View Full Version : Glitter, Magic, Fun and CHARACTERS!!
Hello everyone,
We just got back from Disney yesterday and I figured I would get our trip report going. First a link to our PTR if anyone is interested.
Glitter, Magic, Fun and Food - a Jan-Feb 2012 PTR (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2837440)
Now an introduction to the cast
Myself – This was my fourth trip to Disney
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My Wife – This was her first trip to Disney. She's 21 weeks pregnant on the trip as well. She went into this trip believing the following. That characters with larger than life heads are likely scary to children, that IASW is creepy, and that she just didn't get what all the fuss is about with everything being "happy and cherry" when it comes to Disney. Did the visit change this? We'll have to wait and see
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Our Daughter – Her first trip to Disney as well. She loves Pooh and Minnie Mouse and is a very easy going child. We couldn't be more happy parents.
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Our trip was from Jan 28th until Feb 3rd and we stayed at the Polynesian in room 3944 which is a Garden View room but actually has a nice view of the castle. It's kind of boxed in with trees and the other longhouses but for a Garden View rate its' a pretty nice room to stay in.
First let me get some of the basics out of the way.
The Polynesian - This resort is exactly what I expected it would be. A 40 year old resort that isn't quite luxury but Disney has done a fine job keeping it very nice. We loved the convenience of the resort and had no real issues. I look at the resort as mostly a place to Sleep, Shower, and Dream of the next days activities. It has some great amenities and the views are amazing.
The Monorail - Is all I remember it to be. It did break down once during our stay but it was the epcot train and didn't happen on a day that affected us. I just overheard conversation about it. One family got stuck on it and was not happy about it.
Now for the lineup. I'll be updating the links as I fill in the reports
Day 1 - Travel Day
- The flight, ME and resort check-in (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43930898&postcount=2)
- Let's get started at MK of course! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43933635&postcount=3)
- A dinner snubbing at 1900 park fare (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43933953&postcount=4)
Day 2 - Animal Kingdom
- DW, DD and their love of animals of all types (Part 1) (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43937730&postcount=5)
- DW, DD and their love of animals of all types (Part 2) (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43945773&postcount=10)
Day 3 - Magic Kingdom
- Crystal Palace Breakfast (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43958789&postcount=11)
- Let the rides begin (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43974059&postcount=14)
- Dinner at Ohana (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43974337&postcount=15)
Day 4 - Magic Kingdom
- Rope drop, a new dress and apparently there's "character ettiquite" (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43974748&postcount=16)
- Magical Moment #1 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43974937&postcount=19)
- We think we set a record for character interaction in the Celebrate Parade (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43977366&postcount=22)
- Hoop De Doo for Dinner and some Magic for DD (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43980799&postcount=23)
Day 5 - Epcot
- Worst thing at the worst park "we hit the wall" (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44108702&postcount=26)
- Anyone that could see it said "awwwwwww" (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44108785&postcount=27)
- DD becomes a part of the magic (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44108896&postcount=28)
- Dinner at Le Cellier (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44321464&postcount=33)
Day 6 - Animal Kingdom
- Chef Mickeys and DD gets a much needed massage at Mandara Spa (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44321670&postcount=34)
- Dad and DW relax at AK and have Magical Moment #2 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44322807&postcount=35)
- Dinner at Raglan Road and Downtown Disney (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44322988&postcount=36)
Day 7
- Relax and get ready to head home :sad1:
Some things that will be answered as a part of the report
1. Did DW get what's behind the magic?
2. Will DW think IASW is creepy after riding it?
3. Will DD enjoy the characters? All of them?
4. Which park was our favorite and which was our least fav?
5. Is 16 months too young to take a child to Disney?
There's many more items to be answered throughout. Please feel free to ask questions and read along. I'll do my best to keep the updates coming and answer questions throughout.
Travel Day has arrived!!!
We got up bright and early to get going as our flight left at 6:15am. DW and DD are not morning people but the excitement of going on a vacation seemed to have DW in good spirits. DD didn’t know what was going on however she knew it was out out of the norm and got into the swing of things pretty quickly.
We had a lot of luggage with three bags, stroller, and “plane”carseat so I was thankful for the Magical Express and not having to worry about some of the bags until we got to the resort.
It was DD’s first time flying so we weren’t sure what to expect. She was very interested in everything that was going on and shortly after takeoff she was OUT… That was a relief and about an hour into the two hour flight she woke up. Good thing we had Caillou queued up. She enjoyed the show and the rest of the trip was non eventful.
DD with her tigger earphones listening to Caillou
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Once we landed we zipped through MCO and into the ME area. There was very little traffic and ourselves and one other couple got onto a bus ready to leave that had about five other couples. It was a ME bus so I guess we were happy not to have a MEARS bus that I’ve read some people complain about.
As we got off the bus I realized we were there and it was about to begin so I got pretty happy. I held it in a little and tried to enjoy it all with my family. DD loved the fountains outside the resort and we spent two minutes just looking at them. I had checked in online and things went pretty smoothly at the front desk and we were in our room by 10:30am. We took some time to take in the room and atmosphere around us. We were in room 3944 of the Tokelau longhouse which I recommend for a Garden View. It has a nice view of the quiet pool and a good view of the Castle without having to bend over the side much at all!
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We decided to wait until our luggage showed up and ordered some food and relaxed some. Once our Luggage showed up we freshened up and it was off to our first park, The Magic Kingdom!
So we got on our way and headed to the Magic Kingdom. We hopped on the monorail and headed over. Once we got inside we found Pluto and Daisy Duck taking pictures in the square so we jumped into the shortest line which happened to be Pluto at the time.
We were comfortable that DD would enjoy the characters but we didn't realized how much. When she saw pluto you would have thought she just found an old friend that she hadn't seen in years.
We didn't get pictures of the experience as we let the photopass guy get it all (just got back yesterday so the photopass stuff isn't in yet). Then we noticed that the meet for Mickey and Minnie was listed as 10 minutes so we headed over there. The wait was more like 20 minutes which wasn't an issue but by the time we got to them DD was getting tired from the trip and long day. Even with that she was awestruck by Mickey and Minnie and we got a couple of good shots but decided our time with Mickey and Minnie wasn't up yet and that we'd be back.
When we went outside we noticed that the 3pm parade was about to start so we decided to take up a good spot on the sidewalk and wait for it to start. Turns out it wasn't the best spot as the Sun was shining in DD's face for the floats so she didn't get a good look at them. During the parade Abu, Aladdin's Monkey, came from the side and DD didn't see him coming. This caught her eye and she just watched that monkey all the way down the street.
Once the Parade stopped we decided to follow it down Mainstreet but they announced that it would be coming back down the street for it's temporary route and the sides of Mainstreet got packed. We both wondered out loud to eachother if we would ever get off Mainstreet during our first visit. I decide that now would be a good time to take a ride on the Disney train. This was a welcome choice as Mainstreet was empty when we got back, compared to the madness that was occurring during the parade. We walked up mainstreet to the castle and had our pictures taken and then decided we wanted to take our time heading back out as we had an early ADR at 1900 park fare with Cinderella and gang. We had plans to hit fantasyland once dinner was over. Our initial visit to the park was over and based on DD's response I was on :cloud9:
DW commented that she enjoyed the Disney parades. They were shorter than she thought they would be and had a pretty sizeable amount of characters to interact with the kids, besides we would have quite an experience at one of the upcoming parades that might have set some type of record. :thumbsup2
So we had made it into the resort and into the park without issue. We hopped on the Monorail for DW's first ride through the Contemporary. To this point DW had been quiet and seemed to be just taking everything in and following my lead. She had commented that it was nice to have someone that knew what to do when we took the train instead of trudging through the crowd on Mainstreet.
