SOOZE Return of the Band Geeks! What's Next Update! p.25 10/10

[Sooze]

Love your update. Shae is so adorable posing as the fairies and with her princess ears on at that! The flower and garden festival is on my must do list for the future.

I have got to check out the Voices of Liberty this trip. We missed them last year but did get to see the American Adventure for the first time. Jeremy would probably love it! He has been singing God Bless the USA for the last month thanks to the music teacher at school. It is tooo cute!

Looking forward to another update!

Erika

Isn't it great that she just loved those ears! Plus, they're still a bit big... so hopefully they will last us a few more trips!

The F&G festival is fantastic! My new goal is to come to the festival with a girls only/adults only trip, so I can stop and 'smell the flowers' instead of driving by them too quickly!

Oh... I sure hope you make time for VoL. Their show is a quick 10 minutes long. And worth every single milli-second!

You know, I've never heard them sing God Bless the USA. Isn't that strange? It'd be an awesome song for them to do!

Darn! I wonder if the unusually cold winter delayed them somehow?

Not much of a butterfly expert, but that sounds like a scientific reason!

So THIS is where they did some updating! Sadly, my DS sped us past the area so fast, I saw nothing.

Yeah, I figured you didn't spend too much time in here!

YES YES YES YES!!! I completely forgot to mention my displeasure on that subject in my TR; I'm glad you brought it up! What in tarnation heck were they thinking?!

I think that it was the final day of planning and some Disney intern said, "Hey.. what about that new princess?"

Shut the front door! That's just craziness! But very, very cool craziness

I know, right?! It always amazes me when we stumble on people we know without planning anything. I mean, really? In the vastness of Disney World we actually chose to be in the same place at the same time? How does that happen?! Although, knowing these folks, and knowing us, it really wasn't that strange that we were both at VoL.

Guilty as charged. But, just for you, I'm making a point of finding goats on the Big Trip!

It's so funny, once you start looking!

Now that you mention it... but swap "patio" for office window.

Yeah... sorry about that! I've never heard Florida monsoon rain on an office window.

 

[Sooze]

After a delicious afternoon, monsoon nap, we prettied ourselves up for our very FIRST Hoop Dee Doo experience ever!! We decided to drive over to Ft. Wilderness, then take the bus back to Frontier Hall.

When we got there, we realized that those monsoons had done a number on Ft. Wilderness! Many of the sidewalks were flooded/mudded over. Of course, I was taking in every second of Disney-ness and wasn't paying attention to where I was going. Yep... got a foot full of water and mud.... lovely

The bus was quick and we enjoyed our ride to the back of the resort. I am still blown away at how HUGE Ft. Wilderness is, and how FULL it always is... wow!

Dean, Adrianna, and Abby were waiting for us at the bus stop. We took a quick walk over to their RV to see their 'home' for the week. They scored on a FABULOUS lot that was very close to Frontier Hall. They were joking about their little camper parked next to the GINORMOUS RVs. Not sure how they scored that primo spot, but they are well-deserving of it, for sure!

We had some time to kill before they were letting folks in to HDD, so we got some Mud Slides and relaxed on the front porch while the kids piddled around and played games. Wonderful vacation-like feeling... let me tell ya!

Soon, the crowds started to form around HDD. I went to the ticket window to grab our tickets, and we hopped in line to check in. The crowd was huge! Can't believe they fill that show THREE times a night! CRAZY!

We were finally let in and led to our table. IT ROCKED!!!! We were DEAD CENTER, two rows from the stage. Dean gave me a look like, "If I am in ANY way involved in this show, you are DEAD!!" It really was a great location, but very exposed, for sure. I went ahead and splurged for the Level 1 seating, but after seeing the show, I would be fine with the Level 2 or 3 seating... there's just not a bad seat in that house! Note to self, eh?

This was our view of the stage (sorry, these are all cell phone pictures... so not the best!)

