Always Let Your (Preschooler) Be Your Guide. My First Trip Report! COMPLETE [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

shan23877

09-04-2011, 12:04 AM

Chapter Links

The One With the Wrong Terminal (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42501941&postcount=3)

The One Where The Memories Begin (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42513575&postcount=12)

The One Where She Sees the Castle (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42540332&postcount=23)

The One With The Questionable Parenting (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42565945&postcount=38)

The One With The Scary Mountain and Lovely Ladies (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42599408&postcount=48)

The One With The Gang From The 100 Acre Wood (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42649859&postcount=58)

The One With Empty Streets and A Date With Royalty Part 1 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42679991&postcount=65)

The One With Empty Streets and Royalty Part 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42680003&postcount=66)

The One With More Rapunzel and A Minor Meltdown (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42725881&postcount=78)

The One Where Rosetta Steals the Show (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42725916&postcount=79)

The One Where We Were Holding Out On Her (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42754487&postcount=100)

The One Where We Were Holding Out On Her Part 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42754505&postcount=101)

The One With Crab Legs and Hang-Gliding (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42777513&postcount=110)

The One Where The Buses Have Me Fuming (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42800020&postcount=122)

The One With All The Fairy Godmothers (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42827965&postcount=134)

The One With A Little Shopping and A Lot of Sandwiches (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42850219&postcount=149)

The One Where Mom and Dad Have A Moment Part 1 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42881896&postcount=162)

The One Where Mom and Dad Have A Moment Part 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42881905&postcount=163)

The One With Scary Monsters and Race Cars (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42908844&postcount=178)

The One With Possible Trip News! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42940207&postcount=192)

The One Where She Meets Prince Charming (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42940295&postcount=193)

The One With The Curtsies (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42967297&postcount=214)

The One With the Mickey Quilt (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42967331&postcount=215)

The One Where Mom Makes Threats Part 1 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43012134&postcount=237)

The One Where Mom Makes Threats Part 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43012139&postcount=238)

The One Where We Go "Camp"ing (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43043309&postcount=251)

The One With CPO The Golden Robot (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43090486&postcount=262)

The One With The Salami (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43131864&postcount=282)

The One With the Fever (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43182165&postcount=306)

The One With The Rainbow Earrings (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43211245&postcount=326)

The One With Mr. Smarmy (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43276805&postcount=347)

The One With The Thank Yous (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43276812&postcount=348)

The One With the PTR (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44071205&postcount=412)

The One With the Presents (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44120860&postcount=431)

The One With the Shopping (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44120946&postcount=433)

The One With A Lot of Rambling, and Some Day One Too! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44198537&postcount=462)

The One With Good News, a Mother in Law, and Day 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44269235&postcount=469)

The One Where I Whine a Lot, and DAY 3! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44337344&postcount=486)

The One With Great News and Day 4! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44401409&postcount=498)

The One With A Sweet Dream and Day 5 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44479567&postcount=515)

The One With House Hunting and Day 6 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44527746&postcount=541)

The One With Day 7 and More MiL (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44617243&postcount=555)

shan23877

09-04-2011, 12:21 AM

Is it Disney Day Yet?

The night before our trip DD had a very early bedtime. We were leaving the house at 2:30 in the morning to make our 6am flight out of an airport 2 hours away.

http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/shanbell23/DSC06766-1.jpg

After she crossed off the last day on her countdown to Disney calendar, we put her to bed around 7:30 pm and hoped that she’d be able to sleep in the car too. DH went to the basement to sleep shortly after DD went to bed, and I headed to bed around 9. I work nights, so I knew that falling asleep at 9 pm was a long shot, but I hoped to be able to cobble together a few hours sleep in the car and on the plane.

DH and I got up at 1:30, showered and finished packing the car. It was Go Time! Unfortunately DD woke up as we were putting her into the car. The excitement of the trip kept her up for the duration, but she was in a great mood. After a quick stop at MiL’s house (she was driving us to the airport) we were off!

MiL dropped us off at the US Airways terminal and we went inside to check in. When we got inside we noticed a sign saying that certain flight numbers had to check in at the United terminal, ignoring that we proceeded to the check in counter only to find that we had to check in at the United Terminal. :confused: We headed back outside, walked the 3 miles (not really but it seemed like a long walk with our stroller carrying the 4 year old, 2 suitcases, 3 carry ons, and my purse and the laptop) to the correct terminal and got checked in. It took longer than it should have because the flight had been changed from US Airways to United, so after we got checked in we had to rush straight to security. :headache: We got through security with out any one having to be searched and hurried to the gate.

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By the time we got there the flight was already boarding, and because we ended up checking in so late, we didn’t get 3 seats together. Mom guilt took over, and even though I really needed to sleep, I decided that I couldn’t possibly let DD take her first airplane ride without me. So, DH was in the first row with plenty of leg room (he’s 6’2”) and DD and I settled in 3 rows back. I ended up falling asleep for a little while in spite of myself, but DD was so busy watching Tangled that she didn’t really notice. Shortly after Flynn and Rapunzel lived happily ever after we landed in Orlando. After hopping on the fake monorail, we proceeded to follow my explicit directions and went the wrong way to the ME. After getting our bearings, we made our way back up, and then down the right way. We quickly checked in and got in line. We must have just missed a bus because we waited 15 minutes or so which seemed like an eternity to DD and to me! We just wanted to get going!

http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/shanbell23/DSC06776-1.gif

baseballmickey

09-04-2011, 01:52 AM

Hi!

Jumping in to follow along on a fellow TR first-timer!! I look forward to reading all about your trip! Looks like you are off to a good start! :thumbsup2

I'll send you a PM about the quoting and TOC! It's a lot to put in here.

More and more people have joined my TR as I have been going along, so don't worry if it starts a bit slow. Mine certainly did and I was tempted to just pull an all-nighter and bang the whole thing out in one sitting. As more people have joined, I've slowed down. I am taking time to add pictures and tell the story as well as I can. It's been a lot of fun so far!!

I can't wait for my next trip. DW is frightened of how many pictures I'll take to document EVERYTHING for the next TR. :rotfl2:

dismagiclover

09-04-2011, 06:58 AM

Joining in! Great start!

Love2Roam

09-04-2011, 07:16 AM

Can't wait to read more. We are staying at the POFQ in November w/ our DS3 so I'm interested to see how you made out w/ your pre-schooler.

Lucille1963

09-04-2011, 07:17 AM

I can't wait to read more!

reelmom

09-04-2011, 07:22 AM

Great start! I am so glad that you let your preschooler be your guide. On our first trip, I had us go, go, go. The kids were 2 and 3 and by the third day, we were all grumpy. We decided to let them be our tour guides and what a difference it made. Now that they are older, I get to be "the boss" again.:rotfl: Looking forward to reading more.

shan23877

09-04-2011, 11:01 AM

Hi!

Jumping in to follow along on a fellow TR first-timer!! I look forward to reading all about your trip! Looks like you are off to a good start! :thumbsup

I'll send you a PM about the quoting and TOC! It's a lot to put in here.

More and more people have joined my TR as I have been going along, so don't worry if it starts a bit slow. Mine certainly did and I was tempted to just pull an all-nighter and bang the whole thing out in one sitting. As more people have joined, I've slowed down. I am taking time to add pictures and tell the story as well as I can. It's been a lot of fun so far!!

I can't wait for my next trip. DW is frightened of how many pictures I'll take to document EVERYTHING for the next TR. :rotfl2:

Thanks for hopping over! I really appreciate the help :thumbsup2 Now that I've gotten going I'm eager to get more done, but I'd like to do it right. Since we're both night owls, you'll probably be the first to see all the updates! Thanks again.

Joining in! Great start!

:welcome: Thanks for joining in. I hope to have another update done this weekend!

Can't wait to read more. We are staying at the POFQ in November w/ our DS3 so I'm interested to see how you made out w/ your pre-schooler.

Hello and :welcome: ! We LOVED POFQ and can't wait to stay there again. Disney is so much fun with kids this age!

I can't wait to read more!

:welcome: I hope to have an update done by the end of the long weekend!

Great start! I am so glad that you let your preschooler be your guide. On our first trip, I had us go, go, go. The kids were 2 and 3 and by the third day, we were all grumpy. We decided to let them be our tour guides and what a difference it made. Now that they are older, I get to be "the boss" again.:rotfl: Looking forward to reading more.
Hi! and thanks for hopping in! We are so glad that we slowed down and let her make some decisions. We had to remind ourselves sometimes that this was her first trip, and that whatever she wanted to do and see was most important. Luckily she likes thrill rides :laughing: We were still pretty go-go-go, but she did great!:yay:

IATink

09-04-2011, 01:22 PM

Can't wait to read all about your trip!:goodvibes

shan23877

09-04-2011, 11:38 PM

Can't wait to read all about your trip!:goodvibes

:welcome: I hope to have some more installments up soon!

shan23877

09-05-2011, 12:58 AM

Since we had to wait a bit for the ME, we were among the first to board, and we were able to grab the front seat on the bus :thumbsup2. Across the aisle from us was a group of young adults. Luckily they seemed charmed by DD’s constant exclamations of “I’m so excited!!” To be honest, I didn’t blame her. I was pretty excited too.

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I knew that POFQ was the 3rd stop on the route, so I was a little worried about how DD would hold up to another wait. I had waited to do her hair until we boarded, and the video kept her distracted fairly well. I think that it was around this time thad DD started using “Disney” as an adjective for everything :rotfl2:. Soon enough we saw it….

http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/shanbell23/DSC06781-1.jpg

“Mommy, that says WALT DISNEY WORLD!!”

It was nice to see some of the other resorts along the way, and the trip really didn’t take very long at all. Our flight arrived in Orlando at 9:30, and we were at POFQ by 10:30. Would you believe that I never took a picture of the sign at French Quarter? :confused3

http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/shanbell23/DSC07382-1.jpg

As we walked into the lobby one CM was blowing bubbles (“Look Mommy, Disney bubbles!), and another was opening the door and passing out Mardi Gras coins to the kids (“to make a Disney wish in the fountain!”). I had done online check-in, and there was no one in that line. The CM at the front desk was super friendly. Within minutes we had our KTTW cards, Maddie’s “First Trip” button, and best of all our room was ready! I had requested ground floor, but that was not available. We were in building 3 very close to the elevator, and as it turned out, not getting ground floor was never a big deal.

We were really excited to check out the grounds and of course the room!

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Maddie fell in love with these guys.

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We were lucky enough to find this guy waiting for us (on DD’s “Disney Bed!”)

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"A Disney Potty!!!"

http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/shanbell23/DSC06783-1.jpg

Testing the "Disney Lights!"

http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/shanbell23/DSC06782-1.jpg

I had our park bag packed and ready in one of our carry-ons so after a quick look around we were ready to get moving!

westonkamom

09-05-2011, 01:06 AM

Joining in! Can't wait to see your full TR :)

kmedina

09-05-2011, 01:11 AM

I'm in. Love the title. And, it is reading like a book so far.

shan23877

09-05-2011, 01:12 AM

:welcome: Glad to have you! I am having a lot of fun writing the TR, so hopefully I'll get updates done quickly!

baseballmickey

09-05-2011, 03:22 AM

dismagiclover

09-05-2011, 08:23 AM

Your DD is adorable! I didn't know there was such a thing as Disney toilets:lmao:

jc040404

09-05-2011, 12:28 PM

Cute title! I love little one's first time TRs and your pics are great! The "Disney Potty" was too funny. :rotfl:

shan23877

09-06-2011, 12:49 AM

Love the pictures of POFQ. We stayed at Riverside once, and we liked it.

"That says Walt Disney World!" :lmao: That's what my DD would have said! She also just reads the word "Disney" alone as "Walt Disney World"! :lmao:

Isn't it hilarious what they pick up on? Maddie also insists on using the full name of movies as in "Disney Pixar's Cars 2". She's crazy!:laughing:

Your DD is adorable! I didn't know there was such a thing as Disney toilets:lmao:

Thank you! Oh yes, at Disney even the toilets are magical!! :lmao:

Cute title! I love little one's first time TRs and your pics are great! The "Disney Potty" was too funny. :rotfl:

:welcome: Thank You! Luckily the "Disney" adjective thing didn't last the whole trip. It was really adorable on the first day though :love:

CandleontheWater

09-06-2011, 08:03 AM

nilla

09-06-2011, 09:23 PM

LOL at your daughter describing everything as "Disney" :)

Well, I'm in. Your TR has a lot going for it, first and foremost the fact that I got in on the ground level, so I don't have any catching up to do! Great start as well!

We stayed at POFQ twice and loved it both times. They certainly have the best maid service when it comes to towel creations and stuffed animal arrangement, compared to the other 3 we've stayed at (POR, WL, and CSR). And THAT'S important!

Keep it up! And I'll try to keep up!

shan23877

09-06-2011, 11:57 PM

Hi there! I'm joining in the fun! I have an (almost) 2 year old, so I love reading TR written by families who also have young children.

Your daughter is so cute, and you guys look like you are off to a good start. I think you are a real trooper, if I didn't get any sleep the night before, I'm not sure I'd be up for a park right away!

Thanks for joining in! I've been following yours as well :thumbsup2. It was a long day having gotten about 2 hours of sleep, but was well worth it in the end!

LOL at your daughter describing everything as "Disney" :)

Well, I'm in. Your TR has a lot going for it, first and foremost the fact that I got in on the ground level, so I don't have any catching up to do! Great start as well!

We stayed at POFQ twice and loved it both times. They certainly have the best maid service when it comes to towel creations and stuffed animal arrangement, compared to the other 3 we've stayed at (POR, WL, and CSR). And THAT'S important!

Keep it up! And I'll try to keep up!

:welcome: We loved POFQ! DD was especially impressed when we got Minnie bows on the towel creatures :yay:. Thanks for joining in!

shan23877

09-07-2011, 12:51 AM

After throwing our stuff in the room and snapping a few quick photos, it was time to eat. DH and I hadn’t eaten since dinner the night before and DD had only had some pop-tarts at 5a.m. We knew that it was unreasonable to expect Maddie to stop for lunch once we got into Magic Kingdom, so off to Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory we went!

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http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/shanbell23/DSC06793.jpg

Using our first quick service credits I had the chicken Caesar and DH and DD shared a chicken quesadilla and kid’s pizza meal. The food was pretty standard, nothing special, but I loved the beignets that we all had for dessert. They are of course not as good as Café Du Monde in New Orleans, but yummy all the same!

After a quick meal and a few more pictures by the “Disney Fountain!!”

http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/shanbell23/DSC06801.jpg

http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/shanbell23/DSC06802.jpg

we hopped on the “Disney bus!” bound for the Magic Kingdom. By this time DD was nearly jumping out of her own skin with excitement. There was only one other family on the bus with us and they were very understanding about DD’s constant chatter. Neither DH nor I will ever forget Maddie’s first few minutes inside the Magic Kingdom. I ran ahead at the top of Main Street to try to get a picture of her first glimpse of the Castle, but she turned back to her dad too quickly for me to get a good one.

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http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/shanbell23/DSC06808.jpg

“Daddy it’s Cinderella’s Castle!!!!”
“I love Disney World!!”

It was priceless.

I had heard horror stories about the wait time for the Princess Meet and Greet, so when I saw that the posted wait time was only 15 minutes we decided to go for it. DD and I went to get in line while DH hit the emporium for an autograph book. The wait was really only about 5 minutes so DD and I stood near the Fast Pass entrance waiting for DH to catch up. Maddie was so excited to see Belle, Aurora, and Cinderella.

http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/shanbell23/Photo0027FourBySix.jpg

She had princess jibits on her Crocs, and the Belle one had started to tear. We have photos of DD showing every princess her shoes and telling them that her Mom really needed to replace the worn Belle jibit.

http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/shanbell23/Photo0014FourBySix.jpg

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http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/shanbell23/DSC06835.jpg

As we left City Hall DD spotted Daisy Duck and HAD to meet her. Then, as we were exiting Daisy’s line she spotted Mary Poppins outside the Chapeau so we met her too!

http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/shanbell23/Photo0045FourBySix.jpg

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http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/shanbell23/DSC06847.jpg

We’d been in the park for almost an hour and hadn’t even made it onto Main Street. It was the first of many times that we had to remind ourselves that it was ok to slow down and let Maddie be our guide.

shan23877

09-07-2011, 01:08 AM

Having Photobucket issues tonight, sorry for the huge photos! I'll try to get them corrected:confused3

baseballmickey

09-07-2011, 01:29 AM

mya1k9

09-07-2011, 01:34 AM

I'm in!! Love reading your report my DH, twin DD (5) and I leave in a little over a week and your TR is outstanding!!! Love the bigger pics, too, leave em" be:goodvibes. Your DD is adorable and I love how she showed the princesses her shoes, to funny!!!

gallmcduck

09-07-2011, 01:45 AM

Hi, I'm joining, great start to your TR, your dd is adorable and all those expressions are just too cute, love all the character meet pics would bring a tear to your eye.

kmedina

09-07-2011, 02:18 AM

I love the pic with Belle. It looks like she is literally touching her heart.

LilAnn

09-07-2011, 04:50 AM

Joining in! We let our little girl be our guide as well on our Disney trips. And you can totally see the excitement in her expressions. :goodvibes

Just one more TR to add to my reading list when I am burning the midnight oil at work.

CandleontheWater

09-07-2011, 06:13 AM

Awww, the photos of your DD with the characters are priceless! You guys really timed it well and hit the character jackpot on your very first day!

Your DD's reaction to the Castle was so sweet. I can't wait to take my DS when he really "gets" it!

dismagiclover

09-07-2011, 06:50 AM

Your DD is the cutest thing ever! I just love that age with the characters. For a 4 year old the characters are the best thing about Disney World! I'm so glad you guys slowed down and just enjoyed that.

reelmom

09-07-2011, 12:44 PM

You hit the character jackpot. What a great first hour for her first trip. Heck, it would be a great first hour for any trip.

shan23877

09-07-2011, 01:20 PM

Great update! :thumbsup2

I don't think it could have been much of a better start for DD... castle, princesses, daisy and mary poppins!! who needs those other lands. Just keep hanging out on Main Street!!:rotfl:

I'm pretty sure she could have hung out there for the duration! I guess that's the beauty of being 4!:rotfl:

I'm in!! Love reading your report my DH, twin DD (5) and I leave in a little over a week and your TR is outstanding!!! Love the bigger pics, too, leave em" be:goodvibes. Your DD is adorable and I love how she showed the princesses her shoes, to funny!!!

Thank you! I am so jealous that you'll be going in a week :worship: Twin 5 year old girls? I'm tired just thinking about that! Thank you for the compliment. She showed ALL of them the shoes. Shoes are very important to her ;) Have a great trip, I hope we'll hear about it when you get back!

Hi, I'm joining, great start to your TR, your dd is adorable and all those expressions are just too cute, love all the character meet pics would bring a tear to your eye.

:welcome: And Thank You! The characters were all great and it was really special to watch her meet everyone :love:

I love the pic with Belle. It looks like she is literally touching her heart.

Thanks! She was leaning in for a kiss, but I love the way the picture turned out!

Joining in! We let our little girl be our guide as well on our Disney trips. And you can totally see the excitement in her expressions. :goodvibes

Isn't it fun to experience everything the way the little ones want to? We were still pretty go-go-go but we slowed down to meet LOTS of characters :laughing:

Just one more TR to add to my reading list when I am burning the midnight oil at work.

:lmao: Glad to offer another distraction!

Awww, the photos of your DD with the characters are priceless! You guys really timed it well and hit the character jackpot on your very first day!

Your DD's reaction to the Castle was so sweet. I can't wait to take my DS when he really "gets" it!

Thank you! We got really lucky with all those characters right off the bat. It was sooo much fun to take her. I am sure it won't be long befor your DS know all about it ;) Time sure flies with the little ones.

Your DD is the cutest thing ever! I just love that age with the characters. For a 4 year old the characters are the best thing about Disney World! I'm so glad you guys slowed down and just enjoyed that.

Thank you! The characters were definately her favorite part. It was fun to watch.

You hit the character jackpot. What a great first hour for her first trip. Heck, it would be a great first hour for any trip.

:cool1: It was great! I can't believe our good luck with that. So glad her trip started the way it did! :love:

katt789

09-07-2011, 09:21 PM

I'm here to join in!!:cool1:
Looks like quite the awesome trip so far!! I can't wait for the walk down main street again!

nilla

09-08-2011, 10:10 AM

LOVE Maddie's entuhsiam! It bugs me when people say, "they'll never remember it at that age", because YOU will remember it! And not that it helps you now, but if the lines for the Princess or Mickey M&Gs in Exposition Hall are long, you can always get FPs. This was very useful to us.

Also love Sassagoula, especially since they had fountain Vanilla Coke back when we couldn't get Vanilla Coke anywhere around here. I wonder if they still have it? You're making me miss POFQ :)

Great TR so far! Can't wait to read more.

Plaid Sheep

09-08-2011, 10:42 AM

What an amazing first hour! You hit the jackpot.

It's true.. I loved telling people to see a park thru a preschoolers eyes. You slow down and just LOOK at everything!

shan23877

09-08-2011, 11:45 PM

I'm here to join in!!:cool1:
Looks like quite the awesome trip so far!! I can't wait for the walk down main street again!

:cheer2: glad to have you join in the fun! 4 days? You'll be there before you know it!

LOVE Maddie's entuhsiam! It bugs me when people say, "they'll never remember it at that age", because YOU will remember it! And not that it helps you now, but if the lines for the Princess or Mickey M&Gs in Exposition Hall are long, you can always get FPs. This was very useful to us.

Also love Sassagoula, especially since they had fountain Vanilla Coke back when we couldn't get Vanilla Coke anywhere around here. I wonder if they still have it? You're making me miss POFQ :)

Great TR so far! Can't wait to read more.

I heard a lot of that before we went, but you are right. We will never forget how much fun we had. We had considered FP for Town Hall, but luckily never had to get them. The wait times were really minimal :confused3. I am not sure about he Vanilla Coke, but we loved POFQ. We'll be staying there again for sure. More coming right up!

What an amazing first hour! You hit the jackpot.

It's true.. I loved telling people to see a park thru a preschoolers eyes. You slow down and just LOOK at everything!

We sure did get lucky! It was so much fun to experience it with her. She was so excited about EVERYTHING! :lmao:

shan23877

09-09-2011, 12:37 AM

Well, we finally made it onto Main Street proper! Or first stop? For Photo Pass of course!

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I had pre-purchased the photo CD, and was determined to get my money’s worth. I can almost hear DH’s eyes rolling. By the end of this trip his 2 least favorite expressions were most likely “Ok guys, lets be sure to get lots of Photo Pass today” and “I think we should go see some princesses”

We made it all the way to the castle before stopping again.

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In our former lives DH and I would have headed straight for Space Mountain, but today we stopped to watch the Dream Along With Mickey show (“A Disney Show!” “With Princesses!!”)

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And then, more Photo Pass! I believe that it was during this photo shoot that DD stopped saying “Cheese” and started saying “Disney!” OY.

