We love Donald Duck, oh yes we do! - Link to the PTR - COMPLETE

[brookelizabeth]

Well, my ticker said it was to be our "We love Mickey" trip, but it quickly turned into our "We love Donald Duck" trip. It became even more evident to DH and I that "duck" (or "dut" said with some serious toddler intensity) is our little man's favorite word, giving Donald a definite head start in the race for "Henry's Favorite Character." Two months ago, Mickey was his man, but as many people know, toddler's opinions can change as quickly as their moods...

This trip is not without it's adventures. I am beginning to think our family cannot have a vacation without at least one dramatic event occurring. If you read my last TR you will recall the Chef Mickey's Incident, along with the Great 'Ohana Debacle and DH and I learning where every single bathroom is in the AK. While the events in this report are not nearly as embarrassing - I promise the drama is still here....right up until the trip home!

So for those of you who might not know me yet, I'm Brook. Wife of Joe, Mommy to Henry. Henry is our little man, 16 months old at the time of the trip - his second trip to WDW.

Here is a pic of our crew from our trip in November:

We have different haircuts, and unfortunately have gained a few pounds due to binge eating during the holidays...


This trip was our first trip "Home", staying at SSR on Developer Points in a 1 bedroom for 7 nights and a Studio for 1. It was loosely planned and we were going to be purposeful in taking things slower and as they came, less ADRs, more things up in the air. This adventure will bring us to each of the parks, Kennedy Space Center, a DIS meet, experiencing Disney through the eyes of a toddler and to many firsts for our family.

Over 2,000 pictures were taken so prepare yourself to be flooded with pictures again (I'm sure you are so upset over that...).


Day One - Monday, January 19, 2009
Chef Mickey's relived?

Day Two - Tuesday, January 20,2009
The GF Tea that almost wasn't. Part One.
The GF Tea that almost wasn't. Part Two.
The GF Tea that almost wasn't. Part Three.
Turn your unhappy child into a happy one for just 15 easy dollars!
It's official....

Day Three - Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Everybody loves Earl. Part One.
Everybody loves Earl. Part Two.
Everybody loves Earl. Part Three.
Everybody loeves Earl. Part Four.
"I-I-I ca-a-n't s-t-t-op sha-a-a-aking!" Part One.
"I-I-I ca-a-n't s-t-t-op sha-a-a-aking!" Part Two.
"I-I-I ca-a-n't s-t-t-op sha-a-a-aking!" Part Three.

Day Four - Thursday, January 22, 2009
A cup of heaven at the Poly. Part One.
A cup of heaven at the Poly. Part Two.
A Magical Moment and a day full of Firsts. Part One.
A Magical Moment and a day full of Firsts. Part Two.
A Magical Moment and a day full of Firsts. Part Three.
"Hello, welcome to Spoodles. Thank you for dining with us tonight." Part One.
Hello, welcome to Spoodles. Thank you for dining with us tonight." Part Two.
"Hello, welcome to Spoodles. Thank you for dining with us tonight." Part Three.

Day Five - Friday, January 23, 2009
Fried food + too many sweets. Part One.
Fried food + too many sweets. Part Two.
How long will Joe sleep? Part One.
How long will Joe sleep? Part Two.

Day Six - Saturday, January 24, 2009
Wouldn't it be funny if...
Corny jokes and yummy cheeseburgers. Part One.
Corny jokes and yummy cheeseburgers. Part Two.
Corny jokes and yummy cheeseburgers. Part Three.
Corny jokes and yummy cheeseburgers. Part Four.
Forgetfulness costs $28.00 at the MK (and more corny jokes!) Part One.
Forgetfulness costs $28.00 at the MK (and more corny jokes!) Part Two.
Forgetfulness costs $28.00 at the MK (and more corny jokes!) Part Three.
Forgetfulness costs $28.00 at the MK (and more corny jokes!) Part Four.

