A Solo Celebration of the Holidays & New Things to Explore Updated 3/3x3!!

[katt789]

Love the pictures of the DAWM show!

Can't wait to hear the story of how you guys got to meet the dancers lol!

How exciting that you got to meet up with a friend in Hollywood Studios. I know you tend to park hop a lot. Do you find it pretty simple to do or does it get annoying? We haven't done park hoppers but I can't decide whether or not to get them if our September trip actually happens.

Thanks!! It's a pretty awesome story, haha, but it'll be a while til it pops up on the other TR. I really like to park hop, and it is really awesome. I find it can get a bit annoying when going to or from MK, as you have to transfer at the TTC, but it gives you an excuse to ride the monorail or the boat, which are both awesome! The other parks have busses that go directly from one to the other, so it's nice and easy!! And hey, if you're there in Sept there's a chance we could be there at the same time!!

Lots of great show pictures in that update! I just love how peppy all the dancers are. I can't imagine the amount of energy it takes to keep that up all day.

Oh, and I thought you called Cinderellas dress a bad name! Then I went back and read it again and realized you had just abbreviated the show name!

I agree that there is nothing good for CS in HS. I just might eat a Starring Roles Cupcake for lunch instead of getting a full meal.

at the "noise" during the night. I've had that happen at hotels before. It's pretty awkward laying there listening to that!

Haha! Thanks!! Lol, definitely not, it's just a lot easier than typing the whole thing out! Oh goodness, those cupcakes! That's what I'll be snacking on in a few weeks, but we're going over to the BoardWalk for lunch, figure it's close, gets us out of the park and different yummy food! Yum!!

Lol, yeah, hilarious, I mean, it will happen everywhere, definitely the first time I've had it happen at Disney though, lol. I'm just glad I sleep with my ipod in!

 

[katt789]

Uggfffh….as a side note…I had pretty much all of this update typed up right before my computer died...word tried to recover it but apparently I didn’t do it right…so we’re starting from scratch!

*****************

It was Tues November 27 th and it was my last day in the parks! Sad face! I took the time to get up a little bit earlier today, around 7:30am and got ready while I ate in the room at took the time to update my September trip report a bit (gotta stay on top of things!!) I started out towards the bus stop and half way there decided that it was indeed too warm for full length pants today, and ran back to change! (I probably could have worn shorts, but I had plans to be out late, so that probably wouldn’t end well…)

I was on a bus pretty quick and before we knew it, on our way to Magic Kingdom. Now, on this trip, I’m pretty sure I encountered more whining and screaming kids with parents yelling and complaining right back at them. Like, it was on the way to the park, if my kids going to be complaining and whiney like that, they’re going straight back to the hotel. (And yes, I do understand that I am not a Mom, and some of you are the ones with the first hand experience, but I do have 10+ years of working around kids in various environments…)

We managed to pull into Magic Kingdom for right around 8:50 am, which was good, I couldn’t miss my rope drop show, could I?!

Gotta give huge props to these guys, so much energy and bright smiles so early in the morning!! The amount of coffee I would have to drink to be like that!! Well…actually…I guess being in Disney is enough natural caffeine…. Anyways! Casey Junior’s coming around the bend, and we all know what that means….special Disney friends!!

I think I would DIE if I ever got picked for Family of the Day (obviously not while I’m solo, but in a group, bahaha). Anyone ever lucked out and gotten picked?! I actually found out a few days after I got home that Steph (the girl I’d met up with the night before) and her family had gotten chosen to open the park!! Talk about an awesome trip!

Look who all came out to play! Peter?!?! This was definitely the first time I’d ever seen him out at the rope drop. Have any of you seen him out for that before?

I also noticed that he was REALLY tall, like he was nearly taller than Snow, and she’s in heels! He was standing up on the railing a bit, but even when he was down, he was taller than I thought he should be…

With the show done, and the crowds let into Magic Kingdom, I followed everyone around the bend and down Main Street, not really pausing to get many pictures, but still definitely took a bunch!

Clearly I was pretty preoccupied with my next point of business cause I don’t have any pictures of anything until them, which is odd, because I usually have a million pictures of the castle… on my way, I noticed the Tremaines running their way through Fantasyland, and asked the handler if they were on their way to a meet and greet, and she told me that they were first riding the carousel then would be up behind the castle! I had no clue they were still allowed to do things like ride the carousel, and thought that was pretty awesome. I do really wish there was still some freedom to the characters running around in WDW, it does make them super hard to find in DLR, but there should still be some goofiness with so many of them! Since I didn’t have *that* much time to spare, I continued onto my destination of the morning!

