Heat, Humidity, and Our Favorite Disney Dog Was a Thug! LINK TO NEW PTR!!

[RGirl]

What a wonderful CM to help you out with the KTTW card! That is why Disney is truly a magical place

He was just great - I was so stressed out about what to do and worrying that they wouldn't open until after our BBB reservation time. And he just came out and made everything okay. Gotta love that!

And Princess Willow looks just beautiful! Love the Ariel gown. I guess she'll be getting Merida next time? Or there is a new Princess movie coming out this fall isn't there? So maybe there will be new dress options. Disney will make sure to keep your closet stocked!

I am seriously going to rein myself in on the princess dresses! That closet just about made me choke.

I will be on the tour on Oct. 9 and I plan to write a TR when we return. Be sure to keep your eye out for my review.

Oh, I will totally be in for that TR! I can't wait to read about the tour and then to be jealous that you can go in October.

Well...as soon as I typed my response to you about wanting to possibly try pin trading....I bit the bullet and went online and bought some pins. So...THANK YOU...I wil be pin trading this trip!

Good for you!!! I can't wait to hear about how you enjoy it!

 

[RGirl]

Some Royal Meetings​

So when I last left off, we had transformed Miss Willow into Princess Willow, and she had engaged in her first pin trade. Once that was complete, we headed out and took up a spot at the FL rope.

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And then I remembered that our goal for this morning was to meet Merida. Now I have never been to the Fairytale Garden or whatever the heck they call the area where Rapunzel used to meet and where Merida now holds court. However, I had a pretty good idea where it was, and this was not the best approach. So we quickly turned around and headed down the path to the side of the castle, and found another rope right at the area where Merida meets. That rope dropped just before 9:00, and we saw that Merida would not be out until about 9:15. Willow really didn’t want to wait. She was just DYING to ride Dumbo so that she could take it high and scare me. (Yes - I have a height-based dislike of the Dumbo-type rides, but I do them anyway.) There was no sign of people lining up to meet Merida at this point, and I was thinking that the crazy wait times to see her had probably dissipated a bit now that she has been there for a while. So we decided to go check out the new Storybook Circus area and come back!

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When we arrived at Dumbo, we were the first family to board. A father and daughter team joined us, and they were the only other people on the ride!

DD was pretty excited!

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From Dumbo, Willow spotted the Barnstormer.

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This was the first roller coaster she ever did back when she was 3 years old, and she hadn’t been on it since as it was gone when we were last at WDW. Of course, she just HAD to do it next! So when our elephant landed, we headed towards the Barnstormer. Look how empty it was back there.

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Soon, we were “in line” for the Barnstormer:

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Yeah, no one else was there, except our father-daughter friends from Dumbo. So we were soon storming off with Goofy.

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When the ride ended (very quickly ), the CM asked if we wanted to go again, so we did. And then again. She offered another ride when we returned from the third, but we needed to get over for a royal meet-and-greet, so we departed. I think the father-daughter duo went ahead and rode yet again. There was still no sign of anyone else getting on the ride.

Up Next: Some Royal Meetings Cont.

 

[RGirl]

Some Royal Meetings Cont.​

When we arrived at Merida’s meet-and-greet area, the line was not bad at all. It was a few minutes before 9:15, but Merida was already out and greeting her guests. This is a really neat area.

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Merida was absolutely lovely. She chatted with each guest for quite some time, and Willow really enjoyed her.

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Both Merida and the CM attending to the line were crazy about the autograph page I had made for her. Merida asked Willow, “Is that my mum??? She even has her crown!”

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And here is Merida’s autograph page (I did a page for the autograph and a corresponding page to put the picture from the meet-and-greet; again, these are unfinished - I will be adding more along with a picture from each meet-and-greet):

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After meeting with Merida, you can learn how to shoot a bow and arrow! Well, Princess Willow was ALL OVER that!

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Up Next: Some Royal Meetings Cont.

