Pre-Trip First trip in 10 years for Mom & dad, Baby's first trip! Sept 15

Hello!

Welcome to my Pre-Trip report!

Admittedly, it's taken me awhile to get excited about this trip. The countdown started with about 400 days (and I still pregnant!) but here we are! My Daughter is ONE tomorrow, and we are 88 days out!
My Husband and I haven't been since we were teenagers. It's been 10 years for me and 11 years for him. We have no idea what Disney is like now, and don't really KNOW what to be excited about if that makes sense? My mother and her husband go at least twice a year, and are "taking" us this year. They will be able to show us around and explain magic bands and such. They are bringing my nephew who is 5 and has been to Disney 5x!!!

Cast:
Britt (ME!)
Anthony = DH
Harper = Our daughter(will be turning 15 months on the trip)
Gigi= My Mother
Pap= My step dad
R = My nephew (5)

WHEN:
9/19-9/25

WHERE:
Animal Kingdom Lodge!

We live in Maryland and are driving down :eek:
I'm kind of afraid of what the drive will be like with a toddler, but I guess we'll see! We are leaving Friday 9/18 about 2pm and driving as long as we can make it before we stop for the night. We will be in two different cars.

I have Celiac Disease and I'm anxious to see how the gluten free dining will be.

So that's it for now! :D


 
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ScarletBegonias

ScarletBegonias

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So here are our plans right now.. I really haven't done ANY planning because, like I said, this trip is a gift and my mom LOVES planning. We are just going with the flow, and honestly, I love that. I HATE planning and love that my Mom is doing it all, but I can still enjoy the vacation.

9/18- I will be working until 1pm this day, and Husband will be off! DD will go to daycare for a couple of hours and DH will take me to work. After he drops me off, he is going to home and get the car all packed up without anyone there to stress him out!! ;) He will head to pick up DD around 12:30 and then come to work to pick me up ALL PACKED AND READY! From there we are going to head to my mom's and meet up with them. We will let DD play for a bit before stuffing her in the car for a VERY long time. Then off we go!! Plan right now is to start off with DH driving and then me taking over later on (with MUCH COFFEE being ingested). My Step dad said he'd really like to drive until midnight or, or later, but I have no idea what the little one will think of being in the car that long. I doubt we will make it that long. DD will want to stretch out!

9/19- Drive ALL DAY again. We are hoping to have less than 8 hours on this day. (whole trip takes about 16 hours). Get to AKL, check in and relax!!!

I haven't stayed on park since I was a KID! (25th Anniversary) We stayed at Dixie Landings! So this is going to be awesome! The 2nd and 3rd trip we rented a house about 25 minutes away. It was nice but the driving each day was annoying when you were exhausted! :hungover:

I will list out the rest in the next update!
 
LisaBelle

LisaBelle

Well-Known Member
You will love AKL! We stayed there for our first family trip back in 2004. It really is an amazing resort. Your DD will love the animals. I do not have any personal experience with Disney and food allergies, but from what I've read in TRs Disney is extremely helpful.
 
ScarletBegonias

ScarletBegonias

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Continuing where I left off!!!

9/20 - Magic Kingdom! We have a ADR at Crystal Palace! Mid day rest, and MNSSHP at 7PM!!
9/21- ADR for Chef Mickey's and then EPCOT for the day!
9/22- Uni/IoA for DH and I! My mom is still unsure, but DH and I are HUGE Harry Potter fans, so this is a MUST for us!
9/23- DHS in the day maybe either MK or Epcot in the evening
9/24- ADR for Boma and then AK for the day!
9/25- Repeat DAY! Wherever we want to go! Probably Magic Kingdom again!
9/26- Leave for home :(

 
ScarletBegonias

ScarletBegonias

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
LisaBelle said:
You will love AKL! We stayed there for our first family trip back in 2004. It really is an amazing resort. Your DD will love the animals. I do not have any personal experience with Disney and food allergies, but from what I've read in TRs Disney is extremely helpful.
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I think My DD will REALLY love the animals! The resort looks beautiful!
 
ScarletBegonias

ScarletBegonias

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I have no shorts. At all! I really need to get on shopping for what I plan on wearing to the parks, but money is tight with the little one! So, I will have to get some shopping trips in before we go! (and before summer clothes are on their way off the racks!)

I can't believe we have just July & August and then we are REALLY close to being on our way! I haven't been on vacation since my Honeymoon in September of 2013, so I am SO EXCITED!
 
ScarletBegonias

ScarletBegonias

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
79 Days today!!!!

I cannot believe how fast this vacation is coming at us. I haven't bought anything for vacation yet, and have no summer clothes. I really need to get on that. It's been a cool week here in Maryland. It's been a nice change. I need to get adjusted to the heat so that Florida heat is not a huge deal. I remember being so miserable on previous trips!

