Halloween Week at Disney -little princess's magical vacation, food allergy, photos

[MomoMama]

After lunch we hopped on Wildlife Express Train to get to Rafiki's Planet Watch. We went inside the Conservation Station, and were impressed with the beautiful illustrations of the animals. Rafiki was there and we went to line up to see him. He had to leave for a short break while we were waiting, but the wait was not too long.

Rafiki AK_Photopass by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

DD had a little turtle (Squirt from Finding Nemo) key chain on her backpack. So she took it off and showed it to Rafiki. He admired it and gave DD a big hug.

There seems to be some interesting exhibits and activities in there, but I felt DD was still too young to understand. So we went outside to see Chip and Dale.
We were waiting near the photo spot when CM came and told us to wait in the circle in front of the Conservation Station. Then Chip and Dale showed up, and we were going to play a game with them!

Chip and Dale Dance Party AK by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

They would pass this giant acorn around. Whoever had the acorn when the music stopped got to dance with Chip and Dale!

Dance with Dale AK by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

And who had the acorn...DD! But actually, all the kids got to dance with Chip and Dale.
After the dance party was the photo opp. DD gave then an acorn again and got big hugs. We all had a great time there. We love Chip and Dale!

DD loves animals and petting zoo. But it was hot and we did not want to miss FP for Dinosaur, so we left. We hopped back on the train and went to Dinoland.

Dinosaur by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

The ride did not scare DD at all. She did not get the time-machine scenario, but she enjoyed it. After this vacation DD even dreamed about the dinosaur ride, and in her dream she fought off the "bad" dinosaur with a police officer.

Carnival-like Dinoland seemed just so perfect for small children, except for 1 ride with height requirement of 48in. We rode TriceraTop Spin, which is a dinosaur version of flying Dumbo.

Then suddenly some characters showed up! It was a dance party! I did not know about this dance party, what a nice surprise!

Dance Party AK by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

And the party was led by Slim form A Bug's Life! I did not know we could see him in the park!

Rafiki was there too and DD wanted to talk to him again. I told her it was time to dance, not to talk. I was trying to get her to dance, but I think she wanted another hug from him.
Then Br'er Bear took my hand to dance! I danced with him a little bit, and then passed him to DD.

Dance Party AK by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

OK, I confess. I did not know who this bear was. I searched online as I wrote this TR.

 

[MomoMama]

We were walking around after the dance party, and saw Donald. DD dashed to him to get a hug, but was stopped by CM.

Donald AK by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

CM was nice and gently stopped DD. I think Donald was on his way to meet & greet. I told DD he was busy and reminded her that she already got her hug. So when we saw Pluto following Donald, we just waved at him. I understand the characters are busy and cannot stop for every guest. But this reminded me my character experiences at AK 14 years ado. I do not know if they had character greetings scheduled at certain spots at that time, but I was walking around the park and saw Chip and Dale, Timon, and Rafiki. I got hugs and photos from all of them. It seems characters no longer roam around the parks anymore.

Then we went to see Finding Nemo musical. We had FP for this but did not look like it mattered. We seated close to the stage for better view.

DD had not had her nap and I was afraid she might fall asleep, but she did not. She does not sleep when she is having fun!
The musical was beautiful. I cannot say which one I like more, the Lion King show or Finding Nemo show, because they are so different.

After the show we wanted one more attraction before leaving the park. We let DD choose, Dinosaur or It's Tough to be a Bug. She chose Dinosaur.

Then we walked back to Discovery Island, and saw Dung and Russell. DD wanted to meet them.

Dug AK by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

Dug did not hug DD right away when it was her turn. I could not tell if he was pretending like he could not see her, or it was because of the cat on her T-shirt (she had Cheshire Cat T-shirt on). But then he gave her a big, big hug.

Russell AK by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

And I do not know if Russell smooched at DD like he did to me...

Before leaving the park, I told DH we had to get ice cream. We saw a beautiful ice cream truck in Asia earlier, but did not get their ice cream then. So even though we were close to the exit, we walked to Africa and then to Asia just to get the ice cream.

Ice Cream Truck by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

The soft-serve ice cream they sell is nothing special, but it is the most gorgeous ice cream truck I have ever seen. I was not even hungry, but I just had to get the ice cream from this truck. DH and I shared one waffle cone.
I was satisfied and then we left the park.

 

[Frozen2014]

Wow...I just love reading your trip report. And you have the best pictures.
We never made it to AK so now I can get an idea of what was there. It does look quite interesting.
A friend of ours warned us about the characters as you have listed...that they are not just walking around the parks like they used to, but you have to go to these special character spots. I think I read that they travel in tunnels underground to get to one place to another?

You have a brave little girl to go on Dinosaur (from what I read). She didn't find it scary?

 

[MomoMama]

Wow...I just love reading your trip report. And you have the best pictures.
We never made it to AK so now I can get an idea of what was there. It does look quite interesting.
A friend of ours warned us about the characters as you have listed...that they are not just walking around the parks like they used to, but you have to go to these special character spots. I think I read that they travel in tunnels underground to get to one place to another?

You have a brave little girl to go on Dinosaur (from what I read). She didn't find it scary?

