Introducing My Princess to the Magic of WDW 05/03-05/09 Completed 08/12
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Lisa_Belle
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Ooh, I can't wait to hear about Princess Siri's day at Bibbidi Bobbodi Boutique. BTW - I'll back up the leg rubbing. Works wonders on my princess. 
MagicMe
DIS Veteran
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- May 3, 2006
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Really enjoying your trip report! 
It's so magical when you have a child with you. I love it any time but some of my really great memories are taking each of my DS's when they were around 3-4 years old. Seeing it again through their eyes was such a moment. I've been there many times since (so have they) and every time I walk through the gates at the MK and see the castle, those memories just fill me up.
Can't wait to hear more!
It's so magical when you have a child with you. I love it any time but some of my really great memories are taking each of my DS's when they were around 3-4 years old. Seeing it again through their eyes was such a moment. I've been there many times since (so have they) and every time I walk through the gates at the MK and see the castle, those memories just fill me up.
Can't wait to hear more!
KathyRN137
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Subscribing! 
Ok I tend to type this up first in Word to be a little sure of what to say (and since I usally do this at work it is easier to leave and come back to it that way.). I have been typing almost all morning and a certain Disser' across the room is getting a little frustrated that I have not posted anything yet. I will put this on and go have lunch then. (gee, only another month and we will be on different shifts...no more competing computers) Here you go.
And to those who are replying - I am glad you are enjoying this. It seems to be getting longer and longer every time I sit down to write.
Day 4 May 5
(That day 4/May 5 is really beginning to mess with my mind!!)
Now other than breakfast at Chef Mickeys our plan was to have breakfast in the room. I do firmly believe that breakfast is important, however, I also believe that a bowl of cereal is sufficient. In order to ensure we had room to take souvenirs home, we brought a box of cereal, a box of oatmeal, a kettle, Carls favorite tea and a couple of boxes of portable snacks in one suitcase. (Gee that box from Connorsmom just fits in that space uh oh what about everything else?) So we picked up some milk from Maestro Mickeys on the coffee run and have breakfast in the room it suits us better as well. I am just not a fan of breakfast out. This also allowed Siri to have some down time while she woke up.
I had told Siri she would be getting a princess makeover today, so we pulled out her Cinderella dress. Now as this dress is a Halloween costume, it is big on her. It is too cold at Halloween to not leave room for at least a sweatshirt underneath. The Cinderella dress is last years costume, it is not as big. We still need to put her in a blue shirt and shorts underneath. As I dont know if I can post pictures yet I will describe the dress. It is Cinderella-blue satin, with light blue tulle sleeves and drape. For Halloween she had the (plastic) glass slippers (again thanks to Connorsmoms DH for tracking those down at the Disney Store on his way to work!), crown and black ribbon necklace however I forgot the accessories thatI couldnt be bothered to carry around anyways. I made this one, and the one for this Halloween (she wears it on Day 5). Siri didnt even notice the lack of Princess footwear as I had conveniently chosen blue crocs for her. How about that? So with the Princess appropriately attired, we head for the bus stop. I havent said much about the transportation and the All Stars. I think enough people in other reports have said enough. Next time, maybe back to CBR, likely a rental car regardless. (even
would be better...)
Once we arrive at Downtown Disney I coax her away from the fountain (not today please!!!) and we go buy & mail some postcards. I can not for the life of me remember the name of that store Pitney Bowes? regardless it is also where they are set up for the photos for the little princesses with the whole kit & caboodle package from the Boutique. Siri is really anxious to get her makeover. It is time, so we start towards the World of Disney and the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Once inside she is blown away by the Princess Room. I purposefully used that entrance of the store to keep the Princess theme going. We checked in line-butter alert. With 2 of us waiting patiently, a woman barged up and interrupted the woman ahead of me as she was speaking to the CM to announce her daughter had arrived and was ready for the makeover. Well lets stop the world now. I can see how vital it is for her daughter to be served immediately. Perhaps I wouldnt feel so sarcastic had she not also announced the time of the appointment for which she is now 5 minutes late. Ok UNmagical moment over the CM actually ushered her inside the Boutique very quickly. Not my first choice of silencing her, but it worked none the less. I like to try to imagine I have missed a large part of the situation in cases like this, but somehow I doubt it. I think Ms. Entitled is just that. Entitled. Well I am sure someone has to be. Entitled. And she seemed to understand the importance of handing down her beliefs to her child. Great. Always nice to have tradition.
Moving on We had a wait (hmm wonder why?) so we wandered around the store. I immediately sent Carl off to shop on his own. I like to consider the first 2 weeks of May as my special time. It starts with our anniversary, proceeds to usually my birthday, then, of course, Mothers Day. He needs to get busy!!! Siri takes a quick look at her makeover options and chose the Disney Diva extensions with ribbons & Mickeys.
Important note for mothers: If your child needs the washroom at the World of Disney it is tucked in the back corner of the Princess section very handy to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique!
Ok, so after 20 minutes, we are finally called in. It isnt just flashing lights pager, it is a wand that lights, vibrates & the Fairy Godmother speaks to you. We go in, and Gennifer is our Fairy Godmother in training. All of a sudden, Siri becomes shy & quiet. This is very much unlike her. Gennifer did her best to try to bring some life into her but Siri just seemed nervous. She loves our salon days when she gets her hair cut but apparently only Sue is capable of dealing with her hair. I think the Diva was a good choice eh? Likely she was just annoyed that she was turned away from the mirror and couldnt watch the transformation. She is a bit of a sponge for absorbing everything she sees. She doesnt like it when she cant see whats going on.
As the makeover progresses with both me and the photopass CM taking pictures she loosens up a little. She spent the time watching another little Princess makeover and was getting anxious to see herself. She really loosened up with having her nails painted. She was able to see that. Once the transformation was complete and she was spun around to the mirror she was thrilled. She used to have hair to her waist. She convinced me to let her get it cut to shoulder length. It looks cute on her, but she was so happy to have the long extensions to play with, I was sure she was going to want to grow her hair back. (nope this princess is way to practical long hair gets in the way of playing)
She walked out of there with a very Regal attitude. She got comments from almost everyone she passed. We finally located Carl and he decided they should grab a quick snack (wait he said Lunch?!) while I finished my shopping. I figure we should have time. (mistake #1) I sent them off and continued. It didnt take long before I finished I picked up a silk tie with a subtle Mickey design and a tie tack for his anniversary present. Then it dawned on me what time it was. Crap. We need to leave NOW or we will be really pushing it to make our ADR at CRT! This is the ONLY ADR that I was really hung up on our anniversary dinner.
ASIDE: Ok Carls first Disney experience was our Honeymoon. I managed to co-ordinate that trip without the knowledge of the bounty of information on the DIS to spend the first week off-site, ending with my first stay on property at CBR. When we arrived on site, Carl called to enquire about a reservation (PS?) at CRT on my birthday, which would be our last night there. We had no trouble getting it. If only I knew how lucky we were. Wow. So now we have the history of dinner at the castle on our Honeymoon on my birthday. I see a tradition forming. And I love tradition. At least my own anyways.
Ok where was I? I go back to meet up with them at Wolfgang Puck Express, only to find they have ordered a full hot lunch and were waiting for food. We have around 2 hours to reach the MK for dinner. We had really discussed this earlier. Somehow we wound up in a time warp at DownTown Disney. We both managed to mess this one up. We had planned to leave earlier, go to the resort, then straight to the MK. Not Going To Happen. Now we are carting gifts & stuff. Crap. We dont want to send stuff to the resort as we wanted to do the gifts at dinner OK I scoot back to the World of Disney to grab a backpack. We would have needed it as a personal item on the plane anyways! We meet back up and I am trying desparately not to get upset.
Personal aside: I detest being late. I go completely nuts over the thought of being late. My sister made me late for school one day back in Grade 2. I remember being HORRIFIED. I started crying uncontrollably at being late for school. We werent even 5 mintues late but I lost it. I have improved, but still get incredibly nauseous at the though of being late. I dont know where it came from or why I react that way. This is just a personal struggle for me. I get very tense when I dont have control over whether something is on time as well. Like Planes. I usually am very tense in travel. I managed to arrive in Orlando without tensing over the flight or the Magical Express. For me that is HUGE progress.
