Take Your 2-Year-Old to Disney! Aug '17 TR * COMPLETE 1/10/19

[heathsf]

Chapter 10
In Which I'm Thankful for Rider Swap

While we walked back to Future World I checked the MDE app to see if I could move our Frozen Ever After FP any earlier. I was hoping to go back to Coronado for a nap in the afternoon but we had FEA scheduled for 12:50pm because it was the earliest FP available when I booked it at 60 days out. After refreshing just a few times, a 12:30 FP popped up so I grabbed it. I'll take 20 extra minutes!

I really wanted to ride Soarin' since I hadn't yet seen the new "Around the World" version. DH said he wanted to do it too so I told him he could go first and I gave him very specific instructions about how to use Rider Swap. I was really worried he wouldn't get me the pass but he insisted he would do it right. We got to The Land at 9:35 and Soarin' had a 15 minute posted standby wait. DH headed in while DD and I looked for a nearby snack. We found a kiosk that had packaged apple slices so we both munched on some apples while checking out the statues outside The Seas with Nemo.


There was no wait here but decided to wait to do this with DH. Instead we doubled back to go to the Imagination Pavilion which I knew DH wouldn't care if we did without him. DD really loved the ride and as soon as we were off she said she wanted to ride it again. I would've been happy to ride it again because I enjoy it, but first we played around in the What-If Labs. It was pretty empty and her favorite thing to do was just run and run and run all over the place. She did notice a picture of Figment as a skunk and said, "he's stinky!" She also picked up a Figment plush and gave it lots of hugs.


We were still playing (running) around in the labs when DH met us. I suggested he take her on the Journey Into Imagination ride but she said she didn't want to ride it again. I don't know why, since she clearly loved it and even said she wanted to ride again. But she adamantly refused to ride again. Instead DH took her to look at the Jumping Water outside while I went to use the rider swap pass at Soarin', which DH did successfully bring back to me.










When I got to the entrance I saw...


120 minute wait!?!? It had been only 15 minutes for DH not that long ago! In hindsight, I should've just left and saved the Rider Swap pass for another time. I really don't know why I didn't, because I could see that the FP line was backed up really far. I got in line at 10:17. There was an announcement that due to heavy fog, there are some delays in the standby and FP lines. And still... I stayed in line. At least they played music from Hook. That made it somewhat better.

I boarded at 10:43 so I waited on the FP line a total of 26 minutes. It wasn't too terrible but it definitely wasn't a great use of early morning time. Especially considering DH waited a much shorter time than me without FP! But good thing for Rider Swap, because there was no way I was going to wait on a 2 hour line. And I'm happy I rode it. I've always loved Soarin' and while I'll miss the original, the new one was great.

While I was waiting, DH and DD took some pictures in a photo booth in the What If Labs. DH never told me about them and I discovered them in the Photopass pictures after our trip.


(continued in the next post)​

 

[heathsf]

By the time I got off Soarin', it was already almost 11. DH and DD were waiting for me in Sunshine Seasons and then together we headed to Character Spot to use our FP. I'm glad we used FP here because it saved us a decent amount of time with a 30 minute posted wait.


We had some great character interactions here and DD loved it.




Kisses for Mickey




I don't remember what Goofy was doing but DD loved hanging out with him.


And of course she was super excited to meet Minnie.


Next we used a FP for Seas with Nemo. It literally saved us 20 seconds of having to walk through the long, empty standby queue


We didn't stay long in the pavilion after the ride because there was a character I wanted to see in WS who would be arriving soon.

(continued in the next post)​

 

[heathsf]

We walked toward the Canada side of WS and what did we see...?


...The beer cart that closed right in front of us on our last trip and left DH unable to complete his Drinking Around the World challenge!
Backstory: The one thing DH wanted to do on our last trip was Drink Around the World. We started in Mexico and when we got to the African Outpost, I told him to skip it because it wasn't an official "country." He refused and got a beer there. We probably spent about 20 minutes sitting at a table while he drank it. Fast-forward a few hours, and Canada was the last country in our tour. It had just started to thunder so we hurried from the UK pavilion to Canada but the CM literally started covering the cart just as we were arriving and with no quick-service restaurant in Canada, DH was denied his last drink.

