Glitter, Magic, Fun and CHARACTERS!!

[brea]

the picture with minnie and mickey is great!

Thanks a lot. We're very happy with the pictures we got. There's so many that are frame worthy.

 

[brea]

The rest of the day went pretty smoothly with us getting on Pooh two more times, the carousel a few more times and we shopped some more as DD napped. I noticed DW looking at the picture frames again so I asked and she noted that she liked them but she was looking for something more subtle. She said she liked one with an old time look because the mickey heads looked more like "hidden mickeys" (NOTE - Was this DW referencing Hidden Mickeys as a reason for a choice??? I was seeing some type of change in her. She was admitting she was enjoying herself and now she was referencing things specific to the parks.)

We purchased a few items to include a frame for DD's room and had them shipped back to our room. I should note here that I was touched as DW picked out a plastic cup with Mickey and Walt on it to replace my plastic water bottle at work. She does think of me....

We went on Pooh again and realized it was time to start heading out of the park to head towards the Hoop De Doo which we had scheduled for 4pm. As we were on our way out we realized the 3pm parade was about to start. We found a spot right on the rope in the main circle at the entrance that didn't have a glare from the sun and decided to stand there.

As soon as the parade started we realized we had picked the right spot because DD was glued to the action and soon enough the characters started coming. Not sure but we think we set a record of some kind as just about every character that could came up to or recognized DD during the parade. Here's the list.

Woody - Came up to DD

Jessie - Came up to DD

Chip - Came up to DD and played with her for a moment with Dale

Dale - above

Minnie - Pointed out DD that they had the same dress on. DD loved this

Stepmother - Told DD that she was very practical for wearing a hat on a day like today

Anastasia - Told DD "ohhh you're still new"

Abu - really got DD interest again as she likes monkeys

Queen of hearts - Came up to DD and tweaked her nose and played a little

Two dancers - Came over to DD in between dance routines

Snow white - Noticed DD and pointed her out to Prince Charming and waved

Dopey - played peek a boo with DD from the float

and of course DD noticed Dumbo on the float and gave him her elephant rasberries.

The family next to us commented throughout the parade that they picked the right spot and thanked us afterwards. Not sure what there was to thank us for but we talked it up some as we both headed out of the park. Their little girls really enjoyed themselves.

We found the transport to Ft. Wilderness and the Hoop De Doo which happened to only be by boat. DW does not like boats so I was a bit worried but she handled it quite well and even wanted to sit on the outside portion of the boat and sat on the edge rather than on the inside. I was surprised by this. I did my best to keep her mind occupied on other things by pointing things out about the resorts, the old river country area, and whatever else I could come up with and it worked (or maybe DW was kind of enjoying herself and didn't mind it that much at all???)

We got to Pioneer hall with about 10 minutes to spare, had our photo taken, took restroom breaks and waited in line for the dinner bell.

 

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So the dinner bell rings and we head into Pioneer hall. We were seating in the second row back and just about in front of the stage. Our server came over and got excited because she had a couple of Hoop De Doo rookies (it had been a long time for me so I just went along with it). DW asked about the menu and how and when we order. She explained to sit back and be careful because the food would come fast.

The photopass person came over to sell us our photo and told us she just had to get our table because she recognized DD from the Pooh and friends meet in AK the other day. She said it was one of her favorite photo ops of the day and she later went back and looked at the photos and said we got some really good ones. That was fun but we still didn't buy the photo.

DD was a bit cranky until the cast came in. As soon as they entered she was mesmerized and couldn't take her eye's off them. She would look from side to side taking in what each actor did like it was a life or death situation. They ran through their routine and mentioned that there might even be people from overseas... Canada!! and then headed into the audience to announce where people were from. Wouldn't you know it we did indeed have some people from overseas and they announced them. That family seemed to really get a kick out of it. A couple of the female actors really took to DD but that was old hat by this point in the trip.

Then they announced dinner was ready and headed off stage. DD was really confused about where they went and spent several minutes looking for them and looking and searching... until we put some food in front of her.

The food was pretty good. Both DW and I liked it (fried chicken, ribs, Baked beans, mashed potatoes, and corn). It used to be corn on the cob as I remember tearing up my share of those puppies. We ate most of it and didn't really feel a need for seconds.

