Pearl and Sug Get a Very Magical Christmas Surprise! A Dec 2016-Jan 2017 Updated 1/23

[Jackiemarie21]

A Little Lottie

So, I left you just as we were getting ready to board our dessert party riverboat cruise with Tiana and Neveen. Sug wanted to use the restroom one more time before boarding because I told her about the fact there was none on the boat, which made her pretty nervous. Bob and Pearl jumped in line while Sug and I made another bathroom break.

We joined them back in line and there was a little girl a year or two older than Sug in front of us. Her parents were surprising her with this experience, because Princess and the Frog was her favorite. She tried asking Sug about what we were waiting in line for, but she wouldn't tell her. The girls did however, become fast friends! And our families spent the entire experience together. We really enjoyed each other and even though we live far away we became facebook friends so that we could keep in touch.
So, the experience. The line started forming about 2:30 and at 2:45 they started checking people in. The check in process was super smooth. Although all they did was check your name on a list. They gave us each a sticker to wear to show we were a part of the party. We went through a line that you could pick up your choice of ice cream, vanilla chocolate or strawberry. It was freezing that day! So Sug and I decided no ice cream for us. Bob and Pearl on the other hand both opted for some chocolate ice cream. I'm pretty sure they both added toppings (there were lots of choices for toppings) but I can't remember what now. Then we were able to choose a beverage, Hot chocolate, lemonade, water and coke were our choices. The girls went for lemonades and bob and I both got cokes, we are both sort of addicted to coke. We try to limit it at home but on vacation we enjoy more freely. After selecting a beverage you picked up a tray of the signature desserts and found a seat. We took a seat on the bridge leading to the boat. Our new friends joined us.
Here is a pic of the dessert tray:

I believe the yellow one was a tart of some sort, the middle was a cupcake and the chocolate one was a cookie. I loved the cookie, Sug LOVED the cupcake and Bob like them all. Pearl only at the chocolate frogs on top of the cookies and her ice cream. Everything was all you care to eat, Sug got another tray of the desserts just to eat the cupcake. She also ate my cupcke! Bob got seconds of the ice cream he thought the ice cream was really good.

Enjoying our desserts, oops Pearl got vanilla ice cream not chocolate!

While we were finishing up our desserts Tiana and Neveen made a grand appearance. Our spot was nice because we were out of the way, but we were able to see the royal pair and when the line to meet them wasn't too long. Although to be honest the line was never that long. So when we were all done with sweets, Sug and I jumped in line. We knew there would be other chances to meet them so Bob and Pearl would get a chance, but Sug and I were totally geeking out. I LOVE Princess and the Frog and when Sug was younger she did too. Now that she is older she never wants to watch that movie anymore. But every year on Mardi Gras we make jambalaya and benigets and watch that movie.
Now, I know I have been using their nicknames but Sug's name is Charlotte, it is always all over her shirt, so its not a secret, I just thought the nicknames were fun. We got up to meet them and Neveen was so excited! He said "LOOK! its a little Lottie!" The pair were very excited to meet another Lottie.

You can see that I am ridiculously excited. We have never been able to meet them and I was really looking forward to seeing them as a pair! Tiana was super sweet and Naveen was adorable and fun!


After we met them, we were able to board the boat. I had read that the best view of the parade was from the second level of the boat so, we grabbed some more snacks (popcorn, my favorite!) and made our way upstairs. We still had our new friends with us and they followed my advise for the second level. They made a big deal about Tiana leaving us to join the parade assuring all the little (and ahem big) fans they would be back for more fun. We hung around the boat for what felt like a while. It was cool though because we looked out and saw hoards of people standing around and we were totally crowd free, with plenty of space to move around freely. The boat moved to its parade viewing location. I wish I would have taken 3 pics here
1. The crowds lined up to watch the parade. Seeing all those people made me feel this experience was worth every penny. Yes, its not cheap but such a nice break!
2. The amount of people on the boat. I'm not sure if this was a sold out a event or not, but it was a great amount of people to feel festive and fun while at the same time having plenty of space to move around and enjoy the event
3. The parade itself. I was too busy holding Pearl, and juggling snacks etc. and didn't take any pics. But I really wish I could show you the location and what the parade looked like from this point of view.

