Mommy-Daughter PRINCESS Trip (BBB, CRT, Tea Party) Photos & VIDEO RECAP/HIGHLIGHTS

[cdotla]

Thanks Lorelai and SereneOne for your nice comments. I have PM'd both of you with information on our outfits.

 

[Lorelai]

Thanks Lorelai and SereneOne for your nice comments. I have PM'd both of you with information on our outfits.

Oh thank you so much! I will check my messages.

By the way...reading all about your wonderful trip with your sweet little one makes me want to start planning a Mommy-Daughter trip with my sweet little one. She is growing so fast...I'd better start planning now!

 

[Lorelai]

Oh thank you so much! I will check my messages.

By the way...reading all about your wonderful trip with your sweet little one makes me want to start planning a Mommy-Daughter trip with my sweet little one. She is growing so fast...I'd better start planning now!

OH MY!

I guess I have never had the ability to receive PMs before because I never knew that I had to enable them. I just checked all of the boxes so that I can receive messages.

I feel like such a dodo bird! Can you please re-send the info? I am very excited to know how you found those adorable outfits. So sorry to make you re-send. Thank you.

 

[PopArtGal]

Great trip report!

It helped me wait for my coming tri^

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

I saw your signature link over in Pralines latest TR. I'm only on page 6 of yours. Didn't have time to read it all just yet but I had to say, little DD's clothing is some of the cutest I have ever seen! Do you make it yourself? It's just beautiful and I love the fluffy bows. My mother makes my DD things like this to wear, well, she used to. DD hasn't worn hers since '06. I hope she will give the Disney designs another go this year!

I'm so sorry to hear about your camera but at the same time, it brought this trip about and it looks amazing so far! GREAT trip report and gorgeous pictures! Can't wait to read more!

 

[cdotla]

OH MY!

I guess I have never had the ability to receive PMs before because I never knew that I had to enable them. I just checked all of the boxes so that I can receive messages.

I feel like such a dodo bird! Can you please re-send the info? I am very excited to know how you found those adorable outfits. So sorry to make you re-send. Thank you.

Lorelai - I have tried a number of times to send you a PM. It is still disabled.

Great trip report!

It helped me wait for my coming tri^

Thanks!

I saw your signature link over in Pralines latest TR. I'm only on page 6 of yours. Didn't have time to read it all just yet but I had to say, little DD's clothing is some of the cutest I have ever seen! Do you make it yourself? It's just beautiful and I love the fluffy bows. My mother makes my DD things like this to wear, well, she used to. DD hasn't worn hers since '06. I hope she will give the Disney designs another go this year!

I'm so sorry to hear about your camera but at the same time, it brought this trip about and it looks amazing so far! GREAT trip report and gorgeous pictures! Can't wait to read more!

Thanks for reading! As for the clothes, they are all bought off the many talented people on ebay. I have PM'd you with details!

 

[debit34]

I just spent the afternoon reading your fabulous trip report! Yours was of particular interest because I'm planning a trip with DD 4 and myself in August! I never, ever thought DH would allow us to go alone but since he doesn't share my crazy love for Disney - he's the one that suggested we go alone!

Anyway, I've enjoyed reading your experience and appreciate the suggestions you had for going alone!

 

[cdotla]

Have a great time on your trip! And if you are anything like me, it likely won't be your last solo trip with your daughter.

Since DD and I took our solo trip in Sept 07, I have been back to WDW twice. Once for a week in May 08 with the whole family and again for a business trip at the Yacht Club in June. Neither trip came close to the enjoyment I had with DD on our solo trip!

On our May 08 family trip, in addition to me and DD5, we were joined by DH, DS2 and my parents. We were in Orlando for a week and only got to the parks for 2 days and attended the P&PP, leaving early before the fireworks. And our condo was full of complaints about how Disney was "dominating" our Trip.

Each day, we were out of the parks by early afternoon and I was unable to convince my mom and DH to return in the evenings for any of the evening events. Obviously if you read my TR, this is not exactly how DD and I like to travel!

DD & I have decided that we are returning again solo in April to celebrate her birthday. My husband doesn't share our Disney love, and DS, who turned 3 this weekend, is just too much of a handful for me to take along.

I can't wait til he gets a bit older and I can take both kids by myself.

In a perfect world, DH wld love Disney as much as I do. But he doesn't and this is really the best option for all of us. Me and the kids can get our "fix" and DH can come once every couple of years with us as a family. That way he doesn't start to resent being dragged back to the same place year after year and I still get to go. Everybody's happy!

