So, we left MGM, or whatever you want to call it now. We got Jacob loaded into the rental car, and he fell asleep literally before we could get out of the parking lot! Jeff suggested that maybe we could try to go and walk around another park and he'd just sleep in the stroller. So, after short discussion, we headed towards Animal Kingdom. As we arrived, Jacob was still sleeping. We tried to ease him out of the car seat and into the stroller. He kept sleeping... at first. We did not get far at all and he started crying pretty good. No Animal Kingdom for us! Back into the car, and I think he fell asleep again. So we headed back to the hotel. But of course, by the time we got him back there, he didn't want to sleep anymore.
We headed back over to Downtown Disney. By this point, I realized that I had forgotten my swimsuit! Yes, that's right, we had rented a house with a pool, and I had no swimsuit - not going to work. We decided to check out the suit options at DTD. In a word, not good. Expensive. Only one store had it - Team Disney. We walked the entire DTD. We did stop at McDonald's for a $3 shake and $2 fries - everything is more at Disney! A Double Cheeseburger meal is about $6 or $7! Crazy! So, after looking in earnest for a suit, we abandoned the cause and headed back to the hotel. I'm not sure what else we did that day. I think we weighed dinner options. Considered Benihana (in the hotel) and decided against it. We opted for some take out food from the hotel's sandwich/pizza shop. It was okay, but not great. Jacob went to sleep okay, maybe another 5 minutes of crying, but again, we had to be so quiet.
Monday, Dec 11:
In case you don't know, Jacob is an early riser - like 6 am, which helps when you are trying to get out the door, but isn't good when you want to sleep in. However, I seem to remember that on Monday morning, we did not hear a peep out of him until about 7 AM. It was bliss.
So, up we got. Epcot was on the plan for the day. Also on the plan was packing up our stuff, checking out of the hotel, and into our 4 BR house, where we would meet my mom & grandparents later in the day. Off to Epcot we went. One of the first things we did was the Epcot Character Spot. We thought we'd wait in line and get Jacob's picture taken with Mickey. As it turned out, we actually got to take pictures with about 5-6 characters! It was awesome. We got great pictures and I've uploaded a lot of them to Shutterfly if you want to peek. www.jacobjones.shutterfly.com Jacob loved the characters!! However, he did not love much more about Epcot...
Monday, January 28, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
More on our Disney Trip - Saturday & Sunday
First, I really want to get better about blogging. I really enjoy going back to read up on what we were up to a few months ago, etc. Right now, I feel so behind because I feel like I need to post more about our Disney trip, and then of course, Christmas!
So, here goes... I'm going to try to post more!
Okay, so back to Disney...
Saturday Dec 8:
We arrived on a Saturday. As indicated, we checked into the Hilton Walt Disney World in Downtown Disney. Great location - walking distance to all the Downtown Disney fun. We got all checked in and since we had 6 day passes, after our trek to the grocery store for supplies, we went over to DTD. It was nearly dinner time at that point, and since it was Saturday, it was quite busy. We ate at Earl of Sandwich and Jeff fed Jacob outside while I fought the crowd to get us some grub. I've heard such great things about this place, but was really less than impressed on food quality, value & portion size. Oh well... Afterwards, they had a high school band playing, and we checked that out for a little while. Jacob seemed to enjoy the music. We finally headed back to the room, and put Jacob in his crib in our interior hallway. Okay, that sounds like we stuck him outside the door, but really, this room had a fairly long hallway from the actual door to the room. We were able to put the crib in the hallway and put a blanket up to give him some privacy. He only cried about 5-10 minutes and went right to sleep, but we felt like we had to be very quiet. It was a little tough.
