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

[TheMaxRebo]

Glad Izzy liked Barnstormer in the end. That was just how Peter was in that he was all smiles until that moment it starts to go down hill - except he wasn't quiet ... he was in abject terror

Such a bummer about them taking Woody and Jessie off. I guess they did what they have to with the rain but still stinks for you

Nice table location for lunch!

 

[heathsf]

At any rate, Izzy and I did make it all the way down to the restrooms, only to discover that Izzy did not like any of the potties she checked, so she changed her mind and no longer had to go.

You have me hoping that Ryann isn't potty training before our trip

Adorable! He's SO excited!!!

I mean, I wasn’t grumpy or anything, and I did have fun, but there was a storm cloud following me around that I just couldn’t shake.

That really sucks. I'm glad it didn't turn out to be too bad but you didn't need to be worrying about work while on vacation. Yuck.

So cute!!

Your back-and-forth storytelling between you and Izzy leaving DHS and DH seeing the Star Wars shows was too funny!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

And now I'm all caught up on this one! So many of your experiences with Izzy remind me of our first trip with Charlotte and some of what happened this time with Cecilia. In fact, we had a very similar experience at Holly wood and vine this time! Traveling with a 2 year old is always an interesting experience.

I'm currently writing a new TR in our Christmas trip, link should be in my signature.

Can't wait to hear the rest!

 

[Dugette]

Aw so cute to see Izzy's first ride on Barnstormer!! I forgot how long ago this TR takes place lol!

Thanks, I know, this was forever ago! (Hence why I am desperately trying to get to the finish line - it's nearing two years ago and this is the last full day...so close! I want to get to our other trips! )

That really stinks about Jessie and Woody. Have you attempted any characterpalooza's at DHS? We met her there once.

No, we didn't manage a characterpalooza. So, at Disneyland (Feb 2016), we got in line for Jessie and she left (switched with Woody) before she was scheduled to - we got a high five on her way out, but no meet. Then, on this cruise we took last month, there was a Jessie event in the kids club (but not during an open house, so no parents allowed) and I got Izzy all dressed in her cowgirl gear and told her to meet Jessie - she told me after that she SAW her, but didn't go meet her. )

Glad you got a great table at BoG!

It was kinda nice to sit by a snowy window in the May heat!

Awe, I love the video of you guys on the BarnStormer... it's priceless and her expressions are such a hoot!

Thanks! I love her smile going over the top of the hill, and then...nothing.

Glad Izzy liked Barnstormer in the end. That was just how Peter was in that he was all smiles until that moment it starts to go down hill - except he wasn't quiet ... he was in abject terror

Haha, I guess I'm glad she was just in stunned silence.

Such a bummer about them taking Woody and Jessie off. I guess they did what they have to with the rain but still stinks for you

It was a bummer - I thought maybe they'd just move them under the nearby awning thing, but nope.

Nice table location for lunch!

It was!

You have me hoping that Ryann isn't potty training before our trip

Haha, that early potty training was rough! I kinda rushed it before the trip because she couldn't use the cruise ship pools until she was potty trained. In retrospect, she didn't care about those pools anyway, so I probably would have been better off to wait until after.

Adorable! He's SO excited!!!

He really was!

That really sucks. I'm glad it didn't turn out to be too bad but you didn't need to be worrying about work while on vacation. Yuck.

It really was rough to digest everything at that time. Now it's been nearly two years and I know everything's okay, but it was so hard to know what to expect at that time.

So cute!!

Thanks!

Your back-and-forth storytelling between you and Izzy leaving DHS and DH seeing the Star Wars shows was too funny!

We have a fair amount of back-and-forth, thanks to the iPhone photos intermingling when we downloaded them (and splitting up fairly often).

And now I'm all caught up on this one! So many of your experiences with Izzy remind me of our first trip with Charlotte and some of what happened this time with Cecilia. In fact, we had a very similar experience at Holly wood and vine this time! Traveling with a 2 year old is always an interesting experience.

Woohoo, glad you're caught up! And oh no on having a similar H&V experience! Yes, 2-year-olds sure keep it interesting!

I'm currently writing a new TR in our Christmas trip, link should be in my signature.

Yay, I'll be over there soon! Excited to hear all about it!

