Bear Hugs & Piggy Kisses - Baby's 1st Trip ~ Updated 12/6: Aulani TR Started!!!

[amazingact21]

I'm here! Excited to see you started your trip report!


Holy-! 70 dollars a ticket for Hawaii?!?! That's crazy! For that price you'd have been crazy not to book them. I don't think there'll ever be a glitch that sends you to Hawaii for that cheap ever again. Great timing that you happened to be searching at that exact moment.

 

[DisneyDreamerMN]

Wow! I can't believe you got that great deal! I heard about it on the news, but they never mentioned MN as one of departing locations to HI. That's so cool! DH and I went to HI for a later honeymoon in 2008, you will love it! Everything is crazy expensive in HI, even more expensive than Disney prices. So my advice is stock up on gift cards as much as you can get

Funny about the tree! My cat also loves chomping on our artificial tree. He doesn't climb it, but eats it and sneezes around it a lot. Such a little weirdo. Hope you are enjoying the beautiful weather we are having today.

 

[Dugette]

I saw the news about Delta's error the other day. How cool that you were able to take advantage and that Delta is going to honor it. You must do a pre trip/ trip report for it. I think your little Christmas tree was cute. We never put a big one up until the boys were a little older. Just made it easier on me to not have to worry about them tipping it over. Love the fact that Dug got Izzy Star Wars toys. And her Minnie plane is adorable.

Yes, I think I'll have to do some sort of pre-trip report to figure things out. We've been watching all the Hawaii and Aulani videos we can find on the Apple TV. And I've started reading some trip reports. If anyone knows of one that features a 2-year-old, let me know!

Thanks, that makes me feel better about the Christmas tree. I do like that we have it on an end table next to the couch because, if you're at the right angle, it looks like it might be a full tree, just partially behind the couch!

Izzy had fun playing with her Star Wars toys tonight in the bath! She really likes Boba Fett. Oh, also, she handed me the Yoda earlier today and I said something like, "Oh, Yoda! Thank you! Look, he even has a lightsaber!" Well, she got up and went to get her lightsaber then. I think she knows that word now!

joining - Izzy is such a cutie.

That's amazing with the flights to Hawaii. We actually saw the news story about that and were thinking how cool it would be if someone was just kinda "fantasy booking" flights and came across that and would be able to go when they never thought they could ... and low and behold that did happen, and that person is you!

oh, and that ride on minnie plane is super cool!

That's awesome that you were thinking that about the news story...and here I am! I still can't believe it. There is still that whole paying-for-the-rest-of-the-trip thing to deal with, but it really is amazing. Our seats, as of the other day when I checked, should have been about $2850 each (First Class) or $1050 each for Coach. It's like winning thousands of dollars. Thank goodness the in-laws wanted to take a trip, I guess. Never would have been looking at that otherwise.

I think I'm more excited about the Minnie plane than Izzy is! It's just so cool. The sounds and the motion and lights. Really neat.

I'm joining! I can't wait to hear about your first trip as a family of three.

Hi, Danielle! Glad you're here! I'm sorry that I'm hopelessly behind on your trip reports, but someday I'll catch up!

I'm here! Excited to see you started your trip report!

Holy-! 70 dollars a ticket for Hawaii?!?! That's crazy! For that price you'd have been crazy not to book them. I don't think there'll ever be a glitch that sends you to Hawaii for that cheap ever again. Great timing that you happened to be searching at that exact moment.

Yay, glad you're here! Exactly, we would have been crazy not to book the tickets. It sure wasn't something we planned, but when you can fly three people first class to Hawaii, on a decent schedule, for $212 total (fully refundable, if needed), it's really a no-brainer. I'm just shocked it went through and is being honored!

Wow! I can't believe you got that great deal! I heard about it on the news, but they never mentioned MN as one of departing locations to HI. That's so cool! DH and I went to HI for a later honeymoon in 2008, you will love it! Everything is crazy expensive in HI, even more expensive than Disney prices. So my advice is stock up on gift cards as much as you can get

Funny about the tree! My cat also loves chomping on our artificial tree. He doesn't climb it, but eats it and sneezes around it a lot. Such a little weirdo. Hope you are enjoying the beautiful weather we are having today.

Yeah, I think there were a lot of routes with glitches, but didn't realize the magnitude until after the fact. At the time, we just figured it was MSP to Hawaii. If I'd known, I would have looked for MCO flights too! Oh, well. Can't complain. We're so excited to go, even if things are expensive. We'll for sure stock up on the discounted gift cards! I'm still using the shopkick app to get Target gift cards that I turn into Disney gift cards, so I've got 10+ months to get more that way too.