For the location, it was not an up close and personal view of the parade. But it was unobstructed and we could see great! The characters made sure to wave to us way up there and paid attention to us. Overall, it wasn't a bad way to watch a parade.
The party has its own photopass photographer and this one took tons of pics of Pearl. They really hit it off. It was like she got her own little photo shoot.










While the parade was going on, you could enjoy as many Mickey bars, frozen strawberry fruit bars soda and popcorn as you wanted. I know Bob had two Mickey bars, and Sug had a couple of the strawberry ones.

After the parade the boat "picked up" Tiana and Naveen and we went for another ride on the boat. At this time we were allowed to walk around and we were able to mingle with Tiana and Naveen.
So we got our family pic with them:


We lingered on the boat until the very last moment. Enjoying a few more waters and cokes and some time outside of the crowds. We also allowed Charlotte to play with new friend a little longer. Finally it was time we had to leave. On our way out we grabbed some apple slices and water for later. We said good bye to our new friends and made our way out into the Park. We loved this experience! It was our first time doing any of the "extras", we probably wouldn't do this one again,because we would like to experience something new, but, I wouldn't hesitate to book another!

So we went on to have an amazing evening in the Magic Kingdom, but I'm going to leave you for now.

 

[Dugette]

The girls did however, become fast friends! And our families spent the entire experience together. We really enjoyed each other and even though we live far away we became facebook friends so that we could keep in touch.

That's awesome when you click with people like that! Yay for Disney friends!

He said "LOOK! its a little Lottie!" The pair were very excited to meet another Lottie.

Aw, cute!

The party has its own photopass photographer and this one took tons of pics of Pearl. They really hit it off. It was like she got her own little photo shoot.

Haha, very sweet.

Loved hearing all about the event. Sounds like a great time and well worth it for your bunch!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

That's awesome when you click with people like that! Yay for Disney friends!


Aw, cute!


Haha, very sweet.

Loved hearing all about the event. Sounds like a great time and well worth it for your bunch!

It really was! We had a fantastic time!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

Do You Think they will Be Mad?

So, after a very enjoyable time with Tiana and Naveen, we made our way out into the very crowded Magic Kingdom. And where did we end up? Our favorite location, the Tangled bathrooms! Because Sug had to go, now! After waiting in a loooong line, we came back to Bob and Pearl and she was fast asleep. Bob and I decided to hang out there for a few minutes look over our MDE app and make a game plan for the evening. I had adjusted our FP+ so that we would have tea cups at 4pm, shortly after our boat ride. But when I got on MDE it was gone! The only thing I can think of was that Pearl deleted it while playing on my phone earlier in the day. No worries I was able to make a later FP for the LM! So, we decided to hang out at the bathrooms let Sug play on Bob's phone and then head over to the castle about 5 to find a place to watch the castle lighting.

We found a fairly decent spot and decided to get a QS to eat while we waited so we could get some serious rides in later. Bob walked over to my favorite QS Casey's while the girls and I held our spot. Pearl continued to sleep while Sug made another friend. They ran in circles dancing and playing. Bob came back with food just as Pearl started waking up.

We got 3 adult hot dog combos and the girls split one, evidently someone was starving and I had already given half to one before snapping a photo. Far from fancy food, but as always it was delicious!

Love this pic of Bob enjoying his dinner! As we ate on the curb the show started and it was really good! Sug was totally captivated the whole time.

She loved it! As it was ending and this happened:

Sug turned to me and said "Do you think they will be mad?" I said "Who?" She said "Cinderella and the other princesses? Elsa just turned their castle to ice!" It was so sweet and reminded me of just how real the magic was to her. I don't think I will forget that moment for as long as I live. Reason number 10,021 why we go to Disney time and time again!
After the show Sug wanted her picture with the newly iced castle:

Bad pic, I know but it shows the mood of the moment. And it was pretty cold that night too! So glad I brought warm clothes with us.

