Challenged Accepted! Our Year of Disney with a toddler 2/27 x2

[dtr_angel]

Joining in! My boys were 34 months and 13 months during their first trip, so it will be fun to read about Gavin's adventures since I've only had younger and older than the really fun toddler age so far.

hey thanks for coming back to read about more Gavin adventures! He will be 28 months on our next trip I hope it's just as good as this one was!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

glad you got everything sorted out with the cars and the car seat. My wife is practically the car seat police so I know all about them having to be just right before she is happy. I figure there are certainly less important things to focus on though.

 

[Dugette]

What a pain with the whole car seat fiasco! I probably would have rented a car (with good gas mileage) after all that. Glad you were able to work it all out.

I was already super excited for this TR, but now even more so, as it looks like I'll be taking Izzy at the same age (nearly 21 months) in a few weeks (thanks to Imagineer5's darn Annual Pass...) I'm so glad to hear that you thought it was a great age. I'm thinking it will be super fun. I hope, at least.

 

[tinkgurl]

I'm in for this TR! I cannot believe the whole car seat situation! Annoying!

 

[dtr_angel]

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[dtr_angel]

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[dtr_angel]

Will get to replies later!

 

[MeeskaMomma]

Looks like a pretty smooth start. I love Steak 'n Shake! Yum!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Good job getting on the road so early - though after 7 hours in the car I bet you wished you had been able to get more sleep

And congrats on being able to cross the Steak N Shake off your bucket list!

Those are cute pictures of Gavin in the hat

 

[jedimeg16]

Mini magnadoodles have been lifesavers for us too! And I spy a Vera "Where's Mickey?" bag - is it the tote or the duffle? I have a Hipster and a Tote in that print, and a mini hipster, id wallet, and cosmetic bag in the Midnight with Mickey print. I'm an addict!

My hometown is the location of the very first Steak and Shake, though sadly that place is now a pizza restaurant.

 

[dtr_angel]

Me too!! It used to be our "last book before bed" every night. But now she has her own opinions, so I no longer get to pick, ha! Taking her on her first trip this summer-she'll be a little over 2.

You're lucky you ever got to pick! Gavin picks all the books he reads. Some of the books he loves I really do not like LOL. Our last book before bed is always his Precious Moments Prayer book. Goodnight I love you is almost always the last one before that but not every night. I hope just over 2 is still a magical traveling age!

glad you got everything sorted out with the cars and the car seat. My wife is practically the car seat police so I know all about them having to be just right before she is happy. I figure there are certainly less important things to focus on though.

I'm the car seat police in our family I just was no comfortable driving 16 hours each way not knowing if it was right. Gavin never complains about the car seat so him saying "ow" and pulling at his neck seemed like a good indicator something was wrong plus the angle just did not look right. I'm so glad it all worked out!

What a pain with the whole car seat fiasco! I probably would have rented a car (with good gas mileage) after all that. Glad you were able to work it all out.

I was already super excited for this TR, but now even more so, as it looks like I'll be taking Izzy at the same age (nearly 21 months) in a few weeks (thanks to Imagineer5's darn Annual Pass...) I'm so glad to hear that you thought it was a great age. I'm thinking it will be super fun. I hope, at least.

We actually did look into renting a car to drive down and back but seeing as though we would definitely need something bigger than a car, it would've cost serious moolah plus all that mileage (over $1000). We guesstimated gas to cost $500 round trip and we came in at just under $450 and had enough gas that DH still hasn't had to fill up yet and we've been back 2 weeks. If we took my V8 Hemi it would've been probably about $200-250 more. Still better than renting. In the grand scheme of things not too much more and still cheaper than 3 airline tickets!

I really hope Izzy does just as well in a few weeks which I'm sure she will. She is a very experienced traveler now! Unfortunately I don't think I can crank out my entire TR before you go

I'm in for this TR! I cannot believe the whole car seat situation! Annoying!

Hey thanks for reading! I'm so glad the car seat worked out. I hope your little guy is doing well!

Looks like a pretty smooth start. I love Steak 'n Shake! Yum!

I wish we had a steak n shake close by! So far so good! Not one peep out of Gavin in the car!

