Monday, February 18, 2013

Disney v2.0 - That annoying White Rabbit

Sorry for the gap between trip report posts!  This one covers our 4th full day at WDW.  As a quick recap, here's how we spent our first 3 days:

Day 1, Thursday - Magic Kingdom
Day 2, Friday - Animal Kingdom
Day 3, Saturday - Epcot

We had originally planned to spend some of our forth day at Animal Kingdom but that morning, I asked the girls which park they wanted to visit.  Magic Kingdom was the unanimous response. 

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Breakfast was in the suite again and when we arrived in the park, the line for the princess meet wasn't very long so we headed there first.

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Yes, Anna is wearing the same skirt as the day before because we have three of them.

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We spent some time in the new portion of Fantasyland.

The Beast's castle...

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Gaston's Tavern...

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The cinnamon rolls were quite tasty but not as tasty as the ones at Main Street Bakery for some reason.  Gaston appeared out of nowhere and came over to say hello.  The girls wanted nothing to do with him because he's a boy.  He was actually quite entertaining.

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The girls enjoyed the new Ariel ride (we used fast passes) and meeting Ariel herself.  Emily couldn't take her eyes of off Ariel's tail.

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We attempted to ride Peter Pan but something happened, maintenance men arrived and the whole thing was shut down.  Thankfully, we hadn't been waiting in line for long.  We rode Winnie the Pooh (fast passes again) and then the tea cups.  Because we had snacked on cinnamon rolls, it was well past our normal lunch time.  We hadn't decided where to eat so we loaded up the girls into the strollers and took off.  The girls had seen the White Rabbit signing autographs behind (or in front, depending on which direction you are coming from) the tea cups our first day there but the line had been long and I told them we would try again another day.  We hadn't made it far past the tea cup ride when Anna yelled out, "There's the White Rabbit."  I looked around but didn't see him.  She pointed again and sure enough, there he was with a handler, walking over to where we had seen him earlier, which was only about 10 feet or so from where we were.

We backed up and I started to help Anna out of her stroller while Emily and Allie found empty pages in their autograph books, which is what handlers always tell kids to do.  I looked up again just in time to see two girls headed in the opposite direction turn around, see the Rabbit and start running over to where we were.  The Rabbit completely ignored us, grabbed those girls by the hand and brought them on the tea cup ride.  My girls couldn't figure out what had happened.  Their jaws were on the ground.  "Why did he go on the ride with them?  We were waiting for him.  He was right in front of us."

When the ride ended, they exited and the Rabbit signed autograph books and posed for pictures with those girls.  Then, instead of coming over to where we were (patiently) waiting, he walked over to the other side and posed for pictures with a group (of adults) who had walked up to him.  I thought we were in the wrong spot so we all started to move over there. I asked the handler if that's where he was going to be meeting.  No, we had been in the correct spot.  So back we went.

The Rabbit finally came over but grabbed another group (of adults) walking by and spent time signing autographs and posing for pictures with them.  By that point, I was out of patience.  My kids couldn't understand why they were being ignored when they were clearly waiting in line.  I went up to the handler and (politely) said, "I hate to be an annoying person but are we going to be next?  We've been waiting since he first walked up here."  The handler told me that the Rabbit sometimes gets confused and that, yes, we would be next.

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He was nice enough and didn't rush when the girls were with him.  Maybe he didn't see my kids waiting for him (he is just a person wearing a costume after all) and maybe he was just staying true to character but he annoyed me and now he's officially at the bottom of my list. 

We ended up eating lunch at the Starlight Cafe, which was pretty good, and then the girls met Merida.

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The girls wanted to swim so we left after catching part of the afternoon parade.  Dinner was at the food court at the resort that night.

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Walkway/bridge over to Pop Century...

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Nemo suites...

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Up next - Tonga Toast, Magic Kingdom &  Main Street Electrical Parade

22 comments:

Elizabeth said...

I love the picture with Gaston! The girls faces are priceless! And that is up with the white Rabbit! so odd! love your disney posts! (and the girls outfits!)

Kristin said...

I love reading about your Disney updates! I am continuously planning our first family trip (which may or may not happen for another 3 years!). I can't wait to go with kids though. Were your girls 4 or 5 the first time you took them?

Unknown said...

The faces they are making in the picture with Gaston is hilarious!

I would be super annoyed about the White Rabbit, too. Children waiting should definitely trump adults

Anonymous said...

Your girls are cute as are the clothes you make, but do you ever supervise them when they get dressed? Sometimes they look so disheveled and unkempt. Just wondering??

Abby said...

I don't think her girls look disheveled and unkempt. I think they look like active little girls. She isn't shooting pictures for a Pottery Barn Kids catalog, so every hair isn't going to be in place.

PS- I love the dresses and various outfits you make for your girls!

Sarah said...

Thanks!! I LOL every time I look at that Gaston picture. They wouldn't even look at him.

Kristin - the girls were 3.5 for our first trip.

Anon - Don't really know how to respond to that? I guess everyone has a different opinion on what looks disheveled or unkempt. I think my kids look like 5 year olds. They certainly look like all the other kids in their classes. Sorry - but I don't carry a brush with me or stage photos for the sake of the blog.

Molly said...

Sarah, sorry you got that weird anonymous comment. You girls don't look even a little disheveled in these pics. Thanks for sharing your trip with us blog readers!

Stef said...

Thats so funny you put that story about the White Rabbit. There was recently a news story I read online about a family complaining of being ignored/snubbed by the W.R. at Disney World. The family is African American and says that the W.R. took nice pictures with other, White, patrons but when it came for their kids he stood back, not touching them. I tend to believe that these characters should be more kid-friendly.

JEN said...

