Trip Report Parenting... Just in a different location.

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As TRUE as this was.. I am back from an amazing FIRST family vacation with just us 3 and ready to report out all the fun (and drama lol)

When: Feb 3-11, 2023
Where: Polynesian!
Who: Me, my husband Ian and 13 month old daughter Nora

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I have SO much work to catch up on.. but I will try to be as speedy as humanly possible on this TR.

Here we go!!
 
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annienevells

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
First! Great first page photos!
First Place Shopping GIF by Target

Truer words have never been spoken 😂 I can’t wait to hear all about your trip!
schitts creek crying GIF by CBC

Amen @annienevells ! This also applies for the oldest sister bringing the youngest brother on holiday .. you get into a certain parenting mood ;D

you get it!! 😅

Here!

I did look for you guys….

chicken looking GIF
Looking Around GIF by 1st Look

Following along!!
Been waiting with anticipation to hear all about your first WDW adventures with Nora. Love the first photos.

Oh yes. It would be wonderful to follow one of these kids vacations immediately with a no kids vacation to recover from the first vacation.

Also:
Im So Excited Seth Meyers GIF by Late Night with Seth Meyers

Yesssss Yes GIF

Ready to see more!

Great start !

Ready to
March Of The Penguins Baby GIF by HULU

along!


Max

Wondering Season 6 GIF by This Is Us

Following!

I’m in!
Buckle up, and welcome!!
In, following and think this is a frameable photo!
😍 agreed!!
Hi from a new member! We just took our first Disney vacation without our children. 🥲 The days are long but the years are short.

Looking forward to following along!
TOO TRUE!
I have said these exact words many times lol. Disney isn't a vacation, kids or not lol. Its too busy to be a vacation. But taking kids anywhere, is just yelling at them in a different location 🤣 Which is why I never took mine anywhere until they were like 4 & 7 and could sort of listen. Who am I kidding. They are 9 and 11 now and still only sort of listen lol. I've always been in awe of parents who take infants and toddlers on planes or long road trips. My kids could never have made it at that age, and I was not brave enough to try!
it DID feel brave to tackle, but ultimately worthwhile somehow haha
I Am Here GIF by Djemilah Birnie

So excited to hear about Nora's first trip!

I'm here too!! The photos are starting out so incredibly adorable!!!
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I'm here and following along!
Welcome aboard!!
 

annienevells

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 1! February 3, 2023

The day FINALLY arrived. Our last trip before this was in September of 2021 for our babymoon.

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So I guess this was technically Nora's SECOND trip.

We live in Maine, but almost always fly out of Boston. It's about an hour and a half to the airport and the flights are much cheaper and more nonstop options.

When I booked these flights last summer I had no idea what Nora's wake/nap schedule would be but we lucked out! Our flight was scheduled for 12:15 PM which meant we were able to let her wake up on her own around 7 AM and have our normally paced start to the day.

We had to get dressed in warm clothes as it was -15 degrees! GET ME TO FLORIDA!

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My mom picked us up around 830. She lives in the same town as us, and actually usually watches Nora on Fridays so she was already available! The traffic wasn't bad at all and we arrived right around 10 AM.

We had a LOT of stuff. Traveling with a baby is no joke. We had two large suitcases I had already paid to check, her car seat, stroller, diaper bag, regular backpack, and carry on suitcase (with her essentials like sound machine).

One item I was relieved to be rid of was FORMULA. Only two weeks before this trip we switched to whole milk and it made things so much easier.

When we went to get our bag tags we were standing there contemplating paying to check the carry on suit case to lighten our load when a desk agent came by and gave us the extra checked bag for free!! We thanked her profusely and told each other that this was a good sign that the trip was off to a good start.

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Nora didn't know that she should be excited for this win!

We were now down to the stroller and two backpacks (stowed under the stroller for ease) and were on our way.

Quick stop to change Nora - mirror selfie required lol

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It was nearing 11 AM but not much was open. We opted for sbarro. We shared some calzones with Nora and she was a big fan.

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Here is where I should mention.. we booked Delta basic economy for this flight which is fine. But when I went to check in the night before they had me and Ian in completely different sections of the plane. I understand that is what you sign up for with basic economy.. but it just seems like it is setting other passengers up for a headache when you have a lap infant.

