Even with Blisters and Bad Hair, Disney is Still Magical! A Sept. 2014 TR -Updated 5/13

[Clarf]

Oops! Forgot to add the "updated" info. All set now.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I'm glad that the parking and drive to DTD wasn't bad. It was absolutely horrible when we were there even on the buses. There was no way that I was going to drive.

Your girls remind me of Hunter with his picky eating. Sorry to tell you but it hasn't gotten much better over the years. Ya'll look like you had a great time and meal at T-Rex. You can't beat dinosaurs, giant bugs (and creeping our your friends by texting them the pictures ) and good food.

 

[KatMark]

Clare, awesome updates.

We've never eaten at T-Rex; without kids and it being too much like RFC (which we don't care for), we've skipped it. But it sure looks really cool in there.

I'm with you...I hate tomatoes too; but I love bacon on my salad. I have to say that burger looks really good too.

Yay you got a picture to prove you met.

 

[kesha]

Clare. Love your trip report. We have never drove to Florida. I would like to do that someday but we never have enough time. I can understand about the hair. I have natural curly hair and it is always a frizz ball the whole time I am there. We are going back to CBR in May and are going to be eating at T-Rex for the first time. So Thank you for the pictures!

 

[Chicago Mo]

I am sure with everyone freaking out about DTD they stay clear, you rock for getting parking!

Totally right DTD is a WRECK! Plus I am right with you MUST shower when you get back! I cannot go to bed like that.

 

[apanf]

Loving your report! Such great photos! Thanks for sharing them!

 

[Clarf]

I'm glad that the parking and drive to DTD wasn't bad. It was absolutely horrible when we were there even on the buses. There was no way that I was going to drive.

After hearing stories, yours included, I was so worried about driving, but it was so easy! We were very pleasantly surprised.

Your girls remind me of Hunter with his picky eating. Sorry to tell you but it hasn't gotten much better over the years. Ya'll look like you had a great time and meal at T-Rex. You can't beat dinosaurs, giant bugs (and creeping our your friends by texting them the pictures ) and good food.

Thankfully, Lucy has gotten MUCH less picky over the years, but Maura is still there. There may be no hope for her. She has her favorites though, and Disney can provide those. It's hard to get mad at them for not eating much though, especially at T-Rex when they just wanted to look around at everything.

Clare, awesome updates.

We've never eaten at T-Rex; without kids and it being too much like RFC (which we don't care for), we've skipped it. But it sure looks really cool in there.

It was really cool. Loud, but cool. And the food was very decent. We'll go back for sure!

I'm with you...I hate tomatoes too; but I love bacon on my salad. I have to say that burger looks really good too.

Tomatoes. Blech. They just take over anything they are mixed with. I don't eat beef or pork at home, but on vacation, all bets are off and the bacon was great on that salad! And Jason loves burgers, and his was a good one!

Yay you got a picture to prove you met.

Yes! Toni is a good friend and we were so glad to get to see her and her family again.

Clare. Love your trip report. We have never drove to Florida. I would like to do that someday but we never have enough time.

The road trip is kind of fun. Long but fun. It just saves us so much money, so we haven't flown yet.

I can understand about the hair. I have natural curly hair and it is always a frizz ball the whole time I am there.

And my hair is stick straight. Even product didn't help it!

We are going back to CBR in May and are going to be eating at T-Rex for the first time. So Thank you for the pictures!

You're welcome! We loved it there and will definitely be back. And CBR is so great. We haven't found anything to not like about it. Also, and thanks for joining in!

 

[Clarf]

I am sure with everyone freaking out about DTD they stay clear, you rock for getting parking!

We couldn't believe how easy it was after hearing such horror stories!

Totally right DTD is a WRECK! Plus I am right with you MUST shower when you get back! I cannot go to bed like that.

Yes, DTD was awful to navigate. Ugh! I'm sure it will be awesome when it was done, but not so fun right now. And yes, I had to shower at night. I just couldn't crawl into those clean sheets smelling like a Yeti.

Loving your report! Such great photos! Thanks for sharing them!

Thank you and

 

[Clarf]

It was here. Our first park day! We were excited. Olaf called us at 7:00 to wake us up and we all jumped out of bed to start our magical day. Even Maura was easy to get out of bed with the promise of the Magic Kingdom waiting for her. We got up, got dressed, packed the backpack for the day (which I swear weighed no less than 40 lbs) and were on our way. We walked out into the September heat and humidity and were off for our 8:15 breakfast reservation.
The kids had really wanted to try Chef Mickey's as we had missed it last time, and I heard it was a must-do for kiddos around the age of mine. We arrived at the Contemporary about 8:05 and checked in for our reservation. We took a quick picture by the Chef Mickey's sign and our buzzer went off almost immediately.

