You're almost the same type of handsome as Flynn Ryder, Daddy! 12/28 update

[tlenzendorf]

No princesses for my family of 4 boys.
So I am living vicariously through all you for my "girly-girl" fix!

Maybe if we are there at the same time again Brent can go with the boys for some manly time and you can come with us for some girly time

 

[msmith1026]

Saturday was our first full day in Disney and our plans were as follows:
Animal Kingdom for the day with 11:00 lunch at Rainforest Cafe. We had dinner ADRs at the California Grill at 7:45.

I woke up around 5 a.m., for no apparent reason. I thought I would have slept really well after our long day, but I found myself having a really restless night sleep. I didn't want to get up and wake anyone else up, so I grabbed my laptop and iphone and did some work. This was the first time I closed my cupcake business but I still wanted to check my emails and respond to any messages so I took some time early in the day to do that. Around 6:30 JP woke up and soon after Zoey was moving too. I took my shower and got Zoey dressed and we waited for JP to get ready. We weren't trying to make Rope Drop so I wasn't in a huge hurry, but Zoey was saying she was hungry so we decided to grab some breakfast at the hotel before heading out.

We stopped at the Grand Floridian Cafe and had breakfast. JP got the Lobster Eggs Benedict, I had French Toast and Zoey had the Mickey Pancakes, with no sprinkles. Everyone's food was really good, Zoey's pancakes had sprinkles and so i had to make sure there wasn't a single one on there before she'd eat them, but she ate almost the whole pancake.

After breakfast, off we went to grab a bus. We had to wait maybe 5 minutes for one to come, and it was pretty empty. The ride went pretty quick and we made it to the park and through the gates easily enough. I had to do our stroller rental and got the slowest CM ever. I'm all about efficiency and organization so waiting for 15 minutes to get our stroller was killing me. It wasn't because we were missing anything in the park, it was more because I wanted to just do it myself and be done with it! Even JP, who is really laid back was giving me the "Um, really?" look. Finally, i had my 7 day stroller rental receipt and stroller in hand and we were ready to go.

We decided to do the Kilimanjaro safari first, so I got Zoey in the stroller, handed control of the map over to JP and off we went. We got there and there was no wait. The family in front of us had a little boy the same age as Zoey and he and she hit it off and discussed all the animals they were going to see. Turns out this family had rode on this a few days ago and were telling us how it was good to do the ride early because you tend to see more animals.

We got right on our safari and saw a lot of animals. When we got to the giraffes our guide started apologizing over and over again and said "You can be sure, no two safari's are the same." JP and I just started cracking up, there was some butt sniffing action going on, which doesn't make for very good photos!! Since I have the sense of humor of a 12 year old, i found this really amusing.

All-in-all, Zoey had a blast doing this, but the story of the poachers went right over her head. She did talk for days about how we "saved the baby elephant" but I'm sure she couldn't tell you from who or what!

After the safari we didn't have any plans, so we decided to just wander the park. We hit the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail and got some really cool pictures of the hippo that was sleeping underwater. We also got to see the baby gorilla that Zoey loved watching play. After that, we ended up finding a Kids Club area where the kids do a task, get a stamp and if they collect them all, they get a special stamp at the end. Well, after that first stamp, Zoey had a mission to get them all! So, it was off to DinoLand to get the next stamp. Once we collected that one, we walked back to the beginning of the park, checked in for our lunch reservation and sat down and planned what to do for the rest of the time in the park.

Zoey's agenda was to collect all the stamps, JP wanted to ride Everest and I wanted to get a picture of us in front of the Tree of Life (I have such simple requests!!) We all wanted to see the Lion King show, so we decided to divide and conquer. After lunch, JP went and got a fast pass for Everest while Zoey and I got another stamp. We then went back to the other side of the park and got seats for the Festival of the Lion King. This was about the time I realized if anyone from the Unofficial Guide to Disney saw us touring the park, they'd have a heart attack. We were all over the place, going from one end of the park to the other instead of going in an orderly fashion. It seemed to work for us so none of us cared.

We watched the Festival of the Lion King and right as the show started, I realized I forgot Zoey's noise canceling headphones at the hotel. She immediately covered her ears and told me it was too loud. She did great with the show though, she loved the acrobats and everything going on. It was nice to sit in the cool for a bit. Once the show was over, JP went to ride Everest and Zoey and I went to meet some characters. We stood in line for Minnie, and were in line for Mickey when JP called to say he was already done with Everest and didn't need a fast pass at all. He ended up doing the ride again and met us just as we finished meeting Mickey. Zoey met Donald and we skipped Goofy and then went to board the The Wildlife Express Train to go to Rafiki's Planet Watch. After a bit, we got on the train and were ready to go. We enjoyed the quick trip over, and once we got off the train, Zoey found the Kids Club area and got her stamp. After that, she discovered something even better! Chip and Dale and Pocahontas! Out came the autograph book and in line she went. We collected some more autographs and pictures and away we went. I have to say, the character lines were really short and we didn't spend much time in them at all. At one point in line for Pochahontas, I heard the cast member with her tell a gentleman that he could not take pictures if the child with her was not his. That was sort of freaky, and it would not be the last time we heard this during our trip.

Zoey had one more stamp to get, so we went to back to board the train to go to the Oasis and get the last one. We waited just a few minutes for the train, went over to the Oasis section and finally got a picture of me and Zoey with the tree. Zoey collected her last stamp, got her special stamp and a little workbook which she loved. By this time, it was almost 4, so we decided to head out and go back to the hotel. We waited just a few minutes for a bus and stopped at Typhoon Lagoon, then Wilderness Lodge and finally the GF. During the bus ride I tried to find an earlier ADR at the California Grill, because I could tell Zoey was tired. I didn't expect I would get one, and I was right.

We rested for a a bit and then headed over to the Contemporary for our dinner. We checked in and then waited a bit before our table was ready. We had a wonderful table, not right at the window, but close enough with a view of the castle. Zoey caught her second wind and was happy doing the games on the kids placemats. Our drinks and appetizers came out after awhile, and as we were eating them, our waitress asked if we wanted them to hold our dinners so we could go outside to watch the fireworks. I asked them to bring them out, as Zoey was fading fast. After they cleared our plates away, Zoey climbed in my lap and fell asleep. The restaurant made the announcement about dimming the lights and so many people left to go out to the observation decks, the restaurants noise level was considerably less!! Our meals were delivered just as the fire works started, and Zoey woke up in time to watch them. Zoey had pizza and was done after a couple of bites. I ordered the bison and really liked it and JP had Duck two ways. All of us enjoyed our meals but ended up taking our desserts to go since Zoey was once again fast asleep. Our waitress was so awesome, she went over the menu and told us which desserts would hold up being taken to go, and which would not. So, we went with her suggestions, got them to go and were on our way back to our hotel.

