Why, My Little Guppy Has Groupies! - A Dec. 2013 TR *Completed

[lilmape]

[/quote]
Having your mom along makes the trip extra special. I love that I was able to share some experiences and show her new things while there.

If you have any questions feel free to ask![/QUOTE]

This will be the first time my mom has gone since 1999 when we went with my High School band. You can imagine how crazy hectic that trip was, so she hasn't had time to slow down and enjoy since I was 4 (1980s). O that trip we just went to MK as we were visiting my grandparents who wintered in Florida. She is excited to see Epcot and take her time and enjoy. She is really excited to try sit down restaurants as she has never been to any. There is so much I (and the DH lol) get to share with my mom and my little girl! I am so very excited. Planning already of course... Yay I'll probably have PLENTY of questions!

 

[amazingact21]

This will be the first time my mom has gone since 1999 when we went with my High School band. You can imagine how crazy hectic that trip was, so she hasn't had time to slow down and enjoy since I was 4 (1980s). On that trip we just went to MK as we were visiting my grandparents who wintered in Florida. She is excited to see Epcot and take her time and enjoy. She is really excited to try sit down restaurants as she has never been to any. There is so much I (and the DH lol) get to share with my mom and my little girl! I am so very excited. Planning already of course... Yay I'll probably have PLENTY of questions!

Well then I'm sure your mom will definitely have a great trip! It's always exciting to show family and friends new aspects of Disney. The food and restaurants are one of my favorite things to introduce to folks. A lot of people don't realize that the food itself is worth the trips to the parks. At least, that's my opinion.

 

[amazingact21]

Okay, I REALLY need to pick up the pace on this trip report. I'm ready to be done with our first park day. Not that it wasn't special and wonderful, but I have so many more exciting events to talk about!




Monday, December 2nd, 2013:


My group of four had one last Fastpass to use that evening, and it was for the classic:
Dsc02425 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr

Maelstrom!



The Norway pavilion could not be shown up by the rest of the countries; they had some beautiful decorations set up, as well.

Dsc02427 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


They certainly made the walk up to the attraction more festive and enjoyable.




Using one of our precious 3 passes for Maelstrom seemed sort of silly, but there wasn't another ride I knew we'd all want to go on. Plus, I knew we would be in the World Showcase after the processional and would want something to do that evening.

Hence, the seemingly random FP selection.



I love the mural that meets you in the loading area of the attraction.

Dsc02430 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


I never get to spend more than ten minutes in that queue, and I almost wish I could one day if only to examine the artwork more and be able to look at more in depth. But, from the sounds of how the new tiering system is going, I better be careful... my wish will probably come true in May.


And then, of course, I'll gripe about the wait times.

There's no making me happy, basically.




Since I held the baby on Journey into Imagination, Alex wanted to hold him for this one.


Dsc02435 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr



I don't know if it was hanging out with his dad or if he was just happy to be on another ride, but Landon seemed cheery. He was definitely attentive to the animatronics throughout the ride. I think the polar bears were his favorite. And he did not even notice the drop at the end.

Another successful ride under his belt!



It wouldn't be a trip through the dump shop without getting Landon his first picture with the troll.
Dsc02451 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


Hopefully, I'll be able to get this picture over many years. I think that would be a cool spot to compare how much he grows between trips.



Side Note: My grandmother is a full-blooded Norwegian and for Christmas, she sent me some sweaters. While I'll never get to wear them as long as I live in FL, they made me laugh due to the tags:

Reminded me of all the sweaters I see for purchase inside the shop in Norway, and the Disney dork in me loved that I had one of them.



Traveling through the rough waters of Norway must've worked up an appetite in Alex, because I lost track of him and located him inside the snack shop. (Ahh, the name escapes me right now!)


Dsc02459 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


I joined him while he was in mid-conversation with the Cast Member behind the counter. She seemed very nice and was complimenting Landon's glasses. I guess Alex was asking her opinion on what he should order, and she was talking about a few of her favorite items.

Both of us had split a School Bread on a previous trip, and we knew it was absolutely delicious, but Alex wanted to try something new to see if he liked it just as much. He was eyeballing the Troll Horn, which was a canoli-like dessert, and he might've gotten it if I hadn't spotted this beauty:
Dsc02461 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


Alex had offered to split whatever he got with me, and so when he asked my opinion, I made the comment, "Well, I probably won't have any of the troll horn, but I'd gladly split that pretzel with you."

