Show Me Your Smolder! October 2012 B-Day TR NEW 4/1 Trip Wrap Up & NEW PTR LINK!

[khertz]

Ok, we are home from our trip...for over a month now lol. I have been trying to keep up, but haven't been taking the time to comment, but since I am trying this whole wake up when DH goes to work to get an extra hour before Zavier wakes up I can finally take the time to comment

First how exciting but sad to see that Paxton now met the height restrictions. I think I would cry that my little man is getting so big.

It was more exciting than I thought it would be, and less depressing. Although it was sad to think that my baby boy has gotten so big already! But at the same time, he's just so fun now that I am a little less depressed about him getting bigger. Until I break out the pictures and videos of him as a baby, that is...

What a great interaction with Alice, he seems to be all smiles. The photopass picture is just adorable. So glad they were able to capture that. I feel like I had the opposite happen during our trip. Zavier would do something cute and they wouldn't get it. I'm guessing they aren't all parents so they don't realize that we wouldn't mind if they took 50 pictures at each interaction lol.

Oh, that definitely happened to us too, most of the time! Very few Photopass photographers got any good candid shots of him. Most stood there and waited while he was interacting with the characters and being adorable until he was ready to pose with them, THEN they would start taking pictures. It was annoying! Luckily, DH managed to get some good photos of most of the interactions. Same thing happened with Santa pictures & his 2 year portraits. The photographers would set the camera down, get him to smile, then try to hurry and pick the camera up, focus, etc. and he wouldn't be smiling anymore when they took the picture.

Oh the joys of a stinky diaper. DS ended up hating our travel potty we bought to take on the trip so we had our share of those moments. The best times were when he would sign to a character or waitress that he was going number 2 and they thought he was waving haha.

That is so funny!!! Too bad he hated the potty though. We are having trouble getting a jump start on the potty training, and I'm so worried that we will still be in the middle of it during our trip and we will be having lots of potty emergencies!

I loved the fantasyland expansion, it was just awesome. I really enjoyed it. The theming is just spectacular. You mention you will see it next trip. Do you have a trip planned yet. It looks like ours will be Feb 2014.

I am so glad you enjoyed it!! We can't wait to see it in person! We were debating between October and November of this year, but I think we are going to stick with October and get in one more trip of Paxton being free!

Your small world video is really cute. Its funny how certain things excite them.

Of all the rides, he was the most interactive on that one! There is so much to see in those rooms!

I also had to let you know, that as expected Zavier had a similar experience on the carousel as Paxton. I had joked with you that I could see Zavier having the same reaction Paxton did and to my surprise it actually happened. On his first ride he was absolutely loving it and cried when he had to get off. Well a few turns on round 2 and he was reaching to get off and didn't want to sit on the horse anymore. At the end we asked if he wanted to ride again and he shook his head no. He didn't avoid eye contact the rest of the trip but anytime we asked if wanted to ride again he would say no...too funny.

Oh goodness!!! These boys and the carousel, I just don't get it?

Are you planning to do a TR of your trip? I hope you do! And if you do, be sure to give me the link!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Awesome updates! Loved the poo on Pooh!

But those pics with Alice and The White Rabbit are so cute!!!!!

 

[khertz]

Awesome updates! Loved the poo on Pooh!

But those pics with Alice and The White Rabbit are so cute!!!!!

Thank you! It was funny at the time, even though it was smelly. Now thinking back on it, it was hilarious! Oh the irony...

I loved how those pictures came out. Not my favorite character that we met during the week, but definitely one of my favorite character photos of Paxton!

 

[khertz]

Day 5 Continued: Wednesday October 24th

Already on part 6 of day 5 and we are still not even to lunch yet! What can I say, DS's birthday was a long & fun filled day!

After touring Fantasyland for the morning, we decided we were in the mood for something a little spooky. Why not stop at the Haunted Mansion next?

Enjoying the ropes in the queue

​

I just have to say, as the mom of a toddler, THANK YOU, DISNEY for putting in these interactive queues, and for continuing to add them to other attractions!! They kept DS so busy, and even though we were not facing a particularly long wait, they definitely made the time passing much more bearable. He really got a kick out of playing while in line! We got a video of him having fun with the books in the HM queue.

