(Final 8/12)The WILDEST Ride in the Wilderness!" Princess Half Marathon TR/Feb.2014

[Trentmom]

Glad you got your slushie. Those are so good.

 

[ARmom30]

I love that you caught the engagement with your camera! How awesome for them!

It seems that on every trip I've been on someone has an attitude "moment" at least once. Two years ago my family and my MIL and FIL went to the beach for a week. Everyone in the condo made me mad at least once that week. Lol. I was also 10 weeks pregnant so I may have been a bit more sensitive to annoyances.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Ah the beauty of mother-daughter attitude interactions. It's very hard to balance I think, but sounds like you guys were able to work it out. The slushi looks delicious. That would have made me antsy to move on too.

Love the photos of the surprise engagement. What a cute idea and fun to get to witness it.

We have a really good relationship and we both tend to get over stuff pretty quickly, so luckily it wasn't too bad!

I know from personal experience that you are not the only one to have a mother daughter issue happen in WDW. (only my daughter is prone to meltdowns no matter where she is )

We always joke about how it's not a REAL Disney vacation until someone has a meltdown.

I think it sounds like you both had different goals. That is really rough when that is the case. Nothing wrong with either of you having the goal you did... but really hard on the other person when your goal is not their goal and visa versa.

Yep, the last trip that was just her and I, we both had the same goals and there were no attitudes at all, but the running threw a wrench in that a bit...exactly why I'm going ALONE next year, with just other runners!

Well, now see... who could blame you! A slushie was involved!!!



It doesn't sound like either of you were all that worked up. Believe me... you want to see worked up? Get my oldest dd upset... THAT is a sight.

Yeah, we are pretty tame in public, but both of us are good at huffing off and slamming doors at home.


See, slushie makes everything better.

Yes it does!

That is so amazing! Can you imagine?



I love the street performers! I try and catch the ones in Italy and France. I am looking forward to seeing the one on the boardwalk next fall.




I admire you. I seem to always be running late and it makes me totally nervous. I try to relax. Sometimes it works and other times it doesn't. Now with the new cancelation policy... I find I am even more nervous to be late.

At Disney I'm able to let it go usually...but only if everyone ELSE is ok with letting it go as well. When I realized that Savannah and Eleanor were having a fantastic time and didn't care about the time, it was easier for me to let it go a bit.


I can't wait to read how the rest of the day turns out.

Glad you got your slushie. Those are so good.

They are my favorite beverage at World Showcase! Can't go without having one!

I love that you caught the engagement with your camera! How awesome for them!

It seems that on every trip I've been on someone has an attitude "moment" at least once. Two years ago my family and my MIL and FIL went to the beach for a week. Everyone in the condo made me mad at least once that week. Lol. I was also 10 weeks pregnant so I may have been a bit more sensitive to annoyances.

Oh yes, I had a MIL and FIL moment at WDW when we went with them in 2009...actually, I had a FEW moments, that's why the trip report (in my signature) is called OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

just thought I'd mention that I've done at least 3 updates to MY trip report since you've done one. Just saying......

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Back the resort we went and naturally we had plenty of time. I tend to stress and then end up being early all the time. It works in my favor at Disney.

When we arrived back at the room, the Mousekeeper had put my rose in the window in some water!

Kim and I were much faster than the girls, so we left them in the room to get ready and we popped down to Petals, the pool bar, and got our 4th drink of the day. I think it was four, I lost count.

We sat at the edge of the pool and soaked our feet. Man that felt good after being up and on them for hours! We still could not get the skill to take a selfie that included the drinks AND our faces, although we tried!

The girls came down and we headed to Magic Kingdom! It was just getting dark and the lights were on...how long have I been up?!?!

We were running about 10 minutes late but I just could not pass up the opportunity to get a shot of the girls all ready for dinner in the castle...in front of the castle! It ended up being one of their favorite shots of the trip.

We had a few issues, one being that the show was going on in front of the castle, so we had to book it all the way around to the back. We made it 10 minutes late but I was more worried about Kim. See, when I first made the ADR, way back on day 180, Kim was not planning on staying a 2nd night. When she decided to stay I couldn't get her added and so we went with the idea that we would try to get her in and if not she would hang out by herself while we ate. The idea of that totally stressed me out, there was no way I would have been able to enjoy but eating in the castle was high on the girls list...so I hoped they would let us add her.

and they did! They barely blinked an eye, added her on, and in we went!

