Preggo, pennies, and pastries!!! **FINAL UPDATES 4/25**

[jeremysdisneymom]

Wow, what a quick delivery! So glad you and the new baby are doing well. I saw the pictures on FB. He is adorable!

The dessert party looks like lots of fun. I am anxiously waiting for April dates to become available.

Glad you had a great evening at MK.

 

[disneybarbie]

Congratulations Hope!! So pleased for you and your family.. hope baby is doing well


Emma xx

 

[stephielela]

Hope! I find it hilarious that you found time to post a Disney update right after the baby one! I'm so glad everything went (realtively) smoothly! I'm so glad that Luke is so thrilled to be a big brother, he's going to be a great one!! I'm also happy to hear your DH is being suepr helpful!

I too LOVE the dessert party! Which end were you seated on? We were in the very first front corner table, right by the entrance. It was a great spot!

Can't wait to hear more about the baby AND the trip!

 

[jenseib]

I'm with Stephanie...too funny that you are updating.

Thos desserts look really good. I have debated over this one too. maybe some day.

 

[MeMom]

Congratulated you on FB already, but here's an official Disney congrats!


Welcome to DIStown, Tyler!

So glad the anticiaption is all over and you had a safe delivery and happy, healthy baby.

All of those desserts look so good, but I can only eat a few bites of sweet things at a time. That's a week's worth of Disney treats for me, so I guess I won't ever be doing the dessert party. If they ever change it to more of an overall finger food deal - with appetizer type things, some salty stuff, and dessserts, then I will be in!

 

[mommy2mb]

Just found your trip report and working on getting caught up. Congrats on your new addition to your family!

 

[basketkat]

Congratulations on your new addition!!!

The Wishes dessert party looks really fun!!! I hope we have time to do it one day!

 

[Tinkermom76]

I can't believe you are posting updates right after having a baby

I loved the dessert party when we did it and was seriously thinking of booking it for my trip next month but decided against it since we only have the on day at the park... now I am kinda regretting it

 

[Tink9721]

Congratulations again!!! Tyler is beautiful! I still find it funny that when I posted this:

I can't believe your little guy will be here soon! I can't wait to "meet" him

he was already here It was a nice surprise getting baby pictures on my first day back at school!

I'm so glad Luke loves his little brother

I was thinking about doing the dessert party in March. I just checked and they're full that week. There were reservations available when I made my ADR's and I'm kind of wishing I had booked it! Oh well, I'll do it next time!

I'm also impressed that you had time to update this right after having a baby I barely update my PTR and I don't have any kids

I'm currently in the school library in between my classes. I should probably be doing some homework but instead, I'm DISing and listening to the Fantasmic soundtrack But I don't really have any homework yet besides reading. I was making a list of due dates and test dates and the two weeks before my Disney trip are gonna be crazy. Between Feb 22 and March 7 I have two papers due, a psych test, and three midterms I'll be ready for that vacation

 

[Megablocks]

Congrats again, Hope! Tyler is absolutely perfect and I am so glad that Luke loves his little brother

The Wishes dessert party looks sooooo good. It was something I would have liked to do, but no one else was really interested. My dad is also diabetic, so it would have felt kinda cruel to go there and have him only be able to sample, like, one or two things. You really got some amazing pictures there!

 

[Spartangirl]

Congrats, Hope!!! Tyler is a beautiful addition to your family!

The dessert party looks absolutely amazing and you got some great shots of the fireworks!

 

[photographymom517]

Wow, what a quick delivery! So glad you and the new baby are doing well. I saw the pictures on FB. He is adorable!

The dessert party looks like lots of fun. I am anxiously waiting for April dates to become available.

Glad you had a great evening at MK.

Thanks, Erika!!! I think he's pretty cute too!!! Although I suppose I'm slightly biased with my opinion!

The Dessert Party really was wonderful! We all enjoyed it & hope to do it again in the future!

Congratulations Hope!! So pleased for you and your family.. hope baby is doing well

Emma xx

Thanks, Emma!!! We are all doing very well!

