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

[khertz]

You got probably one of the best pictures of a lion on the Safari I have ever seen on the DIS!

Aria looks so cute in the pool. She must be a water baby.

That's nice that you were able to go have an adult meal while Aria had the chance to run around and act like toddler.

 

[Imagineer5]

Aw, that sounds like a very fun day! Love the pool pics - you and Aria look so happy!

Dinner sounds like it worked out perfectly too. A nice quiet dinner for you and a fun, busy night for Aria!

Thanks again for your help with the baby food. We're heading to NY as part of a 3 week vacation to the US! So, so excited! We've been planning our trip since before Leo (our baby) was born. New York for a week, WDW for a week, a 3 night Bahamas Disney Dream cruise then a few nights at the beach in LA before we fly home. Can't wait!

Aww I hope you have a BLAST! Can't wait to hear all about your cruise, too!! I am SO hoping to find a deal in the spring, I'm interested to hear what you think about a 3-nighter and if it is long enough?

I like when the kids get excited about the animals on the Safari. Connor was still a little young on our last trip and Xander seemed uninterested. Hopefully, this trip is better. Lately, Connor is finally starting to do better at restaurants. He went through that same stage, so I am betting Aria will get out of it soon (since she is younger than he is). Your dinner sounds good. We have only dined there for breakfast, since I am not a seafood fan.

Xander LOVES Cici's. The pizza is terrible, but he loves playing and eating the desserts. For the price, the desserts are fantastic.

Aria has gotten *better* at restaurants lately, but she does like to be able to get down. An hour sitting in a high chair just doesn't work for her right now. That limits the type of places we'd take her to - so I am a *little* worried about our upcomnig CH and AP ADR's but not going to fret over it.

I can see the kids loving Cici's - I just HATE eating offsite, esp on that horrible strip.

I love the family pictures at AK! My favorite is Aria and her cousins in the car, that is really cute! I'm glad Aria had a good time while you got a peaceful dinner at Cape May Cafe. We have a nice large CiCi's pizza buffet here where I live, I can see how that would be perfect for a toddler!

She had a great day at AK and it was nice to spend some more time with the family since we always split up so much due to the very different needs of a 1 year old! LOL.

I hope you guys don't mind me butting in and giving my $0.02

My son HATED being fed. We did baby led weaning and skipped purees entirely but we did try to feed him oatmeal and avocado a few times with a spoon and he did what you described your son doing, would not open his mouth. We thought he just didn't like those things... until one day he grabbed the spoon out of my hand and shoved it in his mouth. It turns out he hated having us feed him!

Once he could use his pincher grasp, he loved cheerios, and those puffs. We found some made by Plum Organics that were his favorite. He also loved (and still does) freeze dried fruit. There are even some that have Mickey mouse & friends on the packaging. You should have no problem finding these things at a drugstore like Walgreens or super market in the baby food section.

I don't mind at all!! Yes, the pincher grasp was key, but she had it down by 7-8 months (well, she was feeding herself those puffs and such last october at 8m). She now feeds herself of course, but luckily she would accept the spoon - sometimes grabbing it from us but she wasn't great about getting it in her mouth early on

Hi!

I don't mind at all - as long as Lauren doesn't mind us hijacking her thread a little bit! I might even start a new thread over on the family board just to hear what other people have to say as well. I love hearing other peoples' ideas and stories, so thank you! It's good to hear it's not just my little bubba who's not into his food. (Solid food, I should say! He's great at breastfeeding - too great, probably! Eating takes far too long for him, hee!)

We've tried giving him little finger food pieces and he just picks them up, looks at them for a while, then drops them on the floor. Which leads me to believe he's just not ready for finger food yet... But we'll keep trying! I'm still offering purees too. Someone told me, "It's the parent's job to offer healthy food, it's the baby's job to decide whether they want it or not!"

I'm trying not to get flustered about it because I know breastmilk is the best thing for him anyway at this age, but it's tricky because I can't help but want him to enjoy all these tasty foods!

Anyway, sorry again Lauren for hijacking your trip report! Can't wait to read more about your adventures!

No need to apologize at all, I swear!! And your son sounds spot on with his age. It is totally normal and you just have to keep offering the food and soon enough it will become his meal - right now he is getting everything he needs from your milk, and food is just sort of play right now - he is learning (and his body is learning) how to handle the food. Those little pieces of food we brought were mainly to keep her distracted and happy in restaurants!

Great update! I'm glad Aria enjoyed the animals on safari. I'm hoping Dug Baby will get a kick out of them too.

That would be so great to have that pool right there. Looks like fun!

Sorry Aria was a pain at lunch, but at least you got to make up for it with a calm, peaceful dinner!

Looking forward to hearing what's next!

Yes! The pool was really, really awesome to have! Isabella will love the safari - Aria loves it more and more - I think at 8m was the only time she didn't really care for it. Makes me sad we are skipping AK this next trip!

I could take or leave Animal Kingdom. It's a beautiful park but I never get excited about it the way I do for the others. I think next trip we may skip it and come back after the expansion. I may trade it my AK day for a day at Universal/IOA. I can't wait to see all the new HP stuff!

