AN AP-ALOOZA with a baby! October TR turned year of Disney! NEW 2/7 AUG FINISHED!

[wiigirl]

Great update!

 

[jenny105]

Wow that house looks awesome! Great deal

 

[Imagineer5]

Great update!

thanks

 

[Imagineer5]

Wow that house looks awesome! Great deal

YEAH it really was - the pool made it very worthwhile! I have already started to look into a smaller home for when we go that has a pool - when Aria was napping we could actually DO something besides sit around the room waiting for her to wake up! Or similarly, at night when she went to bed we had space to hang out, watch tv, swim, etc without waking her.

 

[Imagineer5]

Alrighty! EPCOT here we come!! So the plan for today - get there at rope drop, we will head off to NEMO first (HAHA) while the rest do Soarin, though we will get FP's to ride later, after that just let Aria have some fun before her first nap. At 16 months, she still needed 2 naps per day (thankfully, she is down to 1 now) which made park days tough! Her first nap was usually around 10AM - just 1 hour after park opening. Anyway, for lunch we had reservations for 7 for Biergarten - DH's older sister, husband, and boys were not joininig us for that meal. We had a potential to go back to resort for mid-day break, then we had dinner ADR's at Marrakesh (thought I'd try it out - last time I ate there was in 2000 with my mom! and origianlly we had Monsieur Paul ADR's but 1) i didn't like the menu, and 2) I thought Aria would be a PITA there...

But first...I had to go back to the house for the camera. Yep - we got all the way to the EPCOT parking lot, one of the first spots, and we didn't have the camera. So I dropped people off and made the 20 min or so round trip back to the house to get it - I could NOT go a whole day without that!

Made it back with still 10 minutes to spare before rope drop, phew

Aria was having fun with her cousin Nick!

The boys were really fantastic with her - they were SO nice to have along and they could always get a laugh out of her!!

Once through the gates - While everyone else ran off for Soarin, we rode Spaceship earth with the IL's

If you remember from the last trip, I could NOT get a photo of DH and Aria together so I tried again this time...

Success!

After that, we headed over to Nemo. Aria LOVES her Papa John

Probably one of her favorite things in all of Disney is to run around the Seas and look in the tanks - so we did that while waiting for the Turtle Talk with Crush show. Melissa & family came to see TT with us, and that was a huge hit. The boys are "cool" but luckily still at a great age - they sat on the floor with Aria and me even though they were way older than all the other kids. Their attitude the whole trip was wonderful!

The two on the left are Kerry (Andrew's twin) and Chris (her DH). We really didn't see them that much as they went off on their own a lot, and then left Wednesday!

Cousins!

Note - aria is wearing her German ellie I had made for our Europe trip - it was perfect for Biergarten!

After that, it was time for Aria to nap. Kerry offered to walk the stroller around while we went off to ride Soarin with our FP's. We kept getting texts that Aria was chatting away and sticking her arms and feet out of the blanket (we cover the stroller with a A+A breathable muslin blanket to block out distractions, usually works great...

But alas after a fun ride, she was still wide awake. So I set Kerry free to go ride some things before lunch and walked around until she did finally fall asleep. We took turns riding TT and then decided to start our way back to Germany for lunch - stopping in Mexico for margaritas of course. Hey, it was after 11...

Little miss was sound asleep when we checked in for lunch, so they offered to let us bring in the stroller so we wouldn't have to wake her up - only catch was that they had to lift the stroller down the stairs. Well, she woke up after all that and the seater offered to bring the stroller back outside.

She woke up in a bit of a mood, but luckily the full table of family and the entertainment kept her pretty happy. The food was better than I remembered, too and overall we had a great time. I don't think we got pictures - but Aria had picked up a new trick thanks to Grammy - Cheers & clinking glasses. Well she enjoyed that so much she "cheer'd" any glass she could see and ended up flinging my wine glass (full) across the room where it shattered on the floor.

After lunch we had a pretty happy baby on our hands! Kerry & Chris decided to head out and take a break and enjoy the pool, whereas we decided just to stick it out and stay through Illuminations (my idea, pretty sure...)

We did end up getting "stuck" with the IL's a LOT - MIL doesn't do the bigger rides so she didn't want to go off with Melissa & family. I think they ended up sticking with us for a few hours and then went back for a while for dinner as they weren't on our reservation.

