Day 4:
As Mark mentioned, this was a day he and I were REALLY looking forward to. We had been planning this day for months. A big (HUGE) part of our day was our dear friend Amy. Who has the MADDEST SEWING SKILLZ ever. Way back when, I had jokingly asked her how much she would charge me to make a real Prince Phillip costume. As opposed to both the ugly blue and silver one sold by Disney Direct AND the ugly black and pink one worn by Prince Phillip in the park(s). I wanted one that looked like
well
Prince Phillip. As I said, I was joking. But she took me seriously. And after a bit more bantering about it (on my part), I realized that she was, indeed, serious. And realized that I had a friend for life. Amy, Baybee, you just let me know when you want that Park Fare Bread Pudding, or the Bomas steak! Or free babysitting for NoFear and the Shrimpster. Because I think he might actually consent to stay with me for a
second or so. Or
well, you get the picture.
At any rate, one day in early August, she and I got together to go fabric shopping. But first, she had to measure Wesley. Because you know, NoFear would be going on her first trip to the World soon, and Ms Amy wanted to make sure (by measuring her against Wesley) that NoFear could ride all the rides. That was quite smooth. Wesley suspected nothing.
Let me tell you about the work behind these fabulous costumes~because there are, in fact, TWO of them. I paid close attention when Wesley played the pen and ink game on our Sleeping Beauty DVD. I watched the movie and took notes, as did Amy. I printed pictures I found on the internet. I took a Sleeping Beauty book with me as reference. She had already done some sketching. So I sat by and watched while she figured out which patterns she would need, and how much fabric for each part. I did not even pretend to understand what she was doing. She is a Master. I sat at her feet. And learned nothing. Because I understand that my Mad Skillz lie elsewhere. Cooking, for example. And character stalking. As much as I am envious of her lovely talent
I do not think that sewing is for me. But. I will keep Amy as my friend forever. However many bread puddings it takes.
The next part was choosing the fabrics. That was somewhat easier. To me. Im good with colors. And after all that research, I felt fairly confident in the colors we were choosing. And then my part was done. I just handed it all to her. Now I like that kind of work!
Sometime in September, she let me know that they were ready. Well. This requires some background. You see, Wesley has been in the Prince Phillip phase for about 2 years. He has his own made up version of Prince Phillips outfit. Which is tres cute, considering he made it up himself. Last year, about a week before Christmas, he added to his Christmas list: a Prince Phillip costume. A real one. Ummm. Huh. Did you KNOW that Halloween costumes are ONLY available BEFORE Halloween? Well, we found that out. So. Santa wrote him a nice letter which explained how swamped the elves were and they just didnt have time to fill his last minute request, but Santa was sure he could get him a Prince Phillip costume before next Halloween.
Wesley is not one to forget things. He would periodically say, I hope Santa remembers my costume! And we hoped that Santa could find one on eBay or something before the appointed time. Which Santa did. That terribly ugly silver and blue thing. No offense to anyone who has purchased the silver and blue one. Its just that I dont understand why Prince Phillips costume (unlike almost every other character) looks nothing like his movie costume. But as fate would have it, Santa met Amy instead. And now WE can sell the blue and silver one on eBay.
So Santa arranged to visit Amy at her office, pick up the costumes (with profuse thanks and DEFINITELY not enough payment~bread pudding, honey??), and deliver them to Wesleys room while Wesley was in school. Sometimes Santa has Mad Skillz, too. Delivering in September Mad Skillz. Where was that when I was a kid??
Wesley was TICKLED with his costume(s). Immediately had to watch the movie and act it out, in the proper attire. Theres the background. From that moment on, it was all we could do to wait until this particular day, Saturday, Day 4 of our vacation.
Because we have, as I mentioned, Mad Skillz in the area of character stalking, we were FAIRLY certain that Aurora would be there. In fact, we were FAIRLY certain that our very own, very special Princess Aurora would be there. You see, the costumes were a surprise for Princess Aurora. Along with a red rose. And heres the thing
because our very own, very special Princess Aurora would be present at the breakfast
we knew that she would also be present in France, later in the day. Two meetings. Two costumes. One rose. One card. (One for each meeting.)
Now, back to the present. Or past, as it were.
We were up early to be ready for our big day. Because there was a LOT going on this day; not just seeing Aurora.
