There's No Sleeping at Disney! - A Oct-Nov 2020 Trip Report. MINI TR COMPLETE 5/10
- Thread starter Verstehen
- Start date
Verstehen
I break for the Nautilus
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2008
Day 1, Part 4
We landed at the Riviera. I’m not sure if the boy from Epcot got off there too, but thankfully we didn’t see him again.
We walked back over to the east wing. To get to the elevators, we passed by the entrance to Primo Piatto, and I think this is the point where my Dad finally got his precious mayo, but he might have also gotten it later in the evening. In any case, Primo Piatto is where he got it, so you can stop worrying. I know it had you on the edge of your seat!
I do know that we stopped at Bar Riva to check to see if they had any dark beers. Dad was referred to the lobby coffee shop, Le Petit Café. We went up there and were told the Bar Riva bartender had probably meant Topolino’s, but we didn’t want to go all the way up there just for beer. On our way back to the elevators, we checked out the lounge behind the café. It’s really gorgeous. There was no one in there and I couldn’t stop snapping pictures of the displays.
Up in the room, we finally opened the presents Dad had brought us. Presents are always fun!
Most of them were for April. My dad, his girlfriend, and his brother had gone to a fancy toy store in Saratoga Springs (the city in New York, not the Disney resort) and got some toys for her. They each picked out something, though Dad couldn’t remember who picked what.
First up was this very cute doll. She’s still a little young for dolls and didn’t quite know what to do with it. She will occasionally pull it out of her toy basket and chew on it a bit, but I think I’ve caught the dog playing with it more times than her. Luckily, it hasn’t been torn apart. Yet.
Next was this really cute thing called a Dimpl. Those colored circles are all rubber, and they can be popped back and forth like reusable bubble wrap. She mostly chewed on it as well. Now, a month later, she’s finally starting to learn how to actually pop it.
Somehow I missed getting a picture of the last set of toys but they were these really cute suction cup rattles. Very good for entertaining her in her stroller and at mealtimes. There are pictures of it later in the report so I’ll point them out.
For Alex, Dad bought him a Superman shirt, and for me a set of oil infused with blood orange, and vinegar infused with dark chocolate, also from a shop in Saratoga Springs that sells all kinds of infused oils and vinegars. They came with a recipe for a cake made with both the oil and vinegar, which I made a week or so after our trip. It was decadent and delicious!
We had I think an hour, maybe more, until the main pool was scheduled to close, so we decided to get in our suits and head down.
The main pool at the Riviera is very nice. I do wish it had a larger hot tub, especially in times like these. You are not required to wear your mask while at the pool, and we were disappointed to find that during the trip there were very few times when the hot tub wasn’t absolutely crowded with people not wearing masks, and not in any hurry to leave and let other families safely use the hot tub. Whenever we used it I tried to have us stay in for just one cycle to be courteous, but no one else seemed to share that sentiment. It’s a shame because sinking into the hot tub after a long day at the parks is one of our favorite things, and we really didn’t get to do it much this trip. I’m looking forward to when the pandemic is over and we can enjoy activities like this safely again.
We checked out the kids area, which is a beautiful big splash pad themed to Fantasia with little slides, jumping fountains, and some other water features. The water is warmer than the pool water so April was happy to play around for a bit. We spent some time just letting her enjoy the water and crawl around the deck. There were a couple of other kids there, but they pretty much stayed out of our way.
It was so awesome to watch her have fun. Right now she only likes water if it’s bathtub temperature (I guess I can’t blame her). I would love to get her into swimming lessons soon.
After we’d had our fill of the kids area, we decided to hang out in the main pool. Dad did a few laps while I held April in the water. You can see one of her new suction toys in her hand. It did not float, so I had to quickly catch it a few times when she dropped it.
After Dad did his laps, we took turns trying the slide. It’s a pretty good one! Nice and fast and twisty. Dad took FOREVER to come down, and a lifeguard told him that he should lay down instead of sit. Apparently, when adults sit, it really slows them down. I went after him and made sure to lie down, then I let Dad try again. He enjoyed his experience much more the second time. So now you know. If you’re an adult using the Riviera pool slide, don’t forget to lie down!
We braved the hot tub for a cycle after that. It wasn’t too too crowded, but a little more than I was comfortable with. At least we were outside and limited ourselves to 15 minutes, but we knew that wasn’t a guarantee of safety. It was also a challenge with us taking turns holding April, who wanted to dip herself into the hot water.
After a lackluster hot tub experience, we headed back up to the room. It was the time I’d been dreading for weeks: April’s first bedtime in the hotel room.
I may have mentioned this earlier in the report, but during our February trip, April was at a stage where she would not sleep unless she was held. That has changed and now most nights and naps she sleeps in her crib in her own room. It has made life much easier for everyone. But I worried that it would not be as easy to get her to sleep independently if she knew I was in the room with her, especially since she’s in an unfamiliar place and not used to sleeping in her pack n’ play. I’m not against her sleeping in bed with me, but neither of us tend to get our best sleep that way, and I’m always worried about forming bad habits. Overall, I wasn’t looking forward to this part and it was one of the reasons I’d been considering staying home and just commuting us to the parks every day. But oh well, we were here now, and nothing to do but try to get this little one to sleep.
I did her bedtime routine just like we do at home. I started with a bath, and then a story, for which she was immensely hyper. She’d been up well past her wake window, but I’m sure the excitement of the day and a new environment just had her absolutely wired. Dad tried to hold her while I read, but the issue was she was determined to grab the book from me, and thought it was the funniest thing. Clearly, this child was ready for bed!