I'm glad our cat's not the only weirdo. She loves artificial trees/plants/berries.

I know I should have gone out to enjoy it since we are plunging into the arctic now, but I stayed inside all day today. Just didn't feel like getting out of my jammies and had stuff to do around the house. I hear it was lovely, though.

 

[Dugette]

The week leading up to our trip ended up being busier than I’d hoped. One thing that took up entirely too much of my time was getting the most of the 20% off coupons (2) that we’d gotten at Target on Black Friday for use during this week only. Not really what you want to be doing before you leave on vacation, but just too good of a deal to pass up (it didn't apply to WDW gift cards, though). Since we had two coupons, I figured I’d do two trips to make it easier on myself. The goal was to stockpile non-perishables using as many discounts as possible (20% coupon, team member discount, Red Card discount, Pharmacy Rewards discount, paper coupons, electronic coupons, Cartwheel app, etc.) I actually had to make a spreadsheet to keep track of everything and plan what I wanted to buy. It was total insanity, even for a bargain-hunter like me.

The first trip was Wednesday night. Filled up a cart and got good deals. The second trip was Friday night, otherwise known as the Night Before Our Trip. And, of course, there were still things to be packed at home, but I was out at 10pm pushing this monstrosity around:



Yeah, crazytown. But, you know, there are now a lot of things that we won’t have to buy again for a long, long time. There was no time to organize and find homes for all the things I’d bought, so we ended up having counters piled high and dealing with it all when we got home from Disney.

So, after exhausting myself with all that shopping, I still had to finish packing for our trip before going to bed. My goal had been to get to bed by 11pm that night, so that I could at least have one decent night of sleep before our trip. All week had been between 4-5 hours a night. Too much to do at night and, when you get up by 5am every day to get to work, not to mention 1-2 baby wake-ups per night, it’s a challenge to get a good night’s sleep. And I was feeling it.

At any rate, I powered through and got things packed. Dug and I each got a free checked bag, due to our Delta AmEx cards, but Izzy did not. We decided to pack a checked bag for her anyway, since she just had so darn much stuff! Diapers, food, clothes, major etc. Since we bought our tickets using our Flexperks card points, they reimburse $25/person of in-flight expenses. An extra bag was $35 each way, so it would net to $20 out of pocket to do that. Probably cheaper than buying things there or sending a box down on our own. Easier, at least. And her bag was packed to the limit. Since she would consume a lot of the contents, though, we’d have some room for souvenirs on the way home too. (On a side note, regarding the Hawaii trip I posted about, each of us gets 3 free checked bags – Izzy too! – and the weight limit is 70 pounds instead of 50. First Class perks! We can basically bring everything we own, if we so desire! So, we shouldn’t have any issues there.)

When all was packed, I think I got to bed around 2am? Yeah, way behind schedule. Oops. Not really the best way to start the trip.

I believe my alarm went off around 7am. I wanted to get ready before Izzy woke up, since it’s nearly impossible while she’s running around. I know a lot of DIS-ers spring out of bed with anticipation on the day of a Disney trip. That’s not me. Certainly not this morning, since I was exhausted, but it’s really never been me. I wake up with more of a “can I just sleep a bit more and go to Disney later?” attitude. Of course, I am also the same person that has been hoping Disney would make a Sleeping Beauty dark ride in which you nap, so I really love sleep, as you can see.

But, I got up and got myself partially ready before I heard a baby crying. Izzy was the more typical DIS-er upon getting up, though. She demanded Mickey and Minnie and took off with them, still in her jammies and sleep sack:



In fact, she actually has this funny habit of only wanting one of them herself, but insisting that one of us holds the other. If we set Mickey/Minnie down, she freaks out and gives him/her back to us. You can see me holding Minnie here:



Upon close inspection of this picture, I can see that I was still in my Mickey Mouse jammie pants ($5 at Target on Black Friday!), so I clearly had some getting ready left to do.

Izzy put Mickey in the car seat and I strapped him in:



Hey, he had to get to Disney World somehow, right?

I believe that Dug then took over watching Izzy while I finished getting ready and packing the last-minute items.

During his watch, she practiced wearing Minnie ears:



and then decided that they would go better on My Pal Violet:



He got her dressed in her travel outfit that I’d picked out and she amused herself with a random sheet of paper and a (ink hidden) pen:



On the topic of her attire, by the way, I think the advice I followed worked out well. Sometime during the week, I had washed all her clothes, then (while she played/destroyed her room) put each full outfit into a gallon ziplock bag and labeled it with the day/time/contents. To pack, I just threw it all randomly into her suitcase, but we unpacked and put it in order and it made it very easy to get her ready each day.

