You are NOT 5 Until You Eat Cake in the Castle *UPDATE 9-2-14 *COMPLETE

[DopeyDonald]

I am so enjoying your trip report!! It's so much better to read about your Disney days than hospital days! Cassidy looks great and I cracked up at how many times you had to ride Kali River Rapids! Your dinner at the Castle was so special; I LOVE those glass slippers! What an awesome idea! The special dessert plates for Annie and Wyatt are impressive too! I agree with you about the price but have to say every time we've gone it's created a very special memory. Your Mom's trip was a little nerve-wracking, huh! We have Allegiant here so I know what you mean about only having flights on certain days. So glad she made it. I know I'm forgetting something I wanted to comment on, but, suffice it to say I'm so glad you're having a wonderful trip and thanks for sharing it! Oh, I love your movie night ideas! What a great way to build excitement for an upcoming trip plus who doesn't love to watch Disney movies anytime?!?! Ok, now it's your turn!

I agree, much better to be writing about dinner in the castle as compared to dinner in the outer entry of a hospital room! The castle was worth every penny and I'm SO glad we did it. I think if I could time it with the fireworks again, I would do it without the dining plan. It added SO much to our dinner. All the little extras were definitely worth it too.

Yah, my poor mom. I don't envy her trip - It's nice to fly out of the airport that's only 25 mins away as compared to 3.5 hrs away, but I've got to say for us the 3.5 hrs is the only way to go. Allegiant just hasn't impressed me much from what I've read and heard. Plus their baggage fees are too steep for our fam of five. Most importantly, they don't fly the whole month of September!

I love when my mom (and dad) is on vacation with us, but I'll admit that I'm looking forward to our trip in September when they will NOT be coming. (This will be the first September in 5 yrs that they won't be coming, but they are saving up for 2015 when they want to take all 11 of us to Disney and on a cruise for their 40th anniversary) When they, or just her, are with, it seems that we split up more and don't get as much family time. So, now that Cassidy is getting bigger, we like to do more of the same things, so I'm hoping to plan more family time.

We had an small movie night this weekend also - Great Mouse Detective. Unfortunately, not many of us liked it. Last time I saw it I was Cassidy's age. It was OK, but not as good as I remembered. Alice and Wonderland is up for this weekend. My choice, since it's Mother's Day.

I'm working on an update right now. Rummage Sale is finally over. We made enough to pay our huge fuel oil bill and MNSSHP tickets!!!! yay! I'm glad that I can get the ap discount ahead of time now. I believe they only used to give that discount if you bought them that day. So I will be ordering those tonight!!

Should have the update up tonight too....I dont' mind writing them, it's the dang photobucket battle I hate!

 

[DopeyDonald]

I can’t remember exactly what time we got back to the cabins – around 6:30ish I suppose? I do know that it was dark outside and we had a bit of time to get ready, but not tons.

This pic cracks me up. My mom took it as a picture of the living room of the cabin, so she could show my dad what it looked like. But after we got home and I was looking at it, I see that Annie must have been tired. It looks like she just collapsed on the bench.

They boys got back shortly after we did (they took the bus). Here is a pic of the boys zipping back into the cabin. You can see how it’s starting to get dark.

My mom gave Annie her Snow White Dress to put on and wear and it was SO amazing. She loved it and looked so good in it.

I sometimes forget that she is only eight and still wants to dress up. (Well as of a month ago nine, but eight on the trip.) She’s grown up so much lately, that I tend to not think of her as a little girl still. Thank goodness for Disney

Here are a few of the girls that we took before leaving the cabin. How can it not be a great night, when you are going to dinner with these two princesses.

 
(one bad thing about no Nana in Sept is that their hair will NOT be looking this good! )

While us girls got ready, the boys were chilling watching TV. They were heading to Trails End for supper and then onto the Magic Kingdom to play a little Sorcerers. It was either EMH or just plain open until 11pm this night. All of us girls were planning on joining them after our dinner.