Can't wait to hear the rest!

Can't wait to share the rest!

 

[Dugette]

Try the Grey Stuff, It’s Delicious!

I think I went to get silverware and water while we waited for our food. Izzy snacked on some pretzels and milk we had with us. Here’s the view looking back at the rest of the ballroom:



"Appetizers":



And soon the food cart arrived:



Looks like Dug enjoyed some French Onion soup:



I think Dug got the Carved Roast Beef Sandwich, substituting green beans for the fries:



And I guess we decided to try both the Triple Chocolate and Master’s (Grey Stuff) Cupcakes:



Izzy had the kids meal with grilled cheese, tomato soup, and peach applesauce:



And I had the Braised Pork, which is quite good:



I’m not sure how much of her meal Izzy ate, though, as she was too busy immersing herself in the “grey stuff”:



I think we all enjoyed the meal and the pleasant “view”:



Izzy ended up on my lap again:



I look thrilled at the extra challenge of eating without getting covered in food by a toddler.

Oh, sometime before or after lunch, we must have taken this Photopass:



After our nice lunch, we had our Anna & Elsa FP+. Dug must have stopped in the restroom or something, as Izzy and I beat him there and played in the gift shop while we waited:



We went inside for the meet around 2pm, which was towards the end of our FP+ window, I think. As usual, Izzy wanted up again:





The wait was quick and we were soon meeting Elsa, who quite possibly produced that snow outside our window at lunch. I guess she also enjoys looking at Ariel and Flounder on dresses :







And then Izzy apparently did a happy dance :



For some reason, this video shows up sideways and it’s not interesting enough to try to fix it, so tilt your head or your device, if you’re so inclined :

And here’s the Photopass pics:







I think this is in between the two meets:



And then we were on to Anna, who had a bit more fun with a dancing toddler than her sister had:







And the video:

(click to watch)

And Photopass:





My notes mention that the CMs confused some other family with being part of ours? I don’t really remember, but maybe that’s why someone walks in front of the Anna video?

Anyway, the meets were fun and Izzy once again played in the gift shop afterwards:



You can see a little Elsa standing behind her – Izzy enjoyed spotting all the little Anna and Elsa’s throughout the trip (as there were quite a few of them!)

She also had to stop and admire Minnie Elsa (or whoever she is):



And we found the perfect toys to go with Izzy’s dress (for photo only, not purchase ):



It was close to 2:30pm by now and time to ride Under the Sea, appropriately enough:





Nice ride, as usual.

Up next: A few more rides, then things start going wrong.

 

[TinkLoverSam]

I'm really enjoying this trip report especially because we just booked flights and a house in Orlando for early December when Arthur will be almost 2 1/2!! He's not talking yet so I hope we get some vocabulary going before the trip so he can at least say hi to Mickey (who he LOVES)

 

[Imagineer5]

Mmm lunch looks great! I wish Aria liked grilled cheese, because that kids meal is really good! I've never tried the grey stuff cupcake, their strawberry is too good for me to pass up!

Cute A&E meets!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

I sure wish the beast would greet guests at lunch, thats pretty much my major reason for booking a dinner there each trip, because lunch actually looks better. Reading this brings back so many memories of charlotte's first trip. She sat in my lap at most meals, and I had to carry her so much! I was walking lopsided for a week after from carrying a toddler too long and far

Looks like a nice meeting with Anna and Elsa, although it always seems Anna is more "fun".

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

And then we were on to Anna, who had a bit more fun with a dancing toddler than her sister had:

I personally think Anna is more fun than Elsa!

 

[schmass]

Yay for Izzy's first ride on the Barnstormer - so cute!

Ugh, that stinks that Woody and Jessie left before you could get your picture taken and that you were late for lunch!

Your lunch looks very good, though. Great view!

The meets with Anna and Elsa look fun, especially Anna!

I'm nervous to read about what happens next....

 

[Dugette]

I'm really enjoying this trip report especially because we just booked flights and a house in Orlando for early December when Arthur will be almost 2 1/2!! He's not talking yet so I hope we get some vocabulary going before the trip so he can at least say hi to Mickey (who he LOVES)

Yay, I love early December at WDW! You've got some time for the talking to come...I hope he can chat with Mickey! (By the way, my new-ish boss has a 1-year-old named Arthur!)