Hope! I find it hilarious that you found time to post a Disney update right after the baby one! I'm so glad everything went (realtively) smoothly! I'm so glad that Luke is so thrilled to be a big brother, he's going to be a great one!! I'm also happy to hear your DH is being suepr helpful!

I too LOVE the dessert party! Which end were you seated on? We were in the very first front corner table, right by the entrance. It was a great spot!

Can't wait to hear more about the baby AND the trip!

Thanks Steph! I actually "cheated" with the updating -- I knew ahead of time that I wouldn't have as much time to write updates once the baby was born. So a few weeks ago, I spent a couple mornings just writing updates -- I saved them in Word with the pictures added in -- so all I have to do is copy & paste it here! Unfortunately I only got the next day typed up, so after that, I'll have to go back to sloooowly updating!

I shouldn't be updating right now because I am starving now thinking about the dessert party! What I wouldn't give for Disney's desserts!!! At the dessert party, we were seated in the front row right at the corner. The table to the left of us was further back so it was almost like we were in our own little spot. It was a really great location!!!

Both my DH and Luke have been soooo helpful with the baby!

I'm with Stephanie...too funny that you are updating.

Those desserts look really good. I have debated over this one too. maybe some day.

I definitely recommend the dessert party & I know that Stephanie would too!!!

After I updated, I figured that everyone would think I was half nuts!!! But like I told Stephanie, I already had it typed in Word -- I just copied & pasted it! So it wasn't a big deal -- just took a few minutes!

Congratulated you on FB already, but here's an official Disney congrats!

Welcome to DIStown, Tyler!

So glad the anticiaption is all over and you had a safe delivery and happy, healthy baby.

All of those desserts look so good, but I can only eat a few bites of sweet things at a time. That's a week's worth of Disney treats for me, so I guess I won't ever be doing the dessert party. If they ever change it to more of an overall finger food deal - with appetizer type things, some salty stuff, and desserts, then I will be in!

Thanks Caren!

We are thrilled that Tyler is here! I cannot believe its been two weeks already!!!

I completely understand how you feel about the dessert party! While we really enjoyed it, I agree that it just isn't for everyone. I told my parents about it after we got back & showed them my pictures, but I also told them I don't think they'd like it. They just don't eat sweets or as much as we do.

If Disney ever offered a buffet-style party with small portions of appetizers, desserts, and other foods, I would definitely pay to go! I think that's a great idea!

Just found your trip report and working on getting caught up. Congrats on your new addition to your family!

Welcome!!! Glad you found my report! I posted links on the first page so it's easier to follow along!

Congratulations on your new addition!!!

The Wishes dessert party looks really fun!!! I hope we have time to do it one day!

Thanks!

You definitely should try the dessert party! We had a nice relaxing evening & as I said, it was one of the best evenings of our entire trip!

I can't believe you are posting updates right after having a baby

I loved the dessert party when we did it and was seriously thinking of booking it for my trip next month but decided against it since we only have the on day at the park... now I am kinda regretting it

Haha!!! I keep laughing because everyone is so in shock that I posted an update so soon!!!

If I only had one park day, I wouldn't schedule it either. There's always next trip!

Congratulations again!!! Tyler is beautiful! I still find it funny that when I posted this:

he was already here It was a nice surprise getting baby pictures on my first day back at school!

I'm so glad Luke loves his little brother

I was thinking about doing the dessert party in March. I just checked and they're full that week. There were reservations available when I made my ADR's and I'm kind of wishing I had booked it! Oh well, I'll do it next time!

I'm also impressed that you had time to update this right after having a baby I barely update my PTR and I don't have any kids

I'm currently in the school library in between my classes. I should probably be doing some homework but instead, I'm DISing and listening to the Fantasmic soundtrack But I don't really have any homework yet besides reading. I was making a list of due dates and test dates and the two weeks before my Disney trip are gonna be crazy. Between Feb 22 and March 7 I have two papers due, a psych test, and three midterms I'll be ready for that vacation

I know, that was too funny!!! I can't believe he was already here when you posted that either!!!

I'm glad I could brighten up your first day back at school!!! Trust me, we weren't expecting to be sending baby pictures out so early either!! It was such a huge shock to us that Sunday evening! But definitely a wonderful surprise!

