WDW through an 8-month-old’s eyes &10m &13m &16m...New 10/30!

[Imagineer5]

Hmmm...I can't find anything on the Orlando fox rent a car. It's new, but I did find a ton of complaints for the ones on the west coast. DH said he'd go get the car and pick us up at the airport so I'm sort of leaning towards using the sw points.

 

[Leleluvsdis]

So two things. I priced out all our meals - yikes they add up! I estimated about $1800 for them. So if we switch from the tickets to annual passes and buy the TiW card we are looking at about a total of a $100 increase (also takes into account free parking at the parks)! It wouldn't include tix to water parks or dq though. I told dh about this and he said if I could plan a long weekend trip next spring for under $600 we could do it. Not sure about that ridiculous amount lol BUT at least he is considering it. And with our one other free Southwest flight, and using points for rental car, we might be able to swing it for not much more than that. Idk if I could though.

Second I've been looking into rental cars. If we do what we always do and get it from the airport, we are looking at $500 or more for the whole trip. OR we could use the rest of our southwest points (ie no more free flight then) and rent from Fox rental (??). OR we could use ME from the airport to BLT, and on the 3rd day, when we move offsite, we could go to the Dolphin and rent a car from Alamo for $265 for 7 days. That's the cheapest price I've found. We have capital one points to use, so the actual price isn't an issue but I don't know about having to pick up the car mid trip. Thoughts?[/QUOTE]

I vote for option 2.

 

[khertz]

Have you tried Name Your Own Price on Priceline? We got a decent deal on our rental last year using that!

 

[MrsTeddy]

Hi! I just stumbled upon your PTR, congrats on your beautiful little girl!

Hang in there with the breastfeeding, it gets better I promise!! I nursed my son (now 2& 1/2) for 13 months, including a trip to WDW at 8 months. 7 weeks seems to be the magic number where things are just better!

We drove 22 hrs each way to Florida last time (crazy story!ha) and only spent one day in MK but did some other FLorida sights, etc. It was a great day and DS loved all of it, it was a great age!

I hope to start my PTR in the next few weeks for our July trip (I'm a little preoccupied with school and pregnancy-32 wks, at the moment!!)

I would be a little hesitant to fly (gate check) a city select, I have heard SO many stories of strollers being destroyed by the airlines, and they are not responsible. We plan on bringing a cheap umbrella stroller with us and renting a stroller while there, I'm just too worried about such a pricey stroller being destroyed!

 

[Imagineer5]

Have you tried Name Your Own Price on Priceline? We got a decent deal on our rental last year using that!

No I should totally do that! Does it let you put down Rental car agencies that are at the airport vs needing a shuttle? I'll go check it out.

Hi! I just stumbled upon your PTR, congrats on your beautiful little girl!

Hang in there with the breastfeeding, it gets better I promise!! I nursed my son (now 2& 1/2) for 13 months, including a trip to WDW at 8 months. 7 weeks seems to be the magic number where things are just better!

We drove 22 hrs each way to Florida last time (crazy story!ha) and only spent one day in MK but did some other FLorida sights, etc. It was a great day and DS loved all of it, it was a great age!

I hope to start my PTR in the next few weeks for our July trip (I'm a little preoccupied with school and pregnancy-32 wks, at the moment!!)

I would be a little hesitant to fly (gate check) a city select, I have heard SO many stories of strollers being destroyed by the airlines, and they are not responsible. We plan on bringing a cheap umbrella stroller with us and renting a stroller while there, I'm just too worried about such a pricey stroller being destroyed!

wow congrats to you! Do you know what you are having? Thanks for the tips on BFing. Things are going well and I officially have 85 oz frozen so far. She has a sort of schedule that we stick to day by day too and is sleeping much better too. But I still feel like I'm tied to her constantly which is hard to get used to. she's 1 month old! Crazy!

Yeah I'm worried about gate checking the stroller and also the car seat but did buy travel bags for them and at this point we just love the stroller, it would be sooo nice to have at WDW! But of course we can't use the Maclaren until she is 6 months old so maybe we will love that too. Idk.

 

[Imagineer5]

Thanks, iPad for closing Safari browser and deleting my update! Grrr!

