"Princess Castle. Where's Princess Castle?!" A Princess' review with Pics!

[AliceInDisboardland!]

Another great update!

A couple Qs:

1. Sarah can ride test track, but is too worried about motion sickness to ride Soarin? I thought Soarin was supposed to be tamer than test track. I've never been on either - but I'm quite sensitive to motion. I wonder if I'll be able to ride anything.

2. How long of a walk was it from your room to TTC? How long to GCH?

Your sister is mighty crafty. I loved the princess mail box and the scarves. Very clever!

Can't wait for the next installment.

Hello! I'm the whimp that won't ride Soarin' - and I'd like to set the record straight! First of all, thank you for the compliments about the scarves My issue with Soarin' is this - and I have explained it to Kelly many a time, but she still insists on making fun of me! I only have motion sickness issues on virtual reality type rides - aka the ones where you are sitting somewhat still and the screen is moving in front of you - so that you feel like you are moving but you aren't. I don't know why, but it just messes with my head and I end up having to close my eyes for the whole thing - so why even go on it? Let me tell you, I learned the hard way on the Back to the Future Ride in Universal Studios a few years back (remember that Kelly?) Came out of that ride white as a ghost Heck, I even feel sick on Mickey's Philharmagic during the Alladin carpet ride part! I don't however get sick on rollarcoasters - and test track isn't all that scary, just fast at the end - no prob! Phew, I'm glad I got that off my chest.

All of the above may be true - but the real reason I don't ride Soarin' is because it is the one ride that mom actually likes to ride so I like to volunteer to stay behind so I can have Nora all to myself hehe...sneaky I know...

 

[tracirae1105]

subbing!

 

[ethansmommy]

That is great that everyone got to ride up front in the monorail....I hope to do this in January. Im with your sister on the motion sickness on certain rides, it does seem to be just the rides that you stay stationary and the screen moves that make me sick to because everything else I can ride just fine. That was cute when your daughter asked where the princess castle was...I think maybe she is a Magic Kingdom fan. Oh yeah and the princess mail and scarves are very cute and crafty, high five to your sister. I wish I could do cute girly princess things but god blessed me with a son instead so I will have to find other things to do. By the way your trip report is great so far!

 

[Villainess]

Oh this is such a fun trip so far - and the scarves are great! Nora is adorable and sounds just like my DD, 2 yrs as well - her fave is 'Rora' (Aurora)

 

[tr-ray]

Oh my goodness, I love the scarves!!

I wish I had a sewing machine!

Great TR, btw. And I've also been reading your companion food reports!

 

[kkayluvsdis]

Loving your report so far and I love the separate dining report. All that yummy food it making me very hungry. The Poly pics are great, we are staying there in May so they are getting me really excited. And I like all the DDP info, how many credits you used, pictures of menus, its very helpful (were on the DDP for the first time too). Cant wait for the next update.

I'm so glad you're enjoying the report. I didn't realize what a time commitment this was going to be. I think I'll probably be up late tonight finishing part two of day two! It's hard because we all fit so much into those disney days! The DDP was great--a lot of food, though--get ready to eat!

Another great update!

A couple Qs:

1. Sarah can ride test track, but is too worried about motion sickness to ride Soarin? I thought Soarin was supposed to be tamer than test track. I've never been on either - but I'm quite sensitive to motion. I wonder if I'll be able to ride anything.

2. How long of a walk was it from your room to TTC? How long to GCH?

Your sister is mighty crafty. I loved the princess mail box and the scarves. Very clever!

Can't wait for the next installment.

So happy you're enjoying the report. I assume Sarah's response answered question #1. She's such a stinker! As for #2--I'm not sure exactly, but it wasn't more than a couple minutes walk to either the GCH or the TTC. We were on the third floor, so that added a little bit of time, especially when we all were coming or going because we had to take the elevator. You should check out Tikiman's website. It is all about the POLY and it has exact times to and from certain longhouses and other locations. I think according to that it is only 4 minutes from Tokelau to the Volcano pool, which is further than the GCH. Also, he has some great maps on his site!

subbing!

YAY! thanks!

