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

[Imagineer5]

We had just spent 4 wonderful nights at the Bay Lake Tower, but now we were moving over to Kidani. We’ve stayed at AKL before, but never Kidani Village, and after finding their awesome pool and splash pad area, I thought it would be fun to change it up a bit and check it out! Due to the location, the last few days we didn’t bounce around as much since it just isn’t as easy and quick getting around the WDW property. I will quickly state that I will never stay at Kidani again, though…

Anyway so this morning I quickly threw our clothes into the suitcases and had bell services come up at take everything (including a bag with refrigerated items) for the transfer to AKV. Then around 7:30 we left our room.

We had breakfast at the contemporary before heading to AK

Then drove over to AK, where we were meeting up with a Facebook friend of mine from the “closet world”

Aria and I, as usual, got there early, hit rope drop and headed to the Safari which is where we were planning on meeting my friend and her 2 yo DD at 9:20 to use our first fastpass.

surprised to see the walls around the tree of life

This photo cracks me up! We stopped for some photopass pics, but someone was NOT happy about it.

Since we had a little time to kill, I decided to let Aria pick out her instrument

Then Amy and her DD showed up and we headed in to the FP entrance. Despite previous trips where the wait quickly climbs to 40+ minutes, there really wasn’t a wait today in the standby line so the FP was sort of useless, but not a big deal. AK is one park I struggle finding anything to Fastpass anyway.

good view of giraffes

zebras

After the Safari, I had about 45 minutes until Aria & I had to get to the FotLK show, which we had a FP for, and Amy wasn’t able to get that one for some reason so they were going to hang out in Dinoland. I thought it’d be fun to take turns on Dinosaur during that brief time so we headed over there together.

On the way, we were stopped by a CM saying zero wait for Daisy (just like there was never a wait for Pooh & Tigger!) so we headed down that path for a quick meet.

Haha Aria being silly after meeting Daisy

Then things went a bit downhill…Amy’s DD was putting up a huge fuss and absolutely refused to get in her stroller. So she let her push the stroller to dinoland, falling a few times, and it literally took the next 25 minutes to walk that short distance. Of course, this left us with about 5 minutes before Aria & I had to turn around to get to the show, so we hopped on the Triceratop spin and had to forego Dinosaur.

We all had a blast riding though so it was a success

Then Aria and I walked over to FotLK. I was excited to check out the new area. The FP area was nice, and it is something I’d FP again. We had great seats despite arriving only about 6 minutes before the show started. First, my attempt at getting a photo of Aria with the sign.

Aria really enjoyed the show and I did too – the swinging monkeys are my favorite!

 

[schmass]

Great update! I can't wait to see FOTLK in the new theater - good to know that it's a good use of FP+. The monkeys are my favorite, too!

I would have been so frustrated about the 25 minute walk to Dinoland. You are a nicer person than I am, I probably would have gone ahead!

 

[Imagineer5]

Great update! I can't wait to see FOTLK in the new theater - good to know that it's a good use of FP+. The monkeys are my favorite, too!

I would have been so frustrated about the 25 minute walk to Dinoland. You are a nicer person than I am, I probably would have gone ahead!

Honestly, I walked about 50 feet in front of them, expecting her to put her kid in the stroller so we could get there. If I could have run ahead and hopped on Dinosaur without her (and with Aria) I def would have

I am not that nice and get annoyed VERY easily.

The FP worked out great for us, since we didn't arrive early (as I usually do) and the theater was nearly full when I arrived and we still got great seats. That and finding 3 FP to book with a 2yo at AK is tough...we managed with the Safari, FotLK, and Minnie/Mickey, but besides Finding Nemo, I don't even think there is anything else Aria could have done?! Now she can ride Kali River Rapids, so despite avoiding it for the last 7+ years, I think we'll ride that in May!

 

[jeni16]

Okay, so we are thinking about staying at Animal Kingdom when we go again next year. I think DS who will be 4 will love it. If you don't mind me asking, why won't you stay at Kidani again?

 

[Dugette]

Ha, nice first PP pic of the day. Aria is looking directly into the camera, though - just maybe not quite ready to smile yet.

Aria must have a really awesome instrument collection by now!

Totally agree about struggling to find things to FP at AK with a toddler! I found myself wishing I could just FP the same thing twice (Mickey & Minnie - we did it twice, actually, but only once with FP+).

