12 Days of Disney: Our Very Merry Vow Renewal, Christmas, Alligators and more!

[missjackiemcg]

good mama! It is always so hard to call it a night at Disney.

SOOOO HARD!!! I really wanted to stay out, too, and probably could've gotten away with it--my parents would have taken Jimmy back, but I was just enjoying it all being together and didn't want to miss the first night swim....little did we know there'd be no swim anyway!

It brought tears to my eyes when Jimmie and your mom were singing and dancing on the way out of MVMCP.

Mine, too!! It was just one of those special little moments that sticks out when I think back to this trip! Everything was so magical and perfect in that one little moment. Now, I've made myself tear up again!!

What app did you download for set times and character locations for MVMCP....I could use it for our 1'st MVMCP in December?

We used Kenny the Pirate's app--you can just google him. It's such a reasonable cost for the wealth of information!!

Jimmy is so adorable and I'm loving all of his hats.
We're pretty partial to him And he certainly does LOVE his hats. Later in the trip he finally decided on a Donald one to go with his Mickey. He already has plans for his next trip to get Donald to sign it.

Congrats on the renewal it looks like it was so personalized and relaxed....many a womens dream.

I felt the same way!! It was everything just as we wanted it, and not a bit of it felt rushed or hurried in any way. Just a perfect Disney Day.

 

[missjackiemcg]

December 24th, Part 1

We woke up bright and early with our plan to be at Epcot in time for rope drop. We had plans to stop back at our room for a quick break in between Epcot and heading to Magic Kingdom later, but just in case those plans didn’t work out, Jimmy wanted to leave a note for Santa. We also left snowman cookies from MVMCP. Jimmy started writing, and I just remember him saying, “WAIT!! I don’t know how to spell Claus!!!!”

We headed out of our room to walk to the bus and Jimmy grabbed Cinderella and his reindeer food that we’d brought from home. He wanted to find a good place to sprinkle it, so Rudolph would see which building we were staying in and know where to leave his presents. He picked a corner near the bushes and sprinkled the reindeer food (glitter and oats).

We were excited to see Santa’s chair by the Christmas tree in the lobby!! It was really feeling like Christmas.

20161224_081233 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We quickly got a bus and before we knew it, we pulled into the lot. Walking toward the park entrance there were CMs out in green and red uniforms passing out candy canes from decorated baskets. We went through security and metal detectors (everybody had to go through), and then BAM, lines and lines to wait in. Some people walked over to the far right turnstiles and were able to get in (PPO breakfasts I assumed) and a huge chunk of the line in front of us went running in that direction. Of course those of us in line just moved forward and when those people were turned away from that far turnstile, they all tried to come back and cram themselves in front of our line. It was madness.

20161224_083517 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

20161224_084304 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

20161224_084839 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Our plan of attack for this morning was to meet Baymax, Joy and Sadness before our FPs for the day, so as soon as we entered the park, we headed for Innoventions. There was one family ahead of us in line to meet Baymax. A CM came by to let us know there would be no autographs (I should have assumed, but was kind of disappointed there’s no little signature card or anything—boo.) We were told to remove any celebration pins, lanyards, etc. that might poke Baymax before we reached the front of the line. Jimmy had his heart set on giving Baymax a fist-bump, so that’s all he talked about the whole time we were waiting. When Jimmy saw Baymax, I had tears in my eyes like the first time he met Mickey Mouse. Besides Cinderella, this was the character meet he was most looking forward to and he just went up and gave him a big squeeze. I love seeing my boy SO happy!

20161224_090237 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

20161224_090248(0) by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We wandered across the way to see Joy and Sadness next. I had been afraid a big line would develop while we were meeting Baymax, but there were only a few families ahead of us. Jimmy was really concerned about Sadness. He kept giving her a hug and then asking, “Do you feel better now?” She nodded and kept patting his hand. (Can't find those pictures at this moment....hmmmm)

We had a FP for Living with the Land, but on our stroll toward The Land, Jimmy spotted Figment on the sign on the Imagination pavilion, so we had to go take a ride with everyone’s favorite imaginary dragon. It was my Dad’s first time on the ride….he LOVED it…LOL!

DSC06161 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

DSC06162 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We continued our walk toward the Land and saw a 5 minute wait to meet the Disney pals (another FP we had made for later this morning) so we decided to do that first. In 2013 when we were there, Goofy had tried to sign Jimmy’s hat and HE. FREAKED. OUT. On THIS trip, he decided he would like Goofy to sign it after all. So, we quickly made our way through Mickey, checked in with our favorite goof, and gave a smooch to Minnie. (Pictures missing....seriously...grr).

Then, we continued on our walk up to the Land and saw there was no wait on Living with the Land, so no need to use that FP either. We were having a really smooth start to our Christmas Eve plans!! We rode through and still had almost an hour to go before the tour we had planned to do!

20161224_095807 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

DSC06165 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

I didn’t really want to walk all the way out of The Land into the park to find something to do, so we were thinking about maybe getting something to eat, took a bathroom break and then I noticed—Soarin’ with only a 35 minute wait!! Jimmy’s first ride on Soarin! He was SO nervous, but ended up loving it. That weird bending Eiffel Tower was sort of distracting, but I really did enjoy the new version…..that’s not to say I didn’t miss the old one because I really love the original, but the new scenes and scents were pretty cool.

20161224_103934 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

After our ride on Soarin’ we checked in for our very first Behind the Seeds Tour. The girl at the desk gave us our nametags (written in Disney writing, which I was nerdily excited about!) I was under the impression this would be about an hour tour, and when I booked it they assured me it was family friendly and Jimmy would be OK even though he’s only 7. Turns out he was a little bored (sorry, pal!) but really loved being on the “inside” part of the ride.

The tour began in a little backstage area with some racks and displays. The girl who gave our tour had graduated from college and was working something like an internship here at The Land. She showed us some samples of plants and species of insects they use to control plant growth. There was A LOT of information!

DSC06170 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

DSC06171 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

20161224_114218 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

20161224_113812 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

One of the highlights of the tour for me was when we walked up to this door that would take us “ON STAGE”. I just loved being able to see one of those little signs that indicates to CMs that they’re about to go on stage.

20161224_113734 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

There were some cool “stamps” in the sand and a Christmas character drawing, too. Lots of Christmas decorations in the attraction, even on the backstage areas, which most guests don’t even see. I loved all those little touches.

20161224_120157 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

DSC06178 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

On the tour I wondered where the little alligator guys had gone near the tanks with all the fish. They’re replaced with giant catfish. She told us about how they are trying to breed albino catfish and hope to have some exciting additions to the attraction in this area over the next few years.

