Our Character Crazy Trip Report

As you may have seen from my preTR, we have been planning this trip for a couple of years...and minus a few issues here and there- it was as magical as we'd hoped for- and then some. Sure, we only did a fraction of what we had planned, but that was to be expected with a trip only a week long and two young kids. Probably the only thing I couldn't plan for was DD2 to finally hit the terrible 2s on this trip- thankfully, DD4 who is normally Meltdown Mama - was pretty good. I also apologize in advance if my references aren't all spot on- i.e. if I don't know all of the proper names for things- I know a lot, but I'm no expert. I also apologize for some of my sub par pics- I had issues on and off all trip. So, here goes (with the holidays- please be patient as it may take a little longer for me to update this)...

Day 1

We left IAH in Houston around 7:45am on Dec 7th for arrival at MCO around 10:40am. Aside from it being very chilly by TX standards (low 30s) and the crabby hag who told me to make DD2 shut up (crying b/c I insisted she wear her seat belt for landing), it was a fairly uneventful flight + I was able to pick out Epcot from the air. We made our way to the DME area pretty quickly and didn't have to wait too long for a bus.

The drive seemed to last forever, especially since we weren't the first stop (and b/c DH and both girls were doing the whole “are we there yet” bit). Thankfully, it wasn't too long before we arrived at WL and the tree/decorations had enough to keep them preoccupied for a while (after a while, DD4 started demanding to see Mickey in the lobby of the hotel).

We checked in online, but we still waited close to 30 min to get our keys, etc. At least our room was ready, so we headed upstairs. The girls really loved the towel creations- even though they couldn't quite grasp that one of them was supposed to be mouse ears (they lost interest by day 2 of towels).

We got all of our stuff situated and headed over to MK after a quick stop by the front desk for 1st Visit buttons (they were out – so I got “I'm Celebrating” and used a Sharpie to write in “my 1st Visit.” I wanted the first ride over to be by boat, I just wasn't planning on it being so cold and windy. We froze for a while, but the girls tried to make the best of it (aside from refusing to wear coats).

The boat arrived pretty quickly, and we were off! The boat would become our FAVE means of transport for the whole trip. The girls were pretty psyched to be on a boat; so, not much needed to entertain them. The tree outside of the Contemporary got the first big reaction,
but as predicted- the castle was the WOW factor. DD4 already had a pretty good idea of where we were after going in the main gate and going through the MK gate on the DME bus. In fact, after that first “Wow, it's the castle...”

...my follow up questions to make sure she knew where we were and what it was happened to be greeted with a “yes, I know, now stop asking.”

Good thing DD2 was more in shock and awe.

Love how DH had to shift her head to see it

THE CASTLE!!!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Okay! All done with my TR, so I'm here and I'm in!

Loving it already!

Thanks! Funny- you brought up the flowers before...it just hit me that the girls refused flowers most of this trip. I think they wore bows 85% of the time. Glad I brought both!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

When we got back to WL, we had another towel creation waiting for us and the girls had a little surprise in bed...made nap time even that much easier!

After nearly a 3.5 hr nap, the girlies were up and ready to go...

Somehow, I messed up the time for MSEP, so the streets were PACKED by the time we got back into MK. We found an OK spot to watch, got out all of the glow stuff I bought wholesale pretrip and waited.

I didn't start snapping pics during MSEP until we got to the Caterpillar. Something about the intro in the synth voice just as the lights go out and Baroque Hoedown really chokes me up. Then I just got caught up in the moment before DH reminded me I should be taking photos.

A funny thing- one of my classic Disney CDs has Baroque Hoedown and I'd been playing it for the girls to help prep them for the parade. We'd heard it on the boat earlier in the day and DD4 was letting everyone know that she had that at home, but when the parade started it clicked and it was "Mommy-Mommy! I know-I know what this is! It's the parade with the lights." So, my prep paid off!.

I love MSEP b/c it's what I grew up with. I've only seen Spectro on YouTube, so I can't fairly provide an opinion- I just know that when I see/hear MSEP...it sounds/feels joyous and makes me happy!

Next we had to scramble to find a spot for Wishes (I'd never fully planned on this b/c it wasn't added to the calendar until shortly before our trip),

 

[HouCuseChickie]

As we moved up the street, I tried getting some better pics of the castle, but still no luck...ugh!

Wishes brought a tear to my eye (never seen it before). We didn't have a great spot (off to the rt of Tomorrowland Terrace) and shame on me for not spending more time learning my camera (having little kids kind of takes all that time), but I'll at least share a little bit of what I captured.