Carl & Siri ate enough to take the edge off their hunger, we pack up and leave. I am now getting pretty high strung. We are stopped by a CM - would we fill out an online survey from home after our trip? Ya sure fine whatever here's my email. We decide to get the bus to the Contemporary and go from there. For whatever reason, it does not clue in to me to ask or even consider NOT jumping on the Monorail. Yes I know (now) that walking would have been faster. We waited what seemed like forever for the monorail. Got on the monorail and switched to the express monorail at the TTC. As you can already see I havent been able to think clearly for some time now. I cried.
Ok - I really tried not to, but I couldn't help it. Sorry to anyone who had to see it or be brought down in spirit by my tears. I didnt really yell at anyone. I knew I was the only one to blame. I also know that chosing to wear my dressier black sandals for this dinner instead of my crocs probably affected my reaction with the 4 blisters that had already formed by this point. No excuse. We are past our ADR time. We are still trying ot get to the MK.
Up next...Dinner at...?
And to those who are replying - I am glad you are enjoying this. It seems to be getting longer and longer every time I sit down to write.
Day 4 May 5
(That day 4/May 5 is really beginning to mess with my mind!!)
Now other than breakfast at Chef Mickeys our plan was to have breakfast in the room. I do firmly believe that breakfast is important, however, I also believe that a bowl of cereal is sufficient. In order to ensure we had room to take souvenirs home, we brought a box of cereal, a box of oatmeal, a kettle, Carls favorite tea and a couple of boxes of portable snacks in one suitcase. (Gee that box from Connorsmom just fits in that space uh oh what about everything else?) So we picked up some milk from Maestro Mickeys on the coffee run and have breakfast in the room it suits us better as well. I am just not a fan of breakfast out. This also allowed Siri to have some down time while she woke up.
I had told Siri she would be getting a princess makeover today, so we pulled out her Cinderella dress. Now as this dress is a Halloween costume, it is big on her. It is too cold at Halloween to not leave room for at least a sweatshirt underneath. The Cinderella dress is last years costume, it is not as big. We still need to put her in a blue shirt and shorts underneath. As I dont know if I can post pictures yet I will describe the dress. It is Cinderella-blue satin, with light blue tulle sleeves and drape. For Halloween she had the (plastic) glass slippers (again thanks to Connorsmoms DH for tracking those down at the Disney Store on his way to work!), crown and black ribbon necklace however I forgot the accessories thatI couldnt be bothered to carry around anyways. I made this one, and the one for this Halloween (she wears it on Day 5). Siri didnt even notice the lack of Princess footwear as I had conveniently chosen blue crocs for her. How about that? So with the Princess appropriately attired, we head for the bus stop. I havent said much about the transportation and the All Stars. I think enough people in other reports have said enough. Next time, maybe back to CBR, likely a rental car regardless. (even
would be better...)Once we arrive at Downtown Disney I coax her away from the fountain (not today please!!!) and we go buy & mail some postcards. I can not for the life of me remember the name of that store Pitney Bowes? regardless it is also where they are set up for the photos for the little princesses with the whole kit & caboodle package from the Boutique. Siri is really anxious to get her makeover. It is time, so we start towards the World of Disney and the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Once inside she is blown away by the Princess Room. I purposefully used that entrance of the store to keep the Princess theme going. We checked in line-butter alert. With 2 of us waiting patiently, a woman barged up and interrupted the woman ahead of me as she was speaking to the CM to announce her daughter had arrived and was ready for the makeover. Well lets stop the world now. I can see how vital it is for her daughter to be served immediately. Perhaps I wouldnt feel so sarcastic had she not also announced the time of the appointment for which she is now 5 minutes late. Ok UNmagical moment over the CM actually ushered her inside the Boutique very quickly. Not my first choice of silencing her, but it worked none the less. I like to try to imagine I have missed a large part of the situation in cases like this, but somehow I doubt it. I think Ms. Entitled is just that. Entitled. Well I am sure someone has to be. Entitled. And she seemed to understand the importance of handing down her beliefs to her child. Great. Always nice to have tradition.
Moving on We had a wait (hmm wonder why?) so we wandered around the store. I immediately sent Carl off to shop on his own. I like to consider the first 2 weeks of May as my special time. It starts with our anniversary, proceeds to usually my birthday, then, of course, Mothers Day. He needs to get busy!!! Siri takes a quick look at her makeover options and chose the Disney Diva extensions with ribbons & Mickeys.
Important note for mothers: If your child needs the washroom at the World of Disney it is tucked in the back corner of the Princess section very handy to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique!
Ok, so after 20 minutes, we are finally called in. It isnt just flashing lights pager, it is a wand that lights, vibrates & the Fairy Godmother speaks to you. We go in, and Gennifer is our Fairy Godmother in training. All of a sudden, Siri becomes shy & quiet. This is very much unlike her. Gennifer did her best to try to bring some life into her but Siri just seemed nervous. She loves our salon days when she gets her hair cut but apparently only Sue is capable of dealing with her hair. I think the Diva was a good choice eh? Likely she was just annoyed that she was turned away from the mirror and couldnt watch the transformation. She is a bit of a sponge for absorbing everything she sees. She doesnt like it when she cant see whats going on.
As the makeover progresses with both me and the photopass CM taking pictures she loosens up a little. She spent the time watching another little Princess makeover and was getting anxious to see herself. She really loosened up with having her nails painted. She was able to see that. Once the transformation was complete and she was spun around to the mirror she was thrilled. She used to have hair to her waist. She convinced me to let her get it cut to shoulder length. It looks cute on her, but she was so happy to have the long extensions to play with, I was sure she was going to want to grow her hair back. (nope this princess is way to practical long hair gets in the way of playing)
She walked out of there with a very Regal attitude. She got comments from almost everyone she passed. We finally located Carl and he decided they should grab a quick snack (wait he said Lunch?!) while I finished my shopping. I figure we should have time. (mistake #1) I sent them off and continued. It didnt take long before I finished I picked up a silk tie with a subtle Mickey design and a tie tack for his anniversary present. Then it dawned on me what time it was. Crap. We need to leave NOW or we will be really pushing it to make our ADR at CRT! This is the ONLY ADR that I was really hung up on our anniversary dinner.
ASIDE: Ok Carls first Disney experience was our Honeymoon. I managed to co-ordinate that trip without the knowledge of the bounty of information on the DIS to spend the first week off-site, ending with my first stay on property at CBR. When we arrived on site, Carl called to enquire about a reservation (PS?) at CRT on my birthday, which would be our last night there. We had no trouble getting it. If only I knew how lucky we were. Wow. So now we have the history of dinner at the castle on our Honeymoon on my birthday. I see a tradition forming. And I love tradition. At least my own anyways.
Ok where was I? I go back to meet up with them at Wolfgang Puck Express, only to find they have ordered a full hot lunch and were waiting for food. We have around 2 hours to reach the MK for dinner. We had really discussed this earlier. Somehow we wound up in a time warp at DownTown Disney. We both managed to mess this one up. We had planned to leave earlier, go to the resort, then straight to the MK. Not Going To Happen. Now we are carting gifts & stuff. Crap. We dont want to send stuff to the resort as we wanted to do the gifts at dinner OK I scoot back to the World of Disney to grab a backpack. We would have needed it as a personal item on the plane anyways! We meet back up and I am trying desparately not to get upset.
Personal aside: I detest being late. I go completely nuts over the thought of being late. My sister made me late for school one day back in Grade 2. I remember being HORRIFIED. I started crying uncontrollably at being late for school. We werent even 5 mintues late but I lost it. I have improved, but still get incredibly nauseous at the though of being late. I dont know where it came from or why I react that way. This is just a personal struggle for me. I get very tense when I dont have control over whether something is on time as well. Like Planes. I usually am very tense in travel. I managed to arrive in Orlando without tensing over the flight or the Magical Express. For me that is HUGE progress.
Carl & Siri ate enough to take the edge off their hunger, we pack up and leave. I am now getting pretty high strung. We are stopped by a CM - would we fill out an online survey from home after our trip? Ya sure fine whatever here's my email. We decide to get the bus to the Contemporary and go from there. For whatever reason, it does not clue in to me to ask or even consider NOT jumping on the Monorail. Yes I know (now) that walking would have been faster. We waited what seemed like forever for the monorail. Got on the monorail and switched to the express monorail at the TTC. As you can already see I havent been able to think clearly for some time now. I cried.