Playing in the Haunted Mansion Queue​

Soon enough, we passed Madam Leota and were on our way inside the Mansion!

DS of course wanted to ride with us although my parents tried in vain to get him to ride in their doombuggy. He loves Nonni & Poppi, but when me and DH are around, forget it! DH took some pictures that although dark, I think came out pretty well.

Spooky eye wallpaper

Anybody in the mood for a seance?

How fitting for DS's birthday!

My favorite part, the dancing ghosts!

The best he could get of the hitchhiking ghosts​

DS didn't seem as nervous on the ride this time, I guess because it was his second time of the trip riding it. He still holds onto whoever is holding him pretty tight in the stretching room though! I'm a little worried about how he will do on this ride on our trip this year, but I guess we shall wait and see.

We emerged back into the sunlight and started off towards Frontierland.

We were not heading to anything in particular, but DH suggested the Country Bear Jamboree. UGH!!! I really hate this attraction, but in the spirit of DS's birthday and the fact that he enjoyed it so much last trip, I sucked it up and followed them into the theater. Luckily, there was only a few minutes to wait until they were letting you in for the next show.

​

We filed in and found seats in the middle of a row up towards the back. It was not a very full show, so we would still be able to make a quick exit if needed even though we weren't all the way on the end. The lights went down and DS was immediately surprised by the talking heads on the wall!

DH put his low light lens to use and got some pictures of other parts of the show as it went on.

"Blood on the saddle, blood on the ground..." What the heck is this song doing in a Disney show?? SO STRANGE!!!

Finale​

Not gonna lie, DS didn't seem as into it as he did last year. He mostly just sat there watching with a pretty blank expression on his face.

I think he is now just as confused by this attraction as his mommy is! lol And oh. my. YES (said in my best Will Smith from Fresh Prince voice) was I excited that they shortened the show! My torture was more short lived and soon we were exiting out into Pecos Bill's (said in my best Matt Hochberg voice lmao!) and away from the mind boggling country bears.

Continued in next post...

 

[khertz]

Day 5 Continued: Wednesday October 24th

We walked over to Storybook Circus and decided to try our luck at getting DS on a second height restricted ride, The Barnstormer/Great Goofini/whatever the heck it is called these days.

He made it! And there was no wait! The CM's at the measuring station were so excited for DS, telling him how fun his first roller coaster ride would be!

DS was so proud walking through that queue, like he knew he was doing something important in his Disney life! lol

"Okay, Mom, I'm ready to go!"

"Wait...what does this thing do again?"

"I DON'T LIKE THIS!!!"

"Okay, we made it, we're alive, and I hate you for making me ride that, Mom!"​

I'll just say, my poor birthday boy really did not enjoy the Barnstormer. I kept reassuring him the whole time, but he was gripping me so tight and not full out crying but you could tell he was not loving this attraction. Luckily by the time you blink your eyes, it's completely over and you have 10 years to regroup as you walk through the exit. I'm pretty sure it's 3x longer than the actual ride to get out of there!

We met up with Nonni & Poppi to give Dumbo another whirl. The wait time said 15 minutes, so we thought it would be a perfect time to check out the new play area! We got our pager and went to sit down and let DS get in some play time while we waited.

I was disappointed that while it is a HUGE play area, the area for toddlers to play in was pretty small. It was really crowded! There were two little twin girls in princess dresses absolutely dominating the little slide in there and their mom wasn't really paying attention or stopping them. They were shoving the other kids out of the way and just going down the slide over and over again.

So DS quickly gave up on that and went to play on the fire truck. That was going well until I glanced away for all of a second and turned back to find another kid's teeth clamped around DS's arm! Thank goodness the kid let go on his own before I had time to push him off of DS because I think in the heat of the moment, I just might have done that! DS was crying hysterically as I tried comforting him and cleaning his bite mark up at the same time. The other mom came running over to grab her child, apologized profusely, and then took him out of the play are altogether.

Add to that our 15 minute wait was turning into more of a 40 minute wait and we were all ready to give up on Dumbo. My mom went up to the CM to check how much longer it would be and was assured we would be getting paged soon. So DS finally calmed down and went to playing on the little board with the pegs you can move through the track. It was really cute and he enjoyed it. When you get to the end with water it makes a splash noise, and the ends with the fire light up and crackle like fire! Finally our pager went off and it was time for us to ride!

