"You Can't Make Disney Your Permanent Residence." COMPLETE! 10/21 x 2

[dawnmichele]

We either all had a bit of a head cold on this trip, or were having some allergy problems. At first I thought it was a cold but then it seemed very much to be some kind of allergy thing that kicked up when it was the warmest and most humid. Either way, that morning I was feeling really poorly, and no one was really feeling that great. We were headed for the Christmas Party that night and we all wanted to be able to make it til closing time, so we decided to have a slow morning.

We let ourselves sleep until 9 (I know!). We wandered to the food court to have a Landscape of FLavors breakfast (I didn’t even take a picture), and then bought something like Dayquil in the gift shop. I had brought some, but not enough to go around. Then went back to the room. Hannah and I decided to rest a bit and get ready slowly, but Danny headed out to the Magic Kingdom.

Ok - I don’t even want to talk about this next part. It was definitely the worst part of our entire trip - but here we go.

I had bought a cute little Tinkerbelle wallet for the trip. The night before I this I had found out that things fell out of it all the time. And I should have paid attention to that, because as Hannah and I were headed to the MK this day I checked to make sure I had our MVMCP tickets. And we didn’t.

Of course I started to freak out. I was sure I had lost the tickets and ruined everyone’s vacation. We checked our room really well but no such luck. I grabbed the letter that had come with our tickets (we had them mailed to our house) and headed for the concierge desk in hopes that they could help us out.

I called Danny on my way to the main building to make sure he hadn’t taken them by mistake somehow, and he did not.

Waited in line and tried not to stress. It was a kind of long line but eventually it was our turn. It took the CM a minute to figure out what I needed and then he got on the phone called somewhere. There was lots of waiting. He told us we could get them replaced at the MK, but since we had already waited all that time, and explained the situation when he offered to take care of it we stayed there. There was lots of reading off numbers and writing down numbers, and eventually he printed out brand new MVMCP tickets and sent us on our way.

I took a picture of the back of our new tickets, just in case I managed to lose them as well.

What saved me was having the letter the tickets came with. It had the ticket numbers, which is why it was so easy to replace them.

You know, when I’ve had a freak out at Disney, or anywhere really, what I really want is someone to tell me “Oh, don’t worry. It will all work out.” That concierge was really great in fixing our problem, but all along I just wanted him to say that to me. Because it did all work out and it was fine, but if he would have told me that in the beginning I would have really appreciated it. Maybe I’m just weird. That is certainly possible. Probable even.

Instead of just staying at the MK through all that and trusting I’d take care of it, Danny freaked out and headed back to the resort. And then he was cranky that he “had to leave” and didn’t get to do whatever he had planned. Whatever. It was his choice, right? And don’t I take care of everything when it comes to Disney? Yes I do.

Crisis solved, we all headed to the bus stop. But huge thanks to Disney for all that. It was 100% my fault for losing the tickets but they fixed us right up. That’s the kind of customer service that makes me love that place. Way to go.

By the time we made it to the castle, Dream Along with Mickey was just ending. I can not even tell you how much I love this show and how obsessed I got on this trip, so instead I’ll just show you too many pictures of it.

Next Up: Celebrate a Dream Come True

 

[dawnmichele]

Just after Dream Along with Mickey it became a giant mess. The hub was roped off for the parade, and there was a mix of people trying to get away from the hub along with a mass of people not wanting to move an inch away from their parade spot. It quickly turned into one of those crazy moments where everything was happening at once (luckily I love those moments!), because just then my brother Brian called to see how the trip was going. He likes to call a lot when I’m in a park to hear the background sounds and my “Disney voice”. So I was talking to him as we were trying to head away from the hub - and then we ran right in to Push!

Of course we, along with many others, wanted to see what fun Push was up to, which led to an even crazier crowd situation. Danny was kind of locked in to a little corner and trying to get out. I was trying to let Brian listen, and we were all trying to watch Push - who came up to Danny and told him “I think you’re double parked.”