Yup! I was gonna check out what Enchanted Tales was all about, and figured first thing in the morning was going to be the best time to go! You pass by the signs, and follow the winding path around, and you’ll walk right by (and later into) Belle & Maurice’s cottage!

For it being just a line, there certainly are a lot of details, and they certainly are awesome!! After you’ve winded through the line, you end up inside the main room of the cottage, where there’s a game of checkers going on!

You’re next led into Maurice’s invention room, where the cast members explain to you some of the various things/blueprints that are hanging around the room.

Now…hang onto your hats!! Because the magic is just about to begin!!

 

[katt789]

Now, just as a heads up, this part does include some spoilers of the event, I know you might just think “oh I know what it is already” but even if you know, there are details that I will be talking about here that you may want to keep a surprise, so feel free to just scroll down to the bottom to read what I thought and stuff!

You’re in the inventing room, and the cast member will point towards the mirror on the wall behind them.

They’ll explain that it is, indeed a magic mirror that the Beast gave to Maurice so that whenever he wanted, he could still see Belle after she had moved into the castle with the Beast. And here’s where the magic begins….

The prologue part of the movie starts to “play” on the mirror, and we kind of get transported through the first part of the movie, after all, we’re starting off in the cottage, and we’ve got to see how it all ends!

Now….it’s projecting a door, and in case you missed it earlier, the “frame” of the mirror has also grown, so that it is also door sized, and that’s what you’re seeing now. Next, the DOOR OPENS!

Like…legit…that’s NOT A PROJECTION ANYMORE IT’S A REAL FREAKING DOOOOOORRRRR THAT WE WALK THROUGH. ARE YOU FOR SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?!?!!? My mind was seriously blown, I was in awe, I DO NOT know how they did that…

The cast member will lead you through the door and you’re in a little room with the Wardrobe!

Between both the wardrobe (who does talk and move her “head”) and the cast member in the area, everyone is assigned parts in the story of Beauty and the Beast. They take volunteers, and have you do things like “make the fiercest beast growl you can” and kind of stuff like that, and if there are any left over volunteers, they have more than enough parts to go around. When you’re all set and ready, Lumiere calls you into the library!

The library is a little smaller than the one Belle got in the movie (HA!) but still pretty cool, there are 2 rows of about 5-6 benches (p.s. forgot to mention, you’re doing this experience in about a group of 30) everyone that is part of the story kinda lines up on the sides/front, and everyone else takes a seat on the benches and takes tons of pictures!!

Lumiere kinda explains some stuff some more, and HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLIIpaVXlhY

Is a video of that animatronic, because it is seriously un freaking believable, I’m not ever sure it’s an animatronic, it’s just magic. Plain and simple…that is how it’s done! They kinda go through a little bit of the story with you and explain what everyone is going to be doing, but then they have everyone be nice and quiet, and yell “Surprise” when Belle walks in!

Together, everyone that is part of the story re-enacts the tale of Beauty and the Beast, and it’s all very adorable and cute, and whoever plays the Beast gets a little dance at the end too!

After the dance is over, the CM’s will kinda be ushering those who participated in the “play” into a line between the benches, as they get a little bookmark, and a quick picture with Belle. There are no autographs, and if you weren’t in the play, this is the time to jump in line/throw your kid into line. There is also only a photopass person, and since there was no one to take my picture, I opted out of the photoshoot, haha!

Overall I did REALLY like it, I thought there were many awesome qualities of the interaction, even if the actual “meet and greet” was on the less side. I was kinda bummed that they don’t even mention the photo situation at the end, kinda just get on with it. Belle upheld her end of the deal amazingly, she was beautiful, and all the “script” flowed really naturally, obviously girls who are friends with her need a little bit more experience in the acting world than others, and she was great!!

With Tales over, I headed out of the library, and continued into Belle’s Village, and managed to actually get some good pictures of it as there weren’t a whole lot of crowds there that early!

Gaston’s Tavern, as inviting as ever! Also, super cute cast member costumes, like seriously, I’m in love with all the costumes in the expansion area! I think it’s because they’re all the similar style of a fitted, styled top with the cute capris! Also, everything here is themed so well, instead of a popcorn cart, there’s a “popping machine” invented by Maurice!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

My iPad only sometimes loads pictures from disboards correctly and now is not one of them apparently so I'll have to comment on them later!

