Boo To You and The Castle Suite Too! – A September 2013 TR

[gracer9977]

At least you were able to get on some rides even with the rain. Sucks that it messed up your plans for the day but looks like you had a good time at AK.

I always wait for the first row at CP so it is tough to just be put wherever on the coasters at WDW but you are so right about the themeing. CP's coasters are crazy fast and high but I love the stories behind all the coasters at WDW.

Glad Carson got 1st row the second time.

I got a tiny video camera for my b-day this year and my goal is to do a ton of video this trip and hopefully get as many rides as possible. My kids love to watch the You tube videos of rides too and would love to have their own to watch.

Yeah for another update closer to the night at the castle.

 

[littlenellbell]

so nice he wanted the front row and then he got the Disney magic the next time. Looks like you all had a great time.

We had a great time and it made Carson's day to get front row!

So glad you had good bus luck from BC/YC, because our luck in August was the worst! We waited forever each and every time and often one bus would come, would get completely full and we had to wait some more for another.

My son (he's 7) went on Primeval Whirl for the first time this past August. He stated and I quote: "That was the worst thing that has ever happened to me in my entire life."

Sorry you had such bad luck with buses. I think buses are hit or miss at any resort. We just got lucky this time. Of course we didn't have to ride the buses as much as normal, so that helped.
Primeval Whirl is not for everyone, but I thought it was a fun little ride. Too funny how he said it was the worst thing in his life! Now he knows not to go on it again at least!!

Sounds like Plan B is turning out well! Can't wait to hear about the Castle Suite!

Jill in CO

Plan B worked out great, maybe even better than plan A.

AK looks like a great alternative! Sounds like you guys had a great time there. I am so excited to hear about your castle experience I, I can't wait!

We loved our time at AK, just wish we could of had more time there.

That child swap seems like it's a boon for an older child with a younger sibling; how great to ride twice! Animal Kingdom is one of my favorite parks to open, but I haven't ever been there past 1 in the afternoon; we're usually long gone by then. I always wonder what it's like at the end of the day - and hope someday I get to do a later night there. Guess I will when Pandora opens!

Carson has gotten so spoiled by the child swap. Next time we go Alexa may be tall enough for all the rides...so he won't be as lucky. It's a nice thing they do so both parents can ride. We've always just done an AK morning as well. I would love to take more time there next time. I'm not crazy about the movie, but the new Pandora plans look pretty cool.

Such a bummer that rain affected your trip so much. I can't wait to hear about your night in the castle!!!

That rain was so annoying, but it was such a wonderful trip otherwise we can't complain. Castle night shouldn't be too much longer!

I'm hooked! What an awesome trip! We actually were at WDW at the same time. We went from 9/17-9/25 so I remember the weather from that time. I can't believe you actually won that trip! It makes me want to start signing up for sweepstakes myself. Lol. �� �� I'm looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip!

Thanks for joining in! How cool you were there the same time. Did you go to the Halloween party on 9/24? You can't win a sweepstakes if you don't enter!

 

[littlenellbell]

Your kiddos are super cute! Seems like such a nice relaxing trip! Can't wait to read about your castle stay!!!!

Thank you for your sweet comments!

What a pity about the rain but your time at AK sounds great

Despite the rain and our dashed plans for a relaxing pool morning, AK worked out really good. In fact it freed up some time later in the week (when we were supposed to do AK) for something else. So I'm glad it happened that way!

I am so glad you decided to write a trip report. I am really enjoying it! How super cool to have won a trip!!! Especially one with a night in the castle!!! So sorry rain was such a factor but kudos to you all for being good sports, throwing on the ponchos and making the best of it. Looking forward to more!

Thank you for following along and I'm glad you are enjoying it! I really hesitated over writing this, but I'm enjoying it now. It fun to re-live our trip and I'll be glad to have these memories saved for our kids. The rain was so annoying, but we did make the best of it. Not much else you can do? The weather does improve later in the week.

Ha! Same here, bought the creepy Yoda at DHS and then was Yoda for Halloween that year.

What is it about that creepy guy!?! Too funny!

Joining in!!! What an exciting and unique trip report! I've entered these kinds of contests and really believed no one ever won these things. So it's really neat to read about how it played out for you.

Thanks for joining in! I felt the same way and never believed real people actually won. I actually still can't believe I won. You have no idea how many times we said over the course of the trip...."Can you believe we won this?"

At least you were able to get on some rides even with the rain. Sucks that it messed up your plans for the day but looks like you had a good time at AK.

