Happy in Hawaii –- Aulani & Oahu with a Toddler ~ Updated 7/20: Final Update and link to new TR!

[Dugette]

Aloha! Welcome to our Dream Trip of a Lifetime! Or, more accurately, the amazing trip that we had no intention of taking at this point in our lives and had no idea that it would work out quite the way it did. Oh, and we had an incredible time and would love to go back. Right now. But, alas, we are stuck in Minnesota in December, so I might as well just relive the trip through the DIS.

If you haven’'t already “met” us, I am “"Dugette"”, my husband of 9 years is “"Dug"”, and our daughter Izzy turned 2 about a month and a half before our trip:



Clearly, she is the star of the show:



But this place came in a close second:



Not to mention the amazingly beautiful island it is located on.

If you’'d like to take a peek at how this trip came to be, feel free to check out the Pre-Trip Report here: "It All Started with a Massive Price Glitch"

If you’'re not up for that, though, here'’s the abridged version:

*Dug'’s parents, on Christmas Day 2013, talked about how December of 2014 was their 40th anniversary and they would love to go to Hawaii and wouldn’t it be so cool if some of the “kids” could fly out and join them (and pay their own way ).

*December 26th, at work, I remembered this and decided to see how much airfare to Hawaii even was. I didn’t think we’'d have the money, but can'’t hurt to look, right?

*Turned out that I was looking at the same time that Delta was having a massive price glitch and First Class tickets to Hawaii were $70/each. So, I got some for about as far out as we could get (nearly a year). Dug’'s family was too slow to catch them (Delta’'s site started crashing, I guess), so they thought fast and ended up snagging a trip to Maui last February for $50/each. Not bad.

*The next 11 months were spent in disbelief that any of this was even real life.

*Also, I found a DVC owner willing to rent me points at a good price for Aulani and got us a Standard Studio (hard to get). Then, months later, DVC had a deal where you could use 5 nights of points for 7 nights of stay (so, 2 free nights). I got that applied and the difference in rental cost refunded. Heck of a deal -– around $175/night!

*We planned the trip and were all excited to go!

*Dug got a new job at the end of September. New job is awesome, but required he attend an annual all-company retreat in Palm Springs, California…...smack in the middle of our Hawaii trip. When we asked, they arranged to fly him there from Hawaii in order to salvage the beginning and end of our trip. So, he got two weekends in Hawaii and Izzy and I were solo for 4.5 days in between.

*Did I mention that, despite the ups and downs, it was awesome?!

Chapters
Intros

Day 1 - Fri. 11/7/14
Let's Go to Hawaii! - Part 1
Let's Go to Hawaii! - Part 2
Bring on the Mai Tais!
Aloha, Malasadas!
Welcome Home!
All's Quiet at Aulani

Day 2 - Sat. 11/8/14
Breakfast with Minnie - Part 1
Breakfast with Minnie - Part 2
Breakfast with Minnie - Part 3
Leaving the Bubble
Animals and a Bus
Movie Tour - Part 1
Movie Tour - Part 2
Uncle Bobo's BBQ
Wandering Around the Poly(nesian Cultural Center)
Musical Sticks
I'm On a Boat!
Driving, Food, & Exhaustion

Day 3 - Sun. 11/9/14
Pearl Harbor - Part 1
Pearl Harbor - Part 2
Pearl Harbor - Part 3
Pearl Harbor - Part 4
Bye-Bye, Food!
Beware of Bees During High Winds
Beaches & Dreams
Small White Dog Required

Day 4 - Mon. 11/10/14
Shopping in Paradise
Character Meet Spree
Naptime & Pool Time

Day 5 - Tues. 11/11/14
Table for Two
Pool Time & Character Meets
Characters Galore
Sailing Into the Sunset
Daredevil!

Day 6 - Weds. 11/12/14
The Menehune Trail
A Lazy Afternoon
Ta Da!
Surf's Up!
Cuteness Overload
Hawaiian Sunset

Day 7 - Thurs. 11/13/14
Giddy Up!
Waimea Valley Stroll
Stitch's Dance Party
Fun in the Sun
Dinner and a Show

Day 8 - Fri. 11/14/14
Disney Junior Aloha
The Circle Tour
Scenic Views at Sunset
The Long Drive Home

Day 9 - Sat. 11/15/14
Family Reunion
Pineapple is in the Air
Turtle!
Somewhere Under the Rainbows
Enjoying the Water

Day 10 - Sun. 11/16/14
Climbing to the Sunrise
Mmmmm, Butter!
Where's Minnie?
The Minnie Meet
Pool Party Crasher
Beach Time
Our Last Hawaiian Sunset
The Long Flight Home (in 1st Class!)