As we pulled into the Contemporary I could see on her face that she was at least interested in what she saw. I explained that we would be eating at Chef Mickey's here later in the trip and she gave her standard "cool" response. She hadn't bad mouthed anything yet so I was thinking things were going pretty well.
We made it over to the Grand Floridian and DW's comment as we came into the lobby "Now this is my kind of place". And then she commented on not being sure where these high standards had come from but they were hers :hug: and they do work out to our advantage in most cases so I'm happy with them as well.
We found our way down to the place, got our picture and got to dinner. I sent DW off to get some food and we worked on keeping DD unaware that the Cenderella cast was close at hand. This worked out well for the most part because their rounds kept them at a safe distance. DW brought some food for DD, I got my plate and we made short order of what we had with the long travel day and all. DW went to get seconds and as she was gone the prince made his way to our table.
This was DD's first interaction with a person character so I wasn't sure how it would go. Even now I cannot explain it because DD is not this way with men or just about anyone else for that matter but she would not even look at prince charming :confused3
The prince did his best to get her attention and finally gave in and gave me the queue to take some pics so he could be on his way. This picture sums up the whole thing quite nicely I think
DD Snubs prince charming
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There's really no explanation for it other than something hit her wrong with that guy because a few moments later Cinderella showed up and it was a completely different story
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One thing I'd like to point out is DW's reaction to the stepsisters. When we came in she mentioned that they were loud and I reminded her that was their characters. About just after Cinderella came they were having their fun and DW said "I think I like them but then again I'm told I can be obnoxious by my friends so what does that tell you?". We both got a good laugh out of that one and I think DW enjoyed Anistasia's visit to the table more than DD did.
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When Drizella came to the table she was playfull with DD as she was out of her highchair and got down on the floor with her. DD seemed to be looking elsewhere and Drizella commented that she must be looking for the blonde
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Drizella put her arms out to indicate that DD should come to her and DD ran to me, turned around and put her arms back out at her to indicate that Drizella should come to her. This brought out a likely stepsister tirade which was both comical and memorable.
After dinner we headed back to MK to get some fantasyland time in. We rode the teacups and the prince charming's carousel which DD LOVED so we ended up riding that several times. It was a long day so we just let her dictate the pace at that point.
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After this we headed back to the room for the night even though the park would be open for a few more hours. We were coming back in two days and knew there would be enough time to get the rest of the rides we wanted in.
The first day was a success and both DW and I agreed that we couldn't be more happy with DD's response to the day, it's length and how she handled it all. We knew we had a little girl with personality but we didn't realize how much and had no idea that this was the tip of the iceberg in that department :cutie:
DW commented that she was enjoying herself but was being careful not to go too far with it as we had a long way to go and there were people, places, and rides she had yet to have a chance to put through the litmus test.
Good morning everyone, I see that people are reading but no one has come in yet. Feel free to come on in, the water's nice:woohoo:
I woke up the next morning to find DW up and getting ready. She seemed to have small hint of excitement so I said nothing as she's subtle with things like this and it's better to let her come to it all on her own. It might have had something to do with the plans for breakfast as well
We had breakfast at Kona cafe which DW had been looking forward to for the tonga toast. She mentioned that she was going to try the pressed pot of coffee as well. We made it to breakfast and had a wonderful server named Ann. She brought over a sample of the passion fruit juice which DW and DD both seemed to like. I was in the mood for orange juice so I just let them finish it off. I had the Big Kahuna and DD had a fruit cup as we would feed her some from our plates. They brought the meal and DW was impressed by the size of the Tonga toast. About two minutes into it and she had a smile on her face :love:. Between that and the coffee she had quite a cafeene/sugar rush going on and was bouncing like tigger.
After that we hopped on a bus and headed over to AK. When we got there we found our first animal experience right inside the gates. The african spoonbills were building their nests and you could see the eggs they had laid. DW and DD were enthralled by it.
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So we headed up the path and further into the park. IT didn't take us long to find something else as DD loves ducks. We saw them and a few of them flew right into the walking path. I set DD down and she started chasing them around for five minutes. Other people on their way into the park made some room for her and laughed along with her as she gave chase.
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Once the ducks had enough they flew away and DD was confused as to where they went.
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DW showed her where they went and one of the ducks flew over their heads bringing one more surprising moment for DD before we headed into the park more and towards the tree of life.
We got our picture taken with the tree by the photopass people and it was off to Camp Minnie Mickey. As we came into the area we noticed Pocahontas with Meeko and a reasonably short line so we hopped on in. As we got closer the music caught DD's ears and she was trying to figure out where it was coming from. When it was her time to meet Pocahontas she went up to her but then turned again to look for the music. Pocahontas was amused by this and played along. DW and I hopped into the picture and we were on our way but not before sharing a funnel cake together.
We headed over and Chip and Dale were first. The Photopass pics from this area are much better as they caught DD's face as it light up seeing the characters for the first time and in the hugs.
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Then it was over to Minnie Mouse who she seemed to be starstruck by for a moment before going in for some close up time.
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After this DD was obviously tired so we let her lay down in the stroller and she was out like a light. We decided to take advantage of the time to get some food ourselves and decided to head over to Flametree BBQ. Both of us were less than impressed by the food here. We ate it but agreed we would have preferred something else.
We then did some shopping and took a walk around the area to take it in some more and enjoy ourselves. DW seemed to really enjoy all this as she was snapping away photo's of the wildlife, flowers, and area themes. We did a little shopping and headed up the path to the tree of life. DW really enjoyed this as we saw the kangaroos up close and she really seemed to enjoy spotting and taking pictures of all the animals on the tree. She later mentioned that she thought it was awesome how they had put it all together.
We then headed over to Africa as the plan was to do the walking trail and/or head over to Rafiki's planet watch once DD woke up. We got into africa and took a restroom break and the african drum show started up. This woke up DD who was both confused and interested in what was going on. I picked her up and we watched the show. She seemed to be more annoyed about them waking her up than interested but she couldn't take her eyes off them. After that we got a few snacks and decided it would be a good time to head over to Rafiki's. The train ride was fun and DD seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. DW commented on how the animal sleeping areas seemed like something out of Jurassic park. Once we got over there we found something that we could not ignore. The ELEPHANT statues. DD loves elephants and has taken to making the raspberries sound anytime she sees them. It's really cute and this time was no exception.
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After about 10 minutes we had to pull her away from the elephants as we knew she would be enjoying what was next.
I'm going to stop here and pick this up later. See you all soon!
dara00
02-05-2012, 10:46 AM
fun read - I love seeing reports about kids at disney!
fun read - I love seeing reports about kids at disney!
Thanks for responding. The trip was mostly about DD but DW has some fun coming up so keep reading!
FosterA
02-06-2012, 08:16 AM
yay! you made it back. I saw you started your TR the other day and was dying to start reading it but my family wouldn't leave me alone and let me get my DIS fix until today:laughing:
anyway....Love your report so far! Of course I'm dying to hear what your wife thinks of it all since she's the female version of my husband.
oh...LOVE LOVE LOVE the pic of your DD with the prince:lmao:
yay! you made it back. I saw you started your TR the other day and was dying to start reading it but my family wouldn't leave me alone and let me get my DIS fix until today:laughing:
anyway....Love your report so far! Of course I'm dying to hear what your wife thinks of it all since she's the female version of my husband.
oh...LOVE LOVE LOVE the pic of your DD with the prince:lmao:
Glad to see you made it! Overall DW had a good reaction to it all but I'll outline it all as the TR goes on. I'm working on an update now.
