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

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

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!!

 

[annienevells]

Day 4!

I woke up at 7 sort of in a panic because Nora wasn't up yet but she definitely needed to catch up on her beauty rest.

I decided I would enjoy a morning version of my solo soda-retrieving walk.

I was in a great mood because we had no rush - today was a resort day! Our only obligation was a 9 AM reservation for breakfast at Ohana.

The colors were just starting to brighten the sky as I walked.

I sat and enjoyed my soda on the beach and just watched the world go by. It was so relaxing and gave me a little zen after our crazy day prior.

I went to fill up my now empty cup before returning to the room.

I got back to the room just as Nora was waking up. She was veryyyyy sleepy.

We took our time getting up, changing, and giving Nora a pre-breakfast snack.

We headed over about 10 minutes before our reservation.

Nora was taking in all the views.

Excited little smile.

We were seated very quickly and I was SO excited about our table location.

This was our SAME table from when I brought Ian for the first time

Throwback!

 

[annienevells]

The food started coming out pretty quickly!

I love the pineapple bread, and Nora was loving the fruit.

She was also in silly mood this morning and did lots of goofing off with dad.

All of our food arrived before any character meets, which was fine with us. We were hungry! Nora devoured lots of sausage and eggs, while we enjoyed all of it. Especially the potatoes!

The Mickey, Lilo, Stitch and Pluto danced around the dining room while we ate and Nora was transfixed.

Time for some waffles!

The first to arrive was Lilo. Nora was... confused by her. "why little girl shape if not little girl?"

Then we had Pluto! Nora LOVED Pluto. She figured out that he was a dog and that made it even better. She kept sticking her tongue out at him. She loves her dog, Gus, at home so this was super cute.

Up next was Stitch. Nora was super silly playing with him. She had no idea who he was, but it was still lots of fun.

Finally the big cheese! Nora had seen him around the room and was very excited whenever he passed by.

This interaction filled our hearts up, and our bellies!

After we paid our bill we headed to the room to change. It was finally time to take Nora to the Lava pool!

 

[annienevells]

The day was picture perfect. Some you folks from warmer climates might've been a bit chilly, but it was perfect for us!

Nora loved the zero entry pool. It was also still very quiet at the Lava pool as it had only just opened.

She also did some flirting with the lifeguard and blew him a bunch of kisses

We swam, had snacks, explored the splash area, and just really relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. We were NOT ready to leave, but we knew it would be good to get Nora lunch before naptime.

Two peas in a pod here:

More pictures of the perfect weather of this day

Once Nora had lunch and crawled around the room for awhile she was out like a light for her nap in no time. Time for my me time!

I did my usually reading and swimming for a while before heading over to add some gift cards to our room charges. I think I have mentioned this before, but during the year we ask for Disney GCs for every birthday/holiday to lower our food costs.

After I added the gift cards I noticed that Donald was meeting out front in his 50th gear. I decided to grab a quick selfie!

I then decided to grab some lunch for us grown ups. I got Ian a burger and the stir fry with chicken for me. It was actually really good and hit the spot!

Once I returned to the room Ian and I discussed strategy for the evening. We decided that we wanted to bring Nora on a skyliner adventure, and Ian had never explored AoA resort.

Nora awoke from her beauty rest, snacked up, and we headed out to the bus.

A bus to HS arrived quickly, and we even had Shirley status!

 

[cgersic]

The first pool photo is soooooo sweet! And then the lifeguard flirting - you're going to have your hands full!

 

[RememberWhen]

My kiddo also loved the characters at ‘Ohana! So glad you all had such a good time and I’m excited to hear about your skyliner adventures

 

[Wicked Sisters]

Those pool photos of Nora are so cute. Really enjoying your adventures

 

[annienevells]

Onto the skyliner!

This felt so extra magical to us. We rode the skyliner a lot on our last trip, our babymoon, as we were staying at Pop.

It was also the perfect time of day/weather for this with Nora.

She was immediately in awe.

I think the skyliner is her new favorite "ride", what do you guys think?

We finished our quick journey and arrived at AoA ready to set out to explore a bit.

I wanted to show Ian the Lion King area first as that is his childhood favorite Disney movie. Maybe tied with 101 Dalmatians.

Snapped this picture because I was matching Ursula.