And a look up and back in the theater:

We did not have to wait long, and the show was starting and the food was coming! I absolutely LOVED how the food was 'choreographed' into the show. Awesome! Everyone got everything at the same time. The CMs that took care of the tables were really part of the show! Our 'waiter' had been working the HDD for almost 20 years!! I guess it's the pinnacle of a Disney Waiter/Waitress' career. I can see why! You really only have to deal with drink orders, then you dance and laugh and perform your way through the meal. Not a lot of time for guest complaining!

Delicious corn bread and salad. (Note the BUCKETS of food! What a great touch!)

Then came the meat:

Holy buckets of Ribs, Batman!!

Mmmmmmmmm.... fried chicken:

The show was wonderful!! Our favorite moment came during one of the songs, when the whole cast joined hands in a circle around OUR table, and started dancing around it, with spotlights on us all! Adrianna almost climbed under the table!! But I loved it!

Here are a few shots from the show. Again, I didn't have my camera, so I didn't take NEAR enough pictures:

This was RIGHT next to our table... intimate and amazing!

The big washboard finale:

What a FUN atmosphere! What a FUN way to share a meal! What a FUN, interactive, laugh-out-loud show! We will DEFINITELY be back!!

Still on a major high, Tyson and I hopped on the boat that took us over to MK. Our friends were wanting to just chill in their camper, and Matt and Shae decided to head home for the night. That was the first time we ever were on those boats... just LOVE how you can sit up front! I was talking to the CM working on the boat about the training you have to do to drive the boats. (Since that is one of Matt's future post-retirement career choices) Apparently, you can train to captain the Epcot boats, the Sassagoula boats, or the Bay Lake boats. If you opt for the Bay Lake boats, you have to learn how to drive all THREE... including the big honkin' ferries!! Now THAT would be scary, to me. So I told Matt.. he should just stick to our favorite Epcot boats!

Tyson and I enjoyed some alone time. We rode a few favorites, then decided to hit Spaceship Earth, since the wait time was only 20 minutes. We BREEZED through the line. It was moving so fast that we didn't have time to enjoy the fun updates they put in the queue. Oh well!! We moved right on up and were ready to load when....

....


....


IT BROKE DOWN!!!! Of COURSE it did!!!

Here is Tyson expressing his displeasure ... look how close we were to loading!

We decided to wait it out.. because this was really the only thing we wanted to do! I ended up being an additional 10 minutes... which brought our wait time up to the 20 minutes that were posted anyway.. so not a big deal!

We enjoyed our ride, then a wonderfully slow stroll back down Main Street. We hopped on a bus and arrived back at the Boardwalk. Matt and Shae were already tucked in bed, so we joined them...

I'm sure we all dreamed about castles and princesses (well, maybe not Tyson)... because we were about to experience a magical breakfast the next morning....

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Somehow my subscription to this thread vanished and missed a whole slew of updates.

On the plus side, I've been able to read through multiple updates all at once.

Awesome job! Love all the photos.

 

[jordanyosh]

Okay I am caught up.

My favorite picture of all? the picture out of your BWV studio when it's pouring rain. There's just something magical about it. It really put you right back there.

Hoop Dee Doo...haven't heard a bad thing about it....It's now on my list.

you seem to be getting a ton done

 

[Sooze]

Somehow my subscription to this thread vanished and missed a whole slew of updates.

On the plus side, I've been able to read through multiple updates all at once.

Awesome job! Love all the photos.

Glad you stumbled on it! Vanishing threads often happen when they are left dormant for long periods of time, eh?

Okay I am caught up.

My favorite picture of all? the picture out of your BWV studio when it's pouring rain. There's just something magical about it. It really put you right back there.

Hoop Dee Doo...haven't heard a bad thing about it....It's now on my list.

you seem to be getting a ton done

Oh yes... the stormy BW nap. When I look at that picture, I can not only HEAR what's happening, I can smell that rainy-afternoon-at-the-BW smell too... can't you?

If you do Hoop Dee Doo... you have to take your rowdy Dis friends with you... I can only imagine what kind of a scene y'all would create! You'd be laughing all night! Ooooo... can we add it to the list for the 2012 trip?

 

[PrincessV]

Ah, Hoop-dee-doo! For years I've been wanting to give it a try, but haven't been able to get past the cost, given that neither Leo nor I would eat much of anything included. But... you're pushing me closer to the edge with this review! Sounds like you guys had a blast

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

The Hood dee doo looks like so much fun! I have definitely got to put that on our future list!

