Disney or Die: One Woman's Quest for the Perfect Trip (Finally completed)

[kathymc]

Enjoying your reports - cant wait to read more - I love hearing about newbies trips.

 

[FortWildernessCamper]

Really enjoying your report. We will be taking our second trip to Disney in October and can hardly wait! Your report is helping to ease the strong desire to drop everything and leave tonight!
Looking forward to rest of report...love the pictures.
Maureen

 

[abbyjoysmom]

Ring! Ring! Why is the phone ringing at 7:00 in the morning? These are the first words out of DH’s mouth on our first full day in Disney. I jump out of bed as if someone just lit my pants on fire and run toward the phone before he can pick it up screaming, “it’s for DD STOP!” With super human speed, I beat him to the phone with only seconds to spare and push the speaker button. The next thing we hear, I must admit, was a most dreadful sound, Stitch telling us to wake up. He did accomplish his heroic task on that day DD sat up in bed and said Stitch SHUT UP! While I do not condone this language, it was quite funny so I forgave this one small indiscretion. Neither DH nor DD realized that I had set the wake up call and to this day DD thinks that Stitch really called us, so maybe we can keep this a secret between us !

Now that I had everybody out of bed, the excitement began. Today we were having breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table. DD was so excited to meet Cinderella, and I was just beside myself with joy. DH was really just hoping to get a hug from a hot princess and a decent breakfast. We were out the door by 7:45 A.M. this gave us plenty of time to get to the Magic Kingdom. Once again, our chariot was just pulling into the station as we walked up and we were on our way. Here is where vacation foul three occurred. I had purchased a crown for DD to wear with her Cinderella dress but had inadvertently left it in the room. When we got on the bus there was a little girl wearing a crown and this sparked DDs memory of her own beautiful, sparkling, plastic crown that her mother had forgotten to place atop her head. Tears immediately ensued. DD cried all the way to the Magic Kingdom luckily the castle distracted her enough for the deluge to abruptly end. By 8:15 A.M., we were standing in front of the Magic Kingdom and ready to go in. You may remember that my uncle works for Disney and we get our tickets from him. We have to meet him each morning to be admitted for the day. While his kindness is wonderful, his promptness is not. Our reservation was for 8:50, right before the park opens, and I was really looking forward to our leisurely walk down Main Street U.S.A toward the castle. It was now 8:45 A.M. and my uncle is nowhere in sight. I called his cell phone about 10 times begging him to call me back. By now, I was in all out panic mode. What if he forgot about us? What if something happened to him? What if we missed our reservation time and they wouldn’t let us in? This was only a few of the million questions running through my head. At 8:48 A.M., my uncle showed up at the gate to let us in. We ran through the line as fast as we could and begged the cast member to let us through the gates. I then forced DH and DD into a run-walk so that we could get there on time.

Here is our first picture of the castle. Notice it is not so great; this would be because of the run-walk.

We were at the restaurant by 8:51 A.M. and were checked in. Cinderella was almost here. We walk into the castle and there is no Cinderella. Apparently, she had to go check on the pastry chef, darn it I hate when the chefs can’t get through a meal without relying on a woman’s expertise. While we waited for Cinderella to appear, we checked out the castle. I was quite impressed it was very well done. The trumpets sounded and Cinderella majestically floated down the stairs and took her place in front of the crowd. DD was now beside herself. We patiently waited in line. It was now our turn. DD walked up as if in a trance; she could barely speak. I once again was in tears. I don’t think I could have imagined a more perfect moment. In that second I decided that money definitely is not the most important thing in life and I would never again complain about the cost of a character meal.

Here is DD meeting Cinderella

Once our meeting with Cinderella was over, we were led upstairs to breakfast. I was not expecting much from the breakfast but it was quite enjoyable. The potato casserole was quite good; of course, there is nothing better in life than potatoes smothered in cheese. Once we completed breakfast Aurora, Belle, Snow White, and the Fairy Godmother appeared. They spent time at each table; unfortunately, they started on the opposite side of the room and DD about went insane before they made it to our table. The character interactions were once again fantastic. We left the Cinderella’s Royal Table with our hearts and bellies full and ready to experience a day in the Magic Kingdom.

DD meeting Aurora, Belle, Snow White, and the Fairy God Mother

Day 2 To Be Continued…

 

[katiesmomluvsdizne]

don't want to miss the remaining days

 

[cherokeemamma]

Your DD is beautiful. Really enjoying your TR. Thanks for posting and including pics.
Could you tell me about your autograph book? It looks really great.