We were stuck in the masses of people coming out of the park, but we got out with enough time to make it to our 8:55pm ressie at 'Ohana...or so we thought.

We got to the bottom of the platform ramp and some guy was coming off- griping about how he'd been waiting for a monorail for over 30 min and there have been no trains. We took our chances, got on line, and wouldn't you know it- we started moving and several monorails came through. Then, as we were nearly at the front of the line, everything came to a screeching halt. We stood in the same spot for ages...saw several trains come by that were either filled to capacity or having technical difficulties. By this point, we were late for our ressie. I tried to call, but I was getting no reception. So, we kept waiting b/c the kids were hungry. Finally, another train came and people were able to get on, but not without some line cutting- screaming- etc. We didn't make this train, but we were at least in the “we'll make the next one or second one” spot. Sadly, two trains came through after all of that and didn't stop due to technical issues and the five minute wait we were promised kept turning into another five minutes. DD4 now had to go potty and it was well after 9pm. We parted the seas, made our way off the platform, and took a boat back to WL and just gave up on trying to make it to 'Ohana. I'm sure we're not the only ones who missed out on good dinner ressies that night.

As we waited for the boat to leave- we caught the tail end of the water pageant. My photos are awful, but we saw the sea serpent and the flags/stars. This is probably the "least awful" of the pics.

I know- horrible- right!?!?! I was just so tired, cold, mad and hungry at this point.


First stop at WL was the bathroom- second stop- Roaring Fork. DH was telling our story to the CM behind the counter. Apparently, he used to work in monorail tech and felt our pain. He gave us some complimentary cookies for our troubles and offered to talk to the concierge for us to see if they could work on getting us into 'Ohana at a different point in our trip. Our days were so planned out that even if they could pull that off, it just wouldn't work for us, but a MAJOR shout out to CM Tyler at Roaring Fork for his EXCELLENT service. And my turkey and havarti sandwich with cucumber salad (as well as the chocolate caramel cupcake) were pretty yummy.

And now time to rest up since we have an 8:10am ressie at Tusker House the next morning + my parents and brother/SIL will be meeting us mid day.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Day 3


At this point, I wasn't really up for an early breakfast, but I promised the girls Daisy Duck and this seemed like the best way to do it – especially since the lines were so long for her at MK. So, we took an early bus to Animal Kingdom (or at least, that was the plan). The previous day, when we'd waited over 40 min for an MK bus, we saw 4 buses show up for AK- so we thought we'd be in good shape. We waited about 25min for the bus to AK....grrrr. All of this long waiting for early morning bus service was making me have second thoughts about the other two early morning character breakfasts I had planned. At least we learned from this that the AK bus stops at Grand Floridian first. So, the bus was a bit late, but we all made it to AK in time for our 8:10am ressies at Tusker House...of course we had to sprint!!!- along with everyone else whose bus was late! I also found it interesting that AK checked to make sure we had a ressie, while MK the previous day did not...just interesting. It was also a far less thorough bag check. OK- back on track...

This is the one park I've never been to...so I just remember running by the Tree of Life and feeling a little slighted since I didn't allow us that 'wow' moment.


We checked in, took our picture with Donald, were informed about our table being upgraded (I didn't see any major differences), and were seated. We were able to get food before the characters arrived. The food was OK, but nothing outstanding.

(OMG- I finally got one of the girls to wear a flower!!!)

(dd2 and I shared this b/c she was regressing into "feed me" mode on the trip)

We ended having the musical parade in our section with Daisy (maybe this was the upgrade???). We did it, but it was such a small thing and there really wasn't much interaction with Daisy. The girls didn't want to give the little music makers back and then they put the bin of them right near our table- so that was a bit of a fight the entire meal.


The girls met all of the characters, but the character interactions all felt very rushed and generic. Even Goofy was, well- not Goofy. He seemed a little better with a few other tables, but not much.

The girls were not digging being in Tusker House and were getting BEYOND antsy- so I paid my check as quickly as I could and got the heck outta there.

Next we walked toward Everest so I could get a FastPass. We encountered quite a few characters on the way. Sadly, they had no clue who Terk or Flik were, but at this point- any character was GREAT with them.

At least they knew the next two characters. They are BIG Jungle Book fans, so seeing King Louis was quite the treat. DD4 and I were both yelling “I wanna be like you!” He was really great with the girls- giving them some BIG monkey hugs.

