JennisSilly
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2008
Our short trip to Disneyland flew by! It as a fabulous trip (probably E's best yet!) and I can't wait to share our trip with you!
A Princess in Training and an OCD Mom- an OCT-13 PTR (I told you I was OCD) X2 6/10!!
- Thread starter JennisSilly
- Start date
JennisSilly
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2008
Clearly, I haven't been fabulous about updating our PTR {and our Mini Trip Report from Disneyland}
Life has just been SO busy the last few months. Here's what we've been up to:
- I am LOVING staying at home with DD. She's just over a year and a half now, and oh my goodness, we have SO much fun together. Our days are filled with dance parties, museums, the zoo, the science center, tea parties, reading, dressing up {yes, already, my daughter is a GIRLIE GIRL!}
- We are planning on baby #2! We plan to adopt from Colombia, and can't apply until next October, but that doesn't mean there isn't a ton of stuff to start doing now. We are researching agencies, Colombian adoption law, International Adoption law (since DD was a domestic adoption), etc.
- Because we are planning a second adoption, which is costly, I've started a side business selling Origami Owl. Let's just say, it's VERY popular and absolutely helping us meet our fundraising goals!
- Life. We've just been so busy living life, that I haven't even gotten to {think} about Disneyworld {much}. But with our 11 month window quickly approaching, we've got to start thinking about it a little more- plus we have to decide if we want to snag the $399 AP's!
I hope to be back soon, we have LOT's of photo's to post, especially of DD as snow white- my preview into how much she will LOVE BBB!
Life has just been SO busy the last few months. Here's what we've been up to:
- I am LOVING staying at home with DD. She's just over a year and a half now, and oh my goodness, we have SO much fun together. Our days are filled with dance parties, museums, the zoo, the science center, tea parties, reading, dressing up {yes, already, my daughter is a GIRLIE GIRL!}
- We are planning on baby #2! We plan to adopt from Colombia, and can't apply until next October, but that doesn't mean there isn't a ton of stuff to start doing now. We are researching agencies, Colombian adoption law, International Adoption law (since DD was a domestic adoption), etc.
- Because we are planning a second adoption, which is costly, I've started a side business selling Origami Owl. Let's just say, it's VERY popular and absolutely helping us meet our fundraising goals!
- Life. We've just been so busy living life, that I haven't even gotten to {think} about Disneyworld {much}. But with our 11 month window quickly approaching, we've got to start thinking about it a little more- plus we have to decide if we want to snag the $399 AP's!
I hope to be back soon, we have LOT's of photo's to post, especially of DD as snow white- my preview into how much she will LOVE BBB!
JennisSilly
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2008
Clearly I fell off the trip report bandwagon. Really, for good reason, life's been crazy busy. For some crazy reason, I thought staying at home with my daughter would mean more time for the interwebs 
yeah, so not the case.
Our days are filled with trips to the zoo, our aquarium, our children's museum, and of course- Costco {E's favorite restaurant, fine dining at it's finest right??}.
We've made a lot of progress on our trip. We are currently 171 days out from our trip {Less then Six Months!!!
} which means I've both booked our hotel and our ADR's, oh, and of course BBB!
To recap our trip:
We leave for Orlando on Saturday, October 12th.
We leave Orlando to come home
Sunday October 20th.
We're staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge {Kildani} in a 1 bedroom Savanna view.
My parents are staying in a studio in Kildani {hey, they're using my points for free, they get what they get}.
Our party includes:
Me, DH, DD
who will be 2.75 years old {3 for BBB purposes 
}
My Mom, Dad, and maybe my sister.
My Aunt & Uncle {My God Parents} who are staying at ASM.
My Cousin Trey {who lives out of state and I don't see often} at ASM
My Cousin Mike & Shauntil {his super awesome girlfriend} at ASM
I {HAVE} made our ADR's and I'll share those this week- baby steps, today was just about getting myself back onto DIS boards
yeah, so not the case. Our days are filled with trips to the zoo, our aquarium, our children's museum, and of course- Costco {E's favorite restaurant, fine dining at it's finest right??}.
