Mommy-Daughter PRINCESS Trip (BBB, CRT, Tea Party) Photos & VIDEO RECAP/HIGHLIGHTS

[cdotla]

As with many of our most cherished, precious memories, our Mommy - Daughter Princess Trip was something unexpected that I would never have dreamed up on my own.

You see for me, the concept of just 2 people out of a 4 person family taking a trip to one of the most Magical Places on Earth is not something I would even have considered. However, due to circumstance, that is exactly what happened to me and DD4; we ended up alone, just the two of us, in Magical WDW in September 2007.

Exactly how and why this happened...well, you will just have to stay tuned to find out. In the meantime, here's a quick sneak peak at what ended up being one of the most Special and Magical trips of my life!

DAY 1 - TRAVEL, MAGICAL EXPRESS AND CHECK-IN TO CBR

First, I will introduce the Star of the Show, DD4 herself. Here she is the morning our adventure began adjusting the final Mickey Head on our Countdown Calendar. Even at 4:30am you can tell she is anxious to get on the road!

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So off to the airport we head. We have 2 flights to catch today with an estimated arrival time in Orlando at 1pm. From the minute we left the house in the morning, the two of us girls, out on our own, driving down the highway to the airport - excitement was in the air! After all, this was the only time that the two girls had ever travelled solo on a trip together!!!

Here is DD in the airplane looking surprising calm given all of the excitement and activity her well-intentioned Mother had in store for the next 5 days:

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Well, after 2 very long flights and a hop over the border, we finally land in Orlando! As we were staying on Disney Property and only staying a short 5 days we decided to forgo a rental car and just take the Magical Express.

While this obviously meant no off-property shopping at the great Orlando malls and outlets I had come to know and love, the big plus was that there would be no car seat to install. Given that I had never performed this task before in my life, (that's what husbands are for, isn't it???) the significance of this benefit to Magical Express cannot be overstated!

Now I had heard lots of pros and lots of cons about the Magical Express on the Disboards and elsewhere. However, our experience with the Magical Express (at least getting FROM the airport to the Resort) was pleasant and efficient. We really had no complaints.

After one wrong turn inside the airport, we finally made our way to the Magical Express ticket counter. While there were about 15-20 families standing in line ahead of us, there were a good number of agents working and the line was moving fairly quick. I would say after 5-10 minutes we found ourselves at the head of the line where the agent verified our travel vouchers and sent us on our way to the bus line ups.

As each Resort has its own que, we found our way to the Carribean Beach Resort and stood in line waiting for our Bus. While I don't know for sure, I am going to assume that we must have just missed the last Bus for CBR. I say this because we were the 2nd family in line and then spent about 20 mins watching every other line get boarded on their bus but ours.

But heck, we were on vacation and waiting in line 20 mins for our Bus to come and take us to our resort was certainly not a hardship - LOL! We had a good time laughing and chatting with our neighbours in line and enjoyed people watching all of the other vacationers like ourselves on our way to a Magical Vacation.

In no time at all we were on our Bus, and before you knew it we were arriving at CBR - the First stop - yeah!

We were both very excited to be back on Disney Property. The last few times we have travelled to Disney we have always stayed off property. In fact, the last time I actually stayed at a Disney Resort (the Poly) was my first ever Trip to WDW back in 1977!!!

After exiting the Magical Express at the Custom House check-in centre for the CBR, we waited about 10-15 mins before we were checked in and given our key to a room in Jamaica as requested!!! Yeah!

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Now here is where the "Magical" in Magical Express ended for me! After being dropped off at check-in I found out that we had to wait to get on another bus which would take us around the resort to our room. Only problem? This time we most certainly JUST missed the last bus. As we arrived at the stop outside the Check-in centre we actually saw it leaving! At this point it was about 3:15pm and we had a reservation for 4pm at the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique in Downtown Disney!

Will we arrive in time??? Stay tuned....

[cdotla]

So finally, after a long wait in the hot sun outside the CBR Custom House waiting for the Bus to take us and our luggage to our room, we were let off in Jamaica and made our way to our room.

Jamaica was so beautiful! Just what I expected. Our room was an inner courtyard room and so very lovely! Our only regret was not having enough time at the Resort to enjoy it. We will most definitely return!

Unfortunately, we did not have much time to enjoy our surroundings as by now it was about 3:35pm and we had our 4pm reservation at BBB in Downtown Disney.

After spending about 10 mins speeding around the room like crazy to change out of our travel clothes and get DD into her Princess gown, we sped off for the Bus Stop, desperately hoping we would have better luck with the speed this time around.

Fortunately, not 2 mins after we arrived at the Bus Depot, the Downtown Disney Bus arrived. We ended up arriving at our appointment for BBB about 5-10 mins late. I felt awful but we were not made to feel badly as our check-in agent at CBR had called ahead to let them know we were running late.

Once again, our experience at the BBB was the stuff that dreams were made of! DD was made to feel like absolute Royalty and I was reduced to mush! I will let the pictures which tell the tale do the talking here:

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And finally, the Big Reveal:

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As you can see, I went a little snap-happy with the camera! We had a great time getting "Boutiqued" and then headed out for the Photo Session next door. Warning: More photos up next!

[twob4him]

Oh wow... I found you again...you probably think I am stalking you~~:laughing: :laughing:
I think your DD is just beautiful and I am sooo glad you made it to your appointment in time!
I learned last June that you really have to allow lots of bus travel time, as much as an hour, just to get anywhere. :sad2:
Enjoying your trippie so far...can't wait to find out what happens! :goodvibes

[Vallie]

im just subscribing! your daughter is tooo cute! omg the look on her face is just priceless!!

[cdotla]

Once again for the Photo Shoot I will let the pictures do the talking:

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Although the photos don't necessarily reflect it, DD is not a big fan of the camera and was not all that keen on getting this done. However, when we were there 2 girls actually refused to do the shoot entirely. So even if I was lucky enough to get one shot, I would have been happy. Fortunately I got a handful of goodies to put in the scrapbook!

After we left the Photo Shoot, we again had to boogey over to the Grand Floridian for our ADR at Park Faire. When we originally booked our reservation we had been scheduled Dinner with Cinderella, Prince Charming, the Fairy Godmother and the Mice at the Grand Floridian Cafe, where Park Faire had been re-located during its renovation. However, just days before our reservation, Park Faire reopened ahead of schedule. Also, there was previously unanounced change in the format. Instead of the Fairy Godmother and the Mice, we would now be dining with Cinderella, Prince Charming, the Evil Stepmother, and Anastasia and Drizella! We were very happy with the change!

We arrived and checked in, were given our pager, and went to relax in the lobby. It was the first time we sat back and rested since stepping off the plane!

DD was in a fantastic mood and as luck would have it the piano man was playing music in the lobby. What a great way to kill some time! DD loved the piano and started dancing around. By the end of the song, she actually started to draw a little crowd! It was one of the highlights of our evening!

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Dinner was fantastic! The place was packed and the characters moved quickly. However, we did get photographs with all of the characters and had a great time. The food was one of the better Disney buffet meals we had and DD absolutely LOVED the strawberry soup! With all the rave reviews I thought I would love it too, but I actually found it way too sweet and normally I have a huge sweet tooth!

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Before Cinderella appeared, wonder who DD's Favourite Character had been.....


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And finally, the Host that everyone was waiting for:

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After that, we still had the most Magical part of the evening to come!

[cdotla]

After Dinner, it was about 8pm and we decided to kill some time waiting for the Fireworks at 9pm. We spent some time at the Grand Floridian and then hopped on the monorail for the Poly.

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This was the first time that I had set foot in the Poly since 1977!!! I actually didn't think I would like it as I thought it would feel like stepping back to the 70s but boy was I wrong! I loved it and all the fond memories I still have as a 4 year old vacationing at that resort came flooding back to me. Of course it was especially poignant because my daughter was also 4 yrs old on this trip.

I think I enjoyed the atmosphere that evening at the Poly more than the Grand Floridian. It was so lush, so tropical and a true resort feel. There was an energy there - lots of hustle and bustle. The best part was walking outside to the pool and beach and seeing people swimming and relaxing with the Magic Kingdom Castle in the background. Just breathtaking!

Then, it even got better...Wishes fireworks started just as the electrical water parade was travelling by. I can't even express how fantastic this was. I vowed then and there to one day soon return to the Poly for another trip.

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So after getting a Royal Princess Makeover, followed by Dinner, Dancing and Fireworks on the Beach, all and all we had a Fantastic First Evening in WDW!!!

After the Fireworks ended it was about 9:20pm and of course we had been up since the crack of dawn for travelling. So we immediately headed for the bus to Downtown Disney, where we had to transfer to another bus to get to CBR. (I decided against going to any of the theme parks thinking the bus line ups at Downtown Disney would be the quickest). Here is where I really wished I had a rental car. However, this was the only time that we would be leaving at that hour of night from another resort which did not have direct bus transportation to CBR so I really can't complain. Overall, we found the Disney transportation system within the Resorts and Parks to be fantastic. Very rarely did we wait more than 5-10 minutes, even at Park closing times.

Needless to say, DD ended up falling asleep on the way home and I was forced to carry her the long trek home from the CBR Bus Depot to our room. Whew! With that, the two of us both crashed into bed and immediately fell fast asleep anxiously awaiting our first full vacation day in the Parks the following morning.

[cdotla]

So before we get underway with our First Day of Theme Park Touring, here's the background on how the Mommy-Daughter PRINCESS Trip came to be.

Back in May 2007, just 4 months before this Trip, we travelled to WDW with DH, DS2 and my mom and dad. We spent a week offsite and had a great time touring all the parks.

On our last day, while making our way to the airport, we had some time to kill and decided to go shopping. I decided to place my brand new SLR digital camera under the seat of the minivan so it would not be visible while we were in the mall.

Well, you guessed it. I did the unthinkable and dropped off the minivan at the rental car depot forgetting the camera under the seat. Called the rental company 15 mins later and of course it was gone. Never recovered. I lost all of the precious photos we had taken of the kids during their first ever trip to WDW!!!

While we had some photopass of BBB and 2 of CRT, that was it! Although I was familiar with Photopass, we did not really use it on our May trip. (Much different this trip!!!)

I spent a lot of time agonizing over the loss of the photos. Everyone kept reminding me that we would be returning in a couple years and that we could recapture photos then. However, in my gut I was sure that even in one year's time DD's experience at Disney would not be the same. She would not "believe" in the Princesses or Characters the same way or experience the Parks the way a 4 year old would.

So....what's a heartbroken mom to do but to plan a return trip as quickly as possible! Fortunately some excellent reduced rates were coming out, I cashed in some Air Miles, and before I knew it, the trip was planned on a total whim.

Of course I was completely panicked because by now we were only 3 months away! For our May trip I had been on the phone exactly 180 days in advance to book every reservation which had been planned months in advance! As luck would have it, with some scheduling flexibility I ended up being able to get into everything that I wanted except Cinderella's Royal Table. However, even with that I ended up getting lucky with a last-minute cancellation!

At first I didn't think that there would be any way that the second trip could be as good as the first trip because almost all of the highlights of our trip had been done before just 4 months earlier. Essentially, this trip was merely trying to recapture the lost photographic memories from the first trip.

How could I have known that this trip would actually end up being more special, more magical and more memorable than the original one?

I think what made it so special was that it was a trip just for the two of us. We had such a great time and shared so many special memories together. I think that is what makes a trip memorable - not just the things you do but the bonds you create.

So although this trip arose out of a fairly unpleasant experience (the theft of our camera) it has opened my eyes to what an incredibly bonding experience it can be to take a solo journey with your kids.

Up Next?

Little Ones Extra Magic Hour at Magic Kingdom
Epcot and Princess Lunch at Akerhaus
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party

[twob4him]

Ok now you have me crying.....:goodvibes

I dont know where to start....well I am so sorry about your camera and pics. The horrible thing about it is you know the guys cleaning out the car had your camera. One time I left our camera on a bench during a vacation and we had to stand there and bug the lost and found people to search for it. Someone on a nearby bench saw a person turn it in so we knew they had it.
But as you said,,,, your lemons were turned to lemonade.

What beautiful BBB pics you have! Your DD is just beautiful! And the magical experience at Park Faire and then the fireworks and all. Really special!

(Just one tip for next trip....you could have taken the monorail around to the front of the MK and hopped a bus to CBR rather than riding one to DTD and transfering.)

I am really enjoying your trippie and all of your beautiful pics! Do you scrapbook at all??

[scottny]

Hi,
Followed you over from the BBB thread as I have 2 girls getting this done. Your TR is off to a great start. :thumbsup2 I am looking forward to hearing all about the trip.

[cdotla]

I actually figured (perhaps wrongly) that the lines outside MK would be far worse than the bus lines at DDD.

And yes I do scrapbook, although finding the time for it is another matter!



(Just one tip for next trip....you could have taken the monorail around to the front of the MK and hopped a bus to CBR rather than riding one to DTD and transfering.)

I am really enjoying your trippie and all of your beautiful pics! Do you scrapbook at all??

[twob4him]

I actually figured (perhaps wrongly) that the lines outside MK would be far worse than the bus lines at DDD.

And yes I do scrapbook, although finding the time for it is another matter!

Actually you know what...you are right....cause I forgot that the parade and fireworks just ended ;)

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

I found your TR from the BBB thread. I'm going to be working at the BBB starting in Jan, infact, I'm leaving in 9 days!!!

I loved your pics of your DD at the BBB. Her face is priceless when she sees the characters as well. I think my fav pic was her all dressed up looking at the fireworks on the beach. For some reason and I'm not sure why but it was just sooo cute!! When I was little, I had a similar pic (w/o the BBB makeover of course) but I was dressed up and i was facing the castle and had my picture taken.

I can't wait to hear about the rest of the trip considering I'll be living there for the next 5 months!!!

[eeyore3847]

I just loveyour trip report! It looks magical already!

Lori

[ampc3]

just found you too from the BBB link... first family trip june 08! my youngest is 4 and can't wait to see her expressions on everything disney :)
your little one is adorable :) This will be a memory she will have forever !

[misscmac]

Subscribing! Great start - your daughter looks like she is having a blast already! Sorry to hear about your camera, but glad that you were able to return for another trip. Can't wait to read more!

[DisneyLaura]

I can't believe someone took your camera. People are so rude. I know actually how you felt. I didn't lose my camera but I lost a roll of film from the first time DS8 went to WDW. You can't replace things like that but at least you were able to recreate new ones. My DD is 2 now and her first trip will be when she's 4 so I guess BBB will be on our list to do. Thanks for sharing I can't wait to see and hear more.

[cdotla]

You definitely won't regret BBB...in my opinion, it was the best value for your money in all of Disney. There is nothing quite like it!

Hi,
Followed you over from the BBB thread as I have 2 girls getting this done. Your TR is off to a great start. :thumbsup2 I am looking forward to hearing all about the trip.

[cdotla]

Wow! I would have loved to have an opportunity to work at the BBB while I was in College, although sadly it didn't exist back then!

Hopefully you won't mind all the moms who will post your picture making up their daughters on the Disboards - LOL!

You will have such a fantastic time delivering such special moments to families at BBB. I think it would have to be one of the best jobs going at WDW!

I found your TR from the BBB thread. I'm going to be working at the BBB starting in Jan, infact, I'm leaving in 9 days!!!

I loved your pics of your DD at the BBB. Her face is priceless when she sees the characters as well. I think my fav pic was her all dressed up looking at the fireworks on the beach. For some reason and I'm not sure why but it was just sooo cute!! When I was little, I had a similar pic (w/o the BBB makeover of course) but I was dressed up and i was facing the castle and had my picture taken.

I can't wait to hear about the rest of the trip considering I'll be living there for the next 5 months!!!

[kaysmommie]

I hopped over from my report. Love what you have so far. Sorry about your camera :sad2: . I love the picture of your DD at BBB when they reveal her after the makeover, it's adorable!! You should definately try Poly again since you stayed there when you were little. The things that are great about the Poly you wrote in your report. How did you like CBR BTW?

[cdotla]

CBR was FANTASTIC! It was very tropical-feeling with the white sandy beaches and Carribean colours throughout the resort. I wished we had more time to sit around and enjoy it but we were always on the go!

Without a doubt we will be back. While I haven't stayed at any other Moderates, I don't have to! I have a home here now!

I hopped over from my report. Love what you have so far. Sorry about your camera :sad2: . I love the picture of your DD at BBB when they reveal her after the makeover, it's adorable!! You should definately try Poly again since you stayed there when you were little. The things that are great about the Poly you wrote in your report. How did you like CBR BTW?

[KimAshton]

Your daughter is just too precious.

I am so sorry about your camera. Geezz..People are just so rude.

[VandyFan10]

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I think this is the best picture so far :goodvibes ....she DEFINITELY looks like a princess princess: with everyone running around her to make it perfect!!!

And finally, the Big Reveal:

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I found your TR tonight.....it's wonderful and she is JUST PRECIOUS!!!!

Can't wait to read more popcorn::

[cdotla]

Day 2: Little Ones Extra Magic Hour at Magic Kingdom

We decided to start our first day in the Parks off at the Magic Kingdom for the Special Little Ones Extra Magic Hour. We got up and ready and left our room by 7:10am, which I thought was rather impressive given our late nite the evening before.

We took our first lovely morning walk over the scenic bridge and garden paths from Jamaica over to Port Royale where the Food Court is located. This was such a lovely way to start the day!

We had a quick bite to eat at the Food Court, basically sharing an Adult sized Breakfast Platter. I was shocked at the portion sizes. In retrospect, we could have shared a child sized platter!!!

While I am not normally a picky eater, I did not find the food at the Food Court anything to rave about. It was edible and cheap and efficient and quick. That's about it!

After breakfast we made our way out to the bus depot just before 7:30am. Not 2 mins later the MK Bus arrives and took us right to the Magic Kingdom. We arrived right on schedule at about 7:50am. Overall the crowds were still fairly light and I was thrilled that we made it for park opening given the late nite the evening before!

Unfortunately, in DD's excitement of getting off the bus and skipping along the sidewalk to the turnstiles she ended up taking a spill just as the sidewalk slopes down a hill from the bus drop offs. She cut her knee rather badly and was starting to bleed and of course was crying up a storm!

I managed to carry her and our bags about 100 feet to the bag check and turnstiles, grabbed a stroller and then beelined it for the First Aid Station.

On my way up to First Aid (located up by Crystal Palace BTW!) I just had to snap a quick picture or two to capture how empty and serene Main Street was that morning! I loved seeing it with the Fall decorations, something new for me as I had only ever been to WDW in either May or July before.

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While we ended up being one of the first 50 guests in the park that day, we ended up spending at least 10 mins at the First Aid Station having DD's knee cleaned up and bandaged.

The Nurse who attended to us that morning was Fantastic! She of course gave DD lots of stickers to amuse herself with while her wound was cleaned and also made us custom bandages to place inside our brand new Crocs in order to prevent blisters.

Eventually we made our way into Fantasy Land for the Little Ones Extra Magic Hour. Here are some great photos I took of DD with a number of characters there that morning:

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Notice the skinned knee from earlier? Even in the presence of Ms. Minnie, I think for awhile DD was still distracted and in some pain from her earlier wipe out!

At first DD was a little shy to join the games already in session due to our late arrival following our First Aid pit stop. However, once she got in there she did really well and had a lot of fun. I thought these photos were priceless!

Playing Duck, Duck, Goose with Daisy and Minnie:

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We then made our way over to Peter Pan and Wendy and played a game or two there.

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At this point DD was done with the games and wanted to go on a ride. She chose Cinderella's Golden Carrousel and was adament about choosing her very own horse.

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By this time it was about 8:40am and the Little Ones Extra Magic Hour was almost over. Our Park choice that day was Epcot so we left Fantasy Land and the Magic Kingdom and hopped on a monorail (and then another) before arriving at Epcot shortly after Park opening.

As we had been here before just 4 months earlier, we obviously did not intend to do every single ride. After all, the main point of the trip was to recapture lost photos and I am not someone who generally takes pictures on rides. So we hopped on Soarin with virtually no line and then immediately made our way to the Character Greeting Spot which we had missed entirely on our May Trip.

Standing in Line with our New Crocs:

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7829.jpg

Goofy!