I can't say it enough---I Shae's ears. I think it is great that she wore them so much! She is sooo adorable in them.

It was great that you and Tyson got to spend some alone time together. I am sure you both enjoyed it very much.

Can't wait to read about your magical breakfast!

Erika

 

[jordanyosh]

I can smell it. In 1999, we stayed at the BWVs and a tropical storm blew through late in the evening. It was awesome to hear the rain with that BW smell and there IS one for sure.

Hoop Dee may make the list for 2012

 

[Sooze]

Ah, Hoop-dee-doo! For years I've been wanting to give it a try, but haven't been able to get past the cost, given that neither Leo nor I would eat much of anything included. But... you're pushing me closer to the edge with this review! Sounds like you guys had a blast

Yeah, it was pretty pricey, especially taking 7 people in Tier 1 seating. But taxes were nicer to us than we thought, so we were able to make it work!

Hope you, Leo, and Gramma get to experience it someday!

The Hood dee doo looks like so much fun! I have definitely got to put that on our future list!

I can't say it enough---I Shae's ears. I think it is great that she wore them so much! She is sooo adorable in them.

It was great that you and Tyson got to spend some alone time together. I am sure you both enjoyed it very much.

Can't wait to read about your magical breakfast!

Erika

Sure hope you and your family can experience it someday. It's a true Disney classic!

I love the ears too!! We sure got (and WILL get) our money out of those. It was great to find a Disney souvie that actually lasts!

I can smell it. In 1999, we stayed at the BWVs and a tropical storm blew through late in the evening. It was awesome to hear the rain with that BW smell and there IS one for sure.

Hoop Dee may make the list for 2012

 

[Sooze]

Before I begin this update, I need to remind you of something. See this sweatshirt?

Quick background story. Tyson had to do a 'family heritage' project at school. When he learned that he was 75% German, he was excited to research his new favorite country. (Well, until he found out about WWII, but that's a whole other story) He was beside himself with excitement that we were able to eat in Germany and visit his 'homeland'. Then, in one of those moments where I was dealing with Shae, Matt and Ty snuck into a gift shop and emerged with this hoodie. Beautiful, isn't it? Yeah... do you want me to tell you how much it cost?!


Now, my I'm-the-wife-so-I-must-make-it-even hormones kicked in immediately. If Ty got this beautiful, expensive sweatshirt, it only makes SENSE that Shaelyn should receive a beautiful, expensive princess gown. Doesn't that make sense to YOU?

I've been against spending that kind of money on a princess dress when you can buy them for 20 bucks at WalMart. But the quality of construction and design is just far superior at the parks.... so a new dress it was! Tyson and I tried to get one for Shae at EMH the night before, but the princess dress store was closed...

So this morning, we got up extra early (after a LATE night, ugh), and headed to MK for breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table... and a quick shopping trip beforehand!

I was REAAAAALLLLY hoping to get Shae a Tiana gown. I just think they are so exquisite. But they did not have her size, so we were choosing between Snow White and Belle. Belle won out! We got the matching flip flops (because you just kind of have to!), and a small tiara to put around her bun. Here's the final product. Bibbidi.... bobbidi....

BOO!

I can't speak enough of the fit and quality of this dress. We've been playing with el-cheapos for years. This is just so full and beautiful! I don't know who was happier with it, Shae or me!

This morning was ALL about Shaelyn. Our friends joined us, but Tyson and Abby spent most of the time making fun of things. SOOOO pre-teenish! But they were having fun! We were called in quickly and were able to visit with Cindy.

Now, I'm only going to say this once, and say it quickly, because it's REALLY not very nice of me. But we were kind of disappointed in our princesses this morning. I'll let you judge for yourself. But we (the adults) kept looking at each other and saying "B Team today". Obviously, we kept our opinions far from the kids... I don't know... you can decide. Sorry if I offended anyone!

