A Very, Merry November Girls only trip to Disney - the trip Report update: 4/29

[joy13]

Howdy - I'm Joy and me, my Mom (Oma to my daughter) and daughter took a girl's only trip to Disneyworld from 11/16 to 11/21. If you didn't read my pre-trip report here's a link to the introduction page to read all about us:

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42392327&postcount=1

So if you read that introduction, I said I wasn't going to write a trip report - I obviously changed my mind :lmao: I'm going to give it another go - I want to relive my trip! :wizard: So here goes nothing :)

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Chapter Links:
11/16: Departure and Arrival (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43350336&postcount=3)
11/16:Grand Floridian Tour, Wishes and Chef Mickey's (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43375275&postcount=14)
11/17 A morning at DHS (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43610008&postcount=29)
11/17 Afternoon and Evening at DHS (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43693966&postcount=49)
Photopass catchup (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43849169&postcount=61)
11/18 Magic Kingdom morning (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44736393&postcount=72)

[B&WMickey]

Go Packers!!!!!!!

[joy13]

11/16 - Departure Day

Our trip began on Wed. 11/16. We were scheduled to fly out of Green Bay's airport at 6:50am and then connect in Minneapolis and arrive in Orlando at 2:15pm. The nice thing is that we only live 5 minutes from the airport and it's small, so we didn't have to be there hours before departure. We had my Mom stay over night, so that caused some changes in sleeping arrangements. My Mom slept in Maddie's bed, Maddie slept with me and my Husband slept in the spare room. Maddie's bed has a better mattress than the spare room, and my Mom has back issues sometimes, so we wanted to play it safe. Well, Maddie must have been really excited for the trip, because she woke up at 2:15 and didn't go back to sleep until almost 4:00am. That was a bummer because the alarm went off at 4:45am :scared1: Thankfully, with all the excitement to go - we got up ok. We got to the airport without a hitch and our plane from Green Bay left on time.

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We made it to Minneapolis and had breakfast while waiting for our next plane. We had a 2 hr layover, which ended up being a bit longer because we had to wait to get a crew from another plane. We ended up leaving about 45 minutes late. Then they had to go around a storm system as well, so that made the flight a little bit longer. Maddie slept a lot of the flight, since she had such a rough night of sleep. We ended up arriving in Orlando right around 3:00. After we got there, Maddie went into the carry-on and immediately got out a princess crown - lol!

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We headed to the Magical Express and got right into line for Pop Century:
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We only had to wait a few minutes and it was time to get onto the bus:
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We stopped at Caribbean Beach Resort first and the Pop was the next stop :banana:

Maddie was completely entertained by the movie on the bus and the temps were wonderful compared to what we had come from. It was sunny and 84 - nice!

We arrived at Pop and there was no line for check in :thumbsup2 I was very excited to see that the Christmas Tree was up:
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Empty Lobby :thumbsup2
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I checked in and was thrilled that we got our exact room requests. We were in room 4456 - which is right along the lake - back side of the Play-doh building 4. We could see the Epcot and MK fireworks from our window! We could also see the Nemo section of the new Art of Animation resort.

View from our room:
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The inside, they had redone the rooms since 2009 when we were there:
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New hooks:
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Up next: Our evening touring resorts.

[joy13]

Go Packers!!!!!!!

:banana: 11-0 baby!

I see you were just at Disney too? Were you there at the same time?

[jenseib]

Joining in! :banana: Now to back and read.....(gotta get that 1st page spot you know :lmao:)

[aksunshine]

wooo hooo!!!

[the_princess]

:surfweb: Great TR so far, looking forward to more...

[wdwgirl03]

Joining in too. :)

[mom2rtk]

YEAH! Thanks for starting so early. I get a sneak peek before we leave in 10 days! :dance3: ....... not that I'm counting or anything.....

[skier_pete]

Joining in! Looks like a good start. I like the shots of the AAR - Nemo section. We drove by many times and saw the construction from afar. (You could see the tops of the bowling pins from the bus route around CBR.) Love Pop Century - but have never been in Building 4.

SP

[Caretames1]

Joining in on the fun!!

[FosterA]

Glad to see you started a report!!

Great photos so far. Keep it up:goodvibes

[joy13]

Joining in! :banana: Now to back and read.....(gotta get that 1st page spot you know :lmao:)

Being on the first page is of utmost importance! :thumbsup2

wooo hooo!!!

Almost time for you :banana:

:surfweb: Great TR so far, looking forward to more...

Thanks and welcome!!! :love:

Joining in too. :)

Glad to have you :thumbsup2

YEAH! Thanks for starting so early. I get a sneak peek before we leave in 10 days! :dance3: ....... not that I'm counting or anything.....

:cool1: I meant it on your TR - I think you, me and Jen need to plan something!

Joining in! Looks like a good start. I like the shots of the AAR - Nemo section. We drove by many times and saw the construction from afar. (You could see the tops of the bowling pins from the bus route around CBR.) Love Pop Century - but have never been in Building 4.

