moving on to one of my favorite days of the trip!! Today we headed to Kona for breakfast, then Blizzard beach for the day where I had a surprise in store for Lynda, and then we split up for dinner time and Aria and I went to Chef Mickeys and then the Pirate and Pals cruise! Phew! A ridiculously fun day in store...

Starting out at Kona, we arrived right on time and were seated quickly. I think I can say this is my absolute favorite breakfast at Disney. Really delicious food!

Aria opted for the French toast

Lynda had the macadamia nut pancakes and we agreed to share a bit with each other - I always get the Tonga Toast of course!

My tonga toast with a side of potatoes with sriracha sauce.

I had heard rumblings that the tonga toast had changed - and it has. a few days ago I tried the new version and it is not quite as good. I'm hoping they can get the contract back with the other bakery!

L&A shared a press pot coffee and I think I had decaf with the fab lilikoi juice.

On the way out I took a photo of the "new" lobby since I think it was the first time I had seen that. Honestly, I liked it better before.

And then we headed out to Blizzard Beach! We all had our swimsuits on already and our tickets all included the water parks so all there was to do was wait for the park to open!! I was being super secretive because I had a Polar Patio booked as Lynda's birthday present and I had no idea what to expect. When the park opened, Lynda was confused as I didn't let her go get chairs and instead we went to the building and signed in there. I still was keeping my mouth shut about the surprise but she knew something was up.

Soon two CM's came over, they were our personal assistants for the day, and they took us to our polar patio. It was located in between the "teen" area (which anyone can enjoy) and the kid's area, the location was PERFECT. Lynda was SO excited! Along with the polar patio, we got a fridge stocked with waters, refillable mugs, towels and comfy chairs, along with the service of these two guys. they even got Aria a life jacket so i didn't have to go looking for one! It was all our first time at BB, so that was exciting too.

There was a rope that acted as a door, nice to have that to feel like our stuff was secure the whole time. I think there was a safe too, but we didn't use it.

And soon we were off to explore!! We were really close to the chair lift, so we headed up on that to start with.

Looking down at the teen area - there are these tube racing slides and a ropes course type of thing.

At the top I believe there are three options aside from walking down - the family raft ride and two major water slides. I had no intention of riding the big slides, so we all did the raft ride to start with. They go in groups of 4-6 so it was nice being a group of 4 and getting our own raft.

They also come up on a conveyor belt so you don't have to carry them.

This thing went FAST! It was SO SO much fun. Aria was a little unsure at first (Honestly I was worried about how she would be all day - she loves swimming but hates getting her head wet, and really isn't too outgoing with water slides

But she ended up loving it

There was a lazy river entrance right there so we hoped in, using it as a pathway to head to other slides!

We found an area with tubes that had double-tubes as well for riding with another person (perfect for Aria) and headed up some major stairs. Here we had to carry the tubes, so between that and the stairs, I was super tired at the top!

Aria again was a little nervous but got on nonetheless and squealed the whole way down, we had a blast

I think there were 3 different options at the top (1 was singles rafts only though) and we ended up doing this 3 times in a row. Aria would have kept going but I refused to climb those stairs again lol!

So instead we went in search of more things to do while the lines were nonexistent! We found these big slides. Aria said she wanted to try them out so we got all set up to go down

When it was our turn however, she chickened out and refused to go down! So l&a went and Aria and I started walking down the stairs. Halftway down, she decided that she would try it out just once. (I think I did say something along the lines of, you should really try it once, and I'll be so proud of you...)


So we went back and got ready to try it out

And we did it!! It was a blast and Aria said she loved it! <3 FYI in case you're wondering, I didn't lie right on my belly, I sort of propped it up with my knees & elbows. maya was not squished but I couldn't have ridden if I had been much further along.

For being so brave I let Aria choose what to do next, and she chose the lazy river

It was so nice they offered smaller tubes which had the middles filled, so she could lay on one without falling through.

