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

[DisNorth]

Hi Courtney, I'm going to try to follow along!
What a great way to start out - Mickey ears at the airport!
The room looks divine! Thanks for sharing the photos of all the details.

 

[courtneybelle]

Hi Courtney, I'm going to try to follow along!
What a great way to start out - Mickey ears at the airport!
The room looks divine! Thanks for sharing the photos of all the details.

Hi Tracy! Thanks for joining in!!

I was obsessed with my Mickey ears! They were so much fun and it had been a really long time since I wore the traditional ears in the parks.

It really was amazing! I loved staying there!

 

[courtneybelle]

Chapter Three: Christmastime in Hollywood

I got a text from my friend Katie, who works at WDW, saying that she was on her way to Hollywood Studios, so we headed over to the bus stop! The stop had TVs telling us when each bus was scheduled to get here, which were AWESOME. They were very accurate.

While we waited, my mom took some pictures of the amazing Beauty and the Beast shoes she made me! I had seen a similar pair on Etsy, but when I went to look at them again they were out of stock. So my mom got crafty. She's great.

Here's me with all my friends!!

Yep, we had a bus to ourselves. It was great.

We used our MagicBands to enter the park. We’ll address FP+ later on in the TR when we actually use it, but I will say that I loved being able to use it to enter the park. I just thought it was really cool and more efficient than sticking your ticket in.

Once I entered the park, I saw Katie right away and gave her the biggest hug! Katie and I have known each other since high school, and we go to college in the same town. She is on her DCP in outdoor foods at DHS until early January. She also bought me the fabulous Belle mouse ears and sent them to me so I would have them for my trip!

We decided to head right over to the Streets of America for the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights.

On the way, Katie told me all about her DCP. She is having a ball and it made me so excited to hopefully do mine someday. She has had some crazy guest stories, though. Always be nice to your CMs. Not that I worry about you guys. You’re all good people.

Because our dinner reservation wasn’t until way later, we needed snacks. I went over to a cart and picked up gingerbread hot cocoa in a lovely souvenir mug, as well as a gingerbread cookie.

The cookie was fantastic!

The mug was a great deal. $5 for the hot chocolate and mug! Definitely one of the better values when it comes to souvenirs at WDW.

I LOVE gingerbread flavored things, which is one of the many reasons why Christmas is my favorite. GINGERBREAD EVERYTHING.

Kylie and Dad got Mickey pretzels, and my mom got a gingerbread cookie and regular hot chocolate.

Katie and me:

We chatted some more and before we knew it, it was time for the lighting! Goofy came out with the family who was chosen to flip the switch. After a countdown, the lights came on.

Continued in next post​

 

[courtneybelle]

Chapter Four: Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights

The lights were amazing. It was so unbelievably bright and beautiful, and I was constantly spinning around trying to see everything!

Hidden Mickey!

The pink house may have been my favorite. Because it's PINK!

'Merica Mickey.

My dad bought himself a light-up necklace. It was fantastic.

Happy sister!

So happy to be reunited in our favorite place!

In which my dad discovers the photobomb:

Family

Continued in next post

​

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Haha, for a second I got very confused when you mentioned your friend Katie as I was thinking that was the otehr TR. And of course now I realize it WAS the other TR. OK, crisis over.

Those shoes are ADORABLE!!

I really like the MB for room entry and park entry. 100% agree. FP+ is a differnt thing altogether.

Oooh Courtney do I have a doozy of a CM/guest story to tell.

AHHHH I missed that mug!!

Oh my your photos make feel like I just saw those lights. Oh wait... I DID!!! <3 them!

 

[IheartDDuck]

The shoes your Mom made you are awesome!

I always stick to the mantra of always be nice to your CM's.....and anyone in food service....or who can fix your car.......

Wait, $5 for the mug and hot chocolate? That's a steal in Disney terms.

That is a fantastic light necklace your Dad got.

Your Dad just needs to photobomb everyone. For real.

 

[DVCWDWMEMBER]

Oh my goodness that room is awesome. We are adding an extra day at the end of our May trip but now we are going to check and see if we can get one night at the Royal room. So glad that you didn't have too much trouble at the airport with TSA.

