Glitter, Magic, Fun and CHARACTERS!!

[brea]

Hello everyone,

We just got back from Disney yesterday and I figured I would get our trip report going. First a link to our PTR if anyone is interested.

Glitter, Magic, Fun and Food - a Jan-Feb 2012 PTR

Now an introduction to the cast

Myself – This was my fourth trip to Disney

My Wife – This was her first trip to Disney. She's 21 weeks pregnant on the trip as well. She went into this trip believing the following. That characters with larger than life heads are likely scary to children, that IASW is creepy, and that she just didn't get what all the fuss is about with everything being "happy and cherry" when it comes to Disney. Did the visit change this? We'll have to wait and see

Our Daughter – Her first trip to Disney as well. She loves Pooh and Minnie Mouse and is a very easy going child. We couldn't be more happy parents.

Our trip was from Jan 28th until Feb 3rd and we stayed at the Polynesian in room 3944 which is a Garden View room but actually has a nice view of the castle. It's kind of boxed in with trees and the other longhouses but for a Garden View rate its' a pretty nice room to stay in.

First let me get some of the basics out of the way.

The Polynesian - This resort is exactly what I expected it would be. A 40 year old resort that isn't quite luxury but Disney has done a fine job keeping it very nice. We loved the convenience of the resort and had no real issues. I look at the resort as mostly a place to Sleep, Shower, and Dream of the next days activities. It has some great amenities and the views are amazing.

The Monorail - Is all I remember it to be. It did break down once during our stay but it was the epcot train and didn't happen on a day that affected us. I just overheard conversation about it. One family got stuck on it and was not happy about it.

Now for the lineup. I'll be updating the links as I fill in the reports

Day 1 - Travel Day
- The flight, ME and resort check-in
- Let's get started at MK of course!
- A dinner snubbing at 1900 park fare

Day 2 - Animal Kingdom
- DW, DD and their love of animals of all types (Part 1)
- DW, DD and their love of animals of all types (Part 2)

Day 3 - Magic Kingdom
- Crystal Palace Breakfast
- Let the rides begin
- Dinner at Ohana

Day 4 - Magic Kingdom
- Rope drop, a new dress and apparently there's "character ettiquite"
- Magical Moment #1
- We think we set a record for character interaction in the Celebrate Parade
- Hoop De Doo for Dinner and some Magic for DD

Day 5 - Epcot
- Worst thing at the worst park "we hit the wall"
- Anyone that could see it said "awwwwwww"
- DD becomes a part of the magic
- Dinner at Le Cellier

Day 6 - Animal Kingdom
- Chef Mickeys and DD gets a much needed massage at Mandara Spa
- Dad and DW relax at AK and have Magical Moment #2
- Dinner at Raglan Road and Downtown Disney

Day 7
- Relax and get ready to head home

Some things that will be answered as a part of the report
1. Did DW get what's behind the magic?
2. Will DW think IASW is creepy after riding it?
3. Will DD enjoy the characters? All of them?
4. Which park was our favorite and which was our least fav?
5. Is 16 months too young to take a child to Disney?

There's many more items to be answered throughout. Please feel free to ask questions and read along. I'll do my best to keep the updates coming and answer questions throughout.

 

[brea]

Travel Day has arrived!!!

We got up bright and early to get going as our flight left at 6:15am. DW and DD are not morning people but the excitement of going on a vacation seemed to have DW in good spirits. DD didn’t know what was going on however she knew it was out out of the norm and got into the swing of things pretty quickly.

We had a lot of luggage with three bags, stroller, and “plane”carseat so I was thankful for the Magical Express and not having to worry about some of the bags until we got to the resort.

It was DD’s first time flying so we weren’t sure what to expect. She was very interested in everything that was going on and shortly after takeoff she was OUT… That was a relief and about an hour into the two hour flight she woke up. Good thing we had Caillou queued up. She enjoyed the show and the rest of the trip was non eventful.

DD with her tigger earphones listening to Caillou

Once we landed we zipped through MCO and into the ME area. There was very little traffic and ourselves and one other couple got onto a bus ready to leave that had about five other couples. It was a ME bus so I guess we were happy not to have a MEARS bus that I’ve read some people complain about.

