WDW with a teething ten-month-old, a tale of survival- finsihed 5/11!!

[CandleontheWater]

I know, I know, there are hardly and pictures! I promise it will get better, stick with me, pretty please!

10/2

This morning I managed to sleep in ‘til the really late hour of 7am! Whoo-hoo! I quickly got dressed and went over to my Mom’s room to check on her and my little cutie. He was up and bopping around in his pack and play, watching some TV and throwing his toys out onto the floor. I ate a quick breakfast and waited on everyone else to get moving.

We had planned today to be a little more relaxing, and to take the time to try out some of the things Disney offers outside of the parks. I am such a park commando, that this is really hard for me, but I was pretty easily convinced when Amy decided we should let the boys go play golf while we checked out the spa at Saratoga.

I had called ahead and made a 10 am tee time for Bryan and Mark, and Amy had called the spa and made an appointment for a facial for her and manicure for me. The plan was for Bryan to drop off Amy and pick up Mark, then for the boys to head over to the Oak Trail golf course. Bryan and Amy were running a little late and I was really afraid that the guys would loose their tee time, but Bryan figured out some shortcuts (or put the car in warp speed) and they managed to make it in just the nick of time.

After all that excitement, I was really ready for some relaxation. My mom took Everett and they headed off to DTD to shop, and Amy and I walked over to the Spa.

When we checked in we were give some refreshing cucumber water to drink, and were lead down to the locker room area to get changed and ready. The only other Disney spa that I’ve been to is at the Grand Floridian, and the Saratoga Springs amenities are much nicer. They have a large area with loungers and a whirlpool spa, a sauna, steam room, multiple showers, a nice lighted vanity area, and a changing area with lockers and benches.

I was really kicking myself that I didn’t bring my bathing suit, because the whirlpool looked so nice, but I changed into a robe and was able to stick my feet in and relax. Amy and I also made use of the steam room and sauna, which were equally relaxing, although I prefer the dry heat of the sauna. I’d love to have one installed in my house someday, it would be the perfect antidote to cold winter evenings!

After about a ½ hour, Amy and I were called for our appointments and went our separate ways. I was taken to the manicure/pedicure room, which was a little disappointing. It was a very small space, with two manicure tables, and three pedicure chairs smooshed inside. I think it would have been much nicer if it were a room with windows overlooking the pool. The spa is so perfectly situated to take advantage of the beautiful vistas of the resort, it is really a shame that they don’t.

Aside from my disappointment in the room, the manicure itself was excellent. The woman was very talented, and my nails got a nice long soak, my hands got a warm stone massage and my nails got painted the perfect cotton candy pink. The manicure itself took about an hour, which was perfect and it turned out lovely and really held up throughout my vacation. The spa services are pricey, but other than the room, I have no complaints and would go back again.

Cotton Candy pink nails!

I finished up a little earlier than Amy, so I continued to soak my feet while I waited. She came back glowing from her facial and also had rave reviews about the service.

By this point it was heading towards noon, and we were both getting hungry. I called my mom who told me she was on her way back from DTD. This was perfect! We planned to meet her and Everett at Artist Palette to grab some lunch and wait for our MIA husbands. I had tried calling both Mark and Bryan while I was waiting for Amy, but I couldn’t reach either of them. They were only playing nine holes, how long could that possibly take?

Since we were all so hungry (getting pampered really works up an appetite! ) we decided to start without the boys. I don’t remember what I ate, but I’m pretty sure it was one of the flatbreads, since they were my personal favorites throughout the week.

After about another hour we finally get a text message from Bryan telling us that him and Mark were pulling up in front of Saratoga. Apparently they stuck behind some REALLY slow golfers, and the slow golfers would not let them play ahead. At least that is what I thought I heard, they were stuffing their faces and trying to explain between mouths full of food.

The plan was to head back to Epcot for a little more F&W before our dinner at Germany. Mark really needed to get some work done for his on-line class, so he stayed back with my mom and Everett, and Bryan, Amy and I drove over to Epcot.