Since we had early ADRs, the meal moved along VERY quickly. We were soon seated, had our breakfasts ordered, and the princesses started flying in. We started with Aurora:

Then we had to pause for the 'wishing' part of the meal. I just LOOOOOVVVEEE this picture, by the way!

Jasmine was next:

Shaelyn can't smile big enough!

We had to get the big kids in on at least ONE picture! Notice Ty's hoodie.... he never wanted to take that off!

Belle loved chatting with Shae. And you can tell Shae is in awe...

More with the goofballs:

Finally, Ariel made her way out. I don't know why, but Shaelyn didn't get close to this princess. Look how she distanced her self in the picture. Weird!

The food was your normal, Disney breakfast fare. Shaelyn had the time of her life, and, heck, who DOESN'T like eating in the castle?! But I was ready to get out of there and get along with our day! I stuck with Shae while the rest of the group headed toward big kid stuff. She and I were SO happy to find these folks right outside the castle:

There was hardly any line, and we had NEVER seen them before. So we jumped on board. I always wondered what kind of guest interaction they would have with us, since they are so MEAN in the movie! But it was GREAT!!! They were super nice to Shae, they just bashed all the other princess. For example, when Shae walked up to them in her Belle dress, one of the sisters said, "I always TOLD you that dress looks better on a red head!" They were so much fun!!

Just across the way, we found:

She had absolutely NO line! She was super sweet.

Our fabulous, princess-filled morning was not quite over yet. We still had one MAJOR encounter... with one of the most GORGEOUS princesses I have ever seen. And the prince.... WOW!! Can you guess who?

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

Our fabulous, princess-filled morning was not quite over yet. We still had one MAJOR encounter... with one of the most GORGEOUS princesses I have ever seen. And the prince.... WOW!! Can you guess who?

Sooze:

She is absolutely adorable! I thought the Princess ears were too cute but this is the icing on the cake. It looks like she had a fabulous morning!

I agree, what was going on with the princesses that morning?

Okay, my initial guess when you said GORGEOUS was Snow White--your friend! But, if there is a prince, is it Princess Tiana and Naveen?

Can't wait to read more!

Erika

 

[JenSop]

OMG! I absolutely LOVE that Belle dress! So beautiful! Looks like Shae had a great time with the princesses. It's funny, every time I look at people's pictures of the face characters, I'm always looking to see if I recognize anyone from all the Disney auditions I do in NYC. haha!

And tell Tyson I love his sweatshirt! I'm all German on my dad's side and part German on my mom's side. I always feel at home in the Germany pavilion and like practicing my language skills with the CM's!

Can't wait to hear about your next character encounter!!!

 

[Sooze]

Sooze:

She is absolutely adorable! I thought the Princess ears were too cute but this is the icing on the cake. It looks like she had a fabulous morning!

I agree, what was going on with the princesses that morning?

Okay, my initial guess when you said GORGEOUS was Snow White--your friend! But, if there is a prince, is it Princess Tiana and Naveen?

Can't wait to read more!

Erika

Thanks! You can tell she just felt so special that day!!

Princess that morning... no idea!

Stay tuned.. update today!

OMG! I absolutely LOVE that Belle dress! So beautiful! Looks like Shae had a great time with the princesses. It's funny, every time I look at people's pictures of the face characters, I'm always looking to see if I recognize anyone from all the Disney auditions I do in NYC. haha!

And tell Tyson I love his sweatshirt! I'm all German on my dad's side and part German on my mom's side. I always feel at home in the Germany pavilion and like practicing my language skills with the CM's!

Can't wait to hear about your next character encounter!!!

Thanks, Jen! Shae loves it too!! And you can guess what her Halloween costume will be this year!

Tyson was excited to hear he had another Germany-lover on his side!! You can speak German!?

 

[jordanyosh]

Yeah, not the greatest looking princesses. Not they themselves are bad looking, they look great, it just seems they don't fit their chosen princess that well. There are a select few of each face character that I like.

I'm guessing Tiana and Naveen.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

did you have the spatzle at germany, i loved it on the carved pork with a little gravy, and the sourbrauten was really good as well.

that step sister in the pink was the same one we had at the park fare on our last night she was really good in character there.

