"This is NOT the once in a lifetime trip I was hoping for!" - (Baby Simba - 12/18)

[shan23877]

So glad that you're enjoying her TR! Isn't it great?!

 

[AvasMommy526]

Ok all caught up!! I'm still bummed that you were still feeling sick, this winter has been rough on everyone!

AK at night is amazing, I remember that being one of the things you were really looking forward to! I won't get to see because we are going in May and it should probably be light the whole time lol! So I'm living vicariously through your photos!

Wooooo Hoooo for BC arrival, I went back and forth back and forth between BLT and BC. I can't wait to see your pics, it's such a beautiful resort and the pool is amazing I've never been to Coral Reef but all your food looks good and Claudia is of course adorable!

I love reading new TRs and I totally agree its like they all get updated on the same day My fiancé thinks I'm nuts over here reading and laughing and he's like do you know these people. I'm like we'll I don't "know" them but I certainly feel like I do He enjoys the food pics!! I want to write a report on our trip, it's gonna be 12 days, 9 park days, a bunch of ADRs, a lot of guests and our Wedding I'm just afraid no one will read it lol Is that normal first trip report anxiety?

And if you don't mind me asking, how much time do you get for maternity leave? We only get 6 or 8 weeks, I know some companies give more but that's the standard here. Luckily, I work with my family and only went back part time so no need for day care bc I couldn't imagine dropping my 8 wk old off with people I didn't know, I really give credit to the working families

Sorry for the long reply, apparently I have a lot to say

 

[ronnmel]

So glad that you're enjoying her TR! Isn't it great?!

It is! She has a great style of writing. Thanks for suggesting it!

Ok all caught up!! I'm still bummed that you were still feeling sick, this winter has been rough on everyone!

AK at night is amazing, I remember that being one of the things you were really looking forward to! I won't get to see because we are going in May and it should probably be light the whole time lol! So I'm living vicariously through your photos!

Wooooo Hoooo for BC arrival, I went back and forth back and forth between BLT and BC. I can't wait to see your pics, it's such a beautiful resort and the pool is amazing I've never been to Coral Reef but all your food looks good and Claudia is of course adorable!

I love reading new TRs and I totally agree its like they all get updated on the same day My fiancé thinks I'm nuts over here reading and laughing and he's like do you know these people. I'm like we'll I don't "know" them but I certainly feel like I do He enjoys the food pics!! I want to write a report on our trip, it's gonna be 12 days, 9 park days, a bunch of ADRs, a lot of guests and our Wedding I'm just afraid no one will read it lol Is that normal first trip report anxiety?

And if you don't mind me asking, how much time do you get for maternity leave? We only get 6 or 8 weeks, I know some companies give more but that's the standard here. Luckily, I work with my family and only went back part time so no need for day care bc I couldn't imagine dropping my 8 wk old off with people I didn't know, I really give credit to the working families

Sorry for the long reply, apparently I have a lot to say

December and January were really rough. Thankfully, February seems to be better. Obviously that could all change once I start working in the germ factory (a.k.a. school) again.

It's so rare to be able to see AK at night, I HAD to make sure I got to do it, no matter if I felt sick or not. Spoiler alert, there will be more AK at night pictures later in the trip.

BLT looks pretty and has the advantage of being on the monorail and within walking distance of MK, but I think BC is more relaxing and has more Disney touches. Still, I'd love to try BLT one day.

I know what you mean about feeling like you "know" all the TR writers or the people who reply to yours (like you guys ) I'll often be talking to Ron and saying "so and so did this, or said that", as if I'm talking about my actual real life friends. Nothing wrong with online friends though, I love you guys!

It's totally normal first trip report anxiety! My first PTR/TR I didn't have as many readers. I was so surprised with the Zombie Apocalypse one when I saw my "views" number growing and growing. When you do start it just advertise yourself by including the link in your signature, and by telling the TR writers you comment on often (like here) that you started one (and include the link). Plus, if you post the word WEDDING in your title, you have a good chance of attracting readers. Sorry for the brain fart, but you're getting married IN Disney, right? If so, that's even cooler!! I, for one, can't wait to read your TR!