Then we decided to head to the kids area. L&A had gone off to do some bigger things.

There is a small slide in the toddler area

Along with a small tube slide!

We spent about 20 minutes here as she was loving riding these, and then we headed back to our patio for a few!

Unfortunately any soda we left in the refillable mugs got ants in it while we were off in the park, so we had to keep rinsing them out (gross!).

We ordered lunch at this point, our patio guys took our orders, got our food and delivered to us! very nice to relax and let them do the work! Aria's came in this cute pail!

I got a flatbread. While way better water park food than is typical, I'd have traded that lettuce for more cheese

We ate lunch quickly in order to go and do more things before Aria needed to nap...

 

[Imagineer5]

So next we headed to that teen area to check it out. We did the racing tube slides first

there was a guy at the top who always made sure to push the children down first so they would win <3 it was sweet

I will say having to constantly carry 2 tubes was wearing me down a bit!

Then Aria checked out the course. We were allowed to spot her from the water

Then Aria went down for a nap. It was hot enough I just put a towel in the stroller and let her sleep in her wet bathing suit to keep her cool. L&A headed off to go on some more slides, and maybe 20 minutes later Aron came and offered to sit with a sleeping aria so I could go off with Lynda.

I also apparently left the water camera at the patio so no more photos, whoops, but we went on a number of slides and also did the mats again before relieving Aron of his duties. Around 3, I started to rouse Aria because our servers were bringing Lynda another surprise - a huge ice cream sundae for her birthday!

Aria wanted to use her shovel to eat it lol

We polished it off in minutes and then had about 1 more hour to enjoy the park before we needed to leave. I also attempted to give the guys tips for the day, but the absolutely wouldn't accept it. I was surprised that a position like that wouldn't be allowed to accept tips.

The day absolutely flew by! We did the family raft ride again, along with those tube slides and Aria even wanted to go down that mat slide one more time so we did all that before heading out.

We all took quick showers and then went our separate ways that evening. Aria and I headed to the Contemporary and Lynda & Aron went to Ohana.

Our first fun of the evening was dinner at Chef Mickeys!

Lately we've encountered no waits for our table here.

Their two person tables however are TINY!

Do you think I did well on the no dairy diet I was on for a few months?

Characters were a blast although I don't remember much about the interactions

Daisy made a guest appearance at dinner though which was awesome, usually you can only find her at tusker house! (Goofy wasn't there tonight)

Aria loves the napkin twirling here

Despite all the treats to come, I did still have to try most of the ones at CM lol

continued in next post...

 

[Imagineer5]

We had some time to kill, but decided to go check in for the Pirate and Pals fireworks cruise. There were a couple other early families, and they had a little station set up with paper to color and puzzles which was nice. We got these bandanas and were instructed to wear them in some manner so we had fun playing with those too.

They had these walls up while they set up the party on the other side. Aria liked peeking through

And soon the party opened up! They had bags of cotton candy, chocolate dubloons

Cake

Ice cream bars

And snack bars like popcorn and pretzels

I actually can't remember if they had alcoholic drinks? (I just looked it up, and no they offered coffee/tea and soda and lemonade, I had lemonade)

We were able to enjoy the treats for about 10 minutes before Hook and Smee made their entrance

Since I knew they were coming and where they usually stand, I took aria over there and we ended up being the first to meet them.

Aria was very unsure about Hook. Can you blame her? But she does like Smee!

Then we went back to the sofa to enjoy our treats while the next 25 or so minutes was just people waiting in line to meet Hook & Smee.

We were placed in one of two groups - Hook or Smee - Aria chose smee and that was the boat we went on as well.

We followed them on down to the boat docks. I think this might be my most disappointing part - I wish they had a pirate ship to ride, instead of these ferry boat things. It detracted from the experience imo.

