In Loving Memory... We’re Going Deluxe! - A Jan 2013 PTR (TR Link 01/28)

[Tiggerrn2]

Hope Claudia is feeling better this evening. It is so hard when babies get sick. My favorite book was "What to Expect The First Year" and the next one "What to Expect the Toddler Years". It had great advice on when to call the Dr. for things. You'd think being a nurse would make it easier, but really, when the child is your own, all bets are off!
The Beach Club is a wonderful place to stay! Have no worries-you'll love it. It would be a very hard choice for me between Poly and BC now that I've stayed at both. But, honestly, I think the Beach Club would win out. The pool for your DSD will be so much fun, and the games at the pool were great fun! And having the Boardwalk (as well as Epcot and DHS) just a walk away are the best perks! Be sure to check out the entertainment there some evening when maybe a park doesn't seem like the best idea-some night when you are tired, but don't want to just stay in your resort.

And, of course, you will HAVE to resort hop to check out all the holiday decorations. You can easily spend an entire afternoon/evening just doing that. Be sure to stop into the Wilderness Lodge. It is very pretty decorated for Christmas.

 

[AvasMommy526]

Awwww Mel, I hope Claudia is feeling better! It's the worst when your little one is not feeling well. We've been pretty lucky with Ava, only a couple colds so far but it breaks my heart when shes all stuffy and sad looking Please don't feel like a bad momma, we could never know everything bothering them, we live and learn and I'm sure cuddling her made her feel much better!

 

[shan23877]

Excellent resort choices! I would love to stay at both!

And no, there cannot ever be enough baby pictures. Bring 'em on!

 

[ronnmel]

To all my pet lover Dis friends, I need your help! My cat has major knots in her hair on her back towards her tail. (I think she got too fat to groom that area ). I try brushing but it doesn't seem to be working so well. Any tricks? A better brush, or some magic solution?

Peanut is feeling better, but not completely. Her fever is gone since yesterday morning but she is not drinking very well/much, screaming a lot in her sleep/waking up screaming every couple hours, and gets fussy VERY easily during the day. My guess is she either has some throat infection (I was prone to that as a kid) or is teething. Either way she seems in pain.

You re so right, they do!

We also stayed at the Poly last month, and while I really liked the rooms and the tropical vibe, I really loved staying in the Epcot resort area even more
There is nothing like being able to walk to your resort after Illuminations or Fantasmic, especially with a child in a stroller. We often used the secret entrance into the resort which took less than 3 minutes to walk from Epcot.


I had a look around AOA while we were there and that looks fantastic!

This is probably the thing I'm looking forward to the most, being able to talk back to my resort after a long day, or quickly hop into a park if I feel like it, even for just an hour, without feeling like I've wasted half my day in a bus. I can always enjoy the tropical vibe of Poly by having a meal there (ADR hint).

Wow that is awesome! I don't know how you are planning everything in such a short time!! But I know you will get it all done.

Just because we had a bad experience at the BC doesn't mean you will. You might love it and have a new favorite! You never know!! But yes, be sure to visit the Poly every chance you get.

Aw, don't feel like a bad momma. You live and learn. It's definitely challenging the first year. I hope she feels better soon.

Luckily I spend enough time here on a weekly (daily) basis and DH & I plan enough hypothetical trips in our heads that the planning of this trip is not *too* complicated.

I think I will like the BC. Not so much for the theming (Poly, AoA and AKL are definitely my faves for that), but for the convenience for sure.

Yeah, live and learn is so true. She's feeling a little better, but is not 100% back yet.

I'm following along! Your trip sounds like a lot of fun and your baby is adorable
Good choice on the Beach Club! I absolutely LOVE that resort! And walking to Epcot is definitely a plus! The boat is also a really relaxing ride
Can't wait to hear more

Thank you, and this trip is shaping up to be incredible!
As much as I love the monorail, the boat to Poly and the ferry were actually my favorite means of transportation the last two trips, so I'm sure I'll enjoy the Friendship boat. I also love walking though, and since January won't be a hot as August I envision nice relaxing walks to Hollywood Studios alongside the river.

