Princess-tastic Bday PLUS MNSSHP Date**Updates 1/16 Final Update

[ElsasMom]

What great photos from the BBB photoshoot, the two of them together are so cute.
YAY! Dinner in the castle!

They are quite the pair! They're so lucky to have been born with a BFF. I can't even tell you how exciting dinner was.

 

[ElsasMom]

Ok, I have to say before I begin: Happy Halloween from all the Disney characters at my house:



One other thing, before we delve further into what was certainly the best dinner of my life. We were absolutely starving! Remember we had all that drama trying to use the dining plan and had only just worked it out before the princess makeovers, so no snacks (aside from what we brought with us). That is why I have almost no food photos. I ate everything immediately and also princesses are distracting!

For appetizers both girls got the grapes and cheese. I ordered a Strawberry Salad: strawberries, feta cheese, arugula, almonds, balsamic glaze, and olive oil.
I am not a foodie, but my goodness was that salad the most delicious thing ever!
D had something delicious too and we kept joking that we were so hungry the table would probably taste good, but the appetizers really set the bar high!

Our waiter was super attentive. He really won me over when he insisted that EVERY princess at the table needed a wand and brought two more for D & I.

For dinner D and I both ordered Steak and Shrimp:
Grilled Beef Tenderloin and Roasted Shrimp served with Heirloom Tomatoes, Gouda Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Carrots, and Caramelized Onions. It was also amazing!
The girls both opted for Chicken Nuggets!

After we ordered dinner the fanfare began! Princesses! WoooooHoooo! The first to visit us was Aurora

RR's blood sugar hadn't quit evened out yet, but she enjoyed Aurora despite her expression in the photo. I don't remember anything they talked about, but she was gorgeous and sweet.

Snow White came next.

I'll NEVER forget as long as I live, she bounded over all giggle-y and sweet and she made a comment about what the girls were eating to which RR replied watch out for poison apples! Snow White replied "I LOVE wishing apples" and giggled. Oh my!

The girls were poising it up! Snow White was so tickled by their enthusiasm.

Our favorite visitor came next, Jasmine!

She signed her page in BB's book. RR insisted she sign the same page Aladdin had signed. She was really sweet about it! "Oh of course!" She signed a little heart under Aladdin's name and then her name so it said "Aladdin loves Jasmine" so cute!

She asked which kingdom we were from. We told her and she said "Oh, so you took a camel?" D. piped up "No, but we did take a caravan!"

The the girls asked Jasmine about the wishing stars they'd been given for the wishing ceremony. Jasmine happily gave a full demonstration of proper wishing. Adorable.

They discussed their wishes and how much they loved Jasmine's movie. We felt like the only table in the room her whole visit. Lovely.

 

[teekathepony]

Aww all the princesses look great, but what a great time with Jasmine!

 

[ElsasMom]

Aww all the princesses look great, but what a great time with Jasmine!

Jasmine totally won. I have one more princess, but I was reaching my photo limit and she was the least exciting. Thanks for hanging in there with me!

 

[ElsasMom]

It was just as Jasmine left that my beloved camera's battery died. Rookie mistake, not charging it overnight the night before. Tsk, Tsk! Anyway, forgive the phone photos until we get back out into the land of Photo Pass photographers.

At this point no princesses were anywhere near us so I took RR to the ladies room. When were done in the bathroom and waiting for the elevator in the now empty receiving area the photo pass photographer came over. He wished RR a happy birthday and asked if Rapunzel had painted her hair. She loved that!

When we got back we were relieved to hear we hadn't missed anyone the last princess was Ariel and neither of the girls had met "person Ariel" as RR calls her (aka Ariel with legs). She wasn't near by yet so we enjoyed our food and discussed what the girls would wish for during the wishing ceremony.

When Ariel finally arrived she seemed to be in a big hurry. She signed the girls autograph books took a quick picture, but she didn't really chat with the girls and seemed to leave at a jog. Maybe she was running out of time? Shrug

I'm pretty sure BB was whispering "you're my favorite"

Soon after our favorite Mermaid departed it was time to order deserts! I ordered The Clock Strikes Twelve: White and Dark Chocolate in a tribute to the moment when Cinderella loses her slipper. It was amazing! Here is my lone food picture from dinner.

