Let's Watch the Hallucination Show on the Castle- A May '14 TR *12/3 PTR Link to Real Life News

[amazingact21]

Ah the "sleeping kid transfer" - always like playing with fire. My son tends to transfer really poorly so we've had lots of time where we return home and he is asleep in his car seat and we will just let him sleep and one of us stays in the car with him. At least you got to go back to the parks when he work up and it kinda turned into a positive

"I don't always pin trade, but when I do, it’s because I spotted something really cool. Stay magical my friends" - the Most Interesting DISer in the World

Glad things worked out and you were able to see the parade and enjoyed it. I do love the creativity they showed with the floats and hope this carried through to other parades they do in the future rather than just reusing things

Glad the DISmeet worked out as well. I followed Josh's TR and reading the re-enlisting story was really cool to me - and I am sure like 10x as much for you as a fellow military family

Yeah, I'd say that qualifies as a "large" cinnamon roll

I miss the days when Landon was tiny enough to fit in his infant carseat, and I could just bring him inside with me. I got a lot more done back then. I, too, have had to sit in the driveway for an hour to let Landon finish out a nap. One time, it happened right as I got to my parent's house, and I called my mom and sweet talked her into bringing me out a sandwich and sweet tea.


The creativity and success of FoF has made me at least hopeful that all the new Avatar stuff in AK will be really cool. I am one of those people who aren't crazy about Avatar, but at least in Disney's hands it should look nice.

Oh my gosh, when you said you were at the MK bus stop at 2, I was really hoping this update would include some FoF goodness! I may or may not be completely obsessed with that parade and I may or may not have watched it 8 times in 2014. So glad you enjoyed it too!

I'm not very 'in the know' about the military, but that was definitely an interesting story. How cool! And awesome that Alex got to have his very own DISmeet!

8 times?! That is awesome! We ended up watching it twice in one week, which for us was unheard of. Kind of showed our family and friends just how fantastic the show was that we'd stick around for it again later in the week.

We have a saying in our house.... "DON'T WAKE THE DRAGON!!!" As soon as I saw that you even thought of attempting to move him out of the stroller the mommy in me went "uh oh! That won't be pretty!" Glad you were able to bounce back from it a little bit at least.

THose cinnamon rolls look good.

It was a dumb call. Unfortunately, Landon was in that in-between stage where he was still a baby but was almost a toddler. Baby Landon could be moved no problem....clearly, toddler Landon could not.

 

[amazingact21]

I think you made a wise decision seeing the Festival of Fantasy. I fell in love with this parade and I DO NOT care much for the daytime parades normally. I am genuinely looking forward to seeing it again.

Ah that's so cool that the DISmeet was actually Alex's. I never really thought about it, but yeah, I guess it would seem strange to be on the outside.

Oh good lord yeah that cinnamon roll is a full on beast. Don't tell Gaston!

Yeah, it was an interesting change, being the person who was meeting up with a total stranger. It wasn't that bad, though. I thought it was cool that there's a forum on the boards for Alex and fellow dads to talk. Something for everyone...

Oh yeah, I have been there about transferrring a sleeping baby. Just don't do it. LOL...

But, I am glad that you guys got to catch the FOF parade.. You know I missed it last time and have such high hopes about seeing it next month!! EEEEKKKKKK

Yay for a DIS meet. Landon is really knocked out on Alex. Such a precious boy.

When in February are you going again? We're hoping to be in that area around the end of the month. It seems like everybody is going to the world next month.
Should be a very special trip for you. Will you know the gender yet? If so...shopping!

Wow... major parenting rookie mistake there! If they're asleep in the stroller and you can get it to where you're going... don't touch them!

Clearly, you learned from that experience.

I'm glad you got to see the Festival of Fantasy parade. We never really could work it out, and I was kind of looking forward to seeing it.

The cinnamon roll looks good. I never got a chance to try one to see if it is as good as the ones they used to have at Main Street Bakery. If it was anything close to how those were, I know it had to have been quite a treat.

Back then, Landon was still kind of a baby and could transfer easier, or at least he would go back to sleep quickly. Apparently, this May trip was when he transformed into toddler mode.

The FoF parade was fantastic. Something I would easily see again next time I'm in the park. Sorry you didn't get a chance to see it in December. But hey, just another reason to go back one day.


Well, I never got to try the Main Street Bakery roll so I can't judge whether or not it was as good. But Gaston's was very tasty; almost too sweet at times.

