We're touring Disney like a 3 year old (2TRs in 1!)- UPDATE 5/18 pg. 46

[LilAnn]

After saying goodbye to the Western duo – Woody and Jessie, we continued our walk around the park and stumbled upon a jungle adventure. We missed out on the Jungle Cruise our last trip and my husband has never been on it so he wanted to try it. There was a short line so we decided to go for it.

It looks like we will be touring Southeast Asia today.

Ha, I told my husband he would have to visit Thailand (Siam) one day. This is only a preview for him though, he still needs to make the actual trip one day.

Looked like there were a few animals out roaming that day.

Some of them seemed a bit more aggressive than others.

Our little girl was not enjoying this cruise through the jungle quite so much. I think it was a little spooky for her. She did, however, enjoy “driving” the little jungle boats in the water after the ride.

She didn’t seem to realize that the boats weren’t actually working that day. Or maybe we needed to pay money, either way, she had no clue that all her steering didn’t necessarily correlate with the movements of the boats. She was still enjoying herself there.

We weren’t sure how we were going to convince her to leave the boats, but the promise of a Dole Whip (for my hubby) and a parade worked wonderfully. Just the mention of ice cream and my little girl will go running. We headed towards the castle to see if we could grab a spot to watch the Dreams Come True parade.

First, a stop off to say hi to Dumbo.

However, we soon realized that while the parks weren’t that crowded, we still needed to stake out our spots a little earlier than 5 minutes before start time. After reading about them on the boards, we were now coming into contact with…..the Brazilian tour groups!

Someone is not happy that we were not sitting in the very front.

Here is a little snapshot of the tour groups. Pretty much all the teenage girls in the hot pink shirts and white shirts.

She ended being entertained by the singing and cheers that the groups would randomly break out into while waiting for the parade to start. DH and I weren’t too concerned about being a bit farther back, we knew we still had plenty of days to catch parades.

Plus the girls are pretty well behaved so it didn’t detract from our trip at all. We just made sure to avoid the attractions they were going to so we wouldn’t have to wait longer for rides. Surprisingly, they also remained seated during the parade, so our little munchkin could still see and wave to her heart’s content.

After the Dreams Come True Parade was over, we made our way over to Toontown. We wanted to visit the country houses before it closed down forever. We love those little houses, they’re just so cute!

Goodbye Barnstormer! Sadly, our little girl will never get a chance to ride this coaster as it is currently known. Hopefully on a future trip when she is tall enough and not afraid of thrill rides we can ride it in it’s new setting.

First up was Minnie’s house

I just love all the little details. Next up, a stop across the way at Donald’s boat.

We had to take her leggings off when she started running through the water.

Then we hopped back across the street to check on Mickey Mouse.

Looks like Mickey is pretty good at ping-pong.

I wonder if they will continue with these plans?

Pluto, where are you?

Coming soon: Princesses, teacups and a nighttime parade

 

[dawnbu40]

Cute update
It's good to hear the tour group wasn't as bad as you'd read. In May we always run into a lot of school groups and those kids always seem very out of control

I'm glad you got to see ToonTown again before it closed. It looks like the little one had a good time playing in the water

 

[LilAnn]

Cute update
It's good to hear the tour group wasn't as bad as you'd read. In May we always run into a lot of school groups and those kids always seem very out of control

I'm glad you got to see ToonTown again before it closed. It looks like the little one had a good time playing in the water

Thanks, it's a little short, but I thought I should finish up the day in the next update.

Ah yes, the school groups in May are a bit more unruly. We have encountered them before too. These groups were better, just large in numbers. And they travelled in huge packs, but were pretty well behaved. We just mad sure we went in the opposite direction to avoid a longer line.

We tried to visit Toontown a couple of times and it will be sad the next time we go as I am sure my little one will ask about the houses. She loves those two houses.

 

[tinkgurl]

Ice cream always comes in handy when bribing or trying to get kids somewhere.

We didn't make it on the Jungle Cruise with Little Guy, so I'm anxious to see what he thinks of it the next time we go together.

