Rob, Cass & Kira - "This trip is NOT going to suck!!!" WDW & DCL

[Timon]

Day 4 - Part 7 - Fantasmical!

After mommy and daddy got their TOT fix, it was time for Fantasmic.

I have mixed thoughts about this night time show. I LOVE the last 10 minutes but I can do without the first 10-15

I think it's because I have seen it so many times before, starting back in 1999 and while it is a must-see for everyone, I don't think it's a must-see on every trip. I really wish they would mix it up a little and add some scenes or something.

Now, the last 10 minutes is totally amazing and worth sitting there for the first 15 with my family, watching their faces.

As soon as the Glow with the Show ears were announced, hubby had already bought them in his mind

I had a MUCH harder time dropping $25 on these suckers but hey, I knew he really wanted them so I didn't say a word

We actually did FP+ for Fantasmic and I tell ya, it was a big BUST!!!

They were VERY thorough at the gate and were checking for bands, and then you walk all the way up and they checked again, so no one without a FP+ could get in! They had ropes and CM's....

All the way until you get to the actual amphitheatre. Where you just herded right into the rest of the crowd. They sort of herded us toward the section just after Mickey and then that's it. You have to fight to get a seat. We were pretty early and the section was pretty much filled up. Thankfully some nice people next to the roped off area moved over and made room for us, otherwise we would be walking down to the far end section, which would have been a waste of a FP+!

Okay, so the ears....

Let me sum it up for you...

They sucked!



They fit horribly, they wouldn't even stay on Kira's head! They were VERY heavy and very uncomfortable. And honestly, I don't think they added to the show in the very least. Very few people had them, so I think that probably didn't help.

We had intended on bringing them to MK for Wishes Glow with the Ears but there was NO WAY we were going to be carrying those suckers around all day for a 15-minute show at the end of the day.

It's a good idea, in theory but the reality of them really sucks!!

Here's some photos of Fantasmic...

Chernie is my fav villain...

And the BEST part of the show...

Love love love the fire part!

The Big Guy saving the day

After the show, we waited for the crowds to disperse and then herded out with the last of them.

Another long day and another stuffy for her collection

 

[Timon]

I can't wait to hear about the ears!! I have heard different opinions so I am curious about how the three of you felt!

Sorry, the review is not a good one

It's a good thing you didn't Rob! Nate's friend is banned from the States because he got into a fight at a hockey game after some goofballs knocked out his dad. His dad ended up in hospital with a brain swell and he ended up in jail over night! That was about 15 years ago now. That was a crazy story. It's not uncommon for fights to happen at games but Epcot... that would have been an even crazier story!

Oh wow!! Okay, well now I am VERY happy Rob didn`t take it a step further! That is scary! Being banned from Disney would be horrible!!!

Awesom TR, you have made me LOL so many times, and I literally have tears in my eyes remembering when my girls were smaller and excited about the characters. What a great time you all must have had! Cant wait to read the rest!

Awwww, thanks for the very kind words! I am so glad you are enjoying it

Here's healing pixie dust for the three of you!

So sorry you got pneumonia and your family too!
Don't worry about updates, we will be here when you have recovered.

Thanks hun! I will take all of the I can get

Oh no! I hope everyone feels better!

Thank you!

 

[Timon]

Day 5 - Part 1 - Bonjour!

Okay, I am warning you now...our MK day will take up a LOT of chapters! It was a fun-filled, very long day and I took a billion photos LOL!

Let's get this sucker started!

Our usual walk to the car...

Drove to MK and parked really close so we just walked. I love when we can just walk to the TTC, it's so nice!

We had a LOT planned today and evidently Kira was very excited...she's usually a step ahead of us but this was ridickerous!

She was excited to be on the monorail!

Beautiful view over Bay Lake

Bag check

And then we grabbed our spot, waiting for park opening.

Along with just a few other guests...

We watched part of the Welcome show

And then grabbed a few shots near the castle

With our first priority being

Love love love the sign!

It was our first view of New Fantasyland and I LOVED it! So many wonderful details and just breathtakingly done!

Although I had seen videos of the show, it was still quite amazing to see in person! Loved the mirror effect, wow!

Kira was a salt shaker

Lumiere was the real star of the show, even though my little girl had her eyes on Belle the whole time.

I didn't get a good shot, so here's the Photopass shot

It was a very cute show and although it's a very quick meet and greet with Belle, I thought the whole thing was just amazing!

After Belle, our goal was doing as many thrill rides as possible.

WHAT?

You don't believe me anymore, do you?