I Facetimed Alex after that so he could say goodnight. He admonished April for being so crazy and told her to go right to sleep, which I’m sure she took to heart! Haha.
Since April generally doesn’t fall asleep easily if someone is in the room with her, Dad and I decided the best thing to do would be to put her down in the pack n play and see what would happen. I sang her a lullaby, gave her a kiss, and set her down. Then Dad and I went onto the porch. He offered me a glass of wine, but I didn’t want to do any drinking until I knew she was asleep. Not because I was worried about getting drunk as much as I knew that until she was asleep, I wouldn’t be able to relax.
So how did it go? Not well. She was mad, and I ended up going back in a couple times when she cried so much she was screaming. I felt so bad. I kept hoping that maybe she was just extra tired and would fall asleep any second, but it didn’t happen. We did find out she needed a change (she doesn’t normally poop at night, so that surprised me), and I was hoping that a fresh diaper would entice her to sleep, but no dice. Finally, I decided we were done with this, and I went inside and brought her to the murphy bed with me.
Dad and I watched a little bit of TV on low volume, and finally around 1 am April and I both fell asleep. I was grateful she was comfortable and happy, but I didn’t know if this was going to be the norm for the rest of the trip.
Up next…our first full Disney day!
We landed at the Riviera. I’m not sure if the boy from Epcot got off there too, but thankfully we didn’t see him again.
We walked back over to the east wing. To get to the elevators, we passed by the entrance to Primo Piatto, and I think this is the point where my Dad finally got his precious mayo, but he might have also gotten it later in the evening. In any case, Primo Piatto is where he got it, so you can stop worrying. I know it had you on the edge of your seat!
I do know that we stopped at Bar Riva to check to see if they had any dark beers. Dad was referred to the lobby coffee shop, Le Petit Café. We went up there and were told the Bar Riva bartender had probably meant Topolino’s, but we didn’t want to go all the way up there just for beer. On our way back to the elevators, we checked out the lounge behind the café. It’s really gorgeous. There was no one in there and I couldn’t stop snapping pictures of the displays.
Up in the room, we finally opened the presents Dad had brought us. Presents are always fun!
Most of them were for April. My dad, his girlfriend, and his brother had gone to a fancy toy store in Saratoga Springs (the city in New York, not the Disney resort) and got some toys for her. They each picked out something, though Dad couldn’t remember who picked what.
First up was this very cute doll. She’s still a little young for dolls and didn’t quite know what to do with it. She will occasionally pull it out of her toy basket and chew on it a bit, but I think I’ve caught the dog playing with it more times than her. Luckily, it hasn’t been torn apart. Yet.
Next was this really cute thing called a Dimpl. Those colored circles are all rubber, and they can be popped back and forth like reusable bubble wrap. She mostly chewed on it as well. Now, a month later, she’s finally starting to learn how to actually pop it.
Somehow I missed getting a picture of the last set of toys but they were these really cute suction cup rattles. Very good for entertaining her in her stroller and at mealtimes. There are pictures of it later in the report so I’ll point them out.
For Alex, Dad bought him a Superman shirt, and for me a set of oil infused with blood orange, and vinegar infused with dark chocolate, also from a shop in Saratoga Springs that sells all kinds of infused oils and vinegars. They came with a recipe for a cake made with both the oil and vinegar, which I made a week or so after our trip. It was decadent and delicious!
We had I think an hour, maybe more, until the main pool was scheduled to close, so we decided to get in our suits and head down.
The main pool at the Riviera is very nice. I do wish it had a larger hot tub, especially in times like these. You are not required to wear your mask while at the pool, and we were disappointed to find that during the trip there were very few times when the hot tub wasn’t absolutely crowded with people not wearing masks, and not in any hurry to leave and let other families safely use the hot tub. Whenever we used it I tried to have us stay in for just one cycle to be courteous, but no one else seemed to share that sentiment. It’s a shame because sinking into the hot tub after a long day at the parks is one of our favorite things, and we really didn’t get to do it much this trip. I’m looking forward to when the pandemic is over and we can enjoy activities like this safely again.
We checked out the kids area, which is a beautiful big splash pad themed to Fantasia with little slides, jumping fountains, and some other water features. The water is warmer than the pool water so April was happy to play around for a bit. We spent some time just letting her enjoy the water and crawl around the deck. There were a couple of other kids there, but they pretty much stayed out of our way.
It was so awesome to watch her have fun. Right now she only likes water if it’s bathtub temperature (I guess I can’t blame her). I would love to get her into swimming lessons soon.
After we’d had our fill of the kids area, we decided to hang out in the main pool. Dad did a few laps while I held April in the water. You can see one of her new suction toys in her hand. It did not float, so I had to quickly catch it a few times when she dropped it.
After Dad did his laps, we took turns trying the slide. It’s a pretty good one! Nice and fast and twisty. Dad took FOREVER to come down, and a lifeguard told him that he should lay down instead of sit. Apparently, when adults sit, it really slows them down. I went after him and made sure to lie down, then I let Dad try again. He enjoyed his experience much more the second time. So now you know. If you’re an adult using the Riviera pool slide, don’t forget to lie down!
We braved the hot tub for a cycle after that. It wasn’t too too crowded, but a little more than I was comfortable with. At least we were outside and limited ourselves to 15 minutes, but we knew that wasn’t a guarantee of safety. It was also a challenge with us taking turns holding April, who wanted to dip herself into the hot water.
After a lackluster hot tub experience, we headed back up to the room. It was the time I’d been dreading for weeks: April’s first bedtime in the hotel room.
