In the Home Stretch Now - A Very Princess Pre-Trip Report

lebeau · Oct 15, 2012

When we left off, we bounced back and forth between the headline attractions in Tomorrowland and Adventureland. By this point, it should be just about time for our afternoon break.

I will be looking to get an early start on our break today for two reasons. One this is expected to be one of the bigger crowds we face during our trip. One of the reasons for taking the break is to avoid the heavy crowds in the afternoon. Two, we have a very busy evening planned.

When it comes to lunch, we’ll be looking at our counter service options. Honestly, the counter service options in the Magic Kingdom don’t thrill me. So if we like the Landscape of Flavors food court back at Art of Animation, we may just have lunch back there. But for the purposes of this article, I’ll assume we’re having lunch in the park.

The one rule we have about counter service in the Magic Kingdom is that we are never to return to Cosmic Ray’s in Tomorrowland. The place is a madhouse. We have eaten there twice and getting a table has been a hassle both times. I appreciate that they have a wide array of offerings, but having to stand in line at multiple “bays” is extremely frustrating. The entire set-up is a headache, especially with small children.

We’re not big hot dog fans, so Casey’s is out. In theory, we already ate at Pinocchio Village Haus on our previous MK day. I would like to try Columbia Harbor House as I have heard good things, but Mindy and the girls dislike sea food which rules out a big portion of their menu.

There’s a chance that the Be Our Guest Restaurant will be open for a counter-service lunch in the new Fantasyland. If that’s the case, I would be interested to try it out even though I must admit the French menu may be a little ambitious for my picky eaters. It is the one part of the Fantasyland Expansion that we might skip even if it is open.

That leaves us with Pecos Bills Tall Tale Inn and Cafe in Frontierland. Frontireland is nearby Adventureland, so Pecos Bills should be relatively convenient. It really comes down to whether or not we’re in the mood for burgers. Because Pecos Bills has a pretty limited menu.

On the upside, they have a very generous fixin’s bar to doctor up your burger however you like. And they do offer a few alternatives like a pulled pork sandwich, taco salad and a chicken wrap. But once again, it comes down to the kids’ menu. If Josie doesn’t want a burger, odds are we’ll go somewhere else.

One way or another, we’ll head back to the hotel. There’s a pretty good likelihood we’ll have lunch back at Art of Animation. Then we’ll relax and recharge our batteries. Because when we get back to the Magic Kingdom, we have a jam-packed evening in store for us.

Next up, princess make-overs at the Bippity Boppity Boutique.

lebeau · Oct 15, 2012

When we left off, we had finished our afternoon break on the last full day of our trip. Now, it’s time for the grand finale which naturally takes place at the Magic Kingdom. But first, we have to get ready. And that means, princess make-overs.

We have long flirted with the notion of taking the girls to the Bippity Boppity Boutique. In 2008, when we went to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, I went so far as to schedule an appointment for Josie. But ultimately, we canceled that visit.

Josie is a girly girl in most regards. But there are certain things she doesn’t care for. She loves having her nails done. But back then, she hated getting her hair cut or styled. We had some very uncomfortable visits to the salon when she was little. We decided not to tempt fate with an expensive melt down in the Magic Kingdom.

Kara is pure girly girl. When she goes to daycare, she shows off her new dresses to the entire staff. She has a reputation among the staff for two things. One, shopping for new outfits and two, for wearing princess dresses. Kara has a vast assortment of princess dresses and nightgowns. And she wears them all to school. Even the nightgowns. The women who work there make a big fuss over her every mornings and she postively thrives on it.

About a year ago, Kara entered into this princess phase. It is the reason we started planning a Disney trip. She kept asking when she could go to the castle and hug Cinderella. I was worried she would grow out of it before we would get to go. But as it turns out, she has only become more fascinated by Disney princesses (and Disney in general) over the last year.

One of the first things I did when I started planning the trip was to ask everyone what their “must do’s” were. At the top of Mindy’s list was taking the girls to the Bippity Boppity Boutique. Josie still has some reservations about it. But she likes the sash. I think she’ll enjoy it once she gets there. But for Kara, the BBB is sure to be a highlight.

I scheduled our appointment at BBB after our break in case the kids wanted a dip in the pool. I didn’t want to spend all that money getting their hair done and then have them undo it in the swimming pool. And I didn’t want a fight of whether or not they could go swimming. So, our appointment is scheduled for 4:00. That’s part of the reason we will likely start our break a little early this day.

Ideally, we’ll have a little time between our hair appointment and dinner. I would love to parade the girls through a princess meet and greet. However, I am counting on the make-overs leading right into dinner.

Originally, I had scheduled a reservation at the Crystal Palace close to 6:00 which seems like a normal dinner time. If anything, I like to schedule meals a little late at Disney World. Between the large lunch portions and the afternoon snacks, I find I am rarely hungry for dinner at the usual time.

However, I quickly realized that I hadn’t allowed quite enough time for dinner at the Crystal Palace. The Main Street Electrical Parade starts at 7:00. If we were seated late, there was no way we could expect to finish our meal in time to catch the parade. So I started looking for alternatives.

Crystal Palace was out. If I wanted an earlier time, it would be a late lunch rather than dinner. The most appealing sit-down restaurant in the Magic Kingdom with an open time that would fir between the Bippity Boppity Boutique and the parade was the Liberty Tree Tavern.