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By now DH and I were more than ready to introduce DD to some rides. She had ridden a junior coaster at Sesame Place last summer and loved it, so we felt pretty good about BTMRR. We headed to Frontierland stopping off at Splash to grab some FP. The standby time for BTMRR was 30 minutes and in spite of the heat we joined it.

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Maddie started to get a little cranky while we waited, but considering the lack of sleep and the heat she was a trooper. As we approached the front of the line a CM overheard DD chattering about this being her first roller coaster. He asked if she wanted to ride in front or in back. After she answered he pulled us out from behind the 15 or so people waiting and put DD, DH, and I in the back car on the very next train. “At Disney we don’t have to wait our turn!!” Awesome. Can’t wait until her teachers catch wind of that one. Maddie quickly made friends with some twenty-somethings who were in front of us and was soon instructing all of us when to raise our arms and to yell “Disney!” as we went down the hills. She loved the ride and had lots of fun with her new friends. They asked if they could join us for the rest of the day. DD said sure, we’d be watching the parade and meeting some characters. They decided that we should part ways and headed off to Haunted Mansion.

Some pictures from the walk.

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The parade would start in 20 minutes so we grabbed a spot to watch right on the edge of Liberty Square. By now DD’s mood was starting to plummet, so we did what any good parents would do. We handed her a Coke and some popcorn and hoped the parade would come quickly.

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We had to get this one for Uncle Cory

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After the parade we wandered over to Adventureland to kill some time before our FP time for Splash. Lightning had been spotted so the rides were down. We grabbed a snack and waited it out. After only 15 minutes or so we noticed that Magic Carpets of Aladdin was up and running with no line, so we decided to go for a spin. DD had a great time yelling “Watch out they spit” every time we passed the camels.

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Our FP time for Splash was approaching, so it was back to Frontierland!

shan23877

09-09-2011, 12:49 AM

Again with the huge pictures. I swear I'm resizing them all to the same size. Anyone know a fool proof way to make the pics all a manageable size? :confused3

kmedina

09-09-2011, 01:11 AM

I love the pic on the Magic Carpets. She's shining!

gallmcduck

09-09-2011, 04:42 AM

I thought the response from the twenty-somethings too funny :rotfl::rotfl: Do ya think parades princesess were not their idea of a good time!

Fizzy juice exactly what I would do, fizzy juice always gives my kids a lift.

My photos do exactly the same sometimes, I edit them but when I post some come out too big and other don't :confused3

CandleontheWater

09-09-2011, 06:37 AM

I'm so glad that your daughter enjoyed BTMRR! And how awesome to get some pixie dust too!

I don't see anything wrong with sugaring your kids up in Disney, its not bad parenting- its a survival tactic! :lmao:

I have actually never seen the parade- but I'm sure I will someday. Probably right about the time that Everett realizes that there is a parade.

Fall1

09-09-2011, 12:15 PM

Great report, your family is so cute!!!

shan23877

09-09-2011, 12:19 PM

I love the pic on the Magic Carpets. She's shining!

Thank you! She had a lot of fun on that ride.

I thought the response from the twenty-somethings too funny :rotfl::rotfl: Do ya think parades princesess were not their idea of a good time!

Fizzy juice exactly what I would do, fizzy juice always gives my kids a lift.

My photos do exactly the same sometimes, I edit them but when I post some come out too big and other don't :confused3

Not sure Maddie's new friends were planning a character stalking trip like we were :rotfl: Coke became our Disney crutch in the afternoons for sure! Thanks for the back up on pic situation. I'm not sure why some are smaller and some are larger :confused3

I'm so glad that your daughter enjoyed BTMRR! And how awesome to get some pixie dust too!

I don't see anything wrong with sugaring your kids up in Disney, its not bad parenting- its a survival tactic! :lmao:

I have actually never seen the parade- but I'm sure I will someday. Probably right about the time that Everett realizes that there is a parade.

:lmao: DH and I are NOT parade people. Hopefully we won't have to see them too many more times :). Coke and cookies became a very important part of our days.

lbuzz52

09-09-2011, 01:38 PM

I LOVE the excitement and enthusiam your dd has! sounds like she's like mine- never met a stranger:lmao: i can't wait to hear more!

LilAnn

09-09-2011, 01:58 PM

Definitely nothing wrong with a little bit of sugar to help your little one get through the day. I think we used cotton candy at times. ;) But really, the excitement of being at disney with her character friends was more than enough excitement to keep our little gal awake.

Sounds like a perfect first roller coaster ride at Disney!

shan23877

09-09-2011, 11:51 PM

Great report, your family is so cute!!!

Thank you so much! I like them (most of the time):lmao:

I LOVE the excitement and enthusiam your dd has! sounds like she's like mine- never met a stranger:lmao: i can't wait to hear more!

She used to be a little more shy, but these days she'll jabber to whomever is willing to listen! :laughing:

Definitely nothing wrong with a little bit of sugar to help your little one get through the day. I think we used cotton candy at times. ;) But really, the excitement of being at disney with her character friends was more than enough excitement to keep our little gal awake.

Sounds like a perfect first roller coaster ride at Disney!

We certainly found that sugary snacks were very important to our Disney touring plans :lmao:

shan23877

09-12-2011, 12:56 AM

We were on our way to Splash Mountain, and DD was VERY excited. Having done extensive research, she knew that she was tall enough for 2 of the 3 mountains and she was getting on both today! Using our FP we were able to get on really quickly, but during the ride DD was strangely quiet. When it was over we were eager to hear what she thought. “I do not want to do that again” What???? As it turns out our little dare devil was scared of how dark it was! She also mentioned that she didn’t like that the “scary bear was trying to hurt that poor rabbit, but the dropping down in the water part was good”. We were shocked and felt bad for DD because she was so looking forward to the ride.

Luckily, at the exit of the ride we spotted Woody and Jessie, and nothing cheers DD up like some character meet and greets!! Since Splash had been a let down the cowpokes were a welcome diversion. DH and DD dressed up as Woody and Jessie for Halloween last year so we weren’t about to pass them by. The line moved pretty slowly, but the characters were fun, and worth the wait.

A few pictures while waiting in line

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And then we met them!

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At this point our only agenda was our 7:20 ADR at Crystal Palace, MSEP, and Wishes, so we consulted our tour guide. Maddie wanted “More princesses”, so, we headed to Liberty Square. Tiana and Naveen were due out any minute, so we got in line. We were the 3rd or 4th group waiting and the line moved pretty quickly. Tiana and Naveen were GREAT. He was hilarious and she was really sweet with all the kids.

more 'waiting in line' photos

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It had started to sprinkle, but not enough for us to take cover, so we started walking back toward Fantasyland. We wanted to check out Rapunzel’s lair and see if the line was as bad as it was rumored to be. Apparently when it started raining Rapunzel had been taken inside, and everyone who had been in line left. In an amazing stroke of luck we were walking by when her handler was taking the rope down for folks to line up. We had to wait a couple of minutes for her to come out, but we were first in line! From what I saw later, finding Rapunzel with no line might have been the most magical part of the trip!

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Next up was the teacups.

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DH does NOT do the teacups or any other “throw up rides” for that matter :laughing:, so he sat this one out. We only had to wait for about 10 minutes, and Maddie and I had a great time. It was almost time for our ADR, so we decided to head over to the Crystal Palace and get checked in.

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“A Cinderella fountain? Disney is the best EVER!”

and she didn't even know the half of it...:cloud9:

kmedina

09-12-2011, 01:45 AM

dismagiclover

09-12-2011, 06:48 AM

I had to chuckle a bit that it was the dark ride part of Splash Mountain that scared your DD, but that the hill was great. You just never know with kids. Absolutely adorable pictures with the characters. You are right about the pixie dust involved with getting to see Rapunzel so easily. You must be living right:goodvibes

jc040404

09-12-2011, 09:40 AM

Too bad she wasn't a big Splash Mountain fan, but I can understand how it bothered her. Cute that she liked the dropping down in the water part though. That's the only thing about it I don't like!

Wow! That was some awesome luck with Ranpuzel!! :thumbsup2 I can't wait to hear how she liked CP!

shan23877

09-12-2011, 11:46 PM

I am not a huge fan of the "throw up" rides either. By the way, I love that expression and plan on stealing it from here on out.

Wow, your DD really lucked out with the princesses. Your DH and DD were Woody and Jesse for Halloween! That sounds so sweet. I would love to see a pic of that.

Steal away! :lmao: He's been saying that for years! She got so lucky with the characters that first day. I can't say it lasted the whole trip though :rolleyes1 I'll post the Halloween pics next!

I had to chuckle a bit that it was the dark ride part of Splash Mountain that scared your DD, but that the hill was great. You just never know with kids. Absolutely adorable pictures with the characters. You are right about the pixie dust involved with getting to see Rapunzel so easily. You must be living right:goodvibes

Who knew that would get her?! :confused3 We did get lucky meeting Rapunzel, must have been first-trip mojo!

Too bad she wasn't a big Splash Mountain fan, but I can understand how it bothered her. Cute that she liked the dropping down in the water part though. That's the only thing about it I don't like!

Wow! That was some awesome luck with Ranpuzel!! :thumbsup2 I can't wait to hear how she liked CP!

Super Rapunzel luck. Those lines got crazy!! She's a little thrill ride lover, I guess I should have seen the 'dark ride' thing coming because she really hates Halloween decorations and the like. CP update coming soon! Thanks for reading along!

shan23877

09-12-2011, 11:55 PM

Here are a few pictures from last Halloween. I'm not sure where she got the idea that her daddy had to dress up with her, but I'm glad he goes along with it. This year she's been saying that she'd be a princess and he'd be her prince. Easy enough cosume to piece together for him. But, then she decided that she'd specifically be Snow White or Belle (because of the dark hair-she's a stickler for authenticity). DH was not amused when I suggested that he be the Beast or Dopey :confused3 I just don't understand why :rotfl: Hope you enjoy the pictures! I just started sewing a year or two ago, so I was pretty pleased with how the costumes turned out!

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kmedina

09-13-2011, 04:40 AM

shan23877

09-13-2011, 01:52 PM

They look adorable. It is so sweet that your DH did that for her and so cute that she came up with the idea on her own. I am voting for Belle, because that would be one cool costume to make him Beast. :lmao:

You did a great job making the costumes. I am always impressed with homemade costumes, because the cookie cutter ones are rarely ever nice. DS4 wanted to be Handy Manny this year. Since I do not sew at all, I ordered his costume. It has not come in yet, but it looks so cheap online. The way they look and the price you pay do not always coincide either.

Thanks! Maddie is leaning toward Snow White, and I might buy it, but I'm nervous. I know what you mean about them looking kind of cheap. I've made her all of the princess dresses for playing dress up, and Snow White was a real pain to make. I've also been making quilts for Christmas already, so it would be a time saver. I wish that I knew they'd look nice (like the ones at Disney)

LilAnn

09-14-2011, 07:56 AM

shan23877

09-15-2011, 12:27 AM

Wow, that is seriously some awesome luck with Rapunzel. We barely saw a "short" line for her and we thought we were lucky that we only had to wait 45 minutes. ;) Normally, we would have passed that kind of line up, but DD really wanted to meet Rapunzel because she is the only princess she hasn't really met yet. Of course.

Love the Jessie and Woody costumes. So impressed that you made it yourself! It looks great! I think you'll remember from my TR that my DD is obsessed with Jessie. Funny because she is leaning towards a princess this year for halloween too. She goes back and forth between a princess, Minnie and maybe Jessie again. :confused3

I love that you tour the way we do. It makes the trip less stressful and the kids just have so much fun!

I couldn't believe how lucky we got with Rapunzel. Of course, DD ended up needing to see her again b/c she forgot to have her sign the autograph book! :eek: Thanks for the compliment. I think we'll buy the costume this year, I've made all the dresses for her for dress up (some twice), so I'm kinda done with princess dresses :lmao:
We would not tour any other way now. Why take the kids to Disney if not to let them experience it the way they want to? We'll have plenty of years for the rest of it, not too many years to meet princesses!

shan23877

09-15-2011, 11:13 PM

I know this has been slow moving, I hope some of you are still reading!

This trip we were on the dining plan, so how did we decide to maximize our TS credits? With Character Dining of course! DH and I know that we’ll have plenty of years to take advantage of the great dining options at Disney, but a short amount of time in which DD will be so infatuated with characters. With that in mind, we got ADRs for one character meal each day. We had low expectations for the food, and knew that these meals would really be all about the experience. On tap for the 1st day of our trip was Crystal Palace.

Our ADR was for 7:20. We got checked in by 6:55. There were no available seats on the porch so we just kind of hung out at the bottom of the steps. The area where we were waiting was really crowded and chaotic, and was just not bringing out the best in us. Unfortunately we had to wait to be called in until 7:30. By that time we were in dire need of some magic. Bring on Pooh and friends! Our server was really friendly, explained the characters’ routes, and kept the Cokes filled. The food was pretty standard stuff, nothing to write home (or a TR!) about. I think I had some turkey, mashed potatoes, salad, and some veggies. DH had the beef, mashed potatoes, more beef, and maybe some pork. DD had mac & cheese and chicken nuggets (which is hilarious because in real life she’s never even had a chicken nugget. She’s sort of picky but mostly we just steer clear of fast food whenever possible.) For dessert we all had the “ice cream”. The food was good enough that we left with full bellies and happy DD.

First up was Eyore. We had strict instructions from Uncle Cory to get a photo of him.

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Next was Piglet

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Mr. Hunny Pot himself

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And finally, Tigger! He seemed to be the most popular by far. It took FOREVER for him to get around the room.

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The characters seemed to take a little longer to get around the room than they do at some other places, but it’s probably because they spent a good deal of time with each family. Maddie did not participate in the parade of kids and characters because we were filling our plates, but she was ok with that. All in all we enjoyed ourselves, but will probably stick to breakfast there in the future (all the better to be ahead of the crowds!)

After dinner we took a few pictures...

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and headed over the hub to line up for MSEP. I was looking forward to seeing it since I remember it from childhood. Sadly, by the time dinner was over there was not a good spot to view the parade from. We ended up behind lots of people. Luckily DD was able to grab a VIP seat on DH’s shoulders so she could see pretty well. I will post a few pictures, but forgive me for the lack of good ones. I am 4’11” and all of these were taken while I was standing on tip toe with my arms extended above my head. So basically I took them all blind.

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After MSEP I decided to scout a better location for The Magic, the Memories, and You and Wishes. I found a spot next to a trash can to the left of the castle. Perfect! I could put DD between me and the trash can, and DH could stand behind her so that she wouldn’t be squeezed out. (During the afternoon parade, a few very enthusiastic non-English speaking folks REALLY liked Maddie’s viewing spot. I like to think it was the language barrier keeping them from understanding our repeated “Excuse Me”s.) As it turns out the gentleman sitting next to us for Wishes was an off duty photo pass photographer, and he was a lot of fun to talk to. He also gave me the heads up during M, M, Y! telling me when to get my camera ready etc. What a beautiful show!! I dare anyone to watch it without getting a tear in their eye. DH and I both thought we saw a picture of DD during the show, but it was one of the smaller pictures so we couldn’t be 100% sure.

And finally what DD had been dreaming about (Disney Fireworks!!) Wishes!

“Mommy! Did you see Tinkerbell? I finally saw it!”

Tinkerbell is the green blur to the right

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Wishes was amazing as always, the perfect way to end a magical first day in the Magic Kingdom. MK had EMH until 2 am, but even we weren’t crazy enough to attempt anything else in the park. We joined the throngs at the bus stop, and were able to get on the first one back to POFQ. DD fell asleep on my lap on the way, but woke up as soon as we got off the bus (which would become a pattern).
Back in the room she had a minor melt down. She began sobbing because she missed the dogs. We called Uncle Cory (who lives with us so was tasked with keeping the 2 dogs alive until DD returned) and he assured her that he had indeed remembered to feed them, let them out, and was not being too mean to little dog. Satisfied, she passed out within 5 minutes of lying down. Since we hadn’t returned to the room since we arrived, DH and I had some more work to do. He ran to the vending area to get us some Cokes for the morning (we’re not coffee drinkers, and caffeine would be key) and I unpacked. When he returned I downloaded the days photos, and he repacked the park bag for the next day. We set the alarm for 6 am, laid out a special “invitation” for DD to find in the morning, and hit the sack. We had a very important date with some princesses in a castle to rest up for.

BPATSMouse

09-16-2011, 12:12 AM

Dropping in from Lisa's TR. I noticed you are a fellow Illinoisian and Disney enthusiast, great combonation:thumbsup2. I'm enjoying your TR and looking forward to more.

kmedina

09-16-2011, 12:20 AM

The MSEP pic of the castle does not seem blurry (unless my vision is fading). It is nice. I cannot wait to read about the invitation.

mya1k9

09-16-2011, 10:58 AM

We leave Sunday, love reading your report. Your right, theres all the time in the world to go at our pace, I really need to remember to slow down and just enjoy the infatuation of my kindergardeners!!!

shan23877

09-16-2011, 12:12 PM

Dropping in from Lisa's TR. I noticed you are a fellow Illinoisian and Disney enthusiast, great combonation:thumbsup2. I'm enjoying your TR and looking forward to more.

Glad you're here! We Illinoians seem sort of scarce! Especially those not from Chicago. Thanks for reading!

The MSEP pic of the castle does not seem blurry (unless my vision is fading). It is nice. I cannot wait to read about the invitation.

:rotfl: They don't look too blurry, just not too good ;). There were a couple of invitations on this trip!

We leave Sunday, love reading your report. Your right, theres all the time in the world to go at our pace, I really need to remember to slow down and just enjoy the infatuation of my kindergardeners!!!

Oh, I'm so jealous!! 2 days? Have a great time! Thanks, and I am so glad we did let her guide us. We really loved seeing Disney through her eyes. It was a new and great experience. :thumbsup2

CandleontheWater

09-16-2011, 02:22 PM

shan23877

09-16-2011, 11:04 PM

What a wonderful first day! I'm sorry that Maddie wasn't a fan of Splash Mt, but maybe next time she won't be as afraid of the dark or the darker parts of the storyline.

The pics of your DH and DD all dressed up for halloween are too cute! It brings back happy memories, because my Dad always used to dress up with us kids, and take us around for trick or treat. I think the neighbors got more of a kick out of seeing my dad as a giant leopard or horse or Robot or whatever, than they did out of the kids costumes!

I'm glad you got a good viewing spot for wishes, and I love the new castle show too!

It really was a wonderful first day! I wouldn't have changed a thing. I hope that by our next trip (hopefully next May) she'll be a little more brave about the dark rides.

That's awesome that your dad used to dress up with you guys! Those two were a big hit in the neighborhood last year. This year they're going as Belle and Beast (in human form, so really just a prince :lmao:)

Wishes was great as usual, but Magic Memories and You was amazing. I was tearing up the whole time!

shan23877

09-19-2011, 12:04 AM

When I was 7 years old, my grandparents took me on my first WDW trip. While I remember many things about that trip, what stands out most is that they took me to lunch at Cinderella Castle.

DH and I had a few surprises in store for DD4. We wanted DD to understand that some things that we would be doing were very special without ramming costs down her throat, so we printed “invitations” for her to find.

We woke up at 6:30 on our second Disney day. After DH and I showered we woke Maddie up and let her find her first invitation. She had been cordially invited to dine with royalty at Cinderella Castle that morning.

Maddie was not clothed when she got her invite so I got a little creative before posting this one :idea:

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She was SO excited! “Good idea to pack my new Cinderella dress you made Mommy!” Very lucky indeed! (For the rest of the day Maddie basked in the glory of being called Princess everywhere we went) We got ourselves together and got to the bus stop by 7:45. The bus for the Magic Kingdom came quickly and we were there by 8:00.

I was really excited to take pictures on an empty Main Street, but DH’s picture tolerance was already getting low. I wasn’t too sympathetic, but still didn’t get as many photos as I would have liked.

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Frustrated Bryan

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"Time for my photo shoot!"

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The stunning murals leading to CRT

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shan23877

09-19-2011, 12:07 AM

And finally we made it here

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We checked in at Cinderella’s Royal Table at 8:15, and were called in immediately.

Apparently there are restrooms to the left of the armor :rotfl:

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Awesome! We’re in early! Maddie had her photo taken with Cinderlla and we headed upstairs. (I knew ahead of time that Cindy would be greeting the guests, not participating in the meal, but I still think that it’s weird that it’s her castle, but she’s only downstairs)

"Mommy, Cinderella asked if my Fairy Godmother made my dress. I told her no, just my mommy." :thumbsup2

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We were seated at a great table by the windows overlooking Fantasyland.

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Our waiter was great, really friendly. He took our orders immediately. Adults are given a choice of a traditional breakfast plate (eggs, sausage, potatoes) or cream cheese stuffed French toast. Children are given a plate that includes French toast sticks, eggs, and bacon.

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Our waiter delivered our drinks and pastries quickly, and soon our food arrived. I got the egg plate and DH got the French toast. Neither of us was very overwhelmed by the food. It was pretty standard stuff, I guess we were both expecting more for the price. Maddie also got a magic wand and a wishing star.

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I think it's awesome that the children are given weapons before 9 am! :rotfl2:

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In no time we heard princess music and were being visited by the ladies. Snow White was first.

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We soon discovered the downfall to our great table was that Maddie was facing the window and was looking down in every picture! DD was really excited, but after such a long first day in the parks and only getting 7.5 hours of sleep she wasn’t exactly high energy. She was glad to finally meet Snow White, but didn’t have a ton to say to her, so she moved on pretty quickly.

Next to visit our table was Arial – another first meeting for DD. She was a little more animated with her.

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Aurora soon followed, and then came Belle in her “book reading clothes” because to my daughter there's an outfit for EVERY occasion. :lmao:

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We finished our meals, settled up with our waiter (we paid OOP instead of burning 2 TS credits on breakfast) and headed out of the castle. We’ll try CRT again as long as DD loves the princesses, but next time I think we’ll go for lunch or dinner.

kmedina

09-19-2011, 05:21 AM

Fall1

09-19-2011, 06:21 AM

So cute!! I was 10 when I ate in the castle but it was King Stefan's then. We are taking DS and DD after their BBB appt for the first time next month!! Can't wait, loved seeing your pictures!

shan23877

09-20-2011, 12:07 AM

How exciting? I was 29 the first time I dined in the castle. My husband was against eating there at first, since we do not have any daughters. "It is for girls, " he said. "What do you think I am," I replied? He gave in, and I loved it. DS loved it too! Your DD sure looks like she had a great time as well! Who doen't love the castle? AHHHHHHH!

ALL Girls love the castle! You're exactly right. I'm glad your son enjoyed it too. The first time I went my male cousin was with us (also 7) and I remember him being as excited as I was!

So cute!! I was 10 when I ate in the castle but it was King Stefan's then. We are taking DS and DD after their BBB appt for the first time next month!! Can't wait, loved seeing your pictures!

