Lifelong_Dreamer
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2007
The boys met us in the park right around 4pm so we had a little bit of time to kill before we started thinking about strategy for the party. We decided to go on one of the few rides we hadn't made it on earlier in the week, Pirates of the Caribbean. Not much of a line and we were placed in the front. Well, you all know what happens when you have a heavy load in the front of the boat on a water ride, a big splash! Not a big deal as we would dry quickly but the paper Starbucks bag I was carrying started to disintegrate. Rather than have the bottom of the bag fail and have my mug shatter on the ground I asked for a plastic bag in the gift shop at the end of the ride. Problem solved! While in the gift shop we also saw the perfect shirt to represent the trip and inspired the TR title.
Luckily for Alek his eye was not bothering him as much this day. It was still all red but he had been out of the sun most of the day while at Disney Quest and it had probably started to heal. We still do not know what caused all his eye issues. Alek still blames the water on Splash Mountain.
Alek and Erich had collected their party wristbands when they entered the park but Mom and I still needed ours. There was a station right across from pirates so we popped over there and got them, no line!
It was now time to start thinking about party strategy. There was one thing that I REALLY wanted to do and I knew that we would have to devote these pre-party hours to preparing for it otherwise it wouldn't happen or we would spend the whole party in line. Not ideal when you are paying big money for a party ticket.
You can probably guess what my objective was, a photo with the Seven Dwarves! We wandered over to Fantasyland to scout out the situation. I knew that they come out for photos at the walls going into New Fantasyland but so do the Princesses with their Princes. So it was a matter of picking the right spot to camp out. We saw about five people sitting near the wall closest to Pinnochio's Village Haus so I asked them if they were waiting for the Dwarves and they were!
We got our spot in line only a few people back and got ready to spend the next two hours or so there. I was glad that we got there when we did as more and more people started to show up and cast members arrived and started putting up rope for the line. We had arrived just in time!
The other part of the plan was that instead of spending two hours sitting in line doing nothing we could use the time more productively and eat our dinner in line. Alek and I collected dinner orders from Mom and Erich and then sauntered over to Pinocchio's. The boys got pasta, I got a flatbread and can't remember what Mom had. We dined in line and then I returned the trays to the restaurant. The line had really grown by this point and was starting to twist and turn through the ropes.
We struck up conversations with the people in line around us. I was chatting with the people who were in line before us and I was so happy, I had found my people! They were all hard-core Diser's and trip planners just like me. Although I shouldn't have been surprised by this as probably only the nerdiest planners would know to show up that early for a photo. We talked about general park news and our plans for the night. We also talked about ADR's for Be Our Guest being available during the party but only for ticket holders. They all agreed with me that it seems ridiculous to spend that much on a party ticket and then "waste" that much time during the party at a table service meal. You would have to REALLY want to eat there I think to spend that kind of money. Do you all have any opinions on this? Can you see any reason to use valuable party time on a table service meal?
Alek and Erich were talking to the parents of twins behind us in line, turns out that they were big Game of Thrones fans so that kept them occupied.
As the park started to get dark and 7pm (party time!) approached I looked back at the line and it was insane. I felt bad for people who did not do research and would show up after 7 thinking they would be able to easily get a photo with the dwarves. Just before 7pm which is the official start of the party the dwarves came out and the line started to move. According to the time stamp on my photos we were getting our coveted picture with the dwarves at 7:01.
We had planned out which dwarves we wanted to stand by. Erich wanted Sleepy, Alek Bashful and I was with Sneezy. Mom didn't have a preference.
We were in and out in just a few minutes and on to enjoy the rest of the party. My strategy had paid off and we did not have to waste precious party time in line for the Dwarves. I know some may think us crazy for waiting in line two hours before the party to get the picture but I thought it was worth it. We used the time to eat our dinner, had some good conversation with other guests and we got a photo with the Dwarves who only come out at the parties.
Also, of note, even before the party started CM's were coming by and asking to see party wristbands from the people waiting in line. Worth noting as I have read some reports that say CM's don't actually check but that was not our experience at all. We had our bands checked several times throughout the night.
Next we hustled to Storybook Circus for our next set of character photos. The only other character we really wanted a photo with during the party was Scrooge McDuck. On the way we stopped at the treat station in Fantasyland and got some hot chocolate and sugar cookies. They were alright but not the best I have ever had.
When we got to Storybook Circus a pretty long line had formed but it was nothing compared to the Dwarves and the Princess/Prince lines in Fantasyland. This line was also for two sets of characters Scrooge+Donald and Minnie+Daisy. We had a very entertaining time in line. The CM who was monitoring the line was hilarious and was constantly cracking jokes with us. One of our favourite parts about the night was our interaction with that CM. Alek and Erich's Game of Thrones friends from the Dwarves line were in line behind us again and so the deep discussions about the show and books continued.
Alek and Erich asked Mom and I if we had any $1 bills they could borrow. I didn't have any cash but Mom had a ton so Alek and Erich were set with their photo props.
The way the line worked is that you would see Scrooge and Donald first and then jump over to Minnie and Daisy.
As Alek and Erich approached Scrooge they pulled out their dollar bills and fanned them out and approached singing "Dollar bills, dollar bills". The people in line around us as well as the CM's were howling. It was pretty funny.
I tried to get it on video but I was too far away to really capture it.
Not sure what happened to this photo
Mom and I did not do anything interesting or funny.
Next up were Minnie and Daisy. Once again the boys had people howling with their character interactions. They approached them and said in affected voices "Oh my gosh! I just love your outfits! And those bows, they really bring out your coal back eyes!" It went on for a minute or two in that vein and Minnie and Daisy were twirling around showing off their outfits and accessories.
Once again, Mom and I had to follow up on that act and were positively boring in comparison.
After that we used the facilities and grabbed some more hot chocolate and cookies before heading off to enjoy the rest of the party.
Luckily for Alek his eye was not bothering him as much this day. It was still all red but he had been out of the sun most of the day while at Disney Quest and it had probably started to heal. We still do not know what caused all his eye issues. Alek still blames the water on Splash Mountain.
Alek and Erich had collected their party wristbands when they entered the park but Mom and I still needed ours. There was a station right across from pirates so we popped over there and got them, no line!
It was now time to start thinking about party strategy. There was one thing that I REALLY wanted to do and I knew that we would have to devote these pre-party hours to preparing for it otherwise it wouldn't happen or we would spend the whole party in line. Not ideal when you are paying big money for a party ticket.
You can probably guess what my objective was, a photo with the Seven Dwarves! We wandered over to Fantasyland to scout out the situation. I knew that they come out for photos at the walls going into New Fantasyland but so do the Princesses with their Princes. So it was a matter of picking the right spot to camp out. We saw about five people sitting near the wall closest to Pinnochio's Village Haus so I asked them if they were waiting for the Dwarves and they were!
We got our spot in line only a few people back and got ready to spend the next two hours or so there. I was glad that we got there when we did as more and more people started to show up and cast members arrived and started putting up rope for the line. We had arrived just in time!
The other part of the plan was that instead of spending two hours sitting in line doing nothing we could use the time more productively and eat our dinner in line. Alek and I collected dinner orders from Mom and Erich and then sauntered over to Pinocchio's. The boys got pasta, I got a flatbread and can't remember what Mom had. We dined in line and then I returned the trays to the restaurant. The line had really grown by this point and was starting to twist and turn through the ropes.
We struck up conversations with the people in line around us. I was chatting with the people who were in line before us and I was so happy, I had found my people! They were all hard-core Diser's and trip planners just like me. Although I shouldn't have been surprised by this as probably only the nerdiest planners would know to show up that early for a photo. We talked about general park news and our plans for the night. We also talked about ADR's for Be Our Guest being available during the party but only for ticket holders. They all agreed with me that it seems ridiculous to spend that much on a party ticket and then "waste" that much time during the party at a table service meal. You would have to REALLY want to eat there I think to spend that kind of money. Do you all have any opinions on this? Can you see any reason to use valuable party time on a table service meal?
Alek and Erich were talking to the parents of twins behind us in line, turns out that they were big Game of Thrones fans so that kept them occupied.
As the park started to get dark and 7pm (party time!) approached I looked back at the line and it was insane. I felt bad for people who did not do research and would show up after 7 thinking they would be able to easily get a photo with the dwarves. Just before 7pm which is the official start of the party the dwarves came out and the line started to move. According to the time stamp on my photos we were getting our coveted picture with the dwarves at 7:01.
We had planned out which dwarves we wanted to stand by. Erich wanted Sleepy, Alek Bashful and I was with Sneezy. Mom didn't have a preference.
We were in and out in just a few minutes and on to enjoy the rest of the party. My strategy had paid off and we did not have to waste precious party time in line for the Dwarves. I know some may think us crazy for waiting in line two hours before the party to get the picture but I thought it was worth it. We used the time to eat our dinner, had some good conversation with other guests and we got a photo with the Dwarves who only come out at the parties.
Also, of note, even before the party started CM's were coming by and asking to see party wristbands from the people waiting in line. Worth noting as I have read some reports that say CM's don't actually check but that was not our experience at all. We had our bands checked several times throughout the night.
Next we hustled to Storybook Circus for our next set of character photos. The only other character we really wanted a photo with during the party was Scrooge McDuck. On the way we stopped at the treat station in Fantasyland and got some hot chocolate and sugar cookies. They were alright but not the best I have ever had.
When we got to Storybook Circus a pretty long line had formed but it was nothing compared to the Dwarves and the Princess/Prince lines in Fantasyland. This line was also for two sets of characters Scrooge+Donald and Minnie+Daisy. We had a very entertaining time in line. The CM who was monitoring the line was hilarious and was constantly cracking jokes with us. One of our favourite parts about the night was our interaction with that CM. Alek and Erich's Game of Thrones friends from the Dwarves line were in line behind us again and so the deep discussions about the show and books continued.
Alek and Erich asked Mom and I if we had any $1 bills they could borrow. I didn't have any cash but Mom had a ton so Alek and Erich were set with their photo props.
The way the line worked is that you would see Scrooge and Donald first and then jump over to Minnie and Daisy.
As Alek and Erich approached Scrooge they pulled out their dollar bills and fanned them out and approached singing "Dollar bills, dollar bills". The people in line around us as well as the CM's were howling. It was pretty funny.
I tried to get it on video but I was too far away to really capture it.
Not sure what happened to this photo
Mom and I did not do anything interesting or funny.
Next up were Minnie and Daisy. Once again the boys had people howling with their character interactions. They approached them and said in affected voices "Oh my gosh! I just love your outfits! And those bows, they really bring out your coal back eyes!" It went on for a minute or two in that vein and Minnie and Daisy were twirling around showing off their outfits and accessories.
Once again, Mom and I had to follow up on that act and were positively boring in comparison.
After that we used the facilities and grabbed some more hot chocolate and cookies before heading off to enjoy the rest of the party.
We've even been forcefully dragged by our arms to visit a stall.
Thank goodness Alek and Erich have never outgrown their playfulness or we would be positively boring! 
Yes worth the wait!
What a special trip you got to experience! 