WOW! That is a TON of stuff that you have to do before your vacation! You will definitely need a break!!! And I can't think of a better place to relax than at Disney!!!

Congrats, Hope!!! Tyler is a beautiful addition to your family!

The dessert party looks absolutely amazing and you got some great shots of the fireworks!

Thanks, Lynne!

I think those are the best pictures I've taken (so far) of the fireworks. I really need to read my instruction book about the settings on my camera so I can get better shots next time. I think those are some of the ONLY night shots I took. I put my camera away so many evenings just because of my camera settings.

Congrats again, Hope! Tyler is absolutely perfect and I am so glad that Luke loves his little brother

The Wishes dessert party looks sooooo good. It was something I would have liked to do, but no one else was really interested. My dad is also diabetic, so it would have felt kinda cruel to go there and have him only be able to sample, like, one or two things. You really got some amazing pictures there!

I stressed for months about how Luke would react -- I'm so happy he loves Tyler & is being my little helper!

I understand about the dessert party! My grandfather was diabetic and so was my FIL. Maybe someday they will offer something with a wider range of foods that includes appetizers & small portions of other foods.

 

[photographymom517]

Well, it's now Sunday and if you remember, today we had planned to decide whether we stay the full 10 days or leave sometime Tuesday morning or early afternoon.

Saturday was a great day! We didn't do much at Magic Kingdom, barely rode anything and didn't see any shows, but overall we didn't have any meltdowns & it was a pretty good day. Saturday night before we went to bed, we switched some plans around a bit.

Sunday was originally scheduled to be our Downtown Disney day, but we decided to go to Animal Kingdom instead!

We had cancelled our Tusker House reservation because we had a dinner reservation on our original AK day. So we would've gotten up that morning, went to Tusker House, stayed at AK all day, and later went to dinner. It seemed like too much in one day, so I had initially cancelled Tusker House. Now that we switched AK days, we could go to Tusker House if something was available. I tried calling Saturday evening and again Sunday morning, but nothing was available.

Because we aren't huge fans of many eating places at AK, we decided to get breakfast at the resort before catching the bus to AK. We went to the Marketplace & found a nice place to sit! The first day we ate at the Marketplace, we sat outside to eat. But the outdoor seating area was completely full of both people AND love bugs so we looked for somewhere inside to eat.

Notice Mickey and Pluto still following us around!

While we were sitting here to eat, Luke watched cartoons. He isn't a huge breakfast person & rarely eats as soon as he wakes up in the morning. He did eat a little of my egg & ham croissant but not much. We were glad to find this little seating area as it was peaceful, away from the busy traffic of the lobby or Marketplace areas, and the chairs were super comfy! We noticed that a lot of people sat here while they waited for either the ME bus or the DCL bus. Seeing people with suitcases brought up the topic of leaving again. At this point, we decided not to leave unless we had a really horrible day.

We headed outside to the bus stops after we finished eating & I wanted another pregnant picture. At this point, I was 20 1/2 weeks.

We continued to the bus stop & I remember it not taking long at all for a bus to come. I remember this because there were a ton of love bugs all over the benches & we didn't even sit down that morning. I also remember seeing BC CM's with some type of spray. It seemed that after this day, the love bugs weren't around the bus stop as much -- so apparently whatever they sprayed worked!

Instead of going down our "usual path" we decided to head towards The Boneyard. The park wasn't that busy so we were hoping to get FastPasses for the safari after we were done.

So we headed toward DinoLand

I needed to use the restroom & get a drink. I had been carrying water or tea around with me pretty much 24/7 since we arrived at Disney trying to stay hydrated. I knew it was more important now that I was pregnant. On my way to the restroom, I ran into Goofy & Pluto! I have never seen them at AK before, but my parents see them every year! I asked my mom a thousand times where she saw them at & I always look for them, but they're never there when I am. I was sooo excited to see them! I sent a quick text to my husband to let him know it would take longer than I thought & I got in line! I actually got in line just in time because the CM cut the line off right after me.

I went to the restroom, looked through a gift shop & wondered through DinoLand taking pictures and when I glanced over to the Goofy/Pluto area, I noticed that the line STILL wasn't moving! The characters still hadn't come back to the greeting area, so I felt very lucky that I got through the line when I did!