Manipulative...

When Alex put in his order, the Cast Member laughed and said, "That's not very Norwegian, but okay."

Oops. Sorry to put your sage advice to waste, miss.
But we did really appreciate her time and talking to us a bit about some of the desserts.

She was very friendly, and it was a perfect example of a unique little gem you can discover inside the World Showcase. Simply talking to some of the Cast Members from a different country can be really informative and interesting. Some of Alex and I's favorite moments come from the CM interactions.



We sat down in the small seating area outside and dug into our pretzel.
Dsc02463 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


I don't remember much from that meal, because I was in sweet dough nirvana, except that Alex and I kept trying to get my mom to try a bite and she wouldn't. She isn't a big fan of either pretzels or almonds, so she had no interest in the food. But Alex and I had this weird mind set where the more she refused to try it, the more we were determined to get her to.

I'm not sure why I wanted my mom to have some so bad. I guess I just wanted to share the deliciousness.

And, to be truthful, it was probably the best pretzel I've eaten at Walt Disney World. I would definitely get another one again, and I might even try one before I return to the School Bread.

Yeah, it was that good.



Food in our bellies, we all needed to decide whether or not we were going to go to the special viewing area of IllumiNations or call it a night and leave Epcot.
I asked my mom first, since she had that cold and could possibly need to rest, but she said she was cool either way.

Alex seemed curious about how the view in the package holder area would be, but I took the reins and said that we'd better go back to Pop. I didn't feel like getting caught in the crowds after park closing, we'd been there all day, and I wanted to have time to relax in the room for a bit before going to sleep.

So, we probably did waste some of our money by not staying for IllumiNations; I was all right with that.



We took our time passing Mexico and stopped near the Meet and Greet area for Duffy to drink some water and take a last look at the World Showcase.

While we were there, a woman walked up to us and asked where we'd purchased Landon's glasses. She was pushing a stroller with four special needs children in it, and I guess one of them had to wear uncomfortable wire frames that hooked behind his ears. She wanted to know the brand we used so that she could find a distributor near her.

Bless her heart. I couldn't be more impressed by what she was doing and how many kids she was caring for. She was a special woman, and I hoped Disney gave her as much joy as she was spreading to those little ones.


Alex had dug out Landon's glass's case to hand to the girl that was with the woman so she could write it down. Since the case was in P.I.T.A. I had plenty of time to take a couple candids of my mom holding Landon and then of the Epcot tree.

Dsc02478 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


Dsc02479 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr



Dsc02481 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr




We'd been slacking on the Photopass Pictures. We hadn't taken any since that morning, so my mom asked if we could get a few in front of the tree. I'm glad we did, because I just love having that particular tree in the background.









The idea for Photopass Pictures popped up again when we reached Future World. All the pathways were empty and it quiet except for the Christmas music being played. A stark contrast to just 5 hours earlier, when it was wall to wall people as far as the eye could see.


There were a couple different photographers set up, some for views facing Spaceship Earth and some for shots of the decorative topararies. At each of them there was one or two couples waiting, but that was nothing compared to that morning.

An extremely reasonable wait.



I tried to take some pictures in line, but it just wasn't happening that night.
Dsc02524 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr




First up was Alex, Landon, and myself.









Then, us with my mom:


One of my favorite pictures from the package, even though Landon's looking at another guest.
That guy was so sweet. He was a fellow father, and he was standing next to the photographer making silly faces and crazy noises to get Landon's attention. We all really appreciated his efforts, because it was something he didn't have to do.

(Alex was nice and returned the favor when it was their turn. That's the Disney way.)








We asked the helpful family if they minded if we took one more with just my mom and Landon, and they were so incredibly nice. They told us to take our time, get as many shots as we wanted.

"It's not very often you have an empty park, take advantage of it. Go on ahead."


So nice...







We moved up to a new location to get some different shots. (Looking back, one of those earlier pictures came from this group. Semantics.) And Alex and I got a shot of just us two for old time's sake.




Then we did a 180 and got in line for the picture location behind us. We were really getting our money's worth out of the package that night. But why not? That's why we were there.

The photographer at this location was an incredibly patient Scottish man. He worked so well with the kids that were posing for him. He never tried to rush the family, and he worked his butt off getting them to look his way. You could tell he really cared about his job and wanted to get those memorable shots for that family.

