Family, Friends, & Celebrities- A MAGICAL Birthday TR!!! *UPDATE*8/27! Final thoughts

[All7OfUs]

i can't wait til they have Dueling Dumbos in the new Fantasyland. I may even try to ride then...

Maybe they should give all the kids swords while they ride- just to see how much fun they can really have??

 

[jordanyosh]

Maybe they should give all the kids swords while they ride- just to see how much fun they can really have??

it would fit the theming....

 

[All7OfUs]

it would fit the theming....

See?? I shoulda been an Imagineer!

 

[that's nice]

I originally wanted a later ADR time at Crystal Palace than 5pm but nothing was available. I took 5pm and I am so happy that I did. It was the perfect time! We took the short walk from Adventureland over to CP and I went to check us in. We must of got there at the right time because while I was checking in a line of 10 or so was forming behind me.

You want to keep kids entertained for a while? Toss them a few hoola hoops!

We only waited for about 10 minutes until our name was called and we were seated. The characters were on the other side of the restaurant so it gave us a few minutes to get settled and get something to eat. I've tried in the past to take food pics at buffets and they don't come out very appetizing. What I will do is tell you that the food was excellent. They had a dish that had muscles, clams, scallops, and chorizo. One word- phenomenal! I'm not sure who ate more plates of peel-n-eat shrimp- Dave or me. The characters were coming around and of course the camera was out....

When Tigger came over Alex was intimidated by him. He did pose for a picture only because Dave was holding him.

Melody's favorite.

I don't know what happened but after we took group pictures with Piglet, Alex just ran over to him (or is it her.. does anyone know?) and gave Piglet a huge hug!!! This was the first time this trip that Alex was 'alone' with a character!

It was time for the parade to start and the 3 kids got in line and followed Piglet around the restaurant. Alex was right behind Piglet!

Somehow after the parade, Pooh started going to tables on the other side of the restaurant. We asked our waitress if he was coming back soon and she didn't realize that he didn't stop to see us. She had us go to the center of CP and Pooh would come over to see us.

Check out Alex... he is a seasoned pro now!!!

We went back to our table and our waitress brought out Juliana the 1st of many birthday cupcakes this trip. She kept sticking her tongue out and Mel was trying to block her.

Just when we thought Juliana was done being silly, here come the tongue again!

We finished up dessert and headed out. We had a great meal! One of the better meals of the trip. It was perfect!

I got a text from Barry a few minutes earlier but I didn't realize my phone was ringing..

Barry 6:36 Finishing up at Cosmic Rays. Let me know where you settle down

When we got outside it was already starting to get dark.

We headed over to the hub to find a spot for Spectro. We found a photopass photographer and we stopped for some pictures.

OK I know that isn't us.. That is Barry's father in law and Barry's daughter. The time stamp on this picture is 6:55:02. The time stamp on our photopass picture is 6:57:34. We were standing right near him- possibly took our picture right after them- and didn't even know it!

Our pics.

Barry: 6:59 We're in the hub, in the path toward tommorowland. We'll meet after Spectro
Tim: 7:00 Sounds good.. We are in the hub too... at Main St.
Barry: 7:03 Do you see me? I'm waving. Ha!

Of course I didn't see him. The place was packed! We were 3-4 people deep trying to see the parade. I had Juliana on my shoulders and she kept holding on by putting her hands over my eyes. She also felt it was smart to choke me. I tried to take pics while getting choked.

Once the parade passed we basically did a 180 to face the castle for Wishes. We were in the hub with Main St. directly behind us. Once we got situated, I asked Dave if he wanted to take a walk. I texted Barry.

Tim: 7:35 Oh Barry... Where are you?
Barry: 7:36 Just to tommorowland side of the partners statue, along the rail on the castle side. Grey wisconsin hoodie

I misunderstood what he was and walked a little bit to far. I just called him and he directed me right to him. FINALLY another CeLeBrItY!!!!! .. after texting all day we finally get to meet! It was funny that we were literally standing 20 feet away from each other in the hub.

I got to meet his DW, DD, DS and even the in-laws! We were laughing about the amount of texts we sent throughout the day. Barry & his father in law told Dave and I about an 'incident' that happened to them at Tony's. Here is the story that I 'borrowed' from Barry's TR...

A waiter was walking by. Either he stumbled or something else happened, and several of the chocolate covered strawberries fell off of his tray and hit Grandpa in the back of the shirt. There was no stain, not even wet. Grandpa didn't make a big deal out it. You know, no harm, no foul. The waiter was apologizing up a storm, even as we were telling him to forget it, accidents happen. A few minutes later he came back with a "No Strings Attached Pass". It was a little slip of paper with a picture of Pinocchio on it. I forgot to get a picture, but it said something to the affect of "we want your stay with us to be magical and we're sorry that something happened that wasn't magical. We want to make it up to you, so use this pass to get to the front of the line at any attraction, no strings attached."

