~ A 21 month old, a celebrity sighting, & a whole lotta food~2 week trip~ 2/28 update

[Honeymooner04]

Coming in super late on your trip report but wanted to say how much I enjoyed it! Reminds me the trips we took with my daughter when she was that age! (She's 4 now) We have very similar touring styles! Great job!

P.S. And I just have to mention how refreshing it is to see another mom concerned about bothering other people when their little one is acting less than perfect. Sometimes I feel like the only one.

 

[eandesmom]

Wow, I think your description of that poor guy was very visual! WOW!

As always, Dylan is just adorable!!!!!!!

I like both pictures, Todd and Dylan walking and Dylan just crashed in your arms

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

I can't wait! And after reading your TR and Becky's, I'm thinking that we might need to add some of the shows to our list of things we'd like to do. Like the Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and the Playhouse Disney shows. We were to afraid that she might not sit through them, but you gals have given me hope! We have an ADR to try Boma one night so we can check out AKL, I think you went there too? I have to go back and check.

I really think you should try some shows. I was a little worried about Dylan too, because he doesn't like to sit still. We tried to sit near an aisle in case he misbehaved, but he usually paid attention. Especially Playhouse Disney, since he knew all of the characters.

I LOVE BOMA! We always plan on being at the resort for 2 - 3 hours, so that we have time to watch the animals and just enjoy the resort. Your DD will probably like the animals.

Great Update, how sweet that Dylan fell asleep.

Yeah, I love that picture.

Coming in super late on your trip report but wanted to say how much I enjoyed it! Reminds me the trips we took with my daughter when she was that age! (She's 4 now) We have very similar touring styles! Great job!

P.S. And I just have to mention how refreshing it is to see another mom concerned about bothering other people when their little one is acting less than perfect. Sometimes I feel like the only one.

Welcome! Thank you for joining in. Yes, we used to be commando style touring, but Dylan has forced a change. For the better. We really enjoyed going at a slower pace on this trip.

You are not the only one, when it comes to being concerned about a disruptive child. I promise that there are considerate parents out there somewhere. You just don't spot them at Disney very often. LOL. In all seriousness, I probably worry about it too much, but I would rather be that way than the other end of the spectrum.

Wow, I think your description of that poor guy was very visual! WOW!

As always, Dylan is just adorable!!!!!!!

I like both pictures, Todd and Dylan walking and Dylan just crashed in your arms

I'm glad you feel like I did my description justice. I laughed out loud when I was reading my notes from the trip. It was worse then. I toned it down for the TR.

The picture of Todd & Dylan is just so sweet to me. They have such a great relationship and they are so cute together.

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

By the time that we got off the Great Movie Ride, it was 1:15. We had said that we would leave at 1:30 to go back to the condo so that my parents could finish up their last minute packing because their plane was leaving in a few hours. Since Dylan was asleep in his stroller, Todd and I decided to try to get on RnRC one more time since we’d had not luck all day.

The SRL was open (finally) so my parents went shopping and took Dylan with them and we got in line. It was a pretty long line and it was not moving much. I told Todd we would give it 10 minutes and if it didn’t move very much we would have to give it up and go home. That would be so disappointing but I knew that my parents weren’t totally packed for their flight home and needed time.

The Fast Pass line stands right next to the SRL, and all of a sudden this lady says to us, “Are you a party of 2?” We said yes and she said, “We have 2 extra FP’s, do you want them?” We were so happy!!! They said that we could jump the wall and stand in line with them, but we didn’t want to cut everyone else in line behind them, so we thanked them and took the FP to the end of the FP line (which was about 40 people back). I could not believe our good luck and afterwards I realized we didn’t thank them as much as we should have because their line was moving forward at the time, and they handed them to us very quickly. If you are reading this, THANK YOU! You made our whole day!

5 minutes after we got in the FP line, we were in the Recording Studio. Once we got through the Studio to the other side of the line, we saw that the SRL was long in there too. The CM keep the SRL together in the back part of the Recording Studio so that you stay in that line until you get all the way too the front. Once we understood how the SRL line was working, Todd said, “We wouldn’t have made it on the ride in time.” We were so grateful for the FP’s that were given to us.

We got onto the ride a short time later and we got to ride in the 2nd row. We were behind a boy who was about 8 years old and his mom. He was pumped up to ride, but she looked a little nervous. After the ride was over and we were pulling back into the station, he screamed, “THAT. WAS. AWESOME!” at the top of his lungs. It was so cute. I remember saying to Todd that I hope Dylan is like that someday, where he will love to go on the big rides and enjoy every minute of it.

