Read more below!
(sorry had to do this to correct a posting problem I had earlier!)
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Celebrating 10 Years!
Corey and I will celebrate 10 years of being together this December! This isn't our "wedding" anniversary, but it was when it all started and the day we prefer to celebrate anyway because of the time of year! ha ha!
So...how better to celebrate 10 years together than with a long weekend at...where else?!
CHRISTMAS AT DISNEY WORLD! It should be a tradition for us!
We booked our trip just last week because December fills up pretty quickly and I wanted to have it done for sure so we would make ourselves start saving! ha ha! I decided to go through a travel agency (The Magic for Less) from one of my yahoo groups. It is a big agency with tons of good references and it doesn't cost me anything to use them. They get their $ from Disney I think. Anyway, they will take care of everything for me, even our dining reservations...THEY can be the ones sitting on hold making the reservations!!!!
This will be a trip just for us, no kids this time. I actually won a pass to Universal Studios in a contest so we will be doing that one day as well. I am excited to be counting down to another trip! We decided to stay at Coronado Springs Resort. It was a tough choice, but we wanted to say in one of the moderate resorts to have a bit bigger and "nicer" room. We originally were going to stay at the Port Orleans Riverside Resort, but I found out in the process of researching dates that it is the week of the Pop Warner Football and Cheerleading Championships, so that means there will be big school groups there and where do they stay? Value Resorts OR Port Orleans Riverside!!! Thank goodness we found that out. Apparently they like to get up really early and practice their routines outside very loudly! UGH!!!!! Do NOT want to be in a hotel with a bunch of highschoolers running around at all hours!
So...this made us look at Coronado Springs, which I am excited about. They are actually in the process of remodeling the rooms and will be done by December. You can see photos of the room makeovers HERE. (left side of page has photos listed) Also, HERE is a link to the Disney website about the resort.
I am excited to finally do the "on-site" experience. We are also planning to do the dining plan. If you know us, you know we love to eat out, so this will be really fun for us to get to try all kinds of the great restaurants around the parks and resorts.
The date is set for two weekends before Christmas. We also plan to do the Candlelight Processional at Epcot and to see the Osborne Dancing Lights at Hollywood Studios. If time and $ permit, I would also love to do the Christmas party, but I did that last year so it's not a huge priority.
I honestly do not feel the least bit sorry about going to Disney without my kids. That's usually the first thing that people say when I tell them about us planning a trip....that the kids will be sad or upset. I can assure you, they will be getting PLENTY of spoiling while we are gone, and they have gone the past two years...so...they will be fine. They won't care a bit, and we have promised them the beach for next year and they are just as excited about that as they were about Disney.
So, between now and then I will be updating occasionally about our plans. I also get to help Bethany talk and be excited about going with her family in September! How fun!
So...how better to celebrate 10 years together than with a long weekend at...where else?!
CHRISTMAS AT DISNEY WORLD! It should be a tradition for us!
We booked our trip just last week because December fills up pretty quickly and I wanted to have it done for sure so we would make ourselves start saving! ha ha! I decided to go through a travel agency (The Magic for Less) from one of my yahoo groups. It is a big agency with tons of good references and it doesn't cost me anything to use them. They get their $ from Disney I think. Anyway, they will take care of everything for me, even our dining reservations...THEY can be the ones sitting on hold making the reservations!!!!
This will be a trip just for us, no kids this time. I actually won a pass to Universal Studios in a contest so we will be doing that one day as well. I am excited to be counting down to another trip! We decided to stay at Coronado Springs Resort. It was a tough choice, but we wanted to say in one of the moderate resorts to have a bit bigger and "nicer" room. We originally were going to stay at the Port Orleans Riverside Resort, but I found out in the process of researching dates that it is the week of the Pop Warner Football and Cheerleading Championships, so that means there will be big school groups there and where do they stay? Value Resorts OR Port Orleans Riverside!!! Thank goodness we found that out. Apparently they like to get up really early and practice their routines outside very loudly! UGH!!!!! Do NOT want to be in a hotel with a bunch of highschoolers running around at all hours!
So...this made us look at Coronado Springs, which I am excited about. They are actually in the process of remodeling the rooms and will be done by December. You can see photos of the room makeovers HERE. (left side of page has photos listed) Also, HERE is a link to the Disney website about the resort.
I am excited to finally do the "on-site" experience. We are also planning to do the dining plan. If you know us, you know we love to eat out, so this will be really fun for us to get to try all kinds of the great restaurants around the parks and resorts.
The date is set for two weekends before Christmas. We also plan to do the Candlelight Processional at Epcot and to see the Osborne Dancing Lights at Hollywood Studios. If time and $ permit, I would also love to do the Christmas party, but I did that last year so it's not a huge priority.
I honestly do not feel the least bit sorry about going to Disney without my kids. That's usually the first thing that people say when I tell them about us planning a trip....that the kids will be sad or upset. I can assure you, they will be getting PLENTY of spoiling while we are gone, and they have gone the past two years...so...they will be fine. They won't care a bit, and we have promised them the beach for next year and they are just as excited about that as they were about Disney.
