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

[emmysmommy]

Ha ha! Snow White was hilarious. Very witty! Glad you got to peek in Flynn's satchel. I wish I would have taken the time to see Rapunzel and Flynn when they first started greeting guests where Merida is located. He's only out of special occasions now or can you find him on a regular basis?

Ahhhh that castle lighting must have been awesome. It's already beautiful but add all those twinkly lights and oooohhhh! I quite agree, I think working in some Elsa for future castle lighting duties is a great idea.

 

[courtneybelle]

Fry dipping in orange slush???? Now that is something I never thought I'd ever hear.

AHHH I like your priorities Courtney. When the Brew calls, you answer.

Hmmmmm, I like that idea sliding in Elsa to "freeze" the castle. No scratch that... I LOVE IT!

Yeah I agree. Seeing the castle all lit up is awe-inspiring. But seeing it GET lit, is just pure Disney Magic.

AHHH Great Meets. So glad it lived up to your hopes. I am telling you Rapunzel wants a baby. You can see it in her face every time she hugs someone.

I was surprised too! Ky said it was delicious, though.

Truer words have never been spoken. I love me some Brew.

Me too!!! A lot of people think Frozen has been too overhyped at this point, but I'm still very obsessed.

The lighting was just unreal. It was something that I needed to see in person and I'm so glad to have the opportunity.

The meets were incredible! You are so right about Rapunzel, she definitely has a nurturing look.

Note that Kylie was all over the food picture before she drank that frozen orange thing. She is finally on board. I personally thought dipping fries in orange slush sounded gross but she thought you needed it for the TR.

I loved the castle lighting!! Especially how they did it section by section. So so beautiful.

I liked the new Fairytale Hall as well - so much better than waiting in that boring lobby at Town Sq Theater. I can imagine if I ever told you two to knock it off or we were leaving - you would both laugh right in my face.

Your Rapunzel/Eugene satchel conspiracy was so cute. Sometimes I do feel like the lunatic paparazzi but it is so fun to look at the pictures later. Snow White surprised me with her knowledge of the Massachusetts forests. I don't think her Prince said 2 words, did he?

I used to wonder about people on the DIS that said they went to 2 parties in a week but having been to a sold out party, I would definitely go to 2 if I had the chance - we did not get to see everything. Of course, one is better than none, but 2 would have been great.

I am so glad she humors me! I'm also glad she found a new snack to enjoy.

I'm so glad you guys got to see it this year. Since I really didn't care about meeting the Dwarfs I was so glad we went to the Castle Lighting instead.

Haha, we definitely would call your bluff on that one.

I am so glad you got that picture! Snow was great, but you're right, I don't have notes of the Prince saying anything

I wouldn't be opposed to doing two parties either. I definitely could have gone for some more character meets.

What a great start to the party.

I thought the castle lighting show was so cute. And how they light it up all at once is truly breathtaking.

Ahhh Rapunzel and Eugene. They are just the BEST! Oh my gosh I was so excited to meet them.

Snow and her Prince look precious too!

Breathtaking is the perfect word! The show itself is adorable, and then the castle lights up and it's just amazing.

They are incredible! They interact so well with each other and it was just a great time.

Snow and the Prince were adorable! I had never seen Snow that chatty, so it was great.

Love the character pictures. Especially the one where Eugene is showing you his stash.

Thank you! That was one of my favorite moments of the trip!

Ha ha! Snow White was hilarious. Very witty! Glad you got to peek in Flynn's satchel. I wish I would have taken the time to see Rapunzel and Flynn when they first started greeting guests where Merida is located. He's only out of special occasions now or can you find him on a regular basis?

Ahhhh that castle lighting must have been awesome. It's already beautiful but add all those twinkly lights and oooohhhh! I quite agree, I think working in some Elsa for future castle lighting duties is a great idea.

She was awesome! Yeah, Flynn is only guaranteed to be out at the parties, though he was apparently at Epcot for a day recently! I still think they should be over at the Rapunzel bathrooms. Maybe someday!

It was unbelievable. I'm obsessed with the castle so to see it covered in the sparkly lights was just a dream come true.