I'm pretty sure D got the desert Trio. RR ordered the Peanut Butter S'mores:
Peanut Butter, Chocolate, Toasted Marshmallows, and Graham Crackers. Two thumbs up on that. BB specially requested vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce.

After we ordered desert the wishing ceremony happened! They closed their eyes tight just like Jasmine instructed, held their wishing stars and wished with all their hearts.

And soon as wishing was done D. took both girls to the bathroom just in time for the waiter to come buy with a cupcake with a lit candle. He looked at the empty seats and then at me. I laughed and said "they went to the bathroom." He said "no problem, I'll be back" and put out the candle.

Sure enough the girls returned and then he did. They had deserts and cupcake!

They made a wish and blew out the candle. Most of desert (that wasn't ice cream) got boxed up because we were stuffed at that point. I asked RR what she wished for and she said to see Tiana. RR and I very much enjoy The Princess and the Frog, but BB has never seen it so she didn't make the must see list. I knew we had a little time before out Buzz FP so I whipped out my phone to check MDE for Tiana's hours.

While I was doing that the waiter scanned D's magic band, she punched in a pin and he disappeared. I wasn't paying that much attention because we had time to get in line for Tiana & Naveen if we left soon, Yay. The waiter came back with his manager and my heart sank.

She said something like "There's been a little mix up. Your dining plan isn't on your bands." (WHAT?!?)
"I talked to your hotel we're all aware you have deluxe dining on your account it's just not showing up on your bands." (Was this all to do with the extra night and magic bands at check in? What else what was not linked?!?)
"What we're going to do is charge dinner to your room and when you get back to your hotel have them transfer it to your dining plan." (No food in the park the rest of the evening either?!? Bummer.)

At least they'd figured out a solution. On to Tiana! Where the heck is Liberty Square exactly...

 

[ElsasMom]

We left dinner a little frazzled over the whole dining plan debacle. We decided to stop for some pictures into of the Cinderella Fountain.

We managed to get over to Liberty Square. It was lightly sprinkling and people had started arriving for the Halloween party. It was a bit of a strange atmosphere

We were greeted by a CM at the rope. Oh No! She wished it on her wishing star at her birthday dinner in the castle! The CM was sympathetic, but said the line was closed. She said we had the option to wait in the stand by line and nodded towards a lone Dad perched on the wall examining a map.

It was at this moment that D realized her BBB bags were missing. She was flustered and had never seen The Princess & the Frog so she voted no, but I offered to wait with girls and stuff while she hunted down her missing bags.

I knew there was a chance we wouldn't make it into the line and D could return without her bags, but I had to believe in Disney Magic

I was right! About 2min later the CM appeared again at the rope and asked the Dad on the wall if he was ready. He asked her to let us go first and offered to watch the stroller even!

When we got in line, more magic There was a beautiful young woman two groups ahead of us dressed as waitress Tiana. She even had a hand painted bag that said "Almost There". RR almost fainted! I asked permission and she let RR hug her. She was getting her birthday wish, big time.

Soon it was our turn!

They were so happy to see us!

At this point we were having such a great time we almost didn't notice D had returned bags in hand. They had them at the restaurant. Yay! More magic

I couldn't stand it I had to jump in. I asked Tiana's permission to stand with her prince

 

[ElsasMom]

I apologize for the low quality phone photos.

Tomorrow Land
After our amazing visit with Tiana & Naveen we dashed over to tomorrow land to use our Buzz Lightyear FPs!

D and BB kicked our butts! We had a great time. I always enjoy that ride. After Buzz we had just enough time to run over to Stitch's Great Escape. The girls thought it was hilarious!

After that one it was time to start making our way out of the park as they were starting the Halloween party. We decided we'd grab those Mickey Bars as we left. Unfortunately, the only food stands and restaurants we could get to with the parade route set up and non party folks being asked to leave either couldn't serve us or didn't have Mickey bars at all.

We didn't give up. We must have asked 20 different CM's before we left. No dice. So, we headed to the bus. We were pretty tired and D and I were starting to worry about clearing up the issues with the dining plan. I was worried that we wouldn't be able to get into our room when we got back either.