 

[amazingact21]

Wow, that stroller-to-PnP transfer attempt was EXACTLY what we did on our Dec. 2013 trip! And, like you, we never tried it again. We'd get back at night and let her keep sleeping in the stroller until her middle-of-the-night-wake-up (that she still did then). No messing with her while asleep!

Isn't that an amazing parade?! I was really blown away by it. Just captivating and beautiful and fascinating.

But a real snoozer for Landon.

I love how he's sound asleep in the DIS-Dad-meet picture!


From what I've seen of the DIS Dads, you probably had. It probably involved bacon.

WOW. That cinnamon roll puts the old (giant) Main Street Bakery one to shame.

I couldn't help but laugh out loud at your DISdad reasoning. That's a very true point...



Ugh, I believe Izzy and Landon were the same age in Dec. 2013 and May 2014 and yep...that is apparently the golden age when kid transfers stop working.

Well aside from the nap snafu it sounds like a fun afternoon! I think that's always the best time to see a parade, when you happen upon it and find a decent spot. You go into it with lower expectations I think and it always seems more impressive!

Giant cinnamon buns..... it'll be a toss up between that and a nutella waffle for breakfast on my MK morning.

It really is! You don't wait and get ansty and expect a lot. I hadn't even heard the soundtrack until that afternoon, so it was all really new and exciting for me.

Ahh yes - sleeping toddler. Changing positions is never a good thing. But at least he went back to sleep and you had some quiet times at the MK.

Well look at Alex - arranging his own DIS meet. I am pretty impressed there.

And what a cool idea to reenlist at the MK. I love that! So original!

Yup - that is one huge cinnamon roll!

Yeah, I thought it was pretty cool that Alex participated in the DISdads forum and arranged a meet. He probably got sick of being the odd man out and wanted to turn the tables for a change.

 

[khertz]

Ahhh, the sleeping baby transfer. Seems so simple in theory but almost always yields bad results! Been there, done that. At least Landon eventually got his nap, and bonus, you got to see FoF! Such an incredible parade. I can't wait to see it again!

I can only imagine that it was pretty weird being on the other end of a DIS meet, but cool nonetheless. That's very cool about doing the reenlistment ceremony in MK. What a great memory!

Holy moly! That's a huge cinnamon roll! You know, now that I think about it I am really amazed we have never had one of them before. DH really loves cinnamon rolls. We may have to correct that oversight on our next trip!

 

[amazingact21]

Ahhh, the sleeping baby transfer. Seems so simple in theory but almost always yields bad results! Been there, done that. At least Landon eventually got his nap, and bonus, you got to see FoF! Such an incredible parade. I can't wait to see it again!

I can only imagine that it was pretty weird being on the other end of a DIS meet, but cool nonetheless. That's very cool about doing the reenlistment ceremony in MK. What a great memory!

Holy moly! That's a huge cinnamon roll! You know, now that I think about it I am really amazed we have never had one of them before. DH really loves cinnamon rolls. We may have to correct that oversight on our next trip!

FoF is a fantastic parade. Like you, I'm looking forward to seeing it again.

It was a little strange not knowing who we were about to meet, but it also took a lot of the pressure off me. I could just stand back and let the guys talk for a change.


Alex (and Landon the two times he's tried them) loves cinnamon rolls, too. I think it's a guy thing. I haven't met a lot of men who don't like them.

 

[amazingact21]

Hey guys, I have been really busy lately, so I've only been getting to one or two updates a day. But I promise that I'm getting to them! Just give me a little time, and I'll reply to your posts!




Tuesday, May 13th, 2014:


Having just enjoyed a gigantic cinnamon roll in Gaston's Tavern, I decided to switch our LM Fastpasses with Dumbo. We love Under the Sea, but we really wanted Landon to experience Dumbo before he got cranky. We could tell by looking at him that he clearly wasn't having fun, and since he'd just woken up, we figured a fresh toddler was our best chance.








When we got to the play area of the queue, Landon perked up and showed a lot of interest. However, it was packed and the majority of the kids in there looked older. I knew my little guy would get trampled playing around with all those big kids. (Not that he shared my opinion. Even now, he prefers to run after the five and six year olds at open gym. He's like those Chihuahuas that think they're Pit Bulls.)


So, we were the mean mom and dad that denied our kid the playground.

Strike 1.




The face of a toddler who didn't get his way.

Resembles thunderclouds rolling in before a storm.




I'm not sure why, but this is the last picture I have of the attraction. I guess we were all too cramped into the elephant to take photos.