That happened to us too with the Daisy meet - someone was just out there telling us it was a short wait (ours actually did have a line, but not too long). I had no idea she was there, to be honest, as I didn't realize how into characters Izzy would be in August, so I hadn't really researched them. Speaking of which, Pooh and Tigger are in AK? I think I need to spend some time on Kenny the Pirate's site before our May trip.

I love this picture:

Aria looks so enamored with Daisy!

Sorry you missed Dinosaur! If only you'd known how it was going to go, you could have had the other little girl push her own stroller and the mom push Aria in the stroller while you ran ahead and rode.

I do hope I didn't annoy you too much when we travelled together. On the speedy scale, I think I'm like an 8, but you are a solid 10. I do remember one time in the MK that Izzy wouldn't ride in her stroller, so I carried her, but she was trying to dive headfirst out of my arms and you got up ahead and looked back and I remember thinking, "I'm TRYING to hurry! Really I am!"

Glad you all had a fun ride on Triceratop Spin, though. And yay for FP+ getting you good seats for the last-minute arrival at Festival of the Lion King! Ugh, I wasn't sure if we'd even go to AK in May, but now I'm thinking about all these things and knowing that Izzy would probably get a kick out of them (like that show)...hmmm, will have to think about our schedule more....

Oh, love the tumble monkeys too!

 

[Imagineer5]

Okay, so we are thinking about staying at Animal Kingdom when we go again next year. I think DS who will be 4 will love it. If you don't mind me asking, why won't you stay at Kidani again?

It is really only an issue if you drive, the parking at kidani is horrible. I don't like being so far from everything but this last visit just made me realize how much I LOVE being able to walk to something.

Ha, nice first PP pic of the day. Aria is looking directly into the camera, though - just maybe not quite ready to smile yet. Aria must have a really awesome instrument collection by now! Totally agree about struggling to find things to FP at AK with a toddler! I found myself wishing I could just FP the same thing twice (Mickey & Minnie - we did it twice, actually, but only once with FP+). That happened to us too with the Daisy meet - someone was just out there telling us it was a short wait (ours actually did have a line, but not too long). I had no idea she was there, to be honest, as I didn't realize how into characters Izzy would be in August, so I hadn't really researched them. Speaking of which, Pooh and Tigger are in AK? I think I need to spend some time on Kenny the Pirate's site before our May trip. I love this picture: Aria looks so enamored with Daisy! Sorry you missed Dinosaur! If only you'd known how it was going to go, you could have had the other little girl push her own stroller and the mom push Aria in the stroller while you ran ahead and rode. I do hope I didn't annoy you too much when we travelled together. On the speedy scale, I think I'm like an 8, but you are a solid 10. I do remember one time in the MK that Izzy wouldn't ride in her stroller, so I carried her, but she was trying to dive headfirst out of my arms and you got up ahead and looked back and I remember thinking, "I'm TRYING to hurry! Really I am!" Glad you all had a fun ride on Triceratop Spin, though. And yay for FP+ getting you good seats for the last-minute arrival at Festival of the Lion King! Ugh, I wasn't sure if we'd even go to AK in May, but now I'm thinking about all these things and knowing that Izzy would probably get a kick out of them (like that show)...hmmm, will have to think about our schedule more.... Oh, love the tumble monkeys too!

First of all - no way!! You were not annoying and we love traveling with you and izzy. Seriously night and day between you guys. I'm sorry I am so impatient lol!!

Arias basket of instruments is getting overflowing!

No, pooh and tigger met where daisy meets. I think that is now Tarzan ? I was sad to see pooh go. That meet was the first time aria ran up to a character on her own!

Yeah we plan to spend a morning at ak in May. Tusker house is a must for me to get a plateful of tater tots! Lmao

 

[Dugette]

First of all - no way!! You were not annoying and we love traveling with you and izzy. Seriously night and day between you guys. I'm sorry I am so impatient lol!!

Whew, I'm relieved!

 

[Imagineer5]

After that, we had one more thing in the park to do before leaving for lunch – we had FP’s for safari Mickey & Minnie! And were meeting back up with Amy & her dd. The girls were being super silly in line (and the FP was not much of a time saver, as we waited about 15 minutes or so). But the meet was super cute and I got a ton of photos.

