6 kids under 6, a Night in the Castle, and Barf...A trip report (5/16-5/21)

Are you ready to hear all about the castle suite? If not, stop reading because that is where this post is heading!:yay:

Day Three (Friday, 5/18)

The day started out kind of interesting. I'd told everyone the night before that we wanted to be at MK at opening. Well, we woke up and got ready and heard my sister's wake up call so we figured they were up too. When we were about ready to go, I sent C over to see when they would be ready. They were still in bed. Mom was up but Dad was dead to the world. Great.
I made the decision that we were going without them and they could meet up with us later and call my phone when they got to MK. Mom seemed a little peeved, but oh well! Off we went! The line for the bus was kind of long and it took about 20 minutes for the bus to arrive. Not bad, but with ansty kids it felt like forever!

We finally arrived at MK and the first thing DS heard was the train. He's obsessed with trains, so onto the train we went. LOL We seriously had no choice. It was train or meltdown...I chose train! We got off in Frontier Land and DD and I walked right onto Splash Mountain. I thought she'd think this was a fun ride, but the dark tunnels really kind of creeped her out. She did like the big drop and splash though, so it wasn't a total loss of a ride. When we got off she informed me that she didn't want to ride "that dark ride" again though. Next stop, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad! DD LOVED this ride! When she got done riding with me, she made DH ride with her. As I waited for them to finish, my phone rang. It was Mom calling to let me know they were walking though the gates of MK. I rounded up DH and DD and we started walking to meet them.

As we were walking though Liberty Square, a CM approached C and asked if he was really from Alabama (his shirt said something about Alabama on it). C looked at him funny and I replied, "No he just thinks its a cool shirt, we're from Michigan." DH and the CM talked a bit more and then the CM asked if we were busy at 1:45. We said no, and he asked if we'd like to be Grand Marshalls in the Family Fun parade. We were excited and said SURE just and the rest of the gang met up with us (everyone except Dad who was STILL sleeping!). The CM assured us that we'd figure out a way for everyone to be involved and told us where to meet him and then he was off. I thought the parade thing was so cool and we were all jazzed about it!

Oh, lets pause here...when my family walked up A, K, and BJB all had birthday pins and balloons. This pushed my buttons for a few reasons. See, K has a birthday on 5/2 and my DD, H, has a birthday on 5/29. Before we left for WDW, I asked D (my sister) and Mom about celebrating their birthdays while we were there. Mom made some comment about how it wouldn't be fair to the other kids so we couldn't do it. Whatever. So fast forward to them walking up with the pins and balloons. H was sad because she wanted a balloon and so was L so that made me a bit pissy. (Can I say pissy on the DIS?). So then, my MOM has the nerve to say something about how cool it was that the kids could do the birthday thing! GRRRR!!! A's birthday isn't until August and BJB is only 4 months old but we couldn't celebrate H's birthday??? See why I was annoyed? Ok, I could have went to the front and got them pins and balloons but at that point I was grumpy and wanted to do other stuff.

Anyways, onward we go. After the parade CM guy left, we watched the little show thing in the street with Woody and Jessie and then heading towards Fantasy Land. D and BIL J just "had" to go on the Haunted Mansion so we parked the strollers and they headed that way while we took all the kids on "It's a Small World". We met up afterwards and decided to head to Dumbo next. The line was about 30 minutes long and Lucy and BJB were sleeping in the strollers so my mom said she'd sit with them in the shade while we rode. So we got in line and after what seemed like forever it was finally our turn to ride at right about noon.

H just HAD to have the purple elephant, so we headed that direction and C and Leo followed and sat in the blue one behind us (Elephant #6). I snapped a few pics and then we rode Dumbo as planned.
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When the ride stopped, H and I got off and I looked behind us to see the Dream Team approaching C and Leo as they got off their elephant. C didn't have a clue who they were and actually thought it was security or something. :rotfl: H and I walked up and they asked C if we were his family and he said yes. We exited the ride and everyone else went off to where Mom was with the babies as we talked to the Dream Team guys. They wanted us to go into a store near Dumbo to see what Cory had won. I asked if I could go get everyone else in our group first and they said sure, so I ran over and got them all. Once we were all there, a CM Ty (who was dressed in a shirt and tie, not normal Dream Team clothes) pulled out a DVD player and said, "Watch and see what you may have won!" A short blurb about the YOMD played and then it said Cory had won a night in Cinderella's Castle Suite. I was so shocked! I NEVER thought his prize would be something so big! I told DD what the DVD meant and she was SO excited (heck so was I!) There were a lot of people gathered around and they all clapped and cheered for us too. It was crazy! They emailed us pics that they took of our reactions as we saw the DVD. I look like a total dork, but I'm sharing anyways!
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They asked if Cory wanted to accept the prize (as if we'd say no!) and he said yes (of course!) so we all followed them up front to Guest Services to do the paperwork. The paperwork took about 40 minutes and most of the group waited outside while we were in a VIP room inside. They brought us water while we did the paperwork too, which was nice since it was warm outside. We wanted A and K to be able to stay in the suite with us (C, H, Leo, Lucy, and I) but they needed a parent as well. The suite is supposed to be for the winner and 5 guests, but since Leo and Lucy were both under 3, we were able to have C, Me, H, Leo and Lucy, D, A, and K all stay in the suite (8 people total). YAY!! Mom, Dad, J, and BJB would have to spend the night back at ASMusic. Mom was so bitter about that! LOL She was cranky the rest of the day because she wanted everyone to be able to stay. I tried to explain to her that there are only so many beds, but she was as bad as one of the little kids when they get cranky. Its kind of funny looking back, but it was annoying at the time.

