Screw In the Light Bulb-All New x 13 4/25!!

[shan23877]

True. I don't think I'll ever get it back, no matter how many times I sit in front of a TV watching sports and just grunting responses...

Why bother to try at this point?

Well... isn't that why you married him?

Well, partly. He's old fashioned that way. He carries everything.

Only at Disney. Can you imagine going into any store, anywhere else, and that happening?

Me neither.

Aint that the truth? I think that's why I could never stay off property. It would be too confusing to go back forth to the real world where people don'd hand out stickers and wish you a magical day.

I hear ya. Last time we had free DDP and really enjoyed it. Not DxDP, but still... We went to way more TS restaurants then we otherwise would have.


Of course by the end of the trip we were soooooo full!

We love having it pre-paid so we don't think about what we're ordering. We're actually able to treat ourselves this way!

I'm really curious to see that.

Guess I'll stick around.

A ringing endorsement of my TR skills

And yet, everyone posting reviews on these boards are! :

You've spent time on the dining boards I assume?

How about just a complete lack of service? For the first time in my life, I left no tip after a restaurant meal. We saw our server exactly three times. Once after waiting for quite a long time to take our order... once about 30 minutes later to say, "You still don't have your food, right?" And once to ask if anyone would like any water (we were just about finished eating.. and hadn't had anything to drink in quite a while). We said yes, but gave up and left 20 minutes later.

I was extremely tempted to just walk out. I figured since we couldn't even get a bill, that there must not be one. Ruby vetoed that, so I went up to the cashier, looked at my watch and said, "It's 1:25. If I don't have my bill by 1:30, I'm leaving."

Total time spent at an IHOP type of restaurant? Over two hours.

Wow. What a rotten experience. I would consider that unforgivable for sure. I've been known to give my tip to the bus boy when he was the only one to come to the table. I've just served for too long to let stuff like that go.






QUOTE][I think in Disney, there's always so much that just blows you away, the "merely" pretty pales in comparison.[/QUOTE]


A great point. I hadn't thought about it that way before, but you're totally right (and don't tell anyone I said that)

Calories don't count when you're on vacation.

It's a rule.

That's my motto!

As much as the wee ones love the cartoon characters, the face characters amaze me at how well they can interact and remain in character.

Me too! Over and over I'm amazed at how great they are. They never miss a beat when hit with questions from the kids. They're excellent.

The seriousness on her face is hysterical!

She was dead serious with him. She still talks about how silly he was for not knowing the difference.

Can't wait! Thanks for the chapters!

Thanks Ponz!

Awesome updates! You know I totally agree with you on the subjectivity and depends-on-the-circumstances dining review issues. We had a few meals that were not great, mostly due to service, and I will totally go back to those places because I do know that it was either a bad night or one particular person. Repeated terrible experiences - yeah, not going back.

Wow - the 1900 breakfast looks really fun! If we go back sometime soon, I think we may have to try that one. Had never really considered it before!

All the pics of Maddie with the characters are so cute. Willow really loved seeing them. I was reading your TR while she was watching a movie, and I hear, "HEY! Is that Maddie??? Where is she???"

Thanks Roni! We have a few that I'm eager to give a second chance. You just never know when someone is having a bad day.

We love it! It's so much fun and a quick trip to MK for the day. It's our replacement for Crystal Palace, and it's never crowded!

I love that!!! Miss Maddie and I are going to sit down and get her caught up on your TR early next week. I love that the girls are buddies!

Well Said!

Thanks so much! I wasn't sure whether to post it or not, but I thought it was important to say.

Shannon, I am finally all caught up. What a great night you had at Paul McCartney. I've never been a fan of the Beatles, but I do appreciate Paul's talent.

I just love your room...it is gorgeous (I'd not seen pictures of all you posted).

Maddie looks simply adorable as Alice. Disney really needs to do something about their bacon. The only place I've found good bacon at Disney is Kona.

Love the character pictures.

Thanks Kathy! Sir Paul is an experience! I'm so glad we had the chance to do it.

The room was spectacular. We couldn't have been more pleased.

Ugh. The bacon situation is dire. Of all the things Disney does well...

Thanks!

