Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 Norm-I am all caught up, so please proceed!You are still doing a great job.I LOL'd at some of your photos and comments.Especially the photo of you checking out the Genie's shoes!TCDp.s. I'm glad you liked being spiked. I look forward to a photo of your spike display. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
parrothead7368 aka Norm 101 Posted November 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2011 OK, back to the report. Sorry it is going slow, but now I'm fighting a cold, but let's get our last full day at WDW oiut of the way.We actually did sleep in a little ans after I got back with coffee for my mom and wife and sweet tea for me, it was time to head up to the marina and catch the boat to MK. I jumped on the ECV and got a head start while Anne loaded up the golf cart with the stroller and back pack.I really enjoyed my solidary rides on the ECV to wherever we would be leaving from every day. I had my tea and all you could hear was the bump.......bump.....bump....of the sidewalk cracks. I got to check out the sites along the road and saw a lot of wildlife and people just enjoying the Fort.Well our first stop at the MK was the Harmony Barbershop for the girls scheduled 11AM haircuts. This is Claire's first haircut and I knew I had to wait and get it here. She looks a little nervous, but she has plenty of stickers.but she was like an old pro in the chair. Here she is with "First Haircut" ears.and here she is all done. Look how pretty and she loves her curls.but were not done, we need some pixie dust!!!Cadence got hers cut too, but she ended up getting some pixie dust and coloring.and the best thing is that they forgot all about the Bibbidi, Bobbidi Boutique. Truthfully, the ladies did a great job and you can't beat the pricess compared to the BBB.Than across the way, there is Pinocchio, so we had to get an autograph and a picture.Daddy is a fan too, and real men where Mickey ears. I'm also sporting one of my new Mickey watches as well.As the ladies sacheted up Main St, I had a mission to do today and that was to get my girls in to meet Rapunzel.So I ran ahead and found the line and started my only major job of the day. The line seemed long, and I had read about horror stories, but the cast member there said it was only a hour and a half wait. Not bad, I had heard a lot worse, and I had nothing better to do. So I texted my wife and told her to grab lunch and bring me something. Than she came back and said it was 40 minutes and we were the next group in. So again I texted my wife and told her to get over to the line and forget about lunch. It's really funny to see how many men were in line to see Rapunzel, until it was time to go in and little kids came out of the woodwork. Daddy's and Grampa's should receive a stand in line badge.Luckily we were last in our group and she spent alot of time with the girls. Here they are with Pascal.Than the time came to see her.and this is why Daddy's stand in hour and a half lines......Finally, it was off to Cosmic Rays for lunch. All over the park cast members and characters loved the autograph books that I made for the girls and Anne finally had to get a picture of a couple looking at them. I was proud of myself, especially when they all thought Mommy made them and the girls had to tell them their Daddy did.Lunch was good and than it was off to Tomorrowland for some rides there. First up was the People Mover.Than we went to Monsters Inc Laugh Floor which was fun and Claire and I had fastpasses for Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. The good thing about people who don't do a lot of rides, is that I can get 2 fastpasses to one ride and two fastpasses to another at the same time. So I had gotten Space Mountain fastpasses earlier and decided to head over to that while the girls mad their way over to Liberty Square. Luckily I did, because there was a 90 minute stand by time and I was a single. In and out in 5 minutes!Couldn't do that any better if I tried.Picture by the topiary's in front of the Tea Cups.And a couple by Liberty Square.to be continued...... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
doodlebug....Cherie 461 Posted November 30, 2011 Report Share Posted November 30, 2011 Norm, you deserve more than a badge! You are a wonderful father!! I love the girls hair-do's and the pictures of them with Rapunzel are just precious. :heart:p.s. I hope your cold gets better soon. :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
parrothead7368 aka Norm 101 Posted November 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2011 The rest of the evening..... It started getting dark and we had reservations at Trails End for dinner, but I knew Tiana was around here somewhere and I really needed to find her. So I walked around and alas, there she was and luckily Prince Naveen was with her too. One problem though, my mom had the autograph books and she was at the Emporium. So off I go running across the park through crowds and back. Luckily, they took a break and I didn't miss them.Waiting for them to come back.You may be asking yourself, where is Claire?? Well, she unfortunately fell asleep before we got in line, and Cadence as a good sister got her autograph book signed for her, but these two were great and wanted a picture with the sleeping princess.Claire was very excited when she saw the pictures after she woke up. I have to say, Naveen was great. I really wanted to pull him to the side and see if he could a Rock (WWE wrestler) impersonation for me, he had the eyebrow raise down to a pat.Well, it was time to head back to the campground for dinner and say goodbye to the Magic Kingdom. It was sad, but we told the girls we would be back one day and they were fine.Here are a couple of shots from dinner.Waiting for our tableand since I was in a good mood Claire wanted dessert and I decided she could have everything topped with caramel and gummy bears. She was happy.That is it for our last night at The Fort. I have a couple of pictures of our leaving day and my synopsis of the trip. I'll try and get that up tomorrow.Best Regards,Norm Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stefa70 205 Posted November 30, 2011 Report Share Posted November 30, 2011 One Stand in Line badge coming right up! It was well earned.Love the picture of you in your Mickey ears! Everybody should act like a kid at Disney.Naveen made you think of The Rock, I thought of Ricky Ricardo. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dblr....Rennie 224 Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Great pictures and what a dad to make sure the girls got to see all the princesses YOU ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LORNADUCK 261 Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 What a great TR, thank you for sharing your family's time with us. I love the autograph books, I was goin to ask if they were home made, but home made and by Dad I am impressed. Maybe u can share with us how u did them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mouseketab.....Carol 1,261 Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Beautiful day, beautiful little girls!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Norm, you deserve more than a badge! You are a wonderful father!! I love the girls hair-do's and the pictures of them with Rapunzel are just precious. :heart:p.s. I hope your cold gets better soon. :)I Agree!Great job, Dad!I earned my Rapunzel badge earlier this year, and I'm darn proud of it.Great pictures and what a dad to make sure the girls got to see all the princesses YOU ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I agree with this, too!Great job, Norm!You da man!What a great TR, thank you for sharing your family's time with us. I love the autograph books, I was goin to ask if they were home made, but home made and by Dad I am impressed. Maybe u can share with us how u did them.I noticed those autograph books, too.I thought they were a new version being sold by WDW- they look really nice.My girls' autograph days are well behind them (thank goodness), but I would like to hear how you made these books as well.Norm- I wanted to add that I am impressed with your Fastpass management skills. There are so many people who fail to take advantage of the Fastpass system, and end up with a not so great experience at the parks. We exploit the heck out of the Fastpass system, and we never have to wait on long lines.One thing about your report makes me a bit sad. My girls would have loved the BBB thing, but it came along after they were too old to do it. I never thought about taking them in to the barbershop- they would have loved that. Oh well, maybe someone will marry one of them, and I'll have grandchildren one day.TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
parrothead7368 aka Norm 101 Posted December 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Thanks for the compliments.I had a little help with the autograph books. Back in March of this year, someone on the craft board on a site to remain nameless was showing her book. I emailed her and she put the names of the girls on the covers and she also had the pages I could use. I just went on http://picaboo.com and assembled the book putting the pages in order of the way I wanted them. The best part of this is at the time picaboo was having a new member sale which was a free Classic 8x11.5 book and all you had to do is pay for shipping. So I had two email addresses and made two books and the grand total of both books was $15.98. I also just put characters that I knew we were really interested in seeing and if we found others, I put generic pages mixed in so they had a place to sign. A few of the characters loved seeing their pictures in the books, so it was a lot of fun getting the autographs.Here is Claire's interior and both covers.Duffy Bear, Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, and Drizella.Thumper and Miss BunnyMarieUnforutunately, we didn't find Alice. She is the only one with a picture that we didn't get signed.We never got Aladdin either, but the Genie was a bonus so it equaled out.This is Rosetta, she was disappointed that we wouldn't let her sign by her picture, but we had to save the space for Tinkerbell. You'll see what happens when Tinkerbell gets hold of the book.Piglet was very excited when he saw his picture.and as you can see, Tinkerbell made Wendy into a Wendy Bird. She also added on to Peter's autograph by writing loves Tinkerbell after his name.PinocchioBrer Fox and Brer BearYou can also make these books on Kodak gallery, Shutterfly etc, just need to find pictures and if anyone wants these, I can figure out a way to email them to you. I also have a generic castle picture that you can add the name on if you have photoshop with the Disney script. Also, if you google disney autograph book pages, more will come up. I just liked these the best. I'm actually in the process of making a book for my nephew, he is going on a cruise in February and I have a different cover for him with the cruise ship and the painted anchors on Castaway Cay.Best Regards,Norm Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PureTcrazy...rita 380 Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Wow! I love the book, I love your attitude about being a good father! If you don't mind, could you let us know how much the barber shop charged to do the whole bun and pixie dust routine? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
parrothead7368 aka Norm 101 Posted December 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 I am going to finish up my report now. I only have three pictures left to show, but I also wanted to give my overall of the trip as well.Here are the girls at he WHOA! sign before we left.and my wife said since I was a great husband and planned an awesome trip and I think to make up for her driving the cart all week, she let me get one of these........Now I debated about getting it, but I know I would have kicked myself down the road if I didn't and she said I could..........So I did, right before we pulled out of the site.........I originally picked up the Mickey head emblem during the week, but the tire cover was calling to me. Plus, the guy said they sold a lot of them that week, so hopefully it will help bring more Fort merchandise back.Now, my overall last thoughts of the trip and Fort Wilderness.We will definitely be back!! Hopefully we are looking at 2013. Anne would like to have another cherub and hopefully the Fantasyland expansion will be done so the girls can enjoy that. We are also hoping Anne gets a VP job in her school district soon, so it is easier to set dates, but if not, we are going to have to pick a week like Christmas or spring break which I really don't want to do. We'll see though.I really enjoyed our time at the Fort and hopefully the next trip will be a little longer. We definitely did not do a thing at the campground and I really felt bad for the girls, because they wanted to go to the campfire one night and we never did. Another thing is that we always missed the Electrical Water Parade. We always heard the music, but never saw it. We did a little looping, but definitely want to explore the area more. I think we needed to relax a little more, but don't get me wrong, I didn't feel rushed, just never was able to sit