Young At Heart: The #BirthdayFestivus13 Adventure!!! 5 UPDATES, 1/8!!!!!!!!!!!!

[__disneygirl]

MAY 13, 2013

Day 1, Part 6 In Which I Visit the Kingdom of Corona









The thing I wanted to see right away was obviously the Tangled Bathrooms. I had not seen them yet and being that Tangled means so much to me, I wanted to go straight there!

Honestly... I cried. Finally seeing this area was beyond magical. I couldn't believe I was really in Disney!

This area is undoubtedly beautiful and incredibly well themed. This movie is really one of my favorite things in the entire universe and getting to step inside it in a way was SO UNREAL!

I found myself back there many many times during the trip. What I find myself doing now is even if there is a closer restroom, I'll go all the way over to the Tangled bathrooms to pee because I just love them SO much. LOL.

My only complaint is that I really don't understand why this is the only Tangled thing in the parks. I've retained my "Bathrooms? REALLY?" thought which was my initial reaction. There is SO MUCH for them to use within this movie. I really hope there are attractions in development and these restrooms are just a pre-cursor to what will be an AMAZING Tangled attraction!

I also don't get why there is no Eugene & Rapunzel M&G here. Mark says there isn't enough space and I mean, obviously someone like him would know better than me but I disagree! They could clear one of the tables out or SOMETHING. I just need to meet Eugene on a regular basis, okay? No one understands omg.



The great thing about the seating area is that it's also a phone charging station. Thank God for those! We sat down and relaxed for a bit while Mark charged his phone using Lee-Anne's charger. I didn't even think to bring mine into the parks, but I did after that day!

Mark said to me, "Go find all the Pascals!" but I was actually itching to get on a ride! Specifically the Haunted Mansion, which is right down the path. And you know what, the whole trip I think I only found like 4 Pascals! They are well hidden.



Lee-Anne, Jess, and I went down to the Haunted Mansion to check out the wait and it was only 10 minutes! YES!!!



Once we got in line I remembered that I heard that if you stand in the Stretching Room a little bit instead of walking right away into the next part of the attraction, you can hear creepy voices whispering things at you. I asked Jess if she had ever heard it and she said yes and that it was super scary! YAY I LOVE SCARY THINGS.



So after Master Gracey's whole spiel in there we just kind of hung back and very slllooowllly made our way out of the room. AND WE HEARD THEM! I won't tell you what they say in case you want it to be a surprise, but it is pretty creepy and very very cool! I LOVE HIDDEN STUFF.



I was so happy that this was the first ride of the trip! It reminded me of riding it when the clock struck midnight on Halloween. What a perfect first attraction.



After that great ride, we noticed the beautiful sunset going on behind the Mansion, and had to capture it!

Then we headed back to the kingdom of Corona. I charged my phone for a few minutes before we had to leave for Chef Mickey's!

There were a lot of little things I crossed off my Disney Bucket List this trip. Two of them were about to happen. One, I was going to eat at Chef Mickey's for dinner. This is something I originally (by originally, I mean back when I started making ADRs for our trips in 2006) didn't really care to do, because of the horrendous reviews here on the Dis. The reviews for breakfast were good, and one of the reasons I scheduled breakfast here in the past, which ended up being a perfect meal. The dinner reviews, though? Oh man. People said the food was inedible! And there weren't just a few of them - it was pretty much unanimous.



So I steered clear of it for years. However, more recently, I had started hearing better things. Especially from Jess who goes pretty often. Keeping with my tradition of eating dinner at a MK resort on the first night of each trip, I booked it. What could be better than kicking off the trip with the Fab 5 while stuffing our faces?!



The second thing scratched off the Bucket List this night was walking to the Contemporary from the Magic Kingdom. Usually, I take the monorail, but I wanted to experience walking there too!



On the way, Lee-Anne caught me dancing out of the Kingdom.

I'm a princess!!! ​

 

[__disneygirl]

MAY 13, 2013
Day 1, Part 7 In Which Mickey Cooks Us Dinner​

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We set off toward the Contemporary.

Jess and Mark were extremely excited! They are so casual about a lot of things, having lived there for months at the time of this trip. But Chef Mickey's is another story! I had originally just booked the ADR for Jess, Lee-Anne, and I, but Jess asked if Mark could come and I said the more the merrier. They are always wanting to go there but it's hard to get an ADR, so it worked out perfectly that I had booked one months ago!

It was a nice walk from the MK to the Contemporary. Nothing ridiculously exciting, but it's just so cool that there is a resort you can walk to MK from and to. I hope I get to stay there someday, though it's not really close to being my top choice. I eventually would love to stay in every resort so I'm sure it will happen someday!

We went upstairs and checked in for our 8:55PM reservation. I think we literally walked in at 8:54. We had booked it to get there on time!

Since Mark wasn't on our ADR, we had to ask if it was okay that he join us. It was no problem since you get the same table whether you are 3 or 4 people. He also decided it was going to be his birthday too, since it was the #BirthdayFestivus and all. I mean, he couldn't be the only one not celebrating! When the lady handed Mark his birthday button, she gave us an extra one. I told her we didn't need it, but she insisted we keep it anyway! THIS WAS PERFECT because it then occurred to me that Hula Timon needed a birthday button as well!