 

[shan23877]

That sounds like such a fun morning!

If you add up all the rides on the Barnstormer, it almost equals a normal ride! Maddie loves that ride. I just wish it were longer.

Woooo Hoooo! Merida sounds awesome! I'm so glad you're sharing pics of the autograph pages. I can't wait to see all of them.

 

[wiigirl]

Very cute pics!

 

[STLMickeyMom]

I think that's the Merida we saw! She was awesome! She asked the girls how they got there and they were trying to explain the plane to her. she was trying to understand how they rode a bird that didn't flap it's wings all the way. So cute! And woohoo for dumbo and multiple barnstormer rides! Great start to the day!

 

[DisneyJo]

Oh my goodness how cute does Willow look after BBB, what a sweetie

I don't think we have family day here but what a lovely idea and definitely something to celebrate

I love your autograph page and how wonderful that Merida did too!

 

[chattadisser]

Ack…I got behind. Back to catch up.

Love the early morning MK pictures. They are so relaxing! Lovely service from the guest services CM. Doesn’t getting there on time for those BBB reservations make you stressed? The way they have the dresses in BBB set-up, makes even the adult me want one…especially the shoes!

Sorry about the bad BBB PP photographer. That’s not an eyes closed picture, it’s a “I’m showing off my wonderful eye make-up” picture! That’s just annoying because if you had known how bad they were going to be you could have just taken your own. I always feel like I am in their way if I am trying to take pictures at the same time that they are. Sometimes I don’t care…I can tell they are not good!

Eeew about the pee! Poor kid though…what kind of parent does that? Have they never had wet pants? I agree that you never know someone else’s situation or what else might be going on but I’m with you on this one, no scenario makes sense.

Willow looks so excited on Dumbo! It looks like you had Storybook circus all to yourselves. We were able to repeatedly ride the Barnstormer one time at night and it spoiled my girls! They think that everytime they should be able to keep riding without getting off!

Aww man! They weren’t doing the archery when we met Merida. I would have been all over that! It looks so fun.

Christine

 

[RGirl]

That sounds like such a fun morning!

It really was a great morning - in part because it was not fire-and-brimstone hot yet!

If you add up all the rides on the Barnstormer, it almost equals a normal ride! Maddie loves that ride. I just wish it were longer.

So true! It was really fun though - reliving that very first trip a little, you know.

Woooo Hoooo! Merida sounds awesome! I'm so glad you're sharing pics of the autograph pages. I can't wait to see all of them.

Merida was so much fun!

Very cute pics!

Thank you!

I think that's the Merida we saw! She was awesome! She asked the girls how they got there and they were trying to explain the plane to her. she was trying to understand how they rode a bird that didn't flap it's wings all the way. So cute! And woohoo for dumbo and multiple barnstormer rides! Great start to the day!

Oh, she was just wonderful, wasn't she? She really brought Merida to life very well.

It really was a great start for our first day.

Oh my goodness how cute does Willow look after BBB, what a sweetie

Oh, thank you! She really loves getting all princess'ed up.

I don't think we have family day here but what a lovely idea and definitely something to celebrate

You know I think different families by adoption have different names for it, but that is what I have chosen to call it for our family. It is definitely a very special day for us.

I love your autograph page and how wonderful that Merida did too!

Thank you! The autograph pages resulted in some great character moments this trip.

Ack…I got behind. Back to catch up.

No worries, Christine! I think it's impossible not to fall behind on TRs now and then.

Love the early morning MK pictures. They are so relaxing! Lovely service from the guest services CM. Doesn’t getting there on time for those BBB reservations make you stressed? The way they have the dresses in BBB set-up, makes even the adult me want one…especially the shoes!

I do just love those early-morning moments at MK (preferably minus the stress of forgetting a KTTW though! ) You are so right - I want a glass case of sparkly shoes from which to choose too!!!!

