I Like Warm Hugs! - Mommy/Toddler Trip ~ Updated 6/20: New Trip Report Link!

[amazingact21]

I'm one update behind; I promise I'll catch up to it later!


Aw, Off Kilter...I miss them in Canada. I passed by the new Lumberjack show, doesn't even come close to Off Kilter. I'm so glad you got to see them one last time.

Sorry about the slow boat ride, though! The boats are pretty slow going. Normally, that can be really relaxing, but in your situation it would be stressful. At least it was cooler than power walking, right? Small favors.


Better late than never! I bet Izzy didn't care that you got there late. Any singing at all is better than no singing.


Shake it Off must resonate with toddlers. Landon is OBSESSED with it. Freaks out every time it comes on and even does the little hand shaking motion. Without ever seeing the music video.

 

[Dugette]

Frozen Wheeze-Along

Glad someone appreciated that one!

Yum! Dessert party looks fun and tasty!! Personally I'd be devouring the Olaf marshmallow first. Sorry, Olaf, but you look delicious. Although I do love a Disney rice krispie.

The Disney rice krispies are pretty famous, so Izzy was smart to go for that right away and see what the fuss is about. Olaf was too cute to devour right away! Actually, I was hoping he'd be a mini version of the Olaf cupcake I'd had earlier, as it was delicious - totally different kind of treat, though.

Aw how sweet that Izzy offered to share her push pop with you. She has better manners than me. I wouldn't be offering to share my dessert!

She does randomly offer to share some of her most prized food items, so that's pretty cool. Sometimes she pulls them away and laughs, though.

That is adorable that they had such a wonderful time dancing at the party! It sounds like the package was really worth it even just for this experience.

It really was worth it and this part was a lot better than I had anticipated. I think it helped a lot that we were with friends and the girls were able to run around in an enclosed area and play together. There's not always a lot of opportunity for that when you're in the parks with an agenda. It was a really nice and relaxed time...and free drinks and snacks too!

What a great day you had!!

It really was an awesome day. I can't believe all that we did in one day.

That night was SO much fun. It was made even better by being able to spend it with you and Izzy. The girls had an absolute ball with the dancing and music, and the treats were fun too.

Thanks! It was so cute to see the girls dancing and playing together. I remember just laughing a lot and really enjoying the whole experience. Really glad we ended up doing the package on the same day!

I can't see the videos here at work so i'll have to watch them tonight

No problem, they're there whenever. They are pretty dark and hard to see, but you can at least see the fun they were having.

- and sorry I didn't realize I was hogging all the Cars pics lol!!

Ha, not at all! You were helping, as otherwise I'd only have those pics I posted. I'm sure you have some better ones that you'll share.

It looks like the frozen package was definitely worth it & the girls had a fabulous time!

Yes and yes! Given that I only had to pay for myself and Izzy was free, it was very worth it. And so much fun to have a playmate for Izzy (and mommy).

That's a bummer there was no FP+ by the Cars cars - always seems fairly crowded there so you would think they would have one. Oh well, at least there was the CM there to take some pictures.

Yeah, I was surprised there was no Photopass. WDW tends to have them at most of the character meets. Aulani, however, rarely has them...

Glad you had such a good time at the dessert party. With the crowds they had there - just having a bit of elbow room was probably worth the cost alone. That's cute that they had low standing tables for the kids. Maybe in the future though they should set up more like baracades vs just ropes to help keep the little ones inside the holding cell

We had a great time at the party. It was nice to have a private area with some elbow room and running/dancing room for the kids. All the kids around us seemed to be having a great time dancing too. Yeah, the only problem with the low tables was that you had to watch your drinks. No big deal, though. Thank goodness Izzy eventually got sick of trying to dart under the rope.

Maybe it was because the whole theme was a Frozen summer, so like it is the winter that is warm not the drink so you'd want a cold drink? I don't know. I remember the debates over what color light saber the Star Wars specialty drinks should have - so I think we all think more about these things than Disney does.

Ha, I am so confused. I'm surprised they would put "warm" in the name of a cold drink, but .