Ian went to the gate agent to ask about being sat together if anyone no-showed, and I took Nora to the children's area to get her wiggles out.

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She loved it. She mostly loved watching all the kids play. She goes to daycare 3 days a week and just LOVES playing with other children.

Once we heard them start priority boarding we did another quick change and headed to the gate. Fortunately Ian was able to secure us two seats together!

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The flight was... rough. I had high hopes, as it was right at her naptime but WISHFUL THINKING. I gave her a bottle for takeoff and hoped she would fall asleep but it was not that easy. Once she finally DID fall asleep.. the woman in front of me slammed her seat into a reclined position and bonked Nora's head. Great. She was screaming crying. Finally fell asleep again PHEW. Drink service starts.. flight attendant YELLS asking what we want and once again wakes her up. I know they are just doing their job but GOOD LORD. Spoiler alert.. this also happened on the way home lol

We eventually made it to Orlando and were very grateful to get off the plane. We immediately shucked our sweatshirts, changed Nora and got our bags from baggage claim.

We were able to get an UberXL very quickly and soon we were on our way.



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Someone was VERY happy to be off that plane.

Our Uber was very nice and clean and he was kind enough to blast the AC for us even though I'm sure for a Floridian 65 degrees wouldn't typically warrant that level of cooling.

We hit some traffic as it was nearing 5 PM, but overall not too bad.

Before long home was calling to us!

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We had a TIME trying to get checked in and get our Magic Bands sorted, but it did allow us to pick up our Walmart+ order that had been delivered to bell services. We ordered diapers, milk, snacks for Nora, etc. which was really helpful.

Check in complete - where to next?!
 

annienevells

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
With our bags squared away and Magic Bands activated we headed to get some food and drinks.

These are new lids from when we last were at WDW - we loved the new ones!

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After picking up our mobile order we headed to our room. Where to you ask?

A new location for us! We previously stayed 2nd floor Moorea. We would be 1st floor Tokelau this trip on the pool side :)

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Time for some room photos before it gets destroyed by my baby. And destroy it she did.... (not in a terrible way, just a MESSY way)


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Nora appreciated the small touches like the Mickey shaped towel arrangement.

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I pulled out a surprise that I got at check-in (surprise was for Ian, who loved his first visit button when we went together for the first time. Nora... did not care LOL)

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Time to eat our mobile order. Nora was losing steam AND hangry.

Ian got the thai coconut meatballs. He shared his rice with Nora Bea.

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I got my favorite - the pulled pork nachos. I shared the pork with Nora.

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We then got Nora's bedroom set up.

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Ian was a bit disappointed by the set up because he LOVES the rainfall shower in here, but I reminded him that we dont want to be prevented from using the OTHER purpose of the bathroom (which only exists in the large bathroom)

We had only a little trouble getting her to sleep, but once she was out we didn't hear from her for the next 12 hours!

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annienevells

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Nora fell asleep around 815, which then allowed me to walk outside to this while Ian stayed behind:

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I didn't watch much, as we had not yet seen Enchantment, but I basked in the happiness of just BEING there. Best feeling ever.

I headed to the quiet pool for drink refills.

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Then decided I needed a little treat so continued my contented walk around the Poly.

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Treat obtained I headed back to the room to enjoy it

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I didn't sleep GREAT. Stress watched Nora on the monitor a bunch plus just buzzing with excitement for the next day.

What would our first full day bring us?!

Stay tuned...
 

Yellow Shoes

Well-Known Member
I have said these exact words many times lol. Disney isn't a vacation, kids or not lol. Its too busy to be a vacation. But taking kids anywhere, is just yelling at them in a different location 🤣 Which is why I never took mine anywhere until they were like 4 & 7 and could sort of listen. Who am I kidding. They are 9 and 11 now and still only sort of listen lol. I've always been in awe of parents who take infants and toddlers on planes or long road trips. My kids could never have made it at that age, and I was not brave enough to try!
My minimum age is 5--no strollers, they aren't afraid of characters and REALLY believe they are real, they can (often) be reasoned with, and usually be bribed
 

annienevells

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I'm still here! I am having surgery on Thursday so I have big plans to post lots of TR updates while recuperating.