We've made a lot of progress on our trip. We are currently 171 days out from our trip {Less then Six Months!!!
} which means I've both booked our hotel and our ADR's, oh, and of course BBB!To recap our trip:
We leave for Orlando on Saturday, October 12th.
We leave Orlando to come home
Sunday October 20th.We're staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge {Kildani} in a 1 bedroom Savanna view.
My parents are staying in a studio in Kildani {hey, they're using my points for free, they get what they get}.
Our party includes:
Me, DH, DD
who will be 2.75 years old {3 for BBB purposes }My Mom, Dad, and maybe my sister.
My Aunt & Uncle {My God Parents} who are staying at ASM.
My Cousin Trey {who lives out of state and I don't see often} at ASM
My Cousin Mike & Shauntil {his super awesome girlfriend} at ASM
I {HAVE} made our ADR's and I'll share those this week- baby steps, today was just about getting myself back onto DIS boards
JennisSilly
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2008
We leave on Saturday, October 12th, and fly across country from Arizona to Florida.
I had a lot of anxiety over picking flights. E has flown on two separate trips in her short life. Once to Memphis {last summer} where we had a connection each way, which broke the flight's into 1.5 hour segments for the most part. The lay overs were perfect for that trip.
Then we flew to Philadelphia this winter for an unexpected family funeral. Our flight there was nonstop, and pretty much the absolute worst conditions you could imagine. I had thought it would be {perfect}. Our flight left at 4:30 p.m. {or was supposed to leave} so I kept E up, not letting her nap that day so she'd fall asleep on the plane and sleep. Well, our flight was an hour and a half delayed...in the 30 minutes we were in line boarding, she fell asleep, and woke up as soon as we boarded. For those of you with {or have had toddlers} you know those 30 minute naps are the devil. Thankfully she was pretty pleasant on the trip:
At least she was pleasant for most of the 6 hour flight...except when it was about 11:00 her time, and we were supposed to be landing, but we were in an hour holding pattern...and she fell asleep again, the last 30 minutes of the flight. We then had to find our way through the airport, to the rental car, and the hotel. Let's just say we didn't get a lot of sleep.
So, even when I thought I had picked the perfect circumstances, it wasn't. We had several flight options, but the one I knew I wanted was a US Air flight that left PHX at 8am and landed in MCO at 4:05 giving E some time to settle down, burn some energy, and still get some sleep. At first the flight was around $400, but I decided to wait until SWA released their fares {since they're both hubs here, they are always competitive}. Well, the fares changed when SWA released their schedule all right- to $725 ONE WAY! That was out.
I was left with the option of leaving around 11am and getting in around 7 {bleh} or having a connection. On a whim a few weeks later, I checked that US Airways flight again, and found it for $225 PP one way, so I bought it right then and there. So we have flights THERE, just not flights home, yet {really, who needs to go home?}
Here are my questions, because I've never traveled with a Toddler to WDW. Do I need to bring her car seat? I know technically she's supposed to sit in it on the plane...that worked for about 15 minutes:
She wasn't a fan. I think the plane, the tiredness, and facing forward with no where to put her legs {she rear faces in the car still} was too much for her. After about 10 minutes she was in our laps, and anytime we asked her if she wanted to go in her seat we got:
So basically we had paid for the car seat to have it's own seat with a window view...sure it was convenient for holding stuff- but not how I would have imagined spending that kind of $$$. Now, it could be different this time since the sleep factor won't be an issue, but I'm just not sure what to do. Suggestions? Do I need it for Magical Express? I don't want to check her car seat {a Car Seat Tech I work with gave me MAJOR stink eye when I mentioned this- clearly I'm a naive mama} but it's kind of a pain to lug around even with the little luggage cart you can attach it to {we have one}.
So...what do you think? Yes? No?
I had a lot of anxiety over picking flights. E has flown on two separate trips in her short life. Once to Memphis {last summer} where we had a connection each way, which broke the flight's into 1.5 hour segments for the most part. The lay overs were perfect for that trip.
