I Just Want to See the Dancing Lights Gleam! Nov 2015 TR *COMPLETE* 3/29

[Imagineer5]

What a fun morning at EPCOT - sounds like a perfect plan splitting up your tiered items. I can't wait for Aria to ride Soarin (it was down last trip). Too funny about Paxton trying to design a slow car!!

Sounds like a nice evening at MK to see the castle, it is SO gorgeous all year long, but especially at Christmas time. Delilah is such a cutie!

 

[Gracefulskinny]

I just didn't think I could go all the way to Disney during Christmastime and not see the Castle lit up.

Totally get that! I'd be the same way!

For DD, this meant an outfit change!

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Adorable!

That face your kid makes when you walk up just as the monorail is leaving…

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[afwdwfan]

Although seeing the Osborne Lights all 3 nights sounded appealing, I just didn't think I could go all the way to Disney during Christmastime and not see the Castle lit up.

You definitely can't be right there and miss seeing the castle lit up!

That face your kid makes when you walk up just as the monorail is leaving…

I'm pretty sure I've been guilty of making that face too.

Courtney found us as we got to the hub, and we chatted while waiting for the castle lighting to begin! We hadn’t seen this show since 2011, and it has changed quite a bit with the addition of the characters from Frozen.

I'm glad that you were able to meet up with her and see the show. I kind of like what they've done with the Frozen overlay to the show, but I kind of get the point of thinking that it should be Cinderella and the Fairy Godmother since it is Cinderella's castle.

As beautiful as the Castle always is covered in icicle lights, it was even more beautiful with the addition of the turrets being lit as well!

But, they said we could purchase it now and bring it back in the morning to have the personalization done. We figured that would be best, so that’s what we did. I’ll be jumping ahead a bit, but this is the finished product.

I like it! You chose a great first Christmas ornament.

Our trip felt like it had only just begun, but we were about to start our last day already!

The biggest drawback to a short trip...

 

[IowaTater]

That mermaid outfit is adorable! Seems like DD likes it too!

I really like the picture of you all in front of the train station. The border adds to it perfectly.

DD's ornament is so cute! And the personalization looks so professional. Sometimes they end up looking like a 5 year old did it.

 

[khertz]

DD is such a cutie in her mermaid outfit!

DS represents us all after we miss a monorail/bus/etc. haha so funny!

Love the PP shots. There really is nothing like Christmastime at Disney!

Love love love all the castle lighting photos! Glad you were able to get over there to see it

Such a cute ornament you purchased.

Thanks! I thought it was perfect for a Disney trip.

I don't have any photographic proof, but I have probably made the same face too. lol It's such a bummer when you hurry up only to see it zooming away!

I had forgotten how much I missed Disney at Christmas! We hadn't seen it since 2011, and had kept saying we needed to go back, but kept ending up being sucked back into a late October trip so we kept putting it off.

Thanks!!

did I forget to mention we took Paxton with us? Feels like something I would have at least brought up in passing with you

That's kinda funny as we have the opposite with Emma in that she is in a phase where she loves "babies" and pictures of babies, etc. - but she doesn't get the concept of a picture of herself ... so when we show her pictures of her when she was a baby she loves the pictures but shakes her head when we tell her that is her in the picture

Really, Phil, I must ask that the next time you take my kid across the country on vacation, you have a conversation with me about it first!!

That's too funny!

sounds like a really nice evening and glad everything worked out with meeting up with Courtney!

Glad you enjoyed the show. Somehow I haven't gotten as fatigued by Frozen as you think I would (I think it helps I really enjoy the music - very Broadway musical nature to it) ... though there are a few times I think they are shoe-horning those characters into things ... but I think the Castle lightening fits the characters well

Love the ornament ... we had gotten a very similar one for Emma (Dumbo hat, but I think the ears look a little different on the one we got, guess they change it a bit year to year)

Wow, can't believe your last day already!

It was great we got to hang out a bit instead of just saying "hi" in passing like we had in October! And she stayed on with Disney at the conclusion of her program, so it wasn't the last time we got to see her.

I still love the music from Frozen, and I don't mind them adding the characters to things...until they messed with Maelstrom! That I think is kind of overkill, but I didn't mind the addition to the castle lighting.

Writing it out, it seems like it went by so fast. But when we were actually there, maybe because everything seems to take SO long when you're trying to get two kids out and about (I'm sure you know what I mean!) it felt like we were there a lot longer!!

What a fun morning at EPCOT - sounds like a perfect plan splitting up your tiered items. I can't wait for Aria to ride Soarin (it was down last trip). Too funny about Paxton trying to design a slow car!!

Sounds like a nice evening at MK to see the castle, it is SO gorgeous all year long, but especially at Christmas time. Delilah is such a cutie!

It was great being able to split up the Tier 1 attractions because DS really enjoyed both and wanted to ride them both! He was actually disappointed that Soarin was down in February.

There's not much I love more in Disney than the castle decorated for Christmas! It had been way too long since we had been able to enjoy it, so I was happy we were able to do that too on this short trip.

Thank you!!

 

[khertz]

Totally get that! I'd be the same way!

You just can't skip out on the chance to see that!!

Adorable!

Thank you.

You definitely can't be right there and miss seeing the castle lit up!

As much as we wanted to see the Osborne lights as much as possible, missing out on the lit up castle was just not an option!

I'm pretty sure I've been guilty of making that face too.

Oh I'm sure I have, there's just no photos to prove it. lol

I'm glad that you were able to meet up with her and see the show. I kind of like what they've done with the Frozen overlay to the show, but I kind of get the point of thinking that it should be Cinderella and the Fairy Godmother since it is Cinderella's castle.

I get that with the Cinderella aspect, but I like that they change it up. I thought they did a good job with it!

I like it! You chose a great first Christmas ornament.

Thanks! I had almost picked out this kind of obnoxious hot pink one with baby Minnie on it just because it was the only thing I saw with Baby's First Christmas on it, but DH spotted this one and I fell in love! So glad I didn't have to settle for the other one.

The biggest drawback to a short trip...

Sigh... so so true...

That mermaid outfit is adorable! Seems like DD likes it too!

I really like the picture of you all in front of the train station. The border adds to it perfectly.

DD's ornament is so cute! And the personalization looks so professional. Sometimes they end up looking like a 5 year old did it.

She definitely did!! lol I can't wait to dress her in princess dresses on our trips!

Thank you! I really liked the border options they had for the holidays. A lot of them looked like they went really great with the photo locations!

Thanks! I was so happy with how it came out, and just assumed they would all look that well done!! I would have been heartbroken to get a funky one. I guess we got pretty lucky! It was our first time getting an ornament personalized so I had nothing to compare it to.

 

[hokieinpa]

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I love that Mermaid outfit! She is just too cute!!

Of course, it would be so much better if they decorated the entire park and not just the entrance and Main Street, but I still love it.

Agreed - I wish it felt more like Christmas throughout the entire park. But Main Street is really amazing!

I have said this before, but having a little boy who had interest in Frozen when it came out but was far from obsessed, I haven’t experience the Frozen Fatigue many other parents have. So I was excited to see the updated show!

I'm right there with you. We watched Frozen last week but it had been months since we had seen it before then. I still really enjoy it and the music since I don't have Frozen burn out!

What a great keepsake!

DS wanted a pic of him with the tree on the way out.

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Is it just me or does he look extra tall and big in this picture?

 

[Dugette]

Way too cute!

Gorgeous - and it only gets better from there! Love the holiday castle!

I’m pretty much obsessed with it.

Great ornament!

Our trip felt like it had only just begun, but we were about to start our last day already!

Ugh, I hate that feeling - I had that on the quick August 2014 trip - getting the Magical Express envelope on my first morning there was quite a bummer! But it's amazing how many magical memories you can make in a short time!

 

[khertz]

I love that Mermaid outfit! She is just too cute!!

Thank you!!

Agreed - I wish it felt more like Christmas throughout the entire park. But Main Street is really amazing!

They could do some really amazing things if they decorated all the way into the park, I'm sure. I love how Main Street looks, so imagine that carried out in all the different themes of the lands!

I'm right there with you. We watched Frozen last week but it had been months since we had seen it before then. I still really enjoy it and the music since I don't have Frozen burn out!

I haven't seen it in awhile, so I might need to break it out soon or at least give the soundtrack a play or two!

What a great keepsake!

It's easily one of my most favorite souvenirs we have gotten in the parks!

Is it just me or does he look extra tall and big in this picture?

Haha he does look pretty tall from that perspective!

Way too cute!

Thanks!

Gorgeous - and it only gets better from there! Love the holiday castle!

It's hard to imagine they could improve on something as beautiful as Cinderella Castle, yet somehow, they do!

Great ornament!

It was a great find! I was so excited when DH saw it and showed me, and I love how the personalization came out.

Ugh, I hate that feeling - I had that on the quick August 2014 trip - getting the Magical Express envelope on my first morning there was quite a bummer! But it's amazing how many magical memories you can make in a short time!

At the time, it didn't really feel like it had gone by so fast. I guess in the moment, with the super early mornings and lots of park and chill at the resort time, it made our days feel really long. But reliving it in the TR it seems like it flew by.

 

[khertz]

Day 3: Saturday November 28th

It was already our last day in Disney! But we didn’t have time to be sad about it, we still had plenty we wanted to do in the parks before leaving. We got up super early at 5:30 so that we could leave the room at 7 and be at Magic Kingdom before it opened at 8. Miraculously, we made it through the TTC and to the park by monorail before opening. When we got to the lines at the turnstiles, that’s when it all went horribly wrong.

It was getting closer and closer to the time of the opening show and they weren’t opening the turnstiles on our side! I have no idea what the hold up was, but they didn’t start letting people in until the welcome show had actually started, so I was pretty annoyed at that since we had gotten up and to the park early specifically to see the opening show!

As if that wasn’t bad enough, they only opened a few of the turnstiles, and they hadn’t bothered telling all of the people lined up at the rest of them that they should get in another line. So when all of those people realized they weren’t in the right line, they all started trying to filter into the lines of the turnstiles that were open. Basically, it made getting into the park a giant cluster-you-know-what. Add to that all of the people trying to get in who kept getting blue Mickeys, and instead of pulling those people out of line and letting the CMs with iPads help them, the CMs at the gates just kept getting them to try to scan their bands over and over again. It was awful!

Despite the headache we had just endured, DS was pretty excited to be back in Magic Kingdom!

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But all was forgotten when we saw this beauty again.

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Eventually, we did get into the park and could continue on with the touring plan we had come up with. We had planned our FP+ for later in the morning when we figured the lines would be getting longer. And we weren’t even going to attempt 7DMT with these crowds! So without any real reason to head to any headliners, we decided we would head over to Adventureland. Even with the holdup at the gates and our mini castle photoshoot, there was very few people headed that way along with us.

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There was actually one family ahead of us, but DH waited for them to get further ahead so he could take this photo and the ones of empty Adventureland.

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Our first destination was to ride the Jingle Cruise! We had never seen it with this overlay, didn’t want to use a FP on it, and figured it would be a long wait later in the day, so we thought going there first would be a smart move. We might have had a lame rope drop strategy the past couple days between doing Spaceship Earth and Habit Heroes the day before, and now heading for Jingle Cruise. But the family that had been ahead of us went straight for the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House! Even the CMs working at the entrance to the tree house looked at each other and shrugged.

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Of course, we walked right onto a boat with a few other people, and soon we were on our way to the world famous Jungle – I mean, JINGLE – Cruise!

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It was fun to see such a classic attraction with a bit of Christmas flair. Even Trader Sam had gotten in on the festivities!

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As we exited the ride, I expressed interest in riding Pirates before the lines got long because we didn’t have a FP for it and didn’t know if we would have time for any additional FPs after using up our 3. However, DS was just not having it! He was actually in tears saying he didn’t want to do it because he was too afraid of the drop. In case you forgot, he was totally traumatized by the double drop on the Disneyland version, and the mere mention of it now had him horrified. Despite me reassuring him over and over that it wasn’t scary and that I would prepare him before the drop, he was starting to panic at the idea. Needless to say, I was a bit ticked off by then, but it didn’t matter anyway as Pirates was down when we went to check it out.

Once we realized it was down, we backtracked a bit and went on the Magic Carpets of Aladdin.

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Well at least one of us is happy. I was still a bit pissed off about Pirates!


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After that, we wanted to make sure we got the ornament we had bought for DD personalized before leaving the park, so we made our way to the Christmas store by way of Frontierland.

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Continued in next post...

 

[khertz]

Day 3 Continued: Saturday November 28th

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DS was still being a pain, so he refused to get in a pic.

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We dropped off the ornament and were told it should be ready in about an hour, so we made our way over to Fantasyland to get in a couple more attractions before our first FP+ time. Our first stop was Winnie the Pooh, but just like Pirates, it was down. So we kept walking until we hit Storybook Circus and went to check out Dumbo.

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The line wasn’t long, so we got in, but…as soon as we got to the outdoor part when you are about to board, the CM told us it would be just a little bit longer because it too was down! I had just about had it that morning by that point. Luckily, before I could reach my boiling point, we were able to get onto Dumbo.

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DD ready to fly!


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Once we were finished on Dumbo, we passed by Winnie the Pooh again and it was up and running without a long wait, so we went on that next. DS loved getting to play in the interactive queue!

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Soon enough, we were in our honeypot and entering the world of Winnie the Pooh & friends!

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Just in time for the lines to start getting longer and longer as people continued to pour into the park, it was time to start using our Fastpasses!

UP NEXT: The Human World Is A Mess

 

[hokieinpa]

Sorry about the frustrations getting into the park!

I love the pictures from the Jingle Cruise. We missed this on our trip with only having the MVMCP day at MK. I love the Christmas overlay!

That's so hard when rides seem like they are down left and right! Glad Dumbo and Winnie the Pooh came through for you!

 

[Dugette]

We got up super early at 5:30

Impressive!

When we got to the lines at the turnstiles, that’s when it all went horribly wrong.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, they only opened a few of the turnstiles, and they hadn’t bothered telling all of the people lined up at the rest of them that they should get in another line. So when all of those people realized they weren’t in the right line, they all started trying to filter into the lines of the turnstiles that were open. Basically, it made getting into the park a giant cluster-you-know-what. Add to that all of the people trying to get in who kept getting blue Mickeys, and instead of pulling those people out of line and letting the CMs with iPads help them, the CMs at the gates just kept getting them to try to scan their bands over and over again. It was awful!

Wow, sounds awful. I wonder why they were so disorganized that morning?

Beautiful!

Ha, that's pretty amazing!

But the family that had been ahead of us went straight for the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House! Even the CMs working at the entrance to the tree house looked at each other and shrugged.

As we exited the ride, I expressed interest in riding Pirates before the lines got long because we didn’t have a FP for it and didn’t know if we would have time for any additional FPs after using up our 3. However, DS was just not having it! He was actually in tears saying he didn’t want to do it because he was too afraid of the drop. In case you forgot, he was totally traumatized by the double drop on the Disneyland version, and the mere mention of it now had him horrified. Despite me reassuring him over and over that it wasn’t scary and that I would prepare him before the drop, he was starting to panic at the idea. Needless to say, I was a bit ticked off by then, but it didn’t matter anyway as Pirates was down when we went to check it out.

Wow, what a bummer on all counts.

I had just about had it that morning by that point.

Ugh, I hate when all the rides break and you start to feel like they are plotting against you. Hope things turn around.

 

[Imagineer5]

Oh my what an annoying morning!! I would have been so annoyed too. It sounds like you were still able to have some fun and glad Pooh opened up for you. I'm surprised they let you on Dumbo with Delilah in the carrier - they made me take Maya out which I was really annoyed about bc she was sleeping, and there is no lap bar so that was just dumb and annoying!

 

[missangelalexis]

Ugh, that sounds like a frustrating start to the day! I'm sorry

As usual, gorgeous castle photos! And I love those empty Adventureland photos- so pretty.

I definitely don't think your rope drop strategies were lame! You guys were doing what was a priority to you- nothing wrong with that!

LOL before even reading your caption, I giggled at your face on the magic carpets!
Jeez, it does sound like a lot of things were going wrong this morning though! First the debacle at the entrance and now all the rides being down! Glad you ended up getting on Dumbo and Winnie the Pooh!

 

[khertz]

Sorry about the frustrations getting into the park!

I love the pictures from the Jingle Cruise. We missed this on our trip with only having the MVMCP day at MK. I love the Christmas overlay!

That's so hard when rides seem like they are down left and right! Glad Dumbo and Winnie the Pooh came through for you!

It was just a mess and we totally picked the wrong side to go in on!! We usually have pretty good turnstile choosing skills by definitely not on that morning lol

It wasn't something we really had on our radar until maybe a couple days before. It wasn't something we were going to use a FP+ on and we knew we wouldn't wait long for it later in the day, so it made sense to check it out first thing before it got crazy! It was a very cute overlay so I'm glad we did it.

Oh my gosh it was so annoying! Just walking around and everything not working after that headache of getting in the park, I felt like I was going to lose my religion!!

Impressive!





Wow, sounds awful. I wonder why they were so disorganized that morning?


Beautiful!


Ha, that's pretty amazing!





Wow, what a bummer on all counts.


Ugh, I hate when all the rides break and you start to feel like they are plotting against you. Hope things turn around.

It was painful getting up so early but when the park opens at 8 on a holiday week, you gotta do what you gotta do!

I don't know what was going on at the gates. I have never seen anything like it and we have done rope drop soooooo many times over the years!

The rides plotting against you...that perfectly describes our morning!!

Oh my what an annoying morning!! I would have been so annoyed too. It sounds like you were still able to have some fun and glad Pooh opened up for you. I'm surprised they let you on Dumbo with Delilah in the carrier - they made me take Maya out which I was really annoyed about bc she was sleeping, and there is no lap bar so that was just dumb and annoying!

I was in a rotten mood for a bit until I realized, hey we are in Disney, lighten up! And then we had a great rest of the morning lol.

Really?! I rode with her several times in the carrier, even in February, and no one said a word. Did it happen to you more than once? Hopefully it was just a rogue CM.

 

[khertz]

Ugh, that sounds like a frustrating start to the day! I'm sorry

As usual, gorgeous castle photos! And I love those empty Adventureland photos- so pretty.

I definitely don't think your rope drop strategies were lame! You guys were doing what was a priority to you- nothing wrong with that!

LOL before even reading your caption, I giggled at your face on the magic carpets!
Jeez, it does sound like a lot of things were going wrong this morning though! First the debacle at the entrance and now all the rides being down! Glad you ended up getting on Dumbo and Winnie the Pooh!

It was definitely not the best way to start off our one and only MK day.

It was neat seeing adventure land so empty. We don't usually head there first since we are in the Fantasyland Brigade until the kiddos are older.

Being there unexpectedly over a holiday definitely gave Jingle Cruise a boost up on the must do list. And while it was really cute I'm glad we didn't wait longer for it later in the day.

Haha clearly not what I wanted to be riding first thing in the day!!! But I lightened up after the "sorry all the rides are closed" fiasco that followed this ride lol

 

[amberdc1987]

Your family is adorable. I love reading all about your trip. It seems like y'all had a lot of fun (minus the Pirates ordeal lol). I can't wait to hear more.

In regards to the stroller you rented, can you tell me about the one you did rent? We are taking our girls (6 and 7) for their first trip in February. I am thinking of renting a stroller. Our smallest one is tiny, she is only 40" tall and I don't expect her to be much taller than that by time we go. How was your son's comfort in the one you did rent?

 

[khertz]

Your family is adorable. I love reading all about your trip. It seems like y'all had a lot of fun (minus the Pirates ordeal lol). I can't wait to hear more.

In regards to the stroller you rented, can you tell me about the one you did rent? We are taking our girls (6 and 7) for their first trip in February. I am thinking of renting a stroller. Our smallest one is tiny, she is only 40" tall and I don't expect her to be much taller than that by time we go. How was your son's comfort in the one you did rent?

Thanks for following along!!

My son is about 36 lbs and 42-43" and he fit very comfortably in the stroller. It is a City Mini Double stroller that we rented. It is pretty sturdy, but doesn't feel huge or hard to push at all. The only thing I didn't like was that the storage underneath was a bit tough to get in and out of because it was so shallow. Other than that, we loved using the stroller! We are planning to get the double up until our trip in October this year when he turns 6. After that, we will probably just get a single for DD or bring ours from home and he will have to do more walking. By then, we might be hitting the weight limit on it anyway!

 

[rdkeim]

Love your writing style - between that and your DH's photos, your TR's are the best! Your DS is looking so grown up and your DD is adorable. Christmas is my favorite time to go to Disney. Even though your trip was short, you're getting the most out of it. Wish I could have seen the lights one last time but maybe they will pop up somewhere else one of these days. Looking forward to reading about how the rest of your day went!