Let the memories (of our May 2011 trip) begin! *UPDATED SEPT. 18th- LINK to NEW TR!*

[Queila]

Day 7- May, 18th 2011- Afternoon at Downtown Disney

So after our tour around the world we went back to Spaceship Earth to meet my friend A. He had been in training during the morning but we had plans to spend the rest of the day together.

So when we met up it took us a while to decide what to do. I wanted to go back to our hotel for a swim (it was finally hot after all) and go to DTD for super and some shopping at night. Joey on the other hand was afraid that if we ever got back to our hotel we would end up not having the stamina to leave again at night.

So we decided to go to Downtown Disney right away. My friend A. had another Brazilian CM with him and we invited her to join us. She agreed. We will call her W.

We figured the best way to get to DTD from Epcot was to leave from the International Gateway, walk to the Beach Club and grab a bus from there. Ah the Beach Club.... one day!

My friend hadn't had lunch yet so leaving through World Showcase would give them an opportunity to grab something on our way out.

So back to the WS we went.

In Mexico we ended up crossing these guys which was such a treat because we hadn't seen them in that trip yet.

And no Disney trip is complete for our family without a picture with the mariachis:

2011:

2010:

2009:

So A. and W. grabbed something at the French bakery and I made a note to myself to get back there in our next trip. That cheese plate with the baguette looks amazing.

So in downtown Disney I had a mission to accomplish. My best friend's baby shower was fast approaching and she is a huge Disney fan so I knew I wanted to get her gifts at WDW. All week long I had gathered ideas from browsing the gift shops but today was the day to act on it.

Also we have a rule in our house that no real shopping is really done until the end of the trip when we go to DTD and each one of us get to grab one or two things we like. That way we do not "waste too much time" in the souvenir stores nor we get aggravated with shopping requests from Beatriz during the week. She is very aware of the rule.

Beatriz loved DTD. There are a lot of things there to entertain the little ones:

Lego Store where Beatriz got to chose her first gift (a Cars 2 Lego set);

We also spent a lot of time in the World of Disney store where I found everything I was looking for: the gifts to my friend, a purse and a scarf for me, a t-shirt and an expresso cup set for Joey etc...

One of my favorite things to do is go in the WoD store and tell Beatriz she can pick ANY plushed animal she wants. After five minutes she knew exactly what she wanted:

It is a Marie!

A. and W. were a great help with Beatriz during our shopping. They kept her entertained and allowed us to do our choices effectively and fairly quickly.

So at the end of the day we treated everybody to a meal at Earl of Sandwich.

No picture of W. since I am not sure she would like me sharing it here.

We also made a trip to Goofy's Candy Co. where we picked some treats for the trip back home.

Decisions, decisions, decisions:

And to finish off the day Beatriz played with the water before we hopped in the bus back to our hotel for some packing and early bed time. We were pooped!

Next up:
Saying good- bye to Disney. ​

 

[Queila]

Thursday- May, 19th 2012- Last Day

Not much to report on our last day except the fact we were not ready to leave.

We woke up and went for breakfast at Everything Pop. It was actually the only time we sat down to eat over there.

Because our flight out is an international flight we cannot use the check in of our luggage in the hotel. So after breakfast we went back to our room to brush our teeth, gather our stuff and bring our luggage downstairs.

Then it was off to...

Oddly enough our bus was over 40 minutes late and for a moment I "feared" we wouldn't make it in time. So while we waited for the bus Beatriz and I found something to keep us entertained:

At the airport I took this picture and posted it on my Facebook wall with the following quote: "All good things must come to an end".

-------------------------------- End of our trip----------------------------

PS. Looking back at our pictures I realized I forgot to mention that in our plane ride on the way to Orlando we sat right behind a Quebec celebrity named Mitsou. She is a client at the dental clinic in Montreal where I used to work so I went ahead and approached her for a picture.

Shameless but I couldn't help myself.

​

 

[Queila]

Last thoughts

This was our third trip as a family of three and we had a blast. People around us keep asking how come we keep going back to WDW and it is hard to explain it but we always get the chance of reconnecting as a family when we are there.

