Always Let Your (Preschooler) Be Your Guide. My First Trip Report! COMPLETE

[mickeyplanner]

Other than swimming and a regular hair washing, did you have to do anything else to get rid of BBB? Maddie's hair looks great the next day.

 

[Caretames1]

Cute photopass pics We have that magic shot and it's ones oif my favorites.

Nice "contrite" photo, whats the hubby's look like?

 

[merbobear]

I LOVE the Ariel dress...perhaps because I made one for my dd with the same fabric! She wore it to AK in May Great minds think alike!

 

[shan23877]

I'm finally caught up!

It's kinda funny that both your DD AND your husband apologized and promised to behave. You would think you were traveling with two kids.

Hope it was hot enough that day for you to dry off fast.

Yeah, patience is not on of Bryan's strong suits. He KNEW he had better apologize! It doesn't help that all 3 of us are extremely stubborn...

Looks like Maddie's baby brother Simba's been keeping you up all night



I regularly threaten my kids that if they don't stop fighting they're going to have to go live with another family!

Great updates!

I'm so glad I'm not the only one! I've not done it since, but boy was I fed up with them!

Other than swimming and a regular hair washing, did you have to do anything else to get rid of BBB? Maddie's hair looks great the next day.

She has naturally curly hair, so we always use conditioner and detangler. Other that that, nope! It was some super powerful gel that they used, but was easy to get out.

Thanks for reading!

Cute photopass pics We have that magic shot and it's ones oif my favorites.

Nice "contrite" photo, whats the hubby's look like?

Maddie and I were so excited that she got to do the Baby Simba picture! It's one of my faves too.

I didn't get a "contrite pic" of DH, but I did get something better--he didn't question my plans for the rest of the day! AND he tried really hard to remember that he's the dad and she's 4

I LOVE the Ariel dress...perhaps because I made one for my dd with the same fabric! She wore it to AK in May Great minds think alike!

Great minds indeed! I was really surprised not too see any more of those dresses. They're so easy to make and really cute! How funny that we both dressed them in the dresses for AK day

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Hi Shannon, I have been meaning to join in over here and now that I have a week off from school I finally have the chance!

I like the new decor in the rooms at POFQ.

Just reading about the first part of your day at MK - Love all the photopass photos, you call look so happy.

Dream Along With Mickey - Love it!

That is too bad that she did not enjoy Splash Mountain, maybe when she is older.

Loving that you got to see Rapunzel with no wait, talk about pixie dust!

Loving the pictures of Maddie with Tigger, adorable!

You made Maddie's Cinderella dress? It is very pretty!

What adorable pictures with the fairies! Where is the meet and greet with them located now that Toon Town is closed?

Very cool that you got to meet Genie along with Aladdin and Jasmine! I have only been fortunate enough to see him out once and that was back in 2007.

That was so nice of the families to let you skip ahead in the Mulan line.

The BBB and Disney bus situation, one of the main reasons why we always have a rental car, I can't stand waiting around for the buses!

Maddie is adorable all dolled up at the BBB! I wish they had that when I was younger.

Sounds like you had some great character interaction at 1900 Park Fare! The stepfamily is always a hoot and it sounds like Cinderella and Prince Charming were well charming.

 

[Queenofallthings]

Great update...I love AK first thing in the morning, I think it is beautiful! Love the photopass pictures...I don't think you look tired at all I think you all look great! I feel Maddie's pain, I too have eczema and winter months are horrible for me!

Can't wait to hear about Camp Minnie Mickey!

 

[shan23877]

Hi Shannon, I have been meaning to join in over here and now that I have a week off from school I finally have the chance!

I like the new decor in the rooms at POFQ.

Just reading about the first part of your day at MK - Love all the photopass photos, you call look so happy.

Dream Along With Mickey - Love it!

That is too bad that she did not enjoy Splash Mountain, maybe when she is older.

Loving that you got to see Rapunzel with no wait, talk about pixie dust!