I heard about the tunnels in MK, but I do not know if they have them in AK. Donald and Pluto came out of the end of Dinoland, led by CM.

I think AK visit can be educational. I would have loved to spent more time at Rafiki's Planet Watch if DD was older.
I was a little disappointed that they do no have a parade, but the dance parties made up for it. And I liked that the park was not crowded...well at least for those 2 days we were there, we did not feel the park was full at all.

I did not think of Dinosaur ride being too scared for DD... and it was not. She likes dinosaurs. I let her watch the movie Dinosaur long before I let her watch the princess movies. She asked me if those dinosaurs were real, and I told her they were. And she still wanted to go back for the second time. After we came back from the trip she dreamed about the dinosaur ride. She told me in her dream the "bad" dinosaur was real, and she fought the dinosaur by biting its leg. Yeah, she is not scared...

 

[MomoMama]

We were planning on leaving AK early that day, so we could relax at the resort, maybe enjoying the pool. But we ended up leaving AK late, and we felt it was getting a little too cool for swimming. DH suggested to go check out Downtown Disney. We are not big on shopping and Downtown Disney was not a must stop for us. But this was one time DH said he wanted to do something, while we (DD and I) had been drugging him around the parks for what we wanted to do including those character meetings he did not care much. So we decided to go to Downtown Disney, but we thought we should check in at Art of Animation first. We had checked out POP that morning and now we were spending 2 more nights at AoA in the Little Mermaid room.

We were very impressed with the brightness and artworks in the lobby. DD saw the Little Mermaid illustrations and she couldn't contain the excitement. The check in was smooth and CM gave DD a sticker of Little Mermaid. We stopped by the bell service and asked them to bring our luggage to our room. Then off to find our room!

We walked through Lion King buildings. Those giant characters are very impressive. I was surprised to see Scar and even the hyenas! Then we saw the Little Mermaid buildings. The walk was long after a day at a park, but DD was so excited, she was running.

Prince Eric AoA by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

There were Ariel's treasures on the grounds, including the stature of Prince Eric!

Ursula AoA by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

Our room was in Ursula building. I was afraid DD might not like it, but she did not care. She was just too excited.
We entered the room, and saw the adorable room decorated with ocean-themed items. The bed, the chair, the mirror...everything was so cute.

LM room AoA by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

And Prince Eric's picture on the wall...I was glad it was not Ursula's.

The shower curtain had a big Ariel on it. DH felt a little weird taking a shower there...
But DD LOVED it!

So we loved the room once we were inside. But there was a problem before we could enter the room. Our magic bands did not work. DH went to see if anyone was around. I stayed and called the front desk. I was not about to walk back that long distance. I talked to the front desk over the phone, and they said they had to reset our magic bands. I have no idea how the "reset" works, but that was scary. What if they erase our reservations or FP??? That did not happen but resetting took some time. I was told to try again...nope, still did not work...try again...no, not working... After a while of waiting and trying, my magic band finally worked. It took some more time for DH's band to work. DD's band was still not working, but we decided to deal with it later. We could not stand outside any longer as there was a smoking area in front of our room. I understand the smoker was just smoking at the designated area, but we could not just go inside the room and shut the door, so it was very frustrating.

Just when we entered the room, our luggage were delivered. The luggage service made it easy to transfer from a resort to a resort. They even kept the perishable food items in their fridge.

Then we left for Downtown Disney. When we got off the bus, it was definitely getting colder and we needed jackets. I was hoping to see some Halloween decorations or maybe some trick-or-treat, but there was none. Ghiradelli was giving away sample chocolate, and that was it. Also the place was already decorated with Christmas decorations.

Food

We were all hungry but had hard time finding a place to eat. Downtown Disney was very crowded and all the restaurants were packed with long lines. Finally we chose Cookes of Dublin because I saw they have gluten free items available.
This place was packed too, and we were told they could only give us food to-go. We ended up finding a table there because we had to wait long for our allergy special order.

They prepared special Fish and Chips for DD. We had regular Fish and Chips, and gluten-free version was greasier than the original. But I was surprised they could make it gluten-free and egg-free and appreciated it.




After the dinner we walked around. Before BabyCakes bakery was closed, I was looking forward to visiting Downtown Disney. I wanted to let DD choose whatever the cakes she wanted from the bakery showcase. Now that the store is closed, there was nothing particular we wanted to check out. The toy store and candy shop seemed to carry the same things as the shops in the parks, and we were not really interested in other specialty shops. As I mentioned earlier, we are not really into shopping. We did walk around the toy store to look for the specific toy items we have been looking for, but we couldn't find them so we actually did not buy anything at Downtown Disney.

It was Halloween night and there were few people dressed in costumes, but not many. We saw some not so child-friendly costumes, and thought maybe we should have avoided going there on Halloween night.

We liked the water-spitting Stitch on top of the toy store and other window decorations. But with the heavy crowd and cold weather, we did not enjoy the area much.

Downtown Disney by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

I tried to get DD to pose as if she were skating with Anna and Elsa, but she rather wanted to look at them than pose for camera...