Then we flew to Philadelphia this winter for an unexpected family funeral. Our flight there was nonstop, and pretty much the absolute worst conditions you could imagine. I had thought it would be {perfect}. Our flight left at 4:30 p.m. {or was supposed to leave} so I kept E up, not letting her nap that day so she'd fall asleep on the plane and sleep. Well, our flight was an hour and a half delayed...in the 30 minutes we were in line boarding, she fell asleep, and woke up as soon as we boarded. For those of you with {or have had toddlers} you know those 30 minute naps are the devil. Thankfully she was pretty pleasant on the trip:
At least she was pleasant for most of the 6 hour flight...except when it was about 11:00 her time, and we were supposed to be landing, but we were in an hour holding pattern...and she fell asleep again, the last 30 minutes of the flight. We then had to find our way through the airport, to the rental car, and the hotel. Let's just say we didn't get a lot of sleep.
So, even when I thought I had picked the perfect circumstances, it wasn't. We had several flight options, but the one I knew I wanted was a US Air flight that left PHX at 8am and landed in MCO at 4:05 giving E some time to settle down, burn some energy, and still get some sleep. At first the flight was around $400, but I decided to wait until SWA released their fares {since they're both hubs here, they are always competitive}. Well, the fares changed when SWA released their schedule all right- to $725 ONE WAY! That was out.
I was left with the option of leaving around 11am and getting in around 7 {bleh} or having a connection. On a whim a few weeks later, I checked that US Airways flight again, and found it for $225 PP one way, so I bought it right then and there. So we have flights THERE, just not flights home, yet {really, who needs to go home?}
Here are my questions, because I've never traveled with a Toddler to WDW. Do I need to bring her car seat? I know technically she's supposed to sit in it on the plane...that worked for about 15 minutes:
She wasn't a fan. I think the plane, the tiredness, and facing forward with no where to put her legs {she rear faces in the car still} was too much for her. After about 10 minutes she was in our laps, and anytime we asked her if she wanted to go in her seat we got:
So basically we had paid for the car seat to have it's own seat with a window view...sure it was convenient for holding stuff- but not how I would have imagined spending that kind of $$$. Now, it could be different this time since the sleep factor won't be an issue, but I'm just not sure what to do. Suggestions? Do I need it for Magical Express? I don't want to check her car seat {a Car Seat Tech I work with gave me MAJOR stink eye when I mentioned this- clearly I'm a naive mama} but it's kind of a pain to lug around even with the little luggage cart you can attach it to {we have one}.
So...what do you think? Yes? No?
JennisSilly
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2008
Saturday October 12th:
As I mentioned previously, our flight {TO} Orlando has been booked, our flight leaves Phoenix at 8:59 a.m. and have a non-stop flight to Orlando arriving at 4:05 p.m.
We don't live terribly far from the airport, but we also don't know if my parents will be on the same flights as us. If they are not, my in-laws will likely take us to the airport. If my parents are on the same flight we are, then we'll likely all take a car service. I plan on arriving at the airport around 7:15. This should allow us to have a comfortable amount of time to check our bags, get through security, and get our food situation settled before taking off. I'll likely pack some snack foods with us, but also buy breakfast/lunch at the airport to eat on the plane.
I've been stock piling travel items for E already, including this guy:
It's a toddler back pack with lunch box that attaches by So Young. I absolutely adore it {it's a glazed canvas, so it wipes off!}. I thought it would be too cute for our Animal Kingdom trip- and because my daughter is obsessed with giraffes. She has a 4foot tall {taller then her} stuffed giraffe named Gertie!
I also picked up these guys to organize our plane activities. I'm a bit of a nut about organization {but let's be honest, most of us are}.
These are Baggu reusable snack bags- and while they'll be great on the plane, I think they'll also be super handy while on our vacation.
We do plan on taking Magical Express, I've used it three times and had no issues. We'll also likely use our ME luggage tags, again I've never had an issue. That being said, we always take a carry on suit case that we put a pair of PJ's, clothes, swim suit, etc, so that if our luggage got delayed we'd be just fine for a bit.