Luau!!!!!!! Oh man. NOW it was a party. #BirthdayFestivus13 was truly underway!!! YESS!!!

We waited a few minutes and then got called up to the plate photo-op!

YAY. WE WERE SO EXCITED. BRING ON CHEF MICKEY'S!!!!!!!!!

Right after that we were seated and I ran right to the bathroom because I had to pee so bad! What a surprise. This is random but when I got to the bathroom, memories of my 16th birthday came flooding back to me! I think it's because we were seated in a room I hadn't even seen before, but I had been to the restroom. So going down the stairs (which is where the bathrooms are located) totally gave me flashbacks! Weird.

When I was walking back to the table, I spotted DONALD!!! He had gotten over to our table so fast. I almost missed him! Luckily, I got there just in time for a quick photo.

I love that duck and I love that picture. AHH this night was SO magical!

Here is what happened while I was gone... the girls just love Donald!

How could they not?

I love that pic. Donald's like, "YAY IT'S JESS!" Maybe he reads her TR?? LOL.

After that it was time for the FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!

Oh, buffets. Hark, I hear the angels sing!!!!!!

Okay so, here is my opinion on the Chef Mickey's dinner food. It is your basic fare. You are not going to marvel at each morsel or anything. You come to Chef Mickey's cause it's ridiculously fun, not ridiculously delicious.

Here is my plate!

Clockwise from left we have the famous Mickey ravioli, Mickeyroni & cheese, cheese cube, chicken nuggets, wild rice mix, and tortellini. Carb party!

None of this boasted incredible flavor. It was all good though. I'd say the mac & cheese was probably the best. No surprise there, since Jess RAVES about it. Like, this was the main thing she was talking about all day, LOL. That girl would die for her mac & cheese!! I don't blame her.

Again, it's nothing really SPECIAL. Like for instance the Wolfgang Puck mac & cheese is what I would consider special. It's unique and makes my taste buds explode. There are no words to describe it's deliciousness. The Chef Mickey's mickeyroni & cheese is your basic yummy mac & cheese, and I wasn't complaining!

I don't have a picture of my second plate, but I remember I got more mac & cheese and also some mashed potatoes. I told you, IT'S A CARB PARTY!!! This theme would continue the rest of the trip... and then some!

Our second character of the night was GOOFY!!!!!!!!! Oh yes oh yes!!

Mark is so funny with the characters because he um... knows them. I mean, we all know them. They're our pals. But he like really knows them well and has spent extensive time with Goofy especially. This made for some VERY interesting and hilarious character moments.

All of the characters would often show that they knew Mark by pointing at him, sneaking up on him, doing a little dance when they saw him, etc. It's so adorable. They would also stay at our table longer than they did with other guests, it was just so awesome! Yay for Mark!

The signal for "I know you" is actually when a character touches their hand to their nose. Remember this for like a week later in the report, because it will come up again!

It's the CP BFFs!

Then it was my turn! AHH I love Goofy.

I told him again that Lee-Anne and I think he should have won the Oscar for A Goofy Movie. He again thoroughly agreed.

Birthday girls!

Then, Jess's soulmate Pluto came by! He actually proposed to her during her one of her visits to Chef Mickey's, and they're a super cute couple.

Boys.

We are both posing so weird here LOL. Frumps.

Lee-Anne got a hug! Aww!

For dessert, I was actually so full that I only got TWO desserts. I know, I know. It's madness! But I'd rather thoroughly enjoy two desserts than stuff my face with 4 and feel sick.

I also made a totally amazing excellent discovery! (If you get that reference, I love you forever.)

You may recall me being confused after meeting Cinderella's Prince Charming and him talking to me about Minnie Mouse baking cheesecakes. If not, read about it here.

Basically, I had no idea why he was referencing Minnie baking cheesecakes. I thought I had missed some short or TV special in which she baked and her specialty was cheesecakes. It just seemed like a random and specific thing to bring up.

While getting dessert, I noticed the cheesecake wasn't just normal cheesecake - it was called MINNIE'S CHEESECAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE MYSTERY IS SOLVED!!!!!!

I had to inform the whole table of this story. I'm sure everyone was riveted, but then it was time TO MEET THE CHEF!!!! MICKEY MOUSE HIMSELF AT OUR TABLE!!!!!!!!!

Me and Mickey Mouse. Oh my God.

WHEN WILL THIS GET OLD?!?! WHEN WILL THIS GET LESS EXCITING?!?! The answer is NEVER.

I told Mickey I was SO excited to see him and he gave me a big hug!! AWWWW.

I also told him that he is a great chef and I loved the food! Mickey rubbed his tummy. I said yes, it was very delicious! He did a great job cooking!

Lee-Anne was just out for hugs tonight, I love it!

Mickey loved Jess's shirt! But I mean, who wouldn't.

Minnie Mouse came after that. Mark told her that the cheesecake she baked was delicious, which was clever. She seemed very flattered!