DSC06179 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

She also talked about the enormous date palm in the center of the greenhouse area of the attraction. She told us that within the next several years they will need to devise a plan for this tree because it is almost too large for this space. Replacing it will obviously present some challenges because this tree will not be able to be removed without cutting it apart, and that would be unfortunate.

20161224_122417 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

At the end of the tour, we received seeds to take home and plant our own basil. Now that I think about it….I have zero clue where our seeds ended up. I bet I’ll find them in my suitcase when I’m packing for the next trip!!

So, our tour was supposed to be at 11:15 and end at (I thought!) 12:15….BUT it ended up the tour was an hour and a half, which had us finishing up around almost 1:00. This would be no big deal EXCEPT our Frozen Ever After FP would be ending at 1:15 p.m. AAAAAH. Cue Mommy freak out!

Rob threw Jimmy up on his shoulders and we hauled buns to World Showcase. We made it with about 5 minutes to spare and were met by a HUGE stand-by line. SO happy we had a FP for this. We still waited about 10-15 minutes in line before boarding our boat…I have to say it was definitely weird to be sitting in a Maelstrom boat but ready to take a new adventure.

20161224_125833 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

20161224_130402 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

The ride was over pretty quickly but it was a fun little ride through the story of Frozen. I know people are freaked out about this ride being in Epcot, but it didn’t really make me super crazy. With the princesses meeting at breakfast in a Norweigian castle….which doesn’t make much sense either, I guess….it seems like it’s in an OK spot. I didn’t LOVE it, but it was cute.

After Frozen, we planned to take this last opportunity to meet Santa and Mrs. Claus before they would be replaced by Santa Goofy for the rest of our trip. So, we made our way to the America Pavilion and hopped in what seemed like a reasonable line. I figured we’d maybe have to wait 20 minutes or so based on how many people were ahead of us. Santa and Mrs. Claus were due to come out in about 10 minutes, so Jimmy and I sat down in line and Rob got a bottle of water and popcorn for our starting-to-be-cranky boy.

He proceeded to scarf the entire snack in about two minutes flat!!! And then. WE. WAITED. It took almost an hour….ugh….for Jimmy to get his turn to see Santa. BUT, I have to say it’s worth the wait to meet them. He is the real deal. THIS. IS. SANTA.

20161224_142024 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We decided after this that we were probably not going to be able to have a break at Pop before going to MK tonight. We had an appointment for Jimmy to be knighted at 5:00 p.m. so by the time we’d wait for a bus, take a break and wait for another bus back, there just wouldn’t be enough time. So, instead, we crossed our fingers he’d be able to make it through the rest of this day in a “magical” way!

We made our way out toward Future World and decided to sugar our boy up (and Grandpa, too!) with a visit to Club Cool. They tasted their way around the world, skillfully avoiding the Beverly….I think they were on to me! My Dad loved Inca Cola, he said it was “like lemonade, very bubbly.” Jimmy went with the Fanta Pineapple—couldn’t get enough and asked to stop there for more every time we went to Epcot for the rest of the trip!

20161224_152800 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

DSC06188 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

DSC06189 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

No trip to Epcot is complete without a ride on Spaceship Earth, so before heading out of the park for the day, we lined up for a ride through the history of communication…..we did get stuck briefly right next to the guy who is making paper. TAP, TAP TAP. TAP, TAP, TAP. The ride was frozen but this guy was tapping away.

20161224_153911 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We were obviously caught off guard somehow when the camera went off because our future is a little frightening with my face and Jimmy's disappearing act. He wasn't in the future, so I was instead joined by.....this guy!

20161224_155034 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

On our way out of the park, Rob shocked me—THE PLANNER—by suggesting we take the Monorail over to MK instead of a bus. That hadn’t even occurred to me, and I was more than a little excited to see his Disney brain juices flowing because when we’re in WDW, everything always falls on my shoulders to decide. #proudwifemoment

20161224_162019 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We rode the monorail to our favorite Kingdom just in time to head for the castle and check Jimmy in at the Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique…I have a feeling this will our last time doing this, so I was on the verge of tears the whole time. (Get it together, Mommy!)

His fairy Godmother in training, Rachel, took great care of him and made this special even though it was over in a flash! Seriously, like a 10 minute affair.

DSC06191 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

She slicked his hair (which is hilarious enough….seriously! This kid’s curls. He wasn’t meant to be straightened, BUT the Mohawk look she tried first….did not go well.) with jellyfish jelly and sprinkled him with Knight Treasures to blind any dragons that may come along! She pixie dusted him “Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo, may all your dreams and wishes come true!!”

He took an oath to protect all the princesses and people of the Magic Kingdom—“I am brave! I am strong! I am a Royal Knight of the Magic Kingdom!”

20161224_170934 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

 

[missjackiemcg]

December 24th, Part 2--

We walked past Peter Pan’s Flight (105 minute wait!!!) and met up with Peter Pan as we passed through Fantasyland. Jimmy hopped in wearing his new cape and wielding his sword and shield. Peter Pan noticed Jimmy’s missing front teeth and asked if he’d been running with his shield and knocked them out. He also pretended to pick his nose with the sword, which became a favorite sword-use for Jimmy the rest of the trip….shaking my head. Thanks for the idea, Pete!

DSC06192 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

I was really excited for tonight’s dinner, a first for us, at the Crystal Palace! We checked in and waited on the pretty little porch. Jimmy was excited because they had water and paper cups out….it’s really the little things that make that boy happy, I’m telling you!

The inside of the restaurant is beautiful with all the nighttime lights of MK shining through the windows. The food was good, but I really think I want to try CP again for a breakfast—especially a PPO breakfast!! Right?!

Jimmy LOVED seeing Pooh and his pals and participating in the Celebrashun (trying to spell it the crazy way they did!) of Friendship Day. He just kept saying, “I want to bounce with Tigger!” Well, he got his chance, and just lit up!! He was so happy!!

20161224_180200 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

20161224_180339 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

20161224_180845 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We had been there almost an hour and were finished with our food but still hadn’t meant Piglet. I asked the CM who seemed to be in charge of the characters and she was kind of icky to me. She said if we hadn’t paid our check yet she couldn’t get Piglet over to our table until he made his rounds (he was still on the far other end at this point). Our waiter was REALLY slow and absent during our meal, so by the time we caught him to pay our bill we’d waited another 20 minutes and Piglet was still nowhere nearer our table. I approached Ms. Sunshine again and told her we were paid up and ready—she took us over to this weird kitchen exit/supply looking area and quickly pulled Piglet over for one picture. It was a pretty disappointing meet and way to end our meal!

DSC06195 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

After dinner, we toyed with staying at MK a big longer but it was really crowded and we still owed this boy a night swim! So, we headed out of the park and grabbed a bus back to Pop!

