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

[francis6306]

Sooo… what you are telling me is that Sanibel Island is close enough for me to get my Disney Fix AND get some beach time…

I love it! LOVE IT! The new Cindy dress is great! And Katie… if she does the CP and gets casted as a Princess she's going to be all "You know, my mom made me a better dress… here, let me show you!"

Do you like Aurora's new dress? I think it's a well overdue update and makes her look much prettier!

I love the Dumbo popcorn holders!! And of course, your photoshoot with him! I think they were really smart to put the single Dumbo out for picture taking! I never took pictures there, but I think it was really smart on their part to put him out there like that!

 

[mom2rtk]

Sooo… what you are telling me is that Sanibel Island is close enough for me to get my Disney Fix AND get some beach time…

I love it! LOVE IT! The new Cindy dress is great! And Katie… if she does the CP and gets casted as a Princess she's going to be all "You know, my mom made me a better dress… here, let me show you!"

Do you like Aurora's new dress? I think it's a well overdue update and makes her look much prettier!

I love the Dumbo popcorn holders!! And of course, your photoshoot with him! I think they were really smart to put the single Dumbo out for picture taking! I never took pictures there, but I think it was really smart on their part to put him out there like that!

Oh yes, there is nothing better than a beach/Disney combo trip. There are closer beaches (Sanibel is around 3 1/2 to 4 hours away) but we're just so sold on it for the shelling that we just wouldn't go anywhere else.

LOL on your comment about Katie and the CP. I'd sure love to go down and visit her playing one of the princesses. Now THAT would be a full-circle sort of a moment.

I wasn't a fan of Cindy's gown at first, but it really has grown on me. Well, except for those sleeves...... but the fabric is stunning and it sparkles a lot more than the old one, so I give it an overall thumbs up now.

Aurora is another matter. I like parts of it. I love the dropped waist for an updated style. And I love the way it flows. But I just don't like the colors. It's too washed out looking. I really wish they had gone with a deeper pink. And the skin tight sleeves are too close to flesh colored. I saw a blue version of it someone posted (she did a one random meet in Epcot in it) and I thought it was just gorgeous.

Belle..... well....... I still haven't come around on that one.

And yes, Dumbo really did have quite a photo shoot that night, didn't he? He's not done yet either. He was a busy little guy.......

The actually had photopass at that Dumbo ride car on our December trip. Which was great because you could add New Fantasyland borders. Nobody there this time though.

 

[Caretames1]

I mean, if you're going to kidnap or murder someone, wouldn't you leave the tripod at home?

Ha! I snorted on that one!

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amazing! I love how the water drops are so clear!

Your golden sunset pictures are just stunning. If ever there was a reason for me to visit a beach, you've sold me on your beach!
Kadence said she wouldn't pick up any creatures, but the empty shells are pretty.

Oh Disney! YAY!

 

[Caretames1]

O.M.G!! We HAVE to get a Dumbo popcorn bucket!!!

I really love Dumbo, he's just so darn cute!

I bet it was beyond hot there. When we went on Sept it was awful. I did the in the store tour as much as we could.


Just slap a Blonde Cindy wig on Katie and she would defiantly be a better Cinderella! Your new dress is beautiful! Kadence is back to being awed.



HA HA! Caught up........ with yours. Back to Jens!

 

[francis6306]

Oh yes, there is nothing better than a beach/Disney combo trip. There are closer beaches (Sanibel is around 3 1/2 to 4 hours away) but we're just so sold on it for the shelling that we just wouldn't go anywhere else.

LOL on your comment about Katie and the CP. I'd sure love to go down and visit her playing one of the princesses. Now THAT would be a full-circle sort of a moment.

I wasn't a fan of Cindy's gown at first, but it really has grown on me. Well, except for those sleeves...... but the fabric is stunning and it sparkles a lot more than the old one, so I give it an overall thumbs up now.

Aurora is another matter. I like parts of it. I love the dropped waist for an updated style. And I love the way it flows. But I just don't like the colors. It's too washed out looking. I really wish they had gone with a deeper pink. And the skin tight sleeves are too close to flesh colored. I saw a blue version of it someone posted (she did a one random meet in Epcot in it) and I thought it was just gorgeous.

I haven't seen the blue dress yet. I bet it is pretty!

Belle..... well....... I still haven't come around on that one.

I know, I know& Now that I have seen it in several places, I think you are 100% right about the color and the use of fabric- bu there are some really pieces to that dress, too!

And yes, Dumbo really did have quite a photo shoot that night, didn't he? He's not done yet either. He was a busy little guy.......

