Magic in the Kingdom 2012! BIG 2/16/2014 FINAL UPDATE!

[mom2rtk]

Hi....joining in to follow your report I can't believe how much taller your daughter has grown since I saw from another one of your trips. Don't you wish you could keep the small forever.
Sheila

Hi Sheila! So glad you found us over here! And yes..... she really is growing up SO fast. This past year has really been a year of many chages.

Joining in! I have loved your other trip reports, so I am excited to read this one!

Hey Holly! Glad you're here!

Joining in.

Hi wiigirl! Did I see you also posting in the photography forum?

Just caught up on your new TR. I just got back from doing Disney with my nephew and my princess loving niece. All your advice over the years really paid off for us so thanks. We even did a few quick changes in line!

Can't wait to hear more about your trip.

Hi stranger! So glad to see you over here. And at your quick line changes! It's really the only way to do it! What did you think of New Fantasylane? How old are your nephew and niece? My favorite trip ever was when Katie was 4. That's my absolute favorite Disney age.

I'm here, I'm here!! I have been lurking off and on waiting for your TR!!! Can't wait to catch up - I am only a month late!

Yeah! Glad you're here!

Braggart! I can't believe you already have a completed scrapbook!! (way to go!) Can't wait to finish catching up!

Hijack: I have started Project Life (Becky Higgins) this year and am loving it - have you ever used PL to keep up with scrapbooking?

LOL, those 8X8 books really don't take very long to do. I have started doing those a lot. They are a fun project that can be done in just a few days lately. When I get the pages photographed, I'll post them here.

I have not done Project Life. My scrapping comes in bursts here and there. If I have to add any more "projects" to my to do list, I'll probably just scream.

I'm not even remotely "caught up" on my scrapbooking though. I mostly just try to keep up with the big things, then go where the spirit moves me.

Hey, Janet, I returned from WDW last week. And, Oh I'm so glad to be back in this beautiful winter weather with freezing rain, sleet and snow.......NOT!!!

Anyway, the weather at WDW was absolutely GORGEOUS!!! First 2 days were cool, but the last 5 days were heaven. Clear blue skies, with hardly a cloud the whole time!!! Crowds were a little more than what I previously experienced several years ago when I used to go in January. Lots of Foreign Tour groups.

Enjoyed seeing the new Fantasyland. Epcot is still my fave, though! Absolutely loved staying at Kidani for the week. It was beautiful and SO quiet and peaceful.

Looking forward to going back at the end of April / first of May!

Looking forward to more of your Trip Report, too!

Hey Karen! So glad you're here! Well, not that you're back from Disney, but you know what I mean.....

I'm so jealous of you being at Kidani for a week. I just read through Jen's AKL report in her TR and just love what I saw.

I saw a number of threads saying the crowds were much higher in January this year than ever before, including all those tour groups. At least you had nice weather though. Our weather in December wasn't bad by any means, but it was really gray a lot. Made it hard to get the photos I had dreamed of.

I'm using the PL style to scrapbook our Dec disney trip. I just got my photos in the mail yesterday

I don't think I could keep up with a weekly Project Life, but I really like the concept for faster scrapbooking.

I wouldn't stand a chance of keeping up with a weekly project. My scrapping time is my therapy time, and very high in priority for me. But it doesn't happen every week. Heck, it doesn't even come every month. I think this very trip report is evidence of that! But if you guys will hang in there, I promise there is LOTS to come!

 

[Caretames1]

I agree with you about the Belle dress! I really don't like it, too pale and too much. Her hair I like, but it needs the hair piece.

 

[DISNEYaddict4evr]

Man, I've been so slow with this next update that you probably don't have a computer left by this point!

And wasn't that nice of me to hang on and not really get going until you got here?

 

[mom2rtk]

I agree with you about the Belle dress! I really don't like it, too pale and too much. Her hair I like, but it needs the hair piece.

I think my single greatest issue is the gown color. It barely even looks yellow. They probably could have sold me on the style if the color was more true to the movie. But they have played with both color AND style, and it's just too far from the original movie version.

 

[WDWAtLast]

I'm using the PL style to scrapbook our Dec disney trip. I just got my photos in the mail yesterday

I don't think I could keep up with a weekly Project Life, but I really like the concept for faster scrapbooking.

I am trying to let myself be really flexible - 5-6 pictures per week, sometimes all taken at the same time or even on my iPhone (or my Dh's!). I am also including schoolwork, artwork, etc that my girls (9 and 11) made - that helps "fill" the book on slow photo weeks.

