Five Little Ones Take the Adults - 15 Nights SSR/DDP, UPDATED 23/3 More Grand Welcome

[Lisa29]

Thursday 26 September

Day 2 Part One, Animal Kingdom

Isn’t jet-lag wonderful?! Madison woke at 12.30am which is 5.30am UK time! She came into our bed and went back to sleep. Kaley then woke at 2.30am so I went into bed with her and she went back to sleep. I then woke at 5am and Phil and the girls were up not long after.

The girls got a present from Mickey





These were autograph books that I had made for all five of the girls.

We had showers and dressed. Madison found an invitation that had been ‘delivered’ inviting them to breakfast at Tusker House



Madison and Kaley had some cereal then Dan and Marie took them down to the other villa so that Phil and I could set up my Grand Welcome. (The full story of this will follow.)

We got all of the boxes and bags in place, Dan and Marie came back and between us we put up the bunting I had made. Our living area now looked like this:



(There will be more photos when I post the second part of this day.) I was very happy with how the room looked and was so excited to come back later with the girls.

We left our first mousekeeping envelope



(Madison and I had made these at home)

We left just after 7am to get the girls. Michelle’s family left with us and we went to the bus stop. The others were driving so didn’t yet need to leave.



We were the first people at the bus stop at 7.15am but it was 7.35am before we saw a bus.



A CM had arrived at the bus stop a few minutes after us and he was in contact with the buses. He asked us how long we had been there and what bus we were waiting for. I think it was down to him that the first bus was for Animal Kingdom.

One major good point about being in the Grandstand area is that this is the first pick up and drop off point for the buses but that did mean that we had to go around the whole resort before we were on our way. We were on our way to Animal Kingdom and arrived at 8.15am, the same time as our ADR, oops!

We thought we had allowed enough time for the bus journey but hadn’t counted on how late it would be before the first bus arrived.





Mum and Dad were waiting for us at the entrance and the others had gone ahead to check in.





We had a few PP photos on the way (will post these soon, they are on the computer and I am on my laptop) and got to Tusker House and cheked in by 8.27am.

Dan had not been able to check us in as we had two separate reservations and their name was called almost as soon as we got there. We had to wait about 10 minutes and then we were called.

Kaley loved her first charcter interaction with Donald; she was so excited.

We were seated in the smaller room to the left of the entrance. The others were seated in the big room to the right of the entrance. We all got some breakfast and glasses of the delicious Jungle Juice. I really enjoyed the carved ham.









We saw Daisy





Then Goofy came around



And finally Mickey





Madison, Kaley and Sydney loved the characters. Kori wasn’t too sure of them and didn’t want to get too close.

Breakfast was $29.99 per adult and $15.99 for Madison plus $4.94 tax however we used three table service credits. The tip was $14.

I was able to exchange my Photopass+ voucher here for the lanyard and was given the photo we had taken with Donald.

Continued in next post.​

 

[pixiemama91]

I absolutely love the present from Mickey. Did you make the stickers for the envelopes? I may have to steal that idea for our next trip. The autograph books were adorable. I like the design because its easier for them to keep open to one page. The invitation to breakfast was also a great idea. What a wonderful way to make everything that more special.

Breakfast looked yummy and looks like you got some great character interaction.

 

[scottny]

The room looked nice decorated.
Oh the Grandstand bus stop. I wish I was there right now.
It is a bummer about the ride around the resort but it is worth it for those seats. LOL
Tusker House is the best character meal. Looks like fun times.

 

[DisneyJo]

The presents are so cute, what a lovely idea and I totally agree with you about the jet lag. It takes us days to get used to the new time zone!!

I'm so pleased the girls enjoyed meeting the characters, the photos are very sweet

 

[jc040404]

Your girls are so cute! Sorry to hear you didn't get to everything, but I'm glad they had a great time. I can't imagine traveling so far and with so many! That time change must be wild.

Awesome that you were able to get the area you wanted!

The invitations and decorations are adorable. Loved 'em! Tusker House looks yummy. It's been so long since we tried that place that I had forgotten about most of it. The girls look like they enjoyed the character time. (Minus Kori anyway!)

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Love all the latest pictures and the in room decorations
Brilliant autograph books and mousekeeping envelopes, definitely makes me think I should be making more of an effort

 

[Lisa29]

I absolutely love the present from Mickey. Did you make the stickers for the envelopes? I may have to steal that idea for our next trip. The autograph books were adorable. I like the design because its easier for them to keep open to one page. The invitation to breakfast was also a great idea. What a wonderful way to make everything that more special.

Breakfast looked yummy and looks like you got some great character interaction.

Thank you. I bought all the stickers from an online craft shop that sells Disney stuff. Spent a fortune! Steal away, I got most of my ideas from the Creative DISigns section on here. The autograph books were from there too.

Phil did the invites for me. I wanted to make the trip as special as possible.

The breakfast is really good and the characters were lots of fun too.