​

 

[__disneygirl]

MAY 13, 2013
Day 1, Part 8 In Which We Get Our First Birthday Surprise!​

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Minnie gestured at us girls to all get a photo together. What a great idea!

I'm a Princess, and so is Minnie. ("Gosh Minnie, you've always been a princess to me!"

THEN THE MOST AWESOME THING HAPPENED. OUR SPECIAL BIRTHDAY DESSERTS CAME.

FOUR CUPCAKES.

SMOTHERED IN SPRINKLES.

WITH LIT CANDLES.

ON A MICKEY MOUSE PLATE.

ARE

YOU

JOKING?!?!?!

ahhhhhhAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was so awesome!!! I was so excited and happy! Thank God I had only eaten two desserts - I needed room for my cupcake! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They also gave us yellow napkins cause it was our BIRTHDAYS!! YAY!! This whole #BirthdayFestivus thing was going very smoothly! It's so nice when plans work out.

At Chef Mickey's, at certain times they play music and you throw your hands in the air and yell and dance and party like there's no tomorrow. You also raise your napkins in the air and twirl them around. The characters join in too, it's so much fun!

There were these little Spanish girls a few tables away from us who were having the best time EVER pretty much. They were dancing with the characters and getting SO into it. Luckily, Jess caught these adorable moments on film!

Obviously, it was time for Goofy to come and sit down at our table.

Doesn't this happen during every character meal? No? OH. Another amazing magical moment and this was only DAY 1!! OF 14!!!! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!

I am so mad because I took a video of this. It was PERFECT, I just sat the camera down on the table across from Goofy and hit record. My camera likes to just delete videos though. I was SO sad when I saw that was gone. I'll always have the memories of it, but I don't remember exactly what we "talked" about with Goofy. Sadness.

Goofy gestured for us all to get a group photo. Another great idea! These characters sure know what they're doing, I tell ya.

Such a great picture! This totally captures how wonderful this night was! And see how he's pointing at Mark? I told ya they were good friends!

That was the perfect end to our magical Chef Mickey's experience! I had to pee again of course, so I headed to the restroom while everybody wrapped things up. On my way back I noticed a PIN BOARD WAS UP!! So I ran back to the table to notify Jess and Mark. Unfortunately Lee-Anne isn't into pin trading, but who cares, more for us!

We went over to trade and I traded for a Nightmare pin!! Eeeeee! My goal this trip was to commemorate #StuckInDisney12 by finding as many Nightmare/Halloween/Haunted Mansion/spooky in any way themed pins as possible. I was very successful by the end!

After that, we headed out of the restaurant. What an amazing and memorable kick-off to this trip! I honestly don't know how it could have been any better.

Bye Mickey!

Then we went to look around in the shops. I spotted this GORGEOUS Cinderella shirt.

Wow, it's just so beautiful in a sad way. I love when there's a shirt that doesn't scream YAY THIS IS A DISNEY SHIRT, you know? This is very artistic. I texted Gina a pic of it right away because I know how much she loves Cindy. I was SO excited for her to get there! 6 more days!

We pin traded in this store as well, and then moved on. I really have to keep track of all my trades as they happen next trip, because I know I got a million new pins, but I don't remember when or where for most of them!

I also don't remember how many stores we went in or in what order. We were like browsing and pin trading machines that night! Usually, if I'm in a resort, I'll maybe stop and look at a pin book or board. Jess on the other hand... obsessively checks everywhere. She quickly changed me from a casual pin trader to beyond obsessed in like 12 hours. Thank you, Jess!

Disney Trivia! We took a moment to figure these out, but even all us Disney experts brainstorming together couldn't get them all! WHAT?

Here are some more shots from around the Contemporary:

I think everyone takes this picture when they visit the Contemporary. It's just such an awesome light! I want that in my house.

I just wanted to buy all this popcorn right then and there. YUM.

Monoraaaaaaaaaaaail!

More pin trading!

I traded for a Hitchhiking Ghost Hidden Mickey pin here but I actually traded it away later on in the trip cause I found a version of it that I liked better!

When we walked by California Grill, I squealed.

I REALLY wanted to go there on this trip but they were closed for months for renovations. That is one of my all time favorite restaurants and I can not wait for it to re-open!!

We headed down to the lobby so that we could look at the pin book at the front desk, where we met these lovely CMs!

We chatted with them for quite awhile and got some new pins. Yay!

I remember us sitting in the lobby for awhile... but I can't remember why! Probably just cause we love the Contemporary so very much and didn't want to leave. However, Jess had an early class in the morning and Lee-Anne & I were getting up bright and early for Lee-Anne's birthday breakfast at Magic Kingdom! So we had to leave eventually.

I LOVE THESE MATS.

The Welcome Mat at my future house TBH.

I wish I had a better shot of this - I barely caught this photo, but it's of Lee-Anne just jumping for joy. I love moments like this. WE WERE SO HAPPY.

Goodnight, Contemporary! See ya next time. Bye bye!

