From the World of Adults to the World of Kids, Fifth Birthday Trip is Over!!

[kmedina]

Great update !

P.s. Your kids are adorable ! So cute

Thank you.

I'm sure as much as he may "pretend" to hate it... He probably loves to see you happy!

You're right. He goes out of his was to make me happy even if he "protests" about it at first.

Yikes! Aren't the buses a pain? What a worry for you and your family. I had read about the monorails going down more frequently in general before our December trip but it didn't happen to us, thankfully. You were nice to Disney not to submit that taxi receipt!

And how was the food after all that effort to get there?

Luckily, that was the worst thing that happened all week, so we were just glad it was over. That was just the first of many times we found the monorail down. You will be surprised at how few times we actually rode it considering we stayed at a deluxe. That number is to come. I may have submitted it if Akerhaus did not let us in, since we were late. They were very nice when we arrived though and did not even need our excuse for being late.

I am going to start the update now.

 

[kmedina]

I am going to start this segment by saying I never knew how stressful these trip reports could be. After having to start over twice yesterday, it just happened again. I was at the bottom of a very long update when Connor (who had been sitting in my lap the whole time) hit the keyboard. Everything went away. My husband called a few minutes later. I told him what happened. He told me to hit control z until it came back. It erased what I had just re-typed too. That is two days in a row of having to type part of the same segment three times. I am going to start typing them in word and transferring them over. Why did I not do that earlier today?

After a long morning, we finally entered Akerhaus. We were greeted by Belle. My husband teased me one last time that I am not girly and asked why I drag him to girly things the moment we were seated. I reminded him how much fun Xander had at CRT on our last trip. He reminded me that my nieces dined with us that day. They did, but it really seemed like Xander enjoyed it as much as they did. Not to mention the fact that my husband said when we left that it was better than her thought it would be.

They were busy, so it took a little while for the food to be delivered. Xander, who is allergic to everything and very picky, was disappointed in the food selection. Since he cannot have eggs, and does not like meat or potatos, it was a little tricky. He did not eat very much. Connor was still a little young for table foods at this point. My husband and I ate, and we got Xander a snack shortly after leaving to supplement the little he ate. It was typical breakfast fare. Nothing spectacular but we love a nice filling breakfast. The boys were still in a great mood.

The princesses began coming around. Xander did not show much interest in them to my surprise (since he really took to them at CRT on the previous trip). Connor on the other hand was very interested. Snow White was infatuated with him. She gave him a kiss. It was hard to get the lipstick off him, but Crapbag lit up. He enjoyed every moment of the interactions. What a great first experience with characters for Connor (even if they were real face characters)!

Xander was really excited when they gave him a birthday card. "It's not even my birthday yet. How did they know it was coming?"

Some reservations were booked online, but the site kept crashing. At the beginning of my call, the phone agent asked what we were celebrating. She must have put it on every reservation. Almost every one she booked, mentioned his birthday. It was so awesome. Going from an only child to having a little brother who nurses all day, I was so happy that Disney would spend the entire week making my son feel special. I got teary eyed more than once ay how happy he was. My baby knew that trip was for his birthday.

Connor sat in a highchair for the first time the night before at Citricos but only lasted in it about five minutes. Crapbag and I spent the rest of the meal taking turns holding him. Akerhaus was his second time in a high chair. He stayed in it a bit longer this time. We were happy about that and got some cute shots.

Here are the rest of the photos. Connor is missing from some, because those are the times that he was nursing. That was a common theme through our character meals. Any time Connor is missing and only Xander is in the shot, Connor was likely nursing.

After getting a snack for Xander, we stopped to put our sunblock on. I almost forgot. Crapbag rarely burns, so he almost never remembers. My boys are half Filipino, so they do not burn like I do. It is still better to be safe than sorry. We walked toward Future World around 10am. It was an hour later than I hoped to get started, but at least we were finally ready.

Xander was just over 44 inches this trip, so he was going to be trying some new rides. I think he acted more excited about this than he really was. There were many times I felt he was putting on a brave face but it was obvious that is not what he wanted. It was his birthday trip though, so I told him we would only ride what he wanted to ride and nothing else.

