"I'm NOT a Princess, I'm Izzy!" - May '15 Land/Sea ~ Updated 6/4: Link to Disneyland TR!!!

[afwdwfan]

This is where Izzy shared with me that she was “scared of Figment”. Upon further questioning, she shared that she was “scared of how much Figment annoyed her.” I had her confirm it on video after she said that and I stopped laughing:

Oh no! Poor Izzy... and poor Figment. They really need to work on making that ride better.

And the video (which is mostly everyone trying to get her to look at the camera, hence those awkward photos ):

Well, she was clearly more interested in looking at Goofy's hand and hugging him than getting pictures.

 

[TinkLoverSam]

It's the regular and she does still fit. My reasoning to not get the large was that she'd probably be sleeping in a bed by the time she outgrew it. And we'd have the smaller one, so maybe easier to transport, etc. And I think that's how its working out, as she's been using a bed when available lately, but the peapod helps out in a pinch (like a hotel room with only one bed, etc.) I'd say it's getting tight for her, but she has no complaints. We just leave it unzipped now, so she has extra room to stretch, if needed.

Thanks! I'm looking to buy a used one for our trip to Hawaii and my son is already 19 months but hasn't been sleeping well in a pack and play so we thought we'd try something different. I'm planning on using it at home first to get him used to it. The one I'm getting is the large one but since he's already older we thought we'd get more use out of the bigger one.

 

[schmass]

Ha, that is way too funny about Figment! The things kids say sometimes!

Those pictures with Mickey are so adorable. Looks like she had fun with him!

 

[Dugette]

I think that was the first time I have seen the Nemo queue full. Normally, you spend five minutes just going back and forth through all those switchbacks to get to the entrance of the attraction.

Right, it was so bizarre! Glad we didn't wait in that!

Hooray for being single rider on Soarin' even if someone directed you wrong.

Yep, always good to get on Soarin' quickly (and not wait 135 minutes!)

Those musical squares...they are better than the actual Figment ride for toddlers!

So true! Izzy has always loved those things!

Oh no! Poor Izzy... and poor Figment. They really need to work on making that ride better.

It was such a funny and random comment from her.

Well, she was clearly more interested in looking at Goofy's hand and hugging him than getting pictures.

For sure - she's never been great at the posed pictures (but is getting a bit better these days) - she's there for the hugs and fun.

Thanks! I'm looking to buy a used one for our trip to Hawaii and my son is already 19 months but hasn't been sleeping well in a pack and play so we thought we'd try something different. I'm planning on using it at home first to get him used to it. The one I'm getting is the large one but since he's already older we thought we'd get more use out of the bigger one.

Sounds like a good plan - I think boys are often bigger anyway, so makes sense to me. We did the same thing with having her get used to it at home first. We used it in the living room for her to play in at first, then moved it to her room for some naps. She took to it really well. And I can't believe your son is already 19 months! Time flies!

Ha, that is way too funny about Figment! The things kids say sometimes!

I couldn't believe she said that or even knew the word "annoying" at 2.5 years old.

Those pictures with Mickey are so adorable. Looks like she had fun with him!

Thanks, she really enjoyed that meet once the tickles started up.

 

[Dugette]

Midday Meets

We left off mid-Character Spot finishing up our meet with Goofy. Last up, of course, was Izzy’s favorite – Minnie :





They did the Hot Dog Dance together:



The Photopass shots:







I also showed Minnie that I had her in my pocket (the t-shirt with the tiny Minnie in the pocket). I think she liked that.

Oh, and here’s the video:

After that meet, we started walking towards World Showcase and were able to meet up with one of Dug’s co-workers and her boyfriend (now husband). She’s a local and they frequently come out to Epcot for dinner. Sounds nice! We hopped on the boat together to get across World Showcase:



We soon made it to our destination (not Tutto Italia...):



Other than wandering in to look around, Dug and I had never been to Tutto Gusto. It had been on our list for a long time and this turned out to be a great way to visit the venue and visit with friends. We really enjoyed the atmosphere, food, drinks, and company at Tutto Gusto. Fun chats, plus Izzy was rather happily amusing herself and didn’t need much from me (don’t worry, she will make up for that later on…)

Izzy enjoyed some chicken tenders and milk:



Dug and I got some things to share. Ravioli small plate:



A cheese sampler:



And a wine flight:



Everything was great! A look around the place:







After finishing up, we headed back out around 2pm. Dug and his co-worker took a few pictures together, then Izzy danced around the platform they’d been standing on:



That was right before a show of some sort took over that area:



I guess Dug was in a good mood and enjoyed the lunch :



We walked for a bit with his co-worker and her boyfriend, then they split off to go shopping in Japan while we continued towards the International Gateway. We were heading that way so that we could have a DIS-meet! I had been texting with Jenny (@SimplyGoofy) and we got to meet both her and her little sister Anika (who the trip was a surprise for to celebrate her graduation). Here we are with Jenny – you get a couple pictures, since neither has all of us looking with eyes open, haha :





It even looks like we color coordinated! We enjoyed visiting with them, though briefly. Really fun to hear about their trip so far and also to meet someone that had been following my TRs for a long time.