Balloo was the one they really wanted to see out of all of this. Both girls were yelling “Papa Bear – Papa Bear” as they approached him. He had been hiding in the trees from one little boy who kept trying to track him down, but he popped out for the girls. He was awesome with the kids, but I think he scared DD2 a little. He pulled her up on his lap, bear hugged her, and started rocking back and forth with her. She still gave him a big hug and a kiss at the end...and DH and I were clapping and laughing hysterically (yes, we're scarring our kids for life).

 

[HouCuseChickie]

While I got my FastPass, DD4 found something to play with to pass the time.

They also checked out the Siamangs. They were still cold and just “chillin'” out, but they'd be swinging later. The girls are used to this as this is what the Siamangs at the Houston Zoo do as well.

We then headed back to the area we came from to take our first safari. While the safari is nice and it was the girls' first time seeing hippos and a black rhino (who was having too much fun chasing the birds to be photographed), we were all a little bit bored with it since we're members at our local zoo and go quite often.

At least the girls were a little more into it than mom and dad- so it was all justified.

I know AK is much more than a zoo and we will return b/c we missed things this trip, but with the Houston Zoo being in the top 10 zoos in the nation (I believe it ranks two spots ahead of AK and is expected to move up with their new Africa exhibit), AK from the animal aspect of it all wasn't so much more spectacular to really keep the girls interested. I felt bad, but while everyone ooooo'd and ahhhhh'd over mandrills and Ankole cattle, we were pretty unphased. At least I got a few other OK (not great, but OK) pics.

After the safari, we took a restroom break and the girls played on a bench. A very nice CM came over, and while he was a tad awkward, the girls loved him calling them princesses and he gave us a great tip to pick out a spot in this area for the parade later on. So, the girls just played around until daddy came back (with hot cocoa)...
(I think they're sorting out their Disney silly bandz)

(ahhh- taken just before DD4 decided to shove her on the ground- good times...good times!)

(I think she's saying CHEESE)

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Next, we decided to drum.

At first it was just us, and then we had some company!

He asked us to stay at our drums so we could help him in his show. Our hands were stinging, but it was such a blast. He brought DD4 over at the end and told her she needed to come back and play again since she had real talent. So sweet.

After this, we went through the Jungle Trek and back to the Siamangs. It was so chilly that there we no bats and all of the animals that were out were pretty still. (I think my brother and SIL saw one- yes, one lone bat when they came back in the afternoon).

What really cracked me up...a CM told me that while the bats don't like the cold, it's made the tigers very active. Active? Really?

This peacock was just as active!

We were excited to see the official sacred cows of India...

And I did think this little guy was too cute...

At least the Siamangs were more active now.

After this, I left DH with the girls and rode Everest – my very first time! I had the FastPass, but a massive tour group was entering the line, so I opted to take my chances in the single rider line. Bad choice. The wait wasn't horrible, but it would have been better if I went in FastPass. While I'm more into huge drops, I really liked the ride even with the Yeti in B mode. HOWEVER I can certainly see how it would be significantly better with it in A mode (based on the way I've seen it described).

 

[mickeysshoes]

Your report is great and the pictures are even better and the girls....well they are to cute for words!!!! Glad you all had a great time!!!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Your report is great and the pictures are even better and the girls....well they are to cute for words!!!! Glad you all had a great time!!!

Awww- thank you! :wave: I'm just happy I finally figured out what i did to my main camera (about a week and a half late )

 

[HouCuseChickie]

After this it was off to Dinoland. We never got to see them lit, but I loved the dinosaur street lights.

The girls wanted a ride, so we hopped on Triceratops Spin since anything “Dumbo-esque” is sure to be a hit.

(caught a pic of this cute guy from the air)

Sadly, this time it was soooooo much of a hit for DD2 that she threw a fit – a VERY long fit – b/c we weren't going on again. At first I thought it was b/c she couldn't go on Primeval Whirl since she thought it looked neat, but no- it was all about Triceratops Spin.


She just stood there in the middle of the street pouting and then chewing her sleeve.

Then she missed out on Pluto pics.

And face painting.

A very nice CM manning one of the carnival game booths even brought over a plush seahorse for her to see if that might help. She didn't want it, but her big sis did. I was already embarrassed, but it didn't help that DD4 just grabbed the seahorse from his hands proclaiming “I want it.” She was back with DH before I could get her to properly thank him, but I expressed my gratitude as best as possible (waving, gesturing, trying to yell thank you, etc.)