back and have a couple beers watching the buses go by. In fact, I had 5 beers all week and they were at Crockett's Tavern.We did enjoy doing the dining plan. It worked out for us and we would probably would do it again if we were doing a lot of character meals again. I didn't feel I was a slave to the plans, because of the way I planned the times and since we had 9 QS's the day we left, we just ran over to Earl of Sandwich when we left, had lunch and got 4 caesar wraps, chips and 8 oz bottled sodas to go and we had dinner for our ride to Myrtle Beach. We saved money on the road and didn't have to stop for food.The major thing out of this whole trip was planning and I have been at it since January. We missed out on a couple rides, but overall we did everything we set out to do.I was happy, Anne was happy, my mom was happy and the girls were ecstatic and speechless. Definitely a great time was had by all, and as I said in the first post a lot of the credit goes to the people here. Your ideas, snarkiness, kidding and help all rolled into one made a trip of a lifetime. Thanks Jen and Chris for the site and I hope one day to meet some of you. I'll always have my sign out, so if you see it somewhere leave a note or if we are there come say hi.Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed and I hope I helped someone along the way.Best Regards,Norm THE END Quote Link to post Share on other sites
parrothead7368 aka Norm 101 Posted December 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Wow! I love the book, I love your attitude about being a good father! If you don't mind, could you let us know how much the barber shop charged to do the whole bun and pixie dust routine?Claire's first haircut including ears and certificate was $18 and Cadence's was $15 I think, the color was an extra $5, but the pixie dust was free. I would definitely get reservations and it is a good time. Unfortunately, I had already gotten mine cut at home or I would have gotten mine done too. You can charge the cuts, but remember to have cash for a tip for the barbers. This is why I liked this instead of the BBB. The price, plus the barbers are licensed, and I believe the BBB aren't they just do hairstyles and make up, no cut. Cadence was ready to get the color out of her hair by the end of the night anyway. I honestly couldn't see paying that much and her not liking it.Best Regards,Norm Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lou... 3,118 Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Great job on the TR and very nice ending Norm.That 2013 return date is not acceptable though. You'll have to work on that.As for missing the EWP, no biggie. It'll be there when you return, unfortunately.Now that the TR is complete, don't be a stranger on FF.Net. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stefa70 205 Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Great report Norm!The autograph books were a great creation, and I love how Tink messed with Peter & Wendy.Best picture of all: The girls in front of the Whoa sign. I :heart: that darn sign.Thanks for sharing! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
doodlebug....Cherie 461 Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Thanks for sharing you trip with us. I enjoyed every minute of it. :heart: :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
parrothead7368 aka Norm 101 Posted December 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Great job on the TR and very nice ending Norm.That 2013 return date is not acceptable though. You'll have to work on that.As for missing the EWP, no biggie. It'll be there when you return, unfortunately.Now that the TR is complete, don't be a stranger on FF.Net.I wish we could get back there sooner, but we figure every two years will be good and honestly, I'm on here a lot reading. They did block it at work, but I read every night what I missed during the day. See you soon....Best Regards,Norm Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PureTcrazy...rita 380 Posted December 2, 2011 Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 Norm, it was wonderful to experience the trip with your girls vicariously! Thank you for sharing! I'm impressed with the Barbershop! If I get an opportunity to take my 3 granddaughters down, we'll definitely visit the Barbershop! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
parrothead7368 aka Norm 101 Posted December 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 Norm, it was wonderful to experience the trip with your girls vicariously! Thank you for sharing!I'm impressed with the Barbershop! If I get an opportunity to take my 3 granddaughters down, we'll definitely visit the Barbershop!You're welcome and definitely do it, you won't be disappointed.Best Regards,Norm Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LORNADUCK 261 Posted December 2, 2011 Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 Thank you so much what a great report, I don't do any so I look forward to reading other Fiends. Your planning was great and so glad you got to do most everything you wanted to. I really love the books and might ask for some help if my Granddaughters ever come down. Your girls are so cute and I am sure you made memories of a lifetime.Thanks again for sharing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gots2pitt.. Jeff 64 Posted December 2, 2011 Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 Great job Norm and thanks for sharing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
momof3kids-Yvonne 594 Posted December 2, 2011 Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 Great job Norm! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Roller ... aka Ed 351 Posted December 2, 2011 Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 :bravo: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted December 2, 2011 Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 Norm-You did a great job planning and executing your first trip to the Fort!You created a magical time for your family!I hope it isn't 2013 before you can return.You did a great job on your trip report, too.Thanks for sharing your trip with us!TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dblr....Rennie 224 Posted December 2, 2011 Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 Norm you had a great trip report but you made it easy as you had a great trip,planning helps. Don't be a stranger and keep an eye out for a GG maybe around Easter as we did one last year in Gettysburg not sure how far you are from us in NJ anyway happy camping. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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