Back AT AoA

I should have known better than to worry all the way back. It's Disney! They'd never leave us in a jam. They switched the balance from dinner onto our meal plan. We made sure we could use all our remaining meal credits at the hotel, no problem. Then we explained about the Mickey Bars Our poor tired birthday princesses were doing so well with all this and we had promised them this last treat. While the CM couldn't honor the park voucher she went ahead and gave us the extra snack credits to get some Mickey bars s phew!

While we were there I made sure the MM was linked and full of pictures. The CM reported everything looked good on that front. I felt much better after that.

We grabbed our Mickey bar and cold drinks and sat down for a while.

After our snack we took a slow walk back to our room.

Don't worry Elsa's freezing Ursula to save us!

Back at the Room

The girls by the window we decorated

Best slumber party ever! Princess jammies in their mermaid bed

Once the girls were settled in for the night I checked the pictures and some were missing so I called photopass and tried to sort it out. They told me to call back in the morning. I fell asleep, but not before I put my camera battery in the charger. I remember hoping against hope the girls would sleep in the next morning.

 

[ElsasMom]

Back in princess dresses and on our way to breakfast!

Oh. Yeah.

While D and the girls were in line for food I called photo pass. They found all the missing pictures for me, but told me I could only view ride photos from D's acct. It was nice to have them all accounted for.

The girls we're pleased with the grub too.

Then just when you thought the birthday festivities were over...the staff came to sing and bring cupcakes!

We took some more pictures on the way back to the room to pack up

Then it was time to hit the road The drive back was uneventful except for RR's lamenting having not made it to the pool. When I got home I checked D's acct and sure enough all the photos were accounted for even the ride photos however there was no way to download them?!?

I called photopass again and the gave the CM all the info on the package we got with MM and explained the issue. She assured me she'd sort it out and call me back. The closer it got to 5 the more nervous I became about being forgotten. So (big mistake) I called back and talked to someone else. This CM told me the MM had already been used months ago and I would have to pay full price for a new one and that was that.

So of course I called D who called the TA and we all got upset over it. A little after 5:30 the original CM called back to tell me she'd sorted it all out! All the air returned to my lungs and I hit that download button while she was on the phone just to make sure. Soon we had possession of all 184 pictures (not bad for one day in the park!)

Once that was taken care of it was time for one of these.

I hoped you enjoyed the TR, I'm debating whether to add my Disney Date to MNSSHP the following week on to this one or skip it...

 

[ElsasMom]

The following week DH & I met up with my Cousin & her Husband for MNSSHP. Disney Double Date!!

Here's DH & I

It was only a 4pm-12pm trip to MK for us so I'm going add it on here. I went as Anna, but DH's Kristoff costume didn't ever happen so I gave him a Grumpy shirt to wear. He's NOT a Disney fan so he "appreciated the sentiment".

Here's me & my twinsie Miss Anna


GETTING READY


Anna's coronation do was a challenge! Here's the hair tutorial I used. Longer hair is required. I realized when I started that my blonde streak (Yes, I dyed my hair red and bleached a streak for my Anna costume. No way I was going to wear a wig in Sept in FL ) was to big and not in the right spot for the up do. Oh well! I did my best. Not to bad for a trial run, right?

Here's the bow I used I got it on Etsy and I adore it.


Prior to the trip I also ordered my costume from Etsy. When it came the skirt was yellow. Like super yellow (like I had a heart attack when I saw it )! The rest of the dress was perfect and amazing so we dyed the skirt greener. Here's the before & after. I was very happy with the result. Don't worry I left a review letting people know it comes way yellower than the picture on Etsy.


I also got the official Anna coronation shoes (Yup, I have tiny feet so I snagged the girls ones from the DS), but those would never do for getting around MK so I wore the glittery green sneakers from my wedding.

Anna Shoes: Pretty but not so practical.


Anna's going to Disney shoes!


Getting There

So with the kids at Grandma's and my hair done we were ready to hit the road!

Not the best sign shot ever, but we made it!



We were running a little behind schedule, but not a lot. We headed on to POP, my second on property stay of my whole life!



We checked in and got a room in the 50's section. I had an extreme case of ants in my pants! My cousin N & her DH, D were texting me as I checked in. They have APs so they were over at AK still.




