I'm Walkin' on Sunshine....

[LoveMyBeautifulGift]

Saturday morning we slept in again...and then we decided to take some time and pack up as much as we could so we wouldn't have to stay up all night or wake up at the crack of dawn to get out of our room in time on Sunday...we entered the park just in time to see Pinocchio skip past...we followed him until he settled in for pics/autographs and he and the played and watched the marching band for quite some time...

When she kissed him back, he kicked the ground and acted all embarassed, which amused her to no end, lol...

Then we meandered over to NOS to pick up our umbrella and for the to get her caricature...we had to wait for few minutes since the artist wasn't set up yet, so we stepped over to the Mint Julep bar and grabbed some beignets and cocoa......they are divine! My sister and I joked that it was a good thing we hadn't had any earlier in the week or we would've planned our entire week around eating beignets...

The princess was very particular about how she wanted to pose...

She was very proud of her picture, and showed it off to the passengers on the train around us:

Before putting it down and making faces at the people in the next car, who took it in the spirit of Disney and promptly made faces back at her ...which of course, encouraged her to continue throughout the whole ride....

We rode the Monorail back to DTD (since the hadn't yet and I needed to swing by Goofy's Kitchen to pick up buttons). Then it was time for a brief rest and then back to the park...

The had her heart set on one last visit w/ Mickey in his house, so tha was priority #1-we waited an hour in line smushed between two groups of really impatient, really grumpy people......so impatient, in fact that as we came out of Mickey's yard and into the casting barn, the second group took the exit and a few minutes later the first group followed them....we were at the fact that they had waited so long only to bail on the line when they were so close to seeing Mickey...

The said goodbye to Mickey:

And entertained the room w/ a play by play of her week and her plans for returning, then we headed out of the overcrowded TT and veered right when I realized the PFF was still open ...we made it just before the CM dropped the rope...

We were all super excited to see Tiana!

After the princesses, we grabbed corndogs and and played in the Penny Arcade:

...before deciding it was time to brave the crowds and grab a spot for the fireworks...we wound up towards the front of the hub and began to worry about the crowd...she thought about leaving, but the mass of people pushing at us from behind vetoed that idea for her (there was no way for her to safely maneuver the ECV w/o running someone over on accident)...once the show started, all discussion of leaving stopped anyway...we were all glad in the end that we stayed for the show...the lights on the castle and the view of the fireworks and Tink was definitely worth it...

After the fireworks we trudged out of the park, each of us knowing these were our last moments in the park...we debated not leaving until we had to, but really, we were done even if we weren't ready to leave...however, we were all convinced by this time that we will be returning soon, so we weren't too terribly about having to go...plus we had one last character meal to look forward to in the morning...

 

[LoveMyBeautifulGift]

Sunday morning started quietly...we finished up w/ the packing and mom checked in her ECV early...after a final sweep of the room, we headed down to the concierge lounge to get waters for the road and stashed them in the fridge before heading down to breakfast w/ Mickey at the PCH Grill!

This breakfast was by far the funnest! We checked in and stopped for a picture with Mickey before we were shown to our seats...as soon as we sat down, Stitch came over to play/take pics/sign autograph books...then it was time for dancing...followed by more characters, then surf lessons...more characters and then dancing again...

Stitch kept coming back to the table, messing up people's hair, standing quietly behind us until we noticed him and jumped (and yes, he got 3 of us this way) growling and wiping it off when the princess kissed him on the nose, then promptly wrapping her in a big hug...

We only saw the 5 characters, but it seemed we never sat for more than a minute or two without one being at the table or us going to the front of the restaurant to interact w/ the characters...definitely a nice way to end the vacation (or for that matter, it would have been a great way to kick off our vacation)...

As we neared the 90 minute mark, Minnie stopped by our table again and the must have sensed that our time was drawing to a close, because she just bawled all over Minnie...

Poor Minnie was floored...she sat down in the chair and pulled the princess close and just held her for what felt like forever while the princess and I saw her gesturing as if she were wiping her own tears away....I myself felt like shedding a tear or two...finally the princess pulled away and gave Minnie a wobbly smile before giving her one last squishy hug and telling her she would see her next time she came...