Once you can get over the initial mindset that as a family you *have* to do everything together, including vacations, it is really quite liberating! And you may surprise yourself as I did by finding out that your solo trips with the kids end up being some of your most special vacations of all!

I just spent the afternoon reading your fabulous trip report! Yours was of particular interest because I'm planning a trip with DD 4 and myself in August! I never, ever thought DH would allow us to go alone but since he doesn't share my crazy love for Disney - he's the one that suggested we go alone!

Anyway, I've enjoyed reading your experience and appreciate the suggestions you had for going alone!

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

I loved reading about your solo trip and even mentioned the thread to my husband. I jokingly said me and my DD would like to do this and she was laughing, saying, yeah yeah yeah! If I were to really go through with such a thing I'd probably end up with a divorce. My husband loves Disney more than Mickey Mouse does and would die if I went without him! Your trip looks like so much fun though! We do split apart sometimes while there ~ the boys will do the boy things while my DD and I hit up the Princess stuff! The mother daughter trip is a dream come true in itself!

We love CBR too! We stayed there in '01 (I think it was) and really enjoyed the private Island area. We managed to get in the sandcastle pool for maybe 30 minutes. There was just so much going on at the parks and the kids were ready to get there! CSR is my favorite mod though! Have you ever seen their swimming pool and playground!? You might just change your mind! The playground is amazing! My kids love that place!

Oh, one more question...you got your DD's first haircut at the MK. Did she get the special YOAMD ears or the black ones? My DS got his in '06 and was given the choice of the gold ears or black. I was just curious to see the YOAMD ears if they have those. We will be returning in December with my nephew (who'll be getting his first cut then).

You said you sent me a PM....I never got it?

 

[cdotla]

Actually - the Mickey hat my daughter got with her haircut was a standard Pink one. It said First Haircut on the back. It was not a Year of a Million Dreams one.

I think I actually read somewhere that they aren't giving out the hats anymore with First Haircuts...I guess that stands to reason, but too bad they didn't still have them available for purchase. (Again, I don't know this for fact - just what I heard).

And as for CSR - I will likely try it out one day. However, I think there will always be a special fondness for me for CBR. Plus, I think I wld likely prefer the theming at CBR. I am not big on south-west theming and the ranchos section is totally not my thing. (I know you can make requests, but there is no guarantee!) CBR is also apparently the only mod slated for full room refurbs this year and of course the pool has been completely redone and scheduled to open in August. So I think it will remain my top pick for mods.

That said, I have now tasted life at the Yacht Club, and me thinks it will be hard to go back to the mods now (as much as I love CBR!)

 

[hlrababy]

HI, I just got caught back up with your report!! I am so glad you found your camera!!

BTW, could you Pm me to tell me where you got your daughter's outfits? They are so cute!

 

[AgassiFan]

I came across your report today and have been reading from start to finish most of the evening. I just couldn't pull myself away from finding out "what happened next..."

Thanks for sharing!

Also, could you let me know the seller that you bought all the cute clothes from?

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Actually - the Mickey hat my daughter got with her haircut was a standard Pink one. It said First Haircut on the back. It was not a Year of a Million Dreams one. Oh pink for girls then, black for boys. Awww!

I think I actually read somewhere that they aren't giving out the hats anymore with First Haircuts...I guess that stands to reason, but too bad they didn't still have them available for purchase. (Again, I don't know this for fact - just what I heard). Oh, I guess too many people found out about it and they are taking it away. That is too bad. My DS got his first haircut there at age 9 months and has not had a haircut since! Thank goodness I did it then. He was born with a head full of hair!

And as for CSR - I will likely try it out one day. However, I think there will always be a special fondness for me for CBR. Plus, I think I wld likely prefer the theming at CBR. I am not big on south-west theming and the ranchos section is totally not my thing. (I know you can make requests, but there is no guarantee!) CBR is also apparently the only mod slated for full room refurbs this year and of course the pool has been completely redone and scheduled to open in August. So I think it will remain my top pick for mods. I loved the palm tree designs made into the furniture. I am a palm tree fanatic. I have hundreds of them in my yard. I know, pathetic! I know what you mean by the southwest thing but to me it was more tropical. I had banana trees full of bananas right close to my room! That's not very southwestern. The grounds were just gorgeous and very tropical, a lot like CBR. But yeah, the rooms definitely have that southwestern feel and design on the inside whereas CBR has the palms/beachy stuff. I also liked how they had the hammocks EVERYWHERE! Those are nice to lay on and relax! I actually found my receipt tonight from that trip! We stayed at CBR in 2003 and the room was $79 a night! I was like WOW! That was really cheap! I still think you'd flip over the pool and playground area over at CSR!
That said, I have now tasted life at the Yacht Club, and me thinks it will be hard to go back to the mods now (as much as I love CBR!)

