Day 11 ~ Caitlin's 12th Birthday, Typhoon Lagoon and Cinderella's Royal Table ~ 6th November 2018

[caitlinsmummy]

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Day 11 ~ Caitlin's 12th Birthday, Typhoon Lagoon and Cinderella's Royal Table ~ 6th November 2018

Today was Caitlin's birthday I had pre ordered a gift basket and cake from Fairytale Personal Shopper. I had arranged to collect it from Beth herself, however, with our unexpected late night last night I asked her to leave it with reception and we'd pay the $5 handling fee (she also had a BaBW parcel for me that I'd ordered in the sale )

Knowing I could have a little more of a lie in I set the alarm for 8am. We were woken up at 7am with noisey neighbours who's kid's were shouting and banging doors. Now I know you can't keep kid's quiet all the time but a little respect at 7am, luckily it didn't wake the kid's but Chris was just about to go out and ask them to keep it down when they left thankfully. There was no way we would get back to sleep now so I decided to head to reception to pick up the order.

I was walking to reception by 7.40am whilst the kid's were still asleep. The walk was lovely and I really enjoyed taking in the resort, Riverside really is a beautiful resort. I arrived at reception just before 8am and the lovely CM brought my parcels out. I had obviously underestimated just how much stuff there was!

The gift basket was HUGE in itself, then the cake was a full size cake, I had requested a cake to feed 5 people thinking I would get a small cake ... nope Then I also had the BaBW parcel to contend with. I'd also forgotten I ordered about 6 shower gels, not to mention the rest of the stuff in the parcel. A CM offered to have the cake sent to the room later that day as I couldn't carry everything, plus it was too big to go in the fridge anyway!

I struggled back to the room with the basket and parcel, having to stop several times to swap arms and readjust before I dropped everything. Stupidly I'd left my phone in the room as I didn't think I'd need it so I couldn't even ring Chris to send Thomas or Caitlin to help!

I got back to the room and everyone was awake, we sang 'Happy Birthday' to Caitlin and gave her the gift basket and a few gifts that we had brought with us.

It was full of American snacks and candy, she was over the moon with it and she also loved the Rapunzel hat, which we later saw in a shop in MK! (Yes I forgot to take the prices off the presents parenting fail!)

I had arranged for the cake to be delivered to the room for 3pm. We finished getting ready and then headed out for Typhoon Lagoon. As it was Caitlin's birthday I asked her if she wanted to go in a Minnie Van and she jumped at the chance. I used the Lyft app to order a Minnie Van at 8.50am, it was estimated to arrive for 9.10am, so we headed out to the roundabout near the room as that was the pick up point.

The kid's enjoyed watching the lizards whilst we waited then Thomas found this:

We meant to post it on FB but we completely forgot. I checked the app and the ETA for the Minnie Van had changed to 9.20am and kept changing, it eventually settled on 9.25am. I decided I didn't want to be rushing so we cancelled the Minnie Van and ordered a Lyft instead.

The Lyft arrived promptly and we arrived at TL by 9.30am. There was already a few people waiting, we were let in at 9.35am. I offered to take a photo for a young couple who then returned the favour for us.

We then did the same again

We joked that we should just follow each other take pictures

Whilst waiting for rope drop a CM came and handed us a map and chatted to the kid's, it was great to keep them entertained whilst we were waiting. Thomas then decided to hide the rock he'd found and got annoyed when Noah kept saying he'd found it

Thankfully they then let everyone in. We headed round near the kid's pool, but settled on sunbeds near the wave pool and grabbed some life jackets for Thomas and Noah. Chris, Caitlin and the boys went to get changed and I waited with the beds. When they came back I headed to get changed.

Now I'd made a massive boo boo ... I bought a new costume before coming away but stupidly didn't try it on and had only brought it with me today ... yep you've guessed it, it didn't fit! I managed to get into it but I felt so self conscious it was awful, I was in tears in the bathroom. I took it off and put my clothes back on. When I got back Chris asked why I wasn't changed and I just started crying, telling him what happened

He said he could I go back to the room and get my other costume, but I was too upset by this point. He offered to buy me a new one from the shop in TL so I headed over there for a look. I nearly started crying again in here at the price of them over $100 just for a tankini top! Obviously they were designer and I was in the wrong part of the store. A CM came and asked if they could help so I explained I needed a costume, he showed me around and I managed to find a Minnie Mouse one with a skirt. I took 2 in the changing room to try on and ended up getting the smaller one, as the other was a little too big and would reveal things no one wants to see! This was $56 including tax which wasn't too bad, but I felt awful that I'd have to waste that money when I had a perfectly good one back in the room (in the same size as the new one might I add!)

