Will I be Herding Cats Again?* **** COMPLETED *****

[julezdisney]

Wow... I didn't know about Archery lessons at FW! That's awesome, great tip! I'm always learning something new from your report, Sara!

 

[jillyb]

The archery looks like it was fun. Michael did a great job! Can't wait to her about BBB. My DD got the Minnie Mouse dressed in blue too. She loves that thing!

 

[kaysmommie]

Hi Sara,
Great update and pictures. I never knew they had archery at FW, looks fun. Not as fun as BBB though . Can't wait for the girls side of the story. love the pictures of the Disney Sign . MK was very crowded this day.

 

[mom2mek]

Woo Hoo - first again! (Someone moved the smilies around again!)

Hmmm - wonder if you finally got your mugs on our December trip......

Isn't it amazing how quickly the time passes when you are shopping?

The archery looks like so much fun! I'm so glad you found something cool like that for Michael to do while the girls were getting their makeovers. Shawn got some great pics too!

Looking forward to seeing the little princesses!

Thanks Michelle! Phew - you were up early today - Yikes! Hope you are getting enough rest! I was so happy when I heard about the archery. I'm sure they would have just done some park stuff had we not done the archery, but it was nice for Michael to have something "special" to do, you know?

We totally should have taken the archery lesson on our girl's trip! That would have been...interesting. I love these pictures and I'm sure Michael had a great time. I'll have to put that on the list for next time we go. I also laughed at the fact that your family is dressed nicely, and the one woman didn't even bother to GET dressed! Just threw a coverup on. I'll give her a break, she's on vacation.

I can't wait to see your little princesses.

Monica! I can totally picture the three of us doing archery! Look out peacocks!

Michael really enjoyed it - it was certainly a highlight for him! I laughed at that lady too - figured she had spent some time at the pool (archery is right behind the pool) and then came on over for her class!

Wow... I didn't know about Archery lessons at FW! That's awesome, great tip! I'm always learning something new from your report, Sara!

Thanks Julia! It started over July 4th so I was just starting to plan when I read about it - figured it couldn't hurt to try for $25!

The archery looks like it was fun. Michael did a great job! Can't wait to her about BBB. My DD got the Minnie Mouse dressed in blue too. She loves that thing!

Michael really took me by surprise at how natural he was at the archery, Jill! I'm thinking of looking into an archery league around here.

I can't say I blame our DDs for getting the Minnie Mouses - heck, when I was there in December, I bought one for myself at Epcot!

Hi Sara,
Great update and pictures. I never knew they had archery at FW, looks fun. Not as fun as BBB though . Can't wait for the girls side of the story. love the pictures of the Disney Sign . MK was very crowded this day.

Wow Nichole - yes the MK was very crowded that day! Way more than I expected. Thank goodness it wasn't our only day for the MK!

Sara

 

[DWFan4Life]

Wow, Archery lessons are awesome. Nice bonding with DS right? Hopefully we can try this in our next trip.

Have a nice day.

 

[mom2mek]

Wow, Archery lessons are awesome. Nice bonding with DS right? Hopefully we can try this in our next trip.

Have a nice day.

Thanks! He really enjoyed the lesson! Still talks about it!

Sara

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

I finally caught up. I have always wanted to take the Segway tour at Epcot but fear falling off. After reading that someone did, I'm giving it a second thought as I am the klutz in my family.

I loved all of the updates and your matching shirts were very cute!

I can't wait to read more.

 

[nessz79]

We love FW! You could easily spend a day there doing various outdoor things. Looks like they had fun!

 

[DisneyJo]

The archery looks great, I'll definitely start recommending that especially at that price and how fantastic that DS got a bullseye

 

[mom2mek]

I finally caught up. I have always wanted to take the Segway tour at Epcot but fear falling off. After reading that someone did, I'm giving it a second thought as I am the klutz in my family.

I loved all of the updates and your matching shirts were very cute!

I can't wait to read more.

