Bah, Humbug! Tales of A Disney Scrooge's Conversion Update 7/21
- Thread starter Ceryssa
- Start date
Ceryssa
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2013
LOL Rob with us being from Alabama I feel the need to clarify that sometimes haha!
I really don't know--was she added after the fact or something? Maybe it's based on how many characters they can cram into a Chef Mickey's meal?
I know, I was pretty impressed!
Thanks so much for reading!
Yeah I'm the Disney nut in the family (assuming that wasn't obvious) so I was kind of trying to nudge the conversations with characters as we went. I just got a little overenthusiastic with this one appareantly haha!
Aww, thanks! Glad to have you here!I am having the best time reading your report! there is so much to comment on yet i cannot get one thought out..
BAD DIS'ER WITH NO PICTURES. The rules is if there isn't a picture then it didn't happen.. Just sayin.
You have an adorable family. i will say you are going going going!!! I love your style of writing. Maybe because of your love of food?!
But yes you need a lot more PICTURES!
I know! And I'm usually that crazy person that stops and takes pictures from every feasible angle--twice! I think I was just so excited and there was so much going on that I was just in the moment so much I forgot to document. I guess that's kind of a good thing? Gotta do better next trip though!
Thank you! The best thing about going to Disney was getting to do it with them, there's just never enough time together! Yes it was a super busy trip. I of course ignored the best piece of advice I got which was not to overschedule.
The food is one of the main attractions for me! That's not really limited to Disney though...
Oh, you totally should!! It's SO much fun. Even having read reviews ahead of time, I didn't know how enjoyable it was going to be--Patch the boat captain really makes the experience! Big Stitch is a hilarious conversation starter. I mean you just never have any trouble talking to anyone when you're carrying around that thing.
Thanks! She is totally her own person, which I just love! The costume definitely made an impression! It was so much fun watching her interact there, and this meal was what convinced her that Disney World is actually fun, not scary! Which was a relief for me LOL.
Chicago Mo
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2010
well now that your a season traveler in Disney you know what to do! i did it over board for the surprise trip too.. Ya just want to get everything in that you can!!!
Ceryssa
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2013
Once Alhanna and Aaron got back, I got a scolding for freaking her out so much. My bad. We had just a few minutes before we needed to leave for dinner, so we let Alhanna check out Triceratop Spin and the Boneyard. We did a quick restroom stop to (hopefully) prevent one or both kids from announcing as soon as we got in line for the bus that they had to go, and as we were coming out we stumbled onto a dance party! It was pretty fun to see some characters I didn't know made appearances in the parks like Thumper and Brer Bear. We didn't have too long to mingle though and the girls were being a little shy anyway, so we took off toward the entrance to collect our things from the locker we'd stashed them in earlier and then headed toward the buses. The girls apparently thought this looked like a good place to sprawl out.
We were heading to Animal Kingdom lodge for dinner at Boma--another meal I'd been really excited about! We were running late at this point so I was a little nervous but the bus came quickly and it wasn't too long of a ride. Unfortunately we cut it really close to our ADR time so we didn't have a chance to check out AKL like I'd wanted to, but we'd had a really fun day in the parks that day and I wouldn't have wanted to leave earlier.
We were meeting Rachel and Miguel for dinner, so I'd made our reservation for 6. Unfortunately I apparently forgot that babies count as people too, so it took a few minutes for them to figure out the logistics of where they were going to seat us. (Spoiler Alert: This would not be the first time this happened this week. It's not my fault. I think my kids stole all my brain cells.) It was PACKED, and I felt really bad, but they were so great about it. They got it all worked out shortly, and I apologized and thanked them profusely. Our server was great, though I of course didn't write his name down. I'm usually a strictly beer or wine type person, but I felt like something more "exotic" was in order given our surroundings so I ordered one of their specialty cocktails. I don't remember which one--some sort of fruity concoction that was pretty good and fit the bill for what I was looking for. I don't have many pictures of dinner because I was too busy eating myself into a food coma. This. Place. Was. AWESOME. Just really, really good. Wow. I felt like my stomach was going to explode when we left, so that's a good indication of how good it was. Celine and her family were also eating here at the same time and guess what? That's right, totally failed to document it. If you're counting, we're 0 for 3 opportunities so far. This has the makings of a drinking game...
This is what Alyssa's plate looked like with a supervised trip to the dessert area--she could do some serious damage if we'd allowed her to run amuck but fortunately we foresaw the potential disastrous sugar high and--sort of--tempered it. I wasn't the only person impressed with this place, apparently. And hey, look, I got a picture of my half-eaten plate in there so you're welcome.
We were all STUFFED and really tired, so rather than exploring the resort we decided to just head back to CSR. Bell services kindly called us a cab and we were back at El Centro shortly after; we had a package to pick up in the gift shop! Alyssa was super excited to be reuinited with Stitch, and Alhanna of course wanted to do some shopping.
And posing:
We got back to our room, showered and settled in bed, and I was excited to discover the Duffy bedtime story was on. Now I know a lot of people don't care for Duffy. But we LOVE him. Alyssa got the book for Christmas last year and, being a fan of all things stuffed, immediately declared she had to have one. So they watched that for a while before it was time for bed.
We turned in shortly after, because we were heading to Magic Kingdom bright and early the next day!
