Pulling Pluto’s Whiskers and Eating Minnie’s Nose ~9 Days w/ a 6 mo. old Updated 4/25

[Jiminy_78]

Sorry for the delay in updates! We've been dealing with Nemo's first ear infection and it wasn't fun, but he's a trooper and is feeling much better. He loves the taste of his antibiotics and has been the perfect patient. This next week is spring break for me, so hopefully I'll get a few updates done this week.

We left off with a happy – full – clean baby and trying to decide what our first ride as a new family would be. Nemo’s first ride in utero was Haunted Mansion and we thought about heading that way but DH had run ahead and came back to tell us that the Jungle Cruise and Pirates had short lines. So we headed off to Adventureland for a well…adventure!

Now, when we first entered the park I made a beeline to CP to check us in for our ADR and then stopped to catch my breath and take in the atmosphere. I had been so focused on showing Nemo the castle that I didn’t notice much else. Well as we were making our way to Adventureland, DH said “It’s busier than I would have thought, guess everyone showed up while we were eating” and then I saw it… oh geesh… I’d read about them and had always been so happy that I’d managed to avoid them but there it was right in front of me. A flag on a stick. You know what that means…. tour groups. I was doing a mental head slap as we made our way to Nemo’s first ride on…

We figured that since he was our little pirate we’d introduce him to some of our old friends via a nice calming boat ride. The wait time was posted at fifteen minutes, a lot longer than we’d usually wait but we didn’t mind. We were just trying to take it all in and enjoy the moment. On a previous trip I had purchased the “Four Parks One World” CD and we’d been playing them for Nemo as bedtime music. I couldn’t help but wonder if he recognized any the songs as we made our way through the parks. Nemo seemed to enjoy the ride and once we headed back into the daylight he was ready for a nap.

We got him all settled in his stroller and before we’d made our way back to the web he was zonked out. I sent DH ahead to get some FP to Peter Pan as Nemo and I made our way to Tomorrowland. I had my mind set on one thing…SPACE MOUNTAIN! This is my favorite ride at WDW and I had not been able to ride during our past two trips. It was shut down for rehab when we were there in Sept ’09 and I couldn’t ride in March ’10 because I was pregnant; so I was more than ready to visit outer space. DH started to make his way back to meet us and when he went to give me my KTTW he realized that he didn’t have it he’d left it in the FP machine at PP. He turned around and hightailed it back to PP while I ducked into a restroom by the teacups. This is where traveling with strollers is tricky; I had to wait for the handicap stall at the end to open so I could roll Nemo in with me. Every stall was empty except this one and after what felt like forever, a lady walked out. Just a lady all by herself; I am not going to make any assumptions about why she could or couldn’t use a regular stall. If I had know the whole thing would was going to take so long I would have passed the stroller over to DH. Oh well, lesson learned.

As we headed to SM I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. I practically glided over to the fast pass entrance to pick up our baby swap ticket and wave good bye to DH and Nemo. I walked through the cue with DH on our previous trip and then took the chicken exit so I had seen the new interactive cue and I didn’t feel bad about speed walking past it. I found it interesting that they had the ride loading area on the right marked for fast pass riders. On previous trips they would merge the FP riders in with standby and you could choose which side to ride. I didn’t mind the new arrangement because the line went very quickly and I was able to skip ahead of a few people when the CM who was loading the ride called for a single rider. I was so excited to be back on SM and I was glad that my seat was in the back so I could throw my hands up and laugh and smile and scream and maybe tear up a little all in the span of two minutes of thrill. Once my ride was over I made my way back outside and found DH sitting on a bench in the shade with Nemo still passed out in his stroller.

He took off for his ride on SM and I took the opportunity to check in with my mom and sister and let them know how our trip was going thus far. It was chilly out and I was grateful that I’d brought my windbreaker and that Nemo had his adorable Mickey hoodie that his grandma had made for him. There is a little cement courtyard to the right of SM near the restrooms. I had never really noticed it before on previous trips but as I was sitting there waiting for DH to finish on SM I watched several people make their way over there to smoke. Only it’s not a DSA and the same older CM kept rushing over to tell them to put out their cigarettes and directing them to the actual DSA nearby. I felt bad for him because some of the guests were really rude to him.