As we got off the bus I realized we were there and it was about to begin so I got pretty happy. I held it in a little and tried to enjoy it all with my family. DD loved the fountains outside the resort and we spent two minutes just looking at them. I had checked in online and things went pretty smoothly at the front desk and we were in our room by 10:30am. We took some time to take in the room and atmosphere around us. We were in room 3944 of the Tokelau longhouse which I recommend for a Garden View. It has a nice view of the quiet pool and a good view of the Castle without having to bend over the side much at all!

We decided to wait until our luggage showed up and ordered some food and relaxed some. Once our Luggage showed up we freshened up and it was off to our first park, The Magic Kingdom!

 

[brea]

So we got on our way and headed to the Magic Kingdom. We hopped on the monorail and headed over. Once we got inside we found Pluto and Daisy Duck taking pictures in the square so we jumped into the shortest line which happened to be Pluto at the time.

We were comfortable that DD would enjoy the characters but we didn't realized how much. When she saw pluto you would have thought she just found an old friend that she hadn't seen in years.

We didn't get pictures of the experience as we let the photopass guy get it all (just got back yesterday so the photopass stuff isn't in yet). Then we noticed that the meet for Mickey and Minnie was listed as 10 minutes so we headed over there. The wait was more like 20 minutes which wasn't an issue but by the time we got to them DD was getting tired from the trip and long day. Even with that she was awestruck by Mickey and Minnie and we got a couple of good shots but decided our time with Mickey and Minnie wasn't up yet and that we'd be back.

When we went outside we noticed that the 3pm parade was about to start so we decided to take up a good spot on the sidewalk and wait for it to start. Turns out it wasn't the best spot as the Sun was shining in DD's face for the floats so she didn't get a good look at them. During the parade Abu, Aladdin's Monkey, came from the side and DD didn't see him coming. This caught her eye and she just watched that monkey all the way down the street.

Once the Parade stopped we decided to follow it down Mainstreet but they announced that it would be coming back down the street for it's temporary route and the sides of Mainstreet got packed. We both wondered out loud to eachother if we would ever get off Mainstreet during our first visit. I decide that now would be a good time to take a ride on the Disney train. This was a welcome choice as Mainstreet was empty when we got back, compared to the madness that was occurring during the parade. We walked up mainstreet to the castle and had our pictures taken and then decided we wanted to take our time heading back out as we had an early ADR at 1900 park fare with Cinderella and gang. We had plans to hit fantasyland once dinner was over. Our initial visit to the park was over and based on DD's response I was on

DW commented that she enjoyed the Disney parades. They were shorter than she thought they would be and had a pretty sizeable amount of characters to interact with the kids, besides we would have quite an experience at one of the upcoming parades that might have set some type of record.

 

[brea]

So we had made it into the resort and into the park without issue. We hopped on the Monorail for DW's first ride through the Contemporary. To this point DW had been quiet and seemed to be just taking everything in and following my lead. She had commented that it was nice to have someone that knew what to do when we took the train instead of trudging through the crowd on Mainstreet.

As we pulled into the Contemporary I could see on her face that she was at least interested in what she saw. I explained that we would be eating at Chef Mickey's here later in the trip and she gave her standard "cool" response. She hadn't bad mouthed anything yet so I was thinking things were going pretty well.

We made it over to the Grand Floridian and DW's comment as we came into the lobby "Now this is my kind of place". And then she commented on not being sure where these high standards had come from but they were hers and they do work out to our advantage in most cases so I'm happy with them as well.

We found our way down to the place, got our picture and got to dinner. I sent DW off to get some food and we worked on keeping DD unaware that the Cenderella cast was close at hand. This worked out well for the most part because their rounds kept them at a safe distance. DW brought some food for DD, I got my plate and we made short order of what we had with the long travel day and all. DW went to get seconds and as she was gone the prince made his way to our table.

