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

[schmass]

I love the look of BOG and really want to try it out, but I can never get a dinner reservation, and the lunch menu doesn't really appeal to me. Some day!

I really want to try Spice Road Table at some point!

Once again, I am impressed by Aria's napping right on schedule. I have decided that next trip we're bringing the B-Agile instead of our umbrella stroller for the sole reason that it reclines better. Hoping that does the trick!

Too bad that Aria slept through all those characters being out and about!

 

[Imagineer5]

I think DD is probably really close for 7DMT -- but I didn't book FP because I can't ride, and DH says he wants to wait and ride it when I can! So, we'll save that for our next trip

Perfect timing for your BOG review! I just booked a FP and went for the pre-order too -- glad to hear it's a time saver! We haven't eaten there yet, and we have breakfast at Kona that morning...so I just ordered a few things to share, but got DD the grilled cheese and soup, so glad to hear rave reviews!!

Spice Road Table sounds so fun -- perfect pit stop with a sleeping toddler. I really wanted to try it, but they just changed it to an ADR spot and I didn't want to commit, so maybe it will be a spur of the moment stop?

You have to get the cream cheese cupcake!! SO DELICIOUS!! Great idea just getting a few things to share!

Spice Road I think will still be pretty easy to get into during the day, the only issue is at night with Illuminations. Hope you get a chance to check it out!

aw, that is sweet to hear that Aria asked about Peter and Olivia - really glad they got along and very happy that meeting up worked out as well as it did

Aria looks so happy on the Carousel!

Glad you got to check out Spice Road Table - that was one thing I really wanted to try but we didn't get to. Oh well, next trip - just another reason to go back!

There are always SO MANY reasons to go back!! Part of the reason I just love it so much. It was fun having you guys around and hope future trips match up!

Yeah, you've had a few things going on! We had a fun time that night - it was very spontaneous. I'd been hearing good things about the "Holiday Train" coming through town. All lit up and they have a concert out of one of the cars. We'd missed the other local stops, but there was one that night (last Friday) at the Union Depot in St. Paul. It's a neat place, so we met up after work to check it out. Turns out that they also were having (completely separately) "North Pole Express" train rides with Santa, so we ended up getting a reservation for that later on. In between, they had a giant screen set up showing Polar Express. Fun (but very late) night! And lots of trains.


I still can't decide if it was June or August. I know it was about loading and that there were three girls in one queue (where there should only be 2) and one of them hopped to another one and caused all kinds of confusion and nobody ended up getting on. Or something. Oh, the woes of writing too many TRs/taking too many trips! I will have to improvise a bit on that one, I think. I'm thinking maybe in June, since I've already written about August.

On to comment on the updates...

Wow, that train evening sounds really really fun!! Glad you were able to enjoy that.

hahaha yes things do tend to run together when we go so much!!

Funny, I’d never seen those two-sided dolls until recently when they’ve popped up in a couple TRs. Interesting…

Aw, Aria had a sweet meet with Anna & Elsa! Super cute hugs!

Nothing like a good climb. I mean, why would they put up a climbing structure with Minnie behind it if not to motivate them to scale it?

Cute cup at Be Our Guest! Food sounds good…mmm, I could go for grilled cheese and tomato soup right now. Glad you had a nice time with Phil and family and that Aria got to play with some other kids.

Aw, poor Mickey ear balloon!

She sure looks like she’s having a blast on the carousel!

I love what a good stroller napper Aria is!

Mmmm, Spice Road Table. Not sure if we will get there in May, as our Epcot time will likely be limited (Star Wars Weekends and all) and there will be food/drink booths for Flower & Garden our first weekend, which we’ll probably want to try for a “meal” or two. Keeping it in mind, though, especially during a nap like that.

Oh, wow, that’s an awesome collection of characters at Epcot!

Yes it was nice having a place to sit with fans (or AC) while Aria napped, vs walking for 2 hours straight.

That carousel is always fun. We were talking about our May trip, and started talking about the Universal rides and I asked if she wanted to ride the Seuss Carousel, and got a resounding YES but then she said she wanted to ride the horsey carousel too

I love that Aria had some other (adorable!) kids to play around MK with. I am really looking forward to a trip with family coming up in the next year or so where we will be traveling with my cousins, two of whom are around Paxton's age, for that very reason. The pictures of her on the carousel are absolutely adorable!

I so hope we stumble upon that character fun at Epcot one day, though we haven't yet. I have read about it in a lot of TR's, and I think it only happens at certain times of the year when a lot of College Program kids are starting and are doing their character training. Maybe we are just never there at the right time?