 

[RGirl]

Hi Courtney! We are finally back from our Spring Break trip, and I’m getting caught up on the DIS. I should also be able to start on your shirts this week.

I’m so glad that you posted about your trip to Italy. What a wonderful experience! Your pictures are beautiful. Italy is very high on my list of places I want to visit that I haven’t yet visited (as opposed to those that I keep returning to over and over ).

Your castle and parade pictures came out great! The Jingle Cruise sounds fun - I love the idea of doing up some of the attractions for the holidays. I’m hoping we’ll get to DLR this fall and get to do the Ghost Galaxy version of Space.

I was so excited to read about the Christmas party. I doubt we will ever get to WDW that time of year, so I always love to read about it and see pictures. I love the pics you got from the People Mover - it’s hard to get pictures from that attraction, but when I have gotten a good one, it has always been really good. Ugh - the castle lights are so beautiful. Never get tired of pics like those!

The royal meets sounded like a blast, and the pics came out great. We did the princess/prince meets at MNNSHP, and Willow had so much fun with the princes!

 

[courtneybelle]

Hi Courtney! We are finally back from our Spring Break trip, and I’m getting caught up on the DIS. I should also be able to start on your shirts this week.

I’m so glad that you posted about your trip to Italy. What a wonderful experience! Your pictures are beautiful. Italy is very high on my list of places I want to visit that I haven’t yet visited (as opposed to those that I keep returning to over and over ).

Your castle and parade pictures came out great! The Jingle Cruise sounds fun - I love the idea of doing up some of the attractions for the holidays. I’m hoping we’ll get to DLR this fall and get to do the Ghost Galaxy version of Space.

I was so excited to read about the Christmas party. I doubt we will ever get to WDW that time of year, so I always love to read about it and see pictures. I love the pics you got from the People Mover - it’s hard to get pictures from that attraction, but when I have gotten a good one, it has always been really good. Ugh - the castle lights are so beautiful. Never get tired of pics like those!

The royal meets sounded like a blast, and the pics came out great. We did the princess/prince meets at MNNSHP, and Willow had so much fun with the princes!

Welcome back, Roni! I showed my mom pics of the shirts and she loved them

My trip was so amazing! I really hoe you get to Italy someday, it's so wonderful. Plus I can provide some tips on eating gluten-free since my friend was gluten-free.

Thank you! I reallly want to get to Disneyland to see the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay. Someday I will!

The Christmas party was (spoiler alert!) THE highlight of the trip for me. The experience was just unreal. I agree, I could look at those castle lights all day!

The princes are awesome! I love seeing two characters together because they usually play off each other so well!

 

[courtneybelle]

Chapter Twenty-Three: Celebrate the Season

We wanted to meet the other princes and princesses and actually got in line, but we weren’t sure if we’d make it in time for the 7:45 Celebrate the Season, which was going to be ASL interpreted for us. (If you’re new to this TR, my dad is hearing impaired and my sister studies ASL, so we often make use of the ASL interpreters at WDW, who are FABULOUS.) So instead we made our way to the castle. Normally the interpreters are scheduled at different parks each day, but we were able to request two interpreters for the Christmas party we were attending, and then they just gave us times for shows.

Celebrate the Season was INCREDIBLE. I honestly can't tell you what the plot was...it was really just Disney characters singing and dancing to holiday songs. That being said, I can’t say enough about how great this show was. The characters were adorable and there were some unbelievably talented dancers. The music was great and I was just laughing the whole time.

This ballerina wowowow she was AMAZING.

Could somebody please get a sister a meet and greet with a toy soldier they are quite literally everything good in this world

Donald showed off his dance moves!

My favorite part was probably Reindeer Pluto. Again, get a girl a M&G with Reindeer Pluto!!!

Kylie got hit with some snoap during the finale.

You can see our interpreters in the poinsettia vests!

I love this. Mickey & Minnie in front of the ice-lit castle...

It was during this show that I knew we made the right decision to take this trip to Disney. Nobody does Christmas better.

Continued in next post
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[courtneybelle]

Chapter Twenty-Four: Princesses, Princes, and Pop Stars

After the show, we went back to Princess Fairytale Hall. The wait wasn’t too long and soon enough we were in meeting some more royalty.