I'm pretty sure that it was King Stefans when I first went too. It was cough 1984 cough. All I remember is being there :). We did BBB-maybe I'll be able to day 3 before you leave- and it was AMAZING. So worth the money, a great experience for DD. We'd do it again in a heartbeat. We went to 1900 Park Fare that night but I kinda wish we'd done CRT instead. Live and learn. We'll do it that way next time ;) So jealous that your trip is only a month away!

kmedina

09-20-2011, 01:49 AM

I forgot to ask yesterday. It was 3am when I was reading your report, so I was sleep deprived. That invitation is adorable. Did you make it yourself?

Fall1

09-20-2011, 05:23 AM

I'm pretty sure that it was King Stefans when I first went too. It was cough 1984 cough. All I remember is being there :). We did BBB-maybe I'll be able to day 3 before you leave- and it was AMAZING. So worth the money, a great experience for DD. We'd do it again in a heartbeat. We went to 1900 Park Fare that night but I kinda wish we'd done CRT instead. Live and learn. We'll do it that way next time ;) So jealous that your trip is only a month away!

It was 1984 when I went too...how funny!!

dismagiclover

09-20-2011, 06:57 AM

There is nothing like breakfast in the castle! Looks like your DD is having a fabulous time!

shan23877

09-20-2011, 12:01 PM

I forgot to ask yesterday. It was 3am when I was reading your report, so I was sleep deprived. That invitation is adorable. Did you make it yourself?

Thanks! Actually DH made it. I was quite impressed with what a great job he did!

lbuzz52

09-20-2011, 12:15 PM

What great luck with Rapunzel! She's so popular. And great job on the cinderella dress. I agree, nothing to write home about food wise at CRT, but you can't beat the ambiance!

shan23877

09-20-2011, 11:42 PM

There is nothing like breakfast in the castle! Looks like your DD is having a fabulous time!

It was the perfect way to start the day! She loved it, but I think that to her BBB trumped breakfast :confused3. I'd love to do it again.

What great luck with Rapunzel! She's so popular. And great job on the cinderella dress. I agree, nothing to write home about food wise at CRT, but you can't beat the ambiance!

We go SO lucky with Rapunzel. Those lines got crazy! I'm just disappointed that we didn't get to see Flynn. Thanks for the compliment. Luckily DD hadn't seen the fancy dresses that the princesses wear in WDW so I didn't have to try to make one of those! :rotfl: The castle was great, I guess I just expected more from the food. I'd like to try dinner next time around.

shan23877

09-20-2011, 11:49 PM

I'll try to get an update done soon, but I like the "real life" updates on other's TRs so...

Maddie decided to be Belle for Halloween this year. Since I've already started making quilts to give as Christmas gifts, I'm a little overwhelmed with sewing projects. We ordered the costume online and already received it. It looks great! I paid more for the "prestige" costume but I'm glad I did. After getting her dress at BBB, the basic dress might have been a let-down. DD still loves playing dress up, so I figure we'll get some more use out of it.

Tomorrow is school picture day. It's supposed to be 78 degrees, but DD is insisting on wearing a long sleeved "shirt dress" with leggings. Tonight before bed she laid out the whole outfit (including panties) and even picked out the headband she'd like to wear. I like clothes and everything, but I have no idea how I ended up with such a girly girl!

Hope everyone has a great day!

kmedina

09-21-2011, 12:38 AM

That post just reminded me that I have not heard anything about picture day for DS. I will have to check when he goes back to school on Thursday. Her outfit sounds cute. Being hot is one of the prices women pay for fashion. She already gets it.

shan23877

09-22-2011, 11:24 PM

Without meaning to, we had finished breakfast and gotten outside before Rope Drop!

Some Castle pics from when we left CRT

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Since we’re ahead of the crowds where should go first? We consulted our tour guide, and she'd decided that we'd go see Rapunzel of course!

Tour Guide Madison

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DD had some unfinished business. She had forgotten to get her autograph, and had a few questions she needed answered. DD and DH got in line there, and I headed toward Tomorrowland just a little ahead of the rope drop crowd so I wasn’t power walking. Turns out THAT was a mistake. When I looked over my shoulder and saw the mass of people heading toward me, I was a little frightened that I’d be trampled! I made it to the FP machines for Space Mountain without being harmed and rejoined Maddie and Bryan in line for Rapunzel. She didn’t come out until 9:15 so they were still waiting, but were second in line. Maddie learned from her mistake, and got her autograph and asked her questions.
“Why are you wearing shoes?” “Because the stone hurts my feet sometimes”
“Where is Flynn?” “Out on another adventure, but he’ll be back soon”
“Can I go in your tower and see Pascal?” “Pascal is feeling a little under the weather and isn’t up for visitors just now”

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Satisfied, we moved on.

We planned to focus on Fantasyland and Tomorrowland for our second morning in Magic Kingdom. On our way to Dumbo we passed Lady Tremaine, Drizzella, and Anastasia. Maddie decided not to stop. I had hoped that we’d see the Fairy Godmother out and about, but no luck. While DD and DH got in line for Dumbo, I grabbed a second autograph book and a Coke. I asked DH to try to get some construction pics, but he didn’t zoom, so they didn’t turn out very well. DD had a great time on Dumbo, but luckily didn’t ask to do it again right away. Bryan and I decided that we’d go ahead and use our FP for Space Mountain and take advantage of rider swap. We got to the front of the line right away, and DH told me to go first. Awesome ride as usual, but I must be getting old because my neck hurt from the jostling. When I exited the ride I found out that DD had been throwing a HUGE fit because she wasn’t allowed to ride and DH was getting fed up. He decided that he’d rather not ride than listed to that anymore, so we left the mountain. We thought she’d calm down after she got to ride a few things so we headed toward Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin.

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Standby time was only 10 minutes. Maddie rode between us and did most of the aiming of our guns. Luckily getting good scores wasn’t too important to us. Did Maddie like the ride? Nope, it was “kind of scary”! What the heck? I never expected this from our little roller coaster princess.

Due to her extensive research Maddie knew that she was interested in checking out Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. We got there just in time for a show, and sat down quickly. Maddie was featured toward the end of the show but clammed up, so DH filled in. We had never done the Laugh Floor before and we all loved it. It was really funny! DD’s energy was fading so we referred back to our parenting manual and got her a giant sucker at 10 am.

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We returned to Fantasyland, but after the second “dark ride” fiasco we weren’t going to try Snow White. DH and I weren’t in the mood for Pooh or Peter Pan, so Bryan’s least favorite ride was on tap. After a little confusion because the line had moved we boarded the boats of it’s a small world.

Due to DD's mood needing to be tended, I didn't take many pictures on this leg of our adventure, but not to worry, I have lots of IASW pictures!

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Maddie of course thought this ride was great! Faith in us restored, she agreed to give the Haunted Mansion a try. We headed there right away before she changed her mind. I was so excited! But I knew that this would probably be our last dark ride. She’d never trust us after we let her go on that one! We bravely headed for the Mansion…. But it was down. GRRRR.

shan23877

09-22-2011, 11:34 PM

By then Maddie had decided that she’d gone long enough (approximately 1 hour) with out meeting any princess, so we went looking for Jasmine.

We got this picture on the way through Liberty Square. I have an identical picture of myself from my first visit. :lovestruc

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On our way we passed a kiosk selling Bullseye stuffed animals. DD had wanted all of the Toy Story gang for her birthday the previous year. We got her Woody, Jessie, and Buzz but not Bullseye. So, of course we got him for her and thus began our 5 day stuffed animal buying spree.

Once we got to the Jasmine area we found out that we had just missed her. We had only been planning to stay at MK until just before lunch, but now had to make a game time decision. We decide to stay in the Magic Kingdom a little longer than we’d origionally planned, and we’d hit the fairies and the guys from Alladdin before we moved on. We lined up for the 40 minute wait to meet Tink and her friends. The CM in charge of the line had used the extra ropes to make a viewing area for the little ones to watch fairie movies while moms and dads held the place in line. It worked like a charm.

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We got into the garden and met Rosetta and Tink.

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Rosetta was fantastic. Maddie asked her all sorts of questions about being a garden fairie including
“Rosetta, do you like mud?”
“Oh honey, I don’t do mud.”
Maddie was in heaven and this CM was good :cloud9:

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Tink was great too, but Rosetta was the star of this show.

After we met Tink, it was time for lunch. DD was craving her favorite food- cheese quesadillas. Thank God Pecos Bill’s was right there. I had a taco salad, and DH got the burrito. It was pretty good. I don’t recall eating here on our last couple trips, and we’d go back.
Finally it was time for Jasmine to come back out, so we lined up. It was just her and Aladdin at first, but when we were about 3 groups from the front, Genie joined them too. Our character luck was holding out!

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Showing them her shoes

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They were great and have fans for life in Maddie because they complimented her dress and shoes.

Satisfied that she’d hit her morning autograph quota, Maddie agreed to let us take her to another park. Epcot here we come!

LilAnn

09-23-2011, 12:01 AM

Aww, the parks can be pretty exhausting for a little one (and a big person). You certainly had some great character luck with Genie popping out to see Jasmine and Aladdin! :thumbsup2 Unfortunately, I think he would have just scared our little gal away as she was scared to meet Aladdin too. We had to ask him to kindly step aside while she met Jasmine on our trip, which he very nicely did. I take it as a good sign that she is currently afraid of strange men! :rotfl:

Awesome job on the Cinderella dress by the way! Love that she got a lollipop at 10am. ;)

BPATSMouse

09-23-2011, 12:26 AM

I see nothing wrong with a 10am lollipop break:thumbsup2 The princess autograph chasing princess: brings back a lot of long line memories. I'd do it again in a minute, enjoy while you can.

kmedina

09-23-2011, 04:22 AM

The Monsters Inc comedy show is my favorite attraction in the MK. I kept dragging my famil back last trip. DS4 (but 3 last trip) does not like any dark rides either. He even considers WtP dark. I love that she made it exactly one hour before she needed to see the princesses again. That is so adorable.

Fall1

09-23-2011, 06:24 AM

Love your updates and how your DD is acting like a tour guide, so cute!! The color in your pictures is great, do you mind sharing the camera you are using. Thanks!

Heath_Bar

09-23-2011, 07:50 AM

I'm really enjoying your TR so far! We leave next week with a 3 & 4 year old - I am reminded to go with the flow! Thanks!

CandleontheWater

09-23-2011, 08:22 AM

What a great morning! All those princesses- how wonderful that you were able to meet them all!

I also haven't been to back to CRT since King Stephan was the proprietor, but I agree that the food doesn't look like anything too special. I'm sure we'll be back if I have a little princess someday.

I'm sorry that Maddie was frightened of the dark rides. Did she get any better as the trip wore on?

204charity

09-23-2011, 09:00 AM

Your trip report is just great! It's really showing me how great a trip can be to just slow down, and let your kid be the "guide". I am so excited to just let our 9yo DD lead the way in April. There is so much fun to be had without standing in lines for hours and hours everyday. And I have to say how impressed I am with your Day 1 schedule! WOW! Up at 1:30 am and you stayed up for the parade AND Wishes!!! WOW! I sure hope we have that kind of energy and enthusiasum when WE get there. :) Subbing to your TR. Can't wait to hear more.

kaileighbug

09-23-2011, 11:55 AM

Love the TR so far. Its great to just slow down and take it in. As for the 10am sucker I thought that was what the cinnamon rolls were for....sugar rush:rotfl:

shan23877

09-23-2011, 12:38 PM

I see nothing wrong with a 10am lollipop break:thumbsup2 The princess autograph chasing princess: brings back a lot of long line memories. I'd do it again in a minute, enjoy while you can.

The lollipop was kind of my hail mary pass. DH was loosing patience with her quickly! :rotfl: We were princess stalkers, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. I'm so glad we got to take her when she was so into them, and still believed that she was meeting the real deal! Trying to convince DH that we need to take as many trips as possible while she's still in this phase. ;)

The Monsters Inc comedy show is my favorite attraction in the MK. I kept dragging my famil back last trip. DS4 (but 3 last trip) does not like any dark rides either. He even considers WtP dark. I love that she made it exactly one hour before she needed to see the princesses again. That is so adorable.

We LOVED Monsters Inc. It's become a new family favorite. She hated all the "dark rides" we didn't even attempt WtP or Snow White. Oh well, more time for princesses! :rotfl: What was it about the dark rides for your son?

Love your updates and how your DD is acting like a tour guide, so cute!! The color in your pictures is great, do you mind sharing the camera you are using. Thanks!

Thank you so much! She was loving "being in charge". It's funny because my family referred to me as "Cruise Director Julie" when I was a kid. :rolleyes1. Thanks for the compliments on the pics! It's a Sony. I'm not sure of the name of the model (I've forgotten) but the model # is DSC-H20 if that helps. I think its a Cyber-Shot.

I'm really enjoying your TR so far! We leave next week with a 3 & 4 year old - I am reminded to go with the flow! Thanks!

Thanks for joining in! I'm so jealous that you'll be there in a week! I am so glad that we let her lead us. I figured it's only fair- he and I have been there before! Can't wait to hear about your trip!

What a great morning! All those princesses- how wonderful that you were able to meet them all!

I also haven't been to back to CRT since King Stephan was the proprietor, but I agree that the food doesn't look like anything too special. I'm sure we'll be back if I have a little princess someday.

I'm sorry that Maddie was frightened of the dark rides. Did she get any better as the trip wore on?

I think it was King Stefan's joint last time I was there too! It was worth doing, but not because of the food ;). I think even little boys might enjoy it too- they get a sword!

She never did conquer her fear of the dark rides. It's funny b/c she's never been scared of the dark. I think it had more to do with the combo of "bad guys" and dark places. Oh well, I'm sure we'll get her on them eventually!

Your trip report is just great! It's really showing me how great a trip can be to just slow down, and let your kid be the "guide". I am so excited to just let our 9yo DD lead the way in April. There is so much fun to be had without standing in lines for hours and hours everyday. And I have to say how impressed I am with your Day 1 schedule! WOW! Up at 1:30 am and you stayed up for the parade AND Wishes!!! WOW! I sure hope we have that kind of energy and enthusiasum when WE get there. :) Subbing to your TR. Can't wait to hear more.

Welcome! So glad to have you! DH and I figured that we've had the opportunities to do the things we like, and we'd live if we missed some. I'm so glad we did.

Now, if you're planning on meeting characters, you may be waiting in lines for hours! :rotfl: I think Rapunzel's rivaled TSMM some days!

It was pure enthusiasm/adrenaline that kept us going. I bet the magic will getcha and you'll have just as much energy as us!

Love the TR so far. Its great to just slow down and take it in. As for the 10am sucker I thought that was what the cinnamon rolls were for....sugar rush:rotfl:

Thank you!!! The sucker was closer than the cinnamon rolls! It was all abut location for this one! :lmao::lmao::lmao:

kmedina

09-23-2011, 01:10 PM

She hated all the "dark rides" we didn't even attempt WtP or Snow White. Oh well, more time for princesses! :rotfl: What was it about the dark rides for your son?

I think it was King Stefan's joint last time I was there too! It was worth doing, but not because of the food ;). I think even little boys might enjoy it too- they get a sword!

She never did conquer her fear of the dark rides. It's funny b/c she's never been scared of the dark. I think it had more to do with the combo of "bad guys" and dark places. Oh well, I'm sure we'll get her on them eventually!

I am not quite sure what he does not like about them. Maybe, dark rides tend to have more sensory overload. He did not like PotC, which I understood. Then, we tried Snow White, and that was a big mistake. It had been years since I rode it, so I forgot how dark it is. Later, we tried Pooh, which is a character he loves. We were shocked that he did not like that either. On our December trip, we may try again. If he does not do well on the first one we try, that is it at least until next trip.

I agree that boys can love the castle. My DH was against us dining there, since we do not have any daughters. DS3 (at the time) loved eating there as much as I did. The princesses really chatted him up, and he adored the attention. He broke the sword before we ever left WDW, but he enjoyed it while it lasted.

DS is somewhat afraid of pitch dark in that he sleeps with a night light. I do not think that is why he did not like the rides though, since they are not pitch black. The not liking bad guys theory is why we tried Winnie the Pooh. With my son, I am not sure what his issue is. Like you said, we'll get him on the dark rides eventually. We'll just try at least once each trip to see how he does.

nvsnot

09-23-2011, 01:37 PM

Great TR so far! I can't wait to read some more!!

JDailey

09-23-2011, 09:07 PM

Enjoying the T.R. so far!! I love how you are not getting in a big hurry. It is nice to just take time and relax.

DsnyMama

09-24-2011, 12:28 AM

Love everything so far!!!! Subscribing!

shan23877

09-24-2011, 09:14 AM

I am not quite sure what he does not like about them. Maybe, dark rides tend to have more sensory overload. He did not like PotC, which I understood. Then, we tried Snow White, and that was a big mistake. It had been years since I rode it, so I forgot how dark it is. Later, we tried Pooh, which is a character he loves. We were shocked that he did not like that either. On our December trip, we may try again. If he does not do well on the first one we try, that is it at least until next trip.

I agree that boys can love the castle. My DH was against us dining there, since we do not have any daughters. DS3 (at the time) loved eating there as much as I did. The princesses really chatted him up, and he adored the attention. He broke the sword before we ever left WDW, but he enjoyed it while it lasted.

DS is somewhat afraid of pitch dark in that he sleeps with a night light. I do not think that is why he did not like the rides though, since they are not pitch black. The not liking bad guys theory is why we tried Winnie the Pooh. With my son, I am not sure what his issue is. Like you said, we'll get him on the dark rides eventually. We'll just try at least once each trip to see how he does.

Gives us a good excuse to keep going back! gotta help 'em conquer their fears! ;) So glad your DS liked the castle. I think any kid would love it. It seems so special to be inside the castle!

shan23877

09-24-2011, 09:18 AM

Great TR so far! I can't wait to read some more!!

Thanks! Glad you're here. I hope to have an update done before the end of the weekend!

Enjoying the T.R. so far!! I love how you are not getting in a big hurry. It is nice to just take time and relax.

Thank You!! We weren't in a hurry most of the time, but relaxing? :lmao: Not always ;) For the most part though, aside from ADRs we didn't have anywhere we HAD to be, which was really nice. I'm not usually so laid back-it was probably good for me :lmao:

Love everything so far!!!! Subscribing!

Welcome! Glad you're here!

Bethislucy

09-24-2011, 09:48 AM

shan23877

09-24-2011, 11:50 PM

Just found your trip report, it's great what I read so far. We did the same thing w/ my nephew we took him when he was 4 and let him lead the trip (for the most part) it was a blast. I love the "friend" titles to your trip report. :)

Welcome and Thank You!! Disney with a 4 year old might be the most fun ever :thumbsup2

And thanks for catching the Friends reference! I'm not sure anyone else has :confused3 They might just think I'm weird! :rotfl:

kmedina

09-25-2011, 01:20 AM

And thanks for catching the Friends reference! I'm not sure anyone else has :confused3 They might just think I'm weird! :rotfl:

Love it. I did not notice until now.

mjwheelerali

09-25-2011, 10:02 AM

What an awesome report!!! We're going in December with our 3 year old so you're comments are so appreciated!!! :) thank you!!

shan23877

09-25-2011, 12:49 PM

Love it. I did not notice until now.

It's one of my favorite shows, and I always loved the show titles :happytv:

What an awesome report!!! We're going in December with our 3 year old so you're comments are so appreciated!!! :) thank you!!

Welcome! Thanks for reading! A December trip sounds great. I hope to have more up tonight!

shan23877

09-25-2011, 10:50 PM

We were off to Epcot! Bryan and I were very excited to take Maddie on the monorail for the first time. When we were kids, we both thought the monorail was the coolest thing ever. We headed up the ramp and got in line. DD barely noticed our new mode of transportation.

While we were on the monorail it started pouring rain. The train stopped for a bit, but we had a great view of the Polynesian! When we finally arrived at Epcot, we had a decision to make. It was already about 2:30, should we brave the rain, or head back to POFQ? Rain of course! We put on our ponchos and took Maddie into her second park. First stop was for pictures.

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We decided to head straight for the Land to see if there were any FP left for Soarin’. DH and DD waited outside while I ran in to try to score the FastPasses. We got them, but with a return time of 8:15. I met back up with DH and DD, and our next stop was Maddie’s choice. The Seas With Nemo and Friends.

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DD enjoyed the ride, no dark ride fears on this one, and thanks to the vacation planning video Maddie knew all about Turtle Talk with Crush so we went there next. The next show was starting in 15 minutes, and we enjoyed the sea life while we waited.

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The show was really cute, a little over DD4’s head, but she enjoyed it anyway. Thankfully she didn’t come away calling us “Dude”

After Nemo the rain had stopped. We wanted to see how long the waits for Test Track and the Character Spot were. Long, they were long. So, we stopped into Club Cool where I exacted my revenge on DH for thinking that I over-prepare for trips by encouraging him to try Beverly. We grabbed a couple of frozen Cokes using some snack credits, and Maddie found another stuffed animal that she couldn’t live without. My MiL had just told us the day we left how much she disliked the purple color scheme for Mickey and Minnie and of course that’s the one Maddie wanted! We snapped a picture of it with our phones to send her.

With no real agenda in mind we wandered toward World Showcase. We started on the Canada side. DH cannot resist any chance to sing the Canadian national anthem, so he treated us to the parts that he knows (Oh Canada, my home and native land ) while we browsed the shops. We moved into England, and that’s where DH and I were caught. DD saw Alice out greeting guests and quickly put 2 and 2 together. “Are there characters at Epcot?”

Alice’s line was closed so I checked my Times Guide, and we made the long walk to China. I knew that this would be the only park that we could find Mulan in, so we were determined to find her. She wasn’t out, but I asked a friendly CM and she pointed to where a line had already formed. DD and DH waited while I wandered around the shops. Mulan came out about 20 minutes later. There were 3 families in front of us, 2 of which had been waiting since Mulan had been out previously. At the exact moment that we saw Mulan, Maddie declared that she had to go potty. I told her that she’d have to hold it if she wanted to see Mulan because this was to be one of her last meets of the day. The wonderful families in front of us overheard this and insisted that we skip ahead of them. So nice of them! Mulan’s photo pass person wasn’t even out yet by the time we were headed to the restrooms.

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The requisite "look at my shoes" picture

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By then it was 3:30. The character meets all ended at 4:00, so Maddie had a tough decision to make. Did she want to meet Alice (who we hadn’t seen at MK except in the parade) or the Beast? She’s a Princess at heart, so the Beast it was. We walked over to France and saw a line for Belle, but he Beast wasn’t with her. Confused, we wandered a bit thinking he might be out on his own. Finally we stumbled upon a CM who told us that Belle pretty much stays out the whole time and Beast joins her periodically. We went back and joined the line. This was the longest character line that we’d encountered by far. It was Bryan’s turn to wander and browse while Maddie and I waited. The wait ended up being almost 40 minutes, but in the end I think we both agreed that it was worth it. The look on Maddie’s face when the Beast began to dance with her was one of the best moments on an unforgettable trip.

