Dancing through Disney!! UPDATE:9/9 COMPLETE!

[Princess Olivia]

This last post was the funniest thing ever, the convo with the front desk cracked me up. I cannot believe there was a tornado warning, that would have totally creeped me out, not to mention but a small damper on my Disney spirit. Glad you guys made it through.

At the time, the tornado warning definitely had me freaked out but now we just laugh about it!

 

[Princess Olivia]

Boo to Madi being sick. That must be the worst, getting sick right before a vacation!

Hope Debby didn't interfere with any of your plans. We had a storm come in at the end of our honeymoon that made it so that we didn't even go to the parks on our last full day because we didn't want to deal with the torrential downpours. It's such a bummer when rain gets in the way!

WHOA, I can't believe taht the rain was so bad that you guys walked barefoot to Epcot!

Haha, what a fun meal you had with Guido! I wonder what all the waiters think at Via Napoli! Too bad Guido wasn't there to keep you guys company during the tornado warning!

Poor Madi, she was not doing to well that first day but she was certainly a trooper! Luckily that was the worst she felt during the trip. I think being in Disney just washed away all the germs!

We tried not to let the rain interfere but there were times when we just wanted to go back to the hotel and not be in the rain anymore. That stinks that you got a storm towards the end of your honeymoon! I definitely know what you mean about not wanting to go out when it's raining like that!

Ohhh Guido.....He was so fun, and pretty to look at! I wondered that same question while we were there!! Our waitress seemed to have liked him! I definitely think I wouldn't have been as freaked out about the tornado warnings if Guido was there......

 

[Princess Olivia]

Following along

Thanks so much for reading along!!

 

[Princess Olivia]

Short but sweet trek through IOA​

It was raining so hard and the wind was so forceful that I needed to keep my head down while walking out of WWoHP. I don’t really know where we went or how we got there but we ended up in Jurassic Park.

I had heard about the ride in this part of IOA and had really wanted to ride it. It’s a water ride but we figured since we’re already wet…why not?

We were the only ones there!

Strike a pose!

We had a boat to ourselves and were ready to enjoy our adventure with the dinosaurs!! Mom had asked the person working the ride which seats got the most wet. He had said that usually the front got the most wet. Keyword: usually. We were in Florida and already soaking wet, why not take the front?! Mom and Colleen on the other hand did not want to get too wet so they sat in the middle, but more towards the back.

The ride was very nice up until the huge drop! Me and Madi turned around with huge smiles on our faces to see our moms DRENCHED!!!! It really looked like someone had taken huge buckets of water and just dumped them over their heads! It was so funny since they were the ones who did not want to get that wet! Not that it really mattered because we were all soaking wet before we even got on the ride.

Back to trekking through wind-swept rain up to our ankles while carrying our flip-flops.

We didn’t really have a specific ride that we were headed too. The park was basically empty so there were no waits for anything.

It seemed like every ride we went to was closed. Due to the weather they had started closing most of the rides. We were able to ride Spiderman because it was inside but that was about it.

We figured it was time for lunch and we wanted to get out of the rain for a little while so we headed into Mythos to see if we could get a reservation. We could get a reservation for when it opened….opened? We never checked the time and were told by the people at the restaurant that it was only 10:30!! It felt like we had been there all day!! With that, we decided to call our car service and asked to be picked up earlier then we had planned. He was going to be coming around 12:00.

The only other ride that I had really wanted to ride was the Hulk but unfortunately they had closed it. We had time before our car was coming so we decided to walk over that way anyway. Lo in behold, the rain started to let up and they were going to open the ride!!! That is seriously one of the best rides ever!! It is SO much fun!!!

After we rode the Hulk we started to make our way out. By now the rain had stopped and the sun was starting to peek through!!! People just started STREAMING in! It was crazy how many people were just getting in the park. So in a way, the rain was a good thing. It let us get on all the rides we wanted with no wait.

No rain means we got to take our cameras out!!

We stopped in a store to get a shirt for my brother. We got a bit distracted…

We made it! The rain hadn’t swept us away! With the sun finally out, we were happy and ready to go back to the Boardwalk and swim before our dinner reservations.​

 

[Princess Olivia]

Kona​

We got back to the Boardwalk around 1:00 and had time to waste before we had to start getting ready for dinner.

Mom decided she was going to go down to the pool while we got lunch and checked out the boardwalk.

After lunch, Colleen joined mom while me and Madi explored a bit more!

We found these Mickey ears and joked that we were going to wear them to the concert!

We went back to our room where we enjoyed a treat we got earlier.

A Cauldron Cake! It was delicious!

We joined our moms at the pool where we discovered something terrifying……the clown pool.

The clown pool at the Boardwalk is really one of the scariest things I have ever seen. I hate clowns and this one just seemed to be watching you, everywhere you went. It’s like you would go under water, come back up and it’s right there, staring at you! Luckily it was time to go get ready so we didn’t need to hang out at the scary clown pool any longer.

We were headed to Kona!!

Kona is another one of our favorites! We love their breakfast and dinner. Plus the Polynesian is our favorite hotel! We stayed there in 2008 and it was so perfect! We love it there!!

It still wasn’t raining!!

Our reservation was at 7:00 and we were taken right away.

Yay for Kona!

Our waiter came over right away and graced us with the delicious bread that they serve. Yum! It is warm and the butter they serve with it is insanely good as well!

We also got the sticky wings which were so yummy! Everyone loved them!

Our dinner came out really fast!

I got the shrimp and scallops which were really good!

Mom got the teriyaki style New York strip which she said was really good too!

Colleen got the coconut almond chicken which she really liked.

