For the Love of Disney - Dec 5-13

[ladybugmom]

Hi Becky - I tried to do the little chat thing on Facebook to tell you I had actually updated but every time I hit chat I got an error. Glad you are still along - thanks for all the sweet comments!!!

On no!! That stinks! FB chat seems to do that a lot though. Of course I'm still along--for the entirety of your TR!! I have to hear what you thought about everything so it can help me in my planning for next year!! What were the crowd levels like? The weather? Would you recommend the week you chose and why? Any tips would be great, too!! I cannot WAIT to hear more!!

 

[MiaBella05]

joining in

 

[PrincessFendi]

You have an adorable family. Great TR, keep it coming!

 

[heaven2dc]

Your girls are SO adorable! Loved their outfits - how cute And I love your polka dot suitcases - where did you find those?!!

 

[Charlefours]

I got Caya's Minnie bag at the Disney Store (in Chicago). They had the whole line: Jacket, Shirt, Pants, Shoes, and a different tote bag online. I never did see the bag we got online, only in the store. I was super excited when I found it - it was the perfect carry-on for her.

I got addicted (seriously addicted) to Coke when I was pregnant with Caya. I had morning sickness for the 8 months I knew I was pregnant and my dr. suggested Coke to settle my tummy. It did help and I had a hard time giving it up. I LOVE it but it's so bad for me!

I thought that might be where you got it--part of the Minnie bling line? We unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it ) do not live close to one. I think I may make a trip down to one before we leave--March and May when I head down to school and visit my sister. I drive by one in both cases. Is it bad that I know what routes to drive so I can go near one?

I do love a good coke. I seriously need to cut down on pop--my absolute favorite is Diet Dr. Pepper but even that I should cut down on. It sure is expensive where we live!

 

[disney<333]

Oh yay you started! Everyone looks so excited to be at Disney .
The girls are so cute. My DD has that same pink Minnie and Mickey jacket.
Happy New Year!!

 

[kcandbella]

Happy New Year, Nikky!!

 

[ladybugmom]

Happy New Year, Nikky!!

 

[Charlefours]

I hope 2010 is everything you hope it to be! Happy New Year!!

 

[beyondblessed]

Saturday, December 5th ~ Disney Studios
Weather: 60's, chilly, partly cloudy

So where were we...let's see...it's about 1:00 pm and we are standing at the gates of Disney Studios.



Side note: I always get a little worried that our cards won’t work the first time. They did but I thought I’d share something we learned here. Caya who is 5 did not have to have a fingerprint – her card just went through because she was a child. Hayley who is 13 and considered an adult by Disney standards had to…her tiny little fingers wouldn’t register so Travis had to use his fingerprint for her. This worked fine but was not explained to us as we were doing it – you’re in a huge crowded line feeling like cattle and they push you through quickly. Luckily she stayed with us the entire time but I’m not sure what would have happened if she would have gone with my sisters at some point when we split up or if we would have tried to enter a park without Trav. Just something to think about!

We had been in touch with my family via text messages and that’s where they were. We met up with them by the Lights Motor Action Stunt Show – most of them had gone in and it was now full so we went to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground and waited. We all had fun in there!

I’ve never had a traditional first day park – but the first full day MUST be Magic Kingdom (always in the past-not this time ). The last time we visited Disney we didn’t do a park at all, we enjoyed the resort a bit and then headed to Fort Wilderness for Hoop-dee-doo. On other visits, we’ve done Epcot and DS…I think if I had to choose, I would choose NOT to visit a park the day of arrival but alas, my family is here to do the parks with us so we will torture ourselves (haha) by going to a park the first day. They’ve already been here half the day and have done many of the big thrill rides so once we met up (under the big hat), we rode in this order:

*Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground





*ToT (line was only about 10 minutes) Caya rode and HATED it! Although she talked about riding it again all week!?!!

Here she is starting to look a little scared walking towards ToT.



Buckled in ready to go - still a little scare and has not idea what to expect.



And here she is after, safe in her Daddy's arms. She never did cry but you can see the terror all over her face!



All better and back to her cheerful little self. She would cheer 24 hours a day given the opportunity. She managed to find a light pole to stunt with while we waited for everyone to meet back up.



Sidenote: You can't see it real well but the thing Travis is holding is an "album" that they hand out near Rockin' Roller Coaster. There is a little booth set up there now with about 6 chairs and a cast member. They give each child an album with stickers so they can decorate it. It's meant to help entertain the little ones while the big people ride. The best part was the cast member interaction - they were so good with my girls the couple times we were there. One of the many reasons we LOVE Disney.

Caya making Daddy help her stunt and pointing to the ride she just conquered.





Hayley enjoying her first of several chocolate covered banana (CCB as my nephew nick-named them).



*RRC (everyone but me, Hayley, Caya & my sister rode in the single rider line)

*The Great Movie Ride

The ride broke just as we were entering the Wizard of Oz scene. Bummer! But the bright side was that we had to walk out and normally they don't allow flash photography but to compensate us for missing out on the end of the ride, they allowed us to take as many pictures as we wanted. Kind of fun!





After this everyone but my little family of 4 left to go back to their hotel (they were staying at the Hilton at Lake Buena Vista). We felt like we just got there and weren't ready to leave so stayed a did a bit more:

*The Little Mermaid (we all really enjoyed this show)

*Saw the UP characters (awww)

We decided to head over to the Magic Kingdom. Caya had been talking about riding Aladdin's Flying Carpets for weeks and this was the final day it was going to be open before being closed for refurbishment. We took a bus from Disney Studios back to the Polynesian and hopped on the monorail to the Magic Kingdom.

Still having a hard time believing we are actually here!!! Maybe that first walk down Main Street will help it sink it!

UP NEXT: DEC 5 - MAGIC KINGDOM

 

[BippityBoo]

Love the update!! How old is Caya? Cant believe she rode TOT!! SOO brave.

Also, looking forward with weather to our trip next week. It will be in the 60s during the day. How cold was it? Did you need jackets the whole time?Thanks!

 

[cdotla]

Great update. Like you I have been to WDW as part of a large group, (both family and friends), as well as just my family. There are pros and cons to each, aren't there? I love sharing WDW with others, and it is great making memories with friends and family, but the downside is the number of agendas you have to bring together. Even when with a large group, I think it's great to also get some downtime with just your immediate family.

I can't believe how much your little Caya is into cheerleading. She is a hoot! I love that lifted pose by TOT - priceless!

 

[gellybean]

Great update! Glad to know they've added some kid friendly activities outside of RnRC.

My DS6 did the same thing with ToT. He wanted to ride it, said he scared him to death, and then talked of nothing else the rest of the day.

Hope your walk down Main Street helps it sink in for you!

 

[beyondblessed]

Love the update!! How old is Caya? Cant believe she rode TOT!! SOO brave.

Also, looking forward with weather to our trip next week. It will be in the 60s during the day. How cold was it? Did you need jackets the whole time?Thanks!

Thanks Katie! Caya turned 5 on November 18th and is about as brave as they come. Or was anyway until this trip. She was adamant about riding it and we made her watch a couple drops from outside. I don't think she knew how that would make her stomach feel and wasn't too sure what to think afterwards. We ruined her for a few days, though. She was scared to ride Aladdin's carpets later that day...her lip would quiver and her legs would literally shake. I'm sure she feared the bottom would drop out from under her at any moment. Poor thing! I don't recommend this ride for 5 year olds and learned my lesson the hard way. She did keep telling us she wanted to ride it again but most times tell us she was just kidding. I was tempted to let her ride it again knowing fully what to expect but just didn't want to chance making things worse.

60's and partly cloudy was a little chilly. We never wore than long sleeves and hoodies and were fine. When the sun was shining 60's was wonderful - my hubby wore shorts but the girls and I still wore hoodies (I'm always cold, though)....it wasn't hot or cold, just perfectly gorgeous!!! Hope that helps!

 

[beyondblessed]

Great update. Like you I have been to WDW as part of a large group, (both family and friends), as well as just my family. There are pros and cons to each, aren't there? I love sharing WDW with others, and it is great making memories with friends and family, but the downside is the number of agendas you have to bring together. Even when with a large group, I think it's great to also get some downtime with just your immediate family.

I can't believe how much your little Caya is into cheerleading. She is a hoot! I love that lifted pose by TOT - priceless!

Thank you - I'm glad you understand! I wouldn't give up the time with my family for anything - I will treasure those memories always but the time with my own little family is priceless!

I can't belive how much Caya is into cheerleading either. We aren't sure where her love came from but are so glad we found an outlet for her to enjoy it. It's been so good for her. And I never could have imagined how much fun it would be for us. It makes my heart swell to see my baby doing so well at somthing she's worked so hard for!

 

[beyondblessed]

Great update! Glad to know they've added some kid friendly activities outside of RnRC.

My DS6 did the same thing with ToT. He wanted to ride it, said he scared him to death, and then talked of nothing else the rest of the day.

Hope your walk down Main Street helps it sink in for you!

Thanks Gellybean - I LOVE your name! Super cute!!!

So Disney to think of the little things that make us all enjoy our visits a little more. It was nothing major, kind of silly really, but it made all the difference to a little one who was heart broken that the big people were ditching her!

Did your son do okay on all the other rides? Looking back I wish that wouldn't have been Caya's first ride - she enjoyed all the rides but I think she would have enjoyed everything else that much more if she wouldn't have had that bit of fear in the back of her mind.

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

great update!!!! Those poor 5 year olds and TOT!!! My cousin took her 4 yr old daughter on it back in Sept and she LOVED it. Her 7 yr old HATED it with a passion and cried. I think she told me her 4 yr old rode it 10x that trip. Can't wait for more!

 

[Queenofallthings]

Just found your TR and it's wonderful...you have a beautiful family!! I can't wait to read more

 

[praisehisname]

You got a lot done at DHS! Way to go, Caya, for riding TOT!!!

 

[disneybarbie]

subscribing

really enjoying your posts so far.. we were there at similar times (my trip was Dec 9th - 14th) .. already seems so long ago!!

Emma x