Sweating around the World! August w/a 1yr old w/lots of tips! PP PICs added! COMPLETE

[aksunshine]

Thank you. Sorry for all the typos, everything was blurry!

 

[DannysMom]

I just caught up with reading..... still here -- well was on vacation last week, but still here, trying to distract myself from other things.....

 

[loritemp]

Oooh Oooh Oooh I am joining in! Love trips with kiddo tips! We took my son last year when he was 18months old and reading TR was so helpful for me, so many things I never thought of! Next time we go back my son will be 3 1/2 and we will have a 1 YO with us! So stocking up on more tips

So an Ergo, huh? I have a carrier than I didn' t like much and neither did my son. So many people have suggested the wrap style carriers and I am just not comfortable with them. I will have to look into the Ergo. I am thinkign with 2 kiddos, a carrier will be a great idea, in general, and certainly for trips like WDW!

Can't wait to hear more. And I must say, all the pics of your little girl are melting my heart, she is just too cute!!!

 

[harleyquinn]

harleyquinn... I am enjoying your TR. and Lily is so pretty! Aren't you glad you went when she was little? I have a big family; 5 kids from age 17 down to 11 month old DD. We went when she was between 9-10 months. I had people telling me they couldn't believe I was taking a baby....well, why the heck wouldn't I? Yeah, she won't remember, but I will remember how she looked at things, how her eyes lit up, how her older sibs wanted to hold her to show her new Disney stuff/ride things with her, how she bopped in my arms during the parades..... a different kind of magic. Ugh, people and their good intended opinions.

I grew up in Solon, OH. Not sure where you live, but it sounds like the same neck of the woods.

I can't wait to see a few parades in December. We always skip the afternoon ones in August. They are miserable. And of course we missed all the evening ones because she was asleep!

Yes, I sooo happy we ignored the wet blankets.

Subbing! I saw your thread with the one year old tips and almays meant to sign on. (I might be reading way too many TRs to keep track right now!) Today I've totally caught up! We started doing WDW pretty regularly around my younger son's first birthday. Lucky for us, he was used to long stroller walks, and we didn't have many line issues. Shows were a problem for him, but it was mostly easy to adjust to the parks for us. It's been neat to see you using some of the same "tricks" we did in the first visits though! I couldn't help but laugh when you mentioned reclining the stroller. I just knew how that one was going to go! All the threads on here about not taking little ones drive me nutty. Once you find what works for your child, you can all have such a great time! She may not remember these days, but she's going to love the pictures and video you got someday!

Totally!! I'm sure there are plenty of people who have gone and had a rotten time. I'm sure a lot of people try and do too much or ignore their instincts when it came to the child. I know the first day at MK I knew we needed to leave earlier, but there was just so much she needed to do! lol We got over that fast!

You made me cry!!! We took our 16 mo old n 2007. People questioned him going so young, but the way his eyes lit up and how Isabelle wanted to show him things was so priceless. 5 day after our trip a truck ran a red light and we lost our Levi. So I know exactly what you are saying. And it is that exact reason I can't wait to take Gabriel or 3rd hild for his first trip in Oct. He will be so much younger, but even at 5 mo. they still take so much in!

I'm so sorry.

I just caught up with reading..... still here -- well was on vacation last week, but still here, trying to distract myself from other things.....

I hope I can be a good distraction! Plus planning a new trip is always great for distractions!

Oooh Oooh Oooh I am joining in! Love trips with kiddo tips! We took my son last year when he was 18months old and reading TR was so helpful for me, so many things I never thought of! Next time we go back my son will be 3 1/2 and we will have a 1 YO with us! So stocking up on more tips

So an Ergo, huh? I have a carrier than I didn' t like much and neither did my son. So many people have suggested the wrap style carriers and I am just not comfortable with them. I will have to look into the Ergo. I am thinkign with 2 kiddos, a carrier will be a great idea, in general, and certainly for trips like WDW!

Can't wait to hear more. And I must say, all the pics of your little girl are melting my heart, she is just too cute!!!

I'm just like you. I just couldn't deal with the wrap. I think the Ergo is so amazing. I literally can carry her for hours without noticing any strain in the Ergo. Without the Ergo? 5 minutes and I'm whinning! lol

Thank you! I'm not sure how she turned out so cute! She definitely won the genetics lottery. She somehow ended up with the best features of me and DH.

