Look Dad, no hands!
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Why is everyone in that photo smiling (including the horse!) except for Tessa?
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They came back to get Phoebe for her turn while I went to the Ice Cream Palace and ordered some breakfast for Phoebe and I to go. This was becoming another part of our routine and the fresh cinnamon rolls were getting addictive.
Tim said that Phoebe got so excited about the horses that she had a "seizure" while she was riding. I'm surprised they didn't catch her more animated than this.
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She rode the same horse as Tessa.
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The girls got a certificate and a cute, straw cowboy hat, that of course, neither of them will wear.
When we were all ready to go we hopped in the car and Tim drove around the village to show Tessa the ducks that had camped out on one of the villa's lawns. She was really loving all the ducks and was not thrilled with us leaving without petting them.
I have no idea what time we left GKTW or arrived at MK, because I didn't care. Today was the stress-free, no expectations, no plans, version of visiting the Magic Kingdom. It might have been around 11. We parked, got on the ferry, got a locker (that we never needed but who cares! I'm not stressing!), got our stroller and were on our way.
Tessa anticipating our arrival on the ferry. (Yep, the time stamp on this photo makes it 11:20) The ferry was much more crowded than the other day. Will the park be also?
Stopping for pics by the entrance. They were all pretty bad, but this one was decent.
Right as we walked out to Main St we saw a huge long line for some characters. It was Pluto on one side and Daisy on the other. We were closer to Pluto so we slowly approached the line. We didn't do so hot on the "front of the line" access last time. We were apprehensive about all these people seeing us walk ahead of them. I didn't hear any comments or notice any looks, but frankly, I was trying not to! When we got close to Pluto the CM saw us and asked us to wait just a minute. It looked like it would be a successful attempt. As soon as the current family was done the CM asked the next family to wait and ushered us over to Pluto. The girls both enjoyed meeting him, no fear or shyness. We got his autograph and some photos.
When we were done with Pluto we figured why not Daisy as well? So we worked our way around the people in that line toward the front. Right as we got there the CM was walking Daisy away and said she'd be "right back". We waited for a minute or two but at this point the sudden departure of Daisy had clearly disappointed the people who were getting close to the front of the line and they started to eye us suspiciously. We decided Daisy was not a "must see" for the girls (even though she's my favorite of the classics, seems like the only one with her head on straight!) and we left the line to head down Main St.
Walking down Main St at noon as fireworks went off over the castle. I guess we missed a show, but who cares! It was a nice way to be greeted on Main St.
It looks a little crowded but not too bad. I like this one of Main St because the castle looks a little dreamy back there in the clouds.
Photopass pics....
(That one made me laugh because not only is there a pile of horse poop in the street behind us, there is a guy taking a picture of it!?!)
I had read about a photo shoot they will do for you at Exposition Hall. I thought it would be fun to have the girls' portraits taken as Princesses in their dresses since they weren't able to wear them to the castle as planned. Not knowing where we were going we walked to the end of Main St looking for Exposition Hall, not finding it, of course, because it's at the beginning of Main St. So we turned around and went back to the front. We found Exp. Hall where a sweet CM wouldn't let go of Phoebe. She just went on and on about what an angel she was. We walked around inside looking for anything to do with a photo shoot or studio and finally asked a CM about it. He told us that they do it at Tink's Treasures. Okay. No problem. We headed back up Main St.
Before I go any further, let's take a little trip (up and) down Main St through a child's eyes. Tessa's to be exact. She was given a Kodak disposable camera before the trip and I handed it to her when we got to Main St, the first time. Of course she knew exactly how to use it, having had lots of practice on Mommy's old digital (now broken, ahem), but it was difficult, if not impossible, to explain to her that the number of shots were pretty limited. (Insert naggy mom's voice saying "Back in my day, cameras only took 24 pictures at a time. And you had to wait a week to see what they looked like!")
Phoebe's wheels. I would say that I'm going to go clean them now, but she's getting a new one soon.
