[LSUtigerfan]

Okay, now where were we...Ahh...visions of the entrance to MK are coming back to me! Today was absolutely beautiful, it was sunny with a few clouds, temp. in the mid 70's with a wonderful breeze in the air. So, up to the security check point we went, why don't they check beneath the strollers? I had all sorts of things in the basket under our stroller, but they never even glanced at it, I sure hope the security tightens in the future. Then we go to the turnstiles to enter the park. Now, the last time dh & I were at WDW was in 1996, before they had the wonderful computerized system [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img] (you'll see what I mean on day 5), so we asked the CM which way to insert our tickets. Well my dh accidentally handed her the 4 day PH pass instead of the "after 2pm" pass we purchased for this day. The CM started to put it in when I yelled, "No, wait! That's the wrong ticket!" I then asked her if it went through, and she said "No" and I asked if she was sure, and she again replied that it did not. So, we gave her the correct tickets and proceeded into MK. (The CM's response would prove to be inaccurate...more of that on day 5).

We enter the park and immediately realize that we left Princess Face's autograph book at the resort, so we stop & get her a new one along with a Winnie the Pooh oversized autograph pen (now I'm using it to write bills at home!) Thank goodness we stopped for that purchase, because we saw Baloo & King Louie, Gov. J Ratcliffe, and Meeko in front of Tony's/Town Square Exposition Hall. We did not stand in line for Dopey or Pinnochio...not sure why? Just didn't. Baloo was great & King Louie doesn't sign autographs, my dd loved getting the autographs and we probably stood in line for more autographs than rides/attractions during this trip! Next we made our way down Main Street & caught the parade in front of the castle. We also met our friends while we watched the parade, their dd's are 3 yrs. (another B-day girl!) and 5 1/2 months (most well behaved person on the trip, honestly!). Princess Face was so excited to see that her Paran (Godfather) & his family came to her birthday party at WDW. It really made it special for her to have a friend there (their 3 yr. old) to ride the rides & giggle with. The parade was precious, Grumpette actually smiled, yelled "Mouse" and clapped her hands, while Princess Face sat on her Paran's shoulders & cheered for all but the villains. She was booing and stuck her tongue out at them, especially the Wicked Stepmother.

Next, we went to Fantasyland. The fast passes for Pooh were already gone, so we got FP's for Peter Pan. Our first magical moment was on Cinderella's Golden Carrousel. We were all so excited, grinning ear to ear, to finally be getting on our first ride at MK. The CM lets us on & we marched around the ride trying to find a vacant horse...there were none to be found, the ride was full! So, I told the CM that it was my dd's birthday (actually tomorrow) and she said, "Be sure to find Cinderella's special golden horse, he has a gold bow tied around his tail." So, MIL & I watched the carousel go round and round and round [img]graemlins/dizzy.gif[/img] until we spotted it. When it was our turn, we made a mad dash for the special horse and Princess Face was beaming as she announced to everyone that she was riding on Cinderella's horse! I'm sure they had no clue what she was talking about. **Complaint here: People were entering through the exit on this ride (it was ony a 5 min. wait)...adults teaching their kids good habits! That's a big southern hospitality "no-no." Anyway, everyone loved this ride, except dh who stayed on the sidelines to video, he doesn't like spinning rides. Next we rode It's a Small World (no wait), used our FP's for Peter Pan, Dumbo (10 min wait), Snow White's Scary Adventures (no wait),and the Tea Cups (10 min wait). One word of caution, on the Peter Pan ride my 5 yr old dd couldn't decide if she was going to ride with us or her grandparents, so she got in my MIL & FIL's pirate ship at the last minute & the safety bar came down on her cheek. This scared her more than it hurt, I hope. She did have a red mark on her face, and kept asking why "that ride did that."

We were finally ready to travel to "infinity and beyond!"...so we grabbed FP's for Buzz (although it was only a 20 min. wait!) because it started to drizzle a little. We rode Tomorrowland Transit Authority while we waited for our FP time, which was only about 20 mins. away. This was a nice relaxing ride, especially since we had been awake since 4am! And of course, I could not sleep the night before, just like the commercial, only dh was sawing logs next to me...no one to share the anticipation with...poor, poor, pitiful me (I like to quote different songs here & there!)

