Follow Me! I Will Lead Us Into Battle! A Thanksgiving 2013 TR *COMPLETE*

[courtneybelle]

Real Life Update #2: Bella Notte

Hi everyone! Life has been absolutely crazy at school lately, but now I have some time to post some updates. As many of you know, I went to Italy last month. It was in all honesty one of the very best weeks of my life. It was definitely different from my usual Disney trip, not knowing where anything was, getting lost very easily, and trying a lot of new things. But I saw so many amazing things and met some really wonderful people!

We stayed in Florence and Venice, and we also had excursions to Bologna, Verona, and some of the islands of Venice.

We went to Florence first, and I liked it the best out of the two cities. There are a lot of amazing places to see and things to do.

Piazza della Signoria:

Santa Croce:

A view of the Duomo from the top of the belltower:

A view from the Pontevecchio:

Palazzo Pitti:

Then we went to Venice. I did love it there but it was a lot more challenging to navigate than Florence was.

St. Mark's:

The belltower in St. Mark's Square:

We got to ride a gondola and it was absolutely magical. One of the coolest experiences I've ever had!

The Doge's Palace; as a Disney girl I am all about castles so I loved it:

I was obsessed with the island Burano! All of the houses were so colorful and bright.

A picture of this was necessary.

Pinocchio stuff is everywhere in Italy. This mask was my favorite:

Last year my school went to Paris and I couldn't go, and I was very bummed because I wanted to see Notre Dame. At least I got to see Frollo's shop in Venice:

The sunsets in Venice were unreal.

Verona was my favorite of the smaller cities. Here's the arena:

Juliet's balcony:

And I had to let you guys know that I saw Disney stores EVERYWHERE in Italy. I didn't go in any because I wanted to focus on the things I could only do in Italy, but I did look in the window and saw a ton of Frozen stuff. So if you're having trouble finding an Elsa dress, just hop the pond!

All in all, it was an absolutely amazing experience and I highly recommend Italy if you're looking for international travel. The food was great, the people were friendly, and there was so much to do. I loved it!

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[courtneybelle]

Just realized I posted an update without responding to comments...hehe whoops.

Amazing when a 30 minute wait for anything is a welcome sight. I'm kind of sad I did have a FP so I missed some of the queue theming. Generally I prefer the short wait, but not as much the first time through.

PLUS, this is a pretty good build up to BoG, my new favourite CS restaurant. I do regret not getting a Grey Stuff Cupcake though. I just had it in my head that someone would give me a free one for my birthday, lol.

I know! It's very rare that I'll wait more than 20 minutes for something but since Belle is my absolute favorite I'll make an exception. The queue theming is amazing! I love walking through Belle's cottage.

Oh man! You should definitely get that cupcake next time, it was so good.

Welcome back from Italy. Courtney. I hope you had a good trip.

We just got back from another WDW trip and did ETWB for the first time. The only adults in our show were the two men who did the suits of armor. The rest were children and the little girl who played the Beast just giggled when she was supposed to roar. It was adorable. I thought Lumiere was the best character. The way they animate him is brilliant. I think the lines are getting shorter for ETWB. It seemed like they weren't as long in March as they were in December. Maybe this is the kind of attraction that most people only see once and that is enough, especially with the new fp+ limits.


I felt bad that we missed some of the theming by using a fp for Belle, too. One of these days we'll try the long lines. The same is true for Haunted Mansion. One of these days we need to go through the standby line so that we can see some of the special things there.

And BOG has become my favorite counter service in MK. I love the braised pork and my sister and I loved the gluten-free Lemon-raspberry puff. It was delicious. I'm going to order one from now on.

Thank you!! And welcome back from your WDW trip I hope you had a wonderful time! The Lumiere animatronic is just SO incredible, he looks so lifelike and animated!

I really do appreciate what Disney does with queues. The HM one is pretty fun!

BOG is definitely my favorite counter-service. I keep meaning to try that braised pork! Maybe in July...

I agree- RUN!!

As alway, BoG looks delicious! Why can't every Christmas dinner be in the Beast's castle? Or, why can't he come decorate my house? Those ornaments are super cute and that tree is awful fancy!!

Bahaha believe me, we did!

I know!! I love BOG's atmosphere all the time, but the decorations made it 5,000 times more magical!

That's great that you managed to catch Enchanted Tales without a super long line! And to top it off, lunch in Beast's Castle. What could be better??