Mmm lunch looks great! I wish Aria liked grilled cheese, because that kids meal is really good! I've never tried the grey stuff cupcake, their strawberry is too good for me to pass up!

Cute A&E meets!

She doesn't like grilled cheese? One of the few main courses Izzy will eat, haha. I've never tried the strawberry, as I can't seem to pass up the Triple Chocolate one. And, thanks, A&E went pretty well.

I sure wish the beast would greet guests at lunch, thats pretty much my major reason for booking a dinner there each trip, because lunch actually looks better. Reading this brings back so many memories of charlotte's first trip. She sat in my lap at most meals, and I had to carry her so much! I was walking lopsided for a week after from carrying a toddler too long and far

Looks like a nice meeting with Anna and Elsa, although it always seems Anna is more "fun".

I wish Beast would meet at lunch too! I'm considering doing dinner next time for that reason (well, and to drink in the MK ). The carrying is so hard on you! As you said, it's just too long and far! Izzy's first trip at 14 months was the worst for that, but she had a lot of carrying demands on all trips until probably this last one in December. I would be in so much pain!

I personally think Anna is more fun than Elsa!

Agreed!

Yay for Izzy's first ride on the Barnstormer - so cute!

Ugh, that stinks that Woody and Jessie left before you could get your picture taken and that you were late for lunch!

Your lunch looks very good, though. Great view!

The meets with Anna and Elsa look fun, especially Anna!

I'm nervous to read about what happens next....

It was so cool to finally take her on her first coaster! So sad we didn't get to meet Jessie, though. Lunch was great and the view was a nice change. Meets were good and some more good things happen, but the day does manage to come unraveled pretty well, starting next update...

 

[TinkLoverSam]

It's our first Christmas wdw trip but we did an early December DL trip 3 years ago and it was amazing! I can't wait to see all of the decorations.

We named him after my grandfather but it's not one of those older names that are really growing in popularity right now so it's pretty cool to know about another baby Arthur

 

[Dugette]

The Calm Before the Stormalong

After we emerged from Under the Sea, we saw the Royal Merrimakers announcing a just-engaged couple :



And then we split up. Dug decided to use his anything-FP on Pirates and take Izzy (she was under 3 and didn’t need FP) and I would use the final Rider Swap on 7DMT:



It was nearing 3pm by that time. We wanted to leave the MK soon, but were pushing things back a bit, as the on and off rain was not ideal for the time we wanted to spend at Stormalong Bay (Beach Club’s awesome pool) that afternoon.

Anyway, I took my third ride on 7DMT for the day:




(What, you didn’t know it went into Space?)

(click to see Photopass video)

After the ride, I made a quick stop at the most photogenic restrooms:



Then I headed over to meet Dug and Izzy near Pirates, enjoying the walk and catching part of the parade along the way:





I think this was the Jack Sparrow show (in the background):



I found the stroller and drank some pop. And after a few minutes, these two emerged:



Izzy said it was scary. I guess they got wet from a cannonball.

We were able to get a 4th FP now and I’d looked at them while I was heading over. I wanted to get Talking Mickey for our way out, but it wasn’t available, so I’d just grabbed Tinkerbell instead. We’d already met her, though, so I figured I could always change it to something else in the app after discussing with Dug and Izzy. I saw Barnstormer was available, so suggested that, but Dug didn’t want to go that far before leaving. So, I looked close…and saw the Magic Carpets had immediate availability and we were standing right by it. So, I literally changed our FP+ to that as we were walking up to the ride:



We got right on the next one :



We got a bit sprayed, but had a fun time:





Glad Jasmine had suggested we ride this one today! And, speaking of Jasmine, we saw her with Aladdin as we headed out:



No time to stop for a meet, though, as we had to start making our way out. It was about 3:45pm and I wanted to leave enough time for us to arrive at the Beach Club, change, swim, then get ready for our 7pm mini photo shoot with Disney Event Photography at the Beach Club.

