9 Days of Princess Hair - a June 2010 trip report - update 9/24 the drive home

[ksl5f123]

Wow~that is crazy!! Talk about confusion!! Our waiter wasn't that great...no personality and the food was fine so I think I can count myself as lucky!!

It was insane. All I could think was, "Come open this bottle of wine because the chaos of this meal is making me need a glass!" Of course, if I HAD poured my own, it might have been more than the standard 5 oz!

The food there was fine and most of us ate everything. We just got tired of being given the wrong food.

 

[TinksThree]

It was insane. All I could think was, "Come open this bottle of wine because the chaos of this meal is making me need a glass!" Of course, if I HAD poured my own, it might have been more than the standard 5 oz!

The food there was fine and most of us ate everything. We just got tired of being given the wrong food.

I just completely pictured you tipping that bottle up and chugging away!!

How was your view...were you able to get a good view of the aquarium? That was what my kids enjoyed the most!

 

[ksl5f123]

I just completely pictured you tipping that bottle up and chugging away!!

Now that would have been quite a WDW memory for the kiddos!

How was your view...were you able to get a good view of the aquarium? That was what my kids enjoyed the most!

We could see about the top half of the tank over everyone's heads. Since we were all the way in the back, it wasn't the best. Also, since the table is U shaped the kids couldn't get out to even go stand at the side and look. So, a little disappointing.

 

[ksl5f123]

While MIL and I were in line for dessert, all of the kids made new masks at the kidcot spot. We got 2 fruit tulips, 2 chocolate mousse, a napolean, a chocolate croissant, and two bottles of water. We all shared and everyone got something to eat. When we were done, the napolean and the croissant hadn't been touched. Four desserts from France are enough to feed 9 people. (DH and I ate the napolean and croissant for breakfast the next day).
It was now about 8 PM. I had purchased the “official DIS pearl cages” from ebay, and we were running out of time to go over to Japan to do the Pick a Pearl. When we arrived, there were 5 families in front of us. We paid, took a number and waited our turn.

DD4 and I waiting:

MIL and DS1 waiting:

Finally, it was our turn. DD6 picked first, then DD4, and I picked last. Getting out our oysters:

Opening the oysters

Drumming

DD6 picked a 7 mm golden pearl, DD4 picked a 6.75 mm white pearl, and I picked a 7.75 mm silver pearl.

Our pearls:

While we were picking our pearls, FIL had taken the nephews somewhere else. We walked out of the Japan pavilion just as Illuminations was starting so we watched from right there. FIL and the nephews watched from near the Mexico pavilion. DD4 and I went up as close as we could get and we really enjoyed the show. MIL and DH were tired and stayed on a bench back by the Japan pavilion. It has been a while since we have seen Illuminations and I really liked the changes. The last time I saw it there were lots of lasers. Now there are lots of fireworks. I like the new version better! However, as the show was going so was the thunder and lightning. By the time the show ended, it was too close for comfort. FIL was just going to leave with the nephews leaving MIL to ride back with us. However, we soon realized that FIL still had our car keys from when he had gone to look for DS1's shoe. He and the nephews had to wait for us as MIL led us on a forced march back to the car. I think we were in bed by about 10:15. And so ends day 6 with Princess hair!

2 snack credits (19 remaining) and 3 CS credits (8 remaining) used at Sunshine Seasons
price if paying oop - $46.35
2 TS credits used at Chef Mickeys. 0 remaining
Price for this meal if paying oop - $57.49
8 snack credits used at Boulangerie Patisserie, 11 remaining
Price if paying oop = $27.72
Total paid for dining plan (8 days) = $975.68
Total cost of meals if paying oop = $1157.28!!!!
Money spent this day = $34.06 for Chef Mickeys and $51 for 3 pearls
Money available after 10 days = $406

Up next, the DHS day that almost wasn't.

 

[TinksThree]

I love getting the pastries in France!!! That is my favorite way to use up the snack credits!!

Great pearls!! It seems PaP is the "thing" to do!!

I have yet to see Illuminations! Everytime we go, we never make it to 9pm. Although I did get a view from Rainforest Cafe in DTD....not quiet the same though!!

I love how you have broken down the costs! I do that on every trip we take, but the Disney ones are the best when comparing the dining plan and OOP!!

 

[ksl5f123]

I love getting the pastries in France!!! That is my favorite way to use up the snack credits!!

They were all yummy and so huge! The chocolate mousse was my favorite - so rich and yummy!

 

[TinksThree]

Now that would have been quite a WDW memory for the kiddos!



We could see about the top half of the tank over everyone's heads. Since we were all the way in the back, it wasn't the best. Also, since the table is U shaped the kids couldn't get out to even go stand at the side and look. So, a little disappointing.

