"This is the BEST DAY EVER"A Dec'12 TR-A Princess's 5thBday and 3000 pics! UDx2 5/20

[clynngibson]

“This is the BEST DAY EVER!!!!!” A Dec 2012 TR-A Princess’s 5th birthday and 3000 pictures!​

Hi! And welcome to my first trip report! My name is Christa and I will be your guide through our first journey to Walt Disney World! I have wanted to go to WDW since I was a little girl. It took 29 years, but I finally got there and it was wonderful! I am so excited to share our trip with you!!!

Our Cast of Characters:

Me!! Christa AKA “Mommy” and “Trip Planning Junkie”

I am a planner. Always have been and always will be! I love binder clips, post its, Sharpies, organizing, and making lists. Among my more fun hobbies are photography, scrapbooking, and shopping! I am a pharmacy technician at the largest hospital in my area. I work third shift filling medications for the entire hospital and taking medication histories from patients in the Emergency Department. The best perk of my job? I work 7 nights, then get 7 nights off! It’s like a vacation every other week! So, for the last 8 months or so, my life has been 7 days of work and sleep, then 7 days of Disney planning!

Favorite Disney characters: Minnie Mouse
Favorite Disney movie: Sleeping Beauty
Favorite Disney Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Ride/Attraction: Rock n’ Roller Coaster
Favorite Disney Food: Grand Marnier Slushy in France Pavilion at Epcot

DH, Orienthus AKA “O”, “Rent”, “Daddy”

DH works at the same hospital I do. (Actually, I work at the same hospital he does since he got me the job! lol) He works in IV Therapy, making IVs for patients in the entire hospital. He is an Atlanta sports fan-Falcons, Hawks, and Braves! He is totally opposite me when it comes to organization and making lists. We are a good fit! lol

Favorite Disney character: Scar
Favorite Disney movie: The Lion King
Favorite Disney Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Ride/Attraction: Expedition Everest
Favorite Disney Food: Pork Tacos at Kona Cafe

DD, Olivia AKA “Princess”

DD was 4yo when this trip started. She loves to color, write, play with Barbies, watch Disney movies, and watch My Little Pony on Netflix. She is super friendly and makes friends easily. She turned 5 years old during this trip.

Favorite Disney character: Sleeping Beauty
Favorite Disney movie: The Secret of the Wings
Favorite Disney Park: Animal Kingdom
Favorite Ride/Attraction: Kali River Rapids
Favorite Disney Food: Cream Puff with fresh berries from Bakeri Og Kafe in the Norway Pavilion at Epcot

DS Carter, AKA “Prince”…no, strike that! He’s more of a Pirate! Aaarrrggg!!!

DS just turned 1yo a week before this trip. He is rowdy and doesn’t like to be tamed! He is definitely teaching me about patience. He likes to play with toys that move and aggravate his sister. He also likes aggravating me by calling me “dada” all the time.

Favorite Disney character: He preferred to sleep during Meet and Greets! lol
Favorite Disney movie: Reference above answer
Favorite Disney Park: Magic Kingdom since he got to ride so many things there!
Favorite Ride/Attraction: Festival of the Lion King- He didn’t stop clapping and dancing during this show! He also liked Toy Story Midway Mania. He knew exactly what to do! LOL
Favorite Disney Food: He went crazy over the Dole Whip Float!!

My Dad, Danny AKA “Papa”

Dad is a Corrections Officer in my hometown. He enjoys cars, cars, and cars! He doesn’t like crowds, so good thing we went during a slow week!

Favorite Disney character: Grumpy
Favorite Disney movie: Toy Story
Favorite Disney Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Ride/Attraction: Toy Story Midway Mania
Favorite Disney Food: Rainforest Cafe

My Mom, Teri AKA “Grandma”

Mom also works at the police department in my hometown. She started out as a Dispatcher, and then moved to the Payroll Department. She is also the unofficial department photographer! She is an awesome photographer (seriously, her zoo pics should be in National Geographic!), a scrapbooker, and loves her furbabies Maggie (beagle) and Bella (dachshund). There was no way her daughter and grandchildren were going to see Disney for the first time without her! She is also a DIS member, so I'm sure she'll be commenting! Look out for AnnaMariaGirl!