DD2 was really just such a mess and I apologize to anyone and everyone who was bothered, inconvenienced, etc. by any of this.

She just picked such a GREAT time to start acting like a 2 yr old. DH suggested I just take her on the ride, but the wait was now 35 min and I just don't like giving in to the tantrum. If only I hadn't lingered at Everest- we would have made the showing of Nemo and this all MAY have been avoided (too bad we'd never make the next showing of Nemo either- NEXT TIME!!!).

 

[HouCuseChickie]

In the middle of all of this, my parents, brother, and SIL show up. Even that wasn't enough to turn around the tantrum, so we headed over to Flame Tree for lunch. DD2 sat there across the way and screamed while everyone ordered (which took way too long- our fault, not theirs). We found some nice tables (LOVE the view of the water and birds while we dined) and waited for everyone else to get their act together. This is when I looked up and freaked b/c DD4 was nowhere in sight. DH says it was my fault, I still say it was a communication breakdown since I swear I told her to stay w/daddy. Thankfully, she found my mom...and while she was scared- she was OK.

We were all pleasantly surprised with Flame Tree and thankfully- the tantrum is over.


After lunch, we headed over to It's Tough to be a Bug. The kids refused to wear their glasses, but we thought it was a decent show. We LOVED the bugs exiting at the end.

Next we headed to Dinosaur...one of my Must Rides for this trip. My mom, SIL and the girls stayed behind. We were all remarking about how nice it was to just walk right up to rides with no wait.

The ride was pretty good- not quite what I expected (even though I've watched videos), but worth the time. I didn't have my camera with me, but I probably had the most RIDICULOUS pic from the ride. I swear-swear-swear- I did not close my eyes, but for some reason- while everyone is looking over at the camera with terrified expressions, I'm looking in the other direction smiling. Oh well, at least the girls had fun spending time with Grandma-

The rest of the group hadn't been on the safari and we were nearing parade time, so we headed back that way. I caught a pic of this owl at Flights of Wonder along the way as well as some detail on the tree...and finally even some tree pics.

(I was really hoping we'd do this vs the safari again, but no such luck)

(still not great, but I'll take it)

There was only a 5 min wait listed on the safari, but it took longer due to some ride malfunctions. It still wasn't too long to get on. We saw a few animals this time that weren't out before – like the Okapi that I spotted hidden in the back (I felt bad that I saw him first, but they are one animal we see at EVERY zoo visit, so I like trying to find them), but ultimately- our first drive through was better for animal spotting. At least I got a sort of nice baby rhino pic on this trip.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

After we got off the safari, we were minutes from the parade starting. We found a decent spot on the street, but my brother found another spot nearby for DD4 that was front row (DD2 was napping in the stroller). Big kudos to the CM that had tipped us off to this spot earlier in the day- it was a very nice spot.

Not the best photos of Dale, but this would be about the closest we'd get to Chip and Dale all trip. DD4 at least got a hi-5 from Dale.

The parade was just soooo pretty...

DH is a big fan of Song of the South and the Tales of Uncle Remus, so seeing Brer Rabbit and Brer Bear was quite a treat. DD4 got a quick snuggle from Brer Bear. They've never seen Song of the South, but we have a Disney animated Tales of Uncle Remus book, so they totally knew what I was talkinga bout when I became a freak and started yelling “OMG – it's Brer Bear and Brer Rabbit!”

Love Goofy and his naughty and nice list. We'd be asking Stitch about this the next day...

DD4 really enjoyed the snow off of Donald's float.

DD4 was in a great spot for character interaction. Next up was Pluto- this pic was just before he played around with her head.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Finally, it was time for Mickey and the end of the parade.

It was a mess, but we followed the parade right out of the park- since EVERYONE needed a nap.

I snapped a few tree pics (life and Christmas) on the way out. Funny, park security was trying to help me find good angles, but I had the wrong lens out and was exhausted. So, I thanked them and gave up.

After nap time, we hopped a bus to Magic Kingdom (parents were too cold for the boat) and another bus over to AKL for dinner. My brother and SIL were staying at AKL, so it was at least convenient for them. Due to massive system problems and long check in waits, they were upgraded from a standard king room to a Savannah view queen bunk bed room. I think they would have taken the king vs. the view. They all seemed to think AKL was pretty, but too similar to WL and for whatever reason- they just didn't seem overly impressed. Maybe it was all of the check in issues and not getting the room they wanted or maybe it was the lack of animals on the Savannah- I still thought it was a neat place.

