PRINCESS Palooza 2011! 9/9 Update: Departure Day

[mom2rtk]

So glad you got to finally meet Gaston! How great. The pictures are awesome!

YAY! That's great! Beautiful pictures, as usual. That Gaston makes the perfect facial expressions in the pictures!

Nice.

Thanks guys!

It was pretty cool. I still hope they have Gaston out when the Fantasyland Expansion opens. They need more villains out and about. And while he's nasty, he's not all that scary, so he wouldn't scare all the little kiddos away.

So I stalked Mary's peguin for some time and finally had success.

And I've stalked Gaston for some time and finally had success.

Wonder who should be next??????

 

[Chicago Mo]

amazing as always!!!
I love the way they made the chin cleft!!!

 

[francis6306]

Awe YAY!!!! That's awesome that you got to meet him and he was such a good character!

And I agree, they need more Villains out and about! I think that would help with the "not enough stuff for boys" complaint.

 

[Moodyzblu]

That dress is just incredible ! So pretty.

What an awesome character meet ! I love moments like that.

 

[mouselovenfamily]

What a fun meet and greet!! Great photos!!!!

 

[rndmr2]

Awesome DHS day so far! So glad you were finally able to have the Meet and Greet with Gaston, great pictures

 

[mom2rtk]

amazing as always!!!
I love the way they made the chin cleft!!!

Awe YAY!!!! That's awesome that you got to meet him and he was such a good character!

And I agree, they need more Villains out and about! I think that would help with the "not enough stuff for boys" complaint.

That dress is just incredible ! So pretty.

What an awesome character meet ! I love moments like that.

What a fun meet and greet!! Great photos!!!!

Awesome DHS day so far! So glad you were finally able to have the Meet and Greet with Gaston, great pictures

Thanks everyone! It really was a magical morning!

Nothing like getting a "do-over" of something that doesn't go quite right!

 

[mom2rtk]

12/14 Continued:


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After the show and some photos on Hollywood Boulevard, it was time to eat. Lunch this day would be another first for us..... the 50's Prime Time Diner.


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Everyone always wants to eat at Sci-Fi, and we usually only do 1 day at DHS, so we've never gotten to try Prime Time. When we added an extra DHS day, I knew we would try it. The food was fun and the waitress was playful. She was really nice though. When Katie didn't like her lunch, she offered to bring something else.

We still had a few things we wanted to do at the park, but wanted to take a little break back at the room first. I hadn't slept well and knew I'd never last without a little rest. Before leaving, we wanted to get one more set of fastpasses to use when we came back. Katie wanted to do it on her own, so I stayed n Hollywood Boulevard while she went to RnR for the fastpasses. On our way out of the park, we stopped to watch some street performers. I enjoyed watching them but mostly I enjoyed watching KATIE watch them. She was clearly very tickled by them and we need to make a point of seeking more of them out next trip.



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I really had hoped I could take a nap. Unfortunately I'm a terrible napper though, so it never happened. But it was nice to get off our feet and rest for a while.

We got back to the park around 4:45. Katie put on one of the capri sets I had done for the trip. I remade a top from a prior trip with the evil queen applique, and my friend Gretchen made the appliques for the pants.



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We wanted to use our 3 sets of RnR fastpasses. And I wanted Katie to try the Animation Academy. So we headed down Hollywood Boulevard to the Animation Building.




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There was class in session and they already had enough for the next class. Yikes! I had no idea it was THAT popular. This was our last chance, so we decided to get off our feet and wait it out. Katie got to draw Tink, and I sat behind her. I knew I'd want to watch through the camera and didn't want to take up a desk if I wasn't drawing. She seemed a little frustrated with the drawing, but she did far better than I would have.



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This was on our way out of the Animation Building:


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I had hoped to maybe see the Osborne lights again, and take more time photographing them, but I was pretty tired. And we had all those fastpasses to use! By the time we rode for the 3rd time that night, even I was ready to be done with RockNRollercoaster. We rode either 5 or 6 times that day. It was a totally awesome experience we'll probably never be able to repeat now that they enforce the window on fastpasses. Sigh.....

I took some handheld night shots on our way out. I really want to do some nice night shots in DHS one day. But this wasn't to be the day. I was exhausted after a bad night of sleep the night before.



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It had been a great day. The Gaston meet was awesome, and we tried a couple new things. It was a more relaxed pace, picking and choosing a few things we wanted to do most.

 

[dara00]

sounds like a great day!

 

[Caretames1]

YAY!!! You got the meet! I was wondering that today while working and wishing I was at Disney instead if work.

The telephoto lens was a great choice! I love the close ups. And speaking of close ups.....I think your Gaston, was our MNSSHP Gaston from Sept! I'll look it up.


Did you enjoy the 50"s Prime Time? John and I enjoyed the food and atmossphere, but Kadence was not happy. She felt scared that they were going to pick o her, or make her do something she didn't want to do. When we asked of she'd go back, it was a big No. She said she just feels like sometime her elbows have to go on the table!

If I rode RnR 5-6 times I'd be so sick, I'd wish for a quick death! I'm hoping Kadence isn't interested in it for a while yet...