I love the Beach Club. I need one of those chairs!!

I need to head back to Universal - in fact after finishing up this reply I think I'm going to go look at the HP progress. I wanted to wait for the NEW section to be open AND for Aria to be tall enough that we can ride that dangling ride where you have to have a kid to ride it??? LOL it looks like so much fun but we skipped IoA in June bc she wasn't tall enough for that ride. Hahah.

Anyway, I do love AK. I always spend all my souvenier money here - we have a basket of musical toys full now as we always pick up one or two every trip for Aria. And I'm sure you are rolling your eyes at the AVATAR land but I CAN'T WAIT for that to open!! It looks amazing (and not an Avatar fan, just think the new rides will add so much to the park!).

I wish we had the Beach Club on the docket - not sure where we will stay next year if we go in the spring.

You got probably one of the best pictures of a lion on the Safari I have ever seen on the DIS!

Aria looks so cute in the pool. She must be a water baby.

That's nice that you were able to go have an adult meal while Aria had the chance to run around and act like toddler.

Yeah! The Lion spotting was impressive - thank you!

She certainly is!! We want to sign her up for swimming "lessons" again - they are just tough to do, the swim club offers them during weekday mornings OR on saturdays. Wish it could be a week NIGHT!

Once again, I can't wait for her to be 3 and go to the kids clubs, because we will have more meals like that without needing family along! I bet she will love it. Are you planning on using it soon??

 

[Imagineer5]

Looks like "sometime in 2014" is the new HP themed area at Universal - guess I will have to plan a day there in October!! Plus, Aria will be over 36" so we can ride the Pteradon Flyers!


I have a question for you all! In December, on our last night, we will have spent the day at EPCOT (with Aria napping in the stroller) then we have dinner scheduled at Le Cellier before we walk over to DHS for the Osborne Lights. I am not really happy about the Le Cellier ADR though - nothing on the menu appeals to me, and Andrew doesn't care bc his steak was terrible last time. So I want to change it- there are SO many possibilities though.

I am leaning toward switching to Tokyo Dining. #1 reason it is on my list of restaurants we have never eaten at. I don't LOVE Japanese food though (Teppan Edo is fun but won't work with Aria). Another option might be Captain's Grill or Brown Derby. We both vetoed Flying Fish only because we have been there so many times. I was also thinking possibly La Hacienda (which is always good). Tired of Via Napoli. Would have loved Coral Reef but it is booked. So...what are your thoughts? I wanted to do Spice Road Table but it looks like it won't be open yet.

Sorry for the ramble!

 

[kmedina]

I have never left Disney property for food either, so I understand you not wanting to. Leaving for Cici's would NEVER happen. On top of the fact that I can eat it anytime I want, it really is not that great.

I have yet to try Tokyo Dining, but I would not rule it put for the future. My kids are huge pasts lovers, so I would suggest Tutto Italia unless Aria likes Japanese food.

 

[Imagineer5]

I have never left Disney property for food either, so I understand you not wanting to. Leaving for Cici's would NEVER happen. On top of the fact that I can eat it anytime I want, it really is not that great.

I have yet to try Tokyo Dining, but I would not rule it put for the future. My kids are huge pasts lovers, so I would suggest Tutto Italia unless Aria likes Japanese food.

Hmmm good thought, it has been YEARS since we were there, i'll look at the menu! Aria will eat just about anything so I'm not too worried about her finding food (tempura chicken with a dipping sauce and she'd be in heaven!) but I had forgotten about Tutto

 

[Imagineer5]

So I think I have left a crucial part of the trip out – it rained, A LOT! Every afternoon for the most part. But, the worst day on the radar was for Thursday. We planned to go to DHS this day, with a breakfast at H&V (new to us) and lunch at Sci Fi, afternoon break and then possibly going back to see Fantasmic. Well, the day before everyone else decided that with the weather they were just going to have a relax day (for their LAST DAY – we were staying through the weekend but everyone else was leaving Friday morning). I did NOT want to give up a day at the park. SO I dragged Aria and Andrew to DHS in the rain to make our ADR.

Early breakfast line around 7:45:

The umbrella did not last long; we did buy ponchos after breakfast.

Our reservation was for 8:10 so we were able to enter the park for the first time before it opened – fun except for the rain haha – so we just ran from the entrance to the restaurant and parked the stroller under an awning and then went inside.

We were seated immediately and had a good spot near the food – they had tater tots so I was happy! Aria wouldn’t eat much of anything but we still had a great time. The characters were June (little einsteins), Oso, Handy Manny, and Jake – at the time, she really only had seen Jake and the Neverland Pirates so we didn’t even know who the rest were. BUT this was probably our BEST character meal we have been to. Aria LOVED Jake, and then absolutely adored Oso, though I still haven’t found his show to watch. Now, she loves Little Einsteins as well so I wonder if she would really enjoy going back. I sure would – it was a really great meal. There were a number of dancing breaks (about every 15 min) so there was always something for Aria to watch/do that she never really got antsy being there.

This was her after seeing Jake at the next table!

