Trip Report - Jan 14-22 Cruise/WDW: A Disney Trip Full of Hope! COMPLETED!! 7/15 About This Page:

[honeybee723]

Thanks everyone for all the Hope compliments. I think she's a cutie, but I'm a little bias

Originally Posted by BeckiO5

Great start Melissa. Glad to hear Hope was wide awake for your trip, and she looked very excited too. The picture of you and Hope in the airport is all too cute. Glad to hear you had extra sets of hands to help you with suitcases and at security with your stroller(so much easier than traveling alone with an infant). Glad everything went smoothly at Check in and at Security. Were you actually able to change Hope before your flight? Oh no about thinking you
forgot something. Looking foward to more please.

Yes, I was able to change her before we got on the plane, but that's why we ended up running to the line. Soemtimes you just forget the important things until it's too late

Originally Posted by debrabrown

Hooray you started! Bring those sweet baby pictures on!!!

Sounds like you started off great with Hope all smiley but your tease of forgot what is making me queasy! Don't leave me hanging for long now missy!

I'll try not to keep you waiting...this is tough trying to keep up with everything! And don't worry, I didn't forget anything too important

Originally Posted by islandgirl

You started your TR!!! Great start so far....& trust me, I won't get tired of looking at your pictures of Hope. My boys are 14 & 21, and I'm still taking tons of pictures of them (as you'll see from my TR). Can't wait for more!!!

I guess it's all in being a mom. I now have way too many photo albums!!!

Originally Posted by BeckiO5

Melissa, just out of curiosity, is Hope's Crib & Nursery theme Pooh? Skyler's was and still is Classic Pooh(Which made me think to ask you after seeing pooh on the side of her crib).

Yes, it's a Pooh room. We didn't know if she was going to be a boy or a girl, so we went the safe way and did Winnie the Pooh. When she gets a little older we'll give her a more girly room.

[BeckiO5]

I'm so glad you were able to change her beforehand(Its such a pain changing babies on planes, and some flight attendants won't let you out of your seat to change them).

Good neutral choice with Pooh I love it!

[poohbr2015]

we have the same baby bedding! we also didn't know what we were having so went the safe route with pooh and did yellow and green from the home depot pooh colors on the walls!

[TheMadonna3]

Enjoying it immensely already. More please!

[OhToodles!]

I'm so glad you got through security smoothly. And having extra sets of hands is a BIG plus! Looks like Hope is having a great time! She's a cutie!

[honeybee723]

Thursday, January 14th - Part Two: Southwest to the Rescue

We boarded the plane and got as settled in as we could. My parents were able to select the emergency exit row, since my father likes the extra leg room, so we picked the row in front of them. I decided it would be a good idea to get her bottle ready ahead of time so I could just stick it in her mouth right before take off. Hope is formula fed, and we use the powdered formula that you need to mix with water. There are only two ingredients needed for this meal…formula and water…what did I forget to buy That’s right…water!!!

I started to panic, not thinking there was an easy solution to this problem. What a horrible mother I was, how could I forget to buy water for my child? Now I’m stuck on a plane with no bottle! The flight attendant heard me quietly freaking out and he came to the rescue with a can of water…you heard right…a CAN of Southwest water. I had enough to fill 2 bottles worth, and he became my hero for the day.

We didn’t wait long until it was time to take off, and as soon as we started taxiing down the runway, I gave her the bottle. I wasn’t sure if she would have problems with ear pressure, but she never cried once, not through any of the flight. After she ate, she fell , which I thought was the perfect time for me to take a nap. I went to recline the seat, and to my disappointment, my seat wouldn’t go back…it was broke. I had to lay my head on the window, but that didn’t last long because the sun was so hot it started burning me. I ended up rolling Chad’s jacket up behind my head and tried to get as comfortable as possible…yeah right.



Needless to say, I didn’t sleep much, and when the pilot announced that we would be landing soon, Hope woke up anyway. She always wakes up so happy, so we tried to keep her in that mood as long as we could until we were safely on the ground.







Once we landed and got off the plane, we headed straight to the magical express area since we didn’t need to pick up any luggage. We checked in with the cruise line and were on the bus before we knew it. This was also Hope’s first bus trip, so again, we were trying to keep her occupied so there wouldn’t be any tantrums.





That didn’t work out so well, and she ended up crying for about the last 20 minutes of the ride. I felt like crawling in a hole because I couldn’t get her to stop, but everyone was so friendly on the bus…filled with parents…so they said they’ve been there before and not to worry about. Plus, it was getting close to her lunch time so it wasn’t like I didn’t know why she was crying. Because I was trying to get her calmed down, I didn't get any photos of us seeing the ship for the first time, in fact, there were a lot of times I didn't get photos because a certain little person wasn't cooperating

We finally arrived at the terminal



and I decided to check us in, while they stayed off to the side to feed her. Things would go much better if she wasn’t hungry, and all I wanted to do was get on that ship!



The line to get on the ship was loooooong since we waited a while by feeding her. It was so worth the wait though, especially seeing Chad’s face when they announced us. He said he felt like a VIP. We headed straight to Parrot Cay for lunch, and by the time we were seated, Hope was napping. We had a chance to read our Navigator and look at our KTTW card to check out our dining rotation. That’s when I noticed they moved our dining time from late to early, and at the time I thought that would be better, but oh how I was sadly mistaken (more on that in the next installment).

After filling our bellies, we decided to head to our staterooms. We booked two inside cabins with our DVC points, and they were both at the very front of the ship. By the time we got there, Hope was wide awake and happy again. All she wanted to do was explore the room, so while she did that I took some pictures.













I wasn’t sure how I was going to fit everything in the stateroom, but it actually wasn’t that bad. We were able to put our suitcases under the bed, and her stroller fit in the closet. After we got settled in, we decided it was time to go explore the ship, so off we went…

Up Next: That Can’t Be Comfortable

[B.M.]

Yay! Yall made it on the ship! Glad the plane ride went well and the bus ride wasn't too terrible. Looking forward to more......

[poohbr2015]

Isn't it funny how the little ones decide what we get to do! I was always the one taking pictures on our trips and I found that after having Sam, I would either forget to pull the camera out or I had to toss it to someone else! Can't wait to read more, I am anxious to hear about your 1 bdroom villa!

[islandgirl]

Glad you got settled onboard! Can't wait to hear more!!

[MGW]

So glad you've started your TR! Bring on the baby pictures!

[shydonna1]

Great TR! Can't wait for the next installment.

[chezp]

You're all aboard - what wonderful photos of your journey there and from the room.

[BeckiO5]

Melissa you had me thinking you forgot to bring an important document or something like that for your trip, not forgetting water for Hope's Bottle(BTDT with Skyler). Glad your flight attendant came to the rescue with water for you. Sorry Hope was fussy on DME and while you were waiting to check in and board the ship and wouldn't let you take many pictures. Love the pictures on the plane, bus, & ship. Looking foward to more please. Please bring on the baby pictures

[kdevoe]

Awesome trip report so far. I can't wait to hear more. What a relief Hope was a great passenger on the plane. I always feel so bad for the mother with the crying baby on a flight. Keep the great report coming!!

[debrabrown]

So glad you started Melissa!

First of all... she wakes up happy?! For real? Wow!!! Lucky you! She looked so cute sleeping on you.

How nice of the SW guy to give you the water. We were so impressed with our flight crews. They were just like in the commercials! And look at it this way - least you forgot the water and not the formula!

I love the decorations on your door.

Hurry back please!