So I left off with us entering Rafiki's Planet Watch. As we headed in DW asked me to change DD's diaper before we headed in. No big deal I thought so I took her in and started the routine. As I took off the 1st diaper I noticed it wasn't really wet but figured I would change it anyway. As I was getting the new one ready DD gives me this big smile to which I return it only to look down and see she had taken this opportunity to pee all over the changing station.
Great but it wasn't that bad because I could reach around the corner and get some paper towels to wipe some of it up with.... What :scared1: is this the only bathroom in all of Disney that doesn't have paper towells??? *insert unclean thoughts as there were kids and parents around*
I ended up cleaning up the mess with the original diaper and with some magical luck didn't get it on DD's clothes so the situation was avoided but my mood had taken a turn in the wrong direction. Ohhh how little things can frustrate you to no end.
I was able to shrug it off and get back into the swing of things though because when DW and DD are enjoying themselves, laughing and smiling it's hard for me not to follow suit. We went into the petting area and DD's face just light up. You could see she wasn't quite sure what to make of the goats and sheep but she liked them and had no problems getting up close with them. She really enjoyed herself in this area as you can see here
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After this DD and I used a fastpass I had grabbed for the Kilimanjaro Safari. DW was unable to ride it considering she's pregnant so we were off. DW seemed to enjoy the down time and DD and I really enjoyed the safari. DW asked me to take video of it but I had a pretty hard time of keeping DD steady, taking the video and pointing things out on either side of us to DD so the video was left alone. the safari was pretty fun overall and DD loved seeing the lion as she gave her best roar as we pulled away from it.
With DW being rested up a bit we headed over towards Dino land as we wanted DD to ride triceratop spin some being that Dumbo was down. On our way over DW stopped me after spotting a sign for a meet for Pooh and friends. I had totally missed it so it was a good spot on her part. Pooh is one of DD's favorite so we proceeded right down the path. There was a small line but it was enough that DD wasn't comfortable waiting to see her buddy. She started with the whining and I decided to let her see him through the fence which I hoped would give her some patience. What happened can only be described as sweet. She held onto the bars and watched pooh as if she had been missing him and finally was this close to him but wasn't quite there yet. She pressed her face against the fence and actually made marks on the sides of her face. When it was finally our turn it was awesome to watch. She acted like her and pooh had been close friends forever. It was wonderful to watch.
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Then it was on to Eeyore who is DW's favorite. DD was playful with Eeyore and ran away from him and then back to him again which was fun to watch as well. Last was Tigger and she wasn't as bubbly with him but you could see she enjoyed herself.
After that we headed over to triceratop spin which DD spotted right away and you could see she was interested in it. The line was really short, only waited one ride before we were on it, and DD and DW sat together to work the up and down while I worked the lean leaver. As we got off the ride DD started clapping indicating that she enjoyed the ride. The line was still the same so we went on it again. This time DD sat with me and clapped away throughout and after the ride.
DW noticed a meet off to the side with Goofy and Pluto so we hopped in line and discussed this being the last thing for the day as DD was clearly tired but when we got to Goofy and Pluto none of the tiredness was showing through. She loves her characters.
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On the way out we took one more pic with the tree of life (photopass) and headed home for the night. As we waited for our bus to the Poly the bus for the GF came by and I reminded DW that we could take it and ride the monorail back to our resort. The GF bus was almost empty so we hopped on it and shortly another couple followed. They told us the people behind us were thoroughly confused but they knew what was up as they were headed to MK.
Once we were back in the room I decided to ask DW what she thought so far. She told me she enjoyed it so far and that AK was better than she thought it was going to be. Even with it being a slow day she enjoyed the park and thought we should consider going back on one of our open days. She was not a fan of the buses and understands what all the fuss is about with the monorails. She said she doesn't think she would be enjoying herself as much if the parks were more packed though.
I guess that sets a pretty clear picture of what future trips would look like. Monorail resort and in the off season. Both of us had sore legs and feet so we got to bed early as tomorrow was a MK day and we had breakfast at the Crystal Palace.
Well we woke up refreshed and ready to go. DW seemed a bit cheerful and DD found some new friends on the way to breakfast. The ducks that roam the grounds of the Polynesian were in the path waiting for us to walk by it seemed and DD loved that they were there. We loved it too because DD learned to say duck during the trip. Her version is "duu" but that was good enough for us.
We bypassed the ropes and headed on into the MK and hooked up with a photopass photographer to take our picture. I was touched to see how much this lady cared and she asked DW "why are you crying and how can we fix it?" with a very concerned and serious tone. It kind of startled me because I was wondering the same thing. DW said it was the morning wind that had gotten in her eyes and made them tear up so she wiped them and we had a couple of nice pictures and DD and DW got a magical photo with DW holding tink in her hands.
As we waited for our call to breakfast DW and DD found a squirrel that they had to chase. DD seems to love chasing animals and keeps a safe distance away but again was confused when the squirrel wandered out of sight.
We got into breakfast pretty quickly and within about 5 minutes pooh was at our table. DD was thrilled to see her buddy and hugged him and played with him. Shortly after pooh left Eeyore was behind us playfully hiding from DD and when she saw him they had a good time together as well. DW hates piglet and I believe we were talking about something else when he came over and I got this pic. I'm pretty sure she didn't know he was there.
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After tigger made his way over we took our time eating our breakfast and DW mentioned that she was impressed with the Crystal Palace and was surprised how much she liked the Disney buffets. On our way out we snapped some pictures and decided it was time to ride some rides. We headed off into the Magic Kingdom and where was our first stop? Anyone have a guess?
FosterA
02-07-2012, 09:52 PM
First off, Congrats on handling that diaper change like a pro!:laughing:
It's a bummer though that wife couldn't go on Safari. I wonder why? I mean...it's not really that rough is it? Oh well....better safe than sorry of course. I can't imagine trying to take a video and keep DD from bouncing out. yikes!:laughing:
We were really amused by the ducks at Poly too. They were everywhere!
Glad your DW liked the buffet...we never tried any buffets at Disney but it's on my to-do list for next time!
I bet ya'll went to Small World next right? I don't think you already did that one, unless I missed an update.
can't wait for next update!
First off, Congrats on handling that diaper change like a pro!:laughing:
It's a bummer though that wife couldn't go on Safari. I wonder why? I mean...it's not really that rough is it? Oh well....better safe than sorry of course. I can't imagine trying to take a video and keep DD from bouncing out. yikes!:laughing:
We were really amused by the ducks at Poly too. They were everywhere!
Glad your DW liked the buffet...we never tried any buffets at Disney but it's on my to-do list for next time!
I bet ya'll went to Small World next right? I don't think you already did that one, unless I missed an update.
can't wait for next update!
To be honest I was a little confused about the safari thing as well. It was bumpy but it didn't make me jump out of my seat or anything. We decided it was better to be safe as well.
The ducks at the poly were cool and DD seemed to really fall in love with Ducks, more on that later.
I'm working on the next update but also trying to get back into things at work and that's the main thing right now. I'll probably put out more tonight.
