Bear Hugs & Piggy Kisses - Baby's 1st Trip ~ Updated 12/6: Aulani TR Started!!!

[IheartDDuck]

Yay for going to Epcot on purpose!

I have to say, which I'm sure you hear all of the time...Izzy is just the cutest little peanut.

I'm glad that Izzy was good with the characters! That's always a little nerve wracking I think.

 

[dtr_angel]

Looks like a great start to your Epcot day! I'm glad Izzy did so well with the characters, the pictures turned out super cute. The very last one is my favorite though!

 

[lilmape]

I love her dress and the character pictures are adorable. What a fantastic memory! It makes me even more excited to take our DD. I hope the character meets go well, but if not oh well. I'm interested in seeing the new test track queue... Looking forward to your next post!

 

[amazingact21]

Aww, those pictures with the characters are wonderful. I definitely had to giggle at some of them, where you can clearly see Izzy is confused by why her stuffed plushes grew ten times their normal size.

But, wow, Minnie really is her favorite! You can tell she recognized her, which is one of the coolest things to witness as a parent.


I say anytime you do something that doesn't end in tears and meltdowns is a success!

 

[sophies*mom]

I have been following along on a couple of your reports and finally found myself caught up on this one!!
Izzy is super adorable!! My little guy was born a month before, in August, so they're very close to the same age.
I love all her outfits! Looking forward to reading more.

 

[LuvEeyore]

I love Izzy with the characters and love the Minnie Dress. Wouldn't you just like to know what Izzy is really thinking?:rotfl2

 

[AprilRenee]

So sweet!! Did you tear up a little? Cause I totally just did! Lol

 

[Leshaface]

I love her Minnie dress and she looks so big standing in the car holding the steering wheel!

Glad that the character interaction was fun, but glad it got better from there for Izzy. I love that photo of you and Izzy with Goofy. Looks like she's rolling her eyes and saying, "I'm too good for this, mom!"

 

[RachelNinja]

Just wanted to let you know that I read your TR straight through in about two days! It's really interesting seeing how you're dealing with a trip with Izzy and getting that insight. My husband and I aren't planning on having a kid just yet, but we think about how it'd change Disney for us!

 

[Dugette]

Awwww! Mickey was SO CUTE with her, playing peek-a-boo!! It's amazing how great CM's are at Disney, even the ones who are in costume still manage to go above and beyond. Love it!!

I agree. The characters in general did a great job of sizing up the situation and using the right techniques to get her comfortable. Peek-a-boo and high fives were winners with her.

I love the photos where Izzy is looking at the characters while everyone is posing. It's too funny, and most of our group photos with characters Maddie was doing the same thing! Just staring, or touching their ears or whiskers, lol!!

I noticed that with your photos too! The characters are way too interesting to look away from, of course!

I think you're right, she did SMASHING! I always felt bad for the parents whose kids would scream and cry and wouldn't take photos, all that money you spend and time waiting in line and your kids don't like the characters, I'd be bummed, because I, myself, got soooo into meeting them!! It was so fun and hilarious to do!

I can't wait for MOREEEEEEEE!

Yeah, it would be a bummer if she didn't like them. Although I had a feeling she'd be okay, since she's met a few larger-than-life characters (like the MN Twins mascot) and been totally okay with them. But you never know. We were lucky. And I think she was just the right age to actually be able to recognize and get excited about some of the characters too. Very fun to see.

Adorable! Both my 14-month olds (separate trips of course!) had a tough time with characters- liked them only from afar! I was so glad my oldest LOVED characters this last trip. Hoping my DD is soon to follow.

Can't wait to see who else you met!

I have heard that is the case sometimes...only wanting to watch them from a distance. Izzy was a bit hesitant at first, but luckily she warmed up very quickly and did great. So glad your oldest loved the characters this trip and I hope your daughter is quick to catch on to how awesome they are!

Yay for going to Epcot on purpose!

I have to say, which I'm sure you hear all of the time...Izzy is just the cutest little peanut.

I'm glad that Izzy was good with the characters! That's always a little nerve wracking I think.

Aw, thanks! I have to admit, we do hear that quite a bit...a random person commented to us at dinner tonight about how cute and well-behaved she was, actually.

Yeah, we were so glad that she took to the characters. I went into it prepared for anything and tried to show her that they were okay, but you just don't know what's going to happen at this age.

Looks like a great start to your Epcot day! I'm glad Izzy did so well with the characters, the pictures turned out super cute. The very last one is my favorite though!

