Shenanigans, Tomfoolery & Mayhem, Oh My! A Christmas/New Year's TR (New 6/12!)

[SoNotAPrincess]

Bahaha, your adult novel. Too funny. And you can tell Gabriel that I, in fact, have not seen hundreds of pictures of fishing boats on the dizzy boards. In fact... I don't think I've even seen one! (THAT'LL SHOW HIM!)

The Port Orleans area looks so stinking pretty... you have me really wanting to stay there, I must admit!

I will tell him...silly man...sometimes he needs to be reminded that I'm always right!

POR is beautiful...I think everyone should stay there once, but I'm probably biased!

LOVED your update on the fishing excursion! My bookshelves aren't exactly filled with fine literature either, though mine are mostly chic lit. Lots and lots of pink covers with high heeled shoes.

I too find photos of fishing boats lacking on the Dizzy boards. Never seen a one.

Sounds like a fun afternoon at POFQ! Maddie loves the boring pool over there (not the strongest swimmer that one), and I love the beniegets! They were how I used the majority of our snack credits when we stayed there. I'd love to wander over there while we're at POR, we have such nice memories of our stay there. And, the ladies in the gift shop were outstanding! They remembered us every time we popped in (which was daily. If you think I like shopping you should meet my daughter.)

Looking forward to hearing more!

Thank you! I have several of those pink cover books, too!

See, I knew it! He will never live this down....I needed that boat picture!

It was a fun afternoon at POFQ! She would live in the pool if she could, and it was fun having access to two pools.

LOL...the shopping bug bites early! I used to take my older niece (she's 19 now) shopping when she was a wee tot...we called it "melting plastic"...and she still likes to melt plastic!

I followed Shan's suggestion of coming to read this TR and now I'm hooked!

It's nice to have you here...thanks!!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Well as long as as they had fun on the fishing trip, I GUESS it's okay there's no pictures!

Sounds like a great pool afternoon! The POFQ pool is definitely very bright and fun!

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

ok... I didn't read the last page cause I already had things I wanted to comment on and I need coffee and won't remember the beginning if I read this page... so I'll have to go back ...


Awesome Valentine's Day ... love the BC... love the whole "let's just be us"... no photo taking... how sweet...

Not only did Bree make a fantastic Jasmine - I love her photos and interactions with Jasmine and Aladin.... adorable...

Hmmm... we don't usually have a car when we're at Disney but we will in the summer and we might have to check out Olivia's... it looks really quite good...

ok I MUST have a cup of COFFEE...

 

[shan23877]

Had to pop over to say how tickled I was at your Scarlet O'hara comment on Marissa's TR. That's pretty much my favorite book ever and I read it at least once a year (for the last 20 years).

How on earth have we not been friends for our whole lives?

 

[SoNotAPrincess]

Well as long as as they had fun on the fishing trip, I GUESS it's okay there's no pictures!

Sounds like a great pool afternoon! The POFQ pool is definitely very bright and fun!

I suppose so, but I was NOT happy with him!

They had a blast at the pool!

ok... I didn't read the last page cause I already had things I wanted to comment on and I need coffee and won't remember the beginning if I read this page... so I'll have to go back ...

Awesome Valentine's Day ... love the BC... love the whole "let's just be us"... no photo taking... how sweet...

Not only did Bree make a fantastic Jasmine - I love her photos and interactions with Jasmine and Aladin.... adorable...

Hmmm... we don't usually have a car when we're at Disney but we will in the summer and we might have to check out Olivia's... it looks really quite good...

ok I MUST have a cup of COFFEE...

I understand the need for coffee! I function so much better after a cup or three!

I thought the "let's just be together" thing was very romantic. The man definitely has his moments!

I highly recommend Olivia's! I'm pretty sure it's because its so far out of the way that more people don't go there, but if you have a car; and you can fit it in, GO!

Had to pop over to say how tickled I was at your Scarlet O'hara comment on Marissa's TR. That's pretty much my favorite book ever and I read it at least once a year (for the last 20 years).

How on earth have we not been friends for our whole lives?

OMG, Gone With the Wind is my very favorite book of all time, and I've re-read it more times than I can count! I think the Dis should have a new motto...Disboards: Bringing Unmet Friends Together!