The only ride he refused to ride was the “Elevator Ride” also known as the Tower of Tower. My husband tricked him into riding that when he was three (only has a 40” height requirement) at DCA by calling it an elevator ride. As soon as we exited, he said I love elevators, but not elevator rides.
We stopped by the beautiful Christmas tree on the way. Then, we got fastpasses for Test Track. The boys took some pictures in front of the car.

Crapbag suggested we do Mission Space while we waited to our Test Track fastpass time. We rode Mission Space for the first time very shortly after it opened. It was long before we had kids, so we were able to ride it together. I do not like the “throw up” rides (Thanks for that Shannon). Those are the ones that spin you around non-stop. The exception for me is Tilt-A-Whirl type rides like the Teacups. After riding it all those years ago, I was nauseated and dizzy for an hour. It was not a fun feeling. DH loved it. I vowed never to ride it again.

I knew Disney had since created a tamer version since then but had managed to avoid it on previous visits anyway. Could I face my fear and go for it? Stay tuned.

 

[shan23877]

You got such adorable pictures at breakfast! Love the one with Connor wearing the ears at the table! Too bad that there wasn't enough for Xander to eat, I'll bet he didn't mind having snacks right away though!

LOL at the "throw up ride" shout out. My DH would be so honored! We did not to Mission Space last trip because of the throw up factor, I'll be impressed if you did!

I always type in Word for my TR. Makes it much less stressfull if the Dis craps out.

Still laughing every time I read "CrapBag".

 

[kmedina]

You got such adorable pictures at breakfast! Love the one with Connor wearing the ears at the table! Too bad that there wasn't enough for Xander to eat, I'll bet he didn't mind having snacks right away though!

LOL at the "throw up ride" shout out. My DH would be so honored! We did not to Mission Space last trip because of the throw up factor, I'll be impressed if you did!

I always type in Word for my TR. Makes it much less stressfull if the Dis craps out.

Still laughing every time I read "CrapBag".

Thank you. I love it too. Xander is really hard to please when it comes to food. There are certain restaurants that we cannot even eat at, because he cannot find one thing to eat. We are used to it, and try to plan accordingly.

I figured you would catch the shout out if I did not mention it but wanted to anyway. That is what I've been calling them ever since you wrote that your husband calls them that.

I will use Word from here on out, and wish I would have figured it out sooner. Both updates would have been slightly longer if I had.

 

[Emma1987]

I cant help but giggle everytime you refer to your husband as "crapbag''.

 

[ronnmel]

This is going to be interesting to read, a trip with a baby as young as mine might be on our next trip. Plus I love cruises, so I'm looking forward to that part as well!

Nice to see that flying was really easy for Connor! Hopefully it's easy for mine as well.

I love the name Xander. I wanted to use it if we had a boy, but Ron does not like it much.

I thought Medina sounded Filipino! Ron is Filipino too, so my kids will be half, just like yours.

Wow, an upgrade to concierge level! How amazing!

Have you ever asked to talk to the chefs at Disney? I've read a few TR with kids who have allergies, and it seems that the chef always comes up with something great for them to eat.

 

[kmedina]

I cant help but giggle everytime you refer to your husband as "crapbag''.

I think that was his intent. When he told me I had to call him that, he could not stop laughing. Naturally, I thought he was joking. Then, he informed me he was serious. If you are a Friends fan, he is a Ross who thinks he's a Chandler. He is very serious and cerebral and attempts at humor usually fail in my opinion.

His first name is very unique. When you google his name, all of the hits are his. For me on the other hand, I have never seen one that actually belongs to me when I google my name. He was against me doing a report at first. Then, he said okay but no names or pictures. I told him it had to have pictures. It took him a while to agree.

This is going to be interesting to read, a trip with a baby as young as mine might be on our next trip. Plus I love cruises, so I'm looking forward to that part as well!

Nice to see that flying was really easy for Connor! Hopefully it's easy for mine as well.

I love the name Xander. I wanted to use it if we had a boy, but Ron does not like it much.

I thought Medina sounded Filipino! Ron is Filipino too, so my kids will be half, just like yours.

Wow, an upgrade to concierge level! How amazing!

Have you ever asked to talk to the chefs at Disney? I've read a few TR with kids who have allergies, and it seems that the chef always comes up with something great for them to eat.

I was going back and forth on whether I should even do a trip report on the cruise. If you want to read it, I can tack it on the end of this one. You are going to love travelling with your baby. We've never had a bad trip.