We dressed, danced around, posed and were ready to go by 8pm for our 8:30 dinner. We always try and go to as late as a dinner as possible at 1900 PF because it doesn’t seem as rushed when you get there late. We drove over in the van and parked in the new Villas parking lot, I believe. It was so neat to see the new Villas – BEAUTIFUL.

Walking in to dinner

Once inside we had a bit of a wait, 15 mins or so. We took our pic, actually just had the girls pose, and just sat and enjoyed the beautiful lobby.

I know I’m biased, but could this pic be any more perfect!?

Girls enjoying the lobby, though Cassidy’s smile seems to be saying, “really, another pic?!”

I LOVE the GF, and while I wouldn’t necessarily give up my lodge to stay there, I MUST visit it at least once a trip

We were sat at a table very near the buffet and had only placed our drink orders when the characters began coming.

AMAZING.

I love this dinner SO much. We had a lot of fun.

Be prepared for a million pictures.

Prince Charming came around first. To be honest, as much as we love Cinderella and Prince Charming, they are too reserved and proper for us. The step-sisters and Lady Tremaine are the real reason we come here.

The girls and Prince Charming (or Prince Charles as my DH called him by accident once)

Though tonight, seeing as Cassidy was dressed as Cinderella, it was a bit more special. Cassidy was just so darn in awe – she really is one of the best ages to meet princesses.

Cinderella, tonight, was just lovely. She took a bit of extra time and really gave some sincere hugs. Hands down, best visit with Cinderella we’ve ever had.

Again, this evening Cassidy was insisting upon pics with just her and the characters. This ended up being hilarious.

When Lady Tremaine came around next, I asked for her to take a separate pic with just Cassidy and she told me she completely understood, and that her daughters didn’t like to share either. She really played it up and told Cassidy she had the makings of a good society girl, those girls have the right to be selfish It was great.

Looking up at Lady T with awe – so happy to hear that her selfishness is a good thing

Next when Anastasia came around, the same thing happened and I told her that Cassidy doesn’t like to share, so could she please get a pic alone with her. She was SO pleased to hear this also.

She hammed it up and told her, "I don't share either, never change!" It was awesome. They whispered conspiratorially about Annie and how she was a goody two shoes good girl, like that Cinderella for sharing. Cassidy ate it up. So awesome.

Next was Drizzela, and the same thing happened. I mentioned the not wanting to share and she told Cassidy that she totally understood, it’s not always fun to have a sister – especially when you have to share.

After the characters came around it was time to eat!

Now in the past, 1900 PF has not been our fave food wise. They usually have some exotic (for us) offerings and not much for my picky crew. This time, however, we were pleasantly surprised. There seemed to be more traditional food on the buffet. Everything was hot, fresh and YUMMY. The strawberry soup is soooooo good. I had my customary 3 bowls.

All in all, dinner was a smashing success. I loved every minute with my girls – a night full of amazing memories for sure.

Continued in the next post - too many pics!

 

[DopeyDonald]

Here is a neat comparison picture – the pic on the right is Cassidy looking at her dessert. The pic on the left is Cassidy at her bday party. 1 day after being diagnosed and 3 days before surgery. The difference (to me) is staggering. She looks so small and frail in the pic at her party and just so healthy in the Cinderella pic. Funny part to me is that we didn’t realize just how skinny she had gotten till we look back!

Another comparison, this time from the back - you can see her spine so clearly in the bday party pic

After dinner, we took the monorail to the MK to meet up with the boys. In all honesty, what we did once we got there is beyond me. I do know that we didn’t stay too long. We stayed mostly in Tomorrow Land. We rode Buzz and the People Mover. Some of us went to COP again, while others rode Space Mtn.

It wasn’t too long, however, before we headed back down Main Street for some shopping at the Emporium and some treats from the Confectionary. We did stop for these pics on the way out. The family one is my fave of the trip and had the esteem of being blown up to 8x10 for my frame that I change out every trip.

A very good day.

 

[Credit Man]

You are right, the six month difference is staggering! The family picture is a keeper , for sure!!!

