A Disney-addicted mom braves the August (2010) heat! *11/28 Update!*

[DrMomof3]

A few other notes from the beginning...

Saturday night I was totally convinced that DME would never bring my luggage so I literally took off my shirt, put on my sweatshirt, and started doing laundry! Just so everyone understands the depth of my craziness.

Tom and I both work long hours and high-stress jobs. This is our vacation, too. We enjoy the quiet afternoons in the room when the kids watch a video or nap or play video games and we can relax. That's why you'll see me updating more than you might expect!

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

When we left off, kids were finally asleep after Illuminations. Zachary woke up at 2am and came and slept with us. Usually we're all up early. However, a long travel day and late night (for my family) meant that nobody was up super early. I was up first at maybe 6:45am. I took a shower, got dressed, and got to work getting organized. Coffee was made (we cleverly brought travel mugs and a drink holder for the stroller!). I packed our cooler bag with cold drinks - water, apple juice, diet coke - and packed the diaper bag. We have this down pretty well at this point! Diapers, wipes, activities books, magic markers, sunglasses, sunblock, snacks, cameras. I later learned to include Nathaniel's sweatshirt for all meals. He obviously inherited the cold gene from me!!!!
I wanted to hit am EMH at Epcot but we had to go retrieve our new stroller first. For those who didn't follow my PTR: since I was traveling solo and our old double stroller was pretty shot, we ordered a new stroller from Amazon to be delivered straight to BC. We stopped at Bell Services who didn't have the stroller. They called the convention center (at YC) and they had it. Instead of heading to Epcot, we heading in the opposite direction to the YC convention center. The guy working there - Jose - could not have been nicer. We did get charged $10 for the package delivery (true at all convention resorts but we had free shipping so we were ok with it). Jose helped us open the box, assemble the stroller, and collected the trash. Lovely man! The new stroller ROCKS, by the way. Much better than the cheap Jeep double we had before. (It's a Graco IPO.)
Finally off to Epcot!!!

Amanda

 

[lexmas]

Haha, I love that you were just going to wash your clothes. Tom didn't know that he was thisclose to walking in from DME and finding you in a towel waiting for your laundry to dry! Waiting for DME on a good day is frustrating, because it's just HARD to carry on enough stuff! I would have been very worried, thinking that we wouldn't have any clothes for the next day.

And I'm glad you're getting some much-deserved downtime! That's what a vacation is about! (Or so I hear. DH is a total park-commando.)

 

[DrMomof3]

Backtracking a bit.... We did eat a quick breakfast in the room. Frozen pancakes for Jessica and Zachary; Gogurt for Nathaniel; Chobani yogurt for me; and toast with cream cheese for Tom. In retrospect I need to make bigger breakfasts for the kids....

We arrived at the IG of Epcot. The first order of business was trading in the voucher for APs for the kids. It took a few minutes but was pretty easy. Finally we were ready to tour! We missed most of EMH (it was about 8:45am at this point). Tom ran off to get FPs for Soarin' and then off to TestTrack. We decided to take full advantage of baby swap this trip and boy is it great! Nathaniel, Jessica, and I waited in a short line for TestTrack. Nathaniel was thrilled that we got a blue car! Jessica seemed pretty scared the whole time. We were able to add our photo to a photopass card which is a great thing! I don't remember being able to do that in the past. We met up with Tom and Zachary. Now it was Tom's turn to take both kids on TestTrack again (the beautiful thing about the baby swap pass is that it allows up to 4 people and works like a FP).

I decided to take the opportunity to go to Guest Services and get Zachary's GAC. I think we'll really need it at MK. There was a short line at Guest Services but not too long. The cast member was super helpful. We got a GAC and a "stroller as wheelchair" tag for the stroller (it looks like a DME luggage tag except it's red). No fuss. No questions. Happy to help. I highly recommend this to anyone who needs it!!!

We returned to TestTrack just as the kids were getting off the ride. Now it was off to The Seas....

Amanda

PS I'm writing in shorter burst because I kept losing posts yesterday!

 

[DrMomof3]

Haha, I love that you were just going to wash your clothes. Tom didn't know that he was thisclose to walking in from DME and finding you in a towel waiting for your laundry to dry! Waiting for DME on a good day is frustrating, because it's just HARD to carry on enough stuff! I would have been very worried, thinking that we wouldn't have any clothes for the next day.

And I'm glad you're getting some much-deserved downtime! That's what a vacation is about! (Or so I hear. DH is a total park-commando.)