 

[SoNotAPrincess]

Day 4, Chapter 26—Adventures in Beezersitting
​

“Anyone who believes that men are the equal of women has never seen a man trying to wrap a Christmas present.”​

(Unknown)​

Earl and Lenny set off for DTD by boat, where they would enjoy dinner at Raglan Road and an evening celebrating their anniversary sans Brianna. After they departed, she was feeling left out and decided to have a nice pout to make herself feel better. Unlike her mom and dad, Gabriel and I didn’t try to jolly her out of it…we just ignored her. As we got ready, she lay on the bed, stared at the ceiling for a while, flipped over on her tummy and buried her face in the pillow, flipped over again and heaved a giant sigh, refusing to speak but taking surreptitious glances at us to see if we were impressed.

We weren’t.

She knew we had planned an evening of entertainment but didn’t know the details. Based on her attitude, her confidence in us was at an all time low.

When it was time to leave, she decided she didn’t want to go. No problem, Gabriel told her, you can stay here. He assured her that he doesn’t believe in forcing someone to have a good time against their will, so the rest of us would go out and have a grand time doing awesome stuff without her. She could watch TV and eat cold leftovers from the fridge. She wanted to know what we were going to be doing, but he reminded her that if he told her, it wouldn’t be a surprise. He shrugged nonchalantly. “Too bad for you, Beezer, wish we could stay and chat, but we’ve got places to go and cool things to do.”

I held my breath, wondering if the whole “you can stay here” thing would blow up in his face. Bee is nothing if not stubborn. She’s also smart, and I was afraid she’d know we wouldn’t leave her alone in the room. She thought about it for a few minutes…I could almost hear the wheels turning in her mind…and decided to go with us.

She asked where we were going so many times that Mom finally answered with, “We’re going crazy, and you’re driving us there!”

Bazinga!

Destination number one on our agenda was the “Campfire on de’ Bayou” for marshmallow roasting and a sing along. (I forgot the camera in the room, so all photos are courtesy of the web.

There were only a couple of people there when we arrived, but before long there was a passel of kids crowding around the fire roasting marshmallows. (I brought a bag of marshmallows with us, along with Hershey bars and graham crackers to make S’mores. POR supplied dowel rods to use as roasting sticks, and they may have had marshmallows,too.) A CM led the gang in a round of Christmas carols, and I think there was storytelling, too, but I was a little removed from the action.

Bee came back for graham crackers and chocolate bars so often that Gabriel went to see what was going on. Turns out, she was sharing them with the other kids, which pretty much made her the hit of the party. She’s a diva in training, but she has her moments; and I think we’ll keep her!

I taught her my technique for roasting the perfect marshmallow, which is to let it catch on fire briefly and then quickly blow it out. The outside is perfectly toasted while the inside is a warm, gooey, delectable mess. Gabriel says that it’s the universal technique for roasting marshmallows, but I insist that I invented it.

As an aside, marshmallow is a funny word. I never noticed it until I typed it about a gazillion times.

After we’d had our fill of S’Mores, we went over to Oak Manor for the “movie under the stars” We spread out a blanket for Bee and Gabriel to sit on, while Mom and I parked on the sidewalk; but it was too cold to stick it out for long. It’s such a fun thing to do when the weather is nice! I found this photo of POFQ to give you an idea of what it’s like…

PortOrleans.org

At this point, Bee was pretty sure the fun was over, and we had failed miserably. We went inside, where Mom and I snagged a table at River Roost while Gabriel took her to the arcade.

Evidently big fun was had in the arcade because she was once again in good humor when they came back. Gabriel said he’d order snacks from the bar while Bee and I went to the food court for….oh, the suspense…cheese pizza!

Betcha didn’t see that comin’, didja?

I’m pretty sure he ordered one of everything on the menu because we had wings, crawfish tails, barbecue shrimp, and prime rib sliders. The wings were too spicy for me, but everything else was very good. Gabriel got a beer flight and ordered me one of the frou-frou girly drinks I favor. I don’t know what it was called, but it was fruity goodness and came with a light up glow cube. Mom’s and Bee’s drinks came with light up Tinker Bells that she immediately insisted they clip to their shirts.