So, between now and then I will be updating occasionally about our plans. I also get to help Bethany talk and be excited about going with her family in September! How fun!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Photopass Pictures!
Our Photopass CD came in the mail today! YAY! That was FAST!!!! Here are *some* of the 400 photos from our trip! I am making this slideshow big so you can see the photos well...sorry it will make the blog look bad, oh well. I have about 3 different versions of each photo, so I mixed it up with putting in ones with borders, black and white, etc. Oh, one more thing...yes there are more photos of Katie than Noah in this, but all the time she was getting these photos taken he was riding rides with Corey...so you make your choices! ha ha!
For those of you who do not know what in the world I am talking about:
When you visit any Walt Disney World Park, there are photographers walking around offering to take your photo. They are all over the parks, especially in front of the big icons like the castle, Mickey hat, etc. They are even in different locations "around" those things for getting different points of view. They will also be with many of the characters you can meet and get autographs from, etc. Mainly just the "big" ones like Mickey, princesses, and people like that. They had a photographer at the Jedi training as well as in the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.
Well, these photos are for sale, of course, for a ridiculously overpriced amount, like $12.95 for a 4x6 or something. They can add borders, you know, do the "tourist" photo thing.
OR you can purchase ALL the photos from your entire trip on a CD for $99 (pre-order price, non-preorder is $125). This may seem like a steep price, but it is WAY cheaper than buying them individually. You can get as many photos as you want on the CD for the same price. The photopass studio people told us of a family from the UK that came for two weeks and ended up with about 7000 photos on 9 CDs....same price...$99. So it can be as good of a deal as you want it to be. You do still have to pay to get the prints at your own convenience, but then you own the photos and can do what you want with them, you have the copyright release for them.
We knew before our trip we were going to get the CD...it made things much easier. Their photographers start taking photos (most of the time) as soon as you enter a character greeting area so get some candids as well as posed shots. They can also do "trick" photos where they add in a character to the photo. Many times because of lighting and the lines moving it is difficult to get a really "GREAT" shot with your own personal camera. The photographers just give you a little "photopass card" that you carry around with you or you can get new ones every time, you can add as many as you want to your account before you order. You just have 30 days from the day they were taken to order your CD or prints or other various photo gifts.
When we got home I was able to add borders from their website to many of our photos and ended up with 400. Not as many as I had hoped, but they are still great. I did not include ALL of those on the slideshow, but I think it is a great thing to include as part of your vacation budget!
For those of you who do not know what in the world I am talking about:
When you visit any Walt Disney World Park, there are photographers walking around offering to take your photo. They are all over the parks, especially in front of the big icons like the castle, Mickey hat, etc. They are even in different locations "around" those things for getting different points of view. They will also be with many of the characters you can meet and get autographs from, etc. Mainly just the "big" ones like Mickey, princesses, and people like that. They had a photographer at the Jedi training as well as in the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.
Well, these photos are for sale, of course, for a ridiculously overpriced amount, like $12.95 for a 4x6 or something. They can add borders, you know, do the "tourist" photo thing.
OR you can purchase ALL the photos from your entire trip on a CD for $99 (pre-order price, non-preorder is $125). This may seem like a steep price, but it is WAY cheaper than buying them individually. You can get as many photos as you want on the CD for the same price. The photopass studio people told us of a family from the UK that came for two weeks and ended up with about 7000 photos on 9 CDs....same price...$99. So it can be as good of a deal as you want it to be. You do still have to pay to get the prints at your own convenience, but then you own the photos and can do what you want with them, you have the copyright release for them.
We knew before our trip we were going to get the CD...it made things much easier. Their photographers start taking photos (most of the time) as soon as you enter a character greeting area so get some candids as well as posed shots. They can also do "trick" photos where they add in a character to the photo. Many times because of lighting and the lines moving it is difficult to get a really "GREAT" shot with your own personal camera. The photographers just give you a little "photopass card" that you carry around with you or you can get new ones every time, you can add as many as you want to your account before you order. You just have 30 days from the day they were taken to order your CD or prints or other various photo gifts.
When we got home I was able to add borders from their website to many of our photos and ended up with 400. Not as many as I had hoped, but they are still great. I did not include ALL of those on the slideshow, but I think it is a great thing to include as part of your vacation budget!
Last Day: Magic Kingdom
We spent the entire day at Magic Kingdom. We arrived before the park opened and saw the opening ceremony which we had never seen before. Mickey, Daisy, Chip n Dale, and Stitch came in on the steam train waving at everyone. It was cute, but I really do not enjoy the masses of people trying to get through the doors! Ugh! Worth having a reservation before the park opens I think!
We made a beeline for Dumbo, because Katie did not do it the last day, and Corey and Noah went to the Speedway. Katie saw Ariel while Mama waited in line for Dumbo...the wait for Ariel was...3 minutes! yay! Then off to Toon Town to try and see those fairies!!! You wouldn't believe the huge crowd of people and almost every single one got in the fairy line as the area opened. Mickey was just standing there waving...no one headed to his house :( If Corey had been there I bet Noah would have had some fun one on done time with Mickey!