Xander was three the first time he flew, and we had a much harder time with him. Not completely terrible but not easy. Hopefully, your baby will do well on the flight and the trip.

I agreed with Ron about the name Xander a little at first. Crapbag is a big Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan and loved Xander Harris. The name grew on me, and I began to like it. Now, I love it. It is the perfect name for him.

I figured Ron was Filipino the first time I saw his picture. There are a lot of half White/half Filpino members in our family and they are all dolls. Your kids will probably be as well.

The upgrade was so nice.

There are only a few things that he eats (mostly pastas), so I have not needed to talk to the chefs yet. If his palate expands, I will in the future.

 

[kmedina]

Mel, I forgot to say .

We've been communicating for a bit on your report that it seemed so natural to be writing with you. I am glad you're here as I am enjoying your report. If Joseph and Shannon were reading yours, I figured it had to be good. It really is.

 

[ronnmel]

I was going back and forth on whether I should even do a trip report on the cruise. If you want to read it, I can tack it on the end of this one. You are going to love travelling with your baby. We've never had a bad trip.

Xander was three the first time he flew, and we had a much harder time with him. Not completely terrible but not easy. Hopefully, your baby will do well on the flight and the trip.

I agreed with Ron about the name Xander a little at first. Crapbag is a big Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan and loved Xander Harris. The name grew on me, and I began to like it. Now, I love it. It is the perfect name for him.

I figured Ron was Filipino the first time I saw his picture. There are a lot of half White/half Filpino members in our family and they are all dolls. Your kids will probably be as well.

The upgrade was so nice.

There are only a few things that he eats (mostly pastas), so I have not needed to talk to the chefs yet. If his palate expands, I will in the future.

Yes, I would love to read the cruise portion of the trip.

We have friends who traveled to Japan and the Philippines with their 9 months old baby, so I can't imagine how traveling to Disney, who is so great at catering to families, could be that bad. But I love hearing all those success stories, that's for sure.

Your kids are very cute. I'm so happy that my kids will be half, I think mixes always look adorable.

Mel, I forgot to say .

We've been communicating for a bit on your report that it seemed so natural to be writing with you. I am glad you're here as I am enjoying your report. If Joseph and Shannon were reading yours, I figured it had to be good. It really is.

Thanks! I'm glad I found your TR! It means a lot to me that you think my TR is really good. I'm enjoying writing it and reliving all my memories. I feel bad though. I know who Shannon is, but I don't know who Joseph is. I must know his screen name though. You would think as a teacher, I'd be better with names!

 

[kmedina]

Yes, I would love to read the cruise portion of the trip.

We have friends who traveled to Japan and the Philippines with their 9 months old baby, so I can't imagine how traveling to Disney, who is so great at catering to families, could be that bad. But I love hearing all those success stories, that's for sure.

Your kids are very cute. I'm so happy that my kids will be half, I think mixes always look adorable.




Thanks! I'm glad I found your TR! It means a lot to me that you think my TR is really good. I'm enjoying writing it and reliving all my memories. I feel bad though. I know who Shannon is, but I don't know who Joseph is. I must know his screen name though. You would think as a teacher, I'd be better with names!

Thanks. I think mixed babies are cute as well. They usually take on the best features of the mixes.

I am glad I found yours as well. Joseph's screen name is Starscream2. I went to post to his trip report and saw your title there. Then, I saw it again on Shannon's report. Between your title (which I love) and two readers that I have enjoyed reading from, I knew I had to read your report.

 

[Belle83]

I love the pictures from CRT! Sooo cute

 

[shan23877]

Just wanted to put in my two cents on the cruise portion of the TR. Yes please!!! I'd love to hear about it! DH wanted to do a cruise this year, but I wanted to wait until Mads is older, so I'm eager to hear about how the kids liked it!

P.S. I told you you'd have readers!

 

[MrsTeddy]

I'm subbing!!

Your boys are precious, I was thinking your Connor reminded me of my Logan as a baby even before you mentioned they were half Filipino! My husband is Filipino too!

Sounds like a magical start, I can't wait to read the rest! I hope to start a PTR for our trip soon as well!

 

[ronnmel]

Thanks. I think mixed babies are cute as well. They usually take on the best features of the mixes.

I am glad I found yours as well. Joseph's screen name is Starscream2. I went to post to his trip report and saw your title there. Then, I saw it again on Shannon's report. Between your title (which I love) and two readers that I have enjoyed reading from, I knew I had to read your report.