I had concerns about switching a character buffet for the Liberty Tree Tavern. While my kids don’t especially love Winnie the Pooh (and Mindy actually hates the “fat bear”), Liberty Tree Tavern just didn’t seem like as much fun. Also, Josie is a picky eater. The meal at LTT is basically a Thanksgiving dinner. And Josie tends not to eat much at Thanksgiving. So I was worried that she would come away hungry. That would equate to a huge waste of time and money.

I decided the best thing to do was to present Josie with her options. One, we could eat at the buffet with the Winnie the Pooh characters and possibly be late for the parade. Two, we could eat a Thanksgiving dinner at… she stopped me right there.

“I want that,” she said firmly.

“Really?” I asked. “You don’t usually eat much at Thanksgiving.”

“I had turkey at the school cafeteria and I love it now,” she inisisted.

I went on-line and started showing her pictures of the food just to be sure. She said everything looked good. She is now looking forward to our “Thanksgiving dinner” as a highlight of the trip. Hopefully she feels the same way when they bring out the food.

Next up, the parade and fireworks.

lebeau · Oct 16, 2012

When we left off, the girls got princess make-overs at the Bippity Boppity Boutique and we had dinner at the Liberty Tree Tavern. In theory we have a little time to kill before the parade starts. Although if dinner does run into the parade, Liberty Square is a great place to watch. I am told you can usually step out of Liberty Tree Tavern into a great parade viewing spot.

“The plan” has us going back to Tomorrowland for minor attractions like the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor and Tomorrowland Transit Authority. Odds are we will visit these Tomorrowland attractions at some point in the trip. But they aren’t a priority. They are on the schedule largely as placeholders.

Last trip, Josie was picked from the audience for the role of Boo in the Monsters Inc show. It was a good time. With two cute girls to choose from, I figure there is a pretty high likelihood one of them will be chosen again this year. Perhaps it will be Kara’s turn.

With the girls all dolled up from their BBB visit, we probably won’t focus on rides or shows. They will have their full princess glam on. So, if we have time between dinner and the parade, we will probably take the opportunity to visit any princesses we may have missed up to this point. Josie in particular wants to visit Merida while wearing her Brave nightgown.

Since our previous day at the Magic Kingdom was cut short due to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, this will be our only night to catch the parade and fireworks. So that will be our focus this evening.

The Main Street Electrical Parade starts at 7:00. Kara is a big fan of the parades. Or at least she is when we watch them at home on YouTube. And the evening parades are always a little extra special.

Believe it or not, we have never seen the venerable MSEP. So we will make every effort to catch it this trip. Rumor has it that Spectromagic will be returning next year to celebrate the opening of the Fantasyland Expansion.

There is a little time between the parade and the fireworks. I want to see Wishes, but it is less of a priority than the parade. If there are any princesses we still need to pay a visit to, we’ll try to catch up with them between shows. If not, we’ll just settle in for the big finale.

One moment I am looking forward to is when Tinkerbell makes her flight around the castle. Josie is old enough that she asks me about whether or not things at Disney World are real. I take the approach that I’ll let her believe whatever she wants to believe. For whatever reason, she has decided that Tinkerbell is the litmus test.

In her mind, if Tinkerbell flies, it verifies the legitimacy of the whole shebang. So I can’t wait to see her reaction to seeing a live Tinkerbell circling the castle. That has the potential to be memorable.

The park stays open till 9:00. So in theory, we should have a little extra time for anything else we want to see or do before we end our last full day at Disney World. But we plan to come back for one final visit in the morning. So there’s a good chance we’ll head home after Wishes to avoid some of the crowd when the park closes.

Next up, breakfast at the castle.

lebeau · Oct 17, 2012

When we left off, we had just finished the last full day of our trip with the Mainstreet Electrical Parade and Wishes at the Magic Kingdom. Really, what’s left to do? Time to pack the bags and go home, right? Or we could cram as much Disney into our remaining hours as humanly possible!

To the surprise of no one, I have opted for the latter. We start off our departure day in style with breakfast at the castle. We actually had breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table on our last trip. It was an enjoyable experience that any princess fan should try once.

Last time, Kara was too young to really enjoy the experience. She was more interested in her french toast than the princesses who visited our table. Jasmin asked Josie if Kara was her little monkey. Aurora and Belle spent some time with her. But she kept trying to share her french toast with them.

Since Kara is now obsessed with princesses, we figured it was a good time to revisit the castle experience. However, Cinderella’s Royal Table is an absolutely terrible use of Dining Plan Credits. It uses up 2 table service credits for one meal. That is why we have opted for breakfast (the least expensive meal). We will pay for this out of pocket.

There is a possibility that we may cancel our reservations. I booked the meal for the final day for this reason. We will be having dinner with the princesses at Akershus in Epcot on our arrival day. We will have had several days to visit princesses at various meet and greets around the parks. So, it’s possible we will have had our fill of princesses by this point in the trip.

Breakfast is all-you-care-to-eat. However, it is pre-plated rather than a buffet. Guests order from a menu, but can order as often as they like. Traditionally, the food has been adequate, but not exceptional. Recently, Disney changed up the old breakfast menu.

A lot of the old favorites are still around. But there are some interesting new choices as well.