As we were queueing up to get to the Dumbos, the mom of the biter caught up with us again and started apologizing even more. She kept saying she wanted to cry because she felt so bad. So then I started feeling bad for her, and assured her not to worry about it, DS had already forgotten and moved on.

We boarded our Dumbos and I had my mom and dad get into the Dumbo in front of us to get our picture!

He definitely enjoyed his pachyderm flight a lot more this time!

The Casey Jr. Splash Area looks so cool, but luckily aside from noticing it was a train, DS didn't really want anything to do with it. I was just dreading having to go in there and scoop him up, getting drenched in the process!

It had been awhile since breakfast, and we were all starting to get a little hungry, so we headed over to nearby Cosmic Ray's for some lunch. I don't remember what my parents got, but I got the grilled chicken sandwich, which was delicious! And DH got an order of nuggets and fries that he split with DS. And while we were seated I took a picture of his bite mark.

​

As we wrapped up our lunch, DS was obviously getting cranky, so we decided it was time for a nap. My parents split off from us while we put DS in the stroller and walked until he crashed. While he was sleeping, we chose to go back to Storybook Circus and shop in the big store there. I can't believe we didn't take any pictures in there! We ended up buying 2 t-shirts for DS and a placemat. Then we went to Main Street and while DH went to get more SotMK cards at the fire station, I walked through the Emporium. I ended up finding a better placemat so I never got a picture of the Storybook Circus one as we later exchanged it for the one below.

He uses it almost every night now, and he loves pointing out all of the different characters on it! I'm really glad we found that one and made the swap.

We managed to play only a couple of portals before DS woke up from his 45 minute nap. We had the rest of the afternoon and the Birthday Boy was awake...what to do next?

UP NEXT: The Birthday Boy Meets the Big Cheese!

 

[afwdwfan]

After confirming DS was tall enough to ride, the CM gave DS a driver's license!

Not a bad way to start off his 2 year old riding experience! And yes, definitely best to do it before the line gets out of hand.

When we are sitting at red lights, he will yell out, "Two...one...GO!"

Just wait until you're sitting at a red light answering the question "Why aren't we going?" 50 times.

When we went to join up with DH and Poppi in the line, the little boy behind us proclaimed that we had cut the line! lol His mom explained we had been playing in the play area, then looked at my mom and said, "Preschool rules!" It was pretty funny, and no one was mad.

Neat story! The queues can be a little confusing if you're used to that standard single file line though!

We sat down in our honeypot, and that's when I noticed the smell. Uhhh, DS, we were not being literal when talking about Pooh! So we "enjoyed" a very smelly ride on Winnie the Pooh.

Since we were right across the way from it and it had no wait, we went over to Poppi's faaaaaavorite attraction, It's a Small World!

Do I sense some sarcasm here?

I just have to say, as the mom of a toddler, THANK YOU, DISNEY for putting in these interactive queues, and for continuing to add them to other attractions!! They kept DS so busy, and even though we were not facing a particularly long wait, they definitely made the time passing much more bearable. He really got a kick out of playing while in line! We got a video of him having fun with the books in the HM queue.

Queue distractions are the best! I only wish they were there back when we were kids.

That makes it sound like one of those old timer "walking to school uphill in the snow" stories... back in my day, there was no interactive queue and no fast pass. You had to actually get in the standby line and behave yourself until it was your turn to ride.

DS of course wanted to ride with us although my parents tried in vain to get him to ride in their doombuggy. He loves Nonni & Poppi, but when me and DH are around, forget it! DH took some pictures that although dark, I think came out pretty well.

DS is just the opposite. Whenever either set of grandparents are around, mom and dad don't even exist.

"Blood on the saddle, blood on the ground..." What the heck is this song doing in a Disney show?? SO STRANGE!!!

I'm sorry, you like Hanson. Your musical criticism no longer counts.

I think he is now just as confused by this attraction as his mommy is! lol And oh. my. YES (said in my best Will Smith from Fresh Prince voice) was I excited that they shortened the show! My torture was more short lived and soon we were exiting out into Pecos Bill's (said in my best Matt Hochberg voice lmao!) and away from the mind boggling country bears.