Around this time, our FP+ for the Jingle Cruise was up. We rode that and it was fun, but I don't love this ride in the dark. It looses some of its jungle effect. Next time, I'll be sure we do a daytime ride. We got off and noticed the magic carpets of Aladdin didn't have a long line so we rode that.



This ride was very fun and would become one of Sug's favorites!

We walked back to pick up the stroller and then made our way to our Peter Pan FP. The girls really loved this one too and I ended up getting another FP for later in our trip. We took a minute to regroup after Peter Pan and we had about an hour until our last FP for Ariel. So we had some time to kill, but what we did with that time will have to wait for the next chapter...

 

[Dugette]

Mmmm, Casey's looks tasty! Very cute about Cinderella being mad about her iced castle. Looks like a fun evening so far!

 

[Stasieki]

Congratulations on #3!!!!!

 

[Ellester]

Loving your report! We will be there Dec 30-Jan 7. I have the same plan to do MK on the 30th and not do any parks on NYE. I’m looking forward to seeing how it worked out for you all. Congratulations on #3!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

Mmmm, Casey's looks tasty! Very cute about Cinderella being mad about her iced castle. Looks like a fun evening so far!

Oh how I love Casey's so simple yet perfect at the same time! I never thought about it that way, but yeah I could see how that might upset a princess.

Congratulations on #3!!!!!

Thank you!

Loving your report! We will be there Dec 30-Jan 7. I have the same plan to do MK on the 30th and not do any parks on NYE. I’m looking forward to seeing how it worked out for you all. Congratulations on #3!

Dec. 30 for MK is a great plan, it was crowded but we managed to do quite a bit, especially after 10 pm.
Thank you!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

So, I have a few update type things to share.
First of all, we went on October 10 for my anatomy scan and I was dying to learn if #3 is a prince or princess. Well, this baby is taking after big sisters and kept their legs crosses during most of the ultrasound, we got a quick peak and the tech thinks it is a another princess. We go back Nov. 6 to confirm the gender and get a few more pics of the face. Such a bummer since Sug and Pearl both did the exact same thing! I had to go back for a re-scan with both of them too! But everything they saw looked perfect and healthy!

We have had a few movie nights lately

First up Tangled:



For dinner we had Rapunzel's hair pasta and Pascal's green salad, served in frying pans of corse


For dessert we had Tower cupcakes which were lots of fun!

After dinner and watching the movie the girls played with Charlotte's Tangled legos

Next we had Monsters Inc:

For dinner we had Chinese food from "Harryhausen's" it was reach but I didn't feel like cooking


The girls love Chinese!


Mike and Sully cupcakes for dessert

Pearl LOVED Monsters Inc. She wants to watch it all the time! I even got her a Boo doll from the Disney store for Christmas because she loved it so much. She also loves to play Randell and crawl up behind you and yell "RAWR"!

And it wasn't exactly a "Movie Night" but AMC showed some of the older princess movies and we went with our friends to see Beauty and the Beast. It was Pearl's first movie at a movie theater, and it will be her last for a while. She did not understand the concept of sitting and watching the movie. She did however enjoy the popcorn part!




We are doing a Cars Movie night this Friday, I'm trying to expose the girls to the movies they don't normally pick on their own.

I'll be back tomorrow or the next day to finish up that awesome MK night!

 

[annie170]

Coming from someone with three daughters, girls are the best! When I hear people complain about having girls, I remind them that it's usually daughters who take care of their parents in their old age. Either way, congrats on a healthy baby!

You are so creative with your movie nights!

 

[Katniss]

Loving your report and congrats!!!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

Coming from someone with three daughters, girls are the best! When I hear people complain about having girls, I remind them that it's usually daughters who take care of their parents in their old age. Either way, congrats on a healthy baby!

You are so creative with your movie nights!

Thank you! Yes I love having girls, I always thought I'd have boys but I was meant be a girl mom!

Loving your report and congrats!!!

Thank you!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

The Crowds Were Worth It!