Ok - I really tried not to, but I couldn't help it. Sorry to anyone who had to see it or be brought down in spirit by my tears. I didnt really yell at anyone. I knew I was the only one to blame. I also know that chosing to wear my dressier black sandals for this dinner instead of my crocs probably affected my reaction with the 4 blisters that had already formed by this point. No excuse. We are past our ADR time. We are still trying ot get to the MK. Up next...Dinner at...?
Backstage_Gal
<font color=darkorchid>Let me rephrase the dog ste
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Great report, really enjoy reading it. At least you didn't need Zzub bags on the monorail.
Keep it up, cant wait to hear how things turn out.
Keep it up, cant wait to hear how things turn out.
KathyRN137
DIS Veteran
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princessjv
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Oh My! What happens next? Did you make it in time for CRT? Were they still able and willing to seat you? I hope your anniversary was great either way. I think that I would have been in tears too...So much planning that we do, it is hard when the plans fail.
Disney owl
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Great start thanks
Thanks to everyone for replying.
LisaBelle - I will be watching for your report, but maybe you should PM me when you start so I don't miss it! I can't promise pictures, but I will try.
Backstage_Gal - Nope, no ZZub bags for the monorail. Actually I usually have the iron gut (lined by all that coffee of course) so I still don't really know what was wrong with me.
Kathy RN137 - I think you found popcorn quicker than DH did when we were waiting for Spectromagic!
For the rest of you wonderful people who are actually reading, I will post more in just a little bit!
LisaBelle - I will be watching for your report, but maybe you should PM me when you start so I don't miss it! I can't promise pictures, but I will try.
Backstage_Gal - Nope, no ZZub bags for the monorail. Actually I usually have the iron gut (lined by all that coffee of course) so I still don't really know what was wrong with me.
Kathy RN137 - I think you found popcorn quicker than DH did when we were waiting for Spectromagic!
For the rest of you wonderful people who are actually reading, I will post more in just a little bit!
When I left you last, we were late for the Dreams Come True Dinner at CRT. 
(Why couldn't I find this guy last time?)
We rush to get to the CRT. Carl is walking so fast, trying to carry a princess in a slippery satin dress and wearing a backpack. This all means I can keep up at least. With my blisters. He is a foot taller than I am. I need every advantage to keep up without blisters. Of course the first aid package with blister stuff is back at the room. With my Crocs Dagnabit! We are 15 minutes late as we rush up to the podium. We are listening to a woman representing a large group explain that her ADR was really for tomorrow but she figured they could maybe get in today. Okay then Good luck with that. (actually I think the CM may have let a little laugh escape) Another CM waves us over. We check in, explaining our situation. NO WORRIES! The reservation was held. I am standing at an angle that lets me see his screen. There we are at the top.
YIPPEE!!
We can go right in to the lobby for our photo session. YAY! We are IN. I can continue to apologize to my family for my uncalled-for-over-reaction and try to fix myself so I dont look completely freaked in our family photo. Deep breath. Let it go. We made it, we are in, and if I apologize one more time DH is going to lose it on me.
Did I mention that I have an apology problem?
When I get stressed & tensed about being late & cant help but cry I apologize. A lot. I become a sobbing blubbering apologizing mess. I had NO IDEA how this felt from the other side until DD pulled it. UGH Must stop that habit NOW. It never comes off as sincere as it is meant and becomes more annoying than what you are apologizing for. She & I are both working on stopping that one. She has done better than I however I have so many more years of experience at it
makes me wonder how I ever found my wonderful hubby. Hon- I would be lost without you! 
Moving on in reading up on our Dreams Come True dinner package, it was not marked as a character dinner, and I continuously read that there was NO guarantee that Cinderella would be there for photos. We walked in the lobby and there she was. As I had made no mention of Cinderella, my little Cinderella-in-Crocs was blown away. Once it was our turn, Siri was so happy she could hardly contain it. She got to meet Cinderella right in the castle. She was showing Cinderella that she didnt have her glass slippers this time but had blue Crocs to match her dress. Cinderella told her she wished she had Crocs too! I bet! I would too. In fact I do. I wish I had Crocs on that night. My feet REALLY wished I had Crocs on. We got some photos of the Cinderellas and then had our family photo for the package shot. We headed upstairs and got our table right away.
We were seated up close to the door. Not a bad location when you KNOW there will be a trip to the throne room anytime now. Our server was excellent, and the food was great. We had 2 trips to the throne. A touch of the Royal indigestion. Nothing a few Tums cant handle. Not me, the little one. I am still good.
When Suzy and Perla and the Fairy Godmother made their appearance Siri was thrilled. We had her sitting so she could see, but I switched with her for a quick photo as Perla (or was it Suzy? I cant remember & dont have the photo album handy ) went by our table. The Fairy Godmother was talking about how some people went through a lot to make it to dinner. She mentioned the gentleman in the blue shirt who practically ran to get there. My DH was positively glowing as he raised his hand. I eventually told him 4 other men in blue shirts raised their hands too. Sorry but it makes you wonder if anyone makes it there on time! No wonder they warned me about travel time when I made the ADR.
We also raised our hands for celebrating our anniversary. This was our celebration dinner. There was a couple celebrating 40 years. I love seeing that. My parents have been married 42 years. It gives me hope as so many of our friends have split. We exchanged our gifts. Carl opened his tie and was happy with it. He found the Tie Tack at the bottom too. He doesnt have to wear a tie often and prefers something with a bit of humour. The Mickey pattern is subtle enough that he can wear it for pretty much any occasion.
I opened my gift, and it was a watch. It was a really nice watch. It had a stainless steel band. The kind that are more like a shrunken version of the mens watch. I love the thought but not quite what I wanted.
Another Personal Aside: My wonderful loving husband can NOT take a hint to save his life. When we got married, I hinted for diamond earrings. I got a watch. Very similar to this anniversary present. The wedding gift one is much more feminine though. Either way no earrings, no diamonds. We talked. He said he thought I was hinting for the earrings but wasnt sure so he figured the watch was safer. We have a system now that works for us. I will take flyers, websites, catalogues whatever I can get my hands on, that comes with photos. I mark the flyers and catalogues with post-its, and send photos & website links by email. At Christmas there will be at least half a dozen catalogues with hints from the $2 range up to infinity and beyond. This allows him the option to buy me something I want and still surprise me, without blowing whatever budget he has. My Mom is completely horrified
by this and thinks it shows how selfish I am. I make sure I offer plenty of lower cost items for hinting and a good variety of things from clothes to crafty stuff, anything goes. But I always specify as much as possible on each hint to try to make it easier for him. When I do it, I know that I will not get everything. I dont get my heart set on any one item, and for me it is fun to see what he chose. Sometimes he strays away from the hints, but usually that means he has been paying close attention and caught something I said somewhere along the line and knows he will score brownie points for it like the beach towel thing. Either way it works for us. We have our own system for dealing with the toilet seat up or down issue and the infamous Do I look fat in this? question as well. We are different that way.
Anyways, back at the castle. I am not over the moon about my wonderful splurged upon gift. When asked what I wanted, as I could not provide my usual hints, I said, something subtly Disney, that I can keep with me, something pretty. This watch, although very good quality, was just not pretty. The Mickey was a small full silhouette that I really couldnt see without my glasses. (ugh I cant believe I had to put that in.)
No, I did not say anything to ruin the mood at this point. I had done enough for one day. I told him it was nice, but he did have to point out the Mickey I couldnt quite figure it out.
Our server had noticed our hand raising at the Anniversary part of the Fairy Godmothers celebrations. She asked us about it, then brought us the declaration to celebrate our anniversary, and champagne flutes. We already had a pair of the glasses at home from the honeymoon so that was very nice. Our picture package and the lithograph were also brought to the table. Our picture turned out pretty good. Everyone smiling with eyes open.
