Happy Thanksgiving

I hope you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow! And I think you all know by now how thankful I am for my family and friends...which of course includes my sweet, precious girl.

Visit With Santa Claus

What a difference a year makes, huh? Briana LOVED talking to Santa Claus this year. This visit to Santa was seriously spur of the moment. I had no intention of Briana visiting with Santa on Friday, but Briana spotted him at the mall. She begged to see him. She looked rather "Christmas-y", so I said sure! Remember the picture from last year? The one where I had to crop myself out because Briana was sooo unhappy visiting with Santa?

And the year before when she wasn't super thrilled to visit with Santa but tolerated it? (She was just a baby then!)

This year was totally different. She told Santa she wanted a My Little Pony and an Ariel doll that goes into the bathtub. She was all smiles. And because there was no one in line behind us, Briana got to spend a few minutes of quality time with the big guy.



She promised to leave out a cookie for him on Christmas Eve and a carrot for Rudolph. It was such a cute moment!!! And I'm thinking she is going to get what she wants for Christmas this year. ;)

(As we waited our turn, there were two adorable little twin boys in front of us getting pictures with Santa. They looked about Briana's age. They got candy canes once their pictures were taken. One of the little boys came walking over to Briana and sweetly handed her his candy cane. He didn't even ask for it back. Briana just smiled and took it. I made her thank him. Um, can anyone tell me what was up with that?! LOL!)

Disney Final Thoughts - The "Hiccups" and the Great Things

(My mom captured the above picture.)

I think by now you all know what an amazing time we had a Disney. It was magical, special and wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.

Of course, all vacations have there - let's say - hiccups. Not every single second of a week long vacation can be perfect. Especially when you are in crowded quarters with lots of whiny, distracted kids and tired parents that are beginning to snip at each other. Disney is a busy and fun-filled vacation - emphasis on "filled". There is not a ton of time for relaxation - at least there wasn't for us. Lots of expectations to fulfill and lots to "cram in" in 5 days time.

So here are a few of the "hiccups" we encountered:
* Do not eat at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe in Magic Kingdom. The food was less than mediocre and the service was worse. And the seating was uncomfortable. It was the one place in Disney where wishes didn't come true - like getting bacon that was actually cooked on a cheeseburger - ewww (just ask my dad).
* Even though you have a reservation at the Biergarten in Epcot for 6:45 PM, you won't get in until 7:15 PM, and that is only after you complain. At least we got front row center for our trouble. The food and entertainment was worth the wait.
* Don't sit closest to the buffet at the Crystal Palace. Sit closest to the windows. Those were the tables that Pooh and his friends hit first. We were one of the last tables they hit. We were there 45 minutes and had only seen two of the four characters. We actually had to ask to approach Tigger or we would have never seen him before we left the restaurant. Unfortunately, the characters were taking too much time at each table. They needed to speed it along. And that wasn't just the characters' fault. Families were making too many requests for extra time with the characters. Hug the character, get the autograph, take a few pics and let them move on already. (On the other hand, Akershus was awesome. We saw every princess without one issue. It was a very well run production.)
* Standing in the drenching rain to watch "Illuminations" at Epcot kind of bites. It was a great show, but my sandals got really squishy. It was the only time Briana cried at Disney. After the show was over, she cried "I'm soaked." (She was just a little wet. Mommy and Daddy were the ones that were soaked.)
* Disney is the child meltdown capital of the world.
* Don't accidentally step in front of a woman taking a picture of a scuba diver in a water tank at "The Seas" or she will get on you about it. Believe me, I know. That lady needed a major chill pill.
* Even though you have your curb reserved for the Spectromagic parade, people will try to squish in next to you. Forget personal space.
* Don't accidentally run over someone's hand with your stroller while you are waiting for the parade to start. It is kind of embarrassing.
* Try not to get annoyed when your daughter is complaining that the line for the Dumbo ride is not moving fast enough and is also begging to ride the purple Dumbo over and over during the 20+ minute wait. Then she changes her mind and wants to ride the yellow Dumbo when she gets to the front of the line.
* Even though I walked miles each day, I still gained three pounds.
* Don't wait until mid-afternoon to try to hit Toy Story Mania.
* You cannot do everything in each park in one day - especially if you have a young child with you. Each park needs two days at the least to hit everything. Especially Epcot because it is HUGE. We were only able to hit three pavilions and four countries in one day.
* When the weatherman says that the weather will be cold, believe him.

Here are the great things I learned:
* Do your homework. Read books and online Disney sites. Take advice from your friends that have been there and done that. I can't tell you how much my friends helped me know what places to go to and when to make reservations for which restaurants (you know who you are!). :)
* Have your customized maps ready to go. I knew what I wanted to hit and when. It was so helpful.
* Do as many character dinners as you can. Briana's eyes lit up at every character meal.
* Book those meals 90 days in advance or you might not get the time you want.
* The Spectromagic Parade was amazing, as well as the fireworks at Cinderella's castle. Do not miss those.
* Definitely buy an autograph book. Every page of our book was signed and Briana loves looking at it.
* I LOVED the monorail access. It was SO convenient.
* I love the Polynesian Hotel. It was a great place to stay.
* The food was great at most places - thus the three pounds I gained.
* November was a perfect time of year to go to Disney. It was very crowded but not unbearable. The weather was wonderful. I can't imagine the crowds that flock to Disney in the summer and the week of Christmas.
* Soarin' was AMAZING! Go to it first thing in the morning.
* There is nothing like seeing the magic of Disney through your child's eyes.
* Disney is magical and wishes really do come true.
* I have the best, happiest and most wonderful daughter in the whole world.