What can I say about this ride that hasn’t already been said? It is SO great. The take off turns your stomach into knots, and before you can recover you are upside down. I love it! I like seeing all of the Southern California landmarks that we are so used to seeing in person (from our trips down to Disneyland) and the music adds so much. This is my 2nd favorite coaster at WDW, with EE being my first. Todd said that this one is his favorite. We were both so glad that we were able to ride it and it was a nice last ride for our trip.

By now it was 2:00, so we were leaving ½ hour later than we had planned. We found my parents and Dylan had just woken up. Mom had found herself one last frozen lemonade and was enjoying it at a table in the shade. We walked back to the car and by now it was very hot, but it wasn’t as bad as some of the days at the beginning of the trip.

Back at the condo, mom & dad finished packing and took showers since they were sweaty from the park and didn’t want to ride home on the plane like that. I’m sure their fellow passengers were appreciative. LOL. Todd was driving them to the airport while I stayed at the condo with Dylan so that he could take a nap. My parents were sad that they were leaving, but since we had cut the time short by leaving the park late, there was not a lot of time for sad goodbyes (which was good). It’s funny because they live less than 2 hours from us, but it was still sad to see them go. We had looked forward to this trip together for so long and it was hard to believe that it was over.

Since Dylan had a mini-nap at the park, he was not quite ready for a nap. I parked him on the couch next to me and turned on the Disney Channel. Some of his favorite cartoons were on, so he didn’t move and eventually fell back asleep. I just let him sleep there, since moving him to the crib would have woken him back up. During that time I wrote up some of my TR and I started running loads of laundry to start packing our suitcases.

Todd got back around 4:00 and reminded me that we had to have the rental car back to the Hilton hotel in DTD by 5:30. That was the reason that we were not going back to a park this evening. No transportation. I asked if we could go by DTD to get all of our Photopass cards merged onto one account and I also wanted to get some stickers for a scrapbook at WoD. He said sure, so we woke up Dylan and got in the car to head over there. Luckily it was only a 10 minute drive from our condo so we would have plenty of time.

On the drive over, Todd remembered that if we got the car turned in before 5:00 that the car place would give us a ride back to our condo, and then we wouldn’t have to pay for a taxi to get back. By now it was 4:20 so that was really pushing it with the errands that I wanted to run. So we decided that he would drop me off in front of WoD and he would take Dylan to get gas at the Hess station across the street. I power-walked to the Photopass station a waited a few minutes in line. I told the lady what I wanted and it took her no time at all to merge all of the pictures onto 1 card.

Then I went to WoD and looked at all of the scrapbooking stuff. They had a few different books of stickers to choose from, but I found one that had 200 stickers in it for $5.00! What a deal. It had stickers for all of the different parks in it, plus character stickers and stickers of all the countries in the World Showcase. There were not very many people in the store and I was finished pretty quickly. I called Todd and he was on his way back. I checked the time and I had only taken 20 minutes. Wow, I’m good. J I took the rest of my time to snap a few pictures of DTD and let myself get sad that our trip was ending.

Love this store!

He picked me up, but there was a lot of traffic. We got to the Hilton at 4:55, and Todd ran inside to turn in the keys. We made it on time and a nice man drove us back to our condo in our car. On the drive out of DTD towards Crossroads, I really got sad because it would be our last moment “on-property.” We got back to our room and took Dylan’s car seat in with us.

Coming up, our last meal in Orlando…. So sad.

 

[sharonW]

Oh, I'm sooooo sad
Those final vacation moments
are the worst!!! Looking forward
to your last post!!

 

[tinkgurl]

Aw no! The last meal!

 

[eandesmom]

YAY for fast pass karma, that is so wonderful that it worked out like that!

The last day is so bittersweet but it sounds like you got your "list" done without any time stress and that right there, to me, is a gift.

 

[ladybugmom]

YAY for the FPs!!!! That's awesome!! I cannot believe your TR is coming to an end!! I've really enjoyed reading it and getting to know you, Alison!! And I'm praying that things work out for a Nov/Dec trip so we can meetup!!

 

[jordanyosh]

It can't be over yet!!!!

 

[Dugette]

Can't believe your trip is coming to an end. It's been great reading along on your journey and hearing about Dylan's first visit to WDW.

We just got back from our trip a few days ago and some of the things you mentioned in your TR really helped us out. Like how cool the Poly is and how yummy Kona is. I copied you and had the Pan Asian Noodles, which were great. And we watched the fireworks from the beach too. I'm sure there were more things we took from your TR, but you really sold us on the Poly (we spent one night there).

