13 Days of Disney - Everything We Never Knew We Always Wanted - June 2016 TR Update 1/30

[Jfsag123]

Nice to see you around here again and congrats on getting all that work done & being closer to finishing your Ph.D As you said that's all well and good, but you know - Disney

Thank you! And yes, one must have priorities.

As usual I love the costumes and also I think it's great that CM's pay attention to the kids when they're wearing them. It shows that not all the CM's are miserable in their jobs nowadays and there are still a good many who enjoy being there and get into the spirit of things. Merida is one of my favorites, and I still remember being so excited for Ricky to meet Peter for the very first time back when he was 5.......
The picture of Cora and Tink fighting over "Peter" is awesome!

I don't think we met a bad CM all trip! We had one each on our previous trips, but everybody was pretty great this time. Even more impressive in the heat!

Ah, Nick and Judy. I LOVE Zootopia so much! I am making it a point to see Move It, Shake It when we're down there in 11 days! And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous that they're meeting at MVMCP this year and there aren't any parties during the week we're there. If there was, I'd definitely pay the $ just to meet them!

Seriously, we need a regular meet with them! There has to be some demand for it. I hope you get a chance to see them IN ELEVEN DAYS!!!

First off - welcome back!! And CONGRATS!!!! I'm so glad all went well with the dissertation! I don't know much about the whole Ph.D process...but good luck getting the internship you want??

Thank you! The internship thing isn't even a part of most Ph.D. programs. Unfortunately, it's a requirement for psychologists since our degree isn't purely academic, but will lead to professional licensure. So we get the combo of having to complete research (thesis/dissertation) and clinical requirements (practicing/internship). The internship is the very last thing (woot!), but the process of getting one is pretty frustrating.

Secondly - Will, at 2.5 years old, has asked to meet Peter Pan (he is a little obsessed). So I looked on KtP today and saw that he does indeed meet (backed up by your experience). I thought I remembered he did, but I wasn't certain. Hopefully he still will in June 2017. My question is, how early did you line up for him? I'm assuming you used KtP times? I want to make sure we get there early enough to not wait in too much of a line but then again I don't want to wait too long for him to come out either...lol.

Yes, we used KtP meet times. The problem is he doesn't start meeting until late in the day, so there's no early first set to go to. We showed up about 10 minutes before his first set and the line was backed up to the CHH exit on that side. It moved pretty quickly once he came out, though.

He also mentioned meeting Elena, even though we do not watch the show...lol. I'm going to push for Gaston for sure, though!

Love all the outfits/costumes. Great meets and great pp photos! I think we will try for the Move It, Shake it parade if its still there June 2017. I seem to remember it running fairly early in the day. Does it have multiple times?

The Tink meet was awesome and the Sword in the Stone photos are so funny! Great update!

Mine want to meet Elena too! If she's in PFH with one of the main princesses we will likely end up meeting her no matter what.

Move it shake it does have multiple times, I think usually 3. We caught the 12:30 one, which I think is the first one of the day.

Congrats on the dissertation and good luck with the internships! It must be surreal to be almost done!

Those are some awesome pictures of the character meets! I adore the one of Cora and Tink fighting over Alex--that's such a hilarious shot!

Thank you! Surreal is the perfect word for it. This point felt very far off and abstract (and impossible) when I started.

I loved the fighting shot too! I think that was Tinkerbell's idea.

OH MY GOSH ALL OF THE CHARACTER INTERACTIONS ARE ADORABLE I CAN'T HANDLE IT!

Lol thank you! Every year I think we'll do less of them, then I look back at the photos and realize that nope, we will still do a ton of them each time.

 

[krysenchips]

Oh my goodness. I just read through your entire trip report so far and I love it! I was looking for a good trip report as I am organizing a trip for next June with my family and wanted to get a feel for how the weather/crowds/everything was at that time of year. (I'm normally a fall girl myself). I love the kids' costumes, your MIL is very talented!

It looks like you all had an awesome trip!

 

[disny_luvr]

Congratulations on your dissertation! I can't even imagine all the work you've put into it. I'm a few classes into my second Master's degree and I'm about ready to lose my mind. The class I'm currently taking is over on December 11th and it can't get here soon enough.