I had been hearing the family at the next table talk about the time for the next Cinderellabration show. I figured there was a chance we could make it. It was grad night so MK was closing early. As we were leaving CRT there was no one in the lobby. We had the perfect chance to recreate photos again. On our honeymoon, as we left CRT we have a photo of me upstairs on the balcony, taken from the lobby. We took the same picture, but with me & my princess. On our honeymoon I took a photo of Carl with a suit of armor. You guessed it! Daddy & his little princess stood with a suit of armor for a picture.
We went around to the front of the castle, and got a spot front and centre for Cinderellabration. My princess was thrilled by the show. By this time everyone is content and relaxed again. After Cinderellabration we headed back to the resort. I sent Carl over to the hotel bar to bring back drinks (Dacquiri and virgin dacquiri and a beer for him) to enjoy while we tried to undo the Disney Diva Do.
Moms that is a LOT of gel. Be ready for that. It was nice to have the somewhat early night. Again a LOT of gel to wash out. After pulling out the bobby pins, braid and elastic. And trying to memorize how they did that so I can try my hand at it again some other time. I think her hair would have stayed up without the elastics and pins. There is a nice tip for BBB Moms send hubby to the bar for something frosty for you and the other version for your little princess. That way you can make the evening wash up after the makeover just as much fun.
Up next: Epcot. (taking a photo? Dont say cheese say Epcot!)
(Why couldn't I find this guy last time?)We rush to get to the CRT. Carl is walking so fast, trying to carry a princess in a slippery satin dress and wearing a backpack. This all means I can keep up at least. With my blisters. He is a foot taller than I am. I need every advantage to keep up without blisters. Of course the first aid package with blister stuff is back at the room. With my Crocs Dagnabit! We are 15 minutes late as we rush up to the podium. We are listening to a woman representing a large group explain that her ADR was really for tomorrow but she figured they could maybe get in today. Okay then Good luck with that. (actually I think the CM may have let a little laugh escape) Another CM waves us over. We check in, explaining our situation. NO WORRIES! The reservation was held. I am standing at an angle that lets me see his screen. There we are at the top.
YIPPEE!!
We can go right in to the lobby for our photo session. YAY! We are IN. I can continue to apologize to my family for my uncalled-for-over-reaction and try to fix myself so I dont look completely freaked in our family photo. Deep breath. Let it go. We made it, we are in, and if I apologize one more time DH is going to lose it on me.
Did I mention that I have an apology problem?
When I get stressed & tensed about being late & cant help but cry I apologize. A lot. I become a sobbing blubbering apologizing mess. I had NO IDEA how this felt from the other side until DD pulled it. UGH Must stop that habit NOW. It never comes off as sincere as it is meant and becomes more annoying than what you are apologizing for. She & I are both working on stopping that one. She has done better than I however I have so many more years of experience at it
makes me wonder how I ever found my wonderful hubby. Hon- I would be lost without you! Moving on in reading up on our Dreams Come True dinner package, it was not marked as a character dinner, and I continuously read that there was NO guarantee that Cinderella would be there for photos. We walked in the lobby and there she was. As I had made no mention of Cinderella, my little Cinderella-in-Crocs was blown away. Once it was our turn, Siri was so happy she could hardly contain it. She got to meet Cinderella right in the castle. She was showing Cinderella that she didnt have her glass slippers this time but had blue Crocs to match her dress. Cinderella told her she wished she had Crocs too! I bet! I would too. In fact I do. I wish I had Crocs on that night. My feet REALLY wished I had Crocs on. We got some photos of the Cinderellas and then had our family photo for the package shot. We headed upstairs and got our table right away.
We were seated up close to the door. Not a bad location when you KNOW there will be a trip to the throne room anytime now. Our server was excellent, and the food was great. We had 2 trips to the throne. A touch of the Royal indigestion. Nothing a few Tums cant handle. Not me, the little one. I am still good.
When Suzy and Perla and the Fairy Godmother made their appearance Siri was thrilled. We had her sitting so she could see, but I switched with her for a quick photo as Perla (or was it Suzy? I cant remember & dont have the photo album handy ) went by our table. The Fairy Godmother was talking about how some people went through a lot to make it to dinner. She mentioned the gentleman in the blue shirt who practically ran to get there. My DH was positively glowing as he raised his hand. I eventually told him 4 other men in blue shirts raised their hands too. Sorry but it makes you wonder if anyone makes it there on time! No wonder they warned me about travel time when I made the ADR.
We also raised our hands for celebrating our anniversary. This was our celebration dinner. There was a couple celebrating 40 years. I love seeing that. My parents have been married 42 years. It gives me hope as so many of our friends have split. We exchanged our gifts. Carl opened his tie and was happy with it. He found the Tie Tack at the bottom too. He doesnt have to wear a tie often and prefers something with a bit of humour. The Mickey pattern is subtle enough that he can wear it for pretty much any occasion.
I opened my gift, and it was a watch. It was a really nice watch. It had a stainless steel band. The kind that are more like a shrunken version of the mens watch. I love the thought but not quite what I wanted.
Another Personal Aside: My wonderful loving husband can NOT take a hint to save his life. When we got married, I hinted for diamond earrings. I got a watch. Very similar to this anniversary present. The wedding gift one is much more feminine though. Either way no earrings, no diamonds. We talked. He said he thought I was hinting for the earrings but wasnt sure so he figured the watch was safer. We have a system now that works for us. I will take flyers, websites, catalogues whatever I can get my hands on, that comes with photos. I mark the flyers and catalogues with post-its, and send photos & website links by email. At Christmas there will be at least half a dozen catalogues with hints from the $2 range up to infinity and beyond. This allows him the option to buy me something I want and still surprise me, without blowing whatever budget he has. My Mom is completely horrified
by this and thinks it shows how selfish I am. I make sure I offer plenty of lower cost items for hinting and a good variety of things from clothes to crafty stuff, anything goes. But I always specify as much as possible on each hint to try to make it easier for him. When I do it, I know that I will not get everything. I dont get my heart set on any one item, and for me it is fun to see what he chose. Sometimes he strays away from the hints, but usually that means he has been paying close attention and caught something I said somewhere along the line and knows he will score brownie points for it like the beach towel thing. Either way it works for us. We have our own system for dealing with the toilet seat up or down issue and the infamous Do I look fat in this? question as well. We are different that way.Anyways, back at the castle. I am not over the moon about my wonderful splurged upon gift. When asked what I wanted, as I could not provide my usual hints, I said, something subtly Disney, that I can keep with me, something pretty. This watch, although very good quality, was just not pretty. The Mickey was a small full silhouette that I really couldnt see without my glasses. (ugh I cant believe I had to put that in.)
No, I did not say anything to ruin the mood at this point. I had done enough for one day. I told him it was nice, but he did have to point out the Mickey I couldnt quite figure it out.
Our server had noticed our hand raising at the Anniversary part of the Fairy Godmothers celebrations. She asked us about it, then brought us the declaration to celebrate our anniversary, and champagne flutes. We already had a pair of the glasses at home from the honeymoon so that was very nice. Our picture package and the lithograph were also brought to the table. Our picture turned out pretty good. Everyone smiling with eyes open.
I had been hearing the family at the next table talk about the time for the next Cinderellabration show. I figured there was a chance we could make it. It was grad night so MK was closing early. As we were leaving CRT there was no one in the lobby. We had the perfect chance to recreate photos again. On our honeymoon, as we left CRT we have a photo of me upstairs on the balcony, taken from the lobby. We took the same picture, but with me & my princess. On our honeymoon I took a photo of Carl with a suit of armor. You guessed it! Daddy & his little princess stood with a suit of armor for a picture.
We went around to the front of the castle, and got a spot front and centre for Cinderellabration. My princess was thrilled by the show. By this time everyone is content and relaxed again. After Cinderellabration we headed back to the resort. I sent Carl over to the hotel bar to bring back drinks (Dacquiri and virgin dacquiri and a beer for him) to enjoy while we tried to undo the Disney Diva Do.
Moms that is a LOT of gel. Be ready for that. It was nice to have the somewhat early night. Again a LOT of gel to wash out. After pulling out the bobby pins, braid and elastic. And trying to memorize how they did that so I can try my hand at it again some other time. I think her hair would have stayed up without the elastics and pins. There is a nice tip for BBB Moms send hubby to the bar for something frosty for you and the other version for your little princess. That way you can make the evening wash up after the makeover just as much fun.