Glad you could still see the parade. I know how rowdy those tour groups can get.

 

[mermaid764]

That is awesome that the tour groups were well behaved, we have run into some that are and others that are completely out of control which can totally ruin the whole experience.

Your daughter is so adorable driving the boats, she looks so determined.

Can't wait for more

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

THe picture of her with Dumbo is so cute!

I'm glad your husband finally got to ride the JC. I hope you had a good skipper for his first trip! Where are those little boats? I don't think I've ever seen them.

I'm so sad that Toontown is leaving but we are lucky enough to live closer to Disneyland and their Toontown is very similar (and actually better, in my opinion). We are going to DL for one day this summer and Dylan said he wants to ride Goofy's Barnstormer so we are going to try it!!

 

[lbuzz52]

Oh- the boats! I have not noticed those on either of our recent trips. Where exactly are they? I remember those! I can remember standing there forever as a child while my parents let my baby brother do it over and over and over.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Joining in!! I'm really enjoying your TR so far!

UGH I'm in the Northeast too - I know exactly how this winter was!!! Oh man, I can't believe you had to travel during one of those storms! That's great you were able to fly out of DC - I would have been so nervous!!

Your daughter is absolutely adorable - I love that pic!!

 

[LilAnn]

Ice cream always comes in handy when bribing or trying to get kids somewhere.

We didn't make it on the Jungle Cruise with Little Guy, so I'm anxious to see what he thinks of it the next time we go together.

Glad you could still see the parade. I know how rowdy those tour groups can get.

Just the slightest hint of ice cream and she'll gobble up her whole dinner, just to get the dessert. Kinda like her mom!

DH was not impressed with the Jungle Cruise. He wasn't as amused by her funny skipper as I was.

Yes, we have encountered some rowdy tour groups, but I think we either got really lucky, or maybe it was just our attitude. We were kind of like "what can you do? They're already here and we're in Disney." But I did think that other than their large size (they travelled in huge groups) they weren't bad at all.

That is awesome that the tour groups were well behaved, we have run into some that are and others that are completely out of control which can totally ruin the whole experience.

Your daughter is so adorable driving the boats, she looks so determined.

Can't wait for more

The tour groups that we found out of control were more like the end of the year school trips in May. They didn't travel in huge packs, but they were very rowdy. So in comparison, this was a nice group.

Thanks for reading! I'll try to put up another update before working this weekend.

THe picture of her with Dumbo is so cute!

I'm glad your husband finally got to ride the JC. I hope you had a good skipper for his first trip! Where are those little boats? I don't think I've ever seen them.

I'm so sad that Toontown is leaving but we are lucky enough to live closer to Disneyland and their Toontown is very similar (and actually better, in my opinion). We are going to DL for one day this summer and Dylan said he wants to ride Goofy's Barnstormer so we are going to try it!!

Thanks! She just HAD to pose with the little Dumbo after going on the ride.

I thought we had a good skipper for our JC trip, but my husband doesn't get amused as easily as I do. He found it a bit corny.

Speaking of Disneyland, I may need to pick your brain about it. We may be headed that way next year...I hope. Dylan is definitely way more adventurous than our girl. But maybe she'll be tall enough and brave enough to try it soon!

Oh- the boats! I have not noticed those on either of our recent trips. Where exactly are they? I remember those! I can remember standing there forever as a child while my parents let my baby brother do it over and over and over.

The boats are just outside of the Jungle Cruise, as you exit I think. I never really noticed them before either, but our little girl will never pass up the chance to drive something! She saw those "steering wheels" right away. That's awesme that you still remember playing with it!

Joining in!! I'm really enjoying your TR so far!

UGH I'm in the Northeast too - I know exactly how this winter was!!! Oh man, I can't believe you had to travel during one of those storms! That's great you were able to fly out of DC - I would have been so nervous!!



Your daughter is absolutely adorable - I love that pic!!

Thanks for jumping in! Wasn't this winter awful? Ugh, we barely made it out before the storm completely shut everything down. We are lucky that my family still lives in VA and that my husband even came up with that idea. I was so stressed about it, and so it was also really lucky that my coworkers let me leave a bit early. Otherwise, no way would we have made it out quite so easily.