Hope Claudia is feeling better this evening. It is so hard when babies get sick. My favorite book was "What to Expect The First Year" and the next one "What to Expect the Toddler Years". It had great advice on when to call the Dr. for things. You'd think being a nurse would make it easier, but really, when the child is your own, all bets are off!
The Beach Club is a wonderful place to stay! Have no worries-you'll love it. It would be a very hard choice for me between Poly and BC now that I've stayed at both. But, honestly, I think the Beach Club would win out. The pool for your DSD will be so much fun, and the games at the pool were great fun! And having the Boardwalk (as well as Epcot and DHS) just a walk away are the best perks! Be sure to check out the entertainment there some evening when maybe a park doesn't seem like the best idea-some night when you are tired, but don't want to just stay in your resort.

And, of course, you will HAVE to resort hop to check out all the holiday decorations. You can easily spend an entire afternoon/evening just doing that. Be sure to stop into the Wilderness Lodge. It is very pretty decorated for Christmas.

Claudia is only feeling slightly better. If it's a tooth I hope it gets out soon. Of it's a throat thing, I wish the clinic would call me back and give me antibiotics to treat it. A friend lent to me the "What to expect when you're expecting" book, but I didn't read it that much. I think it stressed me out to read about potential problems, so I just ignored everything. Right now I rely on a Mommy & Baby care book, as well as a book provided by the government that covers pregnancy through toddler years and talks about everything, including health. Plus I have called the info-health line several times. You get to talk to a nurse who tells you what you can do, and if you should see a doctor. It's great, and free!

Checking out the Boardwalk is definitely on my agenda, but not sure where to fit it yet. I have a hard time scheduling time away from the parks. Thankfully since the parks close earlier in January, maybe I'll find time to check it out after.

I'd love to check out the Holiday decorations at different resorts, but again we have such a hard time "giving up" park time to do other stuff... we'll see how much slowing down Claudia forces us to do. Or maybe her and I will go visit some resorts while big sister and dad go do something. He did say he wanted to try the sea racers... You just gave me an idea!!! Thanks!

Awwww Mel, I hope Claudia is feeling better! It's the worst when your little one is not feeling well. We've been pretty lucky with Ava, only a couple colds so far but it breaks my heart when shes all stuffy and sad looking Please don't feel like a bad momma, we could never know everything bothering them, we live and learn and I'm sure cuddling her made her feel much better!

Thanks. Her fever is gone, but she is still in pain and I don't know why. I know I'm lucky because it's the first time she's sick. I have a friend who gave birth a month before I did and her son has been sick 5 of the first 6 months of his life. Mostly colds, but still I feel bad for her.

Excellent resort choices! I would love to stay at both!

And no, there cannot ever be enough baby pictures. Bring 'em on!

Thanks! I can't wait to try both resorts! The following trip is going to be hard though, having to go back to value!!

I had all my ADRs figured out, but now because of your latest update in your TR I'm not so sure.

Here's the latest baby picture I have:

 

[KatMark]

Adorable baby picture.


Happy Thanksgiving to you and your beautiful family.

 

[ronnmel]

Adorable baby picture.


Happy Thanksgiving to you and your beautiful family.

Canadian Thanksgiving was 5 weeks ago, but thanks. Happy Thanksgiving to you too!

 

[disneykiwi]

sorry to hear little Peanut is unwell. Hope its not too long before she is on the mend.

That photo is gorgeous - what a beautiful smile - she is so cute.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Glad the baby is feeling a little better! Very cute picture! Love the shirt!!

 

[ronnmel]

sorry to hear little Peanut is unwell. Hope its not too long before she is on the mend.

That photo is gorgeous - what a beautiful smile - she is so cute.

She still wouldn't eat her cereals this morning, but she's finally drinking almost as much as she used to and played without fussing right away today, so looks like she's getting better.