That breakfast looks like so much fun! The photos are really, really cute. Can't wait to hear more!

It really is a ton of fun. We love doing that one!

Girl, I was totally confused by PP+ for like the first day or so. My Mom had it all under control, so I was like "whew! Dodged that bullet!" (pppsssttt....I don't like people to think I don't know what I'm doing. .)

I love the idea of deluxe, but for me it's just way too much food. This is also a person who lives on a normally 1200 calorie per day diet......deluxe would = Danielle going happy go pukey at some point.

Close to the buffet is always best! That way, when you get too full to walk long distances, you're good!

That first picture of Maddie with Mary is so funny! Maddie's face is like "okay.....are we done?"

I did not know that about the bathrooms at 1900 Park Fare. Good tip.

I did more research on PP+ before the trip... I was determined not to get caught not knowing!

We love it, but I know it's not for everyone!

Mads was very impatient with poor Mary. She wanted Alice!

It's been a long time since we've been there for breakfast so thoroughly enjoyed all your pics!

Maddie's dress is so cute....I love that costume!

Thanks so much! She had so much fun being 'twins' with some of the characters!

We are very similar in our thoughts on character meals, actually dinding in general. I'm happy at the end when Kadence had a fab time, and we ate enough to fill out bellies. Yes, it's a bonus when the food is great, and service was efficient, but right now it's about the kiddo.

Loved all of Maddies faces, she was so into it all. We loved the interaction of 1900 PF as well.

Thanks for the tip on the bathrooms, we have a costume change after our dinner there coming up, and I will have 2 girls to change and will need the space!

Thanks for the support Carey! I know that we won't be eating at character meals forever, for now we enjoy them for what they are.

Thanks!

I wish I'd found that bathroom 2 visits ago! Much less crowded, and perfect for costume changes!

Oh wow, I can totally understand now why everyone on here is so in love with Maddie. Those interactions are absolutely precious. I especially love the "candid" photos the most.

Aww! Thank you so much! that's incredibly sweet of you!

I've subbed to your TR, but haven't commented because I'm not caught up yet. Thanks again for joining in!

 

[kmedina]

Xander really did not like it at first and wanted his balloon back. Once he went to get it, he ended up having a great time. Since he was laughing quite a bit, I am assuming he enjoyed it. Captain Hook can be a character. I have not seen him at any WDW restaurant that I can remember.

It's funny you considered Crap an expert reviewer. While he frequently does reviews, he is more interested in the aggregate of the regular customer. It paints a more accurate picture of what the average diner can expect. He tends to get better service if people know who he is. I have actually been out with him and watched our service improve as soon as the server sees an executive he/she recognizes stop by our table to say hello to him. One was really blatant about it and came to our table to ask how we knew the exec. Then, the manager came over and casually asked if he was being shopped (which he was, lol)! When Crap is shopping a restaurant, he tries to hide from execs. They find him anyway sometimes.

My point is your review is more important than you know when combined with others. The true value of a restaurant is the service the paying customer is getting, not a shopper or a VIP (who constitute a very small minority of the actual diners). I think you are always very fair with your reviews to boot as you have to be one of the most patient people I have ever known.

 

[shan23877]

So excited to be following your trip report. I was a lurker on your last one. Our daughter is 5 and just as princess obsessed as yours. It was such a great help in planning our last trip. Our next trip we are thinking of staying inthe royal rooms so I am really looking forward to reading your trip.

Thanks so much for joining in! I'm glad to have you! I'm so happy to hear that the TRs have been helpful-I'v learned a ton from reading others.The royal rooms are great, and as we go along I'll have lots more POR pics to share!

I was hooked to your last tr... imagine my surprise when a friend I was messaging with told me about a tr she was in love with to find out it was yours and I had missed all of these awesome updates! Checking in... late but still here!
You totally have me excited now for POR! We too have never stayed there and we booked the royal room...we haven't told our girls about what the room can do or the decor! Lol..
Those ziplock bags you used for the dresses, what size did you get? For our youngest dd we need something like that because her dress is kinda poofy..lol

Can't wait to read more!

So glad you're here! I love you and your friend!

