A 2 Week Grand Villa Extravaganza! 2.5 Years Late... FINAL DAY!!

[Duffy Lover]

I hope that you're having a great time! Can't wait to see the updates! I'm jealous that you will be in beaches & cream soon!

I seen you say that the family lives in downriver, I'm not too far away in Toledo! The back of my neighborhood is the actual Ohio/Michigan line!

Sounds like a great 1st evening!

Are you back? If I'm not mistaken, I think you had a wedding after your trip?

Yea!! I can't wait!

Great start to your TR!

It was a great first evening... I'm really enjoying writing about it now after the fact... It's so funny how a term like "Downriver" connects you to so many people! Have you been to the Toledo zoo recently? I hear it’s great… Not better than Disney, though!

Thanks for following along. I’ll try to post as most as I can in the coming weeks before school starts up again.

Following along after having read your PTR. Loving getting to see the trip actually happen! I'm sure you all will have a blast!

Great pics. I am loving getting to live vicariously through you and am impressed with your ability to update while on vacation. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the trip!

Looking forward to it - glad you had a great trip!

We did have a blast, thanks! I couldn’t believe how fast it went. After the first few days I was so wiped out it got hard to post anything. I made sure I wrote in my journal so I wouldn’t forget the details of this amazing trip!

Loving it all ready! Can't wait to read the updates.

Thanks! Updates are coming. At least one today. Housework is calling my name...

Haha is downriver one word or two out here? Never thought about it! I'm up in the mile roads off Woodward. We were out on belle isle for the Grand Prix yesterday and it was great. Looking forward to dream cruise this summer already! Fun to experience the "small world" online!

Moab looks beautiful!! I always want to go to these places and then I have trouble with the fact that they're not close to cities in most cases. I am a terrible suburbanite! It really looks gorgeous though.

Glad everyone arrived safely to WDW even ahead of schedule! The kitchen sink looks delicious. I do need to go back to beaches and cream one of these trips. Especially considering we typically stay over in that area.

Hope the rest of the trip is magical!

Yep, you’re totally right about Downriver… I’ve been too far removed for too many years! I just spent a couple weeks at my parents and I can totally understand about not getting out of the suburbs/cities. For sure make it over to Beaches and Cream – it is not to be missed, but make an ADR! You’ll see in an upcoming post…

I'm in ...

love your TR so far --

14 days - wow !

Fingers crossed for great weather !

14 days seemed like a lot, but I could’ve stayed longer! My parents had had enough, though. The kids also didn’t want to leave and we started referring to the trip as a half of a month, then it sounded long. Thanks for the crossed fingers on the weather, it worked!

Looks like such a fun day! And I LOVE FP+ for Be Our Guest lunch. Great food and you can't beat the convenience!

No kidding about FP+ for BOG lunch! I loved bypassing that line…

Glad I found your report. I am in a serious need of a Disney fix. Trip reports help. Love the photo of the princess and pirate holding hands. Can't wait to read more! We are going to Beach Club in December - love that resort!

Lucky you! Disney at Christmas! My parents will be at VWL… I’ll cross my fingers that the weather will be warm enough so you can enjoy Storm-Along-Bay.

I jumped on board! Loving the live updates, and looking forward to the full report!

Thanks for joining in, I am really enjoying writing the report. With 15 days and thousands of photos and memories, it should last a while….

I love those sailor dresses the girls are wearing on the Boardwalk. Too cute!!

Thanks! I knew those dresses would be perfect for the photo shoot… I can’t imagine that they’ll let me dress them alike for much longer.

Welcome back and looking forward to your trip report : )

Thanks! I’ll try to keep it rolling along…

Love to rel-live the trip.

Love it too, Mom! None of it would be possible if it weren’t for you and Papa…

Sorry if I missed anyone. Another update is on its way!

 

[Duffy Lover]

Day 1: Saturday, May 31 – Resort: BCV – Parks: None

We left off as we joyously met up with the rest of the family at BCV. Before we arrived, the boys, Drea, Brie and my parents attempted to swim. Unfortunately as soon as they made it to the pool, it was closed due to weather. So no dice there. In the meantime, Drea took some pictures of the room. It’s a good thing she did, as I totally slacked on capturing our first domicile. Sorry, I was just so excited to be there after all that planning and waiting… I did lots better at OKW and VGF, I promise!

