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

[Becc1]

Just wanted to stop in and say hello!. I've read your TR over the past 2 days and I'm loving it. My 4 yr old dd and I love your dd's dresses, your are very talented. Can't wait to read more!

 

[DizFan101]

Hello!
I'm a late reader, but read your report w/ in 1 day. I'm a quick reader.
I love your dresses. I can picture you making your d.d's prom dress.

You have been very lucky being family of the day many times. We hardly get any luck when we're in disney, probably because we're much older. (60 something and a 24 year old.) but then again, when at disney you're a kid @ heart.

I am a huge M. Poppin's fan and always wished i could get a picture with the penquins....Darn!!

 

[AGPrincess]

I am so blown away by the stunning princess gowns...they seem to get prettier in every update!! Your DD is pretty much officially the luckiest little girl in the world. The Rapunzel and Tiana gowns looked amazing. And you can tell from your DD's face how much she loves it...those pics of her in her Tiana gown looking in the mirror are adorable!!

Can't wait for your next update!

 

[WDWAtLast]

Love the Rapunzel dress! We are hoping that ther is still a Rapunzel meet and greet in October when we go back for dd's 8th birthday!

Your pictures are amazing! Can't wait to see more!

 

[dvc4life]

Loving your report! Those gowns you have made are absolutely gorgeous. You have one lucky little girl. I possess no skill at all when it comes to sewing. Heck, I can hardly sew on a button.

I just want to say, keep doing what you are doing, cuz you are making some very special memories for your daughter that she will absolutely never forget.

 

[saralexander97]

WhooHoo an update. Rapunzel and Flynn Rider look like a lot of fun. You guys have some fun character interactions. Keep the updates a comin

 

[kcandbella]

Love the Rapunzel and blue Tiana dresses. And I personally think your Aurora is better than the CRT one! I really hope we can meet Rapunzel in Sept/Oct, but it sounds like she's pretty popular so hopefully won't be going anywhere. My DD loved Tangled.

So do you sell Katie's outgrown dresses?!?!?

 

[mom2rtk]

Good morning. Ready for the next installment whenever you are.

Sorry to drop of the face of the Earth for a bit. I got sidelined with some work. But I hope to have a new installment tomorrow!

I love my DSLR and yes it's pain to carry, but what I come home with makes it all worth it.

I occasionally have a recurring nightmare........ I'm a Disney and I left my camera behind. Usually it's back in the hotel, but I just can't get there to get it........

Laugh if you must........ It's true!

I have that trouble sometimes when I'm shooting sports... I have to keep the max file size because my camera will take up to 7 frames per second. When you run images that quickly, you actually lose some of the max file size. Shooting as big as I can go saves the images from losing too much quality. BUT, if I run a long string of images, it bogs down my card...

I knew the T2i had larger file sizes, which I'm wasn't excited about. But I hadn't considered was how much faster it would fill the buffer. I do already use class 6 cards. The jump to class 10 is quite a bit more, so I'm not sure that's in the offing. Or if it would help. Some of it is the card, some of it the camera. I've been OK with it except at my son's cross country meets. Track is starting soon, so I'm sure it will bug me there even more. I shoot on burst mode when he runs, so it fills really fast. I have learned to pace myself, not to just take shot after shot unless I need to. It wasn't an issue at all during basketball season. But track, where you wait hours for your kid's brief appearance, is a whole other matter!

kwitcherkicken, what camera do you use?

Glad (well, not glad but you kwim) it isn't just me!! BTW, so sorry someone has tried to replace the pixie dust in you TR with salt-I am still enjoying it very much. I just want to know how you find the time to do it all

No, I get what you mean.

And many thanks for the kind support! As for finding time to do it all.... Most days I feel like I need a little help from our Fairy Godmother to get through. The Disney stuff...... the costumes...... the trips........ even this trip report..... are what get me though. Disney just makes me smile.

It's official. I'm addicted. I love both you and your daughters outfits, and not just the princess ones (although it makes me want to dress as a princess lol!).

Thanks for signing on! And thank you for the kind comments. It all makes me want to dress like a princess too. But I wouldn't want to scare the other guests! So I have resigned myself to playing Fairy Godmother and villains........ which is probably more fun anyway.