We loved the Royal Rooms, and I think they'll be an amazing surprise! How fun! When is your trip?

I used the XXL (I think-it's the one with pictures of soccer balls, footballs, etc on the front). They were large enough to fit 2 or 3 dresses and all the accessories that went with them in each one-even the Cinderella wedding dress which is massive! I also found that the gallon sized bad could hold one princess dress for park schlepping.

Thanks again for joining in!

I really appreciate your comments on dining reviews. Granted, we are fairly easy to please food-wise, but I think that people give a lot of restaurants bad reviews unnecessarily here. Also, the comments about the price always get me because WDW is still a theme park at the end of the day. When I go to Six Flags, I pay $9.00 for a funnel cake so it astounds me when people act like things being overpriced at theme parks is some crazy new phenomenon.

Thanks Courtney! I was hesitant to post that because I didn't want to offend anyone, but in the end I thought it was too important.

I'm always shocked at that too. We did Sesame Place the year before we started taking Maddie to WDW, and the food was the same price, but much lower quality. If you go to a major league ball park you'll pay $7 for a can of beer in a plastic cup! I don't think the prices are all that outrageous at WDW i comparison.

I think once we are accustomed to the regular dining plan, we will be looking into the deluxe dining plan. Once we do, I will definitely be re-reading your TRs for tips because you guys seem to have it down to a tee!

Ohhh! Let me know! I love helping navigate the DxDP! It's my favorite thing!

It very well may have been because of the PP+ card. With the card, you get all of the pictures they take. Whereas, if you were just going to buy the photo package, you would get the one picture they choose to put it in. At least, that's my understanding!

That's what I've gathered too. I'll actually be sad to have it added to a magic band next time. I liked getting tons of pics taken!

AH I love the 1900 Park Fare border! I didn't have that option in January! I hope we get it this time! You guys look great and Maddie's pose with her dress is perfect.

I was really happy to see lots of restaurant borders available. Almost all had some special ones, and I fell in love with them!

Love the picture of Maddie giggling with Mary Poppins. I feel like those shots make the best memories!

So glad Alice didn't disappoint! I wonder if we had the same server at 1900 Park Fare or if that's just something with the restaurant. We had the same problem when we had breakfast there. She was perfectly nice but she was never to be seen again after we got our drinks.

Thanks Courtney! That's one of my favorites too. Such a sweet moment in time.

Alice was the best! I love that Maddie had such a great time with her.

Maybe it was! I hate to think there's lots of them...

Looks like a great time with the characters, and I'd have to agree about paying for the experience more than the food. Still, I can't say I've ever had a bad meal at Disney. Looking forward to the parks!

Thanks so much! We had a great time! I have never left Disney hungry that's for sure

Coming right up!

What an awesome friend you have!!!

WELCOME AWESOME FRIEND! Don't be a stranger!

We had such a bad experience at 1900 PF that I don't know if I will ever get Keith back. But our one bright spot was the service! The step-sisters were great but Cinderella and Prince Charming were more interested into moving onto the next table. So I do think many experiences can vary because a restaurant may be having a bad day!

I had booked a breakfast for just Madison and I at Thanksgiving but since it looks like those plans are being changed, we may have to delay our breakfast. Madison wants to do it solely to meet Alice and the Mad Hatter! Great update!!

Oh no! We've never had a truly awful experience at Park Fare. We have had some not so fabulous ones, but at the end of the day Maddie loves it. So, we always go back

I hope you get to do the breakfast! Alice and Hatter are tons of fun, and Mary has always been delightful there!

Love the updates!

And I agree with your review disclaimer. We're much like you. Right now, it's about the kids. We have yet to eat at Chef Mickey's, but it's #1 on my girls' lists for next time. I know the food isn't spectacular, but they'll have a spectacular time and seeing the joy on their faces is far more important than an outstanding meal. And with my dh, food=good, no matter where or how it tastes. He just likes to eat.

Thanks so much. I didn't know if I should post it or not, but at the end of the day it's how I feel.

Chef Mickey is the perfect example of the price being justified. We've always had so much fun there!

Our husbands sound a lot alike!

