Many reasons to be THANKFUL! Oh, look the baby is crying Nov '12 (THROWBACK FRIDAY!)

[francis6306]

Disney- Day FOUR!

This was a big day! This was my FIRST Rope Drop at MK and I was DETERMINED to make it there! Of course, I had that hope that we'd get there REALLY early and someone would see my beautiful girls and think "Gee- THAT is the family that should open the park!" Of course, like most of us… that didn't happen. The girls weren't slow… but they weren't racing out of the room that morning, either! They just didn't understand!!!

We finally got out to the bus stop…

And waited… I'm telling you… every other bus was good- but they NEED more MK buses running for AoA.


We get to MK and the holding area is so full and we've got about 20 minutes until rope drop. We waited until we were at the Park to put on the Princess dresses! Well, Cort's a Princess and Catie was Minnie. But, as it is, I'm glad that we got to just be in the crowds! Of course, we got the PP shot!

We waited and waited… Catie was just THRILLED to be there…

I really enjoyed the show! The family that opened the park was a military family and I admit… I MIGHT have shed a tear or two… or a few dozens…

Soon it was time to work our way into the park! Look at these crowds!

We were on a mission this morning… and that mission? Was to head STRAIGHT to meet Merida! We had avoided the whole area on our first day, because I did NOT want to stand in that line! We walked over and there were only a few more families in line before us, so I was HAPPY! While we waited, I took Cortlyn up and took a few pictures at the wishing well.

Finally, the started letting us in to meet Merida! YAY! I love that they have some stuff for the kids to do while waiting to meet the princess! I know they had this area stages for Rapunzel before, but we didn't meet her in 2010. I think that they had it done PERFECTLY for Merida though! the table was wet though- it had rained overnight. They were trying to squeegy it off, but that wasn't really enough.

They called for the kids to get in line to practice their Archery. I left Corey in line and took the girls down. Cortlyn was so excited to try this!

Catie even got in on the action!!

Soon it was our turn to meet the princess!

 

[francis6306]

OH! One thing I forgot to mention!! When Merida came out, we were in line for the bow and arrows. Catie was fussing (Shocked, huh?) because she wanted it to be her turn. Well, Merida shouts "Hey Minnie!! That's enough! Ya gotta wait your turn!" It was just enough to get Catie to calm down. Now, I'll say- this was done out of love, and you could tell. She wasn't angry or anything, she was just trying to help distract Catie from the lines, so the other kids could enjoy it! It was a cute little moment I thought! She had bent down and was smiling and cooing with Catie for a minute after she said it, too. I appreciated it!

Cortlyn and I had already watched Brave in the theaters, but Catie had not seen it. Didn't really change anything… Catie wasn't quite sure about her!

For whatever reason, I think it was just nerves! Cortlyn acted shy about meeting Merida! She was hiding from her! So weird this kid!!! Merida did great though, and "chased" her around Corey and finally got her to trust her!

 

[luckylady]

Great updates. Those pictures of the girls are priceless.

 

[francis6306]

Great updates. Those pictures of the girls are priceless.

I think so too!! They are adorable- EVEN when they aren't happy!

 

[petals]

Joining in. Luvin the AoA room. I need a nemo bed

Luvin all the photopass pics luv the Merida meet as well

 

[francis6306]

So after our playdate with Merida, we made our way over to the Circus!

First up was of COURSE- DUMBO! This was such a hit for Catie! If you haven't been through the new Queue, let me tell you, it was GREAT. You get in the line, as usual, but when you get back inside the tent, they have a play area set up for the kids so that they can play while waiting. They give you a pager, like you would get a restaurant that will buzz when it's time to go!

The middle section is for young kids ONLY… of course, that doesn't stop some kids from playing in there. Catie enjoyed this area! (I thought I had a picture of the sign that said the ages… but I don't.)

Behind this area, there was stuff for the older kids- climbing, netting and some slides. Cortlyn had a BLAST playing in here!

Catie thought she wanted to play in the big kid area… but that didn't last long! She always gets scared!

Soon it was our turn. Let me tell you- it was hard to pull my girls away from the play area! They wanted to stay!! But we convinced them to come out so we could ride!

 

[francis6306]

After this ride, we decided that it was time to head towards the Monorail… we had a breakfast planned this morning!

As we got up to the station, we were VERY excited to see we got to see this:

We got on, and luckily there wasn't anyone else in our car!

Which was good… because one minute...

And the next…

What can I say??

Anyway, we finally made it around to our stop at…



The Grand Floridian!! We had a Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious breakfast scheduled! We skipped the picture out front. Not sure why they even do this. If there was a character here, then I might consider it. Of course, we did buy it last time- but that was because Cortlyn actually SMILED and it was the FIRST good picture we had on that trip!

Anyway, we sat down and got ready!

Didn't take long for Alice to stop by our table!

The Mad Hatter and Alice had a bit of a run in- it was funny, but they literally backed right into each other and poor Alice almost fell down!

We asked the MH to pass us by… Catie wasn't feeling him and Cortlyn wasn't even sure who he was. She hadn't watch Alice in Wonderland yet, but she thought Alice was pretty.

Tigger was next- and he was so sweet. It was hard on this trip, because both girls were on the outside and poor Catie was struggling… Tigger tried, but she wasn't buying this big stuffed animal stuff!

I had high hopes for Pooh. Catie LOVES Pooh and has to have him to sleep EVERY NIGHT! Well, you could tell- she WANTED to love that big Pooh… but she just couldn't get over her fear!!!

On to some of the FOOD!

I LOVE the lobster eggs benedict! I'm usually not into runny eggs, but this stuff is really yummy!

Well, at this point, I went to go get an omelette. Biggest Mistake EVER. I had the chattiest omelette chef EVER and he did NOT pay attention. Sigh. He messed up 3 omelettes while I was waiting on mine and he just TALKED about he had been doing this for years… Anyway, I'm standing at the station and I can clearly see Mary come to the table and I'm so upset! Mary is one of MY favorite characters and I was missing her. Corey stepped up and took some pictures for me though!

On my way back to the table, Pooh had decided to come back and try to love on Catie again- I'll tell you, this was the BEST character interaction! I know we saw all the characters at least 2 or 3 times in the hour we were there! Anyway, since I was up, I jumped in and got my picture with Pooh!

Here is my long awaited omelette along with the banana's foster pancakes (which were yummy too!):

We love 1900 Park Fare for Breakfast and we will keep it on our list! I know I'd like to change it up and try Crystal Palace… but we just know that 1900 is YUMMY food that we like! I also like the variety of characters! Although, I wish they would replace the fact that Belle has been pulled!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Awww, I hate that Miss Catie wasn't too sure of the characters but it does look like she did warm up to Pooh a little. Now, Cortlyn, on the other hand, looked like she was really intto seeing everybody but the Mad Hatter.

 

[francis6306]

Awww, I hate that Miss Catie wasn't too sure of the characters but it does look like she did warm up to Pooh a little. Now, Cortlyn, on the other hand, looked like she was really intto seeing everybody but the Mad Hatter.

Oh yeah! Cortlyn loved the characters this go round! Better than the LAST time she saw Pooh at 1900!

 

[jenseib]

I notice your pose. You told me how to do that to make yourself look skinnier in pictures and I try to remember to do it too!
Catie cracks me up. We had a lot of moments with my niece Abby where her mood changed from happy to tantrum in 1.5 seconds too.
The girls look so darn cute in snow at DHS! We loved it too. Such a neat feeling.
Breakfast looks darn good. Much better than the english muffin I just ate.
I am one of the fools that bought the picture at 1900 PF too. It was like you said, a good picture, even though there wasn't a character.

 

[emmysmommy]

LOVE the Meridan interaction with the girls!!! I didn't know they did the archery thing...that's cute. We saw Merida last time and the gal was awesome. (Different CM.)

I completely agree about the photo op at 1900 PF - they take your photo in front of a wall with no characters - not sure why I've been sucked into that in the past but I'm wise to their ways now!! (Well, now that you've pointed that out! )

The girls' dresses were adorable.

One day Catie will be thrilled to get a squeeze from Pooh!

 

[francis6306]

I notice your pose. You told me how to do that to make yourself look skinnier in pictures and I try to remember to do it too!
Catie cracks me up. We had a lot of moments with my niece Abby where her mood changed from happy to tantrum in 1.5 seconds too.
The girls look so darn cute in snow at DHS! We loved it too. Such a neat feeling.
Breakfast looks darn good. Much better than the english muffin I just ate.
I am one of the fools that bought the picture at 1900 PF too. It was like you said, a good picture, even though there wasn't a character.