After we’d both journeyed through space we decided to make our way over to BTMRR since Nemo was still asleep. We started towards the hub and ran into a parade! We made our way through the crowds and headed to Frontierland. We made it to the FP machines and realized that we still had a few minutes to wait before we could get our next FP. To kill some time, we wandered through the Briar Patch gift shop; it was nice that it was still open even though Splash Mountain was closed for refurbishment. We picked up some BTMRR FPs for later and made our way to Country Bear Jamboree. Nemo was waking up now and he was hungry. We gathered up our stuff, parked the stroller and made our way to the lobby. We had just missed one show so we waited for the next.

Nemo was doing great but as we got closer to show time he started to fuss and the lobby was filling up with people. I got more than a few stink eyes and I wanted to shrink into the floor. I knew that once we got inside and were settled, he could nurse and we’d all enjoy the show just fine. It still didn’t make it any easier when people were shooting daggers at me as I tried to comfort a hungry baby. Can’t say that I blame them, before becoming a mom I would have probably been the one giving stink eye, it’s amazing how your perspective changes once you have little ones. Once our doors opened, DH and I slid into the back row towards the exit and as predicted Nemo calmed down and nursed and all was well in the world. After CBJ we stopped by a restroom and changed Nemo and then headed towards Haunted Mansion. We saw that the wait was 35 minutes and shook our head and kept walking. We decided to use our PP fast passes and Nemo enjoyed his first flight over Neverland.

We went to check out It’s a Small World and saw that it was a 30 minute wait…nope. It was now that DH and I realized that we were pretty hungry so we decided to head into Pinocchio Village Haus. This was my first time eating here and I was pleasantly surprised. They had a CM blocking the entrance to the dining room keeping parties together until everyone had received their food before sitting down. I know that some people don’t like this new policy but I found it to be very helpful. We both enjoyed our pepperoni pizza and caesar salads. I was hungry enough that I even enjoyed the standard chocolate cake dessert.

Once we were full we started to realize that we were really tired. The going to bed at 2am and getting up at 7 was starting to catch up with us.

When DH had gotten our fast passes for Peter Pan he had received surprise fast passes for Philharmagic. We made our way over there and saw that the wait was 10 minutes. We asked the CM if it was worth it to use the FP and he smiled and made a comment along the lines of “I believe I just let it ten tour groups to the stand by line, use them.” So we did, and we were really glad that we had followed his advice. We were able to bypass the entire standby process. Once they let us in we walked right into the theatre and avoided the whole packed like sardines wait. It was great! We found a row, got settled and Nemo nursed while we enjoyed the best 3D show at WDW.

After the show we headed over to Winnie the Pooh to pick up some fast passes for later. We stopped to use the restroom and then made our way to Main Street. There was a CM with a cart outside of guest relations with all sorts of buttons. We picked up a “My First Visit” button for Nemo and a Happy Birthday button for me (my birthday was actually two weeks after our trip). Then we made our way out to the bus stop; stopping for a picture on the way. Maybe it's just me but the flowers making up Mickey's face just seemed "off" this year. I wasn't thrilled with the memories banner but combining that with discolored flowers made the main entrance less magical for me. Not really sure why.

We caught a bus back to Pop and realized that we were temporarily homeless so we headed over to the front desk to figure out where out what room we’d be staying in.

Coming up…what decade will we be sleeping in and will we make it back to the MK?

 

[TanzUnited99]

Loved your update of MK and seeing all the changes with having Nemo with you on this trip

Am glad you finally got to ride Space Mountain and am looking forward to hearing about where you will be staying next

 

[punkin413]

Subbing! I'll be back to play catchup later!

 

[Jiminy_78]

We made our way to the front desk at Pop and waited in line for a while before we got to talk with Kathy from Arizona. I don’t usually write down the names of all the CMs we meet, but she was great. They’d recently updated the reservation system and she was having a hard time finding our new room. She called over her manager, Chris from Hawaii, and he got on a computer and got things figured out. While all of this was going on, Kathy talked to Nemo and sang songs to him and kept him entertained while we waited. I knew he was tired and I was really grateful for her effort to keep him amused as we were all about to crash out. I think that if I hadn’t been holding Nemo I might have just put my head on the counter and taken a nap right then and there. We were reassured that our luggage, a pack'n'play, and refrigerator would meet us in our new room and we set off with new KTTKs in hand. DH was thrilled that all of his original requests had been met. We were now on the first floor of the sixties near the pool but facing Hourglass Lake; we were basically one vending machine and sidewalk from being in a preferred room. Of course, we forgot to take pictures.