Jams and Jellies in a store window.
Light pole? Train station? Mistake? Nah, creativity.
Main St character.
The Photopass photographer taking OUR picture while Tessa takes hers.
The trolley.
The bubble lady.
Behind Bars.
Waiting to meet Pluto.
We've made it to the end of Main St (again) and our mission is to find Tink's Treasures and do this photoshoot. As we got close to the castle I saw the garden spot where Tiana was last time and we went over to see if she was there now. Nope. I was getting worried that we weren't going to meet Tiana on this trip. We asked about Tink's Treasures and got some confusing answers. We couldn't find it on the map either. While we were searching I saw the First Aid station and Crystal Palace restaurant in the distance and I knew that the Wish Lounge was right there and would be a great place to change the girls' clothes. We got them changed grabbed a couple of waters then went back on the hunt for this place. There was a parade going by as we came out of the Wish Lounge and we watched from a distance. It was the same one we danced in last time so we didn't feel the need to get into it at the moment. As we got near Tiana's spot I saw that she was there! We approached the CM at the entrance of the line and right beside us was another family approaching. The CM hesitated and I could see that she was about to explain something but saw our MAW/GKTW buttons. I slowed down and let the other family get there first. The CM asked if we were all together and the other family said no. The CM then told them that Tiana and Naveen needed to leave for a bit and would be back at blah blah blah. Oh no, not again! The family walked away and the CM looked at us and told us to walk back around to the exit. Phew! She hollered over to the other CM that we were MAW. We waited for the current family to finish up and then it was our turn. I was so happy that we didn't see Tiana the other day because on this day it was perfect. She was so sweet and so nice to the girls and Naveen was awesome too. He was the only Prince we would meet on this trip, actually. They are the family favorite at the moment because we took the girls to see their first theatre movie in December and saw The Princess and the Frog. Naveen noticed that the autograph books made for us by an online friend which had their photos on the front, and Tessa's has her face superimposed on Tiana's body. They loved it.
Phoebe loved Naveen. Just look at these smiles!
Tiana made a big deal about Tessa's dress, of course.
It was so fun to meet them on this trip. If she wasn't before, she is totally my favorite princess now. I hope that they start adding her to the character meals and the Toontown meetings. (Or whatever will be in Toontown after the big change they're doing.)
Okay, so one mission accomplished! Back to finding Tink's Treasures. Somehow Tim found out that this place is no longer called that, it is now Castle Couture. Good grief. We went inside and talked to a photographer about doing this special portrait shoot, which is normally part of a "makeover" in the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. She said something about putting BBB girls first but yes, they do take others' photopass pics here and she would love to do ours.
Tessa enjoying the view in the mirror.
Adjusting her tiara.
Phoebe as Cinderella (pre-Fairy Godmother makeover)
Tessa as Tiana
I changed them back to their "everyday" Tiana clothes and headed out to enjoy some rides! If you remember our first Disney day was a very rainy, late start day that didn't allow us to fit in very many rides or characters. I was determined that this re-do day would be different. We found the nearest ride, Peter Pan, and were offered to ride it twice. Am I the only one who likes this bedroom's paint scheme?