Claire really wants to see Rapunzel, but I know we will have no chance. We won't get to Mk late becuase that is the day we disembark from the cruise. And no way am I spending a couple of hours in line. I love her, but I think we would al lgo mad doing that.

I hadn't even considered what your late day touring would do to your odds of seeing Rapunzel. It really does pretty much preclude it. Maybe you can at least get her picture in front of that cool tower in Epcot?

I'm just going to point out that you don't even have enough posts to recieve PMs yet.

Jen....... You win the prize today! You definitely have a career as a private investigator ahead of you. I've been crazy busy with work the last few days, but THIS got me laughing right out loud....... because it's TRUE!

Wow! Your trip report is amazing so far! I love that you took a mother/daughter trip. And the costumes!!!! You are one talented mama!

Thank you so much! And if you haven't gotten your official welcome yet (I'm starting to lose track! ) then........

Just wanted to stop in and say hello!. I've read your TR over the past 2 days and I'm loving it. My 4 yr old dd and I love your dd's dresses, your are very talented. Can't wait to read more!

to you as well! And I'm honored that your daughter is reading along too. You have SO much princessy fun ahead of you!

Hello!
I'm a late reader, but read your report w/ in 1 day. I'm a quick reader.
I love your dresses. I can picture you making your d.d's prom dress.

You have been very lucky being family of the day many times. We hardly get any luck when we're in disney, probably because we're much older. (60 something and a 24 year old.) but then again, when at disney you're a kid @ heart.

I am a huge M. Poppin's fan and always wished i could get a picture with the penquins....Darn!!

to the princess

I love that you are doing mother/daughter trips as an adult! It gives me something to look forward as Katie gets older!


We are also huge Mary Poppins fans. That's actually one of my favorite costumes. I love the penguins too. Last year before our trip I stalked those dang penguins here on the DISboards, right down to starting a thread asking where I would be most likely to find them. We were lucky enough to find one with Mary at Character Palooza on that trip. When I get to Mary later in this trip, I'll dredge up the photo.

I am so blown away by the stunning princess gowns...they seem to get prettier in every update!! Your DD is pretty much officially the luckiest little girl in the world. The Rapunzel and Tiana gowns looked amazing. And you can tell from your DD's face how much she loves it...those pics of her in her Tiana gown looking in the mirror are adorable!!

Can't wait for your next update!

Thank you so much. I still think it's funny that she chose to bring the strapless gown on the coldest morning of the trip. Her BBB appointment was the following day, and she went strapless again. You can tell her tastes are definitely growing up!

Love the Rapunzel dress! We are hoping that ther is still a Rapunzel meet and greet in October when we go back for dd's 8th birthday!

Your pictures are amazing! Can't wait to see more!

I'm sure you'll be fine with Rapunzel still being there in October. They redid Belle's Storytime into that meet & greet, so I'm guessing it's going to be there a while.

And a birthday at Disney? Does it get any better? We spent Katie's birthday in the Magic Kingdom last year, and it really was awesome. I was kicking around spending sort of a landmark birthday of my own next year in the Magic Kingdom.... but it just dawned on me my second son will be just a couple weeks away from high school graduation then. So much for my scheme.....errrrr....... plan..........

Loving your report! Those gowns you have made are absolutely gorgeous. You have one lucky little girl. I possess no skill at all when it comes to sewing. Heck, I can hardly sew on a button.

I just want to say, keep doing what you are doing, cuz you are making some very special memories for your daughter that she will absolutely never forget.

Thank you so much. I really do appreciate all the kind words.

As for no sewing skill........ we all get different genes. My family says that when God was handing out the cooking genes, I was back in line for a second dose of the sewing gene and completely missed out. The sad part is....... they are right........

WhooHoo an update. Rapunzel and Flynn Rider look like a lot of fun. You guys have some fun character interactions. Keep the updates a comin

We are definitely character stalkers..........errrrr.... hunters .......... of the first degree. I really am glad I was able to get Rapunzel done for this trip. We finally saw the movie after Christmas and really enjoyed it. And I finally just bought our own stuffed green Pascal for some portraits in the costume.

Love the Rapunzel and blue Tiana dresses. And I personally think your Aurora is better than the CRT one! I really hope we can meet Rapunzel in Sept/Oct, but it sounds like she's pretty popular so hopefully won't be going anywhere. My DD loved Tangled.