We are very lucky with mat leave here. We get 18 weeks of maternity leave and the dads get 5 weeks of paternity. (The first 5 weeks we were off together). Then you get 32 weeks of parental leave, which either just the mom can take, just the dad, both mom and dad together, or share it between mom, then dad. We are doing the last option. I took a total of 40 weeks off (18 + 22) and Ron will take the remaining 10 weeks, meaning he'll be off starting next week. I cannot even imagine being in the states and only getting 8 weeks, and Ron only getting a few days.

I love long replies, don't apologize.

 

[Pluto0809]

Bummer you weren't feeling well and didn't get to eat at Coral Reef. It's one of my favorite restaurants at Disney. Can't wait to eat there next week!

I absolutely love that back pack. Of course that's because it has Pluto on it!

 

[KatMark]

Mel, I'm so sorry you weren't feeling well. But I'm so glad you got the Chocolate Wave anyway. Isn't it wonderful? I would go back just for that.

Love the pictures of Peanut in her high chair...she just hasn't the sweetest smile.

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

I have never seen a line at Spaceship Earth!

I think we're doing Coral Reef again next time. We skipped it last trip, but Julia has requested it again, and you know she plans as much as I do! I don't think everybody likes it for the food; I think they like the aquarium! I swear we were at that same exact table in 2011.

I hate that you felt so crummy on this trip .

I can't wait to see Beach Club!! You know you've inspired me to do AoA, then switch to a deluxe .

 

[SAT887]

Ok... WOW on your maternity leave I had to scrape and scrounge all my vacation and personal time to get my 12 weeks both times. I'm kinda jealous thankfully I was able to go part time after my first (which I know I am lucky to have the ability to do) I'm glad you and Ron are able to take advantage of it : I wish the US would join much of the rest of the world as far as maternity/paternity leave.

 

[MrsDrewsky]

That's great! Have you chosen a name yet?

We both like the name Jonah.

I love the idea of someone to help with our little guy during the trip, but it will most likely just be the two of us and baby. Hopefully our little one will be easy going and want to nap in his stroller. I hadn't even really thought about washing bottles and packing so much for the parks until you mentioned it.

Did resort transportation work out for the most part? Rental car prices have been so high lately we are hoping to do without.

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Ok... I was a little bit behind...

I agree about Cars not my favorite movie... but the CARS sections of AoA really appeals to me... I love that whole road trip... Route 66 ... diners, motels kind of theming ... I'd love to see a room there...

Wow... you were really feeling off for a bit huh? I hope you get better by the end... I feel like so many people have been sick this winter...

When I read about the fight in MK... I know how nervous you must have felt... WHAT is going on with people this year at Disney?... I've read quite a few TRs where people where people have witnessed rudeness and a general lack of civility recently at WDW... sigh let's hope it was something in the water and not a trend...

I think the tree at AK is really well themed and pretty awesome and I happen to be a big fan of the parade there as well... it's really unique and creative...

oh wow... lucky you to see AK all lit up at night...

I like EE but would definitely skip it if I was feeling off as well...

The Coral Reef is really a lovely restaurant... I hope you're up to some Dis food some...

 

[Brook730]

Awesome TR so far... Lol you are helping me get my disney fix before we leave in a few day's.

 

[ronnmel]

Bummer you weren't feeling well and didn't get to eat at Coral Reef. It's one of my favorite restaurants at Disney. Can't wait to eat there next week!

I absolutely love that back pack. Of course that's because it has Pluto on it!

Otaku and Ron enjoyed their food at Coral Reef, so while I don't think we will be going back next trip, I'm sure we'll come back once Peanut is older. Hopefully I won't be sick then as well. I hope you have a great meal there next week!

I think you like Pluto as much as I love Stitch. You have way more choices for Pluto merchandise though. Good thing I also like Tink a lot.

