~ A 21 month old, a celebrity sighting, & a whole lotta food~2 week trip~ 2/28 update

[DreaGirl]

Sorry about the burn! I'm glad it healed quickly and didn't leave a scar.

I have the Tangierene cafe on my list of CS to try on our trip. I think I'll go with the wrap, it looked so good!!

I love Morocco. It is so colorful and fun in there.

That Napoleon....YUM!!!!! I think Todd was truly feeling it, not just posing.

 

[xoktenox]

Ughhh to burning yourseld on the curling iron! I burn myself on the hair straightener allllll the time. I have pictures of myself when I burned myself 2 times on the side of my face and it looks like I got into a catfight LOL I also have given myself 2nd degree burns, once on my finger and another time on my arm, with that thing! Obviously I'm just a spaz but I feel your pain!! haha

Ahhh what a great morning at Epcot! I've never done WS in the morning. For some reason I always just start in FW but it sounds so nice over there when they first open.

Next time I'm there I really want to stop and see some of the videos like the ones in America and France. They both sound interesting and relaxing too.

OMG that napoleon! I used to work in a supermarket bakery that made them but NOTHING that looked like that! That is soooo on my list of snacks for next trip!

 

[DevonsDisneyMom]

Loving the report!! Your son is so well behaved for his age!! You must feel very lucky I know how you feel about the whole burning yourself while doing the hair thing!! I swear I burn myself with my flat iron at least once a month for no good reason!!! Can't wait for the the next installment!

 

[tinkgurl]

I. CAN'T. BELIEVE IT!! I would never have expected that from you!! Why do you not go see it? Do you have a reason or has it just never happened?

It's just never happened!

 

[Connorsmom0]

Just found your TR. We are leaving for disney in a little over 2 weeks so I have been showing my dd (almost 3) your report. She is excited.

 

[Porturican]

So does each country have their own movie? How long do they usually run? 15 min, 30 min? I would love to catch a few but I want to know how much time to plan for.
Thank you!

cant wait till u update again!

 

[LilAnn]

Great update! I love WS, but I actually don't think I've ever done that when it first opened. Maybe this trip we'll try that since we'll have our little one with us. Your little boy is just adorable. Love the pics.

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

Sorry about the burn! I'm glad it healed quickly and didn't leave a scar.

I have the Tangierene cafe on my list of CS to try on our trip. I think I'll go with the wrap, it looked so good!!

I love Morocco. It is so colorful and fun in there.

That Napoleon....YUM!!!!! I think Todd was truly feeling it, not just posing.

I think you are right. Whenever we talk about that dessert he gets this far-away look in his eyes and he looks totally satisfied. It almost like even the memory of it brings him happiness.

Ughhh to burning yourseld on the curling iron! I burn myself on the hair straightener allllll the time. I have pictures of myself when I burned myself 2 times on the side of my face and it looks like I got into a catfight LOL I also have given myself 2nd degree burns, once on my finger and another time on my arm, with that thing! Obviously I'm just a spaz but I feel your pain!! haha

Ahhh what a great morning at Epcot! I've never done WS in the morning. For some reason I always just start in FW but it sounds so nice over there when they first open.

Next time I'm there I really want to stop and see some of the videos like the ones in America and France. They both sound interesting and relaxing too.

OMG that napoleon! I used to work in a supermarket bakery that made them but NOTHING that looked like that! That is soooo on my list of snacks for next trip!

I don't burn myself very often, and I have never done it on my face before. Again, all I could think was that I just created a problem in our vacation photos. FW in the morning is nice because there is no one there. That is why we thought taking the boat over would be cool because it would save our legs from walking and then we would be working in the opposite direction of everyone else. Definitely try the Napoleon on your upcoming trip. You won't be sorry!

Loving the report!! Your son is so well behaved for his age!! You must feel very lucky I know how you feel about the whole burning yourself while doing the hair thing!! I swear I burn myself with my flat iron at least once a month for no good reason!!! Can't wait for the the next installment!

Thanks for joining in! Yes, we know that we have been blessed with a very good little boy. He has always had a sweet little personality and doesn't have melt downs very often. Even as a baby, he would just hang out for hours with me on the bleachers at Todd's volleyball games (he's a coach) and never cry at all. Crazy! But we are grateful for it, for sure!