Sorry about the bad BBB PP photographer. That’s not an eyes closed picture, it’s a “I’m showing off my wonderful eye make-up” picture! That’s just annoying because if you had known how bad they were going to be you could have just taken your own. I always feel like I am in their way if I am trying to take pictures at the same time that they are. Sometimes I don’t care…I can tell they are not good!

Exactly! I really tried to lay off a little on some of my own picture-taking when there was a PP photographer because their pictures usually turn out better and because I usually end up the PP photographers posterior in my pictures. I certainly wish I had just bumped him aside and taken my own pics.

Eeew about the pee! Poor kid though…what kind of parent does that? Have they never had wet pants? I agree that you never know someone else’s situation or what else might be going on but I’m with you on this one, no scenario makes sense.

Yeah - I sure couldn't come up with a good explanation for it. I sure hope there was one though!

Willow looks so excited on Dumbo! It looks like you had Storybook circus all to yourselves. We were able to repeatedly ride the Barnstormer one time at night and it spoiled my girls! They think that everytime they should be able to keep riding without getting off!

It really was a treat to have that experience back in Storybook Circus. One of the hardest things about this trip was that we have always gone in October before so Willow is used to being able to ride her favorites over and over and being able to just say "Let's ride X again," and we could. Getting her to understand just how impossible that was in August was not easy at all.

Aww man! They weren’t doing the archery when we met Merida. I would have been all over that! It looks so fun.

Oh no! That's really too bad. It was a neat little thing to do after meeting her - I know Willow was almost as excited about that as about meeting Merida herself.

 

[RGirl]

Some Royal Meetings Cont.​

After a lovely visit with Merida, we decided that it was time (finally) to see New Fantasyland. We wanted to check out the wait time for Under the Sea. As we passed the teacups, Willow spotted a friend we needed to meet. So we jumped in a short line line to meet Alice. She was absolutely adorable! She was balancing autograph books on her head with the group in front of us. When she saw our autograph page, she said, “Oh, that’s me!!! In my party dress!” (Unfortunately, the PP pictures with Alice did not show up in my account. )

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You can see Alice commenting on the autograph page here:

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And here’s the page. I just loved the way she signed.

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After saying good-bye to Alice, we continued on our way to NFL. But then we saw that the Winnie the Pooh ride had only a 5-minute wait, so we decided to go ahead and do that now.

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Finally, it was time for NFL!

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We went straight over to Under the Sea, and as I recall, there was pretty much no real wait once we walked through the queue - I don’t remember really having to stop at all. We have done this attraction before - at Disneyland - but I actually think it felt better here, like the animatronics were a bit better. (This is really notable for me as I find that most of the attractions that appear on both coasts are at least slightly better at DLR, except TOT, which is quite a bit better at WDW.)

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Up Next: Some Royal Meetings Cont.

 

[RGirl]

Some Royal Meetings Cont.​

After our journey Under the Sea, we checked out Ariel’s Grotto - Princess Willow had been waiting to meet Ariel with her fin for a loooooooong time. The wait time posted was only 15 minutes, so I said that we should do it now because the wait would just get longer. Willow started having a little hissy fit in line, complaining about waiting. Now, I basically forced her to stay in line for this meet-and-greet. Willow loves to meet characters - I mean, REALLY loves it - but sometimes she forgets how quickly their lines move and wants to race off to a ride. Whenever she does wait, she has an absolutely amazing time with the characters and wants to go meet someone else. So, since I knew very well that this was a meet-and-greet she had been anticipating for months, I made the call to stay in that line. Later, Willow reported meeting Ariel here as her favorite part of the day, so I think I made the right choice, despite the fact that I could feel those judgmental eyes on me when I was having a rather terse conversation with DD about it in line. This was a very nice Ariel - quite chatty. (We have had some mildly stuck-up Ariels in the past. )

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Here is Ariel’s autograph page:

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After meeting Ariel, it was time for a ride! So we headed in the direction of one of our favorites - BTMRR!On the way, we grabbed some FPs for Peter Pan as well. They would come due at 11:15, which was perfect because we could ride before our 12:05 lunch ADR. It was only about 10:35 at this point. For some reason (probably the heat and exhaustion), DD started getting all snotty with me on the way over to BTMRR. She enjoyed a little time-out in Frontierland. While she was pulling herself together, I took some photos of the surrounding area.