We found Brooke in the parking lot and Jess drove us on our merry way. Jess put on the Dream Along With Mickey soundtrack and we sang the whole thing on our way to Port Orleans! Jess and Mark are just so amusing together, they need to have their own Disney sideshow act in my opinion.

Even though Jess was staying at French Quarter with us, she decided to go back to her apartment that first night because she had a class in the morning that was very near where she lives. So Lee-Anne and I said see ya real soon to her and Mark and we headed back to our room!

I honestly don't remember anything else about this night! We were so tired and so happy and SO excited for the AMAZING trip ahead!!! How could this only be Day 1 when so much magic had already occured?! That's Disney for ya.

@babybritney: Reflecting on this day which was just unreal. I can't believe I'm here ������

Goodnight, birthday buttons! See ya tomorrow for Lee-Anne's ACTUAL birthday - the only member of the #BirthdayFestivus13 gang to have a birthday actually falling during the trip!

#BirthdayFirstsivus13: The Firsts of May 13!
~Checked into Port Orleans French Quarter & saw the resort for the first time
~Saw Cinderella Castle from a cast parking lot
~Visited the parks with cast members
~Ate at the Flower & Garden Festival booths
~Met the princesses with no line
~Saw Rapunzel's Tower/the Tangled restrooms
~Walked to the Contemporary for the Magic Kingdom
~Ate at Chef Mickey's for dinner

Hmm, am I forgetting anything? Probably. Oh well... I'll see ya next time!​

 

[wiigirl]

Great update! Love the pics!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Wow, Tons of updates - can't believe how much fun you had and as you said on DAY 1 OF 14!!!!!!

I don't think I ever noticed that trunk before, but I love "WED ILLUSIONEERING"


Also love the John Stamos story ... I mean, about him loving Disney not about him potentially being on crack.

BTW - I assume you saw the recent reunion of Jesse and the Rippers:
http://youtu.be/Dor96YnM_qo

 

[Credit Man]

Just the first day and I am exausted already. Where do you guys get all that energy?

 

[stinkerbell007]

Yay!

I'm in too!

 

[katt789]

Awwweee…I nearly cried walking into the tangled area for the first time, I walked up when the “kingdom dance” song was playing and it was completely magical! I have to agree, like there needs to be more tangled stuff!! The hidden pascals are so cute!!

Oh my gosh I love the two things you crossed off your list! It was thanks to Jess’s reviews that I booked Chef Mickey’s for our trip and it was incredible! Also that walking path is GOLDEN! Love it! MICKEYRONIE AND CHEEEEEEEEEEESE. So much nom, loved the tortellini too!

Oh my god I know that reference…but I definitely can’t think of it right now! WORST!

Oh my gooosssshh your experience at CM’s was so amazing, I’m so happy for you guys, our character interactions fully SUCKED that night, but hey, every night is different! I’m super pumped to read more!!

 

[PrincessFelisha]

What an amazing first day!!! Just wow.

I liked seeing your pic of the pin board, because I don't trade and often wondered what the selection looks like. I love that rectangle figment face pin!!

There's nothing like celebrating a birthday at Disney. I went to Disneyland this year for mine and it was glorious!

And speaking of references, I don't get the specific one you mentioned, but it made me wonder if part of your title "chapter 1 - the one in which..." is an Almost Famous reference??

Oh and you really do look like a friend of Rapunzel. They are doing a workshop musical version of Tangeled here in LA for the DCL cruise ship shows - did you know?

Anyway - this report makes me smile!

 

[lauren_elizabeth]

Okay, so you've convinced me that we need to start pin trading on our next trip! Thanks!

I absolutely love that these updates were all about TANGLED and CHEF MICKEY'S! Those restrooms are GORGEOUS! I totally agree with you though about them being able to do so much more with that theme. It would be awesome! And I'd never want to leave that area! EVER!

Looks like yall had such a fun time at CM'S with superb character interaction!

 

[Tracy161]

Wouldn't miss this puppy for the world!!!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Okay, first off, I am so excited to get the food booths next year at F&G. If I time it right, I'm going to get a double whammy of F&G and F&W.

It was supposed to be a Tangled Meet and Greet before. And then they started the Magic Bands rollout, and it was supposed to be a Magic Band space, and then it just got complicated. There was this whole article about it addressing the "why bathrooms" question that you very validly have.

Who wouldn't love Donald? He's just the most amazing guy EVER! Even though I may be a bit bias......

It's not truly #BirthdayFestivus until the cupcakes arrive you know.

Great first day. Let the excitement continue!

 

[__disneygirl]

MAY 14, 2013
Day 2, Part 1 In Which We Celebrate Lee-Anne's Birthday in the Hundred Acre Wood​

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Briiiing brriiiing.

I picked up the phone bright and early expecting to hear my friend Stitch screaming at me to GET MOVING!!!

I did not hear Stitch or Mickey Mouse as I've become so accustomed to!

Instead, it was MIKE WAAAZOWSKI! I love Mike, but it wasn't the best wake up call. I really miss the Stitch one!