Once we finished up with that, we needed to head out – I had my rental car and Amy was taking the bus (I didn’t have a 2nd car seat for her DD) so we planned to meet at Sanaa. I texted her when we got to Kidani, but she wasn’t anywhere close so I quickly checked in and was surprised to hear the room was ready but none of my requests (lobby floor, slight savannah view) were given. No time to check it out though as we needed to get to lunch!

We checked in and Amy still wasn’t there by the time they were ready to seat us, so I decided to go ahead and get to the table. We had a fantastic window table and I ordered a wine flight while we waited. It turns out she got off at AKL because she missed the Kidani stop and then had to walk over to Kidani…but did finally arrive for lunch.

My wine flight was fantastic, and I ordered the potato & pea samosas along with the “spicy” vegetarian sampler, but this is when I was disappointed to find my two favorite dishes (mixed greens and a chickpea dish, both very spicy) were removed from the menu. And to boot, I was nearly finished with my main dish when I asked our server where my potato & pea samosas were. We also didn’t do the sampler, like I like to do, so overall my meal was not as fantastic as I hoped it would be.

When this arrived, it had ZERO spice to it at all - so I asked my server about it and he brought over a bowl of some sort of spicy sauce which really helped.

For our October trip, I ended up just ordering the potato & pea samosas and one other appetizer, because now none of the "main" dishes appeal to me. Not a travesty though, as long as we get the big sampler with the delicious Naan and all the fun sauces.

Unfortunately, her DD was also allowed to run around the table like a crazy kid, and it is hard to parent your own child while sitting with one who is allowed to do anything (and not eat at all). So it may not have been the food that I remember about the meal going so poorly… but I do know being VERY ready for it to be over with. There was a table with two adults seated next to us, and I honestly felt so bad for them for having to sit next to us. Aria was pretty good about listening though but it was hard for me to hold back and not say something regarding the other little girl’s behavior. It wasn’t my place though.

Mid-lunch we were visited by this guy though so that was cool.

Aria did get this fun dessert with her meal, which she thoroughly enjoyed!

From there we parted ways. I think they were headed back to the park, and I put Aria down for her nap in the stroller and went to check out our new room. One HUGE issue with Kidani is the multitude of elevators you need to take to get places. From Sanaa, we had to take an elevator up, to take a hallway to another elevator down to where the car was so I could grab some things to bring to the room, then elevator back up, walk across the lobby, and then take another elevator to our room (hence why I requested a lobby-level room). I finally found our room, and it was located RIGHT NEXT to a service area, and next to the elevators as well, and overlooked the front doors.

Maybe it was the craptastic lunch but I was not happy, and called the front desk but there were not any more standard view rooms available. I thought about putting up a bigger stink, but decided instead to deal with it and called down for my luggage to be sent up. The whole time I was fuming though – It was LOUD in the room between the elevator and service location and then the loading area outside. My luggage finally came and I quickly unpacked the suitcases and got it all in order, then after aria had been asleep for over 2 hours I was getting antsy to go do something fun – to go to the pool which is the whole reason I chose this resort!! So we quickly got into swimsuits and headed that way.

Before finding some seats to set down our stuff, I stopped at the bar and got a Mango margarita. It was delicious

 

[Imagineer5]

Not only is there an awesome splash pad area which Aria LOVED but there is also a perfect sized slide into the pool!

After about an hour and a half there, I thought it’d be fun to head over to AKL and check out that pool and grab some food from the Mara (our original plan was to go out to eat at Jiko, but then I decided to scratch that since I wanted this evening to just be swim time).

Our walk over was fun - Aria was having fun chasing our shadows!

Aria fully enjoyed her chicken nuggets and I had a the delicious BBQ chicken flat bread along with some wine (nooo I did not drink the whole bottle, but I figured I could bring the remainer back to the room!).

After an easy dinner, we headed into the main pool at AKL where we enjoyed swimming around. It’s a huge pool though I did miss having a slide for Aria (there is a bigger one, but I didn't feel comfortable sending her down without having another adult there.

Pool selfie

Since we were there, we checked out the animal viewing areas and then walked back to Kidani.

