Ginger Family Getaway: 8/30-9/6 Trip Report DAY 7 & 8 UPDATED 10/2

If you’ve joined me from my pre-trip report, hello again! If not, welcome! I am trying to type all this out before I forget it!

Day 1 Flight, Magical Express and Arrival at the Polynesian: post 1
Day 2 Animal Kingdom, lunch at Rainforest Cafe and Downtown Disney: post 2
Day 3, part 1 'Ohana breakfast and Epcot: post 12
Day 3, part 2 Chef Mickey's dinner and in-room antics: post 13
Day 4, part 1 Hollywood Studios, Play 'n Dine: post 21
Day 4, part 2 Epcot, Coral Reef and Cranky Girl + Happy Birthday, Granny!: post 27
Day 5, part 1 Magic Kingdom, fun rides for Aubree, lunch at Pinocchio's: post 38
Day 5, part 2 Magic Kingdom, Liberty Tree Tavern, and update on 2009 trip: post 39
Day 6, Pool Day and Le Cellier dinner: post 49
Day 7, Magic Kingdom, Crystal Palace lunch, RAIN and packing: post 56
Day 8, departure day... *sob* and a 2009 trip: post 59

CAST OF CHARACTERS

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Me (Betsy, 37) SAHM to our DD, addicted to the DISboards, love planning vacations – especially ones to WDW. This was my 7th WDW trip. After losing 23 pounds on Nutrisystem, I had hoped to lose more, but haven’t yet. I’m the first Ginger (a redhead for those who are confused).

DH (Jon, 31 - yes, I robbed the cradle!) my beloved computer geek/programmer/gamer/musician husband. He loves going to Disney World (this was his 5th trip), but doesn’t get too excited until the day before and doesn't pack or prepare until then. He half listens to me ramble on about the planning while playing World of Warcraft or strumming on one of his guitars. HOWEVER, he really did surprise me by reading our DD a Disney World for Kids book and help her learn the characters! He’s a Ginger in disguise – his hair has turned brown as he’s matured.

DD (Aubree, 2) our little red-headed princess who rules our house. I can’t wait to take her to my favorite place. Well, she’s been once before back in December 2005, but I was 8 weeks pregnant! She loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and My Friends Tigger & Pooh and names many of the characters already. My grooming her to be a WDW addict is working.

DN (Barry, 10) our youngest nephew. He had never ridden on a roller coaster and hadn’t been to a theme park. Usually has his nose in his Nintendo DS. A very intelligent, sweet, responsible child who we enjoy spending time with and who really loves our DD (and she loves him!). He’s not a ginger – he has very light blond hair – I think that makes him a toehead?

DG (Granny, aka Joyce, who turned 71 while at WDW) my mother who hadn’t been to WDW since 1981 when it was just the Magic Kingdom and Epcot was still being built off in the distance. She doesn’t really get my enthusiasm for Disney World, but is happy to be going on vacation with her 2 youngest grandkids. She’s not a ginger either – more of a salt & pepper look going on!

First of all, we had a wonderful trip. Lots of laughs, fun times, and we were all impressed with how well Aubree did. She really enjoyed herself, as did all of us! I definitely think our next trip with her will be more fun, as she’ll be able to communicate with us better and hopefully be a little more patient. Yes, the terrible 2’s are upon us it seems. So far they’re not too bad, but we did have a couple tantrums. I am so thankful that we took our own stroller to have at the airports!! I am now a pro at folding that thing quickly!

Reality set in for me this trip. Aubree is still too young to wait in any line longer than 5 minutes (we need to work on her cooperating with us!). Our best park ended up being the Magic Kingdom (big surprise), and stupid me didn’t schedule it until days into our trip. She had a major meltdown at Coral Reef when we weren’t seated until 30 minutes after our ADR – but we still had a nice dinner! We were all flexible with changing the schedule as needed and didn’t have any major issues. I wish we had experienced more attractions, but it seemed like we were always running back to the room for a much needed nap for Aubree or dashing off to an ADR. Thankfully, Jon and Barry toured by themselves so they could have guy fun on the thrill rides. The weather was great except for our last full day, when we had some rain. Lots of humidity, but overall wonderful weather. I can’t complain! The crowds were low; we didn’t ride as many rides as Jon and I have in the past, but our family structure is now different, and we adapted nicely. While we took over 500 photos, my food porn days are over for now. Or at least my taking pics of food is done!

Already I am having some post-vacation depression and have been editing/uploading photos while spending time with Aubree. My loving DH has been getting laundry caught up! We did receive the bounceback free dining for 2009 flyer in our room, but decided against that. Actually, we’ve been talking about a return trip in early January 2010.