Mel, I'm so sorry you weren't feeling well. But I'm so glad you got the Chocolate Wave anyway. Isn't it wonderful? I would go back just for that.

Love the pictures of Peanut in her high chair...she just hasn't the sweetest smile.

The Chocolate Wave was divine indeed! I would totally eat just that and be okay.

That picture of her in the high chair is one of my favorites!

I have never seen a line at Spaceship Earth!

I think we're doing Coral Reef again next time. We skipped it last trip, but Julia has requested it again, and you know she plans as much as I do! I don't think everybody likes it for the food; I think they like the aquarium! I swear we were at that same exact table in 2011.

I hate that you felt so crummy on this trip .

I can't wait to see Beach Club!! You know you've inspired me to do AoA, then switch to a deluxe .

I have seen a line at Spaceship Earth before, but very rarely and thankfully it has never lasted all day.

The aquarium is totally a good reason to go to Coral Reef. Julia made a good choice! It was a great table. Though looking at my pictures again, I can see that some tables way up close were not taken yet. I should have asked for one, but I was still in survival mode at that point and it did not even cross my mind.

I'm honored that I inspired you to switch to AoA. There is not even one doubt in my mind that your kids will be in heaven at that resort. I forgot, what deluxe are you doing again? Though you know, once they are at AoA they may not want to switch.

Ok... WOW on your maternity leave I had to scrape and scrounge all my vacation and personal time to get my 12 weeks both times. I'm kinda jealous thankfully I was able to go part time after my first (which I know I am lucky to have the ability to do) I'm glad you and Ron are able to take advantage of it : I wish the US would join much of the rest of the world as far as maternity/paternity leave.

I know we are very lucky here compared to the US. I should not complain, but I think it doesn't matter how long or short your mat leave is, most moms don't want to go back to work after it's over. Besides the 15 weeks paternity/parental leave Ron got, he still got his usual vacation time, which is why we were able to go to Disney. I feel it's so much better for the child to have their parents at home longer, and for the parents to really adjust slowly to the new kid and to focus on the baby's needs while not being so stressed out with work.

 

[ronnmel]

We both like the name Jonah.

I love the idea of someone to help with our little guy during the trip, but it will most likely just be the two of us and baby. Hopefully our little one will be easy going and want to nap in his stroller. I hadn't even really thought about washing bottles and packing so much for the parks until you mentioned it.

Did resort transportation work out for the most part? Rental car prices have been so high lately we are hoping to do without.

Jonah is a nice name, and one I have only seen once in all my years of teaching.

Here's what we brought to the parks everyday in our bags.
In a string back pack that we would usually hang on the stroller we had :
- a think blanket,
- a thick blanket (because in January the temperatures can go to almost freezing at night),
- the sun shade (the shade that came with the stroller was small, so we bought a removable one),
- a rain cover (we ended up leaving the rain cover in the stroller basket all the time, and the sun shade either on the stroller, or in the basket)
- a ziploc bag with 2 changes of clothes
- a sun hat
Basically all "light" items that we either needed for the stroller, or rarely needed.

In our regular backpack :
- 5 bottles with the right amount of water already in (one time we ran out of bottles so I went to the baby care center to wash one and put water in it)
- 2 formula dispensers (so we had enough formula for 6 bottles)
- diapers, wipes, changing mat
- Baby sunscreen (we were bad and rarely put it on her, but she was mostly in long sleeve and 95% of the time in the shade of the stroller
- In a big ziploc bags, things to feed her (spoon, puree, plastic bib, wet wash cloth)
- Toys (things to chew on, things that rattle) We thought later on in the trip to tie a toy to a lanyard, and tie the lanyard to the stroller. That way she wouldn't throw it on the ground. Before that when we were on the move we'd just give her the chew toy that straps around her wrist.

It's a lot. Looking back, I wish we had either gone a few months early (before she started eating cereals/purees), or a few months later (once she would start eating finger food for real). That would have made our lives so much easier. And as I said earlier, breastfeeding would also have been easier.