20161224_191913 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

When we got off the bus and walked through the lobby, we were pleasantly surprised by a special guest at the Christmas tree!!! Jimmy casually told me, "I know that's not Santa, Mommy." My heart skipped a little beat, but he was quick to follow it up with, "He's just here to help because the real Santa is still at Epcot!" hehe, cutie!!

20161224_195608 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

20161224_195641 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

20161224_195713 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Rob, my Mom and Dad took Jimmy down to the pull after a quick change while I got Santa organized (wink!)

DSC06200 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

DSC06202 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

I strolled over to the Petals bar before meeting them at the pool. Anything with a glow cube is at the top of my drink list in WDW! I had a “Hawaiian Christmas” which was fruity and rummy and tasty!! I walked over and met my family at the bowling pin pool and there was my boy happily splashing away his Christmas Eve without a care in the world! I let my Dad sip my drink and he asked me if there was Malort in it……WHAT?! LOL!

20161224_205036 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

DSC06203 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Around 10:00 we knew the pool would be closing (such a bummer!) so we got Jimmy out and dried off and headed back to our room. I told Jimmy it was so late I hoped Santa hadn’t skipped our room because he wasn’t in bed sleeping! We hurried to get back to the room and straight to bed. Jimmy opened the door and yelled, “SANTA DELIVERED TO US ALREADY!!!”

DSC06199 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Santa left a letter and Jimmy read about how some of his gifts were left at home because they were too big to bring home on the airplane. His reaction to this part made me teary (I can’t seem to stop, can I?!) “The reindeer food made it easy to find your room!” He gasped, “RUDOLPH IS REAL!!” I loved the magic in his little voice!

DSC06204 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

He opened his presents then hopped in the shower and was singing away at the top of his lungs, “Up on the Housetop, Santa comes to Pop Century…” Love him!

When he came out to brush his teeth he was moaning about this loose one on the bottom that has been barely hanging in for over a week. I finally just grabbed it and pulled it out. This completed Jimmy’s holiday tooth loss trifecta!! He lost a tooth on Halloween, Thanksgiving and now on Christmas Eve. Good thing Mommy packed the tooth fairy pillow!

As we were finishing up with getting ready for bed there was a knock on the door. Hmmmm….my parents were in their room connected to ours, and we were all in our room, so who could it be?

I opened the door and it was a CM, “special delivery!” It was a big beautiful box with a bow from Disney Fairytale Weddings!! SUCH a surprise!! There was a framed picture from our vow renewal, as well as three other sneak peek prints from our day. I couldn’t believe how beautiful they were and was overjoyed that we got to see a few the day after our vow renewal had taken place. Another little magical touch by the wonderful folks at Disney! They never cease to amaze me!

20161224_202436 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

And with that, we all hopped into bed with sweet Christmas dreams in our head.

Up next: Our Magical Christmas Day….and I lose my phone….ugh!

Love & Smooches,

Jackie

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

OMG! These two installments are killing me! So weepy!

Besides Cinderella, this was the character meet he was most looking forward to and he just went up and gave him a big squeeze. I love seeing my boy SO happy!

I love this. It is always amazing when your kids meet there favorite characters!

Then, we continued on our walk up to the Land and saw there was no wait on Living with the Land, so no need to use that FP either. We were having a really smooth start to our Christmas Eve plans!! We rode through and still had almost an hour to go before the tour we had planned to do!

You really lucked out! Sounded like the whole day really worked out!

That weird bending Eiffel Tower was sort of distracting, but I really did enjoy the new version

WE went on this for the first time and totally thought the same things! The Eiffel tower is the worst of the bending! But it is still really cool. WE loved it!

We had been there almost an hour and were finished with our food but still hadn’t meant Piglet. I asked the CM who seemed to be in charge of the characters and she was kind of icky to me.

You are not the first person that I have read have this happen to! Sounds like they are having some timing issues.

"I know that's not Santa, Mommy." My heart skipped a little beat, but he was quick to follow it up with, "He's just here to help because the real Santa is still at Epcot!" hehe, cutie!!

Close one! This made me all teary eyed. My DD's are almost 9 & 7 and I know my days are numbered for this stuff. And it makes me sad!!!!

I strolled over to the Petals bar before meeting them at the pool. Anything with a glow cube is at the top of my drink list in WDW! I had a “Hawaiian Christmas” which was fruity and rummy and tasty!! I walked over and met my family at the bowling pin pool and there was my boy happily splashing away his Christmas Eve without a care in the world! I let my Dad sip my drink and he asked me if there was Malort in it……WHAT?! LOL!

As a northern... how cool is it to say you went swimming on Christmas Eve! I know that probably isn't a big deal for everyone. But it would be for us!

Jimmy opened the door and yelled, “SANTA DELIVERED TO US ALREADY!!!”

D

So special!

This completed Jimmy’s holiday tooth loss trifecta!! He lost a tooth on Halloween, Thanksgiving and now on Christmas Eve. Good thing Mommy packed the tooth fairy pillow!

Wow, you were prepared! You have packed for a wedding, Christmas and the tooth fairy!!!!

 

[buzzrelly]

Hi Jackie! I'm all caught up on your PTR and TR!
Congratulations on your vow renewal! The pictures are so beautiful! And how sweet that Jimmy was such a big part of it

I read too much to go back and quote everything, but I just have to say, your TR is making me want to bring the kids for Christmas! I have too many trips in the works though, so I don't know when (if) that will happen, but it looks so fun!

Also, congrats on registering for the 5 and 10K. I'm starting to wonder if I bit off more than I can chew by signing up for the half…we shall see

Can't wait to read more!

 

[jwwi]

What a fun trip report! I love your vow renewal day, and all the great pictures from the photo shoot. How fun to be there on Christmas! Thanks for sharing your trip with us.

 

[missjackiemcg]

OMG! These two installments are killing me! So weepy!

You really lucked out! Sounded like the whole day really worked out!

I was super weepy during those moments and reliving them while writing this

We had SO much luck on some of our days--the crowds were just incredible, but we were well prepared and I had planned things really carefully, so we always seemed one step ahead! Sometimes it pays to be so Type A!!

your TR is making me want to bring the kids for Christmas!

I'm starting to wonder if I bit off more than I can chew by signing up for the half…we shall see

It is seriously incredible to be there for Christmas!! Very crowded but if you know what you're doing it's the most amazing place to be!! It sort of ruined Christmas at home for me....if I could afford it, we'd go every year!

I'm sure you'll do just fine!!! Take it easy, meet some characters, focus on the fun I hope to be back for a Dopey challenge SOMEDAY!

I love your vow renewal day, and all the great pictures from the photo shoot. How fun to be there on Christmas!

Thanks! Our day couldn't have gone any better! More Christmas to come soon!!