And I really believe that ANY age is a good age to go to Disney and we hope Beatriz will have wonderful memories of the times sha has been there.

For this trip our favorite moments included riding the Fiesta boat ride in Mexico three times at Bea's request, meeting tons of characters, spending time with our friend A. and riding Soarin' via the VIP lane.

As an overall our favorite restaurant experiences were (from favorite to least favorite):
1- Jiko
2- San Angel Inn
3- Kouzzina
4- Whispering Canyon
5- Akershus
6- Tusker House

Pop Century was a great hotel. I recommend it to everyone who is looking for a Value. The crowd was a little rowdy compared to AKL in 2010 but we can't complain about anything. Would we ever go back? Well, I am really curious about Art of Animation now and hope to be able to stay there one day.

Next up:
What we have been up to​

 

[PopArtGal]

oh Queila I'm so sorry

 

[PopArtGal]

OMG Mitsou!!! Such memories!

Thank you for sharing your trip with us!

Too bad you're going later than I am, we could have met up. Then again.... it may be easier to actually do it in the Montreal area hehe

Thank you again. Hope you are doing well. Take care of yourself.

 

[ronnmel]

You took the same flight as us, AC945. Though next time we are thinking of possibly taking the evening Air Canada flight, to get a few extra hours at Disney.

That's cool that you met one of our "celebrities", Mitsou.

I loved POP as well, but for sure next time I'd want to try AoA!!!

I'm still hoping us three can meet up at some point. Though now is cutting it too close to my due date, but maybe sometimes this summer?

 

[PopArtGal]

Queila and ronmel: Whenever you girls wanna get out of the house let me know!

 

[manooly]

Queila, thanks for a great trip report! I really enjoyed reading all of the way through. We (my wife and two girls of 8 and 10) will be going to Disney World this August also for our 4th year in a row. We were not going to go again this year but of all the years to go this would be the one. Both my wife and I will be turning 40 in July and it will be our 15th wedding anniversary (in one more day actually). You're right in saying that there is just something special about spending the time with your family there. We'll be staying at the Caribbean Beach Resort from August 27th to September 5th. We are counting the days! Who knows, maybe our paths will cross. Thanks again for such a great trip report! I look forward to any updates you might have.

Take care!

- manooly

 

[JAMIESMITH]

So sad, it's over!

 

[pinkxray]

so sad it's all over. I hate the last day.

I can't believe it has been a year since your trip. I can't wait to see your next update and how big Beatriz is.

 

[cherjp]

absolutely loved your trip report and sharing it with you, thank you so much for sharing your beautiful daughter, she is gorgeous, and as I told you before its lovely to see it through a little girls eyes. xxx

Cant wait for an update and will be looking forward to your next trip.


thanks again you guys


xx love from scotland xx

 

[Queila]

OMG Mitsou!!! Such memories!

Thank you for sharing your trip with us!

Too bad you're going later than I am, we could have met up. Then again.... it may be easier to actually do it in the Montreal area hehe

Thank you again. Hope you are doing well. Take care of yourself.

I am doing better thank you. The past couple of months were a little crazy and I did not really feel like socializing much. But we can try to work something out.

You took the same flight as us, AC945. Though next time we are thinking of possibly taking the evening Air Canada flight, to get a few extra hours at Disney.

That's cool that you met one of our "celebrities", Mitsou.

I loved POP as well, but for sure next time I'd want to try AoA!!!

I'm still hoping us three can meet up at some point. Though now is cutting it too close to my due date, but maybe sometimes this summer?

You concentrate on your baby girl and let us know whenever you are ready, ok?

Queila, thanks for a great trip report! I really enjoyed reading all of the way through. We (my wife and two girls of 8 and 10) will be going to Disney World this August also for our 4th year in a row. We were not going to go again this year but of all the years to go this would be the one. Both my wife and I will be turning 40 in July and it will be our 15th wedding anniversary (in one more day actually). You're right in saying that there is just something special about spending the time with your family there. We'll be staying at the Caribbean Beach Resort from August 27th to September 5th. We are counting the days! Who knows, maybe our paths will cross. Thanks again for such a great trip report! I look forward to any updates you might have.