We waited awhile for a monorail (we never had much luck taking monorails back to the Grand) and were back in our hotel around 1030. We had no morning ADRs so we decided to let Zoey sleep as long as she wanted to on Sunday and head over to the Magic Kingdom when she was ready.


We really liked the Animal Kingdom. I know we didn't see as much as most people, but even just walking around and looking at how it was themed was fun. I was surprised at how long we were there, never did I expect that we would be there a full day! I would definitely go back and try to do more rides the next time we go. JP really liked Everest, he said he was glad he didn't know any of the story about the ride, so he was surprised when the ride went backwards and also when he saw the Yeti. I'm glad that he was able to ride it--he felt bad leaving me to do the Kids Club stuff and Characters with Zoey but I told him I really didn't mind and that we had fun too.

Up next: The first full day in the Magic Kingdom!!

Breakfast:

AK:

No two safaris are ever the same. How many of you get to see this on yours?

Zoey and her meet and greets:

Asleep at Dinner:

 

[msmith1026]

Melissa... I'm here too! Love the look on Zoey's face when she see's the hotel! Isn't it priceless to experience disney through our children's eyes?

Yay!! Welcome!! SO glad so many of us FBers are here. It feels good to just have the support, writing one of these things is nerve wracking! I agree with you, watching Zoey's reaction to everything was the best part of the trip.

Great choice of blue dress for 1900 PF! The interaction with the characters sounds great! I'm sure it was a huge relief that she loved them! Sounds like a very magical evening for your daughter.

I was glad she "survived" it. One of the bonuses of it was when later during the trip she'd say she didn't want to do something b/c it was scary, we pointed out she thought that about the dinner, and she ended up loving it. It helped her try other things, which was great.

I'm glad Zoey liked the dinner! We had really great characters our night, too. It's a lot of fun, even though we think the food is just kind of ok. We eat there for the stepmother and sisters, not even for Cinderella and the Prince, lol!

Oh, she loved the dinner, enough that we did it 2x!! Just wait, you'll see the Clay Aiken Prince Charming soon enough!

No princesses for my family of 4 boys.
So I am living vicariously through all you for my "girly-girl" fix!

By the end of our trip, JP was so over Princesses!! We are trying for baby #2 and he always said he thinks he'd just want another girl, since he knows what to do with one. Now he's rethinking that!! We stood in line for the Princesses at Town Square theater 7 times!!!

 

[lovethattink]

Great day at AK!

Where's the picture of the lobster benedict?! I have got to try that some time!! Was it good?

Oh yeah! I bet that was a great learning experience for Zoey about being scared.

 

[msmith1026]

Great day at AK!

Where's the picture of the lobster benedict?! I have got to try that some time!! Was it good?

Oh yeah! I bet that was a great learning experience for Zoey about being scared.

Here you go!!
Lobster Benedict:

JP said it was really good. It has tomatoes in it, and he hates tomatoes, so he spent a good amount of time picking them out. He ordered them a 2nd time, which says alot because he is a huge fan of never ordering the same meal at a restaurant, he'd rather try everything. The 2nd time he ate them, he got them without the tomatoes and he said it was just as good.

Watching her actually enjoy that dinner, after seeing how nervous she was at the start is one of my favorite memories of that trip. Zoey is so proud of herself that she met those characters, she tells everyone she did, and follows it up with how funny and not scary they were. I'm very proud of her!!

 

[shan23877]

Joining in, followed you over from my TR! Our trips do sound similar minus the amazing theme park view! How great!

So jealous that you saw the penguins with Poppins--that's very cool.

We LOVED the character interaction at 1900. They were so much fun. My DD gets shy too, and was also nervous about Lady Tremaine, but they won her over.

How was Cali Grill for kids? We're thinking about doing DxDP next trip. We're thinking that we'll use two credits for CRT, SoA, and one signature. Not sure which one yet though, so I'll look forward to hearing what you thought and how you navigated DxDP.

 

[msmith1026]

Sunday morning we had no early breakfast plans, so when JP woke up he wandered over to Gasparilla's and picked up some breakfast food for Zoey. I was hoping to grab something quick in the Magic Kingdom. Once we were all ready, we headed over to the park via the monorail. Since I had done a length of stay stroller rental, once we were in the park, it took no time to grab a stroller. And, since we were in front of the Town Square theater, why wouldn't we stand in line (again) to meet the Princesses. The line was pretty short so we were in and out pretty quick. The interaction Zoey had here with the Princesses always ended up being so much better than any of the meals we had with them. They always took time to comment on her dress, or her shoes and to talk with her. We have so many great pictures from those meet and greets!

After we left the Princesses, we stumbled upon Pinocchio and Zoey got her picture with him again. We still hadn't left the Main Street area yet, and this was our 2nd trip to the park. I thought we were finally getting somewhere when we started walking, but Zoey saw the checker board outside one of the stores and sat and wouldn't leave until we played. It was hard to convince her there would be anything better than checkers beyond Main Street.

We finally were ready to move on from the checkers and made our way towards the Castle. Zoey stood for the obligatory photo in front of the castle and then we were off for her first ride ever in the Magic Kingdom--Dumbo! There was a 25 minute wait, and she wanted to ride just with JP, so while they waited in line, I consulted the map--for no apparent reason other than it gave me something to do. I certainly wasn't going to use it to navigate anywhere! Zoey LOVED Dumbo and wanted to do it again, so off in line she went with JP for a second ride.

After her 2nd trip on Dumbo, we started making our way to Liberty Tree Tavern for lunch. I never did end up eating breakfast when we got to the park, and Zoey started saying she was hungry too. It was not quite 11:15, so we couldn't check in for our 11:30 ADR yet. JP and Zoey explored the area outside of the restaurant while I waited to check in. We were the first family that checked in, which meant I got to open the restaurant. Normally, I hate doing things like that, but I thought it would be a kick for Zoey to see me to it. Before they started seating tables the waiting area was PACKED, I was happy that we had an ADR because I heard the CMs saying there were no walk up tables available.

