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

[TheMaxRebo]

I am totally picturing you in Disneyland Paris jail.

... they'll just put her down in the dungeon below the castle chained next to the dragon

 

[khertz]

What a great start to the cruise! The kids club looks really awesome. I hope to do a Disney cruise in the next few years when DS is young enough to enjoy that. He would love it! The pool does look TINY for a cruise ship!! Aria going down the water slide by herself is just the cutest!

Oh no, the wasabi!! Poor Aria. And I bet Andrew felt bad after that too.

Your DLP plans look great! I can't believe all of the rides that have pregnancy warnings! You should definitely be fine riding the ones you are planning to do. It reminds me of Legoland this past March. So many things had pregnancy warnings, and because we had never been before and I didn't know how intense the rides would be, I skipped most of them. One was a shooter game even tamer than Buzz Lightyear and finally DH came off and was like, "You can absolutely ride this one! These warnings are ridiculous!" lol

 

[ariel1025]

Reading about the start of your cruise is really making me want to go on another one I agree on the pools though, it's almost comical how small they are with how many people there are on the ship that use them.

Absolutely cannot wait to hear about your Paris trip. It sounds fantastic!!

 

[disneygirl2785]

We soon ordered our appetizers, I had the St. Maarten Stack which had grilled calabaza, zucchini and mozzarella with a tomato-basil vinaigrette.

OMG, That looks AMAZING! I hope it tasted as good as it sounds and looks!

She's looking at you like "Really, Mom, I can bite it?!?"

Your Europe trip sounds wonderful and all the pictures of the cruise make me want to take another one and REALLY want to take Caleb and Camryn. My mom, dad, and I took a 7 night western Caribbean on the Magic in 2010. This was the year before I met Caleb!

I really think Caleb and Andrew would get along! When are you coming back to Texas? Caleb could take Andrew out on his Bass fishing boat! There is a boat ramp to Lake Ray Roberts at the end of our road. This was definitely a selling point for this house for Caleb! Has Andrew definitely decided to sell y'alls boat? That's kinda sad, it looks like you guys have some fun trips on it!

 

[Imagineer5]

She has the Miss Fancy Tank Dress. Hope you don't mind if I share a pic:

(Goofy pic of the rest of us- but only full length of the dress. I'm in the green. )

I'm a teacher, and DS does start K this year, so we are really tied down to the school calendar now.

Aww I had that for Aria - she wore it for New Years Eve a couple years ago! So sweet

I know we talked about this before and we have the whole bought-at-the-wrong-time-and-lost-oodles-of-value thing in common (we starting building late 2006 and closed in March 2007). I forgot to ask if you've looked into refinancing, though? We did a HARP refinance 3 years ago and brought our interest rate down a fair amount, so that helped us pay down the principal a bit faster - and we were only able to do it then because of HARP eliminating the LTV requirements - we were WAY underwater then (our home's value was like 65% of purchase price at the refinance appraisal ). I just recently started thinking about refinancing again, as the rates are even better and our value has come up and our principal has gone down enough that we MIGHT just squeak by the 95% loan-to-value requirement (can only do HARP once, so that's out). Anyway, just thought I'd mention it. But I feel for you - 8 years of paying things down and we still - BEST case scenario - would walk away from a sale with no money for a down payment on a new house.


Yes, I know there are different height requirements for one vs. two riders and I know Izzy was still too short, but I can't remember the specifics.


Well, maybe he'll miss his boat enough that a Disney boat will be a good substitute.


That sounds like an amazing deal!


I'm surprised this one is allowed, based on the others they forbid. Is it like the one at WDW that can whip you around pretty fast with the joystick?


I've gotta say, I am really anxious to see this and how you pull it off.


Are there any rides where you will have to ride with only two in a row vs. three? If so, that could be an issue because Aria won't stop the bar and if you're by yourself, well, you'll have to find a large friend, I guess.


I am totally picturing you in Disneyland Paris jail.

Your plans are sounding great and all of the dining seems really fun too!

We were able to refinance a few years ago, and that certainly helped, but again if we sell now we'd have zero down payment for another house, so it just isn't in the cards ATM.

I can't think of any rides that are restricted that will only seat 2 of us vs. 3, but even still I am not going to worry much about a lap bar on peter pan. From what I've read - the restriction is 100% due to the lap bar, hence why Buzz is still an option. So weird!