 

[MomoMama]

I have 2 more days to write about, but I just went over what I have written so far and noticed numerous spelling and grammar errors. Sorry for making it so hard to read! I have fixed whatever the errors I caught, but I am sure there are still some errors.
I hate to make this excuse, but it is obvious English is not my first language.

 

[MomoMama]

This day was a big day with many important activities planned -breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table, Lunch at Be Our guest, and Meeting Anna & Elsa! On top of that, MK was open till 2 am for extra magic hours!

We did not get up as early as we planned. So I hurried to dress DD in her Cinderella dress and ran to the bus stop. It seemed we just missed the bus. This was another Murphy's Law...when you are in a hurry; you always have to wait for a bus. And it was really, really cold and windy that morning. We felt the cold front came the night before, and suddenly we were experiencing the winter weather. I stayed in the line while DH took DD to inside the building.

Our reservation at CRT was at 8:30 am. When we got to the park, I think it was about 8:20 am. We went to all the way left of the entrance where people with early reservation can get into the park. CM scanned our magic band, and something was wrong with DD's magic band. CM said their system reported her Magic band was "missing" while it was clearly on her wrist! I suspect this had something to do with the "reset" they had to do at AoA the day before. DD's magic band was now working to open the room, but somehow its status was "missing." The CM took us all the way to the right of the entrance, where they had a station to fix the problem. Then we had to go back all the way to the left to enter the park, because that was the only entrance before the park opens.

So now we were really in a hurry. I heard the restaurants had 15 minutes grace period at Disney, but we were never late for our reservations and were not sure if this was true for CRT. And I did not want DD to miss any character meetings. We stopped for quick shots with Photopass photographer with the castle background and no crowds, and actually got some good photos. But then we basically ran to the castle. I missed the opportunity to take the photos of MK with almost no crowds myself.

Cinderella CRT by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

We entered the castle, and DD got the photo taken with Cinderella. This is when I learned the princesses have winter versions of their dresses!


Food

Mickey Cake CRT by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

They brought a plate of pastries, which included this Mickey shaped cake. But of course there was nothing DD could eat from this plate. The chef came over, said he could bring waffles for DD. He asked us if she wanted bacon or sausage, and we asked for bacon. It did not take long for DD to get her food, but waffles were not Mickey waffles. Those were round-shaped frozen waffles, which I think are van's. I know we were paying for the experience rather than for the food, but I was disappointed. Those are the waffles I give to DD at home when I don't feel like making them myself. All she got from this breakfast was 2 frozen waffles, bacons, and a very small cup of fruits. While DH and I had good seafood crepes and enjoyed the pastries, DD's limited food selection was not very "magical" there.



However, dining inside the castle felt very special. We met Snow White, Aurora, Jasmine, and Ariel.

Jasmine CRT by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

Princess Jasmine fixed DD's crown, as it fell off when she stood up. How sweet!

The breakfast took only about 1 hour. When we got out of the castle Fairly Godmother was scheduled to appear there, so we waited. She was late, and the Photopass photographer was waiting there too. He said sometimes Lady Tremaine and the stepsisters would show up instead of the Fairy Godmother. We did not want to wait in the cold not knowing when or who is showing up, so we left.

A little later we came back to this area, and sure enough Lady Tremaine and the stepsisters were there. I was hoping to catch the Fairy Godmother while DD was wearing the Cinderella dress, so a little disappointed. I thought we did not have to see those 3, but DD wanted to meet them. So we stayed in the line...in the cold...good thing the line was not long. A girl ahead of us was dressed as Elsa. Without a jacket she was cold, and CM joked with her that cold was not supposed to bother her anyway. I bet many Elsa girls got that joke that day...

This meet and greet turned out so much fun. Unlike at the Cinderella's dinner, all three of them were together and talking to DD at the same time. They were checking out DD and Anastasia said DD must be a real princess because she had a crown on. DD was feeling goofy, and acted like a little old lady, using the fairy wand she just got from the breakfast as a cane. All 3 played along, bending their back over DD and posed for photos.

Lady Tremaine and Stepsisters by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

 

[MomoMama]

It was cold, and we wanted go inside of something. We let DD go see Ariel at her grotto again. There was almost no wait, basically DD walked up to her. She had a little talk and photos taken, and we were back out in the cold again...

We went to Tommorowland and saw Stitch. But we did not feel like standing in the line. We saw the wait time for Buzz's Space ranger Spin was only 20 minutes, so we went there. The line was moving very slowly, and we started to see some people leaving. There was no announcement from CM, but we heard from the people much ahead of us that the ride was stuck and not moving. We decided to leave as well, and went to Carousel of Progress theater next door. I did not think DD would enjoy, but we just need to go somewhere indoor.
DD sat through quietly, but did not really understand the show. She asked me if those "actors" were real...

Then even though it was cold, we rode on PeopleMover, because DD had been asking for it. I thought the ride would be great when you want a little break, but not something "must do."

When we came out of the ride, we saw the line for Stitch was short. Somehow there was no Photopass photographer with Stitch.

Stitch MK by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

DD had a little Angel plush with her, and showed it to Stitch. He seemed so happy and hugged Angel, and then hugged DD.