That is great that everyone got to ride up front in the monorail....I hope to do this in January. Im with your sister on the motion sickness on certain rides, it does seem to be just the rides that you stay stationary and the screen moves that make me sick to because everything else I can ride just fine. That was cute when your daughter asked where the princess castle was...I think maybe she is a Magic Kingdom fan. Oh yeah and the princess mail and scarves are very cute and crafty, high five to your sister. I wish I could do cute girly princess things but god blessed me with a son instead so I will have to find other things to do. By the way your trip report is great so far!

Yea, I think deep down Sarah would love to try Soarin' but it is definitely NOT worth it if you end up sick afterwards! It is such an amazing ride, though Nora definitely was a MK fan. If it was up to her we would have only gone there--(and stared at the castle all day! ) Sarah is very creative and crafty. Nor is lucky to have such a nice Aunnie. I don't know first hand, but I'm sure a son in disney is just as magical as a daughter! Maybe you'll be blessed with a granddaughter some day!

Oh this is such a fun trip so far - and the scarves are great! Nora is adorable and sounds just like my DD, 2 yrs as well - her fave is 'Rora' (Aurora)

'Rora'--that is so cute! You must be a busy lady with 2 young ones! They are so fun, though, aren't they?! I hope you keep enjoying the trip report. I hope to write some more tonight after bedtime!

Oh my goodness, I love the scarves!!

I wish I had a sewing machine!

Great TR, btw. And I've also been reading your companion food reports!

The scarves worked out perfectly--and were so soft. Being in cold upstate NY Nora and I will definitely get more use out of ours! Thanks for reading our trip reports. Hopefully our experiences will benefit some of you all-I know we have learned so so much from the DISboards!

 

[BellaSoleil]

I'm so sorry that you didn't have luck with a PTR. It can be a tough crowd on the PTR thread.

I subscribed to this report and the dining report.

I'm almost in tears reading about Nora, because my DD is a bit younger and we haven't taken her yet. (I may use this as a way to coax DH into another trip!) Anyhow, she reminds me so much of my Belle with the Disney obsession and the 'pat-pat-patting'. So adorable!

I hope you had a wonderful trip and I can't wait to read all about it!

 

[Disneyvirg]

Hello! I'm the whimp that won't ride Soarin' - and I'd like to set the record straight! First of all, thank you for the compliments about the scarves My issue with Soarin' is this - and I have explained it to Kelly many a time, but she still insists on making fun of me! I only have motion sickness issues on virtual reality type rides - aka the ones where you are sitting somewhat still and the screen is moving in front of you - so that you feel like you are moving but you aren't. I don't know why, but it just messes with my head and I end up having to close my eyes for the whole thing - so why even go on it? Let me tell you, I learned the hard way on the Back to the Future Ride in Universal Studios a few years back (remember that Kelly?) Came out of that ride white as a ghost Heck, I even feel sick on Mickey's Philharmagic during the Alladin carpet ride part! I don't however get sick on rollarcoasters - and test track isn't all that scary, just fast at the end - no prob! Phew, I'm glad I got that off my chest.

All of the above may be true - but the real reason I don't ride Soarin' is because it is the one ride that mom actually likes to ride so I like to volunteer to stay behind so I can have Nora all to myself hehe...sneaky I know...

Unfortunately it doesn't take much to get me motion sick as I age - so I'll probably have problems with most rides. (That's part of the reason I want to take my girls while they're young - they won't want to go on as many stomach flip-flop rides - other than the tea cups of course.) I can't handle IMAX theaters or that type of thing either. Heck - when I was younger I got sick watching Benji the Hunted in the first row of the theater.

You are mighty sneaky, Sarah - I love the pictures of you with Nora - you can just tell she adores her Aunnie.

So happy you're enjoying the report. I assume Sarah's response answered question #1. She's such a stinker! As for #2--I'm not sure exactly, but it wasn't more than a couple minutes walk to either the GCH or the TTC. We were on the third floor, so that added a little bit of time, especially when we all were coming or going because we had to take the elevator. You should check out Tikiman's website. It is all about the POLY and it has exact times to and from certain longhouses and other locations. I think according to that it is only 4 minutes from Tokelau to the Volcano pool, which is further than the GCH. Also, he has some great maps on his site!

Yes, Sarah's response took care of the first part.

I need to spend some more time on Tikiman's site. I haven't run across the time charts yet. I'll check that out in the next five months or so.

Thanks again for keeping up your report. I'm loving it. Oops - I just sounded like a Mickey D's commercial!