... they'll just put her down in the dungeon below the castle chained next to the dragon

I could hang out there for a while, but hopefully not the whole vacation

What a great start to the cruise! The kids club looks really awesome. I hope to do a Disney cruise in the next few years when DS is young enough to enjoy that. He would love it! The pool does look TINY for a cruise ship!! Aria going down the water slide by herself is just the cutest!

Oh no, the wasabi!! Poor Aria. And I bet Andrew felt bad after that too.

Your DLP plans look great! I can't believe all of the rides that have pregnancy warnings! You should definitely be fine riding the ones you are planning to do. It reminds me of Legoland this past March. So many things had pregnancy warnings, and because we had never been before and I didn't know how intense the rides would be, I skipped most of them. One was a shooter game even tamer than Buzz Lightyear and finally DH came off and was like, "You can absolutely ride this one! These warnings are ridiculous!" lol

I think they have SO SO much for even older kids and then teens, the cruise line is something that'll be fun for many years to come. With the Oceaneer Lap meant for the older kids, Paxton could go in there while Delilah goes into the kids club (or nursery, if less than 3 years out lol).

That is too bad about LEGOLAND, esp since you hadn't ridden them before to judge whether or not it was safe to ride. Hopefully you were able to go on a few after DH said they were fine.

Reading about the start of your cruise is really making me want to go on another one I agree on the pools though, it's almost comical how small they are with how many people there are on the ship that use them.

Absolutely cannot wait to hear about your Paris trip. It sounds fantastic!!

Aw thank you!! They are pretty funny!! The cruise was really great and I'm loving reliving it.

OMG, That looks AMAZING! I hope it tasted as good as it sounds and looks!



She's looking at you like "Really, Mom, I can bite it?!?"

Your Europe trip sounds wonderful and all the pictures of the cruise make me want to take another one and REALLY want to take Caleb and Camryn. My mom, dad, and I took a 7 night western Caribbean on the Magic in 2010. This was the year before I met Caleb!

I really think Caleb and Andrew would get along! When are you coming back to Texas? Caleb could take Andrew out on his Bass fishing boat! There is a boat ramp to Lake Ray Roberts at the end of our road. This was definitely a selling point for this house for Caleb! Has Andrew definitely decided to sell y'alls boat? That's kinda sad, it looks like you guys have some fun trips on it!

Aw you should!! Andrew would love a trip out on the lake I don't have any plans yet but I'm sure it'll be sometime next late spring - we try to go once a year now that my Grandmom is getting older.

Andrew has decided to sell, but hasn't actually sold it yet so who knows. The cost of ownership vs. time spent on it just isn't working out (figure about $12K for ownership per year, and in MA we have about a 4-month window of going out on it, and we've had a 2-3 overnights/weekends on it and 3-4 day outings). The numbers just don't add up and Andrew has admitted that too. When either 1) we have a lot more spare time and/or 2) we have a lot more spare $$ that 12K doesn't seem like anything then we'll get another big boat. Until then we're sticking with his boston whaler and he also has a jet ski and another little boat so it isn't like he won't be on the water lol.

 

[jeni16]

We're going to give the DVC Points Rental option a try on our trip next October as we want to get a 2-Bedroom since my Mom will be coming with us. Since these are soo expensive, this seems like the best option. Any help you can provide a first time points rental? I know you've had really good luck so far. Thanks!

 

[Imagineer5]

We're going to give the DVC Points Rental option a try on our trip next October as we want to get a 2-Bedroom since my Mom will be coming with us. Since these are soo expensive, this seems like the best option. Any help you can provide a first time points rental? I know you've had really good luck so far. Thanks!

I have honestly only ever rented from 1 person since I started renting in 2010! I've recommended him to many people though and trust him completely, so if you'd like his info please let me know! The space is wonderful, esp if you'll be able to split the cost of the 2 bedroom.

The main issue most people have with renting points is the lack of flexibility. Once the points owner has made the reservation for you, his points are locked up, so if you need to make any changes or cancel, generally the 1/2 payment up front will not be refunded unless he is able to make a new reservation, but with "Use Years" and such, generally it is very hard to make any changes to reservations.

 

[Imagineer5]

Back on for a bit - work has been super busy but the license servers are currently down and thus I can't get any work done - yay! So I have some DIS time

I left off heading into our 2nd cruise day - an At Sea day! Overnight we definitely felt the waves and the ship rocking, and between that and Aria's coughing and coming into our bed around midnight, we didn't get a very good night's sleep. But we were still excited to enjoy the ship come morning!

