Orlando Vacation: Installment #4

Disney Day #3: Epcot

It was July 27 - Claire's half birthday - Happy six months baby girl. : )

On the third day at Disney we started our day off in Epcot. Jared and I had plans to meet up with some friends (Jackie and Lance King), who live in Florida and were in Orlando at the time, so we had a limited amount of time to spend in the park that day. I was a little bummed because I had hoped to peruse the World Showcase some that morning before having to pump. However, it didn't/doesn't open until 11:00am - the time I needed to be pumping. So we just walked past all of the countries on our way to the Epcot Baby Center. The girl at the baby center spoke French and seemed confused when I told her I needed to pump and that Jared needed to feed the baby. (I guess there aren't too many moms that pump breast milk rather than just nursing when the baby is present and accounted for - c'est la vie.)

After finishing up at the baby center we ran back through all of the countries to meet up with everyone in France and then head to Soarin'. The whole group had a reservation for a late lunch at the Coral Reef restaurant, so we didn't have a whole lot of time to spend. Rather than riding Soarin', Jared and I opted to take the baby through the Living Seas ride and aquarium. It was some nice time with just the three of us. It was a ride that Clarie was allowed on, so of course, that baby fell asleep. She did wake up in time to see the dolphins in the aquarium and some big ole fish, but her favorite part were some bubbles being blown into one of the giant tanks.

After visiting the aquarium we met up at the restaurant and had lunch. Then Jared and I headed out to meet up with Lance and Jackie. Jared's mom was nice enough to drive us to the hotel, so that I could pump in the backseat of the car during the trip over. We tried to waste some time by driving through Fort Wilderness - Disney's campgrounds - but the park ranger wouldn't let us in.

We met up with Lance and Jackie at a tea room in one of the Magic Kingdom property hotels (The Grand Floridian). It was a really neat hotel - a huge, southern style hotel with chandeliers and columns. There were at least two brides, in full wedding attire, accompanied by their entourages - did I mention that it was a Wednesday afternoon? Tea was lovely. I had chamomile (I am not drinking caffeine until I quite breastfeeding) and some strawberries and cream (delicious!). Jared had a Russian earl grey and some trifle. It was really nice catching up with old friends and relaxing for a few hours. Then we headed back to the hotel for an early evening.

Claire went to England

Claire visited France.

Claire even met Snow White in Germany.

Orlando Vacation: Installment #3

Disney Day #2: Animal Kingdom

 For our second day of Disney we visited the Animal Kingdom. This is one of my favorite parks and definitely Jared's favorite. It was/is a little more laid back and relaxing than Magic Kingdom and the Universal parks we visited. Also, the baby center was not near as crowded and had private nursing rooms rather than a community nursing room - which was really nice. (Looking back this was by far the best Baby Center of all the Disney parks).

 

 We got to this park a little later in the morning. We had started the previous day at Magic Kingdom very early and ended it pretty late, so most people slept a little longer in the morning. The first thing we did was go to the Festival of the Lion King while Judy ran to get fast passes for the safari. After that was over the whole family headed out to ride the Kilimanjaro Safari (including Claire). I'll bet you would never guess how Claire spent her time during this ride?!?!? She was actually awake when we got on the ride, but fell asleep quickly from the bouncing of the vehicle. We also rode Expedition Everest - which is a pretty fun roller-coaster and we ate at the Yak n Yeti (a restaurant in the Asian area of Animal Kingdom). 

Most of the family headed back to the condo for a break at this point, but Jared wanted to see some animals and take Claire around the park a little more. So we stayed behind to explore. We went through the nature trail and got to see some neat things. There were meerkats, baby gorillas, and a giant hippopotamus skull. It was a fun thing for just the three of us to do together as a family. Then Jared and I made a pit stop at the baby center and hopped a bus back to the condo. It was not as easy managing Claire and all of her stuff with just the two of us, but I think we handled it pretty well. There was a man with his son on the bus and he asked us how old Claire was. When we told him six months he responded with, "You guys are brave."

Photo reenactment from our 2008 Orlando trip:

Orlando 2008

  

  Another photo reenactment:

Orlando 2008

 I wish we had gotten to spend a little more time exploring the Animal Kingdom, but we had to go back to the Condo and get ready for a dinner. We ate at the Rose and Crown in Epcot and our seats gave us a great view of the Illuminations show they have in the evenings. Once again - while waiting to be seated for dinner - I had to resort to pumping in a bathroom stall. (All members of a party must be present to be seated for dinner). The things I do to keep our baby in breast milk...

