A Pack of Lions is a Pride - Squishy’s First Trip to WDW! A February 2022 Trip Report

[LifeTheDisneyWay14]

Hello! I’m Danai.



I’m a 28 year old new mom, currently somewhere between a SAHM and a writer/actor/commercial model (my career before becoming a mom). I live in downtown NYC with my beautiful 6 month old daughter and my wonderful husband, plus our two cats.

My favorite Disney movie is Inside Out, my favorite Disney princess is Tiana, my favorite Disney park is Magic Kingdom, and my favorite Disney Resort is the Animal Kingdom Lodge!

I’m long-time lurker on the boards and an avid devourer of trip reports and dining reports, but I haven’t been too active in posting on here over the years. I’ve been enjoying all of your reports so much that I felt it’s finally time to contribute some of my own - especially since we’ll be going on annual family trips to WDW now that we have a little one!

The trip reports of @chunkymonkey, @CruellaNY, @fallonkendra, @kastoney, @StarWarsMomofGirls!, @mFont23, and @TheLittleKatie in particular got me through my pandemic pregnancy and the looooong first trimester of morning sickness and fatigue. I don’t think I’ll be able to live up to their trip report greatness, but I’ll do my best!

I have to go now, but in the next post I’ll introduce the cast of characters for our 5 day WDW trip in February 2022!

 

[LifeTheDisneyWay14]

WHEN: February 14-18, 2022

WHERE: Walt Disney World, staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge!

WHO: Me!



And:



Squishy, my 6 month old daughter. She’ll be 13 months then! I’ve been dressing her as Disney characters since birth and she really has no choice but to grow up as a Disney fan.

She doesn’t get screen time yet, so no favorite characters, but she likes when I read Disney storybooks aloud to her. Her favorite pastimes are grabbing her toes, trying to stand, army crawling towards things she shouldn’t have, and chuckling.

Also joining us is:



Prince Charming, my dear husband and the love of my life. He’s the most thoughtful, kind, funny, handsome, charming, sincere person I’ve ever met.

He’s a trader at a quant fund and loves cats, basketball, meat, and bicycling. He’s not a big Disney fan (yet) but I have every intention of converting him.

Tinkerbell, my big sister, and Stitch, her husband and my BIL.



She lives in Virginia and is the new mom of a four month old girl - we both had our first babies at practically the same time! She loves Tinkerbell and all things Disney, just like me. Her favorite resort is the AKL and her favorite park is Animal Kingdom.

He loves all things Disney, drives trucks, and is a gamer. He’s hilarious and such a sweet, kind-hearted guy!

Last but not least, there’s Snow White.



She’s their daughter and my niece! She’s four months old and likes to stick out her tongue.

 

[LifeTheDisneyWay14]

Hi again! We’re trying to nail down exact dates and start booking this week/weekend.

It’s been a little busy because I’m on a freelance project for a cybersecurity startup at the moment and things are a little busy responding to new government regulations in the wake of major supply chain hacks on SolarWinds and Colonial Pipeline earlier this year, followed by the massive ransomware attack on Kaseya in recent weeks (largest attack ever, and possibly with foreign nation state involvement?!).

In short, it’s an exciting time in the space. On top of that I’m doing my first teeeeeeeny tiny bit role since pre-pandemic/baby, on an HBO show and I have four on-set days for that way out in Queens on a large production lot. It’s fun to get back at it a little (i love costumes and being on set!) but I’m trying to be sure I still spend the majority of Squishy’s waking hours with her and I’m still feeding exclusively breast milk (+ a few solids in recent days, which she isn’t actually swallowing yet).

So it’s been a lot to balance! But there’s always room in my life to plan a Disney trip.

Sooo basically February 14-18 are our preferred dates, but I’m waiting to hear from my sister and BIL if they’ll get the dates approved at work. It looks like they might not, in which case our backup dates would be week of February 7, second week of March, or going well earlier (before the girls are 1yo) at the end of November/start of December to catch holiday season fun.

Christmas and Disney are my two favorite things and Christmas AT Disney is amazing. I’d love to do it again, but I feel like the girls will still be a little too young. Christmas in NYC is also already great on its own, whereas February/early March are pretty bleh. On the other hand, in mid January we’re going to Hawaii, so that vacation might be a little close to the February 7 week.

Anyone have any thoughts on which of our backup dates might be best, or any new perspectives to add? I very much welcome them!