I really loved Animal Kingdom, more than I expected. I actually wish we'd had another day there, since there was so much we missed. There is just so much to see, and the park is beautiful. This was one day we didn't do a very good job with taking advantage of Photopass photographers; I think we only got the one of Aaron and Alhanna. We did better the rest of the week though.
Both the restaurants this day were a win. Tusker House was really great, and since it was breakfast it was different enough from Boma that I didn't feel like we were eating the same meal twice. The characters were fun, food was good and service was good. Boma was, at this point in the trip, our favorite food-wise so far. It was outstanding in terms of both variety and quality. I will say though, by day 3 of 2 table service meals per day, we were a little over all the food. Wow, we ate a lot. I'm really glad we experienced them all though! Up next: an early morning in the Magic Kingdom and a visit with royalty!
We were heading to Animal Kingdom lodge for dinner at Boma--another meal I'd been really excited about! We were running late at this point so I was a little nervous but the bus came quickly and it wasn't too long of a ride. Unfortunately we cut it really close to our ADR time so we didn't have a chance to check out AKL like I'd wanted to, but we'd had a really fun day in the parks that day and I wouldn't have wanted to leave earlier.
We were meeting Rachel and Miguel for dinner, so I'd made our reservation for 6. Unfortunately I apparently forgot that babies count as people too, so it took a few minutes for them to figure out the logistics of where they were going to seat us. (Spoiler Alert: This would not be the first time this happened this week. It's not my fault. I think my kids stole all my brain cells.) It was PACKED, and I felt really bad, but they were so great about it. They got it all worked out shortly, and I apologized and thanked them profusely. Our server was great, though I of course didn't write his name down. I'm usually a strictly beer or wine type person, but I felt like something more "exotic" was in order given our surroundings so I ordered one of their specialty cocktails. I don't remember which one--some sort of fruity concoction that was pretty good and fit the bill for what I was looking for. I don't have many pictures of dinner because I was too busy eating myself into a food coma. This. Place. Was. AWESOME. Just really, really good. Wow. I felt like my stomach was going to explode when we left, so that's a good indication of how good it was. Celine and her family were also eating here at the same time and guess what? That's right, totally failed to document it. If you're counting, we're 0 for 3 opportunities so far. This has the makings of a drinking game...
This is what Alyssa's plate looked like with a supervised trip to the dessert area--she could do some serious damage if we'd allowed her to run amuck but fortunately we foresaw the potential disastrous sugar high and--sort of--tempered it. I wasn't the only person impressed with this place, apparently. And hey, look, I got a picture of my half-eaten plate in there so you're welcome.
We were all STUFFED and really tired, so rather than exploring the resort we decided to just head back to CSR. Bell services kindly called us a cab and we were back at El Centro shortly after; we had a package to pick up in the gift shop! Alyssa was super excited to be reuinited with Stitch, and Alhanna of course wanted to do some shopping.
And posing:
We got back to our room, showered and settled in bed, and I was excited to discover the Duffy bedtime story was on. Now I know a lot of people don't care for Duffy. But we LOVE him. Alyssa got the book for Christmas last year and, being a fan of all things stuffed, immediately declared she had to have one. So they watched that for a while before it was time for bed.
We turned in shortly after, because we were heading to Magic Kingdom bright and early the next day!
I really loved Animal Kingdom, more than I expected. I actually wish we'd had another day there, since there was so much we missed. There is just so much to see, and the park is beautiful. This was one day we didn't do a very good job with taking advantage of Photopass photographers; I think we only got the one of Aaron and Alhanna. We did better the rest of the week though.
Both the restaurants this day were a win. Tusker House was really great, and since it was breakfast it was different enough from Boma that I didn't feel like we were eating the same meal twice. The characters were fun, food was good and service was good. Boma was, at this point in the trip, our favorite food-wise so far. It was outstanding in terms of both variety and quality. I will say though, by day 3 of 2 table service meals per day, we were a little over all the food. Wow, we ate a lot. I'm really glad we experienced them all though! Up next: an early morning in the Magic Kingdom and a visit with royalty!
DisneyKid4Life
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2013
I remember that dance party. Definitely cool if for no other reason than some really rare characters. Too bad the girls were being shy, but perhaps with other plans, maybe that's a good thing.
Hmmm, are you going for a record for undocumented Meets? At the very least you have to be winning.
Definitely sounds like a great day.
Hmmm, are you going for a record for undocumented Meets? At the very least you have to be winning.
Definitely sounds like a great day.
Ceryssa
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2013
I think that was one of my favorite things about Animal Kingdom--the unexpected entertainment we stumbled across. Of course that goes on in all the parks, but I really didn't know about any of the ones in AK so it was extra specialI remember that dance party. Definitely cool if for no other reason than some really rare characters. Too bad the girls were being shy, but perhaps with other plans, maybe that's a good thing.
Hmmm, are you going for a record for undocumented Meets? At the very least you have to be winning.
Definitely sounds like a great day.
I KNOW! I'm like the worst documenter ever!
