Pre-Trip October 2019 - REDEMPTION TRIP

I don't normally do pre-trip reports, but I need a way to get out all of my excited energy for this trip!

If you missed my last report, it's linked in my signature. The short version is: We took our 10.5 week old and she did not travel well.



The newborn stage just straight up sucked for us, but I know that's not how it is for everyone! Now that she's 6 months, she is a darn angel. Like seriously, she's an amazing baby. She is still a home-body though, so we are taking our annual fall Disney trip sans-babychild!

My mother-in-law keeps her one day a week and my mom has been keeping her one day a week all summer, so she is very used to being with them. They are going to team up to watch her while we're gone, and I don't feel nervous at all. I know I'll miss her so much though :cry:The only thing I am a little worried about is her sleeping overnight in a pack-n-play. I do think my mom will keep her at our house for the first few nights, so she may only have to be away from home for 2 nights. Aaaanyway, that's all just way more info than you need. Let's get to the trip!

We're calling this our redemption trip since we not only had an unhappy baby, but we all got a stomach bug. This trip HAS TO BE BETTER. Like, there's no way it won't be better. :hilarious:



This is me and R at MNSSHP last year. We were Pooh and Eeyore since I was pooh-sized last year. We've got plans for this year, but I don't wanna give it away yet.

WHEN: Oct 19-24

We're heading down a bit later than normal. R has inventory at work, which he's missed the last two years because of our trips. Unfortunately the dates for inventory aren't decided until a few months out, so we just made an educated guess, and thankfully he won't miss it this year. The week after his inventory, I have the biggest event my university does each year, and I can't miss that. So we're going two weeks later than normal! It's about halfway between our anniversary and my birthday, so I'm celebrating both 😬

The lack of availability at resorts has me anticipating big crowds, so we're preparing ourselves.

WHERE: Contemporary Resort



I've been wanting to stay here FOREVER and we're finally doing it. We've been to BLT, but I don't feel like that counts the same. I've put off doing this because the cost is so high, but I prepared myself and have been saving. I was able to get an AP discount last week, and while it's still a ridiculous amount, it's more manageable than rack-rate! @Doc Disney advised me that theme park view is worth it here, so we're going for it.

I have a feeling this will be a one-and-done for us because of the cost, but who knows?!

I'll post our dining reservations next. We're 89 days away and I'm so excited!
 

sheriffwoody

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We leave the day you arrive! I hope you and R have a fantastic time!! A theme park view room at the Contemporary is on my bucket list :)My hubby and I did a kid free trip when my little one was 9 months old. We missed her, but it was so nice to have that time together.
Oh dang! I hate we'll miss you. Maybe we'll see you at the airport :joyfull: For real though, depending on when your flight gets into Memphis, I suppose it's possible we could run into each other!

That's about how old LP will be, so that's good to know you did it too! I know a lot of people are very against leaving them that young, but we're so close with our families and trust them with her. I mean they keep her pretty frequently already since I'm working. It's nice to have days where LP doesn't have to go to daycare.

When we did the CG brunch we were at our table for over two hours and were some of the last to leave, and there was still plenty of fresh food on the buffet. I think you'll love the brunch! Congrats on your redemption trip!
Good to know! I'm very excited. I feel super lucky to have gotten the reservation!
 

MinnieM123

Premium Member
It was quite a few years ago that I stayed at the Contemporary for 3 nights (I could barely afford even that!!). But the Contemporary is one of those iconic structures at WDW, with the monorail passing right through it. I think I was up on the 9th floor , with the MK view. I loved going outside on the room's porch. In the mornings I could see the first monorails of the day coming to and from the Contemporary. In the evenings, I'd see the MK all lit up -- what a view!!

It's crazy pricey to stay there, but I'd still recommend it to do just once, just to experience it. :)
 

myhappyplace

Crazy Cat Lady
On my trip with P, our Cali Grill Brunch was at 12:15 and it was still plenty stocked and all good!! I wasn't as impressed by Citricos. I mean, it was fine.

Will be reading along!
 

monykalyn

Well-Known Member
Yay for kid free trips! We took our first kid free trip when our oldest was 10.5 months-I was still nursing once a day but weaned her completely before the trip; It was a company paid for trip to New Orleans with hotel on Bourbon street. So yes, basically weaned her so we could have a good time LOL! We all survived. She is 21 now and very independent. Actually hubs and I have done several kid free trips...we have 3 kids so it is a must!

The Contemporary looks like such a fun resort to stay at.
 

DisneyMorgan

Well-Known Member
Oh dang! I hate we'll miss you. Maybe we'll see you at the airport :joyfull: For real though, depending on when your flight gets into Memphis, I suppose it's possible we could run into each other!

That's about how old LP will be, so that's good to know you did it too! I know a lot of people are very against leaving them that young, but we're so close with our families and trust them with her. I mean they keep her pretty frequently already since I'm working. It's nice to have days where LP doesn't have to go to daycare.

We might! Our flight gets in around 5 pm on the 19th. I did feel bad leaving her, but there is no way she will remember that we did. However, we've since told her we went when she was a baby and now she likes to guilt trip me about it :hilarious: Kids are soooooo fun when they grow up
 

sheriffwoody

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I just realized I never updated with our FPs! This is all text, so it's probably gonna be boring, sorry.