I love the idea of using it to complete a vacation quickly!!

 

[WDWAtLast]

I wouldn't stand a chance of keeping up with a weekly project. My scrapping time is my therapy time, and very high in priority for me. But it doesn't happen every week. Heck, it doesn't even come every month. I think this very trip report is evidence of that! But if you guys will hang in there, I promise there is LOTS to come!

I am giving it my best shot - I prefer to be more creative and use scrapbooking as my escape time, too, but life has been so crazy the last few years, I was getting 8-10 pages done a year!! And I am only trying to keep up with birthdays, Christmas and vacations.

Can't wait to read the rest of your TR and see all your amazing photos!

 

[francis6306]

Yeah! I'm glad you found me. And wasn't that nice of me to hang on and not really get going until you got here?

I knew it was cause you were waiting on me!! We're a tight bunch!! I really wish we could have made a Dec trip this year!!

I haven't had the punctuation issues, but yesterday it wouldn't let me type anything all caps. I don't do that a lot, but sometimes like to do just certain words that way for emphasis. I will also do abbreviations in all caps sometimes like TSMM or CRT. It wouldn't let me do those, but today it would. Very wonky.

The Dis seems to be doing a lot of odd things lately!!! The other night the pictures weren't showing up- just the jargon where a picture should be& who knows!

Thanks for the heads up on Belle's gown. You're the first one to break the news to me. Then Jen found a link to the photo for me. Bottom line though? I really don't like it at all. It looks to me like it was designed by somebody with a multiple personality disorder. Like someone designed the bodice, someone else designed the bottom half of the skirt, somone the top half of the skirt, someone the skirt swag. Then they all came together to make it one gown. WAY too many different fabrics and shades of a color that is all wrong to begin with. And where is her hairband??????

I did NOT like the color- it's not really the right shade at all but I thought it was really pretty! The Bodice fabric is the best I think. I think there might be a little too much- velvet? The hair is beautiful though!!

I thought it was funny that Kenny the Pirate says they are thinking of making Peter's ears in the park pointed, to make him closer to his image in the movie. Yet the move from what they had Belle wearing, to THIS. It's really hard to see that as representative of the gown in the film at all.

Maybe Cortlyn would want to meet him then. You know, she skipped him twice because she said it was not REALLY Peter. Because, Peter is a BOY and that was a man dressed up LIKE Peter.

But we met just about every Princess&....

 

[nannye]

 

[jenseib]

I know Janet is REALLY busy right now. She will get back once things settle down a bit.

 

[kswm30b]

I saw a number of threads saying the crowds were much higher in January this year than ever before, including all those tour groups.

I took a last minute trip Jan 21-25 to Disney for Long Lost Friends week (see my site in my sig for pics!!) & for the first few days it was SO much more crowded than I thought it would be. I was with a friend who's a local, so we pretty much just walked around a ton (I actually DO bring a pedometer with me, and it was 12 mies at least almost every day) because the wait times were insane. But we still ended up riding pretty much everything & had a ton of fun, even though I had NO plans (omg, crazy!)

 

[Missyrose]

Okay, when I saw how many pages your TR had grown to, I was worried I was seriously behind.

I'm back from Disney, we had a wonderful trip! I've just been so bogged down in work and reality in general, I haven't had time to catch up on what I missed on the Dis. Oh, and I've never had two TRs going at once before now. They're a lot of work separately, but together??!?!?

Back to your trip. I'm so glad you were able to get the tickets straightened out. I have found guest relations at the park to be much better for anything ticket-related than the resorts.

Great start at MK!

 

[mom2rtk]

OK, I've been off to such a slow start, I'm going to popcorn myself!





Seriously...... I promise I'm actually working on the next update. Life has just been doing this to me lately:

 

[mom2rtk]

I am trying to let myself be really flexible - 5-6 pictures per week, sometimes all taken at the same time or even on my iPhone (or my Dh's!). I am also including schoolwork, artwork, etc that my girls (9 and 11) made - that helps "fill" the book on slow photo weeks.

I love the idea of using it to complete a vacation quickly!!

I really wish I could find a way to add photography into my daily life. It drives me nuts that I really can only find time to get creative with it when I go to Disney. But the thought of adding one single additional thing to my daily or weekly "to do" list is enough to make me sick. Maybe once Timmy gets off to college things will settle down a little more.

