"I'm NOT a Princess, I'm Izzy!" - May '15 Land/Sea ~ Updated 6/4: Link to Disneyland TR!!!

[schmass]

I'm glad you were still able to eat at LTT even though you were late - I had that salad last time and it is sooo good!

I sat on our diaper kit while waiting for Illuminations one night - it works great! Too bad it was so hot for the parade though.

That Tink looks like so much fun. We have never actually done that meet yet. Looks like a fun afternoon!

 

[pkondz]

Very true - happened again today with Thanksgiving dinner. Though she did eat the bun after having it re-buttered once.

Progress!

I'm pretty sure she would be thrilled if someone just gave her a stick of butter for dinner.

I'm like that too. Although I like mine melted.
With a lobster.

But that's just me.

I actually pulled it out and had her bring it to a show and tell type thing at preschool the other day! Yay, it got some use! And, one of her teachers is a huge Disney fan and was very jealous.

Jealousy. Love it when it's others about me.

Well, we were on our way back to Disney World.

True. That couldn't hurt.

You'd be surprised. I went through a pretty lean period in my early 20's where I basically only ate macaroni, green beans, and Froot Loops - so, I did get burned out on them eventually.

Okay. I can see that. You get a pass.

But just barely.

and the kind with marshmallows are super good, mmmmmm.

Fruit Loops.... with.... marshmallows????? What is this sorcery?!?!?

Ha, good question! I guess if they don't put it on the table, she doesn't even think of it. And we never ever have butter on the table at home, so it's a novelty to her when she sees it sitting out.

And until she's older, butter will never be on the table.

Yep, we're not big on STUFF (though Izzy might beg to differ, since she wants all.the.toys).

I'm with Izzy. I want all the toys too.

We knew it would be tight to make it to our 12:10pm ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern, as it was 11:30am when we got to this point:

Ain't gonna happen.

It was so different to drive and park instead of taking Disney transportation.

I much prefer the bus. But of course if you have the car, might as well use it.

Naturally, we JUST missed the tram, so I figured I should at least take a selfie of it going by:

And you're smiling!

(I could have maybe made it on, but Dug was pushing Izzy in the stroller and they were behind me a bit). So, we just kept on walking:

Ditch 'em. MK awaits!

We were on the monorail at 12:35pm and Izzy wanted to stand and hold the bar with me:

Big girl.

Oh, and I may have forgotten to mention an interesting tidbit about this day at the MK:

Didn't notice the time at first. And then I was... WHOA!

We noticed Pluto was out meeting as we entered, but we didn’t have time to stop for him

Bad dog?

I know it was forever ago in this TR, but you may remember that we had planned to have some MK time before the cruise and Izzy threw a major tantrum that evening and ended up staying in with Dug

Cute shot.

Izzy was very thirsty and begging for milk. I think I asked the hostess if there was any available and they were kind enough to bring her a glass of milk:

That was nice of them.

Looks like Izzy was unhappy about something:

"Why did you make me late for this ADR? I hate being late!"

Izzy (no surprise) got mac and cheese:

Shocked! I'm shocked!

Izzy discovered that the ice cubes were the round ones that you can wear on your finger and she loved that:

I love those too!

Izzy’s meal was supposed to come with an ice cream sundae, but they never brought it out. Maybe it’s just me, but I seem to have this experience everywhere (not just Disney) that the kids meal comes with dessert – they almost never actually bring it until I very specifically ask for them to – even though it’s included in the meal.

Really? Odd. I don't think we ever had that problem.

we all got to share the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake we ordered. So good it gets two pictures:

mmmm.. that looks good.

I had a FP+ for Big Thunder, so we all made our way over there for me to ride and to get a Rider Swap for Dug. (I am SOOOOOO excited that in about 2 weeks, Izzy will be riding this WITH us! )

I hope that happened!

We had Fast Passes for the Festival of Fantasy parade

Worth it?

And, of course, Izzy wanted to sit on me, as I am a handy chair and not scalding like the concrete. So, I had to brainstorm what we had in our stroller to sit on…and that’s when I spotted our little diaper changing kit with fold-out changing pad!

