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

[jenny105]

I love the picture of her in her cover-up. Too cute!

I stayed a BCV a few years ago and really liked it. I didn't even mind the subtle Little Mermaid theming. Ariel and I do not get along.

I like that your dinner dresses are the same color scheme

 

[JulieODC]

Great update!

We arrive at YC on Sunday, and I was toying with the idea of requesting a ground level room --- so your review was helpful!

 

[dismom9761]

Sounds like a perfect day.

 

[Imagineer5]

I love the picture of her in her cover-up. Too cute!

I stayed a BCV a few years ago and really liked it. I didn't even mind the subtle Little Mermaid theming. Ariel and I do not get along.

I like that your dinner dresses are the same color scheme

The little mermaid theming is SUPER subtle, while I don't dislike Ariel at all, I was surprised to see the LM statue outside bc other than that I had no idea they even had that theme.

Thanks, I like to do matching outfits LOL without being TOO matchy

Great update!

We arrive at YC on Sunday, and I was toying with the idea of requesting a ground level room --- so your review was helpful!

Ooooh have a BLAST!! So exciting! Yes, ground floor was really great - we requested ground floor near the pool for VWL in December, so hoping we get it!

Sounds like a perfect day.

Thank you! it was another perfect disney day, for sure!

 

[khertz]

What a great transfer day, even if the room was not ready as early as you'd hoped. Having AP's in that situation is SO great because you can just go play in the park for an hour or two to kill time.

Aria in her matching cover up is too adorable!! Looks like she had a great time at the pool, and wearing those kids out in the water results in a GREAT nap!

Flying Fish is one of those places I keep seeing pop up in TR's and it sounds so good to me, but we just haven't found a way to fit it in yet. But I'm glad that nice nap for Aria led to a nice meal for the three of you.

Too bad you couldn't crash that pirate party happening on the beach. Wouldn't THAT have been awesome for a TR!!! And I can just see the opposing post on the Theme Parks board... "Some family with an adorable toddler crashed our private pirate party!!!!"

 

[Imagineer5]

What a great transfer day, even if the room was not ready as early as you'd hoped. Having AP's in that situation is SO great because you can just go play in the park for an hour or two to kill time.

Aria in her matching cover up is too adorable!! Looks like she had a great time at the pool, and wearing those kids out in the water results in a GREAT nap!

Flying Fish is one of those places I keep seeing pop up in TR's and it sounds so good to me, but we just haven't found a way to fit it in yet. But I'm glad that nice nap for Aria led to a nice meal for the three of you.

Too bad you couldn't crash that pirate party happening on the beach. Wouldn't THAT have been awesome for a TR!!! And I can just see the opposing post on the Theme Parks board... "Some family with an adorable toddler crashed our private pirate party!!!!"

yeah it worked out perfectly to just hop over to EPCOT for a bit. Nice having Aria too, since we didn't feel like we had to do the headliners at all and just wanted her to have fun.

I need to get better photos of the matching cover ups, but I just love them, it was so fun to find it since my coverup is one of the very FEW things (PJ bottoms are the other thing) that I wear that is disneyfied.

Flying Fish we do almost every trip. Ever since my AMAZING hands down best seafood meal I've ever had was there - a special swordfish dish w/ kalamata olives, tomatoes, capers, not sure what else... - I have a special place in my heart for it, but haven't been blown away since. We may return w/ the IL's since they would like that food.

Hahaha that would have been awesome! We sat back for a while figuring it out, but everyone was wearing name tags and there was security at the entrance. Fun that we were BOTH super jealous though, since Andrew just loves Pirates!

 

[Imagineer5]

Soooo NEWS!! We found out 2 days ago that one of Andrew's best friends growing up decided to have his wedding October 11th, 2014 - the last saturday of our trip. Of course I hadn't booked anything yet so it made it easy for him to jump to asking if we could come home early Sat. morning instead of the planned Sunday. I know it is only 1 day - but I didn't really want to. But then this morning I had the bright idea that maybe we could stay in a 1BR onsite at the BCV since it will only be 4 nights (after the 4 nights at VGF). Quick email to my points guy and today was the 11-month mark for that stay, so he grabbed the rez quickly (YAY - F&W festival make booking at the Beach Club really tough!!) and we are set to stay 8 nights on site that trip!! EEKK! So happy right now! (that cool guy screams WOOHOOO whenever I see it).

Andrew doesn't know that I booked it. If he has a problem with it he's more than welcome to go home early.

 

[kmedina]

That's fantastic. The split stay sounds amazing. See the new villas, then stay near F&W.

 

[Imagineer5]

That's fantastic. The split stay sounds amazing. See the new villas, then stay near F&W.