SP

It's our second time in building 4 - it's a great location. Maddie wants to try the 50's next time though.

Joining in on the fun!!

Welcome! I need to get back to reading your report!

Glad to see you started a report!!

Great photos so far. Keep it up:goodvibes

Will do!

[joy13]

When I left off we had arrived to our room. The location was perfect! It was weird, when we went into the room the TV was on and when we tried to shut if off (both with the remote and the power button on the TV) it wouldn't shut off or change the channel. I also noticed that the bottom dresser drawer was broken. I called maintanence and the sent a person right up. He reset the TV and took the drawer to fix it or replace it. When we got back later that night the drawer was fixed :thumbsup2

So I had planned on heading to Magic Kingdom for awhile this night if we got in at a decent time. We were only a little late getting in, but just even that hour made it seem too short to make it worth going into Magic Kingdom. We did have an ADR at Chef Mickey's to go to, so instead of going to MK, we just headed that way and took the Monorail to the Grand Floridian. I figured if we didn't go that night to see the Gingerbread house, we never would. So we hopped on the bus to Magic Kingdom, then took the Monorail around to the Grand Floridian. The Gingerbread house did not disappoint! (lots of Pictures ahead)

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We had to get some gingerbread of course:
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I just loved all the detail on this house, I'm sure there was a ton I didn't notice. It was just beautiful! Once we were done looking around it was time to head back to the monorail and make our way to the Contemporary :thumbsup2

Continued next post: (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43375435&postcount=15)

[joy13]

Once we got to the Contemporary, we headed to the 4th floor observation deck to watch Wishes. Our ADR was at 8:25, so the timing was perfect. I had never been there before, so I was happy when I saw they even had benches to sit on.

View of the castle from the observation deck:
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My Mom has problems with back spasms at times, and she felt her back starting to act up. This would be an issue the whole trip - though it didn't ruin the trip by any means, but I felt bad that she had to deal with that. Any way a few people were already on the benches - it was about 7:35 or so. We found seats though and a nice lady that had the front bench to herself said Maddie could come sit with her so she could see :love: My Mom and I were entertained this whole time because we could see that Maddie talked to this lady non-stop the whole time. I don't know what they were conversing about, but I was hoping the lady didn't mind the non-stop chatter :rotfl: So first Magic, Memories and You was shown, but that music wasn't piped in. It looked cool though. Then Wishes started and they do pipe that music in. Tinker Bell did fly so that was nice! I'm not great at Firework pictures so I'll just post this one of just missing the heart:
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When Wishes ended we thanked the lady that Maddie was sitting by and I told her I hoped she didn't mind my chatty daughter. She said it was great, she was there for a convention and her family had gone home a few days before. One of her kids is 9, so she is used to a child Maddie's age. I was glad to hear that!

We then headed down and checked in for our ADR:
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It was 8:25pm, but there were a ton of people. This was the only ADR I could get for Chef Mickey's during our whole stay, so it was a popular place. We checked in and got our pictures taken. I have a copy of that on Maddie's camera, but I haven't uploaded her pictures, so I'll add that in later. I'll have to play catch-up with Photopass pictures anyway. Then we waited about 20 minutes for our table. Maddie was entertained by the Disney Channel, but by this point Mom and I were ready to eat and between being tired from a long day and my Mom's back - we just wanted to get our table. We weren't too grumpy though - LOL. We got our table and got some food right away. Our waiter was very nice and attentive :thumbsup2

Minnie visited first:
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Then Goofy:
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Then the waiter brought Maddie her birthay cupcake - her birthday is 12/11.
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It took awhile (especially when you have a bad back (my Mom) and are tired (all of us) LOL but Mickey finally came:

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Then Pluto:
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Then we had to wave napkins for the second time:
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Then finally Donald!
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Once dinner was done, we decided to take a cab back to Pop. It was after 10:00, MK had been closed since 8:00, so I wasn't going to take a chance of walking over to the Pop stop and find no buses. With being so tired and my Mom's back, the thought of going to DTD on a bus and then to Pop didn't seem reasonable either, so into a cab we went. That worked out really nice - it was about $20.

So our arrival day went really well, with the exception of my Mom's back acting up. We were pretty tired by the time we got back to the room though. The luggage was there, but I didn't have the energy to unpack, so we just got out what we needed and headed to bed. I'm not sure I'd do a late ADR like that on arrival day again - that makes for an awfully long day, but we did enjoy it, despite being tired.

Up next: Hollywood Studios :thumbsup2

[nvsnot]

I've subscribed to your TR. I'm enjoying it so far and can't wait to read more!

[jenneth79]

Subbing!

What lovely pictures of the Gingerbread House over at GF, we really need to figure out a way to head down there during the holiday season one year, it's so lovely, I think I could make do with the massive crowds. :lmao:

Looking forward to reading more about your trip!