And these two matched the fish (look at their faces lol)

We just walked leisurely along enjoying the early evening ambiance with all the other families. Ian was impressed by the pool areas and splash pads especially.

We decided to hit Landscape of Flavors for an easy supper. It was PACKED. And of course the items we wanted were not on mobile order. During our walk we talked about maybe next trip we stay here... and then promptly changed our minds I think! It just is THAT much more stressful to us.

Ian waited in line for our chicken parm dinners and some mac and cheese for Nora while I waited for a fresh pretzel I was promised it would be out in 2 minutes. Then 2 became 5.. became 15... then a nice CM came out at almost the 20 minute mark with a piping hot pretzel and told me it was on Mickey.

Thank goodness! I was starving. AND Ian was still waiting.

Nora and I snacked on some pretzel until finally Ian arrived. I think we all blacked out and ate non stop until it was all gone!

We headed out realizing it was past Nora's bedtime and we had a bit of a journey back to Poly. It did mean another Skyliner ride, which Nora was happy about!

Once we finally fought the good fight to get Nora to sleep, Ian pulls down the murphy bed and starts getting comfy. I asked what he was doing and he said "have YOU been comfortable sleeping?" I mean no... but... come on lol

He had a point. We are two big people and the bed just isn't big enough if you move much at night.

We waved goodnight to each other with a laugh, ready to take on our next day. Animal Kingdom!

 

[k8einwdw]

Ian waited in line for our chicken parm dinners and some mac and cheese for Nora while I waited for a fresh pretzel I was promised it would be out in 2 minutes. Then 2 became 5.. became 15... then a nice CM came out at almost the 20 minute mark with a piping hot pretzel and told me it was on Mickey.

We’ve noticed this issue the last few trips in the resort food courts. It doesn’t happen every time, but we’ve had multiple occasions where we had to wait 20+ minutes for food, which is not fun with a hangry toddler. I’m guessing they must be understaffed.

 

[Back!Elbow!Shoulders!]

We decided to hit Landscape of Flavors for an easy supper. It was PACKED. And of course the items we wanted were not on mobile order. During our walk we talked about maybe next trip we stay here... and then promptly changed our minds I think! It just is THAT much more stressful to us.

We had good experiences at Landscape of Flavors this trip but I don’t think we were ever there at peak times.

 

[annienevells]

We’ve noticed this issue the last few trips in the resort food courts. It doesn’t happen every time, but we’ve had multiple occasions where we had to wait 20+ minutes for food, which is not fun with a hangry toddler. I’m guessing they must be understaffed.

We had good experiences at Landscape of Flavors this trip but I don’t think were every there at peak times.

I think peak times is the key here but of course that is when my child wants to eat so.. fun was had

 

[annienevells]

Animal Kingdom day!

But not only AK day. Today was also our date night! They were having the evening hours from 11 PM - 1 AM at MK this evening so we had booked a sitter with Kids Nite Out. We were already exhausted before the day started.. so let's see how this goes.

Nora woke up a bit tired too but so cute in her AK outfit.

We took a pretty full bus from Poly over to AK but made it there before park opening.

We were not headed to FoP (unfortunately) so we took a leisurely start to our day. We wanted to safari but they were not to open for another hour. Our first LL was for Navii River Journey at 9:30.

Some Photopass first! This was the best of the bunch. The sunlight in that spot at this time of day is tough.

With limited options we decided to head for Everest. I wasn't able to ride on our last trip because I was pregnant, so I was pretty excited!

I told Ian to go first and I would give Nora some breakfast.

We were able to watch him zoom by!

Then it was my turn!

The line literally walked right onto the ride, so we ended up each riding twice while Nora snacked. This was such a fun way to start our day and put us in great moods.

Time for our safari! There was already a 30 minute wait, but this line has you bring your strollers with you up until the end which was a BLESSING for my back lol

 

[annienevells]

We were sat in a row with another mom, dad and little one so it worked out perfectly.

Nora was so into seeing all of the animals.

Lots of pointing and "ooooooohs"

She smiled big at the huge rhino because she remembered him from a book we have!

She could NOT really see the lion from that distance but we did which was exciting.

A great time was had by all!

We were nearing the end of our LL window, so we had to really book it to Pandora. But.. we were SO hungry. Nora was the only one who had eaten. We got a popcorn refill and INHALED it quickly before heading out. No pictures because.. it wasn't pretty LOL

We made it for our LL just in time!

