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

[mom2rtk]

I'm giong to have to get off of dial-up at home first. The pages take too dang long to load!

Wow........ I bow to your dedication to follow my very picture intense trip report on dial-up! I totally get why you read at work when you can!

Thanks for the Doll pics. Kadence got a doll for last Christmas from Wal-mart that is like a American girls doll ( 18 inch) and she also got clothes and a bed set. I figured that if the Tea Party doll was the same size, it'd be great!

I was eyeballing your picture of Mike (sorry couldn't stop myself.) Too bad you didn't get Sulley too. We got both together, and I can't wait to get to that day. Kadence was a bit awkward in her hugging with Mike

Your son's track pics are very nice. I took about a hundred million pictures of Sammy, as she was the JV pitcher for softball her freshman, sophmore & Junior years. This year being her last, and being Varsity pitcher I forsee another million or so shots. I have the most awesome senqence of shots starting with the stare to the plate, the wind-up and the pitch. I want to get a long frame with about 6 spots in it to put on the wall.

Carey

Thanks Carey!

I'm sure your daughter's other 18" doll will enjoy having a friend just her size! The clothes and accessories should be perfect for this one.

Sulley was due out about 10 minutes after our dinner ADR. And there was no spare time after dinner before heading straight to Fantasmic. So....... he was a miss. But I still want Katie's picture with the big blue guy, so that's on our list for next time.

Thanks for the nice comments on the track photos. I know just how much fun you're having photographing your daughter. How cool that she's the varsity pitcher! And yes, I'd have about a million photos this year too. I'm on borrowed time with sports photography.

With 2 boys 2 years apart I used to have sports opportunities galore. Then they both stopped recreational sports about the same time and I honestly thought we were done. Neither played on a school team in Middle School. The oldest is on the school Scholar Bowl team and hasn't played a sport since 9th grade. The sophomore shocked us when he announced he was going out for the high school soccer team as a freshman. He hadn't played soccer since 3rd grade! So I had thought we were just done up to that point.

He swapped to running last spring and hasn't looked back. He loves it. So while track or cross country wouldn't be MY first choice as a sport to photograph (I can't believe he didn't ask my opinion before choosing! ), I'm glad he found something he loves. And having ANY sport to photograph is a found gift at this point.

I really do think you should have that sequence of photos framed. I can picture in my mind just how awesome that would look on your wall!

Just a cute story to share. I have a 6 year old dd and I was showing her all of the pics in your tr. We are taking our first trip in August. She saw a pic of your dd in the Mary Poppins costume and just flipped. She says I HAVE to have a Mary Poppins costume. So I told her we would look for one on e-bay. I get onto e-bay and search for Mary Poppins and up comes your dd. She looks at me completely exasperated and says "mmaaaahhhhhmmmm! You told me we were going to stop looking at pictures of that little girl and we were going to try to find a Mary Poppiins costume for me!" Yours was the only one. I think showing her pics of your dd was a big mistake. You are a hard act to follow!

LOL! Sorry about that!

I had a real bee in my bonnet about making that costume. I loved it so much I did one in a bigger size for our Sept 09 trip (the one where we stalked the penguins.....) We brought it along again on this trip, but alas I think we're now done with Mary. This version, I did a lace up waist sash and made spats (like Mary wears at the park) instead of boots.

We did find Mary one more time on this trip....... That's coming up in the next installment.

just read through 30 pages to get to this point I love all your dresses you are very talented! Your photos are really professional too, your daughter is very lucky to have a mom like you
Your daughter will have lots of amazing memories to cherish forever

Many thanks for reading along and for the kind comments! I cherish all of those photos, and love to scrapbook them.

And here's your official............

Mary Poppins dresses are VERY hard to find. You pretty much have to find a custom one made. I was on the search a few years ago...and what a hunt it was.

But at least you found the boots! Even those are impossible to find now. I loved those boots........ and was so sad to see Katie outgrow them!

 

[jenseib]

We did find Mary one more time on this trip....... That's coming up in the next installment.






