DON'T Read This TRIP REPORT If You're a Princess Hater!

[jenseib]

We saw marie for the 1st time this trip too. I think she was one Claire was most excited about too. Claire has not seen Aristocrats, but has seen the sing alongs with them singing that song.
Everybody wants to be a Cat was one of Paige and Michaels favorites. They would sing it ALL the time and do a little dance.

YES! You are correct! No one ever figures it out so don't feel bad. I am a HUGE fan of Disney music though, and I probably know more Disney lyrics than any 30 something should ever admit to. I may even listen to it in the car when my DD isn't with me.

:

I knew that too! Poionts for me!

We did PAP on our '09 trip and we both made that EXACT same necklace! I wear mine a lot and get so many comments on it. It's fun to tell people the story of how the necklace came to be, and my DD loves that we have matching jewelry!

It's from your 2009 TR that I got that idea and link. We did it as well and was a huge hit with Claire too.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Another great update Janet!

I really like seeing the PAP set up in the pavilion.

That carriage charm is really pretty too!

 

[Tinkermom76]

we are doing PAP this coming trip, I got my carriage necklace!!!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

I knew that too! Poionts for me!

Very good! Ok, now I don't feel like I picked the worst user name ever! Now 2 people know what it means!!!

It's from your 2009 TR that I got that idea and link. We did it as well and was a huge hit with Claire too.

Oh, ok.... I was thinking that was very coincidental that we found the same necklace! It is really pretty though isn't it? I have soooo many people ask about it, I guess because it is so different. I love telling people that we picked the oysters out ourselves and had it made in Japan. Ok, then I tell them it's the Japan inside WDW!

 

[mom2rtk]

OK, that is awesome. I never knew you could pick a pearl... I barely spend any time in Japan... Epcot needs to get more time on the next trip as it takes a long time to get through all the cool stuff.

I love seeing DIS through other people's eyes so I can learn and experience so much more - making the next trip all the better. And you Janet are one of the best at helping with that (as I have mentioned before). Thanks!

That necklace is very nice too - so cute! Can you PM me the web info, I would love to get one for Sydney for next spring?

Sydnerella's Mama

I never knew about Pick A Pearl until I read about it here on the DIS. I've been in that store before, but just missed it. I'm so glad I found out and we got to do it. Katie really treasures that necklace.

Here's the necklace on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/18K-WGP-PEARL-CAGE-25X25MM-CARRIAGE-/290561839817?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43a6d5d2c9

Many thanks for the very kind comments. I appreciate getting to relive the trip with all of you.

We loved pick a pearl in Japan last year...we loved it so much we went back and did it again on our (gasp) second Epcot day!

I love how you captured every minute of the experience!

Yeah...... more like every second! But it was fun and I didn't want to miss capturing a moment of it.

Wow! You are on a roll today! I should follow your example and update mine!

I just felt like it took a lifetime to post that last day and wanted to see if I could do better this time!

We did PAP on our '09 trip and we both made that EXACT same necklace! I wear mine a lot and get so many comments on it. It's fun to tell people the story of how the necklace came to be, and my DD loves that we have matching jewelry!

I'm thinking of doing it myself next trip. I don't wear much jewelery, but I still find myself wanting one.

Thank you so much for saying this. It makes me sad when people post mean comments about the face characters. Who among us hasn't had an awful photo taken of them? Since I know there are many CMs on the boards, I can't imagine how devestating it would be to come across a photo of yourself with cruel comments attached. It is as if people forget there is a real person - it's not an animatronic!

Great update on your Epcot day. As always, stunning pictures of your beautiful daughter and the characters. You do a excellent job of capturing the characters love of seeing Katie dressed up. Both Belles and Marie seem very excited to see Katie's outfits.

I love Belle in her blue dress. I finally ran into her at DHS in the Animation Building on our December trip, but she had her cape on because it was so cold! I tried to explain to my husband that I was disappointed because you couldn't see her blue dress in the pictures and he looked at me like I was from another planet. The joke was on him a few minutes later when HE was disappointed because Jasmine had on her cape.

Thanks for letting me talk princesses with you! With an all male household except me I have to get my princess fix on the boards.

It always makes me uncomfortable seeing photos of the CM's posted along with something negative. There was a thread a while back about an Alice or a Belle that someone thought looked like a man. You know, whatever. But it's a WHOLE different story when the post pictures.

The characters have added TONS of magic to our trips. Any more, the best part of the costume fun is seeing the reaction of the characters. They really love the different, obscure stuff. I used to wonder if they posted my photo in the break room with a big sign saying "If you see this crazy lady............ RUN the opposite direction!" But over time, I started to realize many of them work there because they share the same love of Disney that we do. I've had some contact me through my Flickr photos and say how they want to do the same thing with their own child one day. It's been very gratifying.