Pre-Trip Report Currently in Progress:
Land & Sea Pre-Trip Report Started!!!
...Turned to Trip Report Currently in Progress:
"I'm NOT a Princess, I'm Izzy!"

Off-Topic:
What? A Do-Over?!
Return to Aulani - PTR Update

 

[AprilRenee]

First one here! I win!! (Aka I made up for being on the second page on your other report! Lol

 

[TheMaxRebo]

joining! glad to see you started ... though I can imagine wanting to "re-live" the trip know that the weather has gotten so cold

 

[sock2you]

Following along. Izzy has gotten so big!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

Not going to lie, I am pretty excited to relive this one with you! Hawaii is one of my bucket list locations!

Can't wait to hear all about your trip!

 

[MiaBella05]

joining in

 

[Backstage_Gal]

Awesome. cant wait for it to start

 

[SevenWonkas]

Can't wait to hear more!

 

[Dugette]

First one here! I win!! (Aka I made up for being on the second page on your other report! Lol

Nice work - you've really upped your game! I hadn't even finished putting up all the links yet! Glad you are here!

joining! glad to see you started ... though I can imagine wanting to "re-live" the trip know that the weather has gotten so cold

I cannot wait to relive this trip! And, you know what? I'm hearing that we may actually have a really mild December here, so not quite as cold as it was in November. Still, Hawaii was much nicer! I'd rather be there any day.

Following along. Izzy has gotten so big!

I know, it's such a difference looking at the Dec. 2013 TR and the new pictures - she's grown SO much.

Not going to lie, I am pretty excited to relive this one with you! Hawaii is one of my bucket list locations!

Can't wait to hear all about your trip!

Yay! I'm glad you're excited. It was always on our bucket list too, but it happened much sooner than expected. Hoping you get to enjoy it in the not-terribly-distant future. Such an amazing place to visit.

joining in

and glad to have you along for the ride again!

Awesome. cant wait for it to start

and great to know you're here! Starting very soon...

Can't wait to hear more!

Thanks for joining! Update coming up!

 

[Dugette]

After nearly a year of anticipation (and Izzy saying, “I want go Hawaii!”), Friday, November 7th arrived. We had the day off from work and would be flying for most of it.

The alarm was set for 7am.

The dog (Bailey) went on a barking spree at 5:30am. She is a troublemaker sometimes. I got up to let her out and calm her down, then tried to get a bit more sleep before the alarm went off. Dug and Izzy continued to slumber peacefully.

Starting a couple days prior to the trip, I had gotten some sort of stomach flu. I wasn’t super sick, but was generally not hungry and, simply put, my digestive system was already on vacation. The worst was prior to the trip, thankfully, but it will linger intermittently several days into this trip (you’re welcome ). Fortunately, my stomach felt fairly stable upon getting up that morning. I stuck to just toast for breakfast, though, to play it safe.

I got up with the alarm, got myself ready, and packed up the last-minute things for myself and for Izzy. I got Bailey’s gear ready to go, as she would be going to “Wilderness Adventure Puppy Camp”, otherwise known as my dad and stepmom’s house. They are awesome to watch Bailey for us when we travel! Not to mention that they often provide puppy pick-up and drop-off service, as they did this time.

As a bonus, they had also volunteered to transport us to and from the airport. Yay! My dad would be bringing us to MSP and my stepmom would be picking us up when we returned. We asked my dad to pick us up at 9am for our 11:30am flight, as we live about 30 minutes from the airport.

My dad decided to show up at 8:45am to give us time to get luggage into the car and all. He had brought my stepmom’s car, as it is slightly bigger (both are Subaru Outbacks, but hers is newer). Izzy was a bit surprised to see Grandpa walk in – after all, he’s not supposed to be here! We explained that he was taking us to the airport so we could fly on an airplane to Hawaii. After a bit, she warmed up to his presence.

Izzy was still eating breakfast, so my dad sat with her and watched her eat toast (and amused her) while I started loading things into the car. I think Dug was finishing getting ready and/or packing last-minute things, as he was not keeping up with my pace. I was scrambling around, trying to make sure everything was packed and ready and loaded, etc. I also put out enormous amounts of cat food and water for Kitty (Dug’s friend would be checking in on her a couple times).

Our luggage just barely fit in the car. We had an insane luggage allowance with our First Class tickets – 3 free checked bags of up to 75 pounds for each of us! We did not bring that much, but we did bring a lot more than we normally would. Especially with Dug doing a trip-within-a-trip. I believe we ended up checking two large bags, two medium bags, and one carry-on sized bag. Our actual carry-on consisted of two backpacks (one Dug’s and one toys), a computer bag, a diaper changing kit, a cooler with milk for Izzy, a tote bag with my stuff, and a carseat. We gate-checked the stroller in its own bag (and threw some other things in there). I guess we just don’t travel light.

