Hurry Up, You Brats, or I'm Telling Mickey Mouse! An August 2013 TR THE END 1/18

[Viva Las Disney]

Caketastrophe aside, it was an AWESOME birthday surprise. I am very lucky to have such a thoughtful daughter!

Love this, so sweet!

Courtneybelle... Great trip report so far, can't wait for more.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

Ahhhh....when I saw the gorgeous cake and the message on the plate I got tears in my eyes! After hearing about all of those blunders made by the CM's, it was really touching what your original plan was.

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

There is just something so special about a treat shaped like Mickey Mouse. It just make it one million times more awesome.

I'm really starting to become more of a "parade person" as time goes on. And if you're not prepared to become a 5 year old in Disney... stay home.

Awww, I totally get how you felt having your surprise ruined. The "surprise" is the best part.

Oh I so love the Step Sisters. So much fun!

That really was a Caketastrophe, but on the bright side it was free. And wow, how awesome that IT CHANGES COLOURS!!!!!

 

[courtneybelle]

Caketastrophe aside, it was an AWESOME birthday surprise. I am very lucky to have such a thoughtful daughter. Sneaking around the house right under my nose taking calls from the GF bakery! I felt so bad when that hostess ruined the surprise, I mean how dumb is that?? But like she said, in our family, it's not vacation til somebody's crying! But she rallied and we enjoyed ourselves in spite of the poor service. The cake was as delicious as it was beautiful. She has set the bar for the next birthdays we celebrate at the World!

Aw Mom, thanks so much! I am just glad you loved it!

Love this, so sweet!

Courtneybelle... Great trip report so far, can't wait for more.

Thank you so much! My mom is the best.

Ahhhh....when I saw the gorgeous cake and the message on the plate I got tears in my eyes! After hearing about all of those blunders made by the CM's, it was really touching what your original plan was.

Thank you so much!! It definitely all worked out in the end, and it was totally worth it.

There is just something so special about a treat shaped like Mickey Mouse. It just make it one million times more awesome.

I'm really starting to become more of a "parade person" as time goes on. And if you're not prepared to become a 5 year old in Disney... stay home.

Awww, I totally get how you felt having your surprise ruined. The "surprise" is the best part.

Oh I so love the Step Sisters. So much fun!

That really was a Caketastrophe, but on the bright side it was free. And wow, how awesome that IT CHANGES COLOURS!!!!!

I agree completely. If I end up doing the DCP, it is my goal to eat everything in Disney World that is shaped like Mickey Mouse.

Haha, I totally agree!

Yeah, it was a bummer, but it all worked out in the end.

They are FANTASTIC, always some of our favorite character meets! One year we went with a preteen boy and the stepsisters had SO much fun trying to get him to propose

That was absolutely the best part of the whole cake! I had no idea that there was going to be a light in there! It was just like the real castle at night, but edible.

 

[emmysmommy]

Oh Courtney, sorry I missed this!! I'm here now and I hope I can remember all the comments I wanted to share....

First of all, you are adorable! And what a great family trip. 20 trips to WDW and you are only 20! That's so awesome.

Our dates did coincide. We arrived on the 16th as well. We were at MK our first full day while you were at AK. I'm going to be looking to see if we were at any of the parks the same days the rest of this report.

Backing up here... going back to your travel day. Sounds like you flew SW airlines?? that was a spiel I've heard before. Brilliant!

Love the suite/room at the hotel. I'm a fan!

Before I even saw that you were having dinner at WPE I knew from the food photos! Yep, I'm an expert on that. Mmmm! Although we failed this last trip to make it to WPE. There's always next time right?

Your attention from Brer Rabbit was precious. I love those spontaneous moments.

Oh poo! Sorry 1900 PF spoiled the surprise. You would think they'd be more cautious....But then to forget to bring the cake. However, the cake was gorgeous. What a great job they did. Sorry for the frustration and the service issues though.

 

[got4boys]

Love the trip report.

Love the cake for your mom.

 

[courtneybelle]

School has been crazy this week, but hopefully I'll be posting an update tonight!

Oh Courtney, sorry I missed this!! I'm here now and I hope I can remember all the comments I wanted to share....