I missed this earlier....but that would have been quiet the memory!! LOL A tale that would last through the ages!!

That is disappointing about the table/view. To me, that is part of the attraction of Coral Reef!

 

[lexmas]

Whew, all caught up!

Let's see what I can remember now!

First, thanks for posting the picture of the signature! It turned out really great!

That picture of your DS sleeping in the stroller is hillarious. How do kids sleep like that?

AAA storytime looks like so much fun! If I ever book with AAA again, I'm there. I love it. I bet it will be more popular now that they're closing storytime with Belle until the refurb is over.

Dinner at Coral Reef sounds completely chaotic. I'm sure it was just a bad day for your waiter, but it sounds like it was crazy! I bet you're glad you got wine!

I want to snack in France! It all sounds delicious.

The pearls are so very pretty! I keep going back and forth about whether we're going to do this on our trip, mostly because I bought the cinderella cage, but I bought another that's slightly smaller and I'm afraid of getting a pearl that's too big (that's not something you worry about too much!). Did your pearls fit in the carriages well? I love that picture of DS1 and your MIL waiting. It's so very cute! They seem to get along really well.

 

[ksl5f123]

Whew, all caught up!

Good job and no rush. You have been a busy woman!

That picture of your DS sleeping in the stroller is hillarious. How do kids sleep like that?

I have no idea. I think he wanted to roll over and that is how he wound up. I laughed so hard when I woke up I couldn't resist taking a picture.

AAA storytime looks like so much fun! If I ever book with AAA again, I'm there. I love it. I bet it will be more popular now that they're closing storytime with Belle until the refurb is over.

I hadn't thought about that wrt Belle's Storytime. That is a good point!

Dinner at Coral Reef sounds completely chaotic. I'm sure it was just a bad day for your waiter, but it sounds like it was crazy! I bet you're glad you got wine!

It was insane. I can't complain too much - the food was fine. I feel sorry for the server.

I want to snack in France! It all sounds delicious.

Do it!!! It was all very yummy - even the next day.

The pearls are so very pretty! I keep going back and forth about whether we're going to do this on our trip, mostly because I bought the cinderella cage, but I bought another that's slightly smaller and I'm afraid of getting a pearl that's too big (that's not something you worry about too much!). Did your pearls fit in the carriages well? I love that picture of DS1 and your MIL waiting. It's so very cute! They seem to get along really well.

The girls pearls fit great. The carriage says that it is good for pearls up to 7 mm in diameter. Mine at 7.75 is a little too big and it doesn't close completely - not bad enough that it would fall out, just not all the way.

 

[ksl5f123]

That is disappointing about the table/view. To me, that is part of the attraction of Coral Reef!

Exactly! The primary reason that I booked this ADR is my wonderful memories of DD6's first trip to WDW when she was 1. We had a wonderful tank-side table and she spent the entire meal fascinated with the fish. I was hoping for a similar experience for DS1. It didn't quite work out that way.

 

[ksl5f123]