We knew that this afternoon at F&W was going to be different than the previous day, but that was really hammered home when we got to Epcot and saw that the parking lot was really full! Being serious troopers we hoofed it back to the World Showcase where we hit a wall of crowd. We couldn’t get near any of the booths, and it was getting really hot, so we decided to head to Germany, hoping that the Sommerfest area would not be a crowded and we could get a table and some beers.

We apparently were not the only people with this idea because it was pretty packed. I managed to snag a table, while Amy went and got the beers, and since we were nearish China, (and craving potstickers) we sent Bryan off to get some.

Amy and I kicked back with our beers and just watched the sea of humanity surround us. There were some really rowdy groups, mostly bachelor/bachelorette parties and people sporting drinking around the world t-shirts. Many of the families around us were giving them dirty looks, but I just found them amusing. We did end up offering space at our table to one poor family that was trying to push two strollers with sleeping kids and carry trays of bratwurst and I was afraid it was going to end badly.

As an aside- The funniest thing I ever saw at Disney was one night before Illuminations when a Dad ended up dumping an ENTIRE tray of food from the Cantina San Angel (including margaritas), on top of his kid in the stroller. I mean, it must have been pretty awful to be that family in that moment, but it was awfully funny to watch, in a sickening “oh no, that really didn’t just happen” kind of way. I’m sure that has probably gone down in family lore, and every Thanksgiving for years to come they’ll be telling the story of when Dad dumped the margaritas on juniors head.

I really didn’t need to see another tray of food on child in stroller incident, so I quickly jumped up to help them and offer up our extra chairs and space. We were supposed to be saving the space for Bryan, but he had disappeared, so we figured he’d be on his own when he got back.

We spent some time chatting with the family, who was visiting from England and who came to Disney every other year. They were very thankful for the space, and ended up finishing their food just as Bryan re-appeared, minus our potstickers.

I guess that it was really crowded and it took him a while to get back, so he just ate ours on the way back to Germany. At that point I didn’t feel bad that we gave his seat to the nice British people.

 

[MeMom]

Checking in to read about your trip. We enjoyed our stay at SSR in October. Being just a walk away from DTD, we probably could have done a lot of damage to our bank accounts had it been a longer trip.

We've taken the girls many times as babies, too. Luckily, there have been enough of us to pass them around so that it hasn't been a burden on Jill.

I liked reading about your F&W choices. I had the lettuce wraps with kimchi this last time in honor of my youngest son, who is Korean-born. He wouldn't have liked it. He much prefers Mexican.

 

[CandleontheWater]

Checking in to read about your trip. We enjoyed our stay at SSR in October. Being just a walk away from DTD, we probably could have done a lot of damage to our bank accounts had it been a longer trip.

We've taken the girls many times as babies, too. Luckily, there have been enough of us to pass them around so that it hasn't been a burden on Jill.

I liked reading about your F&W choices. I had the lettuce wraps with kimchi this last time in honor of my youngest son, who is Korean-born. He wouldn't have liked it. He much prefers Mexican.

There certainly are ups and downs to being that close to DTD, the main down being the balance of my checking account!

I did love me some lettuce wrap- yummy! But, I also agree with your son, Mexican food (and margaritas ) are great too!

 

[CandleontheWater]

At this point Amy and I were content to bid Germany adieu (or however you say good-bye in German). Since we had such good luck at the Cava del Tequila yesterday (and I never got my margarita), we decided to head back over there. Unfortunately, like the rest of WS, it was mobbed. There actually was a line of people standing behind velvet ropes waiting to be let in, which really made me giggle. I guess you had to be close personal friends with the Mouse himself to get a seat.

