104 days ‘til Christmas vacation (Apologies to Phineas and Ferb)

[snuggly duckling]

I love that Aurora dress! So cute!!

I've been trying to get DD5 to want a Sleeping Beauty dress forever. She has a generic one someone gave her for Christmas a few years ago, but at this point it barely fits.

The good thing about the BBB is the hair lasts for at least 2 days. We've even stretched it to 3 with some extra gel / hairspray. So even if you have to go with the evening appointment, you'll still get some wear out of it. Unless she *has* to go swimming or something!

 

[snuggly duckling]

DH picked up a bunch of painful all-day moonlighting shifts this month. The extra cash is awesome, especially when you love WDW as much as we do. But it basically makes me a single parent all day. Add in the cold, windy weather preventing the kids from playing outside, and we needed something fun to do.

So the kids and I decided to make a wreath to hang on our resort door at CBR. We did a Christmas candy theme to match the window decorations we have planned.

We started with 3 grapevine wreaths, 2 small and 1 larger.



We wrapped it in 3 different Christmas candy-themed ribbons.





Then we attached a bunch of decorative candy... candy canes, gum drops, etc





I'm going to try to make a nice bow to top it off, but even if that fails, I'm pretty pleased with how it looks so far. And the kids love it!

 

[snuggly duckling]

CARL
You ever heard of a snipe?

RUSSELL
Snipe?

CARL
Bird. Beady eyes. Every night it sneaks in my yard and gobbles my poor azaleas. I'm elderly and infirm. I can't catch it. If only someone could help me...

RUSSELL
Me! Me! I'll do it!

CARL
Oh, I don't know, it's awfully crafty. You'd have to clap your hands three times to lure it in.

RUSSELL
I'll find it, Mr. Fredricksen!

CARL
I think its burrow is two blocks down. If you go past --

RUSSELL
Two blocks down! Got it!

Russell runs down the block clapping and calling.

RUSSELL
Sniiiipe! Here Snipey Snipey...

CARL
Bring it back here when you find it!

 

[snuggly duckling]

Paid in full!!!

45 days to go!!!

 

[snuggly duckling]

KRISTOFF
(trying to scare Anna)
Hang on! We like to go fast!

ANNA
(fearless)
I like fast!

Anna leans back and puts her feet up on the dashboard.

KRISTOFF
Whoa, whoa! Get your feet down.

He pushes her feet down.

KRISTOFF
This is fresh lacquer. Seriously, were you raised in a barn?

Kristoff spits on the dash to clean it. The spit flies back and hits Anna in the face.

ANNA
(grossed out)
Ew. No, I was raised in a castle.

She wipes off her face.

KRISTOFF
So tell me, what made the Queen go all ice-crazy?

ANNA
...Oh well, it was all my fault. I got engaged but then she freaked out because I'd only just met him, you know, that day. And she said she wouldn't bless the marriage--

KRISTOFF
Wait. You got engaged to someone you just met?

ANNA
Yeah. Anyway, I got mad and so she got mad and then she tried to walk away, and I grabbed her glove--

KRISTOFF
Hang on. You mean to tell me you got engaged to someone you just met?!

ANNA
Yes. Pay attention. But the thing is she wore the gloves all the time, so I just thought, maybe she has a thing about dirt.

KRISTOFF
Didn't your parents ever warn you about strangers?

Anna eyes Kristoff up and down, then slides away from him.

ANNA
Yes, they did.... But Hans is not a stranger.

KRISTOFF
Oh yeah? What's his last name?

ANNA
...Of-the-Southern-Isles?

KRISTOFF
What's his favorite food?

ANNA
...Sandwiches.

KRISTOFF
Best friend's name?

ANNA
Probably John.

KRISTOFF
Eye color.

ANNA
Dreamy.

KRISTOFF
Foot size...?

ANNA
Foot size doesn't matter.

KRISTOFF
Have you had a meal with him yet?
What if you hate the way he eats?
What if you hate the way he picks his nose?

ANNA
Picks his nose?

KRISTOFF
And eats it.

ANNA
Excuse me, sir. He's a prince.

KRISTOFF
All men do it.

ANNA
Ew. Look it doesn't matter; it's true love.

KRISTOFF
Doesn't sound like true love.

