A Little Family Magic (VWL): 5/24-30 '05 Completed! About This Page:

[Goofy'sGal]

A Little Family Magic
May 24 - 30, 2005
Where: Villas at the Wilderness Lodge
Adventurers: DH - 40, Me – 39, DD – 7, DD – 4-1/2

A brief intro: This will be our 3rd trip to WDW in 3 years time. We became DVC members in 2003 after our 1st family trip when we stayed at the VWL; we visited Home at the BCV for the 1st time this past November; and we have celebrated both girls’ birthdays on each trip. MIL had joined us for the last two trips, but this time it would be just the 4 of us – quite unique for us as we have never vacationed without family or friends since the girls have been born! We are using up the last of our APs and do not expect to be back at WDW until sometime in 2007. This trip is slightly longer than November’s and we’ll be trying some restaurants and a tour as well, so we’re very excited!

Tuesday, May 24, 2005
This will be our 2nd time flying down to MCO. The girls both have school and DH will be coming home early from work. We have a van scheduled to pick us up at 3:15pm to take us to Newark Liberty Airport for our 5:45pm flight. Our driver is 15 minutes early which is great for us as we’re all ready and excited to start our adventure. He is a comedian and keeps us entertained during the whole ride. We check-in at curbside and now, one heavy bag lighter, we maneuver over to our gate. The girls and I are hungry so we go in search of hot dogs – they’ve changed the set-up here since last November – unless we’re just in a different area; no McD’s – but we find decent hot dogs and a chicken sandwich for me. We get some drinks and meet DH back at the gate. We board on time, little wait at the runway but soon we’re up and flying. A bit of turbulence here and there. It had been very rainy lately so we fly above the clouds and DD7 says it looks like there’s a cotton candy world below us. I had bought new coloring books and sticker booklets which kept them both entertained. We got small sandwiches, carrots and little Twix bars on the plane. Amazingly, DD7 decided that she liked the baby carrots (this is truly a great thing as she hasn’t had a carrot in a LONG time!). Her reward was both of the little Twix bars. DD4 who had eaten her entire HUGE hot dog at the airport wasn’t interested in her snack and kept coloring. She colored so hard that she was fully of colorful crayon “crumbs”!

As we started to descend, DD4’s ears started to bother her (just like her mommy! ) but luckily, she fell asleep during landing so it didn’t seem to bother her much. Of course this meant that I would have to carry her plus my two carry-on bags and hold onto DD7’s hand while DH got to carry the other two heavier bags. But DD woke up and walked off the plane with us! Such a trooper! We took the airport train-thing that chutes you over to the baggage claim area. As we came down the escalator, I noticed two things: 1) a man holding a sign with our name - our Quicksilver driver – hooray!!! And 2) a lady waving at everyone with a HUGE Mickey hand!! LOL I could only guess that she was from their Magical Express service. There was a huge crowd standing behind her, not a happy looking crowd either, but then again, I just glanced in curiosity as I was passing by.

We walked over to the baggage claim carousel and waited quite a while for our bag to come out. Our driver, whose name I didn’t catch, was very pleasant and made small talk with DH. As we had some time, we called my sister and MIL to let them know we landed safely and to let DD4 chat with them each a bit! Finally, bag in hand (well, DH’s hand), we waited for our driver to bring our “van” around – hmm...a Cadillac Escalade! Nice! There were two benches behind the driver’s seat so it was roomy. Sadly, no DVD player here – DD7 was a bit disappointed in that. I was disappointed to find the car seats I requested were still in the trunk rather than in place as they were for our Nov trip. And I’m almost ashamed to admit this after all the worries I had last trip, but DH looked at me and we both nodded and just strapped the kids in between us. I know-I know, not the wisest thing to do – but we were tired and just wanted to get to the hotel instead of wrestling with the car seats *hanging head in shame*

We kept busy by reading all the road signs leading us to Disney World. And we all cried out as we passed through the WDW Resort archway! Hooray! We kept our eyes pealed for the sight of Spaceship Earth – DD7 and I spotted it together! And very soon we were passing through the gates of the WL!! It had been 2 years since we were last here but it still felt like home to us! Our driver confirmed our pickup time and as I’d already paid for the trip and gratuity via credit card before we left home, he wished us well.

DH checked all our bags except our backpacks with the Bell Captain. We walked through the lobby full of new “ooh’s” and “aah’s”! There was one other family at the Front Desk, but there were 2 Cast Members so no waiting for us. Sterrie took care of us and he and Jim were a great team, playing off each other with quips and jokes. He welcomed us home and asked if we’d ever been at the WL before. Once we said yes, he said he could then skip a lot of the welcome info spiel which was fine with us. He was very friendly with a dry sense of humor. He asked the girls if they were excited to be here and if they wanted a few Mickey stickers, then he pulled out a big strip for each of them which they thought was very cool!