Anyway, so I am booked for a rental car! I first looked at Priceline but they gave me no hope for getting the low rental rate on airport (no shuttle). But they did have Sixt rental cars which I hadnt seen before - found an awesome $256 rate from them. But wait! Then did a bit more digging and ended up at the Canadian Expedia website lol, found a $210 rental rate from Dollar (at the airport!!) and booked it! It's for a full size car too, which will be nice with all of Aria's stuff.

So I'm just waiting for that to show up on the Dollar site. Expedia says the price includes all taxes and such but I just don't believe it! Anyway - no using my southwest flights now, which is so nice for a possible Spring trip (or maybe even early December - that is my favorite time to go!! If we get annual passes).

As for things at home, going well. Not sure if I mentioned this, but we moved her to her own room last Saturday night after all her grunting all night long lol. Neither of us were sleeping will with that noise and constantly checking on her which then woke her up. Since we moved her to her room, we regularly get AT LEAST one 5 hour sleeping block plus a 4 or 3 hour one. Sunday night we got a 7 hour one! I'm putting the Babysense monitor to the test, we have it set up under her crib and I feel so much more secure having that on, even with her in another room.

We also are getting onto more of a daily schedule (which will change drastically once I go back to work because currently it involves staying in bed until 8am lol). But yeah things are going well! She eats more on a 1.5-2 hour schedule during the day though, which is tiring, but seems to give us the longer sleep at night so I'm not complaining. I need to post some updated pics. We're going to do the 1-month pictures tonight, but she's already been using her Bumbo a little bit - she holds her head up so well! And I got a wide open mouthed smile from her yesterday - she was in a mood this morning and hasn't smiled for me yet today haha.

 

[jenny105]

I can get a car from Sixt for like $150! I've never heard of them though and they're offsite. I know they're big in Europe. Hmmm...I'm still on the fence as to whether I should rent a car or not.

I'm glad everything is going well with little Aria. I keep picturing Aria Montgomery everytime you mention her name LOL. I am PLL obsessed!

 

[Imagineer5]

I can get a car from Sixt for like $150! I've never heard of them though and they're offsite. I know they're big in Europe. Hmmm...I'm still on the fence as to whether I should rent a car or not.

I'm glad everything is going well with little Aria. I keep picturing Aria Montgomery everytime you mention her name LOL. I am PLL obsessed!

Wow that's great! Did you do the Expedia.ca trick? I called Dollar and they have my reservation so looks like we are all set. 10 days for $210! Pretty happy with that!

Reviews of Sixt look pretty decent through, I don't like the shuttle aspect but that's just me being lazy as there are lots of places we visit that there's no choice but to use a shuttle heheh. But that being said, a rental car isn't a necessity for most ppl especially if you're onsite the whole trip! Though for us it is, neither of us like the buses.

I loooove pll too lol, can't wait for next weeks episode! You still like Hanna the best? I still like Aria heheh. Spencer annoys me, something about how she looks. Lol. Do you watch any other abc family shows? I'm kinda obsessed with that station right now, and also watch the lying game, switched at birth, Jane by design, and secret life. Thank goodness for the DVR hehe.

 

[jenny105]

Wow that's great! Did you do the Expedia.ca trick? I called Dollar and they have my reservation so looks like we are all set. 10 days for $210! Pretty happy with that!

Reviews of Sixt look pretty decent through, I don't like the shuttle aspect but that's just me being lazy as there are lots of places we visit that there's no choice but to use a shuttle heheh. But that being said, a rental car isn't a necessity for most ppl especially if you're onsite the whole trip! Though for us it is, neither of us like the buses.

I loooove pll too lol, can't wait for next weeks episode! You still like Hanna the best? I still like Aria heheh. Spencer annoys me, something about how she looks. Lol. Do you watch any other abc family shows? I'm kinda obsessed with that station right now, and also watch the lying game, switched at birth, Jane by design, and secret life. Thank goodness for the DVR hehe.

We use a GDS system at work that allows us to look at every car rental place in one shot. I happened to see Sixt. I might make a reservation just incase once my airfare is booked. I hate that it's offsite too but for that price, I'll deal!

I love Hanna, she makes me laugh. So does Spencer. She has some great one liners. Em and Aria are ok but I'm sick of the Fitz/Aria stuff and Em/Maya too. Plus Em always defends Ali to death. Have you read any of the books?