This evening we had a super relaxing bit of TV time ending with a little storytime with Duffy and then early to bed. Unfortunately, I hardly slept this night because the service area doors kept slamming ALL.NIGHT.LONG and there were service trucks outside making deliveries ALL.NIGHT.LONG. Did I mention I HATED THIS ROOM!?!?! Don’t worry, the reason I would never stay at Kidani again is still to come…

Up next…DHS with an early H&V breakfast with Aria’s FAVORITE JAKE! An afternoon at DTD and dinner at T-Rex.

 

[Imagineer5]

Sorry to bombard you with updates, but to steer in another direction I want to get some input on our Cruise/Miami/KW plans! I meant to start this last Friday as a "this time in 2 weeks..." post but was too busy. SO I'll post Friday-Tuesday right now

Friday January 30th!

This is actually Aria’s 3rd birthday and as such I have packed a few extra presents for her to open once we get to Miami. Our plan is to fly down there at 2:40, arriving at 6PM, grab a rental car and head to the apartment on Miami Beach. I hope to arrive by 7:30 and on the way order some food for dinner to arrive at the apartment shortly after we get there. I hope I can keep her up until we grab our Southwest seats, and then throw the blanket over her head so she will sleep the whole flight! (And I have some free Southwest drink coupons to use) Haha

During dinner, Aria can open her remaining gifts (which include a snorkel/mask and some small toys that are easily portable). Then we will probably put her to bed shortly afterwards unless we have a hankering for checking out the beach – Andrew might do a liquor store run for our 2 nights in Miami and then the 5 on the cruise (we are bringing an empty carry-on size suitcase in order to carry our own wine and such on board).

I will also be watching the weather very closely during the week – if they talk about any sort of snow storm on Friday we may try to get out Thursday or earlier on Friday.

Saturday January 31st!

We’ll start out our day hitting up a local coffee bar that gets great reviews and grab some breakfast, then the plan is just to veg out on the beach for the day! I have some beach toys packed and fingers crossed the weather is nice for the day. I looked into doing the zoo or similar, but I think a relaxing beach day sounds pretty good! But the zoo or Parrot Cay will be back up plans if it just isn't beach weather.

We’ll wing lunch (though I do have a few options jotted down like a good Cuban place, great pizza, etc) and then probably put aria down for a nap in her stroller so we can walk around or go back to the room at our leisure. There is also a pool at the condo so we will probably go in there too.

For dinner, I thought we could take a nice drive over to Key Biscayne which is about 20 minutes from our condo and possibly eat at a nice Mexican or Mediterranean restaurant depending on how we are feeling.

Sunday February 1st!

Woohoo cruise day! We have the 2nd group of port arrival times – 11:30-12 so we’ll probably spend the morning playing in the sand a bit more and staying in the room until checkout at 10, then head out. I will also check in with our pet sitter, who is staying at our house for the first time (she came over last weekend to go over any further questions).

I’m sure we’ll get to the port early and then wait in a long line – but this is our first cruise and we don’t really have a good feel for the protocol of all of this. And thus we want to be early to figure it all out. I hear Captain Mickey is in the terminal so I am sure we will wait in the line to go meet him!

Once they call our boarding group we will head to the Port Adventures desk first as I hear that they hand out timed passes for meeting princesses, and then guest services to drop off something (I am thinking a photo mat) for the characters to sign, and lastly head to lunch. In our carry on’s we plan to pack swim suits so we can spend a little time swimming before the room is ready at 1:30 and Aria needs to nap. Depending on whether the City Mini fits in doorways, we may put Aria to nap in the stroller, but we’ll see how things are looking.

At 4 we have the lifeboat drill thing, then our “plan” for the cruise days is just to check out the navigator, look for characters, and have lots of pool time! Oh and we’ll also go to the Kid’s club open house to get Aria all set up and check it out with her.

We have the early seating time, and I am excited and anxious to see how the food is and who our tablemates are. After dinner we’ll go to the nightly show and then head back to the room, or possibly put Aria down to sleep in the stroller and walk around the decks…we’ll see!

Monday February 2nd!

This is our first at-sea day and also supposedly our Pirate Night is tonight. (I say supposedly because on previous similar cruises, it's been on the next day). There is a 9AM Disney Junior dance thing that I hope to get to today plus we want to meet characters like Captain Hook and Pirate Mickey and Minnie, so we’ll be on the lookout for them. I’m sure a lot of pool time & free ice cream will happen today. Nap time will probably entail Andrew & me on our verandah with some wine – that sounds pretty awesome to me!

We plan to take part in the pirate stuff though I don’t think we will dress up (actually, I don’t plan to and assume Andrew doesn’t care to, but need to talk to him about it). I have a pirate dress for aria to wear and a pirate themed mommy & daughter purses I had made to match……..so that is my plan!

Andrew is really hoping they plan Into the Woods on the cruise so we’ll try to catch that as well.

Tuesday February 3rd

Today is Cozumel day!! We might start out our day with room service - we have the 7:45 Tulum Ruins (Mayan), Mexico Cultural Center, and a history of Mexican chocolate tour booked. I am really excited about this day and this is the exact sort of excursion I was hoping to do. It is supposed to get us back to the boat at 12:45 so perfect timing for Aria as well (for her nap).

Once back on board we can do some more relaxing, enjoy some food and our verandah, the nightly show, etc.

 

[schmass]

Sanaa looks like such a great restaurant, in spite of the issues that you had. I'm really sorry that your dining companions made the experience not so great - it's really tough to be in that situation when you are uncomfortable with the behavior at your table but can't do anything about it!

I'm also sorry that you didn't have a good experience staying at Kidani, although it looks like Aria really enjoyed the pool and splash area. We had the opposite experience at Kidani (quiet, peaceful, great room), but we were only there for a night/morning, so didn't get to fully experience it. Would you consider staying at Jambo House in the future, or are you done with AKL altogether?

Your Miami/Cruise plans so great so far! Aria would probably enjoy the Sail Away party, so you might want to check that out!

The Mexican chocolate tour sounds cool, and that is nice that you'll be back on the ship early!

I bet Into the Woods will be playing. We saw it this past Sunday and I really enjoyed it.

 

[Dugette]

Love Safari Mickey and Minnie! Yeah, FP+ actually took us longer than our standby meet did I think (we did one of each). Worth it, though – they were great both times.

In that first pic, it looks like Minnie’s getting ready to take a nice, juicy bite out of Aria’s cheek. That third picture turned out super cute!

That wine flight looks good. Aw, no naan sampler? Bummer. And on your two favorites being removed from the menu – maybe they would still make them if you asked?

Ugh, yes, that’s difficult with a kid not behaving, but not wanting to overstep another parent’s boundaries. I don’t understand people who just let their kids run completely wild without at least attempting to reign them in or teach them how to behave in public. I remember in a TR I did several years ago (pre-Izzy), I mentioned how a kid ran into our table and knocked my glass off – and someone following the report (who had three kids, I think) tried to one-up it and pretty much bragged about how her kids all tear around the table when they go out and she doesn’t even blink – I never could understand why she seemed proud of that (and I didn’t even have a kid at the time – just figured she’d given up control after 3?) I also found out my brother and his wife (who we never see….long story) let their 3 kids run completely wild all the time. My grandma can’t believe the difference between them coming to visit vs. Izzy (and she much prefers Izzy’s behavior – she doesn’t have to baby-proof and hide breakables). And I know that you can’t always judge a book by it’s cover and there are reasons for things and people need to pick their battles and all, so I try not to judge too much, but I do have a really hard time understanding why a parent would ignore/encourage something like that and not say anything to guide the child. Anyway, rant over.

Wonder if that’s the same bird that stalked us in Dec. 2013?

I love that dessert – super cute!

Sorry about the room and associated difficulties.

The Mango Margarita sounds really good. And the pool/splash area look great, of course. Love Aria’s swimsuit, by the way.

I’ll do a separate post on the cruise plans…

 

[Dugette]

I hope Aria sleeps on your flight down (and you can enjoy your free drinks)!

That first full day sounds very relaxing. Hope the weather is nice for you.

Oh, good, you found a pet sitter! Hope that goes smoothly.

You’ll have a different port than us, so not sure if it’s the same, but I saw a thread about port arrival times recently and it seemed that people were saying it gets much quieter around noon or so – maybe you will be spared the crowds and lines. I could be totally wrong, though.

One tip I read on the boards was to wear swimsuits under clothes when boarding, if you plan to swim, as the rooms aren’t ready and the restrooms get crowded with people changing.

That does sound like an awesome naptime on the verandah!

Your excursion sounds really fun – we’d love that – ruins for Dug and chocolate for me! On our Royal Caribbean cruise in 2008 we did several excursions to Mayan ruins and it was really cool.

Are you doing any DIS cruise stuff – fish extender or meets? I wasn’t going to, but Dug actually wanted to do FE, so I’m in a group (just the DIS one, not FB), but it’s not terribly organized and scares me that so many people are brand new posters. Hoping it works out well. Just curious if you’d gotten into any of that?

 

[Imagineer5]

Sanaa looks like such a great restaurant, in spite of the issues that you had. I'm really sorry that your dining companions made the experience not so great - it's really tough to be in that situation when you are uncomfortable with the behavior at your table but can't do anything about it!

I'm also sorry that you didn't have a good experience staying at Kidani, although it looks like Aria really enjoyed the pool and splash area. We had the opposite experience at Kidani (quiet, peaceful, great room), but we were only there for a night/morning, so didn't get to fully experience it. Would you consider staying at Jambo House in the future, or are you done with AKL altogether?

Your Miami/Cruise plans so great so far! Aria would probably enjoy the Sail Away party, so you might want to check that out!

The Mexican chocolate tour sounds cool, and that is nice that you'll be back on the ship early!

I bet Into the Woods will be playing. We saw it this past Sunday and I really enjoyed it.

I might consider AKL again - but only if we had a car, and even then I definitely have favorites over AKL such as BLT and BCV and VGF...lol. I absolutely LOVE the theming but the location just is too iffy now. Maybe they should bring a character meal to the resort, then I might consider staying again.

Sanaa is wonderful, though I think it has turned to a purely appetizer meal for me (which is totally fine with me!). The whole experience was marred by the behavior though and I was just too mortified to have a good time. Maybe my food was delicious, not sure...

Thank you for your comments on the cruise! YES we plan to do the sail away party, and also visit the shops the first day (though I am not sure what I plan to buy aside from our obligatory ornament).

Love Safari Mickey and Minnie! Yeah, FP+ actually took us longer than our standby meet did I think (we did one of each). Worth it, though – they were great both times.

In that first pic, it looks like Minnie’s getting ready to take a nice, juicy bite out of Aria’s cheek. That third picture turned out super cute!

That wine flight looks good. Aw, no naan sampler? Bummer. And on your two favorites being removed from the menu – maybe they would still make them if you asked?

Ugh, yes, that’s difficult with a kid not behaving, but not wanting to overstep another parent’s boundaries. I don’t understand people who just let their kids run completely wild without at least attempting to reign them in or teach them how to behave in public. I remember in a TR I did several years ago (pre-Izzy), I mentioned how a kid ran into our table and knocked my glass off – and someone following the report (who had three kids, I think) tried to one-up it and pretty much bragged about how her kids all tear around the table when they go out and she doesn’t even blink – I never could understand why she seemed proud of that (and I didn’t even have a kid at the time – just figured she’d given up control after 3?) I also found out my brother and his wife (who we never see….long story) let their 3 kids run completely wild all the time. My grandma can’t believe the difference between them coming to visit vs. Izzy (and she much prefers Izzy’s behavior – she doesn’t have to baby-proof and hide breakables). And I know that you can’t always judge a book by it’s cover and there are reasons for things and people need to pick their battles and all, so I try not to judge too much, but I do have a really hard time understanding why a parent would ignore/encourage something like that and not say anything to guide the child. Anyway, rant over.

Wonder if that’s the same bird that stalked us in Dec. 2013?

I love that dessert – super cute!

Sorry about the room and associated difficulties.

The Mango Margarita sounds really good. And the pool/splash area look great, of course. Love Aria’s swimsuit, by the way.

I’ll do a separate post on the cruise plans…

See this is why I like going with you - you totally get it! I don't understand why some parents think it is okay either. I DEFINITELY understand a misbehaving toddler at a sit-down meal - but IMO that is when the parents steps in and does something about it. She was just 100% unfazed, as if this is absolutely okay and normal. When I am getting stares from nearby eaters, it is NOT OK. But it also wasn't my place at all to say anything, considering we'd literally just met IRL and all. Speaking of that - there are 2 kids on our street that are Aria's age almost exactly. They are the only kids outside of her daycare that we know (since she has zero cousins her age). And they are also allowed to totally run around like crazy people. It stinks because we really don't want to have dinner with them because it just isn't fun to be around that. They always leave saying how well behaved Aria is, but it's not like they ever do anything to fix their own children's behavior?

Anyway, the Mickey & Minnie meet is fun. Love being able to meet them both together. And the pools were fabulous, esp Kidani's pool.

I hope Aria sleeps on your flight down (and you can enjoy your free drinks)!

That first full day sounds very relaxing. Hope the weather is nice for you.

Oh, good, you found a pet sitter! Hope that goes smoothly.

You’ll have a different port than us, so not sure if it’s the same, but I saw a thread about port arrival times recently and it seemed that people were saying it gets much quieter around noon or so – maybe you will be spared the crowds and lines. I could be totally wrong, though.

One tip I read on the boards was to wear swimsuits under clothes when boarding, if you plan to swim, as the rooms aren’t ready and the restrooms get crowded with people changing.

That does sound like an awesome naptime on the verandah!

Your excursion sounds really fun – we’d love that – ruins for Dug and chocolate for me! On our Royal Caribbean cruise in 2008 we did several excursions to Mayan ruins and it was really cool.

Are you doing any DIS cruise stuff – fish extender or meets? I wasn’t going to, but Dug actually wanted to do FE, so I’m in a group (just the DIS one, not FB), but it’s not terribly organized and scares me that so many people are brand new posters. Hoping it works out well. Just curious if you’d gotten into any of that?

Good idea for the swimsuits under the clothes! We'll have to do that! Though from the reports I've seen (for the wonder) - the pools seem pretty dead that first bit of time so I am really hoping that is the case.

We are not doing a FE. Andrew didn't express any interest in it, and it seemed like just something ELSE I had to plan - considering it's just a month after Christmas I just didn't have the time to plan the FE's. If Andrew was into it and we could do it all together that'd be different, but it just sounded like a lot of work. You'll enjoy doing it though I am sure!

I did however order a couple surprises for Aria from DCL such as room decorating and a mickey cake, to make it even more exciting.

 

[Imagineer5]

Going off-topic again, though still relates to Disney so I hope you don't mind! So our dates for May are: May 8-10 at BWV and then May 10-17 at Bonnet Creek w/ Lynda and her BF Aron.

Of course, my daycare provider told me her 2 weeks she plans to take off. 1 happens to be the week of May 18-22. (and BTW, the 2nd is the last week in July, 2 weeks after we plan to be at the Cape). Very annoying, considering I plan so much way in advance - had I known, I would have planned Disney for that week and the Cape for that week.

Anyway, of course the grandparents on both sides are willing to help out (thankfully!) but you know how these things go for an annual passholder?! Might as well extend the vacation.

This also caused me to purchase a Premium Annual Pass (purchased today!! ) because the Military ticket Lynda got for Aria includes 4 water park fun & more days - that need to be used before October 3rd. We plan on 1 water park day and possibly 1 day at Disney Quest, but I was just going to pay OOP for those (with a regular-AP-discount).

Additionally, the military Universal tickets were THREE day tickets for the same price as 1. We planned to do 2 Universal tickets in May.

Still following?

So that means I have an extra Universal day (for Aria, remember I still have an AP there) PLUS 2 more water park fun & more entitlements for her to use!

So why not extend the May trip a couple days right?

Southwest flights to leave Tuesday the 19th are cheaper than I paid, leaving a credit on my SW acct so that just leaves me to find a hotel.

Via Mousesavers I can stay at the Buena Vista suites for $178, but it gets so-so reviews. Shades of Green would be about $236. And Universal's Cabana Bay is $211 - so I am leaning towards checking out Cabana Bay.

I don't yet have my AP in-hand so I can't check to see if WDW has any APH rates for May? But I don't think they have released anything.

Cabana Bay has a bowling alley so I could see Sunday going to a Disney water park, Sunday night doing some bowling, Monday going to Universal and hanging out in the pool. The flight would be late afternoon so Tuesday morning we can spend some pool time too.


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One other aside, relating to 2015. My points guy was not able to book my Standard view studio at BLT for December. I didn't want to go up in points/cost so I decided to wait to book. Might go to Shades of Green for that trip, we'll see. It needs to be cheap, but I really wanted to be within walking/monorail distance to the MK since we plan to do the MVMCP and many MK days.


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Back to the cruise PTR

Wednesday February 4th

Our 2nd at sea day. This morning we have a 10:30 brunch at Palo planned – so hopefully Aria will have been to the kids club at least once and feels comfortable to stay by herself. We might even leave her in there through lunch (I’ll have to ask what time they serve lunch in there) while we check out the adult pool, but we’ll see.
I hear there is a really cute show that the kids put on on this day so I’ll be looking out for that in the navigator and sign up aria if I see it.

The rest of the day will just be character appearances, pool time, etc. In the navigators there were a couple family games that took place throughout the cruise so I hope to attend some of those.

 

[Dugette]

Will reply to rest later, but May AP discounts ARE out:

Deluxes up to 37%
Moderates up to 30%
Values up to 25%

If you want more specifics, I can look them up.

By the way, my first thought when you said that your daycare provider is off that week is, "That's the same week as our cruise...you should book it!"

 

[Dugette]

Can he get you a Poly studio for December? Not sure if those are available yet, but another possibility...

 

[JulieODC]

Whew -- lots of catching up to do!!!

Great Epcot visit....cute umbrella and pearl -- great ideas!! Sorry lunch was so-so, character meal prices for a 3yo kill me!

Sorry your AK and Sanaa visits were a little bit tainted. I'm SO nervous to ever travel to WDW with anyone else...we have such a great routine going, and I'm so afraid adding someone else to the mix would really throw things for a loop. Good for you for keeping your cool at lunch too -- I'd have been fuming probably!

Love reading all your PTR plans for the cruise!!! I cannot wait to hear all about it -- you guys are going to have a blast!!

 

[Imagineer5]

Deleted. Somehow my post from earlier got reposted.

 

[Imagineer5]

Will reply to rest later, but May AP discounts ARE out:

Deluxes up to 37%
Moderates up to 30%
Values up to 25%

If you want more specifics, I can look them up.

By the way, my first thought when you said that your daycare provider is off that week is, "That's the same week as our cruise...you should book it!"

Haha we already chatted via PM's but thanks again for looking it up for me!! Disney IS actually cheaper than Cabana Bay, though for now I'm going to stick with Cabana Bay due to the lazy river and Universal 1 hour early opening!

But that may change if they put out a cheap military rate for that cruise....

Can he get you a Poly studio for December? Not sure if those are available yet, but another possibility...

I considered it, but the point values are 16 points per night sun-thurs (vs. BLT 14 standard view) and 19 fri-sat (vs 16 at BLT). I was really trying to stick to that cheapie price point.

So unless I come into a financial windfall (doubtful) my current extra $$ to spend for 2015 beyond our "family" trips (i.e. cruise & france) is $4800 (which is what we are spending on Andrew's boat, thus I get that amount each year to play with too ) and my May trip is costing about 3K, so the December trip needs to be under 2k...eep. Doable with staying at Shades, I think? we'll see.

Whew -- lots of catching up to do!!!

Great Epcot visit....cute umbrella and pearl -- great ideas!! Sorry lunch was so-so, character meal prices for a 3yo kill me!

Sorry your AK and Sanaa visits were a little bit tainted. I'm SO nervous to ever travel to WDW with anyone else...we have such a great routine going, and I'm so afraid adding someone else to the mix would really throw things for a loop. Good for you for keeping your cool at lunch too -- I'd have been fuming probably!

Love reading all your PTR plans for the cruise!!! I cannot wait to hear all about it -- you guys are going to have a blast!!

It is tough traveling with new people, but I have definitely found that it is worth it for Aria when there are other kids there (or her grandparents) as she just loves having them around. Such as Dugette's Izzy - we needed more "play" time for the two of them because I just know Aria loved having her around (and TheMaxRebo's crew as well). I find that I really need "us" time as well though. Usually that'll include no-DH time hahaha. In October we had DH's parents there for the first 4 nights, but then they left and we had 4 nights with DH (then he left and we had 2 nights just Aria & me). That was perfect!

ANywayyyyy

Thanks! I sure hope so. We all have colds ATM so not too happy about that, hoping they just stay "colds" though and nothing progresses. Also not liking the snow that keeps coming on the forecast for the next week!