Before we left the Desk, I remembered to ask about the availability for being a Flag Family – he checked the book and although each day that we were there, it was already booked by another family, he entered us onto the wait list. We weren’t chosen in the end , but that was okay as we’ll see later on. We then headed over to the Villas at the WL to Room #4530. As we got to the 4th floor, it was interesting to be able to look down into the Villas Lobby – you can’t do this from the 5th floor (where we stayed last time). You can see all the exposed beams and it’s really neat! Although this room was pretty much an exact replica of our last 1 bedroom at VWL, the balcony was slightly different. Last time, I remembered being disappointed that the railing was blocked out so you couldn’t see a thing if you were sitting down and it was high too, so you really had to look on your tippy-toes to see over it (not that the view was anything out of the ordinary LOL). This 4th floor room had a nice slatted railing so you could see your view through it – again, nothing spectacular like the pool or Bay Lake (I don’t think any of the villas overlook Bay Lake) but a lovely wooded area with the occasional bus passing through in the distance LOL

DH was hungry and I wanted to visit the Mercantile for some necessities: milk, autograph books and pens! LOL Our luggage, however, was taking its time to get to us. We waited about a half hour with the kids watching TV when DH finally called downstairs. A few minutes later, he met the bell attendant at the door and we were off to explore. Yes, it was close to 10pm but we were all wide awake from excitement! We made our way to Roaring Forks Snacks (for the next few days, I would involuntarily re-name this place with variations on its rightful name, my favorite being "Roaring Snorks"; I just couldn’t remember the right name! LOL ) DH got a hot dog and fries; the girls and I got chocolate milks and we picked up a bag of Cheetos and microwave popcorn for snacking later on in the trip.

While Dh waited on his meal, I walked to the Mercantile. Oh, wow!! I could lose my head in here!! As I made my way to the milk and the display of autograph books/pens, I took the long way around hats, shirts, mugs, scrapbooks, keychains – you get the idea! LOL It’s amazing that I was able to show any restraint but I did! I almost bought the girls each a pre-packaged Happiest Celebration Princess autograph book and pen set but it was also a photo album and it was a bit larger than the regular book (also a few dollars more but that wasn’t the reason I put it down – I figured we’d want more blank pages for autographs versus less pages and more plastic pages for pics). Despite the time of night, the place was jumping!

As I walked back to Roaring Snorks I ran into my family. We headed back to the room. DH and DD7 promptly fell asleep while I repacked my backpack and made sure that I had everything ready for our first day at MK. Poor DD4 was too excited to fall asleep. She fell asleep very late and was, not surprisingly, cranky in the morning.

NEXT: Family Magic Tour and Can We Stay Awake for the evening EMH at MK?

and I promise there will be pictures from here onward!!

[TinkerBelz]

Yea, a new trip report and one at VWL. Exciting for me as we'll be staying at WL in November. Excited to read more and see pictures!

[LizardCop]

Great Start Val!!!

[LSUtigerfan]

Can't wait for more! Your dd's sound cute....the comment about the cotton candy world reminds me of my oldest dd! And I can totally relate to the crayon crumbs! Ugh....they make such a huge mess! Gotta love those Twistables...no crumbs
Thanks for sharing!

[Becky2005]

Yeah!!! Pictures!!!

[Annabel]

[ QUOTE ]
my favorite being "Roaring Snorks"

[/ QUOTE ]
I like it Great start, look forward to reading more - and seeing some photos

[Goofy'sGal]

NEXT: Family Magic Tour and Can We Stay Awake for the evening EMH at MK?
Wednesday, May 25, 2005

DH woke up early as usual, followed by me than DD7 and DD4, all before Mickey and Stitch had a chance to call us. At least we were all able to hear Stitch’s “No Sleeping!” LOL DD4’s allergies were bothering her, her eyes in particular and it was tough getting her ready for our 1st big day. But soon they're both dressed and smiling!

"dressed and ready to go!"

As I handed them chocolate milk and the poptarts I’d brought from home, I realized that I didn’t bring (or buy) anything for DH for breakfast!! I’d bought a small box of Kashi cereal to last me a few mornings, but I totally forgot about him He didn’t mind but I felt horrible! Oh, and he handed me an envelope that had been slipped under our door – it was a Magical Moments Certificate honoring our 10th Anniversary from Frank of DVC Member Services. We had celebrated our anniversary last month and I mentioned this to DVC when I confirmed our ressie – what a nice surprise (thanks for the tip, Wendy!!)

We then grabbed our backpacks, tix, room keys and everything but the kitchen sink and headed out to find the boat dock.