We did 1900 for breakfast last fall and my girls loved it. It was our first meal of the trip and I thought a great way to start it. My oldest DD Lucy was wearing an Alice dress and Alice kept telling Lucy to put the dress back in her (Alice's) wardrobe when she was done borrowing it. Hilarious. I want to do the dinner with the step-sisters sometime.

And I laughed really hard at the picture of Maddie taking the bite of waffle between characters.

We've had a lot of fun at dinner with the step-sisters (talk about questionable food... ), I hope you get to try it!

That's great! I love the special interactions when they're dressed like the characters! So much fun.

Loving the last two updates!!!!! We are thinking about staying in POR in May so I'm loving all your pictures and updates Also loving the food reviews so far; appreciate the honestly And of course my favorite part of it all; the cute Maddie pics!!!!!

Thank you!! We loved POR, and I'll have lots of pics to share as we go along. It's a really nice resort.

Thanks for that

That looks like a fun character breakfast! DD isn't really into Alice yet but once she does we'll have to put that on her list. The pictures of Maddie with the Mad Hatter are priceless!

It's a lot of fun-when the time is right I'd recommend it!

I'd have to agree with your review of 1900 Park Fare. Character breakfasts aren't known for their menu items; it's more about the interactions with beloved characters. And it looks like you had a great experience with that. I loved reading about Alice's reaction to seeing Maddie dressed in her costume. I'm sure it's always a nice change of pace to see an Alice costume versus the more popular princess dresses.

Thanks so much! It's all about the fun for us at these meals. We had tons of fun when Maddie was wearing 'unusual' character outfits! The CMs at the GF really seemed to love it too.

I think your method of doing dining reviews is very fair. I've enjoyed them in the past and gotten some good information out of them and I'm sure I'll be able to say the same on this TR! I always seem to view them from a more broad scale with the Disney restaurants. If I see a bad review of a restaurant, it won't really affect my plans, but if I see bad review after bad review of the same place... then I'll have to think about it.

I'm glad you enjoyed your breakfast at 1900PF. I'm a big fan of breakfast for character meals for the same reasons you are. You really should have had some video of "Alice" and the Mad Hatter though.

Thanks Andy! I really appreciate that. I couldn't agree more with your method for deciding.

We had a LOT of fun with them! I think I have some really bad quality video. I swear I'm going to get better at getting the video camera out next time.

Hi there! I lurked on your last TR, then went back and read the Preschooler one too. I just wanted to say I like your style and enjoyed all of your TR's. I'm glad to follow this one as it goes.

Welcome! So glad to have you! Please don't be a stranger!

Sounds like y'all had a fun breakfast @ PF! Another place I would love to try but as you know.....too much testosterone voting in my house.

I am really glad that Alice didn't disappoint Maddie. That had to be a very special moment for her.

Can't wait to see the next costume change! She's like a one-woman show!

Amanda, one of these days you'll have to do WDW with us. We can do all the girly things those mean boys keep you from!

It was really sweet. Totally worth wrestling that collar onto the dress.

Oh you have no idea!

 

[shan23877]

The One With A Brief Oral History of Walt Disney World According to Maddie-A Real Life Update​

I thought I’d interrupt this slow moving TR to fill you in on some of the fun we’ve been having around here.

We’re back to school (1st grade) and ballet class and Maddie seems to be enjoying both.

First day of Ballet for this term



​

On Labor Day Maddie was fiddling with one of her loose front teeth (these things were so loose that they were hanging crooked and looked kind of gross), and it came out!


After calling both grandmas, various aunts, uncles and cousins we went about our day. I’d gone out to the garage about 30 minutes after the tooth came out, and Maddie burst out yelling “I pulled out the other one!” She had indeed. Rather than call everyone back I just sent them this picture.

​

Also on Labor Day, I booked our next trip! I don’t want to ruin any of the TR, but summer was not our favorite time to visit. We decided that Maddie is still young enough to miss a week of school so we’re heading back in the spring, and we’re taking a first timer!