 

[fallonkendra]

I'm so far behind! I'm trying to catch up today...

• The Christmas Party looks like so much fun! That's on my bucket list...
• That's too funny that Jimmy freaked out over Dumbo! He looks happy after conquering it though!
• Too cute about him singing on Small World! I actually haven't been on the one at WDW - we went on the one at Disneyland on our first trip, and that was enough for us!
• The Pooh characters with their scarves on is so cute!
• Yay for Pixie Dust and a free BB8 cup!

The girls in the family ahead of us started out sort of precocious, but as the meet went on they were really demanding of Mary’s attention and the littlest one kept stomping her foot and talking back at her Mom. My Mom and I kept exchanging glances like, just take your kid and move along, but the kids were clearly running the show here.

Ugh. This happened on our last trip to Disneyland when we went to meet Olaf. The kid started out cute, he wanted Olaf to play ring-around-the-rosie - but after 5 minutes of it, it was annoying! Then the Photopass photographer was trying to get the little boy to stand beside Olaf so he could take a picture, but the little boy just kept running circles around Olaf, and then throwing his blanket at Olaf, and then trying to tear apart the backdrop he was standing in front of. The mom was just smiling away the entire time - like come on lady!

• I love the pictures with the Country Bears! What a great meet and greet! That's funny that Jimmy had to actually catch them first though!
• I love all the meet and greets with the Princes and Princesses!
• The fake snow that tastes like soap is still better than real snow!

this Dad came walking by and handed us 6 paper Fastpasses that said they could be used for any ride besides Peter Pan and 7DMT. They didn’t expire til 12/31 and he said, “Here, hope you can use these. We didn’t have a chance.”

This is awesome! I love Disney magic that comes from other families!

The food all looked and smelled AMAZING, but again with my nerves I just couldn’t eat much….honestly, I found this feeling hilarious looking back on it because the day of my actual wedding I was so easygoing and calm—this was totally foreign to me, but I think it was really the sheer excitement of all the planning coming to fruition, we really were about to celebrate our vow renewal HERE in Walt Disney World. I never would have imagined we would be so fortunate!

I have a feeling this will be me on our wedding day! Actually, it'll probably be the entire week we're there with our families...

as Krista and Aly walked up. It was like clockwork—they walked up to us and in walked the Disney Florist CM with my pink and white Mickey balloons (eep!!) and a box with my bouquet, the flowers I had ordered for Rob, Jimmy and my Dad, and a corsage for my Mom.

Your flowers looked amazing! And I showed my fiance the pictures with your balloons, and showed him your post in my planning report with the cost, and he's all for getting balloons now too! So yay!

I recognized Krista from her Instagram account, which I had started following because she has the most contagious smile and posts these amazing magical Disney moments all the time!! I was like, “Hey! I know you!”

Now I need to try and find her on Instagram!

Jimmy looked up at me and said, “Dance, Mommy?” He and I had our own little private twirl around

Aww!

And just like that, we were off…my little Jimmy was walking me down the aisle to remarry his Daddy, with “When You Wish Upon a Star” playing. We walked about halfway down the path, where my Dad met us and passed Jimmy the ring pillow. He walked the rest of the way down to meet Rev. Tim and Rob, then my Dad walked me down the aisle for the 2nd time.

I love this! What a great way to incorporate your son!

Jimmy was standing in my line of sight just to Rob’s side bouncing around with the pillow and all I could think during this whole ceremony is “I’m going to kill him if he drops those rings!” I had the rings tied onto the ribbon on the pillow, but Rev. Tim had said that would be cumbersome during the ceremony, so he untied the bow, and just put the one side of the ribbon through the middle of the rings and put a straight pin in the end of the ribbon. As I watched Jimmy flopping around AND AT ONE POINT DROPPING THE PILLOW ON THE GROUND all I could think is this vow renewal is going to end with two new rings in the lake and a very cranky lady in white.

Haha, I love the faces Jimmy makes! He seems to have so much personality!

Rev. Tim called Jimmy over and asked us to hold his hands making a circle. He said the vows we had said in 2006 were a promise to love one another and today we had renewed that promise of love. Then he asked Jimmy to promise he would do all he can to make sure ours is the best family ever, we made promises to love and take care of each other always and we sealed it with a group hug. Jimmy got his ring and was SO excited!

This is adorable! I love it!

I love your banner! And once again the faces Jimmy makes! Hahaha

Ok, I need to plan on taking pictures at the Grand now. That shot with the castle in the background is perfect!


Ok - I'm caught up to the bottom of page 3 now. I'll hopefully catch up on the rest by the weekend!

 

[missjackiemcg]

I love the pictures with the Country Bears! What a great meet and greet! That's funny that Jimmy had to actually catch them first though!

It was SO strange to me that they didn't have a specific place to Meet them and I didn't even see any CMs around to wrangle them honestly, but it was really part of the magic watching Jimmy track each of them down and then take off running to get them for a picture. Way more exciting than waiting in line!

The fake snow that tastes like soap is still better than real snow!

I fully agree with you on that one!! Though Chicago has been relatively snow-less this winter, so I shouldn't complain....either way I prefer the soapy kind I can wander through while wearing shorts

Your flowers looked amazing! And I showed my fiance the pictures with your balloons, and showed him your post in my planning report with the cost, and he's all for getting balloons now too! So yay!

Disney Florists does an AMAZING job!!! There were a lot of terrific options, but the pink I had in mind wasn't on the list--my coordinator was able to request the color I was looking for, and yes, I HAD to have balloons. They just make me happy! I'm so glad you and your fiance were able to agree on having them, too, I think you'll be really happy!

Now I need to try and find her on Instagram!

She's under kristarose something like that. My instagram doesn't work at school (I'm a teacher) so I can't check right now

I love your banner! And once again the faces Jimmy makes! Hahaha

I bought those banners in the $1 bin at Target and just wrote on them with a silver marker. I had a picture like this in mind, but wasn't sure how it would turn out. Our photographer (Jaime) was just amazing, I explained it and he shot it to perfection! Down to my son's crazy face

Ok, I need to plan on taking pictures at the Grand now. That shot with the castle in the background is perfect!

As soon as we started looking at the site options, I saw someone else's pictures there with the castle in the background and knew I had to have those!! That part of our photo shoot was my absolute favorite!!

 

[cinderaimee]

I just caught up and oh my gosh, what a perfect time - vow renewal at Christmas at Disney? What a dream! You all look so happy!

You've actually inspired me to start thinking about a vow renewal - we basically eloped and had a tiny civil ceremony on Valentine's day. 10 years for us will be 2022 so that gives me some time to save up

 

[missjackiemcg]

I just caught up and oh my gosh, what a perfect time - vow renewal at Christmas at Disney? What a dream! You all look so happy!