Landon was awake and conscious for our turn, but he was not enthusiastic about it. I think I enjoyed it more than anyone else.

But, in his defense, it was HOT out. Every time we rose up in the air, I thought we were about to touch the surface of the sun. The heat was beating down on us, and it can be hard to be happy when you're sweaty and sticky and just want to find a shaded spot to cool off.




Next up was finally trying to go on Under the Sea.

We'd only pushed it back twice now.



However, when Alex and I parked our stroller in the designated location, Landon found something a lot more interesting to play with than the attraction.



Hand rails.

Ironically, it was at the Ariel meet and greet in December that he really learned to hold onto these and stand up unassisted.

Guess we know what Landon's favorite part of MK is.


Alex tried to pick Landon up and bring him to the ride entrance, but our kid was having none of it. Cue toddler freak out.

Strike 2.



We couldn't very well bring a screaming kid on a quiet ride at that point, so Little Mermaid was skipped and we started walking on. The trick with Landon was to hold him for awhile and nine times out of ten he'd calm down on his own.


Our journey led us to Prince Charming's Royal Carousel - something Landon adored on our last trip.

Surely, it would be just the thing our grumpy kiddo needed.





And at first, it was.

Then...then, the thrill ended and Landon just wanted down.

Strike 3.





It was plain as day to us that Landon was miserable. He wanted nothing to do with the rides, nothing to do with walking around, and he definitely wanted nothing to do with our scheduled plans.


By that point, Alex and I had been dealing with a crying, fussy baby for almost an hour straight, and we were all hot and tired. As parents, we made an important decision.

Rather than stick it out in the Mk and be completely miserable, we decided to call it quits and go back to Animal Kingdom Lodge.


At 5 o'clock in the evening.




I'm sure you can hear Alex's cries of frustration even now.




Up until that point, we had been trying to give Landon swallows of water from our bottles to try and cool him off and keep him hydrated, but he refused to drink more than a sip. At the time, he absolutely HATED sippy cups. Would chuck them off his high chair as soon one was placed on his tray, but I'd brought one with us just in case.


Out of desperation, I poured some water into it and handed the cup to him while we waited for a bus back to the resort.


Landon proceeded to devour the water! We immediately poured a second bottle's worth into his cup and watched in amazement as he drank all of that one, too.


Up until that moment, he fought us tooth and nail about sippy cups; he'd always drank from our bottles, but that day he decided to switch his tactics on us.

I felt terrible that he'd been dying of thirst and was just waiting for us to present the drink in a different form, but it was impossible to know that was the case beforehand. Alex had tried giving him his sippy cup around lunchtime, and he'd rebelled, so this weird switch was completely unexpected.


It was a perfect example of how unpredictable and spontaneous kids can be.

And despite the fact that he'd settled down, Alex and I still thought it was best to have an early night at "home." We got back around dinnertime, went to the Mara for dinner, and then went back to the room and performed our normal bedtime routine with Landon. As much as it pained us to miss all the nighttime shows, we realized going through the motions of dinner, then bath time, then bedtime really helped center Landon.

He'd had a long day, and he needed that typical routine to help calm him down and get him relaxed enough to rest.



It was hard for us, as the parents, to miss so much Disney time, but it was a learning experience. Every kid handles vacation differently, and at that point in time, Landon was the type of kid who needed normalcy in his life to balance all the new and crazy sights.

Alex and I just told each other that in a few years, our vacationing style would probably change again. And perhaps in a decade from then, when Landon would be a groggy teenager, it might be all the morning activities we miss because he would refuse to wake up early.


The phases of Disney touring...

And because Landon didn't let us get an afternoon nap, and Alex and I had been lugging him around all day, we ended up passing out at 8:30 that evening.



Yep. 8:30.


To think there was a time when we were going strong in the MK at 3 a.m.


Oh, how times change...


Alex and I fell asleep hoping we'd overcome all the bumps and learning curves we needed and that hopefully the following day would go more smoothly.



Up Next: So, We're THOSE Parents.

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Don't you love it when the toddler changes the rules of the game without telling you?

And Kudos for recognising the need to still go back to the resort once you realized he was just thirsty. Thats when the call gets hard to make. Once the kid is happy again and the problem is mostly solved.

But you are right sometimes a small taste of normality and a good nights sleep is really whats needed to work Toddler Magic and get the Happy baby back!

 

[Marsheliz]

Awww Landy was just thirsty!!! Trust me, I know all about cranky toddlers at Disney, for sure! I am so hoping everything goes smoothly next month!!