Now I bet you are really wondering what goes on during Daddy-daughter time at home

Haha, intensive dance lessons!

So glad to hear you say this, er, read you type this ... I know it was such a quick trip and while you were being cost conscious about it, it still wasn't "cheap" so glad that in the end you thought it was all worth it.

Eh, it was pretty "cheap" - really only like $100 out of pocket. There were the opportunity costs, though - like using miles for airfare when I could have saved that for another trip. Very worth it, though! Some of my favorite Disney memories were from this trip. Lots of them, actually.

 

[Dugette]

Have no fear, I have skipped quite a few FP+'s. Given that you have to pick 3, sometimes I just pick something that I might want to do but is in no way a priority.

That's pretty much exactly what happened on this one.

I honestly don't understand any character meet not having a photographer. Not a huge deal to me generally, but for some it might be a very big deal.

Yes, it seems strange when they don't have one. I especially couldn't believe that the character meets at Aulani didn't have them (though CMs were usually happy to take pictures).

I did see the area they had set up for dessert party and it looked pretty swanky I must admit. Plus Drinks!!!

I know, so swanky! It was really a neat environment and all the free drinks and desserts sure didn't hurt!

So glad you had such a good time. It sounds like you realy enjoyed the time spent there and took it for what it was. Plus the added bonus of spending the time with DIS friends.

And if anyone knows how much fun it is to hang out with DIS friends in Disney, it's you!

Skip a FP+! You know, we never actually even used a FP (the old paper ones) until our last trip. We would pull them and totally forget about it! Oh life before discovering the DIS!

Haha, so that's what the non-DIS-ers do! At least you didn't get angry at the people using them to "pay to cut in line".

That looks like a really fun night! We have never tried any of the dessert parties, but they look really fun and tasty!

This one really exceeded my expectations! Back in 2010, we did the MK Wishes Dessert Party and it was cool too, but this one was way better!

It looked like it was pretty hot! I would be glad the warm winter drink was cold too! I hate the craziness after the fireworks are over. I wish people would be a little more considerate! Its hard work to move through a crowd with a stroller, much less try to stay with someone who is also trying to maneuver a stroller through the crowd.

Yeah, only cold drinks on August 31st in Florida, thank you! And totally agree that people need to be more considerate leaving the parks. It was impossible to stay together/catch up once I got cut off - just too thick of a crowd and not enough room for a stroller to make it through.

What a fun night after your mad dash (slow boat ride?) to the sing along!

It really ended up being a great night! And a great day, for that matter.

The dessert party sounds totally worth it! What a fun way to spend the night. It sounds like there was a nice variety of snacks and drinks.

There was so much good stuff available there! Unlimited drinks and tables full of desserts. And even the frozen dessert cart that I didn't notice until the end. Nobody was going to starve there.

The videos of the girls dancing and playing are too cute! I love that Izzy was following right along with Aria!

Haha, she is totally following Aria. I mean, Aria is 8 months older, so she's clearly an expert on things, right? If she lays down when the song says something about sleep, that is obviously THE thing to do.

This sounds like a perfect Frozen night! I love those little times when Disney is actually relaxing instead of a rush!

For sure! Especially because I was rushing around so much on this trip!

That looks like such a fun event. I'm glad that you and Lauren were able to hang out and enjoy it together - the girls look like they had a great time together!

It was really fun and hanging out with Lauren and Aria was a blast!

Following along, love your trip report Thanks for sharing

and thank you! Glad you are enjoying it!

I'm one update behind; I promise I'll catch up to it later!

No worries! It's there whenever you have time.

Aw, Off Kilter...I miss them in Canada. I passed by the new Lumberjack show, doesn't even come close to Off Kilter. I'm so glad you got to see them one last time.

I'm glad I got to see them too, even if just for a few minutes. Bummer that the Lumberjack show wasn't as great - I haven't really heard anything about it.

Sorry about the slow boat ride, though! The boats are pretty slow going. Normally, that can be really relaxing, but in your situation it would be stressful. At least it was cooler than power walking, right? Small favors.