 

[Poohbear77]

Great report. You have a beautiful daughter.

Not too bad picture of the castle, for run-walking that is!! LOL! Keep up the great work.

 

[abbyjoysmom]

Your DD is beautiful. Really enjoying your TR. Thanks for posting and including pics.
Could you tell me about your autograph book? It looks really great.

Here is the information that my3princess gave me. I followed her directions. You can get a free 30 day trial of photoimpact. I got them all done in one week. You can download Disney script for free. I put each autograph on it's own page and took a clipboard to put them on with different colored sharpies. I stole many ideas from other autograph pages on this site. Now that I am back I am going to make a scap book with DD's picture on one side and the autograph page on the other. At the bottom is also a link to some autograph pages to give you some ideas. Hope this helps.

I use photoimpact to make my pages. From there you can use the eraser and erase the names then add your own. I won't have time to do it for you. I still haven't had time to finish all of ours. We are avid autograph collectors and over time hope to create one giant autograph book. I have done over 100 characters so far and have not come close to finishing. I get most of the images from
http://www.disneyclips.com/mainpage.html
If they don't have one I just do a google search.
I'm leaving on a mini vacation in the AM so I won't be around for the next week. If you have further questions I would be happy to answer them when I get back.

Deb
__________________
Here's the link to my Design Thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1012666

 

[jannikay]

HI, I can't take it anymore, I'm planning a trip--can I take Abby with me?
Aunt JJ

 

[lookingforward]

I am LOVING your trip reports. I am headed for a mommy/daughter weekend in December and was very happy to see the princess pictures. Great job!

 

[Lil' Grumpy]

..even @ disney, morning comes too early..but starting any
day with crt..is going to be special.

wonder why parents don't let the other one in on the waking up part
until the phone rings? i seen others doing this..did you scared your husband
when he reached for the phone? [not saying we had a similar.. ]

here's the things your report reminded me of:

planning phase..it's a work in process to learn..ha! it was just yesterday, we
did that when we arrived "inside" the park.

"not late for dinner"..that's make sense too me & our boys..

handsome fellas in your pic..which one was your husband? left or right..
[same type my wife took..is where that come from..my wife, the ]

ha! 2002..it took us 3 days to figured out this crt thingy..then it was all
pressure!.. ..by that time, my wife had 10 people callin..[me included]
however, guess who was the only one got thru?
me like being my lil 's hero..

wildness l.'s boat dock...crt @ 8am..lil tiny boats in & out..but no regular ones..

..hey honey!, regular "stops" don't start until..9am?! ..lucky, we figured that out..
..off to the contemporay in the dingy..holding on
to the kids so they don't go a swimming.. ..what wrong with all
these people?..the park dosen't opened til 9am..& its already crowded!
..at least we on in..that's cool but we had no time to
take it easy...so we all got the motor cart...& when she fianlly realized
what going on..first she tripped and then "jumped' into cindy's arms!
while her brothers ..were killing all the food..so we had to make 'em stop
for pictures!

no matter how you getting there, if you coming early, it's so neat to watch
all the lil arriving.. anyone can see the magic you described in
your daughter's eyes! [i never tire of seeing the ones of our lil girl].

hey, i wonder if your uncle related to mine? just

"the whine was on"..you mean that dosen't take a vacation at disney?
i'm shocked! ,but i see you know your kid! [we have 3 of them]

crt..provided lots of prefect moments..glad you caught yours!

though it would spoil your secret..you should save your report for your
daughter's scrapebook..some day. they do grow up too fast!

 

[abbyjoysmom]

Leaving the castle put us smack dab in the middle of Fantasy Land. I had warned DD prior to arriving that we would only be riding the carousel and Dumbo if the lines were less than 15 minutes long. Much to our surprise, DD and DH were able to walk right on to both. DD loved Dumbo and kept it in the air for most of the ride.

Here is DD and DH riding Dumbo.

After exiting the carousel, we walked into Philharmagic. I loved this show. It was well done and Donald crashing into the wall at the end was very funny. From here, it was on to the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. DD and DH once again rode this ride together. I actually got sick watching them spin. I don’t know how either one of them can handle this ride!

DD and DH in their tea cup.