 

[Imagineer5]

Now with Aria, Mexico finally has a must-see ride! She loves it, so that works!

Then we met up with Melissa & fam and enjoyed some WS - Andrew really wanted to show them the chinese acrobats so we geared up to watch that next show.

Melissa's chris (both Kerry and Melissa are married to Chris's...) holding Aria. She tried to bolt towards the gymnasts a few times...

We STILL haven't seen this yet!

Melissa's fam

After that we split up for a few hours - Melissa went off to find some food and ride some more things, and it was time for Aria's second nap. We decided to continue around the WS, stopping for some photos here and there.

Of course, we ended in France and got some drinks, which is right when Aria decided to wake up...

We checked in for the meal (Marrakesh) and Aria was in another mood so we were getting nervous as to how the meal would go...

BUT there was a built in distraction - next to us was a little boy, and Aria enjoyed watching him basically the whole meal. It was SO nice!

I believe the appetizer had goat cheese & olives? It was delicious.

Crayons and the napkin over the head trick generally always work!

Our meals were OK - my main was edible, DH's was great according to him, BUT the entertainment was NON existant. A belly dancer came out briefly ONCE. I couldn't believe it - granted, the last Moroccan restaurant I went to was in DC and it was wayyy more up and personal - kinda weird as I went with a bunch of co-workers LOL - but I couldn't believe the lack of show. We won't be returning. BUT I can't wait to try out Spice Road Table!

After dinner I thought it'd be fun to get Aria a cute Moroccan outfit -

But I wasn't too thrilled with the selections in her size, so we moved on, meeting back up with Kerry and Chris and eventually the rest of the crew.

It was time to find a spot for Illuminations!

We ended up near the front of the lagoon, not the best spot but we were close to a shop for the few times it started to sprinkle while we waited.

The rain held off for the show though and we all enjoyed it (I much prefer Wishes, but this was a specific request from the IL's!).

After that we headed back - Aria fell asleep immediately and I did too!

The next day was open - Kerry/Chris went to Universal (we were going to go, too, but there turned out to be a total of THREE rides Aria could ride at IoA so we decided to skip it) - and we had our "date night" at Artist Point planned. What would we do?!

 

[kmedina]

Getting a 6 bedroom house for less than 2 nights in a standard room at a Disney Deluxe is another fantastic deal. One of these days, I am going to have to try that out (maybe when we finally add Universal/Sea World), because we'll be forced to rent a car. It looks like a fantastic house too.

I have a love/hate relationship regarding traveling with extended family. On the one hand, it can be a lot of fun and you always have a sitter. However, my family cannot be anywhere on time. Connor's birthday morning they were supposed to arrive before 8am, but they arrived at 9. We did nothing from 8-9, because they needed my FIL to show his military ID to activate tickets. I did not want to be stuck in a line or on a ride when they arrived. It did not get better the next couple of days either. They could not keep it together. We had to ditch them. I am glad it worked out better with your family. Teenagers are the hardest to get out the door too.

I like the picture of Andrew and Aria on Spaceship Earth. Glad you had a chance to redo it. They must have scaled back at Marrakesh. It has been 10 years since we've dined there, but I remember a lot of entertainment, like nonstop through the meal. We thought it was fantastic, so I am sorry you did not like it as much as we did. I wish we would have returned before we had Xander. He is really picky, so we cannot eat there again until his taste buds expand a little.

I am still laughing at the term PITA. Connor has been a PITA at restaurants lately. That was part of the reason we decided to do the regular dining plan this time. No signature restaurants for us this time. We are doing the luau (paid cash to not waste 2 credits on the dining plan and I only want level 1 seating). We are doing one F&W event, but we hired a sitter for that.

 

[AussieAngel]

All sounds wonderful so far! The house looks great!

I love the way Aria has her naps in the stroller, with a muslin cloth over her... I'm hoping our 7 month old baby will do the same when we head to WDW next month. We've done a few practice runs out and about - so far so good!

 

[jenny105]

I love the Mexico boat ride too! Aria and I have that in common lol. Donald's my favorite.

I prefer Wishes over Illuminations too. I don't hate Illuminations but I want to fall asleep when the globe makes it's appearance.

