2 resorts, 4 parks, 9 days and a 2 year old...a July trip report

So here I am not even 48 hours back in the DC area, and already missing the place..so I figured what better way to cure my post vacation mode than to start a trip report....

Lets do a quick reminder of who were are.

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Andy, Aleisha and our little man, Logan....I did a pre-trip and by this point I am thinking most of you know who I am...so I won't go to into to much details...I will apologize for the size of the pictures. I can never figure out how to make them any smaller...

The 411: July 15-23rd.
We split the time between both of our home resorts, SSR and BLT...both were studios...

so lets get this trip report started.
 

foreverbelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
July 15, 2011
Day One.

As always on the day we arrive we had a hard time sleeping. This was enhanced by the fact that Logan is now going through the beginning stages of the terrible twos has decided not to sleep. Period. In fact, my in laws, who we were staying with the night before we left were up with him for the majority of the night, unbeknown to us. None the less we got up and got moving somehow early. We had a 10:15 flight out of Dulles We would wait for breakfast until we got to the airport and hit the road. A little sleepy, but happy we were on our way to our 'home' Logan seemed happy to get on the 'rocket ship' at this point and was the most awake out of the three of us. That is until it was actually time to get on the plane, then he wanted nothing to do with it. We boarded with a screaming two year old. We hit the tarmac. We were on our way. And then we stopped. And waited. And waited. And waited. For 40 minutes. Usually this would have never bothered me that is until we have a 2 1/2 year old who was already acting up.Thankfully they allowed Andy to place him in his lap and it seemed to quiet him right up. And all my mommy issues seemed to calm down with it.

Thank the Lord.

I will say I see why my parents drove everywhere with three girls growing up.

We got on the ground about an hour later than we were anticipating and made our way to Magical Express and were ecstatic to see the bus for SSR already there. We boarded and was on our way...

We were finally on our way!!

When we finally got to SSR we were checked-in and to my surprise my husband had put in my bday, though it was 2 months late he decided to celebrate it along with my anniversary also 2 months late! What a great surprise and a great way to start the vacation. We were given our packet and room and made our way to the carousel room 7136 where we would call home for the next four and a half days.

I have to say it has been so long since we stayed at SSR that I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the resort. I know so many who don't like it because its too big, and too quiet and far away from everything but we found out that this is one of the main reasons we love the place and with a toddler, we can enjoy and appreciate the quiet away from the parks atmosphere. We unloaded our carry on, called to have our groceries delivered and celebrated the fact that we were actually here!!

Because of our late arrival, we were a little later than we wanted and by this point its somewhere around 3:30 in the afternoon, Logan's nap was not happening. And with reservations at Cinderella's Royal Table we figured we may as well go ahead and head out. We hated to do without a nap, but perhaps he would actually sleep a little better if we had him going for a little longer. Our luggage had yet to arrive so sadly we decided to go the way were. Sweaty and all. It would have to do for the evening.

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We made our way to Magic Kingdom, and headed straight to Its A Small World. Which he loved last year...well he loved it this year as well. To which Andy just about died, since he oooo sooo loves this ride...I tell you what we do for our kids..

We stepped out of Its A Small World, to the pouring rain, we quickly ran to the carousel before checking in to CRT, even though we were 40 minutes early we were hoping our table would be ready. Little man was beginning to show his I am tired side...Thankfully, it was and we were greeted by her Royal Princess herself!!

Now I admit I wanted to eat here because I knew it was a Princess dinner and with Logan being all boy right now, and my only child at the moment I know that his tolerance of anything princess may not last forever. I suppose I wanted to enjoy it while I can.

I should mention, while we usually do the dinning plan, we wanted to see if there was any savings by using Tables of Wonderland, I will have more on my thoughts on this later on, but I figured I would mention it while I am thinking about it.

Dinner was good, I had fish, Andy had the royal beef and Logan was enjoying a little of both. And for a moment everything was peaceful. And then he saw them. Or rather Ariel. The love of his young life. She came around once for a fleeting moment, he asked her if she could sit with him and have dinner, which she declined. He was heartbroken.

That was until she came around a second time, and my heart melted as he just beamed up at her. I know he had given us a challenge that day but at the same time, I know its moments like this that I will forever cherish:

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After Ariel he wasn't all that interested in meeting the other princess's though mommy was....so he sat long enough for me to get some pics with the rest of the princesses.

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I felt so unworthy standing next to these gorgeous ladies!

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Snow White!

