Are You Frickin’ Kidding Me? An Aug/Sep Surprise Trip... (12/01) Hakuna Matata

[CatNipRules]

Joining in. Love this trip report so far.

 

[Saphire5742]

PrincessK however, did an amazing job of waiting. She talked to the people around us and entertained them with her singing. And she checked out all the little things in the queue. She particularly enjoyed the birds that did funny things when you turned the cranks.

Not easy to do in the heat even for adults. Good for her!

“No worries.”
She did a little double-take.

“We’re going to go on a roller-coaster and it’s going to be scary. Mom and dad took me on the doll ride and it wasn’t scary and I said I wanted something scary so they took me to the haunted house and it was scary but not like I wanted but this one is going to be scary like I want.”

She smiled a little bigger.
“Sounds like you are having a great time”
“We are. It’s my first time here… see?”
(holding up her 1st visit button)

“Mom and dad said we were going camping but we weren’t we were coming here and I got to meet Anna and Elsa and they’re really real! And now we’re going on this one and it’s been a long wait but that’s okay because we got to see the birds… did you know there are birds over there????”

Now the CM was genuinely smiling.

You probably already know this, but your PrincessK is one amazing little girl!

I love your Spl

After refreshing ourselves in the pool we went back to the room to get ready for our evening. We had something really special planned and I couldn’t wait to get going.

 

[ForeverDance]

Yeah. No one likes that whole "waiting to disembark" part.

Uh, oh...

If you remember way back to when you were writing your trip report you actually mentioned the long line at BTMRR on this particular day.
"I don't know what the wait was, but it looked long. Suckers!!!"
Well now you know... and what's with the name calling?!?! What did we ever do to you

Tough job. I feel for her.
What are ya gonna do?

I really felt for her too. People were being all kinds of grumpy and rude with her. I just can't understand how people can act like that. Sure it was hot and the line was long, but how was getting angry at someone who has zero control over it going to help the situation?

That kid's pretty wonderful. Just lettin' ya know.

Thanks. She amazes me every day. She's unlike any other kid I've ever met. Yesterday my mom told me PrincessK said "thank you so much for a wonderful first day of summer" to my mom and dad when they were leaving on Thursday. She is just the most gracious kid.

That's some kid you've got there.
I'd keep her if I was you.

I might. We'll see.

I'd rather have grumpy than sneezy, to be honest.
Because I don't want a visit from doc.

 

[ForeverDance]

Joining in. Love this trip report so far.

Thanks for joining in. I'm glad you are enjoying it.

Not easy to do in the heat even for adults. Good for her!

Definitely not easy to do. There were many grumpy people in the line... except for the people around us who had live entertainment the whole time

You probably already know this, but your PrincessK is one amazing little girl!

I do know. We are so very blessed. She is just incredible!

 

[pkondz]

If you remember way back to when you were writing your trip report you actually mentioned the long line at BTMRR on this particular day.
"I don't know what the wait was, but it looked long. Suckers!!!"
Well now you know... and what's with the name calling?!?! What did we ever do to you

Wait! Wait! Hold the phone....
You were there... the same day we were? Did I get that right?

I really felt for her too. People were being all kinds of grumpy and rude with her. I just can't understand how people can act like that. Sure it was hot and the line was long, but how was getting angry at someone who has zero control over it going to help the situation?

I just don't get it. Like she's responsible.
Just stupid.

Yesterday my mom told me PrincessK said "thank you so much for a wonderful first day of summer" to my mom and dad when they were leaving on Thursday. She is just the most gracious kid.

Awwwww...

 

[ForeverDance]

So there I go dropping off the face of the earth again. I really gotta stop doing that.
We've decided to redo our kitchen... or the kitchen decided that it needed to be redone. The faucet is all wobbly and it's because the counter is rotted
The upside is that I get a new kitchen
New appliances, new custom cabinets, new counters... I'm so excited. But it means taking the time to shop and decide on EVERYTHING. Every little detail that goes into the kitchen: lighting, flooring, counter tops, cabinets, drawers, etc., etc. It's eating up more time than I would have thought.

And since we clearly weren't busy enough, we also decided to reorganize the whole house. We moved BGirl's room down to the basement, some of the basement up to the main floor, and then most of the main floor living room down to the second level to become the "new living room". That's been a ridiculous amount of work. Someone walked into my house the other day and said "I know you didn't just move in... but it looks like you just moved in."

I will be so happy when it's all done.

Wait! Wait! Hold the phone....
You were there... the same day we were? Did I get that right?

