MAW Trip of a Lifetime....1st time to WDW! -Beach Update!

[billwendy]

Great so far Brooke!! Glad you had fun at EPCOT and enjoyed the day!! And got your cupcakes!!!!!

 

[petals]

luvin the trip report and luv luv luv the Winnie the Pooh Topary

 

[brookerene]

Great photos.....wow a daddy who braids hair
love the one with all the kids in the phone booth!

weren't the topiaries amazing, you got some great shots of them!
isn't Turtle Talk fun...did the kids get picked to talk to him?
Test Track is the best ride! we LOVE IT!

The topiaries were beautiful and we really enjoyed them all.

Turtle talk was fun... but they didn't get picked...but that's ok... I did video a little bit of it... although I probably wasn't suppoesd to... and it is too cute...

What a fun day at Epcot. Looks like you got to see alot of characters.

We saw an amazing number of characters.... there were a couple that Kaleb didn't want to approach but otherwise they were a highlight of the trip!

I'm loving your TR and pictures. You sure know how to take them. I agree with Lisa...a daddy that braids hair Scott has no clue how to even comb Kylees hair. Keep up the awesome report. BTW...I wish I saw those swords for Kylee and Steven. I would of gotten one for them.

He can do basic braids and does it once in a while...He's a good guy....
Those swords or too cool.... they loved them... I wondered how I would pack them to keep them nice by the time we got home, but that turned out okay! Nathan wanted a panda umbrella but I didn't wat to carry it around so we thought we would get back to get it in China, but we didn't..... so I know the feeling... but we did get him a panda bear in AK.

Wow daddy did a great job on her hair. Does he give lessons? My dh is allowed to comb out Ella's because she likes how he does that but I have to put the pony in because he has no clue how
Epcot looks great and cool about getting more Big Gives

Brian is an interesting guy.... and he has his quirks, but he likes to braid so I let him.

Great so far Brooke!! Glad you had fun at EPCOT and enjoyed the day!! And got your cupcakes!!!!!

I took over 1600 photos.. it's been tough choosing what to put in! We enjoyed Epcot and would have loved to spend more time in the various lands... but because of the kids and time we moved through them pretty quick. We enjoyed the America experience quite a bit... and it was nice to sit in a cool building. It was 89-90 the whole trip... I'm glad it wasn't really humid! The cupcakes were great! Thanks Wendy. I need to send them a thank you email!

 

[Singledad]

We went home with swords and sheilds for Kaleb and Zoe....nice to see girly ones! Nathan chose a pooh doll!

Where did you find that pink sword and shield!? I SO have to budget that into our plans!

 

[Singledad]

Nathan wanted a panda umbrella but I didn't wat to carry it around so we thought we would get back to get it in China, but we didn't..... so I know the feeling... but we did get him a panda bear in AK.

Just letting you know for future reference, you can have your stuff sent to the front of the park for later pick up. I think at Epcot that location is the lost and found next to the gates. This is something I think they don't advertise really well, and would make a lot of guests go ahead and buy more.

 

[brookerene]

Where did you find that pink sword and shield!? I SO have to budget that into our plans!

They were in England at a little pooh shop.... I don't remember the name....
but Pooh and Tigger were there with a meet n greet...

I did use the one service later at MK and I should have used it for the umbrella..... I learned my lesson! LOL!

 

[brookerene]

Here is Zoe in her Rapunzel dress.... I didn't have my studio set up so we did it outside in the wind....

The dress is beautiful.....

Next posts... Magic Kingdom.... eating with princesses...flying with dumbo and eating with Pooh and Tigger and Piglet......

 

[billwendy]

Here is Zoe in her Rapunzel dress.... I didn't have my studio set up so we did it outside in the wind....

The dress is beautiful.....

Next posts... Magic Kingdom.... eating with princesses...flying with dumbo and eating with Pooh and Tigger and Piglet......

She looks so beautiful in that dress Brooke!!!

