The Darling Family's Endless Summer Vacation: August 2013 New 1/24

[momabbate]

I agree completely, it is so fun to watch other guest small kids soaking in the magic. My kids were between 15 and 18 when we first took them. So no little kid excitement. Don't get me wrong they all saw the magic. My oldest did a disneymoon. The youngest is as Disney crazy and as me. And the middle one can't wait to get back. (With a friend. He has no interest in spending a week with just his parents.) I do love that you find old pictures of your kids in your reports. Is nice to see them grow up at Disney.

 

[chattadisser]

I love the flashback pictures. My youngest is still in that totally in awe phase while my 8 year old is unfortunately moving to the "it's OK" character phase. It is fun watching complete strangers kids be in awe though!

Christine

 

[wiigirl]

Love all your pics!

 

[dismagiclover]

I agree completely, it is so fun to watch other guest small kids soaking in the magic. My kids were between 15 and 18 when we first took them. So no little kid excitement. Don't get me wrong they all saw the magic. My oldest did a disneymoon. The youngest is as Disney crazy and as me. And the middle one can't wait to get back. (With a friend. He has no interest in spending a week with just his parents.) I do love that you find old pictures of your kids in your reports. Is nice to see them grow up at Disney.

I know older kids get the magic too. I hope my kids still love it as much as yours when they are older. There is nothing like little kids and the magic though. I guarantee you I am taking my grandkids to Disney when they are 4 years old! Until then (and that is many, many years from now) I'll just keep living through others.

I love the flashback pictures. My youngest is still in that totally in awe phase while my 8 year old is unfortunately moving to the "it's OK" character phase. It is fun watching complete strangers kids be in awe though!

Christine

The older kids are still tons of fun at Disney. Just different. Wendy actually went through a bit of a stage where the characters weren't that exciting, but then she grew out of that and now sees the magic once again. (I think she had to get to the stage where she could suspend disbelief.)

Love all your pics!

Thanks!

 

[dismagiclover]

We were in a character kind of mood so we decided to head over to the Circus to meet some more. Here they now have Donald, Goofy, Minnie and Daisy in new costumes. We decided to meet Minnie and Daisy. We knew chances were decent that the boys would want to come here when we came back, but we all know they would not want to meet the girls. Plus we like the girls better. They are much prettier. Plus this was Girly Day. First up was Daisy.



After Wendy had her picture I stepped in and asked her to read my palm. She is a fortune teller you know.





She told me my life would be full of love. She is a pretty good fortune teller because that is definitely true. I am one lucky lady. Then she took pictures with both of us.



Next up was the lovely Minnie.





I told Wendy she chose her outfit perfectly that day. Don’t they look great together? Of course they would coordinate. They are BFFs! Here is one of the three of us.



After meeting the gals, we were spit out in the Disney Gift Shop. (We were not surprised.) We wandered around the shop for a while and noticed a few cute things. Look at the floors here. The carpet looks like it is a stitched together circus tent.



This is what really got our attention though.



I’ve read many complaints about the demise of the Main Street Bakery and all of the Disney treats there. Well for those that are wondering, I think this is where most of those treats have gone. They all looked so beautiful and to top it off the place smelled like caramel corn. We hopped in line and I snapped pictures while we tried to decide what we wanted. These Dumbos cupcakes are adorable.



The classic apples.



These little goodies were for the Monstrous Summer.



More yumminess.



As you can see it was a tough choice. For me, the popcorn smell won out. I must say, I was quite happy with that choice. That was some yummy caramel corn.





We also couldn’t resist this little lovely.



It wasn’t the best tasting cake pop I have ever had, (Our local cupake shop has some yummy cakepops) but it was definitely the cutest. It was getting close to 3:00 and the park was hot and crowded. So we decided to head back to our room to cool off and refresh for our dinner plans. Tonight’s dinner was another first for Wendy. Plus it was super girly. Any guesses?

 

[RGirl]

OH, wow - I love the merchandise in the B&tB gift shop. I want those dishes and the candle holders SO BADLY! *sigh*

What a great girly day so far - the pics with Ariel, Daisy and Minnie are so cute. I am dreading the day that Miss Willow is no longer all about the characters. I think that's why I am always willing to indulge any character meet.

The big top treats look so gooooooood. Dang - I am hungry!

 

[momabbate]

I know older kids get the magic too. I hope my kids still love it as much as yours when they are older. There is nothing like little kids and the magic though. I guarantee you I am taking my grandkids to Disney when they are 4 years old! Until then (and that is many, many years from now) I'll just keep living through others.

I had to go reread what I wrote. We are waiting till my first grandbaby is four or five before taking him. We are thinking right before he starts school. So maybe closer to five.

I think the caramel corn would have won with me too. There is something about Dumbo and caramel corn.

