4 Parks + 5 Staples in the Baby's Head = 9 Magical Days!! (9/17 The Last Hurrah!)

[thecapells]

Oh how cute your daughter is knowing it was her time to have just a little freedom! Now being a Princess and all! How was your second trip? Will you be adding it to the end of this trip report? We all know how much fun your family has at Disney we can't wait for more. Thanks for sharing the memories.

The second trip was a blast! It was a total surprise to the kids and I'll definitely add a trip report after this one.
And now I'm prepping for my conference and expect to hit the parks once again while I'm there! I'm definitely getting spoiled this year.

Rayna looks so sweet! And she must be so confident to just knows she's going to have a great time, and "I'll see you later, Mom!" Good for her! I really hope you post some pictures that she took during her little princess meal, and tell us more about what she got to do. come to think of it, maybe she was so excited and busy, she didn't take ANY at all!

Thanks for again giving us a little piece of our favorite place

Good guess All7OfUs!
DD was definitely busy as she only managed 2 pictures on her disposable camera.
Since we basically have an entire camera left, we haven't even developed them yet (although I'm EXTREMELY curious to see her perspective).
We'll have to try to finish it off soon so we can see.
However, we do have a couple of pics from the event that will be coming with Mom's next segment so stay tuned!

 

[Later_Mater2009]

im all caught up love this TR

 

[TheCapellsMom]

I headed straight for the little gift shop to buy a trashy novel, chose the mushiest one I could find, and headed outside to enjoy the lovely grounds at the GF.
I found a bench and sat down to start my book- I was determined to enjoy every minute of my all-too-short “Me Time!”
It was perfect- birds were singing, the sun was shining, and a light breeze was blowing.
In the distance I could hear a water fountain trickling and children laughing!
OK- so that lasted about 3 minutes before I decided that Florida is way too hot and humid for a Canadian Girl like me.
So back inside I went! AIR CONDITIONING HERE I COME!
[In all fairness, it was not an especially unbearable day but I think anything over 75 is too hot!]

I sat in a cooshy chair just outside the Garden View Lounge to read my book.
I was soon interrupted by Alice leading a parade of little people around the hotel lobby!
They were too cute- they swirved in and out around the chairs, hopped over the lines on the floor and ducked under a velvet rope near the concierge desk.
The Mad Hatter was really great as the “caboose” at the end of the line.
He made sure all the kids kept up and he was totally animated- spinning, skipping, and just being generally wacky in every way!
Unfortunately, they came & went so fast that I did not manage to catch any pictures.
But to my great relief, DD did not notice me sitting there so my “kid-free” time remained officially un-interrupted!

The Garden View Lounge opened at 2:00 for my ADR.
I was the first to check in and be seated so I chose a spot in the corner by the window.
How lovely - alll the pretty views of nature with none of the humidity...

The group who was seated right after me was a mom, aunts, cousins, and grandmas taking a little girl for tea on her 12th birthday- it was just so sweet!
Hmmm- DD will be 12 in 8 short years…just one more reason to plan another trip to Disney!

Now, I LOVE TEA and I could have spent a whole hour just trying to decide what to order from the menu.
Since time was short, I chose the Mad Hatter blend tea because I figured it went with the theme of the day.
The menu describes it like this: A blend of passion fruit, pomegranate, and vanilla for a clean and sweet finish. Perfect with decadent desserts and companions.
I also decided that since it was my day to splurge, I should get the most expensive thing on the menu:

"The Grand Tea - The classic English tradition of Afternoon Tea, Grand Floridian style.
We offer you a variety of tea sandwiches, scones and jam tarts, followed by your choice of our freshly baked tea pastries or English trifle, accompanied by a glass of Domaine Ste.-Michelle sparkling wine and your choice of tea.
$25.50 per guest (Example of tea sandwiches may include: cucumber with watercress, shrimp salad with dill, chicken salad with almonds, grilled pear with gorgonzola, and egg salad, each on a different bread.)"

