There's a First Time for Everything! A Christmas In November TR

[stace208]

Aaaah! That hurts.
Three months from now,
I will be on spring break
at home
hoping my credit card looks better
than what it does right now.


At least at that point we'll be halfway to the summer trip.

Take lots and lots of pictures for me.

Awww, MeMom, I'm sorry I'll take bunches of pictures for you! Trust me, if it wasn't for cheap airfare and bonus DVC points from our contract I wouldn't be going either!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

We took the train from Raleigh. It really wasn't a bad trip. It's overnight. We didn't have to stop to eat or potty. You could get up and walk around. The sleeping wasn't that great, but the kids enjoyed it. Hubby and I could read, watch a movie, etc... We didn't have to worry about traffic. For the four of us, it cost slightly less than the gas would have for my jeep. My girls loved it.


Definately worth a try, just for the expirence. Just don't park your car at the station (at least in Raleigh), it's not in a very good part of town.

Thanks for the info. We may consider it next time. I'd rather be on a train for 15 hours than a plane for 1 hour and 1/2. It's DH that doesn't want to do the train.

 

[MaryAz]

2 great updates-I was behind... The pirates cruise looked really fun. And to have your daughter picked to lead everyone-like you said-priceless. My hubby bought me the WIshes CD for Christmas. I still cry every time I hear it.
Your safari pics were really great. And there is one on the trail with the light flowing down (from Heaven) that was stunning. Glad you got to see so many more animals. My hubby has a hat just like that!!

 

[dvc4life]

I am truly enjoying your report. You are doing an excellent job!

All I have to say is "Girl you go ahead and blubber any time you want. I know I do!" In fact I was tearing up at your post about the pirate cruise, Captain Hook, fireworks, and how special your little girl was getting treated. Such a special thing. And I always tear up at Wishes. So you just go ahead and cry a little. We all do it!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

2 great updates-I was behind... The pirates cruise looked really fun. And to have your daughter picked to lead everyone-like you said-priceless. My hubby bought me the WIshes CD for Christmas. I still cry every time I hear it.
Your safari pics were really great. And there is one on the trail with the light flowing down (from Heaven) that was stunning. Glad you got to see so many more animals. My hubby has a hat just like that!!

It was priceless! I think I will tear up every time I hear the music to Wishes from now on. What a nice thing for your DH to buy you for Christmas. Very thoughtful!!

I love that waterfall picture too. I love waterfalls anyway, but combine that with Disney and it is heavenly!

I am truly enjoying your report. You are doing an excellent job!

All I have to say is "Girl you go ahead and blubber any time you want. I know I do!" In fact I was tearing up at your post about the pirate cruise, Captain Hook, fireworks, and how special your little girl was getting treated. Such a special thing. And I always tear up at Wishes. So you just go ahead and cry a little. We all do it!

Thank you so much. I am glad you are enjoying it. I am having a great time myself! And a few tears did trickle down. I just couldn't help it. I am just glad that it was so dark so I could pull myself together before we got back to CR. I'm sure I wasn't the only one blubbering on the boat though. It was such a beautiful thing that I am sure there were others!

 

[If U Had Wings]

Your safari pics are beautiful. Mine always end up a blurry mess. I say I'm just going to give up, but I keep trying anyways.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

We left off with DD wanting to spend some of her souvenir money. Amazingly, it wasn’t a trinket or some piece of junk that she had her heart set on buying. She wanted to get her face painted instead. I was thrilled!!! That was one thing I wouldn’t have to pick up constantly in her room! These were her choices:

DD is quite prissy, so she chose the very girly looking unicorn.

And her beautiful transformation begins............

DD just kept staring at herself in the mirror. I think she was in shock at first!

The CM did a fantastic job. She was from Kenya, which I thought was so cool. What an amazing journey that must have been for her!

I love this picture!

It was still pretty early, so we decided to head on to Asia and ride EE. On the way, we ran into a few jungle friends.

DH decided to go ahead and get fast passes while we were meeting Baloo, King Louie, and Terk. He made it back just as we were finishing up. He said it was only a 10 minute wait, but he got the fast passes anyway. Since crowds were so low and we now had the FPs, we changed our plans and went for an early lunch before going on to Asia.

I had read so many positive reviews here on the Dis about Flame Tree BBQ that I really wanted to try it. It was 11:00 and we were first in line when they opened. DH and I both got the ribs and DD got the kids BBQ chicken meal.