Talk about a golden ticket! (Technically it was yellow, or maybe goldenrod, but whatever, that's not important now.)

How awesome is that???

Barry's DD was too cute. She asked her dad what my name was a few times. Barry told her Tim and she proceeded to keep calling me Timmy. LOL There are two people in the world I let call me that- my mom and my sister. Well I guess I let three people call me that now!

We took a quick picture and we headed back to the wives and kids.

Up Next.. Wishes & A famous celebrity!

 

[that's nice]

i can't wait til they have Dueling Dumbos in the new Fantasyland. I may even try to ride then...

Maybe they should give all the kids swords while they ride- just to see how much fun they can really have??

I can see that being dangerous!

it would fit the theming....

See?? I shoulda been an Imagineer!

Very true!!!!!

Liesa, put in your application in September!

 

[yinyanggirls]

The day just keeps getting better! Hardly a wait for dinner, lots of characters, kids are cool (why do 4yo's like sticking their tongues out?) and you FINALLY meet Barry! (I don't even know who Barry is, but the suspense was killing me!) Cute daughter! I'd let her call me Timmy too. Yeah, no, my DH hates Timmy too because it sounds like the little crippled boy in Christmas Carol or the weirdo kid on Southpark.....Timmy is always a little "off".

 

[All7OfUs]

Phew, finally THE Meet of the Century!! I was starting to sing that song, "This is the song that never ends.. Oh it goes on and on my friends..."



So glad you could finally put a real name with a real face! DISMeets ARE very fun!

Cool story with the Golden Ticket to somewhere! maybe I should trip a waiter during my trip. (That was a joke, relax!)

Glad you enjoyed your shell fishy dishy! Love me some scallops--- chorizo?? not so sure.

You got some pretty good shots of Spectro despite being mauled by a small anim... er... child. I'll bet the kids were getting pretty wiped out by now!

 

[that's nice]

The day just keeps getting better!

And it's not even over yet!!!!!

Hardly a wait for dinner, lots of characters, kids are cool (why do 4yo's like sticking their tongues out?) and you FINALLY meet Barry! (I don't even know who Barry is, but the suspense was killing me!)

Barry is a celebrity over on the DIS Dad's pages. You should 'lurk' over there and check out some of his 'work'!

Cute daughter! I'd let her call me Timmy too. Yeah, no, my DH hates Timmy too because it sounds like the little crippled boy in Christmas Carol or the weirdo kid on Southpark.....Timmy is always a little "off".

Don't forget the Timmy from Lassie! UGH That's the one I think of..

Phew, finally THE Meet of the Century!! I was starting to sing that song, "This is the song that never ends.. Oh it goes on and on my friends..."

So glad you could finally put a real name with a real face! DISMeets ARE very fun!

After all the back and forth, it was a relief to actually meet face to face!

Cool story with the Golden Ticket to somewhere! maybe I should trip a waiter during my trip. (That was a joke, relax!)

Not a bad idea! Make sure you are in the direct path of any falling objects!

Glad you enjoyed your shell fishy dishy! Love me some scallops--- chorizo?? not so sure.

Really? No chorizo? Well it wasn't loaded with chorizo, you could of ate around it. It was in a broth... MMMMMMM.

You got some pretty good shots of Spectro despite being mauled by a small anim... er... child. I'll bet the kids were getting pretty wiped out by now!

Yea the kids were getting tired. The adults were in need of an adult drink by the evening.

 

[stopher1]

I don't know what happened but after we took group pictures with Piglet, Alex just ran over to him (or is it her.. does anyone know?) and gave Piglet a huge hug!!! This was the first time this trip that Alex was 'alone' with a character!

It was time for the parade to start and the 3 kids got in line and followed Piglet around the restaurant. Alex was right behind Piglet!

Piglet's timid nature must be very calming to little ones. We had breakfast at CP 4 1/2 years ago and my Annie was very much as you have described Alex. But when Piglet arrived - WOW, she just perked up and wanted to be with him. And I did say him, since the original voice actor was a guy... so there you go... he's been declared a male piglet.

Too cute that he was right there behind him for the parade.

Somehow after the parade, Pooh started going to tables on the other side of the restaurant. We asked our waitress if he was coming back soon and she didn't realize that he didn't stop to see us. She had us go to the center of CP and Pooh would come over to see us.