Glad to pass on my knowledge!!! I think it makes a difference! Maybe not a lot- but I *think* I look better and that's all that matters!

The breakfast is REALLY good! I prefer the menu here to H&V. It's got the staples, but includes some really unique items. I have dreamed about those lobster egg benedict since our trip. You would probably love that, too!

LOVE the Meridan interaction with the girls!!! I didn't know they did the archery thing...that's cute. We saw Merida last time and the gal was awesome. (Different CM.)

I completely agree about the photo op at 1900 PF - they take your photo in front of a wall with no characters - not sure why I've been sucked into that in the past but I'm wise to their ways now!! (Well, now that you've pointed that out! )

The girls' dresses were adorable.

One day Catie will be thrilled to get a squeeze from Pooh!

Well, you know, they get us all with those random GREAT pictures that we just have to get!!! I should scan the picture from 2010 and share it. I had to buy it because Cortlyn had been really crabby about pictures, but on this one picture she had the most amazing smile! It's still one of my FAVORITE pictures of her!

Merida was so much fun! Cortlyn talks about "arch-ry" all the time now!

 

[francis6306]

Okay people!

My husband JUST said "Why don't we go to Disney for Spring Break?"

Me: Um… That's in two weeks.

DH: Well, why didn't we think about going SB instead of Thanksgiving?

Me: Um… we DID. YOU have to work Baskeball tournaments and weren't sure when we could leave. So we picked TG.

DH: Well… do you KNOW what goes on at Disney during Spring Break?? (while pointing at the TV which is on that little unknown sports network)

Me: (Blank Stare)

DH: NEXT YEAR! We are going to Disney NEXT year on Spring break and I'm going to spend a day at Wide World of Sports and I'm going to Spring Training.

Me: Oh well, if you are going to twist my arm about it….

 

[scottny]

Tusker House is so much fun. Love that breakfast.
Nice pics on the safari.
That meatloaf sandwich is so good.
Sorry about the camera.
I agree about the Iphone and pics. I need a real camera when on vacation.
Nice breakfast.
TSM is a fun ride but the waits are just crazy.
Photopass pics were great.
WOW! That is a lot of M&M’s.
GMR is my least favorite ride in all of WDW,
Fun times with the Osborne lights and Santa Goofy.
Great Dumbo pics. I saw adults up top when we were there. Not sure if they belonged there but was surprised.
1900 is a great place breakfast. Great pics.
All caught up again.

 

[francis6306]

Tusker House is so much fun. Love that breakfast.
Nice pics on the safari.
That meatloaf sandwich is so good.
Sorry about the camera.
I agree about the Iphone and pics. I need a real camera when on vacation.
Nice breakfast.
TSM is a fun ride but the waits are just crazy.
Photopass pics were great.
WOW! That is a lot of M&M’s.
GMR is my least favorite ride in all of WDW,
Fun times with the Osborne lights and Santa Goofy.
Great Dumbo pics. I saw adults up top when we were there. Not sure if they belonged there but was surprised.
1900 is a great place breakfast. Great pics.
All caught up again.

Thanks! I know how it is to get behind on TR's!

I'm sure those adults were chasing their kids! Haha!

I think Tusker House and 1900 will always be our favorite stops for Breakfast! But I'm going to keep trying places- just in case!

 

[francis6306]

So, Catie was starting to fall apart… it was getting late in the morning and she had a big morning! Cortlyn didn't like the idea of going back to the hotel. So, I looked at Corey and we decided that I would take Cortlyn back to MK for a little bit- see how she did and we'd either come back to the hotel or meet up with Catie and Corey later. Corey packed up Catie and headed back to AoA. While we waited on our check, we had a few more character interactions! I'm telling you- these characters are the best!!

Since we were at the GF and it was Christmas… That meant ONE thing!! Pictures by the GINGERBREAD HOUSE!!!

We headed back to the park and Cortlyn was so excited to have some "mommy and me" time! Gotta say, I was too! It makes me look forward to solo trips with Cortlyn later on- like Jen, Mom2rtk, and Brenda (Emmysmommy). So, we took some photopass pictures!