I may have mentioned this earlier in the report, but during our February trip, April was at a stage where she would not sleep unless she was held. That has changed and now most nights and naps she sleeps in her crib in her own room. It has made life much easier for everyone. But I worried that it would not be as easy to get her to sleep independently if she knew I was in the room with her, especially since she’s in an unfamiliar place and not used to sleeping in her pack n’ play. I’m not against her sleeping in bed with me, but neither of us tend to get our best sleep that way, and I’m always worried about forming bad habits. Overall, I wasn’t looking forward to this part and it was one of the reasons I’d been considering staying home and just commuting us to the parks every day. But oh well, we were here now, and nothing to do but try to get this little one to sleep.
I did her bedtime routine just like we do at home. I started with a bath, and then a story, for which she was immensely hyper. She’d been up well past her wake window, but I’m sure the excitement of the day and a new environment just had her absolutely wired. Dad tried to hold her while I read, but the issue was she was determined to grab the book from me, and thought it was the funniest thing. Clearly, this child was ready for bed!
I Facetimed Alex after that so he could say goodnight. He admonished April for being so crazy and told her to go right to sleep, which I’m sure she took to heart! Haha.
Since April generally doesn’t fall asleep easily if someone is in the room with her, Dad and I decided the best thing to do would be to put her down in the pack n play and see what would happen. I sang her a lullaby, gave her a kiss, and set her down. Then Dad and I went onto the porch. He offered me a glass of wine, but I didn’t want to do any drinking until I knew she was asleep. Not because I was worried about getting drunk as much as I knew that until she was asleep, I wouldn’t be able to relax.
So how did it go? Not well. She was mad, and I ended up going back in a couple times when she cried so much she was screaming. I felt so bad. I kept hoping that maybe she was just extra tired and would fall asleep any second, but it didn’t happen. We did find out she needed a change (she doesn’t normally poop at night, so that surprised me), and I was hoping that a fresh diaper would entice her to sleep, but no dice. Finally, I decided we were done with this, and I went inside and brought her to the murphy bed with me.
Dad and I watched a little bit of TV on low volume, and finally around 1 am April and I both fell asleep. I was grateful she was comfortable and happy, but I didn’t know if this was going to be the norm for the rest of the trip.
Up next…our first full Disney day!
Great update! I love the pictures of April in the splash pad area. The one looks like she is saying something like - did you see that Mom?
And about Saratoga Springs. Love that your Dad went to shop there. I went to college in Saratoga Springs and have wonderful memories of the little stores on Broadway for shopping.
And about Saratoga Springs. Love that your Dad went to shop there. I went to college in Saratoga Springs and have wonderful memories of the little stores on Broadway for shopping.
Verstehen
I break for the Nautilus
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2008
That sunrise!!!My goodness, it looked so beautiful from the pics. We really like that area of the Florida coast. We stayed just south of St. Augustine two years ago and loved it. Beautiful beach. Looks like you guys had a great time
Thank you! It was gorgeous; I'm so bummed I missed that one!
I know it was so hard, especially after dealing with a baby who just did not want to sleep.
I love Saratoga Springs. I went to a private school there for a couple of years as a kid but I never really appreciated the area fully until I was an adult. I got to introduce my husband to the area for the first time in summer of 2019, and I can't wait to go back.
Verstehen
I break for the Nautilus
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2008
Hey everyone, sorry I haven't posted in an update in awhile. Last week I got some pretty stressful news. The company I work for was sold and I was laid off in the process. So as you can imagine, I've spent the last week trying to figure out my next move. I'm applying for full time, part time, and freelance jobs, as well as looking into going back to school for some more practical training. It's a scary time all over but I think for our little family, we'll be okay, but I haven't had much time to work on Dis stuff. I hope to get back to it very, very soon! Thank you for your patience and for sticking with me!
rdkeim
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2006
Enjoyed your updates! Your get-away spot looked great! I was stressing reading about trying to get your DD to sleep! I think all Moms can relate and sympathize. I hope it went better the next night. Your job - so sorry. 2020 has been something else. I'm sure you'll land on your feet, Sending good vibes!
lvcourtneyy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 24, 2012
Following! April looks SO big compared to your last trip.
KathyM2
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2011
I'm so sorry to hear about your difficult job news. It's been such a hard time for so many people. It sounds like you have some options to think about, and at least get to spend some more time with your little one.
Reading about your experience getting April to sleep in the hotel room brings back a lot of memories. When my son was little we always hoped for a big closet in any hotel room so we'd put the pack n play in there lol.
Reading about your experience getting April to sleep in the hotel room brings back a lot of memories. When my son was little we always hoped for a big closet in any hotel room so we'd put the pack n play in there lol.
piglet1979
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 18, 2015
I m so sorry about your job. I hope you find something quickly.
Aprilalidocious
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2020
I've really enjoyed reading your TR and hated to read the most recent update regarding work. I'm certain you'll find exactly what you need for the moment. I wanted to add too that I think you did a great job picking a name for your little one. She's adorable and from one April to another, Aprils are pretty cool! LOL Good luck on the search!
Verstehen
I break for the Nautilus
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2008
Thank you!
Ugh, I'm so sorry. I wouldn't wish this on anyone.
Thanks very much!
I know!
Haha thank you! I can't get enough of those pics.
Ha, yeah ours definitely didn't fit there unfortunately. But we survived!
Thanks!
Thank you, April!