Sorry for the digression, now it's 6:20pm and we have 6:30 PSR at Chef Mickey's!!! Don't you just hate late people? Well, MIL & I call it fashionably late! Luckily, we only had to wait ~15 minutes. It was crowded, and there was a sea of strollers at the entrance, very cluttered I must say, although mine was right along with them. Mary Poppins would have been disappointed. We were seated along the back wall of the restaurant, the murals were cute. Our table was decorated with metallic, Mickey shaped confetti for the birthday girls (our friend's dd & our dd). First, I went to the buffet line & filled 2 plates for our dd's enjoyment. They ate the usual fare: pizza, chicken, mac & cheese, & fresh fruit for Grumpette. I loved the Mickey ravioli (so did Grumpette, until I put them on her plate) and parmesan mashed potatoes. Everyone else raved over the prime rib, they said it was really delicious & tender. MIL said the boiled shrimp weren't seasoned. The rest of the meal was a blur, I sampled every dessert (almost). I do remember the chocolate mousse pie and the key lime pie (better than @ CSR), actually the only thing I tasted that I didn't care for was the mac & cheese. It was terrible, unless you like Stouffer's, my dd's wouldn't eat it either, Easy Mac by Kraft is much better in my opinion. Chef Mickey, Minnie, & Dale came around to our table for birthday kisses, hugs, autographs & pictures. Goofy never came, but we saw him from afar. The girls had special birthday cupcakes & received keepsake placemats from the restaurant. Of course, we sang Happy Birthday and joined in the celebration in the restaurant with spinning napkins & all (everybody watch your eyes!) When Minnie came to our table she noticed the Minnie Mouse outfit bib that Grumpette was wearing, and she paid her lots of extra attention for it! Grumpette loves Minnie & especially Mickey. We all had a wonderful time at Chef Mickey's and would like to try their breakfast next time!

We were all so exhausted, so we finally left the restaurant & headed for the monorail...or so we thought. It was pouring down rain outside, we knew we had to transfer to a bus at MK, so we stopped at a gift shop in the Contemporary. This was an hour long pit stop. MIL wanted to get Princess Face an outfit to wear to CRT in the morning (Yes, I was able to get a PSR for CRT on a Saturday morning, which happened to be her 5th birthday...and on my first try!). So, they tried on several different outfits and finally decided on the complete Minnie Mouse ensemble. She had the dress, socks, shoes, purse and ears. It was too cute to say the least. New Orleans "yats" would say she looked gorgeous (you have to say it like gawgeous...like the beginning of "gawdy"---no she didn't look gawdy). Grumpette & I browsed the pin trading area while dh shopped & FIL slept in the lobby on a bench! We finally left CR via the monorail, transfered to our CSR bus and made it to our room. It only took about 20-30 minutes total. The girls were already asleep & I think the adults were sleep walking. Showered, laid out clothes for tomorrow, called for wake up call (6:57 am) and got into bed. Turned on the weather channel & realized...our package! I had mailed a package via UPS to our resort with food, room decorations, etc. in it. So I called guest services and they bring the box to our room.

Now I thought dh was going to kill me, but he got up and helped me decorate the room, I think Grumpy was more into it than I was! Wow, Disney just has that effect on you! We decorated the room with pink & purple crepe paper, a Disney Princess banner, and balloons. Thank goodness I remembered to put Scotch tape in the box. Dh even hung crepe paper streamers from the ceiling fan. Imagine the mousekeepers surprise when she came in our room [img]graemlins/ukid.gif[/img] ! I also set out 2 Minnie beanies, one was a March Minnie dressed in a shamrock dress with a birthstone necklace, and the other Minnie matched her new Minnie outfit. Now, we could finally go to sleep...

Favorite Rides/Attractions: Princess Faces favorites were Cindy's Carrousel, Tea Cups & Buzz Lightyear. Grumpette's favorites were the Carrousel, Dumbo and Small World. The adults loved Buzz & TTA (because we needed to sit for awhile).

Magical Moments for today: Getting an upgrade on both of our rooms to a lake view! Finding Cinderella's horse on the carrousel and dd riding on it. Most magical moment was seeing MK through my dd's eyes for the first time, they each had their own marvelous reactions [img]graemlins/cry2.gif[/img] I'm getting teary eyed just thinking about it.

First Impressions: This is going to e a great trip! We love our resort, it is beautiful and has awesome buses. Our bus stop is right outside our bldg & I'm glad we are in 8B, the pool is really close too. The buses come around very quickly, about every 5-10 minutes in the morning. It's great having friends & family here with us. Princess Face is really enjoying the character autographs. And finally, I am going to gain 5 pounds on this trip!

Next: Princess Face's Royal Birthday Celebration at CRT and Epcot

Hope y'all enjoy this TR...constructive criticism is welcomed by all, except grammar teachers! Call me a rebel, because I love to begin sentences with conjunctions! [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]