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Since the character meets were over, DH and I were able to convince Maddie that it would be ok to slow down and enjoy a bit of World Showcase.

shan23877

09-25-2011, 10:52 PM

Some photo pass pictures

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Some random pictures from around the world

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And since no one can ever get enough pics of the trains

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We went to Germany to buy a present for Uncle Cory (my 1/2 brother, his father is of German heritage). We browsed for a bit in several countries (I honestly can't remember which ones) until it was time to head to the Beach Club for our 6:30 reservation at Cape May Café.
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kmedina

09-26-2011, 01:52 AM

JAMIESMITH

09-26-2011, 01:33 PM

I just caught up on your trip report. My Maddie will be four when we go on our first trip next year. I'm really enjoying seeing what your daughter likes and doesn't. Can't wait to read more!

katt789

09-26-2011, 10:16 PM

I'm all caught up and enjoying your trip so far! We got caught at Epcot in the rain too! Though one of our party was actually on Test Track, and we were poncholesss (though we all came out ok, rain doesn't really bother us, better than snow! :rotfl:) Can't wait to read more!

shan23877

09-27-2011, 12:01 AM

My son is like you and your husband when you were little. He loved the monorail and could not ride it enough. Near the end of our trip, he insisted we buy him a monorail to take home. We got a nice, small one on the Boardwalk.

Your Epcot Day looked like fun. I have been trying to talk DH into trying the Beverly at Club Cool too. No luck so far. Persistence usually pays off though.

Turtle Talk with Crush was my favorite thing at Epcot. It was over the head of my DS too. He still enjoyed it.

More princesses. Maddy got to meet so many of them already. I cannot wait to see which other ones she gets to meet.

I still don't understand how she didn't love the monorail! It was our favorite! That's awesome that you were able to get DS his own monorail toy. I wish that I'd had one when I was a kid!

Epcot was fun, though we left feeling like we didn't really do much other than princess stalking :rotfl: Test Track was our fave. I'm sure as DD gets older, we'll do more of the "educational" stuff.

You won't be disappointed, we're not through with princesses yet...:lmao:

I just caught up on your trip report. My Maddie will be four when we go on our first trip next year. I'm really enjoying seeing what your daughter likes and doesn't. Can't wait to read more!

How great! I am so glad that we took Maddie this year. I think it was the perfect age. She was able to ride most rides, but still really believed that she was meeting the real characters. I am so excited for you guys!

Much more to come! I hope that I'm able to give you some tips!

I'm all caught up and enjoying your trip so far! We got caught at Epcot in the rain too! Though one of our party was actually on Test Track, and we were poncholesss (though we all came out ok, rain doesn't really bother us, better than snow! :rotfl:) Can't wait to read more!

Much better than the snow-agreed! DH ditched his poncho pretty quickly, but one of us was dressed in finery :rolleyes1 so ponchos for the girls. We had pretty good luck with the rain for most of the trip, I think you have to expect some from the Florida summers. Were you there at the same time as us?

mya1k9

09-27-2011, 01:21 AM

It cracks me up how she keeps showing all the characters her shoes!! To, to funny!!! Great pics

ReneeDisney

09-27-2011, 07:20 AM

Wonderful trip report and I LOVE the title! We will be heading to WDW this Friday and we have a 4 year old princess. I agree that letting our pre-schooler lead the way will be a wonderful experience. You daughter is simply adorable! Looking forward to reading more... :)

lbuzz52

09-27-2011, 01:55 PM

“Why are you wearing shoes?” “Because the stone hurts my feet sometimes”

I am so happy she asked this. This bothered Maya in a huge way. For a month, i heard all about how wrong it was for Rapunzel to have on shoes at least a couple times a day. :lmao:

Great timing with the genie! I love your Rosetta comment and the dance with the beast!

shan23877

09-27-2011, 10:23 PM

It cracks me up how she keeps showing all the characters her shoes!! To, to funny!!! Great pics

Shoes are VERY important to Maddie :lmao: and, add to that a worn Belle jibit... Well, the princesses needed to know how Mommy had neglected those shoes :rotfl2:

thanks for the compliment, we came home with thousands of pics

Wonderful trip report and I LOVE the title! We will be heading to WDW this Friday and we have a 4 year old princess. I agree that letting our pre-schooler lead the way will be a wonderful experience. You daughter is simply adorable! Looking forward to reading more... :)

:wave2: Welcome! and thanks! How great to be going so soon! You'll have so much fun. 4 is a great age for disney (but aren't they all :rotfl:)

more coming right up!

I am so happy she asked this. This bothered Maya in a huge way. For a month, i heard all about how wrong it was for Rapunzel to have on shoes at least a couple times a day. :lmao:

Great timing with the genie! I love your Rosetta comment and the dance with the beast!

Isn't it funny what the girls will fixate on? Mads was really concerned with the shoe situation.

We had some great character interactions, but Rosetta was special. She was really good, and "I don't do mud" is one of our family's favorite quotes from the fairie movies. We actually say it all the time because I'm not really too outdoorsy :rolleyes1

shan23877

09-27-2011, 10:54 PM

When I was making our ADRs for this trip, this evening’s meal was the one that changed the most. I think that I switched it 5 times before settling on the Cape May Clambake. :rotfl: DH was a little uncomfortable with me locking us into certain parks at certain times, so Cape May was chosen mostly for its location right between Epcot and DHS-and because we all LOVE crab legs.

It was a really nice walk to the Beach Club, DD loved seeing the beach.

The Boardwalk is fun, maybe we'll stay there again some day, but there's so may others resorts to try!

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Maddie loved seeing these guys everywhere.

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We got to the restaurant 15 minutes early, but it took a long time to check in because a woman was screaming at the CM at the podium. It seems that she didn’t understand why her party of 10 couldn’t be seated right away, at one table, without a reservation. The poor guy was starting to loose his composure, but she stormed off before he did. We gave our name, were given our pager, and it went off before we could sit down to wait.

I cannot say enough good things about the Cape May Clambake. Our server was very friendly, got our drinks quickly, and brought us an extra large bucket for our shells when DD told him how much she loves crab legs. :lmao: We hit the buffet and started filling plates. I usually don’t care much for snow crab, but these were fantastic. I also had some lightly breaded Mahi-Mahi which was very good. Even the sides seemed better than at other buffets, but the real treat was dessert. I think I ate 4 Oreo Bon-Bons and 3 Key Lime Tarts! DELICIOUS! We used our TS credits, tipped our waiter and headed out of the Beach Club.

On the walk back to Epcot we were moving a little more slowly than we had before, but we knew that it was almost time for Soarin’! We moved through the crowds in World Showcase enjoying the entertainment as we went.

Maddie was super excited for the “hang-gliding ride”.

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Love these mosaics. Beautiful.

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Even with our FP we still waited about 15 minutes before we were able to ride. Maddie loved it!! Apparently we don’t have problems with motion simulators!

With another great ride under her belt Maddie was eager for more. She wanted to ride Test Track. It was 8:30 and we wanted to catch Illuminations, but we decided to give it a shot. Posted Standby time was 20 minutes, but for some reason people kept getting out of the line, so we only waited 15 minutes. When we went into the little room to get our instructions, and DD started to get really excited. We boarded the cars and took off to put them through their tests. Maddie LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this ride. It ended up being her favorite ride of the whole trip.

I hope they continue to allow you to add the on-ride photo to photopass for more rides.

Maddie and Mommy ride with arms up!

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We took a ton of photos in line and in the dump shop for Uncle Cory who is a major gear head. I won't bore you with them :lmao:

By now it was 8:50, and we knew we weren’t going to get a good spot for Illuminations, but we needed to find A spot. DD wanted some fireworks. We ended up at the very end of the walkway between Future World and World Showcase. DD could see the fireworks, but not the globe (she probably wouldn’t have cared much about that anyway) and we had a pretty good escape route to the buses.

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Of course we stopped for some Photo Pass pictures on the way out.

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We got on the first bus to POFQ, and were there quickly. DD’s goose was cooked and she fell asleep almost immediately. DH and I downloaded pictures and readied things for the next day. I went down to the lobby to inquire about the morning boat and bus schedules to Downtown Disney, we repacked our park bag, and planted the next invitation for Maddie to find. The next morning was going to be fantastic!

kmedina

09-28-2011, 03:20 AM

204charity

09-28-2011, 07:54 AM

Love your trip report. I can't wait to go myself. SOOO excited!

GrammyJudy

09-28-2011, 09:02 AM

I am catching up on your report. Your daughter is adorable. We only have boys so no auto books or princesses for them.

JAMIESMITH

09-28-2011, 09:57 AM

It looks like you had a really fun day! I've been wondering how Test Track and Soarin' are for little kids. I think we're going to plan on those being Madilyn's first rides at WDW since Maddie loved them so much! I don't want to terrify her right off the bat!

shan23877

09-28-2011, 12:16 PM

Looks like another great evening. I love the resorts along the boardwalk between the two parks. We ate at Cape May for breakfast last trip, but have yet to try dinner. My aversion to all sea animals usually keeps me away.

I am glad that Maddie got to see Illuminations and loved that you stopped by PhotoPass on the way out. DH was none to pleased when I asked him to stop for a picture after the show. Luckily, we still got out before most of the crowd. Our spot was similar to yours. We are not the wait forever is a good spot for fireworks/parades type, so we either skip them all together or get an undesired spot.

I am excited to read about the next invitation.

If you don't like seafood, Cape May dinner is probably not a good choice :rotfl:. My DH was SO sick of photopass pics, but I still made him stop (over, and over, and over ;)

We're also not much for staking out a good spot hours before hand. I can't sit still that long, much less DD! I'm ok with the bad spot, you can still see everything!

I am excited to share the morning of Day 3. It was awesome!

Love your trip report. I can't wait to go myself. SOOO excited!

Thank you!! I'd be excited too (I think I was the Poly on your ticker) That's my dream resort!

I am catching up on your report. Your daughter is adorable. We only have boys so no auto books or princesses for them.

Thank you! and Welcome! Darn those boys- not even autographs from Mickey? It seeems like that's all we did on this trip! We probably could have used a little more balance!

It looks like you had a really fun day! I've been wondering how Test Track and Soarin' are for little kids. I think we're going to plan on those being Madilyn's first rides at WDW since Maddie loved them so much! I don't want to terrify her right off the bat!

Awesome!! Soarin wasn't scary for her at all, and we knew she liked thrill rides, so we weren't surprised that test track was her favorite.

I agree completely--ease them in before you put 'em on Tower of Terror ;) That's what we did! :lmao:

thekeeper

09-28-2011, 07:24 PM

Just join in, cant wait to read more about your trip! Your DD make me want to go back to WDW just to meet more princess (and i'm 21)

shan23877

09-29-2011, 01:08 AM

Just join in, cant wait to read more about your trip! Your DD make me want to go back to WDW just to meet more princess (and i'm 21)

Welcome! Thanks for joining in! You're never too old for princesses right? ;)

NOLAmom

09-29-2011, 09:11 AM

lbuzz52

09-29-2011, 01:23 PM

I'm so glad that your dd loved TT and Soarin! I have to try Cape May next trip. I love the whole boardwalk area. Its very relaxing to me.

katt789

09-29-2011, 04:49 PM

Much better than the snow-agreed! DH ditched his poncho pretty quickly, but one of us was dressed in finery :rolleyes1 so ponchos for the girls. We had pretty good luck with the rain for most of the trip, I think you have to expect some from the Florida summers. Were you there at the same time as us?

Definitely!! None of our group even had ponchos (we're all adults, so it's a little less important) we just braved the wet, let me tell you, I was thankfull for all the lululemon that day, wet-dry-warm, saves ya! Our last day it rained for about 30 mins, maybe less, and that was it, we were lucky! And we we're there Sept 13-19th

shan23877

09-29-2011, 11:29 PM

Hi. I just found your trip report and it's a HUGE help as I'm preparing for our late January trip with a recently turned 4 yr old boy. We've got a DD too who will be almost 3 at trip time. It's very helpful to see what rides the 4 yr olds like and which ones are too scary.

I'm so glad your daughter loved Soarin and TT. I am so hoping that our DS will try both of those on our Epcot day. We showed him TT and he said it looked too fast on the internet but maybe we can change his mind once there!!

Looks like ya'll had long days. Did Maddie ever nap or did ya'll do down time at the resort mid day ever? I'll keep reading and can't wait to hear about the rest of the trip.

Hi and :welcome: I'm really glad that you're finding it helpful! We knew that DD was a fan of thrill rides, so it was the rides that she didn't like that surprised us :confused3. I hope that he'll be brave for you!

DD didn't nap at all, and we only had a mid-day break once (that's a long story for day 5). DD is a go-go kid though. What we did find is that even though she'd not a huge eater, regular meals and snacks were super important. Most nights she fell asleep for a few minutes on the bus rides back to POFQ, but then she woke up and wanted to go swimming :rotfl2:

I hope that you'll find the TR even more helpful, and thanks for reading!

I'm so glad that your dd loved TT and Soarin! I have to try Cape May next trip. I love the whole boardwalk area. Its very relaxing to me.

Me too! I was beginning to think that we'd only be riding Dumbo and BTMRR :laughing: Isn't the boardwalk area great? DH and I enjoyed it a lot when we'd go before Maddie. I hope you try Cape May, we loved it!

shan23877

09-30-2011, 12:10 AM

If you’ve watched the Disney Vacation Planning Video as much as we have, then you know that approximately 10 seconds of the video is devoted to the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique. If you think that those 10 seconds escaped Maddie’s attention, well you’d be mistaken.

As with Cinderella’s Royal Table, we didn’t want to throw costs at DD, but we wanted her to understand that a trip to the BBB was very special. So, we told her that you had to be specially invited to attend.

So, in addition to telling everyone she met that she was going to Disney she also told them “and, maybe I’m going to be invited to the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique”

On the morning of Day 3 we awoke at 6:45. Bryan and I showered and dressed before we woke Maddie. Once she was awake we told her that something special had happened while she slept. Would you believe that Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother had dropped by the room in the middle of the night? She was there to extend Madison an invitation to the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique for that very morning! Needless to say, Maddie was stoked. I don’t have any pics of her with the invitation because I was reading it to her, and DH was just enjoying the moment. It was great. She was so excited to get going.

We got Maddie dressed quickly and headed to Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory for some breakfast. We paid OOP this morning. Maddie got the kids breakfast, DH got a bagel, and I had 2 beignets and finished DD’s eggs. Perfect! We took a few quick pictures outside, and headed to the bus stop.

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Our BBB appointment was for 9:05, so we got to the bus stop at 8:00. We were not about to be late for this! Since we’d asked the night before, we knew that the boats didn’t begin running until 10 am, but he CMs assured us that the busses started going to DTD at 8:00. There were 2 ladies also waiting for the DTD buses. They had been there since 7:30 and hadn’t seen one yet, so it was a relief to know that we hadn’t missed one.

There was a CM at the bus stop this morning helping out the guests and radioing for more busses to come. At 8:15 DH asked him if a DTD bus was for sure coming. He told us that it was.

At 8:30 DH asked again, and pled for the CM to be completely honest. He told him that we had an appointment and that we’d take a cab if the bus wasn’t on the way. The CM told us that a bus would be there any minute. He also told us that we could just explain that our bus was late if we missed our appointment time.

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By 8:40 I was ready to explode. The CM again told us that the bus would be there any minute.

http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/shanbell23/DSC07385.jpg

We got on the bus at 8:50. It of course picked up at Riverside before we left, and stopped at Typhoon Lagoon before going to DTD. GRRRRRRRRR

http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/shanbell23/DSC07386.jpg

This was the only bad bus experience that we had on the entire trip, but it sure came at the wrong time.

Finally, at 9:10 we arrived at DTD Marketplace, and we power walked to the World of Disney Store. It was finally BBB time!!

I know that this update was kind of a bummer, so I'm hard at work on the next one which is much more fun!

baseballmickey

09-30-2011, 01:26 AM

I've been busy and just getting back to reading your TR. I had to tell you before anything else that your reserved post for the Chapter Links worked out great!! Very "Friends" too! :thumbsup2

baseballmickey

09-30-2011, 02:11 AM

The One With The Questionable Parenting
Does the title of this one refer to DH not wanting to see princesses?? :rotfl2:

Awesome pictures! I think my DD and I will adopt the "Disney" yell for our next rollercoaster... whenever that is.

Looks like you are all having so much fun.

The One With The Scary Mountain and Lovely Ladies

Aww.. that's too bad about SM. I don't think I've ever known anyone to react to it quite like that. DW doesn't mind everything leading up the drop. The drop scares the Beverly out of her. I have to dig up my video of SM to show DD and see if she'll be up for it next summer!

Got to love Woody and Jessie! DD and I dressed up as those two last Halloween too!! (apparently this year I get to be Captain Hook to her Tink)

More princesses! And FOTL for Rapunzel!! Amazing!! Gotta love that!

I'm sorry, no disrespect to your DH, but rides only become "throw-up" rides if you can't control yourself!! :lmao: He should have gotten his own cup and chose not to spin it like we did on our last trip when we were sick!! :thumbsup2

The One With the Gang From the 100 Acre Wood

We love the CP. I totally agree with you about the Character Meals. They're a great way to fill out a DDP schedule when you have a little one. And yes, go for the experience, not the food!! Or maybe to paraphrase Bruce... "Character Meals are about Friends, Not Food!"

I think I've come up with a rule of thumb about the character meals too, after our last trip: "Mostly breakfast, Sometimes Dinner, but NEVER lunch." :rotfl2: To me, lunch is PB&J, a hot dog, or some deli meats. I don't want to eat an earlier dinner. I'd much rather eat a later breakfast!

Sorry to hear you couldn't get a better spot for MSEP. I do like the picture you got of Alice and the Castle! I can't wait to see the new show!

BTW.. I am so totally a soda in the morning person, pepsi preferable, but in a pinch coke will do just fine. DW thinks i am so weird because I have never had a cup of coffee in my life.

Anyway... back to reading... lots more chapters to go... this is going to be one long comment. I think I better break it up into smaller ones! :thumbsup2

baseballmickey

09-30-2011, 02:44 AM

The One With Empty Streets and A Date With Royalty Parts 1 & 2

That is great that you guys are so Imaginative and Crafty. (I pieced together my Woody outfit and it was questionable at best) The Invitation looks fantastic and such a great idea!! The costumes you made look great too! are you involved with the Disboutiquers at all?

Poor DH! (not really) He and my DW can commiserate. I am usually taking pictures all the time. Each trip I usually get a handful of DW's "don't you ever put that thing away" face! :rotfl2:

I love an empty Main Street. The music is so much clearer, and the smells seem more potent... :thumbsup2

ahh... CRT. Once again... Character Meals are about Friends, Not Food. We also found that the food had gone downhill since the first time I took DW there, just the two of us, for dinner. It was King Stefan's then. And then Cinderella and Prince Charming were upstairs and came to your table. It was the Fairy Godmother who you met downstairs as you came in. I liked that much better. I don't see why it couldn't be the same now, just with visiting princesses. They also had mickey shaped butter. not a flat mickey head... but a standing, 3D figure of mickey mouse made of butter! If I had known that would be the last time I'd see it... well, I would have brought liquid nitrogen to freeze it and something to store it in and take it home! :rotfl2:

Still.. despite the food and DD not being fully energized... it looks like a great start to another Disney morning!

katt789

09-30-2011, 02:31 PM

Ack! So sorry about your bus situation, that SUCKS. I haven't known of Disney busses running that behind/badly. I am excited for the BBB update though!!

mom of princess

09-30-2011, 10:55 PM

I'm enjoying your TR:)

DH and I followed the let the child rule the vacation during our last trip - he was forced to do so when I kept saying, "she's only little once, suck it up and ride Small World for the 900th time if it makes her happy":rotfl2:

He also had to learn that little girls have the uncanny ability to spot a character 2 miles away thru a crowd of people 60 deep.:lmao: Where is the Rapunzul meet & greet? I know that will be on our list next summer.

Am hoping that you can give some insight on the POFQ resort. DH wanted to upgrade for this next trip and DD chose this hotel because of the pool. She doesn't even know about this upcoming trip - hoping she isn't just faking us out:rolleyes1

shan23877

09-30-2011, 11:58 PM

I've been busy and just getting back to reading your TR. I had to tell you before anything else that your reserved post for the Chapter Links worked out great!! Very "Friends" too! :thumbsup2

Thanks for your help! We are big TV geeks, and have always loved the Friends episode titles :)

The One With The Questionable Parenting
Does the title of this one refer to DH not wanting to see princesses?? :rotfl2:

:lmao:

Awesome pictures! I think my DD and I will adopt the "Disney" yell for our next rollercoaster... whenever that is.

Looks like you are all having so much fun.

Thanks!

The One With The Scary Mountain and Lovely Ladies

Aww.. that's too bad about SM. I don't think I've ever known anyone to react to it quite like that. DW doesn't mind everything leading up the drop. The drop scares the Beverly out of her.

:rotfl2: I had no idea that DD wouldn't like it! We were shocked!

I have to dig up my video of SM to show DD and see if she'll be up for it next summer!

Got to love Woody and Jessie! DD and I dressed up as those two last Halloween too!! (apparently this year I get to be Captain Hook to her Tink)

That's great! I think it's really cool when daddy's will dress up with their girls! I'd love to see a Tink and Hook picture! We're doing Belle. Dad's not to sure about being the Beast :lmao:. He may just be a prince.

More princesses! And FOTL for Rapunzel!! Amazing!! Gotta love that!

I'm sorry, no disrespect to your DH, but rides only become "throw-up" rides if you can't control yourself!! :lmao: He should have gotten his own cup and chose not to spin it like we did on our last trip when we were sick!! :thumbsup2

The One With the Gang From the 100 Acre Wood

We love the CP. I totally agree with you about the Character Meals. They're a great way to fill out a DDP schedule when you have a little one. And yes, go for the experience, not the food!! Or maybe to paraphrase Bruce... "Character Meals are about Friends, Not Food!"

:rotfl:

I think I've come up with a rule of thumb about the character meals too, after our last trip: "Mostly breakfast, Sometimes Dinner, but NEVER lunch." :rotfl2: To me, lunch is PB&J, a hot dog, or some deli meats. I don't want to eat an earlier dinner. I'd much rather eat a later breakfast!

Sorry to hear you couldn't get a better spot for MSEP. I do like the picture you got of Alice and the Castle! I can't wait to see the new show!

The new show is amazing.

BTW.. I am so totally a soda in the morning person, pepsi preferable, but in a pinch coke will do just fine. DW thinks i am so weird because I have never had a cup of coffee in my life.

I'm Pepsi too. Have to suffer through the Coke at WDW though.

Anyway... back to reading... lots more chapters to go... this is going to be one long comment. I think I better break it up into smaller ones! :thumbsup2

The One With Empty Streets and A Date With Royalty Parts 1 & 2

That is great that you guys are so Imaginative and Crafty. (I pieced together my Woody outfit and it was questionable at best) The Invitation looks fantastic and such a great idea!! The costumes you made look great too! are you involved with the Disboutiquers at all?

I've lurked on the threads, I think their skills are a little out of my range.