After two turns on PP we headed toward the teacups but Phoebe needed a bathroom break. Can I just say (if I haven't before) that I just hate using public restrooms with my children? It seems we both end up touching just about every surface in there, and Phoebe grabs at me for balance and it's not unusual for me to get some fingers in my mouth or eye or my clothes pulled off my body. It's always a stressful experience, but thankfully it's usually over in a few minutes, I scrub us all up the best I can and we move on. Well, this bathroom experience was typical and after I met back up with Tim near the teacups I realized, as we approached the ride, that I had been wearing the Guest Assistance Card and "magic button" in the bathroom and set it on the t.p. dispenser to keep it from getting dipped in the toilet or some other catastrophe. The plastic envelope that held these important (but replaceable) items also had our tickets (replaceable???) that had one day remaining to be used, and our photopass card that had tons of photos on it already (and like a dummy I did NOT follow the advice I had been given to write down or take a pic of that number). Needless to say I was starting to have a coronary. I rushed back to the bathroom as quickly as I could and ran into the last stall where we had been a few minutes ago. Thank goodness it was there! I guess it was a big enough restroom, and the handicapped stall was at the farthest end, that no one else had used it since we left. I imagined that even a good Samaritan would have taken it and turned it in to someone. So we had no hassles of lost or stolen cards and tix and moved merrily on our way!!! When I returned to the teacups Tim had been talking to a family that we recognized from GKTW. Don't remember the names now, but it was fun feeling like we had "friends" in the crowd. We rode the teacups and the girls seemed to enjoy it. Then we started to get hungry.
We found a little window that was selling "fast food". Tim and Tessa had hot dogs and Phoebe and I shared a chicken ceasar salad and we all shared french fries. It was basic, quick food, but good. It was pretty crowded this day (nice and sunny!) so there were no tables outside available when we got our food. We had taken a few bites when I saw a family about to get up from a table so I started to make a beeline for it and I accidentally ran over a woman's foot who was walking past us! I felt bad but she had to have seen me coming! MOVE IT OR LOSE IT LADY!!!
So we snagged the table and finished our lunch. Tessa was getting bored and running around chasing birds, Tim was chasing her and Phoebe was eating as slow as molasses, as always. I saw a family of three looking for a table and offered to share with them, since it was only Phoebe and I at that point sitting. They gladly accepted and we chatted a little. They were from NC and had driven to FL so they had lots of suggestions for our second week when we would be heading north, which got me excited for it!
While Phoebe was finishing eating her lunch I had given Tim the GAC and told him to go ahead and ride Dumbo with Tessa since we were right next to it. By the time Phoebe was done I was able to meet up with them at the front of the line and have her join them for the ride. I don't know why the GAC didn't seem to speed things up for them, but the timing worked out well anyway.
We headed off to Toontown at that point, where we never even made it to on Monday. I was surprised though, that there wasn't that much there that the kids wanted to do. We rode Goofy's Barnstormer roller coaster and Tessa wanted to go twice but we distracted her since the CM didn't offer and we didn't feel it was worth getting out, going around the whole line to the exit again. She was getting spoiled, thinking that every ride was going to be something she could do twice in a row. After that ride we found the area where Mickey and Minnie meet people. At first the CM was kind of rude, we forgot to leave the stroller outside since we are always pushing Phoebe around we tend to forget that other sets of wheels are prohibited in many areas. Then they saw the GAC and pointed us to a different hallway than the main area where people waiting were watching classic Mickey movies. Tessa had a tantrum that we didn't get to watch the movies. She got over it when we met the Big Cheese a couple of minutes later.
Phoebe liked these guys and just really wanted to clap those giant gloved hands.
I was a little sad that we hadn't met Minnie on our first MK day because Tessa was so adorable in her Minnie dress, but oh well. I was glad that this day was going a better so far.
After we came out of the Country Fair or whatever they call that building I asked a CM where we could meet Ariel and the fairies. She was obviously here on a work visa from some exotic country because her broken English conveyed to me that she wasn't completely sure. I used the map to try and figure it out and we had walked back out to the teacups. I saw a CM walking along talking (in an authoritative manner) to another CM so I hoped this man knew his stuff and asked him. He explained that Ariel wasn't there for the time being because of the re-do of Fantasyland. The fairies (and princesses) were back right next to where we had met M and M. Sigh. I thanked him for his help and then we decided to come back to that area later. We had two more lands we hadn't even set foot in yet!
We wandered into Frontierland and I immediately start asking people where the Dole whips were sold. I did NOT want to miss them. I was assured we hadn't got there yet so I was content for the moment. Phoebe fell asleep while we were walking. She was probably hoping we'd hit up the wish lounge again!