Day Seven - Sunday, January 25, 2009
The Waffle Fry Vulture
Nerd Alert!! Part One.
Nerd Alert!! Part Two.
Nerd Alert!! Part Three.
Nerd Alert!! Part Four.
Nerd Alert!! Part Five.
The most embarassing, ridiclious and awful moment of the trip

Day Eight - Monday, January 26, 2009
An intercontinental DIS meet! Part One.
An intercontinental DIS meet! Part Two.
An intercontinental DIS meet! Part Three.
A gift from Mickey
Henry loves Dut Dut and Dut Dut loves Henry! Part One.
Henry loves Dut Dut and Dut Dut loves Henry! Part Two.
Henry loves Dut Dut and Dut Dut loves Henry! Part Three.
Don't you just love it when you laugh so much your cheeks hurt?
One "Cool" duck and a (not so) Hidden Mickey. Part One.
One "Cool" duck and a (not so) Hidden Mickey. Part Two.

Day Nine - Tuesday, January 27, 2009
A very lazy and glorious afternoon around SSR. Part One.
A very lazy and glorious afternoon around SSR. Part Two.
A very lazy and glorious afternoon around SSR. Part Three.
Room #1301. Part One.
Room #1301. Part Two.
The 3 Amigos. Part One.
The 3 Amigos. Part Two.

Day Ten - Wednesday, January 28, 2009
HENRY BEHIND BARS! Part One.
HENRY BEHIND BARS! Part Two.
HENRY BEHIND BARS! Part Three.
Meeting myself in 30 years

Non-TR Stuffs
Oh, Happy Day!
Henry - Birth to 18 months
Happy Mother's Day
Mother's Day weekend with Mom and Grandma

Link to the new PTR - Tasty Planning Time with ZeBrook!




Please keep your arms, legs, head, shoulders, knees and toes inside the ride vehicle. Pull on the little yellow strap so I can make sure you are buckled in. Enjoy the ride!

 

[IluvXU]

I am certainly in.... one question-does Henry like all/any duck? I know that my younger daughter loved Donald Duck, but she likes all ducks too!

 

[Nora03]

Great start Brook. Looking forward to hearing about all the drama and seeing all your photos. Glad you've started your report and we'll be waiting patiently for your next update... (smilie eating popcorn - can't find it)

Nora

 

[DisneyBride'03]

Welcome back! Not the same as Welcome Home !

So how did you like SSR..? The one bdr's are great and so spacious, especially when you have a sleeping little one! AND they have the best bed rails at SSR!! What section were you in? I have been in Grandstand both times...RachelTori and I have slept in the same bed....LOL..we actually had the same room..that's how we first met!

*Oh that sounds hilarious!* (Same room...different time......)!

 

[MeMom]

Brooklynn is a fan of Mr. Duck, too. There's just something about that little bundle of white feathers and bad attitude that makes her smile. Apparently she's not the only toddler with that same affection!

And like IluvXU's little one, she's quite fond of all Donald's many cousins who hang out at Disney pools, bus stops, and eating areas, as well!

I look forward to seeing lots of great pictures. Don't hold back! You know I'm up for seeing all 2000+.

 

[wickesy]

Hey Brook.

I loved your last trip report and I'm really looking forward to this one as my Dad and I are staying at Saratoga Springs on Developer Points in a couple of months.

 

[Charleston Princess]

I am so excited -- 2,000 photos and your great story-telling!!!

 

[princess&her4princes]

Yay!!!! You're home and you started your TR!!! Woohoo!!! Can't wait to hear all about it!!!

 

[Chkultr]

YES! Another fan of DD! Way to start em out young!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Yay, you've started!! I'm also game for tons of pictures, so bring 'em on!

 

[brookelizabeth]

I am certainly in.... one question-does Henry like all/any duck? I know that my younger daughter loved Donald Duck, but she likes all ducks too!

Glad to see you made it over! Henry does like all/any duck - and for that matter, currently just about any animal with wings is a duck!

Great start Brook. Looking forward to hearing about all the drama and seeing all your photos. Glad you've started your report and we'll be waiting patiently for your next update... (smilie eating popcorn - can't find it)

Nora

Hi Nora! Thanks for reading along with this one too!

Welcome back! Not the same as Welcome Home !

So how did you like SSR..? The one bdr's are great and so spacious, especially when you have a sleeping little one! AND they have the best bed rails at SSR!! What section were you in? I have been in Grandstand both times...RachelTori and I have slept in the same bed....LOL..we actually had the same room..that's how we first met!

*Oh that sounds hilarious!* (Same room...different time......)!

You CRACK ME UP! That is really funny that you two met that way and now are good friends - what a neat story!

We were in Congress Park. We liked how close it was to DTD and we used that as a hub for buses very often. We did like SSR overall, it was beautiful and quiet. The room size was awesome - we LOVED being in a 1 bedroom. More details on the room and our likes/dislikes coming up soon too.