On the way towards Main Street, we decided to stop into the Baby Care Center, as Izzy needed to try again to go potty. She had made a number of unsuccessful attempts this day, but still had not actually peed. I took her in and she, once again, sat there insisting that she didn’t have to go. I told her to keep trying and she refused. So, we left the stall and found the water dispenser. I got her a little cup of water, figuring she could drink that and we’d go back into the stall and try again. Well, guess how that one turned out…

She took ONE SIP of water and immediately peed all over the floor! It was like the water just went right through her! Ugh!!! I was kind-of mortified. I asked Dug to go out to the stroller and get the bag with spare clothes (she was soaked through hers) while I tried to clean up and deal with Izzy. I was grabbing paper towels, trying to mop up the floor by hand, since we were right in the middle of a doorway, but I also knew I had to get her back into the stall in case she had more she was still holding (and I’m sure she was dripping or something too).

There was a CM (older guy) right there the whole time that apparently must see this all the time…and not care. He just stood there, unfazed and not helping, as guests are wandering around the giant pee puddle in the middle of the place. So, I asked him if there was a mop or something that would help. He nonchalantly handed me one of those poles with the thing you can stick paper towels in to make a mop. So, I did that enough to get it dry and then took Izzy back to the stall, making sure she was done and getting her changed into dry clothes. By the time we left there, it was about 4:20pm. I’m sure Izzy was happy to be in her dry outfit after that:



We got on the bus about 4:35pm:



Made it to the Beach Club at 4:54pm:



Someone still had lots of energy and got way ahead:



With it being nearly 5pm, it was later than I wanted, but I still felt we’d be able to spend about an hour at Stormalong Bay before cleaning up for our photo shoot at 7pm. Good enough for me.

Despite doing online check-in, we hadn’t received a text about our room being ready yet, so I stopped by the front desk. They told us that it was indeed ready and we’d be in room 250 (Beach Club Villas – we rented points). This room met none of our requests and was SOOOOO far away from everything (we primarily requested close to lobby). But, ok, it was just for one night. We made our way over towards the Villas and Izzy enjoyed this window décor on the way:



Made it to the Villas:



Casting a spell on Ariel?



Keep on going:



There were so many long hallways before we finally found our room:



I got Izzy close to it and asked her to find 250 and she ran right for it:

(click to watch)

Kid knows her hotel rooms, I guess!

Now all we have to do is touch a Magic Band to this Mickey head:



What could possibly go wrong?

Up next: Will we ever get to Stormalong Bay?

 

[Dugette]

It's our first Christmas wdw trip but we did an early December DL trip 3 years ago and it was amazing! I can't wait to see all of the decorations.

We named him after my grandfather but it's not one of those older names that are really growing in popularity right now so it's pretty cool to know about another baby Arthur

I hope you love WDW at Christmas too! Great time of year there! The castle is breathtaking all lit up.

Yeah, my boss said she just liked the name and thought it would be cool if he went by Art someday. I like that it's a non-common name, but still easily recognized.

 

[Imagineer5]

Perfect timing on the extra FP for Carpets!! That one always seems easy to get, and a good thing to do vs nothing! lol!

There was a CM (older guy) right there the whole time that apparently must see this all the time…and not care. He just stood there, unfazed and not helping, as guests are wandering around the giant pee puddle in the middle of the place. So, I asked him if there was a mop or something that would help. He nonchalantly handed me one of those poles with the thing you can stick paper towels in to make a mop.

Wow, that's sort of a health hazard no? I can't believe he didn't go into clean up mode. That's too bad

Ugh, I know you had issues this day. You need a do-over trip to BCV

 

[amazingact21]

I just caught up on your report. Sounds like your MK sure had its ups and downs. I'm glad Izzy was able to experience CRT and BOG in one day, AND ride on her first coaster, but I'm sorry to hear it was a bumpy day for you. I'm keeping my fingers crossed you were able to make it to Stormalong Bay for a short while.

 

[schmass]

Ugh, sorry about the bathroom incident. Lola is somewhat potty-trained already, but for reasons like this I'm going to make sure she's still in diapers when we go to Disney in 5 weeks even if she's fully trained by then! I don't think she will be though, she's only 20 months old, and mainly likes to use the toilet when it's convenient for her.

We have only stayed at BCV once (staying there again next trip!) and our room was right when you walk in to the DVC building, so I didn't even realize there were long hallways. BWV always gets the comments about the long hallways, and we have definitely experienced that.

