Extreme temperatures, toddler tantrums and family tension- what could go wrong?
Pre-trip is here. I think Iāve reached that sweet spot where itās been enough time where Iāve recovered from the trip it not too much time where Iāve forgotten it.
Letās get this rolling.
When: August 4th-10th 2023 Where: Pop Century Cast:
Me (BES)
My 2yo daughter (Lil BES)
My parents
My 24yo brother
My 12yo nephew (son of another brother who is passed away ~7 years ago)
Supporting Cast:
My husband (DH)
My brotherās dog (Elly)
My brotherās rabbit (Bambi - donāt even get me started on the nameā¦)
Our dog (Maeby)
I really enjoyed the accompanying soundtrack last TR so I plan on doing it again.
Itās amazing how quickly kids change. In the 6 months since lil BES first went to WDW sheās certainly changed a lot. A few of the highlights:
Sheās taller and definitely looks less baby-like and more like a toddler.
Last trip she didnāt really know any Disney characters besides Grogu and Darth Vader. This trip she is all in on the Sensation Six. (And still Star Wars guys.)
And most interestingly for this TR- she talks. So much.
Now onto the good stuff. Sorry/not sorry for the lack of pictures initially but my hands were a little full at the airport:
Friday August 4th (Day 1):
Accounting for rush hour traffic and construction, our plan was for my family to pick lil BES and I up for the airport about 7am.
My alarm was set for my normal wake up time of 530am but I ended up waking up on my own at 515am.
I got ready and packed all of the last minute things. Shockingly it wasnāt too many things. (And more shockingly I had finished the main packing at a reasonable time the day prior.)
I held off on waking lil BES until 0610am. Normally sheās up between 7 and 8am. She was in good spirits. Mainly because we told her the previous day what was going on.
Sheās been talking about going on vacation again since our February WDW trip and we spent 6 months telling her āsomedayā or āsoonā weād go on vacation again.
When I started packing her stuff I told her she was going on vacation. Then I told her it would be with her favorite people to boot she was very excited.
In good spirits doesnāt necessarily mean in a cooperative mood though. Lil BES was did not want to get her diaper changed or get dressed.
Soon DH got up to say his goodbyes but since it was also much earlier than his normal wake up time he wasnāt too useful in helping with lil BES.
My mom texted that they were on their way- early. They only live like 10 min away.
I still was struggling to convince lil BES to get ready when they arrived.
My dad and DH started loading our luggage and I eventually got lil BES ready. We said our goodbyes to DH and thankfully lil BES got into her carseat quickly.
The drive to airport was uneventful. Lil BES serenaded us with her repertoire of songs.
I got to let my family experience a vacation āfirst.ā Since it was me paying, I had them park at the airport and not offsite.
Traveling with a toddler and all of her accoutrements itās worth every dollar to walk directly from the car into the airport. Especially on the return home.
I was grateful to have many people entertaining lil BES and I got all of our checked bags tagged and boarding passes printed.
Then things got fun. Since I have precheck lil BES and my nephew also got it but the others didnāt. It was decided that we would split up.
I figured we would all go in the regular TSA but the line was really long so it was quickly decided to split up.
I took lil BESās car seat from my dad at the last minute. I didnāt know if TSA would give them a hard time to have a car seat but no kid.
My only complaint with TSA precheck at DTW is the location. Itās on another level than the regular TSA. So we had wait for elevators to get us up there. (Thereās escalators for regular people. Theyāre just not an option with a toddler and all her crap.)
Hereās an unsolicited list of what I took through precheck:
Toddler in umbrella stroller
1 stuffed bear who cannot be lost
1 sippy cup
Diaper bag
Nephewās backpack
Car seat
Carry on roller bag
Lil BESās tiny suitcase
Purse
So:
Plus a toddler.
My nephew was super helpful and lil BES was chill at TSA. The DTW TSA precheck staff were fantastic as always.
Nephew was randomly selected to go in the body scanner instead of the metal detector. Because of his age they just swabbed his hands and called it a day.
Lil BESās sippy cup went through the scanner and I was expecting to be stopped for it to be tested. Lil BES saw the cup on the conveyer belt and demanded: āMy milk! I need it!ā
The TSA guy told me just to take the milk and that we were all set. Lil BES immediately took a big swig out of the cup. Thanks TSA for correctly assuming I donāt let my toddler drink explosives.
Now we had to queue up for the single elevator post precheck to get back down to the terminal. We got a text that everyone else was done with TSA.
I assumed they would be waiting for us. I assumed wrong. I texted to see where they were at. No response.
Nephew and I decided we should just start moving towards our gate.
Nephew is really interested in knowing how to do stuff so before we got walking we went to the flight board. I explained how it worked and talked through how to figure out your gate number and where to go next, etc.
Our gate was pretty far down the terminal. The elevated internal tram would have been great but Nephew correctly asserted it would be too much trouble to get to train so we just walked.
That cute little Minnie and Daisy suitcase was the biggest pain in the alien spinner saucer.
Reminder of offending luggage:
Finally got to our gate. We found Bro and Dad just chilling at the gate. Mom was getting coffee. When she returned with hers she did comment, āI text you if you wanted anything but you didnāt respond.ā
I decided not mention how I couldnāt respond whilst transporting all of the bags and all of the children.
Instead asked my nephew what he wanted and placed mobile order for Starbucks for us.
After appropriate time passed I picked up our order.
After a little bit with our drinks Nephew asked a question about his and we realized I got the wrong drinks.
I have a pretty boring name. Itās pretty basic but not like ultra common. I saw my shaken espresso drink labeled BES and the latte next to it also labeled BES and took them.