The actually had photopass at that Dumbo ride car on our December trip. Which was great because you could add New Fantasyland borders. Nobody there this time though.

We didn't see a photopass person there in November! BUT I didn't walk over there& Corey didn't mention it when he and Catie played on the Dumbo&

 

[keishashadow]

Saturday December 8 Continued: Back to the Resort



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really nice pictures in your TR

would this be the main pool area?

 

[KCmike]

Yes, that's an AoA t-shirt. I was back and forth on getting one the entire trip and picked it up on our way out. I like the subtle purple on purple. But it was $30 and made from very flimsy cotton. But I sure do like it and am glad I pulled the trigger. I know I saw Poly t-shirts when we walked through there the next night, so some of the resorts have their own t's. I've never seen one for Pop though. I wish they would do that. I'd be all over that.

Sitting there at Cosmic Ray's..... knowing we were finally in the Magic Kingdom....... cooling off before heading out again......... was really just awesome.

So if they don't have a Christmas party at DL, then the only DL parade would be the Christmas one? I'd be really disappointed. I really want to see Soundsational. I've never seen a Pixar parade. And brace yourself....... I probably won't. We're just not big Pixar fans. Now before I get strung up here....... I did see Monsters U over the weekend and enjoyed it. I just don't feel the affinity for the Pixar movies that I do for the traditional Disney movies.

I remember you saying this about Pixar movies...."Someone get a rope!" So Finding Nemo, Up, Incredibles, Toy Story don't get to you like the other Disney films?

Have you picked your dates for heading out to California? Are you planning on doing anything else while your out there?

 

[mom2rtk]

Ha! I snorted on that one!



amazing! I love how the water drops are so clear!

Your golden sunset pictures are just stunning. If ever there was a reason for me to visit a beach, you've sold me on your beach!
Kadence said she wouldn't pick up any creatures, but the empty shells are pretty.

Oh Disney! YAY!

Thanks Carey. I really did enjoy photographing the parasailing. I love having new things to shoot. It was a bigger challenge than I expected though. I was zoomed out quite a ways, and using a variable aperture lens, so sort of limited in what it could do. The water was really choppy too, and when you combine that with our fast speed, it was crazy! But I was really glad to find some keepers when I got back and looked at the photos. That was one of my favorites too.

And thanks for the comment on the sunset photos. I'll cherish those for some time.

Be patient with Kadence. You saw the look on Katie's face holding a few of those creatures. And she's got a few years on Kadence. I think it also helped that Timmy was along and she didn't want to get shown up. And honestly, most of what we find is uninhabited. I really do think Andrea just stirred up more live ones.

O.M.G!! We HAVE to get a Dumbo popcorn bucket!!!

I really love Dumbo, he's just so darn cute!

I bet it was beyond hot there. When we went on Sept it was awful. I did the in the store tour as much as we could.


Just slap a Blonde Cindy wig on Katie and she would defiantly be a better Cinderella! Your new dress is beautiful! Kadence is back to being awed.



HA HA! Caught up........ with yours. Back to Jens!

I fell in love with Dumbo when I first saw photos of that popcorn bucket posted here on the DIS. I knew he'd be coming home with us. It was SO fun to walk up and find him just as cute in person. And Katie and I always started every trip to the MK with Dumbo, so making him a big part of that visit just seemed perfect.

The first few hours in the park really were crazy hot. I see in the photos with Mickey that I have sweat stain all over my shirt. But taking our time and cooling off indoors a few times really helped. And it did get better as the sun went down. I know it's crazy to spend all that for single day park tickets, but there just is no way I could be there through the entire heat of the day.

YEAH! for being caught up! I finally caught back up on Jen's a couple days ago. Now I need to go catch back up on yours. You know, before it's time for your next one!

We didn't see a photopass person there in November! BUT I didn't walk over there& Corey didn't mention it when he and Catie played on the Dumbo&

Maybe they're just out there during busier times of the day or something? I'm sorry we missed him. But as you can tell, at least I got a ..... cough..... cough...... couple of my own.

 

[mom2rtk]

really nice pictures in your TR

would this be the main pool area?

Thanks! And to my trip report! Nice to see you over here. Hopefully it won't be quite as contentious as that AoA thread gets sometimes! Seriously, who would have expected that????

That is the pool area in the LM section. Look to the left where King Triton is. That is building 9. He is in the middle of the building. If you park as close as possible to that section of the building, you can walk straight through, past King Triton, past the Prince Eric statue in front of the LM pool, then across over to the right. Ursula is exactly opposite from King Triton, but on Building 7. The elevators you will need if you aren't on the ground floor will be right behind Ursula.

