A Mother-Daughter Trip! Now with BONUS BIRTHDAY Trip! (Final Thoughts Coming Soon!)

[RGirl]

6. An Early Morning of Princessification

Well, we tried to go to bed early the night before, but with the time change, it was a bit of a challenge. I think DD was up until about 10. Yikes - that is really late for her, especially after having been so sick just a few days before.

Needless to say, we were both regretting the later-than-wanted night the next morning! The alarm went off at 6:00. I showered and got halfway ready before waking up DD who was enjoying having her own room thanks to the sleeper sofa in the living room. Nonetheless, we were out of the villa by 6:45. DD was really getting a kick out of riding in a stroller - she hasn’t used one at home for quite some time. In fact, she really enjoyed it the whole trip, which surprised me. Last year, when she really needed a stroller, I had to fight her to get her in it. Ahhh, to be 3 and 4 years old again.....

Anyway, we were at the bus stop a little before 7:00 a.m.

I tried to get a pic of the front of the Boardwalk since I had been carrying a semi-conscious child when I got off the DME bus. But it was DARK!

We didn’t have to wait long.

In fact, we were on the bus to the Magic Kingdom at 7:00 a.m. And you guessed it - we had an early-morning reservation. When I booked this reservation, the park was supposed to open at 9:00, so I was really excited about getting into the park early to get some pictures. As it turned out, they changed the opening to 8:00. Grrr - but they still let us in early. Phew!

Waiting with the other crazies in the cold (man, it was COLD):

Soon, they let the early-morning people in, although stopped us before we could actually enter Main Street. (A CM came by and gave the kids some Mickey confetti, which certainly made my DD very happy.)

Finally, they let us loose on Main Street at about 7:45, a whopping 15 minutes before everyone would be entering. I got a few pics as we made our way down.

We stopped for some PP pics too! (I really failed at PP last year - we got quite a few pics but nowhere near what we should have. This year, I preordered the CD, so I made much better use of the photographers.)

(Please note - I do usually do something with DD's hair. Given our first stop, I did not think that was necessary this morning. Consider these "before" pics. )

A nice CM offered to take our pic when we got closer to the castle. Unfortunately, a very tired and tiny-bit-grumpy DD refused to get out of her now-beloved stroller. We took the pic anyway!

As we got closer to the castle and made our way up to the castle “tunnel,” I snapped a few more pics. Our reservation was at 8:15, so I knew I had time.

And then we made our way to stand in line at the BBB!

 

[shan23877]

Beautiful photos! My DD4 had the same love affair with her stroller on this trip, can't wait to try to get her to not take one next trip!

I can't wait to hear about your BBB experience. We LOVED it, and hope to do it again.

 

[hstrickland]

Ya know, the same thing happened to us with DHS...had a ressie to eat at 8am because the park opened at 9. Well....that was changed! We get there and tons of people are waiting!!!

Don't you just love the MK in the early morning?!! And the weather was perfect, wasn't it!? As I was sitting here looking at those pictures, I got a little sad....wishing I was there!!!

Ok Roni...you said BWV was your favorite....ya have to try one of the monorail resorts...wake up looking at the castle or Bay Lake!!....just saying Perhaps you better not take my advice...as you know I'm a little partial to the MK resorts However, my goal is to stay at each WDW resort. I have a long way to go!!!

Looking forward to seeing your 'after' pictures of Willow!

 

[CandleontheWater]

I love empty main street pictures!

I can't wait to see how much Willow loves the BBB!

 

[archdandy]

I'm subbing! It looks like you guys had a really exhausting travel period to get to Disney. But it's always the best part when you first get there because you have the whole vacation ahead of you! I can't wait to see your DD's princessification!

 

[cocofifi]

Awww! I love the mother daughter trip reports! My daughter and I were just talking about how much fun it would be for just the two of us to sneak off to Disney. Subscribing!

 

[RGirl]

Beautiful photos! My DD4 had the same love affair with her stroller on this trip, can't wait to try to get her to not take one next trip!

I can't wait to hear about your BBB experience. We LOVED it, and hope to do it again.

The stroller thing is funny, isn't it? We are going to DLR in January, and I think we will try it without a stroller since DLR is so much smaller than WDW. But I'm a little worried about it - we did without a stroller on our last day, and let's just say that I was wishing the rental company could have picked it up later!