Madison, our pickiest eater, got pasta with sauce…..

Everything was really yummy! Of course what us a meal without dessert? We all knew what we wanted!

Mom and Colleen split some yummy chocolate dessert.

Me and Madi of course got a Kona cone!!!!

I was a little excited……

Yum! Everything was awesome and we were all very happy!
Since we were at the Polynesian, it wasn’t raining…we needed to watch Wishes from the beach! When we stayed here in 2008 we watched Wishes from the beach every chance we got and it is so awesome!

We had time before Wishes started so we of course had to go look in the stores!!

I found this shirt and became a little obsessed. I LOVE dole whips!

While browsing, Madi became quite intrigued with the pins and the whole trading aspect. She was really considering getting a starter kit but decided to wait and be sure that’s what she really wanted.

We went outside to our first non rain night! It was perfect out! We decided to have a mini photo shoot on the beach.

Bay Lake! Our home resort!! Only 9 more months!!

Model material…..

We were able to find some chairs and got ready for Wishes to begin.

Wishes was perfect as usual! The weather was perfect as well!
We headed back to the Boardwalk where we just got super silly……​

 

[Princess Olivia]

Goodnight Boardwalk​

We had not gotten the chance to see the actual boardwalk at night yet so that’s what the plan was, but of course we had many distractions before actually getting there.

We loved this all lit up! It looked so pretty!

I loved this little carousel!

And this rollercoaster!

Then we went outside….you know what’s outside……

That’s right, the scary clown slide!!

I hate that slide!!!

Ignore the kids not afraid of the slide and climbing in its mouth. It's scary right?! It feels like it’s watching you…and that creepy smile and awful clown hair! Everything about that slide freaks me out!

Then we found this weird looking elephant that we liked. It was picture worthy!

Madi was getting sprayed with water!

We finally made it to the boardwalk!

It is so fun at night! There is so much going on!!

We were tired from a long day of walking in the rain and we were getting up early tomorrow for breakfast reservations. Goodnight Boardwalk!​

 

[Princess Olivia]

Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare!​

It was one of those nights where you fall asleep and feel like you have been asleep for ten minutes before you have to get up. We were tired but were very excited because we were going to the Magic Kingdom!!

We were up early and for the first time this vacation, we were not greeted to rain when we woke up. It was actually sunny!! It was Tuesday which meant our time at the Boardwalk had ended and we were getting ready to move over to Port Orleans Riverside with the rest of our studio. We had early breakfast reservations at 1900 Park Fare so we were rushing to pack up everything so we could get out the door. Someone came by to pick up our luggage around 7:30 and we were out of the Boardwalk by 7:45. Not bad! We had a great stay at the Boardwalk aside from all the rain which kept us from the actual boardwalk……. However, we were very happy to have found out if there was ever a tornado while we were in Disney again, the Boardwalk was ready for the worst!

Chris and Caseley had flown down Monday and were meeting us for breakfast today. We were really excited to see them. We got to the Grand Floridian and could not check in until our whole party was there, so we explored a bit and took in every breathtaking detail that makes up that beautiful resort while waiting for Chris and Caseley.

We waited until 8:30 when we got a text from Chris saying they were getting on the monorail and not to wait. We went to see if we could be seated and the cast members said that they could seat us now and that they would bring Chris and Caseley to our table when they got there.

Chris and Caseley were there by the time we sat down after getting our breakfast. We are in Disney together!!!

The Characters started coming over right away. First was Pooh!

Pooh was adorable as usual! Next was Tigger!

The next character we met is “practically perfect!”

One of our competition dances for this year was an Alice in Wonderland
themed dance. Madi was not in it, but it was one of her favorites and was definitely my favorite. We each were assigned different parts and I was Alice! She was such a fun character to portray so of course I was extra excited to meet her! I don’t think she understood what we meant when we tried to explain our dance to her. She kept saying I was not her and why would I say I was her. It was not one of our more memorable character experiences, but it was still fun!

By the time Alice and the Mad Hatter were coming around we had finished our breakfast and were ready to go after we met them. Overall, our breakfast was yummy and it was fun to get to see the characters.
We were ready to get going to the Magic Kingdom!

As you can tell, I was very excited to be on the monorail…….

Here we goooooo!! Off to the Magic Kingdom!!!​

 

[alayne]

Hi

I love to read trip reports and I just found out that we are going to Disney in 125 days because my niece gets to Dance in the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parade that will be on TV. I am a HUGE DISNEY FAN and LOVE EVERYTHING DISNEY so this is like a Dream Come True for me because I didn't think we were going to get to go this year.

We are new to Dance - my niece has been dancing around the house since she could walk but this is our first time with lessons and joining a team that travels to places like Disney and New York.

I have planned lots of Disney Trips for my family and when I found out about this my first thought was OH NO we are less than 180 days out how am I going to make ADR's.

That leads me to my first question - did your family make your own ADR's? I noticed in your opening that you said you didn't see much of the other girls during the trip. How did you know what time to make ADR's with the schedule for Dancing? Thanks for any help you can give me. Can't wait to read more of your trip report, especially the parts about Dancing.

 

[Princess Olivia]

Hi

I love to read trip reports and I just found out that we are going to Disney in 125 days because my niece gets to Dance in the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parade that will be on TV. I am a HUGE DISNEY FAN and LOVE EVERYTHING DISNEY so this is like a Dream Come True for me because I didn't think we were going to get to go this year.

We are new to Dance - my niece has been dancing around the house since she could walk but this is our first time with lessons and joining a team that travels to places like Disney and New York.