Poor DH! (not really) He and my DW can commiserate. I am usually taking pictures all the time. Each trip I usually get a handful of DW's "don't you ever put that thing away" face! :rotfl2:

I've seen that face...

I love an empty Main Street. The music is so much clearer, and the smells seem more potent... :thumbsup2

ahh... CRT. Once again... Character Meals are about Friends, Not Food. We also found that the food had gone downhill since the first time I took DW there, just the two of us, for dinner. It was King Stefan's then. And then Cinderella and Prince Charming were upstairs and came to your table. It was the Fairy Godmother who you met downstairs as you came in. I liked that much better. I don't see why it couldn't be the same now, just with visiting princesses. They also had mickey shaped butter. not a flat mickey head... but a standing, 3D figure of mickey mouse made of butter! If I had known that would be the last time I'd see it... well, I would have brought liquid nitrogen to freeze it and something to store it in and take it home! :rotfl2:

I'm a big fan of butter. I would have loved to see that.

Still.. despite the food and DD not being fully energized... it looks like a great start to another Disney morning!

Ack! So sorry about your bus situation, that SUCKS. I haven't known of Disney busses running that behind/badly. I am excited for the BBB update though!!

I hate that I left things on a sour note. I can't wait to share our BBB experience!

I'm enjoying your TR:)

Thank you! and :welcome:

DH and I followed the let the child rule the vacation during our last trip - he was forced to do so when I kept saying, "she's only little once, suck it up and ride Small World for the 900th time if it makes her happy":rotfl2:

:lmao:

He also had to learn that little girls have the uncanny ability to spot a character 2 miles away thru a crowd of people 60 deep.:lmao: Where is the Rapunzul meet & greet? I know that will be on our list next summer.

They sure do! Can't sneak past 'em if you try! Rapunzel is between the castle and the teacups. It's a great little area.

Am hoping that you can give some insight on the POFQ resort. DH wanted to upgrade for this next trip and DD chose this hotel because of the pool. She doesn't even know about this upcoming trip - hoping she isn't just faking us out:rolleyes1

I'd be happy to answer any questions you have. We loved POFQ. It's small enough that everything's close by, the theming is great, gardens very pretty. We will certainly stay there again.

TanzUnited99

10-01-2011, 07:14 AM

Caretames1

10-01-2011, 08:38 AM

Hello! Joining in. I really try to return the favor, you read mine, I'll read yours!:thumbsup2

Going back to get caught up.

* All caught up!:surfweb:

Your DD is adorable!:cutie: I'm totally enjoying your TR and we did let our DD take the lead on what we did while we were in the parks, because this trip was all about her. We figured they are only young once!

Our DD doesn't like the dark rides either, but Peter Pan she loved! Weird kid;)

I hope that being late to BB wasn't too bad!

SoonerGirl

10-01-2011, 08:58 AM

Hi Shannon, I noticed the link in your siggy from your post on my TR, so I came over to check yours out. Your DD is adorable!! I love that you decided to let her lead your trip and just enjoyed WDW through her eyes :goodvibes

kokotg

10-01-2011, 10:57 AM

Followed you over from my TR and joining in. I'm about halfway through and really enjoying it so far! It's funny, in my family the kids are the ones who always just want to go ride another ride, and I'm the one trying to get them to slow down, watch a show or parade, meet some characters :laughing:

shan23877

10-01-2011, 01:31 PM

Hi I'm joining in for the remainder of your TR!

I love the chapter titles and how excited DD is in every picture. Love all her meets with the character and how happy she is when meeting the princesses! :goodvibes I'm a bit jealous that you got to see Genie - we only got Aladdin and Jasmine :lmao:

Beast is such a sweetie, isn't he? I'm so happy that he made DDs day.

Loving all your pics esp the ones of MSEP and Wishes. You are right in that one can never have too many pics of the train track!

Looking forward to reading more.

Thanks for joining in! I was really excited to see the Genie! It was a nice addition to princess-palooza :rotfl:

Hello! Joining in. I really try to return the favor, you read mine, I'll read yours!:thumbsup2

Going back to get caught up.

* All caught up!:surfweb:

Your DD is adorable!:cutie: I'm totally enjoying your TR and we did let our DD take the lead on what we did while we were in the parks, because this trip was all about her. We figured they are only young once!

Our DD doesn't like the dark rides either, but Peter Pan she loved! Weird kid;)

I hope that being late to BB wasn't too bad!

Thanks for joining! I imagine that our trip will sound pretty familiar to you, since your girls are older than my DD.

We didn't even try Peter Pan. We were saving our last "dark ride" for HM ;)

Hi Shannon, I noticed the link in your siggy from your post on my TR, so I came over to check yours out. Your DD is adorable!! I love that you decided to let her lead your trip and just enjoyed WDW through her eyes :goodvibes

Thanks!

Followed you over from my TR and joining in. I'm about halfway through and really enjoying it so far! It's funny, in my family the kids are the ones who always just want to go ride another ride, and I'm the one trying to get them to slow down, watch a show or parade, meet some characters :laughing:

Thanks for reading! I think a little more balance between rides and characters would have been nice. :laughing:

shan23877

10-02-2011, 11:19 PM

According to the Disney website

Girls 3 years old and above can choose from 3 hair styles — Fairytale Princess, Disney Diva and Pop Princess — in 3 available packages:
Coach Package includes hairstyling and shimmering makeup — starting at $49.95 USD plus tax.
Crown Package includes hairstyling, shimmering makeup and nails — starting at $54.95 USD plus tax.
Castle Package includes the Crown Package plus the Imaging Package (one 6" x 8" and four 4" x 6" photos in a princess-themed photo holder) and complete costume of your choice with accessories — starting at $189.95 USD plus tax.
The optional Imaging Package includes one 6" x 8" and four 4" x 6" photos in a princess-themed photo holder.

When you make your appointment, you’ll be instructed to bring your own hairbrush, and that the girls’ nails must be free of polish. This proved to be an issue for us because DD ALWAYS has her nails polished, and she certainly didn’t understand why she couldn’t have them done for her Disney vacation.

We arrived at the World of Disney Store, still a little flustered from being so late. On the bus ride we’d been asking Maddie what princess she’d like to be made into hoping to save a little time choosing. “We’ll see Mommy”. Ok, we’d be taking our time.

As we checked in at the desk (appointments are made in the little girls’ names) the CM assured us that our tardiness was not an issue. We were asked which package we’d like (we chose the Castle Package) and Maddie was told to choose which princess she’d like to be. I’d like to say that we let her choose all on her own, but we did try to nudge her toward certain dresses. She wanted to be Aurora, but we told her that long sleeves in August were a bad idea. Then, she was teetering between Jasmine (her dad was having a mild heart attack) and Cinderella. I was hoping she’d choose Tiana, because the dress was absolutely beautiful, but in the end Arial was the winner. I never in a million years would have guessed that this is what she’d pick!

We told the CM at the desk that Arial was our choice, and glancing at Maddie she quickly guessed her sized for both dress and shoes. I was impressed! Maddie was then given her official invitation (their words—bless them) which was basically a brochure with photos of the different hairstyles to choose from. I pointed out the Fairytale Princess ‘do right away and Maddie agreed. DH and I wanted Maddie to look like a little girl- we weren’t ready for hair extentions.

Maddie with her "official invitation"

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We waited a few minutes more (we had been late, so we weren’t complaining) and then they showed Maddie and I to her dressing room where her outfit was waiting for her. The Arial outfit included the dress, shoes, wand, and tiara (in addition to the tiara that comes with the Fairytale Princess hairdo). We got her dressed, and then emerged to meet her Fairy Godmother In Training, Chris.

Looking in the mirror in her dressing room

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A pose before the makeover began

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The "Before"

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Chris immediately noticed the Chicago Cubs bag that we were carrying. We got to talking and as it turns out, Chris is from a town about 30 minutes from where we live! It really is a small world after all.

Getting into the chair

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The makeover began with nail polish. I think that there were 3 colors to choose from (very pale pink, purple or blue) but the girls make all of the choices, so I can’t be certain.

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Then came the makeup. (Again there are a few choices, all tasteful, but Maddie picked without Mom’s help). The makeup includes a sparkley sticker on the cheek which Maddie was crazy about, eye shadow, and lip gloss.

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Then came the hair. I mentioned to Chris that Maddie would not be ok with her bangs being pulled back (she’s oddly attached to the bangs), but was told that they are not allowed to do it any other way. Odd, but nothing that we were going to be pushy about as long as DD was ok with it.

Checking her lipstick

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Choosing her Mickey barrette

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The whole time there was a PhotoPass photographer snapping pics of the little girls. The one that was there that day was awesome. He kept showing the parents if he got a particularly good shot. The only downside to the BBB is that it is a very small area. Only about half of the chairs were occupied, but the parents had very limited space to stand and watch.

Getting her sash

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Getting dusted

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The girls are kept facing away from the mirror until the big reveal, which makes for a very cool moment when they finally see themselves. Once Maddie’s hair was finished, she chose which color tiara she wanted, and then chose a Mickey barrette for the back of her hair. DD’s BBB sash was draped over her shoulders, and finally, after a liberal dose of pixie dust, Maddie’s Fairy Godmother in Training spun her around.

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Maddie and Chris posed for a picture together, and Chris signed DD's autograph book.

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We gave Maddie some money to tip Chris, and she was led to a wishing well to put the money in (cute). Maddie was given a bag containing the bottle of nail polish and makeup pallete and comb they’d used as well as an extra Mickey barrette. We settled up at the desk, the whole experience came to about $215 with tax. We were given a voucher to redeem at the portrait area for our photo package, and we said goodbye to the Fairy Godmothers In Training. We browsed the princess area of World of Disney for a few minutes, promising Maddie that we’d come back to shop some more after the photo shoot.

On the way to the photo shoot

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The photography is located next to Team Mickey, so we headed there right away. We had to wait a few minutes, but we had fun watching the other girls who had just been made into princesses have their photos taken.

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The package came with an 8x10, 2 4x6, and 4 wallet sized photos, but all of them can be added to your photopass card.

DH and I liked the whole BBB experience for Maddie, but our final thoughts on it weren’t really solidified until the end of the day.

We’d do it again in a heartbeat.

Every where we went, CMs and other vacationers called her princess, bowed to her, opened doors, etc. which Maddie absolutely loved. It is very expensive, but worth every penny. It is hard to put into words how wonderful it is to see your little girl feel like royalty. Maddie loves to dress up, but if you call her by the princess’s name, she always says “I’m just Maddie. I’m only pretending to be a princess.” On this day there was no arguing. She WAS a princess. The BBB experience extends so far beyond the short time that you’re there.

It is truly magical.

TanzUnited99

10-03-2011, 06:56 AM

SoonerGirl

10-03-2011, 07:59 AM

What a great update! Maddie looks so pretty all dressed up as a princess! I don't think I've ever read a review of the BBB where someone says that they wished they hadn't done it. What a great experience that is for little girls :goodvibes

JAMIESMITH

10-03-2011, 09:33 AM

It was really neat to see how much fun Maddie had at BBB. I don't see that as something we'll do simply because I can't picture spending that much extra money. The quality of costumes at Disney looks so much better than what you can buy at Walmart!

shan23877

10-03-2011, 11:29 PM

Wow what a lovely update! :thumbsup2

Maddie looks gorgeous before, during and after her makeover! She makes a lovely Ariel - we saw many princesses during our trip and loved watching them being treated like royalty.

Thank you so much. That's very sweet. It is so cute the way everyone treats the little princesses!

What a great update! Maddie looks so pretty all dressed up as a princess! I don't think I've ever read a review of the BBB where someone says that they wished they hadn't done it. What a great experience that is for little girls :goodvibes

Thank You! I can't imagine anyone not enjoying it. It was so great for her. She's such a little diva, it was her dream come true! She actually said just last night that it was her favorite part of the whole trip!

It was really neat to see how much fun Maddie had at BBB. I don't see that as something we'll do simply because I can't picture spending that much extra money. The quality of costumes at Disney looks so much better than what you can buy at Walmart!

It was great for her. It is super expensive, we weren't sure we wanted to spend the money. It was worth it to us though. Probably won't be something we'd do every time though! The costumes were really good quality. They're nicer than the one's you can get through Disney's website too.

Belle83

10-04-2011, 12:43 AM

I'm new to your TR but took no time getting caught up! What a wonderful first trip for your DD. The excitement in her face in a lot of your pics made me tear up a little. Can't wait to see more!

shan23877

10-04-2011, 01:03 AM

I'm new to your TR but took no time getting caught up! What a wonderful first trip for your DD. The excitement in her face in a lot of your pics made me tear up a little. Can't wait to see more!

:welcome: and thanks for joining in! It was a great first trip! (her second is currently in negotiations :rotfl:) She was so excited, and we'll cherish those pictures. I hope to have more up soon! Thanks for reading!

kmedina

10-04-2011, 02:16 AM

baseballmickey

10-04-2011, 02:50 AM

The One With More Rapunzel and a Minor Meltdown

Wow, your DD is quite the little interrogator! I was half expecting to hear her ask how her hair grew back after she cut it in the movie!!

We did the Laugh Floor once and thought it was funny! I texted a joke and it was picked! I got a kick out of that.

The One Where Rosetta Steals the Show

More great characters! nice. But I can't believe there was a CM sanctioning holding places for people in line! :rolleyes1 The DIS would be in an uproar if that was officialy policy :scared1: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

My DD has finally discovered the fairies this year, so she'll finally get to meet them next trip.

The One Where We Were Holding Out On Her

:rotfl2: Are there characters in EPCOT?? :rotfl2:

What? No pictures of DH's "Beverly Face"??

The afternoon rain showers are part of the experience. I feel weird if I am there and they don't happen!

That was very nice of those families to let you go ahead. More often than not, we get the other kind of families on line with us.

Another great meet with Belle and Beast. I am starting to think you guys are character magnets!!

The One With Crab Legs and Hang-Gliding

Sounds like a restaurant I'll never eat at. :rotfl2: I don't mind seafood, but with the exception of lobster and now scallops, DW does not care for it. But then again, there was a time when lobster and scallops were shunned... maybe someday.

Very impressed DD rode Soarin AND TT. and you got the ride pic added to your photopass??? wow, never thought to ask about that. Then again, we don't ride many things that take a picture since DW and DD aren't into those rides.

The One Where The Buses Have Me Fuming

All I can say is, ugh! We've done the bus thing on several trips, and at this point we're car renters until perhaps one day when the kids are older and out of strollers, or maybe in a pinch and we can't afford the car.

The One With All the Fairy Godmothers

I read this one twice, both times slowly... I was absorbing everything, because DD is going to do this next trip. Thank you so much for sharing that!!

Your DD looks beautiful as a princess, even without the bangs! That must have been something else to see in person, and I can't imagine the feeling of having that special treatment the rest of the day. It makes me feel a certain way that us guys can't admit to in public forums. :rotfl2: Now imagine if it was my own DD and not someone else's!! :lmao:

Hey... I'm all caught up!! Woo hoo! :woohoo:

shan23877

10-04-2011, 11:47 AM

We had a bad bus experience leaving HS after Fantasmic one night. I am glad it did not affect your reservation, since they accepted her late.

BBB looks like so much fun, and Maddie sure looked like a little princess. My nieces did it on our last trip and enjoyed every minute of it. If I never have a daughter, I may just have to do it myself.

It was our only bad bus experience of the trip, but I hate being late, so made me a little stressed out.

BBB was so much fun! I bet that girls of all ages would love it! ;)

The One With More Rapunzel and a Minor Meltdown

Wow, your DD is quite the little interrogator! I was half expecting to hear her ask how her hair grew back after she cut it in the movie!!

I'm surprised that she didn't- the hair cut in the movie was a little traumatizing for her :lmao:

We did the Laugh Floor once and thought it was funny! I texted a joke and it was picked! I got a kick out of that.

Awesome! We really enjoyed it.

The One Where Rosetta Steals the Show

More great characters! nice. But I can't believe there was a CM sanctioning holding places for people in line! :rolleyes1 The DIS would be in an uproar if that was officialy policy :scared1: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

:lmao:

My DD has finally discovered the fairies this year, so she'll finally get to meet them next trip.

The One Where We Were Holding Out On Her

:rotfl2: Are there characters in EPCOT?? :rotfl2:

What? No pictures of DH's "Beverly Face"??

Didn't get the photo, but he wasn't a fan :confused3

The afternoon rain showers are part of the experience. I feel weird if I am there and they don't happen!

That was very nice of those families to let you go ahead. More often than not, we get the other kind of families on line with us.

We seemed to be in line with really friendly people most of the time, these people really stood out though.

Another great meet with Belle and Beast. I am starting to think you guys are character magnets!!

If by magnets you mean consulting the times guide several times a day to find out where DD's favorites were, then yes! we were :rotfl:

The One With Crab Legs and Hang-Gliding

Sounds like a restaurant I'll never eat at. :rotfl2: I don't mind seafood, but with the exception of lobster and now scallops, DW does not care for it. But then again, there was a time when lobster and scallops were shunned... maybe someday.

That's too bad! I should have added a disclaimer -- It's really good IF you like seafood :)

Very impressed DD rode Soarin AND TT. and you got the ride pic added to your photopass??? wow, never thought to ask about that. Then again, we don't ride many things that take a picture since DW and DD aren't into those rides.

I think that TT is the only ride that will let you do it. She loved those rides, who knew it would be the dark ones?

The One Where The Buses Have Me Fuming

All I can say is, ugh! We've done the bus thing on several trips, and at this point we're car renters until perhaps one day when the kids are older and out of strollers, or maybe in a pinch and we can't afford the car.

We drove to PA in 2010, but we rented a car instead of putting the miles on ours. By the time we'd rented, paid for gas, and paid for food and drink along the way, it was the same price to fly. So, we opted for less travelling time, but couldn't justify an onsite rental.

We've NEVER had a problem like this one with the buses before and didn't after. We don't really mind them at all.

The One With All the Fairy Godmothers

I read this one twice, both times slowly... I was absorbing everything, because DD is going to do this next trip. Thank you so much for sharing that!!

Your DD looks beautiful as a princess, even without the bangs! That must have been something else to see in person, and I can't imagine the feeling of having that special treatment the rest of the day. It makes me feel a certain way that us guys can't admit to in public forums. :rotfl2: Now imagine if it was my own DD and not someone else's!! :lmao:

YAY for DD doing BBB! I had no idea how it would affect us, we knew that DD would love it, but didn't expect to have enjoyed it so much ourselves. If you have any questions about it, let me know.

Thanks for the compliment, I'll pass it along to her ;). I won't tell anyone, your man card won't be revoked, I promise :laughing:

Hey... I'm all caught up!! Woo hoo! :woohoo:

Woo Hoo!!

kokotg

10-04-2011, 05:18 PM

Fantasyland Mom

10-04-2011, 07:02 PM

Followed you over here from my TR:thumbsup2 and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it so far! I can't wait to hear more about it and see more of your pictures. Maddie is such a cutie!

jenjacobs

10-04-2011, 07:41 PM

Great trip report. I came in because I have a preschooler and it was fun to read. Maddie is a doll! Great pictures and memories

mya1k9

10-04-2011, 10:51 PM

I was so happy to see your update. Maddie looks so beautiful and what a great experience!! I wish we had looked more into the BBB, I just kind of blew it off as something else to spend money on but that is something my girls would have loved! This is such a fun trip report!!

shan23877

10-04-2011, 11:32 PM

That is hilarious that they're "not allowed" to leave bangs down! I'm glad Maddie was okay with it!

She looks great! And so happy! I was getting a little wistful reading about it that I don't have a girl to take to BBB...and I'm SO not the princess-y type, so that's saying something :)

I have no idea what's up with the "no bangs" rule. So weird! Luckily she didn't care.

She was over the moon! I wish you had a little girl to take! I am really not the princess type, but she is. It was sooo great for her! :thumbsup2

Followed you over here from my TR:thumbsup2 and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it so far! I can't wait to hear more about it and see more of your pictures. Maddie is such a cutie!

:welcome: Thanks for reading! And thanks for the nice compliments! More soon, maybe not tonight, but soon!

Great trip report. I came in because I have a preschooler and it was fun to read. Maddie is a doll! Great pictures and memories

:welcome: And thanks for joining in! We have many, many great memories, this was a wonderful trip! :woohoo:

I was so happy to see your update. Maddie looks so beautiful and what a great experience!! I wish we had looked more into the BBB, I just kind of blew it off as something else to spend money on but that is something my girls would have loved! This is such a fun trip report!!

Thank you! So many nice things--makes me want to get another update done right away! BBB is pricey, but we're so glad we did it. It was great!

shan23877

10-05-2011, 12:58 AM

It was finally time to shop! We had an agenda for the morning. I wanted to get a Christmas ornament (I get them from all of our vacations), DH wanted an ESPN shirt from Team Mickey, DD wanted to spend some of the money she’d brought, and we need to build a couple of light sabers for Uncle Cory.

We went back to World of Disney first. DD had seen some of the sets of “little princesses” (the tiny plastic dolls with changeable rubber outfits) that she wanted, but DH and I had put our foot down about buying toys as souvenirs. We told her that if we could buy it at Target, then we weren’t buying it at Disney. She argued that Target doesn’t have the Tink or Mulan sets. (too smart for my own good) But, since she’d been saving up money all summer which she’d earned helping out in the yard and helping to wash the cars, she bought them with her money. We did get Maddie a stuffed Pascal and got a Mickey casserole dish for my MiL. I offered to let DD stuff a Mr. Potato Head box, but she wasn’t interested. I considered doing it myself, but if no one was going to play with it with me….:lmao:

Next, it was light saber time. Uncle Cory and DH are big Star Wars fans, and have recently been watching the movies with Maddie. They sold her on the movies by telling her there’s a princess in them. :rolleyes: Uncle Cory had requested that we build him 2 light sabers- one good guy and one bad guy. We were supposed to photograph ourselves assembling them, but we couldn’t really figure out how to do it, so the friendly CM did it for us. We did pose with the finished products though!

Bryan pretending that he was doing it himself

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And Maddie and I ready for battle

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We managed just a quick spin through the princess section before we left to hit the Lego Store. I love the Lego statues! It was super crowded inside, and since DH has no patience for browsing (or crowded stores), we didn’t stay long.

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Trying to make me happy by posing

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DH was ready to buy the things that we knew we wanted and eat some lunch, so he went to Team Mickey and DD and I went to the Christmas store. Maddie talked me into getting her an Arial ornament to commemorate her transformation, and I got my 2011 ornament. When we met back up with DH I tried to talk him into going to Design-A-Tee, but he wasn’t having it.

On our way to lunch. Eva the Diva in her chariot

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DH had expressed interest in Earl of Sandwich or Wolfgang Puck Express for lunch, so we checked out the menus for both before deciding on EoS.