 

[kkayluvsdis]

Unfortunately it doesn't take much to get me motion sick as I age - so I'll probably have problems with most rides. (That's part of the reason I want to take my girls while they're young - they won't want to go on as many stomach flip-flop rides - other than the tea cups of course.) I can't handle IMAX theaters or that type of thing either. Heck - when I was younger I got sick watching Benji the Hunted in the first row of the theater.

You are mighty sneaky, Sarah - I love the pictures of you with Nora - you can just tell she adores her Aunnie.



Yes, Sarah's response took care of the first part.

I need to spend some more time on Tikiman's site. I haven't run across the time charts yet. I'll check that out in the next five months or so.

Thanks again for keeping up your report. I'm loving it. Oops - I just sounded like a Mickey D's commercial!

I'm so LOL now singing that McD's commercial in my head! Oh, and 5 months is no time at all! Get Busy!! hehe I'll be posting tomorrow..waiting for Sarah to upload some pics to photobucket. What a slacker!!

 

[kkayluvsdis]

I'm so sorry that you didn't have luck with a PTR. It can be a tough crowd on the PTR thread.

I subscribed to this report and the dining report.

I'm almost in tears reading about Nora, because my DD is a bit younger and we haven't taken her yet. (I may use this as a way to coax DH into another trip!) Anyhow, she reminds me so much of my Belle with the Disney obsession and the 'pat-pat-patting'. So adorable!

I hope you had a wonderful trip and I can't wait to read all about it!

Awww..what a cutie your daughter is! She is definitely going to love Disney! Isn't it amazing how they just keep getting more and more fun?! I'm glad that you are enjoying my report. I am realizing too late that I just don't know how to not be long-winded--even with typing! I'll definitely be posting more tomorrow!

 

[akayek31]

Enjoying your report so far. I remember when my kids were that age

 

[kkayluvsdis]

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party was probably the most anticipated event of our trip. As first timers to the party we did lots of research (aka DISboards) and planning to try to maximize all our precious time. And as the pyschotic planners we are, we of course had an itinerary. This was our tentative plan:

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

4:00PM: MVMCP (Pick up tickets at guest services)

5:00PM: Arrive at the MK for MVMCP
-Do some rides in Fantasyland/Tomorrowland until time for first show ?

6:15PM: Get seats for Mickey's 'Twas the Night Before Christmas Show (at the Galaxy Theater in Tomorrowland-to the left of Buzz Lightyear ride)
(show lasts 20 minutes)

7:45PM: Head up through Fantasyland to get pictures with characters

9:00PM: Walk from Fantasyland to Frontierland
Get cocoa and cookies and head back towards the front of the castle to get a spot to watch fireworks

9:30PM: Holiday Wishes

After fireworks, get good viewing spot for "Celebrate the Seasons" show on Castle Stage

10:05PM: "Celebrate the Seasons" show


10:30PM: From same spot (?) watch parade
----------------------------------------------
Could we really squeeze all of this into one night?! Let's see....

When I left you all we were awaiting the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. This was the first and only time that we took the monorail from the GCH as opposed to the TTC. As luck would have it, we again found ourselves at the front of the monorail line. We totally didn't expect to get to ride up front again, but we must have had some extra pixie dust on us that day because we were offerred it again-but this time there were only 2 spots. Mom and Sarah insisted that Nora and I ride up there--how could we say no?!

After a quick stop at the Grand Floridian to pick up more guests we were at the MK! There was a special entrance for MVMCP guests and upon going through the gate we were all given wristbands. We saw a lot of guests leaving, which we considered a good sign! Since this was our first visit to the Magic Kingdom on this trip we all had that "in awe" feeling when we got through the train station. Seeing "Princess Castle" in the not so far distance was a dream for Nora! On our "Keys to the Kingdom Tour" that Sarah and I did later on in the trip our tourguide explained to us that the purpose of the castle was to draw people in towards it (she had a term for this but of course I can't remember it now) Anyhow, it definitely always works for us! We headed straight for the castle and decided we needed a photopass pic. We had issues with this, as they were just switching over to different equipment because it was starting to get dark. So after waiting a while at various different photographers when we were finally in place and ready there was another family that was like right behind us taking pictures of themselves--ahh! Finally the disney photopass guy had to ask them to move because at that point they were right up against us and affecting our photo! You can totally make them out in our photopass pics at that site--oh, well! hehe...moving on....We knew that we wanted to see the first Mickey's Twas the Night Before Christmas show so we decided to head on over to the Galaxy theater. None of us had ever noticed the theater before, but we didn't have a hard time finding it. When we got over there they weren't letting people in yet. The wait for Buzz Lightyear was only 10 minutes, so we decided to ride. I think we had only ever been on Buzz once before. It was much more fun than I remembered--especially since I beat Sarah by a ton!! haha! Nora enjoyed all the bright colors and moving scenes. She and Grammie steered the vehicle. After Buzz the theater was open so we went in to get seats. We hadn't eaten dinner yet, so Sarah and I decided we run up to Cosmic Rays and bring dinner back while Mom and Nora saved our seats. When we left the theater was empty and by the time we got back it was quite full! Nora and Mom succeeded in saving us just enough space, however, and I'm pretty sure we made people really jealous with our trays of Cosmic Rays food! It worked out perfectly. We all ate (even Nora!) and when we were done the show was just about to start.