Thanks. That photo was taken by a friend who has an amazing camera (and the skills that go with it). Actually, he's the one who took our wedding picture! She does have the cutest smile. I may be bias though...

Glad the baby is feeling a little better! Very cute picture! Love the shirt!!

She's even better today, so that's great!

Thank you. It's actually a dress and you are right, it's adorable! I can't go into Walmart without buying her some Disney clothes!!

 

[ronnmel]

To all my pet lover Dis friends, I need your help! My cat has major knots in her hair on her back towards her tail. (I think she got too fat to groom that area ). I try brushing but it doesn't seem to be working so well. Any tricks? A better brush, or some magic solution?

Anyone?

FOOD - Table-service: Where have we eaten before?​

Before I say where we will eat this trip, let's talk about where we ate on our two previous trips.

In 2009 we tried 5 places:

My food there was kinda bland, but Ron enjoyed his ribs.

The real star of the night though was Otaku's fried lasagna. I wish I ahd ordered that!!!

TUTTO ITALIA

The food was fine, nothing spectacular though.

TOKYO DINING

We all enjoyed our food, but Ron and Otaku are used to very good sushi so to them it was just okay.

This is where I tried Filet Mignon for the first time ever in my life (I'm not a big meat fan, and am quite picky in general) and fell in love with this!

Ron had the surf and turf and liked it a lot too.

We also had two character meals. First we had breakfast at

OHANA

The food was good, but obviously the real star was my favorite, Stitch.

That same day we had dinner at

Otaku was at an age where you start to feel self conscious and was not so keen on hugging the characters.

For our Disneymoon we tried 4 new table-service restaurants.

As you can see our meal choices were pretty similar to Narcoossee's two years before. Despite spending way more money here, we enjoyed Narcoossee's better.

VIA NAPOLI

​

Ron disagress with me, but I think this was the BEST PIZZA EVER!!!

HOLLYWOOD BROWN DERBY

The food was very good, and the service was superb. And this was a walk-up, last minute decision! A pleasant surprise. We even had free champagne and cupcake!

KONA CAFE

Ron loved his appetizer and entree. My entree was a bit bland, but I fell in love with THE BREAD!!! I think I was too busy stuffing my face with it to take a picture.



I can tell you right now that we will be going back to two of those restaurants. Can you guess which ones? We will also be trying at least 4 new places.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

To all my pet lover Dis friends, I need your help! My cat has major knots in her hair on her back towards her tail. (I think she got too fat to groom that area ). I try brushing but it doesn't seem to be working so well. Any tricks? A better brush, or some magic solution?

She is getting matted. Unfortunately if they won't brush out the only way to get rid of them is clip them out. If they are too bad and all the way matted to the skin it will need to be shaved out. Don't just ignore them, if they get too bad they will start to rip her skin! And don't wet them, when the fur dries it will tighten and make them worse! Once those are gone just make sure to brush her every day to keep then from coming back.

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Sorry about the matting on your kitty. Minerva has very long hair and had started to get matting at the base of her tail/back and some other places. She also had a major hairball stuck for days which ended up being a $300 vet bill but that's a whole other issue! Since then, we've been brushing her daily. The matting on her back, tail eventually went away, We just kept brushing and trying to break it up with our fingers, when she let us. I heard if you rub a little baking soda (or maybe it was baking powder? or maybe cornstarch? I can never remember the difference....) in with your fingers, it will help to get it out. Minerva had one big one under her chest that was RIGHT up against her skin. We tried to cut it out but we couldn't get it without hurting her. We took her to the vet for a routine shot and told the vet about it and they just shaved it off right there. Soooo, if it gets really bad, you could always have the vet or a groomer shave them.

 

[ronnmel]

She is getting matted. Unfortunately if they won't brush out the only way to get rid of them is clip them out. If they are too bad and all the way matted to the skin it will need to be shaved out. Don't just ignore them, if they get too bad they will start to rip her skin! And don't wet them, when the fur dries it will tighten and make them worse! Once those are gone just make sure to brush her every day to keep then from coming back.

Thanks. I have to be better at brushing her everyday. At least she likes it. My other cat won't let me get close to him with a brush anymore, but his fur is fine for now. Is there any kind of brush that works better than others? Can I just clip it with regular scissors?

Have you heard of that trick that Nikki just mentioned, with the baking soda or something?

Sorry about the matting on your kitty. Minerva has very long hair and had started to get matting at the base of her tail/back and some other places. She also had a major hairball stuck for days which ended up being a $300 vet bill but that's a whole other issue! Since then, we've been brushing her daily. The matting on her back, tail eventually went away, We just kept brushing and trying to break it up with our fingers, when she let us. I heard if you rub a little baking soda (or maybe it was baking powder? or maybe cornstarch? I can never remember the difference....) in with your fingers, it will help to get it out. Minerva had one big one under her chest that was RIGHT up against her skin. We tried to cut it out but we couldn't get it without hurting her. We took her to the vet for a routine shot and told the vet about it and they just shaved it off right there. Soooo, if it gets really bad, you could always have the vet or a groomer shave them.

Thanks. I hope I don't have to shave her. It would look so weird!! Poor Minerva, with a hairball stuck! I'll have to look into the baking soda (or whatever it is), to see if it could help.

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Thanks. I have to be better at brushing her everyday. At least she likes it. My other cat won't let me get close to him with a brush anymore, but his fur is fine for now. Is there any kind of brush that works better than others? Can I just clip it with regular scissors?

Have you heard of that trick that Nikki just mentioned, with the baking soda or something?




Thanks. I hope I don't have to shave her. It would look so weird!! Poor Minerva, with a hairball stuck! I'll have to look into the baking soda (or whatever it is), to see if it could help.

We thought about shaving her entire body - the lion's cut, I think it's called. But the vet just shaved that one spot and you can't even see a bald patch. Good luck!

And Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Thanks. I have to be better at brushing her everyday. At least she likes it. My other cat won't let me get close to him with a brush anymore, but his fur is fine for now. Is there any kind of brush that works better than others? Can I just clip it with regular scissors?

Have you heard of that trick that Nikki just mentioned, with the baking soda or something?

A slicker brush works best. But really just brushing every day is fine, as long as you get all the way down the fur, and not just the top layer. If it's not too close to the skin then yes, regular scissors are fine, just be sure Ron (or someone!) is holding her tight so she just get hurt on accident while you have the scissors that close to her body.

Yes, it's either powdered corn starch or talcum powder that I've heard. Never heard Baking Soda or Baking Powder, though it's possible they would work. When I worked at a kennel with a grooming department we had the cornstarch on hand to work on mats with. It can help loosen them to make them easier to brush out.

Good luck!!!

 

[ronnmel]

We thought about shaving her entire body - the lion's cut, I think it's called. But the vet just shaved that one spot and you can't even see a bald patch. Good luck!

And Happy Thanksgiving!

I wouldn't shave her entire body, no way! She would look too weird. Plus, just before winter is certainly not the best time to do that. Hopefully just shaving one spot it wouldn't be too apparent.

Canadian Thanksgiving was 6 weeks ago, but thanks. Happy Thanksgiving to you too!

A slicker brush works best. But really just brushing every day is fine, as long as you get all the way down the fur, and not just the top layer. If it's not too close to the skin then yes, regular scissors are fine, just be sure Ron (or someone!) is holding her tight so she just get hurt on accident while you have the scissors that close to her body.

Yes, it's either powdered corn starch or talcum powder that I've heard. Never heard Baking Soda or Baking Powder, though it's possible they would work. When I worked at a kennel with a grooming department we had the cornstarch on hand to work on mats with. It can help loosen them to make them easier to brush out.

Good luck!!!

I had to Google slicker brush because I had no idea what it was. I found a website that explains it, so I should be fine shopping for one. I was able to cut two of her mats, but the rest are very close together so I'll try the other tricks. It probably was corn starch, Nikki wasn't sure which powder it was. I'll have to check if I have some. I never bake anything, I wouldn't know.



Thanks Nikki and Steph for your help!

 

[Nermel9]

My cat has long hair and he always gets matted near his tail, and we have to get it shaved. He just will not let us brush him back there! And for some reason, he's really lazy about grooming himself, you know how most cats are constantly grooming? Well not him! I usually just tell the groomer to shave the mats out, which sometimes looks a little weird, but the fluff grows back pretty quickly! You can also do the lion cut, which I think is adorable! We did that once with Winston (my cat) and he looked so cute! Unfortunately, once the fur gets to the point of mats, it's usually too close to the skin to cut out with scissors, so you will probably have to get it shaved!

 

[AvasMommy526]

Aww poor kitty! I've never had cats but one my friends had a cat whose poor fur would get matted and they would have to do that lion cut and omg honestly the cat looked adorable lolol! Hopefully you won't have to do that though, I know most cats aren't crazy about baths and hair cuts. Good luck!

I love the dining choices from previous trips! I just booked all my ADRS for our trip! I am going to guess you will go back to Kona and Narcossees! I made a breakfast add at Kona and I can't wait lol!

 

[ronnmel]

FOOD - Table-service: Our ADRs​

I wanted to go dig around the internet, and find nice little pictures of food for this update, but I’m too lazy. So instead of making you wait forever for an update full of pictures, you getting an (almost) picture-less update now.

My wonderful TA (Hi Hope!) booked me my ADRs today. She was suppose to book 5, but I had her add a 6th because of an update I read in a TR recently (from someone I’m not going to name *cough*Shannon*cough*).

Let’s start with the two repeats, and the only two pictures you’re going to see from me tonight. The first repeat was guessed by Avasmommy :

KONA CAFE​

Ron really enjoyed his meal there and wants to go back. He is torn between eating the Teriyaki steak again (pictured here) or something else.

I’m obviously going solely for the BREAD!!! And dessert, probably the white-chocolate cheesecake. I want to be sure to have room for both of these, so I’m thinking of either nibbling at Ron’s steak, or taking one of the kids meal as my entree. We will be having dinner here.


The second repeat is my choice.

VIA NAPOLI​

I have two reasons. First, the pizza was melt in your mouth good and I’ve been craving it ever since. The second reason is the dessert (if you’re sensing a theme here, you may be right). Last time I ate the whole pizza to myself and was too full for dessert (saddest thing ever). This time I’m hoping Otaku will agree to share this bad boy with me:

That way, I’ll have no choice but to eat only half of the pizza (I may not be able to stop myself otherwise...), which will leave plenty of room for the beauty that is called Zeppole di Ricotta. I have read about this little piece of heaven on at least two different TRs lately (Queila and can’t remember who else) and I. Want. It. Now. We will be having a late lunch here.



Now for the new places. The first one was a request by Otaku. We asked her if there was any restaurant she knew she wanted to try and she said : “The place where you can see the fish”.

CORAL REEF​

I don’t know much about the menu here, and we’re not going there for that anyway. The main attraction will obviously be the fish. I’m glad Otaku requested that because Peanut has been fascinated by the fish in the aquarium at the doctor’s office every time we have gone. We have booked an early lunch here, so Claudia should be awake to enjoy the view.

KOUZZINA​

This was my choice, and I chose a late breakfast here. I got the idea from Jenn (Inkedupmomma). I’m really looking forward to trying the waffles with whipped mascarpone cheese. (If you’re sensing yet another theme in the kind of food I like, cheese, you would be correct. Pat yourself on the back) I probably would not have gone out of my way to try this place, but since we’ll be staying in the Epcot resort area, it’s perfect for a break day.

CAPE MAY CAFE​

Ron chose to have dinner here. He loves seafood, so the idea to have it all-you-can-eat sounds like heaven to him. He wants to try the fried clam strips, so hopefully I booked the correct day for it (Monday). Just to be sure, we’ll look at their menu after we check-in at Beach Club and try to change our ADR if necessary. I’m just going to be eating the more “normal” food (using the word normal here only to describe the non-seafood stuff). And the desserts, obviously.