I wish we had some kids Aria's age in the family to travel with, that would be so fun for her. The only "cousins" she has are the ones we travelled with in June 2013, who are now 12 and 13 or something. She still has a blast with them though!

I haven't read about that EPCOT character thing - cool you've seen it before!

I love the look of BOG and really want to try it out, but I can never get a dinner reservation, and the lunch menu doesn't really appeal to me. Some day!

I really want to try Spice Road Table at some point!

Once again, I am impressed by Aria's napping right on schedule. I have decided that next trip we're bringing the B-Agile instead of our umbrella stroller for the sole reason that it reclines better. Hoping that does the trick!

Too bad that Aria slept through all those characters being out and about!

Dinner is SO worth it IMO! I have always found the food to be fantastic, and it is very nice having a glass of wine with dinner. Lunch menu to me wasn't amazing, but the potato and leek soup is good so you could easily do that and a cupcake and be happy...

I bet the B-Agile will be a lot nicer for stroller naps!! The umbrella just does NOT work for us.

 

[Imagineer5]

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and new year!! It is such a magical time for us and Aria had an amazing Christmas, as did Andrew and I. Even better, so nice to leave the Christmas "high" and get excited for our next adventure - Miami, the Disney Cruise, and the Keys! I have been loosely planning out those days (namely Miami and the Keys, there isn't much else to plan for the cruise) and making dining reservations and such. Aria can't wait for the "Disney cruise with mickey and Minnie who are coming for her birthday". The weekend before we leave (1/24) we are doing a small family get together as her party. She has asked for a Mickey & Minnie cake, an Elsa cake, and a Tinkerbelle cake, so I need to figure out which one she REALLY wants and go from there. Aside from cake I'll get some balloons and a few decorations up just for fun. She has been really into American Girl so I got her Grace (Girl of the Year 2015) as an early birthday gift and I got her a few accessories to open on her birthday along with a huge pile of other things, of course.

And now back to the TR!!

Once Aria woke up, I got in a pretty short line for the Disney Visa Meet & Greet

Poor Mickey - Aria ran right past him to Goofy! LOL

Oh Mickey got some love too

Then Aria requested Nemo so we headed that way.

From there I decided we needed to head to the WS if we wanted to get in both the umbrella & pick a pearl, so we started in France to work on the umbrella.

Let me just say – I think this is one of the absolute BEST souveniers. Aria picked a pink umbrella, then I had her choose 4 big designs (there are 8 panels total, so I was going to do every other one a big design, and in between some simple flowers & then her name). She looked at a few different examples and ended up choosing Tinkerbelle, Ariel, the Castle, and Marie! So neat how it can be so personalized to their experiences. And all of this for about $38. I thought it was a great deal, at least! (And she still plays with it all the time, though I haven’t let her actually use it in the rain lol).

After that (Aria wasn’t too happy about leaving without her umbrella, but I explained we’d be back for it, to which she asked for the rest of the evening when we’d get it!) we headed to Japan. This was probably overkill, but it was something I’ve always wanted to do with her – I had ordered the $5 silver Cinderella carriage necklace off of eBay, so we were going to do the pick a pearl.

This was actually a little tough because Aria was so little she needed to be held, then all the shouting was getting her nervous, and on top of it I wanted to take photos, so these are the best I got while holding Aria in one arm…

Once we had the pearl I put it in the cage and Aria proudly showed off her beautiful necklace.

We had one more thing to do before dinner – a FP for Maelstrom! So we headed on that adventure

 

[schmass]

The umbrella and pearl are such cute souvenirs! I will have to remember those if I ever have a little girl...or just do the pearl for myself if not!

The pictures from the Visa meet & Greet came out cute. I am going to remember to do that in April!

 

[Joyciemc]

I love the photo of Aria showing off her new necklace- she looks very proud of it!

Glad you all had a lovely Christmas... and I can't believe that you're pretty much going right into a trip. Fun fun fun!

 

[Dugette]

So glad that you all had a great Christmas! Welcome back to the DIS!

Your next trip is coming up so soon! I wish I could travel during the January/February post-holiday-and-really-cold time, but our year-end at work is end of January, so it's not really something I can do. I guess I will just have to live vicariously through your trip!

I think for Aria's birthday cake you should tell the cake person all of the things Aria wants and see if they can incorporate them all into one cake. Could be pretty interesting... And I cannot believe that Aria is almost three!

Back to the TR:

Aw, poor Mickey! Aria knows who her favorite is! Glad Mickey did eventually get a comfort hug.

Those umbrellas do look super cute! I bet Izzy would have fun picking things out, so I'll have to keep that in mind. I can't wait to see how Aria's turned out!

Nice pearl necklace!