LOL! On the story with the princesses with their capes! Several years ago, we found Belle in her yellow gown at Disneyland and I was disappointed she was in her cape too!

We saw marie for the 1st time this trip too. I think she was one Claire was most excited about too. Claire has not seen Aristocrats, but has seen the sing alongs with them singing that song.
Everybody wants to be a Cat was one of Paige and Michaels favorites. They would sing it ALL the time and do a little dance.



I knew that too! Poionts for me!



It's from your 2009 TR that I got that idea and link. We did it as well and was a huge hit with Claire too.

You really should watch it Jen. It's very cute.

Thanks........... now I'm going to be singing that blasted song all day again..........

Another great update Janet!

I really like seeing the PAP set up in the pavilion.

That carriage charm is really pretty too!

Thanks Jenn! I can't believe I missed ever seeing it there before.

Now go get packing! You have a long "to-do" list today!

Speaking of track (you're shooting a track meet today, right???)............ I don't think I posted the last shot I took of Timmy this season, at the district track meet........... I tried my hand at panning.

we are doing PAP this coming trip, I got my carriage necklace!!!

Be sure to take lots of pictures! You'll love it!

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Thanks Jenn! I can't believe I missed ever seeing it there before.

Now go get packing! You have a long "to-do" list today!

[I can't pack... for vacation... I'm at work and packing up our room! ]

My daily list is 13 items deep. My goal is to be in bed by midnight or sooner.

[I really need a holding your breath smiley...]

Speaking of track (you're shooting a track meet today, right???)............ I don't think I posted the last shot I took of Timmy this season, at the district track meet........... I tried my hand at panning.

I only need to turn in 5-6 good ones, so I won't be at the meet very long. I'll shoot a little bit of everything until I have enough to turn into the paper... and I'll have to avoid the photog from the other paper as well... they like to follow me around...

For "attempting" panning... you sure did a good job! My first attempt was E walking on a fence rail. The only thing that "panned" was her foot.

 

[mom2rtk]

[I can't pack... for vacation... I'm at work and packing up our room! ]

My daily list is 13 items deep. My goal is to be in bed by midnight or sooner.

[I really need a holding your breath smiley...]






I only need to turn in 5-6 good ones, so I won't be at the meet very long. I'll shoot a little bit of everything until I have enough to turn into the paper... and I'll have to avoid the photog from the other paper as well... they like to follow me around...

For "attempting" panning... you sure did a good job! My first attempt was E walking on a fence rail. The only thing that "panned" was her foot.

Well, by day's end you should be a packing expert then, right????

Gonna be a long day. But it's going to be so worth it!

I hope you get your shots quickly and get on your way. That's sad the other photogs have to follow you around. But I guess it's a compliment, right???

I think it's probably easier to pan a faster moving subject than someone walking, don't you think? I started with my camera loosely attached to the tripod. I got some cool shots of other people's kids, but not my own.

That shot was my last ditch effort, taken crouched down at the railing on the stands so I could hold my camera against the metal railing and pivot as he went by. I liked this method best. But I really had to have something to lean the camera on. My hands are just too unsteady.

Now get packing! Well, your room at least........

 

[Caretames1]

My girls had such fun picking their pearls. I still haven't gotten a carriage for myself to put in the other twin pearl that Sam got in her oyster.

 

[jenseib]

Great panning shot.

 

[mom2rtk]

My girls had such fun picking their pearls. I still haven't gotten a carriage for myself to put in the other twin pearl that Sam got in her oyster.

Yeah..... the more I think about it, the more I think I really need one of those carriages too. How cool that Sam got twins!

Carey, in case you're too busy to be online tomorrow......

Good luck and congratulations to Sam. I can't wait to see all the photos!

Great panning shot.

Thanks Jen! I actually got better shots of some of the other runners:

I have to tell you, after taking what looked like the same shot of him running around that track all season long, I really enjoyed this technique for something different. I ALMOST found myself sad the track season was over!

 

[mom2rtk]

12/17/10: Continued


Mr. & Mrs. Claus were due to appear at the American Pavillion at 3:30. It was around 3. I wanted to see the movie in the American Pavillion, but Katie really didn't want to so we passed. We decided to get off our feet (remember the day before had been a 15 hour day!) so we decided to sit down and just start the Santa line. We also shared a shaved ice. When Mr. and Mrs. Claus returned, we were first in line. Santa asked if she had been good, and she told him it depends on his definition of good…… then asked if he might bring her an American Girl doll.