This was DD's second year doing the BBB. She LOVES it. Hopefully, I will get the update done today, although I am soooooo tired from a long night in a hotel with a child who decided to wake me up every half hour or so.

Ya know, the same thing happened to us with DHS...had a ressie to eat at 8am because the park opened at 9. Well....that was changed! We get there and tons of people are waiting!!!

Don't you just love the MK in the early morning?!! And the weather was perfect, wasn't it!? As I was sitting here looking at those pictures, I got a little sad....wishing I was there!!!

Ok Roni...you said BWV was your favorite....ya have to try one of the monorail resorts...wake up looking at the castle or Bay Lake!!....just saying Perhaps you better not take my advice...as you know I'm a little partial to the MK resorts However, my goal is to stay at each WDW resort. I have a long way to go!!!

Looking forward to seeing your 'after' pictures of Willow!

We did have amazing weather. It was quite cold in the mornings the first two days, but it warmed up as the day got going. The middle days were all very warm. And we saw no rain until the last two days. No complaints from me!

I definitely want to stay at one of the monorail resorts. I don't think that we could do such a long trip if we were staying in a regular hotel room, so I would love to try BLT. MK is definitely my favorite park, so I know that I would love it. As you read on, however, you may discover that BWV is the perfect resort for the other member of my traveling party. Regardless, I would love to try out some different resorts. I would love to buy DVC - if I ever manage to do it, I can imagine us using DVC points but spending the first night at one of the other resorts or something.

 

[RGirl]

I love empty main street pictures!

I can't wait to see how much Willow loves the BBB!

I had never done the pre-opening walk down Main Street before. I LOVED it! The other families were racing along - I guess trying to be first in line for already-early reservations or something? - but I really tried to take it as slow as I could and enjoy the view and the pre-opening excitement in the air.

I'm subbing! It looks like you guys had a really exhausting travel period to get to Disney. But it's always the best part when you first get there because you have the whole vacation ahead of you! I can't wait to see your DD's princessification!

Welcome! Thanks for joining in!! We DO have a really long trip to WDW, but it is so worth it! And you're right - just love that feeling of the whole trip being in front of us.

Awww! I love the mother daughter trip reports! My daughter and I were just talking about how much fun it would be for just the two of us to sneak off to Disney. Subscribing!

Welcome!!! You and your DD should do it - it is so fun! Of course, our whole life is pretty much a mother-daughter trip.

 

[RGirl]

7. Finally, the Princessification
Okay, we are back from our little road trip, and I am ready to get this TR moving!! This update will be pretty short on commentary, because there are a LOT of pictures.

When I last left you, we had been enjoying a pretty empty MK and getting ready to check into the BBB for DD’s 8:15 appointment. While waiting in line, I snapped a couple of pics.

Eventually, we were moved inside where we waited some more. DD spent some of that time making absolutely sure that she was choosing the correct gown (not much doubt of that since she had all the other ones).

I just love the themed cash registers here: We are going to take SO much of your money, but it won't feel like it because we look like book shelves!

Finally, it was DD’s turn to get changed into her new gown and get princessified!

The Big Reveal:

Just as DD was finishing up, the Fairy Godmother happened into the BBB to see all the little princesses. It was very cool!

Next up: The Surly Princess Has a Photoshoot

 

[RGirl]

And, as a special bonus, I'm going to go ahead and try to get the next update done as well since it is also really light on words and heavy on pics.

8. The Surly Princess Has a Photoshoot

So, we finished up at the BBB. Now, most of you don’t know a whole heck of a lot about the months, weeks, and days leading up to this trip, so now is the time for me to fill you in a little. My DD is VERY small. She is 4, turning 5 in January. At the time we left our house, we were still not certain whether she would actually make the 40-inch cut-off for attractions like BTMRR, Splash, and ToT (which she had bizarrely determined would be her favorite ride based on my description - right.....). Add to that the following - my DD is a thrill-ride junkie in the making; she LOVES the fastest rides she can get on at the fair, WDW (barnstormer last year), etc. In fact, I can recall when she was about 2 driving down the street of our tiny hometown and hearing from the back seat, “faster, Mommy, faster!!”

So, DD was really, really looking forward to being able to do some of the “big” rides. She was fully prepared to be turned away. But she was dying to try - and she wanted to try as early as possible since I had made the mistake of telling her that she is taller in the morning.

Now many of you may also know that when you are sucker enough to buy the “castle package” or whatever it is called at the BBB, you are entitled to a “free” photo shoot next door. (For all I know, you are entitled to this with any package - somehow, I don’t seem to be able to get out of the BBB without buying that “castle package.” ) Last year, we skipped it (mostly due to my paranoia about my mom and friend being bored - they had already sat through the whole BBB experience). This year, we were going to do it no matter what.

DD was NOT thrilled. She was cold. She wanted to get the heck over to BTMRR. The first few photos tell the tale:

She eventually got her princess on, and we got some nice pics. (They print out three of them for you there, but you can download all of them to your PP account.)

She was losing her mind for BTMRR by the time she was done, so I picked the three least-snarling photos to print and got the heck out of there (knowing that I would have all the pics on my PP CD anyway).

Fantasyland might as well have not existed. We beat a fast path to BTMRR.

Next up: 9. Will the Princess Ride???

 

[shan23877]

Hilarious! I can't believe that she didn't want her photo taken! She looks beautiful though.

I sure hope that the princess gets on that ride. I wouldn't want to deal with a 4 year old who'd been told no.

 

[JLCJMC]

First of all I must say that your daughter is just beautiful. Second -- the "surly" pictures as you called them are a hoot! I would have them framed!

Thanks for sharing

 

[RGirl]

Hilarious! I can't believe that she didn't want her photo taken! She looks beautiful though.

I sure hope that the princess gets on that ride. I wouldn't want to deal with a 4 year old who'd been told no.

Thanks! I think it was really my fault - I usually do a good job of letting her know the plan in advance and making sure she understands what we are doing. I think she felt like I was pulling a fast one with this photo shoot nonsense. I really had forgotten about it until we were at the BBB and no way was I passing it up this year!

First of all I must say that your daughter is just beautiful. Second -- the "surly" pictures as you called them are a hoot! I would have them framed!

Thanks for sharing

Thanks! I loved her surly photos - although I was certainly glad to get some "regular" ones too!

 

[RGirl]

9. Will the Princess Ride???
When I last left you, DD was dragging me away from the silly princess photo shoot to see if she was tall enough to ride BTMRR. This is where our trip took an unexpected course. Let me quickly do away with any concern that she missed the height cut-off. On this first day, she was not measured even once.

And so went the MK. Yes, we experienced much of the MK during this trip, but nothing like I had imagined. You will soon see. But let me warn you, our trip was soon about skipping any parade, any fireworks show, any MK classic ride in order to hit one more “big” ride one more time. What could I say? This trip was not about me. It was about DD. I just thought that we had a few years before she became so certain of her tastes. Nonetheless, we had a great trip - we enjoyed a lot of attractions (some more times than others) and saw a few shows.

And now back to our regularly scheduled TR. We headed from the photo shoot in Fantasyland over to BTMRR. DD was not measured on the way in, and there was no wait whatsoever.

DD was not measured at the loading spot either. And soon she was next in line for the wildest ride in the wilderness! She was VERY excited!!!

Actually, we were both excited. This is one of my absolute favorite WDW rides!

DD loved the ride! She posed briefly out front prior to grabbing FPs for another ride.

From there, we went to check out the posted wait time for Splash Mountain.

Of course there was no wait - did I mention it was FREEZING this morning???? DD was just dying to try that big drop though, so (not remembering just how wet one can get on Splash) I agreed to do this. Bad move. We didn’t get soaked, but my butt was wet for the next couple of hours. Oh, and did I mention it was COLD out???? DD, of course, thought the drop was AWESOME (and, once again, was not measured). Luckily, she was not a fan of getting wet, so I was pretty sure we would not have to do this one again.

She did, however, want to ride BTMRR again, so we wandered over that way to see how long the stand-by wait was (our FPs were not up yet). The wait looked very short, so we started over towards the standy-by line, when a woman stopped us and asked if we wanted her FPs since her son was refusing to ride. We wouldn’t pass up such a great offer!!! The stand-by line was so short that I briefly considered just pocketing the FPs and riding stand-by, but somehow that seemed a little like looking a gift horse in the mouth, so we bopped on down the FP “line” and took our second ride on BTMRR that morning (again, without DD being measured). Still fun!

We had a very important lunch date at 12:15, so we decided to head towards FL and hit a few attractions first. On the way, we visited the Haunted Mansion. DD decided to skip the new queue, so I still haven’t seen it!