Ceryssa
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2013
We were up bright and early (well, mostly) for our ADR the next morning. This was the one I was the most nervous about--we aren't really morning people. Despite everything I'd read about how important those first few hours in the park are, I just didn't see being able to drag my family out of bed at the crack of dawn day after day--and it's really a good thing I didn't try. I don't think we would have enjoyed our trip half as much if I had. But anyway, eating in Cinderella's Castle was definitely on the list of must-do's, so I was excited to find an 8:25 breakfast for this day! I asked the girls before our trip if they wanted to dress up for this. Ariel has been Alhanna's favorite princess for a long time, so she of course wanted an Ariel dress. Alyssa is not so much into princesses, but she was wanted to be Tinker Bell. Since we'd settled on Pirate's League instead of Bibbity Bobbity, I took a few minutes to fix the girls' hair before we left. I'm no Fairy Godmother, but they were pleased so I figured it'd do. Unfortunately we ran over on time, and I was stressing out as we were leaving. I tried really hard not to be that "We're late! We must be here NOW!" person all trip, but I failed miserable this time lol. I was really wanting some pictures on Main Street with no crowds, and I didn't want to be late for breakfast since I was hoping we'd get out before the crowds. And of COURSE this was the ONE day we had to wait for a bus haha! Coronado Springs overall had great bus service the entire time we were there, but this day I think we had just missed it, so it was almost right at 20 minutes before another one came--maybe a little less. It felt like an eternity but it really wasn't that long, and I calmed down a little once we were on the bus and headed to Magic Kingdom. Aaron was all "What's the big deal?" and side-eying me like I'm a crazy person...which is fair since I was probably acting like one.
Alhanna was unfazed.
As soon as we walked through the gates, though, I took a look around and noticed Christmas had come!! Who can be upset and hurried when you're in the Magic Kingdom surrounded by Christmas decorations?! Not me. So despite being a few minutes behind we stopped for a Main Street picture cause, how could we not!
Some of us were not feeling joyful--apparently I broke Tinker Bell this morning. My bad. I also didn't notice til we got home that I should have rethought the hot pink Hello Kitty backpack, since Aaron was the one that ended up carrying it most of the time
He was a good sport about it though
We walked the rest of the way to the castle, checked in and were led inside almost immediately. Because of course I had worked myself up over nothing. It was 8:30 in the morning, there wasn't exactly a horde of people beating down the door.
I was delighted to see that Christmas had visited inside the Castle, too! Cinderella was standing next to a very pretty tree when we entered--in what I'm assuming is her winter dress? The girls rushed forward and attacked--I mean presented--her with their autograph books.
It's kind of dark in there so I didn't get a very good shot of the tree. Thank goodness for Photopass photographers!
She welcomed the girls and complemented them on their outfits, and then we were escorted upstairs. We were seated fairly quickly and looked around while our server got our drinks.
I was impressed with all the flags hanging from the ceiling.
The girls were impressed with the pastry basket. The menus are a nice detail, with the formal touches. The girls both asked for the kids' scrambled eggs and French toast plate, I ordered the Baked Quiche and Aaron got the Healthy Choice. The wands and wishing stars were of course a hit, although we did have to take them away after some excessive waving/impromptu sword fight. There's a reason we didn't visit any signature restaurants this trip
The princesses started coming around soon, starting with Snow White. I don't remember much about this interaction, other than she was nice but brief.
Aurora was next. She noticed my two-tone top and asked if I'd had trouble deciding what color to wear, and said the fairies have that problem all the time--they're always arguing about what color her dress was. I asked her whether she preferred pink or blue, to which she diplomatically answered sometimes pink, sometimes blue. She'll be a good queen, I think She asked the girls what their favorite color was, then posed with them for a picture after signing their books.
Ariel was next and Alhanna was ready to pounce.
She complemented Alhanna on her dress and asked if it changed into a tail in the water. Alhanna said no, but she'd like one that did. Ariel though that sounded like a fun idea.
She noticed the flower in my hair and said she likes to wear flowers in her hair, too! She was such a fun interaction, we all had a good time with her.
Jasmine was up next, and she was also sweet but short.
This meal was a really nice experience. Not something I'd want to do every time, but eating in the castle definitely makes it special, and being able to meet five princesses in an hour is great! We enjoyed our meals, but weren't blown away by them--but I think this is partly due to the fact that we felt like we'd been eating nonstop for four days. I wasn't very hungry at all.
We paid the bill and left the castle, heading back toward the park entrance for another meet and greet that was high on the list!
Alhanna was unfazed.
As soon as we walked through the gates, though, I took a look around and noticed Christmas had come!! Who can be upset and hurried when you're in the Magic Kingdom surrounded by Christmas decorations?! Not me. So despite being a few minutes behind we stopped for a Main Street picture cause, how could we not!
Some of us were not feeling joyful--apparently I broke Tinker Bell this morning. My bad. I also didn't notice til we got home that I should have rethought the hot pink Hello Kitty backpack, since Aaron was the one that ended up carrying it most of the time
He was a good sport about it though We walked the rest of the way to the castle, checked in and were led inside almost immediately. Because of course I had worked myself up over nothing. It was 8:30 in the morning, there wasn't exactly a horde of people beating down the door.
I was delighted to see that Christmas had visited inside the Castle, too! Cinderella was standing next to a very pretty tree when we entered--in what I'm assuming is her winter dress? The girls rushed forward and attacked--I mean presented--her with their autograph books.
It's kind of dark in there so I didn't get a very good shot of the tree. Thank goodness for Photopass photographers!
She welcomed the girls and complemented them on their outfits, and then we were escorted upstairs. We were seated fairly quickly and looked around while our server got our drinks.
I was impressed with all the flags hanging from the ceiling.
