My AP-ALOOZA Continues (WE RENEWED!!) ~ NEW TR link posted!

[Imagineer5]

Wow, the places you are staying in France look AMAZING!!! That is going to be quite a trip! I really need to figure out if we are going to DLP in March. I thought we were all set, but now the flight has gone up over $300. We're also hoping to have a baby next year and I'm trying to decide if we should be saving our money/vacation days instead.

Thank you!! It was SO much fun delving into each location and spending the time to find a home base for each. My first thought to your statement is that you should go anyway bc you never know what the future may bring, but that may also be my 1.5-years of trying jading me! LOL soooo do what you think is best!! I couldn't pass up that opportunity though.

wow, your locations in France look amazing! Good job finding those.

Do you know how the wineries in France are with brining kids? I always get nervous when we bring the kids to wineries that they will bug other people and the wine owners won't be happy. More just a question from someone very much clueless

Thank you!! Regarding the wineries - I asked the bike tour company and they are kid-friendly (offering the trailers for kids and such) so I can't imagine they are that stuck up about it. THe wineries we will be visiting will be family-run type places (so don't think Napa lol). That being said, I am sure there will be some trading off letting her run around while one person enjoys the tasting. We've brought her to some local wineries (bc it's something we love doing) and she has been fine.

 

[Imagineer5]

Sorry for the super delay! I'm back now!

Tuesday August 26th!

So this morning EPCOT had EMH! We drove over, had a prime parking spot and entered right at 8. Though we arrived at about 7:50 and it was packed!

Our first stop was of course, Spaceship Earth. We had a blast riding and Aria loved EARTH and the stars and really enjoyed the ride.

I couldn't resist taking a few photos of course

It went downhill from here though – we attempted to visit The Seas and ride Nemo, but it is not open during EMH. Aria was pretty distraught over this! So we headed over to Figment, which alas ALSO is not open during EMH!

So our last attempt thankfully was not a failure – we went in to Living with the Land and then got a bite at Sunshine Seasons.

First up, the ride was fun though definitely not Aria’s favorite. I am always amazed how different the plants are even when only 1 month has gone by since our last visit.

Aria waved to some CM’s working in the greenhouse lol!

Then we headed to Sunshine Seasons and got a couple croissants and some chocolate milk for Aria. She spilled her milk all over her though so I was just feeling a bit down at our poor luck morning. Kind of a waste of EMH IMO – this is one EMH we prob wouldn’t plan to do again.

Anyway we killed enough time that it was nearing 9 so headed out and over to ride Nemo.

She kept wanting to touch the "sand" and then a nice person behind us offered to take a quick pic

We loved the ride some much that Aria asked to ride again!! And again! And luckily the CM told us to use the wheelchair entrance right around the corner so we were able to ride again without walking through the super long queue again.

 

[Imagineer5]

Then on my to-do is a pic with Bruce, today Aria was NOT happy about this, poor kiddo. (totally different pic in October – she is so silly).

We had some fun exploring the Seas

Then headed over to Turtle Talk. This time I didn’t feel like sitting on the floor, and Aria didn’t want to by herself, so we watched from the back a ways and Aria didn’t seem as into it as previous trips. Still cute, though.

Figment was up next and the ride was fun, and we finally stopped at the end to play – Aria had a blast running around the colored squares and then creating her own Figment. I will say that EPCOT is so EASY to visit with a 2 year old, since there really isn’t that much to do that it allows you to spend more time enjoying these sorts of things vs. running around trying to do everything.

Heading out of Figment, I saw a very short line for Chip & Dale and Aria wanted to meet them so we hopped in it. I love the photos we got with them – playing with her pig tails and all! So cute.

Afterwards she told me she wanted to meet Mickey, but our FP for the Character Spot wasn’t until 12, and the wait time was at 50 minutes already!! I couldn’t believe it. So instead we headed over to kill more time in Innoventions. We came across the Great Piggy Bank Adventure and ended up doing that. Aria had a BLAST! She wanted to save for a Dream Bedroom so we played all the games and met the goal. Only problem was at the end, she wanted to keep her piggy bank and then wanted to play again.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

that's a bummer that some of the attractions were closed for EMH ... I mean, there aren't really that many rides at EPCOT you'd think all the ones they do have would be open ... maybe they just figure everyone is going to Soarin' or Test Tract

That's great that they let you use the wheelchair acess vs. having to re-walk the 37.2 mile queue again. The post-ride area at Journey into the Imagination is cute (my kids likes the hand waving controlled music thing) but feel like they could have more stuff - glad Aria had fun though!