Just found your TR. We are leaving for disney in a little over 2 weeks so I have been showing my dd (almost 3) your report. She is excited.

Aww, that's sweet. I bet she is getting so excited for your trip. Have you taken her there before?

It's just never happened!

Hopefully you can get in there on your next trip. I promise that you won't be disappointed! It's very moving.

So does each country have their own movie? How long do they usually run? 15 min, 30 min? I would love to catch a few but I want to know how much time to plan for.
Thank you!

cant wait till u update again!

Not all of them have a movie, but a lot of them do. I would say to give the American Adventure 30 minutes, and I remember them saying that a movie started every 18 minutes in France. Canada & Japan have movies, and Norway has a movie after you get off the boat ride. Most people just skip the movie at the end, but a few years ago we sat through it and were surprised at how pretty it was.

Great update! I love WS, but I actually don't think I've ever done that when it first opened. Maybe this trip we'll try that since we'll have our little one with us. Your little boy is just adorable. Love the pics.

The afternoons can get so hot in WS, so the mornings allow you to not rush from one building to another to get into the AC. Plus it is not that crowded, so you can visit the attractions with less people around. Thank you for your comments! Sometimes I feel like I might include too many pictures, but I love seeing everyone else's pics, so I just keep adding all of my favorites in my TR.

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Hello !

Subbing on.

I have really enjoyed your TR and I read your PreTR as well...Your family is lovely-I had to laugh when your DH said you practically vaulted over the bed to get to your son-my DD who is 14 had a bad dream last night and I awoke to hear her wimpering and I practically did the same thing...I guess your baby is always your baby...

I had to read when I saw your DisName-Sunset Cliffs-loved San Diego=(but I actually love most of California I've seen including Disneyland-I agree that Pirates is better than-still deciding about IASW... but Fantasyland over all is awesome and the Indy Ride......I've read about all the redo s for California Adventure including the whole new Radiator Springs land from Cars...it'll be fabulous...( I could go on about DL and California but suffice it to say I'd move to the Bay Area in a heartbeat...)

I'm glad you enjoyed Boma-we have ressies there in less than 2 weeks...

I think its really lovely that your parents were able to come...nothing like grandparents...

So sorry about the burns... burns are the worst...I hope you've healed up...(I burned my self on my side while cooking right before the 4th of July-2nd degree...horror show-much better now...but wow did they hurt...)

Looking forward to more reading...

 

[Raecheal]

I"m so sorry you burnt yourself.. i hate it when that happens especially in a cleary vision location.. ohhh.

Great update.. I must say I love shawarma, generally beef tho. MMmmM.. delicious.

That Napoleon looks delicous.. we may have to make a stop at this pastry shop. I love the photo of Todd enjoying his dessert..totally something Dbf would do.

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

Hello !

Subbing on.

I have really enjoyed your TR and I read your PreTR as well...Your family is lovely-I had to laugh when your DH said you practically vaulted over the bed to get to your son-my DD who is 14 had a bad dream last night and I awoke to hear her wimpering and I practically did the same thing...I guess your baby is always your baby...

I had to read when I saw your DisName-Sunset Cliffs-loved San Diego=(but I actually love most of California I've seen including Disneyland-I agree that Pirates is better than-still deciding about IASW... but Fantasyland over all is awesome and the Indy Ride......I've read about all the redo s for California Adventure including the whole new Radiator Springs land from Cars...it'll be fabulous...( I could go on about DL and California but suffice it to say I'd move to the Bay Area in a heartbeat...)

I'm glad you enjoyed Boma-we have ressies there in less than 2 weeks...

I think its really lovely that your parents were able to come...nothing like grandparents...

So sorry about the burns... burns are the worst...I hope you've healed up...(I burned my self on my side while cooking right before the 4th of July-2nd degree...horror show-much better now...but wow did they hurt...)

Looking forward to more reading...

Welcome! Thanks for joining in. Yes, it was funny when I found myself running down the hall to get him. I can still remember doing that when he was first born...some habits die hard.

Yes, I love SD too! I really miss living there and it's nice that both Todd & I have family that still live there so it is a nice excuse to keep visiting. Sunset Cliffs is close to where we went to college and it is one of my favorite places in SD. Plus, it is so near to Disneyland that most of our trips to So. Cal involve going to both places.