Because the castle is more of a formal setting, Wesley (okay, I) decided to wear his formal costume that morning. The garden, in France, is more informal. So. The casual outfit for that meeting.
Wesley got himself prince-ified (it didnt take much, TFI!), and we struck out for Epcot. We got the prince in his coach and began the Processional to Norway.
When we arrived, things felt odd. It was right about 8:30ish, which is about the time they open for breakfast. Always before when weve been here, there has been a crowd gathered outside. It takes a few minutes to do their little opening ceremony and then sort everyone and get them seated. But there was no crowd. No one around at all. In fact, our stroller was the first one parked. Weird. As Mark checked in at the desk, the character greeter came outside. Saw us. Well, saw Wesley. Wait here, he told us! He rushed inside. Then back out, to usher us in. Wait here, he told us again. Pixie dust abounds! Belle was unable to attend the breakfast this morning. Which meant that AURORA was in the alcove doing pictures. And we were the ONLY ones in line. Which meant that our meeting with her would not be nearly so rushed! And! Wed have professional photographic evidence of said meeting! The greeter went into the alcove and moved Aurora over a bit, then had her close her eyes. He then brought Wesley in and positioned him before telling Aurora she could open her eyes.
Aurora opened her eyes. And there was magic. Everywhere. She was close to tears. I was close to tears. The photographer (a female) was close to tears. The greeter (not a female) was close to tears. I figure Mark (also not a female!) was close to tears, too. It may have even been how Aurora felt when the REAL Prince Phillip kissed her, and she opened her eyes, and there he was. Her very own miniature Prince Phillip, standing before her, right now. After a while, and several stage whispers from us, he finally remembered to give her the rose. Swooning commenced. And so did kissing.
The photographer snapped picture after picture. So did I. We mustve spent 7 or 8 minutes with her. Im sure the people in line behind us wondered what the hold up was. But no one rushed us, least of all the photographer and the greeter. Or the person waiting to seat us. In fact, we were all treated royally. Even our server, Elin, said shed heard that Wesley was a special friend of Princess Auroras.
Elin brought us our drinks and our food. We fell to eating, just checking occasionally to see that no princesses were coming
we wanted to make sure Wesley didnt have a mouth full of food when they arrived, as he did last time we were here (July). I like that they give you a bit of time to eat before the princesses come around. But soon, here they were: Snow White, Jasmine, Mulan and Mary Poppins (in Belles absence). With Mulan, who told Wesley that Princess Aurora had told her all about him, Wesley was in rare form. As I started to take the picture, Mulan said, Say cheese! Wesley immediately countered with, Eggroll! Yep, he loves that Mushu! We cracked up, and so did Mulan. She told us she and Mushu would both be in China later in the day, and we promised to come see them.
In due time, the girl selling the picture packages stopped at our table. She had barely opened the folder when I fell to tears again and said, Well take it! I wish I had a scanner, so that you could all see this beautiful picture. It is similar to one that Mark posted (that I took), but they both have better expressions on their faces. Even better~We got four different poses!! 2 4x6s each of 3 different poses, plus the large one, which is still another pose. Disney Magic, even if it did cost us a little $$. A fine investment, if you ask me. Every time I look at that picture, it brings happy tears.
While we were finishing up our meal, we overheard the people next to us talking with their server. She was telling them that their costumes were, indeed, authentic. She said she has two at home, and that they are worn to such celebrations as weddings, graduations, baptisms, confirmations. Her mother does embroidery work, her grandmother sews. So she has one that was made by her mother and grandmother, for her, and one that belonged to her grandmother when she was young. She spoke of them with love and pride. I thought that was incredibly neat. I had underestimated Disney
Id always assumed that the traditional costumes meant theyd been worn in days gone by. But according to this girl, this style of dress is still very much appropriate to these occasions. It made me happy, that Disney really was a stickler for details. Is that silly? Maybe, but I dont care. I like knowing that Disney is doing their best.
After a visit to Amy and fam's table and a quick wave to Aurora, we took our leave. Wesley wanted to change into his casual outfit, and wear it the rest of the day. We were agreeable to this. And he decided to walk, not ride in his stroller. He got lots of comments, though very few people knew who he was supposed to be. Its hard to make him understand that people come to Disney World without ever watching a Disney movie. Or, at least, without watching Sleeping Beauty 7,963 times. As he has. But he still enjoyed the attention. At one point, he whispered to Mark that he enjoyed wearing his costume, because he felt like I work here. We both got a kick out of that. And I will be surprised if he doesnt one day work there.