Up next: Epcot. (taking a photo? Dont say cheese say Epcot!)
Lisa_Belle
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2006
- Messages
- 450
aGoofyMom said:
Oh how romantic
I love mushy stuff like that! You should put the pictures side-by-side in frames so you can compare. It's cool you've got Siri in them, too.Looking forward to a day in Epcot with a preschooler.
connorsmom911
DIS Veteran
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- Jun 13, 2004
- Messages
- 1,025
Loving it as always...gee, so many stories that you didn't tell in person at work (or I've forgotten...it's bee a month or so!).
Princess Aurora45
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- May 26, 2003
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- 395
I love reading your reports they are really great.
I two can not stand to be late, and burst out crying when my mama decided to go to the bathroom just as we were about to board the plane. I would gladly be an hour early to something than a min late. It comes from my mamas inability to be on time - first day of secondary school (erm I think that may be middle school in the US) and my mama was 2hrs late in picking me up - she turned up at 7!
I two can not stand to be late, and burst out crying when my mama decided to go to the bathroom just as we were about to board the plane. I would gladly be an hour early to something than a min late. It comes from my mamas inability to be on time - first day of secondary school (erm I think that may be middle school in the US) and my mama was 2hrs late in picking me up - she turned up at 7!
3princesses+aprince
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2006
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- 3,878
Great Report, I'll be watching for the rest.
Thanks everyone especialy for your patience. I tend to keep ahead on my report, and left my file at work. Sorry for the delay in the next installment.
Princess Aurora45 - exactly! It is so nice not to be alone. My first job my Dad drilled it into my head you show up for work 10-15 mintues early, but my boss was always 10-15 min late so we would have to wait outside the restaurant at 6 am waiting for someone to let us in.
Anyways - new installment soon!
Princess Aurora45 - exactly! It is so nice not to be alone. My first job my Dad drilled it into my head you show up for work 10-15 mintues early, but my boss was always 10-15 min late so we would have to wait outside the restaurant at 6 am waiting for someone to let us in.
Anyways - new installment soon!
Epcot
Still no early risers here. I promised to take my time this trip & we are. Still, a wake up call just one day would have been cool. Maybe next trip. We dont manage to arrive at Epcot until around 11. We spent some of that getting ready time trying to persuade our 4 year old princess that perhaps a stroller would be a good idea for today. Yep. We didnt bring one. She has turned up her nose at strollers for a while now. Actually, we did 2 days at Sesame Place without a stroller just before her 3rd birthday. She walked. Now it wasnt that big, either. But she really just doesnt like the stroller.
Anywho. By the time we leave for the bus we had her convinced. We will get a stroller when we get there. The Princess approves of her Carriage and settles in quickly.
We spent some time in Innoventions. My Ubergeek DH actually likes the House of the Future. We know the princess wont so I assure him we will be fine while he goes in. BUT we also set the alarm on his watch for a full 30 minutes ahead of our Princess Lunch ADR so we will have no stress (wishful thinking) today. So - a little girls time in Innoventions. Yippee. It dawns on me that we didnt agree to a meeting place - Hey wait! Thats twice now. We didnt agree on a meeting place or time after the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique either. We need to get better at this. We havent planned to use my cell phone due to the beyond all comprehension roaming charges I will wind up paying, and it means nothing anyways as he plans to only turn on the Blackberry he is carrying if we get lost and the Princess is required to have a CM track us down for her. Oh did I mention that one? No? Shoot. OK for Siris ID, I have taken a craft kit with ball chain, and alpha beads. I bought an extra pack of number beads. We put our resort name, and DHs cell phone number on it. She has been wearing every day. She is trying to memorize the number to. But every morning we put it on, and we talk about when & how to use it. By the end of the trip she was very tired of it, but it worked for us. For the week. With a little motherly encouragement.
Back to Innoventions. Wandering aimlessly in Innoventions. The Princess screws up enough courage to enter into a game of video tag with some other kids. I take some pictures and quickly think a phrase I wouldnt have dreamed of before this. My child needs to play more video games. Ok she doesnt actually play much of anything. We have an old laptop for her (DH is a geek, we inherit a lot of worn out equipment) that we have loaded some age suitable stuff on for her. Again, just something that works for us. This machine would need overhaul to even be worth donating anywhere. The laptops battery doesnt actually work so it must be plugged in at all times, and our wireless home network requires the card to be put in for her to be on line. She can be on the computer and we dont have to worry about her going to the Internet by accident.
Again back to Innoventions. We found some kid computer stuff that worked out better for us. Carl found us at about that time and we made our way out.
Note: My comment about the video games was swiftly dealt with. It apparently translated into a dutiful Daddy MUST go buy a PS2 since they wont be that expensive right now with the new model out later this year. Of course Kingdom Hearts is not really her speed but I managed to find something in a bargain bin about a week later. Amazing how that works eh?
We headed for WS by way of Mexico. We went on the boat ride. Siri liked it but was loudly disappointed in the faux fireworks. This Princess has now seen Wishes and she KNOWS fireworks. This aint it. Great. We were stalled there for a bit. The display in our local parks on Canada Day really wont go over well now even for our little patriotic Princess.
We had to make a pit stop before leaving Mexico. The only washrooms are in the restaurant. She was dancing by the time we figured that one out. Ok then. Crisis averted.
We head on over to Askerhus for our Princess Lunch. My Mom was born in Sweden and I know the food is going to be very similar to some of what I grew up on. I have been anxious for this one. I dont tend to get excited about food either. Not having been to any parts of Europe (yet!) I am thrilled about trying authentic food not made by members of my family. We approach, thinking we may have time for Maelstrom or shopping first. The line up was nuts. Might as well jump in. Up to this point we had carried the Aurora pink dress in a backpack. Long sleeves at noon in Florida I dont think so. Besides this is this years Halloween costume again REALLY big hence the choice of pink shorts & shirt today. While in line to check in, we put on the Aurora dress. I should have brought the safety pins. Oh well. Even though there was very little shade to wait in, she held up ok because of all the other little princesses in their dresses. We didnt wait very long either. Once we had checked in at least. Then we got to line up near the air conditioning to go in. Then we realize aha! Arial is waiting for a photo op with everyone. The Princess is excited about that prospect. I am snapping pictures of some of the décor. I feel like I am at my Grandmas house in so many ways right now. Once it was our turn Arial was great, Siri had fun talking to her. Arial helped adjust the too big dress so I told her about our chilly Halloweens. She mentioned that mermaids dont usually go that far north too cold.
Autograph signed and picture taken we get our table. Our server Sijle was great. (so was her English!) We ordered right away, and I went up to the cold table buffet for appetizers leaving the princess with autograph book and camera with DH. I filled plates for both the Princess & I and came back to excitedly report on what was available. I knew DH was going to be in Heaven with the pickled herring (yep he eats it, I have tried many times but no way) and salads that will all be familiar. He mentioned to me later, that while I was at the buffet, Sijle returned with the drinks & he called Siri by name to get her attention. Sijle was so startled hearing her name that she had to ask. Carl explained that she was named for her Grandmother on my side & that my Mom was born in Sweden, immigrating to Canada as a child. She now knows she has a table that will definitely appreciate the food. The Princesses started coming around Aurora in the pink dress was first. My Princess was thrilled. A little chat and a photo Aurora warned Siri to be on the lookout for Merryweather since she would try to turn her dress blue. My princess proudly told her that I made the dress for her and she complimented my abilities telling us how Aunt Flora had tried to make her a dress one time but it didnt turn out near as well. Aurora moved on and we went back to the food. Siri was enjoying it, but I had completely forgotten to warn her about the cucumbers. They are basically soaked in vinegar. My Mom & Sis do this all the time. I dont mind it but dont bother setting it up much myself. The look on her face was just beyond. OOPS. Bad Mommy. I didnt actually get it much she loves pickles ok oops on my part. We got past the vinegar. Belle came around next. My little Princess got a big lesson in diplomacy at this point, kinda fitting to be in WS for this one. She sat there dressed up like Aurora, with a Jasmine doll beside her. Belle asked her who her favourite Princess was, while she was signing her autograph. She replied, Cinderella and Aurora. Belle smiled for the photo and moved on. Wow that was fast. Jasmine came around next, and one of the first things out of my daughters mouth you are one of my favourite princesses. If nothing else she learns quick. I get my picture taken with Jasmine as well so I can show it to my bellydance friends. Mulan came by dressed for the matchmaker (you are one of my favourites!) Siri barely ate anything until dessert probably because by then we realized no more Princesses would be coming out, but we really enjoyed our food. I had the Jarlsberg cheese soup and open face grilled salmon sandwich and Carl had the pan seared trout. It was Awesome. Dessert was fabulous too. Rice Cream, was the favourite for Carl & Siri but I loved the Lignonberry cheesecake. The Rice Cream was good, but I was having flashbacks to a not-so-good-dessert that was similar but not quite as a child. And as we are leaving, Sijle comes by and I get to use a phrase I have only ever said to family Tuck formatin (spelling?) It means Thank you for dinner.
