Alice, Mickey, and Pooh Bear ... Oh my! A First Timer's Trip Report -- Updated 8/19 - Page 5 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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taking my husband for his first trip end of nov. I've been with my sister last three years. sure hope he gets into it like your husband has. my husband is a workacholic and getting him to take week off took some doing so I hope he enjoys his self. love your TR can't wait for more
taking my husband for his first trip end of nov. I've been with my sister last three years. sure hope he gets into it like your husband has. my husband is a workacholic and getting him to take week off took some doing so I hope he enjoys his self. love your TR can't wait for more
I am lucky that my husband is a kid at heart, but he can be a grouch sometimes too. LOL Just listen to what he would like to do and make sure that gets incorporated too. See if you can sneak some guides in front of him now so he can look at different rides he might want to do, or places to eat. Maybe throw on some Disney movies to get him in the mood for character meet & greets. Even if some of the things he wants to do aren't what you would consider Disney "fun", knowing he has some control over what you do, will make a difference. Like with the barber, I really didn't want to wait around to do that (LOL), and my son was cranking about having to sit and wait, but my husband really wanted to do it. I had told him beforehand that they do "lost boy" hair styles, and that had him hooked. So we went with it for him.
Are there certain Disney movies he really enjoyed as a kid? (Maybe sneak a call to his mom to see which ones he watched over and over LOL) Play up the parts of the parks that include those and he may very well get nostalgic as well. Or you could get one of the Hidden Mickey books, maybe he would have fun searching for those. They truly are hidden (we didn't really find any accidentally), so it does give a fun aspect to the trip to try and hunt them down. I honestly wasn't a Disney enthusiast before we went, I like the movies, but I had no problem walking right by a Disney store. But you can't help but fall in love once you are there. I hope your trip is loads of fun and be sure to link me up to your TR if you do one!!
I am lucky that my husband is a kid at heart, but he can be a grouch sometimes too. LOL Just listen to what he would like to do and make sure that gets incorporated too. See if you can sneak some guides in front of him now so he can look at different rides he might want to do, or places to eat. Maybe throw on some Disney movies to get him in the mood for character meet & greets. Even if some of the things he wants to do aren't what you would consider Disney "fun", knowing he has some control over what you do, will make a difference. Like with the barber, I really didn't want to wait around to do that (LOL), and my son was cranking about having to sit and wait, but my husband really wanted to do it. I had told him beforehand that they do "lost boy" hair styles, and that had him hooked. So we went with it for him.
Are there certain Disney movies he really enjoyed as a kid? (Maybe sneak a call to his mom to see which ones he watched over and over LOL) Play up the parts of the parks that include those and he may very well get nostalgic as well. Or you could get one of the Hidden Mickey books, maybe he would have fun searching for those. They truly are hidden (we didn't really find any accidentally), so it does give a fun aspect to the trip to try and hunt them down. I honestly wasn't a Disney enthusiast before we went, I like the movies, but I had no problem walking right by a Disney store. But you can't help but fall in love once you are there. I hope your trip is loads of fun and be sure to link me up to your TR if you do one!!
Cheers!
Rachel
i would like to nominate the above as THE BEST 'get your husband to like disney' advice EVER!
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I was worried that my son would either be freaked out by this show because of the extra "effects", or think it was way boring. Surprisingly he absolutely loved it. In fact, he was talking about it for days after we saw it!! He loved the fact that it was "real" 3-D. Through out the show, he kept reaching out to try and touch the things that were popping out at us. LOL I do have to admit that even though those 3-D effects are considered "cheesy" nowadays, and no current 3-D movies include them, I really like them! I wish some of the movies would include them as it is pretty cool to have the movie reach out and practically touch your nose!!
After Philharmagic, we headed back to the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin ride to use our Fastpasses. My son must have hit one of those special targets, because he ended up with a score of 333,000 this time!! We were so proud of him, and he was happy to get such an awesome score.
As we were wandering around, I saw this Jack and the Beanstalk store, and I had to rush in and grab a picture. I had seen this online, and it is just another one of those perfect Disney details that makes these parks so great!!
After our time in Tomrrowland, we decided to wander around taking shots of the castle. I was able to snap one of my favorite shots of the castle.
As well as a shot from the castle bridge.
We got some photopass pictures as the castle was lighting up for the night.
And I tried my hand at taking some pictures as it got darker out. Night photos are really hard without a tripod! I took these with my camera sitting on some walls and rock scenery in Tomorrowland. They came out decent, but obviously a tripod would have been better.