I am giving it my best shot - I prefer to be more creative and use scrapbooking as my escape time, too, but life has been so crazy the last few years, I was getting 8-10 pages done a year!! And I am only trying to keep up with birthdays, Christmas and vacations.

Can't wait to read the rest of your TR and see all your amazing photos!

One thing I've done is try to be as efficient as possible with the scrapbook time I do have. I use sketches, and stick more to 4x6 prints than ever before.

I knew it was cause you were waiting on me!! We're a tight bunch!! I really wish we could have made a Dec trip this year!!

The Dis seems to be doing a lot of odd things lately!!! The other night the pictures weren't showing up- just the jargon where a picture should be& who knows!

I did NOT like the color- it's not really the right shade at all but I thought it was really pretty! The Bodice fabric is the best I think. I think there might be a little too much- velvet? The hair is beautiful though!!

Maybe Cortlyn would want to meet him then. You know, she skipped him twice because she said it was not REALLY Peter. Because, Peter is a BOY and that was a man dressed up LIKE Peter.

But we met just about every Princess&....

I am hating the dress less and less. Still am not in love with it, but hating it less counts for something, right? But that color...... still not working for me. I saw photos posted form Enchanted Tales with Belle and as I suspected, it really looks washed out in there. But i'm with you on the bodice fabric. It's very pretty. It just needs to be a little more yellow. I think they used some of that bodice fabric in the skirt too..... along with half a dozen other fabrics!

Cute story on Peter. Too bad they have to outgrow all that cuteness, huh?

I know Janet is REALLY busy right now. She will get back once things settle down a bit.

LOL, there's Jen picking up the slack for me! You know, cuz she doesn't have enough to keep up with writing her own TWO trip reports. She also has to pinch hit on mine! Thanks Jen!

I took a last minute trip Jan 21-25 to Disney for Long Lost Friends week (see my site in my sig for pics!!) & for the first few days it was SO much more crowded than I thought it would be. I was with a friend who's a local, so we pretty much just walked around a ton (I actually DO bring a pedometer with me, and it was 12 mies at least almost every day) because the wait times were insane. But we still ended up riding pretty much everything & had a ton of fun, even though I had NO plans (omg, crazy!)

I really enjoyed your photos. I'm so jealous of everyone who got to see the long lost friends. If it had been longer since our trip, and had I had a couple months notice, I probably would have schemed a way to make it there. But the short notice they are giving just makes it nearly impossible.

BTW.... love your Snow White t-shirt. So does Katie. She keeps stealing it from me so she can wear it!

Okay, when I saw how many pages your TR had grown to, I was worried I was seriously behind.

I'm back from Disney, we had a wonderful trip! I've just been so bogged down in work and reality in general, I haven't had time to catch up on what I missed on the Dis. Oh, and I've never had two TRs going at once before now. They're a lot of work separately, but together??!?!?

Back to your trip. I'm so glad you were able to get the tickets straightened out. I have found guest relations at the park to be much better for anything ticket-related than the resorts.

Great start at MK!

Yep, I'm a fraud. 12 pages of next to nothing so far! That's the story of my life these days it seems. I promise there is SO much more to follow. I'm working on a new installment now.

I subscribed to both of you TRs. I've been lurking so far because..... let's face it. I can barely keep up with my own TR at the moment! But your DH really does an awesome job with the photos and I want to take some time going through them later. What kind of camera does he have?

 

[mom2rtk]

Friday December 7th: Continued

OK, so when I left off we were just finishing up a productive morning in the Magic Kingdom. We had a slow start, but found the lines were very short so we made up for lost time.

A few shots from Haunted Mansion and Small World:


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Breakfast at AoA hadn't been a huge hit, so we were getting hungry and decided to check into our lunch reservation at the Plaza a little early. We were seated almost right away. I had the club sandwich and while it was fine, it didn't excite me much either. Katie's Mickey ice cream sundae was pretty cute though.


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The Plaza is close to Tomorrowland, so we decided to stop and get Space Mountain fastpasses. While we were there, we decided to ride Katie's favorite ride (TTA) before heading for Fantasyland to use our Peter Pan fastpasses. We had a few more minutes, so took advantage of a short line at the Indy Speedway to take a quick ride. It really was looking like a very slow crowd day in the Magic Kingdom.