As for transportation, it was no problem. We had chosen that umbrella stroller (go check the PTR for details) specifically for the ease of folding it. I could literally fold it with one hand. We just had to share between us who would hold the baby, the stroller and the bags.

Ok... I was a little bit behind...

I agree about Cars not my favorite movie... but the CARS sections of AoA really appeals to me... I love that whole road trip... Route 66 ... diners, motels kind of theming ... I'd love to see a room there...

Wow... you were really feeling off for a bit huh? I hope you get better by the end... I feel like so many people have been sick this winter...

When I read about the fight in MK... I know how nervous you must have felt... WHAT is going on with people this year at Disney?... I've read quite a few TRs where people where people have witnessed rudeness and a general lack of civility recently at WDW... sigh let's hope it was something in the water and not a trend...

I think the tree at AK is really well themed and pretty awesome and I happen to be a big fan of the parade there as well... it's really unique and creative...

oh wow... lucky you to see AK all lit up at night...

I like EE but would definitely skip it if I was feeling off as well...

The Coral Reef is really a lovely restaurant... I hope you're up to some Dis food some...

Awesome TR so far... Lol you are helping me get my disney fix before we leave in a few day's.

Glad you are enjoying the TR so far, even though those were not our best days. I hope you have a magical trip!

 

[ronnmel]

Day 3 part 2 - The One With The Lost Key


I want to apologize for the lack of photos in this update. I promise I got better at picture-taking as the trip went on.

We walked out of Epcot via the International Gateway and were soon arriving at the Beach Club.

I know everyone raves about the wonderful smell of the Beach Club lobby, but let me tell you, its not so wonderful when you are feeling nauseous. It does look positively gorgeous in any circumstances though.

More Beach Club Lobby "& more" pictures HERE.
I went to the check-in counter while Otaku and Peanut sat in the big chair.

We had booked a garden view and our only request was a full balcony. Not only did we get it, but we also got a daybed. And bonus, our room was ready! We went to our room, which was down a few hallways. You can check out my room review HERE. For now Ill post my favorite photos.

Our luggage had not arrived from AoA, but we did have our swimsuits in our park bag. I had forgotten to pack flip-flops so I went to check to see if they had any at the Marketplace (the Beach Club souvenir shop). They had some, but none I liked. I even walked all the way to the Yacht Club store (wow, that was further than I thought!), but they didnt have any either. I should have bought the Reefs I had seen the night before at the Polynesian.

I went back to the room and Otaku and I changed into our swimsuits. We left for the pool while Ron and Peanut napped. We hadnt received the Pack n Play yet, so we had put her on the bed in the middle with pillows all around her. We forgot to bring the waterproof camera with us (or any camera for that matter), so there will be no pictures (this time). We grabbed towels and received our wrist bands. We tried the zero entry with the sand bank first. The water was a bit colder than I was expecting. Then we went into the lazy river. That part if very deep, and has a small current. I had no choice but to get all wet here. The water did not feel so cold once in. We swam a bit, then switched to the other pool and stood with our shoulders and neck under the waterfall. Kinda like a massage. It felt great! Thats when I realized that I had lost the lanyard that held our room keys. We searched for it in the water. We had not brought the goggles, so it was difficult to see well. We went back to the lazy river and looked around some more. When we got to the place where I had gone underwater, I asked a lifeguard sitting nearby. She had found it! I wrapped it around my wrist several times (as opposed to around my neck). We swam a bit more, but I was getting cold. We ended our pool time with a dip in the hot tub before going back to the room.

Our luggage still had not arrived. The CM at bell service said he called and was told by AoA that they had an unusually large amount of resort switching that day and were behind. I think this had to do with the room-only discount starting that day that was not offered at AoA. We showered and just hung around the room and on the balcony.