Dumbo is one of our Landy's favorites and Under the Sea! Now that he is a little bit older, I can't wait to see if they are still his favorites!!

To answer your questions, we will be at Disney February 12-16th- short trip but we are just grateful to be squeezing it in. And yes, we should find out gender the week before we go and we are doing a gender reveal at Disney!! OMGGGGG!! Help me brainstorm ideas!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Riding Dumbo does seem like a sound strategy. Too bad about the play area though.

Oy. I guess you know you're defeated when even the carousel doesn't do the trick. It must be tough to miss that Disney time, but I'm sure it's a small price to pay overall.

 

[MEK]

The whole sippy cup thing reminds me of when Nick was a baby. At 10 months old he did not want a bottle anymore. Nope. Wanted nothing to do with it, which left the notorious sippy cup and a 10 month old. I became neurotic to the point that I was constantly worried he wasn't getting enough to drink. But your experience just shows that kids take what they need when they need it, much to the chagrin of their well intentioned parents.

Sometimes you just need a night to crash and burn, even at 8:30pm .

 

[afwdwfan]

He’s like those Chihuahuas that think they’re Pit Bulls.)

The face of a toddler who didn’t get his way….


Resembles thunderclouds rolling in before a storm.

Sounds about right.

And at first, it was.





Then….then, the thrill ended and Landon just wanted down.

And just try reasoning with a toddler that they can't get down until the ride stops...

Rather than stick it out in the Mk and be completely miserable, we decided to call it quits and go back to Animal Kingdom Lodge.



At 5 o’clock in the evening.

oh.... brutal.

I’m sure you can hear Alex’s cries of frustration even now…

Landon proceeded to devour the water! We immediately poured a second bottle’s worth into his cup and watched in amazement as he drank all of that one, too.

Well, at least something good came about from it. So did he change his tune about the sippy cups going forward or was this just an "only when I'm thirsty" thing?

Alex and I just told each other that in a few years, our vacationing style would probably change again. And perhaps in a decade from then, when Landon would be a groggy teenager, it might be all the morning activities we miss because he would refuse to wake up early.

Nope, not buying it. By then you can reason and threaten and he can either get up or you can leave him in the room.

To think there was a time when we were going strong in the MK at 3am.

When you're laying in bed and you suddenly hear the fireworks going off in one of the parks... it just feels like something went terribly wrong.

 

[amazingact21]

Don't you love it when the toddler changes the rules of the game without telling you?

And Kudos for recognising the need to still go back to the resort once you realized he was just thirsty. Thats when the call gets hard to make. Once the kid is happy again and the problem is mostly solved.

But you are right sometimes a small taste of normality and a good nights sleep is really whats needed to work Toddler Magic and get the Happy baby back!

It's hard to leave the parks, especially when you know you only have a limited time there, but that's the risk you take when you bring a toddler. There were equal parts of me that wanted to stay in the Magic Kingdom but also wanted to go rest in our room. In the end, going back to AKL was the smartest move we made on that trip. Landon hates changes (and he calls himself a military brat...) so he was relieved to go through the normal nightttime motions. Really settled him down.

Awww Landy was just thirsty!!! Trust me, I know all about cranky toddlers at Disney, for sure! I am so hoping everything goes smoothly next month!!

Dumbo is one of our Landy's favorites and Under the Sea! Now that he is a little bit older, I can't wait to see if they are still his favorites!!

To answer your questions, we will be at Disney February 12-16th- short trip but we are just grateful to be squeezing it in. And yes, we should find out gender the week before we go and we are doing a gender reveal at Disney!! OMGGGGG!! Help me brainstorm ideas!

Hey, any time at Disney is better than no time at Disney! And I know that when I was there while I was pregnant, I kind of forgot about my aches and pains from being preggers cuz I was so excited. And I actually drank more water than any other time, so that was really good. I know you've been there when you were pregnant with both boys, so this is all old news to you. I just mentioned it cuz I saw somewhere how sick you've been and wanted to give you some hope.


Hmm, gender reveals....I don't know, you're announcement was pretty flipping cute, as is. I don't think I could top that! If all else fails, turn to Pinterest.

 

[amazingact21]

Riding Dumbo does seem like a sound strategy. Too bad about the play area though.

Oy. I guess you know you're defeated when even the carousel doesn't do the trick. It must be tough to miss that Disney time, but I'm sure it's a small price to pay overall.

It was especially hard for Alex to leave the parks so early, but we had to do what we had to do. Nobody likes to walk past that family that has the screaming child just wailing away at the top of his lungs. No way were we going to be those people.