So this day we had 9AM Anna & Elsa tickets and 10AM or so Princess tickets. It was also Pirate night! Of course we are early risers so we had lots of time to get breakfast and see the ship before those! We decided to see how "bad" Beach Blanket Buffet really was - I had read pretty poor reviews but since it was just 1 level upstairs we thought we should check it out!

I was a bit disappointed at the hot breakfast items. But, I was pleasantly surprised by the CM's there, at the end of the Buffet line they took my tray and found us a table and helped carry things over to it. After a couple trips for coffee, milk, juice, etc we all sat down.

Aria was happy with some cereal, a mickey waffle and fruit.





My tray of carbs. They did have a made to order omelet station but I couldn't find hot sauce for the omelet or potatoes so that was disappointing. They did have krispy kreme doughnuts, and yes I did eat two. And some cottage cheese to pretend to be healthy.



Andrew had some fruit, scrambled eggs, and sausages. I used to despise buffets, but they REALLY work for us now with how different our tastes are!



After a leisurely breakfast with a great view - BBB is at the Aft end of the ship and has windows all around to see the sea - we headed down to our next destination. The night before I scanned through the next day's Navigator and saw a Wake Up with Disney Junior dance party which I think was at around 8:30AM. This was on Deck 4 in Studio Sea. On our way there we passed the closed shops.



And the Walt Disney Theater



Aria wanted her photo with Minnie & Mickey





And then we still had time to kill so we headed outside.



It was a bit windy but otherwise beautiful. We watched a number of runners go by and were outside long enough to see them pass us multiple times. Then it was finally time to go to the Disney Junior dance party!



Aria was still coughing a bunch, but otherwise seemed okay. She was definitely not 100% herself though as she was just too tired to really enjoy this unfortunately.

Here she is taking part:



Then turning around wanting me to join her



Mickey came out and caught her attention though!



And then she came running back wanting to leave, so instead I joined her for the dance party after seeing a couple other moms up there as well.



Pretty soon it was over (no Disney Junior characters besides Mickey came?) and then we headed to meet Anna & Elsa, which was on Deck 3 in Animator's Palette.

Here is Aria holding her new cruise pillow about to be signed for the first time!



And relaxing during our wait in line



I told Aria she cannot cough on any of the characters...so a few photos have her really holding it in but I was impressed that she did not cough until she was done with the meets all day. We didn't have too long of a wait and soon it was her turn to meet them!







Then we headed out to the main atrium as our tickets for the princesses were ready too! This one had quite the line formed but it took maybe 20 minutes. I can't imagine all the parents that didn't know they needed timed tickets for these meet & greets there really wasn't much info on it that I read beforehand except for reading about it on the boards here.

Soon it was our turn and Tiana was first





Here is a "I need to cough" smile



But first a hug



Then Cinderella!





And lastly Rapunzel





continued in next post!

 

[Imagineer5]

After that meet we decided to head back to the room for a little while. A poor pic looking at our verandah






Andrew saw some flying fish and attempted to capture them on camera but I don't think any photo ever showed them.



So instead we headed up to the pool area for some swimming then lunch!

Aria rode the slide many times although you can see the line here was quite long. She was great about waiting in line though and getting on the slide herself.



Video:



You can see why they don't want them walking at the end here lol
(she was totally fine, that's why I can laugh about it!)



We skipped the "main" pool this time but Aria had a ball in the very packed Mickey pool.



She still hadn't had a chance to meet Captain Mickey truly, so I noticed at around 11 he was meeting near the Walt Disney Theater. So I threw on her dress over her swimsuit and we headed downstairs leaving Andrew to his own devices.

There was a crazy long line formed but we stood in it while Aria had her worst coughing fit yet. She was still fine otherwise so I just made sure she coughed into her arm. While in line we saw a mother frantically looking for her son, who ended up playing with the pirate toys in the nearby shop.



Note the red pen - the pillow came with an 8-pack of mini markers and she really enjoyed matching a color to the character

Finally it was Aria's turn. A CM helped Mickey sign her pillow with the little marker and Aria held in her coughs during the meet.





Afterwards we headed back up to grab some lunch. Andrew had also ordered me a mango concoction of some sort and himself some fun drink (you can see them hiding behind a towel in the next pic). We went to Goofy's Galley and they had a nice assortment of sandwiches and we shared both of ours (mine was a caprese and Andrew's was a roast beef) with Aria, plus she ate all our watermelon. I think we even went up for another sandwich after eating these two.



After lunch we had to enjoy some of the ever present soft serve ice cream!



It was around 1PM so nap time for Aria. I think we put her down in the stroller at this point and then strolled our way back to the room (she sleeps better in the stroller covered with a blanket than in a room with us walking around and making noise).

