Super Sixth Birthday Surprise Pre Trip

[tinkertaylor05]

On a high from our first trip in June 2010 we were desperate to book as soon as we got home. We already had a summer holiday planned and figured it would just stretch us too much to go again before Christmas, then a stroke of genius hit ..... let's do a surprise trip in Feb 2011 for dd's birthday!! Thanks to 40% off two days later we were booked up again for 14th-18th Feb '11 at HNY. I really wanted to try another Disney hotel but loved the HNY so much I couldn't resist.

So the Cast as before is me 29 (I will tell anyone who'll listen I am 29 whilst I still can) Disney convert mum 62 Disney grandma secret Stitch chaser and dd 5 princess mad birthday girl

Mum and I were super excited, I couldn't wait to make a new ticker but Feb'11 seemed so far off so we had to get back to reality and throw ourselves into real life booooooo!

With summer out of the way and Halloween around the corner it made February feel a bit more real at last. We started to think about our trip and throw some ideas around, mum and I would be huddled over the laptop or found whispering in the kitchen. As Christmas drew nearer we were getting so excited all we could talk of was Disney and we started making mistakes all over the place somehow we always managed to recover from slip ups to dd and keep the secret. I really haven't a clue how we've managed it

Dd got a huge Stitch for Christmas and mum could be found at times having a sneaky cuddle when she didn't think we'd seen A few more princess dresses have been added to the collection and a new Minnie was needed!

Christmas passed and dd started talking non stop about her birthday, I have perfected the art of question dodging and commiting like a politician Her birthday is on the 16th Feb whilst we are away and for some crazy reason I have a fancy dress party planned for her on 13th Feb ... we fly out at 06:15am on the 14th

As a double surprise her dad is now getting in on the action, he lives in London and dd doesn't see much of him at all so he is getting the Eurostar for her actual birthday on 16th Feb. I keep having to remind myself 'I'm doing this for dd, I can't uninvite him'

So far I have booked Walt's for a late lunch on Day 1, Auberge for 12pm Day 2, Cafe Mickey with birthday cake 6:30pm Day 3. We didn't do Walt's last time so really looking forward to this and probably going to do Annettes on Day 4 .... I 'need' my veggie burger

 

[kizzabel]

lol @ the veggie burger! just finished your last TR!

your dd is going to have a brilliant time!!
maybe get as much packing as possible done on the 12th and be as organised as you can so that you can enjoy her dress up party and not have any big things to get sorted after the long and undoubtedly stressful party day. DD had a 4th birthday party and it was an experience!! im sworn off for a few years!

hope you have a great time and theres lovely big stitch slippers in the village shop your mum might just like

 

[Neeny17]

It's sounds like a great trip! I bet your DD will love it!

 

[tinkertaylor05]

lol @ the veggie burger! just finished your last TR!

your dd is going to have a brilliant time!!
maybe get as much packing as possible done on the 12th and be as organised as you can so that you can enjoy her dress up party and not have any big things to get sorted after the long and undoubtedly stressful party day. DD had a 4th birthday party and it was an experience!! im sworn off for a few years!

hope you have a great time and theres lovely big stitch slippers in the village shop your mum might just like

Thanks, I can't wait now. I am just planning how to break the surprise. Unfortunately the parties when they're at school seem to get bigger this one is a share with some friends so there will be the full 35 kids eeek! I am off work on Friday 11th so am planning to pack then stash the suitcases in the cellar

 

[Disneyfanswicklow]

Yay sounds like it is going to be another magical trip! You are so brave having the party the day before you go....but then again its probably a nice way to distract yourself! Like Kizzabell says get as much as you can organised before the party, hopefully your dd will be tired after party and go to bed early!

Nearly there now!

 

[tinkertaylor05]

Think I've finished the shopping off for the trip, ordered some of the 'little hotties' from ebay and can't wait to try them out!

Having a little panic about the party, I've got most of the bits needed for the kids party bags (except for the bags themselves), dd has picked out which cake she wants and has decided she's going to be Rapunzel at the party, I am just trying to talk her out of wearing the wig ... really don't fancy brushing that through after 35 kids have pawed it.

Mum has been in 'training' going for extra long walks in prep for the non stop Disney marathon and speed walking olympics

 

[Brummig]

Loved your last trip report. Have a great time again. We arrive on your last day - suddenly getting very excited!