After that, Dug had yet another non-DIS-meet down this way:



He had some gaming friends in the area and met up with them at the ESPN Club. Izzy and I popped in quickly to say hello, but then made our way back up to our Boardwalk room for naptime:



She wanted me to hold her and push the stroller, letting it roll on its own:



And then she wanted to push it:



Looking up at our giant balcony:



We were back in the room around 3pm having some pre-nap milk:



And she was out shortly thereafter:



At some point, Dug came back to the room and all too soon, we had to get ready for dinner. We had our much coveted Jedi Mickey’s dinner this evening over at Hollywood & Vine at DHS. Izzy had only been asleep for maybe 45 minutes and was not yet ready to wake up, so we transferred her to the reclined stroller:



We took the boat over to DHS :



And Izzy was able to stay asleep the whole journey:



Soon, we were rolling on up to the gates:



And she was still out, tired kiddo:



We had opened up the stroller canopy to try to encourage her to wake up. No dice, though.

We arrived here around 5:25pm:



Our ADR was 5:10pm, so about 15 minutes late. Oopsie. Seemed to be a theme this trip. We took our buzzer and went to park our stroller and start trying to wake Izzy up. But, of course, the second we parked the stroller, our buzzer went off. So, instead of a gentle awakening, it was a scramble of waking her, getting her shoes on, and going inside. As you might imagine, Izzy was NOT at all happy about this series of events. She was so unhappy at check-in that they told us we could come back later for pictures with Jedi Mickey and just seated us instead. We also got an autograph card:



Up next: Um, yeah, this meal is gonna be fun with a super crabby and tired toddler.

 

[schmass]

How fun that you and Dug got to meet up with some friends! Being a local and heading to Epcot for dinner sounds nice...

I'm impressed with that glass of milk for Izzy. Rory is 3 1/2 now and is just drinking out of an open cup. We only let him have water in it because he manages to spill every time!

Nice job transferring sleeping Izzy to the stroller so she could continue her nap! Too bad that the wakeup didn't go very well. I hope the meal still goes okay!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Sounds like a fun time on Jouney Into Imagination

This is where Izzy shared with me that she was “scared of Figment”. Upon further questioning, she shared that she was “scared of how much Figment annoyed her.” I had her confirm it on video after she said that and I stopped laughing

That reminds me of a scene in the show The Office:

Cute pictures from the Character Spot - especially the ones with Mickey tickling Izzy. Though did make me think how strange this would look to aliens or something that didn't know anything about Disney "And then a 6 foot tall rodent tickled their daughter ... and they let it happen!"

That's great Dug met up with one of his co-workers ... and yeah, I'd be done with being able to just hop over to EPCOT for dinner whenever the mood struck us.

And great too that you got a DISMeet in! Always nice to meet people, even briefly, that you have interacted with online for a while

I was going to say that it was great you were able to transfer Izzy to the stroller and that she slept through the travel, etc. - but sounds like it had a negative side too

I hope the meal wasn't too bad with crabby Izzy - especially since it was something you were so looking forward to!

 

[khertz]

Oh wow, I was WAAAAAYYYYYYY behind!!!

I'm not a fan of Star Wars, but it looks like your deluxe package day was a hit! Izzy looked like she was really having a blast. Sorry she was such a grouch at the dessert party though. That had to put a damper on things for you!

Did you enjoy breakfast at Akershus? Seems so, but I'm just thinking ahead to when DD is ready for a princess meal. CRT is sooooooo expensive, but none of us are adventurous eaters so the Norwegian fare freaks me out a little. lol Was there enough "typical" breakfast food? Izzy seemed to really enjoy the princesses!

Yikes, those lines for Nemo!!!! I've never seen it look like that!

 

[afwdwfan]

They did the Hot Dog Dance together:

I feel for the characters having to do that..

She’s a local and they frequently come out to Epcot for dinner. Sounds nice!

Awesome! I'd be broke and weigh about 600 pounds.

Fun chats, plus Izzy was rather happily amusing herself and didn’t need much from me (don’t worry, she will make up for that later on…)

They always do...

