The Many Adventures of...A Family With a New Baby! Jan - Dec 2016! New 11/7!

Aw thank you!! Your trip is going to be amazing and your kids will seriously be the perfect ages!! LMK if you have any questions! Where are you staying?

Aw thanks. That's nice. We're staying at ASMo, because of the kiddos. We've been to PC last time, but I think the kids wouldn't care for the design or theme there. Though I'm worried now, that the bus waiting time is maybe longer than at PC...:confused:

I would have loved to rent points on the DIS for a villa, but we pay a fortune just for the flights from Europe (and another for the rest) and I'm a chicken when it comes to doing something not so official and with a million backups... :rotfl:

I love the girls Dumbo dresses!! Aria fits right in the carousel with the mellow tints of her dress and she fits even better in the scenery with Belle. They look like they're related. Same thing with the Ariel dress. Her momma has a great sense of style!:thumbsup2
 
wow, that was a long day! Seemed like you got a ton done - especially in the morning.

Great spot for the parade (other than the crane messing up your photos)

Sorry dinner was such a challenge! I definitely hate that about the boats to the resorts that, at least sometimes, you need to fold the strollers up

Glad you got a good spot for the dessert party. We only did it once years ago before the modified it and we had an assigned table and unfortunately it wasn't near the railing - but there was plenty of room for us to stand near the railing without blocking anyone so we just did that

Those pre-park opening days thru Wishes are tough, but I was having a hard time fitting the times in (esp bc we didn't get park hoppers for ILs). Yep, no WL for us until we're past strollers (and this is also why we don't do buses). Just too much work! Since I generally book everything at the exact 180 day mark when it opens, we always got a great table for the party, so that was nice!

Wow, that's impressive! Way to go, Maya!


:sad2: This seems to be a theme. :rotfl: Maybe she just wants to make sure she gets to wear all the cute clothes.


Awww, that's a sweet picture! :lovestruc


:rotfl: Nice piggyback ride.


I know, I'm surprised Izzy never even asked for it. I suspect we'll get to it next month, though, since we can't book FP in advance, which leaves us with things like that to avoid lines (they said they would "help" us w/FP, but I'm not sure what that means and am not getting my hopes up).


Wow, what a champion sleeper this day, between overnight and this nap!


Impressive! I wonder if Izzy knows? :scratchin


Glad she was brave enough to do it! That's another one I hope to hit next month since I didn't get Izzy there in December.


Ugh, that's a pain to even think about. :crazy2:


Bummer that happened and such bad timing. At least there was the patio, I guess. Sorry it was such a rough meal, though.


I bet you did! Very late for you guys to be out!

She's been doing it a lot lately at daycare too (the whole outfit change). We are at our wit's end - she was doing it a lot with the cloth diapers, so we started bringing in disposables too, since the cloth was holding in the poo but leaking when she'd pee a lot. Well, the disposables hold in pee really well but if she has a huge poop, they leak! We can't win! A couple days last week she went through 3 outfit changes at daycare and then she'd be wet within 5 minutes at home. It's getting ridiculous. And yes, it seems like at Disney there's always a huge blow up! Trying to think of it happening at Disneyland, maybe it didnt' then? Hmmm

We were so fortunate to have that patio for Artist Point - they must use it for private parties in nice weather or something, but luckily with the cold it was empty, and our table was very near the doors out to it. You could only hear Maya crying when the door was opened in order to change spots. MIL never offered to help. I was annoyed (but just annoyed at the whole thing).

What a long, full day!

Enchanted Tales with Belle looks cute. We have never done this!

I'm sorry that the thing you remember most about your meal at Artist Point is how difficult Maya was being. The food looks amazing!

The allergy dessert platter for the Wishes party gives me hope about attending these types of events with the kids in the future.

Up until recently, Aria didn't want to participate at all, so it was a big deal for her to try at ETwB. In December, she actually talked about trying for each part beforehand - and she did try really hard (but still didn't get a part :( ). I felt so bad! But she was okay and got a plate lol.

Yeah, AP wasn't the best, but I don't have bad feelings towards the restaurant itself at least lol! (unlike Coral Reef).

The allergy platter was huge, and I was pleasantly surprised with it.