Our LL line was super fast and pretty immediately we were boarding our boat.

Nora was transfixed! I wish I could've had enough lighting to show her face. Just absolutely in AWE.

We called this one a win as well!

We took a couple pictures and had some water before leaving Pandora.

Where to next?

 

[annienevells]

Back from which we came!

But this time.. Festival of the Lion King! Ian and I were so excited. We love this show so much.

We were some of the last folks loaded into the theater, but my camera still had a good zoom for photos!

Nora was interested but fussy so I knew she was tired. I was stressing about leaving and sad about missing the show when all of a sudden she was out like a light. Within the first 10 minutes of the performance. With music BLASTING.

She slept for probably 20 minutes or so, and when the show ended we waited for most folks to clear out around us before leaving to delay waking her up until the last minute.

After FotLK (I mean.. Nora's nap), we were ready for lunch! And one of our favorites at that.

Flame Tree BBQ was our destination, pulled pork mac and cheese the dish. YUM.

We devoured this and Nora enjoyed her kids pork as well. She didn't really care for the graham crackers, but Ian and I enjoyed them for her

During lunch we made a LL to meet Minnie and Mickey before we headed out of the park for the afternoon. But first - Kevin!

The line took a decent amount of time and Nora was tired. 20 minutes isn't even considered a NAP in her world. We were on borrowed time!

But soon enough it was time for the big cheese!

She was shy at first but then was all smiles looking at them!

Our last to-do was to get a picture at Dinosaur. This has become Ian's weird tradition every trip and we had to involve Nora this year. Even though we would not be riding, this was necessary.

 

[RememberWhen]

LOVE the Dino pictures. What a cute and fun tradition!

 

[annienevells]

With Ian's photo requirement filled we finally headed out of the park.

We grabbed Mickey ice cream sandwiches for the walk out and they really hit the spot as it was pretty hot out.

We caught a bus back to the Poly almost immediately with only a couple of other folks.

Remember how I said our date night required a 11 PM- 1 AM Magic Kingdom adventure? Looking at Ian on the bus ride.. I was beginning to fear for those late night plans

He woke up as we arrived back at the Poly. Once I got both of my tired family members down for a nap I went on my way for my relaxtion time.

Pool, hot tub and Frosty Pineapple YUM

When I came back to the room everyone was still sleeping so I showered, changed, and headed back out to get some supper for Nora. Her sitter was to arrive at 6 PM.

Once she got up we played a bunch in the room, got her changed, and picked up the room. As an aside, our room was not serviced even the required one time for this length of stay. Not even trash removal. Tough situation when you have a baby in there!

We had a bit of anxiety about the sitter, naturally. We are a daycare family so we are used to strangers with our child but it is difficult no matter how you slice it. Playing through worst case scenario, etc. But when our sitter arrived she was very professional. Kids Nite Out has very rigorous and professional procedures to keep kids safe. We had a bunch of forms to go over with her, talked her through all of Nora's routines/dislikes/etc. I asked that she let me know when Nora fell asleep because I am a freak about sleep (which I guess is why I have a good sleeper lol)

Feeling much less anxious, Ian and I headed out to the monorail just after 6. Both of us agreed that we felt better now that we had met the sitter.

The sun was setting on our monorail ride and the Grand Floridian looked beautiful in the early evening light.

As did the castle as we entered MK!

I love Main St at sunset

We stopped for a quick selfie!

The park was PACKED. Massively packed. I was grateful that I had secured a LL for Space during this time period. We originally wanted to do the PeopleMover but it was down yet again.

We passed by a very long line and were on space in about 15 minutes!

We exited to find lines upon lines in Tomorrowland so we settled for something relaxing.

 

[Sillysidewalker]

Just caught up on your report. Nora is so cute! Seeing your family make all these wonderful memories warms my heart! Can't wait for the rest.

 

[annienevells]

After our always fun showing of Laugh Floor we exited to continued massive crowds. We decided we needed something to eat.. STAT.

Our choice was a Mickey pretzel, naturally, but they were all out

We settled for a hot dog and a cream cheese pretzel. Meh.

We finished still hungry. With not much time before Enchantment, we headed to get a sweet treat instead.