Once she was ready, Dug got her set up with breakfast:



You'll be seeing a lot of those blueberries and raspberries, by the way. I'd gotten a good deal on them during my Target excursion, but didn't want them to go bad while we were gone, so I packed them into portion-size containers and brought them with us. Worked out great!

Anyway, I came down and joined her for breakfast while Dug finished getting ready to go.

We loaded up the car, checked and double-checked our packing lists, and finally got ourselves and Izzy bundled up to go:



(Yes, she is little and still was under the limits of her infant seat. We switched to the convertible – the one Mickey was in – after we got home).

I believe we got out of the house more-or-less around when we had planned. Well, a bit later, but still reasonable. It was very cold outside:



When we got to the airport, Dug dropped off me and Izzy, then headed to his sister’s house, near the airport. She hopped in (since there was now room for her and wasn’t with us in the car) and they came back with the luggage and Dug.

Meanwhile, Izzy and I killed time by roaming the ticketing area. We got all the way down to the end, past door 1, and found a really nice quiet area with Christmas decorations. Even the security people near here were super friendly and wearing Santa hats. It was a pleasant place to hang out while we waited for Dug to return. I took pictures while Izzy explored:











Big girl waiting for her first flight at the airport!

Eventually Dug got back and Izzy and I met him at the door (door 6 – on the entire other end of the ticketing area!). We got all the luggage unloaded and hugged his sister goodbye, thanking her for the ride. She took his car back to their place for the week.

We were right by a skycap, so checked our luggage there, then headed inside to get out of the cold. Oh, a side note on luggage: I think I mentioned in the PTR that we got new luggage on Black Friday. We wanted something that would be easier to pick out on a baggage carousel, but all they had was black. So, I bought a pack of colorful hair binders with the little plastic balls/stars on the ends of them and wrapped them around the luggage handles. They stayed on the whole time and made it more easily identifiable. It didn’t really end up mattering much, as Magical Express took our luggage on the way there and it was alone on the carousel on the way back, by the time we got to it. But I’m sure it will help on future trips!

We had already done our check-in online, so had boarding passes in hand. We went through security, which was our first time going through with a baby. So much stuff to manage, it was somewhat overwhelming. Not only the normal removal of shoes/belts/jackets/keys/quart bags of 3.4 oz. or less toiletries, but also removing Izzy from her stroller, folding the stroller and sending it through the scanner, declaring her cooler of milk and baby food pouches, and just managing all of the bags (we had a backpack w/laptop, her diaper bag, and 2 rolling carry-on bags). Then figuring out if I just carry her through with me or what.

So, with all that going on, I apparently forgot that my cell phone was in my pocket, which was under Izzy, since I was holding her. I went through the detector and got buzzed and the security guy kept asking if I had a belt on (no). After he gave up on that, he said something like, “I’m going to need you to go out!” Very sternly. But, I’m wondering, “Out where?” I didn’t want to just back up through the detector, unless that’s what he was asking, but then wouldn’t he say “back” and not “out”? So, I’m pondering this and he, a very large and somewhat menacing guy, starts crowding me back towards the detector. I guess that’s what he meant, then. I had asked him and he didn’t give me an answer, though. Body language it is. Before I went through again, he finally thought to ask of things other than belts (which I never wear) and he said “cell phone”. Oh, duh. I pulled it out and put it in the basket. He seemed highly displeased with me. But I went through just fine after that. Then it was time to put everything back together on the other side and get on our way.

The cooler of milk was not a problem at all, by the way. They do some sort of test, which they had me watch, then give it back. I had used the Medela cooler, ice pack, and two of the bottles from my pump and put whole cow’s milk in the two bottles. I also threw a baby food pouch or two in there. I had packed an empty sippy cup and would pour milk into it, as needed, since she doesn’t use bottles anymore (and never used those ones anyway).

Once we were past security, we had a little extra time and decided to search for an item that we forgot. While we were in the car, driving to the airport, I realized that we didn’t bring her little diaper changing kit (the small bag that folds into a pad and has storage for diapers and wipes). I love that thing when I’m out and about, since I don’t need to deal with a whole big diaper bag for changes. And, when I was packing the night before, I saw it in my car and decided to leave it there, as I didn’t want to forget it and that would ensure it went with us. Except that we ended up taking Dug’s car instead of mine. So much for trying to ensure it went along.

We figured the odds of finding something that specialized at an airport were not good, but it couldn’t hurt. We popped in and out of a store or two and were directed to a certain store as our only hope (I don’t remember what it was called, but it was some sort of travel necessity type store). Nope, they didn’t have anything like that. Figured. However, one of the women working there saw Izzy’s pacigrip (attaches her pacifier to her shirt) and was asking us all about it, as she has a baby that’s always dropping the paci. I gave her the info to order it off Amazon and she was so excited. Which gave us the idea to maybe order a new diaper changing kit from Amazon and have it shipped to the Poly. Which we never did get around to doing. However, things did work out okay just using the big diaper bag. We survived.

