A Mother-Daughter Trip! Now with BONUS BIRTHDAY Trip! (Final Thoughts Coming Soon!)

[RGirl]

23. Soarin’, Veggies, a Meltdown, and Some “Solo” Touring
After our jolly holiday with Mary, we headed back to The Land to use our Soarin’ FPs!

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We decided to do Living with The Land after that - we both love this one. I have no idea why!

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Hidden Mickeys:

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Unfortunately, on the way out of The Land, DD had a world-class meltdown. Obviously, she was overtired. I was going to take her back to the BWV, but instead, I told her to take a nap in the stroller. And she did!!! (This was really a new thing - DD has NEVER in her life napped in strollers, airplanes, cars, etc. So this was a treat. ) With DD snoozing away, I decided to enjoy a little “solo” WDW time!

First up on my “solo” travels? I hoofed it back over to TT to get another set of FPs since it was DD’s favorite Epcot ride. Okay, after that, I was going to enjoy myself! So I headed into the WS. And was soon met with this:

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Yep, the bridge was up. So we all just stood there waiting for it to go back down - don’t know why I didn’t think to turn around and get something to eat or drink or shop a little. Oh well! Finally, the bridge came back down, and I made a stop in the Africa Outpost to pick up a present for a friend of mine who is waiting and waiting to adopt from Burundi.

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I loved this!

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So I got her a bracelet there.

From there, I just meandered along through the WS. I will admit that I might have stopped at the France F&W kiosk for a Cosmo slushy and the coq au vin. Don't judge! Both were yummy!

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DD was still out, so I decided to head through the International Gateway and back to BWV for a rest before our evening in Epcot.

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Up next: 24. More Epcot!

 

[pas130]

YAY an update. I LOVE slushies, no judgement here. And now I want a wand at CRT too

Don't you wish you could sleep and get pushed around too

 

[amandaw]

Yay! for a stroller nap!

I must admit that we never go back to the room with our son for nap time. He gave up naps around 18 months & was never a good napper anyway. When he's exhausted at Disney, he crashes in his stroller (which isn't often). It makes it sooo much easier when they just nap in their stroller.

That was cool seeing the bridge up - I don't think I've ever seen it up in person.

 

[RGirl]

YAY an update. I LOVE slushies, no judgement here. And now I want a wand at CRT too

Don't you wish you could sleep and get pushed around too

Ooh, you must get a wand!

DD did offer to push me in the stroller a few times, but I didn't want to break a rental!

Yay! for a stroller nap!

I must admit that we never go back to the room with our son for nap time. He gave up naps around 18 months & was never a good napper anyway. When he's exhausted at Disney, he crashes in his stroller (which isn't often). It makes it sooo much easier when they just nap in their stroller.

That was cool seeing the bridge up - I don't think I've ever seen it up in person.

You know, DD took fairly regular naps until sometime around 4 years old. She doesn't nap at all anymore, but that first day at WDW, she was just beat from being so sick and the time change. I was SHOCKED when she napped in the stroller a few times. I would have loved that back when she was a real napper, but honestly, until this trip, she has only fallen asleep in a stroller or car or plane maybe once or twice in her entire life! And that includes the plane rides from Guatemala City to Walla Walla, WA when she was only 6 months old! This was a rare treat for me to have a child who would nap in a stroller - I really felt like I had a little solo touring time, and I must say, someday when I'm a little old lady and my kid is grown and wants nothing to do with traveling with me, I am so taking a solo WDW trip!

We really like returning to the room midday anyway because I hate crowds so much!!! It's going to be interesting to adjust to the years to come when we will have to travel by the school calendar and get used to the crowds.

 

[amandaw]

You know, DD took fairly regular naps until sometime around 4 years old. She doesn't nap at all anymore, but that first day at WDW, she was just beat from being so sick and the time change. I was SHOCKED when she napped in the stroller a few times. I would have loved that back when she was a real napper, but honestly, until this trip, she has only fallen asleep in a stroller or car or plane maybe once or twice in her entire life! And that includes the plane rides from Guatemala City to Walla Walla, WA when she was only 6 months old! This was a rare treat for me to have a child who would nap in a stroller - I really felt like I had a little solo touring time, and I must say, someday when I'm a little old lady and my kid is grown and wants nothing to do with traveling with me, I am so taking a solo WDW trip!

We really like returning to the room midday anyway because I hate crowds so much!!! It's going to be interesting to adjust to the years to come when we will have to travel by the school calendar and get used to the crowds.

I can't believe she doesn't even sleep in the car! That's the one place I can (usually) count on my son to fall asleep. He's just never been one for sleep, much to my delight. But, it's a good thing he knows when he needs to crash in the stroller since we don't go back to the room.