Holy Moly she volunteerily touched a character! YAY!

Who is coming next mama?!

I don't know who the heck this is...

But I think he is pretty cute!

Eh, he doesn't excite me as much

I didn’t plan the time out that great though because it was already after 9 when we were finished up. So I sent Andrew off to run for some FP’s for TSMM while Aria and I headed off to the Animation Academy – I couldn’t think of much else for her to do with the rain. I wanted to take a drawing class but she had other plans so Andrew actually took her out and let her run around while I had a little break and learned to draw…Buzz I believe. I also won some Toy Story trivia so I won the Artist’s rendering as well, which was pretty cool.

Stitch was at the entrance to the Animation Academy so we met him quickly

While waiting for the drawing class to start

Here is my picture

 

[Imagineer5]

While I was in there, apparently Aria ended up in the middle of ALL of the characters who normally would have been out by the hat! So Andrew got some photopass pics with every one of them and she did great! Then he got in line for Mickey and we met him as well.

After this we went to TSMM and rode that – I think Andrew went off to get FP’s for ToT and there was barely any canopies near TSMM so we waited for him in the miniature shop – Aria and some other kids were amusing themselves with the merchandise. It was cute until she got really upset she couldn’t run away with the toys she wanted…after that we crossed and I stood near the entrance to the ride and Andrew finally showed up and we headed inside to ride. I haven’t ever really cared for this ride and this time was fun but certainly wouldn’t wait an hour for it – BUT I will say, in August I took her on the ride and she absolutely LOVED it – wore the 3D glasses though didn’t quite get pulling the cord to shoot things until the end. So now of course we will have to ride it some more with her.

Anyway after that ride it was nap time for Aria – tough considering her stroller was covered in the rain cover and I’m sure it was pretty loud under there. We wanted to ride ToT and RnRC but there were VERY FEW places to get out from the rain – the shops were all packed and tiny. I ended up waiting for Andrew at the archway between RnRC and ToT but it was loud there too and didn’t last long. She did take a nap but it wasn’t a great one. I wished they would allow strollers in One Man’s Dream – it’s never packed in there (at least not that I’ve seen) and it would be the perfect heat AND rain getaway during nap time.

Once we both had a chance to ride both of the rides, Aria woke up and we headed over to Sci Fi to check in for lunch. Not sure WHY I thought bringing a toddler to a quiet restaurant was a good idea…but alas I did. LOL…she was good for about 20 minutes – we ordered some onion rings and some fun drinks, milk for Aria, and by the time the onion rings were gone, Aria was DONE with being there. Did not have any interest in the shows (which I thought it might keep her occupied) – we took out the ipad but that didn’t work either. It is so quiet in there that every little whine seemed to be amplified, it didn’t take long for us to decide to take turns bringing her out. Of course, the hallways on either side of the restaurant were still open to the movie area, and it was absolutely downpouring outside, so it was tough to get her to be out of earshot. Anyway, the meal was sort of a disaster. It will be a while before we return! I don’t even remember what I ordered for a main dish but I know I had to scarf it down so we could leave ASAP.

So after that awesome time, we had really had enough of the intense rain so decided to call it a day. When we got back to the house everyone had had a nice relaxing day and Aria enjoyed playing with the balls they had won at Cici’s the night before so her mood finally turned around. I am pretty sure I poured myself a nice big glass of wine, too.

After we put her down for a nap, someone mentioned that we STILL hadn’t seen Wishes! AND everyone still had 1 day left on their park tickets, AND the rain had stopped. Jenn said she didn’t care to go (a shame, really, but it allowed her to stay back with Aria, and Melissa’s Chris also decided to stay back) but John, Andrew, Melissa, the boys and I headed out to the MK around 5PM.

The rain had apparently emptied the park out because there were no lines for anything! We realized the boys still hadn’t been on Splash OR PotC so we headed over to Splash which was a walk-on and rode it three times in a row – there was no one waiting and the boys loved it so much. Then we ran to PotC (it was about 8 at this point and we wanted to get good spots for Wishes!), rode that which everyone loved

then by 8:45 we were in front of the castle ready to watch the show! It was such a magical evening – one of those that came about on a whim and ended up giving us some really wonderful memories. Melissa was so sad Chris didn’t come. The castle show was SO NEAT – I had actually never seen the full show before, and then of course Wishes was impressive as always.

Amazing!

Heading out of the park we decided to take the boat back to the parking lot, and caught the electrical water pageant as it passed by. So much fun! And a wonderful way to cap off the trip for the rest of the family. BONUS, I was SO SO happy knowing we were moving on site for three more nights the next day!! That is just the best feeling!

 

[Imagineer5]

Ok I switched my Le Cellier to Tutto Italia. I was all set to switch to Tokyo Dining BUT then I looked at the menu and saw this:

Salmone - baked salmon filet, artichokes, potato, olives $29.50


Artichokes, potato AND olvies?! Some of my very favorite things. I *need* to try this.


Also, on a sad note, I still don't have my photopass pics for August. The host is on her third set of discs from Disney *supposedly* which I am so, so bummed about.

