There's A Human in the Human Tank: A November 2011 Trip Report

So here we are, it’s June, and I’m just now getting around to posting our Thanksgiving trip report. Sigh.

I was MIA on the boards for the first few months of the year mostly due to chaos and craziness at work. Don’t those people know that’s when I get most of my trip reporting done?! While work has slowed down quite a bit since the first of April, we have remained crazy busy at home. We bought and moved into our house in mid-December so quite a bit of time has went into all that that entails, from painting, to making curtains, decorating, purchasing new furniture, etc. But that’s not the only thing that’s kept us busy…

Because, you see, there’s a human in the human tank!


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And well, we’ve been doing our best to prepare for the little one over the course of the last few months. So, please forgive me, my time has been spent nesting, buying every adorable baby item I see, and designing/pinning the cutest nursery on the planet.

The details...
- The little monkey is a boy, and we’re keeping his name a secret for now. But rest assured, he does have one!
- I’m at the end of my 37th week… ACK! That means, full-term. So really, he’ll be here any day now.
- He’s due to arrive on July 2nd and he’ll likely be introduced to the world via Instagram! Brett’s account, or mine, you never know.

We’re already planning his first Disney trip. You know, because that’s the first thing you do when you find out you’re having a baby! Granted, after doing the math, it became apparent that he actually came home with us at the conclusion of our Food & Wine Festival trip last fall. And he’s returned twice since, which leads us to this particular trip report – so let’s get to it.

This time around it’s not just Mr. and Mrs. Hollybelle, but Mama and Papa Hollybelle, as well! Also known as Kim and Rick! Here we all are, on one of our previous vacations, at the famed Maho Beach in St. Maarten:

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We planned this trip around Thanksgiving because it gave us some vacation days to work with. With Brett’s current job, he gets next to no time off, so we’ve begun to find ourselves at the mercy of ridiculous holiday pricing when it comes to booking vacations. Initially, we had made our reservations for Port Orleans French Quarter, but without an AP rate, the price was a little tough to swallow. So when my mom came across a rock bottom deal for the Dolphin, we jumped on it and switched resorts.

As has been the case with a few of my last reports, this one is going to be heavy on the photos and light on text. Heck, I’m doing good to remember which parks we went to on which days.

So, as the anticipation over upcoming summer vacays mounts, is everyone ready for a healthy dose of holiday spirit and Christmas decoration?! :cool:
 

popsicletrees

Well-Known Member
Is there no longer a way to multi-quote with the new format? Or am i just totally missing it.

First off, congratulations! I am so excited for the two of you! To multi-quote just click the reply button beside each post you want to quote. They will all be down at the bottom in the reply box.
 

tiaragirl

Well-Known Member
OMG girl! Big news and a TR? Doesn't matter how late it is, you know we love to hear from you :)

I love that your parents are with you on this trip! And I think your advice is sound, try to cater to what you know they'll like - and the rest will happen like magic! That's what happened with Erica and Paige.

Looking forward to the rest of your TR and upcoming news - maybe you'll have a Canada Day babe ;)
 

imagination30

Well-Known Member
congrads holly , looking foward to hearing about the kido... , always love reding your reports either if its park wise or marthon wise!...
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
CONGRATULATIONS!!! Can't wait for the report... :)

Thanks, Jenn!!

Congrats!!! Can't wait to see the picture of the baby, I wish you luck with the little guy. Can't wait to continue

Thanks, Allie Marie! We're super excited to see him ourselves.

Congratulations to you both!!

Looking forward to hearing about staying at the Dolphin, i have been in the lobby but never eaten or stayed there.

Thank you! We definitely enjoyed the Dolphin - for the price, it can't be beat.

Congrats xx

Thanks so much!

Congratulations!!! So glad to see a new report from you and CAN'T WAIT to see your report on your son's first visit too! We are planning a trip for this December and your Christmas decor pics are making me more excited! The last time we got to see them for ourselves was in 2007...that's FOREVER ago!!!

Thank you! Hooray for an upcoming Christmas trip... 2007 does seem like forever ago! I can't wait for his first trip either.

Okay, first off I love the title of your report. And secondly, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! :D

Thanks again, Erin! :) Like my last trip report, this was the "working title" and it just so happened to be better than anything else I could come up with when it was time to post!

Holly,

Before I even delve into what will undoubtable be another great TR from you, I have to offer my congratulations and best wishes!

Parenthood is the most awesome pain in the as* thing you will ever experience. I mean that in a very good way!

Thanks so much, Chris. Your comment made me laugh out loud... in a very good way!

Woohoo!! A new Hollybelle addition! I had noticed that you had been MIA, but I have too somewhat so..I just kept wondering. I'm so glad for you two! So this is trip one of two where you were pregnant at The World?

Hi, Melanee!! Thanks so much. I hope things have been going well with your busy family out on the west coast. And yes, this was the first of two pregnant trips to the world. The other one was in February when I was around 18-19 weeks preggers.

OMG!!! Congrats to you and Brett!!! This is sooooo super exciting!!!

OK, I'm going to read the report now... :)

Thanks, Darolyn!!
 

joanna71985

Well-Known Member
Eeeek, congrats!! I am so happy for both of you (I think you'll be great parents). I can't wait to meet the little guy :)

And yay for new TR! Hopefully one day I'll get to see you at GMR
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
First off, congratulations! I am so excited for the two of you! To multi-quote just click the reply button beside each post you want to quote. They will all be down at the bottom in the reply box.

Thanks, Rachel! I've been reading along with your trip report this week - congrats to Jordan on his graduation.

Darn - I was hoping there would be an easier way to multi-quote. I kept losing my place as I scrolled back up each time to pick up the next reply.

OMG girl! Big news and a TR? Doesn't matter how late it is, you know we love to hear from you :)

I love that your parents are with you on this trip! And I think your advice is sound, try to cater to what you know they'll like - and the rest will happen like magic! That's what happened with Erica and Paige.

Looking forward to the rest of your TR and upcoming news - maybe you'll have a Canada Day babe ;)

Kenzie! Just hit you back up on "the Twitter." :) You're so right... the rest does happen like magic!

And I'd be okay with a Canada Day babe!

congrads holly , looking foward to hearing about the kido... , always love reding your reports either if its park wise or marthon wise!...

Thanks so much, Imagination30! Maybe there will be another marathon related trip in the near-ish future. I'm thinking half marathon training is a good post-baby goal.
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Eeeek, congrats!! I am so happy for both of you (I think you'll be great parents). I can't wait to meet the little guy :)

And yay for new TR! Hopefully one day I'll get to see you at GMR

Thanks, Joanna!! You're too sweet. I do always look for you when we're there... one of these days it'll happen!
 
Yay Holly! Congrats!!! I have been MIA the past few months too, so it is great to log in and find another one of your trip reports! Can't wait for more! ;)
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Heh, I seem to have the worst luck meeting up with people. But let me know the next time you're in Orlando, and I'll send you my schedule

Great idea. Will do!

Yay Holly! Congrats!!! I have been MIA the past few months too, so it is great to log in and find another one of your trip reports! Can't wait for more! ;)

Thanks, Melanie! Hopefully, you've been busy with all kinds of fun stuff lately. Sometimes it can be so hard to find enough time to do all the interneting I'd like these days. ;)
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 2 – Thursday, November 24: Animal Kingdom/EPCOT

I was somewhere around 7-8 weeks pregnant on this trip, so we felt like it would probably be safe to go ahead and tell my parents, especially seeing as how the alternative would be coming up with ridiculous excuses for why I couldn’t tip back the margaritas and ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. ;)

While I had kind of wanted to wait until our Thanksgiving meal at the Garden Grill that evening, Brett convinced me that we’d need to tell them at breakfast. So off to Kouzzina we went for a quick breakfast before heading to the Animal Kingdom. It was an absolutely gorgeous morning for a stroll down the Boardwalk.