We saw a couple of characters that we thought Tessa would LOVE to meet, but she wanted no part of this exchange.
Phoebe loved those big hands again and couldn't have cared less if it were our next door neighbor or the president of the US. She just saw hands that needed clapping! There was a fairly long line and we felt a little guilty coming up to the side by the CM who ushered in as the next family, but thankfully no one seemed to mind too terribly.
We looked around to see what rides the girls might enjoy and we watched Splash Mtn from the bridge a few times. Tessa decided she did not want to ride it (flashbacks from Atlantis at Sea World?) so we moved on to Thunder Mtn. We had a bit of a wait because the handicapped entrance is a narrow corral and there was a group ahead of us. Tessa was getting nervous listening to the screams of the riders that were going while we waited. Finally it's our turn and the nice CM's asked if we wanted front or back. I asked where is it calmer and she said front so we took the front two cars. I sat with Phoebe and at one point in the ride it went over a little hill that lifts you up in your seat. Phoebe took that as a prompting to STAND UP while the ride was still going. The safety bar was not close enough to her body to stop her from doing so and I was holding on to her, trying to force her to sit, for the rest of the ride. When we pulled up at the end they asked if we wanted to ride again and I said NO!!! But Tessa really wanted to so they let her and Tim go again without us. She loved it. I guess Phoebe enjoyed it too, but there was no way I was going to chance her standing up again.
We left Frontierland and walked through Adventureland where we met some more interesting characters. This one makes me laugh because it looks like Stitch is going to attack her.
A little friendlier pose.
She was looking back at me, not sure what's going on yet. Thought it was funny the photopass photog had gone to the back of then to get Phoebe's expressions and she turned away instead.
Tessa was feeling a little friendlier with these guys, but still a little shy for her.
As we continued through Adventureland I was getting worried that we were going to miss the Dole Whip place. Tessa had found a fountain splash area made of African drums that she was enthralled with and didn't want to leave so Tim left us and went to go ask someone.
Tessa playing near the fountains. She was telling other kids to go here and there, knowing they were going to get wet. I thought she was pretty bold to be doing that but hey, I guess those kids didn't mind getting wet.
After Tim came back with directions to the Dole Whip hut (not it's actual name) we realized we HAD passed it because it was right near Lilo. I ordered one for myself while Tim got a cone to share with Tessa. Phoebe doesn't like cold treats so I think we had something in our bag for her to snack on. In case there is anyone on this planet who does not know what a Dole Whip is, it is pineapple flavored soft serve in a float with pineapple juice. It's delicious and strictly a Disney thing.
Happy for now, we leave Adventureland heading back through the main castle circle by Main St, because we were headed toward Tomorrowland. We didn't make it far before a parade started. I guess this was the same one we had seen on Monday but it felt very different this time because of the crowds. We had no choice but to stop and watch it and after a minute or two the girls were pulled into participating in it. A CM dressed as a train conductor stopped at Phoebe and spent a long time clapping her hands and dancing with her. Tessa really got into the dance moves and you can see her behind Phoebe gettin' down. When the characters came down off the floats the conductor lady took Phoebe and Tessa and danced around the street with them. She was nice and spent the whole time with just our girls, but they had no idea why or who she was so it was kind of funny.
Tessa had grabbed some streamers that were flying and she was very proud of herself for catching them. Phoebe was exhausted and asleep by the time they told everyone to get back on the sidewalk so the floats could move on.
The family decided that we were hungry as we were heading into Tomorrowland and we had no ADR's for today because today was supposed to have been spent at Epcot/World Showcase. We had dinner ressies at O'hana that I had already cancelled. I was so bummed to cancel them but it was definitely for the best as we were able to get so much more done this day. So having no plan for dinner I recalled people here saying that Cosmic Ray's was pretty good so we started looking for that. While we were wandering we saw a handsome astronaut greeting his fans. Tessa was thrilled to see him as we approached but chickened out and didn't want to meet him. Phoebe seemed excited but it's hard to know what she is thinking. Without any sounds or voices I don't think she recognizes the characters but she is always so friendly I guess she's excited to meet just about anybody.