For dessert, Gabriel took Brianna back to the food court; and they returned with an ice cream sundae almost as big as her head. Luckily, they got extra spoons, so we all helped polish it off!

Just about the time she was getting antsy and started asking to go back to the arcade, Yehaa Bob came out and started going table-to-table talking to people and asking our names and where we’re from. He focused especially on the kids, but he talked to everyone. Even though she was being pouty, he was charming and funny with Bee.

For anyone who doesn’t know, Yehaa Bob does a high energy, interactive, very funny show during which he plays the piano and brings kids (and sometimes adults) up to the stage. It’s a loud, rambunctious, great way to spend an evening away from the parks…tables go fast, so get there early unless you want to join the large SRO crowd.

Mymagic100.com

Adisneymomsthoughts.com

Adisneymomsthoughts.com

Mymagic100.com

He led the room in a fun interactive rendition of The Twelve Days of Christmas that had Brianna out of her chair doing all the motions. Throughout the show, she popped up and down like popcorn, stomped her feet, sang along, tried to do the hand jive, and paraded around the room in the conga line. She laughed so hard at Gabriel beating his chest while yelling like Tarzan that she couldn’t do it herself.

Bob is an amazingly talented boogie woogie piano player, and his show is completely family friendly and fun for all ages. Our group ran the gamut age wise, and we all loved it! Mom said it was one of her favorite things we did on this trip. There’s no disguising the joy Bob gets from performing, and he obviously enjoys meeting his audience, posing for photos, and signing autographs.

Brianna was worn out after the show, so Gabriel piggybacked her back to the room, where she barely had the energy to put her jammies on and climb in bed with Nanny. I’m not exaggerating when I say she was asleep in minutes.

Thanks, Bob!

Up Next: Hooray for Hollywood?

 

[marDgreen88]

Okay, I LOVE the quote at the beginning of this update! Too funny (and SO TRUE)!

I think your evening sounds like so much fun! I always think it's so cool that they do the campfires at some of the resorts! Too bad it was too cold for the movie though, but I think Yeehaw Bob sounds even better! I'm glad yall all had such a good time!

 

[SoNotAPrincess]

Okay, I LOVE the quote at the beginning of this update! Too funny (and SO TRUE)!

I think your evening sounds like so much fun! I always think it's so cool that they do the campfires at some of the resorts! Too bad it was too cold for the movie though, but I think Yeehaw Bob sounds even better! I'm glad yall all had such a good time!

Poor guys...their intentions are good but their wrapping skills, not so much!

It was a really fun evening, and Yeeha Bob was the best part! The movie under the stars is such a cool thing when it's warm!

 

[SoNotAPrincess]

Day 5, Chapter 27—Hooray for Hollywood?​

Felix: “Sam?”
Sam: “Yes sir?”
Felix: “Catastrophe, what is it?”
Sam: “It's from the Greek. It means a misfortune, a cataclysm or a serious calamity."
(Christmas in Connecticut)​

Today, day five of our Christmas at Disney Extravaganza of Joy and Family Togetherness, was DHS day. We started out later than planned, but we were all together and in reasonably good spirits, so I had high hopes for the day.

We stopped to admire the movie-themed Christmas tree….

…went through the turnstiles….and saw the crowds.

Up until now, the crowds had been bad but manageable. Even at MK, where it was packed, we avoided a lot of the madness by taking advantage of EMH and then doing things backwards from the way most people tour.

DHS was my worst nightmare come true...a giant crush of people with everyone going in the same direction and getting nowhere. Hollywood Boulevard was congested with side-by-side strollers and a ton of people, but we didn’t let that deter us from stopping for quite possibly the worst Photopass picture ever taken. But it’s all I have, so here goes…

I especially love that my hair is flat and my glasses are askew…lovely!

I felt kind of bad for the photographer because we had so many different versions of the picture…you know, all of us together, then just Earl and his family, then Gabriel and me, then everyone but Gabriel (which I hated, but he insisted). The poor photog was a temp, and he was a bit frazzled but never lost his smile, so he gets points for that!

Lenny, who had harbored the completely unrealistic notion that people would go home after Christmas, was astounded by the crowd level, in spite of the fact that I had told her numerous times that is not the way it works. She kept saying, “There are SO MANY people.”