This was DD's first interaction with a person character so I wasn't sure how it would go. Even now I cannot explain it because DD is not this way with men or just about anyone else for that matter but she would not even look at prince charming

The prince did his best to get her attention and finally gave in and gave me the queue to take some pics so he could be on his way. This picture sums up the whole thing quite nicely I think

DD Snubs prince charming

There's really no explanation for it other than something hit her wrong with that guy because a few moments later Cinderella showed up and it was a completely different story

One thing I'd like to point out is DW's reaction to the stepsisters. When we came in she mentioned that they were loud and I reminded her that was their characters. About just after Cinderella came they were having their fun and DW said "I think I like them but then again I'm told I can be obnoxious by my friends so what does that tell you?". We both got a good laugh out of that one and I think DW enjoyed Anistasia's visit to the table more than DD did.

When Drizella came to the table she was playfull with DD as she was out of her highchair and got down on the floor with her. DD seemed to be looking elsewhere and Drizella commented that she must be looking for the blonde

Drizella put her arms out to indicate that DD should come to her and DD ran to me, turned around and put her arms back out at her to indicate that Drizella should come to her. This brought out a likely stepsister tirade which was both comical and memorable.

After dinner we headed back to MK to get some fantasyland time in. We rode the teacups and the prince charming's carousel which DD LOVED so we ended up riding that several times. It was a long day so we just let her dictate the pace at that point.

After this we headed back to the room for the night even though the park would be open for a few more hours. We were coming back in two days and knew there would be enough time to get the rest of the rides we wanted in.

The first day was a success and both DW and I agreed that we couldn't be more happy with DD's response to the day, it's length and how she handled it all. We knew we had a little girl with personality but we didn't realize how much and had no idea that this was the tip of the iceberg in that department

DW commented that she was enjoying herself but was being careful not to go too far with it as we had a long way to go and there were people, places, and rides she had yet to have a chance to put through the litmus test.

 

[brea]

Good morning everyone, I see that people are reading but no one has come in yet. Feel free to come on in, the water's nice

I woke up the next morning to find DW up and getting ready. She seemed to have small hint of excitement so I said nothing as she's subtle with things like this and it's better to let her come to it all on her own. It might have had something to do with the plans for breakfast as well

We had breakfast at Kona cafe which DW had been looking forward to for the tonga toast. She mentioned that she was going to try the pressed pot of coffee as well. We made it to breakfast and had a wonderful server named Ann. She brought over a sample of the passion fruit juice which DW and DD both seemed to like. I was in the mood for orange juice so I just let them finish it off. I had the Big Kahuna and DD had a fruit cup as we would feed her some from our plates. They brought the meal and DW was impressed by the size of the Tonga toast. About two minutes into it and she had a smile on her face . Between that and the coffee she had quite a cafeene/sugar rush going on and was bouncing like tigger.

After that we hopped on a bus and headed over to AK. When we got there we found our first animal experience right inside the gates. The african spoonbills were building their nests and you could see the eggs they had laid. DW and DD were enthralled by it.

So we headed up the path and further into the park. IT didn't take us long to find something else as DD loves ducks. We saw them and a few of them flew right into the walking path. I set DD down and she started chasing them around for five minutes. Other people on their way into the park made some room for her and laughed along with her as she gave chase.

Once the ducks had enough they flew away and DD was confused as to where they went.

DW showed her where they went and one of the ducks flew over their heads bringing one more surprising moment for DD before we headed into the park more and towards the tree of life.

We got our picture taken with the tree by the photopass people and it was off to Camp Minnie Mickey. As we came into the area we noticed Pocahontas with Meeko and a reasonably short line so we hopped on in. As we got closer the music caught DD's ears and she was trying to figure out where it was coming from. When it was her time to meet Pocahontas she went up to her but then turned again to look for the music. Pocahontas was amused by this and played along. DW and I hopped into the picture and we were on our way but not before sharing a funnel cake together.

We headed over and Chip and Dale were first. The Photopass pics from this area are much better as they caught DD's face as it light up seeing the characters for the first time and in the hugs.

Then it was over to Minnie Mouse who she seemed to be starstruck by for a moment before going in for some close up time.

After this DD was obviously tired so we let her lay down in the stroller and she was out like a light. We decided to take advantage of the time to get some food ourselves and decided to head over to Flametree BBQ. Both of us were less than impressed by the food here. We ate it but agreed we would have preferred something else.