I watch the Lying Game too but that's just meh. The books are better. I'm obsessed with all the CW shows. I watch 90210, Ringer, Vampire Diaries, Secret Circle, and One Tree Hill. I love my DVR lol

 

[Leger13]

Hi girl! Glad to hear the trip planning is going well and things are going well with Aria and sleeping is better now that she is in her own room We didn't move Alex until he was 5 months old. Hah! Can't wait to see pictures! I can't believe she's almost a month old already!

 

[vikkii19]

Joining in, we'll be there at the same time for our daughter's first trip too. Can't help much on BF front as DD was fed formula (never got a milk supply). But can comment on the return to work part as I just started again this past week. It's not as bad as a lot of people say, you just have to make a schedule and stick to it.

As for strollers, we have a city mini that I plan on bringing, but it will definitely be in a stroller bag.

Can't wait to read more about your plans.

 

[Imagineer5]

We use a GDS system at work that allows us to look at every car rental place in one shot. I happened to see Sixt. I might make a reservation just incase once my airfare is booked. I hate that it's offsite too but for that price, I'll deal!

I love Hanna, she makes me laugh. So does Spencer. She has some great one liners. Em and Aria are ok but I'm sick of the Fitz/Aria stuff and Em/Maya too. Plus Em always defends Ali to death. Have you read any of the books?

I watch the Lying Game too but that's just meh. The books are better. I'm obsessed with all the CW shows. I watch 90210, Ringer, Vampire Diaries, Secret Circle, and One Tree Hill. I love my DVR lol

I didnt even know there were books! Ah yes the cw is definitely top of my list. Vampire diaries and secret cir le! And the others though never got into one tree hill.

Hi girl! Glad to hear the trip planning is going well and things are going well with Aria and sleeping is better now that she is in her own room We didn't move Alex until he was 5 months old. Hah! Can't wait to see pictures! I can't believe she's almost a month old already!

I feel sort of awful about putting her in her room already, I had intended to wait until I went back to work. But for the most part it's allowed us all to sleep better. Last night was an exception though lol and now Im so beat. But it doesn't help my cold is in the runny nose and eye stage. On my 3rd or 4th box of tissues. Ugh.

Joining in, we'll be there at the same time for our daughter's first trip too. Can't help much on BF front as DD was fed formula (never got a milk supply). But can comment on the return to work part as I just started again this past week. It's not as bad as a lot of people say, you just have to make a schedule and stick to it.

As for strollers, we have a city mini that I plan on bringing, but it will definitely be in a stroller bag.

Can't wait to read more about your plans.

Thanks for joining in! How old is your daughter? Where will you guys be staying? How is being back at work? Is your daughter in daycare?

What are your trip plans? We are so exacted foroctober!

 

[jenny105]

I didnt even know there were books! Ah yes the cw is definitely top of my list. Vampire diaries and secret cir le! And the others though never got into one tree hill.

So far there are 11 books with 2 more on the way! In the books, there are multiple A's. I'm wondering if they'll go in the direction of the first A. Sometimes I think so and other times they flip the switch on me. Who do you think it is?? A will be revealed next week. I'm such a dork.

 

[vikkii19]

I didnt even know there were books! Ah yes the cw is definitely top of my list. Vampire diaries and secret cir le! And the others though never got into one tree hill.



I feel sort of awful about putting her in her room already, I had intended to wait until I went back to work. But for the most part it's allowed us all to sleep better. Last night was an exception though lol and now Im so beat. But it doesn't help my cold is in the runny nose and eye stage. On my 3rd or 4th box of tissues. Ugh.



Thanks for joining in! How old is your daughter? Where will you guys be staying? How is being back at work? Is your daughter in daycare?

What are your trip plans? We are so exacted foroctober!

Love Vampire Diaries, it's my guilty pleasure. Damon and Stephan....drool.

Ok back to reality, Lia only lasted about 4 days in her bassinet, like Aria she was a very noisy sleeper and I didn't get any sleep. Finally after 3 or 4 days of massive exhaustion, DH said she was going in her bed. I have no regrets, except that I basically bought a bassinet for nothing. She's been sleeping great in her own room since then.

Lia will be turning 1 in 2 weeks and she'll just have turned 18 months when we go. Returning to work wasn't as bad as expected, especially with being gone for a year. I think it helped that I started bringing Lia gradually to the babysitter 2 weeks before I actually started work. She isn't in daycare, it's a close friend that used to work in daycare that babysits her. She had her son 2 weeks before I had Lia and decided to stay home and babysit 2 babies. So she has her son, Lia and another baby boy that is a day older than Lia. Knowing that she's well taken care of helps the working part.