We were seated pretty quick and sat down. We had a great waitress who was pretty quick with the refills and anything else we needed. Zoey had the chicken soup for an appetizer and the turkey. She ate all of the soup, the waitress kept commenting on how she couldn't believe she ate it all. She barely touched the turkey though--so I took my burger and cut it in half and she ate that. JP had the pot roast and it looked amazing. He said it was really good, and he ate every bite of it. We each got a dessert and once we finished those we were ready to go see some more sites.

Zoey wanted to see Tiana so we went off looking for where her meet and greet was. It is pretty tucked away, i feel like you have to be looking for it to find it. She wasn't out, and it turned out we had to wait about 45 minutes for her to come back. Zoey didn't really want to go do anything else so we browsed the shops right around the meet and greet area and then hopped in line. We ended up being first in line and there were not many people who joined the line before Tiana came out.

I find the lines for the meet and greets really fascinating--some of the parent reaction is really cringe worthy. One mom came up to the line and asked the CM when Tiana would be out. When she was told about 20 more minutes the mom blew up at the CM and said it was ridiculous that she wasn't out, and that they've come 3x now to see her and there was NO WAY they were waiting 20 minutes. Her little girl was crying because she wanted to stand in line and the mom was adamant it wasn't going to happen. I get it, standing in character lines is not what I envisioned my trip to Disney was going to be all about, but what is 20 minutes in a character line vs. 20 minutes in line for Dumbo? If it's what your child wants, why not do it at least once. And, honestly, 20 minutes is not long. I just felt bad for the little girl--she so badly wanted to see Tiana.

Tiana finally came out and Zoey was SO enthralled by her accent. The girl playing Tiana was stunning--Zoey couldn't take her eyes off of her. They had quite the conversation of New Orleans vs. New York, and Zoey got her autograph and hug and then we were off to ride the Magic Carpets.

We got waylaid on the way to the Magic Carpets by 2 things. The Fairy Meet and Greet and the Ariel Meet and Greet. I could tell JP was getting a little antsy about all of the character meetings and lack of rides, but i reminded him we were here for 6 more days, and we had 3 more days in the MK. I stood in line with Zoey for the Fairy Meet and Greet and the line went pretty fast. JP and I spent most of that time debating what that building had been before, neither of us could figure it out. We finally made it into the meet and greet area and our first Fairy was............Terrence. **Crickets chirping**

Zoey had no idea who he was. None. She was hoping to meet Rosetta and she was pretty unimpressed with who she got. She chatted with him and got his autograph but when she came back to me she looked at me and said "who was that?" It was pretty funny, i felt bad for Terrence! Next up was Tinkerbelle, and I totally thought it was Peter Pan based on the outfit she was wearing. So did JP, so I didn't feel to bad when Zoey admonished me later. Tink was cute, she asked Zoey to stand like a flamingo, and then Tink stood like one too. We finished seeing Tinkerbell and then went to check on the Ariel line. It wasn't too bad, and they said she'd be coming out "soon" so we hopped in that line. When Ariel came out, she was with Prince Eric--I don't know how common that is, but it was a surprise to us! Zoey was beyond excited. She went up and got to talk to Ariel first, and then Prince Eric. Ariel asked Zoey if she could stand like a flamingo (who knew that dress would be such a hit) and Zoey did, but was a little off balance, so Prince Eric took her hands and helped her stand. From that moment on, Zoey was HOOKED. Prince Eric stood like a flamingo too and held her hand the whole time she was with them. We got some really cute pics and then Zoey got hugs from both of them. When she went to leave, Prince Eric called her back and said "I have a secret to tell you". He went to whisper in her ear and gave her a kiss. She turned and squealed and ran away, it was such a cute reaction. Needless to say, that made her day. JP and I both thought that the interaction between Ariel and Prince Eric was really good, some of the best of the whole trip. They played off of each other really well, and the kids were just in love with them both.

After that we wandered over to the magic carpets and rode those and then went and rode the tea cups. After that we decided to head back to the hotel. We were going to the Coral Reef in Epcot for dinner that night, so I wanted there to be time to relax before dinner.

We ended up running really behind getting to Epcot, so it was stressful trying to get from the TTA to the monorail, then through the gates and then finding the restaurant. We checked in a few minutes late for dinner, but it didn't seem to be a big deal. We waited about 20 minutes to be seated--which didn't bother any of us. We were lead to our table and we were seated as far away from the tank as you can probably get. That didn't bother me at all, what bothered me was that we were in a corner "booth" so the seating was "L" shaped and instead of having a person on each side of the table, we were crammed into two sides. I don't think it would have bothered me so much, but our waiter never once cleared any of our cups or dirty dishes away, so by the time our dessert came, we had no space to put the dishes. This was by far the most disappointing meal of our trip. The food was good, but our waiter was so busy that we never saw him. He came and took our orders and asked that we order our appetizer, main course and dessert all at once. None of us were prepared to do that--i didn't even look at the desserts when i looked at the menu. Our food came out so fast, we had just started eating our appetizers when they were coming out with our dinners. It just felt like they really were pushing you in and out of the restaurant as fast as possible. It was not at all relaxing or enjoyable. We were all more than ready to pay the bill and leave by the time it was over. I don't even remember what we all ate--I think i had steak and JP had fish of some sort. By far, our least favorite meal of the whole trip.

After dinner we just headed back to the hotel since it took about 45 minutes to travel to EPCOT. When we got to the TTA and went to board the resort monorail, we were told that it was down, and we could either go to the Magic Kingdom and take the ferry or wait and see if they would arrange for a bus to come get us. After a few minutes, they told us busses would come and take us to the Grand Floridian. We walked back to where the busses would be and we were able to get on the first bus. They weren't crowded yet, but it was just before Hallowishes would be starting, so I knew it was going to get really busy once those finished and people left MNSSHP. The driver waited for awhile and then we were on our way--the bus was not all that crowded. We got back to the hotel when Hallowishes was in progress, so we stopped to watch them and then made our way back to our room.