 

[tinkertaylor05]

Need to let off a little excitement ... it's 6 sleeps until we go ... 5 if I don't count Sunday when I will probably not sleep at all

I've wrapped dd's birthday gifts that are coming to DLP, I've found out a few friends and family have put euros in dd's birthday cards so I may end up borrowing money off her by the time we're done ... 2 x birthday cakes at DLP = 50 euros .... I am trying not to think about it too much

My friend's coming over on Thursday and we're going to get the party bags done for the party on Sunday. The day's are just going so slow x

 

[tinkertaylor05]

Well after a couple of day's feeling dramatic with dd ill things are looking up Dd seems to be on the mend ... phew!

With 2 days to go I think I have everything we need, I've still not told dd yet so can't pack with her about. I've been stashing everything in the drawers and wardrobe in the spare bedroom and done my best to keep dd out of there.

The big party is tomorrow All the party bags are made up, food all ready except need to ice/decorate fairy cakes. Also need to clean the house but right now I can't be bothered so am doing anything except for what I actually need to do

I am currently pretending to do some work whilst trawling the Dis and designing some luggage tags

 

[Disneyfanswicklow]

Good luck with the party tomorrow and with the rest of the secret packing lol - You are almost there we still have more than a week and I can barely contain myself so can't imagine how you feel with just 2 days!!!

 

[Mum to Belle]

Good to hear your DD is on the mend I hope the party goes smoothly tomorrow!

I love doing the important bits like designing luggage tags and making Autograph Book covers they are very important jobs!!

If you don't get a chance to pop back on here before you go - have a great trip!

 

[tinkertaylor05]

Ohh I will be here, I need somewhere to let off steam! Still not told dd am thinking it's going to be such a rush in the morning will just give her a letter when I wake her up at 3am.

It's nearly party time, dd looks really pale, she was recovering quite well from the dreaded virus until this morning she decided to try her hand at flying I heard an almighty crash and found her rolling around on the floor, she was apparently balancing along the end of her bed frame Dd has a bad reaction to blood so totally whited out on me ..... kids arghhhhhh

Anyways the cases are provisionally packed and waiting in the cellar, I can't check in on line and after trying for over 12 hours Fly Be have now told me I can't hmmmm thanks for the heads up Fly Be. Taxi booked for 3:30am ..... we're off to Disney in the morning

 

[Isila]

oh my.. kids

have a wonderful magical time!!!!!!

 

[Mum to Belle]

Hope the party was a success and your DD didn't have any more hair-raising moments!! (Ever since my DD watched Tink & Great Fairy Rescue she keeps trying to fly off the sofa )

Fingers crossed you get some sleep - YOU'RE GOING TO DISNEY IN THE MORNING!!!

 

[J Marley]

Oh My Gosh you are going tomorrow Have a brilliant time I hope the weather is good for you and you don't need those Little Hotties.

I look forward to hearing all about it when you get back

 

[tinkertaylor05]

Thanks for all your well wishes, dd was doing much better come Sunday evening her temperature had dropped. The birthday party went as planned and was a real success. Dd was tired out as I'd hoped and she was asleep by 8pm giving me valuable packing time. All was done and I got to bed around 9:30pm, it took me a fair bit to get to sleep with the excitement but I somehow forced myself off with the prospect of the 2:30am start

 

[tinkertaylor05]

I guess it's about time I got this trippie sorted, true to form 6 months late but I need to indulge in something whilst I panic waiting for my eurostar dates

 

[tinkertaylor05]

The big day finally arrived, after months and months of waiting and planning I could finally break the news to dd I'd dragged the packed cases up from the cellar before getting to bed set my alarm for 2:30am .... probably the only time in my life I'll be happy to do that! I snuck into dd's room and planted the invitation I'd made for her and set her little alarm clock to go off. She was out for the count and woke up probably terrified that mummy was staring down at her smiling like a lunatic with a video camera She read her letter and asked me to read it in disbelief so i told her to come downstairs where she saw all the cases packed and the excitement began

The journey was problem free, we arrived at HNY and were given a nice room in the central block, dd remembered from last time that a special somebody was hanging around the lobby when we arrived so she dived in for her first meet with the main mouse himself ...

After checking luggage we headed straight to Salon Mickey, gotta love that walking past the queues! A quick refuel and into the park we went, i headed to city hall to update some reservations and pick up dd's birthday sticker (this was a bit rubbish and was so glad I'd come prepared). We took in that first surge of excitement staring down main street and off we went. Perfectly timed the all star express's arrival but the crowds were already swamping the characters down near the castle so we decided to just wander through, Peter Pan had other idea's though ....

that boy must be like a magpie as he spotted dd's birthday badge through the throng of people, she was thrilled being called princess etc even without being dressed up. This Peter Pan was amazing we saw him regularly throughout our stay and he always remembered and shouted out birthday girl!