Well, I think it's rare that people fall off! But it was certainly enough reason for me not to try it! Most reports claim it to be very easy once you get the hang of it, so if you have the desire, then you should go for it!

Thanks for the compliment on our matching shirts! Only at Disney can I get away with that!

We love FW! You could easily spend a day there doing various outdoor things. Looks like they had fun!

I love Ft Wilderness. We spent THanksgiving Day there in 2007 and I just think it is a hidden gem within Disney World! I'd have to stay in a cabin though - I'm not a camper!

The archery looks great, I'll definitely start recommending that especially at that price and how fantastic that DS got a bullseye

Thanks Jo! Hey! I'll sort of make it to the Mom's Panel that way! Seriously, it was a great value and a lot of fun for him. Plus, with horseback riding, and pony rides, the Segway tour and the HDDR - FW is a really nice escape. We had Thanksgiving dinner at the Trail's End last year and really loved it - very warm and homespun!

Sara

Emily's smilies:

 

[mom2mek]

Day 4 - Magic Kingdom (Katie's Birthday - October 11th)
Part 3 - The Princess Transformations

So, back at the Magic Kingdom....

We girls had just waved goodbye to the guys and were making our mad dash up Main St to the girls appointments at the BBB. I left my Mom in the dust so she could walk with my MIL, and so I could book it up there pushing the stroller, and not be late. Luckily for us, the castle was not roped off and I was able to go up and through - that really helped.

On the other side of the castle, Fantasyland was a ZOO! Crazy busy! Phew - I was grateful this wasn't my only day at the MK!

We checked the girls in, and the fairy godmothers handed them their brochures and our pager and we took our seats. Katie had chosen to wear her Cinderella costume all day, but Emily didn't want to - she just wanted to bring it with us and change once we got there. Okey dokey.

So now...looking back....for the life of me....I can't figure out when exactly we got her dressed. I'm thinking we must have done it right there in the lobby because I don't remember going anywhere like a dressing room. Again, I cannot remember this moment at all so I really don't know.

The dresses were the Cinderella dresses from mydressuptrunk.com. My girls love these dresses as they do not itch in any way, form, or fashion. My girls are all about comfort! Plus, I think the dresses are adorable. They aren't quite as fancy as the Disney bought ones, but my girls don't ever notice that! They do usually comment on how comfortable they are though!

I do know that as we sat down and looked at the brochure, I gently "nudged" the girls in the direction of the fairytale princess style (we did the fake hair last year, LOL) and they fell victim to my charms and picked the "one with the crown" as they put it! Yay me! Nothing against the fake hair...it's just that we had done that already and I was really hoping (but prepared for them to pick it) that they would choose the more traditional bun and crown! Here are a couple of pics of them last year.

(Katie sat on my lap the whole time - she had just turned 3! Check out the Bibbidi Bobbidi Beehive! She loved it - called it her "magical" hair! LOL)

(Emily checking out her nails)


I took the opportunity of us sitting around waiting, to run get FPs for Peter Pan since it was right around the corner. After I battled through the crowds, including a tour group of about 30 or 40 people in matching blue shirts, I obtained FPs with a return time of 6:55 - 7:55 (this was at 1:50) - Yowzers!

I made it back to the BBB and rejoined the waiting princesses and their grandmothers! Then my Mom left and went to find the place to get frozen cokes! We had seen someone walk by with one while we were waiting and man - it looked good!

Here are a few "before" pics of the girls pre princessed!

(Doesn't Emily looked thrilled? LOL! Plus check out the very glamorous shoe choice for the day!)

There....that's better!

(I wasn't quite sure how exactly the FGMIT were going to get Katie's shorter hair up in that crown, but was hoping it would go)

Then, Katie decided to take a picture of Emily, Mommy, and Grammy! LOL! She did a great job, huh?

A few more minutes passed and they were called in and say right next to one another! Which was fabulous for me and Grammy (Mom still wasn't back from getting the frozen cokes...)- we just plopped ourselves down on the "royal" couch and watched.