Smart! Better than the alternative.

Dug stood in back, leaning against the fence, as you may have noticed.

I’m sure these kids are celebrities of some sort, but I have no clue :

Me neither.

This is a great parade, very mesmerizing:

We loved the parade and we are not really “parade people” – it’s just very well done

Me too. Normally I'm "Parade? Pass." But not that one.

By the way, as we were walking through the empty queue/rope area, a mom and her daughter ducked under a rope to cut in front of us. Dug made some sort of comment about it to me (which they heard) and they decided to get back behind us. Yay,

Atta boy, Dug.

Great shot!

Izzy spotted snacks bigger than her head

I want that.

Once again, she was a delight to chat with and even bonded with Izzy and Birdie.

She's wonderful. I miss her around here. She was so nice.

Made it into our boat about 8 minutes later:

I'm so sorry. I was more fortunate. It was down for refurb.

 

[Dugette]

Hi, everyone!

I'm sorry, I feel like I've been MIA for a long time! Between preparing for a WDW trip, going on the trip, recovering from the trip, and planning new trips, I haven't kept up around here. I plan to get back on track with writing and also reading all the reports I am woefully behind on once again. First, however, I need to finish making notes on the great trip we just returned from last week, so that I'll have some idea what we did by the time I actually write about it. But, of course, I am also sick and we're in the thick of the holiday season AND year-end at work, so it might be January by the time all that happens. But it will. I mean, I have to finish this "land and sea" report before I start another one, right?

So, the rundown of my Disney stuff...

We had a great trip with @Imagineer5 and her daughters. Lots of fun, good dining, great memories. Izzy and Aria got a kick out of riding next to each other on things (spoiler/PSA: two 4-year-olds CAN ride next to each other on 7DMT with a parent behind them). We had some amazing meals, memorable character interactions, and really experienced a lot on this trip. Didn't quite get to everything on my list, but pretty happy with things overall. As with any trip, there were ups and downs, laughter and tears, unpredictable things, etc. A highlight for me was that Izzy was tall enough to ride the 40-inch height requirement rides and I loved introducing her to new things.

Anyway, this is a bit of a spoiler, but there's no way I can hold this in until I eventually get to writing about the end of the trip: we had several (fairly minor) housekeeping issues at Pop Century and they went WAY overboard to make up for it...by giving us a free 6 night Value Resort stay for future use. Yep, for real. I mean, I can live without plastic cups and toilet paper in my room if this is the payoff. So, we think we want to use that in October or so - dates to be determined. But I'd like to be there close to our anniversary (10/1) and during the Halloween party and Food & Wine. And we plan to use our free 6 nights to get a Little Mermaid room at Art of Animation. It won't cover the family suites, but it will cover the LM room.

We didn't get the offer in writing until after our trip, so we didn't feel comfortable upgrading to Annual Passes before that happened. But, when we got the offer, I asked about it and they put a special exception on our account so that we can upgrade (from our now-expired 7-day PH tickets) next time we are at Guest Services. So, that will be great for our future trip...APs and free room...can't beat that!

Then, we got to discussing a few other related items:

1.) We still have our discount with Disney Cruise Lines from making another (changeable) booking onboard the Dream in May 2015 (10% off + $100 onboard credit). I hate to let discounts expire without use, but it's gone if not used by May 2017.

2.) Dug has a conference he'd like to attend for work in Orlando during February. And he can also have an AP. And he didn't get to see the Star Wars fireworks on this trip, since they changed them to the Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM show for the holidays. But they started up again now and for the foreseeable future.

3.) I have a big and intimidating birthday in February (I'll let you figure out which birthday from my signature...). I've been feeling like I need to do SOMETHING interesting around that time.

So, when you add and multiply all these variables, here's what you come up with:

I'll go to work and have a normal day on my birthday. BUT, the week before will be filled with Disney, fun, and sun. We have a 4-night cruise on the re-imagined Disney Wonder out of Port Canaveral, followed by a visit to Kennedy Space Center, then the Star Wars fireworks dessert party, then Izzy and I get to spend some time using our WDW APs while Dug attends his conference.