 

[dtr_angel]

excited to read another one of your TR! Hope you are all feeling better. Aria has grown so much since her first trip to Disney!

 

[Imagineer5]

Getting a 6 bedroom house for less than 2 nights in a standard room at a Disney Deluxe is another fantastic deal. One of these days, I am going to have to try that out (maybe when we finally add Universal/Sea World), because we'll be forced to rent a car. It looks like a fantastic house too.

I have a love/hate relationship regarding traveling with extended family. On the one hand, it can be a lot of fun and you always have a sitter. However, my family cannot be anywhere on time. Connor's birthday morning they were supposed to arrive before 8am, but they arrived at 9. We did nothing from 8-9, because they needed my FIL to show his military ID to activate tickets. I did not want to be stuck in a line or on a ride when they arrived. It did not get better the next couple of days either. They could not keep it together. We had to ditch them. I am glad it worked out better with your family. Teenagers are the hardest to get out the door too.

I like the picture of Andrew and Aria on Spaceship Earth. Glad you had a chance to redo it. They must have scaled back at Marrakesh. It has been 10 years since we've dined there, but I remember a lot of entertainment, like nonstop through the meal. We thought it was fantastic, so I am sorry you did not like it as much as we did. I wish we would have returned before we had Xander. He is really picky, so we cannot eat there again until his taste buds expand a little.

I am still laughing at the term PITA. Connor has been a PITA at restaurants lately. That was part of the reason we decided to do the regular dining plan this time. No signature restaurants for us this time. We are doing the luau (paid cash to not waste 2 credits on the dining plan and I only want level 1 seating). We are doing one F&W event, but we hired a sitter for that.

Yes, the house was great! I was worried about not having our own space but overall it worked out. I remember that trip you took, and your aggrivation that morning. SO annoying! Luckily I don't rememeber anything that bad happening, maybe something will spark my memory while writing the TR though lol.

Foreshadowing - on our two times on Spaceship earth in August we did not get ONE photo of us together! Which made me mad since I had tried so hard to get those photos of Aria and Andrew haha!

What did you do for a sitter? I can't wait for Aria to do the disney-run kids play areas (when she is over 3)

All sounds wonderful so far! The house looks great!

I love the way Aria has her naps in the stroller, with a muslin cloth over her... I'm hoping our 7 month old baby will do the same when we head to WDW next month. We've done a few practice runs out and about - so far so good!

Yeah! Overall it works out great, though it does get HOT so we do spend a lot of time walking around in shops or whatnot. She also rarely takes as long as a nap as she would in a crib.

I love the Mexico boat ride too! Aria and I have that in common lol. Donald's my favorite.

I prefer Wishes over Illuminations too. I don't hate Illuminations but I want to fall asleep when the globe makes it's appearance.

Haha do you really??! Well she loves that and IaSW. I don't *hate* illuminations but definitely don't love it like I do Wishes! All Andrew's mom could talk about before the trip was the "laser show" she saw years agoa nd just HAD to see it again...

excited to read another one of your TR! Hope you are all feeling better. Aria has grown so much since her first trip to Disney!

Yeah!! And has grown up a lot since this trip. Her hair is like 4" longer already and she has grown about 3" taller without adding much weight, so she looks a bit slimmer amazing how much they change in such a short period of time!

 

[Imagineer5]

Day 3 – open day with date night at Artist point!!
We had no concrete plans this day except for the evening – I thought it might be fun to do mini-golf or something. Kerry/Chris went to Universal Studios and Melissa & fam decided to go to Hollywood Studios (which I was a little surprised about since Thursday was supposed to be DHS day…). So we spent the morning at the house, let aria take a good morning nap, and then headed out to DHS for a little while.

We ended up meeting with Melissa & fam just for a couple minutes as they were finishing up lunch and then heading off to ride some of the bigger rides. We decided to take Aria to the playground at Honey I Shrunk the Kids for a bit to have some fun…other than that we really couldn’t do anything right away without waiting forever so we decided to head back (oh it was HOT HOT HOT too!) and go swimming while Aria was still awake!

After the afternoon swim, aria went down for a nap and we headed out shortly after to wilderness lodge. We left quite early and thought we’d just walk around the resort since we were staying there for the first time in December, but lightning closed the whole pool area! So we headed back inside and stopped at the lounge for an appetizer of fondue and some drinks. I thought a Washington Apple Martini sounded just about perfect right then (I first had this at California Grill and it has become my “special” drink when I’m not in the mood for wine!).

