"Excuse me, your child can NOT go on stage with Mickey":Jan 2013 TR! updates x 3! 6/5

[lvcourtneyy]

Ah I'm officially the worst Dis-er ever! SO sorry I've abandoned this TR for so long but I'm back and I hope some of you are still here! In my absence, I've gone to WDW and had a fantastic trip! I've (barely!) started that TR: Ooh I'm really scared: A Sept 2013 TR if any of you would like to read about our newest adventures!
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When we left off, we had just finished our Universal day with a disappointing meal.

The next morning, we were headed back to WDW and were up early for a special breakfast. Jen, Rick and Presley were supposed to come with us but Jen texted us that morning saying she'd been up sick during the night and was going to try to sleep it off. We were originally going to take Presley with us anyway but they decided not to have us do it because they didn't know what time they'd get to the park and were worried about Presley acting up without them.

So we headed out to the bus stop by ourselves and got on the bus with one or two other families. We got to the MK and then headed to the monorail for our breakfast destination!

Any guesses?





The Grand Floridian it was! If you guessed 1900 Park Fare, you were right!


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Our server kindly brought us drinks and that was all. Seriously. I don't think we saw her again until it was time for the check, and even then we had to ask someone else to find her to get it to us.

Anyway, it appears we got some food and then Pooh came around to say hi!


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Soon after, Tigger was coming by!


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I don't remember anything particularly outstanding about either of them.


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I remember Mary Poppins being perfectly lovely and having a nice interaction with her! Our only problem is that Chris hasn't seen Mary Poppins since he was little and I don't think I've ever seen it so some of what she said was lost on us!

Alice was PERFECT and so energetic so early in the morning. She was talking a mile a minute and asked us if we had seen the White Rabbit and we said no but we were celebrating un-birthdays. So, when we took our picture together, she told me to hold out my party dress. Clearly it failed since I wasn't wearing a dress but I tried.


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The Mad Hatter was also fantastic! When he was taking his picture with Chris, he asked the little boy behind them if he wanted to be in it and the little boy said "Um, no" and the Mad Hatter was all "Oh, fantastic!" and pulled him into it anyway


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Overall, we enjoyed breakfast at 1900 Park Fare. The food was good, the restaurant decor is amazing and the character interaction was fun. The service was lacking but other than not having drink refills, no harm was done I guess. I would definitely do breakfast here again, especially if I see Mary Poppins first!

After breakfast, we briefly looked around the GF and then headed back on the monorail to the Magic Kingdom!

By the time we got to the park, it was 9:45, which didn't bother us but if you're trying to make RD, I definitely don't recommend a character breakfast outside the park.


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Despite missing RD, the park was still pretty empty this morning!


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It got slightly more crowded as we headed down Main St but I remember still thinking that crowds were lighter than other days.


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Yes, I did make us stop for pictures multiple times down Main Street. You can never have too many right?


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[lvcourtneyy]

My main priority this day was to meet the characters we hadn't gotten to yet! Since it was still early and crowds were light, we decided to go check out the line for Merida!
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I was happily surprised to see the line MUCH shorter than it had been any of the other days.


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I think when we got in line at around 10:10, Merida was on a break so they weren't letting us in to her little meeting area even though other people who had been there were already inside Regardless, we were the first ones to be let in when she came back!


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This whole M&G is so well themed. We saw Rapunzel when she was still meeting here so it was really fun to see how well they re-themed it for Merida. Plus, having the whole coloring/archery thing for kids to do while waiting is just a spectacular idea.

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I wanna say she came back at 10:15ish, and we were meeting her at 10:33!


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She was amazing! I don't remember anymore what we talked about but I just know we were very impressed. She had the perfect look and accent and everything!

My pictures fail me on what we did next because the next pictures I have aren't until 12 so I have no idea whatsoever what we did for the next hour and a half. I just wracked my brain and I'm pretty sure this is when pulled Peter Pan FPs and got bonus FPs for Mickey's Philharmagic. Then, I believe we tried to meet the Tremaines but it was raining so they were under that little awning thing where there's a SOTMK portal and when we got in line, they were swapping out for the Fairy Godmother who we'd already met. It was raining harder so we decided to go to Mickey's Philharmagic since we'd be inside and used our FPs that we didn't really need to use!

