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

[mom2meiko]

thanks for continuing with the updates! looking forward to the next chapter.

about the kidcot stations - did you and dw enjoy the breaks you took for the kids to do the kc stations or were you secretly wishing they had never been discovered? and how much time did you realistically spend on those stations?

i ask because our bff's are going w/ us again on our next trip and they want to do that for their dd (4). while i'm not opposed to it entirely i am concerned about how much time we will spend waiting around for one little girl to finish her art project. is it really worth it?

 

[thecapells]

thanks for continuing with the updates! looking forward to the next chapter.

about the kidcot stations - did you and dw enjoy the breaks you took for the kids to do the kc stations or were you secretly wishing they had never been discovered? and how much time did you realistically spend on those stations?

i ask because our bff's are going w/ us again on our next trip and they want to do that for their dd (4). while i'm not opposed to it entirely i am concerned about how much time we will spend waiting around for one little girl to finish her art project. is it really worth it?

It definitely does take alot of time as they want to color at each spot.
Sometimes we let the kids color while we waited for our name to be called at a restaurant (Canada, Japan, etc.)
Sometimes one would color while others hit the restrooms or went shopping.
Sometimes we split up and I would hang with the kids while Mom explored or vice versa.
Another good trick was to use the kidcot stop as a good place to wait for a character appearance (Germany, France, etc.)
Lastly, you can do rides or attractions (Maelstrom, the Circlevision movies, etc.) while they color (assuming one adult stays behind).
But if there's no reason to wait, we basically stamped the passport, got the charm, and explained to the kids that we would color at the next stop.
Italy was a good example of this.
But definitely plan to spend time here.
Hope that helps.

 

[thecapells]

We awoke early once again to the sound of Stitch yelling.
“NOOOOOOO SLEEPING!” I just love that.

Today was the first of our “split” days where the family was splitting up.
We weren’t sure what to expect but were very intrigued.
But before we headed out, DD was determined to get a picture next to Roger Rabbit just as DS had done earlier:

With that, we all headed off to the Magic Kingdom.
With the last several days at EPCOT, a park change was in order.
And today was loaded with surprises!

DD had received a postcard from a friendly DIS fairy godmailer inviting DD to visit the castle.
Today was the day and we had told her we would be have breakfast INSIDE Cinderella’s Castle.
She was busting!!!

We arrived at the Magic Kingdom at 7:55 (it opened at 8 for Extra Magic Hours) and headed towards the special BBB/breakfast entrance.
As we were let in, the EMH gates opened as well and everyone headed into the parks with the grand “Welcome Medley” playing.
Once we past the railroad tunnel, I spotted Mickey in his YOAMD outfit!
He was coming down from the “Magic Kingdom Welcome Show” so I snapped a quick pic as he headed out.

Then we continued down Main Street in search of some Photopass photographers.
DD’s hair was down with nothing in or on it as per directions (the reason why in a minute) so it was definitely a different look for her.
Nevertheless, we got another Magic Tink shot:

And a cute one of Mom and Dad with X:

We noticed some other Photopass photographers towards the side of the Castle hub and headed over that way.
It was interesting to get a slightly different perspective on the castle.
Especially with the neat shrubs and hedges behind us:

And then since Mom had her Tinker Bell shirt on, the Photopass photographer made her take some magic shots as well:

After the pictures, we continued our march to the Castle.

When the castle was looming directly over us, I told DD – “I think there’s a problem.”
“I don’t think they’ll let you into the castle looking like that.”
DD looked at me with shock and surprise. She was trying to figure out if I was joking.
I was trying to act as serious as I could and Mom even backed me up.
“But Cinderella will open the door for me – she said I could come!”
“Not dressed like that. I think I have an idea though – come with me.”
Now she was very anxious and I think a bit nervous.
I was probably smirking all the way to the castle.
We headed into the tunnel towards the last doorway on the left.

“Okay, this is the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. I think they can help you.”
She was a bit confused but seemed happy to be here.
I checked her in as she had an 8:15 appt.
This should explain the condition of her hair and why we were able to get in the parks early this morning.
I told DD that they were going to turn her into a princess, headed out with the stroller and the boys, and let Mom take over.
On the way out, I caught this proclamation...

We had never tried the BBB before so I was curious about how things would go and what the results would be like.
More on that on a bit but first, the boys run rampant through Fantasyland!!
Stay tuned...

 

[luckylady]

Oh my I can't wait to see how BBB turns out and what did daddy do with the boys?

 

[thecapells]

Oh my I can't wait to see how BBB turns out and what did daddy do with the boys?

He he - "us boys" had a blast (more on that soon) and we have oodles of BBB pictures.
I need to get Mom to write a bit on that so you get the whole scoop.
It'll be a good excuse to get Mom back on the thread!

 

[littleboss]

You scared that poor little girl telling her she couldn't get in looking the way she did. Looking foward to this update soon I'm thinking of doing BBB for my youngest.

 

[smithpack]

I bet your daughter loved the BBB. I can't wait until my DD is old enough. She is only 2 right now. You have given me soooooooooo many great ideas. That is hilarious that you told your DD that she couldn't go in there looking like that. How far apart did you have to schedule your BBB from the CRT breakfast? That is a great idea to do the BBB first since they get a picture with Cinderella at the castle. I can't wait to see the pics!

 

[thecapells]

I bet your daughter loved the BBB. I can't wait until my DD is old enough. She is only 2 right now. You have given me soooooooooo many great ideas. That is hilarious that you told your DD that she couldn't go in there looking like that. How far apart did you have to schedule your BBB from the CRT breakfast? That is a great idea to do the BBB first since they get a picture with Cinderella at the castle. I can't wait to see the pics!