We love the outfit that Katie changed in to, perfect for Fantasmic!

 

[KCmike]

Just caught up on the last two updates.

RE:Gaston...How lucky are you? How unique and totally awesome that you got to do that.

RE:RNRC and Sci FI... Love Love Love it!

 

[Yzerbear19]

Love the DHS day recap. Your photos of Beauty and the Beast are fantastic. We only have gone to see it once way back in 2005.

My family LOVES the Prime Time Cafe. Our first experience there in 2009 we had our "Mom" Sue who was the best waitress. Our other waiters have been good, but "Mom" is the best. When we went in April 2010 we brought her a Mother's day card because she yelled at us in 2009 about it. LOL Everytime she went past our table in 2010 she would declare loudly that we were her favorite children. LOL What did you try when you were there? I love the stacked sandwich for lunch.

I fell in love with the Animation Academy at Disneyland. We ended up doing it three times there. We drew Tigger, Piglet, and Minnie. I will definitely have to try it out the next time we go to WDW.

 

[nannye]

I've decided to go American Girl. She will only ever get one doll. Her parents will NEVER buy her one. and she honestly probably wont get accessories unless I buy them so I figure it's worth the investment for the quality for one doll. I'm excited about it. I'm getting her the red curly haired doll with Blue eyes. (They don't have a doll with brown eyes! and the hair is such a match for V's, I sacrificed eye color.)

So excited you got to meet Gaston!!!!!! that is so awesome!!!
RNRC 6 times! ouch don't know if I could do that. mind you I haven't ridden it before. I don't think I will this year either V isnt tall enough I don't think. Too Bad.

 

[Glennie5]

Love your night time shots of DHS. They are amazing!

 

[mom2rtk]

sounds like a great day!

It sure was!

YAY!!! You got the meet! I was wondering that today while working and wishing I was at Disney instead if work.

The telephoto lens was a great choice! I love the close ups. And speaking of close ups.....I think your Gaston, was our MNSSHP Gaston from Sept! I'll look it up.


Did you enjoy the 50"s Prime Time? John and I enjoyed the food and atmossphere, but Kadence was not happy. She felt scared that they were going to pick o her, or make her do something she didn't want to do. When we asked of she'd go back, it was a big No. She said she just feels like sometime her elbows have to go on the table!

If I rode RnR 5-6 times I'd be so sick, I'd wish for a quick death! I'm hoping Kadence isn't interested in it for a while yet...

We love the outfit that Katie changed in to, perfect for Fantasmic!

Thanks Carey!

I really enjoyed shooting the show with the longer lens. At least I added some different shots to my growing collection. And yes, I'll go back again..... and I'll take more photos. Not sure what to do differently...... but I'm sure I'll come up with something.

I really enjoyed 50's prime time. I loved the food. I got a sampler platter so got to try a variety of things. Katie didn't really care for it though, so I doubt we'll go back soon. I think we'll give up on TS at DHS unless we decide to do the Fantasmic dining package. Mama Melrose is ok, but always takes forever to be seated. I'm over Sci-Fi, but Katie loves their milkshakes, so I told her we'd go next time just for shakes and/or dessert. We still haven't done Brown Derby, but I probably don't want to spend 2 TS credits to try it.

I'm just lucky I don't get motion sickness at all. I actually love the sensation of going upside down on RnR. But by the end of the end of the night, I was starting to believe the doctor's story about me having arthritis in my neck. I was ready to move on. I'd probably ride it that many times again. I'd just take some ibuprofen first! But I doubt I'll get that chance again.

Just caught up on the last two updates.

RE:Gaston...How lucky are you? How unique and totally awesome that you got to do that.

RE:RNRC and Sci FI... Love Love Love it!

Thanks Mike!

We really were very lucky to get to meet Gaston the way we did. It really was a perfect park day!

Love the DHS day recap. Your photos of Beauty and the Beast are fantastic. We only have gone to see it once way back in 2005.

You really should go back. Our trip wouldn't be complete without seeing BatB. My husband isn't a show person. If he stays all week on our next trip, he'll have to see it with us.

My family LOVES the Prime Time Cafe. Our first experience there in 2009 we had our "Mom" Sue who was the best waitress. Our other waiters have been good, but "Mom" is the best. When we went in April 2010 we brought her a Mother's day card because she yelled at us in 2009 about it. LOL Everytime she went past our table in 2010 she would declare loudly that we were her favorite children. LOL What did you try when you were there? I love the stacked sandwich for lunch.

I had the sampler platter and loved it all!

LOVE that you brought your favorite waitress a Mother's day card! That is awesome!

I bet my husband would love eating there. Mabye we'll go after all..... of course, he'd have to give up Sci-Fi to do so........ not sure he'll do that.....

I fell in love with the Animation Academy at Disneyland. We ended up doing it three times there. We drew Tigger, Piglet, and Minnie. I will definitely have to try it out the next time we go to WDW.

I think we'll end up doing the Animation Academy at least a couple times on our next trip. My husband would like it too but has never done it. I don't even need to try. I'm hopelessly bad a drawing even stick people. My oldest is very artistic and would enjoy it....... if he liked Disney..........