Thanks. Yes, that last one is funny. It's so hard to read her expression - it almost seems like she's just totally overwhelmed by everything, even though she was having a good time.

I love her dress and the character pictures are adorable. What a fantastic memory! It makes me even more excited to take our DD. I hope the character meets go well, but if not oh well. I'm interested in seeing the new test track queue... Looking forward to your next post!

Aw, thanks. Good to go into it with that attitude - hoping for the best, but not getting too hung up on it. I had read a TR before going (KHertz's, actually) where a 1-year-old had a blast with characters and I was really hoping for that, but I've read plenty where the kid freaks out near them, so I tried to keep my expectations low and set her up for success.

Aww, those pictures with the characters are wonderful. I definitely had to giggle at some of them, where you can clearly see Izzy is confused by why her stuffed plushes grew ten times their normal size.

I don't doubt that it freaked her out that the Minnie she normally carries around could carry her around instead!

But, wow, Minnie really is her favorite! You can tell she recognized her, which is one of the coolest things to witness as a parent.

Yes, it was super cool to see that! She really is fond of Minnie. In fact, Minnie is on those disposable placemats we use and she has been "sharing" her food with Minnie (when asked) lately. So cute!

I say anytime you do something that doesn't end in tears and meltdowns is a success!

Agreed!! In fact, even if the tears end quickly, I kinda consider it a success.

I have been following along on a couple of your reports and finally found myself caught up on this one!!
Izzy is super adorable!! My little guy was born a month before, in August, so they're very close to the same age.
I love all her outfits! Looking forward to reading more.

and thanks for posting! Yeah, your little guy is just a bit ahead of her. I'm finding this is a fun age right now - she understands SOOOO much and is really responsive to things and starting to add more words to her vocabulary (mostly babble still, though). Fun to see more of her personality being expressed. Oh, and thanks on the outfits. I'm glad my little cobbled-together clearance-rack collection has served her well! I'm glad I grabbed that Minnie dress off the Halloween rack at a consignment sale - adorable to see Minnie reacting to it!

I love Izzy with the characters and love the Minnie Dress. Wouldn't you just like to know what Izzy is really thinking?:rotfl2

Thanks! I totally want to know what she was thinking! I'm sure her brain was about to explode with trying to understand what happened to her Mickey and Minnie plushes. And trying to figure Goofy out, in general, I think!

So sweet!! Did you tear up a little? Cause I totally just did! Lol

Ha ha, I think I did a bit. I know I did when she first saw Minnie in the parade - that was precious, but not captured very well in pictures. I'm so glad she enjoyed meeting them. And there is much better stuff to come on this topic!

I love her Minnie dress and she looks so big standing in the car holding the steering wheel!

I know - I've got to save that picture for when she gets her license or something - standing on the seat will make you look like a big girl, I guess. I just love that picture - hands on the wheel and paci in her mouth.

Glad that the character interaction was fun, but glad it got better from there for Izzy. I love that photo of you and Izzy with Goofy. Looks like she's rolling her eyes and saying, "I'm too good for this, mom!"

Ha, that picture with Goofy is pretty funny. I agree with your assessment. She seemed to think Goofy was a little odd. And, yes, it definitely got better from there. From now on, I believe she spends the time in line trying to get Mickey/Minnie's attention by yelling, "Hi!" over and over.

Just wanted to let you know that I read your TR straight through in about two days! It's really interesting seeing how you're dealing with a trip with Izzy and getting that insight. My husband and I aren't planning on having a kid just yet, but we think about how it'd change Disney for us!

Thanks for joining! I have seen you around on other TRs. I totally understand about not having a kid yet, but thinking about how it will change things. I have to admit I read a lot of TRs with little kids before we had one. It actually really helped me get excited about bringing a little one someday. And I've tried to be pretty detailed in this report because, as we got closer to the trip, I found that I wanted to know exactly how people handled things with a little one along - I like to be prepared! (of course, I'm sure that's not unusual on the DIS!)

 

[Dugette]

On our way out of the Character Spot, we decided to check out the new flavors at Club Cool:





I missed my favorite Costa Rican Fanta, but I think, overall, the selections were better. Of course, I skipped the Beverly this trip. I liked all the different fruity options they had. Not sure if I had a favorite. Izzy loved the tiny (empty) cups:



After our little appetizer, we had to take a moment to enjoy the fountain:



Then we made our way to The Land. Parked the stroller in the massive stroller parking lot and made our way in. On our way through the pavilion, we noticed an impressive gingerbread display that we hadn’t seen before:











We’ll be staying at the real (non-gingerbread) version of that last one in just over 8 months! Can’t wait for Aulani!!! We had no clue at the time, though.