"ah! the Wilderness Lodge!"

DH is like a homing pigeon – if he’s been some place once, he will remember exactly how to get there again and he doesn’t fail us at all. Now this is the first time that we haven’t had to rush to the MK – we don’t have a PS in Cindi’s Castle and it’s not an early EMH day. So last night I had asked Sterrie what time the earliest boat leaves for MK’s opening and he told us the earliest boat would leave at 8:30am – hmmm….sounded pretty late to us but still we head out for an 8:30am boat. When I see the crowd waiting for the boat, I immediately regret not getting there earlier. We enjoy our ride over to the MK and now there’s an even larger crowd waiting to get inside! I’m the only one who needs to have her bags checked but it goes quickly. And amazingly, we’re still there in time for the arrival of the WDW RR and the Countdown! DH immediately heads right for the Stroller pickup and pays for the Stroller Express for the rest of our trip and we wait in front of the WDW RR Station for him to return. I know he’s going to be a while so we look around. We see lots of Main Street vehicles which hadn’t been around much on our last two trips.

"trolley horse sporting a Hidden Mickey!"

We spot Mickey and Minnie arriving to sign autographs but the girls are not ready for that yet LOL I then figure I’ve got enough time to walk upstairs to get that wonderful shot of Main Street with the Castle all the way at the end, so I take the girls upstairs. The last time we rode the RR, the view from up here was beautiful – I don’t know if it is the HUGE crowd moving down Main Street or I feel rushed thinking we’ll miss DH downstairs, but my pictures just don’t come out the way I imagined they would.

"wish this picture was sharper "

It doesn’t help that I spot My Guy downstairs and DD7 yells, “Daddy?” No, DH isn’t there yet, but Goofy walks underneath us, right by where we were standing As we head downstairs, I ask them if they’d like to meet Goofy since he’s standing just a bit to our left. DD4 is very excited but DD7 is feeling shy but she changes her mind as we line up. So their first meeting of this trip is the Goofster!

"Goofy and the girls"

As soon as we’re done, we spy DH making a beeline over to us with a double stroller. We head over to Fantasyland and I almost suggest flagging down a Photopass photographer to get our family picture in front of the Castle but then I remember that we’ll be back here on Friday for early EMH which would make for a nicer emptier Main Street. The Castle is absolutely beautiful but the park is crowded with everyone stopping to take pics and all.

"happiest celebration!

We are supposed to meet our Family Magic Tour group at 9:45am near City Hall so we have time for just a few rides. What should the first ride be? It’s A Small World gets the family vote (sorry DH!) - there is no line and we walk right on with me trying to video the new entrance and queue area…beautiful! The clock is so cute! I decide to video the whole ride b/c I was so bummed I didn’t do it in ’03 and of course, it had been closed for our ’04 trip. The girls enjoy the ride immensely and now it’s off to Cindi’s Carrousel. Hardly a wait here; DH stays behind to take our pics and I end up standing as someone takes the empty horse to the left of the girls’ DD7 keeps telling me to get off too so they can wave to me but I’m not going anywhere - ride or no ride! LOL

"riding the Carrousel"

After making a restroom stop, we head towards the Tour Gardens near City Hall. DH & I have our photo ID ready but the CM does not ask to see it. Our cool (and very big!) Peter Pan name tags are waiting for us! There’s also coffee (and maybe water?) if we’d like. We head outside to the gardens and take pics there as we await the arrival of our Tour Guide.

"being silly" and "waiting with Dad"

"...and now Mom"

The Garden is filling up with other families – so much for thinking that no one else knows about these tours LOL Abby, our Tour Guide, shows up promptly at 10am and makes her way around to each family to get to know us all (especially the kids) a little better. She’s very nice and really takes her time with each family. For those of you who do NOT want to know any of the nitty-gritty details of the tour, I can tell you it was a lot of fun to do. Both girls got a real kick out of it as it was definitely more of a treasure hunt than a tour. It doesn’t make a difference whether or not the kids can read; each child was given a turn at holding various items and/or holding Abby’s hands.

"reading the map" and "holding Abby's hand on a Treasure Hunt"

I will say that it helps if your child is out of the stroller as he/she will miss out on a lot of fun. I had also read that you should encourage your children to participate and speak up – as DD7 can be on the shy side, I told her that if she wanted to help with the map or whatever, she should participate like she does in class. I was very proud of both of them! There is also a lot of walking involved and my 4-1/2 yr old was pooped near the end, taking a seat on her daddy’s shoulders so be forewarned. But it was very magical and we all felt very special to be involved – lots of surprises and laughs too!