It looks really awesome in there dressed up for Christmas. And all of the food looks really good. I liked the strawberry cupcake I got in October, but I was sorely disappointed that they don't offer the grey stuff cupcake for dinner. I totally would have gotten that!

It really was a perfect afternoon for me since I'm OBSESSED with Beauty and the Beast.

The decorations were so beautiful! The strawberry cupcake looks good but I've always gone for the chocolate cream puff and the grey stuff cupcake now! It's such a bummer they don't have it for dinner. I saw that they have a "log" for the grey stuff at dinner, but it doesn't look as good.

 

[courtneybelle]

Chapter Twenty: Believe and All You Wish Will Come to You

We headed over to use FPs on Peter Pan’s Flight. After that, decided to use our no-strings on Ariel’s ride, so off we went! Kylie was very excited.

We were stopped underwater for a bit, which was actually very nice and relaxing.

I took some pictures of the decorated castle:

After that, it was right around 3 p.m. Kylie said she didn’t want to see Celebrate a Dream Come True, even though it was the last time we would ever see it, because she had a perfect time last time. I, however, have Disney FOMO, so we decided to see if we could grab a spot. We headed to the area near Sleepy Hollow.

I don’t think we understood what “picture spot” meant.

We didn’t have a perfect view, but seeing the characters come over the bridge was pretty cool.

The Beast is doin' the creep on Ariel and Eric. He's probably jealous that Ariel gets to walk around as a human while he has to stay in #BeastMode.

And with that, Celebrate a Dream Come True was over. I like this parade, but I’m very, very excited to see Festival of Fantasy. The floats and costumes look amazing.

After the parade, it was time to use our Jingle Cruise FP+!

The queue had some nice decorations.

There weren’t a ton of Christmas jokes in the spiel but there were some good ones! Our skipper sang, “Deck the falls with guests I’m hauling,” when we passed the waterfall. He noted, “The jokes aren’t funnier, just holiday themed!” which was one of my favorites. He pointed out some settias and said that we were like an extended family to him—10-12 minutes together was more than enough.

I thought that the Jingle Cruise was great! I would have liked to see some more decorations on the ride but it was definitely cool to have a slightly different spiel and holiday touches.

Unfotunately, my dad got hit with a case of vertigo, something that happens to him because he’s hearing impaired. So he went to sit down near the Rapunzel bathrooms while we kept going.

We headed over to Pirates of the Caribbean! Kylie was wearing a MickeyWaffles pirate bow today.

After we rode, we texted Dad, and he was feeling much better. The party wristband line in Adventureland was huge, so we decided to meet up at the Rose Garden to get our wristbands.

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[IheartDDuck]

Hahaha, awesome. What are you waiting for, run! Truer words have never been said by a CM.

I'm glad that you're able to get priority in your castle. I wouldn't expect anything else.

Aaaaahhhh, Master's Cupcake! So perfect.

Florence!!!! I hope you had an amazing time. Such a beautiful place to visit.

 

[Harters2WDW]

Awesome! We were there at the same time! In fact, we were in Epcot and the same processional -- one row behind where you said you sat and just down a bit. And we were in MK for MVMCP too!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Oh Courtney, THANK YOU for sharing some Italy photos. It looks stunning (though not surprising). Haha Neverland!!!

Bahaha, I love the Picture Spot photo!!! Like Really love it!

Despite what you say wasn't a great spot for the parade, it looks pretty good to me.
Nah, I think Beast is just making some mental comparison notes just in case things with Belle don't work out. OMG that picture is too funny.

I'm glad I saw it before it left, but I am so glad it's been replaced. FoF looks Amaze-balls!!

YAY Christmas Party!!!

 

[emmysmommy]

I enjoyed getting caught up Courtney! Between your CP with Gary Sinise and your last full day at MK I'm enjoying your adorable Disney moments. bummer about the park open time but at least it sounds like you were able to cross a lot off your list. Your dad is a virtual regular with the cast of ETwB!

Oh my gosh! Your Italy photos and quick trip summary - thank you for sharing. What an amazing experience and to have those great memories for a lifetime.

 

[DVCWDWMEMBER]

Sounds like you had an amazing time in Italy. I haven't been there myself but from what you and Danielle have said that is for sure on my list.