We then did some shopping and took a walk around the area to take it in some more and enjoy ourselves. DW seemed to really enjoy all this as she was snapping away photo's of the wildlife, flowers, and area themes. We did a little shopping and headed up the path to the tree of life. DW really enjoyed this as we saw the kangaroos up close and she really seemed to enjoy spotting and taking pictures of all the animals on the tree. She later mentioned that she thought it was awesome how they had put it all together.

We then headed over to Africa as the plan was to do the walking trail and/or head over to Rafiki's planet watch once DD woke up. We got into africa and took a restroom break and the african drum show started up. This woke up DD who was both confused and interested in what was going on. I picked her up and we watched the show. She seemed to be more annoyed about them waking her up than interested but she couldn't take her eyes off them. After that we got a few snacks and decided it would be a good time to head over to Rafiki's. The train ride was fun and DD seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. DW commented on how the animal sleeping areas seemed like something out of Jurassic park. Once we got over there we found something that we could not ignore. The ELEPHANT statues. DD loves elephants and has taken to making the raspberries sound anytime she sees them. It's really cute and this time was no exception.

After about 10 minutes we had to pull her away from the elephants as we knew she would be enjoying what was next.

I'm going to stop here and pick this up later. See you all soon!

 

[dara00]

fun read - I love seeing reports about kids at disney!

 

[brea]

fun read - I love seeing reports about kids at disney!

Thanks for responding. The trip was mostly about DD but DW has some fun coming up so keep reading!

 

[FosterA]

yay! you made it back. I saw you started your TR the other day and was dying to start reading it but my family wouldn't leave me alone and let me get my DIS fix until today

anyway....Love your report so far! Of course I'm dying to hear what your wife thinks of it all since she's the female version of my husband.

oh...LOVE LOVE LOVE the pic of your DD with the prince

 

[brea]

yay! you made it back. I saw you started your TR the other day and was dying to start reading it but my family wouldn't leave me alone and let me get my DIS fix until today

anyway....Love your report so far! Of course I'm dying to hear what your wife thinks of it all since she's the female version of my husband.

oh...LOVE LOVE LOVE the pic of your DD with the prince

Glad to see you made it! Overall DW had a good reaction to it all but I'll outline it all as the TR goes on. I'm working on an update now.

 

[brea]

So I left off with us entering Rafiki's Planet Watch. As we headed in DW asked me to change DD's diaper before we headed in. No big deal I thought so I took her in and started the routine. As I took off the 1st diaper I noticed it wasn't really wet but figured I would change it anyway. As I was getting the new one ready DD gives me this big smile to which I return it only to look down and see she had taken this opportunity to pee all over the changing station.

Great but it wasn't that bad because I could reach around the corner and get some paper towels to wipe some of it up with.... What is this the only bathroom in all of Disney that doesn't have paper towells??? *insert unclean thoughts as there were kids and parents around*

I ended up cleaning up the mess with the original diaper and with some magical luck didn't get it on DD's clothes so the situation was avoided but my mood had taken a turn in the wrong direction. Ohhh how little things can frustrate you to no end.

I was able to shrug it off and get back into the swing of things though because when DW and DD are enjoying themselves, laughing and smiling it's hard for me not to follow suit. We went into the petting area and DD's face just light up. You could see she wasn't quite sure what to make of the goats and sheep but she liked them and had no problems getting up close with them. She really enjoyed herself in this area as you can see here

After this DD and I used a fastpass I had grabbed for the Kilimanjaro Safari. DW was unable to ride it considering she's pregnant so we were off. DW seemed to enjoy the down time and DD and I really enjoyed the safari. DW asked me to take video of it but I had a pretty hard time of keeping DD steady, taking the video and pointing things out on either side of us to DD so the video was left alone. the safari was pretty fun overall and DD loved seeing the lion as she gave her best roar as we pulled away from it.