The whole sippy cup thing reminds me of when Nick was a baby. At 10 months old he did not want a bottle anymore. Nope. Wanted nothing to do with it, which left the notorious sippy cup and a 10 month old. I became neurotic to the point that I was constantly worried he wasn't getting enough to drink. But your experience just shows that kids take what they need when they need it, much to the chagrin of their well intentioned parents.

Sometimes you just need a night to crash and burn, even at 8:30pm .

Ugh, kids can be pretty stubborn when they want to be. It's almost like they'll cut off their nose to spite their face.
For about 6 months Landon rebelled against switching to whole milk. Just downright refused to drink it. I had to sneak cheese sticks and yogurt into his meals, because he was that grumpy about it. Then, out of nowhere, he found one brand he liked and that was all it took. (Of course, it is the most expensive milk on the shelves...)
Kids are funny like that. Patience is a big part of parenthood.

And just try reasoning with a toddler that they can't get down until the ride stops...

A parent's job is never dull.

Well, at least something good came about from it. So did he change his tune about the sippy cups going forward or was this just an "only when I'm thirsty" thing?

He has one sippy cup that he drinks his milk from with no issues. But it can only be at meal times. He cannot have the cup in his sight of vision when he's down from the table. That's unacceptable.
And water he now just drinks from a regular bottle. Usually mine. Or anyone that's silly enough to leave it on the coffee table...

Nope, not buying it. By then you can reason and threaten and he can either get up or you can leave him in the room.

Haha, I think if breakfast or roller coasters are involved, I'll be able to get Landon up. Those are two things he already loves.

When you're laying in bed and you suddenly hear the fireworks going off in one of the parks... it just feels like something went terribly wrong.

Ouch. Yeah, that would be brutal.

 

[Dugette]

I read this update the other day, but guess it must have been on the bus since I haven’t responded yet – oops!

Awww, poor playground-deprived Landon! His parents are making him go on a classic Disney World attraction instead.

That first picture on the carousel is just adorable!

Crazy that Landon decided to pull the cup switcheroo on you right then. Glad you got him calmed down.

Haha, yep, being parents can sure mess with your touring style. Glad you all got some good sleep, I guess. I’m a bit scared what the next day will bring with that teaser…

 

[teekathepony]

Oh dear. Three strikes and you were out of there! Love the pictures regardless, especially the ones on the carousel!
Having no parenting/babysitting/older sibling experience, I guess I had no idea how toddlers could just totally change their minds on things like that. That sure does make things difficult!

 

[amazingact21]

Bear with me, everyone, this is the first time I've been on the boards in almost 2 weeks, and everything's changed on me! I'll learn the new system over time, but for today I learned just enough to post a quick update.

I know I apologize for being absent almost every single update, but this time, I had a really good reason!


90% of you know why already because of Facebook, but for those who don't....

Look, look!





Alex is home!!!!


He came back approximately two weeks ago. I can't say enough how great it is to have him back with us, and Landon has done a pretty good job adjusting to the change. There's still a couple things that Landon still insist I do, but he'll run up and give Dad hugs and let him play with toy cars, so Alex and I are considering that an overall success.


For Dad's homecoming, Landon had to wear an awesome shirt to commererate the event:





And, I, of course, passed "lugging the heavy toddler duty" off to him the minute I was able to:






Of course, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to tell the whole neighborhood that Alex was coming home, so I also made this snazzy banner:





If Alex returning home wasn't enough, we both searched for and found a new house to move into. We were living in a tiny 2 bedroom townhome before his deployment; which was perfect for us when it was just us two, but once Landon was born and we had to buy all the stuff that a kid requires, we needed more space.

So the last two weeks were jam packed with house showings and then the ordeal of moving all our stuff from Point A to Point B.


But about a week ago, we did it and began our newest journey of making a new house our home. Well, as much of a home as you can make a rental property be. (Buying was out of the question as we're waiting any month now for the news that it's our turn to pack up and move to a new base.)





In addition to being completely swamped with unpacking and learning a new house, our internet wasn't turned on for a whole workweek, so I was without access to the boards that entire time. On one hand, it was convenient, because I had nothing else to do BUT set stuff up. On the other hand...I'm so behind on all of you guy's reports!!!

So much reading to do!




And now, if all that wasn't enough, Alex and my dad are using this weekend to build handrails on our deck.