We then wandered outside to try the margarita stand, only to find out that the only color (flavor?) working was blue. I was really bummed by this because I have a natural prejudice towards blue food. My all time favorite margarita is the lime/strawberry mix, and especially when they layer it lime/strawberry/lime/strawberry and it has a sugar rim (can’t you just picture me giving the poor cast member those detailed instructions). Unfortunately it was not to be, better luck next time.
We had an ADR at Germany that evening, so since it was getting later, we decided to wander back in that direction, and got sucked into the Carmel store! Sweet, heavenly goodness! The only thing that held me back from literally inhaling everything in sight was our impeding date with the Biergarten buffet. I vowed to return.

We wandered through the maze of stores and by the fudge, which is Bryan’s favorite. He managed to hold off also, there really was an amazing feat of willpower demonstrated by all members of our party…that is…until we ended up in the wine cellar. We just had to try a wine flight, I mean, we had been shut out of margaritas in Mexico, and we had time to kill before our ADR.

The wine flight consisted of small pours (2oz I think) of German wines, I chose the Apple wine, the Two Princes Wine (yes, just like the Spin Doctors song), and the dessert wine (sorry, I didn’t catch the name). The apple was very refreshing and crisp, but it wasn’t my favorite because the taste unfortunately reminded me of watered-down apple juice. The Two Princes Wine was my favorite, and the dessert wine was overly sweet for my taste (as most dessert wines are).

Bryan, Amy and I with our wine flight

After we finished our flights, it was time to wait for the other members of the group joining us for Biergarten that night. My mom and DH were coming, along with a few other fans of All About the Mouse. It ended up being a much smaller group than we had planned on, because some people had to back out due to the timing of the Wine and Dine ½ marathon, but we still had something like 8 people.

My Mom, Everett and DH rolled up just in time, having had some problems with parking, but we all headed inside for some yummy German food. We got a good table, on the second tier, left side of the stage. We could see and hear everything perfectly and we timed it just right that a show was starting just as we sat down.

I fed Everett some baby food first, but he was not being very cooperative. He was pretty wound up from all the excitement and had lots of extra energy from taking a good nap. Trying to get the food into his mouth was like trying to hit a moving target, and he ended up with food from head to toe. Everett is not the best at sit-down restaurants and today was no exception. Once I had finished feeding him, I was going to take a trip to the buffet, but he was letting me know, in no uncertain terms, that he was not pleased with being trapped in a high chair. I had been looking forward to having him try some of the food from the buffet, but I knew he was in no mood to try new things.

Me feeding Everett

food face Everett


Since I didn’t want to disrupt anyone else’s meal with a fussy baby, I took him outside to look around. I was going to let my mom eat first, and then we were going to switch off with Everett. This is one of the main reasons why I like buffets with young kids, if someone needs to take the kids outside, they can without having to worry about eating cold food.

We ran into a similar problem during our June trip, the whole family had an ADR for Tutto Italia, but Everett was not into Italian food that night. I took him outside and pushed him around in the stroller, but by the time my “relief pusher” came out to take over, my food was already cold. The waiter was really nice and offered to have it warmed up, but it just wasn’t the same. You don’t have to worry about that when you eat at buffets.

Outside Everett was acting pretty crazy. I was taking him around, attempting to introduce him to the Disney details, but all he wanted to do was maul the hanging baskets of flowers and try to fall into the fountain. There were other children who were sitting nicely at the edge of the fountain, and I was pointing them out to Everett as examples of good behavior, but he was having none of it. I was secretly a little relieved when my mom came out to take over, DS can certainly be a handful some times. He’s really lucky he’s so cute!

 

[oOJulieOo]

Joining in! I didn't know you had this going on.

I am going to have read your TR in its entirety today because I think it will be a good dose of reality on what to expect next week!

I'm glad to read that you'd do it again.

p.s. We're heading to WalMart today to get that airplane toy you told me about!

 

[PirateKate]

F&W sounds really fun. I've never been, but we're going in Oct. We're going to try to avoid the crazy busy times, though. Weekday mornings should be not as busy.

