The "12 Days Of Disney" trip report

[brittanyherndon]

Thank you both Talia is 4, although she's VERY tall for her age. She'll be 5 in February. She can probably pass for a 6 or 7 year old!

it is funny you say that cuse I was thinking that she is 7 but it looks like your DH is tall so she probley gets it from him

 

[CoP Luv]

Wow you guys did F&W right!!! I wish we had enough time to do that! Great report.

 

[mchelle77]

Magic Kingdom Day (Wednesday - one of two days at MK)

I was excited about every park, obviously, for different reasons. Epcot was the Food & Wine, Hollywood Studios because of my favorite ride (hel-LO Aerosmith Coaster!!), Animal Kingdom because I was looking forward to finally going on the new Everest coaster, and Magic Kingdom because it's ALL about the kids. I couldn't wait for Talia to see the castle. To meet Tinkerbell (fingers crossed). To watch the parades and shows.

This day we made rope drop again. (We made every rope drop!) This day was a little difficult since the other parks have the parking lot right there, and at MK you have to park, then take the tram to the Monorail and THEN take that to MK. Big fat pain in the butt.

When we got there, we got the stroller and headed up Main Street, stopping at a Photopass photog on the way.

We walked through the castle and out the back, into Tinkerbell's Treasures. Someone had JUST "woken" Tinkerbell, so we had to settle for "calling" her, which was enough for Talia! We asked about it and the CM working there gave Talia a bell and said "Ring this and then call her, let's see if she's around!" She ran the bell and was looking around like crazy. He hinted where to look and said "You need to call her too". So Talia calls out "Tiiiiiiiiiinkerbeeeeeeeeell!" and the pixie dust sparkles in the corner and she shows up in the "window". She was SO excited that she called her and got to see her. The CM asked if she wanted some pixie dust, which of COURSE she did. He told her to close her eyes and make a wish, so she clasps her hands together and says "I WISH I were a fairy!" He sprinkled some on her head, and seriously, there's still some embedded onto her scalp to this day. I can't get that crap off.

I got a FP for Peter Pan and then, since Dumbo was only a 10 minute wait, and Toontown didn't open for another 25 minutes, we went on. In reality, the wait was longer but I didn't keep track. I think it was closing in on 20 minutes by the time we actually got to ride it.

After that it was off to Toontown to meet Tinkerbell. We had a bit of a hard time finding the place - we parked the stroller and went into the store and had to ask a CM where the room was. I didn't see how long the wait was, but we didn't care - Talia LOVES Tinkerbell and she was the only character that we couldn't reserve a dinner around (Ha ha) I was constantly rubbing her down with hand sanitizer because there was a sneezing, coughing, running-like-a-fountain kid behind us and not using tissues, or even an arm to cover her mouth. We went in finally and got to meet Fawn first (glad I watched the movie and knew these people!), then Tink, and then Terence (which was a surprise because I think he's new at the character spot?) We got autographs and pics and then went through the gift shop. Talia picked out a little Tinkerbell change purse and we left.

Did all of Toontown - did Goofy's Barnstormer, saw Donald's boat, poked through Mickey and Minnie's houses, and then went back to Fantasyland.

Continued ..

 

[mchelle77]

We went on the Tea Cups (which were *supposed* to have been shut down for rehab the two days we were there!) and after that I ran over to Tomorrowland for FPs for Buzz, which I TOTALLY never needed. The wait was nonexistant. I'm talking 10 minutes (which basically means you just walk on).

Anyway, after that we went on Snow White, which Talia did OK on. I've heard that some kids get scared on that ride because of the witch .. but I was sure to tell Talia beforehand that there might be some things that make her feel scared, but that to remember that it's NOT real, and that nothing in any ride at WDW will hurt her. And then I covered her eyes at the witch part. HA.

After that we got an ice cream to share, and then went to Mickey's Philharmagic (good show).

This was just funny - the family next to us had a 4 year old daughter named Talia too, and they were also from Massachusetts

Then we went on It's A Small Frickin World, which I can't stand but I know kids dig. My MIL loves it too, and likes knowing we humor her. Screw it, we're in Disney, we can risk having that song in our head the rest of the day (and it WAS.) We got lunch at Pinocchio Village Haus after that - I can't remember what we got .. I know Talia got a PB&J. After lunch we used the FPs for Peter Pan and were basically done with Fantasyland.