Take care!

- manooly

We are counting down the days in our house too! And who knows we might just cross each other. If you see us please come and say hello! And happy 15th anniversary.

So sad, it's over!

so sad it's all over. I hate the last day.

I can't believe it has been a year since your trip. I can't wait to see your next update and how big Beatriz is.

I agree. The last day is always so sad.
Updates coming soon!

absolutely loved your trip report and sharing it with you, thank you so much for sharing your beautiful daughter, she is gorgeous, and as I told you before its lovely to see it through a little girls eyes. xxx

Cant wait for an update and will be looking forward to your next trip.


thanks again you guys


xx love from scotland xx

I had a great time remembering our trip over here. Thank you for sticking around and participating with comments.

 

[natebenma]

Great report! I love seeing Disney through your and Beatriz's eyes. She is such a cutie!

I'm looking forward to hearing about your next adventures!

Dee

 

[brookelizabeth]

Wonderful report!!! I look forward to hearing what you've been up to and your plans for the next trip!

 

[Queila]

So what have we been up to since our trip to Disney? PART 1

Well, Summer 2011 came and went very fast and we tried to squeeze in lots of fun activities. That is the thing about living in a place that is cold most of the time. Summer comes and we become hyperactive trying to squeeze in as many outings as possible.

In June we brought Beatriz ice skating for the first time. She was a little scared and not crazy about the whole experience and I am planning to put her on some ice skating lessons soon. Growing up here I think it is important that she develops some skills that he mother doesn't have.

At about the same time she had her little "end of the school year show" at her day care. They danced and recited little poems and at end she even got her little certificate:

At the end of the month we went to the movies to watch Cars 2. The plot was a little complicated for the little ones to follow but everybody had a good time:

July was busy with trips to my in laws in the countryside, lots of swimming in our backyard pool and even a brief visit from my father and his wife:

Also in July Joey and I went to the U2 concert here in Montreal. The concert was great but we ended up the night exhausted and soaking wet and I vowed to never do it again.

And we also brought Beatriz to see Cirque du Soleil's show "Totem":

In August I went to see NKOTBSB with my best friend. I always have the BEST time with my beloved New Kids:

The concert was awesome and it was the night before we left on our yearly trip to Cape Cod:

Unfortunately it does not look like we will be going back this year. Joey changed jobs in April and there is just so much time off that he can get. We are going to New Hampshire for a long weekend but Cape Cod is too much of a drive for just a couple of nights. I am going to miss it though.

Then Fall came and one of our favorite things to do in the Fall is to go apple picking. Last year we went in the beginning of October. It was unusually hot for that time of the year but we were not complaining:

In December Joey and I took a trip to Las Vegas to celebrate our 10th anniversary:

After a couple of days in Vegas we somehow ended up at Disneyland for a day but I will come back later to write about that. ​

 

[JAMIESMITH]

It looks like you had a fun summer! Congratulations on being married ten years! Can I be nosy and ask how you met?

 

[mickeystoontown]

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading about your trip to Disney! Ms. Beatriz is such a cutie and her smile is infectious.

 

[Queila]

It looks like you had a fun summer! Congratulations on being married ten years! Can I be nosy and ask how you met?

Do you remember ICQ?

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading about your trip to Disney! Ms. Beatriz is such a cutie and her smile is infectious.

Thank you. She is our pride and joy.

 

[Queila]

VEGAS TRIP AND DISNEYLAND MINI TR (Dec. 8- 12 2012)

So for our wedding anniversary Joey and I decided we wanted to spend sometime alone celebrating, you know, just the two of us.

We considered NYC but I wanted somewhere we had never been before. Then we thought we could go relax in a resort down south (maybe Mexico or Turks and Caicos) but we thought it would be hard NOT to think about how Beatriz would be having fun if she was there with us.

So Vegas seemed like a cool new place to visit and we would not feel bad about not bringing Bea. So we booked four nights at Aria Hotel and we did have a blast.