As we were getting ready to go, I said to Dug, “Do you think there is any reason to bring my keys? I mean, we have a spare house key (my dad would be using) and we don’t need the car.” He said we didn’t need them and I left them at home. Remember that until the very end of this trip report, okay?

So, despite my dad arriving 15 minutes early, we actually left nearly a half hour late, at 9:29am. Still fine on time, though. I finally managed to take a picture as we were leaving our neighborhood (I sat in back with Izzy):



By the way, you can’t see it there, but her stroller is crammed in between her rear-facing carseat and the front passenger seat. We just barely fit it in. But we did!

Oh, the weather was actually very pleasant, hence the fleece jacket. Izzy’s hat wasn’t really necessary, but she wanted to wear it, so who am I to say no? The weather took a turn for the worse about 3 days after we left – early winter in Minnesota!

We made it to the airport at 9:56am and pulled up to the departures area:





Looks like Izzy brought a few Duplos with her in the car.

We did what any reasonable people would do with all of our bags and a toddler: found the Skycap to check all 5 bags! Interestingly, he actually remembered us from a previous trip, as he knows someone who shares our last name (but is not related). I guess we travel a lot.

Once we had Izzy and all of the carry-on, my dad took a picture for us:



Despite that long list of things we carried on, this doesn’t look too bad. We each have a backpack (yes, mine is Izzy’s Minnie backpack), Dug has the computer bag over a shoulder, I’m holding the tote bag, and the carseat and diaper kit are both attached to the back of the stroller. Very mobile and easy to deal with. In fact, once we went through security, we were able to put the tote bag in the carseat that was attached to the stroller and the computer bag in the stroller basket below, making it even easier to get around. We avoided rolling bags, as we didn’t want to have to use overhead storage – it’s nice to have things easily accessible with a toddler and on such long flights.

After thanking my dad for the ride and the afternoon’s planned Bailey pick-up, we headed in to figure out where we were supposed to go through security. We were fairly sure there was a special line for First Class, but had no idea where that was. We had to ask a couple people and then found that it was a bit off the beaten path. We’re walking towards the TSA agent here:



We ended up with basically a private security line. With pretty friendly TSA people. One other business traveler did come up right after us and we just let him go ahead, since we had so much stuff and he could cruise right through.

Izzy was awarded a TSA sticker:



I’m sure that will get her pre-check forever, right?

So, kind-of a neat thing – they told us NOT to bother folding the stroller and putting it on the belt. Which I’ve had to do every other time (5 other trips). Instead, they wanted to make it easy on us (wow!) and just rolled it through all wide open. Cool.

Everything went smoothly, except for a strange experience at the end. I had a couple thermoses of milk in the cooler for Izzy and I’d thrown in three food pouches for her too. They didn’t need to be in the cooler, it just seemed like a good place to toss them. They are normally just in the bags somewhere and never are a concern. But putting them in the cooler got the TSA guy’s attention. He told us that he was “going to let it go this time”, but we had to make sure never to bring ones that are over 3.4 ounces (these were and I’d venture to say nearly all of them are). I was fairly certain that he was wrong, as baby food is an exception to the 3.4 oz. rule – I’ve read up on travel with babies on the TSA website before. I mentioned to him that my understanding was that baby food was not limited to 3.4 oz. quantities and it’s been fine on 5 other flights, but he wouldn’t concede. However, since he was “letting it go”, I just dropped it and moved on. Just rubbed me the wrong way, though. I don’t like being accused of breaking rules that I am not breaking.

(Here’s the wording from the TSA website, by the way: “Medically required liquids, such as baby formula and food, breast milk and medications are allowed in excess of 3.4 ounces in reasonable quantities for the flight.”)

At any rate, we moved on from security and found a moose:



When we returned to the airport on our way home, Izzy spotted that same moose and yelled out, “Moose!”

When we got to the long stretches with moving walkways, we split up. Dug took the walkway while I pushed the stroller down the hallway. It’s kind-of a wide load and I didn’t want to block others who were passing or get bumped around by them. Here’s my view:





See Dug up there? Interestingly enough, since he walks much more slowly than I do (back problems that radiate into his hip), we moved at the same pace this way. I found myself wishing there were always a moving walkway when we were walking together. It was nice to move along quickly and have him keep up.

Once we got to our gate area, we stopped at the restrooms. We each went in to use them and Dug ended up bringing Izzy for a diaper change, as the women’s room had the table in the wheelchair stall and it was occupied. In the meantime, I worked on collapsing the stroller and packing it away in the gate-check bag.

