Nana&Bop's Whirlwind Trip - Day 3

[dcsetman]

Cast Members
Penni ( me ) a.k.a. Nana ( compulsive planner )
DH (Dennis) a.k.a. Bop (loves playing with dgd)
DD (Kristi) our daughter and mom of our 3 dgd
DSIL(Seth) our son-in law and dad of our 3 dgd
DGD (Kelsi) age 5 – Our adventuresome one –rides anything
DGD (Lauryn) age 3- loves Princesses (Cinderella) & the Castle
DGD (Kayna) age 8 months – learning to love Disney already

Sunday, November 21 – MK and Breakfast with Cindy

Ok – I must set the stage here so you will understand the middle DGD and her temperament. She just turned 3 in October and she loves Cinderella, but has always been terrified of any characters in person ( Chucky Cheese, 6 Flags characters, Santa Claus, etc). She would literally shake and scream at Chucky Cheese when he would come near. Now, she’s not shy and not really scared of anything else – but THIS little problem had us a bit worried. That said, I knew she loved Cinderella and the oldest DGD loves all Characters, especially Sleeping Beauty. So 3 months ago, DH and I got up early and speed dialed in and got the coveted CRT reservations. 8:50 a.m. on Sunday Morning.

I got up early and got everything ready for the park, Duct Taped my blister prone feet (and it worked!! Thank you Dis’ers…) and woke everyone else up. While they were getting ready I walked to the resort gift shop and bought 2 autograph books and 2 FAT pens with Mickey heads. I had a Mickey Wake Up call set for 7:10 a.m. to ensure that the girls were up and would get the call. Kelsi answered it and was thrilled. We got to the bus stop and only had about a 5 minute wait. The girls were dressed in their Princess dresses, - Kelsi as Ariel (her favorite) and Lauryn as Cinderella (of course).

We arrived at the park before the official opening at 8:00 – which I hadn’t planned, but was thrilled to get to experience the Count Down – it was so exciting, and of course I felt my eyes getting wet. I was so happy to be there with my family. It was too crowded to stand in line for strollers and we had our own for the littlest DGD so we would get the other 2 after breakfast. We walked slowly down main street, stopping to take a few video’s and pictures. All of a sudden, Lauryn, looked up and saw the Castle right in front of her and just stopped dead still and pointed. “ Mommy, it’s the castle “ – she started just jumping up a

nd down, “ It’s the castle, look Mommy the castle - I’m gonna eat there!! “
Ok – she was precious and that brought more tears to Nana’s eyes… sorry – can’t help it.

We had time for a ride on the Carousel before Breakfast – oh, let me say, she has also always been afraid of most rides – even the little merry go rounds at Chucky Cheese and in the mall play areas, so we prayed for the best and just said, “ Let ‘s go ride Cinderella’s Carousel. “ - She hopped on with her mommy and smiled the whole time. Good, - this is going to be alright. She loves it.

We walked into the Castle and checked in. They met Fairy Godmother in the Lobby and she signed their autograph book and had their picture made with her. As we got off the elevator in the dining room, Cinderella past right by her and smiled and patted her on the shoulder and said, “ Good morning, Princess! “ her face lit up and she was so excited. We saw Cinderella, Snow White, Mary Poppins, Belle, and Sleeping Beauty – got all of their autographs and pictures. Belle spent a lot of time with the children but none of them really rushed away. I was very pleased and thought it was worth all the $ and the time.

After breakfast it was really crowded, DSIL and myself went to Tomorrowland to rent 2 strollers while everyone else stood in a really long line for Ariel’s Grotto… This is Kelsi’s favorite princess and before we changed their clothes we wanted to get their picture together. Seth and I got back with the strollers in time to stand in line and meet Ariel with the rest of our family. It was so pretty in there and the pictures turned out great. Kelsi had just been diagnosed with Mono so her eyes were still a little weak looking but she was feeling really good and smiled pretty. My niece and her husband and 2 children that live in Orlando met us after this and spent the rest of the day with us. We fast passed Winnie the Pooh, Splash Mountain, and a few other rides. Kelsi was banned from riding any roller coasters by the doctor this trip even though she was tall enough and had ridden them last year – but she did ride Splash and it became her favorite ride of all. She did fine and loved it! ( rode Aladdin’s Magic Carpet, Jungle Cruise, Peter Pan )

We ate lunch at The Harbor House in Liberty Square and used Q&C vouchers – good deal! We ate dinner at Liberty Tavern and the food and character interaction was OUTSTANDING!! I’ll write a full meals review in the Dining section later.

We saw Woody and Jessie after dinner and my great niece (age 2) loved meeting them. We rode Buzz Lightyear and then back to Fantasy Land for a few more rides. Hadn’t really planned to stay for Wishes as we needed to get Kelsi back fairly early to rest, but we made a stop at the Emporium for some last minute shopping and as we were exiting , Wishes began. More pixie dust for our day – yeah!! It turned out to be a great place to watch from. We could see everything. It is so beautiful when you can hear the narration and the music with it… hard to describe.

Wow – what a day – we turned in strollers and walked the long walk to the bus stop and headed back to AllStar Movies.

 

[pumba]

thanks so much for your wonderful report......It is something else to bring the grandkids and I know how you feel. It is a feeling that is hard to describe but you did it beautifully.......thanks again