I headed back to the Boneyard and took pictures inside since we had never been before!

Uncrowded!

I was really surprised that barely any kids were here this morning! Since we've never been there before, I had no idea where the digsite was. I called my husband to find out where to go & he explained it. I have no idea how I managed, but I went across the wrong bridge & ended up at a dead end. I finally found the right bridge & made it there!

 

[photographymom517]

I stood and watched Luke from the bridge for a long time without him or my husband even noticing I was there! When my husband finally saw me (he knew I would be there shortly since I had called to get directions!) I motioned for him not to tell Luke I was there.

I knew if he saw me, he would be mad I was taking pictures & he might even leave the dig area. At the one point, he was looking all around & looked right at me, but luckily he just kept digging! He was having so much fun!!!

Once I went over & sat by my husband, Luke noticed I was there. He got out of the "sand" and cleaned it out of his flip flops. He told me he was digging & he found a bone & then he went back to digging again. After awhile, he wanted to show me the slides.

I stood down at the bottom & my husband stood at the top so we were able to watch Luke while he went up the net to get to the top & also once he came down the slide. While I was waiting for him to come back down the slide, I took some pictures of things around me.

We were all hungry so we went to look for Flame Tree Barbeque. We usually eat at Pizzafari and I do not like their pizza. I normally get a salad & then am hungry most of the day because I didn't eat enough. We found Flame Tree, but there wasn't anything there that my husband or Luke wanted. So I got in line to order my onion rings while my husband & Luke stood outside by the sign.

Here are my onion rings! Yum!

This is where we decided to go -- Restaurantosaurus!!!

The CM here was so funny & nice! She saw my onion rings & told me to get them away from her!!! LOL She said it because they don't serve onion rings there & she was just joking around with me since some people frown upon you bringing food from other restaurants. I told her that it wasn't entirely my fault I had them -- I said I was pregnant & going through the stage where I crave onion rings!!! We joked around for awhile & then she asked me questions about my pregnancy, she was a very sweet lady!

My husband's food

Luke's food -- I am definitely not a cheesecake person at all -- but I LOVE this stuff!!! I have no idea what they put on top of it, but its delicious! I ate Luke's because he never eats his dessert.

We ate outside in the "garage" area -- this is such a relaxing quiet place! We love the garage!

After we were done eating, we went back outside to continue exploring. We also had a new map reader!!!

 

[photographymom517]

We were passing by

This is by far my FAVORITE character greeting out of all four parks!!! Of course everyone knows how much I love Eeyore (Pooh and Tigger too!!!) and I just love how this area is set-up. I've never waited very long here & I like that you wait in one line to see three of the characters. My favorite part is probably the decor they use. Everything at AK is so "different" from the usual Disney theme yet they bring in the special Disney touches!

My favorite part of character greetings is watching Luke's face light up when he sees them! He kissed Pooh's nose first & then Pooh wanted to shake his hand.

The greeting area wasn't busy at all -- only one lady & her son were behind us. So the characters had some "down time" in between greeting guests. I took the opportunity to snap some shots of the characters by themselves since I knew I was doing the nursery in a Pooh theme & also just because I love this greeting area!

Giving Eeyore a high five!

It looks like he's eating Tigger's nose but he was giving him a kiss!

My favorite character picture of the entire trip!!!

We got a TON of "extra content" added to our CD this time! I think they added at least 5-10 different shots of the characters. In this case, they had group shots of Eeyore, Tigger and Pooh and also different poses of each character alone.

As we were leaving, Tigger was leaving the area as well. He came up behind us & took Luke's stroller and pushed it for a few minutes. Luke didn't notice right away, but I wish I would've been in front of his stroller so I could've captured the moment!!! It was still a neat experience & I was glad Luke thought it was funny & that he wasn't scared!

 

[photographymom517]

After we left this area, I was on a mission! I am absolutely in love with the Tree of Life -- but I have NEVER gotten a PhotoPass picture in front of it! We've taken our own, but usually at a bad angle or not directly in front of the tree.