Bathroom Incident #3:

Jared's mom sent me with a menu, so I could text my order to them while I was pumping. So I got all set up, covered the seat and set to work. About five minutes in to my 15-20 minutes session a lady entered the stall to my right. She then proceeded to take a very loud and smelly poo. (Thanks lady for picking the stall next to mine). Also, Kate (Jared's sister) came to check on me and pick up the menu - which was sweet, but also a little bit embarrassing to be sitting in a stall and have someone come and loudly (talking over the pump and my neighbor is no easy task) ask you if you need her to take anything or do anything for you. I wonder what those people who were using the bathroom around me thought was going on in my stall?!?!

This was one of the more humiliating and degrading trips to the bathroom. It didn't help that it was the end of a long day at the parks and I was tired and worn out. Also, it does not feel especially great to be sitting in a bathroom pumping while a lady does her business in the stall next to you. I think the fact that I knew the rest of my family was getting to sit around a table and talk about the day while I was isolated in the bathroom for twenty minutes was the worst part of it. (Fortunately, this was the worst pumping experience I would have to endure for the remainder of the trip) Although I did have to pump in a bathroom one more time at the airport because our flight was delayed...again...thank you Allegiant Air. : /

Also, do not expect to get to really enjoy any of the evening shows at Disney if you take a small baby with you. Claire was inevitably hungry, fussy, or sleeping during all of the fireworks/music shows in the evening. I spent most of the Illuminations show trying to eat and hold a sleeping baby. They turn the restaurant lights out/down for Illuminations, so it was really difficult to see your plate - suffice it to say I didn't get to pay very much attention to the show. However, I think my mom and the rest of the family got to enjoy it and ultimately that is what this trip was all about.

Orlando Vacation: Installment #2

Disney Day 1: Magic Kingdom

After the Universal Parks we headed to Disney World - Where Dreams Come True! Rob and Judy are Disney Vacation Club members and they got us a really nice condo at the Bay Lake Tower. You can see the Magic Kingdom from the front of the hotel. Our room was on the back side and had a really nice view of the lake. Our first night we went to the top of the tower and watched the Wishes fireworks show that they have every night at the Magic Kingdom. It was a really good show, but also late and we were tired, so we went to bed right after. The next day we hit the Magic Kingdom.

We got into the park early for a character breakfast that Judy had arranged. This meant that we got to take some nice pictures before the park filled up with packs of Brazilians (yes they came to Disney too). We rode Dumbo (Claire's first ride, which she slept through), Pirates of the Caribbean (Claire's second ride, which she slept through), and It's a Small World (Claire's third ride, which she slept through). Are you noticing a trend? We also rode a few rides that Claire did not get to accompany us on - Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and the Haunted Mansion. It was a very long and very enjoyable day. I got my first taste of the Disney Baby Centers - which were SO nice! It was really great not having to go back to the condo or find a bathroom stall every time I needed to pump.

Memorable moments from the Magic Kingdom:

Character Breakfast:
Claire was asleep at the beginning of the breakfast. She slept through Piglet and Tigger, but she woke up to meet Winnie the Pooh and Eeyore. I had to go pump, so I missed her meeting Eeyore. And apparently Piglet came back around and played with Claire for a while too. She LOVED meeting the characters. Her little face lit up and she smiled and reached out to grab their fuzzy noses. It was one of my favorite moments of the whole trip.

Dumbo:
Apparently Dumbo has one of the longest waits as far as rides go at Magic Kingdom. Maybe it is because babies can ride. I am not sure, but we wanted to try to ride it before the park filled up (it was going to be Claire’s first ride). I had to pump, so I told Jared to go on with Claire and the rest of the group and that if I got finished in time I would try to get over there before they got on. It was hard to sit there and pump and think that I might miss getting to ride Dumbo with Claire – not because I especially care about the ride Dumbo, but it was going to be Claire’s first time to ride it. When I was finished I packed my stuff up and raced like a mad-woman across the park. I zigged and zagged between the crazy stroller moms and the packs of Brazilians. (I just want to point out that the reason I keep picking on the Brazilians is because they were so easily identifiable. They wore yellow and green shirts and walked around in enormous groups.) I reached Dumbo and started searching for all of the Wrights and Allens. They were just about to enter the ride. I disregarded every considerate bone in my body and hopped the fence that was separating me from my husband and baby. I had made it just in time. Fortunately nobody made a fuss about me joining them or climbing over the fences. And even though Claire slept through the entire ride it was a lot of fun and I am so glad I was there to enjoy it. 