 

[brookerene]

Well our MK day (wednesday) was the one day we got to the parks before opening! I knew that with our early res we could get in early... and they also added EMH that morning so there were EMH people in the park.
Now it was a bit tough getting the kids up. I got them dressed half asleep and tried to get Zoe's hair done. I forgot to clip her bangs before we left... and didn't think about trying to find some scissors... so I tried to used a bobby pin to hold them back. But we got up and going and got to MK early, got an awesome parking spot.... and headed to the monorail to get there early. We entered and there weren't alot of people...so we hit up some photopass photographers on the way....and my photopass cd just came in so I'll add some of those photos after this post!.

Well while the boys were using the restroom at the ticket center... I took one of my fave shots of Zoe....

Then we headed on our way and got into MK early! This was great!

One thing I didn't think of until we were on our trip is dust... Yup you heard me right. I took my older digital slr because I knew I would bang it, etc... but I didn't think about dust on the sensor and I left my sensor cleaning stuff at home. I don't worry too much about dust on the end of the lens, but dust on the sensor is a no no..... and it did affect some of my shots.... but oh well...

So we had here photos taken and then it was time to check in for breakfast at CRT.... we met Carole, who had never been able to get a reservation and treated her to breakfast with us..... She texted her sister (who hadn't been able to get a ressie too) that she was there. Next up CRT....
We headed down Mainstreet taking Photopass shots (to follow) and got to the castle early. so we looked in a shop and saw all the cute stuff.... and we saw where they take the BBB photos.... I inquired about taking Zoe's on photopass..... here are

 

[brookerene]

Well we were really excited for our breakfast at CRT and were greeted by a couple of mice....

Now Kaleb didn't want his photos with Cinderella so we took them with Zoe and Nathan...

So after photo time... we headed up the stairs to eat....

I had told them on the ressie that Zoe had a birthday so they added a little castle confetti to the table.... it was nice..... the kids collected the metallic castles...

The food wwas great... and the atmosphere was lovely...

My breakfast... yummmyyyy......!

Our first princess....Aurora....

They brought out a cupcake for Zoe's birthday!
and a card with all of the princess signatures...

Next came Ariel...

SHe was really cute.... a good choice for the character...

Next up....Belle.....

 

[brookerene]

Next we saw Belle for a second time.... she was prettier than theBelle we saw at Epcot.... looked more like the character...but it was neat to see her with Beast at Epcot....

Next came the wishing ceremony....

An interior shot of the ceiling...

Well we thoroughly enjoyed CRT..... and then we headed in to Fantasyland to enjoy the rides there.... I think we did all of them! We did see the stepmother and ugly stepsisters...but I only got a shot of Drusilla...

I still wasn't up on the GAC think for characters and should have been....

Then the kids wanted to ride the carousel... that is when we saw Mary Poppins....

by this time Kaleb was okay with characters...

and the carousel....

Brian videotaping..... I'm glad we had that little thing!

and of course we HAD to go on Dumbo... the kids loved the DUmbo ride and all the similar ones throughout the parks....

Dumbo has some good memories.....

Next we headed to Small World.. I have to confess I like Fantasyland and Small World....in Disneyland... better

Then we went on Peter Pan.... and then Carole had to leave.... then we headed to the Tea Cups! Those were fun!

We also did the speedway...

Then we headed to the Wish Lounge.....

 

[brookerene]

More MK to come.... but now for a break.... I do confess that I wish I had taken my wide angle lens to the parks... especially when we were dealing with characters.... but I also think that a good point n shoot would have been a lot easier to deal with when you also want to enjoy the rides, etc.... I wound up dropping, banging and more... I even broke the foot on my external flash.... but I guess it is fixable..... SO more will come! including photopass shots....

 

[Tonyababyrn]

More MK to come.... but now for a break.... I do confess that I wish I had taken my wide angle lens to the parks... especially when we were dealing with characters.... but I also think that a good point n shoot would have been a lot easier to deal with when you also want to enjoy the rides, etc.... I wound up dropping, banging and more... I even broke the foot on my external flash.... but I guess it is fixable..... SO more will come! including photopass shots....

I've been debating on whether or not to bring my dslr or a p/s.

Pics are great!!