Let me know if you have other questions.

 

[mom2rtk]

I remember you saying this about Pixar movies...."Someone get a rope!" So Finding Nemo, Up, Incredibles, Toy Story don't get to you like the other Disney films?

Have you picked your dates for heading out to California? Are you planning on doing anything else while your out there?

LOL, too funny. Guilty as charged! I did like Toy Story. It was the very first movie I ever took Robbie to. He cried at the end and when I asked him why he said "because it's over". But that was pretty much the end of it. They had a few Toy Story toys, but for them it was all about Star Wars and Hot Wheels.

And I guess Nemo and the Incredibles came out during Katie's big princess phase so we didn't spend much time on those. We saw them, but they just never grabbed us like other Disney movies have.

No final dates yet, but I'm thinking it has to be roughly the 7th to the 14th, give or take. That is Timmy's finals week, so I sort of need to get an idea of whether I need to be here to go pick him up or whether he will meet someone from KC he can carpool home with.

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Celebrate A Dream is my favorite parade! Love all the pictures. I'm glad you guys got to see your Fairy Godmother!

Wow. Katie's Cinderella dress is gorgeous!

Aw those Dumbo buckets are really cute! I can see why they were a must have item. Good thinking on the pixie dust with the extra popcorn!

Love the Dumbo photoshoot with Dumbo! Adorable!

 

[mom2rtk]

June 9th Continued:

We had a lot of fun with Dumbo, but now it was time to trek out across the park to use our BTMRR fastpasses!


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As we walked up to the ride, I noticed a long line that extended almost all the way back to Splash. It took a minute to figure out that was the fastpass return, and not standby. In fact, there was line extending out past the entrance for standby. Still, I knew fastpass would take precendence so we waited it out. Thankfully it didn't take long to make it to the riding platform and we got our long-awaited ride on BTMRR. This is really Katie's favorite ride in the Magic Kingdom these days.


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After the ride, we headed for what just might be Katie's second favorite ride in the Magic Kingdom...... Haunted Mansion. We got distracted though by the sight of Columbia Harbor House and ducked inside. Katie loves that place, and I'm not sure why. I mean, it's a great place. I love it too. But she always orders..........


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Yep. Chicken Nuggets. She SWEARS they are the BEST chicken nuggets. OK, it just gave me an excuse to order my favorite.... the tuna sandwich.


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I kept an eye on that elephant too. I was hungry and I wasn't sharing!

When I was done eating, I made a run to the restroom while Katie sat at the table. When she came back she said "Check your camera. Dumbo has been busy". And I saw this:


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LOL, I'm not sure if he was checking fastpass return times, or checking his email.... but he had been busy.

I didn't break any new ground photographing the ride on Haunted Mansion, but I did take a few nice shots outside:


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Somebody should water the grass.......


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Then Dumbo started misbehaving again.... He started popping up everywhere!


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I had purchased a Be Our Guest dinner plate in December and I wanted to add a goblet while we were here, so we headed for Fantasyland next. I was disappointed to find they were out of stock on the goblets, but Dumbo enjoyed the view:



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Next we headed over to do Philharmagic. I really wanted to be sure to do some of the things we can't do at DLR when we go in December. And I just love the Philharmagic.


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Not surprisingly, Dumbo needed his own glasses........


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On our way out, Dumbo took flight for us........


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Soon it was time to head over toward the Crystal Palace. We had talked it over and decided that is where we wanted to watch Wishes. So we committed a big chunk of our evening and went to stake out a spot.


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[jenseib]

I love Dumbos journey. (You are missing the picture Katie took while you were in the bathroom*****)

If I was Dumbo I would've taken a bit of the sandwich too.

I love the peter pan on the clock shot. I need to try that one now.

 

[mom2rtk]

Celebrate A Dream is my favorite parade! Love all the pictures. I'm glad you guys got to see your Fairy Godmother!

Wow. Katie's Cinderella dress is gorgeous!

Aw those Dumbo buckets are really cute! I can see why they were a must have item. Good thinking on the pixie dust with the extra popcorn!

Love the Dumbo photoshoot with Dumbo! Adorable!

Thanks Courtney!

I'm so glad we got to see the parade one last time. I think I had just seen it too many times in a row, and absence really made the heart grow fonder.

And as for Dumbo......



Well, who could resist?