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Chip 'N Dale:

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/image698.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7840.jpg

Pluto:

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7830.jpg

Minnie:

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/image677.jpg

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And...Meeting the Big Guy Himself!

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I was so pleased with this location. Although we waited at least 20-30 mins (even at about 9:30 in the morning!) once we got to the head of the line we moved from character to character without any further wait. Therefore the wait time was completely justified in my opinion.

After this we spent an incredibly long amount of time in line at Test Track due to a malfunction. If I had known how long it was going to take I never would have waited but I kept thinking, "It should be any minute now!" Lesson learned! Had everything been working properly it likely would have been a 10 minute wait.

By then it was time for World Showcase to open so we began to make our way over there.

[scottny]

you got great pics now. :thumbsup2

glad her knee wasn't too bad.

[pjstevens]

Just found your report. Your daughter is beautiful. I am so glad the two of you were able to go back and 'recapture' some of those lost photos. I can't wait to read and see more.

:goodvibes

[tadamom]

Lovin' the trip report so far and your DD is beautiful (as are her clothes!!)!!! Can't wait to read more!!

[pl'smama]

What a great TR so far!!! So sorry about your camera, but it brought you and your DD back to the world for a wonderful trip!

Your DD's BBB photos are priceless! What a darling she is and her expression is just wonderful. Thanks for sharing them!

Can I ask you, where did you view the Electrical Water Parade and Wishes from? I know you were at the Poly somewhere, but where exactly ( if you can remember please)? Do you know if you can view the EWP from the Grand Floridian? We have ressies for the dinner at Park Fare one night and I would to see the EWP after we eat. Perhaps it would be better for us to head over to the Poly for the show!

Can't wait to read your next installment!

Suz

[PrincessEmilysMommy]

I am loving your trip report. Thank you for linking me. I'm so sorry about your camera. I had the exact same thing happen to me, not at Disney, but my dd's first Christmas pictures were on it. I called the rental car company back in total tears. I said, I'm not accusing anyone of anything. Quite frankly I don't care about the camera, it's the memory card I want. My daughters first Christmas pictures are on there. He put me on hold, came back and said they found the memory card, but no camera. I don't know where the camera went, I was just glad I had my pictures.

I booked 1900 park Fare for dinner. Thank you for the pictures. They made my decision easy!

Your dd is beautiful! I love her Mickey top.......if you're interested in selling, please pm me.

Can you tell me more about the Little Ones Extra Magic Hour? I've never heard of that.

Thanks so much!

[cdotla]

Basically, we just walked out to the pool area at the Poly and the Beach starts literally at the end of the pool. You can't miss it!

I thought it was the best spot to view the Fireworks, and I had also heard in advance that the Poly had the best chance of a simultaneous viewing of both the Parade and the EWP which worked out really well for us.

After hearing some fairly negative reviews of the EWP (along the lines of it being so pathetic that WDW should just retire it), I wasn't overly concerned about fitting it into our schedule. Boy, was I glad I did! I thought it was great. Very nostalgic. But then again, I am a total "Classic" Disney fan.

What a great TR so far!!! So sorry about your camera, but it brought you and your DD back to the world for a wonderful trip!

Your DD's BBB photos are priceless! What a darling she is and her expression is just wonderful. Thanks for sharing them!

Can I ask you, where did you view the Electrical Water Parade and Wishes from? I know you were at the Poly somewhere, but where exactly ( if you can remember please)? Do you know if you can view the EWP from the Grand Floridian? We have ressies for the dinner at Park Fare one night and I would to see the EWP after we eat. Perhaps it would be better for us to head over to the Poly for the show!

Can't wait to read your next installment!

Suz

[Camping Griswalds]

I have enjoyed your TR very much! I too am planning on a special "Mommy and Me" trip with my 3 yo DD. Like you we are leaving other family behind ( a DH and 2 siblings) and I was very concerned about the whole idea of doing not an entire family trip. BUT I am so looking forward to having this special experience with my DD, and not rushing to ride the big rides, and soaking up ambience, like in your pictures of your DD on the beach watching the nighttime H2O parade!!!! Any other special ideas for Mommy and Me not to miss?

I'm looking forward to snuggling in bed, and giggles and girly girl experiences!!

[chiefdragon]

I am loving your TR. I did the same thing with my DD this past September. I not only took DD, but also took my DM with me. That made 3 generations storming the world. I just loved the Little Magic Hours. DD was able to ride with a variety of characters.

[cdotla]

The LOEMH is something Disney puts on for Pre-Schoolers in Sept and Oct. during the so-called hurricane season. All the characters come out and play with the kids from 8-9am on select days. It was a nice special treat for us on this trip.

Can you tell me more about the Little Ones Extra Magic Hour? I've never heard of that.

Thanks so much!

[cdotla]

Yes, I have plenty other special Mommy/Daughter moments yet to come! Stay tuned!

I have enjoyed your TR very much! I too am planning on a special "Mommy and Me" trip with my 3 yo DD. Like you we are leaving other family behind ( a DH and 2 siblings) and I was very concerned about the whole idea of doing not an entire family trip. BUT I am so looking forward to having this special experience with my DD, and not rushing to ride the big rides, and soaking up ambience, like in your pictures of your DD on the beach watching the nighttime H2O parade!!!! Any other special ideas for Mommy and Me not to miss?

I'm looking forward to snuggling in bed, and giggles and girly girl experiences!!

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

great pictures. DD looks sooo cute and I see her hair stayed in the classic princess style for the next day. I'm assuming you made her shirt and bow?? Both were soooo cute. I'm looking forward to seeing homemade creations every day and wishing my mom or I knew how to make them lol.

can't wait to read more!!

[DisneyLaura]

[QUOTE=PrincessEmilysMommy;22288087] I had the exact same thing happen to me, not at Disney, but my dd's first Christmas pictures were on it. I called the rental car company back in total tears. I said, I'm not accusing anyone of anything. Quite frankly I don't care about the camera, it's the memory card I want. My daughters first Christmas pictures are on there. He put me on hold, came back and said they found the memory card, but no camera. I don't know where the camera went, I was just glad I had my pictures./QUOTE]

Thank goodness you got those pictures back but how mysterious is that, that he put you on hold and found your memory card but not your camera. Sounds pretty fishy to me.

Lovin' your TR so far. The pictures with your DD playing games with the characters are great. Too bad it's only in Sept and Oct, we;re going in Nov, oh well you can't win them all, right?

Laura:flower3:

[cdotla]

DAY 2 - CONTINUATION OF OUR MORNING IN EPCOT

After we finished up a quick visit in Future World it was almost 11am and time for World Showcase to open.

Normally we always start in Mexico and hit the two rides at the first two pavillions, but since we didn't have much time today in Epcot as we were doing the Halloween Party, we decided to start out at "Home", i.e. Canada.

The new Canadian film had just recently launched and I wanted to ensure that we fit this into the schedule. Obviously we did not get a chance to see this in May.

As we left Test Track and began to make our way to the Canadian Pavillion I was so very proud of DD who immediately recognized the Canadian buildings from our last visit in May.

We walked around outside the beautiful gardens and I snapped some pictures of DD with the waterfalls in the background.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7845.jpg

Nothing like going to another Country to take photos of Canadian scenery - ha, ha!

We then went inside to take a break from the hot sun and wait for the next showing of the new documentary film, O Canada. While waiting the CM asked a lot of Canadian trivia questions and then asked whether anyone in the audience was from Canada. DD got a real kick out of being in the spotlight and for the very first time we were the only Canadians in the audience!

Although I was hoping that the recent renovation would have added some type of bench seating (as in Norway), no such luck!

While there is no doubt that the new film is far better than its predecessor, overall I left a little disappointed as there are many areas of Canada simply not shown in the movie. While obviously you can't do justice to every region in the country in such a short film, I did feel that certain regions were particularly slighted. Although I am not from there, I think Prince Edward Island was completely overlooked and it is one of the most prominent international tourist draws in the country - can you say Anne of Green Gables?

Oh well. At least it beats that outdated 1970s film footage anyday!

After bidding "farewell" to "...our Home and Native Land", we then headed onwards to the UK.

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We were lucky to arrive just as Mary Poppins and Pooh and the Gang were coming out for photos:

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Then we hopped over to France and did some shopping. France is my favourite place to shop in all of Disney!

While here we ran into another familiar face:

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And again in German we caught up with more friends:

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By now our tummys were rumbling and it was time to head over to Norway for our Princess Lunch at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall. Stay tuned for more Princesses!!!

[scottny]

Pics = :thumbsup2

report = :thumbsup2

[cdotla]

I was quite surprised that DD's BBB hair stayed in place overnite to allow us to wear it the next day. The only reason we did this was because we were attending the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party the day after her BBB appointment and once again she would be wearing her Princess dress.

And I also must confess: None of the custom outfits being modelled by DD were my creations. I only shopped for them on ebay!

great pictures. DD looks sooo cute and I see her hair stayed in the classic princess style for the next day. I'm assuming you made her shirt and bow?? Both were soooo cute. I'm looking forward to seeing homemade creations every day and wishing my mom or I knew how to make them lol.

can't wait to read more!!

[twob4him]

Great pics! I love all the shots with characters....you met so many in a short amount of time! :thumbsup2

[cdotla]

DAY 2 - PRINCESS LUNCH AT AKERSHUS ROYAL BANQUET HALL

Remember when I said that despite the last minute nature of this trip, with some flexibility in our schedules we managed to secure all of the dining reservations that we wanted? Well this one was certainly high on the list of our most wanted ADRs.

We had such a fantastic experience here with our family in May with respect to both the service and the food. It was no exception this time around.

Unfortunately, I was not able to get the time that I wanted - ideally 11:45am or so. I believe our reservation time was around 1:15 -1:30pm - during the peak lunchtime dining hour.

On our last trip in May when we arrived at 11:40am for our 11:45am reservation the place was packed and unfortunately we were outside in the hot sun waiting at least 10-15 minutes before we were called inside. This time we were outside for more like 20 minutes before we were called. In the HOT sun. Very tired and cranky.

However, once we were inside those doors and the feel of cold air conditioning, the smell of delicious food, and the sight of lovely Princesses washed over us, we returned to our Happy Place!

Before we were seated we had a chance to pose for a picture with Belle. On our last visit in May it had been Princess Aurora who greeted us at the door for our first photo so it was nice for some variety.

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Of course we were both hoping that it would have been DD's favourite Princess, Ariel, as she had not been present at the meal on our last visit in May, but no such luck! Maybe DD shows a bit of this disappointment in the photo - LOL!

After our photo we were shown to our seats. Our server arrived immediately to take drink orders and then took our orders. While we were invited to visit the Salad/appetizer Buffet at any time, at any of these Character Buffets I am always so hesitant to leave my seat for fear that the moment I do so the characters will arrive!

Sure enough, no sooner had our drinks been delivered and orders taken the first of the Princesses started coming around to the tables. Needless to say, I stayed put!

Our first visit was with Princess Jasmine, who coincidentally was the same Princess who we had met first in May. During our May Trip, Princess Jasmine had the routine down-pat. She had a little spiel down pat and was quick and efficient in posing for pictures and signing autographs. Perhaps a little too quick. She quickly left those coming behind her in the dust! This Jasmine spent a bit more time talking at the table.

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Next up was Cinderella. By now Cinderella was almost a member of the family. After all, we had dined with her no less than 6 occasions in the past 4 months!

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Next came Princess Aurora, another very familiar face:

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Finally, after I was sure that Princess Ariel would not be making an appearance, she arrives! DD was soooo excited! She kept watching Ariel as she made her way around the tables until finally she arrived at ours.

Unfortunately, Princess Ariel spent the least amount of time at our table than any of the other Princesses. And she was the only Princess who we had never met before.

Although we had planned to meet Ariel in her Grotto during our May Trip, the line up to do so was over an hour in the hot sun. With a 2 year old son in tow, this was obviously impossible! This was DD's biggest disappointment on our May Trip and she sent constant reminders before our September Trip that on our First Day at the Magic Kingdom we would be at Ariel's Grotto when it opened!

While DD didn't seem too disappointed that Ariel left so abruptly, I certainly was. In fact, Ariel left so quickly she had to be called back to our table just to sign our Autograph Book! I did tell DD that Ariel had a lot of other little girls to meet that day who would not be able to see her the following morning at her Grotto.

Fortunately, I think the picture that we took with Princess Ariel was the best of any of the Princesses. This Ariel looked amazing and she certainly knew how to pose for the camera!

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As for the food, as mentioned earlier, I think it is Fantastic here! Both times we attended we came for Lunch and both times it was great. During our May Trip my Mother ordered the stew which looked fantastic so I knew what to order this time! It was wonderful! In May I had the fish which was good but not like the stew.

For dessert they bring out a wonderful sampler platter for the table to share which I think is such a great thing (except if you are dining with people with whom you wouldn't care to eat off the same plate!) All three desserts on the platter were great and between the two of us, we finished almost every piece.

After Lunch, we left for CBR to get changed and cleaned up for the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. Without a doubt this was the Best Experience of our Whole Trip. Stay tuned as that is up Next!

[scottny]

seems like a nice lunch and you got some great princess pics.

[chiefdragon]

I have done this lunch with my DD, both when she was 1 and when she was 2. Both times I ran into the same thing. The princesses seemed to be rushed. I also had it whre she was sleeping when we first got there so we had to get our picture taken at the door after she had woke up. But there were really willing to work with us.

[tadamom]

Great pics!!!!!! Can't wait to hear about the Halloween party!!!

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

I love the princess pictures. I can't wait to hear about the party!!! There is a P&PP all throughout my time at WDW this spring. I may break down and pay to go to the party to see what all that hype is about since I will not be around for the HP or MVMCP.

[Tink561]

Can't wait to read more!

[seashell724]

Great report! Love the pictures too! Your daughter is adorable with the characters. Can't wait to read/see more.

[cdotla]

DAY 2 - MICKEY'S NOT SO SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY

Now before we begin to discuss what came to be the Best Disney Experience on our whole Trip, let me just say that things didn't initially get off to the best start for us for the Halloween Party.

For weeks leading up to our Trip, I debated and debated about whether or not to wear a costume. I certainly didn't want to look like a Dork or get stared at as the only Adult in a costume. Since there was only me and DD on this Trip, I couldn't even recruit another Adult to wear a costume with me so I wouldn't feel completely by myself.

After scouring the Disboard pages on this topic I finally decided that yes, many grown adults like me would in fact be wearing costumes. Then I choose to do what my heart wanted to do all along - wear a costume!

Then came the hard part: Deciding what to Wear!!!

After much debate, I finally selected two possible costume choices: A Pirate or Snow White. I found the costumes on ebay from the same seller and purchased both. I figured after seeing both costumes in person and trying them on I would decide which of the two to keep and wear to the Party.

This was the Snow White costume I bought:

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/snowwhite.jpg



Just Joking!!!!:lmao: No, really, it was this one:

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/35441688-177x150-0-0_SnowWhiteAdult.jpg


And this was the Pirate Costume:

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/apirate.jpg


Of course before buying the costumes, I emailed the seller and asked them if they would be able to ship it to my Disney Hotel. Of course they were fine with that. So I immediately bought the costumes and sent another email reminding them to send an invoice with shipping charges to Disney. Then, when I paid with Paypal, I sent another reminder with my payment providing them with the full and complete address for Disney.

As I purchased the costumes 2 full weeks in advance, there would of course be plenty of time for the costumes to be shipped from California.

Imagine my surprise, then, when upon checking in there were no Halloween costumes waiting for me at the Front Desk. The following day (the day of the Halloween Party) I called 3 separate times inquiring as to whether any packages had arrived. No.

By 3:15pm the day of the Party I made my last call and finally realized that despite all of the time I spent agonizing and debating, choosing and dreaming up a costume, I would be going to the Party without a costume afterall. :sad2:

Rather ironically, 2 days after we arrived home, I found the costumes in my mailbox! Of course I was completely refunded by the seller, but was never compensated for the disappointment of having to attend the Party without a costume. This really upset me as I thought it would have added to the fun and festive atmosphere having both me and DD getting dressed up in our costumes for the Party. Oh well...this just gives me a good excuse to go back another year and experience this thing all over again!

After getting back to CBR at about 2:45pm, we had only a short time to shower and get dressed into our costumes for the Party. We got ready very quickly and took off for the bus stop.

As I am running out of time before the Boards go down for the evening, I will sign off now and update later! ;)

[scottny]

that is a bummer about the costumes, but at least you were given back your money and now u have another excuse to go back.

[KimAshton]

Oh geez. How many times do you have to remind something.

DD's pic with the princesses are beautiful.

[kaysmommie]

Sounds like something that would happen to me. Sorry about the costumes. I had the same debate whether I should dress up or not. DH would not dress up :mad: so I didn't either, but later I wished I had. Maybe next year.

[tadamom]

That stinks about the costumes -- I would have been very upset too! Can't wait to hear about the party!

[cdotla]

DAY 2 - MICKEY'S NOT SO SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY

So although I was bummed about not having a costume to wear to the Party, our spirits were high that afternoon as we made our way back to the Magic Kingdom.

We left CBR for the bus stop and waited with just one other family of 3 (mom, dad and daughter about 10yrs old) who were all dressed as Pirates. Their costumes were really fun and I loved that they had a theme thing going. Once again felt disappointed to be just wearing normal park clothes. Ironically, although I initially feared that I would stand out for wearing a costume, on our Bus to the Magic Kingdom for the Party I stood out like a sore thumb as the only person NOT wearing a costume! I felt like a total party pooper!

Oh well, there was obviously nothing I could do except to try and put it out of my mind for the rest of the evening and to try and keep my jealousy at bay as I watched all the other adults with great costumes that evening.

Surprisingly, there were a lot of adults dressed in costume that evening. And some of those costumes were simply INCREDIBLE!

Although I knew the Magic Kingdom was going to have a different mood that evening for the Party, I was not prepared for the amazing vibe that hit you the moment you walked up to the turnstiles. While the Magic Kingdom is always "magical" and always has a special aura about it, it was clear that everyone there that evening was there for something special. And to PARTY! It was such a great and energetic feeling walking through the gates that evening! The Disney imagery, special effects and staging was wonderful!

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One of the best things that evening was the people-watching...people spent so much time, effort and energy on their costumes and it really showed! DD and I loved watching everyone as we made our way around the Park.

Upon arriving at the Park we made our way to Fantasy Land to go on a few quick rides and then made our way to Cosmic Rays for a quick bite to eat. The lines that night were crazy!!! I think everyone had the same idea.

By the time we finished our meal it was just about time for the Trick or Treating to begin so we went through some candy lines. We got just enough to say that we did it and then moved on to Toontown.

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There were extremely heavy crowds and long lines just about everywhere that evening and there was no escaping it. Our first stop inside Toontown was Minnie's House. Minnie was talking pictures in her back garden and the line up to see her went through her whole backyard and into her house! And we arrived within 15 mins of the Party starting!

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Surprisingly, the lines didn't really bother us that evening. I think it was because there were so many distractions. We enjoyed looking at all the costumes and, as mentioned, everyone seemed to be in a good mood.


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We probably spent about 30-40 minutes at Minnie's House before we got to the front of the line to get our picture.


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After leaving Minnie's House we went to Mickey's House and had our picture taken with him. There was an equally long line up of people here.


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We also snapped a shot on top of the large pumpkin outside Mickey's Garage.


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At this point, we headed over to the Judges' Tent to get some pictures with the Princesses. These lines were of course even longer! While we obviously had already taken pictures with the Princesses before, the novelty that evening was that the Princes would also be in the picture. So we had one picture with Sleeping Beauty and Prince Philip and one with Cinderella and Prince Charming.


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While the pictures were nice, by the time we finished up here, it was about 8:45pm! We started to make our way back through Fantasyland to the Castle for the Villians Mix and Mingle at 9pm, but given the crowd levels I quickly determined that we would never make it! So I decided we would take our time going through Fantasyland and maybe stop at the Dance Party and perhaps get our picture taken in front of Cinderella's Stagecoach.

We both (ok, more me!) wanted to see the Fireworks at 9:30pm. However, by this point DD was starting to get quite tired! I started fighting my way through the crowds pushing DD in the stroller not entirely sure that we would stay any longer. I figured when we got to Fantasyland I would ask what she wanted to do and let her make the call on whether we stayed or left.