Favorite Disney character: My girl, Minnie!
Favorite Disney movie: Homeward Bound
Favorite Disney Park: Magic Kingdom, but DHS is a close second!
Favorite Ride/Attraction: Toy Story Midway Mania
Favorite Disney Food: Kona Cafe

UP NEXT: How did I become a Disney Junkie?!
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[clynngibson]

CHAPTER LINKS:

Intro
How did I become a Disney Junkie?!

Saturday, December 1st, 2012
A Disney-size Surprise!

Sunday, December 2nd, 2012
I told you there would be pictures!
We're in Orlando! I need a DISNEY fix!!!
Vroom! Vroom!
Can I get a hotel room please?!
The Boardwalk
Big River Grille
A Stroll Along The Boardwalk
Our Stroll Continues
Beaches & Cream

Monday, December 3rd, 2012

I'm Going To Cry!
Cinderella Castle
More Castle Pics
Storybook Circus
Rocket with Goofy!
New Fantasyland
Voyage Under The Sea
An Unexpected Meet & Greet and The Poly
Lunch @ Kona Cafe
Evening Festivities at Magic Kingdom
More Electrical Parade
Celebrate The Magic & Wishes!
Visiting Some Ghosts and We're FREE!!!!!!
Ending Our First Night!

Tuesday, December 4th, 2012
Animal Kingdom
Our Two Week Journey
More Animals and Rainforest Cafe
More Rainforest Cafe
Camp Minnie-Mickey
Meet & Greet Marathon!
Meeting More Furry Friends
Grandma and Grandpa Take the Kids to Dinoland!
DH and I Go On An Asian Adventure!
Back At the Hotel

Wednesday, December 5th, 2012
A Future World Morning
World Showcase (Mexico, Norway, China)
African Outpost, Germany, Italy
More Italy and The American Adventure
Japan and Morocco
France!
The UK
The Candlelight Processional Narrated By Blair Underwood and IllumiNations!


Thursday, December 6th, 2012
Disney's Hollywood Studios
Little Mermaid and Thrill Rides
50's Prime Time Cafe
Tower of Terror/Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade!
More DHS
The Great Movie Ride/Muppets 3D
Meet & Greet And Christmas Lights
Thursday Night at the Hotel

Friday, December 7th, 2012
Happy Birthday, Princess!
More of the Makeover
A Castle Couture Photo Shoot (and more BBB)
The Castle Stage Show
The Longest Wait For A Princess EVER! LOL
Liberty Sqaure, Frontierland, and Adventureland
Meeting some fairies & Celebrate A Dream Come True!
We Get Spit On and Get To Dine With Royalty
The FOOD!!
Dessert & An Evening in MK

Saturday, December 8th, 2012
Our Last Day: DAK
A Treat and A Show!
Asia
More DinoLand
Time To Eat!!!

Bonus!!!!
PhotoPass Pics Post #1
PhotoPass Pics Post #2
PhotoPass Pics Post #3
Souvenirs
Closing Thoughts

Completed May 20, 2013


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[Allieran3]

First here! Can't wait to hear about your trip!!!

 

[clynngibson]

First here! Can't wait to hear about your trip!!!

Welcome!!!

 

[clynngibson]

How did I become a Disney Junkie?!

The seeds for this trip were planted at DDs 2nd birthday party, waaaaayyyyy back in 2009!

DHs family lives in Atlanta and we travelled there for DDs birthday party that year. I dont know whose idea it was originally, but it was decided that our first trip to Disney would be for DDs 5th birthday!

Fast forward to early spring 2012 and DH brought up the idea again! I still cant believe he brought it up first! Being the planner that I am, I quickly started asking around for opinions.(Some would say I became obsessed.) A coworker gave me her 2011 Unofficial Guide to read and recommended the Disboards to me. (This would prove ironic, but youll have to keep reading to find out why!)

The advice of most people? Take lots of pictures! Ummmmm do you know me? Do you know my mother?! LOL My mom is known to take 300 pictures from one afternoon at the zoo! Pictures were NOT going to be a problem!!!! (As you will see!!)

Eight months of planning boils down to:

Who? Me, DH, DD, DS, Grandma, and Papa
What? 7 nights at the Hawthorn Suites Convention Center and 6 days at Walt Disney World, including a Princesss 5th birthday spectacular!
When? December 2nd December 9th, 2012
Where? Driving from High Point, NC (us) and Middletown, Ohio (my parents)
Why? Do we really need a reason to spend the holiday season with The Mouse?