Definitely cute pictures with Chib & Dale

I am kinda surprised Disney doesn't offer the option to buy the piggy bank at the end of the adventure - I am sure Aria is not the first kid to want to keep hers and Disney usually doesn't miss an opportunity to make money

 

[schmass]

It looks like you two had a fun morning at Epcot in spite of certain rides not being open yet. I like your attitude about being able to spend more time enjoying things since there isn't as much to do there.

 

[Joyciemc]

Your upcoming trips sound awesome!

We're having a similar house/pet sitting situation. Ben's parents usually watch our dog at their house, but they now have a horse living in their backyard (yeah, you read that right. ) and we don't think Penny would do so great with a horse. So instead of just having someone pop in to check the cats, I need to figure out who can stay at the house. And I need to figure this out before we leave for California on Thursday. Uh oh.

Anyway, back to you
I hadn't noticed until you pointed it out, but it does seem like Epcot is a great toddler park; lots of places to tun around and explore instead of being cooped up all the time.

 

[Imagineer5]

that's a bummer that some of the attractions were closed for EMH ... I mean, there aren't really that many rides at EPCOT you'd think all the ones they do have would be open ... maybe they just figure everyone is going to Soarin' or Test Tract

That's great that they let you use the wheelchair acess vs. having to re-walk the 37.2 mile queue again. The post-ride area at Journey into the Imagination is cute (my kids likes the hand waving controlled music thing) but feel like they could have more stuff - glad Aria had fun though!

Definitely cute pictures with Chib & Dale

I am kinda surprised Disney doesn't offer the option to buy the piggy bank at the end of the adventure - I am sure Aria is not the first kid to want to keep hers and Disney usually doesn't miss an opportunity to make money

Yeah exactly - they really didn't have very many things open at all. I guess for the older visitor, rides on Soarin and Test Track would be what they could get done in the first hour, but for little kids there just wasn't much. Oh well!

Haha yes, we used it again in October. It is very nice!! Except for the whole...riding Nemo things again and again. I'd much prefer Donald's Boat Ride

No kidding - they should, though I am certainly glad they don't have it for sale lol. She already has 2 piggy banks.

It looks like you two had a fun morning at Epcot in spite of certain rides not being open yet. I like your attitude about being able to spend more time enjoying things since there isn't as much to do there.

Yes we did!! It is really nice having that time not feeling like you're missing anything, you know? Magic Kingdom is the opposite - not in a bad way but there is just SO much it can be overwhelming unless you have like 5 full days to spend there!

Your upcoming trips sound awesome!

We're having a similar house/pet sitting situation. Ben's parents usually watch our dog at their house, but they now have a horse living in their backyard (yeah, you read that right. ) and we don't think Penny would do so great with a horse. So instead of just having someone pop in to check the cats, I need to figure out who can stay at the house. And I need to figure this out before we leave for California on Thursday. Uh oh.

Anyway, back to you
I hadn't noticed until you pointed it out, but it does seem like Epcot is a great toddler park; lots of places to tun around and explore instead of being cooped up all the time.

LOL! That really stinks! If you lived closer I would offer to pop in and watch Penny...but I don't think I could make it to Quincy multiple times a day since I work down in Newport LOL. We still haven't found anyone? EVERY SINGLE PERSON I've talked to via Craigslist has flaked out on me when it comes time to meet ?? I don't understand. They take the time to post an ad saying they are looking for pet sitting work. Then they answer my emails. Then we set a time to meet. Then they either never respond or don't show up?! Like, what the heck??

Anyway..........

Yes there are a ton of indoor, AC'd places for them! It's really great. Even the two big rides (Mission Space doesn't count since I won't even go near it, though I do think they have a play area at the end too?) have areas like the cars at Test Track and LwtL by Soarin, so there is always stuff for them to do.