I always wait for the first row at CP so it is tough to just be put wherever on the coasters at WDW but you are so right about the themeing. CP's coasters are crazy fast and high but I love the stories behind all the coasters at WDW.

Glad Carson got 1st row the second time.

I got a tiny video camera for my b-day this year and my goal is to do a ton of video this trip and hopefully get as many rides as possible. My kids love to watch the You tube videos of rides too and would love to have their own to watch.

Yeah for another update closer to the night at the castle.

AK really worked out for the best! I feel bad constantly comparing Disney to Cedar Point because they are so different. But it's hard not to since we go to CP so much. I really do appreciate the stories and theme behind Disney rides....and the older I get I appreciate the slower ride as well.
I'm not the best videographer, but I took a lot of ride videos this trip and I'm glad to have them. I think your kids will enjoy having those memories.

 

[littlenellbell]

Next we needed to make our way to Bugs Life. Carson begged to go on Dinosaur. I’m not sure why because last time we went on it he kept his head down the entire ride. But, he said he was feeling brave and there was no wait, so the boys went on that while Alexa and I waited. She is very afraid of Dinosaurs and I knew she wouldn’t like this ride. She was content to relax and have a snack.



While we were waiting we saw Pluto and Goofy coming back from a break. There was no one else around, so Alexa got very excited and ran over to give a quick hug. As she was running towards them with her arms open the handler started yelling very loudly at her “no hugs, only high fives….no hugs, only high fives”. So she got a high five from each. I understand they were on their way to meet kids who had been waiting, and didn't have time to stop…but I thought the handler was a little harsh in the way he went about it. It would have been different if there was a big crowd and he was yelling it out, but she was the only one and he was yelling directly at her. She can be a little sensitive so the guy yelling at her shook her up a bit. I promised we’d meet more characters later in the trip and she’d have more time with them.





Soon the boys were coming off the ride and Carson was in Dinosaur mode.



Now we are finally on our way to find Bugs Life. I had seen the show about 15 years ago when I was in college, I think it might have been the first year AK opened. I didn't remember much and the rest of the family had never seen it. We were excited for something new.

The animal carvings on the Tree of Life are so neat.



There was no line, but we just missed getting into the show, so we had to wait a bit for the next one. Of course we took pictures with the cool bug glasses.







So what did we think of Bugs Life? We really liked it! Such a cute and funny little show. I was once again worried about how Alexa would react. I know some kids tend to freak out in here, and she did get scared during the part when the bats (or is it spiders?) fall from the ceiling, but otherwise she laughed the whole time.

It was getting to be lunch time as we passed by Flame Tree Barbecue, so we decided to stop and eat. We’d eaten here before and knew the food was really good and it didn't disappoint this time. We got BBQ pulled pork sandwiches…yummy! Plus we had seats with a great view of Expedition Everest. I didn't take any food pictures, but here are some pictures I took in the area.

As we were waiting for DH to get the food.



Pretty view from our table.





After we were done eating the kids wanted a picture in front of this guy.



Sadly, it was time to head out. We didn't get as much time at the Animal Kingdom as we would have liked and we missed going on the Safari this time, but we had a fun morning and a great lunch. Although it lightly rained it never poured, so that was nice. And with all the cloud cover it wasn't unbearably hot. We all agreed that next time we needed to dedicate more time to AK. It’s such a beautiful park.

Once we got back to the room we changed, relaxed and packed for our castle stay. It was nice because we could keep our room at the Yacht Club and leave most of our stuff there, we didn't need to check out. So I packed up one carry-on size suitcase and a backpack that fit everything we needed for one night. Here are a few pictures I took from our balcony. It was still pouring rain on and off, but we still couldn't get enough of this view!







Here is a towel animal we found in the bathroom.



We went down to the lobby of the Yacht Club about 15 minutes early. We were not really sure what to expect, all we were told is that someone from Castle Concierge was picking us up and to be in the lobby at 3:00pm. I was feeling pretty nervous and excited all at once, it was hard to sit and wait. I knew how special this night would be and how lucky we were to experience it, that I just wanted everything to go smoothly. We’d prepped the kids to make sure they used their manners and be on their best behavior. I also had to talk to my son especially about being patient regarding the rides. Sometimes he gets antsy and wants to go on rides instead of other things like parades or shows or characters etc. We all agreed to relax, go with the flow and see what they have in store for us and just enjoy this night! We were all pretty excited!

Right at 3:00pm on the dot, Lisa from Castle Concierge met us in the lobby. She escorted us out where a van that said “Cinderella Castle Suite Guests” waited for us. Nice touch! We loaded up the van with our luggage and took this picture.