The room looked nice decorated.
Oh the Grandstand bus stop. I wish I was there right now.
It is a bummer about the ride around the resort but it is worth it for those seats. LOL
Tusker House is the best character meal. Looks like fun times.

Thank you.

I know what you mean, it is raining and the wind is howling here, to be back in the sun waiting for a bus to a park would be perfect.

Tusker House is great, I could just eat the carved ham right now!

The presents are so cute, what a lovely idea and I totally agree with you about the jet lag. It takes us days to get used to the new time zone!!

I'm so pleased the girls enjoyed meeting the characters, the photos are very sweet

Thanks, I had lots of fun making them (or supervising Phil in some cases! ) The long trip and and time difference are the only downsides to going to Disney.

I was happy Kaley liked the characters, we weren't sure how she would be.

Your girls are so cute! Sorry to hear you didn't get to everything, but I'm glad they had a great time. I can't imagine traveling so far and with so many! That time change must be wild.

Awesome that you were able to get the area you wanted!

The invitations and decorations are adorable. Loved 'em! Tusker House looks yummy. It's been so long since we tried that place that I had forgotten about most of it. The girls look like they enjoyed the character time. (Minus Kori anyway!)

Thank you.

They had a great time which makes it all totally worthwhile. The time change does throw us out for a few days.

Thanks, I had fun making them. Tusker House is a great place to eat and the characters are cool.

 

[Lisa29]

Love all the latest pictures and the in room decorations
Brilliant autograph books and mousekeeping envelopes, definitely makes me think I should be making more of an effort

Thank you.

I got the majority of the stuff I did from the Creative DISigns bit here on the boards, I did get photoshop elements to try and be more creative but I have left that for Phil so far!

 

[Lisa29]

Day 2, Part 2 Animal Kingdom continued

We all left Tusker House together and went to Kilimanjaro Safari. We got fast passes with a return time of 10.25-11.25am. We decided to go to Expedition Everest while we waited and it started to rain on the way there.



Phil, Ryan, Dan, Marie, Jamie and Sydney decided to ride anyway and the rest of us went into the shop to wait for them. Well, it started absolutely bucketing it down while we were waiting. People were coming off the ride dripping wet as if they had been on a water ride that included going underwater! They came off very wet and none of them had particularly enjoyed the ride in the rain.

Our FP time was nearly due and it had stopped raining so we went back to Africa. The sun was back out and the weather was lovely again.

Kaley was a bit tired and I had a lovely cuddle with her.



We all went on the safari and of course saw lots of animals.























Madison and Kaley both enjoyed this.





We decided to split up as we all wanted to do different things and we arranged to meet at the entrance at 1.30pm. We made a stop first at the Baby Care Centre. It is lovely in here and I would reccommend it to anyone with young kids or babies and want to feed in private, change in a dedicated place or just need somewhere to rest and cool off.







We settled her for a sleep and browsed in some shops before going to Camp Minnie Mickey.



Continued in next post​

 

[Lisa29]

Continued from previous post

We bought Madison a Mickey ice cream bar. This was $3.75 but we used a snack credit. Here are the before, during and after shots!









All of the lines for the characters were too long so we went back to near the Tree of Life to see Dug and Russell from Up.





I wanted to try something from the Yak and Yeti Local Food Cafe so we went there next. I had the Honey Chicken ($9.99), frozen lemonade ($3.59) and a bottle of water ($2.50) and used a quick service credit.





This was delicious and Phil and Madison really enjoyed the frozen lemonade. We looked in a couple more shops, bought a set of Disney buses for Kaley for her birthday and Phil bought some pins. We stopped by the Wilderness Explorers hut on the way out.



We called into the photo shop to check that our photos were on the card then went to the exit to meet eveyone else. We took some more pictures while we waited.



The same bus travellers headed to the bus stop and we were on our way back to the resort by 1.50pm, calling first at Blizzard Beach.

I love this picture, I have no idea what they are talking about!



We were back by 2.10pm and everyone went back to the second villa while Phil and I checked everything was ready to go in our villa for the Grand Welcome.

That bit is coming soon along with our PP pics from the morning! ​

 

[Lisa29]

Photopass pictures from this morning, I found them on my computer and uploaded them to PB

The obligatory pictures with the Tree of Life



Tusker House shots





Expedition Everest pictures





More family photos with Everest as the backdrop



The first full family photo of the trip



Meeting Dug and Russell from Up





Dug was showing Russell their own pages


​

 

[DisneyJo]

Awww Kaley looks so cute on the safari, you can definitely see she's tired. Now my girls are teens I really miss those cuddles

I love your PP photos, the one of the whole group is great, it really puts into perspective how many of you there were

 

[pixiemama91]

What a great day. You were able to get some wonderful family photos. The group shot of every one came out great. You were also able to get some good shots of the animals. I love the one of the giraffe by the tree. He blends in so well.

 

[Lisa29]

Awww Kaley looks so cute on the safari, you can definitely see she's tired. Now my girls are teens I really miss those cuddles

I love your PP photos, the one of the whole group is great, it really puts into perspective how many of you there were

I don't get many cuddles like that from Kaley. Phil does, my Mum does, Danielle does but not me so much so I really enjoyed it.