[joy13]

I've subscribed to your TR. I'm enjoying it so far and can't wait to read more!

Thank you and Welcome!!! :goodvibes

Subbing!

What lovely pictures of the Gingerbread House over at GF, we really need to figure out a way to head down there during the holiday season one year, it's so lovely, I think I could make do with the massive crowds. :lmao:

Looking forward to reading more about your trip!

Thank you and welcome to you also! If you can swing mid-november or early December, the crowds aren't bad at all :thumbsup2 The only Christmas events that weren't going on yet when we were there was Holidays around the world and the Candlelight Processional at Epcot - everything else was decorated and going on. :santa:

[FosterA]

nice update!!
Maddie looked so excited about that cupcake:goodvibes

Looking at your photos makes me want to go back sooooo bad!

[jenseib]

Maddie looks like she has enough energy for all of you that evening.
Seeing your pictures are REALLY making me want to stay a few days after the cruise next year....I will need to see how early Osborne Lights start, but if I can work it, I might try for a night at DHS and maybe hit the 1st or 2nd party.....I hope I can swing it... I would love to do some resort touring of Christmas decorations.

[merbobear]

New subscriber! That Mickey head gingerbread looks yummy! We had a late ADR at Chef Mickey's in May, and it was a madhouse there too..every single table was full!

[Caretames1]

What a FULL first couple of hours in Disney! The Gingerbread house was so cool. I can't wait to see Christmas down there!

We've decided we like Chef Mickeys better for breakfast. The characters took forever when we when in Jan too.

Sorry to hear of your Mom's back pains, I hope she had a good time without it bothering her too much!

[mom2rtk]

We love to do an ADR on arrival day too. And it's usually Chef Mickey. But I hear you on being tired. We're getting in late on arrival date, so no first night ADR this trip. But we're heading for the MK the next morning and ending the day with a late CM ADR.

Isn't that first glimpse of the castle always breathtaking?

Can't wait to hear more! :cool1:

[RNBelle]

I'm in. We will be going in 6 days and you have me very excited. What a full, very fun first day. Hope your girls trip was a blast!

[joy13]

nice update!!
Maddie looked so excited about that cupcake:goodvibes

Looking at your photos makes me want to go back sooooo bad!

She was! She ate it in about 5 seconds - lol! I want to go back too! :rotfl:

Maddie looks like she has enough energy for all of you that evening.
Seeing your pictures are REALLY making me want to stay a few days after the cruise next year....I will need to see how early Osborne Lights start, but if I can work it, I might try for a night at DHS and maybe hit the 1st or 2nd party.....I hope I can swing it... I would love to do some resort touring of Christmas decorations.

What are your cruise dates again? In my head I'm secretly hoping for good flights or something for next year so Maddie and I go sneak a short trip in again. It's a pipe dream at this point though.

New subscriber! That Mickey head gingerbread looks yummy! We had a late ADR at Chef Mickey's in May, and it was a madhouse there too..every single table was full!

Must be a popular place to eat late! Welcome to my report!

What a FULL first couple of hours in Disney! The Gingerbread house was so cool. I can't wait to see Christmas down there!

We've decided we like Chef Mickeys better for breakfast. The characters took forever when we when in Jan too.

Sorry to hear of your Mom's back pains, I hope she had a good time without it bothering her too much!

We've never done breakfast there, maybe someday :)

We love to do an ADR on arrival day too. And it's usually Chef Mickey. But I hear you on being tired. We're getting in late on arrival date, so no first night ADR this trip. But we're heading for the MK the next morning and ending the day with a late CM ADR.

Isn't that first glimpse of the castle always breathtaking?

Can't wait to hear more! :cool1:

I think it would have been ok if we hadn't slept so bad the night before.

I'm in. We will be going in 6 days and you have me very excited. What a full, very fun first day. Hope your girls trip was a blast!

Have a great trip! I'm not a fast updater, so you won't miss much while you are gone - lol! I'll try and get another done before you go :)


Maddie's birthday is Sunday - so I've been distracted. I do have the next days pictures uploaded though, so hopefully I will get a update done soon. :wizard:

[jenseib]

We are sailing Nov. 4-8th....It's so far away yet...but I can't wait

[joy13]

Just wanted to say, I have not forgotten about this report! It's been crazy around here and I just haven't had time to stop and think long enough to write an update. I'm hoping maybe I'll get one up before Christmas, but once the holiday is over, I should be able to really get going!

[jenseib]

take your time...I know how hard it is to keep up with everything

[joy13]

First off - I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and is having a good 2012 so far :banana: We had a very nice December and Christmas - back to the normal schedule tomorrow. I'm always sad when Christmas is over - everything just seems so plain and boring and January is soooooooooo long :sad2: Anyway - thinking back to my Disney trip should help with that.