 

[harleyquinn]

Day 5, Part 2

The essential Seas pic:

And

I love the Seas, especially with a little one, especially early in the morning. It was quiet and peaceful and cool. Just wonderful.

Next we headed over to Figment...I mean Journey Into Imagination (or whatever). FIL is a HUGE Figment guy. Well he's a huge Disney guy, but especially Figment. So that passed on to DH, who passed it on to me and now we've passed it on to Lily.
She seemed to enjoy the ride and really liked Figment. We played a little in Imagineworks (or whatever its called). Lily liked making Figment play music and we had fun jumping on the instruments for a bit. It was SUPER quiet in here, very relaxing.

Next we decided to try Captain EO. DH had seen it way back in the day and I of course had not. I wish DH had a better memory as this is definitely not a baby friendly show. DD and I left within the first 5 minutes. I don't feel like I missed anything. Michael Jackson was a horrible actor. The opening sequence has him and his crew in a spaceship. There was another ship firing at them and everytime they did the theatre would light up and get loud. Lily hated it.

DD and I waited by the exit since DH really wanted to stay. We played with the fountains and watched some kids. But it was getting hot and DD was getting cranky sitting there.

At this point,we had accomplished everything we wanted to try except Spaceship Earth. I LOVE the Universe of Energy, but I didn't dare sit through it with Lily. As we got up to SE I could see that the line was WAY too long. It was around 11:30 and everyone entering the park was waiting in the line. So we said no thanks and got a couple funny photopass pics of a very hot and tired Lily on the way out.

The bus ride was uneventful and full of snacky goodness. We decided to eat at the resort and got the make your own salads, which are IMO the BEST thing on POR's foodcourt menu by far.

Now we made a bit of a mistake here. We just ate without going back to the room and relaxing a little first. By the end of the meal Lily LOST it. (It does take forever to eat a salad). Somehow I ended up carrying her all the way back to the room. I almost died. She is too heavy to carry that far without the Ergo.

I'm not sure if we slept and then swam or the other way around, but that's what we did.
Then we were on to the best thing to happen to this trip so far...





the Garden Grill! (I know, I totally wasn't expecting it either!)

I cannot say enough about this meal. The found was okay, definitely not the best we've ever had, but the waitress was by far the best we've ever had and that made all the difference.

Here's the only pic I have, you know the drill, DH took video.

So the waitress. Her name is Jen, and she has a daughter around Lily's age, so she really knew everything we needed. She was super attentive and wonderful with Lily. She brought out a little plate full of the kids foods, but Lily was happy to eat what we had. I think she ate more here than anywhere except Le Cellier. She really did so amazing at the restuarants...but I'm getting ahead of myself!

Lily just had a blast here between the characters and the attention she got from the tables around us. There was a wonderful woman behind us that kept entertaining Lily and saying how cute she was. You just don't get this kind of thing when you eat at Cracker Barrel.

There wasn't a ton of interaction with the characters, but just them being around made Lily's meal. There was almost always someone she could see and point to. She kept barking at Pluto. And she pointed at Mickey everytime he came near.

The waitress started asking about the spelling of Lilliana, and I knew something special was coming. We hadn't actually put anything on the reservation, because she was 2 weeks past her birthday.

Jen brought out a little oreo mousse dessert with a candle and a birthday card signed by all of the characters with her name spelled correctly!
Then Mickey walked over and led us in "Happy Birthday." The family behind us really got into it too. It was wondeful! The whole time I'm watching DH video tightly focused on DD. I really hope he got some of Mickey and Jen in the video. I know he uploaded some stuff so I'll see if I can get it posted tonight!

Anyway, it was awesome! I'm so glad she went to the trouble, because I don't think I'll ever forget Mickey "singing" to my little girl. I'm getting all teary just thinking about it!

After the meal, Lily was super happy, so we decided to head to the Seas again. She clapped at the end of Nemo and then I left her with DH for a bit. I have to get DH on to tell you what happened when I was gone. There was a little school of fish playing with them and they had fun watching the dolphin again. Lily was really enjoying her time with daddy.