First of all, you are adorable! And what a great family trip. 20 trips to WDW and you are only 20! That's so awesome.

Our dates did coincide. We arrived on the 16th as well. We were at MK our first full day while you were at AK. I'm going to be looking to see if we were at any of the parks the same days the rest of this report.

Backing up here... going back to your travel day. Sounds like you flew SW airlines?? that was a spiel I've heard before. Brilliant!

Love the suite/room at the hotel. I'm a fan!

Before I even saw that you were having dinner at WPE I knew from the food photos! Yep, I'm an expert on that. Mmmm! Although we failed this last trip to make it to WPE. There's always next time right?

Your attention from Brer Rabbit was precious. I love those spontaneous moments.

Oh poo! Sorry 1900 PF spoiled the surprise. You would think they'd be more cautious....But then to forget to bring the cake. However, the cake was gorgeous. What a great job they did. Sorry for the frustration and the service issues though.

Brenda! I'm SO happy to have you on board!

Thank you so much I'm very lucky to go as often as I do. The majority have been family trips too...I did one father-daughter trip, and two trips with friends, but other than that it's always been all of us!

Yes, that was Southwest! Definitely a good start to the trip!

It was a great place to stay! I am excited to get back on property for the next trip, but I really liked the hotel.

WPE is new for us...this was only my second time there. I love it!

Thanks! It was one of my favorite parts of the trip...what a cute bunny.

The service was rough, but it was an amazing cake! So beautiful and delicious. I was really happy with how it turned out!!

Love the trip report.

Love the cake for your mom.

Thank you so much!

 

[courtneybelle]

A quick question before this update begins...for some reason when I post an update, apostrophes will randomly be removed. Does anyone know why that is? It usually doesn't happen on replies. As a copy editor, I like having the apostrophes so if anyone has any guidance I would really appreciate it! And now, on to some updates:

Chapter Nine: Resort Hopping

Then we decided to do some shopping, and I traded with a cast member for a monorail pin! She said that a younger boy had come in every day looking for a monorail pin, and I told her that if she saw him, she should come get me and I would gladly give it to him. She did come and get the pin later because she thought she saw him, but she didn’t, unfortunately. I told her she should just hold onto it in case he comes back, and she was so grateful that she gave me a monorail license plate pin! I love the license plate pins so I was very grateful.

Hi buddy.

Then, we hopped onto the monorail and went over to the Polynesian! We would be back here for dining reservations later in the week, but I had fallen in love with the Polynesian merchandise I saw online, so I definitely wanted to check out Boutiki.

I love the Poly. It just has such a peaceful vibe compared to the lobbies of other resorts.

After we were done shopping, we hopped back on the monorail and went home for the night!

I bought this phone case. I was bummed because a lot of the cases I loved were only for the iPhone 5, but I’m obsessed with the Poly so this was perfect!

I traded for these pins:

Continued in next post
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[courtneybelle]

Chapter Ten: Aquatica

This morning we were off to Aquatica! Our Discovery Cove passes included two weeks' admission to the SeaWorld parks, so we figured we would give the water park a try! The pictures are from Fuji disposable waterproof cameras scanned by my mother. I have no idea why they're so tiny...but they're better than nothing?

Our first stop was the Dolphin Plunge, which is the body slide that goes through the dolphin habitat. I did it twice, but it was hard to see any dolphins because you go through so fast and it's hard to see with all the splashing water. Kylie saw two dolphins though!

Next, my dad and I did Tassie's Twisters, which my mom refers to as the toilet bowl slide. We were each in an inner tube for this one. It was pretty fun and much faster than the Dolphin Plunge.

Unfortunately, my dad and I came out of different exits, and I was totally disoriented, so I couldn't find anyone in my family. I was lost. Weren't any of them paying attention during "We Swim Together" in the Finding Nemo musical?!

Fortunately, I found them, and we did Walhalla Wave, a twisty, three-person-tube slide, and HooRoo Run, a bumpy, two-person-tube slide! They were my two favorite slides because they were very thrilling and I like being able to do slides with other people.