 

[khertz]

I freaking LOVE the Osborne Lights!!!!! That is my absolute most favorite thing ever in Disney at Christmastime. It's literally perfection. And when they start dancing, oh my goodness, I could just cry from happiness!!! What an amazing thing to do on your very first night.

 

[gracer9977]

Great pictures of the Osbourne Lights. They are so amazing in the pictures I see, hopefully one day I will see them in real life.

I love the Beauty and the Beast shoes that your mom made for you, they are adorable and your mom is very talented!!

I would follow the person with the Mickey Ears also if I wasn't sure which way to go.

Your dad photobombing the picture was hilarious.

I love Port Orleans. By far my favorite of the places we have stayed so far but those Royal Princess Rooms look AMAZING!!! I totally want to stay in one of those rooms. I love the princesses.

Looks like it started off as a great vacation (except for your dad's little incident with TSA.)

 

[courtneybelle]

I want to wish all of you a very merry Christmas! I hope you have wonderful days and I hope Santa brings you everything you want. "After all, there's only one more sleep till Christmas..."

Haha, for a second I got very confused when you mentioned your friend Katie as I was thinking that was the otehr TR. And of course now I realize it WAS the other TR. OK, crisis over.

Those shoes are ADORABLE!!

I really like the MB for room entry and park entry. 100% agree. FP+ is a differnt thing altogether.

Oooh Courtney do I have a doozy of a CM/guest story to tell.

AHHHH I missed that mug!!

Oh my your photos make feel like I just saw those lights. Oh wait... I DID!!! <3 them!

Ahh, TR juggling. I'm really happy I got to see her twice while she was living there!

Thank you! I love them so much.

Yeah, that's pretty much how I feel about MagicBands.

Oh no! Yeah, the stories Katie told me basically made me want to hug every CM I see.

My mom drinks out of the mug all the time! It was a good deal, for sure. Sorry you missed it

The lights are really amazing. I miss them, as I'm sure you do too! Merry Christmas Rob!

The shoes your Mom made you are awesome!

I always stick to the mantra of always be nice to your CM's.....and anyone in food service....or who can fix your car.......

Wait, $5 for the mug and hot chocolate? That's a steal in Disney terms.

That is a fantastic light necklace your Dad got.

Your Dad just needs to photobomb everyone. For real.

Thank you!

Good words to live by! I've always tried to be nice to CMs but knowing one has definitely given me a new appreciation for what they do.

It really was! Considering the drink would have probably been $3-4 on its own, getting that and the mug for $5 was phenomenal.

Haha, I have a feeling it's going to be coming out again tonight and tomorrow...

He was so happy when I read him that comment! Believe me, more photobombs are coming.

Merry Christmas Dani!

Oh my goodness that room is awesome. We are adding an extra day at the end of our May trip but now we are going to check and see if we can get one night at the Royal room. So glad that you didn't have too much trouble at the airport with TSA.

I really loved it there! It was so much fun and so hard to leave. I hope you guys can stay there!! Merry Christmas!

I freaking LOVE the Osborne Lights!!!!! That is my absolute most favorite thing ever in Disney at Christmastime. It's literally perfection. And when they start dancing, oh my goodness, I could just cry from happiness!!! What an amazing thing to do on your very first night.

Ugh, they were incredible! We stayed for a couple songs and it was just amazing to see. We had initially planned on waiting until night 2, but I'm glad we went right away because it really started the trip off right. Merry Christmas to you and your family!!

Great pictures of the Osbourne Lights. They are so amazing in the pictures I see, hopefully one day I will see them in real life.

I love the Beauty and the Beast shoes that your mom made for you, they are adorable and your mom is very talented!!

I would follow the person with the Mickey Ears also if I wasn't sure which way to go.

Your dad photobombing the picture was hilarious.

I love Port Orleans. By far my favorite of the places we have stayed so far but those Royal Princess Rooms look AMAZING!!! I totally want to stay in one of those rooms. I love the princesses.

Looks like it started off as a great vacation (except for your dad's little incident with TSA.)

I hope you get to see them someday too! They're so amazing to see in real life.

Thank you!! She's a really talented artist.

Haha, it's a good way to go when in doubt!

He LOVED photobombing, it was really funny.