We had early morning ADRs for Akershus the next day, and it was looking like it was going to be a long day for Zoey, so i checked to see if I could move our 7:30 ADR at the Rose and Crown to earlier, and was able to snag a 4:45, so I took that. We also were supposed to be doing the 8 pm Spirit of Aloha show on Thursday and I was starting to really doubt doing that, because we had early morning ADRs at Cinderella's Castle for breakfast and I just knew we would be pressing our luck at that point with an overtired 5 year old. JP wanted to think about it before canceling it all together.

Up next, more princesses than you can shake a stick at, and a Dis/FB group meet up!

Monorail time:

Princesses:

Checkers on Main Street

Parade Watching

Fairies

Tea Cups

Prince Eric and Ariel Meet and Greet

Just been kissed:

 

[lovethattink]

Love the pictures!!! (and thanks so much for the lobster bendict picture!!YUM!!)

We love Coral Reef WHEN we have Ileanna as our server!! She is the BEST!!! The last 2 times we ate at Coral Reef we had the U table. I actually preferred it because it kept my son from being tempted to walk off from his seat. I wonder if they hurried your food through because of you having a child, or was everyone being hurried along? I love their rolls!!! And I'm not a bread person. We ask for extra butter, because that one pat just doesn't cut it. UNLESS we have Ileanna, and she knows extra butter and extra ketchup for ds. Our dining experience with her reminds me of being on a Disney Cruise. She is so attentive and anticipates our needs before we can even ask!!

Did you walk closer to the tank with ds so she could see the fish better?

My little guy loves the fairies. He thinks they are the funniest of all the characters. He would have loved to see Terrance! I'm glad the line moved quickly for you. When we went the queue was long and moved slowly, but the characters spent alot of time with each person once we got there!

The just been kissed pic is so cute!

 

[msmith1026]

Joining in, followed you over from my TR! Our trips do sound similar minus the amazing theme park view! How great!

So jealous that you saw the penguins with Poppins--that's very cool.

We LOVED the character interaction at 1900. They were so much fun. My DD gets shy too, and was also nervous about Lady Tremaine, but they won her over.

How was Cali Grill for kids? We're thinking about doing DxDP next trip. We're thinking that we'll use two credits for CRT, SoA, and one signature. Not sure which one yet though, so I'll look forward to hearing what you thought and how you navigated DxDP.

Thanks for coming over! I love your trip report, I wish I had seen it before we left--our daughters seem very similar! I have to say, I was spoiled by the TPV, but if when we go back, I will still book a regular room. I'm happy to stay at the GF with just an ordinary view.

The Cali Grill was fine for kids. I was nervous about bringing Zoey, but there were so many kids there, it was no big deal at all. The food was great--they brought out goldfish for Zoey when they brought out bread for the table and they also brought out a fruit bowl--bananas, grapes strawberrys, pineapples and maybe apples. Zoey said to me that she only wanted bananas and I told her I would pick out the other fruit and within minutes our waitress came over with a whole bowl of bananas. It was such a nice touch--you could tell she was used to waiting on kids. I appreciated it because Zoey was so tired and I knew something that small could keep a meltdown from happening.

We did the DxDP and I was definitely very aware of when we ate how many credits we had remaining. I know a big complaint of that dining plan is you feel like you are always eating, but i don't think we felt that way too much. We spaced our meals out so we did a either a breakfast/dinner or early lunch/late dinner. We only ever had 2 sit down meals a day, and our epcot day we snacked our way through the world. We did have meal credits left (you'll see why later on in the TR) but we were able to exchange 1 meal credit for 3 snacks at Gasparilla's when we left, so while not getting great value, we were able to stock up on stuff for our car ride home.

Love the pictures!!! (and thanks so much for the lobster bendict picture!!YUM!!)

We love Coral Reef WHEN we have Ileanna as our server!! She is the BEST!!! The last 2 times we ate at Coral Reef we had the U table. I actually preferred it because it kept my son from being tempted to walk off from his seat. I wonder if they hurried your food through because of you having a child, or was everyone being hurried along? I love their rolls!!! And I'm not a bread person. We ask for extra butter, because that one pat just doesn't cut it. UNLESS we have Ileanna, and she knows extra butter and extra ketchup for ds. Our dining experience with her reminds me of being on a Disney Cruise. She is so attentive and anticipates our needs before we can even ask!!

Did you walk closer to the tank with ds so she could see the fish better?

My little guy loves the fairies. He thinks they are the funniest of all the characters. He would have loved to see Terrance! I'm glad the line moved quickly for you. When we went the queue was long and moved slowly, but the characters spent alot of time with each person once we got there!

The just been kissed pic is so cute!

JP did take Zoey closer to see the fish. I didn't want them to interrupt people's dinner, but they were able to get close, and she loved the tank.

I wish we had your favorite server! I really, really wanted to love this dinner, and i think if we just had a different server, we would have. I would give it another try next time we go for sure, maybe I would just pick a less "prime" time.

 

[shan23877]

Thanks for the info! Cali Grill might make it on the list!

Great update. Totally understand not being able to get past the characters and onto main street! The princess at the theater were really great every time we were there too. Much better than at the meals IMO.

We would have been so excited to see Terrence! We got Rosetta twice! Arial and Eric were awesome. That was by far the best Arial interaction we had on the trip.

Can't wait to hear more!

 

[msmith1026]

Monday we had 8:05 ADRs at Akershus. Traveling via the monorail from the GF meant we were up and out of our hotel right around 7 a.m. Zoey was moving really slowly, I could tell she was starting to get really tired. We caught a monorail pretty quickly and were on our way to the TTA. We got to EPCOT right around 7:45 and the line to go in to the park was pretty long--they were not checking anyone in yet. Finally we were able to go in and we just followed the crowd to Norway. We checked in to the ADR and waited maybe 5 minutes to go get our picture with Belle.

After Zoey's picture, we got seated and were told we could help ourselves to the buffet. I really liked the cold buffet, Zoey and I each got yogurt with granola and almonds and I am a huge fan of smoked salmon so I got a bagel topped with that. When our hot food was delivered to the table, we all grabbed the cheesy potatoes. So good!! The eggs were bland but nothing a little salt couldn't fix.

The Princesses came out pretty quickly and the interaction with them at our tables were very hit or miss. Zoey was dressed as Sleeping Beauty and when Sleeping Beauty came over to our table, she barely even glanced at Zoey--she just took her book, signed it, posed for the picture and was gone. She had a total annoyed look on her face while wandering the restaurant, i said to JP I thought she needed some coffee or something. Snow White and Ariel came over and each of them took a minute to talk with her, but they moved pretty quickly from table to table. Cinderella also came over and she chatted for a little longer but also moved on pretty quickly.