But at least you found the boots! Even those are impossible to find now. I loved those boots........ and was so sad to see Katie outgrow them!

And those boots are coming along this trip too!!

 

[mom2rtk]

And those boots are coming along this trip too!!

I can't wait to see Claire in her MP costume on your trip! I don't do FB, so I'll have to wait for an update when you get back.

When Katie outgrew those boots, I looked EVERYWHERE for the larger size. I even called the company only to find out they had been discontinued. I hunted all over the web looking for a new pair. I did find something similar from another company, but they were a nightmare to lace up. I finally decided to just do some spats of my own. Took me like 2 FULL DAYS to get them right....... so I won't be doing those again. I even put the little red buttons down the side. That's how these things go sometimes though......

 

[TinyDancer]

Just read all 30 pages!!

I LOVE your DD's costumes and your photos are amazing! I can't wait for your next update.

 

[kmedina]

I'm not through all of the pages yet, but I had to stop and say wow. Your costumes are beautiful. They put the mass market Disney sold ones to shame. I need to send this trip report to my sister, so she can see them. She has two daughters and is all about the fancier costume, but it not capable of making them.

 

[mom2rtk]

Sorry for leaving you all hanging here. It's been a crazy week. We had another track meet last night........ another 3 hours in the cold. I got in the car when were were done and just like last week it read 40 degrees again. At least the rain held off. This one was a 9th/10th grade meet, so he got the satisfaction of winning both of his events! Completely smoked all comers in the mile! He lapped several kids and won by half the distance around the track. So it was a good night!

Add to that the fact that my computer died 2 days ago....... I was so worried that it was something big. After the furnace dying right before Christmas, and the a/c in the car not working this spring......I really didn't need another curve ball. But it's back and was a cheap fix, so I'm greatly relieved! I hope to get caught up and do another update this weekend.

Just read all 30 pages!!

I LOVE your DD's costumes and your photos are amazing! I can't wait for your next update.

Thank you so much for the kind comments! And here's your official

I'm not through all of the pages yet, but I had to stop and say wow. Your costumes are beautiful. They put the mass market Disney sold ones to shame. I need to send this trip report to my sister, so she can see them. She has two daughters and is all about the fancier costume, but it not capable of making them.

Thank you too!

I thought that would be the last trip with any costumes. I don't know what we'll be doing this year, but we're thinking about trying MNSSHP again. And once I started kicking around some ideas, Katie jumped in with ideas of her own........ so maybe we're not done yet! These ideas are different from what we've done in the past, so I really hope we get to give it a go!

 

[WDWAtLast]

Finally caught back up! Still loving all the wonderful pictures and costumes! Glad your computer was an affordable fix. We will be going for our first Halloween Party this year - and if the dates work out like it looks like they will, we will be there on youngest dd's 8th Birthday for the party!

Any tips for first time party goers? I know to get in line for the 7 Dwarfs early, but that is about it! Are the Princes with their Princess at the Halloween party, or is that only at the Christmas Party. I think I am mor eexcited than the girls are!!

 

[OllieDannyandMe]

I am thinking seriously about taking Eve this trip. She has never been, and I am worried that it is almost too late. She will have just turned 7 when we go to Disney, so hopefully, I can squeeze it in under the wire. She is interested, so that's exciting! She said she wants a dress made out of fabric with rose petals in it. So I am on a hunt for something like that. So far, what I have found is all made in England.

I do have a question about the tea party. Eve far prefers stuffed animals to dolls. I understand that they have a teddy bear for little boys who attend the tea party. Do you think it would be acceptable for me to request a bear for Eve, instead of a doll?

I am excited for your next installment. I wish this trip report could last forever! Hugs, Janet!

 

[mom2rtk]

Hey everyone!

Sorry to keep you all hanging. I looked forward to doing another update this weekend, but my computer had other ideas. I have it back, but some of the RAM memory was bad, so I'm waiting on the replacement to arrive so I can get up and moving again. I can check email and surf the web but manipulating 20+mb RAW photos is definitely out until my memory is back up and going. Don't ask how I know that........