We were heading that way so that we could have a DIS-meet! I had been texting with Jenny (@SimplyGoofy) and we got to meet both her and her little sister Anika (who the trip was a surprise for to celebrate her graduation). Here we are with Jenny – you get a couple pictures, since neither has all of us looking with eyes open, haha :

I'm glad you posted that. Haven't seen her around in quite a while. I hope everything is ok.

And she was out shortly thereafter:

Victory!

And she was still out, tired kiddo:

Stroller naps are good.

We had opened up the stroller canopy to try to encourage her to wake up. No dice, though.

Wait, what? You wanted to wake her up?

Ok, I get it. Trying to gently urge her awake before the ADR. I think I'd be tempted to just try to carry her in still asleep and let her sleep while you eat. In fact, we've done that with our kids before. You can actually enjoy a meal that way.

Up next: Um, yeah, this meal is gonna be fun with a super crabby and tired toddler.

 

[amazingact21]

That's awesome that you and Dug had so many meets in one afternoon. It can be fun comparing your trip to others and sharing in the Disney excitement.

Poor Izzy. With such a short nap and the heat, I'm sure it was pretty hectic for everyone. I hope she was able to calm down and you got your photo with Jedi Mickey!

 

[mousehappync]

I'm so far behind I'm going to have to read and comment in waves-- but, MAN. You ate HARDCORE. I love the parks right before closing, but going out at 1 am to hit Test Track is beyond my abililies. (Bows down in worship....)

MK looked fun (and busy fir the middle of the night!). And now I want a pretzel! I'm really impressed that you had the stamina to do all that. I would have been snoozing and missed all the fun!

 

[pkondz]

Pretty.

I guess we were making faces like this :

Tomato arch:

Looks a little messy... but then...

A CM working on the tomatoes:

... you posted that.

(had to use tomato smilie)

Um, I can’t remember/identify what was growing here :

Meh. Not steak, so... doesn't matter.

Wow, this place was hoppin’ :

Holy crap!

I was SOOOOO glad to have the Rider Swap when I saw this 135 minute wait posted :

Just... no.

They told me to get into Row 1, so I stood there for the pre-show movie. But when I got inside, there were no seats left in Row 1 and they told me to go to Row 2 like I had messed up. But I’m sure they had said Row 1.

Oh, well... You got on so that's okay.

Izzy loved the musical squares, just as she had way back on her first trip at 14 months:

Awwww...

Love the starfish (Peach, I guess, had to look it up ):

I remember when DW and I rode it for the first time. We burst out laughing when Peach spoke.

After getting off of the ride, we had a great time viewing the manatees:

I was a bit surprised that they had the same ones from my last visit. I was told that one was due to be returned to the wild soon.

just kinda kept slipping back down the gums.

That's kind of a scary thought actually!

So, I ended up just taking a really quick and sloppy photo while others helped hold her up:

Nice of them.

This is where Izzy shared with me that she was “scared of Figment”. Upon further questioning, she shared that she was “scared of how much Figment annoyed her.” I had her confirm it on video after she said that and I stopped laughing:

That video is hilarious!

Awwwwww! those pics are so sweet.

plus Izzy was rather happily amusing herself and didn’t need much from me (don’t worry, she will make up for that later on…)

uh oh

I had been texting with Jenny

Jenny! I miss her. She hasn't posted in almost a year.

And she was still out, tired kiddo:

Wow. That's one tired little girl!

As you might imagine, Izzy was NOT at all happy about this series of events. She was so unhappy at check-in that they told us we could come back later for pictures with Jedi Mickey and just seated us instead.

Oh, dear.

Up next: Um, yeah, this meal is gonna be fun with a super crabby and tired toddler.

Oh, no.....

 

[Imagineer5]

Aw the meal at tutto gusto looks great!! I haven't been there in so long!

but oh no on Izzy's mood later on, eek! That is never easy with the nap times and all that good she got some more time to nap but that quick wake up with the table being ready must have been interesting.

 

[mousehappync]

OMG. I've been trying to get caught up and post for like three days-- you were waaaay ahead of me! What an awesome couple of days! The Star Wars stuff is not my thing, exactly, but I have a child who has claimed to be Darth Vader's "cousin" since long before he ever saw the movies, and he would have DIED to hang with Dug all day. We did a SWW when he was about four-- he was really too little, and it was HOT. I am so sad this isn't a choice anymore, because he would be so into it! Speaking of, I love how happy Dug looks in all these pics- it's adorable! And, having finally gotten to see the SW fireworks, I think this might be one of the few dessert parties I would spring for in the future, if they offer it. Those fireworks are so good! What a bummer Izzy was so tired and over it--and that you had to be her arm-chauffeur for the day. The one part of parenting I will never miss is toddler-hood.

