IloveJack
01-20-2010, 01:41 PM
Walt Disney World Trip: September 30-October 3, 2009
Cast: Myself, 28, 5th trip
David, 24, 3rd trip
Sammie, turning 1, 1st trip
Wednesday, Sept. 30: Arrival, Downtown Disney, Fantasia Gardens, Chef Mickey's
We were up at 5am. Well, that is, David and I were up at 5, Sammie kept right on snoozing. She slept through the last-second packing, through being put in her carseat, and through my mom arriving to drive us to the airport. In fact, she didn't wake up until we got up to the counter to check in at Southwest. We had no issues checking in, even with her having no ticket. She was flying as a lap baby, and all that required was a shot record.
We got a bit turned around in the airport, as Nashville has remodeled, but found the security check fairly quickly. Wow, doing this with an infant is much harder than with just the two of us. Thankfully, Sammie still didn't like shoes, so I didn't have to take any off of her. But I did have to get her out of the stroller so that David could carry her, and then deal with all the bags. I think he had the easier job. I was a little concerned about the x-ray machine and my insulin pump so I didn't want to carry her and then have to be searched, but ended up having no problems with it, going or coming.
Once we were through the check, we stopped at a little kiosk and got breakfast: pastries and a coke for each of us. Sammie had part of my bearclaw with some Cheerios. She was surprisingly awake for it to be so early. I waited to nurse her until we got on the plane and ended up wishing that I hadn't. It was a full flight, and I got stuck with the middle seat. Nursing discreetly in the middle seat is more than tough. Next time, I'll take a sippie for the flight and nurse in the airport.
The flight was easy; Sammie spent most of her time looking out the window or flirting with the boys behind us. The man next to me, in the aisle seat, gave her his cookies. We saved them for a later snack at WDW. The family in front of us was also headed to the World, and their little girl had a stuffed Mickey that was larger than Sammie. Sammie ended the flight by playing peek-a-boo with Mickey. She shocked us when she said, “Mickey,” or at least an 11-month old version of it.
This trip we found the Magical Express check-in rather easily. We'd gotten lost the last time, as it'd been years since I'd been in the Orlando airport, and David had never been. Sammie gave us some funny looks on the tram ride. We guessed that she didn't understand how she could ride without being in the car seat, as we got those same looks on the monorail and busses. ME had a long line, but we got on the second bus, with the same family from the airplane. Sammie finally fell asleep after nursing on the way to the All-Star Movies resort.
She woke up as we were exiting the bus. I wish she'd stayed asleep, though. The line was ridiculously long. I hadn't used the on-line check-in as I needed a fridge for my insulin. Bad idea. Bad, bad idea. We stood in line for over an hour, with very few people in front of us. A CM did come by and give Sammie a roll of stickers, but she didn't quite understand the concept, and we ended up putting them away soon. It was lunch time, and she hadn't napped long enough. The front of the line couldn't come quickly enough.
As it turned out, they forgot the fridge anyhow.
We were placed in the Love Bug, room 6885. It was a fairly far walk from the busses, but we enjoyed being in a quieter area. Our room overlooked the middle of the resort, though, so it was a nice view. David watched a little TV, while I unpacked the diaper bag from the carry-on (my way of taking an extra piece of luggage, which came in handy at the end), and re-packed it for the day's adventure. I called guest services and got the fridge brought up so I could put my insulin in it before leaving. I changed Sammie, and put her birthday button on her, and we were off.
It was a good thing that this wasn't a park day, as it was well after noon by now.
We followed the plan, and headed to Downtown Disney. Sammie had fun playing with a British family on the bus, she waved and clapped, mimicking the little girl across the aisle. They wished her a Happy Birthday, and got off at the water parks.
I chose Wolfgang Puck's Express for lunch, and the I'cot advice didn't fail me (it never has). Wow! This is counter service? Amazing food, great service, and it was “free.” We were on the free dining plan, so I tried to keep up with receipts for a while, to see if it was worth it. It seemed very much so worth it to me. $44.41 for 2 Rosemary quarter chickens and fries. Sammie enjoyed it, too.
After lunch, we went to Pin Traders, but weren't wanting to buy. I was sorry to see that the old trading board was gone. I'd brought some traders, so we began looking at other's lanyards to see if we could spot anything we wanted. I wanted the Halloween pins, but no one seemed to have any yet.
We headed on over to World of Disney. I'd come with a plan of what we wanted to buy, and we didn't deviate much. This trip was intended to be cheap, and we kept it that way. I had cash in my pocket, and other than one unplanned, but necessary purchase, we never touched the debit cards. We bought David a new Mickey wallet, me a scrapbook, and Sammie's birthday present, as planned.
As for the birthday present... I had gone into the infant section, and was looking at a CM's pin lanyard, when I felt a tug on the stroller. Sammie had pulled a Mickey shape-sorter into the stroller with her. We decided it would be her present, as we were looking for something that she could open tomorrow morning, on her actual birthday. We had a party planned for Saturday, when we returned, with presents there, but I couldn't let her actual day pass without a present opening.
We headed on to the Christmas Shoppe, as it's become a tradition to purchase an ornament to commemorate each trip. I found a few that I really liked, but as it was Halloween season, we decided that a Jack Skellington ball would be most appropriate. He is David's favorite character, after all. We chose not to have it personalized, as it was quite expensive, rather I could do it myself at home.
Then we went over to the Book Shop. Again, the I'cot advice didn't fail. I found what I was looking for, quite quickly; the Disney Bear book. I purchased it while David looked in the art store. He wanted a picture of Tink for Sammie's room, but it wasn't in the budget, so we moved on. (Her room is decorated with safari animals right now, Tink will come later, with possibly another Disney trip between times. If so, we can pick the picture up then).