 

[CarolAnnB]

I was glad to see the parade for a final time, and from a different perspective. But I know it is worth it for me to wait an hour on the sidewalk on Main Street to have a good, unobstructed view. Or with our ASL interpreters.

I thought the Jingle Cruise was cute. Put some Christmas decorations on anything and I like it! I wish WDW would do holiday overlays at attractions like they do in CA - that would be awesome.

I loved the Christmas decorations at BOG and ETWB. Especially the character ornaments that were like stained glass. The grey stuff was pretty delicious!

Ah Italy - how did I survive???

 

[courtneybelle]

Hahaha, awesome. What are you waiting for, run! Truer words have never been said by a CM.

I'm glad that you're able to get priority in your castle. I wouldn't expect anything else.

Aaaaahhhh, Master's Cupcake! So perfect.

Florence!!!! I hope you had an amazing time. Such a beautiful place to visit.

Literally the Disney experience...you see a relatively short wait and you run for it.

Thank you!! I'm glad you recognize that I am, in fact, Belle. Just going incognito as a college student.

It was so delicious!

I LOVED Florence. I went to both the Accademia and the Uffizi at your recommendation and loved them both. I also ate gelato eight out of eight days.

Awesome! We were there at the same time! In fact, we were in Epcot and the same processional -- one row behind where you said you sat and just down a bit. And we were in MK for MVMCP too!

NO WAY! That's awesome! I also see that you're going in July. We're booked at Pop from the 5th to the 13th

Oh Courtney, THANK YOU for sharing some Italy photos. It looks stunning (though not surprising). Haha Neverland!!!

Bahaha, I love the Picture Spot photo!!! Like Really love it!

Despite what you say wasn't a great spot for the parade, it looks pretty good to me.
Nah, I think Beast is just making some mental comparison notes just in case things with Belle don't work out. OMG that picture is too funny.

I'm glad I saw it before it left, but I am so glad it's been replaced. FoF looks Amaze-balls!!

YAY Christmas Party!!!

I'm so glad you liked them, Rob! It was so beautiful there, and I loved seeing the Neverland shop.

Hahaha my family consists of goofballs. It's a great picture.

It did end up working out pretty nicely. you're probably right. Always have to be prepared in case Belle decides to move on to Gaston.

I agree! I really liked the soundtrack of Celebrate but the floats themselves didn't do a whole lot for me. That being said, I can't WAIT to see Festival of Fantasy.

THE CHRISTMAS PARTY IS COMING! It feels like I'm taking forever to get there but it's up next!

 

[courtneybelle]

I enjoyed getting caught up Courtney! Between your CP with Gary Sinise and your last full day at MK I'm enjoying your adorable Disney moments. bummer about the park open time but at least it sounds like you were able to cross a lot off your list. Your dad is a virtual regular with the cast of ETwB!

Oh my gosh! Your Italy photos and quick trip summary - thank you for sharing. What an amazing experience and to have those great memories for a lifetime.

Thanks Brenda! The last day and a half of the trip was really the best, so many wonderful things happened. I know! I don't know what's going to happen the day my dad doesn't get picked...hopefully that day never comes!

It really was incredible. I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures so many beautiful and historic places!

Sounds like you had an amazing time in Italy. I haven't been there myself but from what you and Danielle have said that is for sure on my list.

I really had an amazing time. I would definitely recommend it. There's a lot to see and do along with some really magnificent food!

I was glad to see the parade for a final time, and from a different perspective. But I know it is worth it for me to wait an hour on the sidewalk on Main Street to have a good, unobstructed view. Or with our ASL interpreters.

I thought the Jingle Cruise was cute. Put some Christmas decorations on anything and I like it! I wish WDW would do holiday overlays at attractions like they do in CA - that would be awesome.

I loved the Christmas decorations at BOG and ETWB. Especially the character ornaments that were like stained glass. The grey stuff was pretty delicious!

Ah Italy - how did I survive???

I agree! I normally would never decide that late to go, but I had a moment of FOMO and just had to see it.

It was really cute. I would love to see the Nightmare before Christmas Haunted Mansion. Someday I'll get there!

Oh my gosh, those ornaments were too cute! I'd love to buy them!

I know! I am proud of you for holding it together while I was away

 

[JessM]

Thanks for sharing all the Italy pictures, I saw some on Instragram, they are all beautiful. Venice is one of my favorite places in the world, it's just beautiful. And those gondola rides, best things ever!