Anyway, back to more important things - Disney! I am absolutely enjoying all these character interactions! Your family is making great memories!

 

[gracer9977]

Congratulations that you are looking into the light at the end of the tunnel for your PhD.

Love all the character meets and OMG you have the cutest little Wendy and Peter. We met Peter Pan and Wendy in the same spot and had such a great time with them. Peter even told us where some of the hidden Pascals were in Rapunzel's garden across the walkway. He was suspicious of them and told our kids they needed to watch out for them and warn Peter if they were getting close to him It was a long line but it did move really fast.

Great pics with Gaston. Wow Cora does have some guns on her.

 

[Jfsag123]

Oh my goodness. I just read through your entire trip report so far and I love it! I was looking for a good trip report as I am organizing a trip for next June with my family and wanted to get a feel for how the weather/crowds/everything was at that time of year. (I'm normally a fall girl myself). I love the kids' costumes, your MIL is very talented!

It looks like you all had an awesome trip!

Welcome! I'm glad you're enjoying it! We really did have a great time. I would love to go in the fall at some point in the future! I'm desperate to get to a MNSSHP. When in June are you going?

Congratulations on your dissertation! I can't even imagine all the work you've put into it. I'm a few classes into my second Master's degree and I'm about ready to lose my mind. The class I'm currently taking is over on December 11th and it can't get here soon enough.

Anyway, back to more important things - Disney! I am absolutely enjoying all these character interactions! Your family is making great memories!

The good thing about being this deep into school is that I no longer have classes. Every year in recent memory I was going crazy at this point. It's so stressful with the end of the semester bumping up against the holidays. Good luck surviving! Focusing in Disney definitely helps.

Congratulations that you are looking into the light at the end of the tunnel for your PhD.

Love all the character meets and OMG you have the cutest little Wendy and Peter. We met Peter Pan and Wendy in the same spot and had such a great time with them. Peter even told us where some of the hidden Pascals were in Rapunzel's garden across the walkway. He was suspicious of them and told our kids they needed to watch out for them and warn Peter if they were getting close to him It was a long line but it did move really fast.

Great pics with Gaston. Wow Cora does have some guns on her.

Thank you! We would love to meet Wendy with Peter some time! And there are hidden Pascals in the garden?? I need more info lol

And yeah, Cora's guns are nuts. She is a little proud of them.

 

[krysenchips]

Welcome! I'm glad you're enjoying it! We really did have a great time. I would love to go in the fall at some point in the future! I'm desperate to get to a MNSSHP. When in June are you going?

We're planning on the first week of June. I wanted to go a bit sooner, but due to Mom and Sister's school district scheduling, we have to wait until then.

I've never done MNSSHP either, but next time I'm there in October, I'm definitely doing it! Just seeing everyone all dressed in their costumes is a fun event!

 

[Jfsag123]

We're planning on the first week of June. I wanted to go a bit sooner, but due to Mom and Sister's school district scheduling, we have to wait until then.

I've never done MNSSHP either, but next time I'm there in October, I'm definitely doing it! Just seeing everyone all dressed in their costumes is a fun event!

Sounds like we'll be there around the same time and for similar reasons...

 

[Jfsag123]

Day 11 – June 16: Magic Kingdom, Part 3

We returned to the MK from our break in the evening and ventured into Tomorrowland. I was planning to hit the Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor, but alas, the kids had other ideas. They wanted to see…Stitch’s Great Escape. We had never done this attraction and my goal was to keep it that way. Initially I said I would wait outside (thinking maybe I would sneak a solo ride on the Peoplemover), but was dragged into the queue by my treacherous family.

Yes, it was as bad as everybody says. Minutes of my life I will never get back. DH, of course, did not enjoy it either. The kids said they liked it, but I think it was just because they were getting such a kick out of laughing at my pain. Ugh.

Anyway, we had a FP+ reservation for Splash Mountain scheduled for the not-too-distant future, so we deiced to head over to Liberty Square and see the Hall of Presidents for the first time before using our FP. That was not to be either. As we walked into Liberty Square, Alex noticed Tiana and Naveen meeting in the gazebo. He begged to meet them as, though we had already met Tiana earlier in the trip, we had never met Naveen. This was actually the last day Naveen would be meeting since Tiana was scheduled to move into PFT the following day, which I knew because of following the DIS and KtP. So I sighed and said we could bump the HoP and get in line.