Good job getting on the road so early - though after 7 hours in the car I bet you wished you had been able to get more sleep

And congrats on being able to cross the Steak N Shake off your bucket list!

Those are cute pictures of Gavin in the hat

We were tired but I think we were just so excited! Thanks! It's exciting crossing things off the list. After 6 trips to Disney there are still so many things we have no done! Thanks, I really love those pictures from lunch.

Mini magnadoodles have been lifesavers for us too! And I spy a Vera "Where's Mickey?" bag - is it the tote or the duffle? I have a Hipster and a Tote in that print, and a mini hipster, id wallet, and cosmetic bag in the Midnight with Mickey print. I'm an addict!

My hometown is the location of the very first Steak and Shake, though sadly that place is now a pizza restaurant.

You are going to spy lots of Vera bags on this trip That is the Where's Mickey large duffel. The midnight with mickey print was my favorite until the where's mickey came out. I would like to get some more disney pieces but they are hard to get! Theres another print coming out soon I believe. I have a lot of non Disney vera bags as well. That reminds me... the VB outlet is having a 60% off sale for Memorial Day. Since we drove I was able to use my VB bags to pack in and they went in the car a lot nicer than hard suitcases. I think I need to order another one or two large duffels

That's so sad they turned it into a pizza place!

 

[Dugette]

Great updates! I love a good road trip and trying out new places. So glad that Gavin seems to be having a good travel day. Very cute pictures from lunch! Those shakes sound good, but too bad they didn't have a peanut butter Snickers, which sounds great. Gavin's almost potty trained already? Wow, I can't believe how big he's getting!!

(Oh, and you have expensive rental cars there, I guess. Yikes!)

 

[marDgreen88]

If you'd gone through Richmond we could've had our DISmeet a little early! I was on 95 going to the airport at that time haha. That's weird to think about.

Okay, maybe not, because my flight was at 7... anyways.

HAHAH, it's May already!

Steak n Shake does a lot of things really well, but not fries. Hope y'all enjoyed the milkshakes!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Ah, Steak n Shake is one of those fastfood places that I miss from all those years living in Ohio/Indiana. I loved their milkshakes!

I'm sure it's the same for you but Disney/Orlando weather stalking begins 10 days before the beginning of our trip for me. I pretty much leave the weather website up on my computer all the time and hit the refresh button.

 

[dtr_angel]

Not sure when I'll get another update up it's been a crazy couple of days and it's getting crazier...
Please pray for my dad he's in the ER with burns on his hands and face from an accident at work. I don't know how bad or anything else right now but he's in a lot of pain. My mom has the worst birthdays. I hope you are all having a happy & safe Memorial Day. It's summertime!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Not sure when I'll get another update up it's been a crazy couple of days and it's getting crazier...
Please pray for my dad he's in the ER with burns on his hands and face from an accident at work. I don't know how bad or anything else right now but he's in a lot of pain. My mom has the worst birthdays. I hope you are all having a happy & safe Memorial Day. It's summertime!

Oh gosh - very sorry to here this. Thoughts and prayers to your dad and your family

 

[cstorm65]

I'm signing up for your trip. Travel days are so exciting because you are looking forward to what is to come! Can't wait for more!

 

[natebenma]

I just read your update about the car seat installation. I'm glad it worked out.

That post really brought me back. When the boys were small, I was the president and then treasurer of our local mothers' club and every year, I helped to run a car seat inspection station along with the hospital and police department. I know all about the difficulties of properly installing infant/toddler car seats and the use of pool noodles to get them at the right angle.

The police officers and other experts who were in charge of the installations had gone through DAYS of training on all sorts of cars/seats so they could install the equipment safely.

So glad the woman was able to help you on short notice!

 

[natebenma]

Sounds like you are off to a great start! Not bad for early morning drive with a toddler. Glad the Mickey slippers were able to save the day. You know what? I don't think I have ever heard of Steak and Shake. I am so glad that you found one accidentally.

It just occurred to me that you have one less person than your last trip, but two more people who are able to walk.

 

[natebenma]

I just read about your dad. Sending lots of positive energy for a quick recovery.