If you want to read more about our planning details, you can read my Pre-Trip Report HERE.

UP NEXT: A Disney-size surprise!
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[clynngibson]

SURPRISE!!! Can I take my balloons?!

We decided early on that this trip would be a surprise to DD. It really was a selfish decision, because I didnt want to hear Are we going to Disney today? for 8 months! lol So, we began introducing the IDEA of Disney to her. We watched the free DVD from Disney, watched the Disney specials on Netflix, and watched YouTube videos of others vacation highlights. I made a list of movies we needed to watch before going and had a couple Disney Movie Nights.

A couple weeks before the trip, I started getting us in the holiday spirit by putting up our Christmas decorations, watching Christmas movies, and looking at Christmas lights!

There is a house in the town next to us that goes completely over the top with Christmas lights! They are synchronized to music and just beautiful! A couple nights before our trip, we decided to drive over and see if he had turned them on yet. He had! Well, mostly LOL He was working on them that night.

Here is some video! http://youtu.be/L8LkM-QcY5o

On D-day, DH took DD out to Bumper Jumpers to jump the afternoon away. DS and I stayed home to finish packing, cleaning up, and getting ready for the big surprise! I tried to nap since we would be driving through the night, but DS was not cooperating! I think I ended up getting about an hour nap.

We went to dinner that night at the Kung Fu Panda place (Taste of Asia, a hibachi/sushi restaurant near us). I think I was too excited about starting our trip, because I didnt take any pictures!! I always take pictures of our food! LOL We shared a Philly Roll, DH had salad with ginger dressing and Chop Chop (bbq-style pork chop). I had Mushroom Soup (DD ate most of it!) and Sweet Chicken. It was all super delicious!

When we got home, we told DD it was bath and bed time. (hehehe) Luckily, she loves playing in the bathtub, so she was happy to jump right in! This gave me some time to load up the car and get the surprise in place!

See the surprise video! http://youtu.be/YaeBLFl6vo4

DD was so excited!! We put Rapunzel on the DVD player and hit the road at about 10:00 that night!!

Good thing we have a large SUV. Look at all this stuff!!

UP NEXT: I told you there would be pictures!
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[bellaally]

Hey good star so far, I definitely want to surprise my kids even they are older. I can't wait to read about her reaction!

 

[brandihead2012]

Love it! I Cried watching your video!

 

[clynngibson]

Hey good star so far, I definitely want to surprise my kids even they are older. I can't wait to read about her reaction!

Thanks! I'm enjoying your trip report, also!!

 

[clynngibson]

Love it! I Cried watching your video!

Awwwwww that is so sweet!!! So many surprise videos have affected me that way, too!!! Thanks for reading!

 

[clynngibson]

Here come the pictures!!

I forgot to mention that my parents live in Ohio. They left Saturday morning and stopped in Lake City, FL for the night. Then, we left Saturday night, drove through the night, and met up in Orlando on Sunday! Here are some pics from Mom and Dad’s drive!

They left with their planning folder and cds that I made them in hand!

I assume this was their breakfast!!

TV shows to pass the time!

See where I get my packing sense from? LOL

My beautiful mommy!!

Our drive was pretty uneventful (and no pics, since it was nighttime). I started driving and DH kept up the conversation to help keep me awake! We stopped at about midnight for a potty break and to get a snack of BK Stackers at Burger King. This was probably the best Burger King we have ever had!! That, or we were REALLY hungry! LOL

There was a snafu with our GPS in South Carolina. Apparently, there is a new extension to Route 1. At least newer than my last GPS update! lol Once we figured out how to get back on track, it was smooth sailing. DH took over the drive around 2:30am. What the heck stinks so bad in South Carolina?! We hit several pockets of horrible stench! Sort of a mix between skunk and raw fish. YUCK!!! About an hour outside of Orlando, I started getting really excited!!! It really hit me when I saw this baby:

Image courtesy of Google
ACCKKKK We were SO CLOSE!!!

We got into Orlando about 8:00am, which was way too early to check in our hotel! We were starving, so we found some breakfast! Denny’s was just down the street from our hotel.