The show was very cute and enjoyable. I got some great video of it that Nora loves to watch. Nora was very happy to see this guy:

She had been asking, "where's Goofy??" the entire show, so it was such a relief to her (and us) that he ended up being the star! We took our time after the show to let the crowd clear out. Nora wanted to check out the instruments up close (there was a band that played during the show). There was quite a line of people waiting to come in for the 8:00 show when we left. Next thing on the agenda?-- Head up through Fantasyland to get pictures with characters. This definitely worked out as the first thing we saw was:

Of course Alice had been there too, but was replaced with the Mad Hatter before we had a chance to meet her Nora was a little upset, but was easily distracted by the attraction just steps away-->The Mad Hatter's Tea Party! "Ride Tea Cups, Ride Tea cups!" Umm...okay, so Sarah may have some motion sickness issues, but Mommy too, can NOT do the tea cups! Thankfully she wanted to ride with "Frammie"--not sure why, but my daughter refuses to call my mother Grammie--started out as Mammie and now is Frammie--my mom tries so hard..."say Ga, Ga, Ga, Grammie"-Nora responds, "Ga, Ga, Ga, Frammie" haha. Anyway, so Mom and Nor rode the tea cups--Nora loved it and it is one of the first things she says when you ask her what she did in Florida (after "see Princess Castle) -"I ride tea cups. Go round and round" While they were riding Sarah and I waited in line to see Scrooge. By the time it was our turn, Nor was done with the teacups and we got some cute pics and a an autograph signed by "$crooge"!! hehe

After our photo-op Nora spotted Dumbo which she rode with Aunnie and then we all rode on Cinderella's Carousel. We tried to find Cinderella's horse, but failed We should have taken more time. We even asked the CM running it, but she didn't seem to know?! How can that be?! Anyhow, close by there was a rowdy party going on---a dance party with Lady Tremaine, Anastasia and Drizella! or "Mean Sisters" as Nora calls them. We definitely had to check that out! It ended up being probably the most enjoyable thing of the night. Nora loved it! It was so cute seeing all the little princesses dancing and the stepsisters' interaction was really funny. Sarah and I joined in and did the "YMCA" and she got some video that she'll probably be able to blackmail me with for the rest of our lives! haha!

While we were dancing, mom went into Pinocchio's and got us some hot cocoa and cookies, and some applejuice and apple slices for Nora-a great option for the kids! Not that she didn't nibble on a cookie too! Another thing that was on our list of to-dos for the night was to go to ToonTown and see Mickey, Minnie and Cinderella. Well, the lines for Mickey and Minnie were really really long and since Nora got sidetracked for a good 20 minutes at the little playground across from Mickey's house, we opted to just get in the Princess line (it was at a 15 minute wait). Although she had already met most of the princesses at our lunch earlier, Cinderella is just such a big deal to her, that we really wanted to take the time to meet her-plus we knew the princes would be there! After the short wait we met: Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip:

and Nora's dream come true.....Princess "Rella" and Prince Charming. Of course, the little stinker was so excited until we got up to them and then she was silent and shy! Oh well, as soon as we left it's all she talked about!

Another simple pleasure of the night--Nora playing with the hats in the store that you exit into when you leave the princesses.