During her nap we enjoyed some wine and other drinks outside on the verandah and then went inside for showers. When Aria woke up she needed a quick bath and then I got her changed into her Pirate dress!

Before Pirate night though, we had a couple must-do meets! Jake AND Pirate Mickey and Pirate Minnie were meeting in the atrium. We started with the Pirate Mickey & Minnie meet.





I had a matching pirate bag and Aria had a smaller pirate bag, all that matched her dress Recently I found a resale dress in Size 8 with the fabric and snatched it up - when baby fits this dress of Aria's, Aria will fit in that 8! LOL





And a great family pic!



Then once in a much shorter line for Jake, I noticed Aria was REALLY dragging. I felt her forehead and she felt hot she really wanted to stay and meet Jake (one of her all time favorite characters) so we agreed to do that and then relax in the room and get some meds in her.









I think she could have fallen asleep in his arms!



After this very sweet meet with Jake we headed back to the room. Thankfully I've gotten in the habit of packing meds for Aria so we had cough and cold medicine plus fever medicine. She had been taking the cough stuff (though honestly at age 3, the meds she can have are not very effective). I took her temp and saw a 101 fever so gave her some Motrin and we put on cartoons and we all just vegged for about 1.5 hours.

Will continue later!

 

[Imagineer5]

Moving on, license servers are still down.

So we decided to head to our Pirate night dinner! Everyone else had Pirate bandanas, but we didn't know where they got them from. When our tablemates arrived at the table we asked and they said they were left in their room. Humph!

On the table were really cute Pirate menus and the kids menu turned in to a pirate hat!



We sprung for the pirate light up toy to make an icky feeling Aria a bit better



Something I forgot to mention - as of February 1st, Cozumel was considered in the same time zone at EST - meaning we had zero time change the entire trip!! Because of this, their usual fireworks time of 10PM was moved to 9PM which was nice for early to bed kids (and parents!).

Anyway back to the menus:

I ordered The Buccaneer's Sun-ripened Pineapple as a starter which came with a coconut covered banana and orange glaze. Different sort of appetizer, but nice and fresh!



Aria had pizza with broccoli and French fries.



Mid way through the meal they had a little dance party parade thing, and our drink server grabbed Aria & Riley to take them around the restaurant.







Soon our main dishes were out - I had a Castaway Chicken Breast which I remember being pretty bland. I don't remember what Andrew had and apparently I didn't take any more photos

Dessert Menu



Aria enjoyed a Mickey ice cream bar tonight for dessert!



I do know that the timing of everything was REALLY dragging at dinner tonight, esp considering the party going on upstairs. It was at least 7:45 (2 hours later) before we got out of there. The party was in full swing by then and we had to head up to Deck 10 (top deck) to find a semi decent spot. I had read some tips regarding which side of the boat to stand on for fireworks so in the end we had a fantastic spot (I am forgetting now which side that was!). Up on the deck we also had a great view of the main dance floor.



Aria seemed to be in a MUCH better mood (maybe it was the Mickey bar!)



And we were all having a blast dancing






Soon Mickey came out and flew across the ship





Aria still talks about seeing Mickey fly, and has asked to see him fly at Disney World. I told her that only Tink flies at Disney World, we will need to go on another cruise where Captain Mickey is able to fly.

Soon after that, the fireworks began. Very special being out in the middle of no where watching these beautiful fireworks! Aria wore her ear muffs but was otherwise okay with them.

When we got back to the room, we saw the Pirate bandanas and some gold dubloons along with the next day's navigator. Also at our door was a notice that our upcoming shore excursion - the visit to some Mayan Ruins in Cozumel had been cancelled!

Not too worry, we had been on the 7:45AM excursion but instead were shifted to the 9:30 excursion. With Aria's cold or whatever she had, it was nice to get the extra sleep and we hoped she felt much better the next day. She asked for some more meds before bedtime and I obliged, hoping they would help her sleep without coughing all night again.

Coming up... Cozumel day! We visit some Mayan Ruins, a small Mexico park and a Chocolate factory then evening back on the ship!

 

[jeni16]

I have honestly only ever rented from 1 person since I started renting in 2010! I've recommended him to many people though and trust him completely, so if you'd like his info please let me know! The space is wonderful, esp if you'll be able to split the cost of the 2 bedroom.

The main issue most people have with renting points is the lack of flexibility. Once the points owner has made the reservation for you, his points are locked up, so if you need to make any changes or cancel, generally the 1/2 payment up front will not be refunded unless he is able to make a new reservation, but with "Use Years" and such, generally it is very hard to make any changes to reservations.