Moral of the story: Always listen to your wife! I love reminding him that he should've skipped the African Outpost like I said...

We also saw Food & Wine kiosks set up and seemingly ready for the festival to start the following week. We were so close to getting to experience it, missing it by just a few days. I've never done it, and really want to. I don't care about the wine aspect, just the food! One day...


We passed Canada and found our destination: the gardens in the back of the UK pavilion. We were here to meet Mary Poppins! (Yup, again!) There was no sign of her or where to wait so I went into the nearest store and asked a CM. She told me to wait near the center of the gardens. We hung around for a little while with DD snacking in her stroller on some cheerios and raisins. It was totally empty other than two men who looked like they may have been filming with a 360 degree camera. We watched them for a little while and I suddenly realized that a long line for Mary Poppins had been growing around the side of the building (not where we were instructed to wait). I was really annoyed that we had been waiting around before anyone else arrived and now had to get on the back of a long line. To make it even worse, eventually a CM showed up and moved the whole line back to where we were originally waiting, so we were actually in the right place to start with! It wasn't really a huge deal, and we didn't have to wait very long, I was just kicking myself for not paying attention to the other people showing up after we got there and not noticing the line.

While waiting to see Mary, DD practiced saying "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" When it was her turn she actually ran to Mary, but then became really shy again. Not as shy as yesterday, but she still didn't really talk. And she didn't perform and say the biggest word you ever heard But it was still a great meet and DD was very happy.


I can't get enough of that smile

DH and I decided to get Fish & Chips for lunch from the quick service here. DD was happy eating something I brought for her, I don't even remember what. The fish & chips were really good.


While eating we realized that even with the earlier FP for FEA we probably wouldn't even make it over to the Norway pavilion before 12:50 anyway and there won't be enough time to go back to Coronado for a nap and make it to our early dinner ADR on time. We decided to stay at Epcot and hoped that DD would nap in the stroller or at least just relax for a bit and DH and I could walk around WS. I had visions of quiet time spent shopping, snacking, and drinking...

But first we had to use the FEA FP so we headed toward Norway, stopping at the phones to play, of course. DD had a blast.


She insisted on closing the door


DD noticed Alice meeting a long line of guests and wanted to see her. I really didn't want to wait so we just called out hi and waved in Alice's direction. She didn't see us but DD seemed very satisfied and we continued on toward Norway.​

 

[heathsf]

Chapter 11
In Which My Butt Gets Frozen Ever After

We were on our way to Norway to use our FEA FP.


We scanned our bands at around 1:00. The posted wait was 60 minutes.

DD loved it again. But something was different this time. At the bottom of one of the drops a big splash landed right on my side of our bench seat and soaked the bottom of my shorts. Luckily my behind seemed to absorb all of it because DD didn't get wet. Once we got off the ride I realized my underwear was just as soaked as my shorts. It was pretty uncomfortable for a while before I finally dried. Too bad we changed plans and weren't going back to the resort before dinner...

Me and my wet butt really wanted some School Bread from Kringla. DH took DD to get the stroller so she could take a nap in it and we could commence our leisurely-walking-shopping-snacking-drinking-adult time.

Well anyway... my school bread was delicious


DD pointed out the birds up here on the grassy roof. I had never noticed it before.


We went to the Baby Care Center to change DD's diaper and then told her it was naptime in the stroller. She leaned back and turned her head to the side as it to nap. This lasted all of 30 seconds before she was screaming that she wanted to come out of the stroller. If I'm honest, the stroller nap was always a pipe dream. She's never been one to nap in the stroller. We walked around a little bit before it became crystal clear that a nap had zero chance of happening. We decided to visit my favorite WS pavilion: Mexico!

We brought the stroller up the handicap accessible entrance, thinking it was for strollers. We saw the Kidcot Fun Stop by the entrance and decided to do it. It took me a few minutes before I suddenly realized we were most definitely not supposed to bring the stroller in here.

I was pretty embarrassed though I don't think anyone was really paying attention to us. We were only in the front part of the pyramid by the entrance. I told DH I'd be right back, grabbed the stroller and bolted back outside to park it.

When I came back in, DD was having fun coloring a Duffy picture on a stick. She doesn't get to color with markers at home so that was extra exciting for her This was the best picture I could get of her showing off her masterpiece and even this took a lot of effort.