Did Peter Pan's Flight and the walked to Tomorrowland and went on the Tomorrowland Speedway cars. Russ and I were fine with skipping those, but Talia saw them and wanted to go (she still had Test Track on the brain, I guess).

So we did those and then went to Buss Lightyear's Spaceranger Spin. We saw Buzz out front and got pics and autographs. She liked it, didn't LOVE it.

After that we accidentally went on the Carousel of Progress - we thought, for some reason, that we were doing the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. Oops. We did that right afterward but it apparently wasn't enough action for Talia so she pretended to sleep. She had us going for about 2 minutes where we really thoguht she WAS sleeping. If this kid gets over her shyness, she'll be a great actress someday.

From there Russ wanted to do the Stitch's Great Escape (he loved it when it was Alien Encounter) so Talia and I took a walk.

She wanted to go on the Astro Orbiter (I did too), but it was a 25 minute wait that I didn't feel like doing. After that we went back to Fantasyland to see about going on the Winnie the Pooh ride, but it was also a 25 minute wait.Took a bench break, called my mother so she could talk to Talia for a bit and then went into one of the stores. Bought two postcards and a Mickey shaped hair clip for Talia (that I ended up using more than she has!) By that time Russ was done so we did Monsters Inc Laugh Floor and then walked to Main Street.

Did a little shopping and then I decided to take Talia back to the Princess store to look for a little gift for her friend across the street who loves Ariel. Russ grabbed something in the bakery and talked to his dad while she and I went off to the store. Talia picked out a pair of, what she calls, "High School Musical shoes!" (They're covered in pink glitter) Found a few other things and started walking back to meet Russ.

Continued ..

 

[mchelle77]

We bumped into the "Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It!" parade. I texted Russ to meet us, we were just to the right of the castle at the "hub" and RIGHT in front. All the floats came by, Talia was loving it. The characters came off the float (Goofy and Donald were near us) and they were all dancing and music was blaring. Then they invited the kids to come out onto the street and dance with them - it really was like a block party. SO many happy, dancing kids. I just couldn't take it. (Did I mention that I teared up SEVEN times on my trip?) Goofy grabbed me for a quick dance, spinning me around. I knew anywhere else I'd look stupid, but I was in Disney World. Who cares how stupid I might think I look? Danced right along with my daughter.

After that we had reservations at Tony's. I've heard lots of bad reviews about it, but I thought it was great. So did Russ and Talia, judging by their plates. (No food pics, I was too hungry to bother).

We saw that in the back they had picture backdrops set up and agreed that the next day we'd bring Talia's Cinderella dress and get some pro photos of her. After that we waded through the crowds to find a good spot for Wishes. We found an OK spot. Not great, but we COULD see (at the tables in front of Casey's near the hub). After that we did some more shopping (to wait the crowds out) and bought Talia's teacher a box of chocolate covered pretzels, and magnet for our fridge. Once again, home late and needing to be up early - MK Day 2 was tomorrow and it was Extra Magic AM Hours.

 

[summerlady]

What fun! Love all your pictures!

 

[pixleyyy]

I'm loving all the pics. Sounds like fun so far!

 

[mchelle77]

Magic Kingdom Day (Thursday - second of two MK days) Extra Magic AM Hours!

This day we decided to park at the Contemporary resort, since it was a monorail resort and it was where we were having dinner that night (although we planned on going back to the hotel, so kinda didn't make a difference). I didn't realize that the monorail stopped at the Grand Floridian and Polynesian before getting to MK, but whatever. We made rope drop at 8am and even saw part of the opening ceremony.

So again we get the stroller and head up Main Street. I honestly don't know where this kid got this pose, but it was cracking us up the whole trip.

We go to Splash Mountain and get FPs and then ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. That's one ride all three of us love (it's the Test Track of the Magic Kingdom. Ha ha) We had planned on doing it again that day, but never did.

After that we went to Splash Mountain. I really was hesitant about this ride. The drop freaks ME out, I wasn't sure how Talia would be. When we went with Russ's brother and SIL and their 2 kids, Russ rode it for the first time with his 7 year old nephew and they both loved it. However, my kid is FOUR. And although she's tall enough to ride certain rides, that doesn't mena she SHOULD ride certain rides (she's tall enough for the Tower of Terror, but there's no way I'd let her go on that!) The other thing that concerns me is that there are no seatbelts/straps on that ride, and with that drop I was reluctant. There's an area on the floor where you can wedge your feet under to brace for the fall, but she's not THAT tall and can't reach it.