Oh well... things change, life moves on. Luckily the old wake up calls will always be on Youtube. I should make that the alarm on my phone. hahaha

IT WAS MY FIRST FULL DAY IN DISNEY! And I had many many many more days to come. Don't you just love that feeling when you're finally IN DISNEY and you don't even have to think about leaving yet because you have so many days ahead of you and all the plans you've made and thought about for months are bouncing around inside your head and you can't believe you are FINALLY THERE after thinking and obsessing about it every single day, wishing you were there and now HERE YOU ARE, YOU ARE IN DISNEY WORLD, AND ALL OF YOUR DREAMS ARE ABOUT TO COME TRUE.

It's a priceless feeling. And by priceless, I mean they'll tell you how much it costs if you call 407-W-DISNEY.

Luckily, my trip was discounted. Whew. But what I mean is... the feeling really is priceless in the sense that I can spend more at WDW than I ever would on anything and the cost does not weigh on me because the value is so great.

So anyway, Lee-Anne and I got dressed and ready and headed off to her special birthday ADR at Crystal Palace. Unfortunately Jess had a day of classes and work ahead of her so she couldn't join us today.

This ADR had been a long time in the making since we were supposed to go here on our last trip. Lee-Anne is a big fan of everything Winnie the Pooh so she was super excited!

And so was I. Duh, I'm excited about everything Disney at all times. But on a more specific note, Crystal Palace is one of my biggest early memories of Disney. Before I knew anything about any Disney restaurants, before I even cared what I ate at Disney, I loved Crystal Palace. It was one of the places my parents took me every single trip, but I hadn't been there since 2004. I have so many good memories there so I was really looking forward to being reminded of all of them and making new ones, too!

On our way down Main Street, we spotted the Spring Trolley Show! I was SO excited because this version of the trolley show was supposed to end the day before we got to Disney, and yet here they were performing it. What luck!!!

I have to mention that as soon as I entered the park I became pin crazed and actually traded for two different pins during the show. OOPS.

So that was the perfect way to start our morning! The Trolley shows are so magical and old timey. They are magically old timey. As a performer, I have to say that has to be one of the COOLEST jobs at WDW.

Just a note here about Limited Time Magic. I obsessively checked the Disney World website for the whole year basically b/c I wanted to know what the LTM that week was. Jess participated in a lot of the events and told me multiple times that they were disappointing, but I did not care. I was still like DYING to see what the LTM would be while I was in Disney. Even if it was just something non-eventful like a special cupcake or whatever, I was full of anticipation. I was extra excited since I was going for 2 weeks, so I figured there would be at least two LTM things going on during that time. I was PRAYING for a Long Lost Friends Week even though the first one seemed kinda lame to me (The 3 little pigs?! Does anyone even think of them when you think "Disney character"? Cause I don't...) and WAY better at Disneyland in California.

On the website it said that the Spring Trolley Show was part of LTM (which doesn't even make sense because the Trolley shows are always around and are often themed to the season... I thought LTM was supposed to be special) and would be ending May 12. So when I saw it on this day, May 14, I was very pleasantly surprised. So what was the other LTM during my trip?

Um, nothing. Well, that's not entirely true. Monstrous Summer aka #Disney24 was technically considered "Limited Time Magic" even though there was a 24 hour event at the parks the year before ("One More Disney Day"). But I didn't really count that since it was a huge event planned months in advance and would have happened regardless of the LTM promotion.

I know that Disney doesn't promise anything and everything is "subject to change" but I think it's pretty lame to create this huge promotion and get die-hards like me all excited for, well, nothing. And when LTM did happen, it was usually more like Limited Time Merchandise. Sorry, but I don't consider waiting on line for hours to buy a pin to be an event.

I shouldn't be complaining because I got to be a part of what was arguably the best LTM event, Monstrous Summer. And I had an AMAZING time. But I just think Disney went about this all wrong. I think if they put a lot of work into it and really came up with unique and special events, LTM could have really been something to remember. Jess has been living there during almost the entire promotion and she told me after the mess that Unleash the Villains ended up being that she was totally over it, so going by her and other reactions I've read... Disney just kinda put half the work into this.

I also think they should have announced the LTM of the moment/week/day further in advance so people could get excited about things happening during their vacations and plan accordingly. Like I knew about #Disney24 ahead of time (which was extremely helpful) but most of the LTM events were announced very close to when they were actually happening.

The whole thing just ended up being not at all what I expected. Honestly it didn't even bother me once I was there because I was too caught up in my trip to even notice, and maybe that's the point. Maybe there's enough to do in Disney and so they didn't put the most work into this promotion because they didn't have to. But usually Disney goes above and beyond regardless of the situation, so I guess the whole thing was just surprising to me. Oh well. Maybe I'm putting too much thought into this, but idk, I often think about what I would do if I worked for Disney and WHAT FUN it would be to come up with LTM events! Oh my God, I'd rock at that job, haha. Anyway, I'd love to hear anyone else's opinions on LTM, especially if you were there to experience any of it! Tune in later on in the report to read about our epic night at #Disney24!!!