Aw thanks. That's nice. We're staying at ASMo, because of the kiddos. We've been to PC last time, but I think the kids wouldn't care for the design or theme there. Though I'm worried now, that the bus waiting time is maybe longer than at PC...:confused:

I would have loved to rent points on the DIS for a villa, but we pay a fortune just for the flights from Europe (and another for the rest) and I'm a chicken when it comes to doing something not so official and with a million backups... :rotfl:

I love the girls Dumbo dresses!! Aria fits right in the carousel with the mellow tints of her dress and she fits even better in the scenery with Belle. They look like they're related. Same thing with the Ariel dress. Her momma has a great sense of style!:thumbsup2

Yeah we don't do buses lol, but I'm sure you'll have a great time :) the first time renting points was a bit nerve wracking, but since I've been renting from the same guy for like 7 years now, I'm totally comfortable with it.

Kicking myself for selling that dumbo bubble, not anticipating having another baby (and baby girl, at that!). Oh well, more to buy :-D she already has quite the little wardrobe so no worries there lol!
 
Side note - has anyone been to the Great Wolf Lodge? We are going in 2 weeks to celebrate Aria's 5th (!!!!!!!!) birthday for 2 nights! So excited.

We have been to Great Wolf Lodge a few time. We have only gone to the one in Sandusky, Ohio though. I think it is one of there smaller one. We love it. It is not overly crowded. They do not take day guest. You have to stay the night. This is how they control the crowd. My kids are getting older now (10 and 9) so we are thinking of going to the one in Cincinnati which is a little bit bigger. Once nice thing is I didn't have to be on top of the kids the whole time. They were able to go up the steps for the slides on there own. My daughter is not a fan of big slides (water and non water ones). This place has a very nice area for smaller kids. They also have water slides that are not big at all but are not really small either. You will have a great time!!!
 
We have been to Great Wolf Lodge a few time. We have only gone to the one in Sandusky, Ohio though. I think it is one of there smaller one. We love it. It is not overly crowded. They do not take day guest. You have to stay the night. This is how they control the crowd. My kids are getting older now (10 and 9) so we are thinking of going to the one in Cincinnati which is a little bit bigger. Once nice thing is I didn't have to be on top of the kids the whole time. They were able to go up the steps for the slides on there own. My daughter is not a fan of big slides (water and non water ones). This place has a very nice area for smaller kids. They also have water slides that are not big at all but are not really small either. You will have a great time!!!

We are staying 2 nights, and I've read the Boston one is pretty small too, but looking forward to it nonetheless!! Aria is excited for all the water slides!
 


So since I'm at work (arrived at 2:48AM) because I couldn't sleep last night and need to bank the hours anyway, why not do an update!! Actually, our last full day of this trip. I'm super excited to revisit my trip with just Aria in May and the DL trip in August, too, so I just want to wrap this thing up!

Our final full day consisted of Animal Kingdom - we had some fun ADR's planned - Sanaa (a group favorite!) and Yachtsman Steakhouse, which we booked bc MIL loves steak and well, it's right at the resort! We had tried to grab an ADR at California Grill for this evening but had ZERO luck which was surprising to me over a 6? day span, even the night before when people need to cancel - but oh well.

I mentioned in the last update, Maya slept really well last night, and we all needed it after a super long night and not getting in bed until close to midnight. With FP's already booked for the Safari at 9:30-10:30, we did not feel the need to make rope drop, so instead slept in a bit after Maya woke up for the FIRST time at 5:15! And she went back to sleep until 8! Awesome. Then we all headed out to AK. We'd been there twice before during the trip, but wanted IL's to do a few things so we planned to spend the morning here before our ADR at Sanaa.

We entered right around 9:30 and headed to the safari first. By the time we got on, Maya was already ready for her 1st nap and she fell asleep thanks to the lull of the truck.

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It was neat to ride the safari again so soon after our trek, where we had just been behind the scenes in so many areas!

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After the safari, our next FP was basically up for the FotLK. This is not a "must do every time" show, but we thought ILs would really enjoy it.

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Our last FP was for Dinosaur, so we trekked over that way. Couldn't convince Aria to ride Dinosaur with me, so FIL rode and we didn't even grab a rider swap as no one else cared to ride! Instead I think Andrew ran off to do EE while we did Dinosaur. I have a soft spot for that ride, and it is just one of my favorites so I was happy! We also stopped in every store on the way out, knowing that today was basically our last chance for the blasted bubble wand, but no luck despite the app telling us where to go, and CM's telling us to go here or there.