So as I left off we finished breakfast and headed into the MK. We walked around the outside of the hub and into the Liberty Square area. Our thoughts were to head up into Fantasy Land and take a look at IASW and Peter Pan.
On our way through though we noticed that the Mansion had a 5 minute wait time listed. Hard to pass this up as this was one of the attractions DW was looking forward to so we parked the stroller and headed in. The line was non-existent so we took our time and headed through the graveyard. DW was taking it all in and then she touched the wall with the musical instruments and they started playing "ohhh cool they play when you touch them" she said and her and DD spent a few minutes playing with them. DD seemed to like the organ more than anything else as she walked back to it after we moved away from it. Then we moved around and DD and DW noticed the bookcase and spent a few minutes playing with it as well.
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In all the time we spent in the graveyard only three other people joined us I think. We walked up to the main doors and now it seems DD was on a hunt for what was next as she walked up to the trashcan and started poking it and gave a face like *it doesn't do anything* and started walking back into the graveyard. :rotfl:
I picked her up and showed her the headstone that opens her eyes and she enjoyed that until we got let into the ride. We walked right onto the ride once we got through the 1st rooms and DD was awesome at how she took it all in. DW commented throughout and seemed to enjoy the ghost room as she pointed out several groups of ghosts on the chandeliers and such. Then at the end of the ride DW really got a kick out of the hitchhiking ghosts and the ghosts on our cart. DD clapped as we left and you could see both of them enjoyed the ride.
DW commented as we came out that she really enjoyed the ride as it's theming was more in depth than she had expected. She commented that we'd have to go on it again.
I grabbed some fast passes for Peter Pan and we headed into IASW. I didn't know what to expect here as DW had commented several times that she thought the idea of the ride was "creepy" from the video's she'd seen. We hopped on the ride and headed in. DD wasn't interested at first but the dancing dolls quickly grabbed her attention and she was hooked throughout the ride. DW sat in silence but pointed some things out to DD from time to time. As we came out of the ride I mentioned that there was a hidden mickey somewhere and we both looked for it without finding it.
DD seemed to love the ride and the line was still really short so we decided to do it again. I was surprised that it was DW's idea to do it again so I asked and she admitted that she was pleasantly surprised with the ride and wasn't creep-ed out by it at all. DD seemed to have had enough by the end of the second ride and neither of us found the hidden mickey on the second go around either.
We decided to get bathroom breaks and get into line for Winnie the Pooh as the line seemed short enough and DD and DW played throughout the line queue. DD really seemed to enjoy herself and when we got around to where pooh was showing she really lit up. We got on the ride and DD was locked into the action. DW pointed things out and no sooner had it started the ride was over. DW commented to this and said the ride was too quick.
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We decided to head down towards Cosmic Rays and get some lunch. It was at a good time too because DD was done and passed out in her stroller. We really took our time, got some bathroom breaks and looked around the area. I took some photo's of Alice and the White Rabbit as well as the tea party bushes for my sister who is a big Alice fan and we looked over the map to decide what to do. DW showed some interest in seeing the Carosell of Progress because she wanted to see some of the older rides and see what made them so popular as well as wanting to see what Walt's image of the future was about. We both laughed throughout the ride but were disappointed in the updates at the end. DW noted that she would have liked to see it in it's original form (which we later looked up on youtube).
We decided it was time to head over to adventureland as we had ignored this area to this point. We about walked onto the Tiki Room and DD couldn't look away from the pre-show. DD started out liking the show but got disinterested about 2/3 of the way through and DW wasn't overly impressed with the show at all. We took our time and caught the show with Jack Sparrow and recorded some of it for our nephew who's a big fan and then headed into Pirates.
The ride went well but DD did not like the drop as it was likely too dark. DW commented that she enjoyed the ride however it was a lot darker a ride than she had imagined. We did a little shopping and decided it was time to head out of the park and towards dinner at Ohana. We alowed ourselves ample time so we just enjoyed ourselves and got on the monorail and back to our resort with more than enough time to spare.
That's it for this installment. DW clearly enjoyed herself and made several comments about that throughout the day beyond what I've noted here. Sorry this update has taken so long. More to come!
So we took the extra time to head back to our room and freshen up for dinner. DW admitted that she was impressed by the Magic Kingdom rides and we agreed that we should discuss our open days and plan them as tomorrow was one of them.
We got checked into dinner and was seated within a reasonable amount of time but not before I was able to help a little girl figure out how to secure her pins on her lanyard using the lockable pins. It was cute because she was intently watching as I figured it out and showed her. I think she had some pins she wanted to protect.
Our server walked us in and explained everything. DD was all over the bread so apparently she was hungry. Our server was from the Orlando area and was excellent at getting us everything and explaining things as well.
When the food started coming.... OMG.... :love:
Those Honey wings were heaven and I quickly figured out from what I'd read that it was only going to get better. DW commented on how good the dumplings were and DD had destroyed her area with bread and the noodles that we gave her.
The entertainer was very good. He got all the kids out and around the floor and playing games. We were right on the walkway so the kids bumped our table and knocked over my drink. It was ok as it only spilled some and not on any of the food. :eek:
As they brought the beef, chicken, shrimp and pork you couldn't hear a peep out of me. DW didn't have much more to say and at the end we both looked at eachother with that *I want more... will you judge me if I keep going* look :rotfl:
I didn't care and got another serving of the chicken. that was great with the sweet dipping sauce. There are no pictures from any of this because, well if you've eaten there you understand.
I cannot say enough about that restaurant. It should be a must for any vacation to Disney and possibly twice.
The couple of things we did discuss were this.
1. We decided not to go back to the MK as DD could use the rest and it would allow us to prepare for the next day as well.
2. We were going to use the 1st open day for MK as DW wanted to get DD a Minnie Mouse dress and get some pics with the main guys.
3. We had planned to use the fastpasses for Peter Pan but those would go stale so we had to make it back for that ride.
We took some time to shop in the main resort store for items to take home. I noticed DW looking at the picture frames for an extended period but she didn't pick any out. I picked out a nice subtle executive pen and that was all we bought there.
DW was showing some signs of wear so I took DD for the dress fitting to the children's store at the resort. The staff at the store were amazingly helpful, letting us try on the dress to find the right one as well as getting some Minnie Mouse ears. DD took this time to get her hands on a pluto plush as well which dad couldn't say no to so we went back to the room with that as well.
We headed back to the room, prepped for bed and got ready for the next day.
I want to get a couple of updates out while I'm able. Works tough this week.
So we woke up early and had reservations at Kona Cafe again. We got in and got out with the intention of making it to rope drop. We made it and shortly after we got there the show was on. DD seemed to enjoy it and as we headed in she was pointing at the people up by the railroad apparently wanting more.
We got in and headed right for the Mickey line to see how the dress would go over.
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After that we headed out into mainstreet only to find a line to meet Pinocchio that was about 4 deep. Hard to pass that up so we did. DD wasn't too keen on him but checked him out some. DW headed for the bathroom and I noticed a line for Snow White that was about the same so we hopped into it. DD wasn't too keen on her but Snow White was really good and get DD going a little. DW came over just as we got to her and noticed Mary Poppins behind Tony's so we headed over there next. Mary and DD got along well and Mary even got kisses from DD. DD saw Pinocchio again and showed a lot more interest in him so we went again and they really had a good time together. Then DD saw Pluto again so we had to jump into that line. As we were standing in line we both overheard the family behind us talking to their son about going over "character etiquette". I couldn't help but listen in but apparently you're only allowed to hug the characters and nothing else. DW and I noted that we had to stick around and see how this went. DD saw pluto again and the kid that had the etiquette explained was afraid of Pluto but finally leaned in for a picture. I felt bad for the kid and we moved on.