Lobster and Crab Crepes - warm cheese-filled crepes topped with spinach, sauteed lobster, and blue crab meat with a poached egg perched on top and draped in Hollandaise sauce
Steak and Eggs – grilled filet mignon on a mild Chipotle-caramelized onion frittata served with our signature rosemary-lemon roasted potatoes
Traditional Breakfast – scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, and rosemary-lemon roasted potatoes
Healthy Choice – scrambled egg whites, hot ten-grain cereal, green yogurt topped with Castle-made granola, no sugar added walnut-sunflower bread and fresh fruit
Cream Cheese-stuffed French Toast - drizzled with Cognac chocolate ganache served with bacon and fresh fruit
Baked Quiche - goat cheese, spinach and mushroom quiche with a dollop of goat cheese cream served with rosemary-lemon roasted potatoes tossed with arugula, (child’s portion available)

I think I may have to check out the lobster crepes for myself.

Our reservations are for 9:00 am which is when the park opens. Ordinarily, I hate burning park hours on breakfast. But last time we struggled to get there on time for our 8:00 reservations. And I didn’t want to feel rushed. Plus, since this is our departure day, I am going to have to get the bags ready and check out before we leave for the day.

Next up, the Fantasyland Expansion?

lebeau · Oct 19, 2012

When we left off, the trip was winding down. We started our departure day with breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table. Once we finish breakfast, we should be able to spend the rest of the morning doing whatever we want in the Magic Kingdom. Our flight leaves at 4:30, so we’ll have to head back to our resort in time for our Magical Express bus.

As I mentioned before, there is a chance we’ll cancel that breakfast reservation. There are a few reasons for this. If we are tired and feel like we have seen and done everything we want to do, we might opt to relax on our departure day. Maybe hang out at the pool or Downtown Disney.

There’s also another possibility. I have talked a lot about the Fantasyland Expansion and the potential to see a “soft opening”. Currently, Disney has a schedule for previews for everyone from cast members to annual pass holders to DVC members. Sadly, we do not fit into any of those groups.

It is not expected that Disney will allow regular guests into the previews for annual pass holder or DVC members. Although it is possible that when they see my girls’ smiling faces, they will make an exception. I can’t really count on that.

Our first day at the Magic Kingdom is actually the last day of cast member previews scheduled. That makes it one of our best chances to get into the Fantasyland Expansion. But currently, our best chance is on our departure day.

At present, there are no previews scheduled for our departure day. In theory, that should leave it wide open for regular guests like us. After breakfast, we should have at least a couple of hours to explore the new land which should be sufficient.

However, Disney just announced that they will be adding additional previews for annual passholders as demand exceeded supply. Honestly, I can’t say as I was surprised to hear this. It is almost always the case when Disney offers an exclusive event with limited availability.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Nov 6 will remain open to all. It’s election day. What could be more democratic than allowing the masses into Fantasyland? Or at least my family. Come on, Disney! Have a heart!

I like to think I won’t beg, but there is potential for a scene on our last day.

Assuming my tears fail to gain us entry into Fantasyland, I have nothing scheduled for our remaining time in the Magic Kingdom. We will use the time to catch any attractions we may have missed in our previous two days. Or to revisit favorites.

When the time comes, we’ll head back to our resort to await the Magical Express bus back to the airport. Hopefully, my children can console me. We haven’t even left yet, and I am sorry to see this trip coming to an end.

Next up, changes to the plan.

lebeau · Oct 19, 2012

When we left off, my family was dragging me kicking and screaming back to the airport. After 4 full days in the parks and two half days, we’re headed back home. That’s it. I’ve covered the entire trip. So, what’s left to cover?

As it turns out, there have been changes as I have been writing this countdown. This has been an especially difficult trip to plan. With the opening of the Fantasyland Expansion, things have been even more in flux than usual at Disney World.

Most of the changes are very small in nature. For example, I made a point of noting character meet and greets on our first evening in Epcot. Among the characters that was exclusive to Epcot at the time was Marie, the kitten from the Aristocats and one of Kara’s favorite characters.

But since Disney has opened Pete’s Silly Sideshow in the Storybook Circus section of Fantasyland, they have shifted several characters around. Marie moved from Epcot to Daisy Duck’s former location at the Magic Kingdom. That is a pretty minor change in our plans, but I have had to keep track of all the character movements.

I also made reference to the Character Spot at Epcot. Since Test Track is closed for refurbishment (and looks to remain so during our trip) Disney has been leaving the Character Spot and the Land Pavilion open late. Well, just this morning, Disney announced that it is also closing the Character Spot for refurbishment. Although characters are expected to continue meeting nearby at Innoventions.

Within the last couple of days, I heard rumors Disney was expanding operating hours for the days of our trip. This is good news in that it means more time in the parks obviously. But the great news was that Disney added extra shows of the Main Street Electrical Parade and Fantasmic.

The second show is always less busy than the first. That gives us a lot more breathing room on these days of our trip. Our afternoon breaks can go on a little longer. We can take our time in the evening. The shows will be less crowded and the bus rides home will be less stressful. I was hoping for months for this to happen.
There is a bit of a downside. For one thing, Disney only expands operating hours when they need the extra capacity. The fact that they added shows indicates they believe there will be crowds to watch them. Even though this is the off-season, the parks won’t be empty.

As it turns out, our trip falls during what is referred to as Jersey Week. Schools in New Jersey take off the week of Election Day. A lot of New Jersey residents take advantage of this break to visit Disney World during the off season. So, there is a good chance we’ll see lots of the friendly folk from the Garden State.