I would love his contact information! My biggest fear in the point rental process is getting someone I can't trust. I guess that's why we've never tried it before. It's just a must this time in order to get a 2-Bedroom to be affordable. I definitely know that we will love the space & we'll all have our "own" space when we need that too. Thanks so much!

Congratulations on daughter #2! I enjoy all of your reports. I love that you aren't afraid to travel with Aria. She's so lucky that she gets to see the world. I barely traveled outside the state until I got married.

 

[Dugette]

Back on for a bit - work has been super busy but the license servers are currently down and thus I can't get any work done - yay! So I have some DIS time

Well, yay!

My tray of carbs. They did have a made to order omelet station but I couldn't find hot sauce for the omelet or potatoes so that was disappointing. They did have krispy kreme doughnuts, and yes I did eat two. And some cottage cheese to pretend to be healthy.

This whole paragraph makes me giggle. But, also, yum!

The night before I scanned through the next day's Navigator and saw a Wake Up with Disney Junior dance party which I think was at around 8:30AM.

Yeah, we didn't make it to that. Interesting to hear what it was like.

I love that her shadow is sitting next to her!

So many little Elsas! (and an Anna) I'm sure they were going to the timed meet afterward too. We saw so many when we did that...Izzy was making comments about "little Elsa" and "little Anna" as we waited (this was before she had her Anna & Elsa dresses).

no Disney Junior characters besides Mickey came?

Huh, that's a bummer. I mean, Mickey's nice and all, but I would have expected characters from other Disney Junior shows.

Here is Aria holding her new cruise pillow about to be signed for the first time!

That's adorable! I love it! Does she use it or is is just decorative?

Then we headed out to the main atrium as our tickets for the princesses were ready too! This one had quite the line formed but it took maybe 20 minutes. I can't imagine all the parents that didn't know they needed timed tickets for these meet & greets there really wasn't much info on it that I read beforehand except for reading about it on the boards here.

We weren't able to do that one, due to our delayed boarding and the insane line to get timed tickets, but I really wish we had - looks like Aria had a nice time with them!

You can see why they don't want them walking at the end here lol
(she was totally fine, that's why I can laugh about it!)

Geez, that made me jump! But she just jumped right back up like it was nothing. These kids are resilient!

Note the red pen - the pillow came with an 8-pack of mini markers and she really enjoyed matching a color to the character

Aw, that's cute that she enjoyed picking them out.

Wow, her hair is so long! (I guess i notice this because she was only about a month older there than Izzy is now and she is nowhere close to that).

And a great family pic!

That is a great one!

Oh, poor girl!

Aria still talks about seeing Mickey fly, and has asked to see him fly at Disney World. I told her that only Tink flies at Disney World, we will need to go on another cruise where Captain Mickey is able to fly.

That should be enough reason to convince Andrew to cruise again.

Coming up... Cozumel day! We visit some Mayan Ruins, a small Mexico park and a Chocolate factory then evening back on the ship!

Can't wait to hear about this!

 

[Imagineer5]

I would love his contact information! My biggest fear in the point rental process is getting someone I can't trust. I guess that's why we've never tried it before. It's just a must this time in order to get a 2-Bedroom to be affordable. I definitely know that we will love the space & we'll all have our "own" space when we need that too. Thanks so much!

Congratulations on daughter #2! I enjoy all of your reports. I love that you aren't afraid to travel with Aria. She's so lucky that she gets to see the world. I barely traveled outside the state until I got married.

I just PM'd you his contact info I totally trust him and hope he has the points for you! It is a bit nerve wracking picking someone random from the boards to rent points from so I am glad I have had the same guy for a while now.

Thank you! I am a bit afraid of traveling with 2 kids, but I can definitely see some upcoming Mommy/DaughterS trips (esp once baby gets a bit older).

Well, yay!


This whole paragraph makes me giggle. But, also, yum!


Yeah, we didn't make it to that. Interesting to hear what it was like.


I love that her shadow is sitting next to her!


So many little Elsas! (and an Anna) I'm sure they were going to the timed meet afterward too. We saw so many when we did that...Izzy was making comments about "little Elsa" and "little Anna" as we waited (this was before she had her Anna & Elsa dresses).


Huh, that's a bummer. I mean, Mickey's nice and all, but I would have expected characters from other Disney Junior shows.


That's adorable! I love it! Does she use it or is is just decorative?