I was told that the BBB runs about 1/2 hour or so.
Also, I know there is usually a line for pics with Cinderella when you check in at the CRT.
So I went with an 8:15 BBB (to give us time to take pics beforehand) and 9:25 CRT.
The idea was to meet at the castle at 9:00 for Cinderella pics and then get called upstairs at 9:25 or so.
It worked out really well and the pics are coming (I could probably do a whole trip report on just the BBB pics alone...)

 

[All7OfUs]

What a great way for Mom and DD to get to spend some time together And how clever to let her in on the surprise and keep it all in the story line! I love it! You must have thought about that for a long time!

Anyway, I think dividing and conquering is a great thing to do once in a while- hope you boys had a great time, and I'm dying to hear about what you ended up doing.

Will be fun to see the BBB pics too! BTW, I've sure been missing Mom Cappell's take on the goings on. Hope she can make an appearance for the girly- girl installment

 

[thecapells]

What a great way for Mom and DD to get to spend some time together And how clever to let her in on the surprise and keep it all in the story line! I love it! You must have thought about that for a long time!

Actually, it was spur of the moment.
I wanted the BBB to be a surprise and DD already knew about breakfast.
DS and DD figured we were heading to the castle for breakfast.
Since I wasn't sure what she would think of the BBB and getting dressed up (she's picky about clothes sometimes), I hatched my plan.
I figured telling her she couldn't get into the castle would make her HAVE to go to BBB.
I was just hoping she wouldn't call my bluff and refuse.
Luckily, she had a blast in the BBB but that's still to come...

BTW, I've sure been missing Mom Cappell's take on the goings on. Hope she can make an appearance for the girly- girl installment

She's been busy but I told her she has to write the BBB section since she was there and I wasn't!

 

[hannahsmom7]

Just wanted to say great report! I found it yesterday and am just now caught up! We're about to add baby #3 and I'm looking forward to when we can go with three little ones too . Your kids are adorable! Can't wait to read more!

 

[mom2meiko]

you left us in such suspense! i hope you get the chance to update us soon!

keep up the great work!!!

 

[Ariel on Land]

Oh YAY! Though I feel like you've totally left us hanging! Can't wait for the next update! And after reading all this, it REALLY makes me hope that we'll be blessed w/ a little princess DD one day!!!

 

[thecapells]

As we headed out of the BBB, DS was already grumpy and jealous.
I was hoping a special ride would help so we headed straight to the heart of Fantasyland and a certain elephant.

None of us had ever been on Dumbo before so this was a big deal.
We arrived at about 8:20 and it was already a 10 minute wait!!
Not bad but I can see how this gets crowded fast.
I snapped a fun shot after DS got settled into the flying pachyderm.

Then I took one of the boys together.

And for those of you who just want a shot of the ride for their own scrapbooks, here ya go:

Dumbo was fun and we had a blast.
The view of Fantasyland and the castle from on high was awesome.
Definitely a different ambiance than atop the Magic Carpets of Aladdin in Adventureland.
It reminded me somewhat of the old SkyWay which I used to love as a kid.
I tried to get an aerial picture of Scuttle atop Scuttle’s Landing but it didn’t come out too well.

The ride lasted longer than I would’ve thought but X was disappointed to get off once again.
This time I think he realized that there was more fun “just around the corner.”
And indeed there was.
As this was my only “must do” attraction this morning without the girls, I turned to DS and asked him to pick what’s next.
He was surprised that I left it up to him and was unsure so I threw out some ideas.
He promptly ignored those ideas and suggested the carrousel for X – what a nice brother!
First I wanted to test his strength so I found the “Sword in the Stone” display.
He tried and tried but could not get the sword out!.
But he claimed it wiggled and he almost had it.

Cinderella’s Golden Carrousel was your standard carrousel although a lot bigger.
The boys had fun and X was a little unsure at first but started laughing and enjoying as soon as we got going.

Checking the watch, I figured we had time for one more ride so I listed some more Fantasyland rides for DS to choose.
He chose one of his favorites: Peter Pan.
We climbed into our ship to Neverland and I grabbed yet another shot of the boys:

Before snapping some of the ride itself:

Mermaid Lagoon

On Guard Cap'n!

Pixie Dust Away!

Just as we got off Peter Pan, my cell phone rang and it was Mom saying they were all done so we headed off to the Castle.
But first, hopefully I can get Mom to fill us in on what happened during the girls' morning…

 

[kimmylaj]

oooh fill us in please i cant wait to hear how your dd liked bbb . my dd will be 3 next trip so old enough but being as it is a short trip i think we will skip it this go round.

 

[dawnbu40]

I loved your DS picture trying to pull the sword from the stone. It reminded me of our trip when my DD (now18) was 5 and was selected to pull the sword from the stone. She was over the moon and believed she was the ruler of the MK for a day. I can't wait to see your DD pictures from BBB!

 

[All7OfUs]

X sure looks apprehensive about going on the caroussel, doesn't he? I sure hope he enjoyed the ride more than his face showed And how sweet of DS to suggest that for him.

But, oh what difference on Dumbo! What a great smile!

I think every boy needs to try out that sword at least once in a lifetime. Glad you guys had such a fun time for a little bit!

 

[luckylady]

Would love to hear from mom about the girl time. I wish they had BBB when DD was lityle. At almost 22 I don't think she would go now. Hope to hear more..today

 

[Lady Lallie]

I love that DS said the sword wiggled, that made me smile.

 

[jmskinner]

I've missed a couple of updates. I love all of your pics. And that was such a cute way of surprising DD about BBB. Can't wait to see her pic!

Oh, and just had to tell you, my DH and DS are both comics geeks!