Also, these new hours will force me to go back and recalculate my plans. Honestly, that’s not much of a down side for me. I was probably going to do that anyway. I’ll probably tinker with the planning tools even after our trip is over.

I have begun organizing all of the various things I have planned over the last several months. Among my tasks was verifying my dining reservations. As I was doing this, something scary happened. I realized I had messed up a reservation. Instead of scheduling dinner at the 50′s Prime Time Cafe on 11/03, I had scheduled it for 10/03. My reservation had come and gone.

Fortunately, I still had dinner scheduled at Mama Melrose as part of the Fantasmic Dining Package. I had intended to cancel that when I scheduled the 50s Prime Time Cafe. But since I scheduled that for the wrong day, the system didn’t detect a conflict and I wasn’t prompted to cancel my earlier reservation.
So, the good news was that I still had dinner reservations. The bad news was that they were at 3:45 in the afternoon. That odd dining time was throwing off my whole day. Breakfast, lunch, showtimes. Nothing quite lined up with that dinner reservation.

As soon as I realized my mistake, I set about looking for alternatives. But two weeks out, dining reservations are hard to come by. Especially during Jersey Week and especially when the Free Dining promotion is being offered. Both of which are the case during our trip.

I started looking at swapping out our Animal Kingdom Day with our Hollywood Studios day. Nothing was off the table. I was basically back to square one. Eventually, I narrowed it down to 4 choices.

1. We could keep our 3:45 reservations at Mama Melrose. But with the newly added 9:00 show of Fantasmic, we really didn’t need the Fantasmic Dining package any more. The entire reason for eating at an off time had been made more or less irrelevant.

2. I was able to book a reservation at the Hollywood and Vine buffet at 6:00. This time was pretty ideal. But Hollywood and Vine, while not as bad as its reputation suggests, is probably the least appealing sit-down dining choice at Hollywood Studios.

3. I was able to book a reservation at the Sci Fi Dine In at 7:45. We like the Sci Fi Dine In. It’s fun. The food gets a bad reputation, but it’s been fine both times we have eaten there. The time was later than I would like, but with the big portions at dinner we tend to eat later than usual any way.

4. Finally, we could eat at the 50′s Prime Time Cafe at 8:00. 50′s PTC is Mindy’s favorite place to eat. But 8:00 was too late for us. We would almost certainly miss the 9:00 showing of Fantasmic.

I ran the options by Mindy and she shot down the two late-dining choices. She didn’t want to make tired and possibly hungry kids wait so long for dinner. I had to agree. I really didn’t have an ideal choice.

I have always been told that if you don’t get the reservations you want, you should never give up. People cancel reservations all the time. Especially close to their trip. Some people book multiple reservations and then drop the ones they don’t intend to keep as their trip approaches.

So, I kept hammering the search engine at the Disney Dining website. I must have searched three dozen times yesterday alone. I had just about given up for the day when I got the Holy Grail (at least for us). 50′s Prime Time Cafe, table for 5 at 7:00.

It was perfect. Just what I needed! I tried to book it immediately. The webpage froze up. I got an error message. I had to log back in and repeat my search. The entire process took less than a minute. But with so much on the line, it seemed to take forever.

Finally, I was able to trade out my 3:45 reservation at Mama Melrose for the more desirable 7:00 reservation at 50′s Prime Time Cafe. Crisis averted.

lebeau · Oct 21, 2012

We’re getting into the final days of the countdown. I have already mapped out my plans for the trip in excruciating detail. Which is really kind of pointless, because last-minute changes to park operating hours have shaken up those details. The overall plan remains the same, but the step-by-step itinerary I have spent the last 38 days laying out has been turned on its ear. Which is probably just as well. Once we get into the parks, all bets are off anyway. As I have said in every count down article so far, things never go according to plan.

Having spent over a month detailing my touring plan, I’m going to switch things up for the last few days of the countdown. From here on out, it’s a grab bag. You never know what I’m going to cover next. Frankly, neither do I. See, I can be spontaneous!

Today, I’m going to look at one of my favorite things about Disney World. Something that I remarkably did not even mention in my previous 38 articles. Snacks. We’re on the Disney Dining Plan this trip. That means that each of us will get 5 snack credits to use during the trip. That makes 25 snacks in total. Yeah, that’s a lot of snacks!

We tried out the Dining Plan for the first time on our last trip. We actually paid for it out-of-pocket largely out of curiosity. That’s not something I am likely to do again. As it turns out, I think the dining plan probably cost us more than if we had just paid out-of-pocket. We were pretty inefficient in the use of our credits. Especially with regards to snacks.

The thing is, portions at Disney are huge. I can put some food away, let me tell you. But I found myself still full from lunch when dinner rolled around. I remember showing up for all-you-care-to-eat dinners not especially hungry. But they were already bought, paid for and scheduled. So, what are you going to do? As a result, we didn’t eat a lot of snacks. We did what so many other Disney guests on the Dining Plan do. We used a bunch of snack credits on our last day so they wouldn’t go to waste. We came home with a big box of cupcakes from the Port Orleans Riverside food court.

I am going to make every effort not to make the same mistake again. However, if we do come home with a box of treats, I won’t feel as bad about it since the Dining Plan was “free” this time.
There are a lot of signature snacks at Disney World. I’ll run down a few.