I had read a lot where people thought the interaction at Akershus was better than the interaction at CRT, so I was a bit nervous about our upcoming ADR at CRT. I found the interaction here not that good at all and I don't know that we would do this character meal again. Zoey didn't seem to care about how little she got to talk to them, and she ate a good amount of breakfast so I'd consider the breakfast a success. We did have a great waitress who was super attentive and kept refilling glasses and clearing dirty plates and refilled our food without asking.

After breakfast we asked Zoey if she wanted to change out of her Princess dress and she said no. I figured she'd be annoyed quickly by wearing her costume through the park, but she seemed to be really in to wearing it while she was touring the park She had already said that she wanted to do Turtle Talk with Crush so we started the walk back to the Living Seas. I needed to go pick up our stroller so I told them I would meet them both at Turtle Talk so we went our separate ways. The park had just opened so making my way to the stroller rental was sort of like a salmon swimming upstream. I grabbed our stroller pretty quickly and then set off for the Living Seas.

I got there pretty fast and when I met up with Zoey and JP, Zoey started trying to tell me something but just started crying. Turns out, JP wanted to wait for us outside of Turtle Talk and she wanted to go in, so it started a little battle of wills between a 5 year old and a 40 year old. I calmed her down and in we went to the show. I could tell today was going to be a long day and was hoping we could get back to the hotel for a nap.

We waited a few minutes to be able to go inside and sit for Turtle Talk and Zoey was happy to sit on the floor with the other kids. I thought this was really cute, the kids asked funny questions and Crush was funny with his answers. Zoey raised her hand to ask a question but wasn't called on and then must have decided she didn't really want to ask anything because she never raised her hand again. When it was over she was smiling and laughing--it was definitely a hit with her.

I checked out my Lines app to see what the waits were, and JP and I were hoping to get Zoey to do Soarin. She had no desire to do it and asked if we could go see Mickey and Minnie. So we set off for the Character Spot and found the line was 40 minutes long. It moved pretty fast and soon enough we were in front of Mickey. Zoey had a blast with all of them and we breezed through the meet and greet and headed over to World Showcase.

I was trying to meet up in Norway with the October FB group and was running pretty late at this point. I didn't see anyone when we got there, and Zoey was now on a mission to meet up with other characters so we kept going and I kept my eye out for lime green mickey heads. We met Mulan in China first, Zoey loved her and asked where her sword was. It was really cute. We started wandering from country to country, stopping in Germany for a huge caramel apple from karamell kuche, as well as a couple of chocolate dipped marshmallows. Zoey and I sat at a table as she ate all the caramel off her apple and JP browsed the shops while he waited. We were heading to Italy when i got a text from Tricia saying she was with Lisa in Norway. So, JP and I did a temperature check on Zoey and decided to split up. Zoey wanted to keep going, so JP and she headed towards Moracco and I backtracked to Norway. As I was passing Mulan again, I got another text from Tricia saying they were in China. After a couple of minutes we were able to find each other. It was so nice to finally put faces to names and we were able to chat for a bit and I was able to deliver vanilla beans to Tricia. We made plans to meet up at the Magic Kingdom later that night during EMH and I went back to see if there were any major meltdowns during while I was gone.

At this point, world showcase was packed. It was getting harder to navigate through the worlds and the food and wine booths had really long lines. I got a text from JP saying they were leaving Japan and heading to Morocco so I breezed through the worlds, and made it to Morocco in what felt like record time. I stopped right next to the Jamsine meet and greet, figuring that was a good place to meet. I spotted JP and Zoey pretty quickly and Zoey jumped in line with me. We didn't wait very long at all to meet Jasmine and we made our way to France, where I wanted to hit the boulangerie and patisserie. Zoey and I went in and we picked out a couple of treats to snack on and then grabbed a table and sat and ate some chocolate mousse and a huge cookie. After the sugar hit, Zoey was in a better mood (awesome parenting 101 right there!) and she did a little shopping in France and picked up a huge book of Madeline stories.

JP grabbed us each a couple of drinks at one of the food and wine booths and we used some snack credits for water for Zoey. We also burned a bunch of snack credits on some crepes and sat for a bit eating. JP noticed someone coming out with a bunch of chairs and asked Zoey if she wanted to go watch the Serveur Amusant show that was about to start. The went to get a better view of the show and while they were watching it, I called and cancelled our ADR for the Thursday Spirit of Aloha show. There was no way Zoey would be able to do an early morning ADR for breakfast and the 8:00 show for that. So, i made some quick switches to our reservations and by the time I was done, the show was over and we were on our way to meet Belle. We totally lucked out with this meet and greet, the line was super long, but a CM came and asked if anyone was here to see just Belle. Zoey had no desire to see Beast, so we said yes and were brought up to the front of the line and were the first people to see Belle when she came out. This was the first time Zoey had seen Belle in her blue dress and they had a good conversation about books. Zoey told Belle to say hi to the Beast for her, and explained to Belle she was too shy to meet him. We said goodbye to Belle and headed over to the UK where Zoey met Mary Poppins and Alice and then Tigger and Pooh in the toy shop. We had an hour to kill until our ADR at the Rose and Crown so we poked around the shops and went over to Canada--which I have to say, I don't really remember at all!

We backtracked to the Rose and Crown and checked in for our ADR. We waited a few minutes to be seated, and were seated at a nice table outside. We had another great server and our meal was not at all rushed. Zoey got the Potato Leek soup and fish and chips and loved all of it, even the soup. I got the shrimp cocktail and fish and chips, both of which were really good. JP got a salad and the surf and turf and he liked each of those too. It was one of the better meals we had while at Disney--both the food and the service were excellent. I would recommend checking it out to anyone who was thinking of going.

After our early dinner we headed back to our hotel. It was pretty early still but Zoey had an 8:30 reservation at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and I really wanted her to have a good nights sleep. We settled her in bed right around 7 and she was sound asleep by 7:30. JP and I were going to head over to the Magic Kingdom so my mom who was with us for part of the trip stayed with Zoey while we went out.