The girls were impressed with the pastry basket. The menus are a nice detail, with the formal touches. The girls both asked for the kids' scrambled eggs and French toast plate, I ordered the Baked Quiche and Aaron got the Healthy Choice. The wands and wishing stars were of course a hit, although we did have to take them away after some excessive waving/impromptu sword fight. There's a reason we didn't visit any signature restaurants this trip
The princesses started coming around soon, starting with Snow White. I don't remember much about this interaction, other than she was nice but brief.
Aurora was next. She noticed my two-tone top and asked if I'd had trouble deciding what color to wear, and said the fairies have that problem all the time--they're always arguing about what color her dress was. I asked her whether she preferred pink or blue, to which she diplomatically answered sometimes pink, sometimes blue. She'll be a good queen, I think
She asked the girls what their favorite color was, then posed with them for a picture after signing their books.
Ariel was next and Alhanna was ready to pounce.
She complemented Alhanna on her dress and asked if it changed into a tail in the water. Alhanna said no, but she'd like one that did. Ariel though that sounded like a fun idea.
She noticed the flower in my hair and said she likes to wear flowers in her hair, too! She was such a fun interaction, we all had a good time with her.
Jasmine was up next, and she was also sweet but short.
This meal was a really nice experience. Not something I'd want to do every time, but eating in the castle definitely makes it special, and being able to meet five princesses in an hour is great! We enjoyed our meals, but weren't blown away by them--but I think this is partly due to the fact that we felt like we'd been eating nonstop for four days. I wasn't very hungry at all.
We paid the bill and left the castle, heading back toward the park entrance for another meet and greet that was high on the list!
Chicago Mo
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2010
i adore the picture of the girls with Stitch!!! we have that big guy too..
YES YES! we LOVE DUFFY!!!! the bedtime tv shows were so cute! Glad you got to MK on time and i do LOVE your shirt! Funny Aurora commented on it..
Never had CRT.. don't know if i want to spend the 2 TS on it?!?!
How did you do the autograph books?
YES YES! we LOVE DUFFY!!!! the bedtime tv shows were so cute! Glad you got to MK on time and i do LOVE your shirt! Funny Aurora commented on it..
Never had CRT.. don't know if i want to spend the 2 TS on it?!?!
How did you do the autograph books?
misspickle
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2006
Great trip report
DisneyKid4Life
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2013
It's true that rope drop every day can be a great strategy, but also true and more important is what works for you. No point in doing it if it just wipes everyone out. That is the big benefit of FP+.
Awww, what cute a cute little Ariel and Tinkerbell you have there Kristina. And since the meal is in the castle, and Tink flies out of the castle nightly, Tinkerbell totally fits.
HAHAHAHA, it is quite the sight to see Aaron with a fierce and manly panther (or whatever it is) on the shirt offset by lovely pink straps.
Hmmm, I wasn't even there, but I too am ready to pounce. Just sayin... Nice to hear that Ariel was the star.
Awww, what cute a cute little Ariel and Tinkerbell you have there Kristina. And since the meal is in the castle, and Tink flies out of the castle nightly, Tinkerbell totally fits.
HAHAHAHA, it is quite the sight to see Aaron with a fierce and manly panther (or whatever it is) on the shirt offset by lovely pink straps.
Hmmm, I wasn't even there, but I too am ready to pounce. Just sayin... Nice to hear that Ariel was the star.
Ceryssa
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2013
Um, so it's been awhile, huh? How are things? Get back to the report you say? Okay, okay, jeez. You take a couple days...ok months...off and people start jumping down your throat. If you insist...
It was well after 9 by this time, about 9:25 to be exact. But I was hoping we were still early enough in the day that the Peter Pan line wouldn't be crazy backed up. We hurried over that way and we were in luck! The wait time said 10 minutes. So we jumped in. Sadly, the sign LIED. Honestly though it wasn't that bad, we probably waited maybe 25 minutes, could've been way worse. We wandered by the Carousel, and saw a fun looking medieval type show! Aaron wanted to stay and watch, but the girls were ready for some action so we moved on. The plan was to stay in Fantasyland for a while, so we headed over to Enchanted Tales with Belle. Sadly, we were informed by the CMs at the entrance that the attraction was down. I'm not sure exactly what that means with a show-type attraction, but apparently it happens. We were going to wait it out, but I got a text from Rachel saying their FP time for 7DMT was up and could we come watch the baby? Seeing how they live many hours away and I'm deprived of my rightful nephew snuggles much of the year, we high-tailed it over. I hung out with the munchkin while they rode the Mine Train, and Aaron took the girls back over to the Carousel to see if he could figure out what the show was about.
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Turns out it was a little show near about the Sword and the Stone! At least I think it was, I was over near the arch babbling in baby talk. It was near it, anyway. The girls gave it a try, but no luck.
Alyssa wasn't *quite* ready to give up that easily. While she was doing that, Alhanna took a ride on the Carousel.
We had a little while before our Fastpass time, so I decided to capitalize on a photo op before Alyssa decided she was tired of wearing her costume. We headed back toward the front of the park to Town Square Theater. On our way, we ran smack into Move it! Shake it!...I can't remember what the third part is lol.
Now, I know a lot of Disney World veterans say this isn't as good as it used to be. And maybe it isn't. But we'd never seen it before, and I was so impressed with how interactive the CMs and characters were.
They were clearly having a good time, and we enjoyed watching them.
I was really excited to see the Genie, since he's not out and about often and I didn't think we'd get a chance to catch him at the party. Eventually we moved on, because there was someone special we needed to see!