The *only* reason I wasn't in a towel is that I knew the DME guy would show up the minute I took my clothes off! I had removed my change of clothes from the carry-ons to conserve space. I had to be able to carry everything and the diaper bag was getting huge. Which leads to a funny story. I was complaining to my mom that the diaper bag was getting too big (diapers, wipes, DVD player, snacks, etc.). Her suggestion (and this was for the part of the trip where I was traveling alone with 3 kids): "Why don't you remove the extra diapers? You can travel with 3 diapers and put the rest in the suitcase." Seriously???? We left our house at 10am and arrive at BCV at 8pm (give or take). You want me to travel with THREE diapers???

Amanda

 

[lexmas]

First of all, I think I need a tutorial from you on how to pack for the parks. You seem like you have it down!

I'm glad you had a good experience getting the stroller, and that you like it!

Is this the first time Jessica has been tall enough for test track? Too bad she was scared. Hopefully that doesn't come back to haunt you for the rest of the trip. I've never done photopass, but that is really cool that they can load your ride photos onto it. Much nicer then rednecking it and just taking a picture of the picture like we do!

I'm glad babyswap went smoothly (did they make you stand by the ride, or could you wander off? We've never actually done it, even though we probably should have!), and that it was easy getting your GAC. I'm sure that will be very handy to have!

And...SO funny that your mom wanted you to have 3 diapers for the entire day. Maybe she expected you to use your extra clothes that you would then have had room to pack to wrap around him when you ran out of diapers!

 

[-Hope-]

You're off to a great start! It seems like everything is going so smoothly, stroller pick up, babyswap, GAC- smooth sailing throughout! Although it stinks you had to wait so long to get your stuff from DME- glad it finally came!

Good to know that you were able to add the TT photo to PP, I didn't know you could do that! I'm making a note to myself!

 

[klacey1]

Glad Epcot started off smoothly-- that's great how helpful they were with Zachary's GAC. Nobody has customer service like Disney, in my opinion!
Poor Jessica for being scared on Test Track-- she did go on it twice, though, right? She must have liked it at least a little!
I guess your mom's forgotten what it's like to have young kids! Thank goodness you didn't follow her suggestion!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

sounds like a good start at Epcot..did you see my brother?! He's working at TEST TRACK!!! (not sure if you had read my updated post of his work location?!)

 

[DrMomof3]

First of all, I think I need a tutorial from you on how to pack for the parks. You seem like you have it down!

I'm glad you had a good experience getting the stroller, and that you like it!

Is this the first time Jessica has been tall enough for test track? Too bad she was scared. Hopefully that doesn't come back to haunt you for the rest of the trip. I've never done photopass, but that is really cool that they can load your ride photos onto it. Much nicer then rednecking it and just taking a picture of the picture like we do!

I'm glad babyswap went smoothly (did they make you stand by the ride, or could you wander off? We've never actually done it, even though we probably should have!), and that it was easy getting your GAC. I'm sure that will be very handy to have!

And...SO funny that your mom wanted you to have 3 diapers for the entire day. Maybe she expected you to use your extra clothes that you would then have had room to pack to wrap around him when you ran out of diapers!

My mom's youngest child is almost 28 years old so I suppose I should cut her some slack. And she's a good babysitter!

I highly recommend a backpack for a diaper bag. I bought one made for dads and it's great. It cost about $100 but is well worth the price tag. It holds tons of stuff, is comfortable to wear, and leaves your hands free for pushing strollers and dealing with kids.

Baby swap is awesome! We had never used it before. You get an un-timed fast pass for up to 4 people. You do NOT have to wait near the ride and because they're no return time, you can come back whenever you want. Fabulous! I wish we had used it on previous trips!!!

Jessica had ridden TestTrack before. And she rode it twice in a row (her choice) so I wouldn't worry about her too much! She was scared but wants to be a BIG girl so she just deals.

You're off to a great start! It seems like everything is going so smoothly, stroller pick up, babyswap, GAC- smooth sailing throughout! Although it stinks you had to wait so long to get your stuff from DME- glad it finally came!

Good to know that you were able to add the TT photo to PP, I didn't know you could do that! I'm making a note to myself!

I hope we can add other ride photos, too. It's a great perk!!!

Glad Epcot started off smoothly-- that's great how helpful they were with Zachary's GAC. Nobody has customer service like Disney, in my opinion!
Poor Jessica for being scared on Test Track-- she did go on it twice, though, right? She must have liked it at least a little!
I guess your mom's forgotten what it's like to have young kids! Thank goodness you didn't follow her suggestion!

Yup. Jessica rode Test Track twice in a row so she wasn't too scared. She's a funny kid!
I totally agree about Disney customer service. Awesome!!!

sounds like a good start at Epcot..did you see my brother?! He's working at TEST TRACK!!! (not sure if you had read my updated post of his work location?!)

Oh no! We have to re-ride Test Track and find your brother!!!