I don't even want to think about what it'll be like when we have to start scheduling our Disney trips around school. Thankfully, he doesn't start kindergarten until 2013. And even then, I think he'll be pulled out of school for a Disney week. I mean, I seriously doubt missing 1 week of kindergarten is going to keep him from getting into college. But, after that, I'll have start working around that darn pesky school schedule. Of course, if I were to home school him, we could still go to Disney whenever we wanted!

 

[RGirl]

YAY an update. I LOVE slushies, no judgement here. And now I want a wand at CRT too

Don't you wish you could sleep and get pushed around too

Ooh, you must get a wand!

DD did offer to push me in the stroller a few times, but I didn't want to break a rental!

Yay! for a stroller nap!

I must admit that we never go back to the room with our son for nap time. He gave up naps around 18 months & was never a good napper anyway. When he's exhausted at Disney, he crashes in his stroller (which isn't often). It makes it sooo much easier when they just nap in their stroller.

That was cool seeing the bridge up - I don't think I've ever seen it up in person.

You know, DD took fairly regular naps until sometime around 4 years old. She doesn't nap at all anymore, but that first day at WDW, she was just beat from being so sick and the time change. I was SHOCKED when she napped in the stroller a few times. I would have loved that back when she was a real napper, but honestly, until this trip, she has only fallen asleep in a stroller or car or plane maybe once or twice in her entire life! And that includes the plane rides from Guatemala City to Walla Walla, WA when she was only 6 months old! This was a rare treat for me to have a child who would nap in a stroller - I really felt like I had a little solo touring time, and I must say, someday when I'm a little old lady and my kid is grown and wants nothing to do with traveling with me, I am so taking a solo WDW trip!

We really like returning to the room midday anyway because I hate crowds so much!!! It's going to be interesting to adjust to the years to come when we will have to travel by the school calendar and get used to the crowds.

 

[hstrickland]

Good Morning!


I've never seen that bridge up...guess they were moving stuff, huh? And like Pas...I give the slushie a


Our family loves Livin' with the Land, too. I think we've been on that ride 100 times and still love it! Good job on the Hidden Mickeys!!


Hope you have a great New Year!!!

 

[pas130]

DD did offer to push me in the stroller a few times, but I didn't want to break a rental!


We really like returning to the room midday anyway because I hate crowds so much!!! It's going to be interesting to adjust to the years to come when we will have to travel by the school calendar and get used to the crowds.

I feel bad taking my kids out of school, but I can't spend all that money and deal with the crowds too.....

 

[RGirl]

I can't believe she doesn't even sleep in the car! That's the one place I can (usually) count on my son to fall asleep. He's just never been one for sleep, much to my delight. But, it's a good thing he knows when he needs to crash in the stroller since we don't go back to the room.

I don't even want to think about what it'll be like when we have to start scheduling our Disney trips around school. Thankfully, he doesn't start kindergarten until 2013. And even then, I think he'll be pulled out of school for a Disney week. I mean, I seriously doubt missing 1 week of kindergarten is going to keep him from getting into college. But, after that, I'll have start working around that darn pesky school schedule. Of course, if I were to home school him, we could still go to Disney whenever we wanted!

I am so dreading the school calendar. I am all for taking kids out of school - my parents did that up through high school, I think, or at least middle school. The problem I have is that, since we have to travel all the way across the country, I really like to have more than one week, and I can't see taking her out for longer than a week. We will just have to suck it up. I am thinking we will go at the very end of summer right before school starts back up - I am guessing most people go more towards the middle of their summer breaks.

Good Morning!


I've never seen that bridge up...guess they were moving stuff, huh? And like Pas...I give the slushie a


Our family loves Livin' with the Land, too. I think we've been on that ride 100 times and still love it! Good job on the Hidden Mickeys!!


Hope you have a great New Year!!!

I think they were moving the globe for IllumiNations. It actually would have been kind of cool if not for the facts that (1) I was really itching to enjoy whatever limited "solo" touring time I had and (2) there were a lot of drunk people standing there with me.

I feel bad taking my kids out of school, but I can't spend all that money and deal with the crowds too.....

I wouldn't feel bad at all! If I get could away with taking her out for more than a week, I would totally travel during off season every year!

 

[RGirl]

24. More Epcot!

When I last left off, we were heading back to the villa for a little rest.......

Of course, as soon as we arrived back at the villa (about 4:20), DD woke up. We ended up heading back out to Epcot at about 5:30.

We headed straight to TT. Do you see it in the distance?

Because we had these babies to use!