Great references. I think you misspelled Pecos Bills for the Matt Hochberg pronunciation though.

We walked over to Storybook Circus and decided to try our luck at getting DS on a second height restricted ride, The Barnstormer/Great Goofini/whatever the heck it is called these days.

Well, it is kind of called both.

He made it! And there was no wait! The CM's at the measuring station were so excited for DS, telling him how fun his first roller coaster ride would be!

DS was so proud walking through that queue, like he knew he was doing something important in his Disney life! lol

First roller coaster is a HUGE milestone. And a great way to mark a second birthday.

"Wait...what does this thing do again?"

Uh oh...

"I DON'T LIKE THIS!!!"


"Okay, we made it, we're alive, and I hate you for making me ride that, Mom!"

I'll just say, my poor birthday boy really did not enjoy the Barnstormer.

Poor guy! That's too bad. I hope it didn't affect his bravery too much and hopefully he'll be ready to try it again next time. It's a good thing the ride is so short though!

He definitely enjoyed his pachyderm flight a lot more this time!

The whole queue experience in Dumbo just sounds awful!!!! We never actually got there for a line long enough that we even went into the play area, but I can't say that I feel like we've missed out from some of the reports that I've read about it.

I'm glad you were able to get Paxton to settle down for a nap so that you could do some shopping and SOTMK. The 45 minutes worries me a little bit though. I hope that was long enough...

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Fun update! I have to say that as far as the exteriors for the Haunted Mansions go, I like the MK version better than the DL version.

That play area inside Dumbo's tent looked really cramped. Yikes!

DS will be going on the Barnstormer for the first time in 11 days. (I can't believe how close it's getting). It'll be his first rollercoaster ride as well. Very curious to see how he reacts.

 

[khertz]

Not a bad way to start off his 2 year old riding experience! And yes, definitely best to do it before the line gets out of hand.

Absolutely! That line can be brutal, especially standing out in the sun!

Just wait until you're sitting at a red light answering the question "Why aren't we going?" 50 times.

Apparently I need to watch what I say because he also sometimes yells, "MOVE, CARS!"

Neat story! The queues can be a little confusing if you're used to that standard single file line though!

And definitely confusing to a preschooler!




Do I sense some sarcasm here?

But of course!


Queue distractions are the best! I only wish they were there back when we were kids.

That makes it sound like one of those old timer "walking to school uphill in the snow" stories... back in my day, there was no interactive queue and no fast pass. You had to actually get in the standby line and behave yourself until it was your turn to ride.


Too true! Luckily, I only have one "old timer" trip under my belt. After that, the wonderfulness that is FP existed!!!


DS is just the opposite. Whenever either set of grandparents are around, mom and dad don't even exist.

I don't know what it was, but he ONLY wanted us all week! He would be begging to be held and DH and I were tired of carrying his big butt around, so one of my parents would try to pick him up and almost every time, he would start crying and leaning over to one of us! It was like, come on kid, there are two other sets of arms to utilize here, give us a break!!!


I'm sorry, you like Hanson. Your musical criticism no longer counts.

Come on, really? BLOOD ON THE SADDLE?!?! Even a Hanson fan knows that's weird!!!


Great references. I think you misspelled Pecos Bills for the Matt Hochberg pronunciation though.

I guess it should be more like Peecos! Did you hear the episode when a reader wrote in to correct him? Genius!


Well, it is kind of called both.

I just looked at the sign in the pic, and you are correct!




First roller coaster is a HUGE milestone. And a great way to mark a second birthday.


Uh oh...


Poor guy! That's too bad. I hope it didn't affect his bravery too much and hopefully he'll be ready to try it again next time. It's a good thing the ride is so short though!

Definitely thankful that ride was short! I don't think he would have tolerated much more of it!!! He thought it was a train so we were pumping him up saying he was going to have fun on the "fast train" but he just did NOT enjoy that ride!


The whole queue experience in Dumbo just sounds awful!!!! We never actually got there for a line long enough that we even went into the play area, but I can't say that I feel like we've missed out from some of the reports that I've read about it.