The rest of the show went pretty well and the audience participation scenes went exceptionally well. It seems everyone really got into it. They even had a little kid in it and one of the actors gave him a smooch on the cheek and his facial expression was perfect little kid *a girl just kissed me * and made everyone laugh.

One thing I'll note is that the 4pm show was really empty. I don't know if it was the time of year or what but they only filled the main floor and there were quite a few empty tables there. It ensured that everyone got some type of attention from the actors.

After the show we took our time heading back to the boat as DD wanted to explore the area some which we were happy to let her. When we got back on the boat we noticed that the people from Canada (I mean overseas) were on with us. Their kids and DD began playing some and as we got closer it got darker and the kids turned on their tinkerbell glow sticks. DD was enthralled by this and worked very hard to get her hands on one.

the teenager of their group seemed to enjoy watching DD play with it and just as we got off I tried to get it back off DD and the teen offered to let her sister have hers so that DD could keep it. It was a very nice gesture and gave DD a bit of magic for herself so we wished our friends from overseas a wonderful rest of their stay and headed back into MK to get a few more rides in.

We hit up Peter Pan first as we had fastpasses that I grabbed earlier ( If you're reading this after March of 2012 then sorry. You'll have to have used your FP's much earlier. sucks). DW came away quite impressed by this ride as it was nothing like she expected and quite enjoyed the perspective on the whole story it gave. We headed down and did the haunted mansion one more time as DW seemed excited to go on it again and I think we caused the ride to stop and we stood DD up in the seat to get a look down at the ghosts. It didn't start until after we sat her down. I heard the 1st announcement but never through a child being held on her fathers lap would be an issue so ignored it and then the second one made me re-think it some.

***Note from earlier in the day*** I had forgotten to mention that we saw Mickey's Philharmagic which DW said she enjoyed a lot as it was mostly about movies from her childhood but the carpet ride scene's gave her some queasiness (guess soarin is out huh?).

We decided to head out for the night and try to catch the fireworks from the Poly beach. We caught them and enjoyed it and had a really good time.

Tomorrow was Epcot so we went to bed to get ready for the next day.

 

[FosterA]

Great updates!
That is HILARIOUS about the glitter incident I mean come on, a head full of glitter is sooooo better than a room upgrade

Your DD really scored in the cuteness department and it sounds like all the characters thought so too! She met a ton of them.

We really liked the Hoop, or at least my husband really did. I thought the food was really really good. I'm impressed that your DD sat through it all ok. I'm not sure my kids would have at that age.
We thought the boat ride over to the Hoop was great and one of our favorite memories. The wind felt good and since we went to the later show, there was no sun beating down on us.

looking forward to more updates....

 

[brea]

Great updates!
That is HILARIOUS about the glitter incident I mean come on, a head full of glitter is sooooo better than a room upgrade

Your DD really scored in the cuteness department and it sounds like all the characters thought so too! She met a ton of them.

We really liked the Hoop, or at least my husband really did. I thought the food was really really good. I'm impressed that your DD sat through it all ok. I'm not sure my kids would have at that age.
We thought the boat ride over to the Hoop was great and one of our favorite memories. The wind felt good and since we went to the later show, there was no sun beating down on us.

looking forward to more updates....

Thanks FosterA. We get people stopping to tell us how wonderful DD is all the time, and she really is. Has us really worried that we're really gonna pay on the second time around, *fingers crossed*. Her attitude is amazing and she really tries hard to soak everything in.

I'm gonna try to get a few more updates out before the weekends out.

 

[brea]

It's been a while since I've been able to update the TR. I hope I haven't lost the small set of readers I seemed to have when I was working on it.

So we woke up ready to go to Epcot and had Chef Mickeys scheduled as well. We got ready and hopped on the Monorail and over to the Contemporary. We got into line and made it to our seats pretty quickly and DW grabbed some food and didn't forget the Mickey Waffles. She commented on them so apparently they had made an impression the other morning at the Crystal Palace.

DD was into the food and didn't notice the characters coming so they kind of Surprised her but she got into the action with them pretty quickly.