I have planned lots of Disney Trips for my family and when I found out about this my first thought was OH NO we are less than 180 days out how am I going to make ADR's.

That leads me to my first question - did your family make your own ADR's? I noticed in your opening that you said you didn't see much of the other girls during the trip. How did you know what time to make ADR's with the schedule for Dancing? Thanks for any help you can give me. Can't wait to read more of your trip report, especially the parts about Dancing.

Hiii!!

That is so exciting about your niece! She will have a BLAST! It's such a different experience when you go with a group a friends.

My dance teacher who is also the owner of our studio is my mom's best friend, so we were aware of the news before it was announced to the whole studio in Septmeber. We did not dance in a parade so I would imagine that there are going to be practices for that especially if it will be on TV. Our studio sent in an audition tape and were chosen from that, so we had practices before we left. My dance teacher blocked out the whole day that we were scheduled to perform. There was a certain time we went to go pick up costumes and a time when we needed to meet to get on the bus, then Disney took over from there unitl after the performance. After our performance we had group pictures done at MK and then a private dinner at Epcot but that was the only thing that we needed to be at. The rest of the time was how we wanted to spend it. Knowing that we would not have to be with a group let us book ADR's. There may be extra practices that your niece's dance studio organizes and they may want to do more things as a group. Every studio is different and does things different ways. That was a really lengthy and kind of confusing way to say, it was basically our own trip aside from the day we danced. We were not on a schedule with our studio except for the day we performed.

I'm so jealous that you will be going during Christmas! How fun! I wish her the best of luck! Thanks for reading along!

 

[Princess Olivia]

Magic Kingdom!​

Since most have been to the Magic Kingdom, I’m not really going to go into detail. I’m just going to point out our highs and lows of the day. I’m going to try and get this trip report going so I can finally get to the actual dancing!




“Please stand clear of the doors. Por favor manténgase alejado de las puertas.”

We were here!!

We got there around 9:30 and the crowds were already huge! My family usually goes in October or April/May so it was crazy to see the crowds already that big so early in the morning.

We were not sure what our day was going to be like weather wise. It had not rained yet but we were still not convinced that we were free from Debbie just yet!

The first ride we rode was Space Mountain! A favorite of all!

We enjoyed some more of the rides in Tomorrowland before leaving and heading to Frontierland because Caseley wanted to ride Thunder Mountain. Caseley and Chris had gone to Magic Kingdom the day before and were in line when they shut down the ride. It was a must on Caseley’s list so we grabbed fastpasses for Splash and got in line for Big Thunder. We were almost to the ride when…..they shut it down! Again! Poor Caseley thought she was never going to get to ride it, but we assured her that it would be back and running by the time we were going on Splash!

We went back and used our Space fastpasses and went to guest services to see if Chris and Caseley could get anything for waiting in line and it being shut down twice. The cast members were so nice and gave us all fastpasses for whatever ride we wanted!

We went and rode more rides and poked in a few of the stores when the sky opened up. Hi Debbie, can’t say we missed you…..

It would be torrential rain and wind for 20 minutes then would stop and be sunny skies for about an hour, then the sky would open up again. It was crazy! We were so sick of the rain.

It was Tuesday which meant that the rest of our dance studio would be arriving today. My friend Andrea and her parents had an early flight and were in the park by noon time. We called and met up with them to go meet the princesses!

My little brothers are more into the ‘Cars’ movies and anything Pixar then the Princess movies, so I don’t usually get to stop for them. I was beyond excited to finally get to meet them!

My favorite princess is Rapunzel. I LOVE her!!!! I think I mentioned my love for her earlier but I will say it again, I LOVE her!!

Ariel asked Caseley if she had been swimming since her hair was so wet from the rain!

Rapunzel!!

She’s the best!

We headed off to another favorite, Pirates!

My hair gets super curly if it rains or is humid so that tells you how humid and rainy it was. While we were waiting to get on the ride, it rained the hardest it had rained all day. It was so hard that you could not see in front of you. It was like the rain while we were at Universal. Luckily we were covered!

Arghh!!!

It was around 3:00 and you know what that means…..The 3 o'clock parade!! Yay!!

Okay so in this picture you can kind of tell that it was starting to get dark again and the ponchos were again starting to come out.

While we were waiting there was this hysterical photographer that would take pictures of people eating or doing emabarressing things. He was really funny and we were playing with him a lot. Like we predicted, it stated to rain. I didn’t put my poncho on because it was covering my backpack and it was not raining really hard. The photographer came over and put the thing that protected his camera on my head. It was really funny! They delayed the parade and the rain stopped for about ten minutes. After our ten minutes it started to rain again and the parade just kept getting pushed farther and farther back. Andrea and her parents had fastpasses they had to use so they left and we soon realized that it wasn’t worth sitting here in the rain. I was really bummed! I was really excited to see it. We went and used our fastpasses for Jungle Cruise and of course as soon as we got there the sun was shining and the parade was starting. Oh well.

We started to all go off and do separate things. Some more of our friends came but they did not want to do what we wanted so we stuck to our plans and let them do their own thing.

It was around 4:00 and I had not eaten anything all day so I felt sick. Madi and Colleen had gotten something while we met the princesses so they were okay but I needed to get a snack. We all could have used a little break though! We were around Sleepy Hollow so of course I need to try the Nutella waffle that is talked about so fondly. It was AMAZING!! It was SOO good!!!

Madi, mom and Colleen split a funnel cake.

They were the perfect treats to hold us off before dinner!
We went off and rode some more rides and did some more things before our dinner reservation at Liberty Tree Tavern.

We of course need to peek in some of the shops!