Too bad Everett didn't want to sit for dinner at Biergarten. I find with my boys, you never know when they will be easy or fussy during a meal. Buffets are a good choice, though.

 

[CandleontheWater]

When I got back inside, I was finally able to enjoy some of the buffet at Biergarten. I don’t remember exactly what I ate, and I forgot to take pictures (I promise I’ll be better this upcoming trip), but I know I had the cucumber salad (because its my favorite) and the Apple Strudel (because the warm vanilla sauce is to die for). Truthfully I was a little stressed out, and I didn’t enjoy the meal the way I wanted. I was worried that Everett was compromising my friend’s trips and I was also worried that my mother wasn’t having any fun being stuck as a babysitter.

I know that I shouldn’t have worried, my friends were happy just to spend time with me, and my mother came along for the express purpose of playing babysitter, and I know she treasures every minute she gets to spend with Everett, but I do want everyone around me to have a wonderful vacation.

After we all finished and paid our bills we debated about heading over to the MK to try and catch the Electrical Parade. Bryan hadn’t gotten a chance to see it, and it is my favorite of the nighttime parades, but we decided to skip it, since we’d be cutting it really close time-wise, even if we really hustled across the park.

Instead we decide to head right over to Jellyrolls so we could get a good table and start the evening out right. I sent everyone ahead, and met my mom at the baby center so I could nurse Everett one last time for the day and say my goodnights. I really thought I was being smart, because I packed Everett’s jammies in my diaper bag, so I could change him right after I nursed him and he’d be all ready for my Mom. Well Everett had other plans and decided to spit up all over his jammies right as I was taking him out of the babycare center. I made a U-turn right back inside and put his clothes back on. Luckily my mom had one of the keys to my room so she could get him a clean pair of jammies when they got back to the resort. I always pack 2 extra outfits for Everett when I head to the parks for the day, just in case of incidences like this one, unfortunately I didn’t think I’d need extra jammies.

After all that I was able to hand Everett off to my Mom, and they headed back to SSR and I made my way to the International Gateway. I took my time walking to Jellyrolls, abandoning my speed walk pace to take in the beauty of the Crescent Lake area. The monorail resorts will always be my favorite, but the Epcot resorts are a close second. I just think its so pretty the way the lights reflect off the water and listening to the horns from the Friendship boats. We almost always stay at the Boardwalk when we go on trips with my extended family, so I have many happy memories of the area.

When I joined my friends at Jellyrolls they were already having a blast, they had found a great table and were already singing along and making requests. I’ve spend many happy nights at Jellyrolls celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, holidays and all sorts of fun milestones. Since the Adventurers Club closed it has been our go to place for evening entertainment. The piano players are wonderful, and our favorite performer, Scotty, was on stage that evening. He does an incredible rendition of ‘Rainbow Connection’ completely with Kermit the frog voice and impersonation. If you’ve never seen it, I’d suggest taking some time and hitting up Jellyrolls on your next vacation, it is so much fun!

This night was the night of the Food and Wine half marathon, and Bryan and I had decided that we would go out and cheer on the runners throughout the night. Whenever a song came up that we didn’t love, we would go out and cheer for a few minutes. While we were out there, Bryan mentioned that he had never been inside the Atlantic Dance Hall, so I suggested we walk over there and check it out, since there is no entrance fee. It had a real “club” atmosphere, so we decided to take a spin on the dance floor and try it out. We had so much fun that we incorporated these “Dance pit stops” into our night. Whenever the piano players started a song we didn’t like, we’d run outside, cheer on the runners, and then run into the Dance Hall and dance for a song, and then run back into Jellyrolls. We joked we were running our own marathon.

Amy and DH thought we were insane, and were happy to stay put at Jellyrolls and guard our table. Our friend Shane also joined us, but did not take part in the dance pit stops, that was pure Bryan and Marissa madness. We had so much fun, singing, dancing and cheering, it was a wonderful night. Shane also coached the bartender on how to make Kungalooshes (the non-frozen version), so we were able to have a little taste of Pleasure Island right on the Boardwalk.