I'm not sure Alyssa believed me when I told her we were going into Pixie Hollow. The wait wasn't long, and before we knew it we were getting shrunk down to pixie size!
She was definitely not sure what she thought about this whole thing. Alhanna was excited though! If you haven't been through this queue, I highly recommend it. It's AMAZING. I wish we'd been able to visit before they moved her to Town Square Theater, because I just don't really feel like that's the right environment for Tink. I can't complain about the wait times now compared to what they used to be though, so I suppose the trade-off is worth it.
This is just amazing. I love all the Lost Things! I'm pretty sure that's the watch from Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure. So cool.
Tinker Bell was VERY excited to learn she had a twin.
She noticed that Alyssa's wings "sparkled" and asked if Alyssa had a sister too!
"Look at your grown-ups!"
She was excited to see all the pictures of her friends in the girls' autograph books.
After one more pose with her "twin" it was time for us to go. This was a GREAT meet. So fun and interactive, and I really loved how she paid attention to the little details (she even commented on the green marker we handed her to sign with "Like my dress!"). If I was still feeling any stress from the hectic morning, it was GONE after this. Just a fantastic experience.
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It was well after 9 by this time, about 9:25 to be exact. But I was hoping we were still early enough in the day that the Peter Pan line wouldn't be crazy backed up. We hurried over that way and we were in luck! The wait time said 10 minutes. So we jumped in. Sadly, the sign LIED. Honestly though it wasn't that bad, we probably waited maybe 25 minutes, could've been way worse. We wandered by the Carousel, and saw a fun looking medieval type show! Aaron wanted to stay and watch, but the girls were ready for some action so we moved on. The plan was to stay in Fantasyland for a while, so we headed over to Enchanted Tales with Belle. Sadly, we were informed by the CMs at the entrance that the attraction was down. I'm not sure exactly what that means with a show-type attraction, but apparently it happens. We were going to wait it out, but I got a text from Rachel saying their FP time for 7DMT was up and could we come watch the baby? Seeing how they live many hours away and I'm deprived of my rightful nephew snuggles much of the year, we high-tailed it over. I hung out with the munchkin while they rode the Mine Train, and Aaron took the girls back over to the Carousel to see if he could figure out what the show was about.
Turns out it was a little show near about the Sword and the Stone! At least I think it was, I was over near the arch babbling in baby talk. It was near it, anyway. The girls gave it a try, but no luck.
Alyssa wasn't *quite* ready to give up that easily. While she was doing that, Alhanna took a ride on the Carousel.
We had a little while before our Fastpass time, so I decided to capitalize on a photo op before Alyssa decided she was tired of wearing her costume. We headed back toward the front of the park to Town Square Theater. On our way, we ran smack into Move it! Shake it!...I can't remember what the third part is lol.
Now, I know a lot of Disney World veterans say this isn't as good as it used to be. And maybe it isn't. But we'd never seen it before, and I was so impressed with how interactive the CMs and characters were.
They were clearly having a good time, and we enjoyed watching them.
I was really excited to see the Genie, since he's not out and about often and I didn't think we'd get a chance to catch him at the party. Eventually we moved on, because there was someone special we needed to see!
I'm not sure Alyssa believed me when I told her we were going into Pixie Hollow. The wait wasn't long, and before we knew it we were getting shrunk down to pixie size!
She was definitely not sure what she thought about this whole thing. Alhanna was excited though! If you haven't been through this queue, I highly recommend it. It's AMAZING. I wish we'd been able to visit before they moved her to Town Square Theater, because I just don't really feel like that's the right environment for Tink. I can't complain about the wait times now compared to what they used to be though, so I suppose the trade-off is worth it.
This is just amazing. I love all the Lost Things! I'm pretty sure that's the watch from Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure. So cool.
Tinker Bell was VERY excited to learn she had a twin.
She noticed that Alyssa's wings "sparkled" and asked if Alyssa had a sister too!
"Look at your grown-ups!"
She was excited to see all the pictures of her friends in the girls' autograph books.
After one more pose with her "twin" it was time for us to go. This was a GREAT meet. So fun and interactive, and I really loved how she paid attention to the little details (she even commented on the green marker we handed her to sign with "Like my dress!"). If I was still feeling any stress from the hectic morning, it was GONE after this. Just a fantastic experience.
AllyinWonderland
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2014
Tink was one of our favorite characters last trip. She was super bubbly and talkative. I agree that Move it, shake it is a ton of fun!
DisneyKid4Life
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2013
Hmmm, that is kind of strange to have Enchanted Tales down. I guess maybe some of the animatronics and effects weren't working properly? That's all I can think of. Oh wait... It was Gaston. It HAD to be Gaston.
I believe the third part is "Hate It". I am definitely one of those that says it isn't as good as it used to be. The interactive parts are still great, but they killed it with the music changes. Not so bad I guess if you've never seen it before though.
Oh yeah, the wait time for Tink has dropped substantially. I think part of the pull before was at least partly due to her having some fairy friends with her most of the time. That said she is still so much fun.
I believe the third part is "Hate It". I am definitely one of those that says it isn't as good as it used to be. The interactive parts are still great, but they killed it with the music changes. Not so bad I guess if you've never seen it before though.
Oh yeah, the wait time for Tink has dropped substantially. I think part of the pull before was at least partly due to her having some fairy friends with her most of the time. That said she is still so much fun.