 

[pkondz]

So there I go dropping off the face of the earth again. I really gotta stop doing that.

It's the spinning, right? If it just stopped spinning, it'd be easier to hold onto.

New appliances, new custom cabinets, new counters... I'm so excited.

Nice!

And since we clearly weren't busy enough, we also decided to reorganize the whole house

We moved BGirl's room down to the basement, some of the basement up to the main floor, and then most of the main floor living room down to the second level to become the "new living room".

I'm exhausted just reading that.
My big accomplishment?
"Honey? I picked up my clothes from off the floor and put them in the laundry hamper!"


(For a guy, this is a major accomplishment.)

You should've waved!

 

[ForeverDance]

You should've waved!

Oh I would have if I'd actually noticed you.
I was actually reading your previous trip report before I left so I knew when you'd be there. Trust me, you would have known if I'd seen you.

"OMG PONZI, HEY PONZI!!! OVER HERE!!!"

Yep you would have loved that I'm sure

 

[pkondz]

"OMG PONZI, HEY PONZI!!! OVER HERE!!!"

Yep you would have loved that I'm sure

You're kidding, right?
You do know it's every TR writer's dream to be recognized.
What would be cooler than that??

 

[ForeverDance]

Determination Pays Off
August 25, 2015 – Part 4


Back at the room we completed PrincessK’s breathing before getting ready for our evening.

Since the day PrincessK was born I had been dreaming of bringing her to Disney. As her love of all things Disney and princesses grew I knew there was one very special experience I wanted her to have.

Cinderella’s Royal Table.

Unfortunately, since we only booked the trip a few weeks out I could not score the coveted reservation.

I was bummed but undeterred.
This was her first trip and she loved princesses… I was going to get that reservation or die trying.

Fortunately I didn’t die… though my boss might have wanted to kill me if he knew how much time I spent trolling the Disney Dining page looking for an opening.

At least hourly I searched for a reservation on any day that we would be there.

It went something like this:
Select first day of trip. Choose breakfast. Search for tables…
Nothing
Choose lunch. Search for tables…
Nothing
Choose dinner. Search for tables….
Nothing
Select next day of trip…
….
Select last day of trip. Choose breakfast. Search for tables…
Nothing
Choose lunch. Search for tables…
Nothing
Choose dinner. Search for tables…
Nothing

Rinse and repeat.
Over and over.

Grumpy thought I was nuts.
But you know what??
I already knew that


One of my more endearing qualities is that I am extremely... determined.
Some (like Grumpy) would say stubborn but some (like Grumpy) would be wrong.

So despite repeated disappointment I would not give up.

Select first day of trip. Choose breakfast. Search for tables…
Nothing
Select lunch. Search for tables…
Nothing
Select dinner. Search for tables…
Nooooo way!!! Really!?!

There was an opening for 7pm… PrincessK’s normal bedtime.
Perfect. We needed to get her on “Disney Time” anyway.


And so it was on our first night there that I handed PrincessK one of her favourite sparkly dresses and a tiara that I had packed for just this occasion. Her eyes lit up.

“Are we going somewhere special?”
“We are going somewhere very special but it’s a surprise so I can’t tell you where.”
“Okay. Will you wear a dress too?”

Well I hadn’t planned on it.
Honestly, I RARELY wear dresses. Or skirts.
But hey we’re in Disney!

“Sure thing.”

We finished getting ready and made it out of the room by 5:15pm.

The bus arrived almost as soon as we did and in a relatively short time we were pulling up at Magic Kingdom once again.

Since I knew we would be back in the park that evening I had booked a FastPass for us and amazingly we actually decided to use this one.

We made our way over to Peter Pan and took a nice flight over Neverland.

Then we made our way back toward the castle where PrincessK decided that she might have what it takes to pull the sword from the stone.

“Give it a good pull!”

It wouldn’t budge.

Oh well. Who wants all that responsibility anyway?


Since we were right there, PrincessK decided that she wanted another round on the Carousel. Being as I did not have shorts under my dress I declined the ride and took pictures instead.

Oddly, there was actually a tiny bit of a wait for the carousel but PrincessK found a friend to chat with.

About 3 minutes later Grumpy and PrincessK were galloping across the countryside.

While I was waiting for them to finish up I texted that picture to BGirl.

Me: Look who’s having a great time!
BGirl: I think PrincessK might be having fun too


Afterward we tried to check in at Cinderella’s Royal Table but apparently, at this particular restaurant, you need to check in 5 minutes before your reservation time. No earlier. No later.