I'm really hoping this September trip gets to happen. I'm planning it as though it will rotfl but it really is 50-50 in the air right now dependent on the job situation. That said, it would be totally awesome if we were there at the same time! Our tentative dates right now are September 10-21st but it may get pushed back a tad so we can ensure we can make it over to HHN at Universal! When will you be there?!

 

[shan23877]

Love the indepth ETwB description! I've been wondering how you went from the cottage to the library. I'm so glad that you're not required to pretend that library could be in the cottage.

Equally glad to know that anyone who wants to can be in the show. I'm pretty sure that Maddie would just die if she didn't get to do it (though she may very well get shy at the last minute).

 

[cfw213]

ETWB sounds awesome! I thought you just kind of went in and she read you a story. Now I definitely want to try it out!

 

[ronnmel]

I don't really have a big enough interest with ETWB to wait in line or sacrifice early park hours for it, though I'm sure that will change once my little princess is old enough to appreciate it. However, that mirror effect is spectacular and I'd almost be tempted to go just for that alone (well, that and Lumière).

 

[katt789]

My iPad only sometimes loads pictures from disboards correctly and now is not one of them apparently so I'll have to comment on them later!

I'm really hoping this September trip gets to happen. I'm planning it as though it will rotfl but it really is 50-50 in the air right now dependent on the job situation. That said, it would be totally awesome if we were there at the same time! Our tentative dates right now are September 10-21st but it may get pushed back a tad so we can ensure we can make it over to HHN at Universal! When will you be there?!

Hahaha, my phone does that all the time too, makes it hard for reading TRs on the app, but hey, it's an excuse to spend mroe time on the disboards at home! Lol

Nice!! Those were our dates for last year!! I'm really hoping that I can make it a bit of a longer trip in Sept, here's hoping for a new/second job next month so I can actually make money. I calculated my dance costs and including 1 competition I've spent like 6 grand since Sept.... I would love to check out HHN!! Never thought of that, but I really want to hit up like, 3 MNSSHP, too many costumes that I want to dress up as!! My guess is we'll be there sometime around those dates, I know I'll have a comp in Oct, plus Dream Along auditions, so that counts Oct out, but I wanted to do some food and wine..WHO KNOWS?!

Love the indepth ETwB description! I've been wondering how you went from the cottage to the library. I'm so glad that you're not required to pretend that library could be in the cottage.

Equally glad to know that anyone who wants to can be in the show. I'm pretty sure that Maddie would just die if she didn't get to do it (though she may very well get shy at the last minute).

Thanks!! It was amazing!! UGH, I can't get over it!! They are really good about getting everyone involved, I'm sure Maddie will love it!! Yay!! So excited for your upcoming trip!!

 

[katt789]

ETWB sounds awesome! I thought you just kind of went in and she read you a story. Now I definitely want to try it out![/QUOTE

Ahahaha, that would so not be worth it!! Lol, I really thought it was really well done and super cute!!

I don't really have a big enough interest with ETWB to wait in line or sacrifice early park hours for it, though I'm sure that will change once my little princess is old enough to appreciate it. However, that mirror effect is spectacular and I'd almost be tempted to go just for that alone (well, that and Lumière).

Fair deal!! I really wanted to see if, and the wait times weren't that bad later on in the day either, you definitely don't end up wasting that much time either, depending how quickly you can get there. UGH, those parts were so amazing, LOVE !!

 

[Pluto0809]

Wonderful pictures and description of ETWB. I am going to head there first thing on my MK day in two weeks.

I've only seen the Welcome show once (I know, terrible!) and I can't remember if Peter was there. Hmmmm, may have to find those pictures from 2011 and see if I can spot him.

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Hahaha the Disboards app definitely gives me an excuse to spend twice the amount of time on here.


I'm so sad we never got the chance to do ETWB when we were there. It looks so cool. Our first day in MK we ran there at rope drop and it was broken lol and by the time we did VTLM and met Ariel it had a 50 minute wait. Oh well, something to look forward to next time! Love your photo tour to hold me off til then.

I wanna say Peter was in our opening show but I could be wrong. I'll have to go back and check my video of it.

