atakaratemom
<font color=blue>Butt-kickin' black belt Mama
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2005
Mom: 41 raised on DL
Katy: Turned 6 on September 27. Loves all things princess.
We live in Southern California about 90 miles from DL so for her Birthday, we planned a mother/daughter day at DL. What should be a 1 1/2 hour drive becomes a 3 hour drive during morning rush hour so we left our house at 6:30 a.m. to get to the park prior to its 10 a.m. opening. As expected it took us 3 hours and we arrived about 9:30 a.m. We went immediately to the B of A to process the annual passes I purchased in advance at the Disney Store. It took us about 15 minutes, but we saved a trip to City Hall as the nice CM there provided Katy with her Birthday Sticker. Since I had made reservations for the Princess lunch at Ariels Grotto, we decided to start the day at CA. We made our first stop the Playhouse Disney show which Katy enjoyed, although she informed me that she is getting a bit old for those characters. Sigh! We then headed to Bugs Land where we easily rode all of the rides. Lines were virtually nonexistent. It was getting close to our reservation time so we walked to Ariels Grotto for our Princess Lunch. This was a big surprise! Katy knew we were going to have a special lunch, but she didnt know that it was going to be with the Princesses that she loves so much. She was thrilled!! We were seated and served right away. The food was very good, but of course the princesses were the highlight for Katy. During our lunch she visited with Snow White, Mulan, Ariel, Belle and Sleeping Beauty. They all took time to chat with her and wish her happy birthday while also signing her book and taking a photo. She was speechless with delight. After lunch our server delivered her Princess Birthday Bucket and everyone sang happy birthday to her. It was well worth the $20, even though the cake was mostly frosting. After lunch we headed back to DL where more surprises were waiting. As we walked back in, Winnie the Pooh, Eyeore and Tigger were all at the entrance to Main Street signing books and taking pictures. Katy informed me she was too old for them. Sigh again! We went to FL and rode the Carousel, Pinocchio and Snow White rides and then it was time for the Happiest Birthday on Earth at the Plaza Inn. We checked in and got our seat just as it was time to begin. They passed out the cakes and we all started decorating our creations under the watchful eye of Pat E. Cake. The cake decorating was quite messy and Im afraid our creations were a little on the scary side, but it didnt matter. Everyone was having a great time. After we decorated our cakes, they called all the birthday people up to the front and started a conga dance line joined by Minnie and Mickey. That was great fun! Afterwards they used the line created by the conga to have birthday photos taken with Mickey and Minnie. This was a bit rushed, but I managed to get a good photo. Mickey and Minnie had to leave, but we stayed and ate our cake, (at least as much as we could due to still being full from lunch).They did pass out boxes to take your cake in, but I couldnt see carrying it around or leaving it in our locker, so we ate what we could eat and left the rest. After our fun party, we headed over to Frontier Land and rode the Jungle Ride and Pirates. We also climbed Tarzans tree house and watched the show at the Tiki Room. We had just enough time to go on the Buzz Lightyear ride before we headed back to CA for the Block Party. Back at CA we went for a few repeat rides in Bugs Land and then we found a spot to watch the show. It was very entertaining and they really involve the kids, which was nice. At one point they pull the kids out in the street to dance with the CMs. Katy loved that part. After it was over we (and lots of others) headed back to DL as CA was about to close for the day. Now we were focused on rides! We headed back to FL and rode Peter Pan, Mr. Toad, Dumbo, Tea Cups and Alice in Wonderland. As we lined up for the Storybook Ride, the Parade began and we were able to view it nicely while waiting in line. We finished out the day with Small World and another ride on Alice in Wonderland. By this time it was 8 p.m. and the park was closing. We stopped on Main Street for a few final purchases and headed for the trams back to our car. It was such an enjoyable day. Everywhere we went the CMs were so friendly, wishing her happy birthday by name and giving her special attention. She just loved it. Katy was in tears at this point because she didnt want the day to end. With tears streaming down her face she looked at me and said This really is the happiest place on earth. It was so funny because she looked so miserable while she was saying it! After I reminded her that we now had APs and would be back soon she stopped crying, and by the time we got back to the car she was chatting happily about the Best Birthday Ever!!!