Just as we were approaching Fantasyland DD started to perk up. What caught her attention? Of all things, Pooh's Playground! Now of all things to spend time at while at Disney, personally this would rank about the lowest of the low in my books. Especially on a "premium" night like this when there are so many things that do not occur everyday.

However, DD was convinced that she was going to get out of the stroller to go running around and play in a playground that looked like any other playground you could find anywhere else in North America. So what do I do? I pull up the stroller beside a bench, park it and watch her play for the next 10-15 minutes.

By this point I decided that we would call it a night. She was tired, we had 2 long days, and despite the fact that we actually didn't do a whole lot at the Party, I felt that we had more than gotten our money's worth. Just the atmosphere itself was great.

However, on our way out I noticed that just outside the playground Pooh and Friends were posing for pictures. Of course, I should have let it go, but to me their line looked empty after coming from the gigantic lines inside Toontown. I told DD that we would be leaving (she seemed fine with this - either forgot about the fireworks or decided she was too tired for it), but that on our way out I just wanted to get a quick picture of her with Pooh and the Gang in the Halloween attire.

What I should have realized is that no character photo line moves fast, especially at these Special Parties. We spent about 10 minutes in the "short" line before we got to the front. By then I had a very cranky little girl on my hands. These pictures don't lie:

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/image595.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/image597.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/image596.jpg


Lesson learned! Commando-mom was definitely starting to show.

After that, I placed DD back in her stroller and told her that I was going to get us out of the Park as quick as I could. While we never saw the Dance Party, Cinderella's Stagecoach, the Fireworks or the Parade, she was beat and I was feeling awful for pushing my little 4 year old too far.

By this point the crowds in Fantasyland were about "crush" level. It was getting very difficult to even push the stroller through the crowds.

We never came close to even seeing the Dance Party but as we were making our way around the Castle we did catch sight of Cinderella's Stagecoach. This line up was probably about 75-100 people long! Obviously we weren't stopping, but I guess old habits die hard because I did convince DD to get up from her stroller to pose for a quick photo on the other side of the ropes. Not the same thing, obviously, but better than nothing!

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7911.jpg


After that, DD got back in her stroller and I kept up the good fight to get us out of the Park. By this time it was about 9:15pm and I figured it would be a good time to leave as I would hopefully get out of the Park before the mad rush for the exit following the 9:30pm fireworks. I tried to keep up the pace to keep ahead of the crowds starting to converge on the Castle for the Fireworks.

During our long and slow walk through the crowds I kept talking and chatting with DD, pointing out lots of things and laughing at the howling wolf sounds, which were getting louder and louder as the start time for the Fireworks was drawing near.

By this point I believe the Park lights also started to dim and/or flicker and announcements were made advising people that the Fireworks would be starting shortly.

Do we make it out of the Park in time, or get caught in the Fireworks crush? Stay tuned!

[scottny]

great update. the party looked like a lot of fun. I cannot wait to do P&PP.

I lightened the pic by the carriage, not sure if helped but i tried.

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g134/scottny/IMG_7911.jpg

:thumbsup2

[cdotla]

Thanks Scott! I actually still have not figured out how to use Photoshop!

Lighting is better, but what can you do to erase a pout? :rotfl2:

great update. the party looked like a lot of fun. I cannot wait to do P&PP.

I lightened the pic by the carriage, not sure if helped but i tried.

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g134/scottny/IMG_7911.jpg

:thumbsup2

[scottny]

Thanks Scott! I actually still have not figured out how to use Photoshop!

Lighting is better, but what can you do to erase a pout? :rotfl2:

sorry that I will leave up to you.

[cdotla]

CON'T: MICKEY'S NOT SO SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY

After inching my way through Fantasyland and Liberty Square we finally make it to the Castle Circle.

To reward DD for being such a trooper, I ask her whether she would like a little treat to take with us on the bus ride home. Thinking DD did not hear me over the crowds, I ask her again. And again.

Then I look into the stroller. You got it...sound asleep!

So there I was - in literally the middle of the Castle Circle Hub, with less than 10 minutes to go until Showtime, with a seemingly content toddler sleeping soundly in her stroller.

So what would you do? My arm didn't need too much twisting. Very quickly I decided to stake out a spot right in the center of it all for the Grand Hallow Wishes Fireworks Display.

Boy, was I glad that I stayed! Disney is master at building anticipation with all of the sound effects and special lighting on the Castle. It was remarkable how they were able to make such a well-known and beloved Castle take on the aura of a "spooked" Castle, more similar to Haunted Mansion than Cinderella's Home.

After all of the anticipation, the show itself continued to amaze. It was literally the best fireworks display I had ever seen! And with all the special lighting effects on the Castle it truly was spectacular.

Despite the steady barrage of "Bang", "Pop", "Bang" throughout the 15 minute Firework Display, DD did not wake. As it ended I gathered myself up and started pushing DD in her stroller out toward the exit.

As I passed Main Street, I decided to give into temptation and take a "quick peak" inside some of the shops. While I had tried a small amount of shopping in the Parks with DD, to date I hadn't spent more than about 5 mins. Unfortunately DD doesn't yet share this love of mine - LOL!

Apart from some Princess Christmas ornaments for DD's bedroom tree and a pair of Mickey Ears, I still had not made any purchases. So, with DD still fast asleep and oblivious in her stroller, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity.

By this point it was about 9:50pm and I was feeling rather sheepish for having a toddler out so late, even if she was fast sleep. I really didn't want to be looked at as one of "those" parents.

However, after taking a quick look around, I soon discovered that there were plenty of other kids DD's age also sound asleep in their strollers while their parents were enjoying some leisuretime in the Park. So, while I still may be considered one of "those" parents, I figured I was in good company.

With the debate over, I spent the next 25 minutes or so in air conditioned shopping enjoyment. I managed to get a fair bit of things bought to take home as Christmas gifts, including a ton of cookies, candies and chocolates for all of our Christmas stockings, some books and pirate toys for the kids, and of course a ton of Princess items for DD.

I was so thankful on Christmas morning that I did the shopping that evening. Otherwise I know we would not have had any time to fit it in. Plus, it was great that DD did not see any of the purchases!:thumbsup2

What was really great about staying on property was that I would not even have to worry about carting everything back to the resort that evening on the bus. Instead, everything would be sent directly to CBR. Can't beat that!

By this point in time, we were about 5-10 minutes from the Parade. So again, I figured what's the harm? DD was sleeping; I might as well stay and watch. So I park DD in her stroller on the curb and seat myself down beside her around the Town Hall Circle at the Park Entrance.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7922.jpg

(You can see that although I did not have a costume, I did at least purchase a set of Mickey Ears!)

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7929.jpg

First up was the infamous Headless Horseman. Of course he was very fast galloping down the street (they warned everyone to stay back minutes before he arrived), but I did manage to snap a few quick photos:

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7924.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7925.jpg


Then came the Parade. I don't have any great photos, but here are some poor quality ones to at least give some idea:

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7936.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7943.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7942.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7941.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7939.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7938.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7937.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7944.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7946.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7947_edited-1.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7950.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7963.jpg


These guys were my favourites:


http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7956.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7957.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7958.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7960.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7971.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7972.jpg


After the Parade, it was obviously quite late and time for us to get home. This is when I discovered the clear drawback to the combination of a rented stroller and no rental car. You cannot leave the turnstiles with Park rental strollers. That means that before exiting the turnstiles, you somehow have to find a way to drag sleeping toddlers out of their strollers along with any bags, ect. and walk the length of about 2-3 football fields to the bus line ups. (Of course, CBR's bus stop is one of the farthest if not the farthest stop from the entrance to the MK!)

This of course is even more challenging if you happen to be a solo traveller like me. Honestly, I don't know what the harm would be in allowing those people travelling to the bus stops to take the strollers to a return bin there where the strollers could be collected!

(Note to self: when travelling to late nite Park events, ALWAYS travel with my OWN stroller and rental car!)

After about a 10 minute wait for the bus and what seemed like an even longer bus ride home, we finally arrived back at CBR. Fortunately I was not alone in keeping a sleeping toddler up at this hour so I didn't notice any untoward stares on the ride home.

Despite the struggle at the end, we had another fabulous day starting with the Little Ones Extra Magic Hour at Magic Kingdom, a great day at Epcot, and a terrific evening at one of the most unique events in WDW that I had ever attended.

I went to bed that night with my heart warm and a huge smile on my face.


UP NEXT: OUR 1ST FULL DAY AT MAGIC KINGDOM

[HeatherinVT]

Ahhh dont stop now? I was so looking forward to the next chapter!:upsidedow

Ok i guess i will check in on the adventures of mommy and daughter 2morrow
(my DD5 and I are going in April)

[verticalchaos]

Those are great pics! I went by myself a few years ago and hung out with my sister, including Not-So-Scary. We got PRIME sport for the parade ~ it was going towards Liberty Square on that pass, so we were right against the rope where the bridge was...he rode straight at us. The only bummy part was that in putting film in my camera (before digital cameras were smaller and cheaper) I knocked one of the little shutter parts so it didn't work. I got it fixed at the camera center in EPCOT the next day, but I was so sad to have missed the parade picture chances. :(

I'm glad y'all had such a great time!!

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

awww what great pictures!!! I loved with one with ur DD and cinderella/prince charming!!! The party looks so much fun. One of these days I will go to the MVMHP and MVMCP bc I think you miss out on so much when you go in the spring(except for the flower/garden show which is amazing) and summer which has nothing :( There are several P&PP's throughout the spring when I am down there, I think I might have to break down and pay the 40 bucks to go and see what all the hype is about!!

[SGMCO]

This has been the cutiest Trip report that I've ever read.
I'm really enjoying it.
I only have a DS so it's so nice to see what it would
be like to take a DD to WDW and do girly things.
Your DD is a True Princes princess:
I can't wait to read your next update!!!

[cdotla]

Thanks everyone for following along and for your kind words.

Honestly without this forum I would have no audience for my Disney enthusiasm! My love of the Mouse is not shared by anyone I know with the exception of my 2 and 4 year olds!:rotfl:

[DisneyMom14]

:love: Really enjoying your trip report

[scottny]

what a great update. the pics of the parade are fantastic. I say good for you for staying. she was sleeping and it did not bother her and you got to see what u wanted. both of u won.
:thumbsup2

[tadamom]

Another great update! The pics are great and makes me want to plan a trip to Disney during Halloween!

[cdotla]

Honestly, I have every intention of getting back to Disney within a couple of years specifically for this Event. And I WILL be in Costume!:thumbsup2

(PS - I think I recognize you from the disboutique thread that I started. Mine you I haven't been over there in ages!)

Another great update! The pics are great and makes me want to plan a trip to Disney during Halloween!

[tadamom]

Yes, I am from the disboutique thread! I love that thread and wow has it taken off!!!!!!!! I started posting to that thread a several pages after you started it and I am still there now! Thanks for starting that thread!!!

[mkluvsmickey]

I just found your report and am loving it! I've done a few mother/daughter trips and they are just the best. Our first one was in 2005 when Samantha was five and that was probably the most magical. It was all new to her and she was definately really into the princesses and the magic of everything. Don't get me wrong - she still loves Disney but there is somthing about that age that is just priceless! :lovestruc

Love the BBB pictures - the reveal pic is so great! princess:

I love the EWP also - I guess I am a "classic" Disney person as well. We stayed at the Poly a few times in the 70's (as a kid) and I haven't been back since - will have to try that (at least to watch the EWP and Wishes).

So great that you got to watch the MNSSHP fireworks and parade while your DD slept! We missed them both because Sam was just too tired and cranky. Maybe I should have gotten a stroller. ;)

Can't wait for more!

[cdotla]

Michelle - I actually read both of your TRs and loved them! Sam is such a cutie!

I just found your report and am loving it! I've done a few mother/daughter trips and they are just the best. Our first one was in 2005 when Samantha was five and that was probably the most magical. It was all new to her and she was definately really into the princesses and the magic of everything. Don't get me wrong - she still loves Disney but there is somthing about that age that is just priceless! :lovestruc

Love the BBB pictures - the reveal pic is so great! princess:

I love the EWP also - I guess I am a "classic" Disney person as well. We stayed at the Poly a few times in the 70's (as a kid) and I haven't been back since - will have to try that (at least to watch the EWP and Wishes).

So great that you got to watch the MNSSHP fireworks and parade while your DD slept! We missed them both because Sam was just too tired and cranky. Maybe I should have gotten a stroller. ;)

Can't wait for more!

[fireworks fan]

Hi, I just wanted to de-lurk and say that I am really enjoying your trip report. I would love to take a mother-daughter trip too. What a great idea :) Minus the stolen camera of course :rolleyes1

[mkluvsmickey]

Michelle - I actually read both of your TRs and loved them! Sam is such a cutie!

Thanks! I thought you "looked" familiar! :)

[cdotla]

DAY 3: FIRST FULL DAY AT MAGIC KINGDOM, INCLUDING BREAKFAST AT CINDERELLA'S ROYAL TABLE

Our First Full Day at the Magic Kingdom started with an 8:05 am reservation at Cinderella's Royal Table.

Let it be known that miracles do happen - I secured this reservation just days before our Trip!

After two jam packed days, including the late night the evening before, I was a bit apprehensive with our Early Morning Breakfast with Cinderella. I think I was up half the night worried that we would sleep through the resevation!

We got up at 6:30am and very quickly got ready and headed out for the bus stop by 7:20am. We made good time and arrived at the gates by 7:45 - 7:50am - perfect timing!

Finally, after arriving at the Park in plenty of time for our 8:05am reservation, I was able to relax and get ready for a great day.

We got off the bus and walked to the turnstiles with a spring in our step. At the gates there was a special line forming for all of the people like us with Early Morning Dining Reservations which allowed us to get into the Park before Park Opening at 9am.

Just as we were standing in line behind about 10 other families waiting for them to start letting everyone with Early Morning Dining Reservations into the Park it hit me - I did not have our Park Passes!!!

After frantically searching all pockets and every one of the million pouches and pockets on my Baggallini, I finally realized that I had likely left the Passes in my pants pocket from the evening before at the Halloween Party.

Obviously by this point there was no way that I could return to CBR to get the passes without missing our Dining Reservation with Cinderella.

With fright setting in, I stepped out of line and made my way over to Guest Services. In no time they were able to look up our Park Passes online as they were linked in the system to our reservations. They then issued us duplicate passes for the day - Whew!

By this point it was about 7:55am and they had started to let the people with Early Morning Dining Resevations into the Park. Once again we had the privilege of getting into the Park while it was largely deserted. What a great feeling!

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7980.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7981.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/CopyofIMG_7982.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/CopyofIMG_7984.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/CopyofIMG_7986.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/CopyofIMG_7987.jpg

And looking back down Main Street towards the Park Entrance:

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/CopyofIMG_7985.jpg


We eventually made our way up Main Street and to the Castle where we checked in for our reservation. In time time we were then ushered inside where we waited in a line to pose for our pictures with Cinderella.

While I was in line, DD took the opportunity to rest on a couch in the foyer. I think she was still a little groggy from the late nite!

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7989.jpg


http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/image1029.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/CopyofIMG_7992.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7996.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7994.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_7999.jpg


During our May Trip, we had also dined at the Castle with the whole Family for Dinner and loved it. While I have read many mixed (and negative) reviews of the place, I thought that the food and service was excellent both times we went. Plus, the atmosphere of being inside the Castle is like nothing else! Cinderella's Royal Table remains my most favourite Dining experiences at WDW.

While I am not a food picture-taker, the hot Breakfast Platter was really great, and a little different than your standard "eggs and bacon" fare. In addition to srambled eggs and bacon, you get French Toast and some delicious pastries that are to-die-for. DD & I both enjoyed them! They also provide a "Healthy Choice" breakfast option with granola and yogurt.

When we were there for Dinner, I had the Prime Rib. I thought it was excellent and I am a true Prime Rib lover.

During Breakfast, all of the Princess characters come to visit you at your table to sign autographs and pose for pictures.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_8009.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_8007.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_8012.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_8014.jpg

For Supper, there are no character visits, only a song and dance performed by the Fairy Godmother and the Mice.

During both Meals, the kids receive either a wand (Supper) or some wishing stars (Breakfast) and have a brief participatory role in a little song near the end of the meal.

During the Meals, your server will also come around to provide you with a complimentary photograph in a nice keepsake from the picture with Cinderella at the entrance to the Castle.

Personally, I think that the Castle Dining Experience is one not to be missed, especially if you have young children.

At the end of our Meal, we made our way downstairs just as it was almost approaching 9am. We waited inside the Castle Walkway at the Entrance to Fantasyland in front of the rope with about 8 other families.

Stay tuned - Rope Drop to the start of our Day in the Magic Kingdom is up next!

[Tora Millypoops]

Grea pictures and trip report. I'm really enjoying it.

[kaysmommie]

Thanks everyone for following along and for your kind words.

Honestly without this forum I would have no audience for my Disney enthusiasm! My love of the Mouse is not shared by anyone I know with the exception of my 2 and 4 year olds!:rotfl:

I know this feeling!!
Loved your CRT update and review. I agree as I have only had excellent food and service at CRT. Love the pics of your DD. I love the outfit too. Do you sell on ebay?

[mkluvsmickey]

Love your update - great pics of the castle and CRT. We had dinner there last year and also had a great time. Love your DD's outfit for the day! :)

[cdotla]

Yes, I do love eBay! That's where we obtained most of DD's outfits for this Trip!

I know this feeling!!
Loved your CRT update and review. I agree as I have only had excellent food and service at CRT. Love the pics of your DD. I love the outfit too. Do you sell on ebay?

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

OMG VERYYYY CUTE PICTURES!!!!

I look forward to your daily posts!! Very cute outfit, gotta love Ebay!!!

HAPPY NEW YEARS!

[pjstevens]

Another great update. I LOVE YOU Pics of the parade. Glad you got to enjoy the fireworks and parade (and that shopping). Can't wait to hear more.

[KimAshton]

I love DD's outfit. So freaking adorable.

[scottny]

great update and pics. :thumbsup2 I love early admission.

[cdotla]

DAY 2 (CON'T): ROPE DROP AT MAGIC KINGDOM

To have already experienced a Magical Breakfast inside the Castle when the rope drop occurred was great!

Rope Drop is always exciting. I always marvel at how a little DIsney Magic can do wonders - even though I am not generally a morning person I am always raring to go in the mornings at WDW. It completely changes my outlook on this time of day!

So there we were, standing at the Castle Walkway Rope Drop, literally well ahead of the masses at the Magic Kingdom main Rope Drop.

Now Ariel's Grotto was our First Priority of the Day. We had missed this entirely on our May Trip due to the long waits and of course Ariel just happened to be DD's Favourite Princess.

That said, the Grotto didn't open until 10am. Therefore we had almost an hour after Park Opening to do some other things.

I had been debating for awhile what our first Priority would be at Rope Drop. It was coming down to Dumbo (quite honestly, not the most amazing ride, just the longest line up!), or to go to Tink's Treasures to wake up Tinkerbell.

We had never tried to wake up Tinkerbell before and after hearing on the Disboards how much of a challenge it was becoming to be the first person into the Shop each morning for the privilege to do so, I found myself caught up in the hype and decided that this would be our first destination.

As I didn't want to disappoint DD if we did not make it in time I chose not to tell her what was awaiting us.

Finally, the CM we were standing beside dropped the rope and the 8 or so other families we were standing beside took off for their destinations and we took off for ours. No one, including us, was even walking fast let alone running. What a difference to the main Rope Drop which can be almost a stampede at times!

We kind of causally sauntered over to Tink's Treasures. To be honest, it isn't identified on the Park Map and I had not scouted it out the day before to know exactly where it was located. However, I found it easily enough and walked in with DD.

When we arrived, we were the first ones inside. There were about 2 or 3 CMs inside who greeted us. No one offered to allow DD the chance to wake Tink so I told DD she should ask. Just as she was starting to open her mouth, another family burst in the door who had obviously been racing at a flat out pace from the main Rope Drop. The mother quickly looked at us standing at the front cash and let out a deep groan.

Before I could volunteer to allow this family the chance to wake Tink with us, the CM asked if everyone (meaning all of the children - by this point about 4 of them) wanted to wake Tink. Of course, they all did.