For our trip, we'll be at BCV, I kept going back and forth between BCV and BLT, ultimately DH decided because I couldn't make up my mind. We'll be there from Sept 30th to October 7th. I don't have any set plans yet, we'll see as time goes on. I'm waiting on October hours, to really start planning.

 

[CandleontheWater]

Big congrats on Arias birth! You did awesome with the L&D! I'm one of the girls who gets incredibly jealous when I hear about people pushing for 1.5 minutes! I pushed for three hours and my little stinker didn't even budge! I ended up having to get a C-section, but he was nearly 10 lbs, so in the end I was kinda glad it worked out that way!

Also big congrats on sticking with breastfeeding! It does get easier, and you will be so happy that you made it through. The first weeks are so tough, but just think of all the bottles you are not going to have to wash or worry about in the middle of the night.

Also congrats on getting your flight and rental car nailed down! You did really well on price, and I wouldn't mind hearing about this Canadian expedia trick! I always feel like the rental car is such a huge expense, I'd love to find a way to cut the cost!

 

[Imagineer5]

Photo Update!!

 

[Imagineer5]

So far there are 11 books with 2 more on the way! In the books, there are multiple A's. I'm wondering if they'll go in the direction of the first A. Sometimes I think so and other times they flip the switch on me. Who do you think it is?? A will be revealed next week. I'm such a dork.

I have absolutely no idea! I can't believe A will finally be revealed. It seemed like they were doing the multiple-A thing but I hope it's a total surprise. Who do you think will be A, since you have "insider info" from reading the books!?

Love Vampire Diaries, it's my guilty pleasure. Damon and Stephan....drool.

Ok back to reality, Lia only lasted about 4 days in her bassinet, like Aria she was a very noisy sleeper and I didn't get any sleep. Finally after 3 or 4 days of massive exhaustion, DH said she was going in her bed. I have no regrets, except that I basically bought a bassinet for nothing. She's been sleeping great in her own room since then.

Lia will be turning 1 in 2 weeks and she'll just have turned 18 months when we go. Returning to work wasn't as bad as expected, especially with being gone for a year. I think it helped that I started bringing Lia gradually to the babysitter 2 weeks before I actually started work. She isn't in daycare, it's a close friend that used to work in daycare that babysits her. She had her son 2 weeks before I had Lia and decided to stay home and babysit 2 babies. So she has her son, Lia and another baby boy that is a day older than Lia. Knowing that she's well taken care of helps the working part.

For our trip, we'll be at BCV, I kept going back and forth between BCV and BLT, ultimately DH decided because I couldn't make up my mind. We'll be there from Sept 30th to October 7th. I don't have any set plans yet, we'll see as time goes on. I'm waiting on October hours, to really start planning.

Hahha seriously, I have so many guilty pleasures. At least DH likes some of the shows.

Anyone else in love with Revenge, too? Man, I have almost caved to get a 2nd DVR, since 2 shows at a time recording sometimes isn't enough!

Anwyay, that's good to know we aren't alone in putting aria in her room so early!! It has really helped!! Glad it worked for you guys too. BCV will be SO AWESOME! That's where we stayed last time, and I would have stayed there again but really wanted to try out BLT since I've never stayed in a MK resort. But BCV I *think* will remain our favorite.

You're so lucky to have a friend you trust watching Lia! (Beautiful name BTW!). I'm very happy with the daycare we found (small in home daycare) but still she's a stranger and we are definitely going to be instilling trust in someone without really any reason. I did talk to all the current parents though, and I feel comfortable leaving her there. Just wish I could have some cameras set up to watch her all day long...

Big congrats on Arias birth! You did awesome with the L&D! I'm one of the girls who gets incredibly jealous when I hear about people pushing for 1.5 minutes! I pushed for three hours and my little stinker didn't even budge! I ended up having to get a C-section, but he was nearly 10 lbs, so in the end I was kinda glad it worked out that way!

Also big congrats on sticking with breastfeeding! It does get easier, and you will be so happy that you made it through. The first weeks are so tough, but just think of all the bottles you are not going to have to wash or worry about in the middle of the night.