Thanks - I love that pic, too.

 

[209Disney]

Love reading your trip report so far! Your daughter is adorable!

 

[LilAnn]

Love reading your trip report so far! Your daughter is adorable!

Thanks! I am glad you are enjoying it. I see that you live somewhat close to DL - any pointers/tips/advice? We are thinking of heading there next year - we have a wedding we might be attending out that way.

 

[LilAnn]

While we were in Toontown, we thought we might check in and see how long the wait was for Pixie Hollow and the Princesses. The fairies were at the standard 45 minute wait but there was a very short line for the ladies. Obviously our little girl was not going to pass up the opportunity to meet her favorite princess, Belle. Unfortunately, since I hadn’t planned the actual days out, I didn’t have her in a pretty, girly outfit. And her hair was a mess. Oh well, try to ignore that as you read on.

I’ve never been in the princess greeting area so I had no idea what to expect. But it was fun to walk in and see all the princesses with their own little greeting area. First up was Aurora. Once again, she was ready with her autograph book.

She seemed to be listening very carefully to whatever it was that Aurora was talking to her about.

I guess it was about her Jessie tee

and her autograph book.

Of course she had to watch her sign the book to make sure she was signing in the right place.

Then came the hug. I was a bit bummed that she wasn’t in her “princess” tee or a cute little dress, but oh well. She didn’t seem to care.

Next up was Cinderella.

And she was perfectly happy following Cinderella back to her royal bench.

It was really cute to watch. It was like a private little moment for the two of them.

I love having a little girl!

I don’t know where the princesses are at now, but next time, I will definitely have to bring something girly for her to wear when seeing them. It would be so cute in this setting!

And last, but not least, was her favorite princess at the time – Belle.

I think that once again, the autograph book was a big hit!

One last hug before we leave.

continued
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[LilAnn]

After saying good-bye to the princesses, we headed out of Toontown. We continued to wander around and came across another ride that caught our little one’s attention.

The teacups! I was so excited to go on this with her since I absolutely love the teacups. I was even more excited that she was the one that asked to ride it!

She totally seemed to be enjoying herself.

After the teacups we took a ride on the Peoplemover, my fave ride. And then we came across our second parade of the day…..and it was definitely a flashback to our previous trip. It was the Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It Parade. It’s a bit chaotic, but you may be able to see that our little one has scooted her way right up to Jessie. She just loves dancing with her!

After the parade, we figured we should grab some dinner. There was only about an hour before the Main Street Electrical Parade was supposed to start, and that was definitely on our agenda. So we headed over to Cosmic Ray’s for some food. I kept an eye on our little one as she tried to hula hoop while my husband got the food.

I can’t remember exactly what we got, but I’m pretty sure it had the chicken and the ribs on it. With our bellies full, we staked out our spot for the parade. We were anxious to compare it with Spectromagic – a fave of ours.

Soon, you could hear the music and the cheers of the crowd from around the corner. It was starting!

So what did we think? I think our little girl loved it no matter what. My husband and I both, though, love the music for Spectromagic more. The MSEP was fun and cute, but I just get the tingles whenever I hear the music for Spectro. I do love some of the floats from MSEP more. But enough of these two nighttime parades, it was time for Wishes!

I love the new castle show, by the way. I love the different lighting effects on the castle, so cool. I wish I had gotten a video of it. It’s just amazing. And a perfect precursor to Wishes, something that we all love.

I wish all fireworks shows could be like this, and accompanied by Disney music and scenes. It just puts me in the Disney mood. Absolutely love it!

A perfect ending to an absolutely magical first day. We were soon off to dream happy dreams before getting up for another day at Disney!
​

 

[dawnbu40]

What a wonderful first day! Your princess pics are so cute and they made me feel nostalgic about when Caitlin was little. They grow up so fast

Isn't the new castle show great? We loved it!

 

[LilAnn]

What a wonderful first day! Your princess pics are so cute and they made me feel nostalgic about when Caitlin was little. They grow up so fast

Isn't the new castle show great? We loved it!