We weren't able to do that one, due to our delayed boarding and the insane line to get timed tickets, but I really wish we had - looks like Aria had a nice time with them!


Geez, that made me jump! But she just jumped right back up like it was nothing. These kids are resilient!


Aw, that's cute that she enjoyed picking them out.


Wow, her hair is so long! (I guess i notice this because she was only about a month older there than Izzy is now and she is nowhere close to that).


That is a great one!


Oh, poor girl!


That should be enough reason to convince Andrew to cruise again.


Can't wait to hear about this!

This day Aria was a bit poorly dressed for her meet ups lol! We didn't bring any princess dresses mainly because I had too many Cruise things and other stuff for her to wear, and also bc she has met them a number of times already in all of the A&E stuff we have. So instead she got to wear Duffy until her Pirate change. Oh well!

She had just had a haircut before this trip too! It grows so fast. It is pretty thin though (she inherited my thin hair, poor thing). It also looks a lot longer when I straighten it vs. leave it wavy/put it up which I do most of the time at Disney.

Andrew funny enough says he didn't enjoy the at sea days as much as getting off and going to the island? IDK I think he is just being difficult. Although 1 out of 2 at sea days was a bit marred with Aria feeling sick and us just doing character meets which isn't really his thing - if she was feeling better, we'd have sent her to the kids club and had some fun at the adult pool or something.

 

[Imagineer5]

France PTR update!

So of course no trip is complete, Disney or otherwise, without some changes! While minor, I have some things to mention regarding our time in Paris. It has been irking me that I put the Louvre @ 9am (and leaving the apt by 8am) on our 1st full day in Paris, after our late night Eiffel tower visit. So I swapped the days all around. Also I found out La Veraison, despite the chef/owner being a friend to our apartment owner, has stated it is not a restaurant for a 3 year old. so for Saturday night's dinner I booked at La Coupole which is supposedly the most famous Parisian Brasserie (according to them anyway!). But they do have a kid's menu! From Fodors:

"This world-renowned cavernous spot with Art Deco murals practically defines the term brasserie. It's been popular since Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir were regulars, and it's still great fun. Today it attracts a mix of bourgeois families, tourists, and lone diners treating themselves to a dozen oysters. Recent additions to the classic brasserie menu are a tart of caramelized apple and panfried foie gras, beef fillet flambéed with cognac before your eyes, and profiteroles made with Valrhona chocolate."

I hope to enjoy a LOT of Valrhona chocolate

Also I booked a ressie at Le Train Bleu - this is at the Gare de Lyon train station in Paris. Absolutely STUNNING interior!

I won't go into crazy daily details beyond this though, just know I jumbled it all up and we are doing things in a totally different order now!

*****************

Moving on!!

Saturday 9/12 - today we bid adieu to Disneyland Paris pretty early - will grab a quick breakfast and then pack the car and go. Today we are heading to the Loire Valley - AKA Chateau Country. EEK I am very excited for this stop. We are staying 3 nights in a house we are renting via AirBnB.

The total ride would be about 4 hours, but we are splitting it up and driving about 2.5 hours to Chateau de Chambord, hoping to get there around the 9AM opening time. It's the largest chateau in the Loire and was used as a hunting lodge for Francis I and was completed in 1547.

Our visit will include seeing about 100 of the interior rooms, plus we can see the hunting grounds, stables, etc. They have horse drawn carraige rides, boat rentals, electric vehicle rentals, etc. I plan to spend the whole morning here, leaving around Aria's nap time at 1.

After leaving the chateau, we'll continue south another 1.5 hours on windy back roads (I think it's only about 60 more kilometers) to our rental home. This was actually the first reservation I booked for France - I came across this neat old French country home and knew we had to stay!







But just before we get here, we'll stop for some groceries as we plan to eat in tonight and just relax and enjoy the house and grounds. I bet Aria will love running in the grass outside and getting some freedom from the car!

Sunday September 13th

After a breakfast in the house, we will be heading out to Chateau de Villandry. This one is very well known for its gardens. It was the last of the great Chateau of the Loire to be built along the river.

There is even a hedge maze, and most of our time will be spent outside (fingers crossed for good weather!) although we can tour inside as well. No plans for lunch, hoping to find something neat nearby.

We should get back in time for Aria to nap at the house today, and we can relax as well. Once she wakes up, we are heading to Chateau Chenonceau which is about a 4 minute drive from our house!

From reviews of the Loire Chateaus, this one frequently tops the list. It is really neat as it spans over the river Cher.