He was trying so hard that the family in front of us had to forewarn him that one of their 2 boys wouldn't look at the camera. He was autistic and the dad was explaining to the guy to not push him too hard. The photographer asked for both boys' names and he was perfect with them. I was impressed. He respected the dad's wishes. Tried for their sake a few times, and then let it go and made sure to talk a few seconds to the other son. I can't rave enough about how well he handled each and every family.



He did his best to get Landon to smile for the camera, but a 7 month old has a mind of his own.











Continued in Next Post:

 

[amazingact21]

Continued From Previous Post:



It was after this point that we all scattered a bit and did our own thing for a good five minutes or so.

I know my mom walked on ahead of us to wait, as you can see her zooming off in this picture:



My mom’s a very focused person in that when we set a plan, she wants to get it done. Not a big fan of detours, is she. At least, not when they are not written into the plans.

Head back to the resort? All right, let’s get going!


I have no idea where Alex and Landon disappeared to at that time.
However, we were next to MouseGears, and it doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together. Alex near any kind of shop is too irresistible for him. So if I were a betting man, I’d say they were in there.


I did what I like to do best when I wander, and that is take a hundred thousand pictures.

That night, the Fountain of Nations was holding my attention.






The trees from the stage in the background were a nice extra touch. I enjoyed the festive look it brought to that area of Epcot.





I just love the Epcot symbol. Not as much as Alex, I will admit. But it does hold a special place in my heart.












Spaceship Earth and pins, these are two of my favorite things…



By that point, my mom was giving me the “ALL RIGHT, LET’S GOOO!” look, and the boys had rejoined us so it really was time to exit the park.


Naturally, I gradually slowed down my pace until I fell behind and took some more pictures.
This is nothing new with me, and I’m sure they expected it.



Behind the globe were some holiday plants in the shape of a Mickey Head. While not as impressive as the massive ostrich topiary that was set up for Flower and Garden, it was still a cute touch.






I tend to take the weirdest shots of Spaceship Earth:


Is that even a thing? I don’t know, but I sure do it.


Doesn’t everybody wish they could see this tonight?


I do!









My group had found plenty to do while they waited for me.





The monorail station decided to get in on the festivities and added some decorations of their own:
Dsc02603 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr




Dsc02607 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr

Everyone buckled in, it was time to say goodnight to Epcot and head out.



Unfortunately, this was not Alex’s lucky trip. His misfortune with navigation continued on that day, and he took a wrong turn and drove in the opposite direction we needed. We ended up making it to DTD before we could turn around.


Dsc02609 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


It was nice to see the Character in Flight balloon up at night, though.

There’s that…




We did eventually make it back.

Dsc02616 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr



Dsc02615 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr




There’s nothing quite like walking to your room after a long day in the parks.

Dsc02621 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


It’s one of those little things I love about my Disney trips. Everyone’s always worn out and tired, but you’re still excited because you’re surrounded by the Disney touch. Those purple walls, especially, were a fun thing to return home to that week.

It was close to 9:30 when we got back to Pop. Alex and I said goodnight to my mom, went through Landon’s nighttime routine, and then I willed myself to go to sleep. The faster I went to sleep, the quicker another Disney day would arrive. And that night, more so than any of the others, I was impatient for what was to come.


It was going to be the best day ever!



So, goodnight Disney, goodnight Epcot, goodnight world, thank you for the great memories, see ya in the morning!


Dsc02622 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

CLASSIC INDEED!!!! MAELSTROM!!! And no worries. I also used a FP on this. I mean seriously, of course it's a Tier 1!

Mmmmm Kringla!!!! Or as I like to call it, The School Bread store. Bahaha, I would have died if Alex went ahead and bought the Troll Horn.

YES!!!! I agree CM's are the best, and the World Showcase CM's are the best of the best.

Are you saying the CP package includes Illuminations? Because I did not know that.

Alisha I LOVE that you got so many PP photos. Honestly, when it's all said and done, the pictures are my favourite souvenir always from any trip.

Ugh yeah it's so easy to miss a turn in Disney. So very easy.

 

[DisneyLifer87]

Just read up in your TR. DH and I are hoping to travel around those dates this coming December, but you have me terrified with the crowds! I guess you never know what you'll get until you try it!

 

[marDgreen88]

Ending the night with Maelstrom is always a good idea! Hahah. Y'all got some great PP pictures! It's always great to hear about awesome CMs. That PP photographer sounds exceptional.