Okay, so fine, we were looking for some characters. I had an idea of where and when they all were but I wanted confirmation so I took out my trusty iphone and started up MDE...

Very useful, indeed!

 

[Timon]

Day 5 - Part 2 - New Fantasyland Rocks!

With no help from the app, I found Fairy Godmother on my own, thank you very much!

And then went searching for Peter Pan and Wendy...

Peter told Kira to make sure she shows Tink that she is on her Crocs

It was time for a bathroom break and I have been looking forward to seeing the Rapunzel bathrooms and we were right there, so let's go peek

The area is just gorgeous. Being Kira's favourite princess, she loved it all too!

It was just too darn cute and they did such a good job with it!

And since I am the Disney Bathroom Girl, I couldn`t resist taking a few shots on the inside, they are so beautiful!

We walked around a bit and checked out the area.

Even though we had TWO FP+ for the princesses later on, Kira was DYING to meet Rapunzel now, so I grabbed a paper FP on the way back over to the New Fantasyland area.

I knew Gaston was going to be meeting soon and I wasn't 100% sure where, so we headed that way for our first experience with Gaston.

He deserves his very own chapter, he was THAT good!

 

[Timon]

Day 5 - Part 3 - Stay on Target!

We got into the line for Gaston, only second ones yay!

I am going to tell the story first, then post the pics, it works better that way sometimes

While we were waiting, a guy showed up in full-on Gaston attire. It was pretty funny actually. I have no idea why he did this as there was no Halloween Party tonight but it was cute! His girlfriend was dressed up as Merida.

A few minutes later, Gaston came out and his reaction to the other Gaston was hilarious! He was all mad, saying "WHAT! This guy!! UGH!"

It was soooo funny!

He walked right past the line and headed for his fountain. He looked back and said he would be right with us. His handler told us that he had to check out his fountain every morning

He walked over, talked with a little girl and then headed back, where one of the CM's inside the shop was tauntingly holding out a stuffed Beast doll.

Gaston shouted " Put that away Roger!"

Very entertaining!

He then went to the line and took photos of the couple that were in front of us. Next up was Kira's turn where he motioned for her and said "Come, Adore me!"

Kira asked him if he could sign where Belle is and he replied "Of course I can sign where Belle is, I want to BE where Belle is"

After signing, Kira said "Merci" and Gaston just gushed and kissed her hand.

Then we got a few shots and then she hugged him.

He said "You better keep your eye on this one!" to her Daddy and then Kira kissed him on the cheek

It was so funny, he was perfectly Gaston, full of himself and just awesome!

Rob was wearing a Star Wars shirt, it was the screen shot of inside the TIE Fighter when Luke was trying to blow up the Death Star and just casually when Kira was hugging/kissing him, he yells out to Rob "Stay on Target" which is funny because that is what the back of the shirt says.

It was just a perfect character meet!

Rob was able to get the whole meet on video, so when I am better, I will edit it and post it here, it was sooo adorable!

Photo time!

Walking by us, making fun of the other Gaston...

By far, the best character meet the entire trip!

And here's what he wrote in her book

 

[jedijill]

Hope you are all feeling better!

Love the picture of Kira and her Daddy in the second update!

I can take or leave Fantasmic now. I really like DL's better.

What an awesome Gaston! Sounds like a fantastic character meet!

Jill in CO

 

[jenseib]

Get well soon Cass!!!

 

[Timon]

Day 5 - Part 4 - Oh my God, two rides in a row!!!

On a Gaston high, we wandered over to Ariel's Grotto to meet Kira's now second favourite princess. Disney sure is doing the character meets the right way! This area was awesome!

Ariel swooned over Kira's book. Even though she already had her autograph, she asked Ariel to sign it again. Ariel started to and then stopped. She said she didn't want to ruin the page so I think she just added some decorations to the current autograph.

After meeting Ariel, it was time to ride her! Wait...that didn't come out right

I LOVED the queue! Disney is the KING of queues!!! The ride is cute and well done, an instant classic! Kira loved it and it was vibrant enough to keep the adults from napping

Carrying on....


Snapped a quick pic of the Mine construction on our way to Dumbo.

Wow, I really like what they've done with Dumbo! What a GREAT play area for the kids and nice air-conditioned area for the mommies and daddies to sit down!

Kira played for about 10 minutes before declaring that she was ready to ride!

Love this shot of my wonderful hubby!

Always a great ride!

After Dumbo, it was time for our regular FP for Rapunzel!

Like I said, Disney has done a remarkable job with the new meet and greet areas!

Just slightly excited to see her favourite princess!!