This was our first time seeing it and it was so adorable! I love all the classic songs and how it just screams Disney!

Then we used our FPs for Peter Pan's Flight which was also new for us! It's so cute and well done but I don't understand why the line is always SO long for it! When we used our FPs, I'm pretty sure the line was like 30 minutes and it was a slow day!

Afterwards, we headed to New Fantasyland on a mission. We had to meet Gaston! He wasn't out when we got there so we hung around looking for him and when he did come out it was pretty confusing. He came out to like, right by his fountain but clearly the line forming there was blocking traffic so the character attendants were trying to get everyone to un-form the line. Right, like that's gonna work. So then they were moving the existing line to over by the wall which of course led to other people trying to create a new line. In the end, we still were the second or third group to meet him!

He was fantastic! He asked why my autograph book had no pictures and then signed across two pages because he said his name is the most important so it needs to be the biggest.


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He asked Chris what he had to do to win my heart and Chris told him he eats 6 dozen eggs a day and Gaston was all "Well that's more than my 5 dozen, maybe if I eat more eggs, I'll finally get Belle!"


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Chris asked if they could flex for the picture and Gaston was like "Well, of course, what else would we do!"

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All in all, he was perfect and we were cracking up! He was definitely a great addition to have meeting in the New Fantasyland!

 

[courtneybelle]

We barely saw our waitress at 1900 Park Fare on this past trip too...I wasn't thrilled with the service there, especially compared to the other buffet we did (Hollywood & Vine).

Oh my gosh, that Mad Hatter sounds so funny

The Merida M&G area is just gorgeous.

HA I figured Chris and Gaston would get along based on the muscles, he had a good response to Gaston's question!

 

[STLMickeyMom]

I love the picture of Chris and Alice-so cute! And i totally agree-you can never get enough pictures on Main Street!

We had so much fun meeting Merida too. The girls loved her and she was so perfect! The only thing I didn't like was how long we had to wait to get in. I hope next time the line is way shorter!

I LOVE mickeys philharmagic! I have to do it every time! My DH doesn't love it as much as I do but thankfully he goes with me every time. I think the girls liked the dumpshop more. They love to shop!

I don't understand the line for Peter Pan either. I know it's a classic, but I just don't get it. Last time we were there the wait was up to 90 minutes-crazy!

Gaston and Chris? Hilarious! But why aren't you doing any flexing?

 

[lvcourtneyy]

We barely saw our waitress at 1900 Park Fare on this past trip too...I wasn't thrilled with the service there, especially compared to the other buffet we did (Hollywood & Vine).

Oh my gosh, that Mad Hatter sounds so funny

The Merida M&G area is just gorgeous.

HA I figured Chris and Gaston would get along based on the muscles, he had a good response to Gaston's question!

Ah I read about all your problems with the service at 1900 Park Fare! We had the same experience this trip in September as we did in January-- no real problems but just no service really. We definitely had better service at other buffets so I don't know what it is about 1900 Park Fare!

Gaston was definitely one of Chris' favorite M&Gs of the trip!

I love the picture of Chris and Alice-so cute! And i totally agree-you can never get enough pictures on Main Street!

We had so much fun meeting Merida too. The girls loved her and she was so perfect! The only thing I didn't like was how long we had to wait to get in. I hope next time the line is way shorter!

I LOVE mickeys philharmagic! I have to do it every time! My DH doesn't love it as much as I do but thankfully he goes with me every time. I think the girls liked the dumpshop more. They love to shop!

I don't understand the line for Peter Pan either. I know it's a classic, but I just don't get it. Last time we were there the wait was up to 90 minutes-crazy!

Gaston and Chris? Hilarious! But why aren't you doing any flexing?

Yeah Merida's line was pretty long every time we passed it still in September!

Hey even if your DH doesn't love Mickey's Philharmagic, he can always use an air-conditioned nap, can't he? I caught Chris nodding off a few times! There can never be too much shopping in Disney!

I can't imagine waiting 90 minutes for PPF!

I don't know why I didn't join in! Clearly my arms would've been most impressive!