Aw, the Maelstrom. I miss it.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Glad to hear you had a nice holiday - and you are coming up quickly on that cruise, etc.!

Happy Birthday to Aria! We are also in birthday planning mode as Olivia's is coming up - though Judi wants to avoid having a party so I think we will just take a few of her friends out with her for hibachi which is her favorite. Also, we will actually be up in the Finger Lakes for her actual birthday so I am sure will do something then.

************

That's funny how she ran right past Mickey Glad he did get some love though

I love the umbrella idea! I didn't realize the level of customization they do - thought it was just add the name to an set style or something. And $38 is totally reasonable considering what it costs just for a stuffed animal or t-shirt or something.

I can see the pick a pearl being a bit much for just you - we definitely had one of use with the kids watching and the other taking pictures/video, etc. - glad it worked out though and Aria was happy with her necklace

glad you got in a ride on Maelstrom. Kinda sad we skipped it but no one else in the family had any interest and Olivia flat out refuses anything that even might have trolls. Oh well. Something tells me she will be interested in the replacement right though

 

[Imagineer5]

The umbrella and pearl are such cute souvenirs! I will have to remember those if I ever have a little girl...or just do the pearl for myself if not!

The pictures from the Visa meet & Greet came out cute. I am going to remember to do that in April!

Hahah they really are!! I am surprised by how much Aria still loves & plays with her umbrella. The pearl necklace was a bit old for her, I think she would have appreciated it more in a couple years. We'll just have to do it again

I love the photo of Aria showing off her new necklace- she looks very proud of it!

Glad you all had a lovely Christmas... and I can't believe that you're pretty much going right into a trip. Fun fun fun!

Yes!! I rarely travel this time of year though I foresee it becoming more often considering Aria's birthday is 1/30. I didn't realize how happy I'd be having something so fun to look forward to right after Christmas!

So glad that you all had a great Christmas! Welcome back to the DIS!

Your next trip is coming up so soon! I wish I could travel during the January/February post-holiday-and-really-cold time, but our year-end at work is end of January, so it's not really something I can do. I guess I will just have to live vicariously through your trip!

I think for Aria's birthday cake you should tell the cake person all of the things Aria wants and see if they can incorporate them all into one cake. Could be pretty interesting... And I cannot believe that Aria is almost three!

Back to the TR:

Aw, poor Mickey! Aria knows who her favorite is! Glad Mickey did eventually get a comfort hug.

Those umbrellas do look super cute! I bet Izzy would have fun picking things out, so I'll have to keep that in mind. I can't wait to see how Aria's turned out!

Nice pearl necklace!

Aw, the Maelstrom. I miss it.

Maybe February? That is too bad, though I am SOOOOO worried about getting a crazy snow storm that day we are supposed to fly out!

I actually haven't figured out WHO is making the cake. I was considering doing it myself, but wanted to check out our grocery store cakes first. Local bakeries are 150+ for a custom cake which is not in my budget this year. I actually was thinking of doing a sheet cake at home, doing green frosting (Andrew mentioned making fondant but I think that is way beyond my abilities!) and then actually getting the Mickey Mouse clubhouse toy and putting it on top. Then it is a cake AND a gift?! But might be really cheesy. IDk.

If that made no sense, I was thinking something like this:

But instead of relying on my non baking skillz I'd use this on top:

I know it'd be cheesy since it's plastic and all, but would be fun for her to have a toy on top? IDK. This doesn't help if she requests Elsa or Tink cakes though...

Glad to hear you had a nice holiday - and you are coming up quickly on that cruise, etc.!

Happy Birthday to Aria! We are also in birthday planning mode as Olivia's is coming up - though Judi wants to avoid having a party so I think we will just take a few of her friends out with her for hibachi which is her favorite. Also, we will actually be up in the Finger Lakes for her actual birthday so I am sure will do something then.

************

That's funny how she ran right past Mickey Glad he did get some love though

I love the umbrella idea! I didn't realize the level of customization they do - thought it was just add the name to an set style or something. And $38 is totally reasonable considering what it costs just for a stuffed animal or t-shirt or something.

I can see the pick a pearl being a bit much for just you - we definitely had one of use with the kids watching and the other taking pictures/video, etc. - glad it worked out though and Aria was happy with her necklace

glad you got in a ride on Maelstrom. Kinda sad we skipped it but no one else in the family had any interest and Olivia flat out refuses anything that even might have trolls. Oh well. Something tells me she will be interested in the replacement right though

Yeah we are forgoing a big party too - just DH's parents, my parents, SIL, and my friend Lynda are coming for the weekend (or just Saturday night). I hope with the cake and lots of presents Aria won't mind. She is having a play date this weekend with her bestie Jacob so hopefully that will suffice. A hibachi dinner will be fun for Olivia!