Soon it was already time to head out to lunch. Sanaa is definitely a favorite - and I had inquired ahead of time about allergies and found out they should be pretty good with them. Well that was an understatement, as basically all my favorite things were safe! YES!

After the quick drive over to Kidani, and a decent parking spot considering it was the middle of the day, we were seated quickly. Andrew made a quick stop at the Kidani gift shop as we checked in for lunch, and they said they did not have the bubble wand, but when he explained our plight to find this thing, the CM said she would look into it for him knowing we were going to lunch, and said to check back in in a bit.

Maya was wide awake and being super cute!

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We ordered Aria the kid's pizza and asked for it to come out as soon as it was ready, ordered drinks, and the naan bread service with all the sauces as our appetizer.

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They separated the TWO sauces I couldn't eat, and the rest were totally safe for dairy/soy!!

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This was seriously as amazing as always, but I think I appreciated it even more this time! We all dug in, even Aria enjoys this although she steers clear of the 2 spicier sauces, whereas those somehow made their way in front of me :-D

We all ordered mains, although for my "main" dish I ordered the appetizer sampler with a samosa and something else. I LOVE their samosas here, and figured I'd try the other thing too since it was safe. While waiting, Andrew decided to go upstairs and see about that bubble wand. Well, it turns out that the CM found ONE in stock at the AK Lodge gift shop, personally went over there and got it, and was holding it for us! WHAT! What pixie dust. Andrew was very excited to show Aria his findings.

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Aria was thrilled, and it really made the day. He made sure to write in a thank you card at the front desk for that CM.

We enjoyed our food -

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And then headed out, bubble wand in hand!
 
Aria had a mini-nap on the way back (as did Maya). Once we returned, Aria transferred to the stroller and continued to nap in there whereas Maya was ready to eat, so I fed her in the room. We had gotten used to the lower temps (like 63 and sunny) so we decided to enjoy the hot tub - at Maya's next nap time I may or may not have set up the monitor, hoped for the best (ie. that she would actually nap in the pack n play) and ran outside to hop in the hot tub. Well, I had about 10 minutes of bliss before she woke up. (Remember, we were on the 1st floor facing the pool area so I was never far!).

Aria had an absolute blast with her bubble wand

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We were the only crazies in the pool area, so she set up her bubble wand on the side of the hot tub and we had quite the bubble show

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After Maya was up, I went inside and was shortly followed by everyone else - the chill was just a bit too much! We all had some hot showers instead and got ready for the evening - but more bubble wand fun awaited outside :)

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Eventually we headed over to dinner, which was a nice comfortable walk. I had Maya in the wrap and she fell asleep (YES!) and we were in for a very quiet dinner thankfully - no repeat from Artist Point. I apparently left the camera at the room, so no photos. But our meal was fabulous. Once again the signature chefs rocked it! Started out with some delicious bread and they brought out dipping oil along with their signature roasted garlic (which was AMAZING!!)

I was able to order the French Onion Soup without the cheese, so was very excited about that as well (although I'll admit, cheese is the best part lol!) but it still tasted amazing! And the chicken with potatoes and other veggies as my main dish was also delicious and full of flavor. I was very VERY happy with the meal! Everyone else was too - MIL had some sort of steak and thought it was amazing, and she was the reason we came here so that made me happy!

We all were able to tuck in early tonight (although Maya was a little tougher to get settled down considering she had a long,late nap during dinner. But thankfully she slept well overnight, over 8 hours straight, so no complaints here!
 
Our last day was pretty quick so I'll just go through it, too, since it will wrap things up! After a decent night's sleep and no big need to set an alarm, we got out of bed around 7:30. We had a reservation at Cape May - I just wrote about this from the June 2014 girl's TR - it had been such a fun way to end a trip that I thought it would be perfect for today (even better that we were staying at the beach club!).

But, no one else wanted to go (well besides Aria, of course!). So, the two of us had an impromptu breakfast date! I left Andrew in charge of Maya lol, and in charge of packing (more on this later, grr), and we walked over to breakfast.

We were seated quickly at a 2-person booth near the buffet.

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A chef came out and showed me the buffet, and I was able to have the potatoes, eggs, oatmeal and fruit, and they made allergy mickey waffles too.

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They also surprised me by having some Pog like juice (like Kona has) and it was delicious!! Also asked for Tabasco. I've taken care of the hot sauce issue by buying a couple different brands of hot sauce packets to carry around with me, lol.

Donald came over first

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I think Aria was admiring his hat

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Goofy snuck up on Aria and tickled her!