While we were waiting for bell services to bring us all our goods, we turned on some Stacy and checked our beds for bugs. I changed Nemo and tried to see if he would fall asleep on the big bed with me while we waited for his bed to be delivered. Wouldn’t you know it that as soon as he settled in and closed his eyes there was a knock on the door? I believe that the pack’n’play and fridge were delivered first. The CM set up the pack’n’play which came with Mickey sheets (I changed the sheet to one I’d brought from home and added a few blankets underneath to soften the flat bottom). She plugged in the fridge and bid us adieu. Soon thereafter our luggage showed up. Once we had all our stuff, DH fell asleep and I got to unpacking. I was still tired, but the desire to be settled overruled my fatigue. Once everything was in its own place I laid down and shut my eyes. Within minutes both DH and Nemo were awake and ready to go. Oh well… I tried.

It was cooler out than it had been that morning so we layered up and stopped by the food court to fill our mugs with hot beverages. We caught a bus back to the MK. We made it through the gates and noticed that people were lined up and waiting for Wishes. Main Street was wall to wall people, not just people, but Brazilian tour groups. As we made our way up the sidewalk towards the castle we couldn’t ignore the loud chants and singing and at one point they were all jumping up and down together while yelling. I saw an older lady that looked like she was about to have a heart attack they were so loud. Luckily, once Wishes started they shut up and we were able to enjoy the show from the corner of a sidewalk on the hub. I had not given much thought to how Nemo was going to do with fireworks. He was bundled in his Baby Bjorn and I tried to cover his ears as much as I could. He fussed a little but seemed to enjoy the colors in the sky. I have a very vivid and yet vague memory of standing in front of Sleeping Beauty’s castle at DL with my grandfather and family when I was really young. I remember my mother trying to explain about the fireworks and that Tinkerbell would fly in the air. I don’t remember much more than that, but I know that I was really happy, and it’s a memory that has stuck with me all this time. I couldn’t help but get a tear in my eye as I stood there holding my son and whispering in his ear about the fireworks and how he’d get to see Tinkerbell. I realize that he’ll remember none of this but I’ll remind him again and again on future trips.

As Wishes was winding down I noticed that most of the tour groups were leaving the park and I was thrilled that we might be able to enjoy an evening with smaller crowds. Nemo has never been a baby that goes to bed before 9pm, guess he has his father’s “night owl gene,” so I wasn’t worried about him being in the park after the fireworks and knew that when he was ready to sleep he’d snuggle into me and we’d be okay. We headed over to Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin; it was a very short wait so we jumped into the standby line. I’ve never been really good at this game and holding a baby in my lap did me no favors in accuracy. So I just sat back and cheered on DH. When the ride was over I realized that I had managed to rack up what was probably my lowest score to date but the picture made it all worth it. Remember the picture I shared with you before from our previous trip? Well, when I look at that one and then this picture I can’t help but laugh. Nemo is definitely his father’s son… I can’t wait until he’s older and can challenge his daddy for real.

After we’d battled Zurg, we made our way over to Pooh to use our fast passes from earlier. I was a little sad that we missed out on the new interactive cue but we were able to watch the kids playing from a distance and I knew that Nemo would love to play those games when he was older. Nemo loved the ride and visiting with his new friend Tigger. We then bounced back towards Main Street to stake out a place for the Main Street Electrical Parade. I first saw MSEP in ’89 with my family and I’m pretty sure that my father recorded the entire parade. We’d just purchased our first camcorder before that trip and he taped everything at WDW. I was annoyed at the time but my mom recently had those videos copied to DVD and it was great looking back on how things were. I’d seen MSEP a few times in California since then but this would be DH’s first time to watch the parade. Once we’d staked out our sidewalk in front of the castle I headed towards the Baby Center to warm up Nemo’s bottle. The events of the next 20 minutes left me feeling like the worst mother in the world and I’m pretty sure that I’ll have to pay for therapy for Nemo at some point where he’ll relate all of his teen angst back to that one night at the Magic Kingdom.