Rapunzel was very low key, I could barely hear what she was saying to Kira but Kira seemed to really enjoy her!

And then the bonus princess was Snow White...

And that takes us right up to lunch!!!

 

[Timon]

Day 5 - Part 5 - Try the Grey Stuff, it's delicious!

It was now time to eat in the Castle!!! We've been looking forward to this for awhile now so we were all excited. About 30 days before our trip, I was able to get FP+ for our meal and I was even able to order in advance for us, which I thought was the neatest thing ever!

We checked in on the left hand side, right at the entrance. Told them we had FP+ and they directed us down the bridge to the left side.

Now, in every single photo or trip report I have read since Be Our Guest opened, there have been massive lines to get in. I've seen that bridge FULL of people waiting on the right which was one of the reasons I was soooo happy to FP+, skip the long lines, right? Well, when we walked down the bridge at 11:30am, there wasn't a soul in sight! Not a single person in that line!

I was still happy we did the FP+ because I had already ordered. Just inside the castle, there were CM's standing there with iPads and they asked me if I had wanted to change anything on my order. I didn't, so they scanned my band and off we went.

Sorry, my pics from inside didn't turn out so well. I need to learn how to use my new camera!

We checked out all three rooms and then let Kira decide where she wanted to eat. She chose the main Ballroom so we sat down kinda right in the middle back and waited.

This is grumpy Kira. I think she was a little hungry at this point.

I told Rob to go get drinks while I stayed at the table. He returned and a minute later our food showed up!

I had wanted to try the croque monsieur and the roast beef so I told Rob that I ordered both and that we would share.

Since I am a ham and cheese girl, I thought I would love the croque monsieur but sadly this was not the case. The cheese was just too fancy schmancy for me and I didn't care for it. It wasn't bad but definitely not great.

Now, the roast beef on the other hand...

Oh Mon Dieu!

It was to die for!!!

I also got Rob the onion soup..

And sadly, the only thing this place is lacking is better choices for kids meals. I know they were trying to keep with the whole France theme but come on people, what 6 year old wants meatloaf or turkey and sweet potatoes, Mahi Mahi or pork and green beans?????

I ordered what I thought Kira *might* like the best, the pasta but she hardly touched it! In hindsight, I probably should have gotten her the Mahi Mahi, she *might* have liked that a little more.

She ate all of her french fries and probably only 2 bites of the pasta...

Then we had these...

The strawberry one was all hers but I did taste it and it wasn't too bad. The grey one is a new addition and the topping is the "grey stuff". I'm not a big sweets kinda of girl but I actually really liked this one!

Kira devoured hers...

It was weird though because we used the bands, they had automatically charged the bands but didn't give us a receipt so just in case, I went up to the front and made sure everything had been paid for.

It was a very neat experience, sitting at a nice table, with our food being brought out to us. Just having to get up to get drinks, it was like the perfect dining experience, in my opinion!

We checked out the rooms once more before we left...

This will definitely be a must-do on every trip now and I pray they don't remove or change that roast beef sandwich

Oh and I hope they add some chicken strips to the meal! They can call it Poulet Frit, so it sounds french

 

[Timon]

Day 5 - Part 6 - Bibbidi Bobbidi...

After lunch, we had a little time to kill before Kira's appointment at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, so we did some rides yay!!

We didn't want to go to far so we just did It's a Small World

and a quick turn on the Carousel...

It was now almost 1pm so we headed for the Castle. I was a little upset when I realized that they took away that gorgeous store with the swords and stuff to make way for BBB. I always loved walking through there dreaming of being rich so I could buy all that stuff

We checked in at the podium and they asked if she needed to get changed. Since we had brought the Aurora dress for her, we said yes and they lead us to a room at the back so she could change. We also asked for Aurora shoes.

Right after looking at herself in the mirror...

It took a couple of pairs to figure out which shoes to get because the first pair fit perfectly but then we knew she wouldn't fit them for long. So we tried the next size up but they were slightly too big and walking around the park would not be comfortable for her. We opted for the shoes that fit perfectly.

With her invitation...

And then back to the front to wait to be called

What the front, looking inside looks like..

Items available to purchase...

After about 10 minutes, it was her turn!

Kira was VERY excited about this experience. Probably the thing she's been looking forward to the most. And I was thrilled that it was finally here for her after waiting and counting down for so long!

Her Fairy Godmother in Training was Brittany and she was just lovely!

