Two little Princesses on their first trip to WDW *8/30 - update*

[MagicShell]

I just found your report. Your girls are so cute, and I love Kate's smile. Too bad she didn't care for the characters. My son is scared of everything except the characters. He tried to chicken out of every ride, and most of them we didn't make him ride. He is six so I hope he gets more brave. He has loved the characters since he was a year old though. I would hate to forget my camera battery and charger. I am glad you were able to get someone to send it to you. I can't wait to hear more about your trip.

 

[Disneyvirg]

MK Part I

This was the big day I had been waiting months for. Today we get to dine in the castle for lunch. We head over to the MK via the Poly monorail with our fully charged camera battery. We got there about the same time this hot and sticky Wednesday morning as we had on our first MK day. We even made it to the same spot for the initial rope drop. Here are some photos of the girls while we waited (you may notice some fuzziness – the camera was a bit fogged over from hitting the heat and humidity):

We made it to the right side of the castle for the second rope drop. Unfortunately, the CM who runs our rope isn’t as quick to drop hers as some of the others. We decided we would to the mad dash for Dumbo since the girls loved it so much the first day. Here’s some pics.
Andy & Kate:

Lily sat with me. Doesn’t she look happy!?!?!

We were in the 3rd or 4th round of Dumbo. It’s amazing how far behind that put us! This was also first day of scorching heat. It really ran us down. We were going to do Peter & Pooh again, but both of those lines were pretty long by the time we got off Dumbo. We decided to hop on another of the girls’ favorites:

Did you check out how red Kate’s cheeks are already? We couldn’t believe how hot it was!

A lady at the rope drop our first morning highly recommended Buzz. She said the girls were the perfect age for it. I didn’t think we’d go on it, since I figured TSM would be better, but we headed that way this morning anyway. It was okay. The girls seemed to have a pretty good time. I have to admit that the ride seemed a bit cheesy after riding TSM.

Andy & Kate as we’re heading in. Sorry it’s a bit fuzzy!

Lily hanging onto the controls.

I don’t know the names of these guys, but they seemed like a fun photo opp.

Next stop, Toontown! We made it there for the rope drop. Honestly, I just wasn’t too organized this morning. I thought we could catch some fairies since we were there at rope drop. By the time we got ourselves in line, the wait was over an hour. We had better things to do, so we skipped it.

The girls had a great time on Goofy’s barnstormer the first day, so we headed over there for a couple rounds.
In front of the chickens.

Then, we checked out the homes of some friends.

After this fun, we let the girls get out some energy at this little playground.

This was a lot of fun until Lily thought it would be a good idea to kick her little sister so she’d get out of her way so she could go down the slide. Isn’t it fun sticking your kid in time out at Disney? I was firmly ushering her to a spot on the curb to hang out. A lovely CM came over and asked if she was alright. I was so surprised and didn’t quite register what she had asked that I said “no” then it hit me “er, uh, yeah, she’s just in trouble for kicking her sister.” Then the CM came over and mentioned that she respected that I was actually disciplining my child, but that the curbs can get very hot and she didn’t want Lily to burn her bottom. Then I kind of felt bad. I chatted with Lily a bit and then we were on our way.

Hmm…what to do next? We felt like there wasn’t much else in Toontown, but we needed a potty break. Cosmic Ray’s was the closest one that we actually knew where it was. We found a family potty and switched the girls into their dresses for CRT.

Continued in next post...

 

[Disneyvirg]

We decided we’d try to catch Storytime with Belle. There was a show coming up that would get us to CRT in good time. We found ourselves a shaded spot and waited for the fun. I was a bit concerned that they would ask Lily to participate. She’s pretty timid and my guess was that she would end up crying instead of having a good time. Belle came out and started her story.

She was beginning to select her cast mates. I was keeping a close eye on Lily’s reaction. I glanced over at Andy just as he was checking his phone. Then I hear, “I need my beast. Oh, there he is. He’s sitting in the back row with a blue striped shirt.” That description exactly matched Andy! He got up and they had a hard time fitting him into the Beast costume. They actually got one of his paws on backwards!
There he is – the Beast!