I am super excited about all the new things on the Wonder: Tiana's Place dining room, Frozen stage show, Kids Club characters/play areas, waterslide/water play area, etc. Not to mention a chance for a re-do of our Castaway Cay day. I think we'll have a great time and it's a good use of our onboard booking discount. I did have to sacrifice a verandah to make this work, though. Instead, we have a family oceanview stateroom with a large porthole. I think it will work okay for us, as we won't be trapped in the room for nap times or anything, which is where the verandah was particularly handy. And there are plenty of verandahs throughout the ship and lots of things to do. I don't think we'll be hanging out in the room too much. So, hoping that works out okay and it's a great experience! We've watched a few videos and are getting very excited!

So, with that, I'll bid you a magical night!

 

[schmass]

I'm glad you had a great trip! It's funny, we were actually in MN last weekend and Michael had some things to take care of so I was on my own with the kids for the afternoon. I thought about seeing if you were available for a meetup and realized you were in WDW! It ended up being so cold that we didn't leave his parents house anyway.

That is AMAZING about the comped room! WOW! Lucky you! We'll be at WDW for one day in October as part of the cruise we are doing, but it sounds like you'll be there before us.

And YAY for another cruise! I'm glad you guys are taking advantage of your OBB credit. The Wonder is the one ship I haven't been on yet. The new upgrades should be awesome!

 

[mousehappync]

Wow, this sound Wonder-ful! (Haha!). I cannot BELIEVE they gave you a SIX NIGHT stay-- just-- wow! Talk about pixie dust! So you are going in February and again in October? Super fun! We also combine conferences with Disney-- I love it, since it means I get to do things like eat ice cream for lunch and ride things my husband doesn't like as much as I want You are going to have a blast!!

 

[pkondz]

First, however, I need to finish making notes on the great trip we just returned from last week, so that I'll have some idea what we did by the time I actually write about it.

I get that! I'm looking at my notes now and going "What the heck was that?"

But, of course, I am also sick

Sorry to hear that.

We had a great trip with @Imagineer5 and her daughters.

Great!

we had several (fairly minor) housekeeping issues at Pop Century and they went WAY overboard to make up for it...by giving us a free 6 night Value Resort stay for future use. Yep, for real.

Are you freaking kidding me?!?!?! Wow!!!! That's awesome!! Good for you!!

We didn't get the offer in writing until after our trip, so we didn't feel comfortable upgrading to Annual Passes before that happened. But, when we got the offer, I asked about it and they put a special exception on our account so that we can upgrade (from our now-expired 7-day PH tickets)

More pixie dust!

3.) I have a big and intimidating birthday in February (I'll let you figure out which birthday from my signature...).

Yep. I remember 29. (psstt.... you have a typo in your siggie)

awww...

 

[soniam]

Welcome to the addiction APs are dangerous!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Glad to hear a bit about your recent trip - glad it went well. I am very glad it worked out for you that they let you have both girls ride together on 7DMT ... though kind of annoyed (at Disney, not you) about the inconsistencies as they were very clear is asking my daughter if she was 7 as that is what they said you needed to be to ride without an adult

Wow, that is awesome they gave you the free nights! Disney is usually pretty good about over compensating for mistakes but that is more than I have every heard - very cool!

And very exciting about the cruise - and as we are booked on the Wonder for Feb 2018 I will definitely be picking your brain! (Tiana's looks amazing and the new kids area looks cool too!)

 

[cindianne320]

Oh wow that is totally awesome!

And making me wonder if we would have pressed the bug issue if they would have comped us with anything...(Our LM room at A o A was FILLED with tiny little bugs- scared my DD. I put in a complaint when we got home, and got an apology, and a reassurance that they weren't bed bugs (which I knew), but I should have taken more pictures and/or brought it up when we were there!)

 

[amazingact21]

Wow! Those are some exciting plans! Another cruise and a free 6 night value stay...pretty awesome!!!