The Tremaines seem to ride the carousel before their first set each morning! We ran past them on our way to ETWB the day it was down and now I wish we had stopped. Then our last day, we were stalking them because we hadn't gotten to meet them yet and saw they were on the carousel again. I love when characters do spontaneous things like that.

As for September, we really want to do a longer trip because both of ours were 7/8 days and we spent all day every day going and going. This time we wanna do 12 days, 6 in the park, 1 for MNSSHP and 1 for HHN. That way we have some down time and some time to hopefully hit up the water parks. HHN, while totally the opposite of Disney looks too amazing to pass up and DBF loves horror stuff like that. We're in the same boat with waiting to see the deal with the job situation. 6 grand on dance is a HUGE expense. Good for you with your dedication though!!

 

[katt789]

Wonderful pictures and description of ETWB. I am going to head there first thing on my MK day in two weeks.

I've only seen the Welcome show once (I know, terrible!) and I can't remember if Peter was there. Hmmmm, may have to find those pictures from 2011 and see if I can spot him.

Thanks!! It definitely is worth it, and I mean, the only other thing I'd be missing would be one ride and the time grabbing a fast pass, so I'm not too concerned!!

Lol, no worries, it's just become something I can't miss now! I know that the characters do change up every so often, and Peter appears to be out now, they probably just pushed his meet and greet time to starting earlier. I've never seen him out before, but who knows?!

Hahaha the Disboards app definitely gives me an excuse to spend twice the amount of time on here.


I'm so sad we never got the chance to do ETWB when we were there. It looks so cool. Our first day in MK we ran there at rope drop and it was broken lol and by the time we did VTLM and met Ariel it had a 50 minute wait. Oh well, something to look forward to next time! Love your photo tour to hold me off til then.

I wanna say Peter was in our opening show but I could be wrong. I'll have to go back and check my video of it.

The Tremaines seem to ride the carousel before their first set each morning! We ran past them on our way to ETWB the day it was down and now I wish we had stopped. Then our last day, we were stalking them because we hadn't gotten to meet them yet and saw they were on the carousel again. I love when characters do spontaneous things like that.

As for September, we really want to do a longer trip because both of ours were 7/8 days and we spent all day every day going and going. This time we wanna do 12 days, 6 in the park, 1 for MNSSHP and 1 for HHN. That way we have some down time and some time to hopefully hit up the water parks. HHN, while totally the opposite of Disney looks too amazing to pass up and DBF loves horror stuff like that. We're in the same boat with waiting to see the deal with the job situation. 6 grand on dance is a HUGE expense. Good for you with your dedication though!!

Oh god, it's insane, with the app I don't have to ever not be on the dis!! Lol

The tremaines look like they have such a blast of everything, it'd be so much fun to get to play around with them!!

AH! I really want to do a super long trip, like, five days for disney, 1 and maybe a half day for universal, 1 day for sea world, making it like, the length of last Sept's trip but with the same people the whole time, and not as much time in Disney, and of course like, 3 MNSSHP durign that trip lol

 

[katt789]

My next set of business was to check out the Under the Sea, Journey of the Little Mermaid! I had ridden it before, over in DCA, and was excited to see how it compared! I had heard a lot of complaints about it, I think people just expected more of the expansion, but I mean, it’s so incredible, how can you not love it?!

You walk past/through the outer walls of the castle while going in, and it’s all set up as if you’re right on the sea line too!

Everything’s done so well, and there are even things like sea shells, and seagull prints stuck in the ground, so pay attention to where you’re walking! It’s cute!

There’s a really big waterfall as you’re walking in too, and all the lights, and even water fountains are themed perfectly!

As you start to the semi-indoor part of the queue there’s a little message from Ariel explaining a little game that you can play to help pass the time!

There’s a close up of the little crabs, although I didn’t stop to try and play along, the line was moving pretty quickly, and I could see a feathered friend up ahead!

Then there’s the inside of the queue, and it is absolutely amazing, it’s all themed like you’re in the downstairs of a castle, and it’s huge and seriously awesome!

I finally reached the end of the ginormous queue, and was seriously in awe, it alone had blown DCA’s out of the water! I eagerly jumped into my shell…clam…mobile? They’re the exact same as Nemo, but different colors! And I was on my way under the sea!!

 

[katt789]

Hey guys!! Forgot to include this in the previous one, but, hope you're all having a fantastic weekend and that everything is superbly magical! If you are interested in my plans for my upcoming trip in a bit more detail, HERE:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3061396
Is the link to my pre trip report!!

