Nory and Simba CRAWL through the World: We're Back! Thoughts on FastpassPlus NEW 10/5

[norybell]

I never do PTRs! But this time, this trip, I seriously need some help&or at least a good spot to try to organize my plans. Why? you might ask. Well, for two big reasons:

1. This trip is super last-minute. We leave in 12 days!

2. Ill be traveling with Simba, my 11-month-old son. Its his second triphis first was in Mayand this one will be very different. Mostly because hes now mobile, and wants to crawl everywhere. So Ill have to do some serious brainstorming, thinking of places where I can let him loose!

It will also be different because on the last trip, I had a lot of help: my DH, both my parents, all three of my sisters, one brother-in-law, and one niece (I know, that trip wouldve made a great TR, but I was too busy to take pictures or notes!). Whereas on this trip, it will only be:

Me! Nory, writer of this PTR (also of the currently ongoing Nory Report III, and the long-completed Its a SO-LO Trip Report and Fleeing Wedding Showers for Epcot Flowers). Before Simba came along, I was addicted to solo WDW trips (Ive been on 8 solo trips, and 5 family trips, since 2009), so traveling with a little one is a big change for me!

Note: Ive been a bit camera shy since Simba was born, so this is an old photo, taken a week after I learned I was pregnant (am I glowing?). Please add five inches to my hair and 30 pounds (eek) to the rest of me. AlsoCan you name the WDW resort it was taken at?

Simba, the love of my life! Born in late October (brought home from the hospital two days before Sandy knocked out our power for a week), I cant believe my little man is almost a year old already. Im bound and determined to raise him as a WDW lover, no matter what my DH says! Hes so much more engaged with new things now than he was during our May trip, I cant wait to see him experiencing the new sights and sounds of WDW this time around.

Belle, one of my three little sisters. She and her husband live in FL, and they were already planning to visit with some friends for F&W. I didnt want to distract from their fun grownup plans, so I suggested she meet up with Simba and I a few days earlier, and she happily agreed.

Thats it! The whole cast for this 4-night trip. DH cant make it because of work (I think one trip a year is probably more than enough for him, anyway), and the rest of my family either has work or travel commitments. So itll just be the three of us. Actually, for the first day and night, itll just be Simba and IBelles joining us on Day 2.

Any tips on traveling and doing Disney with a crawler would be hugely appreciateditll be a whole new WDW for me!

So&where are we staying?

CONTENTS
Where Will We Stay?
MagicBands and Travel Plans
What Will We Do? Day 1
What Will We Do? Day 1, Revisited
What Will We Do? Day 2
What Will We Do? Day 3
What Will We Do? Day 4
What Will We Do? Day 5
We're Back! Some Thoughts on Fastpass Plus

 

[KatMark]

Subscribing...be back to read in a little while (have a 9:30 client coming in).

***Client running late, so I'm back. I love that you are taking a trip in 12 days with just you and Simba (and your Sister for part of it). The Baby Care centers at all of the parks are huge rooms with plenty of space for Simba to crawl around and use up some energy.

Oooh...I'm anxiously awaiting where you are staying.

And, for the picture of you, is that one of the POR resorts?

 

[snoopygirl79]

Subscribing!! I've loved all of your TRs so far so looking forward to hearing about this trip with Simba who is just gorgeous!!

I can't offer any help or advice as we took our girls to Disneyland Paris when they were 18 months old and had just learned to walk which was handy!! But still able to go back in their pushchairs!! So I'm no help with taking a crawler!!

 

[norybell]

Subscribing...be back to read in a little while (have a 9:30 client coming in).

***Client running late, so I'm back. I love that you are taking a trip in 12 days with just you and Simba (and your Sister for part of it). The Baby Care centers at all of the parks are huge rooms with plenty of space for Simba to crawl around and use up some energy.

Oooh...I'm anxiously awaiting where you are staying.

And, for the picture of you, is that one of the POR resorts?

Hi Kat! Thanks for the tip...we'll definitely have to check out the Baby Care centers.

Just in case anyone else guesses, I'm going to hold off on revealing the photo location for a bit...can you handle the suspense?