Once the paperwork was done, Ty drove D and I back to ASMusic to pack overnight bags for everyone who was staying while everyone else (including Dad who'd finally shown up) went to get lunch in the MK. A CM named Jennifer picked us up at 2pm in an SUV with a thing on the door that said "Castle Suite Winner" or something like that. We went back to the MK and she said the bags would be waiting for us in the suite when we got there. We then headed back to be Grand Marshalls of the Dreams Come True parade. We hadn't forgotten the other parade, we just had other stuff to do! While we were waiting to get started with the parade, we saw the CM who'd asked us to be in the earlier parade and he forgave us for skipping out on him when he saw we were the Castle winners. We met our CM Nancy before the parade and she gave us all Dream Ears to wear and told us the strollers would be waiting for us at the end of the parade route. We then rode in the parade and that was very cool. Our arms did get tired by the time we were at the end of the route, but it was totally worth it!

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H thought it was so cool riding with Daisy! C, Dad, H, Lucy, Leo and I rode in the first car of the parade. Mom, D, J, A, K, and BJB were right behind us in another car.

Once we were at the end of the parade route, we stopped and got off the cars. There was a roped off VIP area for us to watch the rest of the parade in the shade, and the strollers were waiting for us there. That was SO nice! The kids loved being right up front and waving to the characters. It was a really good viewing spot and they also brought us ice cold water for everyone again. After the parade, we started heading towards the castle. We stopped for pics of everyone in their ears along the way.
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Finally we made it to the castle. We parked the strollers in this little office like room that held the elevator to the suite and Nancy brought us up. We also met CM Julian who would be with us for the rest of the night. He gave each of us our Castle Suite room key cards and then explained about some of the details that went into making the suite and then we were there! We let H put her key in the door and we stepped into Cinderella's Castle Suite for the first time. The suite was breathtaking! We all oohed and aahed as we explored the rooms. A, K, and H immediately settled in front of the fruit bowl for a snack. Mom thought the fruit was a fake decoration at first because it was so pretty, which was kind of funny.
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Here are a few pics from inside the suite.
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Lucy on the bed. She looks so little!

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Sitting room

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J gets a movie going for the kids in the sitting room. Both TVs looked like mirrors when they weren't in use. The guys thought that was too cool.

We stayed in the suite, relaxing and enjoying its beauty until it was time for dinner. We were given ressies at Cinderella's Royal Table at 6:00pm for the 8 of us who were staying, but Cory called and we were able to add J to the ressie as well. So, Mom, Dad, and BJB left around 5:00 and we got ready for dinner at CRT. We knew the girls would want their Princess dresses so we got them all dressed up again for this dinner. H was estatic about finally meeting Cinderella! She'd been SO disppointed when Cinderella wasn't at breakfast and now she was getting to meet Cindy AND sleep in the castle!

We met our CM Jessie (she was with us the rest of the night, along with Julian) who brought us right in. As we were waiting in line, Lucy decided it was time for a blow out. You know, one of those poops that makes its way OUT of the diaper. Yeah...quite an appetizer, that one! Cory and Jessie brought her up to the suite to get changed and the rest of us waited to see Cindy. After a few minutes in line, H finally got to meet Cinderella. I have to tell you that when she first saw Cindy, she exclaimed, "Look! It's ME!!!" :rotfl2: Aren't little kids too funny?!? Cinderella took plenty of time talking with the girls and even waited until Cory was back from changing Lucy to take a big group photo with all of us in it. Dinner was...well, it was ok. I'm glad that we weren't paying for it though! D and I both ordered the tortellini with veggies and it was more like different types of peppers with a few tortellinis here and there. Don't get me wrong, the flavor was good but I'm not into peppers. The kids meals were your typical WDW kids meals served on nicer dishes. LOL Dessert was good though! The fairy godmother was entertaining and the kids liked seeing the mice. (I think you get more bang for your buck character interaction wise at Akershus though.) They did announce that we were the day's castle winners and everyone cheered for us. That made us feel pretty special and the kids really thought they were something after the whole place clapped for us. LOL