Oh how I love the inside of Mexico.


Next we rode Gran Fiesta Tour which was a walk-on. She LOVED it so much that she wanted to ride it again. DH had something else he really wanted to do, so he left us and DD and I rode it again by oursevles. I enjoy me some 3 Caballeros too!

Looking into the restaurant from the boat. I want to eat here again. It's been 6 years since I last ate there but I remember really liking it.




The fireworks at the end make me happy.


I enjoyed the addition of the animatronics. It was a surprise to me.
​

 

[heathsf]

After our fun second ride, I texted DH to meet us at the entrance to WS at 2:30. On our way I managed to get a picture of the Monorail about to pass by Spaceship Earth complete with blockage by a lamp post. Oh well



We arrived at our designated meeting place and saw DH approaching at the same time with...


A beer from Canada!

Does this count as completing the Drink Around the World challenge? I'd say no... But I'm biased because I love busting his chops... Either way, at least he now has some closure!

We headed back to Future World, stopping for some Photopass pictures. DD was way too tired to come out of her stroller. Honestly, I'm impressed she's even looking at the camera.


We watched a show here for a little bit. I love looking at Spaceship Earth. To me, it's just as magical as the castle. Especially when it's lit up at night.


Spaceship Earth had a posted wait of 20 minutes but we could see the line was really short so we decided to do it. It ended up only being a 5 minute wait.


I think DD had fun though most of it went over her head. Our pictures didn't come out great. DH is missing an eye


And I tried to get DD and I together in one picture and that turned out to be a bad idea. It seemed to pick up one side of each of our faces and then eliminated everything in the middle


It gave us a good laugh at least. We headed to the exit and saw a monorail approaching, which we planned to take to our dinner ADR. We decided to make a run for it so we wouldn't have to wait for the next one. DH ran ahead of us and wasn't paying attention and ran right in front of a family posing for a Photopass picture at the park entrance. The photographer was counting out loud for the picture so it was clear to all of the onlookers waiting their turn that DH had completely photobombed and ruined their picture. A bunch of people laughed, the family looked slightly annoyed, and I pretended I didn't know him.

We just made it in time to catch the monorail. We got on at 3:15 and were on our way to an early dinner. DD really enjoyed her first ever monorail ride.

​

 

[ADLFAN]

Haha, just read your whole TR and loved it! You are cracking me up, especially with your Disney nightmares - I have had a few of those too! Usually in mine it's just suddenly our last day and I realized I wasted all day packing and trying to get things together to go to the parks!

Your DD is adorable and I love her enthusiasm for Disney!

 

[hswillia07]

Hi! We do have similar allergies. Wheat must be a tough one too.... Yeah it's really crappy news about the Dole Whip. I do personally enjoy it with the vanilla but it stinks for those with dairy allergy to lose such an iconic snack that *should* be safe since it's technically dairy free! It's pretty frustrating... How did the restaurants work out for you on your May trip?​

Wheat is super tricky because it hides in everything My youngest has successfully challenged peanut recently as well as baked egg. We're just about to add a second baked egg into the mix, so fingers are crossed! We chanced the Dole Whip at the Polynesian, even though it's beside the vanilla, and we were lucky and everything went smoothly. I think I saw recently that there is original dole whip, on its own, somewhere at AK now, which is great news. Everything was amazing for us in May! I think I cried at every single meal...just a little lol. We're going back in October to try our luck at MNSSHP! Looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip

 

[heathsf]

Haha, just read your whole TR and loved it! You are cracking me up, especially with your Disney nightmares - I have had a few of those too! Usually in mine it's just suddenly our last day and I realized I wasted all day packing and trying to get things together to go to the parks!

Your DD is adorable and I love her enthusiasm for Disney!

Welcome! I'm so glad you're enjoying the TR. And I'm happy I can crack someone else up besides myself Disney nightmares are the worst. It's like I can never just have a happy dream in my happy place... it's always stressful I've had your dream before, where I waste a whole day in the room doing things rather than in the parks. Ugh! Anyway... Thanks for joining along!