This line was long. Crazy long. Horrifically long. Apparently many people knew this was his last night and, by this time, it was the next to last set for the night. The line moved slowly. Incredibly slowly. Painfully slowly. They were taking their time with people during this meet and we sure did feel it. At one point Rees and Cora left me and Alex in line and ran to Adventureland to grab Dole Whips for all of us to ease the pain of our wait. It helped for a bit.

I watched the time we would have spent in HoP come and go. I watched our FP+ widow for Splash open and then close and still we were in line. I watched the time I had planned for us to find our spots for the Main Street Electrical Parade pass us by and still we were in line. Day turned to night. We waited through their entire second to last set, break time, and then final set. The time their final set was supposed to end came and went and we had still not seen them, but they continued to meet people. Alex apologized profusely throughout our wait, but refused to leave the line. I offered to stay with him and let Rees and Cora go off and do other things, but they reluctantly agreed to stick it out. We were all in this together.

Finally finally FINALLY it was our turn. Alex approached and immediately asked Naveen the question he had been wanting to ask him the whole time, the reason he’d refused the line, as he needed the answer to his question: “Are you leaving the Magic Kingdom to go back to Maldonia to practice your mushroom mincing skills?”

This was Naveen’s face after Alex asked his question.

Don’t think he’d been asked that one before. We all had a good laugh and it was ultimately a really cute meet, but Good Lord, I will never wait that long for something again.

BY the time we left, the MSEP had stepped off and was approached Liberty Square. Since all the viewing spots were long gone by that time, we decided to scrap our plans to try to see it and take advantage of the time by hitting some more rides with minimal waiting.

First we went to it’s a small world. This was the line.

Got our goodbyes again!

I don’t even remember what we did next. Probably the Carousel and Philharmagic because those make us happy. Then we headed over to Tomorrowland to hit another ride that I loathe:

The Speedway. I figured with the way this night had already gone, I might as well knock out the last bit of unpleasantness still looming over me on the trip. Cora “drives” on this by alternately speeding up and then slamming on the break, all the while consistently bumping up against the guiderail. Sounds like a fun ride, right?

We decided to call it a night at this point, but had to stop for a quick pic with Lady & the Tramp’s paw prints on the way out.

On the walk back to BLT, I noticed for the first time that the MK buses said “My other bus is a magic carpet” and had to take a blurry pic of that.

We were tired and kind of achy at this point, and knew we needed to get some rest to be up and ready for our final full park day the next morning. Waah!

 

[AuntDJ]

QUOTE="Jfsag123, post: 56725041, member: 466575"]He uses antlers in all of his decorating.[/QUOTE]
OMG!!! I am in the picture right below those antlers. My niece has on the Mickey ears!

 

[Jfsag123]

QUOTE="Jfsag123, post: 56725041, member: 466575"]He uses antlers in all of his decorating.

OMG!!! I am in the picture right below those antlers. My niece has on the Mickey ears![/QUOTE]

Wow, that's awesome! I have never spotted myself if someone else's photos. It was a good day, wasn't it?

 

[ArielSRL]

Oh my...you are a very good mother! I am not sure I would do what you did. I would probably use some begging, bartering, bribing, and coercing to get my kid out of the line...but my kids would never be that determined, but if they were, I'd probably stick it out!

Never, never on Stitch. I have done it before...but it's been years. Fortunately, I am very good at steering my kids away at this point.

Ah, the Speedway. I think AJ and Cora may drive exactly the same! I have worked out an excellent plan to avoid the Speedway! I will be booking myself a nice FP for Space Mtn, and everyone else will get one for the Speedway. That's what DH gets for being a chicken! Lol. I shouldn't make fun, bc honestly, it helps me out! I've even heard that if both boys ride with him, and they tell the CM, they will flag the car and they will get to ride twice. Hahahaha!

Love the quote on the bus screen! Oh and our last night, we did watch MSEP, it headed for FL right afterward while everyone was lining up for a Wishes, and FL was practically deserted! That's why I plan so many MK nights! One or two girls nighttime entertainment and the other(s) for deserted rides!