Hook & Smee stayed on land while we went off to view the fireworks

While waiting, they did a lot of trivia on board. They instructed parents not to help out the kids. Toward the end Aria was getting upset that all the other (older) kids were getting toys and prizes, so I started whispering responses to her and she ended up answering a Nemo question (I don't remember what it was exactly) and he gave her a pirate rubber ducky. She was very happy after that, and with most of the other kids being much older and it seemed like everyone else was in a bigger group, I didn't feel bad about helping her a little bit. I was just proud she yelled out the answer as she is very quite esp around strangers.

Soon it was time for Wishes - sorry for the one bad photo but here was our view.

Overall it was a fun experience, and I could see doing it again in a few more years. She wore her ear muffs and didn't want to watch the fireworks though, so I think I'd like to wait until she really loves them to pay for the experience again. And I prob wouldn't go to a huge buffet right beforehand, but we still had a great time.

Up next - Lynda's actual birthday, Aria's first visit to BBB, MK, CRT, and Epcot evening!

 

[cindianne320]

Whew! What a fun couple of days!
I've only done I o A once with kiddos, but would like to go back someday soon!
Sorry that Aria was sick after 1900 Park Fare. Glad it didn't seem to last!
Blizzard Beach looks so fun! We were toying with the idea of going on our "down day", but I got the stomach flu that am, so DH just took our kids to Kona and swimming at the hotel.
The Pirates and Pals looks fun, too! I didn't realize there was a pre-show/food before hand- I thought it was all done on the boats! Glad you had a fun night with way more fun to come! (Can I use the word fun anymore?!)

 

[Dugette]

The surprise was awesome. Seriously, she was SO happy all weekend. Her attitude of late totally disappeared (she has been talking back a bit, not listening as well etc, I'm sure it's just due to the attention on maya) and she was so good, ate her food well, listened well, it was really great.

So glad that she was so good/happy for the trip! (So, now you have another excuse to go to WDW - if Aria is getting too much of an attitude, it's the antidote. And maybe she can talk pushover Andrew into saying you two can go. )

Starting out at Kona, we arrived right on time and were seated quickly. I think I can say this is my absolute favorite breakfast at Disney. Really delicious food!

I think I agree - it's always been delicious and much more reasonably priced than many other breakfast options.

I had heard rumblings that the tonga toast had changed - and it has. a few days ago I tried the new version and it is not quite as good. I'm hoping they can get the contract back with the other bakery!

Wow, I hadn't heard that. I hope they can improve it!

Soon two CM's came over, they were our personal assistants for the day, and they took us to our polar patio. It was located in between the "teen" area (which anyone can enjoy) and the kid's area, the location was PERFECT. Lynda was SO excited! Along with the polar patio, we got a fridge stocked with waters, refillable mugs, towels and comfy chairs, along with the service of these two guys. they even got Aria a life jacket so i didn't have to go looking for one! It was all our first time at BB, so that was exciting too.

What a great birthday gift! This reminds me a lot of the cabana day we did at Aulani. It's fun to give gifts to others that you can enjoy along with them.

That's adorable! Love the Mickey tubes.

I think there were 3 different options at the top (1 was singles rafts only though) and we ended up doing this 3 times in a row. Aria would have kept going but I refused to climb those stairs again lol!

Ha, I don't blame you. Climbing stairs with a tube and a child is exhausting.

Oh, wow, that is a big slide. I haven't been on a stomach one in a long time, but I remember it being a pretty big drop.

It was so nice they offered smaller tubes which had the middles filled, so she could lay on one without falling through.

That is really nice. I wish more places had those. Izzy falls right through if I don't keep my feet under her or something.

Unfortunately any soda we left in the refillable mugs got ants in it while we were off in the park, so we had to keep rinsing them out (gross!).

Our first fun of the evening was dinner at Chef Mickeys!

I can't believe I've still never eaten there. Someday!

She was very happy after that, and with most of the other kids being much older and it seemed like everyone else was in a bigger group, I didn't feel bad about helping her a little bit. I was just proud she yelled out the answer as she is very quite esp around strangers.