After their world stopped spinning, we wobbled toward Tomorrow Land. First stop was to get a fast pass for Space Mountain. We were not sure that DD would want to ride this but we got her one too just in case. While we were waiting for our time on Space Mountain, we rode Buzz Light Year. We loved this ride. It was so much fun trying to out score the other. As usual, DH had to be the supreme commander. He actually scored 336,000 points. I am not sure how he did this but I am sure he cheated. We still had time to kill till our fast past was redeemable and so decided to ride Carousel of Progress, but before we got there we saw Buzz Light Year. This will be where scary vacation foul four occurred. We started walking toward Buzz but for some reason, DD started walking into the Carousel of Progress line and for about 30 seconds we could not find her. This was the most frightening 30 seconds of my entire life. She was hysterical and so was I. For some reason she blamed Buzz and would not go see him. We went on in to Carousel of Progress, so we could all calm down. Carousel of Progress was definitely interesting but was not my favorite. DH did not like it at all. DD thought that it was wonderful; she was so intrigued by the animatronics. I was glad one of us liked it, and it was a nice break. The time had finally come we were ready to ride Space Mountain. I was very worried about DD. She loves riding rides but she had never been on a real roller coaster and on this one, she had to ride by herself in the dark. Never the less through the Fast Pass line we went. Once again I must stop and say FAST PASS ROCKS!!! That line was so long and after walking and walking and walking, we were at the front of the line. I was in front then DD and then DH. DH promised to hold her shoulders, and she was so excited she could not stop screaming. The ride took off and then the screaming really began but it was not a scream of terror but of exhilaration. She loved it. We were officially exhausted and it was only noon, so we headed back to the hotel for a nap and a swim. Dinner was scheduled for 6:30 P.M, it was extra magic hours that night, and we needed to be well rested.

By 5:00 P.M., we were ready to get going again. Our reservations were for Whispering Canyon. We took the bus and then the boat over to the Wilderness Lodge. Once again, I underestimated how early we would be hungry and so we were there an hour early. Unlike Boma the night before, we were able to sit right down. Sadly, because we ate so early, they had not yet stared the ketchup fiasco. Numerous tables asked for ketchup throughout their meal but they only really began to move it around just about the time we were leaving. The skillet looked way too big for our family of three and so I had the meatloaf, DH had a steak, and DD had chicken fingers. DD and I had the unlimited milkshake. I will have to say that we were disappointed with this meal; maybe the only good food there is the skillet. My meatloaf was just mediocre, DH’s steak was not good at all, and our service was horrible. On the bright side, DD and I really enjoyed our milkshakes.

Here is DD inhaling her first milkshake. She drank the whole thing in about 3 minutes.

After dinner, we headed back to the Magic Kingdom. We strolled through Toon Town and rode Buzz again. By this time, it was 8:00 P.M. and time to stake out our spot for the parade. DH was not happy about this. He did not want to see the parade and was very disgruntled that I made him sit down on hot dirty concrete for hours on end. We ended up with a great spot right in front of the castle and DH went off in search of a drink. I began preparing for the long wait when who strolls by but a street vendor of course. As soon as DD spied the light up toys, the begging was on. I thought, “No problem I will just whip out this glow stick and the world will be right again.” Big mistake! Apparently, glow sticks are not nearly as fun as a light up Stitch that spins in a circle. Needless to say, we had a Stitch in about three minutes and the glow sticks went unused for the remainder of the trip. After what seemed like years, it was almost time for Spectromagic to begin and then DD said the unforgivable. “I have to potty.” Out came the maps of the park to find the closest bathroom possible. I located one in Fantasy Land and we were off. DD and I ran as fast as we could to the restroom. We were in and out with lightning speed and running back toward the castle when a cast member stopped everyone. The castle was closed the parade was about to begin!!! I yanked DD around the castle running as fast as we dare through the park. I am sorry to everyone that we ran over. We jumped the rope and darted across the street sitting down just in time for the music to come on, whew, we made it! Spectromagic was wonderful. DD and I were in awe of the entire parade. DH was just mad because people were throwing popcorn behind us anytime someone, including children stood up. Once the parade was over the forever sitting began again as we waited for the Wishes fireworks. At 10:00 P.M., the music began again. The fireworks started. Right after the opening fireworks one of my most magical moments happened, Tink flew. I do not know why this was so important to me but I had wanted to see this more than anything. I took a picture but she just looked like a star, just as Tink should. The fireworks were truly spectacular. I was so moved that once again I found myself in tears. This by far was my favorite experience in the Magic Kingdom.

Here is a picture of Wishes.