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She got up to give him a hug after that

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And they discussed their clothing choices

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Minnie was next!

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Then they started chatting about shoes so I took a photo of the starfish, as Aria complimented Minnie on them

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She left and just a minute later, Donald slid into the booth beside Aria!

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He was being super silly!! (And I just realized, they no longer had the paper table mats for the characters to write on!)

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And Goofy came by again too!

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And just like that, we were done with breakfast! Love it here (although I do really enjoy their bananas foster sauce, and couldn't partake in it). Still a decent amount of options, and of course more if you eat meat.

We went back to the room, threw the rest of the stuff in the suitcases and headed to the online check in line to check our bags. Originally IL's were taking the magical express back to the airport to pick up a rental car, as they were heading further south in Florida, but I think without our suitcases we were able to fit them in the minivan so we just drove them. We hopped in the bag check line for the car seat bag. At that time, Aria asked about her little mickey with the magnetic hands? Well, I knew that she had slept with him in the pull out couch, so I asked andrew where he was and he said he didn't see it. Ugh! I knew it had been folded up with poor Mickey inside.

We kept Maya in a comfy outfit for the trip

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Aria's sad face lol

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We had to stop at the Disney shop to see about that Mickey. Didn't buy the ears but thought they were cute!

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Well they didn't have a magnetic mickey, but they did have a Minnie! So she got that.

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Eventually we made it through security - no pre-check since Andrew doesn't have it, and we were "those" people with a gazillion things to load. Jackets, shoes and milk cups and everything lol!

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I put Maya in the wrap to get her to nap, and she did fall asleep for a bit, but she had to come out for take off and that woke her up pretty soon after I uncovered her :(

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Aria fell asleep though pretty quickly, so I just had to keep Maya occupied. I nursed her at one point and then Andrew and I sort of passed her between us.

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It really wasn't too bad, but would have been nice if she could have just slept, as she wasn't into toys or anything else at that age.

Back home, Maya napped on the car ride home, then it took a while to get her to settle down that night but eventually she did and we all got a good nights sleep.


After returning home, I had a bout 2 weeks left of being home with the girls, then back to work :( :( so sad!! I'll do a little update at some point in between this trip and our May trip (actually it was end of April into May) just to show what we were up to, but it was a busy busy time!

Thank you so much for following along for this lengthy report! The other 2016 reports were shorter, but IMO sweeter, as Aria and I had an absolute BLAST in May together, and I really loved our time in DL in August, and our trip in December! Maya just gets more fun as she gets older, so I hope you'll stick around and keep reading!

 


Great updates! I was so happy to read that Sanaa was great for the allergies. We finally have a reservation there for our next trip and I'm so excited for it.

Also so glad to read that Aria got her bubble wand - yay!

Glad to hear that Maya slept through dinner at Yachtsman and that it was a good meal.

Looking forward to reading about the other trips!
 
She's been doing it a lot lately at daycare too (the whole outfit change). We are at our wit's end - she was doing it a lot with the cloth diapers, so we started bringing in disposables too, since the cloth was holding in the poo but leaking when she'd pee a lot. Well, the disposables hold in pee really well but if she has a huge poop, they leak! We can't win! A couple days last week she went through 3 outfit changes at daycare and then she'd be wet within 5 minutes at home. It's getting ridiculous. And yes, it seems like at Disney there's always a huge blow up! Trying to think of it happening at Disneyland, maybe it didnt' then? Hmmm
Seems like you're going to have to go back to Disneyland....:scratchin

So since I'm at work (arrived at 2:48AM) because I couldn't sleep last night and need to bank the hours anyway, why not do an update!!
I was so confused when I saw you had replied to another thread in the middle of the night - figured maybe you were up with Maya until I saw this. :rotfl:

Soon it was already time to head out to lunch. Sanaa is definitely a favorite - and I had inquired ahead of time about allergies and found out they should be pretty good with them. Well that was an understatement, as basically all my favorite things were safe! YES!
Yay, so glad you were able to enjoy your favorites!

Well, it turns out that the CM found ONE in stock at the AK Lodge gift shop, personally went over there and got it, and was holding it for us! WHAT! What pixie dust.
Awesome! pixiedust: Glad that she enjoyed it so much too.