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Eventually, DD put on a happier attitude and we set off again for BTMRR. By the time we got there, the wait time was 30 minutes (instead of the 20 minutes that was showing on the app when we started our little journey). We got in line anyway - I mean, usually, we don’t do lines over 20 minutes, but this is summer and summer crowds; I figured we had to be willing to do 30-minute waits. We arrived at BTMRR at 10:41 and were on a train by 10:58, so it was not a bad wait at all. And I got some nice pictures from the queue. And, of course, it was a fabulous ride as always!

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After our fun ride, we had to head back towards FL. These guys were playing some great music as we passed by.

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We couldn’t stop though - we had places to be and people to see. Our first stop was the Tangled bathrooms so that DD could make a quick costume change.

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Then it was time to use our PP FPs. I just love this attraction - I think I enjoy it more every time I do it. As you can see, the stand-by wait was 50 minutes. We were awfully glad we had those FPs, since we waited only 10 minutes.

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After PP, it was a bit too early to check in for our ADR. DD kept begging to go do another ride, but we only had 20 minutes until our ADR, and that just wasn’t enough time. Quite an unnecessary amount of arguing ensued here, but eventually, we were able to agree to do some shopping. DD had worked hard at home to earn quite a handy amount of souvenir money, and she was itching to engage in some retail transactions. We returned to Castle Couture, and after much looking and considering, DD chose a Merida bow and arrow as her first souvenir. We had them sent back to the resort.

Up Next: Some Royal Dining

 

[Jackiemarie21]

I really wish we would have taken the time to wait in line to meet Ariel in her tail! Looks like you guys had a great meeting with her! DD has become obsessed with Ariel since we have returned, if only I would have known!

I hate it when people judge parents when their children aren't behaving "perfectly"! Even before becoming a parent, I never judged parents in that situation. You just never know why kids are acting that way, or what lead up to that situation. It always looks easy on the outside, but raising kids is hard job! Especially good ones! But, I am glad you guys stuck it out and had a good visit!

 

[shan23877]

I'm commenting to tell you that I'm going to comment in the morning

 

[chattadisser]

How cute is Alice’s autograph with the teacup! I don’t think I have ever seen that before!

I hear ya on getting an attitude sometimes in WDW. Our girls have learned that discipline still happens at Disney. I’ve even launched into the “most kids don’t get to come here, much less as often as you do” speech a time or two. I have learned that about that time a few quiet moments and sometimes a snack and then we all feel much better.

Oh fun, a Merida bow and arrow! I bet that is too cute.

Christine

 

[podsnel]

Your autograph book is AMAZING!!! I absolutely love it!! I scrapbooked when my kids were younger for a LOOOOOOOONG time- and they had autogrph scrapbooks, too- but I did mine after the fact, it never occured to me to do it before hand- I truly love what you did! We kept the same book, though, for a couple of trips- so when we returned the second time, every single character, without fail, went back to look through the whole thing before they would sign- they got very excited when/if they found themselves, too. It was so magical for the boys- I bet Willow loved that they were making such a fuss! So great-

And I am with you 100% on most rides that are both in WDW & DL are better in DL- ESPECIALLY Space Mountain and Pirates!! OMG- SOOOOOO much better!!

 

[librarymouse]

Wow can't believe how much you got done in one morning! Impressive! I also LOVE Peter Pan, its such a sweet ride!

Looking forward to seeing your lunch pictures!

 

[RGirl]

I really wish we would have taken the time to wait in line to meet Ariel in her tail! Looks like you guys had a great meeting with her! DD has become obsessed with Ariel since we have returned, if only I would have known!