In between shots of the caste we decided to stop for dinner. Having done some research online, I knew that Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe had some good food, so since we were close to it anyway, we gave it a try. Hubby tried their pork sandwich, I had the chicken and ribs combo, and my son had the kid's nuggets and fries. Disney seriously knows how to give you a bang for your buck with the food!! Even though we were on a dining plan, even if I had to pay for the food, I wouldn't feel cheated like I might at other places. Once again we were too stuffed for our desserts, but the boys sampled theirs anyway. I decided to take my carrot cake home with me for a snack later on. We had hoped to get a seat somewhere that we might be able to see a bit of the Electrical Parade, but we had no such luck. I was sad to miss it, as this was our only night in MK besides for MNSSHP, but I had to come to grips with the fact that it was just impossible to try and do everything. Once we were done eating, the picture taking resumed.
After our castle picture taking spree, we decided to try and head over to Frontierland to avoid the fireworks and check out Pirates of the Caribbean. Because of my son's sensitive hearing, we weren't sure how he would handle the fireworks, so we figured it would be best to maybe watch them from afar.
On the way to Frontierland, we got caught up in a crowd on the bridge that had stopped to watch the Magic, Memories, and You show. We went ahead and stopped to watch as well, and I am so glad we did!! The show was absolutely amazing. The projections on the castle truly made it look like the castle was changing. I have never seen anything close to that in my life. Also, we were surprised to see that one of our photopass pictures made it up on the castle!! It was this one from earlier in the day:
The show was so special, and I am so glad that we didn't miss it.
Once the show was done, we continued on our way to Frontierland and made sure my son had his ear protectors on. The fireworks didn't end up bothering him, but I figured it was better safe than dealing with an uncontrollable kid in a crowd!
We got to Pirates of the Caribbean and since everyone else was watching the fireworks, we were able to get on with no wait at all. My son didn't want to try it, so hubby went first, then me. The ride was AMAZING! Before we went to Disney, I had read about how real the animatronics were, and of course was like "okay" .... but they seriously are!! It was hard to believe that some of them were animatronics at all. We tried really hard to get my son on this ride, but he was freaked out by the "small hill" part and refused. In the end we just let it go, but we were dissapointed since we knew he would love it because he loved the movies so much.
After POTC and the fireworks, we headed back down Main Street. My son and husband picked up some snacks.
And of course we had to get the requisite biting of the Mickey ear shot.
And the dancing in front of the castle shot.
Doesn't everyone get these when they go? No? Okay maybe it's just us then.
One last blurry shot of Main Street all lit up,
and one last photopass shot ...
and we were ready to head home for the night. It was a whirlwind first day and by the end of the night, it was hard to believe that we had been in Boston just that morning!! When we got back to the hotel, we stopped by the dining hall and picked up our refillable cups. Since we were so close to the dining hall, I knew they would be a good investment for us. We were also happy to see that the box I had mailed down before us had been delivered directly to our room while we were out. Ahhh, the magic of Disney.
I had a little surprise up my sleeve for the boys in the morning, but for now it was time for some sleep!! If our first day was any indication, it was going to be a tiring (but fun!) week.
i love philharmagic because it is 'real 3D' too! i didn't know that anyone else thought of it that way!
i LOVE the photo of the castle with the rocks and bit of tomorrow land framing it. seriously--great shot. fabulous shot. amazing.
did you CRY when you saw the pic of you and your husband projected on the castle? because really--how magical!??!!
also--i TOTALLY always take the biting of the mickey ear mickey bar shot! i have one from every mickey bar i've ever had (though i think that's only two or three, as i technically 'can't' have ice cream--but what's a little belly ache for a mickey bar, right?) i'd post one on here to prove it if i could find them in my infinite stash of photobucket disney shots!
what a LONG DAY you all had! can't wait for the next update (but, again, i will. happily.)
i love philharmagic because it is 'real 3D' too! i didn't know that anyone else thought of it that way!
i LOVE the photo of the castle with the rocks and bit of tomorrow land framing it. seriously--great shot. fabulous shot. amazing.
did you CRY when you saw the pic of you and your husband projected on the castle? because really--how magical!??!!
also--i TOTALLY always take the biting of the mickey ear mickey bar shot! i have one from every mickey bar i've ever had (though i think that's only two or three, as i technically 'can't' have ice cream--but what's a little belly ache for a mickey bar, right?) i'd post one on here to prove it if i could find them in my infinite stash of photobucket disney shots!
what a LONG DAY you all had! can't wait for the next update (but, again, i will. happily.)
My son seriously could not get over the 3-D. Even 2 days later he was still saying "Mom wasn't that the best 3-D? Way better than we have at home." LOL
That picture did turn out cool, it took me about 8 tries to nab one that wasn't totally out of focus LOL, but I love how it has the bits of Tomorrowland as the frame too.
When I saw our photo it went by so quick, that it was more like "Honey did you see that?? We were on the castle!! Did you see it???" LOL
I am glad we are not the only ones who take that pic!! I actually had no Mickey shaped ice cream while I was there. I am not a big ice cream eater anyway, and messy ice cream makes me cringe even more. LOL Yes, I have issues.