We stayed in a two bedroom dedicated (here’s the floorplan, although we had two queens in the second room):



and we had a view of the top of Spaceship Earth and the Land Pavilion. Anyways, here’s what we have of our room courtesy of Drea:









And the view:



My take on the room was that the bedrooms were very large and comfortable, but the living space and the kitchen were way too small. There was a large entry way with a nice mirror and table, but honestly it took up too much space. The designers should’ve reduced that space and then would’ve had more room for the kitchen and the living room. Granted there were nine of us, but just a few more feet from the entry way would’ve made a huge difference.

Despite that we all fit – Brie, my girls and I slept in the second bedroom, which had two closets a double sink area (with no drawers or under-sink storage, but a large shelf). My parents slept in the living room and used the second closet in our room and the drawers in the living room for their stuff. Drea and the boys slept in the master bedroom. The laundry was off of the living room on the way to the master bedroom. The washer and dryer were quite loud, and since my wonderful mother (thanks Pirate Granny! I promise next time all the kids will pitch in with the laundry!) did at least of one load of laundry a night, that was a bit of a pain.

I actually fully unpacked even though we were only staying for four nights. I just hate living out of suitcases. There was plenty of room for all of our stuff, and although there were nine of us we managed just fine. As we settled in we were fed a delicious meal of Papa’s spaghetti, not too much, though as we had a special treat awaiting us – ice cream delights at Beaches and Cream!

 

[UncleOrville]

Thanks so much for the description of the BCV villa! I was curious about storage space in the second bedroom with 2 queen beds, and am glad to hear you had 2 closets and plenty of room to unpack. Looking forward to the rest of the TR!

 

[Angeejoe]

It was a great first evening... I'm really enjoying writing about it now after the fact... It's so funny how a term like "Downriver" connects you to so many people! Have you been to the Toledo zoo recently? I hear it’s great… Not better than Disney, though!!

I've been to the Toledo Zoo a million times I think, lol it really is a world class zoo, it wins lots of awards for top zoos. It also has an awesome holiday light show if you're ever here thanksgiving-new years. My dad's great, great something help design the original buildings at the zoo. Also if you stop in Toledo you have to check out the Art Museum.

How was the fireworks view from your BCV room? YC is my fav resort, we like watching the fireworks from SAB.

 

[Duffy Lover]

I've been to the Toledo Zoo a million times I think, lol it really is a world class zoo, it wins lots of awards for top zoos. It also has an awesome holiday light show if you're ever here thanksgiving-new years. My dad's great, great something help design the original buildings at the zoo. Also if you stop in Toledo you have to check out the Art Museum.

How was the fireworks view from your BCV room? YC is my fav resort, we like watching the fireworks from SAB.

I think a trip to the Toledo Zoo the next time I'm in Michigan is in order! We were able to see the taller fireworks from Illuminations. My dad and Clara sat out on the balcony and watched them together one night...

I'm going to post an update either today or tomorrow - we went camping the last two weekends and despite not being back to work yet our days have been crazy busy! Here comes Beaches and Cream!

 

[Duffy Lover]

Day 1: Saturday, May 31 – Resort: BCV – Parks: None


Wow! It's been almost three weeks since I last posted. Sorry! Time gets away with you sometimes… I really am truly sorry it took so long, because now we’re getting into the good stuff- literally! When we left off, we had finished eating Papa’s spaghetti, had settled in and were ready to head out to our 8:20/8:30 ADR at Beaches and Cream. We strolled down to take in the amazing atmosphere at the Beach Club and stopped at the podium to see about having some requests placed for our ADR.