SO, off we headed to check in at Crystal Palace. The trolley show made us a little late, and I apologized. The CM at the podium was really cute and was like, "Sorry, you can't eat here!!!" all sarcastically since we were late. He smiled, laughed, and said it was totally no problem and we would have a table really soon. Yay!

I did not mind waiting at all due to this AMAZING view! It doesn't get better than that.

A few minutes passed and before I knew it, we were being escorted to our table.

IT WAS COVERED IN CONFETTI FOR OUR BIRTHDAYS!!! YAY!

The birthday girl!

Technically it was my birthday too since this is #BirthdayFestivus13 and it's EVERYONE'S BIRTHDAY! hahaha.

I actually told Lee-Anne I wouldn't wear my birthday button since it was her actual birthday and I didn't want to take any of the spotlight off her. She actually WANTED me to wear mine though, so I wore both of them. Obviously!!!

Our waitress came, took our drink orders, and wished us a Happy Birthday! I got unsweetened iced tea with lemon and Lee-Anne got a hot chocolate with whipped cream and also an orange juice.

This was her birthday, multiple breakfast drinks were required.

Nearby we saw a silly old bear. <3

POOH!!! I was so excited to meet him for the first time in ages. I LOVE THIS HONEY LOVING FOOL!

He was sorta in love with Lee-Anne.

It was kind of precious. And by kind of, I mean I was on the verge of tears cause he was just SO CUTE!!!!!

Lovebirds...

Aww.

Then it was time for the FOOD!!!

The buffet area:

Here is Lee-Anne's plate:

And mine!

Would you get a load of that?! AHH. I wish I could eat all that right now! We got all the classics here... puffed french toast, Mickey waffle, breakfast potatoes, bacon, sausage, a chocolate croissant, and one solitary thing that won't ultimately be the cause of my heart attack: a chunk of watermelon!

Everything was really delicious, though I could take or leave the breakfast pizza here. The puffed french toast is as good as everyone says and all the rest of the food is very good.

My FAVORITE was the croissant. I totally became a croissant addict this summer... in fact they sell regular, chocolate, and raspberry croissants at this bakery across from where I work and I have banned myself from eating them because it became just too unhealthy. Anyway, we'll talk about my issues later. The point here is that I KNOW MY CROISSANTS. And usually chocolate croissants are a little bit rougher in texture and flaky. This chocolate croissant however, was MELT IN YOUR MOUTH soft. IT WAS THE BEST CHOCOLATE CROISSANT I'VE EVER DEVOURED IN MY LIFE. I couldn't even believe it. I went and got a 2nd one right away, it was so beyond delectable. RUN DO NOT WALK TO CRYSTAL PALACE IF IT'S THE LAST THING YOU DO!!!!!!

Sidenote: Hi!! *waves* Yeah I'm updating again. This is my fastest rolling TR for these reasons:

1. This is the longest I was ever in Disney and I don't want this TR to go on for like two years.
2. I am about to get REALLY REALLY busy in life so I would like to get done as much as possible before that happens so this thing isn't just sitting in limbo from like November-February. Right now I'm only REALLY busy (with one really), but at the moment I am procrastinating. I will probably be sorry later. Oh well. YAY DISNEY.
3. I got a ton of this TR done before I even posted the first update on here. So as long as I have this stuff written, it may as well be posted!

Thanks for reading and I hope you're enjoying the abundance of updates! Please stand up as you exit...bye bye!​

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[__disneygirl]

MAY 14, 2013
Day 2, Part 2 In Which We Continue Celebrating Lee-Anne's Birthday in the Hundred Acre Wood​

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TIGGER CAME TO OUR TABLE NEXT!

T-I-double GUH-RRRRRRRRRR!

I love this guy.

Quick story from back in the day before I wrote TRs. When I was a kid I came here with my parents. My dad is the kind of person who has been around for ages and seen everything and knows everyone. It's not uncommon that a random person I don't even know will ask me questions about him, or like we'll be out somewhere and someone he hasn't seen for 30 years will freak out and run over all excited. It's crazy.

So we're sitting at Crystal Palace eating breakfast and Tigger came up behind my dad and grabbed his shoulders. The fact that my father was at a character breakfast in Disney apparently escaped him because he assumed it was some guy he knew years ago. So he goes, "Heyyy, my friend!!!" and turns around and is in shock when it's a giant hopping tiger behind him instead.

Me and my mom were in STITCHES, omg. My dad just goes, "Ohhhh, I thought that was some guy I knew! Who is that, Lia?" and I said, "It's Tigger." and my dad goes, "Trigger?!"

Sigh. No, dad. Tigger. TIGGER OF WINNIE THE POOH? Earth to Dad.

Tigger didn't really know what to do but he obviously found it very funny. He just started bouncing and pointing. I couldn't breathe.

Anyway, back to the present day! I told Tigger it was Lee-Anne's birthday and he started jumping up and down.

YAY!

I got up and he pointed at my Birthday button and jumped up and down again! He was very excited about our birthdays too!

Then he started examining my lanyard, and I got in trouble.

NO TIGGER PINS! OH NO.

I promised him I would get one as soon as possible! He forgave me. Note to self for future character meals: Wear pins of the character you're meeting! They like that.