I"m so sorry you burnt yourself.. i hate it when that happens especially in a cleary vision location.. ohhh.

Great update.. I must say I love shawarma, generally beef tho. MMmmM.. delicious.

That Napoleon looks delicous.. we may have to make a stop at this pastry shop. I love the photo of Todd enjoying his dessert..totally something Dbf would do.

Yeah, Todd loves his Napoleons. I think I would have mutiny on my hands if we didn't plan to go there every trip. You should check it out. You won't be disappointed.

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

When I last left off, we had spent a great morning in WS and had just had pastries in France. We headed over to the United Kingdom and walked around the back to look at the beautiful gardens. I think this is where The British Invasion plays (?) but they were not around right now.

We wandered into The Toy Soldier were looking around at all of the cool stuff when we saw a line in the back. We checked it out and realized that some of the Winnie the Pooh characters were there. There was only one person in front of us so we jumped in line. Dylan could see the characters from where we stood and he got so excited. Once again, when it was his turn, he ran up to them and then stopped short and got shy. Todd stepped in and picked him up so that he would feel a little more confident. That seemed to help out and there was lots of playing and high 5’s going on. It was a nice, unexpected moment and it gave Dylan a little more exposure to meeting the characters. It’s funny how he sees them from far away and cannot wait to get to them but up close he gets shy.

Saying hi to Tigger

We shopped in the stores in the UK and that was another first for us. We roamed around the Crown & Crest for a while and they have so many cute things in there. I found a necklace there, and it was one of many necklaces that I would have been happy to purchase. They had a whole display of jewelry with Celtic knots and I had a hard time choosing. I chose this one because it has the stone in the bottom. I wear it all the time.

I showed it to my mom and after I bought it I found her looking at the jewelry. She ended up with a pair of earrings from the same display.

We were on our way out of the UK and I saw the Rose & Crown restaurant. I have heard about this place on a lot of different TR’s and I have always wanted to eat here. So Todd & I checked out the menu that was posted for dinner outside at the curb. It seemed to me that the menu was much smaller than I remembered it and it looked fairly pricey for dinner. It did not help that we were so hot standing there in the sun, so all of the food did not sound good since it was all hot, cooked food. We decided to not pursue eating there on this trip. Of course, now that I look at the menu online, it sounds great. Has anyone ever eaten here? I’d like to know your opinions.

We stopped to use the restroom and Todd volunteered to change Dylan’s diaper. They were in there for quite a while and when they came out Dylan looked like he had been doused in the sink. He was soaking wet all over his hair & the rest of his body was shiny. I asked Todd what happened and he said he was hot so he cooled him off and then really sprayed him down with more sunscreen since it was really sunny outside. My poor son looked like we had tried to drown him in sunscreen, but hey, at least he was UV protected!

Canada was the next stop and we headed up to the shops on top. Todd stopped to take a picture of the garden area from up above. This country is SO pretty & peaceful. It was only on our last trip 3 years ago that we actually walked through here and saw the gardens and the waterfalls in the back. It was also our first time to see the movie, which was definitely outdated but charming. I think I’ve read that they have updated the movie since then…

We wanted to see the movie again but it was so hot out that we headed into the shop first to get into some air conditioning. We had fun checking out all of the food items in here. The maple syrup looked good but we didn’t want to haul it all the way back to California. They also had some soaps in here that smelled really good, but the names of the scents were a riot. I don’t remember the exact names but I know one of them had something to do with Moose Pee. It made you think they would have a terrible smell, but it was quite the opposite.

We were leaving the store and we found an area with plush dolls. My mom handed Dylan a small sled dog and he loved it. In fact, he didn’t want to let go of it, which he has never done before. Usually he will play with something for a while and then let me take it and put it back. This time he refused to let go and then started kissing it. So the decision was made. She bought it for him and $8.00 later we had a happy little guy. Here is Dylan w/ his new best friend, named Woof-Woof. I warned you that he had been doused w/ sunscreen!

Giving kisses

We walked back outside and got hit by the heat again. We realized that it was 3:00 and that Dylan should have had a nap by now. We just gave up and decided to go home and come back later this evening after it cooled off a little. On the way out we stopped to take some pictures of “The Ball”. I’m glad that we did because we really don’t have a lot from previous trips. Not sure why.