I was exploding with happiness! I was at Disney without kids! I was at POP! I was going to my first MNSSHP! I was meeting up with my equally Disney obsessed cousin! I was going to BE Anna all night! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Once we got to the room I put on my costume and put my princess face on.
Excuse the terrible lighting in our room. I was so ready to roll!


However, the buses did NOT get the memo! They took forever I got like 5 texts from the other half of our double date wondering where the heck we were. So, I took pictures of my make up and ignored my Grumpy hubby who despite having had a few drinks while I got ready was not in a party mood yet.




I expected little girls to notice my costume and get excited, but almost all the commentary about my outfit was from grown ups. I dunno maybe Anna all dressed up for coronation in a wheelchair was weird for the kiddos? Or you know I just wasn't Elsa

The bus FINALLY came and we were off. It was crowded, but everyone who wanted a seat had one. So many tiny princesses! I was STILL exploding with excitement DH was still silently grumpy.

MNSSHP

I have no idea what time we got there, but it was later than 4pm when I wanted to arrive and to early for Jack & Sally still (my one and only character MG request for the evening).

 

[ElsasMom]

As you can see from my wrist band it was sprinkling when we hopped in line. I love the pumpkin Mickey so much It was already a big line but most of the people ahead of us (like 80%) were grownups and I knew they'd be in and out.

I was already enthralled by the costumes! I have to say the DIY-ers were killing it! My favorite costumes in line for Jack & Sally was a family dressed like Carl & Ellie and their baby was a Snipe! Amazing (Sorry no picture ), there was an amazing Hades & Meg in front of us and I also really liked the Evil step sisters!




It's worth a trip just to look at the costumes! I was still crazy excited I was going to see Jack & Sally!



Can you tell? I was bursting. DH was bored. I could have looked at costumes all night (and I did!). I went to DL once before I started dating my DH (October 2005) and was lucky enough to be there when the HM was all decked out like Nightmare Before Christmas, but I didn't get to see Jack or Sally. I love them, but RR has claimed since the age of 3 that she will marry Jack!

While we were waiting N & D walked by and waved. We told them we'd meet up at my favorite BTMRR as soon as we were done. The wildest ride in the wilderness in the dark! PINCH ME!! Some time around then I heard cheering! The line started moving (just as quickly as I predicted).

Jack was such a gentleman. I pretty sure I was blushing. Sally saw my dress and said "Oh, she come from somewhere with lots of snow" and Jack said "Christmas town?!?" Sigh...




I love that Oogie Boogie was on the moon!

He walked me back to my wheelchair, such a charmer.



And then as we were leaving they gave me this!


Perfect souvenir for my little Jack fan back home.

 

[teeitup]

It sounds as if you had a great time!

 

[teeitup]

Was this trip during Halloween??

 

[ElsasMom]

Was this trip during Halloween??

We went with girls for their birthday on 9/16 & DH & I went back for MNSSHP on 9/26.

MNSSHP was going on all through Sept and there was a party the night of the 16th too (but we didn't have tickets).

 

[ElsasMom]

Now it was time to PAR-TAH So many options! I felt like a kid in a candy store. At MK with no kiddos dressed as Princess Anna with all the Halloween decorations and fun
(Forgive the condition it got rained on)







We had done the only M&G I was interested in already. We didn't even pick up our treat bags because the CMs passing them out were mobbed and we weren't there for candy. In fact in my planning I had been like "Who goes to Disney to trick-or-treat?!?" But when were leaving POP that night I saw this adorable little girl dressed like Minnie Mouse who was all excited about trick-or-treating and I remembered seeing all the kids in Boston (where I went to college) trick-or-treating with huge jackets over their costumes and I totally understood how special it must be for some kids to Trick-or-Treat at WDW. As for us it was time to get on some rides!!

Like I mentioned, our first stop was my personal favorite of all time, BTMRR! OMG the wildest ride in the wilderness at night, it had been waaaaaay to long. We found N&D when we got there and N & I screeched like little girls and D & DH shared a collective eye roll. I think D even complimented the Grumpy shirt. It was going to be an awesome night.
The CM sent us up the exit ramp and while we waited N & I discussed the costumes we saw so far. There were a ton of Vikings for some reason. Getting off the ride we saw the whole cast from "Clue" they looked fabulous.
We chatted with the CM (who referred to me as Anna ) and decided to ride in the last row for a wild-er ride.
I was skeptical of this whole "it's crazier in the back" idea, but I was pumped! First ride of the night! Let's do this.
IT WAS AMAZING. I only ride back row from now on. SO fun!!

