It's a Jolly Holiday with Katiebell and Brrt!

[Katiebell]

Just found your trip report. Finding it very entertaining

Welcome, and glad you are enjoying it "Is this haunted room actually stretching... or is it your imagination?"

 

[Katiebell]

The next morning, bright and early, we headed over to MK. We grabbed a Fast Pass for Big Thunder, then went straight to Splash Mountain, and there was almost no line at all:

How do you do?
Mighty pleasant greetin'
How do you do?
Say it when you're meetin'
How do you do?
With every one repeatin'
Pretty good sure as you're born.

View from the top:

Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, Zip-a-dee-ay!
My oh my, what a wonderful day!

Fortunately, we had one rain poncho left, so I dug it out of my pack and stashed all of our cameras etc under that for the ride...everything stayed pretty dry. We rode BTMRR with our FP's, then it was time for breakfast at Crystal Palace.

I was going to post the next section with this, but it contained so many images, I decided to split the post in two parts.

Next time: The Great Cupcake Robbery!

 

[Katiebell]

We got to Crystal Palace pretty much on time, considering we had just ridden Splash AND Big Thunder...

After checking in, then waited outside a bit and enjoyed the view.

The CM asked me, "Are you celebrating any special occasions today -- birthday, anniversary?" I said, "Nope, my birthday was yesterday" and she replied, "OH, then you need a birthday button, have to celebrate here, too!"

When we got to our table, they had sprinkled it with Mickey confetti:

Brrt decorated himself as well, for this festive occasion:

I went for a more subtle approach:

The inside of this restaurant is really pretty:

And the breakfast was fabulous -- especially the potato casserole and the puffed French Toast. There is a made-to-order omelette station, and the chef was very nice and made me a tiny one-egg omelette by request.

The characters all came to our table and brought me a birthday card that was signed by the whole gang:

I got so many hugs Lots of birthday love!

They brought me a birthday cupcake, but Piglet stole it!!!

He carried it from table to table, and kept sitting down to admire it. He even went to another table to meet with them, but kept an eye on my cupcake so I couldn't take it back He finally brought it back to me...Piglet is too nice to really steal someone's birthday cake...

Now there are some pics I wish I could post, but I can't. I'll post pics of other people in crowd scenes, or CM's that know I'm taking their pic or who are performing, but not close ups of people we meet without their express permission. But there was a family at the table next to us who had the two most adorable little girls, Charlotte (about 5) and her baby sister Sara (about 2). Charlotte was dressed as Tinkerbell and loved my Tink shirt and pins. Sara was dressed as Minnie Mouse, and loved her Mickey waffles. The were so very cute and very sweet, I made two new little friends. And their mom and dad were pretty cool, too. Their mama took one of the rare pics of both Brrt and me on our trip, and it's one of my favorites because we just look so darn happy:

And in the pics, yes, my birthday button says "Mary" -- my name is Mary Katherine, and I usually go by some verison of Kate or Katie on message boards, Tink is one of my very favorite characters...hence, "Katiebell".

So....tummies full of wonderful Crystal Palace food, we set out again...

Next time: Off to Seek New Frontiers and Adventures!

 

[JoBird]

Oh my goodness what a fab "Day-after-your-birthday-day!" Or- as someone else would say - a Very Merry Unbirthday! I love love love that Piglet kept stealing your cupcake. That right there would have melted my heart. Piglet is adorably cute. I have never been to CP- (and yes, Shelly, dang it--- it looked wonderful there too.)

KB- as long as we've known you- I had no idea your name was Mary Katherine. So is my MaryCat's! Only with a "C" instead. The MAYer coincidences ride again!


Beautiful pics on Splash. Belle is convinced that this year she is going to ride it and love it. Bless her heart. She had a meltdown of grand proportions in 2006 when she was 4. Didn't want to ride even though she had already ridden it 4 times. She built it up in her mind on a much grander scale than it was. So----- she is "daring" herself, so to speak- to ride it this year. She keeps saying she wants to ride R'n'RC--- but I keep saying no.