Also congrats on getting your flight and rental car nailed down! You did really well on price, and I wouldn't mind hearing about this Canadian expedia trick! I always feel like the rental car is such a huge expense, I'd love to find a way to cut the cost!

Aw thank you!! LOL Sorry about "bragging" though I did get the tear to go with the ultra fast pushing...still dealing with that (TMI? sorry). I can't imagine pushing out a 10-pounder though. Man!

BFing is still going awesome! But I do sort of look forward to pumping at work - 10 minutes is all it takes to empty both sides and get like 6-8 oz out. Currently she wants to eat every 1.5-2 hours, so it might be kind of a relief when I'm only pumping 3 times while at work. IDK. We're working on the bottle, and actually DH took care of her last night bc I was so sick, and ended up giving her the bottle 3 times and she did awesome at it (and BF fine today, so that's good too).

I read about the expedia.ca trick after researching some reviews on Sixt. IDK How it'll play out at the rental counter, but I did not see ANY thing about needing to be a Canadian to rent from expedia.ca, they even give you the option of putting in an address from anywhere in the world, and it states all taxes were included. Plus I can cancel anytime, though I did have to pay up front. I still have the Sixt reservation, so if something goes wonky with the Expedia/Dollar one I have that as a backup. I just couldn't believe the HUGE price difference - $200 vs. $490+ for 10 days. And for a full size rental car, which I generally just get a compact.

 

[jenny105]

Love Vampire Diaries, it's my guilty pleasure. Damon and Stephan....drool.

I love me some Damon Salvatore! I'm digging evil Stephan too. Elijah is also awesome. And Klaus is badass. Yup, I'm obsessed with Vampire Diaries.

I have absolutely no idea! I can't believe A will finally be revealed. It seemed like they were doing the multiple-A thing but I hope it's a total surprise. Who do you think will be A, since you have "insider info" from reading the books!?

I think it's Mona. The show gives very subtle nods toward it and then go completely in the other direction with Garrett/Jenna/Melissa. I'm refusing to believe it's one of them because it would be so obvious. So I'm calling it now, it's Mona. We'll see if I'm right!

 

[m2m09]

Just joining you today! Congrats on your beautiful baby girl! I found your PTR when I was searching around for posts about taking a baby to Disney. We are planning a trip at the end of November with our son who will be a month shy of 3 at the time (he is 2 now) and our baby who is due in 24 days So the baby should be about the same age as Aria will be when we go to Disney. I read through all of the posts, and I found it funny that I live in MA too, probably like a half hour or so from you. Small world
I look forward to following your PTR and then hearing about how your trip went and hopefully getting some good tips.

 

[vikkii19]

Hahha seriously, I have so many guilty pleasures. At least DH likes some of the shows.

Anyone else in love with Revenge, too? Man, I have almost caved to get a 2nd DVR, since 2 shows at a time recording sometimes isn't enough!

Anwyay, that's good to know we aren't alone in putting aria in her room so early!! It has really helped!! Glad it worked for you guys too. BCV will be SO AWESOME! That's where we stayed last time, and I would have stayed there again but really wanted to try out BLT since I've never stayed in a MK resort. But BCV I *think* will remain our favorite.

You're so lucky to have a friend you trust watching Lia! (Beautiful name BTW!). I'm very happy with the daycare we found (small in home daycare) but still she's a stranger and we are definitely going to be instilling trust in someone without really any reason. I did talk to all the current parents though, and I feel comfortable leaving her there. Just wish I could have some cameras set up to watch her all day long...

I couldn't live without my DVR and like you, it often does tape 2 things at once. I haven't seen Revenge, but everyone talks about it, might have to start watching it

I'm sure your daycare will be great, especially if you talked to other parents. I'm sure she'll be in great hands.

I love me some Damon Salvatore! I'm digging evil Stephan too. Elijah is also awesome. And Klaus is badass. Yup, I'm obsessed with Vampire Diaries.

I think it's Mona. The show gives very subtle nods toward it and then go completely in the other direction with Garrett/Jenna/Melissa. I'm refusing to believe it's one of them because it would be so obvious. So I'm calling it now, it's Mona. We'll see if I'm right!

I really like Elijah and Klaus too, it was time they brought some new characters to the show. I'm secretly hoping Caroline and Klaus hook up

I always thought it was Mona from the beginning, there is just something about that girl.