I'll just tell Jen when she gets back from her trip that we were all waiting for her..........

 

[mom2rtk]

Finally caught back up! Still loving all the wonderful pictures and costumes! Glad your computer was an affordable fix. We will be going for our first Halloween Party this year - and if the dates work out like it looks like they will, we will be there on youngest dd's 8th Birthday for the party!

Any tips for first time party goers? I know to get in line for the 7 Dwarfs early, but that is about it! Are the Princes with their Princess at the Halloween party, or is that only at the Christmas Party. I think I am mor eexcited than the girls are!!

Now THIS I can do with my RAM memory deficiency! I'm trying hard to resist the urge right now to comment about my OWN aging memory......but I digress......

Many thanks for the kind comments!

A birthday at Disney is awesome! We spent Katie's 9th birthday in the Magic Kingdom, and it was SO much fun! Add in a Halloween party, and it's just perfect!

Yes, the princes are with the princesses at the Halloween party, just like at Christmas. And the Dwarfs should be too. My first tip is that if you're doing a park during the day, make it the MK. Most people choose another park on party days since they know they'll have to leave early without a party ticket. We then pick out what we think will require the longest wait and set up camp around 6. The other advice is to be sure you know where the line starts. I keep going back to the stories from the first parties back in 09, where there were dueling lines. Just a bad scene........ Unless things change, the Dwarfs are the hands down best choice to do first.

I do think there will be SOME changes for this year's party. With Toontown closed, some things will have to be moved around. Also, some of the characters for the party hang out in the room in Adventureland next to the Veranda. Rumor has it this will be the new home for Tink and the Fairies when Lawn & Garden is over. So they would have to relocate those characters as well.

It's definitely going to be interesting to see how it all evolves. But it's still sure to be a great time!

I am thinking seriously about taking Eve this trip. She has never been, and I am worried that it is almost too late. She will have just turned 7 when we go to Disney, so hopefully, I can squeeze it in under the wire. She is interested, so that's exciting! She said she wants a dress made out of fabric with rose petals in it. So I am on a hunt for something like that. So far, what I have found is all made in England.

I do have a question about the tea party. Eve far prefers stuffed animals to dolls. I understand that they have a teddy bear for little boys who attend the tea party. Do you think it would be acceptable for me to request a bear for Eve, instead of a doll?

I am excited for your next installment. I wish this trip report could last forever! Hugs, Janet!

Hi Amy! I think 7 is a great age for the tea party. Katie was newly 8 when we went the first time, and she was still one of the older girls. So if you can swing it, I'd definitely do it this year. And one of those dresses with petals in the skirt sounds perfect!

I'm afraid I can't answer your question about the bear. If we had known about it, we would have requested it this time. She didn't really NEED twin dolls. I just didn't know there might be an alternative. I'd definitely ask though. If they have them, I can't imagine why it would be a problem.

You did say you wish the trip report could last forever, right? Hmmmmmm.......... you didn't sabatoge my computer memory, did you????

 

[francis6306]

I'm caught up... er... catching up? I just love the dresses that you make!

I wanna do the tea party with Cortlyn when she's a little older... but I don't know if I want to just do High Tea or actually do the Princess Tea- it is expensive!!!

 

[mom2rtk]

I'm caught up... er... catching up? I just love the dresses that you make!

I wanna do the tea party with Cortlyn when she's a little older... but I don't know if I want to just do High Tea or actually do the Princess Tea- it is expensive!!!

YEAH! for being caught up! Wasn't that nice of me to hold off on another update until you were ready? OK, so maybe my computer had more to do with that than you did.......

Do you know if you're having another girl? If you are, I'd wait on the tea party until both girls can enjoy it together. If you can do the Princess Tea Party, then I would. It's so much more than just tea and a doll. We really love the live entertainment from Rose Petal. I look at it as paying for a live show. It's also a great mother/daughter bonding experience. But the price IS pretty intimidating. And I would wait until she's a little older, maybe 7 or 8...... so maybe she will remember it.

I've never done high tea. I have already thought about trying that next.