After that meeting we found our way to Cosmic Ray's and had dinner. It's weird how the place has three different areas to order at and you can't order the same thing from the first window at the second or third. We decided to simplify and all order from window three, which was burgers. I think they did have nuggets at all three windows though, because I'm sure that's what Tessa had. Tim and I enjoyed choosing some garnishments from the topping bar. It was a little crowded and hard to keep the kids occupied while we got everything settled. This CM was showing kids how to hula hoop and that kept Tessa busy for a little while.
I had mushrooms on mine and the burger was pretty good. Tessa was really restless and even though this was a casual restaurant she was up and down every ten seconds, bumping into people walking by, the tables near us and spilled her drink at one point. It was just one of the many stressful meals with her. I know she had at least one time out during the dinner. We always try to hurry so we can get her out of the place but Phoebe is the slowest eater ever and keeps one of us stuck at the table. Finally we left the restaurant and saw a nice view of the castle nearby so we checked it out. We made wishes in the fountain.
Lots of people had.
I saw a small walkway leading toward the castle and went exploring. Tessa made another wish in Cinderella's well.
Artsy fartsy shot.
On the way back down I noticed Belle's garden and thought it was so picturesque. I decided not to drag my family in there (it was pretty small anyway) but I couldn't resist a photo as we passed. I had hoped to go there for storytime with Belle but there is always just too much to do. Next time.
We decided to ride Buzz Lightyear but it took what seemed to be a long time to get on this one. I don't know what was going on but the CM seemed a little flustered and unsure of what he was doing when we could even see him. The wheelchair area was separate so I couldn't see the regular line. There were a couple of parties ahead of us and we were starting to get concerned and about to ask for info when he finally started loading people from our line. It wasn't long, I'm sure, but it was frustrating being in a separate area where we were left alone and clueless. Once we boarded the ride everyone had fun.
Looks like Phoebe had a great time watching Tim score with her blaster!
Apparently I was pretty into it too, although I didn't record anyone's scores.
Then we headed to Astro Orbiter just because it was close. This one took a while because of the elevator situation, but the CM did put us in as quickly as he could. The people we got in front of looked a little annoyed at first but we started chatting in the elevator and they got friendlier. Maybe they were relieved they weren't having to wait for another cycle of the ride.
View from the deck of Astro Orbiter.
Phoebe looks a little freaked out by this.
View of the moon rising up above.
After that we checked on Space Mtn for the height requirement but decided we didn't want Phoebe to ride it anyway because it is single file seating. If she tried to get up or out it would be hard to control her and with Space Mtn's history we didn't even want to try. We headed back toward Fantasyland and found out that the Fairies and Princesses meet literally right next to where we had met MandM. We head into the building and even though we don't see a line we ask the CM where to go, just in case the main line isn't accessible. She asked which group we wanted to see and I said "both!" but fairies first since we had met the princesses at lunch on Monday. She led us to a different area than where the entrance to the line was. I guess this was the general exit. We went through a curtain and then a back door and we were suddenly in a hallway filled with flowers and vines and nature noises. Pixie dust lights danced through the hallway and Tessa had fun chasing them. After a few minutes we were asked to proceed into the meeting area which I was amused to see was decorated to the max as Pixie Hollow. Everything was oversized so as to make you feel fairy sized.
We met Rosetta, then Tinkerbell, then Silvermist. Each one played their part to the max and spent a ton of time with the girls. Rosetta acted intrigued by the sequins on their shirts and asked if they were dew drops. Tink was a little more spunky and almost a brat but not overboard. Phoebe grabbed her hands of course, and Tink exclaimed "Oh! You're teaching me a secret handshake!" at which point Silvermist (who I guess was done with her last family) ran over and asked if she could learn it too! We told Silvermist we were from Arizona and we could really use some more water there, but she very rationally explained that the plants and animals that live there don't need any more water. They all acted very childlike and spoke loudly with simple words. It was pretty entertaining and both of the girls seemed to enjoy it. It was hard to pick photos to share because the fairies are so animated in all of them and usually one of the girls is smiling when the other is not. So, I apologize for the overdose of fairy faces here....