Cinderella and I chatted while Kylie talked up Prince Charming. This was definitely my best meet with Cinderella ever. She noticed my shirt right away and asked if I had mice friends like she did. She also loved my penguin earrings, and when I told her I loved hers, she said her fairy godmother made them. We also talked about how beautiful the castle lighting was.

Meanwhile, Prince Charming asked Kylie if she had a prince. She said no, but that I did, and Prince Charming cordially invited us to the ball. What a smooth talker. There was some swooning. No one’s mad.

I did my princess pose for the photo, and Cinderella said, "Oh, that looks great, I'll do that too!"

I'm not sure what Princey was saying here, but Kylie looks happy.

Aurora and Philip were last. Aurora liked my ears a lot. They were primarily concerned with finding out if Kylie was a good pirate or a bad pirate, though.

My family and I split up, and my mom (CarolAnnB here on the DIS) was kind enough to write about what she and Kylie did:

This show was on the ASL interpreted schedule for 8:45pm, so Kylie and Mom went to check it out while Courtney and Dad headed to Main Street/the Hub to get a good viewing spot for Wishes. We saw the interpreters in their matching Christmas vests. There were also two people waiting in their section to watch the show, one of whom we recognized as an interpreter from years ago. Kylie chatted with them a bit as we waited for the show to start.

While we were waiting, CMs were going through the audience with small signs asking kids if they wanted to help out with the beginning of the show. After some persistence, Kylie conceded and received a sign with a picture of a treasure chest (fitting, since she is such a treasure). Mom of course had to document this moment with a picture. At which point, the interpreter we had met previously photobombs us! It was so funny. He was like “Did I get it?” Apparently it was his first photobomb success and he was so excited. Then he was all apologetic for ruining the picture but we said that made the picture even better and how Dad had been photobombing the whole trip.

Kylie then headed to the front of the stage. They began playing “Deck the Halls” and the kids were supposed to raise up their signs when their word was sung. There were a lot of FA and LA signs flying around.

The show began right after that. It was similar to the Disney Channel Rocks and High School Musical shows they used to put on at DHS. It started with a teenage Pop Princess-type who was excited to get Santa Claus to come to the show. She had a sparkly white fur outfit and appropriate backup singers/dancers.

Buzz Lightyear came along to tell the story of the Red Baron, which was adapted to Buzz versus Zurg.

Mike Wazowski and his backup singers/dancers do their version of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

The Pop Princess talks to Stitch via the giant screen behind the stage and tries to explain who Santa Claus is. Stitch doesn’t understand and thinks Santa is bad (sneaking into people’s houses in the middle of the night and putting kids on a “bad list”, who can blame him for being confused) and wants to shoot him down. By the end of the show, Stitch finally understands, but by then Santa is gone. Stitch comes to the stage in a Santa suit for the big closing number. There were a few small fireworks and snow to finish the show.

Thanks Mom

I really wanted to make sure I had a good spot for Holiday Wishes, so Dad and I made our way to Main Street. First, I stopped at Merchant of Venus to look for pins, but they were sold out there already! Dad was kind enough to get me a cookie and some hot cocoa.

The hot cocoa was delicious, but it was pretty warm out that night and soon enough I was sweating.

The cookie was pretty good. It didn’t compare to the gingerbread cookies I’d had earlier in the week, but solid for a free cookie.

Continued in next post
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[CarolAnnB]

I still can't even get over how beautiful that castle is with all the lights on it. It is just so so gorgeous. Definitely agree on the M&G with the Toy Soldier, that would be so awesome. And it's not like they have to talk, it could move along pretty quickly. Take care of that when you start working there, will you?

Now I know why you write the TRs and not me - you are so much better at it!

The ASL photobomb was one of my favorite moments. He was genuinely so excited that he got it.

 

[IheartDDuck]

Bahahaha. Awwww, reindeer Pluto!

Awww, love the Princess pose in the pictures! Awesome that Cindy went along with it.

Love the photobomb from the interpreter!

A free cookie is a free cookie right?

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

I enjoyed Celebrate the Season too Courtney. Especially Donald. OMG I was dying... And WOW what a great collection of characters and dancers. I loved it.

Hmmmm are you sure Kylie got hit with snoap. Or was she just not diligent in the shower that day?

Ahh I love that Cindy followed your "princess pose" lead. She knows what's up!

There is nothing better than a CM photobomb. Just sayin'

I totally missed the Tommorowland show on both my parties. Bummmer.

Oh lord if you're talking about the the special party pin, we tried to get one right at the beginning of a party and they were sold out. "But you can get it in this lovely set for only $180." Yeah, no. Something fishy going on here.

 

[JessM]

I honestly feel like there was no plot to Celebrate the Season but it was still an awesome show! The characters were adorable and I loved the dancers but if you actually thought about it, it made no sense lol! They should have the reindeer and toy soldiers come down for a meet and mingle like they do at the Halloween party with the villians!

I believe I have met that friend of Cinderella before and she is awesome! So talkative and adorable!

And Aurora in her new dress! So pretty!

The Totally Tomorrowland Christmas show was cute too but they cut it off before it was done when we were there, so happy I know the ending now, that was keeping me up at night

I completely agree with you no one does Christmas like Disney!

 

[DVCWDWMEMBER]

I'll take free cookies anytime.

 

[khertz]

That's very cool that they provide ASL interpreters for the Christmas party! I don't know that I even would have ever thought of that.

Princess meet...ADORABLE! I love that Cinderella copied your princess pose! So cute. I'm glad you didn't have to wait too long for the second side of Fairytale Hall, that's definitely a plus.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Hi Courtney,

I finally got caught up with your trip report.

Italy - my daughter went to Italy with a group in high school and Florence was her favorite city. There must be something special about it.

Snow White - She is my favorite princess but she doesn't get as much attention, or merchandise, as the other princesses. I looked all over the WDW gift shops for a Snow White tee shirt for my granddaughter but couldn't find one.

Castle Lighting Show - I've never seen it but it looks very cool. Do they keep the castle dark until they light it at the show? I know in the winter it is dark pretty early, well before the Christmas party starts.

Crowds - how were the crowds for the Christmas party? Was it easier to get a good spot to watch Wishes at the party than it is to get one during the regular season? We are returning to WDW in October and am thinking about going to the Halloween Party. I really want to see the parade. It looks awesome.

Cinderella - she looks like she is dodging your ears in that picture.

 

[courtneybelle]

I still can't even get over how beautiful that castle is with all the lights on it. It is just so so gorgeous. Definitely agree on the M&G with the Toy Soldier, that would be so awesome. And it's not like they have to talk, it could move along pretty quickly. Take care of that when you start working there, will you?

Now I know why you write the TRs and not me - you are so much better at it!

The ASL photobomb was one of my favorite moments. He was genuinely so excited that he got it.

It was unreal and you got some amazing photos of it! I will definitely make a Toy Soldier meet happen if/when I have that power.

Please! You did a great job. Hopefully I'll get to that show next time!

The photo is just hiliarious.

Bahahaha. Awwww, reindeer Pluto!

Awww, love the Princess pose in the pictures! Awesome that Cindy went along with it.

Love the photobomb from the interpreter!

A free cookie is a free cookie right?

Reindeer Pluto is too cute!

Thanks! Cinderella rocked. She's growing on me a lot recently.

It was too funny!

It's against my personal philosophy to say no to free cookies.

I enjoyed Celebrate the Season too Courtney. Especially Donald. OMG I was dying... And WOW what a great collection of characters and dancers. I loved it.

Hmmmm are you sure Kylie got hit with snoap. Or was she just not diligent in the shower that day?

Ahh I love that Cindy followed your "princess pose" lead. She knows what's up!

There is nothing better than a CM photobomb. Just sayin'

I totally missed the Tommorowland show on both my parties. Bummmer.

Oh lord if you're talking about the the special party pin, we tried to get one right at the beginning of a party and they were sold out. "But you can get it in this lovely set for only $180." Yeah, no. Something fishy going on here.

It was so funny! It was probably my second-favorite part of the Christmas party (favorite part is forthcoming...cliffhanger!!!)

Bahahaha not only is snoap festive, but it's also hygenic! Disney thinks of everything.

That CM photobomb RULED! Too funny.

Yeah, I didn't get to it but I am okay with it. It looked great but I was so happy with the other stuff that we did that I have no regrets.

Oh man, they definitely just wanted you to buy that set. No thanks! I did end up scoring a pin later but no way would I have paid that much for a pin set.

I honestly feel like there was no plot to Celebrate the Season but it was still an awesome show! The characters were adorable and I loved the dancers but if you actually thought about it, it made no sense lol! They should have the reindeer and toy soldiers come down for a meet and mingle like they do at the Halloween party with the villians!

I believe I have met that friend of Cinderella before and she is awesome! So talkative and adorable!

And Aurora in her new dress! So pretty!

The Totally Tomorrowland Christmas show was cute too but they cut it off before it was done when we were there, so happy I know the ending now, that was keeping me up at night

I completely agree with you no one does Christmas like Disney!

That is SUCH a great idea! Get the characters in their Christmas outfits to come down and meet everyone. I would love that!

Cinderella was so great! She and Snow were on point at the parties, so friendly and chatty.

I do love Aurora's new dress!

Hahaha, we live to serve! Glad we could solve that mystery for ya

 

[courtneybelle]

I'll take free cookies anytime.

I can't say no to free food

That's very cool that they provide ASL interpreters for the Christmas party! I don't know that I even would have ever thought of that.

Princess meet...ADORABLE! I love that Cinderella copied your princess pose! So cute. I'm glad you didn't have to wait too long for the second side of Fairytale Hall, that's definitely a plus.

We honestly didn't think of it either! We just happened to mention it to one of our interpreters in August and they said to send an email to request interpreters the night we were going. It was awesome! Disney is amazing when it comes to helping us out with interpreters.

We definitely lucked out with getting a short wait. Of course, now that Anna and Elsa meet there, I feel like the other side is always going to have a short wait!

Hi Courtney,

I finally got caught up with your trip report.

Italy - my daughter went to Italy with a group in high school and Florence was her favorite city. There must be something special about it.

Snow White - She is my favorite princess but she doesn't get as much attention, or merchandise, as the other princesses. I looked all over the WDW gift shops for a Snow White tee shirt for my granddaughter but couldn't find one.

Castle Lighting Show - I've never seen it but it looks very cool. Do they keep the castle dark until they light it at the show? I know in the winter it is dark pretty early, well before the Christmas party starts.

Crowds - how were the crowds for the Christmas party? Was it easier to get a good spot to watch Wishes at the party than it is to get one during the regular season? We are returning to WDW in October and am thinking about going to the Halloween Party. I really want to see the parade. It looks awesome.

Cinderella - she looks like she is dodging your ears in that picture.

Hi Sue! Thanks for catching up

Florence was incredible. So beautiful and so many amazing places to see.

I feel your pain! Before Frozen came out, Snow was my sister's favorite, and I think we've only found one shirt with just her at Tren-D. It's definitely harder to find stuff of her than of the other princesses.

The castle just had a plain blue light when it was dark before the party, and then they lit it up with the dream lights at the lighting. It was so beautiful!

We always go during peak season and I found it was about the same crowd-wise on Main Street. It's definitely the most popular place to watch the fireworks. I want to say we got there a half hour early to get a good spot for Wishes. I didn't watch the parade from Main Street so I can't speak to that. I consulted Josh on EasyWDW when making my plans for the party and he had a lot of great tips for both the Halloween and Christmas parties

She definitely does look like that! Haha, those ears just get in the way

 

[courtneybelle]

Chapter Twenty-Five: It’s the Spirit of the Season

Dad grabbed us a spot on Main Street while I went to the Emporium to pick up some Christmas party merchandise!

I came back in time for Celebrate the Magic, which was even more stunning up closer than we were the other night.

LET IT GO!

I loved the holiday tag, especially GINGERBREAD CASTLE! Also, I was happy to see that Donald’s dream of the castle wrapped like a present was fulfilled. See, Donald, dreams do come true!

After Celebrate, I called up Mom and Kylie to figure out where they ended up…they were right in front of us. HAHA. Well, I guess I didn’t have to skip the Tomorrowland show, but better safe than sorry!

Holiday Wishes started. The perimeter fireworks were VERY cool, and I loved the music, but I definitely prefer the narration and music of regular Wishes. I didn’t get the usual lump-in-my-throat that I do during Wishes, but I still loved it.

After Holiday Wishes, we had to face the mob to get over to Adventureland. Here are my tips for making your way through a mob of tourists:

1. If you see a way, yell, “FOLLOW ME! I WILL LEAD US INTO BATTLE!” and charge.
2. If you are stuck, yell, “WHICH LEAVES YOU THIS CHILLING CHALLENGE…TO FIND A WAY OUT! MUAHAHAHA.”

This is probably why I’m never in charge of getting us out of crowds.

Anyway, we got over to Adventureland and went to check out Agrabah Bazaar. Jasmine and Genie were meeting then…but the character attendant informed us that if we got in line now, we would meet Aladdin and ABU!!!! I was thrilled because they were the two I really wanted to meet. Aladdin in his Prince Ali costume is amazing alone, but Abu is one of my favorite sidekicks and he’s so rare that I had to meet him. So the character gods were smiling down on me this evening.

We took pictures of Jasmine and Genie while we waited.

We waited for about twenty minutes before we got to meet Aladdin and Abu. I rushed to give Abu a big hug, and he gave me monkey kisses!

Aladdin is, in my humble opinion, the funniest character to meet, and he didn’t disappoint. He looked at the Santa on Kylie’s shirt and said, “Hey, he kinda looks like the Sultan!”

Abu admired my ears and shoes.

Aladdin asked if we had been to New Fantasyland, and we said yes and asked if he had been as well. And he said this:

“Yeah, they don’t like us to wander too far from Agrabah but we went over there when it opened. But we’re confused, because you’re supposed to try the gray stuff, and it’s delicious. But all the foods we think are delicious are bright, like apples and watermelon, so can gray stuff be delicious?”

We informed him that we tried it and it was, and he was glad to hear it. He went on, “Abu loves LeFou’s Brew, though. He gave himself a foam mustache the first time he tried it. And he stole my commemorative mug (glares at Abu) still waiting to get that back, buddy!”

Aladdin is the most perfect character, all your favorites can bow down. Seriously, what a hilarious chat. He always has the best things to say.

Aladdin posed us like princesses and we snapped some pictures. My hair was looking rough at this point...

My dad, of course, joined in the fun.

Continued in next post
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[JessM]

Ahh my love Celebrate the Magic, great pictures! I loved the holiday overlay too!

I agree Holiday Wishes didn't have the best soundtrack but the fireworks were incredible, I loved the perimeter ones!

Oh my gosh those pictures of Genie are so cute, he's all like "oh hey!"

Abu loved ears! He stole mine when I met him! I agree Aladdin is hilarious, when I met him he seemed so confused about everything which was great! And I loved Abu so spunky! Looks like you ladies had a great meet and greet!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

That's the only thing I don't like abut Celebrate the Magic. To REALLY appreciate it, you need to be up close, but then to REALLY appreciate Wishes (or Merry ChristWishes), you need to be back a bit. Quite the conundrum.

I'm with you on Holiday Wishes. Its pretty spectacular and the perimeter fireworks are AWESOME, but it just doesn't have the emotion of Wishes.

So glad you got a great meet with Aladdin and Abu. Genie and Jas were my goal, so it's good to have options ,lol.

 

[DVCWDWMEMBER]

awesome meet. I love it when the cast members are fun and interact with us. We had an awesome Belle a few years ago. She was great with Riley and Joaquin.

 

[CarolAnnB]

I just love love love that Celebrate the Magic show on the castle. I think that will fall under your domain in your future job there?

Kylie is the best for getting thru crowds. That one time we stayed for Illuminations and she had us back in the car in about 10 minutes.

And I love the Prince Ali outfit. I don't know why they don't bring him out in that more often. Aladdin is always a great meet. And who doesn't love to kiss the monkey?!