One of the best-known Disney “snacks” is the turkey leg. Or, as Josie called it, a “chicken foot”. This used to be considered a snack on the Disney Dining Plan, but that is no longer the case. No matter. I could never bring myself to sample the big meaty, salt-injected slab. But for a lot of people, it’s just not Disney World without a chicken foot… er turkey leg.

That’s kind of how I feel about the Mickey Premium Bar. This ice cream treat is simplicity personified. It’s basically your run-of-the mill ice cream bar. You can by similar bars at your grocery store. These bars are produced by Dove for the parks. I would imagine the taste is very much like a regular Dove bar. But something about munching those chocolatey, creamy ears in the park just feels so right. It may be simple, but it’s also ice cream perfection. Especially on a hot day.

There is an entire subculture of Disney fans that worship at the altar of the Dole Whip. They have passionate arguments about different variations on the pineapple treat. Frankly, I find them confusing. To the best of my recollection, I have never had a Dole Whip (although it’s possible I had one in my youth and don’t remember).

Basically, a Dole Whip is a pineapple soft serve. I believe you can also get it swirled with vanilla ice cream. (I’m sure a Dole Whip fan will correct me here.) You can also get it served floating in pineapple juice which is known as a Dole Whip Float. There is also a Citrus Swirl which involves orange soft serve. I believe there are other variations as well. It is all terribly complex to the unitiated. But those within the Dole Whip cult swear by this stuff.

Recently, cupcakes have developed their own cult-like following at Disney World. Pretty much anywhere you go, you will find cupcakes. But some are superior to others. The cupcakes at the Starring Roles bakery at Disney Hollywood Studios are infamous for their size and decadence. The massive Butterfinger cupcake is a mound of chocolate cake, frosting and crushed-up candy bar that few can take down in one sitting. And also, an excellent use of a snack credit.

Another excellent use of a snack credit is the homemade ice cream sandwich. Instead of wasting a snack credit on a single cookie, you get two. With a heaping scoop of ice cream sandwhiched in between. It’s like three snacks smooshed together in one.

From a dollars and cents perspective, one of the best uses of a snack credit is a funnel cake. These are available all over property. But Sleepy Hollow in the Magic Kingdom is probably the most popular location. These snacks go for about $5 which is on the upper end of what you can get with a snack credit. Mindy loves funnel cakes and Josie fell in love with them this summer at Kings Island. So this one is a must-do.

My ideal use of a snack credit is for breakfast. The idea is to save the expensive table-service credits for dinner, the moderate counter service credits for lunch and the cheap snack credits for the morning meal. You can use a snack credit for a variety of breakfast pastries. But one of the most popular is the gigantic cinnamon rolls at the Main Street Bakery. If you feel like going into sugar over-load, ask for extra icing. They will scoop it on.

If you’re not in the mood for something sweet, there’s probably something wrong with you. Or maybe you’re just overloaded from the gigantic cinnamon rolls. Either way, Disney offers a variety of hot pretzels. You can get them shaped like Mickey. Or they offer pretzels stuffed with cheese. And yes, they also offer sweet pretzels if your sweet tooth still hasn’t been satisfied. The cinnamon dusted cream-cheese stuffed pretzel is a favorite.

I would be remiss if I failed to mention Goofy’s Candy Co and the Make Your Own Treats. This is a bit of a misnomer because a cast member will actually assemble your treat for you. But you will get to decide what components the treat is made up of. Basically, you start with a base treat. A cookie, rice krispie treat, marshmallows, pretzels, etc. Then they dip it in chocolate and cover it in candy, crunched up cookies, sprinkles, etc. You can really go overboard on these things if you want.

These treats used to be included as a snack credit on the Dining Plan. My understanding is that it is inconsistent these days. You may be able to get some things for a snack credit depending on who is minding the store that day. If you plan to use a snack credit, be sure to ask up front what is and is not allowed.

That’s really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Disney World snacks. They also offer all the usual theme park fare like popcorn and churros. You can sometimes get sides like egg rolls or french fries. Or you can opt for a healthy snack like fresh fruit. There are literally hundreds of snacks to choose from.

Next, must-meet characters.

lebeau · Oct 21, 2012

A lot of people tend to look down their noses at character meet and greets. They take time out of your day that could be spent on one-of-a-kind attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion or Tower of Terror. But for us, meeting the characters is an equally important part of the Disney World experience.

Originally, I had not intended to revisit Disney World until after the Fantasyland Expansion was completed. I had figured 2014 would be a good year to visit. But Josie got impatient. And last fall, Kara entered a princess phase that has only intensified over the course of the year.

She started asking us daily when she could go to the castle and hug Cinderella. (Another win for Disney marketing.) This finally broke us down to the point where I started planning a trip in earnest. So, in a sense, this trip was really born out of a desire to attend meet and greets.

As you can imagine, princesses rank pretty high on our list. Obviously, Kara has to hug Cinderella. Although she no longer makes that specific request any more.

One of the complaints about the princess franchise is that it makes the princesses somewhat interchangeable. There similarities are emphasized. The differences that make the characters unique can be overlooked. They become pretty girls in sparkly gowns.

To an extent, I think this is true. While we intend to visit all of the princesses, I don’t think any one of them is make-or-break for the trip. With two princess dining experiences on our agenda, the odds are good that we will meet with Snow White, Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) and Belle. But if any one of them is a no-show, we won’t go out of our way to track them down in the parks.