This is HooRoo Run:

Dad and me:

Taumata Racer was up next. My dad did it by himself first because I was a little wary of a mat slide where you went headfirst down a big drop, but after he did it once and wanted to go again, Kylie and I went for it. I wasn't a big fan of this one to be honest, it was a little scary for my liking! But Kylie and Dad loved it.

Kylie and Dad wanted to go on the racer again, so Mom and I went to the lazy river. It was lovely and relaxing. After that, we had lunch at Waterstone Grille! I had the barbecue burger, fries, and cookies!

After lunch, we went over to Roa's Rapids, which is a speedy lazy river, or a not-so-lazy river! The waves make you go extra fast and it is SO MUCH FUN. If you're not a strong swimmer I would definitely recommend wearing a life vest, because then the waves just carry you along; if you aren't wearing a vest you may have to do some kicking and swimming. We went around three times because we were having so much fun being carried by the waves and going under waterfalls!

We pretty much had our fill of the park after that, so we decided to dry off and head home. Rather than rent towels, my dad suggested we go into the family dryer, which is basically a big box that blows air on you to dry you off. Everyone was staring at us, but it was hilarious and dried us off so it works for us! At one point I said, "Now we're the dweebs in the family dryer!" which was a contender for trip report title.

I ate the rest of my rice krispie treat, and then we decided we needed to go to a park that night, so off we went to DHS!

Continued in next post
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[courtneybelle]

Chapter Eleven: A Rainy Night at DHS

We got to DHS and it was raining. We picked up a wheelchair for Kylie because she had sprained her toe the week before and the water shoes at Aquatica were not good to her feet.

Our next stop was the Great Movie Ride!

Our tour guide, Brandt, was great! He photobombed some girls who were taking a picture before we left. He was an excellent guide through the movies.

Then, something very exciting and out of the ordinary happened…WE GOT THE COWBOY SCENE!!! I had only gotten it once before, so I was PUMPED. My dad had never seen it and thought it was brand new…nope, just rare! Unfortunately, our cowboy looked pretty bored, but I was excited enough for the both of us.

After our tour through the movies, the stuff dreams are made of, we went to the Magic of Disney Animation building to take a drawing class.

But first, we were surprised to see Disney’s newest princess meeting her subjects in the Animation building! Kylie likes Sofia, so she went up for an autograph and a hug:

This is so cute:

Then it was time to draw:

I am actually one of the world’s worst artists. My dad and I did the art class in January and drew Wreck-It Ralph…and the results were pretty embarrassing. But I felt like trying it again, so we went in and voted on which character we’d like to draw. The choices were Merida, Bolt, and Woody. Can you guess who we drew?

WOODY! Guys, I was so happy with my drawing! It actually looked like Woody! That’s some Disney magic for you.

Characterpalooza was supposed to be starting soon, so we decided to head over. We passed through Pixar Place and saw one of my favorite characters to meet…THE GREEN ARMY MAN!

I have to meet him every year. It’s a tradition. I explained this to him, and he was so happy!



Then, out of nowhere, he made me do pushups! At first, I thought he was just showing off, but then he made me do one!

Well, I can’t even do one pushup, and he was disappointed in me. SHAME. I told him I’d work on it before I saw him again.

It was a hilarious character interaction and I was thrilled.

We got to the Streets of America and the rain meant no Characterpalooza. But we did do some pin trading with some new cast members! I explained to a College Program cast member who Dr. Honeydew was from the Muppets.

My dad was in the mood for a full service dinner, so we decided to score a walk-up at a brand new restaurant for me…

Continued in next post
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[courtneybelle]

Chapter Twelve: ‘50s Prime Time Café

We were off to ‘50s Prime Time Café! My mom and sister had been there before, but I had never, so I was looking forward to it.

The hostess said there would be about a 45 minute wait, but we had nothing else to do that night, so we decided to wait. Well, less than ten minutes later, our name was called!

Our waiter was named Loukili. He was absolutely perfect, and I was so happy to have a great waiter after our experience at 1900 Park Fare. He told us he was from Morocco and asked us where it was. After we guessed, he told us that we were wrong, it was in Epcot! Of course.

I got the special milkshake of the day, ORANGE CREAMSICLE! It was one of the best milkshakes I have ever had! It tasted exactly like a creamsicle and wasn’t too thick or too thin. Perfect!