We were kind of disappointed. The ribs were very tough. I’m talking shoe leather tough. The flavor was good, but they were almost inedible. The beans were not so great either. DD’s chicken was good though, and the BBQ sauce was tasty. Our desserts were just ok. The seating area is very shady and peaceful (other than the man-eating birds!). Maybe it was just an off day, but I don’t think we would eat there again.

We stopped to watch these guys for a few minutes. They were called the Village Beatniks and they were jammin’!

Before heading to EE, we decided to check out Dinoland because we never even walked through there last year.

DD loves Dumbo so we hopped in line for Tricera Top Spin since it is so similar. She loves these rides because she gets to steer them.

Continued in next post.............

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Now here is where this day’s drama began. Remember my trivia question from the last post............ “How long does it take a $15 Disney souvenir to get ruined?” Well, about a hour and a half by my calculations! As we strolled around Dinoland, DH saw the Dinosaur ride off to the left. Before he could even get the words out of his mouth, I said, “We are not riding that.” I explained that I had read on the Dis that it is really scary and I know it will terrify DD. But of’course, he cannot leave well enough alone and he tries to convince DD that she can handle it. I kept telling him that it was going to scare her to death and I didn’t want her to ride it. Well, he knows EVERYTHING, and tells DD that he will buy her some ice cream if she rides it. WHAT!!!??? Well then she is determined to ride it and nothing I say will deter her. I told her over and over that it was going to be dark and loud, but she could only think about that stupid ice cream! (And now that I think about it, DD totally got shafted! We had the dining plan FOR FREE, so she could have gotten all the ice cream that she wanted anyway! What a rip off! )

Anyway, I digress. So as we are walking through the queue (there was no line, so that should have been a sign!!), DH says, “It can’t be so bad, it’s Disney.” At this point, I am done. I’m not even going to try to convince Einstein here that he is wrong.

There were children crying hysterically getting off the ride when we were loading. I just gave DH the look and he knew right then that he would never live this one down. It only took about 10 seconds on this ride before he was choking on his words. You know the ones.............. “It can’t be so bad, it’s Disney.”

I know there must be people out there who enjoy this ride, but I have to tell you............ DD and I are NOT on that list! I think our ride photo really says it all.

Ya see the family on the back row with the mother praying to God, the daughter near death, and the father begging for forgiveness? Yeah, that's us!

Never in my life have I experienced anything like that. I was even terrified. Maybe I am a total weenie, but I will never ride that again. Just look at my poor baby. She was scarred for life by that ride. Ok, maybe not for life, but definitely for the rest of the day!

So what does all this have to do with her souvenir? See for yourself!

That was one hard earned ice cream bar!

I cleaned her face up the best I could with hand wipes. She wanted me to salvage as much of it as possible. I tried, but it was a lost cause. But now we know that the face paint isn’t tear proof!

DD had had enough of Dinosaurs, so we finally headed for EE.

Well, DD got her revenge! She refused to ride EE! HA! That was too funny to me because that is DH’s favorite ride and he had been looking forward to it all day. DD loved it last year, but no way was she going to be eaten by a Yeti just 10 minutes after narrowly escaping the jaws of a T-Rex! Serves him right for bribing my baby with a cheap thrill and then tormenting her!

I did actually offer to wait with DD while he rode EE, but he didn’t want to ride it without us. So we gave our fast passes to a very thankful family of three that we saw heading for the stand-by line.

Firsts tally: 20 (face painting, meeting Baloo, King Louie, Terk, Flame Tree BBQ, Village Beatniks, Dinoland, Tricera Top Spin, & Dinosaur)

Up Next: Can we salvage this day, or was the trauma too much for DD to bear?

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Your safari pics are beautiful. Mine always end up a blurry mess. I say I'm just going to give up, but I keep trying anyways.

Well thank you. You should keep trying. Try different settings and maybe you will find one that will work better for you. It really is a challenge though. Almost all of my pictures last year were terrible!

 

[Stasieki]

My DH did the same thing when we went to Animal Kindgom (I think Wed). She is not even 4 yet. I didn't go on since I am pregnant, but had ridden it before and knew about it. I still hear about it to this day from her. Poor thing rode that and Splash Mtn, but still hasn't ridden Barnstormer.

 

[DisneyJo]

Your DD's face painiting was gorgeous, so sorry about it being ruined on Dinosaur and I hope your DH knows to listen to you now

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Awww!!! Your poor little girl. We love Dinosaur but I can definitely see that it could be very scary. She definitely deserved that ice cream and much more!! Now, I was terrified on EE. The backwards part is what really got me! Eek. Her face painting turned out really well though. She's such a cutie with those freckles.