Minnie left, and so did we...they went upstairs and called bell services to have our stuff taken down and called the front desk to check out while I pulled the car around...then came the fun task of finding a place for everything...in the end we wound up w/ bags all over the floor of the back seat, two bags in the space between myself and the passenger seat and we left the stroller behind...

...not a problem since we had taken all the buttons off and we only needed it for the park...

...we joked the whole way home about feeling like a clown car...the drive home was quiet and uneventful...and suprisingly quick...

ETA: totally forgot! the name of this TR came from the song that was playing as we were seated inside the PCH Grill...the heard it and asked me if I heard the song...then told me it was her favorite song ever...now every time I think of the trip, especially that last morning, the song pops into my head ah, well...I suppose its better than IASW (which, btw, the princess found to be "soothing" )

 

[TheColtonsMom]

Loved your Daughter's reaction to the mad hatter LOL. Teared up when she cried on Minnie! Thanks for taking me along for the ride!

 

[LoveMyBeautifulGift]

Glad you enjoyed the trip

Loved your Daughter's reaction to the mad hatter LOL. Teared up when she cried on Minnie! Thanks for taking me along for the ride!

 

[LoveMyBeautifulGift]

First off, I want to say we have no regrets or complaints...this was a magical, dreams-come-true trip...that being said, with 6 days in the park and 8 days on-site, I have heard "wow, you must have done everything" or a variation of it more times than I can count...and no, we didn't do everything...

The most important thing we didn't do was stress out or feel rushed or feel like we were missing out on anything...thanks in large part to the Dis, we were prepared and able to enjoy ourselves and be in the moment, rather than wasting time trying to figure out where to go next or if we were missing something while we were here or racing to do it all and getting nothing done...so, once again, thank you Disers!

The one thing we didn't do that is at the top of my list for next time is Aladdin...we were supposed to do it Monday and opted out when mom and sis got sick and somehow or other we just never got around to it...the loves live shows (ballet, theater, etc) and I have a feeling she would be awed by this show...not to mention I want to experience it for myself, too!

On a similar note-we never met Aladdin or Jasmine...they were apparently at the Oasis off and on all week, but Every. Single. Time. we tried to see them we either just missed them, or got in line only to be told the person ahead of us was last, or (and this one actually made me a bit ), we were in line (after having gone to guest services to find out what time they would be there) only to have Aladdin himself count off to about 3 people ahead of us and say "sorry folks, this is going to have to be our last group" (right after opening the line in the first place)...so...we decided we didn't want to meet Aladdin anyway ...

Another biggie was we didn't do fastpass ...I know, I know...we did grab FPs a few times, but we really never used them...the even got those "good for any FP ride" passes from a DVC CM, but we just didnt' need them...the rode any rides they wanted during the mornings, and I felt no compelling urge to ride any particular ride...yes, I got in line for a few in the evenings, but a 10 minute wait while the and ate a snack/took a break was fine by me...

We didn't see the show at MTMM...well, the did, but and myself were busy on the other side of TT while it happened...

We also didn't meet Rapunzel...that's another one that is at the top of the list for next time...our timing was off for this one...they didn't open until 11 every day we were there, and by then we were at a character meal, or DCA or otherwise occupied, and the line was ridiculous from that point on...luckily, I had never mentioned the meet'n'greet to the , so there were no about it, just a moment of on my behalf on Saturday when I realized we had never made it...

We did not ride Autopia, though the really wanted to (until she saw the line and smelled the fumes)...we didn't do anything on Main Street, except the Penny Arcade and Silhouette Shop, and we may never stop long enough on Main Street to do so...by the end of the night, we're ready for bed, early in the day, we are eager to be somewhere in the park...

We didn't eat many snacks/meals in the park (other than the character meals)...really, between breakfast/snacks/drinks/dinner every day from the concierge lounge, we were never really hungry...lets see, we had BBQ skewers, beignets, ice cream, chicken nuggets and fries...I can't think of anything else we ate in the park that wasn't already planned out and paid for...

We didn't do anything in Animation Academy except for Turtle Talk...the loved the show and even got picked to ask a question...but after the show she wasn't interested in any of the other rooms...

