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

[Imagineer5]

I plan to continue next week! This week has been crazy. Between after work activities (swim lessons, horseback riding, ballet) and getting ready to fly to Texas TOMORROW (oh and crazy busy work) I haven't been on much. Also in my free time I have started to really plan France. Just for fun, my itinerary is:

4 nights Paris (looking at some apartments w/ Eiffel tower view)
4 nights Disneyland Paris (New York hotel unless I can save enough $$ elsewhere to stay at the Disneyland Hotel).
3 nights Loire Valley
2 nights Beaune/Burgundy
2 nights Avignon/Provence
3 nights Nice

I plan to give us this month of "trying" and then take a break. So when I come back from Disney in october, if I start booking hotels then you know why.

clearly you should forget all the complicated math and just buy in at the new Polly DVC

That splash area does look a little nuts - too bad that is the only area they had vs. one for big kids and one for little kids. The zero entry area look nice a big though!

Sorry Margarittaville didn't work out better - sometimes you just gotta use the electronics to give yourself a break!

So glad you found your wand and very cute how excited about it Aria was!

Do you have to exchange your money or do the stores accept muggle money and the gringott notes is just for fun?

Man, Aria like lawyered you there! I mean, if you are so hot to trot on this unicorn why don't you get it?

I added in a column of 2 7-night condo stays via the government travel site (350/week) and that number vs. the DVC purchase is just staggering. Makes me really think about how much $$ I'm spending! Esp to go so much.

No you don't have to exchange the $$ I just thought it would be fun (and it is free!). They only go down to $10 denominations though, so I didn't plan to keep any as a souvenier ($1 and I would have).

Loving the trip report. Giving me lots of ideas for my Nov trip. Aria is such a cutie

Aw thank you for commenting! And thanks! Hope your trip is a blast!

Sometimes the ipad is completely necessary for everyone's sanity!!

So glad someone turned in your wand, it's nice to hear that!!

Yes it was a wonderful way to end the day! I thoroughly enjoyed my margaritas and Aria was content lol!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

ah, Paris is Judi's dream destination ... someday

Actually, I saw they were doing an Adventures By Disney to Paris/Disneyland Paris and that looked amazing ... though we are not necessarily in the right place in our lives for that type of a trip

So many places we want to get to at some point - my family wasn't big travelers growing up so I had never been out of the country until after graduating college

 

[Dugette]

Interesting to see your ponderings on the DVC point stuff. I have done various calculations on that several times and always come to the conclusion that it doesn’t make sense for us (not to mention we don’t have that $26k just collecting dust either).

Like you, I think we WANT it to make sense and be an obvious choice, but it just won’t come out that way. Again, for us, as everyone’s situation is different. So, I’ll share my random thoughts, but not everything will apply the same to you. I apologize in advance for my long-winded rambling, but just figured I’d put my thoughts out there.

A big factor for us is the fact that we are totally fine with staying at Pop Century (for example). And we would probably stay there at a discount or with a deal involving free dining or the like. When you compare the cost of a stay there to the cost of just annual dues for a DVC contract, not to mention all the buy-in costs, it makes no sense to buy DVC. Now, we also like to stay at the Polynesian. And, if we were people who ALWAYS stayed at the Poly, buying into the Poly DVC (or another location) could make sense. Not sure on those costs yet, but maybe. However, we just aren’t tied to any certain resort or class of room at this time.

On that note, preferences can change. We are totally fine with a Studio now, but maybe down the road we’d decide a 1 or 2 bedroom is a necessity (if we had more kids or something, perhaps). But, then again, maybe we’d decide we’re fine with connecting rooms at Pop or an AoA suite. But, if we were DVC owners, we really wouldn’t have that option and may end up feeling we had to add more points to our contract to accommodate our new room class desire. I know that there is something called “add-on-itis” that afflicts DVC owners.

And I think that is all related to flexibility. That is the other big factor for me. I want to be able to do what I want to do when I want to do it. I don’t want to have my options limited to certain resorts or not be eligible for certain promotions. And I don’t want to feel that I HAVE to go to a Disney property every so often – obviously, it’s working for us now, but if we someday have lots of non-Disney travel desires, I don’t want to feel that I need to give some of them up for Disney. 2054 is a long time from now and I don’t feel comfortable obligating myself to something for that long.

I do think renting points is a great compromise – enjoying the benefits of DVC without the commitment or large cash outlay. However, if you are ALWAYS doing it (as you often are), the comparison you’re doing can make sense. For us, it’s more of a sometimes-we-might-do-this thing. It’s more expensive than staying at a Value. But it’s a great way to “own” at all of the DVC resorts. You can rent points from an owner of whichever resort you want to get the 11-month booking window, rather than needing to own at multiple resorts yourself.

That actually reminds me that the far-in-advance booking is another issue I have. We seldom plan our trips that far in advance. I like being able to book a trip on short-notice. Granted, you can still do that with DVC, but you might not be able to get into your home resort and have to stay somewhere that’s not as desirable. It seems like the spontaneous travelers are not getting as much benefit out of it.