I think it would be a lot more fun earlier in the day when it isn't crowded, but at that point the ride is walk on so the play area becomes pointless. I think it will be a lot better when he is bigger and can go through the climbing stuff for the older kids. I hope so at least! Too many toddlers crammed into the same small area for me.

I'm glad you were able to get Paxton to settle down for a nap so that you could do some shopping and SOTMK. The 45 minutes worries me a little bit though. I hope that was long enough...

I'll save the suspense, the nap was fine! I think it balanced out that he had plenty of great naps back at the room through the week, so the 45 minute ones in the stroller didn't ruin him as much as I thought they would. Well, at least at the beginning of the week!

Fun update! I have to say that as far as the exteriors for the Haunted Mansions go, I like the MK version better than the DL version.

That play area inside Dumbo's tent looked really cramped. Yikes!

DS will be going on the Barnstormer for the first time in 11 days. (I can't believe how close it's getting). It'll be his first rollercoaster ride as well. Very curious to see how he reacts.

I agree on the HM exterior! I like the one in DL just because it is that old antebellum plantation looking home that I absolutely LOVE, but WDW's version is just a lot creepier!

Oh yeah, definitely cramped in the toddler section. Overall it is a big space, but the part for the smaller kids is just that little circle with a couple of things to play on in it.

Your trip is getting so close! I just noticed a PTR in your signature, so I'm heading over there so that I don't miss the start of the TR. I hope your DS enjoys it more than mine did!

 

[RachelNinja]

Awww, DH and I loved the video of Paxton playing with the books in the HM queue! I like the interactive queues too especially at HM. We've been through the interactive one twice before when there was no wait, but other times we just go straight through. It's nice having the two options.

And even though Paxton didn't like the little coaster, I have to say those pictures are so adorable! It makes me wonder what else he's thinking about.

OH MAN, that bite mark! I have to say though that I'm glad the other mom apologized twice and felt really bad about it. I was afraid it'd be the kind of mom that would have an attitude of like, "That's what kids do" or "He was just playing" or "Your kid must've done something first." Not that the bite mark is okay in anyway, of course, but I'm glad the mom felt bad. Haha, does that make sense?

 

[khertz]

Awww, DH and I loved the video of Paxton playing with the books in the HM queue! I like the interactive queues too especially at HM. We've been through the interactive one twice before when there was no wait, but other times we just go straight through. It's nice having the two options.

And even though Paxton didn't like the little coaster, I have to say those pictures are so adorable! It makes me wonder what else he's thinking about.

OH MAN, that bite mark! I have to say though that I'm glad the other mom apologized twice and felt really bad about it. I was afraid it'd be the kind of mom that would have an attitude of like, "That's what kids do" or "He was just playing" or "Your kid must've done something first." Not that the bite mark is okay in anyway, of course, but I'm glad the mom felt bad. Haha, does that make sense?

It is nice that there are two options at HM! Sometimes we don't mind walking through the cemetery and letting DS play, but sometimes when the line is short, it's better to just walk right on in. I hope they keep doing similar interactive queues for the other rides!

The pics did come out funny, and I would LOVE to know what was going through his mind during that ride! I was hoping he'd be big enough for BTMRR this upcoming trip, but now I'm thinking we might be better off just trying to tackle the Barnstormer again!

That makes total sense! I felt the same way. I was so angry at first, thinking why wasn't this woman watching her kid? But then I realized, that's just what happens with kids because I was literally sitting right next to Paxton and glanced away for a second when it happened. They do it that quick! I probably wouldn't have gotten over my anger as fast if she would have had that kind of attitude. She seemed genuinely upset that her child had hurt mine, so it was kind of hard to be mad after that!

 

[skier_pete]

Ugh, the biter age. Our DD had a biter in her day-care. Yuk! As long as other mom behaves the way she did (very contrite and apologetic) there's not too much else to do. Hard to control something like that.

Paxton's expression for Country Bears mirrors mine. The only thing I like about the show is the way there are claw marks all over the floor in the queue area. A shorter version of that show just means less hell to sit through. I still won't waste my time, espeically with my Tiki Birds back in Original mode. I'd just sit through that show twice!

Thanks for the comments on the new Dumbo area. I'm sure we will check it out, but DD will be 10 next trip, so I don't anticipate Dumbo continuing to be a top priority much longer. (I like the ride, but part of the fun was that it was near the castle. Off in the back, it becomes a lot less appealing to ME personally.)

