Mardi Gras 2017: Evie's 6th Birthday at WDW*updated with Mardi Gras pics*

[dglilbit]

We also have 100 days of school on 2/2 and Evie will be dressing up like an old lady on that day, lol.
We bought a blue scrub top for $6 at Walmart today. She will use a blue fringed scarf of min as a shawl and I have a brooch that will secure it. I also got blue chain glass holders for her to wear. She has a pair of plain white tennis shoes and I bought hose socks for her to wear, slouched around her ankles.
I plan on doing baby powder and purple hair spray for her hair. I really want to bring her to a stylist and get an old lady head of curls cemented on that head. DH was disgusted when I mentioned it. "It's for SCHOOL," he said. He's no fun and I told him so.

I need to remember to give her old lady makeup! Picture below not Evie, but a good part of her costume is represented below.

 

[dglilbit]

Some great outfits I want to be sure to remember to order as we get closer to the trip!

Posh Pumpkin on FB

more to post later...

 

[Elevationist]

Finally had time to catch up here!

I saw this great checklist by Elevationist in her thread Adulting is Hard, So I'm Running Away and decided to use it as well! Also a link to the page with her planning spreadsheet.

D'aww! Well, they do say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery...

Trip Dates? Saturday, February 25th - Saturday, March 4th

Okay, so. Shhhhhhh. It's nothing official at this point, and I haven't mentioned it on any of my own threads yet (but am going to do so this week)... I'm quietly planning a WDW trip for 22-27.

Boardwalk is out because of the creepy clown pool. If we can stay away from that pool, it might be a choice. I HATE clowns.

OH MY GOD. Yes! This! I will very likely never be able to cross the Boardwalk off of my Disney Resort bucket list for this very reason.

Celebration Buttons? Are they still available, if not, bring our own?

They sure are! You can get them at the front desk of your resort! And if you note your reservation with any special occasions, they might already have the buttons waiting for you there when you check in! (You can also get them at Guest Relations in all four parks!)

Schoolbread - forgot where you get this

Norway!

 

[dglilbit]

Finally had time to catch up here!

D'aww! Well, they do say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery...

Okay, so. Shhhhhhh. It's nothing official at this point, and I haven't mentioned it on any of my own threads yet (but am going to do so this week)... I'm quietly planning a WDW trip for 22-27.

OH MY GOD. Yes! This! I will very likely never be able to cross the Boardwalk off of my Disney Resort bucket list for this very reason.

They sure are! You can get them at the front desk of your resort! And if you note your reservation with any special occasions, they might already have the buttons waiting for you there when you check in! (You can also get them at Guest Relations in all four parks!)

Norway!

You are the master planner and I am borrowing all your great ideas!!

WHAT?! That's awesome! A dismeet sounds like a great idea to me! At the very least I want to know those plans!

Thanks for the answers to my questions! You rock!

 

[Steppesister]

PM'd you the info for Brook.

Cute, cute CUTE, outfits..... I need grandkids.

 

[dglilbit]

PM'd you the info for Brook.

Cute, cute CUTE, outfits..... I need grandkids.

Thanks again! I'm trying to limit my buying until closer to the trip. That and the fact that I got kicked out of a FB buy group for bumping a picture. Oops.

I took it as a sign for taking a break from buying Disney Boutique clothes!

 

[dglilbit]

We need to finish Evie's float this weekend. Tonight we glittered all of the figures that will be shown around the float!

I think Ray is going to go on the front and maybe we'll add Evangeline in the upper corner. I got lightning bug stickers to put around the float as well.

The glitter isn't perfect but I think it will look great on the float! Evie did a "patterin" as she calls it on some of the characters and is quite proud.

 

[dglilbit]

This thread seems to have a lot of great tips for going to WDW with young kids. Some highlights are below.