We finished up and headed over to the TTC and changed over. When we got on the new Monorail the driver came on and announced that we would be stopping once on our way for a maintenance check. I wasn't thrilled with this but didn't say anything. We stopped and I felt the stuttering and just hoped that it was part of the maintenance process. We pulled into Epcot and DW was looking around and as we were coming around to pull back into the station the Monorail stopped and started stuttering again. It took us about 20 minutes to get in but we did and I was happy to be off and in the station.

We made our way into Epcot and got some photopass pics and noticed that Stitch and Daisy duck had some pretty short lines so we headed over. DW went up to see stitch and I noticed she had a big smile. I was called over to take a pic and as I walked up Stitch made it clear that I wasn't wanted with some rasberries. DW later explained that stitch licked the side of her face and the way the CM did it made her feel like he was actually licking the side of her face.

DD was passed out in the stroller and Stitch was interested and came over. We got some good pics with him shushing next to her.

We headed in further, took some bathroom breaks and then DW dropped it on me. "I just want to warn you that I'm not really felling my best today and it looks like we're going to do a lot of walking. I'm going to try really hard to keep a good mood but it's just not there right now."

Now I was kind of feeling the same way so I was glad that I hadn't been the first one to say it. About this time DD woke up and I noticed the Character spot so we decided to head in there and see how we felt afterward. When DD saw Mickey she ran up to him and just hugged him for about 2 minutes (not kidding). Mickey just held her and let her hug him and you could tell he (probably she) was touched by it as DD walked away.

Next was Pluto and we found out here that apparently DD was getting the hang of this posing with the characters thing.

She met up with Minnie and they had a good time and surprisingly Goofy seemed to be one of DD's favorites. She met Donald as well but for some reason we just didn't get any good pics of her with him.

We headed out and noticed the seas with Nemo so decided to head in. I had never been on this ride so we just walked in and apparently the CM out front missed us because a CM had to take our stroller just as we were getting on the ride. They told us it would be out in the stroller area so we were happy with that and got on the ride. DW seemed to like it and we tried to point things out to DD but she seemed to just be taking it all in rather than being interested.

As we came out we noticed turtle talk with crush and decided to head in. DD really liked the aquariums and watched the fish closely. We got into the TT area and DD seemed to be getting somewhat antsy. As it started she decided she wasn't happy so I started to take her out as DW wanted to see this attraction. DD calmed down so we went back but it was short lived and we all headed out found our stroller and headed over to the Soarin building. We had some lunch here and I had grabbed some Fastpasses for Soarin so I headed in there after we ate lunch.

We were really moving slow and we were ok with it.

I went on Soarin alone as DW wouldn't have been able to handle it. I really liked the ride. I noticed some of the things people talk about with the pixelation but it wasn't terrible.

Once I got out DW had headed out and was over at the upward moving fountain. I headed over because I had a photo to get. When I was a kid I got a photo with the jumping ponds that I always loved so we took a pic of me there and we headed towards the Countries area.

We moved in and around the areas and saw one of the shows in the UK which was fun and entertaining. DD was really down as she was coming out of her third nap of the day.

 

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So just before we crossed the bridge to France we noticed a meet with Pooh and Tigger and got in line. We had learned not to let DD see the characters until just as her turn was coming up so I stayed in line and DW kept her busy. As it was her turn and she was seeing them Tigger decided to play a game and dropped back about 20 feet and "hid" behind Pooh. DD went up to Pooh and just before they hugged she backed away, looked to the side and pointed at tigger and looked at Pooh with a puzzled look. Then she decided that this was cool and RAN as fast as her little feet could carry her to tigger and launched herself into his arms. It was really cute and the photopass guy was saying "that's gonna be the shot of the day". Tigger played with her a little and then Pooh came back over and she hugged Pooh and we got some pics with the three of them together. It was a really good moment and one that we hope DD can relive through the pics we got later in life.

 

[brea]

So we headed over towards France and got a really nice family pic with France in the background on the bridge (photopass). We headed into Canada and took a break there and sat on the wall.

As we were sitting there I looked to my left as I could hear them coming and now I saw them. It was one of the "TOUR GROUPS" and they were chanting and just having a good time. I noticed that the group consisted mainly of teenagers and their guide stopped them right in front of us. I decided that we would use this as an excuse to be a little more lazy and get some more rest in.