The "good spots" to get pictures have always been too busy when we've been at AK so we just always improvise & get a pic off center or where you can see us up close but the tree is tiny in the background! I specifically asked my mom for "directions" as to how to find this area! As soon as we walked into AK that morning, I realized exactly why we have never seen this PhotoPass spot before! We always go towards Africa first & then go around the tree the other way. It completely made sense why we have never seen the Boneyard or this PhotoPass spot!

As you can tell, the sun was in our eyes, but we still managed to get a few really good shots! I was so glad that Luke willingly had his pic taken because this was a picture that I really wanted to have!

We then decided to try to get Fast Passes for the Kilimanjaro Safari. Let's see if we can get on the safari -- if so, see you in two weeks!!!

I have no idea what the FastPass return time was, but apparently the wait time wasn't long at all because we basically walked right on. I think we had to wait behind maybe 2-3 groups of people.

We got into our safari vehicle & were greeted by our guide! We then began our journey & it was at this point in time where I had a really big "Duh" moment!!! I realized that I had forgotten my zoom lens in the resort safe!!! One of the MAIN reasons that I brought it was for the safari! You can blame it on whatever you want, I'm going to stick with the "baby brain" excuse!!! I was able to get some good shots, but I could've gotten BETTER ones if I had the other lens!

With my regular zoom on my camera

I really like Long Horns and was upset that I didn't have my zoom lens! This pic could've been awesome with a zoom!!!

You might think this picture is odd, but I took it for a reason...Luke really enjoyed the safari until THIS point in our journey! He completely freaked out whenever the bridge started shaking & rocking. He honestly thought we were going to fall. I thought that our safari guide really handled the situation well! She heard him crying & she actually changed the "usual speech" to reflect how we weren't going to fall. I can't remember exactly what she said, but I could tell she changed it just for him & the other people on the safari with us were very understanding & supportive about him crying. I was thankful to have people like that on our safari!

When we got to the elephants, our safari guide told us that we might be able to see something really neat! They didn't have just one new baby, but TWO!

It's sort of hard to see the baby, but its right under the spot in the picture (in the water) where the two elephant trunks are raised. That was the smallest baby.

I didn't get all of the pictures that I wanted to get & was still mad at myself for forgetting my zoom lens (remember this for later!!!) -- but because the park wasn't that busy, our safari guide stopped a bunch of times. Last year, we just zoomed through & I barely got any good pictures. We also didn't see as many animals this year, even our safari guide said she was surprised at how lucky we got! She kept talking to us about different animals & would say "Oh but I doubt we'll see them today" -- and then we would! She said we were very lucky to see all that we did.

I saw this hanging on a stroller & really liked it, so I snapped a picture of it quickly to ask you guys if you know where it's sold!!! I thought it looked like a Thirty-One bag, but I'm not sure ?? I KNOW I've seen it somewhere before, I just can't place it! Anyone know??

I took a picture of these flowers because we were going to the Pangani Forest Trail and I literally ran right into this tree! I thought it would make a good picture!

 

[photographymom517]

This is completely a joke (to me anyway!) but I told my husband he HAD to wait a minute because I needed to take a picture of that very rare animal called a deer! haha!!! I completely apologize for anyone that I might insult by saying this, but I just find it hilarious that every single year I overhear people either asking "What's THAT animal?" or saying "I've never seen those before, hurry take a picture!" We're from PA so we see deer all the time. I could probably take a million pictures of deer back home. We even have an entire park JUST of deer!

They also just had a baby gorilla, but we weren't able to see the baby. We did see the mama & she was trying to protect the baby by hiding her.

I always take more pictures on the trails, but I had my camera put away most of the time because of this:

It was raining on & off throughout the time we walked the trail. Because most of it is under trees & it was only starting to sprinkle, we didn't get very wet but I didn't want to have my camera out. Right when we got to the end of the trail, it started POURING!!!

I need to practice taking pictures of rain, but it was pouring & I tried to take a shot of the puddles.