• I would recommend packing lunch and snacks. Our kids did not do well waiting on "quick service" lunches. Spray bottle fans were great distractions. Take a pool and rest break in early to mid afternoon.
• Most helpful to us was figuring out where our kid could run around and burn off energy. Our favorite play spots were:
  • Casey Jr. Splash Station (bring extra clothes if the weather is warm, the kids will get wet!)
  • The regular queue (not FP+) at Dumbo has a great play area while you're waiting
  • The FP+ Wishes viewing areas in front of the Castle are fenced in and great for letting kiddos run around a bit! Especially when the street party comes up into the Hub.
  • Winnie the Pooh queue
  • Imagination pavilion at Epcot
  • Bruce's Sub House play area at The Seas pavilion
  • Space Base play area at the Mission:Space exit
  • The area by the water in front of the Italy pavilion
  • The garden area in the back of the UK pavilion
• Just recommended this backpack in another thread. I got one last year for our trip because it is so lightweight and my other backpack is heavy even when it's empty. It really is very light and comfortable: http://www.landsend.com/products/solid-featherlight-large-backpack/id_292435?sku_0=::BLA
• If you have a Chase card, you can even do a special M&G with the characters
  
• Although you can ask to wake up Jose at the Tiki room!
  
• The top on the Colombia Harbor House has a great view of the Fantasy parade at MK
  
• If you plan on going to Animal Kingdom and seeing Rafiki ( or wherever he is now) bring him a stuffed Simba doll and see what he does with it.
  
• If the older ones are big enough for Soarin', bring a golf ball with you and put it in your pocket. There will be a scene where someone hits a golf ball towards the screen and will feel like it flies right past you. Pretend to reach out and grab it then give it to one of the kids. The video is on you tube if you want to get an idea when the golf ball scene is. This of course is saying it isn't closed or the movie hasn't changed by the time you go.
  
• Sunscreen https://www.colorescience.com/products/sunforgettable-mineral-sunscreen-brush-spf-50
• Body Glide on bottom of feet to prevent blisters

 

[dglilbit]

Evie's float for her school Mardi Gras parade is finished! If the weather is ok tomorrow, I want to get pictures of her wearing it at a park that has a lot of moss.

Each corner is cypress tree with store bought moss - no bugs!

The front is Ray staring up at Evangeline lovingly.


One side has Charlotte, Naveen and Tiana as humans. We found Lottie in a Mardi Gras dress and Evie wanted her in that dress on the float.


The other side has Louis, Frog Naveen, Frog Tiana and Mama Odie jamming.


And the back has cypress trees my dad made with moss hanging from them. Evie also placed fireflies swarming around the trees on the back.


The gold paper around the float represents the fireflies swarming during the swamp scene in Princess and the Frog.

 

[dglilbit]

Bibbidi Bobbidity Boutique or Harmony Barber Shop?
From here: Harmony Barber Shop does the princess hairdos including sparkles, colors, pixie dust, etc. for a fraction of the price! Fairly sure it's less than $15.00. Bring your own princess dress to wear & she'll be all set! They're terrific with the little girls & do make a big fuss over them too.

 

[dglilbit]

Items to pack tips from this thread:

• Rope Drop is the tip I follow the most. It works for how we do the park.
  
• glow sticks
• dollar ponchos
• Disney stickers
• snacks that don't take up a lot of space (like fruit leathers or granola bars)
• Bring at least two pairs of shoes. I did not heed this advice and ended up buying sandals at the resort. It rained almost everyday - my tennis shoes got soaked and we had to use resort dryers to dry them up. We bought sandals after that and it was just easier to wear sandals during the rain periods than deal with wet, sloshy shoes.
  
• Bring empty ziploc bags in various sizes! Great for packing wet clothes into suitcases, containing glitter from princess dresses, and saving wallets/phones from rain/water rides.
  
• Pick your top three things you want to do that day and make it your goal. Anything else you get done is a bonus. We found it kept our expectations in check and prevented us from over planning the day.
  
• Purell to clean hands before eating
  
• Use Body Glide on the feet every morning to avoid blisters. That was the best tip I have ever gotten from the DIS. I used to get blisters every Disney Trip- which shoes or socks I wore didn't matter. I am very blister prone. I have not gotten 1 blister at WDW or DLR since I started using body glide years ago. I also used to get blisters every time I wore a new pair of shoes- now I use Body Glide with new shoes too, and it stops those blisters also.
  
• As mentioned in a previous post, Body Glide or Vaseline for your feet. I use Vaseline. I would blisters on every single trip until I started rubbing down the bottom of my feet with Vaseline. It sounds messy to put your socks & shoes on after putting that on your feet, but by the end of the day, it will all be absorbed in to your smooth blister FREE feet.
  
• Icy hot cream (the roll on one) to be applied to your feet at bed time and each morning before you put your socks on. It helps with aching feet. My kids did it too.
  
• Apply peppermint cream to bottom of feet at night and wake up refreshed in the morning
• Small bottles of bubbles (wedding favor size) for lines or a distraction during some shady rest downtime. Just a little fun thing to do.
  