Then we walked to the rose garden, and saw a show going on in front of the castle. It was Dream Along with Mickey show! We moved closer to the castle. We missed half of the show, but enjoyed what we were able to see. I only wish DD will continue to believe in dreams.

Dream Along with Mickey by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

Then we walked back to the Beast's castle for our lunch reservation at 12:30. We got there early, and CM told us to come back 5 minutes past the reservation time. So we walked around the area trying to kill time. We saw a Photopass photographer who did not seem busy, so we asked for a magic shot. He said he could not do Stitch, but he could do Lumiere. Of course, we were standing in front of the Beast's castle! DD posed for the shot, and we saw the photo later. And there he was, a little tiny Lumiere in DD's hand...should he be Tinker-Bell size???

Lumiere Magic Shot by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

After spending time watching Gaston and checking out the gift shop, we went back to Be Our Guest. We still had to stay in the line before we could actually go inside the castle. Good thing it was getting a little warmer...

Beast's Castle by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

Food

I asked CM who should I speak to about the food allergy, and was told we could do that at the time of ordering. So we waited and waited for our turn to order. I enjoyed looking at the decor inside, but not the wait time. We also had to wait extra because CM called for the chef after we got to the ordering station.
We got our seat in the main dining room, close to the window. Good thing was the food came out quick! And it did magically appear...I wonder how they know where we were sitting, as you get to choose your own table.

DD got grilled fish and vegetable on the side. Her dessert was Enjoy Life cookies. She was not too excited about her food, but sure enjoyed eating in the Beast's castle. From the research I did I thought gluten-free, egg-free breads were available there, so a little disappointed that they did not.

Grey Stuff by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

I had to have "grey stuff" cupcake, as it was our first time there. I heard other desserts are better, but I enjoyed this cupcake.


It was getting a little warmer, but we had to go back to the resort and take a rest. We had an early morning start and we planned to stay up late!

 

[Frozen2014]

Love your MK day. We also did CRT, BOG and A&E (but over two different days).

So funny to see Cinderella in a winter outfit. It must have been just about a week earlier that we went to CRT (on 23rd) and she was in usual dress. I'm sorry your DD didn't like her breakfast. I'm surprised they didn't do anything fancier with the waffles. Hope the princess experience made up for it. Cool experience with Lady Tremaine and stepsisters. When I skimmed your photos, I thought perhaps you headed over to 1900 Park Fare.

How was PeopleMover? We totally skipped it, but now I am reading on these boards how it's many people's favorite.

Cool picture of the beast (?) outside of BOG. The atmosphere is lovely isn't it?

PS - Totally didn't notice any obvious mistakes. Your English is better than mine (and English is my fist language)

 

[MomoMama]

Love your MK day. We also did CRT, BOG and A&E (but over two different days).

So funny to see Cinderella in a winter outfit. It must have been just about a week earlier that we went to CRT (on 23rd) and she was in usual dress. I'm sorry your DD didn't like her breakfast. I'm surprised they didn't do anything fancier with the waffles. Hope the princess experience made up for it. Cool experience with Lady Tremaine and stepsisters. When I skimmed your photos, I thought perhaps you headed over to 1900 Park Fare.

How was PeopleMover? We totally skipped it, but now I am reading on these boards how it's many people's favorite.

Cool picture of the beast (?) outside of BOG. The atmosphere is lovely isn't it?

PS - Totally didn't notice any obvious mistakes. Your English is better than mine (and English is my fist language)

The sudden weather change was something we did not expect. It was hot during the day on Friday 10/31, and by night it was cold and windy. On Saturday morning I thought it will warm up soon so went out wearing shorts....it did a little by lunch time, but it was still cool and windy. I think Cinderella was lucky to stay inside the castle. The stepsisters had skin-tone shirt under their dresses, but they seemed really cold! But despite that, they were great at entertaining the guests. Those stepsisters are really great, both at 1900 Park fare and at MK. Meeting the princesses are so magical and sweet, but meeting those stepsisters are so much more fun!
DD actually did not complain about the breakfast. She was not excited about it, but we tried to make her feel good about it by saying "Look! It is your favorite bacon! And there is ONE strawberry!" Afterall, all she remembers from that breakfast is meeting the princesses.

PeopleMover was fine. I think we might have enjoyed more if it was not so cold that day. I would get on it again on a hot day, if I needed a break. It is nice to go around the entire Tomorrowland, but it did not impress us.

You had a dinner at BOG, that must have been a better experience than lunch (only if you were not sick...). I only managed to get the lunch FP. Yes, the castle and decor was so nice. But waiting in the line so long despite having the reservation ruined the magic a little. And when I called in trying to get the dinner reservation there, CM told me the characters do not always appear. But from what I have been reading you do get to see the beast, so I would love to go back for dinner!

 

[MomoMama]

We had FP for Anna and Elsa good till 5:30 pm that day. After taking rest at resort, we rushed to get ready. And the Murphy's Law struck us again...we had to wait for the bus. Disney says the buses leave every 20 minutes, and most of the time this seems true, but it was not in this occasion. I think we waited for more like 30 minutes. We saw 2 buses came and left for each of other parks, but we had to wait for MK bus for 30 minutes! This did not make sense at all... On top of that, we had to wait in the cold...