Yes, it was cooler. But I may have been sweating more with the stress. It was just way TOO slow that trip!

Better late than never! I bet Izzy didn't care that you got there late. Any singing at all is better than no singing.

Very true. I don't think she minded, though she might have wondered why they didn't sing Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?

Shake it Off must resonate with toddlers. Landon is OBSESSED with it. Freaks out every time it comes on and even does the little hand shaking motion. Without ever seeing the music video.

Haha, that's funny that they both know that song! Love that Landon has dance moves too!

 

[LuvEeyore]

Sounds like a great day and way to end the day.

 

[IheartDDuck]

First things first, I'm so excited that the May trip is coming up! I'm going to message you on Facebook so we can try to coordinate some plans, so we can at least meet and say hi.

I can't even tell you how many times I've skipped FP+. It's sad actually. I've missed entire days!

Hahaha, you mean you can't duck under a rope faster than a child that's shorter than the rope likely is? Shame on you. Hahaha.

I'm hoping that they release the Feel the Force package again for Star Wars weekends, because I really want to do that if they have it again. Sounds like you guys had a great night.

 

[Dugette]

Sounds like a great day and way to end the day.

It really was! So much fun packed into such a short time!

First things first, I'm so excited that the May trip is coming up! I'm going to message you on Facebook so we can try to coordinate some plans, so we can at least meet and say hi.

Just a little over 2 months to go! Yes, for sure, let's be in touch and find a way to meet up. I am having such a hard time pinning down any sort of schedule, due to the lack of SWW celebrity/show info. But I need to make our FP+ reservations this weekend, so I'm at least trying to come up with a rough plan of which park we'll be in and all.

I can't even tell you how many times I've skipped FP+. It's sad actually. I've missed entire days!

Haha, I guess you have had enough days at WDW to let a few slide.

Hahaha, you mean you can't duck under a rope faster than a child that's shorter than the rope likely is? Shame on you. Hahaha.

I really need to work on my limbo training, I guess!

I'm hoping that they release the Feel the Force package again for Star Wars weekends, because I really want to do that if they have it again. Sounds like you guys had a great night.

If it's anything like the Frozen Package we did this day, it's well worth it! I don't think we're going to do FtF, just since we'd have to pay for both of us and we have so many days (2 SWW) that we can probably get everything done anyway. But I'm sure it will be a cool event. Are you following the big SWW thread? They have all the info posted right away, so you'll know when it gets announced.

 

[RGirl]

Hey there!

Awww - how cute that Izzy likes Lightning! You definitely need to take her to DLR.

First report I’ve seen of the Frozen dessert party - how cool! I’m specially liking your drink choices. Honestly, that sounds like a really fun party, and a good fireworks view too? VERY interesting…..

What a great day!!!

 

[Dugette]

Hey there!

Awww - how cute that Izzy likes Lightning! You definitely need to take her to DLR.

Hi! She has a broad range of interests - from fairies to cars and everything in between! I think we'd all get a big kick out of Carsland. Of course, she won't be tall enough for RSR if we end up going in November. We'll see what happens (if Dug's work retreat is in CA or not).

First report I’ve seen of the Frozen dessert party - how cool! I’m specially liking your drink choices. Honestly, that sounds like a really fun party, and a good fireworks view too? VERY interesting…..

What a great day!!!

That whole Frozen Premium Package was so worth it for us! I mean, only I needed a ticket, but it got both of us a special parade viewing area, free snacks and drinks, a reserved time for the sing-along, a special fireworks viewing area, and that whole spread of desserts and drinks. For like $50. Not bad! It really was a ton of fun and much better than I'd anticipated!

 

[Dugette]

And This Place...Is Amazing!

After I made my way out of the crowd leaving DHS, I headed for the Pop Century bus stop. It happened to be right next to another bus stop that only had a line about half as long:



Well, I wanted to take a peek at that resort anyway, so I decided to hop in the AoA line and walk back to Pop from there. The first bus was filled to standing-room-only by the time we got to the front of the line, so we stood aside to let a few more people board and then wait to be first on the next bus.