Costumegate avoided I headed into the wave pool with Chris, Thomas and Noah. They'd already been on a couple of slides so we decided to head to the lazy river. We had to walk around a bit before we managed to get a rubber ring. Thomas decided he was going on ahead, I went after him but he'd gone too far and couldn't hear me calling him. I wasn't happy at all as he can't swim (although he did have a life jacket on). I left Chris and Noah and went after him. I got back to the where we started and hadn't found him so I headed back to the beds and he was there, he said he got pulled away with the water so he came back to the bed and waited for us, which was good.

When Chris and Noah joined us we headed off to do some rides. Caitlin point blank refused to go on the rides and said she wanted to go back in the wave pool and said she'd be ok on her own. I told her which rides we were going to do so she knew where we were.

My notes are crap for today and I haven't wrote which rides we did just that we did 2 raft rides and Chris did a slide (there were 3 others there). Caitlin joined us for the second raft ride and we really enjoyed that one, so much so we went on again!

We then headed back to the wave pool for a bit before deciding to go get some lunch. Caitlin opted to have cheetos from her gift basket and ate them on the walk for lunch.

After reading reviews I wanted to have lunch at Typhoon Tilly's. When we walked past it was closed. I walked past a little later to see if it was maybe too early but it wasn't open at all, I'm guessing as it was out of season they didn't open. The only lunch place open was Leaning Palms so we headed there.

Leaning Palms

Caitlin and I went to order whilst the boys found a table, we spent a while deciding what we wanted here.

Me:

Cheese Burger - served with fries -

I wasn't sure on the price of this as it's not on the menu but they said they could just do a cheeseburger. I assume a similar price to the pork burger. This was nice enough, pretty standard QS food really.

Chris:

Barbecued Pork Sandwich -served with Apple Slices or French Fries - $9.99

Chris really enjoyed this, he loves pulled pork and he said it was filling, which is a rarity from the un-fillable dustbin!

Caitlin:

Hot Dog -with
a choice of Apple Slices or House-made Chips - $7.49

We opted for fries with this and the boys shared them with their meal. Caitlin enjoyed this but again it's a pretty plain meal and bog standard QS food.

Thomas and Noah:

Chicken Nuggets - (8 pieces) with Apple Slices or French Fries - $9.49

The boys enjoyed these, although Noah was becoming fed up of nuggets and only ate half a one, but he ate most of the fries.

We got 2 diet coke, 1 sprites and 1 bottle of water with these meals.

This filled a little hole and we were very behind on the snack credits so we headed to get some ice cream. We went to:

Happy Landings Ice Cream

Caitlin isn't a huge fan of ice cream so she opted to not have any. The boys got a waffle cone each, one with chocolate and one with vanilla.

Had I realised how big the ice cream sundaes were Chris and I would have shared, we should have learnt by now but nope we ordered one each!

Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae - Vanilla Ice Cream with Hot Fudge, Chocolate Sprinkles, Whipped Cream and a Cherry served over a Brownie - $5.59

Now according to Touring Plans, this isn't a snack credit. I'm not sure if it's changed since we were there as we were able to use a snack credit for each of these. They were lovely and helped us cool down a bit too. It was a nice treat after lunch and some 'proper ice cream'.

I was quite full after lunch so I decided to chill out and read my book whilst Chris and the kids went in the wave pool. Chris and Thomas went on Kowabunga and I went in the pool with Caitlin and Noah. Chris took over when he got back and I went and got dried and changed. At 2.15pm I rallied everyone up to get changed and head back to the room to get ready for tonight.

We got a bus to Disney Springs then a bus back to POR. The bus was pretty empty and Noah wanted to sit with Caitlin. He wasn't happy when he realised we were taking photos

He was over the moon at the size of the pine cone near the stairs to our room, he even brought it home with him

When we arrived back the cake had been delivered and Caitlin loved the surprise! The picture really doesn't show how big the cake is.

As we had a 6pm ADR at CRT we thought it was best not to try the cake. We all had showers and got dressed. We had voicemail on the phone stating that Noah's bag had been found and it was to be collected from reception so Chris headed up to reception with Noah whilst we finished getting ready. I text Chris and asked if he could get the bus from outside reception as time was getting on.

Catilin, Thomas and I walked to the bus stop and text Chris when we boarded, they got on the bus at reception ... but no bag. Apparently they couldn't find it out the back so they would send it to our room. We were at MK for 5.30pm but the queues for bag check and getting in were strangely busy! We had a FP to meet Tinkerbelle at 5.30pm so we headed straight there. The queue wasn't too bad but it did move quite slowly.

We didn't see Tink till 5.50pm so we hotfooted it to CRT for our 6pm ADR, but not before Chris grabbed a couple of shots of the castle all lit up.

We arrived at 6.10pm and were directed to the queue for Cinderella in the waiting room.