Now, for the DETAILS if you’re interested - SPOILER ALERT!!!! LOL

Abby asked if anyone knew what the tour was about – we all kept quiet and the kids really weren’t sure (although mine knew it was some type of treasure hunt). So Abby explained that since the new CM name tags no longer listed where each person was from, our job was to go around to each CM and find out, helping spread a little pixie dust to them. All of a sudden, Abby gets a page from “MM” saying there’s an emergency. She calls Mickey and finds out that Peter Pan played a prank on Capt. Hook and stole his hook. If it’s not returned in 2 hours, CH will shut down the park and turn it into a villain’s park! Abby says the tour is off as she has to find some brave people to help her find the hook. We all say that we’re brave and volunteer to help her out. To start off, Abby says we have to look for 3 things that are hidden within the gardens that will help us on our hunt. Someone finds a purple bag filled with pixie dust and other items, another finds a small purse filled with coins, and DH helps DD7 find a huge rolled up treasure map! Someone had parked their stroller in the garden and the map was in the bushes next to it – no wonder it was hard to find! LOL We all got a handful of pixie dust (adults included) that we tossed on ourselves so that we could all turn into 12 year olds, some of us a little older and a lot of us a “little” a bit younger than we were before! We had to shout “pixie dust”, which was DD4’s suggestion! LOL

I didn’t keep notes of all the clues so I’ll just give you a taste of what we did. Abby would ask someone (first the older kids, later the parents) to read a clue; she would ask the kids for ideas on what they thought it meant and then would steer them in the right direction – all the time being very upbeat, enthusiastic, respectful of everyone’s abilities, and full of the Disney spirit. The kids took turns holding the purse, bag (DD7) and map and DD4 was very happy when she got to hold Abby’s hand! We visited the Partners Statue and had to act like our favorite character, we looked for a Hidden Mickey near the Timekeeper, we rode the TTA in search of a “large granite ball” – that was fun as the kids rode in their own car with Abby – there go my babies, riding away from me, but safe in the arms of a Disney CM! LOL We snuck into Cosmic Ray’s and scared shy Sunny Eclipse. We played followed the leader, with each child picking a token out of that special bag that would tell us what animal we should imitate. We visited Cinderella’s wishing well (which I’d never seen before!) called for Tink to come out of the Liberty Tree in Liberty Square.

"view from Cindi's wishing well" and "looking for Tink in the Liberty Tree"

And the kids got wet by some spitting Tikis in Adventureland as well LOL We were led to a special roped off section that said it was only for those who truly believe; once Abby was convinced that we were truly believers, she let us in and we all looked around for the hook. Nothing! Within a few minutes, the hook came to us – delivered by none other than Peter Pan and Wendy!

They reenacted how they swiped the hook from Hook using their CM handler as a stand-in for the famous pirate. They “rewarded” the group by signing autographs and posing for individual family pictures

"our reward!"

But they felt that we needed an extra reward and as Peter’s ride was all torn up by an angry Capt Hook (read: rehab LOL), we headed over to IASW (much to DH’s delight – NOT! LOL), marching, swimming, flying, and chanting: “I don’t know but I’ve been told...Captain Hook is smelly and old!” LOL Then Wendy informed us that they don’t like to wait in line b/c it’s boring so we got to go into IASW through the exit (which was a good thing b/c where there was no line at 9am, there was a MAJOR line now!) The kids rode up front with Peter and Wendy and it just worked out so that each of my girls was on either side of Wendy (sadly no pic of that
) who, btw, was an excellent tour guide herself, telling us all kinds of trivia and tidbits throughout the ride. Finally, they handed out Magical Moment Certificates to each family along with hugs! What a great time! Totally worth the price (which by the way was discounted as we are DVC members).

END OF SPOILER LOL

It’s after 12pm and DH has not eaten a thing! I figured we’d head back to the WL for lunch and a swim, but DH and the girls are happy to stay in the park. So he heads down Main Street to retrieve the stroller and pick up some lunch at Casey’s and I stop by the ice cream cart near the Castle and pick up Mickey Bars for the girls. We find a bench near the pathway to Liberty Square and the girls’ try their best to make some headway into their bars before they start to melt. Mommy comes to the rescue with wipes (oh, and well, by finishing at least DD4’s! DD7 just likes the chocolate coating so hers was way too messy to finish off too! LOL).

"Mickey Bars!" and "studying how best to attack the Mickey Bar!"

"eating the Mickey Bar before it melts!!"

DH meets up with us, carrying drinks, hot dogs and corn dogs which DD4 polishes off. We’re now ready for a few rides before we break and DD7 has fallen in love with the TTA! Go figure! All she’s been talking about for the last 6 months has been BTMRR and Buzz but she can’t wait to ride the TTA again LOL She likes the dark part through Space Mtn and we all enjoy this cool relaxing ride. The line at Buzz is way too long so we decide to go swimming.