 

[Imagineer5]

We didn’t do either of those things and instead headed over to lunch! We had reservations at the Coral Reef and I decided to head over right when they opened (our ADR was for 15 minutes later) and check in, hoping for a table next to the tank.

Which we got!! AHhh such an amazing table! It was so much fun sitting there, we both really loved it. I had a Magical Star Cocktail despite the early hour…

And immediately placed an order for the kid’s chicken which came with broccoli and rice. Their bread service came quickly and then Aria’s meal.

Aria was a bit preoccupied playing shadow puppets with her hands near the fish tank.

My appetizer came out – I believe it was an asparagus soup but could be wrong. It was delicious though and I ended up sharing with Aria as she loved it too.

Then a hugeeee lull happened. I flagged down my server as there had been about 20 minutes since my soup was cleared and I still had no entrée. He apologized, and maybe 5 minutes later came out with an entrée – but it was not the one I ordered. I don’t remember what it was but some big fish dish (I ordered the Cajun chicken) and he apologized and took it away. Then maybe another 15 minute lull during which time a manager stopped by and asked me if she could give me a Fastpass for our troubles. I should have taken it – as I was worried about making the character spot FP – but I was more annoyed that that was what she was offering me (esp with Aria, there really isn’t much I need to FP at EPCOT as it is). So I declined, then was thankfully able to shift my FP slightly from 12-1 to 12:40-1:40 via the MDE app.

Finally my chicken came out – and it was absolutely FANTASTIC. Like, so delicious that it was one of the best dishes I’ve ever had. It had a Cajun spice rub on it that was slightly spicy and so flavorful. It doesn't look like much but it was just so delicious.

While I was eating that, I asked our water to bring out Aria’s cupcake as we did not have time for me to order a dessert (for time reference, it was about 1:25 – nearly 2 hours after arriving at the restaurant).

I also asked for the bill and quickly paid. I am still a bit peeved at how they very poorly handled the whole thing – I do believe they should have removed the dish from the bill. However, it was delicious and I would not hesitate to return despite that.

 

[khertz]

The France trip sounds absolutely amazing! I love the idea of staying in the different places you chose instead of just getting a hotel room.

Sounds like Epcot EMH is kind of a bust with a toddler considering most of the things they can do are not open. But when everything is running, it really is a great park for toddlers since there is so much for them to do besides just riding the attractions. It makes for a more leisurely day than the rest of the parks.

Bummer about the Coral Reef lunch being another bust. I can't even imagine how tough it must have been surviving a 2 hour lunch with a toddler! It seems Aria held up pretty well though, which is a blessing. I feel like Paxton would have had it after an hour.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

and you were off to such a good start at Coral Reef with the seat location and Aria's food coming quick (and looking like a large portion) and your soup being good

Not sure what their policy is but would think the delay combined with the wrong dish plus further delays they should have comped that or given you free dessert or something

Glad the chicken was good once it came.

 

[Imagineer5]

The France trip sounds absolutely amazing! I love the idea of staying in the different places you chose instead of just getting a hotel room.

Sounds like Epcot EMH is kind of a bust with a toddler considering most of the things they can do are not open. But when everything is running, it really is a great park for toddlers since there is so much for them to do besides just riding the attractions. It makes for a more leisurely day than the rest of the parks.

Bummer about the Coral Reef lunch being another bust. I can't even imagine how tough it must have been surviving a 2 hour lunch with a toddler! It seems Aria held up pretty well though, which is a blessing. I feel like Paxton would have had it after an hour.

Thanks! I have been havig so much fun planning out France...the cruise is sneaking up on me and I haven't done much planning for that! LOL. Tomorrow is my check in day so hopefully I'll be able to book the Cozumel excursion we want.

Yes, Coral Reef was tough. Thankfully the table location really helped and Aria was overall being great, I don't even think she needed to play on the iphone during the meal.

and you were off to such a good start at Coral Reef with the seat location and Aria's food coming quick (and looking like a large portion) and your soup being good

Not sure what their policy is but would think the delay combined with the wrong dish plus further delays they should have comped that or given you free dessert or something

Glad the chicken was good once it came.

I am not one to specifically ask for something, but I did think the offer of a FP was not up to par with the delay we had to deal with. I think they should have offered to take something off the check in compensation. Maybe not the main dish as it was the most expensive, but something. Or a free dessert as you said. It being Disney, I was surprised they didn't.