Anyway, we agreed that we'd tell her what to expect, ask her if she wanted to go on it and go from there. Yes, she wanted to go. I told Russ that she had to sit with HIM (because I'd be holding on for dear life) and he better not worry about video or pictures and just hold on to her!! In the end, she liked the bulk of the ride. Even the drop she was fine with. The part she did NOT like was the part where she got water splashed on her face. Weird kid.

From there we went to the Haunted Mansion. This was one of Russ's favorite and most memorable rides as a kid. Again, he was 8. We have a 4 year old. Again, we left it in Talia's hands. She went on it and was fine. (We found that as long as we told her what happens and allowed her to make the ultimate decision, she wanted to go on every frickin thing we offered to her!)

After that Talia and I rode the Magic Carpets of Aladdin. The coolest part of this was that while we were up in the air, we saw Jasmine and Aladdin standing at the exit! When we got off, we walked over and saw them again, and then they went on the ride! Must have made some kid's day by riding with them.

You can kinda see Jasmine and Aladdin right about in the middle of the pic

From there we rode the Pirates of the Caribbean - something that was a "maybe". We just had so much time (time of year + doing rope drop + deciding to split MK into two days = doing everything we wanted!) After being done with that, we saw that the Pirate Tutorial was about to start, so we parked our butts there (second family waiting for it, and only had 10 minutes to go before it started). Russ and Talia claimed our spots while I ran to Aloha Isle for a Dole Whip soft serve and a Dole Whip Float (the three of us shared it). I've heard about these on the Dis Boards for months and had it as a "must do" on my itinerary. I liked the soft serve better than the float, but then again - being the ice cream ***** that I am - I didn't want to waste space in my belly with pineapple juice! (By this time it was about 10:30am or so and it was basically my breakfast)

Sorry, but I don't think this dude looked like Johnny Depp. He must have been hired because he could get the accent right.

Next we did the Jungle Cruise. It's OK. Another thing that was a "maybe". It's tame, but a nice way to rest the feet while having Talia be occupied. We weren't quite ready to have lunch yet, so we went to the Hall of Presidents (neither Russ nor I have ever done) and it was really cool to watch. Got a little teary-eyed at one or two points. OK, NOW it's time for lunch.

Continued ..

 

[mchelle77]

After lunch we started making our way back to the castle.

We ran into the "Celebrate It!" parade again so we enjoyed it once more. While we were waiting for the floats to get to us, Talia and Russ were dancing and some random guy went up to Russ and said "I'm sorry, do you have a camera? You dancing together just struck me as something you'd want to remember" and thanks to that guy saying that and offering to take this pic, we WILL always remember it!

This time instead of dancing with Goofy and Donald, she was dancing with Chip and Dale, and Woody and Jessie from Toy Story.

We stayed for a bit, but not the whole thing. We wanted to stop in Tinkerbell's Treasures one more time to get something for Talia's new room (for those who don't know, it's all Mickey Mouse right now, but she wants Tinkerbell and since we need to get her tall butt out of a toddler bed and into a "real" bed, it's the perfect time to switch it) Anyway, we go there and Russ picked out a big Tink piggy bank and we got her a Tinkerbell "camera" with a carrying case. While in the store Russ says "Is that Peter Pan?" and we see him peeking in the window! I run out with Talia in her stroller and were second in line to get pics and autographs.

After that we left and walked back down Main Street for the last time. We run into the "mayor" and one of the ladies with him said she was from Revere (She heard Russ's accent and his shirt, which I can't remember was either Pats or Red Sox.)

We get to almost the gates (where I wanted to bring Talia to a bathroom to change into her dress for pictures) when we run into Pinnochio. We got some pics with him, and an autograph, and then I take Talia to change. When we got back to the photo place, the professional area was occupied, so we had a few minutes to kill before it was our turn. Russ found these other areas with more backdrops so we took some pics there while waiting.

The SUCK part was that when we got back to the pro area, they said they had to close for about a half hour for "maintenance". We look and there's a big puddle of PEE on the floor. OK, thanks, BYE! No way we wanted to wait .. and I wasn't chancing them missing any and it getting all over Talia's dress!

We go outside and there's a little area off to the side with a fountain that Russ wants to take pics at. We take some and then Snow White comes out for pictures! And it was the same SW that was at the Akershus dinner too, so that was cool.