Oh well, now time to wait for dinner...

It's a bit blurry, but here we all are at our large table getting ready to eat.

Love the ceiling décor.

What probably got me the most with this meal...it was the girls' first non-character meal. They heard some drumming and started asking who they were going to see...I said "Maybe our waiter." They asked who else- I said "maybe a bus boy or hostess." They were not amused, but I thought is was hysterical.

While DH wasn't impressed, I really liked Boma. (the meatballs were a big hit with DD2- she kept saying "alicicious!") Here are a couple of the plates I put together.

I will say this- while I liked the food, DH's argument is pretty compelling. For nearly $40pp where you weren't paying for characters- you expect more high ticket items. Sure, it's a buffet and I hardly expect signature dining quality, but considering the best thing I had on the buffet was some tabouleh- well, that's some pricey tabouleh. I also liked- but did not love the zebra domes and was horribly disappointed that there was no pineapple upside down cheesecake.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I snapped a pic of the AKL tree after dinner and some other shots from the lobby (love the mickey holly berries on the photo sign next to the tree).

(I love the lights- I'd like one for our living room, but only if they can attach a ceiling fan inside)- I'm serious:lookaroun

We also got a few blurry shots of the girls- too bad the one with my SIL was so blurry.

(finally!!!!- both girls in flowers)

(she is SOOOOO wound up- and NEEDS to go!):hammer:


Then it was back to WL for some serious sleep:snore:...especially considering our next day was going to be a LONG one (at Epcot- evening EMH + another early morning character breakfast). At least the bus service was very good this evening.:sohappy:

 

[Thumbelina]

I love reading your tr so far. Your daughters are just so beautiful. I cant wait to hear the rest of it.

Happy Holidays :xmas:

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I love reading your tr so far. Your daughters are just so beautiful. I cant wait to hear the rest of it.

Happy Holidays :xmas:

THanks!!!:wave: And a Happy Holidays to you too!:xmas:

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Day 4


So, day 4 is another day where we're up bright and early- so we can make our 8:10am breakfast ressie at 1900 Park Fare. I originally had a dinner ressie here b/c I loved the character concept for the dinner, but cxld it b/c the menu just really did not appeal and we wanted to upgrade to a true signature restaurant for our last night. I kept thinking that a breakfast at 1900PF would be nice, but it wasn't until two days before our departure did I secure one...of course our slow bus service and lack of early boats made me start to think about canceling- sooooo glad we didn't.


As we learned the day before, the AK bus from WL stops at the GF. A bus to AK pulled up pretty quickly! I asked the driver if he was stopping at GF first...he was a real comedian- he said, yes and as I turned around to get our stuff he yelled “but you can't get on” and he shut the doors. Of course he was kidding and let us on...and I gotta tell you, I really needed the humor as my energy was low and sanity wasn't far behind. We made a quick stop at the Poly (which made me think our last day 'Ohana breakfast might be possible too) and were then dropped off at GF. It was about 7:40am and the place was deserted, which gave us some nice picture ops for the tree and gingerbread house.

I just love all of the little details.

Don't you just love my wonderful family photo!?!?!

I really fell in love with the GF once inside. I know – I know, I accused it of being a copy of the Del in San Diego, but it really is lovely and all of the CMs we encountered here were beyond top notch. We're hoping to stay there on our next visit to WDW.

(OK- I really want this light even more than the one at AKL, but it just doesn't match anything)

So, it was off to breakfast. I just loved the Mickey and Minnie in the floor just before the entrance.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

After a quick pic (that turned out awful) we were seated. The characters weren't out yet, so it was off to the buffet. The girls LOVE the mickey plates and mommy loves the smoked salmon and capers.

And now- it's Tigger Time!!!

He was really awesome! Totally on par with our Tigger from Crystal Palace. Next up was Pooh. Mind you, our Crystal Palace Pooh was excellent, but the 1900 Park Fare Pooh was exceptional. He was honored that he had his own place in the girls' autograph books, but the best...we had a hunny discussion. We all expressed how much we loved hunny, DD4 told him she had some and handed over her imaginary hunny. He was grateful for the gift, pretended to eat it, and then showed he was full. He later came back b/c he wanted to see our pictures. Even DH is telling people about our awesome time with Pooh!

After that it was Mary Poppins in her Jolly Holiday dress. DD4 was thrilled, but DD2 was terrified. MP did note that her hat was awfully large and often frightening.

After a little while we had Alice come by. The girls were very happy to meet her and DH said she was VERY attractive. I really didn't think his brain would be in that place with a character meeting.