Whatever dates it ends up being, we’ve shaken out a loose schedule:

Arrival Day: Downtown Disney & hanging out at the resort

Day 2: Magic Kingdom! For as long as I can remember it’s always been our first park of any Disney trip.

Day 3: Epcot

Day 4: Animal Kingdom

Departure Day: Hanging out at the resort, possibly a return to Downtown Disney if our flights are later in the day (not too late, though, we have to be back home in Manhattan by 5:30pm to start Squishy’s bedtime routine ).

 

[LifeTheDisneyWay14]

Update! We had to cancel our visit to my family in Europe this month, and the destination weddings we were planning to attend, due to the delta variant.

We were still really craving travel though, so we decided to move up our delayed honeymoon to Hawaii - we’re going in a few weeks! We’re spending 4 nights/5days at the Four Seasons Lanai and 3 nights/4 days at the Royal Hawaiian in Waikiki.

It’s not Disney at all so I won’t be covering it here (though you know I’ll be binging Moana, Lilo & Stitch, The Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo, Finding Dory, etc leading up to the trip).

BUT moving our honeymoon up also means we can move our Disney trip up! We’ll be going in January instead of February and celebrating Squishy’s first birthday at the happiest place on earth!

 

[huggybuff]

Congratulations on your new baby, Squishy! I'm anxious to hear if you've managed to convert your husband to a Disney fan by the end of your trip. Let me know of anything he really took to or enjoyed. I'm going to be facing the same situation on my honeymoon in November 2022. While he has enjoyed going to Disneyland with his family in the past he's not a Disney fan per se.

I'm excited to hear about staying at AKL and all of your adventures!

 

[LifeTheDisneyWay14]

Congratulations on your new baby, Squishy! I'm anxious to hear if you've managed to convert your husband to a Disney fan by the end of your trip. Let me know of anything he really took to or enjoyed. I'm going to be facing the same situation on my honeymoon in November 2022. While he has enjoyed going to Disneyland with his family in the past he's not a Disney fan per se.

I'm excited to hear about staying at AKL and all of your adventures!

Thank you and congratulations on your engagement! I'm starting early with working Disney into his subconscious... many of Squishy's outfits/books/toys are Disney, so he'll be very familiar with all the characters by the time we go. I also always make him watch the new Disney movies with me when they come out and he concedes that they're really artfully done!

And he's a meat-loving man, so I'm planning some meals at places like Jiko where they do a mean steak - the way to the heart is through the stomach? I'll keep you posted!

 

[AliceNDinah]

Oh my gosh, Squishy and Snow White are beautiful. I'm excited for your trip! We just were down there in June, it was fabulous. My husband loves steak, so I set up a date night for him and our little boy at Shula's steakhouse, they LOVED it, and I'm sure Prince Charming will too Please do a trip report when you come back! It's been about two months and I'm already itching for another trip, LOL. It helps to live vicariously through the Disboards I guess.....

 

[LifeTheDisneyWay14]

Oh my gosh, Squishy and Snow White are beautiful. I'm excited for your trip! We just were down there in June, it was fabulous. My husband loves steak, so I set up a date night for him and our little boy at Shula's steakhouse, they LOVED it, and I'm sure Prince Charming will too Please do a trip report when you come back! It's been about two months and I'm already itching for another trip, LOL. It helps to live vicariously through the Disboards I guess.....

I will and thank you! We’ll have to check out Shula’s Steakhouse when we’re there, that sounds very much like Prince Charming’s kind of place. I can’t wait to take the girls, I hope they’ll be excited about the characters and shows!

 

[huggybuff]

And he's a meat-loving man, so I'm planning some meals at places like Jiko where they do a mean steak - the way to the heart is through the stomach? I'll keep you posted!

Thanks! My guy loves stick to the ribs kinds of meals so I'll likely tailor our dining to that level rather than too much fine dining. He complains the portions are too small for what you pay. I could always give him lots of snacks during the day and still get to California Grill, hmmmmm. I enjoyed the time I went to Shula's. It has a nice upscale feel to it and the football memorabilia is fun.

 

[LifeTheDisneyWay14]

First some baby/life news, so feel free to skip ahead: Squishy isn't sleeping through the night at the moment (boo, we'd only just begun having good nights of sleep) but she's developing in leaps and bounds instead. We have some solid clapping now, a little more babbling, and some rocking back and forth on her knees (in addition to very enthusiastic army crawling). It's so exciting to see!