There are a couple of exceptions. Ariel is a favorite of both of my girls. And we have never seen her before. She is typically in attendance at Akershus. So, I expect we will see her on day one of our trip. But even if we do, we will try to see his in the Fantasyland Expansion as well.

Why does the Little Mermaid merit two visits when other princesses may not get one? Because Ariel can be seen in two forms. At dinner, she appears in her ball gown like all the other princesses. But in her grotto in Fantasyland, Ariel appears in mermaid form. And Kara prefers her with the fishtail.

Another favorite of both girls is Rapunzel from Tangled. Both girls have Rapunzel dresses and Kara recently bought a Rapunzel braid from the Disney Store. She wants matching shoes and a wand which I will probably run out to the Disney Store to buy today since they are on sale. She wants to wear her full Rapunzel gear for her face-to-face visit with the long-haired shut-in princess.

Rapunzel doesn’t typically appear in any of the princess meals. So, we’ll have to make a special visit to see her. In the future, she will likely appear at the Tangled-themed restrooms currently under construction in Fantasyland. But for now she appears with two other princesses at the Town Square Theater on Main Street.

The other must-see on our list is Merida from Brave. When I took the girls to see Brave this summer, they didn’t especially like it. But they like Merida all the same. Josie in particular has a fondness for the Scottish princess. I think it is because Josie and Merida are both a little less girly than some of the other princesses.

Josie never got into the princess craze to the extent that her little sister has. Kara wears princess dresses to school almost every single day. The frillier the better. If Josie sees something itchy on a dress, the deal is off. As a result, she has owned far fewer princess dresses than Kara. But she does have a Merida-inspired nightgown that she wants to wear to meet the flame-haired princess.

The other female face characters are non-essential. But if we happen to see them, they will be an added bonus. Kara especially wants to see Jasmin since she has really gotten into Aladdin. Mary Poppins and Alice are almost honorary princesses in our house. We won’t go out of our way to see them. But if we can visit without much of a wait, we will. Pocahontas and Mulan barely register.

Moving on from princesses, Tinkerbell is another favorite. Kara’s Tinkerbell dress gets rotated in with all the princess dresses. I actually bought this dress for Josie. One day at the mall, she decided she just had to have it. We bought it as a Halloween costume and then had to change into it immediately. After that, Josie mostly lost interest in it. But Kara has gotten more than my money’s worth out of it since. She accessorizes with a pair of fairy wings that she believes flaps when she walks.

Another pair of “face characters” (characters whose faces aren’t covered by a mask) who are fairly high on our list are Peter Pan and Wendy. When Josie was Kara’s age, she became interested in Wendy more than most of the princesses. She had a blue dress we called her “Wendy dress” and she wore it all the time. Currently, Kara is interested in Peter Pan thanks to Jake and the Neverland Pirates. We won’t go too far out of the way to see these characters. But if we can catch them in Adventureland without much of a wait, we will.

Speaking of Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Kara is somewhat obsessed with the Disney Jr. show. She alternately refers to it as “Captain Hook” or “Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Me.” Ideally, she would like to meet all of the characters from the show with the exception of Hook who is “mean to kids”. Unfortunately, Jake is the only character currently appearing in the parks. But we will visit him at Hollywood Studios and see the rest of the characters in puppet form in the Disney Jr Live show.

Another Disney Jr. favorite is the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. This show has served as an introduction to the classic Disney characters for an entire generation of kids including both of my girls. Kara is the perfect age for the show. Watching it has made her want to see Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto and Goofy. We will see the majority of characters from this show when we have dinner at Chef Mickey’s on our second day.

There are a few characters from the Clubhouse who don’t appear at Chef Mickey’s. Fortunately, these characters are pretty easy to see elsewhere. For whatever reason, Daisy Duck is one of Kara’s favorites. She has a stuffed Daisy from the Disney Store which is one of her favorite stuffed animals. Daisy has recently moved from the front of the Magic Kingdom to Pete’s Silly Sideshow where she appears in a circus costume with Minnie Mouse.

We are big Chip and Dale fans in our family. Either Chip or Dale (I couldn’t tell the difference at the time) was Josie’s first meet and greet. Later that same day, she had a fun meet and greet with both chipmunks. She blew them kisses from the line and they fought over who got to keep them. It was precious.

Since then, we have had lots of fun visiting with the chipmunks. You never know what they are going to do, but they never disappoint. A lot of characters just sign your kid’s autograph book, hug and pose for a picture. But not the munks. They always throw in some antics. Chip and Dale recently moved from Tomorrowland (where they had ridiculous costumes) to Frontierland (where they are dressed as cowboys).

While we are in Frontierland, we’ll also keep and eye out for Woody and Jessie from the Toy Story movies. On Josie’s first trip, she loved all the characters we met except Buzz and Woody who scared the heck out of her. But on our last trip, she inexplicably fell in love with Jessie. She picked out a Jessie doll from Mouse Gears in Epcot and carried it with her everywhere she went. For the better part of a year, it was her most prized possession.

Since then, Jessie has ceased to be a constant companion. But she is still a sentimental favorite. Two years ago, Josie was Jessie for Halloween. She has a Jessie ornament for the Christmas tree. And she has had a variety of Jessie T-shirts, sweatshirts and PJs since 2010. The Jessie doll is still in her room even if Josie doesn’t always know where she is.