I still don't have my photopass pictures yet. I did a share I found on Facebook and she said the CD had shipped just before Christmas, so I am hoping to have them in the next few weeks or so. I'll just have to do a catch up once those show up.

So - many moons ago - I left off after our arrival day, ending with dinner at Chef Mickey's.

Thursday, November 17th - Disney Hollywood Studios

When we got up the next morning, I got up first and showered then got Maddie up. My Mom's back was still bothering her, so we decided she would stay back that morning. The big thing at DHS was the Osborne lights that night, so I wanted her to be ok for that. So Maddie and I headed to DHS just the two of us. We left about 8:30 (DHS opened at 9:00), it was a bit later than I wanted, but still ok because the bus came right away and we were at DHS by 8:45.
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We got right through the gates and up to where the masses were waiting for the TSM hullabaloo :rolleyes: Once they dropped the rope we headed over to TSM and rode stand by - we waited about 15 minutes.
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We rode the ride, but Maddie's shooter didn't work :sad2: so I let her lean over and use mine. The ride was still fun, but that was a bit of a bummer. We told the CM when we exited, and they let us ride again in another car. We just had to wait for a round of seats to load. So we rode again and both shooters worked that time :thumbsup2 After riding twice, I did grab FP for later. Because of riding twice though, the FP were for 2:30 already. After our TSM ride, we ate some breakfast at Starring Rolls.

Took this picture on our walk over, Maddie had a thing for the Sorcerer's Apprentice this trip:
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We first couldn't find a seat, so a nice couple said we could sit with them. They were from the East Coast, so we talked about the big Halloween snow storm they had. When they were done, it was starting to mist a little and there were some dark clouds, so we moved to a table that had opened up with an umbrella just in case, but it never rained hard :thumbsup2

We then headed over and met up with Phineas and Ferb (waited about 20 minutes I'd say):
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After Phineas and Ferb, we saw Lightning McQueen and Tow Mator:

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We started to head over to get Fast Passes for me for Tower of Terror and Rockin' Rollercoaster, but by Phineas and Ferb they were doing a cute little show, so we watched that.
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Maddie got to go up twice and play instruments and participate which she loved. We proceeded towards TOT and RnR and watched some street performers on the way.

Continued next post:http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43610034&postcount=30

[joy13]

After I got my fastpasses (used Maddie's tickets for one, my ticket for the other) we went over to see Sorcerer Mickey and the Incredibles.
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Maddie being silly on the way out:
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At this point it was around 1:00pm, so we headed back to Pop to eat lunch and let Maddie swim. We waited about 25 minutes for a bus and there were people in front of us that had been there 30 minutes before we got there. We aren't sure what happened, but we were all glad to get on that bus. That was the only slow bus we had all week though.

Maddie and I had a very nice time this morning. The crowds were very light and the weather was great!

Up next: Lunch at Pop and an evening at DHS.

[cajunbaby1]

I sure wanted to get to wdw to see the xmas decorations/lights..oh well maybe next yr. I love sorceror Mickey. Where was that? I want to try and get a photo when I go in May. Keep up the good work and cant wait to see more photos.

[jenseib]

fabulous updates. I love that last pose Maddie did...something Claire would do too. Looks like the temps were nice.

[joy13]

I sure wanted to get to wdw to see the xmas decorations/lights..oh well maybe next yr. I love sorceror Mickey. Where was that? I want to try and get a photo when I go in May. Keep up the good work and cant wait to see more photos.

Sorceror Mickey is in the Art of Animation building (I think that's what it is called) the one back my Voyage of the Little Mermaid and Disney Jr live on stage.

Thanks and that's one thing this report won't lack is pictures - what I lack in speed I make for that way :lmao:

[joy13]

fabulous updates. I love that last pose Maddie did...something Claire would do too. Looks like the temps were nice.

Claire and Maddie would hit if off big time I think :) Yes, the weather could not have been better :thumbsup2

[mom2rtk]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

:scared1: at that bus wait for the POP. We must have been living a charmed life becuase we never waited more than 10 or 15 minutes for a bus.

We ended up letting Katie swim more this trip. I guess I need to stop requesting rooms by the Hippy Dippy pool! :lmao:

[joy13]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

:scared1: at that bus wait for the POP. We must have been living a charmed life becuase we never waited more than 10 or 15 minutes for a bus.

We ended up letting Katie swim more this trip. I guess I need to stop requesting rooms by the Hippy Dippy pool! :lmao:

Like I said - this was the only bus snafu the whole trip. Something must have happened, because there should never be an 1 hr between buses. Really, we lucked out because we only waited the 25 minutes, the people in the front were pretty ticked off :scared1:

[Caretames1]

You broke our record of TSM 2x in a day! Love the character M&Gs, Kadence really enjoyed the Incrediables.

Nice posing there Maddie! Kadence thinks it's an awesome pose:lmao:

I can't wait to see your Osbourne lights pics!