"first day continued in the next post!"

[LSUtigerfan]

Great update! The family tour sounds like a lot of fun! My dd's would love to do something like that.

We also love the TTA, it is so relaxing, let's hope they keep it around forever!

Your dd's sound a lot like mine...especially your dd7 not liking to get her face wet...my dd7 is the same way, it drives me NUTS!!!

Can't wait to hear more

[Goofy'sGal]

Continuation of A Little Family Magic - First Day

We take the boat back to VWL and I’m very happy to hear DD7 exclaiming over a basket that has been delivered to our room. She can’t wait to open it but I tell her that it’s for Daddy! I had ordered a basket from WDW Florist as a kind of anniversary gift for DH – it wasn’t your traditional romantic basket. Since I knew this wasn’t a “romantic” trip, I ordered the snack gift basket. It seemed more appropriate for a family It came in a cool (no pun intended! LOL) Mickey insulated bag and included sodas, chips, pretzels, cookies and candy bars! Yum!

In no time flat, we’re dressed and in the Villas quiet pool. It is beautiful here! The girls have so much fun; I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get them to come out. DD4 (who takes swimming lessons) is a mermaid and DD7 (who likes to swim w/o getting her face wet) is getting braver and makes a friend too! Finally, we lure them out of the pool, get showered and dressed and we’re back on the boat to MK. I didn’t mark the time but we probably got there about 6pm. Tonight the park closes at 11pm and it is also evening EMH til 2am! Will we be able to keep going? Doubtful but we’re grateful for the late hours just the same!

We look to DD7 to decide what our first ride should be…I’m wondering if it will be Buzz Lightyear or perhaps Big Thunder? DD7 says that we should go to the Haunted Mansion to get it over and done with…huh?? LOL We rode this in ’03 and although both girls didn’t know what to make of it, they were real troopers – no crying or carrying on. Since then they’ve watched the DL Singalong Songs which highlights the HM and so they are both very familiar with the song. Yet, until today, neither has expressed any real interest in riding this but that’s where we’re headed! LOL Last time, DD4 was only 2-1/2 so I give her an idea of what to expect and tell her that Mickey Magic makes a lot of silly things happen so she shouldn’t be frightened. There is not much of a line and DD7 and I try to look for the wedding ring (we never found it b/c I couldn’t remember if it was on the way in or out LOL but I thought it was cute that she remembered to try to find it!) You’ve got to love the CMs that work this attraction. I was toying with the idea of asking him about the ring, when I realized that we were the end of the line. I gave him a big smile right before he bellowed: “Would you move your bodies away from my blood-stained walls please!” Maybe I’ll ask later LOL DH takes DD7 and I’ve got DD4. We don’t get very far with our Doom Buggies before some restless ghosts halt the ride. We’re right at the part where all the pictures are looking at you with their eyes. LOL We move just a bit further and we stop again! This time it’s for much longer and I’m not sure where this came from, but we heard a scream – I think it was a guest being funny b/c it sounded like a horror movie scream and I don’t remember hearing one in the ride before.

But it didn’t help passing the time away in our Buggy. We were stuck there so long and it was at the part when he tells you to listen to the sounds of the spirits (all that banging and creepy noises! LOL), I started to turn on my camera so that DD4 and I could look at the pics I’d taken just to pass the time and distract her. LOL But before my camera could power up, we were moving again. We did stop one more time near Madame Leota but that was the last time. Both girls were a bit freaked but didn’t cry or anything – DD4 just hung onto me really tight when the ghoulies would pop up behind the tombstones and when we rode backwards. We picked up our hitchhiking ghost, took a last look for the wedding ring on our way out and crossed this ride off DD’s list. I know a lot of people love this ride – I’m just not a big fan and I still don’t know why DD7 felt she had to get this one over with but it was done and we could move on.

We’re now off to Adventureland to fly on Aladdin’s Magic Carpets, but first we go by BTMRR – standby is 65 minutes. Fastpass please! There’s a bit of line for the Carpets but it moves pretty quickly. Have you noticed that there are pieces of jewelry, gemstones and pieces of pottery embedded in the queue’s walkway here? Very cool – thank you, DD7 for spotting these! It kept us entertained! We can see the Tiki Room from the queue but even though DD4 loves to sing this song, she declares she won’t ride it til she’s 5! Onto the carpets, I attempt to record our “flight” but DD7 keeps sending us up and down, dangerously close to that spitting camel and DH is helping DD4 steer our carpet back and forth, so my tape has a lot of screams, yelps and laughs from me! Where’s Aladdin when you need him?