I was able to order the French Onion Soup without the cheese, so was very excited about that as well (although I'll admit, cheese is the best part lol!) but it still tasted amazing! And the chicken with potatoes and other veggies as my main dish was also delicious and full of flavor. I was very VERY happy with the meal! Everyone else was too - MIL had some sort of steak and thought it was amazing, and she was the reason we came here so that made me happy!
Woohoo for another great meal! This was a good day for allergy dining!

We had a reservation at Cape May - I just wrote about this from the June 2014 girl's TR - it had been such a fun way to end a trip that I thought it would be perfect for today (even better that we were staying at the beach club!).
You know, I just realized we ended our May 2015 trip with this meal too! Popular choice!

She left and just a minute later, Donald slid into the booth beside Aria!

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He was being super silly!! (And I just realized, they no longer had the paper table mats for the characters to write on!)

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Really cute pictures with Donald!

Eventually we made it through security - no pre-check since Andrew doesn't have it, and we were "those" people with a gazillion things to load. Jackets, shoes and milk cups and everything lol!
We had one instance of travel where Dug got pre-check and I didn't (weird :confused:) I sent him through pre-check with all of Izzy's stuff. We ended up getting pulled up with him, though, I think. Apparently, I should have sent Izzy with him too, oops. :laughing:

Thank you so much for following along for this lengthy report! The other 2016 reports were shorter, but IMO sweeter, as Aria and I had an absolute BLAST in May together, and I really loved our time in DL in August, and our trip in December! Maya just gets more fun as she gets older, so I hope you'll stick around and keep reading!
Loved following along and can't wait to hear about May! :goodvibes
 
Great end to the trip report. The girls are simply adorable. I'm looking forward to the next trip to see how they've grown.
 
You know, ever since reading this TR about your search for the Ariel bubble wand, I feel like I have been seeing people look for them EVERYWHERE!!! I'm in way too many Disney FP groups and people are always asking where to find them on there, and even just today I was listening to a trip report podcast and the host was talking about searching for one for her son!! Those things sure do seem to be a hot commodity! I'm glad Aria finally got one.

I don't know if you'll agree, but I have felt like on every trip with DD, she has NEVER slept longer than she does at Disney. lol I guess it wears them out, even though it seemed like she was napping most of the day in the stroller or carrier. I even talked about it with another mom in the baby care center once. She was so worried because suddenly her baby who always woke up like clockwork to nurse several times through the night was sleeping for super long stretches!!

Great wrap up to the TR! Can't wait for the next adventure!
 
Oh man it's over?! That looked like a great trip! Can't wait to read the next one.

Also, hope you're feeling well. I think you're due the week after me (if I remember right). Just a couple weeks away from single digit count down! Won't be long now.
 
Aww what a great trip! I'm so glad you finally found the bubble wand, what a nice CM to track it down! Can't wait to read about the next trip :)
 
I am so thrilled you got the last existing bubble wand! And I agree, what a great CM!
 
Maya woke up for the FIRST time at 5:15! And she went back to sleep until 8! Awesome.

That's fantastic! What a nice way to start out your final Disney day.

as basically all my favorite things were safe! YES

That's great. I know it was hit or miss for you on this trip.

While waiting, Andrew decided to go upstairs and see about that bubble wand. Well, it turns out that the CM found ONE in stock at the AK Lodge gift shop, personally went over there and got it, and was holding it for us! WHAT! What pixie dust. Andrew was very excited to show Aria his findings.

Yay! I'm so glad that you were able to procure the final bubble wand. That CM is the perfect example of why Disney can be so magical.

But, no one else wanted to go (well besides Aria, of course!). So, the two of us had an impromptu breakfast date!

Aww, the photos from Cape May were great. I love how Donald climbed right into the booth with Aria. What a sweet way to end the trip. (The forgotten toy in the couch not so much.)
 
I finally have some free time to Dis today-- I missed so much! You probably have two new reports finished-- you go so much faster than me!:rotfl2:

Something nice about the Captain's Grill is that you can choose from a menu OR the buffet. I did this once with Aria when she was under 3, and it worked out so nicely to do the buffet so she could eat free lol, but this time I think I ordered her some kids pancakes or something. I had some allergy waffles and a side of potatoes, and the rest of the group did the buffet. I apparently didn't take any food photos, but we were all happy with the meal.

We ate here in January-- I was hoping for a Cape May quality meal without the price tag. I didn't think the buffet food was anywhere near as good as CM, and I was really regretting not getting pancakes when we saw the lemon ricotta come to the table next to us. I will definitely give it another shot, though, just not the buffet!