Oh now that is a sweet pool too! Bad thing is....my kids wanted to spend all their time swimming!

 

[OurDogCisco]

Wow... what a cliff hanger for a trip report. I love it!!! I would have died if I loss my camera. I don't know how you kept it together. So, I'm glad it had a happy ending.

I'm so paranoid about losing my camera that I don't let dh hold it. LOL... We usually put in our roll on bag or put in our camera backpack. Yep, I have a special backpack for it and I only use it in airports. I'm a scrapper and losing photo memories would be horrible. So, I loved your trip report and I'm glad you got a second chance of going to WDW to retake those pictures.

 

[IDreamfDisney]

Hi - I searched eBay for outfits like your daughter's but, no luck. Could you please PM me the seller's eBay id? Thanks! Loved your trip report. I live in CA and have APs to Disneyland - wish they had a BBB there!

 

[cdotla]

Thanks for reading! I have always had a dedicated camera bag too...however, I think I am just prone to absent-mindedness! How else could you explain how someone could lose their replacement camera during a photo do-over trip! Leave it to me - LOL!

Wow... what a cliff hanger for a trip report. I love it!!! I would have died if I loss my camera. I don't know how you kept it together. So, I'm glad it had a happy ending.

I'm so paranoid about losing my camera that I don't let dh hold it. LOL... We usually put in our roll on bag or put in our camera backpack. Yep, I have a special backpack for it and I only use it in airports. I'm a scrapper and losing photo memories would be horrible. So, I loved your trip report and I'm glad you got a second chance of going to WDW to retake those pictures.

I have PM'd you!

Hi - I searched eBay for outfits like your daughter's but, no luck. Could you please PM me the seller's eBay id? Thanks! Loved your trip report. I live in CA and have APs to Disneyland - wish they had a BBB there!

 

[LITTLEKID58]

TFS

 

[gmcclellan]

I stumbled across your TR and just had to let you know that I enjoyed it immensely! My husband and I took our daughter to WDW last September too, and she had just turned 4 years old in August. My pictures actually look so much like yours! We did the BBB, we did the Halloween Party (and we ALL dressed up too! DD was Tinkerbell, DH was Captain Hook and I was Smee!) We all had so much fun that we didn't want to come home and have already scheduled our next trip for the first week of December. 4-6 years old are just the most magical ages. Your TR was so well written. You have a talent! I have spent as many days as it took you to write it reading it! I had to read it all! And I am SO glad you got your camera back. I would have just about DIED. I am such a photo junkie! If I lost ANY of my precious photographic memories I'd cry and cry and then cry some more. So I really felt your pain. Thank you for sharing your trip. I was so fun to read!

 

[Towers5]

DAY 2 (CON'T): ROPE DROP AT MAGIC KINGDOM

To have already experienced a Magical Breakfast inside the Castle when the rope drop occurred was great!

Rope Drop is always exciting. I always marvel at how a little DIsney Magic can do wonders - even though I am not generally a morning person I am always raring to go in the mornings at WDW. It completely changes my outlook on this time of day!

So there we were, standing at the Castle Walkway Rope Drop, literally well ahead of the masses at the Magic Kingdom main Rope Drop.

Now Ariel's Grotto was our First Priority of the Day. We had missed this entirely on our May Trip due to the long waits and of course Ariel just happened to be DD's Favourite Princess.

That said, the Grotto didn't open until 10am. Therefore we had almost an hour after Park Opening to do some other things.

I had been debating for awhile what our first Priority would be at Rope Drop. It was coming down to Dumbo (quite honestly, not the most amazing ride, just the longest line up!), or to go to Tink's Treasures to wake up Tinkerbell.

We had never tried to wake up Tinkerbell before and after hearing on the Disboards how much of a challenge it was becoming to be the first person into the Shop each morning for the privilege to do so, I found myself caught up in the hype and decided that this would be our first destination.