So, both Ron and I have chosen a repeat ADR and all three of us who can speak have chosen a new place to try. We should be set, right? Wrong! What is this last-minute addition, you ask? (oh wait, you didn’t ask? I’m telling you anyway)

CALIFORNIA GRILL​

You see, I’m not a big meat eater, but I do have two favorites that I absolutely love. Those favorites are filet mignon and teriyaki chicken. When I read someone’s (Shan) review of this, I just had to try it. So thank you, nameless person (Shan) for costing me a bundle of money. Ron and Otaku both love their meat AND their sushi, so I KNOW this will be an expensive meal. That makes me a bit nervous, but I calm myself by remembering that in a way, my mom is the one “paying” for the trip. In so many ways this will be a “once in a lifetime” trip (going deluxe, going for New Year’s Eve, it may be Otaku’s last trip with us for many years), so I figured what the heck, let’s go all out. Bonus, we scored the first ADR of the evening so we’ll be just in time to watch the gorgeous view and early sunset, and have plenty of time to go back to MK after to watch the new castle projection show up close.




So there you have it, our ADRs. We will be doing one more table-service, but they don’t take ADRs there. If you guessed Beaches & Cream, bingo! Staying at Beach Club, there is no way I can pass the opportunity of trying their ice cream. More specifically, I really want to try the No Way Jose and a milkshake. We will be stopping here more than once! At home I’ve been trying to avoid sugar after dinner because it makes it harder for me to sleep, but at Disney, to hell with that! If I want a chocolate sunday just before bedtime, I will. Let’s just hope the weather is comfortable enough for ice cream. Who am I kidding? I eat ice cream in winter here!


As you can see, this update was mostly from my point of view. I encourage Ron (I know you’re reading this my love) to come and post his possible choices of appetizers and entrees. After all, he has been spending several hours (I may be exaggerating a tiny bit here) scouring the menus and photos of food porn and trying to decide exactly what he’ll be in the mood to eat 6 weeks from now. (Eeeeek, 6 weeks!)

 

[ronnmel]

My cat has long hair and he always gets matted near his tail, and we have to get it shaved. He just will not let us brush him back there! And for some reason, he's really lazy about grooming himself, you know how most cats are constantly grooming? Well not him! I usually just tell the groomer to shave the mats out, which sometimes looks a little weird, but the fluff grows back pretty quickly! You can also do the lion cut, which I think is adorable! We did that once with Winston (my cat) and he looked so cute! Unfortunately, once the fur gets to the point of mats, it's usually too close to the skin to cut out with scissors, so you will probably have to get it shaved!

I think my cat got lazy about grooming as well. That, and she got fat. She used to be my "small" cat, but she is now as big as the other one.

I was able to cut out the two smallest mats myself. She used to have only two, I got one out by just brushing, and suddenly she had lots close to the tail. I don't want to do the lion's cut because 1. it would make me nervous to see her being shaved that much, and 2. winter is coming soon. Little spots though, I can deal. I don't even know where to find a groomer! I'm going to ask the pet store I think. Yuna (the cat) is NOT going to like the car ride...

Aww poor kitty! I've never had cats but one my friends had a cat whose poor fur would get matted and they would have to do that lion cut and omg honestly the cat looked adorable lolol! Hopefully you won't have to do that though, I know most cats aren't crazy about baths and hair cuts. Good luck!

I love the dining choices from previous trips! I just booked all my ADRS for our trip! I am going to guess you will go back to Kona and Narcossees! I made a breakfast add at Kona and I can't wait lol!

My cats love water (weird, I know), but I doubt they'd like a full bath. As for shaving, I'm the one that gets nervous.

You guessed Kona right! Ron would have liked to have breakfast there so he could try a Tonga toast, but I would only have booked it had we stayed at the Poly. I chose Kouzzina instead. One breakfast ADR is enough. I do not want to waste precious park time.