I cannot wait to hear about your latest girl's trip to the world. I saw some photos on Lauren's facebook, and the girls looked they were having so much fun.
Izzy hit the 40" mark? Oh my goodness, she's growing up so fast!

Sorry you are sick, hopefully the holidays and work are kind to you and let you rest up some.

 

[Dugette]

I know I have a bunch of comments to reply to, and I will soon, but I'm actually going to post an update tonight. Yes, a real update on our May 2015 trip!! I feel like I haven't written one in forever and, now that I have, just want to get it posted ASAP. Hope to make more DIS time soon to reply to comments and catch up on all the TRs I'm following. But, for now, let's travel back in time to May 2015...


Garden Grove Dinner

We were at the Magic Kingdom bus stop waiting at 6:11pm:



I think we were probably taking the Boardwalk bus? Beats me. I do know that we made a restroom stop in the Swalphin (Swan/Dolphin) and were seated in Garden Grove at 6:57pm. I have to say, I’ve almost never seen this character meal mentioned on the DIS, so it feels a bit like a hidden gem. It’s at a non-Disney-owned hotel, but felt just like any other character meal to me – but less crowded! We went because of a recommendation from another DIS-er, @dtr_angel . Glad we did!

The meal started off a bit strange because my iPhone was almost dead, and so was the backup charger for it. We asked to be seated near an outlet, but they apparently don’t have many and told me I could plug it into the wall near the entrance – but we were seated closer to the middle of the place. So, I spent the first part of our time there just awkwardly standing by my phone, trying to get enough of a charge to get video of the character meets. I was asked by several CMs if something was wrong, since I was just hanging out by the wall. It was weird. I did go back to the table here and there to help get Izzy settled with some dinner, but I was keeping a long-distance eye on the phone. I don’t know, it just didn’t feel right to leave it SO far away from me in public like that. It probably would have been fine, but it certainly would look lost or forgotten, since it was nowhere near us. So, I was back and forth and once I got a little charge, I pulled it and got my food and enjoyed the rest of the meal.

Here’s a look around, courtesy of Dug’s not-quite-dead-yet iPhone:





Look how empty!

Dug got some yucky things (or yummy, if you like that kind of thing, haha ):



Birdie observed us, as usual:



No shock that Izzy got mac and cheese and milk, but she also supplemented with corn dog nuggets:



More things Dug got:



And my plate looks a lot like Izzy’s, but with some green accessories:



Goofy was our first visitor:



I think Dug’s phone may have died by then. But we do have video, thanks to my charging efforts:

(click to watch)

Then I apparently took a couple shots of the surroundings:





And then Pluto arrived:





He was lots of fun. Sorry for the awkward pics and video – I was stuck in my spot and so close to Izzy that it wasn’t a great angle. And the video:

(click to watch)

I don’t know who got soup and salad, but here it is:



Might have been me, but clearly not too memorable if it was.

I have no doubt that I’m the one who got chocolate desserts, though:



And it looks like Izzy enjoyed a cookie for dessert:



And then Chip came to visit us:







Izzy offered him some oyster crackers she had. Cute! And here’s video (as a side note, I’m starting to use Vimeo instead of Photobucket for videos, so you’ll see a mix depending on what Photobucket actually managed to upload before I started a Vimeo account):

Ugh, that video is so awkward with our goofy comments and Dug’s silly jokes. And Izzy not really saying much of anything, ha.

Anyway, Dale came by next and Izzy always loves his visits (and also offered him oyster crackers):













So, in case you are trying to figure out that series of Dale & Dug shots, you can either watch the video or know that they fist bumped and Dale was trying to get Dug to say “Baymax”, but he had no clue – until he eventually figured it out, whew! So, here’s the video:

(click to watch)

Looks like Dug had a less chocolate-centric dessert selection than I did:



We received our bill around this time and it turned out to be one of several meals this trip where they charged us for Izzy (I know she’s 4 now, but keep in mind she was only 2.5 at the time of this trip and was a Disney freebie at buffets). They reversed it when we pointed it out, though. But keep an eye on your bills if you bring a 2-year-old to a fixed-price meal at WDW.