With DW being rested up a bit we headed over towards Dino land as we wanted DD to ride triceratop spin some being that Dumbo was down. On our way over DW stopped me after spotting a sign for a meet for Pooh and friends. I had totally missed it so it was a good spot on her part. Pooh is one of DD's favorite so we proceeded right down the path. There was a small line but it was enough that DD wasn't comfortable waiting to see her buddy. She started with the whining and I decided to let her see him through the fence which I hoped would give her some patience. What happened can only be described as sweet. She held onto the bars and watched pooh as if she had been missing him and finally was this close to him but wasn't quite there yet. She pressed her face against the fence and actually made marks on the sides of her face. When it was finally our turn it was awesome to watch. She acted like her and pooh had been close friends forever. It was wonderful to watch.

Then it was on to Eeyore who is DW's favorite. DD was playful with Eeyore and ran away from him and then back to him again which was fun to watch as well. Last was Tigger and she wasn't as bubbly with him but you could see she enjoyed herself.

After that we headed over to triceratop spin which DD spotted right away and you could see she was interested in it. The line was really short, only waited one ride before we were on it, and DD and DW sat together to work the up and down while I worked the lean leaver. As we got off the ride DD started clapping indicating that she enjoyed the ride. The line was still the same so we went on it again. This time DD sat with me and clapped away throughout and after the ride.

DW noticed a meet off to the side with Goofy and Pluto so we hopped in line and discussed this being the last thing for the day as DD was clearly tired but when we got to Goofy and Pluto none of the tiredness was showing through. She loves her characters.

On the way out we took one more pic with the tree of life (photopass) and headed home for the night. As we waited for our bus to the Poly the bus for the GF came by and I reminded DW that we could take it and ride the monorail back to our resort. The GF bus was almost empty so we hopped on it and shortly another couple followed. They told us the people behind us were thoroughly confused but they knew what was up as they were headed to MK.

Once we were back in the room I decided to ask DW what she thought so far. She told me she enjoyed it so far and that AK was better than she thought it was going to be. Even with it being a slow day she enjoyed the park and thought we should consider going back on one of our open days. She was not a fan of the buses and understands what all the fuss is about with the monorails. She said she doesn't think she would be enjoying herself as much if the parks were more packed though.

I guess that sets a pretty clear picture of what future trips would look like. Monorail resort and in the off season. Both of us had sore legs and feet so we got to bed early as tomorrow was a MK day and we had breakfast at the Crystal Palace.

 

[brea]

Well we woke up refreshed and ready to go. DW seemed a bit cheerful and DD found some new friends on the way to breakfast. The ducks that roam the grounds of the Polynesian were in the path waiting for us to walk by it seemed and DD loved that they were there. We loved it too because DD learned to say duck during the trip. Her version is "duu" but that was good enough for us.

We bypassed the ropes and headed on into the MK and hooked up with a photopass photographer to take our picture. I was touched to see how much this lady cared and she asked DW "why are you crying and how can we fix it?" with a very concerned and serious tone. It kind of startled me because I was wondering the same thing. DW said it was the morning wind that had gotten in her eyes and made them tear up so she wiped them and we had a couple of nice pictures and DD and DW got a magical photo with DW holding tink in her hands.

As we waited for our call to breakfast DW and DD found a squirrel that they had to chase. DD seems to love chasing animals and keeps a safe distance away but again was confused when the squirrel wandered out of sight.

We got into breakfast pretty quickly and within about 5 minutes pooh was at our table. DD was thrilled to see her buddy and hugged him and played with him. Shortly after pooh left Eeyore was behind us playfully hiding from DD and when she saw him they had a good time together as well. DW hates piglet and I believe we were talking about something else when he came over and I got this pic. I'm pretty sure she didn't know he was there.

After tigger made his way over we took our time eating our breakfast and DW mentioned that she was impressed with the Crystal Palace and was surprised how much she liked the Disney buffets. On our way out we snapped some pictures and decided it was time to ride some rides. We headed off into the Magic Kingdom and where was our first stop? Anyone have a guess?

 

[FosterA]

First off, Congrats on handling that diaper change like a pro!

It's a bummer though that wife couldn't go on Safari. I wonder why? I mean...it's not really that rough is it? Oh well....better safe than sorry of course. I can't imagine trying to take a video and keep DD from bouncing out. yikes!

We were really amused by the ducks at Poly too. They were everywhere!
Glad your DW liked the buffet...we never tried any buffets at Disney but it's on my to-do list for next time!