I loved POR and the princess rooms! Definitely my favorite resort where I've actually stayed, and the rooms were just amazing. Merry Christmas to you and your family!!

 

[blessedmom4]

Courtney I am HERE!!! I love that room, I would have cried too. ONe of these days I hope to take my girls there, how awesome!. The shoes your Mom made were FABULOUS, I am sure you had tons of compliments on them. So much fun already, I am happy you all did this trip!!

From our family to yours!


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[CarolAnnB]

Glad you liked the shoes! Thanks to all for the compliments.

Poor Katie, I can't believe how just plain MEAN people can be. You have to give CMs credit for bouncing back after rotten guests to keep making magic for the rest of us. And the fact that someone would cuss at her ON CHRISTMAS DAY while she was working an 11 hour shift so they could be at Disney on Christmas is absolutely ridiculous. OK, rant over!

Love the Osborne lights! Driving around our town looking at lights just can't compare, even if I did take my Disney holiday mug with me. I love my Disney travel mugs. It is a great little reminder every morning.

Let's not encourage your father... goodness knows he needs no encouragement.

 

[emilyindisney]

Subbing in here as well! Here we go:

Have you ever seen the O.C.? I've been watching reruns online and Thanksbirthmas reminds me a lot of Chrismakkuh!

I literally cry everytime I watch the welcome video with those families surprising their kids. Heck- I cry when I watch those videos on youtube, too!

I'm dying at that room! Ugh- the little details are perfect!!!! The magic carpet! The lamp! Pascal in the boarder! I'm loving the runner too! I must stay there soon!

I love hearing DCP stories! I talk about DCP a lot with my sister, which is a little strange because she's out of college, and my program leave no opportunity for me to go. We read Jess' thread and have been dreaming ever since, haha! Point of this semi-off-topic rant: I hope you get in if you apply (or just get to work at Disney in general!)

The lights look awesome! I just read on the Disney Parks blog this week that the baby from the TV show Dinosaur is in one of the windows. I don't remember the little guys name but I used to love that show (which makes me sort of ashamed because when I watch it now I realize how weird it is.)

You dad's photobomb

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Whoops... I told you 2 TR's would confuse me. I just posted to the wrong one.

Oh well... since I did I'll just say again how much I love your shoes!!!

 

[courtneybelle]

Courtney I am HERE!!! I love that room, I would have cried too. ONe of these days I hope to take my girls there, how awesome!. The shoes your Mom made were FABULOUS, I am sure you had tons of compliments on them. So much fun already, I am happy you all did this trip!!

From our family to yours!


​

Thank you so much for joining in, Judy! Rachel would LOVE the Port Orleans resorts, I hope you guys get over there even if it's just for a visit! I did get a lot of great compliments on the shoes and I am excited to break them out again.

Glad you liked the shoes! Thanks to all for the compliments.

Poor Katie, I can't believe how just plain MEAN people can be. You have to give CMs credit for bouncing back after rotten guests to keep making magic for the rest of us. And the fact that someone would cuss at her ON CHRISTMAS DAY while she was working an 11 hour shift so they could be at Disney on Christmas is absolutely ridiculous. OK, rant over!

Love the Osborne lights! Driving around our town looking at lights just can't compare, even if I did take my Disney holiday mug with me. I love my Disney travel mugs. It is a great little reminder every morning.

Let's not encourage your father... goodness knows he needs no encouragement.

You're a crafty one!

Yeah, I give CMs all the credit in the world for what they have to put up with. Poor Katie, but she still loves it there

The mugs were a great find!! I know, I wish we had something even close to the Osborne lights near us, but it was great to see it in Orlando.

Haha, I'll have to do a photobomb count...

Subbing in here as well! Here we go:

Have you ever seen the O.C.? I've been watching reruns online and Thanksbirthmas reminds me a lot of Chrismakkuh!

I literally cry everytime I watch the welcome video with those families surprising their kids. Heck- I cry when I watch those videos on youtube, too!

I'm dying at that room! Ugh- the little details are perfect!!!! The magic carpet! The lamp! Pascal in the boarder! I'm loving the runner too! I must stay there soon!