Wheat is super tricky because it hides in everything My youngest has successfully challenged peanut recently as well as baked egg. We're just about to add a second baked egg into the mix, so fingers are crossed! We chanced the Dole Whip at the Polynesian, even though it's beside the vanilla, and we were lucky and everything went smoothly. I think I saw recently that there is original dole whip, on its own, somewhere at AK now, which is great news. Everything was amazing for us in May! I think I cried at every single meal...just a little lol. We're going back in October to try our luck at MNSSHP! Looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip

Passing peanut is great news! What do you mean about adding a second baked egg? Like a recipe that has a higher egg ratio? That's great you were able to have the Dole Whip with no issues. The place at AK that has just the dole whip is Tamu Tamu in Africa. I would love to do MNSSHP in the future. Do you know that when you trick-or-treat you can get tokens to redeem for safe snacks? Disney is amazing And I can totally relate about you crying at every meal

 

[heathsf]

Chapter 12
In Which 'Ohana means a Safe Meal for the Whole Family

We got off the monorail at the TTC and decided to walk the rest of the way to our destination. The first MNSSHP was tonight and we passed a lot of people on their way in full costume. It was lots of fun to see and DD got a kick out of it too. Our friends M, S and A were going to the party tonight and we contemplated going too (it's on my Disney bucket list!) but decided it was a lot of money to spend knowing that DD wouldn't last the entire night. She does love Halloween and all things spooky and I'm sure she'd love it but we decided to wait for a future trip. I'm also not looking forward to waiting hours on line to meet Jack, which will have to happen because she's obsessed with him.

Anyway, we arrived at our destination at 3:40. We checked out the pool area first, as it was heavily under construction on our last trip and we were excited to see it finished in person. Speaking of Disney Bucket Lists, staying at the Poly is on my list too!


Hang by the pool with a view of the castle? Yes please.




When we walked into the lobby, DD said, "It's beautiful!"


Our ADR was for 4:00 but we checked in early and were seated at 3:55. The chef came to the table and confirmed that almost all of the food was safe for DD's allergies with the exceptions being the bread & butter, the noodles (due to cross-contamination), and the dessert. Overall we had a completely amazing experience here, not just because the food was safe but because it was all so delicious too. Besides being able to accommodate DD, it was even better that we were all eating the same thing so I am able to touch my own food and then touch hers without having to get up to wash my hands.
It's the little things...



These water painting books were amazing for this trip.


I got pink lemonade


DH got a Mai Tai in an angry tiki glass


DH ate the regular bread and butter


DD got her own safe rolls and "butter" which she loved. I don't think I took a picture but she got water to drink in a Tinkerbell cup with a light-up ice cube that she's still obsessed with at home. The cup actually came with lemonade or juice or something like that but she won't drink that so we got water instead


(continued in the next post)​

 

[heathsf]

The pot stickers may be my favorite thing here. I can't get enough of them. And it was amazing to be eating them and sharing them with DD. This just never happens at restaurants for us and it was pure magic.


The noodles are so good too. They're the perfect amount of sticky and saucy. I wish I was eating them right now! DD didn't eat these just to be on the safe side, but it was still safe for us to be eating them next to her. Also, our server put them in a separate dish which we appreciated.


I remember the salad being okay, and not so memorable. I don't think I ate much. I was more interested in the noodles and pot stickers.


I don't have pictures of the meat. I guess I was too busy eating.

Like this. Just substitute fruit for pot stickers and noodles.

DH and I had the regular dessert...mmmmmmmm Bread Pudding


And DD got her own fabulous looking dessert. She's never been treated to a dessert so beautiful before. I know it's simple but she LOVED it! The ice cream was Rice Dream I believe.


Just seeing this dessert served to her made my heart so happy.

Overall, this dinner was fantastic in every way. Food, service, and safety all exceeded our expectations. I was so happy we ate here.

I left DH at the table to pay so I could go change DD's diaper. There is a family bathroom at the entrance to the restaurant. We literally waited 15+ minutes for the bathroom to become available. It turns out a family of 5 was in there changing for MNSSHP. I was thoroughly annoyed, though I'm not sure if I really had a right to be. It is a public bathroom after all...

Once DD was changed we headed down to the bus stop. I saw a hidden Mickey in this decoration by the door. You can see DH is way ahead of me outside already. He wasn't interested in stopping for pictures of hidden Mickeys

...or posing for me




I loved these times boards. These were all new for us this trip. It had been way too long since we were in the World!
Our after-dinner plan was to go to Animal Kingdom. It was 5:48 and the AK bus was scheduled to come at 5:55. DD was so tired from our full day and not napping that I considered just taking her back to the resort and letting DH go to Animal Kingdom by himself. That idea wasn't so appealing though since I would have had to transfer somewhere, so I decided to at least ride the bus with him to AK and then decide what to do from there. ​

 

[hswillia07]

Welcome! I'm so glad you're enjoying the TR. And I'm happy I can crack someone else up besides myself Disney nightmares are the worst. It's like I can never just have a happy dream in my happy place... it's always stressful I've had your dream before, where I waste a whole day in the room doing things rather than in the parks. Ugh! Anyway... Thanks for joining along!



Passing peanut is great news! What do you mean about adding a second baked egg? Like a recipe that has a higher egg ratio? That's great you were able to have the Dole Whip with no issues. The place at AK that has just the dole whip is Tamu Tamu in Africa. I would love to do MNSSHP in the future. Do you know that when you trick-or-treat you can get tokens to redeem for safe snacks? Disney is amazing And I can totally relate about you crying at every meal

Yes - so, my 3yo challenged egg at the hospital with 1 egg baked into a specific cake recipe and she's been eating that for a few months now. Next month, we'll add a second egg to that recipe and see what happens! After that we move to muffins, etc. and with any luck we move on to cooked egg. It's intense, but worth it.

That's right - Tamu Tamu! I'm so happy about that; I really hope they keep it as is

Yes, that's why we want to go to MNSSHP! Have you been? It seems like they do an amazing job for people with allergies, as always. My kids know already and they're so excited We're fortunate to live in a small town that is really thoughtful at Halloween, but Disney will be a whole other level. Can't wait!

 

[Mainemama]

Just read and loved your whole report so far! We have a 12 year old with similar allergies, and became Disney addicts after our first trip in 2012. Eating anywhere else is not the same. Our DD has outgrown her dairy allergy (successful challenges over a two year period, similar to what was described by poster above), but egg looks like it will be a lifetime allergy. She has 7 other allergies currently, too, so Disney remains important to us for all the usual reasons, plus safe food reasons. Hopefully your cutie will outgrow some of hers as she gets older. She looks like a complete joy to experience WDW with. A non nap afternoon is no easy feat to manage, though! My personal goal is always a world showcase round like you describe. And my 12 year old now shares the same goal over anything else like rides, so those challenges can be outgrown, too! Looking forward to the rest of the report.

 

[heathsf]

Yes - so, my 3yo challenged egg at the hospital with 1 egg baked into a specific cake recipe and she's been eating that for a few months now. Next month, we'll add a second egg to that recipe and see what happens! After that we move to muffins, etc. and with any luck we move on to cooked egg. It's intense, but worth it.

That's right - Tamu Tamu! I'm so happy about that; I really hope they keep it as is

Yes, that's why we want to go to MNSSHP! Have you been? It seems like they do an amazing job for people with allergies, as always. My kids know already and they're so excited We're fortunate to live in a small town that is really thoughtful at Halloween, but Disney will be a whole other level. Can't wait!

That's really interesting about the egg challenge. I haven't heard of doing it that way (one egg at a time). Our baked egg challenge was a muffin with two eggs. DD actually passed about a year ago, but then at home on day #3 took one bite and broke out in hives all around her mouth so we took baked egg back out of her diet. Six months ago we retried the baked egg challenge at the doctor and she passed again, but at home would occasionally get a hive or a little rash around her mouth. We used aquaphor as a barrier and that stopped the rash and hives. Now we're at the point where she doesn't need the aquaphor anymore which is exciting. As for the milk, she can have it baked like the egg, and she actually passed a baked cheese challenge with frozen pizza a few weeks ago but once again, on try #3 at home she broke out in hives on her arm and face. So we're off the pizza and will retry in 9 months. You're right... it's such an intense process. So many ups and downs. And no matter how many food challenges we do... I'm always terrified.

We haven't been to MNSSHP yet but hopefully will sometime soon. That's great that you can enjoy Halloween in your hometown. I saw a couple of houses were participating in the Teal Pumpkin Project in our town but it wasn't walking distance so we decided not to go. Instead I brought lots of safe candy and would trade DD when she got something that was unsafe. At this age she was so excited just to run around with her cousins and knock on people's doors that she was easily distracted from the candy.

Will you write a trip report for your upcoming trip? You must be so excited.

Just read and loved your whole report so far! We have a 12 year old with similar allergies, and became Disney addicts after our first trip in 2012. Eating anywhere else is not the same. Our DD has outgrown her dairy allergy (successful challenges over a two year period, similar to what was described by poster above), but egg looks like it will be a lifetime allergy. She has 7 other allergies currently, too, so Disney remains important to us for all the usual reasons, plus safe food reasons. Hopefully your cutie will outgrow some of hers as she gets older. She looks like a complete joy to experience WDW with. A non nap afternoon is no easy feat to manage, though! My personal goal is always a world showcase round like you describe. And my 12 year old now shares the same goal over anything else like rides, so those challenges can be outgrown, too! Looking forward to the rest of the report.

Hi! Thanks for following along! Congratulations on outgrowing dairy! That's very exciting. That must open up many new food options. With so many allergies I can completely understand why Disney is so important to you! What are her other allergies, if you don't mind me asking?
Good to know about the World Showcase!
And I *love* your picture with Mary Poppins!

 

[heathsf]

Chapter 13
In Which There Are No Tumble Monkeys

The AK bus arrived on time and made a stop at the Grand Floridian. People got off the bus but no one got on so we had the whole bus to ourselves. I always enjoy when that happens. She was still enjoying her Tinkerbell cup with the light-up ice cube long after dinner ended.


We got to Animal Kingdom at 6:25 and DD seemed to get a second wind after the bus ride so we all headed in to the park. We went straight to Pandora so I could see DH's reaction to it, which was totally under-enthusiastic







The plan was for him to wait on the standby line to ride Flight of Passage later. Surprisingly, he was choosing to do this out of his own free will. He wasn't jumping up and down with excitement like I was, but he really did want to ride it. Also, I think he knew that if he chose not to, I would have stayed to ride it again and he would have to bring DD back to the resort and put her to bed by himself, and he definitely didn't want to do that So while we were in the area, I showed him where the standby entrance was and then showed him how to get back to the exit afterwards. He'd never been in a Disney park without me before, so I think he may have been a little nervous

After we rode FEA this afternoon in Epcot, I scheduled a KS FP for 6:40pm. Judging by the wait times on the app, we probably wouldn't need it. It was 6:45 and there was a 7pm Festival of the Lion King show so we decided to do it. DD absolutely loved it, even though she was sooooooo tired. Her eyes were glued to the show the whole time and she loved clapping along.

When the finale started, I realized that the whole Tumble Monkey part of the show had been skipped! I was pretty disappointed because I thought DD would love it, but looking back she loved it anyway and now we'd have something new to look forward to next time we see it.

As much fun as she had, I still wondered if I should have just taken her back to the hotel to go to sleep. While I wondered, we next headed to Kilimanjaro Safaris... We used our FP but as expected, we really didn't need it. There was no wait anyway.










(continued in the next post)​

 

[heathsf]

We were all excited to see the lion!


DD was having a great time but it was definitely time to get this child to bed. It was way past her bedtime on a regular day, not to mention a jam-packed Disney day with the heat plus no nap! I made sure DH knew how to access the park map on MDE and which bus to take back to the resort later, and then we said good-bye. He was off to do a nighttime ride at Expedition Everest before getting in line for Flight of Passage at the very end of the night. I can't say I wasn't a bit jealous, but I was also excited for him to get some solo Disney time. I was desperately hoping he would get bitten by the Disney bug. You know, the one that's filled with pixie dust and once bitten you contract a lifelong Disney-obsession for which there is no antidote.

Meanwhile, DD and I exited the park. She was 95% zombie at this point.




Once again we got lucky with the buses and one rolled up just as we arrived at the bus stop. I was happy we didn't have to wait, but this meant I had to rush and empty out the stroller, fold it up, and grab everything very quickly and all by myself. I managed, and we were back at Coronado at 8:45. DD somehow stayed awake on the bus, but as we were walking back to the room she was basically sleeping with her eyes open.

Me: Are you awake?
DD: No, I'm sleeping.