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

We headed over to The Seas to ride Nemo. Tom suggested that we take advantage of the GAC and keep Zachary in the stroller. I, in my infinite wisdom , declined. So we went in the Nemo line and I ended up carrying Zachary the whole way. I love the Nemo ride and so do the kids. After Nemo we did the required visit to Crush. Nathaniel, my shy boy, refused to sit up front because he was afraid of getting called on. Jessica and Zachary started off in front but both joined us before anything began.

I love the Turtle Talk show. It was really nice because they've made a few minor changes so we didn't hear all of the same jokes again (mostly the same but a few little things). It's really fun and amazing technology!

We left The Seas and hopped back in the strollers. It was super hot, super humid, and everyone was starting to get super crabby. I forgot to mention that while Tom and the kids were riding Test Track, Zachary and I picked up a mission for Kim Possible.

The debate was: Wait for Soarin' FP return time, Wander over to Kim Possible for a mission, or Find a place for lunch.

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

I LOVE Soarin'. I think it's my favorite Disney ride. And Nathaniel agrees with me. But we had 3 tired, hot, hungry, and crabby children. So lunch won out. We decided to go check out the new Italian restaurant. They aren't taking ADRs for these dates yet (you can get an ADR for dates later in the year) so we thought it would be fun to try it. We walked the very long walk to Italy and got there a few minutes before 11:30. The kids ran around in the courtyard (I swear, they should be pushing us in strollers! ) until lunch time.

We had the pleasure of trying Via Napoli. The restaurant is lovely. High ceilings create an open feeling. Our waiter was fabulous. Attentive, helpful, nice. We ordered 2 kid pizzas for the children to share, fruit cocktail for the kids. Tom ordered pasta (some vegetable since the other pastas all contained pork) and I got the pizza with melon and prosciutto (I would have ordered it anyway but the waiter recommended it). For $3 per person we had a delicious salad with our meal. The pizzas took a little while (nothing outrageous but they'll need to speed this up before the crowds hit!) but the waiter let us know what was going on. The kids were starving and ate a ton. Note to self: bigger breakfast!!!!

After lunch the kids wanted to go swimming. No amount of manipulation was going to work. So back to BCV we went...

Amanda

 

[starann]

Loving it so far! I enjoy reading TR, it reminds me why I love Disney. It's really like going home....going to something comfortable, something that makes you happy!


I picked up my stroller today!!!!!! It's still in the car, in the box, as I don't want DH to freak about it!!!!! (he still thinks the boys will be walking thru WDW!!!!!) I meet my mom for the last time at the Bridgewater Commons Mall on Wed and will be doing some shopping (she is taking them to Build a Bear as a treat!!!! and since my boss is on vacation all week, I can cut out a little early!!!!) so I will test it out in the mall. I figure if it doesn't fit them, I can return it to Walmart and get the Combi at Buy Buy Baby!

I also LOVE using a backpack as a diaper bag. I ordered one a few years ago from Disneyshopping.com, it was on sale and free shipping, all black, padded straps, VERY roomy and had MM on it! I still use it (the only 'diaper bag' thing about it was the changing pad which makes a great seat for a hard or dirty surface!) when we go to the zoo or something, so it will be packed for us to use on our trip! Then DH can take turns carrying it since it's not overly girly!

I can't remember, did you order the photopass CD? I am still torn on this. Most likely I will order it, esp since I printed a bunch of 5x7 cards to tell me where the 'special places' are (Tinkerbell, Simba, Stitch) but I better make sure I get my money's worth!!!!!

Did you get the TIW card? I had an ex who called me swiss cheese brain...some stuff just falls right through the holes!

 

[-Hope-]

Lunch would have won with my crowd too- we learned the hard way at the zoo one year that no one has fun with hungry children!! The act of sitting down to eat also forces a little bit of rest if those children are hungry AND tired, lol. I also love that you actually went back to swim after lunch- I plan to do this nearly every day but I'm afraid that once we're in the parks we won't want to leave!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

yay for the pool!!!

Did you find the prices at Italy to be on the expensive side? A friend of mine and her DF were going to go there the one night that we were in WDW 2 weeks ago and declined an inviation after her friends told her what the price for pizza was. I'm not sure how much it was though?? We ended up going to Beaches and Cream and it worked out since I didn't have a park ticket but I was curious to see what you thought of the prices????

 

[klacey1]

Great to hear that Via Napoli was good-- I'm sure they'll pick up the speed when the crowds hit. I bet the kitchen is just working out the kinks.
Love the whole Seas area-- Nemo and just wandering around the aquariums.

 

[lexmas]

You know what I think the problem is? I've been using a "kid sized" backpack for our diaper bag for daytrips the past few months. It's really not THAT much smaller than a normal backpack, so I forgot that it was kid sized!