Cast: Myself, 28, 5th trip
David, 24, 3rd trip
Sammie, turning 1, 1st trip
Wednesday, Sept. 30: Arrival, Downtown Disney, Fantasia Gardens, Chef Mickey's
We were up at 5am. Well, that is, David and I were up at 5, Sammie kept right on snoozing. She slept through the last-second packing, through being put in her carseat, and through my mom arriving to drive us to the airport. In fact, she didn't wake up until we got up to the counter to check in at Southwest. We had no issues checking in, even with her having no ticket. She was flying as a lap baby, and all that required was a shot record.
We got a bit turned around in the airport, as Nashville has remodeled, but found the security check fairly quickly. Wow, doing this with an infant is much harder than with just the two of us. Thankfully, Sammie still didn't like shoes, so I didn't have to take any off of her. But I did have to get her out of the stroller so that David could carry her, and then deal with all the bags. I think he had the easier job. I was a little concerned about the x-ray machine and my insulin pump so I didn't want to carry her and then have to be searched, but ended up having no problems with it, going or coming.
Once we were through the check, we stopped at a little kiosk and got breakfast: pastries and a coke for each of us. Sammie had part of my bearclaw with some Cheerios. She was surprisingly awake for it to be so early. I waited to nurse her until we got on the plane and ended up wishing that I hadn't. It was a full flight, and I got stuck with the middle seat. Nursing discreetly in the middle seat is more than tough. Next time, I'll take a sippie for the flight and nurse in the airport.
The flight was easy; Sammie spent most of her time looking out the window or flirting with the boys behind us. The man next to me, in the aisle seat, gave her his cookies. We saved them for a later snack at WDW. The family in front of us was also headed to the World, and their little girl had a stuffed Mickey that was larger than Sammie. Sammie ended the flight by playing peek-a-boo with Mickey. She shocked us when she said, “Mickey,” or at least an 11-month old version of it.
This trip we found the Magical Express check-in rather easily. We'd gotten lost the last time, as it'd been years since I'd been in the Orlando airport, and David had never been. Sammie gave us some funny looks on the tram ride. We guessed that she didn't understand how she could ride without being in the car seat, as we got those same looks on the monorail and busses. ME had a long line, but we got on the second bus, with the same family from the airplane. Sammie finally fell asleep after nursing on the way to the All-Star Movies resort.
She woke up as we were exiting the bus. I wish she'd stayed asleep, though. The line was ridiculously long. I hadn't used the on-line check-in as I needed a fridge for my insulin. Bad idea. Bad, bad idea. We stood in line for over an hour, with very few people in front of us. A CM did come by and give Sammie a roll of stickers, but she didn't quite understand the concept, and we ended up putting them away soon. It was lunch time, and she hadn't napped long enough. The front of the line couldn't come quickly enough.
As it turned out, they forgot the fridge anyhow.
We were placed in the Love Bug, room 6885. It was a fairly far walk from the busses, but we enjoyed being in a quieter area. Our room overlooked the middle of the resort, though, so it was a nice view. David watched a little TV, while I unpacked the diaper bag from the carry-on (my way of taking an extra piece of luggage, which came in handy at the end), and re-packed it for the day's adventure. I called guest services and got the fridge brought up so I could put my insulin in it before leaving. I changed Sammie, and put her birthday button on her, and we were off.
It was a good thing that this wasn't a park day, as it was well after noon by now.
We followed the plan, and headed to Downtown Disney. Sammie had fun playing with a British family on the bus, she waved and clapped, mimicking the little girl across the aisle. They wished her a Happy Birthday, and got off at the water parks.
I chose Wolfgang Puck's Express for lunch, and the I'cot advice didn't fail me (it never has). Wow! This is counter service? Amazing food, great service, and it was “free.” We were on the free dining plan, so I tried to keep up with receipts for a while, to see if it was worth it. It seemed very much so worth it to me. $44.41 for 2 Rosemary quarter chickens and fries. Sammie enjoyed it, too.
After lunch, we went to Pin Traders, but weren't wanting to buy. I was sorry to see that the old trading board was gone. I'd brought some traders, so we began looking at other's lanyards to see if we could spot anything we wanted. I wanted the Halloween pins, but no one seemed to have any yet.
We headed on over to World of Disney. I'd come with a plan of what we wanted to buy, and we didn't deviate much. This trip was intended to be cheap, and we kept it that way. I had cash in my pocket, and other than one unplanned, but necessary purchase, we never touched the debit cards. We bought David a new Mickey wallet, me a scrapbook, and Sammie's birthday present, as planned.
As for the birthday present... I had gone into the infant section, and was looking at a CM's pin lanyard, when I felt a tug on the stroller. Sammie had pulled a Mickey shape-sorter into the stroller with her. We decided it would be her present, as we were looking for something that she could open tomorrow morning, on her actual birthday. We had a party planned for Saturday, when we returned, with presents there, but I couldn't let her actual day pass without a present opening.
We headed on to the Christmas Shoppe, as it's become a tradition to purchase an ornament to commemorate each trip. I found a few that I really liked, but as it was Halloween season, we decided that a Jack Skellington ball would be most appropriate. He is David's favorite character, after all. We chose not to have it personalized, as it was quite expensive, rather I could do it myself at home.
Then we went over to the Book Shop. Again, the I'cot advice didn't fail. I found what I was looking for, quite quickly; the Disney Bear book. I purchased it while David looked in the art store. He wanted a picture of Tink for Sammie's room, but it wasn't in the budget, so we moved on. (Her room is decorated with safari animals right now, Tink will come later, with possibly another Disney trip between times. If so, we can pick the picture up then).