You've actually inspired me to start thinking about a vow renewal - we basically eloped and had a tiny civil ceremony on Valentine's day. 10 years for us will be 2022 so that gives me some time to save up

Our real anniversary is in June, but I love Disney at Christmas, so when we started talking about doing this trip I really wanted to make it in December (it's still the 10th year, right?!)

I started looking into vow renewals at around 5 years, so you're right on time to start planning

The smallest package, which is the one we did, starts at $2,495 before adding anything extra on. We only added a couple of flowers, balloons and extra hour of photography, but they will give you a ton of options!!!!

 

[MiaBella05]

joining in a bit late!

 

[cinderaimee]

Our real anniversary is in June, but I love Disney at Christmas, so when we started talking about doing this trip I really wanted to make it in December (it's still the 10th year, right?!)

I started looking into vow renewals at around 5 years, so you're right on time to start planning

The smallest package, which is the one we did, starts at $2,495 before adding anything extra on. We only added a couple of flowers, balloons and extra hour of photography, but they will give you a ton of options!!!!

Thank you! That is good to know! That sounded like a lot of money at first, but if we had a ceremony and reception, we'd probably be spending a lot more than $3,000! So it that way, it's a really good deal! That's how I'll sell it to my husband, anyway!

 

[missjackiemcg]

joining in a bit late

Hi! You're not late!! I still have 7 more days to get through Working on the Christmas update right now in fact!

 

[missjackiemcg]

December 25th—Part 1

**First, let me apologize for the lack of pictures of the early part of this morning……they were taken on my phone, which you will find out….is still resting in the bottom of Rock’n Rollercoaster, so they never backed up in my Google Photos sadly. Good thing I still travel with my good ole Sony Cybershot, which came to the rescue for the rest of the day AND the rest of the trip!**

We woke up on Christmas morning ready to start the day! Mom and Dad took a cab to the Contemporary for Mass. It was really tricky to get the information that there actually WAS going to be Mass this morning. My Mom called Disney ahead of time and they told her there wouldn’t be any services held, but I had seen online somewhere that there would be. It wasn’t until we actually checked in that we asked about it and got confirmation there WAS Mass on Christmas morning.

My Mom wasn’t really thrilled with me but I had already made our FP plans for our morning at DHS and decided to skip Mass. I always tell her that teaching in a Catholic school is my penance for life, so God will surely forgive me spending Christmas in my own “holy land.” Not sure she buys my logic though!!!

Jimmy was hard to wake up at first but when I mentioned the tooth fairy may have come, he popped right up! He excitedly flipped his pillow to find a dollar in his tooth pillow and a Mickey pullback train! He was SO excited that she had found him even though he was in Disney World and not at home. **MAGIC**

We got ready for our day and headed to the food court to grab some bus breakfast to go. We got strawberries and pop-tarts and headed out to the bus stop. We didn’t wait long before we were on our way! I hadn’t been able to get us a FP for Rock’n Rollercoaster, so the plan was to rope drop it on this day. We headed straight there for my first ride of the trip on my fav coaster—solo! I took a picture of my name on one of the concert posters as I went through the line, waited through the studio recording and was in row 6 before I knew it! I sat on my Christmas mouse ears and took one last picture of the countdown sign as I waited to hear Stephen Tyler’s 3, 2, 1111111 in my ear. I stuffed my phone in the leg of my shorts and enjoyed my limo ride.

We pulled into the VIP Parking lot and waited for a bit…longer than usual. I pulled my ears out and put them on thinking this way I’d be ready to go when we were able to get off the ride. We pulled forward and as the shoulder harness went up to release me…….my ears went sliding down the back of my head, so I naturally reached up to grab them---with my phone in my hand---Welp, I caught the ears….and lost the phone. Bloop. Right down the back end of my limo car. The guy behind me goes, “Oh, man. That went all the way down.”

I was so shocked, I actually got out on the wrong side of the limo and was looking straight down without even seeing what I was looking at honestly. My head was spinning thinking about all the pictures I just lost and my character app and my Disney experience…….

The CM at the ride gestured for me to come out the right way, so they could keep the ride moving—DUH, sorry—I told her my phone fell down and she was really casual about saying, “It happens all the time, they’ll get it out tonight when they sweep it out.” So, I started to feel not that nervous surprisingly. As I walked through the shop at the end (forgetting to even stop and grab my picture on my band!) I stopped and talked to another CM about what happened. I told her the other girl had told me they’d get it out tonight. She recommended I go to Guest Relations and fill out a claim form.

So, I exited, found my two guys and told them the sad story of losing my phone. We headed back toward the park entrance to Guest Relations (I would get VERY comfortable with the process of Guest Relations in every park for the remainder of the trip because I visited them every single day in every single park trying to get answers about this phone)….Fast Forward to today…still no answers. Still no phone.

After the thrill of dealing with Guest Relations and the Norwegian fella who did NOT want to let me make a claim or even take my phone number, we were in need of boosting my mood, and Jimmy was the one who made it happen. We turned to walk out of the Guest Relations area and he spotted Donald Duck coming out to his newest meet location. He grabbed my hand and yelled, “Quick, Mommy, it’s the #1 Duck!!!!” So, of course we had to stop in and see him.

DSC06205 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

My parents planned to meet us back at DHS after Mass and we had a FP together for Toy Story Midway Mania between 9:25 and 10:25, so we still had plenty of time to kill. We walked toward Pixar Place and decided to pop in and meet Moana. We only had to wait about 5 minutes. I have to say I love that the quickly put in a meet and greet for her, but it annoyed me to see people rushing through One Man’s Dream to get in line for her. Truth be told, we hadn’t even seen the movie yet at this point, but I had made a page for her in Jimmy’s autograph book, so we definitely wanted to see her.

DSC06206 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

After a quick meet with the wayfinder, we made our own way over to meet Buzz and Woody. I love the queue for this meet with all the photo ops along the way, and as you can see, so does Jimmy!

DSC06208 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

DSC06209 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Sadly, when we got to Jimmy’s turn, Woody hadn’t come back out from his cookie break, so we only got to see Buzz. I have such cute pictures of this meet from Jimmy’s first trip where he kept calling them Buff and ‘oody and was obsessed with their hat/helmet. This visit just made me realize what a big boy he is becoming!

DSC06210 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

When we exited the meet, the standby line for TSMM was only 20 minutes, so we decided to hop in. We got to head through the queue for the new ride track, which wasn’t that exciting….it was a hallway. But, it was a really quick walk through, not a chance we waited 20 minutes.

DSC06211 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

The boys made me ride by myself, so WOOHOO—best in vehicle!!