The hotel was AMAZING and we had a nice view of the strip:

We do not gamble but we left our money in the restaurants,a night show and even in the outlets just off the strip:

Benedict eggs with figs for breakfast from Mon Ami Gabi:

Chocolate soufflé for dessert at Fleur:

We also spent one afternoon at the spa of the resort and it was just what the doctor had ordered.

We even got to meet the guy from whom we had rented DVC points to our 2010 Disney trip when we stayed at AKL.

He worked in the spa of our hotel and it was a cool little Dis meet. He is a massage therapist there and when we told him about our plans to go to Disneyland he totally fired us up for that!

Now... we were not supposed to have a car for the trip. We were going to walk the strip and use taxi if necessary. However, three days before the trip Joey found an amazing deal on a rental that changed our plans a little bit. It pretty much costed us less money to have the car for the four days than the taxi ride from and to the airport.

The rented car gave us extra mobility so what should we do with it? I threw the idea of Disneyland a bit as a joke at Joey but he was all for it. I have to say I pretty much created a Disney monster and I am proud of myself.

So we canceled our last night in Vegas and booked a Super 8 in Anaheim. Then on the Sunday morning we woke up at 6 am, checked out and hit the road to California:

The scenery was awe inspiring!!

At about 11h30 am we left the car at the parking lot of our hotel and walked to Disneyland.

And that is when it became official: we were cheating on Beatriz!

I can honestly say that the best part of the trip was to spend undivided time with my husband. It reminded me of what got us together at first place and reassured me that we "still got it". ​

 

[Queila]

VEGAS AND DISNEYLAND MINI TR- PART 2

Disneyland was PACKED!!!!!

We had many things going against us: it was a Sunday, the last weekend before the Holidays and we got to the park late.

My guilt feelings of not having Beatriz with us quickly disappeared. I cannot even imagine trying to navigate the park with a stroller and a mini bladder under those conditions.

I also quickly noticed the difference between the type of crowd that goes to Disneyland and to WDW. Specially on a Sunday, I guess.

In WDW we see a lot of families that are there for at least a couple of nights.For many, that is even a once in a lifetime deal.

On that day on Disneyland I could tell the park was filled with locals. People that are there just to "hang out" with their friends, eat, walk around with the kids, check out the Holiday decorations...

These people are not very concerned about how many rides they can fit in one day. We were.

So we decided we were going to concentrate our efforts on rides they don't have in Florida and on rides we end up not doing because of Beatriz.

First stop:

We waited over 45 minutes to ride it and that is when I realized I was going to have to surrender to the fact that we were not going to get much done during the day.

We changed our game plan to "let's just enjoy what we can and hope the crowds will thin out after the fireworks at 10 pm and we will try to fit in what we can from 10 pm to midnight".

After SM we walked into the next door theater to see the Captain EO show. I had seen it once in the 90's but had missed the opportunity in our May 2011. There was zero wait so we grabbed the opportunity. The show was OK but I sincerely don't need to do it ever again. I get why it was a hi back in the day but is just so outdated now. Wish MJ was still alive to make a better one.

So at this point we were already ready for lunch so we grab Fast Passes for Star Tours and crossed to New Orleans Square for lunch at the French Market Restaurant.

I had clam chowder in the sourdough and green salad with blue cheese dressing:

And Joey had Jambalaya with vegetables:

There was plenty of seating outside and some great live music going on:

After lunch and we decided to check the Pirates of the Caribbean but the line was INSANE. I say at least two hours so we kept walking.

We tried to get a FP for the Indiana Jones Adventure but the ride was down because of technical difficulties. They asked to check again later. Right beside it we saw Jungle Cruise had a 5 minute wait so we walked in:

We checked Indiana Jones again but no luck so at this point we decided to cross to California Adventure and see if we can accomplish something over there.

A picture with the Castle before we leave:

At California Adventure we gabbed Fast Passes for Soarin' and some churros for dessert:

Then I was VERY excited to ride this one:

That was the one point of the day that we wished Beatriz was with us. She would have loved it! So I guess this is the same ride they are adding in the new Fantasyland in WDW. I have to say the ride is SOOOOO Fantasyland.

To be Continued....​