DON'T Read This TRIP REPORT If You're a Princess Hater!

[mom2rtk]

We typically go to Chef Mickey on arrival night, but decided to mix things up a bit this time. We were heading for dinner at 1900 Park Fare! I know the food gets mixed reviews, but for character interaction and fun......... it's one of the best ways to spend a dining credit! Through the years, Katie has gone to 1900 PF dressed as Cinderella, the Fairy Godmother, Anastasia and even Lady Tremaine. So going as Drizella this time was an easy choice! I told her next time she'd have to be Prince Charming! She hasn't taken me up on that one yet.......

Here's our archive of 1900 Park Fare fun through the years:

Against my better judgment, I'll post this first one. It was from our January 08 trip. We went to 1900PF on our way to the Pirate & Princess Party:

That summer our family stopped briefly at Disney on our way back from our summer beach vacation. I made Katie one of my favorite Cinderella costumes ever. We loved this Anastasia (although we thought she was too pretty to be one of the ugly stepsisters!) She asked about Katie's costume and told me next time I should make her Anastasia. I told her that was already in the works for December:

In December, Katie did indeed go back dressed as Anastasia. We were meeting friends there, and I made stepsister costumes for the girls. I was SO surprised to find........ the VERY SAME Anastasia there that night. I was even MORE surprised to find out she remembered our conversation! The girls had a ball playing with their alter egos. I was thrilled when they invited us to stay for a group photo at the end of the night:

For 2009, Katie decided to be Lady Tremaine. At dinner we met our favorite ever Lady T. We ran into her in the Magic Kingdom later in the week and she immediately recognized Katie and invited her over for a chat!

So you can see........... it was an easy choice to go as Drizella this time!

 

[dismagiclover]

I think they may just be my favorite series of trip pictures I have ever seen! They are so original and so awesome! I bet the step mother and the fairy godmother just loved that someone dressed like them! And I can only imagine the fun you must have had with the stepsisters that night. The group picture at the end of the night is awesome! You are one talented seamstress. Which makes me even more excited for this trip report to progress

ETA Oh and I forgot to mention we were there in Jan. '08 too and hit a P&P party. So sad they don't those anymore.

 

[mom2rtk]

I think they may just be my favorite series of trip pictures I have ever seen! They are so original and so awesome! I bet the step mother and the fairy godmother just loved that someone dressed like them! And I can only imagine the fun you must have had with the stepsisters that night. The group picture at the end of the night is awesome! You are one talented seamstress. Which makes me even more excited for this trip report to progress

ETA Oh and I forgot to mention we were there in Jan. '08 too and hit a P&P party. So sad they don't those anymore.

Many thanks for the kind words!

I love making costumes, and with Katie now 10, this was sort of my "go for broke" trip. I had a great time over the course of the year devising new things I wanted to try. In the end, I think Katie and I both ended up having the same favorite costume for her. But that won't come up for a while........

We were really lucky to find Fairy Godmother there that night shown above. Lady T is usually there, but they had the Fairy Godmother fill in for her last minute. She was really sweet. I was having trouble with my costume. The hood kept slipping off. She said "you know........ if you just sew a little comb in the hood, it will stay in place very nicely". And sure enough..... I added one when we got home and it works great. The Fairy Godmother after all, was the original creator of Cinderella's beautiful ballgown, so I consider the "go to" source for creating costumes! And now you see why she's my favorite Disney character!

And yes...... that night we got the group photo was the BEST! From having Drizella remember us, to having them grant us that amazing photo...... one of our best Disney days EVER!

I'm also sad they don't do the P&P parties any more. We managed to hit them on 3 separate trips. That picture above with Katie as Cinderella turned out to be the night of the very last one ever. I'm glad we waited through and finally saw Captain Jack that time!

 

[mom2rtk]

Katie wanted her hair curled for dinner, so I did what I had to do........ and carried the curling iron through airport security in my carry-on! Of course, there was also a hoop skirt in my bag, and I'm still surprised I didn't get any funny looks! So I curled Katie’s hair, she put on her Drizella costume and we were off to the ball........errrrrrrr...........dinner!

I had considered trying to stop into the Magic Kingdom, just long enough to see the castle lighting, then heading to the Grand Floridian for dinner. I’m glad we didn’t since all the reports on the Disboards since we returned said the Magic Kingdom crowd level was near a 10 that day! (It was the only semi-warm non MVMCP night in the forecast all week!) We arrived at the Magic Kingdom bus stop then quickly transferred to the Monorail and headed for the Grand Floridian. There was plenty of time for Magic Kingdom fun later in the week!

It seemed to take forever for us to be seated for dinner. Thankfully that was the only extended dining wait we had the entire trip, which is pretty remarkable since it was a free dining week.

As we finally entered the restaurant, Drizella saw Katie and let out a huge squeal! It was SO much fun! “It’s me! It’s me!” she yelled. Katie loved it, and we both giggled our way to our table. As we sat down, another Disboarder *toadstool* saw us and stopped by to say hi! Hey Kira! It was fun to meet someone we "knew" already. We both hang out on the Disboutiquer thread. It was fun to meet her daughter who was there dressed as Cinderella.

At one point, one of the CM’s asked to take a picture of Katie with Drizella. Turns out, he was in charge that night, and was kind enough to add a little pixie dust at the end of the night.

This trip, I got as close as possible to Drizella's actual costume, right down to the turquoise ruffled lining! If only I'd known there were THREE ruffles......... Maybe next time!

Drizella played with Katie all evening, even dragging her across the restaurant at one point. Katie loves this stuff, and so do I!

And I really liked this photo. Katie loved that I let her wear lipstick as part of the costume, and kept checking it in her spoon.

And now for our Pixie Dust:

I scrapbook, so pictures like this are absolutely my favorite thing in the whole world! So......many many thanks to the CMs who helped make this happen!

What an amazing start to our trip! With that we headed back to the POP. I felt like Cinderella on her way home from the ball!

I really thought we’d find our luggage in our room when we returned. No such luck, but a couple of phone calls later and it was there.

We got unpacked...... I had a few items to organize for the next day and we crashed early.

NEXT UP: Our traditional first park day.........HOLLYWOOD HERE WE COME!

 

[DISNEYaddict4evr]

Well, December is a GREAT time to slow down and take it all in. So I'm sure you'll have a great time.

Don't get me started on PIN Codes. I have officially given up. I think I'm on the NO PINCODES masterlist at Disney. I have tried it all....... signed up under various email addresses.......saved itineraries...... made changes........... you name it........ no pin code. I refuse to ever try again.

Which I suppose is fine. I don't know if a return trip is in the cards. If it is, it might be west. So a PIN code would probably just taunt me right now!

What dates are you going?

We will be at Disney Dec 11-17 at the Boardwalk.

I wanted to skip Pop Warner because we too were there in 08' Dec 2-11 and I thought it was busy that time.

I think we got the pin codes because we booked the above trip with a travel agent and it had been a while since they heard from her and I. Though I was just there with by boyfriend in September 10' so who knows

 

[mom2rtk]

We will be at Disney Dec 11-17 at the Boardwalk.

I wanted to skip Pop Warner because we too were there in 08' Dec 2-11 and I thought it was busy that time.

I think we got the pin codes because we booked the above trip with a travel agent and it had been a while since they heard from her and I. Though I was just there with by boyfriend in September 10' so who knows

Those should be decent dates. Of course, if Disney releases a general public deal for that time, it will busy up, but not worse than any other time, and not NEARLY as bad as the following week.

And the weather should be decent. We were there that week in 08 and I barely ever needed a jacket, even wore shorts and a T to the Christmas party after dark. 2010 was a different story with record lows. That was out of the ordinary though. Typically it's beautiful and warm in the afternoons and cool enough for jackets in the evening.

I hope you have a magical time!

Thanks for reading along!

 

[DISNEYaddict4evr]

I repeat ... your costumes are AMAZING!!! And talk about great group photos. You are soooo lucky. Can't wait to see more pictures and hear more fun stories

 

[mom2rtk]

I repeat ... your costumes are AMAZING!!! And talk about great group photos. You are soooo lucky. Can't wait to see more pictures and hear more fun stories

Many thanks!

It's a sickness really......... I see costumes I like and I HAVE to make them........ and we've had SO much fun with them through the years! My favorite part has been the great response from the cast members. They work there because they love Disney too. And it's SO much fun to catch them off guard with something different!

 

[dismagiclover]

What a great dinner! And I'm sure you made Drizilla so happy! She doesn't see outfits like that everyday! So fun that your DD still likes all the attention. My daughter has become a bit more self conscious as she ages.

 

[jenseib]

I love it!!! Your costumes are amazing! I wish I had the talent...I know I tell you that all the time, but I do. I think in the next year or so we should plan a trip together...to releave the Disney blues....now to convince Skip that it is a good idea.......

 

[melissapealo]

Wow your costumes are just amazing. You have a wonderful talent. Great pictures with the characters. Katie fits right in with the rest of the cast.

 

[mom2rtk]

What a great dinner! And I'm sure you made Drizilla so happy! She doesn't see outfits like that everyday! So fun that your DD still likes all the attention. My daughter has become a bit more self conscious as she ages.

We had tons of fun! Fortunately Katie has a good sense of humor and is really outgoing. With 2 teenage brothers, she had to learn to stand her ground!

I love it!!! Your costumes are amazing! I wish I had the talent...I know I tell you that all the time, but I do. I think in the next year or so we should plan a trip together...to releave the Disney blues....now to convince Skip that it is a good idea.......

Thanks Jen! I'm so glad you stopped by. Come have some Disney fun as you prepare for your own adventure ........ you know....... FINALLY!

And I would SO love to do a trip with you and Claire! But honestly........ I don't have 3 years to wait for you to get Skip on board with it!

I sort of went nuts with the costumes this trip. But what else was I to do with myself to get in the Disney spirit while I was waiting the full YEAR for the trip?

 

[mom2rtk]

Wow your costumes are just amazing. You have a wonderful talent. Great pictures with the characters. Katie fits right in with the rest of the cast.

Thank you! Katie and I love character hunting. The costumes just add another layer of fun. I wanted this mother/daughter trip as a time we could focus just on that while she was still young enough to enjoy it. We will always love Disney and enjoy it together, but I think this stage is about over.

When the whole family comes along, we all enjoy rides together and do all the traditional stuff, but my husband and the boys just don't "get" the character thing. It was really fun to get to focus on what we wanted.

 

[Miro77]

Your daughter and you are just so adorable! I love the costumes!

 

[mom2rtk]

Your daughter and you are just so adorable! I love the costumes!

Thank you! And ........

 

[Purpleblanket]

Hi!!
We were there just after you guys! From Dec. 27 - Jan 1st!!!
What a great way to bring in the new year!

We also stayed at POP!!
I love the fairy godmother as well and we were a little disappointed that she didn't come for dinner to Cinderella's Castle on the night of our reservations!


I've got a trip report going as well! I'm on Day 4 now... and realize how much time it takes!! I'll have to get back over there and finish my report !

In the meantime... I'll just enjoy catching up on a few others reports!!

Debbie

Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip

 

[vamassey1]

Janet I didn't know you started a report! I have to go back and get caught up.

 

[mom2rtk]

Hi!!
We were there just after you guys! From Dec. 27 - Jan 1st!!!
What a great way to bring in the new year!

We also stayed at POP!!
I love the fairy godmother as well and we were a little disappointed that she didn't come for dinner to Cinderella's Castle on the night of our reservations!


I've got a trip report going as well! I'm on Day 4 now... and realize how much time it takes!! I'll have to get back over there and finish my report !

In the meantime... I'll just enjoy catching up on a few others reports!!

Debbie

Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip

Hi Debbie! I'm Janet! And.......



I used to LOVE that Fairy Godmother show at the CRT dinner. I was sad when they changed it. The Fairy Godmother they had there reminded me of Paula Deen!

I'm glad you're along for the ride! Disney over Christmas sounds heavenly! I'll have to check out your TR too!

Janet I didn't know you started a report! I have to go back and get caught up.

Hey Vanessa! I just decided I needed some magic to pull me out of the winter doldrums. This is doing the trick. I'm smiling already!

I'm glad to see one of my scrapbooking buddies over here!

 

[francis6306]

I know you are caught up with mine, but I just LOVED the Stepmother/StepSisters! They were just soooo funny in the park! We saw a different set, but I can tell they are all the same.

I wish I had time to sew! Cortlyn told me the other day that she was the ONLY Cinderella and that Catie (My baby on the way) would have to be Belle. I suppose I should start looking for her dresses now, huh?

 

[mom2rtk]

I know you are caught up with mine, but I just LOVED the Stepmother/StepSisters! They were just soooo funny in the park! We saw a different set, but I can tell they are all the same.

I wish I had time to sew! Cortlyn told me the other day that she was the ONLY Cinderella and that Catie (My baby on the way) would have to be Belle. I suppose I should start looking for her dresses now, huh?

So it's a girl?



I always said I'd be in trouble with 2 girls! Just too many fun things to want to make them! But I bet you'll have fun!

It's not that I have TIME for sewing...... My "fun" sewing is my therapy! It gets me through!