Sunday Dec 9:
The plan was to get up and go to Disney Studios, formerly known as MGM, and now to be known as Hollywood Studios, which is pretty odd considering I think of Hollywood as being in California and not in Florida. Now, Jeff and I have had two big trips to Disney since we've been married and each time, we've been those commando types who get there 15 minutes before the park opens and then when it opens, we high-tail it to whatever major attraction... We managed to get up and get out to DS prior to opening. So we were waiting with everyone for the park to open... and then it opened, and of course, everyone heads to Tower of Terror and Rock N Roller Coaster, but we really aren't thinking we'll be doing that stuff, so we kind of just wander around, not knowing exactly where to go. So, we headed straight, where everyone else headed to the right - if you've been there, you know what I mean... Jeff mentions, let's go check out the Great Movie Ride. It's something we did on our first trip in 2004, but it did not merit a repeat visit in 2005 - well, frankly, we found it boring! But, it seemed docile enough for Jacob to ride, and maybe he'd enjoy it. We had our first experience trying to figure out where to park the stroller, and quickly learned it's often near the ride exit, not necessarily the entrance. After figuring this out, we bumped into Goofy, Chip & Dale who were heading for a character meet & greet. This turned out to be Jacob's first character encounter. He was a little shy around them, so we weren't sure how he'd do when he met the rest of the characters. After goofing around with Goofy, we headed into the Great Movie Ride. While we were in the queuing area, they show a little movie and Jacob enjoyed running underneath the metal posts that people can queue through (though it wasn't that busy so there were not people there.) He was so crazy and I suppose that was a preview of things to come... fun, fun, fun! On the Great Movie Ride, he was okay at first, and then a little antsy. At one point, there were strobe lights, and they seemed to make him temporarily freak out a bit. He just seemed very excited and did this thing where he clinches his fist & face and shakes a bit... it was odd, but in a funny way.
After the Great Movie Ride, we basically killed time until the next Playhouse Disney Live show, which was basically the only thing Jacob would really be interested in. He's a Playhouse Disney kid - loves Ooh and Aah, the Wiggles, all the shows on Disney. At least they had TVs in the line showing Ooh and Aah. He enjoyed that. Then, we finally got in after a long wait. If you ever go, don't sit down in front on the left. You can't see anything from the front row - they are puppets for crying out loud, and they put them on a stage about 3-4 feet off the floor and some of the puppets are only a couple of feet tall! It's a cute show from what we could see and most of it, he was pretty interested, though he wanted to run all about, which of course is not allowed. You have to stay within these boundaries. We made it through almost the whole show, but toward the end we were ready to leave. Despite there being doors everywhere, you can only exit through the ones at the opposite end of the room. Annoying! We finally got out, and went to lunch at Primetime Cafe (after a brief detour to try to do the Muppets movie, but Jacob wasn't having it.) This was our third time eating at Primetime and by far, this was my least favorite. The food quality just stunk and the prices are outrageous. I mean $13 for a Fish Sandwich and I had a meatless Ratouille dish for $12. Jacob's kid's meal was $7 I think. Ridiculous. I mean, I know Disney food is expensive, but it could at least be edible! Grrr!!!
Well, after lunch, we left the Studios b/c Jacob was ready for nap and then we made a huge mistake.... (to be continued...)
So, here goes... I'm going to try to post more!
Okay, so back to Disney...
Saturday Dec 8:
We arrived on a Saturday. As indicated, we checked into the Hilton Walt Disney World in Downtown Disney. Great location - walking distance to all the Downtown Disney fun. We got all checked in and since we had 6 day passes, after our trek to the grocery store for supplies, we went over to DTD. It was nearly dinner time at that point, and since it was Saturday, it was quite busy. We ate at Earl of Sandwich and Jeff fed Jacob outside while I fought the crowd to get us some grub. I've heard such great things about this place, but was really less than impressed on food quality, value & portion size. Oh well... Afterwards, they had a high school band playing, and we checked that out for a little while. Jacob seemed to enjoy the music. We finally headed back to the room, and put Jacob in his crib in our interior hallway. Okay, that sounds like we stuck him outside the door, but really, this room had a fairly long hallway from the actual door to the room. We were able to put the crib in the hallway and put a blanket up to give him some privacy. He only cried about 5-10 minutes and went right to sleep, but we felt like we had to be very quiet. It was a little tough.