I got a Minnie Mouse case for my iPhone which I LOVE! I get so many compliments! At this time Madi decided that she too wanted to become a pin trader!! So Miss Madison got herself a starter kit, which we made fun of the rest of the night! Madi got really into it! Every cast member we saw wearing a lanyard, she went up and looked at their pins. At this time I made my first trade! I was nervous but I loved the pin so much that I stopped being a baby and traded.

It’s a Mickey Mouse with peace signs everywhere! It’s really funky and different, I love it!

Yay for pin trading and Madi’s starter kit!!

We also each got another pin. Madi found it for me first and then after she got her lanyard she wanted it, but for a different reason. It’s a Mickey Mouse British flag!! I was so excited when she found it! I have a weird obsession with England (way before I even discovered One Direction), I always have. I really want to study abroad there and I joke to my mom all the time that I’m going to move there but she hates that I would be that far way. Anyway…Madi got it because it reminded her that when she was in Disney she went and saw One Direction.

We of course needed to stop in the Confectionery. I don’t know how people walk past with this place with that sinfully delicious smell coming from it.

We got this:

I know it doesn’t look big in the picture, but it was huge!!
It was getting close to our reservations so we left Main Street and headed to Liberty Square.​

 

[Princess Olivia]

What a way to end the night!​

Our reservation was at 7:00. We waited for about 20 minutes before we were seated.

I was really excited to eat here since I never have before. I was especially excited for dessert, which I should have read about before we booked it for dinner.

I’m a terrible Diser and did not take any pictures. I’m sorry.

My mom made a comment about dessert and we were unfortunately told that they only serve the “Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake” at lunch. Now being on the boards as much as I am and looking at the food pages as much as I do, you think I would have known this. Or that I would have at least looked at the menu before booking our reservation but nope. Oh well. It’s an excuse to eat here when we come back in April.

Other than my disappointing news about dessert, everything else was really yummy! They had a few different kinds of meats and really yummy mashed potatoes (I’m an Irish girl who loves mashed potatoes!)They also had macaroni and cheese which Madi ate most of and some vegetables. Dessert was some cherry thing which we were not really fans of so we ate the ice cream and decided we would get Mickey bars later. You can’t go wrong with a Mickey bar!

We did a few other things before going and getting a spot for the MSEP. We were going to be here Friday for EMH and would see it then so we were not really worried about finding a good spot for it now. We just wanted a good spot in the Hub for the Magic, the Memories and You and Wishes.

It had not rained since the parade and the Castle was as beautiful as ever!

I don’t think you can ever have too many pictures of the Castle. It’s just so photogenic!

When I went with my family in October we had been at MK all day and were prepared to stay for Wishes but it dropped what seemed to be like 50 degrees. It got SO cold! Seriously it felt like we were home in New England! We went up and watched them from the Top of the World at Bay Lake. We tried to go outside but we couldn’t stay out for more than 5 minutes without shivering. It was crazy! So finally we were going to get to see the Magic the Memories and You! It was awesome!! Everyone loved it! Of course Wishes was spectacular as usual!

Then there was the mad dash out of the park. We followed the crowd making our way out of the park. We were really tired and still had to check into POR. It was a big day tomorrow!! We got a taxi and were off to our new home for the next 4 nights…or were we?



We got to POR late and checked into the empty lobby. Me and Madi were starting to get delirious!

The lady at the front desk showed mom where our room was and it was SO far! We probably sound like spoiled girls who can’t walk to their room but I don’t know of anyone who would mind walking that distance to get to their room. We got our luggage and a man named Ricardo offered to drive us to our room. Ricardo ended up being one of our favorite people ever! He was so funny and so nice. The ride over there seemed long and the farther we went the more upset my mom got.

It was quiet and all you could hear were these weird bugs making noises. Until a blood curdling scream comes from no other then my wonderful mother. Poor Ricardo stopped and I was worried he had a heart attack. Mom claimed something ran across her feet. So…I screamed. I was sitting next to her and I have a terrible fear of snakes. Ew! She said it felt like a snake or a lizard! Madi and Colleen were hysterical because Madi thought she had fallen out!

Ohh my….

We finally got to our building. We were staying in Alligator Bayou. Ricardo gave us directions on how to get to our room and said he would be up with our luggage. Poor Ricardo needed to breathe after my mom scared him half to death!

We walked up the stairs and took a turn then walked down a hallway and took another turn then walked down a hallway and took another turn then walked down a hallway and took another turn. It was CRAZY! By now we were all exhausted and just wanted to be in our room and mom was getting mad. Our room was the farthest from everything! We got in and Ricardo came up and explained that we were supposed to be in New Orleans and that there aren’t really any lizards…..okay Ricardo. POR is a really nice resort but it’s not what we’re used to, especially when we had just been at the Boardwalk. Mom asked Ricardo if he knew if there were any ways to change rooms. He told mom to call the front desk and that they should change our room. Ricardo was awesome.

We were delirious and getting super silly outside thinking about the lizard situation and the location of our room when the door next to us opened!

Yikes!

It was Chris!!!!! Chris was next to us asking what was so funny. We talked with her for a while before getting told to hit the hay because we had to dance the next day.

We got situated and mom called the front desk. The lady at the desk told her that there were a ton of people scheduled to be leaving tomorrow so there should be plenty of rooms open if she called tomorrow morning.

So that was our game plan. We were going to call in the morning and see if there was another room closer to everything.​

 

[Princess Olivia]

We're dancing IN Disney!!​

I woke up to the sound of construction being done on the room below us (at 8am) and to my mom talking to the front desk on the phone. We didn’t end up going to bed until around 1am so we were all still really tried.