After our visit with the big guy in red (and his little lady), we headed back over toward France again. Along the way, I couldn't resist yet another completely overdone World Showcase shot:

We were early in France, but decided to start the line back up. We spend a lot of time waiting in lines and starting lines. But neither of us seems to mind. We have some of our best time waiting in line. Why? At home, there's always something else we have to be doing. We just don't get enough time to just "be". When we wait in line we chat, play games and get silly. It's completely unstructured, an absolute godsend to our busy lives. :

This time there was another little princess in line near us. Katie used some of our time waiting to teach her how to do a proper princess curtsey:

The line grew behind us. Pretty soon Belle came out, but not a single person in line went up to see her. We were ALL waiting for the Beast to join her! She came up and chatted with little Jasmine. She told the little girl ALL about the dress Katie was wearing......... about how she wore it the day the Beast gave her a very important gift........ and entire library! So we didn't stump Belle. She recognized Katie was wearing the Library Dress!

Pretty soon the guest of honor joined his princess.

So here's where you're wondering if I could keep my mouth shut a second time. Well, it's REALLY hard for me to keep it shut once, but twice????? Not likely. I was hoping maybe he just had a bad unit and had figured it out by the time we got back. Nope. I watched as the one group ahead of us went up for photos........ and no flash. So when we went up, I asked him if his flash was supposed to be going off. He said it was, and I told him I hadn't seen it go all day. He fiddled with it and it worked part of the time. I just asked him to take plenty so some of them would come out.

Fortunately he didn't seem upset. I'm sorry I didn't say something earlier. I'm sure there were lots of people disappointed in those photos that day.

This pretty much concludes the Belle collection for us. The library dress was the last one we needed to do. Of course, you know we've done the yellow dress several times. And you saw the Christmas dress from this trip. Here's a flashback to the other 2:

December 08: Belle's Winter dress and cloak:

January 08: Belle's Blue Provincial Costume:

 

[mom2rtk]

12/17/10: Continued

We decided after that to walk back through the UK and on to Canada where we were eating at Le Cellier at 6:15. We stopped for a quick photo in the International Gateway area:

On our way past the UK, Katie had a phone call to make..........

We enjoyed the scenery along the way:

It was a little early still for dinner, but I thought I’d at least ask. Someone ahead of me was trying to get in as a walk-up. They didn’t believe the hostess when she told him it booked up 180 days in advance. No getting in early for us, so we headed over to the shops to look around a bit. We also got to sit for a bit on a bench and people watch. It was starting to get dark, but it was still nice out.

Once we did check in, we waited inside. One of the servers played Disney trivia with the people waiting to be seated. Not surprisingly, we cleaned up on questions on princess movies and .............the Aristocats! Seriously....... the other people playing along were ready to throw us out of the place. The Aristocats? Don't even TRY to beat Katie on that one. I have SLEPT through that movie a million times. Katie has SEEN the movie a million times. Katie REALLY enjoyed that, and she came away with a fistful of stickers. Once they switched do Pixar movies, we skulked off in utter failure! Dinner was good, not great, but at least I had finally tried the almighty Le Cellier. I was pretty tickled at the Chocolate Moose dessert, so I definitely had to have one!

After dinner, we got to see the Epcot tree in all its glory:

Next we cashed in our fastpasses for Test Track and Soarin. You can tell I was tired. I didn't take my normal quota of pictures during or after dinner.

I had every intention of staying for Illuminations. I do this EVERY TRIP. I really thought THIS would be the time I stayed for Illuminations and finally saw it and photographed it. But we just didn’t feel like another late night, so we headed out of the park. I wonder if I’ll EVER see Illuminations. It always just seems to miss the cut!

As we dragged ourselves to the exit........ I did hesitate long enough for a few shots of Spaceship Earth. I almost didn't because I didn't want to dig out the tripod. Instead I cranked up the ISO and went handheld. I mentioned earlier I need to not let the perfect be the enemy of the "good enough". So I settled for handheld, and am glad I did. I was still very happy with the results. Would I love to have a day to myself to photograph Epcot? Sure. But not when I have a chance to enjoy it with Katie.

We left the park around 8:45 and got back to the POP around 9:15. I knew that the following night we would be packing up for good, so I spent a few minutes organizing and putting away costumes we were done with. Then it was off to sleep so we could be up and out in time for early entry at Animal Kingdom the next day.

And here's my companion shot to the one I posted from that morning:

 

[basketkat]

I love the feet shots on Soarin'!!!

I love seeing all of the Belle dresses Katie has worn...she is just adorable!

 

[breint]

cool!

 

[Tinkermom76]

you have never seen Illuminations??? You must see it, it's quite beautiful! Next trip I'm not going to take pictures and just watch and enjoy (maybe I will video tape then I can still enjoy )

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

I may need to borrow Soarin' shots in the future...

I'm usually too busy crying/getting misty to shoot on the ride. :

Track meet went far too long last night. It was cold, wet, and misting... THE WHOLE TIME!!! I got what I needed, but they took forever in between events! Had I not been attempting to balance my camera under my quickly breaking umbrella (it turned inside out at least 5 times...) I would have done more exciting shots. But I didn't because I was over it!!!