Finally around 5pm they brought our luggage up to our room. We organized our stuff all over the room as we had realized at AoA that traveling with a baby required more organization. Here are some of the things we did:

- On the day bed we set up her diaper changing station. Her luggage was on the dresser right next to it, so we could also dress her in the morning.
- Otaku's luggage took up the other half of the day bed.
- There is a sliding shelf next to the mini fridge, we put the baby purees there.
- We like to live out of our luggage, so we put ours on the left side of the dresser. The dresser is huge, so we still had plenty of space left to put down our things for the day (cameras, pins, keys, etc.)
- We had bags for our dirty clothes in front of the connecting door.
- We used the left sink only to wash bottles. In between the sinks we put down a drying mat.
- On the shelf above the sinks we put the things needed for the bottles (soap, formula, thermos with water) on the left side, and our toilettries on the right side.
- We also used the space underneath the sinks to put empty luggages, and a few more items we didn't need often.
- We'd park the stroller in that area too, close to the wall divider between the sink area and the beds.​

That's pretty much it in terms of organization.


At last around 7pm we were ready to leave. Where to?​

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Beach Club looks BEAUTIFUL!!!

Good thing the lifeguard found your key! It's so easy to lose them though.

 

[shan23877]

The Beach Club is lovely no matter what.

Reading all that you carried, and how you had to organize is making me really glad that we didn't leave the state until Maddie was 3. I can't imagine trying to pack all of that for travel, much less for each day. I guess I'm too far removed from it now-I'm overwhelmed!

Thank goodness you found the lanyard! I know that you can easily get a new key made, but that had to worry you.

 

[cheekypoppins]

I've never done a room switch before but I will be doing one in October,so if you have any pointers on it please share them with me.

 

[ronnmel]

Beach Club looks BEAUTIFUL!!!

Good thing the lifeguard found your key! It's so easy to lose them though.

It is a beautiful resort.

Yes, it's so easy to lose the key. I didn't want to leave it unattended on my chair either.

The Beach Club is lovely no matter what.

Reading all that you carried, and how you had to organize is making me really glad that we didn't leave the state until Maddie was 3. I can't imagine trying to pack all of that for travel, much less for each day. I guess I'm too far removed from it now-I'm overwhelmed!

Thank goodness you found the lanyard! I know that you can easily get a new key made, but that had to worry you.

Yes it is.

I think we just traveled at the worst possible age. 2 months earlier or 3-4 months later and we would not have had to carry all the extra feeding stuff. We are not planning on going back until kid #2 (no, not pregnant yet, just planning) is at least over a year old, most probably 2. That means no Disney for several years.

I've never done a room switch before but I will be doing one in October,so if you have any pointers on it please share them with me.

It was our first room switch, but it was so easy! The morning of the switch, either call bell service to pick up your luggage, or bring it to them yourself if you can't afford to wait. Just tell them your name and which resort you will be going to. They'll put everything on a cart, including the number of bags/luggage there is. Make sure to have everything you need for the day in your park bag (that includes reservation number, IDs, credit card, and swimsuits if you want to use the pool). Then just go to whatever park you want. When you are ready, check in at your new resort. Even if your room is not ready, you can still use the pool. Once your room IS ready, just call to have bell service bring your luggage to your room. Just be aware that the luggage might not be transferred until the end of the day, if they are really busy (like they were that day for us).

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Oh, Beach Club looks wonderful! Too bad that the smell made you sick, though ! That's the first time I've heard that one .

Gosh, those rooms are so beautiful and that location is so convenient to Epcot! We are going from AoA to Contemporary next time for the convenience to MK, but I would love to stay at an Epcot resort one day when we do more Epcot visits than MK visits. It's a favorite for both of us, but we're just waiting for the kids to catch up on the obsession.

So lucky that the lifeguard found your lanyard. Phew!

I LOVE ORGANIZATION. Just reading about it makes me happy, seriously.

 

[Britard]

Loving the report so far! Can't wait to see what else happens!

 

[starousse]

So happy to see that the room was nice. We have a garden view booked for May and I keep questioning myself if I should have chosen a water view room. Hope to hear more about your room.