Today the lady working the front desk was not as nice as the lady working it the night before. Eventually everything was settled and someone was coming by our room around 8:30 to pick up our things. We moved to Acadian House. It was much closer to everything and easier to get to. We originally had breakfast reservations at Kona for nine but there was no way we were making those so mom and Colleen got ready to head to DTD while me and Madi called our friend Bri to go get breakfast.

We got to the lobby and saw so many of our friends. We had been waiting to be here all together for so long and we finally were! It was an awesome feeling. We got breakfast and called our moms telling them we were going to pick up our costumes from our dance teacher. We got lost finding her room but eventually found it. We had some time to waste before we were supposed to come pick them up so we ran our dance a few times.

The owner of our studio is my mom’s best friend. I know it seems like she too has a lot of “best” friends but KathyJo really is. She has known her the longest (since they were kids) and she’s really close to her so I don’t think KJ was that upset when we showed up early to pick up our costumes. Of course when we got there we forgot our park tickets to get into Epcot and MK so we ran back to our room and went back to get our costumes after we had everything.

Our costumes had been in bags for almost 2 weeks since we had shipped them down prior so they were a bit wrinkly. Mom and Colleen did the best they could with the wrinkles then made sure we were alright and headed to DTD to shop before the performance. The parents were not allowed to travel with the kids.

Me and Madi started to get ready shortly after they went. Before we knew it, Bri was knocking at our door. She was coming over to get ready with us. Everyone was ready and out the door five minutes before we had to be at KJ’s room but somehow we still managed to be the last ones to show up.
KJ took us into this little area to talk to us and tell us what was happening. We got into our lines that we had been put in prior to coming and got onto the bus. Before we go to the actual stage we have a rehearsal in costume in an area next to DTD. It is a gated off area with the Disney Performing Arts logo on the front of the building. Inside it is just an empty dance room with a mirror running against the wall. It looks just like a dance studio. We were not allowed to bring any cameras anywhere. We only had about 20 minutes to go over lines before we were being put back on the bus.

We then got to DTD. Disney is really strict about being professional, so we had to stay in single file and were not allowed to talk to anyone while walking to the stage. We turned a corner to see the stage and the seating area was PACKED! It was the best feeling! There were a lot of performers but our families alone could not crowd the whole seating area how it was. It was a great to think that people were stopping to watch us. You could not help but smile and get butterflies in your stomach. As soon as our families saw us, they were cheering!

Backstage is very narrow and there is barely anywhere to move. You are packed in like sardines. Luckily we were told about this prior and prepared for it. We were put in groups based on our dances and when they were. After you go backstage you have 10 minutes to put your things down and get into formation.

The guy that ran it was really nice and was backstage telling us how excited he was that we were here and to get ready because we were going to be starting shortly. I’ve been performing since I was two years old and I still get so nervous before going on stage. I get the nervous feeling in my stomach and the only thing that makes it feel better is stretching. So I stretched, and stretched some more, but there wasn’t really a lot of room so balancing in coupe had to suffice.

Our first dance was “It’s a Small World.” Everyone that came to Disney was in the opening and closing. In ‘Small World,’ everyone was from a different country. I was from France!

We were lined up and ready to go! They announced our studio and before I could get more nervous, the music had started and I was on stage! Once I’m on stage, I never want to leave. It’s the best feeling being up there and performing.

It was a super quick change into our competition dance “Alice in
Wonderland.” Originally for this dance we had costumes that matched our characters. I’m Alice, my friend Alyssa is the Queen of Hearts and our friend Victoria (I’ve called her V since we were babies) was the White Rabbit. We also had Stephen who was our Mad Hatter but he could not join us in Disney so Bri filled in. Our dance did really well this year. It’s such a fun dance and we are hopefully bringing it back to other events. Disney does not allow anyone to wear a licensed Disney character’s costume on stage. Ours is more of Tim Burton’s version then Disney’s version so we sent in a picture but it was still a no. So instead we used our costumes from our tap number from this year. The same went for Caseley’s team. They were each different Disney princesses. They got new costumes that arrived just in time for rehearsals before we left.

We were ready!

Wonderland!

Off with my head!

​

 

[Princess Olivia]

We're dancing IN Disney!! (Part 2)​

Next was another favorite, Tiki Room! KathyJo’s daughter Kaylee is in this dance so that’s who’s in the majority of the pictures.

There were other dances but mom didn’t get any pictures of them. Once everyone had finished their group pieces, it was time for our finale.

The crowd was great! There were so many people!! We went backstage, got our things and started to make our way back to the bus. I handed my garment bag to my mom and got on. Once we were all back on the bus the man who put it all together came on. I feel really bad I forget his name but I was still on the high of performing that I half-listened. I did hear that he was very impressed and that we had the biggest crowd he’s seen in a while. He also gave KJ a Disney Performance trophy which was really cool!

Our next stop was the Magic Kingdom for pictures in the Rose Garden. We got off the bus and all had to find a younger kid as a “buddy.” Kaylee was my buddy and her sister Emily who was too young to perform but joined us on the bus and for pictures.

We were running late so we hurried to the Rose Garden and were put in different lines to take the picture. It was so hot! The sun was beating right down on us. After our big group picture we each took our individual group pictures based on our dances. It seemed like it took forever! Finally we were finished. We had to get on the monorail to the Ticket and Transportation Center where we would transfer to the Epcot monorail. Everyone was crammed into the two cars. Finally once inside the monorail headed to Epcot we had time to talk and have some fun. We recorded the whole studio reenacting the Harvard “Call Me Maybe” video. Then KJ said to sing “What Makes You Beautiful” which had us all laughing. It was a lot of fun!