Tuesday, June 15 started out with just about too much chaos for me to handle. Now, you all know that you can get a rewards card for your Disney Visa that you can use to pay for just about anything at WDW. Most of you also know that you can pick up that card at any Guest relations window, call the 1-800 number and they will load your credits immediately. Do any of you know why we failed to do this for the first 8 days of our trip? I certainly don't. So, here we are the morning we are supposed to be checking out from POR with DH running to Epcot (the closest park) at 8 AM to get the rewards card. Ugh! Meanwhile, MIL declares that she is sick of missing breakfast (we had a room full of food that we ate each morning but they weren't interested so they skipped breakfast every day) and we were ALL going to Riverside Mill to eat. Um....OK.
While DH is at Epcot, we all went to Riverside Mill. I got a bounty platter with apple juice and a Diet Coke that I shared the food with DS1 and DD4. DD6 got a kid's pancake meal. When DH got back, he got a create-your-own yogurt parfait for a snack credit. While we are eating, DH arrives with the reward card, but since I am the primary card holder, they won't transfer the points to the card for him. I finish up my breakfast and head out to find a more quiet place to make the phone call. It only takes a couple of minutes and then we are finally able to pay off our room (we ended up paying $24 for all the expenses we had charged to the room all week after using the reward card – so, it was important), load up the minivans and leave by 9 AM for DHS.
Usually, I am very sad about checking out of our resort. However, this time, everything was so chaotic and rushed that I really didn't think about the fact we were leaving. I just wanted DH to get that card and everyone to get ready to go. Since DH and I had done the TSMM rush on Sunday so we knew what was involved and how fast the fastpasses were being distributed. Our kids had never ridden it and we knew they would love it, so I was a little stressed about a late arrival.
So, did we get to ride TSMM without a long wait? Yes, we did! How? I had a secret weapon for this day – GAD vouchers! We arrived at DHS at about 9:15 and went straight to Guest Relations. I turned in my voucher and the CM asked for 5 other cards from our party. We give them mine, DH, DD6, DD4, and both nephews. We didn't try to get more as we knew we couldn't possibly use all the fastpasses. The Guest Relations CM quickly issues GAD fastpass cards for me, DH and the girls, but has a problem when he gets to the nephews. Unbeknownst to me, MIL had contacted our travel agent and had their and the nephews tickets changed to FL resident tickets. The max number of days on a FL ticket is 7 and this is the 8th day the boys are trying to go to the park!!! Now, what are we going to do? Well, I can tell you what I did – panic!!!!!!!!!!!
Luckily, my panic was very short-lived because before I could even say anything, the Guest Relations CM hands DN12 a form to fill out, does some fancy computer work, gives them one day tickets, and only charges us the $6 that it would be to upgrade regular tickets!!!!! and A funny story here – when DN12 gets the form, it asks for his address. He looks at me and says, “What do I put?” BIL, SIL, and the nephews had rented out their house because they were leaving August 1 to spend a year travelling around the world. Over the summer they were bouncing between their grandmother's and aunt's houses and they actually didn't have an address! Once we got all of our paperwork straightened out, the CM gave us all our GAD fastpass cards and we are ready to go.
Oh, except for one thing......MIL and FIL still have 7 day tickets. I call MIL over to chat with Guest Relations herself and the very nice CM refuses to add a day to MIL and FIL's tickets like he did for the nephews!!! I don't know why – maybe because they really are FL residents whereas the boys live in CO? Maybe because they are adults – although the boys are Disney adults? Anyway, he won't do it and MIL refuses to pay the $85/ticket. What do we do now? Do we all leave? Eventually it gets decided that DH and I will head into the park with all 5 kids and orders to have the boys out by 12:30 so they can get to the airport to fly home. In the meantime, MIL and FIL will go find a Starbucks and meet us later.
It is now about 10 AM and we have only 2.5 hours to tour DHS and get the nephews out. What can we squeeze in?

Up next, an abbreviated day at DHS!

 

[petals]

<snip>
Definitely a sappy moment for me..DD is 17 and I wish we could do BBB. No more little girls for me(right now). DS8 wouldn't look so cute with princess hair! Great picture and trip report. We were there the week before you!

I asked Disney bout that before and they said adults can do BBB as well so maybe you and your DD could do it together sometime

 

[mermaid764]

That's too bad that they would not add the extra day to their tickets as well.

Hopefully something worked out for you guys in the end

Looking forward to more

 

[lexmas]

I would have panicked too! That's awesome that the CM added days to your nephew's tickets, but it's a shame that your MIL and FIL changed it so that they didn't have an 8th day. Sounds like a stressful start toe day! I hope things calm down!

 

[ksl5f123]

petals! Nice to have you reading along!

 

[ksl5f123]

That's too bad that they would not add the extra day to their tickets as well.

Yeah. I was really confused. I didn't know prior to this trip that the max number of days on a FL ticket was less than a regular ticket. So, this whole experience was a surprise.

 

[ksl5f123]

I would have panicked too! That's awesome that the CM added days to your nephew's tickets, but it's a shame that your MIL and FIL changed it so that they didn't have an 8th day. Sounds like a stressful start toe day! I hope things calm down!

It was crazy. I felt so stressed out!

 

[ksl5f123]

Here was our original touring plan:
Playhouse Disney for me and my kids while DH and nephews did Rockin Rollercoaster w/GAD
Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Toy Story w/GAD x2
Lunch
Honey, I shrunk the kids playground
Muppets
2 PM Beauty and the Beast
3 PM parade

Here is what really happened.
We finally got into the park at 10 AM and went straight to TSMM. They were just closing all of the fastpass machines as we arrived because they had given them all out already!!! This is the point where I became incredibly thankful that we had those GAD vouchers!! We got our instant fastpasses with our GAD cards and were some of the first fastpasses allowed in that day (the first fastpass return time is usually 9:50 AM). The nephews and girls really enjoyed this ride, but it was really challenging for me with DS1 in our vehicle too. DH had the highest score in our family.

From there, we went over to watch the Muppets 3D and we arrived just as the pre-show started. The pre-show didn't really keep anyone's attention and restlessness was starting to set in. The preshow is a little too long in my opinion. We were finally let in and enjoyed the show. I know a lot of DISers think it needs to be updated and I can see that point of view, but since we hadn't seen it before, we all enjoyed it. I have always liked the two old guys in the balcony. They make me laugh.