Check out Alex... he is a seasoned pro now!!!

Very nice.

I got a text from Barry a few minutes earlier but I didn't realize my phone was ringing..

Barry 6:36 Finishing up at Cosmic Rays. Let me know where you settle down

***

Barry: 6:59 We're in the hub, in the path toward tommorowland. We'll meet after Spectro
Tim: 7:00 Sounds good.. We are in the hub too... at Main St.
Barry: 7:03 Do you see me? I'm waving. Ha!

***

I texted Barry.

Tim: 7:35 Oh Barry... Where are you?
Barry: 7:36 Just to tommorowland side of the partners statue, along the rail on the castle side. Grey wisconsin hoodie

(using my best Mickey Mouse falsetto here... ) Oh boy - more texts!

I will say I'm so glad I knew the outcome of those texts weeks ago instead of living in suspsense... but you sure have been good at drumming it up. You could have been a television writer coming up with some fantabulous cliff-hanger episode... or better yet, you could have written for SOAP!

I had Juliana on my shoulders and she kept holding on by putting her hands over my eyes. She also felt it was smart to choke me. I tried to take pics while getting choked.

What dad hasn't had this happen to them? My Annie does this, and both of my boys did this when they were young... and too funny, as I've been going through old pics - I did it to my dad too!

FINALLY!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Wow, those Photopass pictures are instant keepers. Hope you have them framed somewhere.

And you did a great job taking pictures at night while being choked! Maybe that's the secret! You should do this more often.

Finally, you met up with Barry. Glad you guys could get together! So when are you going to meet a celebrity?

 

[Believeinfairytales]

I've only done CP for breakfast, and it was good. You've got me wanting to try dinner there now, except for the shellfish. Ewww...

Glad you finally met up with Barry. Whew! That was a long time coming. Say, could you post a link to his TR? I was LOL at his description of his Tony's experience. Would love to read more!

 

[that's nice]

Piglet's timid nature must be very calming to little ones. We had breakfast at CP 4 1/2 years ago and my Annie was very much as you have described Alex. But when Piglet arrived - WOW, she just perked up and wanted to be with him. And I did say him, since the original voice actor was a guy... so there you go... he's been declared a male piglet.

Too cute that he was right there behind him for the parade.

Maybe it is because piglet isn't as big as the other characters. Or maybe something just clicked! I was happy for him (and happy for your DD too!)

Thanks for the declaration! I will call piglet a HIM for now on.

(using my best Mickey Mouse falsetto here... ) Oh boy - more texts!

I will say I'm so glad I knew the outcome of those texts weeks ago instead of living in suspsense... but you sure have been good at drumming it up. You could have been a television writer coming up with some fantabulous cliff-hanger episode... or better yet, you could have written for SOAP!

One thing I never proclaimed was that I was a writer. I just do this for fun.

If I was a TV writer and I strung people long for a few episodes(updates) and finally Barry appeared, I might, OK.. most probably, would of been fired!!!

What dad hasn't had this happen to them? My Annie does this, and both of my boys did this when they were young... and too funny, as I've been going through old pics - I did it to my dad too!

I guess it is a prerequisite of being a dad.

FINALLY!

I know! FINALLY!

 

[that's nice]

Wow, those Photopass pictures are instant keepers. Hope you have them framed somewhere.

They did come out nicely. We just printed some 4X6s out.

And you did a great job taking pictures at night while being choked! Maybe that's the secret! You should do this more often.

Finally, you met up with Barry. Glad you guys could get together! So when are you going to meet a celebrity?

It was a long day coming...

There is a real celebrity coming up in my next update!

I've only done CP for breakfast, and it was good. You've got me wanting to try dinner there now, except for the shellfish. Ewww...

There were a few seafood items that were all great! Sorry you aren't feeling that but there was also some pulled pork and carved turkey and carved pork loin that was great too! There were tons of salads that were delish as well!

Glad you finally met up with Barry. Whew! That was a long time coming. Say, could you post a link to his TR? I was LOL at his description of his Tony's experience. Would love to read more!

No problem.. check it out here:Cheese Ball Yak Attack: 2 kids, 2 dogs, 1200 miles - The Sequel

It is a great TR!!!!! There are links in the first post if you want to skip the banter... although that gets pretty funny at times too!! LOL

 

[tinkgurl]

I can't wait to eat at the Crystal Palace for breakfast! We've only been there for dinner. Looks like you guys had a good time there.

Haha, I can picture Ana giving you the choke hold now.

So cool you FINALLY met up with Barry. That's just too bad he's wearing that Wisconsin sweatshirt. Yes, I know I go to college in WI, but it's not my home state!