Great report. Lovin it.

Hope you have a great day at work.

JO

 

[Katiebell]

Oh my goodness what a fab "Day-after-your-birthday-day!" Or- as someone else would say - a Very Merry Unbirthday! I love love love that Piglet kept stealing your cupcake. That right there would have melted my heart. Piglet is adorably cute. I have never been to CP- (and yes, Shelly, dang it--- it looked wonderful there too.)

KB- as long as we've known you- I had no idea your name was Mary Katherine. So is my MaryCat's! Only with a "C" instead. The MAYer coincidences ride again!


Beautiful pics on Splash. Belle is convinced that this year she is going to ride it and love it. Bless her heart. She had a meltdown of grand proportions in 2006 when she was 4. Didn't want to ride even though she had already ridden it 4 times. She built it up in her mind on a much grander scale than it was. So----- she is "daring" herself, so to speak- to ride it this year. She keeps saying she wants to ride R'n'RC--- but I keep saying no.

Great report. Lovin it.

Hope you have a great day at work.

JO

Jo...we're gonna convert you to being a buffet-lover yet Seriously, the buffets I've had a Disney have been top notch: Boma (breakfast and dinner), Tusker House, Crystal Palace, and at DL Goofy's Kitchen and the Plaza Inn -- some interesting and unique foods, well prepared, fresh, hot (or cold, if it's supposed to be ) If you are eeky about other people having touched the food (especially unsupervised little kids ) you could try serving yourself from the back of the dish, farthest away from the front of the buffet. But...ya know...I just don't let that stuff bother me. If you think too hard about what can go on in a restaurant kitchen anywhere, you would never eat out again. Or what can go on in food processing anywhere for that matter...you'd probably never eat grocery store food again! So...just...don't...think...about...it... or it might make you:

Yep, you have a Mary Cat, and I'm Mary Kate...I was named after Maureen O'Hara's character in the John Wayne movie "The Quiet Man", if you can believe that.

Hope Belle loves riding Splash! I know it intimidates a lot of kids (one of mine had to really be coaxed when he was little), but there's just that one long drop...the rest is easy-peasy

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Great CP report Katie! We always love it there. Great food, great service, great characters, and they made our anniversary very special in May!

 

[Katiebell]

Great CP report Katie! We always love it there. Great food, great service, great characters, and they made our anniversary very special in May!

Breakfast there was wonderful...have you had lunch or dinner there? I expect that it will get even more popular since LT is stopping character meals, CP will be the only character meal in MK, won't it?

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Breakfast there was wonderful...have you had lunch or dinner there? I expect that it will get even more popular since LT is stopping character meals, CP will be the only character meal in MK, won't it?

We have had breakfast there twice. And then in May we went there for dinner. Just as great! I think you are right, it will be the only character meal in MK. That's weird. Good thing it is a big place!

 

[Katiebell]

We have had breakfast there twice. And then in May we went there for dinner. Just as great! I think you are right, it will be the only character meal in MK. That's weird. Good thing it is a big place!

Yeah, and CM's is at the contemporary, not far away -- and 1900 PF is at the GF. Next time I want to do breakfast there (with Mary Poppins and Alice), and dinner, too, with Cinderella and her crew. We saw just a glimpse of the Lady Tremaine (the wicked stepmother) when we were at the GF, and she looked perfect for the part! Not just her physical appearance, but her bearing, her mannerisms...the CM had the character down pat. I know it would be fun to be a "pretty" or "cute" character that everyone loves -- and that babies aren't scared of! ) but some of the best character interactions I've had as an adult have been with the villains -- especially the Wicked Queen from Snow White and Cruella DeVille. Both of those ladies were so in to their parts, and I think kind of glad for the positive attention and appreciation for their acting skills

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

We are going to 1900 Park Fare for dinner on our arrival day in January. We've never done a princess meal, being that I am the only girl in the family. So I thought this one would be the best choice for the boys. I'm sure they will get a kick out of the step-sisters!