After we finished meeting the fairies in Exposition Hall and we asked the CM if we might also be able to visit with the princesses, which is entered by a completely different line. We waited near the exit for a few minutes and realized it was nine o'clock because we could hear the fireworks show starting. There was a family sitting on a bench nearby that looked very panicked and started whispering and pointing to the exit door we had just come out of. They got up and started nervously walking toward the door and I was wondering what they were doing. Then the CM came back to get us and motioned to the other family as well. I guess they had had a conversation we didn't see. We were all led to the waiting area just outside the princess room. We said something about good timing because of the fireworks. They started talking to us and explained that their son had Autism and was extremely agitated by the fireworks and they were looking for a quiet place to hide. The exit area where we first saw them was obviously not quiet enough. We couldn't hear them anymore but he still seemed nervous as we spoke. I was surprised when they got to their first princess when they told her that he didn't speak. I guess the fireworks had him all riled up for us.
We had a nice leisurely visit with three princesses who made sure to spoil the girls with attention. First up was Aurora.
She commented on the Tiana outfits and I reassured her that she was Tessa's first favorite princess.
Next was Cinderella.
Tessa was fighting off the exhaustion that was setting in and kept her energy up by rolling around the set. I thought it was funny that the Photopass person took this shot, so I decided to embellish it in a little irony.
Next came Belle, and the girls both seemed to like her, or at least her dress, the best this evening. They both wanted to touch and inspect it.
Belle was very friendly and asked me if this (looking toward Tim) was my handsome beast. It was a cute remark but kinda funny because Tim always lets his beard grow out when we go on vacation. It doesn't grow very fast so by this day it was just enough to start looking scruffy.
We thanked them all for being so gracious and left the building to find that the fireworks were thankfully over. We were all pretty beat by this time but we decided to ride "one last" ride. Well, Tessa and Tim chose the Tomorrowland Speedway. I knew Phoebe would freak out at the loud noise of those gas engines so we headed for the nearby teacups. It was a challenge getting her on and off the ride by myself, and reminded me to be thankful for Tim, but we managed and had fun. When Tim and Tessa met back up with us he said she was too scared to drive but seemed to have fun anyway.
We made our way toward the front gate and Phoebe was crashing hard.
By the time we got to the castle photopass photographer she was completely out. We did another sleeping pic and a regular pose but only the sleeping one came out so I guess we were meant to remember our exhaustion.
The crowds lining the street were for the Spectromagic parade that we had seen on Monday and did not want to watch again tonight. Tessa saw those huge doubled up balloons on Main St and was begging for one. She had asked earlier in the day and we had convinced her to wait so we wouldn't have to hold it (and eventually lose it) all day. So here they are again and she remembered. We approached the vendor who told us we needed cash. I don't remember the amount but I want to say $10? It was crazy and we didn't have it. I told Tim to go in the store and see if there was anything worth buying that we could get cash back with. We started roaming the store and the announcement came on that the parade was starting soon. I told him to just find her something to have as a souvenir and get OUT of there before we were trapped! I took Phoebe in her chair and grabbed the stroller and wheeled both to the stroller rental place to return it. I figured Tim stood a chance of getting out if he was walking but not pushing a stroller through the crowds. I was getting pretty worried but thankfully he showed up right as the music started for the parade! PHEW! Tessa didn't even end up with a souvenir but she was fine once she was distracted. We ventured out to the ferry at which point Phoebe had woken back up.
It was a great day and I'm so glad we scrapped the plans in order to do MK again. I still long to try Ohana and watch the fireworks from the Poly beach but the kids had more fun doing what we did.
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