So we got to the park, with less than 10 minutes to spare before our FP expired. We ran! I actually reserved another FP for Anna and Elsa the next day just in case something goes wrong on one of those days. But I still did not want to miss it...I mean, what if something goes wrong again the next day???
We got there just in time! But when we got there, there was a family talking to CM at the FP entrance. I do not know what their problem was, asking something or arguing. When we were finally able to scan our bands, I think it must have been few minutes past 5:30, so it was such a relief to see the green light! Phew!

We had enough time to catch our breath before meeting Anna and Elsa, as we had to wait after getting inside the building.

Anna MK by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

DD still had her Angel plush with her, and wanted to show it to Anna and Elsa.

Elsa MK by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

I could not hear what they were saying, but I bet they do not see many little girls wanting to talk to them about Angel...

I asked Anna's CM if it was possible to have a photo taken with Anna and Elsa together. The answer was No; they can only see the guest one by one because they were trying to get people moving as quickly as possible. Okay...I understand, but do you really need to tell the guests they want to rush this experience? Not so magical, isn't it?

It was DD's turn to see Anna. She was talking to Anna having fun, and we started to take photos. Then I realized there was no Photopass photographer. I asked the same CM again, and she said the photographer's camera broke. Just when DD was saying goodbye to Anna, the photographer showed up. But instead of taking DD's photo, they moved on to the next guest. We still had to wait before meeting Elsa, so they could have taken DD's photo with Anna. But we did not ask for it. We felt DD's magical moment with Anna had passed already, and because we took the photos ourselves. My photos did not turn out well so I wish the photographer was there to take photos too, but we at least had 1 more chance to see them again the next day!

 

[MomoMama]

After meeting Anna and Elsa, we went to Tomorrowland. We had FP for Tommorwland Speedway. I do not have many experiences with go karts, but this has to be the hardest one I had to drive! DH and DD rode on one ahead of me, and I could not catch up with them because I just couldn’t drive straight! I do have a driver's license and have a perfect record too!

Then we caught IncrediblesSuperDanceParty!

INCREDIBLESSuperDanceParty1 by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

INCREDIBLESSuperDanceParty2 by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

When we go there the characters were dancing with guests. We saw Mr. Incredible and Frozone doing dance off with a young girl. They are both good dancers, but this young girl was really talented, and she out-danced them! It was so much fun to see them. Soon they disappeared but came back out again this time on the stage. Then they went back to dance with the guests again. I told DD to dance too, since it was a good way to stay warm. DD did weird zombie-like dance move by herself. When Mr. Incredible came to her to dance with her, she actually ran away!
DD loves the movie The Incredibles, and should not have been scared of them. Later when I asked her why she ran away, she said she was "pretending" Mr. Incredible was a "bad guy." How are we supposed to know what she was doing...to us it only looked like she ran away because she was scared of the character...

We went to Frontierland and stopped at Country Bear Jamboree. There were only few people inside. When the animals on the wall started talking, I thought it was funny and was a good start. We enjoyed the show in the beginning, but after a while it was just a repetitive movements and songs. It was kind of cute, but I would not go back unless we are trying to stay away from heat or cold like we were that day.

In Adventureland, we rode the Magic Carpets of Aladdin because DD wanted to, and noticed the camels were not spitting the water, probably because of the cold weather. Then we rode Pirates of Caribbean. DD has not seen the movies and this was not a must ride for us, but again we rather wanted to be indoor and the wait was not long. I thought this was a well-made attraction, but DD did not understand what was going on...Only thing she remembers from this ride was a dirty feet she saw on one of the pirates sitting above us...


FOOD

We did not have a dinner reservation, so looked for a quick service in the area. We ended up going to Columbia Harbour House. The lines were long and the place was packed, so DH and DD went to look for a table while I waited for the food. Allergy-free meal came out quick, but I had to wait for the regular meals quite long.

The manager showed me the allergy-free menu, and I ordered mac & cheese for DD. It was Amy’s frozen food and was served in the original container. But that was okay...DD was just happy to get her Mac and cheese. She got steamed broccoli as the side dish, and again Enjoy Life cookies as dessert.





We had FP for Wishes fireworks. But after the parade we found out it was almost impossible to get to the rose garden from Frontierland. Many walkways were blocked, people were everywhere... DD and I got separated from DH and had to look for him... I finally managed to find the way to get there, and missed the beginning of the show. But then we were able to sit and enjoy the show.

After the fireworks we went back to Fantasyland. And we saw Seven Dwarfs Mine Train caught a fire! We were actually staying in the line for Winnie the Pooh ride, which is located across from Seven Dwarfs Mine Train when this occurred. We were asked to leave because they needed to evacuate the area. They were not closing the entire Fantasyland, but just that area only.

We rode Under the Sea Little Mermaid ride, which was not blocked even though it was next to Seven Dwarf ride. We saw PhilharMagic again for the 3rd time this trip, again to get away from the cold. We noticed there was no water splash during the show. We rode It's a Small World because that is also an indoor ride. It’s a cute, cute ride, but it did not impress us much.