As you can see from the previous post DD was wearing her Minnie Mouse dress and the girls started pointing at DD and saying. "Mini Minnie" and laughing and a few took pics of her.

Then one of them looked at me and asked if she could take a picture with her and I figured why not except I didn't realize that would be an invitation for 40 teenage girls to descend on our 16 month old daughter. They sat down and took pics and DD looked to us to ensure we weren't going anywhere and then started eating up the attention.

So.... for about a 5 minute span our little girl became a "mini" character meet in Epcot!

I asked one that could speak english well enough to find out that they were from Argentenia and I can still hear a few of them shout as they skipped off "GO - TO - CAN - A - DA.... GO - TO - CAN - A - DA!!!"

After this we headed through the rest of the countries and saw the acrobats in China and a nice funny show in Italy.

For the most part DW "liked" Epcot but because of how she felt she wasn't as interested in exploring the area as much as she had in previous days. We worked our way around and back towards Canada because we had ressies at Le Cellier.

 

[dara00]

the picture with tigger is adorable! she is really so cute, that is hilarious about the teens posing with her, but understandable!

 

[brea]

the picture with tigger is adorable! she is really so cute, that is hilarious about the teens posing with her, but understandable!

Thanks! we really had a wonderful time even though we weren't feeling our best. Looking back we are thrilled with some of the pics we got and realized it really was a trip for DD more than anything which is why the TR kind of focuses on her. We tried to live the trip through her.

A funny moment I left out. As we were entering the world showcase DW said "When I looked at the weather report today it said cloudy so I got excited but if this is cloudy then I don't know cause you could gather up all of the clouds in the sky and they would only equate to one cloud *puff* in Pittsburgh"

 

[GatorMommy2007]

So fun! How old is your DD? I must have missed it. It's so cute how receptive she is to the characters!

 

[brea]

So fun! How old is your DD? I must have missed it. It's so cute how receptive she is to the characters!

During the trip DD was 16 months. She really was receptive to them. I feel like I'm flooding the TR with the pics and it's only a small amount of them. I'm leaving some out so that I'm not bludgeoning the readers with characters and DD.

 

[brea]

Gonna try and get this TR completed. I've probably lost all my readers but I still want to finish it up.

So we went to Le Cellier for dinner. There's not much to say about that place other than WOW is that some good food. We both had the Fillet and I had an appetizer that I ended up getting free because the waitress forgot to put it in. It was very filling and we just had an awesome time.

While we were waiting to be seating DD just had a blast walking outside on the small bridge going over the pond. Apparently it was just the right angle to give her practice walking so she was up/down/up/down and all around it. I felt bad as some groups walked around her but she actually took note of them and moved herself which I was happy to see. She made a friend as a boy probably about 6-8 months older than her came over and they walked together.

I think it's interesting that they make the gator noises to keep the birds away from the garden. Doesn't stop the ducks but it was an interesting twist.

 

[brea]

I messed up earlier in the TR and listed that we went to Chef Mickeys on the wrong day so I won't bother repeating that experience again. We had actually gone to Kona Cafe that day and if I haven't mentioned it before... Kona Cafe has some good breakfast.

After breakfast we split up and DW took the monorail around to the MK and hopped on a bus to get her massage at the Mandara Spa in the Dolphin resort. DD and I headed over to AK for some time alone to check things out more and wait for mom to make it back.

MANDARA SPA
DW has asked me to say a few things about this Spa. First she got the pregnancy massage and then a mani/pedi. She was thrilled with the experience and it left her feeling very rejuvenated. Her thoughts were that she was happy with the masseuse and she allowed her to relax with little conversation (there had been reports that might be an issue.). She said to mention that if there was any concern about what to bring you should not worry. The lockers they give you are very large and provide adequate space to store just about anything you would have on your person. The mani/pedi went very well and her only regret was that she couldn't have a drink during the process.

AK
DD and I headed over to AK and we found goofy and timon outside gretting guests. DD did NOT like timon and would only stare but go no closer. She went right up to goofy and enjoyed his company.

It became pretty apparent that DD was still a bit tired from yesterday's activities in Epcot because she was completely content with sitting in the stroller and quickly was asleep. I decided to head over the Camp Minnie Mickey so that when she woke up we could get some character time in.