Both DH and I got The Hobbit-hole: Two eggs fried right into the center of grilled Cheddar bun halves. Served with two strips of bacon and crispy hash browns topped with melted shredded Cheddar cheese and bacon. OMG This was the BEST breakfast diner meal I have ever had! It was DELISH!!!

DD had the “Build Your Own Jr. Grand Slam” She picked pancakes, bacon, sausage, and scrambled eggs.

Carter was SO excited to see food!! You’d think he was cooped up in a car for 10 hours or something! We ordered biscuits & gravy and scrambled eggs for him. I am a gravy fanatic, so I gave it a taste. SO DISAPPOINTED! It tasted like jarred gravy (don’t know if it is or not) but YUCK!

During breakfast, we got a text from my parents that they were awake, getting dressed, and would be driving into Orlando in a few hours! We still hadn’t told DD that Grandma and Papa were coming to Disney with us!

Up Next: Once breakfast was over, it wasn’t even 9 am yet. What to do?!
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[holleypie]

Your children are precious! I love it that she was NOT letting go of those balloons in the video. Haha.

How was the drive? Did the kids sleep okay in the car? We drove from Maryland on this past trip and split it up into two days, but I'm thinking if we drove again I would want to just do it overnight.

 

[clynngibson]

Your children are precious! I love it that she was NOT letting go of those balloons in the video. Haha.

How was the drive? Did the kids sleep okay in the car? We drove from Maryland on this past trip and split it up into two days, but I'm thinking if we drove again I would want to just do it overnight.

Thank you!!! I had to pry the balloons out of her hands once she got in the car!

Carter fell asleep almost instantly. Olivia did once Rapunzel was over. She woke up to potty once, but she slept til about 7am, I think.

It was nice driving overnight. The hard part was me not getting much of a nap Saturday before the drive. Neither one of us wanted to sleep while the other was driving at night, either! lol We stayed awake by talking about the trip mostly!

 

[AnnaMariaGirl]

Hi! I'm Christa's Mom....I've only read the first post and she couldnt find a better photo of me than that one? hahahaha Seriously? hahaha I look like I'm high on rice krispie treats..oh wait...maybe I was! hahaha

 

[clynngibson]

Hi! I'm Christa's Mom....I've only read the first post and she couldnt find a better photo of me than that one? hahahaha Seriously? hahaha I look like I'm high on rice krispie treats..oh wait...maybe I was! hahaha

LOL It was that or the Goofy hat one! You're always behind the camera! lol

 

[jc040404]

Awww!! I just watched the reveal video and Olivia is just too adorable!! I got a little teary as she found out. Love that she asked to bring the balloons, too. That was so sweet! I'm in!

 

[clynngibson]

Awww!! I just watched the reveal video and Olivia is just too adorable!! I got a little teary as she found out. Love that she asked to bring the balloons, too. That was so sweet! I'm in!

Thank you so much!!!! She played with the balloons in our hotel all week long! LOL Thanks for joining in!

 

[clynngibson]

We’re in Orlando, I need a Disney fix!!!

We still couldn’t check into our hotel, so we decided to check out what we could of Disney! Our hotel area was only about a 15 minute drive to WDW. I was absolutely giddy to see…..

OMG OMG OMG WE WERE FINALLY IN DISNEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The first sign we saw was to the Art of Animation Resort. I had been so excited to see Disney’s newest resort!! DD picked the Nemo section first! By this time, it was getting HOT outside! I remember changing Olivia into shorts and a tank top in the parking lot because she was still in pjs from the drive! LOL Then we headed into AoA!

We caught a glimpse of the Cars area as we headed to see Nemo!

The attention to detail is amazing!

I could barely get Olivia to stop for pictures! She was skipping with joy all over the place!!!

Carter just wanted put down! He likes to be freeeeeee!!!!!

AWESOME playground! I walked around taking more pictures while DH watched Carter crawl around a little bit!

UP NEXT: Vroom! Vroom!

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[clynngibson]

We continued on over to the Cars section.

Looking back, I saw the CUTEST thing!!! MINE MINE MINE

A Cast Member was standing by the police car. I wondered what he was doing there, just lingering, then I realized he was trying to dry the dew off of the car! LOL Poor guy had to keep stopping because people kept coming up to get pictures with the car.

What's in there??

This is just the cutest building ever! lol

I think she was getting tired of stopping to take pictures!