We got back to the room and Aria wanted to play a bit, so they did that in the living area

Such sweet sisters. I love how devoted to Maya Aria seems, and how much Maya seems to adore her big sis!

Your mini golf looks like so much fun. I have GOT to get better at rest/slow days at WDW. I think I really wore the kids out this past trip, and they were so much crankier than usual as a result, which made everyone crankier. More resting, more non-park activities!
 
I quoted a bunch of stuff and the Dis ate it--oy! I was so far behind I'm probably better off just pointing out all my favorite parts, anyway!

Coral Reef--I am so with you. We had such a bad experience (everything, food, service, all of it) on our first trip that we have never been back. Too many other places to try! It's too bad because it's such a cool location.

Captain's Grill-- we tried their buffet this trip. I was hoping for Cape May level of yummy without the price tag, but we were not wowed by the food. The pancakes that the tables near us ordered, however, looked SO good. We will have to go back and sample more.

Artist's Point--sorry Maya was being such a pita! That is one of the few quiet restaurants, too, so I'm sure it was extra no-fun to have a fussy baby. I am also with you on beets-- I try to likethem, but I kind of think they taste like dirt. I remember that salmon being REALLY good, though!

HANGAR BAR!!!! You know I love that place! The drink Andrew got is my favorite. We had the best time there again in January-- total must-do. We also copied the pretzels at home this weekend-- yum!!

Sanna....yum AND wow (my Stacey game is strong!). I love that bread service soooooo much. We didn't make it over this trip, and I really wish we had.

Crystal Palace-- you had such a fun meal! I'm so glad your in-laws were able to see the girls loving on the characters. I literally ate myself sick there in January-- the French toast and the lasagne are my favorite, but that much sugar first thing in the morning was TOO much!

I need to take a page out of your book and do more rest days. I didn't realize just how worn out my kids were until we got home, and I think some of the negative behaviors we saw could have been easily avoided with more rests. There are so many non-park things to do-- I just love the rides so much, so that's hard.

Your MK day and your safari look like SO much fun! We have never done anyone the special tours-- I think I need to change that. It looks like your in-laws had fun, too. I'm not sure how it would be to travel with mine...they don't do well with schedules, and you kind of have to have one at Disney. So nice your girls could get that one-on-one time with them before baby-palooza. We have six kids, two groups that are each six weeks apart (two groups three years apart) and my kids almost never see them alone. Very special!

I actually looked for that bubble wand at the seas for you-- they didn't have one, so I'm glad you found it!!

All in all, such a great trip. Thanks for the amazing report!
 
I plan to work on an "in between these trips" update today, I haven't found where I stashed my May 2016 photos yet which is why I haven't started the TR lol!

Great updates! I was so happy to read that Sanaa was great for the allergies. We finally have a reservation there for our next trip and I'm so excited for it.

Also so glad to read that Aria got her bubble wand - yay!

Glad to hear that Maya slept through dinner at Yachtsman and that it was a good meal.

Looking forward to reading about the other trips!

We had some really great meals - Sanaa is definitely a must-do! We have it booked for June and I can't wait!!

Great end to your trip! Sorry Mickey didn't make it home- but YAY that the bubble wand did!

Thank you! Yes, poor Mickey, but Minnie made her happy lol!

Great end to the trip report. The girls are simply adorable. I'm looking forward to the next trip to see how they've grown.

Thank you so much!

You know, ever since reading this TR about your search for the Ariel bubble wand, I feel like I have been seeing people look for them EVERYWHERE!!! I'm in way too many Disney FP groups and people are always asking where to find them on there, and even just today I was listening to a trip report podcast and the host was talking about searching for one for her son!! Those things sure do seem to be a hot commodity! I'm glad Aria finally got one.

I don't know if you'll agree, but I have felt like on every trip with DD, she has NEVER slept longer than she does at Disney. lol I guess it wears them out, even though it seemed like she was napping most of the day in the stroller or carrier. I even talked about it with another mom in the baby care center once. She was so worried because suddenly her baby who always woke up like clockwork to nurse several times through the night was sleeping for super long stretches!!

Great wrap up to the TR! Can't wait for the next adventure!

The inventory must come in waves, because in May I feel like I couldn't find one anywhere BUT in December they were EVERYWHERE.