In the meantime, I got the backpack on and got Izzy out of the stroller, in preparation to fold it and jump onboard. When the bus pulled up, I just grabbed Izzy in one arm and the stroller seat handle in the other and the stroller folded right in half. Because that’s how it works – it’s a really easy one-handed fold. However, the girls behind me were ridiculously impressed by my stroller-folding skills. Yay for the B-Agile making me look like a cooler mom!

We got our favorite seat right behind the driver, with a spot to stash the folded stroller:



As you can see, Izzy sat on my lap because this bus also filled to standing-room-only. I believe another mom sat next to me with her little girl (probably a bit older than Izzy) on her lap. The other girl immediately curled up on her mom to sleep. Izzy eventually followed suit and fell asleep on me just before the end of the ride. We pulled into AoA at 10:26pm. Pretty quiet:



I got Izzy in her stroller and she woke up easily and was excited to see “Mermaid!!!” on the wall:



As we walked through the main building, there was a very friendly CM just greeting people who passed by. I stopped and asked her how to walk over to Pop Century. She said to go around the Nemo pool on the right side and then the bridge would be there to cross over to Pop. It was a quick walk, but gave me a chance to see the Nemo pool area and a bit of the Cars area:



It’s Crush:



Nemo building:



This splash pad looks like a blast:



I loved seeing some new things. AoA is such a cool-looking resort!

As we approached our room back at Pop Century, I noticed a Pop Art Pizza “truck” nearby:



That was neat – I’d never seen one of those in all our stays at Pop.

When we entered our room, we saw that Mickey had left Izzy a special birthday card :





She got a kick out of it. They really did some neat things for her, between the phone call the night before and now the card. And she still had three weeks until her birthday. (Side note: Dug and I had our birthdays recently and Izzy tried to tell Dug that it was NOT his birthday, but it was HER birthday. Well, now that he set her straight and convinced her that it was NOT her birthday, she keeps telling me that our birthdays are DONE. I don’t think she realizes she will have another one in 6 months ).

I decided to take a closer look at the Magical Express stuff that I’d tossed aside that morning:



We’d have to be at the bus stop in time for a 3:25pm departure the next day.

I got Izzy into her jammies and put her in the Pack ‘n’ Play:



At that time, she was usually still very briefly nursing right before bed. But she was not interested that night – she just wanted to get in her bed. So, I figured it was really late and she was exhausted and wanted to sleep. Seems reasonable. I gave her toothbrush to her for a quick brush before she fell asleep:



And then she proceeded to goof around for a long, long time :



So much for that tiredness. I think she got her second wind! I checked the time and it was 11:40pm and she was still awake and silly:







Guess she bumped her head?

I was hiding kind-of around the corner, probably making notes about the trip or something on my phone – on the other side of the TV from that PnP, at the table. Hoping she’d settle down to sleep without me distracting her and then I could work on packing. I gave that up around this time and just started working on packing and prepping everything, even if it distracted her from sleep. I was tired too, after all. I think she finally fell asleep a little after midnight! I finished packing and showered before bed. Izzy was sound asleep when I crawled under the covers at 1am. Oh, and I took this with me, it was so cute:



It had been a really great day and we were both in need of a good night’s sleep before one more day of fun together:



Up next: Return of the Cronuts. And fun at Animal Kingdom.

 

[Imagineer5]

Hahhaha Izzy is a late nighter huh!! Nice walk through AoA. Of the values, I have actually been watching prices to stay there but haven't seen any great deals yet. That splash area does look like fun. Love the card from mickey, that was super nice!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Your Dessert Party looked really fun! I'm glad that Izzy and Aria had such a good time together.

I can't wait to see AoA - it looks like such a cool resort! We're staying at Pop Century on the first night of our vacation - first, because I wanted to take advantage of Magical Express and their luggage delivery before we move to Universal, and second because I want to see all the decorations at both Pop and AoA! I must try to sneak over there at night as well, as I'm sure it's a different sort of fun all lit up.