I can't seem to find all of my pictures from this day, so sorry for the lack of pics.
So after we finished up with Peter Pan we needed to decide what to do next we had about an hour until our VLM FP. So I checked the app and it said that the Little Mermaid meet had a 15 minute wait. That was all Sug needed to hear that was what we were doing next! We walked that direction and when we got to the grotto and the sign said a 35 minute wait. That did not matter to Sug, that was what she wanted to do, so we jumped in line. Pearl on the other hand, was not having this line. She squirmed, cried and laid on the floor for most of the line. The promise of meeting a princess meant nothing to her, lol. When we finally got to the front of the line Pearl was in full blown tantrum mode. Ariel was not having it and did everything she could to cheer her up. She even pulled out a big dinglehopper! This meant the world to Sug, she really loved how kind Ariel was to her sister.

Not a happy camper




Sug was now a full blown Little Mermaid fan!


After our meet we noticed that Dumbo had no wait so we went over there to ride that. The girls loved Dumbo! Pearl was now a happy camper again and all was right with the world!


After Dumbo we finally used our VLM FP (which were totally not needed as there was NO line). Sug loved this ride too, and solidified that Ariel was one of her favorite princesses ever!

Our goal was to ride rides and enjoy the atmosphere until the 12 am fireworks, which are the same ones they show on New Years Eve the next day. So we kept moving towards tomorrow land. We stopped at the Tea Cups and there was a 5 minute wait so we hopped in line, and had a great ride.



After the tea cups, we went to the People Mover and could not believe that was a walk on as well. As we got on I commented how short the lines were here on the 30th of December. And then I looked over the crowds near the castle and realized the crowds were there, they were just watching the first fireworks show. I don't think I have ever seen so many people in my entire life!!!

After the people mover, we decided that we need a snack break. Bob wanted a LeFou's brew so we went over to Gaston's. On the way there I saw the super cute Mickey Santa popcorn buckets and decided we needed one so we got a popcorn. We went in and got our drinks at Gaston's and sat down which Charlotte loved. She couldn't believe it looked exactly like the movie. We sat there for a long time enjoying our snacks. Somewhere there are some pictures of this, and for the life of me I can't find them!

After our break we decided to squeeze one more ride in and went over to Its a Small World. Pearl loved this ride! She was wide eyed and pointing out everything!

We thought we should probably stake out a spot for fireworks after our ride so we collected our stroller. The ledge in front of Pinocchio's was open and I thought I had read watching the fireworks from the back of the castle was a good view so we grabbed it. Sug was not happy at all, she wanted to skip the fireworks and keep riding rides. We overruled her and told her we were watching these weather she liked it or not. At that point it was very very cold so we bundled the girls up in there hats and coats and settled in to wait about 30 minutes before the fireworks started. Sug whined and complained the whole time about how we were wasting precious time but we assured her these were no ordinary fireworks.
Finally, they started, and oh my gosh! I didn't take a single pic because I was just taking them in. They were the most amazing fireworks I have every seen in my life! There were moments when it was so bright it was like daytime. Even sug was impressed and admitted she was not wasting time by watching them. If you think you could ever tolerate the crowds they are worth it! And, I didn't go to a park on New Year's Eve but I think seeing them on the 30th is the better move.

After the fireworks we decided it was time to call it a night. The park was open until 2am but it was cold and we were just kind of done. So we waited a few minutes for the crowds to die down and made our way to the buses.

I do have one picture that I snapped on our way out.


On our way out, Pearl fell asleep. But there was no line for the bus back to POFQ and a bus pulled right up. Bob told me to get the two exhausted children on the bus and he would fold up the stroller and get on. So I carried my sleeping baby and Sug curled up beside me. The bus filled up and no Bob. Then I noticed everyone was watching one guy outside, I looked out the window and it was Bob. He didn't know how to fold up the stroller and he was wearing a bunch of stuff around his neck, the lights necklaces we brought with us, and the Mickey popcorn bucket. As he wrestled with the stroller the lights and popcorn were flying all over the place. Some people were like "aw poor guy" and others were laughing because it was funny. I would have helped him except I had sleeping children all over me. Finally the bus driver came out and helped him figure out how to fold the stroller. Everyone clapped as he finally joined us on the bus. Now, in Bob's defense, the stroller did not fold properly and it took a certain motion of the wrist to get it closed. I had folded it up every other time, and it was made worse that he was wearing our junk around his neck, poor guy.