Verstehen
I break for the Nautilus
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2008
Thanks everyone for your kind words! The last couple weeks have been stressful but the good news is there are lots of options out there. I'm hoping to go back to school this summer to get my certificate in instructional design, which would be a slight career change for me, so I'm hoping this year to find a decent contract or temp job that will be okay with me moving on after a year or so. We'll see where the chips fall!
I also hope those who celebrated had a nice and safe Christmas. We stayed home and resisted the offer from DH's family to visit them. It was hard but we made the right call. There have been a lot of exposures among his siblings lately and it just didn't seem worth the risk.
But I do have some good news! My dad got his first shot of the Covid vaccine yesterday. It really feels like this thing is approaching the end. Hang in there my friends!
Day 2 (Thursday, October 29), Part 1
We woke up around 9 am. Like I mentioned, April usually sleeps later, but when she’s in bed with me, she will wake up much earlier than normal, and immediately wants to play when she sees me. So she wasn’t going back down, which was fine. We were ready to get started with our day.
We started getting breakfast ready, when I realized April’s booster seat wasn’t in the room. I knew I had packed it (see the car pictures from the day before), but it definitely wasn’t in the room. I remembered the bell services castmember saying everything had been taken out of the trunk, which is where it had been, so I assumed it had gotten left with bell services, so I called them to ask if they had it. They didn’t immediately see it, but they said they would check further. I decided to go back down and double check the car in the meantime. Lo and behold, it was there! I guess the castmember hadn’t realized it was something to bring up? But either way, it was as much my miss as his. I brought it back up, and shortly got a call from bell services asking for more details, so I let them know that I’d found it. Mini-crisis averted!
We ate breakfast and got ready. At one point, I had April try on her new princess-themed magic band.
It was still a bit big on her and she obviously found it uncomfortable. She didn’t really wear it after that little photoshoot.
Around 11:30, we finally got out of the room and drove to Animal Kingdom. It was a little later than I’d hoped, given that AK has very short hours these days, but I wasn’t too stressed; I knew we’d have a great time either way.
I took a picture of our parking row, something I don’t always remember to do. No aimless wandering for us today!
First order of business was to get myself an iced flat white from Creature Comforts. Then we decided to hit the Safari, which had a wait of about 15 minutes posted. We got there and parked the stroller and put April in her structured Tula carrier (I used a ring sling back in February which I liked better, but I had since forgotten how to use it properly with her larger size. I know how to use it now though!). The line ended up being pretty much a walk-on, and soon enough we were seeing animals. I put Dad in charge of pictures while I held April. I don’t think she could really see or recognize much, but it was still nice to do a ride together!
After the Safari we walked through the gorilla trail as it was open. At some point, April fell asleep, which meant she missed the gorillas! And the meerkats, which we had a lot of fun watching. Oh well. They had a pretty good system for getting people through the gorilla exhibit quickly and safely, since that area usually ends up being a crowded free-for-all.
My dad had been talking about getting a new hat, so after the gorilla trail he looked at the hat display while I went to the nearby bathroom with April, who’d woken up. We chilled out at a nearby bench after for a bit and let April stretch her legs. Now that she’s so mobile, I’m sure it wasn’t easy for her to be stuck in a stroller or carrier all day. DH texted to ask for a picture of April, so I quickly took this one for him.
My dad also took some, but he didn't send them until later.
We decided to go to Pandora next. It was about 2 pm by this point. I had my heart set on Flight of Passage, since I hadn’t ridden it since before I was pregnant. We got to Pandora via the Africa entrance and assessed our options. Navi River Journey had a pretty long line, which according to the Lines app (which you MUST get; it’s free with a subscription to TouringPlans.com and predicts actual wait times as well as recommends the best times to experience each attraction) was going to go down a bit. Flight of Passage was listed as an hour, but the app predicted it was a bit shorter than that, maybe 40-45 minutes. We weren’t starving, so this seemed like the best option right now.
My dad cannot do Flight of Passage. He’s tried it a couple of times and it always exacerbates his motion sickness, so we wouldn’t need to do a rider swap. I was a little worried at how April would fare without me, but Dad was more than willing to watch her even if she got cranky. We went to the queue entrance and somehow, I was able to enter the queue without April noticing that I was no longer the one pushing the stroller. Phew!
Had to get a selfie of myself in line.
I also snapped this picture in the laboratory room. I don’t know if anyone reading this watches The Venture Bros, it’s a fairly obscure Adult Swim show, but there’s a character who’s modeled after this virus.
The queue moved pretty quickly, and as often is the case, being a party of one worked to my advantage, when I was able to get in at the tail end of a boarding group. I think there was some confusion though, because the door to the genetic matching room almost closed in front of me, and a cast member in the link chamber room mentioned they weren’t supposed to let me in there, but I definitely was just going where I was told! I’m sure with having to keep space between parties the loading math that castmembers have to do is extra hard these days.
But the confusion was settled, and I was given a pair of flight goggles and a banshee. It was an amazing ride as always. This remains one of my favorite rides in the parks.
By the time I was exiting, it had been about an hour total since I’d gotten in line, so all in all, the Lines app had been pretty accurate.
I got a hold of Dad, who had gone to Asia to get a drink from the Yak and Yeti bar. He said April had found a piece of a plant and was contentedly playing with that, so she hadn’t even noticed I was gone. Great! He said he would make his way back to me. We were hungry for lunch, so I said I would order a mobile pickup from Satuli Canteen. I texted him the menu, and he let me know his order.
A few minutes later he managed to find me sitting across from the restaurant entrance. We got a table outside and I pushed the button in the app to have our food prepared. April played with her leaf while we waited.
I have to say, I hope they keep this widespread mobile ordering after the pandemic is over. It’s really convenient to not have to stand in line to order.