 

[Diamondintheruff]

I love the CP. It always feels warm and sunny in there (even when there is a tropical storm raging outside).

You and brrt do look very happy in that photo. It's a keeper!

 

[Katiebell]

We are going to 1900 Park Fare for dinner on our arrival day in January. We've never done a princess meal, being that I am the only girl in the family. So I thought this one would be the best choice for the boys. I'm sure they will get a kick out of the step-sisters!

I've heard the the step-sisters are a riot, should be lots of fun. We had breakfast at Akershus last year, and it was really great -- the princesses treated Brrt like a prince and he really ate it up And I took my DSD and DGD to Ariel's Grotto in DCA in February for dinner with the princesses, and that was a blast -- the little one was totally thrilled to meet the princesses in person...I thought she was going to faint!

I love the CP. It always feels warm and sunny in there (even when there is a tropical storm raging outside).

You and brrt do look very happy in that photo. It's a keeper!

I hadn't thought of that...I bet it's beautiful in CP no matter what the weather...

Yes, I think that pic will be framed

 

[Katiebell]

We went back to Frontierland, and Brrt saw this sign:

That was all it took -- we had to go back to Country Bear Jamboree. I'm still not sure what delights Brrt so much about the show, but such is the magic of Disney...and I'm not about to deny him something that for whatever reason makes him fall on the floor laughing.

After the show, we took the raft to Tom Sawyer Island. Now, DL has changed it over to a pirate theme, which is fine with me because I really love pirates. But Brrt is more of a purist, and he was very glad that WDW is still Tom Sawyer Island.

We checked out the fort:

And I was going to insert a political joke here, but I shall behave myself and not drag the ugly real world into my nice happy lil' trip report. But...the picture says it all

There are some really cool views from the island:

And lots of interesting things to look at if you are into the nature walk thing:

We explored the whole island thoroughly and were just about to head back, when I made the mistake of mentioning the hidden paintbrushes -- I was immediately sorry, and explained that it was just something I read, I didn't know if it was DL or WDW, or if they even DID that anymore -- but nothing else would do, except we had to tromp around the WHOLE island again, just in case we might find a hidden paintbrush. But then Brrt could tell I was getting worn out and I'd had enough of playing Tom and Becky I was getting antsy and wanted to be seeking adventure and salty old pirates, eh?

Next: Yo Ho, Yo Ho...

 

[Katiebell]

PotC was a walk on -- yay! I am still surprised that WDW doesn't Fast Pass it though, because sometimes it is really busy...

As soon as we exited the ride, we walked right up to Captain Jack Sparrow's Pirate Tutorial:

Oh yum...I just love Captain Jack! They guy they have playing him not only looks like him, but he has the act, the accent, the mannerisms all down really well. And he was great with the kids that became part of his crew. At the end of the show, he led us in a rousing rendition of "Yo Ho Yo Ho, A Pirate's Life For Me!"

Next, we took a Jungle Cruise:

Well, we made it back safely...surviving both the wild animals, and our skipper's dreadful jokes But then we looked at the time -- if we didn't hurry, we'd be late for a very important date! We zigzagged through the crowd gathered to watch the afternoon parade (stopped to snap a quick pic, though):

We hurried to the boat dock to catch the resort launch to the Grand Floridian.

Next Episode: Tea for Two...or Three...

 

[Diamondintheruff]

Don't you just look at home with the tropical flower in your hair.

We've been lucky enough to walk on to pirates each time we've done it.

 

[Katiebell]

Don't you just look at home with the tropical flower in your hair.

We've been lucky enough to walk on to pirates each time we've done it.

Just for the record, I did not pick said flower ...I backed up to the bush and held it by my head while Brrt took the pic I really, really love Disney's landscaping. The flowers and plants all mesh perfectly with the surroundings -- Liberty Square, Tomorrowland, Adventureland, whereever you happen to be. Just like the music A lot of the plants and flowers were different in WDW than the ones we are used to seeing in DL -- I'm sure they used more that were native to Florida. I don't know about WDW, but when we took the Walk In Walt's Footsteps tour at DL, the guide told us that most of the landscape plants in Tomorrowland were edible because Disney's vision of the "Agrifuture" was that space and resources would be limited and shouldn't be wasted.