 

[shan23877]

What is up with the servers at 1900? So disappointing! I'm glad you had fun though, that's one that we have always had a great time at.

Those crowds seem really light! Awesome!

Oh Gaston, he's my new favorite. I loved meeting him. The flexing pics are priceless!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

What is up with the servers at 1900? So disappointing! I'm glad you had fun though, that's one that we have always had a great time at.

Those crowds seem really light! Awesome!

Oh Gaston, he's my new favorite. I loved meeting him. The flexing pics are priceless!

I don't know!! It was definitely fun and the food was pretty tasty too!

Gaston is a fantastic character for M&Gs! I'm so glad they brought him out regularly!

 

[missangelalexis]

1900 Park Fare sound so fun (despite the lack of a server)! It's definitely on my wish list! And you HAVE to watch Mary Poppins, its the best!

Yay for the park still being a little empty when you arrived.

Sounds like an awesome interaction with Gaston too

 

[lvcourtneyy]

1900 Park Fare sound so fun (despite the lack of a server)! It's definitely on my wish list! And you HAVE to watch Mary Poppins, its the best!

Yay for the park still being a little empty when you arrived.

Sounds like an awesome interaction with Gaston too

We enjoyed 1900 Park Fare both times we went for breakfast and dinner! I definitely recommend it!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

After we finished our flex session with Gaston, we had more NFL to explore!


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However, after making our way all the way through, we realized the pathway to Storybook Circus wasn't open.

Womp.

So all the way back around we went.


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At least we had pretty scenery while we walked.


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Finally, we were at our next destination!


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We decided to go see the boys first and only waited about 6 minutes according to my timestamps!


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After Goofy, it was time to meet our number 1 duck!


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After meeting the boys, we walked allll the way around through the gift shop and went back around to meet the girls.

I look like a giant next to Daisy!


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Daisy's one of my favorites. She's so fancy and cute!

I'm pretty sure we waited a few minutes for Minnie to come back from break because I remember the adorable little girl in front of us posing with the poodle sculptures!


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How cute is she?! And I love how pink everything is!

After meeting our new circus friends, we left Storybook Circus!


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Through the crowds we went.
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Clearly all the crowds were just in NFL...


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Anddddd across the park we went.


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The construction signs make me so happy. It's the little things.


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[lvcourtneyy]

Our destination was to a new attraction for us. Any guesses?


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The Enchanted Tiki Room it was!


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We definitely enjoyed the air conditioning and sitting down for the show! The show itself wasn't necessarily our favorite. It was a little strange. I'm sure we'll watch it again but it's not one of our must-dos.

We continued on into Frontierland and sadly Splash Mountain was closed for refurbishment during our trip. However, we still had some friends to go see!


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Anddd the photopass photographers were having fun with some candid shots.


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Jessie kept playing with Chris' hair while we were taking the pictures!


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They were so cute and a ton of fun! They loved playing with us!


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There's no picture proof of it but I know that we took the railroad to the front of the park!

 

[shan23877]

The Storybook Circus M&G is the cutest place isn't it? I love it there!

We've never done the Tiki Room. It's not high on my list

Oh Jessie is such a flirt! The PP got some really fun shots there. I love them!

 

[MK2010]

I love the Tiki Room! Its one of my favorites and a must do for me! Isn't that funny? I sing the song all the time...the entire song. My kids think I'm a little strange, too. ;-)

 

[missangelalexis]

Cute pics at Storybook Circus! I have the same feelings about the Tiki Room. Love your pics with Woody & Jessie, they look so fun! I still need to meet Jessie!

 

[STLMickeyMom]

Your meet with woody and jessie looks so cute and fun! I'm torn between meeting them there or just seeing woody and buzz in Hollywood. My DH has limited patience waiting in line for characters and our daughters want to see everyone! I'm trying to just meet everyone once but I really want to do both! (I'm like a child, I swear!)

I've never done the tiki room. My DH loves it though so I've got it planned for this trip. Even if I don't like it, i hear its a great place to rest for a bit (sort of like how I catch a nap every time DH makes us go into hall of presidents! )

 

[deedee2177]

I'm all caught up! Loving it!