We’d just started Nemo on formula a few weeks before our trip, and he had it every night. I’d made the bottle at Pop and then packed it away with an ice pack until we were ready to heat it. I waited too long, Nemo was hungry. Why I didn’t just nurse him and let DH go heat the bottle I don’t know; I think I figured I could fly over and back and all would be fine. Nope. Once I got to the BC I found the kitchen and ran into a flock of children of all ages. I couldn’t figure out what they were all doing in there but quickly realized that their mother/aunt was using the microwave to heat up instant macaroni and cheese for all of them. I had to weave through them to get to the counter with the bottle warmer. I threw some water in the warmer added my bottle and pushed the button. Then I waited…and waited… and after what felt like a lifetime the light clicked and the bottle was ready. I grabbed it and realized oh crap, it was so hot. I hadn’t paid close enough attention to the directions and it was a different warmer than we use at home and I’d added too much water. I’d hoped that it would cool down as I made my way back to Nemo and DH but it didn’t. I could hear Nemo crying before I got there and DH looked at me and asked what had taken so long. I explained about the kids and macaroni and the bottle warmer and it all just sounded stupid coming out of my mouth. He tested the formula on his arm and freaked out that it was so hot. So we waited and tried to calm Nemo while his bottle cooled. Once it was ready he drank it down and all was well in the world. We did receive a few stink eyes from people around us throughout the whole process. At one point I had sat Nemo into his stroller so I could get situated to feed him; he was wiggling while he cried and worked his way right out of the stroller. I caught him before he slid into Main Street, but I was freaked and received a few “looks” from parents sitting around us. I sat there and held Nemo while he ate and tried to not make eye contact with anyone around us until the parade started. Once the parade was over we bundled Nemo into the Baby Bjorn I zipped up my sweatshirt around him and we headed towards the Haunted Mansion. Before we’d even made it to the lady in the attic Nemo was asleep. As we headed out of the HM I realized that he was missing a mitten. I couldn’t find it in my sweatshirt and turned to DH and explained to him that a ghost had stolen Nemo’s mitten. It was the first day of our trip, and it had been cooler than we’d expected and now my baby had only one mitten. I wasn’t doing well.

We realized that we were hungry; we hadn’t eaten since PVH so we decided to check out another CS that we hadn’t tried before. We walked over to Columbia Harbor House and checked out the menu. We decided to split the tuna sandwich with chips and an apple turnover. It was plenty of food and we figured we’d just split a CS later in the week to use up the extra CS credit from the dining plan. Nemo slept through dinner and once we were finished we bundled up again and decided to head back to Fantasyland. We hopped on a boat for a ride around Small World and then decided to head out. We stopped in a few stores along Main Street and thought about things we’d like to buy another day and checked out the supply of hats and gloves just in case. We found a very long line at the bus stop to Pop. Luckily as soon as one bus pulled up another was right behind it. We stood on the ride home and I realized that it was much easier to stand if Nemo was strapped to me rather than in my arms. He slept the whole way back. We stopped off and got some more hot cocoa in our mugs and went back to the room to crash. I unloaded Nemo gently and couldn’t help but smile and take a picture.

Yes, those shoes are too big for his feet, we were worried that his socks would slip off in the cold so he wore his Mickey shoes to help keep his feet warm. He was wiped out after a busy day and I was impressed that he’d handled it as well as he did. His first day at WDW had been a success. There were high points and low points, and really low points where he literally almost rolled into the street. However, in the end, we’d all survived. We learned that traveling at WDW with an infant was a totally different touring experience for us, but we learned from our mistakes and were reading to try it all again the next day. We were happy to be in our room in our pj’s and ready for a good night’s sleep.

Tomorrow is another day, and there’s a roller coaster featuring one of my favorite bands with my name on it…

 

[afwdwfan]

Looks like a fun trip. We're going to be making a trip with a little one in Nov/Dec, so I'm trying to check out TR's to do some research. Ours will be almost 2 when we go, but still will be our first time with a little one, so it will be a whole new experience for us.

Enjoying your TR so far and look forward to more. Sorry about the situation waiting for MSEP. I'm sure none of those parents giving you dirty looks ever had problems like that.