DSC06214 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

After our ride, would you believe we STILL had time before my parents got to the park!? Rob wanted to meet Chewbacca and Kylo Ren, but we could not convince Jimmy to step into the Star Wars Launch Bay. The Stormtroopers wandering around the area did not help our cause! So, we decided Rob would head in to check things out and Jimmy and I would wait to meet Doc McStuffins.

12313 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We were behind one other family at the front of the line and all of these other people kept sending their kids into the meet area to take pics in Doc’s clinic…..and then tried to force their way in front of the family waiting in front of us. I couldn’t believe my eyes a lot of the time on this trip—people have zero common sense….have you never waited in a line before? Have you never seen chains up to assist in the formation of said line? Eventually CMs came around and PP photographers started to show up and before long we saw the characters coming toward us!

DSC06215 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Jimmy was really excited to meet Doc, and after he was done, Rob still hadn’t come out, so we headed into the next line and decided to meet whoever we could until Rob found us. I was kind of anxious that we’d miss him since I didn’t have my phone for him to just text me (How did we ever survive?! :eyeroll: ) so I wanted to stay close to this area.

DSC06216 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Jimmy was able to meet Jake—he was upset it was CAPTAIN Jake!

DSC06218 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Then, we waited in a line of about 10 families ahead of us to meet Sofia the First. She had to take a little break, but came right back and Jimmy said to her, “Hi, Sofia!! I’m Prince James, just like your brother!”

DSC06220 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We spotted Pluto (who knew he was now meeting over here?!) and decided we may as well meet him, too, while we were over here! Rob walked up right as we got in line and he had been texting with my parents, so we found out they were now in the park, too.

DSC06221 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

After meeting Pluto, our whole group was now together, so we headed for our FP at TSMM. This time, Jimmy rode with Grandpa, Mom and I were together, and Rob was the one flying solo.

DSC06224 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

DSC06225 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

When we exited, we saw the green army men and Sarge marching a group of kids down the street. Jimmy frolicked down the street to join them, but they were actually wrapping up, so he was too late. Rats! He was able to get a quick picture in though!

DSC06227 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

I had made FPs for all of us to ride Tower of Terror, but Jimmy had since backed out (no surprises there). So we tried to decide who was riding and who would get the extra rides (spoiler alert: if there are extra rides on somebody’s Magicband, it is always me who gets them!! Hey, what’s the perk to being the planner?!) So, Rob offered to sit this one out and hang with Jimmy—they went to see Disney Junior Live on Stage. Mom, Dad and I ventured into the Twilight Zone and after our first ride, Dad and I went on again!

Jimmy also made a souvenir purchase--something he'd had his eye on when they were waiting for me to get off of Rock'n Rollercoaster this morning. I can't remember exactly when we popped over there to get them, but this is where it is in my picture folder, so here you go!

DSC06229 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We regrouped and headed to our very delicious lunch spot—50’s Primetime Café. When Rob, Jimmy and I spent Christmas in WDW in 2013, we had lunch on Christmas Day here and Rob had ordered the full Christmas dinner, which they only serve ON Christmas. It was turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and all the fixens, so he requested this meal when we were planning our days.

I almost always go with the pot roast when we eat here because it is simply DELICIOUS and of course I MUST order something from Dad’s Liquor Cabinet, usually with a glow cube because, c’mon, glow cubes!! There was a little bit of a wait even with our ADR, but I honestly didn’t mind. I love the little nooks and living room style waiting areas here especially with the silver Christmas tree! So, Rob ordered our drinks from the Tune-in Lounge while we waited.

DSC06234 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We were called to lunch by Phil, the most amazingly friendly CM I have ever met!! He was a little white haired fella with the biggest smile ever and welcomed us so warmly I would really have believed he was our “Uncle Phil.”

I was really excited to find out that the Peanut Butter and Jelly shake was included with the dining plan! I had read about it but wasn’t sure it was going to be any good….I have to say I was totally shocked at how AMAZING it actually was!! DELISH.

Following our lunch I had planned for us to take a break at the hotel and then head to MK. But before that, we made a little side trip to visit with our favorite Summer Snowman, Olaf! There were just a few families in front of us because I really think people don’t realize there is anything happening in this building!! When we were the next family, the CM came over and talked with us and said that Olaf wouldn’t be able to sign. BUT, she offered to draw a little snowman in Jimmy’s autograph book and also gave us a small beach ball cutout with the same little snowman picture on it.

DSC06236 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

As we made our way out of DHS we saw the march of the First Order, which we actually saw again and again on this trip as it seemed to occur every hour on the hour or so every time we visited DHS. Jimmy was super excited to see Captain Phasma and all of the storm troopers marching down the street and right past him as we hung around the Crossroads of America ready to exit the park.

DSC06242 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We ended up heading back to Pop and having the nicest afternoon by the pool. Jimmy and I both crafted penguins poolside and enjoyed some fun in the pool. The best part was “Name That Tune” the Disney Edition! There were some very specific Disney Junior references and some Disney channel releases, too, but there were also a lot of Disney movie soundtracks represented. I had SO. MUCH. FUN. Doing this!!! There were lots of songs where no one seemed to know and I would have to scream from my sideline seat the name of the movie the song was from. Disney Trivia Hero, right here!! J

DSC06245 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Up Next: More Merry Christmasing!

 

[missjackiemcg]

Oh, what I wouldn't give to be right here right now......sigh......

Screenshot_20170104-184114 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

When we were finished swimming, we changed and headed to MK for our magical Christmas night. Now we have been to MK on Christmas Day before, so we knew to expect a crowd and a bit of craziness, but I have to say this was even more crowded than I remember seeing before! We headed to Tomorrowland and rode the People Mover first. Then, we took a spin through the Carousel of Progress.

DSC06254 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

DSC06252 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

DSC06251 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

I couldn’t believe how wildy crazy it was, but we needed to have some dinner and started heading toward Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café….we ended up passing by and walked through Fantasyland because I had a taste for a flatbread pizza at Pinocchio’s Village Haus. (spoiler alert: menu changes prevented me from even having that delicious pizza!!) When we walked in, we were met with madness everywhere. There were people in line, people sitting in every seat and seemingly waiting just everywhere! I walked in the lead and saw a staircase, so I went up. At the top there was a skinny balcony with a few small tables and stool seats. At the end of the balcony was one table, empty with lots of empty stools close by. I started pulling the stools closer to the last table available—Rob had followed me up there, so I made him wait at the table and rushed back downstairs to send Mom, Dad and Jimmy up there. We had found a place to sit—next up was to actually get us something to eat!

DSC06256 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Dad and I headed downstairs and waited in the seemingly endless line to actually order our dinner. We probably waited about 20 minutes from the time we got in line to actually order and receive our food. Eventually we had our trays full and headed upstairs to our little table. We didn’t even have enough space to eat with our trays on the table, so we “unpacked” and did our best to eat in the little space we had available.