It was now about 11:30 AM. We only had one hour left until the nephews had to leave. The thing they most wanted to do at all of Disneyworld was ride Rockin Rollercoaster so that was our next stop. Along the way, I found a nice place with some shade and I got two Mickey bars with snack credits. The kids and I stayed there while DH and the nephews rode. DD6 was thrilled. I had been promising her a Mickey bar for about 3 days so she really enjoyed hers. The boys loved RNR and declared it the best ride they had all week. I guess that was a good note to end on.

It was now time to say goodbye to the nephews so we walked to the front of the park and DH took them out and met up with MIL and FIL. DD6 cried a little because her buddy was leaving and it will be more than a year before we get to see them again.

When DH returned, it was time to get some lunch. DH chose Pizza Planet and all I can say is at 1 PM, this place is insane!!!!!!! There were no seats available downstairs so we took the elevator up to the 2nd floor. I stayed at the table with DS1 and DD4 while DH and DD6 went to get our food. It was clear that the CMs were working as fast as they could, but it took 20 minutes. We had 5 CS credits remaining so DH decided to use them all. To my surprise, he was able to do this with no problem (technically, we should only have been allowed to use 4 with one trip through the line). DH got the veggie pizza, salad, cookie, and bottled water. I got the pepperoni pizza, salad, Mickey rice crispie treat, and Diet coke. Each of the kids got a cheese pizza meal. We were all hungry and I think all of the pizza was eaten. We took the desserts with us.

Up next, our first rain of the trip!

 

[ksl5f123]

After lunch, we decided to go straight to the Animation building. I hadn't planned to watch the show with Mushu at the beginning, but DH headed in there. DS1 loves Mulan, so he liked seeing Mushu and the show was cute. After that, I wanted to do the drawing class, but the kids were impatient and we decided the 15 minute wait was too long.

However, as we headed for the exit, the skies opened up and a downpour ensued! It was the first rain of our entire trip. I think I had been lulled into a false sense of security because the ponchos were in the van. We made a mad dash for Playhouse Disney for the 2:20 show. DS1 LOVED this!! He enjoyed being allowed to move around and dance. The girls enjoyed all of the little things that fall from the ceiling and DH and I enjoyed being out of the rain.

After that, we ran back to the Animation building and only had about a 5 minute wait to do the drawing class. While we were waiting, we got to look at lots of characters doing meet & greets including Handy Manny and Lotso, but decided to just stay in the drawing line. I forget the choice of characters that we were given, but after a minute or two it was decided that we would draw Ray from the Princess and the Frog. DD6, DD4, and I each got a drawing table, but DH gave his up and decided he would watch DS1 and help the girls. This was LOTS of fun and we could have done it many times.

DD4, who is the artist in the family, got frustrated at one point because hers wasn't perfect. She had made a small mistake on the head. It took her a minute to decide to turn the error into a bow and declare that she was drawing Ray's mommy instead.
DD4 drawing Ray's mommy. This is now day 7 of princess hair. You can see that lots of the short hair in the back is out now. However, the bun is still pretty much intact.

DD6 and her Ray

All 3 of us with our creations. DS1 “helped” with mine.

By this time, the rain had stopped. It was 3 PM and we were missing the parade. Oh well. Instead, we saw that it was almost time for a showing of Little Mermaid so we saw the 3:15 PM show there. Pretty much everything in DHS is new to us. The girls have never been to this park and DH and I haven't been since 2001 – lots of things have changed in 9 years. Anyway, we hadn't seen this show before and I guess I didn't read enough about it to know that we were going to get wet (not really wet, just misted). Had I known this, I would have been better prepared because DS1 fell asleep on my lap – until we went under the sea and he got wet – not a nice way to wake up!

We then decided we wanted one more shot at TSM with our GAD fastpasses. I think the standby wait at this point was over 2 hours – and that was after a rainstorm! We were thrilled to be able to get our instant fastpasses and then just go ride. This time, DS1 rode with DH. Despite that, DH got the highest score in the family again!

Now, we had managed to use all of our TS credits and all of our CS credits, but we still had 8 snack credits remaining to use before the end of the day. I REALLY wanted a cupcake from Starring Rolls so we headed in that direction to get one – only to discover that it closes at 4 PM and it was now 4:10! I missed Ghiradelli's! I missed Starring Rolls! What is there to do? Leave DHS and head to Goofy's Candy Company in Downtown Disney!

Up next, a return to Downtown Disney!

 

[TinksThree]

Very cool that you got to use GAD and ride TSMM twice!! I love that ride!! I am also glad your nephews got to ride RnR...it is awesome!!

I hope to get to see The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast on the next trip! I have seen neither!!

I also want to do the Animation Tour...I have not done that one yet either!

You're going to DTD...Ghiradelli's is just right there!!!