We got in line for the meal photo since we had memory maker, and got what was possibly the worst PP photo we have ever had taken. Perhaps the photographer was having a rough morning or didn't get enough sleep the night before, but this was the result.

Seriously? You can't even see the whole plate! We don't look awful (well, my hair does, barf), but it's totally off center! She took 3 pics and they all looked like this. And of course we had no idea until later when we took a look at our pics.
We got seated and had time to make a trip up to the buffet before the characters started arriving. Here is what we ended up with. Lucy’s plate, that’s a hashbrown patty, cinnamon roll, biscuit, Mickey waffle, chocolate chips . Chocolate chips? Yes, chocolate chips. Remember, we’re on vacation. I’m just happy if they eat. Of course that was the FIRST thing she ate. Strawberries, croissaint, and a hard boiled egg. She did a pretty good job on it and ate all the berries, so that was good.

My plate, I had Mickey waffle, oven potatoes, scrambled eggs that I added mushrooms and peppers to, and hashbrown casserole. There’s a biscuit there too. Not quite as many carbs as Maura, but close!

Jason’s plate had bacon, pancakes, hashbrown patty, some egg pizza thing, quiche and grits. He’s a southern boy, so he loves his grits.

And last but not least, Maura’s plate. She had cottage cheese, Mickey waffle, hashbrown casserole, sausage, scrambled eggs with cheese, biscuit, chocolate chips-I swear, if there is chocolate, my kids will find it, a cinnamon roll, and strawberries. She did a decent job too! I see she couldn’t wait to get started though.

After we had a chance to dig in, the characters started making their way around. Goofy was first and he did not disappoint. He acted goofy and had fun with the girls. You’ll see they wore their dresses that Lisa (Mickeystoontown) had made. They were excited to wear them to this meal!

Next up was the main man himself, Mickey. The girls remembered on their own to tell him what a good cook he was.


I had to get a selfie with Mickey that I posted on Facebook. And I was wearing my Maleficent shirt, handmade by The Dis’s own shan23877

Donald was next and he was hilarious. Lucy had planned to say “Donald Duck is #2” when he came to our table, and she sure did. He put on a production worthy of Broadway about that and made a huge deal about writing “#1” in their autograph books. He got a lot of laughs from all of us, and he’s my favorite anyway.
Here he is mad that Lucy called him #2.

Signing and pointing to the #1.


Minnie came for a visit next. My girls love her and she fawned all over their dresses and spent a good amount of time with us.

Maura’s in heaven.


Jason got in with the Min too.

Then there was a little birthday celebration for anyone celebrating a birthday. Since we were celebrating the girls’, they each got a cupcake and there was a song and some napkin waving. Lucy really got into that.




Last but not least was Pluto. He’s always silly and I love the way he signs autographs. Normally we wouldn’t want a dog cooking our food, but we were willing to make an exception for this guy.



After Pluto, we settled our bill and left for the Magic Kingdom! We did stop for a picture by one of the gorgeous murals on the wall.


After that, we got back on the monorail to get to the MK! I’ll get to that in the next update, though. The update will begin with someone thinking the monorail stinks! Stay tuned!

 

[KatMark]

Great update, Clare.

Yes, that photographer could have a least centered that picture a little better.

We've not been to Chef Mickey's since 2004 for Andy's high school graduation with his girlfriend at the time. Unfortunately, we went for dinner and it was not good. I really want to get back for breakfast.

Great photos of the girls with all the characters and what great fun with Donald Duck.

 

[Chicago Mo]

Maybe the Photographer forgot their glasses this day?!? Geesh! that's bad!

Chef Mickey's is adorable for the kids!!!

 

[clambert1273]

... I am on the edge of my seat LOL Loving it Can't wait for my daughter to experience all things Disney!!

 

[ValarDisneyus]

Okay-the picture is really off center, but I *LOVE* your hair do. I wish my bad hair days looked half so much like a rock star. I love the girls' interaction with Donald! He's one of my favorites, too.

Does Daisy not come around, too? I love Daisy, somehow I feel like she's not around as much at the parks from what I can gather, but we haven't been yet, so I'm not really sure.

 

[Batgirl67]

The Donald Duck #2 is funny! I love that Duck too, He's my fave of the Fab 5. I adore the way your youngest is gazing at Minnie Mouse, it is so cute! And the dresses the girls are wearing are adorable as well. Great trip report so far.