I'm jealous you got to go to Verona, we didn't make it there.

Ariel's ride is always a good choice, I've ridden it so much since it opened haha.

I think Disney FOMO is the very reason I never sleep in Disney, I can't handle missing out on something. I'm glad you guys got to see the parade one last time.

I agree on the Jingle Cruise, it was awesome that Disney did something but I would have liked to see some decor on the ride.

So excited to read about MVMCP!

 

[khertz]

Not gonna lie, I loved seeing your Italy pics again! I'm SO EXCITED for our trip! We watched a lot of Rick Steves' shows on touring Italy recently, and man oh man, did it make me want to go to Verona to see THE balcony! Very cool that you got to experience some of the smaller cities too.

Your dad's picture with the photo spot is awesome. He seems like a goofball, not unlike my own dad!!

That's great that you stopped to see Celebrate one more time. It was a really great parade! And like you, I'm totally excited to see FoF!

 

[courtneybelle]

Thanks for sharing all the Italy pictures, I saw some on Instragram, they are all beautiful. Venice is one of my favorite places in the world, it's just beautiful. And those gondola rides, best things ever!

I'm jealous you got to go to Verona, we didn't make it there.

Ariel's ride is always a good choice, I've ridden it so much since it opened haha.

I think Disney FOMO is the very reason I never sleep in Disney, I can't handle missing out on something. I'm glad you guys got to see the parade one last time.

I agree on the Jingle Cruise, it was awesome that Disney did something but I would have liked to see some decor on the ride.

So excited to read about MVMCP!

Venice was absolutely gorgeous! Verona has my heart though, I really wish I could live there one day...

Ariel's ride is an instant classic.

Ugh, for real though! Disney FOMO is a very real disease.

MVMCP was SO GREAT, I'm excited to start sharing it!

Not gonna lie, I loved seeing your Italy pics again! I'm SO EXCITED for our trip! We watched a lot of Rick Steves' shows on touring Italy recently, and man oh man, did it make me want to go to Verona to see THE balcony! Very cool that you got to experience some of the smaller cities too.

Your dad's picture with the photo spot is awesome. He seems like a goofball, not unlike my own dad!!

That's great that you stopped to see Celebrate one more time. It was a really great parade! And like you, I'm totally excited to see FoF!

I am so so excited for you guys! A ton of people on my trip had the Rick Steves books, they were so helpful.

My dad is a goof! Our parents would probably get along quite well.

It was a good parade but I am so unbelievably excited for FoF!!!

 

[courtneybelle]

Chapter Twenty-One: The Christmas Party Begins

I WAS FINALLY GOING TO THE CHRISTMAS PARTY! I was so unbelievably excited. I went to the party once when I was two and the only thing I remember is getting sick on the bus ride over. My grandmother and uncle went to see if we could exchange our tickets, but in true DISer fashion, I said I wanted to go to the party anyway! I was a trooper from early on.

We decided to get dinner at Cosmic Ray’s. We had a lovely CM named Tonie who commented on how much she liked my ears! Her nephew was a huge Belle fan, so we gave her one of our Belle bookmarks to give to him.

Mom and Kylie shared chicken nuggets. Kylie also got an orange slush, which she said was great for dipping her fries.

Dad got a hot dog, and I got a burger. I really didn’t eat much, though. I was too excited!

After dinner, we hopped on the PeopleMover. It was right around sunset, so it was a really nice view. I also got to see the giant wreath at the Contemporary!

As we can see, the member of our party who slept in was chipper, while the members who didn't needed a nap.

Mom, Dad, and Kylie went to get a spot for the Castle Lighting, but I was a woman with a mission. I NEEDED THE BREW.

Yep, I had yet to have my favorite beverage. I needed it like I needed air, so I headed to Gaston’s Tavern, which looked lovely at night.

I quickly procured some LeFou’s Brew and then headed to the castle to meet up with my family! Although Kylie and Mom did the Christmas party last year, they didn’t see the lighting because they were in line for the Dwarves, so I was glad they got to see something new.

There was an adorable father and daughter behind us. The father asked the little girl, “Isn’t it the most beautiful castle in the whole world?” and the little girl said, “Yes!” They both just sounded like they were in total awe and it was so sweet.