When I made this reservtion, I couldn’t get four and five people or six and three, so my DM and I decided to make it for four and four and then just let them know we had five for one ADR when we got there. We also wanted to sit near each other since there was no way to get us all at one table. The ladies at the podium were ever so accommodating and let us know to come back around 8:15 to get our buzzer. So we continued our stroll, checking out the arcade, the gym, and the Yacht Club. Then we cut through SAB to get back to the restaurant. Then we waited…



and waited…



and waited…



and waited some more…





For the most part we didn’t mind, as it was nice to visit and talk about the upcoming days (after all we hadn’t seen each other in months), but we weren’t sat until 9pm. So a half hour and forty minutes (repectively) after our ADR time. We knew due to our requests that a wait might be in our future, so overall it was no big deal. Oh, and it was only 7pm to me and the girls, so I wasn’t all wiggy about the late hour. A little foreshadowing here… this was our second longest ADR wait of the trip - and our longest wait, was longer - by far!

On another note, you would not believe the number of disappointed people the CMs at the podium had to turn away. I wonder how long groups our size would’ve waited before ADRs at BnC… Moral of the story is make an ADR folks! Sad that you didn’t have to before, but times they are a changing.

We were given a booth (my parents and the four kids) and a table directly across from them.





The kids got to coloring right away:






We were actually right next to this beauty:



We ordered immediately - the kids and my parents got none other than the Kitchen Sink, and my sisters and I got our own sundaes. Brie and I shared the No Way Jose, and Drea got a caramel sundae. Before we knew it sirens were blaring and lights were flashing… The Kitchen Sink had arrived!












Needless to say, they really got into it! In fact the word I used in my journal was “savages”. It was hilarious! So worth the wait. They came nowhere close to finishing it, but they had a blast. After that we decided it was too late to have the kids go for a swim, so we wandered over to the beach where Frozen was playing. We settled into the sand (the beach was packed, the movie started about a half hour earlier) but we were just in time for “Let it Go”.




My sisters and I danced and sang along. It was so much fun! The kids were hitting the point where crankiness was setting in, so we headed “home”. We bathed the children, then it was off to bed. Sort of. Clara fought it spectacularly! Some times when she’s tired she gets really grabby and pinchy. She loves to squeeze faces. So she spent some time in the “naughty spot” aka timeout. Later in the trip during a timeout she told me that she hated this vacation because there was a naughty spot everywhere we went. That was so hilarous! I love the things four year olds say…

They were finally asleep by 10:15 and I updated the report (see Live! Day 1) then headed out to call Caz. I stopped by the gift store for a shot glass, and as I was finishing the purchase the CM asked if I wanted my tooth pick holder wrapped up. I was like “tooth pick holder”?!?! She rolled her eyes at me and told me that they had to call them that! Go figure…

After chilling at the Villa we all packed it in around 12:30 1 am (?) and the plan was to have my Mom wake me up at 8:30… No need for an alarm clock, right?

What an amazing first day at WDW. A little different from what was an earlier tradition (hanging at the MK monorail resorts), but just perfect.

 

[Pirate Granny]

Great report, and I love your new countdown

 

[aimeebarb]

I love the shirts your kids and nephews wore on travel day!! Can I ask where you got them? Thanks!!! Great start!

 

[Pirate Granny]

Aimeebarb, I bought them a few years back at the Disney store on sale. Maggie has the women's shirt on and there was a royal blue for the men folk... They were under $8 each. I'll be on the hunt for next trip...wait till she posts the family pix at GF...all the men folk had their. Hawaiian Mickey shirts. Sometimes hard to guess size what they will be three years down the line.

 

[Duffy Lover]

Day 2: Sunday June 1 – Resort: BCV – Parks: MK and EP

Hi Ho! Now begins day 2 of our most excellent adventure… I’m thinking I’ll break this day into four segments: The BBB, the Pirates League, Lunch at BoG and MK fun, ending with Epcot and Akershus. When I went to bed on our first night of many at WDW, the plan was to have my Mom wake us up at 8:30. Well she woke up with plenty of time, putzed around the villa, went and got us all coffee and then woke me up. At 9:15. Oh well, time got away from her - it happens at WDW! Besides who needs to shower anyways? We weren’t in much of a rush, the boys had appointments at the Pirates League at 11am as did the girls at the BBB. The kids had a quick breakfast and then prepared for their transformations:



The boys had pirate t-shirts and the girls had their princess costumes. Clara had to be Ariel, and Eme finally decided on Snow White, despite the fact I specifically bought her a Princess Aurora dress for her birthday - per her request. Oh well… to be honest, it was a still a bit big…



We strolled out to the buses with our one sit and stand stroller only five minutes past our agreed upon departure time. It was nice to still have a stroller, especially one so easily maneuverable. For the most part the front was for Clara and the back was for Ryan, but Eme often hitched a ride. It was also invaluable as a pack mule. Gotta love that storage area! We didn’t have to wait long for a bus, 30 seconds max.



We were at the MK in no time, using our magic bands - all of us put our “Mickey Up” and had no trouble entering. My mom stopped to chat with a CM to ensure the right ticket of hers was used. They assured her that the desired ticket was docked a day, but we found out later that was not the case. We strolled through the Emporium - Eme needed matching shoes (the ones my Mom bought for her in MI were too big such a shame as they were adorable). We also chose the Emporium because MK was packed! I knew it was going to be as my favorite cheeky crowd calendar from EasyWDW told me it was a park to avoid. No worries, we have a plan and FP+! Besides we were in the MK! Squee!!!

At the end of Mainstreet we posed for a photopass pic for a “before” shot (Papa was golfing this morning, hence his absence):



This is where we divided and conquered. Brie and I took the girls to the Castle and my Mom and Drea took the boys to Adventureland and their appointment. We were a little early and we checked out Tinkerbell’s Corner (?) or is it Castle Couture (?) store to the left of the castle. Since we had time to kill I thought it would be an ideal time to potty, but no, nobody needed to go. Yeah, right.

We checked into the BBB and just as we were about to settle into the waiting room Clara decreed she needed to pee. So I asked the CM where the closest potty was and she directed me to the new Rapunzel area. Really? There is no potty in the BBB? So off I go carrying Clara through the crazy crowds with Eme in tow. We made it back, but I was sweaty and stressed after rushing through the crowds. I didn’t even have time to admire the new part of the park. Oh well...



While at the potty, I noticed that Eme was extremely morose. Like not smiling at all, grunting answers to questions and not at all acting like herself. I was super worried that she was getting sick, but she assured me she was just tired, which was very plausible. It took every ounce of my being not vocalize my frustrations - why aren’t you excited, smiling, thrilled to be at the MK?!?! Here was a moment that she had been dreaming of (ok, me too) for months and she was super duper cranky! Sigh. First world problems, right?

The girls were seated, sadly not near each other, but not far apart. Brie sat by Eme and I sat by Clara. They had lovely Fairy Godmothers in training and the girls were both super well behaved and excited, Clara in particular…





Before we knew it the girls were getting their final pixie dusting and then it was time for the big reveal. Eme went first:









As tired and cranky as she was, she was radiant and very excited to be a princess. Clara was ready for her reveal:







We wandered over to get their “professional” pictures done at the store to the right of the Castle (what is that store’s name?!?!?). Brie and Eme had been waiting while Clara was wrapping up and she got a few more adorable pics:







Then came their “shoot”. Some of the pictures are just downright hilarious in terms of their expressions and how tight their hair was (whoa, like super ouchy painful tight), but we got some great pics:











Overall BBB was a great experience that was certainly a once in a lifetime thing. I think part of why Eme was cranky was she would’ve rather done the Pirate’s League. Oh well, next time. Literally - when she and Josh go next summer with my parents it’s on the agenda. Despite that, a good time was had by all… I really enjoyed watching the girls get treated like royalty, in particular while I sat on a lovely couch, in a divinely air conditioned and well appointed Castle.

Next up we’ll see how the boys fared at the Pirate’s League...

 

[Pirate Granny]

Good job rincess:

 

[scrpbookr]

what precious memories!! they are the prettiest princesses ever!

 

[Duffy Lover]

what precious memories!! they are the prettiest princesses ever!

Thank you so much! They were radiant...