FLIGHT

We flew on Northwest from Indianapolis and had a nonstop flight departing at 8:15AM. We parked at the Ace Rent-a-Car near the airport and used their valet parking. Service was great as usual, and we were soon headed to the Northwest end of the terminal. Boy, did we have a lot of luggage! Five checked bags and five carry-ons, plus a diaper bag and camera bag. I was glad to use the Northwest curbside check-in to rid ourselves of the heavy checked bags!

For months I’ve been dreading going through security with the baby, but it went extremely well. After quickly folding the stroller and putting our shoes and carry-ons through the machine to be x-rayed, I was allowed to carry Aubree through the metal detector and we were quickly getting our shoes back on. The red gate check bag and CARES restraint worked great! We were very pleased that Aubree did so well on the flight – she was a little whiny when we first put her in the restraint, but then she started playing with the toys I brought and it was smooth flying from there! I had packed some light snacks for all of us, which helped tide us over until lunch. Aubree fell asleep watching Nemo. Barry also did fine on his first flight – he was excited to look out his window and ended up napping too. One of the flight attendants gave Aubree a First Flight certificate and gave Barry some wings. Well, I gave them to them since they were both snoozing at the time! No problems and we arrived in Orlando on time.

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MAGICAL EXPRESS

After arriving in Orlando around 10:30AM, we immediately hit the restrooms for a quick diaper change for Aubree (and a potty break for the rest of us!). I was a little uneasy taking Aubree in the elevator down to catch our Magical Express ride, but she did just fine. It appears her fear of elevators is gone! After a quick check-in with Magical Express, we waited about 3 minutes on the red carpet for our bus. Then we were on way to the Polynesian a little after 11AM.

ARRIVAL AT THE POLYNESIAN

Upon arrival (I think it was around noon or so) , we took in the Polynesian’s beauty and made our way up to the front desk for check-in. Granny and Barry were in awe of the lobby. For some reason, I didn't take any pics of the grounds or lobby. I guess I thought we'd taken enough on our last visit. :confused3 The CM was extremely friendly and verified our first floor request had been honored. She did try to see if another similar room was ready, but it wasn’t. So we headed to Captain Cook’s for some lunch. It was tasty and I enjoyed my first stir fried noodles. Aubree kept wanting fries, although we did get her to eat some turkey and cheese, too. Then we hung out in the lobby and gift shop until our room was ready. I also checked with Bell Services which verified that our Garden Grocer delivery and the package I had shipped down were there. I was so relieved since the bulk of my baby supplies were in that 8 pound box! Aubree was a little fussy so we took turns pushing her around. We all decided we were so full from eating lunch that we would cancel our 4:25PM ‘Ohana reservation and just eat dinner at Captain Cook’s when we felt like it.

Finally around 2:30PM, our room was ready – we were assigned a garden view room (1821) in Rarotonga. I was pleased with our location and how close we were to the Great Ceremonial House. It really was convenient, and we also enjoyed our walks to the TTC when taking the monorail to Epcot. Everything in the room was clean and comfortable. Our patio overlooked the monorail, and Aubree enjoyed watching bunnies and squirrels dart around in the trees, bushes, and flowers outside. It was very relaxing.

Here’s the view – quite a steamy day!

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Here’s a pic of Granny playing with Aubree:

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We had requested a crib and received a white metal one that was waiting for us in the hallway. My mom kept saying how everything reminded her of her trip to Hawaii (my parents have been twice – married 51 years!). We started unpacking and just relaxed. I also called housekeeping to request a highchair. Someone delivered a wooden one to the room a few minutes later. It was really handy to have and kept Aubree busy when pulled up to the nesting table that pulls out from the dresser. Plus it had a Mickey head cut-out in the back!

Aubree’s crib:

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Aubree playing in her highchair:

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We ate dinner at Captain Cook’s then decided to head back to the room. We were quite honestly pooped!

Aubree had a rough first night as she flips around a lot and is used to her crib bumper at home (and a full size crib). She would wake up when touching the cold rails, but we learned from that night by putting rolled up hand towels around the edges. By the end of the week, she removed them and slept fine without them.

That’s all for Day 1 – or at least what I can remember! Stay tuned…
 
Day 2

We woke up and headed to Captain Cook’s for a light breakfast. Then we headed to Animal Kingdom. After posing for some photos, we hurried off to browse the gift shop at the Rainforest Café before checking in for our 11:30AM reservation. We were seated quickly and the food was great! I had the jungle safari soup and side salad. We ordered the turkey & cheese sliders for Aubree, and she liked it. I can’t remember what everyone else ordered, but there were no complaints and service was good.

Jon posing for me

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Aubree was a little nervous with the thunderstorms and elephants surrounding us!