Neither of us snagged pictures of our food (I think we were super hungry and forgot), but I got a beef bowl with noodles and creamy herb dressing. My dad got chicken, but I can’t remember the base or sauce. I want to say rice and creamy herb dressing. I miss the original rice base they had, but the noodles are pretty tasty! I know I shared some with April, who just loves noodles.
After lunch, really the only thing left to do was Navi River Journey. The wait was still a little long for Dad’s taste, but there really wasn’t anything else we could do with a baby. Plus, I reasoned, standing in line is not the end of the world. We’re together, we’re bonding, it’s really not a big deal. We were even able to keep April in her stroller until we had to go past the tapstiles.
Like many queues during this time, it stretched out and looked longer than it was. It was about a 40 minute wait, but it stretched all the way to the bathrooms. It’s still a longer wait than I would normally be willing to do, but without Fastpass it’s the best chance to get on the ride. While we were in the line, my dad’s brother facetimed us, so that was nice to take some time to talk to him. Soon enough, it was time to board.
She stayed awake this time at least, unlike back in February where she slept on this and pretty much every ride. She also seemed very interested in the shaman animatronic. I wish I’d been able to get a picture, but it was great to see her reaction.
After that, it was pretty much 5 pm. A few people we overheard were making mad dashes to get in the queue for one last ride before the park closed, but we had done pretty much all we wanted to do at Animal Kingdom. So we had a couple of options, which we discussed as we headed towards the exit. We could either go back to the Riviera and freshen up before dinner, or go straight to Disney Springs. Dinner wasn’t for a couple of hours, but I was getting nervous because I’d heard horror stories of people with ADR’s still getting blocked out of Disney Springs because they were at capacity, and I didn’t want that to happen to us. Dad had some shopping he wanted to do there anyway, so we decided to head straight there.
We got to the AK parking lot, and found our car no problem (thanks Rachel from several hours ago!) I put April in her car seat, and almost immediately a breeze picked up and sent the stroller flying! My dad raced after it and caught it just as it bumped against another parked car (I don’t think there was any damage though). But how scary! I wonder if it would have still gone flying with a 20+ lb baby in it. After this incident, I always made sure to lock the stroller as soon as we got to the car until I was ready to fold it up in the back.
Slightly traumatic experience over, we got in the car and made our way to Disney Springs. That’s up next!
I also hope those who celebrated had a nice and safe Christmas. We stayed home and resisted the offer from DH's family to visit them. It was hard but we made the right call. There have been a lot of exposures among his siblings lately and it just didn't seem worth the risk.
But I do have some good news! My dad got his first shot of the Covid vaccine yesterday. It really feels like this thing is approaching the end. Hang in there my friends!
Day 2 (Thursday, October 29), Part 1
We woke up around 9 am. Like I mentioned, April usually sleeps later, but when she’s in bed with me, she will wake up much earlier than normal, and immediately wants to play when she sees me. So she wasn’t going back down, which was fine. We were ready to get started with our day.
We started getting breakfast ready, when I realized April’s booster seat wasn’t in the room. I knew I had packed it (see the car pictures from the day before), but it definitely wasn’t in the room. I remembered the bell services castmember saying everything had been taken out of the trunk, which is where it had been, so I assumed it had gotten left with bell services, so I called them to ask if they had it. They didn’t immediately see it, but they said they would check further. I decided to go back down and double check the car in the meantime. Lo and behold, it was there! I guess the castmember hadn’t realized it was something to bring up? But either way, it was as much my miss as his. I brought it back up, and shortly got a call from bell services asking for more details, so I let them know that I’d found it. Mini-crisis averted!
We ate breakfast and got ready. At one point, I had April try on her new princess-themed magic band.
It was still a bit big on her and she obviously found it uncomfortable. She didn’t really wear it after that little photoshoot.
Around 11:30, we finally got out of the room and drove to Animal Kingdom. It was a little later than I’d hoped, given that AK has very short hours these days, but I wasn’t too stressed; I knew we’d have a great time either way.
I took a picture of our parking row, something I don’t always remember to do. No aimless wandering for us today!
First order of business was to get myself an iced flat white from Creature Comforts. Then we decided to hit the Safari, which had a wait of about 15 minutes posted. We got there and parked the stroller and put April in her structured Tula carrier (I used a ring sling back in February which I liked better, but I had since forgotten how to use it properly with her larger size. I know how to use it now though!). The line ended up being pretty much a walk-on, and soon enough we were seeing animals. I put Dad in charge of pictures while I held April. I don’t think she could really see or recognize much, but it was still nice to do a ride together!
After the Safari we walked through the gorilla trail as it was open. At some point, April fell asleep, which meant she missed the gorillas! And the meerkats, which we had a lot of fun watching. Oh well. They had a pretty good system for getting people through the gorilla exhibit quickly and safely, since that area usually ends up being a crowded free-for-all.
My dad had been talking about getting a new hat, so after the gorilla trail he looked at the hat display while I went to the nearby bathroom with April, who’d woken up. We chilled out at a nearby bench after for a bit and let April stretch her legs. Now that she’s so mobile, I’m sure it wasn’t easy for her to be stuck in a stroller or carrier all day. DH texted to ask for a picture of April, so I quickly took this one for him.
My dad also took some, but he didn't send them until later.