Your Epcot day looks... Crowded. I am scratching my head that anyone would wait 45 minutes for Nemo, but I guess that's a good gauge for park levels! And SO good you had the rider swap! (Also-R.I.P. old Soarin.) poor Izzy looks so done--I guess a park-cruise-park trip will really wear you out! Eager to hear more about your meal!

 

[heathsf]

Hiiiiiii!!!!
I took a very extended break from the boards but I'm back and trying to find some of the TRs I've been missing! Can't wait to catch up on your adventures.

Plus, she was newly potty-trained and apparently wanted to see each and every Disney potty, whether or not she actually needed to use it.

I can only imagine! I've only read your intro so far but I'm going to try to catch up as quickly as possible!

 

[Dugette]

Hi, everyone! Remember me? I know that I've been absent around here for a few weeks, so figured I'd let you all know what's been keeping me busy.

I got a call on the evening of January 29th from a local hospital telling me that my mom had fallen, hit her head, and had bleeding in her brain. My life has been turned upside down ever since. To make a long story short, she is doing fairly well now and on the road to recovery. But it's been an intense few weeks. She was in the ICU for 9 days (sedated and on a ventilator for the first few of them), then was moved to an intense rehabilitation program for about the same amount of time. It was during this time that our trip (my land/sea birthday trip) was scheduled. Since I have been the only local person there for her during all this, we really weren't sure if we'd even be taking the trip until about 2 days beforehand when the rehab staff finally gave us the go-ahead. During the trip, they decided the intense rehab was too much for her and moved her to a transitional care unit near our home.

We just got back home last night, so I went to see her this morning and she seems to be doing fairly well, all things considered. She's mentally pretty sharp and was very talkative today. Physically, she's been dizzy and afraid of standing/walking, since she doesn't want to fall again (nobody knows for sure what caused her fall). But she is doing the physical, occupational, and speech therapy and showing some improvement. The doctor that visited today said the main thing she can see is some confusion regarding timelines, which is not unusual after a brain injury. We're still not sure if she'll be able to go back to living independently (with some assistance) or not. So, there is still a long road ahead. I don't wish a traumatic brain injury on anyone.

But we did take our trip - just with a wifi and phone plan to keep in touch. Everything was fine, though, and we had a good time. We spent 4 nights on the Disney Wonder, then Izzy and I spent about 2.5 days at WDW while Dug attended a conference in Orlando. We had a great time - she is my little thrill ride buddy! (4 rides on Test Track, 3 on Soarin', 2 on 7DMT, 2 on Barnstormer, 2 on BTMRR, 1 on Splash, 1 on Dinosaur, etc.) We did upgrade to Annual Passes (special exception due to our crazy December situation) - and they came with a bunch of "anything" FP+, so Izzy and I almost exclusively Fast Passed everything. We also did the Star Wars fireworks dessert party (with Dug), which was great. And Izzy and I got to see the second official night of Rivers of Light (Tusker House dining package seats - that meal was a blast too). I will do a Trip Report on all this eventually - but I'm still pretty backlogged.

I'm pretty wiped out from everything and trying to get back to as "normal" as I can this week - I've missed a ton of work (thank goodness I had a stockpile of excess vacation time!) and will be going in tomorrow - which happens to be my birthday, but that now feels like the most insignificant thing going on lately. And I thought I'd be all sad over a "milestone" birthday, but I honestly have too much other stuff on my mind to even think about it. Anyway, just wanted to fill you all in, since I haven't been posting or reading much at all in weeks. Hoping to be back to a more normal life soon, as the intensity of everything dissipates a bit. Thanks for bearing with me and this endless TR that I really thought I'd push to finish before our recent land & sea, until all this happened.

 

[soniam]

Oh my! I hope your mom gets better soon. That has to be stressful for all of you. Glad you still got to do your vacation. Sounds like a blast.

 

[Imagineer5]

I had no idea about your mom - I'm so sorry, but glad to hear she is doing well with therapy and such. How stressful! I saw a few photos on Facebook so it was neat to follow along for that, can't wait to see more pics and hear all about it

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

 

[schmass]

I'm sorry to hear about your mom, but glad that she is doing better now. I hope that she continues to make improvements.

Happy Birthday!!

I'm excited to hear about your trip whenever you get a chance to update. We booked Rivers of Light for May - how did Izzy like it?

 

[mousehappync]

What an intense and scary time! I know you must have been so worn out and scared-- I guess a trip in the middle of all this really was a good relief from reality. I hope your mom continues to improve and that you find a good living situation for her. Sending all the best wishes for a rapid recovery!!