Oh shoot, I never did scan the photo of all of us with Cinderella! It's ok, Kim blinked. AND, to add insult to injury, they had NON-blinking photos on my photopass for me to purchase. That annoyed me a bit later on when I realized that!

After our photo with Cinderella we headed upstairs. OUCH! I should have asked to use the elevator, but I didn't, so I hobbled up the stairs, my knees hurt a lot still.

So we had some food issues. When I looked originally, it said there was cheese pizza? Well no. Not only was there no cheese pizza, but NOTHING on the kids menu without meat for Savannah. NOTHING. We had an "in training" waitress, but the waiter helping her came over and honestly wasn't much help at all. Savannah ordered the adult offering for vegetarians (there was just one option) and it was gnocchi with tons of veggies, eggplant, etc. in it. I wasn't really impressed with it but Savannah hated it. They never did offer anything else, it was like they weren't able to? I think they have just this set menu and aren't capable of making anything else??? Disappointing for the price! OUCH.

In any case, we were less than impressed but we were in good spirits, joking about mushrooms (which seemed to be in every single item at WDW) and the girls suggested I name the TR something about hold-the-mushrooms. The princesses started to come around, so that helped us forget our so-so food!

I was unhappy with these shots b/c if you know me, you know I HATE...LOATH...DESPISE...flash. It blows out the color, ruins my shots, and I just hate it. K? Well, sometimes it's just too dark to shoot without flash...such as this shot:

Sorry Eleanor...Karen hates flash, so you get a blurry face.

and the next wasn't much better...

So I conceded at this point and turned the damn flash on.

Meh. I decided somewhere at this point that I just didn't like character meals anymore...and Savannah came to this same conclusion over the trip as well (separately). It's just rushed and awkward. You are eating and have to stop, they seem RUSHED and there is NO.ROOM. Every single character meal we had I could barely get the shot b/c they were bumped up to the table. I found we really preferred meeting characters in the park and eating in peace.

We finished our mediocre meals and joked about how it was nice to eat in the castle once but none of us were impressed really and I was feeling like I wasted 2 credits each...until the lights dimmed!

I knew we would be there during the fireworks and it was timed perfectly. We had finished but dessert had not arrived and Wishes started.

If you look at Savannah's video you can see what it actually looked like, my photos don't even remotely capture the moment the way it was. It was AMAZING!

Here is Savannah's video, where you can see some of it live:
Savannah's WDW video

They piped in the music and dimmed the lights and it was like you were completely surrounded by Wishes! MAGICAL!!!! We loved it! We all were unanimous that Wishes made it completely worth the crappy meal we had just eaten (or not eaten). and then dessert came!

The dessert was good and maybe they should just try serving that instead of mediocre dinner. LOL. They did a little Wish-thingie? I don't remember...and gave the girls wands. They girls decided to take them and give them to the first little-bitty girls that they came across. We headed out and found a couple little girls in a stroller in Fantasyland. It was so sweet, but they were too fast and I didn't get a photo!

Off we went to enjoy a whirlwind of Extra Magic hours! Magic Kingdom was open until 1am and we were ready to make the most of it! I don't remember feeling tired at all, even though I had been up since 1:40am.

Up next...have I mentioned that I love EMH????

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

just thought I'd mention that I've done at least 3 updates to MY trip report since you've done one. Just saying......

Yep, I've had a crazy week getting Rey ready to leave, I've driven into St. Louis (100 miles each way) twice this week and my petsitting is insane because of the impending holiday! I doubt you'll get another now until mid-week next week!...so read S.L.O.W.

 

[Victoriasmom98]

too late! I just finished reading it!!!! Awesome job!!!

 

[ZellyB]

Love the pictures of Wishes from the castle windows. How very cool! And Savannah's video is so cute.

We've never eaten in the castle. We are thinking about trying for breakfast when we go in January. I think my girls would enjoy it. But seeing Wishes makes me think maybe I should reconsider and try to get dinner there.

 

[Tinker326]

Jeez, least Ann is reading yours. She totally is ignoring mine!!!

Is it because we have her smooshed in the middle of our award winning duet?

Now, back to YOUR update. Nice selfie. Hey. You got the drink in. You got your head in. We'll ignore the fact that parts of the drinking are covering your face. Overall, it was a good try. I'd give it a good, solid B.

I think I agree with character meals. They actually induce a lot of stress for me.. like getting my kids fed/through the buffet before characters come. Or having them get up and arrange around the table for a picture. That never comes out good because there's other tables and people in the background....

I have not done CRT since 2008. I didn't like then for dinner and decided the price was too steep to go back.

It is pretty awesome you got to see Wishes though. That totally makes the experience!

I see the drinking & the staying awake 24 hours as good signs of PHM Weekend 2015. Conditioning in it's finest form. Bottoms up Sweet Dee!

If I don't talk to you before- have a Tweedlestic Easter.

 

[momabaarjo]

Big hugs...teen age daughters, touring plan (err drink plans), running PHM in the morning...yep, I would say overload! Glad you got your drink! Wishes from the windows is amazing...I need that view now! EMH... after the day you had....

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

too late! I just finished reading it!!!! Awesome job!!!

No problem, you can update YOUR TR again since you have time on your hands. Or go read Nicole's so she stops whining!

Love the pictures of Wishes from the castle windows. How very cool! And Savannah's video is so cute.

We've never eaten in the castle. We are thinking about trying for breakfast when we go in January. I think my girls would enjoy it. But seeing Wishes makes me think maybe I should reconsider and try to get dinner there.

I would say if you are going for the food, go for breakfast. If you want an experience, dinner with Wishes!

Jeez, least Ann is reading yours. She totally is ignoring mine!!!

My poor Tweedle! Being ignored. Let's just sing louder until she pays attention to us!

Is it because we have her smooshed in the middle of our award winning duet?

Now, back to YOUR update. Nice selfie. Hey. You got the drink in. You got your head in. We'll ignore the fact that parts of the drinking are covering your face. Overall, it was a good try. I'd give it a good, solid B.

Oh but see, I was TRYING to cover part of my face...it was already bloated from WDW food and alcohol. I thought I would spare everyone the double chin! tip #35849 for Nicole: hide double chin in selfies with booze.

I think I agree with character meals. They actually induce a lot of stress for me.. like getting my kids fed/through the buffet before characters come. Or having them get up and arrange around the table for a picture. That never comes out good because there's other tables and people in the background....

Yep, I think we are done with them! Well, except Crystal Palace breakfast. For some reason we always love that and it's a tradition.

I have not done CRT since 2008. I didn't like then for dinner and decided the price was too steep to go back.

It is pretty awesome you got to see Wishes though. That totally makes the experience!

I see the drinking & the staying awake 24 hours as good signs of PHM Weekend 2015. Conditioning in it's finest form. Bottoms up Sweet Dee!

That's right! I am all trained up. I might not be able to stay up past 8:30pm on any other night of the year, but get me to Disney and I'm like "THERE'S NO SLEEPING AT DISNEY!!!"

If I don't talk to you before- have a Tweedlestic Easter.

You too my supergoldentweedle!!

Big hugs...teen age daughters, touring plan (err drink plans), running PHM in the morning...yep, I would say overload! Glad you got your drink! Wishes from the windows is amazing...I need that view now! EMH... after the day you had....

Yep, I really cannot stay up AT ALL in the real world, I'm zonked by 9pm, but at Disney I just go and go. I can't barely sleep b/c I just don't want to miss a moment I could be enjoying. That was the longest I have been up I think, since I was a teenager! You'll see how many hours on my next update, but it was pretty amazing I was still walking after that day!

 

[Trentmom]

Never been a fan of Castle meal. Stinks the food is still eh

Ariel looks so young. Never seen such a young princess. Looks like she was in middle school

My fav pic is the one with Snow White. my fav

Wishes looked great though. Glad that made it worth it

 

[Tinker326]

WHINE. WINE. WHINE. WINE. Intermixing the two while I figure out why Ann won't read my trip report!!!!

Oh man, I should have known my GoldenTweedle was brilliant enough to use the drink to mask the double chin. I change my grade to an A+!!! I will be employing this technique in all future selfies until my rich prince swoops in and pays for lipo in my neck.

 

[annmarieda]

I can't believe you are going strong still!!!

I wish CRT had better food, but the atmosphere definitely makes up for it! The fact you got to see Wishes through the windows is amazing. How sweet of the girls to give their wands to some younger girls.

Great update!

 

[Surfinpiratee]

Just read the whole thing! Can't wait for another update!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Never been a fan of Castle meal. Stinks the food is still eh

Ariel looks so young. Never seen such a young princess. Looks like she was in middle school

My fav pic is the one with Snow White. my fav

Wishes looked great though. Glad that made it worth it

I didn't even notice how young she looked, you are right! (I'm so bad with paying attention to detail). Wishes made it worth it, although I don't think I would do it again.

WHINE. WINE. WHINE. WINE. Intermixing the two while I figure out why Ann won't read my trip report!!!!

Oh man, I should have known my GoldenTweedle was brilliant enough to use the drink to mask the double chin. I change my grade to an A+!!! I will be employing this technique in all future selfies until my rich prince swoops in and pays for lipo in my neck.

I have many tricks up my sleeve Tweedle.

I can't believe you are going strong still!!!

I wish CRT had better food, but the atmosphere definitely makes up for it! The fact you got to see Wishes through the windows is amazing. How sweet of the girls to give their wands to some younger girls.

Great update!

I couldn't quite believe I was going strong either! I rarely stay up past 9am on a normal day. It was Disney magic, had to be!

Just read the whole thing! Can't wait for another update!

Yay!

More coming right up!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Aaaand it's STILL the day of the Princess Half! So at this point, it was after Wishes and I had been up since 1:40 am, run a half marathon, toured World Showcase and now we were headed into Extra Magic hours.

I have no idea how I was still awake, but when at Disney, I don't want to miss a moment and I don't really remember feeling tired. My knees hurt like crazy and I was hobbling all over, but I was still ready to go!

We had just finished dinner (if you want to call it that) and Wishes in the castle and headed out into Fantasyland. After the girls gave away their wands to some little bitty girls, we headed out to a whirlwind of rides! As with most Disney whirlwind evenings, I was having so much fun (and running on so little sleep) that I didn't take many photos. I did, however, write down what we did the next morning. That's a good thing because I have no recollection and had to look in my notes...

I had made our FP's for after dinner, which was a nice touch, but we would have been fine without them. First we headed to the Speedway. Savannah LOVES this ride, mostly because on our first trip we went on it and had no idea what we were doing. We kept bumping the track back and forth and were rolling in laughter. Kim and I waited in the stands while the girls rode.

Eleanor looks scared. I would be too with Savannah driving!

Just for nostalgia...that first ride she took...

After the Speedway we jumped on the People Mover and rode twice on Buzz (walkon)

then headed towards the hub and caught the tail end of MSEP.

Literally.

From here I have just notes except one last photo of the night...
We walked on Haunted Mansion and then headed over to Big Thunder! We rode Big Thunder 5 times! I know we were over there at least until 11pm because at 11pm we had to start using our Magic Bands to prove we were staying onsite. I'll be honest, I hadn't thought about how Kim was staying with us (with no MB) and I felt a twinge of guilt that she didn't have one...but they only wanted one person from the group to scan their band, so I gave Kim mine and since I had long sleeves on, I just let Kim or the girls be the one to scan. I hate being a rule breaker, but she WAS staying onsite with us...

We decided it was time to head over to Space Mtn. I had a FP, which was totally worthless this late, but we used it anyway. I guess it did cut down a tiny bit on the line but there really wasn't much line anyway? I remember the queue killing my knees though...such a long walk!

Savannah had been on SM in 2012 and not liked it, but she had an ear infection at the time and wanted to try again. Both the girls LOVED it and wanted to go again! I was starting to fade, mostly because my knees could not take anymore walking. I sat in Tomorrowland while Kim and the girls rode again. It was nice, I grabbed a Mickeybar and a diet coke and enjoyed watching people (what people were left)

It was well after midnight when they came out and I decided it was about that time. We had done everything we wanted and my legs were done. I had to have a shot in front of the castle before leaving though! This is what 23 hours of being awake and running a half marathon looks like...

We headed back to Pop and got back to the resort at 1am. I don't even remember my head hitting the pillow, I was OUT. I do have written down that I woke up at 6am (late for me) ready to go again!

Up next...Kim heads home and we head to Animal Kingdom!

 

[JessM]

I can't believe you made it past midnight! I'm pretty sure I gave up around 10:30, I was so tired haha.

Looks like a ton of fun though! I have to laugh because on Monday my Mom and I did the Big Thunder walk around and ride until we couldn't anymore, so fun!

 

[Trentmom]

wow, you went hard core that day. I can't believe you made it that long

Sounds like a very fun night

Love the flash back pic of Savannah. What a cutie

 

[Tinker326]

Look at you still going strong! Woo Hoo!!!

Adorable picture of Savannah in the cars. They grow up too fast, don't they?!

Way to go, getting on all those rides late at night! You def. made the most of your day! So this was a late night? 1am closing?

I hope it's the same the Sunday we are there after PHM. We can take Jellyrolls till 12. Hop a bus and close down MK till 1am!!

Fun update!!!