WDW - August 1997 Off Property
WDW - January 2005 AKL
WDW - May 2006 Pop Century
WDW- november-dec 2007 pop century
WDW- dec/jan 2009/2010 pop century
WDW- oct/nov 2012 art of animation
WDW- sept 2013 port Orleans riverside
WDW- july 2015 beach club
Thanks!! It turned out to be a wonderful start to our vacation. Originally I was thinking of going into a different park at first, but hubby request MK and i am so glad we did that, it really is the most magical park of the 4!!
Before I do my latest update, I just wanted to say thanks to those of you reading my TR!! I am having fun recording our trip, especially since most of this will end up in our scrapbook and this is a great way for me to get most of it out, and in order before I put that together!! I know some of you are reading, but not replying, which is cool (I do that sometimes too!), but I still wanted to say hi to you too!!
I have been back home for 2 days now, and I still haven't really unpacked. It just seems so daunting!! Plus it makes the trip seem so final and done. That is another reason I am enjoying writing this TR, it makes it all come alive for me again.
Anywho thanks for listening to my ramblings and on to the good stuff!!
Peace!
Before we left home I picked up a few little gifts for my two boys. I left one set out on our second morning as a little surprise for when they woke up. My son had been asking for a Phineas & Ferb hat for a while, so I had picked that up for him as a surprise.
My son was excited to see the gifts, but he was more interested in the boxes than the hat!! (Isn't that always the case?)
The boxes were random vinylmations I had picked up. I just picked 3 of a series that I knew we wouldn't really want. I bought them because I thought it might be fun to try our hand at vinylmation trading while we were in the parks.
We all got ready to go rather quickly as we had an earlier ADR for Tusker house, but we couldn't be completely off before a quick potty break.
This is of course just a joke!! My hubby would never actually do that, but he saw the fire hydrant and thought it would be funny to act like a dog relieving himself. LOL Yes he has a very weird sense of humor sometimes.
Just as we got to the bus stops, there happened to be an Animal Kingdom bus pulling up. It was great timing as we wanted to be there for rope drop, but we were cutting it close if we had to wait for a bus. On the bus we pulled out our Passporter and charted a plan for when we arrived. Our ADR was for 8:30, so I planned to go and get a Fast Pass for the safari right at rope drop.
Once we got in the park, we stayed to the left to head towards Tusker House and the safari. The rope had not dropped yet, so we stood in a smallish crowd waiting. We had our trading pins around our necks today, and there was a woman next to us that had a lanyard full of tinkerbells. After talking with her and her husband a bit, she pointed out a tinkerbell my son had. We offered to give it to her, but then her husband pulled out their trader pins they had in a book. My son picked out two pins that ended up being his most favorite he traded the whole trip. This was the only time we traded pins with anyone but a CM, but it ended up being a wonderful trade, and a great interaction with another guest.
At rope drop, I sent the boys off to Tusker House and booked it over to the safari. I was one of the first in line for the Fast Pass, our time ended up being for 8:45, which was great because it meant we could do the ride as soon as we were done at Tusker House. I immediately back tracked to Tusker House and actually beat my boys there, but this was only because they had found a CM to do some trading with!
We got signed in, and waited .... and waited ..... and waited. We did sign in a bit early (probably at 8:10), but we weren't in the restaurant until 8:50 or so, and it seemed so much longer!
Before we went into the restaurant we took an official picture with Donald Duck. We were told that they would bring a complimentary picture around to our table before we were done eating.
When we sat down, the characters were getting ready for a little song and dance, but we did get the chance to meet Daisy Duck before she had to go off to get ready.
See that peace sign my son is giving the camera? This was just the first of a reoccurring theme for the entire vacation. I haven't ever seen him do this in pictures before (or very rarely anyway), but for some reason this was his ultimate favorite thing to do in every.single.picture this trip.
Once we met Daisy we headed over to the buffet to grab some breakfast.
My son's plate ...
My plate ...
My husband's plate(s) ...
I was quite impressed with the food! I do have to say though that our whole family's most favorite part of the food was by far the jungle juice.
As we were eating, we got to meet Safari Mickey.
Goofy actually walked right by our table as he was making his rounds, but our waiter, Bryon, (who was completely awesome), made sure that Goofy made it back to us.
I do have to say at this point, that I am normally a very camera shy person. I usually hate all pictures of myself, so it was a little hard to jump into all the photo ops. But I didn't want it to look like I wasn't on vacation with my family, so I forced myself to do it. I have varying degrees of like with the photos I am in, but overall I am very glad that I jumped in no matter how I felt I would look. I was a part of the vacation too, so I deserve to have proof of it!!
