Brett, Jo & Marceline's Festive Adventure - Day 1: Marceline Meets Her Hero

[Happyhaunt1000]

INDEX

After such an exhausting travel day, we were hoping for at least six solid hours of sleep before Marceline (or Jo or I) woke up. What we got was about two and a half hours! At about 2am, Marceline woke up crying and calling out for us. Even though her cot was right next to our bed, she was obviously still in unfamiliar surroundings. She was on my side so I scooped her up and laid her on my chest, where a few minutes later she fell back to sleep. As our bed was so big, I just slid her off of me, in between Jo and I. I just used one of the thin sheets to cover her and went back to sleep.

About an hour later, she woke again... this time though, she was a sweaty mess! Clearly wearing a sleep suit and being under the cover (even though it was just a thin sheet) had made her ridiculously hot… so we quickly stripped her out of her suit and laid her down again. She went back to sleep, as did Jo… but I did not! It was 3am and I was wide awake. I ended up chatting with the Sears on WhatsApp for about 90 minutes before eventually falling back asleep around 4:30. I got another 90 minutes of sleep before Marceline started to rouse, and we were all then awake for the day.





We had an ADR for ‘Ohana this morning, so that Marceline could finally get to meet Stitch. We had some time to kill, so while I sorted out a little bowl of cereal for Marceline (there was no way she’d last ‘til 9am without eating), Jo FaceTimed her parents and told them all about the previous day’s travelling experience. While Marceline was eating and Jo was chatting, I took this opportunity to get myself fully showered, dressed and ready for the day ahead. 20 minutes later I was finished and so was Marceline with her pre-breakfast breakfast. Jo had also finished chatting with her parents and was now busy packing the backpack with everything she thought we’d need. Unfortunately she’s was being overly cautious and half the stuff in the bag need not have been in there (something we’d figure out and get down to a fine art by around the halfway point of the holiday!) After we’d smothered Marceline in thick factor 50 sun cream (something she didn’t enjoy), I got her dressed while Jo got herself ready.



By 7:20am we were just about to leave when we had a little mishap! I pushed the buggy towards the front door, grabbed the door handle and swung it back quite forcefully so I had time to push the buggy out into the hallway before it closed on me... and I heard a loud smack, whack and a thud. I quickly pushed the door back and saw Marceline on on the floor. Unbeknownst to me, as I’d opened the door, she whizzed down the hallway behind me, and as I swung the door open it had hit her on the head and bounced her back into the wall (hence the three noises I’d heard!) She almost immediately started to cry… and Jo looked white as a sheet (she was behind me and had seen it all happen). I scooped Marceline up and cuddled her, but I don’t think she was crying out of pain, I think it was more the shock that caused the tears! Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure it hurt, but within a minute she’d stopped crying and itching to get out the door again. We checked her out and, aside from a red mark on her forehead, she was fine. She didn’t want to get in the buggy, and instead wanted to walk/run down the corridor. I say run… her version of running was fast walking, but really swinging her arms for effect! After a few minutes of walk/running we hadn’t even made it to the end of the first corridor, so I picked her up and carried her while Jo pushed the buggy.













We got down to the bus stop and was faced with a massive queue for MK. A minute or so after we got there, a bus arrived but it was pretty clear we weren’t going to fit on. No worries though, because just as the final few people were squeezing on to the first one, another MK bus pulled in behind. While we were waiting for the first bus to leave so the second one could pull into the stop properly, we got chatting to a family from New York who were in front of us… they’d heard Jo and I talking and commented on our accents, and the guy then said that his parents were from the UK. Turns out they came from Southend on Sea!



We got onto the second bus and went right down to the back seats. While sitting there a family from Pennsylvania started talking to us… a mum, dad, three little girls and grandparents. They were really nice and friendly, and were amazed when they heard how often Jo and I visited WDW. We were mainly talking with the mum and the grandad (who looked like a slightly greyer version of Tom Selleck!) and the mum told us the oldest of the three girls had just recently been in a play at school where she had to do a ‘British’ accent… and, bless her, she was so proud!

Unfortunately, it still seems like most parents have an inability to get off a Disney bus and walk more than five feet without stopping, unfolding their stroller and strapping their child into it! This first morning we encountered two families doing this, meaning everyone getting off the bus behind them was blocked in, so getting free of the crowd was slightly(!) annoying and took a lot longer than it should. Because we’re nice people, I carry Marceline and Jo carries the buggy until we feel there's enough space to stop and set things up. It only takes a couple of minutes, but Marceline really doesn't want to get in the buggy. She can see all the other kids walking around and she wants to do the same. After a small hissy fit… or mini-tant as I’ll be calling them from now on... she’s strapped in and we’re walking to our first experience of the new bag check area, which I have to say went smoothly and quickly. They key is obviously picking the right line to join, i.e. get behind someone who doesn't look like they're carrying around the entire contents of their home in two backpacks and a duffel bag, and it also helps to find that elusive table that has two security officers checking bags… thus making the queue move even faster!