As I didn't want to disappoint DD if we did not make it in time I chose not to tell her what was awaiting us.

Finally, the CM we were standing beside dropped the rope and the 8 or so other families we were standing beside took off for their destinations and we took off for ours. No one, including us, was even walking fast let alone running. What a difference to the main Rope Drop which can be almost a stampede at times!

We kind of causally sauntered over to Tink's Treasures. To be honest, it isn't identified on the Park Map and I had not scouted it out the day before to know exactly where it was located. However, I found it easily enough and walked in with DD.

When we arrived, we were the first ones inside. There were about 2 or 3 CMs inside who greeted us. No one offered to allow DD the chance to wake Tink so I told DD she should ask. Just as she was starting to open her mouth, another family burst in the door who had obviously been racing at a flat out pace from the main Rope Drop. The mother quickly looked at us standing at the front cash and let out a deep groan.

Before I could volunteer to allow this family the chance to wake Tink with us, the CM asked if everyone (meaning all of the children - by this point about 4 of them) wanted to wake Tink. Of course, they all did.

The CMs then handed all the children the special wands and they all took turns tapping the box to "wake" Tink.

After every child had their chance to tap the box, the CMs turned on the magical pixie dust lighting in the store, which was supposed to represent Tink flying around the store.

The whole experience was pretty brief and to be honest, a bit anti-climatic. The specialness of this experience was somewhat lost on both me and DD. The longest part was waiting for the CM's to prepare the certificate given to each child indicating that they had woken up Tink on September 29, 2007.

By the time we got out of there it was probably 9:10 - 9:15am and by this point the line up for Dumbo was already at least 20-25 families deep.

While I guess I would always have wondered what we were missing if we had not experienced Waking Up Tink ourselves, I can guarantee that unless I had an Annual Pass and made many trips to the MK, I would not waste my time again at Park Opening on this event.

Of course I had at least a 15 - 20 minute wait in line at Dumbo to kick myself for not making a beeline to this ride instead of taking the Tink detour. I figure we could have ridden Dumbo twice before we even got to the head of the line if we had come here first.

After riding Dumbo it was about 9:35 am and we made our way over to the Washrooms by Ariel's Grotto. DD had a special outfit which she wanted to wear to meet Ariel so we did a quick outfit change and then went to get in line. Surprisingly, even 20 minutes before Ariel's Grotto was even scheduled to open, there were already about 10 children in line!

As it was still early and not too hot, the wait in the line up outside for Ariel was not too bad. And of course, DD was more excited for this than anything else that we had done at WDW.

Finally, it was our turn to meet Ariel. This Ariel was simply made for the part. In addition to looking just like Ariel, she had such a kind, pleasant demeanour and took such interest in all of the children.

Of course Ariel noticed DD's outfit and complimented her on it right away. She also spent a considerable amount of time with not only DD but each and every child. Obviously that is what makes the line up so long, but also makes for such a pleasant experience when you get to the front of the line.

Ariel had a nice chat with DD and showed her how she uses her "fork" to brush her hair:

Then we said our goodbyes and were off. DD was positively beaming! She was soooo happy!!!

Up Next: Our Full Day of Fun and Adventure Continues at the Magic Kingdom

Either this Ariel has a twin, or your Ariel from Norway are the same girl! How neat is that?

 

[cdotla]

I stumbled across your TR and just had to let you know that I enjoyed it immensely! My husband and I took our daughter to WDW last September too, and she had just turned 4 years old in August. My pictures actually look so much like yours! We did the BBB, we did the Halloween Party (and we ALL dressed up too! DD was Tinkerbell, DH was Captain Hook and I was Smee!) We all had so much fun that we didn't want to come home and have already scheduled our next trip for the first week of December. 4-6 years old are just the most magical ages. Your TR was so well written. You have a talent! I have spent as many days as it took you to write it reading it! I had to read it all! And I am SO glad you got your camera back. I would have just about DIED. I am such a photo junkie! If I lost ANY of my precious photographic memories I'd cry and cry and then cry some more. So I really felt your pain. Thank you for sharing your trip. I was so fun to read!

Thanks so much!!! I had almost as much fun writing the TR! It is really a great way to re-live the experience and create a record of your memories.

Either this Ariel has a twin, or your Ariel from Norway are the same girl! How neat is that?

Wow - I never picked up on before. I think you are right! How ironic...we had a completely different experience with her at the two locations.