After lunch was done, we headed into the stand-by line for the Maelstrom. Siri just wanted to get back in the stroller (HUH?) but we convinced her. A little shopping, and we checked the line up at the Bakery maybe we can come back? (ya, like next trip )
We moved on to China. DH was anxious to shop here. His interest in Martial Arts has him currently reading up on Qigong (Chigung) a lot right now me too actually. I take the stroller and tell him to take his time & find us when he is done. Then we see Mushu come out. Crumbs. DH has the book. We track him down & make him stop everything to get the book out. We go out to see Mushu and no one is with him. A little fun there and back into the air conditioning. Our Princess is getting tired and really enjoying having the stroller today. Physically speaking she is very much like her Daddy and he is a custom built furnace. He throws so much body heat it is amazing I even need a blanket. Handy in Canada in January. Not so much in Florida in May. She is just as bad. Hats actually make her even hotter as she has a lot of hair too. She is sitting back with her fan no spraying while inside please. Once DH is done we are ready to move on. He did manage to find me a book on Qigong for Arthritis so I am happy about that. Anything that might help is welcome.
We went to move on but there was 2 CMs closing off the path. Huh? Wow I had no idea that was a drawbridge. We waited while they brought out the barges for Illuminations. It was interesting to watch the globe go by but after that kinda boring. Again, not a whole lot of shade handy so Siri was really using the spray bottle. I was trying to keep the spray limited to us, and a woman near by said oh no I would welcome that. She was pushing her DH in a wheelchair with a wrapped up ankle. Oh. I have been there. On my 94 trip with my DS, her arthritis has always been so much worse than mine that she could only manage to do WS in a wheelchair. That really makes you realize how hilly that place is. We sprayed her a little to help cool her off. Once the bridge was re-opened, we found Rafiki at the Trading Post once we were able to move on. Now I realize why we arent finding much shade thats where the characters hang out when they come out. Makes sense. I was really glad we found Rafiki. In my stealth-trip-planning-couldnt-give-up-the-Dis-Boards mode, I would try to check in without my Princess seeing from home. Every time I pulled up the main site there would be a picture of Rafiki on the side & little Eagle Eyes would spot it and come over to check it out. This was usually followed by Mommy, I want to go to where Rafiki is. Ok. Someday. 2009 for sure.
Oh Crumbs! After Rafiki our autograph book is now full. No worries, how many characters can we bump into in Epcot if we arent really looking? (Never ask yourself this question it will fall under a Murphys Law kind of thing)
Now we arrive at Morocco. Yippee! I can hear the belly dance music already. MoRockin is on stage. But here is Jasmine & Aladdin. Ok. You wait in line, I will be back. I move ahead to check out MoRockin and find a Henna thing. OOHH! I so want to get a Henna Tattoo. They tell me to come back when MoRockin is done. Excellent. I go back to the line. They are still waiting. Hey I know this song. I am dancing a little, and realize so is Siri. She recognized the song too.
Then Carl grins. Yep, he knows it too. Apparently I listen to my dance music a lot. Dance music has more than one definition in my house. Once it is our turn, I realize that this is a different Jasmine. I had the autograph book open to the page Jasmine signed at lunch, and ask that since we met Jasmine at lunch, would Aladdin mind signing the same page. Jasmine was quick to ask Siri if she had a good time at lunch meeting her other friends
slick and seamless. Siri was so happy to finally meet a Prince that she almost became a little shy. We got some great photos and moved on. Carl told me it was my turn go shop and have fun. I asked him if he would mind waiting while I got the henna tattoo no worries have fun. The Henna didnt take long at all, and out of curiosity I asked about kids getting them. I explained that my daughter was 4 and since I take belly dance classes she is pretty fascinated by the whole culture. She told me that really it was up to the parent, but the child needs to leave it for at least 15 minutes. I also learned that the dancer here has a studio where she teaches in Orlando. Cool. Maybe next time I should check into workshops. 
Ya OK that one might not go over well. DH may be my biggest fan, but there are limits
I was checking out the merchandise when Carl grabs my attention. Pit stop, NOW. Crumbs. My Henna isnt dry yet. Ok lets go. I tell the Princess, who is positively fascinated by my Henna, that she has to manage everything completely on her own as I cant use my left hand or it will smudge my tattoo. Now I know the drill just look for the restaurant and you will find the washroom. Then try to dig a post it out of the purse one handed. Siri starts asking to get a tattoo before we can find Daddy again. I stalled on the answer and run it by him. Sure-whatever. Cool! I already know which one. They have a butterfly design I think she will love. (Ok so I figured from the start if I got one she would wind up with one too.) 
The woman started on it while I went to pay. By the time I had paid, and bought some jewelry, they were finished. Carl had sat back and kept an eye on her from a distance (20 feet?) so she felt incredibly grown up at having been left alone for a bit in a new place. We sat by the fountain for a bit, and one guy walking by saw us posing for a picture of our tattoos and loudly asked why anyone would do that to themselves. Hmm...maybe big burly guy doesnt have any tattoos himself. Maybe he just doesnt get another culture. Maybe this isnt the place to be if you arent interested in another culture
Maybe he thinks they are done like other tattoos with needles etc. The henna does really stick up from the skin. I suppose it could look painful if you didnt know it was just a natural dye that sits on top of the skin and then dries. And sticks like glue. To all those little hairs on your arm. This makes movement interesting. We were told to leave it on for at least 24 hours to ensure it would be dark and stay for about a week.
Moving on we check out the other shopping areas. Inside the Moroccan CMs are wandering about with drums. One drumming CM is tapping out rhythms that I can recognize. As I wander, I start doing a few moves. Next thing I know, the drumming CM is following me around. Very cool my own personal drummer for a bit.
I had a little fun with it. Drop a hip here, little undulation and sit kick combo there
I didnt wind up buying anything else, which was a little disappointing for me. Either it was items I could find at home, in better quality, or something I wouldnt get enough use out of. Regardless the whole shopping experience was fun. We also ran into some adults here who were having an adult time. I.e. intoxicated. They had a girl in their group cornered in a change room and one of the guys commented loudly that if they kept feeding her drinks they could keep her doing anything they said for the rest of the day. Time to move on. I don't mind adult fun at Disney in the least. I simply know that for this trip it was time to move the family on.
Total aside here: As I type, I am listening to my MP3. It is on random. I have just gone from a track from my Wishes CD to an Arabic/belly dance track. Nice mood-setter.
Ok. Back on track. As we head out of Morocco, we realize we havent used ANY snack credits. Huh? How did that happen? Bring on the Mickey Ice Cream Bars!! Actually I love the strawberry fruit ones. Siri loves fruit so she liked that too. But Mickey won out in the end. We probably had 2 of them just walking through the rest of WS. We didnt stop much after Morocco to look at the other pavilions simply because Siri was just tired and a little bored. She had been holding up so well we didnt want to push it. We had already hit our key spots so that was enough.
Ok another aside the MP3 player just found Do-Re-Mi from the Sound of Music. If you have read this far, you know that Connorsmom & I work together. If you read the first installment of her trip report, than this song coming on is just kind of funny. Lets start at the very beginning
Where was I oh yes, making our way out of WS. I knew we would have to stop at either the UK or Canada for a beer break. DH is also a bit of a beer snob. The Bud offered at the snack carts is great, but this man has spent the last 3 days pretty much entirely in the MK. He doesnt drink a lot, nor does he complain if he doesnt get a beer. He also knows that this is his chance to grab a favourite somewhere. He chooses the long line at the Rose and Crown to have a Harp. Other than the fact that we didnt have the sense to grab Fast Passes for Soarin when we arrived, we have pretty much done what we hoped to do here. We mosied towards Figment I have always wanted to check it out but havent gotten around to it. And I wont this time technical difficulties. Ok, hopping fountains are good for some fun. We head over there & Siri is out of her stroller and having a ball.