[joy13]

You broke our record of TSM 2x in a day! Love the character M&Gs, Kadence really enjoyed the Incrediables.

Nice posing there Maddie! Kadence thinks it's an awesome pose:lmao:

I can't wait to see your Osbourne lights pics!

Well, not to spoil the next segment, but we did the unthinkable and ended the night with those TSM fastpasses still in my purse - so we only tied the record :scared1: The lights are the next update :thumbsup2

[FosterA]

Yay! Love your update. Such cute photos too!
I also took a photo of the brooms because I just loved that area so much:love:

I know, I know....I finished my TR crazy fast. Don't worry, that's not normal. I'm just a weirdo and sort of wanted to get it done while I was on a roll. :laughing:

[joy13]

Yay! Love your update. Such cute photos too!
I also took a photo of the brooms because I just loved that area so much:love:

I know, I know....I finished my TR crazy fast. Don't worry, that's not normal. I'm just a weirdo and sort of wanted to get it done while I was on a roll. :laughing:

That's what I need to do now if I am going to finish this report. Last trip, I was too slow, lost steam and never finished my report. I don't want to do that again. :surfweb:

[Chicago Mo]

I'm In! sounds fun!!!

[joy13]

I'm In! sounds fun!!!

Yay :banana: I love new readers! Now I just need to keep up with the updates :lmao:

[Chicago Mo]

Yay :banana: I love new readers! Now I just need to keep up with the updates :lmao:

I am HOOKED on Trip reports.. i can read them ALL day. :surfweb:

[petals]

Joining in. Luving the updates so far!

[CarolynK]

Hi! I just read through your TR so far, great pictures! My DD 16 is a closet Phineas and Ferb fan, so maybe for our next trip in March, I'll see if we can catch them at DHS :rolleyes1

[suzieQ36]

I am really enjoying your report. We are going about the same time this year (mid-Nov) and I've already gotten many tips and ideas from you. We have 2 girls around the same age as your daughter, so I knew we would be interested in the same activities! Thanks for taking the time to share your trip and advice!

[joy13]

Joining in. Luving the updates so far!

Welcome and thanks so much!

Hi! I just read through your TR so far, great pictures! My DD 16 is a closet Phineas and Ferb fan, so maybe for our next trip in March, I'll see if we can catch them at DHS :rolleyes1

There is something about Disney that brings out the kid in everyone, she'll love seeing Phineas and Ferb.

[joy13]

I am really enjoying your report. We are going about the same time this year (mid-Nov) and I've already gotten many tips and ideas from you. We have 2 girls around the same age as your daughter, so I knew we would be interested in the same activities! Thanks for taking the time to share your trip and advice!

Cool! Glad my report can help someone :thumbsup2 Welcome!

[joy13]

I last left off with our long wait for the bus. We got back to Pop and Maddie got into her swimsuit, then we got some lunch at Everything Pop and ate lunch out by the pool (a nice treat for Wisconsin residents in November :thumbsup2 ) I swam with Maddie for a few minutes, but then she got busy with the games being played by the pool, so I sat and chatted with my Mom, while Maddie had fun playing the games. I think Maddie had chicken strips for lunch, it was hard to get her to hang out by the table to eat though - she had better things to do :lmao: Mom and I just got cheeseburgers because we both had a craving for one for some reason, but they weren't very good. I know they have better choices at the Food court, so that's our fault. I think Maddie swam until 3:00ish (didn't write the times down - that was a mistake). We headed back to DHS, I think we got there about 4:00ish and we had a 5:35 ADR for Mama Melrose. I had fastpasses for TOT and RnR - which neither my Mom or Maddie were interested in riding, so they headed to MuppetVision 3D while I rode those.

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/11-17-11/DSCN0552.jpg

I had never ridden Tower of Terror before, so I didn't know what to expect. I did like it, the scariest part for me was not knowing when the drops were going to start.

Then I headed over to RnR:
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/11-17-11/DSCN0551.jpg

This I have ridden before, I just love it.
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/11-17-11/DSCN0550.jpg

I was tempted to head back through the single rider lane, but I didn't want to keep Maddie and my Mom waiting. Turns out I could have, I waited about 15 minutes for them to meet me back by big hat. I was hoping at this point we could ride the Great Movie Ride. I haven't ridden it in years and I thought my Mom would like it. At this point it was 5:00 and I asked the person at the entrance how long the ride was, and he said 20 minutes, so I didn't want to push it for our ADR. So we just headed towards Mama Melrose. We waited quite a while to be seated, but I think that was partly because we were early. I was a bit nervous because the park was only open until 7:00 this night due to some convention group that was coming to a private viewing of the Osborne Lights at 8:00, so I was hoping dinner would go pretty quickly. My Mom got a flatbread pizza, Maddie got cheese pizza and I got steak:

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/11-17-11/DSCN0554.jpg

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/11-17-11/DSCN0553.jpg

Mom said hers was just ok, my steak was good but the side with it (cheesey pasta) was wonderful :love: We got our desserts to go so we could get out to the lights sooner. Mom and I both got cheesecake and Maddie got this:

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/11-17-11/DSCN0557.jpg
She didn't eat it though because the sauce is cherry and she doesn't like cherry flavored things :sad2: I ate a little of it later and it was good!