ANNA
Are you some sort of love expert?

KRISTOFF
No. But I have friends who are.

ANNA
You have friends who are love experts.... I'm not buying it.

Sven suddenly stops, ears perked in alarm.

KRISTOFF
(to Anna)
Stop talking.

ANNA
No, no, no. I'd like to meet these--

Kristoff clamps his hand over Anna's mouth.

KRISTOFF
I mean it. SHHH.

Kristoff stands, looks into the dark woods surrounding them. Sensing something behind them, he holds up his lantern. Its light reflects off...EYES. Several.

KRISTOFF
Sven, go. Go!

Sven takes off.

ANNA
What are they?

KRISTOFF
Wolves.

Flashes of white dart through the woods. Kristoff hops into the back of the sled, grabs a torch. Lights it.

ANNA
Wolves. What do we do?

KRISTOFF
I've got this. You just...don't fall off and don't get eaten.

ANNA
But I wanna help.

KRISTOFF
No.

ANNA
Why not?

KRISTOFF
Because I don't trust your judgement.

ANNA
Excuse me?!

A wolf jumps at them, but Kristoff kicks it off.

KRISTOFF
Who marries a man she just met?

Anna grabs the lute, swings it right at Kristoff's head.

ANNA
It's true love!

He screams, as she...BAM!...swings past Kristoff and knocks a wolf away.

KRISTOFF
(shocked)
Whoa.

Just then Kristoff is yanked off the sled by another wolf. The torch goes flying. Anna catches it, shocked.

ANNA
Christopher!

Kristoff grabs onto a loose rope hanging from the back of the sled and holds on for dear life as he's dragged behind.

KRISTOFF
It's Kristoff!

A wolf jumps on Kristoff's back.

KRISTOFF
AH!

Anna thinks fast, uses the torch to light a blanket on fire.

ANNA
Duck!

Anna throws the flaming blanket right at him. He ducks. The blanket hits the wolves. They tumble off Kristoff.

KRISTOFF
You almost set me on fire!

Anna reaches out a hand, pulls Kristoff back onto the sled.

ANNA
But I didn't.

Sven cries out. There is a massive gorge ahead.

ANNA
Get ready to jump, Sven!

KRISTOFF
You don't tell him what to do!

Kristoff shoves a satchel into her arms then scoops her up.

KRISTOFF
I do!

Kristoff tosses Anna onto Sven, then unhooks Sven's harness from the sled.

KRISTOFF
Jump, Sven!

Sven jumps the gorge with Anna on his back.

Kristoff goes flying off behind them, still on the sled.

Anna and Sven land safely on the other side of the gorge.

Kristoff's sled loses momentum. It's not going to make it. He leaps off. He flaps his arms, claws at the air.

He slams into the snowy edge of the cliff. Hanging by his hands, he looks down to see his sled hit the ground far below and burst into flames.


KRISTOFF
(shocked sadness)
...But I just paid it off.

 

[snuggly duckling]

Quick distraction from Christmas planning...

We are *only* 143 days away from our Spring Break trip and we haven't really done anything. We booked a flight, but that's it. It's so unlike me.

We don't have a resort reservation yet. We'll probably stay at Pop, or maybe a Mod. I'm trying to convince DH to try Wilderness Lodge, but it is hard to justify so much money for a room we only sleep in. Our plan is to book the current bounceback when we're there at Christmas. The current room-only offer covers like 5 of our 7 nights, and that ain't bad for Spring Break!

So here's what we have so far:

Saturday, 3/28

• Flight from Philly at 5:30 am (ouch!)
• Land at MCO at 8:10 am
• Magical Express
• Head to Epcot
• ADR at Coral Reef at 4:45 pm

Sunday, 3/29

• Rope drop HS
• ADR at Hoop Dee Doo at 4:00 pm (our first time!)
• Hop to MK

Monday, 3/30

• Rope drop MK
• ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern at 5:40 pm (first time for dinner!)

Tuesday, 3/31

• Rope drop Epcot
• ADR at Rose & Crown at 5:15 pm (another first!)

Wednesday, 4/1

• Rope drop AK
• ADR at Whispering Canyon at 6:20 pm (and another first!)