Pixie Hollow is beautiful! SO well done! The waiting hallway is decorated to look like a forest with sparkling little "fairies" as lights shooting down the branches occassionally. Then, inside the meeting area, it is made to look like you have been shrunk down to the size of a fairy, with giant flowers, leaves, and other various fairy knick knacks. Katie loved meeting Irridessa, Tinkerbell, and Fawn. We then were off to tour Minnie and Mickey's houses and then over to Fantasyland to hit up some things we missed before. We did the Winnie the Pooh, Mickey's Philharmagic again, It's a Small World, then took the train around to the front gate to head "home" for lunch and rest.
The crowds were really heavy today compared to the rest of the week. There was a 50 minute wait for Ariel before we left, 45 minute waits for Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh....it just seemed so much heavier than when we were here this time last year...I know this was heading into President's Day weekend and I heard several people say they had taken advantage of the buy 4/get 3 offer. The weather has been pretty warm as well. Into the low 80s during the day...not a drop of rain *which is nice* BUT we had paid for pool heat for our private pool in our rental and it has gotten too hot to even get in!!! ARGH! Last year when we came it was in the low 70s for highs. I guess I should have asked about cancelling the pool heat.
Anyway, we got back to the park around 5:30-6pm and started staking our place to watch the parade and fireworks. I wanted the tree spot in Liberty Square, but the renovations on the Hall of Presidents was really blocking the view of the castle, you couldn't really see it at all. So, we basically walked the route of the parade trying out different spots and evaluating the pros/cons. Corey LOVED this process..HA HA!!!! We ended up in a spot I had heard of before but didn't think of since we were trying to see the parade as well. We were on the Terrace of the Tomorrowland noodle restaurant. We weren't super close to the parade, but the view of the fireworks was just simply breathtaking. It could not have been more perfect so I will continue to stalk this location for every trip from now on!
About Spectromagic: This parade really didn't live up to the hype for me. Maybe it was completely because we weren't on the "sidelines" and didn't have a close-up view, but I thought it would be just totally amazing. Don't get me wrong, it was a "good" parade. The lights are cool, but maybe it is just something you have to experience up close. We could see pretty well from the terrace, esp where they crossed over the bridge, but...I don't know....I guess I could live without this one. I thought the part at the end was very good..the switching back and forth of colors. I have since heard from people in the online group, that you definitely had to experience it "up close" but I guess we don't know what we're missing..ha ha.
We did not get to see the day parade this time, but I saw the Christmas one and I loved being able to see SO MANY characters in the parade. That will definitely be a priority the next time we come...
SO...after the fireworks we hit up Buzz Lightyear (Noah's fav) and Magic Carpets (Katie's fav). Bought a balloon on the way out and rode in the monorail back to the parking lot. We requested to sit in the front of the monorail and were able to...we were with a guy who was training which kind of made me nervous, but it was interesting to hear the "trainer" ask the guy all sorts of questions...there is definitely more to that job than you would think.
We still have a day left on our tickets because we got the good deal from Undercover tourist but now we are out of days of being here....so sad and wish I could stay one more day but not sure I would hold up. We had planned to do the parade and fireworks our first night here but we were just totally wiped out and didn't feel like it. Really regretting that now!
Late night, great day! Corey can't wait to go back next year, so that makes it a huge success! I have actually since our trip, talked Corey into agreeing that he and I should take a trip for just the two of us. So, it looks like if everything gets planned out and works out, that he and I will be heading down to stay ON SITE in December for an extended weekend. We will be celebrating 10 YEARS of being together (not married, just together) WOW! Since we are planning on doing that we figured the "family" vacation next year would be a truly relaxing "beach" trip. I am very much looking foward to doing a "couple" trip though. December is a great time to be at the resort and we will also use the Universal ticket I won. Fun fun!!!!
I hope you enjoyed my trip reports. Please feel free to comment!!! I will have one more slideshow to post when I get our photopass CD in the mail. Those shots are SO GOOD! Can't wait to share them!
We made a beeline for Dumbo, because Katie did not do it the last day, and Corey and Noah went to the Speedway. Katie saw Ariel while Mama waited in line for Dumbo...the wait for Ariel was...3 minutes! yay! Then off to Toon Town to try and see those fairies!!! You wouldn't believe the huge crowd of people and almost every single one got in the fairy line as the area opened. Mickey was just standing there waving...no one headed to his house :( If Corey had been there I bet Noah would have had some fun one on done time with Mickey!
Pixie Hollow is beautiful! SO well done! The waiting hallway is decorated to look like a forest with sparkling little "fairies" as lights shooting down the branches occassionally. Then, inside the meeting area, it is made to look like you have been shrunk down to the size of a fairy, with giant flowers, leaves, and other various fairy knick knacks. Katie loved meeting Irridessa, Tinkerbell, and Fawn. We then were off to tour Minnie and Mickey's houses and then over to Fantasyland to hit up some things we missed before. We did the Winnie the Pooh, Mickey's Philharmagic again, It's a Small World, then took the train around to the front gate to head "home" for lunch and rest.