Sunday Dec 9:
The plan was to get up and go to Disney Studios, formerly known as MGM, and now to be known as Hollywood Studios, which is pretty odd considering I think of Hollywood as being in California and not in Florida. Now, Jeff and I have had two big trips to Disney since we've been married and each time, we've been those commando types who get there 15 minutes before the park opens and then when it opens, we high-tail it to whatever major attraction... We managed to get up and get out to DS prior to opening. So we were waiting with everyone for the park to open... and then it opened, and of course, everyone heads to Tower of Terror and Rock N Roller Coaster, but we really aren't thinking we'll be doing that stuff, so we kind of just wander around, not knowing exactly where to go. So, we headed straight, where everyone else headed to the right - if you've been there, you know what I mean... Jeff mentions, let's go check out the Great Movie Ride. It's something we did on our first trip in 2004, but it did not merit a repeat visit in 2005 - well, frankly, we found it boring! But, it seemed docile enough for Jacob to ride, and maybe he'd enjoy it. We had our first experience trying to figure out where to park the stroller, and quickly learned it's often near the ride exit, not necessarily the entrance. After figuring this out, we bumped into Goofy, Chip & Dale who were heading for a character meet & greet. This turned out to be Jacob's first character encounter. He was a little shy around them, so we weren't sure how he'd do when he met the rest of the characters. After goofing around with Goofy, we headed into the Great Movie Ride. While we were in the queuing area, they show a little movie and Jacob enjoyed running underneath the metal posts that people can queue through (though it wasn't that busy so there were not people there.) He was so crazy and I suppose that was a preview of things to come... fun, fun, fun! On the Great Movie Ride, he was okay at first, and then a little antsy. At one point, there were strobe lights, and they seemed to make him temporarily freak out a bit. He just seemed very excited and did this thing where he clinches his fist & face and shakes a bit... it was odd, but in a funny way.
After the Great Movie Ride, we basically killed time until the next Playhouse Disney Live show, which was basically the only thing Jacob would really be interested in. He's a Playhouse Disney kid - loves Ooh and Aah, the Wiggles, all the shows on Disney. At least they had TVs in the line showing Ooh and Aah. He enjoyed that. Then, we finally got in after a long wait. If you ever go, don't sit down in front on the left. You can't see anything from the front row - they are puppets for crying out loud, and they put them on a stage about 3-4 feet off the floor and some of the puppets are only a couple of feet tall! It's a cute show from what we could see and most of it, he was pretty interested, though he wanted to run all about, which of course is not allowed. You have to stay within these boundaries. We made it through almost the whole show, but toward the end we were ready to leave. Despite there being doors everywhere, you can only exit through the ones at the opposite end of the room. Annoying! We finally got out, and went to lunch at Primetime Cafe (after a brief detour to try to do the Muppets movie, but Jacob wasn't having it.) This was our third time eating at Primetime and by far, this was my least favorite. The food quality just stunk and the prices are outrageous. I mean $13 for a Fish Sandwich and I had a meatless Ratouille dish for $12. Jacob's kid's meal was $7 I think. Ridiculous. I mean, I know Disney food is expensive, but it could at least be edible! Grrr!!!
Well, after lunch, we left the Studios b/c Jacob was ready for nap and then we made a huge mistake.... (to be continued...)
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Disney in December!
Another month without a post! And it's not like I don't have anything to talk about! But maybe that's the problem!
We were in Disney from Dec 8-15. Disney with 16 month old - reviews are mixed. Of course, we had already prepared ourselves this would be a different kind of trip. At the same time, I'm not sure we were prepared for our child to completely FREAK out without ANY notice whatsoever, since he has never done that before. Freakout #1 happened on the airplane on the way down. Miserable! We were in a hotel room the first two nights & Jacob was in the hotel crib in hallway area that was in our room. It worked okay, but Jeff & I felt like we couldn't do anything at night! On Dec 10, we checked into our rental house - which was great - 4 BR, 3 Baths, swimming pool, game room, baby equipment, everything. It's called Shrek's Hideout and it's no more than 7-10 minutes to the parks. We could not believe how close it was to everything! My mom arrived and brought my grandparents - we all stayed in the house that week and this allowed Jeff & I to go to Disney a few times without Jacob or to go out to dinner, etc. More to come later!
We were in Disney from Dec 8-15. Disney with 16 month old - reviews are mixed. Of course, we had already prepared ourselves this would be a different kind of trip. At the same time, I'm not sure we were prepared for our child to completely FREAK out without ANY notice whatsoever, since he has never done that before. Freakout #1 happened on the airplane on the way down. Miserable! We were in a hotel room the first two nights & Jacob was in the hotel crib in hallway area that was in our room. It worked okay, but Jeff & I felt like we couldn't do anything at night! On Dec 10, we checked into our rental house - which was great - 4 BR, 3 Baths, swimming pool, game room, baby equipment, everything. It's called Shrek's Hideout and it's no more than 7-10 minutes to the parks. We could not believe how close it was to everything! My mom arrived and brought my grandparents - we all stayed in the house that week and this allowed Jeff & I to go to Disney a few times without Jacob or to go out to dinner, etc. More to come later!
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