Next we made it over to Figment for the last ride of the day. I forgot that they close Future World at 7. But the CM let us park the stroller and run in. We were going to be the last ones on and had the ride to ourselves...until a sea of people walked in behind us. I guess the door malfunctioned and was letting people in. It was closed with a CM and a garbage can in front of the door when we left.

Lily was obviously very taken with Figment, so we used our brand new AP discount and bought her a Figment plush. The other day DH sang the song to her while she was holding him and she started dancing and rocking Figment. So you can't tell me she didn't remember a little something!

On the way out we decided to ride Spaceship Earth. It was a walk on (end of the day!!) I always forget how boring this ride is. I love it, don't get me wrong, but I realized DH was right about being hesitant to take her on it.

I also forgot about how often it stops. We stopped for a lot longer than I thought DD would stand, but she did wonderfully. She had fun playing with the screen at the end. We stopped after the ride and had the post card sent to my email. Weird thing...on the ride there was a pic of me and then one with DD and DH since he was holding her. The postcard only had this.

I LOVE DD's face! Soo funny. I love this part of the ride.
We stopped on the way out and got a bunch of photopass pics and then got to the bus line. It took FOREVER. I think this was the worst wait of the trip for us. Bad ending to a WONDERFUL day.

This is one of my favorite pics:

Lily went right to sleep as soon as we got back to the resort. I think this was as close to a perfect day as you can get.

Up next:
Rest day--DTD

 

[mickeystoontown]

So glad to hear that you had an awesome time at the Garden Grill. Isn't it wonderful how the wait staff and characters pay so much attention to you there? We've always found that to be the case and that's why the restaurant gets a big thumbs up from us.

 

[caitty13]

I'm here!!! Your trip sounds like so much fun. I can't wait to take Lilliana and DS5 back. We are thinking on his school break in February so he doesn't have to miss any school.

 

[harleyquinn]

Day 6

Orginally we had planned to go to AK and a Tusker House breakfast today. When we added the extra day, I knew we could use this as a break instead, so I canceled the breakfast. And I added dinner at Wolfgang Puck Cafe instead, which I love.

So we slept in until 8:15 and took our time getting ready. We went to the bus stop at 9:45 and it was packed with people.

We waited a few minutes and then I convinced DH that we can drive to DTD. Well, that meant we had to get a new parking pass, because when we checked out and back in, they didn't give me one...

I just realized I forgot to write about that experience. I left DH to get DD ready while I headed down to check us out and in. On the way I noticed a sign in front of Boatrights that said something about Checking in, but I thought it was something to do with food since the sign also said something about the dining plan on it. lol

I got to the lobby and they redirected me back to Boatrights. There were so many people like us with split stays that they had set up a special area at the restuarant (which wasn't open). I gave them my name and old key cards and they gave me the new ones. It was great. I wish the CM had mentioned it when we checked in the first time and I brought up that we were going to be checking in and out.

So back to today. I took Lily to the lobby while DH drove the car over to the main building. In hindsight, I should have got the pass and the extremely simple directions to DTD, but I just got the pass.

We got lost again. Why aren't there more signs to DTD? There was more angry words. But we made it and felt very special that we had finally (after 6 trips) actually drove to something ourselves! Very empowering.

Morning is a MUCH better time to shop at DTD. It was nice and quiet. But we didn't buy anything! We ate at Wolfgang Puck Express again. I know, seriously? We were eating at the cafe for dinner, but whatever. I got the BBQ Chicken Pizza and DH got meatloaf. His meatloaf was amazing for a counter service lunch, but I much prefer the margarita pizza.

We went back to the room after only a little while (SOOO glad we didn't do buses or boats for this small trip!)

Okay, so here's my total gross out moment of the trip. I was sitting on the floor watching TV with Lily when i notice something weird in her hands, so I grab it and It's A Dead Lizard!!! OMG YUCK!! I still get the heebie geebies thinking about it. Thank goodness I noticed it right away, because she was putting everything in her mouth.

I totally didn't even know what it was until I touched it. Gah. And it wasn't there before, because we had done a major search on the floor for one of DD's toys the first day and pretty much every other day. (We found an old barbie sock and a pirate ball the first day!)

Ugh. After my ordeal, we went swimming and then took our nap. We had quite the routine going. If we got back from our morning out and Lily wasn't tired, we'd take her swimming to get the last bit of energy out. I think we only slept and then swam once, but it worked that day for whatever reason.