DSC06257 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

It was some time around 8:00 p.m. when we finished up our dinner and started trying to figure out our game plan. It was INSANELY crowded down below as we watched the swarms of people try to make their way through Fantasyland. It was about this time that we decided we were just going to stay put for Wishes.


A couple of ladies came up and chose another table to sit at and then after the one finished texting someone she knew who worked in MK she told us that this wasn’t a good place to view from because we’d miss a lot of the fireworks. We didn’t really want to believe her, so we stayed put even though she and her group left. Jimmy was starting to get antsy, so I pulled out some of those ride passes that random guy had shared with us the other day so Rob, Dad and Jimmy could go take a ride on the Tomorrowland Speedway, which Jimmy had been dying to do! They headed out and Mom and I held down the fort at our table.

By this time, we were the last ones up on our little balcony, and before long a CM came by to wash the tables and fix up the chairs. We thought this was it and we were about to get the boot! She didn’t kick us out but did ask us to exit down the side stairs (and close the chain behind us) instead of through the doors back down to the restaurant. We didn’t have a problem with that.

The fireworks show began and at first it was just perfect. I loved the view from our little balcony with the castle in the background and the carousel between us and the castle; however, as that lady had informed us, a lot of the fireworks were happening over our heads or behind where we were seated in the balcony of Pinocchio’s Village Haus. Honestly, having seen Holiday Wishes plenty of times, this view issue didn’t even bother me that much. Hearing the music and sitting on our private balcony with no kids on shoulders in front of me or people bumping into me felt pretty euphoric!

DSC06260 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

DSC06264 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

But, we did end up taking pictures and video from our balcony and then heading down the stairs to join the masses in Fantasyland watching below. It was pretty hilarious from that vantage point actually because Mom and I were both trying to video tape and take pictures, but everything kept going off in front then behind us, so we kept having to turn around. This resulted in not-the-best pictures, but it was a lot of fun!

DSC06266 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Before the fireworks were over, the boys walked up to where we were watching between the restaurant and the carousel and we were able to finish watching together. I loved that we’d had our own little nook to watch from and wait away from the crowds. It was a wonderful way to spend our Christmas night!

Rob had sent me this keeper he took while on the Tomorrowland Speedway. He said people just stopped and watched the fireworks, so he figured he might as well, too!

11320 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

After the fireworks, the madness ensued!! Everyone who had been standing still to watch Holiday Wishes started moving….in every direction!! We didn’t really have a plan after seeing Holiday Wishes, but we knew we were heading for the exit shortly after. We started to walk with the throngs of people heading toward the castle and as we approached It’s a Small World we saw there was only a five minute wait……so what does one do!? Well, you hop in the line of course!

Plus, Mom was wearing her IASW ears, so this ride was a must!! We walked through the queue in no time at all and took a quick spin around the world.

DSC06268 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Quick pitstop at the prettiest bathrooms in all the land....

DSC06269 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Afterward we headed for the park exit and were quickly on a bus back to Pop Century. We knew tomorrow we’d have plenty of time for more magic in MK!!

Up next: Golfing: Mickey Style and a morning with our favorite Princess!

 

[MrsHull]

Why couldn't you get the flatbread??

It looks like you guys had a magical Christmas evening. I would have loved the private balcony area, too. How cool that she didn't ask you to move along!

 

[missjackiemcg]

Why couldn't you get the flatbread??

It looks like you guys had a magical Christmas evening. I would have loved the private balcony area, too. How cool that she didn't ask you to move along!

They only have Caprese and Pepperoni flatbread now. The one I had my stomach set on was the barbecue chicken, which is no longer available, sadly....it was SO delicious!!

I was so happy we had stumbled onto that little area. Now, you know it'll be our go-to from now on!! We really felt like we were getting away with something by having that area all to ourselves while people were swarming all around below us. I kept thinking, "ha, rookies!"

 

[missjackiemcg]

December 26th—Part 1

The morning started out with Rob and my Dad getting ready to head off to Lake Buena Vista for their first Sunrise 9 golf outing. For $35, the Sunrise 9 included a hot breakfast sandwich with juice or coffee, play on the back 9 of their selected course, a cart, and a free beer at the end of their round. Because we were staying at a Disney resort, they got free shoe rental and $20 club rental, so this was a great deal for playing on Disney’s phenomenal courses! The concierge called a cab for them and even provided a voucher so their ride would be free. After their round, the golf course provided the same service to take them back to the hotel, free of charge!

11322 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr


Mom, Jimmy and I headed to Magic Kingdom for extra magic hour morning starting at 7! It was still dark when we headed out to the bus. Jimmy was excited because he had brought along his Cinderella today for our breakfast in the castle.

DSC06270 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

As soon as we entered the park, a very friendly CM was standing right by the entrance to Town Hall and invited us in to meet Tinkerbell and Mickey Mouse. We figured with no wait, we might as well, so we headed in. There was one other family ahead of us in the Tink line. I hadn’t met her yet in this location, so I loved looking around at all her little treasures.

DSC06271 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

When we got up to meet her, Jimmy was Mr. Shy Guy. She was chattering away about what a flitterific day we were going to have and how awesome it would be to take a pixie portrait together. Jimmy just kept looking at her and nodding…I think he was overwhelmed by her pep so early in the morning!

wdw2016361633123795_7904301330 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

wdw2016361633123860_7904300648 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Next up was the main mouse himself! Jimmy was very excited to see the Scrooge McDuck safe door on the wall as we walked through the queue. I’ve seen lots of people’s videos of these fantastic interactions with talking Mickey…..BUT….we have yet to have one of these moments! Mom and I met him in November 2015 but there was a weird delay in the conversation. I was hoping for this incredibly magical moment for Jimmy, but sadly we had that same weird delay. “Where are you from, pal?” Jimmy says, “Chicago.” Loooong pause…. “Wow! I hear Buzz Lightyear needs some help defeating Emperor Zurg over in Tomorrowland!” It was just kind of weird, disjointed conversation. But the pictures were cute at least!

wdw2016361633120510_396232428802 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

wdw2016361633120515_396232523298 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We got to see the morning trolley show right down the middle of Main Street, U.S.A. which was lots of fun! We walked down the sidewalk alongside them making our way toward the castle. We got some pictures, and Cinderella had her own little photo shoot.

DSC06272 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

wdw2016361633125605_7904302611 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

wdw2016361633125804_396232892393 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

wdw2016361633127615_7904307313 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We let Jimmy pick the first ride of the morning, so by now you’ll have guessed I’m sure…we were back on It’s a Small World.