At the time our waiter was there dealing with the bill, Pluto was trying to come over and see us again. Since he was blocked, he went over by that large tree in the middle of the room to kill some time until we were available. When the waiter left, I sent Izzy over to retrieve Pluto, since it was our turn:



They ended up digging up the tree dirt together, looking for bones :



It was super cute, but then some other kids caught on to the fun and swarmed:



Kids even followed Pluto back to our table:



CMs had to herd the other kids back to their tables. Oops, guess I started something. But it was fun for Izzy to dig with Pluto and she has brought it up fondly since the trip (despite Pluto moving on quickly after that and skipping her hug ). Here’s the video:

We finished up then and headed out to walk back to our room at the Boardwalk Villas.

Up next: a VERY late night for me!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Gotta say that I never even think of the Garden Grove (to the point that I was thinking in my head of the Garden Grill and was confused why you stopped at the Swolphin) ... so yeah, "hidden" is a good word for it

Does seem very empty and the food looks rather good - did Dug like the seafood he god? It looked good but looks can be deceiving with seafood

Cute story with Pluto digging in the dirt with Izzy

 

[khertz]

Garden Grove looks like a great spot for a character meal! It looks like there's hardly anyone else there. Definitely a hidden gem! So cute that Pluto & Izzy were digging together.

 

[TinkLoverSam]

We went to Garden Grove for my sister's rehearsal dinner for her wedding. Easy to work with good food (the format changed to a soup and salad bar, choice of entree and dessert bar) and we had great character interaction as well, though it was only Goofy and Pluto

 

[pkondz]

I'm actually going to post an update tonight. Yes, a real update on our May 2015 trip!!

I think we were probably taking the Boardwalk bus? Beats me.

You're asking us?!?!?

I have to say, I’ve almost never seen this character meal mentioned on the DIS, so it feels a bit like a hidden gem.

I'm not sure if I've heard of it before or not....

Maybe.....

But you're right. It doesn't get mentioned much.

We asked to be seated near an outlet, but they apparently don’t have many and told me I could plug it into the wall near the entrance – but we were seated closer to the middle of the place.

Well, that's inconvenient.

I was asked by several CMs if something was wrong, since I was just hanging out by the wall. It was weird.

"No. Just stalking an ex-boyfriend."

I don’t know, it just didn’t feel right to leave it SO far away from me in public like that.

No kidding! Goodbye iPhone!!

Here’s a look around, courtesy of Dug’s not-quite-dead-yet iPhone:

Thanks! Had no idea.

Dug got some yucky things (or yummy, if you like that kind of thing, haha ):

I'm going with.... yummy!

No shock that Izzy got mac and cheese and milk, but she also supplemented with corn dog nuggets:

Corn dog nuggets! She's branching out!

Hey. Watch the hand, buddy.

as a side note, I’m starting to use Vimeo instead of Photobucket for videos, so you’ll see a mix depending on what Photobucket actually managed to upload before I started a Vimeo account

Oh? Why? Easier? Cheaper? What?

Ugh, that video is so awkward with our goofy comments and Dug’s silly jokes. And Izzy not really saying much of anything, ha.

Okay, so I wasn't missing something.

<fist bump>

Maybe I missed it... What's Dale doing there?

Awwwwww....

At the time our waiter was there dealing with the bill, Pluto was trying to come over and see us again. Since he was blocked, he went over by that large tree in the middle of the room to kill some time until we were available.

Dog. By the tree. Waiting.

Surrrrrrre.
Waiting. Uh, huh.

They ended up digging up the tree dirt together, looking for bones :

Too cute!

Kids even followed Pluto back to our table:

"Back off kids! The dawg's ours!"

 

[Princess Leia]

Your videos of Izzy are so cute. The Vimeo videos work well. Dale was certainly persistent in trying to get his message across to Dug! We love Garden Grove - we stayed at the Swan in 2009 and ate there a lot! I think their character breakfast is one of the best. Anyway your videos made me look out an old video of Hannah and Peter. I really need to get them transferred - that was the holiday my video camera was stolen at the airport but fortunately that tape was separate. Here's a photo of my 2 - Peter was 4 at the time. They were having a great time!

