"It was the time of our lives!" WL Jan 10-15 2010 NEW: 5/17 PTR LINK UP!! PG 44

[BippityBoo]

I love how you had all the characters sign the frame matting! I hope you don't mind if I steal your great idea!

Not at all!!! I think I stole it from another DISer's TR! LOL

The frame matting is such a great idea! I might copy that idea and let the princesses sign it for Belle's room.

I can't wait to read about MK!!!!

Copy away!! I actually got a new frame today at Tuesday Morning for a Princess one for Abby during our December trip! It would be a great addition to her room. Thanks for the idea!

I am really enjoying your report. I love that the kids were able to enjoy so much of Epcot. So many people think its not for younger kids but clearly your family had a great time. Also I had no idea that Pinnochio Haus had an upstairs When we were there in Nov. we ate there but sat in the main dining room with lots of other people Waiting for the next update

I know!! I have to explain to all of my friends that Epcot is kid friendly. We had a blast!

I am so shocked at how many people did not know about the upstairs! There are only 10 tables, max. It is VERY small, but nice and peaceful compaired to the rest of the restaurant! Try it out if you go there next time. I think that will be our last visit there (but I said that last time and look...we got stuck there again!) lol.

Yay! Great update, Katie! Your character interaction at Epcot sounds great - and your photo mat is wonderful! On our October 2008 trip, we had dinner at 1900 PF with Cinderella, Prince Charming and the step-sisters and had them sign a "Happy Birthday" frame I had for Katie, who was turning 4! It sits on her dresser in her room! So cute! I will have to do a Fab 5 one next time!


We managed to get a couple of meals at Capt Cooks this last time and really enjoyed them. The Adult Grilled Cheese is very good (and very filling)!

Love all those towel animals! So cute!

Ahhh...Disney Cruise ship picture.... (that's me dreaming...LOL) I hope someday to do one of those! DVC would be nice too, but if they were indeed starting DVC units at the Poly I would be all over that! I don't know where they would do them though...

Patiently waiting your next update....

Sara

Thank you Sara! I love the idea of a Happy Birthday frame! I will have to do that for Abby next May! Don't you just love 1900 PF?!

I was eyeing the Adult Grilled Cheese! It seemed really filling to me and I was still full from lunch! lol. I need to get it next time, though!

Poly would be a GREAT DVC spot for a family!! I heard that they are going to do it....maybe convert some buildings they already have??? I am interested in seeing if they do! New update soon!

What a bummer that Test Track was closed. I think I mentioned (either here or on my TR) that it was still running for us at the end of our trip - we were there on a Friday. However, when we did ride it then the sound in the car was not working. I wonder if that was part of the problem? It definitely made the ride less thrilling. But, at least you have something new to look forward to for next trip!

What a great story with Mickey! I bet that is a moment that you and yourfamily will never forget. And the frame looks so cute! I can't wait to see it with a picture in it!

Wow---can't imagine what it would be like with no sound! What a strange experience!! I am sure that was one of the reasons they shut it down. We are still bummed!

I hope to update about the frame soon. I bought a new one today for our Dec trip!! I never stop planning! lol!

sorry TT was closed--such a great ride. Definitely a must do on your next trip if possible.

It is so sweet your DD bought a gift for your DS--such a great big sister!! She has picked up some great stuff so far!!

I LOVE the matting idea--I might have to borrow that! I think I might do something like that for DD's birthday in September on our trip.

She is a wonderful big sis! Thanks so much!

We are SO looking forward to riding TT! Please, take the matting idea!! haha I actually copied from another TR here on Dis. It is a great way to display signitures at home! I always dislike putting their books in the closet, never to be seen!

Loved your update Katie!

My dd Katie bought the baby Marie last August when we stayed at the Poly in the gift shop too. She still plays with her....in fact her AG Julie doll is holding Marie in her rocking chair right now!

Aidan did really good for such a long day....its hard when they are little like that. I have always had a baby/toddler with me on all our trips and it definitly slows down the pace, but I think that can be a good thing.

Loved the banner idea too! I think I am going to steal your frame mat idea for our trip in August. I was trying to decide what to do this year. We've done the autograph books twice, the photo album book and two years we did baseball hats. We had the characters sign their baseball cap with a sharpie marker.....the kids loved it. Since we go in August they really need the hat anyway, so they always have it on, and just whip it off for autographs. Kate still wears her pink princess one, and the boys wear their POTC ones.
And acutally, two years ago, I bought a pink crown pillow at the gift shop for katie to bring into CRT breakfast. All the princesses signed it with a sharpie and it now sits on her bed.

So thanks for the new idea! Can't wait to hear more!

Awww Julie and Marie! She sounds like my DD!!