"watch out they spit" and "the view from Aladdin's queue"

We’re hungry and we’ve got time til our FP so we mosey over to Pecos Bill for some grub. DH gets a BBQ sandwich, I get a cheeseburger, and I order a kids’ hot dog meal – but unfortunately, the hot dogs are mixed in with baked beans and neither kid wants to eat it. I did exchange my fries for carrots so DD7, my little rabbit, helps herself. Aside from the hot dog snafu, the food here was pretty good and there was a lot of seating available.

It’s time for BTMRR and I’d say our wait with our FP is about 15 mins – much better than the huge Standby line that we whiz by. Now we’ve ridden BTMRR quite a few times on the last trip but this was by far, the craziest, fastest run yet!! I’ve read that the tracks are much more slick later in the afternoon b/c of the sun – well, I don’t know if that’s why, but let me tell you, we were flying!! I clung to DD4 b/c I was convinced she was going to be air-borne (yes, I’m a little paranoid! LOL). Well, we hadn’t thought ahead to get FP for Splash and the line is just too long. We do need to get something else for the kids to eat so I find a pretzel cart.

As I wait on line, I realize that CMs are putting up the ropes for Spectro and we’re probably better off just claiming a spot and eating our snacks here as we wait for Spectro to pass by. We’re across from the CBJ and DH notices that the next show there is starting in a few minutes. He suggests that I take the girls to see it and he’ll keep our parade spot. DD4 is exhausted and I’m certain those bears are going to sing her to sleep but both girls find the show to be cute and entertaining. DD7 really gets a kick out of it and “claps her hands and stomps her feet”. As we exit, the sun has gone down, and this directionally-challenged mom is afraid that we won’t be able to find DH ever again!! But sure enough, there he is – and he’s got the stroller right behind the parade rope – what a good boy!

DD7 wants popcorn and we’re all thirsty so I send this poor man out into the sea of people to find the popcorn cart that we saw an hour ago. While he’s gone, Jiminy Cricket repeatedly announces that the parade will be starting in 10 minutes, 5 minutes, very soon – where’s DH??? Ah, here he comes! And here comes the start of Spectro!


"hooray! it's starting!"


Now we saw this parade in ’03 and I thought we had a pretty good spot on Main Street but I didn’t remember half of this parade – the clowns, the butterflies and dragonflies? Nope.

"musical clowns and a fuzzy dragonfly"

Or perhaps this view was so much better – Frontierland is a great spot for watching Spectro! There just didn’t seem to be the major crowds that you normally find on Main St or perhaps we hit it just right. Whatever the case, we finally were viewing a parade from the “front row”. DD4 was a bit tired and hung out in the stroller but DD7 was right up front, waving to everyone. I pick up DD4 so she can really watch it and I attempt to video it all. This really is a beautiful parade!


"Mickey" and "a peacock"

"Merrywether and Ariel"


"the Three Little Pigs" and "Dopey"

"A missing Chernabog and Capt Hook & the Evil Queen"

Chernabog (the big devil guy from Fantasia) does not open his wings – (we notice this b/c he’s not one of my favorite villains and DD7 always points him out to me! LOL). As the Villains’ floats go by, the Queen of Hearts walks over to DD7 and pats her on the head! Later DD7 tells me that she probably came over to her b/c she was waving to them all – she didn’t want to get them mad at her!! LOL At the very end of the parade, Pluto makes his way over very close to DD7 which makes her and DD4 very excited!

The parade ends and we walk against the crowds towards Fantasyland when we realize that Wishes will start soon (I swear, Disney info that I eat, breathe and sleep while we’re home just flies out of my head when we get there – of course, Wishes will follow Spectro!) Time to figure out where our viewing spot will end up. We walk through Liberty Square towards the Castle and we find a spot to park ourselves to the left of the Castle, near the Partners Statue but on the sidewalk. We have a great view of the Castle as it changes colors and we can see where Tink’s “path” will be.


"waiting for Wishes....note the tree! LOL"

The girls are a little chilly and I cover them up with my thin rain jacket. But once the fireworks we notice something that we hadn’t before – a HUGE tree right where the fireworks are!! The whole crowd expresses exactly what we’re all thinking – “Oh, well!” LOL I tape them anyway. We can see them but I know we’re not seeing all the effects and shapes. Yet it is still a beautiful show and I’m very close to tearing up (perhaps if the tree wasn’t there I would have needed a Kleenex LOL). And we do get to see Tink fly! The fireworks start first before she flies so I thought perhaps she wasn’t going to come out but we were all happily surprised! The girls enjoyed that more than the actual fireworks! LOL

"a fuzzy Tinkerbell"

Well, the park is scheduled to close at 11pm; it’s about 10:30pm and we don’t have wristbands yet and we’re still not sure if we’re going to stick around. DD4 is almost asleep but DD7 says she really wants to ride Buzz. So we head over to Tomorrowland and the Castle is a lovely color and they are playing “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes” and I’m just so in love with being there, despite how tired I am and the great masses of people all around me. This little walk is magical!

