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

[1000HappyWishes]

I love Disney Pillow Pets! They're always super soft and comfortable. I almost bought myself one last trip, but I opted for my beloved Stitch stuffed animal. Glad to hear that Willow enjoys her Pluto one!

 

[dismagiclover]

I love all of the character pictures! Bummer that Goofy didn't end up on the Photopass. I've lost pictures before too. I think they just don't get the card entered in or something. We have one of those Pluto pillow pets in our house too. They are soft and cuddly! Hope you get to see some fireworks.

 

[Pixiedust530]

What cute pics of Willow and the characters...especially Goofy!

I know a lot of people were disappointed when Mickey and Minnie quit meeting together, Minnie was moved to Pete's Silly Sideshow, and I also heard a few complaints about these 4 being in costume rather than their standard getup! I for one think the theming and costumes are SUPER cute...so much so that I am going to make it a point to meet Donald and Goofy at least!!!

Can't wait to read more!!!

 

[RGirl]

Of course Baby Goofy came to dinner! He would have come with me too you know.

I have no doubt he would have joined you!

I'm glad Willow perked up when she got to the restaurant and got some water. It's so easy for that to happen in WDW when it's so hot!

I am SO glad that I figured it out that first night. We could have had a disaster on our hands. It is just so darn hard to remember to keep hydrating when you are so busy.

Oh, those scallops look amazing. I lurrrrvvvveeee scallops.

Me too, and these were some tasty ones!

I'm going to say that is chocolate mousse with meringue on top. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Though I clearly might be wrong......

Okay - I checked allears. I think it must be Dark Valrhona and White Chocolate "Sculpture" -drunken cherry crunch and blackberry port sauce. So, yeah, probably chocolate mousse with meringue on top.

I love the new meet and greet area, except for the lighting, because only the PP pictures turn out well. Boo!

It is a GREAT meet places. But you are right about the lighting. And with my PP luck this trip, I didn't even thing their photos came out all that well. GRRRRR

I want a pillow pet so badly. And every time we go, I want to get one and I don't. I need to get one!

Disney pillow pets are AMAZING. I want to collect all of them.

our daughter has fallen in love with Goofy too! I love the pictures of willow and goofy together. we missed them in this spot last time, but I can't wait to meet them next time. it looks so cute and I love Minnie's outfit!!

I hope you get to visit Pete's Silly Sideshow - it was a really great meet-and-greet experience for us.

WL looks so pretty and the grounds look amazing! I keep wanting to try whispering canyon but we haven't ventured over there yet. another thing to put on the to do list!

I had never really considered going over there. I'm so glad that we did the DxDDP - I don't think I would have booked AP otherwise. And now I know that WL is an amazing resort, and AP is one of the best signatures we have tried. Very cool!

I saw that you said you made willow's dress! it's so cute! I love making stuff for our girls and figure I better enjoy it before they get to the age where that's embarrassing!

Thanks! I never learned how to sew as a girl, so I am kind of muddling my way through, but I love it! And thanks to Project Runway, I think, a lot of people would rather wear handmade items now. I am hopeful that I will be able to create things for DD for a long time to come. She LOVES that she can pick out a pattern and fabric and have exactly the dress she really wants.

Your autograph book is great! No wonder the characters loved their pages.

Thanks! It was a ridiculous and time-consuming project, but we really did have a lot of fun with it with the characters.

Sorry for missing the boat and then having to battle the crowds. We usually cut through the shops as well - a lot less crowded if everyone is out for the parade.
This is where I LOVE DLRP - they have a breezeway behind the shops - EASY to cut through during anythings that's on on main street.

That is such a smart idea! There are always going to be people who want to get through - why not make it easy for them and less annoying for those who are lined up? Genius!!!

Willow is so cute with the characters and they are dressed so nicely. We have never been in there - guess we should next time.

We really loved this new meet-and-greet. Definitely worth checking out, especially if there is no wait.

I love Disney Pillow Pets! They're always super soft and comfortable. I almost bought myself one last trip, but I opted for my beloved Stitch stuffed animal. Glad to hear that Willow enjoys her Pluto one!

Have you seen the Stitch pillow pet?????? It was one of the cutest ones we saw - it was so hard to resist buying one of each!

I love all of the character pictures! Bummer that Goofy didn't end up on the Photopass. I've lost pictures before too. I think they just don't get the card entered in or something. We have one of those Pluto pillow pets in our house too. They are soft and cuddly! Hope you get to see some fireworks.

Yeah, our PP experience this trip was definitely less than stellar.

Aren't the Disney pillow pets just insanely soft and cuddly??? LOVE them!