You are right, toddlers keep reality in check! lol!

What a great idea with the hats and the pillows!! We ended up getting yet another autograph idea later on in the trip..cant wait to post about it! Coming up in my MK posts!!

Another great update! Although that is really bad news about Test Track. At least you are going back later this year so hopefully you can ride it then. I can't wait to see the Photopass pics of Mickey and the Trash Can...what a great (and quick thinking!) CM! I wouldn't have thought about them not being able to see, either. I'm sure Abby's teacher loved the banner. I also can't wait to see pics of it finished and your photo mat. I need to pay close attention to your next update so I can find out the best strategy for Tiana!!!

Thanks Kaycee!! We are looking forward to riding TT when we go back. The trash can episode was sooo funny. Can't wait for you to see the pic!

Tiana is a hard one to meet...but SO worth it! Will update about it soon!!

Love the mat! I had heard of people doing that on the cruise, but not in the parks. Great idea!

Thanks so much~!! Yes, got the idea from a cruise TR! lol.

Oh wow! Your Character Connection experience sounds wonderful!!! That banner was a great idea!! And I was cracking up at your description of Mickey!!! And I just ADORE your idea of having them sign the photo mat. How many photo mats did you take and how did you decide who was going to sign it?! How did you carry it around the park without bending it? Such a fabulous keepsake!!

Nice DCL model!! They didn't have that setup last May. I will be sure to check it out this May! I would also LOVE it if they had DVC at the Poly!!!

Oooh--Captain Cook's! We ate there about 4-5 times on our last trip!! It was sooo yummy and Ally loved ordering on the computer screen! The BBQ flatbread was my favorite!! Sooo yummy!

Marie and Pluto babies--how precious! And YAY for the towel animals!! It makes coming back to your room sooo magical!!! Can't wait to read more!

Thank you!! Mickey was so funny!!

I just put it in a large ziplock and stored it in a pocket on the back of the stroller. I carried it with me to and from the park (we only brought it to Epcot because of the Character Spot). I just brought one...but I went back to Tuesday Morning today and got another one (last one left!) for Abby to get the Princesses to sign in December for her room! I was going for the main characters this trip (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, C & D). We put it in the playroom, so I wanted it to be cute for a girl and a boy.

The DCL model was by the doors leading out to the pool! I hope it is there when you guys go back!! I am hearing rumors about a Poly DVC! How great would that be for you guys

I was so impressed with Captain Cooks. The food was delish and the atmosphere was very nice!!

Love the frame mat! That would be great in a digital frame too! We never got to do the Visa meet and greet. We checked on it twice but the line was terrible both times. Maybe next time. Great idea to go to the Poly for CS! It's nice to get something different.

A digital frame...great idea!! I have heard that the Visa Meet and Greet is great...IF you get there very early! I hope you can go next time! Poly was a nice change of pace for us. Love it there!!

Sorry to hear TT was closed. At least now you have another must do for December.
I have never seen such a short line for CC, even after it rained buckets all day. That is too funny about Mickey running to the trash can. I can't wait to see the picture of it. The banner and the picture frame came out really nice.
Isn't the Poly gorgeous?!?!?! I really want to try Caption Cooks soon. I love the babies Aiden and Abby got. Sounds like a magical end to a magical day.

I know!! We really want to ride TT~!!

The pic of Mickey is priceless!! Can't wait to get it in! Thank you so much for the compliments. The Poly is great! Captain Cooks is a wonderful CS option. You should def. try it out!! Thanks for reading!

What a pain TT was closed, that's my families favourite attraction so they would have all been gutted!

I adore your banner it's lovely, and how wonderful that Mickey went out of his way to sign it, so cute

I love the baby plushes your children bought and I love all your towel animals

I know!! We are really looking forward to trying again on our next trip!

The Mickey CM was GREAT! Love that special Disney touch!

 

[kaysmommie]

Hi Katie,
I loved the frame matting idea. I think I will be stealing that idea for sure. Looks like you had a nice meeting the characters at character spot. Well except Mickey running away . I love the picture with Goofy holding the banner. Sorry test Track was closed the rest of your trip.

Nichole

 

[longing2Batdisney]

all caught up!
first I love the Mickey and banner story that is too funny!
and I love the idea of the mat...may be stealing that one!
great job on meeting up with the characters...sounds like you guys have another great day (even though you missed TT--but, you will be back soon--so not too bad!)
Thanks! for sharing

 

[BippityBoo]

FINALLY!!! Our first full MK day

We set the alarm for 6:30. My goal was to get to the Magic Kingdom very early (ideally around 8am). I wanted a chance to be the opening family at the MK! I have read on other people’s trip reports that if you get there early enough, you have a shot. How fun would it be to ride in on the train with the characters during the opening show?!