Dug came out and it was time to board! We grabbed all our stuff and bypassed the huddled masses (ha, kidding!) to get on the plane. We brought the stroller down to the gate-check area and hopped on the plane with everything else in tow. We let Izzy walk with us, as she had in August (instead of carrying her or wearing her in the Ergo – side note, I had the Ergo in the tote bag, just in case we needed it).

It was so strange going to the First Class section. So roomy and pleasant! It was a two-and-two configuration, so I installed Izzy’s carseat in the window seat and sat next to her, while Dug sat directly across the aisle from me (next to a nice stranger). As I was scrambling to set things down and get Izzy in her carseat, I realized she would not need her jacket. I took it off and stashed it in the pocket of the seat in front of her to deal with once I got situated.

Once she was buckled up, Izzy wanted lunch:



Oooh, look, a “forbidden” pouch of baby food!

Dug was pleased with his accommodations:



First selfie/we-sie of the trip:



It was pretty nice to have small bottles of water, pillows, and blankets waiting for us! I felt special. Man, my $3 to upgrade from Coach to First Class was well-spent and paid off immediately!

Izzy wanted more after her pouch, so I found something in her bag that would keep her occupied: a fruit roll-up. She’d never had one before and must have gotten it for Halloween or something. I figured it would keep her busy for a bit while the boarding continued:



Sure enough, it did take her some time to eat. And she liked it. But we were still at the gate. What next to keep her occupied? Oh, yeah, a new book-that-is-also-a-bus that I picked up for $1 at Target before the trip:



She got a kick out of that thing! She could “read” it and roll it around (though the wheels were a bit squeaky…I’m sure the rest of the cabin thought poorly of me…).

Meanwhile, the jetway was finally being pulled back and I could see it through Izzy’s window, which was a new experience:





Odd to see it getting further and further away.

We soon took off and were on our way to LAX, where we would have a short layover, then get back on the same plane the rest of the way to Honolulu. The take-off seemed really rough – I don’t know if it was being so far up in the plane and it felt different? Or if it was the plane? But we were fine and Izzy was being silly:





I’d given her that blanket since it was midday and she’d just eaten, so should be about naptime. Yeah, right.

Dug was figuring out all the electronics hook-ups and the free movies:



I checked out the movie selection for Izzy and found a few Disney movies: Frozen, The Little Mermaid, and Toy Story 3. She chose Frozen:



We actually had brought the iPad loaded with Frozen, but it was way easier to just play it on the seatback screen. Especially since she didn’t care about having audio. I’d hooked her headphones up for her, but she didn’t want them. I’m guessing she would have been a big fan of the silent film era. The only thing she didn’t like was that the movie paused every time there was an announcement. She really did not like that and I had to calm her and explain that it would start again when the pilot was done talking. She got better with it as the flight went on. It happened a lot.

Dug chose to watch the movie Chef on his screen. He said it was great. For what it’s worth, we had initially planned to switch off as Izzy’s companion, but she was so wrapped up in watching her movie that it really wasn’t necessary, so we stayed put.

At some point, the flight attendant came by to take our lunch order. It was either a hamburger or some sort of salad, I think? Can’t remember. Dug and I both got burgers. The flight attendant suggested I get the other one for Izzy, as it had some fruit or something she might like. I said okay.

A bit later, they came out with cloth tray-covers for our fancy-pull-out-of-the-armrest trays. They also would put peoples’ trays out for them, if needed. Here’s my fancy tablecloth:



(Side note: this plane had nice USB plug-ins on the seatbacks, so I was able to keep my phone fully charged, as you can sort-of see there).

Up next came a First Class feature that I was unaware of: the flight attendant came around with a basket of hot washcloths that she passed out with tongs. This was the best picture I could get without being too much of a gawker:



I think I may have used one to clean up Izzy's messy food-face.

Another thing that was different from Coach was that they addressed you as “Mr. [Last Name]” or “Mrs. [Last Name]”. Well, except for Izzy – I’m not sure they see a lot of toddlers there, so they weren’t entirely sure how to handle things with her at times.

Next up was the first of many snack baskets for us to choose items out of. It was mostly your typical airline snacks with this first one, but we could grab our own as the basket was offered and take as many as we wanted. I went simple and just grabbed a couple packs of pretzels, I think. Oh, and a cookie to stash for later, if Izzy needed distraction. Didn’t want to seem too eager to stock up (just yet). Izzy loves airline pretzels and enjoyed snacking while she watched silent Frozen:



Continued in next post…

 

[Dugette]

Continued from last post…

Meanwhile, since Izzy was occupied, I decided to see what all was available on the screen in front of me. I ended up checking out the games and fooling around with Yahtzee until lunch arrived:



I think I might have been missing something, as all I was doing was rolling dice and selecting which ones to keep. I know that’s the game, but I didn’t see like a running scorecard or anything. It was good mindless activity, at least. I could say that I used a First Class perk available to me. I also got a can of Diet Coke to enjoy during that time. It came with a fancy glass:



No cheap plastic cups up here!