 

[vamassey1]

Congrats to your son on both his meets! You got some great shots too. I have found that my middle child(Michelle) has been my most motivated child. I never have to remind her to do school stuff. She always likes to be in the middle of everything too. But don't ask her to clean her room

Great shots of the gingerbread house at the GF. We loved the Basin store too. Danielle really wanted to get some fizzy balls.

The tea party looked very lovely. I'm looking forward to taking the girls to high tea some day.

Wonderful pictures of Fantasmic! I really like the show but could skip it every other trip.

 

[WDWAtLast]

Now THIS I can do with my RAM memory deficiency! I'm trying hard to resist the urge right now to comment about my OWN aging memory......but I digress......

Many thanks for the kind comments!

A birthday at Disney is awesome! We spent Katie's 9th birthday in the Magic Kingdom, and it was SO much fun! Add in a Halloween party, and it's just perfect!

Yes, the princes are with the princesses at the Halloween party, just like at Christmas. And the Dwarfs should be too. My first tip is that if you're doing a park during the day, make it the MK. Most people choose another park on party days since they know they'll have to leave early without a party ticket. We then pick out what we think will require the longest wait and set up camp around 6. The other advice is to be sure you know where the line starts. I keep going back to the stories from the first parties back in 09, where there were dueling lines. Just a bad scene........ Unless things change, the Dwarfs are the hands down best choice to do first.

I do think there will be SOME changes for this year's party. With Toontown closed, some things will have to be moved around. Also, some of the characters for the party hang out in the room in Adventureland next to the Veranda. Rumor has it this will be the new home for Tink and the Fairies when Lawn & Garden is over. So they would have to relocate those characters as well.

It's definitely going to be interesting to see how it all evolves. But it's still sure to be a great time!

We were at WDW in 2009 for our oldest daughter's 8th birthday (not really planned to be a birthday trip, it just worked out that it turned into one!) So of course we have to go back for youngest dd's 8th birthday! She has requested CP for a Birthday breakfast, so we will be at MK on party day. Although we will go back to our room in the afternoon for a short rest and to put on our costumes.

I know that this year's party will be a little different with the closing of Toontown, but we aren't going until mid October, so there should be plenty of info out about how things are being done! And although it will still be warm, I am glad that youngest dd's Bday is in October, not August!! Although WDW is not any hotter/more humid than Houston in August, we don't stay outside in August when we are home!!

can't wait to see more costumes and awesome photography!!

 

[francis6306]

I'm actually having another girl, so I will have to look forward to withten BOTH my Disney Princesses. Funny story. We were talking about going to Disney World again (Cortlyn often asks about going back! YAY!) and I asked Cortlyn "Will you let Catie (the new baby) wear your Cinderella dress to Disney World?" Cortlyn: "NO! Only ME is Cinderella. Catie can be Belle." And that was the end of that. I hope Catie likes Belle!

 

[mouselovr]

Just found your TR and have been up way to late to read it and look at all your great photos!! All i can say is WOW!!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE your dresses, they are amazing. I don't sew much and I never sew clothes (tried it a few times and let me just say it was not a good or pretty experience!) but I love to quilt, and you are making me want to start now so i can have some great dresses like these for my DD when I go back and i would plan a trip just so she could go and wear them! But then again i would plan one for any reason so nothing new there!

On your pics i have one other comment and one question - first the comment - I am a little jealous of the T2i! I have the original Digital Rebel! Still works just have to keep searching for small memory cards since it will take nothing larger than a 2G card or it freaks the camera out! But I have been wanting a new one and just can't justify it

The question is what are you using for a flash? Your pics at night are great and i can't imagine that you are using the on camera flash because ifyou are I am going to buy mw one of those cameras!

Thanks
Stacy

 

[mom2rtk]

Congrats to your son on both his meets! You got some great shots too. I have found that my middle child(Michelle) has been my most motivated child. I never have to remind her to do school stuff. She always likes to be in the middle of everything too. But don't ask her to clean her room

Great shots of the gingerbread house at the GF. We loved the Basin store too. Danielle really wanted to get some fizzy balls.