Continued ...

 

[mchelle77]

For some reason, I love this picture

Blowing Talia a kiss goodbye

A couple of random pics that we took while leaving and waiting for the monorail

The button should say "I'm all set with celebrating for today"

We get back to the hotel and Russ and Talia decide to take naps (OK, Russ decides to take a nap and we insist on Talia taking one since dinner wasn't until 8pm that night.) I was too wound up and NOT tired at all, so I decide to do a load of laundry, have a drink at the pool bar, pick up all of our packages from Cinema Hall and then meet them to go for a swim before dinner. I throw laundry in, have a drink, pick up the 4 bags we have, switch to the dryer and head back to the room. Russ decides that he's nixing the swim, Talia is still sleeping, so I go BACK to the pool bar. I catch up on my trip journal, text a few people and pick up the laundry.

We left on time for our reservation at Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary. We got there earlier than planned (even accounting for the "check in 15 minutes ahead" request all WDW restaurants make). I liked the waiting area, very comfortable. Talia hung out with all of the kids watching Hannah Montana.

We were seated pretty quickly and ordered drinks (I got a Magical Star cocktail, which was YUM. I can't find my souvenier glow cube though, dammit.) Russ got a mixed drink too, but don't remember which one. This was another place that sorta got bad reviews, but I thought it was the best buffet we ate at. I guess everything at WDW is all relative. Talia got to see all five characters (and saw Mickey and Goofy twice) and had a ball. She was the most animated for this meal, and we got some great pics (that nap must have helped more than we thought!)

As awake and animated as she was, she still had no issue falling right to sleep when we put her to bed that night.

 

[inkedupmomma]

hey, I'm here and all caught up..but don't have time right now to reply to each post! great start though! Talia is adorable so reminds me of my Kayla at that age!

Subbing!

 

[mchelle77]

I'm hoping to post the next day of our trip in the next 24 hours, I just need to find the TIME.

 

[inkedupmomma]

I'm hoping to post the next day of our trip in the next 24 hours, I just need to find the TIME.

I heard that!

 

[khertz]

I'm loving this TR so far! Talia is a cutie & I love her pointy-toe pose in all her pictures!

Looking forward to the next posts.

 

[lbuzz52]

Great trip so far! Looks like it's been tons of fun. Your daughter is so cute! I wonder if the posing is a four year old thing? Mines been doing that lately too. It's nice that she's Been brave for the big rides. Isn't that age great to take the girls- everything is so magical. You've gotten some great pics so far!

 

[mchelle77]

I think she saw one of the characters doing it and so she started ... I know that after the princess dinner in Norway, she started posing her hands like they do!

Hoping to get the next day posted today ..

 

[mchelle77]

Animal Kingdom Day (Friday) Extra Magic PM Hours

Again, made rope drop this morning. We were there the earliest this day, and so were a lot of other people. By far, the most crowded day (but still not bad at all). They let us through the ticket area and into the Oasis (where we were able to get the stroller all set) and had a few minutes until the opening ceremony. We had a plan for this day as well, and it worked out. We hadn't planned on using the EMHs that night (thought we'd leave after our dinner reservations, which were at 5pm) but that soooo didn't happen.

We decided that when they dropped the rope, Russ and Talia would stroll over to the Kilamanjaro Safari (since I've read that you see most animals in the morning) and I would run over to get FPs for Everest. We met and did the safari, and saw every animal out (the lions were lazy so didn't get a great pic of them.

You can see the top of the lion's head about mid-pic.

After that we went to Camp Minnie Mickey to see who the characters were. When we got there it was (I think) Mickey, Goofy and Donald. Since Talia had seen them all more than once, we skipped it and went into the 10am showing of Festival of the Lion King. LOVE this show. Talia did too, she was singing the rest of the day and caused many heads to turn and people to comment.

Continued ...

 

[mchelle77]

Continued ..

When we came out of there we saw Chip & Dale out front so we jumped in line. I don't remember how long we waited, but it was a while. They took a 5 minute break when we were second in line. But it was worth it, they were cute and played off each other. They loved seeing that they had their own page in her autograph book I made.

After that we went to see about where we could find Pocohontas. Talia had just seen that movie and liked it. We heard a CM tell someone that she was at Rafiki's Planet Watch, which involved taking the train ride from near the safari. We saw it and considered doing it while over there, but then decided not to. Well, change of plans. (If we HAD done it, we wouldn't have seen her anyway, because she hadn't been there earlier, so it worked out).