When we made it back outside, the fireworks were just starting. We stopped and watched them. "Loud, Loud" Nora kept saying! We couldn't believe that it was already fireworks time! Where was the evening going?! Our plan was to do any other rides that Nora wanted in Fantasyland and then head over to Frontierland to get a spot for the second parade. For some reason, she had no interest in "Winnie the Pooh" or "Peter Pan"--looking back, I wish we had just taken her on, because there was absolutely no wait and when we finally got back to MK later in the week the lines were outrageous! The real dissapointment was that "It's a Small World" was closed down due to a technical problem! Boo! That would be a MUST do for later in the week because Nora had been practicing the song for months and I knew she'd love it! So, off to Frontierland we went. We actually didn't even make it over to see what the wait times for Splash Mt or BTMRR were, but I assume, like all the others, that they were minimal. Instead, we chose to take some time to relax at the Diamond Horseshoe for round two of cookies and cocoa. There was a CM playing Christmas music on the piano and the atmosphere was great!

Before we knew it the time had come to go grab seats for the parade. We had read that it was a lot less busy in Frontierland, so that's why we opted to watch the parade there. We found a bench right on the curb and the spot was perfect. The parade was great! We all really enjoyed it, eventhough we were getting very tired by this point!

Nora's favorite part....

I didn't get a lot of good photos during the parade. I couldn't get my camera to work well with the lighting The parade was great, though, I would highly recommend it! Afterward we were pretty much out of steam! Eventhough Sarah and I probably could have stayed and walked on any rides we wanted we were ready for some sleep. We cut through Adventureland to get to the shops on Main street and walked/shopped all the way through to the other side. We stopped for just a few minutes to get some video of the snow on Main Street. Pretty neat! Oh, and took this photo:

I think the Castle should be decorated that way all year long-it is just SO pretty! By the time we made it back to the Poly we were ready for a midnight snack. We hit up Captain Cook's for some flatbread and took it back to the room. (Sarah will have all the details: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=29077262#post29077262) After a few cartoons and with full bellies we were off to sleep. Having such magical days certainly is tiring!

Up next......Relaxing (!?!?) by the Pool and Mom's encounter with the YETI!

 

[tr-ray]

Aw, I'm so jealous you got a pic with Scrooge McDuck!

I'm definitely waiting for all the character meets when we go in February.

 

[AliceinHalloweentown]

Awesome TR so far!
I'm pretty jealous you got to stay at the Poly
Your daughter is too cute for words!

 

[BellaSoleil]

Wow! What a fun night!

Did Nora have any problems staying awake for the party?

I know you are getting loads of comments about how cute Nora is (and rightfully so), but I just wanted to add how cute I think you and your sister are! I love the Vera Bradley bags!

 

[Sarilas]

'Rella is my littlest ones favorite, too! So funny how they clamp down when they finally get their big opportunity.

 

[ethansmommy]

Wow, it looks like you had a really great night. I never even realized that theater was there. Did you notice that scrooges tongue is a heart, that is cute! I have never gone to any of the "partys" in the magic kingdom but it looks like a lot of fun, maybe we will try and go to one next November. I love the pic you took of the castle, its sooooo pretty.

 

[kkayluvsdis]

Enjoying your report so far. I remember when my kids were that age

Glad you're enjoying my TR. I already see how fast the time is going--so scary! I bet taking teens to Disney might be a little like taking a 2 year old sometimes!

Aw, I'm so jealous you got a pic with Scrooge McDuck!

I'm definitely waiting for all the character meets when we go in February.

Yes, we were lucky and saw lots of characters. This was something new for us, as we never had really paid much attention to them until this trip. Hopefully Nora will begin to open up to them a bit more

Awesome TR so far!
I'm pretty jealous you got to stay at the Poly
Your daughter is too cute for words!

We were so lucky to stay at the Poly. Definitely a trip to remember! Thanks for the kind words about Nora. She is sitting on my lap now and is very impressed with the dancing banana--->

Wow! What a fun night!

Did Nora have any problems staying awake for the party?

I know you are getting loads of comments about how cute Nora is (and rightfully so), but I just wanted to add how cute I think you and your sister are! I love the Vera Bradley bags!

Nora was a bit warn out by the end of the night, but she is not the type of kid to sleep when there is anything fun she might miss. I could probably count on one hand the number of times she's slept in her stroller or the car for that matter! She's a really good girl, though. Wouldn't trade her in for the world!!

Sarah and I are real dorks as you can see! hehe. We have a great time together and are the best of friends. Oh, and Vera--we love "her" too! Each trip gives us an excuse for a new one!