We ended up closing down the bar (it wasn’t the first time), and we said goodbye to Bryan and Amy around 2am. They walked back to the Swalphin, and Shane, DH and I headed over to the front of the Boardwalk, this time to get a cab home. Shane was staying at Pop, so we dropped him off first, and then we headed back to SSR, finally getting into our room around 3am. A very late, but very fun night!

 

[CandleontheWater]

F&W sounds really fun. I've never been, but we're going in Oct. We're going to try to avoid the crazy busy times, though. Weekday mornings should be not as busy.

Too bad Everett didn't want to sit for dinner at Biergarten. I find with my boys, you never know when they will be easy or fussy during a meal. Buffets are a good choice, though.

The F&W fest is the greatest! You guys will have tons of fun this year. I'll be really excited to read your TR and live vicariously through you, since we won't be down this fall.

The mornings are the best times to visit, right after WS opens at 11. Even on weekends it is not to crazy busy in the early afternoon. Its when you start getting on towards 2:00pm that the crowds start really building.

Oh and BTW, I LOVE the name Carter! It was on our short list. It may take top billing if we have another boy!

 

[PirateKate]

Too bad about Everett's jammies. I think my boys can sense whether or not I have back up clothes for them. As long as I bring extras, they won't need them, but as soon as I don't, somebody's going to need new clothes.

Cheering on the marathoners sounds like fun. I always felt a little bad asking my parents to watch the boys at Disney, too. I know they are doting grandparents, but I feel like I should really be the one taking care of the boys on vacation.

 

[CandleontheWater]

10/3

When I woke up this morning, I was really dragging. Even though I slept in until 8:30, I don’t do very many late nights anymore, coupled with just general exhaustion from hitting the parks hard for the past few days lead to one very tired Marissa. I had to get over to Everett, and the plan was to meet Bryan at the Magic Kingdom, so I really had to hustle. I knew at this point I wasn’t going to make rope drop, but I was optimistic I could get there before ten.

I called my Mom and found out that her and Everett were at Artist Palate having a leisurely breakfast, so I quickly got dressed and headed over. I got myself a yummy bacon egg, and cheese croissant and joined my Mom and Everett at the table. My mom saw how tired I was, and suggested that I go back and take a nap for an hour and then we would all head to the MK in the afternoon. Even though I really wanted to meet Bryan, and the MK was calling my name, I knew my mom was right. I would enjoy touring the park so much more with just a little extra beauty sleep.

After my nap I got a text from Bryan saying that he was leaving the MK and picking up Amy to head back to Jacksonville. Bryan plays a gig every Sunday night, and he wanted to get back and get ready, and have a chance for a nap himself. They swung by SSR to say their goodbyes, and Bryan admitted that heading to the MK this morning was a little crazy, and that I was much smarter to go back to bed for some extra rest. We hung outside of our SSR building and Everett entertained himself with pulling up on the benches outside. It was sad to say goodbye to our friends, we don’t see them nearly enough now that we’ve moved to Virginia, but I know that we’ll always have Disney in common, and we’ll be able to get together every time we take a Disney vacation.

After Bryan and Amy headed off we got out act together and headed toward the Magic Kingdom. Our goal was to get some lunch before my Mom had to leave and catch ME back to the airport. We drove to the MK, and managed to get inside the gates pretty quickly. I just love it when we time the monorail just right, it always feels like Disney was waiting on us to arrive. We decided to get lunch at Cosmic Ray’s since I thought that Everett might be entertained by the vocal stylings of Sonny Eclipse. Even thought it was pretty crowded, we still managed to get a seat right up front, with a perfect view of the stage. Everett really did like watching Sonny, and it bought us some extra time in the high chair before he got fussy, so it was perfect. I’m sure we’ll be eating there again in the future. Dh and I had the chicken strips and French fries, complete with the now infamous cheese sauce, and I have no idea what my mother ate.