My daughter loved this vacation. And so did her mommy, daddy and grandparents - despite the small handful of hiccups. I am so happy that Doug and I could give her this gift.

Thanks for enduring/surviving my week of Disney talk. Ok, bring on Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Day 5 - Disney Hollywood Studios

Welcome to Disney Hollywood Studios! And it was freakin' cold!!! I watched the news on Wednesday night and heard a cold front was coming through Orlando. But we are in Orlando, right? I can't get THAT cold. RIGHT? The weatherman in the morning said it would be a chilly start but then warm up to 69 or 70 degrees. We're from Georgia - that's perfect weather. We can take it! It will be a beautiful day! So, Doug, Briana and I all put shorts and short sleeve shirts on and we had coats in the car if needed (Disney Studios isn't on the monorail, so we decided to drive over). I never stood outside to check how cold it really was. I mean, we're from Georgia! We can take it! Well, we stepped outside and waited for our car (in valet). It was chilly. Really chilly. Crud. Too late to go back to the room for jeans. (I did have jeans packed for everyone for the record - I was just stupid not to actually put them on.) I did have a blanket in the car for Briana (as you can see above), so she was golden as she sat in her stroller. The weather did warm up toward early afternoon, but it was a pretty chilly morning.

We ran into a funny street performance. They have those going on all over the park.

First stop, The Little Mermaid.

We were ushered into a waiting room before we could enter the theater. Briana was being silly and we were passing the time. Then I looked to my left...

...and spotted the Buckeyes and Eggrolls family live and in person. At least I thought I did. They looked so familiar but it was a darkened room. What if I was wrong? The woman really looked like Robin to me, so I said her name quietly. If she didn't respond, then I would know it wasn't her. Well, Robin turned around! I knew Robin and her family would be at Disney World when we were, but never in a billion years did I think we would actually run into each other. So many parks to visit and thousands and thousands of people - no way it could happen. But it did! It was so amazing!

Maddy and Briana...

And we sat together for the show!

The show was amazing by the way...





We said farewell to Robin, Marty and Maddy and headed over to Hollywood and Vine for our Disney Playhouse lunch. Briana was being silly with Daddy as I got her lunch from the buffet...

Excitement as the characters visited our table...

We went on the Great Movie Ride after lunch. It was really cool...



Then we headed to the Pixar area. I wanted to get into the "Toy Story Mania" ride, but the wait was 70 minutes or more and the Fast Passes were all gone. But, then I spotted Buzz and Woody signing autographs in the window across the street. The line had been cut off and the next round of autographs was not for another 40 minutes. So while Doug entertained Briana, I waited in line to make sure Briana got to meet Buzz Lightyear. She is one of his biggest fans. And yes, I am the BEST mom in the world.


Next stop after that was the Backlot Studio Tour.

Briana cracking up at what just happened.


This is what happened...



Lastly, we checked out Muppet Vision 3D. I remember it from 18 years ago when I went to Disney Studios (then it was MGM Studios) as a teenager. It was still really funny.

Then the icing on the cake. We ran into Mike Wazowski. Or as Briana calls him "Mike Wa-Ouchy." Look at her. "Oh my gosh Mommy, it's Mike Wa-Ouchy!"

And this was my girl at almost 5PM. That's how long we were at Disney Studios. She looks a little tired, huh? :)

(Next post, I will wrap up my Disney recap with some closing thoughts and opinions. Stay tuned...)

Day 4 - The Magic Kingdom, Part 2

There was so much that we weren't able to get to at Magic Kingdom on the first day, so we went back on Wednesday. We started the day visiting with some characters and hitting "Toontown."

Minnie Mouse's House...



Mickey's House...


Once we left Mickey's house, we were directed into a tent with Mickey and Minnie Mouse. This was Briana's reaction when we entered the room...


Donald Duck's Boat...

This ride is Goofy's Barnstormer. It is a roller coaster. Miss Thang made me ride it with her - twice.

Then we took a ride on the Disney World Railroad...

We stopped in Tomorrowland and saw Monsters, Inc. Laugh Factory and had lunch...

We finally got onto the famous Dumbo ride. The wait was 40+ minutes the first day, so we didn't wait in line. The line was only about 20 minutes long the second day - done!


And Briana went with us into the "Haunted Mansion." She always says she is a "brave girl." Well, she was right because she loved the ride!

After a nap at the hotel, we headed back to Magic Kingdom for the Spectromagic Parade. It was AMAZING.

And we had no idea that Cinderella's castle now looked like this... (This is a G0ogle image - I couldn't get a really good shot.)

The parade was spectacular. Truly magical!!!







This was my best shot of the castle...

And here is a short clip of the parade.



(Last day - Disney Hollywood Studios!)