(Oh another Disney song I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream I use my MP3 player in the car too, so yes, Siri has her own playlist on it.)
By this point we realize our late lunch carried us to almost 7. FW is closing up and we are tired and hungry. We weigh the options know that if we stay here to grab dinner we will stay for Illuminations. We really hadnt planned to stay. All signs from the Princess indicate we shouldnt even mention fireworks because she wont have it in her to stay, even if she wants to.
Up next: The stress of the day- threatened at Disney.
Still no early risers here. I promised to take my time this trip & we are. Still, a wake up call just one day would have been cool. Maybe next trip. We dont manage to arrive at Epcot until around 11. We spent some of that getting ready time trying to persuade our 4 year old princess that perhaps a stroller would be a good idea for today. Yep. We didnt bring one. She has turned up her nose at strollers for a while now. Actually, we did 2 days at Sesame Place without a stroller just before her 3rd birthday. She walked. Now it wasnt that big, either. But she really just doesnt like the stroller.
Anywho. By the time we leave for the bus we had her convinced. We will get a stroller when we get there. The Princess approves of her Carriage and settles in quickly.
We spent some time in Innoventions. My Ubergeek DH actually likes the House of the Future. We know the princess wont so I assure him we will be fine while he goes in. BUT we also set the alarm on his watch for a full 30 minutes ahead of our Princess Lunch ADR so we will have no stress (wishful thinking) today. So - a little girls time in Innoventions. Yippee. It dawns on me that we didnt agree to a meeting place - Hey wait! Thats twice now. We didnt agree on a meeting place or time after the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique either. We need to get better at this. We havent planned to use my cell phone due to the beyond all comprehension roaming charges I will wind up paying, and it means nothing anyways as he plans to only turn on the Blackberry he is carrying if we get lost and the Princess is required to have a CM track us down for her. Oh did I mention that one? No? Shoot. OK for Siris ID, I have taken a craft kit with ball chain, and alpha beads. I bought an extra pack of number beads. We put our resort name, and DHs cell phone number on it. She has been wearing every day. She is trying to memorize the number to. But every morning we put it on, and we talk about when & how to use it. By the end of the trip she was very tired of it, but it worked for us. For the week. With a little motherly encouragement.
Back to Innoventions. Wandering aimlessly in Innoventions. The Princess screws up enough courage to enter into a game of video tag with some other kids. I take some pictures and quickly think a phrase I wouldnt have dreamed of before this. My child needs to play more video games. Ok she doesnt actually play much of anything. We have an old laptop for her (DH is a geek, we inherit a lot of worn out equipment) that we have loaded some age suitable stuff on for her. Again, just something that works for us. This machine would need overhaul to even be worth donating anywhere. The laptops battery doesnt actually work so it must be plugged in at all times, and our wireless home network requires the card to be put in for her to be on line. She can be on the computer and we dont have to worry about her going to the Internet by accident.
Again back to Innoventions. We found some kid computer stuff that worked out better for us. Carl found us at about that time and we made our way out.
Note: My comment about the video games was swiftly dealt with. It apparently translated into a dutiful Daddy MUST go buy a PS2 since they wont be that expensive right now with the new model out later this year. Of course Kingdom Hearts is not really her speed but I managed to find something in a bargain bin about a week later. Amazing how that works eh?
We headed for WS by way of Mexico. We went on the boat ride. Siri liked it but was loudly disappointed in the faux fireworks. This Princess has now seen Wishes and she KNOWS fireworks. This aint it. Great. We were stalled there for a bit. The display in our local parks on Canada Day really wont go over well now even for our little patriotic Princess.
We had to make a pit stop before leaving Mexico. The only washrooms are in the restaurant. She was dancing by the time we figured that one out. Ok then. Crisis averted.
We head on over to Askerhus for our Princess Lunch. My Mom was born in Sweden and I know the food is going to be very similar to some of what I grew up on. I have been anxious for this one. I dont tend to get excited about food either. Not having been to any parts of Europe (yet!) I am thrilled about trying authentic food not made by members of my family. We approach, thinking we may have time for Maelstrom or shopping first. The line up was nuts. Might as well jump in. Up to this point we had carried the Aurora pink dress in a backpack. Long sleeves at noon in Florida I dont think so. Besides this is this years Halloween costume again REALLY big hence the choice of pink shorts & shirt today. While in line to check in, we put on the Aurora dress. I should have brought the safety pins. Oh well. Even though there was very little shade to wait in, she held up ok because of all the other little princesses in their dresses. We didnt wait very long either. Once we had checked in at least. Then we got to line up near the air conditioning to go in. Then we realize aha! Arial is waiting for a photo op with everyone. The Princess is excited about that prospect. I am snapping pictures of some of the décor. I feel like I am at my Grandmas house in so many ways right now. Once it was our turn Arial was great, Siri had fun talking to her. Arial helped adjust the too big dress so I told her about our chilly Halloweens. She mentioned that mermaids dont usually go that far north too cold.
Autograph signed and picture taken we get our table. Our server Sijle was great. (so was her English!) We ordered right away, and I went up to the cold table buffet for appetizers leaving the princess with autograph book and camera with DH. I filled plates for both the Princess & I and came back to excitedly report on what was available. I knew DH was going to be in Heaven with the pickled herring (yep he eats it, I have tried many times but no way) and salads that will all be familiar. He mentioned to me later, that while I was at the buffet, Sijle returned with the drinks & he called Siri by name to get her attention. Sijle was so startled hearing her name that she had to ask. Carl explained that she was named for her Grandmother on my side & that my Mom was born in Sweden, immigrating to Canada as a child. She now knows she has a table that will definitely appreciate the food. The Princesses started coming around Aurora in the pink dress was first. My Princess was thrilled. A little chat and a photo Aurora warned Siri to be on the lookout for Merryweather since she would try to turn her dress blue. My princess proudly told her that I made the dress for her and she complimented my abilities telling us how Aunt Flora had tried to make her a dress one time but it didnt turn out near as well. Aurora moved on and we went back to the food. Siri was enjoying it, but I had completely forgotten to warn her about the cucumbers. They are basically soaked in vinegar. My Mom & Sis do this all the time. I dont mind it but dont bother setting it up much myself. The look on her face was just beyond. OOPS. Bad Mommy. I didnt actually get it much she loves pickles ok oops on my part. We got past the vinegar. Belle came around next. My little Princess got a big lesson in diplomacy at this point, kinda fitting to be in WS for this one. She sat there dressed up like Aurora, with a Jasmine doll beside her. Belle asked her who her favourite Princess was, while she was signing her autograph. She replied, Cinderella and Aurora. Belle smiled for the photo and moved on. Wow that was fast. Jasmine came around next, and one of the first things out of my daughters mouth you are one of my favourite princesses. If nothing else she learns quick. I get my picture taken with Jasmine as well so I can show it to my bellydance friends. Mulan came by dressed for the matchmaker (you are one of my favourites!) Siri barely ate anything until dessert probably because by then we realized no more Princesses would be coming out, but we really enjoyed our food. I had the Jarlsberg cheese soup and open face grilled salmon sandwich and Carl had the pan seared trout. It was Awesome. Dessert was fabulous too. Rice Cream, was the favourite for Carl & Siri but I loved the Lignonberry cheesecake. The Rice Cream was good, but I was having flashbacks to a not-so-good-dessert that was similar but not quite as a child. And as we are leaving, Sijle comes by and I get to use a phrase I have only ever said to family Tuck formatin (spelling?) It means Thank you for dinner.