Dinner time came and we drove (so adventureous now! ) back to DTD (and only turned wrong once! ) and parked on the West side this time. What happened to the West Side?! It's total crap now! I can't believe the Virgin Mega store is a build-your-own-overpriced-remote-control-car-store! They must be renting the building for WAY less than it's worth.

We took the short walk around and were pretty saddened. We used to close the Adventurer's Club at least once a trip.

So we went to dinner. I got my favorite thing the pumpkin ravioli! YUM! DH got the pecan crusted chicken. It was good. This meal was LOOOONG. The service was sub-par and everything took forever to come out. But Lily was AWESOME. I mean, it took work. Lots of snacks and distractions. The table next to us was flirting with her.

We finally managed to get the meal completed and a woman from a nearby table came over as they we leaving to tell us how wonderfull DD was and what a great job we were doing to keep her happy during such a long meal.

We went back to the resort and DH decided to go to MK. My notes said that there was a EE morning at MK, but it turned out to be a EE night. So DH said it was PACKED and the bus was really, really awful. But he got to see Wishes.

Wishes is really special to him, because we were watching it right before his mom passed away in 2006. She had been in poor health for most of her life (heart attack in her 20s, kidney failure and transplant in her 30s), but her passing was unexpected. She had gone into the hospital a few days before we left for our trip with our best friends, and we thought it was just a minor issue (or we never would have left). So on the second night of our trip we were sitting in the hub waiting for Wishes to start, and I turned to DH and told him to call his mom. He wanted to wait until we got back to the resort, but I convinced him it would be too late (in the evening), and we were just sitting there anyway.

So he called her, and she talked with him briefly. She told him she wasn't feeling too good and that she loved us. We watched Wishes and then when we got back to the resort, DH asked me to call his sister while he ran down to the food court. I called and his sister answered crying hysterically and saying that their mom had JUST passed away. A family friend took the phone and told me the details. She had just crashed pretty much out of the blue.

So I just sat there dumbfounded as to how to tell DH. Our friends had ajoining rooms and we had the door open, so I went and told my best friend (DH had gone with her DH to the food court). She barely had time to hug me before they were back. She took her DH aside, and I told DH. It was the hardest thing I've ever done.

MIL was an angel on earth and I miss her every day. I was really looking forward to her helping me raise Lily and I'll always regret that she didn't get to meet her future grandchildren.

So Wishes is important to DH, and he got to see it. Sorry to be a downer, but I wanted to explain.

Next up: Back to MK!

 

[harleyquinn]

So glad to hear that you had an awesome time at the Garden Grill. Isn't it wonderful how the wait staff and characters pay so much attention to you there? We've always found that to be the case and that's why the restaurant gets a big thumbs up from us.

I just made an ADR for our december trip!

I'm here!!! Your trip sounds like so much fun. I can't wait to take Lilliana and DS5 back. We are thinking on his school break in February so he doesn't have to miss any school.

Hi! February is a great time to go! The 2006 trip was late January/Early Feb. It was cold at night, but very nice.

 

[aksunshine]

Oh wow, Sarah, I can't imagine being in the situation where you had to tell your DH something like that. I can understand it being special.

LOL! You DH and his "words" remind me of my DH! I think they would REALLY get along! Matt LOVES WDW, but isn't a theme park guy. I plan, do research, etc...Goodness forbid I don't have the EXACT directions to somethin! LOL!!!

So glad to hear about Garden Grill. We have a ADR there for next month. We have never been there before. Of course, I have NO idea how my 5 mo old will act around characters anyway!

 

[harleyquinn]

Oh wow, Sarah, I can't imagine being in the situation where you had to tell your DH something like that. I can understand it being special.

LOL! You DH and his "words" remind me of my DH! I think they would REALLY get along! Matt LOVES WDW, but isn't a theme park guy. I plan, do research, etc...Goodness forbid I don't have the EXACT directions to somethin! LOL!!!

So glad to hear about Garden Grill. We have a ADR there for next month. We have never been there before. Of course, I have NO idea how my 5 mo old will act around characters anyway!

Thanks! I really hated not seeing it with him, but I was happy that he at least got to be there.

I hope you have an awesome time at the GG!!

