I kept telling myself that I've never heard of a child ever getting permanently lost in DL. When exiting RSR with my husband she was running ahead of him, he lost sight of her, thought she went into a shop so he went in there when in fact she went straight to the end of car's land, asked someone (she says a mommy) for help who took her to a food cart who got a CM to bring her to the baby care center where DH had already gone to check for her and was waiting for security (while I stayed where he last saw her and had a CM notifying the stores and restaurants). It didn't faze her at all!
Okay, that is ridiculously cool. DH and I were speculating about how they did it!
We are back home now, here are a few updates from what I've posted earlier in the week:
Paradise Pier hotel tree is up, sorry I didn't get a picture. It isn't too different from last year though - I just looked at last year's picture and I don't think this year's tree has the orange garland, but the ornaments are the same.
Small World does have Deck the Halls playing in the “Peace on Earth” room, sorry if I created any unnecessary panic. It was only in a single room so I must have missed it on that first ride!
Jingle Cruise has A LOT more decorations! I didn't see any decorations in the downstairs queue (we didn’t go upstairs)
The plastic chairs neat the Disney Visa Character M&G in DCA I posted about earlier in the week (saying they were mysteriously gone with a large fence w/ foliage right there), disregard. Must have been a special event because yesterday it was back to normal
And Sherry, check out my
new review of Lansky's / FKA DK's Livery. it is NOT good :-(
We had a great trip. This was our first trip with the kids and no other family. We still didn't get to meet the characters in Critter Country (though I did see them!) and we didn't make it to the JJJ; we let DD3 direct a lot of what we did and the times we tried to go either had Really long lines OR she was adamantly against doing it and it wasn't a battle we wanted to have with her. We weren't necessarily in DL for the holiday season, it just so happened to coincide with the week DH was able to take off work so these weren't a huge priority for us.
Overall the crowds were quite a bit lower this past week than last December (we were there the 2nd week of December). We had a fabulous trip and the baby did GREAT. We didn't even have as many melt-downs with DD3 as we expected. Hoping DH gets a good sized bonus so we can return next year, but more than likely we will be skipping DL in 2015. sniff sniff. baby is crying, gotta go feed him! Thanks Sherry for your lovely thread!
egritz --
You're welcome! Thank you for coming back to join us in the thread this year.
In a place as large and filled with corners to get lost in and interesting things to do/see -- not to mention tons of people everywhere -- I am always amazed that parents are able to keep their little ones within eyesight as often as they are! I would imagine that CMs deal with lost children on an almost daily basis. Frankly, if I were a parent I think I would be a nervous wreck in a place like DLR while the kids were really little and easily distracted. I'm so glad your daughter was safe and unfazed!
Thank you for the update on the PPH tree. That's the kind of thing I wanted to know -- if anything was missing from it, or added to it! And if they ditched that silly orange "sea grass" garland on the tree, I won't be upset!
I wish they could have toned down some of the in-your-face oceanic knick knacks on and under the tree as well, but one step at a time...
You didn't see any decorations in the downstairs queue of Jingle Cruise? You mean there was no makeshift Christmas tree this year?
I read the review of Lansky's in your thread and it's such a shame -- they started out being great for you last year, but they have to take child safety seriously and make it a priority. When did they change from DK's Livery (or whatever it was) to Lansky's?
I'm glad you had a great trip!
I was told by a CM at Flo's that the gingerbread house there was removed when guests started taking bites out of it (eww! come on, folks, it's a public display for everyone, not a snack for just you!). I don't know about BVS, but having guests destroying the displays could have led to their permanent removal.
theluckyrabbit --
I agree -- eww! I had a feeling that something must have gone wrong with that Flo's gingerbread display when it was up in 2012, and that's why it didn't return in 2013. It was in a very accessible location for anyone who may have wanted to get to it.
People are so disappointing sometimes. What is wrong with them that they have to ruin something like that, just for kicks? If it is a child eating the gingerbread, there is no excuse -- the parents should be preventing that sort of thing from happening.
And if adults were doing it -- I mean....shame on them! It's not like they're so hungry and there is nothing to eat anywhere else nearby, so they have to bite into the gingerbread display to stay alive! Whoever bit into it did it just to be "funny." (And I hope they experienced terrible gastrointestinal distress after doing so.
)
I've often feared for the longevity of the yearly gingerbread houses in Storytellers Café and White Water Snacks. They, too, are in very easy-to-get-to spots, and the CMs at those restaurants probably have to deal with obnoxious people thinking they should start chomping away, or poking at the houses and pulling off the cute little snowmen and reindeer.
My kids noticed yesterday that a bite had been taken out of the gingerbread house in the Grand, despite it being roped off. I will try to take more pictures today to show any uplates and it's location. What they had done did go up over night on Thurs and they worked on it out in the lobby during the day.
I will also try to sneak a peak at the one in Storytellers, assuming it's still there.
One thing I did notice, unrelated to gingerbread, is the big rim/wheel tree isn't there in Carsland anymore. I know it's not in its usual place, so is it gone permanently or did they move it and I missed it?
Jamie --
Some idiot had already taken a bite out of the GCH gingerbread house, before it is was even fully built? Did they think they were at 'grandma's house' or something? It's a hotel holiday display! They must have sneaked down there at a time when no one was paying attention. Again, as I mentioned in my reply to
theluckyrabbit above, I hope whoever it was ends up with some terrible gastrointestinal distress.
It's fools like that who ruin the fun, real gingerbread decorations for the rest of us -- leaving us with fake gingerbread Castles.
I'm not as concerned with what the gingerbread house in Storytellers Café looks like as I am with whether or not it is actually there. I am curious if DLR put the house in Storytellers this year, if they have the large one in the lobby. So if you walk by Storytellers, you may be able to see the house from outside, since it's usually fairly close to the entrance.
Which tree in Cars Land is missing? Is it Mater's tire tree, or the tree next to the Santa Stanley statue? Or the big tire tower tree? I'm confused.
I've been sick since Tuesday lost my voice and coughing a lot. It's starting to clear a little bit now but I've been determined to keep going regardless
petals --
You are a trooper! I hope you've managed to have a little fun, but have also gotten some rest when necessary.
We leave two weeks from today!! 