The tea party looked very lovely. I'm looking forward to taking the girls to high tea some day.

Wonderful pictures of Fantasmic! I really like the show but could skip it every other trip.

Thanks Vanessa! In spite of the cold, the meets were a lot of fun. It was great to see him set goals and work hard to get there.

You know, most of my friends with 2 or 3 kids have an oldest who needs lots of nudging, who is a little more tentative to get out there in the world. Then they all have these go-getter middle (or second) kids. It's really fascinating to me. I should do some reading on birth order.

I really should have bought myself some bath balls at the Basin shop. I got a bunch for my friend, and a few for Katie, but didn't get myself any. That's definitely on my list next trip!

I don't think we've had a trip yet where we didn't get to the Grand Floridian. We've been thinking about possibly going to Disneyland for our next trip, but I would really miss the 1900 Park Fare dinner. Oh, the decisions we have to make in life!

Thanks for the nice comment on the Fantasmic photos. I really do enjoy the show, but just hate the hassle factor. So I guess we'll skip it next time. Who knows........

If we go to WDW, we would probably go in early October, but I have absolutely no plan established. And it's probably time to make ADR's. So I'm at a complete loss. I at least need a FAKE plan to work with ......... just in case.

We were at WDW in 2009 for our oldest daughter's 8th birthday (not really planned to be a birthday trip, it just worked out that it turned into one!) So of course we have to go back for youngest dd's 8th birthday! She has requested CP for a Birthday breakfast, so we will be at MK on party day. Although we will go back to our room in the afternoon for a short rest and to put on our costumes.

I know that this year's party will be a little different with the closing of Toontown, but we aren't going until mid October, so there should be plenty of info out about how things are being done! And although it will still be warm, I am glad that youngest dd's Bday is in October, not August!! Although WDW is not any hotter/more humid than Houston in August, we don't stay outside in August when we are home!!

can't wait to see more costumes and awesome photography!!

We're also hoping to get back to Disney in October. Don't know WHICH Disney, or even if it will happen for sure, but I think that's what we want. I'm sort of hanging out hoping they'll announce free dining into the fall and make up my mind for me. I can't get that deal if we head west. And there are no Disney value hotels at DL either.

My daughter's birthday is in late September, so that's when we went in 09. It was still pretty muggy, but it was a memorable trip!

I'm actually having another girl, so I will have to look forward to withten BOTH my Disney Princesses. Funny story. We were talking about going to Disney World again (Cortlyn often asks about going back! YAY!) and I asked Cortlyn "Will you let Catie (the new baby) wear your Cinderella dress to Disney World?" Cortlyn: "NO! Only ME is Cinderella. Catie can be Belle." And that was the end of that. I hope Catie likes Belle!

YEAH! on having another princess in the making! And I do hope for you that she's a Belle fan!

I made a customer a Snow White gown for a 9 month old once. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen. Then last year I made her a Belle gown for a 2 year old. There's just nothing cuter than a tiny little princess!

Just found your TR and have been up way to late to read it and look at all your great photos!! All i can say is WOW!!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE your dresses, they are amazing. I don't sew much and I never sew clothes (tried it a few times and let me just say it was not a good or pretty experience!) but I love to quilt, and you are making me want to start now so i can have some great dresses like these for my DD when I go back and i would plan a trip just so she could go and wear them! But then again i would plan one for any reason so nothing new there!

On your pics i have one other comment and one question - first the comment - I am a little jealous of the T2i! I have the original Digital Rebel! Still works just have to keep searching for small memory cards since it will take nothing larger than a 2G card or it freaks the camera out! But I have been wanting a new one and just can't justify it

The question is what are you using for a flash? Your pics at night are great and i can't imagine that you are using the on camera flash because ifyou are I am going to buy mw one of those cameras!

Thanks
Stacy

Hi Stacy! And

Many thanks for reading along and for the nice comments!