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Mommy and her favorite princess...

We aren't ones to eat and run but it had been a long day, little man was fading and we has 8 more days of magic to get through. So we headed back and called it a night...
 

jesemeca

Well-Known Member
:sohappy: I'm first! Great start, can't wait to hear more.
I have never eaten at CRT. It is on the schedule for next summer, though.
 

Ariel484

Well-Known Member
Yay Aleisha! So glad you're posting your report! :sohappy:

Your son is so adorable...oh man, if I had to wait for 40 minutes on the tarmac, I probably would have been screaming too! :eek: Love the picture of the two of you with Ariel.

Can't wait for the rest! I'm looking forward to your opinions on the Tables in Wonderland Card, SSR and BLT! :sohappy:
 

WDW_Princess24

Active Member
Loving the trip report so far! Your son is absolutely adorable!! I love that you took him to CRT and took all your pictures with the princesses!! My BF always asks me if I want to go and I always say no because I feel silly and that we should wait until we had children to go there, just so I have an excuse to get my behind in there!

Looking forward to reading more!!
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Woohoo... you've started your trip report, and so soon - impressive! I thought about you as I was leaving property at 3:30am on July 15th. :eek: I can't wait to read all about it!!
 

foreverbelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
:sohappy: I'm first! Great start, can't wait to hear more.
I have never eaten at CRT. It is on the schedule for next summer, though.

CRT is a lot of fun, I think we enjoy it more for the atmosphere than anything. Its a lot of fun. The last time we were there, it was only the Godmother and the mice that were there so the Princesses were quite a surprise!

We are going to try our hand in September with a 21 month old....who, as of now, refuses to sleep UNLESS, you pat her butt.

It will be a lot of fun, but I agree a lot of work. We had some good nights with his sleeping and some bad...but the reaction is classic.

Yay Aleisha! So glad you're posting your report! :sohappy:

Your son is so adorable...oh man, if I had to wait for 40 minutes on the tarmac, I probably would have been screaming too! :eek: Love the picture of the two of you with Ariel.

Can't wait for the rest! I'm looking forward to your opinions on the Tables in Wonderland Card, SSR and BLT! :sohappy:

Thank you. He knows he is adorable. LOL...And you will get my opinion, it may not be right away but you will get it..

I know it was horrible for him to wait but he managed it..thank the lord...

Loving the trip report so far! Your son is absolutely adorable!! I love that you took him to CRT and took all your pictures with the princesses!! My BF always asks me if I want to go and I always say no because I feel silly and that we should wait until we had children to go there, just so I have an excuse to get my behind in there!

Looking forward to reading more!!

Ahh thank you. I took him, and loved it. I think you should if you get the chance. No one should ever feel silly, we went before we had little man. And had a blast!

Alllllllll right!!! Let's get rolling!

Yes I did make sure to get some food shots for you. In fact I was thinking of you when I was taking them.

Those terrible 2s sure are fun. But, they can also be so sweet at the same time. Can't wait for the rest of your tr.

You are absolutely right. Believe me there are some sweet moments coming...

Woohoo... you've started your trip report, and so soon - impressive! I thought about you as I was leaving property at 3:30am on July 15th. :eek: I can't wait to read all about it!!

Funny I thought of you as well! LOL. But yeah I was like nope I can't wait..

Your family is just adorable! Can't wait to read more

Thanks!! It is coming soon...
 

foreverbelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
July 16, 2011

Day Two

What a difference a day makes! Logan slept a glorious ten hours of uninterrupted sleep. I can't remember the last time this has happened. And he didn't wake up at 6, but at 8! On vacation!! For two parents that get up at 4:30 on a daily basis, we were thrilled to sleep in a little bit.

He was also in a very happy mood, bonus right there. But with this as our first full day and we didn't want to waste the entire day away and so we grabbed breakfast in our room and asked Logan what he wanted to do. He said Jake and the Neverland Pirates, so off to Hollywood Studios would we go.

Now before little man we would rush and grab fastpasses to RNRR as fast as we could, but of course those days are over for the moment, and believe it or not we were ok with this. So instead of heading to RNRR, we marched our way over to Disney Jr. My parents had taken him to the show last year and raved about Logan's reaction, and told us it was a 'Must do.'

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Obviously, they weren't lying...he started dancing and clapping right along with the show. It was adorable. And it is dif. something I would recommend to anyone with a toddler...the bubbles were the hit of the show!

Once the show ended we headed for the Toy Story area. This was something Andy and I had debated about. Would he like it, I mean he loves the movie, but would he be willing to wait? The fastpasses were long gone, and even though it was an hour wait-totally not horrible by any means- we weren't sure how he would tolerate the lines. But this was only day one at the parks and with the rest of the week ahead we decided we could wait. Instead we jumped in line for Woody and Buzz meet and greet. I will have to say, I was quite impressed with the way Logan handled the characters. Last year he hated them, wouldn't have anything to do with them.

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Obviously times have changed!!

With Logan a happy camper, we decided to stop for lunch so we headed for a quick service meal. Andy and I both had chicken, and Logan had a PB&J crustable that I had ordered from the grocery. It turned out to be one of the best purchases we made...We called home to check in with my mom, who at this point was freaking since she hadn't heard from us since Fri morning and she was fearing the worst. Thankfully my call eased her mind. Proving no matter how old you are, you are always somebody's child.

And while we were having an easy time, we didn't want to push our luck, and so we made our way out of the park. It was naptime anyway.

Of course nap time seems to be a vanishing act when you are on vacation, and it was clear that he wouldn't be settling down any time soon. So we grabbed our bathing suits and headed to the pool.

A week before we came down SSR opened a new pool (near the Paddock) and we were housed right near it, so we were one of the first to check it out. And what can we say. WE LOVED IT. It was believe it or not amazing. Logan had a blast, and Andy seemed to be a big kid once again. We loved the kiddie section, perfect for a toddler who wasn't exactly ready to be in the big pool yet, but was big enough to enjoy the water without his mom and dad standing over top of him.

We have never really taken advantage of the pools at the resorts. But when we do, we always say why didn't we do this sooner? And we always swear that we will do it more often the next go around. With a kid now I know we will....

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Really, this kid hates the water. LOL

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My big kid!

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Yours truly! This past winter I had two emergency surgeries to remove a knotted colon, which means good luck getting a picture of me in a suit where you see my stomach. I am super self conscious about it right now.

Up next, an evening in Epcot....
 

mouselvrmom

Well-Known Member
I'm loving your report so far!! When we drove by SSR we could see the new pool. It was right by where we stayed last year. So it's nice to see someone enjoying it.
 

foreverbelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
After a late lazy afternoon by the pool it was time to head back to the room to get ready for Tapen Edo for dinner.

I know I have mention that Andy and I were celebrating our 5 yr anniversary, our plan was to celebrate it Fri night, but Andy decides to give me his gift. I am a little confused and throw my gift to him but can't understand why he can't wait. And then when I open it, I know why. Its a brand new camera...so you will have to forgive some of these photos, as I don't find myself to be a wonderful photographer but I do try to get creative. Especially with a new camera in my hands....


We made our way to Epcot, we were shocked at how empty these parks felt. We both think its because of the fact that it was a Saturday and many people were coming and going. We would take it though! Logan had now been up for 8 hours straight without so much as a hint of a nap. But we knew he was getting tired. Still we had told him about Nemo and the Fishes and with plenty of time we made our way back to the Seas where we found Nemo and enjoyed the seas, where Logan found a friend:

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He tried so hard to get Logan to turn around and get a decent picture, but we could tell he wasn't really feeling the whole picture thing and so we went on about our way.

We still had plenty of time to walk around the World before checking in to our reservations. And wouldn't you know just as we walked up to Japan, this happened:

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And this is how he stayed through the entire meal...seriously.

Ah Tapen Edo one of our faves. Always has been. Of course it is amazing once more, I get the shrimp (obviously) and Andy gets the steak.

I say obviously since I have a Beef, pork and dairy and egg allergy. Yes it sucks, but Disney is fabulous for this. I have to wait for the end of the dinner though to get my meal, since there was a lady who was allergic to fish...

And since I had time to kill I decided to take advantage of my new camera:

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Ironically, we have had the same cook for the past four visits, too bad he doesn't remember us, but we remember him!

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Yum Yum!

OK enough, it was time to head home, put Logan down and enjoy the evening but as we get up, so does Logan now fully awake and rearing to go, wouldn't you know. So we made a stop at the Mexico Pavilion and rode what Logan would call the 'Donald and Mountain ride' yep. He loved it. Believe me I have a funny feeling this wouldn't be the last time we would ride it.

As we exited the pavilion Andy noticed the clouds and so we started our way to the Front of the park.

We both commented once again on the low crowds, and the weather which for the middle of July in Florida didn't seem horrible at all. Then again, perhaps it was the storm, which never came.