But anyway, it still was great and a fabulous meal so I would return

 

[Imagineer5]

After lunch we hightailed it over to the Character Spot to use our FP and once at the interior queue past the FP point, I first noticed that there were two curtains, and they close the door after letting you in. Interesting. I did not realize they had two sides going simultaneously! (this was confirmed when I asked a CM in October).

Anyway, Aria was very excited to meet all 3. She kept wanting to “peek” until it was our turn. She was also very into the autograph book and was very excited to get their autographs too.

Goofy twirled her around

And Aria loved minnie’s yellow shoes.

Despite the time, Aria was doing ok and really REALLY wanted to meet Duffy. We didn’t have to wait long so I decided to do it now vs. trying to do it later on.

Aria was really into touching the characters eyes, so I had to keep telling her not to do that, I don’t know why she was so touchy with them lol.

I love the photos we got with him though. She is so in love with Duffy!

My next stop was going to be Mexico for a margarita before putting Aria down…but…she happened to see Donald and HAD to meet him! Since we did not have any strict wake-up times for her nap today and she was totally fine, we hopped in that line to meet him. She even got a sticker!

Then she had a super cute meet with Donald.

We headed inside afterwards, hopped on the zero-line Donald’s boat ride

There's donald!

Someone is getting sleepy!

A thankfully quick stop at La Cava for my margarita and it was definitely nap time now!

 

[Imagineer5]

And again the best use of nap time is walking around the World Showcase, IMO!

Of course, I shopped for Aria. Though the dress I really liked only came in a 2 which just looked too small, so I passed on these. They are so pretty though!

I did a little "me" shopping too - love the ornaments at the Germany pavilion. We already have a couple of the glass bird clips with the long tail feathers, so I got a pretty white one to add to our collection

And a hot pink one

And (no pic) but I also got a glass Minnie for Aria.

Then kept on walking & enjoying my margarita.

I checked out an anime display at the Japan pavilion that I hadn't seen before, then walked through the shop. I still miss Monchichi.

Somehow I had killed 2 hours doing this and ended up in the UK.

Aria started to stir, so I popped in the bathrooms near the UK telephones for a potty break and quick outfit change. I mentioned that Pooh & Tigger were meeting nearby and she wanted to meet them, so off we went!

I love the theming of this meet & greet

 

[Imagineer5]

From there, we had a Maelstrom FP to use and then I wanted to hightail it to Morocco - I didn't bring along her Jasmine dress for nothing! We were on a mission to meet Jasmine and Aladdin! It was about 4:35 at this point, and we did have 5:15 ADR's at Beaches & Cream, but I was ok arriving a bit late.

On the way there, I couldn't help but notice how many Food & Wine booths were being set up already.

We got to Maelstrom in time to use our FP

I tried to take a bunch of photos knowing the ride was closing, but didn't really succeed.

From there, we hopped in the pretty long line to meet Jasmine & Aladdin. I've never seen this line short though.

Checking out Rajah

Every line has one of these guys. I heard his life story and honestly thought he was with a woman that he was standing VERY near the whole time and talknig VERY loudly with anyone that would listen...but apparently he was actually there alone. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I was very happy when his turn was over.

Once it was our turn, Aria ran right up to Aladdin and gave him a huge hug and didn't let go! He told Jasmine that she gives some really amazing hugs!

She switched over to Jasmine though so Aladdin could sign

They chatted for a bit about tigers

 

[khertz]

So many great character meets!! I can kind of understand where Aria is coming from with the eyes...they look weird! How do they see through those things?!

You are sooo lucky she still takes great stroller naps! It seems like you are able to get so much great shopping done while she is napping. Those ornaments are beautiful.

 

[Dugette]

Whew, all caught up!

Your France plans sound amazing! Those places you found look great! So excited for your trip!

Back to WDW, though. I guess Epcot EMH really doesn't have many toddler options. Hadn't really thought about that one. Glad they let you skip that crazy Nemo queue. Wow, that would be a long meal with a 2-year-old at Coral Reef - at least your food turned out great, I guess.