 

[amberg93]

Both Annie and Cassidy look sooo cute in their dresses! I hope I have daughters that want to dress up. Or sons. I'm not picky. I just want adorable pictures like yours

Goodness we've got to love the Lady and the Stepsisters. They're so hilarious. I agree, Marie and I want to go just for interaction with them because they're great.

And wow, yeah I see it too. But then, it's always the case that you don't notice how different things are when they happen day by day. It's just awesome news that Cassidy is better and healthy again.

What great family pictures. No wonder that one got put on the wall, as Penny in Bolt would say, "It's a keeper!"

 

[MusicMicha]

Love the pics in the updates. The girls look absolutely adorable in their princess dresses! I love that Snow White dress! What an amazing difference six months made. It is much easier to see things differently down the road. That goes for most things in life. I am just so happy for all of you that Cassidy looks so healthy and happy now.

 

[disney meema]

Your girls are so adorable ... Reasing along : )

 

[DopeyDonald]

You are right, the six month difference is staggering! The family picture is a keeper , for sure!!!

Thanks - I always figure that even one good family photo pays for Memory Maker -

Both Annie and Cassidy look sooo cute in their dresses! I hope I have daughters that want to dress up. Or sons. I'm not picky. I just want adorable pictures like yours


Goodness we've got to love the Lady and the Stepsisters. They're so hilarious. I agree, Marie and I want to go just for interaction with them because they're great.

And wow, yeah I see it too. But then, it's always the case that you don't notice how different things are when they happen day by day. It's just awesome news that Cassidy is better and healthy again.


What great family pictures. No wonder that one got put on the wall, as Penny in Bolt would say, "It's a keeper!"

Thanks - I am not a very girly girl, but my daughters seem to be at Disney. I don't do much hair and nails at home, so it's a real treat for them. I am SO glad my mom was there to buy that dress - it's just not something I would have thought about for Annie. Someday may you have pictures like I am blessed to have -

Love the pics in the updates. The girls look absolutely adorable in their princess dresses! I love that Snow White dress! What an amazing difference six months made. It is much easier to see things differently down the road. That goes for most things in life. I am just so happy for all of you that Cassidy looks so healthy and happy now.

Thanks so much - the pics get me every time. It's especially bittersweet for me to see them, as they were taken at Park Fare. This was the dinner that she got sick after in September. I was worried about going back there...but it was wonderful.....she did avoid the chocolate mousse cups like the plague, however

Your girls are so adorable ... Reasing along : )

Glad to have you! And thanks!

 

[DopeyDonald]

Friday Morning.

This was the morning that the Hollywood and Vine breakfast had gotten rescheduled for. However, I was only able to get a reservation for 2.

At the time I wasn’t sure who was going to take her, but in the end I got selfish and decided that I was going to go myself!

This meant that Larry and the big kids and my mom were going to have to go to breakfast at Kona – but they had fun.

I made the reservation at Kona thinking that my DH could get Blueberry pancakes that he loves and my mom could try the Tonga Toast which is right up her alley. Neither of them ordered what I told them and regretted it, but what can I say, I tried.

We all piled in the van and headed to the Poly. The plan was to drop the 4 of them off and then Cassidy and I would head over to Hollywood Studios.

Annie and Wyatt waiting for their table at the Poly

Our reservation was for 10:35 (their Kona reservation had been for 9:30) and we arrived at HS by 9:45 or so. We parked and headed in to wander around a bit.

I had never really been to parts of HS since 2000. Our first trip I never even made it their at all! So it was fun to have some time to walk around and explore. We checked out the Streets of America and found where to go for TSM. Which, if you can believe it or not, we’ve never been on! However, thanks to FP+ we would soon be remedying that.

Not quite tall enough to make it rain!

We finally made our way to Hollywood and Vine and checked in around 10:30ish. It was packed and we ended up waiting until at least 10:45 to be sat.

Waiting patiently?

We only had one trip thru the buffet with the breakfast foods available. Which with all of the yumminess on the buffet was all we needed!