On to the gate:



Izzy got to ride on a lot of moving sidewalks, as we were way down our concourse.

On the way, we acquired some lunch from a little shop. We got a sandwich and some of our favorite D’Amico Chicken Cherry Salad. Yum! We brought it down to our gate to sit and eat:



Here’s a better look at the sandwich and the salad:





Since Izzy had taken my chair, I was trying to stand and eat and wrangle her when she jumped off the chair and wandered off. I ended up having to toss the salad on top of the luggage a couple of times to go chase her down. One of those times, when I still had a fair amount left, it toppled off the luggage and spilled all over the floor. So sad. No lunch for me! Well, at least not enough.

Izzy enjoyed a pouch and some milk, though:



We were amazed at how the airport seems to have really renovated some areas since we’d been there. Our gate had a bar at it:



Fancy!

Here’s a terrible picture, but proof we were all there:



While we waited, I heard a father explaining Hidden Mickeys to his kids. He was telling them that they would earn points and it was a contest. Once they found a Hidden Mickey, it became a Found Mickey and would no longer earn them points. It was cute to listen to this.

I also had to get the stroller folded and into its travel bag. We were gate-checking it and I got a bag to protect it from getting too dirty in the process. I had read reviews that the bag, though made specifically for our Britax B-Agile, was actually very hard to get the stroller into. That was true. I was so glad that I had done a test-run at home and knew exactly how it needed to go in. I was able to do it pretty quickly at the airport, so that was good.

I had told Dug about the strategy I’d seen recommended for boarding with babies: one parent does the pre-boarding and gets luggage all squared away, then the other parent hangs back with the baby, does a diaper change, and gets on close to the end, so as not to have the baby just hanging out in a non-moving plane for an unnecessarily long time. But he didn’t want to do that. He wanted us to all get on together in the pre-boarding. I really didn’t have the energy to argue, so went along with it. Told him we would have to get her changed quick then, as they would probably start boarding soon. He took her off for a change while I finished eating. And, of course, right after he left, they started pre-boarding. So much for that plan.

When he came back, I got Izzy in the Ergo carrier and we headed for the gate. I believe it was just the regular boarding at this point. We got on, got our luggage stowed, and took our seats. Me and Izzy at a window, towards the back, and Dug in the middle seat next to us. We had a full plane, so no seat for lap-baby Izzy.

Look, we finally made it on the plane:



Up next: You can fly, you can fly, you can fly!

 

[amazingact21]

I used to be one of those people that woke up excited for Disney, but then I had a kid... I completely understand your need for as much sleep as possible. Babies don't, but I do.


Wow, I never thought about how stressful packing would be when you're flying. I can't even imagine. Just knowing how much stuff a kid requires makes me impressed that you got everything in one checked bag.


Those security workers, they refuse to talk more than they have to! And it wasn't like you were trying to deal with a child, milk, luggage, etc. Sorry they didn't cut you a break.


Can't wait to see how your Disney arrival goes!

 

[Dugette]

Wow, I never thought about how stressful packing would be when you're flying. I can't even imagine. Just knowing how much stuff a kid requires makes me impressed that you got everything in one checked bag.

Yeah, it was a task. Most of my carry-on was filled with her stuff too. Darn tiny people and all their accessories!

 

[Dugette]

Once we were all situated in our seats, I ended up taking her out of the Ergo for a bit (but left it on me for later). She headed over to Dug and took his iPhone and somehow managed to take her first “selfies”:





See? She captures the important things. Her paci and the pacigrip I mentioned in the previous update.

Once she was back on my lap, she was engrossed in reading up on airplane safety procedures:



And note, they are always most helpful when sideways or upside-down. Or being smacked into Mommy’s face.

She also enjoyed watching the various vehicles, like luggage carts and the like, while we waited to leave the gate:



This looks like she’s taking a closer look out the window, but she’s actually just face-planting between me and the window:



I think she was getting sleepy and trying to have a little quiet moment every so often. She did this intermittently for a bit.

Soon enough, we were ready for takeoff. I believe we left more-or-less on time, which was great. Only so much runway-sitting you can tolerate with a squirmy baby on your lap. As an aside, you may remember me mentioning in the PTR that we had hoped to get the flight one before this to get there earlier, but couldn’t get it. Well, on the way home, another passenger told us he had been on that flight and it left about 2 hours late, after sitting on the tarmac that whole time. Ugh. So glad it worked out the way it did for us!