Oh, Izzy and being too excited to sleep! I'm glad she finally conked out for you!

 

[amazingact21]

Izzy was not interested in sleep that night! You have to wonder where they get the energy from. With all the stimulation Disney brings, you'd think kids would more exhausted than usual.


I don't think a lot of people think about taking an AoA bus back to Pop. But late at night that bridge and pathway is pretty peaceful.
That splash area is every toddler's dream! I'm seriously considering a stay at Art in May 2016 just for the pools.

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

That is one of the (many) things I love about POP. You kind of have access to two buses really and can just chose the one with the shortest line. I guess the same would apply to AoA as well, lol.

I haven't made it over to AoA since my first POP visit, but I was so very impressed with it. It still has the standard Value theming and layout, but each section I think is more unique than at the other values.

Awww, Mickey birthday card. Precious.

As a first time DME traveller, I am NOT a fan of the transportation notice.

Hehe, I may have a few of those shampoos.

 

[shb07]

I'm so glad I found your trip report! We are traveling with our 2 year old old next month and it's great to see what you were able to accomplish with Izzy. I'm trying to not go in with unrealistic expectations since we were are only taking a 4 day trip. I can't wait to read more!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

That was a good idea to take the bus to AoA since it had the shorter lines and you wanted to check it out. It is a really neat resort - definitely wouldn't mind staying there one day!

"Yay for the B-Agile making me look like a cooler mom! " - sometimes it is the little things in life

That is funny Izzy declaring your birthdays "DONE!"

Bummer about her being up so late - sometimes I think they get over-tired and just can't get to sleep. Hopefully once asleep you both slept soundly though

 

[MEK]

I am very far behind but I did read your last two updates. What a fun evening at the dessert party. Sounds like Izzy had a blast. No wonder she didn't go to sleep until midnight. The dessert offerings sound yummy.

I can't believe its your last day already. I still have some serious catching up to do. Hopefully that will happen!

Fun updates!

 

[heathsf]

Actually, I was hoping he'd be a mini version of the Olaf cupcake I'd had earlier, as it was delicious - totally different kind of treat, though.

If you mean the carrot cupcake, then yes, it is one of the most delicious desserts on the entire planet!!

Packing till 1 am is not fun Last days are so sad. I hope you are able to get a lot done before your Tragical Express pickup.

 

[teekathepony]

Aww, I always think it's so adorable when kids pass out on the bus ride home. So cute.
Art of Animation! I love that resort, you're making me all nostalgic here!
Oh dear. No sleep till midnight! And packing up for your last day, not even a fun way to spend it. Boo!

 

[Leshaface]

Frozen Wheeze-Along, oh I mean Sing-Along

That's a good one!

After Izzy had gotten started, I went back to grab a drink too. I got the Iced Summer (rum, blue Curacao, pineapple juice, splash of Sprite)

Ooh that sounds good! But how do they keep from little kids going up and serving themselves this drink? Or is there a 'bartender' that watches over the alcoholic beverages?

So, they were definitely making sure nobody snuck into the package area without actually having purchased the package.

Well, at least they were making sure to keep the uncool people out

Glad that this package worked out great for you and the desserts and drinks sound really good!

I had to yield to that, not wanting to ram a small baby.

Hmmm...how small exactly?? Totally kidding!

it’s a really easy one-handed fold.

Don't you love the one handed strollers?! Our city mini does that as well and it's makes life so much easier!

she keeps telling me that our birthdays are DONE.

We’d have to be at the bus stop in time for a 3:25pm departure the next day.

So much hate! Ugh. Super depressing.

I think she finally fell asleep a little after midnight!

I'm all too familiar with that

 

[Jackiemarie21]

I love how Disney does nice things like birthday cards, it's those special little touches that make it such a great place!

AoA looks so neat, I keep thinking we must stay there!

Charlotte has always had such a hard time falling asleep in hotel rooms, it drives me crazy, so much so we have put her pack and play in closets and in bathrooms! Whatever works right?