I took the time to take a restroom break and boy am I glad I did. On the way back I noticed the pin cart where they give you the pins for various celebrations. I decided to get an "I'm celebrating" pin and I asked the guy to write babymoon on it. The guy gave me an odd glance and I explained it was to have some fun with DW. He smiled and handed it over. I decided to put it on the stroller and wait to see when DW would notice it.
We headed up mainstreet and DW got her picture with sister sufferage and then we saw the opening cast do a dance routine and several of them came over to DD after which was nice. DW made a funny comment when I said "better than our local amusement park huh?". She responded. "yeah you're right we don't have flash mobs there"
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I noticed that the castle was pretty wide open and everytime we had been by it there was a stage show so we decided to head up through the castle.
FosterA
02-08-2012, 09:14 PM
great updates!!
My fave MK ride of all is definitely Haunted Mansion. Glad to hear your wife was impressed too!
After hearing how much you liked Ohana, I wish we had done that instead of the Luau.
ooooohhhhhh....super cute Minnie dress on DD!
dara00
02-08-2012, 09:16 PM
the picture with minnie and mickey is great!
So we're heading up through the castle and a CM approaches us and talks us up some telling us that DD is so cute and asking if we're planning on dining with the princesses during our stay. I explain that we had dinner at 1900 park fare and didn't have plans to. She presses on and asks if there's anything we're celebrating during our stay and I figure now is the right time to spring the babymoon pin so I tell then CM that she's the first person I'm telling and I point to the pin. DW looks confused about where the pin came from and asks about it. I act like it's been there all along and say what??? it's our babymoon.
>>>>>
SOME BACKGROUND
Before our trip when DW had little knowledge of Disney I was explaining that we could get an upgrade possibly and used the term "pixie dust" to refer to it. DW gave me a blank stare and asked "they're not going to throw glitter on us are they" to which I got a good laugh and said no. DW has a saying about glitter. "it's the herpes of the craft world. Just when you think it's gone it pop's back up somewhere".
Any time I had to call Disney to add something or make a change to our reservations DW would tell me "tell them it's our babymoon. We might get an upgrade". I mentioned it once but for the most part I didn't tell anyone.
>>>>>
So back to the story. The CM realizes what's going on and says "ohh you're pregnant and are celebrating it with this trip??? COME WITH ME". She grabs DW's hand and takes her across the way into the BBB. I'm standing there wondering what's about to happen but realizing it's some type of Disney magic. The CM waives for me to join and we're in line at the BBB. When we get to the front the CM says to the lady at the desk. "This couple are celebrating their pregnancy isn't that wonderful? Is there anything you can do to make their day more magical?
The woman at the counter asks DW to come around and pulls out a wand with a star on it. Tells DW to close her eyes and make a wish. She does so and the CM waives the wand and says "bibbity bopity boo" and as she does so GLITTER :wizard: comes out all over DW's hair, face, and shirt. It was all I could do to not burst out laughing. The CM saw it in me and asked if I wanted any to which I politely declined.
We walked out and I lost it. DW was saying it's not funny and I reminded her that it was her that wanted me to tell people that we were on our babymoon.
HAPPY BABYMOON DEAR!
:rotfl2:
great updates!!
My fave MK ride of all is definitely Haunted Mansion. Glad to hear your wife was impressed too!
After hearing how much you liked Ohana, I wish we had done that instead of the Luau.
ooooohhhhhh....super cute Minnie dress on DD!
Thanks. She's reading along with us on the TR. She said it wasn't as hokey as she thought it would be which was refreshing to her. She mentioned the hitchhiking ghost thing again as being very amusing.
the picture with minnie and mickey is great!
Thanks a lot. We're very happy with the pictures we got. There's so many that are frame worthy.
The rest of the day went pretty smoothly with us getting on Pooh two more times, the carousel a few more times and we shopped some more as DD napped. I noticed DW looking at the picture frames again so I asked and she noted that she liked them but she was looking for something more subtle. She said she liked one with an old time look because the mickey heads looked more like "hidden mickeys" (NOTE - Was this DW referencing Hidden Mickeys as a reason for a choice??? I was seeing some type of change in her. She was admitting she was enjoying herself and now she was referencing things specific to the parks.)
We purchased a few items to include a frame for DD's room and had them shipped back to our room. I should note here that I was touched as DW picked out a plastic cup with Mickey and Walt on it to replace my plastic water bottle at work. She does think of me.... :lovestruc
We went on Pooh again and realized it was time to start heading out of the park to head towards the Hoop De Doo which we had scheduled for 4pm. As we were on our way out we realized the 3pm parade was about to start. We found a spot right on the rope in the main circle at the entrance that didn't have a glare from the sun and decided to stand there.
As soon as the parade started we realized we had picked the right spot because DD was glued to the action and soon enough the characters started coming. Not sure but we think we set a record of some kind as just about every character that could came up to or recognized DD during the parade. Here's the list.
Woody - Came up to DD
Jessie - Came up to DD
Chip - Came up to DD and played with her for a moment with Dale
Dale - above
Minnie - Pointed out DD that they had the same dress on. DD loved this
Stepmother - Told DD that she was very practical for wearing a hat on a day like today
Anastasia - Told DD "ohhh you're still new"
Abu - really got DD interest again as she likes monkeys
Queen of hearts - Came up to DD and tweaked her nose and played a little
Two dancers - Came over to DD in between dance routines
Snow white - Noticed DD and pointed her out to Prince Charming and waved
Dopey - played peek a boo with DD from the float
and of course DD noticed Dumbo on the float and gave him her elephant rasberries.
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The family next to us commented throughout the parade that they picked the right spot and thanked us afterwards. Not sure what there was to thank us for but we talked it up some as we both headed out of the park. Their little girls really enjoyed themselves.
We found the transport to Ft. Wilderness and the Hoop De Doo which happened to only be by boat. DW does not like boats so I was a bit worried but she handled it quite well and even wanted to sit on the outside portion of the boat and sat on the edge rather than on the inside. I was surprised by this. I did my best to keep her mind occupied on other things by pointing things out about the resorts, the old river country area, and whatever else I could come up with and it worked (or maybe DW was kind of enjoying herself and didn't mind it that much at all???)
We got to Pioneer hall with about 10 minutes to spare, had our photo taken, took restroom breaks and waited in line for the dinner bell.
So the dinner bell rings and we head into Pioneer hall. We were seating in the second row back and just about in front of the stage. Our server came over and got excited because she had a couple of Hoop De Doo rookies (it had been a long time for me so I just went along with it). DW asked about the menu and how and when we order. She explained to sit back and be careful because the food would come fast.
The photopass person came over to sell us our photo and told us she just had to get our table because she recognized DD from the Pooh and friends meet in AK the other day. She said it was one of her favorite photo ops of the day and she later went back and looked at the photos and said we got some really good ones. That was fun but we still didn't buy the photo.
DD was a bit cranky until the cast came in. As soon as they entered she was mesmerized and couldn't take her eye's off them. She would look from side to side taking in what each actor did like it was a life or death situation. They ran through their routine and mentioned that there might even be people from overseas... Canada!! and then headed into the audience to announce where people were from. Wouldn't you know it we did indeed have some people from overseas and they announced them. That family seemed to really get a kick out of it. A couple of the female actors really took to DD but that was old hat by this point in the trip.