Our plan for our first evening is really just to settle in. After we get situated in our room we'll let E roam around and work off some energy. We also plan on going to Downtown Disney this day, as I want to order us a new tree skirt and stockings for Christmas and want to leave plenty of time to get them personalized {along with a family ornament} and back to us before we leave. We have dinner reservations at Rainforest Cafe {I wanted to do T-Rex, but it was booked this day} for dinner. E LOVES the Rainforest Cafe, and it's usually how we kick off trips in Disneyland as well, so I figured it was a good back up.
After dinner we'll head back to the room to have an awesome bubble bath in the whirlpool bathtub and get E down for bed before a busy day at Animal Kingdom the next day!
As I mentioned previously, our flight {TO} Orlando has been booked, our flight leaves Phoenix at 8:59 a.m. and have a non-stop flight to Orlando arriving at 4:05 p.m.
We don't live terribly far from the airport, but we also don't know if my parents will be on the same flights as us. If they are not, my in-laws will likely take us to the airport. If my parents are on the same flight we are, then we'll likely all take a car service. I plan on arriving at the airport around 7:15. This should allow us to have a comfortable amount of time to check our bags, get through security, and get our food situation settled before taking off. I'll likely pack some snack foods with us, but also buy breakfast/lunch at the airport to eat on the plane.
I've been stock piling travel items for E already, including this guy:
It's a toddler back pack with lunch box that attaches by So Young. I absolutely adore it {it's a glazed canvas, so it wipes off!}. I thought it would be too cute for our Animal Kingdom trip- and because my daughter is obsessed with giraffes. She has a 4foot tall {taller then her} stuffed giraffe named Gertie!
I also picked up these guys to organize our plane activities. I'm a bit of a nut about organization {but let's be honest, most of us are}.
These are Baggu reusable snack bags- and while they'll be great on the plane, I think they'll also be super handy while on our vacation.
We do plan on taking Magical Express, I've used it three times and had no issues. We'll also likely use our ME luggage tags, again I've never had an issue. That being said, we always take a carry on suit case that we put a pair of PJ's, clothes, swim suit, etc, so that if our luggage got delayed we'd be just fine for a bit.
Our plan for our first evening is really just to settle in. After we get situated in our room we'll let E roam around and work off some energy. We also plan on going to Downtown Disney this day, as I want to order us a new tree skirt and stockings for Christmas and want to leave plenty of time to get them personalized {along with a family ornament} and back to us before we leave. We have dinner reservations at Rainforest Cafe {I wanted to do T-Rex, but it was booked this day} for dinner. E LOVES the Rainforest Cafe, and it's usually how we kick off trips in Disneyland as well, so I figured it was a good back up.
After dinner we'll head back to the room to have an awesome bubble bath in the whirlpool bathtub and get E down for bed before a busy day at Animal Kingdom the next day!
JennisSilly
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2008
I'm very excited to announce that our airfare has been booked to and from Walt Disney World, and our Magical Express Reservations have been made. This is quite exciting, as it's just a few more pieces of our trip that are coming together. My parents are on the same flights {therefore the same M/E bus} as we are, which is also really nice. 1) The more people we have to help with DD & her stuff, the better. 2) I won't have to be stressing over whether or not they made their flights.
I also have a confession. I am a Matilda Jane Clothing addict. I was introduced to this fabulous clothing line in March, and have been shopping up a storm for DD since then. I can't really explain my addiction to it, other then it's incredibly adorable and she LOVES it. The quality is also fabulous.
I am ALSO happy to say that we did get into T-Rex Cafe for our arrival day! I called the restaurant directly and had no problem getting a reservation even though the online system said they were booked out. I'm so excited that we're starting our trip there, DD is going to LOVE it!!
On to the shopping fun...I have purchased her a few of their "signature" ruffle pants for travel. They are super cute, but seem very comfortable, which is important for a toddler on a cross country airplane trip. But, I'm having a problem pairing the bottoms with tops.
First, we have the Marlins:
My thought was to pair these with this guy, but what do you think? I saw them paired with an adorable Cinderella shirt from Old Navy which of course is now sold out...should I keep looking?