That whole display was a fun, unexpected treat to see.

But time to eat! By the time we made it down to Sunshine Seasons, they were no longer serving breakfast. Awwwww, no Croissant Berry Bread Pudding for us! We found some suitable lunch items instead. I guess this was Brunch. Or something.

Looks like I got the Vegetable Flatbread and Potato Salad, thinking it would be decent for sharing with Izzy:



Dug appears to have gotten the Cashew Chicken, also decent for sharing with Izzy:



Looks like he also got a fancy iced coffee drink:



It looks like, in addition to sharing some of our meals, Izzy enjoyed a pouch, some of her milk, and one of our giant ice waters:





Thankfully, she managed not to spill or make a giant mess with this one either!

She must have finished before we did, so good old Bulleye Mickey came out to delight her. (I can’t remember if I mentioned him before…I bought him at work (Target HQ) and brought him along to amuse her and lure her away from all the gift shop stuffed animals). She was thrilled to see her Mickey dog:







Here’s some video of her making him dance:

(click to watch)

Up next: We journey into our imaginations! And back into Club Cool!

 

[Denovagirl]

Adorable- love Mickey Bullseye!

 

[Dugette]

Adorable- love Mickey Bullseye!

That has to be some sort of record for the quickest comment after a new post ever!

Thanks, Bullseye Mickey was a hit with her! Of course, we still brought home a bunch of plushes anyway...

 

[Jackiemarie21]

Awe such cute pictures! I love the one of Izzy with the big cup.
The ginger bread displays are awesome!

 

[amazingact21]

I had to giggle when you mentioned baby-appropriate food choices. It's a whole new world when you have to start thinking, "Does this dish have anything the baby can eat?"


I'm sorry you missed the breakfast items, that can be disappointing when you have your heart set on a particular item. But you're vegetable flatbread looked delicious! Hope it was as good as it looked.


Cute video!


Oh, and I'll admit, every time I read your update and get to the bottom, I see your Aulani ticker and let out a sigh. I'm just saying it right now, there HAS to be trip report for that trip. Us DISers stuck in the continental US will want to see lots of pictures.

 

[Denovagirl]

That has to be some sort of record for the quickest comment after a new post ever! Thanks, Bullseye Mickey was a hit with her! Of course, we still brought home a bunch of plushes anyway...

Haha! I was already on and about to get off and I thought I'd refresh one last time and saw your update! I was so excited!!!

 

[lilmape]

I didn't know club cool had new flavors. I am excited to try them. Smart to skip the Beverly... I can still taste that when I think about it... Bleh! I love the target mickey too cute!

 

[Dugette]

Awe such cute pictures! I love the one of Izzy with the big cup.
The ginger bread displays are awesome!

Thanks! She was so obsessed with those big cups during our trip! It was fun seeing those gingerbread displays because they were an unexpected discovery. Normally, we know about the cool holiday displays to go see, but this one caught us by surprise and was really awesome.

I had to giggle when you mentioned baby-appropriate food choices. It's a whole new world when you have to start thinking, "Does this dish have anything the baby can eat?"

Yeah, all of a sudden I'm like - are there veggies in it? How chew-able is it? Probably forces me to make better food choices for myself, though. Can't eat all garbage anymore.

I'm sorry you missed the breakfast items, that can be disappointing when you have your heart set on a particular item. But you're vegetable flatbread looked delicious! Hope it was as good as it looked.

It was kind-of a bummer, since we were looking forward to breakfast food, but luckily Sunshine Seasons has great food in general so we had options. The flatbread was pretty good. Not my favorite, but not bad.

Cute video!

Thanks. And, of course, it ends with the traditional "baby drops something from high chair" moment that punctuates every meal.

Oh, and I'll admit, every time I read your update and get to the bottom, I see your Aulani ticker and let out a sigh. I'm just saying it right now, there HAS to be trip report for that trip. Us DISers stuck in the continental US will want to see lots of pictures.

I tell ya, I'm actually jealous of myself over this Aulani trip. It still doesn't seem real - the whole "how it came to be" was so unusual and unexpected. Don't get me wrong - it's awesome and exciting - but just a bit bewildering that we are going there this year. But, it does help keep me from getting jealous of all you May DISers that might get to ride the Mine Train! And, yes, I'll write a TR about it. I have to document something like that!