Thursday, 4/2

• Rope drop Epcot
• Hop to HS
• ADR at Sci-Fi Dine-In at 5:20 pm

Friday, 4/3

• Rope drop MK
• ADR at 'Ohana at 5:00 pm

Saturday, 4/4

• Check out
• Magical Express
• Flight from MCO at 8:50 am
• Land in Philly at 11:10 am

It's a start!

 

[snuggly duckling]

SHERIFF
The Radiator Springs Traffic Court will come to order!

RAMONE
Hey, you scratched my paint! I ought take a blowtorch to you, man!

LUIGI
You broke-a the road! You a very bad car!

FILLMORE
Fascist! Commie!

McQUEEN
Officer, talk to me, babe. How long is this gonna take? I gotta get to California, pronto.

SHERIFF
Where's your lawyer?

McQUEEN
Tuh, I don't know. Tahiti maybe. He's got a timeshare there.

SHERIFF
When a defendant has no lawyer, the court will assign one to him. Hey! Anyone want to be his lawyer?

MATER
Shoot, I'll do it, Sheriff!

SHERIFF
All rise! The Honorable Doc Hudson presiding.

LUIGI
Show-off.

SHERIFF
May Doc have mercy on your soul.

DOC HUDSON
All right, I wanna know who's responsible for wreckin' my town, Sheriff. I wanna his hood on a platter! I'm gonna put him in jail till he rots! No, check that. I'm gonna put him in jail till the jail rots on top of him, and then I'm gonna move him to a new jail and let that jail rot. I'm... Throw him out of here, Sheriff. I want him out of my courtroom. I want him out of our town! Case dismissed.

McQUEEN
Yes!

MATER
Boy, I'm purty good at this lawyerin' stuff.

SALLY
Sorry I'm late, Your Honor!

McQUEEN
Holy Porsche! She's gotta be from my attorney's office. Hey, thanks for comin', we're all set. He's letting me go.

SALLY
He's letting you go?

McQUEEN
Yeah, your job's pretty easy today. All you have to do now is stand there and let me look at you. Listen, I'm gonna cut to the chase. Me, you, dinner. Ka-chow!

SALLY
What the...? Auww! Please!

McQUEEN
I know, I get that reaction a lot. I create feelings in others that they themselves don't understand.

SALLY
Ohhh, auww!

McQUEEN
Oh, I'm sorry. Did I scare you?

MATER
Well, a little bit, but I'll be alright.

SALLY
OK. I'm gonna go talk to the judge.

McQUEEN
Do what you gotta do, baby. Oh, but listen. Be careful. Folks around here are not firing on all cylinders, if you know what I mean.

MATER
Ka-ching! Auww!

SALLY
I'll keep that in mind. Hey there, Mater.

MATER
Howdy, Sally.

SALLY
Hi, folks!

EVERYONE
Good morning! Sally.

McQUEEN
You know her?

MATER
She's the town attorney and my fiancee.

McQUEEN
What?

MATER
Nah, I'm just kiddin'. She just like me for my body.

SALLY
Doc, you look great this morning. Did you do something different with your side view mirrors?

DOC HUDSON
What do you want, Sally?

SALLY
Ah, come on, make this guy fix the road. The town needs this.

DOC HUDSON
No. I know his type. Racecar. That's the last thing this town needs.

SALLY
OK, I didn't want to have to do this, Doc, but you leave me no choice. Fellow citizens, you're all aware of our town's proud history.

DOC HUDSON
Here she goes again.

SALLY
Radiator Springs, the glorious jewel strung on the necklage of Route 66, the mother road! It is our job and our pleasure to take care of the travelers on our stretch of that road.

SARGE
Travelers? What travelers?

FILLMORE
Ignore him.

SALLY
But how, I ask you, are we to care for those travelers if there is no road for them to drive on? Luigi, what do you have at your store?

LUIGI
Tires

SALLY
And if no one can get to you?

LUIGI
I won't sell any...tires. I will lose everything! Ohho.

SALLY
Flo, what do you have at your store?

FLO
I have gas. Lotsa gas!

SALLY
OK boys, stay with me. And, and, Flo, what'll happen if no one can come to your station to buy gas?

FLO
I'll go outta business and... we'll have to leave town.