Gabriel whispered in my ear, “I’ll take Painfully Obvious for $200, Alex.”

I tried not to laugh. Or cry.

It took us approximately forever to get to Sunset Boulevard. The journey was made even more special by Brianna’s whining that she was tired, hungry, and not having any fun.

I sent everyone down Sunset to choose from the food options at the end of the street while Gabriel and I ducked into Starring Rolls to continue our crawl, selecting the famed Butterfinger cupcake. Evidently, Gabriel was pursuing his own crawl…the turkey leg crawl…because he stopped for his second of the trip.

We found the rest of the gang down at Catalina Eddie’s, where Bee was happily eating a cheese pizza and everyone else was eating other stuff that I didn’t write down. As far as the cupcake goes, I was underwhelmed and happily passed it off to the others to share. Don’t get me wrong, the frosting was yummilicious, but I found the cake a little lacking.

Since I wasn’t hungry, I collected everyone’s tickets and battled the crowds to get FPs for ToT with a return time a couple of hours out.

Knowing that Earl, Gabriel, and Lenny wanted to ride RNR, I checked the standby line time and returned to the group to tell them it was 50 minutes. Surprisingly, they all decided to wait.

Crazy people!

Mom and I took Brianna over to the animation building to meet Mickey; but when we got there, she wasn’t feeling it and refused to even leave the courtyard. She wanted to see VotLM and meet Buzz and Woody but didn’t want to wait in line. Either Mom or I would have waited in line with her, but I was OK with her not wanting to…I was not OK with her whiny “you’re making my life miserable, and I hate you” attitude. She spotted a face painter with a short line; and even though it felt like I was rewarding a bad attitude, I agreed to let her do it (photo coming up).

We made our way to the Muppets where there was a relatively short line, so we got in the queue. Neither Bee nor Mom seemed to be able to grasp the idea of 3D, so I spent the time trying to explain it to them while not tearing out my hair. Oh, and I took one photo…

Surrounded by adorable Muppet stuff, and I choose this to photograph? I seriously have no idea why.

I adore the Muppets, and I’m a fan of 3D, but I just can’t love this show, although Lord knows I’ve tried. The important thing is that Bee liked it and was in a better mood when it was over. Anything that improves her disposition is my new favorite!

We made our way back over to RNR and scoped out the exit. While we waited, Mom and I each got a root beer float and Brianna got a strawberry smoothie. I noticed that Bee was scratching her arms and tummy and saw that she had a rash. I asked if she was OK, and she snarled at me that she didn’t feel good. She didn’t feel feverish to me, but she had been awfully cranky…even for her…so I wondered if something was going on.

I told Lenny and Earl about it, and they looked at the rash but didn’t think it was anything serious so we set off to see BatB before our ToT FPs activated. She was whiny and cantankerous while we waited for the show but perked up once it started and really enjoyed it. I love BatB and sincerely hope that the evil rumors about the show going away are false!

Bee waited with Mom while the rest of us rode ToT. I love ToT, and not even the ho-hum day could put a damper on my favorite DHS attraction. We dropped, screamed, bounced, screamed and dropped some more. It really is such a fun experience, and we were all buzzing with that “I SURVIVED TOWER OF TERROR” adrenaline rush that comes with the ride.

As we exited, I suggested that we take Bee to first aid to let someone look at the rash; and Lenny agreed. The nurse put calamine lotion on Bee’s arms and tummy to help the itching and made a couple of ice packs that she held in place with a pair of net “stockings” on her arms. They let her rest for a little while, and Gabriel ducked out and came back with the Princess Minnie doll she’d been coveting.

He’s such a sucker for that little girl.

I wish I’d thought of it!

Since it was almost time for the parade, we decided to stay and watch it before calling it a day. This was Brianna’s reaction when I said, “Show me your I’m so excited to see the parade face!”

She cheered up once it started, but she HATED the waiting part.

I finally remembered that I had a camera…

…just in time for the parade!

----Continued in next post-----

 

[SoNotAPrincess]

-----Continued from previous post-----

Day 5, Chapter 28—Hooray for Hollywood?
(continued)​

Parades are fun, right? Let’s watch…

I love Boo!