Ceryssa
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2013
Other than Stitch, she was probably our favorite the whole trip
Yeah I thought it was weird, I'd never heard of that happening. I bet you're right, he's still bitter I guess.
I don't think I actually even noticed what the music was! I'll have to pay better attention this year
Hi Kristinaso glad you posted this link in the Nov. FB group! Going back to the beginning to read now..........
(I just found that one! It's the little things...) Glad you're here! Thanks for reading along
Chicago Mo
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2010
SO CUTE!!! And darn it they didn't pull the sword!!! never met tink... Maybe this time around!
ariane37
Dis veteran
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2012
OK now I'm caught up! I love reading TR's with girls since I have 4 boys over here lol. You did some great planning for a first family trip 
I'm always glad to hear someone enjoys BOG dinner, it's one of our top 3 favorite TS restaurants. Also LOVE CSR!
Do you have a PTR started for Nov? Or am I asking too much since you're still working on this lol?
I'm always glad to hear someone enjoys BOG dinner, it's one of our top 3 favorite TS restaurants. Also LOVE CSR!Do you have a PTR started for Nov? Or am I asking too much since you're still working on this lol?
Ceryssa
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2013
I know, I keep wondering if someone is going to pull it out and surprise everyone one day. But then I guess that's the point huh?
Oh wow, I bet you stay BUSY! Their daddy makes sure they have an appreciation for "boy stuff" too--they like superheroes and Pokemon more than they do Disney princesses lol!OK now I'm caught up! I love reading TR's with girls since I have 4 boys over here lol. You did some great planning for a first family trip
Do you have a PTR started for Nov? Or am I asking too much since you're still working on this lol?
Thanks! It took a while to get this trip actually in motion, so I had LOTS of time to research.
No PTR as of yet, I figured I should finish this first. Plus I change my plans 838749374287 times and if I tried to update a PTR every time I had a change, it would be the longest thread ever haha!!
Ceryssa
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2013
Our next stop was the much-anticipated 7 Dwarfs Mine Train! We made our way back to Fantasyland, with Alyssa insisting the whole way that she was NOT getting on it. I tried to talk her into it while we walked through the Fastpass line, but she was NOT having it, and when it was our turn to get on, she flat out refused. No way was I gonna be that mom that forced her terrified kid onto the ride (despite a teeny tiny part of me that was tempted!), so I told Aaron and Alhanna to go ahead, and we'd wait for them at the exit. Aaron offered to let me go instead, but he'd been such a good sport about things I figured he should get to go on as many of the "coasters" as we were able to. So off they went! I reassured Alyssa it was ok, she didn't have to go and we started toward the exit. I was a little disappointed about missing it, but honestly I was enjoying myself so much overall it wasn't that big a deal. Of course I had forgotten that this was Disney, and they go out of their way to avoid guests being disappointed. A super nice CM noticed Alyssa's distress and us subsequently not getting on the ride, and asked if I wanted to use rider swap. I'd read about this of course, but I thought it was just for people with babies or kids too young for the ride. He assured me it was fine and we could wait right there until Aaron and Alhanna got back, and I could hop right on! Then he bent down to talk to Alyssa to assure her it wasn't as scary as Big Thunder Mountain if she wanted to give it a try (she remained unconvinced). I was SO impressed--he didn't have to offer his help but he did and I really appreciated it. I wish I'd gotten his name but I was kind of overwhelmed at that moment. I did thank him profusely, and one of my goals for our next trip is to make sure I get the names of CMs like this to recognize when they've gone out of their way for us in any way.
Alhanna LOVED it and came back talking about how much fun it was. I asked her if she wanted to go again and she started jumping up and down excitedly. So we we did!
I think I might have been a little nervous? I loved it though!
Continuing on with our Fantasyland day (yeah, I had a whole day for just Fantasyland, did I mention I like themes?) we headed over to Storybook Circus. We decided to hop in line for Minnie and Daisy, since we hadn't met Minnie yet, and I feel some sort of compulsion to meet Daisy every chance I get, seeing how she gets no love being excluded from the gang so often.
I wanted to explore the circus area a bit, and there was something in this area I thought the girls would enjoy. If there's one thing my kids like, it's a splash pad, and sure enough they were excited to see the Casey Jr. Splash area. We turned them loose to play in the water for a little while.
Alyssa hovered on the outskirts for a few minutes, but she eventually joined in.
After they'd played for a few minutes, we decided to stop for a bathroom break to get them changed. Then it was time for our second Fastpass at Dumbo! This was probably an odd choice of FP choices, but Dumbo was one of the few rides Alyssa was actually looking forward to, and given how much she enjoyed Triceratop Spin I figured it would be better to make sure we had at least one ride scheduled I knew she'd like. We didn't really investigate the play area since the line was pretty short, and it wasn't long before we were flying over Fantasyland.
I know midway rides are all pretty much the same, but there's something about them that's just classic. I love 'em. Possibly cause I'm getting to the age where I could be considered a classic, myself. (Some might say "relic"...tomato, tom-ah-to.)