We saw the fire truck at Seven Dwarf ride. CMs were standing in the line to block the area. They were not dressed to stay outside and must have been so cold for them to just stand there. But I saw smiles on many of them. Amazing!!
Later it was on the news, the fire was caused by the fireworks (it was a windy day) and was minor, and the ride re-opened after midnight.

The park was open till 2 am and I was hoping to stay as late as possible and ride some coaster rides, but it was just too cold to enjoy. We decided to leave. I think the shops must have sold many sweatshirts and blankets that day...

At the resort I tried to have my midnight snack, which was a salad. Since the food court is open till midnight, I bought it earlier and left it in the fridge in our room. I opened it and saw a FROZEN salad… I checked other food, like DD’s carrots and fruits, all frozen... The fridge was working too well, it froze our food! The fridge at POP did not have this problem, I guess AoA is too new and the fridges are new too. I wish it had a temperature control, but it did not.

 

[Frozen2014]

Wow...quite the stress getting to A&E...but at least you had a badkup if you didn't make it. Guess we'll have to wait and see if you went a second time.

Sweet pictures with A&E. For us, DH took DD (I was going to take her but wasn't well enough), so never thought about how they were each separate. So I guess with this method, they could get another child in with the other one? A shame though that you felt rushed. I hope DD didn't notice. She sure looks happy from the pictures...and glad you still got some good ones despite the photopass photographer not being around (how upsetting!)

Ha ha...I felt the exact same as you on Tomorrowland Speedway. Glad it wasn't just me.
Funny how you comment about POC wanting to go on to 'warm up'. I actually came off the ride colder than when I went on, but that's cause I was sitting at a spot that got splashed.

Oh wow...so you were there on the night of the 7DMT. I remember reading about that the next morning and was shocked. Thank goodness it was minimal.

So you didn't like Its a Small World?

Brrr...sorry your fridge worked a little too well.

 

[MomoMama]

Wow...quite the stress getting to A&E...but at least you had a badkup if you didn't make it. Guess we'll have to wait and see if you went a second time.

Sweet pictures with A&E. For us, DH took DD (I was going to take her but wasn't well enough), so never thought about how they were each separate. So I guess with this method, they could get another child in with the other one? A shame though that you felt rushed. I hope DD didn't notice. She sure looks happy from the pictures...and glad you still got some good ones despite the photopass photographer not being around (how upsetting!)

Ha ha...I felt the exact same as you on Tomorrowland Speedway. Glad it wasn't just me.
Funny how you comment about POC wanting to go on to 'warm up'. I actually came off the ride colder than when I went on, but that's cause I was sitting at a spot that got splashed.

Oh wow...so you were there on the night of the 7DMT. I remember reading about that the next morning and was shocked. Thank goodness it was minimal.

So you didn't like Its a Small World?

Brrr...sorry your fridge worked a little too well.

Looking at Disney's photos on their site, you would think you see Anna and Elsa at the same time, but you don't... They are meeting the guest one by one, and there is a small space in between. After meeting Anna, you are likely to wait in this small space till the guest before you is done with Elsa.
I understand the CMs need to keep the things in order, at least we did not feel like we were rushed when actually meeting Anna and Elsa. They were both so sweet.

I did not know we would get splashed during POC ride. When I saw it, I covered DD and my camera. Luckily we got splashed only a little. I wonder if it was possible for them to control the splash, as it was a cold day.

It's a Small World is very cute, it is a good classic ride. But it did not have WOW or fun factor for us. I have rode it before, I cannot remember if it was Tokyo or California, and liked it better the first time. This was the first time for DH and DD, and they were not impressed. DD rather wants to see the characters she knows.

You know...if I knew the fridge was working more like a freezer, I would have bought Mickey bar ice cream rather than salad!!

 

[MomoMama]

This was the sad day…the last day at WDW. But our flight was leaving in the evening, so we still had a half day to enjoy the park!
We had to checkout and leave our luggage at the airline check-in at the resort before we could go to the park. Actually the express checkout means you simply leave, so we did not have to stop by the front desk. We had trouble finding the airline check-in though. I was pointed to wrong direction, and finally found it in the back of the main building, the pool side. We checked our luggage, then went to catch the bus to MK!

We got to the park much, much later than we wanted. We had FP for Seven Dwarf Mine Train, but missed it. This was the only FP we missed during our trip. The wait line was long as usual, so we did not get to ride it one last time. But later when we were walking around Fantasyland, we saw SDMT ride stopped with people riding on it! I do not know what went wrong with the ride, or how long they had to suspend it. But we were saying glad that did not happen to us.

Since we missed our first FP, we had some time before our next FP. We rode Liberty Square Riverboat. It was not as exciting as the coaster ride, but we enjoyed the great view from the boat.

Then we went to see Tiana. Luckily the line was short.

Tiana MK by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

She had a lovely winter cape on. And let DD sit on her lap for photos.

Then it was time for our next FP. We had another big FP this day…meeting Anna and Elsa again! We did not have to run like the day before; we just went inside and met them with a short wait.

Anna MK by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

Anna was very chatty, DD was not as much as the day before.

Elsa MK by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

Elsa noticed DD’s dress, and spent more time posing for photos with her.