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After lunch we had Jon run to get fastpasses for Kilimanjaro Safaris, then we took the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch.

Some pics from the train ride

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We explored there for a bit - here are some pics.

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Then we took the train back, grabbed some drinks, then headed to the safari. Everyone enjoyed it, and it was fun watching Aubree, Barry and Granny’s reaction to everything. Aubree’s cheeks were so rosy from the heat and need for a nap.

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Here are some other pics from our day - I'm currently waiting for my PhotoCD! Can't wait to get it.
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We decided to go back to the room to freshen up before going to Downtown Disney for shopping and dinner.

Aubree getting tickled while we dressed her.

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Ready to go!

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I was torn between Earl of Sandwich and Wolfgang Puck Express. The group decided on Earl of Sandwich. With the exception of Granny’s forgotten sandwich that I had to go back up and retrieve from the manager, we weren’t disappointed. She had the All-American, I had the Caprese, Jon had the Full Montagu, Barry had the kid’s grilled cheese (they let him use an adult credit), and Aubree slept in her stroller through the whole meal!

After dinner, we went to Once Upon a Toy. We picked out two Mr. Potato Heads with various pieces – yes, I stuffed the potato’s insides! Barry chose a Darth Vader themed one, while Aubree’s had more Minnie Mouse pieces. Then we went over to the Build Your Own Lightsaber section where Barry worked with a CM to build one. He was very excited. Sorry, no pictures of that, as Aubree yelled and acted afraid of it once back in the room. She also hated his Mr. Potato Head, although she said it was pretty … she wouldn’t let him bring it near her. This child is silly!

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Upon returning to the room, we put Aubree in her highchair at the table and she had so much fun building her Mr. Potato Head! She really kept busy with it and other toys all week. The highchair and table were a true lifesaver!

Since we had an early breakfast at ‘Ohana the next morning, we were in bed by 9PM.
 

Aubree is adorable! I loved her animal themed outfit.:cutie:

We are taking DD when she is about that age, so your trip report is going to be such a great read for me.:goodvibes
 
Great start, Betsy! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip! Aubree looks adorable.
 
I'm enjoying your report.:thumbsup2 Aubree is so cute! I am looking forward to reading more.
 
YAY!! I've been waiting so long for this TR, and it's finally going ... which I know is sad, because that means your trip is over...:sad1:

I cannot get over how much Aubree and Shaelyn look alike. Girl.. we have GOT to get those two together.. and soon!!

It seems like you've all done a lot of eating so far! But, then again, that's one of my favorite parts of WDW... the FOOD!!

popcorn::
 
I'm on board, can't wait to hear more! What kind of camera do you use? It must be an SLR, right?
 
DAY 3, part 1

We woke up bright and early to get ready for our breakfast at ‘Ohana. It didn’t take too long to check-in, get our pager and head over for the group photo.

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After the photo, our pager went off and we were on our way to our table after our hostess stopped off for our bread basket. Aubree spotted Mickey and Pluto on the way in and was very excited, saying “That’s Mickey, right there! There’s Pluto!” We were all tickled at how she was acting. We were seated and started eating the very tasty bread. Our server was great and kept our juice glasses filled. The characters stopped by our table and it was so much fun! LOVED the food. We all shared one pan of food – and declared ourselves stuffed. I know I’ve read that some people can’t stand the eggs, but man – they were really good to me and I couldn’t stop eating them. My mom also received the first of several birthday cupcakes. Overall a WONDERFUL character meal with delicious food and excellent service.

Here are some pics!

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We rolled ourselves out to the lobby after stopping off to change Miss Aubree’s diaper. Then it was off to Epcot!

We strolled over to the Ticket & Transportation Center and took the monorail in. It really wasn’t a bad walk, but I did get a little winded going up the ramps. Thankfully Jon pushed the stroller up them when he was with us.

Of course, we posed for more pics… enjoy. I was surprised to not see any PhotoPass photographers when we walked in. Oh well! We took our own.

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Our first stop was Spaceship Earth, and we walked right on. I was a little nervous about how Aubree would do since it’s dark, but she did great! I think the little computer screen in our car helped. We stopped momentarily once but were near one of the cavemen type displays so we just pointed out things to her. She really liked it, as did Barry and Granny.

We then headed over to the Finding Nemo attraction. Of course, the “Mine, Mine” birds were a hit with Aubree. It was only a 5 minute wait and we walked right on. She LOVED it. We then tried to take in Turtle Talk with Crush but she started squirming and getting mad during his chat with a family. She just wasn’t interested. We quickly exited and toured the gift shop. After that we headed to Club Cool for some refreshing samples. She wouldn’t take any sips. I drank 2 cups of my favorite VegiBeta. I also had Granny try the Beverly, and she didn’t think it was so bad. Barry wouldn’t touch it – he sensed our deceit!