After lunch we were hoping to have time for one ride before my Mom left, but she was afraid to cut the timing too close. So we said our goodbyes, and my Mom headed back to SSR and to ME. Since we were already in Tomorrowland , we decided to check the wait time for Space Mountain. It was only 20 mins (score!) so we got our babyswap and I sent DH on in first. I knew it was nap time for Everett, so we took a leisurely walk into Fantasyland so he could fall asleep in the stroller.

Before we left on vacation I had heard about the walls and construction in Fantasyland, but I figured it couldn’t be that bad. Oh boy, was I wrong. It was really distracting from the beauty of Fantasyland and made the area feel almost claustrophobic. I was really glad that this wasn’t my first trip, or my once-in-a-lifetime trip because between most of Main St. being under tarps and the Great Wall of Fantasyland, the park wasn’t putting its best face forward.

Everett fell asleep pretty quickly and I took some time to pin trade around Fantasyland. When I was through I headed back into Tomorrowland and into the arcade at the exit of SM. I sat in one of the massaging chairs, which really aren’t that comfortable when they are not turned on, and then I saw something that caught my eye- skeeball! I love skeeball, I spent an entire vacation to Lake Winnipesaukee playing skeeball, and never once went swimming in the lake. The one time I went to DisneyQuest, I spent the whole time playing skeeball and considered the day a great success. I am the undisputed house champion of skeeball in Carnival Games for Wii, needless to say , I just had to play. It really worked out great, I pulled the stroller with snoozing Everett right up to the machine and played while waiting for DH. I’d highly suggest it as way to spend the time while waiting for a baby swap.

When DH came out and saw me playing skeeball, he took over while I went and rode SM. I think he may have beaten my score, but I’d rather die that admit it!

When I was done with my ride through space, my little man was awake, and we decided to do something a little more kid friendly. We hadn’t ridden Buzz Lightyear yet, and DH just loves that ride, so we went to check on the wait. It was pretty short so we got in the standby line and soon were helping Buzz defeat the evil Emperor Zurg. I’m pretty bad at Buzz even when I don’t have a baby on my lap, so needless to say my score was lacking. I have a hard time figuring out which red dot is mine, and it never fails, as soon I as lock in on my intended target, DH swings the cart around and I have to start all over again. DH is a real master at this ride, but I bet if he let me control the cart, his score would suffer as well. Everett was a big fan of Buzz, he likes lights in general and loved watching our scores in specific. I think as he gets older and actually figures out how to pull the trigger, he’ll be an even bigger fan.

On our way out we made a point to visit with Zurg. I probably should have also taken a redneck photo, but I didn’t think about it, next time I promise I’ll be better (or worse depending on what you think of redneck photos).

Next up a tour of tomorrowland, and sneaking through the bushes

 

[Carrieannew]

Question for ya!

In your photo you have your son in a carrier, did you just keep the carrier on and put him in it after you got off the ride? Just trying to work out the details.

I have an Ergo I plan to bring, my son will be 15 months old and its just us and my daughter who will turn 13 on the trip.

Thanks!

 

[CandleontheWater]

Too bad about Everett's jammies. I think my boys can sense whether or not I have back up clothes for them. As long as I bring extras, they won't need them, but as soon as I don't, somebody's going to need new clothes.

Cheering on the marathoners sounds like fun. I always felt a little bad asking my parents to watch the boys at Disney, too. I know they are doting grandparents, but I feel like I should really be the one taking care of the boys on vacation.

Yup, kids seem to have a 6th sense about them, don't they!

From reading your TR it sounds like your parents are a lot like mine, extra happy for any grandbaby time, but it is tough not to feel guilty. I sometimes feel guilty when I have my husband do things for Everett (like feed him or put him to bed), I really need to step back and take a deep breath sometimes!

