Twirling Through the World: Magic, Memories, & Maladies-Sept. 2011 TR- NEW PTR 6/18!

[Fantasyland Mom]

Your meal at CRT looks so nice! I agree, those desserts are teeny, but I guess there are a bunch of other fun desserts around the MK (ice cream, dole whips, funnel cake, etc) that it's okay!

The chef sounds like he was absolutely wonderful with Brynn's allergies! How awesome that he found the Earth Balance butter for her as well! I love that he asked what she would want to eat out of anything in the world...although I'm wondering what would have happened if she just said cake or something . Actually, I don't know many kids that wouldn't have answered that question with something along those lines. Good for her for picking something nice and meal-like!

He was wonderful! Yeah, I'm not sure what he would have done if she had said something crazy! Luckily, she's a kid who is not that big on sweets (except her ice cream) but she LOVES lots of meats, veggies, and grains. I sort of knew she'd either say chicken, fish, or hamburger, but I still think he got lucky that she's not your typical 3 year old! I got the feeling that no matter what she said, he was going to try his best to make it.

BBB and CRT is such a perfect way to start a trip, especially for the two girls. It's nice the Sawyer was able to sleep through BBB. I'm glad Brynn was tall enough for Splash Mountain. I can't wait until I can take my boys on that.

Pecos Bill's sounds horrible. We usually have good meals there, but it sounds like the allergy threw them off. Did you go all the way around the corner way far back where they have chairs with real backs instead of just stools? We like to sit there, since it's not as busy and a lot quieter.

I am very happy he slept through it--perfect opportunity for some baby down time! Brynn is still pretending to go on Splash Mountain all the time, even though she seemed scared at the time. When we get in the van, it's Splash Mountain. When she goes down a slide, it's Splash Mountain. When she slides down the stairs, it's Splash Mountain...and carpet burns.
Pecos Bill's was pretty bad. We did go back to that section, which is where we sat last year, but even it was full. I have to say that not only was it the middle of the day, but also the busiest day of our trip. We knew that going in, but an hour of waiting is still over the top. I have no desire to go back there, but I have time to change my mind before our next trip.

 

[999ghostslover]

Finally caught up...
Looksw like a great trip so far. Pecos Bill not withstanding.
I was thinking about canceling CRT but I am going to keep it after your experience.
On Stacey...Go to Lou Mongello's website. He has a podcast interview with her. You can tell he has a creepy crush on her. She is really an odd duck but I guess you would have to be a little bit.
On Pop...Glad you got what you wanted. That king room looks really nice. I wonder if Abby and I should request one. Hmmm.
On Bibbidi-The girls look so sweet. I agree. You know those hairstyles freak me out. The tight bun thing is the only one I actually like so good taste Brynn and Julia! The saddest sight in Disney is the little fat 8 year old shoved into a Jasmine two piece with those ratty hair extensions on her head. But I digress. We are Pirate's League people. Abby is saying that she wants to do it again (of course this trip is a surprise and kinda short so I think we may skip it and big-time splurge on the cruise-The Fantasy will have a Bibbidi and a Pirate's Leauge).
And I feel bad for Mamie. Poor lady. That is along walk in the heat. Altohugh Iam with you the whining helps Not One Bit.

A friend of mine is at Disney for the first time. I helped her plan it top to bottom. She is kinda a miserable person and they are having a miserable time. Its fun to watch. They got picked to be the Magic Kingdom family of the day and she said it wasn't that great. On some days I would sell Colin to be FotD!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Finally caught up...
Looksw like a great trip so far. Pecos Bill not withstanding.
I was thinking about canceling CRT but I am going to keep it after your experience.
On Stacey...Go to Lou Mongello's website. He has a podcast interview with her. You can tell he has a creepy crush on her. She is really an odd duck but I guess you would have to be a little bit.
On Pop...Glad you got what you wanted. That king room looks really nice. I wonder if Abby and I should request one. Hmmm.
On Bibbidi-The girls look so sweet. I agree. You know those hairstyles freak me out. The tight bun thing is the only one I actually like so good taste Brynn and Julia! The saddest sight in Disney is the little fat 8 year old shoved into a Jasmine two piece with those ratty hair extensions on her head. But I digress. We are Pirate's League people. Abby is saying that she wants to do it again (of course this trip is a surprise and kinda short so I think we may skip it and big-time splurge on the cruise-The Fantasy will have a Bibbidi and a Pirate's Leauge).
And I feel bad for Mamie. Poor lady. That is along walk in the heat. Altohugh Iam with you the whining helps Not One Bit.