Izzy had no problems with her ears. In fact, our pediatrician had recommended we give her some ibuprofen before the flight, just in case (since she’d had a cold a couple weeks earlier). We brought the medicine, but totally forgot to give it to her. Turned out to be no big deal. We just made sure she had her pacifier and that was it. She was fine and never seemed uncomfortable at all.

Goodbye frozen Minnesota lakes!





She’s big on standing up whenever possible these days:



Here she is doing two common activities – playing with her paci and pulling my hair, all at once:



At some point, we pulled out her milk-filled sippy cup and a snack for her. I found out from another DIS-er that our Zoli sippy cup would spew milk everywhere if opened on the plane (pressure difference). Originally, I wasn't going to pour milk into it until we were in the air. However, we'd used it for her pre-flight snack and hadn't had time to empty it. I figured that I would just loosen the lid first and that would maybe release the pressure. However, Dug ended up being the one to grab the cup and, before I could tell him any of this, he had flipped it open. And, whoa, geyser of milk!! He shut it quick and we got it under control. Izzy enjoyed her milk and snack (can't remember what we gave her) and part of one of the airline biscotti cookies.

More time went by. Ah, what’s this? Could she be asleep?



No, not yet. Just cuddly. I did have her back in the Ergo carrier, though, and she was calming down:



Soon enough, after about an hour of flying, the white noise of the plane combined with the coming of nap time led to this:



And this:



And, most comically of all, this:



She's still got the evidence of snack time on her face. It was hard to keep her head from bobbing around so much that it woke her. I tried to place my arms and hands strategically to give her a headrest whenever possible. I could have used the Ergo hood, but was afraid that attaching that would wake her. So, I got some rest, but not a lot of solid sleep when she was bobbling around like that.

Soon enough, the frozen Minnesota lakes were replaced by non-frozen Florida lakes:



Towards the end of the flight, our little napper woke up:



We landed and eventually got off the plane. Since we were close to the back, we let the handful of other passengers go ahead of us, then gathered up all our stuff and were the last people off. We collected our gate-checked stroller and made our way into MCO:



Hey, look, a big Christmas tree! Better get a picture of us in front of it for the Trip Report:



We actually had to wait for a while behind another family doing the same thing. They must have wanted to get just the perfect shot, because they were not speedy. Then, of course, once we finally get up there, everyone on the face of the Earth walked between us and the camera. We finally got a quick shot, though.

As we were walking away, my peripheral vision caught some movement above. I looked up and, for just a moment, I thought there was some Disney Magic and they were making it look like snow up above. And then I realized that was just the reflections of the heads of people walking underneath:



After a bit more walking, we boarded the mini-monorail:





She doesn’t look impressed.

We walk a little bit. Get to the hotel area and, lo and behold, another big Christmas tree! We opted not to walk over to this one:



Our next stop was probably the super-exciting one you were hoping for when you clicked on this update…The Family Restroom.

It was handy for multi-tasking: changing Izzy’s diaper, Dug changing into a lighter shirt, re-arranging luggage and stroller storage, using the restroom, etc.

After that, it was on to the Magic…

Up next: The Magic Bands come out of storage!

 

[Leshaface]

I feel so terrible that I didn't get to say good-bye to you before you left. But i'm so glad you made it back safe and i'm so excited to see how your trip went!

I never even thought, of using my iPhone to remember things throughout the days of our trip. I know there's a voice memo app that I would definitely use next time, so thanks for the tip!

Reading about your lack of alone time, made me so thankful that my DM was with us for our trips. We were able to get away together and not worry about DS (even though you meant solo alone time), i'm glad that DH and I were able to reconnect.

Subbing and will start reading tomorrow!

 

[amazingact21]

Keeping a kid entertained in a seat for an entire flight sounds like it'd be a challenge, but you seemed to have mastered it! Having babies sleep on you while sitting in a chair sounds precious, but it's really difficult. Those heads lost all control when they are conked out.


I've always seen the one Christmas tree at the airport after people get off the fake monorail, but I didnt know about the second one. Pretty cool!

 

[Leshaface]

All caught up now!

Omgosh what a STEAL on those airline tickets to Hawaii!!! I would have bought those too in a heartbeat if I had seen that price. And first class! Geez that's great!

I'm so glad that Izzy did great on the flight! That was one of the things I was worried about when we took DS at 2 months..wasn't sure what to bring, how he'd react to the pressure, etc but he does great!

Love the last nap photo of Izzy! Too funny.

 

[jeni16]

I'm Here! Haven't had a chance to get on the Dis much lately. Who would have thought one toddler could keep a person soooo busy! Just got all caught up on your reports.