My ol' pal Tigger. We love each other.

Next, Eeyore sluggishly trotted on over. I LOVE EEYORE because like... how bold to put an OPENLY DEPRESSED character in a children's story. He is definitely one of my favorite characters! It kills me when something good happens and Eeyore's like "Whatever, it probably won't last." hahahaha

I told him it was Lee-Anne's birthday and he definitely cheered up a bit!

YAY EEYORE.

Well... I have to say that our service here was not great. We were here for at least 30 minutes after we had finished eating and met every character except Piglet. We should have just asked our waitress or the character attendant but I think we waited so long we ended up forgetting. I didn't really mind because being stuck in Crystal Palace is not something I would ever complain about. However, we did start to get antsy because we had the whole Magic Kingdom to conquer! I didn't even SEE our waitress for the longest time, so it wasn't even like one of us could call her over. It was so odd.

We were totally ready to go, but then she brought over our BIRTHDAY CARDS AND CUPCAKES! YAY!

Suddenly I wasn't in such a rush to leave LOL. And I was kind of glad it took so long because that caused some room in my stomach to open up for the delicious cupcake.

YAY BIRTHDAYS!

They also signed the back of that photo they gave us with the card. How cute!!

We had to wait even longer for her to bring the check but it was okay. The characters did an adorable Friendship Day March around the restaurant with the kids!

Pooh was so adorable, clapping his hands and marching along!! I love that bear! And the kids looked like they were having such fun! It melted my heart.

After we finally were able to pay, we left and ran into a duck family!!

Then we got our picture taken.

YAY!

Shadow picture!

From there I wanted to go to City Hall because I had forgotten to ask for tape to be put over my Birthday Button so the sharpie ink wouldn't come off, and of course it did. Lee-Anne needed to get hers taped too so back to the front we went.

The CM helping me was SUPER nice and she tried to re-create the awesome design the CM had done the day before, but it was all faded and not easy to copy onto a new button. What would have been better is if she just traced over the old button, but I didn't want to point that out being that she was so nice and helping me... I didn't wanna come off as rude. This was all fine because then I ended up with TWO birthday buttons. Both now taped. So I stuck one on either pocket on the front of my shorts and rocked 2 Birthday Buttons for the rest of the day! WOO!

So there's a big tip if you haven't heard it before: Put clear tape over your celebration buttons to keep the writing in tact! If you don't, they WILL rub off.

My new button:

I also of course looked through the pin book again and pin traded. Thanks to Jess I was now an addict!

Some Main Street window displays...

Mickey and Minnie dressed as Emporium CMs made my LIFE.

You know you are just one of those Disney people at heart when you get that excited over a DISPLAY. I was jumping up and down basically.

That's all for now folks! The next update is going to be great cause we had an amazing character greeting, stay tuned.... ​

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[__disneygirl]

Wow, Tons of updates - can't believe how much fun you had and as you said on DAY 1 OF 14!!!!!!

I don't think I ever noticed that trunk before, but I love "WED ILLUSIONEERING"

Also love the John Stamos story ... I mean, about him loving Disney not about him potentially being on crack.

BTW - I assume you saw the recent reunion of Jesse and the Rippers:
http://youtu.be/Dor96YnM_qo

YES I did I was literally having Full House marathons right before that happened so I was EXTRA EXTRA excited. That was so amazing. It was like seeing my childhood come back.

Just the first day and I am exausted already. Where do you guys get all that energy?

Trust me, during week 2 I was ZONKED like the entire time. I have no idea how I even kept walking at times. Truly. Call it Disney magic!

Awwweee…I nearly cried walking into the tangled area for the first time, I walked up when the “kingdom dance” song was playing and it was completely magical! I have to agree, like there needs to be more tangled stuff!! The hidden pascals are so cute!!

Oh my gosh I love the two things you crossed off your list! It was thanks to Jess’s reviews that I booked Chef Mickey’s for our trip and it was incredible! Also that walking path is GOLDEN! Love it! MICKEYRONIE AND CHEEEEEEEEEEESE. So much nom, loved the tortellini too!

Oh my god I know that reference…but I definitely can’t think of it right now! WORST!

Oh my gooosssshh your experience at CM’s was so amazing, I’m so happy for you guys, our character interactions fully SUCKED that night, but hey, every night is different! I’m super pumped to read more!!

AHH I LOVE THE KINGDOM DANCE song. That is honestly one of my favorite Disney pieces ever. The whole Tangled soundtrack is just beyond, though.

I'm sorry your character interaction wasn't very good! You've got to go with someone who is friends with characters, oh my God you would love it. I mean, I'm sure any Disney fan would, but because of how into entertainment you are... it just has to happen someday! Although you'll probably be friends with someone yourself sometime soon!

The reference is from the beginning of Wayne's World when they present the invention called "The Suck Cut" hahaha

What an amazing first day!!! Just wow.

I liked seeing your pic of the pin board, because I don't trade and often wondered what the selection looks like. I love that rectangle figment face pin!!

There's nothing like celebrating a birthday at Disney. I went to Disneyland this year for mine and it was glorious!