We headed for Test Track, intending to get FastPasses. But standby was only 5 minutes or so, and we hopped on. (After getting FPs for later.) Then we stopped at Character Connection. Mickey liked his Prince Phillip hat, and put it on for a picture or two. And here someone finally, FINALLY recognized him (Aside from Aurora and her greeter, of course). Two different greeters called him Prince Phillip. He BEAMED. I mentioned to one that he was the first to realize who Wesley was. He gave me a big grin. Are you kidding? I LOVE Sleeping Beauty! Auroras my favorite princess! I informed him that he had competition
and judging by the amount of lipstick on his face, Wesley was winning.
We nabbed (no offense NAB!) some FPs for Soarin, and took a spin on the new Living With the Land. With no actual CM narrating your tour. We liked it, actually. Time has gone quickly, and we need to get back to World Showcase before long.
Maelstrom was a walk-on, so we rode. Then meandered on our way to France, to wait for our Princess. At this point in the trip, Mark and I were wearing our Guest of Honor nametags (as well as Wesley, of course). Oh, and a quick aside. These used to be available at Downtown Disney (and before that, in the parks, I think). Theyre not now. And we found out why. The Lunch with the Imagineers, at Brown Derby? They now give them out there, as part of the lunch. So. No more availability to the general public. Too bad Mark BROKE his later in the week. Anyway. We had on our nametags. And people always think we work there when were wearing them. Sure enough, a lady with a guidemap and a times guide approached me. "Excuse me, can you tell me when Belle will be out, and where shell be? I laughed on the inside. Well, maam, ordinarily, she is either here in this library, or out here in this garden area, beginning around 12:35. But she wont be out today. The lady pulled out her times guide. No, no, it says right here
I stopped her. Yes, she is ORDINARILY here. But she wont be today.
How did I know this, you wonder? Well, because she wasnt at breakfast, of course. Sure enough, someone later said that Beast was out, alone. But no Belle. How do I get on Disneys payroll? Marita? Any suggestions? Two girls also stopped. Wanted to know where we found Wesleys costume. Found? No, sweeties. Custom made, that. Awww, they said. Prince Phillip was their favorite.
After several minutes, Aurora arrived. By then, a small crowd had gathered. But she had eyes only for Wesley. In his casual outfit this time, you remember. Including his sword and shield. She asked for a dragon-fighting demonstration. He poked half-heartedly at a leaf on the ground. He did still have his smile on, though. And we got several more great pictures. More kissing commenced. He grinned through it all. Finally we said our goodbyes. Only to realize that he hadnt given her his special picture. So. Back in line we got, this time with the picture. She oohed and aahed appropriately. He beamed. Some more. And we took pictures. Some more. And she kissed him. Some more. When all was said and done, there wasnt an inch on his face that wasnt covered in lipstick. He grinned like a
well
like a little boy thrilled with his face full of princess kisses! These, my friends, are memories that will not soon be forgotten. By him. Or by us. Or, by Princess Aurora. It isnt every day that Aurora has a real-life miniature Prince Phillip to bestow kisses on. Especially one as taken with her as Wesley is.
As I mentioned earlier, we have other plans for the day, so we cant linger. Much as I would have liked to go back to France later in the day. All that dragon-fighting has really taken it out of Wesley, and hes famished. We decide on China. I dont remember why. But it was pretty tasty. Then we saw Mulan and Mushu for a few quick pictures. Mulan was glad to see him again.
We hit both Test Track and Soarin on our way out, with our FPs. We had hoped to get more Disney Visa pics made, but the line was just as long as the day before. No time for that today.
Off to the Magic Kingdom. Where we were able to see the 4:40 castle show, Dream Along With Mickey. As most of you probably know, we were very attached to Cinderellabration. In fact, we made a special trip down, to see the last show(s). So I was prepared to not LOVE the new show. Simply because it wasnt Cinderellabration. But. I did. LOVE it. So did Mark. So did Wesley. I miss Jasmine and Belle (and the Beast Prince!) being in the show, but I still like it, very much. Costumes are gorgeous, again. And I actually like Prince Phillips better than I liked his Cinderellabration costume. It still isnt right. But its better.