During our pre-dinner drinks we sort of got into a fight, probably over family but I don’t even remember what at this point. I do remember though that it put a damper on the evening, which was disappointing. It also caused me to not take any more photos  Boo!

Anyway, dinner time came and we were a little disappointed to be seated in this back area surrounded by 4 different tables of loud families. Nothing against them, believe me I know how it is to have a child at dinner!, but it would have been nice to be seated in another section of the restaurant. It was actually kind of awkward having the kids jumping off the seats directly next to me. I ordered the smokey Portobello soup, which was WAY too salty, as my appetizer and don’t even remember my main dish. I had totally forgotten (due to our less than stellar previous hour or so) that a DIS friend Paula would be at Artist Point until she texted me saying something along the lines of “I see you!” lol. So I popped over to her table for a minute but my main dish was getting cold so didn’t stay too long. She agreed with me about the soup - said it was most likely due to a smoking chef – ugh. We are trying out Artist Point again in December (since we will be staying at WL and with Aria)…but overall the date night evening wasn’t that great.

We did get a couple photos texted from the grandparents - they brought aria to the playground at the resort where the house was and it seemed like she had a really great evening. MUCH better report than KNO from October!!

But alas, MK day tomorrow! How have we been in FL 3 days and not gone to MK yet?!

 

[jenny105]

Haha do you really??! Well she loves that and IaSW. I don't *hate* illuminations but definitely don't love it like I do Wishes! All Andrew's mom could talk about before the trip was the "laser show" she saw years agoa nd just HAD to see it again...

Yup! I think it's because I love Donald. IASW on the other hand....let's just say I hang up if that's the hold music when I call Disney. I prefer the one in Disneyland but that's because I'm so busy spotting film characters that the music doesn't make me want to jump out of the boat. The funny thing is I remember having a recording of IASW when I was a kid and playing it all the time. I must've drove my parents crazy!

Sorry your date night didn't go well. Bummer.

 

[kmedina]

I cannot wait until the kids are all over three as well, so I can drop them off in the kids clubs. If they're anything like DCL, I know they'll have a great time. Connor will still be under 3 this trip, so I am hiring an in room sitter. Although, I know you are against Kids Nite Out, I decided to give them a try. If it does not work out, I think they have a competitor in the area. We go back to WDW December 2014. Both boys will be over three, so they may try the clubs then (if we do not try for our daughter before then). I am thinking of waiting until 2015 to have the next and final kid.

Sounds like you had a pretty relaxed day. I always want to sleep in and have an easy morning, but my commando style kicks in. The Honey I Shrunk the Playground set will be closed next month when we visit. We're bummed about that, because Xander loves it there. It stinks that HS was too busy to enjoy.

My biggest regret about not getting the deluxe dining plan this time is not eating at Artist Point. We are staying there next month, so it would be so convenient. With F&W, the water parks, the Halloween Party and paying oop for the luau (because I was level one seating), the deluxe plan did not make sense. I actually have to use two quick services on breakfasts to refrain from wasting them, so paying for extra meals oop is out of the question.

I still have not had a DISmeet, so I think it is funny a fellow DISer just happened to see you at dinner. That's cool.

 

[Dugette]

Just read through your whole June TR so far. Sounds like a pretty good start to the trip, for the most part. Love the house. That's amazing you could have that for a week for less than the price of 2 rack rate nights at the Poly! Wow. The pool looks great and that's a good point about having things to do after the little one goes to bed. I'm glad it went well traveling with family and that Aria's cousins were so good to have around. I'm wondering if Dug Baby will be on one or two naps a day during our trip. She'll only be 14.5 months, but she sometimes does 1 long nap now, rather than her normal 2 (like today, for instance). I guess we'll see how it all shakes out in the next couple months. The 1 would be easier for going back to the resort during it. Sorry you didn't have a good date night at Artist Point! That was one of the highlights of our last trip (2011). But we had a quiet table and good soup, so maybe that was the difference! Hope it works out better when you return.

Hope you are all feeling better now. Not fun to be sick/have a little one be sick, especially when on vacation!

