Day 6
This was our last full day in WDW and we wanted to make it really special. We (by we, I mean everyone else but me) are huge Halloween fans. At 2.5 years old Kaitlin announced she was going to be Dorothy for Halloween and she never wavered. In January, she announced that she was going to be Snow White for THIS Halloween. (She was.) Once we realized the
MNSSHP would be on during our trip we booked it immediately. We thought it would be very memorable to trick or treat in Magic Kingdom. We chose the last night of our trip as we felt that would be a great way to end the magic.
While planning, we had decided against the BBB. At 4 we felt she just would not appreciate it for the amount of money it cost. However, once we had decided to do the party we HAD to do the BBB since she wanted to be a princess anyway. What a great memory to end the first visit with.
It was a lot for a last day when it had been a busy tiring trip. We made a conscious decision to be low key in order to get through the party. The great thing about Kaitlin (in this instance anyway) is that she is a night owl. Hates mornings (like her mom) but once 7pm hits, she can keep going until midnight no problem. I wasnt so worried.
The plan was to sleep in, have a swim, and be at DTD by noon to have lunch at T-Rex. The BBB appointment was for 1:20.
We slept in too long so the swim was out. We got to the bus stop at Old Port Royale and realized that we had forgotten the key card with signing authority and the credit card and the Snow White costume. (I wanted to bring it just in case Kaitlin decided thats what she wanted to wear even though she was able to choose any outfit.) So we ran back to the hotel to grab the stuff and then ran to the bus stop closest to our room. As we got there, our bus was pulling away. We sat for about 20 minutes before the next bus came. We got up, folded the stroller and started toward the bus but it pulled away. Another couple just stared at us in disbelief as they didnt even have time to get on the bus before it left either. We called the transit station with the phone in the bus stop and they were very surprised a bus would disappear that quick and had no explanation. The next bus would be there at 1210 and she would call the restaurant to hold our reservation for us. (The next bus was still 15 minutes away.) By the time we got to T-Rex it was 1230 and there was a huge line up to get in. They all had reservations so its not like we could skip the line. There was no way we would be able to eat at T-Rex and make the appointment. It was one or the other.
Kaitlin did not know what she was missing so that part was ok. (Only mommy and daddy were greatly disappointed.) They girls were going to have another day to themselves but ended up on the same bus as us so we all decided to eat together. We had a family huddle and decided to try Earl of Sandwich. I had read so many great things on the dis we decided to brave the line there. I took a mommy time out as I really needed to get myself re-centered so as not to have the rest of my day affected. Roll with the punches, make lemonade and be flexible
. And all that stuff.
We actually got a table so we thought things might be turning around. I was still too rattled to each much. The consensus was that it was ok. Certainly wasnt what everyone was raving about. To be fair, none of us are huge sandwich people though.
I took Kaitlin to her appointment and just ahead of us was this stereotypical Italian family with 4 kids in front of us and they wanted all 4 to go at the same time. They were already at the check in stage so I missed the first part of their conversation. I am not sure if they had reservations or not. However, it did take them 20 minutes to get it all sorted out. By the time we were able to check in it was now 1:45. And because there were 4 of them just ahead of us, we waited another 20 minutes until our name was even called.
While we waited to check in though, I asked Kaitlin what she wanted to wear. Cinderella! That came from nowhere. I insisted that she look at every dress before she made her final decision. Aurora. It was in the 80s so I tried REALLY hard for Tiana or even back to Cinderella as I thought they wouldnt be so hot. Have I mentioned how stubborn my child is? There was absolutely no changing her mind. I kept adding up the cost in my head, sick because I knew there was now no way she was going to keep this dress on for very long in that heat. Oh, and of course we needed the matching shoes, gloves and purse. (She has not looked at any of it since.)
Once we got in it was very fun to watch this Italian family. I was over the frustration and in such awe at watching the proud dad gush over his 3 girls and 1 little pirate boy. (Oh my god he was soooo cute.) They all got the works. Anything for his princesses. They all had the New York area accents ( I love all of the American accents so when someone has a really strong one I notice.) But of course once we went up to settle our bill, they were just ahead of us and we waited another 15 minutes for them to settle up. They were sure fun to watch though and all the talk of the shop was about the $1,000+ bill they dropped for all 4 of the kids. (without blinking) I was having difficulty shelling out $200!!!!
Kaitlin on the other had was not herself and very tired. (We realized much later she was at the start of being sick) She did everything she was told, but there were no smiles and absolutely no enthusiasm. The Fairy God Mother in training asked her what hair she wanted and she kept picking the funky one with extensions (I really wanted the bun but what can ya do?) Then we realized she kept pointing to the Aurora costume. Once we got her to look at the hair styles and not the dress it was the bun she wanted. Yay!
The reveal barely elicited a smile. We were all disappointed but by this time we realized just how tired she was and how hard she had pushed through all week. This was going to be a tough day.
We went to the photo shoot and I have to say, looking back it really was very funny. Again, she went through all the motions but with no enthusiasm. The pictures look so pathetic and on top of that with her bangs all pulled back, she really doesnt look like our kid. I can smile at them now knowing what we went through. At the time we were so disappointed because she really did not enjoy the experience. This was something she was looking forward to all week. Grandma paid for it. Because we wanted Grandma to get some credit but also wanted her to know how special it was and not every little girl gets picked by the Fairy Godmother to have this experience, we told her Grandma called the Fairy Godmother to make special arrangements for Kaitlin. It was just such a waste of money. We should have done the Tuesday party when she wasnt so tired. (she says she wants to do it again next time so well see.)