We're hoping to take DS on his first trip this October so I'm definately ready to hear all of things that worked & didn't work with "Izzy" while you were there. He will be just a little over 2.

I ordered a couple of those sippi cup holders last night. Can't wait to give them a try. He is constantly throwing his sippi from his high chair.

And how awesome of a deal did you get on those Hawaii tickets! Can't wait to hear all about that trip as well. We were throwing around the idea of going there but then we found out we were having DS so it got put on the backburner. Hopefully when he gets old enough to remember & will do okay on a plane ride that long.

 

[JillianLeigh]

SO excited that I found your TR! I have a son that was born the day before your adorable Izzy, and am currently dreaming about our first WDW trip as a family of three (hopefully in Nov 2014.) It's great to see what a Disney trip can be like with a toddler! Looking forward to following along!

 

[Dugette]

I feel so terrible that I didn't get to say good-bye to you before you left. But i'm so glad you made it back safe and i'm so excited to see how your trip went!

No worries at all! It's hard to keep up with all the Disney send-offs around this place!

I never even thought, of using my iPhone to remember things throughout the days of our trip. I know there's a voice memo app that I would definitely use next time, so thanks for the tip!

Oh, that's a good idea to use an app made for that! I wish I would have thought of this ahead of time. Guess I'm just not used to being one-handed all the time yet. Always thinking I'd get a chance to make a note later...ha!

Reading about your lack of alone time, made me so thankful that my DM was with us for our trips. We were able to get away together and not worry about DS (even though you meant solo alone time), i'm glad that DH and I were able to reconnect.

Subbing and will start reading tomorrow!

Yes, I think that would be a huge advantage of bringing a family member along! I would love for us to have some time like we did in the "old days". Maybe someday.

Keeping a kid entertained in a seat for an entire flight sounds like it'd be a challenge, but you seemed to have mastered it! Having babies sleep on you while sitting in a chair sounds precious, but it's really difficult. Those heads lost all control when they are conked out.

Yeah, I was glad the flight went so well and she did sleep for the majority of it. Yay for scheduling air travel during nap time! If she hadn't slept so much, we would have been in trouble, as I really couldn't access the bag with all of her toys and such in it (wearing her and having the seat in front of me reclined did not leave much room to move). I do miss the newborn sleep where she could curl up on me and just stay there, rather than this crazy toddler tossing and turning.

I've always seen the one Christmas tree at the airport after people get off the fake monorail, but I didnt know about the second one. Pretty cool!

That's why I mentioned it. I always thought there was only one tree. But I guess it makes sense. It's a big place. And there are probably more I haven't seen yet.

All caught up now!

Omgosh what a STEAL on those airline tickets to Hawaii!!! I would have bought those too in a heartbeat if I had seen that price. And first class! Geez that's great!

Exactly, there was no way I could pass that up or think about it too long. Just amazed that it actually worked out.

I'm so glad that Izzy did great on the flight! That was one of the things I was worried about when we took DS at 2 months..wasn't sure what to bring, how he'd react to the pressure, etc but he does great!

Love the last nap photo of Izzy! Too funny.

I don't know about you, but I've heard enough nightmare stories about babies on airplanes (endless screaming, diaper blowouts, etc.) that I was a little scared going into this. But it was just fine. Never even needed to get out of my seat.

Ha, I love that picture! So funny to watch what these kiddos do in their sleep!

I'm Here! Haven't had a chance to get on the Dis much lately. Who would have thought one toddler could keep a person soooo busy! Just got all caught up on your reports.

Totally understand! I have to make a major effort to keep up on here these days. My days are pretty much: sleep (not long enough), work, daycare pick-up, chase Izzy around the house, dinner, put Izzy to bed, run around the house doing all the things I need to do but haven't been able to do yet, sleep again (not long enough). Glamorous life.

We're hoping to take DS on his first trip this October so I'm definately ready to hear all of things that worked & didn't work with "Izzy" while you were there. He will be just a little over 2.

I hope you get to go in October and have a great time! Food and Wine time too? Oh, fun, I miss that. I'll definitely share our ups and downs of toddler-parenting-at-WDW.

I ordered a couple of those sippi cup holders last night. Can't wait to give them a try. He is constantly throwing his sippi from his high chair.

I wish I had gotten more than one of them. It helps keep things from flying too far, but I keep not having it along when we happen to go out unexpectedly with family, etc. I need to keep it on me at all times, I guess. It worked great in WDW and we didn't lose any cups. She's really been making an effort to throw her cups from the high chair lately, though, so I need to be more consistent on using the things so I don't have to run across the room and retrieve while I'm trying to eat.