The CMs then handed all the children the special wands and they all took turns tapping the box to "wake" Tink.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_8019_edited-1.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_8018.jpg

After every child had their chance to tap the box, the CMs turned on the magical pixie dust lighting in the store, which was supposed to represent Tink flying around the store.

The whole experience was pretty brief and to be honest, a bit anti-climatic. The specialness of this experience was somewhat lost on both me and DD. The longest part was waiting for the CM's to prepare the certificate given to each child indicating that they had woken up Tink on September 29, 2007.

By the time we got out of there it was probably 9:10 - 9:15am and by this point the line up for Dumbo was already at least 20-25 families deep.

While I guess I would always have wondered what we were missing if we had not experienced Waking Up Tink ourselves, I can guarantee that unless I had an Annual Pass and made many trips to the MK, I would not waste my time again at Park Opening on this event.

Of course I had at least a 15 - 20 minute wait in line at Dumbo to kick myself for not making a beeline to this ride instead of taking the Tink detour. I figure we could have ridden Dumbo twice before we even got to the head of the line if we had come here first.:confused3


http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_8023.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_8021.jpg


After riding Dumbo it was about 9:35 am and we made our way over to the Washrooms by Ariel's Grotto. DD had a special outfit which she wanted to wear to meet Ariel so we did a quick outfit change and then went to get in line. Surprisingly, even 20 minutes before Ariel's Grotto was even scheduled to open, there were already about 10 children in line!

As it was still early and not too hot, the wait in the line up outside for Ariel was not too bad. And of course, DD was more excited for this than anything else that we had done at WDW.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_8024.jpg

Finally, it was our turn to meet Ariel. This Ariel was simply made for the part. In addition to looking just like Ariel, she had such a kind, pleasant demeanour and took such interest in all of the children.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/image728-1.jpg

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Of course Ariel noticed DD's outfit and complimented her on it right away. She also spent a considerable amount of time with not only DD but each and every child. Obviously that is what makes the line up so long, but also makes for such a pleasant experience when you get to the front of the line.

Ariel had a nice chat with DD and showed her how she uses her "fork" to brush her hair:

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/image730-1.jpg

Then we said our goodbyes and were off. DD was positively beaming! She was soooo happy!!!

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_8024.jpg

Up Next: Our Full Day of Fun and Adventure Continues at the Magic Kingdom

[DisneyMom14]

So sweet! We missed Ariel last trip because of the line too. She is DD6 favorite princess so I'm hoping we have this good of an experience this time. Your daughter is so precious!

[mkluvsmickey]

Glad you had such a great experience meeting Ariel! Your daughter looks like she is having the time of her life. :lovestruc

[2kids1dog]

I am really enjoying your TR. Thanks!

[scottny]

looks like she really enjoyed meeting Ariel. great pics.

[chiefdragon]

Loving you new installments of your TR. DD is so cute. Love the outfits. Where did you ever get these from. I would love to do this with my DD who is 2 and we are planning a major family trip when she is 5 (that gives me 3 years to get things made).

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Geez, I can't help but comment on your DD's outfits, I mean they are just too cute!!! I wish my mom had Ebay when I was that little cuz I know 100% I would have been dressed just like your DD.

I can't wait to hear more!!

[cdotla]

Ebay!

Loving you new installments of your TR. DD is so cute. Love the outfits. Where did you ever get these from. I would love to do this with my DD who is 2 and we are planning a major family trip when she is 5 (that gives me 3 years to get things made).

[DisneyLaura]

Love the last two installments. The outfits are quite cute. My DD is 2 now but we are going to go when she's 4 and she'll be having some of those outfits. I plan on trying to sew them myself too. Tell your DD Ariel is my favorite too.

[cdotla]

DAY 3 (CON'T) FIRST FULL DAY AT MAGIC KINGDOM

After leaving Ariel's Grotto, we made our way over to Toontown. We arrived at about 10:05 - 10:10 am but missed the opening with the characters. We made our way directly to the Barnstormer but just missed Goofy!

Given that DD had ridden on Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain many times during our May Trip (in fact, they were her favourites), we had quickly passed by the Barnstormer in May without even stopping.

In fact, the only reason we came over to the Barnstormer this morning was to try to catch up with Goofy.

Surprisingly, DD enjoyed this ride immensely. I wrongly assumed it would be too slow-paced for her but she loved it! In fact, right after getting off she wanted to go again, so we did!

After that we went to see Mickey in the Judge's Tent. We had never been to see him here before and I was surprised how fast the line moved with the old vintage cartoons to pass the time!

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By this point we had just about finished up in Toontown. Although we popped our heads into the Hall of Fame, the waits to see the Princesses were about 15- 20 minutes long. Unlike the Character Greeting at Epcot, where you wait in one line and then get through to all of the characters, here you had to wait in one line for one character and then walk to the end to get back in another line up for the next characters. We passed this one by as we obviously had more than enough character photos already.

We made our way to the Train Station and hopped on the Train for Frontierland. We rode both Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain and then made our way way over to Pecos Bills for lunch.

Apart from our Trip in May, the last time I had been to WDW was about 10 years earlier. The May Trip was the first time I had returned to the Parks since having kids. While I am sure I had eaten at Pecos Bills before given that I have been to WDW around 10 -12 times, I had only a vague recollection of it and I am sure it had changed since my last visit anyway.

We were pleasantly surprised with this place. The food was good (I had the Taco Salad - yummy!) and DD had the Chicken Fingers.

The only thing that I wasn't pleased about was the service. When we arrived the lines were very long - afterall, this is a very popular place. After waiting in line for about 10 minutes, we finally got to the front of the line and were advised that we would have to get in another line up as that particular cashier could not accept the Disney Dining Plan.

Now this to me seemed ridiculous! After scanning around I did see a very small sign which was not at all prominent advising that the line up I chose was not equipt to accept the Dining Plan Cards. However, you really had to look.

Both me and the gentleman waiting behind me were upset as we had not noticed the sign, nor had the two CMs standing around the entrance to the line ups chatting with one another advised anyone entering our line that we would not be able to use the Dining Plan cards.

After we spoke to the Manager (who incidentally was one of the two CMs I mentioned who had been chatting near the entrance to the line ups) and requested that we be served without having to go to the back of another long line up, he simply refused to accomodate us or do anything for us.

So we were forced to wait in another line up, which by this point was more like a 15 minute line up as the lunchtime rush had hit in full force.

So please beware and make sure that you DO NOT get in the 1st line up to the left when you are standing waiting to place your order if you intend to use the Dining Plan.

Also, beware that Customer Service (based on my experience) seems non-existent here. They obviously have a strong customer base so apparently they can employ people in management with no people skills and still be one of the busiest counterservice restaurants in the Magic Kingdom.

While we will likely be back again for the food, the price, and the convenience, we will not be returning for the service!

After lunch we took off for the Haunted Mansion. This was our first time visiting since the rehabilitation. Everytime I go on this ride I wish that someone was riding with me who could explain all the neat little tidbits and interesting features of the attraction that I always feel I am missing as I ride through it. Overall I thought the upgrades were great, especially the addition of the Bride at the end.

After this, we went to try our very first Dole Whip. This is obviously something I never would have known about had it not been for the Disboards! We enjoyed a nice little break sitting and enjoying our treats on a nearby bench. DD had a small Dole Whip and I had the float. While it was good, I found both to be a little too sweet for my liking. DD loved them though.

After our Dole Whips we went over to ride Aladin's Magic Carpets and saw our first ever performance of the Tiki Birds. We both thought this show was really cute. At home we have a great Disney CD and were familiar with the main theme song (The Tiki Room), but now that we saw the show the song has more meaning for us.

After the show, we no sooner got DD back in her stroller and were deciding what to do and debating whether to stay for the Parade when it started to rain. It started off slowly and then quickly turned into a heavy downpour.

With people running everywhere, we quickly made our way to the first available shelter in the covered porch in Frontierland next to the Country Bear Jamboree.

There we sat sandwiched between a ton of other people waiting out the storm for the next 20 minutes or so. Eventually it let up a bit and I decided to breakdown and purchase 2 WDW ponchos. Although we had the cheap versions in our backpack, those were pretty well useless in rain like this.

By this point the rain had largely subsided so we both put on our ponchos and headed out toward Main Street.

As we were close to the 3pm Dreams Come True Parade, we decided to stay for the Parade. Although we had just seen the Parade in May, we both loved it and wanted to see it again.

We arrived at the Town Hall Circle at about 2:40pm. This is where we had watched the Parade during our May Trip and I figured this would put us right at the Park Exit to hop on the Bus for CBR when it ended.

However, as we were walking down Main Street the skies were looking threatening once again and I was not sure the rain would hold off for the Parade.

Up Next:

Do we or don't we get to see the Parade?

-and-

First Haircut at the Main Street Barbershop

(Sorry for the lack of photos on this thread - they will be back in full force next post!)

[tinawv]

Your daughter is so adorable and her outfits are so cute. I especially love the photos of her with Ariel. Looking forward to reading more about your special mother/daughter trip.

[scottny]

great update and usual. cute pics with Mickey.

[cdotla]

DAY 3 (CON'T) FIRST FULL DAY AT MAGIC KINGDOM

As we were arriving at the Town Hall Circle for the Parade, I had the idea that while we were waiting I would try to see if we could get DD's haircut at the Barbershop before the Parade.

We had initially planned this for the next day, but I figured since the Parade would not be starting for another 20 minutes, and would then take awhile to make its way to the Town Hall, we may be able to get the Haircut done.

Although DD was almost 4 1/2 on this Trip, this would be her very First Haircut ever! I wish I had thought to take a picture of the jagged and raggedly ends of her hair before the haircut. In retrospect, I can't believe I waited that long to get her hair cut, although DD has extremely thin hair so I have always been nervous to cut any of it as she has so little!

Fortunately, after waiting less than 10 minutes we lucked out and were able to get DD's haircut done. It was a great little experience and the woman who cut her hair was great!

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Almost done....


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The finishing touches:


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And voila! Back in Pigtails!


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The final touch: Pixie Dust!


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While the pixie dust was perhaps fun at the time, I would definitely skip this part in future. I ended up washing DD's hair when we returned to the resort that afternoon and it took about 15 minutes of washing and rinsing, washing and rinsing, washing and rinsing to get all the pieces out. DD has VERY thin hair...I couldn't imagine trying to get this out of a child with thick hair! Even after our power wash, we still found some in her hair the next morning!

Just as we were paying we could hear the Parade music coming down Main Street. We left the Barbershop and quickly crossed the street as they were just clearing traffic for the Parade and staked out a spot on the sidewalk to watch.

The Parade just started to approach Town Hall when out of nowhere the heavens opened and it started downpouring heavy rain. This happened just as the first float (I believe with Mickey on it as I recall) was just starting to enter the Town Hall Hub. Literally if the rain had held off another 5-10 minutes we would have been fine!

While I was looking forward to seeing the Parade again, I was not prepared to get drenched doing so. I gathered up our stuff and headed for the Exit.

Unfortunately DD did not have the same aversion to getting wet and was very disappointed to be leaving. However, I promised her that after we got back to the room and dried off we would be returning for more fun that evening.

UP NEXT: Dinner at Crystal Palace
SpectroMagic

[scottny]

you are on a roll tonight. thanks for the heads up about the confetti.

[twob4him]

Wow, you definately get the "most updates" award!!!! :flower3: :thumbsup2 Awesome! I love to hear your thoughts on things...very helpful!
I can't believe they didnt accommadate you in line....I would have made a huge fuss and why the heck doesnt their stupid computer take dining plan...practically everyone is on it. :confused3
I absolutely love the customs and it sounds like you had a great day, well, except for the rain....but perhaps you all needed a break anyways!
Love the pics! Can't wait for more!!! :cool1:

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

first hair spray and gel at BBB and now glitter at the barber shop!! GOTTA LOVE IT!!!

[cdotla]

Just to clarify: Pecos Bills DOES take the Dining Plan. Just for some reason not the one cashier furthest to the left when you are standing facing the counter. Do not get in this line!

Wow, you definately get the "most updates" award!!!! :flower3: :thumbsup2 Awesome! I love to hear your thoughts on things...very helpful!
I can't believe they didnt accommadate you in line....I would have made a huge fuss and why the heck doesnt their stupid computer take dining plan...practically everyone is on it. :confused3
I absolutely love the customs and it sounds like you had a great day, well, except for the rain....but perhaps you all needed a break anyways!
Love the pics! Can't wait for more!!! :cool1:

[cdotla]

Whew! I am definitely done for the night.

Thanks for reading along and the feedback. This is my first TR and I am surprised how much work it takes. I started doing this mostly for me and DD (I plan to print a complete copy off when I am done for our scrapbook), but I must say it is great to have some cheerleaders in your camp encouraging you along!

Even just the simple posts which let you know you have some readers out there makes it more fun.

I am also anxious to get to the end of this TR as I have a special surprise waiting at the end! You will have to stay tuned to find out!

I have 2 1/2 more days to come plus a TON of additional photos so stay with me!!!

[HeatherinVT]

Out of all the travel logs i read yours is by far my favorite...
not sure if its cuz your daughter is so darn cute?
Because she is close to my DDs age and her and I are going in April on a solo trip or if i love all the details you have?

Anyway i cant wait to read more!


(did you write everynight when you got back to your room in order to remember all this?)




Hey why is my ticker in white i cant read it??

[scottny]

i like surprises.

[cdotla]

Thanks Heather! I appreciate it! I hope you get some ideas for your Mommy-Daughter Trip. I know you will enjoy it as much as I did!

And no, I did not write a single detail down about our Trip until I started this Trip Report. I am glad I didn't wait any longer to do it as I want to have these memories recorded somewhere before they are forgotten.

Out of all the travel logs i read yours is by far my favorite...
not sure if its cuz your daughter is so darn cute?
Because she is close to my DDs age and her and I are going in April on a solo trip or if i love all the details you have?

Anyway i cant wait to read more!


(did you write everynight when you got back to your room in order to remember all this?)




Hey why is my ticker in white i cant read it??

[mkluvsmickey]

Love your updates - all of them! You are on a roll! Great idea to print out your report for your scrapbook.

Can't believe that was DD's first haircut! What a great place for that experience.

Looking forward to the rest - you are doing a great job! :thumbsup2

[pjstevens]

wow, i can't believe how much you posted since I read yesterday. Can't wait to hear more. Loving DD outfits and all your photos.

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

MORE UPDATES TODAY??!!!!!

I wonder what the surprise is?? Another WDW trip to plan??!! Let's hope cuz you're on a roll, I'd love to read another one for a trip in the future!

[AimKo]

What a fun report. I have this dream of taking my dd(now 5) for a surprise girls only weekend for one of her birthdays....not sure her brother would appreciate that tho! He's now 3 and would definitely notice!

Looks like you had a wonderful time.

A

[JustMickey]

Great TR, I'm really enjoying reading about your trip with your adorable daughter! I just loved seeing all the little girls in the parks a few weeks ago with their dresses and BBB makeovers and I'm glad you both had a fun time. Those Halloween Party photos are making me want to plan a trip for fall now!

[HeatherinVT]

Do you make all your daughters custom disney clothing?

SO CUTE!princess:

[heartofdisney]

Hi,I just started reaing your report earlier today,and I love it. Your daughter is really adorable and I love the clothes she was wearing....just an extra special touch to make your trip more special. When my youngest daughter was 4,my family took our first trip to Disney,and reading your report brought back the memories of walking around the Magic Kingdom with her,just her and I,as my DH and older DD went off on thier own to ride the more daring rides. It was only for a day,but it was such a special time being there with just her and seeing everything through her eyes.That was back in 97, before I went commando and was innocent where Disney was concerned.I didn't know as much as I do now,and in some ways,that made the day even more magical for us...we just took our time and explored everything we could,and just enjoyed the characters and the atmosphere of the park. Thank you for bringing back those special memories to me again with your trip report! I enjoy reading it so much !

[cdotla]

It is so true that those first, early days of Disney are the most Magical, aren't they? Thanks for posting!

Hi,I just started reaing your report earlier today,and I love it. Your daughter is really adorable and I love the clothes she was wearing....just an extra special touch to make your trip more special. When my youngest daughter was 4,my family took our first trip to Disney,and reading your report brought back the memories of walking around the Magic Kingdom with her,just her and I,as my DH and older DD went off on thier own to ride the more daring rides. It was only for a day,but it was such a special time being there with just her and seeing everything through her eyes.That was back in 97, before I went commando and was innocent where Disney was concerned.I didn't know as much as I do now,and in some ways,that made the day even more magical for us...we just took our time and explored everything we could,and just enjoyed the characters and the atmosphere of the park. Thank you for bringing back those special memories to me again with your trip report! I enjoy reading it so much !

[cdotla]

Sadly, I have no talents in that department. I just open my wallet!:rolleyes1

Do you make all your daughters custom disney clothing?

SO CUTE!princess:

[cdotla]

Sadly, I have no further TRs or pre-TRs planned.

And now that I am back to work the updates can't come as fast. I am still trying to complete the Report in full by the Weekend though!

MORE UPDATES TODAY??!!!!!

I wonder what the surprise is?? Another WDW trip to plan??!! Let's hope cuz you're on a roll, I'd love to read another one for a trip in the future!

[cdotla]

DAY 3 (CON'T): OUR LAST EVENING AT MAGIC KINGDOM!

After returning to CBR by about 3:30pm after the aborted Parade Viewing, all of the long, jam packed days finally caught up to DD. She immediately crashed and had a good long nap. I soon followed her!

I woke up around 4:15pm and had a shower and got ready. I then woke DD who was very cranky, as she always is when she first gets up from her nap. With a little bit of proding I got her up and dressed and out the door within a half hour.

By shortly after 5:00pm we were on our way back to the Magic Kingdom. After arriving we casually strolled up Main Street and then checked in for our 5:45pm reservation at Crystal Palace. This was the first time that we had ever eaten here and I was looking forward to it. I have always loved the look of this building from afar and was curious to see the inside.

Unfortunately, the skies were still threatening and I wasn't entirely sure that SpectroMagic would be proceeding that evening. This was unfortunate as it would be our first (and last) opportunity to see it. Before this Trip, we had never taken in any nighttime events at WDW!

In May, while travelling with DS2 nighttime events were simply not an option for us. Our touring tended to be from 9:00am until 2:00 or 3:00pm and then returning to our off-property (yikes!) 2 bedroom condo at Mystic Dunes (formerly Wyndham Palms). While we loved our stay here, it will certainly be hard to ever stay off-site again!

We parked our stroller outside the restaurant and checked in. Then we joined the 40 or so people sitting around outside waiting for tables under the covered porch/balcony.

No sooner had we checked in and gotten under the cover of the balcony then another heavy downpour started. At this point I had just about given up on the weather for the day. I figured we would have our meal and then make a beeline for the bus trying to stay as dry as we could manage in the process.

After a fairly short wait, we were called in for our reservation within 10 minutes. It must have been that we were one of the few parties of two that evening as we went well ahead of many other families.

Once again, we had a great time at this character meal. Both the food, service and character interaction was great. In fact, our male server here seemed to be a Disney veteran and gave us the best service we received the entire trip! The added plus was dining in such a beautiful building.

We also enjoyed some Table Visits from our Friends.

First Piglet:

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Then Tiger - high five man!

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Then, everyone's Favourite Bear:

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http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/CopyofIMG_8056.jpg

Katie getting frisky with Winnie:

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Our one teeny disappointment was that we never had a table visit or pictures with Eeyore. When we were first shown to our table, Eeyore had already gone by our table for pictures. (You can actually make him out in the background of our Winnie picture.) We were advised not to worry and that before we finished our meal Eeyore would be back to see us. However, he never did return.

If it had been a big deal to us I have no doubt we could have waited until he came back around for the next seating, but particularly given that we had already taken pictures with Eeyore in Epcot it was not a high priority.

As we were finishing our meal (after a very leisurely pace, and a long coffee for dessert), we were surprised to see that the rain had stopped!!!

We ventured outside leaving the stroller behind (it was absolutely soaking wet!) and made our way towards Fantasyland. En route, we stopped to take a picture in front of the Castle:

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We then proceeded on to Fantasyland and then to Frontierland riding all of our favourite rides with very minimal, if any, waits. I guess that was the benefit of the hour rainfall while we were eating - it cleared the Park out!