 

[teekathepony]

Go Landon! Two successful rides!
Meh, Norwegian or not, that pretzel looks delish!
Love the PP Pics!
Sounds like you guys had a great first day for sure, I also love walking back through Pop after a day at the parks

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics!

 

[Dugette]

We always Fast Pass Maelstrom. I didn't know about its tier ranking, though. Glad Landon enjoyed it!

Really nice nighttime Epcot pictures, especially all the Photopass ones.

Looking forward to your next day - I hope it's wonderful.

 

[USAFdad]

We did eventually make it back.

I like how I went one way and your mom went the other way.

 

[amazingact21]

CLASSIC INDEED!!!! MAELSTROM!!! And no worries. I also used a FP on this. I mean seriously, of course it's a Tier 1!


It's such a simple ride, but it's one of those that you'd be sad to skip.

Mmmmm Kringla!!!! Or as I like to call it, The School Bread store. Bahaha, I would have died if Alex went ahead and bought the Troll Horn.


Hahaha, I probably would have too.

YES!!!! I agree CM's are the best, and the World Showcase CM's are the best of the best.


They really are. And they are just so interesting to talk with. How often do you get a chance to have a conversation with someone from Norway?

Are you saying the CP package includes Illuminations? Because I did not know that.


It does! The viewing area was by the Christmas Tree near the Future World walkway. I'm sure it was a great spot, and maybe someday I'll stick around for it.
I feel like I'm selling you on a future Candellight Package.


Alicia I LOVE that you got so many PP photos. Honestly, when it's all said and done, the pictures are my favourite souvenir always from any trip.

Ugh yeah it's so easy to miss a turn in Disney. So very easy.



Normally, Alex is pretty good with getting us around property. I think not staying at an All Stars threw him off his game.

Just read up in your TR. DH and I are hoping to travel around those dates this coming December, but you have me terrified with the crowds! I guess you never know what you'll get until you try it!

Don't let my experience stress you out. Most of our problem was the fact that there was no week in between Thanksgiving and the first week of December, like there normally is. So we had all the Thanksgiving people stick around and all the December folks arrive early.

I'm sure next year won't be as bad. Besides, if you go in with a good attitude and not let the crowds effect your overall experience, you'll have a wonderful trip.

Ending the night with Maelstrom is always a good idea! Hahah. Y'all got some great PP pictures! It's always great to hear about awesome CMs. That PP photographer sounds exceptional.

After encountering some mediocre Cast Members that morning, it was nice to see some really great ones that night. Kind of redeemed the Epcot CMs.

Go Landon! Two successful rides!
Meh, Norwegian or not, that pretzel looks delish!
Love the PP Pics!
Sounds like you guys had a great first day for sure, I also love walking back through Pop after a day at the parks

That pretzel was very tasty. I was happy Alex picked it.

Great pics!

Thanks!

We always Fast Pass Maelstrom. I didn't know about its tier ranking, though. Glad Landon enjoyed it!

Really nice nighttime Epcot pictures, especially all the Photopass ones.

Looking forward to your next day - I hope it's wonderful.

We've been fortunate in the past and have never encountered long wait times on Maelstrom, but I think in the future we'll just get Fastpasses for it. Much easier than chancing it.

I can't wait to recap the next day. It was one of my favorites!

I like how I went one way and your mom went the other way.

My mom was like, "I've been in the parks for 12 hours, you must be crazy to think I'm gonna climb some stairs after all that.

 

[afwdwfan]

Hence, the seemingly random FP selection.

I figured it was something along those lines. I mean you get 3, you can only use them on certain attractions, so you do what you gotta do.

I never get to spend more than ten minutes in that queue, and I almost wish I could one day if only to examine the artwork more and be able to look at more in depth.


But, from the sounds of how the new tiering system is going, I better be careful... my wish will probably come true in May.

I hope that isn't the case. Maybe some more tweaking will be in order...

And then, of course, I’ll gripe about the wait times.


There’s no making me happy, basically.

Well, at least you're honest about it!

“Well, I probably won’t have any of the troll horn, but I’d gladly split that pretzel with you.”


Manipulative….



When Alex put in his order, the Cast Member laughed and said, “That’s not very Norwegian, but okay.”


Oops.


Sorry to put your sage advice to waste, miss.
But we did really appreciate her time and talking to us a bit about some of the desserts.

And you claim to have Norwegian blood...