 

[Charleston Princess]

DD's face painting came out great!!! So pretty! But poor DD and you having to ride Dinosaur when you didn't want to. We are actually Dinosaur junkies at our house -- all four of us love the ride, but I can see where it could be terrifying. DD did earn her ice cream that's for sure!

 

[If U Had Wings]

I feel so bad for your poor DD. The face paint was so beautiful!

 

[Jenvenza]

Poor little girl!! I bet your DH heard about that one for a while!!!

A funny thing happened to us the other day - my DD is only 2.5, so not big enough to ride a lot of rides, but she LOVES to watch videos and see pictures of them. So the other day we were going to watch something on Dinosaur. I told her she was too little to ride it yet and it was kind of scary anyway. Then my 2 yo looks at me and says in a matter of fact voice - "It isn't REAL, Mommy!!"

I about fell out of my chair!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

My DH did the same thing when we went to Animal Kindgom (I think Wed). She is not even 4 yet. I didn't go on since I am pregnant, but had ridden it before and knew about it. I still hear about it to this day from her. Poor thing rode that and Splash Mtn, but still hasn't ridden Barnstormer.

What is it with men? They just don't get it. My DD reminds DH about it quite often too! We can laugh about it now, but it wasn't so funny then.

Your DD's face painiting was gorgeous, so sorry about it being ruined on Dinosaur and I hope your DH knows to listen to you now

The CMs that do the face painting are so talented!

DH will never listen to me. He is too stubborn! I love him, but he always thinks he knows better!

Awww!!! Your poor little girl. We love Dinosaur but I can definitely see that it could be very scary. She definitely deserved that ice cream and much more!! Now, I was terrified on EE. The backwards part is what really got me! Eek. Her face painting turned out really well though. She's such a cutie with those freckles.

I am just NOT a thrill ride person. I do it for DD and DH. I don't want them to think they have to lug around a stick in the mud everywhere, but I don't like it. I rode EE last year and that was intense for me too but Dinosaur was over the top! I really like Peter Pan and Mickey's Phillharmagic!

The face painters were awesome!

DD's face painting came out great!!! So pretty! But poor DD and you having to ride Dinosaur when you didn't want to. We are actually Dinosaur junkies at our house -- all four of us love the ride, but I can see where it could be terrifying. DD did earn her ice cream that's for sure!

Well, you go girl! You must be a tough cookie! There is NOTHING fearless about me though............ remember I have the Marlin mentality! And I felt like it was going to sling me out of the seat. I was holding on for dear life! Everyone asks DD, "So, did you have a good time at Disney?" and she always replies, "Yes, except my Daddy tricked me into riding Dinosaur!"

I feel so bad for your poor DD. The face paint was so beautiful!

Wasn't she pitiful. DH had some major making up to do with her! She suckered him out of a $25 book in the gift shop afterwards! He would have never agreed to that unless he was riddled with guilt!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Poor little girl!! I bet your DH heard about that one for a while!!!

A funny thing happened to us the other day - my DD is only 2.5, so not big enough to ride a lot of rides, but she LOVES to watch videos and see pictures of them. So the other day we were going to watch something on Dinosaur. I told her she was too little to ride it yet and it was kind of scary anyway. Then my 2 yo looks at me and says in a matter of fact voice - "It isn't REAL, Mommy!!"

I about fell out of my chair!

Aren't little ones a hoot! It's so funny that you say that because that is the same thing that my DD was telling me as we were walking through the line. My how things changed after the ride started!!!!

Your little girl is such a cutie!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Oh my gosh - you and your poor DD! The face painting was so beautiful too!
Your DH should have felt guilty! Men really need to listen to their wives!!!

 

[donnajean17]

Joining on board! Enjoying your report so far!

It's sad that your DD face got ruined, but look at the positive, you still have one less thing to clean up in her room!

Can't wait to hear more!

 

[MeMom]

I like this picture. I think it shows the bewilderment in your daughter's mind that that was really her in that mirror!

Nice that you gave 'props' to the wonderful cast member who decorated her up.

We are Dinosaur fans here, too, but I do see why some people would be scared. I'd probably laugh at you praying if we were riding together, though. Brooklynn has wanted to ride it, but hasn't yet. We want to make sure she is tall enough the next time, since she was so disappointed at not making the mark last time we tried. She may come out looking like your daughter. She thinks she wants to ride it, but ten seconds into it, she may change her mind.