I'll start with the birthday girl!

Well, coming right up... as there are a lot of pics!

 

[mom2mek]

A Photo Essay of Princess Katie's Makeover:

I was shocked that she was able to get it all up in that high ponytail to do the bun! She was very good! She had to use a lot of pins to get it to "tuck" under though!

(Her little "weird" smile is what she continues to do in almost every "posed" picture! It cracks me up!

Here is a little video I did in photobucket from mostly the pics that you just saw, mixed with the few video clips I took with my tiny digital camera (as is par for the course - all the good video is on the video camera my mom had and I don't know how to convert it! ) I love that in the last video clip, you can more get the sense of the sparkles in her hair. She really did think she was gorgeous!



Emily's pics coming up shortly....

 

[jillyb]

Beautiful!!!

 

[kaysmommie]

Katie is just gorgeous all done as a princess! I like that hairstyle better than the other ones they can pick from. The video is so cute too, looks like she really enjoyed her makeover. I agree those Dress Up Trunk dresses are great! Kaylee has the same Cinderella dress and she likes them since they don't itch at all. Also I like the prices better too.

 

[mom2mek]

I edited the video to add a few more pics I didn't realize that I had of Katie after the makeover while we were waiting for Emily. Don't know if the one in the original post is still working since I edited it and saved it again, so here it is:

 

[DisneyJo]

Awwww Katie looks so gorgeous and so serious too, I can see she's loving the pampering and will cost you lots of money as she gets older

 

[julezdisney]

Oh that video was adorable! Man, I can't believe they could make that bun w/her hair!!!! And do they use like, industrial strength glue for hairspray or what?! Seriously, they did such a great job!!! She looked very pleased.

 

[mom2mek]

Beautiful!!!

Thanks Jill!

Katie is just gorgeous all done as a princess! I like that hairstyle better than the other ones they can pick from. The video is so cute too, looks like she really enjoyed her makeover. I agree those Dress Up Trunk dresses are great! Kaylee has the same Cinderella dress and she likes them since they don't itch at all. Also I like the prices better too.

I definitely like the fairytale princess style the best, Nichole. We did the Diva last year and the kids loved it...the adults...not so much! I was prepared for them to ask for it though. It was whatever they wanted! (I breathed a sigh of relief when they went for the bun though). I love the dress up trunk dresses! Not much point in spending the money on the more expensive ones when they want it off almost immediately. Especially in the heat. The prices sure are nice too!

Awwww Katie looks so gorgeous and so serious too, I can see she's loving the pampering and will cost you lots of money as she gets older

Thanks Jo! She WAS so serious - hardly cracked a smile the whole time, but then couldn't stop talking about it the rest of the day! Every time we asked her to smile she gave us that weird, kind of "half" smile...Wait till you see the Exposition hall pics! I couldn't stop laughing at her smile(not at her, but I was laughing inside...LOL)

Oh that video was adorable! Man, I can't believe they could make that bun w/her hair!!!! And do they use like, industrial strength glue for hairspray or what?! Seriously, they did such a great job!!! She looked very pleased.

I KNOW! I was shocked! The FGMIT did a fabulous job with her hair. I'm not sure of the name of the stuff they used, by my MIL took note of it for future reference with dance recitals! It stayed put that's for sure!

Sara

 

[mom2mek]

A Photo Essay of Emily's Transformation:

Now on to the 2nd princess!! Emily was seated right next to Katie but her FGMIT (who was not nearly as personable as Katie’s – nice, just not overly cheerful like one would expect a FGMIT to be you know?) was a little slower moving so she took a bit longer.

Here are her pictures:

Like the shoes?

The reveal:

The grin:

The "hidden" Mickey:

And now her video....mostly all of the pics you just looked at, but oh well...



Sara

 

[whogirl'smom]

The archery looked like so much fun! DD was beside me while I was reading and now wants to do that on our next trip. And I love Katie's BBB pictures! The on eof you and her from last year is just incredible--the sweetest thing. I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the pictures.