It took awhile before the characters were coming around. In fact, we were done eating, I believe before any of them did and even then it took quite a while.

But…it was well worth it. Cassidy was only one in our area (in fact the only one that I saw that day) dressed as Doc. All of the other little girls were dressed as Sofia (they were adorable ). The characters went crazy. We got such wonderful interaction. I think Jake wanted to take her home – He was so enamored with her, he kept coming back to see her It was soooooo cute.

Not sure what Handy Manny is trying to say to me with that finger…

Sofia – Cassidy never really got into watching Sofia the First, but she definitely knew who she was and was excited to meet her.

Doc was obviously the real reason we were there and Cassidy was so in awe. I have a video to share and if you will excuse my sounding like a goat in it – You can see the pure happiness on her face. She is just so in love.

I don’t know if it’s what she went thru in the hospital or what, but Doc is her fave. She got a Doc playhouse thing for Christmas that she spends all of her time in at home. She also NEVER takes this outfit off at home - I’ve had to buy 3 pairs of the pants.

Funny part is, it’s one that I cobbled together from Kohls. The actual costumes I could find for Doc were NOT going hold up to a 5 yr old living in them So I found similar regular clothes – I think it turned out pretty cute.

Best Video Ever. (other than the fact that I sound like a goat at the beginning….)

(click the picture to play the video)



Once she met her hero, we settled our tab and set out to meet up with the rest of the fam.

 

[annie170]

That video is so sweet! I love seeing kids meeting their favorite characters.

It's wonderful to see Cassidy looking so healthy and I'm glad you were able to get this make up trip.

 

[DopeyDonald]

That video is so sweet! I love seeing kids meeting their favorite characters.

It's wonderful to see Cassidy looking so healthy and I'm glad you were able to get this make up trip.

Thanks We are very blessed that she is doing so well and that we were fortunate to be able to make the trip up. It is just what the Dr. ordered!

 

[DopeyDonald]

Once Cassidy met her hero, Doc, we settled our tab and set out to meet up with the rest of the fam.


We had a fp+ for the Great Movie Ride set for around 1pm, I think, so this is where we met up. I hadn’t ridden that since 2000 – it was fun. I think it will be one we try and ride every time – especially for Cassie and I as we don’t’ do RNR or TOT.

The others had had a RNR fp+ for noon, so they had already been on that. It looks like they also snuck on TOT And it looks like Nana was already hard at work buying the kids things they didn’t even know they wanted!

After we rode the GMR, we had some time to kill before our TSM fast pass.

We headed over to see the MUPPETS! I love this show, but again, hadn’t seen it since 2000! I so need to give DHS some more time!

We really enjoyed the show – Cassidy was a little grumpy in these pics because she was wary of seeing the show. She isn’t huge on trying new things, and I think she was thinking it was going to be scary? At any rate there was some bribing, then threatening going on. I would never make her go on a ride like Splash or Pirates, but darn it kid, I’m gonna make you sit thru a show.

Here is my grumpy girl in the pre-show area

My happier girl

And I was right, she LOVED it!

Daddy wanted this hat, but didn’t buy it – he thought it was a bit small

Wyatt is not as excited wearing the Kermit Hat

It was finally time! TSM – 6th trip and our 1st time.

On the way, I stopped for a frozen lemonade, while everyone else was in the bathroom. I no sooner turned around from ordering it, took a sip and had it promptly snatched out of my hand by my son, then my daughter, then my other daughter. I think I got about 3 sips total! It was turning out to be a very warm day.

While we were finishing off the lemonade, before we headed into the line, we ran into the green army men. I was so excited to see these guys. They are really fun. Seeing as they don’t have a specific meet and greet, I’m so surprised that they aren’t mobbed more. It was swarming with people all over, but we were the only ones who went up and posed for a pic? Well, some of us anyway…

Finally done posing and drinking, we headed into line. Even with our fp+ we still waited about 20-25 mins. I wish we could have seen a more interesting part of the queue, but I will take a shorter wait any day.