Remember how we had a meltdown from Cortlyn about not getting to meet Jessie at HS?? Well, we were going to make up for it RIGHT NOW! We headed over towards Splash Mountain to find Woody and Jessie! As we came up on Splash Mountain, Cortlyn saw the drop and said "We GOTTA ride that!" I was really impressed that she wanted to ride it- especially after seeing the drop! So, we grabbed FP's and headed over to meet Jessie! Oh… and Woody!

We had some time to waste for our FP for Splash mountain… So, we decided to play in the little playground under the bridge!

Then it was TIME! I was interested to see how Cortlyn was going to do with Splash Mountain. I really wasn't looking forward to this- I'm not really a "water ride" person. BUT I wanted to encourage her to ride some of the bigger rides.. soooo… you do what they wanna do!!! One quick picture before I put the camera away! (I wrapped it up in a map and stuck it in my shirt and zipped up my jacket to make sure it didn't get wet!)

And it was a SUCCESS!!! Here is my el cheapo shot of our ride picture!

She LOVED the ride!!!! She would have rode it again, but I had other ideas for our time. I decided it was time for us to have a Dole Whip!!!! We walked over toward the stand, and I talked to Cortlyn about our options. I wanted to share a float, but she didn't want to do that. She wanted Vanilla ice cream. What about sharing a swirl? Nope. Finally, I gave up, and we got her a Vanilla dole whip- which is probably just ice cream! and then I got a pineapple Dole Whip. No float…

Wouldn't you know it, she tasted mine and she wanted to share her vanilla with me so I would share my pineapple with her. Sigh! They were really so yummy, and we easily finished them. I am bummed I didn't try the float, but I didn't want pineapple on pineapple and didn't want to get TWO vanilla things. Oh the thought process to pick your snacks!!!!!!!

 

[francis6306]

So, after having a perfect snack, we decided to make our way over to Fantasyland to see about finding Belle. I didn't really talk to Cortlyn about this, BUT if you read my PTR, you will know that when I mentioned to Cortlyn about us having dinner in the Beast's Castle, she got VERY excited and said "Can we see the LIBRARY?!?!" Well, at this time, I had no idea that Enchanted Tales with Belle would actually take place in the Library. When I found out, I knew she would be so excited about it. We made our way over to the the entrance and we talked about meeting Belle and trying to find the Library. I made Cortlyn ask a CM about the Library and he was perfect. He went on about how if we went to Belle's house they may be able to help us find the Library.

Okay, so I love this- show? event? Not sure what to call it… but MAN the wait is soooo long! And it's hot. There isn't much shade until you get right up at the house. So, if you are going in the summer- be prepared!!!!

We made friends with people in line- it was nice to have people to talk with! The girls behind us in line were actually from the same town in GA that we lived in when I had Cortlyn and we knew some mutual friends! ~ It's a small, small world!~ We also ended up talking with an older gentleman that LOVED to talk about his days in the air force and working for Boeing.

Finally, we got inside. I would have LOVED to have some time to really explore this room with a few less people in there with me!!!

I love the details- the books and even these markings on the wall are all in French!

We were then ushered into the room with the magic mirror and I was really bummed Cortlyn wasn't a little closer to the front to see what all was happening… I didn't get any pictures or video of this part. No flash and well… you know my issues with the camera...

Suddenly we were walking through the magic mirror and were greeted by the Wardrobe!!

I was a LITTLE disappointed that Cortlyn was a "filler" as a picture frame, but she was just so excited!

I got a video, but it's not going to upload. Anyway, our Photopass pictures of our storytime!

I LOVE this event. I can't wait until Catie is old enough to participate in this! Cortlyn was just so thrilled to end up in the LIBRARY. I think this was a GREAT addition to NFL, and I'd love to see some other character interactions like this!

 

[hobbs6799]

I am really enjoying your TR. Your family is simply beautiful!!!!!

So glad to hear and see some positive reviews of Park Faire Breakfast. We have that planned on our October trip and I am so excited. I just love Mary Poppins and Alice!

 

[francis6306]

I am really enjoying your TR. Your family is simply beautiful!!!!!

So glad to hear and see some positive reviews of Park Faire Breakfast. We have that planned on our October trip and I am so excited. I just love Mary Poppins and Alice!

I think it's yummy! We enjoyed it!! Glad you are enjoying our report!

 

[TinkyCheeks]

Oh my goodness, I just love this TR! Your girls are so sweet. This has been so much fun to read so far.