On our way to MK, Lisa was so nice and was filling us in on what magic was in store for us later that night. Pretty soon we were seeing this sign for the Magic Kingdom!



Our extra magical night was about to begin!!!

 

[jedijill]

I hate Dinosaur and A Bugs Life.

OMG, its so close to getting to the Castle Suite! So excited for you guys!

Jill in CO

 

[DisneyJo]

Yay you're almost there

 

[beebeeryan]

Oh my goodness!!! You're on your way!!! So exciting!!! I can't stop with the exclamation points and I wasn't even there, but I can totally imagine it. I would have been trembling!

 

[freckles04]

Ohhhmygoodness! I can't wait to read what happens next!!!

(Also, sorry to hear your DD got yelled at. Not cool!)

 

[jenseib]

You can't stop there!!!!!!

 

[TruLovesKiss]

Thanks for joining in! The rain was a bit of a bummer those first couple of days, but we did make the best of it. That's cool our trips overlapped. Will you be doing a trip report? I love to read reports of people that were there the same time as us. In February someone did a report and I spotted myself and DH on the bridge to the Beast Castle in one of their photos.

Yes, I'm working on starting my trip report right now actually I think I've finally figured out how to make my pics smaller... they were posting huge! lol

That would be so funny if you saw yourself in one of our pics! Or we were in one of yours!

 

[littlenellbell]

I hate Dinosaur and A Bugs Life.

OMG, its so close to getting to the Castle Suite! So excited for you guys!

Jill in CO

Dinosaur and Bugs Life are not my favorite either. The kids really thought Bugs Life was hilarious though, so we had fun listening to them laugh.

Yay you're almost there

Yes, we are getting closer!

Oh my goodness!!! You're on your way!!! So exciting!!! I can't stop with the exclamation points and I wasn't even there, but I can totally imagine it. I would have been trembling!

It was a pretty exciting moment when she picked us up! I don't know why but I was a ball of nerves right before she arrived. I was practically walking laps in the Yacht Club lobby. Normally I'm a pretty laid back person? I think all the anticipation and excitement that had been building up for so long was killing me. I had to keep telling myself to relax and enjoy....and I did!

Ohhhmygoodness! I can't wait to read what happens next!!!

(Also, sorry to hear your DD got yelled at. Not cool!)

Almost there!

I wasn't very happy with that guy yelling at DD. I understand why he said it and why they were in a hurry, but I thought it was uncalled for considering we were the only people around and how excited she was to see them.

You can't stop there!!!!!!

I know...I stopped at a bad spot. Sorry. Working on another update that will hopefully get us into the castle by tonight or tomorrow.

I need to pick your brain sometime for advice on the American Girl Store in Columbus. Didn't you take Claire there? Planning a trip in a couple weeks. I wasn't able to get a reservation at the Bistro Any other suggestions or tips? Also, I know they do the dolls hair, do they also have a doll hospital? My Mom wanted to bring one of my original American Girl dolls whose leg came off. If not, I think she can send it in.

 

[TalkDisney2Me]

I have been following along! Can't wait to hear about the castle suite!

 

[littlenellbell]

I have been following along! Can't wait to hear about the castle suite!

Thanks for reading along!

 

[jenseib]

Dinosaur and Bugs Life are not my favorite either. The kids really thought Bugs Life was hilarious though, so we had fun listening to them laugh.

I need to pick your brain sometime for advice on the American Girl Store in Columbus. Didn't you take Claire there? Planning a trip in a couple weeks. I wasn't able to get a reservation at the Bistro Any other suggestions or tips? Also, I know they do the dolls hair, do they also have a doll hospital? My Mom wanted to bring one of my original American Girl dolls whose leg came off. If not, I think she can send it in.

You can get there at opening and ask if there is an opening. My sister did that and was able to get in.
Not sure about the doll hospital, I am thinking no because it's smaller than most stores.
My suggestion is to get there at least 10 minutes before opening and go right to ask about the eating and then go get in line for hair as that gets really long. We just made the first batch.