We figured it was a good time to take a break & since most people were either running inside gift shops or restaurants, we decided to head towards the Baby Care Center and let Luke watch some cartoons! I don't think I've talked about these much in this report, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE the Baby Care Centers. I honestly think they're the greatest thing in the world for infants/toddlers and mothers! My favorite changing tables are at Magic Kingdom, but my favorite play area is at Animal Kingdom!

For those who have never been inside, I took a bunch of pics!!!

This area has tables, chairs, and benches for parents & kids to sit down & watch movies. The Little Mermaid was playing & I was afraid Luke wouldn't have interest in it, but he LOVED it! It was the first time he ever watched it. He had quite an interest in Ursula & thought she was really really mean.

Even at times when its pouring down rain or super busy, I still have never seen more than 2-3 families in this room at once. It's usually a very private area & a super nice place to rest!!!

The next area is the changing/feeding area. They have high chairs off to the right-hand side -- I used them the first year Luke went to Disney when he was 10 months old. They keep everything neat & clean -- I remember while I was throwing away my baby food container, the CM working had sanitizer, cleaner, & wipes to clean the tray off that I had just used! I even noticed that she wiped down the entire high chair!

I'm not a huge fan of these changing tables, especially if you have a toddler still in diapers. As you can see, they are awfully small and not very comfy for the child. Believe me when I say it, the ones at MK are AMAZING! They are huge & soft & have padding all around them. I would say the ones at MK are honestly 4 times the size of these ones!!! If you notice the doors on the left-hand side, these are private nursing rooms. They are great for nursing mothers or if your infant/toddler is having a bad day & you just need to rock them in a chair, you can have some privacy here!

And if you forget anything at home or even in your resort room, you can purchase pretty much anything baby related here! As you can see, they have Huggies diapers, sunscreen, aloe for sunburn, powder, hand sanitizer, vasoline, baby ointment, pads (for mom), Advil, Theraflu, Tylenol, and a few other medicines. In addition to this small area, they also have other things for sale at the front of the Baby Care Center.

This is sort of a tradition for Luke & I -- we always get a drink or two of water here before we leave the Baby Care Center!

When you first walk into the Baby Care Center, there is a CM working, baby supplies & the cash register area, bathrooms, and I think a bench if dad is uncomfortable going into the actual changing room. I've seen dads go in here, but the majority of them seem to sit on the benches right outside the BCC. I always tell my DH he should come inside with us because it's very relaxing in there & also air conditioned!!!

We stayed here for awhile & I met a nice couple who were also from PA!!! They were from the opposite side of the state, but it was nice talking to someone from back home! The woman had also just found out she was pregnant (I only noticed because she had on a belly band like the one I had back home & I told her that I wish I would've brought mine!) Even when your belly isn't big yet, they're still really nice to wear for a little extra support. She said that she was due around the same time as me & she had a little boy already who was just 18 months old! We had a really nice conversation & the kids played well together.

After they left, Luke decided that it was time for us to leave as well. We found my husband outside sitting on a bench & we decided to go to the gift shop right beside the BCC.

I can't remember exactly what I bought in that gift shop, but I do know that I bought a couple of the small magnetic characters. They are VERY hard to find at the parks & my mom loves them. A few years ago, my brother & his girlfriend brought her home Goofy and she is always saying that she wants another one. She watches our house and our pets for us while we're on vacation & I always bring her home a souvenir because she refuses to take money for helping us out. She always goes above & beyond just watching the house & last year she even cleaned the entire house the day before we came home! She spends extra time with my puppies -- instead of just going in the house, filling up their water & food, and then leaving, she takes the time to sit with them, play with them, give them exercise time outside, etc. Last year she even took home my smallest dog for a "sleepover at grandma's house" and held her while they watched movies! Anyway, I do remember buying her the Eeyore magnetic character & I bought myself one as well. I think its sort of funny because my mom and I do not agree on anything! We have extremely different taste in everything -- yet we have the same favorite Disney characters (Goofy & Eeyore!) I think I also bought a couple magnets here and Luke bought a rice krispie treat because it was a Halloween shape. He may have bought a flashlight too, I'm not sure. I do know that I took a million pictures in this gift shop & wrote down SKU numbers to place an order through Merchandising after we got back home!