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Drew didn't really care too much about the Fantasyland Expansion. I didn't expect him to care about Enchanted Tales With Belle, but thought he might enjoy seeing the Little Mermaid dark ride. So after Peter Pan, we headed for New Fantasyland with our "any attraction" fastpass in hand. We rode around 2 PM with very little wait in the FP line, with a standby wait showing at 120 minutes. YIKES! I think we figured out why the rest of the rides in the park had no line. Everyone was in New Fantasyland! I had actually wondered if this day, the day after the Grand Opening, would be like this. And it turns out I was right.



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[mom2rtk]

Friday December 7th Continued:


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By 2:30 we were boarding Space Mountain. I still enjoy the ride, in spite of how much my aging neck complains. I had my camera in my lap as I always to, but made a tactical mistake this time. I must not have had the flash unit locked into place, and part way through the ride, the flash fell off. (No, I don't use my flash on the ride, but it's on my camera most of the time.) I was lucky enough to catch it right under my arm, where I kept a tight hold for the rest of the ride. It scares me to think that thing could have gone flying and hit someone else in the head. that would have been really bad at those speeds. So I count myself lucky the trip didn't start on such a negative note. I did knock the diffuser dome loose and ended up having to tape it back on later. I just love high tech fixes.....


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There was practically no line for Buzz, and it's one of Drew's favorite rides, so we did it 3 times in a row. I gave photographed the first time through, then played for points. I should have stayed with the photography...... I need to do my research again before our next trip.


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We hadn't taken a castle picture on our way into the park. After waiting so long at Guest Relations straightening out the tickets, Drew probably would have murdered me if I suggested stopping...... so I decided we needed to stop in the Rose Garden for a quick photo on our way out of Tomorrowland. It has really become my favorite photo spot in the MK. Even on a busy day, you can get a photo in front of the castle with no crowds behind you.


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By now it was around 3:15 and we still had an important priority........ my Dole Whip float! I still remember the one I had on our first day in the parks the year before. It was pure heaven on the sore throat I had that day. I had looked forward to another one of those all year, and I didn't want to miss my chance at it. So back to Adventureland we went. We did Pirates then I got in the Dole Whip line while Katie and Drew did some shopping. The park wasn't busy, but that line was long and moved SO slowly..... just like last year. But the payoff was worth it.


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Believe it or not, it was already time to leave the Magic Kingdom. I really tried hard to add things to our plan this year that we had not done before. We were going to jump in with both feet today with a trip to the Whispering Canyon Cafe for dinner followed by a sleigh ride through the grounds of Fort Wilderness. We were happy to find a boat to the Wilderness Lodge there waiting for us after exiting the park. It was a lovely boat ride over across the 7 Seas Lagoon. It's funny, but I had always pictured the Wilderness Lodge as being on the other side of the Contemporary, to the left as you are looking at it from the Magic Kingdom. So I was surprised when we actually had to pass over the road by boat. It was a lovely view though, and I'm sure we'll do it again one day.


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[lvcourtneyy]

Love all the pictures from Under the Sea! I was so impressed by all the theming in it and in Ariel's new grotto. Did your husband end up liking it?

How smart to plan new things into the trip. I feel like there's so many new things I want to do but I never plan them in cause I'm rushing to fit in the old things I don't want to miss.

Can't wait to hear about the sleigh ride, sounds perfectly magical.

Amazing pictures as always, an update well worth waiting!

 

[shan23877]

Lovely pictures! I can't believe how grown up Katie looks-especially in those sunglasses.

Loving all of the new FL pics. I can't wait to see it in person.

If you don't mind-a quick sewing question. I don't sew cotton jersey often, and I don't have an overlock machine. Any advice for getting it sewn without the seams rippling? I've tried to be so very careful not to pull, I've tried using my seam ripper to guide the fabric through, but every time I get some ripple and pull. Not a huge deal since I'm only making AG clothes, but I'm a perfectionist. It makes me crazy every time I look at them!

 

[francis6306]

I'm so sad you didn't enjoy the Plaza more! I feel bad! But that Sundae is adorable!!!

Dole Whip!! What I wouldn't give!!! I'm up with a sick baby right now, and that just sounds like a piece of heaven!!!

I loved taking the boat over to Wilderness Lodge too! Corey is convinced we are staying there in the future… Of course, we say that about a dozen or so places! We'll probably end up at AoA or Pop in the future though!

 

[molitva]

Yay!

Loved the exterior LM pictures! I'm glad there was no picture of the dole whip- I've been craving one like mad lately!

 

[DISNEYaddict4evr]

Always glad to have an update, though had I not done this I might of seen the pictures in color and not through a cracked screen