Cheers!

Lisa

 

[mickeystoontown]

Uh, seriously? The Photopass photographer couldn't even center the picture? Musta been an off day for him.

The girls are looking adorable in their dresses! I'm so glad that they liked them!

Breakfast looks very good and, as you know, I'm totally onboard with the "just glad that they eat". That's especially true when on vacation because they just want to hurry up and see and do everything.

 

[MissMaryQC]

Chef Mickey's looked like such fun, even with the worst PPP I've ever seen! What's up with that? The character interaction y'all had was great, I especially liked the DD story.

 

[Clarf]

Great update, Clare.

Yes, that photographer could have a least centered that picture a little better.

I know, right? Sheesh. Thankfully that was the only place we got a bad one.

We've not been to Chef Mickey's since 2004 for Andy's high school graduation with his girlfriend at the time. Unfortunately, we went for dinner and it was not good. I really want to get back for breakfast.

We were happy with breakfast! I'm sure we'll try dinner at some point. Hopefully it's gotten better since 2004? It's definitely a must-do for the girls now, though.

Great photos of the girls with all the characters and what great fun with Donald Duck.

Thanks! And Donald was so much fun. We all laughed really hard.

Maybe the Photographer forgot their glasses this day?!? Geesh! that's bad!

I know! I couldn't believe it when I saw it!

Chef Mickey's is adorable for the kids!!!

We were happy with it. The kids can't wait to go back. And the food was decent and Jason got to eat a ton, so he was happy.

... I am on the edge of my seat LOL Loving it

Aw, thanks! I hope I can keep it up.

Can't wait for my daughter to experience all things Disney!!

She will love it! And it's so much fun to see it through their eyes.

Okay-the picture is really off center, but I *LOVE* your hair do. I wish my bad hair days looked half so much like a rock star. Yeah, the picture is terrible. Thanks about my hair! It usually looks better than that, but I appreciate the compliment!
I love the girls' interaction with Donald! He's one of my favorites, too.

He's always fun! One of the reasons he's my favorite. Also, his "feathers" are super soft. Maura, my little one, couldn't stop petting him.

Does Daisy not come around, too? I love Daisy, somehow I feel like she's not around as much at the parks from what I can gather, but we haven't been yet, so I'm not really sure.

Daisy isn't at Chef Mickey's. She does come around at Tusker House, which is delicious, and she's often right at the front of MK. We've met her there before.

 

[Clarf]

The Donald Duck #2 is funny! I love that Duck too, He's my fave of the Fab 5.
Me too! He's always been my favorite. I always felt bad for him when I was little because he never got the attention he deserved.

I adore the way your youngest is gazing at Minnie Mouse, it is so cute!

It is cute. The only bad thing about it was she looked at ALL the characters like that and it made it hard to get good pictures sometimes because she didn't want to look at the camera. On the other hand, I love seeing her so enchanted with everything.

And the dresses the girls are wearing are adorable as well. Great trip report so far.

Thanks! Lisa (mickeystoontown) did such a great job with the dresses. I think I love them more than the girls do. And thanks for joining!

Cheers!

Lisa

Uh, seriously? The Photopass photographer couldn't even center the picture? Musta been an off day for him.

I know! How does that even happen?

The girls are looking adorable in their dresses! I'm so glad that they liked them!

I love those dresses so much. So do they of course, but they are just so cute!

Breakfast looks very good and, as you know, I'm totally onboard with the "just glad that they eat". That's especially true when on vacation because they just want to hurry up and see and do everything.

Yep! Breakfast is the one meal they'll almost always eat, because they love waffles and fruit! And pastries. And anything with sugar in it shhhhchocolatechipsshhhhh.

Chef Mickey's looked like such fun, even with the worst PPP I've ever seen! What's up with that? The character interaction y'all had was great, I especially liked the DD story.

It was fun! We'll definitely be back. Maybe next time we'll get a decent PPP. At least we can laugh about that. And yes, character interaction was great. I've heard mixed reviews in the past, but we were definitely happy!

 

[Clarf]

Where were we? Oh yeah, just about to leave the Contemporary. Finally, FINALLY we would be getting to a park. Of course we were going to Magic Kingdom. We have to make that our first park every time or the kids will throw a fit. To them, the Magic Kingdom IS Disney World. The rest is just a bonus.

We were at Contemporary, and I suggested walking over since I heard the walk was short, but oh no, boy was I vetoed on that one. "But Mommy, we NEED to take the Monorail. We love it." I think they really wanted to ride it because it came into the resort, but whatever. So, up to the platform we went and in no time a monorail was picking us up. Maura has a sensitive nose and informed us that like our previous visit, the monorail was stinky again. I think it offended her.