Elsa MK_Photopass by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

While we got some nice posed photos with both of them doing the famous "Elsa pose," I like DD to have better interactions with the characters. That is one reason I skipped the autograph book this time. I did not want the meeting to be just “sign and hug” event (other reasons are I did not want to carry extra item, the last book ended up being DD’s art book, etc). But when the interaction was not as great, It was never the characters’ faults, but it was due to DD being shy.

When we got out of the Princess Fairytale Hall, we saw Fairy Godmother behind the Cinderella’s castle. Since we missed her meeting the other day, we went to see her.

Fairy Godmother MK_Photopass by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

DD still had the fairy wand from the CRT breakfast, so showed it to Fairy Godmother. She talked very gently, and DD seemed very comfortable with her.

Food
For lunch, we decide to go back to Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café, so DD could have the chicken sandwich.
The place was packed again…CM was able to call the manager again before we had to stand in the line. I talked to a different manager from the other day. I asked for chicken sandwich and fries for DD, the manager assisted the CM to enter DD’s order, and then left. So I ordered the rest of the food, and asked for milk and cookies for DD’s kids meal. The CM who took the order said DD’s meal was not a kid meal. I did not understand, why it was not a kid meal, she is 4 years old. The CM insisted her allergy special food could not be ordered as a kid meal, despite me telling her we DID get it as a kid meal just a few days before. I did not want to wait for the manager to show up again and hold up the long line, so I gave in. Fine, just charge me the adult price without drink and dessert…

We got a good booth with view of Cosmic Ray singing. While we were eating, a family came over and placed their food tray on the back of my seat and started eating! Their food was right next to my head... I understand the place was packed and they could not find a table, so I did not say anything. But this was so awkward… I felt like they were rushing us, so they could get our table. I guess a CM saw them, told them she would find a table for them and took them somewhere…
So while my first experience at Cosmic Rays was great, this second visit was not.

 

[MomoMama]

After lunch we walked around the Main Street, then went to see Tinker Bell, our last FP. Last year we got to see Rosetta along with Tinker Bell, so I was a little sad that she moved to the Town Square Theater by herself. But she was more chatty and engaging than last year, so the meeting was good.

Tinker Bell MK by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

Tink said she always wanted to meet a princess.

In the next theater, the wait to see Mickey was 30 minutes. I wanted to meet the talking Mickey, but DH said we should leave so we would not miss the bus to the airport... But Marie was right there in front of us and the line was short, so we convinced him that would be our last meet.

Marie MK by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

DD just loved getting hugs from the fluffy characters, and loved Marie’s hug too.
We left the park, got on the bus. We did not have to wait long for the bus. Yeah, when we were leaving, the wait for the bus was short…

Since we had time before the airport bus pickup, we walked around AoA ground. We walked around Cars and Nemo area. While Nemo area was so cute, I was more impressed with Cars area. Those life-size characters are very well-made, along with the settings. Also I thought “meeting” McQueen and Mater at Hollywood Studios was not necessary since we were staying at AoA.

Cars AoA by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

Cars AoA by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

Cars AoA by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

While we waited for the bus, DD became so sad…she said she did not want to leave… She looked like she was about to cry. So we told her we could come back…but next time, you make money and bring mommy and daddy back here!

DD and I did not take off our magic bands till we got home (DH took his off even before getting on the airport bus). Once we stepped into our home and carried all the luggage in, then I felt the vacation was over. Yeah, the magic was gone...I had a huge load of laundry to do!

 

[Frozen2014]

Ahhh...I almost had tears myself reading the end of your post...totally know the feeling of the trip coming to and end and back to reality. But what an amazing trip that was. You should do what I did (if not done already) and create a photobook as you sure have some incredible pictures. And it will help DD to remember it. Do you think you'll go back?

PS - It's funny how the two Anna and Elsa look different from one day to the next Definitely day 2 looks more 'real'.

 

[MomoMama]

Ahhh...I almost had tears myself reading the end of your post...totally know the feeling of the trip coming to and end and back to reality. But what an amazing trip that was. You should do what I did (if not done already) and create a photobook as you sure have some incredible pictures. And it will help DD to remember it. Do you think you'll go back?

PS - It's funny how the two Anna and Elsa look different from one day to the next Definitely day 2 looks more 'real'.

Because of Disney's "Magic" factor, the end of vacation was harder than any other vacations we have taken. Writing this TR was good to keep some details otherwise I would forget, and it also let me re-live the vacation. But that also means I re-lived the end of the vacation... I know one way to fix this problem is to have a new trip plan... I hope we can squeeze one Disney trip in 2015 or 2016, whether it is WDW, Disneyland, or Disney cruise. I tell DH that we need to take more Disney trips while DD is young..while "magic" is so pure and real.

I have made a photobook to send to DD's grandparents. Now I need to work one for us, with more detailed photos. This is going slowly with so many photos to sort and edit. At the end of the trip I had almost 1000 photos including Photopass photos. Is that a lot? I actually ended up taking less than I anticipated, due to my camera issue and sometimes I just wanted to have fun myself than taking photos.

