pure magic

Originally day 7 was a chill day.  We were going to enjoy the new room, hang out at the resort, then head to Magic Kingdom for the evening, and our "finale".  Well, when the Pea got sick I ended up making it a day out instead and booked a late breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, which had the Mad Hatter and Mary Poppins, and planned an entire day at Magic Kingdom, with a quick hop to Epcot if we felt like it, and THEN the evening festivities.  We ended up reverting back to the original plan.  After waking up, and trying to hustle to get ready the Pea said "Mom, can we skip breakfast and just sit here and watch the animals?" Thank you, God.  "Yes, baby, whatever you want."

*the hallelujah chorus singing in my head*

She had a Mickey rice crispy treat, I had cold medicine and coffee, and we chilled out on the balcony, watching the animals.  We stayed in the room for most of the day and it was heavenly.

Standing on the balcony.

I think she enjoyed people watching more than animal watching.

She had an appointment at the Bippity Bopppity Boutique at 6pm and we had dinner in the Castle planned for 8pm.  This was our final night...our last hurrah...and while we wanted it to be great, it was also supposed to be the busiest that we would see the Magic Kingdom, so we didn't plan on any rides.

Chip & Dale!

We ventured out about 4, assuming the bus stop would be mobbed, and it would take us forever to get to the park and from the front of the park to the castle.  We were pleasantly surprised to not only get on a bus fairly quick, but to get into the park quickly as well.  We had plenty of time to stop and see Chip & Dale, and get a few photos on the stroll down Main Street.

When we got to Fantasyland we grabbed a fastpass for Pooh, because I figured we could squeeze it in at some point, and if not, could pass it on to someone else, and since we still had a few minutes to kill, headed into Philharmagic since there was no wait.  After the show we got in line for the Carousel.  I don't remember exactly what happened, but at some point the Pea sassed me, said something ugly, which garnered a warning, then more sassing, which garnered me pulling her out of the line.  Then instantly the line got humongous so we no longer had time to get back in it, and then there was a breakdown, so we headed for the bathroom.  For a good 10 minutes she stomped, cried, pouted, and screamed while I wrestled her into her Cinderella dress...there was then another breakdown because she said the dress was terrible and didn't want to wear it (which crushed me because it was my Christmas present to her and I was sure it was the most beautiful princess dress ever). 

At exactly 6pm (which is late for me as I am always 10 minutes early for everything) we raced into the Bippity Boppity Boutique, both red faced and teary.  At that point I thought for sure the night was gonna be a bust.  She wanted to leave, I wanted to give up, and the place was mobbed and running late.  There were flustered mommies, pissed off daddies, and cranky princesses all around.  We fit right in, but this was not how I pictured our last night, and the one that was supposed to be the most magical.

Turned out to be a good thing they were running a little behind because by the time they called her back (at 6:45) the tides had turned, she was happy and excited and loved her dress, and things were back on track.

Bippity, Boppity, Boo!

She did the middle package (it was around $60) which included hair, crown, make-up, and nails (and they get to keep the make-up and nail polish).  The full package includes the princess dress and accessories but is up around $250, I was able to bring a dress that I found on clearance for $25 earlier in the year and accessories that she already had, and she was perfectly happy.  She got a ton of compliments on her dress, and I didn't see any other little princesses with that particular one, so I'm glad we went that route.

Your highness...

 She also got to do a photo-shoot, which she thoroughly enjoyed, and while I didn't buy any of the shots, they were all put on my photopass account, and since I bought the CD, I now have.  After her photo-shoot we checked in for dinner and were taken upstairs.  Normally you are greeted by Cinderella and have a few photos taken BEFORE you go upstairs to eat but Cindy was "having tea" when we arrived, so we went upstairs right away, and then were taken downstairs after ordering, for the Cinderella meet.  It was all very rushed and chaotic and really kind of pissed me off, because I wanted a nice dining experience, and like to settle in once I am seated...BUT, it was either that, or not see Cindy at all, so we went with it.

The dining room.

 

Not sure what she was pointing at.

Aurora



And finally!  Cinderella

Overall, the dinner was fine, despite feeling very rushed in the beginning...our server was a little too attentive at first, constantly asking how we were, but no where to be found when we had finished our meal, and were just sitting waiting to check out.  The Akershus dinner had better character interaction, and felt much more leisurely, it was also a much better value at 1 dining credit, versus the 2 credits we paid for dinner in the Castle.  For the Pea though, eating INSIDE the castle was magical and amazing, and she beamed with joy the entire time.  Snow White, Belle (in her blue dress), Ariel, and Aurora all came to our table.