After about 45 minutes of Park touring, we started to make our way to Frontierland for SpectroMagic. By this point, miraculously, the crowd levels had returned. We kept walking, inching along trying without luck to find a spot to see the Parade. Finally a young couple from the UK who were sitting high up on a fence wall along the back sidewalk offered to make room for us.

While I was a little nervous of hoisting DD up so high to watch the Parade, fortunately I spotted a trash can of all things immediately in front of the fence. I lifted her up on top of the trash can after tearing up our cheap rain ponchos to give her something to sit on. She ended up having a great view from a far less dangerous position than perching up high on the fence. I then hoisted myself up on the fence behind her. As it turned out, we ended up not only having an excellent view, but we also got to sit without being on the ground which would have been impossible as we were both wearing short skirts!

While I still have not mastered the art of taking nighttime photos, here are a few poor quality shots of the Parade which do nothing to show how great it really was:

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After SpectroMagic, we began to make our way to the Castle Hub for the Fireworks. Once again, it was crush-level crowds and we were literally inching along all the way from Frontierland.

Finally we found a really nice spot just outside Crystal Palace where we could sit on a bench and observe the Fireworks. While we did not have a completely perfect view (being somewhat obstructed by trees), it was great to have a bench all to ourselves in an uncrowded area.

Once again, the Fireworks were great. This time DD was still awake to enjoy them! This was DD's first time seeing Fireworks at WDW and it really charged her up. Afterwards she did not want to leave so we decided to stay and check out Tomorrowland as we had not visited here the entire Trip.

First we went on Buzz Lightyear for the very first time. I was actually surprised how fun it was. We both enjoyed it. Then we moved on to the Astro Orbiter. Again this was a first for each of us. We both enjoyed it, and especially the views! I will admit that before this Trip, I did not even know this ride existed! While I had seen it flying around, I always thought it was special effects, not an actual ride!

Our last stop of the evening was on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, or the "People Mover". Although the concept is simple, it is actually a decent ride, especially after a long day. I really enjoyed doing it at night.

By this point it was almost 10pm!!! We actually made it to Park Closing! Again another great day. Once again I got my workout that evening after DD fell aspleep on the bus ride home and I had to carry her and all of our bags from the Jamaica bus stop to our room - Whew!

However, it was certainly worth it as we had another wonderful day at the Magic Kingdom!

Next Up - Day 4 Including:

Our Return to the Little Ones Extra Magic Hour at Magic Kingdom

A Special Princess Tea Party

Afternoon and Evening at Epcot's Food & Wine

Dinner at Chefs de France

Illuminations

[scottny]

I love CP. Only been for breakfast but I do love it.

what a great update. so glad the rain stopped.

[pl'smama]

What a great TR!! Your little Katie is lovely and her outfits are wonderful! Your fantastic TR is making me think that someday I could do this with my DD, just the two of us!

I am looking forward to hearing all about the tea party!

Suz

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

great pictures and updates as usual!!

It's a good thing the weather held up!! Your castle picture is very nice!!

Can't wait to read more tomorrow!!

[Couturier]

Great Trip Report! Your little PRINCESS is a doll! I think 4 is just the prefect age to enjoy the parks! That was how old I was on my first trip and at 31 I can still remember it!

Dana

[Camping Griswalds]

This TR makes me so excited for my January " Mommy and Me" trip with my DD, who will be 3.5! We leave the 30th, and have already decided to copy you on some ideas!

[JoAnnPan]

Loving your trip report...your daughter is adorable (do you ever get sick of hearing that?)..my favorite pictures are her at the CRT breakfast...love the outfits!

Thanks so much for sharing your trip with all of us, you truly made magical memories for your daughter and yourself :thumbsup2

:tinker:

[DisneyLaura]

I love the Spectro Magic Parade. We have never been on Buzz either. My two sons at the time were afraid to go in the dark :confused3 even after I told them Buzz was in there. I love the CP but next time I would like to go there for breakfast.

[Couturier]

I love this little shirt your DD is wearing! It doesnt happen to be a 3 and you are ready to part with it? LOL Finding our Disney clothes is 1/2 the fun of planning!
Dana

[Mickeefan]

I'm anxiously awaiting more of your trip report. I leave tomorrow for the World, so I'll have to catch up when I return.

[hlrababy]

I love, love, love, your TR and your pictures!! I just now found it and I am loving it!

[HeatherinVT]

Love your report so much i logged on from work.... :surfweb:
cant wait for the next chapter in your adventure!

Nice to see you in some pics with your cutie!

[disneymom1980]

Just subbing. I love your trip report, and I can't wait to take my two little girls to disney for the first time.

[cdotla]

Thanks everyone for the kind comments. I hope to have another installment up later tonite. Still trying to have the whole thing completed by the weekend as I am anxious to reveal my "surprise" at the end!

[travelgirl06]

This TR is fabulous, I love hearing about your mother-daughter adventures! My mom and I have been doing special trips since I was a little girl, and we are still enjoying them now that I am in college. What a special gift for the two of you. The pictures are beautiful, I can't wait for the next chapter.

Thank You!

[cdotla]

DAY 4 - LITTLE ONES EXTRA MAGIC HOUR AT MAGIC KINGDOM

If you have been reading along thus far you will have definitely spotted a trend of early mornings and late nights, with next to no rests or afternoon breaks. On this front, I broke all of Tour Guide Mike's cardinal rules, as well as all common sense when it comes to travelling with a 4 year old.

However, for whatever reason, the early mornings, long days, hot sun, and late nights simply did not seem to bother DD on this trip.

Now that is not to say that she did not ever become cranky or tired at certain parts of the trip. However, she also became cranky and tired at points during our May Trip when we followed a basic 8-9am until about 2-3pm touring plan in the Parks with no evening return visits.

In fact, it seemed to me that DD had far more fun on our jam packed September Trip. Perhaps it was because the Trip was solely focused on her (well, her and my need for pictures!). Perhaps it was because she had my sole and undivided attention 24-7 for 5 straight days. Whatever the reason, she handled herself like a trooper on this Trip and showed me that it is possible to train your children to be Park Commandos at the Tender Age of 4!

When we received our Mickey Wake-Up Call on Day 4 at 6:20am it was somewhat bittersweet. As with every morning waking up at Disney, I was immediately excited for the day ahead. However, I was also a bit panicked as it started to hit me that this would be our last full day and evening before we would leave to come home the next day. Of course that was not something I wanted to dwell on so I pushed it aside and instead focused all of my attention of having another fantastic day.

Once again we got ready quickly and left the room shortly after 7am. We took another glorious walk over the Bridge at CBR to the Food Court and had a quick bite to eat for Breakfast. Then on to the Bus Stop for our Second Day of the Little Ones' Extra Magic Hour at the Magic Kingdom.

Surprisingly, we were the only ones waiting to get on the Bus that morning for the Magic Kingdom. So we had the whole Bus to ourselves!

As mentioned before, we had excellent Bus Service the whole Trip from CBR. I think our wait time most mornings ranged from a minimum of 2 minutes to a maximum of 8-10 minutes. And I don't think we shared the bus with more than 10 people on any of our early morning rides. I have heard people complaining that the Buses are packed in the mornings - this was not our experience. But then again, we are Early Birds and tended to arrive each morning at whatever Park we were doing for Rope Drop.

We made perfect time, arriving at the Magic Kingdom about 7:50am. Although we had now arrived at the Magic Kingdom before 8am on 3 of our 4 trip days (twice for the Little Ones Extra Magic Hours and once for our 8:05am reservation at CRT), we had not yet seen the Park Opening Train Show. Everyday we were here we had been inside the Park for an hour before the Show started! Oh well, I like having things to see for the first time on a return trip!

Once again when we arrived we waited in line until they opened the turnstiles. Then we grabbed our stroller, made our way up Main Street, through the Castle and into Fantasyland for the Little Ones Extra Magic Hour.

Today DD was wearing her Cinderella outfit that she had worn for only an hour or two the previous morning to have Breakfast with Cinderella. Here she is with the harsh morning sun directly in her face posing for crazy Mommy:

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This time when we arrived in Fantasyland for the games, DD was a bit more seasoned as she knew what to expect and what games they were playing. She was therefore less apprehensive about joining in on all the fun right away. Once again, I got some great photos of her with the characters:

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Does she look like she's having FUN here????

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After she played a few games, once again DD made a beeline for Cinderella's Golden Carousel. This is definitely her favourite ride in all of Fantasyland - probably because it has horses. Sometimes the most subtle, simple rides are the best!

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After the Carousel we decided to do all of the rides we didn't quite fit in the day before including Snow White, Peter Pan, It's A Small World and Winnie the Pooh.

We also caught a viewing of Mickey's PhilharMagic - Boy, we love that show!!!

At this point it was close to 9:20am and we started to make our way out of the Park to head over to the Grand Floridian for our Princess Tea Party.

On the way out of the Magic Kingdom we stopped to do a little photo session at the PhotoShop on Main Street:

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With that, we gathered up our stuff and made for the exit, trying not to think about the fact that when we crossed through those gates, we would not be returning again for a very long time!

One of the last things that we noticed just before walking through the exit at the Train Station was a street vendor. We both immediately had the same thought - POPCORN!!! DD & I are both HUGE popcorn lovers so that really cheered us up as we made our way out of the Magic Kingdom and over to the Boat Station for our ride across the lagoon to the Grand Floridian.

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UP NEXT: PRINCESS TEA PARTY AT THE GRAND FLORIDIAN!!!

[mkluvsmickey]

Loved your recent updates - more great Disney magic and wonderful pictures! We've never been to Crystal Palace - looks like a great place. I just love Spectromagic also - a definate favorite. :love: (Your Spectro pics came out much better than mine!)

Isn't the Disney Depression on the last day the worst?? Glad to see you were able to forget about it and enjoy your day.

Can't wait to hear about the tea party! :)

[Disney Brat]

I am loving your TR!!! I would LOVE to do a mommy daughter trip with my DD4....maybe I can convince DH....lol He is just as big of a Disney nut as I am...lol Can't wait for the rest!!

[cdotla]

Wow - your DD is a cutie! I love the pic of her in your siggy!

I am loving your TR!!! I would LOVE to do a mommy daughter trip with my DD4....maybe I can convince DH....lol He is just as big of a Disney nut as I am...lol Can't wait for the rest!!

[scottny]

great update and pics. EMH looks like fun there.

[DisneyLaura]

I so cannot wait for the princess tea party. I told DH that when we got DD2 will be 4 and we are definately doing that. Of course my two sons will be 10 and 8 at the time so they can do something with dad. Cute pictures even though the sun was in her eyes.

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

wait, am I miss something? I have been reading this TR since almost day one and I'm confused.

What is little ones EMH??? Is that different than AM EMH or is that just a fancy name for it? Do you have to be a certain age to go to this?? If so that is new to me!! I can't believe all those characters just walk around.

My dad commented on our trip in May that the characters just dont roam outside like they used to when I was little. You very rarely see them just hanging outside, they are always in a specific location which is great to know where to locate them but I did notice that too that they are never just hanging outside.

[Disney Brat]

Wow - your DD is a cutie! I love the pic of her in your siggy!

Awwww...ty!!! I absolutly love the clothes your dd is wearing, I guess you make them for her....great stuff!! She is beautiful!!

[cdotla]

Little Ones EMH is marketed toward pre-schoolers and is only in Sept. and Oct. for hurricane season.

wait, am I miss something? I have been reading this TR since almost day one and I'm confused.

What is little ones EMH??? Is that different than AM EMH or is that just a fancy name for it? Do you have to be a certain age to go to this?? If so that is new to me!! I can't believe all those characters just walk around.

My dad commented on our trip in May that the characters just dont roam outside like they used to when I was little. You very rarely see them just hanging outside, they are always in a specific location which is great to know where to locate them but I did notice that too that they are never just hanging outside.

[melsmom12]

I cannot tell you how much I am enjoying your TR! My DD is 2.5 and hasn't been to WDW yet. I'm so very much looking forward to a Mommy and Me trip with her in a few more years! I know Daddy will want to come on the first one, but after that she's all mine!

Your DD is adorable, and her clothes are to die for! I would love a few outfits to take on our cruise in a few weeks, but I think I dropped the ball and waited too long, shoot. You are more than welcome to sell all of yours to me when your DD outgrows them!

Looking forward to the next installment!

[Villainess]

Wonderful TR! Can't wait for the surprise!!!!

[chiefdragon]

I can not wait to see how the tea went...this is something that I want to do with DD when we go down in 2 years....but I was scared she would be to young.

[Tink561]

I can't wait to read about the tea party. We're doing that on March 7th and I'm so excited! Someone is working on an amazing Aurora custom set for my daughter to wear.

BTW, what did you wear to the tea? I'm trying to figure out how the adults dress.

[cdotla]

HAVE A GREAT TRIP!!! I guess you are there now - wish I was too!!!

I'm anxiously awaiting more of your trip report. I leave tomorrow for the World, so I'll have to catch up when I return.

[cdotla]

I was 4 on my first WDW trip too! And I completely remember it!

It was the one and only time I have ever stayed on Property before we returned to CBR on this Trip.

As I have so many memories of inside the Poly, and was only there one time when I was 4, I knew before we left that DD will also have memories to last a lifetime from this Trip! Plus, I captured way more photos of this Trip than my parents did from our Poly Trip in 1977. I think photos will help her to keep bringing the memories back.

Great Trip Report! Your little PRINCESS is a doll! I think 4 is just the prefect age to enjoy the parks! That was how old I was on my first trip and at 31 I can still remember it!

Dana

[cdotla]

Trust me, you will have a blast! I never had so much fun!:goodvibes

This TR makes me so excited for my January " Mommy and Me" trip with my DD, who will be 3.5! We leave the 30th, and have already decided to copy you on some ideas!

[cdotla]

Thank you!

Loving your trip report...your daughter is adorable (do you ever get sick of hearing that?)..my favorite pictures are her at the CRT breakfast...love the outfits!

Thanks so much for sharing your trip with all of us, you truly made magical memories for your daughter and yourself :thumbsup2

:tinker:

[cdotla]

I just popped over to your TR - it looks very fun! I wish I had taken a trip like that with friends back in my younger days...I feel so OLD saying that -LOL!

I will pop over again to read more once I finish this one up.

This TR is fabulous, I love hearing about your mother-daughter adventures! My mom and I have been doing special trips since I was a little girl, and we are still enjoying them now that I am in college. What a special gift for the two of you. The pictures are beautiful, I can't wait for the next chapter.

Thank You!

[cdotla]

Wow - 2 Disney cruises before she is 3! How impressive!

I think 4 is the absolute PERFECT age for a first trip to WDW...hold off until then if you can. Especially if you can keep taking the cruises to tie you over. I would be most interested in reading a cruise TR when you are done!


I cannot tell you how much I am enjoying your TR! My DD is 2.5 and hasn't been to WDW yet. I'm so very much looking forward to a Mommy and Me trip with her in a few more years! I know Daddy will want to come on the first one, but after that she's all mine!

Your DD is adorable, and her clothes are to die for! I would love a few outfits to take on our cruise in a few weeks, but I think I dropped the ball and waited too long, shoot. You are more than welcome to sell all of yours to me when your DD outgrows them!

Looking forward to the next installment!

[melsmom12]

"I think 4 is the absolute PERFECT age for a first trip to WDW...hold off until then if you can. Especially if you can keep taking the cruises to tie you over. I would be most interested in reading a cruise TR when you are done!"

Sorry, this made me giggle out loud! If my mom hadn't pretty much paid for everything, there's no way I would be going on these cruises! It was really cute the way you "said" that!

[cdotla]

Oh trust me...I know that the cruises are more pricey than a trip to the World. I didn't mean to suggest it would be a lesser vacation, just that it seems to me to be more suited to a child under 4 than a trip to WDW. That way you can still get your Disney "fix", but save your daughter's first trip to WDW for an age when it will be the most special.

On our May Trip we took DS2. Don't get me wrong - we had a great time. However, we always needed to leave the Parks each day by shortly after lunch to ensure he could get a nap in. We also could not attend the Parks at night. And his interaction with the characters just wasn't the same as DD. Plus, he was fairly limited in what rides he could do so someone always had to sit out most of the rides.

I can't wait to bring him back when he is 4 and able to enjoy the Park again as fully as DD4 did!

"I think 4 is the absolute PERFECT age for a first trip to WDW...hold off until then if you can. Especially if you can keep taking the cruises to tie you over. I would be most interested in reading a cruise TR when you are done!"

Sorry, this made me giggle out loud! If my mom hadn't pretty much paid for everything, there's no way I would be going on these cruises! It was really cute the way you "said" that!

[melsmom12]

I TOTALLY understood how you meant it, it just made me giggle! Last January we all went down to Orlando and rented a house in Kissimmee. DH and I did a day in Disney without DD (she did other fun stuff with Grammie) and she did go with us to Universal a few times. It wasn't too bad, but I definitely didn't get to do nearly as many things as I could have without her! She napped pretty well in her stroller, but she wasn't 2 yet. If we took her this year it would have been disaster!

[cdotla]

I will post some pics and comments tonite about what everyone wears - the girls and the adults! :thumbsup2

I can't wait to read about the tea party. We're doing that on March 7th and I'm so excited! Someone is working on an amazing Aurora custom set for my daughter to wear.

BTW, what did you wear to the tea? I'm trying to figure out how the adults dress.

[cdotla]

OK - I have Good News and Bad News.

First, the Bad News: Although I advised that I wanted to finish this TR this weekend, that will not be possible. I am with the kiddos all day tomorrow and DH and I have a party to attend in the evening. Sunday I am also going to be largely tied up.

Now the Good News: I will be posting the Princess Tea Party segment tonite, and because I promised to share my "surprise" this weekend, I will also post that this evening even though the TR will not be finished until maybe Sunday night or early next week.

And just not to raise expectations too high, let me just say that NO, we were NOT selected as winners for the Night in the Castle!!! As much as I would have LOVED that!!! This is more of a very simple surprise, but I still hope that you will like it.

[AmyAllan&Eve]

I just found your TR and read every single word on all ten pages! I love it. Thank you for taking the time to share!

My DD is three and a half. I took her to WDW when she had just turned two, and now I am ready to go back this summer (or maybe Halloween, although I am a teacher so it makes it difficult). You have given me so many special, magical ideas. I especially loved the pictures of your daughter dancing to the piano music and playing duck duck goose with Daisy.

Wow! I cannot wait to read more! :love:

[cdotla]

I hope that wasn't in one sitting -LOL! Thanks for reading along! I will have more shortly!

I just found your TR and read every single word on all ten pages! I love it. Thank you for taking the time to share!

My DD is three and a half. I took her to WDW when she had just turned two, and now I am ready to go back this summer (or maybe Halloween, although I am a teacher so it makes it difficult). You have given me so many special, magical ideas. I especially loved the pictures of your daughter dancing to the piano music and playing duck duck goose with Daisy.

Wow! I cannot wait to read more! :love:

[Winterhouse]

I just found your TR and read every bit of it tonight. I hadn't been paying any attention to the date of your reports, so needless to say, when I get to the last part and there are no more pages I am disappointed (in a great way) that I have to wait for more!!

[mkmommy]

Another just found your report and think it is great.

I am taking my girls in March alone for a day at the Magic Kingdom before a Disney Cruise and you are making me more excited.

Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip

[cdotla]

DAY 4: PRINCESS TEA PARTY AT THE GRAND FLORIDIAN

After a short wait at the Boat Station, our Boat arrives for the Grand Floridian and we load up and begin our journey across the Seven Seas Lagoon.


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Since we had a little extra time on our hands, I thought the boat ride would be nice over the monorail. We had never taken this boat ride before; only the main Ferryboat ride from the Ticket and Transportation Center.

After arriving at the Grand Floridian we took a little stroll around the grounds and gardens. DD was still enjoying her popcorn snack!


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Eventually we made our way inside to wait for the Princess Tea Party which was taking place at the Grand Floridian Garden View Tea Room.

Since we had been here before, we knew what to expect. In May this had been one of the most memorable experiences on our Trip.

We actually attended with our Best Friends from Home - another Mom and her almost 4 year old and 6 year old girls. Their family had been travelling with us on the trip, although we were staying offsite at a great 2 Bedroom condo (The Mystic Dunes) and they were staying at PFQ.