When we came to the part with the stairs, there was a very upset woman in a wheel chair who was complaining very animatedly to a CM about how all of these people (fp) who were getting let on ahead of her.

Oh well.

We finally reached the boarding area and were put into our cars – DH and Wy, Nana and Annie, and Cassidy and I.

What did we think? Hmmmmm…… Honestly? We didn’t like it. Shame on us I know. I think we were just underwhelmed. We all like Buzz SO much better. To us this was just a glorified (very well done, I might add) video game.

It’s fun and we didn’t hate it, but we all agreed that we would never spend any amount of time in line to wait for it and would be hard pressed to choose it over RNR for fp+. We are very glad we tried it however.

After TSM, we were getting kind of tired. We decided to shop our way out.

We also stopped for some Photopass

My 2nd fave family shot

On the way out we also decided that I would take the van to DTD to pick up Annie’s T-shirt that she had made the day before at Design-a-Tee. My mom, DH and the big kids would head back on the bus. I think they were tired and just wanted to get back to rest.

My mom snapped this pic on the way to the bus – ended up being one of my favorites!! Note the hat that Cassidy didn’t even know SHE wanted….LOL Oh, Nana….

Once at the bus stop – she took another one of my favorites! Which if you knew what kind of photographer my mom is, you would be VERY impressed!

On the bus-ride back –

I swung into DTD to grab her shirt and while I was there, gave everyone a call to see if they were hungry. I was craving an Earl’s and everyone else was a bit hungry too. We had a dinner for the Be Our Guest scheduled for 8:30 so we didn’t want to eat too much.

I tried something new – the Buffalo Chicken Wrap – usually I’m an original girl. This was good. It was your standard buffalo chicken wrap. Nothing spectacular, but it was good. My mom had a tuna, Wyatt had an original, DH had an original and the girls both had kids ham and cheese.

We enjoyed our snack and relaxed a bit. I suppose it was around 3:30-4pm. I headed over to do a load of laundry while my mom rested. DH took the kids to play on the beach a bit. My kids absolutely LOVE to play on the beaches at WDW. It’s like they’ve never seen sand before –.

They ran off steam for awhile and played to their hearts content. Finally around 6:30pm we got ready to head to dinner…..but not all of us wanted to go……

 

[amberg93]

Oops, missed the last update so catching up on that.

You can tell someone to order something but they don't have to listen. They should have known though, that clearly you know what you're talking about

The interaction with Doc is so cute! It is easy to tell that she's just super happy and that's what really matters.

Oh my goodness, you like Buzz more too? So do I! But I never find people who agree with me. Then again, I'm much better at Buzz than I am at TSMM, so maybe there is a little bit of bias creeping in.

Dun dun dun. Cliff hanger. Can't wait to hear all about BOG (hopefully?)

 

[MusicMicha]

The H&V breakfast looks like a lot of fun! Wow Handy Manny and that gesture. I booked a breakfast for the girls and my sister this trip. I am doing the sci-fi with Vader with the hubby. Love the kids hats even if they didn't know they wanted them lol. They are super cute. Thanks again for all the lovely pic's and memories you share with us. I booked the crown desserts for Father's Day. The girls were so excited getting our cards together yesterday. Happy to see the Sale went well! It's so nice getting that Disney money.

 

[DopeyDonald]

Oops, missed the last update so catching up on that.

You can tell someone to order something but they don't have to listen. They should have known though, that clearly you know what you're talking about

The interaction with Doc is so cute! It is easy to tell that she's just super happy and that's what really matters.

Oh my goodness, you like Buzz more too? So do I! But I never find people who agree with me. Then again, I'm much better at Buzz than I am at TSMM, so maybe there is a little bit of bias creeping in.

Dun dun dun. Cliff hanger. Can't wait to hear all about BOG (hopefully?)

Yeah, like I said, we didn't hate TSM, but just didn't "get" it. We'll give it another try in Sept, and maybe it will grow on us. lol Buzz will always be our favorite though - we must ride that about a hundred times each trip.