Ariel with her tail was a BIG THING leading up to this trip - no way was I going to let the opportunity to do it without a big wait pass. And I think DD would agree that it was the right choice. Remind me how old your DD is???? She's still pretty little, right? So unpredictable with what they will suddenly love.

I hate it when people judge parents when their children aren't behaving "perfectly"! Even before becoming a parent, I never judged parents in that situation. You just never know why kids are acting that way, or what lead up to that situation. It always looks easy on the outside, but raising kids is hard job! Especially good ones! But, I am glad you guys stuck it out and had a good visit!

I hate to admit it, but we had quite a few less-than-stellar moments on this trip. The heat and the crowds got to both of us. And DD is at that age where she is challenging everything and trying on that snotty I-know-more-than-you-do attitude. Let's just say I felt a LOT of judging this August! It's all good - I know that the right thing to do is address the behavior even if I do feel like I'm under a microscope, and then move on with our day.

I'm commenting to tell you that I'm going to comment in the morning

Hmmmm, really??? Love you, Shannon!

How cute is Alice’s autograph with the teacup! I don’t think I have ever seen that before!

Don't you just love that????? I am going to have to go back and check, but I do not think we have gotten that autograph from Alice before. I just love it!!!

I hear ya on getting an attitude sometimes in WDW. Our girls have learned that discipline still happens at Disney. I’ve even launched into the “most kids don’t get to come here, much less as often as you do” speech a time or two. I have learned that about that time a few quiet moments and sometimes a snack and then we all feel much better.

Oh man, that makes me feel so much better. I hate to say how many times I launched into that speech this trip! GAH - the heat and crowds were not a good combination with us at all!!!! But thank goodness for the DxDDP - by the time we got into a nice cool restaurant, enjoyed a meal, met some characters, etc., we were on better terms.

Oh fun, a Merida bow and arrow! I bet that is too cute.

It is a really cute and different souvenir. And best thing of all - she still plays with it. In fact, it seemed to make a big difference for her to have earned her own souvenir money and be totally free to make her own souvenir choices - she really did pick things that she has continued to enjoy.

Your autograph book is AMAZING!!! I absolutely love it!! I scrapbooked when my kids were younger for a LOOOOOOOONG time- and they had autogrph scrapbooks, too- but I did mine after the fact, it never occured to me to do it before hand- I truly love what you did! We kept the same book, though, for a couple of trips- so when we returned the second time, every single character, without fail, went back to look through the whole thing before they would sign- they got very excited when/if they found themselves, too. It was so magical for the boys- I bet Willow loved that they were making such a fuss! So great-

Thanks so much, Ellen! I have never scrapbooked in my life! I ended up getting the Cricut after hand-cutting all these Hello Kitty decorations for my ridiculous hand-made party invitations for Willow's 6th birthday. And then I just went on this insane autograph page extravaganza!

That is hilarious about you taking the same book for several trips. I only say that because on our last couple of trips, Willow has managed to FILL three or four autograph books on EACH TRIP!!! One time, I think she had a complete book filled by the end of the second or third day!

And I am with you 100% on most rides that are both in WDW & DL are better in DL- ESPECIALLY Space Mountain and Pirates!! OMG- SOOOOOO much better!!

And you have hit on the two rides that are absolutely the best examples of what I was talking about. But do you agree with me that ToT is better at WDW????

Wow can't believe how much you got done in one morning! Impressive! I also LOVE Peter Pan, its such a sweet ride!

Looking forward to seeing your lunch pictures!

Hey there! It was a VERY busy morning! It's funny - the first time I did PP (as an adult - I don't remember it as a kid) I liked it okay. But each time I do it, I just appreciate it more. This year, I was all AWWWWWW - love this attraction! I think I really "got it" this time.

Going to try to get our lunch update posted soon.

 

[RGirl]

Some Royal Dining​

When I last left you, DD had made her first big souvenir purchase - a bow and arrow. We went from Castle Couture right across the way to Cinderella’s Royal Table for lunch. (This is a tradition for us - we have had lunch at CRT (and done the BBB) on the first day of each of our three WDW trips.)

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We checked in a little early - at 11:52 (aren’t I amazing with these precise times???). At CRT, you check in outside and then go into the castle where you wait in line to meet with Cinderella. They were really keeping thins moving today because DD was meeting Cinderella at 12:03! That’s pretty dang good! This is not a good picture at all, but you can clearly see how much Cinderella liked our autograph book.

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You can tell right here that these two are old friends who haven’t seen each other in a while.

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We got some really nice PP pics here, so total bravo to this PP photographer!

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Here is Cinderella’s autograph page:

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And 5 minutes after meeting Cinderella, we were upstairs and sitting at our table!

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Our server was quite nice; as opposed to the laissez-faire attitude of the YSH server to my dietary issue, she was so far into it that she said she couldn’t deliver anything to the table until the chef spoke to me. The chef was very nice - he shared that he is celiac himself so quite understanding. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a ton of choices here, so I went with the chef’s recommendation and ordered the chicken. I never order chicken in restaurants because it is just so boring! But I thought I would give it a try.

Soon the princesses began appearing to very royal announcements. I tried to zoom in and capture some of them as they entered. Most of my pics turned out pretty bad, but I will share the best I got. Snow White was first.

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And then our appetizers arrived. Mine was the salad that comes with the CRT lunch meal. It was good.

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Willow had the cheese cubes and grapes.

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Our beverages also arrived. I had a much-needed iced tea, and DD indulged in a chocolate milk.

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Aurora came out next, but my pictures of her entry were all terrible. Shortly after her, Ariel emerged.

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DD was pretty darn excited!

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Jasmine was next.

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Up Next: Some Royal Dining Cont.

 

[RGirl]

Some Royal Dining Cont.​

And then our meals arrived. DD had the chicken nuggets. Of course. (Just for the record, DD eats home-cooked, healthy meals 99% of the time at home; I pretty much try to loosen up completely on vacation. Balance - it’s all about balance….) Anyway, she ate one nugget and a bite of corn. She never eats much at these meals - she is sooooo focused on the princesses.

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And my chicken, which actually was very tasty.

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As I said, this is our third time having lunch at CRT. We always have a good time. But today, the princesses were in rare form! They were just awesome. They loved our autograph pages and made a big deal of them. Almost all of them made a point of asking DD her name and referring to her by name. Aurora came to visit us first. As you can see from her autograph, she was one of the ones who made sure to get DD’s name.

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Next up was Ariel. As I mentioned before, the Ariels whom we have met at WDW in the past have been less than super-friendly. Today Ariel was very personable, and she spent a lot of time chatting with DD about sea witches, legs, mermaids, Flounder, etc.

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Next was Snow White - always one of my favorites because the Snow Whites we have met here in the past have always been the most in-character princesses ever. The squeaky voice, the little skippy step, just straight out of the movie. And Snow White did not disappoint today! She was so excited about our autograph book and looked through all the pages. When she saw the apple paper I had chosen for the picture page for her, she burst out laughing - she nearly broke character, but it worked.

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In the past, we have experienced some pretty breezy Jasmines - in and out really fast, little interaction, kind of snooty. I get it - if I had abs like that, I would probably be he same way! But Jasmine, just like all the princesses who preceded her today, was just lovely. She was actually hilarious - she was joking with DD about her cat doing her hair. So we told her that our dog wasn’t nearly as good, and she was just laughing and joking the whole time. She was so much fun!

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After we had met all of the princesses, our desserts arrived. DD had the decorate-your-own cupcake. She had 2 or 3 bites of it.

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The CRT cheesecake is gluten free, so I gave that a try. It was nice, but I am not a big dessert person and was already pretty full, so I only had a couple of bites of it. The brittle was pretty yummy though.

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Up Next: Get Us Out of Here!

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics! So cute!