We decided to go to Pandora next. It was about 2 pm by this point. I had my heart set on Flight of Passage, since I hadn’t ridden it since before I was pregnant. We got to Pandora via the Africa entrance and assessed our options. Navi River Journey had a pretty long line, which according to the Lines app (which you MUST get; it’s free with a subscription to TouringPlans.com and predicts actual wait times as well as recommends the best times to experience each attraction) was going to go down a bit. Flight of Passage was listed as an hour, but the app predicted it was a bit shorter than that, maybe 40-45 minutes. We weren’t starving, so this seemed like the best option right now.
My dad cannot do Flight of Passage. He’s tried it a couple of times and it always exacerbates his motion sickness, so we wouldn’t need to do a rider swap. I was a little worried at how April would fare without me, but Dad was more than willing to watch her even if she got cranky. We went to the queue entrance and somehow, I was able to enter the queue without April noticing that I was no longer the one pushing the stroller. Phew!
Had to get a selfie of myself in line.
I also snapped this picture in the laboratory room. I don’t know if anyone reading this watches The Venture Bros, it’s a fairly obscure Adult Swim show, but there’s a character who’s modeled after this virus.
The queue moved pretty quickly, and as often is the case, being a party of one worked to my advantage, when I was able to get in at the tail end of a boarding group. I think there was some confusion though, because the door to the genetic matching room almost closed in front of me, and a cast member in the link chamber room mentioned they weren’t supposed to let me in there, but I definitely was just going where I was told! I’m sure with having to keep space between parties the loading math that castmembers have to do is extra hard these days.
But the confusion was settled, and I was given a pair of flight goggles and a banshee. It was an amazing ride as always. This remains one of my favorite rides in the parks.
By the time I was exiting, it had been about an hour total since I’d gotten in line, so all in all, the Lines app had been pretty accurate.
I got a hold of Dad, who had gone to Asia to get a drink from the Yak and Yeti bar. He said April had found a piece of a plant and was contentedly playing with that, so she hadn’t even noticed I was gone. Great! He said he would make his way back to me. We were hungry for lunch, so I said I would order a mobile pickup from Satuli Canteen. I texted him the menu, and he let me know his order.
A few minutes later he managed to find me sitting across from the restaurant entrance. We got a table outside and I pushed the button in the app to have our food prepared. April played with her leaf while we waited.
I have to say, I hope they keep this widespread mobile ordering after the pandemic is over. It’s really convenient to not have to stand in line to order.
Neither of us snagged pictures of our food (I think we were super hungry and forgot), but I got a beef bowl with noodles and creamy herb dressing. My dad got chicken, but I can’t remember the base or sauce. I want to say rice and creamy herb dressing. I miss the original rice base they had, but the noodles are pretty tasty! I know I shared some with April, who just loves noodles.
After lunch, really the only thing left to do was Navi River Journey. The wait was still a little long for Dad’s taste, but there really wasn’t anything else we could do with a baby. Plus, I reasoned, standing in line is not the end of the world. We’re together, we’re bonding, it’s really not a big deal. We were even able to keep April in her stroller until we had to go past the tapstiles.
Like many queues during this time, it stretched out and looked longer than it was. It was about a 40 minute wait, but it stretched all the way to the bathrooms. It’s still a longer wait than I would normally be willing to do, but without Fastpass it’s the best chance to get on the ride. While we were in the line, my dad’s brother facetimed us, so that was nice to take some time to talk to him. Soon enough, it was time to board.
She stayed awake this time at least, unlike back in February where she slept on this and pretty much every ride. She also seemed very interested in the shaman animatronic. I wish I’d been able to get a picture, but it was great to see her reaction.
After that, it was pretty much 5 pm. A few people we overheard were making mad dashes to get in the queue for one last ride before the park closed, but we had done pretty much all we wanted to do at Animal Kingdom. So we had a couple of options, which we discussed as we headed towards the exit. We could either go back to the Riviera and freshen up before dinner, or go straight to Disney Springs. Dinner wasn’t for a couple of hours, but I was getting nervous because I’d heard horror stories of people with ADR’s still getting blocked out of Disney Springs because they were at capacity, and I didn’t want that to happen to us. Dad had some shopping he wanted to do there anyway, so we decided to head straight there.
We got to the AK parking lot, and found our car no problem (thanks Rachel from several hours ago!) I put April in her car seat, and almost immediately a breeze picked up and sent the stroller flying! My dad raced after it and caught it just as it bumped against another parked car (I don’t think there was any damage though). But how scary! I wonder if it would have still gone flying with a 20+ lb baby in it. After this incident, I always made sure to lock the stroller as soon as we got to the car until I was ready to fold it up in the back.
Slightly traumatic experience over, we got in the car and made our way to Disney Springs. That’s up next!
suse66
When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true!
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2008
The Safari is a great ride for littles! I have to say, your Jungle Cruise dress is beautiful!!
Super cute mask!
Looking forward to hearing about where you had dinner.
Woth2982
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2008
Congrats to your dad! My mom is a chemo nurse and is on a waiting list! The demand here in the Boston area is so high! Gives me hope!
So sorry about your job situation, enjoy your time with April in the meantime. I just went back to work two weeks ago and it kills me to be away from Savannah.
Verstehen
I break for the Nautilus
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2008
The Safari is a great ride for littles! I have to say, your Jungle Cruise dress is beautiful!!
Super cute mask!
Looking forward to hearing about where you had dinner.
Thanks! That Jungle Cruise dress is so cool, isn't it? One of those ones I knew I had to have.
I hope your mom gets her vaccine soon!
Verstehen
I break for the Nautilus
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2008
Happy New Year everyone! I forgot to mention last time that I've cancelled our trip for the end of January/beginning of February. It's pretty clear that cases are out of control and not going down any time soon, so we'll reschedule for a little later once things calm down. The good news is since we will likely only do one trip this year, we can combine the points from both our usual trips and get a one bedroom instead of a studio. Fingers crossed!