I don't know what criteria Disney uses when deciding to FP a ride. At WDW, there is no FP for Pirates, but they have one for Peter Pan...but at DL they FP Pirates, but not Peter Pan, and not the Matterhorn and the new Nemo Submarines, which all can have ridiculous lines. If you get early entry into the park, those are the big three you want to hit -- Matterhorn, Nemo, and Peter Pan, because you might not get to ride them later if it's busy at all Space and Splash are huge favorites, but at least they both have FP.

 

[Katiebell]

OK...it's been a while since I've updated, because I was having a hard time writing this next part. This is kind of hard for me, very sad stuff, but it's important to my story...so here goes:

Last year, when we went to WDW in May for our very first visit, I got to help my big sister Pat plan a trip at the same time for herself, her DH and their DGD. It was a dream trip for them -- Pat (like me) had always loved DL, we both grew up in the Los Angeles area, but neither of us had ever been to WDW. She had always wanted to go...for years before I ever did, but she never had the opportunity before.

We had so much fun planning and discussing our upcoming vacations together, on the internet and on the phone (she was in Idaho, and I'm in California). I helped her research to find restaurants they'd like and activities they wanted to do; she told me I should be a Disney travel agent They arrived at WDW a few days before us, and they had a totally different itinerary than ours (since they had a little girl with them, and we didn't). But even though we were doing different activities, we still met up a few times.

Unfortunately, the vacation ended really badly for Brrt and me -- he got very sick about 2/3 of the way through our trip, and we missed out on a lot of the things we'd planned. Pat and I loved to go to tea rooms together, and sometimes we even had tea parties at home, just the two of us. One of those things we'd planned that just didn't happen was to have tea together at the Grand Floridian -- but we promised each other we'd do it on our next trip...

Anyway, that was last May, 2007. Pat got ill over the summer, seemed like bronchitis, then pneumonia, and she kept getting worse and worse. Finally, they did a chest X-ray the end of October -- it was lung cancer. Seems hard to believe we got that devastating news just one year ago. I flew to Idaho to spend a week with her right before Christmas (her birthday was December 15), and we lost her the end of January 2008. I miss her a lot. She was not only my big sister, she was my best friend.

So Brrt and I went to tea at the Grand Floridian, in honor of Pat. It was tea for two...but really three, because we felt like she was with us. And that's the next part of my story.

 

[DisneyJo]

Oh Katie I'm so sorry about your sister, what a lovely tribute


I've loved your TR, I got chosen at backlot tour in 2007, I was the Captain, it was so funny. You and Brrt are so cute, love the photo at CP

 

[Diamondintheruff]

Your post brought tears to my eyes. I lost a very good friend this year to lung cancer. She followed about the same path and timeline with her illness. Although she and I did not vacation at WDW at the same time we were planning it together and consequently my love for WDW is tainted with my sadness for my friend.

She was still alive during my last trip and I thought of her often. It was a mix of "I can't wait to tell her about something" and "I hope she gets better so she can come back and do this". She passed away shortly after I got home. In her last email to me when I know she was suffering horribly she kept asking about Disney and when I was going to finally start working on my trip report because she wanted to hear all about it. I didn't start it until after she passed. So I guess my trip report is my tribute to her. Much like your tea party was your tribute to your sister.

 

[Katiebell]

Thank you both for your kind words. And Diamond, I am so sorry for the loss of your friend...I understand what you've gone through.

I felt like I was just rolling along smoothly on this report...then it came to a screeching halt. It's hard for me right now because I have been thinking for this last week or so that it's been almost exactly one year since we got Pat's diagnosis...and then she was gone so quickly. Just...always tell people you love that you love them, you care about them, appreciate all the time you have with them, because we just never know how much time we have.

I have to go to work, but I'll try to get to my next update hopefully tonight. Thanks for your patience