SALLY
And what's gonna happen to all of us if Flo leaves town and closes her station?

EVERYONE
Without gas, we're done for!

LIZZIE
What?

SALLY
So, don't you think the car responsible should fix our road?

LIZZIE
The only guy strong enough to fix that road is Big Al!

RAMONE
Lizzie, the guy left, like, 15 years ago.

LIZZIE
Then why are you bringing him up, you lemon?

SALLY
Oh, he can do it. He's got the horsepower. So, what do you want him to do?

EVERYONE
Fix the road!

SALLY
Because we are a town worth fixing!

EVERYONE
Yeah!!!

DOC HUDSON
Order in the court! Seems like my mind has been changed for me.

 

[snuggly duckling]

We leave in 39 days so Santa needs to get a move on!

Really the kids are getting 10 days at WDW for Christmas, but they still believe in the big man so he does need to bring them something. And they're spoiled, so they will end up getting way more than necessary.
DD5 is basically done. She's the easy one. She's getting princess dresses and accessories.

Anna's coronation gown and shoes





Aurora's dress and crown (from Maleficent)





Ariel's "sha-la-la-la" dress (from "Kiss the Girl")



DS7 is the hard one. I would love for all the gifts to have a Disney theme, but that just makes it even harder. Since his sister will be getting 3 boxes, I need to make it equitable (can't wait for us to get past that!!) So far he's asked for an iPad, a Wii U, and Disney Infinity 2.0, so he's obviously not getting all that.

I'm leaning toward the iPad. We have an older one, and the kids fight over it constantly, so it would be a gift of sanity to me too! But the kids did get a bunch of Toys R Us gift cards for their birthdays. I'm trying to convince them to use them for the Wii U (instead of wasting them on more toys we don't need!) I guess I will see what kid of deals are out there on Black Friday and go for there. I can always use iTunes gift cards or additional Infinity figures to get me to my 3 boxes.

What else do 7 year old boys like? He got a Nintendo 3DS last year but barely touches it anymore. He likes Pokemon but loses all his cards. He LOVES monster trucks, but he has hundreds of them already. Ugh, he's a hard one!

 

[snuggly duckling]

SANTA CLAUS
[Reading letter] "Dear Santy Claus, I'm Billy Brown. Here's a list I've jotted down. I want a giraffe and a duck and a whale. A cow and a pig with a seven-foot tail. A tiger that roars and a leopard with spots. A barrel of monkeys, a pony who trots. I want a baboon, a dog that'll bark. A walrus, a herring, a hog and a shark."

Ha! I'll give him Noah's Ark.

ELF
But Billy Brown, for seven years, hasn't washed behind his ears.

SANTA CLAUS
Well, ha-ha, there's still some hope. I'll just add a cake of soap.

 

[snuggly duckling]

Not really sure what I’ve gotten myself into…

The first time we went to WDW as a family, we just used the standard Disney gift shop ones but ended up having to buy 6 of them because we met so many characters. We clearly need high-capacity autograph books!! For the past 2 big family trips we’ve done, I ordered these REALLY cool handmade autograph books for the kids from Etsy. The shop makes them out of Golden Books, with a Golden Book cover and then a Golden Book page for each character you request. They are on the expensive side, but I just adore them because I can make sure that every character we’ll be meeting is represented and because they are so unique. The characters always seem to get a kick out of identifying themselves on their page and sometimes even take a minute to read their story. When we get back home, I get the photos of all our meet and greets developed as wallet-sized and affix them in the book, along with other mementos from the trip.

Here are some pics of our recent books:



















Last Christmas, Gaston drew a heart around the picture of the Belle and then mocked the Beast.



Frozone teased Mr. Incredible that he wasn't in the picture and then took it upon himself to draw a picture of him to fix the oversight. The kids LOVE the extra interaction.