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Don't feel bad. We did the Princess Storybook Breakfast and had two great princesses, a couple of so-so's and one that was just, well, off. And orange. Oddly enough. Moving on.

Looks like you had a great time though and that even the big kids were having fun. (Not they would admit such a thing.) And of course there is the added bonus of blackmail material. I know if my mother had photos of me posing with a princess back when I was in school, it would have carried SERIOUS bargaining power.

I hear you on the evening out compulsion. Tracy is OCD when it comes to matching dollar amount / gift count for the girls.

Looking forward to more!

 

[JenSop]

Thanks, Jen! Shae loves it too!! And you can guess what her Halloween costume will be this year!

Tyson was excited to hear he had another Germany-lover on his side!! You can speak German!?

Yup - I'd say I'm more on the Intermediate level with German. (My dad was born in Austria and came to America when he was a little boy, so the older relatives on that side all speak it.) I'm not fluent, but I know enough to do pretty well. It's my grammar that isn't that great. On my March trip to Austria, I found out that my German was better than I though it was. Although when people start speaking really quickly, I can get a little confused.

 

[PrincessV]

Then, in one of those moments where I was dealing with Shae, Matt and Ty snuck into a gift shop and emerged with this hoodie. Beautiful, isn't it? Yeah... do you want me to tell you how much it cost?!

Nope, I can guess. Those darned EP sweatshirts are hard to resist!

If Ty got this beautiful, expensive sweatshirt, it only makes SENSE that Shaelyn should receive a beautiful, expensive princess gown. Doesn't that make sense to YOU?

Every inch the princess!

Now, I'm only going to say this once, and say it quickly, because it's REALLY not very nice of me. But we were kind of disappointed in our princesses this morning. I'll let you judge for yourself. But we (the adults) kept looking at each other and saying "B Team today". Obviously, we kept our opinions far from the kids... I don't know... you can decide.

And... ITA!

What a great way to start the day!

 

[Sooze]

Yeah, not the greatest looking princesses. Not they themselves are bad looking, they look great, it just seems they don't fit their chosen princess that well. There are a select few of each face character that I like.

I'm guessing Tiana and Naveen.

That's a good point... they just didn't seem to fit the princess. And your guess is correct! Stay tuned for pics!

did you have the spatzle at germany, i loved it on the carved pork with a little gravy, and the sourbrauten was really good as well.

that step sister in the pink was the same one we had at the park fare on our last night she was really good in character there.

No Spatzle... or not that I know of! We just piled stuff on our plates, not paying too much attention to the names!

The step sisters were fabulous!!

Don't feel bad. We did the Princess Storybook Breakfast and had two great princesses, a couple of so-so's and one that was just, well, off. And orange. Oddly enough. Moving on.

Looks like you had a great time though and that even the big kids were having fun. (Not they would admit such a thing.) And of course there is the added bonus of blackmail material. I know if my mother had photos of me posing with a princess back when I was in school, it would have carried SERIOUS bargaining power.

I hear you on the evening out compulsion. Tracy is OCD when it comes to matching dollar amount / gift count for the girls.

Looking forward to more!

I think I remember the orange princess! You get what you get, I guess!

Oh... blackmail material... I never thought of it that way. Nice!

Yup - I'd say I'm more on the Intermediate level with German. (My dad was born in Austria and came to America when he was a little boy, so the older relatives on that side all speak it.) I'm not fluent, but I know enough to do pretty well. It's my grammar that isn't that great. On my March trip to Austria, I found out that my German was better than I though it was. Although when people start speaking really quickly, I can get a little confused.

How fun that you can at least speak the language enough to communicate! You need to try it out on the Germany CMs. Aren't you going there in just a few days?!

Nope, I can guess. Those darned EP sweatshirts are hard to resist!

Aren't they?

Every inch the princess!

I agree!

 

[IluvXU]

I am with you on the dresses from WDW. Our first princess dress, the snow white one is far nicer than any other one we have ever gotten. I do think the ones through the disney store are better quality too.

Those are well not even B team princesses. We have ate there twice and had much much prettier ones. I do think the Aurora hair is just not pretty... although in the princess tent we did see a pretty Aurora this trip!