 

[Duffy Lover]

Day 2: Sunday June 1 – Resort: BCV – Parks: MK and EP

While my girls were getting the Princess treatment over at BBB, the boys were waiting patiently to begin their pirate journey. With them was my Mom and sister (their mother).






They ended up waiting longer than the girls, but before they knew it they were deep in the pirate’s lair…




They were given their pirate names:

Johnny Paddle something (Drea wasn’t sure of the ending part) and Peter Goldsmuggler, and the makeover began. Ryan got the Smokey-Eyed Jack package, and Josh got the Black-Eyed Jack package.

Josh being older was in his element and loving it:




Little man on the other hand was pretty apprehensive. His CM pulled my sister aside and told her that he didn’t want the beard, but that she couldn't deviate from the package. Hmmmm… that seemed odd when Drea told me about it, but she convinced Ryan it would be ok.



The boys were quite dashing:






The Pirate’s League also does photopass portraits, but the boy’s session was not as long as the girls:






In the end, the girls were done much sooner than the boys. Does that mean it takes longer to become a Pirate than a Princess? Guess so! The boys really enjoyed the process and I know both my girls are eager to try out the Pirate’s League on their next visits.

What swashbuckling adorable scurvy pirates:


Next up: Lunch at Be Our Guest… With FP+!

 

[Duffy Lover]

Whoa people! Quick "real life" update here... Real trip update tomorrow...

Guess what! My amazing mom is taking me to Disney for my birthday. IN THREE WEEKS! Yep, spur of the moment trip (well as spur of the moment you can get when you live thousands of miles from Disney). I leave after work on a Friday, depart from Denver at 1:10 am, arrive at MCO at 9:32am, then leave Monday night at 9pm.

We're staying at Saratoga Springs (never stayed there before), we'll do DTD (despite the construction - I need to shop!), a couple ADRs, MNSSHP Sunday night, Wishes at the TotWL, hopefully some beach time... Sounds amazing, right?! Well it is!!! Squee!

Question is, what simple, easy to put together costumes can we wear?

 

[Duffy Lover]

Day 2: Sunday June 1 – Resort: BCV – Parks: MK and EP

Hmmm… Where were we? Ah yes, we regrouped all together. Papa had found the boys, Drea and my Mom at the Pirates League, and they made their way towards us.



It was time for the first FP+ of the trip - and it wasn’t a ride. It was for lunch at Be Our Guest! I felt so bad for the people waiting in line, but at least Disney was kind enough to provide water and umbrellas to those waiting. The line was quite long and wrapped around the bridge towards Belle’s village. Of course this FP didn’t count towards our three for the day, but is sure saved us time.

We walked towards the castle, stopping to take a picture of the littles with their Auntie:



and again just inside the Castle doors:





We ordered at a kiosk, got our rose and decided we’d eat in the Music Box Room as it wouldn’t be an option when we dined here later that week.



We sat at a corner table right next to the music box, with Papa and Buszia at a table right next to us:



Eme was still feeling badly, and to add to her tiredness was the tightness of her hairstyle:



I rubbed her head and tried to loosen her hairstyle, but it didn’t help much. She really wanted me to take her hair out, but I told her she had to wait until we got back to the hotel, which was unfortunately after dinner that night. Poor thing.

Our meal arrived and it was quite lovely. I had the pork, and most of the kids had the turkey sandwiches, Josh got the grilled cheese with soup. The pork was delicious, really great for a counter service meal honestly. During the meal, Clara doused herself with milk (of the white variety, thank goodness). Luckily, we had a well packed park bag that included a change of clothes. Unluckily, Clara threw a bit of a fit and refused to let us take her to the bathroom to change. Ok kid… It’s your choice!

After the kids were done we wandered around the “castle” and checked out the other dining rooms (can you tell Eme was tired?):



And although Clara ventured into the west wing, she declared it too scary for dinner later that week. On the way out we snapped a final picture. This one kind of reminds me of a group of teenagers being forced to have their picture taken (or a group of young children forced to have their picture taken):



After lunch we headed back to Adventureland for our first “real” FP+: PoTC! I don’t have any pictures from that particular segment of the day, but we parked our sit and stand in the sea of strollers and noticed the dark rain clouds that were looming above. I had found the stroller cover we used for the last trip in 2012 right before we left for Florida, and sadly it was ripped, and not usable. I had ordered a cover from Amazon to have it sent to the BCV and it was due to arrive on Monday. Luckily we had extra ponchos so we covered it right up, bringing the poncho bag with us on the ride.