 

[acox17]

Hi! I am right there with you about the trips on the bus, horrorible! We went when DD was 21 months and pretty much every bus ride, monorail, boat was horror. That was in 08 we are getting ready to go in 11 days to be exact and my DH had just said the other day, let's just hope for no meltdowns! Every trip will get better!

 

[TinkOhio]

More awesome installments, Sarah! Thanks so much for sharing!:

I'm so glad that you are taking the time to make these memories with your little one! My family always thought that we were crazy taking our kids down so young, but those special kinds of memories that you mentioned are priceless. Now that our youngest is 13, we absolutely treasure those memories! Some of our favorite pics of character interactions with the kids come from the Garden Grill, too.

It's really neat that your DH is able to watch Wishes and remember his mother. I hope that his love of the show is soon shared with Lilly. How awesome will it be when you three can watch it together and start your own family tradition!

 

[harleyquinn]

Hi! I am right there with you about the trips on the bus, horrorible! We went when DD was 21 months and pretty much every bus ride, monorail, boat was horror. That was in 08 we are getting ready to go in 11 days to be exact and my DH had just said the other day, let's just hope for no meltdowns! Every trip will get better!

She was totally fine once we gave her the snacks! But I've very much looking forward to walking to Epcot and DHS in December! I can't wait to see how different things are or aren't when she's a little older!

 

[harleyquinn]

More awesome installments, Sarah! Thanks so much for sharing!:

I'm so glad that you are taking the time to make these memories with your little one! My family always thought that we were crazy taking our kids down so young, but those special kinds of memories that you mentioned are priceless. Now that our youngest is 13, we absolutely treasure those memories! Some of our favorite pics of character interactions with the kids come from the Garden Grill, too.

It's really neat that your DH is able to watch Wishes and remember his mother. I hope that his love of the show is soon shared with Lilly. How awesome will it be when you three can watch it together and start your own family tradition!

We posted at the same time!

I'm really glad I've been able to write this out too, because my mommy brain isn't likely to remember all it should!

I just hope Wishes is around long enough for her bedtime to get a bit later. Maybe in December.

 

[MMgranny]

Just found this TR, so I'll spend some time reading from the beginning. My husband and I are going in October (with our grown son, his wife, and two grandsons!). I love reading these reports to get more ideas. I've been there plenty, but I always try to add something new. This time, I may add the PhotoPass deal. I'm not very familiar with it, but I'm researching!

I'm enjoying the read so far--keep it coming!

By the way, this is my first TR to subscribe to!

 

[harleyquinn]

Just found this TR, so I'll spend some time reading from the beginning. My husband and I are going in October (with our grown son, his wife, and two grandsons!). I love reading these reports to get more ideas. I've been there plenty, but I always try to add something new. This time, I may add the PhotoPass deal. I'm not very familiar with it, but I'm researching!

I'm enjoying the read so far--keep it coming!

Welcome!! I highly recommend the Photopass, especially if you join a share. They have them on TourGuideMike. Just that makes the membership cost worth it! I'm paying $20 for the CD instead of $99. It is hard to wait for it though! You can find shares through facebook and yahoo groups too, but I had a hard time going that route.

Let me know if you have any questions!
How old are your grandsons?

 

[harleyquinn]

By the way, this is my first TR to subscribe to!

Oh! Thank you! I feel so special! I see you're pretty new around here, if I can help with anything, just let me know!

 

[MMgranny]

Welcome!! I highly recommend the Photopass, especially if you join a share. They have them on TourGuideMike. Just that makes the membership cost worth it! I'm paying $20 for the CD instead of $99. It is hard to wait for it though! You can find shares through facebook and yahoo groups too, but I had a hard time going that route.

Let me know if you have any questions!
How old are your grandsons?

The boys are 3 and 6 (and very active), but I know they'll love WDW. I want everyone to love it as much as I do; my husband, however, isn't the biggest fan, but he's being a good sport about this trip.

Thanks for the tip about TourGuideMike; I'll check it out.

 

[MMgranny]

Welcome!! I highly recommend the Photopass, especially if you join a share. They have them on TourGuideMike.

I just signed up on TourGuideMike. Thanks for the hint...I remember reading about it last time I went (two years ago), but I never did anything about it. I even got a $3 promotional code from MouseforLess!