Boo hoo on last full day. Looking forward to it though!

 

[ariane37]

I regret having never met Tiana let alone Naveen, but at least we can still meet her. Stinks big time they got rid of the one Prince who meets! Well and Beast, but not a "free" M&G so to speak. We did a couple of those endless waits for characters back in the day but thankfully that's over. However for such an awesome question, I don't blame Alex for wanting to stick it out!
Stitch=never again. Now it's seasonal but will be open during our trip. My kids would have to pay me $$ they don't have to get me on it again!

 

[disny_luvr]

Kudos to you for waiting in that looooong line just so Alex could meet Naveen. You did an excellent job salvaging the rest of the night and wasn't it delightful to be able to walk back to BLT? No waiting in line for busses, ferries or monorails.

 

[Jfsag123]

Oh my...you are a very good mother! I am not sure I would do what you did. I would probably use some begging, bartering, bribing, and coercing to get my kid out of the line...but my kids would never be that determined, but if they were, I'd probably stick it out!

Oh believe me, I tried. But yeah, he was so determined I eventually resigned myself to sticking with it since it really was his last chance.

Never, never on Stitch. I have done it before...but it's been years. Fortunately, I am very good at steering my kids away at this point.

Thankfully, it looks like that won't be a problem in the future!

Ah, the Speedway. I think AJ and Cora may drive exactly the same! I have worked out an excellent plan to avoid the Speedway! I will be booking myself a nice FP for Space Mtn, and everyone else will get one for the Speedway. That's what DH gets for being a chicken! Lol. I shouldn't make fun, bc honestly, it helps me out! I've even heard that if both boys ride with him, and they tell the CM, they will flag the car and they will get to ride twice. Hahahaha!

Hmm...now there's an idea

Love the quote on the bus screen! Oh and our last night, we did watch MSEP, it headed for FL right afterward while everyone was lining up for a Wishes, and FL was practically deserted! That's why I plan so many MK nights! One or two girls nighttime entertainment and the other(s) for deserted rides![/QUOTE]

We had 4 night time opportunities with MK this trip, but it just didnt work out. Oh well.

I regret having never met Tiana let alone Naveen, but at least we can still meet her. Stinks big time they got rid of the one Prince who meets! Well and Beast, but not a "free" M&G so to speak. We did a couple of those endless waits for characters back in the day but thankfully that's over. However for such an awesome question, I don't blame Alex for wanting to stick it out!
Stitch=never again. Now it's seasonal but will be open during our trip. My kids would have to pay me $$ they don't have to get me on it again!

I know, I hate that they keep cutting princes! We've now met Tiana 3 times, but the kids always enjoy her. She's one of the princesses with a little more personality. And seriously, I don't care if Stitch is open again when we're there (but it looks like it won't be), im never doing that again!

Kudos to you for waiting in that looooong line just so Alex could meet Naveen. You did an excellent job salvaging the rest of the night and wasn't it delightful to be able to walk back to BLT? No waiting in line for busses, ferries or monorails.

Oh, that walk back at the end of a long night is the most amazing thing. It's like you know people who left at the same time as you are still standing in transportation lines at the point when you've already gotten back to your room. I'm not sure we'll be at BLT for any part of our next trip and I'm worried about how my spoiled self will do with that lol.

 

[ArielSRL]

Apparently, I need to check my grammar and spelling a tad better next time! Sorry!

 

[Jfsag123]

Apparently, I need to check my grammar and spelling a tad better next time! Sorry!

I don't even know what you're referring to (to what you are referring ), so shows how much attention to detail I have these days...

 

[ArielSRL]

I don't even know what you're referring to (to what you are referring ), so shows how much attention to detail I have these days...

It's the part you attempted to quote above but didn't get it fully quoted. It was hard for me to read it because I made so many mistakes. I think maybe it was more an autocorrect thing, but boy there are a few word choices of mine that make no sense...lol.

 

[Jfsag123]

I'm trying to finish this sucker up since it's almost time for me to turn my attention to our next trip - dining booking opens in just a few weeks!