Glad she got an answer/prize. And also that she was brave enough to yell it out. Interestingly, despite me being a pretty big introvert, Izzy does not seem to have much shyness. In fact, this story reminds me that she yelled out an answer to a trivia question on one of the friendship boats back in May. She's kind of a chatterbox these days.

Sounds like a really fun day overall. Blizzard Beach looked great. Chef Mickey's sounds good. And that Pirate cruise event was really cute. I didn't realize that they did that whole party first. Fun!

 

[heaven2dc]

I really laughed at Lynda on this pic - great idea!

I loved that you had a couple of different outfits for Aria this day - the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train dress is adorable!

How precious is this pic!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Sounds like a fun and full day!

We have and ADR for breakfast at Kona this upcoming trip which will be a first for us - I am more than a little excited

Blizzard Beach looks so fun - glad Aria found so many things she liked! That private area look s like something really nice to do for a special occassion. That is a little surprising those guys aren't able to take tips - but I guess the last hong they want is them expecting tips and insinuating you should tip them etc.

The pirates and pals cruise looks fun but can see why it might be better for kids a bit older. And agree it would be nice if it was pirate ships - or at least dress up the ferries a little

 

[MinnieFanatic]

Joining in! I haven't read all of this current TR but I went back to your last year's and I have to comment because similar to you, my second hobby is my girls' clothing! I recognize lots of fun upcycles and boutique clothing. We must run in the same FB B/S/T circles. Fun to see another person with great taste in vacations and clothing!

 

[Imagineer5]

Whew! What a fun couple of days!
I've only done I o A once with kiddos, but would like to go back someday soon!
Sorry that Aria was sick after 1900 Park Fare. Glad it didn't seem to last!
Blizzard Beach looks so fun! We were toying with the idea of going on our "down day", but I got the stomach flu that am, so DH just took our kids to Kona and swimming at the hotel.
The Pirates and Pals looks fun, too! I didn't realize there was a pre-show/food before hand- I thought it was all done on the boats! Glad you had a fun night with way more fun to come! (Can I use the word fun anymore?!)

I look forward to heading back to Universal, but it'll be another year or two. the HP section is just SO awesome.

That's too bad about BB and your down day - hope that you felt better quickly.

So glad that she was so good/happy for the trip! (So, now you have another excuse to go to WDW - if Aria is getting too much of an attitude, it's the antidote. And maybe she can talk pushover Andrew into saying you two can go. )

I think I agree - it's always been delicious and much more reasonably priced than many other breakfast options.

Wow, I hadn't heard that. I hope they can improve it!

What a great birthday gift! This reminds me a lot of the cabana day we did at Aulani. It's fun to give gifts to others that you can enjoy along with them.

That's adorable! Love the Mickey tubes.

Ha, I don't blame you. Climbing stairs with a tube and a child is exhausting.

Oh, wow, that is a big slide. I haven't been on a stomach one in a long time, but I remember it being a pretty big drop.

That is really nice. I wish more places had those. Izzy falls right through if I don't keep my feet under her or something.



I can't believe I've still never eaten there. Someday!

Glad she got an answer/prize. And also that she was brave enough to yell it out. Interestingly, despite me being a pretty big introvert, Izzy does not seem to have much shyness. In fact, this story reminds me that she yelled out an answer to a trivia question on one of the friendship boats back in May. She's kind of a chatterbox these days.

Sounds like a really fun day overall. Blizzard Beach looked great. Chef Mickey's sounds good. And that Pirate cruise event was really cute. I didn't realize that they did that whole party first. Fun!

LOL Aria definitely inherited my introvertedness. She's good when she is one on one with another kid, but in big groups she clams up (just like me). P&P was fun with the pre-party and yes those tubes are awesome! The slides were really fun, although it was a little awkward going down keeping my belly up so I didn't squish maya hahahaha

I really laughed at Lynda on this pic - great idea!