Little did I know that this was a full out sleeping session and it was coming at the worst time imaginable from the perspective of meeting characters. For literally 45 minutes there was NEVER a line more than 4 people deep for any of the characters in the area. It was soooo slow that Minnie Mouse came out of her hut and was greeting families at the entrance to her hut.

One thing it did allow me to do was get some pics with a few of the characters shushhhing next to DD while she slept. Those turned out to be some fun pics that I'll share with DD later in life. We got one with Donald, The lady Bunny rabbit and brer fox.

DD woke up for a bit and we played with Minnie and had some extended time with Chip and Dale after a character changeout and the new ones played with her but she was still sleepy and only stared as they jumped around her.

She stayed up for about 20-30 minutes and then decided to go back to sleep. I decided to just take the time and wait it out until lunch arrived or DW made it back from her spa session.

 

[brea]

So I decided to sit in a shady spot and relax and let DD finish her second nap when a CM notices her sleeping and comes up to me and asks how we're enjoying ourselves and commented on how DD must be pretty tired from all the fun. I told her yes we were and were just waiting for DW to make it back to the park. The CM asks where she was and I explained and said that she deserved it because she works so hard for our family.

The CM smiles and says "you're a good dad. Are you planning to see the festival of the Lion King today?" to which I replied we were and it was one of the main reasons we had come back to the park today. The CM said she would like to offer us all VIP seating for the show of our choice. I happily accepted and called DW who was just finishing up her appointment. We worked out a time where we could be sure she would be back and went about our way. I was pretty happy with this as I had never seen the show but figured VIP seating couldn't be bad.

DW called when she made it back and we met at Pizzafari had some lunch and then headed over to the show. We had front row seats and the show really was awesome. We thanked the CM for the wonderful opportunity on our way out and began to head out and make our plans for the rest of the day. We realized we didn't have much time as we had to head over to Downtown Disney for dinner so decided to watch the parade and then head out. We took our time heading out and really enjoyed the early areas of the park as we knew we would not be coming back and DW commented on how much she really liked Animal Kingdom and it was a lot more than she expected.

 

[brea]

We took a bus down to DTD and headed over to Raglan Road. We both knew our vacation was coming to an end and while we wouldn't admit it we were both somewhat ready for it to be over.

We got into the rest and got seated pretty quickly. DD decided to have a fit for some reason and I did my best to keep her calm and DW had a bit of a melt down herself. I decided to sit with DD and attempt to let DW enjoy herself as this was one of the restaurants she was looking forward to eating at. We ordered our food and the night time entertainment started with the irish steppers. DD was thoroughly interested in them which allowed me to enjoy my meal some.

We had read that the entertainment got loud so we timed our dinners to get out just as the band started which worked out pretty well and we headed left and walked through the area and enjoyed the atmosphere which was more hectic than I had expected.

The area around Planet Hollywood was pretty busy but there wasn't much that interested us so we headed back the other way and found plenty to enjoy. DW was thrilled by the lego store and the amazing displays they had outside so we spent some time taking pictures of those and then we went into the Disney store to buy some gifts for people back home.

Once we were done with this we decided it was time to head back and DD was showing the tell tale signs of sleepiness and as noted earlier we weren't in the mood to fight too any crowds.

Back to the resort we went and began packing and got to sleep early enough to have a pretty good sleep.

 

[alliesue]

Just wanted to say that I've really enjoyed your TR! We have a DD who we took last October when she was 15 months and it really was a great age to take her!! Brought her again last month (at 19 months) and she was a bit more high maintenance - bit still so much fun! Thanks so much for sharing!!

 

[FosterA]

Hey, you didn't lose me. It's spring break here in TX and my kids have been running me ragged. Just now got to sit back and get all caught up. yipee! I missed a bunch.

I do LOVE that photo of DD with Tigger where she's snuggled in with him and looking at the camera.
I also need to comment on Kona for breakfast. I agree....fabulous breakfast! I had the Kona version of eggs benedict and it was excellent.

Happy your DW was able to get to relax and get a massage and such and that it turned out so well! Maybe that will rejuvinate her just enough to get through this trip!

looking forward to the rest of the report....