She asked Kira what hairstyle she wanted. She narrowed it down to 2 but then I helped her decide on one that was probably best with her hair. She had wanted the Diva look but I convinced her that the Pop Princess might be a better choice for her and she agreed. Since it was so short, I was really worried about how they were going to do her hair. She has fine, curly hair that doesn't even hold a clip or barrette for more than a few minutes.

Brittany took extra long with the hair because it was tough but I think she did an amazing job with it in the end!

Kira's favourite part was getting to choose all her colours and stuff.

She got to choose her hair extension colour, Mickey clip colours, which comb she liked, nail polish, lip colour, eyeshadow colours, she was in HEAVEN!

Blurry but I love this pic of her very patient daddy waiting and watching and camcording the whole thing

I will have to continue this in the next chapter

 

[Timon]

Day 5 - Part 7 - Boutique!

Let's continue with the pampering, shall we?

Her face says it all!

When it came time for the face gem, Brittany said she had the perfect spot for it Kira did not agree LOL!

The very last part...putting the sash on...

I should mention that there was a very nice Photopass photographer that was walking around taking photos of all the girls (and one boy!) as they were being made up. He was very good at stopping by often and just between me and you, I think he enjoyed using the bands instead of the card because everyone else was using a card and he seemed to come back to us a lot

Unfortunately, he kind of got in my way a little for the big reveal and looking at the pics, he did not get a good reveal pic. So, here's mine...

Brittany quickly realized that she had forgotten to give Kira back her glasses, so she really couldn't see that well so when she put them on, it was like a second reveal

Brittany packed up the unused supplies into her own little BBB bag and gave them to Kira while I paid the bill. It was worth every penny I tell ya!!

She immediately took off the bag and the sash but she loved walking around the rest of the day all done up

It was a GREAT experience that I will keep on booking for her as long as she wants to do it

 

[jedijill]

Kira makes a beautiful princess! Looks like BBB was worth every single penny.

Jill in CO

 

[dizneeat]

Wow! What a cute princess she makes.

I mean, she is such a cute young lady anyway, but to watch that transformation into a princess was priceless.
I was wondering why she was not smiling much in the "first" reveal, but the mention of glasses put things into perspective.

Thanks for sharing, Cass!

 

[CJK]

Eek! I've been MIA! Kira's BBB pics are priceless! My fav is the one where she is holding her hands to her face, seeing how she looked in the dress for the first time. Brought tears to my eyes.

Glad your FP+ reservation for BOG worked so well. We pre-ordered our food too, but then when we got there, they didn't have our order on file so we had to re-order our meal which took a good 20 minutes (had to wait in the line in the knights hallway). It still saved time though, since we did see a huge line outside the castle.

It sure looks like a fab Magic Kingdom day. That Gaston meet 'n greet was awesome. I may have to visit him next time.... Don't tell dh!

Loving your report so far. Hope you're feeling better and enjoying the season!

 

[Walt & Di]

Loved it. Wish my Asiah was small enough to enjoy. She would have loved it when she was younger. Kira sure became a beautiful princess.

 

[Timon]

Hope you are all feeling better!

Love the picture of Kira and her Daddy in the second update!

I can take or leave Fantasmic now. I really like DL's better.

What an awesome Gaston! Sounds like a fantastic character meet!

Jill in CO

Thanks Jill

I love that pic too

Get well soon Cass!!!

Thanks Jen

Kira makes a beautiful princess! Looks like BBB was worth every single penny.


It totally was worth every penny
Jill in CO

Wow! What a cute princess she makes.

I mean, she is such a cute young lady anyway, but to watch that transformation into a princess was priceless.
I was wondering why she was not smiling much in the "first" reveal, but the mention of glasses put things into perspective.

Thanks for sharing, Cass!

LOL, yeah, glasses kind of help, eh?

And she loved every single moment

Eek! I've been MIA! Kira's BBB pics are priceless! My fav is the one where she is holding her hands to her face, seeing how she looked in the dress for the first time. Brought tears to my eyes.

Glad your FP+ reservation for BOG worked so well. We pre-ordered our food too, but then when we got there, they didn't have our order on file so we had to re-order our meal which took a good 20 minutes (had to wait in the line in the knights hallway). It still saved time though, since we did see a huge line outside the castle.

It sure looks like a fab Magic Kingdom day. That Gaston meet 'n greet was awesome. I may have to visit him next time.... Don't tell dh!

Loving your report so far. Hope you're feeling better and enjoying the season!

I love that shot too

That sucks that they didn't have your order on file

It's weird, there was no line up anywhere when we went! Not outside, not even inside where you pay! Still was nice just to stroll up and have them bring food to us

Loved it. Wish my Asiah was small enough to enjoy. She would have loved it when she was younger. Kira sure became a beautiful princess.