We’d been slacking on the Photopass Pictures. We hadn’t taken any since that morning, so my mom asked if we could get a few in front of the tree. I’m glad we did, because I just love having that particular tree in the background.

Some of my favorite pictures from our December trips are in front of that tree and the topiaries in EPCOT. That tree really looks fantastic at night.

The idea for Photopass Pictures popped up again when we reached Future World. All the pathways were empty and it quiet except for the Christmas music being played. A stark contrast to just 5 hours earlier, when it was wall to wall people as far as the eye could see.

I'm really glad you had this opportunity. The way EPCOT transforms in the evening is just something special. You definitely need to have some night time pictures and daytime pictures there.

I did what I like to do best when I wander, and that is take a hundred thousand various pictures.


That night, the Fountain of Nations was holding my attention.

I can completely understand.

Doesn’t everybody wish they could see this tonight?

Unfortunately, this was not Alex’s lucky trip. His misfortune with navigation continued on that day, and he took a wrong turn and drove in the opposite direction we needed.


We ended up making it to DTD before we could turn around.

It was going to be the best day ever!

I'm glad you're not setting your standards too high.

I like how I went one way and your mom went the other way.

 

[amazingact21]

I figured it was something along those lines. I mean you get 3, you can only use them on certain attractions, so you do what you gotta do.

I was able to book my FPs right before the tiering system was put in place. Now that it's there, I have no idea how I'm going to do my picks.

Well, at least you're honest about it!

Well, if I can post all Alex's faults (driving from Pop *cough**cough*) then the least I can do is talk about mine.

And you claim to have Norwegian blood...

I never claimed that. My grandmother is actually a step-grandmother, but she's been in almost my mom's whole life, so I've known her my entire one. So, not a drop of Norwegian in me.

Some of my favorite pictures from our December trips are in front of that tree and the topiaries in EPCOT. That tree really looks fantastic at night.

I agree, it is a good place to get pictures.

I'm glad you're not setting your standards too high.

I had definitely set a high standard for that day.

 

[amazingact21]

I apologize in advance for the insane amount of family pictures I'm going to post. I just couldn't narrow them down!





Tuesday, December 3rd, 2013:


Finally!

A new day!


I have in my notes that Landon woke us all up at 5:15am. He must have known it was going to be a big day, and he was too excited to sleep any longer. Even my poor mother got to join in on the fun.

Nothing says vacationing with a baby more than witnessing the sun rising every morning...




Shortly after 7am, I told everyone it'd be best to head out. The earlier we got where we needed to be, the better.


Dsc02630 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr

Nobody had to tell my mom twice.




Alex had Landon practice wearing his ears in the elevator to see if we were going to have a fight on our hands. Thankfully, he didn't do too bad with them. I guess he was used to stuff on his face.




Alex drove us out of Pop and- hmmm - what do you know... we headed to Animal Kingdom Lodge again.



Alex was really striking out with driving on this trip. So far he was 3 for 3.



Even with the slip up with directions, we parked at the TTC with only half a dozen cars in ahead of us. Most guests were still snoozing away on their resort pillows.

Only us crazy folks were there at 7:30 in the morning.


Dsc02635 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


Everything was so quiet and empty.




The Poly looked very peaceful that early morning.
Dsc02638 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr



Oh, how I'd love to wake up there one day.

Then again...maybe I will.

You never know.




It was still too early for the express monorail to be running.

Dsc02641 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


So we had to get on the resort track. Normally, I wouldn't have cared either way, but that morning I was anxious to get to our destination.

We just have to stop at the Poly and the Grand Floridian, no big deal.

And that was indeed true.


At first.

We made it to the Polynesian with no problems. Picked up a few passengers, watched the doors shut, and felt the monorail start to creep forward. And then we got the dreaded overhead speaker message, "We are holding for further traffic."

I am pretty sure the monorail always stops at some point when I am riding it, so I wasn't freaking out.


But then one minute spread to two, which spread to five, which stretched to ten, and you get the picture.


Landon quickly got bored looking out the window at the trees and parking lots of the resorts. He had had a long night without a lot of sleep, so he felt it was best to grab a catnap in the stroller.

Dsc02642 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


Hey, this is pretty nice, guys, you should try this once in awhile.


It's a tough life, that of a 7 month old. Wake up, eat breakfast, go for a car ride, go down for a nap.



Eventually another announcement came over the intercom stating that we were stopped because some of the tracks were getting switched.