By the way, I read your second-to-last update while we were on a bus to Animal Kingdom!

Totally relate to the speed-visit to DTD. We did that our last night. We got there 10 minutes before everything closed and split up and got all our errands done.

So lucky that you got those FP for RnRC! We waited in the single rider line and it was absurd. Took about twice as long as the standby line. Never again will I go in the SRL on RnRC. FP is the way to go. So glad you got to get that in for your last ride!

Looking forward to hearing about your last meal of the trip!

 

[LilAnn]

Yay for nice strangers at Disney! I'm so glad that you guys got to end your trip with a fave ride. 20 minutes for all your errands at DTD? Wow, you are good. I think I would have gotten too distracted. I'll be sad to read about your last meal. It has been wonderful getting to know you and your family through your TR. Thanks for taking us along. I don't want it to end - I want to keep seeing how Dylan grows up! He is such a cutie!

On a side note, we decided to go ahead and book Boma for our next trip! We are excited to try it and explore the resort. Plus I think my little one, Lily, will love the environment and the desserts! We are also planning on trying some of the shows, like you suggested. We are definitely doing Playhouse Disney and hopefully Lion King among others.

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

Oh, I'm sooooo sad
Those final vacation moments
are the worst!!! Looking forward
to your last post!!

I'm sad just writing about it. It was such a great trip and it has been fun reliving it through the TR. I will probably stretch it out a little more by listing my "favorites". etc.

Aw no! The last meal!

So sad, I know. I don't even want to write about it, even though it was a good meal. LOL

YAY for fast pass karma, that is so wonderful that it worked out like that!

The last day is so bittersweet but it sounds like you got your "list" done without any time stress and that right there, to me, is a gift.

We were so fortunate to get the FPs. You are right that we completed our list. I think we would have been really disappointed if we were not able to ride RnRC since it is Todd's favorite. We would have been saying "How were we there 2 weeks and not be able to get on that ride?"

YAY for the FPs!!!! That's awesome!! I cannot believe your TR is coming to an end!! I've really enjoyed reading it and getting to know you, Alison!! And I'm praying that things work out for a Nov/Dec trip so we can meetup!!

The whole TR writing experience has been so fun, and I'm so glad I did it because I have met such great people (like you! ), as well as really enjoying remembering this trip. It was so special because of Dylan and now I have a great record of it. We are still actively talking about a holiday trip, so we have not given up yet!

It can't be over yet!!!!

LOL, I know. I'm sad. But I realized the other day that we went on this trip 7 months ago! It does not feel that long ago, but it has taken me a long time to get this written up. The nice thing for me is that I haven't even started my TR for our last DL trip, so I will tackle that next. Do you ever go to DL, since you live so close? I don't think I've heard you talk about it...

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

Can't believe your trip is coming to an end. It's been great reading along on your journey and hearing about Dylan's first visit to WDW.

We just got back from our trip a few days ago and some of the things you mentioned in your TR really helped us out. Like how cool the Poly is and how yummy Kona is. I copied you and had the Pan Asian Noodles, which were great. And we watched the fireworks from the beach too. I'm sure there were more things we took from your TR, but you really sold us on the Poly (we spent one night there).

By the way, I read your second-to-last update while we were on a bus to Animal Kingdom!

Totally relate to the speed-visit to DTD. We did that our last night. We got there 10 minutes before everything closed and split up and got all our errands done.

So lucky that you got those FP for RnRC! We waited in the single rider line and it was absurd. Took about twice as long as the standby line. Never again will I go in the SRL on RnRC. FP is the way to go. So glad you got to get that in for your last ride!

Looking forward to hearing about your last meal of the trip!

You are so lucky that you just had your trip! It sounds like you had a great time. You just made my day by telling me that my TR helped w/ your trip. I'm glad that you liked the Poly. Every time that we go back it grows on me more & more. It is just a quiet, peaceful place, and it is such a contrast to the parks. I hope that we will get to stay there someday, even if it is just for 1 night.

LOL about reading on the bus to AK.

Divide & conquer. That is a good way to tackle DTD. I could not believe my good luck that there seemed to be no lines that day. Every other day had been so busy...

Let me know if you are going to write a TR!

Yay for nice strangers at Disney! I'm so glad that you guys got to end your trip with a fave ride. 20 minutes for all your errands at DTD? Wow, you are good. I think I would have gotten too distracted. I'll be sad to read about your last meal. It has been wonderful getting to know you and your family through your TR. Thanks for taking us along. I don't want it to end - I want to keep seeing how Dylan grows up! He is such a cutie!