Then my lunch arrived to save me from endless Yahtzee:



Not bad! The burger was actually pretty good (I put the slice of cheese on it). Mmm, love pickles! The thing in back is a kind-of strange potato salad. I didn’t eat much of it. Off to the right is a hard breadstick cracker thing. To the left, grapes, cheese (one wedge of which was already given to Izzy), and a yummy dessert cobbler. I don’t think she ended up bringing out the other meal (for Izzy), as it really wasn’t needed with her sharing some of my cheese, grapes, breadstick, etc. (There really wasn’t room for more than one meal, as Izzy’s tray was not usable due to the carseat being in the way).

Mmmm, nice block of cheese:



Mmmmm, cheeseburger:



I checked out our flight statistics on the screen:



Looks like we’d made it to Nebraska by lunch:



I noticed my condiments, in particular the tiny salt and pepper, and thought that was a swanky touch. In fact, I had to try them just to try them, so I opened up the tiny personal pepper shaker and used it on my weird potato salad. Made it slightly more palatable. Not enough to really eat, though:



Izzy was still going to town on the giant hunk of cheese:



Um, she got a little messy with no bib and crumbling cheese:



And then she managed to spill milk into her seat/on her. That Thermos straw cup doesn’t really leak, but if you hold it open and upside-down just right, the milk can come out through the straw – and it was. I asked the flight attendant for an extra napkin for clean-up. Ah, the perks of First Class – cloth napkins to clean up your toddler’s spills:



I soaked it up as much as I could and called it good.

Frozen had finished by then, so we went to The Little Mermaid next, as Izzy loves Ariel:



We had made it over the Rockies:



Time to play with travel-sized Minnie and little, pink Bear:



Minnie set a good example for Izzy and decided to get comfy with the blankie and airline pillow and go nigh-night:



Despite that, there was no napping for Izzy on this flight. She was perfectly happy watching her movies and playing with a few toys. Most of what we’d brought to amuse her never even came out of the bags. I wish there were always Disney movies for free on personal screens!

I think Izzy and I played peek-a-boo with Minnie and little Bear for a bit before the snack basket came around again. They added some special snack items this time. Izzy had recently discovered Kit Kats (Halloween), so I grabbed one of those, knowing it would keep her happy. I also took the flight attendant’s encouragement and grabbed a bag of Goldfish crackers for later. Naturally, I also had to take a special treat for myself – dark chocolate Milano cookies. Yum!



Yep, the Kit Kat meets with her approval:



I also pulled out the little bottles of water we had upon arrival. I think I had stashed them out of the way in a bag. Izzy insisted on finishing one of them:



Gotta wash down that chocolate, I guess.

Only 43 minutes left:



Soon enough, yet another snack service came around. Izzy wanted a banana:



I think I may have grabbed more things to stash for later. Or maybe a Snickers bar for me. I don’t remember. They were coming around fast and furious by that time.

The Little Mermaid had finished up, so we moved on to Toy Story 3:



Ah, my favorite little aliens!

Looks like Izzy’s eating another snack:



She definitely didn’t starve on this flight.

I guess Izzy decided to eat toy Olaf’s carrot nose next:



In general, this was a pretty bumpy flight and we were happy to land safely and on time at LAX. However, we ended up sitting on the runway for quite some time, as another plane was at our gate. Oh, joy. Time to amuse an over-tired kid on a non-moving plane. She kept saying, “I wanna get out!” I told her, “We all do, kid, we all do.”

To pass the time, Olaf, Minnie, and little Bear all had a dance party, which Izzy found highly amusing.

Sometime in there, Izzy also perused the Skymall magazine. I told her to find the doggies in it (I knew there had to be some) and she did! She was so proud to spot them and say, “Doggy!” I thought this page was just too strange to not take a picture of:



Really?! Does any animal actually like that? I’m pretty sure ours would knock them down in short order. Funny, though.

While we sat, Dug turned his phone back on and checked Facebook. By ridiculous coincidence, he saw a post of a distant family member (a cousin of his dad’s who lives in Canada) that said they had just arrived at their resort in Ko Olina for their big family vacation with the kids and grandkids! What?! Seriously, we had family in the same resort area?! He sent them a message and later found out they were staying at the Marriott and had their kids and 2 young grandkids (younger than Izzy) staying with them. We decided to try to meet up at some point during the week.