This brownie sundae really hit the spot, and we probably needed the sugar to keep us going!

We were excited about Enchantment. Not because we heard anything great..... but we had not seen it and this was our only chance on a trip with a 13 month old!

This woman in front of me recorded the entire time with her phone held high in the sky. I think I only got 2-3 pictures without her phone in it. Boooooooooooo

It was... fine. We were so sad that we came right before HEA returned, but something to look forward to for the future! We were glad this wasn't Nora's first fireworks show at Disney for sure.

It seemed like the crowds refused to disperse, so we headed somewhere we thought nobody would be.. Small World!

And we were correct.

Until we exited to a 30 minute wait. Yikes! Glad we beat them to it.

We were trying to decide how to NOT get exhausted before the bonus hours even began at 11PM. We decided it was finally time for a ride on the PeopleMover. Back to Tomorrowland we go.

Quick picture of Gus Gus in honor of our Gus at home!

 

[annienevells]

On the walk over I received a text from the sitter letting me know that Nora had a nice evening and was now asleep in bed. That helped me feel a bit better!

After 10 minutes or so we were on board!

Happy faces to be on one of our favorite rides

I took about a million pictures of Tron as we passed, and also waved to the CM down below!

The extra hours for deluxe guests had officially begun but the crowds were still pretty hefty. We noted that Pirates had a 5 minute wait, so we booked it over there.

We went for a purposeful sleepy pose, but it appears some others were naturally a bit tired in this photo

On to Big Thunder! I was extra excited for this as I was wearing my Frontierland sweatshirt from a few years back. I got a bunch of compliments from CMs!

I also did not get to ride on my babymoon so had missed it quite a bit.

Another great adventure on the wildest ride in the wilderness!

We headed to Haunted Mansion next. The wait said 25 minutes but we were on almost immediately.

 

[annienevells]

This picture makes me laugh. Ian looks like he is very intently telling me something lol

We got off HM and just stopped in our tracks EXHAUSTED. It was almost midnight, so another hour left, but we were so so tired. To our bones.

We decided to do Mine Train, since we can't with Nora and hadn't done it last trip, and then call it a night. Mine Train was still an almost 30 minute wait, but we PAINFULLY survived it.

We ultiamtely enjoyed the ride as usual, especially in the dark, but we were ready for bed.

We grabbed a quick photopass to commemorate our Disney Date Night.

We got back to the Poly just before 1 AM, debriefed quickly with the sitter, and went to bed/fell asleep QUICKLY.

The next day was to be a relaxing day with no parks thank GOODNESS.

 

[annienevells]

Wednesday, Feb 8th

This day was exactly 50% amazing and 50% AWFUL.

So... here we go lol

Fortunately after our late night Nora slept in, which allowed us to sleep in, and that was MUCH appreciated. On this day we had zero plans except dinner at Whispering Canyon. Ian had never been to the Wilderness Lodge so I was really looking forward to it and I thought Nora would enjoy the atmosphere as well.

Once Nora got up I brought her over to Captain Cooke's to get us all some breakfast. It was a little busy but we mobile ordered and had our meals pretty quickly.

Clapping at the lifeguards prepping for the day.

We all had some Mickey waffles and sausage. Mostly sausage for Nora honestly, as she is a big meats kind of gal.

We pulled the crib out of the shower area because Ian was desperate for the rainfall shower head. I got Nora ready for the pool and she enjoyed some Miss Rachel on YouTube while we waited for Ian.

We made it over to the Lava pool just after they opened and it was very quiet and shaping up to be a gorgeous day weather wise.

I had to take a picture documenting a family Crocs moment. Up until this trip Ian had adamantly fought against Crocs and now he is a total convert. LOVES them.

I also really love this picture

We had such a blast swimming with Nora. She loved watching Ian go under the waterfall as it made her crack up. We took lots of snack breaks and went in and out of the pool frequently.

She won the heart of another lifeguard on this day who came by to bring her numerous rubber duckies during our time in the water. I think Nora's energy was just infectious on this morning. Full of smiles and laughing, splashing around.

Around noon we set out to dry off before leaving the pool, though none of us really WANTED to. We just knew that an angry tired toddler wouldn't be worth it.

Cool girl with mama's sunglasses.

Once back in the room we got Nora changed for her nap and she was out pretty quickly!