We zipped through the queue. Hidden Mickey:

Excited girl:

We had a great ride, but there was a little time before our next set of FPs was useable. So we decided to get something to eat. We headed over to La Cantina de San Angel. I ordered the kid’s empanada meal to share, figuring that we would snack on F&W stuff later.

It doesn’t look it in the picture, but it was actually a pretty decent size. There was only one empanada, but it was big, and there were tons of chips and a bag of grapes. It was fine for a CS kid’s meal. The thing that sucked was that every table in the place was taken. There were tons of 4-person tables with just one or two people sitting at them eating. DD and I wandered around balancing the tray and pushing the stroller hoping to find something with no luck. Finally, we just backed into a corner at the front, balanced the tray on the stroller and ate that way. It was crazy uncomfortable, but what are you going to do? I was mildly surprised that no one had offered a seat at their table to us or the other stroller-balancing family that soon joined us. I know I would have - I mean, why not?? Oh well! We headed back to TT and were soon feeling very happy again.

After our speedy ride, we were going to head back into WS, making our way along until we eventually found a decent fireworks-viewing spot. But first, we stopped at the bathrooms there sort of between WS and FW. We found two stalls together, and each entered one. Now most of what followed I just heard rather than saw since I was in a stall, but apparently, this woman and her daughter came in along with a little boy. I am not sure how old this child was - he was very big compared to my DD, but I don’t know how much older than her he was. Anyway, both the mother and the sister went to use the restrooms, and this boy just proceeded to run wild through the women’s room. He was banging on stall doors - he managed to knock my DD’s open! He was unrolling paper towels. Etc. Etc. It was really awful. I could not figure out why no one was supervising him! My DD was really upset that he had bashed open her stall door, but she handled it very well - I heard her yell at him, “someone is IN HERE!” Later, when we were getting everything situated in the stroller again back outside, I heard the sister telling her mother that he had been just awful, opening stalls on little girls, etc. The mother was completely clueless that it was going on and didn’t seem to care at all when she found out.

Anyway, next stop was a Mickey Premium Bar, so things improved immensely.

I, however, really needed some real food. I stopped at the South Africa booth and got the bunny chow - a vegetable curry in a little bread bowl. The curry flavor was nice, but some of the veggies were under cooked (which I usually like, but these appeared to be potatoes, and undercooked potatoes are not good ). The bread bowl just seemed totally unnecessary.

I stopped at the Poland kiosk and ordered the kielbasa and pierogi because DD had said that she would eat some sausage. She didn’t. This dish was pretty forgettable.

We made a quick bathroom stop in Morocco and then grabbed a creme brulee at the France kiosk. We enjoyed that sitting on the ground on the bridge between France and the UK where we had decided to watch the fireworks. DD and I chatted with the dad in the family next to us. She was studying the park map and telling him all about it. He was an English teacher and kept telling me how amazingly articulate DD was and how smart. I am her mom, so of course, I think she’s amazing, but it was neat to hear something like that from this nice dad. DD was getting a little kooky.

And finally, IllumiNations started.

Now our view was a tiny bit obstructed by a tree, but this was a great spot for us. We could see well enough, and when it was over, we just darted over to the International Gateway and were “home” by 9:45, totally bypassing all the exit crowds!!!

As we were going to bed, I realized just how tired we both were. We had a late-ish breakfast reservation the next day at Cape May with Minnie and friends. I asked DD if she still wanted to do it, and she was quite clear that she wanted me to cancel the reservation, that she would meet all the characters we hadn’t already met elsewhere. So I called to cancel - yes, that is ANOTHER canceled ADR! Starting to wonder why I’m on the phone at 6:00 a.m. 180 days out for these darn ADRs!

Up next: 25. Pre-Party Fun

 

[RGirl]

Holy cow!!! I just saw my own ticker! I cannot believe that there are only 2 and 1/2 weeks until DD's surprise birthday trip to Disneyland. I am SO not ready!!!! I guess we will be winging it!

 

[hstrickland]

Happy New Year, Roni!!!!

had to laugh about your restroom story.... Nothing surprises me anymore....especially at Disney! Some parents have no control. I'm quite sure that people have observed my 4 year old and thought...."absolutely no control!"

I'll have to agree with you about the food...didn't look too appetizing. However, the creme brule sounds delicious!!!! It's my all time favorite by far!!! In fact, I had it last night at our New Year's Eve party.

Ok...I'm very jealous that you'll be leaving in a couple of weeks for DL! Did you ever decide about the surprise for Willow???

 

[pas130]

Holy cow!!! I just saw my own ticker! I cannot believe that there are only 2 and 1/2 weeks until DD's surprise birthday trip to Disneyland. I am SO not ready!!!! I guess we will be winging it!