Took this picture after dinner, Maddie loves this snowman.
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/11-17-11/DSCN0558.jpg

Next it was onto the.....

Osborne Lights!
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/11-17-11/Osborne%20lights/DSCN0594.jpg

Here is the album with all my pictures - that's easier than trying to post them all:
http://s795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/11-17-11/Osborne%20lights/

The lights went out immediately at 7:00pm. They ended with the famous TransSiberian Orchestra song, it was pretty cool.

On our way out we saw these guys:
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/11-17-11/DSCN0595.jpg
After we started to walk away, one of them started to follow me and I didn't notice - Maddie thought that was hilarious.

More pics from our trip out of the park:
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/11-17-11/DSCN0597.jpg

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/11-17-11/DSCN0598.jpg

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/11-17-11/DSCN0599.jpg

We just love this window decoration:
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/11-17-11/DSCN0603.jpg

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/11-17-11/DSCN0605.jpg

Night view of the DHS tree:
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/11-17-11/DSCN0607.jpg

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/11-17-11/DSCN0608.jpg

I have this picture of Maddie from this evening, so she must have gone swimming when we got back:
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/11-17-11/DSCN0612.jpg

That was the end of our first full park day. Other than Mom's back (which held up ok that night at DHS) we really had a nice day.

Next up: Magic Kingdom and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

[mom2rtk]

Man, I LOVE her poses! She's a natural!

[Caretames1]

Brave woman riding TOT by yourself! I only did in the past because Sam. Kadence isn't ready for those rides yet:worship:


Love all the Osbourne lights photos!:thumbsup2 I want to see them so bad! I


Maddie's poses are great! Kadence is enjoying them and telling me how she going to pose for next time!:lmao:

[MelMel11]

Count me in. We went the first week of Dec I loved all the christmas decorations..

[FosterA]

nice update!
so funny....I just love that window at DHS with the red ornaments with legs too!:love:

Oh....and I really want steak now too after seeing that photo!

Sounds like ya'll are having a good time so far. I just loved going this time of year....perfect weather, low crowds!!

[Chicago Mo]

Your daughter really looks like she is having fun!!!!
Love the updates!

[skier_pete]

Awesome that you tried ToT! But don't you know, not knowing when/where/how big the drops are is 90% of the fun! I always have to ride alone, but I don't care.

Maddie is quite the ham with the photos. I sometimes have a hard time getting DD to pose.

[joy13]

Man, I LOVE her poses! She's a natural!

She's such a poser that it makes it hard to get nice pictures of her sometimes because she is such a card! She gets that from her Dad :laughing:

Brave woman riding TOT by yourself! I only did in the past because Sam. Kadence isn't ready for those rides yet:worship:


Love all the Osbourne lights photos!:thumbsup2 I want to see them so bad! I


Maddie's poses are great! Kadence is enjoying them and telling me how she going to pose for next time!:lmao:

I'm a thrill ride person, that combined with being an only child, makes it easy for me to try rides by myself :thumbsup2 It was a fun ride.

nice update!
so funny....I just love that window at DHS with the red ornaments with legs too!:love:

Oh....and I really want steak now too after seeing that photo!

Sounds like ya'll are having a good time so far. I just loved going this time of year....perfect weather, low crowds!!

DHS was so empty that day (I think you were there too at some point right?) It was the smallest crowds we experienced, but the other parks were good too.

Your daughter really looks like she is having fun!!!!
Love the updates!

She had a great trip :thumbsup2

Awesome that you tried ToT! But don't you know, not knowing when/where/how big the drops are is 90% of the fun! I always have to ride alone, but I don't care.

Maddie is quite the ham with the photos. I sometimes have a hard time getting DD to pose.


I knew the drops were different lengths etc. but what I meant was, I wasn't even sure when that part started after the car starts moving through the building. I don't mind riding rides by myself at all, it's better than not riding them for sure. As I said above, Maddie is almost too good at goofy poses :lmao:

[jenseib]

I love the osborne lights...I can't wait to see them for myself!!! I mentioned to my Mom last night that Claire and i wre probably going to stay a couple of nights after the cruise and she is debating staying with us too...but of course Dad said he couldn't stay, and he'll be a baby about Mom staying. LOL!

I love Maddie's poses, they are hilarious....she's not shy at all.

[joy13]

I love the osborne lights...I can't wait to see them for myself!!! I mentioned to my Mom last night that Claire and i wre probably going to stay a couple of nights after the cruise and she is debating staying with us too...but of course Dad said he couldn't stay, and he'll be a baby about Mom staying. LOL!