Oct 19 - arrival day, no FPs

Oct 20 -
  • nothing before brunch. RELAAAAX
  • Brunch at 12:35
  • FP for Frozen Ever After at 2:10 (hoping to make the end of this one)
  • FP for Spaceship Earth at 3:15
  • Back to the room and hopefully walking into MNSSHP at 5/5:30
  • Fireworks dessert party at 9:15 (Thanks Disney Visa rewards!! woo!)
Oct 21
  • 9:10 Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
  • 11:05 Seven Dwarves (hoping to move this to 10:30, but no luck yet. It was available when I was booking, but it kept assigning me different times! It was so annoying and weird. I settled with 11)
  • 12:30 Splash Mountain
We'll probably have a snack in MK before Splash, then head out after. Hoping to do Pirates and Haunted Mansion somewhere in there that morning. Will either head straight to Epcot or stop by the room right. Gonna eat some booth snacks for lunch!
  • Dinner at Jaleo at 5:50. Probably back to MK after
Oct 22
  • Oga's Cantina at 11:55 (we'll have some snacks somewhere before)
  • 2:55 Slinky Dog. Would REALLY prefer this in the morning, and I'm going to keep trying, but this was the earliest I could get.
  • Evening is open! Probably eating all the things at F&W then watching EPCOT Forever
Oct 23
  • 9:55 FoP
  • 10:55 Everest
  • Dinner at Citricos at 6:50
I'm sure we'll hop to Epcot for lunch and get our passholder coasters.

As you can see, we've got a lot of flex time! I like not planning it all out, we'll just see where the days take us. I'm hoping I can move the two FPs that I want to move either at the 30 day mark or day-of, but I'm fine if I can't.

Official countdown today: 43 days!
 

DryerLintFan

Premium Member
Our flight is supposed to land at 6:45pm, which means we won't really have time to do anything that evening. We did book a late evening dinner at Wine Bar George though. I figured that would be the best option if we were going to do anything! Hopefully if our flight is delayed, we can cancel without consequence.

Wine Bar George - 10pm. I have a feeling we're going to be exhausted, but we're planning to sleep in (I FORGOT WHAT THAT FEELS LIKE!) the next day.

Sunday Oct 20th - Sleeping in. Omg I cannot wait! Brunch at California Grill at 12:35pm. I'm not sure how late this brunch runs, but I'm slightly worried that if we're at the tail end, the buffet part won't be as good. I guess we'll see. It better be good for the price though! Good grief this brunch is expensive. This is my splurge for our anniversary.

We're planning to do MNSSHP on this evening.

Monday Oct 21st - 5:30pm Jaleo. So pumped for this one! I've heard great things, and the menu looks amazing to us. I'm sure we'll hit up some stores in Disney Springs too.

Tuesday Oct 22nd - 5:45pm Storybook Dining at Artist Point I think we might cancel this one. I know R will be so awkward with the characters, and I think this kind of thing will be more fun to do with LP when she gets older. If we cancel, we'll just do F&W Festival booths for dinner.

Wednesday Oct 23rd - 6:05pm Citricos I can't decide if I'm excited about this one. We both chose it based on the menu, but I've heard mixed reviews. I like the idea of doing signature meals though since we'll be kidless. We will probably skip signatures when we bring her.

And unfortunately that's it! It's so hard for us to pick meal places because we want to try everything!! And we also want to try everything at the festival. It's too bad we don't have unlimited money and stretched out stomachs 😝

It'll be another month-ish before we get to make FPs, but I'll post those here when we get them. I need to figure out which parks we should do on which day. I never have a strategy for this...I just kind of wing it.

I don't mean to be "that guy" but I haven't been able to truly sleep in since I had my baby 4.5 years ago. Especially not when she was a baby. Your body might think she's in the room with you even though you are not.

Also, the first trip away is hard. Make sure both grandmas know how to video chat before you go!!
 

DryerLintFan

Premium Member
Yay for kid free trips! We took our first kid free trip when our oldest was 10.5 months-I was still nursing once a day but weaned her completely before the trip; It was a company paid for trip to New Orleans with hotel on Bourbon street. So yes, basically weaned her so we could have a good time LOL! We all survived. She is 21 now and very independent. Actually hubs and I have done several kid free trips...we have 3 kids so it is a must!

The Contemporary looks like such a fun resort to stay at.

My first kid free trip was when my daughter was about 7 months old for a work trip. I had to pump a lot and store it all in the mini fridge in the hotel. It was..... interesting.... getting the milk back through TSA without a baby with me, but like.... if the baby was with me I wouldn't need to carry a cooler full of milk! LOL!
 

sheriffwoody

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I don't mean to be "that guy" but I haven't been able to truly sleep in since I had my baby 4.5 years ago. Especially not when she was a baby. Your body might think she's in the room with you even though you are not.

Also, the first trip away is hard. Make sure both grandmas know how to video chat before you go!!
We've technically already done a trip away, back in May when she was 4 months. We had a wedding to go to, and knew she'd do better with my mom than us trying to shlep her across the state. It was tough being away, but we survived! I think it'll actually be harder on us now that she's a little older and we are definitely feeling more and more attached as she gets her own little personality (that sounds weird...we have always loved her, but it gets deeper every day 😍)

I'll get to test the sleeping in this weekend! My mom is keeping her Saturday night, and I'm shooting a wedding, so I should be good and tired. To me sleeping in is 8am :hilarious:
 

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