It's not a real exciting cliff hanger, but it will be a shock - some of us pass up BOG - We should be flogged, I know!

The H&V breakfast looks like a lot of fun! Wow Handy Manny and that gesture. I booked a breakfast for the girls and my sister this trip. I am doing the sci-fi with Vader with the hubby. Love the kids hats even if they didn't know they wanted them lol. They are super cute. Thanks again for all the lovely pic's and memories you share with us. I booked the crown desserts for Father's Day. The girls were so excited getting our cards together yesterday. Happy to see the Sale went well! It's so nice getting that Disney money.

I thought the H&V breakfast was definitely one of the better ones we've eaten at food wise. Characters were excellent also - you will have a wonderful time. Just watch out for Handy Manny!

I am so glad you ordered the crown desserts! I KNOW you will really love them. It really adds to the experience. Can't wait to see pics - you will have to share them with us when you get back.

I *thought* it was nice getting that sale money - ended up running out of fuel oil that night (it was still getting below freezing at night here in MN) Since we ran out we needed to FILL the tank if we wanted them to come and bleed the line for free - otherwise it's a charge. SO.....we ended up spending all of that on fuel oil *sigh. Oh well, now we will have a full tank come chilly fall weather. Gotta look for that silver lining.

 

[MusicMicha]

Here in IN we have had "fun" weather also. Up down and all around. Total blip at our BBQ today's resulting in back to back sunburns for me, at least I remembered to cover the kids. Silver lining always helps, you are right it will be nice in the fall with the tank almost full. I really do need to try my hand at a trip report to share pics from this one. 18 days to Disney. We've been so busy I feel like I'll forget to pack the camera.

 

[AprilRenee]

Joining in! I read your last TR and I'm enjoying this one a lot!!!

 

[DopeyDonald]

Here in IN we have had "fun" weather also. Up down and all around. Total blip at our BBQ today's resulting in back to back sunburns for me, at least I remembered to cover the kids. Silver lining always helps, you are right it will be nice in the fall with the tank almost full. I really do need to try my hand at a trip report to share pics from this one. 18 days to Disney. We've been so busy I feel like I'll forget to pack the camera.

Yes, you definitely need to write a trip report! It is so much fun. It's like reliving it all over again! Which would be VERY sad if we didn't have a trip in the works Definitely do NOT forget to pack your camera! We want to see pictures!

Joining in! I read your last TR and I'm enjoying this one a lot!!!

Glad to have you here reading along, I'm slow but steady this time of year - kids have started baseball and softball and summer play practice....etc. Hopefully I'll get an update up soon!

 

[DopeyDonald]

I don't have an update quite ready yet - it's written, but I haven't had the heart to battle photobucket yet today.... Will be up soon though I promise.

Had to hop on to say, however......WE ARE IN DOUBLE DIGITS!!!!!

Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. I love this time in our countdown - going every year at the same time, our countdown timeframe is always the same. 99 days right around the start of summer - BONUS. We only have 99 days left AND those 99 days are SUMMER DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Woo Hooooooooooooo

Also I'm going to try and share this - mostly because of my son's song choice...Wyatt had his 2nd level for his 2nd degree Jr. Black belt test tonight...here is the you tube vid...
http://youtu.be/Ttk3B6rw9K8

 

[MusicMicha]

I don't have an update quite ready yet - it's written, but I haven't had the heart to battle photobucket yet today.... Will be up soon though I promise. Had to hop on to say, however......WE ARE IN DOUBLE DIGITS!!!!! Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. I love this time in our countdown - going every year at the same time, our countdown timeframe is always the same. 99 days right around the start of summer - BONUS. We only have 99 days left AND those 99 days are SUMMER DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Woo Hooooooooooooo Also I'm going to try and share this - mostly because of my son's song choice...Wyatt had his 2nd level for his 2nd degree Jr. Black belt test tonight...here is the you tube vid... http://youtu.be/Ttk3B6rw9K8

Way to go Wyatt!