The Beauty & the Beast

Dancing

Dying

The prince is revealed

The girls LOVED watching their daddy on stage as the Beast. We giggled through most of the performance.

After this we tried checking into CRT, but we were a bit early, so they told us to come back at our ADR time of 11:45. We thought we better do one more quick potty break so we wouldn’t miss a princess during lunch. Guess where we went? Yep, back to Cosmic Ray’s. We went back to CRT at the appropriate time and were the first ones in line.

How will our CRT lunch go? Will it be all I imagined?

 

[micandminforever]

Your dh made a great beast, and I am sure your princesses loved it. Great pictures of the ride on Dumbo.

 

[Disneyvirg]

Your photopass pictures are wonderful. I joined a share this trip and won't get my CD til the end of the month. I want them now!! I really like the picture of the kiss too. And your girls covering their eyes.Too cute!

Thank you! Isn't Photopass CD Suspense terrible?

Yes, you can. I followed a link from the DIS homepage to The Timeshare Store and they have resales with fewer than 160 points. There's a trick to banking and borrowing that they give you on that site too that would work perfectly for going every 3 years. HTH!

Shoot! I haven't done my resale research yet. We got our book from DVC last night, so that occupied all my time.

I just found your report. Your girls are so cute, and I love Kate's smile. Too bad she didn't care for the characters. My son is scared of everything except the characters. He tried to chicken out of every ride, and most of them we didn't make him ride. He is six so I hope he gets more brave. He has loved the characters since he was a year old though. I would hate to forget my camera battery and charger. I am glad you were able to get someone to send it to you. I can't wait to hear more about your trip.

Welcome! Thank you for reading along!

Isn't it so funny how different each kid can be, and how their little imaginations can just get the best of them!? Lily was scared of rides and shows. Kate was more scared of big, fuzzy characters!

Your dh made a great beast, and I am sure your princesses loved it. Great pictures of the ride on Dumbo.

We really had fun watching Andy as Beast. When we talk about the girls still crack up. Andy wasn't impressed when I emailed our family the pics from the trip and included the Beast photos. His family loved them, however!

 

[wigdoutdismom]

My hat's off to you! It's not very often that you see a parent take care of a situation with their children...

Doggone it Lily, no kicking Kate!

The girls looked adorable with their little up does and the sweet little Cinderella tops! Great start to the day!

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Andy the Beast, how awesome! I'm sure the girls really enjoyed seeing dad on stage. That is one show we have never seen, it sure does look like fun!

 

[shannon47142]

whew--it did look hot!! But you got some really cute pictures of the girls!!
How cool for DH to be a part of the show

 

[stace208]

Oh my goodness-Lily and Kate look so cute in their Cinderella tank tops and their hair up like that I can't wait to see them in the castle!

That is too funny about your DH being the Beast. What a fantastic vacation memory!

Our DVC package got delivered today. It was nice since I had been out having some dental work done (ouchie). What do you think? Is anything looking better now that you have more information? My DH has already started a spreadsheet of costs...so far, so good..

 

[Disneyvirg]

My hat's off to you! It's not very often that you see a parent take care of a situation with their children...

Thanks. It's no fun being the mean parent, but that's not acceptable behavior!

Doggone it Lily, no kicking Kate!

Seriously! I wonder if she'd listen to you!

The girls looked adorable with their little up does and the sweet little Cinderella tops! Great start to the day!

Thanks! They'll have their dresses on in the next segment.

Andy the Beast, how awesome! I'm sure the girls really enjoyed seeing dad on stage. That is one show we have never seen, it sure does look like fun!

It was tons of fun. It's worth the 15 minute break.

whew--it did look hot!! But you got some really cute pictures of the girls!!
How cool for DH to be a part of the show

He was feeling a little picked on at this point since he had been on the screen at Monster's Inc, too. I told him he's a big boy and can handle it!