This is the video I tried to make in the middle of all of that. You might want to skip ahead about 30 seconds into it.

My push video.

We had the first scooter accident trying to get out of that crowd. Last trip Danny ran over Hannah’s toes a couple of times. He is very concerned about running over other people and is super careful with his scooter - which means he sometimes runs over us instead. As we stepped into a clear space at the side of the road to decide what to do next, he pulled right up and parked on my toe. Yikes! But that accident made the next decision quite clear: a Mickey Bar!

As Hannah and I snacked away and the three of us came up with a game plan, it became clear we were going to need to split up for a bit. We had FP+ for Space Mountain that started at 2:45. Danny and Hannah wanted to use them, but I had read somewhere that it was the last day of the Celebrate A Dream Come True parade. Or maybe it was just the last day i knew i’d be at the MK for the parade. I don’t remember but either way I wanted to see it and they wanted to ride.

They headed toward Tomorrowland and I headed the other way to try to find a great spot for the parade. I ended up near the fake Liberty Bell in Liberty Square right on the curb. Perfect(ish).

After a while, I got a text and they were done with Space Mountain plus they had snuck in a go ‘round on Peter Pan. Since there were open spaces all around I told them to come join me for the parade. They made it in plenty of time. Hannah stopped to get a funnel cake to share. I had a couple bites, but I don’t really love the funnel cake so it was mostly theirs.

Eventually the parade came by. I love parades, that this one was one of my favorites. I love the song, especially. Photographing it was tough because there was harsh sun and dark shadows, but it didn’t stop me from taking way too many shots. Here are a few.

Yes, I like Bert too much. Even with 2 Christmas parties on this trip, I never got to meet him.

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Next Up: More parade photos.


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[dawnmichele]

After the parade, it was just about time for us to use our Haunted Mansion FP+s, so we found a seat outside of Sleepy Hollow and sat down to soak in the sites for a bit.

And visited with this lizard since there wasn’t a line.

Did you know that the Sleepy Hollow building was modeled on the house of Washington Irving, the guy who wrote the Legend of Sleepy Hollow? True story.

Next Up: Our first Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party!


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[huntland]

I have loved reading your trip report! I've been reading it aloud to my family and it has made us all even more excited for our October trip! Ty so much for taking the time to do this.

 

[dawnmichele]

I have loved reading your trip report! I've been reading it aloud to my family and it has made us all even more excited for our October trip! Ty so much for taking the time to do this.

Oh my goodness! That is the best compliment I have ever received! I love the thought of you reading my story to your family! And of course I'm glad to help you get more excited for your trip!

Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know you're enjoying it!

 

[dawnmichele]

When it was time to use our passes for the Haunted Mansion, we toured it and got glimpses of many spooky ghosts and banging doors and a creepy graveyard. A lady at the end wanted us to hurry back and then some goofy ghosts tried to catch a ride in our car.

By the time we got away from the happy haunts, it was nearly 4 and we were anxious to get our wrist bands. None of us had been to a Christmas party before, even though every trip we had taken to that point had been just after Thanksgiving. Silly us. We were finally about to check it out and we were excited.

We headed for the check in point at Tortuga Tavern. The line for it seemed way too long, but after it turned 4, the line moved pretty quickly.

When we reached the front of the line, one CM swiped our cards and another wrapped bands around our wrists. This night they were on the right side.

We decided to eat at Pecos Bills before the party actually started. We don’t love Pecos Bilsl, but there aren’t many places we like to eat in the MK. H and I stood in line while Danny went to pick a table. He went really far away to an outside table right by the turn in the road, and this guy hung out with us the whole time.

At this point, we all needed a break from each other. We couldn’t decide on anything to do together, so we decided to split up for a while. Danny went for the Hall of Presidents, Hannah went for Pirates, and I headed straight for Big Thunder. It’s my favorite ride in the Magic Kingdom, day or night.

I had warned D & H that around 6:30, I’d be wanting to get in line for the Princesses with their Princes, because I knew neither one of them would want to do that. I lurked around Fantasyland and listened to the Disney voice warn everyone the party was about to start. Very exciting. And I noticed as CMs in Christmas costumes started showing up everywhere. I talked to a friend on the phone as I watched the sun go down and the lights turn on, and then just about 6:45 I got in line for Rapunzel and Snow White with their princes.

I was maybe the 4th family in line. One family in front of me had some super obnoxious kids, but I was impressed with another family with kids and how great they were all being. When they started to open the doors and we all stood up (we were sitting in the queue while it wasn’t moving), the mom of the good kids recognized my name tag from the December Facebook group! I had posted on the group that I was wearing my “FLAKE” shirt just in case I ran into anyone and she had just read it. It’s a Small Internet guys! I loved that surprise Dismeet.

I went in to the Princess room with the first group of guests. The first couple asked to look inside Flynn’s stachel. He had them gather around like it was a secret, but when he pulled it out I saw Rapunzel’s beautiful crown. (Yes, I was spying and eavesdropping.)

My disboard friends asked to see the smolder - or maybe Flynn offered to show them - but he was concerned it might be so good it would break their camera.

Flynn kept calling Rapunzel “Punzie”. He talked a lot about how much she love to paint and told me a story about how she had painted on Maximus and he did not like it at all. I mentioned that I didn’t have a horse and Flynn asked how I got around. I said what I’d really like to have was a chameleon, and they both Flynn said I should listen for rustling noises.

I asked how they liked having the tower here now and Flynn mentioned “Punzie” had so much more room to paint now, and that was good. The two of them talked on and on and I am lame for not remembering and writing down more of the conversation. I mostly remember knowing I was feeling poorly because I wasn’t quite as on and up to the pretend talk as usual

We said goodbye and I walked over to say hello to Snow White and her prince. She and I talked about the red bow in our hair and how they almost matched.

He asked where the word snow was on my shirt, since it was obviously a shirt to honor his true love. I had to say no, I’m sorry. It’s just about the beauty of the snowflake.

I said maybe later they could walk around with me so i'd have Snow to go with my flake and they liked that. Snow told me she liked to skip around the park and her Prince said she was very good at twirling. They chatted with me some but no one chats as long as Rapunzel and Flynn.

I was out by 7:10 and glad I had gotten in line a little early.

Danny was out on his own and I was a little worried about him because I know he doesn’t like to be alone in the Magic Kingdom after dark. I called to see what he was doing and if he wanted to meet up. I told him I’d be waiting by the carousel. “of Progress?” he asked. “No, of horses.”

The line for the other set of royalty wasn’t even out of their building, so I jumped in it.

Cinderella and her Prince were great.

I told them that they had such a lovely home, and talked to them for a while about their castle.

Aurora’s Prince was might have been my favorite.

He asked about the “Flake” and wanted to be sure it wasn’t a statement about my character. I assured him it was just a reference to the beauty of each snowflake.

He was great. She was ok. I don't remember too much about that convo either. Dang! Sorry guys.

I met Danny just outside Princess Fairy Tale Hall, and we wandered around soaking in the Party goodness. We checked on the 7 Dwarfs line and the wait was over an hour. I kinda wanted to meet Minnie in her holiday outfit but that line seemed really long as well.

I do not even know why we didn’t go meet Mary Poppins and possibly Bert. I’m not sure if they were on a break so I didn’t notice, or if I was just clueless, but either way we started walking towards the front of the park. We were hoping we’d make it in time to get a good spot for the castle show, but it was packed. We were right by Merida, so even though it wasn’t a special Christmas meet and greet, we decided to get in line.

But man could that girl talk! The line too way too long for as short as it was. But while we were waiting, our kid showed up! Plus she had cookies with her. Great timing H - just in time to make it a family photo!

Next Up: Holiday Wishes and the start of the parade!

 

[dawnmichele]

It was getting late and we were back at the front of the park, so we decided to find our spot for Celebrate the Magic and Holiday Wishes. We found a spot right by the tip board outside of Casey’s, which I heard was a great spot, and staked out a spot.

I made a bit of a movie of the castle projection show, but not too much because I was busy being mesmerized by it.

And of course after the projection show - Holiday Wishes! I had heard/read so much about it and was so excited that I was about to see it for myself! I really tried to just watch the show and not take a bunch of photographs but what can I say? When I see something gorgeous I want to capture it forever!

After that was over, we moved away from the crowds swarming to exit and took a seat on the curb. A College Program CM stood/sat around and talked to a group of guests that included Hannah for a really long time. He told them all how he had a really bad day and hated his job. !! Hello, really? Don’t tell us - we don’t care. He got worse when he went on to say how he hated “character integrity” and always told guests there was more than one Mickey and I seriously wanted to lecture him but I did not. His boss came by a little after that and didn’t seem to act like he was a horrible CM or anything, and didn’t tell him to get up and get to work so I guess he was fine. But Walt, I promise if you ever let me work for you I will never do any of that.

Hannah decided she needed a snack before the parade, so she went to Casey’s. Her snack ended up being a giant sausage with mustard and onion. She ate the whole thing, but Danny ate her fries. She still sometimes talks about how giant that sausage was.

By that point in the evening it was starting to get a little chilly and I wished I had some pants on. I remembered I had thrown some socks in the back of the scooter bag and they made a big difference. I was ready for the parade!

My pictures from this parade are really not very good. I was so interested in the parade, I never once looked at a photo to see if my settings were ok and they were definitely not. I don’t mind though, they remind me of that experience and it was so very much fun.

Of course I’m going to show a bunch of them to you though! Ready?

Up next: More Parade!



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[dawnmichele]

A kid behind me was Freaking Out when Santa came by. Santa! Santa! he kept screaming. It’s me, Santa!

Up Next: Closing out the party.

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[murmkc]

Another great trip report. Another long wait for you to finish it!

Keep it up big sister!

 

[dawnmichele]

Another great trip report. Another long wait for you to finish it!

Keep it up big sister!

What? Are you trying to say I am slow with the updates?
I'll have you know I am only about 7 months behind in this trip report!

I'm about to post a bunch more, as long as no one needs me to fix any of their emergencies - and I don't have any of my own.

 

[dawnmichele]

After the parade Hannah was covered with confetti!

I think we split up for a while after the parade. I wanted to check out Woody’s dance party, but no one else was really interested.

I couldn’t resist another couple castle pictures on the way.

It was kinda empty when I got there, but there were plenty of kids dancing with the characters and I wasn’t really feeling it, so I didn’t hang out long.

I wandered a little and then we all met up to ride Big Thunder Mountain. Daniel, a terrific CM, was mesmerized by the flashing lights on Danny’s scooter. Seriously, so many people love those lights. It’s very fun. He talked to us for a long time (while we waited on the scooter side of the loading platform). Before we loaded he said to his fellow CM “Should I be a good CM or a nice CM?”, and then right before we climbed aboard the wildest ride in the wilderness, he told us that when we came into the station on the other side, to not get out and stay for a second trip. Woohoo!

Twice in a row was awesome (it was late on a party night and there wasn’t much of a line so don’t be mad!), but plenty for all of us. We got off and thanked him for the extra fun.

We walked back through Fantasyland to see if there were still any characters out, but no.

Hannah wanted to ride Space Mountain so Danny and I sat at this place:

Those boxes became our official "spot" for this trip. It's a really comfy place to sit for a while.

While we were waiting, I realized that as late as it was, we were going to have to cancel our 1900 Park Fare breakfast reservations. I was so sad!! I had wanted to eat breakfast there for so long but could never get a spot - until this trip and then I had to cancel. But one of Hannah’s epilepsy triggers is lack of sleep and it didn’t seem a good idea to risk it.

There’s always next time, right? (Spoiler alert: We did get to eat there on the next trip!)

When H was back we caught the very end of the Totally Tomorrowland Christmas show, and then headed towards the hub. I was looking for a Photopass Photographer with the big ornament that said MVMCP 2013 that I had seen earlier, but never did see them again.

No one else wanted a Photopass picture with the photographer I did find, so I did it on my own.

They weren’t kicking us out yet, but we were so tired we headed out anyway.

The bossy bus boss wouldn’t let us on a bus we were in line for and should have gotten on. Whatever bus guy. I’m sure he had his reasons. And another bus came along quickly so no one got a chance to get too worked up.
We were all exhausted when we got to our room, and decided that the next day would be our break day so we could really sleep in!

Up Next: Our first trip to Downtown Disney.

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[dreamerchic33]

Hi!
Reading along! Amazing report!
You take some seriously stunning pictures! Any tips for a photo-taking newbie!?

Thanks!
Christina

 

[dawnmichele]

Hi!
Reading along! Amazing report!
You take some seriously stunning pictures! Any tips for a photo-taking newbie!?

Thanks!
Christina

Thank you so, so much! I'm glad you're enjoying it.
Tips? Hmm.
Number one would be never use your flash unless you really, really have to. Even if your camera thinks you should, you probably shouldn't. It washes things out and gives your photo an un natural look you don't want.
Two - take your time composing your shot. Move your camera around until the frame is full of exactly what you want to capture. Do you know about the rule of thirds?
And three - catch people when they're not posing. Snap your photo when they're in the middle of having fun (or whatever they're doing). It'll look more natural and more like you've captured a moment.

How was that?

 

[mtabh]

I have been reading your TR periodically throughout the day! I love how much detail you have put into it! Thanks for taking the time to do this! Also, your daughter is gorgeous!

 

[Cupcakey78]

Yay! I'm really enjoying your

 

[dreamerchic33]

Thank you so, so much! I'm glad you're enjoying it.
Tips? Hmm.
Number one would be never use your flash unless you really, really have to. Even if your camera thinks you should, you probably shouldn't. It washes things out and gives your photo an un natural look you don't want.
Two - take your time composing your shot. Move your camera around until the frame is full of exactly what you want to capture. Do you know about the rule of thirds?
And three - catch people when they're not posing. Snap your photo when they're in the middle of having fun (or whatever they're doing). It'll look more natural and more like you've captured a moment.

How was that?

Thank you for the tips!
I do not know the rule of thirds ...

Thanks again! Xo

 

[dawnmichele]

I have been reading your TR periodically throughout the day! I love how much detail you have put into it! Thanks for taking the time to do this! Also, your daughter is gorgeous!

You are so welcome! I really love writing them and showing you all my pictures! And definitely thanks about my kid! She doesn't believe that at all, so I made sure to pass along your comment

I hope you'll enjoy the upcoming bits just as much!

 

[dawnmichele]

Yay! I'm really enjoying your tr!

Monica.

Thank you Monica!

 

[dawnmichele]

Thank you for the tips!
I do not know the rule of thirds ...

It's a way to help you get interesting composition in your photos. Imagine your image with two vertical lines and two horizontal lines separating the image into 9 little boxes. Where the lines intersect is where you want to put the subject of your photo. It's probably hard to imagine without seeing it, so here's a great link to tell you more than you probably want to know .

Good luck!

 

[mtabh]

You are so welcome! I really love writing them and showing you all my pictures! And definitely thanks about my kid! She doesn't believe that at all, so I made sure to pass along your comment

I hope you'll enjoy the upcoming bits just as much!

Now that *really* surprises me about your daughter. She appears so confident and comfortable in her own skin in all the photos you have posted. She is gorgeous! She looks *just* like you, too! So, like Mother, like Daughter!

Can't wait for more to come. I am LOVING this trip report. So many gorgeous photos. DH got annoyed with me last night, I kept interrupting his show to show him another "epic you have to see this" photo.

Looking forward to more posts.