On a side note, we decided to go ahead and book Boma for our next trip! We are excited to try it and explore the resort. Plus I think my little one, Lily, will love the environment and the desserts! We are also planning on trying some of the shows, like you suggested. We are definitely doing Playhouse Disney and hopefully Lion King among others.

You are right about nice strangers at Disney. And it is fun to be a nice stranger to someone else, isn't it? I love giving FPs to someone else.

Are you writing a TR for your upcoming trip? I would love to hear how your DD does. I am going to do a TR for our DL trip from last Thanksgiving. I have not even had time to start it yet, but it is my next project. I will post the link when I get it going. I feel the same way when someone else's TR is ending. The Dis is a funny place, because you get so attached to other people and their families... so I'm glad that I have another outlet to keep people updated on Dylan & how he is growing up.

Yay for Boma! I promise that it looks scary but you will like it. They have stuff for little kids too (like mac & cheese, chicken nuggets) so hopefully Lily won't find it too hard to find something to eat. She will not be disappointed with the desserts!

 

[LilAnn]

You are right about nice strangers at Disney. And it is fun to be a nice stranger to someone else, isn't it? I love giving FPs to someone else.

Are you writing a TR for your upcoming trip? I would love to hear how your DD does. I am going to do a TR for our DL trip from last Thanksgiving. I have not even had time to start it yet, but it is my next project. I will post the link when I get it going. I feel the same way when someone else's TR is ending. The Dis is a funny place, because you get so attached to other people and their families... so I'm glad that I have another outlet to keep people updated on Dylan & how he is growing up.

Yay for Boma! I promise that it looks scary but you will like it. They have stuff for little kids too (like mac & cheese, chicken nuggets) so hopefully Lily won't find it too hard to find something to eat. She will not be disappointed with the desserts!

I got free FPs to ToT once and that made all the difference that day. Our last trip, my DH and I gave our FPs to TSM since Lily fell asleep in the stroller and we had to meet family for lunch. We spent such a long time trying to find the "right" family to give it to. I think we were just as happy giving it as the family was receiving it.

I'm not sure about writing a TR. I guess it depends on how our photos turn out and how the trip goes. I debated writing a PTR but didnt know if anyone would read it. Plus, I've just recently come out of hiding on the Dis. I don't even think I posted that many pics on facebook of our last trip. But I thoroughly enjoy reading other people's TRs, like yours!

I'm getting more excited about Boma! We wanted to go our last trip but we were traveling with more family and some of them were not as adventurous in their eating habits. We were outnumbered. I'll let you know how it goes! I keep thinking that Dylan and Lily would be so much fun to watch play together. Too bad we live on complete opposite coasts

 

[Dugette]

You are so lucky that you just had your trip! It sounds like you had a great time. You just made my day by telling me that my TR helped w/ your trip. I'm glad that you liked the Poly. Every time that we go back it grows on me more & more. It is just a quiet, peaceful place, and it is such a contrast to the parks. I hope that we will get to stay there someday, even if it is just for 1 night.

LOL about reading on the bus to AK.

Divide & conquer. That is a good way to tackle DTD. I could not believe my good luck that there seemed to be no lines that day. Every other day had been so busy...

Let me know if you are going to write a TR!

Seeing the discussion of Boma here reminds me of another time we were influenced by your TR...our previous trip (September) we went to Boma. Loved it! Did not make it back in January, but hope to sometime soon!

We are planning to start a TR. Hopefully this weekend, if we can get a little free time. It was an interesting trip...definitely some variations from what we planned on our PTR.

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

I got free FPs to ToT once and that made all the difference that day. Our last trip, my DH and I gave our FPs to TSM since Lily fell asleep in the stroller and we had to meet family for lunch. We spent such a long time trying to find the "right" family to give it to. I think we were just as happy giving it as the family was receiving it.

I'm not sure about writing a TR. I guess it depends on how our photos turn out and how the trip goes. I debated writing a PTR but didnt know if anyone would read it. Plus, I've just recently come out of hiding on the Dis. I don't even think I posted that many pics on facebook of our last trip. But I thoroughly enjoy reading other people's TRs, like yours!

I'm getting more excited about Boma! We wanted to go our last trip but we were traveling with more family and some of them were not as adventurous in their eating habits. We were outnumbered. I'll let you know how it goes! I keep thinking that Dylan and Lily would be so much fun to watch play together. Too bad we live on complete opposite coasts

Even if you don't to a TR, maybe you should do one for yourself. Just like writing down some of your favorite moments of Lily, or the things that she says, etc. Then you could put together a little memory album for her to keep. My mom made one for Dylan and he looks at it all the time. I hope that you will at least share pictures!!