 

[CandleontheWater]

Question for ya!

In your photo you have your son in a carrier, did you just keep the carrier on and put him in it after you got off the ride? Just trying to work out the details.

I have an Ergo I plan to bring, my son will be 15 months old and its just us and my daughter who will turn 13 on the trip.

Thanks!

For most rides, I left him in the carrier, it worked out well. Sometime I would unfasten one strap (like you see me holding him in the photo) that way he could turn around a little and get a better view of the ride.

 

[Carrieannew]

For most rides, I left him in the carrier, it worked out well. Sometime I would unfasten one strap (like you see me holding him in the photo) that way he could turn around a little and get a better view of the ride.

Oh wow really you can keep him in on some? Do you mind me asking which ones?

I am very excited

 

[CandleontheWater]

Carrie- pretty much every ride he rode with me I kept him in the carrier. Haunted mansion, Pirates, TTA, Jungle Cruise, Small World, Peter Pan, Snow White, Nemo, Figment, Living with the Land, Malestrom, Grand Fiesta Tour, pretty much every dark ride.

For the longer ones, like GMR, I would take him out and sit him on my lap, but that was because I thought he would enjoy it more. He could have stayed in the carrier during GMR as well. I also would take him out for shows like Laugh Floor, but I could have kept him in also.

There were times I wish I kept him in more, because if he fell asleep in the carrier I would have been able to bring him on rides while he napped, as opposed to being stuck pushing around the stroller.

 

[Carrieannew]

Carrie- pretty much every ride he rode with me I kept him in the carrier. Haunted mansion, Pirates, TTA, Jungle Cruise, Small World, Peter Pan, Snow White, Nemo, Figment, Living with the Land, Malestrom, Grand Fiesta Tour, pretty much every dark ride.

For the longer ones, like GMR, I would take him out and sit him on my lap, but that was because I thought he would enjoy it more. He could have stayed in the carrier during GMR as well. I also would take him out for shows like Laugh Floor, but I could have kept him in also.

There were times I wish I kept him in more, because if he fell asleep in the carrier I would have been able to bring him on rides while he napped, as opposed to being stuck pushing around the stroller.

You have no idea how much this info made my day!

He has not used the Ergo much. I really need to start using it more in the next few months to get used to it more.

 

[CandleontheWater]

After our adventures on Buzz, we decided to take a leisurely ride on the TTA. Everett really enjoyed it, it was just his speed. It was so nice to just sit back and cuddle with my little man and watch Tomorrowland go by. It was my first time hearing the new spiel and I didn’t think it was that bad.

After TTA, it was on to one of my personal favorites, Carousel of Progress. I wasn’t sure how Everett would do, he doesn’t have the greatest attention span, and I think we can all agree that COP isn’t the most riveting show at the MK. The real problem was that once we entered I knew we’d be stuck inside for the whole show, possibly with a crying baby. I’ll admit I was being a little selfish when I decided to throw caution to the wind and give it a shot. Luckily there was only one other family in there with us, and they had toddlers also, so I figured if there was a melt down, we’d be with a sympathetic crowd. I needn’t have worried, Everett did just fine and thankfully the show didn’t malfunction and we weren’t stuck sitting through any scene twice.

After COP, we headed back to Adventureland for another of my favorites, Jungle Cruise. The line was a little longer than I had hoped, but since Everett was on a winning streak for behaving, we decided to risk it again. He did great in the line, and was pretty interested in watching the boats. I enjoyed all the detail and especially the music and announcements in the queue.

We had a really good skipper, which was awesome, and she even pulled out some new jokes that I hadn’t heard before.

We then tried to ride Pirates, but when we walked over the ride was down. At this point we were pretty beat, and decided to head back to the resort and put Everett to bed for his usual bedtime, to try and get him back on schedule at least a little bit.