The other thing that deters me is all the banking/borrowing stuff. It just seems like a pain to keep track of all that and make sure it all works out right. Ironic that I say that, as an accountant, but it just seems like too much “work” to go through to plan your vacation lodging. On a side note, I also feel like it is easy to “splurge” with DVC and not get as much as you intended for your points (like instead of getting all those nights per year, you stay at a nicer place or get a bigger room or stay during a higher point season “because I can”, and now you’re paying more per night than your “I should buy” math indicated.

All that said, I semi-seriously looked at a resale contract at AKV because those “value” studios are quite the deal. I almost could make that one sensible for us. Almost, but not quite. I also think that Aulani is a great deal, but only for those who will go on a semi-regular basis. I thinkt the difference there (and why we are renting points for Aulani) is that WDW has Value and Moderate Resort options. Aulani doesn’t. Your only option is Outlandish Deluxe. There is no room-only discount that can compare to using points for the stay, especially when you consider the $35/day parking if not staying on points. If I thought we’d be going back to Aulani on a regular basis, I’d consider it. But airfare to Hawaii is not airfare to Orlando, so that takes it off the table for me.

Okay, on to your updates now!

 

[Dugette]

Too bad the pool was overrun by the big kids. I love the hovering beach ball in the second picture, by the way. Glad you found a toddler area. Good call on the bath toys. I got some little floating Mickey/Minnie toys on clearance at Target before the August trip, but didn’t get to use them. But I know that Izzy likes playing with toys in the pool too (there were some in our neighborhood pool that she loved).

Enjoying a margarita flight while the toddler enjoys the iPad sounds like a win in my book!

I like how the guy in the middle of your Diagon Alley walking photo looks like he’s posing for you.

I love her adorable little backpack. That is awesome that she tried to get you to buy the unicorn.

Yay for your wand being found (and Aria sharing).

Cool to start planning your France trip! I have never been, but if you need help, Dug has been and his parents have planned many trips, as they were both high school French teachers (retired now).

Have a good trip to Texas.

 

[schmass]

Hi! I'm (finally!) all caught up! I love seeing all the Universal/Harry Potter pictures. We have never been, but I'm sure one day we will get there. Since we take the Magical Express and don't rent a car, for now it's just so much easier for us to stay at WDW.

I'm jealous of the pool that felt like bath water. I hate when pools aren't warm. I think Aria will love the Nemo's Reef splash area on your cruise!

That Hedwig backpack is so cute. I love that she wanted to wear it even in the stroller!

Whether or not to buy into DVC definitely differs for everyone. For us, it was a great decision and we are really happy with it. We own at SSR but have never actually stayed there. I have booked rooms at BLT(Feb), GFV(Sept), AKV(Sept), BWV (Jan, Feb, July), all with no problems. BCV in Oct could definitely be tough, though.

When are you planning on going to France? I think we are planning a few days at DLP in March!

 

[Imagineer5]

ah, Paris is Judi's dream destination ... someday

Actually, I saw they were doing an Adventures By Disney to Paris/Disneyland Paris and that looked amazing ... though we are not necessarily in the right place in our lives for that type of a trip

So many places we want to get to at some point - my family wasn't big travelers growing up so I had never been out of the country until after graduating college

Where did you see the DLP addition to an Adventures by Disney trip? I didn't see that included. I like to tour more freely though (and I thoroughly enjoy the planning) so we generally do the trips on our own. I do like to look at ABD & Rick Steves tours for ideas though!

I have a giant bucket list so it is hard to narrow down what we want to do. On my bucket list are:

France
Australia (3 weeks)
Greece
South Africa
Peru/Machu Picchu/Galapagos/Amazon
Scotland/Ireland (i've been to Edinburgh but no where else in Scotland)
Alaska
Bermuda
Costa Rica

And I'd like to return to:
Hawaii
Italy (Lake Como, still has yet to be surpassed by favorite place on the earth!)
Holland
California (N. Cali and DL of course)
Santa Fe/ or Southwest


That's my current plan! Then we just decided what would be a good "big" trip for a 3.5 year old and France topped that list. Though of course some others would work too, but France, South Africa, Greece, Australia and the Galapagos are on my TOP MUST DO list. LOL.

Interesting to see your ponderings on the DVC point stuff. I have done various calculations on that several times and always come to the conclusion that it doesn’t make sense for us (not to mention we don’t have that $26k just collecting dust either).

Like you, I think we WANT it to make sense and be an obvious choice, but it just won’t come out that way. Again, for us, as everyone’s situation is different. So, I’ll share my random thoughts, but not everything will apply the same to you. I apologize in advance for my long-winded rambling, but just figured I’d put my thoughts out there.