"A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes..."

As we arrive near Buzz, I find DD4 fast asleep! LOL

"too pooped to party"


We see the very long line at the Timekeeper for wristbands and decide that DH and DD7 should ride Buzz and we’ll call it a night. They have a blast while I people watch. DD7 gets her second wind but even she agrees that we should go home and get our beauty sleep as tomorrow is our Princess Storybook Breakfast. Main Street is still packed as the crowd awaits the second showing of Spectro. We head over to the boat dock and make it onto the second launch – two arrived together so the wait is minimal. DD4 stays asleep and the rest of the crew snuggles in while I prepare our stuff for tomorrow!

NEXT: Oops! No French Toast! And Mickey’s Our Hero!

[Tara O'Hara]

Wow! What a wonderful time you guys are having!! Your girls are adorable!!

[Goofy'sGal]

Thanks to everyone for all the nice comments!

[DawnDenise]

What a wonderful TR so far!! Your girls are adorable! Looking forward to reading more!!

[Becky2005]

Love the pictures! Nice to put a face with the name!

I adore the pictures of your DD's with the Mickey Bars! Those are great!!!!

[Goofy'sGal]

NEXT: Oops! No French Toast! And Mickey’s Our Hero!

Thursday, May 26, 2005
I can hear a bit of music right before Stitch and Mickey wake us up at 6:30am. It’s DD7’s turn to be lazy this morning but we all finally get dressed, the girls in their princess finery (DD7 as Aurora; DD4 as Cinderella).

"the Princesses Two"

We get to the WL bus stop at 7:20am and watch every other park bus arrive but Epcot’s. I finally check with CM Barry who assures me that we will make our 8:30am PS in Norway and that the first Epcot bus should arrive between 7:30am and 7:40am. Sure enough, the bus arrives, makes a stop at Ft Wilderness first and then finally on to Epcot.

We pass through the Priority Seating entrance without a problem. DH picks up a stroller quickly (thanks to the Stroller Express) and he takes off! Now if you tell my DH that you have to be somewhere by a certain time, he will just fly, even on foot. And that’s what he does now! I’m huffing and puffing and my legs are starting to cramp but I keep up with him! LOL All the while, I’m ooh’ing and ahh’ing over the various topiaries that are all over b/c it is the Flower & Garden Festival! But there’ll be time for pics later. We’ve got a hot date! We arrive at Norway and I check in at the podium – it is 8:27am!!! Good thing DH’s feet fly the way they do!!! I think that bus from the WL needs to run a bit earlier to get their guests to their PS on time. I remember reading in Chezp’s trip report about how they were often running late (literally running if I remember! LOL) for almost every PS. Well, we kept up the tradition LOL I don’t think we ever checked in for a PS at the recommended 15 minutes prior to PS time for any of ours on this trip! *hanging head in shame*


The street outside the restaurant is chock full of families with little princesses abounding in frilly dresses and sporting tiaras of every shape and color, so we blend in nicely LOL

"waiting for our royal family to be summoned" and "Restaurant Akershus"

Promptly at 8:30am the CM begins calling the royal families to their tables. Many people are called before us (obviously as we had just checked in) but there’s room for us all. This restaurant is really pretty and very quaint. We had a table near the windows close by the entrance – I loved the old-timey chunky glass windows! Now DD7 is a picky eater but at the Castle breakfast she’s always been happy to eat the French Toast there. Here I’d read about the yummy cinnamon buns which she loves so I wasn’t too worried but she kept talking about French toast and I just wasn’t sure if they’d have that too (after all, we’re in Norway, not France LOL). Well, there’s a plate of buns at the table and they are certainly yummy but they have caramel icing instead of cinnamon. They are out of this world but DD7 is not even going to sniff one! *sigh*

Now I had stupidly said something in front of the whole family before our trip about DD7 trying a new food every week or every other day. DH thought it was a great idea but he said it should be every day. She doesn’t have to eat the whole thing (whatever it is) but just taste it. So even here in Disney we’ve been giving her a bite of this or that – Mickey would be proud of her as her bites are most definitely mouse-sized. So DH tries to get DD7 to try the caramel bun, no. How about some fruit? No. Here comes the skillet – scrambled eggs, cheesy potatoes, sausage, bacon (which was all very yummy, btw) – No. DD4, on the other hand, polishes off a bun and is working on her second plus a side of bacon and some OJ