 

[DisneyJo]

Loving your girly day and all the flashback photos too! One of the beauties of WDW though is that it adapts as the kids grow, we do different things each trip as the girls tastes change, for example for our next trip we have no character meals booked I know but it does mean we get to try more signature restaurants

 

[dismagiclover]

OH, wow - I love the merchandise in the B&tB gift shop. I want those dishes and the candle holders SO BADLY! *sigh*

What a great girly day so far - the pics with Ariel, Daisy and Minnie are so cute. I am dreading the day that Miss Willow is no longer all about the characters. I think that's why I am always willing to indulge any character meet.

The big top treats look so gooooooood. Dang - I am hungry!

I loved all the B&B merchandise too! Maybe Willow will be like my kids and still love the characters even when she is older. I hope so!

I know older kids get the magic too. I hope my kids still love it as much as yours when they are older. There is nothing like little kids and the magic though. I guarantee you I am taking my grandkids to Disney when they are 4 years old! Until then (and that is many, many years from now) I'll just keep living through others.

I had to go reread what I wrote. We are waiting till my first grandbaby is four or five before taking him. We are thinking right before he starts school. So maybe closer to five.

I think the caramel corn would have won with me too. There is something about Dumbo and caramel corn.

I'm not suprised you had to go back and read your comments. My reply probably seemed a bit unrelated, but sometimes you just get my stream of consciousness I just love caramel corn. The stuff at Karamel Kuche is even better!

Loving your girly day and all the flashback photos too! One of the beauties of WDW though is that it adapts as the kids grow, we do different things each trip as the girls tastes change, for example for our next trip we have no character meals booked I know but it does mean we get to try more signature restaurants

Disney really is great and having something for all ages. And it's so fun to watch my kids grow up and try new things each trip! I hope you enjoy all those signature restaurants!

 

[dismagiclover]

After freshening up we headed over to dinner at the Grand Floridian.



We weren’t going to one of the usual suspects, however. Instead dinner was actually going to be high tea this late afternoon. Wendy had never actually been to the Grand Floridian so she admired the lobby as we waited for our name to be called.



Then we were escorted into the tea room.



Now granted they don’t serve you a 5 course meal at the tea room, but high tea is quite a lot of food. There are pastries, fruit, and of course tea. I was a bit disappointed that they didn’t have the raspberry tea from the last time I was there.





Wendy enjoyed herself.



Mostly she liked putting the little sugar cubes in.





We explored the grounds of the Grand Floridian a bit to walk off some of those calories. This really is a lovely resort.



After our lovely late afternoon tea we decided to head over to Epcot for the evening. I’m not really sure exactly what we did, but I'm pretty sure it involved browsing around the World Showcase stores.















I do remember that we watched Illuminations this evening. We really lucked out and snagged a spot right behind the fastpass+ viewing area. This was an excellent spot though there was a tree so it wasn’t a perfect viewpoint. However, we saw the globe better than ever before.



There was a man standing next to me who had never seen Illuminations. He was very impressed. When it was all over he incredulously asked me, “Do they do this every night?” I assured him they did and they also did a big fireworks show at Magic Kingdom every night too. He was amazed. After Illuminations I suggested we sit on a bench and let the crowd disperse. So that is what we did. Wendy played on her Ipod and I just sat on a bench and enjoyed the beauty of Epcot at night.



I love these summer nights at Disney. The temperature is balmy, the music is playing, the lights are beautiful. It doesn’t get much better. Eventually Wendy bored of her Ipod (the WiFi is pretty slow) so we headed back to Bay Lake Tower. Another great Disney day was in the books. This one had been extra girly too.

 

[RGirl]

Oh, I bet you girls really enjoyed the tea! I can't wait to do that one day with Willow!

What a perfect Epcot evening.

 

[momabbate]

Tea and shopping what more could a girl want. Sounds like you had a perfect girly day.

 

[dismagiclover]

Oh, I bet you girls really enjoyed the tea! I can't wait to do that one day with Willow!

What a perfect Epcot evening.

The tea really is fun! Definitely needs to be on your list.

Tea and shopping what more could a girl want. Sounds like you had a perfect girly day.

It was a great day!

 

[dismagiclover]

My morning again began with a run, but I didn’t have time for a dip in the pool this morning because we had breakfast reservations. It didn’t take us too long to get ready then we went and hopped on the monorail and headed back over to the Grand Floridian. Breakfast this morning was at 1900 Park Fare. This was a first for both of us. After checking in they told us we could wait out in the Mary Poppins garden. Here is why they call it that.





We didn’t have to wait too long before we were escorted in. Pooh came to visit right away. He seemed rather smitten with Wendy.





Then we went up to get our food. It was the standard Disney breakfast buffet with one stand out that I remember. Gummy bears. Wendy filled a whole bowl with them. Mary Poppins visited us shortly.



She was very proper, of course. We explained to her that we had two boys in our house that could use a little of her magic. We asked her if she’d come to our house. Her reply, “I go where I’m needed so I may be there one day.” We’re still waiting. Alice came next.



All she wanted to talk about was the Chesire Cat. Apparently he was missing and she’d been looking for him quite a while. We heard her talking to other tables about him too, so it really was a huge concern for her. Then Pooh Bear came back. (Told you he was smitten.)