That might have been the luckiest part of the trip!

Loving the pictures of Maddie with Tigger, adorable!

You made Maddie's Cinderella dress? It is very pretty!

Thanks!

What adorable pictures with the fairies! Where is the meet and greet with them located now that Toon Town is closed?

The fairies are in Adventurland, right next to the Dole Whips!

Very cool that you got to meet Genie along with Aladdin and Jasmine! I have only been fortunate enough to see him out once and that was back in 2007.

That was so nice of the families to let you skip ahead in the Mulan line.

The BBB and Disney bus situation, one of the main reasons why we always have a rental car, I can't stand waiting around for the buses!

Maddie is adorable all dolled up at the BBB! I wish they had that when I was younger.

Sounds like you had some great character interaction at 1900 Park Fare! The stepfamily is always a hoot and it sounds like Cinderella and Prince Charming were well charming.

They were quite charming It was a great experience.

Thanks for joining in!

Great update...I love AK first thing in the morning, I think it is beautiful! Love the photopass pictures...I don't think you look tired at all I think you all look great! I feel Maddie's pain, I too have eczema and winter months are horrible for me!

Can't wait to hear about Camp Minnie Mickey!

AK is gorgeous in the mornings! Thank you for the kind words about the photos, it wasn't our best day.

The eczema has never bothered her in the summer before, but I think it was the fabric of the dress combined with the heat and sweat that was bothering her. Poor thing is really suffering right now with the change of seasons. Hope yours isn't too bad right now!

 

[smidgy]

hi there, fellow Illinoian, and fellow waitress/bartender! thought I'd pop over and peruse your TR. have only made it to page 6 so far.. enough to see what a cutie pie your daughter is!! (and you're a cute little pixie yourself!)

I need to get an idea of what it's like to tour with a little one. we may be going with our grandson.. age 6 (oh, yeah, and our son and DIL) next summer. yes, I know, summer but she's a teacher, so...)

so far < i forsee lots of character stops (although probably not many with princesses).. and, Nebo will NOT be able to stand this.. NOT sticking to a schedule!!!

I love the way your chapters are titled ( I loved Friends!)

 

[TanzUnited99]

Great AK PP pics - I love them!

AK was one of our favourite parks so I enjoyed reading about your time here. Oh no on Maddie and Dad not getting along - I'm happy they sorted out their differences for you.

If you had gone on the Single Rider line for EE you would have missed all the details of the queue - btw did you enjoy it?

Lol at getting wet on KRR - I was wishing for that to happen to me

 

[shan23877]

hi there, fellow Illinoian, and fellow waitress/bartender! thought I'd pop over and peruse your TR. have only made it to page 6 so far.. enough to see what a cutie pie your daughter is!! (and you're a cute little pixie yourself!)

I need to get an idea of what it's like to tour with a little one. we may be going with our grandson.. age 6 (oh, yeah, and our son and DIL) next summer. yes, I know, summer but she's a teacher, so...)

so far < i forsee lots of character stops (although probably not many with princesses).. and, Nebo will NOT be able to stand this.. NOT sticking to a schedule!!!

I love the way your chapters are titled ( I loved Friends!)

Thanks for popping over Smidgy! I fear that my TR is not quite as entertaining as yours but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway

Thanks so much for the nice words. We think she's pretty cute (most of the time).

How much fun you'll have going with your DGS!! I bet you won't see too many princesses Ahhh, summer at WDW. Hot, crowded, and lines for days. It might not be Nebo's favorite trip! He might do better than you think though. I tend to enjoy schedules myself, but seeing the joy a little one gets from meeting his/her favorite characters is sooo worth ditching the schedule.

Thanks on the chapter titles--I was hoping that some people would get it. I loved Friends too (obviously )

Great AK PP pics - I love them!

AK was one of our favourite parks so I enjoyed reading about your time here. Oh no on Maddie and Dad not getting along - I'm happy they sorted out their differences for you.