I found the adults very aggressive when meeting characters when we were there last year, often to the detriment of the children waiting in line. It ticked me off and in some cases, weirded me out! (The two guys fawning over Aurora and having them sign their Ipads after posing for like 20 pics).

Your girls are so lovely!

Beau said...

While I adore the photos, and the girls Disney dresses, it often seems to me like Anna is set apart from the other 2, with the same skirt (I did read what you read though) or different hairstyles..

other than that I love reading your blog! :)

Sarah said...

Beau - that's b/c she wants to be different. ;) I don't pick out their clothes or hair styles.

KimB said...

I guess anonymous is not a parent. 5 year old girls dress the way they want, not how their parents want. They are not disheveled. They are active and running around, which is what they should be doing.

Honestly, what do people like that want???

Anonymous said...

Love the blog too but I disagree that Anon can't be parent. I'm a mom of 4 kids (3 are girls) and they never looked unmatching at that age. I never understood parents at that age saying "well she won't wear that" Luckily my kids were easy going and I was able to pick out their clothes. They wore a lot of Gymboree etc and those outfits are made to match with leggings, hair bows etc.
It's a personal quirk of mine when I see kids that obviously just randomly pick things out. This is an age when they can look so adorable-before you know it the clothes aren't cute anymore!
That said- Allie, Emily and Anna are adorable in everything they wear- I can see it's their style and suits them :)

Anonymous said...

Anon is definately a mom!! I have 2 girls and while they are allowed to express their individuality in their clothes, I never let them go out unmatching. With all the effort you go to making these adorable outfits, I think that you would help them dress so they can be worn the correct way. My girls are very easy going but it is also a quirk of mine to see kids with clothes just randomly thrown on. I work at a school and see all types of kids - even though it is not right, teachers definately notice the kids whose parents help them dress and unfortunately do judge those that are continually thrown together. I never understand the parents that say "she'll never wear that" either. You should take advantage of these years when the girls can wear cute and adorable clothes. They won't last long.

Sarah said...

Really? So much drama and judging over what kids wear? They are clean and happy and expressing themselves - there is so much more to worry about in life.

Melissa said...

I am a teacher and a mom of 4 year old twin girls. As a teacher I do see kids who come to preschool all mismatched and hair thrown up in crazy ways. However, unlike Anon, I do not judge them and I would hope my girls teachers would not judge my children based on what they wear to school. I lay out perfectly coordinated outfits with matching hair bows the night before school or church. Some mornings they will put on these outfits and leave the house just how I pictured. Most days though, one or both of my girls decide they do not want to wear what I had picked out. One of my girls was extremely upset the other day because she did not want to wear jeans to school and wanted to wear a dress instead. She had tears and was really upset. To me, it is not worth the fight to force her to wear something she does not want to wear. That would be sending the message to my daughter that her opinion does not matter. My other daughter was already dressed and ready, I was not about to take the time to change her outfit too just so they would match. They both have their favorite hair styles and want it to be styled that way almost daily. Both of my children have had these strong options on their clothing for over a year now and I don't fight it. Their hair is always brushed and styled before leaving the house, it doesn't last that way for much more than an hour, but I don't care.
So, as a parent, I know how difficult it can be to make multiple children happy while getting dressed in the morning. I know that hair doesn't stay in tact all day and I know that my kids are happy and take pride in the outfits they out together. As a teacher when I see those kids with flowered pants, polka dot shirts and reindeer socks, I smile a the personality they put into their own outfit. I will not judge a child or their parents for allowing their child to make choices.

Anonymous said...

Wow Anon (feb 20th at 1:24pm). Criticizing 5 year old girls! This attitude is one reason why women have body image issues! Do things your way, and let everyone else do things their way. It is AWESOME for kids to dress themselves and have their own ideas, it is called an imagination and creativity. And...if you worked at a school you must not be a teacher due to your grammatical errors.
I love reading about these girls and the fabulous mom they have. I'm also a mom to twin girls and I will not dampen their spirits by making them conform to what others think they should look like.
-Carolyn

Anonymous said...

Sarah - ignore and move on. You know better than anyone that this stuff doesn't matter.

Keep on blogging! :) I know your story well and really enjoy reading.

Emily said...

I'm confused. Why is it so important for kids to match? I don't match my outfit with my sister, why would I try to force my daughters to match? Y'all it's just clothes. Sarah's girls are adorable, smart, and imaginative (among other characteristics), isn't that more important then what they are wearing?

Meaghan at Acadam said...

I literally laughed out loud at "I never let them go out unmatching!"!!! As a twin, my mother NEVER forced us to match and let us be ourselves and dress the way we wanted to. Talk about Nazi-Mom! My memories at Disney as a child are of having fun with my family. Not being forced to wear matching outfits with my sister for the sake of nice photos! Hahaha. I wish I had your sewing talent. You should open a shop!

Teej said...

I don't understand some of these comments at all!?! In all of these pictures, the girls look well-matched to me. Their shoes and hair doo-dads match their dresses! And they all kind of match each other (not that siblings, even identical triplets should HAVE to match), in that they are all in Disney clothes! What more is to be expected?

Also, I have always been majorly impressed with the girls' hair. It never looks dishevled to me. It always seem remarkably groomed for such long hair (if MY hair was that long, I would look like an electrocuted horse, but whatever), and I love the various styles, braids, ponies, etc.

Blergh to rude commentors.

Staceey L. said...

Ok my only response to the mismatched comment is this: WHO CARES? In the big picture is having perfect clothes and perfect hair important? No. I would much rather teach my girls to be individuals and to express myself. It'd be one thing if her girls were wearing dirty clothes, but they aren't they choose for themselves and what business is it of anyone else's? Things could be a lot worse.