 

[mommy2mrb]

great photos Brooke! looks like a fun beginning to your day at MK!

 

[Diz-Mommy]

Your photos are wonderful, I'm very much enjoying going on your trip with you

Love that picture of Zoe on the tea cups!

 

[kaileighbug]

Your pictures are great. The kids look like they are having so much fun...Breakfast looks so yummy. We are considering CRT for DD's Birthday. Like you I would want to go before the park opens.

 

[brookerene]

Well after the fun of Fantasyland... we headed to the Wish Lounge.....this was a nice break and we had the room to ourselves for a little while before two others came in. I made one mistake.. I allowed the kdis to turn the tv on... I shouldn't have done that because then they were occupied by that instead of resting....

One wish family that came in had a little girl with multiple issues... a trach and more. I guess she had the cord wrapped around her neck as a baby and it did some damage. and then with other things... they said they didn't know how long she would be around. She mentioned something about 3 days but I don't think I understood them correctly. She was 7 years old.... Well during this time we changed into our Pooh Big Give shirts and decided to head out for more...
this time we saw that Tiana was out and went to see her....

Next we headed to Liberty square and silouettes of the kids! They enjoyed sitting for them...

Next we headed to Country Bear Jamboree to get out of the heat... I used to love this as a kid.. but I think they either need to change the show or dump it....

Then we went on the jungle cruise.... our guide wsn't quite as corny and good as some I have had at Disneyland... maybe he was tired and hot I don't know... but we enjoyed the ride anyways...

Then we went to the Pirates ride. We did see the last moment of the Jack Sparrow thing.. he looked pretty good.... and then rode the ride....

Afterwards we shopped for a few pirate items and then met pirate Goofy! We liked him. This is a where a cm told us to always go to the front of the line for characters.... WHich at some points I was doing and others I didn't so this was a good reinforcement that got me going for the rest of the day and at AK...

Then we learned that Rapunzel was over by the castle... so we hustled over there to see her and Eugene (aka Flynn) we really liked FLynn he did a good job at the smirk....

Next we went to the Haunted House and hung around Liberty Square.... I really like liberty square.....

Now Kaleb had spilled a soda on his Pooh shirt which was a bit disappointing but not unexpected... I should have waited to put the shirt on until right before we went to eat with pooh...

Now up next...... eating with Pooh at the Crystal Palace!!!

 

[brookerene]

Well we had a great breakfast at CRt and were headed to a great dinner at Crystal Palace.... we kept the kids a little hungry so that they would eat... ALso thank you Pooh4me for this gift!
We got in and everything was great...except for Kaleb's shirt! But that is okay. We got in just after Tigger had starte dhis rounds and we were close to the front so we had to wait for him on his second round. At one point we thought we would have a crying Nathan again.... two photos with Nathan crying with Tigger! Why? Well he had a very loose tooth and it was bleeding and he refused to have us do anything about it... After a bit I asked him if I couold feel it andrealizsed that it was hanging on by a thread and yanked! Problem solved! Then we had a happy Nathan ready to meet Tigger... I was away when our first character stopped by... Eeyore so Brian took photos..

Here is Nathan a little unhappy about his tooth!

Here is Pooh!

Next we met Piglet... who just loved Zoe's dress!

What a kiss!

We did mention about Nathan's b-day and they put some streamers on our table and brought out a cupcake for him!

He got a card signed with the characters names! (Zoe did also with the princesses)

Couldn't do without that photo!!!!

 

[brookerene]

We got another visit from Pooh...

We had a great time at Crystal Palace..... then we headed to tomorrowland and rode Space Mountain...Nathan rode twice since we did a child swap! Then we were exhausted... I didn't have any sleep the night before and I was tired and I even dropped my camera and broke my external flash... I think it is reparable... but it could have been worse. We headed back down Mainstreet and rode the train around the park and then headed home...I did get one shot of the castle at night....

I wish the dust wasn't a prob....but I like the shot anyways! We got home and headed to bed and were anticipating Thursday at IOA and Mickey in the Morning and Christmas that night!

 

[tinytreasures]

What a wonderful day so far and wow 2 character meals