After lunch was done, we headed into the stand-by line for the Maelstrom. Siri just wanted to get back in the stroller (HUH?) but we convinced her. A little shopping, and we checked the line up at the Bakery maybe we can come back? (ya, like next trip )
We moved on to China. DH was anxious to shop here. His interest in Martial Arts has him currently reading up on Qigong (Chigung) a lot right now me too actually. I take the stroller and tell him to take his time & find us when he is done. Then we see Mushu come out. Crumbs. DH has the book. We track him down & make him stop everything to get the book out. We go out to see Mushu and no one is with him. A little fun there and back into the air conditioning. Our Princess is getting tired and really enjoying having the stroller today. Physically speaking she is very much like her Daddy and he is a custom built furnace. He throws so much body heat it is amazing I even need a blanket. Handy in Canada in January. Not so much in Florida in May. She is just as bad. Hats actually make her even hotter as she has a lot of hair too. She is sitting back with her fan no spraying while inside please. Once DH is done we are ready to move on. He did manage to find me a book on Qigong for Arthritis so I am happy about that. Anything that might help is welcome.
We went to move on but there was 2 CMs closing off the path. Huh? Wow I had no idea that was a drawbridge. We waited while they brought out the barges for Illuminations. It was interesting to watch the globe go by but after that kinda boring. Again, not a whole lot of shade handy so Siri was really using the spray bottle. I was trying to keep the spray limited to us, and a woman near by said oh no I would welcome that. She was pushing her DH in a wheelchair with a wrapped up ankle. Oh. I have been there. On my 94 trip with my DS, her arthritis has always been so much worse than mine that she could only manage to do WS in a wheelchair. That really makes you realize how hilly that place is. We sprayed her a little to help cool her off. Once the bridge was re-opened, we found Rafiki at the Trading Post once we were able to move on. Now I realize why we arent finding much shade thats where the characters hang out when they come out. Makes sense. I was really glad we found Rafiki. In my stealth-trip-planning-couldnt-give-up-the-Dis-Boards mode, I would try to check in without my Princess seeing from home. Every time I pulled up the main site there would be a picture of Rafiki on the side & little Eagle Eyes would spot it and come over to check it out. This was usually followed by Mommy, I want to go to where Rafiki is. Ok. Someday. 2009 for sure.
Oh Crumbs! After Rafiki our autograph book is now full. No worries, how many characters can we bump into in Epcot if we arent really looking? (Never ask yourself this question it will fall under a Murphys Law kind of thing)
Now we arrive at Morocco. Yippee! I can hear the belly dance music already. MoRockin is on stage. But here is Jasmine & Aladdin. Ok. You wait in line, I will be back. I move ahead to check out MoRockin and find a Henna thing. OOHH! I so want to get a Henna Tattoo. They tell me to come back when MoRockin is done. Excellent. I go back to the line. They are still waiting. Hey I know this song. I am dancing a little, and realize so is Siri. She recognized the song too.
Then Carl grins. Yep, he knows it too. Apparently I listen to my dance music a lot. Dance music has more than one definition in my house. Once it is our turn, I realize that this is a different Jasmine. I had the autograph book open to the page Jasmine signed at lunch, and ask that since we met Jasmine at lunch, would Aladdin mind signing the same page. Jasmine was quick to ask Siri if she had a good time at lunch meeting her other friends
slick and seamless. Siri was so happy to finally meet a Prince that she almost became a little shy. We got some great photos and moved on. Carl told me it was my turn go shop and have fun. I asked him if he would mind waiting while I got the henna tattoo no worries have fun. The Henna didnt take long at all, and out of curiosity I asked about kids getting them. I explained that my daughter was 4 and since I take belly dance classes she is pretty fascinated by the whole culture. She told me that really it was up to the parent, but the child needs to leave it for at least 15 minutes. I also learned that the dancer here has a studio where she teaches in Orlando. Cool. Maybe next time I should check into workshops. Ya OK that one might not go over well. DH may be my biggest fan, but there are limits
I was checking out the merchandise when Carl grabs my attention. Pit stop, NOW. Crumbs. My Henna isnt dry yet. Ok lets go. I tell the Princess, who is positively fascinated by my Henna, that she has to manage everything completely on her own as I cant use my left hand or it will smudge my tattoo. Now I know the drill just look for the restaurant and you will find the washroom. Then try to dig a post it out of the purse one handed.
Siri starts asking to get a tattoo before we can find Daddy again. I stalled on the answer and run it by him. Sure-whatever. Cool! I already know which one. They have a butterfly design I think she will love. (Ok so I figured from the start if I got one she would wind up with one too.) The woman started on it while I went to pay. By the time I had paid, and bought some jewelry, they were finished. Carl had sat back and kept an eye on her from a distance (20 feet?) so she felt incredibly grown up at having been left alone for a bit in a new place. We sat by the fountain for a bit, and one guy walking by saw us posing for a picture of our tattoos and loudly asked why anyone would do that to themselves. Hmm...maybe big burly guy doesnt have any tattoos himself. Maybe he just doesnt get another culture. Maybe this isnt the place to be if you arent interested in another culture
Maybe he thinks they are done like other tattoos with needles etc. The henna does really stick up from the skin. I suppose it could look painful if you didnt know it was just a natural dye that sits on top of the skin and then dries. And sticks like glue. To all those little hairs on your arm. This makes movement interesting. We were told to leave it on for at least 24 hours to ensure it would be dark and stay for about a week. Moving on we check out the other shopping areas. Inside the Moroccan CMs are wandering about with drums. One drumming CM is tapping out rhythms that I can recognize. As I wander, I start doing a few moves. Next thing I know, the drumming CM is following me around. Very cool my own personal drummer for a bit.
I had a little fun with it. Drop a hip here, little undulation and sit kick combo there
I didnt wind up buying anything else, which was a little disappointing for me. Either it was items I could find at home, in better quality, or something I wouldnt get enough use out of. Regardless the whole shopping experience was fun. We also ran into some adults here who were having an adult time. I.e. intoxicated. They had a girl in their group cornered in a change room and one of the guys commented loudly that if they kept feeding her drinks they could keep her doing anything they said for the rest of the day. Time to move on. I don't mind adult fun at Disney in the least. I simply know that for this trip it was time to move the family on.Total aside here: As I type, I am listening to my MP3. It is on random. I have just gone from a track from my Wishes CD to an Arabic/belly dance track. Nice mood-setter.
Ok. Back on track. As we head out of Morocco, we realize we havent used ANY snack credits. Huh? How did that happen? Bring on the Mickey Ice Cream Bars!! Actually I love the strawberry fruit ones. Siri loves fruit so she liked that too. But Mickey won out in the end. We probably had 2 of them just walking through the rest of WS. We didnt stop much after Morocco to look at the other pavilions simply because Siri was just tired and a little bored. She had been holding up so well we didnt want to push it. We had already hit our key spots so that was enough.
Ok another aside the MP3 player just found Do-Re-Mi from the Sound of Music. If you have read this far, you know that Connorsmom & I work together. If you read the first installment of her trip report, than this song coming on is just kind of funny. Lets start at the very beginning
Where was I oh yes, making our way out of WS. I knew we would have to stop at either the UK or Canada for a beer break. DH is also a bit of a beer snob. The Bud offered at the snack carts is great, but this man has spent the last 3 days pretty much entirely in the MK. He doesnt drink a lot, nor does he complain if he doesnt get a beer. He also knows that this is his chance to grab a favourite somewhere. He chooses the long line at the Rose and Crown to have a Harp. Other than the fact that we didnt have the sense to grab Fast Passes for Soarin when we arrived, we have pretty much done what we hoped to do here. We mosied towards Figment I have always wanted to check it out but havent gotten around to it. And I wont this time technical difficulties. Ok, hopping fountains are good for some fun. We head over there & Siri is out of her stroller and having a ball.
(Oh another Disney song I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream I use my MP3 player in the car too, so yes, Siri has her own playlist on it.)
By this point we realize our late lunch carried us to almost 7. FW is closing up and we are tired and hungry. We weigh the options know that if we stay here to grab dinner we will stay for Illuminations. We really hadnt planned to stay. All signs from the Princess indicate we shouldnt even mention fireworks because she wont have it in her to stay, even if she wants to.
Up next: The stress of the day- threatened at Disney.
Lisa_Belle
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2006
- Messages
- 450
Hmmm - I like calling the stroller a "carriage." Did that help persuade Princess Siri to ride in it? If not, how did you do it? Mine also refueses to ride in one, and I know there is no way she can make it through Epcot without one.
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