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Let's hit PAUSE on the trip report for tonight, ok?
See, this is a prime example of Jen getting long winded. This post is way long already and I'm not even done with the day yet! In my defense, it was a way busy day with tons to tell about. I'll come back tomorrow and finish it up, with more pictures too! :wizard:
 
This is sooooooo magicalpixiedust: Thank you so much
for sharing this special disney experience. It is such fun
to read about it, can't imagine how it would feel to be
treated like royality at the greatest place on earth. Can't
wait to read more!:)
 

How exciting!!!! What an awesome surprise and I'm so happy for you all!!! Thank you for taking the time to share it with us!!!!
 
Lucky you!!!

I can't wait to hear about the rest of the day!!!!

Love all the pictures.
 
How exciting!!!! You guys got 2 dreams in one day!
 
I'm baaaa-aaack! I intended on finishing up Day 3 earlier today, but I got side tracked. See, I used to be a teacher...technically I still am, just an unemployed teacher. We moved from NC back to Michigan to be near family and there are like no jobs here. Anyways, I got a call for a job interview for TOMORROW for a job next school year so I had to get my portfolio and all that fun stuff together. Anyways, I digress, where were we in the trip report?

Dinner? Ok, let's go from there.

After dinner, we headed back up to the suite to change the kids into regular clothes, do diaper changes, and I fed Lucy. Mom brought BJB back with her and we met her down outside the castle (with CMs Jessie and Julian as our escorts) and headed out for some rides. Our first stop was the carousel since it was close and the kids wanted to ride and didn't get to earlier in the day.

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Lucy's first carousel ride

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The entire day was a dream come true for Hallie. She looks so happy here.

After the carousel, we did Peter Pan's Flight, Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and a few other rides. I have to tell you, we felt like we were treated like celebrities or something. When we walked up to the rides, our CMs basically got us to walk right on. They were our dream fast pass! LOL When we exited, one of them would have our strollers waiting there at the exit so we could go right to the next ride. CM Jessie was exceptional. The little girls LOVED her. She held their hands, danced around with them, rode with them on a few of the rides (at their request) and was even spotted hopping up and down with them while they waited to get on Peter Pan's flight. When K was too short for BTMRR, it was Jessie who kept her happy and promised to wait with her at the exit (Mom and the babies waited too). BTMRR was our last ride and then we started walking towards the front for Wishes. We didn't get there in time for our priority seating, but Jessie still found us a pretty decent spot. The kids were happy, and that was all that really mattered.

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Once Wishes ended, Mom, J, and BJB headed back to ASMusic and we went back to the Castle. C took the kids up ahead of us and met Julian to go upstairs and D, Jessie, and I ran over to a shop to buy Leo a new t-shirt since he'd managed to get chocolate on the first one and then something else on the one I'd packed for the next day. By the time we headed back to the Castle, the park was definitely clearing out and there weren't many people left at all. The park behind the Castle was totally empty as we stood outside for D to take a smoke break. I think that was the only time EVER that the smoke break didn't annoy me. LOL It was very cool seeing everything with no people. When we got back up to the suite, the beds had been turned down and goodies were left for us. 4 Dream Friend Minnies and 2 Mickeys were left in the sitting room for the kids. There were spa products in the bathroom for the adults and Princess bubble bath for the kids. There were slippers by the beds for the adults too. The fridge was stocked with sodas, juice, and water and best of all, there was this GORGEOUS white chocolate replica of Cinderella's horses and carriage, which was filled with strawberries and surrounded by other chocolates and sweets. YUMMY!!!

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Not a great photo, but you get the idea!

The kids needed a bath so we filled the tub and let C do the dirty work of cleaning them up and supervising the play time with the bubbles. When they got out, there were these adorable bathrobes for each of them to wear. Pink for the girls and blue for Leo, of course! Around 10pm, Julian knocked on the door. He'd gone down to one of the shops and got a blanket for Lucy, since one had never been brought up for her. It was so cute, and hers to keep. I thought that was very sweet.
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Once the kids were done, it was my turn. That bathtub was heavenly!! Once I got done, D and C both took a turn in the tub too. It was well after midnight by the time we were all done with the baths, but there was NO WAY we were passing up a chance to enjoy that bathtub. I'm a dork, and I did take pics of the bathroom, so here they are. I didn't take the time to upload the toilet pic, but it was nice too and sort of like a throne. LOL Hallie got a kick out of the fact that it was shaped like a rectangle rather than a bowl.