Day 12 – June 17: Magic Kingdom, Part 1

Rise and shine – final rope drop day! We were headed back to the Magic Kingdom for EMH and our final full park day. We planned to start our day by meeting Anastasia and Drizella, the stepsisters from Cinderella, so the kids dressed up as Cinderella and Charming. One of the CM’s at BLT stopped us to tell the kids they looked cute and offered to take their photo.

After the welcome show we wandered around the park a bit as we made our way to the meet area. Not long after we got there, the photopass photographer came out. When he saw the kids he gave me a sly look and quietly told me that the sisters have been known to ride the carousel on occasion. I was floored by the possibility that the kids might get to ride something with characters for a second day in a row. Alas, it was not to be this time. A little bit later another CM came out and said the sisters would not be appearing that day – something about singing lessons. The kids were pretty disappointed and I was kicking myself for waiting until the last day to try the meet. We’d actually had a 1900 Park Fare dinner scheduled for earlier in the week, but I had cancelled it when I went on a cancellation spree during the first week of our trip because I was concerned about how well my stupid foot would hold up for the duration and wanted to trim some extras.

Oh well. We shrugged our shoulders, sighed, and moved ahead with our day. As the classic saying goes, when life gives you lemons, ride Winnie the Pooh! That is how the saying goes, right? Well regardless, that’s what we did. First, though, we took a couple of pics around the castle in the outfits because I knew my MIL would kill me if I did not.

Pooh!

At this point we changed the kids out of the costumes and made our way to New Fantasyland for another ride on the Little Mermaid ride, then headed over into Storybook Circus for more Barnstormer rides, with me sitting out again. I have no desire to ride this and Cora is happy to let me break our “everyone rides everything” rule because it means she gets to ride alone and feel all grown up.

After some quality time with Dumbo and the Barnstormer we decided to meet some of Mickey’s friends at Pete’s Silly Sideshow.

First the girls.

Then the boys.

Rees’ favorite.

Next it was time for breakfast – our first visit to Crystal Palace! Alex had been begging to go here for one reason and one reason only – Piglet.

Game faces on.

We had a window table with a nice view of the river heading into Adventureland. I got almost no food pics, but I did get this one of Alex’s plate:

And this one of the dessert:

That stuff looked like a mess but tasted great.

Of course, the characters made their rounds!

And then…drumroll…we saw Piglet heading our way. Alex could barely contain his excitement.

Success!

While we were eating, Pooh and Tigger each came around a second time and took more pictures. Tigger also bounced with the kids. We were just about to wrap it up when our server surprised us by bringing this over for Alex:

We were all surprised and Alex felt so special! His birthday actually isn’t until July. When I called to make a reservation prior to the trip, the phone CM (of course) asked if we were celebrating anything. I told her that we’d celebrated my daughter’s birthday at WDW last year, but not this year, as my birthday was the day after we got home and my son’s birthday was a couple of weeks after that. I guess she went ahead and added the birthday note to our reservation anyway and they decided to recognize it at Crystal Palace. The birthday card was signed by the Pooh characters and he was so happy to get it, as Cora has a card like it from our last trip, but signed by Belle and Beast. Overall, we really enjoyed our meal here and I’m glad we did it.

To be continued!

 

[ArielSRL]

Great update! Cora is so beautiful in her gown and Alex, so handsome! I am sorry the stepsisters were no shows. And I understand waiting to the last day. That's what we did with Jedi Training and we missed it. Of course, I have DHS last again for June 2017, so I obviously don't learn from my mistakes...lol. Great meets in the Storybook Circus area. I had that on the list for last trip but alas, another thing we missed. We will try again next trip.

Yay for Crystal Palace! We love it and do it almost every trip. We have always gotten really good character interaction here and the breakfast is good. I'm so glad Alex got his Piglet time! And thumbs up on the birthday card surprise. DH and I got married in June, so we will be celebrating for our trip!

And wahoo on dining booking coming up! Our day is Dec 5th and I am taking the morning off to make sure I get it all done without having to rush and get ready for work at the same time. Are you ready to share your ADR list??? Crious minds want to know! Just sitting over here waiting for hours to be released......

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

The expression on Alex's face is priceless waiting for Piglet. That's what it's all about.

I know I've mentioned it before but it's worth saying again. The costumes your MIL make for the kids are just the best!