'Rella is my littlest ones favorite, too! So funny how they clamp down when they finally get their big opportunity.

Oh, I know! No matter how excited she was prior, it just didn't happen when the moment came. It was still fun, though.

Wow, it looks like you had a really great night. I never even realized that theater was there. Did you notice that scrooges tongue is a heart, that is cute! I have never gone to any of the "partys" in the magic kingdom but it looks like a lot of fun, maybe we will try and go to one next November. I love the pic you took of the castle, its sooooo pretty.

Yea, we were really happy that we spent the extra money for the party. It was such a fun night! I didn't notice that about his tongue-I had to go back and look but you're right-cute! The lights on the castle were so so beautiful. Picture almost doesn't do it justice!

 

[kkayluvsdis]

Yikes! It is a winter wonderland here in NY! That gives me motivation to go "back" to the Poly!

After such a busy day we tried to work some relaxation into our schedule! As if it's really possible to "relax" in Walt Disney World. Here was our plan:

Friday, November 21st:

8:00AM: Wake up early and explore the resort, hang out at the beach or the pool.

*Breakfast at the hotel/by the pool - Captain cooks take out Tonga toast and Mickey waffles (2 CS)

12:00PM: Animal Kingdom *Snacks for lunch? (see AK cheat sheet) (2 CS, 2 snacks)

DON'T FORGET TO STOP AT AKL FOR ZEBRA DOMES!

6:05PM: Dinner at Kona Cafe

pooltime/fireworks on the beach? after dinner (can watch the "MVMCP" fireworks from the Beach 9:30PM)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And how the day actually ended up..............

I was able to hold off my mental alarm clock 'til about 8AM. We all appreciated the extra sleep. We had purposely left the morning pretty much open, so we were in no rush to head out anywhere. Sarah and Mom volunteered to go get breakfast from Captain Cook's while Nor and I watched cartoons (are you catching a trend here?! ). They came back with so much food-Mickey waffles and Tonga Toast-Oh my! Such a yummy breakfast. Check out Sarah's report for the details-http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=29077262#post29077262.
After breakfast Nora had more mail waiting for her.

Today it was from Princess Aurora. The letter said:
Dear Nora,
I heard you had a great time meeting all the other princesses yesterday! What fun!! I know you will have a wonderful time at Animal Kingdom today! Say "hi" to all the animals for me-you know they are all my friends!! Keep practicing your singing and dancing-Prince Phillip and I are glad you like our song!
Love, Aurora
p.s. Flora, Fauna, and Merriweather say "Hi"

Princess Aurora left Nora some princess hair bows. What a lucky girl. After our huge breakfast we decided we would brave the pool.

We had already accumulated some laundry and had considered having it sent out to be done but after seeing the prices they charged we quickly changed our minds. Mom volunteered to take care of it. What are Moms/Grammies for, right?! Luckily, the laundry room was right near our building and the quiet pool where we were swimming so mom threw the load in and then came to the pool to watch us swim. Again, it wasn't super warm outside but the pool water felt great! Just like the bathtub. Nora LOVED it! She was a little fishy! Oh, and thank Aunnie for the 80s side ponytail! haha!

After the pool it was time to dry off and hit the beach!

We all had a great time relaxing and playing in the sand with Nora. Her favorite thing was burying Aunnie's feet!

Of course no relaxation on the beach at the Poly would be complete without some time in the hammocks. Princess Castle! I see Princess Castle!

We decided that we would be brave and attempt to go to Animal Kingdom without letting Grammie and Nora nap. This would be our first test of the Poly buses, as well. Sarah and I had gone back and forth for months as to whether or not we should even go to AK on this trip. Sarah argued that since we were staying at the Poly that we should just do Epcot and MK. I was more hesitant of that because I thought that Nora would especially enjoy AK this trip-every 2 year old loves animals, right?! So, I got my way and we ended up planning this one afternoon at AK, unfortunately it didn't turn out quite as I expected it would.