My dear friend (who lives in Orland) warned me it's been HOT. I told her after last night, I was ready to melt.

 

[dvc4life]

Your pictures are just amazing! Wow!

 

[mom2rtk]

I love the feet shots on Soarin'!!!

I love seeing all of the Belle dresses Katie has worn...she is just adorable!

Thanks!

Belle really has become our favorite princess. I can't wait until the new Beauty & the Beast section of Fantasyland is open!

cool!

Thank you!

you have never seen Illuminations??? You must see it, it's quite beautiful! Next trip I'm not going to take pictures and just watch and enjoy (maybe I will video tape then I can still enjoy )

I know........... I'm sure I'd love it. But we always come during party season, and usually do the party twice. So that sort of hamstrings the rest of our schedule. We just never want to do a late night somewhere else, or we're just plain dragging by the time we get to Epcot.

I may need to borrow Soarin' shots in the future...

I'm usually too busy crying/getting misty to shoot on the ride. :

Track meet went far too long last night. It was cold, wet, and misting... THE WHOLE TIME!!! I got what I needed, but they took forever in between events! Had I not been attempting to balance my camera under my quickly breaking umbrella (it turned inside out at least 5 times...) I would have done more exciting shots. But I didn't because I was over it!!!

My dear friend (who lives in Orland) warned me it's been HOT. I told her after last night, I was ready to melt.

No problem, I'd be honored to share my shots with you. Just go enjoy the ride.......... Did you notice the one set of tiny feet above us in the shot? I bet they barely made the height cutoff!

I TOTALLY get your frustration with the track meet. I'm glad our season is over. Cross Country is so much easier. No lengthy waits between events.......... Although weather can be an issue there too. Timmy would have loved running in that cold rainy stuff you were in last night. He had 2 meets in hot weather this year and didn't do well in either. The meets where he did really well were very cool. But I think that's common with distance runners.

Enjoy the heat in FL. I'm so excited for you. Your kids are little, and you're going to Disney.........with a great camera! You have so much fun ahead of you.

We're considering taking a short trip to Colorado in a week or 2. Robbie wants to see a CO Rockies ball game, and even though we don't have BIG plans, it's always nice to get away as a family at the end of the school year......... even if it means an 8 hour drive across Kansas! And of course, it would mean some nice photo ops in the Rockies........

Your pictures are just amazing! Wow!

Many thanks! I can't wait to have a little time to scrapbook with them!

 

[DISNEYaddict4evr]

We're considering taking a short trip to Colorado in a week or 2. Robbie wants to see a CO Rockies ball game, and even though we don't have BIG plans, it's always nice to get away as a family at the end of the school year......... even if it means an 8 hour drive across Kansas! And of course, it would mean some nice photo ops in the Rockies........

Your pics are wonderful as always, but this comment sparked my interest. If you need any tips on fun things to do while in CO let me know. I spent 2-weeks in 2009 touring with my mom and could give you some ideas if you like. Not sure what your plans are, maybe it is just a ball game. But anywho either way let me know , plus who knows maybe you want to drive up to Rapid City, SD and see Mt. Rushmore instead . Since I live here I could give you some great places to go see and do

 

[mom2rtk]

Your pics are wonderful as always, but this comment sparked my interest. If you need any tips on fun things to do while in CO let me know. I spent 2-weeks in 2009 touring with my mom and could give you some ideas if you like. Not sure what your plans are, maybe it is just a ball game. But anywho either way let me know , plus who knows maybe you want to drive up to Rapid City, SD and see Mt. Rushmore instead . Since I live here I could give you some great places to go see and do

I appreciate the offer and would definitely love to hear your suggestions.

We actually WERE kicking around the South Dakota drive instead, but probably won't do both. We were supposed to do Rushmore on our summer trip a few years ago, but sort of forgot to make hotel reservations and ended up there over the 4th of July weekend. What a nightmare! We ended up having to drive so far past Rapid City for a room (Pierre I believe??) that we didnt' go back...... It was the tail end of a 15 day long driving trip, so we didn't know for sure what day we'd be there in advance. And we'd love to see the Badlands, but I think this is going to be shorter, so either/or.

Since this is Robbie's Senior year, we want to do what he wants, but with some stuff everyone can enjoy. So the ball game is a definite. Maybe a mild rafting trip on the Colorado just west of Denver. Maybe some fishing. I don't know for sure. This is all taking form VERY late in the game because of graduation.

I do know I'd love to find some scenic routes for some photography, more than just pulling off of I-70, which is all I've ever done, because we have always just sort of been stopping there for the night. Colorado has really just been a brief stop on our way to the southwest and California.

So, that's my long way of saying I'd love any suggestions you have. I'll post more of what's in the works when I know. I want to get to Disney in December, so I'm sort of leaving this one up to the boys.