I think Ron's perfectly tanned skin year round with my green eyes would be awesome. I doubt I'll be that lucky though.

I knew I'd feel dumb once you told me you Joseph is. Of course I know Starscream. Oh well, pregnancy brain.

 

[kmedina]

I woke up with a stiff neck on Saturday, so I have been a little out of it lately. I will try to do an update this week, but it is so painful. I am having a hard time concentrating.

I love the pictures from CRT! Sooo cute

Thank you. Connow nursed through so many pictures that I am glad we got some great ones at his very first character meal. Xander is not always in the mood to take pictures either, so it is nice when he is.

Just wanted to put in my two cents on the cruise portion of the TR. Yes please!!! I'd love to hear about it! DH wanted to do a cruise this year, but I wanted to wait until Mads is older, so I'm eager to hear about how the kids liked it!

P.S. I told you you'd have readers!

I will do it. Spoiler Alert!!! Xander loved the cruise more than WDW. I wish it was longer, because I was only able to take him to the kids clubs twice. He did not want to leave either time. Maddie will love. Crusing is fun. Such an easy vacation. I loved ending a tiring but lovely trip at WDW with a relaxing cruise.

I'm subbing!!

Your boys are precious, I was thinking your Connor reminded me of my Logan as a baby even before you mentioned they were half Filipino! My husband is Filipino too!

Sounds like a magical start, I can't wait to read the rest! I hope to start a PTR for our trip soon as well!

Thank you. I bet Logan is adorable.

My older son was three on our prior trip to WDW, and Connor will be two on our next planned trip. I would love to read your trip report when it's ready.

I think Ron's perfectly tanned skin year round with my green eyes would be awesome. I doubt I'll be that lucky though.

I knew I'd feel dumb once you told me you Joseph is. Of course I know Starscream. Oh well, pregnancy brain.

I love dark skin with light eyes. That would be nice. Unless my next kid somehow gets my Dad's blue eyes, it will not happen for me. I have my Mom's brown eyes.

Joseph is kind of hard to forget. You just did not know his first name is all. Nothing to blame pregnancy brain on, although, you are entitled to claim things on that at any time if you want.

 

[usnuzuloose]

Well you got off to a rocky start for the day, but it sounds like a good breakfast and excellent pictures of your children were well worth it. Let us know when you do updates. I always forget, I am old. Cant wait to hear more. I need to update tomorrow.

 

[kmedina]

Well you got off to a rocky start for the day, but it sounds like a good breakfast and excellent pictures of your children were well worth it. Let us know when you do updates. I always forget, I am old. Cant wait to hear more. I need to update tomorrow.

The day kept getting better and better. Breakfast was nice, and I was very happy with the pictures we got there. My account almost never tracks updates lately, so I have to keep randomly checking. Subscribing without emails is working for me on recent threads. I know you probably have too many for that to be efficient. I can remind you on our other threads if you'd like.

 

[kmedina]

Crapbag explained the ride to Xander as one where he would have some control in flying a spaceship. Of course, this got Xander interested. Then, he started in on me too. Mommy, can we please ride it? The day my five year old goes on something I am unwilling to ride is the day that I truly am over the hill. My sixty-nine year old father still does rides while other peoples’ parents sit off to the side. There are no ride chickens in my family, and I did not want to be the first one. This would have had my husband teasing me for a long time, which would have trickled down to my six siblings, my husband’s siblings and so on and so forth. Peer pressure got me. I did not want to let Xander down either. So much for saying I would never ride it again.

The posted stand-by time was 15 minutes. We decided that I would go on the ride with Xander first, while Crapbag sat out with Connor. This would allow both me and Xander to do the tame version. I got a rider swap pass for DH and entered with Xander. Crapbag was so excited that he was going to do the original version solo after we rode but said he would ride the tame version again if Xander felt like riding a second time. After a bit longer than 15 minutes, we entered the training room. Xander was excited when he realized he was going to be part of the crew and would have a job to do. That is when he began to get nervous. I thought we might have to use the chicken exit. He put on yet another brave face as we walked into our seating.