To say that we weren’t well off when I was growing up is a gross understatement, and because of that my younger brother has only been on one real vacation in his life (to Philly with us when Maddie was 3). He’s a big kid at heart, and had so much fun at Sesame Place that we knew we had to get him to WDW one of these days. This trip we had contemplated staying at a deluxe resort, but ultimately decided that the money would be better spent taking my little brother with us. I am so excited to take him, and I can’t wait to see the World through his eyes.

Maddie and Uncle Cory


​

More recently Maddie has made some major life decisions.


She no longer wishes to be a princess when she grows up. Instead she chooses to be a “princess fashion designer”. So, there’s that. Also she has decided to get rid of her bangs in favor of “side bangs”.

I am honestly not sure where she comes up with this stuff.

First day rocking the new hairstyle


​

I’d been anxious to get her Halloween costume finished (since I want to try to sell copies of it), and this week I finally finished it. She obviously wanted to be a princess for Halloween, but I was shocked that she chose this one.

​

I still have to get her dad’s costume together. He’ll be Luke.


Today after school, as we were driving to the post office, Maddie was feeling chatty as usual and told me her version of the history of Walt Disney World. I thought it was funny, cute, and perfect for a forum like this one so when we got home I took video of her telling the story again. She got a little camera shy so it’s not as fun as it was the first time, but it’s still good. Oh! And I did change the settings on all the Paul McCartney videos as well so you can now watch them if you’d like.


I now present A Brief History of Walt Disney World According to Maddie


Thanks for letting me share guys!

 

[shan23877]

The One Where Maddie is Shivering in a Dungeon
​

After a quick costume change and an even quicker monorail ride we’d arrived at our first park of the trip! As we planned the trip Maddie had lamented my choice of flights on more than one occasion. We usually take the 6am flight out of Chicago, land in Orlando mid-morning and get to a park by lunchtime, or as Maddie puts it “get up in the middle of the night, get on a plane, and then go straight to the magic!” She still wasn’t pleased with the new arrangement, and on the short trip to the Magic Kingdom repeated over and over “Finally, we’re going straight to the Magic!” She was pretty excited.



We arrived at the Magic Kingdom having missed rope drop by about 15 minutes, and for the first time ever we didn’t go directly to Town Square Theater to say hello to princess friends. Maddie is a devout Disney Channel viewer, and all spring and summer they’d played ‘commercials’ of various Disney Channel stars visiting New Fantasyland. Mads had soaked up every minute of it and was determined to get there herself as soon as possible.



I exercised remarkable restraint and did not force my family to stop for any PP pics on our way down Main Street, and if the photos that I took are any indication we didn’t pause at all.

We rushed right past this





I didn't slow down at all to take this







Think she was excited?








​

We did have the presence of mind to grab Little Mermaid FP as we made our way through old, been there, done that Fantasyland. (FYI? LM FP machines are not near Pooh as I thought I’d read, but by Philharmagic. You think you’ve done the research…) Maddie had singular focus-we would be experiencing Enchanted Tales With Belle no matter the wait.

​

Luckily it was only posted at 20 minutes, and we actually walked right into the cottage to wait. The cottage itself is a marvel. So many details and fun things to see!

​

Before we’d had time to explore we were ushered into Maurice’s invention room. The children all stand up front and the adults (no matter how height challenged they are) stand in the back. Because of this I never saw the full magic of the mirror that looks into Beast’s castle, but I got the general idea.


After the doorway magically appeared we made our way into the room with Madame Wardrobe. It’s in this room that the kids who want to be in the show ‘audition’ by acting out various physical tasks.

​

Maddie must have been a top-notch at shivering that day because she was chosen to play the part of Maurice.

No flash photography, so this pic is terrible but I think you can see how pleased she was to have been given a part to play.







​

A heads up? The suits of armor are chosen from the grown men hiding in the back of the room, so if you look like you really don’t want to participate chances are good that you will.


After the parts were all assigned we made our way into the library to surprise Belle. I was very impressed with the CMs working in the library-they all seemed really into the job and had a lot of fun with the kids. My favorite part? Lumierre of course! He welcomed us and narrated most of the story.

​

The kids interacted with Belle at various intervals in the story and then all paraded around the room to “Be Our Guest” before lining up to have their pictures taken with Belle. On the way you’re given a special ETwB PP card that has all the pictures from the show on it.