That is funny about the sleeping - I think Maya napped pretty well later on (DL/ WDW), better than I had expected. Overnight was another story - DL esp. I don't like being in a regular room with her and sharing a room. We all have our own rooms at home and I think that helps give us ALL a really good nights sleep.

Oh man it's over?! That looked like a great trip! Can't wait to read the next one.

Also, hope you're feeling well. I think you're due the week after me (if I remember right). Just a couple weeks away from single digit count down! Won't be long now.

Thank you!! I am due 4/27 but expect baby to be here right around Easter (4/16). I am working up until 4/14 - Maya was 15 days early but I am hoping this one holds out so I can stop work 4/14. We'll see!

Aww what a great trip! I'm so glad you finally found the bubble wand, what a nice CM to track it down! Can't wait to read about the next trip :)

That CM was awesome, and it was so nice getting DH in on the search too! Thank you!

I am so thrilled you got the last existing bubble wand! And I agree, what a great CM!

Hahha Thank you!! Yes she was wonderful!

That's fantastic! What a nice way to start out your final Disney day.



That's great. I know it was hit or miss for you on this trip.



Yay! I'm so glad that you were able to procure the final bubble wand. That CM is the perfect example of why Disney can be so magical.



Aww, the photos from Cape May were great. I love how Donald climbed right into the booth with Aria. What a sweet way to end the trip. (The forgotten toy in the couch not so much.)

It was a great end, even if it was just Aria and me at breakfast! With a large-ish group it was nice to have some one on one time.

I finally have some free time to Dis today-- I missed so much! You probably have two new reports finished-- you go so much faster than me!:rotfl2:



We ate here in January-- I was hoping for a Cape May quality meal without the price tag. I didn't think the buffet food was anywhere near as good as CM, and I was really regretting not getting pancakes when we saw the lemon ricotta come to the table next to us. I will definitely give it another shot, though, just not the buffet!



Such sweet sisters. I love how devoted to Maya Aria seems, and how much Maya seems to adore her big sis!

Your mini golf looks like so much fun. I have GOT to get better at rest/slow days at WDW. I think I really wore the kids out this past trip, and they were so much crankier than usual as a result, which made everyone crankier. More resting, more non-park activities!

I quoted a bunch of stuff and the Dis ate it--oy! I was so far behind I'm probably better off just pointing out all my favorite parts, anyway!

Coral Reef--I am so with you. We had such a bad experience (everything, food, service, all of it) on our first trip that we have never been back. Too many other places to try! It's too bad because it's such a cool location.

Captain's Grill-- we tried their buffet this trip. I was hoping for Cape May level of yummy without the price tag, but we were not wowed by the food. The pancakes that the tables near us ordered, however, looked SO good. We will have to go back and sample more.

Artist's Point--sorry Maya was being such a pita! That is one of the few quiet restaurants, too, so I'm sure it was extra no-fun to have a fussy baby. I am also with you on beets-- I try to likethem, but I kind of think they taste like dirt. I remember that salmon being REALLY good, though!

HANGAR BAR!!!! You know I love that place! The drink Andrew got is my favorite. We had the best time there again in January-- total must-do. We also copied the pretzels at home this weekend-- yum!!

Sanna....yum AND wow (my Stacey game is strong!). I love that bread service soooooo much. We didn't make it over this trip, and I really wish we had.

Crystal Palace-- you had such a fun meal! I'm so glad your in-laws were able to see the girls loving on the characters. I literally ate myself sick there in January-- the French toast and the lasagne are my favorite, but that much sugar first thing in the morning was TOO much!

I need to take a page out of your book and do more rest days. I didn't realize just how worn out my kids were until we got home, and I think some of the negative behaviors we saw could have been easily avoided with more rests. There are so many non-park things to do-- I just love the rides so much, so that's hard.

Your MK day and your safari look like SO much fun! We have never done anyone the special tours-- I think I need to change that. It looks like your in-laws had fun, too. I'm not sure how it would be to travel with mine...they don't do well with schedules, and you kind of have to have one at Disney. So nice your girls could get that one-on-one time with them before baby-palooza. We have six kids, two groups that are each six weeks apart (two groups three years apart) and my kids almost never see them alone. Very special!

I actually looked for that bubble wand at the seas for you-- they didn't have one, so I'm glad you found it!!

All in all, such a great trip. Thanks for the amazing report!

The lemon ricotta pancakes at Captain's Grill are TDF - but of course with a dairy restriction I couldn't have them this trip :( definitely AMAZING though. Yeah, true, Artist Point is SO quiet to begin with that any sound really carries lol! It was a very messy dinner.