And how awesome of a deal did you get on those Hawaii tickets! Can't wait to hear all about that trip as well. We were throwing around the idea of going there but then we found out we were having DS so it got put on the backburner. Hopefully when he gets old enough to remember & will do okay on a plane ride that long.

We're so excited about this unexpected trip! We actually just got our reservation at Aulani for the whole stay, so we're One thing that is a bummer for us is that they offer free childcare there, but only for kids 3 and up. And she'll only be 2. So, there's one perk of Aulani we'll miss out on. So, wait until he's at least 3, I'd say! Unless you get airfare for pennies on the dollar, then anytime is a go! I am concerned about that long of a plane ride, but hoping the extra space in first class will help us (and we won't annoy the other passengers too much). I posted over on the DVC boards about bringing a 2-year-old to Aulani and people reassured me that she would have a great time, so that helps!

SO excited that I found your TR! I have a son that was born the day before your adorable Izzy, and am currently dreaming about our first WDW trip as a family of three (hopefully in Nov 2014.) It's great to see what a Disney trip can be like with a toddler! Looking forward to following along!

Glad to have you here! Wow, one day older, huh? Good time to be born! Overall, we had a great trip and I'm actually really glad we took her at this age. She was just old enough to really be interested in her surroundings and meeting characters, so it was really fun. I'm sure, at 2, that will be the case even more so. Sounds like you're planning WDW at the same point that we're planning Aulani, so we both need to know what to expect from 25.5 month olds too. I love reading TRs with babies/toddlers - they are so helpful!

 

[Dugette]

We made our way down past all of the car rental places. We noticed that one of the companies (don’t remember which) had a CRAZY long line, while the others didn’t really have lines. And all the people in line looked miserable, like they’d been waiting forever. I commented to Dug that, if it were me, I’d go to one of the other car rental companies and see if they could match or beat whatever my deal was with the long-line company. At any rate, we happily bypassed them all, headed to the Magical Express:



Dug pulled out our Magic Bands and had his first chance to test them out. They only needed one of us to scan in order to pull up our info, so he got to do it. And it worked! After they ushered us in, I made him turn around and take a terrible picture of where he first used a Magic Band:



Another one of those “Must Document for the Trip Report” moments!

We had absolutely zero wait here. We literally walked all the way through the aisles and were directed straight to a mostly-loaded and waiting bus:



Oh, hey, a random picture of Dug’s Magic Band:



We gave the driver the stroller and carry-on bags to stow underneath, but brought the backpack and diaper bag up with us, just in case.

We have ridden in the front of many previous Magical Express buses, but this one had a decent load of people already seated, so we bypassed them and made our way towards the open area in the back. We had a buffer of a couple rows from everyone else. We put our bags in the seats across the aisle and sat on the other side. Having this space worked out well, as Izzy was a bit of a blabbermouth at times, but I think we were out of earshot of most people so they could still hear the video.

We were amazed that this was an entirely new, redesigned Magical Express:



We really liked it! Much more comfortable and roomy!

Izzy was full of energy by this point, anxious to explore and excited to not be strapped down in a vehicle:



There were all sorts of futuristic buttons:



It was like Tomorrowland or something!

Apparently all of those buttons were not enough for Izzy and she stole my iPhone away from me:



Get used to this. There will be many episodes of “Izzy and Siri” in this Trip Report! She loves to push the button that activates Siri. And, somehow, she manages to get Siri to do all kinds of things with my phone, some of which I don’t even know how to do. In fact, since we’ve been home, I’ve had to put a passcode on my phone to stop her, since she was calling people I hadn’t talked to in years and such. On the bus, she managed to drop my phone under the seats in front of us, which took some extreme flexibility for me to retrieve. The phone went into hiding after that.

Here are the world’s worst pictures of the WDW & Magic Kingdom entrance signs:





And, soon enough, we arrived at our first stop and our home for the week, The Polynesian Resort (aka Heaven):



Decorated for the holidays and beautiful as ever.

We took a few pictures on our way in, just drinking up the warmth and beauty and trying to savor the first moments:







We had done online check-in prior to leaving. When we walked in, we were greeted by a Cast Member with an iPad who took our info and escorted us right up to the check-in desk. Everything went just fine and was pretty efficient. I did think it was interesting that the desk CMs were a little, hmmm, fake-magical? I think the couple guys helping us and others were probably college-aged and knew to SAY the right things, but didn’t really get into it. That was the sense I got, at least. There’s something different about someone telling you to have a magical day when you can tell they’re internally rolling their eyes and would rather be chatting with their buddy.