Alright.

We killed a little time by wandering.
I took a picture from the back of the castle. Which I realized I’d never done before.

I also made a FastPass for Buzz to replace the one we missed earlier in the day.
This WIFI in the parks thing is really handy!

We weren’t sure we would actually use the FastPass, but wanted to have it just in case.


Finally it was time to check in.


Once checked in it wasn’t long before PrincessK was introducing herself to the lady of the castle.

PrincessK and Cinderella had a long and lovely conversation. They discussed dresses and curtsies and various other important princess topics.

And of course they posed for pictures as princesses must do.

Too soon it was time for us to move along to dinner so PrincessK and Cinderella shared a few good-bye hugs.
As good friends should.

As we made our way up the stairs PrincessK was beaming. Cinderella had been so amazing and honestly seemed to be enjoying PrincessK’s company.


We arrived at our seats and our server appeared quickly. He told us that the princesses were taking a break and would be out in a little bit.

We ordered our dinner. PrincessK was still glowing.

Then we heard some music.
One of the princesses was on her way out!

And that is basically how PrincessK looked for most of the night.
Her food completely forgotten.

But who can blame her when there are princesses to meet!?


Snow White was first.

Very shortly after Aurora made an appearance.

Both ladies were nice and PrincessK enjoyed having a few seconds to chat with each of them.


Then it was time for PrincessK’s very favourite princess…

The two had a very brief chat but Ariel clearly had a very busy night ahead of her and needed to move along.
PrincessK was still ecstatic to meet her and while we didn’t know it at the time she actually made quite the impression on Ariel.


The last princess up was Jasmine.
She did not stay long either but she did manage to get PrincessK giggling.

All and all I would say that dinner was a great success...well, the meeting of princesses anyway.
PrincessK hardly touched her actual dinner. But I kind of expected that.

The look on PrincessK’s face as each princess came in was definitely the best part of dinner but Grumpy and I did enjoy our actual meal.
So much so that we both left stuffed.

And because we were stuffed we did something that might just get my DIS membership revoked…
we skipped our FastPass for 7 Dwarfs Mine Train


I know.


I know.


But a roller coaster and overfull bellies just seemed like a combination that was asking for trouble and I did not want to finish our first evening with my head hanging over a garbage can.

Instead we made our way over to something a little less likely to result in an upheaval.

After our ride around Tomorrowland we had a choice to make: use our FastPass for Buzz or head back to the room.
I don’t know about you, but in my world, one more ride almost always wins.

I rode with PrincessK and Grumpy rode alone. And that’s the reason, the only reason, that Grumpy absolutely whooped me... not that we’re competitive.

On the way out PrincessK demonstrated that even when in jail next to a villainous emperor, one must always pose like a princess.

After defending the galaxy it was time to head back to the room.
We’d had a very long and busy day.

The Main Street Electrical Parade was going on as we left which made it a little challenging but the CMs were doing a great job of keeping people out of the walkways which helped a lot.

The bus arrived not long after we did.
And not long after that PrincessK fell asleep.

“Uh Grumpy we have a problem”
“No problem. We’ll just carry her back to the room”
“She still has a couple of meds to take tonight”
“Seriously?”
“Uh huh”
“Guess we’ll have to wake her up”

Sigh.

Lesson learned. Do not let her get on the bus at the end of the night without having taking all her meds for the day.

I did carry her back to the room where I managed to get her to wake up just enough to take those meds… but not without whining.
I really couldn’t blame the kid though. I was tired too. I can’t imagine how she was feeling.

While I was getting PrincessK set with her medication, Grumpy got the iPad connected to the WIFI so we could Skype with BGirl.

Once PrincessK heard BGirl’s voice she popped right out of bed.

“BGirl! BGirl! We saw the princesses!”
“You did?”
“Yes and they were beautiful. And I met Anna and Elsa too! And we went on the carousel and mommy and daddy got to go on too! And we went on a roller coaster! And I helped mommy shoot on the ride with the aliens! And …”

And on and on.
She was so very excited to tell her sister all about her first day.
BGirl listened intently and said “wow” and “amazing” at all the right places.

Sometimes she really is an amazing big sister.

We finished our conversation and got PrincessK tucked into her bed before retreating to our own room.
Oh it was so nice to have our own room!

Grumpy plopped into bed and turned on the TV. I started unpacking and organizing.

“Are you seriously going to do that right now?”
“Yes”

A sigh and an eye roll but he didn’t say anything else.
I’m sure he realized it wouldn’t do any good to argue.