Subscribing!! I've loved all of your TRs so far so looking forward to hearing about this trip with Simba who is just gorgeous!!

I can't offer any help or advice as we took our girls to Disneyland Paris when they were 18 months old and had just learned to walk which was handy!! But still able to go back in their pushchairs!! So I'm no help with taking a crawler!!

Thanks so much! (And no argument here about the gorgeousness of Simba!) Part of me hopes that Simba will have hit the assisted walking stage, but he's really just starting to cruise along the furniture, so we probably have a little while yet. Luckily, he's still pretty happy in his baby carrier (if not always the stroller), so I'm sure I'll be using that a lot. Good exercise for me, right?

 

[wiigirl]

Following along!

 

[norybell]

First, I considered staying here, because I always consider staying here:

Mostly because this might be my favorite view anywhere:

Let’s take a closer look, shall we?

Because of Simba, my biggest factors in choosing a resort were convenience (being able to get to the parks easily and quickly) and space (so Simba can crawl around, and, preferably, have a separate area to sleep in, since neither he nor I are the greatest sleepers. Also, he goes to bed at 7:00. And I don’t.). The Poly definitely met the convenience factor. But we’d have to get connecting rooms…doable, but pricey.

Then, I thought about staying here:

I’ve stayed at the Contemporary twice before, and while the vibe doesn’t leave it as one of my faves, the walking path to the MK would be amazing with Simba.

First, I checked into BLT, because a 1-bedroom would be perfect. DH, Simba, and I stayed in a Boardwalk 1-bedroom in May, and we set up the Pack ‘n’ Play in the tub area, which was great. I figured that on this trip, we could again use the tub room for Simba, and either Belle and I could share the bed, or, if she didn’t want to be woken up by Simba in the night, Belle could sleep on the pull-out in the living room. Plenty of wonderful space for Simba to crawl around in. But, unsurprisingly, no BLT 1-bedrooms were available at such short notice, and the only regular rooms left were club level, so the CR was a no-go.

Next, I dreamed of staying here:

because of the total MK convenience of this:

To be more specific, I dreamed of staying in the sparkly new GF Villas. But even if there had been any availability, the lack of an AP discount didn’t really make it an option (the idea of paying rack rates for any WDW rooms makes me ). So, we were back to the idea of two pricey rooms, and if I were going to do that, I’d take the Poly. So the GF was out.

The MK and the AK are the two parks I’m most excited for Simba to see.

So, next up I considered staying here:

where for some strange reason, I have no external shots. Anyway, I wasn’t really considering AKL, but was thinking about the villas there. They’re more affordable and readily available, and I figured Simba would love seeing these guys:

The giraffe, for some mysterious reason, has become the spirit animal of our household.

But of course that whole convenience thing came into play…if we stayed at AKV, we wouldn’t be able to walk anywhere. Hm.

Finally, I settled on the perfect spot:

Hooray! We’ll be in a 1-bedroom at BCV for four nights. I’ve stayed at the Beach Club before, but never in a villa, so that will be new and fun for me. Easy access to Epcot and DHS, and the sandy baby area of Stormalong Bay for Simba, plus a monorail ride to the MK—it couldn’t be better! I’m so excited!

 

[Poolrat]

Hooray for BCV. Hooray for a last minute trip.


I have 30 days until I check in.

 

[KatMark]

Hooray for having your resort picked out.

 

[norybell]

Look at what I have!

(Our real names are actually printed on the box where the white rectangles are.)

I’m so excited to get to try out FastPass Plus! I don’t actually think that anything will ever be as nice, or as efficient, as the (recently) old days, when you could collect FPs and return anytime after the window opened. I miss that already. On our last trip, because we had to return in the windows, we just did a lot less (and didn’t stay in the parks for as long). Oh well, times they are a-changin’, I guess.

And who knows, maybe FP+ will end up being awesome. I predict that it will be nice during this testing phase, when it’s super easy to make your selections and change them on the fly if needed. But I worry that once everyone has them, in order to get good ones you’ll have to plan way too far in advance for me.

I also hope they’ll eventually let you get more than three for any given day…like, once you use one, you can get another one, or something.