Then the Mad Hatter arrived.



He was a bit of a character, as one would expect. I asked him what the numbers on his hat meant. He said they were the price tag, “ten shilling and six-pence.” I must have given him a strange look because he then said, “That is money in England.” I said back, “I know that.” He looked at Wendy and very saucily said, “Well why did she ask then?” and then he was off. Wendy thought it was funny that he sassed me a bit. Then Tigger arrived.



I love that guy! At this point our tummies were full and we’d seen everyone so we headed out. It was also about this time we received a text from DH. It informed us he’d just gotten on the Magical Express and was on his way to BLT. Wahoo! So we headed back. We definitely wanted to be there to welcome him. We’d had a great trip so far, but we were excited to have him finally join us.

 

[RGirl]

The 1900 breakfast sounds like so much fun! I LOVE the pictures with Pooh Bear - so cute!!!!

 

[momabbate]

 

[dismagiclover]

The 1900 breakfast sounds like so much fun! I LOVE the pictures with Pooh Bear - so cute!!!!

Can't beat breakfast with Pooh!

Thanks! We had a great day. I hope your Thanksgiving was fabulous too!

 

[dismagiclover]

Once we arrived back at the Contemporary we decided to just take a seat by the Contempo Café and wait for DHs monorail. He was riding the Magical Express, but they usually make stops at the Polynesian, the Grand Floridian and the Wilderness Lodge before they go to the Contemporary. So I suggested he just get off at the Poly and ride the monorail right on over. Which is what he did. We were all very excited to see each other. DH was so excited that he didnt even stop for a Dole Whip at the Poly. (Though he did think about it.) Anyway, as you can imagine he was ready to get his vacation started! We took his carry on up to the room and showed off our great view. Then we headed out to the Magic Kingdom. DH was pretty hungry and Wendy wanted to go back to Be Our Guest. So I figured that would be a good spot for lunch. Actually Wendy and I didnt need a full lunch, but we are always ups for cupcakes. DH didnt have an annual pass yet so he had to get in the ticket line once we reached the park. That was one slow moving line plus it was hot. We all stood there for a while and then I came up with a plan. I knew wed have to stand in line for Be Our Guest so Id figure Id go into the park and get in that line while DH stood in this line. I left Wendy with DH (cause we didnt want to leave him alone after spending 10 days alone) and I headed into the park. Once I saw the Be Our Guest line I was glad I went ahead. I hopped in the line. It wasnt too bad because they provided us with umbrellas. Then at one point there is water available. I must say the CM was a bit crazy about that water. She told us to only fill our cups halfway and when someone tried to fill a personal water bottle she would have none of that. She also was not happy when someone dumped some water on their head. This water was strictly for drinking from half filled white paper cups. The family in front of me started joking with me about the valuable water and the precise rules that must be followed. We were all giggling as we heard this CM inform each new group that arrived at the water of the standards. Meanwhile, DH & Wendy were still waiting in the apparently stationary ticket line. I made it up to the front of the Be Our Guest line and they had still not arrived. So I let group after group go in front of me. Eventually DH called and said he had made it Fantasyland. I told him to tell the CMs I was up and the front of the line and they should let him by. They did and we finally made it inside. Oh the joys of air conditioning! We waited a bit in the armor room which we hadnt seen when wed come for dinner.



I told Wendy they made noise, but she didnt believe me. Then one of them kind of grunted and she jumped. She should listen to her mother. We ordered our food (soups and cupcakes) and found seats. The cupcakes were still yummy. After we were done we headed back into the heat. DH headed for the bathroom while Wendy and I went into the store. When DH made it back he mentioned hed seen Gaston over by his tavern. Well we had to go meet him. Luckily he had basically no line. Wed never met him before and I was hoping for some fun interaction. We didnt really get it. Wendy went up and posed for a picture with him.



Then I hopped in.



I said something about him being manly and his reply was just simply, I know. Im not sure what I was expecting, but overall Gaston was a let down. No wonder he had no line. I wonder how long this meet n greet will last. He was really tall though. DH was wanting to get his ride on. He hadnt yet been on the Little Mermaid ride here in Florida. (Hed been on it in Disneyland.) So we did that. The line was a bit long so we got to enjoy some of the details in the queue.



Here are some ride photos just for fun. (Note I did not take these. I gathered them from other sources so it was not me that used the flash.)







After this we headed over and showed DH the new circus area. Wendy and I cooled ourselves off a bit in the play area.



Then we visited our friend Poohs ride.



At this point we decided we needed to head towards our dinner reservation. It was another first for us and I was excited about this. Any guesses?

 

[freckles04]

I'm loving your TR. It sounds like you all had a fantastic time so far. How fun doing different resorts! Can't wait to read more updates.

 

[dismagiclover]

I'm loving your TR. It sounds like you all had a fantastic time so far. How fun doing different resorts! Can't wait to read more updates.

Thank you! We did have a fantastic time and it was fun to stay in the different resorts. The vacation was so long that it kept things fresh. There are plenty more updates to come.