Well…we were moving slow again, and ended up leaving our room at 8:15am. I was excited that the kids were wearing their customs that I actually got made and did not iron on

It was ok that we were running behind----it was a beautiful day!! A little chilly, but not nearly as cold as it had been. Here are some pics from our walk to the boat dock.

See the ice??!! It was all over the dock and people were slipping on the way to the boat! I was worried about the kids, but we managed to get on with no problems.

Going to the MK so early was really wonderful. I highly recommend it if you can get up early enough! The boat ride is very quiet and peaceful. We arrived at the MK, checked in with our tickets, and made our way to the entrance. It was all decorated for the holidays!!! So pretty.

We got a spot front and center and waited for the opening show!! It was about a 15-20 minute wait. My DD entertained herself with the hula hoops and jump ropes they had set out for the kids.

Promptly at 9:00…the opening show started!!! What a WONDERFUL show this was!!! The energy and the music really set the mood for our day at the MK. We all really, really enjoyed it. The train pulled up carrying all of the characters (and the chosen family of the day) and everyone cheered.

After the show, we got our stroller and headed to Main Street. We noticed that the crowd was very low, so we took our time strolling and taking pictures.

There were CMs everywhere waving and giving out stickers. By the end of our walk, we each had about 5 stickers on our jackets!!

After our relaxing start…we headed right to TOMORROWLAND!!

On the bridge to Tomorrowland, we saw this trash can shooting bubbles!

My DD enjoyed popping the bubbles with other little girls at the park.

Cont on next post...

 

[BippityBoo]

After taking some quick Photopass pics, we made our way to BUZZ LIGHTYEAR! We were so anxious to ride as it was our first time. The wait was only 5 minutes, so we walked RIGHT on.

On our first ride, my DD rode with my DH---and I braved the ride with my 2 year old son. It was SUCH a blast!!! We were so surprised how much we loved it. My son wanted to do all of the shooting, so my score was fairly low. My DD and DH did awesome, though!

We exited the ride and laughed at our pictures. Looking at the entrance, we noticed the wait was STILL 5 minutes, so we jumped back on and rode again

This time, I rode with my DD and I was able to play the game! My travel agent, Angela, had sent me a packet of information before we left. In the packet, there were tips and tricks for the rides. She gave me info on Buzz and said that if you turn your car directly around and shoot at the back of the orange robot’s arm, there is a target worth 100,000 points! I nailed it and racked up! It was a blast!

Considering that we were having such luck with the crowds, we wanted to take advantage, so we headed to Frontierland to ride Big Thunder Mountain!! That is when we saw what the CMs refer to as “the crane”. A CM had explained that they bring a crane down to repair the castle once or twice a year. The men were hanging from the crane and painting upside down. It was crazy! Unfortunately, it was in the way of our pictures and not very pretty. Here is a pic.

While I was a little aggravated with “the crane”, there was a positive light. THIS was the crowd shot in Frontierland.

We were literally the ONLY people there. We slowed down and soaked up the atmosphere. The soft county music in the background…it was really neat

We saw Frontier Donald and Goofy. They were so cute, we just had to go see them! Especially with Aiden’s new love for Donald.

We eventually made our way to Big Thunder. The wait was 5 minutes, so my DH and Abby jumped on!! I was very nervous as this was her first “real” coaster ride.

I took Aiden up the ramp by the entrance and we found a wonderful picture spot. You can see the “train” on the ride make its last turn and get a great shot of your family riding. You could also see that HIGH peak that the train first comes upon at the start of the ride. I kept looking for my DD and DH. Finally, I saw Abby’s adorable red and white polka dot bow that ladybugmom made for her. I got so excited that I was able to spot her with the bow and watch her first big drop!!

They eventually made their way around to where we were, and I got a great pic of them. What a great tip for those of you who need to swap riders..NICE photo opportunity!

When they got off of the ride, Abby was literally running and skipping down the ramp! She was SO excited. Since the wait was still very low, I got back on with her for ride #2! I told my DH where the camera spot was and he got a good shot of us too.

Here is Abby after “conquering” the mountain!

By the time we all rode, it was only 10am! We had a lunch ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern at 11:45, so we had lots of time to kill. We made the decision to head to Toon Town through Fantasyland. We could have taken the train to Toon Town, but I checked the ride wait times in Fantasyland on my iPhone and they were LOW, so we were excited that we could hop on some great rides quickly along our way!

UP NEXT: What rides do we jump on in Fantasyland? Does Aiden get to experience HIS first coaster ride too? Is Liberty Tree Tavern a good lunch choice? Stay tuned!