There was a father and daughter (slightly older than Xander) in our row. It seemed like they were experienced flyers. That is good news, since they became our pilot and commander. I was the engineer, and Xander was the navigator. Despite having his height checked at the entrance and again at the top of the ride, Xander could not reach the controls. He has such a vivid imagination. Panicked, he whined that he could not do his “job” if he could not reach the controls. Unsure whether he believed he really had to “fly” the spaceship or if he was backing out due to fright, I assured him that I could help him cover his controls. That seemed to calm him a little, and we were off.

I found myself holding and comforting him through the ride. All the while, I was still listening to all the commands, since I promised him I would take over his controls. Xander looked scared but was not saying a whole lot. When it was our turn, I pressed our buttons. That pleased him. It seemed like a very long ride. We exited the ride, and I asked him if he liked it. He gave me a quiet, shaky, yes. Connor and Crapbag were still seated by the entrance. Crapbag asked Xander if he wanted to ride with him. My poor baby looked so sad, so I quickly said, you do not have to ride if you do not want to, baby. Then, the fastest response ever followed, and Xander said, I do not want to ride again.

Crapbag took the rider swap pass to ride by himself. The posted standby time at this point was 20 minutes. Rather than waiting by the entrance like he did, I walked to the exit. I knew it had a nice play place for Xander to play while we waited. He really enjoyed the area. Xander wanted to fly the ships using the control panel but had a hard time figuring it out. Connor had been nursed to sleep at this point, so I could not really help him. After a while, he lost interest and played with the smaller kids in the playground area. We had been in there for quite some time at that point, so Xander joined me on the bench after losing interest in the jungle gym as well. Finally, Crapbag came out of the exit. I did not time it, but it was much longer than the standby time despite the fact that he had the rider swap pass. I later found out that Crapbag rode the tame version, which gave me a chuckle.

It was perfect timing though, because Connor woke up from his nap just as Crapbag exited. I should add here that I know fastpasses are technically good any time after the start window. However, DH is a follow the rules guy. He insists that just because cast members allow you to enter “late,” does not mean it is the right thing to do. This is the way he feels, and I am not saying I agree with him. He is very adamant about it though. We rarely get fastpasses (maybe 2-3 a day), and I do not care enough the other way to argue with him. My point here is that we only had a few minutes left on our Test Track fastpasses at this point, so we rushed over there. I am actually going to do a fastpass tracker here to see if my assumption is correct. Obviously, Test Track is Number 1.

We decided that Crapbag would ride with Xander first, since Connor was awake and may want to nurse again. They got me a rider swap pass. It was a good thing we decided that, because Connor did nurse again. He quickly fell right back to sleep. The ride also broke down when they were in line, so they were gone for a while. When they exited Crapbag informed me that Xander liked the ride, except for the brief period when it goes really fast. I asked Xander if he was going to ride it with me. Before he could even answer, Crapbag said he would. Then, Xander agreed.

Xander was measured again at the entrance. I think he really did not want to ride, because he would not stand up straight. Since he was just barely over 44 inches, he did not look tall enough when he was not straight up. After a little coaxing, I was able to get him to stand straight. The cast member chuckled when I joked that he may not want to ride. Once we entered, there was one point in the line where he said he did not want to ride again. I reminded him that he did not have to ride anything he did not want to, and we could leave the line if he wanted. He declined so we rode. I also held him through this ride as well. When we exited, he told me that the ride did not go as fast with me as it did with his Daddy. This may mean that he felt more comfortable with me or I took his mind off it more, but I was happy to hear him say that. He really did enjoy the non-fast parts, so DH was right.

 

[shan23877]

It's so cute how seriously Xander took his job! Poor guy getting scared though. Sounds like he deserved a little play time afterwards.

Brave enough to do Test Track twice! Great job Xander!



My DH is not a fan of taking advantage of the late return for FP either. I guess it doesn't matter anymore though. You and I will probably be better off than most with the change, since we return within the window already.

 

[kmedina]

It's so cute how seriously Xander took his job! Poor guy getting scared though. Sounds like he deserved a little play time afterwards.

Brave enough to do Test Track twice! Great job Xander!



My DH is not a fan of taking advantage of the late return for FP either. I guess it doesn't matter anymore though. You and I will probably be better off than most with the change, since we return within the window already.

Xander has such an imagination, so I was not sure if he was playing or not. He was so brave even when he was scared.

I saw that there was yet another thread stating they were going to enforce it now, but they pop up all the time. We abide now, so we are ready if and when the change ever comes.