Trip Report - A bit, well a lot, late, finally finished, post 16.

[kylieh]

Princess Lunch - Post 13

Our cast of characters

Me - 36.
DH - 40 something
DD - Just turned 6, her first trip out of Australia, and this trip was partly themed for her birthday.

Day 1 - Wed 1 October
Hot is not strong enough a word to describe this day. The news reporter mentioned that it was the hottest October day in 1000 years (or maybe 100). After breakfast at the Homewood Suites we wandered over to Target to pick up a memory card and a couple of other bits and pieces. We manage to catch the ART without too much hassle - which was to become a rarity on this trip!

We purchased our tickets from Getaway Today, so after picking them up, all good with my Australian Drivers Licence, we marched into DL for DD and DH's first visit ever. Our first stop was to purchase an autograph book for DD....

Goofy was in his Halloween outfit and was DD's first character meet and autograph for her new book.

Now my mind is a little fuzzy now about the order of events, but looking at our photos ...
.
Pat E Cake's Birthday Party - this was a bit of fun. We decorated our own cakes, and Mickey and Minnie turned up for a photo op. Including tax, the price was just over $50 for the three of us – have Photopass Photos, will upload these later.

Fairy Godmother - the balloon was given to DD as a random act of kindness from another mum who said her child didn't want it anymore. We passed it on again later that day before Splash Mountain!

Tiggr

Pooh

We rode both Splash and Pirates a few times. These two ended up being DD's favourites. We also gave Big Thunder a go and Winnie The Pooh ride. We caught a glance of Jack Sparrow and this became a mission to meet him!

It didn't end up being a late night as the Thursday was the first early entry day.... (to follow next entry)

 

[WA Kay]

I am glad to hear you had fun and I am looking forward to the rest of your trip report. Your Daughter is sure cute. I love the Tigger picture.

Kay

 

[kylieh]

Day 2 – Thursday 2 October

We were off and running for our first Magic Morning. We turned up around 8.30 for a 9am opening. DD was a little annoyed at first about being there so much before opening and the 30 minute wait – but we were only around 15 or so people back.

Our day went a bit like this –
Peter Pan (first, always first). Loved Peter Pan. All three of us fitted comfortably in the one boat.

Dumbo, or according to DD “Jumbo”.

Tea Cups – Our cup didn’t spin as fast as some of the others , but DD didn’t want to go back again.

Alice – was a bit of fun.

Matterhorn, right side. This ended up being another favourite for DD. She loved it! And the Yeti didn’t bother her at all. She laughed at him! DH was unable to go on the Matterhorn due to motion sickness.

We’re a bit slow to walk around, so this ended our Magic Morning Hour. We popped over to Buzz – my score was very low. Let’s not talk about it DH did a lot better. We emailed the photos, but didn’t get them. DH looked like he was saving the world!

We all tried Star Tours which was only a 5 minute wait. It was rougher than expected. DH wasn’t feeling too good after this, so he sat out the next few rides.

I then had a crazy moment – and suggested to DD that she try Space Mountain. Bit too scary for her and “no way” was she going to try that again. I promised her I would do my best not to take her on anything too scary, but I think I went wrong on this one. This was one ride (plus Mullholland Madness) where being Pooh size, at least in my shape, wasn't much fun. I'm almost 6 foot, so I wasn't comfortable at all. I thought for a couple of minutes I wouldn't be able to ride. My knees were quite sore afterwoods.

Off to the Carousel. This was so much fun, DD loved it as shown in these photos...

We then started the Splash Mountain / Pirates combo. Worked like this – get FP for Splash, go to Pirates which was almost walk on, go back to Splash Mountain. Get another FP for Splash, have a go on Pirates, then Splash, and so the pattern continues. And continues And continues.

On one occasion we became saturated – DD does have shorts on, but they are hard to see!

We watched the Jedi Training Accademy – we asked DD if she would like to try to be picked, but it was a definite NO!

We bumped into a few friends –

Alice and the Mad Hatter. They played charades together.

Brer Fox and Brer Bear - they were great. They "argued" over who would sign DD's book first, then Brer Fox went and sulked for a minute. Bear went and got him, Fox pushed him away. Anyway, the end result...

Coming up - day 3, where DD is Princess Belle for the day. Preview pic -

 

[tinkermell]

What a nice report and pictures.

Your daughter is adorable.

Looking forward to hear some more TR.

 

[Sherry E]

Kylieh, we were at DLR for some of the time you were (We were 10/2 - 10/5), and you are right - October 1 and 2 were blisteringly HOT! It was unsafe for people to be out in that heat! I wish I could have met you and Nancy (YellowMickeyPonchos)! I didn't realize you would be there when I was there! As it turns out, there was a DISboard member, Cseca, who was staying right across the hall from us in the PPH (we were in room 513 and she was in 514) and we never met or even knew the other one was there!!!! And I didn't meet a single DIS-er at the TOTP, either!

Your daughter has such an expressive face - look at those dimples she has! She will be a real beauty when she grows up!

 

[chickyann]

Awesome photos

Love the Splash/Pirates combo idea, both a real fave for us on our trip in September

 

[jlparedes]

Great trip report, I'm so glad you guys had fun even though it was scorching!

 

[kylieh]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I'm hoping to post another couple of days report & pics over the weekend. I went back to work a couple of days ago and I've been in too much of a daze to do more since!

 

[TiggerNZ]

I love your report, and your pictures. Looks like you all had a total blast. I can't wait to read more.

 

[travelmel]

oh my gosh! So many cute character pics! I love the one of her getting the top of her head kissed.

Great reporting!

 

[GHII]

Looks like you had a great time! Thanks for the pictures

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

Wonderful TR! I'm enjoying it and I can't wait for more! Your DD is precious!

 

[kylieh]

Day 3 - It's Princess Day!!!

DD woke with great enthusiasm and excitment in anticipation for the Princess Lunch. We all went with the knowledge that there was no guarantees on who would be available, but Ariel would be there to great us.

This is a shot of before we left the hotel.

After breakfast we had a car pick us up to take us to Downtown Disney for an appt at Libby Lu's. We were quite impressed with the service, and surprised that the stylists weren't allowed to accept tips.

I thought that DD would get noticed, but I didn't expect so much. Strangers took her picture. At first I was a little hesitant, but hey, they don't know her name, her, or us, and if I wasn't paying attention they could of anyway! Just as so many CM's wished DD "Happy Birthday" earlier that week, today they would great her with "Good Morning Princess", even receiving a courtesy from one lovely CM!

A little after 10am and our appt we headed into DL and were met on the way in by Alice! It was time for Alice to have some (in DD's words) "Quiet Time" and Alice took Erin by the hand to walk towards her quiet time spot.

We then walked up to the castle and had some photos taken.

It was then time to head off to CA and prepare for our 11.30 PS.

We arrived at 11.25, I checked in and got a buzzer. We were the 3rd or 4th family called down the stairs. I was surprised at how much time Ariel spent with DD, it would of been over 5 minutes. They discussed the Royal Ball that would be held later that day, and if they would see each other there! Ariel was wonderful, and explained during their chat that Cinderella wouldn't be attending the lunch that day as she had been taking swimming lessons.

Lunch was a lot nicer than expected and we all enjoyed chicken dishes. The Princesses were announced one at a time, and we met Jasmine, Snow White, Aurora, and Belle (much to mine and DH's relief). Snow White enquired if Mrs Potts had done DD's hair! and Aurora had the biggest hug for DD. Just magical. DD's official photos with Ariel didn't come out so we were given additional time to have them taken again, and another conversation occurred!

After lunch DD wanted to ride, so we went on the Sunwheel fixed cars. The swinging cars looked like pure evil and the screams from surrounding cars confirmed my feeling that the fixed cars were the better choice. The CM loading us was very impressed with our Princess, and gave her an Honoury Citizen Badge.

We decided to have some rest time at this point, and we caught the ART back to the hotel.

After a quick change of clothes for DD, we headed back to DL around 4.30 for our after-dark experience, including the parade. It was also cooling down. Our first stop was Splash Mountain, followed by a quick dinner stop at Hungry Bear. The lights were coming on in force after dinner, and we headed to the Jungle Cruise, with a 10 minute wait. Not having heard them previously or having anything to compare them with, we laughed at our Skipper's jokes. We then headed to our spot for the parade. I studied carefully the parade route and had kept my eyes peeled for a suitable viewing spot during the past three days. We choose a spot, with seats, between the Matterhorn and just before the parade hits main street. There was no room for anyone to sit in front of us!!! The Dancer's, Princesses, and Parade CM's were only a couple of feet from us at all times.

The parade was wonderful, though quicker than expected. After the final float had passed we walked towards tomorrow land, then to Main Street Station for a train ride. We did two laps and marvelled at the after-dark lights. For the first time in a very long time I felt no stress, and full freedom. Complete peacefulness, that I didn't expect that I could ever experience again.

We bumped into Minnie in her Halloween costume, and if you lent us the pen as ours failed to work at the essential autograph moment, thank you!!

The order of events is somewhat fuzzy for the following half hour or so, but does involve another Churro, drink, and purchasing a DL jacket for both DH and I from the Main Street Emporium. We staked out a spot near the giant pumpkin, and got seats for the fireworks. But alas, they were cancelled due to high winds. DD had fallen asleep though just before the cancellation announcement. DH helped me off the seat (I was carrying a 6 year old, 20+ kg Princess ), he carried our parcels, and we headed to the ART stop. She slept solidly to the morning, only stirring when we put her nightie on at the hotel. Little did we know that she was coming down with a head cold which would throw our next days plans (and YellowMickeyPonchos.)

 

[travelmel]

What a fantastic princess experience!

 

[Tanzanite]

I love your trip report your daughter is precious very cute .Did you make the Belle dress I had my dressmaker custom one for my daughter & some one at Disney World asked if her daughter could take a photo . I think her daughter thought my little girl was Belle.

 

[kylieh]

I love your trip report your daughter is precious very cute .Did you make the Belle dress I had my dressmaker custom one for my daughter & some one at Disney World asked if her daughter could take a photo . I think her daughter thought my little girl was Belle.

Thanks Tanzanite - my MIL made the dress, and we carried it over in it's own suitcase. It's from a pattern. Fortunatley MIL purchased two sizes in the pattern as DD wants to wear the same frock for April's trip! So MIL said she would make another.

 

[kylieh]

OK - It's been a year or more since I last posted on this TR, and given that I was thinking about my pre-trip report I thought I should finish this off.

On the Saturday we were meeting fellow DisBoarder Yellow Mickey Ponchos, and were going to the parks together for a while. But DD wasn't too well. I think the trip was catching up with her. She was sniffly, miserable, and not as cooperative as she could be. DH, DD, and I had lunch at Red Robin with Yellow Mickey Ponchos and family but we skipped going to the park. DD had a melt down that afternoon from exhaustion, but mentally and physically. So being at the parks would of probably made it worse.

The Sunday we did a day trip up to LA with Greyline. I was overall disappointed with the tour. We did see a bit, but it was more bus time than out of the bus time. DD was miserable again for most of it, but I guess she got to physically rest in the bus.

We went to Hollywood Blvd and had a look at the stars


Then off to the Farmers Market and The Grove for lunch. We popped into American Girl and DD selected a "Just Like Me" doll. We had the best Dagwood Dog/Corn Dog from here.

A trip down Rodeo Drive. We didn't get out of the bus. Then a stop at our choice of Santa Monica or Venice Beach. My choice was Venice Beach but then I put on the more "responsible parent" option, well, more DH did, and we went with Santa Monica. We spent the time mainly on the sand and walked along the pier.

Throw together tiredness for DD, the start of her being homesick, and I was generally tired this wasn't our best day.

 

[kylieh]

Now being a year since the last trip the next few days blur into each other. We spent most of the time at the parks. Although on one of the mornings we went to The Block At Orange. Was a bit disapointed. It was really quiet, and I think we made the assistant's day in Sketchers when we purchased 4 pairs for DD.

Here are some pics from the Monday to Wednesday, and the last day (Friday)

DD spent time negiotating with Cruella the sale of our one-eyed cat Timmy, then it dawned on DD that she would rather keep Timmy.

This was after the trip to the Block at Orange. DD decided that she didn't want to go on any rides that day, and it was a "dress day." We went to PFF and met Mulan (and Snow White and Ariel.) Didn't get to meet Cinderalla all trip.

This was unexpected, meeting Chip or is it Dale?

Before the parade

Meeting Mickey in his house. It was so hot that day.

Buzz, one of the hightlights for DD. I have this pic up at work.

Captain Jack. He was good.

DH wasn't planning to be in the pic, but it was just the way it worked out.

 

[kylieh]

I saw the Snow Gums (they are native to Australia. It's the tree that goes to the top of the pic, with the creamy bark, partly cut off) when we got off the train at Toon Town and felt a little homesick. We have a heap of gums in our back yard, slightly different species but similar.

Lightning McQueen in the DCA parade

DD waiting for the DCA parade

It was a lot busier the second week.

I love Mater

The Castle

 

[kylieh]

So we're heading back now in April 2010. Just under 4 months to our flight. We're heading to LA for 3 nights, then back to Las Vegas, then to DL for the week. My MIL is coming for the next trip. I will get to a Pre Trip report, maybe at the 100 day mark

Thank you for reading my report. We had a wonderful time, learnt a lot, There are things we will do differently, but a lot the same. Thank you all that helped us plan this trip.