DSC06278 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

I was pretty proud of myself for finally succeeding in getting a picture of the drunken hippo with BOTH eyes open!!

DSC06281 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We also got to see the clock doors open and it was already 8:30! (Apparently we got a later start than I remember on those EMH!)

DSC06285 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

 

[missjackiemcg]

Next up, we headed to Princess Fairytale Hall to meet Elena and Cinderella, who we missed at midnight (ironically enough!) on our MVMCP night. Jimmy chatted with Elena about playing the guitar and excitedly skipped over to Cinderella to show her his doll. They were both very sweet with him and asked him about being a prince…and a goofy one at that!

DSC06288 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

DSC06289 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

wdw2016361633155799_396233527461 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

wdw2016361633156099_396233987656 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We checked in for our royal breakfast around 8:50. Last time we at there was to celebrate Jimmy’s 2nd birthday, and we had the perfect table right next to a window looking out over Fantasyland. I was really hoping for a similar spot this time. We ended up having to wait a little longer in the foyer. We spotted our favorite little mice hiding out up above and before long we got to have our royal portraits taken with Cinderella. She took a separate one with Jimmy, which just made me smile. (At the same time I was thinking…I hope this isn’t the last time he wants to eat here! I’m always wondering how long it will last!)

DSC06290 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

wdw2016361633166172_7904360263 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Our family was called and we headed up the stairs. I couldn’t have picked a better table for us, right in the middle along the wall of stained glass windows looking over Fantasyland below.

DSC06293 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

DSC06294 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

The first plate was assorted pastries (Mickey shaped, yay!!) and we all picked our entrees. I can’t remember what Mom had. I’m pretty sure Jimmy had pancakes….maybe not, but for sure it came with bacon. This kid was shoveling in the bacon (took my Mom’s too!) and every time a Princess would come to our table it was like, “WAIT!! Wipe your hands first.” He was a greasy mess, but they were all so gracious and sweet with him.

DSC06298 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Jimmy chose a specific color Sharpie for each of them to sign with. Snow White was really pleased with Jimmy’s pick, “Ooooooh, yellow is my favorite!”

DSC06301 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Aurora talked with him about how brave he must be and asked if he has slain many dragons. He shrugged at her and said, “only about 100.”

DSC06302 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

When Ariel arrived, Jimmy was very engrossed in the bacon while she was trying to talk with him. “It’s really hard to focus in here, isn’t it?! So, where did you swim here from?” “Chicago.” “Oh, that’s quite a long swim. I bet your water is way colder than it is here!”

DSC06303 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

And he had a nice laugh with Jasmine when she asked him if he’d seen her monkey running around anywhere.

DSC06304 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Our friendly waitress noticed Jimmy checking out the carousel through the window and she told him about Cinderella’s horse, with the golden ribbon on its tail. Now, you may remember the Dumbo disaster at MVMCP. Jimmy has had this hysteria about carousels, too, for a few years since he rode on a wildly fast one at a carnival. We haven’t been able to get him back on one, but this idea about seeing Cinderella’s horse had really piqued his interest. (More on that later!)

One of my favorite parts of having a meal at Cinderella’s Royal Table is the Wishing Star ceremony. Every child gets a wishing star and either a sword or wand. The fairy godmother’s voice talks about the importance of wishes and dreaming. Then everyone closes their eyes and thinks of their wish before saying, “Bibbidi! Bobbidi! Boo!”

DSC06305 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

After our breakfast, we stopped outside the castle to make our game plan for the afternoon. Jimmy was swishing around his sword while wearing his cape and a PP photographer appeared out of nowhere!! He asked if it was OK to take some pictures for us—that he had a cool lens in and wanted to try a black and white shot. Not the most flattering shots of me, but I loved the opportunity and the pics of Jimmy!

wdw2016361633212763_7904420628 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

wdw2016361633213955_396234098630 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

wdw2016361633213958_396234149966 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

My phone was weighing heavily on my mind, so I used my Mom’s phone to make the first of many calls to Theme Park Lost and Found. While I was on hold, we wandered through Fantasyland and Storybook Circus. I offered another ride on Dumbo, but I’m sure you can guess that was met with a big fat, NO. So, instead we hopped on the train. I looked at the Times Guide and realized we just might make it for the Once Upon a Christmastime parade. We hopped off the train at Frontierland. CMs already had the area roped off, but we quickly walked past Pecos Bill’s and toward Liberty Square. I noticed an empty spot right next to the Mickey pretzel cart (mmm, meant to be!)

DSC06310 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

I seated Jimmy and my Mom and hopped in line for a snack fix!! I had just opened our cheese cup when the music came on and the parade started! Talk about being in the right place at the right time!

A couple of highlights from the parade:

Seeing Mickey and Minnie with their new Shanghai Disney faces.

DSC06313 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We’ve seen the Toy Soldiers before, but I didn’t remember that they actually play REAL instruments!! I was more excited than I should’ve been when I realized this.

DSC06334 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Jimmy got some big waves and thumbs ups from Prince Charming and Goofy about his hat!!

DSC06328 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

The Beast had his movie makeover with new bright blue eyes and fancy coat. (Spoiler alert: when we dined at BOG on NYE, he was just his regular Beastly self)

DSC06329 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

After the parade, we headed toward the castle and back down Main Street. When I had finally gotten through (almost an hour on hold) to Theme Park Lost and Found, they didn’t have my phone but suggested I check at Guest Relations anytime we were in the parks. He said they would be able to contact Lost and Found without me waiting on hold for hours at a time. So, on our way out of the park, I stopped at City Hall to do just that. Of course the girl who helped me looked at me like I was crazy and said if I’d called already, there was no need for her to call. She handed me yet another of the little Theme Park Lost and Found phone number cards (yea, thanks, already have two of these so far!) but in the end did call and find out what we already knew…they hadn’t found my phone yet.

DSC06340 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

While I was in City Hall, Mom and Jimmy saw Stitch come back out to meet by the Christmas tree, so they hopped in line for a quick visit with everyone’s favorite alien. Jimmy couldn’t get over the fact that Stitch had “licked” his pen!

wdw2016361633362636_396235112554 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

I got a kick out of the Christmas countdown still being on display because now it was back to 364 days til Christmas!!

DSC06341 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We decided to head out of the park and give Jimmy another chance to swim….of course, while we were waiting for the bus it started to rain. So, our swim break turned into a rest break. I tucked Jimmy in while Mom went back to Everything Pop! to get lunch for herself. When she got back, I took a walk down and got lunch for me and Jimmy. When I got back to the room, Jimmy was snoozing away, so I ate my lunch and worked on my notes from the trip so far. I also posted on FB about the sad loss of my phone and to explain why I’d abruptly stopped sharing pictures from our trip!