Yep totally excited for next October now!

 

[Imagineer5]

So apparently I'm not the only one in the family that can jump the gun and make decisions LOL - Andrew bought this cheap-O vacation package over the weekend which included a weekend stay at a lodge at Loon Mountain AND a 4-night cruise on Carnival. I'm really torn because I REALLY wanted to do a disney cruise in the spring - already have a few pirate outfits for Aria. BUT this was a steal of a deal and we could save a lot of $$ by doing this instead.

We are going to do a family ski weekend in January right around Aria's 2nd birthday, and probably a 4night cruise in April or May. Andrew thinks it'd be fun to leave Aria with the grandparents and take a couple's trip. Now, my original plans for the spring trip would have been a Disney cruise and then 3 days or so at disney since we have AP's. Now if we leave Aria behind, I'm not sure if I want to be gone for a 4-night cruise AND a few days at Disney?

I'm already feeling really defeated over the Carnival Cruise. Has anyone been on one? Ugh I just have really bad thoughts towards it, so maybe someone can help me feel good about that.

(BTW, the cost was $199 for both trips, it was one of those awful timeshare things, but he also got $75 in Bass Pro Shops gift cards LOL).

Anyway on another note, I'm going to get started on the next day of our trip - AK, lunch at Sanaa, then dinner at Via Napoli (pouring rain that evening). This meal at Sanaa solidified it as one of my top-3 restaurants.

 

[soulmates]

LOVE this trip report! We'll be traveling next year with our older kids and their babies. My daughter & hubby will have their 11 month old DD with them so this trip report has some great tips. I sent her the link to look over. Wonderful report and loved all the pics!!

 

[jenny105]

Let me know what you think about Carnival. Just booked our first cruise with them. But considering I had a $500 credit with them plus a $200 gift card, I can't really complain. We'll make the best of it! I love DCL but I hate having to fly to Florida to sail with them. They're expensive enough as is without having to factor in airfare!

 

[kmedina]

I have only sailed on DCL, but I would love to hear about how your trip goes. My sister sails on Carnival often and says she has a lot of fun.

Crap and I have discussed couple's time. I have never spent a day away from my kids, so there is no way I could voluntarily do seven. I am not judging you as I know many couples who have spent time away and thought it was fine. When I was giving birth to Connor, my MIL brought Xander to the hospital each day, so I could see him. It was hard enough having him sleep away from us, but I knew the hospital was no place for him. My husband travels for business often, so he has spent a lot of time away from the kids. He did not even meet the Dr who delivered Connor until the delivery, since he was too busy with work. I think it is easier for him to spend time away, because he is used to it.

I would feel guilty going to Disney without the kids too, because they love it as much as I do. That said, you have APs and will be nearby anyway. It is hard for me to be near Disney and not enter. If you are taking the cruise anyway, I would go to the parks.

 

[mandas08]

We have sailed Carnival a few times. We like them...ok we like the price lol. In all honesty I think I have went on 4 or 5 carnival cruises and have really enjoyed them. I think they are equivalent to Royal Caribbean but cant imagine them comparing to DCL. (Our dream cruise.)

DCL would probably be better for kids because of the shows and what not but have heard good things about carnivals kids programs as well.(we havent went on a cruise since we had our little one) In all honesty if I were you I would be super excited and go into it with low expectations and I'm sure you will have a great time.

Did you get an inside stateroom or a balcony? An inside room could be difficult for nap time because the room size being so small and not having anywhere to escape. Family nap time

I've been following along with your TR and need to make more of an effort to comment. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Imagineer5]

LOVE this trip report! We'll be traveling next year with our older kids and their babies. My daughter & hubby will have their 11 month old DD with them so this trip report has some great tips. I sent her the link to look over. Wonderful report and loved all the pics!!

Aww thank you so much!! I think the start of the TR (from back in Oct 2012) has started to lose some of the photos but I'm too lazy to go back and find them. LOL feel free to ask any questions!! 11 months was a great age!

Let me know what you think about Carnival. Just booked our first cruise with them. But considering I had a $500 credit with them plus a $200 gift card, I can't really complain. We'll make the best of it! I love DCL but I hate having to fly to Florida to sail with them. They're expensive enough as is without having to factor in airfare!

When is your cruise?? We will still have to fly to Florida for the cruise. But that is great about the credit, must have been pretty cheap then!

I have only sailed on DCL, but I would love to hear about how your trip goes. My sister sails on Carnival often and says she has a lot of fun.

