Here's where I made a major faux pas in my extensive, 12-month-long planning for this whole trip. My sister had the twins dressed in a Cinderella and Belle outfit and they looked, of course, very cute. I figured that Amina, being 9 1/2, had outgrown wanting to do the dress up thing. The Aurora dress that she had gotten for her birthday 2 years ago during our last WDW trip had long-since been outgrown so I had not brought it along. DD never did say anything to me even though she knew we had an appointment at the boutique and I had shown her pictures online of other girls having their hair/makeup/nails done. She had already picked out the Fairy Tale Princess look for her appointment in advance.
Well, we walk to DTD this time taking the paved trail and arrive at BBB right on time and get our pager. I start browsing through the store and DD finds me a few minutes later and declares that she has found an Aurora dress that she really really (did I say really?) liked. Uh oh. Pretty soon, the tears start pouring as she realizes that I had not planned on buying her a dress and that she didn't have enough to money to buy it herself. LESSON LEARNED: Little girls probably outgrow the need to dress up by the time they reach college. Ugh, what a disaster and I'm feeling like the worst mommy in the world. I'm thinking quickly and after many tears we strike a bargain. DD can have the dress but this is her Halloween costume this Fall - I won't be buying her another costume this year. She jumps for joy and we buy the dress ($69 - holy cow!) which she quickly snatches up and takes to the bathroom to change into. The day is saved. She does, however, graciously decline the matching shoes. LOL.
Well, we walk to DTD this time taking the paved trail and arrive at BBB right on time and get our pager. I start browsing through the store and DD finds me a few minutes later and declares that she has found an Aurora dress that she really really (did I say really?) liked. Uh oh. Pretty soon, the tears start pouring as she realizes that I had not planned on buying her a dress and that she didn't have enough to money to buy it herself. LESSON LEARNED: Little girls probably outgrow the need to dress up by the time they reach college. Ugh, what a disaster and I'm feeling like the worst mommy in the world. I'm thinking quickly and after many tears we strike a bargain. DD can have the dress but this is her Halloween costume this Fall - I won't be buying her another costume this year. She jumps for joy and we buy the dress ($69 - holy cow!) which she quickly snatches up and takes to the bathroom to change into. The day is saved. She does, however, graciously decline the matching shoes. LOL.
The princesses' "before" picture.
Soon thereafter, our pager goes off and the girls are lead into the parlor meeting their FGMIT. Amina's FGMIT is Pennie who has been with Disney for over 20 years and is just starting to contemplate retirement. She requested the transfer to BBB when the position/store first opened and thought it was the best role that she's played to date.
Pennie's hands moved quickly and skillfully. Amina gets her faux nails first which she had picked out while I was distracted taking pictures of her cousins. I would have advised opting for the nail polish but she was very excited about her new nails which Pennie had glued to her fingertips.
Next, makeup was applied: blue eyeshadow, blush, and sparkly lip gloss.
Pennie then moved onto her hair which had quite a few tangles hiding underneath and it took some time to get them unsnarled. When she finally combed her hair out, she applied a TON of gel to the front of her hair and pulled it back up into a tight ponytail and applied her small diamond tiara.
I was wondering how she was going to put her hair up into a "bun" and was interested to see her put several teensy little rubber bands down the length of her ponytail and then ROLL her hair up into a "bun". A little fluffing and her hair was set.
The crowning touch was her Mickey head barette in the back.
Pennie then bestowed Amina's BBB sash and tied the corner with a rubber band and secured it to her dress with a bobby pin. She was so beautiful.
Pennie then bent over and asked if she was ready to see herself in the mirror.
She sprinkled her with Pixie Dust as Amina admired herself in the mirror for the first time. It was another moment on the trip that brought tears came to my eyes. Amina was so thrilled all she could was just smile and never got tired of posing for a myriad of pictures after the session.
Her cousins had opted for the Diva Princess look and soon, all 3 girls were done and it was time to leave.
We stopped by the statue of Aurora outside the store and Amina posed for one of my favorite pictures from the whole trip - the picture of my princess with her princess.
We walked back to the resort with our princesses in tow and my sister, BIL, mom, and the twins stay in so the twins can nap this afternoon because we'll be up late tonight at MVMCP. We pick up the "boys" (and grandma) and hopped a bus for MK.
Today, we're scheduled for Frontierland, Liberty Square, and Adventureland. Our first order of business, though, is to pick up Jungle Cruise fastpasses and lunch. I really want to try El Pirata and El Perico but this counterservice restaurant is closed and we wander into the Pecos Bill cafe which is pretty crowded. I have the vegetarian burger with carrots as the others have the cheeseburgers, bbq beef sandwich, and chicken wrap. The food is okay although the vegetarian burger really isn't bad and we (especially MIL) loves the toppings bar which has condiments, sauteed onions, mushrooms, and lettuce/tomatoes.