I went to Etsy to place an order for this year and discovered that the shop is closed. Ack. There’s another shop that does similar ones, but they seem to limit them to only a handful of characters. We will be meeting just about everyone, including the characters unique to MVMCP so we need like 60+ characters in each book. Soooo…

Since I’m generally a crafty(ish) person, I have decided to see if I can do it myself. I did the math, and for what I used to pay to get 2 autograph books custom made, I can get a binding machine and all the books I need. Plus, I can get years of autograph books out of each Golden Book, so I will be saving myself money in the long run. Right? Let’s just hope I can pull it off. So far I have accumulated all the books I need, except one. We are definitely planning to meet Sandy Claws / Jack Skellington at MVMCP and they obviously don’t make a The Nightmare Before Christmas Golden Book. I bought a TNBC book on Amazon, but I don’t like it and don’t think it will work. So I just ordered another TNBC book from Amazon that looks promising, but it cost $12 by itself, so I’m not sure I want to rip the pages out. Maybe I will just pick a good page and scan it?

I will post the finished results here when I get there. It may take me a while though. Nervous!!!

 

[AmyKat]

Those are so cute! I made my own autograph books for our trip two years ago. You can take it to Kinkos and they can bind it for you while you wait. It was quick, easy, & cheap.

 

[snuggly duckling]

Great idea!

I always forget about Kinko's. I actually had to bring the last set there because the Etsy shop wasn't able to spiral bind them and used rings instead. I thought I'd be ok with it, but I hated them. So I brought the books to Kinko's and $3 later we were good to go!!

 

[snuggly duckling]

LeSportsac is having a 40% sale today on the Tink, Minnie, and Pixar prints.

I've been stalking the Tink patterns since they came out but they have never been included in any discount code on the site. Finally!

So as soon as I saw their post on Facebook, I bought two Tink bags, one in each pattern.

I got the Melanie, which I don't have and have been curious about:



And I got another Hobo, which is a good park bag:



And then after thinking about it, I went back just now and ordered two more bags in the Minnie pattern.

I got another Cleo which is my current go-to park bag:



And a Deluxe Shoulder Satchel, which I've also been curious about:



Of course, now I'm debating getting a Pixar / Monsters Inc. bag too.

I think I have a purse problem.

 

[snuggly duckling]

BOB (MR. INCREDIBLE)
You know...you can tell a lot about a woman by the contents of her purse, but maybe that's not what you had in mind.

THIEF
Hey, look--

BOB (MR. INCREDIBLE)
Elastigirl.

HELEN (ELASTIGIRL)
Mr. lncredible.

BOB (MR. INCREDIBLE)
No, it's all right. I've got him.

HELEN (ELASTIGIRL)
Sure, you've got him. I just took him out for you.

BOB (MR. INCREDIBLE)
Sure, you took him out. His attention was on me.

HELEN (ELASTIGIRL)
A fact I exploited to do my job.

BOB (MR. INCREDIBLE)
My job, you mean.

HELEN (ELASTIGIRL)
A simple thank you will suffice.

BOB (MR. INCREDIBLE)
Thanks, but I don't need any help.

HELEN (ELASTIGIRL)
Whatever happened to ''ladies first''?

BOB (MR. INCREDIBLE)
Well, whatever happened to equal treatment?

THIEF
Hey, look, the lady got me first.

HELEN (ELASTIGIRL)
Well, we could share, you know.

BOB (MR. INCREDIBLE)
I work alone.

HELEN (ELASTIGIRL)
Well, I think you need to be more...flexible.

BOB (MR. INCREDIBLE)
Are you doing anything later?

HELEN (ELASTIGIRL)
I have a previous engagement.

BOB (MR. INCREDIBLE)
[whistles]

BOB (MR. INCREDIBLE)
Now, you just stay here. They usually pick up the garbage
in an hour.

 

[snuggly duckling]

So excited about the expanded park hours for December!!!

I've been checking a zillion times a day, knowing it would come any day now.

I am surprised with how early in the month are starting the early opens at MK. Last year it didn't start until the Saturday right before Christmas. This year, it is like a week earlier. Wonder if that's a sign of crazy busy parks even earlier than expected? Josh has pretty low crowd levels early on in our trip so I will be curious to see if they change.

The new hours do impact us a little...

I can finally try for an 8:30 am Anna and Elsa FP+ for right after DD5's 8:00 am BBB appointment on 12/23.

I wonder when the FPs for the new hours will go live? Just gonna keep hitting "Select new time" until I pass out tonight!!
And we've lost our pre-park opening breakfast at Tusker House on 12/20. Trying to decide if we'll keep it, or maybe move to lunch and ditch our Yak & Yeti lunch?