 

[Imagineer5]

Yup! I think it's because I love Donald. IASW on the other hand....let's just say I hang up if that's the hold music when I call Disney. I prefer the one in Disneyland but that's because I'm so busy spotting film characters that the music doesn't make me want to jump out of the boat. The funny thing is I remember having a recording of IASW when I was a kid and playing it all the time. I must've drove my parents crazy!

Sorry your date night didn't go well. Bummer.

Haha I can't believe iasw doesn't bother me - when I was 7 I had a really bad case of poison ivy but still convinced my mom to take me to Disneyland. While on iasw my eyes closed up and the ride ended up closing down and we were evacuated to the hospital. I couldn't think about that ride (or the song!) for years, didnt even go on it again until 2004. I guess seeing aria clapping and dancing in it makes it ok for me!

I cannot wait until the kids are all over three as well, so I can drop them off in the kids clubs. If they're anything like DCL, I know they'll have a great time. Connor will still be under 3 this trip, so I am hiring an in room sitter. Although, I know you are against Kids Nite Out, I decided to give them a try. If it does not work out, I think they have a competitor in the area. We go back to WDW December 2014. Both boys will be over three, so they may try the clubs then (if we do not try for our daughter before then). I am thinking of waiting until 2015 to have the next and final kid.

Sounds like you had a pretty relaxed day. I always want to sleep in and have an easy morning, but my commando style kicks in. The Honey I Shrunk the Playground set will be closed next month when we visit. We're bummed about that, because Xander loves it there. It stinks that HS was too busy to enjoy.

My biggest regret about not getting the deluxe dining plan this time is not eating at Artist Point. We are staying there next month, so it would be so convenient. With F&W, the water parks, the Halloween Party and paying oop for the luau (because I was level one seating), the deluxe plan did not make sense. I actually have to use two quick services on breakfasts to refrain from wasting them, so paying for extra meals oop is out of the question.

I still have not had a DISmeet, so I think it is funny a fellow DISer just happened to see you at dinner. That's cool.

We were actually just talking about possibly using them again just requesting a younger babysitter. The older lady who didnt know the difference between Jammie's and clothes and how to use a dr. Browns bottle was the issue - the company was actually really great (and I appreciated letting us cancel the 2nd night without much notice).

We've only had great meals at artist point. The salty soup was SO disappointing though. I make it at home and it is quite the process that it is nice to be spoiled and just order it there. So I am def ready to try again! I wish we were going in oct!!

Paula and I met up in oct 2012 (3d party) and we are FB friends so we knew wed be there at the same time, but the timing was tough with a huge group it was kind of hard to get away for a bit and my mind was elsewhere. I was glad she reminded me she was there!

Yah, DHs was sort of a bust, sorry the playground will be closed! I'm not sure if it will be closed in dec but we don't plan to spend much time in the park then (just going to see the lights).

Just read through your whole June TR so far. Sounds like a pretty good start to the trip, for the most part. Love the house. That's amazing you could have that for a week for less than the price of 2 rack rate nights at the Poly! Wow. The pool looks great and that's a good point about having things to do after the little one goes to bed. I'm glad it went well traveling with family and that Aria's cousins were so good to have around. I'm wondering if Dug Baby will be on one or two naps a day during our trip. She'll only be 14.5 months, but she sometimes does 1 long nap now, rather than her normal 2 (like today, for instance). I guess we'll see how it all shakes out in the next couple months. The 1 would be easier for going back to the resort during it. Sorry you didn't have a good date night at Artist Point! That was one of the highlights of our last trip (2011). But we had a quiet table and good soup, so maybe that was the difference! Hope it works out better when you return.

Hope you are all feeling better now. Not fun to be sick/have a little one be sick, especially when on vacation!

Yeah it was fun, mid week we started having more fun! Lol. But yes, hotel rooms are losing their appeal with a little one who needs naps and going to bed early. If we are in 1 room we can't even watch tv or whatnot, so it is pretty nice to have a house with the space to spread out.

SO excited about dvc at the poly for this reason!!

I am not one to complain about kids at a Disney restaurant lol, but it was just sort of disappointing to be placed in that section you know? At least we know aria wont be too awful to take there!

We all have colds! But not upset about it at all considering it is way better than that stomach virus!