POTC was a mob! The posted wait time was 40 minutes and the line was in the overflow area outside of the citadel. It really was unbelievable. This would’ve been unheard of in the days before FP+ and I felt really fortunate we had 10 days in the parks. I can’t imagine a trip where I only had one day per park or even two, where you really had to be judicious about what FP+ to use. I guess in that case, picking the right days (today was NOT recommended if you recall), and having a rope drop touring plan would be critical. I really felt bad for all those people who didn’t spend 40+ hours planning their trip (like I did). Anywhoo…

We were in and out in no time. True to form, Clara hid her head in my shoulder until we were down the slide. She really doesn’t like the “yucky pirates,” as when she was two she happened to see a short part of the first PotC movie when the crew of the Black Pearl were in skeleton mode. It was a good thing we covered the stroller and brought the ponchos as it was pouring when we got off the ride. We putzed around the pirate shop and since we had time until our next FP+ we headed over to the Tiki Room.







The littles in particular loved the show:



As did their big siblings:



Papa took his customary nap, and when we emerged it was no longer raining. At this point we split up. Josh didn’t want to meet Rapunzel and Cinderella so he and Buszia had FP+ for Jungle Cruise. The rest of us headed to Fairytale Hall:



Before we knew it we were in the meet and greet room for our first character interaction of the trip. It was way too quick, and I felt the girls were rushed. I really appreciate the high quality cameras of the photopass people, and I think in the future we need to put our personal cameras away so that the kids (and the characters) focus on the one camera.



Ryan was feeling very shy around the beautiful princesses:



The girls headed over to Cinderella while Ryan finished up with Rapunzel. We were so rushed we didn’t get a group photo with her - with Ryan and the girls that is.



Ryan was even more nervous as he approached Cinderella and was hanging back. The girls wrapped up their time with her and Ryan was really hanging back and then out of no where comes the next family in line and they jump ahead of Ryan! At that point the little guy got kind of upset and decided he didn't want to meet her. I was not happy with the CMs, nor was my sister. In the end we let it go as we would most likely be meeting Cindy again later that night at Akershus.

When we got back in the daylight, we headed to the carousel and along the way Ryan tried his luck at the Sword in the Stone:



The kids loved the carousel:





While they rode, I went back to the store by the Castle (come on Folks, what is the name of that dang store?!?!) and had the girls photo shoot pics loaded onto my magic band. No problem. In fact the band had been working flawlessly! I loved them. Still do. We wandered over towards Peter Pan, our last FP+ of the day, and along the way a security guard stopped us to talk to the fierce pirate (Ryan). I love meeting CMs who so obviously love their jobs and spread that love to guests. He was so sweet, asking Ryan to join up with him and not be a scallywag pirate. He gave little man some stickers and went on his way.



By then Buszia and Josh joined us (they did JC then the Magic Carpets) and we enjoyed Peter Pan’s flight. Again it was nice knowing we had these four events pre-scheduled as it was incredibly crowded, in particular walking around during the peak hours. I never would have chosen MK as it was least recommended and I knew it was going to be crazy busy, but with FP+ I knew we could sleep in and still have rides planned despite the crowds. That is reason #1 I love MDE and FP+. LOVE IT.

We slowly made our way out of the park and stopped for a photo on the way out:



It was so crowded we went through the Emporium to avoid the chaos of Mainstreet USA. Overall not a bad showing. We arrived at MK just before 11am, did BBB and the PL, had lunch, each experienced five attractions and left by 3:30pm. Not too shabby for just about five hours at the MK, in June and at the least recommended park. What say you? Up next: By boat and Monorail we head through a monsoon to Epcot and Akershus. See you real soon!