Or perhaps we really were getting used to it. We did find a great advantage to leaving the parks early than we usually did. The busses, which when it was just Andy and I leaving after the park closed was standing room only were also relatively empty. Which meant we had a nice seat all the way back to the resort where we called it an early night, hoping for another night much like the previous.

We would cross our fingers.

Up next..day three, and a kid free night.
 

blackthidot

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
Great stuff! Your "baby" the little one is adorable. Keep those food pictures up!!! I am glad you can feel the pressure from me to take them! Hahah!!
 

PolynesianPrincess

Well-Known Member
Loving the TR so far!! Logan is adorable!! :)

How unlucky is that, getting stuck on the tarmac for 40 mins?!? UGH! Knock on wood, we've never had any delays when flying to the world... Of course now that I say that, when we go in November we will. lol

CRT definitely is a good time. We went once forever ago (I think it was 1997!!) when it was King Stefans Banquet Hall and there were no characters. The atmosphere though was great and our table overlooked the carousel. I hope to get back there again soon... Maybe in the spring!! (And we won't have any children either.. just me (will be 29) sister (26) and Mama (who is 29... again!!) lol)

Cant wait to read more!!
 

alj11980

New Member
Absolutely love your TR! We were there from July 14-23. So sad to come home - miss it already and want to plan our next trip! Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip! Hope you post pics of the resorts. We are looking to stay somewhere different next time. There are so many choices! Have a good day!
 

tink65

Active Member
Hey Aleisha,

I was so excited to see that you've started your trip report! Logan is such a cutie!!! The first time we took our daughter to Disney she was almost 3. I remember worrying about naps, meals, potty breaks.....the list seems endless when you have a young child! But oh those sweet, special moments make it all worth while!! Looking at your pics and reading your posts make me long for those days, but they've long since passed. DD will be celebrating her 17th birthday this year......

Can't wait to read more!!!
 

foreverbelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I'm loving your report so far!! When we drove by SSR we could see the new pool. It was right by where we stayed last year. So it's nice to see someone enjoying it.

We loved it, truly we did. It is so much nicer now that they have a great pool in the back...it was always a pain going to the main one.

Great stuff! Your "baby" the little one is adorable. Keep those food pictures up!!! I am glad you can feel the pressure from me to take them! Hahah!!


Thank you! And I am glad you are enjoying the food pics..there is more to come don't worry.:slurp:

Loving the TR so far!! Logan is adorable!! :)

How unlucky is that, getting stuck on the tarmac for 40 mins?!? UGH! Knock on wood, we've never had any delays when flying to the world... Of course now that I say that, when we go in November we will. lol

CRT definitely is a good time. We went once forever ago (I think it was 1997!!) when it was King Stefans Banquet Hall and there were no characters. The atmosphere though was great and our table overlooked the carousel. I hope to get back there again soon... Maybe in the spring!! (And we won't have any children either.. just me (will be 29) sister (26) and Mama (who is 29... again!!) lol)

Cant wait to read more!!

Totally wouldn't worry about the age like you said and just enjoy. It is so much fun!! 97...wow that was so long ago, :ROFLOL: Actually it feels like yesterday....

I know it was unlucky but we made the most of it. And believe it or not, the flight home was a lot easier...

Absolutely love your TR! We were there from July 14-23. So sad to come home - miss it already and want to plan our next trip! Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip! Hope you post pics of the resorts. We are looking to stay somewhere different next time. There are so many choices! Have a good day!

I know it is so sad to be home as well...what an awful feeling to know your back among the non-vacationers. Once more. And I am already planning and scheming our next trip, which at the moment seems so long ago...

I do have some photos of the resorts...I will have to make sure to post.

Hey Aleisha,

I was so excited to see that you've started your trip report! Logan is such a cutie!!! The first time we took our daughter to Disney she was almost 3. I remember worrying about naps, meals, potty breaks.....the list seems endless when you have a young child! But oh those sweet, special moments make it all worth while!! Looking at your pics and reading your posts make me long for those days, but they've long since passed. DD will be celebrating her 17th birthday this year......

Can't wait to read more!!!

I absolutely love it. I know it was a handful with him at times, but just you wait there are some really sweet moments coming up....just you wait. I know how time flies. I am wondering where these two and a half years have gone. I can't even imagine.

But you are right there is always a lot to worry about I am assuming the next time we go we will be in potty training mode...joy. :ROFLOL:
 

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