I'm sure there are more things we didn't do...but note, I do not say we missed...because we were having too much fun to miss anything, and loved what we did so much we wouldn't have changed it for anything

 

[LoveMyBeautifulGift]

While I'm not sure one should even try to compare the character meals (too many variations in both the meals and the guests), I myself looked for comparisons when planning and I know many others do the same, so here goes :thumbsup...

If you are looking for sheer number of characters, go for Breakfast with Minnie at the Plaza Inn ...we saw 7 characters at our table and an one more from across the room...also, the variety of characters was wider than the other meals we experienced...a couple of classics, a couple critters, etc...the only thing we will change about this meal is getting an earlier ressie...the thought it was so cool to see people in the park before it even opened and asked if next time we could try that...

For princesses, of course, you will want Breakfast or Lunch at Ariel's Grotto ...5 princesses, very calm and well organized...the food alone (we had lunch)was definitely worth the price difference between this and "non-premium" character meals...not to mention the priceless time your princess gets to spend with the princesses...I know some people don't like the whole waiting to get in process, but we would gladly wait longer than we did (and really, we maybe waited 10 minutes, in air conditioning) knowing that we were all coming into a level playing field (so to speak) as far as timing and chances to see the princesses...honestly, I think the other meals could take a cue from this one as far as organization and ensuring that each table gets visited by every character....

Lunch at Goofy's was okay...the characters (other than Baloo and Peter Pan) were ones we met frequently throughout our stay. The food did not wow...we were there for lunch, but did not see anything extraordinary offered that we didn't see at the other breakfasts...there was a peanut butter jelly pizza that intrigued the ...but overall the meal did not feel "premium" to us...that being said, as I told everyone on the trip the character meals (for us, at least) are about the characters, not the food ...but that, too, didn't wow...if we go again, we will try breakfast (or maybe dinner).

Breakfast with Chip and Dale at Storytellers...lets just say if it was up to me alone, we would not be returning...I already knew which characters to expect, so no disappointment on that count, but on the whole, I did not enjoy the experience...the characters zipped past us for half the meal. Yes, they did start coming to the table after I found someone to rectify the situation, but honestly, there shouldn't have been a situation in the first place. The restaurant wasn't anywhere near to being full, so they couldn't even blame it on being busy. Seeing the princess because she was being left out was awful

A surprise favorite of the was Breakfast with Mickey at the PCH Grill. Getting up and dancing/surfing with the characters was a blast for her and I think we had more face to face (so to speak) contact with each of the characters at this meal than any other...we were very glad we saved this meal for our "farewell breakfast", but next time we might just use this to kick off our week...or we may make it a tradition to eat here before we leave to fight off the end of vacation blues ...the energy of the meal just charges you up...

After all is said and done, I am grateful and glad we were able to do all 5 meals...the has magical memories of the characters that would never had happend outside of the meals...she, of course, wants to do every single meal again next time we go and I am having a hard time picturing a trip w/o at least dining with Minnie or the princesses ...even though the food was pretty much (if not exactly) the same across 4 of the meals, it was delicious and filling, and there was something for everyone in our group (even the self-proclaimed 6yo vegetarian who eats bacon )...again, each meal was different in terms of types of characters, setting and even mood...hopefully my review here and previously in this TR will help more than it hinders

 

[BellaBaby]

Just wanted to say I loved your trip report!! Found it tonight and stayed up late reading--couldn't put it down--like a good book!!

Your is adorable. What a fun girls trip this must have been!!

 

[LoveMyBeautifulGift]

Thanks and glad you enjoyed it ...we had a blast, and now the boys want to come on the next trip and the girls are thinking about making this our "official" girls only destination ...

Just wanted to say I loved your trip report!! Found it tonight and stayed up late reading--couldn't put it down--like a good book!!

Your is adorable. What a fun girls trip this must have been!!

 

[IAmMonstro]

Your TR was fantastic! I am so jealous of your little princess! I wish my mom would have done something like that for me when I was little

 

[LoveMyBeautifulGift]

Ah, well......it may have been as much for me as it was for her....
Glad you enjoyed it!

Your TR was fantastic! I am so jealous of your little princess! I wish my mom would have done something like that for me when I was little

 

[LoveMyBeautifulGift]

We just got out photopass CD today! Got me all excited to start ordering pics and maybe even making a photobook ...and I've barely even started editing the pics we took...