Oh my goodness-Lily and Kate look so cute in their Cinderella tank tops and their hair up like that I can't wait to see them in the castle!

That is too funny about your DH being the Beast. What a fantastic vacation memory!

Thanks! It really added some special memories to the trip!

Our DVC package got delivered today. It was nice since I had been out having some dental work done (ouchie). What do you think? Is anything looking better now that you have more information? My DH has already started a spreadsheet of costs...so far, so good..

The DVD is great! Really made me want it. I'm still trying to pencil out the value. Andy hasn't paid much attention to it lately.

There was a big scare at Andy's work today. I was at work by myself for a while today. The phone kept ringing while I was on the other line. There's an answering machine to catch those calls, but not enough messages left for the amount of calls I missed. I had the radio on louder than normal due to inclement weather...normally I can't hear it too well. There was an announcement that the ambulance and fire dept been called to my husband's work. He works in a large coop that has a grain, agronomy, lumber, and feed division. He works the in the feedmill. Well - they radio states that there is a guy who has his leg caught in an auger and the emergency workers are trying to save his leg. Well guess where my mind goes? OMG! They've been trying to call me about Andy! I call his cell phone and it goes straight to voicemail. No! Could it be? I call the main office and a gal there tells me that it was not Andy and that she would have made sure they got a hold of me if it had been. About an hour later I manage to stop trembling.

It just made me realize how darn short life can be. Life as we know it could be gone in an instant. It doesn't sound like the guy will lose his leg, thank God, but he'll probably walk with a limp the rest of his life - and he's just in his mid 20s!

The point of sharing this with you...shouldn't we figure out how to get as much quality time together as possible while we can? Does DVC allow that to be more of a reality? Andy is always on the go with work and farming. If we really want to see him for more than a few hours, we need to go on vacation. I have to see how he views all this yet. DVC may not be the answer, but maybe our research will lead us to something that will be.

Whew! That was longer than I intended!

 

[Disneyvirg]

Good luck with your decision and you can find a LOT of information on the DVC boards!!

I have more DVC questions. If we do resale and buy 50 pts for BLT and 25 pts for a different (and cheaper) resort, how does it work when we make ressies? Can I call 11 months out and use all 75 pts at BLT even though all my pts aren't from there?

I think at this point, it makes the most sense for us to try to bank and borrow pts and go every 2-3 years. If we could purchase a lower amount, it may make more sense for us to purchase, but also give us enough pts do stay where we want. Maybe it doesn't make sense b/c the cheaper points expire sooner.

If only ya'll could see my head spinning right now!

 

[Charleston Princess]

We must have just missed you a dozen times that morning! We were at MK for rope drop and headed straight for Fantasyland, then we headed for Toon Town and when the line was too long for the fairies, we headed for Mickey and Minnie's house.

The heat was brutal that day!

Kate and Lilly's hair is so cute! Did you use a curling iron?

I love that Andy was picked to play the Beast! What a great memory for your family!

 

[wigdoutdismom]

I have more DVC questions. If we do resale and buy 50 pts for BLT and 25 pts for a different (and cheaper) resort, how does it work when we make ressies? Can I call 11 months out and use all 75 pts at BLT even though all my pts aren't from there?

I think at this point, it makes the most sense for us to try to bank and borrow pts and go every 2-3 years. If we could purchase a lower amount, it may make more sense for us to purchase, but also give us enough pts do stay where we want. Maybe it doesn't make sense b/c the cheaper points expire sooner.

If only ya'll could see my head spinning right now!

You can only book 11 months out at the resort from which you own, if you wanted to use the other points would would have to book that at 7 months out. So if you purchase 50 at BLT and say 25 at OKW ... You will be able to book 50 points at BLT 11 months prior...and 25 points at OKW 11 months prior.
Does that make sense? You could always do a split stay, use 50 points BLT then move to the other resort.