Initially because this event is rather pricey ($225), I debated long and hard as to whether I would choose to repeat this experience. Unfortunately, my friend did not have any pictures of my DD at the event (she was obviously preoccupied with taking pictures of her own daughters) and of course neither of us could have imagined that my camera would be stolen!

Surprisingly, there are also no Photopass photographers at this event so I had NOT ONE photograph whatsoever to record this rather special experience.

I debated about whether I could wait to re-do this on another visit in a few years time, but decided that I couldn't. My friend's daughter who was 6.5 at the time was markedly less impressed with the event than the other 2 girls who had just turned 4 and was about to turn 4 respectively. So that sealed it for me. We would be returning.

When we came in May, all three girls wore their Princess gowns with Crowns and wands. They started the Day with a Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique makeover at Downtown Disney, posed for pictures at the Portrait Studio there, and then we made our way to the Grand Floridian for the Tea Party.

This time I chose to dress DD in her Cinderella custom pants outfit for something a little different.

The event itself is very special. From the moment each girl arrives they are made to feel like Royalty. When you arrive you check in at the Desk and then wait in the Reception Area just in front of the Tea Room with all of the other guests.

The event starts at 10:30am and they advise you to be there by 10:15am. It is nice to be there early so that you are not rushed but there is really no need to get there before 10:15am. I believe we walked in from the outside gardens at around 10:20am and had plenty of time.

When the Event is ready to begin, the Host of the Tea Party, not Aurora but a wonderful lady named Rose Petal calls all of the girls to the front of the steps to enter the Tea Room. All of the moms and dads (and yes, there were a couple dads each time I attended) wait behind the girls with cameras and camcorders in hand.

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Each "Princess" is formally announced and is given a Crown and her head is sprinkled with rose petals.


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After each Princess is announced, she and her guests are shown to their seats in the Tea Room. When they arrive at their seats, in each Girl's assigned seat there is a My Disney Girl Doll (Disney's version of the American Girl Doll). These dolls are very nice (although perhaps not as nice as the American Girl Dolls) and the same size - 18 inches. The Dolls are dressed in a Princess Aurora outfit complete with Crowns.

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In addition, as a little suprise, in each girl's napkin she will find a silver bracelet. (Honestly, I found the bracelet to be rather cheap looking and wasn't too impressed with it). At the end of the event the girls are also given a package with some Disney Princess scrapbooking pages and stickers.

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In terms of attire, most all of the girls are dressed in either Princess gowns or nice dresses. Most girls are aged 3-6, although each time I attended there were one or two girls as old as 10 or 12 at the event. Personally I think this event would be a little too young and disappointing for anyone over 8.

As for the mothers/grandmothers, most women were wearing resort casual clothing. Sundresses were popular. I wore my Lilly Pulitzer sundress and felt very appropriately dressed.


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A couple girls and moms were dressed in normal Park clothing - just plain t-shirts, shorts, sneakers and flip-flops. Personally, I think that this event is very special and deserves special clothes so that would not be my style, but each to their own!

After everyone is shown to their seats, hot tea is provided to the adults and the kids are given their very own "tea" in their own tea cups (which happens to be apple juice!)

Then everyone is given their plate of food. The children are given peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches cut into hearts, cheese and grapes. (I found the peanut butter an odd choice given the amount of people with allergies).

The adults also had a plate of sandwiches (egg and chicken and almond salad), grapes and cheeses. Although I have heard complaints about the food and portion sizes, I found my food to be more than filling for lunch (even though we were eating before 11am) and also perfectly delicious!

For dessert, they serve a wonderful strawberry cake that draws rave reviews from everyone!


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As I have reached the limit for the number of photographs for this post, I will continue my review of this event in the next post.

[cdotla]

DAY 4 (CON'T): PRINCESS TEA PARTY AT THE GRAND FLORIDIAN

The majority of the event is hosted by Rose Petal and we all come to find out who she is and her relationship with Princess Aurora through songs and stories throughout the Tea. The woman who plays Rose Petal is a wonderful entertainer and she makes a point of going around each and every table and visiting each and every girl in the course of telling her stories and singing her songs.


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Here is another picture of DD with Rose Petal and Barron Branch, the pianist:


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And another of Barron Branch:


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At various points during the Tea the girls are invited to get up and sing and dance along.


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Near the end of the Tea, Princess Aurora finally makes her appearance. She again takes time to go around to each and every table posing for pictures and signing autographs for every girl.

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It is a really beautiful event and I highly recommend it!



UP NEXT:

AFTERNOON AND EVENING AT EPCOT'S FOOD & WINE

DINNER AT CHEFS DE FRANCE

ILLUMINATIONS

[cdotla]

OK - Here is the surprise.

This is a Video slideshow that I made of our Trip. It is basically a musical recap of our Trip. I hope that you enjoy it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4pgrU9RB54

[scottny]

the boat ride looked beautiful as did the tea party. I am a little shocked at the price tag but it is something special to remember.
great update.
:thumbsup2

[CleKait]

Nice trip report :thumbsup2:
The princess thing looks really neat! Did she get to keep the doll?

[scottny]

what a great surprise. I could not get it to open through here so I went to youtube and put in your screen name here and guess what -it popped up- :woohoo:
The video was really good.
Now it opens. :confused3 anyway great video.

[KimAshton]

Love DD's outfit. Love the picture of her and Princess Aurora. :)

[HeatherinVT]

Hello, and thanks for a wonderful report as you know i have been following it daily... Im at work so i cant view the video but cant wait until i get home to do so and show my DD5princess:

Quick question that im sure i could find with some research....where do i get the boat to grand floridian.... years ago i remember the ferry to the TTT but didnt know realize their was a boat to the GF probably because i never did anything fun like this before!!

We have the 1900 Park Fair planned and before that BBB in DTD but i was thinking we could take the boat to MK from 1900 park fair and visit the park after?
Looked so nice.

Thanks sharing your memories!! :flower3:


Heather

[kaysmommie]

Great update! I loved the tea party pics and your DD is adorable. I don't think I would spend the money to take DD to this tea Party though as she is 7. She still likes theprincesses but not as much as say Hannah Montana :sad2: . She thought the doll in the costume was the best part. For over $200 I can buy her 2 american girl dolls and costumes for each. I wish I had taken her when she was 4 though :goodvibes . I loved your slideshow !

[bedillamouse]

I've been following your report and haven't said much since I just joined the boards. Just wanted to let you know I appreciate the info and pictures since we are going in May and my DD will be just 10 days shy of turning 4. She's a very shy girl so it helps so much to show her pictures of a another girl around her age with the princess and characters. She even asked if I could get her a dress like your daughter with the Little Mermaid on it. :rotfl: Everytime we look at your report we have to go back look at pictures of that dress.

Thanks for all of your hard work and looking forward to seeing the rest.

[cdotla]

I agree that I probably would not spend the money if my DD was 7 either. I think the prime ages for this event are 4-6.

It is funny how we all prioritize our vacation spending though isn't it? While I had no problem reaching into my pocket TWICE to pay for the Princess Tea Party, I would not shell out for the Poly like you. (However, I intend to get back there at some point in the future on another trip).

Just spending one night at CBR over the Poly (let alone a full week's vacation!) pays for the Princess Tea!

Great update! I loved the tea party pics and your DD is adorable. I don't think I would spend the money to take DD to this tea Party though as she is 7. She still likes theprincesses but not as much as say Hannah Montana :sad2: . She thought the doll in the costume was the best part. For over $200 I can buy her 2 american girl dolls and costumes for each. I wish I had taken her when she was 4 though :goodvibes . I loved your slideshow !

[cdotla]

Thanks for posting! I am honored that this is your first post.

May is a great travel time - you will have a great time! And it's not too far off now either!

I've been following your report and haven't said much since I just joined the boards. Just wanted to let you know I appreciate the info and pictures since we are going in May and my DD will be just 10 days shy of turning 4. She's a very shy girl so it helps so much to show her pictures of a another girl around her age with the princess and characters. She even asked if I could get her a dress like your daughter with the Little Mermaid on it. :rotfl: Everytime we look at your report we have to go back look at pictures of that dress.

Thanks for all of your hard work and looking forward to seeing the rest.

[seashell724]

Love, love love the detailed report of the tea party and all of the pictures! THanks for taking the time to describe it so well. :) I really enjoy following your adventures.

[cdotla]

Yes, the girls got to keep the Dolls. It is included in the price.

(I can't even imagine the CMs trying to pry those dolls from the girls' hands after they became acquianted with them...the event would surely end in fights and tears every time - LOL!)

Nice trip report :thumbsup2:
The princess thing looks really neat! Did she get to keep the doll?

[cdotla]

The boats to the Resorts are located very close to the ferryboat launch to the TTC. You will not miss them.

The Resort boats are more pontoon-style - much smaller, but also a bit more of an adventure.

I agree that you could do either BBB in DTD or BBB at the MK before the Tea Party. Although we had enough time with a 9am appointment at DDD, we certainly had to be efficient. If you did BBB at MK at 8am (they open 1 hour earlier than DTD), this would give you much more time. So the MK would be my choice.

Hello, and thanks for a wonderful report as you know i have been following it daily... Im at work so i cant view the video but cant wait until i get home to do so and show my DD5princess:

Quick question that im sure i could find with some research....where do i get the boat to grand floridian.... years ago i remember the ferry to the TTT but didnt know realize their was a boat to the GF probably because i never did anything fun like this before!!

We have the 1900 Park Fair planned and before that BBB in DTD but i was thinking we could take the boat to MK from 1900 park fair and visit the park after?
Looked so nice.

Thanks sharing your memories!! :flower3:


Heather

[melsmom12]

Awwwww, what a beautiful event! I think you absolutely made the right decision to go back and do it again. The pictures are beautiful and it looks like a little girl's fantasy come true! Another thing I must add to my Mommy and Daughter trip in 2009!

Loving this report, can't wait for more!

[mkluvsmickey]

Loved your update and the pictures from the tea party. I wish I would have taken Samantha when she was younger - she is 7 now and though she may enjoy it, I don't think it would be as magical. Your pictures were great!

Going back to watch the video now! :)

[dddisrunner]

Hi I've been lurking! I really love this report!:thumbsup2 I am glad to see that you were able to recapture all those wonderful Disney memories!:yay:

[mkluvsmickey]

Great video! I love the music - especially that last song - never heard that before. Looks like a great trip and fabulous memories for you and your daughter. I'm glad you were able to go back to recapture your pictures!

[tadamom]

I am still hooked and the video made me tear up! I just love Disney, looking at pics from Disney and when you put them in a slideshow with Disney music -- bring out the tissues!!!!!

[cdotla]

Thanks Michelle - the last song is Little Wonders by Rob Thomas (of Matchbox 20 fame). It is my DD's favourite song. It would really blow you away to hear her sing it -she knows a significant amount of the lyrics and she can break out and sing it anytime without background music.

The song is also on the Incredibles songtrack, although I have yet to see that movie -my kids are a bit too young.


Great video! I love the music - especially that last song - never heard that before. Looks like a great trip and fabulous memories for you and your daughter. I'm glad you were able to go back to recapture your pictures!

[cdotla]

Awwwww-thanks!

I am still hooked and the video made me tear up! I just love Disney, looking at pics from Disney and when you put them in a slideshow with Disney music -- bring out the tissues!!!!!

[pixleyyy]

I think "Little Wonders" is actually from Meet the Robinsons. My kids LOVE this song and I must admit that I love it too. :)

[Tink561]

Thanks! I really enjoyed the tea party photos. I can't wait! We will be there on March 7th.

[cdotla]

Yes, you are right. We haven't yet seen either of these movies so hopefully once we do I will remember!

I think "Little Wonders" is actually from Meet the Robinsons. My kids LOVE this song and I must admit that I love it too. :)

[Disney Brat]

Awesome update and video!!!! Thanks for sharing once again!!!

[hlrababy]

I love you report so far!!!!!! Your daughter is such a cutie!

[disneyfanforlife]

I love the pics. DD is a cutie.

[pjstevens]

Another great update. I knew of the tea party, but never saw photos of it. It looks like a really nice event (unfortunately DD is turning 20 soon, so no chance for us). :lmao:

Love the video also. What a great idea.

[heartofdisney]

I wish that Disney had the Princess tea party and Bippidty Boppitdy Boutique when my daughters were younger. I would have loved to have taken them there and I know they would have loved it at that age. It will be a long while yet,but I guess I can look forward to doing this with my grandchildren in the future.
Just wanted to tell you again how much I really love reading your trip report,and what an awesome job you did on the picture slideshow you made. I make slideshows with my pictures too,and I could tell that you put some time into making yours...especially the part where the big reveal was at the boutique.That was perfectly in time with the music and I was very impressed. 10 years from now when your daughter is my daughters age, you will be very sentimental over that dvd with all the memories you and your daughter made on this trip.I dont blame you one bit for wanting to take this trip to recapture all those lost pictures on that cameral. Great job!

[KimAshton]

Love the video. :)

[byoung]

Nice report.

[twob4him]

Yaaaa I caught up again! I loved the tea party and the beautiful video! I really enjoyed the movie..Meet the Robinsons, so hearing the song again was fun! :goodvibes

[twob4him]

slow boards = double post...sorry

[cdotla]

DAY 4 - AFTERNOON & EVENING AT EPCOT FOOD & WINE
DINNER AT CHEFS DE FRANCE
ILLUMINATIONS

After leaving the Princess Tea Party, we did some shopping at the great stores at the Grand Floridian. Somewhat surprisingly, the very same Lilly Pulitzer dress that I had been wearing to the Tea Party was on one of the manequins in the clothing store right next to where the Tea Party was being held.

After we briefly stopped to look at the Lillies for me and DD, we made our way upstairs to the Toy Store where we got our Certificate signed for our Princess Aurora doll and received the rest of the goodies given to all of the girls at the Tea Party (stickers and Princess scrapbook materials).

Our final stop was at Basin, the delightful bath and beauty store where I picked up a gorgeous basket for my mother who was taking care of my son at home.

Then we hopped on the monorail, making our way back to the Magic Kingdom where we caught a bus back to CBR.

By the time we returned it was around 2ish. Surprisingly, DD did not want to go swimming at all during our Trip, which had me puzzled given that she had always been wanting to hit the pool during our Trip in May. I just could not get out of her the reason why until we were on the plane coming home. Apparently she thought that when she hit the water the cut on her knee from the first day would sting in the chlorine. So we did not do any swimming the entire Trip!

Instead, we simply took a rest in our room (including a nap for DD).

By 3:30pm we were out the door again and on our way to Epcot to spend the rest of the afternoon and evening at the Food & Wine. In addition, we were also going to see Illuminations for our very first time!

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/image772-2.jpg

Our first stop when we got to Epcot was to do one last ride on Soaring. Next, we did Living with the Land for the very first time. We were very impressed with the ride and both found it very interesting, especially the Mickey Pumpkins!

After that we did Nemo, which we had not done again since our May trip. Afterwards we toured the various aquariums and took a funny photo:

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_8231.jpg

By then, it was time to make our way over to France for our 5:45pm dinner reservation. On the way, we stopped for a photopass picture with this amazing photographer. This guy had to be the most enthusiastic photopass photographer we had ever encountered!

He was going all out for anyone who would stop to allow him to take pictures. For couples, he would ask them to smooch in front of the scene of France in the background and he was obviously having a lot of fun with his job!

He was also working very hard. It was hot that day and he was hopping around getting everyone at all different angles with the sweat just pouring off him! I love to see people who are that enthusiastic about their jobs!

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/image778.jpg

After making our way over to France, we checked in at Chefs de France and waited outside in the garden area for our table. Within 5 or so minutes we were called and made our way up to the desk to check in.

Now before I made this reservation, I had some hesitation in bringing DD4 along. While technically all Disney restaurants are open to children (with the exception just this week of Victoria & Alberts, but even they were open to children when we attended), I completely realize that all dining experiences are not suited for preschoolers.

However, after doing some research I determined that while Bistro de Paris appeared less open to children, Chefs seemed to me to be more mainstream.

After arriving at the restaurant, I was somewhat surprised to see that DD was one of less than 10 children in the restaurant. Oh well, I was bound and determined that somehow I would get through this dinner. This was the only "ADULT" meal that I had scheduled the entire Trip. The rest of our meals had been either character meals or counter service. I was determined to have one good adult meal as a treat for me!

As with any good French restaurant, it simply would not be authentic if there wasn't some rudeness shown to you by the staff. Upon checking in, the disdain for my decision to bring a small child along was evident.

This made me rather indignant and I was determined to show this rude hostess that she was wrong to jump to conclusions about my child. My child knew how to act in a restaurant and would be a complete lady. I would show her!

With that, the French hostess showed us to our seats. As we began our walk through the restaurant to our table I began to grow excited seeing and smelling all the delicious food and fine wine.

All of a sudden out of the corner of my eye I noticed DD make a slight detour from the path being taken to our table by our hostess. To my horror and disgrace, I then witnessed DD walk up to a vacant table with a huge half eaten dessert of some sort on it with a mountain of whip cream and a cherry on top, which fortunately did not look as if it had been touched. Before I could say or do anything, I witnessed DD scoop up the cherry and some of the whip cream and pop it in her mouth!:scared1:

Whether I was distracted by the thought of a nice adult meal going down the tubes, or by complete and utter shock and disgrace, I just stood there for a few moments not quite believing what I was seeing.

I was completely and totally mortified! Yet somehow I managed to quietly scold DD and make my way with her to our table.

Of course, the high and mighty French hostess witnessed the whole scene which simply proved that she was completely correct about my unrefined child daring to come to eat in her establishment.

As she handed me my menu and started to leave our table, she said in the most condensending and sarcastic tone imaginable: "Have a NICE meal!"

Fortunately, apart from this one "minor" setback, the rest of the dinner went off without a hitch. Obviously, it could not have gotten any worse!

DD was indeed a well behaved little girl the rest of the meal and the food was quite fabulous. We even had a couple at a table next to us engage us in conversation throughout the meal. Normally, I do not enjoy when other dinners who are complete strangers engage in chit-chat with me during a meal. However, given that I had been travelling now for 4 days straight with a 4 year old, I was in need of some adult conversation so I actually enjoyed talking with them. They were in their late 20's and from northern Florida enjoying a quick weekend visit.

Here is a picture of DD near the end of our meal having her dessert:


http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_8232.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_8233.jpg


You can see from the photo, that in addition to letting her stuff her face with a giant cookie so that I could enjoy the rest of my coffee and creme brulee, I also allowed DD to play with the packets of sugar and encouraged her to do some drawings for Mickey on her placemat - anything to let me finish this ONE adult meal! And it worked! I think it took DD longer to eat her giantic cookie than it did for me to enjoy my coffee and finish my dessert.

All in all, it was a great meal. And I will have the stolen dessert incident to embarass DD with for many years to come!


UP NEXT: LAST EVENING AT EPCOT FOOD & WINE
ILLUMINATIONS

[cdotla]

Thank you everyone for the comments and for continuing to read along!

Heartofdisney: I am completely on the same page with you on this! These were my thoughts exactly. Even now DD loves watching the video and seeing the pictures. I could not imagine not having them so I am so glad we took our return solo trip!

I wish that Disney had the Princess tea party and Bippidty Boppitdy Boutique when my daughters were younger. I would have loved to have taken them there and I know they would have loved it at that age. It will be a long while yet,but I guess I can look forward to doing this with my grandchildren in the future.
Just wanted to tell you again how much I really love reading your trip report,and what an awesome job you did on the picture slideshow you made. I make slideshows with my pictures too,and I could tell that you put some time into making yours...especially the part where the big reveal was at the boutique.That was perfectly in time with the music and I was very impressed. 10 years from now when your daughter is my daughters age, you will be very sentimental over that dvd with all the memories you and your daughter made on this trip.I dont blame you one bit for wanting to take this trip to recapture all those lost pictures on that cameral. Great job!

[mkluvsmickey]

I was cracking up at DD grabbing the cherry off the dessert! :lmao:
Glad the meal worked out for you both - some people are just rude! :mad:

[scottny]

I am sorry but the restaurant story is FUNNY. I could just imagine your face when u realized what she was doing. Glad you had an "adult" meal at least once while you were there.