Yay, your trip IS close!!!!

BTW the pic of Willow when Iluminations started is one of my favorites so far, she is so excited

 

[amandaw]

Sounds like y'all were having a nice night. Hearing about the food from F&W kiosks makes me feel good that we changed our 2012 trip from October to December. I don't think my DH & I would be much into the food served up at the kiosks.

And I love how feisty your DD is! Good for her telling that boy that someone is in the stall. She's just too cute!

 

[RGirl]

Happy New Year, Roni!!!!

had to laugh about your restroom story.... Nothing surprises me anymore....especially at Disney! Some parents have no control. I'm quite sure that people have observed my 4 year old and thought...."absolutely no control!"

I'll have to agree with you about the food...didn't look too appetizing. However, the creme brule sounds delicious!!!! It's my all time favorite by far!!! In fact, I had it last night at our New Year's Eve party.

Ok...I'm very jealous that you'll be leaving in a couple of weeks for DL! Did you ever decide about the surprise for Willow???

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!
I totally agree - my DD and I were not an impressive sight when I was carrying her kicking and screaming out of The Land! However, you can bet your butt that if she was running around a restroom slamming stall doors open on people and strewing paper towels around the floor, I would have a bigger reaction than this ---> .

You know, some of the F&W food was really good - actually that coq au vin, despite looking utterly disgusting, was very good. But sadly, this was the one night that I had a chance to try more than one thing, and I was not very impressed.

As for DLR, I think I am just going to wake her up that morning and say, "Get up!!! We're going to Disneyland!!!!!" Hmm, I really need to ask my dad if he will take the dog to the kennel for us - there is no way that we would have time to do it that morning before our early flight. Yikes - need to do that!

Yay, your trip IS close!!!!

BTW the pic of Willow when Iluminations started is one of my favorites so far, she is so excited

The trip is TOO close! I'm so not prepared for it!!!

Awww - thanks. I love that one too.

Sounds like y'all were having a nice night. Hearing about the food from F&W kiosks makes me feel good that we changed our 2012 trip from October to December. I don't think my DH & I would be much into the food served up at the kiosks.

And I love how feisty your DD is! Good for her telling that boy that someone is in the stall. She's just too cute!

Don't let me turn you off of F&W - I think there was some great food; I really didn't get to try much of it. I will say, however, that the Festival does tend to make WS just insanely crowded.

I think a December trip would be so great though - to see all the Christmas decorations!

 

[librarymouse]

I have enjoyed reading your TR and just wanted to say "Hi!" Love all the adorable pictures of your DD and all her favorite characters.

 

[RGirl]

I have enjoyed reading your TR and just wanted to say "Hi!" Love all the adorable pictures of your DD and all her favorite characters.

Thanks for reading along!!!

I see you have a trip in 2 and 1/2 weeks! How exciting!!!

 

[RGirl]

25. Pre-Party Fun
So, with our breakfast ADR canceled, we slept in!!! I don’t think we got up until about 9:30. It felt great. We decided to walk down to the Boardwalk Bakery for some breakfast treats to bring back to the villa. DD chose a chocolate-chip muffin:

And I had to try the cheese danish:

Coffee for me and chocolate milk for DD (who apparently can never get enough chocolate):

We had a lovely breakfast together out on the balcony:

We were going to enjoy a very lazy morning as we had big plans for this evening. So we went for a little walk to check out the BW pool areas. Main pool area:

Quiet pool:

Well, today actually was quite a bit warmer than some of our prior mornings, so it was perfect that we had planned a little pool time today! We headed back to the villa and got ready to swim. During our tour, we had decided to use the quiet pool - it just seemed more our speed this morning. And we did have a lovely swim (did not take camera with us). The other family using the quiet pool told us that the heater had not been working in the big pool, which convinced DD not to move over there to try the slide when she started thinking that might be a great idea. On our way back to the villa, we grabbed some cold drinks and Cheetos:

We enjoyed our snack back at the villa where DD had a great time in the whirlpool bath. I tried to make us rest after that since I knew we would be up late, but neither one of us was horribly tired. It was good to have some down time though.

Finally, at about 3:30, we got ready and headed out to the bus stop.

Up next: 26. Some Pre-Party Meetings and a Near Drowning
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[librarymouse]

Oh my gosh, that cheese danish looks AMAZING!! And yes, we are super excited to be going in 2.5 weeks...I started my very first (pre)Trip Report here: World Showcase or Bust!

You have a trip coming soon too- Disneyland is on my bucket list...would love to see where the Magic began!

 

[shan23877]

Sounds like a lovely day!

I don't like the sound of a near drowning though!