Orlando Vacation: Installment #1

Our family of three took its very first vacation this past week (July 22-29). We packed everything up we thought we might need (I only packed the bags one time) and headed down to Orlando, Florida with my mom and dad. We met up with Jared's parents (Rob and Judy), sister (Kate), sister's boyfriend (Dave), brother (Michael), and sister-in-law (Erin). There were ten adults in total and one baby. It was quite an adventure. I don't have time to share all of the details (the baby doesn't take very long naps). I will try to make several installments about our trip over the next few days.


We were scheduled to leave XNA around 6:45pm. We actually left around 9:30pm (thanks a lot Allegiant Air). When we arrived it was very late (around 1:00am Orlando time) - fortunately Judy, Kate, and Dave came and picked us up from the airport anyway. The first stop was the Loew's Royal Pacific Hotel at Universal Studios. It was a really nice room.

Judy had a jam-packed vacation planned for us. Claire was a trooper even though we were dragging her all over the place and it was hot (not Northwest Arkansas hot, but hot just the same). We spent the first two nights and days at Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. We got to ride the Hulk, The Mummy, Jaws, Dueling Dragons, and we even visited Hogwarts. The following are some highlights from Universal. I will add more about the Disney portion in the coming days.

Moments of note from the two days at Universal Studios:

1. Universal Hotel Room Situation:
    
          We shared a room with my parents - both of whom snore. The first night after arriving in the wee hours of the morning, pumping, getting the baby to sleep, and getting ready for bed I laid down and closed my eyes. Then I realized there was no way I was going to get to sleep with all of the log sawing that was going on across the room. Jared (who is the best husband in the world) even walked to the front desk (at two am) and asked if they had earplugs, but they did not. So, I covered my head with my pillow and tried to suck it up. Suffice it to say day 1 at the parks was long and exhausting. We made a special trip to the gift shop and purchased some ear plugs for the next night. I went to bed as early as I could.

2. Bathroom Incident #1 (sad that there was more than one):

          While visiting the various theme parks there was one thing I noticed at each and every park. There were extremely large groups of Brazilians wandering around the parks together in packs. At Universal one of these packs decided it was a good idea to visit the bathroom at the same time. I was exiting trying to exit the facilities at this time (thank goodness). However, there was also a lady in one of those electric, rascal-like scooters. As she was backing out of her stall she got stuck in her rascal between the stall and the wall that created the exit/entrance for the bathroom. As she (and two other ladies attempting to help) tried to free herself 60 Brazilian teenage girls all tried to enter the bathroom facilities together. Good luck trying to get anywhere with a rascal blocking the way in and 60 Brazilians blocking the way out. Yikes! Also, Claire needed to be changed and there was a man taking an hour to change his kid at the changing station on the men's side and the women's side was out of order due to the debacle mentioned above. I ended up pushing my way through the sea of Brazilian teens to a tiny window seat near the exit of the women's side. It was definitely an interesting experience to say the least.

3. Bathroom Incident #2:

          This incident requires a little bit of back story. Claire started refusing to nurse towards the end of the school year (I am going to try to keep it short and explain further in a future post). As a result I have been pumping exclusively to maintain my milk supply and provide Claire with mostly breastmilk. This always makes answering the question "is she bottle or breastfed" very challenging. I digress...pumping exclusively. I have to pump every 3-4 hours. So I brought my pump along on vacation (yes, it was as awesome as it sounds). Disney has Baby Centers with nursing rooms which is so nice, but Universal does not. Our hotel was just a short walk from the parks, so for the majority of the time I just made a quick trip back to the hotel. However, on day two we had to check out of our hotel by 11:00 am and were going to be relocating to the Disney properties that evening, so I had to bring my pump with me to the park. Towards the end of the day I needed to pump and we were trying to catch a show, so I had to find a place. My best choices were finding a semi-secluded place out in the open and use my cover, or a ladies restroom. (I chose the privacy of the restroom). I found an open stall and did the best I could - luckily the toilet paper holder was wide enough to set my pump on and they had seat covers. It was a pretty mortifying experience to say the least. People waiting to use the bathroom kept knocking on the door to make sure it was still in use. (I thoroughly washed all of my pump equipment that evening before using it again). Sadly, this was not the last time or the worst bathroom pumping experience that I would have on this trip.