 

[kimbo0569]

A pretty boring ride photo. I feel like the camera on Space isn't positioned to get exciting pictures. I know we also rode Space at another point and didn't get the ride photo cause we ended up in the last seat of one car and the first one of the next but I can't be certain when that happened. For the sake of this TR and because no one can prove otherwise, we'll say we rode standby and pulled a FP and went again before leaving Tomorrowland.

This happened to us on our past trip - it was dh, myself and our two daughters. The girls and I were in the first car and dh was in the first seat of the car behind us. When I was editing the pictures on the PP website, I was able to zoom in and edit other people out (not that I have anything against them...LOL). I was able to do this on our Everest photo as well. It was just dh and my oldest daughter but they were behind someone and I really just wanted them in the pic so I zoomed in and edited that way.

Enjoying your TR so far!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

The Storybook Circus M&G is the cutest place isn't it? I love it there!

We've never done the Tiki Room. It's not high on my list

Oh Jessie is such a flirt! The PP got some really fun shots there. I love them!

It is so cute there!

Yeah, I feel like the Tiki Room is one of those things I can appreciate but without actually seeing it again!

I love the Tiki Room! Its one of my favorites and a must do for me! Isn't that funny? I sing the song all the time...the entire song. My kids think I'm a little strange, too. ;-)

That is funny! That's what so great about WDW-- things for different people to enjoy!

Cute pics at Storybook Circus! I have the same feelings about the Tiki Room. Love your pics with Woody & Jessie, they look so fun! I still need to meet Jessie!

Thank you!

Jessie is tons of fun to meet!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Your meet with woody and jessie looks so cute and fun! I'm torn between meeting them there or just seeing woody and buzz in Hollywood. My DH has limited patience waiting in line for characters and our daughters want to see everyone! I'm trying to just meet everyone once but I really want to do both! (I'm like a child, I swear!)

I've never done the tiki room. My DH loves it though so I've got it planned for this trip. Even if I don't like it, i hear its a great place to rest for a bit (sort of like how I catch a nap every time DH makes us go into hall of presidents! )

This response is totally too late to be useful but I'm all for meeting them both places (especially cause we did )

The tiki room is definitely a good place for a mid-day rest! Even if you don't end up liking it, the air conditioning makes it nice!

I'm all caught up! Loving it!

Aw thanks ! :good vibes

This happened to us on our past trip - it was dh, myself and our two daughters. The girls and I were in the first car and dh was in the first seat of the car behind us. When I was editing the pictures on the PP website, I was able to zoom in and edit other people out (not that I have anything against them...LOL). I was able to do this on our Everest photo as well. It was just dh and my oldest daughter but they were behind someone and I really just wanted them in the pic so I zoomed in and edited that way.

Enjoying your TR so far!

Yeah it's really nice to be able to have the whole photo && zoom in on just your group also because you can see the facial expressions so much better!

Thanks!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

First, I just have to say, to anyone still out there, you are seriously the best. & second, all of the reasons why it's taken me so long to finish/update this don't even make up for my failure so I'm sorry! Plus anyone reading my September TR has heard all the reasons already so I'm not gonna repeat them here.
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When we left off, we had just finished meeting Woody and Jessie and couldn't decide what to do next. It was almost the end of our trip so we wanted to enjoy but we were tired and it had become way more hot and humid than it had been at the beginning of our trip!

Ultimately, we decided on a new experience for us! We took the WDW Railroad to the front of the park and apparently I have not one picture to prove it but I swear it happened!

It was a nice relaxing trip on the railroad! I definitely wouldn't take it if I was trying to get somewhere specific quickly but for a change of pace, it's nice.

When we got off, we sat down to wait to watch the 3 pm parade!

This makes our second Celebrate a Dream viewing this trip, if anyone was keeping track with our obsession.

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I'm really excited to see the Festival of Fantasy parade but we LOVED Celebrate a Dream and I'm really gonna miss it!

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AH I love Abu!

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My favorite part of the parade-- characters coming over to say hi!

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Ooh they're so cute!

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Here come the princesses!

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After the parade, we decided to head out of the park and go back to the hotel for a NAP. Totally broke the no sleeping in Disney rule but we weren't prepared for the heat and it really took a toll!

When we got back to the room, I found my friends hanging out with a new towel animal buddy.

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