The crowds were really heavy today compared to the rest of the week. There was a 50 minute wait for Ariel before we left, 45 minute waits for Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh....it just seemed so much heavier than when we were here this time last year...I know this was heading into President's Day weekend and I heard several people say they had taken advantage of the buy 4/get 3 offer. The weather has been pretty warm as well. Into the low 80s during the day...not a drop of rain *which is nice* BUT we had paid for pool heat for our private pool in our rental and it has gotten too hot to even get in!!! ARGH! Last year when we came it was in the low 70s for highs. I guess I should have asked about cancelling the pool heat.
Anyway, we got back to the park around 5:30-6pm and started staking our place to watch the parade and fireworks. I wanted the tree spot in Liberty Square, but the renovations on the Hall of Presidents was really blocking the view of the castle, you couldn't really see it at all. So, we basically walked the route of the parade trying out different spots and evaluating the pros/cons. Corey LOVED this process..HA HA!!!! We ended up in a spot I had heard of before but didn't think of since we were trying to see the parade as well. We were on the Terrace of the Tomorrowland noodle restaurant. We weren't super close to the parade, but the view of the fireworks was just simply breathtaking. It could not have been more perfect so I will continue to stalk this location for every trip from now on!
About Spectromagic: This parade really didn't live up to the hype for me. Maybe it was completely because we weren't on the "sidelines" and didn't have a close-up view, but I thought it would be just totally amazing. Don't get me wrong, it was a "good" parade. The lights are cool, but maybe it is just something you have to experience up close. We could see pretty well from the terrace, esp where they crossed over the bridge, but...I don't know....I guess I could live without this one. I thought the part at the end was very good..the switching back and forth of colors. I have since heard from people in the online group, that you definitely had to experience it "up close" but I guess we don't know what we're missing..ha ha.
We did not get to see the day parade this time, but I saw the Christmas one and I loved being able to see SO MANY characters in the parade. That will definitely be a priority the next time we come...
SO...after the fireworks we hit up Buzz Lightyear (Noah's fav) and Magic Carpets (Katie's fav). Bought a balloon on the way out and rode in the monorail back to the parking lot. We requested to sit in the front of the monorail and were able to...we were with a guy who was training which kind of made me nervous, but it was interesting to hear the "trainer" ask the guy all sorts of questions...there is definitely more to that job than you would think.
We still have a day left on our tickets because we got the good deal from Undercover tourist but now we are out of days of being here....so sad and wish I could stay one more day but not sure I would hold up. We had planned to do the parade and fireworks our first night here but we were just totally wiped out and didn't feel like it. Really regretting that now!
Late night, great day! Corey can't wait to go back next year, so that makes it a huge success! I have actually since our trip, talked Corey into agreeing that he and I should take a trip for just the two of us. So, it looks like if everything gets planned out and works out, that he and I will be heading down to stay ON SITE in December for an extended weekend. We will be celebrating 10 YEARS of being together (not married, just together) WOW! Since we are planning on doing that we figured the "family" vacation next year would be a truly relaxing "beach" trip. I am very much looking foward to doing a "couple" trip though. December is a great time to be at the resort and we will also use the Universal ticket I won. Fun fun!!!!
I hope you enjoyed my trip reports. Please feel free to comment!!! I will have one more slideshow to post when I get our photopass CD in the mail. Those shots are SO GOOD! Can't wait to share them!
Day 7: Hollywood Studios 2
So...on to today. The group split today. My parents wanted to go back to Epcot because they wanted to browse a little more thoroughly in the countries and they didn't really have much else they wanted to see at Hollywood Studios. We got up this morning and headed out to be there when the park opened.
On a last minute whim we asked if there were opening for the Playhouse Disney breakfast, and there were, so we went on in for that. It was cute and the kids enjoyed meeting JoJo, Goliath, but mostly they enjoyed meeting Leo and June from Little Einsteins...they love that show. I have to say that this breakfast wasn't nearly as good as the Tusker House one we had on day one. It was just basic breakfast buffet like Shoney's or something and MORE expensive than Tusker House! I hate overpaying for eggs and biscuits!
After breakfast we went over to meet Buzz and Woody....Noah wore his Indiana Jones hat today and all the characters we saw had fun playing with it. VERY cute and fun pictures. At the end Buzz and Woody were passing his hat between them behind their backs and having Noah guess where the hat was. It was SO fun! We will remember that next time we do lots of characters...they love hats!
We rode Toy Story, saw Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Playhouse Disney Live, rode Star Tours, met Bolt and the hamster (can't remember his name) Mr. and Mrs. Incredible, Frozone, Sorceror Mickey, The Sheriff of Nottingham (he was pretending to look for money on people for taxes and the kids each gave him a penny which he thought was cool and held up for a pic).....I think that is all.