I have a Canon 270EX flash that I was using for some of the night photos. The Main Street Electric Parade was flashless. But I did toil over how to photograph the Christmas parade. I picked the brains of some of the experts in the photography forum, but really couldn't come to a consensus. Some thought it was heresy to use a flash, others understood why I was asking. Some of the floats are well lit, some of the characters are not lit at all. So I opted to just wing it. I used it on some elements of the parade, but not others. Cindy's carriage had no flash, but Mickey's float did for example. And my favorite parts of the parade, the marching soldiers and dancing reindeer had no lighting, so would have been lost without some flash. The important part is that I decided to dial down the flash exposure compensation so the lighting wouldn't be too strong.

I did get a second chance at photographing the Christmas parade. That day is up next........ when I can get going again. I'm still waiting on my replacement RAM Memory to arrive.

I had the original Rebel back in 2004. I think mine died a couple years into it. I really loved it too. It took great pictures. The issue was with the hot shoe. It wouldn't fire the external flash. Since it was under warranty, they replaced it. I had such a great experience with that warranty that I kept it up through the years. That first time I got the same model in replacement. When it died, I got the XT. When it died, I got the Xti. When that one died, I got the Xsi. Only once did it actually "die". The other times were minor issues they didn't try to fix, usually flash related.

What I love about the T2i is the expanded ISO capability. I think all of my MSEP photos were shot at 3200 ISO. With a higher ISO, you can get a faster shutter speed, which is needed for action shots.

 

[OllieDannyandMe]

Hi, Janet! I am looking forward to your next update!

Do you have any news on the computer issues? As much as I want your trip report to last forever, I didn't put a pox upon your computer!
Since I am looking forward to another update soon, though, I will sprinkle a little pixie dust. Here ya go!

 

[mom2rtk]

Hi, Janet! I am looking forward to your next update!

Do you have any news on the computer issues? As much as I want your trip report to last forever, I didn't put a pox upon your computer!
Since I am looking forward to another update soon, though, I will sprinkle a little pixie dust. Here ya go!

LOL! No pox here, I'm thankful to report! I finally got moving again late last night with my computer! There was a moment where I thought I was going to have to bail and get a new one, but we shocked it back to life again! It's 7 years old, which is lightyears in electronics......... but I hate to buy anything unless I absolutely have to! We live in an 85 year old house, and you just never know when those resources might be needed more in another area!

This morning Timmy had a track meet, but I'm home and editing photos again for the next update!

Thanks Amy!

And thanks to everyone for their patience!

 

[mom2rtk]

12/16/10: Park Day 5....... Back to the Magic Kingdom!

This was EMH morning. Our intention was to be here at EMH opening (8 AM) and we only missed it by a few minutes. After 2 bitter cold days in the MK so far, this was going to be our shot at some reasonable weather. Stunning blue skies, sunny weather, and on our way into the Magic Kingdom. Does it get any better?

After a few photos from the train station, we headed up Main Street. It was fun to find the Mayor out greeting guests so we stopped for a photo with him.

We still hadn’t done Dumbo because of the weather, but decided to detour to Tomorrowland for Space Mountain fastpasses first. On our way to Fantasyland we stopped to do the Indy Speedway. That line backs up fast, so early morning is always a good plan. Katie loves that ride. She has looked forward to meeting the minimum height requirement so she could fly solo on this one. She finally hit it on this trip, but changed her mind and had me on pedal duty!

On our way back toward Dumbo, we couldn't resist the empty teacups and decided to go for our first spin of the trip. So many rides involved moving at at a high rate of speed, and that just didn't appeal to us in the bitter cold.

Fortunately Dumbo wasn’t backed up too much yet. So we went for our first ceremonial spin! It was sort of sad to ride knowing they would be relocating it soon. Katie and I love Dumbo. But honestly, it's just a carnival ride. It's never been about the ride itself. It's always been about the VIEW of Fantasyland FROM Dumbo. We'll ride it when they open the new one over in what used to be Toontown. But I doubt it will be the same.

Of course, riding Dumbo now comes with an extra sport........ Fantasyland expansion viewing!

While in line for Dumbo, we spotted the subject of today's stalking............ Anyone care to hazard a guess?