DD does not love the stretching room part of this attraction, but she enjoys the actual ride. And we both liked our hitchhiking ghost’s antics!

We grabbed some Peter Pan FPs on the way into FL. And DD’s first choice of a FL ride???

Yep, the carousel! hahaha All of her thrill-ride love aside, DD can never be convinced to skip a carousel.

Last year, it’s a small world was down for refurbishment, so we had to give it a try this year. The wait time was quite a bit longer than I had expected. The MK was actually starting to feel a bit crowded - it had been so nice earlier!

I think DD was a little confused by this ride. haha

The teacups were also being refurbished last year, and DD really wanted to spin. It was getting close to our ADR time, but I checked the wait time app on my phone and figured that we probably had time to zip over to the cups and back and not be late. The posted wait was indeed quite short, so we got in line.

While in line, we saw Pooh and Tigger out for a meet-and-greet nearby. We didn’t have time to do both though, and DD picked the cups.

DD liked this one, although she spent the entire ride saying, “faster! faster!”

Up next: 10. A Royal Meeting

 

[shan23877]

Great update! What is it about little girls and carousels? They just can't pass 'em up! I have a feeling that you're headed to CRT, can't wait to hear about lunch there.

 

[mousetravel]

Subbing! Noticed the mom/daughter in your title and I knew I had to check it out. DD & I love taking our mom/daughter trips. We're currently planning our first Disney Christmas trip! My DD is 16, though. I never got to take her when she was little.

Your DD is so cute!!!!
I love all your pics, but wanted to point out that i especially like the one at the beginning with the doggie looking sad! That is too cute.
And the one with your DD on the carousel, is really good!

Can't wait to hear more!

 

[cocofifi]

Too cute!! She looks so happy on the rides.

 

[ZehnJahren]

Aw how wonderful that she could RIDE!!! BTMR is a classic, and for her first BIG ride, it can't be beat!!

And I love the IASW face she's making - just doesn't look 100% sure, does she?

 

[RGirl]

Great update! What is it about little girls and carousels? They just can't pass 'em up! I have a feeling that you're headed to CRT, can't wait to hear about lunch there.

Is your DD like that with carousels too?? Your guess just may be right. I am going to try to get the first part at least up tonight.

Subbing! Noticed the mom/daughter in your title and I knew I had to check it out. DD & I love taking our mom/daughter trips. We're currently planning our first Disney Christmas trip! My DD is 16, though. I never got to take her when she was little.

Your DD is so cute!!!!
I love all your pics, but wanted to point out that i especially like the one at the beginning with the doggie looking sad! That is too cute.
And the one with your DD on the carousel, is really good!

Can't wait to hear more!

Welcome!!! I hope that DD and I are still making Disney trips together when she is a teen - I think about it a lot, how fun those trips must be, albeit in an entirely different way from how they are fun right now. I am going to have to check out your PTR!

Too cute!! She looks so happy on the rides.

Thanks!

Aw how wonderful that she could RIDE!!! BTMR is a classic, and for her first BIG ride, it can't be beat!!

And I love the IASW face she's making - just doesn't look 100% sure, does she?

I was really happy that she got to ride - and BTMRR is such a great first big ride! IASW really didn't impress her all that much.

 

[RGirl]

10. A Royal Meeting
When I last left off, we had just enjoyed a dizzying teacup ride. What better to do after that? Get lunch of course!

So we headed back towards the castle and checked in at Cinderella’s Royal Table. We were checked in very quickly and headed inside to wait for our turn to meet Cinderella. (We did this same lunch last year, and DD loved it so much that she could not live without it this trip as well. As with the BBB, I know that it will not be long before DD doesn’t care about princesses and dress-up anymore, so I am happy to do these things again since it is still so special to her.)

Soon it was DD’s turn to meet Cinderella. They chatted for quite a while - I couldn’t make out what they were discussing except (1) DD was clearly showing off her nail polish (as she did last year) and (2) Cinderella did warn DD to watch her new shoes and not lose one at the castle.

Also, this year, the pictures with Cinderella were available to add to PP. Last year, when I asked, I was told that they were not. I mentioned that to the gentleman who brought us our prints of the photos, and he said that he thought they were always available via PP. So I don’t know which is correct! I’m sad to think that I might have missed getting digital pics of last year’s meeting just for lack of information. Oh well! I certainly got this year’s!

That was a very short update - I will try to get on with the next one tonight as well.

Next up: A Royal Luncheon