Finally we were at Epcot and now was the long walk to Italy. It was still hot but there was a breeze. We had a private dinner scheduled for the performers and their families in the section in front of Italy to watch Illuminations. This was probably one of my favorite nights of the trip. It was so awesome how everything was put together.

I walked with Emily who asked every 5 minutes “how much longer.” Her little legs were tired. Once we got to Germany I let her get on my back and carried her the rest of the way.

Once we got to Italy, everyone was already there and the cheers began again. It was really cool. We each had purple wristbands that showed that we were allowed into the dinner.

My mom is Emily’s Godmother so Emily hung around with us for a while before going into the dinner part with her Nana.

Everyone was so happy!

The dinner was a buffet. We had different types of pastas, bread, fruit salad; all sorts of yummy things. It was all set up really nice and we had the most perfect view for Illuminations.

Cheers!

We had finished our dinner and the yummy desserts they had for us and had time to spare before Illuminations. Now the only other time we had been to Epcot was in the “end of the world” weather. Epcot is so much prettier when it’s not raining so I wanted to see it! Anddd we had not gotten the chance to visit England so that was a must do. Me, Madi, Bri and V all ventured out to explore before Illuminations at nine.​

 

[Princess Olivia]

What do you get when you put a bunch of dancers in Disney?​

We were in Italy so why not take a few pictures with the famous statue! Mom came with us to Italy because she’s a picture freak and she says we make her laugh.

POSE!

AGAIN!

Mom left and told us to behave. Finally, she was willingly sending me to England! I knew she would come around……

Madi danced her way there.

After dancing/running, we finally made it.

FINALLY!

While we were in there, Bri bought a shirt for her boyfriend and I of course needed to get a shirt for myself! The guy who helped us was named Matt and he is one of our favorite people (better then Ricardo). I went to buy my shirt and he just looked at us and said “you’re a dancer?” We all said yes and he was like “well we do not just walk up, you have to DANCE up to the register “(all being said in his amazing accent). That made us laugh so we all started to dance and V mentioned something about a dance that One Direction does and Matt was like “No! No! No One Direction!” He was really funny!! So we danced, but it was not good enough so since I was buying the shirt I needed to do something else. So everyone moved back and I did a hitch kick up to the register. Matt was impressed and let me check out. He followed us and made sure we danced out of the store. When we thought we were good we heard “I’m still watching!” Then Bri realized we needed a picture with Matt so we ran back in and he made us do a pose. After our photo session with the brilliant Matt we left, but of course he made sure we danced our way out. He really made our night! He was awesome!

By now we were getting phone calls telling us to hurry because KJ was handing out things and Illuminations was starting in 10 minutes. We made it race. Me and V won! KJ was giving out backpacks that had the Disney Performing Arts logo on it and an “Ears for the Arts” pin.

Everyone loved my shirt!

Then we gathered for a “best friends and their daughters” picture. It was Me, mom, Chris, Casesley, KJ, Kaylee and Emily.

Woohoo for being in Disney with our best friends!

Everyone was blown away by Illuminations. It was incredible and to be able
to have the perfect spot for watching it was even better.

After Illuminations, people started to clear out. Some were going to MK because it was open until midnight. We made plans with Bri to go back to POR and go to the pool for a bit. At this time, Bri and her mom Kathy asked if they could join our plans because they wanted to see everything and knew that we knew what we were doing. We were so happy they were joining us!
We made our way out of Epcot, but not without some pictures. Again we were over tired and getting silly especially with Bri around who is crazy.

Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.

Once we got back to POR we went to get a milkshake and then hit a wall. We were exhausted. We told Bri what the game plan was for the next day and she said she would text me once they got to the park which was going to be Animal Kingdom!

We got in our room, wiped off the makeup caked on our faces and were asleep before the lights were turned off.




I forgot to add in that while mom and Colleen were dropping off our costumes they took a few pictures of POR. Alsoooo there was no rain today! In fact, it didn’t rain ONCE the rest of the trip! It was sunny and beautiful!

 

[RachelNinja]

Glad that the horrible weather at least allowed you to ride Forbidden Journey twice! I'd love to see everything in the castle, but I know the ride itself is not something I can handle.

Kona is so yummy! My husband and I just went there and LOVED the bread, the wings, and the scallops! Delicious! It looks like such a small, unassuming restaurant.

Pin trading is so much fun! I end up looking at all the CM's lanyards too.

Haha, I can't imagine what Ricardo was thinking when you guys screamed during the ride!

It's interesting to hear that Disney is so professional about having to stay in a single file and not talking to anyone. We saw a band walk by when we were in DTD, and it makes sense how they were so organized and quiet!

What an experience getting to dance in Disney! It would be so much fun if you had videos too. The costumes are awesome. The IASW one looks very creative too! And what a view of IllumiNations! I always wonder what those private gatherings are for when they're not for weddings and such.

 

[729tink]

This is a great trip report! I danced all the way through high school and looking at the pictures of your performances is making me nostalgic! How did the pictures in the rose garden come out? Guido was super cute - I would have drank a lot of water too

 

[Princess Olivia]

Get ready Animal Kingdom...We're coming for ya!​

Waking up on Thursday was bittersweet. We knew that the thing we had been looking forward to all year was finally over. But at the same time, we were still in Disney and there was still so much to do and see! Our trip was not even close to over!

This morning we had breakfast reservations at Tusker House for 8:30. We got ready, met Chris and Caseley in the lobby and were soon headed to Animal Kingdom!