And Sully!!

Up next: A Walk to the Beach….

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Btw... I think the beginnings of your bodice ripper shows a great deal of promise...

& it sounds like you had a fun night between the S'mores, all the yum food & Heehaw Bob... I think I've read about him before-he sounds like a hoot...

OMG... I didn't know anyone else watched Christmas in Connecticut... one of the best Christmas movies ever... love Felix... love when the magazine editor is coming to her "farm" and wants to see her flip flap jacks...

DHS... it is always such a scene there at opening...

No RnRC for you? I road it for the first time in December and once I opened my eyes... (half way through I quite enjoyed it... ToT has such awesome theming...

What no running of the TSM fastpasses lunacy for your group?...

 

[shan23877]

Ouch. I am so sorry that you were dealing with a less than magical attitude from Bee. Never fun, but especially not at Disney.

I love the Muppets too, but somehow can't love the attraction. I will keep trying though.

We've never seen that parade, but I do adore those Pixar characters. We've got to make a point to see it eventually.

 

[marDgreen88]

Hahah aw, that is definitely not the worst PP photo ever. I think DHS tends to feel way more crowded than the rest of the parks because of how small it is. It can have the same amount of people as MK but it feels like so many more!

Too bad your cupcake wasn't the greatest! In my opinion, frosting is the best part! But the cake has to be good too.

Hope the rash was nothing too serious... I love that parade! I have to admit that I liked Block Party Bash better (TOO MANY B'S!!!) but (omg, another) I like that Countdown to Fun has a lot more characters!

 

[SoNotAPrincess]

Btw... I think the beginnings of your bodice ripper shows a great deal of promise...

& it sounds like you had a fun night between the S'mores, all the yum food & Heehaw Bob... I think I've read about him before-he sounds like a hoot...

OMG... I didn't know anyone else watched Christmas in Connecticut... one of the best Christmas movies ever... love Felix... love when the magazine editor is coming to her "farm" and wants to see her flip flap jacks...

DHS... it is always such a scene there at opening...

No RnRC for you? I road it for the first time in December and once I opened my eyes... (half way through I quite enjoyed it... ToT has such awesome theming...

What no running of the TSM fastpasses lunacy for your group?...

Thanks! I have dozens of little snippets like that cluttering my hard drive. Someday maybe I'll actually do something with them!

Yehaa Bob was SO much fun...I know he's out of the way for those not staying at POR, but it's worth the extra effort of getting there.

I love Barbara Stanwyck and think Christmas in Connecticut is one of her best!

No RNR for me this time. I could've gotten in OK but getting out with my knee the way it is would've been hard. It's not my favorite roller coaster, but I like having the option to ride it or not! ToT, on the other hand is a must do and one of the only rides I'd actually be willing to wait in a long(ish) line for!

LOL...we were late getting to the park, so I knew TSMM FPs would be way out. No need rushing to get them. (I know it's practically sacrilege, but it's not one of my favorites.)

 

[SoNotAPrincess]

Ouch. I am so sorry that you were dealing with a less than magical attitude from Bee. Never fun, but especially not at Disney.

I love the Muppets too, but somehow can't love the attraction. I will keep trying though.

We've never seen that parade, but I do adore those Pixar characters. We've got to make a point to see it eventually.

Yeah, it's hard when something like that interrupts the magic...you just have to take a deep breath and soldier on!

LOL...me, too...I keep hoping it wasn't as lame as I remember, or maybe it's been updated since the last time!

I hadn't seen that parade before either. It was fun, especially seeing Boo and Sully; but I liked the block party (and stars and motor cars) parade better.

 

[SoNotAPrincess]

Hahah aw, that is definitely not the worst PP photo ever. I think DHS tends to feel way more crowded than the rest of the parks because of how small it is. It can have the same amount of people as MK but it feels like so many more!

Too bad your cupcake wasn't the greatest! In my opinion, frosting is the best part! But the cake has to be good too.

Hope the rash was nothing too serious... I love that parade! I have to admit that I liked Block Party Bash better (TOO MANY B'S!!!) but (omg, another) I like that Countdown to Fun has a lot more characters!

LOL...you're too kind! You're right about DHS feeling so much more crowded than MK...we were like sardines in a can that morning!