When we got back to the room, DH settled in to do home homework for his on-line class, and I got to put Everett to bed. This was no easy task considering it was a strange place, with a strange bed and we didn’t have all of the usual items for his nighttime routine. I did bring a little noise machine, which was helpful, but I really, really wished I had broken down and rented a rocking chair from A Baby’s Best Friend. Instead I had to try and rock my 20lbs baby in my arms until he fell asleep. After about 10 minutes I thought my arms were going to fall off. At home out routine is a few minutes of rocking, and then I put him down awake in his crib, and he goes to bed by himself. I knew this would not work when DH and I were in the same room, so rocking him to sleep it was.

I had positioned the pack and play by the front door, as far away from our bed as possible. This wasn’t an ideal location, because he could still hear the foot traffic outside, but we were luckily in a corner and didn’t get a lot of people moving by our room. If we didn’t put the pack and play there, I’m not sure what we would have done, we couldn’t have had any lights on or have been moving around at all if he was in the main part of the room, because he wouldn’t have gone to sleep. As it was DH had to build a pillow fort around the one light he was using to study by, so that it wouldn’t be too bright and disturb Everett.

The real problem with putting the pack and play by the front door was that we were trapped inside the room- or so I thought! I really wanted to do some laundry since we were home early, and I peaked outside onto our patio and decided that if I was brave enough to hop over some bushes, I could easily get out and onto the main path. The bushes were pretty low, only up to my calves, but if you can imagine me jumping over them with a hamper full of laundry- well it was a pretty comical sight.

I really hadn’t thought about it, but in retrospect I was really glad we had gotten a first floor room. If you are traveling with babies or young children, I really suggest it, because if you are willing to brave a little vegetation, you will have another way to get in and out of the room.

I carried my hamper through the pool area and over to community hall where the washer and dryers were located. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were free! Something free at WDW, really I was shocked! After loading my laundry, I decided to explore a little around the community hall.

I have stayed at SSR many times, but since I am such a park commando I’ve never really taken the time to enjoy everything there is to offer at the resort. I was very surprised at all the fun activities that they have available free of charge, and the various movies and board games that DVC members could check out. I decided to rent a DVD of Splash, figuring if Everett was good and asleep, maybe we could risk turning on the TV.

I wandered around a little more and noticed that they were setting up a big screen by the pool. I asked the workers what they were setting up for and they told me that they were showing Hercules that evening. I was really thrilled to hear this, and settled in on a pool chair and watched the beginning of the movie while I was finishing my laundry.

Watching the families around the pool made me really excited for our future Disney trips. When Everett is a little older we could be out here, enjoying the beautiful evening and watching a Disney movie. I am really enjoying his baby and toddler stages, but I am also really looking forward to his childhood, when we can do more and experience more things together.

After my laundry was finished I headed back to the room, jumped over the foliage, and knocked quietly at the sliding door. DH was still working on class work, so he wasn’t interested in watching a movie, so I ended up going to bed by 9 pm. Little did I know that this would be a very smart decision!

 

[Crystal824]

I'm really enjoying your TR. We are taking our DD (she will be 10 months when we go in May) and it is really great to read your TR and get ideas about what works when doing WDW with a baby. We, like you, have been to WDW many times but never with a baby.

 

[lbuzz52]

good stuff so far! we took ds at 9 months- we were really lucky because he seemed to be good at picking out good times to cry it out- like in the long line back to the busses instead of on the bus. we also were greatful to have grandparents along to help. sounds like your ds is about to give you some trouble...

 

[PirateKate]

I'm so impressed Everett sat through CoP! I don't think that would hold my boys' interest for more than the first Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow.

I agree about being on the ground floor. Not so much because of getting out of the room at night, but also because it's easy to lug all the baby gear to a ground floor instead of taking stairs or an elevator.

I so know what you mean about looking forward to having them be able to experience more. I have all these ideas of things I want to do with my boys, as soon as they are old enough to know what we are doing. Babyhood is nice, but I think childhood will be even better.