It was actually kind of frustrating today because I put a lot of time into planning what days to go to which park based on crowd predictions, etc...and today there was an American Idol premiere at the park because they are launching a new American Idol attraction this weekend. They had lots of the walkways roped off and it was very inconvenient to get from one place to another. Supposedly there was going to be a motorcade/parade with all the American Idol judges and some of the winners. Corey saw David Cook playing...but that actually meant that most of the attractions were pretty empty, but getting to them was a huge pain! I saw photos of the event after we got home...I can't believe people waited ALL day on the sidelines of the parade route to see people like Chris Sligh, Phil Stacey, and that dreadlocked guy from last year. It's not like there were *really* famous people there! AND, the only judge there was Paula from what I saw....ugh.
We got to ride the new Toy Story ride twice, saw the Muppet 3D show....Corey and I took turns on The Great Movie Ride...and then it was time to go because I was finally able to get a reservation for Boma! We went out to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for that meal and it was GREAT! It is such a nice hotel...we saw a giraffe, some zebras, and other animals from the viewing areas around the hotel. The food at Boma was incredible! The first place that I believe the price competely matched the food choices! I tried watermelon rind salad (not good) and several different kinds of hummus spreads (good except one). They had sliced steak, all kinds of rices, potatoes, vegetables, and they were all "unique" in keeping with the African theme, but most every single thing I tried was really delicious. They also had some good soups, like an African stew, butternut squash soup, potato soup....and always there are good kids' choices so you don't have to feel like they won't eat "anything." (NOAH!) Anyway, that was a great meal with great service! I definitely would do that one again!
After dinner we went to find a Walmart to pick up something for Corey and then back to the room.
My parents got back from Epcot around 9-10 and we each shared what we had done that day. They had a great day exploring Epcot at a "non-kid" pace.
It was a great day, packed, and we were so tired again!
On a last minute whim we asked if there were opening for the Playhouse Disney breakfast, and there were, so we went on in for that. It was cute and the kids enjoyed meeting JoJo, Goliath, but mostly they enjoyed meeting Leo and June from Little Einsteins...they love that show. I have to say that this breakfast wasn't nearly as good as the Tusker House one we had on day one. It was just basic breakfast buffet like Shoney's or something and MORE expensive than Tusker House! I hate overpaying for eggs and biscuits!
After breakfast we went over to meet Buzz and Woody....Noah wore his Indiana Jones hat today and all the characters we saw had fun playing with it. VERY cute and fun pictures. At the end Buzz and Woody were passing his hat between them behind their backs and having Noah guess where the hat was. It was SO fun! We will remember that next time we do lots of characters...they love hats!
We rode Toy Story, saw Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Playhouse Disney Live, rode Star Tours, met Bolt and the hamster (can't remember his name) Mr. and Mrs. Incredible, Frozone, Sorceror Mickey, The Sheriff of Nottingham (he was pretending to look for money on people for taxes and the kids each gave him a penny which he thought was cool and held up for a pic).....I think that is all.
It was actually kind of frustrating today because I put a lot of time into planning what days to go to which park based on crowd predictions, etc...and today there was an American Idol premiere at the park because they are launching a new American Idol attraction this weekend. They had lots of the walkways roped off and it was very inconvenient to get from one place to another. Supposedly there was going to be a motorcade/parade with all the American Idol judges and some of the winners. Corey saw David Cook playing...but that actually meant that most of the attractions were pretty empty, but getting to them was a huge pain! I saw photos of the event after we got home...I can't believe people waited ALL day on the sidelines of the parade route to see people like Chris Sligh, Phil Stacey, and that dreadlocked guy from last year. It's not like there were *really* famous people there! AND, the only judge there was Paula from what I saw....ugh.
We got to ride the new Toy Story ride twice, saw the Muppet 3D show....Corey and I took turns on The Great Movie Ride...and then it was time to go because I was finally able to get a reservation for Boma! We went out to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for that meal and it was GREAT! It is such a nice hotel...we saw a giraffe, some zebras, and other animals from the viewing areas around the hotel. The food at Boma was incredible! The first place that I believe the price competely matched the food choices! I tried watermelon rind salad (not good) and several different kinds of hummus spreads (good except one). They had sliced steak, all kinds of rices, potatoes, vegetables, and they were all "unique" in keeping with the African theme, but most every single thing I tried was really delicious. They also had some good soups, like an African stew, butternut squash soup, potato soup....and always there are good kids' choices so you don't have to feel like they won't eat "anything." (NOAH!) Anyway, that was a great meal with great service! I definitely would do that one again!
After dinner we went to find a Walmart to pick up something for Corey and then back to the room.
My parents got back from Epcot around 9-10 and we each shared what we had done that day. They had a great day exploring Epcot at a "non-kid" pace.
It was a great day, packed, and we were so tired again!
Day 6: Magic Kingdom Finally!
Today we finally went to Magic Kingdom! We had an 8:40am reservation for Bibbibi Bobbidi Boutique. We checked in and were taken straight back. Corey planned to have some fun with Noah while we were getting "made-over." I warned him about Dumbo (a huge request of Noah) and that he should make that his goal, but well, they decided to go wait for Tomorrowland to open and do Buzz Lightyear.