 

[Pirate Granny]

Great to relive these memories

 

[threedisprincesses]

I am really enjoying your tr! Loving the pics.
We did a family stay at a 2 bed beach club about 4 years ago. It was a magical trip. Can't beat storm along bay! Can't wait to read more!!!

 

[Duffy Lover]

Double Post... See below for the latest update!

 

[Duffy Lover]

Day 2: Sunday June 1 – Resort: BCV – Parks: MK and EP


After a full day (thanks to FP+) at the MK we headed out, hoping to make it to the Epcot monorail before the skies opened up. We decided to take the boat across, as many of us had never taken the big boat across the Seven Seas Lagoon.





The kids enjoyed being away from the crowds…





When the boat came Auntie Brie-Brie took the kiddos up to the top of the boat. What a great Aunt!





We hustled off the boat and made it to the monorail just as it started pouring. I wish we had a picture because it was coming down in sheets. We pretty much had the monorail to ourselves and Auntie updated Clara’s makeup:








When we arrived, the deluge had slowed to a trickle and we took advantage of the available photopass people for a picture in front of Spaceship Earth:








I’m not sure when Ryan fell asleep, but he was awake by the time we were approaching Norway…








I love how curly my hair gets in the humidity! This never happens in the arid conditions of Colorado, nor do my nails thrive the way they do in Florida… I CAN’T wait to get to Florida this week! A week from tonight I’ll be at MNSSHP! Squeee!!!


Ok, enough exclamation points for now… We arrived at Akershus,





and were ushered into “meet” Belle. The girls went first:





Then all the kids:





Then the whole family:





Once again I didn’t feel that much time was really devoted to our family despite the fact that we were entitled to three “included with your package” photos. And now I will rant about character dining. I’m done with it. Just done. It is so challenging to get a good photo, you’re trying to eat, feed children, juggle autograph books, get kids up to meet characters, banter with the characters… I just can’t do it. Plus the cost insane, and I (ok, let’s be honest, Pirate Granny) is done with the dining plan - at least as long as my price comparisons lean towards TiW. So there you go. As long as I can help it, no more character dining…


The boys wanted to be fierce amidst all the lovely ladies,





And before we knew it the princesses were coming fast and furious (my girls were really impressed -NOT)...






Clara was so excited to be dressed as Ariel (read my pre-trip report for a reminder) but Ariel could care less…











And more…




The part that killed me the most was that Snow White wasn't there! What are the odds that Eme decides to dress as Snow and she's not there?!?! Oh well, no princess is guaranteed to be there... On with dinner we went... Ryan’s birthday was celebrated with our sweet waitress:





After dinner we headed towards Mexico, and the kids enjoyed playing around the pyramid. To be honest, I don’t remember riding the ride in the pavillion and my journal doesn’t mention it. But the kids had fun (that’s really all that matters, right?).





No children were hurt in these simulated pirate battles, I assure you…



We walked back to BCV via Canada and the UK, and along the way I got a “Fin de La Monde” beer at the Canadian beer kiosk. Love it! I actually had to slam it as we were leaving as they wouldn’t let me out with a drink. I find it strange that I had to consume alcohol at an extreme rate (I know - rules are rules, you don’t have to tell me, I’m a teacher and a Dean of Students) but it seems silly. I could sip it or slam it. Okay, Disney, you win. I’ll slam it.




Anyways, as soon as we got home I removed every single pin from the girls’ hair. It was a huge pile, and Eme was thrilled to be free of the tight hairstyle. After that (according to my journal) the kids went swimming. Good thing I wrote in that journal every night... Maybe I don’t remember because of the delicious, delicious beer. But the girls loved the slides - Eme the big one, Clara the little one. We all loved SAB - who wouldn’t?!?!


We got out of the pool, showered the “babies,” watched the Duffy bedtime story, and then they were off in sleepy land by 9:30. Whew. What a day. I’m pretty sure I have a picture somewhere of Clara and Papa enjoying Illuminations on our patio, but I just can’t find it… When I do, I’ll edit the post and add it. Until then, I’m off to Disney on Friday! Oh yea! See you real soon!

(I just realized we're 2/15 through the trip report.... So much left to write about!)