What I loved most about it was seeing Katie, as she's closing in fast on her 13th birthday........ embracing her inner child.

I love Dumbos journey. (You are missing the picture Katie took while you were in the bathroom*****)

If I was Dumbo I would've taken a bit of the sandwich too.

I love the peter pan on the clock shot. I need to try that one now.

Thanks Jen. I'll probably mess up a few more before I'm done. Because the numbering of those files got jumbled up, they were not in perfect chronological order when I uploaded them to flicker. What a pain!

Thankfully I didn't leave Dumbo alone with the sandwich. It had already been consumed.

I've never tried much at Philharmagic. Since it's 3D it's a weird effect. But I tried this time, and some scenes actually came out ok. I'll probably try again next time to see if I can perfect it a bit.

 

[mom2rtk]

June 9th Continued:

So we got over to the Crystal Palace around 8:30. Wishes wasn't until 10. I was a little annoyed that some guy was sitting up against the railing right where I wanted to set my tripod up. But he was alone. I just assumed he'd be moving on soon enough. I mean...... nobody really takes a spot over by CP for Wishes 90 minutes early, to they? Well, apparently I'm not the only one who does. Because that's exactly why he was there. So I set up on the other side of him. Pretty soon his girlfriend showed up, and about a dozen or so others. No biggie, I had my spot and only needed room for Katie and me.

We enjoyed watching the sky get darker as show time progressed. It really is a great spot to watch since nobody can block your view.


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We enjoyed the castle projection show. I thought I had some great shots, but it turns out my focus was a bit off. So I was a little bummed. The shots were not terrible, but I know they can be sharper.


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[keishashadow]

Thanks! And to my trip report! Nice to see you over here. Hopefully it won't be quite as contentious as that AoA thread gets sometimes! Seriously, who would have expected that????

That is the pool area in the LM section. Look to the left where King Triton is. That is building 9. He is in the middle of the building. If you park as close as possible to that section of the building, you can walk straight through, past King Triton, past the Prince Eric statue in front of the LM pool, then across over to the right. Ursula is exactly opposite from King Triton, but on Building 7. The elevators you will need if you aren't on the ground floor will be right behind Ursula.

Let me know if you have other questions.

wow, that's a nice-sized non-feature pool! I'm a seasoned disney vet but admit i was swayed by the negative comments. Glad i acquiesed.

we've never bothered packing a tripod on disney trips, may just pack the mini one next trip...great shots of the castle, especially the chesire cat one.

probably will grab a late bite to eat after our day @ MK what were your favorite non-breakfast items at the food court?

 

[mom2rtk]

June 9th Continued:

Thankfully I adjusted my focus before the fireworks so I thought those were sharper.


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I loved watching Wishes from this spot. Nobody hoisted a kid up on their shoulders right in front of me at the last minute. Nobody held their ipad up in my way. Nobody stood in front of me with a balloon. 2 of my 3 tripod legs were over the railing, so I didn't have to worry about anyone knocking it over. But the closer it got to the 10 PM start time, the crazier it got. People tried to squeeze kids in between Katie and me. Someone stood right behind me with a video recorder complete with bright constant light. It was like a flashlight 2" from my eyes because he put it right up even with my head. I actually held my hand in front of that one and told him to stop it. I guess it just doesn't seem to matter where you watch. The crowds in the parks still take their toll on experiences like this.

From a photographic standpoint, I liked the spot. But I didn't love it as much as I thought I would. It was a little too far off center for my taste. So I might have to head back out to Main Street again next time.

But half way through Wishes, we found out why that guy had been sitting by the fence so early. I was busy watching the show, and timing my shots, and didn't understand why the girl standing next to me was moving back and bumping into me. Then I looked over to see it was to make room for her boyfriend........... who had just dropped down to one knee to propose. It was a great moment, and Katie enjoyed it too. When the show was over, I congratulated them and told her she had chosen well. Since he had clearly passed the "Disney test".

We were holding Peter Pan fastpasses that expired at 10:35. So I knew we needed to scurry up to Fantasyland pretty quickly. It was a little un-nerving to find the walkway up behind the castle closed, but they assured us it would open soon, and we just barely made it in time.

It was around 10:45 and I realized we still hadn't gone to Storybook Circus to wish Donald a proper Happy Birthday! We still had a couple more hours of park time, but I wasn't sure if the characters stayed out for the EMH. So we headed over there next. Not a single soul was in line for Donald and Goofy. They were just hanging out playing with the CMs. Katie danced with Goofy, then we "chatted" with Donald about his birthday, then sang "Happy Birthday" for him.