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Then they announced dinner was ready and headed off stage. DD was really confused about where they went and spent several minutes looking for them and looking and searching... until we put some food in front of her.
The food was pretty good. Both DW and I liked it (fried chicken, ribs, Baked beans, mashed potatoes, and corn). It used to be corn on the cob as I remember tearing up my share of those puppies. We ate most of it and didn't really feel a need for seconds.
The rest of the show went pretty well and the audience participation scenes went exceptionally well. It seems everyone really got into it. They even had a little kid in it and one of the actors gave him a smooch on the cheek and his facial expression was perfect little kid *a girl just kissed me :sick:* and made everyone laugh.
One thing I'll note is that the 4pm show was really empty. I don't know if it was the time of year or what but they only filled the main floor and there were quite a few empty tables there. It ensured that everyone got some type of attention from the actors.
After the show we took our time heading back to the boat as DD wanted to explore the area some which we were happy to let her. When we got back on the boat we noticed that the people from Canada (I mean overseas) were on with us. Their kids and DD began playing some and as we got closer it got darker and the kids turned on their tinkerbell glow sticks. DD was enthralled by this and worked very hard to get her hands on one.
the teenager of their group seemed to enjoy watching DD play with it and just as we got off I tried to get it back off DD and the teen offered to let her sister have hers so that DD could keep it. It was a very nice gesture and gave DD a bit of magic for herself so we wished our friends from overseas a wonderful rest of their stay and headed back into MK to get a few more rides in.
We hit up Peter Pan first as we had fastpasses that I grabbed earlier ( If you're reading this after March of 2012 then sorry. You'll have to have used your FP's much earlier. sucks). DW came away quite impressed by this ride as it was nothing like she expected and quite enjoyed the perspective on the whole story it gave. We headed down and did the haunted mansion one more time as DW seemed excited to go on it again and I think we caused the ride to stop and we stood DD up in the seat to get a look down at the ghosts. It didn't start until after we sat her down. I heard the 1st announcement but never through a child being held on her fathers lap would be an issue so ignored it and then the second one made me re-think it some.
***Note from earlier in the day*** I had forgotten to mention that we saw Mickey's Philharmagic which DW said she enjoyed a lot as it was mostly about movies from her childhood but the carpet ride scene's gave her some queasiness (guess soarin is out huh?).
We decided to head out for the night and try to catch the fireworks from the Poly beach. We caught them and enjoyed it and had a really good time.
Tomorrow was Epcot so we went to bed to get ready for the next day.
FosterA
02-11-2012, 07:15 AM
Great updates!
That is HILARIOUS about the glitter incident:lmao: I mean come on, a head full of glitter is sooooo better than a room upgrade:laughing:
Your DD really scored in the cuteness department and it sounds like all the characters thought so too! She met a ton of them.
We really liked the Hoop, or at least my husband really did. I thought the food was really really good. I'm impressed that your DD sat through it all ok. I'm not sure my kids would have at that age.
We thought the boat ride over to the Hoop was great and one of our favorite memories. The wind felt good and since we went to the later show, there was no sun beating down on us.
looking forward to more updates....
Great updates!
That is HILARIOUS about the glitter incident:lmao: I mean come on, a head full of glitter is sooooo better than a room upgrade:laughing:
Your DD really scored in the cuteness department and it sounds like all the characters thought so too! She met a ton of them.
We really liked the Hoop, or at least my husband really did. I thought the food was really really good. I'm impressed that your DD sat through it all ok. I'm not sure my kids would have at that age.
We thought the boat ride over to the Hoop was great and one of our favorite memories. The wind felt good and since we went to the later show, there was no sun beating down on us.
looking forward to more updates....
Thanks FosterA. We get people stopping to tell us how wonderful DD is all the time, and she really is. Has us really worried that we're really gonna pay on the second time around, *fingers crossed*. Her attitude is amazing and she really tries hard to soak everything in.
I'm gonna try to get a few more updates out before the weekends out.
It's been a while since I've been able to update the TR. I hope I haven't lost the small set of readers I seemed to have when I was working on it.
So we woke up ready to go to Epcot and had Chef Mickeys scheduled as well. We got ready and hopped on the Monorail and over to the Contemporary. We got into line and made it to our seats pretty quickly and DW grabbed some food and didn't forget the Mickey Waffles. She commented on them so apparently they had made an impression the other morning at the Crystal Palace.
DD was into the food and didn't notice the characters coming so they kind of Surprised her but she got into the action with them pretty quickly.
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We finished up and headed over to the TTC and changed over. When we got on the new Monorail the driver came on and announced that we would be stopping once on our way for a maintenance check. I wasn't thrilled with this but didn't say anything. We stopped and I felt the stuttering and just hoped that it was part of the maintenance process. We pulled into Epcot and DW was looking around and as we were coming around to pull back into the station the Monorail stopped and started stuttering again. It took us about 20 minutes to get in but we did and I was happy to be off and in the station.
We made our way into Epcot and got some photopass pics and noticed that Stitch and Daisy duck had some pretty short lines so we headed over. DW went up to see stitch and I noticed she had a big smile. I was called over to take a pic and as I walked up Stitch made it clear that I wasn't wanted with some rasberries. DW later explained that stitch licked the side of her face and the way the CM did it made her feel like he was actually licking the side of her face.
DD was passed out in the stroller and Stitch was interested and came over. We got some good pics with him shushing next to her.
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We headed in further, took some bathroom breaks and then DW dropped it on me. "I just want to warn you that I'm not really felling my best today and it looks like we're going to do a lot of walking. I'm going to try really hard to keep a good mood but it's just not there right now."
Now I was kind of feeling the same way so I was glad that I hadn't been the first one to say it. About this time DD woke up and I noticed the Character spot so we decided to head in there and see how we felt afterward. When DD saw Mickey she ran up to him and just hugged him for about 2 minutes (not kidding). Mickey just held her and let her hug him and you could tell he (probably she) was touched by it as DD walked away.
Next was Pluto and we found out here that apparently DD was getting the hang of this posing with the characters thing.
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She met up with Minnie and they had a good time and surprisingly Goofy seemed to be one of DD's favorites. She met Donald as well but for some reason we just didn't get any good pics of her with him.
We headed out and noticed the seas with Nemo so decided to head in. I had never been on this ride so we just walked in and apparently the CM out front missed us because a CM had to take our stroller just as we were getting on the ride. They told us it would be out in the stroller area so we were happy with that and got on the ride. DW seemed to like it and we tried to point things out to DD but she seemed to just be taking it all in rather than being interested.
As we came out we noticed turtle talk with crush and decided to head in. DD really liked the aquariums and watched the fish closely. We got into the TT area and DD seemed to be getting somewhat antsy. As it started she decided she wasn't happy so I started to take her out as DW wanted to see this attraction. DD calmed down so we went back but it was short lived and we all headed out found our stroller and headed over to the Soarin building. We had some lunch here and I had grabbed some Fastpasses for Soarin so I headed in there after we ate lunch.
We were really moving slow and we were ok with it.
I went on Soarin alone as DW wouldn't have been able to handle it. I really liked the ride. I noticed some of the things people talk about with the pixelation but it wasn't terrible.