I've decided to go American Girl. She will only ever get one doll. Her parents will NEVER buy her one. and she honestly probably wont get accessories unless I buy them so I figure it's worth the investment for the quality for one doll. I'm excited about it. I'm getting her the red curly haired doll with Blue eyes. (They don't have a doll with brown eyes! and the hair is such a match for V's, I sacrificed eye color.)

So excited you got to meet Gaston!!!!!! that is so awesome!!!
RNRC 6 times! ouch don't know if I could do that. mind you I haven't ridden it before. I don't think I will this year either V isnt tall enough I don't think. Too Bad.

It drove me nuts when Katie and I went to DHS on our trips when she wouldn't ride. Since it was just the 2 of us, I couldn't leave her behind and ride myself. So maybe I'm just making up for lost time????? You should really try it. I don't do big coasters, but RnR I love.

I think she'll love having an AG doll. Just beware.... it's pretty addictive. And can be costly if you let it.

Love your night time shots of DHS. They are amazing!

Thanks Glennie!

 

[rndmr2]

You had a great DHS Day! I really want to try 50's Prime Time someday, maybe next trip, my plan is to try ALL new places the next time I go there. It was smart of you to go back for a rest but sorry you couldn't nap. I never was one that could sleep during the day but now that I am older eek: ) I can sleep almost anytime.

My BIL went on RnR about 8 times in a row on our trip last May. He had gone to try out for American Idol and made it through the first round but not the 2nd, they gave him a pack of I think 5 fastpasses for any ride but he was by himself so he couldn't share them with us, he went on it one right after the other and then did some single rider too! I am afraid to try that ride ONCE, let alone 8 times! LOL

 

[fairestoneofall]

moments like that... when someone who doesn't even know you does something so amazing for your child... those moments rock. i'm a little teary-eyed because i know how much a similar moment meant to me.

LOVE the update and i'm so glad you got to meet Gaston. he is TALL!

 

[mom2rtk]

You had a great DHS Day! I really want to try 50's Prime Time someday, maybe next trip, my plan is to try ALL new places the next time I go there. It was smart of you to go back for a rest but sorry you couldn't nap. I never was one that could sleep during the day but now that I am older eek: ) I can sleep almost anytime.

My BIL went on RnR about 8 times in a row on our trip last May. He had gone to try out for American Idol and made it through the first round but not the 2nd, they gave him a pack of I think 5 fastpasses for any ride but he was by himself so he couldn't share them with us, he went on it one right after the other and then did some single rider too! I am afraid to try that ride ONCE, let alone 8 times! LOL

You really should try it once. The key is to lean back in your seat, to absorb some of the vibration of the ride...... and as odd as this sounds.......... relax. It really can be done. It's an awesome feeling!

Isn't it strange how I can do that ride over and over....... but just can't handle Tower of Terror? I'd probably go if Katie really wanted to..... but I don't see that happening any time soon.

moments like that... when someone who doesn't even know you does something so amazing for your child... those moments rock. i'm a little teary-eyed because i know how much a similar moment meant to me.

LOVE the update and i'm so glad you got to meet Gaston. he is TALL!

I know...... I still get all misty when I think about it. It was an amazingly kind gesture. I hope I get a chance to pay it forward one day. I already have ideas, just not time yet.

And YES! Oh MY he was tall! I'm 5'6" and he dwarfed me!

 

[katt789]

Yayayyaa!!

I'm caught up now! And wow, quite the update, RnR, I MUST ride it the next trip, you guys certainly got your worth of it. I'm also super excited to try 50's PT, It's on my listt of ADRs for Sept, so fingers crossed it works out!

AHHHH AS IF you got the Gaston magic that you did, I'm super glad everything worked out for ya, and that certainly is a magical day!!

 

[jenseib]

So did you get everything you wanted?


So I guess Jen had to make her ADR's too? Isn't she there the same time? Jen...... how are the ADR's coming?

I'm struggling a little with what I want to do this trip. I want to try some new things, but I don't want to NOT do the things we always do. Hmmmm..... gonna have to break the time/space continuum or some such thing.....

I'm here! I got very behind.....I've been busy with clients...but a good busy. I'm slowly catching up with everyone and close to being caught up with everyone now!

Yes, I did make my ADRs. I still have 1 more to make as it went passed my 10plus days. It's via Napoli, so I'm not woried. I have BBB made, but now my sister told me her DD informed here it's a must to be done as well for her. I had planned ours after they left so it wouldn't upset the nieces. Now we may make them for the same time so they can enjoy the experience together.
It shouldn't mess my plans up too much and won't interfere with dining. It might with some swimming time though.

I am loving your updates. What an awesome meet with Gaston...though he's really not too handsome. I would love to just tag along with you and do everything. You know all the ins and outs for secret character meets.
I like how you take breaks too. I feel like I am wasting too much time going back and forth...but I am going to try to slow it down for this next trip.
I might have to try to get a little closer to B&B show and use the telephoto...if I bring it to the parks. It's just a pain to lug around. I'll have it with me, just how often I carry it all day will depend on my aching shoulders. I still haven't found that miracle bag for carrying things.