So, we didn't wait too long for an AK bus, but did see 2 HS buses before the AK bus came. I believe we also had to drop/pick people up from Blizzard Beach (which was pretty much deserted on that day b/c it was chilly). Nora was excited to ride on the bus. Haha...she got to experience so many different forms of transportation on this trip! There weren't a lot of people arriving when we got to AK. I think it must have been around 1:00PM when we got there and the park was only scheduled to be open 'til 5PM. In fact as we entered we saw a sign stating that the last safari of Kilimanjaro safaris would depart at 4:45PM. This was the #1 priority on our list, so we made a mental note of this. We stopped on our way in to say hi to Brer Bear. This was funny--Nora was carrying her stuffed Winnie the Pooh when we went over to see Brer Bear and he noticed Pooh. He stopped everything and went somewhere--we didn't know what the heck he was doing and neither did the CM who was assisting him. He went over got a park map and a sharpie and drew a line showing us where to go to meet Winnie the Pooh! So cute and nice! After all that there was quite an impatient line waiting behind us. We took a few quick pics and were on our way.

We had never seen the Oasis so empty. We took advantage and explored the little paths and caves. We saw a lot of beautiful birds. Oh, and I must mention that Sarah had gotten Nora the cutest outfit from Janie&Jack--you can't really appreciate it in the pictures, but is a giraffe print tank with khaki crop pants/capris--so cute...anyway...I'm getting off track! Ahh, now i'm on the Janie and Jack website looking at clothes..hehe...back to AK...

Nora refused to ride in her stroller this day, so the majority of the time she spent on Grammie's shoulders. (I swear we just had that stroller for helping cart stuff around--she barely rode in it at all). So, eventhough we were on our way to "Africa" to get fastpasses for the safari, we couldn't resist stopping for a quick snack. Not to step on Sarah's toes, but .....Mom can't pass up a chocolate banana and it has become sort of a tradition for us to get a popcorn bucket at AK.

Oh, so this leads me to something else that I haven't mentioned so far-We decided this trip that we really wanted to get into Pin Trading. We didn't really have any major goals, just to have fun with it. So Sarah and I had both ordered some pins cheap on Ebay and were anxious to at least look and find some fun pins. Sarah decided she wanted to look for characters from Alice in Wonderland. I was gonna try to get some cute Minnie or Princess ones. So, when we are getting the popcorn, the CM has a lot of pins, including a Chesire Cat, I believe and a cute Minnie. So Sarah traded for the Cat and I went for the Minnie. Well, as we were walking away I took a closer look at my Minnie pin and thought it didn't quite look right, then I checked out the back of the pin and there was no Disney logo---grrr..I got had for a FAKE-O pin! I was so dissapointed. That basically did it for the pin trading for me for the entire trip! Ugh! Better luck next time!

Where was I? Okay, so I ran ahead and got fastpasses for Kilimanjaro safaris. The return time was something like 2:30-3:30PM, so we had some time to kill. We decided to head to Expedition Everest! On our way out of Africa we saw...

The wait time for Everest was only 20 minutes. We definitely could handle that wait. We tried to convince Mom to do the baby swap and ride but she said no way and that she and Nora would go watch the monkeys play while we rode. Another AK tradition-a "self portrait" on the way up! Yikes, look at those crows feet!

So, Sarah and I have this habit of being on rides in front of/with people that are a bit over excited/scared and this was no exception. There were these two kids behind us that kept saying, "we're going to die, say goodbye" etc. Does this happen to anyone else? So they screamed wildly the entire ride-it was kinda funny. The ride was great as always! Such a fun coaster! It took us a while to find Nora and Mom after the ride. Finally we found them on the bridge that leads over towards Dinoland. Then something happened that I still feel a little bad about--we, well, mostly me were able to convince Mom that she really need to ride Expedition Everest (she'd never done it before)-I was telling her how cool the theming is and that she really would appreciate it--well, she agreed to go on it and off she and Sarah went! Nora and I walked over to Dinoland. We tried to win a stuffed dinosaur at skee-ball but lost Then we rode the Triceratop spin. It was fun to have some alone time with Nora. I realized while we were hanging out that it was one of the only times I had been alone with her since we got to Florida-what can I say, I'm a bit selfish with my Nora time! Sarah called me after their expedition was over and said that there was a "Nemo" show starting that Mom wanted to do and that Mom was furious with me--uh oh. Nor and I parked the stroller and met Sar and Mom at the theater. Yup. Mom was MAD--like really upset. She hated the "YETI" and thought it was awful and said she'd never forgive me! haha--I did honestly feel bad, but "just think how brave you are, mom" After a nice relaxing Nemo musical she was feeling better. That Nemo show is great! We had never seen it before. It is so colorful and fun and the music is wonderful--except the songs totally got stuck in my head! We all enjoyed it very much. Unfortunately, after the show was over we realized that we had missed our fastpass time and it was getting near closing time-booo! Where does the time go in Disney anyway? It must pass twice as quickly as at home time! Sarah had wanted to get some breadsticks at Pizzafari because she was so excited that this counted as one snack credit (refer to her thread for why this is now a sore subject with her http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=29077262#post29077262) so we decided to fit this in as opposed to rush all the way back to Africa to try to make it on the last safari of the day. On our way to the breadsticks we came upon the place that Brer Bear had worked so hard to tell us about: The place to meet Pooh! Doesn't he look cute in his hat and scarf?