If you had gone on the Single Rider line for EE you would have missed all the details of the queue - btw did you enjoy it?

Lol at getting wet on KRR - I was wishing for that to happen to me

Thanks!! AK is such a beautifully themed park. I could look around for hours.

Those two are so much alike, so having both of them tired and cranky always spells trouble for me!

Good point about EE. I loved it! But, I've never met a coaster or thrill ride that I didn't like.

I didn't think I'd mind getting wet on Kali, but I should have put some more thought into the wardrobe

 

[shan23877]

We were on our way to Camp Minnie Mickey so that Maddie could meet some more characters. We stopped and got DD the stuffed Simba she’d been wanting all morning. Obviously we weren’t rewarding good behavior here. On the way to see the characters we stopped in front of the Tree of Life for some more Photo Pass pictures. There was a great photographer there, and we got some more Magic Shots! Maddie’s favorite picture of the trip was the one with Tink.

As we made our way into Camp Minnie Mickey I double checked with DD and DH to make sure they didn’t want to see FOtLK. They didn’t but I wasn’t too disappointed. It had been a long morning. Once in Camp, we jumped in the first line we came to. Chip and Dale! The line was not too long, but while we were in line we noticed Donald had no line. His area was kind of tucked back between Chip and Dale and Goofy, and seemed to be getting overlooked. I held our place in line while Maddie and Bryan ran over and saw Donald. I realize that this might seem like cheating to some people, but I figured that as long as we were only getting a photo of Maddie with the characters, it wasn’t too unethical.

​

When we were next in line Chip and Dale had to take a break. Just as they were returning, a CM approached me and asked if a Make a Wish family could jump in ahead of us. I said of course they could. The lady behind us overheard, and lost her mind. She was freaking out that anyone would be able to jump in the line—regardless of the situation. DH is usually pretty mild mannered, but he had to speak up. He told her that he’d love for her to go ahead of us if it meant that she would pipe down and not ruin the experience for the Make a Wish family. She looked at him as though she might like to hit him, and then grabbed her kids and stormed off. Wow. It was our turn to see Chip and Dale, so Maddie ran up. They spent quite a bit of time with her, and she really had fun with them.

Next we got in line for Goofy. He had quickly become a favorite of Maddie’s on this trip. She was really excited to ask him to make funny faces with her. Unfortunately when they did make funny faces, Maddie’s back was to us, so I didn’t get a good photo of it. She had a ball with Goofy though.

Best picture I got of the "funny faces"

The lines for Mickey and Minnie were very, very long. So long that DH and I couldn’t really imagine ourselves happily waiting to see both. So once again we consulted or Good Parents handbook. We lied to her. We told DD that we could see one of them, but that we wouldn’t have time to see both before they went to go eat their lunch. She bought the story and chose Minnie. The line moved quickly but we still waited about 20 minutes. Mads had a great time with her and then we were done with Camp Minnie Mickey.

As soon as we left the area it started to rain. DD and I had just dried off from our experience on Kali, so we decided to head to Rainforest Café to see if they would let us in early even though our ADR was for 1:30. As we made it to the restaurant, it began to pour. Inside it seemed that everyone had the same idea as us, but thanks to our ADR they got us in right away.

DH and I both got the bacon cheese burger and DD had a cheese quesadilla. The burgers were pretty good, and Maddie liked her lunch well enough. The server was adequate, she seemed a little irritated that we were using the dining plan. We had booked this ADR thinking that Maddie would really love the atmosphere, and she did. I think we’re even going to have to go to the Rainforest Café in Chicago next week. She loved the aquariums, and really liked the storms. After we paid though, she saw her favorite thing. The statue of the red-eyed tree frog!! She’s loved red-eyed tree frogs for 2 years (thanks Diego!) So we stopped to get our picture taken.

​

Almost as soon as we got the photo, the skies opened up again, so Bryan and I very quickly got a game plan together. Maddie had seemed bored all morning, we’d just gotten dry, she didn’t want to see the shows, and we didn’t want to see the parade…

We ran for the buses.

 

[CandleontheWater]

Great update!

I don't think you were being unethical at all with sending Maddie over to Donald while you waited in line- you are still waiting after all, and its not like you are going to take up lots of character time!

I also cannot believe the family behind you! Shame on them for throwing such a scene! They should be thanking their lucky stars that they have healthy children and not begrudge a Make-a-wish family a little extra time with the characters. It is a good thing I wasn't there, I wouldn't have been nearly as nice as you!

I think running for a nice, dry bus sounds like a great idea!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Love the PP and character pics.

After witnessing some of the behaviour that took place at Disney World I would say Maddie and DH going to see Donald whilst you waiting in line for Chip n Dale is totally ethical. Wow at the woman storming off in the line when a Make a Wish family was put ahead in the queue.

I hope you got to see FoTLK at a later point as it is an awesome show.

Aaw I love the pic of Maddie kissing the red-eyed tree frog

 

[kmedina]

The pics with Maddie and Simba are adorable, but I love the one she got with Tink. DS did n ot enjoy the safari either, which shocked me. We had the same plan to ride Kali early but also found it closed. When we finally rode, DS and I took the brunt of the oncoming water. He was not pleased. Thankfully, he had back up clothes. I just walked around wet for a few hours.

We love Camp Mickey. Donald did not have a wait when we saw him either, so people may often overlook his line. When did the Rainforest Cafe start taking the dining plan? We have not eaten there in years, since we always get the deluxe plan. There are too many credits to use, so we stick to the dining plan restaurants. DS loves the Rainforest Cafe in our hometown, so I would love for him to try the one at AK.

 

[ronnmel]

I love the Rainforest Cafe, glad Maddie liked it too.

Lots of cute pictures with the characters and the magic shots.

 

[shan23877]

Great update!

I don't think you were being unethical at all with sending Maddie over to Donald while you waited in line- you are still waiting after all, and its not like you are going to take up lots of character time!

I also cannot believe the family behind you! Shame on them for throwing such a scene! They should be thanking their lucky stars that they have healthy children and not begrudge a Make-a-wish family a little extra time with the characters. It is a good thing I wasn't there, I wouldn't have been nearly as nice as you!

I think running for a nice, dry bus sounds like a great idea!

Thanks for the back-up on the place holding situation. We weren't planning on getting in the photo with Chip n Dale, so I didn't think it was too bad.

That lady in line behind us really made me mad. 2 1/2 months later, and I am still angry about it! DH is 6'2" and pretty broad shouldered-could easily intimidate people, but he doesn't use it often. For him to be the one to speak up really says something about how out of line that lady was. There is a little girl in Maddie's ballet class this year who has leukemia. Her family will be getting a Wish trip next year, and to think that someone would try to make them feel bad about "special treatment" makes me want to scream!!

The bus was the best option I think

Love the PP and character pics.

After witnessing some of the behaviour that took place at Disney World I would say Maddie and DH going to see Donald whilst you waiting in line for Chip n Dale is totally ethical. Wow at the woman storming off in the line when a Make a Wish family was put ahead in the queue.

I hope you got to see FoTLK at a later point as it is an awesome show.

Aaw I love the pic of Maddie kissing the red-eyed tree frog

Thanks for the vote in my favor on the ethics violation. I needed some reassurance I think.

That woman was SO out of line. It was crazy!!

We ended up missing FoTLK this time, but hopefully we'll get to it on the next trip. I think Maddie would really love it too.

She loves that red-eyed tree frog!

The pics with Maddie and Simba are adorable, but I love the one she got with Tink. DS did n ot enjoy the safari either, which shocked me. We had the same plan to ride Kali early but also found it closed. When we finally rode, DS and I took the brunt of the oncoming water. He was not pleased. Thankfully, he had back up clothes. I just walked around wet for a few hours.