A big factor for us is the fact that we are totally fine with staying at Pop Century (for example). And we would probably stay there at a discount or with a deal involving free dining or the like. When you compare the cost of a stay there to the cost of just annual dues for a DVC contract, not to mention all the buy-in costs, it makes no sense to buy DVC. Now, we also like to stay at the Polynesian. And, if we were people who ALWAYS stayed at the Poly, buying into the Poly DVC (or another location) could make sense. Not sure on those costs yet, but maybe. However, we just aren’t tied to any certain resort or class of room at this time.

On that note, preferences can change. We are totally fine with a Studio now, but maybe down the road we’d decide a 1 or 2 bedroom is a necessity (if we had more kids or something, perhaps). But, then again, maybe we’d decide we’re fine with connecting rooms at Pop or an AoA suite. But, if we were DVC owners, we really wouldn’t have that option and may end up feeling we had to add more points to our contract to accommodate our new room class desire. I know that there is something called “add-on-itis” that afflicts DVC owners.

And I think that is all related to flexibility. That is the other big factor for me. I want to be able to do what I want to do when I want to do it. I don’t want to have my options limited to certain resorts or not be eligible for certain promotions. And I don’t want to feel that I HAVE to go to a Disney property every so often – obviously, it’s working for us now, but if we someday have lots of non-Disney travel desires, I don’t want to feel that I need to give some of them up for Disney. 2054 is a long time from now and I don’t feel comfortable obligating myself to something for that long.

I do think renting points is a great compromise – enjoying the benefits of DVC without the commitment or large cash outlay. However, if you are ALWAYS doing it (as you often are), the comparison you’re doing can make sense. For us, it’s more of a sometimes-we-might-do-this thing. It’s more expensive than staying at a Value. But it’s a great way to “own” at all of the DVC resorts. You can rent points from an owner of whichever resort you want to get the 11-month booking window, rather than needing to own at multiple resorts yourself.

That actually reminds me that the far-in-advance booking is another issue I have. We seldom plan our trips that far in advance. I like being able to book a trip on short-notice. Granted, you can still do that with DVC, but you might not be able to get into your home resort and have to stay somewhere that’s not as desirable. It seems like the spontaneous travelers are not getting as much benefit out of it.

The other thing that deters me is all the banking/borrowing stuff. It just seems like a pain to keep track of all that and make sure it all works out right. Ironic that I say that, as an accountant, but it just seems like too much “work” to go through to plan your vacation lodging. On a side note, I also feel like it is easy to “splurge” with DVC and not get as much as you intended for your points (like instead of getting all those nights per year, you stay at a nicer place or get a bigger room or stay during a higher point season “because I can”, and now you’re paying more per night than your “I should buy” math indicated.

All that said, I semi-seriously looked at a resale contract at AKV because those “value” studios are quite the deal. I almost could make that one sensible for us. Almost, but not quite. I also think that Aulani is a great deal, but only for those who will go on a semi-regular basis. I thinkt the difference there (and why we are renting points for Aulani) is that WDW has Value and Moderate Resort options. Aulani doesn’t. Your only option is Outlandish Deluxe. There is no room-only discount that can compare to using points for the stay, especially when you consider the $35/day parking if not staying on points. If I thought we’d be going back to Aulani on a regular basis, I’d consider it. But airfare to Hawaii is not airfare to Orlando, so that takes it off the table for me.

Okay, on to your updates now!

Thank you for all the input! I can totally see your point regarding being fine with staying at the value resorts - for me that also means being fine with staying at an offsite condo. For the HUGEEE price difference, I am going to be okay with it. I have too much I want to do in addition to Disney, and I am not willing to let years go by just so I can stay on-site again.

The Value studios at Animal Kingdom could be worth it- I'll admit I was looking at the 1 bedrooms for more space. The regular studios are quite small even for 3, in my opinion, espcially now that Aria has outgrown a PnP so that means using the pull out couch. When it is just Aria and me they are perfect, though, so I guess I could run a few more numbers assuming staying in studios only.

We have never even stayed in anything bigger than a studio, though in 2 weeks we'll be in a 2BR lol. I bet we'll get a little spoiled by the space, we shall see.

Aulani makes sense, except I wish they had multiple islands to choose from. When we go to Hawaii, I can see staying there for a few nights before or after visiting Maui & Kauai.

Also for me, I don't mind planning out the big trips (ie the 8 nights in October at Beach Club, that would totally work to have that in the plans 11 months out) and the remaining points could be used wherever is available.

Too bad the pool was overrun by the big kids. I love the hovering beach ball in the second picture, by the way. Glad you found a toddler area. Good call on the bath toys. I got some little floating Mickey/Minnie toys on clearance at Target before the August trip, but didn’t get to use them. But I know that Izzy likes playing with toys in the pool too (there were some in our neighborhood pool that she loved).

Enjoying a margarita flight while the toddler enjoys the iPad sounds like a win in my book!

I like how the guy in the middle of your Diagon Alley walking photo looks like he’s posing for you.

I love her adorable little backpack. That is awesome that she tried to get you to buy the unicorn.