It really does look like there was a lot of us on the pictures. I really like the photos from today, we didn't get that many all together.

What a great day. You were able to get some wonderful family photos. The group shot of every one came out great. You were also able to get some good shots of the animals. I love the one of the giraffe by the tree. He blends in so well.

I love the photos we got, I love that with photo pass you can have decent full family photos rather than someone missing out.

Phil had the camera so all the animal shots were his.

 

[jc040404]

I love Madison's messy Mickey bar face! That has to be one of the best part of Disney. Super cute!

The lion pictures from the safari are awesome. I never see much of them. Sounds like a great ride!

You have so many great pics in this update. The big family shot is just crazy to me. Still can't imagine how you planned such a huge trip!

 

[scottny]

Nice animal pics.
Ooh! A Mickey bar. Yum.
The chicken looks good.
Nice PP pics.
Great update and pics.

 

[Lisa29]

I love Madison's messy Mickey bar face! That has to be one of the best part of Disney. Super cute!

The lion pictures from the safari are awesome. I never see much of them. Sounds like a great ride!

You have so many great pics in this update. The big family shot is just crazy to me. Still can't imagine how you planned such a huge trip!

I know, to be a kid again and not worry about getting food all over your face!

Phil did get some good pictures of the animals. The safari is fun. Given a choice of Disney every couple/few years or a proper safari, Disney would always win so this safari is the closest I will ever get!

We do look like a huge family but it is so normal to me. My parents are each one of 4 and I have lots of cousins so I have no concept of small families.

Nice animal pics.
Ooh! A Mickey bar. Yum.
The chicken looks good.
Nice PP pics.
Great update and pics.

Thanks, Phil's handiwork as usual.

She enjoyed the Mickey bar and the chicken was lovely and delicious.

Thanks!

 

[Lisa29]

Day 2 part 3, My Mickey's Grand Welcome Part 1

The Preparation, Set Up and Grand Reveal

Disclaimer, I have lots of photos!

A bit of background for this, whilst planning for our 2010 trip, I found the Disney Florist website. They do some amazing stuff on here and I found something very similar to this



which I ordered for Madison as a late 2nd birthday present. With tax and delivery it cost 60 something dollars, which I didn’t think was too bad. I had a look again for this year and the package above was $103.95 plus tax and shipping which I wasn’t prepared to pay, especially as I would need two. I then got to thinking about this Grand Welcome



Now this is really expensive and having two girls, one welcome wouldn’t be enough as they would each want the Mickey and Minnie, etc. I had also found the creative DISign forum here and saw on there that a lady (rachandgarry) had done her own version, with some help from a DISigner (jtanddolly), which she took to DLP for her son. I got to thinking that this was a good idea(!) and thought that I would be able to do this a lot cheaper than buying the one above. This was early summer 2012.

I mentioned it to Phil and he thought I was mad, Dan thought it was a good idea, as did my Mum. Of course then Mum says ‘you will do this for Sydney and Kori too?’. Well there is no way I would leave them out so agreed. Then thought, hmm, I was going to do 6 boxes each (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto), that is 24 boxes, never mind, I will make it work! Then Bethany got pregnant with Piper so I now had a Grand Welcome for 5 Princesses to put together!

So I accumulated all of these



I didn’t buy this many pairs of kids shoes, I asked in Clarks shoe shop every time I was shopping if they had any empty kids shoe boxes going spare!

And bought these for inside the boxes



And all of these for wrapping the boxes



(I over-estimated how much paper I would need so now have lots left over! )

I bought ribbon and card and bows, made the gift tags and then ended up with this



Yes, I know, I am completely bonkers!

During the 18 months or so leading up to the holiday, I bought loads of little bits to go in the boxes. Things like crayons, notebooks, loads from the Disney Store including the little flip phones, magnets, purses, little Princess dolls and playing cards, small toys, teddies, stickers and a ridiculous amount more! Almost everything I bought was in the sale or was fairly inexpensive.

It was a bit harder getting stuff for Kori and Piper as they were younger but we managed to get enough for them in the end.

Mum bought some of the stuff too.

A couple of months before we went, I started wrapping all the boxes over a period of a few weeks, doing a few each night. I had decided on five boxes for each of the girls so made up:

Five of each of these









Three of these



And two of these



And this is what I ended up with



I know, there are a lot of boxes there! I got them down to this



by putting the smaller boxes in the bigger ones. These were then put away so the girls couldn’t see them until it was time to start packing.

I had five gift bags full of all the stuff for the girls, one each, but I forgot to take pictures of these before I packed everything. I blame Phil for this, as I wanted to get everything packed quickly so he couldn’t see exactly how much stuff there was!

Everything I had took up a whole case, plus a few of the boxes went into one of the other cases.

Continued in next post.​

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

WOW so excited to hear/see more

 

[Lisa29]

WOW so excited to hear/see more

Thank you. . more coming soon.