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With the birthday wishes behind us, we quickly swung around to the other side of the room to catch Daisy and Minnie. There were a couple people over there, but that's it.



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Minnie liked our Dumbo, and insisted on holding it herself for the photos:


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[mom2rtk]

June 9th continued:

One of the things I had wanted to do in December but just didn't find time for, was some night shots of the Dumbo ride and New Fantasyland. So when we left Pete's Silly Sideshow, we stopped for a few minutes by Dumbo then headed toward Ariel's ride. Thankfully that back entrance was open into New Fantasyland.


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When we got to ETWB and saw the line was only 10 minutes long, I talked Katie into giving it a try. She didn't want to participate, but I just wanted a photo of her with Belle in the new gown.


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I told Katie to just go get in line at the end, which they had no problem with. But apparently the rushed feel that you get going through this attraction is built into the soundtrack. Doesn't matter that there isn't a single other person waiting in line behind you. They still rush right through. The photopass photographer snapped hers and Belle practically pushed Katie out of the way. I'm fast..... and didn't get a single shot. It was just SO silly.

So how do I know there wasn't another single person in line? We went around to try again and found this:


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And in the end I got this. I'm still trying to get the white balance right on this. I seemed to have more trouble with it this time than I did before. I'll just say that this is one of the more challenging photo spots in the park.


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We still had hopes of catching Space Mountain before the park closed. So we headed over behind the castle toward Tomorrowland. We got to the ride around 12:45 and the posted wait time for standby was 105 minutes. It had been out of fastpasses since soon after we got to the park, so that was the only option. We were both still dragging. I didn't believe their 105 estimate. I thought that was there to discourage people from getting in line. But the truth is there was no way to tell. We were discussing it when I noticed some cars whizz by on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. This is one of Katie's favorites. We had tried earlier in the day, only to be told it was down. Since they also said it had been down most of the day, I hadn't held out much hope of it being open again. We had thought about doing BTMRR a second time, but every time I checked the app, it was shown as being down as well. So I let Katie choose Not surprisingly, she chose the TTA. So we got one last look at the park from atop Tomorrowland. It was a great way to end the night. Although I'm still sad we missed out on Space.


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I snapped this on the way out to document when we left the park. It was 1:05 and Main Street felt as busy as it did leaving most of the hard ticket parties we have attended.


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As we got to the bus stop, there were 2 buses loading for Pop Century. We just missed, but would at least get seats on the next one. It seemed forever before the next one finally came, probably a good 10-15 minutes. Not sure what was up with that, but man, our feet hurt and it felt great to sit on that bus.

Katie crashed the minute her head hit the pillow. I took a bit longer, but it didn't take too long. And our day of magic was over.

 

[mom2rtk]

wow, that's a nice-sized non-feature pool! I'm a seasoned disney vet but admit i was swayed by the negative comments. Glad i acquiesed.

we've never bothered packing a tripod on disney trips, may just pack the mini one next trip...great shots of the castle, especially the chesire cat one.

probably will grab a late bite to eat after our day @ MK what were your favorite non-breakfast items at the food court?

It's a very nice pool. We never made it over to the Big Blue Pool, and this one was just fine.

So glad you're going to give AoA a try. I'm not the least bit sorry we did. That doesn't mean I'll do it again though. I hope that makes sense.

I try not to jump in with negativity every time someone brings up AoA, but if people mention a concern about how far it is, I feel it's only fair to give them an honest opinion from someone who was there for 10 nights. I'm not sure what bee was up the bonnet of that other poster on that thread. I hear stuff I don't like all the time. I usually just ignore it.

I really do enjoy having my tripod along at Disney. I bought it with Disney in mind. I did start having some issues with getting the legs unscrewed and collapsed back down on this trip, so I probably have to get a new one. This one is a great size and weight for carting around Disney, so I'll probably just by another of the same one.

Hmmmm....... I really liked the "Make your own pasta" offering. Man, I could go for some alfredo noodles with peas and broccoli right now! I know a couple others reading along here also have stayed at AoA. Maybe they'll offer up their favorites too.

Oh, and chocolate croissants. Always chocolate croissants. I know that's not what you're looking for, but I had to say it. I can't believe I never got one on this recent stop at Disney. I tried the day we arrived, but they were out. I'm not sure why I didn't pick one up the next day. Tactical error on my part.

 

[czmom]

LOVED your day at MK! And I always think your pictures are fabulous.

Looks like you and Katie did quite a bit considering the summer crowds!