Yeah, I was bummed about that cupcake...I had heard SO much about it. The frosting was ah-may-zing though!

I loved the block party bash and the stars and motor cars parades! It is fun to see so many Pixar characters though!!

 

[SoNotAPrincess]

Day 5, Chapter 29—A Walk to the Beach….

“Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to.”
(Miracle on 34th Street)​

After the parade, Brianna was happy to be leaving DHS but started to cry when we told her we were getting on a bus. We had an ADR at Cape May, so I suggested that we take the boat instead, but she didn’t want to do that either. I knew she was feeling rotten, so I said we could walk to BC, but it would take a while. Everyone agreed, and we set off along the water.

It was a really pretty, quiet walk…we may have seen three or four people total along the way. Bee sat on Mom’s lap and fell asleep in no time, so we took our time to let her rest, hoping she’d feel better when she woke up. I took the opportunity to get off the scooter and walk a bit (Lenny drove), and it was lovely strolling by the water, holding hands with Gabriel like we were teenagers. Little moments, right?

We took a little detour at the Boardwalk because I wanted to see the infamous clown slide for myself. I’m not exactly afraid of clowns, but I’m not in love with them either; and I have to say the creepy factor is pretty high. Gabriel was pretty impressed with the slide, calling it the “real deal.” He’s a bit of a water slide aficionado, so he’d know.

He gave me the first clue that he might be thinking of a trip for his kids when he said how much his daughter would love it. I told him if he was having deluxe dreams, he should wait until he saw Stormalong Bay at BC.

I love the moment when the boardwalk and YC/BC come into view…if you didn’t know you were at Disney World, you’d never know it wasn’t a quaint beachside village with a nearby entertainment district.

I felt pretty tense when we left DHS, but the walk worked wonders for easing the stress away. Brianna woke up just about the time we saw this…

…and said she was feeling better. Yippee! Inside, we admired the carousel….

And chocolatey castle….

Then checked in for dinner…

Up Next: Dinner by the Seaside

 

[marDgreen88]

Sounds like such a nice walk over to Beach Club! Omg, I was deathly afraid of clowns when I was little... and I can't say I'm stlll scared of them exactly... but I also can't say that I like them. It's fine, whenever I stay at the Boardwalk, I just need to have anything BUT a pool view.

The Epcot resort area really is perfect, isn't it? Looove.

That gingerbread carousel is amazing!!! I love it. I'm always in awe of the gingerbread creations that Disney does!

 

[shan23877]

I hope that the walk was restorative for everyone. I'm so glad that you got to have a special moment with your sweetie

Disney does so many things right, but that BW area is just outstanding. I wish more 'haters' understood that there is so much more to WDW than the parks. I suppose if they did know that WDW would be that much more crowded though.

Can't wait to hear what you thought of Cape May! We love it!

 

[SoNotAPrincess]

Sounds like such a nice walk over to Beach Club! Omg, I was deathly afraid of clowns when I was little... and I can't say I'm stlll scared of them exactly... but I also can't say that I like them. It's fine, whenever I stay at the Boardwalk, I just need to have anything BUT a pool view.

The Epcot resort area really is perfect, isn't it? Looove.

That gingerbread carousel is amazing!!! I love it. I'm always in awe of the gingerbread creations that Disney does!

It was a wonderful walk...exactly what we needed after the stressful day.

Ugh. Clowns...I'm with you! No pool view for sure!

The Epcot resort area is, as Giuliana Rancik would say, "AMAZEBALLS!"

Disney chefs are the most talented in the world!

I hope that the walk was restorative for everyone. I'm so glad that you got to have a special moment with your sweetie

Disney does so many things right, but that BW area is just outstanding. I wish more 'haters' understood that there is so much more to WDW than the parks. I suppose if they did know that WDW would be that much more crowded though.

Can't wait to hear what you thought of Cape May! We love it!

That's exactly the word for it...restorative! I love little moments like that...like gifts from God or the universe or both!

I've been telling Gabriel for years that WDW is more than just the parks, and I think he finally got it on this trip! I'm a big believer in little escapes, and that's what Disney does for me...lets me escape and rejuvenate for re-entry into the real world.