Finally, the other plane departed and we were able to park at our gate. As we waited for First Class to clear out (easier to get our stuff out in an empty cabin), Izzy found a pretzel on the ground. She wanted to eat it, but obliged when I asked her to give it to me. I didn’t know what to do with it, though, so stashed it in the seat pocket in front of me. We did end up getting some compliments on what a good kid Izzy was, so that was nice! I checked and, even though we’d be on the same plane, we had to take everything off, including her carseat. So, we gathered up our belongings and got off for a short break.

Up next: Bring on the Mai Tais!

 

[SevenWonkas]

Everything went smoothly, except for a strange experience at the end. I had a couple thermoses of milk in the cooler for Izzy and I’d thrown in three food pouches for her too. They didn’t need to be in the cooler, it just seemed like a good place to toss them. They are normally just in the bags somewhere and never are a concern. But putting them in the cooler got the TSA guy’s attention. He told us that he was “going to let it go this time”, but we had to make sure never to bring ones that are over 3.4 ounces (these were and I’d venture to say nearly all of them are). I was fairly certain that he was wrong, as baby food is an exception to the 3.4 oz. rule – I’ve read up on travel with babies on the TSA website before. I mentioned to him that my understanding was that baby food was not limited to 3.4 oz. quantities and it’s been fine on 5 other flights, but he wouldn’t concede. However, since he was “letting it go”, I just dropped it and moved on. Just rubbed me the wrong way, though. I don’t like being accused of breaking rules that I am not breaking.

(Here’s the wording from the TSA website, by the way: “Medically required liquids, such as baby formula and food, breast milk and medications are allowed in excess of 3.4 ounces in reasonable quantities for the flight.”)

My son (3 years old) flies a couple times/year with us. we always take baby food pouches with us (he loves them!). They're always the 4 oz ones, and we've only had an issue with them one time. Most places don't even bat an eye. But when we were leaving Kauai last year, the TSA agent stopped us. We had a ton of pouches with us.... Nine, I think. We were going from Kauai to Oahu, with a layover there. Then Oahu to Chicago, with a 5 hour layover there. And finally, Chicago to Cincinnati. I wanted to be prepared. Anyway, this TSA Agent said that because the pouches were over the allotted 3 oz, and didn't fit in a quart sized bag, they had to swab each pouch. That's fine, no big deal. But they also said they had to give one of us (DH or me) a pat down. And asked us which one wanted to do it. While the pat down was annoying, if they had to do it they had to do it. But it didn't make much sense from a security standpoint that only one parent had to do it, AND we got to choose which one?

Doesn't matter anymore anyway. We both signed up for pre-check, so we just keep everything in our bags now. I had a few pouches in our backpack on our flight to Orlando last month. Got through security with no issues.

 

[Dugette]

My son (3 years old) flies a couple times/year with us. we always take baby food pouches with us (he loves them!). They're always the 4 oz ones, and we've only had an issue with them one time. Most places don't even bat an eye. But when we were leaving Kauai last year, the TSA agent stopped us. We had a ton of pouches with us.... Nine, I think. We were going from Kauai to Oahu, with a layover there. Then Oahu to Chicago, with a 5 hour layover there. And finally, Chicago to Cincinnati. I wanted to be prepared. Anyway, this TSA Agent said that because the pouches were over the allotted 3 oz, and didn't fit in a quart sized bag, they had to swab each pouch. That's fine, no big deal. But they also said they had to give one of us (DH or me) a pat down. And asked us which one wanted to do it. While the pat down was annoying, if they had to do it they had to do it. But it didn't make much sense from a security standpoint that only one parent had to do it, AND we got to choose which one?

Doesn't matter anymore anyway. We both signed up for pre-check, so we just keep everything in our bags now. I had a few pouches in our backpack on our flight to Orlando last month. Got through security with no issues.

Interesting experience! Before I posted that update, I searched online for others' experiences with pouches (to make sure I wasn't crazy ) and I saw some other stories of people having to get a pat-down, like you mentioned. Thankfully, we didn't have to undergo any additional checks with ours. In the future, I will go back to just putting them in one of the bags. They never caused any issue that way. The search I did seemed to indicate that they were fine for most people, but the TSA treatment of them can vary wildly, as you found.

That is quite the long day of flying you had, by the way! And did they have to open all the pouches?

 

[SevenWonkas]

. That is quite the long day of flying you had, by the way! And did they have to open all the pouches?

No, thank goodness! I would've probably protested somehow! They just took each individual one out of the gallon ziplock bag we had and used the swab over them.

 

[Imagineer5]

I am here!!