I love hearing DCP stories! I talk about DCP a lot with my sister, which is a little strange because she's out of college, and my program leave no opportunity for me to go. We read Jess' thread and have been dreaming ever since, haha! Point of this semi-off-topic rant: I hope you get in if you apply (or just get to work at Disney in general!)

The lights look awesome! I just read on the Disney Parks blog this week that the baby from the TV show Dinosaur is in one of the windows. I don't remember the little guys name but I used to love that show (which makes me sort of ashamed because when I watch it now I realize how weird it is.)

You dad's photobomb

Thanks for joining in, Emily!! Great to see you

YES! Seth Cohen is the man.

Oh yes. Those videos make me SO EMOTIONAL! And don't get me started on Disney proposals, or Disney military reunions...

You definitely should stay there if you get the chance! It's definitely my favorite room I've stayed in at WDW.

Thank you!! I love Jess's thread too. Yeah, I can't take time off school to do it, but a friend of mine did it immediately after graduation so I'm hoping I'll be able to do the same!! I'll just have to keep wishing and working hard.

Ahh, I did not see that while I was there!

More photobombs are coming...

Whoops... I told you 2 TR's would confuse me. I just posted to the wrong one.

Oh well... since I did I'll just say again how much I love your shoes!!!

Hehe it's okay Rob!! I'm sure Mama Courtneybelle appreciates the extra love

 

[courtneybelle]

Chapter Five: A ‘50s Thanksgiving

After we had gotten our fill of the lights, we decided to head over to a classic that had recently been refurbished, MUPPETVISION 3D!

I’m obsessed with this show and quote it on a regular basis. To be honest, though, sometimes I think the preshow is even funnier than the actual show inside. “Will you stop this foolishness?” “What foolishness would you like to see?” It also helps that it features Rizzo the Rat, my spirit animal, dressed as Mickey. “Hello, welcome to my park…They’re tourists, what do they know!”

Posing with Sam the Eagle's drawers.

The Muppets were great as always, and we peeked around in the Muppets and Christmas stores after that. Katie had to head out because her friend was getting off work, but I was SO glad I had gotten to see her!

Although our reservation wasn’t for another half hour, we decided to head over to ‘50s Prime Time Café to see if they’d let us in early.

We got there and ‘50s was PACKED, but it was decorated every nicely for Christmas!

I went to wash my hands just in case our waiter asked me. Kylie was grumpy.

Now, if you read my last TR, you know that ‘50s is my favorite restaurant. A big part of this was our amazing waiter, Loukili. Click here if you’d like to read about how hilarious he was in August. We were talking about how cool it would be to see him again. You may know where this is going.

Our name was called and the CM took us to our table, and who did we run into? LOUKILI!!! Ahhh I was so excited. It was a family reunion. My dad shook his hand and we sat down…and Loukili sat down with us and said he’d take care of us. THIS IS THE STORY OF HOW I DIED. I was so unbelievably happy to see this man again! He made us thank “mama and papa” for taking us to Disney World.

Of course, Loukili asked us what color the soap was. I knew and Kylie didn’t, so Loukili said that I was his favorite and Kylie was a little brat. He sent her off to the bathroom. When Kylie complained, he started a room chant of “Kylie is a whiny girl!” I don’t know if she was amused but I thought it was hilarious.

We all got the turkey dinner, with mashed potatoes, stuffing, and corn. Honestly, I didn’t really like the turkey. Everything else was fantastic, though! I may just be biased toward my mom’s turkey.

Loukili came by to make sure we were eating, and he fed Kylie some corn, singing “Little Bunny Foo Foo.”

Later on, he looked at my birthday button and sang “That’s Not My Name” with my name in it, and then fed me, singing “What Does the Fox Say?” It was hilarious!

After we had finished our dinner, Loukili made Kylie help him bring the plates back into the kitchen! They sang “High Ho, High Ho, It’s Off to Work We Go,” on the way. Unfortunately (or fortunately in her case), Kylie was not allowed in Ma’s kitchen.

Because my dad and I were wearing our buttons, Loukili brought us cupcakes for dessert! They were delicious, especially the frosting.