We stopped at the little hat kiosk to check out what they had. Because my hair is so light, I always end up with my scalp getting sunburned and I forget to put sunscreen on my head. I ended up buying a green hat with a patch of Mickey Mouse on it swinging in a hammock. I love it because it is so vacation-y looking to me. After I wore it, I realized that there were some words up underneath the bill of the hat that I had not seen before. It says “Live, Laugh, Relax.” I just loved that and it makes me like the hat even more. I added that phrase to my signature because it reminds me of being on vacation. I didn’t take a picture of the hat, but I’m sure there are pictures of me wearing it later.

I told Todd I wanted to take a photo of the Ball up close and use it as my screen saver on my computer. So we took a few shots and I need to pick which one I am going to use. Here are the two that are my favorites.

We walked out to the parking lot. We had parked fairly close so we just walked to the car. It was 3:30 when we got in our car and the temperature was reading 102 degrees!! No wonder we were wilting in the sun. Where we live in California, it gets over 110 degrees on most days of the summer but there is almost no humidity. So we are used to the hot temperature but I think the humidity is what just sucks the strength out of you.

We got home and Dylan and my parents all took a nap. Todd & I decided to head over to the pool for an hour. It was nice to just hang out in the chairs and talk about our trip so far. The Sheraton Vistana has multiple pools on property and the one in the Fountains area is huge, with a rock area and big waterfall. There is also a little kid’s pool that is only about one foot deep. The pool is attached to a food court that has a KFC, Pizza Hut and A&W fast food restaurants inside. As we were leaving the pool, we swung in the food court to check out the menus. A sign said that they would deliver to your room or you could get food as take-out, so we made a note to try it at some point.

We got back to the room and took showers. My parents were up but Dylan was still sleeping. We all were getting hungry, so instead of waking Dylan up we let him sleep and Todd & dad walked back over to the food court and got Pizza Hut for dinner. Todd & I each got a personal pepperoni pizza and an order of cheese sticks to split. Ok, now I have to say that I like pizza as much as the next person, but those cheese sticks were SO GOOD. They were huge and had so much cheese on them that we were full before all of the food was gone. Dylan finally woke up and he liked all of the food a lot. I don’t think he barely said a word as he shoveled it in.

By this point it was 8:00 and Epcot was closing at 9:00 so it wasn’t worth going back to the park since it would be almost closing by the time that we got there. I knew that Illuminations was at 9:00 but none of us felt like fighting the crowds to find a decent place to sit. I didn’t want to be one of “those people” who show up right before it starts and try to find a good spot. So we decided to hit DTD instead.

We left at 8:30 and went up the SR535 towards the Crossroads area. This is normally less than a 10 minutes drive from our door to the parking lot, but they were doing construction on the road leading into DTD that ran past all of the hotels there. The traffic was at a crawl. It took us forever to get to the parking lot and people were driving crazy trying to cut each other off to get there faster. I can’t stand people who almost cause an accident just to get one space closer to their destination!!

We headed over to the Christmas store to shop for ornaments. This is a tradition for us because on our honeymoon we went a little crazy in this store and bought a ton of ornaments. On each trip since, we have bought at least one. Our entire Christmas tree has only Disney ornaments and it is fun to remember all of our trips each year as we decorate our tree. This year, the goal was to find an ornament to commemorate Dylan’s first trip to WDW. We searched all through the store and finally found what we were looking for. It is a purple ornament in the shape of a Mickey head and it has a small replica of the symbol for each park on the front. The words say “Four Parks * One World” on the front and the back is blank. I just loved it! We had seen an artist doing calligraphy on some ornaments in the store so we checked into personalizing it. We ended up having them write on the back of the ornament “Dylan” and “1st Trip” and “2009”. We gave them our preferences but said the artist could do what they thought looked best. It was going to be 3 days until we could pick it up but that was fine since we still had over a week left for our trip. Just in case anyone is wondering, the personalization is $3.00 per word. I will post the pictures of it on the day that we picked it up since I don’t seem to have a picture of it anywhere right now.