A friend of mine is at Disney for the first time. I helped her plan it top to bottom. She is kinda a miserable person and they are having a miserable time. Its fun to watch. They got picked to be the Magic Kingdom family of the day and she said it wasn't that great. On some days I would sell Colin to be FotD!

I could not agree more about those gross hair extensions and the kids shoved into the two-pieces! Yes, every girl's a princess and all...but COME ON!
I think you should most definitely request a king room. It has soooo much more space in it.
You know the miserable person thing? Well, that's sort of the vibe Mamie has going sometimes. If we weren't walking, she'd be complaining about folding up the strollers to get on the tram, or waiting on the tram, or hitting her head on the tram. Don't feel too sorry for her. It was hot, for sure, but passive-aggressively showing your displeasure gets you nowhere with me!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

We’d been here all day and had only ridden one thing. This was a problem. Yes, we had done Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, eaten in the castle, and had a ridiculously lengthy lunch experience at Pecos Bill’s, but we had to fit in more before we left for the night. With dinner over, we could now use this baby:

Where should we go? Well, it was for all six of us, so I really wanted to use it on a ride that Sawyer could do, but also one that was worth of a fastpass. Of course we ended up here!

Off to Neverland! Sawyer, Brynn, Brandon, and I rode in one “boat” for Peter Pan’s Flight, and Mamie and Julia rode right behind us. Such a relaxing (although short) ride! This would become one of the rides that Brynn asked for all the time. On our other trips, I think we rode it one time. On this trip, I can’t even count how many times. On this first flight, we started our traditional phrases to yell: “Off to Neverland! Bye, Nana! We’re flying over London! Look out! Oh, Smee! That mermaid looks like Ariel! Hi, Wendy! PETER PAN!!!! That was fun.” Every. Single. Time. We’re predictable that way.

Sawyer was winding down and very quiet. Now was the time to overload his senses with “it’s a small world.” What can I say? We have great parenting skills.

Oh, what a happy little cruise it is! Our whole family loves this. Brynn listens to the song on repeat constantly, and I don’t even get annoyed with is. Rare breed, I know. On our way into the ride, Brynn was already singing, and Julia was joining in every once in a while. The man next to us in line was impressed. “Is she singing in French?!” Um, I guess. I don’t know. She does know all the words in what sounds very close to the languages, so I’m going with, “Yes.”

When we were passing by the cancan girls, we all yelled, “Ooo, la la!” at the appropriate moment.

And then a very important question came up: Why are those platypuses (platypi?) about to throw their eggs!?! Disturbing.

This was the point when I thought we were leaving, but as we walked back to our strollers still parked at CRT, the girls spotted the Carousel and just HAD to go on it. Could you deny a beautiful princess the chance to ride on a trusty steed? Me neither.

It was a great spin, though I’m always amused when I hear Pocahontas songs made to sound like really old fair music. Not quite classic enough for me, I’m afraid.

NOW we’d be leaving.

Or so I thought.

We turned toward the castle to grab the strollers only to find out that it was roped off. We found a cast member stationed there and asked what was going on. She said it was roped off for Wishes. WISHES? It wasn’t even 8:00 yet! We explained our situation and she told us we needed to run in, grab the strollers, and report back to her. Brandon and I speed-walked over there, and another cast member wanted us to leave via another route, but we told her we’d already been instructed to report back to the lady standing with the rest of our family. Phew!

We put the kids in the strollers and began making our way around by the teacups so we could cross the bridge and leave, finally.

Except.

Now it was 8:00, and Main St. Electrical Parade had started. The streets were thick with people, and we weren’t going anywhere on that first bridge. If we had actually been able to see the floats I wouldn’t have minded so much, but with so many people, and then people on those people’s shoulders, no such luck. We had trouble trying to make our way back OUT of the bridge at that point, but finally got to the bridge that passes through Tomorrowland Terrace. It took us the whole length of the parade to accomplish this, so by the time we started to get some wiggle room, we were exiting with everybody else.

Eventually we made it out and made the long walk back to our parking spot after taking the ferry. We actually did this pretty quickly and we watched Wishes begin as we were loading people into the van.

Back in the room, I set out clothes for everyone for the next day, changed the kids into pajamas, and they were asleep before I could even dig out their toothbrushes.

I would love to say that I went to bed then, too, but it wasn’t to be. We had a Publix run to make. Brandon had programmed it into our GPS before we left home and we easily made it there while Mamie watched over sleeping kids. I don’t generally like going off property for even a second, but I’m glad we went on the first night. We were able to grab some breakfast things, bottles of water, juice, rice milk, snacks, and hot patches for Brandon’s back. I've gotta say, though, that a grocery store having to station a security guard outside is kind of spooky to me.

We made it back to the room around 11 and realized our fridge wasn’t getting very cold at all. We requested another one the next morning, and either all of them don’t get cold or they never came to swap it out. Not sure. We kept what needed to be extremely cold surrounded by ice just to be safe.

We quickly went to sleep and everyone slept all night (Sawyer STILL doesn’t do this often, though he did several times at WDW…but not since we returned home).

It was a wonderful “bonus day,” and we had to be up nice and early the next morning for the start of our first full day.

Very early. Very, very early.

But for now, sleep, and some dreams of heffalumps and woozles.

Up Next: Day 2 begins!

 

[ronnmel]

Wow! What a packed arrival day!!! Seemed like a great day, except for the getting out of the park during a parade...

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

That sounds like a stressful exit from the MK! 8 seems a bit early to have everything starting to be roped off!

 

[kokotg]

I didn't even realize this was all still the first day until you pointed it out--what a great (and busy) first day!

Nothing worse than getting stuck in parade traffic when you don't even want to see the parade!

I love how well kids sleep at Disney

 

[shan23877]

That parade traffic sounds terrible.

A security guard at the grocery store? That would freak me out too.

So glad the princesses got a ride on their horses

Looking forward to day 2!

 

[999ghostslover]

Seriously, that was all on arrival day! That is crazy. Looks like you had a ton of fun. Do you know that the Cinderella's Carousel and Mission Space are the only two rides at all of the parks that I have never done. There are a couple of shows too. I may have to make both of them goals for this next trip.

 

[oeshpdog2]

Just found your trip report and hopping along for the ride. We were also at Pop September 17 - 24. Looking forward to reading about the rest of your week!

 

[melmar136]

Hi, we've been following along on your TR, and really enjoying it!

I just wanted to let you know that the links aren't working on the Table of Contents. The same thing was happening to us, and I had no idea until I tried to click on one!
I think the problem for ours was that when we were copying the link and then clicking the little picture to make it a link, there was already a http:// there, so we had to backspace to get rid of that to then paste the link there.
Just thought you'd want to know, as I know I wished someone had told me mine hadn't been working!

Looking forward to more of your TR!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Wow! What a packed arrival day!!! Seemed like a great day, except for the getting out of the park during a parade...

It was a great day!! We didn't even expect to get much done, but it really set the stage for a great trip!

That sounds like a stressful exit from the MK! 8 seems a bit early to have everything starting to be roped off!

To be honest, I wasn't stressed. Brandon, on the other hand? FREAKING OUT! I kept assuring him that the crowds on this night were a big part of why we weren't staying for the parade in the first place and that it wouldn't be like this when we saw it. Not sure he believed me.
And, yes, it was BEFORE 8! I never knew they did it that early. Good to know.

I didn't even realize this was all still the first day until you pointed it out--what a great (and busy) first day!

Nothing worse than getting stuck in parade traffic when you don't even want to see the parade!

I love how well kids sleep at Disney

Longest first day EVER! We didn't completely miss the parade...I saw Pete way up in the air riding on his dragon!

That parade traffic sounds terrible.

A security guard at the grocery store? That would freak me out too.

So glad the princesses got a ride on their horses

Looking forward to day 2!

It was a tight squeeze, to be sure.
I have never seen a grocery store security guard before! And it was a nice Publix, too! I think it was because it sold liquor, maybe? Our grocery stores don't sell liquor, so maybe they need it? Shady, though.

Seriously, that was all on arrival day! That is crazy. Looks like you had a ton of fun. Do you know that the Cinderella's Carousel and Mission Space are the only two rides at all of the parks that I have never done. There are a couple of shows too. I may have to make both of them goals for this next trip.

I've never done Mission Space on the intense side. That's my goal eventually. Actually, there are a ton of rides I haven't done that I had planned for this trip that didn't happen....

Just found your trip report and hopping along for the ride. We were also at Pop September 17 - 24. Looking forward to reading about the rest of your week!

Thanks for joining us! Did you ever see our wild crew out and about at Pop?

Hi, we've been following along on your TR, and really enjoying it!

I just wanted to let you know that the links aren't working on the Table of Contents. The same thing was happening to us, and I had no idea until I tried to click on one!
I think the problem for ours was that when we were copying the link and then clicking the little picture to make it a link, there was already a http:// there, so we had to backspace to get rid of that to then paste the link there.
Just thought you'd want to know, as I know I wished someone had told me mine hadn't been working!

Looking forward to more of your TR!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!! The last three weren't working for that reason! I fixed it quickly, thanks to you. I stopped checking after the first few, so those never even got tested.
Glad to have you reading along.

 

[inkedupmomma]

great use of that fast pass! that is def one of my fav rides for sure!

You are brave for driving out of WDW..I hate doing that! especially if I was exhausted!

Like you we felt the same way about the fridges, not cold at all!

Girls still looked adorable even after a full day!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

great use of that fast pass! that is def one of my fav rides for sure!

You are brave for driving out of WDW..I hate doing that! especially if I was exhausted!

Like you we felt the same way about the fridges, not cold at all!

Girls still looked adorable even after a full day!

Okay, so it's not just me about the fridges? They're all that way? I swear we had it on the coldest setting.

 

[PirateKate]

It sounds like the crowds that day were crazy! Especially for September. I hate getting caught in a people jam at Disney.

Peter Pan's Flight sounds like a good choice- it's nice when everyone can ride a Fastpass attraction. The girls look adorable in their princess dresses on the carousel.

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

So sorry it’s been a couple of weeks since my last update! It seems my computer and Photobucket are in a conspiracy to frustrate me and make me throw things. But for today, I have some photos, so on we go!

I had the iPad alarm set for 5:45 and I hopped right out of bed and into the shower. Brandon stayed in bed while I showered since a very cuddly and warm Sawyer was sleeping between us. As soon as I dried off, all three of my kids were waking up on their own. I didn’t have to prod them at all (this day). I remembered to fix a sippy cup for the baby, threw it in our park bag, and we left at 7:25. It was later than I had wanted to leave, but I was determined not to freak out.

Here’s one of our windows that the kids decorated. This is the one that’s not as good, but we don’t seem to have a picture of the other one??

We were among the first people to park in that really close lot near the TTC. Mamie didn’t mind the walk today, as it was just a few feet. See?

We waved to Mickey

and took a picture of some sleepy kiddos while I did a potty break. I always have to stop at this restroom. It’s like some strange and time-consuming tradition.

No worries—we were careful while crossing the street because we know that…

Actually, that became a bit of an issue during the week. Silly Brandon and Silly Jenn wanted to be cautious and make sure their family members weren’t run down, and Mamie decided just to walk out and hope for the best, making fun of those “overprotective” parents every single time we crossed. By the end of the week, Brandon lost it. Fun.

We had some more fun times on the monorail…once we made it up there.

I couldn’t believe how empty it was! But then I remembered that we were there BEFORE park opening for our breakfast ADR!

“Last year we went in THAT way.” But this year they routed us to the left instead.

The girls decided to walk right down the middle of Main St. USA. AND the crane was up today. Must have been the first day they put it up to start on the Christmas lights, and it was in our beautiful castle pictures all week long. I’m sure Brandon will edit it out when we print these, but I’m not that talented.

At this point we needed to take the obligatory “nearly empty park family photo.” Let’s just say that one grumpy and hungry kindergartener didn’t want to be in a picture and her awesome parents had to give the “having a bad attitude lands you back in the room” this early into the trip. No more attitude pretty much the rest of the trip! Works like a charm. We handed the camera to Mamie and this blurry shot is the best we got.

Keep reading. Two posts due to photo count limit!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Then we rushed over to our FAVORITE breakfast spot, Crystal Palace! We were ten minutes late for our 8am ADR, but they checked us in quickly. The check-in line was long, but it went really fast. We got our pager and did some waiting for about five minutes.

(Yes, those are classic Pooh cartoons on their dresses! My friend made them for the girls.)

As you can see (and as predicted), Julia kept her BBB hairdo for today and Brynn took it down immediately when we got back to the room the night before! She did wear her Mickey hair clip, though!

A lady with an accent so thick we could hardly understand a word she said ushered us into the restaurant and over to the right side in a corner. We’ve never been over here before, but we immediately saw something familiar…RAY! He was our server last year, too, and we loved him!

We sat down quickly and gave Ray our drink orders.

Tigger came by quickly. I mean QUICKLY. We didn’t even have time to organize a proper shot of him with the kids before he was off again! That’s Brynn behind Sawyer’s head. He also didn’t sign one of the books and we had to track him down later. It felt very hectic.

Pooh was right behind him, and Sawyer was pretty happy about that! I had been worried, as this was his first encounter with non-face characters. I shouldn’t have worried at all.

Right after Pooh, Chef Ken came to talk with us about Brynn’s dairy allergy. He offered to make her some bacon and a Mickey Waffle with real maple syrup (not the butter-flavored yuckiness) and told us that just about the only things that were safe on the bar for her would be boiled eggs and fresh fruit. Brandon went to grab some of those things and took pictures of the wonderful atmosphere of the restaurant.

I guess Eeyore wasn’t in the mood for pictures this morning either?

We were kind of afraid to take the time to get food since the first two characters came so quickly, but then they did a parade around the room, which our girls participated in, and went to the back for a while.

Which meant the lines were HUGE! But we waited anyway, and it was worth it.

Brandon’s first plate. Berries, biscuits and gravy, Mickey Waffle.

My first plate. Obviously I know how to fill a plate much better than my husband! Biscuits and gravy, bacon, cheese, potato casserole, frittata, corned beef hash, and probably more hiding in there. I loved it all but the corned beef hash. It was my first time trying it and I am not a fan. The potato casserole is especially yummy!

Sawyer had a Mickey Waffle, some Pooh’s Stuffed French Toast, and a banana.

The chef brought Brynn’s meal. She ate pretty well—bacon is her favorite!—but the waffle was hard. She didn’t mind. Put syrup on just about anything and she won’t mind!

I don’t have pictures of Julia and Mamie’s food, but I know it involved stuffed French Toast, Mickey Waffles, and fruit for Julia. I think Mamie had some boiled eggs and biscuits.

While we were stuffing our faces, Eeyore came to see us. All the kids loved him, and he was great!
Brynn gave him a big hug.

Sawyer gave him a kiss!

And we nearly had a shot of all three kids. Nearly.

Blame the food. We were distracted.

We kept eating. And kept eating. And we were done eating. A long time passed, and still no Piglet. Ray went to check on him for us and we started bathroom breaks (can’t waste early entry time!). Finally he showed up….but Mamie and Julia were still in the potty. I ran to get them, but they sure were taking their sweet time!

Brynn couldn’t wait anymore.

Sawyer, either.

And then Julia showed up!!

Since we had paid the check at the beginning of the meal like good little DISers, we were ready to go. On the way out, Julia wanted to get a picture with Ray like last year, so I sent the others to buckle up in the strollers while I got his attention. Ray told us at the beginning of the meal that Julia looked familiar to him, and we told him we were at his table last year, so he didn’t mind being in the picture at all! And just LOOK who decided to sneak into the shot!

It was just after 9 on our first full day…and boy was it full!

Up next: Rides! And rain. A very busy morning.

 

[shan23877]

Great picture of Sawyer and Eyore. Love the girls' dresses, they look so pretty.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Sawyer gave him a kiss!

SO sweet!

Your breakfast looks like it was great! I'm really excited for our ADR there after seeing your no-crowds/yummy food pics!

 

[katt789]

Yay! I'm all caught up! Crystal Palace is one of my favorite places to eat, and most definitely for breakfast! I love that shot with Sawyer kissing Eeyore! Adorable!