America's Next Top Model here! lol

Which side is my good side, mommy?

There she goes skipping again!

UP NEXT: Can I get a hotel room, please?!

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[clynngibson]

Can I get a hotel room, please?!

AoA was amazing! We decided to leave after seeing the Cars and Nemo sections because we didnt have a stroller yet and it was HOT carrying DS around. We took a shortcut through the building, noting how close together the rooms were! We decided to drive to the hotel and see if our room was ready. I knew that at 10 am, that was a very long shot! lol But, we were hot, tired, and needed a shower! The guy working the front desk confirmed we were going to be placed close to my parents room (Yay!) but that our rooms wouldnt be ready til around 2 pm (Boo!!). So, what to do now? My parents were still about an hour outside of Orlando and we needed a nap! At this point, we had been up for about 27 hours! We found a shady spot in the parking lot, gave DD a coloring book, and took a nap right in the car! DS had fallen back asleep and I thought for sure he would wake up as soon as I closed my eyes, but he didnt! We got a good 1 ½ hour nap before my mom called saying they were getting close! Now remember, DD doesnt know they are coming yet!

We decided to meet at McDonalds for some lunch. We got there first, ordered our food, and started eating. So apparently, there are about a million McDonalds on International Drive LOL And my lucky parents got to see several of them before finding the right one! LOL Mom called and asked to speak to Olivia, so I put her on speaker phone. While they were talking, my parents snuck into the restaurant.

Mom-Are you having fun?
Olivia-Yes.
Mom-Turn around. (Guy next to her turns and looks. lol)
Olivia-Huh?
Mom-Turn around! (Guy next to her turns and looks again!)
Olivia-Huh?
Mom-TURN AROUND AND LOOK!!

Olivia finally realized she was supposed to physically turn around and look! She yelled Grandma!!! and ran to hug her! It was awesome and she was so excited! If I hadnt been so tired and gross feeling, I would have this on video, too. My mom mustve been out of sorts, too, because there arent any pictures from lunch!!

After we ate, it was about 1pm, so we headed back to the hotel. Our rooms were almost ready and the worker said we could hang out by the pool or in the lobby and he would come get us when they were ready.

My mom let us know that if she disappeared, she would be right here in this massage chair!

Pretty fountain in the hotel lobby. The lobby was bigger than I originally thought.

We werent even outside for 5 minutes and he found us saying we had rooms! We were on the 3rd floor, across the hall from each other. We wanted adjoining rooms, but we were in a little alcove at the end of the hall, so we decided it would be okay to prop our doors open so the kids could go back and forth from our room to Grandma and Papas room.

We had our tickets and stroller both delivered to the hotel. This process was so easy! Both were ready and waiting for us at the front desk. The attendant tried to give me someone else's ticket envelope at first. I am so glad I was paying attention! It was totally the wrong name on the envelope!! Our rooms were prepaid for, but we just had to pay a service fee of $2.95/night. This took care of the park shuttle and other perks of the hotel. (We never ended up using the shuttle, though!) The hotel was about what I expected it to be. It wasnt anything extravagant, but it was clean for the most part. We did feel the need to wipe down the counters with bleach wipes, however! Once we moved everything upstairs, we unpacked and got settled in. Shortly after we got settled, housekeeping delivered our crib. This was a free add-on for our room. I almost didnt ask because I thought for sure it would be an extra charge, but I am so glad I asked because DS doesnt sleep well in a pack-and-play.

Olivia and Carter enjoyed Grandma and Papa for awhile.

My parent's room:

Their lovely view of our cars in the parking lot.

And our view of the beautiful pool area!!!! The pool was a Hidden Semi-Mickey! LMBO!

Our room:

I think I brought too many snacks and drinks! LOL

Olivia and her beloved balloons!

Apparently, my hubby had a drink at some point!

The men and children decided to take naps. What?! I was on vacation!! No napping for me! I turned on the TV and who did I see? STACY!!!!!!!!!!!!! I didnt think Id get to see what all the hype was about since we were staying off property, but there she was!! This channel pretty much stayed on a constant loop while we were at the hotel! lol I finished unpacking and caught up on The DIS and Facebook for awhile.

Once dinner time rolled around, we cleaned ourselves up a bit and headed out!

UP NEXT: Where were we headed on our first night????
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