 

[kmedina]

Even though the morning got off to a slow rainy start, I am glad to see the day picked up. This will be our first trip with Xander that we are don't doing Hollywood and Vine for breakfast. I really want to try lunch, so we are just going on an extra magic morning it still get an early advantage. We never seem to exit the restaurant before park opening lately either. Your drawing is fantastic. As many times as I have taken the animation class, I have yet to finish one. I am about to try at DCA and DHS, so I hope to finish one this time. My drawing is terrible, so I doubt it will be any good.

It has been a long time since Special Agent Oso aired any new shows on Disney Channel, so Connor does not know who he is either. Xander loves him. He still asks me what the three especial steps to doing things are, which is an Agent Oso thing. Although Handy Manny and Little Einsteins rarely air, Connor has seen episodes on the iPad, so he knows who they are. Lately, he has been watching Hake, so he knows who he is too. Hopefully, the lunch is good, because I already know the characters will be a hit.

I forgot how quiet Sci Fi is. We have not dined there, since Xander was three, but it was really quiet. Most patents are understanding, so I am sure the noise for them was not as bad as it seemed.

Our last couple of trips have been in the winter, so I mostly missed the rain. The last time we went in October, I remember the rain. Your report reminded me of that, and I am getting nervous.

It is nice that someone stayed back to watch Aria, so you could have that awesome time at MK. In some ways, the rain is a good thing. Clearing the parks is at least one bonus. Walk on rides are awesome, and it looks like you had a great view of the fireworks.

I am glad you went with Tutto Italia. We will be dining there in less than a week. It is fir a F&W event though, so the boys are not going.

 

[Dugette]

Just curious...you mentioned Teppan Edo not working with Aria? Any particular reason? We had tossed that around as a possible fun meal idea with Dug Baby and I just wondered if there was something we hadn't thought about?

Ha, right when I read the beginning where you said that everyone decided to use the rainiest day as their rest day, I was thinking, "No, go to the parks...there will be short lines...it will be worth it!!!" I'm glad they got to take some advantage of that later in the day, though.

I have a totally random question prompted by your pictures. I see you have the Zoli straw cup...how did that work for Aria at WDW? Would you recommend it? I just ordered a couple yesterday, since I've heard good things about them in general. Right now, Dug Baby is using her Tommee Tippee sippees just fine, but I think she needs to start using a straw cup eventually. And I know this one has a weighted straw, which is good, since she tips every cup way up, including the one cheapo straw one we have. Also, did you bring milk from your house or get it at the restaurants? Do they have whole milk at the restaurants? Sorry for the random questions, back to the regular commentary...

Sounds like a fun character breakfast. Maybe when Dug Baby is older and has seen some of those shows we'll go there. Yay for Aria enjoying the characters!

Nice Buzz drawing! That's great that Aria got to meet all those characters too!

Oh, boy, on getting upset about not being able to take off with the toys she wanted! I'm scared of that. Dug Baby has taken to screaming loudly lately when she can't have what she wants. Welcome to toddlerhood, I guess.

So, on TSMM, is Aria just sitting right between the two of you? I hadn't thought through the logistics of that ride, I guess.

Aw, that's too bad that Sci Fi was such a disaster. I'll keep in mind to avoid that one for a bit!

Yay for a nice, big glass of wine! (and for a happy daughter!)

Awesome that Splash was a walk-on! Love the empty parks!

I can't wait to see that castle show. Looks great, from the pictures I've seen. Great bit of luck to hit the electrical water pageant on your way out too!

for moving on-property!

I'll be interested in hearing how Tutto Italia is these days. We went there way back on our Sept. 2009 trip and I know it's been re-done since then.

 

[Imagineer5]

Even though the morning got off to a slow rainy start, I am glad to see the day picked up. This will be our first trip with Xander that we are don't doing Hollywood and Vine for breakfast. I really want to try lunch, so we are just going on an extra magic morning it still get an early advantage. We never seem to exit the restaurant before park opening lately either. Your drawing is fantastic. As many times as I have taken the animation class, I have yet to finish one. I am about to try at DCA and DHS, so I hope to finish one this time. My drawing is terrible, so I doubt it will be any good. It has been a long time since Special Agent Oso aired any new shows on Disney Channel, so Connor does not know who he is either. Xander loves him. He still asks me what the three especial steps to doing things are, which is an Agent Oso thing. Although Handy Manny and Little Einsteins rarely air, Connor has seen episodes on the iPad, so he knows who they are. Lately, he has been watching Hake, so he knows who he is too. Hopefully, the lunch is good, because I already know the characters will be a hit. I forgot how quiet Sci Fi is. We have not dined there, since Xander was three, but it was really quiet. Most patents are understanding, so I am sure the noise for them was not as bad as it seemed. Our last couple of trips have been in the winter, so I mostly missed the rain. The last time we went in October, I remember the rain. Your report reminded me of that, and I am getting nervous. It is nice that someone stayed back to watch Aria, so you could have that awesome time at MK. In some ways, the rain is a good thing. Clearing the parks is at least one bonus. Walk on rides are awesome, and it looks like you had a great view of the fireworks. I am glad you went with Tutto Italia. We will be dining there in less than a week. It is fir a F&W event though, so the boys are not going.