We decided to try Barnstormer next--and I made another appeal to Alyssa to give coasters a shot--"You'll love it", I said. "It's a baby roller coaster, it's not that bad", I said. Of course she hated it. But she DID get on it! (Full disclosure--I really didn't like it either. So can't blame her on this one.) Alhanna of course thought it was great and since the line was nonexistent she and Aaron decided to ride it again. I took Alyssa over to Big Top to get her a treat for braving The Barnstormer (yeah I bribed her--I do that sometimes. I'm that mom). I don't remember what she chose, other than it was some sort of ginormous concoction full of sugar. Pretty sure it had M&Ms on it. Maybe. Anyway, Aaron and Alhanna found us shortly after we paid, and announced Barnstormer had broken down RIGHT as they were getting ready to get on (this happened to us several times this trip, we must have had some bad ride luck or something). Obviously she needed a treat, too. After ingesting approximately 400 pounds of sugar between them, we went to ride one of my favorites--one of the few rides I have a clear memory of from my first visit to MK as a kid, the Teacups! Of course not all of us were excited at the prospect--this ride is Aaron's idea of pure torture. Roller coasters going a bazillion miles an hour through twists, turns, loops and drops don't faze him. Spinny rides (aka throw-up rides, as he calls them), however, he approaches with utmost reluctance. He was planning on sitting them out, but it turned out not to be an issue because again, RIGHT as we got to the front of the line, it broke down!
Such a bummer. We were all pretty hungry at this point though (even the kids--how is it they can eat twice their body weight and then proclaim themselves to be starving 5 minutes later?) so we decided it seemed like time for lunch.
I took this as we headed out of the circus area, and it may be my favorite from the whole trip.
Alhanna LOVED it and came back talking about how much fun it was. I asked her if she wanted to go again and she started jumping up and down excitedly. So we we did!
I think I might have been a little nervous? I loved it though!
Continuing on with our Fantasyland day (yeah, I had a whole day for just Fantasyland, did I mention I like themes?) we headed over to Storybook Circus. We decided to hop in line for Minnie and Daisy, since we hadn't met Minnie yet, and I feel some sort of compulsion to meet Daisy every chance I get, seeing how she gets no love being excluded from the gang so often.
I wanted to explore the circus area a bit, and there was something in this area I thought the girls would enjoy. If there's one thing my kids like, it's a splash pad, and sure enough they were excited to see the Casey Jr. Splash area. We turned them loose to play in the water for a little while.
Alyssa hovered on the outskirts for a few minutes, but she eventually joined in.
After they'd played for a few minutes, we decided to stop for a bathroom break to get them changed. Then it was time for our second Fastpass at Dumbo! This was probably an odd choice of FP choices, but Dumbo was one of the few rides Alyssa was actually looking forward to, and given how much she enjoyed Triceratop Spin I figured it would be better to make sure we had at least one ride scheduled I knew she'd like. We didn't really investigate the play area since the line was pretty short, and it wasn't long before we were flying over Fantasyland.
I know midway rides are all pretty much the same, but there's something about them that's just classic. I love 'em. Possibly cause I'm getting to the age where I could be considered a classic, myself. (Some might say "relic"...tomato, tom-ah-to.)
We decided to try Barnstormer next--and I made another appeal to Alyssa to give coasters a shot--"You'll love it", I said. "It's a baby roller coaster, it's not that bad", I said. Of course she hated it. But she DID get on it! (Full disclosure--I really didn't like it either. So can't blame her on this one.) Alhanna of course thought it was great and since the line was nonexistent she and Aaron decided to ride it again. I took Alyssa over to Big Top to get her a treat for braving The Barnstormer (yeah I bribed her--I do that sometimes. I'm that mom). I don't remember what she chose, other than it was some sort of ginormous concoction full of sugar. Pretty sure it had M&Ms on it. Maybe. Anyway, Aaron and Alhanna found us shortly after we paid, and announced Barnstormer had broken down RIGHT as they were getting ready to get on (this happened to us several times this trip, we must have had some bad ride luck or something). Obviously she needed a treat, too. After ingesting approximately 400 pounds of sugar between them, we went to ride one of my favorites--one of the few rides I have a clear memory of from my first visit to MK as a kid, the Teacups! Of course not all of us were excited at the prospect--this ride is Aaron's idea of pure torture. Roller coasters going a bazillion miles an hour through twists, turns, loops and drops don't faze him. Spinny rides (aka throw-up rides, as he calls them), however, he approaches with utmost reluctance. He was planning on sitting them out, but it turned out not to be an issue because again, RIGHT as we got to the front of the line, it broke down!
Such a bummer. We were all pretty hungry at this point though (even the kids--how is it they can eat twice their body weight and then proclaim themselves to be starving 5 minutes later?) so we decided it seemed like time for lunch.
I took this as we headed out of the circus area, and it may be my favorite from the whole trip.
Ceryssa
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2013
I'd pretty much picked out all our restaurants in advance--even the QS ones--which may seem crazy to some, but our family just isn't build for spontaneity. Especially when it comes to where/what to eat. It's a whole lot of driving around (or in this case walking around) going "What do you want to eat?" "I don't know, what do you want?" "Well I'm hungry but I'm not really in the MOOD for anything"...all the while we're all getting hungrier and crankier and finally one of us just yells "OMG, just PICK something!". So, I'd decided a while ago we'd eat at Columbia Harbor House this day and we took off toward Liberty Square.
Whatever else you can say about Disney, you can't fault them in the theming department.
The girls found these to be great fun, so we decided not to tell them what they were actually for (I know, bad parents, missing a perfectly good teaching opportunity; what can I say--we like our vacations mindless and education-free). I didn't really get any other pictures of this area unfortunately, which is a shame because it's such a neat area.