Where was I? ...


Ah yes.. back at the Poly on our first official morning.

We decided early on to wake up WITH Nora instead of waking her from her beauty sleep. We were utilizing Genie+ anyway, so why force the issue to try for rope drop with a 13 month old?

She woke up around 7 AM which is pretty standard for her.

We were extra excited for Day 1 because it was going to be Nora's first character meal at Crystal Palace. She decided to dress the part for her friends from the 100 Acre Wood.

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Nora had a bottle and some yogurt before I got myself ready.

We were dressed and out the door by 7:45 - not bad!

Onward to Nora's first monorail ride. As you can see, she was a big fan!

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Our first morning was brisk but comfortable. We were grateful as it can be tougher for us Mainers to jump right into 80+ degree weather. This made the transition a bit easier.

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We are here!

We walked into Magic Kingdom just soaking up all that we had missed. Our reservation at CP was for 8:20 so we were just strolling on Main St.

We stopped for a PhotoPass picture and did a mom and dad selfie first!

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Nora was still warming up to this crazy place but I still think it's pretty cute!

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We went to show her a side view of the castle where she got more awake and silly with dad.

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Soon enough it was time to check in with Crystal Palace and we were seated immediately.

Now.. remember my dear dear friend who smashed Nora's head on the flight down from Boston? Well wouldn't you know... she was seated with her son AT THE VERY NEXT TABLE?!!!

It sure is a small world after all................

Be Nice Season 9 GIF by The Office


Anyways.. time for fun!

Almost immediately after we were seated our first friend arrived.

Piglet!

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Nora was not scared at all. She was a bit shy at first but warmed up quickly :)

Immediately after piglet they started the parade, so we were able to stuff our faces.

Nora's first Mickey waffle experience to commence in 3... 2... 1

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YUM

My plate:

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The churro Mickey waffles were so good but SUPER sugary.

Next up for friends - Eeyore. Nora liked touching the top of his head lol

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annienevells

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
A kind stranger took a family photo for us!

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Now a family selfie for Tigger

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Piglet started another round and Nora was familiar and excited at this point. She couldn't stop laughing. It was SO CUTE.

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Save the best for last!

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We felt SO happy after this great meal and character interaction. Nora loved it, loved her food, had a great time. Ian and I looked at each other with just pure emotion because we had been dreaming of this day forever. I remember going through infertility and IVF and wondering if I would ever get experiences like this and now here we were. So amazing!

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Where to next? Our first LL was at 10 for Peter Pan's Flight. So we went in a different direction..

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And what would be Nora's first ever WDW ride?!

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Let's see how this goes!

It was only a 5 minute wait and we were on board quickly. Nora was in awe and silent the whole time. As we exited our boat she immediately started laughing and clapping. Guess we will call that a win!

Giving pirate Mickey a hug for the memories.

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Poor Nora got Mike Wizowski'ed here

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Time for a restroom break.

And a couple of goofs taking pictures waiting for dad.

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annienevells

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Fresh from our pirates adventure, we headed to our first LL of the day.

We brought Nora by here to see Gus Gus (because that is the name of our dog lol)

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Time to head off to Neverland!

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Our line with LL was very fast and this was once again a win for Nora.

We headed across the way next to Small World. The standby line took a little longer than we expected - listed as 5 minutes and took about 10. While we were waiting a booked a LL for Pooh!

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Nora was just mouth agape taking in all in the whole time. As with Pirates, she was silent and then when we excited she clapped and laughed. I guess she just needs a minute to process everything she just experienced! 😅

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We discovered our Pooh LL had switched to a multi experience LL. Bummer. We left that as is and booked a regular one for Dumbo. But first.. carousel!

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Nora LOVED this. Just laughing and squealing the whole time.

We then made our way over to Dumbo. Nora loved pushing the controller up and down. Ian rode in front of us and kept waving back at Nora which made her giggle every time.

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We knew we wanted to head out for naptime around noon, and it was definitely getting hot and crowded so we were almost ready. We quickly grabbed a Teacups LL and rode that before heading out.

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While we were walking out of the park we talked strategy. What did we want to accomplish when we returned? Big number one would be Pooh and the Railroad. Would we accomplish either?

Stay tuned!
 

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