Ok, both DDs are sleeping right now, so I'm going to try to get the post about our Crystal Palace breakfast done.
We had an 8:05 ADR because I wanted to get into the park before it was open. We had to wait a little bit for a bus, but had no problems being admitted to the park once we arrived. I don't think they even asked for our confirmation number..........although, I know they had a list at other breakfasts we went to, so they probably did here too and I just don't remember.
I took a few pictures of the fall decorations on the way in.
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I though it was really cool too see Main Street with so few people. Although DH is NOT a big fan of getting up early, especially on vacation, he did agree that this was pretty cool, and we will be doing it on our January trip (more about that later).
Once again, the food was just ok here. Nothing too spectacular, but still good. We did have a good waitress who made sure that our drink glasses were always full and that the dirty plates got removed quickly. I also enjoyed this meal because we're not really big breakfast eaters at home, but we all love breakfast food. The one thing my mom did really enjoy was the puffed french toast. I tried the breakfast lasagna (I think I was the only one at our table that did), but I honestly didn't really like it. The other great thing about the buffets is that Addy could eat whatever she wanted. She is a really good eater.........in fact, she usually eats more than Anna, so this was an important factor for us.
Ok, on to the characters. Pooh and the other characters here are my favorites. In fact, Anna's nursery was decorated in Pooh. We were pretty disappointed initially because Eyeore came while we were at the buffet, so we didn't get to see him. My mom waited at the table though, and she did get our autograph books signed. We planned to wait for him to come back around, but in the end it took too long, and we never did get to see him.
Next came Piglet who is one of my favorite character at Disney. Who wouldn't love a cute little pig? Anna was all about her autographs, so we got those done first, and then we took some pictures.
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Shorlty after Piglet came Pooh. We had seen him coming, so we postponed a second trip to the buffet to wait for him.
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After Pooh came around, we made another quick trip through the buffet, and then they started the parade. Anna was really excited, but insisted that I needed to go with her, so I did. I wanted her to enjoy herself, and there were a lot of other parents doing it, so I didn't feel quite as embarrassed. Unfortunately, or maybe luckily for me, there are no pictures of this.
We had to wait quite a while, but Tigger finally made his way to our table. DH is a Tigger fan, so he had his picture taken with Tigger too. As you may be noticing, Anna is doing her hugging (her picture pose). She had to get her autograph book signed first though.
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Eyeore still hadn't made it back to our side of the room by this point, and we were ready to get into the park (which had already opened), so we decided to just go ahead and go. Before we left though, I had to take some pictures with the topiaries. I love the way the Crystal Palace is decorated, and I just think these are cool.
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While I did feel that the characters here were a little rushed, I still think that characters meals are the way to go, especially if you have younger children. Anna really didn't want to wait in the lines to see the characters at the parks. We did a few times, but not very many because she was more interested in doing other things. She didn't want to wait an hour in line to see Mickey Mouse when she could be riding Splash Mountain again!
I agree that the character meals are the way to go. My DS (6) loves them and DD (19 months) didn't mind them either. My DD has the same princess coat your daughter has on in this photo. Both your DD's are adorable.