We ate at Columbia Harbor House, which was fantastic, and we all really liked the food. The girls both got Fried Shrimp Plates, Aaron had the Anchors Aweigh sandwich, and I had the Battered Fish Platter (rarely can I pass up Fish & Chips, in any form). The only thing I didn't really care for was the desserts--none of us did, actually, with the exception of Aaron who had gotten yogurt instead. That's one of the nitpicky issues I have with the dining plan--a lot of the CS dessert options just aren't very good. Then again, where else can I justify dessert twice a day? So not TOO much complaining, here
I thought maybe we'd hit Haunted Mansion on our way back to Fantasyland, but the 40-minute wait decided us against that. We never did get around to doing that one, unfortunately. We got in line for Winnie the Pooh, instead, which was a lot of fun. I think the girls might have enjoyed playing during the queue more than the actual ride.
We'd been going-going-going pretty steadily all day, and Alyssa was tired. Or, possibly, just bummed there wasn't any actual honey in that pot.
I don't remember if I actually planned it this way, but we made our way out of Fantasyland by way of the Castle, and Dream Along With Mickey was going again. I immediately stopped to watch of course, and it was nice to see it a little closer (and without a construction pit in our view).
I'd split up our last FP so that Aaron and Alhanna could go on BTMRR again since she'd been talking about how much she loved it and couldn't wait to go on it again. Alyssa and I were heading to the Magic Carpets again. As it turned out, however, Alhanna declared she was "not in the mood" for a roller coaster anymore (whatever that means). Poor Aaron had lost his coaster buddy, apparently I tried to change our FPs but availability at this point was limited (or I wasn't doing it right, possibly). So they waited on us to ride and we headed toward the front of the park. I noticed people lining the curbs on Main Street and realized I'd forgotten about Festival of Fantasy AGAIN!
Fortunately this time, I was able to do something about it. I ducked into one of the stores just to make sure (I was paranoid about missing it), and the CM assured me we were in the right spot. Yay!! We found a spot (in the shade, no less!) about 2:25 next to a family with an ADORABLE little girl dressed as Snow White. We had a little while before the parade started (quite a while, actually, it turned out), so I went down to The Plaza Ice Cream Parlor and picked up some ice cream because we apparently hadn't had enough sugar yet!
Good stuff.
The girls had strawberry cones and I went for the All-American Sundae because in my experience you just can't go wrong with anything that involves chocolate and peanut butter.
Poor munchkin was tired. But it was time to perk up because there was a PARADE coming!
Whatever else you can say about Disney, you can't fault them in the theming department.
The girls found these to be great fun, so we decided not to tell them what they were actually for (I know, bad parents, missing a perfectly good teaching opportunity; what can I say--we like our vacations mindless and education-free). I didn't really get any other pictures of this area unfortunately, which is a shame because it's such a neat area.
We ate at Columbia Harbor House, which was fantastic, and we all really liked the food. The girls both got Fried Shrimp Plates, Aaron had the Anchors Aweigh sandwich, and I had the Battered Fish Platter (rarely can I pass up Fish & Chips, in any form). The only thing I didn't really care for was the desserts--none of us did, actually, with the exception of Aaron who had gotten yogurt instead. That's one of the nitpicky issues I have with the dining plan--a lot of the CS dessert options just aren't very good. Then again, where else can I justify dessert twice a day? So not TOO much complaining, here
I thought maybe we'd hit Haunted Mansion on our way back to Fantasyland, but the 40-minute wait decided us against that. We never did get around to doing that one, unfortunately. We got in line for Winnie the Pooh, instead, which was a lot of fun. I think the girls might have enjoyed playing during the queue more than the actual ride.
We'd been going-going-going pretty steadily all day, and Alyssa was tired. Or, possibly, just bummed there wasn't any actual honey in that pot.
I don't remember if I actually planned it this way, but we made our way out of Fantasyland by way of the Castle, and Dream Along With Mickey was going again. I immediately stopped to watch of course, and it was nice to see it a little closer (and without a construction pit in our view).
I'd split up our last FP so that Aaron and Alhanna could go on BTMRR again since she'd been talking about how much she loved it and couldn't wait to go on it again. Alyssa and I were heading to the Magic Carpets again. As it turned out, however, Alhanna declared she was "not in the mood" for a roller coaster anymore (whatever that means). Poor Aaron had lost his coaster buddy, apparently
I tried to change our FPs but availability at this point was limited (or I wasn't doing it right, possibly). So they waited on us to ride and we headed toward the front of the park. I noticed people lining the curbs on Main Street and realized I'd forgotten about Festival of Fantasy AGAIN!
Fortunately this time, I was able to do something about it. I ducked into one of the stores just to make sure (I was paranoid about missing it), and the CM assured me we were in the right spot. Yay!! We found a spot (in the shade, no less!) about 2:25 next to a family with an ADORABLE little girl dressed as Snow White. We had a little while before the parade started (quite a while, actually, it turned out), so I went down to The Plaza Ice Cream Parlor and picked up some ice cream because we apparently hadn't had enough sugar yet!
Good stuff.
The girls had strawberry cones and I went for the All-American Sundae because in my experience you just can't go wrong with anything that involves chocolate and peanut butter.
Poor munchkin was tired. But it was time to perk up because there was a PARADE coming!
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