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Shower. The tilework was all mosaic and was beautiful.

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The sink area

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The beloved bathtub. This photo really does it no justice at all. The mosaics are simply stunning. The tub is huge (all 4 kids fit fine with room to play), and it has the jacuzzi jets and a multicolor light. It has this nifty little control panel so you can set the pressure of the jets, which ones are turned on, what color the light is, a timer, etc. Above the tub, the ceiling has these twinkling lights that really look like stars. Its such a magical feeling place, even if it IS just a bathtub!

Anyways, after my bath, I worked on getting the kids to bed. I set the girls up watching Cinderella in the sitting room (the bed had already been pulled out and made up for them when we arrived that night). Leo joined them for awhile too.
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Once the girls fell asleep, I moved Leo (and his Thomas the Tank Engine pillow, remember I said he's obsessed with trains!!) into the bed he was sharing with D for the night.
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It had been a LONG busy day for the kids and they were beat, so it was pretty easy getting them to sleep, thank GOD!
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My sleeping Princess

It had been a simply magical day. That is the only way to describe it. There were so many moments where I seriously thought to myself, "Ok, You are going to wake up now because this has got to be a dream!". I can't even properly put into words how incredible the whole experience was. Perhaps the most magical thing of all, none of the kids had a major meltdown all day. They had a few moments of whining, but no full on fits...and for 6 kids at MK ALL DAY, that is borderline miraculous!!!

It was difficult falling asleep in the castle that night. I was just too jazzed about it all, but finally I drifted off with Lucy beside me (we co-sleep). It couldn't have been much later when I awoke to Lucy crying and coughing. She promptly threw up all over herself. C and D, and all the kids, slept peacefully while I tried to clean it up the best I could. I stripped her down and got her back to sleep, thinking surely it had to be a one time deal. No, not quite. Roughly every half hour to 45 minutes we were up and she was sick. Eventually it turned into this gross yellow bile type stuff which freaked me out a little, I must say. Lucy has been my healthy baby and she never really even spit up, let alone vomiting! Everyone else woke around 7:30 and we worked on getting everyone dressed and ready because we'd been told we had breakfast reservations for 9am at the Crystal Palace. I was exhausted from being up all night with the sick baby, but I was still in the castle feeling like royalty and I think that made it easier to stomach (excuse the pun there).

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Me, DH C, Sick Lucy, H, and Leo in bed that morning.

We left out stuff packed up and on one of the beds and headed over to breakfast. We were told that our luggage would be waiting for us at ASMusic when we returned. Breakfast was good and the character interaction was pretty good. When we were done before Tigger made his way over to us, our server made sure to get Tigger so the kids could see him before we left. And hey, it was free breakfast so who am I to complain about anything! :wizard:

Poor Miss Lucy though. We'd brought along her new blanket and she barfed on it like 3 times between the time we left and castle and the time breakfast was over. In between pukes, she was her normal happy self though, so we decided to keep going and take it easy while we watched to see what would happen with the pukies. Everyone else felt fine, so I figured it must have been a bug she picked up on one of the restaurant high chairs or something.

So, thats the end of Day 3 and into the start of Day 4. The castle stay was so amazing. I know I keep saying it, but it really was! I'm afraid the rest of the TR won't be nearly so exciting, since its your run of the mill trip to WDW from this point onward...well for the most part. There will be more barfing, meltdowns, and uncomfortable Princess shoes though, so maybe its not all the way typical but you get the idea. I'll be back tomorrow with the rest of Day 4.
 
I am loving this TR!!! You guys are so lucky! Can't wait to hear more!
 
I hope everything is good with the baby....I am so sorry that she was sick. I love your TR.
 
What Magic!! Except for the puking child of course!!
To bad poor baby had to get sick, bad, bad timing!!:sad2:
I am so glad your sharing this wonderful experience. It is
such fun reading about it, not to mention the beautiful
pictures. I for one will be staying to hear about the rest
of your disney adventure! Keep it coming!!:banana:
 
What a fantastic trip report! Your castle stay sounds like heaven!:cloud9: I'm so sorry your little one got sick. I hope she was quickly on the mend.

We've done some Grand Gatherings before (but never with very young children!) and I know they can be challenging sometimes. It sounds like you're handling it beautifully. Looking forward to the rest of your report!
 
Wow what a great night!! Even if you had a sick little one. Thanks so much for sharing! I can't wait to read more.
 




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