I loved that you had a couple of different outfits for Aria this day - the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train dress is adorable!

How precious is this pic!!

Aw thank you!! That is definitely a favorite dress. I wished I had packed it for our Early Morning Magic day on our trip 1.5 weeks ago. (I had already packed everything up before I even booked it so it didn't occur to me until we were riding it over and over again)

Sounds like a fun and full day!

We have and ADR for breakfast at Kona this upcoming trip which will be a first for us - I am more than a little excited

Blizzard Beach looks so fun - glad Aria found so many things she liked! That private area look s like something really nice to do for a special occassion. That is a little surprising those guys aren't able to take tips - but I guess the last hong they want is them expecting tips and insinuating you should tip them etc.

The pirates and pals cruise looks fun but can see why it might be better for kids a bit older. And agree it would be nice if it was pirate ships - or at least dress up the ferries a little

There are SO many good things on Kona's breakfast menu, glad you're checking it out! Yeah the tipping was awkward, since I was trying to do it without Lynda & Aron watching and maybe feeling like they should contribute, then I thought to myself that I had read sometimes they'll accept after 4 attempts? So I kept offering LOL but they just wouldn't.

Joining in! I haven't read all of this current TR but I went back to your last year's and I have to comment because similar to you, my second hobby is my girls' clothing! I recognize lots of fun upcycles and boutique clothing. We must run in the same FB B/S/T circles. Fun to see another person with great taste in vacations and clothing!

Aw thank you!! For some reason many of my photos in my older TR's don't show up. But I'm glad you took the time to read through it! Yes I have a closet FB account lol, if you want to friend me send me a pm! I just met up with another friend I met on the DIS, who then got into MJ and upcycles! Fun to have multiple hobbies in common! <3

 

[Imagineer5]

Well we are home from another long weekend trip! This one took us to Texas. I mentioned before but we were able to score $71 flights (round trip, non stop from boston) so I jumped on those and we were able to spend 4 nights in Waxahachie, TX visiting my 91-year old grandmom. During that visit, we actually met a friend IRL for the first time - @disneygirl2785 at the Dallas arboretum and it was like we'd been friends (irl) for years!

Maya did okay on the flights (she napped twice on the way there, and slept basically the whole flight home as it was late at night). Unfortunately on the way there or at some point, something got in her system that made her pretty upset. She had spots on her (more than usual)/ hives from something and she didn't sleep well any of the nights, so we are both super tired (getting home at 1AM and up at 5AM for work is a huge part of that exhaustion!) but thankfully it's already Thursday.

We have a star wars themed birthday party to go to on Saturday and I dropped the ball and never purchased a star wars dress, boo! LOL. I'll get back at the May tr as soon as I get some actual work done

 

[khertz]

First off, glad you had a nice weekend in Texas, aside from Maya having some troubles! Delilah got sick at the end of last week, so I understand the pain of lack of sleep. We were up for hours every night with her because she was so congested and couldn't breathe, so she couldn't sleep comfortably.

But back to the TR...I hope I will not be disappointed in this "new" Tonga Toast, because DH and I are going to Kona for the first time when we go in July just the two of us. It was one of the big draws for me because I have read about it here on the boards for years!!

What a fun day at the water park! So nice of you to surprise Lynda with the patio. I bet it was nice having a home base and not having to worry about all your stuff while you enjoyed BB. Way to go Aria for doing the slide she was afraid of! I try to do that with Paxton too and get him to ride things he is scared of at first. Almost every time, he has ended up loving whatever it is.

Pirates & Pals looks like a lot of fun. I'd love to do that with DS some day. I bet it is something he would really enjoy!

 

[Dugette]

LOL Aria definitely inherited my introvertedness. She's good when she is one on one with another kid, but in big groups she clams up (just like me

Yep, sounds like me too - I hate milling around at parties and that sort of thing. I think Izzy has inherited Dug's tendency towards dramatics and performing. She seems to like the attention. It's so interesting to see their personalities developing.