It was really busy but the line moved fast. DH got the meatball, I got the Italian, and DD got the grilled cheese. I was doing the ordering while Bryan and Maddie saved the seats they’d found, so I had to decide on sides for us on my own. I got him pasta salad and got chocolate pudding for DD and I. The sandwiches were fantastic and so were the desserts, but DH didn’t care for the pasta salad. To be fair though, he isn’t really a pasta or potato salad guy (he also doesn’t like chocolate so there weren’t many options for his side dish). Maddie and I couldn’t finish ours sandwiches (probably because we saved room for pudding) so Bry finished both of our sandwiches as well as his. He loved all three! :thumbsup2

After lunch we decided to take the boat back to POFQ. The ride was nice enough, but our driver didn’t say a word the whole trip. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by the entertaining drivers who drive the boats between Epcot and DHS? :confused3

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Goodbye DTD! I'd love to do Characters in Flight someday.

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Finally! Back on dry land!

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Once we got back to POFQ we dropped the packages off in our room and headed to the bus stop. DD was a Princess now, and needed to show it off!

kmedina

10-05-2011, 03:07 AM

baseballmickey

10-05-2011, 03:09 AM

I've broken 3 of those rubber outfits in the past year. Always at the shoulder as I try to stretch it to get the arms through. :lmao:

Team Mickey is a must-do for me. I always have to get a little something to add to my collection.

Earl of Sandwich ROCKS! They just opened one Labor Day weekend, two blocks from my job in NYC. I've had the "Cannonballs!" (meatball sandwich) every saturday for lunch for the past month! And I always grab extra brownies (ghirardelli triple chocolate)!! oh man, is it saturday yet??

Can't wait to see what you do next!

shan23877

10-05-2011, 08:32 AM

Your family sounds a lot like mine. DS4 also knows just the right things to say for the things he wants us to buy him. They are so clever. DH always finishes the food that DS and I leave behind as well.

Maddie with Buzz is the cutest picture I've seen so far. Loving it. She really did look nice. It was expensive but so worth it. Another great report.

She always seems to have a reason why we should get what she wants (usually it's shoes :lmao:).

We always make Bryan finish our food. Poor man usually ends up with 2 full meals!

BBB was so worth it! Thank you!

I've broken 3 of those rubber outfits in the past year. Always at the shoulder as I try to stretch it to get the arms through. :lmao:

Team Mickey is a must-do for me. I always have to get a little something to add to my collection.

Earl of Sandwich ROCKS! They just opened one Labor Day weekend, two blocks from my job in NYC. I've had the "Cannonballs!" (meatball sandwich) every saturday for lunch for the past month! And I always grab extra brownies (ghirardelli triple chocolate)!! oh man, is it saturday yet??

Can't wait to see what you do next!

We seem to have a problem with not only the outfits, but the heads popping off, and only Uncle Cory seems to be able to fix them :sad2:

Bryan had to get some ESPN gear b/c I'd just gotten new Sportscenter and Baseball Tonight shirts-he was jealous.;) We have so much Cubs stuff that they didn't have anything we needed so that was a load off the pocketbook :laughing:

Yay for a new EoS! DH is huge meatball sub fan, he'd be so jealous! I seem to get the Italian no matter what sandwich shop I'm at. Enjoy your lunch on Saturday- only 4 more days!

katt789

10-05-2011, 10:52 AM

Fantasyland Mom

10-05-2011, 11:14 AM

Oh, those Princess figures and their darn clothes! We have an entire plastic container full of them. We have multiples of some, too, because of broken clothes and overly-generous grandparents. My girls got the Tink and Mulan sets for that same reason, and this year they added Alice because she's not at Target, either:rolleyes:.

Is DTD ever not crowded??? Nice to get some shopping in! I've always wanted to try EoS but get outvoted.

TanzUnited99

10-05-2011, 11:59 AM

Yay on it being shopping time! Lol at DD being smart and realising that Tink and Mulan sets weren't sold at Target! :laughing:

Love the light saber battle pic :thumbsup2

EoS sure had yummy sandwiches! That's a shame about the boat driver not saying a single word on the journey to POFQ - it looks like a relaxing mode of transport.

shan23877

10-05-2011, 12:25 PM

Aww!! DD looks so cute & dolled up!! Man, if only I was 6 again! (or could justify spending that kind of money for someone else to put a bun & some glitter in my hair:rotfl:) I won't lie, I almost tried on/made Amy try on the largest of the princess dresses when we were in DTD, it looked like they might just fit :lmao:

Looks like BBB was a good experience for ya!

Your right, it might not be worth the price for a bun :lmao:. Amy looks very petite, so I bet the largest dress would have fit her! I'm really short and can usually fit into the largest kids clothes, but don't tell anyone.;)

BBB was great. We'll do it again.

Oh, those Princess figures and their darn clothes! We have an entire plastic container full of them. We have multiples of some, too, because of broken clothes and overly-generous grandparents. My girls got the Tink and Mulan sets for that same reason, and this year they added Alice because she's not at Target, either:rolleyes:.

Is DTD ever not crowded??? Nice to get some shopping in! I've always wanted to try EoS but get outvoted.

Those darn figures is right. We also have a full bin and overly-generous grandparents. I think we have the carriage and horse stable to go with them too. I think the worst ones are the ones that come with shoes though. What a nightmare! If the four year old doesn't loose them, then the puppy will eat them. :headache: Maddie had already spent some of her money, so she couldn't get the Alice one too. It's on her list of things to buy next time though. :lmao:

DTD wasn't too crowded as a whole, but Lego was mobbed. EoS is really good, I hope that your family will let Mom's vote carry a little more weight next time. It's worth checking out for sure.

Yay on it being shopping time! Lol at DD being smart and realising that Tink and Mulan sets weren't sold at Target! :laughing:

Love the light saber battle pic :thumbsup2

EoS sure had yummy sandwiches! That's a shame about the boat driver not saying a single word on the journey to POFQ - it looks like a relaxing mode of transport.

In hindsight, we should have gone shopping while Daddy was golfing, but this way was probably better for the budget :rotfl2:

We have some really good pics of Mads and Uncle Cory battling it out when we got home too!

EoS was great! Is it just me or are the boat drivers usually a little more chatty? It was relaxing, but I'm a go-go person, so I was timing it to see if it was quicker than the bus! :lmao:

LilAnn

10-06-2011, 09:55 AM

SoonerGirl

10-06-2011, 08:45 PM

I love the Christmas store in DTD and I too always get an ornament (or two, or three :rolleyes: ) from every trip. They are such great souvineers!

Yum! Earl of Sandwich, I need my drooling smilie but I'm too lazy to open photobucket so that I can post it :laughing:

shan23877

10-06-2011, 11:05 PM

Aww, cute updates. I loved the Ariel dress that she picked! :thumbsup2 The dress is so pretty and you don't see as many Ariel's walking around from BBB. I am up in the air about whether we will do that on a future trip with our little girl, with cost being the big factor. However, the dress looks like the ones you see in WOD for about $70 bucks alone, so I guess it all works out. So cute though.

Bummer about the non-talkative boat ride. We have had some pretty good ones back from DTD - some funny, some informative.

Thanks! You're right - there weren't many Arials, so that was kind of nice. I think these were the $70 dresses. We never would have bought a $70 dress for her just as a souvenier, but we couldn't say no to the BBB.

I don't know what was up with this boat driver. This was our first stay at POFQ, so we'd never done this boat ride either. It was weird!

I love the Christmas store in DTD and I too always get an ornament (or two, or three :rolleyes: ) from every trip. They are such great souvineers!

Yum! Earl of Sandwich, I need my drooling smilie but I'm too lazy to open photobucket so that I can post it :laughing:

I love Christmas ornaments as a souvenier! It makes me happy to remember those vacations when we put them on the tree.

EoS was really good. Drooling implied :laughing:

cajunbaby1

10-07-2011, 06:49 AM

shan23877

10-07-2011, 11:39 PM

What a great trip report!! The photos are awesome. I'm gonna be staying at the POFQ for a solo trip in dec and can't wait. Your little girl is too cute for words.
Glad you guys had a wonderful time. :)

Thank you! I hope you enjoy POFQ-I'm guessing you're pretty familiar with New Orleans? ;) We loved it there!

A solo trip sounds great, I'm not sure what I'd do with myself!

shan23877

10-08-2011, 12:20 AM

Recently minted princess in tow we hopped a bus bound for Disney Hollywood Studios.

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Maddie was making friends with some people while we waited. The nice lady's children were grown, so she got a real kick out of the little princess. People are so nice to a little girl in a princess dress!

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Maddie was very excited when the driver played the princess announcement for her.
“Did you hear that Daddy? That means you have to behave because I’m a princess”
Poor guy, we do tend to gang up on him.

Maddie's first glimpse of the Tower of Terror

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We quickly arrived at DHS and the first CM we encountered at the turnstiles made a big show of bowing to DD and presenting her with several stickers. It was about 1pm by the time we arrived, and we knew that there probably weren’t any FP for TSM left, but we headed to Pixar Place anyway.

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More PhotoPass of course!

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Sure enough, FPs were all gone, and the standby time was 60 minutes, but DD insisted that she wanted to wait. We parked the stroller and joined the crowd. As soon as we took our place in line DD began asking to be carried. Well, asking is the wrong word. She raised her arms, looked at her daddy, and grunted. I’m sure you parents are familiar with this gesture. DH obliged, and now he too was pixie dusted. That stuff just jumped off of that dress.

Scary line

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It was during our tenure in line that DH and I had our first (and only I think) not-so-great moment of the trip. I had already realized that I had made a critical planning error, and was frustrated with myself. I didn’t realize how much of the BBB experience was going to be enhanced by the CMs and characters. I realized too late that we should have been at MK after our BBB appointment. To me, the only solution was to return to MK after dinner, and let Maddie see some more of her princess friends. DH was hot; tired of carrying DD and sick of standing in line, so all he heard was “We need to go to MK”. Once I realized that he wasn’t really hearing me out, I did what any mature adult would do, and stopped speaking to him for a while.

Since I was still pouting, I missed my chance to get a picture of myself with Mr. Potato Head. I really love him! :guilty:

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I think the glasses make the outfit! I LOVE this picture of her!

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Being silly

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We did manage to talk things out before we boarded the ride (he agreed with my plan completely-smart man). Luckily we’ve been together for about 1 million years, so hard feelings didn’t linger, and we had a great time on the ride. DD and I rode together, so DH and I both got to be winners (we’re a little competitive. We no longer play Monopoly or Scrabble with one another), but he was tops in our car.

Terrible score, but I was helping Maddie learn how to play--Yeah that's why

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Maddie loved the ride, and immediately wanted to do it again. Ummm, no.

We distracted her by pointing out the parade was about to start, so she and DH lined up to watch while went to grab some FP for Tower of Terror and popcorn for Maddie. They enjoyed the parade, but I had the camera so we didn’t get any pictures of it. ToT’s standby time was only 10 minutes, so I didn’t get any FP thinking that maybe we’d try Rider Swap again for RnRC.

After the parade, Maddie was ready for the ride that she had talked about most leading up to this trip. She had been practicing her Tower of Terror scream for months!

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Ready to Ride!!

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She thought the theming was “kind of scary” but was still excited to ride up until she saw the story. I didn’t think she’d be able to follow the story, but I was wrong. “I’m not going to disappear like that little girl am I Mommy?”

DH and I enjoyed the ride as usual. Maddie? “I don’t ever want to do that again.” We knew why but we asked anyway. “It made my beautiful dress fly up.” Not what we were expecting to hear and probably not the full story, but we weren’t going to push. At least we got to ride!

shan23877

10-08-2011, 12:22 AM

DD decided that we owed her one, and suggested we go see the Little Mermaid show or Beauty and the Beast. DH and I aren’t really show or parade people - we’d rather keep moving but, luckily, B&B was just starting so we grabbed some seats. It was a good show, and Maddie loved it!

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"You walked in and Oops-A-Daisy!"

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After we left the theater, Maddie decided to have a photo shoot, so we snapped some pics.

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DH said he didn’t feel like risking another Rider Swap meltdown at RnRC, so we took off in the direction of some 4-wheeled friends.

Fantasyland Mom

10-08-2011, 07:34 AM

TanzUnited99

10-08-2011, 08:23 AM

Oh no on TSMM FPs being distributed - I thought you were going to say you managed to get some as we went late one day and were lucky.

Also boo on having a not so great moment - am glad you managed to get it sorted so quickly :thumbsup2

Yay on Maddie for trying ToT and I love her reason for not riding again :cutie:

We loved B&TB as well and I love the photoshoot at the end.

SoonerGirl

10-08-2011, 03:08 PM

Yikes! That line for TSMM is scary :eek: I'm sure my family would have had a not so magical moment waiting in that mess too!

I love B&TB! ToT though, well that one I can do without ;)

MadilynnsMomma

10-08-2011, 09:50 PM

Spent the better part of this evening reading through your TR. LOVING it!!! Your family is super cute! Keep it coming!

shan23877

10-09-2011, 01:29 AM

I love how people treat little princesses! CMs, guests, other kids--they really seem to eat it up!!

You are one very brave, very patient family to wait for an hour! I'm not sure I could have done that, though I do feel the need to go through the standby line at some point.

You know what's great about the B&B show? You get to sit!:thumbsup2 It's a great show and all, but that's the highlight for me!

The way everyone treat the little princess is amazing! I couldn't believe it. It definatly made the experience.

I don't know about patient, but brave seems accurate in hindsight. That place was a zoo! At least it was air-conditioned.

I have to agree that the best part of the show is the break, it is lovely, but I get bored. :confused3

Oh no on TSMM FPs being distributed - I thought you were going to say you managed to get some as we went late one day and were lucky.

Also boo on having a not so great moment - am glad you managed to get it sorted so quickly :thumbsup2

Yay on Maddie for trying ToT and I love her reason for not riding again :cutie:

We loved B&TB as well and I love the photoshoot at the end.

No fastpass luck that day! I'm not proud of us, but I felt like I should be honest. I'm not too surprised that we did have a moment. It was hot, crowded, and we were tired!

She was soooo excited to ride it, but doesn't plan to do it again. Ever. :lmao: A girl can't risk mussing her dress!

That wasn't our last photo shoot either... :rotfl:

Yikes! That line for TSMM is scary :eek: I'm sure my family would have had a not so magical moment waiting in that mess too!

I love B&TB! ToT though, well that one I can do without ;)

It was terrible! We shouldn't have tried to wait it out, but we weren't sure if DH would be able to ride if we didn't. (He went golfing the day we were at DHS first thing in the morning).

B&B was a really good show, I just get antsy thinking about all of the other things we should be doing during the shows. I really need to learn to relax, because Maddie loved it!

ToT is one of Bryan and I's favorites, but I don't know how soon we'll talk Maddie into trying it again! :rotfl2:

Spent the better part of this evening reading through your TR. LOVING it!!! Your family is super cute! Keep it coming!

:welcome: Thanks for reading! And thanks for the kind words! I try to post pretty frequently, hope to get some more up tomorrow.

kmedina

10-09-2011, 01:51 AM

The last time we did Toy Story from the standby line (at Dl), DS insisted I carry him through the one hour line. It was July, and I sweated through the entire line. He would not let my husband anywhere near him that whole day for some reason, so I had all the carrying him through the line honors.

My DS was tricked into riding ToT, since my husband called it an elevator ride, and he loves elevators. He said never again after we exited the ride again. Oddly enough, DH asked him if he wanted to ride on our upcoming trip, and he said yes. Methinks they will be utilizing the chicken exit.

DS loved the Beauty and the Beast show and thought Indy was a snoozefest. I agree with him. It is a really nice show. We agree on not being into parades, but I love the theater. Looks like another great day.

katt789

10-09-2011, 01:53 AM

Your right, it might not be worth the price for a bun :lmao:. Amy looks very petite, so I bet the largest dress would have fit her! I'm really short and can usually fit into the largest kids clothes, but don't tell anyone.;)
BBB was great. We'll do it again.

Haha, yeah, I will definitely be taking my kids there one day (assuming I have a girl.....) BUT, I still buy some kids clothes, especially disney ones!!

Caretames1

10-09-2011, 10:41 AM

Queenofallthings

10-09-2011, 06:27 PM

Subbing and now going back to read all about your adventure so far!!!

kokotg

10-09-2011, 06:41 PM

Maddie's answer about why she didn't like TOT is hilarious :laughing:. None of mine have been able to appreciate TOT until they were older...Gus really, really wanted to go on it (at Disneyland) when he was 3. He giggled hysterically through the whole thing, but we realized later that it was a nervous, terrified sort of giggling. And he didn't even have a princess dress to blame it on:laughing:

kcandbella

10-09-2011, 09:23 PM

Joining in! Sounds like a great trip so far. My DD was 4 on her first trip in May 2010 and we stayed at POR, so reading your report reminds me of that trip! Can't wait to read more. :goodvibes

shan23877

10-09-2011, 10:48 PM

Ok, I'm caught up again! I posted that I subbed, but didn't!:confused3 I think I need some brain boost or something!

Maddie was so cute from her BBB make-over. I do have to tell you this, even though it's a spoiler from our trip. I asked if Kadence could keep some bangs out and they said that was fine. We did go to the DTD location as well. Kadence doesn't like her hair pulled back either, so it was nice that they allowed it.

I hear you on the carrying thing. When Kadence was younger she's just put her arms up and say "uppie" and the whine inserted in the voice was the nails on a chalkboard kind:rolleyes1

I'm the kind od person that if I've seen it once I'm good, but it's different at Disney, I don't know why! Must be the magic:wizard:

How strange that they told us no... Oh, well, it ended well. There seems to be a lot of inconsistency in BBB policies from the stories I've heard. Not a huge deal, but not very Disney.

The "pick me up" grunt drives me nuts! And, making her use words doesn't really help because you don't want to pick her up to begin with :rotfl:

Subbing and now going back to read all about your adventure so far!!!

Thanks for joining in!

Maddie's answer about why she didn't like TOT is hilarious :laughing:. None of mine have been able to appreciate TOT until they were older...Gus really, really wanted to go on it (at Disneyland) when he was 3. He giggled hysterically through the whole thing, but we realized later that it was a nervous, terrified sort of giggling. And he didn't even have a princess dress to blame it on:laughing:

That was her kind of excuse for sure! I can totally understand why kids would be scared of it, but she's the one who wanted to do it.

Poor Gus. Probably would have been a whole different sort of upset if you made Gus ride in a dress...:lmao: Does he enjoy it now? She claims that she'll never ride again.

Joining in! Sounds like a great trip so far. My DD was 4 on her first trip in May 2010 and we stayed at POR, so reading your report reminds me of that trip! Can't wait to read more. :goodvibes

:welcome: Thanks for joining in! Sounds like great minds thinking alike!

mya1k9

10-10-2011, 10:15 PM

kokotg

10-10-2011, 10:23 PM

Poor Gus. Probably would have been a whole different sort of upset if you made Gus ride in a dress...:lmao: Does he enjoy it now? She claims that she'll never ride again.

He's getting there. It still makes him nervous, but he mostly enjoys it now. I remember it took Ari until he was 8 to really like it, even though he kept trying it at least once every trip from the time he was 5.

shan23877

10-10-2011, 10:51 PM

After enjoying the Beauty and the Beast Show, it was character time. Maddie had learned her lesson in Epcot—she knew there were characters in every park!

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We decided to go through Pixar Place to check out the wait time for Woody and Buzz first. Even though she’d already met Woody, Maddie still wanted to get Buzz’s autograph (or stamp). The wait was posted at 45 minutes. None of us had the patience for that after our marathon wait for TSM, so we decided to try to come back later in the trip.

I was checking the times guides and cross-referencing the park map, but we were still having a hard time finding Mike and Sully from Monsters Inc. We stopped off in a gift shop to get our bearings. While we were talking, a very nice guest over-heard us and pointed us in the right direction. The meet and greet was right behind the store we were in! There was no one in line, so maybe other people have a hard time finding it too. We stepped right up to meet the monsters, but at the last minute Maddie panicked and refused to meet them. Like any good Dad, Bryan stepped in.

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Maddie was on a mission to see Mater and Lightning McQueen so we headed straight there. There were a few other people in line, but we only waited about 10 minutes. This is such a weird character meet to me. They can’t interact after all, but lots of kids seemed to want to get there picture taken with the famous cars. I suppose I’d stand in line to get my photo taken with the General Lee though since that’s an iconic car from my childhood. We took lots of pictures and moved on.

Maddie wanted Mommy to get in the picture too!

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Her poses cracked me up. A princess down to her toes...

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We passed the Phineous and Ferb meet but it was mobbed, and Maddie decided that she could skip it.

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We only had a little bit of time before we needed to leave for our dinner ADR, so Bryan finally agreed to let us do a little browsing in the shops!

After we stopped for more Photo Pass of course!

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The dress is trying to edge me out...

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I picked up a Mickey shirt for Maddie and a cute pair of Tink cheer shorts for her to wear to dance and gymnastics. (Trying to explain to DH why she needs special clothes to wear over her leotards was a fun conversation BTW :lmao:). I paid and filled out the form to have them sent back to the resort. I’m not sure if the CM was new or the register was broken, but this poor guy was having the hardest time. In total I spent 15 minutes waiting for him to finish up the shipping portion of the transaction!

By then it was past time to be at the bus stop, so we hot-footed it to the stop for the Grand Floridian. Turns out, staying at the fancy resort doesn’t get you a closer bus stop :rotfl:. We waited about 15 minutes for a bus to arrive, and we were on our way. Prince Charming here we come!

shan23877

10-10-2011, 10:56 PM

Tht ToT dissapearing people scared my 5 year old also, she claimed she liked the ride but not the people (she did ride it twice just to show she wasn't chicken) but when her twin sister went to go for a third time (that one has no fears!)she was just done and said no!!! Loved Maddies excuse why she didn't want to ride again!

I'm not sure why I thought the movie would be over her head. I should have known better. Good for your girls riding it twice! I thought mine was a little more of dare devil... She still says she's not doing it again, but all she mentions is the little girl, not the drop :confused3

How was your trip (it was very recent, right?) Are you planning a trip report? I'd love to hear how you did WDW with twin 5 year olds!

kmedina

10-11-2011, 02:03 AM

Caretames1

10-11-2011, 07:17 AM

I picked up a Mickey shirt for Maddie and a cute pair of Tink cheer shorts for her to wear to dance and gymnastics. (Trying to explain to DH why she needs special clothes to wear over her leotards was a fun conversation BTW :lmao:).

Guys have no clue!:lmao: I once got Kadence a pair of dance tights/leggings and DH couldn't understand why they had no feet in them.:rolleyes:

By then it was past time to be at the bus stop, so we hot-footed it to the stop for the Grand Floridian. Turns out, staying at the fancy resort doesn’t get you a closer bus stop :rotfl:.

On our trip, the journey to the GF was the longest wait time and bus ride. I thought the same, fancy place, quicker bus route:rolleyes1

shan23877

10-11-2011, 09:45 AM

We had no wait for Mike and Sully last trip as well. It sounds like a trend.

DS cannot wait to meet Phineas and Feb who were not there on our last trip. We just saw the live stage show, so he is really into them right now.

It stinks that the bus for GF is not close at HS. We are staying at GF for the first time in December and were looking forward to a better exit from that park, since we are once again attending Fantasmic (took over an hour to get from HS to CBR by bus). If there were sidewalks, we probably could have walked there faster than that.