 

[spiritsim]

that's ok it builds the suspense, can't wait for the big reveal

 

[littlenellbell]

When I left off, we were in the Castle Suite Coach heading towards the Magic Kingdom!
Lisa drove us through a side entrance to the Magic Kingdom. As we were entering the backstage area, she asked that we not take any pictures. But it was pretty cool to be backstage. We were met by someone who took our bags and said they would be delivered to the castle. So far the weather was holding up okay, but they had 4 big huge umbrellas for us because they expected it to be another rainy night. I declined the umbrellas and said we would just wear ponchos if needed. I could not picture the kids walking through the crowds with those big things! But it was a nice gesture. Lisa took us through a door and pretty soon we were right in the middle of Main Street! It was so odd not to enter through the train station. She said we had time for one ride while the birds and mice prepared the suite for us. We all decided on Splash Mountain. We had never been on it because it was always closed during our other trips, so we were really looking forward to it. Plus, Alexa had a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique appointment coming up for the Halloween Party and I didnt want her to get wet after that. Normally, I would have taken more pictures as we entered MK, but we were enjoying getting to know Lisa who was filling us in with all sorts of things about herself, her job, the castle and Walt Disney World that I wasnt really thinking about pictures. Here is one quick picture I took of the castle as we followed Lisa to Splash Mountain.



As you will notice the crane was up to put up the Castle Lights for Christmas. Its funny because the crane was also up when we were there the first week of February taking them down and touching up some paint on the castle. So we've seen them go up and down, but we've never actually seen them on. Lisa was glad that we had a good sense of humor regarding the crane.......apparently not all guests feel the same way. I'd rather it not be there, but it doesnt ruin our vacation or anything.

Soon we arrived at Splash Mountain. Lisa took us right to the front of the line. WOW! We certainly felt like VIPs.



So what did we think of our first ride on Splash Mountain?? LOVED it! We have a CD of Disney Parks music, so the kids know the song and happily sang along. It is so much fun and a great family ride! Lisa even rode with us. What a tough job she has! LOL Here are a few pictures after the big drop! You can tell how much they loved this ride by the expression on their face. I love these two pictures because they remind me of just how excited we were to be there on Splash Mountain for the first time with the anticipation of an exciting night to come! They may even be my favorite based on the memory of this moment.





After the kids figured out that Lisa was basically a human FP they wanted to....you guessed it.....ride more rides!!! However we had more important business to attend to.

Next we headed onto our home for the night..... THE Cinderellas Castle! We stopped here so Lisa could point out that those 3 stained glass windows were in our room.



The Castle show had just ended and they had this wall up because the performers and tech people use this area during the show. We needed to wait a few minutes as the performers cleared out. I took this picture of Lisa with the kids as we waited. She was a real sweetheart and it was fun to learn a lot about her job. She really loves what she does, but she said there are some days when she has to resolve guest complaints and thats not quite as fun.



It wasn't long and we were cleared to go behind the wall. We didn't see any performers, but the crew was still hanging out behind the wall with all their equipment. I snapped this picture, which is on the opposite side of the Castle Suite.



We were lead to the Castle Suite door, which is the first door on the right if you enter the castle from the front. The kids had to knock 3 times and say the Magic Words Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo and the door magically opened! Below is a quick video I took. Click on the picture to view (hopefully it works).




The door opened into a little lobby area with a reception desk. They staffed 1-2 people in this little lobby all night for us. Here is where we met Katie and Ava. They would be our tour guides for the night as Lisa was about ready to be done with her shift.



Here is the clock that is always set to 11:59, so Cinderellas magic never ends and we can enjoy the suite all night.



Next we were escorted into the elevator that is designed to look like an enchanted stage coach. I think the suite is 4 stories up, but its technically labeled the 3rd floor. I think its because CRT takes up 2 stories. Anyway, our coach took us up to the 3rd floor to the foyer, which is an octagonal room before you enter the suite. Here is Cinderella's only remaining glass slipper, crown jewels and other art work by Mary Blair. Beautiful!



A picture of the floor with real 24 carat gold tiles! The pixie dust is white gold.



We each got a Key Card that says Cinderella Castle Suite and our name on it. We let Carson do the honors of opening up the door. He wanted to use his MagicBand, but they didn't have that set up here. You can see he's still a little wet from Splash Mountain.




Sorry...I'm going to have to leave off here for the night. Thanks for reading!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

Wow! What an amazing experience! I can't wait for more!

 

[littlenellbell]

You can get there at opening and ask if there is an opening. My sister did that and was able to get in.
Not sure about the doll hospital, I am thinking no because it's smaller than most stores.
My suggestion is to get there at least 10 minutes before opening and go right to ask about the eating and then go get in line for hair as that gets really long. We just made the first batch.

Good advice about getting there when it opens! Thanks! I'm also going to keep calling...just like Disney dinning.

that's ok it builds the suspense, can't wait for the big reveal

Thanks! I hate to leave everyone hanging. I'd love to keep going myself, but somehow life keeps getting in the way.

 

[spiritsim]

Love all the pics no problem we will wait don't worry!!

 

[jedijill]

I love the door knock! So exciting !

Jill in CO