Baby's 1st Cruise on the Fantasy!

[Dugette]

You are going to love your first Disney cruise - how old will Izzy be then?

28 months or so.

 

[schmass]

We are 30 days out!

Our cruise documents and Magical Express information have arrived!!! The ME booklet has our old flight information on it, but I had called to update it last week. I’m wondering if we might receive another packet with the updated information? As long as we have AKL luggage tags, it should be fine though, right?

I think Rory must have somehow known that we are getting close, because this weekend he wanted to wear his Buzz Lightyear costume from last Halloween. The costume is size 3-6 months, and he’s 15 months on Sunday, but it still fits, aside from being a little short. We have gotten a lot of mileage out of this costume.

Halloween (just under 6 months old)

Diaper Dash during our Feb. Disney World trip (9 months old)

And this weekend (almost 15 months old)

I have started gathering the clothes that I’m going to bring. I’m excited to wear my nice dresses because a) they finally fit me again! and b) I will actually be going somewhere that I can wear them! I haven’t actually started packing, but right now I’m using the bed in our guest room to lay everything out, and making a detailed packing list. I’m trying to figure out what Rory is going to wear for formal night, and if anything he has will work, or if I should buy him something new. I’ve also been working on his pirate night outfit. I was originally going to make him a Jake costume, but think we’ll settle for generic pirate this time around.

 

[schmass]

28 months or so.

That should be a great age - and she'll be a well-seasoned traveler by then!

 

[KatMark]

Catching up after our weekend away to Vegas.

Congrats on the free tickets.

And Rory is the cutest Buzz I have ever seen!

 

[Dugette]

That should be a great age - and she'll be a well-seasoned traveler by then!

And now I'm realizing that I shouldn't do math late at night. Should be 2 years and 8 months = 32 months. Not that it's that different, I guess.

Adorable Buzz Lightyear you have there! Izzy was one of the Toy Story Aliens last Halloween - they would have made a cute pair!

 

[schmass]

Catching up after our weekend away to Vegas.

I hope you had a great trip!

Congrats on the free tickets.

And Rory is the cutest Buzz I have ever seen!

Thank you! He loves Buzz - he points to his costume and says "Buh!"

And now I'm realizing that I shouldn't do math late at night. Should be 2 years and 8 months = 32 months. Not that it's that different, I guess.

Not too much different according to DCL - still too young for the kids club and the pool, but I think there is still going to be plenty to do for the under 3 crowd!

Adorable Buzz Lightyear you have there! Izzy was one of the Toy Story Aliens last Halloween - they would have made a cute pair!

Thank you! Yes, they would have been cute together!

 

[Imagineer5]

Joining in too! We are also from Massachusetts (south coast), we have a DD age 2.5 and are planning our first cruise next February! Excited to hear how yours goes, I'm sure it will be a blast!

As for AKV - I love it there! Funny you mention BLT though - on my upcoming trip I am doing 4 nights at BLT and then 4 at AKV so that I have a few days of walking to the MK and a few at the gorgeous AKV. Splash pad at Kidani is not to be missed if you can fit it in!

And - October we are staying at GFV for the first time!

Anyway, looking forward to reading more.

 

[schmass]

Joining in too! We are also from Massachusetts (south coast), we have a DD age 2.5 and are planning our first cruise next February! Excited to hear how yours goes, I'm sure it will be a blast!

As for AKV - I love it there! Funny you mention BLT though - on my upcoming trip I am doing 4 nights at BLT and then 4 at AKV so that I have a few days of walking to the MK and a few at the gorgeous AKV. Splash pad at Kidani is not to be missed if you can fit it in!

And - October we are staying at GFV for the first time!

Anyway, looking forward to reading more.

Welcome! Wow, you have alot of trips planned - lucky you!!

Have you stayed at BLT before? We absolutely loved the location - walking to MK was awesome, and we watched Wishes from the top of it, too!

 

[Imagineer5]

Welcome! Wow, you have alot of trips planned - lucky you!! Have you stayed at BLT before? We absolutely loved the location - walking to MK was awesome, and we watched Wishes from the top of it, too!