I have mentioned Marie several times during this countdown. Marie is one of the kittens from The Aristocats. During the 80s, Disney started a marketing push around Marie. While the rest of the cats failed to catch on in popularity, the white kitten with the pink bow has been popular with girls. Kara, whose middle name is Marie, has a stuffed Marie doll she likes. She calls Marie “my cat”. So, we’ll pay a visit to Kara’s cat at her new location by the flag pole on Main Street.

At Epcot, there is only one unique character who makes our list. He is Duffy the Disney Bear. If you have never heard of this stuffed bear, it’s because he has never appeared in any Disney movie or TV show. He is just a teddy bear that Disney sells in the parks. He is wildly popular in Japan which has prompted Disney to start pushing him in the US parks as well.

Duffy isn’t exactly a must-see. But the girls do like him. He’s a cute teddy bear after all. Fortunately, he’s not all that popular in the US yet. So he rarely has much of a wait in Epcot.

That’s a pretty hefty list of characters to meet, greet, hug and photograph. I am not sure we’ll get to them all, but I have no doubt we’ll see enough to make everyone happy. We may even see a few characters whom I haven’t mentioned if the timing works out right. There are always surprises.

Speaking of surprises, I’m not 100% sure how Kara will react to the characters. Last trip, she was too young to care much one way or the other. I am sure she will do fine with the face characters like the princesses. But the other characters are iffy. I think she will be fine with the characters she is familiar with like Jake and Minnie Mouse. But Woody and Jessie may be another story.

To prepare her, I have encouraged her to visit the Peanuts characters from Kings Island this summer. I have been able to get her to pose for pictures with the girls; Lucy, Sally and Peppermint Patty. But she wanted no part of Snoopy or any of the boys.

On our last visit, she reluctantly blew Snoopy a kiss. He blew one back which made her laugh her head off. That seems to have made her more receptive to characters. So hopefully we can build on that momentum.

Josie, on the other hand, is a character meet and greet veteran. She just likes having her picture taken. So, she’ll pose with any character as long as there is a camera to capture the moment.

Sweet Melissa · Oct 21, 2012

Your plans sound great! You have a really detailed itinerary scheduled. I'm glad you guys seem pretty flexible about it, though. Things always seem to go awry at Disney World, and we never seem to get as much done as we think we will. Especially with little ones, going with the flow is important to keeping moods light and your sanity intact.

It's great that you and Mindy have scheduled some time for just the two of you. I love that she's looking forward to her massage as she wasn't so keen on this vacation a few weeks ago. Personally, I don't do well with massages. I don't like being touched and tend to tense up, which makes the masseuse think they have to dig in even deeper. So don't be uptight like me! If you relax, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

lebeau · Oct 22, 2012

Sweet Melissa said:
Your plans sound great! You have a really detailed itinerary scheduled. I'm glad you guys seem pretty flexible about it, though. Things always seem to go awry at Disney World, and we never seem to get as much done as we think we will. Especially with little ones, going with the flow is important to keeping moods light and your sanity intact.

It's great that you and Mindy have scheduled some time for just the two of you. I love that she's looking forward to her massage as she wasn't so keen on this vacation a few weeks ago. Personally, I don't do well with massages. I don't like being touched and tend to tense up, which makes the masseuse think they have to dig in even deeper. So don't be uptight like me! If you relax, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

I have to admit, I'm a little nervous about the whole massage thing! But I'm sure it will be okay. Mostly, it's just about spending a little down time together.

On the whole, everyone is looking forward to the trip. I'm sure things won't go accoding to plan. But I think the planning will help ensure that we are ready for whatever Disney throws are way. We'll have fun no matter what.

lebeau · Oct 22, 2012

With 10 Days left to go, I thought it would be fun to do a Top 10 List. So, these are the Top 10 New Experiences I have planned for our trip. Some of these experience are new to the resort. Others are just new to us.

10. The Fantasyland Expansion
I am lumping the whole thing together because there is no guarantee we will get to experience it this trip. If we do, it will be due to soft openings. At present, I like our chances pretty well. But there is also a very good chance we won’t be admitted.
If it was a sure thing, I would break down the various components of the expansion. Honestly, it would probably dominate the top ten. But since there is a strong possibility we won’t see any of this stuff during our trip, I don’t want it taking up a lot of space on the list. For that reason, I am also giving it the lowest spot on the list.
Out of the entire expansion, the element I am looking forward to the most is the Journey of the Little Mermaid ride. Not so much for my own enjoyment. I have seen the videos on-line. But I know my girls will enjoy it if they get to see it.

9. The Art of Animation Resort
The theme park commando in my can only get so excited about a hotel. In theory, it is a place to sleep in between days spent touring the parks. That’s where the action is.
But in reality, we will spend a fair amount of time at our resort. With little kids, afternoon breaks are important. Weather permitting, I expect to spend a lot of time at the Nemo and Little Mermaid-themed pools.
Also, we are staying in a suite for the first (and probably last) time. I’m looking forward to having the extra room. This is especially nice with little kids who can feel constraint in the typically small Disney hotel rooms.
If we are only going to stay at the Art of Animation Resort once, now would be the time. My kids are young enough to appreciate the over-sized character statues and colorful room decor. Later, we may opt for something more subtle and less “tacky”. But the look and feel of this resort is perfect for families with small kids like ours.

8. Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
This is the third time I have scheduled a resevation at this princess meal. And yet, we have never eaten there. Although I have some concerns about some of the picky eaters in the group, I have heard mostly good things about the food.
The main attraction here is the interactions with the princesses. We have two princess meals scheduled during our trip. This will be the first and also the only one that is new to our group. Later in the trip, the girls may have princess fatigue. But at this point in the trip, face time with the princesses will still be new and exciting.

7. Star Tours 2.0
There aren’t a lot of new attractions on this list. Why? Well, there aren’t a lot of new attractions at Disney World. And I have seen and done most of the attractions at all of the parks save for the evening fireworks displays.
As a Star Wars fan, I have always enjoyed Star Tours. But it was beyond dated. Disney should have updated it a long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away). This will be my first trip back since Star Tours got its make-over. I can’t get too excited over the new bells and whistles, but I am definitely looking forward to checking it out.

6. Wishes
This is the first fireworks show on the list. Traditionally, we have skipped out of the parks early to avoid the mad rush home. The kids were tired and sometimes fireworks scared them. So, we haven’t seen a lot of the park-closing fireworks displays.
I doubt we’ll catch them all this trip. But if we can take in one or two, I will consider the trip a success.

5. Mandara Spa at the Dolphin Resort
There are a whole lot of firsts here for me. My wife and I are taking an afternoon for a couples massage. Not only is it my first massage, it is the first time I have ever had any kind of a spa treatment. It will also be our first time stepping inside the Dophin Resort.
I’m looking forward to a relaxing “date night” (even though it’s in the afternoon) in the middle of our trip.

4. Bippity Boppity Boutique
It wouldn’t be a princess trip if the girls didn’t get princess make-overs. We have scheduled appointments at the BBB before. But like Akershus, we have always cancelled them in the past. This year, I think the girls are old enough to enjoy the experience.
We are going to the BBB to kick off the last night of our trip. The girls will be all blinged out for the final parade and fireworks display.

3. Fantasmic!
I have been trying to see Fantasmic! since 2003. And yet, somehow, it never pans out. The show is a mixture of fireworks, live action and animation clips projected on a screen of mist. The storyline focuses on Mickey as he imagines a battle between himself and several Disney villains.
Recently Disney added a second showing of Fantasmic! on the night we plan to see it. This greatly increases our chances of seeing the show since the second showing is always less busy than the first. Now, my biggest concern is that the villains may scare the kids.

2. Main Street Electrical Parade
One of my favorite Disney memories was taking Josie to see the Spectromagic parade on her first trip. Since then, she hasn’t really had the patience for many parades. But Kara loves watching them at home on YouTube. I’m hoping she enjoys the Main Street Electrical Parade as much as her sister enjoyed Spectromagic when I took her to see it.

1. Illuminations
Of all the fireworks displays, Illuminations is generally considered the best. I can’t really weigh in since I have never seen any of the regularly shown displays. Having heard so many rave reviews of Illuminations, it is the show I am looking forward to the most. Although as I mentioned, I’ll be happy if we stay for any one fireworks show during our trip. If we see them all, I will condier it a major victory.

Sweet Melissa · Oct 22, 2012

I like your Top Ten! I'm crossing my fingers for some New Fantasyland previews while we're down there, but I'm not very confident. I'm glad you are, though. Since you're down there the same time we are, it means I have a chance!

I've been on Ariel's Undersea Adventure at California Adventure, so I probably wouldn't wait in line for that during this vacation. I just really want to walk around New Fantasyland and see (and hear!) the theming and atmosphere.

lebeau · Oct 22, 2012

Sweet Melissa said:
I like your Top Ten! I'm crossing my fingers for some New Fantasyland previews while we're down there, but I'm not very confident. I'm glad you are, though. Since you're down there the same time we are, it means I have a chance! I've been on Ariel's Undersea Adventure at California Adventure, so I probably wouldn't wait in line for that during this vacation. I just really want to walk around New Fantasyland and see (and hear!) the theming and atmosphere.

Josie and I went for a walk tonight. She asked me if we would get to ride the new Little Mermaid ride in Fantasyland. I explained the concept of a "soft opening". I said it was possible we would get in, but not guaranteed. She told me she was sure we would get in when the cast members saw her and Kara's smiling faces. Hope she's right!

Like you, I'm mostly looking forward to walking around and soaking up the atmosphere. Frankly, the attractions aren't all that exciting. But Josie really wants to ride TLM. She's practicing her cute face to get in.

Sweet Melissa · Oct 22, 2012

OMG, Josie sounds adorable. I really hope you guys do get in just so I can see that cute smiling face in your trip report!

lebeau · Oct 22, 2012

Sweet Melissa said:
OMG, Josie sounds adorable. I really hope you guys do get in just so I can see that cute smiling face in your trip report!

She's a ham. There will be lots and lots pictures no matter what happens. Both my girls start striking poses as soon as they see a camera.

I have been telling my wife for a year now that this would be the most photographed week of their lives.

lebeau · Nov 8, 2012

Still settling in from our trip. Had a wonderful time. A proper trip report to follow.

Here's a teaser.

Witchy Chick · Nov 8, 2012

lebeau said:
Still settling in from our trip. Had a wonderful time. A proper trip report to follow.

Here's a teaser.

Wonderful!!!! I'm so happy you got into New FantasyLand and that the girls got to see Ariel in mermaid form.

I can't wait to read the trip report.

In the Home Stretch Now - A Very Princess Pre-Trip Report

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