We decided to continue walking. I wish I would've taken a crowd picture at this point because we were almost the only ones out walking around! It seemed that most people were afraid of getting wet -- but we didn't care since we had already gotten wet after the Pangani Forest Trail. A few rain drops won't hurt you!

I remember taking a picture of this light because there was water dripping off of it -- but in the pic you can't tell.

 

[photographymom517]

We always stay at Animal Kingdom until closing or at least until the end of the parade. We were actually debating leaving the park for the afternoon just because at this point we were starving!

If you remember, I only had onion rings and Luke's dessert for lunch. My DH and Luke are both big eaters too & I knew they had to be hungry if I was. We HATE the dining options at Animal Kingdom. Even though it has iffy reviews, I still want to try Rain Forest Cafe sometime, if only for the experience and not for the food. But I checked the day before & they didn't have any reservations available.

We had already eaten at Restaurantosaurus and I begged my husband to please go somewhere other than Pizzafari. He said he wasn't in the mood for Disney pizza anyway, so that was fine with him. We were walking around, discussing our dining options, thinking about leaving the park just to eat, and then we came upon Yak & Yeti!!!

I've heard a lot of good reviews & I actually ate their Quick Service back in 2009. But I seriously didn't think my husband or Luke would find anything they wanted to eat here.

Luckily for me, their menu is posted right outside the door! I didn't even look at it because I didn't want to get my hopes up! I was afraid I'd find something I really wanted to eat & then ask for a reservation & none would be available! I told my husband to look at the menu while I checked to see if we could eat here even if it was an hour from now.

Much to my surprise, the CM said that they could probably get us in within 15-20 minutes. I asked if we should leave & come back, but she said to just wait inside because it might be sooner than that. Of course while we were waiting, we had to get a pressed penny!

I LOVE the decor here!

It was actually less than 5 minutes before they came to seat us. We didn't even have a chance to sit down to wait which was really great!!! I had NO idea Yak & Yeti has an upstairs -- but like I said, I've never been before. I've only had the QS outside.

The CM took us to the elevator & upstairs to our table!!! It was very private & I liked that they had all of the guests fairly spread out. I walked around upstairs while we waited for our food & noticed that most of the "rooms" off the main area only had 1-2 families inside. Normally, from my experience back home, if a restaurant isn't busy, they usually will seat all guests in the same little area to make it easier on the waitress to go back & forth between tables. But in this case, everyone was spread out & it was so private! We thought that was really nice!

The only thing I didn't like is that the restrooms are downstairs. I was afraid that Luke would need to use the restroom in the middle of dinner & it would take forever to get him downstairs, to the restroom and back upstairs. But we didn't have any problems!

Gorgeous!

I thought this was so neat! It's on the back of the menus!

I'm not sure what we got to drink, but probably tea. I know that Luke got chocolate milk. I knew that I wanted to get seafood but debated between the Shrimp and Mahi Mahi. I ended up getting the Mahi Mahi.

I was really surprised because my DH usually does not eat anything other than hamburgers, french fries, pizza, etc. but I was seriously very proud of him for trying new things on vacation this year!!! He actually got the Duck!!!

Kid's menu

Chicken, carrots, and applesauce

And for dessert, both my husband and I got the Fried Wontons -- YUM!!!

I believe that we ate around 1:45-2pm and were done right before 3pm. We decided to head towards the Maharajah Jungle Trek and walk through it before the parade started at 3:45pm.

 

[photographymom517]

Let me just say that I HATE bats!

I think this area is so beautiful!!! I think the Tiger that lives inside there is so lucky! Unfortunately the weather was so humid today, he was laying under a tree & we couldn't see him from this view.

Not many animals were out because of either the rain or humidity, so we decided to just walk through quickly. I put my camera away at this point so I don't have anymore pictures.

I think last year, I took over a hundred just on each trail, so I figured it wasn't a big deal to miss a few things here & there! By the time we got to the end of the trail, it was pouring & we heard an announcement that said the parade would be delayed. They said it wasn't cancelled yet, just delayed & they would have more information for us soon. Since it was pouring but most things were still in operation, my husband decided to ride Kali River Rapids. I let Luke play in the rain while we waited!