The cast members gave us Mickey Mouse stickers on the way out. Such simple things like handing out stickers make me smile.
I love early breakfast reservations before the park is open. It feels like you have it all to yourself!

Once we got to Tusker House, the line to take a picture with Donald was outrageously long. We opted to not take the picture and go get breakfast so that we would be done once Animal Kingdom officially opened.
Tusker House is one of my favorite breakfasts. It’s just yummy and the characters are always awesome. It’s the restaurant that my whole family looks forward to when we go.

Shortly after we sat down, the parade with the instruments began. Caseley wanted to do it, but wanted Madi to go with her. Madi was a good sport and paraded around the restaurant with Caseley.

The characters started to come shortly after. First was everyone’s favorite mouse…Mickey!

Kisses for Mickey!

After came Daisy…..

Then Goofy!

Once Goofy came, we were ready to leave. Bri had been texting me telling me that her and her mom were in the park. Mom sent us off to go get fastpasses for Everest, where we told Bri we would meet her.

We got the fastpasses then went to go meet everyone else at It’s Tough to be a Bug! Of course, not without getting sidetracked….

Our favorite Wilderness Explorers!

Back to It’s Tough to be a Bug!

Lemur face!

I don’t know about anyone else but I LOVE the posters once you get inside.

They are too funny!

Seems about right…

It’s Tough to be a Bug!

I love that show, but I can see where it may be frightening to little kids.

Hopper and his bugs are quite nasty!

I’m just going to do the same thing that I did with Magic Kingdom and point out our highs and lows of our day.

Okay so I know that so many people LOVE DiVine. Don’t get me wrong, she is definitely cool but I don’t know…there is something about her that creeps me out….

However, she is very photogenic!

I think around about 11, our friend Vinny called saying he was also in the park and wanted to meet up. Of course we were happy to have him with us but it was hard because we had fastpasses for Kali River Rapids and Kilimanjaro Safaris. We told him we would meet him at Dinosaur.

I had just reapplied sunscreen….

We got a car all to ourselves which was fun! I love that ride!!

Then we passed my weakness…Mickey bars, A.K.A. one of the most delicious things in the world! I needed to get one! By now it was almost noon and we just had a few more things to do before we were going to leave. My ice cream melted faster than I could eat it.

Yumm!! I want one now!

Next was Kali River!! It was really hot so we were very excited for this refreshing ride!

I mentioned this before but Kathy (Bri’s mom) was such a good sport throughout the trip! She of course was the one (along with myself ) to go down backwards on Kali and get soaked!!

Vinny stayed and waited for us while his mom and aunt went to go see Finding Nemo. He got hot so he bought himself a hat…it made us laugh!

Next we headed over to Kilimanjaro Safaris which we have always done in the morning but the line was crazy and the fastpasses were not until later anyway.

We went through one of the trails to see the tigers.

They were sleeping.

They are such cool animals!

We still had fastpasses but it was getting so hot and the crowds were growing that we decided it would be better to go back and swim. Chris, Caseley, Bri and Kathy wanted to do the safari then head back so we gave one of our fastpasses to Vinny and told him to give the others away to a family in line.

We wanted to cool off a bit before we headed over to Hollywood Studios that night.​

 

[Princess Olivia]

Hollywood is calling our names!​

We got back to POR, put on our bathing suits and were practically running to the pool. It felt so refreshing.

We hung out at the pool for a bit when we were joined by Chris, Caseley and Bri. Once they came we took a break and went to get lunch. I get the same thing every time, chicken fingers and french fries…

Before we knew it we needed to go back and get ready to leave for Hollywood Studios!

I was really excited to be going here. I love it so much! It’s so different and fun! Our main reason for coming on this night was that Fantasmic was going to be playing and we love that show so much; we couldn’t not see it!

We again met everyone in the lobby, except for Kathy who was coming later.
Once we got there a boy came up to me and Bri and gave us two fastpasses for Tower of Terror. Random act of kindness from a cute boy was a major plus!

We had time before Fantasmic started. Most would go to Toy Story Mania to check out the wait times…no thanks, in fact TSMM was not even a must-do for this trip but more about that later….

We wanted some Rock N’ Roll baby! Yesss Rock N’ Roller-coaster, we were coming for ya! Unfortunately the line was super long so everyone except Chris went to do single rider while me and Bri used our TOT fastpasses.

This was actually both our first times on TOT. No one will ever go on with me when I go with my family and I never want to go by myself so I was very excited to finally have a riding partner!

It. Was. Awesome!!! We loved it so much!!! We went back over to see that Kathy had come and that they were still not off the ride yet! What?! They came out soon after and Miss Caseley was vert proud of herself! It had been her first time and she too loved it!

Classic first-timer…..

Everyone went to go get seats which were already totally filled!! Luckily (and trust me, I know how much people HATE other people for this) but our friends mom was saving us seats. Me and mom went to go get some candy since we are candy junkies. I got a caramel Mickey Mouse apple which was so yummy! I had it cut into four pieces so everyone could have some. While we were waiting for Fantasmic to start my phone started buzzing with texts! Yes people…..One Direction was in Orlando and they were spotted at what looked like Kali River Rapids!! Turns out they were actually at Universal. My friend Lindsey who is crazy about them was all over it. She was really funny.

She gets mad when I say it but she is a total fangirl.

My mom gets Madi going and they feed off each other. It’s really funny.

That’s my best friend for you.

Chocolate fingers!

Fantasmic really is such an AWESOME show! I was really excited we were able to see it!

On our way out a song that we danced to the year before came on, so of course we stopped and danced!