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I boarded my shell, and was slowly going down under the sea through a shipwrecked boat!

Scuttle greets you again and rambles along a little bit about the story and then says that he may as well show you instead.

I thought it was really awesome because as you went “under water” they pumped in the air conditioning to make it seem like it was cooler than it was when you were in the world above!

Run away with you? Oh this is oh so sudden!!

Time for the Under the Sea dance party!! And luckily in Florida, Ariel has no ice cream hair here!! Yay!!

You go through a bunch of the “Kiss the Girl” scene too, but none of my pictures turned out, and when you come up from underwater, it gets all warm again! The effects like that that Disney has thrown into this attraction is awesome!

The ride is super cute, a veeeery long queue, much like Nemo over at Epcot, I don’t think the line will ever actually be full, as the ride isn’t too much of a headliner, you don’t need to hit it up first thing.

I popped right next door when I was finished with the ride over to Ariel’s Grotto, the wait time was posted at 10 minutes, and I thought that was awesome, so I jumped in line. In actuality, I just waited about 5 minutes before getting into the Grotto. I noticed that they (SPOLIER) definitely have two grottos to keep the lines moving faster, which also makes sense as to why they were hiring more girls to be friends with Ariel.

It was a different Ariel than the last time, and she was great! She said that she loved my shirt, and that she should buy a shirt with a picture of me on it! Hhaha, so cute! She asked where I was from, I said Canada, and she said that there were some cold waters up there! Ariel made sure to let me know that I was going to take some warm waters back up with me!

Pretty sure I look derpy in that photo, but hey, it’s the only photo that I have from that one! She was great! I said good bye to Ariel and headed out back into Old Fantasyland to grab a fast pass for Peter Pan’s flight for later, and then BACK into the expansion to Gaston’s Tavern, it was time for another LeFou’s Brew!

These things are so tasty! I really do enjoy them, they are super apple juice-ey, and can be super sweet tasting, but everyone will either like it or hate it. Much like butterbeer! I had to get a move on though, no lingering for me, I had another plan for the morning, and that involved getting in line at 10:15 for something very important!

Waiting in line to eat at Be Our Guest So excited!!

Everybody wants to eat at Be Our Guest! #lineups #notevenaproblem #imoneofthem​

The entrance to the castle is so awesome! The bridge is nice and long, and there’s lots to look at so even if you do have to wait, it isn’t that bad. You can see Belle’s cottage from the one side, and the bridge is all decorated with gargoyles and such!

 

[shan23877]

Great photos of the LM ride! I haven't shown Maddie any of the pictures from that (and I hope that Disney Channel doesn't either-she's pretty much seen all of the Belle stuff there). She's going to be so excited! and so am I!

I'm interested to hear how long you waited. You said you lined up at 10:15?

 

[tinkerbell87512]

Great update! I'm looking forward to checking out the new Fantasyland when I go down in August. Reading your report makes the wait till then a little bit easier. lol

 

[ronnmel]

I really don't understand the people who are disappointed with the New Fantasyland. It's GORGEOUS!!! Like, the prettiest part in all of the parks! What's not to love? Sure the Little Mermaid ride is not ground-breaking or super innovative, but it's the best dark ride, something Disney is known for. It's in the same vein as Peter Pan, and PP is classic Disney.

 

[lvcourtneyy]

I love the new Fantasyland! I think the people complaining are looking for big rides, not appreciating all the other elements. The Under the Sea queue and ride and Ariel's grotto are so awesome. I was sad about Prince Eric being gone but her new grotto totally makes it better.

I'm also curious to see how long your line took. I've heard that even when the line looks super long, it moves quickly.

 

[Pluto0809]

Mom and I loved the Little Mermaid ride! All the details were so fun.

Cannot wait to eat at BOG!!

 

[katt789]

Great photos of the LM ride! I haven't shown Maddie any of the pictures from that (and I hope that Disney Channel doesn't either-she's pretty much seen all of the Belle stuff there). She's going to be so excited! and so am I!

I'm interested to hear how long you waited. You said you lined up at 10:15?

Thanks!! You guys are going to have so much fun with all the new stuff!! Ah! Lol, you'll just have to wait and see how things work out!

Great update! I'm looking forward to checking out the new Fantasyland when I go down in August. Reading your report makes the wait till then a little bit easier. lol

Its awesome!! Loved it!!