​

The verdict on the new attraction? “AMAZING! I WANT TO DO IT AGAIN!” Having discovered that the person chosen to play the Beast gets to dance with Belle, Maddie was on a mission to be cast in that role before the trip was over.

I loved it too. I don’t have a ton of patience for shows and the like, but this was really, really cute. It moves quickly and the children are adorable. I think it’s a great new addition!



Up Next: More New Fantasyland!

 

[shan23877]

The One With the Princess in a Mermaid Tail​

We did convince Maddie to move on rather than lining up for another round of Enchanted Tales, and next on her list was to meet Ariel in her tail.

I took photos as we walked







​

The wait time was posted at 15 minutes. We quickly found that most people were confused about what they’d lined up for though and as soon as they realized they were in line to meet Ariel not for the ride they took the chicken exit. As a result we waited 5 minutes to meet her. Ariel was cute, but she and Maddie didn’t have a ton of memorable interaction. We did get some cute pictures though!

Light fixtures in the queue









Escape hatch for those who thought they were in line for a ride












Ariel made her giggle






​

After we'd met Ariel, Bryan took note of the construction going on across the way. The materials they're using are made with Perlite, which his company produces so we stopped for him to take a photo to send to the guys back at the office

​

Having crossed that off the bucket list we went directly to the FP line for Voyage of the Little Mermaid. I would like to use the standby line sometime to enjoy the details there, but over all I was really impressed with how well done the whole area was. The outside of the ride is just spectacular. The ride was cute, a basic boat ride. Maddie really liked it of course.

​

Having gotten a taste of New Fantasyland it was time to move on.

Up Next: We visit some more old friends!

 

[foodrocksluver]

Oh, a trip in the Spring. May perhaps? I'm going to be there then for my honeymoon. I'm already looking for obnoxious matching things for us to wear so we can get free things. Too bad I'm not little like Princess Maddie or else I'd be wearing a princess dress the whole time.

When she grows up to be Princess Fashion Designer make sure to have her give me a call. I could use her services.

You know you have a great kid when they want to be a (original) Star Wars character. And when she can tell you the story of Walt Disney without having to do a report on him.

ETWB looks so cute. I'm glad Maddie got a role to play! I can't however, get past Belle's new Gone With the Wind get-up Maybe it looks better in person.

I love that Maddie is such an Ariel lover. Ariel has been my best girl since I was a little girl (she hit the big screen when I was 2 so we've gone through life together). I couldn't handle how much I loved her new grotto and having her back in her fins that I may have cried a little when I met her there last December (and when I got on the ride for the fist time). Don't tell anyone

Can't wait for more! I love your dining reviews. My fiance's brother is planning on going with his kids (6 and 10) next year and they would eat at all the same places as you guys so your reviews are going to be super helpful!

 

[afwdwfan]

Congrats to Maddie on losing those teeth.

I think taking Uncle Cory and going in the spring looks like a good choice and a lot of fun.

And she picked a cool princess for her costume! That is awesome!

I'm glad that it worked out well for you and you were able to get to Enchanted Tales with Belle before the line got ridiculous. Maybe you'll comment on this later, but has some of the newness of that attraction maybe died down, or was it usually an hour + most of the day?

I really love the theming of the New Fantasyland. They really went all out in making everything so immersive.

 

[missangelalexis]

Loving the TR so far!

Hooray for booking your next trip! I think it's so awesome you will be taking Uncle Cory, I am sure it will be a special trip for everyone!

Maddie looks so cute in her Halloween costume

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

OMG Shannon, that "real life" update was too much! So awesome that you're taking your brother to the World for his first time. I've always absolutely loved visiting with first timers and seeing things through their eyes.

"princess fashion designer", ok so adorable. "side bangs", even MORE adorable. And then that video. Stop, just stop. Tears in my eyes I swear. And pretty darn accurate too.

Haha, if nothing else, Maddie sure knows what she wants.

I've not yet seen Enchanted Tales, but I just may have to. Unfortunately, I expect I would end up a suit of armour.

Ha, too funny that me and a 6 year old both shared the same goal to meet Ariel in her fin. But I guess that just proves that Disney is for kids of all ages.