Four adults at Disney without their children? You guessed it, it was time to caffeinate, Stat. We were headed for Starbucks. I was amped up from the adrenaline, but I knew a boost would keep me going all the way till midnight. Gosh, I'm lame.

Anyway, it was a little damp & chilly and it was warm and cozy in the Starbucks and it smelled amazing. I had to have a Pumpkin Spice Latte. I think DH got one as well. N & D split a HUGE coffee I know it had a special name I wanna say "Train Cup" I stand corrected it was called a Trenta because it's 30oz. That's how much coffee us old married folks need to party until midnight.

Anyway, when we got our drinks I was DYING


Instagram-ed that: Squeal! #MNSSHP

It completely made my night. I mean it, I was thrilled! DH's said "Grumpy" yup! Speaking of Dwarfs we decided to head over to the Mine Train. DH and I had never been and N & D had only ever ridden with FPs so we were excited to hop in the interactive queue.

We were drinking our coffees and looking at costumes maybe 5min before we were inside. We were really enjoying the decor. I know DH was so caught up in the barrels that project images that the people behind us got antsy. People in that line were NOT on their best behavior I saw lots of cutting, pushing and generally not nice stuff going on.

It was when we got to the touch screen game where you drag gems into carts that we all 4 happily started to play and then all 4 lifted our hands off with grossed out faces and had a round of hand sanitizer. UN-clean, LOL.

We didn't really play with anything else because the line was moving really quickly and naughty folks were just looking for opportunities to run past people. Before we knew it we were up!







I thought it was really fun! I wish I had better posture in the picture. I think we decided to grab our spot for fireworks at that point. We went over to a bench by Cosmic Rays. You can't see the Castle, but you can see the fireworks just fine.

We were just relaxing and watching the costumes when I saw Lia aka _disneygirl in her Haunted Mansion Ballroom Dancer costume, I told her via Intsagram how much prettier her costume was in person. I would just like to note her that Lia's TR report inspired me to make it to MNSSHP, so huge thanks!

I also ran into my sister (well I'd been running into her ALL night, but this was the first grown up Elsa I saw)

 

[Stasieki]

Loved your TR!!! Were you by chance at the 10/9 Halloween Party. I swear I think I saw you there

 

[ElsasMom]

Loved your TR!!! Were you by chance at the 10/9 Halloween Party. I swear I think I saw you there

Nope, I was there 9/16 during the day and 9/26 for the Halloween Party.

But, I'll be around a lot more because my amazing "you-can-go-to-Disney-whenever-you-want-just-don't-make-me-come-with-you" husband got me an AP for my bday!

 

[ElsasMom]

Waiting for fireworks








I loved the music, but for my money (at least from where we were sitting) I still prefer Epcot fireworks.

I got a creepy castle picture through the smokey haze too




And a clearer distant purple castle



We went to ride Haunted Mansion because it's awesome and you have to ride Haunted Mansion at the Halloween party. We passed people doing the hitch hiking ghost magic shot, but the line was long so we decided to check back later.

The line for Haunted Mansion was understandably NUTS, but there was so much to look at. The mansion staff was decked out all creepy and some of them were WAY into it. In front of us in line was an awesome Ursula costume. Because the line took so long we got to look and play with everything along the way and notice stuff we hadn't before.

The ride was frightfully good, but we decided we better find a parade spot. At some point my lovely DH turned my camera to auto focus without my knowledge so a ton of my parade pictures came out blurry.

We lucked out and there was a spot near the castle.




Once we had our spot N ran off to find her Halloween popcorn bucket. I wish I had taken a picture (or bought one!) it was super cute! Old school Mickey is just amazing maybe because Walt animated some of it. When she came back she took a picture of my hair.



I thought it was holding up remarkably well.

I have to say I had super high expectations for the Boo to You Parade and I was Not disappointed!