Me and Bri got very silly on the way out. There was this boy in front of us and Bri started to laugh and he turned around because he thought we were laughing at him. Then he kept looking back at us the whole walk out of Hollywood Studios which just made us laugh harder. We were so over tired. Madi, approached him and said hi and then bye and he waved goodbye to all of us. He seemed very nice. Ohhh Bri….

We were all tired but we were in Disney and we were not going to bed anytime soon.

We got back to the hotel and went to the pool to see if KJ and her girls were there since she had texted mom saying that they were and to come say hi. Of course they were not there. Madi and Caseley decided to stick their feet in what we call the “peepee pool.” The pool for babies that they all pee in, that’s the one!

Miss Madison at her finest!

We said our goodbyes to our friends who were headed back to their room and told them what time to meet in the lobby the next morning.

We decided that it was a good time to go take lots of pictures because let’s face it, pictures are always more fun when you are sleep deprived and acting silly.

Strike a pose from my favorite movie….Titanic!

Now on the stairs!

We were tired. We went to our room where our moms fell asleep in record time while we watched Dance Moms. Goodnight POR….​

 

[1Grumpy9]

Great pictures of the performance. It was probably some of the best times up on stage. Can't wait to see how the trip ends!!

 

[Princess Olivia]

Good Morning Hollywood! Did you miss us?​

Wake up! We’re going to Hollywood Studios! We were all up and ready to go. We met everyone in the lobby and got there soon after it opened.

So, usually people run straight to TSMM but we decided to go for Rock N’ Roller-coaster. We got out fastpasses then got in the short stand-by line. My mom and I were totally okay with not doing Toy Story Mania since we have been on that ride at least 30 plus times. We shot the commercial for it in 2008 and were some of the first people ever to ride it! I know it’s a favorite to many but if you rode it for five hours straight then you too would be okay with not riding it on this trip. We encouraged everyone else to try it but they didn’t want to wait in the line and already the fastpass return time wasn’t until later in the afternoon when we planned to be leaving.

Okay, can I just say how much I love how they play all of Aerosmith’s songs while you are line. I know it’s silly but I can’t help but sing along!

Can we please just take a moment to appreciate Kathy’s face….What a perfect photo.

After we rocked out with Aerosmith, me and Bri practically forced everyone on TOT. We loved it so much and wanted everyone else to at least try it. My mom almost backed out last minute, but she stuck in there.

It was surely an adventure!

Our dance studio is not JUST a dance studio. We are home of the “triple threat”- dance, acting and voice. I started out dancing when I was two and as I got older I added on acting and voice. Madi and Bri both did the same. Madi had felt better but she was not feeling well enough to sing. My throat had started to feel sore the night before so I had been taking these vitamin C drops A.K.A.- I wasn’t going to be singing today. Madi and I, being who we are, begged Bri to try out for American Idol since she was the only one who felt well. Bri said she would think about it while we went to go get breakfast. Our designated breakfast area was of course…Starring Rolls!

We got a delicious chocolate croissant

An even more delicious cheese Danish

And we were in Disney so why not eat a cupcake for breakfast?!

I’ve heard such good things about this red velvet cupcake but sadly, it was really dry. I haven’t given up on this cupcake and will make sure to try it again when we go in April.

After breakfast we met up with our friend Ashlee who was coming on Rock N’ Roller-coaster with us!

They’re always braiding my hair…..

Duck face! (what an ugly face to make...)

I love that ride……

Well we finally broke Bri down and got her to audition anddd………she made it through the first round! Yay Bri! We texted back and force and she said that if she made it through the second round then we would have to come and shoot a clip for an audition tape just like they do at American Idol!

Well we had time to spare so why not sit in Hollywood Studios and listen to all the music that I grew up with? We had too much fun!

Mom decided to play with her camera

After the fun sing-along ended, we got bored just waiting for a response. We were in Hollywood Studios! We needed to see things! We went on Star Tours and Muppet Vision 3D which are certainly two favorites! While in Muppet Vision 3D, I got a phone call from Bri saying that she made it and that we needed to meet them back at the American Idol building and that a cast member would let us in.

We went straight there and met Bri who was glowing with excitement! I’m sure most have seen American Idol and know what I’m talking about, but they followed Bri throughout her audition process and put little clips together that they would show when she sang in front of the live audience. We were there so that when she came out with her “golden ticket” we could jump around and be super excited (which we were) like she was really going to Hollywood.

They even got us dancing!

Vote for Bri!

We were faced with a dilemma….We were going to EMH at MK that night and had dinner reservations at O’hana for 5:45. I had been really looking forward to eating here since it’s one of my favorites. Our choices were to go back to POR early and get ready for dinner and the rest of the night or stay and cheer on Bri. Well how many times does your best friend get the opportunity to do something like this? We had to stay!

Bri had to go back to POR and get ready for her big debut. We had obviously not planned for this or for staying this long so we had to find something for lunch. We checked to see if we could get in anywhere for lunch but we had no luck. We ended up just getting a quick service lunch. I of course had chicken fingers and french fries which never seem to get old.

Caseley and Chris stayed for lunch but little miss Caseley was tired and wanted to swim. I find it so funny that little kids could be in Disney-“the happiest place on earth” and they cannot wait to go back to the pool to swim. After lunch Chris and Caseley went back to POR to swim and relax before EMH that night.

By the time we finished our lunch it was about 2:00 and we had an hour before Bri took the stage! We poked in a few shops and I got this awesome picture frame for my wall. I love it!!! We were cutting it close but there was a 2:45 showing of Beauty and the Beast.

It was such a cute little performance! Even though I am lucky enough to be able to also act and sing, my eyes always go to the dancers.