Really?

You have to do this during the monorail ride I'm on.

I began obsessively checking my cell phone.


Remember that whole "best day ever" spewl I'd told myself the night before? Well, I was beginning to see it go up in smoke sitting there between the TTC and the Grand Floridian.

Alex and my mother were taking turns telling me to keep calm and not to freak out just yet.

I only half listened.



Eventually, the monorail started moving again, and we made it to the GF stop without issue, then continued on until we got to our end destination.


Dsc02645 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


The Magic Kingdom entrance!




Dsc02648 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


While I would have LOVED to have taken some shots of the empty entrance area, the monorail stop had cost us 30 minutes of our time. I had exactly 15 minutes to get into the park, take the pictures on Main Street I'd been dreaming about for a year, and get us to our 8:20 am breakfast reservation.

For months, I had daydreamed about slowly roaming down the center of Main Street, enjoying the look of it without thousands of other guests, stopping and taking photographs to my heart's content. And now I was pushing my mother and Alex along like cattle.

"Go, go, go! Fifteen minutes, people! Fifteen minutes!"

We flew through bag check and the ticket turnstiles (my mom's worked perfectly, hallelujah) and raced under the tunnel and came out to this:
Dsc02652 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


This was our first time ever being in the park before its opening, and I was speechless. There's something to be said about the joy of witnessing the hustle and bustle of a park at its peak time of day. The energy coming off all the guests is contagious, and you can't help but feel swept away in the noise and clatter that's surrounding you.

But then, seeing the Magic Kingdom like this.

It was almost like getting a sneak peek at the park.

I have closed out the park before, and I don't know which is better. Probably the pre-park opening.


With the closing, there's almost a sleepiness feeling about the place. Everything's tucked in, the rides that you saw open an hour ago are empty, there's pieces of popcorn on the ground and the sound of the monorail is beckoning you towards the exit.


But being there in the morning, it was almost the exact opposite. The shops were bright and ready to open their doors for the day. The pavements were wet from the cleaning crew, a few Cast Members were milling about, waiting to greet the first guests of the day. Overall, there was a feeling of anticipation all throughout Main Street.
Like the calm before the storm.

It was a side of MK I'd never witnessed before and that I really enjoyed seeing.



Because I was all about pictures, we stopped at the first Photopass location we saw. Landon was still sleeping so we kept him in the stroller for this one.

wdw201333726136188_6894439319 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr



But after that, he had to come out.

Normally, I'm not one to wake a sleeping kid, but I after the monorail mishap I was not about to miss my Main Street photo session opportunity.
Landon would just have to deal with it.


But, because I didn't want to be the bad guy, I let Alex do the honors.

I had a valid excuse. I had the camera and therefore had to take the pictures.





I've heard that these garlands won't be able to go up next year due to the new parade having too high of floats, and if that's true that would make me extremely sad. I think they are the perfect accent to the castle during the holidays, and I think they really make Magic Kingdom extra festive during that time frame. It'd be a shame not to see them anymore.


It took Landon a few minutes to fully wake up.









Since Alex had to do the dirty work and wake the baby up, he got to get a few pictures with him alone.






And the photopass photographer then took a picture of Landon alone, which I absolutely love.




It's one of those classic images that I'm going to pull up on my computer years down to the road and look at, remembering how much fun his first trip to Disney was and how much he enjoyed his time on Main Street. Heck, even looking at it now makes me tear up.

Disney's all about making these kind of memories...




Alex wanted to get closer to the hub, so off the boys went.









"All right, give him here, it's time for some grandma time," my mom held out her arms. She'd worn her Mickey ears that morning, because she -like me- wanted some special shots of the baby in front of the castle. In fact, that was her one request before we left for the trip. A picture of them two together on Main Street, both decked out in Mickey ears.


I was happy to oblige.

Heck, I would have been happy no matter what. I was in Magic Kingdom. I was watching my family have fun. And I was able to document the occasion.

What more could I ask for?










My favorite picture of my mom and Landon is this one:






And in case you're getting bored to death looking at us, here's a picture I took of the castle by itself.



A beautiful blue sky morning with Cinderella's Castle front and center. I was having the time of my life; so far everything was living up to how I imagine it in my mind.




Continued in Next Post:

 

[amazingact21]

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We wanted to ensure we got some pictures with all of us in them before time ran out. (We had already killed 3 or 4 minutes just walking towards the castle.) So another PP was in order.