Cinderella's Royal Table

As it was Caitlin's birthday we'd let her choose where to eat, she either wanted to eat at Be Our Guest or Cinderella's Royal Table. When BoG changed to the pre-fixe menu she changed her mind and opted for Cinderella's Royal Table.

Now this restaurant is beautiful and the theme is done so well. The atmosphere was really good too. We met Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel and Jasmine. I managed to take photos of the menu's here.

This meal included, starter, entree and dessert. Our CM also brought us a 'Wishing Star' and they did a little show before collecting the 'Wishing Stars' and presenting the females with 'Magic Wands' and males with 'Swords' which was a lovely touch.

Chris and I opted for alcoholic drinks and the server also offered us soft drinks.

Chris:

Bellini with Canella Prosecco and Peach Juice - $9

Me:

Mimosa with Paul Cheneau Lady of Spain Cava and Orange Juice - $10

Starters

Me:

Characturie Plate - A Selection of Cured Meats, Cheese, and other specialty selections of the Castle

I'm not entirely sure why I opted for this as I don't like half the things on it In hindsight I wish I'd ordered the Castle Salad. I did try everything on there but they just weren't to my tastes sadly.

Chris:

Soup of the Day - sadly I haven't noted what the soup was but Chris enjoyed it although he did say the portion was too much as it was quite rich. I think it may have been Oxtail as that rings a bell

Kid's:

Cheese and Grapes

Thomas and Noah ate the cheese, Caitlin and Noah ate the grapes between them all

Entrees

Chris:

- Pan-seared all-Natural Chicken - Seared Chicken Breast over Smashed Fingerling Potatoes with Seasonal Vegetables in Madeira-Mushroom Sauce

Chris really enjoyed this, apart from the sprouts, he said it was lovely and would have it again.

Me:

Beef and Shrimp - Grilled Beef Tenderloin, Sautéed Shrimp in a Shallot-Butter Sauce, and Potatoes Au Gratin with Braised Rapini

I remember swapping the sides for something else ... but honestly can't remember what I think I swapped for the rainbow carrots and mash. I don't like shrimp so Chris ate mine and said it was nice. I didn't rate my steak much, I've got in my notes that it was rather fatty which I'm surprised at considering this is a signature restaurant. I know you pay the premium for the characters but I still expected the steak to be better to be honest! Everything else was lovely and I still enjoyed the experience.

Caitlin:

Steak and plain pasta

Caitlin basically built her own meal of steak and plain pasta. She really enjoyed this and ate the lot.

Thomas:

Chicken Nuggets - served with Mashed Potatoes and Seasonal Vegetables and choice of one (1) Beverage and one (1) Dessert

The veg was corn which Thomas doesn't like so he left. It had been a pain trying to sort credits throughout the holiday as Thomas was down as an adult even though he should have been a child so most times the servers were bringing out an adult portion of the kids menu ... this was no exception poor Thomas's face at the size of the portion, I told him he wasn't expected to eat it all and his face relaxed poor kid haha.

I must admit he did really well I think he managed just over half of the nuggets, Chris, Caitlin and I dug into the remainders.

Noah:

Plain pasta

Noah's amazing 2 credit meal as I said earlier he was fed up of the nuggets now so opted for plain pasta with some ketchup. He didn't manage much of this as the atmosphere was affecting him a lot.

Desserts

We were all rather full and wanted to get moving for a space for HEA so we opted to have our desserts to go. The server offered to bring a small cake out and sing happy birthday to Caitlin but she didn't want to so the server placed some cupcakes in a box to takeaway instead.

I opted for:

The Clock Strikes Twelves- Dark Chocolate Mousse with a Dark Chocolate Ganache served with a Raspberry Coulis

I ate this when we got back to the room on the evening and it was really nice. I thought it would be really sickly but it wasn't just the right amount of chocolate and the raspberry really helped to cut it up a bit.

Overall the meal was enjoyable, the atmosphere was great and the staff were fab at catering to our fussy tastes. I'm not sure we'd visit here again as it was very pricey had we not had the DDP. If we ever stayed on property we may come again as the kid's really enjoyed it. Tip is also include in this which is great as I'd have begrudged paying $62 on a tip!

Throughout the meal the Princesses came and visited our table and the kid's had photos.

Snow White

Next up was Ariel, Caitlin was having herself a strop because she was tired, hungry and was annoying Noah. We'd asked her to leave him alone as we didn't want a meltdown. Caitlin got upset and started crying just as Ariel came over. Ariel told her not to cry on her birthday and would she like a hug.

She had a little chat with Caitlin and said she couldn't cry on her birthday as it's not allowed she said how she got 'crabby' when she was tired and hungry too. Caitlin perked up after this. Next up Rapunzel visited our table.

Ariel must have finished her rounds and she came back to our table and sat next to Caitlin and asked if she had cheered up now and said she was pleased to see she was happier as she couldn't cry on her birthday.