I mentioned before but we were able to score $71 flights (round trip, non stop from boston)

Wow, that is great! The only flights I've ever gotten that cheap were the price-glitched Hawaii ones.

During that visit, we actually met a friend IRL for the first time - @disneygirl2785 at the Dallas arboretum and it was like we'd been friends (irl) for years!

Very cool and so glad you got along great!

. She had spots on her (more than usual)/ hives from something and she didn't sleep well any of the nights, so we are both super tired (getting home at 1AM and up at 5AM for work is a huge part of that exhaustion!)

Aw, poor Maya! And poor you, too! Yikes, that late night followed by an early morning sounds really rough. Hope Maya is feeling better now.

I dropped the ball and never purchased a star wars dress, boo!

If you lived closer, I'd lend you the one you got for Izzy. (She LOVES it, by the way. )

 

[Imagineer5]

First off, glad you had a nice weekend in Texas, aside from Maya having some troubles! Delilah got sick at the end of last week, so I understand the pain of lack of sleep. We were up for hours every night with her because she was so congested and couldn't breathe, so she couldn't sleep comfortably.

But back to the TR...I hope I will not be disappointed in this "new" Tonga Toast, because DH and I are going to Kona for the first time when we go in July just the two of us. It was one of the big draws for me because I have read about it here on the boards for years!!

What a fun day at the water park! So nice of you to surprise Lynda with the patio. I bet it was nice having a home base and not having to worry about all your stuff while you enjoyed BB. Way to go Aria for doing the slide she was afraid of! I try to do that with Paxton too and get him to ride things he is scared of at first. Almost every time, he has ended up loving whatever it is.

Pirates & Pals looks like a lot of fun. I'd love to do that with DS some day. I bet it is something he would really enjoy!

Aw I'm sorry, I hope she is doing much better now.

I hope they perfect the recipe if they have to keep the new bread. It was still good - I mean the sugar coating, sauce, bananas etc didn't change. It was just a slight texture change and teensy bit taste change IMO. Good enough I'd still order it again, but definitely not *as* amazing as last time.

It was great and a nice excuse to get the polar patio, as I wouldn't do it just for aria and me, but wanted to try it out lol!

Yeah exactly, as long as I can get Aria to try something out, she generally comes off loving it. Our only exception so far has been Dinosaur, but she rode it again in May so it wasn't THAT bad lol...

Yep, sounds like me too - I hate milling around at parties and that sort of thing. I think Izzy has inherited Dug's tendency towards dramatics and performing. She seems to like the attention. It's so interesting to see their personalities developing.


Wow, that is great! The only flights I've ever gotten that cheap were the price-glitched Hawaii ones.


Very cool and so glad you got along great!


Aw, poor Maya! And poor you, too! Yikes, that late night followed by an early morning sounds really rough. Hope Maya is feeling better now.


If you lived closer, I'd lend you the one you got for Izzy. (She LOVES it, by the way. )

I wish Aria was more outgoing, just because I hate how I have always been so introverted, but maybe Maya will take after Andrew (he is the opposite - can't be alone!).

Yeah I wish those had been flights to Hawaii for that price!! lol

Last night I got to sleep 8:30-5:30 without waking up once. AMAZING!!!!! Really makes you appreciate sleep when you go 5 nights in a row with very interrupted sleep haha. Maya was super happy last night and this morning too! Must have been something in the Texas air.

 

[Imagineer5]

May 15, 2015 - Lynda's birthday!! Today Lynda got to rule the plans - we were doing CRT for lunch at Tutto Italia for dinner. She spent a semester in Italy during college so she loves Italian, and that totally works for me too! We weren't doing a breakfast -but- BBB opens at 8 as well, so we actually had ressies there for before the park opened. This was for Aria, not Lynda LOL but Lynda was fine sharing in the spotlight for the day this was Aria's first park visit since turning 3 so her first visit to BBB! We also planned on meeting up with @Dugette today!!