 

[BippityBoo]

Hi Katie,
I loved the frame matting idea. I think I will be stealing that idea for sure. Looks like you had a nice meeting the characters at character spot. Well except Mickey running away . I love the picture with Goofy holding the banner. Sorry test Track was closed the rest of your trip.

Nichole

Thanks!! You can do so many things with the matting! HAHA wait until you see the Photopass pic of Mickey. It is priceless!

all caught up!
first I love the Mickey and banner story that is too funny!
and I love the idea of the mat...may be stealing that one!
great job on meeting up with the characters...sounds like you guys have another great day (even though you missed TT--but, you will be back soon--so not too bad!)
Thanks! for sharing

Thank you Go ahead and take the idea..I stole it from a TR!lol
We did have a wonderful day!!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Love your kids shirts, and that bow is adorable!

Sounds like a fantastic morning with minimal wait times - gotta love that! I'm so glad Abby liked her first coaster, BTMRR is a great one to start out on.

I hope your lunch at LTT was better than our dinner......

 

[mom2mek]

Awww...great start to your MK day! I just love that opening show..."good morning, good mooorrrrnnniiiinnnngggg" It just makes me smile!

I saw those bubble trash cans on our trip too - how cute they were!

Yay for you for getting the big score spot on Buzz! I always tell my kids that the lowest score wins, right? I never make it past four digits!

WOo-hoo for Abby and Thunder Mountain! It's my favorite MK ride - just pure fun!!


Looks like it's shaping up to be a great day!

Sara

 

[martinolichfamily]

Great update!

WOW to the very low crowds!!
Unfortunately we usually go during the summer so no such luck on the low crowds for us!

Love the custom shirts your kiddos have on...too cute! I may have to splurge and get my DD one!

 

[onelilspark]

I love it when it's that empty. It looked that way last February...it's so awesome!

 

[DWGal210]

Yeah for low crowds!!!

I'm so glad that Abby rode BTMR!!! How great!!

 

[Charlefours]

Great update! Love the low crowds--I hope they stayed that way for you!!

BTMRR--probably my favorite ride in MK thus far! I have many others to ride in Fantasyland which have their own appeal but I am not sure if any would over take it.

 

[cdotla]

Great recap of your 1st day at MK!

I love getting there early too, and that opening show is such a nice way to start the day!

How great that Abby loved BTM! Won't be long before your son is riding right along beside her.

I agree with your disappointment about the crane being in the way for your Castle shots, but at least you know you will be back again soon to take some more! I assume you were able to block it out for any shots you may have taken as a family in front of the Castle.

And whooo hooo to the low crowds in the Park that day! I would take the crane any day to get low level crowds like that!

Can't wait to hear more about your 1st day, and especially to hear all about Tiana!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

What cute outfits! I love that you were able to find Abby because of her bow And how exciting that she loved BTMRR! Sounds like a wonderful start to the day

 

[praisehisname]

I love how empty the park is! Woo hoo for your DD loving BTMR! Can't wait to hear about Liberty Tree!

 

[mom2mek]

Hi Katie! I just wanted to shamelessly plug my TR that I just started! Hope to see you and any of your readers over there!!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2404537

Sara

 

[BippityBoo]

I just wanted to give some of you a "heads up" that I got another pin code in my email today

We are not going back to WDW until December 2010, so this one does not help me. It is just so fun to get one still

The pin code is for Free Quick Service dining from today thru July 3, 2010 with purchase of 4 nights. I thought it was appropriate because we used the QS Dining on this trip! Hope that you guys got the same code!! I am anxiously waiting the arrival of my December pin code...break out the pixie dust REALLY want another 40% off or Free Dining!

I hope to reply to your comments and update very soon!! Busy, busy week ahead!

 

[SoonerGirl]

I always seem to get a pin code that I can't use!

Hope you get one that works for you!

 

[LilAnn]

Hi I'm joining in a little late, but I've "seen" you on a few other TRs so I thought I'd hop on board. I'm always looking for reports with other little ones around the same age as my little gal. Let's see if I can remember everything I wanted to comment on now that I am all caught up....

Love the customs! I especially like the DHS shrits I saw on your PTR. Do you remember where you got those made? My girl is in love with the Einsteins and that would be super cute to wear for our Hollywood & Vine character meal!

Love the photo mat. I also saw that on a TR and totally forgot about that. Maybe that will help my little one's fear of the characters up close. I think she would love a Fab 5 one.

Love the Donald in mexico picture! I definitely want to see him in his sombrero one day.

Great TR so far! I can't wait to read more.

 

[klacey1]

Great MK morning! You guys got so much done in such a short amount of time!! LTT is a "maybe" for us our next trip, so I'm curious to hear what you guys thought of it!
Too bad about the pin code you can't use-- hopefully you get another!!