Guess you should actually use the GAC pass now that you got it! I love nemo, I think it is so very cute. Was there much of a line? I know it's still August...when we went in September 2 years ago, there was never any line at all, always a walk on. Turtle talk is fun...no way DS will sit on the floor though, so I'm impressed your kids even tried!

Lunch at Via Napoli sounds delicious...those are some fancy pizzas! That is exciting that you got to try it out!

Can't wait to hear about your Kim Possible mission!

 

[dismagiclover]

I'm glad to hear your report of Via Napoli. I've been debating switching my Tutto Italia ADR for January to Via Napoli. Have you been to Tutto? If so which would you do for that pre marathon carb loading meal?

 

[DrMomof3]

Loving it so far! I enjoy reading TR, it reminds me why I love Disney. It's really like going home....going to something comfortable, something that makes you happy!

Thank you! I love it here!!!

I picked up my stroller today!!!!!! It's still in the car, in the box, as I don't want DH to freak about it!!!!! (he still thinks the boys will be walking thru WDW!!!!!) I meet my mom for the last time at the Bridgewater Commons Mall on Wed and will be doing some shopping (she is taking them to Build a Bear as a treat!!!! and since my boss is on vacation all week, I can cut out a little early!!!!) so I will test it out in the mall. I figure if it doesn't fit them, I can return it to Walmart and get the Combi at Buy Buy Baby!

We've loved the new stroller. A huge upgrade from what we had before.

I also LOVE using a backpack as a diaper bag. I ordered one a few years ago from Disneyshopping.com, it was on sale and free shipping, all black, padded straps, VERY roomy and had MM on it! I still use it (the only 'diaper bag' thing about it was the changing pad which makes a great seat for a hard or dirty surface!) when we go to the zoo or something, so it will be packed for us to use on our trip! Then DH can take turns carrying it since it's not overly girly!

That's great! The backpack is totally the way to go!

I can't remember, did you order the photopass CD? I am still torn on this. Most likely I will order it, esp since I printed a bunch of 5x7 cards to tell me where the 'special places' are (Tinkerbell, Simba, Stitch) but I better make sure I get my money's worth!!!!!

Yes, we love photopass. We aren't huge camera people and I prefer to have the whole family in the pics.

Did you get the TIW card? I had an ex who called me swiss cheese brain...some stuff just falls right through the holes!

Yes. We have a TIW card that we bought in April. Love it! They didn't take it at Teppan Edo though.

 

[DrMomof3]

Lunch would have won with my crowd too- we learned the hard way at the zoo one year that no one has fun with hungry children!! The act of sitting down to eat also forces a little bit of rest if those children are hungry AND tired, lol. I also love that you actually went back to swim after lunch- I plan to do this nearly every day but I'm afraid that once we're in the parks we won't want to leave!

Food is SO important!!!

yay for the pool!!!

Did you find the prices at Italy to be on the expensive side? A friend of mine and her DF were going to go there the one night that we were in WDW 2 weeks ago and declined an inviation after her friends told her what the price for pizza was. I'm not sure how much it was though?? We ended up going to Beaches and Cream and it worked out since I didn't have a park ticket but I was curious to see what you thought of the prices????

The food was expensive but I thought it was very good.

Great to hear that Via Napoli was good-- I'm sure they'll pick up the speed when the crowds hit. I bet the kitchen is just working out the kinks.
Love the whole Seas area-- Nemo and just wandering around the aquariums.

It wasn't very slow. Tom's pasta came out before the pizza but only by a little bit.

You know what I think the problem is? I've been using a "kid sized" backpack for our diaper bag for daytrips the past few months. It's really not THAT much smaller than a normal backpack, so I forgot that it was kid sized!

Guess you should actually use the GAC pass now that you got it! I love nemo, I think it is so very cute. Was there much of a line? I know it's still August...when we went in September 2 years ago, there was never any line at all, always a walk on. Turtle talk is fun...no way DS will sit on the floor though, so I'm impressed your kids even tried!

Lunch at Via Napoli sounds delicious...those are some fancy pizzas! That is exciting that you got to try it out!

Can't wait to hear about your Kim Possible mission!

The big backpack is great for us!
Nemo was a walk-on. NO line at all.
Via Napoli was good.
You'll have to wait to hear about KP.

I'm glad to hear your report of Via Napoli. I've been debating switching my Tutto Italia ADR for January to Via Napoli. Have you been to Tutto? If so which would you do for that pre marathon carb loading meal?

We were at Tutto a few years ago. I guess it depends on what you like. Via Napoli only has a few pasta choices. There's also chicken and eggplant parm. Otherwise there's only gourmet pizza. It's yummy but you have to want pizza.

Amanda