We made our way over to the Magic Kingdom and rode all the rides we knew Zoey would never want to do. JP wanted to check out the Enchanted Tikki Room to see if Zoey would like it so we sat and watched the show. It was cute, and we thought Zoey would love it up until the thunder and lightening hit. We then hit the Haunted Mansion, which was a total walk on. We went through the cemetery line and played with some of the interactive things--JP thought they were really cool. After we did HM, we made our way to Big Thunder where we timed it so we were able to walk right on because we got there just before Wishes ended. We were hoping to ride it again but the wait was already at 30 minutes! We really lucked into being able to walk onto that ride, and decided that we had enough time to ride Pirates before making our way back to Aloha Isle where we were hoping to meet up with people from our FB group. We got seated behind one of those people who thought "No Flash Photography" meant everyone but them. After the second time this woman turned around and flashed her camera right into my face, I was done. I said something to her (which I never do) and she never turned around again, but she did keep taking pictures with her flash. I hope she enjoys those pictures of a fake Johnny Depp, I'm sure they're amazing!!

After Pirates we went to Aloha Isle and got Dole Whip floats. We sat and ate and chatted with the nicest couple who gave us some tips on things to do. They finished their dole whips first and went on their way. I didn't see anyone from our group and was about to leave when someone asked if I was from the dis! I wish I could remember who it was I met, but we sat and chatted with her and her family for awhile. They were so nice, and her kids were adorable. It didn't look like anyone else was coming, so we said goodbye and head in different directions. JP and I rode Snow Whites Scary Adventure because we knew Zoey would never do that. We hit the tea cups next, I have an awesome picture of JP on the tea cups from our honeymoon and I wanted to try to snap a matching one on this trip. JP was a good sport as I made him ride it a couple of times and made him spin it really fast but I was able to get a really close to matching shot!! I'm going to print them and frame them side-by-side to put out in our hosue. After that, we made a dizzy walk over to Space Mountain and waited about 20 minutes to ride that. When we finished Space Mountain it was just after midnight. I was getting really tired, and had to be up early the next morning so I told JP we should head back to the hotel. As we were walking towards Main Street I dragged JP to every Photopass location I could find, figuring it would be some of the only chances I would have to get pictures with JP. He was being such a good sport about it, he was more amused than anything. We did a few pictures by the castle then headed down Main Street. We were going to take the monorail back, but it was down apparently, keeping our streak of only going back to the GF via boat intact.

We didn't wait long for a boat so we were back to the hotel pretty fast. I loved taking the boat--I found it really relaxing. We got back to our room and set our alarms for pretty early so we could be up and hopefully grab some food before heading to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.

Up next, BBB, MNSSHP and some seriously bad character dining etiquette. (Oh my!)

Epcot, here we come:

Akershus:

Out and about in Epcot

Date night in the Magic Kingdom

 

[tlenzendorf]

It definitely was so great to meet you and thanks again for the beans! I think tomorrow is my day to roll the jar around

I am definitely impressed on how many characters you guys met! That one wasn't a huge priority for the girls this time and it made me sad we didn't get to see them.

Agreed on how fast the princesses went thru in Akershus! We really liked the meal, though. I would eat again just for that. And the potatoes?? Ummm I'll have some now please!

 

[msmith1026]

It definitely was so great to meet you and thanks again for the beans! I think tomorrow is my day to roll the jar around

I am definitely impressed on how many characters you guys met! That one wasn't a huge priority for the girls this time and it made me sad we didn't get to see them.

Agreed on how fast the princesses went thru in Akershus! We really liked the meal, though. I would eat again just for that. And the potatoes?? Ummm I'll have some now please!

Did you shake your jar yet? I'm making some guiness cupcakes tonight and am going to use my vanilla! Whoot, whoot!

We saw so many characters, and zoey honestly thought they were real. It was nice, because I bet the next time we go back, she will be less in to it.

 

[tlenzendorf]

Did you shake your jar yet? I'm making some guiness cupcakes tonight and am going to use my vanilla! Whoot, whoot!

We saw so many characters, and zoey honestly thought they were real. It was nice, because I bet the next time we go back, she will be less in to it.

Tonight is the night to shake my jar! Is there a special shaking the jar dance I'm supposed to do when I do it? Like this? Or this? Or this? Hehehe

 

[lovethattink]

Enjoying your TR. Your daughters dresses are so cute! Great tea cup pics too!

 

[msmith1026]

Tonight is the night to shake my jar! Is there a special shaking the jar dance I'm supposed to do when I do it? Like this? Or this? Or this? Hehehe

You know what kind of shaking you shouldn't do? This kind

Enjoying your TR. Your daughters dresses are so cute! Great tea cup pics too!

Thanks!! Zoey only wears dresses, and she has quite the opinion on them! She's 5 and self styled. I fear when she's 16!

 

[tlenzendorf]

You know what kind of shaking you shouldn't do? This kind

That seriously made me crack up right at my desk this morning!

 

[cgerdon02]

We were at the world at the same time, and we were at Magic Kingdom and 1900 Park Fare the same night too!! And I totally agree about Magic Kingdom....It was way more crowded than I expected it to be!

 

[msmith1026]

Tuesday was probably the busiest day we had planned at the MK. We had an 8:30 appt for Zoey at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and were heading to MNSSHP that night.

JP and I stayed pretty late at the MK the night before, so getting up was a little tricky. Zoey was super excited to go to her appointment, so we were up and on our way to the MK a little before 8. We got to the MK and were able to go through the reservations line and into the park before it opened. It was so nice to wander a pretty empty Main Street. I made Zoey stop for some obligatory pictures and then we were on our way to the castle for her appointment.

I splurged on her visit and got the castle package. Zoey wanted to be Belle, and that was a dress she didn't currently have, so she got to pick out the dress, shoes, wand, tiara and got a purse and gloves as well. A Fairy Godmother in Training took all of Zoey's pieces and laid them out in a dressing room for us. When it was time, my mom, who was in Florida with us, and I went with Zoey and helped get her dressed. The first pair of shoes that Zoey picked were too big and we had to get a smaller size, which fit perfectly. Once dressed, Zoey got to see herself in her new costume and was then brought out to be made over.

Even at 8:30, the place was jumping! Every chair was filled with very excited little girls. Our Fairy Godmother in Training, Raquel was amazing. She did a great job with Zoey. When Zoey was settled in the chair, she was handed a brochure to choose her hair style. She picked the bun style, and off Raquel went, getting her hair up in that style. Zoey was a trooper as her hair was tugged into position. Raquel kept chatting with her the whole time, so Zoey didn't seem to mind it. I love that she just kept asking Zoey what she wanted for the clip, tiara and all other pieces. She made the focus all Zoey and she loved it.