 
ScarletBegonias

ScarletBegonias

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So I've been wanting to do a more "formal" introduction of my family! I will do one person per post!
Attached is a picture of our cutie Harper who just turned one last week!
I am so excited about her first trip that I get a little teary thinking about how happy she will be! She is the child that WILL NOT NAP no matter how tired she is unless she is taken away from stimulation. I see mid day naps in our future if we don't want meltdowns! She's a tall girl at 31" !! I know there will be a lot of stuff she can ride, so it will be exciting!

She's very newly walking (like up to 10 steps), so I suspect she will be pretty good at it by the time our trip comes. She will be running all over that place, but we are renting a stroller when we get down there. I'm HOPING that Disney will just exhaust her and she will fall asleep in the stroller, but I don't know. She's never slept in her stroller (aside from when she was a newborn).
 

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HRHPrincessAriel

HRHPrincessAriel

Well-Known Member
ScarletBegonias said:
So I've been wanting to do a more "formal" introduction of my family! I will do one person per post!
Attached is a picture of our cutie Harper who just turned one last week!
I am so excited about her first trip that I get a little teary thinking about how happy she will be! She is the child that WILL NOT NAP no matter how tired she is unless she is taken away from stimulation. I see mid day naps in our future if we don't want meltdowns! She's a tall girl at 31" !! I know there will be a lot of stuff she can ride, so it will be exciting!

She's very newly walking (like up to 10 steps), so I suspect she will be pretty good at it by the time our trip comes. She will be running all over that place, but we are renting a stroller when we get down there. I'm HOPING that Disney will just exhaust her and she will fall asleep in the stroller, but I don't know. She's never slept in her stroller (aside from when she was a newborn).
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What a cutie! My kiddo is the exact same. We left daily for rest time as she can't/won't sleep if their is action. The adults ended up napping as well ;-)

I feel the sleep is just better in a quiet hotel room vs park. I also think it allowed us to stay later each night
 
ScarletBegonias

ScarletBegonias

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
HRHPrincessAriel said:
What a cutie! My kiddo is the exact same. We left daily for rest time as she can't/won't sleep if their is action. The adults ended up napping as well ;-)

I feel the sleep is just better in a quiet hotel room vs park. I also think it allowed us to stay later each night
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That is very true!! We certainly want to be able to go back in the evenings, and I don't want to get too burned out with the mid day heat! I myself am not a napper, and would love to hit up the pool. My mom is a huge napper, so maybe I can con her into napping with her! ;)
 
brb1006

brb1006

Well-Known Member
What characters are you looking forward to meeting for you're upcoming trip? Because if you ever arrive at the Magic Kingdom, you might encounter Marie from The Aristocats near the flag pole next to Pluto during the day. However she doesn't come out during days when it rains. She usually comes out at 10:30am thanks to a CM I talked to during my Senior Trip. From my experience with her twice during my third trip last month. She gives the best hugs and is very sweet with guests. Especially if you say something very nice or sweet to her. Because I remember telling her "You have no idea how much I was looking for you." when I gave he my autograph book during my trip. Since I was a little sad when she wasn't out during our first day. She responded by acting very shy and bashful around me and even gave me a few kisses when she hugged me.
 
ScarletBegonias

ScarletBegonias

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
brb1006 said:
What characters are you looking forward to meeting for you're upcoming trip? Because if you ever arrive at the Magic Kingdom, you might encounter Marie from The Aristocats near the flag pole next to Pluto during the day. However she doesn't come out during days when it rains. She usually comes out at 10:30am thanks to a CM I talked to during my Senior Trip. From my experience with her twice during my third trip last month. She gives the best hugs and is very sweet with guests. Especially if you say something very nice or sweet to her. Because I remember telling her "You have no idea how much I was looking for you." when I gave he my autograph book during my trip. Since I was a little sad when she wasn't out during our first day. She responded by acting very shy and bashful around me and even gave me a few kisses when she hugged me.
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I really have no idea!!! Marie would be really cute though, so we will have to keep an eye out! We watch all the Disney movies, but right now she only really lights up when she see's Minnie or Mickey!
 
brb1006

brb1006

Well-Known Member
ScarletBegonias said:
I really have no idea!!! Marie would be really cute though, so we will have to keep an eye out! We watch all the Disney movies, but right now she only really lights up when she see's Minnie or Mickey!
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Who knows she might get light up when she meets Marie. But that depends on the interaction, I heard if you bring some Marie plushies to her she will be very excited. Be sure to ask a cast member what time she comes out if you arrive to the Magic Kingdom early before 10:30am.

I remember a video of a young boy meeting her in Epcot years ago and it was the cutest meet and greet video I've ever seen.
 
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