After my nephew questioned his flavor we realized that we grabbed another BESās drinks. Sorry other BES! Luckily for the other BES 1 of the drinks was the same.
Apparently iced brown sugar oatmilk shaken espressos are the preferred drink of BESs.
This is not in my normal music rotation but something I was made aware of by DH who is a huge music nerd. (But as a Disney nerd who am I to judge?)
DTW has really nice family bathrooms so I took lil BES to one shortly before boarding.
Of course lil BES noticed the vending machine in front of it and convinced me she needed chips.
Oh well. Itās vacation.
Boarding was uneventful. Iām pretty pro at installing lil BESās car seat which helps. Lil BES wanted āPapaā(my dad) to sit next to her. He was thrilled. I sat in aisle seat to assist. The rest of the fam was across the aisle.
How dare Delta remove Mickeyās Clubhouse from their inscreen entertainment? Lil BES was shook but luckily agreeable to watching Peppa Pig instead.
We had a 25 min delay taking off to check weight and balance. My parents joked it was from how heavy my suitcase was.
Lil BES and her Papa had a fantastic flight. She laughed and sung for my dad for a good chunk of the flight. I also had a fantastic flight in that I got to have some mostly off duty time.
Lil BES fell asleep 5 minutes before we landed. We were at the back of the plane so just let her sleep. As deplaning reached the back the family in front of us stood up. The mom was impressed that there was a little one behind them and she had no idea the entire flight.
We had lunch at the airport Chik-fil-A. The rest of the family ordered their food while I sat with BES and then I got to get ours. Luckily lil BES helped herself to some of their tomatoes and fries while I got her some grilled chicken nuggets.
I crammed down my food and ran down to pick up her stroller and went back up to the food court. Then we all went down to Mears.
We immediately loaded to bus and left after 5 minutes.
Lil BES chose to sit next to my mom and watched Cocomelon. Dad and nephew slept. At one point my mom called lil BES a cheese ball. She loved it. She then noticed nephew and dad sleeping and declared them āsleep balls.ā
On the bus I got a room ready text. First floor. 90s.
My Dad was the lead on our second room. He had yet to get a text.
We stopped at Riviera first. Bro said it was ugly.
Next stop was Pop. Dad still didnāt have room. Then he mentioned that he never checked in.
As soon as he did check in he got room text. In the 70s.
The lobby line was long. Dad said it would probably be ok to have rooms in separate buildings. Mom and I disagreed. I said we should take care of it before we enter either room.
Mom watched lil BES in lobby. She liked sparkly floors and kept shouting āI on vacation!!!ā
The line went fast. I pleaded our case to Giovanni. Neither room had been entered. Connecting ideal but even just same building would be ok to help managing a 2 year old.
Apparently the magic words were 2 year old. Perhaps Giovanni has or knows one. As soon as I said it Giovanni said āOh yeah. Youāre going to need a connecting room.ā
He made a phone call and bam. Now we had two connecting rooms. Not that we could be picky but they were in the 90ās section on the 3rd floor.
We started our trek to the rooms. Lil BES wanted to walk herself. Which means she really wanted to climb on every bench and go in the gift shop and play with all of the ropes and signs.
She did a lot of sitting so I couldnāt blame her. It was pretty steamy so at a certain point I ended up carrying her.
Once inside our rooms I left lil BES with my mom. Bro and I went back to lobby to get the crib and the Target order I input at the airport. Dad and nephew went swimming.
Family was quite impressed with the crib and Target order as they had no experience with either.
Lil BES was excited about her āvacation cribā. I was a little nervous since we had recently transitioned her to a toddler bed a home.
Dinner in the POP food court. I got a sesame chicken bowl and a mug. Lil BES immediately claimed it as her mug. She also refused to get into a high chair.
I think that ended up being for the best. She can sit in a chair or on a bench well enough. And it was nice not to have to track one down every meal.
After dinner it was back to rooms. Everyone else went to DHS and Lil BES and I stayed back.
I gave her a bath. (Those sliding doors on the POP shower/tub are terrible for giving kids a bath.)
Then lil BES remembered about swimming. We went to the splash pad.
BES had a blast and she almost played with another kid. (She and the other girl kept getting really close to each other but neither one quite knew what to do)
Finally back to the room for another bath. We did snuggles and books on my bed. Lil BES noted she only had one lovey- bear. (As opposed to her usual one billion)
I explained how others had to stay home but that she could get a new lovey on vacation. Without missing a beat she said āChewybacca!ā
Chewybacca it is kiddo. (Itās too cute to correct her.)
After only 1 Frog and Toad* story lil BES declared she was ready to go in the crib.
She was in bed by 930. I took a shower and then chatted with my mom for a bit.
At DHS The boys (bro and nephew) did smugglers run and liked it while my parents walked around Galaxyās Edge.
The boys swam again at the request of my nephew.
I went to bed relatively early. (Or I guess at the time I should go to bed?) I was still not feeling great due to my pre trip cold and was hoping sleep would help.
*If youāre not familiar with Frog and Toad- get them in your life. They are some of our favorite ones to read.
I've been lurking following along and Frog and Toad got me to comment! Last night I was reading Harry Potter with my ten year olds and brought up Frog and Toad. Both of my sons had big smiles and said how much they loved those books. Other fun friend duos lil BES may love....... the Gerald and Piggie books by Mo Willems and George and Martha books by James Marshall.
I've been lurking following along and Frog and Toad got me to comment! Last night I was reading Harry Potter with my ten year olds and brought up Frog and Toad. Both of my sons had big smiles and said how much they loved those books. Other fun friend duos lil BES may love....... the Gerald and Piggie books by Mo Willems and George and Martha books by James Marshall.
.