During lunch, I convince Amina to ride POTC which she considers a "roller coaster" because of the initial drop in the ride. I tell Amina that I overheard another family talking about POTC and that they had changed the ride adding Jack Sparrow's character and "smoothing" out the drop in the ride making it into a "slide". She bought it hook, line, and sinker.
During lunch, I convince Amina to ride POTC which she considers a "roller coaster" because of the initial drop in the ride. I tell Amina that I overheard another family talking about POTC and that they had changed the ride adding Jack Sparrow's character and "smoothing" out the drop in the ride making it into a "slide". She bought it hook, line, and sinker.
We head over to POTC and the wait is very short. As we climb into the boat, Amina comments on how they have changed the ride and taken away the safety lap bars now and that if the ride really had a drop, there would have been safety lap bars left in them. LOL. She seats herself between her Mimi and Papa and hook her arms around theirs "just in case".
The ride goes just fine and I really enjoy the new parts including the Davy Jones "mist" and the Jack Sparrow characters. As we exit the ride, Amina comments on how the ride was "so much better" now that they had changed the drop - after all, it was just a "slide" now and (gasp) kinda fun.
We purchase a few things in the POTC gift shop - DD buys a pirate Minnie ears for a friend of hers and I find a Soccer Princess pin for DD. FIL has fun trying on hats.
After seeing the Tiki Room show, we use our fast passes for Jungle Cruise and the kids are rolling in the aisles as our boat captain rolls through his repertoire of corny jokes. We stop to try on more hats and I finally buy the Christmas Minnie ears that I've been eyeing all over the park just in time for our night at MVMCP tonight.
We ride the Liberty Square Riverboat which we've never actually been on and convince the kids to ride Haunted Mansion which, surprisingly, they agree to do. After Haunted Mansion, we finally get around to trying something that I've only read about: a Dole Whip at Aloha Isle. I order the Pineapple Float which is a Dole Whip with pineapple juice and my family orders the Dole Whip soft serves using our dining plan snack credits. It was delicious and I think the kids ate more of it than I did.
We've gone on the rides we wanted to and decide to head over to Main Street to do some shopping when BIL calls to tell us that they have arrived at the park. I meet up with them as everyone else does some shopping and we round everyone up to go over and get our wristbands for MVMCP. We head over to an area near the rose garden and wait briefly in line until the CM scans our MVMCP passes and gives each of us a yellow wristband along with a map detailing the locations of the shows, snacks, etc for the party. We walk back over to Main Street near City Hall and wait for the Tree Lighting Ceremony at 5 pm while munching on popcorn that DS insists on getting. The show is pretty cute and it looks like they've pulled a bunch of kids out of the audience to be in the show. After some singing and Christmas Carols, the tree is lit and we head over to Tony's Town Square restaurant where we have ADR for 5:30 pm.
We're a little early and the kids watch tv in the restaurant lobby as we wait for our time and for BIL to arrive with his family. We're soon seated at 2 separate tables and place our orders. I have the Calamari for an appetizer and order the Chicken Florentine for an entree. I'm a little put out by our waiter who seems to be in a serious rush practically throwing our food at us and rushing us through our meal. The food was so-so. I had Tiramisu for dessert which was pretty good.
After dinner, we waited for my BIL's father and step-mother who lived in Orlando to arrive as Mimi and Papa decide to turn in early and head back to the resort. As we waited, I handed out the glow bracelets and necklaces that I had picked up at the Dollar Tree and brought along. Everyone had a lot of fun "dressing up" with the bracelets and necklaces and I'm sure we looked pretty funny walking through the park "glowing".
The parade was just about to start so we stake out a spot near the hub which turned out to be a prime viewing spot. The parade was beautiful. There's a little time before the fireworks show so we decide to go on some rides rather than try to make the holiday shows. We decide on POTC but BIL's dad and step-mom need to stop for a bite to eat so we wait for them to meet us at POTC and I'm worried that we're going to miss the fireworks show. The wait for POTC is short and DD takes her cousins by the hand telling them that the ride is really fun and to not worry because it's just a "slide" that the boat goes down in the beginning. When we get off the ride, the fireworks have already started and it's hard to find a good viewing spot where we were. We moved over towards BTMRR and caught the rest of the fireworks show which was truly spectacular and quite different from the Wishes fireworks show we had seen the first night.
After the fireworks, BIL wants to take the twins on BTMRR but neither DD nor DS are interested so we leave my kids with my mom and head over to ride BTMRR. BIL's dad and step-mom call it a night after the first ride but the twins had enjoyed the ride so much that we got in line and rode it again. DS has fallen asleep on a bench when we get back and it's time to call it a night.
After the fireworks, BIL wants to take the twins on BTMRR but neither DD nor DS are interested so we leave my kids with my mom and head over to ride BTMRR. BIL's dad and step-mom call it a night after the first ride but the twins had enjoyed the ride so much that we got in line and rode it again. DS has fallen asleep on a bench when we get back and it's time to call it a night.
Thank goodness for the twin stroller - it came in handy to get DS out of the park as he's getting pretty heavy to carry around. We take the bus back to the resort and turn in the for the night.
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