Katy: Turned 6 on September 27. Loves all things princess.
We live in Southern California about 90 miles from DL so for her Birthday, we planned a mother/daughter day at DL. What should be a 1 1/2 hour drive becomes a 3 hour drive during morning rush hour so we left our house at 6:30 a.m. to get to the park prior to its 10 a.m. opening. As expected it took us 3 hours and we arrived about 9:30 a.m. We went immediately to the B of A to process the annual passes I purchased in advance at the Disney Store. It took us about 15 minutes, but we saved a trip to City Hall as the nice CM there provided Katy with her Birthday Sticker. Since I had made reservations for the Princess lunch at Ariels Grotto, we decided to start the day at CA. We made our first stop the Playhouse Disney show which Katy enjoyed, although she informed me that she is getting a bit old for those characters. Sigh! We then headed to Bugs Land where we easily rode all of the rides. Lines were virtually nonexistent. It was getting close to our reservation time so we walked to Ariels Grotto for our Princess Lunch. This was a big surprise! Katy knew we were going to have a special lunch, but she didnt know that it was going to be with the Princesses that she loves so much. She was thrilled!! We were seated and served right away. The food was very good, but of course the princesses were the highlight for Katy. During our lunch she visited with Snow White, Mulan, Ariel, Belle and Sleeping Beauty. They all took time to chat with her and wish her happy birthday while also signing her book and taking a photo. She was speechless with delight. After lunch our server delivered her Princess Birthday Bucket and everyone sang happy birthday to her. It was well worth the $20, even though the cake was mostly frosting. After lunch we headed back to DL where more surprises were waiting. As we walked back in, Winnie the Pooh, Eyeore and Tigger were all at the entrance to Main Street signing books and taking pictures. Katy informed me she was too old for them. Sigh again! We went to FL and rode the Carousel, Pinocchio and Snow White rides and then it was time for the Happiest Birthday on Earth at the Plaza Inn. We checked in and got our seat just as it was time to begin. They passed out the cakes and we all started decorating our creations under the watchful eye of Pat E. Cake. The cake decorating was quite messy and Im afraid our creations were a little on the scary side, but it didnt matter. Everyone was having a great time. After we decorated our cakes, they called all the birthday people up to the front and started a conga dance line joined by Minnie and Mickey. That was great fun! Afterwards they used the line created by the conga to have birthday photos taken with Mickey and Minnie. This was a bit rushed, but I managed to get a good photo. Mickey and Minnie had to leave, but we stayed and ate our cake, (at least as much as we could due to still being full from lunch).They did pass out boxes to take your cake in, but I couldnt see carrying it around or leaving it in our locker, so we ate what we could eat and left the rest. After our fun party, we headed over to Frontier Land and rode the Jungle Ride and Pirates. We also climbed Tarzans tree house and watched the show at the Tiki Room. We had just enough time to go on the Buzz Lightyear ride before we headed back to CA for the Block Party. Back at CA we went for a few repeat rides in Bugs Land and then we found a spot to watch the show. It was very entertaining and they really involve the kids, which was nice. At one point they pull the kids out in the street to dance with the CMs. Katy loved that part. After it was over we (and lots of others) headed back to DL as CA was about to close for the day. Now we were focused on rides! We headed back to FL and rode Peter Pan, Mr. Toad, Dumbo, Tea Cups and Alice in Wonderland. As we lined up for the Storybook Ride, the Parade began and we were able to view it nicely while waiting in line. We finished out the day with Small World and another ride on Alice in Wonderland. By this time it was 8 p.m. and the park was closing. We stopped on Main Street for a few final purchases and headed for the trams back to our car. It was such an enjoyable day. Everywhere we went the CMs were so friendly, wishing her happy birthday by name and giving her special attention. She just loved it. Katy was in tears at this point because she didnt want the day to end. With tears streaming down her face she looked at me and said This really is the happiest place on earth. It was so funny because she looked so miserable while she was saying it! After I reminded her that we now had APs and would be back soon she stopped crying, and by the time we got back to the car she was chatting happily about the Best Birthday Ever!!!