Yay for your wand being found (and Aria sharing).

Cool to start planning your France trip! I have never been, but if you need help, Dug has been and his parents have planned many trips, as they were both high school French teachers (retired now).

Have a good trip to Texas.

Thank you! That is really neat about Dug traveling so much to France! If he has any must-sees please let me know. We are skipping Normandy, as neither of us has any interest in WWII stuff, though I know that is a must-do for many people. Other than that we are trying to hit the rest.

Hi! I'm (finally!) all caught up! I love seeing all the Universal/Harry Potter pictures. We have never been, but I'm sure one day we will get there. Since we take the Magical Express and don't rent a car, for now it's just so much easier for us to stay at WDW.

I'm jealous of the pool that felt like bath water. I hate when pools aren't warm. I think Aria will love the Nemo's Reef splash area on your cruise!

That Hedwig backpack is so cute. I love that she wanted to wear it even in the stroller!

Whether or not to buy into DVC definitely differs for everyone. For us, it was a great decision and we are really happy with it. We own at SSR but have never actually stayed there. I have booked rooms at BLT(Feb), GFV(Sept), AKV(Sept), BWV (Jan, Feb, July), all with no problems. BCV in Oct could definitely be tough, though.

When are you planning on going to France? I think we are planning a few days at DLP in March!

I was happy she loved that hedwig backpack. It was fun having something Harry Potter to share with her, even if it's still a little beyond her years for the most part.

Owning at SSR is sounding like our best option as well. As you mentioned though, BCV in October will probably never happen. But there are other great resorts, and I did truly love the BLT.

What are you doing in France?? That is awesome.

Our cruise is in February, and France will be in late august/into September.

Have you planned anything out for DLP? I am thinking of staying at the NY hotel. It is $1000 more to stay at the DLH, so I would love to but man that is a huge difference just for a 5 minute walk...

 

[schmass]

What are you doing in France?? That is awesome.

Our cruise is in February, and France will be in late august/into September.

Have you planned anything out for DLP? I am thinking of staying at the NY hotel. It is $1000 more to stay at the DLH, so I would love to but man that is a huge difference just for a 5 minute walk...

My company is headquartered in Germany and each year they fly everyone over for a World Meeting and Holiday Party. It's usually held in December, but this year they decided to move it to March. One year Michael came with me since all we needed to pay for was his airline ticket, and then we traveled to Vienna for a few days. We were thinking that maybe this time he and Rory would come and then we'd go to Paris/DLP for a few days! I really hope it works out!

I feel like the DLP hotels in general are super expensive. I stayed in one about 10 years ago and it was nice, but I won't be heartbroken if we don't stay on property. I've actually been looking at some rentals through Airbnb and we might go that route.

 

[Imagineer5]

Day 2 – Saturday August 23rd This morning started pretty early as we were planning to meet the babysitter in the lobby of the hotel at 6:30AM! If you remember, I was toying with the idea of hiring a babysitter for a few hours this day, mainly so I could ride Gringotts, the newest Harry Potter ride. Someone from the Universal boards PM’d me and mentioned she had a babysitter in the Orlando area that she always uses, who has her own annual pass (to both Universal and Disney). So I figured I would email her, and after a few emails I decided to book her for 5 hours (6:30-11:30). She needed to come to the hotel first in order to print an express pass (though, this really proved to be useless).

We arrived in the lobby a bit early, so Aria spent some time waking up while I enjoyed the cup of coffee I had brewed with the Keurig in the room.

A very quiet RPR

I stopped in the little to go breakfast place and got Aria some milk.

Looking inside, these umbrellas were so pretty.

This sign was cute

Aria was sleepy

Soon she was playing hide and seek in the empty lobby and having a blast.

There were real orchids (I checked, assuming they were fake lol) all around the resort.

Random, but see the guy with the backpack? We chatted for a minute or two about how much energy kids have (seeing Aria running around like that at 6:30am). I ended up next to his family in the fast walk to Gringotts!

I think this is when I hid behind the couch and she found me

The babysitter was running a few minutes behind – she used her AP to park free at the parking garage across the city walk, but apparently a worker there told her she was not able to walk to the Royal Pacific Resort and would have to wait for the bus. I texted her that that was not true so she decided to walk around, and arrived about 6:40. No biggie, we were still at the gates of Universal by 7. Actually on our way out of the hotel walking to Universal, a CM gave Aria a lei! That was sweet, and she played with that for a bit. You can also see the wand in her hand!

The park was opening for early entry at 8, though I had read reports that they actually opened around 7:40. It was nice to have a little time in line (we were the 2nd group in our line, not bad!) to chat with the babysitter and let Aria get used to her. Pretty soon she was playing hide and seek again with her, and I felt comfortable to go along with my plan of running ahead to get in line for Gringotts instead of walking with them.

The line really started to build around 7:15

So when they opened the doors, Universal CM’s walked everyone all the way back to Diagon Alley. As soon as they scanned my AP I made it right up in the front of the pack, next to the Family of the Day who was going to be the first family on the ride.