What cute pics of Willow and the characters...especially Goofy!

Thanks!!!

I know a lot of people were disappointed when Mickey and Minnie quit meeting together, Minnie was moved to Pete's Silly Sideshow, and I also heard a few complaints about these 4 being in costume rather than their standard getup! I for one think the theming and costumes are SUPER cute...so much so that I am going to make it a point to meet Donald and Goofy at least!!!

We loved it! I have this obsession for characters in costume - I mean it is just insane! They are CHARACTERS and now they are wearing COSTUMES! It makes my head explode! So, yeah, it was a given that I was going to love this place!

Can't wait to read more!!!

Thanks! I am really wanting to finally finish this loooooong first day! I mean, this is a TWO-WEEK trip! :scared2 I may try to get the final first-day updates posted tonight!

 

[RGirl]

Some More Late-Night Adventures​

When I last left off, we had enjoyed a great time at Petes Silly Sideshow. So what next? Back to the resort? Probably would have been the smart thing to do! It was about 9:30, so were we going to find a spot and settle in to finally see Wishes? Now that would have been my choice! So of course, we started walking over to BTMRR. We ambled through NFL past Erics castle.

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As we passed IASW, DD announced that she wanted to ride since there was no wait. I was kind of surprised since she doesnt even particularly like this attraction, but in we went.

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You can see how much of a wait we had.(

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I know people are going to slam me for this, but I am just not a big fan of this either. I cant help it - I get bored. So I took some pictures.

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Phew! Im bored just looking at them!

Finally, at 9:59PM, we arrived at BTMRR.

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We were on the ride 9 minutes later.

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Of course, Wishes was going on at this point, so at least I got to see some of it from the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness!

Now, it was late, and we had been going strong most of the day (with a pause for a nice long nap for DD). DD, however, really wanted to do one more ride, so we decided to do Pirates since it was on the way. We got in line at 10:26 and were on the ride at 10:34, so apparently, late at night was the way to avoid crowds to some degree.

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After our short cruise, Willow was D-O-N-E. She was exhausted and whining about her feet all the way to the bus stop. (Of course, Im the one who actually ended up with a blister that night!) We finally arrived at our bus stop, and a bus pulled up within seconds. Man, were we ever having good transportation luck this day!

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It was about 11:00 at this point. But the bus headed straight to the BW, which was nice. I ended up carrying DD all the way from the bus stop to our room. Yeesh! She was out cold by about 11:45.

Obviously, this was a very long day. But it was a great day! Should we have taken it easier given the heat and crowds? Probably. The remaining WDW days were not all quite as happy-go-lucky and fun as this day. And maybe part of the reason was that I allowed us to get too worn out on this first day. Im really not sure.

Up Next: A Lot of Complaining and a Few Rides

 

[dismom9761]

Great updates!
I love the character interactions.

 

[shan23877]

I'm going to comment on everything soon. I'm still reading though!

 

[dizneeat]

No wonder you were wiped out! I would have been too, you did such a lot that day. And the heat adds to it too.

You seem to have had perfect bus luck! We always drive, the few times we took the bus (2 times ) we always had to wait loooooong and it took forever to get from park to hotel. Guess I am too old for that.

 

[lovelygirl1975]

Hi, I just found your TR and I am totally in. Your DD is so precious, I love the outfits so far. I love your countdown with the mickeys, that was sooo cute. Your trip looks pretty awesome thus far, so many great pics. By the way, I don't blame your 6 year old for needing a nap- with all that you guys did this 33 year old would have needed a nap too. And don't get me started on my DH he would have been a grumpy.... But, anyway I am looking forward to more. I am following your dining report also as we are thinking about trying the deluxe plan for our next trip.

 

[WickedDreamer]

Just read through your ENTIRE trip report from your 7 Day Alasken cruise in one afternoon/evening and have now clicked over to your current trip report!! Currently stuck at home with a sprained ankle, so reading you TP has made me smile and get excited about our upcoming trip in 3 weeks!!

Thanks so much for sharing all these great photos, can't wait to start reading this TP now too!!

You and your DD seem to be having wonderful mother daughter trips, loved reading about her interactions with all the characters!! .

Can't wait to read more about your trip to WDW and your cruise!

Shannon

 

[RGirl]

Great updates!
I love the character interactions.

Thanks!!! We are big character fans.

I'm going to comment on everything soon. I'm still reading though!

I love your Pre-Comment Comments.

No wonder you were wiped out! I would have been too, you did such a lot that day. And the heat adds to it too.

You are absolutely right - the heat was a killer. And we were used to being able to go-go-go at WDW at a less hot time, so we kind of did our usual on this first day. We had to learn to take it a lot slower after this day.

You seem to have had perfect bus luck! We always drive, the few times we took the bus (2 times ) we always had to wait loooooong and it took forever to get from park to hotel. Guess I am too old for that.

I'm always so worried about the buses because I have read so many nightmare reports about waiting. Both trips that we have used the bus system, we have been very, very lucky. Maybe it's the Boardwalk?

 

[RGirl]

Hi, I just found your TR and I am totally in. Your DD is so precious, I love the outfits so far. I love your countdown with the mickeys, that was sooo cute. Your trip looks pretty awesome thus far, so many great pics. By the way, I don't blame your 6 year old for needing a nap- with all that you guys did this 33 year old would have needed a nap too. And don't get me started on my DH he would have been a grumpy.... But, anyway I am looking forward to more. I am following your dining report also as we are thinking about trying the deluxe plan for our next trip.

Welcome! I'm so glad you've joined in!

Yeah - we definitely overdid it this first day. We are used to being there in October when it is nowhere near as hot and crowded - we kind of went for it this first day like we would have had it been October. Probably wasn't a very smart approach!

Oh, I hope you try the DxDDP - it was a lot of fun!

Just read through your ENTIRE trip report from your 7 Day Alasken cruise in one afternoon/evening and have now clicked over to your current trip report!! Currently stuck at home with a sprained ankle, so reading you TP has made me smile and get excited about our upcoming trip in 3 weeks!!

Welcome Shannon! I'm so glad to have you reading along. What a bummer being laid up like that, but an excuse to read TRs all day isn't totally a bad thing. Your trip is so close! You must be totally excited.

Thanks so much for sharing all these great photos, can't wait to start reading this TP now too!!

Thanks! I took a LOT of pictures on this trip.

You and your DD seem to be having wonderful mother daughter trips, loved reading about her interactions with all the characters!! .

We really treasure our Disney time together - it's so important to take a break from the crazy rushed routine of the every day, you know? And Willow LOVES characters!

Can't wait to read more about your trip to WDW and your cruise!

Thanks! I will try to keep things rolling along here.

 

[amandaw]

So, I was going to say that I'm here, catching up again but I think by now you know that I'm perpetually behind.

Looks like y'all had a great day @ MK! And some really fantastic character meets. So glad the lunch @ CRT was awesome.

I really want to try Artist Point one day. It sounds delicious! I love the grounds & lobby of WL. The rooms are meh....but the resort location & main areas are great!

Y'all really did a lot that night in MK!

 

[chattadisser]

Wow! That's a lot of rides and characters in a short amount of time. Way to go! I can't wait to hear about the next day.

 

[Jackiemarie21]

Sounds like you guys got a lot done! I love goofy, donald, daisy, Minnie pics! It was on my list to check that meet and greet out but DD was loving the rides at that point so we went on more rides instead! It's hard not to do too much the first day, it's just so exciting to be there! You all had great with the buses that day! I can't wait for the next day!

 

[RGirl]

So, I was going to say that I'm here, catching up again but I think by now you know that I'm perpetually behind.

No problem! I'm just glad to "see" you, Amanda!

Looks like y'all had a great day @ MK! And some really fantastic character meets. So glad the lunch @ CRT was awesome.

We really did have such a fun first day. I wish they had all been as amazing.

I really want to try Artist Point one day. It sounds delicious! I love the grounds & lobby of WL. The rooms are meh....but the resort location & main areas are great!

Oh, AP was soooo nice! I was blown away by the WL. Too bad about the rooms - maybe they've upgraded them recently??? I am really tempted to stay there someday.

Y'all really did a lot that night in MK!

We really did! I feel like maybe I set us up for failure by doing so much that day. Who knows though!

Wow! That's a lot of rides and characters in a short amount of time. Way to go! I can't wait to hear about the next day.

Yeah, we were used to our October commando touring. It probably wasn't the best idea to take this approach to the first day in August, but we were just so excited!

Sounds like you guys got a lot done! I love goofy, donald, daisy, Minnie pics! It was on my list to check that meet and greet out but DD was loving the rides at that point so we went on more rides instead! It's hard not to do too much the first day, it's just so exciting to be there! You all had great with the buses that day! I can't wait for the next day!

You are right - it's just so exciting to be there (especially after almost 2 years), and we just wanted to do everything the way we had in the past. I still question whether the rest of our WDW time might have gone more smoothly had I not accidentally worn us out on that first night. I don't know - it seemed like it just got hotter and hotter each day. GAH!

 

[RGirl]

A Lot of Complaining and a Few Rides​

Well, after our late night, we managed to get up pretty early - 7:20. I actually slept until the alarm went off, which I almost never do. So I was clearly tired. DD did get up and get ready, but then she started getting grumpy. This is what I got when I went to take a pic of her at about 7:45 in the elevator on our way out.

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But I was still pretty excited for today, because we were going to DD’s favorite park - DHS!

Before heading out for our park of the day, we made our way to the Boardwalk Bakery to use an actual snack credit - our first! - for some breakfast for DD.

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DD chose a chocolate chip Mickey-shaped muffin. and some hot cocoa, which she then refused to drink because it was hot. I got an iced tea!

Once we had secured our breakfasts, we headed over to the Friendship Boats and were on a boat on our way to DHS at 8:05. Here is DD with her tasty treat. Note how tired and grumpy she looks. Dun-duh-dun-dun!

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Our boat headed over to the YC/BC and then to the Swan/Dolphin. It was a very relaxing way to commute!

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We managed to get to DHS before 8:30, and we spotted Hollywood Donald and Daisy out front! We decided that we would go ahead and stop - we are not as crazed for TSMM as many, so if we didn’t manage to get there right away or had to miss out on it, that would be okay with us.

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Donald loved his autograph page - especially the “No. 1”!

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Up Next: A Lot of Complaining and a Few Rides Cont.

 

[RGirl]

A Lot of Complaining and a Few Rides Cont.​

We had a great time meeting Hollywood Donald and Daisy, and we still managed to get through bag check and get in line for the turnstiles by 8:35! It was MOBBED.

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Once they let people through the turnstiles, there was no rope up, so everyone just took off like maniacs for TSMM.

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And we followed the crowd. But Willow’s grumpiness was escalating fast, and she was dragging her feet and complaining nonstop. It was not exactly the most pleasant stroll through what was last time her favorite park. We managed to get to Pixar Place at about 8:45, and the wait for TSMM was already 40 minutes. I was willing to wait, because I knew that the wait time wasn’t going to get any less, and because I figured there was a good chance that it wouldn’t really be that long. Willow’s grumpiness knew no bounds, however, and she professed her desire NOT to ride TSMM. So we went to get FPs - pretty crowded over there too!

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Our FPs would come due at 10:55, which was a pretty decent time. I figured we might as well go do the one thing that was sure to cheer up a grumpy DD - her favorite ride of all time, ToT!!! So we started walking over.

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We had a really fun ride!

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DD took some pics while we made our way through the queue as well:

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We are all the way in the back in the left corner.

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This was a great ride with no wait, and we were hoping that we might be able to get one more ride in before the line got too long. But when we got off, the line was snaking down to the FP area and was 30 minutes. DD was pretty unhappy about this, but I checked the WDW app and found that ST had only a 10-minute wait, so we decided to head over there next. We did just that - very slowly and with a LOT of complaining.

Looks like we did manage to stop for a couple of PP pictures.

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We managed to be in line for ST before 9:30, which seemed impossible given that we’d basically hoofed it all over the dang park at this point. Actually, we weren’t really “in line” - there was no line. We walked right on and had a great ride.

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Somehow, DD started in complaining and whining in the dump shop after the ride. I really have no idea what that was about - I’m sure it was again really because of being tired and the heat. She got over it, and we went around and got on the ride again, and had another great time!

DD was begging to do ToT again. I did not think this was a great idea given that it would mean a lot of walking over ground we had already covered - those kind of treks were fine when DD was in a stroller, but I didn’t think it was a great idea this trip because DD would be exhausted. Nonetheless, I agreed to check the wait time app and found that ToT was listing a 20-minute wait. Against all of my better judgment, I agreed that we could walk back over there. Sadly, when we got there, the wait time was 75 minutes! Obviously, we weren’t going to do that. I can’t even imagine what it would have been like to deal with Grumpy, um, I mean DD, in a line that long. My veto on that idea met with a TON more complaining.

Oh, and have I mentioned that it was HOT??? I mean blistering hot. Like sweaty, humid, disgusting HOT. This did NOT help DD’s attitude. Or, quite honestly, my own.

Up Next: Some Overheated Character Meets

 

[chattadisser]

I know grumpy faces like that in the morning. They are NO fun!

Holy cow that is a mob scene to get into HS.

How funny that ToT is her favorite ride! Brave girl.

Christine

 

[Jackiemarie21]

Oh I hate those days when they start crabby! Makes everything harder! I get a kick out of how much your DD loves ToT!

I don't get the TSM rush either, we like the ride and all but I don't get the mad dash!

I hope your day got better, but from what you said I am afraid it didn't!