 

[mousehappync]

I have always wondered about this meal-- yours is the first-ever real-life report I've seen of it! It looks very cute-- you got some great interactions. The tree is really magical!

 

[amazingact21]

I don't think I've ever read a report with a review of Garden Grove before. Thanks for venturing there and giving everyone here the rundown of the place. Maybe now some of us will find a time to visit. I can't believe how empty the place looked in your photos.

So, I spent the first part of our time there just awkwardly standing by my phone, trying to get enough of a charge to get video of the character meets.

Ugh, the dead battery game. I'm glad to hear there was an outlet the CMs let you use, but that standing around had to be annoying. I don't blame you for sticking close to your phone. Those things aren't cheap, and they hold a lot of important information. Not something you don't want to have eyes on at all times.
Random story. Our international flight to Germany was on board a military-only flight and we all had to wait at BWI for about 5 hours pre-boarding. Thanks to the family line, Alex and I got to the gate early and snagged an outlet for our devices. Of course, throughout the night people kept coming up asking to use it, and one guy just plugged it in and then left. Like, went out of the airport to take a quick walk. So there I was, kind of feeling like I needed to babysit this random guy's phone. It was so awkward. And your story just reminded me how I would never do something like that, surrounded by military families or not.

They reversed it when we pointed it out, though. But keep an eye on your bills if you bring a 2-year-old to a fixed-price meal at WDW.

I don't get this. I know kids are charged at 3 but c'mon, even most 3 year olds don't eat that much. You'd think Disney would err on the side of the parents and just not charge unless the kid is clearly past 3. It's not like they are eating an entire steak dinner here...(then again, my kids could easily demolish a steak if they shared, but I understand that my kids' metabolisms are not the norm!)

 

[Imagineer5]

It looks like you guys did the seafood meal buffet? I was considering surprising Andrew with that dinner. He said we can skip Cape May (!!!!) bc he knows I don't enjoy it, but this would be a win win with all the seafood (and other options) for him and characters and stuff too.

 

[Dugette]

Glad it wasn't a big deal to be late for your lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern. Did the dessert make it all worth while? Seems like I hear mixed things about that meal in general, but overall very positive things on the dessert so trying to figure out if it is worth it to try it or not

I think they made some changes to the menu here after our visit? I'm not sure, but I've heard mixed things too. This was our only experience here, so I don't have much to compare it to. The dessert was very good. Was it the best thing I've ever had at Disney? Well, no, but it was tasty.

That's definitely exciting that Izzy will be able to ride BTMRR - I know with Peter I definitely felt the need to hold him in with my arm as he is so much smaller than me so when the lap bar hit me it was still like a foot away from him and he felt pretty not safe

I kept that in mind with Izzy, but tried to pull the bar pretty tight on me, so it wasn't too bad for her. And she loved it!

I think the biggest drawback to the Magic Kingdom is the lack of shade (stupid utilidoors preventing the growing of trees) and it really shows when waiting for a parade - even when you get reserved seating ... glad you enjoyed the parade though

Yes, it was SO HOT. Shade would have been lovely. But worth it for the great parade view!

That is a cute picture of you talking very serious like with Izzy and having the Superstar Diet Coke with you

Thanks, it made me laugh.

Hello, it's been a while since I commented on your report (oops, bad Dis-er). But when I saw those parade pictures I just had to drop in and say "holy sweet mother of Disney channel stars!" Now, as a father of a tween girl (is that what they call 9 year olds these days?) I know all too well who those kids in the cars were, since the movies/TV shows are pretty much on repeat play in our house. My daughter would have lost her mind at that parade. Perhaps in 5 years or so you'll know who they are too. Just in case you're curious (and since Izzy might watch the movies one day when she's older, so you can tell her you saw them in a parade), the stars are (in order of your pictures): Teen Beach Movie, Bunk'd, and Descendants.