[DisneyLaura]

First I want to commet on the Princess Tea Party. We are going to WDW in Nov 2009 and my kids will be DS10, DS8 and DD4 and seeing those photos just confirmed that me and DD will be doing that tea also. I totally think it's woth the money but that's me, to do at least once. Now the cherry thing :lmao: , I'm still laughing. I would have been mortified as well, yucky. If this makes you feel better, I took DS8 and DS6 for a haircut yesterday at the barber. Well they give the kids lollipops when they are done and the barber gave one to DD2. She apparently dropped it on the floor and then picked it up and put it right in her mouth before I could grab it. So at least the cherry was clean. Glad that you were able to enjoy an adult meal. Enjoying your TR and the video was very nice.

[AmyAllan&Eve]

I enjoyed your trip report so much. I shared the link with family and friends. I cried a few tears, too. I am so happy for you that you got to experience this trip with your little girl. Count me in with the others when I say I loved the video, too.

I purchased Meet the Robinsons last night and thought the song near the end of the movie (that you played in your video montage) was so sweet. When you get a chance to see the movie, you will notice a quote from Walt Disney at the end of that song. It fits with your experience with the camera. Here is his quote:

“Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” Walt Disney

I am so happy that you didn't let losing the camera keep you from moving forward. It would be so easy to waste precious time regretting what has been lost. I will always remember how you took a sour lemon and made sweet lemonade. What a great example you set for your little girl.

[cdotla]

Thank you so much for your kind words! I really appreciate it!:goodvibes

I enjoyed your trip report so much. I shared the link with family and friends. I cried a few tears, too. I am so happy for you that you got to experience this trip with your little girl. Count me in with the others when I say I loved the video, too.

I purchased Meet the Robinsons last night and thought the song near the end of the movie (that you played in your video montage) was so sweet. When you get a chance to see the movie, you will notice a quote from Walt Disney at the end of that song. It fits with your experience with the camera. Here is his quote:

“Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” Walt Disney

I am so happy that you didn't let losing the camera keep you from moving forward. It would be so easy to waste precious time regretting what has been lost. I will always remember how you took a sour lemon and made sweet lemonade. What a great example you set for your little girl.

[emmababy]

Would you mind posting or pm'ing me the ebay seller id of who you bought those cute outfits from? Or, since you might be done with them, and might be interested in selling them???:yay: :yay: If so, please contact me!!!

[cdotla]

I will send you a PM.

Would you mind posting or pm'ing me the ebay seller id of who you bought those cute outfits from? Or, since you might be done with them, and might be interested in selling them???:yay: :yay: If so, please contact me!!!

[Abbeysmom]

I have been enjoying your trip report too. I think it is so special that you got to spend this time one on one with your little girl!! Mommy and daughter special times are just priceless, and I know you and she both will treasure these memories forever.
I also would love to have the seller id on ebay as we are planning our trip:cool1: :banana: :yay: and I am in the process of hunting up outfits on Ebay as well.
I can't wait for the rest of the story!!

[Native NYer]

I'm loving your trip report. It's great that you were able to take a trip with just your daughter and really focus on things that she likes. Your pictures are amazing!

My DSIL is due this July and I'm hoping it's a girl (I have a nephew already)! The BBB and tea party look amazing!!!

Your report has made me even more excited about my upcoming trip.

[cdotla]

Thanks for the feedback! Have fun on your trip!

I'm loving your trip report. It's great that you were able to take a trip with just your daughter and really focus on things that she likes. Your pictures are amazing!

My DSIL is due this July and I'm hoping it's a girl (I have a nephew already)! The BBB and tea party look amazing!!!

Your report has made me even more excited about my upcoming trip.

[cdotla]

PM'd you.

I have been enjoying your trip report too. I think it is so special that you got to spend this time one on one with your little girl!! Mommy and daughter special times are just priceless, and I know you and she both will treasure these memories forever.
I also would love to have the seller id on ebay as we are planning our trip:cool1: :banana: :yay: and I am in the process of hunting up outfits on Ebay as well.
I can't wait for the rest of the story!!

[twob4him]

:rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: That's so funny about the cherry and whipped cream....well, it's funny now...but I am sure at the time you were mortified as you said. So besides that, how was your meal? What did you get to eat?? I didnt realize there were "non-children" type restaurants at Disney. I can understand Victoria and Alberts, but how did you know this wasn't a children's restaurant???...I thought they all were children friendly...I usually just go by the menu and reviews to pick restaurants. Sorry to see the trippie is coming to an end....can't wait to hear about Illuminations!:thumbsup2

[cdotla]

Dinner was excellent. I had escargot to start (excellent) and the salmon, although I probably would have ordered something else in retrospect. I had table envy looking at my neighbour's plates that seemed much more enticing. Creme brule for dessert was divine.

I don't think there is anything to prevent you from coming with kids to Chefs de France. I would return. However, it is more of an adult restaurant that's for sure.

My impression of Bistro de Paris, even though they do not ban children like V&A's has now done, is that children would be less welcome here.

:rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: That's so funny about the cherry and whipped cream....well, it's funny now...but I am sure at the time you were mortified as you said. So besides that, how was your meal? What did you get to eat?? I didnt realize there were "non-children" type restaurants at Disney. I can understand Victoria and Alberts, but how did you know this wasn't a children's restaurant???...I thought they all were children friendly...I usually just go by the menu and reviews to pick restaurants. Sorry to see the trippie is coming to an end....can't wait to hear about Illuminations!:thumbsup2

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

I caught up!!

I wasn't too far behind, you must be very busy!!!

I have to scroll back through to see who your DD's FGIT was. I started in the BBB today working on a few "princesses" here and there. I have also taken ill :( I have the whole package: runny nose, stuffy nose, sore throat, minor cough, and I'm sure a fever :( Thank goodness I'm off tomorrow and can rest bc I'm working 6 days in a row next wk bc we are under staffed :(

I loved the dessert part!!! The tea party looked very cute as well!!! Did you regret not taking DD in her princess dress? I'm sure she enjoyed just being in normal cute disney clothes!!

Take care, can't wait to hear more

[cdotla]

Sorry to hear you are not feeling well...hopefully you pick up before your big week.

With regard to the Princess Tea, no, we did not regret not taking DD this time in her dress. Bear in mind, we had "been there, done that" before. She wore her princess dress to this event just 4 months earlier. Plus, she had worn princesses dresses to a number of other events at WDW, including the Halloween Party.

We thought we would be a little different this time and wear our Cinderella Custom pants outift. To be honest, out of all of DD's outfits, this one garnered the most attention, overshadowing even her princess dresses.

So obviously no regrets about wearing it!:thumbsup2

As for the TR, I hope to finish it tonite or tomorrow.:)
I caught up!!

I wasn't too far behind, you must be very busy!!!

I have to scroll back through to see who your DD's FGIT was. I started in the BBB today working on a few "princesses" here and there. I have also taken ill :( I have the whole package: runny nose, stuffy nose, sore throat, minor cough, and I'm sure a fever :( Thank goodness I'm off tomorrow and can rest bc I'm working 6 days in a row next wk bc we are under staffed :(

I loved the dessert part!!! The tea party looked very cute as well!!! Did you regret not taking DD in her princess dress? I'm sure she enjoyed just being in normal cute disney clothes!!

Take care, can't wait to hear more

[cdotla]

DAY 4: FOOD & WINE AT EPCOT
ILLUMINATIONS

After leaving Chefs de France, we ventured out into the Food & Wine Festival in World Showcase.

This was the first weekend of Food & Wine and the crowds were thick and heavy, but in a good way. People were eating and drinking and having a grand time. There was a fantastic atmosphere and energy in the air and everyone seemed to be cutting loose and having a great time.

A teeny part of me wished that I was there in the company of adults as opposed to a 4 year old so that I could partake in more of the leisurely drinking that was going on and to watch some of the bands and musical performances, but I still had a great time with DD.

We caught a couple shows (briefly) and did a little "crowd dancing". I didn't bother to order any food from any of the many countries that were hosting food pavillions that evening, partly because we were so full from dinner, but also because it would have been too hard to keep DD entertained while I ate.

We gradually walked around from France, ending up in Mexico, taking in many of the sites and music along the way.

In Mexico I broke down and ordered a margarita while we enjoyed more outside exhibits and displays.

We then rode the Mexican boat ride and then travelled to Norway where we did the Maelstrom. Surprisingly both were walk-ons. I guess the crowds that were there that evening had other things on their mind - like eating and drinking, and not necessarily in that order! LOL!

After riding the Maelstrom, we did some shopping in Norway. I actually bought a Helly Hansen jacket for back home. This was the first and only purchase for me the entire trip!

By then it was getting close to 9pm and time for Illuminations to start. I was very excited as neither of us had ever seen it before.

We started up toward Italy, making a brief pit stop at the Kringla Bakery in Norway for some pastries and coffee. I picked up a wonderful latte as well as a cloudberry horn. I cannot say enough about this!!! This pastry is my equivalent of a Dole Whip. I can't wait to get back to Epcot to have it again!!!

We found a great bench in the garden area between Italy and German to enjoy the show. Although it was back a bit from the water, it actually had a decent view. The real bonus was a seat.

We were having such a good time and wished our family back home could have been there to enjoy it with us. I actually then decided to place a quick call back home with 5 minutes to go before the show. It was the type of bittersweet call that I would have hated to receive if I was on the other end; hearing what a fantastic time your family members were having and knowing that you were home missing it all!

We got off the phone just as Illuminations was about to start.

Unfortunately, although the Epcot map does not indicate this, the area where we had chosen to sit was in a designated smoking area. I hadn't noticed this when we sat down. Just as the show was starting we had some smokers come over near us so we left and went to stand in front of the first German building right beside the gardens. Although I had to stand, I propped DD up on a window ledge and she had a great view.

Illuminations was of course worth waiting for and we both enjoyed it. It was great!

After it was over, the mass exodus out of the Parks began as the Park was now closing. The crowds were crazy!

As this was our last night, I was not in any particular hurry. We made our way out of World Showcase and went to the Photo Store at near Spaceship Earth. We had a voucher for a free 5X7 picture so we wanted to pick that up before we left. Not surprisingly, DD chose her Photopass picture with Ariel, her favourite Princess!

By then it was almost 9:30pm and we made our way out of the Park and to the bus stop for the ride home to CBR. I tried not to think about the fact that we would be leaving the next day.

All in all, we had another terrific day! Our whole Trip so far had been fantastic! I already knew at that point that the decision to return for this September Trip was one of the best experiences I would ever share with DD and would result in memories for each of us that would last a lifetime.

UP NEXT:
OUR LAST DAY AT CBR
GRAND FLORIDIAN PHOTO SESSION
OUR TRIP HOME & BIG DRAMA AT THE AIRPORT!

[Dizneydaz]

Just read your entire TR. Great Job! :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 My comments:

So sorry about your camera. :confused3 It too lost my dig cam a few years ago. I also left it in our rental van-under the seat. I realized it when I got home but by then 1/2 day had passed (FL to CA) and when I called the rental co. they said nothing had been turned in (BIG SURPRISE) and the van was already gone for 10 days. I had to wait on pins and needles to see if it would be turned in by the next family but NOPE, nothing found. I too only cared about the memory card. The good news was that luckily I had brought 2 cams. (dig. and SLR) on that trip and really only used dig for non-people shots. Also, more good news, I bought a better digital camera which I love and now it is the only one I take (along with extra cards as well as having pictures burned to CDs while there). I guess the employees who clean out rental vehicles end up with alot of cameras, huh. :confused3

Wow, you sure packed in a lot of things in 4 days. Kudoos to you. :banana:

I totally understand taking a break while DD was asleep in the stroller. I too am guilty of that. My DD is now 8 but we've been taking her since she was 2 3/4. Even on her first trip we didn't schedule nap time. With the 3 hr. difference, etc. who knew when she would want to sleep. Most of the time we just let her sleep in the stroller. There was one time when on the first ride of the a.m. at AK I looked over and told my niece, whose lap she was on "catch her, she's falling asleep" This was about 9 a.m. on Kilimanjaro Safari! :rotfl2:

I laughed out loud when I read about the cherry-too funny! :banana:

Trip reports are alot of work. Congrats on doing such a great job! I STILL haven't gotten around to doing mine. :headache:

We were there also in Sept. and attended the first MNSSHP-we got the biggest downpour that night that I have ever experienced in FL. And this was 5th time there in Sept. I'm glad the rain held off for you on that night. I too love the fireworks. Unfortunately, on our night, they were late, went off unannounced, and were shortened and it was raining while they went off.:sad2: Also the 1st parade was cancelled. We did see the end of the 2nd one but missed headless.

I agree about the strollers.:thumbsup2 It's espeically hard if you are trying to carry a sleeping child for any distance. Even though my DD is now 8, she's still petite enough to ride in a stroller and this has saved my back many times. We took her stroller in Sept. but I'm not sure if were bringing it this Sept. Usually it's just me and my DM and neither one of us can carry her for any distance. Plus I really like having a way to transport my stuff-I just can't get used to a backpack-I'm not part of the backpack generation.

When we were there in Sept. I didn't book Park Fare since it was closed for remodeling. Our tradition last meal this time was at 'Ohana for breakfast but I would have liked to go to PF. After eating we traveled around on the monorail and stopped off at the resorts to take some pix and grab some food for the plane ride home. I noticed that PF was open and the CM said it had opened that day (Sept. 16th), earlier than expected. Darn it, I wish I had known. We love PF.

Can't wait to read the rest. Keep 'em coming.

Oh, and one last thing, after reading our report I really, really, really, want to go back to WDW-NOW! :lmao:

[mkluvsmickey]

So sad that you just posted your last full day! I've really enjoyed your report and hate for it to end. :sad1:

[scottny]

great update. I cannot wait to see Illuminations and I am sure the kids will love it.

[dddisrunner]

LOVE your report! I am so sorry that you lost your camera:sad2: What a wonderful trip full of memories you will have now from your mommy & daughter trip!:goodvibes Your daughter is precious and I have to tell you I spit my coffee all over my computer screen when I read about her and the cherry dessert at Chefs!:rotfl: That is priceless! Your daughter is very lucky to have a mom like you!:thumbsup2 Thank you for sharing your wonderful trip with us!:goodvibes

[Tink561]

I caught up!!

I wasn't too far behind, you must be very busy!!!

I have to scroll back through to see who your DD's FGIT was. I started in the BBB today working on a few "princesses" here and there. I have also taken ill :( I have the whole package: runny nose, stuffy nose, sore throat, minor cough, and I'm sure a fever :( Thank goodness I'm off tomorrow and can rest bc I'm working 6 days in a row next wk bc we are under staffed :(

I loved the dessert part!!! The tea party looked very cute as well!!! Did you regret not taking DD in her princess dress? I'm sure she enjoyed just being in normal cute disney clothes!!

Take care, can't wait to hear more

We're going in March and I'm having an Aurora custom outfit made for my daughter to wear. I think it will be great to be different. She has custom sets for each day. I can't wait to see the tea party outfit when it is finished.

[cdotla]

DAY 5 - OUR FINAL DAY

When we booked our return flight home, we almost scheduled an early morning flight. In retrospect I was glad that we didn't as we at least had some final moments at WDW before leaving.

Departure days are always bittersweet, but I think it helped that our Trip had gone off without a hitch (at least thus far!) and we had made so many good memories. We had done more in our 4 days than I had thought possible and had a fantastic time in the process!

I stayed up until about 2am the night before packing and rearranging our suitcases until I was able to get everything in our luggage. In addition to buying quite a bit in the parks I had also sent a fair number of online shopping orders to CBR in advance of our arrival.

We woke up early as usual and got ready for the day. We had a 8am appointment for the Grand Floridian Photo Session. This was the first and only day we would not be relying on Disney Transportation. I decided that we would grab a quick breakfast at the Food Court and then take a cab to the Grand Floridian for the photos.

We left the room shortly after 7am. Before leaving, I made sure that everything was packed and ready for our Magical Express pick-up at 9am.

We had always been informed by all of the CMs we had dealt with that the departure time for the airport was 3 hours before our scheduled flight - in our case 11:10am for our 2:10pm flight. It wasn't until after we arrived back at our room at CBR close to 10:30pm the night before that we received the note on our door advising that our departure time was actually 10:00am!!!

After calling Magical Express, I was advised for the first time that because we were an international departure, we had to be picked up 4 hours before our flight, not the standard 3 hours!

Now, I had thought that the 3 hour departure time was ridiculous enough itself. But 4 hours beforehand seemed absolutely outrageous! As a fairly seasoned and experienced air traveller, I admit that I frequently press the limits on arrival times. However, even adding into the mix every conceivable delay possible, I did not see how leaving 4 hours before departure time could be justified.

As we were packing up the room and heading over to the Food Court I kept debating whether I would shell out for a taxi to the airport which would mean an extra 2 hours at the Resort. I quickly determined that yes, I was going to just pay for the taxi and leave the "Magical" Express behind.

I called Magical Express in the taxi en route to the Grand Floridian after making arrangements with our taxi driver for him to pick us up at the Resort at 12pm. I told them that we would be making our own transportation arrangements to the airport and cancelled our luggage pick-up.

I figured this would give us about an hour or so at the Pool at CBR before we had to leave. Given that we had yet to swim in the Pool I thought this would be a nice way to end the Trip.

Here are a couple of shots of CBR that we took during our final walk from our Room over to the Food Court for Breakfast:

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_8237.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_8235.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_8234.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_8238.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_8242.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_8239.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_8240.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_8243.jpg


We arrived at the Grand Floridian for our Photo Session right on time. They were just setting up for the morning and we were the first appointment.

We got a very nice lady who took us all around the Resort snapping a ton of photos. Unfortunately DD was not in an overly cooperative mood so we didn't get any particularly great shots, but here are a couple that she took:

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/image795.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/image804.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/image805.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/image818.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/image809.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/image803.jpg

The benefit of the GF Photo Session is having someone go around the Resort with your Family, getting a lot of pictures with everyone in them in a short amount of time. The quality is no different than regular Photopass in my opinion, but it is nice having the pictures at a Resort as opposed to the Parks for a change of scenery.

After we were done we took the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom and the Bus back to CBR. (My extravagence in shelling out for the taxi that morning was short-lived!)

Although I kept telling DD how great it was going to be to hit the Pool once we got back to CBR, for some reason she did not appear all that keen to go swimming, which was not like her. (On the plane ride home she finally confessed that she was scared the chlorine was going to sting given the cut to her knee from her fall on Day 1).

Of course it was hot, and all of the posing and moving around outside at the GF during the Photo Session combined with the travel back to our Resort was making that pool very enticing!

Imagine my horror when we stepped into our room at CBR at about 10am and discovered all of our bags were missing!!! Of course I instantly realized that although I had called Magical Express at 7:45am to cancel our 9am Bag Pick-Up someone had fallen down on the job and the cancellation never got registered!

After waiting for 15-20 minutes for someone at ME to verify that they did in fact have our bags waiting at the CBR Custom House, by this point it was now 10:20am. There was no way now that we would have time to go swimming, the whole reason for taking a taxi in the first place, and I was none too pleased.

I advised ME in no uncertain terms that although we had already missed our bus to the Airport by about 1/2 hour, THEY would be finding alternative means for us to get to the airport.

The agent I was dealing with then advised me that the next ME bus to the airport scheduled for 11am was completely booked. Clearly she hadn't heard me!

After speaking with a supervisor to confirm that we were either getting on the 11am bus or Disney would be paying for our transportation to the airport, we headed over to the Food Court to cash in the last of our Food Credits before leaving.

We then ventured over to the Custom House, retrieved our bags and waited for the 11am ME bus. As it turned out, there was plenty of space on the Bus and we arrived at the Airport shortly after 11:30am.

After waiting less than 30 seconds in the line-up to check our luggage, we found ourselves in the Airport with nothing more to do until our flight was scheduled to leave in over 2 hours!!! Imagine if we had been on the 10am ME Bus - then we would have had to kill over 3 hours sitting around in the Airport!!!

Based on this alone, there is NO WAY I will ever be taking the "Magical" Express again.

Thank goodness there were a fair bit of shops for us to browse through while we were waiting. However, in my mind this was prime "Disney" time that could have been much better spent. Lesson learned!

Here are some photos we took in the Airport killing time before our flight:

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_8246.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_8248.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_8249.jpg


Here's one at the Harley-Davidson store:

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z18/cdotla/IMG_8244.jpg


We also managed to find a gourmet chocolate store while we were killing time and I bought about $100 worth of chocolates in various molds (airplanes, golf balls and clubs, hairbrush and makeup kit, ect.). These made great Christmas presents for the family and were sooo good.