Once I got out DW had headed out and was over at the upward moving fountain. I headed over because I had a photo to get. When I was a kid I got a photo with the jumping ponds that I always loved so we took a pic of me there and we headed towards the Countries area.
We moved in and around the areas and saw one of the shows in the UK which was fun and entertaining. DD was really down as she was coming out of her third nap of the day.
So just before we crossed the bridge to France we noticed a meet with Pooh and Tigger and got in line. We had learned not to let DD see the characters until just as her turn was coming up so I stayed in line and DW kept her busy. As it was her turn and she was seeing them Tigger decided to play a game and dropped back about 20 feet and "hid" behind Pooh. DD went up to Pooh and just before they hugged she backed away, looked to the side and pointed at tigger and looked at Pooh with a puzzled look. Then she decided that this was cool and RAN as fast as her little feet could carry her to tigger and launched herself into his arms. It was really cute and the photopass guy was saying "that's gonna be the shot of the day". Tigger played with her a little and then Pooh came back over and she hugged Pooh and we got some pics with the three of them together. It was a really good moment and one that we hope DD can relive through the pics we got later in life.
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So we headed over towards France and got a really nice family pic with France in the background on the bridge (photopass). We headed into Canada and took a break there and sat on the wall.
As we were sitting there I looked to my left as I could hear them coming and now I saw them. It was one of the "TOUR GROUPS" and they were chanting and just having a good time. I noticed that the group consisted mainly of teenagers and their guide stopped them right in front of us. I decided that we would use this as an excuse to be a little more lazy and get some more rest in.
As you can see from the previous post DD was wearing her Minnie Mouse dress and the girls started pointing at DD and saying. "Mini Minnie" and laughing and a few took pics of her.
Then one of them looked at me and asked if she could take a picture with her and I figured why not except I didn't realize that would be an invitation for 40 teenage girls to descend on our 16 month old daughter. They sat down and took pics and DD looked to us to ensure we weren't going anywhere and then started eating up the attention.
So.... for about a 5 minute span our little girl became a "mini" character meet in Epcot!
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I asked one that could speak english well enough to find out that they were from Argentenia and I can still hear a few of them shout as they skipped off "GO - TO - CAN - A - DA.... GO - TO - CAN - A - DA!!!"
After this we headed through the rest of the countries and saw the acrobats in China and a nice funny show in Italy.
For the most part DW "liked" Epcot but because of how she felt she wasn't as interested in exploring the area as much as she had in previous days. We worked our way around and back towards Canada because we had ressies at Le Cellier.
dara00
02-22-2012, 08:25 PM
the picture with tigger is adorable! she is really so cute, that is hilarious about the teens posing with her, but understandable! :)
the picture with tigger is adorable! she is really so cute, that is hilarious about the teens posing with her, but understandable! :)
Thanks! we really had a wonderful time even though we weren't feeling our best. Looking back we are thrilled with some of the pics we got and realized it really was a trip for DD more than anything which is why the TR kind of focuses on her. We tried to live the trip through her.
A funny moment I left out. As we were entering the world showcase DW said "When I looked at the weather report today it said cloudy so I got excited but if this is cloudy then I don't know cause you could gather up all of the clouds in the sky and they would only equate to one cloud *puff* in Pittsburgh"
GatorMommy2007
02-22-2012, 08:58 PM
So fun! How old is your DD? I must have missed it. It's so cute how receptive she is to the characters!
So fun! How old is your DD? I must have missed it. It's so cute how receptive she is to the characters!
During the trip DD was 16 months. She really was receptive to them. I feel like I'm flooding the TR with the pics and it's only a small amount of them. I'm leaving some out so that I'm not bludgeoning the readers with characters and DD.
Gonna try and get this TR completed. I've probably lost all my readers but I still want to finish it up.
So we went to Le Cellier for dinner. There's not much to say about that place other than WOW is that some good food. We both had the Fillet and I had an appetizer that I ended up getting free because the waitress forgot to put it in. It was very filling and we just had an awesome time.
While we were waiting to be seating DD just had a blast walking outside on the small bridge going over the pond. Apparently it was just the right angle to give her practice walking so she was up/down/up/down and all around it. I felt bad as some groups walked around her but she actually took note of them and moved herself which I was happy to see. She made a friend as a boy probably about 6-8 months older than her came over and they walked together.
I think it's interesting that they make the gator noises to keep the birds away from the garden. Doesn't stop the ducks but it was an interesting twist.
I messed up earlier in the TR and listed that we went to Chef Mickeys on the wrong day so I won't bother repeating that experience again. We had actually gone to Kona Cafe that day and if I haven't mentioned it before... Kona Cafe has some good breakfast.
After breakfast we split up and DW took the monorail around to the MK and hopped on a bus to get her massage at the Mandara Spa in the Dolphin resort. DD and I headed over to AK for some time alone to check things out more and wait for mom to make it back.
MANDARA SPA
DW has asked me to say a few things about this Spa. First she got the pregnancy massage and then a mani/pedi. She was thrilled with the experience and it left her feeling very rejuvenated. Her thoughts were that she was happy with the masseuse and she allowed her to relax with little conversation (there had been reports that might be an issue.). She said to mention that if there was any concern about what to bring you should not worry. The lockers they give you are very large and provide adequate space to store just about anything you would have on your person. The mani/pedi went very well and her only regret was that she couldn't have a drink during the process.
AK
DD and I headed over to AK and we found goofy and timon outside gretting guests. DD did NOT like timon and would only stare but go no closer. She went right up to goofy and enjoyed his company.
It became pretty apparent that DD was still a bit tired from yesterday's activities in Epcot because she was completely content with sitting in the stroller and quickly was asleep. I decided to head over the Camp Minnie Mickey so that when she woke up we could get some character time in.
Little did I know that this was a full out sleeping session and it was coming at the worst time imaginable from the perspective of meeting characters. For literally 45 minutes there was NEVER a line more than 4 people deep for any of the characters in the area. It was soooo slow that Minnie Mouse came out of her hut and was greeting families at the entrance to her hut.
One thing it did allow me to do was get some pics with a few of the characters shushhhing next to DD while she slept. Those turned out to be some fun pics that I'll share with DD later in life. We got one with Donald, The lady Bunny rabbit and brer fox.
DD woke up for a bit and we played with Minnie and had some extended time with Chip and Dale after a character changeout and the new ones played with her but she was still sleepy and only stared as they jumped around her.
She stayed up for about 20-30 minutes and then decided to go back to sleep. I decided to just take the time and wait it out until lunch arrived or DW made it back from her spa session.
So I decided to sit in a shady spot and relax and let DD finish her second nap when a CM notices her sleeping and comes up to me and asks how we're enjoying ourselves and commented on how DD must be pretty tired from all the fun. I told her yes we were and were just waiting for DW to make it back to the park. The CM asks where she was and I explained and said that she deserved it because she works so hard for our family.
The CM smiles and says "you're a good dad. Are you planning to see the festival of the Lion King today?" to which I replied we were and it was one of the main reasons we had come back to the park today. The CM said she would like to offer us all VIP seating for the show of our choice. I happily accepted and called DW who was just finishing up her appointment. We worked out a time where we could be sure she would be back and went about our way. I was pretty happy with this as I had never seen the show but figured VIP seating couldn't be bad.
DW called when she made it back and we met at Pizzafari had some lunch and then headed over to the show. We had front row seats and the show really was awesome. We thanked the CM for the wonderful opportunity on our way out and began to head out and make our plans for the rest of the day. We realized we didn't have much time as we had to head over to Downtown Disney for dinner so decided to watch the parade and then head out. We took our time heading out and really enjoyed the early areas of the park as we knew we would not be coming back and DW commented on how much she really liked Animal Kingdom and it was a lot more than she expected.