So do you sell Katie's outgrown dresses?!?!?

I agree. I don't think Rapunzel and Flynn are going anywhere any time soon. Just be sure to get there at rope drop so it stays fun and doesn't turn into an endurance contest! We really enjoyed the movie too. Since Katie has the Rapunzel costume already, I have been thinking it might be fun to try my hand at making a Mother Gothel costume for myself. Heck I think I already have enough gray in my hair.......

And I do occasionally sell one or two of Katie's costumes to put toward a new trip. I've already been told the Tianas are to be kept for her kids. I can't keep them all though or I'd have to put an addition on the back of the house!

 

[mermaid764]

You have an amazing talent with your daughter's dresses, they are seriously some of the best ones I have ever seen and are so detailed...they look like they are straight from the movies!!

I'm loving your TR and can't wait to hear more

 

[OllieDannyandMe]

It's official. I'm addicted. I love both you and your daughters outfits, and not just the princess ones (although it makes me want to dress as a princess lol!).

I couldn't agree more! I LOVE this trip report!

 

[mom2rtk]

You have an amazing talent with your daughter's dresses, they are seriously some of the best ones I have ever seen and are so detailed...they look like they are straight from the movies!!

I'm loving your TR and can't wait to hear more

Thank you so much! And here's your official.........

I couldn't agree more! I LOVE this trip report!

Thanks Amy! I'm glad you're still along. I hope to have another update today.

 

[BelleTinkMom]

Hi, I'm coming out of lurkedom! Love your TR and all of your dresses. I am a seamstres also, but I've never tried making something this beautiful.

 

[mom2rtk]

Hi, I'm coming out of lurkedom! Love your TR and all of your dresses. I am a seamstres also, but I've never tried making something this beautiful.

YEAH!

No need to lurk!

The fancy stuff is the most fun to make! I just always recommend making the pattern from some throw-away fabric first before cutting the good stuff.

I'm editing more photos to finish out our first Magic Kingdom day. Fortunately there are 3 more Magic Kingdom days to go, along with some other parks too!

The costume fun is just starting............

And unfortunately the weather woes aren't over yet either......

 

[stephielela]

So glad this TR has been able to get back to the actual trip, and not the drama that some people feel the need to create! BTW way to go Jen! Maybe you should become a PI instead of a TA!

 

[mom2rtk]

So glad this TR has been able to get back to the actual trip, and not the drama that some people feel the need to create! BTW way to go Jen! Maybe you should become a PI instead of a TA!

Me too!

And Jen, for your prize you win an all expense cruise on the Disney Dream! It just has to be redeemed in the next month. You can do that, right?

The rest of us will all stay behind here studying up on DIS policies so next time one of US can catch that little detail about needing 10 posts to even GET PM's!!!

I'm editing photos so I can finish out the day today.

Nothing like spending the coldest evening of the entire trip camped outdoors in front of the castle, right????

 

[mom2rtk]

12/13 Magic Kingdom Continued:

Sorry it took so long to get back. I thought my photos weren't looking as sharp online as on my computer, so I wanted to change what I was doing. I think I'm going to like this better.

We next headed for Liberty Square. Even us hard-core princess fans eventually leave Fantasyland!

As we came around the corner Liberty Square, we noticed it was parade time. Traffic was really bottled up. This was clearly NOT a low crowd day in the Magic Kingdom. And it was still really cold, so the chance to duck indoors and warm up was very appealing.

In all our trips to Disney, we’ve never done the Hall of Presidents and I wanted to try photographing it. I also wanted to make a point of trying some things we always overlook. I thought it was interesting, and fun to shoot, but Katie didn’t seem as interested as I thought she would. She said they all looked funny!

The parade had just finished so that area was even more congested when we came out. Katie really wanted to do the Haunted Mansion, so we decided to use one set of special fastpasses to ride. A special fastpass burned to do Haunted Mansion? Sounds nutty, but the park was crazy busy, and we really wanted to do something else before heading for the hub to see the castle show. Since it’s not a fastpass ride, we were led through the exit directly to the loading platform.