 

[dismagiclover]

Great update. Always love the Dumbo Dash, but it does take time. That Fairy line is unbelievable! Toontown actually opens at 9:45 so by 10:00 the line is already over an hour Love your DH as the beast. What a great sport Looking forward to hearing about CRT.

 

[momto2GAgirls]

I am enjoying reading your report! I have two little girls, younger than yours, but it is fun to see how much fun they will have together in a few years!!

That is so neat that Andy was picked to be the "beast"! I am looking forward to seeing this show and my oldest just loves Belle! Looking forward to more updates.

 

[Disneyvirg]

We must have just missed you a dozen times that morning! We were at MK for rope drop and headed straight for Fantasyland, then we headed for Toon Town and when the line was too long for the fairies, we headed for Mickey and Minnie's house.

Sounds like you were right on our tails. How did we miss each other? Maybe because you had no idea what I looked like at that time!

The heat was brutal that day!

You ain't kiddin'!

Kate and Lilly's hair is so cute! Did you use a curling iron?

Thanks! Yes, I used a curling iron. Most of their hair is hidden under the curls in a bun. I got some practice in on Lily for her dance recitals. Kate wasn't too still for me, so her's doesn't look as nice as Lily's.

I love that Andy was picked to play the Beast! What a great memory for your family!

It really was a lot of fun. Something we'll always remember about our first trip.

You can only book 11 months out at the resort from which you own, if you wanted to use the other points would would have to book that at 7 months out. So if you purchase 50 at BLT and say 25 at OKW ... You will be able to book 50 points at BLT 11 months prior...and 25 points at OKW 11 months prior.
Does that make sense? You could always do a split stay, use 50 points BLT then move to the other resort.

Thanks for the response. I was hoping it would work, but figured they had a way to keep you from buying in at a lower amount and then staying at a more expensive location. I'm really trying to find a way to convince Andy. Got any other ideas?

Great update. Always love the Dumbo Dash, but it does take time. That Fairy line is unbelievable! Toontown actually opens at 9:45 so by 10:00 the line is already over an hour Love your DH as the beast. What a great sport Looking forward to hearing about CRT.

Dumbo + Little Kids = Magic! Totally worth the trouble.

The fairy line was CRAZY! We were right at rope drop, just not at the very front or pushing our way through the crowd. Maybe we'll try for it on a future trip.

I am enjoying reading your report! I have two little girls, younger than yours, but it is fun to see how much fun they will have together in a few years!!

That is so neat that Andy was picked to be the "beast"! I am looking forward to seeing this show and my oldest just loves Belle! Looking forward to more updates.

Your girls will love WDW! Isn't planning for your first trip so much fun? Have you checked out Tour Guide Mike yet? I think we learned a lot of super useful stuff from his website. Definitely worth the twenty-something subscription! Where are you planning to stay?

Storytime with Belle was great - perfect for little girls!

 

[stace208]

There was a big scare at Andy's work today. I was at work by myself for a while today. The phone kept ringing while I was on the other line. There's an answering machine to catch those calls, but not enough messages left for the amount of calls I missed. I had the radio on louder than normal due to inclement weather...normally I can't hear it too well. There was an announcement that the ambulance and fire dept been called to my husband's work. He works in a large coop that has a grain, agronomy, lumber, and feed division. He works the in the feedmill. Well - they radio states that there is a guy who has his leg caught in an auger and the emergency workers are trying to save his leg. Well guess where my mind goes? OMG! They've been trying to call me about Andy! I call his cell phone and it goes straight to voicemail. No! Could it be? I call the main office and a gal there tells me that it was not Andy and that she would have made sure they got a hold of me if it had been. About an hour later I manage to stop trembling.

It just made me realize how darn short life can be. Life as we know it could be gone in an instant. It doesn't sound like the guy will lose his leg, thank God, but he'll probably walk with a limp the rest of his life - and he's just in his mid 20s!