And speaking of references, I don't get the specific one you mentioned, but it made me wonder if part of your title "chapter 1 - the one in which..." is an Almost Famous reference??

Oh and you really do look like a friend of Rapunzel. They are doing a workshop musical version of Tangeled here in LA for the DCL cruise ship shows - did you know?

Anyway - this report makes me smile!

It was really great! You should try pin trading, it's so much fun!

You're so lucky about your Disneyland birthday. I am dying to go there! Hopefully that will happen in 2014.

Thank you so much! I did not know about that. My friend plays Aladdin on DCL though so I will be sure to ask him about it. He is always telling me to audition but I don't wanna leave home and live on a ship for 9 months with no breaks. :/

Okay, so you've convinced me that we need to start pin trading on our next trip! Thanks!

I absolutely love that these updates were all about TANGLED and CHEF MICKEY'S! Those restrooms are GORGEOUS! I totally agree with you though about them being able to do so much more with that theme. It would be awesome! And I'd never want to leave that area! EVER!

Looks like yall had such a fun time at CM'S with superb character interaction!

You definitely should, it's so much fun! Buy a batch of trader pins for cheap on Ebay to get started!

Okay, first off, I am so excited to get the food booths next year at F&G. If I time it right, I'm going to get a double whammy of F&G and F&W.

It was supposed to be a Tangled Meet and Greet before. And then they started the Magic Bands rollout, and it was supposed to be a Magic Band space, and then it just got complicated. There was this whole article about it addressing the "why bathrooms" question that you very validly have.

Who wouldn't love Donald? He's just the most amazing guy EVER! Even though I may be a bit bias......

It's not truly #BirthdayFestivus until the cupcakes arrive you know.

Great first day. Let the excitement continue!

I'm not even going to look for & read this article because I'm 100% sure it would annoy me, lol. I just want more TANGLED!!!

Thank you & Thanks for reading everyone!!!

 

[JessM]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE all of your pictures, you can just tell you all were having so much fun!

I love the Chef Mickey's pictures you guys look like you are having a blast!

I'm so excited to see the Tangled restrooms but I agree an entire attraction or at least Eugene on the regular would be nice!

 

[peachmermaid]

Oh my gosh, those are some fun times for one day!!

John Stamos...he would be so fun to go to wdw with. Oh Uncle Jesse, please be in the world in February!

What is it about epcot that makes people take their clothes off? (blame it on the alcohol?)

 

[Nermel9]

Wow, I love how fast this TR is moving!

What a great first day! I haven't been to Chef Mickey's in years, but I'd love to try it again someday!

Don't you just love that feeling when you're finally IN DISNEY and you don't even have to think about leaving yet because you have so many days ahead of you and all the plans you've made and thought about for months are bouncing around inside your head and you can't believe you are FINALLY THERE after thinking and obsessing about it every single day, wishing you were there and now HERE YOU ARE, YOU ARE IN DISNEY WORLD, AND ALL OF YOUR DREAMS ARE ABOUT TO COME TRUE.

OMG YESSS!!!! This is seriously possibly the best part of a Disney trip...I love when you wake up there and you realize "OMG I'm HERE!!!!" and you still have days ahead of you...ahhh, I long for that feeling again, it seems so far off...

Crystal Palace is amazing, I love that place so much! The service isn't always the best, but I don't care, what I DO care about is missing Eeyore every single time I go there though! Someday I'll catch him, though! It's always bad timing!

I love the window displays on Main Street, they are always so adorable!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

SO glad you loved the beauty of the Tangled washrooms as much as expected. Where else but Disney is there such a thing as "Destination Bathrooms"?

You know, now I want to walk to the Contemporary. That is now a must do.

Haha, see you totally knew what you were doing by only having the 2 deserts at Chef Mickey's. That is so cool with the cupcakes and I WANT THAT PLATE.

Ahh Lia I just so agree with you. Yes, Disney costs (and quite a bit actually), but honestly I really can't think of a better VALUE. It's mind boggling.

You know, I am absolutely one of those people who unapologetically praises Disney and who feels extreme guilt criticizing it in any way. Rose coloured glasses are a permanent fixture is what I'm saying. But, LTM has been pretty much a bust except for a few exceptions. Haha, so I guess I have less of a problem criticising bean counting Disney executives.
At the end of the day, I think it was just a case of needing to advertise "something" for 2013 since there's always a yearly theme of some sort. But I really don't think they had enough ideas to back it up. It is a great concept though.

Ha, I don't think you'll get any complaints about updating too much. This is AWESOME!!

Oh wow, great piece of advice on the tape. I will definitely remember that!! THANK YOU!!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Great photos - seems like you had a great time at both CM and CP!

Yeah, I've been a little bummed about the quality of LTM (and agree that a special piece of merchandise shouldn't qualify ... I mean, it's so magical you have to pay extra for it!). I heard it had something to do with the cost of NFL and just trying to keep other costs down but still wanting to do some sort of celebration. In the end, probably should just done the Monstrous Summer and not highlighted the other Limited Time (not so) Magic events