 

[Dugette]

Perfect timing on the extra FP for Carpets!! That one always seems easy to get, and a good thing to do vs nothing! lol!

Yeah, it was pretty fun to get a FP while I was going into the FP queue for that ride.

Wow, that's sort of a health hazard no? I can't believe he didn't go into clean up mode. That's too bad

That's what I thought! I was surprised he didn't spring into action, but I also didn't feel comfortable going, "Um, you gonna clean this up?" I just hope they sanitized it after or something? The only other thing I can think of is maybe he thought she spilled water? But still, it's slippery and a fall hazard, so I don't know. He literally just stood there by the wall a foot away from me, like it was his post, minding his own business.

Ugh, I know you had issues this day. You need a do-over trip to BCV

I have definitely thought about that... (Though, at least we had a good trip there back in Nov. 2010 - so long ago now!)

I just caught up on your report. Sounds like your MK sure had its ups and downs. I'm glad Izzy was able to experience CRT and BOG in one day, AND ride on her first coaster, but I'm sorry to hear it was a bumpy day for you. I'm keeping my fingers crossed you were able to make it to Stormalong Bay for a short while.

Yes, ups and downs for sure at MK! I mean, eating in two castles and riding your first coaster makes for a pretty awesome day. But, yeah, there were a lot of bumps too. Keep those fingers crossed!

Ugh, sorry about the bathroom incident. Lola is somewhat potty-trained already, but for reasons like this I'm going to make sure she's still in diapers when we go to Disney in 5 weeks even if she's fully trained by then! I don't think she will be though, she's only 20 months old, and mainly likes to use the toilet when it's convenient for her.

Yeah, I think that's a good idea. Or pull-ups, etc. She is young, since Izzy was on the younger side at 2.5 and she's not even 2! Good luck and I hope she doesn't cause you any trouble!

We have only stayed at BCV once (staying there again next trip!) and our room was right when you walk in to the DVC building, so I didn't even realize there were long hallways. BWV always gets the comments about the long hallways, and we have definitely experienced that.

Exactly - I've always heard about BWV having the long halls and we had the total opposite - super close to the lobby at BWV and out in the boonies of BCV. Of course, us being tired and in a hurry probably made those halls feel even longer. And we were spoiled at BWV with both room locations. Hope you get something good on your upcoming trip!

 

[Dugette]

Foul Moods & Happy Photos

Before I get back to the cliffhanger, I realized I left off the video from the Magic Carpet ride. I always hate listening to myself in these, but ignore me – Izzy’s cute :

Okay, so back to that Beach Club Villas hallway. We approached our room, scanned one of our Magic Bands, and…no go. Tried the other bands (in fact, all the bands we had with us) and NOTHING. Oh, joy. Of course this would happen when we’re super far from the front desk and in a hurry. Dug decided to call the front desk instead of hiking back there (I think he looked the number up on his phone, but wifi wasn’t working there – of course - and he had to use data and that was slow too?) The cell reception was also really spotty, so he had a very poor connection to the front desk. While he was sitting in the hall attempting to communicate over a poor connection, Izzy was trying her strength and then her magic wand on the door:





I wish I could say that it magically worked, because that would be a much cooler story. Unfortunately, the scene soon looked like this :



The CM did finally understand what he was saying and said they would send someone down to let us in the room. In retrospect, I wish I would have run all the way back to the lobby to deal with this, as it would have been faster. But hindsight is 20/20. We didn’t think it would take too long for a nearby CM (maybe a mousekeeper since they can get in?) to stop by. In the meantime, Izzy was having fun running in circles:



At least she was in a good mood! In fact, Izzy and Dug were both having a good time singing Yo Ho :

It took until 5:24pm for someone to show up and let us in (felt like forever!). She also took our Magic Bands to be re-programmed and said she would bring them back, so that was nice.

A quick look around our room (Studio Villa):



(I like having a shelf and hooks by the door like that).