Cute character meets! Izzy tried to poke both Donald and Daisy in the eye and the CMs were very protective about it. Guess they have extra sensitive eyes. We tried an autograph book for the first time at Aulani - worked out pretty well, but I had to do most of the work. Can't wait to put pics in it - I think Izzy will love it!

Walking around World Showcase during nap time is really the best!

 

[Joyciemc]

Love seeing Aria's character meets! So, so cute! She really seems like a great park-touring buddy

 

[JulieODC]

Your vacation plans sound fabulous, especially Europe! Jealous!!

I'm surprised those attractions aren't open during Epcot EMH!? At least Sunshine Seasons and The Land could save the day.

Glad you enjoyed your meal at Coral Reef, but that LONG wait would have annoyed me, and I'm surprised they didn't comp something. Great table location too!

Cute character photos!! It's fun to see Aria starting to really interacting with them. Makes me excited for our January trip!

Great nap timing!! We haven't been so lucky, so I feel like I miss out on a lot of WS stuff!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

wow - that is a bunch of great meet and greets, Aria was so into them!

Trying to keep my kids from knowing of the existence of Duffy (basically trying to stay away from anything that has a million outfits and "additional" purchase ... same reason the American Girl catalog go right in the trash before Olivia can see it )

strolling through World Showcase with a Margarita and a child sleeping in her stroller is one of life's great joys

 

[Imagineer5]

So many great character meets!! I can kind of understand where Aria is coming from with the eyes...they look weird! How do they see through those things?!

You are sooo lucky she still takes great stroller naps! It seems like you are able to get so much great shopping done while she is napping. Those ornaments are beautiful.

Seriously I need to hide my cc during nap time, I spend so much money during that time!

Whew, all caught up!

Your France plans sound amazing! Those places you found look great! So excited for your trip!

Back to WDW, though. I guess Epcot EMH really doesn't have many toddler options. Hadn't really thought about that one. Glad they let you skip that crazy Nemo queue. Wow, that would be a long meal with a 2-year-old at Coral Reef - at least your food turned out great, I guess.

Cute character meets! Izzy tried to poke both Donald and Daisy in the eye and the CMs were very protective about it. Guess they have extra sensitive eyes. We tried an autograph book for the first time at Aulani - worked out pretty well, but I had to do most of the work. Can't wait to put pics in it - I think Izzy will love it!

Walking around World Showcase during nap time is really the best!

Yeah the CM's were very protective about the ones Aria touched too. I didn't really see it as THAT big of a deal though of course told her to stop. I bet Izzy will love flipping through her Aulani book!

Love seeing Aria's character meets! So, so cute! She really seems like a great park-touring buddy

Aww yeah we had so much fun doing all the character meets! She really is!

Your vacation plans sound fabulous, especially Europe! Jealous!!

I'm surprised those attractions aren't open during Epcot EMH!? At least Sunshine Seasons and The Land could save the day.

Glad you enjoyed your meal at Coral Reef, but that LONG wait would have annoyed me, and I'm surprised they didn't comp something. Great table location too!

Cute character photos!! It's fun to see Aria starting to really interacting with them. Makes me excited for our January trip!

Great nap timing!! We haven't been so lucky, so I feel like I miss out on a lot of WS stuff!

Lunch was delicious at least! Maybe had my chicken been awful I would have really requested it be taken off the bill. I bet your January trip is going to be so much fun! I love seeing how she is growing up from trip to trip - character meets are something that just keep getting more and more fun.

wow - that is a bunch of great meet and greets, Aria was so into them!

Trying to keep my kids from knowing of the existence of Duffy (basically trying to stay away from anything that has a million outfits and "additional" purchase ... same reason the American Girl catalog go right in the trash before Olivia can see it )

strolling through World Showcase with a Margarita and a child sleeping in her stroller is one of life's great joys

Hahaha American Girl is my own downfall. I begged my mom for like 5 years for an AG doll and she FINALLY got me one but I was like 13 and beyond dolls at that point. Thus, Aria already has her AG bitty baby, plus my old Samantha doll, and about 15 AG gifts to open during Christmas & her birthday. She loves her bitty baby! For her 2nd birthday we brought her to the AG store for lunch and that was so much fun.

Anddddd she has a Mickey dress up outfit for Duffy to open too.