Finally it was about 45 minutes before our flight was scheduled to depart so we gathered up our things and made our way through Security.

Remember that giftbasket that I bought at Basin in the Grand Floridian? The one that I paid a fortune for to give to my mom who was home taking care of DS? Well, I completely overlooked when I decided to carry that on the airplane so I wouldn't crush the giftwrapping that this would constitute a "liquid or gel" that was banned in the flight cabin.

The Security Guard gave me 2 choices: (1) forfeit the giftbasket, or (2) run as fast as I could back to the check-in gate to see if the airline could check it.

If I had been smart I would have forfeited it and simply picked up something for my mom at home. However, I was so loathe to give up the gift basket that I made a completely foolish decision. I gathered up DD and all of our things (no, Security would not let me leave any of our carry on that had already passed inspection) and ran back to the front airline check-in area.

DD at this point was extremely tired from basically walking around the airport for 2 1/2 hours and was wandering away from me as I was trying to get the agents to wrap up my giftbasket and check it for me. Finally they said to hurry to the check-in gate as it was almost time for boarding. I quickly gathered up our things and made it back to Security.

Although the line up at Security was about the same length as it was before, due to the time crunch we were now in, it seemed to move at half the pace. I kept looking at my watch convinced that I had just made us miss our flight.

Finally, we once again got through Security and ran to our Gate. Fortunately they were still in the process of boarding. We made a quick dash to the washroom and then quickly got on the plane just as the last passengers were boarding. Whew!

We finally got our seats at the back of the plane and started arranging our carry-ons in the overhead bins. Then, it hit me:




I DID NOT HAVE MY CAMERA!!!!



Yes, the Canon Digital Rebel that I had paid a fortune for just days before our Trip.

Yes, the one I bought to replace the identical brand new one that I had left in our rental van during our May Trip 4 months earlier.

Yes, the one that had over 700 photographs of our Mommy-Daughter Disney Trip that we took solely to replace the photos we had lost during our May Trip.


My face went red and my whole body started to shake. I could not believe this was happening!!!



TO BE CONTINUED...

[dddisrunner]

:scared1: :scared1: :eek: :sad2:

[peacelovemickey]

YIKES! What a cliffhanger!

[Dizneydaz]

Oh on, don't leave us hanging! Did you get your camera back?

As to ME, on our trip in Sept. imagine our dismay (or need I say horror!) when we saw this sign at luggage services at POP
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w158/ter623/100_3748.jpg

:scared1: My DM and I had decided to grab a quick bite at the food court and happened to enter by the luggage services where they had a paper sign posted that the "Airline was Down" (the chalked one showed up later). When I asked the CM at LS what that meant he (laughingly) said that they would not be able to check in any luggage until the system was back up. And no, he had no idea when that would happen! His attitude was really annoying. :confused3 We had a rental mini-van but my DNiece24 had joined our trip mid-way (as surprise for DD8) and she had used ME to arrive and we (4A and 1K) would need to use the airline check-in with baggage transport to get all our luggage to the airport. We decided to grab something in the food court and then checked at the front desk as to what we could do to get all of us, along with our luggage, to the airport. We knew we could all fit in the van, but not all of our luggage. Unfortunately, the BEST solution the management gave us was that they would transport our luggage in one of their vans, along with one of us, to the airport but we would have to leave at 2 p.m. (for our 5:30 p.m. flight). (This was after saying that ME could take our luggage to airport but we would have to follow along with them and then they would just leave our luggage at the curb, for us to check-in). Also, all members of our party would have to accompany our luggage so it could be checked in. Needless to say, this was very upsetting to us. :headache: We were going to waste our last day in the airport. :confused3 As a side note, my DNiece had been throwing up all night and we weren't even sure if she was going to be able to make her flight home (luckily, she was!:goodvibes ).

Luckily, just before we (except for DNiece) left for 11 a.m. ADR at 'Ohana, we got a call that the airlines were back up! YEAH. Now all we had to do was return from 'Ohana, get luggage to airport check-in (along with fridge for swap) and be out of our rooms by 1 p.m. (the latest they would give us for late check out.) It all worked out fine, but it was a frustrating end to a wonderful trip. The worst part was the attitude of the CMs at LS who seemed to think it was all a lark, they actually were laughing when we asked if things would be back on track soon. I did let the manager know about their attitude and he did apologize, and he did come up with the van solution.

Other than my Niece taking ME to join our trip, we've never used ME, and probably won't since we rent a vehicle. I think leaving 3 hrs. before flight time is too early too. I understand why, I just don't like it. But, if I didn't rent a vehicle, I would use it to arrive and probably check my luggage at the resort and have the people take a taxi to the airport.

Again, I hope you found your camera......please let us know.

[J Lynn]

Oh my.....I would have had a major panic attack :scared: I just bought a Nikon D40 for Christmas and I hold on that thing better than my purse with all my credit cards :goodvibes

[scottny]

losing a camera is a terrible feeling.

[DisneyMom14]

OMG!!!!:scared1: :eek: :scared1: :eek:

[dismagiclover]

I'm coming out of lurkdom to compliment you on your cliff hanger. One of the best ever:thumbsup2 I'm fairly confident you retreived the camera because we've seen all the pictures, but I can't wait to hear how.

[Native NYer]

:scared1: OMG I'm about to faint for you. I would hate to lose my camera. What a terrible feeling!

[mkluvsmickey]

Sorry you had so much trouble on your last day! And the camera situation - :scared1: :scared1: I'm guessing you left in on the ME bus and they had to send it to you?

I like your pictures from the GF photo shoot - what a nice setting. And the picture of your DD on the Harley is great too! :)

Don't leave us hanging too long!

[cdotla]

DAY 5: AIRPORT DRAMA CONTINUED

After checking and re-checking numerous times to make sure that I wasn't overlooking the camera somewhere (similar to the sunglasses on the head moments I have been known to have), panic started to set in when I realized it was gone.

I immediately alerted the flight attendant and told her that my camera was missing and in one of 3 places: (1) front check-in gate, (2) security, or (3) the washroom beside our boarding gate.

My best guess at the moment was that I had left it hanging in the bathroom stall in the washroom just beside our Gate as we had been in such a hurry to get out of there as the aircraft was boarding.

I realize that flight crew have a whole host of things to do when an aircraft is preparing for take-off and that a passenger's missing camera would not be high on the priority list. However, it was so hard to report the camera as missing and then have to sit back in my seat and do nothing as people, including the flight attendants were laughing and joking and carrying on and I just want to dash out of the plane and begin a frantic search (that is, after first throwing up!)

I asked the flight attendant if I could quickly get off the plane to check in the washroom but not surprisingly this was not possible. I then asked if she could have the gate agent check. She said she would. I also asked her to have someone contact the front check-in agents and security.

I stayed in my seat (which was so hard) and tried to remain calm. Inside I was breaking down. Of course I couldn't let DD see this so I tried to keep up a good front. I kept telling her that someone would find it and return it to us.

In my own mind I was sure I would never see it again.

During our May Trip when I left the camera under the seat of the rental van, I was so confident that it would be returned. I called, after all, 10-15 minutes after the van was turned in. They would surely have it, right?

Even after the sick feeling sunk in when I realized that it had been stolen I was sure that whoever took it would mail me the memory card or at least a disc with the 600 or 700 photos of my kids' first ever Trip to Disney on it. I could not imagine anyone looking at the pictures of my kids and just callously deleting them. Obviously I was wrong.

Now I just had no hope left. I was sure it was gone.

Still, my mind kept racing trying to figure out where I had left it.

I remembered all of the pictures we had taken in the Airport. I remembered having the camera when we passed through Security - whether that was the first or second time I couldn't recall.

Then I remebered having the camera when we were back at the check-in gate getting the 2 agents to box up my gift basket. I also remembered how distracted I had been at the time; it was getting late for the flight and DD was running around not staying beside me. I was sure that this is where I must have left it.

I paged the flight attendant again. By this time she reported that the gate agent had made her way to the bathroom and the camera wasn't there. I told her that I now believed that I had left it at the front check-in when I went back to check my carry on gift basket. I asked her if she could call there right away.

Then I sat back with nothing more I could do but to re-live the whole thing again and again in my mind and try and comprehend how this could have happened.

When I bought the original camera in May 2007, it was a big purchase for me. At the time the camera retailed for close to $900 by the time you added the bag and photocard. Obviously when touring the Parks for the week that thing never left my side. A week later, on our way home, I do the unthinkable and leave it under the seat of a rental van!

The loss of my camera on our May Trip, as you would have read earlier, was the whole reason for this September Trip. So how could this have happened again????

For all of my vigilence in May in guarding that camera, during our September Trip it went to a whole new level. That camera literally did not leave my neck during this Trip. I guarded it with my life and sat through many uncomfortable meals with the strap digging into me for fear that if I took it off I would somehow forget to pick it up again when we left.

So again, how could this have happened???

Basically, it all boiled down to one foolish mistake. Instead of just turning over the Basin gift basket to Security, I made a terrible decision that threw us into panick mode, rushing around the airport at the last minute trying to get it checked, back through Security and to the Gate without missing our flight. Ironic when we had originally arrived with so much time to kill!

And also, how ironic that on both Trips I lost the camera literally AT THE AIRPORT, on the last day of each Trip, after having poured blood, sweat and tears into trying to capture the best photographs that I could of my kids' first Trips to Disney.

It was quite simply too cruel for words. And unimaginable. How could something like this possibly happen TWICE????


TO BE CONTINUED

[scottny]

that would be terrible that they would not let you off the plane to look. I would have been arrested. :rotfl2:

[MousekaMaddi]

oh no u didnt..........................:rotfl:

[tadamom]

I am literally on the edge of my seat, wanting to bite my nails and nearly in tears thinking about this happening to you...again! Please don't wait to long to update b/c my stomach is in knots!!!!!!!!

[HeatherinVT]

:faint: ahg how could you do this to us!

PS the outfits you had made for your DD is that person available online?
thanks
I would like a couple things made for my daughter!


Im sad that your next installment might be your last :idea:

[cdotla]

DAY 5: AIRPORT DRAMA CONTINUED

I continued waiting in my seat for any news. Eventually the pilot came on and announced that we would be leaving. One of the flight attendants came back and advised me that they had not been able to turn up anything on the camera.

I am surprised I was able to hold it together. By this point there was no more keeping up a brave face for DD. I told her that it was gone.

We got pushed back from the Gate and started taxing down the runway, taking off from Orlando and leaving our camera behind.

Shortly after we levelled off and the routine announcements were completed, the pilot came over the speaker and made the following announcement:

"I just want to say that for the lady who lost her camera, it has been found. It should be waiting safe and sound for you in Toronto".

I just about shouted for joy! All of the other passengers around me, who by this point were somewhat aware of the situation, congratulated me and of course DD was so happy that her regular mommy was back. (For the last 20 minutes I basically could not even talk to her I was so torn up.)

The flight attendant then came down to advise me that it had indeed been left at the front check-in desk when I had returned to check the gift basket. She advised that it had been placed in a box with the gift basket and that I could claim it at the Baggage Counter in Toronto.

Finally, I could sit back and enjoy the Flight!

Unfortunately, my relief was short-lived. After arriving in Toronto, and spending over an hour trying to claim my package, WestJet finally admitted that there had been an error and the package was not actually on the Flight.

They advised that they were confident that it had in fact been located at the front check-in desk but that the package did not make it on the flight in time. The plan was for the package to be sent out on the next flight the following day.

With nothing else I could do, we left to go to our Gate for our connecting flight and made the sad flight home without the camera.

That evening and the next day, I was on the phone almost hourly with airline employees to confirm that my camera was in fact located and would be on that day's flight. Finally, 2 hours after the Orlando - Toronto flight landed at Pearson I received a call to advise that my package was again not on the flight. No one seemed to know why and since the employees who worked in Orlando only did 1 flight a day for WestJet, there would be no answers until the next day.

By this point I was furious. In the first place, I could not understand how or why the camera was not delivered to me on the plane by one of the agents at the front check-in. As this was the only WestJet flight of the day out of Orlando, and the flight closed while I was at the desk, there were no more passengers for them to process. Surely one of these two agents could have ensured that the camera was delivered to me at the gate before the flight took off.

Alternatively, why could they not have called to let the gate or the flight crew know that they had the camera? If I had been advised before the flight took off I would have disembarked and waited until the next day to fly home rather than leave the camera.

Now, there were continued errors in that I was advised for two days now that the camera would be on the Orlando to Toronto flight and it was not.

As I saw it, the more time that passed, the less chance I would have of ever seeing that camera again.

The following day I was on the phone to numerous agents trying to confirm that the camera would be delivered. I spoke to a total of 5 agents in Canada (two in my hometown, two in Toronto and one in Calgary). Shockingly, all advised me that they had no way whatsoever to telephone WestJet agents in Orlando to confirm that the camera would in fact be on that day's flight.

I then called up the Orlando International Airport myself, asked to speak with the WestJet ticket counter, and after 2 minutes on hold was speaking with an agent. She of course knew of the situation and assured me that the camera would make that flight. It did.

When I finally got the package, I was very nervous, expecting that the camera would either be broken from the cargo ride home, or that the memory card would not be working. I was almost in tears to discover that the camera was fully intact and working and discovering that all 700 of my pictures from the Trip were still on the memory card!:worship:

I cannot even express the relief, joy and happiness I felt at that moment.


UP NEXT: FINAL THOUGHTS

[cdotla]

Glad to know I am not alone! LOL

First I want to commet on the Princess Tea Party. We are going to WDW in Nov 2009 and my kids will be DS10, DS8 and DD4 and seeing those photos just confirmed that me and DD will be doing that tea also. I totally think it's woth the money but that's me, to do at least once. Now the cherry thing :lmao: , I'm still laughing. I would have been mortified as well, yucky. If this makes you feel better, I took DS8 and DS6 for a haircut yesterday at the barber. Well they give the kids lollipops when they are done and the barber gave one to DD2. She apparently dropped it on the floor and then picked it up and put it right in her mouth before I could grab it. So at least the cherry was clean. Glad that you were able to enjoy an adult meal. Enjoying your TR and the video was very nice.

[cdotla]

Thanks everyone for posting and your kind words.

It's great to see I picked up some new readers on my Last Day!

[tadamom]

Sooooo glad that things worked out, I can relax now.

[JoAnnPan]

Wowsie..soooooo glad you received your camera back...I cannot even imagine how you were feeling. Thanks again for sharing your trip with all of us. :tinker:

[Native NYer]

I'm so happy you got your camera back! Even though it took a few days and it must have been terrible to just wait, in the end you didn't lose your pictures. I'm happy to hear that the agents at the ticket counter took care of your camera, even if it didn't get to you when they said it would.

Are you ready to plan another trip to Disney?

[mkluvsmickey]

You told that story so well! Glad your camera got back in working order. I can't imagine how stressful those few days of waiting must have been!

[mkmommy]

I too am glad that you got your camera back, I know that panic feeling of how can I lose something.

Can you also pm where you got the lovely clothes for your daughter, and also your experience with Customs and US vendors. I like you also buy things on line and have them shipped to the hotel I am staying in at the states, I hate to pay the extra customs and duty charges.

Thank you for sharing your report, I am even more excited about taking my girls myself in March.

[scottny]

glad this camera story turned out better than the last but to have to wait 2 days for it. I would have been going crazy.
glad u got it. :thumbsup2

[DisneyLaura]

I am so happy that you got your camera back and with every single picture. I can't even begin to express what I would have felt like too. For it to happen again, losing a camera and losing those pictures again. I am so happy for you. Can't wait for more.

[JustMickey]

I've been following your TR for awhile now. I almost cried when I first read that you didn't have your camera on the airplane. Of course I realized a few seconds later that it must have turned up eventually with all those photos you've posted. I bet it was pretty emotional to write these installments of your TR, that doesn't sound like a fun thing to reminisce about. Other than that, sounds like your trip was a blast. I've enjoyed reading your whole report. Hopefully you can have many more Disney trips for your kids in the future! :goodvibes

[Girldreamer02]

I've read your whole trip report and I love love love love it!!!:love: :banana: Your daughter is so precious and awesome! Love all the pictures and I am so glad that you got your camera back in tact. We just got a new camera before we went for Christmas and I would of been devastated if anything were to happen to it as we took lots of pictures too. Can't wait to hear your final thoughts, but at the same time am so sad that your trippie is almost come to an end. Great job!:thumbsup2

[twob4him]

OMGosh I just about died reading this but thank goodness you got your camera back....:scared: :faint:

[cdotla]

Always!!!:banana:

Are you ready to plan another trip to Disney?

[cdotla]

I wish I knew how to do multiple quotes, but I haven't yet figured that out!

So...in order to avoid doing multiple posts on the same topic, let me just say thanks to everyone who expressed their relief at the outcome with the camera. There is really no way to describe how low it felt for me for 3 days to be without my camera, thinking all the while that there was a very good possibility that it was forever lost!:scared1: For the 2nd time!!!:sad2:

There is also no way to express the relief in having it returned!:worship:

As someone even surmised, this last post was actually kind of a downer as it really brought back all the stress and emotions again!

[chiefdragon]

I have loved your TR....the photos are so amazing...glad that you got your camera back. I don't know how you delt with it, but it is so rewarding to here that someone was willing to go the extra mile to make sure that you got it back and in one piece.

[cdotla]

FINAL POST: DEPARTING THOUGHTS

Thanks to everyone who has followed my TR to the end. Knowing I had even a small audience definitely helped me see this through to the end. It feels great to have everything recorded so that I can remember all of the details of our Trip well after memories begin to fade.

I hope this Report has entertained you, provided food for thought in Disney Travel Planning, encouragement to those considering a solo trip with children, and fostered the addiction and love we all share for Disney!

On a closing note, I offer the following:

THINGS I LEARNED ON MY SOLO TRIP TO DISNEY WITH DD:

1. I can travel solo with my 4 year old to Disney!

2. A 4 yr old can become a WDW Park Commando.

3. No one really goes to a Character Breakfast, Lunch or Supper for the Food.

4. You should not assume that a 4 year old would not be enticed by leftover food left on someone else's table.

5. The Early Bird really does get the worm!

6. There is no such thing as too many Princesses.

7. Sleeping toddlers make amazing shopping companions.

8. Waking Tink is NOT worth it!

9. NEVER take the "Magical" Express to the Airport.

10. There is nothing in the whole, wide world more amazing than taking a Solo Trip to WDW with your child!


AND...without further adieu, I wish you all the best in your Disney Plans and Travels!

[JustMickey]

Thank you for this great report!! Loved every bit of it! :thumbsup2

[scottny]

thank you for sharing your great trip and pics with us. And thank you for ending it the night before I leave. :rotfl2:
Look forward to more reports if u do them in the future.

[cdotla]

Had that planned! :thumbsup2

thank you for sharing your great trip and pics with us. And thank you for ending it the night before I leave. :rotfl2:
Look forward to more reports if u do them in the future.

[MousekaMaddi]

yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
I know its after the fact...twice...;) ... but I put my cell phone number on a tiny sticker and stick it on my camera and video, just in case some kind soul is nice enuff to return all my memories.

so very happy for u

GREAT pix by the way:upsidedow

[mkluvsmickey]

Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful trip with us! I've really enjoyed reading about it and seeing all of your great pictures! :)

[Camping Griswalds]

I thoroughly enjoyed your report! I am so glad it ended magically and not tragically, even though it took a couple of days to end that way! I am sorry your tr is over! We leave the 30th for 6 nights. Myd dd will be 3.5, and I will be taking some of your advice!

When are you going again?????

[Girldreamer02]

Aww its over so sad:( I really enjoyed your report as well as all your pics. You should do a trippie next time you go!!! DF and I are considering a disney cruise for our honeymoon in july!!! We have until sunday to decide and then dreams unlimited is giving our room away. Talk about pressure hehe. I'm sure the decision won't be that hard...I digress . Can't wait till you write another trippie until then :goodvibes

[Disney Brat]

I absolutly loved your TR!!! You did a great job with it!! Thank you so much for sharing it with us! I just have a quick question about the GF's photo shoot....could I pm you about it??