He found this water fountain & I let him play in it because I figured he was already wet, so what would it hurt? I know that sometimes there is a reason to not let your kids play in the water -- like if you have to carry them out of the park & don't want to get soaked yourself, or if you have a dinner reservation, or a number of other reasons. But I usually let Luke do whatever (within reason!) on vacation. I don't think its a huge deal to let kids play in water (and I am super strict about some things & also slightly OCD about many things with Luke!) But in this case, I had to laugh at all of the parents freaking out about their kids getting wet!

The funniest was the dad who let his three kids play in it -- and when the mom came back to meet up with them, she completely freaked out on him!!! I felt even worse too because I laughed at her & the dad just looked at me & started laughing himself -- poor guy, bet he was in trouble later! Seriously, what did she think was going to happen as they walked out of the park in the pouring rain?

After my husband was done on KRR, we heard the announcement that the parade would be cancelled for the day. Apparently they had spotted lightning in the distance & didn't want to chance it. We decided to just leave the park & maybe watch the movie of the night on the beach after a few hours of rest or swimming. We were shocked, after the parade had been cancelled, to see the characters at the gate!

We stood and watched it for a few minutes & then walked towards our bus stop. I remember it took forever for our bus to finally arrive & once it did, we had to wait for another bus because it was completely full. We may have been able to stand but it was just too hard with the stroller, Luke, and me being pregnant. We figured it would be better to just wait for another bus -- which took forever again! This was only the 2nd time the entire trip that we waited a long time for the bus. We've never had issues waiting for buses which is really nice!

Here are some pictures from the gift shops that I took at AK!

I ended up buying the Pooh mug on our trip & later ordering the AK Mickey Head mug from merchandising!

Aren't these detailed & beautiful?? I thought about getting one -- but oh my goodness were they expensive!!! Such detailed work, it makes sense but I just didn't have the extra money at the time. Maybe another trip!

I loved this shirt too, especially the one with the trees in the background! Needless to say, it didn't come home with me.

The Duffy that I loved and was obsessed with the entire trip but never bought! I'm still kicking myself!

I thought this was super cute! But again, I didn't buy!

Halloween goodies in pretty much all of the gift shops at all four parks!

My mom bought one of these last trip & I really loved hers! She brought back two -- this one and the plain black one. She let me choose which one would be mine & which would be hers but I could tell how much she loved the striped one so I told her that was hers & I took the black one. I was thrilled to find the animal print one at AK -- so now I have them both!!! And I was shocked that it only cost $12.95!!! I thought it would be at least $19!

More shirts! I had a gift card from my Disney Visa and I told myself if I didn't find anything else I wanted to buy, I would call merchandising to order that hoodie. We'll see if I end up buying it or not!

Back to our AK day!!! We boarded the bus & talked a little on the way back. We decided that once we got back to the resort, we would figure out if we were staying or not. At this point it was Sunday night -- if we were leaving, we needed to switch our flights around this evening or early in the morning.
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We decided to STAY!!!!

We switched around some of our plans & decided not to go back to Hollywood Studios. We would spend a second day at AK instead! We cancelled a few ADR's, made some new ones, switched times of others. And I learned a very important lesson! Sometimes it's ok to just "go with the flow" and sometimes its more important to switch from Plan A to Plan B than to have a lot of melt-downs on vacation!

Hopefully I'll post another update next weekend! If not, I hope everyone has a Happy Valentine's Day!!!

 

[ronnmel]

I had NO idea how much was in those baby care centers! Thank you so much for showing us these, as I will most probably be needing to use them a lot on our next trip.

Yak & Yeti is very beautiful inside! Too bad the parade was cancelled, but otherwise what a great day! I love how you are showing such a different way of touring, because of Luke and being pregnant. It makes me even more confident about wanting to take a trip when Peanut is young and I could possibly be pregnant with a second.

I'm someone who loves Kali »River Rapid, especially if I get soaked to the bones. In the hot Florida summer, I know that the worse that will happen is it will take a little while to dry. nothing to worry about. So I totally agree with letting your kids play in the fountain or water play areas. I LOVED jumping in water puddle when I was young (and even not so young )