Anyway, it’s still exciting to try something new!

More on what I’ve chosen for our FPs when I get to the day-to-day plans.

In other news, I booked our airplane tickets yesterday using AmEx miles (hooray!), on JetBlue, which is by far my favorite airline (so a second hooray!). We’ll arrive on Sunday, 9/29 in the late morning, and leave Wednesday, 10/3 in the early afternoon.

I spent a lot of time agonizing over stroller and car seat options. I won’t take you through all of the options I considered, but I will tell you that I’ve spent far more time thinking about how I’ll best get through the airport alone with baby, carseat (I’m a firm believer in getting babies their own seat on the plane, despite the extra expense, for both safety and comfort reasons), stroller, and carryons, than I have thinking about park plans and ADRs!

Finally I decided to rent a stroller in Orlando from Kingdom Strollers, which should make my life much easier. I can attach his brand new carseat (he just outgrew the infant one so we had to upgrade) to the Snap ‘n’ Go (a stroller frame). I can put the diaper bag in the basket underneath the stroller, my purse in the carseat itself, and everything else we need in a backpack on my back. Oh, and I can’t forget Simba! He’ll be in a lightweight travel carrier, strapped to my chest.

I’ll feel like a Sherpa! But I’ve flown with him alone before, and I know it works. It won’t be fun, but it will get us on the plane. I’ll probably have to suck it up and pay JetBlue’s $2 per bag curbside check-in fees, because I don’t see how I’d possibly be able to add two checked bags to the mix! Plus, I’ll have to send down some diapers and baby food and stuff. Flying with Simba sure is a lot more complicated than my solo flying days!

 

[MataHari22]

Wow! Have fun on your spur of the moment trip. I booked two months in advance and for me, that's spontaneous, since I usually book almost a year out. Lol Love all your photos.

 

[KatMark]

I will be very curious to hear your thoughts on the MB and the FP+. I am still not sold on the whole idea. And, like you, I miss the fastpasses where you could come back at any time after your window opened.

I don't know how you do it with just you and the baby and all that stuff. More power to you, my friend.

 

[norybell]

Hooray for BCV. Hooray for a last minute trip.


I have 30 days until I check in.

Hooray for 30 days!

Wow! Have fun on your spur of the moment trip. I booked two months in advance and for me, that's spontaneous, since I usually book almost a year out. Lol Love all your photos.

Thanks! Looks like we'll almost be there at the same time...it's so close! Have a great trip!

I will be very curious to hear your thoughts on the MB and the FP+. I am still not sold on the whole idea. And, like you, I miss the fastpasses where you could come back at any time after your window opened.

Yeah, despite my eagerness to test out the MagicBands, in truth I'm quietly mourning the loss of the old system. It was so perfect! You could do so much in a day! With no lines at all! Sigh.

I already haven't been crazy about having to think so specifically about my day-to-day park plans. After so many trips, I just don't plan it in that much detail anymore, you know? It was actually kind of stressful for me to figure out, and once the system is fully live and options are more limited, I'm sure it'll be worse. Sure, it'll be nice to be able to reserve an afternoon Soarin' FP for arrival day. But I have a feeling the tradeoff won't be worth it.

I guess we'll see!

I don't know how you do it with just you and the baby and all that stuff. More power to you, my friend.

It won't be pretty. But anything for a WDW trip, right?

 

[LB1122]

HOW FUN AND EXCITING!!! I am so jealous of this spur of the moment trip...you are lucky.

We are at least under the 100 mark but less then 12...dreaming of a day I can do that.

Have so much fun. I will be reading along as you prep.

 

[MEK]

Yay for a mommy and Simba trip. He is absolutely adorable and I am sure he will delight in all the sights and sounds that are Disney. I'm glad you were able to get a 1BR at BCV. That's awesome. How great that your sister will be joining you.

I can't even imagine getting on a plane with a 1 year old, but people do it all the time. I am sure you will manage it wonderfully. How great you were able to use miles. Sounds like everything is really falling into place. I wish our trips overlapped, but *sigh* they don't. I look forward to reading all about this trip.