I love Maddie's poses, they are hilarious....she's not shy at all.

The lights are so worth a trip at that time of year! I hope your Mom goes with you because she will love them.

[joy13]

Well, I finally got my photopass CD so I am going to work on getting them uploaded and then I'll do a catch-up update soon :thumbsup2

[jenseib]

:cool1:

[joy13]

One good thing about going slow, is that I only have one day to catch up on with my Photopass :lmao:

So here are Maddie and I arriving at DHS on Thursday morning:
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/Disney%202011%20Photopass/Photo1117FourBySix.jpg

Meeting with Phineas and Ferb:
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/Disney%202011%20Photopass/Photo1124FourBySix.jpg

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/Disney%202011%20Photopass/Photo1126FourBySix.jpg

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/Disney%202011%20Photopass/Photo1127FourBySix.jpg

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/Disney%202011%20Photopass/Photo1128FourBySix.jpg

Mom had to get in one too:
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/Disney%202011%20Photopass/Photo1135FourBySix.jpg

On to Cars:
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/Disney%202011%20Photopass/Photo1137FourBySix.jpg

More pictures by the Hat after a gift store purchase:
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/Disney%202011%20Photopass/Photo1140FourBySix.jpg

Maddie's favorite of the trip - Sorcerer Mickey:
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/Disney%202011%20Photopass/Photo1145FourBySix.jpg

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/Disney%202011%20Photopass/Photo1148FourBySix.jpg

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/Disney%202011%20Photopass/Photo1154FourBySix.jpg

When we came back for the evenings we got a couple with Mom and a little girl photobombed it :rotfl:

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/Disney%202011%20Photopass/Photo1156FourBySix.jpg

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/Disney%202011%20Photopass/Photo1158FourBySix.jpg

So that's it for DHS, from now on I'll use the Photopass pictures within each update. :surfweb:

[jenseib]

Loving the photopass pictures. I am really missing Disney lately. Ohio is boring this time of year. Well pretty much any time of year.

[joy13]

Loving the photopass pictures. I am really missing Disney lately. Ohio is boring this time of year. Well pretty much any time of year.

I hear ya! January/February is always rough - blech! I'm glad I've strung my report out this long, gives me something to do.

[Caretames1]

Nice PP photos!:thumbsup2

We have a photo bombed pic that I really liked until I saw the women's butt right next to my shoulder!:lmao:

Kadence likes Maddie's Phinneas. Did she get Ferb too?

[FosterA]

Cute pics of you girls! yep, we were there that same day and it was great. Checking to see if we photo bombed any of your photos. :laughing:

[joy13]

oK, so I have NOT forgotten about this report. I thought I better respond to it before they think it's abandoned and lock it!! I really do intend to come back and finish it!

[jenseib]

:worship:

[FosterA]

Still herepopcorn::

looking forward to hearing more!

[kaileighbug]

What a great start to your trip. We can't wait to meet Phineas and Ferb.

[joy13]

Nice PP photos!:thumbsup2

We have a photo bombed pic that I really liked until I saw the women's butt right next to my shoulder!:lmao:

Kadence likes Maddie's Phinneas. Did she get Ferb too?

She wanted Ferb, but they didn't have him - only Phineas!!!

Cute pics of you girls! yep, we were there that same day and it was great. Checking to see if we photo bombed any of your photos. :laughing:

I have looked to, never saw you - bummer!

[joy13]

:worship:

Still herepopcorn::

looking forward to hearing more!

What a great start to your trip. We can't wait to meet Phineas and Ferb.

Thanks for sticking with me, I really should just crank out my reports within a few weeks of getting back, I'm good for a month or two then I forget about it. :rolleyes2

[joy13]

So 3 :scared1: months ago when I last posted an update, I got us caught up with Photopass pictures. Our next day was a long one, we went to Magic Kingdom for opening and then also went to MVMCP that evening (we did go back to the hotel and attempt to rest).

11-18-11 (Friday)

We headed out to Magic Kingdom with the intent to be there for rope drop. I think we got there shortly after opening. We looked to see how the wait was for Mickey or the Princesses, but it was longer than Maddie wanted to wait. We did take some photopass pics at the front of the park:

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/Disney%202011%20Photopass/Photo1165FourBySix.jpg

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/Disney%202011%20Photopass/Photo1177FourBySix.jpg

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/Disney%202011%20Photopass/Photo1180FourBySix.jpg

I made a mistake in planning, because at this point we ate breakfast at Main St. Bakery. The breakfast was good, we got chocolate croissants and drinks, but we could have had those things at Everything Pop. There was quite a line at the bakery, so we ended up being there for at least 45 minutes. We then headed to Fantasyland. We stopped to take some pictures on the way:

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/111811/DSCN0614.jpg

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/111811/DSCN0618.jpg

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/111811/DSCN0619.jpg

Once we got to Fantasyland, Dumbo already had a pretty long line, so we skipped it. We never did get back to it, which makes me a bit sad since it's now in a different place. :worried: We got fastpasses for Peter Pan and then rode It's a Small World. We headed to the Haunted Mansion :hmghost: but Maddie refused to ride it :rolleyes2 So I sent Mom in to ride it by herself. My hope was that it wouldn't take too long and then I would go ride it. While Mom was riding HM, I talked Maddie into going on Pirates of the Carribean (she didn't want to do that either -ugh! She can be so stubborn and picky when she wants to be) She wasn't being difficult just for the sake of being difficult, she is genuinly scared to ride HM and she didn't love Pirates last time, but it's still frustrating. Anyway, when Mom was done with HM, I decided we better just head over to Pirates while Maddie was willing :lmao: So we rode Pirates and it was fun as always, but Maddie's still not a huge fan :rolleyes2 After the ride we met up with Pirate Goofy:

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/Disney%202011%20Photopass/Photo1191FourBySix.jpg

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/Disney%202011%20Photopass/Photo1193FourBySix.jpg

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/Disney%202011%20Photopass/Photo1197FourBySix.jpg

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/Disney%202011%20Photopass/Photo1198FourBySix.jpg

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/111811/DSCN0630.jpg

continued next post: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44736533&postcount=73

[joy13]

After meeting up with Goofy, Maddie's one attempt at dressing up for the trip was upon us. When we were preparing for the trip we were reading
mom2rtk's trip report and Maddie saw her fabulous hand sewn dress she made for her daughter when she met with Tiana from "The Princess and the Frog". She made her daughter a replica of the blue evening gown she is wearing when she first meets Naveen (in frog form). Maddie told me at that time she'd love to do that. Well, I don't sew and they don't sell Tiana's blue dress anywhere. I took a chance at looking on Ebay and I found a dress that is very similar to Tiana's blue dress, in Maddie's size and only $40 :thumbsup2 It seemed meant to be! Maddie loved the dress when it came, but by the time the trip came, she wasn't sure she wanted to wear it. Sigh.... I told her she didn't have to, but if I packed it I would prefer she wear it. She had me pack it. Then that morning came and she still was waffleling on whether she was going to wear it. I said, I didn't care, but if I hauled it to the park, she was wearing it to meet Tiana. She decided I should bring it. I had it and some gloves, a tiara and nicer sandles, in a backpack. So after Pirates we stopped in the restroom to change. She put the dress and gloves on, but didn't want me to fix her hair or change her shoes. :confused3 So we headed over to meet Tiana. She had started meeting at 11:45 and it was about 11:55. We get to the line and it was closed off already :furious: The attendant says, she meets again at 1:15, the problem with this is that we had ADR's for Cinderella's Royal Table so we couldn't come back. After that we were heading back to Pop to rest for the party, so this was our only chance. This attendant wasn't feeling in a very magical mood, because she wasn't budging. Normally I'm pretty understanding about this sort of thing, but she had only been meeting for 10 minutes at the most and there weren't that many people in line at all - maybe 10 minutes worth. I would think they normally meet for 1/2 an hr. It didn't even occur to me that it would be closed off already! So we headed back towards Fantasyland and I got this picture of Maddie. We weren't in the most magical mood at this point either because I was trying to talk Maddie into keeping the dress on for our CRT lunch, but she was having none of it and wanted the dress of ASAP because she felt like people were staring at her. So I think my quote at this point was "smile like you are having fun!" :rotfl2: I'm sure anyone around us probably thought "who is this crabby lady" it really only lasted 5 minutes though and then we were fine.

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/111811/DSCN0631.jpg

So then Maddie changed out of the dress and we used our fastpasses for Peter Pan. After that we rode the teacups twice

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/111811/DSCN0634.jpg

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/111811/DSCN0635.jpg

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/111811/DSCN0638.jpg

After the teacups we headed to the Carosel:

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/111811/DSCN0640.jpg

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/MDisney2009/111811/DSCN0642.jpg

Up next - Cinderella's Royal Table:

[jenseib]

Darn kids! :rotfl: That blue dress is really pretty. A perfect Tiana dress too.

It's good to see you posting again.

I hope we can get some nice christmas photopass shots this year.

[mom2rtk]

Tell her she looks gorgeous in her blue gown! The photo by Cinderella's fountain is perfect. :goodvibes

And I can't believe they wouldn't make an exception and let you stay in line. That totally stinks!

What a shame she wouldn't leave it on for CRT. She would have been the prettiest princess there.

[FosterA]

Glad you're back with an update:goodvibes

beautiful pictures!
too bad Maddie doesn't like Haunted mansion. MY FAVORITE!
You guys are looking like you are a having a great girly girl trip:thumbsup2

[mistybroussard]

I am enjoying your trip report. We are going about the same time this year. Anxious to see how bad the crowds will be and wait times for rides as we are going with DD5 and DD3.:)