Transformers on the left

Coming up to Diagon Alley

To be prepared for the long lines to get into Diagon Alley, the sort of circumvented us around the entrance and into a longer queue area

Considering I scoured over reports of how to get on Gringotts with a minimal wait, I was feeling pretty good about this! They stopped us right outside Diagon Alley but at this point it was about 7:50AM, and while standing there I saw Aria and the babysitter making their way around to get in line. A HUGE disappointment for me is that the EE is ONLY for the HP areas. Choosing to go to Universal means there is only 1 ride open – Gringotts – thus leaving nothing for Aria to do. So I gave her $20 to go and get some breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron while I was riding. (At IoA, Hogsmeade has 3 rides, one of which Aria can ride – the flight of the hippogriph).

I stood next to Grimmauld Place while waiting for entrance into Diagon Alley.

continued in nextp post...

 

[Imagineer5]

Anyway, once we were let into Diagon Alley we were again walked back to the ride – no cutting was going on and we were able to walk right in.

The interior theming was so cool. BTW I actually left my camera in the stroller this morning so most photos are just from my cell phone. When you first enter the Gringotts queue you go through the main bank where the goblins are hard at work. You also pass some “offices” of the goblins that we know from the books.

A little pre show

Then you get into an elevator, where much like the HM, people move all the way over though no one cut me as I was able to stand my ground right at the door. A bigger group might be cut though, but it is what it is.

Soon after the elevator we were boarding the mine cars. The ride was SOOOOO AWESOME. About ¾ of the way through, it stalled (right when Voldemort was casting a spell at us, nice) and we sat for a couple minutes. This is pretty common for the ride right now (and FJ originally as well) but hopefully by our next visit the kinks will have been worked out. Really really great though, there is nothing like it anywhere else. When we were disembarking, a CM said that if we wanted to ride it again due to the stop, we could head to the “rider switch” area instead of the exit! So I did just that. I knew there was no way I would get to ride this again this trip, and you can’t pass up a couple minute wait for it! So many of the riders headed to the rider switch and were were let onto a car about 3 minutes later. This time it didn’t stall at all, and I was happy to see the full ride without interruption.

By 8:20 I had ridden Gringotts twice! My texts to the babysitter apparently hadn’t gone through, nor had hers to me, as I guess the Leaky Cauldron didn’t open right away, and was just opening when I came out! Luckily I found them right outside and I guess they had just perused the shops while I was riding. At this point we had 40 minutes before the rest of the park opened up, so we headed in to get some breakfast.

My photo is gross as I only took it to remind myself what I ordered (and that was when I was finishing up, whoops) so I won’t post it. But they had a veggie & egg pastry thing with fruit and a side of potatoes, so I got that and shared it with Aria. The babysitter had a plate of pancakes. It was pretty pricey I remember, but good and of course eating inside the Leaky Cauldron is awesome. Over breakfast we chatted a bit about her job and such, and just had a nice time. Just before 9 we headed out of Diagon Alley and split up – I had a plan to ride the Mummy, Rip Ride Rockit, Transformers and Despicable me (all new to me except for the Mummy), and the babysitter was going to take aria over to find the play areas.

First up was the Mummy – I will say for thrill seekers Universal is the way to go! It had been a LONG time since I was on a true, FAST, coaster so some of these were sort of shockers to me (I felt SO OLD LOL). But the Mummy is super awesome! I walked right on (no need for express pass, plus they have a single rider line) and was in the car with just 1 other person. It’s a dark ride, but man is it fast.

After that run ride, I headed over to Rip Ride Rockit as it was on the route I mentally planned out next. Again no line and got right on. On this ride you pick a song to ride to, and I picked Fergie’s Glamorous! LOL! The music choice made it super fun though. Around some of the bends, the “Flying first class up in the sky” and it was just fun. Though again, I felt really old as this thing was crazy fast.

At this point, I wasn’t feeling so great. I think I stopped for some water and a breather and then trudged on. Next up was the newest ride, the Despicable Me ride which is 3D like Star Tours. While in line I saw a little girl about Aria’s age, and it turns out they do have a stationary seating area that she could have ridden in. I may take her on it in October while Andrew is riding something, we’ll see. The ride was again, really great, though my stomach wasn’t very happy with my choice of venues. Oh, with my express pass I did cut out a 30 minute wait for this one! While waiting in line I heard from the babysitter that they had just been on E.T. – I guess Aria asked to ride it again?

Coloring on the walls, cute

One more ride for this park, again new to the park and to me, Transformers – this is just like Spiderman over at Islands of Adventure but was still great nonetheless. The express pass did save me about 20 minutes here, too.

Though, first I went to Terminator 2. LOL I got my movies a little mixed up! Sorry, we are much more into princesses at our house! Got that mix up fixed quickly and made it over to Transformers.

(sorry no ride photos, again they are not allowed, though RRR and Mummy would have been too fast for me to snap anything anyway!)

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Glad things seem to be working out with the babysitter. Bummer that the early entry is only for the Harry Potty areas - I guess it helps with crowd control but you would think they would have something open for little kids to do

One of these years we will have to make a trip to the Dark Side

As great as it was to be able to get on all those rides so fast that fact probably didn't help you physically though as it is a lot of different motions

 

[Dugette]

Glad things seem to have gone okay with the babysitter and Aria liked her.

I bet you were excited to be able to cruise up to the front of the crowd unencumbered by a stroller!

That is awesome that you got to ride twice in a row!

Yeah, those are a lot of big rides to do in such quick succession - no wonder you were feeling it.

As for France, I asked Dug for must-do's and this is the list I transcribed. He's been to France twice, but grew up with French teachers who led many trips. I have never been and don't speak French, so hopefully I wrote these recommendations down right:

Strasbourg
Annecy
Chenonceaux – castle
Chambord – castle
Amboise – castle
Versailles – day with fountains operating, full day, amazing gardens
Country shuts down in August – check for museum/restaurant openings
Southern France at end (August crazy)

Paris:
Most of day at Louvre
Musee D’orsay – smaller impressionist museum
Arc de Triomphe
Eiffel Tower
Take Metro everywhere – best system
Mont Marte – Le Sacre Coeuer cathedral – artists doing caricatures
Opera Garnier
Notre Dame – Saint-Chapelle stained glass – Holocaust Memorial at end of island
Baton Mouche – boats on Siene River
Have a Croque Monsieur

Feel free to let me know if you have any questions and I'll pass them along.

 

[Imagineer5]

Glad things seem to be working out with the babysitter. Bummer that the early entry is only for the Harry Potty areas - I guess it helps with crowd control but you would think they would have something open for little kids to do

One of these years we will have to make a trip to the Dark Side

As great as it was to be able to get on all those rides so fast that fact probably didn't help you physically though as it is a lot of different motions

Harry Potty hehe I got a chuckle out of that.

Yes, it really is though. Actually it isn't just Universal - EPCOT is pretty craptastic for early mornings with a little one too (you'll see that later on). It was nice though having a chance to sit down for breakfast vs. trying to run around.

You're right - had I spread the big rides out then it wouldn't have been as bad. Though besides the rides Aria can do, there really aren't that many in between super thrill rides and kiddie rides? I like Disney for that reason - while RnRC is much much tamer than these ones at Universal, it is still an AWESOME ride (and doesn't make me feel sick at all!).

I know you said Olivia gets scared pretty easily, but you might want to start looking at the first book with her? She might just love it!

Glad things seem to have gone okay with the babysitter and Aria liked her.

I bet you were excited to be able to cruise up to the front of the crowd unencumbered by a stroller!

That is awesome that you got to ride twice in a row!

Gringotts was sooooo awesome. It was really really nice that they let us ride again - I couldn't believe that at least half of the riders opted not to ride again? Considering nothing but the shops was open? Silly.

The babysitter was great. It worked out perfectly - yes I was envisioning walking with them and falling way behind (which they did) and then having to park the stroller and falling even more behind, but thankfully it all worked out nicely.

Yeah, those are a lot of big rides to do in such quick succession - no wonder you were feeling it.

As for France, I asked Dug for must-do's and this is the list I transcribed. He's been to France twice, but grew up with French teachers who led many trips. I have never been and don't speak French, so hopefully I wrote these recommendations down right:

Strasbourg
Annecy
Chenonceaux – castle
Chambord – castle
Amboise – castle
Versailles – day with fountains operating, full day, amazing gardens
Country shuts down in August – check for museum/restaurant openings
Southern France at end (August crazy)

Paris:
Most of day at Louvre
Musee D’orsay – smaller impressionist museum
Arc de Triomphe
Eiffel Tower
Take Metro everywhere – best system
Mont Marte – Le Sacre Coeuer cathedral – artists doing caricatures
Opera Garnier
Notre Dame – Saint-Chapelle stained glass – Holocaust Memorial at end of island
Baton Mouche – boats on Siene River
Have a Croque Monsieur

Feel free to let me know if you have any questions and I'll pass them along.

Thank you so much!! Let's see, I checked a few locations on google maps, though I knew we definitely planned on Chambourd while we are staying in the Loire valley.

It looks like we won't be anywhere near Strasbourg & Annecy - boo. But the 3 castles are on my to-see list when we are in the loire valley.

I had heard about the August thing, so I may move the trip to September. We wanted to use the Labor Day holiday in there somewhere. I didn't realize the country shuts down though!

We have 4 nights in Paris so while there we will prob spend a day in Versailles and plan to do most of what you mentioned (though I think the Louvre will be during aria's nap time or something, not a full day). I did see that strollers are allowed inside

Anyway thanks so much for asking Dug! And for all the great suggestions!

 

[Imagineer5]

My company is headquartered in Germany and each year they fly everyone over for a World Meeting and Holiday Party. It's usually held in December, but this year they decided to move it to March. One year Michael came with me since all we needed to pay for was his airline ticket, and then we traveled to Vienna for a few days. We were thinking that maybe this time he and Rory would come and then we'd go to Paris/DLP for a few days! I really hope it works out!

I feel like the DLP hotels in general are super expensive. I stayed in one about 10 years ago and it was nice, but I won't be heartbroken if we don't stay on property. I've actually been looking at some rentals through Airbnb and we might go that route.

That is so awesome! I hope it works out too!

I looked into offsite hotels, but I would really like to be within walking distance to the parks (you know my dislike for shuttles/buses now lol). DLH is a 2 minute walk to both parks, hotel NY is probably an 8-10 minute walk, and the other hotels get a little further out (I studied the map lol). I didn't see any offsite hotels that you could still walk to the parks, but if you hear of any please let me know! That being said, right now I am being quoted $1600 for a room at the New York hotel (deluxe), inclusive of park tickets and breakfast, for the 3 of us for 4 nights. At WDW the park tickets alone would be 240*3, so $720 or so just for the tickets, 4 breakfasts for 3 (since Aria will be 3 then) say 60*4 so $240, so that is $960 already. 640/4 = 160 per night for a deluxe room easily walkable to both parks - seems pretty reasonable. They are running a special though at the moment (through October 15th) - so I hope I *know* by 10/15 and can book on that day.

Where in Germany is your company headquartered? Have you traveled there with Rory? (love the name BTW!). We traveled there last September to Holland, Germany (Oberwesel on the Rhein, Rothenburg and Fussen) and then Italy with Aria. It was awesome.

 

[Imagineer5]

After that we met up right on time at the Hogwarts Express entrance to head to IoA. They have a cool doorway that is like the entrance to Platform 9 and ¾ from the books/movies where it looks like you are walking through a wall. I asked the babysitter to take my photo hehe.

Not sure if this guy was photo bombing or smiling at his own family as he cut me, but seriously people I tried to take a photo for like 5 seconds and no one can wait? there was literally no wait at all.

Where did Aria go?? lol

We had our own compartment!

I was actually about 20 minutes ahead of my plan, though I could have forfeited the rest of the rides for the day as I was just not feeling great. BUT…I really wanted to ride Forbidden Journey (on my plan I had the FJ, Spiderman and Hulk at IoA)…so Aria got to ride the Flight of the Hippogriph while I basically walked right onto FJ via the single rider line. When I came out, I caught a couple pics of Aria riding FotH, I guess for the 2nd time as they went around twice!

Entering FJ

Aria riding flight of the hippogriph

If you didn’t know this about FJ though, it is much like Mission: SPACE as it has an incredible ability to induce nausea in just about everyone. Multiple times a day they apparently have to clean up the aftermath of it on the ride. Thankfully I didn’t add to that, but I decided then and there that I could NOT go on any more motion simulator rides. So I sent the babysitter off to take Aria on the Pteranodon Flyers (which was new to her, she said she usually watched older kids while at Universal) and I meandered my way over to that area. Then I saw…Jurassic Park! Ahhh a water ride was just what I needed! So I walked right on that, and after a fun ride walked off SOAKED and feeling significantly better! Not well enough for more rides, but much better nonetheless.

I made it to the Pteranodon Flyers right as they were flying over and snapped a few pics

LOL you can see Aria's feet

It was about 11 at this point, and I thanked her and gave her her payment and said I was done riding the big ones for the day. Aria really wanted to ride the Pteranodon Flyers again and that sounded okay to me, so we parted ways. FYI, if you need a recommendation for an Orlando babysitter, I would 100% recommend her. If we need to use her in the parks or even back at the resort for a night out, I definitely would again. Amazing that she charges $15/hour and has her own park admission!

Anyway - Aria was SO SO excited – she said “you’re going to ride with me mommy?? YAY!!” which made me feel terrible! She was so happy that I was riding with her! Poor thing. I was very glad to have the rest of the day devoted to her.

After the fun flight, we perused the cave play areas (sort of like Tom Sawyer Island meets DCA’s Redwood Creek Play Area?) and had some fun in there.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I know you said Olivia gets scared pretty easily, but you might want to start looking at the first book with her? She might just love it!

I've raised the topic with her and she has no interest - she really doesn't like conflict. I mean, until she got into the music she didn't even like Frozen because of the scary parts. Meanwhile she will ride Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain no problem

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

That series of pictures you got going onto Platform 9 3/4 is really cool (despite the photo bomber). And that is great you got your own compartment.

It does seem like US is missing a lot of those "in-between rides" that aren't super kiddie but also not crazy coasters or motion simulators - seems to be that way at a lot of parks other than Disney World (though I guess EPCOT is a bit like that too)

I know you said you felt bad that Aria so wanted to go on rides with you and probably felt you were gone too much that morning - but probably worked out for the best that you then got to spend time just focused on her for the rest of the day rather than periodically leaving her throughout the day

 

[Joyciemc]

I just got caught up! This is (or these are...) a fabulous trip report!