Here's a few we love:

Some BBB pics...loved her reaction when she first saw herself in the mirror

She loved the princesses and fairies...next time we will absolutely schedule more time for the PFF so we can catch a storytime/coronation...and we will try to stop at Pixie Hollow more than once...maybe we'll luck out and meet a different fairy or two....

I was surprised that her favorite characters turned out to be Mickey and Minnie...she is a total princess/fairies girl, but something about seeing Mickey and Minnie in real life just stole her heart That pic w/ her and nautical Mickey is one of my fave's from the trip (right up there w/ Minnie holding her while she cried)...you can just feel the joy when you look at it

Side-note: we had 145 pics (although I am 90% certain at least 20 of those were doubles-I think my sister had the PP person scan her card after mine a couple times). After the , and all got to edit/add borders and I went through and added a few of my own, we wound up with over 1789! I joked w/ my sister that the reason they had to do site maintenance one night was bc we had crashed the system ...

 

[LoveMyBeautifulGift]

I've decided one of the things I will do differently next time is stop to take more PP pics that aren't character meet-n-greets...the is a bit jealous of the magic shots of her aunties and while I couldn't convince her to stop and take pics while we were there, now she wants to do them all next time

Another photo related change-I will be sure to bring a camera I am more familiar with (and not the one I used, either)...this one was bought in January, but I had only used it for the s birthday before the trip and I kept having to adjust the settings (every time I put it away, the settings would get all messed up) ...it made some of our photo-ops feel rushed bc I was wasting time fixing the flash or setting when I could have been catching candids or snapping faster pics....had I been more familiar with the camera, I would have been better prepared...

Other things I am keeping in mind for the next trip:

-Being prepared to ship stuff home at the end of the trip if need be

-We want to try preferred standing for WoC (if comes with us again)...everyone loved WoC, but since has to view it from disability seating, we would like to see it from the best spot possible...if doesn't come, I am working my way as far forward and center as possible (while still snagging a rail spot)

-We will absolutely be doing Fantasmic dessert again...we LOVED the whole experience and I liked that I got to be spoiled for a bit...

-I think next time we will go W-T or Th-W...that way we get a couple of "warm up" days, the weekend hours will happen before we are completely exhausted, and we have a couple of "wind down" days...I think everyone would have had plenty of stamina to close the parks on the weekend if it had come earlier in our trip...

-Now that we've experienced it, I think we will always shoot for staying on site...the feeling of always being at Disneyland was priceless...

-More beignets...need I say more?

-Aladdin is at the top of our must do when we return list...

I'm sure there are more things I will think of when I plan the next trip, but these are what came to mind off the top of my head as I looked at the PP pics and daydreamed about our next trip

 

[LoveMyBeautifulGift]

Well, to start with, the brought home a whole bed-full of stuffed toys...Mickey, Minnie, Tink...seems like every character came home to our house in stuffed form...

Sorry...can't get the pic to cooperate, lol

She also brought home the invitations/notes/goody bags "from the characters", a silhouette, charicature, her BBB items, some small toys, a Minnie Mouse carousel wind up music thing (I know, such an accurate description, right? ) and her name:

I have already hung her silhouette, name and charicature in her room, and made a memory book with all the paper type items we brought back...

For myself, I bought an extra sash from the BBB...I have always been a Cinderella fan and the little inside me was begging for a sash when I saw them, ...I also purchased the PP CD and have been going through all my pics getting ready to make a Disney photobook ...

Seems like we all enjoyed collecting buttons...we brought home a bag full of them ...well, 5 people, times each character meal, special moment, etc...plus the random buttons handed to us by CMs...it adds up pretty quickly ...I've been trying to think of ways to display them, and today while sharing the PP CD with the family, I was reminded that I was supposed to make magnets (an idea I got here on the Dis)...so...I did ...

It was surprisingly quick and easy...took me 45 minutes (including taking pics) and I didn't even poke myself once

I pulled out the tools and buttons and got to work...

First you open the pin and bend it upward...then you snip it underneath the looped part...this leaves you with a cut end and the clasp portion still attached...hold the clasp (with your fingers or needlenose pliers/gripping tool) and slide the rest of the pin out...