The show started at 6:15 and it was short but precious. The plot is that the characters are trying to figure out how to decorate the castle. Goofy said they should string it with popcorn, and Donald said to wrap it like a present. #TeamDonald

Finally, Cinderella said she wanted it to shine like her glass slipper, and the Fairy Godmother lit the castle lights. I think it would be cool to work Elsa in there next year. She’s got experience with ice castles.

It was amazing seeing the castle light up little by little until it was fully glowing with lights. I was in awe. I’ve looked at pictures of the castle lights forever and here I was, seeing them in person.

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[courtneybelle]

Chapter Twenty-Two: What’s in the Satchel?

After the show ended, we booked it to Fantasyland. It was character time!

We got in line at Princess Fairytale Hall for Rapunzel, Flynn, Snow White, and her prince. We were the third or fourth family in line with about a half hour to go, so we sat on the ground, I caught up on trip reporting, we chatted, just enjoying life at the Christmas party. My mom did text me at one point saying she heard a guy tell his kid, “If you keep that up, we’re leaving.” Sir, you spent hundreds of dollars on this party and it hasn’t started yet. I call shenanigans.

Soon enough we got inside! It was beautiful, very regal, and fitting for Fantasyland. I liked it much better than Town Square Theater.

Rapunzel and Flynn were first. Kylie chatted with them about how she has a Flynn Wanted poster, and they didn’t get his nose right. No one does.

I was up next. I HAD BEEN WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT FOREVER. Well, since September 2011 when I first saw Tangled. EUGENEEEEEE!!!

I asked Eugene what was in his satchel, and he quickly said, “Oh, apples for Maximus and candy canes for Pascal,” then tried to change the subject. Rapunzel leaned in and whispered to him that she thought they could trust me. I informed them you can always trust a girl in mouse ears. Flynn agreed to show me as long as I promised not to tell anyone, and he’ll know it’s me if the ruffians come after him. So I can’t tell you, but the paparazzi did capture a picture of the moment, so look closely…

What a great meet. I love them!

Rapunzel is so precious in this picture! SHE LOVES ME!

After that fabulous meet, we met up with Snow White and her prince.

Snow White was so chatty and I loved her for it. Kylie told her we were from Massachusetts, and Snow said, “Oh, I know you have a lot of berries there!” At first I thought she was talking about our cranberry bogs, but then she said, “Like Shrewsbury and Roxbury…” It was so funny, I was dying!

Snow White noticed my penguin earrings right away and asked if they were my favorite animal. I said yes, and we started talking about our favorite woodland creatures. Squirrels are quite good at cleaning cobwebs with their tails, FYI. Housekeeping with Snow White.

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[DisneyKid4Life]

Fry dipping in orange slush???? Now that is something I never thought I'd ever hear.

AHHH I like your priorities Courtney. When the Brew calls, you answer.

Hmmmmm, I like that idea sliding in Elsa to "freeze" the castle. No scratch that... I LOVE IT!

Yeah I agree. Seeing the castle all lit up is awe-inspiring. But seeing it GET lit, is just pure Disney Magic.

AHHH Great Meets. So glad it lived up to your hopes. I am telling you Rapunzel wants a baby. You can see it in her face every time she hugs someone.

 

[CarolAnnB]

Note that Kylie was all over the food picture before she drank that frozen orange thing. She is finally on board. I personally thought dipping fries in orange slush sounded gross but she thought you needed it for the TR.

I loved the castle lighting!! Especially how they did it section by section. So so beautiful.

I liked the new Fairytale Hall as well - so much better than waiting in that boring lobby at Town Sq Theater. I can imagine if I ever told you two to knock it off or we were leaving - you would both laugh right in my face.

Your Rapunzel/Eugene satchel conspiracy was so cute. Sometimes I do feel like the lunatic paparazzi but it is so fun to look at the pictures later. Snow White surprised me with her knowledge of the Massachusetts forests. I don't think her Prince said 2 words, did he?

I used to wonder about people on the DIS that said they went to 2 parties in a week but having been to a sold out party, I would definitely go to 2 if I had the chance - we did not get to see everything. Of course, one is better than none, but 2 would have been great.

 

[JessM]

What a great start to the party.

I thought the castle lighting show was so cute. And how they light it up all at once is truly breathtaking.

Ahhh Rapunzel and Eugene. They are just the BEST! Oh my gosh I was so excited to meet them.

Snow and her Prince look precious too!

 

[DVCWDWMEMBER]

Love the character pictures. Especially the one where Eugene is showing you his stash.