But back to DD7. With every bite that she turns down, she keeps saying to me, “you said there would be French toast!” It’s all my fault! Dh is getting annoyed that she’s not trying anything and DD7 looks like she wants to cry. Meanwhile, Belle and Jasmine are making their way towards our table – I don’t want them to get here with DD7 in tears! Thankfully, our wonderful server Marianne arrives with chocolate milk and then I spy biscuits in the pan – she eats biscuits! She takes a bite and tells me that it doesn’t taste good – I whisper back that if she’d eat this biscuit, Daddy will leave her alone. She eats her biscuit!! Hooray. But if she’s normally shy around some characters (and people in general), she’s in super-shy mode now b/c of being so close to tears. *sigh*

Our first princess is Belle and I have to say she was sort of on auto-pilot. Now I know that the characters will “feel out” the kids – if they’re shy, they won’t push them – most will just make an attempt at conversation, sign the book, pose and then move on. DD7 doesn’t usually talk any of the characters; she might answer a question but usually with a nod or shake of her head. DD4, on the other hand, will talk with anyone, anywhere. LOL I’ve started giving her things to talk about (ask about Dopey or Prince Eric) but she’s very good on her own too! LOL Well, Belle took one look at DD7 and I guess decided that she should make this as painless as possible. She went into a really fast spiel, I think about hoping we enjoyed the breakfast b/c the Beast helped to prepare it – I say “I think” b/c she spoke so fast and was gone in a flash that it’s hard to recall. She was smiling all the while, but made no eye contact – it was a bit too phony and she looked uncomfortable too. Don’t get me wrong. She signed their books and posed for a picture and the girls probably didn’t think anything was wrong with her, but I was disappointed. If she’d only asked DD4 (who was sitting there in awe LOL) a question, she would have had a nice conversation with at least one of the girls. We’ve always had a nice experience with Belle (in the Castle and in France); she’s always been the more down-to-earth princess so this was a bit disappointing (the Human Resources side of me wondered if she were a new CM and not used to drawing the shy kids out?)

"Belle" and "Jasmine"

Next up was Princess Jasmine and she more than made up for it. DD7 had drawn a picture of her too so Jasmine was thrilled with the picture! She commented that DD7 had drawn her in her “engagement outfit” (as it was purple) and said that she couldn’t wait to show it to Aladdin DD4 asked where Aladdin and Genie were and she said that they were going to join her later in the day. I thought she was super nice and very warm. I thought that DH would go ga-ga over her but right now his heart belongs to Pocahontas LOL

Snow White followed her and made a fuss over the girls’ outfits. DD4 told her how old she was and they had a nice conversation. Snow was very nice and very comfortable with the girls, just what you’d expect from a princess! Mary Poppins was next, speaking very hurriedly too but you kind of expect that from her, you know? LOL She was talking about penguins and what silly creatures they are and how they like to dance

"Snow White" and "Mary Poppins"
Aurora was our last visitor and she was also wonderful. She loved DD7’s dress and asked if DD7’s fairies had made it for her too. LOL She also asked if DD7 knew how to curtsy. She got big hugs from the girls.

"Aurora"

I witnessed something at this breakfast that I thought was so special so for those of you with princesses that have older/younger brothers: a family seated nearby had a little Aurora along with an older brother. While Princess Aurora visited them, I noticed that she was speaking to the boy. He had either a play sword or perhaps even a Star Wars light saber (not too sure). Well, I don't know if the parents asked Aurora or if she thought of it herself, but she knighted the son!!! She had him kneel in front of her and she used his sword/light saber to knight him!! I thought that was just such a special way to include boys in such a girly-girl character meal. So, if you've got a knight-to-be in your party, I would ask one of the princesses if they would do him the honor (I would imagine they'd play right along as Aurora did b/c I'm 90% sure the parents asked her). And if he doesn't have his own sword, I'm sure she could use a sister's princess wand as a substitute!

Having seen all the princesses and finished as much of our yummy breakfast that we could, we said good-bye to our excellent server and I did a quick change of the girls’ clothes in the bathroom. We head towards Future World, with me reminding DH to literally stop and smell the roses along the way or at least take a few pictures of them , which we do!


"the Stave Church" and "Happiest Celebration sign for Soarin'"

Everything looks lovely – we see topiaries of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Stitch; Belle and the Beast and various characters from their show and the lovely revolving Tinker Bell topiary.


"Lion King characters" and "Timon"

"Beauty and the Beast" and "Lumiere"

"hidden Mickeys" and "Tink"

"Flower and Garden Festival" and "Stitch"

We also see the Goofy frame and take a few pics here as well.

"Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs" and "Goofy's Gals, can you see DD4?"

More in the Next Post

[TroianRae]

Thanks for the update!! More, please!!