 

[khertz]

I'm excited to see that you started your June TR! I just got all caught up. What a great deal on the house! And a nice way to stay with family but have your own space to retreat to when you are over all that family togetherness. Having your own pool, especially when you are at the parks at such a hot time of year, sounds really amazing.

Love that you were finally able to get Aria's face to work on Spaceship Earth!

I have never paid attention to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playset before, and was actually looking forward to letting Paxton try it out this year, and wouldn't you know, it'll be closed for our trip! It looks like Aria had fun though.

You mentioned getting stuck with the IL's a lot because they stayed away from a lot of the thrill ride attractions, and I'm thinking that exactly the same thing will happen on our trip next month. I just have to keep reminding myself it's ONLY for 3 days out of our trip. I can handle that, right?!

Anyway, great start so far! I love watching Aria grow at Disney World!

 

[dtr_angel]

oh I missed an update in there somewhere! That's great Aria had cousins to help entertain and you had babysitters, that must have been really great! The house looks great. I'm looking into renting a house for our next trip because space is a serious must with a toddler. Just curious if you know where your IL renting that house through for so cheap. I haven't found better than 159/night for a 3bd/3br which is still a steal compared to on site but I really want to do cheaper so we can splurge in December

 

[Imagineer5]

I'm excited to see that you started your June TR! I just got all caught up. What a great deal on the house! And a nice way to stay with family but have your own space to retreat to when you are over all that family togetherness. Having your own pool, especially when you are at the parks at such a hot time of year, sounds really amazing.

Love that you were finally able to get Aria's face to work on Spaceship Earth!

I have never paid attention to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playset before, and was actually looking forward to letting Paxton try it out this year, and wouldn't you know, it'll be closed for our trip! It looks like Aria had fun though.

You mentioned getting stuck with the IL's a lot because they stayed away from a lot of the thrill ride attractions, and I'm thinking that exactly the same thing will happen on our trip next month. I just have to keep reminding myself it's ONLY for 3 days out of our trip. I can handle that, right?!

Anyway, great start so far! I love watching Aria grow at Disney World!

Yeah! Everyone in the family (minus the parents) were all kind of doing their own thing so there was a lot of space to spread out. The pool was great ESP after we added pool heat!

Aww of course!! Love that play set though arias favorite is dinoland at ak. In August we finally found the boneyard, I had no idea we had to cross over the bridge before lol!

Yeah, they really stuck with us. The next day (MK) I made DH mad bc I intentionally ditched them. They just were a thorn in my side, they didnt really care to do anything at all which was driving me crazy. And, mil walks super slow and I just can't handle that! Lol ...

3 days though isn't too bad!! Eeek so excited for your trip!!

I love watching her grow there too! It makes me realize how much time has gone by everytime we go because she has changed sooo much in a short period of time, so crazy.

oh I missed an update in there somewhere! That's great Aria had cousins to help entertain and you had babysitters, that must have been really great! The house looks great. I'm looking into renting a house for our next trip because space is a serious must with a toddler. Just curious if you know where your IL renting that house through for so cheap. I haven't found better than 159/night for a 3bd/3br which is still a steal compared to on site but I really want to do cheaper so we can splurge in December

Yah it was great!! It was from VRBO.com - have you checked that out? I ended up with a list of about 7 houses available around that price point all with private pools, this was 6 br and the rest were 5 br so that's how we ended up with this one. There are a TON to weed through but the price given usually helps do that pretty quickly. I can find the exact house listing if you want it, not sure where I have that info saved but it might be in my email somewhere.

 

[dtr_angel]

Yah it was great!! It was from VRBO.com - have you checked that out? I ended up with a list of about 7 houses available around that price point all with private pools, this was 6 br and the rest were 5 br so that's how we ended up with this one. There are a TON to weed through but the price given usually helps do that pretty quickly. I can find the exact house listing if you want it, not sure where I have that info saved but it might be in my email somewhere.

I actually found that site not long after I replied here! I lost about an hour of Gavin's nap time looking at houses haha. I don't need that exact house, there will only be 3 adults and a toddler. We're looking at a 3bd/3ba with a private pool for less than $800 for 8 nights plus taxes & fees I guess. I emailed the owner earlier today. Was that house you stayed in in a particular community? We've never stayed off site before and I know you said where you stayed was close to the parks. I don't know why I am so nervous about staying off site.