Because of my silly love of the CW's show Reign, which is about the French monarchy and showcases Catherine de Medici and her family - I am really excited to visit this one. She took over Chateau de Chenonceau after her husband died (King Henry II, in 1559), forcing his ex-mistress to take another chateau instead as her home. There are a ton of gardens to visit along with another maze and a kids play area. Our plan is to spend about 3 hours here from 4-7PM.

Around the corner from the chateau is a Michelin starred restaurant - L'Auberge du Cheval Rouge. We have 7:30 reservations! They have a beautiful seating area inside but also gardens outside to sit - and they have a kid's menu! SO excited for this one.

Monday 9/14:

Today is a bit more laid back, although I think the last 2 days are filled with fun for all 3 of us (in my opinion anyway, I think Aria will certainly enjoy the gardens and mazes and such). I have no dining reservations for today so we'll probably do Breakfast & Dinner at the house.

In the morning we'll head to Le Chateau du Clos Luce. This was a chateau owned by the kings of France - but in 1516 King Francis I invited Leonardo Da Vinci to come stay at the chateau and he lived there for his last 3 years of life. If there is one thing Andrew & I both agree on, we both love and idolize Leonardo Da Vinci! We seem to have visitied museums devoted to him around the world (I remember a small museum in Venice and then we took Aria to one in Amsterdam). So today should be a lot of fun.

At the chateau there is the Parc that showcases a number of Da Vinci's engineering designs, and is fully interactive for families to play with them and learn how they work.

Leonardo Da Vinci's bedroom:

Two-level bridge:

After spending the morning here we'll probably walk around the small town of Amboise, grabbing lunch somewhere. I did write down a possible visit to the Caves du Pere Auguste - they do wine tastings in their cellars. It's only about a 4 minute drive from our rental house, and I could split a wine tasting with Andrew so I don't have too much.

Our Afternoon is free to enjoy the house - possibly cook again or find some small local place for food (or do cheese and crackers, that seems to be our go-to vacation dinner!). This is our final evening in the Loire, as we head to Burgundy the next day!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Sounds like such a fun day on the cruise - though feel so bad that Aria was feeling sick and had the fever. Definitely see her as the trooper she is wanting to get her meets in ... plus the magic healing powers of a Mickey Bar

Were the lines for the princesses full of people that didn't have tickets and thus weren't allowed to meet or full of people with tickets. Just wondering if it was full of people upset that they weren't able to meet them

Nice that you got some relaxing time in as well ... definitely would want to maximize the "sitting on the veranda with wine" time

I love the Pirate Mickey and Minnie - so cool and a special meet. That is a nice family pic with Mickey

That is a long time for dinner - especially knowing that people are gathering for the party ... glad you still wound up with a decent spot for the fireworks. Did you see any other cruise ships around? I had heard that some other cruises will bring their ships over to watch the fireworks from the Disney cruise ship

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bummer about that restaurant not working out but seems like you fund a good back-up

All the chateau's seem really neat and cool that a number of them have gardens, etc. for Aria to explore ... and nice that you have a lot of more laid back days planned - I think that should fit in well.

Really like the last one with the area having Da Vinci's engineering designs that families can play with - that sounds super cool!

 

[khertz]

I love all of the fun character meets you got to do on the ship! Mickey and Minnie in their pirate costumes is absolutely adorable.

Aww, too bad Aria was not feeling well. I hope that didn't last for the remainder of the trip! It's no fun to be sick on vacation, but it's especially not fun as a parent when your child is not feeling well. She doesn't seem to be letting it slow her down too much though.

 

[Stasieki]

Hope Arias cough and fever subside for the rest of the cruise. SoUnds like a successful day besides her not feeling her best. Wonder why they didn't have your bandanas in your room in time. We did our first Disney cruise last October. With all my research and planning I was so mesmerized on boarding day I forgot about the meet and greet tickets until 5:30. I ran to guest services and they had just given out the last tickets. I was so bummed. We had just done dismey and they had met the characters so quickly remembered there could be kids meeting them for the first time. But I know I won't do that again .

 

[purplelover88]

If you don't mind me asking, how much does your rental guy charge per point? We have been renting DVC points lately because I have developed a love of deluxe resorts and staying regularly is a bit too much for my taste. I have been using a company to rent but the prices really don't always impress me. Could you send me his contact info? Thanks, so much.

 

[Dugette]

I hope to enjoy a LOT of Valrhona chocolate

Sorry you had to change around your dining plans, but I can get on board with the above statement!

From reviews of the Loire Chateaus, this one frequently tops the list. It is really neat as it spans over the river Cher.