Once her hair was done, Zoey's makeup and nails were painted and then it was time for the big reveal. I had forgotten that she had her dress on already, so when they took the cape off, it was a surprise. She looked adorable, but at the same time, sort of unrecognizable. It was cute, but because she never wears her hair like that, i sort of missed my Zoey. She LOVED it though. When they spun her around to look in the mirror, her whole face lit up.

After a bunch of quick photopass pictures in the salon, we went to pay and then off to get her pictures taken that come with the Castle Package. On the way to Castle Couture, we ran into the Fairy Godmother, who insisted that Zoey come and get her picture taken with her. It was so cute how she got fussed over by the Fairy Godmother. After that, we headed into Castle Couture and Zoey had her photos taken. My mom and I picked out the ones we liked, got them printed and then were on our way into the park.

We hit the carousel first, and got some really cute pictures of Zoey on it all dressed up. JP really wanted her to go see Mickey's Philharmagic, so we did that next. There was virtually no line and we were able to move in pretty quickly to the next show. The no line thing ended up being our theme of the day, there were next to no lines everywhere we went, it was sort of crazy.

After Mickey's Philharmagic, Zoey started to say she was getting hungry, so i quickly booked an ADR for Tonys at 11:30. We had no lunch ADRs booked, as I had booked an early dinner at The Crystal Palace ahead of MNSSHP. JP had grabbed Fast Passes for Winnie the Pooh, but the wait was 10 minutes, so we didn't bother with the FP and just walked on the ride. The interactive queue area was super cute, Zoey loved playing with it. We started to make our way back to the front of the park, when Zoey spied the Rapunzel meet and greet. I had read how terrible this line could be and I was nervously eying the clock and trying to measure if we could do that and get to our ADR. We must have lucked out because we waited in line for just 15 minutes and we were maybe the 5th people line. In we went, and Zoey ran right over to the table and started coloring. Rapunzel came out pretty quick and Zoey was in and out of the meet and great in no time. ALl in all, it was a very cute meet and greet, the area itself was beautiful.

After meeting Rapunzel, we headed back towards Main Street and checked in to our ADR. We waited just a few minutes to be seated and once we were, I sent JP over to get a Fast Pass for the Princesses. One of the reasons Zoey picked Belle was so she could get her picture taken as Belle with Belle. I figured it would be good to do those pictures and then head back to the hotel for a rest as we were going to be at the park late that night.

Our waiter was Mark Anthony and he was wonderful. He made sure Zoey had anything she could have wanted and was sure to point out what he recommended for both the appetizers and main courses. Zoey got the spaghetti and meatballs and ate almost all of it. I had the tomato and mozzarella salad which was just ok. The tomatoes was really mushy and I ate barely a 1/4 of it. I had the baked ziti for my main course and it was ok. Not my favorite meal of the trip, but not horrible either. JP had the antipasto and chopped salad with chicken and liked them both. He was most excited that our waiter made him an iced cappuccino---JP had seen him drinking one but didn't see it on the menu. He asked about it and Mark Anthony said he'd make him one. After our meals, we got desserts and we asked if the ice cream sundae was make your own, because that has been the best party of Zoey's meals. He said they were not, but when he brought hers out, he made sure everything was on the side, so she could actually make her own. He was by far our favorite waiter of the trip, so nice and did so many little things to make the meal special.

We finished our desserts and by that time, our FP time was ready so we went back to Town Square Theater, where we were becoming regulars. There was no line as we went in, and they took us right in the back and then closed the door behind us. All the princesses made a big fuss over Zoey, and Belle spent a really long time with her. She had Zoey sit on the floor and pose exactly in the same way she did, and she helped fluff out Zoey's dress. It was so adorable, and we got some of the best pictures of them. Zoey was in HEAVEN!

After we met the princesses we headed back to the Grand via the boat launch. It was such a beautiful day and the boat ride was nice. We went back to the room and relaxed before we headed back to the MK for MNSSHP.

Up next, Bad Character Dining etiquette and MNSSHP.

BBB:

Out and about in the park

Princesses

 

[msmith1026]

We spent the morning in the park and went back to our hotel to rest. Zoey decided to switch to Snow White for Trick or Treating in the park so I got her dressed and we all got ready to go back to the park for MNSSHP. We had 430 dinner reservations at the Crystal Palace, so we headed over a little before 4.

Once we got off the monorail and through bag check, the lines to get in for MNSSHP were insane. We went in through the normal line entrance since I knew we could get wristbands inside. We wandered over to the Crystal Palace and checked in. While waiting, Zoey did some hoola hooping and JP and I made plans for what we wanted to try to see during the party. We knew the Princesses were a must, and Zoey said she wanted to hit the trick or treat trails. We tried to map out a plan that included seeing the parade as well. I wasn't too concerned about seeing the fireworks, since we could see them each night from our room.

After about a 10 minute wait, we were seated at our table. The cast member who seated us explained twice that if we missed the characters when they came to our table they would not come back, you needed to wait until they did the whole loop of the restaurant before they came back, so you could be waiting up to 1.5 hours. They pointed out that Pooh was only 4 tables away and that we should not go to the buffet until after he and Tigger went by. Since we didn't want to wait if we missed them, we decided to wait.

As we waited, we started noticing the table next to us--it was 2 families, 5 kids and 4 adults. The kids were everywhere, jumping from one seat to the next and the parents kept getting up and going to the buffet. It was clear they had been there awhile, they were eating dessert. 3 of the kids were gone when Pooh got to their table, and only 2 adults were there. Pooh took pictures with them, and as he came over to our table, one of the Dad's grabbed his hand and asked him to come back to their table, since the rest of the kids had just gotten back to the table. There was no Cast Member with Pooh, and since he hadn't gotten to Zoey, Pooh went back to the table. He spent more time with that family then came over to ours. We were able to get a few pictures with him before the father came back over and asked him to come over to their table again, completely interrupting Poohs interaction with us. The father stood there the whole time Pooh was with us and then had him go back to his table--so Pooh could get pictures with the adults.