So glad you started! Excited to hear every bit about the trip. The first part of the flight seems like it went well, and maybe for the best that she didn't fall asleep since you had to take her off anyway? That is annoying that you had to take it all out though and then return to your seats lol!

 

[amazingact21]

I'm here! Can't wait to read all about Hawaii and your vacation!


I might have slacked a little on your PTR, so I had no idea that Dug left for 4.5 days. I can't believe you and Izzy had the island to yourselves for a few days. Man, two trips to WDW AND to HI with a toddler by yourself.... I seriously give you so many kudos for being such an awesome traveling mom. I'm pretty sure I just got a gray hair thinking about doing all that with Landon.



Oh no, I'm sorry to hear you were recovering from a stomach flu before you left. That is never fun.




First class sounds nice. And from the pictures you can clearly see how roomy and comfortable the seats look, even with Izzy's carseat. You're making me wanna travel first class with a toddler! If for no other reason than the abundance of food available.

 

[AprilRenee]

It's so fun to read about how it is up in first class!! Thanks for telling us "commoners" all about it! Lol
Izzy is doing SO good on the flight! I hope it continues!

Good to know about the pouches. I'll make sure to throw them in my luggage and not a "food bag"

 

[TheMaxRebo]

That was super nice of your dad and step-mom to watch the dog and drive you to/from the airport. Guess in the future you will have to do the same thing when Izzy is grown up and traveling to Disney on her own .... who am I kidding, no way you let her go to Disney without you

Ooh, the comment about the keys - foreshadowing all the way to the end of the trip .... Walt would be proud of your storytelling

That's kind of odd that they let you just walk the stroller through all open and everything but then had an issue (or at least a "I'll let it go this time" issue) with the food pouches. As long as they were sealed I can't imagine what the issue would be

I've never flown 1st class but have flown business and it is amazing how much offering some water or juice, etc. when you board makes it a much more pleasant experience.

I like the picture of Dug with all the wires. It's like is was your job to entertain Izzy and the planes job to entertain Dug (though, I guess with the Disney movies the plane did pretty good entertaining everyone).

For those milano cookies alone it was worth the extra $3 for 1st class

Sorry about the bumpy flight - but at least you made it and like the tease of "Mai Tais"

 

[AZMermaid]

We got to go through the pre-screening on our last flight- it was awesome! So much easier with little ones.

We flew first class to Vancouver when we went for the DCL cruise. My FIL paid, so who am I to argue. My kids were 17 months and almost 3. There were really good on the flight, but when we got on, a man who looked to be some sort of college scout/ coach person was seated in the front row of coach. He saw us and said "Oh you've GOT to be kidding me." I am not sure he was worried they would be noisy and disrupt him or if he is a frequent flier and was hoping to upgrade, but he was not happy to see my toddlers in first class. As it was, there were two groups in first that day. Us and another extended family with 4 school aged kids- also going on our cruise. They came on like a pack of wild monkeys but settled down once the flight got going and they were fine the duration of the flight. But, I remember chuckling "you are worried about MY kids?"

 

[Dugette]

No, thank goodness! I would've probably protested somehow! They just took each individual one out of the gallon ziplock bag we had and used the swab over them.

Well, that's good at least. Still a pain, though. Glad you got them through.

I am here!!

Hi!

So glad you started! Excited to hear every bit about the trip. The first part of the flight seems like it went well, and maybe for the best that she didn't fall asleep since you had to take her off anyway? That is annoying that you had to take it all out though and then return to your seats lol!

Yeah, flight went pretty well. And, yes, for that last hour or so I was kind-of hoping she'd stay awake, otherwise we'd have to either wake her up or somehow manage to take her off without waking her. But, yeah, the whole thing seemed silly, but they told me they do a "security sweep" of the plane and everything needs to go. (And if you don't take it the cleaning crew will... Okay, they didn't say that, but story coming up...)

I'm here! Can't wait to read all about Hawaii and your vacation!

Hi, glad you're here!

I might have slacked a little on your PTR, so I had no idea that Dug left for 4.5 days.

Ha, that would be funny if I didn't mention it until, "Then we took Dug to the airport and sent him away" and you'd be like, "WHAAAAAAAT?!?"

I can't believe you and Izzy had the island to yourselves for a few days. Man, two trips to WDW AND to HI with a toddler by yourself.... I seriously give you so many kudos for being such an awesome traveling mom. I'm pretty sure I just got a gray hair thinking about doing all that with Landon.

Aw, well, thank you, but I have to say that I think you have a much more daunting task taking care of Landon while Alex is deployed! I've often wondered how you do that. I mean, hanging out in Disney or Hawaii for a few days seems like a piece of cake compared to week after week without another parent to relieve you. So, anyway, I send those kudos right back to you!