It was 8am as we were walking towards the ramp for the resort monorail… and as we reached the bottom of the ramp we could see there was a monorail sitting at the platform. I knew she didn't want to… but I encouraged Jo to jog with me up the ramp to see if we could make it! Thankfully we made it aboard with time to spare and were on our way to the Polynesian. For some reason Marceline wasn't happy to just sit still, and had a little whine. As soon as we arrived and were about to get off the monorail, she was absolutely fine again.







Once we disembarked we realised that we'd not brought with us (or even bought) an autograph book! I’m still not sure how we did that. You'd think with years of trips behind us we’d think of these minor (but extremely important) things… but this time we hadn't. We stopped in the gift shop and purchased one of their bland, overly expensive autograph books and then walked straight over to the desk to check in for ‘Ohana. While Jo let them know we were there and collected the buzzer, I parked up the buggy.

There was a queue of about 20 people in front of us, all in line to have their photo taken with Stitch before sitting down to eat. Marceline, at this point, didn't want to be carried by either of us and was having a little whine, so we put her down… but she wasn't happy just standing there either, she wanted to wander off and look out of the windows. So while I stood in line, Jo walked over with Marceline where she looked out at the pool for all of 15 seconds!



She then got bored and wanted some other form of entertainment… which is when I made the fatal error of picking her up and pointing out that Stitch was ahead of us and tried to explain that we were waiting to meet him. When you say the word ‘wait’ to Marceline, she does this thing with her hands where she circles them around one another. I don't think it's real sign language, it’s just something they do at nursery... but she knows that it means she’s not getting what she wants at that exact moment. So anyway, she does the ‘wait’ thing with her hands, but less than a minute later she's pointing at Stitch again and saying “go, daddy… Stitch!” I put her down again, crouch down next to her and say again that we have to wait. And again she does the hand thing… but then starts to lose it a little bit!





She was only 19 months old… and really didn't (still doesn’t) understand the concept of waiting in line. Hell… most adults don't know that either! All told, we were waiting for about 20 minutes before we got to the front of the queue and were next in line to meet Stitch. Our buzzer had already gone off and Jo had ducked out of the queue to let a CM ahead of us know that we were still in line. The CM told her to just carry on in the queue to meet Stitch and then they’d take us to our table once we were done.

Finally it was Marceline’s time to meet her hero, and she was beaming from ear to ear. She gave him a big hug and handed Stitch the autograph book, and he happily signed it for her. Once she got the book back though she seemed to lose interest in Stitch himself, and became obsessed with the book and where he’d signed it!















I now understand why Photopass photographers take a few pictures each time… out of all of those you might only get one where everyone is looking in the right direction, and in the rest you’ll probably have someone pulling a face. And here is Marceline to prove that point nicely…







After some goodbye hugs from Stitch, we walked back to the CM that Jo had spoken to when the buzzer went off and we were shown to our lovely window table inside the restaurant! I still can't believe we got a window table with a clear view of the castle! Compared to when we were last at ‘Ohana and were sat next to the door leading to the kitchens, it was fantastic!





Our server arrived and offered us juice and/or coffee... Jo’s a caffeine junkie so she opted for a cup of the hot stuff, while I went for the juice. I emptied Marceline’s bottle of water and put a little of the juice in there for her too… which she wasn’t sure of at first, but then really took a shine to. Moments later our table was overflowing with food… the skillet of hot food contained sausages, scrambled eggs, potatoes, Mickey and Stitch waffles, biscuits (bread rolls) and some thick cut ham. We also had some fruit and a large portion of their pineapple and coconut bread.











We all tucked in and the food was delicious, especially the ham which was covered with a fruit glaze/compote. As we were enjoying our breakfast the first character appeared at the table… and it was Lilo. Marceline was very excited and kept grabbing hold of Jo’s hand and pulling her closer towards Lilo, as if Jo couldn’t possibly see her from where she was sitting! Once Lilo had signed her autograph book, Marceline took great pleasure in showing Jo the book and Lilo’s signature.





It’s a great interaction and I was really impressed with the way Marceline was with her. I guess when it’s a non-speaking character kids don’t necessarily have to get shy as there’s no vocal exchange between them. It’s just gestures and miming. Although I got a few photos, I realised I’d missed an opportunity to film the meet by setting up the camera on a stand on the table… so before the next character arrived I quickly rigged everything up.