I was annoyed, because it had been made very clear to us that we were to stay at our table or we were going to miss the characters but either this family wasn't told the same thing or they just didn't care. We saw that Tigger was coming soon, so JP went up to the buffet really quick to get Zoey some food while the two of us waited to do pictures with Tigger. As we waited, I noticed that as Tigger got closer to the family next to us, everyone at the table scattered, again. When Tigger got to their table, hardly anyone was there. JP got back to our table just before Tigger got there, and as he started taking pictures with us, this family did the same thing they did with Pooh, they came over and interrupted his time with us. Only this time, they took him over to their table, explaining that Tigger was one of their daughters favorite and she had missed him as he came to the table. Tigger left and we didn't even get a picture with him and Zoey. When Tigger finished with that family, he skipped over us and went to the next family. I was trying my best to not be annoyed, but at this point, I figured we had no chance of seeing any characters if this family kept doing this. I wasn't sure if i should say something to a manager or not, but I didn't need to worry about it because when JP went up to the buffet, he explained what happened and said he was aware we'd have to wait for Tigger to come back, but that he hoped there would be a handler with the next characters to make sure it didn't happen again.

Finally we all had gotten through the buffet and were starting to eat our dinner. The family next to us packed up and left and a few minutes after they left, there was announcement for a parade with the characters. Zoey had no desire to do it, which was fine with us. The parade started and the next thing I know, the family that left was back, and the dad pushed his one daughter into the first position in the parade, right behind Tigger. He then proceeded to block other parents from getting pictures as he followed the parade through the restaurant. Once the parade was over, they left and never came back.

At this point, it was close to 515, and we were still waiting for Eeyore and Piglet, plus Tigger if Zoey wanted to get her picture with him. Piglet came over first (with a handler this time!) and it felt like he spent a ton of time with Zoey, but JP said it was probably just because it was the first time we hadn't been interrupted (he was pretty annoyed, and he's so laid back!!) Eeyore came next and that was really who Zoey wanted to see the most, so after she had her picture with him, she said she was fine to leave, even without seeing Tigger. She said she was fine not seeing him, since she had her picture with him at Epcot "even if he doesn't remember me, I remember him!" So, we paid our bill and got ready to head out to get our party wristband.

As we left, a manager stopped us to apologize for what happened. They asked if we would like to get a picture with Tigger and Zoey told him no, that she really wanted to go meet the Princes--especially Eugene! The manager then gave Zoey a stuffed Tiger and some cookies to eat while she waited in line at Town Square Theater. We said thank you and headed over to Tomorrowland to get our wristbands.

I'm glad we decided to get the wristbands there, there was no line and we had our wristbands and trick or treat bags in no time. We walked on to the People Mover and then headed back to Town Square theater to stand in line to see the Princesses with their Princes.

We were in line a little before 6:30 and we were probably 5 people back. I kept asking Zoey if she needed to go to the bathroom and she said no. I probably should have forced the issue, but I didn't. The wait went pretty fast, and a little after 7 they started letting people in to see the Princesses. The family in front of us was the last family let in, so they closed the rope and asked us to wait. Just as they did that, Zoey told me she had to go to the bathroom. I looked at JP in a panic. We were next, and now we had to get out of line. I went over to the CM and told him what was going on. He told me to take Zoey out of line, to go back to the CM at the front and to tell him that we were told we could go to the bathroom, and to let us back in to the front of the line. JP stayed where he was and Zoey and I booked it past everyone waiting and went back to the front to get her to the bathroom. i felt horrible because i was sure everyone would think I was cutting the line when we came back. A few mom's saw us leaving and picked up that we were having a bathroom emergency so that made me feel better. I got back out to the lobby and explained to the CM what was happening and he told me not to worry and that he would bring us back when we were done. Zoey was getting really nervous about missing the meet and greet and when we got to the bathroom, a woman let us go in front of her so we were in and out in 5 minutes. We went back the the CM and he sent us through the fast pass line. We got back to the first CM, and he had us go past the 4 families who were camped out in the fast pass line, and had me, Zoey and JP all go in to the room where the Princesses were. I kept saying Thank You to him, and he laughed and said it probably won't be the only time it happened that night. JP said we had really booked it because we were only 3 families behind where we originally would have been. The really nice thing was that those families asked if we wanted to go up to our original spot, and we said no, we were fine where we were. Everyone could empathize with a bathroom emergency, and most of us mom's agreed it was more stressful on us than anyone else!!

So, we were finally ready to see the Princesses and their Princes and I was a sweating mess. I was so hot and flustered, JP had to help me find our photopass and camera. Zoey met Snow White and Snow Prince first and they talked for a long time about her dress--it was super cute. Next up was Rapunzel and Flynn Rider, and Zoey was so excited to meet him! She kept correcting me when I called him Flynn, she would immediately say "his name is Eugene, mom!" She ran right up to Rapunzel and gave her a big hug and then chatted with Eugene for awhile. She asked where Pascale was, and they told her he was an excellent Hide and Go Seek player, so that she should keep her eye out for him during the night, they told her he'd be red. She was so excited to try to find Pascale for the rest of the night. After we met them, it was Cinderella and Prince Charming, and Zoey was really happy to meet him, since he wasn't at our dinner at 1900 Park Fare.

Once we finished the meet and greet, we headed out into the park. Zoey was on a mission to score some candy, so I took her down some of the trick or treat trails. As it got darker and she saw more and more people in costume, it became clear to us that she was never going to make it through the parade, so JP and I decided to just stick to seeing characters and getting candy. I was bummed, I really wanted to see the parade, but Zoey had no desire to see any scary people, and I wasn't going to force her to. We went through the candy trail at Splash Mountain--it was totally empty!! We breezed through that one and Zoey was pumped over how much candy she was getting. We made our way over to Cinderella's Carriage and Zoey said she wanted to get her photo in front of it. We hopped in line and waited about 20 minutes. Zoey wanted all of us to be in the picture, so i handed over my camera to the Fast Pass person, and they grabbed one with our camera and with theirs. After that, Zoey said she was tired, so we buckled her in our stroller and started walking towards tomorrowland. I leaned down to check on her about 5 minutes later and she was sound asleep. We decided to not push our luck and we headed out of the park. It was after 9 by this point and while we didn't get to do too much at the party, we did the few things Zoey wanted, so I thought it made the night a success!

Here are some pictures from the night:

Dinner:

Halloween Meet and Greet

Family photo