Landon had to help out, too:






Landon has a healthy respect for the edge of the deck, but our silly dog does not. He kept diving off the tallest side to chase after a bird or a squirell or the chickens that are next door. He's a small dog with a bad knee, so the chances of him hurting himself or landing in a thorn bush were pretty high.

Needed to fix that problem.


Not to mention I didn't want to put any of Landon's friends at risk whenever they came over, so it needed to be done ASAP.



Whew.
Lots of boring real life info shoved into a tiny update.

Sorry for that!


Oh! Oh! I almost forgot to mention the most exciting news!


My in-laws are taking us on a cruise the first week of March.

No. It won't be on Disney Cruise Line. Not that Alex and I didn't push for it to be.

We fought that battle hard.


But, in the end, they wanted to pay for the trip and they couldn't afford Disney, so we will be doing Royal Caribbean.


That's not the exciting news. Frankly, I'm not looking forward to that at all.

Trying to keep an active and antsy 1 year old entertained on a non-Disney ship for 4 nights? That right there is a work trip.


The exciting news? Alex and I are doing 3 nights at Disney beforehand!

We wanted to something to offset the stress of cruising, and we figured if we took Landon to Disney first, then at least we'll be mentally prepared for the second half of our vacation.


And we spent so much time talking and talking about Landon meeting Mickey that we really wanted to make that a reality. Who knows 6 months later if he'll still be as obsessed with Mickey Mouse as he is now. We have to grab the opportunity while we can!


Because this is such a last minute trip, we don't have anything booked or planned yet. Well, we have a lunch ADR at Via Napoli, but that's about it.

No room yet, no tickets yet, so no Fastpasses yet.

This will certainly be a spur of the moment/ fly by the seat of our pants vacation, but we're okay with that.

After the stress of the move and adjusting to being back to a family of three and getting ready for the cruise, a couple relaxed days at our favorite place in the world is just what we need.


Disney's the best medicine...

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Awww Alicia, I am so happy that Alex is home (as I bet he is too).

And YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY for a bit of upcoming Disney!!!! This just made me so happy for you guys!!!

 

[Dugette]

90% of you know why already because of Facebook, but for those who don't....

I guess I need to get with the 90%.

He came back approximately two weeks ago. I can't say enough how great it is to have him back with us, and Landon has done a pretty good job adjusting to the change. There's still a couple things that Landon still insist I do, but he'll run up and give Dad hugs and let him play with toy cars, so Alex and I are considering that an overall success.

So excited that Alex is home safe and you are all adapting well to being a family of three again. I was actually thinking of your time during deployment earlier today - I was shopping at Target and left Izzy home with Dug, but lots of other kids were at the store and having a rough time (probably too close to nap time for some) - and I was thinking how nice it is that I seldom have to bring a toddler shopping with me, but that some people have no choice - and I'm guessing you didn't have many non-toddler outings while Alex was gone. Special treat now.

On the other hand...I'm so behind on all of you guy's reports!!!

You might find you're not as behind as you think. The board migration really slowed things down for the last week. I finally put one update on all my reports, but hadn't done anything since before the migration last weekend and I think a lot of people were the same. There wasn't a ton of action, at least not on what I follow.

Lots of boring real life info shoved into a tiny update.

Not boring at all! Pretty exciting stuff!

But, in the end, they wanted to pay for the trip and they couldn't afford Disney, so we will be doing Royal Caribbean.

For what it's worth, we took a Royal Caribbean cruise way back in 2008 and had a GREAT time! We were never bored and had great service. Of course, it was pre-kid, so I understand your concerns. I do think that, depending on the ship, some of them have pretty decent kids' amenities and clubs. Not Disney, but still fun. But I haven't looked into it a lot. I know that there is a forum here on the DIS devoted to Royal Caribbean, so you might be able to pick up some toddler tips from that.

And we spent so much time talking and talking about Landon meeting Mickey that we really wanted to make that a reality. Who knows 6 months later if he'll still be as obsessed with Mickey Mouse as he is now. We have to grab the opportunity while we can!

So excited that you all get to go meet Mickey together...and soon! I hope it's a wonderful experience and worth your parade-dodging efforts!

 

[blabbermouth]

Nice 'real life' update Lots of excitement for you lately, and you're on a one month-ish countdown to Disney! Yay!

 

[MEK]

Yay for the cruise. I am sure you will have a wonderful time and yay for a quick trip to Disney. You said that might happen!

We will be there 2/26-3/1 (after we leave for a few days to Cape Canaveral), so if you are there the same time let me know!

Yay for finding a house so easily.