A Canadian's First Family Trip to the Most Magical Place on Earth

[shoppgirl]

We had the alarm set for 7:00 because today was our Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique (BBB) day!! I packed the girls' costumes that I had purchased from the Disney Store at home. Belle had chosen to purchase the Belle dress from their Spring line at full price I NEVER buy these things at full price, but I had to let it go this time to ensure that she got the dress she wanted for this trip (larger sizes seem harder to find at the local stores). I was SO LUCKY to find Tink's Tinkerbell costume from the same store in the clearance rack for $7!!!!! Unfortunately I could not find Tinkerbell shoes for her, and I was not willing to pay full price for them to only be worn for a few short hours. I did buy her lime green fake crocs to wear if she wanted but she refused to and kept to her pink mary jane crocs.

DH went down to the lounge and brought up a tray with our breakfast to tie us over until our Cinderella's Royal Table breakfast at 10:00. The girls got dressed into their outfits. I thought it would be easiest if they arrived at the BBB already dressed. This was a great idea in hindsight because we got great pictures of the girls in their costumes inside the park by photopass people while the park still appeared empty!

We left for MK by 8:00. When we got to the monorail station at the GF I thought we could try to sit in the front with the driver. Being so early in the morning, I thought our chances might be good today! And sure enough, it was empty so we asked if we could sit up front. The only unfortunate thing about this morning's ride was that there was something wrong with the climate control settings in the front...the only options were freezing cold A/C or boiling hot heat. Guess which one the driver chose?!? Because it was SO COLD inside the car, the entire front glass was covered in condensation and we couldn't see a thing! I commented on it to the driver, and he said he didn't need to see where he was going!

We entered the Magic Kingdom and this is what we saw:

We found some photopass photographers hanging out on Main St so we stopped them for some photos all along the way. My Photopass CD is in transit with UPS as I type (last time I checked, it was in Kentucky!). I will most defintely be adding the photopass pictures once I get them, so please feel free to review some of the posts once I do! But here are some from my camera:

I did manage to get this shot of the girls as they walked up to the castle:

I screamed out "hold hands" after I told them to run up towards the castle

Our BBB apointment was for 8:30. When we got there, we were promptly checked in and the girls were given personal invitations which were basically pamphlets with the 3 different hairstyles they could choose from. We waited 5 minutes and then they were ready for us. They could both go in at the same time, and I was really hoping they would have a chair side by side. Luckily they did! DH and I were able to sit on the bench and just watch and enjoy both of their transformations at the same time. As a side note, normally my girls hate to have their hair done. Tink tolerates it, and Belle internally loathes it, but knows better than to complain to me about it. They refuse to go to a salon to have a professional cut their hair. So I was extremely surprised they were willing to have a "stranger"/Fairy Godmother in Training do their hair. But I guess they were willing to go through anything to look like a princess!

Here are some photos from the experience:

Time to gel up the hair!

Choosing the eyeshadow

Crowning Princess Belle

Here comes the Fairy Dust

The Princess transformations are done!

Once again, the photopass photographer was all over the girls and took tons of pics. I told her we had preordered, so I welcomed a lot of pictures. She also gave me a brochure with the information for the portrait session at Exposition Hall, which I had definitely planned to do later on.

The girls were given little gift bags at the end with the left over make up (6 eyeshadows, 6 lipglosses and a blush), the leftover face jewels, and 2 bottles of nailpolish. They also got stickers. We were done by 9:15.

We took our little Princesses to FantasyLand to go on some rides as we had about an hour before our Cinderella's Round Table (CRT) breakfast at 10:00. We walked right on to the Carousel again.

Our next ride, and a favourite, It's A Small World. We walked right onto this ride again and we were also the ONLY ONES in our boat. There was nobody behind us, and some people way ahead of us, so I snapped away with my camera without worrying my flash would irritate other passengers. Once again, I heard "Look Mommy"..."Look at that Mommy!" a hundred times, but that's OK!

After this ride, we walked on over to the Mad Tea Party's spinning cups!! We practically walked onto this ride too! DH and I are NOT fans of spinning rides, but of course the girls get a kick out of this ride. So of course, being the wonderful, self sacrificing parents that we are, we endure.

By now, it was almost 10:00 so we walked towards the castle in great anticipation of our Princess breakfast in the Magic Kingdom Castle!!!!

Up next: Cinderella's Round Table

 

[sherreis]

What a great morning! And, another time that I wish I had girls. They looked like they were concentrating on what was being done and they look like princesses. Glad you got such a good deal on Tink's dress - great job. I guess that's why you're "shopgirl."

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

What a great TR! Thanks so much shopgirl! I am on pins and needles waiting for your review of Cinderella's Royal Table! We are having breakfast there in January! I am very excited to see my 2 little princesses with their fave - Cinderella!

 

[Rlbren]

WOW! I miss having a little girl to do stuff for. My "princess" is 18 now. It makes me tear up to think back on our wonderful disney vacations. Once more your little "princesses" are beautiful. Enjoy every minute as it goes by in a blink of an eye.

 

[coteau_chick]

Your pictures are just beautiful. I had tears in my eyes when I saw the one of the girls running to the castle holding hands.

 

[photolover]

I am from Toronto, ON and love readding your report. We're leaving in 10 days!!! Your two dds are too cute!!! I love the dresses your mom made for them. I have 2 dds (5 and 7) and I am having trouble finding comfortable Disney-themed dresses for them locally (any ideas where I can find some???) All I have are princess costumes!!! Talking about costume, I am wondering which Disney store you got your Tink costume for $7 because I just paid the full-price tag $40 for 2 of them two weeks ago at the Disney store @ Square One (it was from the Clearance rack but no red tag on it!) I am going to see if I can have some price adjustment tomorrow.

I couldn't wait to read the rest of your trip report, hopefully before I leave so I can learn a few tips from yours since our girls are similar in age. Thanks!

 

[shoppgirl]

What a great morning! And, another time that I wish I had girls. They looked like they were concentrating on what was being done and they look like princesses. Glad you got such a good deal on Tink's dress - great job. I guess that's why you're "shopgirl."

You guessed it right. I do love to shop, but only for a GREAT bargain! My MIL always tells me how great a shopper I am because I can find really nice stuff cheap!

What a great TR! Thanks so much shopgirl! I am on pins and needles waiting for your review of Cinderella's Royal Table! We are having breakfast there in January! I am very excited to see my 2 little princesses with their fave - Cinderella!

That's great you are going in Jan. You will definitely love it...the atmosphere, the princesses and even the food were all great. My review of CRT will come tonight!

WOW! I miss having a little girl to do stuff for. My "princess" is 18 now. It makes me tear up to think back on our wonderful disney vacations. Once more your little "princesses" are beautiful. Enjoy every minute as it goes by in a blink of an eye.

Thank you! I tell myself that every day. I really do miss my babies, but I love seeing them grow and mature into young ladies every day.

Your pictures are just beautiful. I had tears in my eyes when I saw the one of the girls running to the castle holding hands.

Yes, that is a favourite photo of mine...reminds me of some of the photos I see in the WDW commercials/brochures!

I am from Toronto, ON and love readding your report. We're leaving in 10 days!!! Your two dds are too cute!!! I love the dresses your mom made for them. I have 2 dds (5 and 7) and I am having trouble finding comfortable Disney-themed dresses for them locally (any ideas where I can find some???) All I have are princess costumes!!! Talking about costume, I am wondering which Disney store you got your Tink costume for $7 because I just paid the full-price tag $40 for 2 of them two weeks ago at the Disney store @ Square One (it was from the Clearance rack but no red tag on it!) I am going to see if I can have some price adjustment tomorrow.

I couldn't wait to read the rest of your trip report, hopefully before I leave so I can learn a few tips from yours since our girls are similar in age. Thanks!

That is really cool you're leaving in 10 days (and enjoying FREE DINING!?!?) Have you tried eBay for customs??? I bought the fabric and pattern from Walmart (they are the only stores I know that carry Disney prints locally) and got my mom (or you could find a local seamstress) to make it for me.

I shop at the Sq One Disney store too. I found the Tinkerbell costume on a clearance rounder at the store during Easter.

Thanks for reading...I will be posting CRT tonight!

 

[nrod]

Shopgirl, I can totally relate to the shopping vacation. I'm always up for that! Unfortunately, my husband finds it a total waste of time! Have a great time in NYC!!

Your girls look like they were having so much fun. And the princess day was priceless - before BBB and after. Having 2 boys I only get to experience these things through TRs (my guys insist they "hate the princesses"). The girls looked beautiful.

Regarding the wedding thing...my husband & I dated for almost 8 years. His neice was the one who put the most pressure on us about getting married. She was about 18 months old when we started dating. I think she was about 3 when she turned to her mother and said "I guess some people NEVER get married. " She was all about our wedding. When we finally did get married, we HAD to have her in our wedding - she was a flower girl, even though she was getting a bit old. But she had waited SO long! So it's not just your little ones!

Can't wait for your next update!

 

[shoppgirl]

It's time for our breakfast with the Princesses! We walked back to the castle to check in for our 10:00 ADR for Cinderella's Royal Table. After a minute of waiting outside, we were led inside the castle to line up for our meeting with Cinderella herself! This is a photo looking up at the castle and the dining room windows.

Here we are walking into the castle to line up:

I was only able to convince Belle to pose with the Knight's suit of armour:

We waited for about 15 minutes or so while the line filled in behind us. We were about the 4th group in line already. Finally, it was Cinderella herself who appeared! She posed for photographs with each of the groups. With the CRT dining, you get a souvenir photo of the castle and the photo taken with Cinderella in 8X10 formats, and then you get 4 additional 4X6s. She was prepared to sign autographs too, but we already had her sign our books on the first night. As soon as we had our photo taken, we were called to go upstairs!

On our way up the winding staircase to the dining room, I took a photo of what it looks like at the Cinderella greeting spot:

We were the second group to be seated. It appears as though they have blocks of diners as 3/4 of the restaurant was empty, waiting for the next "wave" of diners to come in. All the window tables were empty. I was thinking to myself how wonderful it would be if we got seated at one of these coveted window tables!!!!

The spray of Pixie Dust continues to follow us as we were seated right next to the window!!! Yippee!! We weren't right in the centre, but that's OK...we still had a nice view out the window into Fantasyland and the carousel:

Photo of inside the castle's dining room:

We had a very attentive server and he immediately introduced himself with some coffee. We already had a carafe of orange juice on the table. He then brought out the fruit plate and a basket of danishes/breads.

For our meals, I believe (I forgot to take a picture!) the girls had a set entree plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, french toast. Here is a photo of the adult entree:

The food was enjoyable. Unfortunately the sausages are spicy! Belle loves sausage, but she couldn't enjoy any of the ones served at WDW as they were all spicy!

We were visited by a wave of princesses. They all came out pretty quickly. Once again, the interaction was limited because the girls were still shy about conversing with them, but they certainly loved getting their books signed and photos taken. All the princesses commented on how lovely the girls outfits were. Especially Belle's dress. Most of them said that Belle must have been in Princess Belle's closet that morning borrowing her gown! And Jasmine commented that Tink didn't need to use Jasmine's magic carpet to get to MK since she had her own wings.

After the princesses made their rounds at the table, they did a special "Make a Wish" (or something like that!) ceremony. The children were encouraged to wave their wands/swords in the air and there were flashing lights everywhere. For a keepsake the girls got wands and a plastic star that says "Make a Wish" (I think! I have to go double check that!).

We had an enjoyable breakfast and it was a real treat for the girls to meet the rest of their favourite princesses. It was time to head back out and make our way down to Exposition Hall for our photography session.

Be sure to check back next week for my Photopass pics! The CD will be delivered on the 18th according to UPS!

Next: It's too HOT!!!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Wow! What awesome pictures! I am now more excited than ever for our Breakfast with the Princesses! My girls are going to love it! The food looks quite yummy!

 

[pl'smama]

Great update Shopgirl! Your DD's are so sweet and they looked wonderful in their costumes. I can't wait to see your photopass pics!

Suz

 

[Grace and Mickey]

HI I just had to read your TR when I saw the title " a trip to the happiest place on earth" that how I feel about WDW too!!! I love reading about mothers taking their children to WDW for the first time. It brings tears to my eyes and happiness to my heart, when I read about the excitment of the children annd enjoyment of the parents as they experiece the joy of making memories with their children.

I was not able to take my 2 daughters to WDW when they where little, it was always a dream of mine but it just was not able to happen.
But in 2006 I was able to take them They where 29 and 25 and it was the most magiicial time of our lives. My husband and #1 daughter husband and #2 daughter Boyfriend went too. I think about that trip every day. We also eat at CRT for dinner, Daughter #2 got proposed to during dinner. And we have Minnie bridial ears too.

Your girls are so beautiful in the princess dress, I like their matching travel dresses too. I looking forward to reading more of your TR. Thanks for sharing it. It put lots of happiness in my heart.

 

[shoppgirl]

Shopgirl, I can totally relate to the shopping vacation. I'm always up for that! Unfortunately, my husband finds it a total waste of time! Have a great time in NYC!!

Your girls look like they were having so much fun. And the princess day was priceless - before BBB and after. Having 2 boys I only get to experience these things through TRs (my guys insist they "hate the princesses"). The girls looked beautiful.

Regarding the wedding thing...my husband & I dated for almost 8 years. His neice was the one who put the most pressure on us about getting married. She was about 18 months old when we started dating. I think she was about 3 when she turned to her mother and said "I guess some people NEVER get married. " She was all about our wedding. When we finally did get married, we HAD to have her in our wedding - she was a flower girl, even though she was getting a bit old. But she had waited SO long! So it's not just your little ones!

Can't wait for your next update!

Just got back from a power shopping trip to Central Valley (hit the Woodbury Common Outlets!) Got some great stuff too!

That's too funny about your husband's niece! My girls would love to be flower girls too one day and wear those beautiful dresses!

Wow! What awesome pictures! I am now more excited than ever for our Breakfast with the Princesses! My girls are going to love it! The food looks quite yummy!

You have every reason to be excited for your breakfast! The food was most definitely yummy. There is no doubt your girls will have a magical time with all the Princesses!

Great update Shopgirl! Your DD's are so sweet and they looked wonderful in their costumes. I can't wait to see your photopass pics!

Suz

Thanks! I will be downloading my photopass pics as I just got them today.

HI I just had to read your TR when I saw the title " a trip to the happiest place on earth" that how I feel about WDW too!!! I love reading about mothers taking their children to WDW for the first time. It brings tears to my eyes and happiness to my heart, when I read about the excitment of the children annd enjoyment of the parents as they experiece the joy of making memories with their children.

I was not able to take my 2 daughters to WDW when they where little, it was always a dream of mine but it just was not able to happen.
But in 2006 I was able to take them They where 29 and 25 and it was the most magiicial time of our lives. My husband and #1 daughter husband and #2 daughter Boyfriend went too. I think about that trip every day. We also eat at CRT for dinner, Daughter #2 got proposed to during dinner. And we have Minnie bridial ears too.

Your girls are so beautiful in the princess dress, I like their matching travel dresses too. I looking forward to reading more of your TR. Thanks for sharing it. It put lots of happiness in my heart.

Thank you for your kind words. It was most definitely a dream come true for me to bring my little girls to this magical place. It's never too late to visit Disney and I am sure your first family trip was equally as magical as mine was. I would think even moreso since your DD#2 got engaged at the castle!!! How wonderful is that?!

 

[shoppgirl]

We finished our lovely breakfast and decided to head out down Main St towards Exposition Hall. It was about 11:30 or so now and thus it was majorly HOT and crowded in the parks. As we walked down we passed a Photopass photographer who could take photos with the castle in the background. I really wanted a picture of the family and just the girls all dressed up with the castle. I am most positive the girls were in absolutely no mood for posing and smiling, especially with the sun high in the sky and shining in their faces. But they were little troopers and agreed to it, forced smiles and all!

Poor Belle's dress had a huge skirt and it was making her incredibly hot, so we walked as quickly as we could down Main towards Expo Hall. We ducked into some stores along the way to cool off. There were masses of people arriving at the park walking in the opposite direction, so that made it a little tricky walking down!

We finally made it to Exposition Hall, and a CM who saw the girls all dressed up from the BBB, directed us to the back of the store where they were taking the photos. When we arrived there was a group taking photos, and another group already in line, so we were now 3rd in line. It was good the girls got to see the little ones ahead of us so they knew what to expect. We probably waited all of 10-15 minutes before it was our turn. Here are a few photos from the session:

We all agreed that we should go one one more ride before heading back to the resort. The Walt Disney Railroad station was right beside the Expo Hall so we waited for a train to come. We actually just missed the train so rather than wait at the ride we went for a short walk up Main St to stop for some ice cream at the ice cream shop.

After an ice cream treat, we went back to line up for the railroad. We timed it well because as soon as we got there, the train pulled in!

It was a fun ride (no dark parts!! ) When the train returned to the Main St station, we got off and heard that the Family Day parade was about to start. So we pulled up some chairs for a great view from the station platform overlooking Main Street.

This was the ONLY parade we saw our entire trip!!!!

Now it was really getting hot and we promised our girls we would head back to the resort. Even though I had paid tons of money for their princess up-do, they wanted to go in the pool!!!

We decided to take the boat back to the resort. It was a pleasant ride and the girls enjoyed their first boat ride ever.

Up Next: An afternoon at the GF

 

[sherreis]

You accomplished so much this day. I love that when you were planning to leave, it was "let's do 1 more thing." The girls were princesses for a day and it was all so worth it. Please explain Exposition Hall - haven't heard of that before. Your photopass pics came out terrific - Belle just looks so sweet.

 

[mickeynut1]

I love the photopass pics.....your girls are just darling .

 

[sammi]

Your pictures are just priceless!!!

What lovely memories you've made for your whole family!

 

[pl'smama]

The BBB photos of your little girls are just beautiful! They look so happy and relaxed and the princess hair do suits them both so well.

Can't wait for more...

Suz

 

[tinkerbell*Xo]

I love those photo pass pictures! They take those on main st? Ive never seen that!! they are absolutly beautiful!!!

Can't wait to hear more!

 

[disneymomof1]

Loving your trip report and your daughters are so cute. I love your magic kingdom dresses, I always buy homemade disney boutique dresses for our trips. It brings even more magic to the trip when people comment on her beautiful clothes. Last year at Epcot I had a lady following me begging me to tell me where I got my daughters Ariel dress, I told her I made it ( I didn't but she didn't need to know that, it was made by someone on ebay.)

Your pictures are very clear and sharp, what kind of camera do you use? I am in the market for a new one.

Can't wait to read more !!!