The point of sharing this with you...shouldn't we figure out how to get as much quality time together as possible while we can? Does DVC allow that to be more of a reality? Andy is always on the go with work and farming. If we really want to see him for more than a few hours, we need to go on vacation. I have to see how he views all this yet. DVC may not be the answer, but maybe our research will lead us to something that will be.

Whew! That was longer than I intended!

Oh my, that was really scary! I am glad that your husband wasn't involved and there were no fatalaties. Hopefully the guy will not have too much permanent damage.

I totally see your point. My DH and I were discussing DVC and he asked me if 12 years from now I will still want to go to Disney. First I answered YES! It's true-I will always want to go...I know that much. But then I told him that how could I answer that-I have no way of knowing what the future holds for us. But, as long as things remain "status quo", I would imagine that we would still be going. My goal with DVC is to plan ahead and save monetarily and give us, and the kids, more room as they grow. But, if he doesn't want to buy in, then we'll just keep paying for our yearly trips. Either way, I'm goin' to see Mickey! Everyone just has to find what works for their family and then DO it!

 

[wigdoutdismom]

You can use points from a different resort to say stay at BLT, you just can't book the stay until 7 months out. Does that make sense? That's why we purchased at BCV, it's small and can be very hard to book at 7 months out. We just booked our June 2010 stay this past week at Beach Club.

 

[cjackearl]

Oh, your daughters look so precious and perfectly coiffed and dressed for lunch with Cinderella. Looking forward to seeing those pictures.

Your husband must have a very sweet and friendly face to keep getting picked for stuff at Disney. What a great memory for your family.

Thanks for sharing the incident with Andy's coworker. You're right, its all about making memories with our families in whatever ways we can. Good luck with your decision on DVC.

 

[Disneyvirg]

Oh my, that was really scary! I am glad that your husband wasn't involved and there were no fatalaties. Hopefully the guy will not have too much permanent damage.

I totally see your point. My DH and I were discussing DVC and he asked me if 12 years from now I will still want to go to Disney. First I answered YES! It's true-I will always want to go...I know that much. But then I told him that how could I answer that-I have no way of knowing what the future holds for us. But, as long as things remain "status quo", I would imagine that we would still be going. My goal with DVC is to plan ahead and save monetarily and give us, and the kids, more room as they grow. But, if he doesn't want to buy in, then we'll just keep paying for our yearly trips. Either way, I'm goin' to see Mickey! Everyone just has to find what works for their family and then DO it!

I think I have finally decided against DVC for us. I had it all pencilled out and included 3% increases in annual dues every year. If we were actually able to go every year, then it would probably be a good deal. Just $1000 per year for the rooms for a week. Pretty good to lock it in for that price now. Realistically, we'd probably go every 2-3 years at most. Then the savings seems to take a nose dive. If we don't purchase DVC, we're guessing we'll go at most another 5 times to WDW in the next 50 years. I like the idea of a forced vacation, but there's so many other places we want to go. I think I had pencilled out renting points for a room we'd like for a week at $11 per point would be the same cost as 14 years of DVC trips - but we're not likely to go that many times, so the value diminishes. Who knows, I may change my mind again tomorrow, but for now, I'm fine with the decision to be non-DVC members.

You can use points from a different resort to say stay at BLT, you just can't book the stay until 7 months out. Does that make sense? That's why we purchased at BCV, it's small and can be very hard to book at 7 months out. We just booked our June 2010 stay this past week at Beach Club.

That does make sense. Thank your for your input!

Oh, your daughters look so precious and perfectly coiffed and dressed for lunch with Cinderella. Looking forward to seeing those pictures.

Thank you. Lily really enjoyed getting all dolled up.

Your husband must have a very sweet and friendly face to keep getting picked for stuff at Disney. What a great memory for your family.

He really is a big teddy bear. It was lots of fun!

Thanks for sharing the incident with Andy's coworker. You're right, its all about making memories with our families in whatever ways we can. Good luck with your decision on DVC.

Yeah, the story might have been TMI. Just really stuck with me...family is so important, but in day to day life, family memory making doesn't always find it's proper place.