• Carry your own little first aid kit to the parks. Vey minimum. Just wipes, band aids, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, motion sickness meds, a very small bottle of meds in case of headaches etc. (Benadryl, Ibuprofen, Tylenol, etc.)
  
• Other best tip: pack unopened liquid hand soap. I always do this now and it's a huge yes on all trips.
  
• POST ITS. Almost all of the toilets are automatic and loud. Give your child a post-it note to put over the censor. They then take it off after they're done going to the bathroom. Little kids can get freaked out when the automatic toilet goes off when they're still on.
  
• I always bring a pop up hamper too! This makes collecting dirty clothes so much easier!
  
• Take a grandparent, or two!
  
• EARPLUGS! The first trip with my kids, they were 5&6. My youngest was more freaked out by the loudness of things than scariness. From shows to rides (not just fireworks), things are LOUD. We just came back and he is now 7 -- he used the earplugs for most rides.
• If possible, try to eat meals at off times when the restaurants aren’t as packed - lunch around 11:00am and dinner around 4:30pm.
• Mini M&M containers- For quarters and pennies to press!
• Carabiner clips. they are great for carrying mugs or other bulky objects on your back pack.
• A large size (actually it's compact) REI backpacking/camping towel - It works great for drying off after a water ride or sitting on at a parade (we even had a kid wrap up in it when she was cold)
• Baby zinc cream for diaper rash not just for babies anymore. It will take care of a foot blister pretty much over night, always a risk with all the walking around WDW. We always have it packed for WDW trips. It also helped on one trip after a member of our party developed a bit of a painful and embarrAssing chafing issue from getting extra wet on Kali River Rapids and walking in the heat for next couple hours. Clears up many painful skin issues fast and lets you walk and sit comfortably again. And it's very inexpensive. Mix it with A+D ointment for a super quick healing tincture . The 2 together are amazing!

 

[dglilbit]

PRINCESSIFYING

1.) The Harmony Barber shop - used to be you would just walk-in but now (unfortunately) they do take appointments. Girls and boys alike can get pretty funky hairdos (chunky glitter - wash and repeat and repeat and repeat to get it OUT, color stripes, even a temp mickey hair tattoo) - cheap! I've heard around 7 dollars?!?! Google for "Disney World Harmony Barber Girls Hairstyles" and you'll get pics.
2.) Resort Salons at Grand Floridian, Yacht Club and Coronado Springs offer real salon treatments (as in expert hair-styling, not the one-look-fits-all at BBB) including a princess package. Not sure how much they would charge you based on the girls ages, but you'll need a reservation so call and ask the Disney resort line.
3.) Buy a Kimono at Japan. Really. This was truly the most "Magical" but REAL experience we encountered. Now my daughter was considerably younger than 15...around 6 maybe? But it was authentic and I am woe to admit ... brought tears to my eyes. As you may or may not know Epcot is staffed with young people from each country - and they are beyond psyched to be there. As soon as I mentioned my daughter would like to pick out a kimono three sweet Japanese girls girls flitted around her like she was their own princess. They held up beautiful (far better quality than BB) garments for her and spoke directly to her - not me - asking her what she liked and checking her sizes. Once chosen all three girls surrounded her for what looked like a very ceremonial dressing, including the proper tying of the kimono bow - which was retied a few times as each girl critiqued the other - all in Japanese - to get it just right. They fussed over her so much, with much bowing and smiling when they were done - It was worlds above our still very nice experience at BBB and a unique opportunity to have such close contact with another culture. Pure magic.
*I think a little knowledge of Japanese culture would go a long way to enhance this for teens. The girls were just a few years older than yours.
4.) Want to be really cheap? Do it yourself! There are tons of tutorials on ways to copy Disney princess hair - you might need extensions for some - and whole lines of glitter make-up, glitter hairspray, body glitter you name it- and then revel in all the compliments throughout the day.

Then - give them a dinner at Akershus - it's never as booked as CRT and they will get TONS of attention if they are also dressed as princesses! Reuse of an old prom dress?

In fact - I've been dying to share this with other Disney girls because I don't think people know about these other ways to be "princessified"! I may have to post this somewhere parents of little girls will find it too!