I bet ya'll went to Small World next right? I don't think you already did that one, unless I missed an update.

can't wait for next update!

 

[brea]

First off, Congrats on handling that diaper change like a pro!

It's a bummer though that wife couldn't go on Safari. I wonder why? I mean...it's not really that rough is it? Oh well....better safe than sorry of course. I can't imagine trying to take a video and keep DD from bouncing out. yikes!

We were really amused by the ducks at Poly too. They were everywhere!
Glad your DW liked the buffet...we never tried any buffets at Disney but it's on my to-do list for next time!

I bet ya'll went to Small World next right? I don't think you already did that one, unless I missed an update.

can't wait for next update!

To be honest I was a little confused about the safari thing as well. It was bumpy but it didn't make me jump out of my seat or anything. We decided it was better to be safe as well.

The ducks at the poly were cool and DD seemed to really fall in love with Ducks, more on that later.

I'm working on the next update but also trying to get back into things at work and that's the main thing right now. I'll probably put out more tonight.

 

[brea]

So as I left off we finished breakfast and headed into the MK. We walked around the outside of the hub and into the Liberty Square area. Our thoughts were to head up into Fantasy Land and take a look at IASW and Peter Pan.

On our way through though we noticed that the Mansion had a 5 minute wait time listed. Hard to pass this up as this was one of the attractions DW was looking forward to so we parked the stroller and headed in. The line was non-existent so we took our time and headed through the graveyard. DW was taking it all in and then she touched the wall with the musical instruments and they started playing "ohhh cool they play when you touch them" she said and her and DD spent a few minutes playing with them. DD seemed to like the organ more than anything else as she walked back to it after we moved away from it. Then we moved around and DD and DW noticed the bookcase and spent a few minutes playing with it as well.

In all the time we spent in the graveyard only three other people joined us I think. We walked up to the main doors and now it seems DD was on a hunt for what was next as she walked up to the trashcan and started poking it and gave a face like *it doesn't do anything* and started walking back into the graveyard.

I picked her up and showed her the headstone that opens her eyes and she enjoyed that until we got let into the ride. We walked right onto the ride once we got through the 1st rooms and DD was awesome at how she took it all in. DW commented throughout and seemed to enjoy the ghost room as she pointed out several groups of ghosts on the chandeliers and such. Then at the end of the ride DW really got a kick out of the hitchhiking ghosts and the ghosts on our cart. DD clapped as we left and you could see both of them enjoyed the ride.

DW commented as we came out that she really enjoyed the ride as it's theming was more in depth than she had expected. She commented that we'd have to go on it again.

I grabbed some fast passes for Peter Pan and we headed into IASW. I didn't know what to expect here as DW had commented several times that she thought the idea of the ride was "creepy" from the video's she'd seen. We hopped on the ride and headed in. DD wasn't interested at first but the dancing dolls quickly grabbed her attention and she was hooked throughout the ride. DW sat in silence but pointed some things out to DD from time to time. As we came out of the ride I mentioned that there was a hidden mickey somewhere and we both looked for it without finding it.

DD seemed to love the ride and the line was still really short so we decided to do it again. I was surprised that it was DW's idea to do it again so I asked and she admitted that she was pleasantly surprised with the ride and wasn't creep-ed out by it at all. DD seemed to have had enough by the end of the second ride and neither of us found the hidden mickey on the second go around either.

We decided to get bathroom breaks and get into line for Winnie the Pooh as the line seemed short enough and DD and DW played throughout the line queue. DD really seemed to enjoy herself and when we got around to where pooh was showing she really lit up. We got on the ride and DD was locked into the action. DW pointed things out and no sooner had it started the ride was over. DW commented to this and said the ride was too quick.

We decided to head down towards Cosmic Rays and get some lunch. It was at a good time too because DD was done and passed out in her stroller. We really took our time, got some bathroom breaks and looked around the area. I took some photo's of Alice and the White Rabbit as well as the tea party bushes for my sister who is a big Alice fan and we looked over the map to decide what to do. DW showed some interest in seeing the Carosell of Progress because she wanted to see some of the older rides and see what made them so popular as well as wanting to see what Walt's image of the future was about. We both laughed throughout the ride but were disappointed in the updates at the end. DW noted that she would have liked to see it in it's original form (which we later looked up on youtube).