I really loved Coronado. It's so beautiful and I loved how close it is to all the parks. Interestingly, only half of the lions were shooting water tonight


I threw DD into the shower and then into bed and she fell asleep right away. I blew dry my own hair a few feet away from her and she didn't even flinch.


I got a few texts from DH, who was trying to conserve his phone battery. He got on line for Flight of Passage at 9:10 and was on the ride at around 10:30. He got on the bus back to Coronado at 11 and I was sleeping when he got back, whatever time that was. In the morning the first thing I wanted to know was what he thought

He nonchalantly said it was cool.

I swear he purposely downplays his excitement in Disney because he doesn't want to give me the satisfaction. Or because he thinks if he says something was "amazing" that I'll take it as his consent to book as many future Disney Vacations as I want.

So much for that bug bite... I think he needs a mouse bite!

​

 

[heathsf]

Happy Chanukah!
Merry Christmas!
Happy Kwanzaa!
Happy New Year!

Seasons Greetings, Everyone!
You may have noticed, I've been trying to make up for lost time on this TR, which I have not been devoting as much attention to as I would like. I'm off from work for the week so DD's naptime has been designated DIS time so I could do some major updating on this trip report!

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season. It's freaking freezing here in NJ. Once all the fun holidays are over, winter is pretty miserable around here...

In the few months since our trip, DD has become even more Disney-obsessed than she already was. I think one day she may even surpass me!

She asks daily to go back to Disney World. She seems to ask me more than DH, probably because she knows she can always get an excited reaction out of me. I always tell her that's a great idea, but she has to ask Daddy! We've watched a few new Disney movies since the trip so she wants to meet some new characters. Our conversations go something like this:
​

DD: Is Aladdin in Disney World?
Me: Yes.
DD: We didn't meet him! We have to go back!

DD: Is Rapunzel in Disney World?
Me: Yes.
DD: We didn't meet her! We have to go back!​

And she's absolutely right! I need to get this on video because she's so stinking funny. And also, DH needs to just give in already...

When it's ready I'll post the Day 3 video. Thanks for reading along, DIS-friends ​

 

[Mainemama]

Hi! Thanks for following along! Congratulations on outgrowing dairy! That's very exciting. That must open up many new food options. With so many allergies I can completely understand why Disney is so important to you! What are her other allergies, if you don't mind me asking?
Good to know about the World Showcase!
And I *love* your picture with Mary Poppins!


Thanks, I love it too! My youngest is the first in our family to have an interest in characters. It is adding a new layer to our traditionally ride centered trips. I love how your girl is dictating what you need to do next time. My older DD's allergies are currently egg, peanut, treenut, chicken, turkey, sunflower, sesame, dried beans, and buckwheat. The beans have presented as safe in testing, but she vomits when she eats them at home, so we just avoid them. She also has outgrown watermelon, peas, and wheat. My DD is also understandably pretty picky about her food, but she is able to read labels and screen her own food now, which helps a ton. Enjoy your week off! Winter is miserable where I live, too. Normally I am planning a warm getaway to get us through it, but nothing planned yet this year. I, too, am working the ask daddy angle when my littlest asks when we can go back to Disney![/QUOTE]

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I just found your trip report and following along! We took our girls for the first time at 2.85 and 4 and it was the best! So, I totally agree!!! I look at those photos now, and can't believe how little they were.

Our DD Ryann (pronounced just like Ryan).

She is so cute!

So to those of you who may be thinking about it, BRING YOUR 2 YEAR OLD TO DISNEY!

Totally agree! My youngest was just shy of 3 and it was perfect!!!! I always tell folks between 2 and 3 is the prefect age for the first trip!

We were pulled from our line to join a new line they had just opened and were done in literally 5 minutes. M was pretty surprised to see us so quickly

Love the leggings! Everyone looks so happy and ready to go!

DD was overtired and hyperactive (isn't it funny how those two always go hand-in-hand?)

Ugh! Got to love the overtired/hyperactiveness. My girls get super punchy! And that is the signal to go home/ go to bed what ever it may be.

These pins were waiting in our room was which neat.

We have some construction pins from Wilderness Lodge. I was just thinking it might be kind of fun to stay at all the hotels under construction and collect all of these pins. Yours are different than ours.

They also insisted that DD's meal was on the house and between their kindness and generosity and the safely prepared meal for DD, the trip was off to a super magical start.

What a perfect way to start the trip! And so kind. It really is the little things that really sometimes make ALL the difference.

Here are a few Photopass pictures that I accidentally left out of the first part:

SO cute!

Piglet visited next and DD jumped out of her chair to run to him.

​

Cute!

and in this one she is just staring up at him like she's in disbelief that she's really with Tigger. I just love it!

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These are my favorite pictures! The ones just showing the pure joy of being in Disney. I feel like this age is perfect because they fully believe that that is Tigger!

but a few weeks before our trip Disney brought the vanilla ice cream back to Aloha Isle and they come out of the same machine, so the Dole Whip is no longer safe for a dairy allergy.

Oh man. Poor Girl, I know she doesn't know what she is missing but poor gal, she can't have Dole Whip. ;(

It was an amazing first park day and I couldn't wait for more.

Sounded like a perfect first day!

DD was SO excited about meeting Anna & Elsa that she ran around in circles screaming like a nut until she fell over. That's actually what happened.

Oh got to love to pure excitiement. Sometimes I wonder when do we loose that need to just show our excitement and learn to kind of keep it inside a bit more... To be a kid again!

Looks like they had fun waiting!

Great trip report so far! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[Lesley Wake]

hese water painting books were amazing for this trip.

My friend's kids have these and they are awesome!

I swear he purposely downplays his excitement in Disney because he doesn't want to give me the satisfaction. Or because he thinks if he says something was "amazing" that I'll take it as his consent to book as many future Disney Vacations as I want.

So much for that bug bite... I think he needs a mouse bite!

Haha-totally. Well, it seems like you have a cute little mouse who can try to convince him!

 

[hswillia07]

That's really interesting about the egg challenge. I haven't heard of doing it that way (one egg at a time). Our baked egg challenge was a muffin with two eggs. DD actually passed about a year ago, but then at home on day #3 took one bite and broke out in hives all around her mouth so we took baked egg back out of her diet. Six months ago we retried the baked egg challenge at the doctor and she passed again, but at home would occasionally get a hive or a little rash around her mouth. We used aquaphor as a barrier and that stopped the rash and hives. Now we're at the point where she doesn't need the aquaphor anymore which is exciting. As for the milk, she can have it baked like the egg, and she actually passed a baked cheese challenge with frozen pizza a few weeks ago but once again, on try #3 at home she broke out in hives on her arm and face. So we're off the pizza and will retry in 9 months. You're right... it's such an intense process. So many ups and downs. And no matter how many food challenges we do... I'm always terrified.

We haven't been to MNSSHP yet but hopefully will sometime soon. That's great that you can enjoy Halloween in your hometown. I saw a couple of houses were participating in the Teal Pumpkin Project in our town but it wasn't walking distance so we decided not to go. Instead I brought lots of safe candy and would trade DD when she got something that was unsafe. At this age she was so excited just to run around with her cousins and knock on people's doors that she was easily distracted from the candy.

Will you write a trip report for your upcoming trip? You must be so excited.



Hi! Thanks for following along! Congratulations on outgrowing dairy! That's very exciting. That must open up many new food options. With so many allergies I can completely understand why Disney is so important to you! What are her other allergies, if you don't mind me asking?
Good to know about the World Showcase!
And I *love* your picture with Mary Poppins!

Oh, so interesting about your muffin with two eggs! Muffins won't come for us until maybe the Spring. Don't you love how it seems that all allergists give totally different information and advice...

I'm terrified of the food challenges too - it really is so intense. I'm sorry that you experienced reactions at home after your challenges. That was a huge fear of mine. So far we've been okay - fingers crossed it stays that way. Dairy is such a toughie - I hope that your daughter is successful in 9 months! Such a roller coaster. Are you a Member of the FB group 'Disney Chefs Rock Food Allergies'? It is SUCH an amazing resource!

Yes, when they're young, you can totally just get away with the excitement of Halloween and do the candy swap! I know that we're so fortunate to have a close knit community where many people participate in the Teal Pumpkin Project

I should try to do a trip report! I always say that I will, and then I never keep track of things well enough lol. I might try! I really enjoy reading others, especially when we have something in common like yours