 

[kmedina]

Love all of the costumes, especially Princess Leia. You really are talented and Maddie looks adorable. Her toothless smile is too cute (she looks even more adorable than usual). Xander lost his first tooth on his second day of first grade recently. The only problem was he held it all day and ended up actually losing it before he got home. His teacher called me, because she said it was the first time in her 22 years as a teacher a student lost the same tooth twice, lol. She felt badly for him as he was frantically trying to find it.

How sweet that you are taking Uncle Cory with you to DisneyWorld. I know he had declined in the past (once for a tv), but I am glad he took you up on it this time. Knowing how much Maddie adores him, I am betting they will have a great time together. Yay to another trip for all of you!

I tried to watch the video but do not get sound from you tube videos linked to Facebook or the DIS for some reason. It is probably a setting that I cannot figure out. I subscribed to your channel, but You Tube is claiming you have no videos to share. Hopefully, there is just a delay, and I can watch it with sound from You Tube soon. The video seemed cute even without sound.

Reading about your morning actually inspired me to change a fastpass plus selection. Belle is my favorite princess, so I wanted to do the Enchanted Story Time with Belle experience. Knowing how Crap feels about taking time out for girly things, I decided to fastpass it, so the time would move faster. A compromise of sorts. Now, I want to go through the regular queue. You made it sound fun. If Xander is in a good mood, he may even get selected to participate. That would be neat. Thanks for the tip.

I was assuming the Little Mermaid ride would be the same as the one at DCA. You mentioned it was a classic boat ride. Is it buggies like Haunted Mansion or boats like IASW? The answer may have me add that attraction as well. The buggies at DCA are clam shells. Been there, done that.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

What great updates! Thanks for sharing the "real life" updates as well.

Enjoyed Maddie's take on the history of Walt Disney especially the line "he got really, really, really, really sick ..... then he died"

And what is it with kids these days and wanting to have compounded careers. Maddie now wants to be a “princess fashion designer”, and my DD (age 4) can't just be a ballerina, she wants to be a "Ballerina Mom" - you know, since the best way to achieve the goal of being a professional dancer is to throw in a pregnancy

 

[jash08]

What a great update! Maddie is too cute. I love the princess fashion designer. That sounds like a great career path!

 

[courtneybelle]

LOVE the video of Maddie! Too cute, she's a great storyteller.

The Princess Leia costume is fabulous, great job!

I also love the pictures of Maddie running to the castle! Those would look snazzy in black and white.

Enchanted Tales with Belle is my favorite. I played Maurice the past two times I've done it! So glad Maddie was excited, and I hope she got to play the Beast at some point.

Lumiere is just too cool.

Yeah, between Ariel's Grotto and Be Our Guest, New Fantasyland has a lot of people thinking they're lining up for rides when really they're just waiting for Ariel/a restaurant.

 

[Tink2Day]

Great pictures of Fantasyland.
Maddie is adorable!

 

[rabbruzzetti]

Oh man!! The pure joy on Maddie's face when she was chosen to be Maurice is priceless!! I just love how into all of it she is! I'm surprising my middle daughter Meghan with a trip in November. She is 6 just like Maddie so I can't wait!!

Oh and she needs to go back to regular bangs...she looks too grown up...she needs to stay a cute little munchkin. If she grows up that means my 6 year old has too also

 

[RGirl]

LOVED the updates!!! As you know, Willow is very keen on the "new Maddie" with no front teeth. And I still hope to get Willow's version of the WDW story on camera for Maddie. We are having a busy weekend, so it may take us a bit.

ETwB looks amazing - I love that Maddie enjoyed it so much. And feel a little sad about the FAIL you will soon here about this from us. *sigh*

I think you made as fast work of NFL as we did!

 

[pkondz]

A great point. I hadn't thought about it that way before, but you're totally right

I'm Right! I'm RIGHT! SHE SAID I'M RIGHT!

(and don't tell anyone I said that)

oh

That's my motto!

Oh, really? Mine's, "Do onto others, then run away."

I thought I’d interrupt this slow moving TR to fill you in on some of the fun we’ve been having around here.

Slow moving.