We decided it was time to head over to adventureland as we had ignored this area to this point. We about walked onto the Tiki Room and DD couldn't look away from the pre-show. DD started out liking the show but got disinterested about 2/3 of the way through and DW wasn't overly impressed with the show at all. We took our time and caught the show with Jack Sparrow and recorded some of it for our nephew who's a big fan and then headed into Pirates.

The ride went well but DD did not like the drop as it was likely too dark. DW commented that she enjoyed the ride however it was a lot darker a ride than she had imagined. We did a little shopping and decided it was time to head out of the park and towards dinner at Ohana. We alowed ourselves ample time so we just enjoyed ourselves and got on the monorail and back to our resort with more than enough time to spare.

That's it for this installment. DW clearly enjoyed herself and made several comments about that throughout the day beyond what I've noted here. Sorry this update has taken so long. More to come!

 

[brea]

So we took the extra time to head back to our room and freshen up for dinner. DW admitted that she was impressed by the Magic Kingdom rides and we agreed that we should discuss our open days and plan them as tomorrow was one of them.

We got checked into dinner and was seated within a reasonable amount of time but not before I was able to help a little girl figure out how to secure her pins on her lanyard using the lockable pins. It was cute because she was intently watching as I figured it out and showed her. I think she had some pins she wanted to protect.

Our server walked us in and explained everything. DD was all over the bread so apparently she was hungry. Our server was from the Orlando area and was excellent at getting us everything and explaining things as well.

When the food started coming.... OMG....

Those Honey wings were heaven and I quickly figured out from what I'd read that it was only going to get better. DW commented on how good the dumplings were and DD had destroyed her area with bread and the noodles that we gave her.

The entertainer was very good. He got all the kids out and around the floor and playing games. We were right on the walkway so the kids bumped our table and knocked over my drink. It was ok as it only spilled some and not on any of the food.

As they brought the beef, chicken, shrimp and pork you couldn't hear a peep out of me. DW didn't have much more to say and at the end we both looked at eachother with that *I want more... will you judge me if I keep going* look

I didn't care and got another serving of the chicken. that was great with the sweet dipping sauce. There are no pictures from any of this because, well if you've eaten there you understand.

I cannot say enough about that restaurant. It should be a must for any vacation to Disney and possibly twice.

The couple of things we did discuss were this.

1. We decided not to go back to the MK as DD could use the rest and it would allow us to prepare for the next day as well.
2. We were going to use the 1st open day for MK as DW wanted to get DD a Minnie Mouse dress and get some pics with the main guys.
3. We had planned to use the fastpasses for Peter Pan but those would go stale so we had to make it back for that ride.

We took some time to shop in the main resort store for items to take home. I noticed DW looking at the picture frames for an extended period but she didn't pick any out. I picked out a nice subtle executive pen and that was all we bought there.

DW was showing some signs of wear so I took DD for the dress fitting to the children's store at the resort. The staff at the store were amazingly helpful, letting us try on the dress to find the right one as well as getting some Minnie Mouse ears. DD took this time to get her hands on a pluto plush as well which dad couldn't say no to so we went back to the room with that as well.

We headed back to the room, prepped for bed and got ready for the next day.

 

[brea]

I want to get a couple of updates out while I'm able. Works tough this week.

So we woke up early and had reservations at Kona Cafe again. We got in and got out with the intention of making it to rope drop. We made it and shortly after we got there the show was on. DD seemed to enjoy it and as we headed in she was pointing at the people up by the railroad apparently wanting more.

We got in and headed right for the Mickey line to see how the dress would go over.