I LOVED the hangar bar, and DH did too, so we'll def be doing a return of that same evening plan (Hangar Bar then Boathouse) in June. Can't wait!!

It is SO nice to go for long enough to be able to build in rest days without feel like you're missing out on park days. It's a tough balance, and generally with my shorter trips (5-7 nights) I might have some relaxing afternoons since we're rope-drop people, but otherwise I definitely can't stuff in a full rest-day. But this was 12 nights (!!) and we stayed fully at Disney, so definitely time to fit that in.

Going with the IL's is okay. The best part is definitely having someone to leave the kids with. MIL acts WAY older than she is so walking around the parks drives me CRAZY. I just tell DH that this is my vacation too and I'm not moving at their pace :-D Aside from Sanaa, they don't ask to do anything in particular, which is good in some ways and annoying in others, because I feel like I'm just corralling a big group around and have no idea if they are having fun. BUT they are much better to travel with than my mom. They enjoy drinking, and eating, two things we have in common (LMAO) and certainly won't give a side-eye when I go in for the 12PM margarita (or you know, 10am). And they are excited to spend time with Aria and Maya, so that's a huge plus too.
 
Life update in between returning in February to the next trip in April/May!

So shortly after we returned home, Maya turned 3 months old!

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I continued with the dairy/soy free diet and she was doing a LOT better. Sleeping well regularly, attitude a LOT better, etc.

Work was very busy, and I also got to do my 60-day FP selections right after returning so that was exciting!! The problem was, I still didn't really know who was going on the next trip! I had Aria, Maya and myself on the reservation, but I had been toying with leaving Maya home (and had calculated I had plenty of frozen milk for her), and figuring out how I'd pump, keep milk cold in the parks (in the heat!), and bring it all home (6 days' worth is a lot to bring on a plane).

4 months old...

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Around 4 months of age, we noticed eczema seemed to come and go. She was still pretty happy but would get randomly SUPER fussy. Pediatrician didn't think anything of it. It was after I ate an egg/potato dish (Spanish Tortilla, if you're wondering) and she was MAD for about 2 days straight that I decided to make an appointment with an allergist for her. Only 1.5 weeks before the trip, we had that appointment (I'll spare you the photo) and they did some testing which initially came back positive for Dairy, Egg, Peanut and Rice. We also did blood testing which further showed Cats & Dogs. Soy was fine. They only tested for 7 things on her scratch test on her back, mainly because her eczema was really bad. We made the decision that night to try Neocate formula while I continued pumping, which is one of only 3 formulas out there that have ZERO dairy protein in them, but of course it's about $45/can which lasts slightly under 3 days. I started the process of getting it approved by insurance (which took over a month btw, $500 later...). She hated the taste so we started out by mixing in 1 OZ Neocate with 5 OZ breastmilk and upping it from there.

At this point I decided since I was pumping anyway, to leave Maya with Andrew and to take Aria. Aria, by the way, had NO IDEA about the trip. By the time we left, Maya was already doing better at only 1/2 Neocate, 1/2 BM. I decided to get over my fear of formula and assume that Neocate was the solution we had been waiting for (thankfully, it was).

Shortly before our trip, the MK Early Morning Magic thing was announced - and I eagerly awaited reports from the April 26th first date, as we were leaving on the 29th! We had plans to spend 5 nights at Shades of Green (our first visit there!). After a review that said basically no one knew about it and it was empty, I booked the EMM.

So our plans were as follows:

4/29: Surprise Aria at 3AM, then early flight into MCO, EPCOT with F&G booths for lunch, Akershus for dinner (FEA wasn't open yet)

4/30: EMM, MK, dinner at California Grill

5/1: Chef Mickey's, free morning, AK evening with Y&Y (this was when Rivers of Light was being reported they'd open after Earth day - sigh). Star Wars Dessert party at DHS.

5/2: Kona, MK, BOG

5/3: H&V, DHS, fly home

And this was purely a girl's trip!! Just Aria and me, which honestly was much needed after all the issues with Maya - it was wonderful to give Aria that one on one attention that any 4-year-old with a new baby sister really truly needs.

Once I figure out where my photos are (they are on my phone and Photopass, don't worry, but I thought I had organized them on the computer too) I'll start the TR! I will have to say, it was an AMAZING trip.
 

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