By the time we were done eating and ready to go, we still hadn't seen the picture we took with Donald. I asked our waiter about it, and he told me I could go to the front to pick the picture up later. So I made a mental note to do just that before we left. We also made sure to nab a photo with our server. He made the whole experience so much more fun for us with his outgoing and energetic attitude.
(Notice the peace sign? Yup, you'll be seeing that A LOT ... hehe)
Once we were done with breakfast, we headed over to the safari. I decided to give my new camera lens a try. How did that work out?
I am lucky that my husband is a kid at heart, but he can be a grouch sometimes too. LOL Just listen to what he would like to do and make sure that gets incorporated too. See if you can sneak some guides in front of him now so he can look at different rides he might want to do, or places to eat. Maybe throw on some Disney movies to get him in the mood for character meet & greets. Even if some of the things he wants to do aren't what you would consider Disney "fun", knowing he has some control over what you do, will make a difference. Like with the barber, I really didn't want to wait around to do that (LOL), and my son was cranking about having to sit and wait, but my husband really wanted to do it. I had told him beforehand that they do "lost boy" hair styles, and that had him hooked. So we went with it for him.
Are there certain Disney movies he really enjoyed as a kid? (Maybe sneak a call to his mom to see which ones he watched over and over LOL) Play up the parts of the parks that include those and he may very well get nostalgic as well. Or you could get one of the Hidden Mickey books, maybe he would have fun searching for those. They truly are hidden (we didn't really find any accidentally), so it does give a fun aspect to the trip to try and hunt them down. I honestly wasn't a Disney enthusiast before we went, I like the movies, but I had no problem walking right by a Disney store. But you can't help but fall in love once you are there. I hope your trip is loads of fun and be sure to link me up to your TR if you do one!!
Cheers!
Rachel
see here's the thing, my husband starting working with his father in his mechanic shop when he was 5 years old. when he started school he came home in afternoons change clothes and went to work with his dad. he was pulling transmission's out of cars at seven years old. so he never got to watch cartoons, movies and knew what it was like to be a kid. but is dad was his hero. then last year(July 2010) he loss his dad to a very sad illness. then dec. 2010 he loss his only son (my stepson) to a terrible car accident. he was 32. then dec 26. 2010 I had to be rush to hospital for emergency surgery. so as you can see he doesn't know much magic. he burieds his self in his work to cover up his hurting heart so I want this trip to be so magical for him. whatever he wants to do is fine with me. I just want Disney to put his smile back even if its just for a little while. well thanks for letting me talk. didn't mean to be a downer.
see here's the thing, my husband starting working with his father in his mechanic shop when he was 5 years old. when he started school he came home in afternoons change clothes and went to work with his dad. he was pulling transmission's out of cars at seven years old. so he never got to watch cartoons, movies and knew what it was like to be a kid. but is dad was his hero. then last year(July 2010) he loss his dad to a very sad illness. then dec. 2010 he loss his only son (my stepson) to a terrible car accident. he was 32. then dec 26. 2010 I had to be rush to hospital for emergency surgery. so as you can see he doesn't know much magic. he burieds his self in his work to cover up his hurting heart so I want this trip to be so magical for him. whatever he wants to do is fine with me. I just want Disney to put his smile back even if its just for a little while. well thanks for letting me talk. didn't mean to be a downer.
Awww that is sad that your hubby has had to go through all of that, though to him it's probably just life (the working part anyway, losing your dad and son is simply unimaginable). It sounds like he does need a little bit of kid time and some magic. Not sure of your budget for the trip, but something fun I was considering was having the room magically decorated for us. This can be pricey, but it does make your room more special for the week. I can't recall the service that does this, but if you google room decorating in Disney, you should find it.
You may also want to set up a lot of Character ADRs if you can, it's a nice way to meet the characters without the hassle of standing in line. It might be a little close to get a lot, but if you try everyday, you will be able to nab some as someone drops them. Don't be afraid to show up at the restaurants when you are there too. I had a character breakfast at Tusker house that was really hard to get, and while I was waiting someone with no ADR showed up and got in before us. Which was fine by me as I am sure they had had someone cancel, but I'm just saying it can work even if you can't get that ADR.
Buying character ears for each of you can also be a lot of fun. They have soooo many styles and if you are both wearing them all the time, it's less embarrassing for him. I wore my ears like the entire trip!!
Since he didn't get the chance to watch all the Disney movies as a kid, maybe you could implement a stay in date night each week before you go (so you could get in about 7 of these), where he picks the dinner to be eaten, and you pick the movie, Disney of course.
You may also want to get some pins off eBay and some lanyards and do some pin trading while you are there. You may find that your husband has fun trying his hardest to get one whole collection of pins and really gets into the pin trading.
It probably will be very hard for him to go all out gaga at Disney, especially with the type of life he has had so far, but the more little things you can do to make it magical, the better it will be I think.
I wish you the best of luck, and I hope your hubby can find the magic of Disney while you are there.