And the finger lakes for her birthday will be fun too, for sure!

The umbrella was definitely worthwhile...and it was a fun time picking out all the artwork as well.

Hahahha Maelstrom turned Frozen will be a hit, despite all the negative comments. I'm not going to be protesting it by not riding!

 

[Imagineer5]

Then checked in for dinner at Akershus. This restaurant ALWAYS has a line for the Belle photo. While waiting, Aria spotted Belle around the corner and got very excited.

Aria wanted to bring in her new doll to dinner, and I’m so glad she did! Belle was so sweet with Aria and then made the comment that if she flipped up her dress, there would NOT be another princess under there, so don’t even try! It was too funny.

Then we were seated at a nice table in the main room and I placed some drink orders for us (pretty sure it was red wine for me, chocolate milk for Aria) and headed up to get some appetizers. Aria LOVED the salami, baby carrots, cheeses and fruits – absolutely perfect!

My appetizer plate was a bit more adventurous, but I don’t remember being amazed by anything and I didn’t eat much of it.

My camera was acting up so I was switching between it and my cell phone for the princess meets – first up was Ariel! Aria got a BIG hug while getting her autograph, and Ariel was so sweet.

Then our server took a quick photo of us!

And Cinderella came over – Aria was excited to show her her Cinderella doll.

For my main dish I ordered the vegetarian ravioli – I think it was good, but again the food at Akershus just doesn’t wow me.

Aria got the chicken, and had maybe 2 bites of it. Not looking forward to paying $30+ for this sort of meal.

Soon after Aurora arrived

Then Snow White called all the kids up to take a procession around the room. I encouraged Aria to go up, and she was so brave! They walked through the whole restaurant and when she saw me as they were walking back into the room, she gave me the biggest smile! She was so proud of herself!

That smile is why I’d go back over and over again. Love seeing her so happy!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

does sound like a good idea that you brought the doll - seems like it led to good character interaction.

Actually they all seem really good - love when the characters get down low to the child's level like the did a lot with Aria.

We've never done dinner at Akershus - only breakfast and lunch - but we were always pretty happy with the food there. Not the most amazing, but more than adequate and a little different than at other places. Though definitely 1/2 the cost is for seeing 5 princesses at one location and like you said, when you see your child smile like that it makes it a little easier to sign that check when it comes

 

[Dugette]

Will reply to the rest later, but just FYI that my local Target had a bunch of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse toys (not that exact one) on clearance the other day. I got Izzy Mickey's garage for like $10 and she loves it.

I think that would be a cute cake idea!

ETA: I think they also had a small figurine of one of Tink's fairy friends on clearance too - you could always throw a tiny Tink or Elsa into the Clubhouse, haha.

 

[schmass]

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your food more. That is one restaurant that the food doesn't really sound that great to me. But the smile on Aria's face in that last photo - so worth it!!!

 

[Dugette]

Looks like a fun meal, even though the food wasn't particularly exciting. We've never been to Akershus, but I did snag a breakfast there in May - not entirely sure if we're doing it, but I have it just in case. This really makes me want to do it - even if Dug has a Star Wars Celebrity he wants to go meet that morning, Izzy and I could go ourselves. Is it the same princesses at breakfast?

So perfect that Aria brought her doll in! And I just LOVE this picture:

So, so sweet!

That's awesome that Aria went up for the parade by herself. And adorable how proud she was about it. Great smile! That is what makes it all worthwhile!

 

[Imagineer5]

does sound like a good idea that you brought the doll - seems like it led to good character interaction.

Actually they all seem really good - love when the characters get down low to the child's level like the did a lot with Aria.

We've never done dinner at Akershus - only breakfast and lunch - but we were always pretty happy with the food there. Not the most amazing, but more than adequate and a little different than at other places. Though definitely 1/2 the cost is for seeing 5 princesses at one location and like you said, when you see your child smile like that it makes it a little easier to sign that check when it comes

There wasn't a bad character meet at all! They are so fantastic with all ages of kids, it always surprises me how they can just carry on a conversation with themselves since Aria is usually too shy to respond. Occasionally they'll get a response out of her though.

I think they just don't have very many vegetarian options which is why it doesn't "wow" me, but it wasn't bad by any means.

Will reply to the rest later, but just FYI that my local Target had a bunch of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse toys (not that exact one) on clearance the other day. I got Izzy Mickey's garage for like $10 and she loves it.

I think that would be a cute cake idea!