After that we headed out into mainstreet only to find a line to meet Pinocchio that was about 4 deep. Hard to pass that up so we did. DD wasn't too keen on him but checked him out some. DW headed for the bathroom and I noticed a line for Snow White that was about the same so we hopped into it. DD wasn't too keen on her but Snow White was really good and get DD going a little. DW came over just as we got to her and noticed Mary Poppins behind Tony's so we headed over there next. Mary and DD got along well and Mary even got kisses from DD. DD saw Pinocchio again and showed a lot more interest in him so we went again and they really had a good time together. Then DD saw Pluto again so we had to jump into that line. As we were standing in line we both overheard the family behind us talking to their son about going over "character etiquette". I couldn't help but listen in but apparently you're only allowed to hug the characters and nothing else. DW and I noted that we had to stick around and see how this went. DD saw pluto again and the kid that had the etiquette explained was afraid of Pluto but finally leaned in for a picture. I felt bad for the kid and we moved on.

I took the time to take a restroom break and boy am I glad I did. On the way back I noticed the pin cart where they give you the pins for various celebrations. I decided to get an "I'm celebrating" pin and I asked the guy to write babymoon on it. The guy gave me an odd glance and I explained it was to have some fun with DW. He smiled and handed it over. I decided to put it on the stroller and wait to see when DW would notice it.

We headed up mainstreet and DW got her picture with sister sufferage and then we saw the opening cast do a dance routine and several of them came over to DD after which was nice. DW made a funny comment when I said "better than our local amusement park huh?". She responded. "yeah you're right we don't have flash mobs there"

I noticed that the castle was pretty wide open and everytime we had been by it there was a stage show so we decided to head up through the castle.

 

[FosterA]

great updates!!
My fave MK ride of all is definitely Haunted Mansion. Glad to hear your wife was impressed too!

After hearing how much you liked Ohana, I wish we had done that instead of the Luau.
ooooohhhhhh....super cute Minnie dress on DD!

 

[dara00]

the picture with minnie and mickey is great!

 

[brea]

So we're heading up through the castle and a CM approaches us and talks us up some telling us that DD is so cute and asking if we're planning on dining with the princesses during our stay. I explain that we had dinner at 1900 park fare and didn't have plans to. She presses on and asks if there's anything we're celebrating during our stay and I figure now is the right time to spring the babymoon pin so I tell then CM that she's the first person I'm telling and I point to the pin. DW looks confused about where the pin came from and asks about it. I act like it's been there all along and say what??? it's our babymoon.

>>>>>
SOME BACKGROUND

Before our trip when DW had little knowledge of Disney I was explaining that we could get an upgrade possibly and used the term "pixie dust" to refer to it. DW gave me a blank stare and asked "they're not going to throw glitter on us are they" to which I got a good laugh and said no. DW has a saying about glitter. "it's the herpes of the craft world. Just when you think it's gone it pop's back up somewhere".

Any time I had to call Disney to add something or make a change to our reservations DW would tell me "tell them it's our babymoon. We might get an upgrade". I mentioned it once but for the most part I didn't tell anyone.
>>>>>

So back to the story. The CM realizes what's going on and says "ohh you're pregnant and are celebrating it with this trip??? COME WITH ME". She grabs DW's hand and takes her across the way into the BBB. I'm standing there wondering what's about to happen but realizing it's some type of Disney magic. The CM waives for me to join and we're in line at the BBB. When we get to the front the CM says to the lady at the desk. "This couple are celebrating their pregnancy isn't that wonderful? Is there anything you can do to make their day more magical?

The woman at the counter asks DW to come around and pulls out a wand with a star on it. Tells DW to close her eyes and make a wish. She does so and the CM waives the wand and says "bibbity bopity boo" and as she does so GLITTER comes out all over DW's hair, face, and shirt. It was all I could do to not burst out laughing. The CM saw it in me and asked if I wanted any to which I politely declined.

We walked out and I lost it. DW was saying it's not funny and I reminded her that it was her that wanted me to tell people that we were on our babymoon.

HAPPY BABYMOON DEAR!

 

[brea]

great updates!!
My fave MK ride of all is definitely Haunted Mansion. Glad to hear your wife was impressed too!

After hearing how much you liked Ohana, I wish we had done that instead of the Luau.
ooooohhhhhh....super cute Minnie dress on DD!

Thanks. She's reading along with us on the TR. She said it wasn't as hokey as she thought it would be which was refreshing to her. She mentioned the hitchhiking ghost thing again as being very amusing.