This leaves you with two holes that will probably have uneven/bent and possibly sharp edges...apply hot glue to each magnet and place over the holes....I wound up using 3 magnets altogether, bc the likes to hang sometimes heavy artwork on the fridge so I wanted them to be pretty strong...

The was a little upset when she first saw the finished project...she thought I had used her buttons, which she wants me to display in her room...now I have to come up with an idea for the set she wants in her room....

 

[BellaBaby]

The PP pics came out sooo cute!!!

Do they list the times of the PFF coronation/storytimes so you know when to attend? Is it a super long line?

What a great idea to turn the buttons into magnets!! Maybe we'll try that if we get alot!!

 

[LoveMyBeautifulGift]

The PFF meet-n-greet was open from park opening until 6 every day we were there...I think the coronation/storytimes were listed on the little program flyer they hand out at the gates/hotels, but I'm not 100% about that (although its the only place I can think of that we would have seen the times)...the lines to meet the princesses weren't too bad right at opening or about 10 minutes before they closed, but during the rest of the day they were at least 1/2 hour long...also, if you are staying on site, you can watch recordings of the princess story times on one of the channels...I borrowed the magnet idea from a thread on the DL community board

The PP pics came out sooo cute!!!

Do they list the times of the PFF coronation/storytimes so you know when to attend? Is it a super long line?

What a great idea to turn the buttons into magnets!! Maybe we'll try that if we get alot!!

 

[skiingfast]

Seeing the hotel view was perfect way to build the excitment of going into the parks the next day.

 

[Bungle]

Well, to start with, the brought home a whole bed-full of stuffed toys...Mickey, Minnie, Tink...seems like every character came home to our house in stuffed form...

Sorry...can't get the pic to cooperate, lol

She also brought home the invitations/notes/goody bags "from the characters", a silhouette, charicature, her BBB items, some small toys, a Minnie Mouse carousel wind up music thing (I know, such an accurate description, right? ) and her name:

I have already hung her silhouette, name and charicature in her room, and made a memory book with all the paper type items we brought back...

For myself, I bought an extra sash from the BBB...I have always been a Cinderella fan and the little inside me was begging for a sash when I saw them, ...I also purchased the PP CD and have been going through all my pics getting ready to make a Disney photobook ...

Seems like we all enjoyed collecting buttons...we brought home a bag full of them ...well, 5 people, times each character meal, special moment, etc...plus the random buttons handed to us by CMs...it adds up pretty quickly ...I've been trying to think of ways to display them, and today while sharing the PP CD with the family, I was reminded that I was supposed to make magnets (an idea I got here on the Dis)...so...I did ...

It was surprisingly quick and easy...took me 45 minutes (including taking pics) and I didn't even poke myself once

I pulled out the tools and buttons and got to work...

First you open the pin and bend it upward...then you snip it underneath the looped part...this leaves you with a cut end and the clasp portion still attached...hold the clasp (with your fingers or needlenose pliers/gripping tool) and slide the rest of the pin out...

This leaves you with two holes that will probably have uneven/bent and possibly sharp edges...apply hot glue to each magnet and place over the holes....I wound up using 3 magnets altogether, bc the likes to hang sometimes heavy artwork on the fridge so I wanted them to be pretty strong...

The was a little upset when she first saw the finished project...she thought I had used her buttons, which she wants me to display in her room...now I have to come up with an idea for the set she wants in her room....

These are great. Thanks for the photo how to. Now I know what to do with the crapload of buttons we will have

And your daughter is just so adorable, especially in those BBB pics.

 

[skiingfast]

These are great. Thanks for the photo how to. Now I know what to do with the crapload of buttons we will have

I really liked the How To also. A great TR addition.

 

[LoveMyBeautifulGift]

Thanks...I wasn't sure about which thread to put the info in, but the TR won, since I can't seem to be "done" w/ this trip...at least not until we have more definite plans for the next one

These are great. Thanks for the photo how to. Now I know what to do with the crapload of buttons we will have

And your daughter is just so adorable, especially in those BBB pics.

I really liked the How To also. A great TR addition.

 

[jnjusoioa]

How did you get to meet Steamboat Willie Mickey? Just luck?