Next we have the Sunrise Ruffles:
With her new obsession with Jake {I guess it was bound to happen}, I thought they'd look super cute with this top:
I'm just not quite sure yet- I've never been a fan of mixing patterns with patterns, but that's pretty much all that Matilda Jane is...and I'm not about to have DD at the ripe old age of 2.75 years old fly with a light colored solid shirt- that's just asking for a disaster!
I also have a confession. I am a Matilda Jane Clothing addict. I was introduced to this fabulous clothing line in March, and have been shopping up a storm for DD since then. I can't really explain my addiction to it, other then it's incredibly adorable and she LOVES it. The quality is also fabulous.
I am ALSO happy to say that we did get into T-Rex Cafe for our arrival day! I called the restaurant directly and had no problem getting a reservation even though the online system said they were booked out. I'm so excited that we're starting our trip there, DD is going to LOVE it!!
On to the shopping fun...I have purchased her a few of their "signature" ruffle pants for travel. They are super cute, but seem very comfortable, which is important for a toddler on a cross country airplane trip. But, I'm having a problem pairing the bottoms with tops.
First, we have the Marlins:
My thought was to pair these with this guy, but what do you think? I saw them paired with an adorable Cinderella shirt from Old Navy which of course is now sold out...should I keep looking?
Next we have the Sunrise Ruffles:
With her new obsession with Jake {I guess it was bound to happen}, I thought they'd look super cute with this top:
I'm just not quite sure yet- I've never been a fan of mixing patterns with patterns, but that's pretty much all that Matilda Jane is...and I'm not about to have DD at the ripe old age of 2.75 years old fly with a light colored solid shirt- that's just asking for a disaster!
JennisSilly
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2008
For our first full day at Disney, I wanted to keep it relatively mellow to allow for us all to adjust to jet lag. Also, I wasn't very smart in picking our travel week, and our first full day in Disney is also the Sunday before Columbus Day.
We opted to spend the day in Animal Kingdom! I should add, that for now I have us scheduled in one park per day. Park hopping won't be an issue as DH & I will have Premier Annual Passes (we've got a Disneyland trip scheduled in August for my 30th Birthday, so it just made sense), but with doing Deluxe Dining, and having a toddler, one park per day just seemed...easier.
Speaking of Deluxe Dining- we have FOOD, lots of food!
After reading rave reviews of Tusker House, we'll be starting with breakfast there.
For Lunch, we'll be doing one of my personal favorites- Yak and Yeti.
And for dinner, we'll end the day early with dinner in Boma at our hotel. We've eaten at Yak & Yeti and Boma before {loved Boma!} but not Tusker House, so we're super excited to try it!
I figure we'll relax, spend some time at the pool, and enjoy some good quality family time. My Uncle, who lives in TN, is flying out for Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues. I don't get to see him often, so I didn't want to jam pack our schedule, after all part of this trip is about family time!
I'm hoping that DD will have somewhat adjusted her schedule, but if not, that's okay. Day 3 is also planned as a relatively low key day as well!
We opted to spend the day in Animal Kingdom! I should add, that for now I have us scheduled in one park per day. Park hopping won't be an issue as DH & I will have Premier Annual Passes (we've got a Disneyland trip scheduled in August for my 30th Birthday, so it just made sense), but with doing Deluxe Dining, and having a toddler, one park per day just seemed...easier.
Speaking of Deluxe Dining- we have FOOD, lots of food!
After reading rave reviews of Tusker House, we'll be starting with breakfast there.
For Lunch, we'll be doing one of my personal favorites- Yak and Yeti.
And for dinner, we'll end the day early with dinner in Boma at our hotel. We've eaten at Yak & Yeti and Boma before {loved Boma!} but not Tusker House, so we're super excited to try it!
I figure we'll relax, spend some time at the pool, and enjoy some good quality family time. My Uncle, who lives in TN, is flying out for Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues. I don't get to see him often, so I didn't want to jam pack our schedule, after all part of this trip is about family time!
I'm hoping that DD will have somewhat adjusted her schedule, but if not, that's okay. Day 3 is also planned as a relatively low key day as well!
Share this page
GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE
Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.
Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!
Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.
Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!