Once we were done there, we headed over to Goofy’s Candy Company. Another first for us and one that I had been looking forward to. The place was PACKED with people. There were lines everywhere & it was not clear where you were supposed to go. Finally I found the counter I was looking for. I got the 3 dipped pretzels and I had them all dipped in white chocolate. Then I had them all rolled in something different. One was in Oreo’s (for Todd), one was in Butterfingers (for me) and one was in Reeces Pieces (to split). Todd got in line to pay while they were making them. He had this look on his face like “these pretzels had better be worth it”, because he hates lines & crowds like this. We paid and got outside and decided to eat them when we got home. They looked delicious and I forgot to take a picture of them before they were eaten.

Next we stopped at the little Clearance Shop next to Pooh’s Corner. Everything in there is under $10 so it is a great place to buy souvenirs for people back home. Again, the store was packed with people so I didn’t stay in there for long. Todd had taken one look at the crowds in the store and opted to stay w/ Dylan outside. When I came out they were all sitting on a ledge together. I guess Dylan wanted to sit like the big boys on the ledge and it was really cute.

My mom & I hit the Pooh’s Corner store looking for something for my friend Erin’s baby who would be born in October. They have a lot of baby & toddler stuff in this store and it is all very cute, but once again I could not find something unisex that I really liked. It is hard to shop for a baby when you don’t know what it is yet! All of the unisex stuff was Winnie the Pooh and I don’t really like all of the baby “Pooh” stuff. (That sounded funny, didn’t it?). So I left still in search of something to get Erin.

Outside we found the statues of Pooh & friends so I brought Dylan over for some pictures. I think he liked these better than the real characters he met earlier today.

We left about 10:30 and as we were leaving we stopped to watch the Pick-a-Pearl station. It was fun seeing people get so excited as their shell was opened to see what pearl they got. I’m pretty sure the price was $18 to pick your pearl. The settings were nice but they could be very expensive depending on what you picked. I have never been much of a pearl person but I was reading DisneyMissy’s TR and she had a lot of pictures from when she did this, and it looked like so much fun.

We went home & let Dylan play for a while. We ate our pretzels and they were definitely worth the wait. I wrote up my TR and we finally put him down to bed at 12:00. We went to bed at 12:30.

Next up…My mini-meltdown.

 

[sharonW]

Really enjoying your TR...dylan is such a cutie
Will you be doing a yearly WDW visit now that you have
a child to experience the magic with?? I assume you have
done Disneyland since you live in Ca??

 

[cjackearl]

I love your necklace. You've gotten 2 great ones, so far!

Of course Dylan had to have that stuffed animal! Disney pumps something into the air that makes children HAVE to buy plushies! Resistance is futile.

Dylan looks so cute all slathered in sunscreen

Loved your DTD pics! We liked the Goofy's pretzels the best and got an ornament also, but not until our last trip to DTD.

Uh oh, mini meltdown, I don't know anything about those.

 

[AlohaPolynesian]

Oh my gosh that is sad about your burn! And you know, I realized after reading your update that I have never (unless I was too young to remember) taken the boat over to the World Showcase or watched the American Adventure show! I know, I'm a bad DIS-er!

 

[AlohaPolynesian]

Oops I posted before I read the latest update!! I feel so bad for Dylan being drowned in sunscreen because my parents used to do that to me LOL! He is so cute with the little dog though!

 

[Raecheal]

Great update, I love that necklace! Mini-melt down.. sounds like me!

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Girl your pictures are FANTASTIC!!!! I'm behind on everything here lately. I wanted to let you know I am reading along although I don't always leave comments. Dylan looks to be having the time of his life! You are going to cherish these pictures FOREVER! Looking forward to more....

 

[rhondac]

I just found your TR and I'm all caught up (read the PTR as well). Sounds like a fun trip so far! We are going in 3 weeks with a 17 month old (as well as 8yo and 4yo) so it's neat to see Dylan's experience with the characters and rides. Looking forward to reading the rest!

Rhonda
PTR: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2243659

 

[SleepingBeautyOH]

Great update! I love all of the pictures, Dylan is so cute. I totally relate to the Goofy's Candy Company question "to wait or not to wait". The lines are always so long, but boy do I love those made to order cookies and pretzels. I walked past the pearl place for three years in a row, and then finally last Dec my BF convinced me that it would be something fun to do, well it was! I had the pearl set in a ring, but had to have it re-set bc I couldn't wear the sterling silver. Glad you had such great trip. Still waiting in suspense for the celeb sighting!