I have tried my hand at photographing Haunted Mansion a fair number of times. I seem to manage the same few shots each time but can't break new ground. I suppose that's because it's SUCH a dark dark ride. At least I feel like these few shots do seem to get marginally better each time I try!

Since we were in Liberty Square, we decided to grab an early dinner at Columbia Harbor House. Since I didn't want to leave Katie by herself to fetch food later.... and since I didn't want to give up our spots in front of the castle once we had them.... it was now or never. I've heard so many good things about it, but never had the chance to try it out. So add that to our list of new things tried. And yes, the Tuna sandwich was just as good as everyone says.

It was nice to spend a little more time indoors out of the cold. And we really had to eat then. The goal was to set up camp right in front of the castle for the duration...... Dream Along With Mickey........ Move It, Shake It Parade....... Castle Lighting.......... Main Street Electrical Parade.......... and Wishes.

That's a pretty ambitious agenda given the weather. And what about the crowds? I had been sort of dreading this night in fear of the crowds. There had even been a thread here on the DIS from someone dreading this night in the MK. It was one of the limited non-party nights that week for guests to see the night entertainment. So did the daytime crowds stick around ??????

 

[stephielela]

Good to know the Tuna lived up to the hype, since that's what I plan on getting!!

I think camping out in the perfect spot is a great way to spend an evening at MK! I hope you didn't freeze!!

 

[mom2rtk]

Before settling into our spots across from the castle, we made a run down Main Street to our locker to stow some things and retrieve my tripod. We stopped for a quick shot by those adorable Tin Soldiers:

Then we bought some hot chocolate and headed back to the castle for the last Dream Along with Mickey of the day. We got all situated........ only to hear them announce that because of "circumstances beyond their control" they could not perform the show. I assume it was the cold, but never really figured out what problem the cold would cause. I was disappointed, but then heard them announce that some of the performers would come down to greet people instead! And to think I thought the princess fun was over for the day!

What a treat to get an up close view of those GORGEOUS costumes! I had modeled Katie's Snow White costume for this trip after the Snow White from the show. My only disappointment was how fast those lines formed. We got to meet Cindy and Snow White with their princes:

Soon after the Move It Shake It parade got under way. We had never seen this parade, so wanted to add this to our list of new experiences this trip. I really enjoyed photographing the parade against the pretty blue sky as the sun was setting.

By the time the parade was over, the sun had set and it got even colder. We didn't have our winter coats with us, but we had lots of layers on, and broke out the hand and footwarmers. I was doing fine with those and my many layers of clothes, so I have Katie my jacket as an extra layer. Between shows, she zipped it over her head and said she was just fine.

We had a date to meet Julie (Lorilais_mommie here on the DIS..... hi Julie! ) and her family in front of the castle that night. They spent the day in Epcot, but made it to the MK in time for the evening entertainment. It was fun to meet friends there, and Katie enjoyed meeting little Lorilais!) I wish I had taken a picture of them, but didn't think of it with the sun down. That and I'm pretty sure my brain cells were all frozen.......

Before we knew it, the time had come for one of the best little bits of magic Disney produces. It's hard to believe that the castle lights have only been on for a short time. But the first time I saw pictures of them (2007 I think????) I knew I'd be planning a Christmas trip. And we did indeed make it there to see them in 2008. But I was still looking forward to seeing them again this time. The show may only be 5 minutes long. But it's breathtaking and just sends a chill up my spine........OK......... so maybe it was't THAT hard to send a chill up my spine out in the cold....... but you get the idea......

Of course, our favorite Disney character was in charge........

When the show was over, we enjoyed one of my favorite of all Disney attractions............ Castle gazing......... I chatted with Julie......... and Katie told me every time it changed colors!

 

[mermaid764]

Ugh that's awful about the cold, definitely not what anyone wants when they go to Florida.

The Castle lights are breathtaking, I can see why you love them so much and it makes me want to definitely take a christmas time trip one year.

Can't wait for more

 

[mom2rtk]

I was really looking forward to photographing the Electrical parade with the T2i. With the higher ISO capability, I knew I could get a faster shutter speed even in the dark. There was ONE shot I really wanted to nail. Any guesses which one it was????? Hint....... it's the reason we were sitting in front of the castle. I thought it would make the perfect backdrop: