The Tale of the Grow Walk .Hunh?

[dolphingirl47]

The resort looks really beautiful. Can't wait to read what you were up to that morning.

Corinna

 

[jenseib]

Jen, great pictures around the resort you stayed at. Did you notice, it looks a bit similar to the Coronado?

Claire looks beautiful in her dress.

Now that you say that it sort of does! My sister is staying at CSR this month....I wish I was going with her, but I do have something going on the same week basically.

The resort looks really beautiful. Can't wait to read what you were up to that morning.

Corinna

Coming up!

 

[jenseib]

Once we arrived at the Grand F I had to talk Claire into taking some pictures out front for me. She wasn’t too pleasant about that.



Um…that’s not a smile.



Nor is that!



Oh well, I am not going to argue over the small things.



We headed inside.



And went to check in for……



The Perfectly Princess Tea Party. Yes it was mega bucks, but Claire is getting older and this was our last chance to give it a try.

I was surprised by how many people were there already and we had to wait in line to get checked in….and of course I took pictures while we waited.













We got all checked in and Claire got a name tag, which evidently is pretty embarrassing for a 9 year old for some reason.





We all crammed into a small area while we waited to be seated, but I took a few more pictures.



Ironically that was where we ended up sitting and that was our doll!



It was clear very early on that Claire was much older than most of the girls attending and that made her very self-conscious.

Rose Petal came out to greet us.









All the little kids were so excited and cute, Claire did a lot of eye rolling. Uh oh!

 

[jenseib]

Then they started taking the kids in and you could take a picture with Rose Petal and then someone else would seat you. Since Claire was clearly older…..and much cooler…..than many of the other kids I told her to hang back and let the little ones go in first and she was fine with that. Rose Petal then complimented her for being so nice.



As they each child went up to Rose Petal they had flower petals sprinkled on them.



And given a crown.



Then they would pose.



We then were taken to our table.





We had another girl and her mother sitting with us.
There was a bracelet wrapped in the napkin…but I think we were told not to open them yet at that point.



And we were seated right next to Baron Von Branch.



Rose Petal than began with the story of how she came to be.



A close up of the cake, which in reality I think was just a prop/decoration as I think our cake came from the back and was precut already …..and cold like it had been refrigerated.

















I believe Rose Petal told the girls to put their napkins on their lap now and that is when they found the bracelets.



They served the kids apple juice, but the adults had tea. I do not drink tea, so I asked for apple juice as well. I found out later from my friend Janet that I could’ve asked for diet coke…wish I would’ve.



Claire put on her bracelet, but it JUST barely fit her….another sign that she was on the older end of kids here.

 

[jenseib]

Claire kept telling me that she thought this whole thing was a little bit babyish. I was sad she wasn’t enjoying it more…for one reason being that it was so pricey…but I think if she had a friend with her things would’ve been totally different.



Our food came out next, which were cute finger sandwiches.





Claire is very picky, so she only ate the fruit and the jelly sandwiches, but I didn’t let anything go to waste and ate her other ones.

While we at Baron Von Branch came around and signed autographs.





I had a little more food on my plate and all the little sandwiches were tasty.





I noticed a lot of the parents just picked at their food and only had a few bites. I was a pig, I ate it all. First off this was expensive, so I was not about to be dainty and leave half my plate (or Claire’s) and secondly, I was darn hungry!

Claire and her new doll. Oh and I forgot to mention there were a few little boys there as well and I think they got Teddy Bears. One little boy was really too little and didn’t really enjoy the party at all.



Rose Petal talked some more and did some twirls.



And then all the girls had to gather around. Claire didn’t want to but I made her. And then Aurora arrived!





They paraded around and Claire did not look happy about it at all.





See? She was giving me evil eyes…that ungrateful child!



Claire was happy to sit back down. She and the other girl did start to talk a little bit and we found out she was 10. I was shocked because she seemed much younger than Claire, and of course Claire was the tallest of all the kids. But they did talk a bit and that made things seem a bit better for Claire.

Cake was then served.



This cake was some of the best cake I have ever had! It was darn good!

And all the kids got a back pack to put their dolls in.



Aurora came around and gave each girl a rose and signed their books.







Rose Petal did too and she gave the girls a necklace.

 

[jenseib]

Continued from previous pages post!

While all this was going on Baron Von Branch had been playing music…different Disney songs. At one point he started playing “Let It go” and Claire and the other little girl locked eyes and they both started singing every single word. It was so cute.

This guy had been helping Aurora out.





Aurora made the rounds again and handed out a thank you type card.















And then she left and it was kind of over, though Rose Petal mentioned something about getting a picture taken. Some people left, but we were gathering our things when we saw some people now were lining up to be taken to get a picture. Claire did not want one taken, but I told her too bad.









And of course she had to go to the bathroom and the mean mother that I am told her she couldn’t go till she had her picture taken.





I think she also got a wand like the one in that last picture too.





We then made a quick potty stop and went back downstairs so I could try and take a picture of her on the stairs, but there was a family in the background that let their little boy roll up and down the stairs and we soon just gave up.



I believe the party lasted about 2 hours. I enjoyed it and Claire complained a lot about it, but later on she admitted she did like it and was glad she had gone. We won’t be doing this again and if someone asks me about it, I would recommend the child be a little younger and maybe more outgoing. Claire is really becoming very shy lately and she won’t “let lose” in front of others till she knows them.
I know if she had a friend her own age she would’ve been more comfortable there too.

 

[KatMark]

The Tea Party looks quite lovely. I'm sorry that Claire is going through a stage and seemed to not enjoy herself and too shy to talk with others.

I do like the set-up, and the dolls and bracelet and necklace are a nice touch with the price you pay.

It does seem that it would appeal more to the younger girls, but glad that you got to do it with your daughter.

 

[jenseib]

The Tea Party looks quite lovely. I'm sorry that Claire is going through a stage and seemed to not enjoy herself and too shy to talk with others.

I do like the set-up, and the dolls and bracelet and necklace are a nice touch with the price you pay.

It does seem that it would appeal more to the younger girls, but glad that you got to do it with your daughter.

I was really glad we did do it before she got to old. In the end after she thought about it she said she had a good time and she even let it slip once that it was on of her favorite things...I wish she would've told me that then!

 

[dizneeat]

Jen, I had to first look up the party after I read all about it here. And even though Claire was not in the right mood I am sure she will treasure the memory lateron.
It seems like a great thing to do with a girl who is into the princesses and the doll, backpack and little gifts seem to make up for the price tag.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I could have sworn that you had done this before. What a shame that Claire felt a bit unsure about it all.

Corinna

 

[jenseib]

Jen, I had to first look up the party after I read all about it here. And even though Claire was not in the right mood I am sure she will treasure the memory lateron.
It seems like a great thing to do with a girl who is into the princesses and the doll, backpack and little gifts seem to make up for the price tag.

It's not always a well know thing. I have read many TR's of people with daughters and also researched it a bit, so I knew about it and actually wanted to do it back in 2011, but we just didn't have the time. I also wanted to do it in 2010, but we ended up not going that year.
I am glad we did get to try it though and like I said, afterwards, Claire told me she enjoyed it and I have heard her even tell a friend about it too.

I could have sworn that you had done this before. What a shame that Claire felt a bit unsure about it all.

Corinna

We have done the Wonderland Tea Party twice, which is much cheaper and different. That has the Mad Hatter and Alice come by for a visit. Claire has always enjoyed that one when she has done it.

 

[mom2rtk]

YEAH on the double Dumbo purchases! I would have been so sad if you came up empty on that Dumbo popcorn bucket! Especially since I as fairly sure they were selling them at several places around the park. I got ours at the cart on Main Street. But unlike you, I didn't have the self-restraint to wait. We carted that thing all over the park! I was sort of hoping to inherit it when we got home, but it still has a valued spot on a shelf in her room. This in spite of the fact that she has ditched almost all the other "little kid" stuff out of there.

Bummer the castle wasn't changing colors that night. I would have been disappointed too. I love going around the park constantly looking back to see what color it is.

Now on to the tea party. I'm so glad you got to experience it before the ship sailed. For some reason I'm guessing that in about 5 years you'll be right back there again. And Claire will probably complain that you're ditching her for another little princess! I totally agree with you about wishing Claire had a friend along. Katie did it for the first time with a friend and she really allowed herself to enjoy it. Some of those looks she gave you though? Classic. You knew you were in trouble though when you got eye rolls out by the Rolls, right? OK, maybe it's not a Rolls, but work with me here.....

 

[Beth D]

The tea party sounds like fun! I'm glad Claire admitted she had fun after, even if it appeared she wasn't at the time. DS is like that too. Some things he's "too cool" for at the time, but later he'll talk about things as if it was the best time ever! It's just that age.

 

[MEK]

Oh Jen -

You are such a wonderful mom to book that princess party. I remember seeing the price on that and having complete sticker shock. But what a lovely experience. Too bad that Claire is right at the in-between age where parts of it are fun and parts are just not cool anymore. Plus Claire really does look older than 9. She definitely is an early bloomer! I'm glad she found someone to hang out with for parts are the party.

Love all the pictures from the party. You really described it well!

Love you night time pictures from the MK. Just beautiful.

Officially caught up again!