I have a text-heavy update for you today. Sorry about that! More pictures soon.
Day 2, Part 2
I parked us at the Orange garage, since our night would end near there, even though we had a lot of shops we wanted to see on the East side. Disney Springs was pretty empty when we arrived, I believe around 5:30. We walked out of the escalators and straight over to the large Starbucks. Dad said he needed a boost. I waited on the benches against the big window with April and did some people watching, and a few minutes later he emerged with some kind of iced drink. A little too sweet for me, but I still snagged a few sips ;-)
One thing I forgot to mention earlier in the report is that in his frenzy to get to Orlando, Dad had lost his beloved Harley Davidson hat along the way. He was hoping he could find a suitable replacement, so we walked over to the Landing to check out the Harley Davidson store.
It’s interesting to me that this one is smaller than the location they moved from. I don’t know if HD merchandise is falling out of fashion or what. We went in and only stayed for a few minutes to look at the hats. Dad didn’t like any of them as a replacement for his, which he bought years ago. He was sad, but we moved on.
Next we went over to Alex & Ani. He wanted to look for a present for his girlfriend. I don’t think she collects them, but there were a couple of characters she likes and she does like to wear jewelry, and when he asked me where he could find a bracelet with them, I told him Alex & Ani was his best bet.
I don’t personally tend to wear jewelry for just everyday wear (except for my wedding ring), but some of those bracelets were really cool. They had an Orange Bird one, and some other park-related charms. I was really tempted to get one, but reminded myself that I’ve bought cool jewelry before, and it just sat in my case. I can’t remember exactly which character Dad’s gf wanted. I want to say Tinkerbell? In any case, the only charm they had for that character was in gold, and Dad recalled she mostly wears silver jewelry, so he decided he would ask her if that was okay and seek out a backup gift in the meantime.
The backup gift he wanted to get was an apron, since she had told him she likes to collect aprons for cooking. We headed over to the Co-Op, since I figured there might be an apron in the Centerpiece store.
Alas, the selection was not as good as it’s been in the past, and there were definitely no aprons to be had. We wandered around the Co-Op a bit more, checking out the art store and the Dress Shop. Dad offered to buy me one of the dresses as a souvenir (I have a small but respectable collection), but none of the ones they were currently selling really caught my eye. I’m very picky!
I recalled there was a kitchen-themed store elsewhere in the Marketplace. I wasn’t sure if it was still the same store, but we went to check it out. It was further down, near Earl of Sandwich.
It’s now a Spice and Tea Exchange, which I’m pretty sure is a franchise. I’ve seen their stores in quirky “downtown” areas in a few different cities (like Asheville). There was lots of tea, but no aprons. We left pretty quickly.
The only place that was left to check was World of Disney, which I’d been avoiding. It’s always busy, and after visiting the refurbished store back in February I was not confident that we would easily find what we needed-- there seems to be even less of an order to where things are located than there was before.
We went in though, and thankfully found the kitchen section pretty quickly. There were a couple of options for aprons, and Dad picked the Ink and Paint one for his girlfriend, which seemed like the classiest option! The others looked like princess and character dresses, which is not her style.
After that he wanted to look for a present for my sister, but couldn’t find anything in the kitchen section he thought she would like. We looked at the checkout line, but it was super super long, and it felt like the store was becoming more crowded by the second. Not cool. We wandered over to the other side of the store, looking for gifts for my sister along the way. But the registers on that side were no better. In fact, they were closed to new people in the queue! So off we went back to the other side, and I told Dad I was no longer comfortable being in the store. He agreed, so we abandoned the apron and left out the back entrance by Basin.
There we saw the reason for the crowds: there was now a line to get in! We had only been in the store for a short while, maybe 15 minutes tops, so I don’t know if we somehow bypassed the line when we entered or if it really just sprang up that fast, but it was long enough that it stretched back to Basin and even further! Crazy. Since we had exited the store at an unorthodox place, we had to get the castmembers overseeing the line to help us break through and exit back into sanity.
I told Dad I hoped there was another way he could buy that apron, because there was no way I was walking back into World of Disney any time soon. He pulled out his phone to check the Shop Disney Parks app, and lo and behold, the lovely apron was listed for sale. We could have avoided going into WoD altogether, if only we had remembered you can buy some of the parks merchandise online. D’oh! Oh well, lesson learned. He wasn’t able to get a good enough signal to order it, and by now his girlfriend had texted back that gold-colored jewelry was just fine with her, so we headed back to Alex & Ani.
I’d had just about enough of going into stores, so April and I chilled out on the curb across the street from the store while we waited for Dad to complete his purchase.
Purchase made, and we still had a little time before our dinner reservation, so we decided to slowly make our way in that direction. Along the way, we stopped in Origins, which we didn’t realize was just about to close. I felt bad for the employee we kept a little bit past closing time, but he was very gracious. Origins is one of my dad’s favorite stores (he’s big into skincare) so he always likes to stop in and see what’s new. I don’t think he got anything for himself, but he did get me a tube of face wash that he has that I had tried and liked. So that was nice!
We kept walking towards our dining destination, and passed the Sugarboo store on the way. Dad went in a bit to look around while I waited outside. I don’t think he ended up purchasing anything.
Then, finally, it was time for dinner! This update feels like it’s getting a bit long, so I’ll recap that in my next post.
I have a text-heavy update for you today. Sorry about that! More pictures soon.