ETA: I think they also had a small figurine of one of Tink's fairy friends on clearance too - you could always throw a tiny Tink or Elsa into the Clubhouse, haha.

Thank you!! Aria has now steadfastly said she does NOT want a mickey cake and is (currently) saying Tinkerbelle. Maybe I'll figure that out this week, since our grocery store cakes just aren't very good but I don't know of a local (inexpensive) bakery so I need to find one. One of her birthday presents is a set of Frozen figures (purchased at Oaken's) so I don't want to go buy figures, but I'll check in to see if mine has some Tinkerbelle ones.

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your food more. That is one restaurant that the food doesn't really sound that great to me. But the smile on Aria's face in that last photo - so worth it!!!

Yeah it's still fun especially since I added in the princess meal pretty late and never was able to get an ADR at CRT so I had to take what I could get.

Looks like a fun meal, even though the food wasn't particularly exciting. We've never been to Akershus, but I did snag a breakfast there in May - not entirely sure if we're doing it, but I have it just in case. This really makes me want to do it - even if Dug has a Star Wars Celebrity he wants to go meet that morning, Izzy and I could go ourselves. Is it the same princesses at breakfast?

So perfect that Aria brought her doll in! And I just LOVE this picture:

So, so sweet!

That's awesome that Aria went up for the parade by herself. And adorable how proud she was about it. Great smile! That is what makes it all worthwhile!

Aria was ALL about Cinderella at this meal, though we left and she was in love with Snow White...

Yes I believe it is the same princesses at every meal. Always Belle out front in her yellow gown too.

It sounds like it could be the perfect girl's breakfast date!! We did get CRT for May so skipping Akershus this time (along with Aria's first BBB experience, eek!).

 

[Imagineer5]

Anyway, we had one final princess to meet – Snow White! She came over, gave some really big hugs, and Aria also got a big fat kiss on her cheek! It definitely started her love of Snow White.

To end the fun meal, we had a dessert platter to share. Aria enjoyed the chocolate straw and some of the flourless chocolate cake, and I had a bit of each. Most delicious part of the meal, but isn’t dessert always!?

[/IMG]

From there, I am not sure why I headed to Mexico but we did, and rode Donald’s boat ride

Then headed to France to pick up her umbrella!

She was very excited to get it and we had to take a bunch of photos of course!

Then I made the long trek back up to the front for the monorail back. I think Aria lost her umbrella privileges about halfway there lol but she did get it back when we got to the room.

I think we were back to the room by around 8, and I had to quickly throw things into the suitcases as we were switching resorts in the morning! Thankfully Wishes was also at 9PM this evening (vs. 10 the rest of the week) so I was able to sit outside and watch them. A beautiful way to end the day!

Coming up next, AK, a FB meet, and a new resort!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Gotta love Snow White - not sure if just because she is the original, but something special about her meets.

Love the umbrella - it came out really well! Really love the castle on it and great, great pictures of Aria in France, especially the ones with her by the fountain.

Nice way to end the day with watching Wishes!

 

[schmass]

That definitely looks like a great meet with Snow White - so sweet.

Love the umbrella, and the photos that were taken with it!

How nice to see Wishes from your room!

 

[Imagineer5]

Gotta love Snow White - not sure if just because she is the original, but something special about her meets.

Love the umbrella - it came out really well! Really love the castle on it and great, great pictures of Aria in France, especially the ones with her by the fountain.

Nice way to end the day with watching Wishes!

Yeah Aria did well picking her 4 pictures for the umbrella! It was fun getting the photos too. Wishes from the balcony just can't be beat.

That definitely looks like a great meet with Snow White - so sweet.

Love the umbrella, and the photos that were taken with it!

How nice to see Wishes from your room!

Thank you!!

Yes we love Snow White! Had another fantastic interaction with her in October too.

 

[Dugette]

Between your TR and Phil's, it seems like Snow White is quite the charmer! Izzy informed me the other day that she wants to meet all the princesses (then proceeded to name them), so Akershus is probably a good ADR to have!

I love how her umbrella came out and the photos with it around France are great. Very cute!

Wishes from the balcony before bed...sounds like the perfect way to end a Disney day!

 

[Imagineer5]

Between your TR and Phil's, it seems like Snow White is quite the charmer! Izzy informed me the other day that she wants to meet all the princesses (then proceeded to name them), so Akershus is probably a good ADR to have!

I love how her umbrella came out and the photos with it around France are great. Very cute!

Wishes from the balcony before bed...sounds like the perfect way to end a Disney day!

She really is! Never been a huge favorite of mine, but she sure knows how to make the kids love her. That is super cute about Izzy being excited for the princesses, glad you are doing it!