We took a bus down to DTD and headed over to Raglan Road. We both knew our vacation was coming to an end and while we wouldn't admit it we were both somewhat ready for it to be over.
We got into the rest and got seated pretty quickly. DD decided to have a fit for some reason and I did my best to keep her calm and DW had a bit of a melt down herself. I decided to sit with DD and attempt to let DW enjoy herself as this was one of the restaurants she was looking forward to eating at. We ordered our food and the night time entertainment started with the irish steppers. DD was thoroughly interested in them which allowed me to enjoy my meal some.
We had read that the entertainment got loud so we timed our dinners to get out just as the band started which worked out pretty well and we headed left and walked through the area and enjoyed the atmosphere which was more hectic than I had expected.
The area around Planet Hollywood was pretty busy but there wasn't much that interested us so we headed back the other way and found plenty to enjoy. DW was thrilled by the lego store and the amazing displays they had outside so we spent some time taking pictures of those and then we went into the Disney store to buy some gifts for people back home.
Once we were done with this we decided it was time to head back and DD was showing the tell tale signs of sleepiness and as noted earlier we weren't in the mood to fight too any crowds.
Back to the resort we went and began packing and got to sleep early enough to have a pretty good sleep.
alliesue
03-16-2012, 10:59 AM
Just wanted to say that I've really enjoyed your TR! We have a DD who we took last October when she was 15 months and it really was a great age to take her!! Brought her again last month (at 19 months) and she was a bit more high maintenance - bit still so much fun! Thanks so much for sharing!! :goodvibes
FosterA
03-18-2012, 08:39 AM
Hey, you didn't lose me. It's spring break here in TX and my kids have been running me ragged. Just now got to sit back and get all caught up. yipee! I missed a bunch.
I do LOVE that photo of DD with Tigger where she's snuggled in with him and looking at the camera.
I also need to comment on Kona for breakfast. I agree....fabulous breakfast! I had the Kona version of eggs benedict and it was excellent.
Happy your DW was able to get to relax and get a massage and such and that it turned out so well! Maybe that will rejuvinate her just enough to get through this trip!
looking forward to the rest of the report....popcorn::
Hey, you didn't lose me. It's spring break here in TX and my kids have been running me ragged. Just now got to sit back and get all caught up. yipee! I missed a bunch.
I do LOVE that photo of DD with Tigger where she's snuggled in with him and looking at the camera.
I also need to comment on Kona for breakfast. I agree....fabulous breakfast! I had the Kona version of eggs benedict and it was excellent.
Happy your DW was able to get to relax and get a massage and such and that it turned out so well! Maybe that will rejuvinate her just enough to get through this trip!
looking forward to the rest of the report....popcorn::
Nice to see that I didn't lose you. I had lost myself again so hadn't really been able to get back in and complete the report. Will be doing that soon. It's probably a good thing because now after a couple of months of being back I have a bit more insight into DW's thoughts on the trip.
So it was time to head home. Our plane wasn't leaving until around 4:30 so we called and they were nice enough to give us a 1PM checkout. We took our sweet old time getting ready. DW and DD were spent so we didn't really have any plans to go to a park that day.
We did however make one last trip to Kona Cafe as DW wanted one last pressed pot and breakfast from there. Did that and then just kind of lounged around the area. We mosied on over to the GCH and grabbed some last minute souvineers and made the trek outside to wait for the bus. DW didn't want to leave but she was also ready to go if that makes sense and I believe I was in the same boat. We were mostly quiet on our way home and had planned to make it home on Saturday night so that we had some time to recoup at home before heading back to work and getting back into the swing of things.
So there's some outstanding questions that need answered. After having a few months to think about and discuss it here are the answers.
1. Did DW get what's behind the magic? - Yes and No
She really enjoyed herself and admits that she did not know what to expect. She now says that she wasn't prepared for how enjoyable it would be to watch DD enjoy herself as much as she did and that is probably one of the biggest selling points for a return trip.
DW is officially a Monorail resort and more to the point a Poly snob :banana:. She's not thrilled at all with the contemporary but LOVES the theming of the Poly. We took a good look at the GF but in the end the poly and it's theming wins out. She couldn't imagine staying at a resort where we'd have to take a bus constantly.
She's REALLY looking forward to going back when she's able to have a glass of wine or three with dinner.
2. Will DW think IASW is creepy after riding it?
She does. She liked that DD enjoyed it but she was only ok with it for that reason.
3. Will DD enjoy the characters? All of them?
DD enjoyed the characters more than we could have imagined. Except for the Prince Charming incident (which that look has now been dubbed her Prince Charming look) she loved them and since we've been home she's seen a few other characters and is thrilled to see them and runs right up to them.
4. Which park was our favorite and which was our least fav?
By far our favorite was Magic Kingdom and Epcot was our least favorite and I believe that had a lot to do with us hitting the wall. DW and I have discussed forgoing that park on another visit or visiting it with a park hopper option. We think we made the right decision by skipping HS but look forward to taking DD and her new brother or sister there in the coming years.
5. Is 16 months too young to take a child to Disney?
ABSOLUTELY NOT - however I do feel that your individual childs temperament and attitude towards characters, heat, and few other small factors should weigh in on the decision. At the end of the day both DW and I agree that we will never have the opportunity to take DD there again and have her be the way she was at that time. They grow up so fast and I'm sure that if we went back now it would be a different trip than the one we took here.
One interesting note from discussion DW and I have had is that she would prefer to go during the February "down" time for the parks and is completely OK with taking the kids out of school to do it. She believes after looking at some pictures from the busy times of the year that it's a worthwhile thing to do as long as we help the kids stay on top of their homework and such.
I'm only a little surprised that DW enjoyed herself and looks forward to going back as I knew it would be hard for her not to find something she enjoyed. I am surprised as how easy a conversation it is to discuss our going back. I'm not sure that I had any real expectations in that area but I am surprised about it none the less.
One last thing that I will impart is BUY PHOTO PASS. We did and purchased the photo book option and I cannot overstate how happy we are with the finished product. It's given us one more little thing to help commemorate our trip and DD just loves looking at the pictures and has a few favorites that she always seems to gravitate towards.
I know this has been a long TR but I finally got it done. If anyone has any questions I'd be happy to answer them. I hope your trips to WDW are as happy as ours turned out to be!
IATink
05-29-2012, 10:09 AM
Just read your whole trip report today! Love all the pictures. You really have some great ones :goodvibes Your daughter is adorable. My youngest daughter's first trip was when she was 18 months old. I know she doesn't remember much about it, but my husband and I sure do and we love looking back at her pictures. Thank you for sharing your trip!:thumbsup2
Just read your whole trip report today! Love all the pictures. You really have some great ones :goodvibes Your daughter is adorable. My youngest daughter's first trip was when she was 18 months old. I know she doesn't remember much about it, but my husband and I sure do and we love looking back at her pictures. Thank you for sharing your trip!:thumbsup2
Thanks a lot and thanks for the compliments! We're obviously biased so it's nice to hear from other people.
We had an awesome time and are really looking forward to going back. I forgot to mention that we're expecting our 2nd with DW due June 8th so the next trip won't be for a while. That probably good though as it'll allow all the new stuff to finish and open.
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