Day 2, Part 2
I parked us at the Orange garage, since our night would end near there, even though we had a lot of shops we wanted to see on the East side. Disney Springs was pretty empty when we arrived, I believe around 5:30. We walked out of the escalators and straight over to the large Starbucks. Dad said he needed a boost. I waited on the benches against the big window with April and did some people watching, and a few minutes later he emerged with some kind of iced drink. A little too sweet for me, but I still snagged a few sips ;-)
One thing I forgot to mention earlier in the report is that in his frenzy to get to Orlando, Dad had lost his beloved Harley Davidson hat along the way. He was hoping he could find a suitable replacement, so we walked over to the Landing to check out the Harley Davidson store.
It’s interesting to me that this one is smaller than the location they moved from. I don’t know if HD merchandise is falling out of fashion or what. We went in and only stayed for a few minutes to look at the hats. Dad didn’t like any of them as a replacement for his, which he bought years ago. He was sad, but we moved on.
Next we went over to Alex & Ani. He wanted to look for a present for his girlfriend. I don’t think she collects them, but there were a couple of characters she likes and she does like to wear jewelry, and when he asked me where he could find a bracelet with them, I told him Alex & Ani was his best bet.
I don’t personally tend to wear jewelry for just everyday wear (except for my wedding ring), but some of those bracelets were really cool. They had an Orange Bird one, and some other park-related charms. I was really tempted to get one, but reminded myself that I’ve bought cool jewelry before, and it just sat in my case. I can’t remember exactly which character Dad’s gf wanted. I want to say Tinkerbell? In any case, the only charm they had for that character was in gold, and Dad recalled she mostly wears silver jewelry, so he decided he would ask her if that was okay and seek out a backup gift in the meantime.
The backup gift he wanted to get was an apron, since she had told him she likes to collect aprons for cooking. We headed over to the Co-Op, since I figured there might be an apron in the Centerpiece store.
Alas, the selection was not as good as it’s been in the past, and there were definitely no aprons to be had. We wandered around the Co-Op a bit more, checking out the art store and the Dress Shop. Dad offered to buy me one of the dresses as a souvenir (I have a small but respectable collection), but none of the ones they were currently selling really caught my eye. I’m very picky!
I recalled there was a kitchen-themed store elsewhere in the Marketplace. I wasn’t sure if it was still the same store, but we went to check it out. It was further down, near Earl of Sandwich.
It’s now a Spice and Tea Exchange, which I’m pretty sure is a franchise. I’ve seen their stores in quirky “downtown” areas in a few different cities (like Asheville). There was lots of tea, but no aprons. We left pretty quickly.
The only place that was left to check was World of Disney, which I’d been avoiding. It’s always busy, and after visiting the refurbished store back in February I was not confident that we would easily find what we needed-- there seems to be even less of an order to where things are located than there was before.
We went in though, and thankfully found the kitchen section pretty quickly. There were a couple of options for aprons, and Dad picked the Ink and Paint one for his girlfriend, which seemed like the classiest option! The others looked like princess and character dresses, which is not her style.
After that he wanted to look for a present for my sister, but couldn’t find anything in the kitchen section he thought she would like. We looked at the checkout line, but it was super super long, and it felt like the store was becoming more crowded by the second. Not cool. We wandered over to the other side of the store, looking for gifts for my sister along the way. But the registers on that side were no better. In fact, they were closed to new people in the queue! So off we went back to the other side, and I told Dad I was no longer comfortable being in the store. He agreed, so we abandoned the apron and left out the back entrance by Basin.
There we saw the reason for the crowds: there was now a line to get in! We had only been in the store for a short while, maybe 15 minutes tops, so I don’t know if we somehow bypassed the line when we entered or if it really just sprang up that fast, but it was long enough that it stretched back to Basin and even further! Crazy. Since we had exited the store at an unorthodox place, we had to get the castmembers overseeing the line to help us break through and exit back into sanity.
I told Dad I hoped there was another way he could buy that apron, because there was no way I was walking back into World of Disney any time soon. He pulled out his phone to check the Shop Disney Parks app, and lo and behold, the lovely apron was listed for sale. We could have avoided going into WoD altogether, if only we had remembered you can buy some of the parks merchandise online. D’oh! Oh well, lesson learned. He wasn’t able to get a good enough signal to order it, and by now his girlfriend had texted back that gold-colored jewelry was just fine with her, so we headed back to Alex & Ani.
I’d had just about enough of going into stores, so April and I chilled out on the curb across the street from the store while we waited for Dad to complete his purchase.
Purchase made, and we still had a little time before our dinner reservation, so we decided to slowly make our way in that direction. Along the way, we stopped in Origins, which we didn’t realize was just about to close. I felt bad for the employee we kept a little bit past closing time, but he was very gracious. Origins is one of my dad’s favorite stores (he’s big into skincare) so he always likes to stop in and see what’s new. I don’t think he got anything for himself, but he did get me a tube of face wash that he has that I had tried and liked. So that was nice!
We kept walking towards our dining destination, and passed the Sugarboo store on the way. Dad went in a bit to look around while I waited outside. I don’t think he ended up purchasing anything.
Then, finally, it was time for dinner! This update feels like it’s getting a bit long, so I’ll recap that in my next post.
KathyM2
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2011
That's so amazing!! I really hope they can pick up the pace with vaccinating people!!
I agree about keeping the mobile ordering...let's hope they keep it!! There are some things about the way things are happening with the pandemic (both at Disney and in the real world) that I do hope stick afterwards!
Share this page
GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE
Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.
Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!
Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.
Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!