Instead of the champagne, I got the sparkling apple cider- which is one of my favorite things.
It came with a huge strawberry on the rim of the glass. That was the very first thing I ate- YUM!
Then I remembered to take this picture before I ate everything else!

The tea sandwiches were all really tasty- I especially liked the cucumber sandwich (it’s so simple- how come I never make those at home?).
I thought that the little onion tart was just as good as I had read on the DIS reviews, and as I suspected, I found that I am not fond of pate.

The Mad Hatter tea was sooooo good- and I think it was particularly perfect because it was kept in the teapot cozy so every cup was as warm as the first one!
Somewhere around my third cup of tea (and my 6th sugar cube) I looked at my watch and realized that it was time to pick up DD.
I explained to the waitress that I would be back and hustled across the lobby to join the other parents waiting for the doors of the ballroom to open.
When they finally let us in, it was so quiet it was eerie. Alice said that the children were all so worn out that they were sleeping.

That’s when the giggling started! It was too cute! On the count of 3 all the kids “woke up” and gave their parents a flower!

The kids all had a photo that they had taken during the tea party too. DD’s is really not great- I was a little disappointed that she was not really looking at the camera.

The frame was cute with the logo and signatures from Alice and the Mad Hatter.
Here's the photo without the frame:

I was especially disappointed because she only took one picture on her disposable camera.
But she was as happy as could be and that’s what counts!
We walked back to the Garden View Lounge and she told me all about the tea party.
But since she is only 4, her recall was not as good as I would have liked!
I can tell you that they played “fun games” ate some “kids food,” and had a food fight!
DD proudly reported that the Mad Hatter told them it was OK to throw grapes.
She said that lots of kids did it but she “made a choice to be good and did not throw even one grape!
Then she really made me laugh when she said “It’s more good to eat the grapes I think.”
That’s my girl all right- she loves food just as much as I do!

Back at my table, I ordered the kid’s tea for DD and she was thrilled to be sitting with all the proper ladies in the grown-up tea room.
She even helped out with the sugar cubes!

They brought her a little teapot and teacup full of chocolate milk, and she got her own selection of tea sandwiches- which she promptly devoured!
She drank her “tea” with her pinky out like a true princess.

Then we both got to choose from the pastries for dessert.
The selections looked great!

DD chose the swan shaped one explaining that she was curious what it’s head would taste like!

I chose a chocolate strawberry and a carrot cake type thing. YUM!

The boys arrived soon after but it was definitely fun just having some time for us girls.

When asked about both excursions, DD wasn't as excited about her Wonderland Tea Party.
However, she really wants to go back to "Mom's Tea" and spend the whole time there!

Next up – the gang’s all here for a Gala Feast!

 

[thecapells]

Hey everyone - Mom just posted another segment but it's again being held up by the moderator.
Not sure what's going on but hopefully it will magically appear tomorrow.
For some reason it only happens from her account and not mine.
Sorry for the delay and future segments will be from my account so that should fix the problem.

 

[jmskinner]

We will be patient. Could this have something to do with her having a low post number. I know previously you couldn't post pics until you reached a certain number of posts. Someone else was having the same problem and they also had a low post number. Didn't this start when they did that last upgrade? Just a thought.

 

[BellaBaby]

OMG!! All of the pics of your DD are soooo cute!!

It's so sweet that she enjoyed your tea together!! How fun!!

 

[princesscate]

What a wonderful time for mom and dd! They grow up so fast, don't they?
You have inspired me! I will have to do that with my DD whenever we go next (hoping next year!) !

 

[All7OfUs]

Tea is on our agenda for our Sept, 2010 trip (3 ladies, PTR coming May 1st!!!!), and I had never seen pictures of the actual inside of the Tea Room- so THANK YOU! I have seen photos of the lovely sandwiches and desserts, but not of the atmosphere. Absolutely beautiful.

I think the photo of Rayna looking away from the camera makes it all the more charming- after all, look at the Mad Hatter!!!!! Maybe she was trying to imitate him? HA!