Answering from my phone bc I am in CA visiting a friend this weekend! I love your detailed responses! <3

I wish h&v had a character dinner too (I believe the characters are only for bf and lunch) - then we would do that in dec! Hope your lunch is great!

We have never seen rain like this in oct or dec - I think March was worse though in terms of the cooler temps plus rain!

What is the tutto event you are heading to??

Have an amazing trip!! My friend just went to Disneyland (she is living in Monterey right now so that is where I am) and i am so jealous - so want to go back there soon!!

Just curious...you mentioned Teppan Edo not working with Aria? Any particular reason? We had tossed that around as a possible fun meal idea with Dug Baby and I just wondered if there was something we hadn't thought about? Ha, right when I read the beginning where you said that everyone decided to use the rainiest day as their rest day, I was thinking, "No, go to the parks...there will be short lines...it will be worth it!!!" I'm glad they got to take some advantage of that later in the day, though. I have a totally random question prompted by your pictures. I see you have the Zoli straw cup...how did that work for Aria at WDW? Would you recommend it? I just ordered a couple yesterday, since I've heard good things about them in general. Right now, Dug Baby is using her Tommee Tippee sippees just fine, but I think she needs to start using a straw cup eventually. And I know this one has a weighted straw, which is good, since she tips every cup way up, including the one cheapo straw one we have. Also, did you bring milk from your house or get it at the restaurants? Do they have whole milk at the restaurants? Sorry for the random questions, back to the regular commentary... Sounds like a fun character breakfast. Maybe when Dug Baby is older and has seen some of those shows we'll go there. Yay for Aria enjoying the characters! Nice Buzz drawing! That's great that Aria got to meet all those characters too! Oh, boy, on getting upset about not being able to take off with the toys she wanted! I'm scared of that. Dug Baby has taken to screaming loudly lately when she can't have what she wants. Welcome to toddlerhood, I guess. So, on TSMM, is Aria just sitting right between the two of you? I hadn't thought through the logistics of that ride, I guess. Aw, that's too bad that Sci Fi was such a disaster. I'll keep in mind to avoid that one for a bit! Yay for a nice, big glass of wine! (and for a happy daughter!) Awesome that Splash was a walk-on! Love the empty parks! I can't wait to see that castle show. Looks great, from the pictures I've seen. Great bit of luck to hit the electrical water pageant on your way out too! for moving on-property! I'll be interested in hearing how Tutto Italia is these days. We went there way back on our Sept. 2009 trip and I know it's been re-done since then.

Love your detailed responses too lol!!

Teppan Edo just isn't conducive to letting aria down from her high chair (with the counter height not even sure what sort of high chairs they have) if she wants down plus it is sort of a set time so if she is being really awful isn't not like we can eat really fast and leave?

We loved the Zoli early on but huge word of advice - don't use it on the airplane!! The pressure builds up inside and volcanoes out the milk all over everything when you open it! Lol (yes I know this from experience as does the poor person who sat in our row!). But aria liked to chew on the straw and if she chewed one of the little segments off the end (very easy to do) then it was useless as milk just kept pouring out. We rarely use them now but they were all that she would drink out of for like 6 months.

As for milk, despite what I read on the dis, most places did not have whole milk. But 2% is fine IMO so it would just depend on the day / time if we brought milk (usually for breakfast she had her milk then by lunch we cleaned out her cup and ordered milk).

Oh yeah, one of my favorite things to do was take her to a stuffed animal section of a Disney store bc she had a blast but now it is work to get her to leave wo a fuss. Even worse is when I actually want to buy her something but she won't let go for them to scan it - then it is like I am THAT parent buying something for my bratty child lol!

Yeah we just sat aria between us as you saw. It was tough to actually play and have her on our laps which we tried first. In august she sat in her own seat and I just put my arm around her as we twisted around.

I feel like we went since they redid it but I can't actually remember going. So maybe we havent! But the location will be great since we may try to visit the grotto during nap time again! Lol!

I think I answered everything lmk if you have more questions!

 

[Dugette]

I think I answered everything lmk if you have more questions!

Thank you for your detailed answers! Very helpful!

 

[jenny105]

I love Wishes so I cannot fathom why people would turn it down! But lucky for you you got a babysitter out of it lol.

If it weren't my last day I think I would have stayed back at the hotel. Walking around those parks in the rain is no fun. It's one thing if it's a shower and then it's sunny again but when it's downpouring...blah. Good for you for going!

 

[khertz]

What a bummer about the rain! I was so happy not to get a single drop on our trip last week, but I'm sure that's just because we were prepared for the first time. Not only did I remember DH's and my ponchos, we also brought some throw-away dollar store ones, AND we had bought DS a poncho and purchased a rain cover for the stroller. So of course, being prepared meant no rain, but I was fine with that! It must have been really hard in a park like DHS with such little cover. Epcot can be a pain getting from building to building, but at least for most of them, once you are in there are a few things to do to keep you occupied for awhile.

The breakfast looks like fun! Now that DS has taken over the iPad and knows how the Disney Jr. app works, he has gotten way into Little Einsteins and Special Agent Oso (or Peso, as Paxton calls him. ). That's the only place I know of to watch episodes of those shows...they might have them on Disney Jr. the Channel, but we don't get it with our satellite provider. I think he probably would have really enjoyed that meal since he knows the characters now, except for Handy Manny. But we already had 2 character meals planned so we didn't add another. I love that Aria finally made contact with a character on her own!

That's kind of cool that the rain drove all of the Hat characters inside so you got to see them all! I didn't realize they did that when it was raining. I love them all in their Hollywood outfits. So cute!

I remember Sci-Fi being horrible Paxton's first trip. Somehow we decided to take him back on our second trip, and he was a little better. I think 3 is the sweet spot, because he was great this time! I think we did end up having to take out his movies on DH's old phone that we brought with us specifically for that purpose, but not so much because he was being loud or whiny, just wiggly because the movie trailers didn't hold his interest.

Gotta love AFTER the rain! Usually the parks are totally emptied out. Riding Splash 3 times in a row sounds like HEAVEN! Especially now that I am lucky to ride once a trip!

 

[Imagineer5]

I love Wishes so I cannot fathom why people would turn it down! But lucky for you you got a babysitter out of it lol.

If it weren't my last day I think I would have stayed back at the hotel. Walking around those parks in the rain is no fun. It's one thing if it's a shower and then it's sunny again but when it's downpouring...blah. Good for you for going!

Hahah yes it worked out well. Jenn is pretty slow too so it was nice we could run from ride to ride

The rain is no fun but I couldn't imagine skipping the meals (esp with the CC guarantee thing at H&V!).

What a bummer about the rain! I was so happy not to get a single drop on our trip last week, but I'm sure that's just because we were prepared for the first time. Not only did I remember DH's and my ponchos, we also brought some throw-away dollar store ones, AND we had bought DS a poncho and purchased a rain cover for the stroller. So of course, being prepared meant no rain, but I was fine with that! It must have been really hard in a park like DHS with such little cover. Epcot can be a pain getting from building to building, but at least for most of them, once you are in there are a few things to do to keep you occupied for awhile.

The breakfast looks like fun! Now that DS has taken over the iPad and knows how the Disney Jr. app works, he has gotten way into Little Einsteins and Special Agent Oso (or Peso, as Paxton calls him. ). That's the only place I know of to watch episodes of those shows...they might have them on Disney Jr. the Channel, but we don't get it with our satellite provider. I think he probably would have really enjoyed that meal since he knows the characters now, except for Handy Manny. But we already had 2 character meals planned so we didn't add another. I love that Aria finally made contact with a character on her own!

That's kind of cool that the rain drove all of the Hat characters inside so you got to see them all! I didn't realize they did that when it was raining. I love them all in their Hollywood outfits. So cute!

I remember Sci-Fi being horrible Paxton's first trip. Somehow we decided to take him back on our second trip, and he was a little better. I think 3 is the sweet spot, because he was great this time! I think we did end up having to take out his movies on DH's old phone that we brought with us specifically for that purpose, but not so much because he was being loud or whiny, just wiggly because the movie trailers didn't hold his interest.

Gotta love AFTER the rain! Usually the parks are totally emptied out. Riding Splash 3 times in a row sounds like HEAVEN! Especially now that I am lucky to ride once a trip!

Can you tell me more about the app? I have a disney junior app but it seems like I have to pay for every episode? Maybe that's what you're doing but not sure.

YES it was pure luck about all the characters being there! But if we are there on a rainy day again we know where to look. Sad, I looked up Sofia's meeting time and we are going to miss her since we are just popping over to DHS that evening for the lights.

Sci Fi was just horrendous. Even with the ipad she wouldn't keep still - and the fact that she sat between us in the car meant she could reach everything - our food, drinks, etc and was NOT happy when we took something away. Going to be a long time before we return there

 

[Imagineer5]

I haven't updated in a while because it's been super busy with visiting a friend out in CA - DISNEY RELATED - I went to the Disney Family Museum in SF!! so so awesome. Then Halloween (Aria was dumbo!) now somehow it's November, and our DVC points guy made our GFV reservation for our 2BR villa for next october! YAY. Oct. 3-12 are our dates - first 4 nights at GFV and then remaining 5 probably offsite.

I've been working on figuring that out. I was looking at the government/military condos but the only I really like went up (of course) to about 700/week, but since it's only 5 nights that seems sort of wasteful so I was looking at other options, and ended up getting some quotes for houses to rent w/ private pools.

I'm sure I mentioned this in passing, but we ARE trying for baby#2 (sorry if TMI) but are going to take a break from trying if it doesnt happen by end of the year so that we don't end up bringing a 3 day old or I'm TOO preggo LOL - but that means I am looking for even MORE space, a min. of 2BR. And it also means that for now I'm not going to plan our August mommy/daughter trip until after the end of the year (when daycare is closed). Hoping it happens of course, but also trying not to dwell on it.

Anyway, I finally made a spreadsheet for Oct 2014 but don't have much on it yet. I know we def want to take the IL's to the 3D dessert party (despite everyone else hating it, Andrew STILL raves about it) and then on my birthday (10/5) I want to do V&A's. Other than that no plans but I'm sure we will stick to the monorail resort area for meals for those first few days.

I'm wondering something. The kids clubs - assuming we DON'T have a 2nd baby by then, Aria will be about 32 months old. We plan to potty train after this december's trip - so yes assuming 100% potty trained by then. Think they will check? I know they are 3+ and fully potty trained to use them, but I wonder if we could still try it out, esp since she is totally used to being with other people (daycare, family, friends, etc). IDK maybe a stupid thought, and a moot point if we have a baby...).

Ok done rambling Will work on next update prob. tomorrow!

 

[dtr_angel]

I haven't updated in a while because it's been super busy with visiting a friend out in CA - DISNEY RELATED - I went to the Disney Family Museum in SF!! so so awesome. Then Halloween (Aria was dumbo!) now somehow it's November, and our DVC points guy made our GFV reservation for our 2BR villa for next october! YAY. Oct. 3-12 are our dates - first 4 nights at GFV and then remaining 5 probably offsite.

I've been working on figuring that out. I was looking at the government/military condos but the only I really like went up (of course) to about 700/week, but since it's only 5 nights that seems sort of wasteful so I was looking at other options, and ended up getting some quotes for houses to rent w/ private pools.

I'm sure I mentioned this in passing, but we ARE trying for baby#2 (sorry if TMI) but are going to take a break from trying if it doesnt happen by end of the year so that we don't end up bringing a 3 day old or I'm TOO preggo LOL - but that means I am looking for even MORE space, a min. of 2BR. And it also means that for now I'm not going to plan our August mommy/daughter trip until after the end of the year (when daycare is closed). Hoping it happens of course, but also trying not to dwell on it.

Anyway, I finally made a spreadsheet for Oct 2014 but don't have much on it yet. I know we def want to take the IL's to the 3D dessert party (despite everyone else hating it, Andrew STILL raves about it) and then on my birthday (10/5) I want to do V&A's. Other than that no plans but I'm sure we will stick to the monorail resort area for meals for those first few days.

I'm wondering something. The kids clubs - assuming we DON'T have a 2nd baby by then, Aria will be about 32 months old. We plan to potty train after this december's trip - so yes assuming 100% potty trained by then. Think they will check? I know they are 3+ and fully potty trained to use them, but I wonder if we could still try it out, esp since she is totally used to being with other people (daycare, family, friends, etc). IDK maybe a stupid thought, and a moot point if we have a baby...).

Ok done rambling Will work on next update prob. tomorrow!

Good luck with the new baby, Aria is going to be a great big sister! I know it's so hard to plan for vacations when you don't know when/if/how pregnant you'll be. It took us 3.5 years to get pregnant with Gavin so we did this for years but luckily were able to take 4 trips in the amount of time. VGF is definitely on my bucket list! We're hoping to go in December 2014 for my 30th and I wanted to rent points and stay there... hoping we can pull it off even if just for a night or two. I think if I remember correctly that is where you are staying next month? Can't wait to read all about it! No clue about the kids clubs...

 

[Imagineer5]

Good luck with the new baby, Aria is going to be a great big sister! I know it's so hard to plan for vacations when you don't know when/if/how pregnant you'll be. It took us 3.5 years to get pregnant with Gavin so we did this for years but luckily were able to take 4 trips in the amount of time. VGF is definitely on my bucket list! We're hoping to go in December 2014 for my 30th and I wanted to rent points and stay there... hoping we can pull it off even if just for a night or two. I think if I remember correctly that is where you are staying next month? Can't wait to read all about it! No clue about the kids clubs...

Man, I thought a year was a long time (how long it took to get pregnant with Aria). Renting points is so the way to go, just is getting really expensive for us since we want/need more space. We are staying at VWL in a studio, in December (just over a month!!) next October will be VGF in a 2BR but we are splitting the costs with the IL's. A 1BR would be about the max I could see paying for it by ourselves LOL.

It is tough to plan around trying for a baby. Originally we said "maybe" october and then were going to move that date around, but with renting points it really isn't that easy to move the dates around due to more/less point requirements, and I just decided I can't wait around forever. So I'm glad to have the plan in place and if we have a bitty baby along AWESOME and if not, well then we still are going to disney after all! Plus it'll give us a 3-4 month break from "trying" and maybe during that time I'll plan some RE appts where the pressure will be off.

Ok going to work on the next day!

 

[Imagineer5]

Day 8 I believe – Friday June 7th

This morning Melissa & family were heading out very early as they were driving home – stopping to visit family in Georgia before ending up in Illinois where they live, and Andrew’s parents were leaving by about 9am to catch their flight home. We needed to be out of the house by 11 I think, so we were just taking our time getting packed up. No huge plans for the day aside from checking into BCV – our hope was that our room would be ready and then Aria could take her first nap in the room, we would have the afternoon to enjoy the pool, and that evening we were eating dinner at the Flying Fish.

Some last minute photos of the house

Then we were off, but unfortunately the room was not ready when we checked in (a first I think – they are usually awesome about having it ready early when you put down a time for check in during the online check in). Oh well, we switched up our plans and headed off to EPCOT instead. Nice thing about having AP’s is not having to worry about extra days spent at the park! And nice thing about BCV is we were able to just walk right on over!

A beautiful display of flowers were out – I don’t remember seeing this before – right before the international gateway. There were a ton of lady bugs flying around too so we stopped to take some photos then headed through. It was only about 9:30 at this point so we had a little time to enjoy some things before Aria needed to nap.

First up we went to Figment – Aria cried on this ride before when that fog horn sounding thing blew and scared her (hey, I don’t like that either!) but she enjoys the rest of it. This time she did okay though was still shaken up a little at the end. Then we stopped to play in the shop – love this hat but just don’t love Figment enough to want to buy the merchandise!

Then on to one of Aria’s favorite places in all of Disney world – the seas with nemo and friends! We rode the ride, but really she just loves running around the Seas and looking in the fish tanks. Side note – this peasant top is called “Sea Shore” and I was SO excited to find a size 2 for next summer! Lol.

Random, I want to find this fish for our fish tank.

We have a clown fish and this coral

See? How amazing would a tank-side table at Coral Reef be for our restless eater? LOL

After running around for a bit, it was time for nap #1 and she went down really quickly. We walked around some left over F&G festival areas then headed towards WS as it was just about 11. First stop in there were some margaritas from Mexico (ah hem, it’s vacation right?!). I really wanted La Cava delicious ones but they don’t open until noon, so the frozen ones had to suffice.

From there we went to Norway and did a bit of shopping, I ended up getting some beautiful earrings and a necklace that look like snowflakes – can’t wait to wear them over the holidays. After a bit more shopping – we walked through Germany as well, excited to check out the Steiff teddy bears for sale as we were thinking about our upcoming Europe trip – Aria woke up. We stopped in Morocco to check out their shirts but the fit was off (either too small or way too big, and the neck holes are sewn dumbly – most are too small and don’t open to fit over a normal sized head).

At this point we got a text that the room was ready so we started to head toward the BCV – but stopped for the entertainment in France.

 

[Imagineer5]

Now it was time to head out! On the way to the room I noticed a child size version of my swim cover up – I think I bought mine 3 or 4 years prior so was SO excited to find this – smallest was a size 2/3 but it actually worked for Aria (with room to grow) so we picked that up.

Then we quickly unpacked and headed to the pool! What we have been waiting for for so long – last time we stayed at the BCV was in 2010 I think and we were only dreaming of having a baby, and since then we have been so excited to bring aria to play in the pools there. So a big part of my planning had to include daily pool time, but not JUST per Andrew’s request this time haha

Every day we made it to the pool in the nick of time, because just as we were getting ready to leave the pool closed due to weather anyway. This day was no exception, we had lots of time to hang out in the lazy river, spend some time in the sandy area, and also discovered a neat area that was only about 16” deep near the stairs in the 4-5’ deep pool near the lazy river section that Aria really enjoyed running around in.

After the pool closed due to lightning we went back as it was time for a quick shower for us all and then nap time for Aria. We loved having a ground floor room as while we were doing this there were ducks that apparently knew we were animal people knocking on the glass door outside haha! Of course Andrew opened the door to see if they would come in…

And they did, babies and all!

Ok now it really was nap time. During aria’s nap we were able to relax out on the patio – I ran to the store to buy some wine which was surprisingly reasonable in my opinion, and we had a glass or two and played on our iphones/ipad and just enjoyed some quiet time. Aria had a nice long 2 hour nap, then we got dressed and headed out for dinner at the Flying Fish. I just LOVE the ability to walk to so much – same with when we are in Europe, so nice to be able to walk everywhere and leave the car behind.

Anyway, we had a great table at Flying Fish giving us a nice big bench area for Aria to crawl around after her high chair was dismissed after about 5 minutes in it. That plus the ipad and some toys and she was OK at dinner, no fits or anything but she definitely wasn’t too interested in eating much. I think she comes home 2 lbs lighter every vacation! I love their bread here, and I got the cheese platter as an appetizer (one thing about their menu is this is really the only app that appeals to me) and Andrew probably got mussels though I don’t remember exactly. For mains – no clue, but I do know that we enjoyed some delicious desserts so Aria must not have been that awful!

We had no plans after dinner so just enjoyed a nice walk around the boardwalk, stopping to let aria play a bit in the sand. At one point Andrew ran to help a family that couldn’t make it up the hill in a Surrey.

Then while walking back to the room, we were jealous to see a private party on the beach in front of the beach club – pirate theme and all. There was even a Pirate Mickey meeting people! We so wanted to crash it but never figured out how haha!

Early evening in – Aria went right to sleep and we spent a bit more time outside before coming in to go to sleep as well. By the way, the studio was set up in a way that allowed the pack n play to be hidden by the front door – made it really nice to have a tiny bit of separation and be able to go in and out the patio door if we wanted to take a walk or go to the store.