I was really scared of Boma before we ate there. The menu sounded so intimidating when I read it online. But when you see the food, you will be excited.

It would be fun to see our kids play together. Dylan loves all other little kids and he is so happy when they want to play together. It does make it difficult since we are in completely different time zones!

Seeing the discussion of Boma here reminds me of another time we were influenced by your TR...our previous trip (September) we went to Boma. Loved it! Did not make it back in January, but hope to sometime soon!

We are planning to start a TR. Hopefully this weekend, if we can get a little free time. It was an interesting trip...definitely some variations from what we planned on our PTR.

I never get tired of eating at Boma. I would eat there every trip, but we pay OOP and that gets expensive. We may try out somewhere else new next time and skip Boma, but I will be sad about it the whole time.

I did not even realize that you had done a PTR until yesterday when I saw the link in your sig. I went and read the whole thing and now I can't wait to start your TR. The word "interesting" is a little scary, when you are talking about your trip. I hope that you had a great time, regardless of any problems that came up.

 

[Dugette]

I never get tired of eating at Boma. I would eat there every trip, but we pay OOP and that gets expensive. We may try out somewhere else new next time and skip Boma, but I will be sad about it the whole time.

I did not even realize that you had done a PTR until yesterday when I saw the link in your sig. I went and read the whole thing and now I can't wait to start your TR. The word "interesting" is a little scary, when you are talking about your trip. I hope that you had a great time, regardless of any problems that came up.

I really enjoyed Boma in September and tried to figure out how to get it into the January trip too, but there were just not enough meal times available since we wanted to try out so many places. We did go to Tusker House, though, which is sort-of like Boma. It was pretty good, but I still really want to go back to Boma.

Yea, glad someone else read our PTR Yeah, we had some "magical moments" and some "miserable moments" this trip. But how can you not have a great time at WDW, right? I'd do it all over again if I could. Except for Thursday. I'd definitely skip Thursday...

Now I've probably really got you curious!

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

So, as some of you know, when we went to Disneyland at Thanksgiving Todd & I went ahead and bought Annual Passes. We knew that we are going to be in Southern California in the summer for some family stuff, so it was cheaper to buy the APs than to buy tickets 2 separate times. Also, Dylan is free until he turns 3 years old, so we wanted to take advantage of that too.

You see where this is going, right? It turns out that some of our good friends have recently been bitten by the Disney bug and they have purchased APs to DL as well. We were talking over dinner a few weeks ago about how it would be fun to go together....one thing led to another and now we have a trip planned for the time that I am off work for Spring Break!!

The dates we will be there are April 5 - 10. That means that it is only about 2 1/2 months away. I'm happy that we will be using our AP's again and that it will be springtime, so the weather should be nice. I am a little worried about crowds, but we have been there enough to not feel like we have to get on everything.

Just wanted to share my good news.

 

[LilAnn]

Even if you don't to a TR, maybe you should do one for yourself. Just like writing down some of your favorite moments of Lily, or the things that she says, etc. Then you could put together a little memory album for her to keep. My mom made one for Dylan and he looks at it all the time. I hope that you will at least share pictures!!

I was really scared of Boma before we ate there. The menu sounded so intimidating when I read it online. But when you see the food, you will be excited.

It would be fun to see our kids play together. Dylan loves all other little kids and he is so happy when they want to play together. It does make it difficult since we are in completely different time zones!

I am tempted to do a TR after getting so addicted to reading them here on the dis. I am not the best writer, though. I do catalog some of my favorite events/memories on a blog that my parents use to keep updated on Lily. I plan on putting that blog into book format soon. If I get some good pics, I'll try to post them for you!

Lily is not a fan of sharing her toys, but there were so may things in your TR that reminded me of Lily's fave activities at Disney that I'm sure they would have gotten along. For example, she loved running on those light up squares after the journey into Imagination ride with figment.

YAY for your next DL trip! That's even sooner than our next WDW trip. How exciting! I'm jealous that you live close enough to do trips to DL, and with friends! That would be nice to get in a Disney fix every once in a while. Are you going to do a mini TR for either your last DL trip or the upcoming one? If so, I'm in!

 

[alabamagirl]

Just got caught up with your TR. I have really enjoyed it! I have made some notes about things you did that I want to do (like try a Napoleon....yum).