We took the short ride over and were soon going through bag check. For some reason, we didn't stop for PP at the front. I'm guessing the line was too long. Once through bag check, we got to really try out MBs for the first time. Worked like a charm and the girls loved seeing the Mickey head turn green. Once we were on Main Street USA, I wanted to scope out a PP. There were many to choose from, and so we got in line. I wish I could remember the name of the girl who took our pics. She was friendly, smiley, and very sweet with the girls. Most importantly, she clearly knew what she was doing and got all of our picture centered. Here are a few pics I took and some from PP with the castle in the back. You can see out PP with the girls posing them for the magic shot.











Notice Hearts or Colors or whatever the heck that dinosaurs name is made the trip with us this day.

These next few are some of my favorite PP pics of the trip:







Once we were done with that, we headed over to Adventureland, as we had some very important appointments. I took some pics while we walked.

I love the Halloween decos, but hate the crane. I know, I know, they need to put on the Christmas lights, but I hate it.



Sorry for the blur. We were walking. Fast.





It was a might sunny that day!



We took a bathroom break before our appointment, and Jason came across this foreign looking object. Anyone know what this is? If you can let me know, we'd be very grateful.







Bucky wanted in on that action.


If you haven't guessed yet where we were going, the girls were going to get made over at The Pirate's League! They had done BBB on our last visit, and we told them they could do it again, but they have since watched all 4 POTC movies and are addicted. They love Captain Jack and all the pirates, so Pirates League it was! Lucy wanted to be the closest looking pirate she could to Captain Jack, and Maura opted for a mermaid once she saw the fancy makeup job they do.

So, in we went, told the hostess what we wanted, and we were off! First, Maura had to sign her name in the Mermaid Book.



Then Lucy had to get her official pirate name. She spun the wheel, and rolled the dice inside the treasure chest and they used the number she rolled with some combination of her birthday to get her name.









And her name was (drumroll please)

Rose Warloather!

(continued in next post)

 

[Clarf]

I have to say, we were just as impressed with The PL as we were with BBB. The ladies who worked on our girls gave the kids their undivided attention and really made the experience a ton of fun. Lucy was with Sarah, and was getting the Black Eyed Jack look. Maura was with Kat and got the mermaid look. We had brought our own pirate and mermaid clothes from home, and once the girls changed, the transformations began!

Lucy with Sarah. Sarah was sassy and funny and spent a lot of time just like she looks in this picture, with her hands on her hips spouting off smark aleck remarks. Lucy loved every word!



Maura was enchanted by Kat and the 2 of them hit it off like old college roomates.



Here's a few pics of the inside of the place:





Sorry for the bad quality of this one, but the eyes of the skull lit up and put a message on the map that was across from it. It took us a while to notice that.



Black Eye



Mermaid makeup











Here's Maura being announced once she was done. They welcomed her to the Pirate's League, and everyone yelled "Yo Ho!"



Lucy after being announced





She thought this couch was the coolest and kept brushing the lion's teeth and pretending he bit her. Crazy nut.



After they were done with their makeup, they each got a sash, and Lucy got a bandana, eye patch, and sword. Maura got a necklace and barette that, if they change color in the sun, mean she's a real mermaid! Man alive was THAT a mistake to tell her. All day after that "Mommy, it's a different color, I AM a real mermaid." Every. 5. Minutes.

Then we went into the "secret" room to get our photos taken. I really love these pics!















And Jason took this close up:



After the pictures were taken, Lucy got a medallion that opened the door back to the outside. Sheesh, you'd think someone gave her $1million! She was so excited about that. We settled up our bill and went off to do some stuff!

And what is the first ride a pirate and mermaid should go on? Why Pirates of the Caribbean of course!



They girls were so excited to ride this, after seeing the movies. This was such a far cry from our 2012 trip when they were both terrified of Blackbeard at the beginning in the smoke cloud. This time they couldn't wait to see him and they loved the ride! Maura kept saying through the entire ride "Mommy and Daddy, I heard him say 'Dead Men Tell no Tales!' " That and she kept asking where the dog with his keys was. Lucy firmly believes that the real Captain Jack is in that ride and couldn't believe how quickly he got from place to place! We all loved it. I got 1 lame, terrible picture on the ride. We have this fancy camera that for some reason I refuse to read the manual for, so I don't know how any of the settings work. So, crappy pictures in the dark is what we end up with.



I'll have to say to be continued now. Jason is calling me to watch the new Simpsons episode.