Welcome back isn't nearly as fun to hear as welcome home...

Brooklynn is a fan of Mr. Duck, too. There's just something about that little bundle of white feathers and bad attitude that makes her smile. Apparently she's not the only toddler with that same affection!

And like IluvXU's little one, she's quite fond of all Donald's many cousins who hang out at Disney pools, bus stops, and eating areas, as well!

I look forward to seeing lots of great pictures. Don't hold back! You know I'm up for seeing all 2000+.

Henry enjoys all Donald's cousins too - and for that matter any animal with wings! I think he enjoys seeing those ducks more than many attractions at WDW.

I won't hold back on the pictures - might not be quiet all 2,000 but pretty close!

Hey Brook.

I loved your last trip report and I'm really looking forward to this one as my Dad and I are staying at Saratoga Springs on Developer Points in a couple of months.

Hey there! Thanks for joining up over here too!
One of my early entries will have some SSR pics and our reviews of it overall. Feel free to ask any questions you might have too!

I am so excited -- 2,000 photos and your great story-telling!!!

Hi CP! I took one particular photo at DHS with you (or your daughter) in mind...

Yay!!!! You're home and you started your TR!!! Woohoo!!! Can't wait to hear all about it!!!

More updates coming soon!

YES! Another fan of DD! Way to start em out young!

We will continue to foster the DD love!

Yay, you've started!! I'm also game for tons of pictures, so bring 'em on!

Will do! Lots and lots of pictures coming your way!!!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Hi CP! I took one particular photo at DHS with you (or your daughter) in mind...

Oh, I can't wait!!!!

 

[HockeyMomR]

Looking forward to reading about your adventures again!!

 

[mickeysmyboy]

Yea Brook!!!! I'm so excited to read more!

2000 pictures! Holy cow!! That's crazy! I thought my 780 or whatever it was was a lot!

 

[BigDogHU75]

Welcome back! I am looking forward to your TR. I thoroughly enjoyed the last one. Great start.

 

[Donald is #1]

I'm in! I can't wait to read about this trip.

You are doing much better on your trip reports than I am.

 

[brookelizabeth]

Oh, I can't wait!!!!

It will be a while yet, but you'll know it when you see it!

Looking forward to reading about your adventures again!!

Thanks! I'm looking forward to sharing it all.

Yea Brook!!!! I'm so excited to read more!

2000 pictures! Holy cow!! That's crazy! I thought my 780 or whatever it was was a lot!

Ya, Joe and I get a bit shutter happy sometimes...hee hee.

Welcome back! I am looking forward to your TR. I thoroughly enjoyed the last one. Great start.

Thanks for coming over! I hope you enjoy this one as well.

I'm in! I can't wait to read about this trip.

You are doing much better on your trip reports than I am.

I had to rush with that last one so I could get it done before this January trip, this one might take me a bit longer, though, I have told myself I cannot fully start December planning until this TR is done, so that's my motiviation to keep rolling on it!

 

[gellybean]

I'm in. We were there the same week. I kept my eyes peeled for Henry but never saw y'all.

 

[brookelizabeth]

You know how well things go according to plan, right? Like, not at all…

The plan was to drive down to a Park & Fly on the morning of January 20 to catch our flight at 7:30 am. Long story short, our company was bought out recently and became a gigunda company giving us MLK Day (Monday, January 19) off from work, meaning we had the day to pack/get ready.

I was so excited days before the trip that I was starting to loose sleep already in anticipation. One night, as I’m Disney Dreamin’ instead of sleeping I whisper to Joe something about getting a hotel the night before our early morning flight. Of course I knew he would jump at it – and to me, it would seem we were a step closer to Disney World since we wouldn’t be at home! So the plans were adjusted-we did a lowball bid on Priceline that was amazingly accepted and we would head to Minneapolis on the 19th, hang out, visit Ikea (Henry LOVES it there, and I had a hankerin' for the Sweedish Meatballs from the cafe ) and then relax in the hotel room calling it an early night in preparation for our early flight.

Fast forward to Monday, January 19, 2009.

Ikea was fun, as expected. And the Sweedish Meatballs were divine.

In the children’s area Henry had a grand 'ol time playing with the toys, and miniature tables and chairs.

Then...he saw the children’s model rooms and just had to check those out, running down the aisles in a fury with his mind set on those rooms, completely oblivious to the shoppers attempting to cross his path. (I do believe my heart skipped a couple beats as darted in front of people and carts, nearly getting run over about 14 times!)

It was here I realized, once again, my baby was growing up. He noticed the normal beds. These weren’t like his crib now, were they? These were like Mommy and Daddy’s, but his size – and Henry LOVED them. He climbed on top of the model bed and would just lay there, looking up at us, as if saying “I want.”

Sigh.



I told Joe, “I think it’s almost time we make his crib into the toddler bed….”



Eventually it was time to go. Henry was getting tired, and so were we.

Our hotel was the Le Bourget Aero Suites (I guess the French name as to make it sound ritzy? I suppose that does sound better than "The Budget"). It has decent reviews online, nothing spectacular, but nothing appalling either. When we walked into the lobby, the strong scent of chlorine overtook us, but the lobby was decent enough, and we soon found out, our room was too. It was a normal sized room, with a partial wall between the bed area and a sitting area. The oddest thing was the very low to the ground table in the sitting area – but it proved to be a great entertainment item for Henry, so we didn’t mind it!

When we arrived in the room, we attempted to put Henry down for a nap – I was exhausted having barely slept the night before, but Henry was NOT digging this one bit. He refused to nap, I think we might have gotten about 10 minutes in, but I eventually gave in to his cries and whimpers and we just played in the room for a while...he loved the big bed and pillows!

Wolfgang Puck coffee-woo hoo!

Eventually it was time for dinner, we headed to a near-by restaurant that we are familiar with. Henry wasn’t too interested in eating much of his food, which I thought was a bit odd being it was past our normal dinner time. I know kids can be that way, so I shrugged it off a bit, but kept offering him various things that I knew he did enjoy.

Well, before I knew it, he was throwing up.

Hoo-boy, is this trip going to be a repeat of our last?!

Thankfully, instead of this being a 9 Chef Mickey Giant Cloth Napkin Clean-Up that we lived through back in November, it was more like a 4 Handi-Wipe Clean-Up. But, his clothes were ruined….good thing we had that DVC free laundry coming up!! Oh, yea! I get to do laundry on vacation!

Back at the hotel, we changed Henry into the outfit he would travel in, played a bit...

The table was so low to the ground he had no problem climbing right on top of it

Ever wonder what toddler tonsils look like? When he gets tired, he gets loooooooopy and silly, he was running around shrieking and laughing

Peek!

and then he went down for sleep pretty quickly.

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for Joe or I, we both tossed and turned. I eventually fell asleep and then the air conditioner/heater unit clicked and woke up me. Usually a truck could roll me over and I wouldn’t wake up, and a teeny little ‘click’ woke me up.

This was going to be a rough night.

I fell asleep again and Joe’s phone buzzed with information of our gate from Orbitz.

I fell asleep again and Henry let out a little whine.

Each of the times I woke up, it took me almost an hour to get back to sleep. I was very frustrated by the final time and annoyed at the air conditioner/heater that CONSTANTLY ran. We turned it off, which made us be able to hear the highway, but it was much less annoying then the constant noise. We like our silence while we sleep!

I know some sleep was had after all that, but it was still rough. Eventually the alarm went off and we dragged ourselves out of bed. Joe hadn’t fared much better than me in the sleep department. Thankfully Henry was still sound asleep until we were completely ready to head out the door.

We made it to the airport, our way through security and to our gate without any issues. The full flight took on time-I was relieved. While we did not have a connection to make, we did have a very, very important ADR that afternoon! The Garden View Tea at the GF. We missed this ADR in November and I was really bummed-it was the #1 thing on this trip that I wanted to do.

I had hoped Henry would fall back asleep during the flight, but it was a no-go. Antsy and a bit fussy the entire flight – we were thankful when the plane finally landed at MCO.

Palm trees.
Warm weather.
Mickey Mouse.

Oh, wait, who said anything about warm weather????? Forty stinkin’ degrees. Forty. F-or-ty. 4-0.


Up next: The GF Tea that almost wasn’t.

 

[brookelizabeth]

I'm in. We were there the same week. I kept my eyes peeled for Henry but never saw y'all.

Oh bummer! It would have been fun to meet you! Maybe you'll show up in my pics...