Ariel was sassy

Belle was sweet

The food was surprisingly good (I had read many bad reviews), about the same quality as the meal we had had the night before (unfortunately, with that same sauce that tasted like it came from a dry package mix).  I liked the asparagus, and the meat was very tender.  The Pea had chicken tenders, which were chicken tenders, and was most happy with the Mickey plate and the corn.  The dessert trio was fine, looked better than it tasted, and the Pea was overjoyed with her make your own sundae, even though after making it, didn't eat a bite.

Cheese plate

Our Meals

The Make Your Own Sundae that never got eaten.

One happy girl.

We walked out at 9pm and since Fantasyland was deserted (with everyone watching the nighttime parade) we took full advantage.  We rode the Carousel a few times, Walked on Pooh (which was great because she finally got to go through the interactive queue and touch the honey wall) then used our fastpasses to ride again, then headed to It's a Small World and rode that twice.  About this time I remembered a post on Lines Chat that mentioned riding Dumbo during the fireworks and we got in line for Dumbo.  There was about a 15 minute wait (which for Dumbo is good because most of the time we saw 45 and avoided it) and the fireworks started while we were in the queue.  We boarded our elephant about halfway through and were up in the air during the finale.  It was very cool.  I never would have thought to do that if not for reading that post. 

She was amazed that her dress "glowed" in the Pooh ride.

She RAN to IASW and all the way down to the boat

I asked the Pea if there was anything else she wanted to do, since this was her last chance, and she said cotton candy and the parade.  We grabbed a bag of cotton candy and took our time wandering to the hub.  There were far less people than I expected and we grabbed a primo spot.  Before we knew it the parade was on it's way.  Watching it from the hub, with the Castle all lit up in the background, and my little Pea happy and smiling, was glorious.
 

Got this shot right as they dimmed the lights for the parade

We took our time leaving, after the parade passed us by, and as we were walking out it started snowing on Main Street...magic, pure Disney magic.

happy new year!

Happy New Year!

It's a new day, a new year, a great excuse to make changes, start fresh, or break a habit.  My resolutions are to be more mindful, more in the moment, and more authentic...to get more organized, make better use of my time, be a better parent, and take better care of my body...to be more grateful and gracious, fearless and fierce, and choose happiness.  These are essentially the same resolutions I make every year, and every year I become a little bit more of who I want to be...if I live to be 102 I am gonna be awesome.

What are your resolutions?  Where do you want to be on January 1st 2013 (provided the world doesn't end in 2012)?  What do you want to accomplish?  What would make 2012 your best year yet?

And now back to 2011, and day 6 of our trip...

Day 6 required checking out of our standard room and into a Savannah room and also was the start of our Deluxe Dining.  I didn't know how the check out/in would go or how long it would take, so the plan for that day was to go to Animal Kingdom, since it was the closest and easiest park to get to from Animal Kingdom Lodge.

I woke up that morning fully aware that I did, indeed, have a cold, and laryngitis.  I literally had no voice at all, which the Pea found hilarious, but was quite frustrating for me.  I was very glad that I had thought to pack a medicine bag, complete with zinc lozenges and Advil cold and flu (the good kind, that even though is OTC you have to get from the pharmacy, show ID, and sign that you don't have a meth lab in your basement) because I would never have been able to hit the parks without.  I normally would have stayed in bed, drinking tea and being lazy, but since that was NOT an option (I was not gonna lose ANOTHER day), I sucked it up, packed up all our stuff, drug it downstairs, and got our new room keys.  Our new room wasn't ready (it was 8am, I would have been very surprised if it had been) but the check out/in process was painless, and afterward we headed to the park.

Waiting for the bus

In front of the Tree

We had only 5 things on the agenda: Safari, Tusker House brunch, the Nemo show, Lion King, and the parade.  We headed for the Safari first and grabbed a fastpass, then to Tusker House.  Navigating was exhausting because it was wall to wall people, and moving from place to place seemed to take forever.  I was glad to get out of the crowd and into the restaurant.  We had a quiet table in a corner, away from all the action, which for some would have been disappointing, but was perfect for us.  Donald is outside and does a quick photo before you go inside (which you have to buy, and probably because I was delirious from the cold meds, did) and then Daisy, Goofy, and Mickey came to our table. 

They also do a parade around the restaurant where the kids get to play a musical instrument while following a character and dancing around.  The Pea liked Daisy the best and loved being in the parade.

After the parade, a hug from Daisy.

These are all giant puppets, very cool.

A shot of the stage at the end of the show

After our meal, we did the Safari and grabbed another fastpass so we could go again later in the afternoon, then headed over to the Nemo show.  The show is fantastic...I love the puppets, the puppeteers are amazing, and the Pea was mesmerized the entire time.
  
It was back to the Safari after that and then we grabbed an ice cream and a spot and waited for the parade. 

Waiting for the ice cream.

We staked out our spot a good hour before the start of the parade to ensure good viewing, and right before the parade started a guy squeezed in next to us and proceeded to record the whole thing on his Ipad, which he held up right in front of my face.  I wanted to punch him in his.  If I had had any voice at all I would have told him to cool it, unfortunately I didn't, and turned out he was Asian and didn't speak English anyway, so it probably wouldn't have done any good.  He also kept reaching out and trying to touch the characters, which made them hightail it away from us and as a result no high fives or interaction for the Pea.  I wish a CM had made him stop. 

After the parade we had to navigate through a sea of people moving in the opposite direction and felt like salmon swimming upstream.  I knew that day would be tough for me and I would struggle because I don't like crowds or people in my personal space, but I had no idea how truly difficult and exhausting it would be.  Had this been my first visit to WDW or Animal Kingdom, I would have vowed to NEVER go back.  I'm glad our first visit was magical and with much lower crowds. 

We ended the day with the Festival of the Lion King.  I was afraid there would be a huge line by the time we got there, but we were one of the first and it wasn't long before they let us in.  We had a great seat, right behind the handicap seating, in the giraffe section, and sat back and enjoyed the show.  We love, love, love all the performers and it was the perfect way to end our day at the park.

This was one of our two days having 3 dining credits so for dinner we did a signature (which "costs" 2 credits).  I made reservations at Narcoosses so that we could watch the fireworks from our table and because I wanted us to have a "fancy" dinner.  The place itself is beautiful, and we had a table right by the window with a perfect view of the castle.  Our server was awesome and treated me like a queen and the Pea like a princess. 

The view from our table.

Didn't use flash at all at dinner so the shots are a bit dark.

I dug in before I took this shot, it's a bit mangled.

The food, however, was a disappointment.  I had the cheese plate as an appetizer, and it was fine, but I've had better at our local Tapas restaurant, followed by the Surf and Turf.  The lobster tail was delicious and perfectly cooked, but the steak was meh.  It tasted like pot roast made with one of those packaged gravy things (that are mostly salt and msg).  I know my taste buds were compromised with the cold, but it really wasn't good.  I expected better quality ingredients and more flavor than salt.  I had the cheesecake for dessert and while the presentation was beautiful, the cake itself was just ok.  Again, given my cold, I may not have been the best judge.

The reason we ate here.

 We took a cab back to the lodge that night, got settled into the new room, and decided we would sleep in the next day.

do-over

Do-over day.

Day 5 was originally supposed to be at Hollywood Studios.  We were gonna make Rope Drop, follow the crowd to Toy Story Mania, grab a fastpass, and then go to Starring Rolls for breakfast.  Well, that didn't happen.  Instead we took our time getting ready, which included gussying up the Pea in her pirate wear, and headed for Magic Kingdom.

She was bound and determined to do all the Pirate stuff she missed. 

Look what I found!

Well, after riding Pirates of the Caribbean with no wait, and me excited to ride again AND grab a fastpass, she decided she was OVER the pirate stuff.

 WHA?!

She did not like the little drop, or the part where it feels like you are in the middle of canon fire, and at sometime between 8am and 9am Jack Sparrow went from being her hero, to a scary guy to avoid.  I was bumfuddled.  I had it all planned out beautifully so that we would be able to take full advantage and was even scheming to make sure she got picked to go onstage for the Tutorial (and by scheming I mean: get there early, and cross fingers).

Off to Pixie Hollow we went...hoping she still liked Fairies by the time we got there.

Still love the Fairies! whew...

There was about a 15 minute wait for the Fairies, which by the time we were done and left, was near 45, so it worked out we went when we did.  She thoroughly enjoyed meeting Tink, and on a side note to those who call me Tink sized, just so happens I am.  Exactly...except with bigger boobs. 

I had made the mistake of mentioning a special treat in Adventureland that we would try at some point during the day (A Dole Whip) and after she asked for about the 15th time if she could have it "NOW?" I gave in.  She LOVES pineapple, had a pineapple popsicle in Epcot and said it was "the best thing ev-ah" so I figured I would get her a dole whip and she would exclaim IT was the best thing evah, and because I was the finder of this, would therefor be the best mommy ever.  Not so much.  She was not a fan, and most of it melted and went in the trash.  So sad.  So very sad.

She found a buddy to wait for the show with.

Celebrate a Dream Come True

We abandoned Adventureland and headed for the castle.  It was about 15 minutes until show time and we were able to grab a good spot to watch it.  She really loves the shows and parades so we try to fit in as many as we can.  After the show we stayed put because the Block Party Bash was headed our way.  I was hoping she would get up and dance, and dance she did.  She also got to walk with Dale, which made her day...she came back gushing "Mommy that was so cool, he kissed my hand!"

Walkin' with Dale during Block Party Bash

One of the dinners we had to cancel was with Pooh and friends at Crystal Palace, and while we were not able to get another dinner, we were able to score a lunch, so off we headed after the Bash.  This is always a must do for us (I say that like we go all the time...we have been to WDW twice, we have eaten there twice) because we love the Pooh characters, and she likes the kids buffet area.

Winnie the Pooh!

Tigger greeted us right away, then Piglet and Pooh, and finally Eeyore.  The characters signed our book and took pictures, and at the end of the lunch the server brought out a birthday card and cupcake and her and the Pea sang Happy Birthday (complete with the Cha-Cha-Cha!).  I had forgotten that there was a birthday celebration tied to the reservation, so that was a nice little surprise and extended my celebration a bit.

Apparently not a Sorcerer

Can we go again?

After our lunch I let the Pea lead the way and do what she wanted and for the most part we just enjoyed Fantasyland.  We did the Pooh ride and grabbed a fastpass for later, Regal Carousel, Philharmagic, and of course, It's a Small World.  We even rode the Liberty Belle a few times, which she said was "so cool." (who knew?)  Then she mentioned the trains and my brain got to working and I hatched a plan. 
We headed to Frontierland to watch the parade, then beelined it to the Railroad station and rode it all the way to the front of the park.  Then we jumped on the Monorail and rode to Grand Floridian so we could catch a bus to Hollywood Studios.  I was determined to see the Osborne Lights, and even though the Pea didn't seem all that crazy about the idea she did want to see the Muppet movie, so I bribed her with that in order to not hear too much whining.

Muppets in 3D

I'm convinced we picked up some pixie dust (probably in Pixie Hollow) because it all timed out perfectly.  The train, Monorail, and bus all pulled up as we were walking up to them.  There was no wait at the Muppets and the lights turned on while we were in the Movie so by the time we got around to going through, the crowd had thinned just enough (it probably helped Fantasmic was going on and a bunch of folks were there) we could go through and get a few pictures.  I was a little bummed that the Pea did not enjoy the lights like I thought she would.  She LOVES holiday lights, we drive around every year, every chance we get, and just look, and have heard on more than one occasion "MOM, MOM, MOM, LOOK! they have a reindeer, ooooh, and a Santa! WOW" but I think in this case it was just too much for her.  I hate to say it, but because there was so much, and it was so perfect, the little things got lost...she didn't know where to look.

 We jumped a bus to the Contemporary, and then the Monorail back to Magic Kingdom, and got ready for the parade.  I staked out an absolutely perfect spot, an hour ahead of time, right on the ropes and in a corner, because she wanted so badly to see it...and she slept through it. 
















Looking back on the trip it was one of our better days, mostly because it just fell into place.  Our two "plans" got scrapped, and some of the things I thought she would love she didn't, but she loved some of the things I didn't know she would, and I started to feel confident that I could get us around without too much stress. 

The Disney transportation system is fantastic but can be very overwhelming and confusing.  On our first trip we ended up on the wrong monorail, wrong boat, and wrong bus, more than once, and as a result lost valuable time...this time I had it down, and it felt good.

It may seem crazy to research and learn before a vacation, but I am glad I spent so much time doing just that.  Knowing ahead of time how the transportation worked, knowing which rides get busy when, knowing which things to show up ahead of time for, and which things you can stroll over to as they start, really allowed us to wing it and not spend all our time in lines or frustrated because we didn't have a good view.  If I could give only one piece of advice for first timers (or those who haven't gone in years) it would be: research.  Learn as much as you can, look at the maps AHEAD of time, and get a general knowledge (or an app on your phone) of how to get around.