Aria is stinking adorable.

 

[Dugette]

That wall you "walk through" is really cool!! Strange photobomb, though.

Sorry the rides were making you feel sick. Glad you felt better after the water ride, though.

Aw, Aria missed riding with Mommy! I guess you are her theme park buddy!

 

[JulieODC]

Early morning!!

That lobby looks really pretty -- I'm a sucker for a water features though

Sounds like the babysitter worked out perfectly!! Universal's rides are pretty crazy -- so glad you got to experience them, and with no lines!!

 

[Imagineer5]

I've raised the topic with her and she has no interest - she really doesn't like conflict. I mean, until she got into the music she didn't even like Frozen because of the scary parts. Meanwhile she will ride Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain no problem

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

That series of pictures you got going onto Platform 9 3/4 is really cool (despite the photo bomber). And that is great you got your own compartment.

It does seem like US is missing a lot of those "in-between rides" that aren't super kiddie but also not crazy coasters or motion simulators - seems to be that way at a lot of parks other than Disney World (though I guess EPCOT is a bit like that too)

I know you said you felt bad that Aria so wanted to go on rides with you and probably felt you were gone too much that morning - but probably worked out for the best that you then got to spend time just focused on her for the rest of the day rather than periodically leaving her throughout the day

Ok I know we have talked about it before LOL! Maybe I am just SOOO excited to read the books with Aria I can't imagine NOT wanting to! LOL...

Yes EPCOT is, though they have a lot like Innoventions and such that still make it a lot of fun.

That is true, we got it out of the way after just over 3 hours in the parks, so not too bad. I felt so bad though bc she hadn't really voiced being upset that I wasn't riding with her until then, though I guess that is a good thing.

I just got caught up! This is (or these are...) a fabulous trip report!

Aria is stinking adorable.

Hi!!! So good to hear from you, it has been a while! Though I have kept up a bit via Facebook, you were just at Universal? Did you go to Disney as well? And you bought a boat too???

Thank you!

That wall you "walk through" is really cool!! Strange photobomb, though.

Sorry the rides were making you feel sick. Glad you felt better after the water ride, though.

Aw, Aria missed riding with Mommy! I guess you are her theme park buddy!

Haha yes, that is for sure! I think that will continue until she is about 12 and wants to ride all the big rides at Universal and I'm 40 and too old. LOL!

The water ride was very refreshing, just what I needed!

Early morning!!

That lobby looks really pretty -- I'm a sucker for a water features though

Sounds like the babysitter worked out perfectly!! Universal's rides are pretty crazy -- so glad you got to experience them, and with no lines!!

RPR was a beautiful resort. Considering it is the closest to the parks, I would definitely consider staying again. HRH doesn't do much for me, and Portofino Bay is beautiful but far from the parks. Cabana Bay is far too but much cheaper so I would consider a stay there as well...

Thanks, yeah so glad it all worked out!

 

[Imagineer5]

We still had a little time before our lunch reservation for Mythos, so we went over to the Seuss land and rode the carousel twice…back to back…haha

She was checking out who was following us!

An attempt to take a photo of us together

and then she wanted to ride One Fish Two Fish again. She told me that I was going to get wet! Yep, and it felt great!

A little better

After that we headed to lunch at Mythos.

We waited maybe 5 minutes and then were led to a 4 seater table overlooking a fountain, it was perfect. Beautiful inside! Aria was happy to get some chocolate milk and I was happy to have a Potion of the Gods (I did not pay extra for the glass).

I started with a Roasted Corn and Tortilla soup, which was delicious.

And then I had the Chicken pad thai for my main dish, this was also very good. I actually decided to eat at Mythos due to a recommendation of the fish tacos, but after the ones I had at Margaritaville I just wasn’t feeling that again.

Aria had the kids hamburger meal.

Lunch was great overall, service was wonderful and Aria was in a great mood. We decided to skip dessert here, as I had another thing I really wanted to tick off my to-do list – Florean Fortescues Ice Cream Parlor! So we headed back on the Hogwarts Express to Universal

and got in a short line for ice cream (I anticipated that around 1PM it would be much longer, but not bad!). I had two flavors I really wanted to try – a Chocolate Chili and a Butterbeer. I had heard you get two scoops with a cup of ice cream so my plan was to get one of each, but of course Universal knows how to shake those wallets empty and said that they unfortunately are not allowed to mix butterbeer with another flavor. So…I just got two of course!

Aria and I both thoroughly enjoyed them, though we enjoyed butterbeer more. While I love spice, and would normally love that sitting in my house at home, on a 100 degree day it just wasn’t the most refreshing. We enjoyed those on our walk over to the next Animal Actors show! I was pushing Aria’s nap back a bit, but there were still some things I wanted to do with her, and I thought she would really like the show.