These two cheeky chaps got in on some of the action too .....

Dd was suitably amused by Mr Smee and we headed off for a wander around the parks, it was not too cold and dry at this point. I popped into Auberge whilst mum and dd did some shopping, I had a word that is was her birthday and requested a nice table for our booking the next day.

We were feeling particularly shattered after very little sleep and decided to check if we could move our Walts reservation forward which was honoured, we got a seat in the tent kinda set up which we all loved ...

The food here was gorgeous, we ate off the quick menu and were already thinking about when to come back mmmmmmmm

Last time we came Dumbo was closed so we had to queue for a ridiculous amount of time as dd really wanted to go on, we had a spin in the tea cups and POTC ... I genuinely lost count how many times we rode this! We fast passed BTM on arrival so headed the for dd's first go ever eeek! I was so worried about her but she loved it and again I really don't know how often we rode it.

We went to figure out where to set up for the revised parade route whilst the work was being done near bella notte, we ended up on the corner near the gates where it starts and ends. I was actually very happy with this spot, we met some lovely brits and Peter Pan gave dd a shout out followed by lots of other characters. It was nice having the princesses etc walking as they would all come over and shake hands etc

After the parade I honestly can't remember what we did, I think a relatively early night was had after a stroll through the village.

 

[tinkertaylor05]

After a full nights sleep we were feeling ready for emh, we went for breakfast just after 7:15am and ate in the Manhattan restaurant. We ate in here every morning and as with our last time had the choice of here or Parkside Diner, I preferred the Manhattan as it was lovely to have a relaxed breakfast looking out over the lake. It was mainly full of business men which was rather nice to get a bit of chivalry rather than shoving over breakfast

We had a cuddle with Pluto before wrapping up to do emh ....

The February morning were chilly, I was more than comfortable in a hoody and body warmer but a hat was a must for the ears.

We did all the Fantasyland rides and Buzz before enjoying a warm in the castle.

As the parks filled up we made our way back down Mainstreet, I love the mornings We headed to the Studios for a go on the flying carpets before going back to HNY for an outfit change.

Pluto was back accompanied by Minnie, we said hello before going to make our reservation at Auberge.

 

[tinkertaylor05]

Now I'm aware since our trip things have changed at Auberge all I can say is that I'm so glad we got to experience it as it was. Upon arrival we were greeted by Cinderella, she was so attentive and gracious spending plenty of time with each little princess ....

The official photos were way better than mine but you get the idea. You may remember I'd popped in yesterday to confirm our reservation? Well I'd requested a nice table next to the dance floor and made them aware it was dd's birthday. This was honoured and we were escorted to our table, we had a very hard working cm who asked me aside how I would like the meal to go and at which point I wanted the cake. Not long after being seated Susie and Perla were out and straight to our table, we were seen first on every rotation during our meal, each character spent plenty of time with dd chatting to her and making her feel very special.

I'm a veggie and the starter in here never really works for any of us so we picked our way through it. Belle and the beast made their entrance and did the most beautiful dance next to our table, my dd was in total awe (If I can do it I will try to sort out the video I took).

Ariel was out next, she was so animated and spent such a long time talking about dd's Flounder cuddly, dd was blown away

Our mains were perfect again, I love the food in Auberge so do not mind one bit that the starter isn't my thing.

Aurora and Prince Phillip came to dance by our table this time around, again just wow I am so disappointed to hear they aren't doing this at the moment as it was magical!

My dd can be a real chatterbox but she was in adoration and relatively shy, they brought her cake out as planned, which was yummy and very nicely done with her name etched into the white chocolate plaque. All the princesses came over to sing, I couldn't have been happier ...

Afterwards Aurora and Phillip came back over saying that dd hadn't mentioned it was her birthday, they did a lovely message and picture in her autograph book and made her feel so special.

I'm not sure what happened upon leaving but as I was fiddling with our coats dd had struck up a conversation with Cinderella and the next I knew she was waltzing off through the restaurant hand in hand with her! I followed and cinders took her to the dance floor, with all eyes on them dd did a fast track princess lesson lol then had a final cuddle with Susie and Perla before being led back out to the lobby by Cinderella. This was the icing on a very special birthday cake meal at Auberge. The bill came to 164.22 after the shareholder discount but that included 25 euro for the cake and another 25 euro for the picture pack, money well spent.