Loukili brought out two birthday cards and gave them to all the tables in the room, telling everyone to sign their cousins’ birthday cards. At first, I just thought this was hilarious…until I got my card. People had written SUCH nice birthday messages on there: “Happy birthday cousin!” “Love ya, cuz!” "Good days ahead!"

I am a pretty emotional person and this got me SO choked up. These people took time out of their Thanksgiving dinner on vacation to write us these nice messages and it touched me so much! Disney magic, man. It’s just the best. I will cherish that card for a long time!

Mom ordered the Brownie Sundae for all of us to share. I’ve heard a lot of complaints on the DIS about how it’s too much whipped cream…but I love whipped cream, so that is just fine by me! It was great.

Then, of course, Loukili instigated a repeat performance of “I’m a Little Teapot,” which he made Kylie perform in August. I wasn’t getting out of it this time, and he made a little boy from the next table join in. He had a pink MB and pink sneakers, so I loved him.

We paid the bill and told Loukili we’d see him in July! That man is one of my favorite CMs ever. He is one of the funniest, sweetest individuals, and he is perfect for ‘50s.

When we left ‘50s, we headed over to Guest Relations to tell the CM how wonderful he was. She said she’d be sure to send it over to his managers.

We headed back to the hotel since DHS was closed at that point. I put on Queen Stacey for a bit, but my dad changed it to Harry Potter! WHAAT. WE CAN WATCH HARRY POTTER ANYTIME. WE DON’T HAVE STACEY DVDS.

Disney could probably sell the Stacey DVDs, now that I think about it. I know a certain Canadian reader of this TR who would buy one…

The reason why we stayed offsite in August was so we could get two bedrooms: one for Mom and Dad, who snore, and one for Kylie and me. I thought ahead and brought my earplugs, but Kylie didn’t want to wear them. She ended up waking up my mom four times to get her to stop snoring…only to find out that it was my dad who was snoring. False accusations!!

Continued in next post
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[DisneyKid4Life]

Ahh Muppetvision is genius... sheer genius. I swear Walt and Jim Henson were kindred spirits.

Haha, such a (second) great reunion at 50's. I particularly like the other patron's reactions in your photos. Clearly you were an entertaining group.

OMG that card is AMAZING!!!! I would absolutely be framing that sucker. Just.. beautiful.

So good on you for passing on your great experience to Guest Relations. I keep saying I need to do that more. It really is the CM's that make the difference.

Hmmm... I have NO IDEA who you could be referring to that would EVER buy Stacey DVD's.

AHHH I NEED THEM NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[vicceja]

Love Love Love your trip report Can't wait for more - missing Disney World and planning our trip back Home this summer!

 

[courtneybelle]

Ahh Muppetvision is genius... sheer genius. I swear Walt and Jim Henson were kindred spirits.

Haha, such a (second) great reunion at 50's. I particularly like the other patron's reactions in your photos. Clearly you were an entertaining group.

OMG that card is AMAZING!!!! I would absolutely be framing that sucker. Just.. beautiful.

So good on you for passing on your great experience to Guest Relations. I keep saying I need to do that more. It really is the CM's that make the difference.

Hmmm... I have NO IDEA who you could be referring to that would EVER buy Stacey DVD's.

AHHH I NEED THEM NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love it so much. Especially since it's the last project Jim Henson worked on before he passed, it holds such a sentimental value to me. It's my childhood!

Hahaha you are correct Rob, Loukili was a big hit with all the guests in the room.

It was definitely a treasured souvenir to bring home!! Just too sweet.

I'm really glad we did it, and I emailed about another CM who was very kind and helpful as well. Guest Relations hears so many complaints, I just like to be able to let them know when I have a good experience

Disney is really missing out on a money-making opportunity here! You'd be first in line to get yourself a copy.

Love Love Love your trip report Can't wait for more - missing Disney World and planning our trip back Home this summer!

Hi! Thank you so much for joining in! That's so exciting that you are going back this summer. We are working on our ADRs for our July trip!

 

[DVCWDWMEMBER]

Muppets were a staple in our house when my kids were growing up. I am so glad that they are now a part of the Disney family. Jim Henson and Walt Disney were imagineers and creators for generations of kids to enjoy. 50s is one of our favorite restaurants too. Love the interaction with the CM for sure. Maybe we can add it to our May trip for dinner