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Look at that face, she had no clue we were about to blow her mind…

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Upon arriving, we were immediately escorted to a table. I was trying to think of a great way to bring it up, but I was totally blanking on this. Of course, Brett just kept nudging me under the table, making it worse, and I was sitting there grinning like a fool. Mom kept chit chatting about this and that and for whatever reason, I couldn’t find a way to interrupt her that morning. So she was going on and on about this adorable little family a few tables over and eventually I just blurted out “I’m pregnant!!” Yes. Sly, I know.

My mom's jaw pretty much dropped and my dad looked a bit shell shocked himself, but they were all smiles. The rest of the meal was a blur of exciting talk.

No pictures of the food, or any real knowledge of what we ordered, seeing as how we were all focused on more important matters! One thing I do remember though, is that they removed my three, count ‘em, THREE favorite menu items: breakfast flatbread, orange blueberry pancakes, and Brett’s French toast. They were replaced with more of the same that can be found across property. Oh Disney, you're killing me and my foodie ways. Why must you homogenize EVERYTHING?
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We were all pretty much giddy with excitement as we made our way back to the Dolphin to hop in the car and head to the Animal Kingdom. Not only were we excited, but my three favorite people were pretty much having a field day making snarky little “Holly’s going to get sooooo big” comments. This is also when the trip report title commenced!

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See ya on the other side bag checkers!

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Oh Photopass, so sad this one is out of focus…

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First stop was the safari… for everyone but Holly. The safari is one of those rides that has a “don’t ride preggers” sign, so I skipped it. Personally, I think you need to use your own personal judgment with these things and I think the safari is fairly tame, but what was the point? I mean, I’ve ridden it before and I’ll ride it again. So while the others took a two week trek, I ventured over to the Forbidden Mountain to pick up a fastpass for Brett to use later. Taking many photos along the way.

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I ran into these two along the way…

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And I found this guy…

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Oh how I wish he was “tree” sized – he’d be perfect for our collection.
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I met back up with everyone outside the safari and we headed towards Asia. The timing worked out perfectly as we approached Flights of Wonder… so we stopped in for the 10:30 am show. Would you believe that in the sheer number of times Brett and I have been to the World, we’d never seen this show? It seems kinda crazy when I think about it. And now, after seeing it, I’m even more surprised because it was so good!

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By far… this guy, whose name I can’t recall, was our favorite! The way he abused the rubber lizard, in an attempt to break all it’s bones, was AHmazing!

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
After the show, Brett headed to Asia to ride Expedition Everest and the rest of us made our way to Camp Minnie Mickey for the next showing of the Festival of the Lion King. Once they started letting everyone into the theatre, we hung back, hoping that Brett would make it through the turnstiles in time, but he just missed it. When we got in the theatre we were ushered over to the elephant section where we grabbed a couple of seats in the back. This was my first time sitting in this particular section and it actually felt a little like being in the back. It was weird because it is a 360 show, but I felt like we were on the backside of a lot of things.

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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We met up with Brett as we exited the show and spent some time enjoying Camp Minnie Mickey, letting it clear out a bit before making our way towards the front of the park. I was surprised to find that later, when I asked my dad what his favorite thing was at the Animal Kingdom, he stated the FotLK. I had totally expected his answer to be the safari.

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Tram!

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We arrived at Downtown Disney sometime around 1pm… killing two birds with one stone, Brett dropped the three of us off, and we queued up for the Earl while he found a parking spot. Ugh. Parking at DTD can be a real pain in the a**. But the Earl is more than worth it. Nom nom nom!

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Bath Bomb...

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Photo Bomb…

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We grabbed some coffee at the kitchen store and some bath bombs in Basin before heading back to the Dolphin for a little siesta. That’s the one “symptom” I’ve had in spades throughout this pregnancy… exhaustion. The first trimester I lacked the energy to do much of anything. So while I always enjoy my afternoon Disney naps, they were imperative during this particular trip.
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
My parents must’ve wandered the grounds a bit while I was snoozing away. Here are some shots of the resort and pools at the Swan and Dolphin:

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We met back up in my and Brett's room to take in the view before we headed out for the night. Oh, hey look, there's a swan in front of the Swan...

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