Landon wasn't looking at all, and Walt's hand was peeking out over Alex's head, so we tried again farther back.




Only this time my mom's ears looked goofy, and Landon was making weird facial expressions.

Whatever, folks. That's all the time we have.



Next, my mom jumped out and let Alex and I get a few shots with the baby.




This photo is actually going in a Disney frame we have on the wall that is a collage of Mickey and Minnie's with the quote, "The most important thing is family" written on the bottom.

You know, in case you were curious...





I doubt this will be the first photo where Alex and I look ecstatic to be at Disney and the kid looks miserable.




Since both Alex and my mom had gotten pictures with Landon, I banished them to the side and asked to get one for myself. And, of course, the way Landon was frowning at the camera, you would have thought I was making the kid do something painful.





No more than 5 minutes had passed, but I'd had my fill of going back and forth to the different Photopass Photographers along Main Street. I wanted to use my time wisely and let Landon have some fun on his own. We were about to go sit down at a restaurant, and he needed a few minutes to stretch his legs and play, anyways.


Besides, that was the whole point of that morning. To get into the park early and simply enjoy doing whatever we felt like.













Normally, I don't set him down on the ground without his shoes on, but I managed to leave them behind in the room. A+ parenting right here, I tell ya.







"Alex, why don't you sit on the ground with him?"

My husband proceeded to give me this look:




"What? No."

"Please?"

"No."

So, we compromised and he sat down.













Then it was my turn.

Dsc02721 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr



Okay, enough was enough. I could have stood there all day and taken pictures of all of us. However, it was 8:18 by that point, and we needed to get going so were weren't late for our meal.


As I was putting the lens cap back on my camera, I realized my mom and I hadn't gotten any pictures of us together. We needed some to put next to our Mom/Daughter trip from 2012.


So, one last PP stop was in order.

wdw201333726137086_6894439313 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


Hooray!



While the whole monorail situation was going down, I felt sure my morning was going to be rushed and that the magic of the morning was gone. And while we did have to keep a pep in our step and check the clock every few minutes, I can't look back on the pictures I managed to get and be mad at how the morning turned out. I got the photos I wanted in that 15 minute span of time, and I think we all got to fully soak up the wonder of being in the park pre-opening.

It was so enjoyable that Alex and I swore we'd have to do it every time we took a long vacation in the future.
A tradition I'll be more than willing to continue.





Up Next: Landon Reunites with an Old Friend

 

[lilmape]

I can't begin to express how much I love all of the photos but especially the ones with Landon and his grandma! Precious memories! Makes me even more excited mom is joining us! I've been debating a crystal palace ressie... Kaityn doesn't know pooh and the gang, but I want a pre-park opening entrance so K and mom can enjoy seeing the castle like that. We did that on or honeymoon (hubby's first trip) and loved it! Beautiful!

 

[Dugette]

Aaargh! Those monorail delays are always so poorly timed!! I'm so glad you still had enough time to get your pictures, though. Awesome, amazing pictures!!! I just had to show them all to Dug too - so great! I'm with you on the morning tradition each trip. I think the Crystal Palace before park opening is a must-do for us for the foreseeable future. Can't wait to hear more!

 

[USAFdad]

Alex drove us out of Pop and- hmmm – what do you know…. we headed to Animal Kingdom Lodge again.




Alex was really striking out with driving on this trip. So far he was 3 for 3.

Not my fault you changed the resort on me.

Eventually another announcement came over the intercom stating that we were stopped because some of the tracks were getting switched.


This was our first time ever being in the park before its opening, and I was speechless. There’s something to be said about the joy of witnessing the hustle and bustle of a park at its peak time of day. The energy coming off all the guests is contagious, and you can’t help but feel swept away in the noise and clatter that’s surrounding you.

You forgot to mention we missed the Monorail before it by like 30 seconds.

 

[afwdwfan]

No need to apologize for all the pictures. They are great! I was sitting here smiling as I looked through them, just because your enjoyment of being in the park that morning was infectious. And I have to say that waking Landon up appears to have been completely worthwhile. Don't worry about letting him on the ground without shoes. We've been there and done that. Sometimes we're just lucky to get our kids out the door with pants on. I really hope we can manage to get one of those early morning ADR's this trip.

I'm sorry for your stress on the monorail, but I'm glad that it worked out for you. You definitely made the most of the limited time you had before your ADR.