We drove over, took the ferry and were at the front by 7:45 and quickly let inside.

A quick before photo!

Soon after arriving we were called at BBB. Since she was already dressed we went to sit right down. She tried having Aria choose her hairstyle but I quickly inserted my request for the princess style. Aria would probably choose the multicolored crazy one, but I feel like that is more for older girls so I wanted her to have the princess one. She quickly got to work. Side note - they request you bring your own brush when you make the reservation, but she never used it or even asked for one - in fact she let aria choose her own color of comb and we got to keep it. Aria chose blue to match her Cinderella dress.

Photopass was taking photos along with us. Note - before our trip for her 4th birthday it had been reported that Photopass no longer supported the BBB - however, they must have had enough backlash at that, as they were again on hand for photos in January.

After BBB, we headed into the nearby Castle Couture shop to take princess photos. Aria had a little meltdown because the photographer told her to smile pretty and she didn't know how to smile "pretty" apparently. We also realized at this point that the Cinderella wand I had purchased a couple days prior was left in the room whoops. So while I was giving her a pep talk, Lynda secretly went and bought Aria another Cinderella wand. While I don't reward that sort of behavior, it was really nice and sweet of Lynda and really perked Aria up so that was really nice. She agreed to go back in and take a few more photos (although she still doesn't look thrilled about it!)

Our morning was free until the first FP opened up at 9:45 so we did a few FL rides to start with - first up Dumbo!

Aria wanted to play inside so we did that for a few minutes

She was at that in between age where she was still supposed to be playing in the toddler area, but wanted to be in the big kids one!

Then Lynda & Aron took her on Barnstormer

Aria & I headed to ride Ariel while Lynda & Aron went to Space Mountain to ride without a wait!

And we met up again for Astro Orbiter. This one is SO awkward to get into and out of! It also makes me dizzy every time I ride lol.

Then Lynda & Aron took Aria onto the speedway. This was one I was unsure about being preggo - if someone banged into me really hard then that could have been an issue, so I let them ride.

aria was in a mood at this point (acting her part as a princess) and we needed a quick refresher as we never had a breakfast really, so we stopped at that Cheshire café for some frozen lemonade and some muffins. That helped all of us perk up!

We all love the TTA so we headed there next

And hopped on a no wait Buzz Lightyear!

Our next Fastpass was for 7DMT so we headed over there

As always, we had a ball. I'll never think of 7DMT the same again after the early morning magic and riding 8 times!

Here I was taking a photo of Aria lol but still a good ride pic

Bad pic but I took it because I wanted to find a 7DMT themed ornament to commemorate this trip - I ended up picking a Dopey ornament

And then we headed to lunch slightly early. No breakfast today meant we were all VERY ready for lunch! Aria was very excited to see Cinderella

I love this photo! Oh while I bought the Dopey ornament, aria picked out this bracelet so I also bought that...lol...

And we took a group photo as well

continued in next post!

 

[Imagineer5]

We were seated shortly afterwards. Aria wanted to sit with Lynda so that worked out fine. They brought out our appetizer (shared plate) and Aria's app (bowl of cheese and grapes - perfect)

Kind of awkward to share a small salad like this? but it was good

Soon the Princesses started arriving. Lynda wanted a photo with her fave - Aurora

Aria was very serious about the wishing ceremony

Snow White chatted quite a while

Our entrees came, I had ordered the salmon. I don't think it was amazing but not bad either...

Ariel stopped by and they had a good talk too

And Jasmine came over next

When dessert came, they brought Lynda a cupcake, and she shared the candle blowing with Aria

I had the chocolate option

They shared the chocolate and cheesecake ones.

I got a photo with my little sweetie

And we took a girl's pic too!