The Bibbibi Bobbidi Boutique was SO magical! Katie LOVED every second of it. We brought our own dress and were taken right to a dressing room and given a brochure with "princess katie" on the front to look at the hairstyle choices. After we were dressed we were escorted to our "fairy godmother in training" and Katie had a seat. They started by letting her pick out her makeup and nail polish choices. Then she picked out which crown she wanted to go with her princess bun (she chose the fairy tale princess do which is a bun with a crown in front). They put her hair up using lots of glue and hair bands, sprinkled her with pixie dust with their magic wand while she make a wish, then put on her crown and BBB sash. Another fairy godmother came around and did makeup and nails while the other was working on her hair. They made conversation with her and it was really sweet. They had a photopass photographer in their the entire time rotating between girls. When it was all done they spun her around in the chair for a reveal and got pictures of her reaction. I was highly impressed with the entire experience. They are very particular, making sure the hair do is "centered" and "even" and just perfect. They are very sweet and tender with the girls. They put the combs they used (we forgot ours) and the rest of the makeup palette they didn't use and two nailpolishes in a bag with some Belle stickers (that was her dress choice) for us to take home. Then they said we could go down to the Exposition Hall and have a photo session done and those photos would be put on our photopass! I didn't know they did that, I thought that just came with the top package. This was $59.53 total. Totally and completely worth it! Getting dressed up and getting hair/makeup/nails done IN CINDERELLA'S CASTLE AT DISNEY WORLD!? MOST DEFINITELY WORTH IT!
We left the castle and right around the corner was the fair godmother herself!!!!! We got in a short line and had photos.
Then down mainstreet.Katie got lots of attention from everyone and she just loved it! I talked to Corey on the phone who said they had ridden Buzz three times in a row and if they had more time they were headed to fantasyland to ride Dumbo.
When we got to Exposition Hall we saw Mary Poppins in front. We got in line, but then saw Snow White! We missed seeing Snow White last time, so we switched lines. Wonderful meeting her but we had a stinky photopass photographer who only took two "posed" shots and people kept stepping in front while my mom was trying to take photos! boo!
Next to the photo session. There was just one person in there so when they were done we were next. She really took her time getting lots of good shots..a great photographer. You will see some of those shots when I get the photopass photos on here, still waiting on the CD in the mail.
Katie wanted to meet the princesses now in her dress so we went to the princess tent while Noah and Corey and grandpa did some more stuff now my mind fails me since I didn't get this done on the day it all happened! ha.
The wait for the princesses was 15 minutes. The wait for Fairies was 75 minutes! ACK! It was only 10:20am!!!!! We saw Belle, Aurora, and Cinderella! They made a big deal out of her being dressed up. The photopass people got some really nice shots of Cinderella and Katie doing a "curtsy" together. She ate it up!
Met back up with Corey and the rest who had not seen Katie yet. (they had ridden peter pan and waited 30 minutes for Dumbo...ha.) Noah was very taken with her and wanted to hold her hand! So cute!
We headed out and had to take a restroom break which is a 20 minute ordeal with 2 kids and one in a Belle gown. :)
We rode the teacups. I don't remember having done this before. We avoided it last year....and it did make me quite dizzy. Corey was kind of annoyed because I wouldn't let him "really spin" the cup around too much! Alice was right outside the teacups and we met her and got photos. Katie asked her favorite kind of tea (English breakfast) and Alice asked her what her favorite was (mandarin orange).
Everyone was hungry by now so we went to eat while Mama and Daddy got sandwiches from locker. We ate at Cosmic Ray's...I had the half rotisserie chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans (really good!!!!) and kids had kid meals, Corey had burger and fries. We then met up with Mama and Daddy in front of the castle for the show. Katie loved it, Noah wanted to know when we could leave! We got to see the princesses WITH their princes in the show, never seen them before!
Walked around to Fantasyland and did Snow White, Philharmagic, and Peter Pan. Philharmagic is still one of my favorite things here! We then made our way around through to do Pirates twice in a row, watched the pirate tutorial (with Capt Jack Sparrow) and met Peter Pan and Captain Hook! We then went to get an Ice Cream (I had pineapple vanilla swirl-yum!)
Next, Aladdin's magic carpets, twice with restroom break in between. Then to tomorrow land to use fastpasses for buzz and do Monster's Inc. The Monster's Inc. Laugh floor is a similar concept as the Turtle Talk...interactive with the audience...animated characters in a comedy show. So good! Then we did the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (ride around the Tomorrowland area and through some of the rides) and over to Storytime with Belle. Kids are hungry and tired and it is time to go for today. We will hit up the parades and fireworks on Friday! We left around 5:30pm....stopped at Cracker Barrel on the way back to the rental. Katie got lots of attention there too in her princess-wear. Fun, but tiring day!
Whew!