Yes! My only complaint about BLT is the size of the studio. My upcoming trip is just my dd and me, so I got a studio. But it really felt cramped when we stayed in one last time with dh. Granted we had like 4 suitcases lol!

I am soooo excited about the poly dvc rooms. I will actually say that our joint favorite resort is the BCV. So in October it's VGF then BCV. It'll be our first time staying in a 2 and 1 bedroom vs studio.

Anywayyyy Question for you regarding cruising. You mentioned that cursing allows you to be a lot more laid back with your planning but it is driving me crazy not being about to do ANYthing until November!! Is there something I am missing that I can plan now?? (We plan to spend a few days in the Keys afterwards so I can do that...)

 

[schmass]

Yes! My only complaint about BLT is the size of the studio. My upcoming trip is just my dd and me, so I got a studio. But it really felt cramped when we stayed in one last time with dh. Granted we had like 4 suitcases lol!

I am soooo excited about the poly dvc rooms. I will actually say that our joint favorite resort is the BCV. So in October it's VGF then BCV. It'll be our first time staying in a 2 and 1 bedroom vs studio.

Anywayyyy Question for you regarding cruising. You mentioned that cursing allows you to be a lot more laid back with your planning but it is driving me crazy not being about to do ANYthing until November!! Is there something I am missing that I can plan now?? (We plan to spend a few days in the Keys afterwards so I can do that...)

I'm super excited about the Poly DVC as well. Not sure if we'll be able to afford the points it will take to stay there, but I grew up going to Disney almost every year and staying there, so it feels and smells like a second home to me! Still haven't tried BCV, but definitely want to. We love the Boardwalk for it's location, so I can only imagine we'll love BCV too!

So, to answer your question, yes, I think you can at least do some research now, even if you can't book until November. Where is your cruise going to? Have you researched the ports and decided on what excursions you'd like to book (either on your own or through DCL)? Have you looked at the Personal Navigators on the disneycruiselineblog? I like looking at those even though they won't be exactly like the ones on our specific cruise, it gives me an idea of the things that might be offered. Let me know if you have any other questions!

 

[schmass]

23 days to go! Our Magic Bands arrived the other day. I put Rory’s on him, and he didn’t seem to want it on. Then I made a big deal of it and said “Let’s go show Daddy”, and suddenly he was really proud of it and wanted to show it off. One thing that we got this time with the Magic Bands that we didn’t receive before was a DVC Member slider. I think it’s funny that even Rory got one!

One thing I was really hoping for is that Rory would be walking by the time of our trip. He was a little late learning, but he is now walking! He’s still at the cautious stage, but I don’t expect that will last too long!


We have also got him to successfully start drinking “milk”, well hemp milk, actually. We found out when Rory was about 6 months old that he is allergic to dairy. The doctor thought he’d grow out of it by age 1, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Not only that, but he also has a peanut and tree nut allergy. I had our TA note it on our reservation, and she had me call DCL Special Services. When I called them, I asked about the possibility of getting non-dairy smoothies on board, as Rory was drinking a green smoothie daily and that, along with water, was the only beverage he’d drink. The man I spoke with was great! He told me that “smoothies” cost extra, but if the chef were to make a puree out of fruit, coconut milk, etc, that would be no charge, and just a dietary accommodation. We are still giving him his daily green smoothie, but now I can bring a carton of the non-refrigerated hemp milk with us and we’ll have that ready for when he wakes each morning.

This picture is from when we lost power on July 3rd and had to go to a local café for his smoothie. $8!!

We had my company Summer Outing yesterday, and it was at a Tiki Bar on a little lake with a beach area. This was Rory’s first time actually getting to play in sand, and he loved it. I think this is what we’ll be seeing a lot of in St. Maarten!

Sorry this wasn't a very exciting update. Hopefully I'll have something more interesting for the next one!

 

[Imagineer5]

It's getting so close!! WOW!! YAY for Rory walking!! That's awesome!

I've never heard of hemp milk!! But you definitely chose the right cruise with dietary restrictions, so glad they will be able to help out, and it's nice you are able to bring some hemp milk for him too. How did you decide on hemp milk for him? (vs coconut or almond or whatnot)? Just curious!

 

[schmass]

It's getting so close!! WOW!! YAY for Rory walking!! That's awesome!

I've never heard of hemp milk!! But you definitely chose the right cruise with dietary restrictions, so glad they will be able to help out, and it's nice you are able to bring some hemp milk for him too. How did you decide on hemp milk for him? (vs coconut or almond or whatnot)? Just curious!

I had heard that DCL and Disney in general is great about addressing food allergies/special diets, but I was really impressed when speaking with Special Services. I forgot to mention that when I spoke with him he told me when we get on board to tell the cast member that welcomes us that I need to attend a "dining session". He said I'll sit down with a chef and go over everything that Rory can/cannot eat. They definitely take food allergies seriously!

Originally we were going to go with almond milk, as that is what Michael and I have in the house anyway. However, his nut allergy ruled that out. He most likely isn't allergic to almonds (has had the almond milk several times and his blood test didn't come back positive for almonds), but the doctor wants us to keep him away from ALL nuts for now. I did A LOT of research, and everything I found regarding hemp milk was that it is nutritionally superior to coconut and rice milk, and we want to limit the amount of soy he gets.

 

[schmass]

15 days to go! I can’t believe we leave 2 weeks from tomorrow!

We received our (free) tickets and got them connected to our Magic Bands! Unfortunately when I went to make Fastpass + reservations, Seven Dwarves Mine Train wasn’t available. I checked for both Saturday and Sunday, and it was a no-go for either day. I guess I'll have to wait until next time, since we won't make rope drop and I don't want to wait in a huge line. We have decided to go to Magic Kingdom on Saturday, even though we will get there well after rope drop and there are Extra Magic Hours that night which may make it way busier. This way Sunday will be more relaxing and we can do a leisurely check out rather than the 8am scramble we usually seem to do.

I have no idea how long Rory will last that day, or how well he’ll nap in the stroller, but I doubt we’ll still be at the park to catch Wishes, which is at 10pm that night. I’m hoping that we might have a MK view from our room, it looks like about half of the Lake View GFV rooms do. If we can’t see Wishes from the room, I will probably find someplace else to go see them while Michael stays in the room with Rory. He likes fireworks, but doesn’t HAVE to see them every time.

Sunday morning I’d like to walk over to the Polynesian, check out the construction, and go to Captain Cooks for breakfast. We’ll then head back to the room, check into our flights, and enjoy the pool and splash area. I’m not really sure, but maybe we’ll head to the Grand Floridian Café for lunch. Our ME bus should pick us up around 3:30pm, so we should have a decent amount of time to enjoy the resort that day.

I'm trying to come up with any last minute items we might need, and probably over-complicating things, but I like to be prepared. Currently I'm researching diaper clutches (any recs?) and am also going to order a wet bag for our swim suits. Also trying to figure out if I want to use Babies Travel Lite so diapers are waiting for us in our stateroom instead of packing them. We will need a lot!!

 

[KatMark]

the little guy is walking. I bet you'll be chasing him all over that cruise ship!

I'm sorry you couldn't get the Mine Ride. LIke you said, there is always next time.

Can't help on the diaper question...way too long since mine were in diapers.

 

[Dugette]

Sorry, I fell behind on commenting. So glad that DCL was able to handle the food allergies so well! Rory looks so cute drinking his green smoothie, by the way! And YAY for walking. You'll have to get some pics of him meandering around the Hub and such.

I would recommend that you keep peeking back on the Mine Train FP+ availability. Things change and you can often snag something, especially if you're not picky on the exact time. Both Imagineer5 and I were able to grab a MT FP+ recently and our trips are this month. But it will be things like only 1 popping up, so maybe just try to change one of yours and see if you can grab anything.

For the diapers, are you talking about the little changing kit things? If so, I have this and love it: http://www.amazon.com/Skip-Hop-Jonathan-Changing-Station/dp/B005PNHX20 However, I also managed to pick this up on clearance and used it on the last Disney trip: http://www.disneybaby.com/products/mickey-mouse-deluxe-changer/# I really like this one too and it has a compartment for those little baggies, which is nice. And it matches our stroller.

Coincidentally, just tonight I ordered a wet bag for swimsuits. I actually didn't even know they existed. I was ordering some new Disney Bumkins bibs on amazon and happened to see it (same brand). I ordered a Winnie the Pooh one, as it was cheapest at $10. Figured it would be handy for pool time, etc.

Your trip is getting so close!

 

[schmass]

the little guy is walking. I bet you'll be chasing him all over that cruise ship!

I know! He is already trying to run!

I'm sorry you couldn't get the Mine Ride. LIke you said, there is always next time.

It's disappointing, but I already am setting my expectations that we aren't going to get to do everything. We will just enjoy doing what we can.

Sorry, I fell behind on commenting. So glad that DCL was able to handle the food allergies so well! Rory looks so cute drinking his green smoothie, by the way! And YAY for walking. You'll have to get some pics of him meandering around the Hub and such.

Yes, I'm excited to get pictures of him walking around this time!

I would recommend that you keep peeking back on the Mine Train FP+ availability. Things change and you can often snag something, especially if you're not picky on the exact time. Both Imagineer5 and I were able to grab a MT FP+ recently and our trips are this month. But it will be things like only 1 popping up, so maybe just try to change one of yours and see if you can grab anything.

Good to know, thanks! I will keep checking!

For the diapers, are you talking about the little changing kit things? If so, I have this and love it: http://www.amazon.com/Skip-Hop-Jonathan-Changing-Station/dp/B005PNHX20 However, I also managed to pick this up on clearance and used it on the last Disney trip: http://www.disneybaby.com/products/mickey-mouse-deluxe-changer/# I really like this one too and it has a compartment for those little baggies, which is nice. And it matches our stroller.

Yes, that's exactly what I'm talking about! I think I'm about to buy the Skip Hop one. I keep going back and forth over if I want the one with the changing pad included, or a smaller one that I'd just stick a disposable one into.

Coincidentally, just tonight I ordered a wet bag for swimsuits. I actually didn't even know they existed. I was ordering some new Disney Bumkins bibs on amazon and happened to see it (same brand). I ordered a Winnie the Pooh one, as it was cheapest at $10. Figured it would be handy for pool time, etc.

The one in my Amazon cart waiting to be purchased is the Bumkins Mickey Head! Too funny! I didn't know what it was either until my friend showed me hers recently. It will be good for his swim classes, too.

 

[Ndsmorrison]

I'm joining in!! Not much longer? We went on Fantasy last year DD was 4 then and she loved it!! We had to pull her out of the kids club!! Can't wait to read your TR when u get back!! We r going on Magic this November & cannot wait!! Oh btw ur DS is so cute!! He will love it!! And I thinks it a great idea to document vacations for him. I've just recently started doing the same for our DD.

 

[schmass]

I'm joining in!! Not much longer? We went on Fantasy last year DD was 4 then and she loved it!! We had to pull her out of the kids club!! Can't wait to read your TR when u get back!! We r going on Magic this November & cannot wait!! Oh btw ur DS is so cute!! He will love it!! And I thinks it a great idea to document vacations for him. I've just recently started doing the same for our DD.

Hi! Welcome! Not much longer at all - 11 days! We went on the Magic 2 years ago and we thought it was great, and that was before they added all the new water features! I will check out your PTR!

 

[Ndsmorrison]

Hi! Welcome! Not much longer at all - 11 days! We went on the Magic 2 years ago and we thought it was great, and that was before they added all the new water features! I will check out your PTR!

I'm excited to see what Magic has to offer. I'm worried that it will be too small :/ but I know we will have fun regardless and hopefully won't be disappointed!! I can't wait to see the kids club areas!! I may just want to stay and play myself hehe!! I can't believe check is Monday woohoo!!!
I hope y'all have tons of fun!!!