Hello! No worries on the comments, though always nice to know I haven't scared people away. And thank you for the info! I had no idea and, frankly, I've only even heard of the third one. But, yes, in a few years, that may change.

I only recognized Callie from The Fosters!

Also good to know. If it's not on Disney Junior, we're not watching it yet.

Glad to see there wasn't an issue checking in late to LTT. And I have to agree with you about the kid's dessert. It rarely does come out. However, I won't lie, I kind of like that, because most times Landon doesn't eat his meals and we don't like to let him have a treat when he does that. Of course, since moving to Germany that has gone out the window, because Germans love kids and the minute they walk into a restaurant they are handed gummy candies. One time, Landon even got a piece of strawberry cheesecake just for showing up with Alex to pick up our dinner order...
That being said, though, I'm sure glad they took the ice cream off the bill. That was only fair.

Yes, that's my issue - being charged for something I didn't get! But, I agree with you, I don't love throwing treats at her for barely eating her meal. But, if they bring it, at least I have the option to steal it.

No matter how many times I see it, I always enjoy seeing photos of FoF parade. And good thinking with the changing pad. Having kids and all their essentials comes in handy at times.

That changing pad was a lifesaver at that parade! I mean, we really didn't get much use out of it otherwise, as she'd potty-trained before this trip, but it was the best sidewalk cushion! And I agree - FoF is so visually amazing!

The Tinkerbell photos are adorable. It's fun seeing pictures of Izzy so young. She seems so grown up now! (And I guess she is...about to ride BTMRR and all.)

Thanks! Haha, it's so hard for me to do this report because kids change so much in 1.5 years at these ages. But it's fun to see how she is still so much herself, even at this younger age.

Yay for 5000 posts! Izzy is looking so big! Beautiful family photos.

Thanks - on all counts!

What an amazing morning-- from a ship to the castle in just a few hours!! She looks so happy meeting Tink. And LTT!!!! My favorite dessert in all the world (Disney and beyond!) Yummmmmm. I can't wait to hear what your next character meal is.

It was a pretty cool feeling to leave the ship and, instead of being depressed about vacation being over, heading to the MK instead! Yes, that Tink meet was really great and I'm glad it worked out that we ended up there. It was a tasty dessert! I can see why it has so many fans. And, since I'm behind on replies, I'm sure you've heard about the next character meal by now.

Ooh thats exciting! Looking forward to hearing about your solo time in MK!

Just wrote up the update! Not sure if I have the energy to proof/post it tonight - but soon, for sure.

So cute! I also love her shirt! Did you have that made special?

Our awesome daycare provider (actually a big Disney fan and on here!) made it for her! Very sweet and we've gotten quite a bit of mileage out of it!

Aw! What a perfect reaction to the castle. Very magical

It really was a great reaction - so impressed and awed.

I have that same look when I watch the parade! I love it so much!

Ha, it's pretty amazing.

I love meeting Think - she's always a blast!

I agree - she's pretty fun to interact with!

I've noticed the same thing about kids' desserts that are included with meals. Seems to be more optional than guaranteed. Not specifically something I've noticed at Disney though.

Agreed - it's not just at Disney, but anywhere we go out, it seems. The worst is when you ask about it and they act like you're demanding something unusual, even though it's right there on the menu.

I'm glad that you managed to make your ADR and all your FP's. I'm sure even if they'd given you a hard time about being late to BTMRR, you could show them the receipt from LTT and they'd be ok with it... at least that's what I've heard.

Good to know - I didn't even think about showing the receipt. Luckily, it wasn't an issue. (And, not to brag, but we did pretty good at being on time for things on this recent trip! )

That really doesn't seem to be a well thought out FP+ for the parade. I mean if I'm going to use a FP+ to see it, I'd kind of like it to be a location that is a tolerable viewing experience. I mean, yeah, I guess your location is pretty great, but not having shade in Florida in the summer is kind of a deal breaker for me.

I know - it was really miserably hot in that area. The sidewalk was scalding. They could use some umbrellas or something.