 

[brea]

Hey, you didn't lose me. It's spring break here in TX and my kids have been running me ragged. Just now got to sit back and get all caught up. yipee! I missed a bunch.

I do LOVE that photo of DD with Tigger where she's snuggled in with him and looking at the camera.
I also need to comment on Kona for breakfast. I agree....fabulous breakfast! I had the Kona version of eggs benedict and it was excellent.

Happy your DW was able to get to relax and get a massage and such and that it turned out so well! Maybe that will rejuvinate her just enough to get through this trip!

looking forward to the rest of the report....

Nice to see that I didn't lose you. I had lost myself again so hadn't really been able to get back in and complete the report. Will be doing that soon. It's probably a good thing because now after a couple of months of being back I have a bit more insight into DW's thoughts on the trip.

 

[brea]

So it was time to head home. Our plane wasn't leaving until around 4:30 so we called and they were nice enough to give us a 1PM checkout. We took our sweet old time getting ready. DW and DD were spent so we didn't really have any plans to go to a park that day.

We did however make one last trip to Kona Cafe as DW wanted one last pressed pot and breakfast from there. Did that and then just kind of lounged around the area. We mosied on over to the GCH and grabbed some last minute souvineers and made the trek outside to wait for the bus. DW didn't want to leave but she was also ready to go if that makes sense and I believe I was in the same boat. We were mostly quiet on our way home and had planned to make it home on Saturday night so that we had some time to recoup at home before heading back to work and getting back into the swing of things.

So there's some outstanding questions that need answered. After having a few months to think about and discuss it here are the answers.

1. Did DW get what's behind the magic? - Yes and No

She really enjoyed herself and admits that she did not know what to expect. She now says that she wasn't prepared for how enjoyable it would be to watch DD enjoy herself as much as she did and that is probably one of the biggest selling points for a return trip.

DW is officially a Monorail resort and more to the point a Poly snob . She's not thrilled at all with the contemporary but LOVES the theming of the Poly. We took a good look at the GF but in the end the poly and it's theming wins out. She couldn't imagine staying at a resort where we'd have to take a bus constantly.

She's REALLY looking forward to going back when she's able to have a glass of wine or three with dinner.


2. Will DW think IASW is creepy after riding it?

She does. She liked that DD enjoyed it but she was only ok with it for that reason.

3. Will DD enjoy the characters? All of them?

DD enjoyed the characters more than we could have imagined. Except for the Prince Charming incident (which that look has now been dubbed her Prince Charming look) she loved them and since we've been home she's seen a few other characters and is thrilled to see them and runs right up to them.

4. Which park was our favorite and which was our least fav?

By far our favorite was Magic Kingdom and Epcot was our least favorite and I believe that had a lot to do with us hitting the wall. DW and I have discussed forgoing that park on another visit or visiting it with a park hopper option. We think we made the right decision by skipping HS but look forward to taking DD and her new brother or sister there in the coming years.

5. Is 16 months too young to take a child to Disney?

ABSOLUTELY NOT - however I do feel that your individual childs temperament and attitude towards characters, heat, and few other small factors should weigh in on the decision. At the end of the day both DW and I agree that we will never have the opportunity to take DD there again and have her be the way she was at that time. They grow up so fast and I'm sure that if we went back now it would be a different trip than the one we took here.


One interesting note from discussion DW and I have had is that she would prefer to go during the February "down" time for the parks and is completely OK with taking the kids out of school to do it. She believes after looking at some pictures from the busy times of the year that it's a worthwhile thing to do as long as we help the kids stay on top of their homework and such.

I'm only a little surprised that DW enjoyed herself and looks forward to going back as I knew it would be hard for her not to find something she enjoyed. I am surprised as how easy a conversation it is to discuss our going back. I'm not sure that I had any real expectations in that area but I am surprised about it none the less.

One last thing that I will impart is BUY PHOTO PASS. We did and purchased the photo book option and I cannot overstate how happy we are with the finished product. It's given us one more little thing to help commemorate our trip and DD just loves looking at the pictures and has a few favorites that she always seems to gravitate towards.


I know this has been a long TR but I finally got it done. If anyone has any questions I'd be happy to answer them. I hope your trips to WDW are as happy as ours turned out to be!