Crap and I have discussed couple's time. I have never spent a day away from my kids, so there is no way I could voluntarily do seven. I am not judging you as I know many couples who have spent time away and thought it was fine. When I was giving birth to Connor, my MIL brought Xander to the hospital each day, so I could see him. It was hard enough having him sleep away from us, but I knew the hospital was no place for him. My husband travels for business often, so he has spent a lot of time away from the kids. He did not even meet the Dr who delivered Connor until the delivery, since he was too busy with work. I think it is easier for him to spend time away, because he is used to it.

I would feel guilty going to Disney without the kids too, because they love it as much as I do. That said, you have APs and will be nearby anyway. It is hard for me to be near Disney and not enter. If you are taking the cruise anyway, I would go to the parks.

It's really tough to get away from Aria or to even imagine it - I Just did it voluntarily for the first time a couple weeks ago when I visited a friend in California. I had a TON of fun and really focused on enjoying the time I had not having to worry about mealtime, naps, keeping her occupied, etc. And getting to do things that I just physically can't with her (yet) like horseback riding. It made coming home even more special, too. I was able to FaceTime a couple times and talk to her on the phone. Anyway, I can see being OK with the cruise for just a few days, but I think the extra time at Disney *might* be a bit much. One cruise leaves from Miami and I like the ports better for that one, so we might just end up doing that. Otherwise, if we do go to WDW for a couple days I'll prob book some tours or something that again we just can't do with her right now.

We have sailed Carnival a few times. We like them...ok we like the price lol. In all honesty I think I have went on 4 or 5 carnival cruises and have really enjoyed them. I think they are equivalent to Royal Caribbean but cant imagine them comparing to DCL. (Our dream cruise.)

DCL would probably be better for kids because of the shows and what not but have heard good things about carnivals kids programs as well.(we havent went on a cruise since we had our little one) In all honesty if I were you I would be super excited and go into it with low expectations and I'm sure you will have a great time.

Did you get an inside stateroom or a balcony? An inside room could be difficult for nap time because the room size being so small and not having anywhere to escape. Family nap time

I've been following along with your TR and need to make more of an effort to comment. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for commenting!! The package is for an inside stateroom but with the option to change that, so we will be seeing the price difference. I think i'm leaning toward leaving Aria home. That way we can enjoy the shore excursions, enjoy some personal time, etc. I looked into the kids activities on board and it just didn't compare to DCL (of course). There are kids clubs but more of a "baby sitting" program vs. family things to do.

 

[Imagineer5]

I feel like this trip is haunting me right now – between writing the trip report & gathering photos for the photo book I am making for everyone for Christmas, it’s like it’s on repeat or something. But I’m excited to look back at this day nonetheless! Also still super annoyed about our photopass photos from August. I did end up calling PP and gave the acct info and they DID see issues and multiple CD’s mailed, so that’s a good thing, but I have no idea why it would take months to get this fixed. So so annoyed.

Anyway…

This lovely Saturday morning dawned bright and early – no breakfast plans so we grabbed some food from the BC mercantile (coffees, pastries – nothing really great).

Then we headed off for the Animal Kingdom! The park was PACKED this morning so instead of heading onto the Safari first thing we grabbed FP’s and then walked the trail – might as well spend our time doing something fun vs. standing in the already-40 minute wait at 9:05.

Then it was time for our Safari which was great as usual – the highlight this time were some Ostrich that were seriously about to attack the truck. We drove right past them (they were maybe 3 feet from my side of the truck) and then as we drove away they started to charge. Reminded me of a drive-through animal attraction I did in Texas with my grandparents when I was maybe 4 – my Granddad had a sunroof open and we were snacking inside the car and an ostrich ran over and stole our popcorn right out of the open sunroof.

She's such a little kid!

After that it was time to head to the store right near the Safari – we get Aria a musical instrument (or two LOL) each trip. She now has a basket full of these really neat musical things all from Africa or similar. I really want to get her a wide drum but never found one, but did get a smaller one anyway.

Now Aria needed to go down for a nap – so we headed around for Andrew to ride EE (I skipped it this time, it ALWAYS makes my stomach queasy and I just didn’t need to feel like that) then I got to ride Dinosaur! YAY. Always a favorite. No photos because they are always the same haha. Aria’s nap was very, very short (uh-oh) and she needed a change so we headed to the BCC (my favorite of all the parks, BTW!) and then headed out. I can’t believe it took me so long to find the dig site at the Boneyard playground area, but we didn’t find it until our August trip and so we skipped the playground altogether this day! Silly.

A few photos on our way out, heading to Sanaa! (We walked the long way around, I think we had time to kill)

Arriving at Sanaa a little early, I did a little shopping and ended up picking up a fun little princess plastic toy set which turned out to be a great distraction at lunch – score! Another thing I didn’t realize until August trip – Kidani has the MOST AMAZING SPLASH PAD ever. If I don’t get Pregnant next month and thus DON’T have a baby for our Oct. trip that means I get to take a mommy/daughter trip in August – I’m going to price out a Studio at Kidani just so we can truly enjoy the splash pad area.

Back to lunch – so we generally get the bread service with a choice of 3 dips. Well we noticed this time that to get ALL the dips it was only like $4 more or something? And there were too many that looked amazing (we must have been very hungry) so we ended up ordering the FULL dip service. LOL! It was seriously the best dish I can remember having. Lots of fun different flavors and plenty to snack on. Aria loves to dip things now, so we need to go back and do it over again! Of course, I also had to order my potato and pea samosas (YUM) AND my vegetarian spicy platter (unfortunately, they only use dark meat chicken in all their dishes here, which means I go totally vegetarian here, which thankfully is fine because they have my usual yummy platter). Yes a TON of food, but all so so so good I think I finished it anyway! Oh and I forgot the other fantastic part – a south African wine flight. – I ordered the “Save the Earth” flight which included wineries that participated in various ecological preserves.

All the dips shown -

Blurry pic but this is the plastic set of princesses I picked up - she still loves these.

Stuffed but still having time before her 2nd nap, we decided to take aria to the pool back at our resort. The skies were getting kind of dark so we figured it wouldn’t be long before the pool was closed, but it gave us a quick dip which was nice. It was raining when we had to leave the pool, but nap time anyway.

Side note - a gift last year I think for my birthday was a cheap-o Kodak waterproof camera (maybe $50?) but it has been AWESOME! We bring it on every trip. Will be great for our cruise too! It doesn't take AMAZING pics or anything, but I love being able to take photos during pool time.

The afternoon passed with a nap for all three of us – it downpoured all afternoon (and into the evening, boo).

No, we are not germophobes

We had Via Napoli for dinner planned, and I wanted to spend some time in EPCOT but it was literally just TOO WET to do anything other than run from place to place. If it were up to Andrew we’d have just ordered pizza (well honestly I don’t think either of us were that hungry) but I just hate to skip a good ADR so I dragged him out. Dinner wasn’t as great as I remember – I think I am too spoiled by actual Italian pizza that the very small options of pizza (sans meat, remember) always leaves me disappointed. This time I went for the one with artichokes, not noticing it had no sauce, so neither of us were happy about it. Oh well.

After dinner it was still downpouring (thankfully our ponchos & stroller rain cover kept the stroller dry as there was very little space to park it under an awning) and we sprinted back to the room, and spent the evening watching TV and relaxing for a bit. Rain got to us that day, for sure!

Up next - WCC breakfast, MK and Chef Mickeys for dinner!

 

[kmedina]

Did the park open at 8 0r 9 that morning? A 40 minute wait at 9:05 sounds mad for a 9am opening. Good thing you got fastpasses and explored the nearby trails rather than standing in line all that time. We have not explored the trails since three trips ago, so I need to ensure we do that on our next trip. Aria's dress is super cute. You did a great job. Thanks to fastpass plus, we were able to ride everything we wanted at AK (since neither of us wanted to ride Kali). I have never tried Sanaa, but it sounds fantastic. We love Boma and Jiko, so I am sure Sanaa is great too.

We liked Via Napoli. While I agree it is not the best, it is better than I expected from Disney. Living in a city with some of the best dining in the world makes expectations for places like Disney hard to live up too. That said, I love the low food prices at Disney compared of the strip here.

 

[jenny105]

When is your cruise?? We will still have to fly to Florida for the cruise. But that is great about the credit, must have been pretty cheap then!

Mine is in May. It sails right out of NYC so no flying!

I. HATE. OSTRICHES. The Six Flags here has a drive through safari and those things were everywhere, chasing the car and pecking at the windows. They could never be contained to one area either so there was no escaping them. Not to mention they're ugly as hell!

 

[Dugette]

Great updates! Love the pool at Beach Club...I can see how Aria would have a blast there. And yummy, yummy Sanaa! Mmmmm.

I agree with the previous post about how hard it is to plan trips when you're trying for a baby. It took roughly 2.5 years for Dug Baby (including some "breaks") and it was tricky. I was looking at an old TR of mine the other day and was reminded of how crazy it was...we didn't do any thrill rides until the last day when we crammed a bunch in...since we weren't sure whether or not I could ride them until then. Anyway, good luck going for baby #2.

And enjoy the cruise! I've never been on Carnival, but I'm sure it will be fun. Just don't go in with Disney-like expectations. We really want to take a Disney Cruise someday too!

 

[dtr_angel]

Great updates! I love the pictures of you and Aria in your matching coverups. All the upcoming trip news is so exciting!