Kylie got the mega berry smoothie and liked it a lot!

Before the food came, Loukili asked us when we had last washed our hands. He made us go to the bathroom in the restaurant to wash our hands, yelling, “Rapido! Grab your sister! Hurry up, you brats, or I’m telling Mickey Mouse!”

It was HILARIOUS! He said it in a dead serious voice too, like he was ready to run right over to the Animation Building and tattle to Sorcerer Mickey. I was DYING. It was amazing. I had to name the TR after this moment.

Then he told the lady at the next table to watch us and make sure we went in to the bathroom. SO GREAT. He was so in character and perfect for the restaurant.

My dad ordered the sampler with all of the restaurant’s famous dishes.

Kylie, Mom, and I all got the same thing once again: the fried chicken! It was delicious! It was a TON of food and not greasy at all. (I forgot to take a picture before I started eating, so there was actually more food than this!) Loukili said we could substitute corn for the collard greens, which I appreciated.

Loukil spoon fed Kylie her corn at one point.

Then, he made her sing “I’m a Little Teapot” in front of the whole room! He said, “It’s like American Idol, but in Morocco!”

For dessert, we got the Brownie Sundae. I was snapping pictures of it, and another waitress said, “You’re supposed to eat it, not take pictures of it!” Hehe oops. I’m about the food picture life.

We had to get a picture with our waiter:

I was SO happy with our dinner at ‘50s. It was easily my favorite meal of the trip. The food was fantastic and I was so into the experience. I probably wouldn’t have liked it when I was younger, because I was pretty sensitive and didn’t like people teasing me, but now I really got into it.

Continued in next post
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[Simba22]

Great updates! I didn't realize I'd fallen behind a few!

Aquatica sounds like SO MUCH FUN! I'm not a HUGE waterpark fan...we don't even normally do the Disney ones...but I think I'd try Aquatica just for the Not So Lazy River! That sounds like fun!

I'm so sorry about your 1900 PF experience! I'm glad that the food was good, and you had some good character interaction...but poor service can really make or break it! I ordered a cake as a surprise last July but we were eating at The Wave so we ordered from Brian at The Contemporary. The cake was phenomenal! There were 8 of us so I ordered a 10 inch, I think? And it was still ENORMOUS. Between 8 of us I think we JUST about ate half. I felt terrible tossing the rest of it but we just couldn't eat it! The one you got for you mom was SO pretty! And what a great idea to put a glow cube under the castle! That is genius!

I am so apprehensive about trying 50s! I really want to EAT there but I don't like being messed with like that so we skip it! Glad you guys had a good time though! I think you definitely picked the right moment to name this TR after! Although "Dweebs In The Family Dryer" is hysterical!

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Courtney, I always had problems with the apostrophes disappearing whenever I edited a post. It was VERY frustrating. I'm not sure why it happens, but I've found that if you always do "advanced edit" as opposed to a "quick edit", everything seems to stay intact.


Ahhh, I love that monorail licence plate pin. But then, I'm pretty obsessed with all thing monorail.

And AHHHHHHHH Cowboy scene!! I've seen this a grand total of once and it was the very first time I did the Great Movie ride. Like how is that even possible???

The Animation drawing class is definitely on my to do list since I've never done it. Next time FOR SURE!

"it was in Epcot!" Nice!!

Haha title reveal!!! That is so awesome! I've heard so many good stories from Prime Time. It looks like so much fun as long as you can get into it.

 

[khertz]

Yay for meeting Sofia! I'm excited that she will be available for meet & greet when we go, because DS really enjoys her show.

DH and I have always enjoyed the animation academy. Your drawing of Woody came out great! It really depends on who your CM is teaching you and also what character you are drawing. We had a CM we'd had before who was great, but he had us drawing Tinkerbell, and it was so hard and frustrating! But then I have drawn easier characters with a terrible CM and it wasn't as fun of a class. But overall, we have had great experiences there and have drawn a lot of different characters!

Your meet with the Green Army Man is just precious.

I am almost positive we have your CM from 50's Prime Time in the video we took there of singing Happy Birthday to DS last year!

 

[CarolAnnB]

Love the updates! Especially in my old age where I already forgot half the stuff we did.

That was a great evening at DHS, especially since it wasn't even on our original itinerary on the Aquatica day. For once, we "deviated from the plan" and it was not a total disaster.

Sofia was so cute helping Kylie back to her wheelchair. But there is something about Sofia's big head...I just don't know.

Loukili at Prime Time was great. He kept making you girls thank "Mama and Daddy" for bringing you to WDW. That Brownie Sundae was awesome. When I had asked for the dessert menu, he said something like, "Mama, it's right in front of you." I'm looking all around the table for it, not realizing it was on the disk in the ViewMaster!

Are you working on those "guns" before your next meet with the Green Army Man?? I still remember the first year they were out at DHS and you felt sorry for them because everyone wanted to meet Woody and Buzz and they were all alone, just waiting for someone to take a picture with them. And you have sought them out every trip since!

Miss you lots!

 

[courtneybelle]

Great updates! I didn't realize I'd fallen behind a few!

Aquatica sounds like SO MUCH FUN! I'm not a HUGE waterpark fan...we don't even normally do the Disney ones...but I think I'd try Aquatica just for the Not So Lazy River! That sounds like fun!

I'm so sorry about your 1900 PF experience! I'm glad that the food was good, and you had some good character interaction...but poor service can really make or break it! I ordered a cake as a surprise last July but we were eating at The Wave so we ordered from Brian at The Contemporary. The cake was phenomenal! There were 8 of us so I ordered a 10 inch, I think? And it was still ENORMOUS. Between 8 of us I think we JUST about ate half. I felt terrible tossing the rest of it but we just couldn't eat it! The one you got for you mom was SO pretty! And what a great idea to put a glow cube under the castle! That is genius!

I am so apprehensive about trying 50s! I really want to EAT there but I don't like being messed with like that so we skip it! Glad you guys had a good time though! I think you definitely picked the right moment to name this TR after! Although "Dweebs In The Family Dryer" is hysterical!

Thanks!

Aquatica was a ball! The not-so-lazy river was a blast. If I had found that earlier in the day I would have spent a lot more time there!

I have been DROOLING over Brian's cakes in the Cake Chatter thread. They are stunning! They do look pretty enormous, though, so I don't blame you for not finishing it. I LOVED that they made the cake glow, it was such a nice touch!

Yeah, it may not be the best restaurant if you don't want to get teased, but my family got really into it so it was a ball. The food was fantastic, though! Haha the family dryer was too much.

Great pics!

Thank you!

Courtney, I always had problems with the apostrophes disappearing whenever I edited a post. It was VERY frustrating. I'm not sure why it happens, but I've found that if you always do "advanced edit" as opposed to a "quick edit", everything seems to stay intact.


Ahhh, I love that monorail licence plate pin. But then, I'm pretty obsessed with all thing monorail.

And AHHHHHHHH Cowboy scene!! I've seen this a grand total of once and it was the very first time I did the Great Movie ride. Like how is that even possible???

The Animation drawing class is definitely on my to do list since I've never done it. Next time FOR SURE!

"it was in Epcot!" Nice!!

Haha title reveal!!! That is so awesome! I've heard so many good stories from Prime Time. It looks like so much fun as long as you can get into it.

Rob, that tip seems to have worked! THANK YOU

Love the Monorail. I scored one or two other Monorail pins as well!

The only time I saw it before was when I went with a friend and her family, so I knew it was a possibility, but my dad was totally shocked.

My mom and my sister do the animation class multiple times per trip, but this was the first trip I really got into it. Definitely a good time.

I'm so glad we spontaneously decided to do Prime Time. It was hilarious.

Also, my mom is more of a lurker (except on my TR) but she did inform me she's started your solo trip TR!

Yay for meeting Sofia! I'm excited that she will be available for meet & greet when we go, because DS really enjoys her show.

DH and I have always enjoyed the animation academy. Your drawing of Woody came out great! It really depends on who your CM is teaching you and also what character you are drawing. We had a CM we'd had before who was great, but he had us drawing Tinkerbell, and it was so hard and frustrating! But then I have drawn easier characters with a terrible CM and it wasn't as fun of a class. But overall, we have had great experiences there and have drawn a lot of different characters!

Your meet with the Green Army Man is just precious.

I am almost positive we have your CM from 50's Prime Time in the video we took there of singing Happy Birthday to DS last year!

Sofia was so sweet! I'm sure your son will have a great time meeting her.

Thank you! My mom and sister have a ton of pictures from the past several trips (some are framed in our living room). Tinkerbell sounds like a tricky one...Wreck-It Ralph was definitely more challenging than Woody. I really enjoy the class.

Thank you!!! This was definitely the best meet I've had with them, and it was either the best or second-best meet of the entire trip...(cliffhanger!! )

I will have to check that out!!! Loukili is an angel. I loved him a lot.

Love the updates! Especially in my old age where I already forgot half the stuff we did.

That was a great evening at DHS, especially since it wasn't even on our original itinerary on the Aquatica day. For once, we "deviated from the plan" and it was not a total disaster.

Sofia was so cute helping Kylie back to her wheelchair. But there is something about Sofia's big head...I just don't know.

Loukili at Prime Time was great. He kept making you girls thank "Mama and Daddy" for bringing you to WDW. That Brownie Sundae was awesome. When I had asked for the dessert menu, he said something like, "Mama, it's right in front of you." I'm looking all around the table for it, not realizing it was on the disk in the ViewMaster!

Are you working on those "guns" before your next meet with the Green Army Man?? I still remember the first year they were out at DHS and you felt sorry for them because everyone wanted to meet Woody and Buzz and they were all alone, just waiting for someone to take a picture with them. And you have sought them out every trip since!

Miss you lots!

Haha you're killing me. Glad I can help prevent your memory loss. Though you have filled in on a lot of details I forgot to mention!

I thought it was a great night at DHS! Good food, good character meets, not much pressure to get stuff done so we could go at a leisurely pace.

Her head is quite large...

I wish I could have eaten more of the Brownie Sundae! The Viewmaster menu is super cool, but as someone who had pinkeye and hated it, I felt a little worried after. I was fine, though!

The Green Army Men are my loves. I definitely need to be a little stronger before our next push-up contest, though!

 

[courtneybelle]

Chapter Thirteen: To Infinity and Under the Sea

With our tummies full, we decided to go see Woody and Buzz to get our pictures of Woody signed by the man himself! There was a huge line, but we made the best of it.

Showing off Zurg's soft side.

Woody LOVED our pictures! Buzz was impressed as well.

Buzz actually signed instead of using his stamp, and I was very impressed, although that’s probably part of the reason why the line was so long.

I had Woody sign my picture:

After meeting our favorite cowboy and space ranger, we decided to go see Voyage of the Little Mermaid, which has been a family favorite for years. It was wonderful, as always. My dad loves to quote Sebastian and say, “Children got to be free to lead their own lives!”

Then we decided to call it a night, which was a very good idea, as it started pouring as we left the park! Plus, the next day was my mom’s birthday, and we had a LOT to do!

I traded for these pins:

Continued in next post

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[courtneybelle]

August 19

Chapter Fourteen: A Magical Birthday

Today was Mom’s birthday! YAYYYYYY! And we were off to her favorite park, the Magic Kingdom!

My sister and I had a few of the same shirts, but Kylie refused to wear them on the same day as me, even though my mom thought it would be adorable. So my mom and I were surprised when she popped out of our room wearing the same shirt as me!

Twins:

My mom had made me this fabulous Belle bow that she saw on Pinterest, so you can probably guess where we were off to first thing!

I want a welcome mat with this logo.

We rode the ferry over to MK and had some great views of the monorail resorts.

But this is the best view:

We watched the fabulous welcome show (another one of my Disney dream jobs is to be in that show) and booked it to Enchanted Tales with Belle!

I saw a survey on Instagram last month that asked, “If you could take Walt on any ride, what would it be?” After a lot of thought, I think I’d love to take him on this. I think he would be amazed at the Wardrobe and Lumiere animatronics. Disney has come a long way, for sure!

Because 3/4 of the Courtneybelle family LOVES being in the spotlight, Dad, Kylie, and I all got parts in the show. My dad got to be a suit of armor. I was chosen to be Maurice! I had been him the last time I saw the show, so I guess I’m just a natural for looking cold and scared. Kylie was one of the dancing plates.

So excited I couldn't stand still:

The show was adorable, as always. A little girl played the Beast and she had the most precious roar.

Being cold and scared:

Belle noticed my shirt and my Belle-shaped hair bow right away, and said how honored she was! I told her she was my favorite princess, and she said, “Oh, you must love to read!”

She was so beautiful and kind. Love her.

As we were leaving the show, we saw the man who had been selected to be the wardrobe and his daughter. The little girl said, “Don’t ever do that again, Dad! It was so embarrassing!” Oh to be young again! My parents don’t really faze me at this point but if I had been her age I probably would have been a little embarrassed.

We went to go see Ariel next, but she wasn’t there yet! So we went on her ride instead, which was adorable as always.

After the ride, we went back to the grotto, and the character attendant told us that Ariel had stopped being shellfish and showed up! I love puns so I laughed for a good three minutes after that. No shame.

Ariel was pretty subdued but still lovely. She noticed that my seaweed was in the shape of Belle.

Next, we got my favorite drink ever…LEFOU’S BREW! We also got cinnamon buns to share.

I love apple juice. So to freeze it, add a toasted marshmallow flavor, and give it a foam topping is basically the easiest way to my heart. If they sold a Lefou’s Brew machine I would buy it no matter what the cost. IT IS HEAVEN.

We left the tavern to find that Gaston himself was in the village! AHH! He is my favorite villain.

Gaston met my sister first, and said that her shirt was “rubbish” because the guy on the shirt wasn’t him! He also wanted to make sure the camera caught the gleam off his smile.

He couldn’t believe that I was wearing the same shirt. I explained that my mom wanted us to do it for her birthday, and he suggested therapy…oh, Gaston.

I asked if we could show off our muscles, and he was thrilled, as he could do that all day.

Gaston then insisted on meeting my mom for her birthday. He said he was like her husband, “only taller and better looking.” Kylie didn’t get it, so Gaston gestured that it went right over her head! He was hilarious. I’m so glad he deigns to meet his admirers now.

Muscle poses:

I love New Fantasyland so much. Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney movie, so to see so much of NF dedicated to it makes me so happy. I could hang out there all day. But there’s so much more Kingdom to explore!

Continued in next post
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[courtneybelle]

Chapter Fifteen: Move It, Splash It, Celebrate It

I then went to the bathroom, forgetting that we were going to pass by the Rapunzel bathrooms. REGRETS. I’d be back, though!

We then got on my favorite ride in all of Disney World…SPLASH MOUNTAIN!

I actually hated this ride when I was younger, as I was terrified of the drop. Once they added the safety bar, though, I grew to like the drop better, and I just love Brer Rabbit and his shenanigans. What a cutie.

We’re not a family to waste time at Disney, so naturally during the boring part of the ride, we decided to figure out what we’d do next…

My dad and I are unfazed, but Mom and Ky are terrified. I appreciate the guy behind us thinking about what we should do next, though.

While Dad and I were admiring our photo-taking skills, Kylie and Mom were running over to catch the sign-language-interpreted Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It!

I love this parade because it’s the most random assortment of characters. Plus “Celebrate You” gets me right in the heartstrings.

Brief rant here: The sign language interpreters wear blue shirts and black pants, and they are signing to people. So if you can avoid it, PLEASE do not walk between the interpreters and the people to whom they are signing. This happens to us a lot in Disney, and I feel so bad because while my dad still has a bit of his hearing left, if people are relying on the interpreters then they have no idea what’s going on when people cut in front of them. I’ve definitely made some poor choices when I get caught up in the excitement of Disney, but ever since we started using the interpreters I try to be more conscious of the needs of people with disabilities. /rant.

Now that that's over...Castle shot!

Frozone signed “I love you” to us, which was fabulous!

After the parade, we had to duck into the Emporium because it was SO HOT out. We’ve always gone to Disney in the summer, and this was one of the hottest trips that I remember.

We decided it was time for lunch, so we headed over to Mom’s special request…

Continued in next post
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