We decided we had plenty of time to see Lets Have a Ball again. Wesley didnt want to. Oh, he wanted to have his picture made again, with Aurora and Phillip. Especially in his costume. But he didnt want to play the games again. So we stood over to the side, where we knew they did the meet and greet. People were looking at him, in his costume. Smiling. Two, in particular. Two that we recognized. But thats all I can say. A greeter saw him. In his costume. Big smile. She disappeared for a few minutes. She came back and said that she had told Aurora he was here, and that Aurora had requested to dance with him. So Aurora and Phillip make their appearance on the stage, then go down to dance with the audience. The greeter took Wesley to Aurora, who held onto him as they danced. I snapped pics. And the two other people that had seen Wesley, and KNEW that he was Prince Phillip
they asked if they could have their picture made with my Wesley. Of course, I said! But first, more pictures with the Royal Couple. They talked to him at great length about his costume. And when they were done, the other two were waiting. A couple of pictures with them. Well just call them another royal couple. No, we didnt know them. As in, were not friends with them. We have seen them before. But thats all. But. They knew Wesley. Hes famous. At Disney World. Partly because his parents are character stalkers. But also, because hes a cute little kid who genuinely loves the characters. And for whatever reason, our little Magic Magnet makes an impression on the characters. He imparts a bit of magic to them. And that, after all, is what it is REALLY all about. That is what so many people fail to understand, fail to see. Disney is not all about ME. It is all about MAGIC. And people, MAGIC happens when you STOP thinking about ME. And start thinking about others. Mostly, when YOU are nice, people are nice back. (Not ALWAYS, but mostly.) When you take time with people, be they Cinderella or a custodian, they will take time with you.
That is not to say that MAGIC cannot be created, or helped along, by YOU. Wesley almost always wears a costume. That sometimes generates magic. We had insider information about Aurora being at the breakfast that moment. We knew about that. But. I GUARANTEE you that if you go to Disney World thinking ONLY about yourself and your family and what you are going to GET, you will not get any Disney MAGIC. You will get a bad attitude, likely, because things arent going the way youd imagined, not the way you thought theyd be, given the amount of money youd spent on this trip.
We have been fortunate enough to meet some CMs, on their off time. All because we took time with them. We loved them. We tried to create a little magic for them, instead of demanding that they create magic for us. Disney magic doesnt begin and end with Disney CMs. It is a cycle, that must be helped along by the guest(s). And let me tell you: Disney CMs appreciate magic just as much (maybe MORE) than guests do.
Were feeling very magical right now, so we head to PhilharMagic, one of our very favorite things at MK. Then we got in line to see Ariel, but after 10 minutes and no movement in the line, we departed, making the line at least one family shorter for all those behind us. We let Wesley play on Poohs playground a bit , then went back to the castle for the last show of the day. After the show started, a guy came up front taking pictures. My guess is that he knew someone in the show. He didnt look stalker-ish
more like boyfriend-ish. He sure got some people behind us riled up though. Had an old lady on an
ECV yelling and screaming. There ya go, Disney magic. Of the other sort. Like Black Magic. Not the good kind. He finally took the not-so-subtle hint and left. I felt bad for him. But. On the other hand. If he wanted to be up front taking pictures, he shouldve been there earlier. Still. Is it necessary to YELL at someone? (We find out much more about this, firsthand, later in the trip.)
Once the show was over, we had time to go to Tomorrowland to buy the Buzz Lightyear playset Wesleyd had his eye on. Then we met up with some Orlando friends, and had a swanky dinner at Pecos Bills. LOL! After dinner, we decided it had been a LONG day. Back to the room.
When we got back to the parking lot at POR, Wesley said, very seriously, You know, Princess Aurora is VERY lucky. Really? How so? Well, she has TWO Princes. Prince Phillip. And ME!
That was a great ending to a great day! The Magic Magnet Lives on!!
Up next: Continued Magic, and Meeting Some Vikings
I have enjoyed lurking on your family trip reports for a while now. I have even told my family (who don't "get"the Dis and think I am crazy) about the adorable Prince Wesley. But I had to come out from lurking under my rock when you mentioned the Brown Derby in Tallahassee. My DH and I are both FSU Alumni and that was a special "Date Spot" for us.
A whole paragraph!
Can't wait to hear even more!!!!!