Nora passed right by Eeyore-poor Eeyore She wanted to see this guy:

After a yummy snack at Pizzafari we tried to do something else we had never done-go to Camp Minnie and Mickey. We got down there just in time to see Minnie leaving for the day! Nora was crushed. All the other characters were done for the day too! So dissapointing. It was really neat down there and we all agreed to make that our first stop on our next visit. Here is Donald Duck's Christmas tree:

We slowly made our way to the exit, feeling as if we had failed at AK. Maybe Sarah was right, maybe we should have just stuck with MK and Epcot for this trip. Oh, well, you know what they say about hindsight....So, we figured out what all the characters were in such a rush for--a little "closing
parade" --Nor was happy again! She blew kisses and waved to all her "friends"!

We had dinner reservations this night for Kona Cafe, but at the rate we were going there was no way we were going to be back and ready for a nice sit down meal at 6:00PM. I'm sure Sarah will mention this in her food report, but the dinner plans for this night were some that gave us the most headaches in the months leading up to the trip. We had originally planned on all going to Jiko--I've always really really wanted to go there. But then a CM on the phone one day suggested that it probably wouldn't be the best place for Nora, so we changed it to a ressie for 2 figuring Sar and I could go and Mom would watch Nora. Well, then I started feeling guilty about not including everyone so we decided on Kona. We really wanted Ohana but couldn't get a reservation there. Blah, so in retrospect we probably just should have stuck with the Jiko reservation, because what ended up happening was Nora and Grammie went back to the room and settled in for the night and Sarah and I got a later dinner reservation at Kona. Mmm...yummy meal. We had tons of leftovers to bring back to Grammie. When we got back to the room after dinner, the babysitter (aka Grammie) was asleep on the bed, while Nora was laying next to her watching cartoons! Not just any cartoons, but the same ones they play back to back to back on this one channel on the Disney resort TVs! Ahh...caught you Grammie--asleep on the job! She was happy to see the yummy leftovers--ask Sarah what we ate! hehe. Although we were all pretty much pooped at this point, I really had my heart set on watching the Holiday Wishes fireworks from the beach. No one would go with me, so I grabbed a blanket and found a hammock just in time for the show. It was beautiful. I had always read what a great place the Poly is to watch the fireworks, but words can not describe how perfect it was. Such a nice perk to staying at the Poly! After the fireworks it was time to climb into bed (if there was space for me in one!) and rest up for an early morning. Princesses need their beauty sleep especially if they're going to be at the MK for rope-drop!!!

UP NEXT: Nora gets some extra special Pixie Dust, a Fantastic Brunch with Chef Mickey, and another Girls Vacation First!!!

 

[Luvamouse]

I am really enjoying your trip report! I love the casual, comfortable nature of the way you write. I had to LOL at the lifeguards at the pool! My DDs start swimming in our pool when we open it-- usually late May or even early June here. It is 54 degree water when it opens and the days often aren't much warmer! Funny how being used to colder temps makes the water easier to tolerate, although I still won't venture into Rangeley Lake when we head to Maine for the fourth of July! (My children come out with blue lips half of the time )

Your photos are terrific and thanks for so many of them! I love the girls only trip and your DD is a doll! I love the items your DS made-- how crafty and thoughtful she is. I'm glad you enjoyed the Poly-- we love it and your pictures help me as we wait to return! I've gotten some good ideas from the directions you went to help us next time--we won't be making ADRs, but doing just CS and the odd TS dinner if there is an open slot the morning of. We're throwing caution to the wind with dining...but making sure we have a good plan of attack for the usually mobbed Easter week!