After the fireworks were over we made a bee line for Fantasy land and rode It’s A Small World. DD loved the dolls DH and I loved the air conditioning. After that, we rode Peter Pan, which none of us really liked. By this time, we were too tired to move, so much for extra magic hours. We headed back to the hotel for some much needed sleep. Plus, we knew we still had plenty of time as we would be back in the Magic Kingdom the next day.

Next: Day 3: Who said villains are all bad?

 

[BeautyNBeast]

I am loving it so far. Yor DD is a cutie. How scary it must have been to not be able to find her at MK.

 

[jannikay]

I love Peter Pan!

 

[pickles]

good report!

Now time for the really dumb question

body glide? what is the purpose?
I found it listed online at a drugstore, but couldn't figure out its use at the world..thighs touching , socks rubbing feet or some late night romance ?

 

[abbyjoysmom]

good report!

Now time for the really dumb question

body glide? what is the purpose?
I found it listed online at a drugstore, but couldn't figure out its use at the world..thighs touching , socks rubbing feet or some late night romance ?

Bodyglide is used by athletes to keep their thighs from rubbing together. It is really good for this especially if your shorts get wet. Also we put it on the bottom of our feet with our crocs and that really helped keep our feet from getting blisters. I highly recommed it.

 

[TinkNH]

This is great! I have an Abbey myself And LOVED seeing the pic of you in a bosox cap

 

[cherokeemamma]

What is it about wishes? I am reading you report ( enjoying it, BTW) and you are talking about the parade and then staying to watch wishes and getting all teary eyed. Well, guess what? So am I! I can't believe just the talk of it makes me all misty. . I better remember to pack some tissues.

 

[abbyjoysmom]

Day 3 finds us once again waking entirely too early so that we can be at the Magic Kingdom when the gates open. We make it in time for the opening and see the train with the characters and count down to another glorious day of fun filled adventure. Unfortunately, once again my uncle is nowhere to be found. I am struck with fear again that he has forgotten us, and thus begins my relentless calling of his cell phone. I truly don’t believe the man understands the concept of a cell phone because he never answers it. DH is in all out panic because he just knows everyone is walking straight to his rides and he is going to have to wait, even though there are only 200 people that were even at the park. I would hate to see him on a day when there are even 20,000 people in the park. Finally, my uncle shows up and lets us in. You would think we would make our way straight to the entire side of the park that we have not even walked through, but you would be wrong. DD was begging to ride Space Mountain again so that was stop number one, for a Fast Pass. Did I mention Fast Pass ROCKS!!! Finally, it is time to conquer the opposite side of the park. First stop Haunted Mansion. There was no one in line so we walked up and waited for the queuing area. The headstone that moves freaked me out. When I saw the head move I thought I was seeing something but then the eyes started glowing and I about jumped out of my skin. We got on to the moving carousel of death. I do not know how anyone that is not an Olympic sprinter can get on these rides with any amount of grace. We really enjoyed this ride. DD got a little scared but DH was able to calm her down and then she was able to enjoy the ride as well.

Here is the tombstone that moves, definitely a shocker.

Next stop Big Thunder Mountain. We walk right on the ride and DD thinks that it is good but not nearly as much fun as Space Mountain, and I would have to agree. I was really wanting to go on Splash Mountain and so was DD but DH was having no part in getting wet so he took the bag o’crap and off DD and I went. We had to wait about 10 minutes with me praying the whole time not to be in the front and not to get soaked. Well lucky us, we were in the back and it was three little girls and two adults so we were not very heavy. This ride is quite the teaser. I kept expecting the next turn to be the drop but it kept going and going. Finally, it was time for the drop. DD and I both screamed our heads off as we plunged down the mountain. Not a drop landed on us, yeah. I can’t say the same for the family behind us there was not a dry spot on the mom, she must have been sitting in the front. I guess she didn’t read the DIS before she left. I definitely thought this was the best ride in Magic Kingdom. I asked DH to take a picture of us going down the mountain but he couldn’t figure out which log we were in but I will take what I can get.