I love her pics with the cars! It should not matter who a princess is posing with, she always needs to look her best. The pointed toes are half princess/half dancer.

Maddie hadn't ever watched P&F before the trip, so luckily we didn't have to get in that line. Of course she's started watching it since...

How exciting staying at the GF!! I can't wait to hear about that! No, the stop is not close to the exit, and the wait seemed pretty long :confused3. I hope you have better luck.

That's true might be princess/dancer toes. Who knows where she gets this stuff.
Guys have no clue!:lmao: I once got Kadence a pair of dance tights/leggings and DH couldn't understand why they had no feet in them.:rolleyes:

Too funny! My DH also wanted to know why she needed 2 different types of leotards for ballet/tap and gymnastics. "Can't she just wear the same one?" Oh boy.

On our trip, the journey to the GF was the longest wait time and bus ride. I thought the same, fancy place, quicker bus route:rolleyes1

How strange. I think if I was staying there and paying those rates, I would expect some pretty good service-buses included!

Fall1

10-11-2011, 09:58 AM

Cute update!! Love that the dress was edging you out...lol!

CandleontheWater

10-11-2011, 12:56 PM

I'm back and all caught up! I just love Maddie all dressed up as Ariel! She looks so lovely, they did a wonderful job at BBB, and I'm so happy to hear that you had such a great experience!

I think you guys are troopers to stand in line for an hour! I have to beg DH to wait for anything longer than 10, and 30 minutes is about his max.

I'm looking forward to hearing about the princess treatment at the MK!

TanzUnited99

10-11-2011, 04:11 PM

Aaw I love the poses of Maddie with Lightening McQueen and Mater.

I couldn't believe how busy the M&G was for Phineas and Ferb either!

Great PP pics! Zaheer and I had the furthest bus conversation on various occasions during our trip :rolleyes: :laughing:

shan23877

10-11-2011, 11:11 PM

Cute update!! Love that the dress was edging you out...lol!

Thanks! That was a whole lotta dress!

I'm back and all caught up! I just love Maddie all dressed up as Ariel! She looks so lovely, they did a wonderful job at BBB, and I'm so happy to hear that you had such a great experience!

I think you guys are troopers to stand in line for an hour! I have to beg DH to wait for anything longer than 10, and 30 minutes is about his max.

I'm looking forward to hearing about the princess treatment at the MK!

Welcome Back! BBB was so much fun, I'm so glad we did it!

That hour wait was brutal. We'll never do that again.

Are you going to do a TR for your most recent trip? I'm anxious to hear about it and about your great holiday trip as well. Plus, you have such a nice writing style!

Aaw I love the poses of Maddie with Lightening McQueen and Mater.

I couldn't believe how busy the M&G was for Phineas and Ferb either!

Great PP pics! Zaheer and I had the furthest bus conversation on various occasions during our trip :rolleyes: :laughing:

Phineas and Ferb was a mob scene. I imagine that if we'd done that and standby for TSMM in the same day, we might never go back to DHS :lmao:

Thanks for the nice words. I've framed so many pics from this trip, and filled 3 photo albums!

I would assume the the bus stop would be closer for some of the better resorts? The GF on is a hike at DHS!

merbobear

10-12-2011, 11:49 PM

shan23877

10-13-2011, 12:07 AM

I just read all of your updates so far..Maddie is too much! I love that she had to meet up with Rapunzel a second time to ask her those all important questions..she cracks me up!
Can't wait to read more :)

:welcome: Thanks for reading! She cracks us up everyday. I can't believe the stuff kids do :lmao:

Those Rapunzel questions were very important! Thank goodness there wasn't a line :rotfl:

Hope to have more up tomorrow!

Fantasyland Mom

10-13-2011, 10:11 AM

I love her princess pose with the Cars!:goodvibes
I didn't know where the Monsters, Inc. area was, either! Good to know for next trip!

mickeyplanner

10-13-2011, 12:38 PM

You are very talented. The Cinderella Dress you made for CRT was beautiful.

shan23877

10-13-2011, 11:06 PM

I love her princess pose with the Cars!:goodvibes
I didn't know where the Monsters, Inc. area was, either! Good to know for next trip!

They are really tucked away, but there doesn't seem to be a line!

You are very talented. The Cinderella Dress you made for CRT was beautiful.

Thanks so much! I make DD dresses to play dress-up in at home, but I was a little self-conscious about letting her wear it at WDW, and about admitting that I made it on here!

There are some TRs that I've seen where the mom's have made some really amazing dresses, so I really appreciate the kind words :goodvibes

shan23877

10-13-2011, 11:15 PM

I've been working for 2 months to convince DH that we should plan a trip for this summer, but he's been stubborn. He said he wanted to wait until Fantasyland expansion was complete. :scared1:

However, tonight he asked me to price a vacations for this summer! We've had to rule out May because Maddie's preschool graduation and dance recitals fall in the middle of may and first of June.

I quickly priced out 7 days at POFQ, DxD for the first week of June--leaving the day after her recital.

Then, he asked me to price a sail on the Fantasy too :woohoo: Doesn't look like the cruise will work out for this year, but I promised that we'll do a cruise when maddie is a little older. He suggested that we take a cruise alone for our 10th anniversary in 2 years!

I'm very excited, so I already started sketching out how we'd attack the DxDP, which scares the pants off DH!

shan23877

10-13-2011, 11:36 PM

We left DHS and were on our way to the Grand Floridian! Even though we’d gotten to the bus stop a little later than we wanted to, we weren’t running late for our ADR. We’d planned a little extra time to look around the GF. Neither DH nor I had ever been there. We wandered around out front for a bit before heading inside. I had expected the lobby to be very serene and quiet, thought maybe we’d hear the soothing sounds of the piano.

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Not a great picture, but it was crowded! This is the only one I took.

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The lobby was a mob scene! It was still lovely, and it’s such a large space that it wasn’t loud, but definitely not serene. We checked in at 1900 Park Fare for our 6:20 reservation, and were given our buzzer. There was literally not one chair unoccupied n the entire lobby, so Maddie and I passed the time by using the facilities (Maddie struck up a conversation with the attendant and had a lovely time). Bryan had gone outside to wait because the area was such a mad house, so we joined him until it was our turn. We waited about 15 minutes, and were called in to get our photo taken. There was some confusion after the photo session, because 2 or 3 families were all waiting to be seated, but there was no one at the doors. We all hung around for a bit before one of the other fathers went to the check-in area to ask what we should do. Luckily they summoned someone quickly and we were all taken into our tables together.

We were seated at a table close to the buffet. Our server came by quickly and was visibly disappointed that DH and I weren’t ordering wine or cocktails. Luckily, we were in pretty good moods, so his being upset was sort of amusing rather than annoying. Looking around, we decided that we probably had enough time to hit the buffet before the characters reached our table.

The food was ‘meh’. The buffet was an odd mishmash of cuisines. There was Greek salad, Italian pasta dishes, curry chicken, egg rolls, and several traditional American dishes as well. Maddie and I each filled our plates with more items from the soup and salad area than any thing else. I liked the famous strawberry soup, DD said “yogurt should be thicker”. DH tried several things, not really loving any of them.

*DH would like to interject about the food “I think the adjective I would use is sucky, but if you want me to sound a little more refined, then say I thought the food was underwhelming.”

Had to include a photo of DH from the meal since he's weighing in...

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Maddie found the grapes to be delicious

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But, we all know the real reason we were here—the characters!

First up was Drizella. She was hilarious but also understood instinctively that DD was taking the princesses VERY seriously. She told us that when we saw Cinderella we should tell her to get back to work. Then she suggested that she and Maddie should show off their beautiful dresses for the photo.

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Lady Tremaine was next. She never broke character at all but didn’t scare Maddie. She complimented Maddie’s dress and mentioned that it was nice to see a little girl as well behaved as her daughters. For their picture, she told Maddie to cover her ears while she told mom and dad a few things. Made for a really funny photo!

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Next up was Cinderella. This was the 3rd time we’d met her, but Maddie didn’t seem to notice that she was a different person.

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Not sure what was happening with these photos

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Then came Maddie’s favorite character of the night. Prince Charming! He was wonderful with DD. Kissed her hand (I didn’t get the picture), told her she looked beautiful, bowed to her. Maddie was loving every minute of it.

Incidentally, Charming was a dead ringer for our college buddy (and Bryan's best man in our wedding)! I posted the pics on facebook, and even Adam's wife was shocked at the resemblance.

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The characters took a break from the visiting to dance, so we took a break to get some more food, and then DD joined in the dancing for a few minutes.

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Hard to see, but that's Maddie joining the crowd

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Finally Anastasia made her way by. She was also really funny, and told DD they’d put on their prettiest smiles for the picture.

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We grabbed some dessert (sucky) and while we were eating Cinderella came by again. She realized that she’d seen us already, so she told Maddie that she just wanted to tell her again how pretty she looked.

Prince Charming also stopped by a second time. He told Maddie that he thought they should have gotten more pictures together so he had to come back.

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The character interaction was awesome at 1900 Park Fare. Even though the food was terrible, we’ll probably go back for dinner again because the characters were so entertaining. Maddie still hasn't stopped talking about Prince Charming!

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We settled up with the server (who’d gotten over his attitude), grabbed the stroller and headed upstairs to hop on the monorail bound for Magic Kingdom.

Fall1

10-14-2011, 06:51 AM

Great update!! I completely agree with you on 1900 dinner, the food is terrible but the characters are great!!

Bethislucy

10-14-2011, 07:39 AM

kokotg

10-14-2011, 08:48 AM

mickeyplanner

10-14-2011, 08:52 AM

They are really tucked away, but there doesn't seem to be a line!

Thanks so much! I make DD dresses to play dress-up in at home, but I was a little self-conscious about letting her wear it at WDW, and about admitting that I made it on here!

There are some TRs that I've seen where the mom's have made some really amazing dresses, so I really appreciate the kind words :goodvibes

You should be proud of the dress you made your daughter, she definately seemed proud of you for making it for her. In fact I thought the dress you made was one of the nicer and comfortable ones I have seen.

It sounds like you DH was smitten with the experiences you had on your last trip. My DH was hooked after the first time we took our DD and now we will be taking our DS for his first trip. Have you looked into renting points to save on the cost of your room for the summer?

shan23877

10-14-2011, 12:14 PM

Yay, you have a new trip to plan! We're thinking of deluxe dining for next year, too--it gets complicated fast when I try to plan it! I'm up for the challenge, but I think it would hurt DH's head if I talked about it too much yet :laughing:

Great update! Maddie looks so happy :) And I can't believe how well that hair holds up all day! They must have some really powerful product at the BBB :laughing:

I really hope this next trip pans out. We're waiting to see what DH's bonus will be this year before we can consider it a done deal. I've started sketching what ADRs we'll want because by the time we book, we'll be past the 180 mark. It's really tough! It seems that I either can't find enough places we'll want to go or too many! Should be a fun challenge though.

Thanks! She really loved 1900. That product was SUPER powerful, but it was nice that it held up all day ;)

You should be proud of the dress you made your daughter, she definately seemed proud of you for making it for her. In fact I thought the dress you made was one of the nicer and comfortable ones I have seen.

It sounds like you DH was smitten with the experiences you had on your last trip. My DH was hooked after the first time we took our DD and now we will be taking our DS for his first trip. Have you looked into renting points to save on the cost of your room for the summer?

Thank you so much! I was aiming for comfort with fabric selection knowing that Maddie would want to wear the dress all day. She was pretty proud...

How exciting to get to do another first trip! I'm sure your son will have a ball!

We haven't looked into renting DVC. I've read about it a bit on here, but I don't know much about it. I'd be worried that it wasn't legit, but on the other had, DH would LOVE to stay at BC or YC. We might have to check it out. Do you have any tips?

mickeyplanner

10-14-2011, 12:49 PM

I really hope this next trip pans out. We're waiting to see what DH's bonus will be this year before we can consider it a done deal. I've started sketching what ADRs we'll want because by the time we book, we'll be past the 180 mark. It's really tough! It seems that I either can't find enough places we'll want to go or too many! Should be a fun challenge though.

Thanks! She really loved 1900. That product was SUPER powerful, but it was nice that it held up all day ;)

Thank you so much! I was aiming for comfort with fabric selection knowing that Maddie would want to wear the dress all day. She was pretty proud...

How exciting to get to do another first trip! I'm sure your son will have a ball!

We haven't looked into renting DVC. I've read about it a bit on here, but I don't know much about it. I'd be worried that it wasn't legit, but on the other had, DH would LOVE to stay at BC or YC. We might have to check it out. Do you have any tips?

There is a risk involved with renting points but if you use someone that you believe you can trust then the risk factor fades. But there is still always that possibilty that the DVC can cancel your trip or Disney can cancel this trip if the DVC member has not paid their dues. We actually rented points from three different DVC members for our upcoming trip. And I am sad to say that one of the members have declared bankruptcy and I am not sure if my reservation will still exists when we check in and I will be out the money I paid for the room. But the other two members I rented from have been great.

If you really are set on wanting to stay at a DVC property then I would rent points. For this trip we really wanted to stay at BLT for the proximity to MK and traveling with our DS and then having a double stroller. Now that the monorail hours have changed, I doubt we will ever stay at a DVC property. We are going back again March 2012 and I booked through AAA to stay at POR in one of the royal rooms.

MadilynnsMomma

10-14-2011, 02:23 PM

1900 Park Fare was our favorite to date!!! Prince Charming was awesome for us too!

Queenofallthings

10-15-2011, 07:43 AM

We go for the character interaction too...they are amazing there! I do, however, love the strawberry soup...it's my favorite, but everything else is just plain meh!!!

Great pictures...Maddie looks so happy with Prince Charming, simply darling!

TanzUnited99

10-15-2011, 09:08 AM

:woohoo: on having a new trip in the works!! It seems like DH has got the Disney bug especially as he has suggested a cruise as well.

Oh no on the food at 1900 PF being meh. We went for breakfast and really enjoyed the buffet offerings.

Love the photos of Maddie with the characters and yay on Prince Charming making her night!

Fantasyland Mom

10-15-2011, 09:11 AM

I've always wanted to try the strawberry soup, but my family never wants to go to Park Fare! (Maybe they have higher food standards than I do:lmao:.) For some reason, my oldest has always been scared to meet the stepsisters and stepmother. It's good to hear that they can sense how kids are feeling and respond accordingly!

:cool1:NEW TRIP! Hopefully it'll all work out for you. Deluxe dining would be awesome.

shan23877

10-15-2011, 12:37 PM

There is a risk involved with renting points but if you use someone that you believe you can trust then the risk factor fades. But there is still always that possibilty that the DVC can cancel your trip or Disney can cancel this trip if the DVC member has not paid their dues. We actually rented points from three different DVC members for our upcoming trip. And I am sad to say that one of the members have declared bankruptcy and I am not sure if my reservation will still exists when we check in and I will be out the money I paid for the room. But the other two members I rented from have been great.

If you really are set on wanting to stay at a DVC property then I would rent points. For this trip we really wanted to stay at BLT for the proximity to MK and traveling with our DS and then having a double stroller. Now that the monorail hours have changed, I doubt we will ever stay at a DVC property. We are going back again March 2012 and I booked through AAA to stay at POR in one of the royal rooms.

That's exactly what I would be afraid of. I'd do it if I could get a great deal, but we like POFQ a lot, so we're pretty happy there for now.

shan23877

10-15-2011, 12:44 PM

1900 Park Fare was our favorite to date!!! Prince Charming was awesome for us too!

It was so much fun! DH is partial to Chef Mickey's though...

We go for the character interaction too...they are amazing there! I do, however, love the strawberry soup...it's my favorite, but everything else is just plain meh!!!

Great pictures...Maddie looks so happy with Prince Charming, simply darling!

I liked the strawberry soup a lot, but no one else did :confused3. The characters were great, so I think we'll be back in spite of the food. We'd like to try breakfast with Alice and the Mad Hatter too

She LOVED Price Charming! He made her day!

:woohoo: on having a new trip in the works!! It seems like DH has got the Disney bug especially as he has suggested a cruise as well.

Oh no on the food at 1900 PF being meh. We went for breakfast and really enjoyed the buffet offerings.

Love the photos of Maddie with the characters and yay on Prince Charming making her night!

I so hope this trip works out! We may get to take Uncle Cory for his first visit too! He's always been Pro-Disney because of his mom, but he's not really 100 % on board for every year ;)

We'd like to try 1900 for breakfast too, but the characters are amazing at dinner.

The Prince was definately a highlight for us :lovestruc

I've always wanted to try the strawberry soup, but my family never wants to go to Park Fare! (Maybe they have higher food standards than I do:lmao:.) For some reason, my oldest has always been scared to meet the stepsisters and stepmother. It's good to hear that they can sense how kids are feeling and respond accordingly!

:cool1:NEW TRIP! Hopefully it'll all work out for you. Deluxe dining would be awesome.

I hope you can get the family on board for 1900. In spite of the food we'll go back. The character interaction was the best of the trip (and we did a lot of character meals :lmao:)

They were great with DD-totally understood that she might be a little scared of them.

I so hope this trip works out! DxD would be a lot of work to plan, but awesome!

kcandbella

10-15-2011, 02:05 PM

MadilynnsMomma

10-15-2011, 09:18 PM

Too funny, my DH is partial to Chef Mickey as well!

mickeyplanner

10-15-2011, 09:24 PM

That's exactly what I would be afraid of. I'd do it if I could get a great deal, but we like POFQ a lot, so we're pretty happy there for now.

POFQ is our favorite too but our DD really wants to stay in a royal guest room. After that trip it probably will be back to POFQ

Caretames1

10-15-2011, 09:29 PM

Your pictures from 1900 PF are hilarious! The characters there are so into it!

I thought the food was good, not fantasic, the strawberry soup was good!

YAY to looking into another trip, I don't know if we could do the Deluxe Dining, most times just reg dining is too much food!

A cruise:cloud9: someday for me as well.

shan23877

10-16-2011, 12:53 AM

How exciting about the next trip-we are going the first week of June, too! :cool1:

I love that green Ariel dress on your DD, so pretty. 1900 Park Faire is a lot of fun.

I taught myself to sew before our first trip and made the majority of my DD's outfits for that trip and all of hers for this one. It is addicting! I can't do anything too fancy but I still enjoy it!!!

I'm so excited about a potential trip! Hope it all works out.

Thanks! She sure loves that dress.

I also taught myself to sew! It's totally addictive-I've made DD every princess dress to play in. I don't think I'm very good at the fancy stuff, but I enjoy it. I also took up quilting this year. Now I can't stop. I actually enjoy the quilting more!

Too funny, my DH is partial to Chef Mickey as well!

I don't know what it is about Chef Mickey, but he loves it! He wants it to be our traditional last meal for every trip now! :lmao:

POFQ is our favorite too but our DD really wants to stay in a royal guest room. After that trip it probably will be back to POFQ

I don't blame her for wanting to try a royal room! They look really nice. Luckily, DD doesn't know anything about them! We really love POFQ. We'd previously stayed at BWI though, so DH is jonesing to get back to deluxe! :rotfl2:

Your pictures from 1900 PF are hilarious! The characters there are so into it!

I thought the food was good, not fantasic, the strawberry soup was good!

YAY to looking into another trip, I don't know if we could do the Deluxe Dining, most times just reg dining is too much food!

A cruise:cloud9: someday for me as well.

Strawberry soup is yummy! I didn't hate the food, but DH was not a fan. We'll be back there anyway though :rotfl:

I so hope this trip works out. We want to do deluxe so that we can do character breakfasts in park before open, and we'd like to check out the Spirit of Aloha show too.

DH would probably agree to Disney every year if it meant a cruise :lmao: I think that DD belongs in the parks at this age though. Someday...

katt789

10-16-2011, 11:41 AM

3SmilingFaces

10-16-2011, 01:25 PM

Joining in on the trip report! Just started reading, so I have a long way to go to catch up! The title drew me in, as this was our motto for our trip with our 3 kiddos last fall. Their first trip to Disney! It was dh first time at Disney as well, so he never knew all that he was missing out on ;) and we all had a super fabulous vacation because our kids were (almost) always happy!

shan23877

10-16-2011, 09:58 PM

YAY!! Possible new trip news!! I was thinking of getting another trip going in May, or doing out to DL instead! It's a great time to go!

1900 Park Fare looked great, too bad the food wasn't that awesome!

I really hope this trip works out! 1900 Park Fare WAS awesome. Don't let the food stop you from going. The characters are totally worth it.

Joining in on the trip report! Just started reading, so I have a long way to go to catch up! The title drew me in, as this was our motto for our trip with our 3 kiddos last fall. Their first trip to Disney! It was dh first time at Disney as well, so he never knew all that he was missing out on ;) and we all had a super fabulous vacation because our kids were (almost) always happy!

:welcome: Thanks for reading! You should have plenty of time to catch up, I don't move that fast :). So glad you guys had a great vacation letting the kids lead you! We had pretty happy girl most of the time too, seemed like low blood sugar was the main culprit for moodiness.

We're hoping now that she's gotten all of her "must-dos" out of the way we might be able to convince her to branch out a little next trip! :rotfl:

shan23877

10-16-2011, 10:39 PM

After our dinner at 1900 Park Fare, we jumped on the monorail, and arrived at the Magic Kingdom in what seemed like seconds. There might be something to staying at these monorail resorts…

We had definite plans for our evening in the MK. Maddie wanted to squeeze in as many character visits as possible, and Bryan and I hoped to sneak a few rides in too. We grabbed a times guide and quickly realized that we’d missed our opportunity to get our Arial photographed with the real deal. Maddie wasn’t too disappointed; we’d go see Cinderella, Aurora, and Belle instead.

We’d been here before, but not in this dress!

Waiting in line

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Some of my favorite character photos of the trip

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"I'm wearing beautiful shoes, but I have an owie. See my princess band-aid?"

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After we met with the ladies, we decided that it was high time to meet with the big cheese and his lady. Standby time to meet Mickey and Minnie was posted at 15 minutes, but it did seem a bit longer. This was a great meet and greet! Mickey and Minnie made sure that Maddie had tons of fun and felt like a princess, and the Photo Pass photographer here was great too.

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Maddie hugging Mickey somewhat inappropriately

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After meeting with the mice, Bryan and I tried to convince Maddie to go on a couple of rides. We even offered to wait in line for the Speedway (Maddie loves go-karts). It didn’t work though—we were going to see the fairies again. Maddie was really hoping to meet Silvermist or Vidia and was prepared to go to the fairies garden as many times as she needed to meet them.

We got in line (about 20 minutes) and DD again watched some fairie movies. We finally got in and saw….Rosetta and Tink. This Rosetta wasn’t as good as the one we’d seen previous, but the CM playing Tinkerbell was great. She asked Maddie if she had been practicing her curtsy. When DD said no, Tink took it upon herself to teach Maddie how princesses should bow.

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First they pranced

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Then they curtsied

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All the girls!