When travelling, especially when we’ll be someone for a long period of time, I must have everything organized in the room.

It’s a thing.
If I didn’t do it that night, I’d have to do it in the morning and, as I’ve said before, I am NOT a morning person so that was simply not going to happen.

It really didn’t take long before I was climbing into bed too.

Grumpy turned off the TV and his bedside light… and I turned mine on.

He rolled over and glared.
Another eye roll.
He rolled back and went to sleep.

Again I’m sure he figured out that arguing would do no good.
I obviously needed to update my trip notes.

It didn’t take too long before I turned off my light and fell immediately to sleep.



Up Next: Hakuna Matata

 

[DonnaBeeGood]

.

 

[pkondz]

Since the day PrincessK was born I had been dreaming of bringing her to Disney.

Awww....

I knew there was one very special experience I wanted her to have.

Cinderella’s Royal Table.

I'm right there with you.
When we did our first Disney trip with the DDs (4 & 8) I knew... knew! that I had to get this.

Hovering over the phone at just slightly before 6am on ADR day.......... all digits punched except the last one..... 5.4.3.2.1 <STAB!>
One ring "Thank you for calling Disney! How can I help you?"
"I-need-a-table-for-four-at-Cindy's-at-any-time!!"
<click> <click> <click> "Okay, we have a table for 8:30am shall I book it?"
"YES!!!!"
<click> <click> <click> "Okay, you're booked in for 8:30am for four people. Now that that's out of the way... Hi! How are you today?"

Fortunately I didn’t die… though my boss might have wanted to kill me if he knew how much time I spent trolling the Disney Dining page looking for an opening.

Rinse and repeat.
Over and over.

oy. That is determination.

Grumpy thought I was nuts.
But you know what??
I already knew that

One of my more endearing qualities is that I am extremely... determined.
Some (like Grumpy) would say stubborn but some (like Grumpy) would be wrong.

And you will tell him the difference over and over and over and over and over until he agrees with you.

There was an opening for 7pm… PrincessK’s normal bedtime.
Perfect. We needed to get her on “Disney Time” anyway.

Sweet!

Well I hadn’t planned on it.
Honestly, I RARELY wear dresses. Or skirts.
But hey we’re in Disney!

“Sure thing.”

When in Rome. Way to go Mom.

but... no pictures of you!

We made our way over to Peter Pan and took a nice flight over Neverland.

Perfect.

It wouldn’t budge.

Shoot. Can you imagine?

Oh well. Who wants all that responsibility anyway?

True. Plus the throng of adoring subjects would probably make you late for your ADR.

Since we were right there, PrincessK decided that she wanted another round on the Carousel. Being as I did not have shorts under my dress I declined the ride and took pictures instead.

Probably a good call.
"Excuse me, Ma'am? You're going to have to leave."

Cute.

Look at those smiles!

I also made a FastPass for Buzz to replace the one we missed earlier in the day.
This WIFI in the parks thing is really handy!

Totes adorbes.

PrincessK and Cinderella had a long and lovely conversation. They discussed dresses and curtsies and various other important princess topics.

Well of course! This is a requirement!

Heart. Melting.

PrincessK was still glowing.

OMG. Is she ever!

And that is basically how PrincessK looked for most of the night.
Her food completely forgotten.

No surprise there!

Snow White was first.

Very shortly after Aurora made an appearance.

And that's the big three right off the bat! Nice going.

Then it was time for PrincessK’s very favourite princess…

Mine too. Although I may prefer to see her in her grotto for some reason.

The last princess up was Jasmine.

My second favourite princess.

while we didn’t know it at the time she actually made quite the impression on Ariel.

Oh? Colour me intrigued.

And because we were stuffed we did something that might just get my DIS membership revoked…
we skipped our FastPass for 7 Dwarfs Mine Train

Ha! You made a funny typo there. It looks like you said you skipped your FP for 7DMT!
Isn't that funny??

But a roller coaster and overfull bellies just seemed like a combination that was asking for trouble and I did not want to finish our first evening with my head hanging over a garbage can.

(psst. don't tell anyone... but I understand.)

I rode with PrincessK and Grumpy rode alone. And that’s the reason, the only reason, that Grumpy absolutely whooped me... not that we’re competitive.

Totally understandable.

On the way out PrincessK demonstrated that even when in jail next to a villainous emperor, one must always pose like a princess.

Apparently you can't do that anymore. I'm reading a live report and he posted this picture:

See how close the bars are now?
Someone had to have gotten stuck.