That looks amazing!

Your airbnb rental looks really cute and the chateaus sound great! I cannot wait to hear all about this trip once you're back!

 

[Imagineer5]

Sounds like such a fun day on the cruise - though feel so bad that Aria was feeling sick and had the fever. Definitely see her as the trooper she is wanting to get her meets in ... plus the magic healing powers of a Mickey Bar

Were the lines for the princesses full of people that didn't have tickets and thus weren't allowed to meet or full of people with tickets. Just wondering if it was full of people upset that they weren't able to meet them

Nice that you got some relaxing time in as well ... definitely would want to maximize the "sitting on the veranda with wine" time

I love the Pirate Mickey and Minnie - so cool and a special meet. That is a nice family pic with Mickey

That is a long time for dinner - especially knowing that people are gathering for the party ... glad you still wound up with a decent spot for the fireworks. Did you see any other cruise ships around? I had heard that some other cruises will bring their ships over to watch the fireworks from the Disney cruise ship

******************

bummer about that restaurant not working out but seems like you fund a good back-up

All the chateau's seem really neat and cool that a number of them have gardens, etc. for Aria to explore ... and nice that you have a lot of more laid back days planned - I think that should fit in well.

Really like the last one with the area having Da Vinci's engineering designs that families can play with - that sounds super cool!

Yeah the fever sort of popped up out of no where before then it was just an annoying cough - the cough kept us from leaving her in the Kid's Club but otherwise I thought she was okay. She was definitely a trooper though!

No the princess lines were only for people with tickets - so I just can imagine how many people tried to get in line who didn't know about the tickets. There was a cM checking tickets as we got in line though to avoid waiting in a long line w/o a ticket!

The verandah was wonderful, seriously a must-have for any cruise.

Pirate mickey & Minnie were so cool to see. During a previous stay at the beach club there was a private Pirate Party going on as a work event (seriously, I want to work at a place that brings everyone to Disney and then throws them a pirate party on the beach club beach!!) and there was Pirate Mickey - it's the only time I've seen Pirate mickey so I was so happy to meet him on our cruise.

I didn't see any other cruise ships around watching the fireworks!

SO excited for the Loire valley portion (although I say this about each place we are stopping at haha). The more relaxing days should be good for all of us too, esp after Paris then Disneyland Paris and how hectic that will be.

I love all of the fun character meets you got to do on the ship! Mickey and Minnie in their pirate costumes is absolutely adorable.

Aww, too bad Aria was not feeling well. I hope that didn't last for the remainder of the trip! It's no fun to be sick on vacation, but it's especially not fun as a parent when your child is not feeling well. She doesn't seem to be letting it slow her down too much though.

Yeah it was too bad, but thankfully we weren't segregated to the room for the whole day or anything (though maybe should have been, IDK?). Either way she was feeling better after some downtime and meds so that was good!

Hope Arias cough and fever subside for the rest of the cruise. SoUnds like a successful day besides her not feeling her best. Wonder why they didn't have your bandanas in your room in time. We did our first Disney cruise last October. With all my research and planning I was so mesmerized on boarding day I forgot about the meet and greet tickets until 5:30. I ran to guest services and they had just given out the last tickets. I was so bummed. We had just done dismey and they had met the characters so quickly remembered there could be kids meeting them for the first time. But I know I won't do that again .

Oh no that is too bad about the tickets - glad you had come from WDW and other character meets but still too bad. Thankfully she was much better after the meds and rest and that mickey bar!

If you don't mind me asking, how much does your rental guy charge per point? We have been renting DVC points lately because I have developed a love of deluxe resorts and staying regularly is a bit too much for my taste. I have been using a company to rent but the prices really don't always impress me. Could you send me his contact info? Thanks, so much.

I will send you a message The company that rents them usually is a few $$ more per point since they are an in between company vs. going straight to a point owner (although there is certainly something to be said for having a company back you, if you don't know your points guy!)

Sorry you had to change around your dining plans, but I can get on board with the above statement!


That looks amazing!

Your airbnb rental looks really cute and the chateaus sound great! I cannot wait to hear all about this trip once you're back!

Haha if I can't enjoy (much) wine then at least I can have lots of chocolate! And macarons! And baguettes! Yummm. Speaking of which, my 1-hour glucose test is Thursday. I BETTER PASS otherwise I will seriously cry. My eating habits have really gone downhill (hello chocolate muffin) but I still feel fine and didn't have GD with Aria so hopefully it'll be ok. (Plus I had this insane sweet tooth with her too).