Carrie in GA
The Bibbibi Bobbidi Boutique was SO magical! Katie LOVED every second of it. We brought our own dress and were taken right to a dressing room and given a brochure with "princess katie" on the front to look at the hairstyle choices. After we were dressed we were escorted to our "fairy godmother in training" and Katie had a seat. They started by letting her pick out her makeup and nail polish choices. Then she picked out which crown she wanted to go with her princess bun (she chose the fairy tale princess do which is a bun with a crown in front). They put her hair up using lots of glue and hair bands, sprinkled her with pixie dust with their magic wand while she make a wish, then put on her crown and BBB sash. Another fairy godmother came around and did makeup and nails while the other was working on her hair. They made conversation with her and it was really sweet. They had a photopass photographer in their the entire time rotating between girls. When it was all done they spun her around in the chair for a reveal and got pictures of her reaction. I was highly impressed with the entire experience. They are very particular, making sure the hair do is "centered" and "even" and just perfect. They are very sweet and tender with the girls. They put the combs they used (we forgot ours) and the rest of the makeup palette they didn't use and two nailpolishes in a bag with some Belle stickers (that was her dress choice) for us to take home. Then they said we could go down to the Exposition Hall and have a photo session done and those photos would be put on our photopass! I didn't know they did that, I thought that just came with the top package. This was $59.53 total. Totally and completely worth it! Getting dressed up and getting hair/makeup/nails done IN CINDERELLA'S CASTLE AT DISNEY WORLD!? MOST DEFINITELY WORTH IT!
We left the castle and right around the corner was the fair godmother herself!!!!! We got in a short line and had photos.
Then down mainstreet.Katie got lots of attention from everyone and she just loved it! I talked to Corey on the phone who said they had ridden Buzz three times in a row and if they had more time they were headed to fantasyland to ride Dumbo.
When we got to Exposition Hall we saw Mary Poppins in front. We got in line, but then saw Snow White! We missed seeing Snow White last time, so we switched lines. Wonderful meeting her but we had a stinky photopass photographer who only took two "posed" shots and people kept stepping in front while my mom was trying to take photos! boo!
Next to the photo session. There was just one person in there so when they were done we were next. She really took her time getting lots of good shots..a great photographer. You will see some of those shots when I get the photopass photos on here, still waiting on the CD in the mail.
Katie wanted to meet the princesses now in her dress so we went to the princess tent while Noah and Corey and grandpa did some more stuff now my mind fails me since I didn't get this done on the day it all happened! ha.
The wait for the princesses was 15 minutes. The wait for Fairies was 75 minutes! ACK! It was only 10:20am!!!!! We saw Belle, Aurora, and Cinderella! They made a big deal out of her being dressed up. The photopass people got some really nice shots of Cinderella and Katie doing a "curtsy" together. She ate it up!
Met back up with Corey and the rest who had not seen Katie yet. (they had ridden peter pan and waited 30 minutes for Dumbo...ha.) Noah was very taken with her and wanted to hold her hand! So cute!
We headed out and had to take a restroom break which is a 20 minute ordeal with 2 kids and one in a Belle gown. :)
We rode the teacups. I don't remember having done this before. We avoided it last year....and it did make me quite dizzy. Corey was kind of annoyed because I wouldn't let him "really spin" the cup around too much! Alice was right outside the teacups and we met her and got photos. Katie asked her favorite kind of tea (English breakfast) and Alice asked her what her favorite was (mandarin orange).
Everyone was hungry by now so we went to eat while Mama and Daddy got sandwiches from locker. We ate at Cosmic Ray's...I had the half rotisserie chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans (really good!!!!) and kids had kid meals, Corey had burger and fries. We then met up with Mama and Daddy in front of the castle for the show. Katie loved it, Noah wanted to know when we could leave! We got to see the princesses WITH their princes in the show, never seen them before!
Walked around to Fantasyland and did Snow White, Philharmagic, and Peter Pan. Philharmagic is still one of my favorite things here! We then made our way around through to do Pirates twice in a row, watched the pirate tutorial (with Capt Jack Sparrow) and met Peter Pan and Captain Hook! We then went to get an Ice Cream (I had pineapple vanilla swirl-yum!)
Next, Aladdin's magic carpets, twice with restroom break in between. Then to tomorrow land to use fastpasses for buzz and do Monster's Inc. The Monster's Inc. Laugh floor is a similar concept as the Turtle Talk...interactive with the audience...animated characters in a comedy show. So good! Then we did the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (ride around the Tomorrowland area and through some of the rides) and over to Storytime with Belle. Kids are hungry and tired and it is time to go for today. We will hit up the parades and fireworks on Friday! We left around 5:30pm....stopped at Cracker Barrel on the way back to the rental. Katie got lots of attention there too in her princess-wear. Fun, but tiring day!
Whew!
Carrie in GA
Day 5: Hollywood Studios
SO...it is day 5 since we left on our trip and we still haven't been to Magic Kingdom! ACK! We are following the suggested plans though, and this plan seemed to work best with our "overall itinerary" as our Tour Guide Mike planning website would say...so we finally get there tomorrow with an early morning appt. at the "boutique" for princess daughter!
Today we kind of took our time getting out the door again. We headed to Hollywood Studios and arrived around 9:40 or so. Corey went straight for fastpasses for Toy Story, which were already at 1:30pm return time. It was almost time for the first Beauty and the Beast show of the day so we went there. KATIE LOVED IT!!!! After that we tried to get to the next Indiana Jones show but it was standing room only....45 minutes with two kids? I think not. We went to wait for the next Jedi Training Academy instead. Mama, Daddy, Corey, and Katie went on Star Tours while we waited.
The crowd got big right before the Jedi show and I had talked to Noah about if he wanted to be picked and he seemed excited but apprehensive. When they came out to choose he stood up straight and tall and raised both hands straight in the air AND HE GOT PICKED! We were SO EXCITED! He looked a little "frozen" up there at first, but when it came his turn to fight Darth Vader he was just really into it and loved it! The premise is that they are going to be trained to be Jedis but then Darth Vader comes out and says that to complete their training they must fight him. I am SO happy they had a photopass photographer there to get photos of the entire thing and I am SO happy we already pre-ordered our CD!
After that we went to the next Indiana Jones show, which was long, good, but the kids got bored at the slapstick in between stuff. Next up, Star Tours for the immediate four while Mama and Daddy retrieved our lunches from the lockers. We ate around the lake and then secured a spot on the steps of the new American Idol thing for the parade. We waited almost an hour and I was not really impressed with the Block party bash. It was ENTIRELY TOO LOUD for kids. I really don't know why they make things like that SO loud. Katie and Noah sat with their fingers in their ears the entire time and we happened to be sitting in a part where just random dancers were, not really many characters, just Sully every once in a while. I was really disappointed that we spent two hours on that whole thing when we could have been using our Toy Story passes.
After the parade we went to use our Toy Story passes. It was SO FUN! I was kind of sad that we weren't waiting in the line actually, it was SO cool! It is set up to look like Andy's room from the Toy Story movies, so there are giant crayons, toys, game boards and pieces. Really cool line! The kids loved this of course. On the ride you are sitting with one other person and you have this "pop gun" type thing in front of you. You are twirled and spun around to different giant 3D screens where there are carnival type games on the screen. You use your pop gun to shoot, ring toss, throw pies, shoot arrows, just about anything at different themed games. There are different themed games for the different characters. It is really fun and it keeps score for you and gives you a "prize" at the end on your screen on the car. It is really well done, the controls work well, and it is just plain fun!
At this point it was about 4:30, so we opted to go ahead and leave for today and swim for a few minutes before dinner at the townhouse and bed. We have a very early morning for our princess at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. A lot of our day was taken with the shows we did today, but we can hit everything else on our other day here.
Today we kind of took our time getting out the door again. We headed to Hollywood Studios and arrived around 9:40 or so. Corey went straight for fastpasses for Toy Story, which were already at 1:30pm return time. It was almost time for the first Beauty and the Beast show of the day so we went there. KATIE LOVED IT!!!! After that we tried to get to the next Indiana Jones show but it was standing room only....45 minutes with two kids? I think not. We went to wait for the next Jedi Training Academy instead. Mama, Daddy, Corey, and Katie went on Star Tours while we waited.
The crowd got big right before the Jedi show and I had talked to Noah about if he wanted to be picked and he seemed excited but apprehensive. When they came out to choose he stood up straight and tall and raised both hands straight in the air AND HE GOT PICKED! We were SO EXCITED! He looked a little "frozen" up there at first, but when it came his turn to fight Darth Vader he was just really into it and loved it! The premise is that they are going to be trained to be Jedis but then Darth Vader comes out and says that to complete their training they must fight him. I am SO happy they had a photopass photographer there to get photos of the entire thing and I am SO happy we already pre-ordered our CD!
After that we went to the next Indiana Jones show, which was long, good, but the kids got bored at the slapstick in between stuff. Next up, Star Tours for the immediate four while Mama and Daddy retrieved our lunches from the lockers. We ate around the lake and then secured a spot on the steps of the new American Idol thing for the parade. We waited almost an hour and I was not really impressed with the Block party bash. It was ENTIRELY TOO LOUD for kids. I really don't know why they make things like that SO loud. Katie and Noah sat with their fingers in their ears the entire time and we happened to be sitting in a part where just random dancers were, not really many characters, just Sully every once in a while. I was really disappointed that we spent two hours on that whole thing when we could have been using our Toy Story passes.
After the parade we went to use our Toy Story passes. It was SO FUN! I was kind of sad that we weren't waiting in the line actually, it was SO cool! It is set up to look like Andy's room from the Toy Story movies, so there are giant crayons, toys, game boards and pieces. Really cool line! The kids loved this of course. On the ride you are sitting with one other person and you have this "pop gun" type thing in front of you. You are twirled and spun around to different giant 3D screens where there are carnival type games on the screen. You use your pop gun to shoot, ring toss, throw pies, shoot arrows, just about anything at different themed games. There are different themed games for the different characters. It is really fun and it keeps score for you and gives you a "prize" at the end on your screen on the car. It is really well done, the controls work well, and it is just plain fun!
At this point it was about 4:30, so we opted to go ahead and leave for today and swim for a few minutes before dinner at the townhouse and bed. We have a very early morning for our princess at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. A lot of our day was taken with the shows we did today, but we can hit everything else on our other day here.
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