“Uh Grumpy we have a problem”
“No problem. We’ll just carry her back to the room”
“She still has a couple of meds to take tonight”
“Seriously?”
“Uh huh”
“Guess we’ll have to wake her up”

I remember doing the same.
Not necessarily at Disney, but... yeah.
Luckily (or unluckily?) We got to the point where she'd wake up just enough to take her meds and then be right out again.

“BGirl! BGirl! We saw the princesses!”

Oh, man! This is so adorable!

BGirl listened intently and said “wow” and “amazing” at all the right places.

Sometimes she really is an amazing big sister.

She certainly sounds like it!

Grumpy plopped into bed and turned on the TV. I started unpacking and organizing.

“Are you seriously going to do that right now?”
“Yes”

A sigh and an eye roll but he didn’t say anything else.
I’m sure he realized it wouldn’t do any good to argue.

See? If you hit us over the head often enough, we learn (sort of... and not well.)


Just going to add a little sidebar.
I frequently read TRs with maybe a nod of the head (or a shake) and the occasional smile or even laugh.
But I must say that I had a big grin on my face during this entire chapter.
Well... I might even say that a couple of times someone was obviously slicing onions nearby.... but as I am a manly man, I shall refrain.

 

[Saphire5742]

How wonderful that you managed in the end to snag an ADR for the Royal Table. I'm so happy for you that it worked out.
PrincessK looks beautiful in her dress and tiara. The photos with the princesses are so precious.
And it's adorable how she was so excited to tell her big sister all about her magical adventures.

 

[PinkyBean]

I just found this great trip report and am thoroughly enjoying your adventures. You've brightened my evening. PrincessK is a super cutie pie. Looking forward to reading more.

 

[ForeverDance]

Well, now I'm running late for work, but couldn't help but to read this update! Such special pictures - so glad that the magic happened for PrincessK!

Sorry I made you late for work. I can write you a note if you like

How wonderful that you managed in the end to snag an ADR for the Royal Table. I'm so happy for you that it worked out.
PrincessK looks beautiful in her dress and tiara. The photos with the princesses are so precious.
And it's adorable how she was so excited to tell her big sister all about her magical adventures.

Thank you. I love the photos with the princesses as well.
PrincessK absolutely adores BGirl. She is always excited to tell her all about everything going on in her world. Which is wonderful... but made the transition when BGirl moved away very difficult on PrincessK.

I just found this great trip report and am thoroughly enjoying your adventures. You've brightened my evening. PrincessK is a super cutie pie. Looking forward to reading more.

Thank you so much for joining in. I'm so glad that you are enjoying it.

 

[ForeverDance]

<click> <click> <click> "Okay, you're booked in for 8:30am for four people. Now that that's out of the way... Hi! How are you today?"

And you will tell him the difference over and over and over and over and over until he agrees with you.

Exactly. Unfortunately one of the only traits that Grumpy and I share is our "determination" so I'm still working on it... and probably will be forever.

Mine too. Although I may prefer to see her in her grotto for some reason.

Oh really? Huh.
So surprised

Ha! You made a funny typo there. It looks like you said you skipped your FP for 7DMT!
Isn't that funny??

Apparently you can't do that anymore. I'm reading a live report and he posted this picture:

See how close the bars are now?
Someone had to have gotten stuck.

That's so sad.
Good thing I got that picture when I did.

Just going to add a little sidebar.
I frequently read TRs with maybe a nod of the head (or a shake) and the occasional smile or even laugh.
But I must say that I had a big grin on my face during this entire chapter.
Well... I might even say that a couple of times someone was obviously slicing onions nearby.... but as I am a manly man, I shall refrain.

You are making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Seriously, that's high praise coming from my favourite TR writer.

 

[pkondz]

Exactly. Unfortunately one of the only traits that Grumpy and I share is our "determination" so I'm still working on it... and probably will be forever.

Everyone needs a hobby, ya know.

Oh really? Huh.
So surprised

You are making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

This is the opposite effect I usually have on women.

Seriously, that's high praise coming from my favourite TR writer.

You deserved it,
and... "favourite"?

 

[DiannaVM]

Following along. Your daughter is so cute

 

[Disneytam]

Just found your trip report and read through the whole thing. I have to say that I have never enjoyed a report as much as I have enjoyed yours! Thank you so much for reminding me what is important in life and what is just everyday noise. I hope you can finish this report before you start your next trip

 

[Poohlove]

Your trip report is great! Your daughter is adorable and I love the way you speak about your family. It comes through how much they mean to you.