Yeah, they should have done the BBB much sooner!


---

With my third round of antibiotics and some (gasp!) prednisone I am finally on the mend.

I will do a couple of chapters tomorrow as I am just editing the photos

 

[dizneeat]

Happy New Year!

​

 

[Timon]

Day 5 - Part 8 - Holy Princesses, Batman!

After getting all purdy, we had a little time to kill before our FP+ with the Princesses, so we stopped to get a little snack...

Then it was back to FairyTale Hall...again

The princesses gave her a little more attention because of her outfit, which was nice because it made it that much more special, not that meeting all the princesses wasn't already the BOMB for my little girl

And of course, Aurora's meet was REALLY magical! She took a very long time with her, compared dresses, did some twirling and chatted quite a bit!

Since I totally blanked out after BBB and forgot to head directly to Castle Couture to grab some Photopass Photos, we stopped there for a few pics before heading out to do other stuff. So far, we hadn't really explored much further than Fantasyland, it felt weird

Just as we were waiting in line, the Photopass photographer that took all of Kira's BBB shots showed up and took over. He actually told the photographer that was there already that he was doing Kira's shots. I tell ya, he must have loved the bands

Here's my fave shots from that sitting:

He was a really nice guy but a lot of his shots were blurry


Still, I am so glad I remembered to go here because they certainly don't tell you about it at BBB.

 

[Timon]

Day 5 - Part 9 - Kissing would be nice, yes?

Next, it was time for a couple more rides. Yes, there are rides in the Magic Kingdom...somewhere.

The Mad Tea Party was our next stop! I did not anticipate how much Kira would love this ride! I can't do spinny things anymore due to my health, so I watched from the sidelines!

I love this first pic cus it looks like Rob is sporting some fairy wings LOL!

Clearly not having any fun at all...

Then it was POOH time!

And we even managed to fit in Mickey's PhilharMagic!

There was still one more Meet & Greet that we wanted to check off our list before dinner, so we headed over to Tiana's area behind the Christmas Shoppe. We got there 15 minutes before the listed meet was supposed to be over but the CM said the line was full and she couldn't let anyone else in!

Okay, this is the one and only time I was upset about a princess meet. Disney knows the lines get long, so why do they list the meet time from let's say 4:00-4:30pm only to arrive at 4:15 to find it closed???

Personally, I think they should list the end time of the meet when they cut off the line. There were several people who showed up the same time as us only to find the rope up and disappointed children!

She told us to come back in 30 minutes for the next meet so we walked around a bit to kill time.

20 minutes later, we went back to Tiana's to find ANOTHER rope with the same CM telling me the line was closed again. She did seem somewhat apologetic since she just told us to come back and we did and it was closed again!!!



Okay, whatever! I was determined to meet Tiana because Kira really wanted to met her and we had big dinner plans and her meeting times later didn't work out for us.

So, we stayed really close and showed up 5 minutes before the meet time to find the line more than half full!

Holy crap, I had no idea Tiana was so darn popular!!! It's not like she's that new any more, what the heck is going on???

Oh well, at least we made it in line this time, with just barely enough time to make it for our dinner reservation!

It was a long wait, which Kira spent on my iphone

As we waited, I noticed the CM's calling up a few kids to the front. I assumed it was for a photopass shot but I couldn't see. She then pointed to Kira and asker her is she wanted to come up and if I had a PP card. I told Kira to go with the CM and pointed out that she had a band on.

So a few minutes later she came back, looking confused, not knowing exactly what she did LOL!

And then we found these in our PP account...

By then, we could see Tiana come out AND as a very nice bonus, Prince Naveen was with her!!! I guess coming back for the third time has its' perks

Let me just say that Prince Naveen would be second on my list for best character meets this trip! (behind Gaston, of course!) He sounded JUST like him! I mean, it was amazing, I swear I was listening to the movie!

The very first time we heard him say "Hey, how you doin'?" Rob and I just smiled at each other and then he said (louder than I think he intended) "Wow, he's really good!" and Naveen heard him and turned back and gave us a smile

Naveen really liked Kira's book! He looked through it all and asked her questions about some of the characters, it was awesome! And to hear him do it with the accent was just perfect!

Tiana was very quiet and hardly said a word. So glad Naveen was there

It was now 5:15pm, which is when our dinner reservation was set for! Thankfully, it wasn't that far away!

 

[cntkg1]

[
Another long day and another stuffy for her collection

Did you bring an empty Stuffy Suitcase along for all these guys?
What a sweet sweet picture.