Finally, we got the Mad Hatter. The meeting was a bit awkward even though we tried to talk about unbirthdays, but it was nice to get a chance to meet him.

I went back up to the buffet to try the famous strawberry soup. My brain was not awake and it took me nearly five minutes to find it, but I found it. I was pleasantly surprised. I couldn't eat more than a few spoonfuls, but it had a wonderful fresh strawberry taste.

I also had to try the lobster benedict (pretty good, but the hollandaise could have been better) and this AMAZING sticky bun/roll. Seriously-AWESOME!

This ended up being the favorite breakfast of our trip. I am SOOOOOO happy I was able to get it and would return again in a heartbeat.

We met a very nice cast member on our way out who was cleaning up the area by the Mary Poppins topiary...

...and then it was off to Epcot. (and let me just say it is MUCH easier to deal with the monorail at GF than it was at the Contemporary- just designed better I guess).

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I got a few sub par pics of WL on the way before switching monorails as well as the Mickey on the Contemporary and another inside. At least we had a car to ourselves.

We got to Epcot and I couldn't wait to get off- probably b/c the girls kept screaming “the ball- the ball!”

As soon as we got in, we spotted Stitch off to our right. This is DH's fave so we had to stop. Stitch was great! After seeing the naughty or nice list in the AK parade (with his name on it), we asked him how naughty he's been today. We got into a great “discussion” with him and the CM by him about this. Apparently, he'd only been a little bit naughty that morning, but who knows how bad he'd be by the afternoon.

(this character greeting also made us start having second thoughts about the breakfast planned on our last morning)

We met up with my family under Spaceship Earth and headed off to Nemo.

(Mine-Mine-Mine)

The ride is cute, and we saw a dolphin swim by at the end, but...I do miss the old Living Seas. After that, it was off to Turtle Talk with Crush. We caught a pic of this little guy on the way in...

The girls were a tad scared to be on their own at first, but they sat up front and we found some good seats on the bench in the middle. My mom fell asleep (as we predicted), but the rest of us really enjoyed the show.


After that, we headed over to The Land pavilion and DD2 got a ride on Daddy's shoulders.

The line for Living With the Land was much longer than I was willing to wait and we were trying to stay on schedule for lunch, so we decided to come back later. Mom and Dad got us FastPasses for Soarin' (since they got to the park at opening), so they watched the girls while we rode.

This was our first time on Soarin' and we really liked it. I wish we could have gone on a second time, but it just wasn't in the cards. I will say this, after Soarin'- DH decided we should go skiing next year. Don't get me wrong- I would love a good ski trip, but this was the start to the "we need to wait at least another two or three years before taking the girls back to Disney" discussion.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

After that we headed towards the World Showcase so we could make our lunch ressies in Norway (I know- not much of a morning at Epcot). I snapped some pics along the way...

This would end up being the day where we accomplished very little, so this pic of the World Showcase ended up being the most I really saw of the world.

We arrived at Akershus a bit early and found quite a crowd outside. A lady waiting for her name to be called told me they were a bit behind. I wished I'd waited to check in b/c DD4 really wanted to ride Maelstrom and we were kind of stuck since we were now waiting for our name to be called. She never did get to ride it- partly b/c when we came back later, she decided to act up and her punishment was not getting to go on the ride.

So, we waited for a good 20+ min to get into Akershus. After snapping the pic below of DD4, I let her check out the camera to help pass some time. I guess I was too focused on keeping both kids in my sight that I didn't notice her taking pics. I'll spare you all of them, but here is one of her shots to give you an idea...I just love having pics of legs and feet from random people.

Finally our name was called and we went off to take our picture with Belle. This was a gift for my parents, so I had them take the first pic with the girls and the second pic with just the girls. The interactions was kind of rushed and forced. My parents also felt that Belle's expression in the photos looks like someone pinched her.

I wasn't really close enough to any of this though to see/hear if her interaction with the girls was more genuine. At least the pics are included in the meal and the girls got stickers.

 

[LeafsFanNL]

the crabby hag who told me to make DD2 shut up (crying b/c I insisted she wear her seat belt for landing),

Nice. There is a stereotype about Canadians being polite, but if someone pulled that when my wife was around, they would remember it.

Reminds me of a Canadian joke. "How do you get 50 Canadians out of a pool? Say Can you please leave the pool."

Thanks for the WL Christmas pics. We wanted to get over there but didn't get a chance to do it.