It does sound like all the kids had a blast! and that she thoroughly enjoyed every moment. And then, to top it off with a big girl tea time with Mommy! How sweet! Those are memories that both of you can cherish for a long time. Great update!

 

[WillowBelle]

What a lovely day you and DD had. She looked adorable holing her pinky finger up while drinking her 'tea'.

 

[jmskinner]

I just loved this latest update. I don't have a girl so I have to live through TR's like yours. I like her photo looking to the side also. Makes you wonder what caught her eye.

I must try the Tea Room sometime.

 

[BrandyC1974]

Loving your trip report. I love the pic of your daughter drinking her tea with her pinky up. She is just too cute. Can't wait to read more.

 

[thecapells]

About this time the BOYZ were heading out of Magic Kingdom and over to the resort monorail.
We were running late due to the parade so I was pushing both boys in the stroller at a good clip.
We arrived at the Grand Floridian and wandered the lobby a bit to find the Garden View Lounge where our gals were awaitin’.
We caught glimpses of them finishing up so we took a seat on the armchairs in the lobby.
When they came out, we all wanted to exchange stories.
We headed over to the "Kid's Lobby" which is a small area with kid-size seats and a TV playing old Disney cartoons so Mom and I could exchange highlights.
We didn't have too much catching up time as we had 4:40 ADR's and still needed to change.
So we headed to the restrooms for pit stops.
The boys changed into our Jack Sparrow outfits.
Mom went with a floral Mickey, X was Dumbo, and DD decided against changing back into her Cinderella dress.
Instead she wanted to be Ariel tonite - even after we explained this was Cinderella’s Gala Feast!
Oh well. I checked us in across the lobby at 1900 Park Fare and requested a table next to the dance floor.

Mom settled everyone in and I was off to grab all the food.
I started with a plate for X filled with macaroni and cheese and cheese pizza. I don’t think he liked it, what do you think?

Next, I took the kids, one at a time, as they both filled up with mac and cheese and DD threw in some fruits and veggies.
I grabbed some sliced beef and stir fry for myself and then Mom was off.
Overall, this was probably my least favorite meal of the trip as far as the food goes.
The selections were not that great and I just wasn’t very impressed.
But, one doesn’t go the Gala Feast for the food, one goes for the entertainment.
About then, an announcement was made for the grand entrance of the man responsible for this ball, Prince Charming himself.

We were positioned right next to the door where the characters appear (I didn’t know this beforehand but was happy when I made the observation).
The prince stopped at each table in turn and DD was bouncing out of her chair to meet him as this was our 1st prince of the trip:

Mom also was ecstatic as the Prince looked as dashing as one might expect.

DS also consented as this was a prince and not a silly princess.

DD and Mom looked on as the prince moved to other tables.
The only thing that was able to recapture their attentions was another announcement introducing the belle of the ball, Cinderella.
I wasn’t quick enough to capture her entrance, but here she is with the clan.
Honestly, I thought the Cinderella at the Castle looked more like her counterpart but DD didn’t seem to mind at all.
So Cinderella took some pictures with Ariel:

And then I had to get a pic with the princess since Mom had her prince.

Now the fun began.
The reason we selected this restaurant was for the opportunity to fraternize with the villains – Lady Tremaine and Cinderella’s stepsisters.
I had heard they were great and we thought they were fun for the short time we spotted them at Storytime with Belle.
Lady Tremaine was announced first, of course, and she stormed into the room.

She had great “airs” about her and acted like she was the Queen.
She was delighted when two pirates asked to take her picture:

And then asked DS if he was rich and wanted to marry one of her daughters. He said “no” shyly of course.
Anastasia was announced next. She was also very much in character and not as mean-spirited as her sister or mother.
Since Anastasia is Mom’s “French Name” being Canadian and all, we had to get their pictures:

Druscilla was next and definitely mean-spirited. As she entered, Anastasia told her to go away as she was not needed.