We love Camp Mickey. Donald did not have a wait when we saw him either, so people may often overlook his line. When did the Rainforest Cafe start taking the dining plan? We have not eaten there in years, since we always get the deluxe plan. There are too many credits to use, so we stick to the dining plan restaurants. DS loves the Rainforest Cafe in our hometown, so I would love for him to try the one at AK.

Sounds like we had VERY similar AK days. I couldn't believe that Mads didn't love the safari. She's so crazy about animals. I wish we hadn't gone to the back-up outfit pre-Kali. She didn't seem too upset about being wet, but I was uncomfortable!

Camp Minnie Mickey was fun. I liked that each character had a separate line so that you didn't have to wait forever to see them all. I couldn't believe that no one was in Donald's line! It must be that it's so out of the way.

Now that you say that, you're right. I don't think RC takes DDP. I had to think about it when I saw your question. Oops! Totally inaccurate trip reporting! Maybe the server really wanted us to order drinks?

How do you like doing DxDP? We're strongly leaning towards it for next trip. I fear that I would feel like we're "wasting" credits if we go to DH's #1 pick (EoS), or if we grabbed a quick lunch at the food court on arrival day. Have you done the Luau? We're really thinking about trying it if we do DxDP. We've done HoopDeDoo and liked it, and would like to try a different show.

I love the Rainforest Cafe, glad Maddie liked it too.

Lots of cute pictures with the characters and the magic shots.

Thanks! We're taking Mads and our niece there next week after we go to see Pinkalicious the Musical. I think they'll love it!

 

[Caretames1]

Love her Tinker belle photo too! What a look!

I would have done what your DH did to the freak out family! I might not have been polite either! I hope the MAW family didn't have to hear that. Some people are just plain Dumb.

The rain forest cafe is on our list for the future. Kadenc enjoyed looking at it from the outside, so I think she'd love the inside as well.

Too bad about the rain, hopefully it din't wreck your whole day!

 

[PirateKate]

Hi! I've been meaning to start/catch up on your trip report for a long time now. Isn't it sad to be behind before you've even started?

Any way, I loved all the pictures of Maddie on the first day, she looked so excited about Disney everything. And the BBB looks like it was a really cool experience for you all- Maddie looked beautiful!

Too bad about the rain at AK and the rude lady in line behind you. RFC is one of our favorites, too. The atmosphere in there is really fun, especially for kids.

 

[shan23877]

Love her Tinker belle photo too! What a look!

I would have done what your DH did to the freak out family! I might not have been polite either! I hope the MAW family didn't have to hear that. Some people are just plain Dumb.

The rain forest cafe is on our list for the future. Kadenc enjoyed looking at it from the outside, so I think she'd love the inside as well.

Too bad about the rain, hopefully it din't wreck your whole day!

We love the Tink photo. It's so fun.

I'm glad DH spoke up. When I get angry, I'm not nearly as polite as he is . I don't think the MAW family heard any of it. I sure hope they didn't.

RFC was fun. Nothing special food wise, but a pretty good burger by Disney standards.

A little rain didn't stop us!

Hi! I've been meaning to start/catch up on your trip report for a long time now. Isn't it sad to be behind before you've even started?

Any way, I loved all the pictures of Maddie on the first day, she looked so excited about Disney everything. And the BBB looks like it was a really cool experience for you all- Maddie looked beautiful!

Too bad about the rain at AK and the rude lady in line behind you. RFC is one of our favorites, too. The atmosphere in there is really fun, especially for kids.

Thanks for joining in!

Maddie's first day at Disney was something we'll never forget. It was so great. BBB was awesome. I think we're gonna do it again this June

That rude lady made my blood boil, but since she walked away we didn't dwell on her. Mads loved RFC. I'm sure we'll do it again some trip.

Thanks for taking the time to read! I'm sure those adorable boys keep you pretty busy!

 

[BerrysGirl]

I'm so late but following you over from my TR. I love your trip so far... your DD is adorable!