By the way, love the nighttime Castle pics. I could sit there for hours watching it change colors.

 

[Believeinfairytales]

There were a few seafood items that were all great! Sorry you are feeling that but there was also some pulled pork and carved turkey and carved pork loin that was great too! There were tons of salads that were delish as well!
No problem.. check it out here:Cheese Ball Yak Attack: 2 kids, 2 dogs, 1200 miles - The Sequel
It is a great TR!!!!! There are links in the first post if you want to skip the banter... although that gets pretty funny at times too!! LOL

Well, CP definitely sounds worth checking out for dinner. I actually love shrimp, but I think I'm allergic!

Thanks for the link to the TR. If it's half as entertaining as you are, then I'm sure I'll enjoy it!

 

[that's nice]

I can't wait to eat at the Crystal Palace for breakfast! We've only been there for dinner. Looks like you guys had a good time there.

CP is great for breakfast. You have to have the puffed french toast! It's really good!

We had a great time!

Haha, I can picture Ana giving you the choke hold now.

So this is a sight you want to see huh?

So cool you FINALLY met up with Barry. That's just too bad he's wearing that Wisconsin sweatshirt. Yes, I know I go to college in WI, but it's not my home state!

LOL Barry hasn't been here yet and he is already getting bashed! (i love it)

By the way, love the nighttime Castle pics. I could sit there for hours watching it change colors.

It really is amazing. I like watching it too.

Well, CP definitely sounds worth checking out for dinner. I actually love shrimp, but I think I'm allergic!

Don't go and start eating them by the plate like we did.

It has such a selection and besides CRT, I think it is the best meal in MK.

Thanks for the link to the TR. If it's half as entertaining as you are, then I'm sure I'll enjoy it!

Oh he is funnier than I... his wife even joins the DIS during it and adds her 2 cents too! CLASSIC!!!!

 

[KatMark]

Way to go, Alex. I love Piglet.

Now, you know every trip report that you have to have at least one or two pictures of Ana being silly...it wouldn't be the same without it.

 

[that's nice]

After we left Barry and family, we made our way back to the wives and kids. Wishes was starting in 5 minutes! I was starting to get butterflies in my stomach. This is my favorite part of any day at MK. I still remember the first time we saw the fireworks and it was amazing. It really meant so much to be standing with my wife and holding my daughter in Disney. It is like what ever is happening in our lives, for that 12 minutes, it doesn't matter. Every time we have seen the fireworks, Juliana makes me hold her. She practically has them memorized and she sings just like the girl in the song 'Starlight... starbright...' I know you know the words.

Waiting for Wishes to start.

The chariots!

Then it was time!!!

We saw Tinkerbell fly!!!! (sorry for the bad pic)

On with the show!

The finale!!

The show was great as always. One thing I did notice was it seemed like there were more fireworks shooting up from behind the castle and less up in the air. Even though I noticed a little difference, I think everyone was amazed by what we had just witnessed.

We got our stuff together and headed with the masses down Main St. There were so many people and the people were barely moving. I've never seen it like this before. It took us a while just getting down Main St.

We were next to the Emporium near City Hall and we took a break to just stop for a minute and take it all in (or was it that the wives wanted to go look for something to buy ) Juliana was already passed out in the stroller. I've never noticed these windows in the Emporium before...

I think the lighting made them look really cool.

We made our way to the monorail and decided to get in the resorts line because the express line was ridiculous! It still took us about 25 minutes of waiting in line till we got on.

2 kids were still awake, full of energy and 1 was passed out!

Melody got to carry the sleeping princess while I had the stroller and the 10 bags we had.. OK it wasn't 10 but it felt like it. I guess I still had a free hand to take this.

Dave summed up how we all felt-

We made it to the car and drove back to the house. Thank goodness we were only 20 minutes away from MK! When we arrived at the house there was an envelope outside the door addressed to Dave & I. I put it on the counter and we got the kids inside and the car unpacked. Once the kids were in bed Dave opened up the envelope and inside was the biggest surprise. It was a MAJOR celebrity!!!!!!!!!!

It was MICHAEL JACKSON!!!!!!!!! He was back!!!!!



Most of you are probably like HUH?


I will explain in my next update!!!

 

[that's nice]

Way to go, Alex. I love Piglet.

You don't know how relieved we all were that this happened! Piglet made him break out of his shell!! It was great!

Now, you know every trip report that you have to have at least one or two pictures of Ana being silly...it wouldn't be the same without it.

LOL I'm sure I have some from my other TRs.. I'll have to go back and look.

 

[All7OfUs]

MJ's back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!