 

[khertz]

Ugh, the biter age. Our DD had a biter in her day-care. Yuk! As long as other mom behaves the way she did (very contrite and apologetic) there's not too much else to do. Hard to control something like that.

Paxton's expression for Country Bears mirrors mine. The only thing I like about the show is the way there are claw marks all over the floor in the queue area. A shorter version of that show just means less hell to sit through. I still won't waste my time, espeically with my Tiki Birds back in Original mode. I'd just sit through that show twice!

Thanks for the comments on the new Dumbo area. I'm sure we will check it out, but DD will be 10 next trip, so I don't anticipate Dumbo continuing to be a top priority much longer. (I like the ride, but part of the fun was that it was near the castle. Off in the back, it becomes a lot less appealing to ME personally.)

Yes, biting is one of the most frustrating things about toddlers! Paxton got bit twice within a couple of days while at daycare, and I was really upset about it. Then he gets bit in WDW! He has since bit another child himself at daycare, but thankfully that did not become a habit and it has not happened again. It is one of those things that just come with the territory at that age.

I'm not a huge fan of the Tiki Room by any means, but I definitely like that idea! I could sit through that show many more times than I care to sit through Country Bears. I know some people on the boards were throwing a fit over the shortened show, but I'm all about LESS Country Bears if DH is going to drag me into that theater!!

Hopefully DD can at least have fun in the play area. It looks like it's a lot more fun for older kids than for kids Paxton's age right now. There just isn't enough for the toddlers to do, especially when the area is as packed as it was the day we were there. Although, I can't complain too much, because it sure beats the heck out of shuffling through switchbacks in the heat!

 

[debrapagliasotti]

I am finally all caught up! I had gotton so far behind on your TR with all the preparations for our trip.

What great updates!

I'm anxious to find out who will be there for Eat to the Beat when we go in Oct.

I love all the Fall decorations at MK! So cute!!

Paxton's reaction to Barnstormer was exactly the reaction Jaxon & Evan both had too! And I agree, the exit area takes forever to get through.

Sorry they lost his ice cream cake, but at least they gave you a new one for free to make up for it.

 

[khertz]

I am finally all caught up! I had gotton so far behind on your TR with all the preparations for our trip.

What great updates!

I'm anxious to find out who will be there for Eat to the Beat when we go in Oct.

I love all the Fall decorations at MK! So cute!!

Paxton's reaction to Barnstormer was exactly the reaction Jaxon & Evan both had too! And I agree, the exit area takes forever to get through.

Sorry they lost his ice cream cake, but at least they gave you a new one for free to make up for it.

Aw, that is okay, I'm glad to see you back! Incidentally, I saw you on the DISer Oct 2013 Facebook group today! Now that we have decided when we are going, I'm getting really excited! Only 9 months to go.

I'm eager to find out the Eat to the Beat lineup too. Hoping of course that Hanson will be playing again when we go. It was so much fun to see my favorite band in my favorite place!

Oh goodness, I hope your boys enjoyed the other rides a lot more than the Barnstormer. I was hoping he would be tall enough for BTMRR next trip, but I think it will be enough of a task getting him back on the Barnstormer.

It was nice they gave us a free cake. And now that we will be there on or around his birthday again this year, maybe we can use that gift card finally to get another one!

 

[khertz]

Day 5 Continued: Wednesday October 24th

After DS woke up from his stroller nap, we thought we might check out the Princess Meet & Greet at the Town Square Theater. The wait was way too long though, so I stopped and got some FP's for later. The time was later than we thought we would be in the park, but we held onto them just in case. However, Mickey only had a 10 minute wait, so we jumped in line for that. The queue is really cute with the animated posters in line!

We made it into Mickey's dressing room pretty quickly and DS was starting to get a little antsy. From the line, you really can't see anything because there are lots of curtains and stuff obscuring Mickey from you until it gets closer to your turn. Remember how excited I was on day one when DS saw Mickey and yelled, "Mouse!" Imagine that x1,000,000 when he finally saw him and said, "Mickey!" In the span of just a few days (and a little bit of Mickey Mouse overload) he had learned Mickey's name and was actually saying it!