It was a great first full day there! I can only imagine how fast time flies, I already know that I am going to miss this stage. So we are enjoying every second of it and I am so glad that we decided to take her so young. It's so magical to them, you know?

I love the new castle show!

 

[tinkgurl]

I absolutely love that last pic of your girl with Aurora. That is one of my favorite smiles to see on a little one. You can tell she's having the time of her life right there.

If you're wanting her to be all dressed up cute for the Princesses next time, maybe plan to meet them first thing in the day. Just an idea, because before too long int he day, they'll be sweaty and carrying along a few "leftovers" on their shirts from a snack or meal.

As you know from my TR, we also got to see the MSEP. While I'll always have a special love for Spectro, it was nice to see something different for a change. Like you said, I do like some of the floats from MSEP more.

And you're right, that was such a great ending to your day!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Your girl looks SO happy meeting the princesses! Disney really must be just amazingly magical at that age

Great Wishes shots!

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

You got some fabulous fireworks pictures! I can never get my camera to take good pictures of fireworks. Just blurry ones. The castle in front of them is so striking and magical looking.

I grew up watching the MSEP in California so it holds a special place in my heart. Plus, I have never seen Spectromagic (which is a major bummer) so I can't compare the two parades.

Of course you can pick my brain for Disneyland! We are going again this summer (just for 1 day) and we seem to go at least once a year since we have family down there. Just let me know what you want to know!

 

[MEK]

Super cute princess pictures. Your daughter looks like she is having such a great time. What a great day you had at the MK!

 

[LilAnn]

I absolutely love that last pic of your girl with Aurora. That is one of my favorite smiles to see on a little one. You can tell she's having the time of her life right there.

If you're wanting her to be all dressed up cute for the Princesses next time, maybe plan to meet them first thing in the day. Just an idea, because before too long int he day, they'll be sweaty and carrying along a few "leftovers" on their shirts from a snack or meal.

As you know from my TR, we also got to see the MSEP. While I'll always have a special love for Spectro, it was nice to see something different for a change. Like you said, I do like some of the floats from MSEP more.

And you're right, that was such a great ending to your day!

Hi Tink! She was definitely having a blast. Disney is definitely one of her absolutele favorite places to be.

I don't know if I'd get her totally decked out in costume, but I'd probably either have her in a cute dress or carry one along. I did that with the Jessie costume and was so worried that it would get dirty!

I remember reading your experience with MSEP too. I think I had many of the same thoughts as you. We saw it again later in the trip and I think it grew a bit on me, but there is just something about the Spectro music that I love.

Your girl looks SO happy meeting the princesses! Disney really must be just amazingly magical at that age

Great Wishes shots!

She is pretty much so happy meeting any characters! Disney is truly an amazing place for the little kids, I think. Thanks!

You got some fabulous fireworks pictures! I can never get my camera to take good pictures of fireworks. Just blurry ones. The castle in front of them is so striking and magical looking.

I grew up watching the MSEP in California so it holds a special place in my heart. Plus, I have never seen Spectromagic (which is a major bummer) so I can't compare the two parades.

Of course you can pick my brain for Disneyland! We are going again this summer (just for 1 day) and we seem to go at least once a year since we have family down there. Just let me know what you want to know!

Thanks! I feel like I am always just clicking away with my camera in hopes that I'll get a good fireworks shot.

Maybe that's why I like Spectro more? It's pretty much the main parade I saw as a kid and teen and the first one that we brought our daughter too. I do think there is something nice about the music for us. It gives both of us the Disney feeling, just like Wishes does for me.

As we start debating more on the the west coast trip, I may just take you up on that offer. Like, do you think two days for DL/CA will be enough? I was reading your old DL TR while you were updating it. I have never been, so I just am excited to see it one day

Super cute princess pictures. Your daughter looks like she is having such a great time. What a great day you had at the MK!

Thanks! We definitely had a great first day. It was an amazing trip in general (but then again, I'm usually pretty happy in Disney).