I have read mixed reviews about Anna and Elsa meet & greet. Some said Elsa seemed "cold" and not as friendly, while others said that was not the case for them. This was one of the reasons I scheduled 2 meetings, to have a better chance to meet more friendly Elsa. Turned out, Elsa and Anna were both great on both days. My photos may not do justice, but the day 1 Anna and Elsa were great to talk to, and I think DD had equally, if not more, great time with them!

 

[Frozen2014]

Because of Disney's "Magic" factor, the end of vacation was harder than any other vacations we have taken. Writing this TR was good to keep some details otherwise I would forget, and it also let me re-live the vacation. But that also means I re-lived the end of the vacation... I know one way to fix this problem is to have a new trip plan... I hope we can squeeze one Disney trip in 2015 or 2016, whether it is WDW, Disneyland, or Disney cruise. I tell DH that we need to take more Disney trips while DD is young..while "magic" is so pure and real.

I have made a photobook to send to DD's grandparents. Now I need to work one for us, with more detailed photos. This is going slowly with so many photos to sort and edit. At the end of the trip I had almost 1000 photos including Photopass photos. Is that a lot? I actually ended up taking less than I anticipated, due to my camera issue and sometimes I just wanted to have fun myself than taking photos.

I have read mixed reviews about Anna and Elsa meet & greet. Some said Elsa seemed "cold" and not as friendly, while others said that was not the case for them. This was one of the reasons I scheduled 2 meetings, to have a better chance to meet more friendly Elsa. Turned out, Elsa and Anna were both great on both days. My photos may not do justice, but the day 1 Anna and Elsa were great to talk to, and I think DD had equally, if not more, great time with them!

Totally know what you mean...by writing the trip report, got to re-live the vacation. And also, its a way to forever keep the details.
Funny how you're the same in that DH would need convincing. SO if it were up to just you, which would you do next? I would love to do DW again as our kids, but am seriously looking into a cruise at the moment as I think DH would like this best...but it wouldn't be until 2016.

That's so nice that you made a photobook for DD's grandparents...and now you get to make one for yourself. Wow...1000 photos? That's awesome. But then again, you did a ton of character greets, etc. Can I ask how many were from Memory Maker? We had about 270 Memory Maker shots, then there was my phone (which maybe only got around 20 good ones), DH phone (maybe another 30) plus our regular camera (maybe around 10...just around the resort). I was sorry though that I didn't take more of DW itself.

What a shame about some Elsa's being cold. And actually that's quite upsetting to hear as the kids look soooo forward to meeting them. You would think Disney would monitor this. Glad to hear though that both your experiences were good. Your DD must have been so happy!

Well I've truly enjoyed reading your report as we shared a lot of the same experiences with our DD being close in age. Hope you get to return real soon!

 

[MomoMama]

Totally know what you mean...by writing the trip report, got to re-live the vacation. And also, its a way to forever keep the details.
Funny how you're the same in that DH would need convincing. SO if it were up to just you, which would you do next? I would love to do DW again as our kids, but am seriously looking into a cruise at the moment as I think DH would like this best...but it wouldn't be until 2016.

That's so nice that you made a photobook for DD's grandparents...and now you get to make one for yourself. Wow...1000 photos? That's awesome. But then again, you did a ton of character greets, etc. Can I ask how many were from Memory Maker? We had about 270 Memory Maker shots, then there was my phone (which maybe only got around 20 good ones), DH phone (maybe another 30) plus our regular camera (maybe around 10...just around the resort). I was sorry though that I didn't take more of DW itself.

What a shame about some Elsa's being cold. And actually that's quite upsetting to hear as the kids look soooo forward to meeting them. You would think Disney would monitor this. Glad to hear though that both your experiences were good. Your DD must have been so happy!

Well I've truly enjoyed reading your report as we shared a lot of the same experiences with our DD being close in age. Hope you get to return real soon!

If it is up to me and money and works are not an issue, I would go back to WDW right now to experience the Christmas magic! Or go back there for DD's birthday...but it will be early spring and that is just too soon for DH.
I do want to go back to WDW, but when DD starts school it will be hard, if not impossible, to go there during off-seasons. I do not know if I can survive park days in summer... Christmas time would be expensive, and cold/getting sick is always a major concern for winter trip. Last winter we had a Disney cruise booked, but DD got a fever one day before the departure. We were SO glad we had the trip insurance, but also SO disappointed. WDW trip requires months ahead of planning, so you can imagine how devastating it will be if the trip needs to be cancelled... And during this trip we got to experience winter-like weather for 1 day, and we learned we may not enjoy the parks in winter either. So for summer or winter trip, I am considering cruise or Disneyland...

We had close to 1000 photos, but that includes many duplicates and bad photos too. There were over 400 Photopass photos, and those includes the Disney copyrighted photos that comes with character M&G and parade. With so many M&G, MemoryMaker was worth it for us. Not sure I would buy it again though.

You know, I think Disney did listen to the complaints...because Elsa was very nice on both days. I am guessing in the beginning they wanted Elsa to be more "cool" compared to Anna as the characters should be, but I think that was not working for people who waited for hours and hours to meet her.

Thanks for reading my TR. It has been so nice "talkin" to you!