The train took a while, but when we got there we saw Jiminy Crickett, Rafiki and Pocohontas.

After that we hung out in the Affection Section for a bit. Talia got to see some animals and groomed a sheep. Then we hit the gift shop and got Talia a pair of binoculars.

We took the train back and the plan was, since the FP start time for Everest had passed, I would run over and get FPs for Dinosaur and Russ would take Talia to get her face painted. I want to note that the child NEVER wants her face painted. We always ask her if she wants it and always gives us a firm "NO!". She'll let me put makeup on her, but no face paint. Weird. But she saw this girl with a unicorn on her fave and wanted it.

Continued ...

 

[mchelle77]

Continued ..

From there they were meeting me at Discovery Island to have lunch at the Flame Tree BBQ. They weren't back yet when I got there so I snuck off for a "smoke and text" break. They got back and I offered to get the food while they scoped out a table in the seating area. It was CROWDED (just around lunchtime, so everyone else was eating too) and I wanted to be sure we got a table. Might not have been the best idea for me to get it all myself because it was a PITA getting it all over there on one tray. And I couldn't FIND them, so I was lugging that tray everywhere.

I got a pulled pork sandwich with a key lime mousse for dessert and an Amber Ale something. Russ got ribs and a chocolate mousse. Talia got a hot dog, grapes and a cookie.

After lunch we walked to Dinoland and made the Nemo Musical show. It was packed. The CMs outside were offering to take the strollers and park them because it was a madhouse. It was a very cute show, and I was glad we made it. Now we had done both shows that were on our list.

When that let out, we did Dinosaur. I wasn't sure Talia should go on it (the fright factor) but again, we reminded her that it's all pretend and that nothing would hurt her. At the end of the ride I looked at her in the dim light and felt awful when I saw tears on her face. I hugged her, asking if she was OK and she said yes. Told Russ she was crying and HE felt bad (it's one of his favorites and he really wanted her to go on). Talia said "I'm not crying!" It was the friggin' sparkles from her face painting. They both laughed at me. Glad she wasn't upset over it!!

We walked over to Dino-Rama to play some games then. I can't remember all the games we did, but I know that Talia won a stuffed bat and Russ won her a stuffed seahorse. I won poop.

After that we went over to get seats for the parade, which was at 345pm. We had dinner reservations for 5pm at Yak & Yeti's, and we were right by it, but we weren't anywhere near being hungry. I stopped in to see if we could move it to a later time, and they were able to make it for 615pm. Went back to our spot and we watched the parade.

Continued ...

 

[mchelle77]

Continued ...

When the parade was over, we decided to do Kali River Rapids. Another one I could have gone without doing (the tagline "You will get wet, you may get soaked" just wasn't something that drew me to it this time!) It wasn't HOT that day, and we had dinner reservations later. Lucky for me, I brought two ponchos. Russ asked where his was and I said "I told you this morning I wanted to bring some and you said not to bother. So I didn't bother with YOURS." Poor bastid ...

Look at the part of his shirt near his hand ... that's the one part he DIDN'T get wet on that ride!

OK, Everest time! I had grabbed three FPs earlier, even though I knew Talia wasn't going on. I knew ONE of us would want to ride twice. I went first. WOW. It was awesome. Russ went on. His first words getting off were "I'm going on that again." I said I only had one more FP left and he said "Well, the guy didn't take my FP, so we both have one." I didn't realize that when you get a child swap ticket, THAT is your new FP. So we could have ridden it a total of 6 times. And we would have, but we didn't have time to. We both rode it one more time and then it was time for dinner.

I got the Crispy Mahi Mahi and Russ got the Shaoxing Steak & Shrimp. I got the Yak Attack for a drink. It was too .. sweet? I can't remember, but Russ had a beer (the same one we had at lunch) and he agreed to trade.

After dinner we walked around a bit to shop and I made a bathroom trip. Then another. Then a third. I was sick to my stomach from something (either lunch or dinner .. seemed too quick for dinner, but I had a pretty tame lunch so I still don't know what it was.) We left then, but it was almost 8pm anyway (closing time) so it wasn't a big deal. I got right into bed and was SO glad we had off from the parks the next day, so no need to wake early. I took a Tums and laid perfectly straight until I fell asleep (and just so you all don't have to wait until the next post to know, I was perfectly fine the next morning.)