Haha! I was already on and about to get off and I thought I'd refresh one last time and saw your update! I was so excited!!!

I figured it was something like that. Just thought it was funny that I barely had time to update my first post with the new info and you'd already read and commented!

 

[Dugette]

I didn't know club cool had new flavors. I am excited to try them. Smart to skip the Beverly... I can still taste that when I think about it... Bleh! I love the target mickey too cute!

Yeah, I didn't find out about the new flavors until shortly before our trip, I think. I liked them, overall. It seemed like more fruity options, which I tend to favor. We just have the Beverly every couple trips, I think. Just to remind ourselves.

I love that Target Mickey too. I don't have it, but they actually have a Snow White one too. And I have the other Disney one, which is Bullseye dressed like Sulley from Monsters, Inc. Super cute, I think, but it creeps Dug out because he thinks it looks like Sulley ate Bullseye.

 

[Dugette]

Well, if you’ve been keeping track, you’ll know that we did one ride, one character trail, and brunch so far this day. Time for a second ride! Since Izzy was a fan of slow-moving dark rides and Journey Into Imagination never has a line, that’s where we headed:



There was a very short line. Izzy enjoyed trying to get to the other side of the chain, so I think I had to pick her up so she didn’t run off. After a few minutes, we hopped into a car and were off to Figment’s world. Izzy did much the same as she had on the other rides: looked around calmly, taking it all in. I thought the skunk might bother her, but she was fine. Nothing seemed to concern her. I think she enjoyed looking at the ceiling in the upside-down part.

After we got off the ride, we headed to the little toddler-oriented musical square area. That was the one thing I wanted to ensure we let her try, as I’ve seen it in other trip reports and the little ones really seemed to love it. And, sure enough, she did! She loved toddling all around on her own (and dragging me by the hand, at times). She was a new-ish walker and fell down a lot, making me worry that all the bigger kids would stumble over her, but everything was fine since it wasn’t too busy. Here are some pictures:











I don’t think she really understood that stepping on squares and the music playing were related. She just loved running around independently and dancing a bit. This was right up there with empty hotel closets in her favorite attraction rankings, I’m sure!

I also have some video of her toddling around the place:

(click to watch)

Ha, she was really babbling away too. And I forgot how far she’s come with walking in the last couple months! She was so awkward then and now she’d be running through there.

After a little while, we basically had to catch her and drag her away from there. She was not happy until she realized that there were other areas to explore. She loved running up this ramp:



Once we made it outside, I thought she’d get a kick out of the water features, but she didn’t seem very into them :





It was hot and we were thirsty, so another pit stop at Club Cool was in order:



We enjoyed some more fruity drinks. Izzy grabbed away small glasses from me again. I gave her one with a very small amount of a red drink in it. Naturally, that ended up all over the white collar of her Minnie dress. Fortunately, the character meet had already happened and we were changing her soon anyway. She had fun, at least.

And speaking of fun…

My arms were getting tired from holding her and I think I had spilled drink on me, she did on her, I was trying to wipe her off with a napkin, she was trying to steal the napkin, etc. It was kind-of a mess. So, I wanted to set her down for a minute after that. I brought her over to the empty area with tall tables and stools, thinking that would be a safe place for her to wander around. And I’m sure it would’ve been, had she not made an immediate beeline across the store to the Minnie plush bin.

She wasted no time and began pulling them out one after another:



She is, however, quite generous and made sure that I had one :



She’s like a little Oprah, “Minnies for everybody!!!”

We tried to add to her outfit, but she was not fond of things on her head:



(Incidentally, she loves to put things on her head now, but only things like bowls, boats, and trash cans. Minnie ears are to be worn around your neck, of course).

We let her have a minute or two of fun, but she was pulling all of the Minnies out of the rack and about to start on the Mickeys. So, we had to put an end to her fun and put them all back and leave. She was NOT happy. After all, she’d worked so hard to gather all the Minnies and even made sure to share. Such mean parents!

We offered her good ol’ Bullseye Mickey as consolation. I love the look she’s giving us, “Nobody better take my Mickey!!”:



Up next: We head into World Showcase. I lose my ID in Mexico. And today is a stroller nap for Izzy, since the schedule didn’t allow a return to the room midday. All that and some Canadian things, coming right up!