Next up was Jasmine as I was taking a photo she noticed my phone case and Noah even wanted a picture with Jasmine too!

Chris managed to take some photos as we were leaving.

Chris had also decided to bring the wands and swords away with us The wands ... not too bothered ... the swords ... the boys would kill each other

We left at around 7.40pm and there were already loads of people outside the castle ready for HEA! Chris managed to get a few photos.

We were going to head for our 7DMT FP but decided we'd rather get a spot for HEA instead. This is when I decided we needed to hammer these snack credits. Caitlin and I popped to the nearest snack cart and got snacks for us all. We got 4 drinks, 4 popcorn and 4 candy floss. I haven't got pictures of these for some reason but it is your general stuff anyway. We ended up giving 2 girls near us 2 of the candy floss which they were very grateful for ... had the kid's not dug into all the popcorn's I'd have passed some of those over too To be fair we did manage almost all of the popcorn and all of the drinks by the end of HEA.

We have thousands of photos of the fireworks thanks to Chris but I can't choose which ones to post. We enjoyed HEA but I wouldn't say it was my favourite show. The kid's really enjoyed it too. We decided to have a slow walk out of MK as we knew it was busy from the Saturday, we had a wander around the shops and were at the bus stop by 10pm. Noah fell aslepp in the pushchair

Once we were back we got the kid's straight to bed and I updated my notes before I forgot


Steps: 11,924
Snacks: 16 USED – 78 LEFT
QS Credits:4 USED- 26 LEFT
TS Credits: 10 USED - 15 LEFT

[DisneyDaffodil]

What a lovely birthday Caitlin had, her cake looks amazing.

How nice of Ariel to spend the extra time with Caitlin when she was upset too. We have found some of the characters are really good at knowing exactly what to say.

[Cazzius]

What a lovely day for Caitlin's birthday. I hope she enjoyed it.

That is an impressive looking gift basket filled with yummy snacks, looks like Fairytale Personal Shopper did well there.

That was so nice of Ariel to cheer Caitlin up and come back for a second visit to check she was ok.

The castle looks beautiful all lit up. You have some really fab pictures.

[dixonsontour]

Caitlin looks so happy on her birthday. What a lovely day.

[mick]

A great 12th Birthday for Caitlin

Joan

[collybird]

I agree with the walk to the main building being lovely. I know were a little disappointed in the room location but you really get to appreciate the resort a bit more when you’re further away from everything.

Caitlin’s gift basket is lovely, I bought those Mickey Goldfish and Oreos over there and never got to try them as I intended to bring them home but ran out of luggage space!

Caitlin’s costume is pretty! I feel for you with Costumegate, I feel so uncomfortable in swimwear and I never stop to think that everyone is in the same boat.

Look at Noah with that ice cream, so cute!

It was nice for you to let Caitlin pick her birthday restaurant, she does have expensive taste though haha. I think Thomas’ meal looks the best haha. How lovely of Ariel to check back in on Caitlin.

Those are great photos of Main Street and the Castle just as you’re leaving after dinner. We were supposed to be going in May next year but we’ve decided to go in November instead as I really want to see Christmas again.

[caitlinsmummy]

Originally Posted by DisneyDaffodil

What a lovely birthday Caitlin had, her cake looks amazing.

How nice of Ariel to spend the extra time with Caitlin when she was upset too. We have found some of the characters are really good at knowing exactly what to say.

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She had a fab day and it's definitely one to remember! It's not very often she'll get to celebrate her birthday in Disney World!

The charter interaction was fabulous we were so pleased with it. It's strange as they stay in character but also know how to be interactive if you know what I mean? Xx

[caitlinsmummy]

Originally Posted by Cazzius

What a lovely day for Caitlin's birthday. I hope she enjoyed it.

That is an impressive looking gift basket filled with yummy snacks, looks like Fairytale Personal Shopper did well there.

That was so nice of Ariel to cheer Caitlin up and come back for a second visit to check she was ok.

The castle looks beautiful all lit up. You have some really fab pictures.

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She loved it thank you. Her friends at school were very jealous!

I would definitely recommend fairytale personal shopper. I'm hoping to order some things for may if I happen to come across any good deals.

It was so lovely, it really made the night.

It's breathtaking when lit up isn't it. Chris is currently compiling all the photos and videos into one long video for us (day by day) it'll be a great keepsake xx

[caitlinsmummy]

Originally Posted by dixonsontour

Caitlin looks so happy on her birthday. What a lovely day.

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She loved it. She said it was her best birthday ever, we couldn't ask for more than that could we 😍 x

[caitlinsmummy]

Originally Posted by mick

A great 12th Birthday for Caitlin

Joan

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She loved it thanks Joan x