Uh, huh.

Then she posts three.... three chapters at once.

We’re back to school (1st grade) and ballet class and Maddie seems to be enjoying both.
First day of Ballet for this term

Boy, that brings back memories! I remember when Elle was about that age, doing ballet.

Her expectoration technique must have markedly improved.

We decided that Maddie is still young enough to miss a week of school so we’re heading back in the spring

Ah, sure. We took the DDs out when they were 8 & 12. They didn't suddenly turn into poor students.

This trip we had contemplated staying at a deluxe resort, but ultimately decided that the money would be better spent taking my little brother with us. I am so excited to take him, and I can’t wait to see the World through his eyes.

Aw. That's really nice.

OMG. Maddie looks like such a hard core fan there!

She no longer wishes to be a princess when she grows up. Instead she chooses to be a “princess fashion designer”.

An eminently practical decision for a profession.

So, there’s that. Also she has decided to get rid of her bangs in favor of “side bangs”.
First day rocking the new hairstyle

Where's our little Maddie? Who is this grown up young lady?

She obviously wanted to be a princess for Halloween, but I was shocked that she chose this one.

Love it!

Great job on the costuming, too.

I now present A Brief History of Walt Disney World According to Maddie

gotta wait 'til I get home to see it.

or as Maddie puts it “get up in the middle of the night, get on a plane, and then go straight to the magic!”

That's great!

“Finally, we’re going straight to the Magic!”

Think she was excited?

Doesn't show. :

Because of this I never saw the full magic of the mirror that looks into Beast’s castle, but I got the general idea.

What's the general idea? What's it do?

Maddie must have been a top-notch at shivering that day because she was chosen to play the part of Maurice.

woot!

No flash photography, so this pic is terrible but I think you can see how pleased she was to have been given a part to play.

hmmm.... well, it's quite blurry....


And a fantastic pic! You can really see the excitement... no that's not the right word... the absolutely overjoyed excitement in her expression.

She must've been talking a mile a minute afterwards!

After the parts were all assigned we made our way into the library to surprise Belle. I was very impressed with the CMs working in the library-they all seemed really into the job and had a lot of fun with the kids. My favorite part? Lumierre of course! He welcomed us and narrated most of the story.

Looks like a lot of fun!

The verdict on the new attraction? “AMAZING! I WANT TO DO IT AGAIN!” Having discovered that the person chosen to play the Beast gets to dance with Belle, Maddie was on a mission to be cast in that role before the trip was over.

Good for her! I hope she gets the part!

We did convince Maddie to move on rather than lining up for another round of Enchanted Tales, and next on her list was to meet Ariel in her tail.

How did she get in her tail? Was this planned? Did you have to pull her out by yourselves? Or did they call in extra CMs to extricate her?

cute... but I thought they tasted horrible.

After we'd met Ariel, Bryan took note of the construction going on across the way. The materials they're using are made with Perlite, which his company produces so we stopped for him to take a photo to send to the guys back at the office

According to Wiki: "Perlite is an amorphous volcanic glass that has a relatively high water content, typically formed by the hydration of obsidian. It occurs naturally and has the unusual property of greatly expanding when heated sufficiently. It is an industrial mineral and a commercial product useful for its light weight after processing."

Is that it? Or is it a trade name for something else?

Up Next: We visit some more old friends!

Thanks for the chapters, Shanarienie!

 

[merbobear]

Oh Maddie, you look like such a big kid with your hair pulled to the side and 2 baby teeth gone!

Adison has lost 2 teeth (bottom middles) and adult teeth have taken their place. She has me check them almost daily to see "how tall" they have become (this has been going on for months). When she lost her first tooth, the tooth fairy was unsure of the going rate. She figured $5 was a nice generous gift for a first tooth, and so she left a fiver neatly tucked under Adison's pillow. We also gave her Tangled on dvd to commemorate the occasion of becoming a big kid (this was from us, not the TF).

Imagine the Tooth Fairy's surprise when Adison lost a second tooth shortly after the first, and proclaimed that the second tooth was deserving of $6...and that each tooth's price tag will be a dollar more than the last. That TF is going to be broke by the time Adison's mouth is empty!