And outside on the balcony:





So, as soon as we got in the room, we put in a call to Bell Services to bring up our luggage that had been transferred over from Boardwalk. Our swimsuits were all packed into one of the bags, so we’d need those ASAP. Again, in retrospect, probably should have asked them to come up while we waited in the hallway. But I think we weren’t certain we’d end up in this room after the hallway ordeal and didn’t think it would take a long time to get the bags. I don’t know. At any rate, we called and then we did whatever we could to pass the time. Like setting up the Pack ‘n’ Play (don’t worry, we put the bottom inside of it ):



A look back towards the door and you can see that the stroller had a nice parking spot too:



Bell Services eventually showed up with our luggage, but one thing was missing: the bag of food/snacks and milk they had put in cold storage for us. Ugh. So, they went off searching for that missing bag while we waited some more for a call. Once more, in retrospect, I wish we’d just said “forget it” – it was the last day of our trip, we’d live and find some milk and stuff. Or maybe they’d drop it off in our fridge. But, again, at the time, we didn’t think it would be a long ordeal, which of course it was. The good news is that they did eventually find our bag and bring it. The bad news is that it took a long time. And, during that long time, I made another annoying discovery: our Tables in Wonderland card was missing!

You may remember me foreshadowing this a bit at Cinderella’s Royal Table. I didn’t realize at the time that I hadn’t gotten the card back. It wasn’t until this point, when I was getting everything ready for the rest of the night (including dinner at Beaches ‘n’ Cream) that I found it was gone. We made a call to the Beach Club concierge for help with this and they weren’t very helpful at all…at first. Eventually, we must have grown on them, as they did arrange for me to pick up a new TiW card at Epcot. Yes, at Epcot. Woo hoo, this “swim time” is just getting more and more fun!

As you can imagine, at this point, we had given up on the idea of swimming. There just wasn’t enough time before that photo shoot, then we had dinner shortly after. If we were quick with dinner, though, we’d have a bit of late night time before the pool closed at 11pm. And skipping dinner wasn't an option, as we would all be overdue to eat by the time the photo shoot was done. So, we just had to hope for some after-dinner time and energy and good spirits.

We did make a last-ditch effort for non-late time, though. Given our not-so-magical moods by this point, we were both okay with cancelling our photo shoot, even though we wouldn’t be able to make it up. So, we called Disney Event Photography and didn’t get any answer or call back from our voicemail. Guess it was too late. We resigned ourselves to just doing the photo shoot, as we weren’t about to stand up the photographer. Then I’d have to book it over to Epcot after the shoot, get the TiW card, then get back for dinner.

So, we went ahead and got ourselves cleaned up and changed for photos. Then we went to meet the photographer in the lobby at 7pm, in foul moods, sarcastically joking about how ironic it was we were going to take happy family pictures when nobody was happy. But Izzy did enjoy running down all the long halls:



And it was gorgeous out now:





They were setting up for a movie on the beach back there :



Pretty view:



Looking back at the Beach Club:



Our photographer was really nice. Also, it was her last shoot of the day and she was determined to get some good photos for us, no matter how long it took. We started down on the beach, near where they were preparing for a campfire and s’mores, I think. Izzy loved the sand, but maybe a little too much. She wasn’t very into listening or taking directions and if we forced anything, it would lead to unhappy faces/screaming/crying, so that was challenging. Luckily, the photographer found or brought a few sand toys that kept her happy. She also brought some bubbles, which was really smart! Even with those things, Izzy was getting crabby at one point, so I pulled out my “emergency candy” I had tossed in the bag – it worked, in that she was very interested in a new type of candy (candy necklace), but she wouldn’t put it down for pictures after that. Ooops, poor choice, mom!

After beach photos, we did some shots on the boardwalk too. I felt a bit like we were a famous family, as people were strolling by looking at the photographer and us and trying to figure out what was happening. Overall, this photographer did a great job (much like the one we had in Dec. 2013 at the Poly). She took about an hour for a “15 minute” session, just to make sure we got good photos. Good thing we had planned a bit of a gap between this and Beaches & Cream!

So, despite the foul moods, we did end up with a selection of decent pictures. Here are the highlights:













(not giving up that candy!)









Could be worse, right?

Up next: Could anything else go wrong tonight? Why, yes, of course! Can we avoid a fist fight? Does anyone get to swim after dinner? Stay tuned!

 

[annie170]

How frustrating! I hate when everything goes wrong all at once like that.

Your pictures came out really nice! That was definitely a positive.

Dug has a really nice singing voice! I think I heard it once before during the Frozen sing-a-long.