 

[norybell]

HOW FUN AND EXCITING!!! I am so jealous of this spur of the moment trip...you are lucky.

We are at least under the 100 mark but less then 12...dreaming of a day I can do that.

Have so much fun. I will be reading along as you prep.

Thanks for joining in! And December will be here before you know it! And everything will look so beautiful with the holiday decorations!

Yay for a mommy and Simba trip. He is absolutely adorable and I am sure he will delight in all the sights and sounds that are Disney. I'm glad you were able to get a 1BR at BCV. That's awesome. How great that your sister will be joining you.

I can't even imagine getting on a plane with a 1 year old, but people do it all the time. I am sure you will manage it wonderfully. How great you were able to use miles. Sounds like everything is really falling into place. I wish our trips overlapped, but *sigh* they don't. I look forward to reading all about this trip.

I'm feeling much less stressed about all of the travel stuff, now that I know for sure the carseat fits on the stroller frame. I guess now I should focus on packing. 10 days! Eek!

 

[Poolrat]

For the Magic Bands.

I just got the letter today so I could get mine.

Just need to figure out to how to get my AP on there when I will need a new one by trip time and I have a voucher.


I travelled with a 1 year old once on an airplane by myself. I was a bit stressed out but survived. I am sure you will be fine.

 

[norybell]

For the Magic Bands.

I just got the letter today so I could get mine.

Just need to figure out to how to get my AP on there when I will need a new one by trip time and I have a voucher.

Yeah, they need to come up with some way to plan FP+s for people who are picking up tickets will call. My sister's in the same boat (she's getting a military ticket once she gets there).

 

[norybell]

I honestly don't know what we'll do on Day 1.

Our flight leaves around 8:00, which means we'll have to get up around 5:00. I figure we'll probably get to BCV around 1:00, maybe a little earlier.

I'm so, so sorely tempted by this:

This first night is the only night of our stay with MNSSHP. I'm so tempted. But I'm talking myself out of it. Simba's bedtime is typically 7:00, and it seems like a bad idea to keep him up late on the same day he's had to wake up early. Sure, he could maybe sleep in the carrier or the stroller, but then it's not like I can do much (Belle, remember, isn't arriving until Day 2).

Anyway. He usually naps around 1:30, so if I'm lucky and our room is ready, maybe I'll try to get him to sleep for a bit.

After that, I really want to go here:

I'm guessing that, after a day of travel, I won't feel like getting back on a bus. So we'll probably walk here:

and then take the monorail. Of course, there's a perfectly good chance we won't make it past Epcot. That would be OK, too. Actually, it would be much more relaxing than heading to the MK, even if there are fewer rides for Simba.

OK, the more I think about it, the more I think there's probably a 75% chance we'll just stay in Epcot. Even though there's SO much more I think Simba will enjoy at the MK. Hm.

Our current FP+ selections for this day are at the MK (for Peter Pan, which closes the next day, Under the Sea, and Enchanted Tales with Belle). I had to take total guesses at the times for them, in the hopes that I can change them on the fly when I know when (and if) we're getting there. I'll just leave them as they are for now, because, to be totally honest, thinking too hard about exactly when I might want a FP for a specific ride 10 days from now stresses me out!

I'll probably grab stuff from F&W booths for snack, and order room service for dinner after Simba goes to bed. Simba will get a lovely meal of breast milk, baby food, a banana or something from the Marketplace, and probably a few bites here and there of my F&W snacks (assuming I get anything remotely healthy, that is).

 

[MEK]

Sounds like the perfect arrival day. Yes - going to the party would be fun, but I am sure you won't mind making adjustments for youngest traveler.

 

[Poolrat]

Yeah, they need to come up with some way to plan FP+s for people who are picking up tickets will call. My sister's in the same boat (she's getting a military ticket once she gets there).

I called today and a most excellent CM EJ was most helpful.

You can easily link the new voucher through MDE. Took me seconds

Now with the questions EJ was asking me the will call came up. We didn't go over that but there is options for many types to link so my guess is if she has a confirmation number use it.


First Day travels with Simba... I guess have plan A, B and C and see what fits best. I am sure room being ready and weather will help you decide.