Decisions, decisions...

Other than that, super stoked. 7 am MK days are THE BEST!

 

[snuggly duckling]

KAI
Princess Anna...?

Anna sits up. She's got major bedhead. She coughs. Snorts. Pulls a hair from her mouth.

ANNA
...Huh? Yeah?

KAI
Sorry to wake you, ma'am but--

ANNA
No, you didn't. I've been up for hours.

She falls back asleep while sitting. She snores. Her head drops, startling her awake.

ANNA
Who is it?

KAI
It's still me, ma'am. Time to get ready.

ANNA
Ready for what?

KAI
Your sister's coronation, ma'am.

ANNA
My sister's cor-neration...

One eye opens enough to catch sight of her coronation dress. She bolts, wide awake in excitement.

ANNA
Coronation Day! Ha ha!

 

[snuggly duckling]

I may be going overboard. I went to Target, Walgreens, and Home Depot and ended up buying a bunch more stuff to decorate our resort window and room. I may be out of control...

At Target, I got all kinds of good stuff.

WAY too many ornaments:

Some generic, festive ones, like the red and white striped ones at the bottom, center:



Some candy ornaments to go with my window theme:





Mickey and Minnie



Some princesses











Sully:



Cars and Planes:





Marvel:









Star Wars:



















Continued in next post...

 

[snuggly duckling]

Continued from above...

I got these trees too, hopefully to put in the window if I can get them to fit. Otherwise, they'll go in the room somewhere:









Some more garland for the window:





These faux street signs were in the dollar spot:



A plate for Santa's cookies:



And then I got 2 of these light-up Mickey heads from Walgreens and like 16 of the plastic candy canes from Home Depot:



Not sure what I will do with the candy canes yet but the Mickeys will be added to the window display.

31 days to go!!!

 

[snuggly duckling]

RHINO
Bolt, I can be a valuable addition to your team.

BOLT
I'm listening.

RHINO
I'm lightning-quick.

I have razor-sharp reflexes, and I'm a master of stealth.

Plus, I'll keep the cat in check.

BOLT
The road'll be rough.

RHINO
I have a ball.

BOLT
There's no turning back.

RHINO
Guess I'll have to roll with the punches.

BOLT
Easy won't be part of the equation.

RHINO
Promise?

BOLT
I gotta warn you. Going into the belly of the beast, danger at every turn.

RHINO
I eat danger for breakfast.

BOLT
You hungry?

RHINO
Starving!

BOLT
Welcome aboard!

MITTENS
Hey. Can we talk for a second? I don't know what's going on here, but I'm just a little bit concerned about the number of lunatics on this trip. My limit is one.

BOLT
He's coming with us.

RHINO
But I... Huh?

MITTENS
Hey!

BOLT
Move it, prisoner. We're losing daylight.

RHINO
I agree. Now, we need to find a fast set of wheels.

BOLT
I've got a better idea. Follow me. Okay. So what we do here is we give the target a quick flyover, we adjust the trajectory and then land dead center. Am I missing anything, Rhino?

RHINO
Just the knowledge that every minute spent in your company becomes the new greatest minute of my life.

MITTENS
No! Forget it! How do you say "No way I'm doing this" in crazy?

BOLT
Calm down, cat. You're with me.

MITTENS
That's the problem!

BOLT
Would you relax?

RHINO
Every time he did this on the magic box it was awesome.

MITTENS
Magic what?

RHINO
You know, the magic box people stare at.

MITTENS
Wait a minute. Does this magic box have moving pictures on it?

RHINO
Yeah, and Bolt's pictures are the best.

MITTENS
Bolt's pictures. Of course! He's from a... Oh, no! Oh, no. No, wait, wait. Bolt, dog, hear me out.

RHINO
Let it begin. Let it begin. Let it begin!

MITTENS
Wait! You are not a superhero...

 

[snuggly duckling]

Because we will be packing clothes/supplies for an 11 day trip, plus Christmas decorations, gifts from Santa, and stocking stuffers, I've been casually looking for an additional suitcase. But I also didn't want to spend a lot, because our current luggage set generally meets our needs.

I was so excited when I found this set on American Tourister's site today:



Regularly $400, on sale for $101! And we got 3 bags!

Score!