We finally made it back to POFQ and the girls went straight to bed. With Bob and I shortly behind them. It had be a fantastic day but we were beat!

 

[siestakeys04]

Lovely review congratulations on the new baby!!!!

 

[starousse]

Joining in. Loving your report.

 

[Dugette]

Wow, sounds like a fun late night and amazing fireworks show! Poor Bob with the stroller! Glad they got it figured out!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

Lovely review congratulations on the new baby!!!!

Thank you! and happy to have you along!

Joining in. Loving your report.

Thank you! and I'm glad to have you along

Wow, sounds like a fun late night and amazing fireworks show! Poor Bob with the stroller! Glad they got it figured out!

Oh it was a great night! I forgot and left the best part out, he forgot his belt that evening and his pants were trying to slide down the entire time! So he was also wrestling with them. Poor guy! When we got back I showed him the trick to getting it closed faster and luckily that was the only time it happened.

 

[Jackiemarie21]

Okay so here I am almost a year out from starting this thing and I've been so slow at it! I really hope I still have some readers!
I'm going to try and finish this up before the new baby gets here and then after the newborn insanity dies down I'm going to start a new PTR, because we booked another Christmas trip! My favorite magical agent had a special for the week between Christmas and New Years 2018 at the Wilderness Lodge, and spending a Christmas trip at WL was a dream so we jumped on it!

So since I last left you all in Oct. I have a few updates, obviously very exciting one, is the booking another trip! But we also confirmed the gender of the new baby is a girl (I have seen it 3 more times, so its official, lol), we had a great Christmas and holiday season and another movie night, Cars!

For dinner we had "race car subs" and spare tire pasta salad




And to drink we had "motor Oil" Root beer in cups I thought looked like upside down cones


And for dessert Stoplight brownies


The girls really enjoyed the movie night


It was good to see a movie they might not have chosen on their own but they really enjoyed!

Alright that is it for life updates, stay tuned for another update, hopefully tonight!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

New Years Eve
This is where our plans really started to go off the rails. We had originally planned to go to AK on New Years Eve because we had heard its not overly crowded on NYE. However, when we made the decision to stay late the night before at the MK we thought it would be better to skip a park altogether and do Disney Springs and maybe a nice dinner. So we didn't set any kind of alarm or anything, we were just going wake when we wake up and take it slow and easy. So about 9 am Pearl and I were awake and we started to get ready. Around 10:30 Sug and Bob started stirring and we were ready to head out at 11.
We skipped Disney Springs on our last trip and this time I really wanted to try WPE and allow the girls to check out the World of Disney. I didn't want them to spend all their money just yet, but I though they would enjoy picking something out. I also need to add that they were given an obscene amount of spending money by my brother and dad for Christmas.
So we started out with lunch at WPE. Bob went and ordered while the girls and I found a seat.

Charlotte was very hungry and impatient while waiting for our food



Finally our food came and it was totally worth the wait
I ordered the bacon wrapped meatloaf because I heard so many fantastic things about it, and it DID NOT disappoint! It was delicious!


The girls split an adult cheese ravioli, talk about a good deal on the dining plan! and they loved it!


Bob got the BBQ chicken pizza and he enjoyed that too


My notes do not say what anyone else got for dessert, but I got the cheesecake and it was also amazing!


After we finished eating, we collected our stroller and Pearl settled in and fell asleep right away. Sug on the other hand, was ready to do some shopping! I took her into the World of Disney and boy she was impressed. She decided for her first Disney purchase she was going to get an Anna baby, (I can't find a pic, but it was the stuffed dolls that look like babies wrapped in a small blanket). They were a little cheaper if you got two at once so she decided on another Ariel one. Sug was beyond thrilled with her two new babies and I decided to get a few things too!