For what it's worth, I do think we've been blessed with a good traveller. She makes is relatively easy to take her along.

Oh no, I'm sorry to hear you were recovering from a stomach flu before you left. That is never fun.

Nope, not at all. Figures that it would happen right before the trip too. Could be worse, though, I guess. As long as I didn't really eat it didn't bother me.

First class sounds nice. And from the pictures you can clearly see how roomy and comfortable the seats look, even with Izzy's carseat. You're making me wanna travel first class with a toddler! If for no other reason than the abundance of food available.

I totally agree! If it were always $3 to upgrade, I'd be all over that! It was nice and roomy, so much easier to get to stuff under the seats, which seems to be a frequent requirement with a toddler. And, yes, the endless snacks are great - I had brought a whole bunch with out of habit and didn't need them at all.

It's so fun to read about how it is up in first class!! Thanks for telling us "commoners" all about it! Lol
Izzy is doing SO good on the flight! I hope it continues!

Glad to fill in the "commoners." I really wanted to take pictures of snack baskets and all sorts of things, but I didn't want to look like I was TOO in awe of being seated up there.

Good to know about the pouches. I'll make sure to throw them in my luggage and not a "food bag"

They should be fine in any bag - we usually have them in a food/snack bag that goes through the scanner. The difference here was that I gave the TSA agent the cooler they were in so he could check the milk - so they were sitting right there in front of him and got his attention (only the milk and pouches and ice packs were in there).

That was super nice of your dad and step-mom to watch the dog and drive you to/from the airport. Guess in the future you will have to do the same thing when Izzy is grown up and traveling to Disney on her own .... who am I kidding, no way you let her go to Disney without you

Yes, it was REALLY nice of them to do so much! They are big travelers themselves, so they try to help us travel when they are in town and we're going somewhere. And, yeah, good luck to Izzy trying to go to Disney without us!

Ooh, the comment about the keys - foreshadowing all the way to the end of the trip .... Walt would be proud of your storytelling

I know - now everyone will have to stick around to find out, right? Yay for Walt being proud!

That's kind of odd that they let you just walk the stroller through all open and everything but then had an issue (or at least a "I'll let it go this time" issue) with the food pouches. As long as they were sealed I can't imagine what the issue would be

They actually walked the stroller through for us, but yeah, strange. I guess we should have stashed the food pouches in the stroller console.

I've never flown 1st class but have flown business and it is amazing how much offering some water or juice, etc. when you board makes it a much more pleasant experience.

I bet Business Class is nice too! I had only ever been in Coach and will probably only ever be in it in the future. I actually was thinking the same thing when I got on and saw the little water bottles, though. They can't cost much and if they provided those to all passengers, I think everyone would be a bit happier.

I like the picture of Dug with all the wires. It's like is was your job to entertain Izzy and the planes job to entertain Dug (though, I guess with the Disney movies the plane did pretty good entertaining everyone).

Yeah, the plane did an okay job of entertaining everybody. But, yes, Izzy needed some entertainment from me too.

For those milano cookies alone it was worth the extra $3 for 1st class

Absolutely! I got my money's worth in junk food!

Sorry about the bumpy flight - but at least you made it and like the tease of "Mai Tais"

Yeah, we got there and all was fine. And, compared to the end of our flight home, this wasn't bad at all. (Ha ha, check out all that foreshadowing!)

We got to go through the pre-screening on our last flight- it was awesome! So much easier with little ones.

We got to do the pre-check lane a couple times on other trips and it was so much nicer! No worries about taking everything off and out. Just plop your stuff down and walk through, pretty much. Wish it was always like that.

We flew first class to Vancouver when we went for the DCL cruise. My FIL paid, so who am I to argue. My kids were 17 months and almost 3. There were really good on the flight, but when we got on, a man who looked to be some sort of college scout/ coach person was seated in the front row of coach. He saw us and said "Oh you've GOT to be kidding me." I am not sure he was worried they would be noisy and disrupt him or if he is a frequent flier and was hoping to upgrade, but he was not happy to see my toddlers in first class. As it was, there were two groups in first that day. Us and another extended family with 4 school aged kids- also going on our cruise. They came on like a pack of wild monkeys but settled down once the flight got going and they were fine the duration of the flight. But, I remember chuckling "you are worried about MY kids?"

Oh, wow, I can't believe he said that within earshot of you! I was worried about people making assumptions like that about Izzy, but I didn't catch anything (at least not that obvious - I do have a picture on the way home where a guy looks like he's side-eye-ing us, but not sure). I think that some people in the cabin didn't even know that there was a 2-year-old in row 2. I was mentally prepared for comments - responding that she had a ticket just like anyone else - but, you know, I would have had to hide the $70 part.