Being back on set yesterday went better than expected. I was able to hold off on pumping until after we wrapped (it was a very minor role and a short day) and Squishy had a great time at home with the sitter. I can’t share any photos or details because HBO NDAs are no joke, so here’s a selfie from before heading into hair and makeup!



Back to Disney; looking at ADRs for our trip. We're thinking:
* a Jiko dinner for the adults only, likely on the second or third night, while the babies hang out back in the room with a Disney sitter
* a Boma breakfast for all of us
* a Sanaa lunch for all of us (I'm sure the little ones will love a window table!)

Other than that, I'm still flexible. Any suggestions? We do all love sushi, but Prince Charming and I are spoiled by living in NYC and traveling a lot, so we've had some really stellar sushi and I don't know if Florida sushi, even at Disney, can live up...

I definitely want a meal at Columbia Harbor House during our Magic Kingdom day, but that's not an ADR. But I love it! I'd eat there for every meal on our MK day if it was up to me.

We'd wanted to do the luau at The Polynesian, but it's one of the covid closures. I hope it opens back up before then, but if not does anyone know of any similar vibes? Or just tell me what your favorite Disney dining option(s) are!

 

[ZeeWP]

The two Squishies are so cute! Can't wait to read more!

 

[LifeTheDisneyWay14]

The two Squishies are so cute! Can't wait to read more!

Thank you! They’re so fun to dress up! My SIL sent me a link to the Disney x Janie and Jack line :

 

[huggybuff]

Or just tell me what your favorite Disney dining option(s) are!

My personal favorites are Sci-Fi Dine-In, Raglan Road, Homecomin', and Citricos (although that's going to have a new menu when it reopens).

ETA: Looks like Citricos has reopened already. Now it's themed around Mary Poppins Returns. The menu is very different but still looks like high quality.

 

[LifeTheDisneyWay14]

My personal favorites are Sci-Fi Dine-In, Raglan Road, Homecomin', and Citricos (although that's going to have a new menu when it reopens).

ETA: Looks like Citricos has reopened already. Now it's themed around Mary Poppins Returns. The menu is very different but still looks like high quality.

Thanks for the recommendations! I’ve been meaning to try Citrico’s and Sci-Fi Dine In!

 

[Bama Mom]

Following along. Congrats on the new babies in the family. I have an almost 17 month old granddaughter and 7 week old grandson and I can't wait until we can take a big family disney trip with them.

 

[AliceNDinah]

Hi, if you're a seafood-loving crew, I've heard good things about Narcoossee's at the Grand Floridian; or the Boathouse at Disney Springs. Side note: love your selfie! So naturally beautiful. You have a very cool career!!

 

[huggybuff]

Hi, if you're a seafood-loving crew, I've heard good things about Narcoossee's at the Grand Floridian; or the Boathouse at Disney Springs. Side note: love your selfie! So naturally beautiful. You have a very cool career!!

I went to Narcoossee's twice a few years back and wasn't overly impressed. The food certainly wasn't bad but I expected more. Maybe I'd have liked it more if I hadn't been solo and had a partner with me to enjoy the ambiance. I do love the Boathouse though, even if they got rid of my favorite appetizer - the mussels with chorizo.

 

[LifeTheDisneyWay14]

Update! Squishy is 11 months old and running all over the place now.


She’s regularly dressed as Disney characters (see: Tigger, above) and is really into girly things like handbags. It's so cute and she loves dancing, trying grown up food, being around people, and exploring - so I can't wait to share Disney with her!

HOWEVER... omicron. We're in NYC so we've been really seeing how bad it can get (it seems like everyone either has it or has been exposed so we're fully bunkered down trying to stay safe).

My sister and brother-in-law took the week of February 14th off already for the trip, but at this rate I don't know if it's going to be safe enough to go, especially with no baby vaccines available yet.

What are people's thoughts? And how short notice do you think we could book this trip? We're still planning on staying at AKL and in two rooms and doing one park a day.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I just found this!!! I have to catch up!!! I read the intro, and I am so excited to learn more about you and your family! Your daughter is beautiful! I will catch up and comment later, promise!

 

[ZeeWP]

OMG that Tigger costume is so cute!!

I made a rule for myself that no traveling until we were all vaccinated. So as soon as the 5-11 was vaccinated, I got my 5 and 7-year old vaccinated. That's why we got to visit family in CA. In your shoes, I wouldn't go, but I know that doesn't work for everyone. Kids are less likely to be sick even if infected, and you can mitigate risks by masking up and keeping distance, eating outdoors, etc. It's really what YOU guys feel is safe and comfortable at this point.