At any rate, we were given the leis, including Izzy:



We also got a First Visit button for Izzy that I pinned to the canopy of her stroller, where it remained all week. They gave us anniversary buttons too, which we just packed away, as this really wasn’t an anniversary trip, being 2 months after the fact. This trip was really about being a family of 3, not just celebrating the two of us, as we’d done on some past trips.

We were very happy to see that we got our room request. We wanted a King room on the first floor of Samoa, facing the quiet pool. According to the floor plans on Tikiman’s website, there were only three rooms that met that criteria. And we got one without issue! Great way to start our trip!

Before heading to our room, we had to get a picture with the waterfall (and of course, you can’t really see it, ha!):



Since we had a dinner ADR later, we headed right for our room to unpack our carry-on bags and get comfortable (we actually had planned to unpack everything, but failed to realize that our checked bags would not arrive until right before we went to dinner).

Our walk from the Great Ceremonial House to Samoa was one of the best moments of the trip, in my mind. It was warm (after leaving this giant freezer of a state that is currently -18 degrees! ) It was dark out with tiki torches lighting our way. There were volcanoes and water and a castle in the distance. It was quiet and peaceful. As we pushed Izzy along in her stroller, while toting our bags, we talked about how great it was to be back in this little slice of paradise. We stayed at the Poly in December 2010, 3 years earlier, as a childless couple that had expected to have a kid by then. Now, here we were in December 2013, walking that same path with our little toddler. Almost wanted to cry. And, of course, that was on top of the “this is just the beginning and my whole trip is in front of me” feelings. I’d live that walk over and over, if I could. In fact, that’s where I’ll leave us hanging for this update…

Up next: Our room. And all the fun toddler play areas that come built in!

 

[reelmom]

Izzy is doing so well with traveling. I bet she will do great with your trip to Hawaii. I think you are making the right choice by taking her with you and letting her have these experiences.

I thought you would get a laugh out of this. We don't do cold, snowy, icy weather in the South. Last night, our school system canceled school for Monday and Tuesday due to potentially severe weather. It was 49 degrees at the time of cancellation. It is currently 30 degrees with no snow or ice. The wind is blowing like crazy and it is supposed to drop in the teens/single digits overnight. I guess they thought the bus stops and buses would be too cold or maybe black ice on the roads. Better safe than sorry. Since I work at a private preschool that follows the public school system calendar, I will be enjoying my 2 days off.

 

[jeni16]

Enjoying dreaming of being at the Poly as well. One of our favorite places that we've stayed. It's currently 22 below here. With the windchill it feels like 50 below. I'll take warmth anyway I can get it!

 

[amazingact21]

Great update! I loved your description of how special the walk to your room was. I could almost picture the walk myself.
That feeling of knowing you have a whole trip ahead of you is the best. Disney magic in full force.



I get that impression a lot with the younger Cast Members. Sometimes I want to be like, "Look, I know you're reading from a script, but just keep in mind this is some people one trip of a lifetime. Don't act like you're putting them out by doing your job."
But, in the end, you were checking in to your Disney home for the time being, and got the room you requested, so I'm sure you didn't dwell too long on the CM's attitude.


Siri is the ultimate babysitter. We changed Alex's name on his phone so Siri now refers to him by Landon's name, that way whenever he activates her, he thinks she's talking directly to him.

 

[Imagineer5]

Getting all caught up!!

OMG your night before was crazy!! I *am* that crazy person who gets up super early on Disney days all wide awake, but I also get in bed by like 7:30 the night before lol, I can’t imagine going to sleep at 2AM! Amazing shopping spree though!! Nice you have free parking from the airport, and the $$ back for the 3rd checked bag is nice too.

Glad to flight was smooth and quick and Izzy slept. I laughed regarding the Zoli cup. Glad you guys closed it up quickly. I think Aria might have been the culprit opening her cup which is why ours didn’t get closed fast enough hahaha. That pressure is crazy huh!

Aren’t family restrooms wonderful! Wish there were more of them in the parks.

The rental car line was probably Hertz! LOL that’s what I ran into in August, but beat the system. Good idea to see if another company would match!

That’s cool about Siri and Izzy – I have a 4 so no Siri for me!

I LOL’d at your world’s worst entrance sign pics!!! Hey at least you got them!

I love your description of your first walk through the Poly and taking it all in and totally appreciating being there, especially WITH Izzy this trip. I so, so get that! Such a magical moment and I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one to step back and appreciate that.

Can’t wait to hear how the first night went!!

 

[Disney9.9.10]

Joining in!

Great start to your report. Izzy is so adorable, and a little travelling champ! I can just imagine all of the emotions that you must have been feeling taking her on her first Disney trip

 

[khertz]

Joining in!