We decided it was time for lunch, so we went over to Electric Umbrella and chose grilled chicken salads for Jon, Granny and I, and Barry had chicken nuggets and fries which he shared with Aubree. She was starting to get picky and wanting to eat only fries. :sad2:

After lunch, Granny and I decided to take Aubree back to the room for a nap and encouraged Jon to take Barry on some thrill rides. They agreed and we headed back to the Polynesian. I know they rode Test Track and Barry LOVED it. I can’t remember what else they rode.
 
Day 3, part 2

Anyway – Granny and I took Aubree back and of course, our room was being cleaned. So we hung out in the lobby and kept checking until it was done. Finally, Aubree had her nap (we did too!). While waiting for our room, I decided to see if we could get a dinner reservation closer to our resort as we were both ONCE AGAIN pooped from walking. I scored a 6:20PM at Chef Mickey’s! :banana: Boy, was I thrilled! I then canceled our Biergarten reservation. I didn’t want to wear out my almost 71-year-old mother and my legs were very tired. The boys came in a little later while the we three girls napped. I told Jon that we were going to Chef Mickey’s, and he couldn’t believe we were able to get in.

I had to change Aubree into a dress I’d been saving – hope you like it! Of course, she wouldn’t pose facing me!

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We headed off to the Contemporary on the monorail, and I was really impressed with the hotel. I wouldn’t mind staying there someday! We checked in and went to have our photo taken.

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The food was VERY good, and we loved the character interaction.

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Granny received another cupcake and a cool autographed placemat.

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After dinner we took the monorail back to the Polynesian and shopped in the gift shops before returning to our room. Of course, I had to buy some Nemo books that Aubree spotted, as well as some Mickey, Donald and Daisy plushes. Aubree’s other Mickey that we brought had met an untimely demise the night before when she tried to pull him through the crib bars and his head ripped. I had to hide him away in a drawer. :rolleyes1

The boys played “toss the dirty socks” at each other (and over Aubree who squealed with delight the whole time). Granny relaxed with a book. We also enjoyed watching channel 96 on the resort TV which featured many Disney Sing-a-Long videos that we watched ALL week. I had to find them on YouTube, and Aubree loves watching them.

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That was it for our third day. We were off to bed and looking forward to a day at Hollywood Studios!
 
I'm on board, can't wait to hear more! What kind of camera do you use? It must be an SLR, right?

Hey there! So glad you're here! Yes, it's an SLR - a Canon Rebel XT. I really want a zoom lens... but have to save up the $ first! :rotfl:
 
great updates!! sorry I didn't get a chance to see you at AK :( It seems like so far you had a great trip..keep up the good report and pics!
 
Great update! Looks like you had a great time!

We really did. Thanks for reading!

Aubree is adorable! I loved her animal themed outfit.:cutie:

We are taking DD when she is about that age, so your trip report is going to be such a great read for me.:goodvibes

Thank you! I was excited to have her wear that on our Animal Kingdom day.

Great start, Betsy! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip! Aubree looks adorable.

Aw, thanks! So glad you're here!

I'm enjoying your report.:thumbsup2 Aubree is so cute! I am looking forward to reading more.

I hope I'm not being too boring! It seems like we didn't do that much, but it's taking forever to type it all out. :rotfl:

YAY!! I've been waiting so long for this TR, and it's finally going ... which I know is sad, because that means your trip is over...:sad1:

I cannot get over how much Aubree and Shaelyn look alike. Girl.. we have GOT to get those two together.. and soon!!

It seems like you've all done a lot of eating so far! But, then again, that's one of my favorite parts of WDW... the FOOD!!

popcorn::

Hi lady!! I thought of you often during our trip. I almost got the giggles a little too much when Donald came up to us at Chef Mickey's. I really do want to get the girls together. I think Aubree would love spending time with Shaelyn. You'll probably notice how tan Aubree is as the trip progresses. Jon and I are so pale, and this kid gets the "I can tan and not burn" gene. :rolleyes1

Great report so far can't wait for more.

Thank you! I'm trying to remember everything... :goodvibes
 
great updates!! sorry I didn't get a chance to see you at AK :( It seems like so far you had a great trip..keep up the good report and pics!

I only saw 1 DISer - Joshsmom! And that was on the monorail. I think I was kinda frazzled a lot trying to maneuver the stroller in the crowds, so I didn't always look around for lime green mickey heads... :lmao:
 
Your daughters red hair....I LOVE IT!!! She's a doll!

Can't wait to read more.
 












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