Dru scoffed back and was delighted to take pictures with the pirates.
I decided to have some fun and tell her that her dress was not as pretty as Cinderella’s
She retorted that she was much prettier and made rude comments about Cindy. It was perfect.

Throughout the characters visiting the tables, the sisters would periodically scream out to each other across the room and make googly-eyes at the prince.
Everyone played their part perfectly.

At this point, an announcement called Prince Charming and Cinderella to the dance floor for their royal waltz.
The two were divine and looked like they came right out of the storybook:

They were adorable right down to the bows at the end.

But then, Prince Charming looked around searching for something.
And wouldn’t you know it?
He came right to our table and said, “Ariel, may I have this dance?”
DD was bright red and busting! She jumped down and walked hand-in-hand with the prince to the dance floor and tried to follow his lead.
She didn’t dance as much as jump and look over to us with this “can you believe this?” expression on her face.

I managed to get a video of the experience and it speaks for itself:


After that, the waiter brought a birthday crown and cupcake for DD.

But I don’t think anything could top her night at this point.
She was still beeming as she ate:

X enjoyed his dessert as well as I grabbed some mini-cheesecakes and fruits from the dessert bar…

It was getting late and we needed to head out so we stopped by the restrooms as Mom, X, and DD changed into their pirate outfits.
The Capells are storming the Kingdom tonite!
Grab your sword and join us matey – or walk the plank! YO HO!

 

[luckylady]

Awww that face as she dances with her prince charming. Priceless. I think that would have made the trip.Do you think X loved that mac. and cheese. Another great update.

 

[jmskinner]

All I can say is what a memory seeing your daughter dance with Prince Charming. You guys had so many great memories on this trip!

I agree, I don't think X enjoyed the Mac n Cheese.

 

[All7OfUs]

How completely adorable! See, I told you Rayna was a princess, and I knew the Prince would be wowed by her How could he resist such a cutey?

One question, we are planning on having afternoon at the GF, as well, next year. Was it enough food for a real lunch; weren't you stuffed (or at least reasonable full) from having just done that? I guess what I'm asking is if I'll have to plan another meal soon after because it's really only a "snack".

 

[thecapells]

One question, we are planning on having afternoon at the GF, as well, next year. Was it enough food for a real lunch; weren't you stuffed (or at least reasonable full) from having just done that? I guess what I'm asking is if I'll have to plan another meal soon after because it's really only a "snack".

Well, we knew ahead of time that DD wouldn't eat much at the Wonderland Tea.
They served PB&J and she doesn't eat that - although she ate her cupcake.
At Mom's tea, she drank her milk and snacked a bit but it wasn't really a meal.
And keep in mind, while the boys had Casey's for lunch, this was basically a late lunch for the gals.

As for Mom, she's always hungry so she may not be the best judge.
She describes the Grand Tea as a lite lunch and suggests to ask yourself
if you had a lite lunch at 2:30, when would you want dinner?
We basically sat for dinner around 4:45/5:00 so there was some time between the two.
And since it was a character meal buffet, we spent alot of time taking pics, getting the kids food, and entertaining X.
So we didn't eat a large dinner that night either.

 

[Later_Mater2009]

Oh my gosh I almost got a tear in my eye when I saw the expression on your DD face dancing with the prince, that is SO SWEET!! wonderful memories you are making there
Lovin the trip report we have a 23 month old we are taking with us in July so seeing X's reactions is cool too. Love the pirate shirts BTW

 

[Disney Spaz]

The video made me cry. your DD was so cute with the Prince.

 

[DisneyMom5]

I'm getting really excited about booking Park Fair. I'm toying with the idea of making outfits to match the Stepsisters for my 5 and 6 year olds. LOL

Great update!

 

[ImaDVCwannabe]

I am totally hooked on your trip report. The video of DD and Prince Charming made me cry!!!! How precious. I cant wait to take my girls next summer so that they can have their own little magic moments!