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After the fairies, we tried again to get Maddie to ride some rides, but she wasn’t in the mood so we went shopping. We hit the Chapeau and got some embroidered ears for Maddie, Uncle Cory and our niece and nephew. By the time we were done, it was after 9 but the MSEP had been delayed due to weather. (I think lightning must have been spotted because it wasn’t raining.) We gave DD a choice. We could stay, look for a few more characters, and watch Wishes, or we could go back to the hotel and swim for a bit. She chose to go swimming, and we were glad because we didn’t feel like battling the bus stop crowds. Plus, we were hoping the swim would make washing her hair easier!

We got back to POFQ and changed into our suits quickly. Maddie is not a great swimmer, and had gotten nothing from her lessons earlier in the summer. However, DH and I still take every opportunity to get her more comfortable in the water. Someone had left a pool noodle on the deck, so we grabbed it to show Maddie that it could help her float. We were pulling her slowly around the pool while DD kicked her legs when DH motioned to me to let go of my side of the noodle. DD was “swimming” with the help of the noodle for a few minutes before she noticed we had let go, but when she did realize it she started to freak out. Trying to reassure her I said calmly “Don’t panic, you’re doing great”. Her reply was one of our favorite moments of the trip “BUT I HAVE TO PANIC!” Bryan and I were laughing so hard that we weren’t really much help getting her back to the side of the pool. We hung out in the pool a bit longer before calling it a night. We were headed to Animal Kingdom in the morning!

shan23877

10-16-2011, 10:45 PM

Tonight I finished the top of the quilt I'm making for my MiL for Christmas. She calls it "subtle Mickey" when she's decorating her house, but DH thinks it qualifies as a hidden Mickeys :goodvibes.

Not too many places where I think people would appreciate this :cool2:

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Close-up on the Mickeys

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Bethislucy

10-17-2011, 07:37 AM

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Close-up on the Mickeys

http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/shanbell23/DSC08618.jpg

This is simply awesome. Wow.

kokotg

10-17-2011, 07:56 AM

LOVE the quilt!

:rotfl: at "But I HAVE to panic!"

and good call on the swimming to make the hair easier to wash! Too bad you didn't get to do any rides...but those adorable character pics last longer anyway :)

mickeyplanner

10-17-2011, 08:55 AM

YOur quilt is beautiful and I agree they are hidden mickeys!!!

shan23877

10-17-2011, 12:48 PM

This is simply awesome. Wow.

Thank you! The centers were meant to be rosettes, but for my MiL--it had to be Mickeys. I'm really glad it worked out :goodvibes

LOVE the quilt!

:rotfl: at "But I HAVE to panic!"

and good call on the swimming to make the hair easier to wash! Too bad you didn't get to do any rides...but those adorable character pics last longer anyway :)

Thanks!

I don't think she'd ever used the work panic before that moment, which made it even funnier :lmao:

I suppose you're right. We did get some really nice pictures, and will probably enjoy them more that 1 ride on BTMRR :rotfl:

YOur quilt is beautiful and I agree they are hidden mickeys!!!

Thank You! I really hope MiL likes it!

Caretames1

10-17-2011, 02:54 PM

Queenofallthings

10-17-2011, 08:27 PM

I'll work backwards here....the quilt is gorgeous! You are one talented lady:worship:

Those photopass pictures made me a little weepy...sure brought back memories of when Jasmine was that age....pure magic:cloud9: She looks so happy and I love her line in the pool, I can only imagine how you guys cracked up:rotfl2:

shan23877

10-18-2011, 12:08 AM

What a fun way to end the night! Love the inapropriate hug on Mickey! She's gonna love that one later in life:rotfl2:

Your quilt is so cute! Put me right into the sprit of Christmas! All I need now is hot coccoa and a good book:cloud9:

We had several photos where she was a bit inappropriate with ladies :lmao:, but the one with Mickey is probably the winner. Maybe I'll submit that one when she graduates from high school...

It was a great way to end the evening. It was nice to unwind in the pool for a bit.

Thank you! I think my MiL will really like it. She goes all out decorating for Christmas, and has almost enough ornaments for an all Mickey tree. Maybe the quilt will have to be displayed next to that.

I'll work backwards here....the quilt is gorgeous! You are one talented lady:worship:

Those photopass pictures made me a little weepy...sure brought back memories of when Jasmine was that age....pure magic:cloud9: She looks so happy and I love her line in the pool, I can only imagine how you guys cracked up:rotfl2:

Thank you so much! I'm really new to quilting, but the great thing about it is that some really simple designs look really complicated. I will admit that the Mickey heads were a little tough. ;)

We framed so many of those photos. We will remember those moments forever. Her joy meeting the "real princesses" was so amazing to see. I'm sure when she gets older, I'll be looking at those pics with a tear in my eye. Heck, I could tear up right now...:lovestruc

She says some really crazy stuff, but this was really funny. We'll laugh about it for a while I think. :rotfl:

TanzUnited99

10-18-2011, 01:33 PM

CandleontheWater

10-18-2011, 03:59 PM

I'm sorry you guys didn't get on any rides, but those photos of Maddie with the princesses and Mickey and Minnie are just priceless. She looks so happy and so immersed in magic! :cloud9:

Swimming sounds like a good idea to me too! So funny about the panic comment! :laughing:

Oh, and your quilt is awesome! I'll admit, it took me a good hard look to find the mickeys! What a neat pattern!

kmedina

10-18-2011, 06:24 PM

Sorry this will be a run-on paragraph, but my enter key is not working. That is nice that you are taking another trip this summer. Maddie will love it. I have not had the opportunity to eat at 1900 Park Fare yet, since I was once again told I need to have a daughter before it is appropriate. Even though the food was not good, I am glad the characters were so entertaining. Those character pictures are amazing. I love the ones with Tink. It looks like they are doing a fun dance. My DS was in swim classes almost a year before he really took to it. Now, he is a great swimmer (for his age). Keep her in swim classes, and she will get it. When other kids were moving in and out of his class, he stayed in the same classs without progressing for quite some time. I love the quilt. The hidden Mickey's are awsome.

Fantasyland Mom

10-18-2011, 06:42 PM

I LOVE LOVE LOVE that quilt! Gorgeous! I want one!

So cute that they took Photopass pictures not only of her showing off the bandage, but of the bandage itself! They're pretty good at capturing moments like that. Next time I hope to convince my husband that we need Photopass. He thinks he can get photos of everything, but...well...he's wrong:lmao:.

ronnmel

10-18-2011, 10:47 PM

I just saw the link to your TR in your signature. A little late, I know. So far I've read up to the point where your DD meets Beast. I'm enjoying it. :)

shan23877

10-18-2011, 11:35 PM

Love the character photos and the 'owie' moment with Cinderella - so cute :cutie:

Haha at Maddie hugging Mickey inappropriately - makes me feel better about my Aladdin M&G!! :lmao:

It's a shame Rosetta wasn't as good as the last one but looks like Tink more than made up for it. Vidia sure is a hard fairy to find - I wanted to meet her as well.

Love the pool interaction - 'But I have to panic!' :rotfl2:

Great quilt - you sure are one talented lady :thumbsup2

The owie moment fit right in since this was the trip of showing off our footwear :lmao:

Poor Mickey. I didn't feel so bad when she was being inappropriate with the princesses.

Tink was awesome. We may have found Vidia (but I don't want to ruin the surprise :rolleyes1)

Thanks!

I'm sorry you guys didn't get on any rides, but those photos of Maddie with the princesses and Mickey and Minnie are just priceless. She looks so happy and so immersed in magic! :cloud9:

Swimming sounds like a good idea to me too! So funny about the panic comment! :laughing:

Oh, and your quilt is awesome! I'll admit, it took me a good hard look to find the mickeys! What a neat pattern!

Those pictures were some of the best we got. I think it was worth skipping the rides for :love:

Swimming made washing her hair sooo much easier! It was nice to relax for a while too.

Thanks! I'm glad the Mickeys didn't jump out. I was going for subtle.

Sorry this will be a run-on paragraph, but my enter key is not working. That is nice that you are taking another trip this summer. Maddie will love it. I have not had the opportunity to eat at 1900 Park Fare yet, since I was once again told I need to have a daughter before it is appropriate. Even though the food was not good, I am glad the characters were so entertaining. Those character pictures are amazing. I love the ones with Tink. It looks like they are doing a fun dance. My DS was in swim classes almost a year before he really took to it. Now, he is a great swimmer (for his age). Keep her in swim classes, and she will get it. When other kids were moving in and out of his class, he stayed in the same classs without progressing for quite some time. I love the quilt. The hidden Mickey's are awsome.

I think DS would have fun at 1900. The stepsisters were "hitting on" every available male! Talk them into it!

Tink was awesome. They spent about 10 minutes playing together!

We're going to keep at the swimming. Maddie has always been a kid who cannot be rushed. She's done everything in her own time. I hope that she'll start enjoying the water more. I'm insisting that she be a good enough swimmer to save herself, so she'll be stuck in lessons for a while...

Thanks for the nice words about the quilt. I enjoy doing it, and I really hope my MiL likes it!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE that quilt! Gorgeous! I want one!

So cute that they took Photopass pictures not only of her showing off the bandage, but of the bandage itself! They're pretty good at capturing moments like that. Next time I hope to convince my husband that we need Photopass. He thinks he can get photos of everything, but...well...he's wrong:lmao:.

Thank You! I'm making about 4 more quilts before Christmas or else I'd put you on the list right now :rotfl:

I hope you can convince DH to get the photopass CD. I think it is totally worth it. For $100 we ended up with about 1500 pictures. We might not do it once she's out of the character phase, but for now it's a must do for us. Also, you can relax and enjoy the moments a little more if you're not worried about the camera all the time. IMO of course :laughing:

I just saw the link to your TR in your signature. A little late, I know. So far I've read up to the point where your DD meets Beast. I'm enjoying it. :)

:welcome: Thanks for hopping over! There's plenty of TR left! Keep your eye out for all of our inappropriate character photos! :lmao:

katt789

10-18-2011, 11:36 PM

That quilt looks awesome!! If only I could sew!

You've got some great shots of character interactions, absolutely adorable!!:cutie:

shan23877

10-18-2011, 11:38 PM

That quilt looks awesome!! If only I could sew!

You've got some great shots of character interactions, absolutely adorable!!:cutie:

Thank you! Thanks to your TR I know where to find more characters at DHS next trip :hug:

kcandbella

10-19-2011, 08:53 PM

That quilt is awesome! What a great present!!!

Love all your PP shots, they turned out so cute!

LilAnn

10-20-2011, 08:24 AM

Wow, that quilt is amazing! You are so talented!

An a big fat UGH at that TSMM line. DD kept asking us to go on that ride again and again, but unless we had FP or the wait time was under 40 minutes, we had to resort to distraction techniques as well.

Like the inappopriate hug your DD gave Mickey, you know that I have many of those type of photos with my daughter. :rotfl:

katt789

10-20-2011, 10:57 AM

Thank you! Thanks to your TR I know where to find more characters at DHS next trip :hug:

Haha!! True fact!! Character palooza is such an amazing thing to know about!

Nermel9

10-20-2011, 11:22 AM

Hey! Followed you over from my TR! I know I'm a little late and I have to catch up, I'm glad you have chapter links!! :)

ohboyx3

10-20-2011, 11:26 AM

Enjoying your report!!! :cool1:

shan23877

10-21-2011, 12:09 AM

I was hoping to have an update posted tonight, but I'm having Photobucket issues. I hope to get it up tomorrow!

That quilt is awesome! What a great present!!!

Love all your PP shots, they turned out so cute!

Thank you so much!

Wow, that quilt is amazing! You are so talented!

An a big fat UGH at that TSMM line. DD kept asking us to go on that ride again and again, but unless we had FP or the wait time was under 40 minutes, we had to resort to distraction techniques as well.

Like the inappopriate hug your DD gave Mickey, you know that I have many of those type of photos with my daughter. :rotfl:

Thanks! I thought of you when I posted that picture. I hoped you'd see it, I knew you'd appreciate it!

Hey! Followed you over from my TR! I know I'm a little late and I have to catch up, I'm glad you have chapter links!! :)

:welcome: Thanks for joining in!

Enjoying your report!!! :cool1:

:welcome: Thanks for reading!!

shan23877

10-21-2011, 12:49 AM

On the morning of Day 4 we were up bright and early. DH and I got up at 6:30 and as was our habit, got ourselves ready before waking our princess. We grabbed a light breakfast at the food court before grabbing a bus to Animal Kingdom.

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AK had EMH that morning, so we wanted to take advantage. We arrived at about 8:10—not too bad. We immediately headed for…PhotoPass!! After a few shots, the photographer asked Maddie to pretend that she was cradling a baby. I was so excited! I’d been hoping all week that we’d get some Magic Shots, but I’d been too shy to ask.

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We look tired!

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Photo shoot out of the way, we headed toward Everest.

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Bryan and I grabbed some FP then we reversed course and got in line for our safari. The ride was a walk-on, but we got held up once we’d boarded the bus because some animals were in the path of the buses in front of us. We only waited about 10 minutes, and we were on our way.

shan23877

10-21-2011, 12:52 AM

We expected Maddie to go bananas for the safari. She loves animals, zoos, aquariums, etc. I’m not sure if it was because she was tired or what, but she was not at all interested in this ride. I gave her the camera to occupy her, so I don’t have many useable pictures from our trek. (Unless you’re interested in photos of the guy sitting in front of us, Maddie’s shoes, or Bryans knees.)

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We stopped for a bit because the hippos were crossing the road. I was not using any zoom on these pictures.

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After the safari, we stopped to play the drums for a while, and then went to see if Kali was open yet.

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We hoped to do this early so that if we did get wet we’d have plenty of time to dry off before lunch. Unfortunately Kali wasn’t running yet, so we went ahead to use our FP for Everest. I’m not sure why we didn’t think to skip the FP and use the Single Rider line instead; maybe we were all feeling the effects of 3 days of commando character stalking. Bryan insisted that I ride first, so I took off to conquer the Yeti. (Maddie was very disappointed that she didn’t get to see the Yeti because he plays a prominent role in one of her favorite books—Charlie’s Superhero Underpants. She did ask me later if the Yeti was wearing the underpants. It’s a great book if you have little ones, check it out)

I met up with DD and DH outside the dump shop, and Bryan went to take his turn. Maddie was complaining that her dress was bothering her chest (she has eczema), so she and I went to the ladies room to change her outfit. On the way, I found out that Maddie and her Dad had been butting heads while I was riding. Oh, boy. It was going to be a long morning.

After Bryan’s ride we went to see if Kali was open yet. It was, and standby was posted at 20 minutes so we got in line. While we were waiting, DD and DH continued to bicker and fight. Finally I couldn’t take it anymore. I turned to them both and told them that if they couldn’t get along and enjoy their day, then I’d find another family to spend the day with. Having said my piece I turned my back on them and figured they’d work it out pretty quickly since they knew they’d finally made me mad. Within 5 minutes, I had apologies and promises to behave from both of them.

I took pictures while they fought

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Contrite?

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We enjoyed our ride down the Kali River Rapids, but as luck would have it Maddie and I were the 2 people on our raft that ended up soaking wet. I really wished that I hadn’t worn a cotton dress. I was feeling pretty self-conscious while it was sticking to me.

It was almost time for a FOTLK show to start, so we wandered that way. However, Maddie had other ideas. “How about Camp Minnie Mickey instead?” Once again we were on our way for some character encounters.

ronnmel

10-21-2011, 08:49 AM

kokotg

10-21-2011, 09:08 AM

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We look tired!

Looks like Maddie's baby brother Simba's been keeping you up all night :laughing:

After Bryan’s ride we went to see if Kali was open yet. It was, and standby was posted at 20 minutes so we got in line. While we were waiting, DD and DH continued to bicker and fight. Finally I couldn’t take it anymore. I turned to them both and told them that if they couldn’t get along and enjoy their day, then I’d find another family to spend the day with. Having said my piece I turned my back on them and figured they’d work it out pretty quickly since they knew they’d finally made me mad. Within 5 minutes, I had apologies and promises to behave from both of them.

:rotfl: I regularly threaten my kids that if they don't stop fighting they're going to have to go live with another family!

Great updates!

mickeyplanner

10-21-2011, 01:29 PM

Other than swimming and a regular hair washing, did you have to do anything else to get rid of BBB? Maddie's hair looks great the next day.

Caretames1

10-21-2011, 08:02 PM

Cute photopass pics:thumbsup2 We have that magic shot and it's ones oif my favorites.

Nice "contrite" photo, whats the hubby's look like?:lmao:

merbobear

10-21-2011, 11:26 PM

I LOVE the Ariel dress...perhaps because I made one for my dd with the same fabric! She wore it to AK in May :cool1: Great minds think alike!

shan23877

10-22-2011, 12:08 AM

I'm finally caught up!

It's kinda funny that both your DD AND your husband apologized and promised to behave. You would think you were traveling with two kids. :laughing:

Hope it was hot enough that day for you to dry off fast.

Yeah, patience is not on of Bryan's strong suits. He KNEW he had better apologize! :rotfl2: It doesn't help that all 3 of us are extremely stubborn...

Looks like Maddie's baby brother Simba's been keeping you up all night :laughing:

:lmao::lmao:

:rotfl: I regularly threaten my kids that if they don't stop fighting they're going to have to go live with another family!

Great updates!

I'm so glad I'm not the only one! I've not done it since, but boy was I fed up with them!

Other than swimming and a regular hair washing, did you have to do anything else to get rid of BBB? Maddie's hair looks great the next day.

She has naturally curly hair, so we always use conditioner and detangler. Other that that, nope! It was some super powerful gel that they used, but was easy to get out.

Thanks for reading!

Cute photopass pics:thumbsup2 We have that magic shot and it's ones oif my favorites.

Nice "contrite" photo, whats the hubby's look like?:lmao:

Maddie and I were so excited that she got to do the Baby Simba picture! It's one of my faves too.

:rotfl2::rotfl2::rotfl2: I didn't get a "contrite pic" of DH, but I did get something better--he didn't question my plans for the rest of the day! AND he tried really hard to remember that he's the dad and she's 4 :lmao:

I LOVE the Ariel dress...perhaps because I made one for my dd with the same fabric! She wore it to AK in May :cool1: Great minds think alike!

:woohoo: Great minds indeed! I was really surprised not too see any more of those dresses. They're so easy to make and really cute! How funny that we both dressed them in the dresses for AK day :goodvibes

Lifelong_Dreamer

10-22-2011, 12:48 AM

Queenofallthings

10-22-2011, 09:13 AM

Great update...I love AK first thing in the morning, I think it is beautiful! Love the photopass pictures...I don't think you look tired at all I think you all look great! I feel Maddie's pain, I too have eczema and winter months are horrible for me!

Can't wait to hear about Camp Minnie Mickey!:goodvibes

shan23877

10-22-2011, 12:14 PM

Hi Shannon, I have been meaning to join in over here and now that I have a week off from school I finally have the chance!

I like the new decor in the rooms at POFQ.

Just reading about the first part of your day at MK - Love all the photopass photos, you call look so happy.

Dream Along With Mickey - Love it!

That is too bad that she did not enjoy Splash Mountain, maybe when she is older.

Loving that you got to see Rapunzel with no wait, talk about pixie dust!

That might have been the luckiest part of the trip!

Loving the pictures of Maddie with Tigger, adorable!

You made Maddie's Cinderella dress? It is very pretty!

Thanks!

What adorable pictures with the fairies! Where is the meet and greet with them located now that Toon Town is closed?

The fairies are in Adventurland, right next to the Dole Whips!

Very cool that you got to meet Genie along with Aladdin and Jasmine! :thumbsup2 I have only been fortunate enough to see him out once and that was back in 2007.

That was so nice of the families to let you skip ahead in the Mulan line.

The BBB and Disney bus situation, one of the main reasons why we always have a rental car, I can't stand waiting around for the buses!

Maddie is adorable all dolled up at the BBB! I wish they had that when I was younger.

Sounds like you had some great character interaction at 1900 Park Fare! The stepfamily is always a hoot and it sounds like Cinderella and Prince Charming were well charming. ;)

They were quite charming :lmao: It was a great experience.

Thanks for joining in!

Great update...I love AK first thing in the morning, I think it is beautiful! Love the photopass pictures...I don't think you look tired at all I think you all look great! I feel Maddie's pain, I too have eczema and winter months are horrible for me!

Can't wait to hear about Camp Minnie Mickey!:goodvibes

AK is gorgeous in the mornings! Thank you for the kind words about the photos, it wasn't our best day. :rotfl:

The eczema has never bothered her in the summer before, but I think it was the fabric of the dress combined with the heat and sweat that was bothering her. Poor thing is really suffering right now with the change of seasons. Hope yours isn't too bad right now! :hug:

smidgy

10-23-2011, 01:12 AM

TanzUnited99

10-23-2011, 10:59 AM

Great AK PP pics - I love them!

AK was one of our favourite parks so I enjoyed reading about your time here. Oh no on Maddie and Dad not getting along - I'm happy they sorted out their differences for you.

If you had gone on the Single Rider line for EE you would have missed all the details of the queue - btw did you enjoy it?

Lol at getting wet on KRR - I was wishing for that to happen to me :rotfl:

shan23877

10-23-2011, 10:01 PM

hi there, fellow Illinoian, and fellow waitress/bartender! thought I'd pop over and peruse your TR. have only made it to page 6 so far.. enough to see what a cutie pie your daughter is!! (and you're a cute little pixie yourself!)

I need to get an idea of what it's like to tour with a little one. we may be going with our grandson.. age 6 (oh, yeah, and our son and DIL) next summer. yes, I know, summer :scared1: but she's a teacher, so...)

so far < i forsee lots of character stops (although probably not many with princesses).. and, Nebo will NOT be able to stand this.. NOT sticking to a schedule!!!

I love the way your chapters are titled ( I loved Friends!)

Thanks for popping over Smidgy! I fear that my TR is not quite as entertaining as yours but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway ;)

Thanks so much for the nice words. We think she's pretty cute (most of the time).

How much fun you'll have going with your DGS!! I bet you won't see too many princesses :lmao: Ahhh, summer at WDW. Hot, crowded, and lines for days. It might not be Nebo's favorite trip! He might do better than you think though. I tend to enjoy schedules myself, but seeing the joy a little one gets from meeting his/her favorite characters is sooo worth ditching the schedule.

Thanks on the chapter titles--I was hoping that some people would get it. I loved Friends too (obviously :rotfl:)

Great AK PP pics - I love them!

AK was one of our favourite parks so I enjoyed reading about your time here. Oh no on Maddie and Dad not getting along - I'm happy they sorted out their differences for you.

If you had gone on the Single Rider line for EE you would have missed all the details of the queue - btw did you enjoy it?

Lol at getting wet on KRR - I was wishing for that to happen to me :rotfl:

Thanks!! AK is such a beautifully themed park. I could look around for hours.

Those two are so much alike, so having both of them tired and cranky always spells trouble for me! :lmao:

Good point about EE. I loved it! But, I've never met a coaster or thrill ride that I didn't like.

I didn't think I'd mind getting wet on Kali, but I should have put some more thought into the wardrobe :rotfl2: