Follow Me! I Will Lead Us Into Battle! A Thanksgiving 2013 TR *COMPLETE*

[courtneybelle]

There’s magic in the air this evening

Magic in the air

The world is at her best, you know

When people love and care

The promise of excitement is one the night will keep…

Hello! Welcome to my Thanksbirthmas (copyright pending) trip report. I am here to tell the story, and I am here for the food.

Picture a Thanksgiving feast, Christmas magic, and birthday celebrations all wrapped up with a bow on top. That’s how this whirlwind trip around the World went.

This is me, with my best friend Santa Duffy.

My name is Courtney and I will be your trip reporter for however long this one takes. I am a 21-year-old Disney loving, Annual Passholding, pin trading college student. I’ve been to Disney over 20 times, with three trips in 2013! Yep, I’ve been moving to the end of the row and pulling on the yellow safety strap since birth.

Some of you may know me from my last TR, Hurry Up, You Brats, or I'm Telling Mickey Mouse! If so, welcome back and thank you so much for reading along. If you’re a new reader, I’m so happy to see you here, and while you’re waiting for updates you should check out my last TR. It’s a gem.

A little about me: My favorite park is Magic Kingdom, and my favorite ride is Splash Mountain. My favorite Disney movies are Beauty and the Beast and Frozen, though lately I’ve been quoting The Emperor’s New Groove a lot. My favorite characters are Belle, Olaf the Snowman, and Pluto. I dream of staying at the Polynesian, and I’d drink LeFou’s Brew every day if I could.

I have never been to Disney for Thanksgiving and only have vague memories of Christmas celebrations at WDW, so I had many new experiences I can’t wait to share with you all! But first (Julie Chen-style), let’s introduce the rest of the cast:

Kylie is my 15-year-old sister who is unhappy when she has to wait an hour and a half for characters. She is an artist, a sassmaster, an Instagram celebrity (disneywallflower), and an aspiring ASL interpreter for WDW. For her entire life, her favorite movie/character has been Peter Pan…but then she saw Frozen. Now she is obsessed, and she is a lot like Anna. Her favorite parks are MK and DHS, and her favorite ride is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

This is my mom, who is our primary trip planner. She has been going to Disney World ever since the Magic Kingdom opened. She is also our trip photographer, so this is literally the only picture she was in. Her favorite park is MK and her favorite ride is also Big Thunder. She is known here on the DISboards as CarolAnnB and will occasionally pop in with some thoughts on the trip!

This is my dad. He makes all these trips possible by working so hard. He didn’t go to Disney until he was 30 but now he is just as obsessed as the rest of us. He loves DHS and his favorite ride is Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. He loves Princess Tiana, and he recently discovered the photobomb, which made for some interesting pictures on this trip.

We arrived at WDW on Thursday, November 28 (Thanksgiving) and left on Monday, December 2. I managed to convince my family to stay in a Royal Guest Room at Port Orleans Riverside!!! While enjoying the usual fun of Disney World, we also participated in many holiday activities and ate some great food along the way.

I hope you enjoy hearing about our Christmas adventures! Let me know if you’re along for the ride and if you have any questions. I love talking to people and Disney friends are the best friends!

FOLLOW ME! I will lead us into battle!​

 

[courtneybelle]

Table of Contents:​

Thursday, November 28

Chapter One: Moving Right Along
Chapter Two: A Room Fit for a Princess
Chapter Three: Christmastime in Hollywood
Chapter Four: Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights
Chapter Five: A '50s Thanksgiving

Friday, November 29

Chapter Six: Keep Shooting, Buckaroos
Chapter Seven: Mom, Phineas and Ferb Are Kidnapping Us
Chapter Eight: Sweet Treats
Chapter Nine: Dream a Fantastic Dream
Chapter Ten: See What a Little Wishing Can Do?

Saturday, November 30

Chapter Eleven: "Happy Birthday!" "Thanks, You Too!"
Chapter Twelve: For the First Time in Forever
Chapter Thirteen: My New Best Friend
Chapter Fourteen: The Garden Grill
Chapter Fifteen: The Best Birthday Surprise
Chapter Sixteen: Candlelight Processional and Via Napoli

Sunday, December 1
Chapter Seventeen: Pushing and Splashing
Chapter Eighteen: He's Talking!
Chapter Nineteen: Back to My Village
Chapter Twenty: Believe and All You Wish Will Come to You
Chapter Twenty-One: The Christmas Party Begins
Chapter Twenty-Two: What's in the Satchel?
Chapter Twenty-Three: Celebrate the Season
Chapter Twenty-Four: Princesses, Princes, and Pop Stars
Chapter Twenty-Five: It's the Spirit of the Season
Chapter Twenty-Six: Once Upon a Christmastime at Christmas
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Let Your Heart Be Light
Chapter Twenty-Eight: ‘Tis the Season to Be Jolly and Joyous

Monday, December 2
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Wrapping Things Up, Merch Roundup, and Final Thoughts

PTR Updates:

#1: The Cast, Resort, and ADRs
#2: Park Days and FP+
#3: MagicBands

Real Life Updates:

#1: That's the funny thing about birthdays, they're kind of an annual thing.
#2: Bella Notte​

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[DisneymoonJess07]

Following along

 

[heatherrrrz]

following as well!

 

[IheartDDuck]

I'm here my dear. Can't wait to hear all about it.

 

[jash08]

I am here!!!! First page even!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Here Courtney and very excited for this one!!! AHHHHH I miss that castle so much!!!!

 

[wiigirl]

Following along!

 

[JessM]

I'm in!

 

[courtneybelle]

Following along

Yay! Welcome and thank you so much for following! And congrats on being the first comment!

following as well!

Hi! Thank you, I hope you enjoy it!

I'm here my dear. Can't wait to hear all about it.

So glad to have you here, Dani!!

I am here!!!! First page even!

YEAH! Thanks for being here!

Here Courtney and very excited for this one!!! AHHHHH I miss that castle so much!!!!

Hey Rob! Thanks for joining in!! Oh, I know, I'm so obsessed with the Castle Lights.

Following along!

Thank you as always for following along!!

I'm in!

Yay! Thanks for joining in!

 

[courtneybelle]

Chapter One: Moving Right Along

I woke up and wished my family a Happy Thanksgiving…as well as a HAPPY DISNEY DAY!!! This was unlike any Thanksgiving we’ve ever had, but I had a very good feeling about how the day was going to go.

I ate a bagel for breakfast, put on my mouse ears, and then we hopped in the car and drove to the airport.

Security started off very well. All the TSA agents were very pleasant considering they had to work on Thanksgiving! One asked me how I was doing, and when I said I was good, he said, “If you’re wearing mouse ears, it’s probably going to be a good day.” Truer words have never been spoken, friends.

Then…dun dun dun…my dad got pulled aside. Turns out his contact solution has some ingredient in it that means it couldn’t fly at all. Mine was cleared as a medical liquid, but since his wasn’t, he had to go through a long patdown process. Thankfully we had gotten there very early, so it wasn’t a huge issue!

Our flight was at 11:45, so we decided to eat a little something for lunch. Kylie and I had grilled cheeses from Johnny Rocket’s…so good, as always!

The flight was pretty uneventful. I worked on homework. Wheeeee.

Showing off our bands just before landing!

Three hours later, we had landed in Orlando! We hopped on the fakeorail and headed over to Disney’s Magical Express. Another family who was going to Disney actually followed us there because they weren’t sure where to go and figured they should follow the girl in the mouse ears. We got to the check-in and Kylie was the first to use her MagicBand!

We were on a cruise bus for our ride over.

I snapped a picture of the DME bus next to us.

Someone was excited.

And I was texting.

Before the official movie started, the TV showed clips from Disney Parks Blog, and I discovered my dream job…Vice President of Parades and Spectaculars. HELLO YES I AM VP OF WISHES AND FANTASMIC AND MSEP. Uh yeah that’s my new dream.

The movie was totally different from the one I saw last time I took DME in January. It was still good but lacked the emotional punch of the families surprising their kids with trips to Disney. It was pretty hard to bring down my excitement at that point, though.

The first stop was French Quarter, but shortly after that, we had arrived at Port Orleans Riverside!

The lobby was absolutely beautiful. It had recently gotten refurbished and it was all decorated for Christmas.

We went over to check-in and had a very nice cast member help us out! She made our birthday buttons and gave us letters from Princess Tiana welcoming us to her royal guest rooms.

After check-in, we walked across the bridge and over to Parterre Place. It was about a five-six minute walk, not bad at all!

Continued in next post
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[courtneybelle]

Chapter Two: A Room Fit for a Princess

Because Kylie had used her MagicBand to check in at DME, I got to let us into the room…

OH MY GOSH.

I am princess crazy. I mean, I’ve always loved princesses but for some reason I feel like I like them much more now than I ever did as a child. So once I saw pictures of these Royal Guest Rooms, I knew I had to stay there someday.

Pictures literally do not do justice to how wonderful these rooms are. THEY ARE STUNNING.

Close ups of my favorites:

I was so, so happy that they had a runner on the beds! I had heard rumors that some people just had plain white sheets, but I’m glad we got the touch of princess blankets.

There were so many amazing details everywhere. I ran around looking at everything and taking pictures.

The highlight, though, was the fireworks on the headboards. I pressed the button as much as I possibly could.

FOOTSTOOL. I called dibs on this for my suitcase.

Magic carpet!

Even the coat rack was themed.

I was obsessed with the sinks. No genies, though...

My buddy Pascal made an appearance as well.

Ariel's shower curtain:

I’m not going to lie to you guys, I cried. It is easily the most beautiful room I’ve ever stayed in. If you have anyone in your life who loves princesses I recommend this room 110%. It is decorated so well and has so many incredible details!

After I had calmed down, I noticed that we had a voicemail…it was Mickey and Minnie wishing my dad and me a happy birthday and thanking us for celebrating with them! So cute!

Continued in next post
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[DisneyKid4Life]

Aww that just goes to show that some TSA agents are delightful. I love to hear that. Oops, sorry about your dad's issues.

YAY, that's a great dream to have Courtney. Mine is much simpler. To just work in the parks somewhere. It doesn't matter where, just somewhere that lets me interact with guests. I would love that.

The fireworks on the headboard would be my main reason for staying there. The downside is I could see myself wasting a lot of time playing with that.

 

[JessM]

Great start and I love the mouse ears!

Those royal rooms look amazing! I've become princess crazy so I would definitely love to stay there one day!

 

[PrincessBrittany06]

cant wait to read more of your TR!

that room looks AMAZING and I NEED to stay there ASAP

 

[courtneybelle]

Aww that just goes to show that some TSA agents are delightful. I love to hear that. Oops, sorry about your dad's issues.

YAY, that's a great dream to have Courtney. Mine is much simpler. To just work in the parks somewhere. It doesn't matter where, just somewhere that lets me interact with guests. I would love that.

The fireworks on the headboard would be my main reason for staying there. The downside is I could see myself wasting a lot of time playing with that.

Hey Rob! They were all pretty great, even the one patting down my dad was very nice about it.

Ahh yes. I have several different dreams I'd like to pursue at Disney, so we will see where I end up. As I've told you before, you'd be a fantastic CM

Oh, I know the feeling. The morning we were leaving I had to press the button about ten times before I left.

Great start and I love the mouse ears!

Those royal rooms look amazing! I've become princess crazy so I would definitely love to stay there one day!

Thank you!! Belle's my favorite so I knew I had to have them!

If you ever get the opportunity I would definitely recommend it, so far it's my favorite place I've stayed at WDW!

cant wait to read more of your TR!

that room looks AMAZING and I NEED to stay there ASAP

Thank you so much! You definitely should if you can, it was incredible!!

 

[khertz]

I'm here!! Loved following along with yours & Kylie's photos on Instagram.

Glad you had a mostly uneventful trip down, aside from your dad's security issue. Good thing they pulled him out for a pat down, as I'm sure serious damage could be done with that little bottle of contact solution. I know it's all for our safety and all, but it seems a little excessive at times!

Your room is simply stunning! I have never been big on princesses, but I really love what I have seen of those Royal rooms in photos. And the resort looks well decorated for the Holidays too!

Really looking forward to the rest of this TR!

 

[CarolAnnB]

It was fun to be staying back on property, even with us all being in one room together. I even missed taking the Magical Express, although we couldn't scream as loud as we usually do when we drove thru the magical gateway.

PO Riverside was sooo beautiful, even if we only saw it at 8am or midnight. It would have been nice to take the boat to Downtown Disney, but this trip was just too short. And that Royal Room was just gorgeous. Total Disney overload but I loved it. I too was glad they had added the runner to the beds - they needed more than the plain white. But I much prefer the white cover things to hotel bedspreads. The fireworks in the headboards were the best! I hope you are not disappointed at the next hotel we stay at...

And yes, if you're wearing mouse ears, it's probably going to be a good day!

 

[emmysmommy]

Hi Courtney! Welcome back and goodness you have started your TR already! I'm definitely here to read all about it.

I actually liked the new DME video although it lacked some of the nostalgia and excitement it did have a great does of humor! I was also glad to see a few of the CMs we are familiar with in the video.

Your POR room is awesome! I love all the Disney details.

 

[courtneybelle]

I'm here!! Loved following along with yours & Kylie's photos on Instagram.

Glad you had a mostly uneventful trip down, aside from your dad's security issue. Good thing they pulled him out for a pat down, as I'm sure serious damage could be done with that little bottle of contact solution. I know it's all for our safety and all, but it seems a little excessive at times!

Your room is simply stunning! I have never been big on princesses, but I really love what I have seen of those Royal rooms in photos. And the resort looks well decorated for the Holidays too!

Really looking forward to the rest of this TR!

Hi!!! So glad to see you here, and I'm glad you liked our photos IG is so much fun!

I was really surprised because I thought contact solution would be cleared, but thankfully it didn't take too long to get sorted out!

I really loved the room, and POR as a whole. Honestly I like the theming of the Port Orleans resorts a lot better than some of the deluxes. French Quarter is so fun and Riverside is very regal and stunning.

It was fun to be staying back on property, even with us all being in one room together. I even missed taking the Magical Express, although we couldn't scream as loud as we usually do when we drove thru the magical gateway.

PO Riverside was sooo beautiful, even if we only saw it at 8am or midnight. It would have been nice to take the boat to Downtown Disney, but this trip was just too short. And that Royal Room was just gorgeous. Total Disney overload but I loved it. I too was glad they had added the runner to the beds - they needed more than the plain white. But I much prefer the white cover things to hotel bedspreads. The fireworks in the headboards were the best! I hope you are not disappointed at the next hotel we stay at...

And yes, if you're wearing mouse ears, it's probably going to be a good day!

Hi Mom! We handled the one-room situation well...I did, at least.

Yeah, the DTD boat and then the boat and surrey bike rentals looked really fun, but this was commando vacationing. No time for that! I just loved that room so much, which definitely made it harder to leave. I will be very happy at Pop next time, though!!!

Hi Courtney! Welcome back and goodness you have started your TR already! I'm definitely here to read all about it.

I actually liked the new DME video although it lacked some of the nostalgia and excitement it did have a great does of humor! I was also glad to see a few of the CMs we are familiar with in the video.

Your POR room is awesome! I love all the Disney details.

Hi Brenda!! So glad to have you here!

That's so awesome that you recognized some of the CMs in the video! I really loved the Disney Parks Blog segments that focused on CMs, like the glass blower.

It definitely was the most Disneyfied room we've ever stayed in, and I loved it so much!