Lynda had one more request for the day - the philharmagic show! So we went over there after lunch.

After the show (which we all enjoyed) I put Aria down for a nap in the stroller and we headed to the monorail to head to EPCOT. Since we had prime parking from the early morning, we decided the monorail will be the best method to get to EPCOT. Aria was out quickly and stayed asleep through us entering epcot. She was coughing a lot again though so I know she didn't take that great of a nap.

While she slept, I relaxed once again in Innoventions while L&A headed off to wait in the Test Track single rider line. I think we still had a rider swap from the last time at EPCOT and so Lynda and I went to ride that while Aron stayed with Aria. At that point @Dugette texted to see where we were, and I said we were going to the play area then over to Duffy.

Aria also had had an outfit change...and found some bubbles!

This is the play area near Canada (between WS & FW). It was HOT and Aria was sort of in a mood, so she didn't care to play very long.

So instead we headed to Duffy and I texted Dugette our plans. She said that she and izzy were sharing a Violet Lemonade and then heading there too

The line for Duffy wasn't very long, maybe 10 minutes or so, and we hopped in.

Soon Dugette came over and I encouraged her to join us in line (sorry people behind us, it was my idea not hers to come to where we were).

And we had our little toddler reunion!! <3

But that happened right as it was our turn to meet Duffy so we separated again for a minute and Aria ran up to see him

She was very excited to show him her dress

I am SO sad that Duffy doesn't meet at WDW (or DL) anymore. Aria is too She asked to meet him on our recent trip and I reminded her that he had left (for Japan as he is still wildly popular there). I never saw him without a line, so I don't know why they had to do that.

Anyway, Duffy spun her around

We took a group photo

Then Dugette & Izzy went up, we should have had a little group pic of Aria and Izzy but we got caught up in the commotion and ended up just having separate meets.

But afterwards the girls were very excited to see each other

We all made our way over to Mexico (luckily a short walk) to ride Donald's boat ride together

I also introduced L&A to Dugette and they seemed to get along well very quickly.

At the ride, there was a slight line. Aria & izzy held hands the whole time though. They were just too cute

And then they sat next to each other for the ride (Aria whispered to me that she wanted to sit next to izzy <3 )

We checked out the shopping area afterwards

I don't remember where Dugette & Izzy were headed after that though, as we went opposite ways - we had to meander our way to Italy and I think she was going back to Future World? IDk but all too soon we parted ways. Aria was not happy about leaving her friend!

In Norway we took the troll pic

Very different from when she was younger and freaked out at this thing. Now she asks me to take her photo!

We wanted to check out some of the Flower & Garden festival as well so we stopped at a booth where I got some frozen lemonade type of thing and L&A got a margarita drink

We also had a photopass pic in front of the baby simba topiary

 

[Imagineer5]

Afterwards we headed to dinner. Somehow we were all hungry again! (That was another nice thing about these two, never complained or commented about multiple ADR's per day :-D )

Aria & I shared a Limonata drink - I used to drink these all the time

L&A ordered a bottle of wine to share

I did not take photos pf all the food, but my main dish was the pesto pasta with freshly made mozz. OMG. Such a simple dish with fresh ingredients but SO SO good! Reminded me of our time in Italy where the dishes weren't complicated but still just so good due to the fantastic ingredients.

After our meals, they brought out a warm chocolate cake for Lynda (you can also see the bread service here comes with olive oil to dip and olives)

They sang to her as well hehe

We had considered staying for Illuminations this evening, but we were all super tired and decided to call it a night. On our way out I had another photopass pic taken

Despite leaving the park just after 7, after the monorail ride, getting the car, finding a parking spot at Bonnet Creek etc, it was about 8:30 and we just took showers and went to bed. I don't remember ever using the living room to relax and watch TV Lol!

Coming up - another Universal day and meeting Dug for the first time (along with Dugette and Izzy) at T-Rex!