Here is a picture of DD and myself riding on Splash Mountain

We made our way toward Pirates of the Caribbean and only had a few minute wait until we were plunged into the world of the pirates. We loved this ride. DD was so excited to look for Captain Jack Sparrow. The animatronics were amazing. I don’t know what it looked like before they refurbished it, but it was great to see it now. DD now believes that Captain Jack Sparrow is real. It doesn’t help matters that her kindergarten teacher told the class she stole her treasure chest from him in Puerto Rico. On our way out of Pirates of the Caribbean, we ran into Captain Hook. DD does not like villains but I talked her into getting his autograph. I will have to admit I bold face lied to her to get this to happen “of course he will be nice to you!” We walked up to Hook and the first thing he did was run his hook through her hair. DD did not like Hook at all but after some persuasion and a mommy voice to Captain Hook, he was very nice. DD ended up liking him but told me in no uncertain terms would she be getting any more villains autographs.

DD with Captain Hook and Mr. Smee notice the uneasiness on her face.

Last stop before heading back to Space Mountain was the Jungle Cruise. I am unable to give a critique of this ride because it was now noon, the line was over 30 minutes, and we could not make ourselves stay in the hot sun when Space Mountain was calling our name. So we joyfully skipped back toward Tomorrow Land when who do we spy but Jessie and Woody. Woody is by far DD’s favorite character. I have never figured out why she is so enamored with him, but she has carried a Woody doll since she was two. Jessie and Woody loved their autograph page and took a lot of time with DD, yeah, another wonderful character experience.

DD with Woody and Jessie.

We made it back to Space Mountain, with a quick stop to see Alice. This time no shoulder holding was needed. She jumped right on as if she had been riding roller coasters for years and this was nothing. After we conquered Space Mountain, we were ready to call it a day in the Magic Kingdom, and mama was ready for some shopping.

DD with Alice.

We decided to take the monorail over to the Contemporary and then a bus over to Downtown Disney, this was to be vacation foul six. I think it is six; I have begun to lose track there have been so many. We got on the bus at the Contemporary and then spent 40 minutes to go 3 miles. I am not sure but I think the bus driver was lost. We had never seen the parts of Disney he took us through and we never saw them again. Just like a man can’t stop for directions. Come to think of it, maybe this is not my vacation foul. I think I am giving it to the lost bus driver, woo hoo, that puts me back down to five.

Once our bus expedition came to an end at Downtown Disney, we went straight for the Earl of Sandwich. I had heard so much about this place and we had to try it. We went in and the place was packed. DH went to stand in line for food and I was on table stalk, but no need Tink was on our side again. The second I walked to the back of the room a family gave us their table. We loved Earl of Sandwich. This was our favorite food of the whole trip. My husband said that the meatball sandwich must be made by angels because it was heavenly. What a dork!

This is a picture of Earl of Sandwich. DH had to have this because he wanted always to remember the best sandwiches on earth.

We finished eating and went SHOPPING!!! We went to the World of Disney and this is where I had my heart broken. Of all the things I learned on the DIS I never saw one thing discussed, The Princess Makeovers. For a ridiculous sum of money, they turn your DD into any princess she desires. DD begged to get this done but they were packed solid. Every time I saw a little girl walking through Downtown Disney dressed as a princess I was sick with grief. To make up for my vacation foul six I bought her the talking Woody she had been begging for since Christmas. We bought ornaments in the Christmas store, ate amazing ice cream at the Ghiradelli Ice Cream Shop, and then headed back to the hotel for some R&R before dinner that night.

Me at the Harley store.

By 5:30 P.M we were once again starving. We had reservations at the Portobello Yacht Club at 7:00 P.M. when we go back I definitely need to make our reservations earlier. We showed up an hour early and they fit us right in. The food was okay but was very expensive, and truly, I would have rather had Olive Garden. We decided to walk down to Disney Quest and check it out. We walked to the other end of Downtown Disney only to find out that DD was too young for most of it and so decided not to go. Instead, we walked through Downtown Disney straight into a Haagen-Dazs. I have been dreaming of this new ice cream Sticky Toffee Pudding ever since I saw it on the Food Channel and I had to try it. It was fabulous. I could eat it every day. After that, we were going to spend time walking around but the crowd was getting a little rough. There were a lot of teenagers and it got very crowded, in a bad kind of way. We decided to go back to the hotel and make it an early night because tomorrow morning would be there before we knew it.


Day 4: Is this the way to Soarin?

 

[Nurse_Mommy4]

Another great day. I love the picture of Abby with Captain Hook!

 

[mumom95]

This is my favorite thread currently on dis. You should write a book. One question, what do you carry in "the bag o'crap". I'm planning our first family trip for Thanksgiving 2007 and I have a feeling I'll need to take along the bag o'crap, but I'm not sure what should be in it.