Oh! I almost forgot it was raining lightly off and on up until this point. Nothing a group of Floridians can't handle, but we were a bit concerned that the weather would prevent the parade. It didn't of course, but someone was missing

A CM came through to make sure no one had their feet to far from the curb for when the headless horseman came by. I was most excited to see him and get some pictures for the kids because I had just shown then the cartoon before I left and they loved it. Poor, Ichabod. Anyway, he never came.







Alice, the mad hatter and I go way back. They were a hoot! I wish I could remember what exactly they were talking about here, but I remember laughing.




And then Mickey came to welcome us to his party.



I thought Daisy's princess costume was great.




DH kept saying it would be a lot more fun for grown ups if they spent more time focusing on the darker side of Disney, but that part of the parade was coming...

 

[ElsasMom]

Next came the pirates! I could cry looking at all my blurry pirate pictures.




These are better.



I love this guy's expression









AND THEN MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE PART



Here's the video that I took and watched like a million times! Haunted Mansion Boo to You

Is that not amazing? It made my night. I'd heard about it on TRs but seeing it in person was fabulous!

And then the parade gets weird in my opinion (but that is a tough act to follow) because next came a hoedown









Clarabelle Cow always reminds me of Carol Burnett.



Then came Chip & Dale, Briar Rabbit, Fox & Bear, Some bears from Country Bear Jamboree. Pictures were, meh.

Than came Ralph and Vanelope. The kids LOVE them. So I snapped pictures like a woman possessed trying to get on decent shot. I ended up with a horrible blur and Vanelope's back.

Here's Ralph



Then Goofy came riding a crazy Wonka looking contraption. According to KTP he used to throw candy.


And then we were back to the darker stuff because the whole rest of the parade is villains!

Pain & Panic! I think I need to get one of my friends to do a Pain and Panic DisneyBound with me.



OMG, seriously my kids make a habit of loving the less popular movies. They love Hercules, Wall*e, etc But I could not believe I was seeing the Bowler Hat Guy (aka Goob) from Meet the Robinsons. We've about worn our copy of that one out. If you haven't watched it, please do! Have tissues ready.



Cruella really stole the show though, she was incredible.



Evils Queens!





Sorry those weren't better pictures. As soon as the parade ended DH fixed the settings on my camera, not to worry.

D & N had done a few MNSSHPs and had never watched the parade and they said it was totally worth seeing.

 

[ElsasMom]

After the parade was over we headed over to TL, DH and I were itching to ride Space Mountain (the only thing besides Garden Grill & The Land's Greenhouse that DH admits he likes about WDW)

It had NO WAIT Not, 10min or 5min the sign was zeroed out & we walked on! I was zipping through the line laughing because seriously? When is that line EVER empty? And other people in line were shouting "Princess Anna Hurry to the Coronation!" and silly stuff like that.

That trip through space was worth going to MNSSHP for, so great! I love catching DH having a good time at WDW because when we get home he always claims he didn't have any.



HA! DH SMILING AT WDW! Caught it on film. There's proof.

N & D are not SM fans so we met them in the gift shop. The light rain that started on our way to the ride was now a torrential downpour Everyone was clustered in the doorways in their ponchos. Oh ponchos, if you've read any of my other TR's you know I'm not a poncho person.

We decided to make a run for Buzz Lightyear's Ranger Spin. It was more like making a swim for it. We were drenched. Let me tell you my dress was super comfy and manageable until it was drenched and weighed 100lbs.

Remember the scene from the movie when Anna falls in the lake and her skirt freezes?



Yup, that was me. I walked to the ride going Cold. Cold. Cold. and cracked N & the CM up!




I always enjoy that ride. So fun! Everyone had a higher score than me, but I had a blast. We skipped (or squished in our wet shoes) over to Stitch's Great Escape which was also a walk on. RR had told DH ALOT about it so he wasn't surprised by anything. By the time we got out it was about 10min to midnight. We headed out to catch our bus.

UP Next: Getting to Back to Pop & Heading Home

 

[Stasieki]

Nope, I was there 9/16 during the day and 9/26 for the Halloween Party.

But, I'll be around a lot more because my amazing "you-can-go-to-Disney-whenever-you-want-just-don't-make-me-come-with-you" husband got me an AP for my bday!

Now that's a birthday present!!!! You had a twin there on 10/9