 

[jenseib]

YEAH on the double Dumbo purchases! I would have been so sad if you came up empty on that Dumbo popcorn bucket! Especially since I as fairly sure they were selling them at several places around the park. I got ours at the cart on Main Street. But unlike you, I didn't have the self-restraint to wait. We carted that thing all over the park! I was sort of hoping to inherit it when we got home, but it still has a valued spot on a shelf in her room. This in spite of the fact that she has ditched almost all the other "little kid" stuff out of there.

I am so glad we found one. And she has forgotten all about it so I will never mention it to her again!

Bummer the castle wasn't changing colors that night. I would have been disappointed too. I love going around the park constantly looking back to see what color it is.

I was bummed too. I think mostly it was due to the construction.

Now on to the tea party. I'm so glad you got to experience it before the ship sailed. For some reason I'm guessing that in about 5 years you'll be right back there again. And Claire will probably complain that you're ditching her for another little princess! I totally agree with you about wishing Claire had a friend along. Katie did it for the first time with a friend and she really allowed herself to enjoy it. Some of those looks she gave you though? Classic. You knew you were in trouble though when you got eye rolls out by the Rolls, right? OK, maybe it's not a Rolls, but work with me here.....

I am glad later that she said she enjoyed it, but you know how during it she was just not so happy about it. I hate this "too cool" age. I am losing her! Yep Gracie might be taking her place!

The tea party sounds like fun! I'm glad Claire admitted she had fun after, even if it appeared she wasn't at the time. DS is like that too. Some things he's "too cool" for at the time, but later he'll talk about things as if it was the best time ever! It's just that age.

I am not liking this "too cool" stage. And she is so emotional at times over stupid things....the joys of girls.

Oh Jen -

You are such a wonderful mom to book that princess party. I remember seeing the price on that and having complete sticker shock. But what a lovely experience. Too bad that Claire is right at the in-between age where parts of it are fun and parts are just not cool anymore. Plus Claire really does look older than 9. She definitely is an early bloomer! I'm glad she found someone to hang out with for parts are the party.

Love all the pictures from the party. You really described it well!

Love you night time pictures from the MK. Just beautiful.

Officially caught up again!

Yes, sadly she is blooming already. But she is not really mature for her age in her mind/attitude. I think she is in that conflicting age where one minute she is ready to be older and the next she is playing with dolls.

 

[littlenellbell]

That tea party looks adorable. I would LOVE to take my daughter to that someday!

Claire looked so pretty and that dress is gorgeous! Too bad she was feeling a little old for the party. My 9 year old son gets that way sometimes. Way too cool for some things, then other times he's acting like a kid again. We just went to Cedar Point for their Halloweekends. They had a trick or treat activity where you go around and collect prizes and candy at different stations. Alexa wanted to do it but of course Carson thought "it was for babies." I told him it was fine if he didn't want to do it, but Alexa would not be sharing her candy with him. Half way though he couldn't take it and changed his mind and joined in! Is it just me, or do kids seem to want to act like a teenager much more younger than they used to?

 

[jenseib]

That tea party looks adorable. I would LOVE to take my daughter to that someday!

Claire looked so pretty and that dress is gorgeous! Too bad she was feeling a little old for the party. My 9 year old son gets that way sometimes. Way too cool for some things, then other times he's acting like a kid again. We just went to Cedar Point for their Halloweekends. They had a trick or treat activity where you go around and collect prizes and candy at different stations. Alexa wanted to do it but of course Carson thought "it was for babies." I told him it was fine if he didn't want to do it, but Alexa would not be sharing her candy with him. Half way though he couldn't take it and changed his mind and joined in! Is it just me, or do kids seem to want to act like a teenager much more younger than they used to?

You are so right....I mean they are only 9! And Claire does that a lot too, she won't participate at first then slowly joins in. She is better with her little cousin who is 4 though. I think she uses the excuse that she is helping her.

 

[jenseib]

We next headed over to the Magic Kingdom. We had some fast passes to use! We took the monorail over and then entered and went directly to get a locker to put her doll and a few extra things in.
Then we headed down Main Street and stopped for a few photos.



As you may have noticed, she is still wearing her party dress…..there is a reason why.



Oh yeah, I was wearing another pair of hoochie momma shorts today too.







I always try and ask for magic shots when I think about it. Some are more than happy to do it, some are reluctant and some tell me no.









Off we go! And it was hot again today, I am not sure why some people are wearing sweatshirts.



And we stopped again for more pictures…and we got a photobomber bubble!





And as we entered the hub, the Move It Shake It parade was coming around.



















We didn’t stay to watch, but of course I got a few pictures of it.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I had to giggle about the bubble photobomb. I have never really made the time to watch the Move It Shake It Celebrate It parade and now I won't get the opportunity as this will change very soon.

Corinna

 

[KatMark]

on the photobombing "bubble."

Wonderful photopass pictures (although Claire seems to not really want to be having more pictures taken ).

Love the photos from the parade. Did I read they are shutting that one down? Or am I imagining that?