Ready to go see Mickey!

Holding up 2 fingers for DS's birthday!​

As we were finishing up our turn with Mickey, I told DS to show Mickey how old he was. Mickey held up 2 fingers and DS only held up 1, so I said something to the effect of, "It's only his first day, he doesn't quite have it down yet." Mickey and the Photopass photographer found that amusing! lol

We exited the meet & greet area and stopped in the shop where DS could not get over all of the exciting Mickey merchandise available. He wanted to hug them all!

We eventually pried it out of his hands, but Santa brought him one for Christmas.

Since DS seemed to be on a character kick, we made our way back to Storybook Circus to meet some of the Sideshow characters.

Minnie and Daisy had a VERY long wait time, so we stopped over to see Donald and Goofy. Excuse me, The Great Goofini and The Astounding Donaldo! They had a wait time of about 15 minutes or so, and I think it probably moved a little faster than that. The M&G area is so cool! Their little meeting stations are themed so well and they fit right into Storybook Circus. The only disappointing thing is that there really is nowhere to meet Donald in his traditional blue sailor outfit anymore since they are replacing him with Daisy at the Epcot Character Connection. However, the sideshow outfits are pretty great too.

First up was The Great Goofini, and DS was totally excited! He ran right up to give him a hug around the knees.

One more hug before we go!​

Then it was time to go over for Donald! Donald has always been DH's favorite character, and he has been totally successful in transferring that over to DS. lol When we went on our last trip before DS when I was still pregnant with him, we bought him a stuffed baby Donald that he has been sleeping with for a long time, and DH is always on the lookout for Donald toys and t-shirts for DS also. So he was more than a little thrilled when he started walking over to Donald!

After saying goodbye to his 2 pals, we took DS over to see PhilharMagic. We didn't wait long before we were entering the theater and we actually got DS to put the glasses on! He even reached out for something (I'm not remembering what it was and I didn't put it in my notes!) which was just about the cutest thing ever! But then the water splashed him from the Little Mermaid scene and he decided he was DONE with those glasses! Like took them off, handed them to me, and said, "Here!" Once that was done, we decided to head back up to Town Square Theater and check on that Princess wait again...

UP NEXT: Princess Overload

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Yes I am indeed on the FB Oct 2013 group! Even though that is a short trip, I am super excited to go back to my happy place

Those pics with Mickey are too cute!

And wasnt the Storybook Circus M&G area just adorable!! Loved those characters in their cute circus clothes! But I agree, I too am sad about Donald in his sailer outfit being so much more difficult to find now

 

[khertz]

Yes I am indeed on the FB Oct 2013 group! Even though that is a short trip, I am super excited to go back to my happy place

Those pics with Mickey are too cute!

And wasnt the Storybook Circus M&G area just adorable!! Loved those characters in their cute circus clothes! But I agree, I too am sad about Donald in his sailer outfit being so much more difficult to find now

I am just so happy that we have now picked when exactly we are going. We have been talking about it pretty much since we came back from the last trip and just couldn't decide!! So now that I have a time frame, I am getting really excited to start planning.

I love the Sideshow characters M&G area! I think it was a really cute & creative way to incorporate a MG& with the rest of the main Disney characters and it fits in so well. Also really liked the Town Square Theater for Mickey. Much better and more fun than the Judge's Tent. I'm wondering who else will be meeting in there though once the princesses move out into Fantasyland?

 

[afwdwfan]

That's great that Paxton learned Mickey's name! I'm sure that really was special to see him evolve from calling him Mouse to referring to his name over just a few days.

I agree with you about the Storybook Circus character thing though... I love the way they have that area and the characters themed, but it really is a shame that you can't meet them in their traditional look.

I have to say that I really thought your story about Mickey's Philharmagic was funny. We went through the same exact thing. I mean I could pretty much just copy and paste that in my TR.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Love the Fantasyland updates! Yay for Paxton being brave and trying the Barnstormer. Too bad he didn't quite enjoy it. Maybe next time!

I seriously cannot wait to see all of the new Fantasyland. Last April part of Storybook Circus was open so we got to ride Dumbo, but I really want to do the character meet and greet there! Looks like you guys had fun!

 

[wiigirl]

Great update...Love the pic with the Mickey doll!