 

[dglilbit]

SAFETY

• "Temporary tattoos you can get with your name and phone number on them or safety bracelets from Mabel's Labels"
• "I went to Petco and made a "dog tag" with his name, our home address and cell phone numbers and put it on a chain"
• "You can use a sharpie pen (fine point) and write your cell phone number on their arm and then cover it with liquid bandaid to keep it on. You can get one of Disney's celecelebration buttons and write your name ans cell number on the back of it. Just tell your child its there and to show it to someone if they get lost."
  
• "We also have these bracelets. Love them. I just put Mom: and Dad: with our numbers, so that a tricky person couldn't look at it and know our names to potentially make our kid think they knew our family. I use these bracelets at fairs, etc as well. And DS knows to show it to an adult if lost (of course he knows my number now too, since he is older). I always tell him to look for a female employee or a mommy with kids as a first choice if he gets lost. We've roll played what to say many times, and we always review it before a big day."
• "We also went through a drill with the kids: you look around and there are a lot of people and you don't see mom or dad -- what do you do? Figured it would help them not panic too much if they knew what to do. We taught them to go to a CM and talked about how to identify a CM (they will always have a special name tag and you can find them often selling stuff like popcorn. Next, if they couldn't find a CM, look for a mom with kids or another family and ask for help. We used pen and wrote our phone # on their arms (covered by a shirt then). Make sure you are familiar with the lost child protocol of each park too so you know where to go to pick your child up. GL!"
• "We ordered silicone bracelets from Reminderband with my DH's cell phone number. Our kids wear them on their ankle. The kids have been taught to find a CM (for the first day or two we keep pointing out the name tags), and tell the CM that daddy's phone number is on the bracelet."
• "have a picture of each child each day so you can look and see what they are wearing that day"
• "When I worked any child under 7 went to baby care and any child 7 and over went to Guest Relations. It was best to check there if you were close. If you aren't close CMs should be calling that location as soon as they put the lost child call out over the radio."

 

[dglilbit]

Bookmark for this thread: http://www.disboards.com/threads/doctor-who-mia-hurricanes-and-no-crowds-8-28-9-7.3445584/

 

[Nicole N.]

Evie's float for her school Mardi Gras parade is finished! If the weather is ok tomorrow, I want to get pictures of her wearing it at a park that has a lot of moss.

Each corner is cypress tree with store bought moss - no bugs!

The front is Ray staring up at Evangeline lovingly.
View attachment 148403

One side has Charlotte, Naveen and Tiana as humans. We found Lottie in a Mardi Gras dress and Evie wanted her in that dress on the float.
View attachment 148404

The other side has Louis, Frog Naveen, Frog Tiana and Mama Odie jamming.
View attachment 148405

And the back has cypress trees my dad made with moss hanging from them. Evie also placed fireflies swarming around the trees on the back.
View attachment 148402

The gold paper around the float represents the fireflies swarming during the swamp scene in Princess and the Frog.
View attachment 148406

Oh my goodness, this is by far the cutest float I have seen. I love it!!

 

[amberdc1987]

That's awesome! Welcome to the thread and if you have any suggestions, feel free to comment! Do you know where y'all are staying, etc.?

We are probably going to stay at Pop....unless we can get a good deal on a family suite at AOA. Just round out that the PHM is going to be going on the same time we are there, so we may change up our dates so we can run in that.

 

[amberdc1987]

Now that i'm all caught up i'm loving all your tips. I never knew about the Kimono thing in Japan. I wonder if they still do that. That seems like an awesome thing.

 

[dglilbit]

Oh my goodness, this is by far the cutest float I have seen. I love it!!

Thank you so much! We went to Sam Houston Jones State Park today and took pictures of her next to the swamp. THEMES!

 

[dglilbit]

We are probably going to stay at Pop....unless we can get a good deal on a family suite at AOA. Just round out that the PHM is going to be going on the same time we are there, so we may change up our dates so we can run in that.

I think we want to stay at the Contemporary but AOA holds a lot of appeal in regards to the theming. I have the names of several TA and I need to decide on one to contact to help with that decision.

I keep saying I'm going to get back into running so this might be a good motivator for me as well! Do you know the dates of the PHM yet?

 

[dglilbit]

Now that i'm all caught up i'm loving all your tips. I never knew about the Kimono thing in Japan. I wonder if they still do that. That seems like an awesome thing.

Thanks! I stumbled on to some good threads in the Disney for Families forum yesterday. The kimono does seem awesome, I'm curious to find out too. I plan on asking the TA once we get one established.