We always get a magnetic frame to put a special picture from the trip on our fridge, we got our dogs the Mickey Bar and Waffle toy, because sug thought they were so cute, I got a new Alex and Ani braclet, that had a 2017 charm, three new hand sanitizer holders and two new coffee mugs. We decided we were done at World of Disney and decided to talk a walk back to the Christmas shop to get a new ornament to commemorate the trip (its is in the pic above too). While we were in the store Pearl woke up and Sug showed her the new babies she got and of course Pearl wanted something new too. Bob waited in the Christmas shop to get our ornament personalized while I took the girls to Once Upon a Toy to let Pearl pick something out.
Sug somehow convinced her that she wanted the babies too, and she talked her into getting a Stitch and Rapuznel one. About the time we were done getting two new babies for Perl Bob was done, we decided that was enough Disney Springs for the day. We made a quick stop to look at the trees decorated for all the different characters. They were fun but I don't think I'd make a special trip just to see them. We caught a boat back to POFQ and went to take a rest and decide what to do with the rest of our day.
Being at Disney Springs on NYE during the day wasn't bad at all. The crowds were similar to what we had experienced in the summer.

 

[Jackiemarie21]

New Years Eve Part 2
So after a nice afternoon at Disney Springs we decided to rest for a bit. Pearl was a little cranky and I assumed it was because she was still tired even though she took a stroller nap. I put her down for a nap and decided I should take one myself. So Bob and Sug explored the resort a little bit. Bob took this pic of Pearl


The dress she is wearing has Tiana and other Princess and the Frog characters on it and I made it for the Tiana riverboat dessert party, but it was too cold to wear that day.
I think they also swam for a little bit while we rested. After I woke up I started debating about what we should do this evening. Our ideas were to have dinner at Boma a restaurant I had been wanting to try, or hang at the resort and check out their party which we heard was fun. I went back and forth and ultimately decided to take the Boma ADR. Just a bit of foreshadowing, it was the wrong choice.

We got ready and made our way to Animal Kingdom Lodge. We got there about an hour before our ADR time, which was our fist bad move. We wanted time to check out the resort but they were about 45 minutes behind. So we were left with almost two hours of time to kill.
The resort was beautiful and very impressive.


We walked around the lobby and pool area and then went to see if we could see any animals. No luck there. That killed about 30 minutes. So we found a seat and just waited.
We took a couple of pics.






I'm super bummed that these were the only pics we got because these were my favorite outfits of the trip and we didn't even get one nice pic!
When we were finally called for our ADR we took our seats. Sug ordered a coke to drink, we don't normally let her have it but it was a special night at a special place.
And Pearl got a lemonade. After receiving our drinks, Pearl started crying and throwing a fit. This is very much unlike her, even eating later usual doesn't normally make her react like this. We all got plates and tried to eat, however Pearl would not snap out of her fit. Sug was acting so grown up and trying lots of new foods and making the best of the evening.
So here are two plate pics




I did not want to disrupt the other diners, so I decided to take Pearl out to pool area while Bob and Sug enjoyed their meal. Pearl still did not calm down. This should have been my first indicator of what was to come, but I just thought she was tired. The food was absolutely amazing even though we had a cranky baby. Bob came out and gave me a turn to eat while he sat with Pearl. Sug hung with me at the table keeping her great mood. Then we got dessert:

I really liked the zebra domes and the bread pudding. The other things were just okay. Sug found some cake type thing that she really liked. After we finished we texted Bob to make sure he didn't want anything else. We paid our tip and met back up with Bob and Pearl.

Pearl was still rather inconsolable. We got everyone in the car and bam we ran into major traffic. We spent the next two hours in the worst traffic I have ever been in. I don't know if it was because of the holiday, or the construction or what, but holy moly it was terrible. Both girls ended up falling asleep and we rang 2017 in waiting to make a left turn. Despite our trip being fabulous up until this meal it was a pretty bummer way to ring in the new year. I also should have realized at this point something was wrong with Pearl, but I was thinking she was just tried from traveling and a different schedule, etc. However, I need to stress, this is not her personality. She is normally a super flexible easy going kiddo.

I'm going to call it a night here, I hope to be back in the next day or so with more, so stay tuned!