Next to visit us was Pluto, and Marceline was even more excited than she’d been with Lilo. It was another great interaction, with Marceline playing with his whiskers before, again, getting excited at handing over her autograph book. She gave him a high five (four?) and a kiss on the nose, then he was off to the next family.

[Happyhaunt1000]

Both Jo and I had eaten as much as we felt comfortable smashing into our face-holes… and even Marceline had slowed up and was now playing with her food as opposed to eating it. We did our usual of using our Dining Plan credits and charging the tip to the room, but before we left we had one last character to come and say hello… and it was the blandest of meets. I’m afraid to say when Mickey came to the table it wasn’t very magical! He stopped, waved at Marceline, posed for a photo, signed her book, patted her on the head and was gone. The whole thing lasted exactly 35 seconds! I know it's that short as I filmed the whole thing! No enthusiasm, no real interaction… it looked like a scene from The Simpsons when Krusty the Clown is forced to meet his fans and is totally uninterested. But that wasn’t going to spoil what was otherwise a lovely meal and an enjoyable character meet and greet for Marceline.







We packed up our gear, grabbed the buggy and walked round to the monorail platform. Just outside the building on the walkway were a couple of security guards doing bag checks. This meant that when we disembarked at Magic Kingdom we’d be going straight to the turnstiles




Enjoying the monorail again Marceline?



We arrived at MK and the queues to get in weren’t too bad… we were only waiting a few minutes, but we, of course, picked the line where people don’t know what an index finger is or how to use the scanners!

We were through and into the park a little before 10am and even though we’d planned on getting a picture on Main Street, it seemed like everyone else was doing the same, so we walked straight round towards ‘old’ Fantasyland. Our FP+ for Peter Pan was live, but seeing as the wait time for IASW was only 10 minutes we decided to go on that first. Marceline was pointing the way and getting very excited as we walked through the queue and almost straight onto a boat.























The plan this trip was to film loads more as opposed to taking photos, and Jo and I had very different approaches when we each did the filming. Jo generally focused the camera on Marceline (and me) if we were on an attraction, whereas I filmed POV on rides and generally just random shots of the park as we walked around. Marceline sat on my lap for the first half of IASW, so it was Jo who had control of camera, thus she was filming Marceline and I with the ride scenery in the background. Well, I'm very glad I’m not doing a vlog, because the footage makes me look like the weirdest, creepiest man in the world! It's hard to explain exactly what I was doing… but I’ll give it a go. So I was sitting there in the boat, taking in the attraction, looking at all the singing and dancing dolls… but at the same time, I was looking down at Marceline to see if she was smiling/enjoying the attraction, and also glancing up to see what she was looking at. I was also trying to find things within the attraction that she would recognise and could say the name of, like Monkey, Boat, Flower etc. But it doesn't come across like that on the video… I was doing some sort of creepy, unnerving smile, and my eyes were darting about all over the place like some shifty nonce! Seriously… it's horrendous!

*Side note - I showed this footage to Jo and Stew Sear when they were round on New Year’s Eve and Jo was crying with laughter at what she saw!

So, creepy-daddy-face on camera aside, Marceline really enjoyed herself, so that was all that mattered. When we came off the attraction we walked straight over to Peter Pan and used our FP. Marceline didn’t seem that impressed with the ride... in fact, in one scene something must’ve spooked her, because she was turning and facing me and wouldn’t look at where we were going! After the ride I needed a quick restroom stop, so Jo and Marceline had a little look around for Pascal while they waited for me.





When I got back we stood there discussing where we should go to next and we heard a voice say “Hi Brett, hi Jo!” I’m gonna be honest… for a second I drew a complete blank and couldn't remember the name of the woman stood in front of us! Thankfully though, Jo had no such problem. “Hi Angela… ohhh and little Ava, she’s so cute!” That’s it… Angela! (Act1980 on IG and the Dibb). She was there with her husband Adam and their three and half month old daughter Ava. It was their first full day too and it turned out they’d actually been on the same flight as us! We chatted about how we’d found flying with the kids, how our resorts were (they were staying at the Grand Floridian) and what we’d done so far.

I think at the time, Adam was a bit confused as to why his wife was speaking to us, but Angela quickly explained that I wrote TRs and that she’d got hints and tips from reading them. To be fair, Adam still looked none the wiser about it all, but carried on chatting with us! After about 15 minutes we said goodbye, and said that we’d probably bump into each other again at some point during our holidays. They’re a really nice couple… very friendly and easy to talk to, and Ava was an absolute angel (she stayed asleep the whole time we were talking), unlike Marceline who was clambering all over the fence we were standing next to Unfortunately, our paths didn't cross again until we were on our final day! (But we’ll obviously get to that MUCH later in the TR). Before we parted ways though… we had to have the obligatory ‘new friends in Florida’ selfie.



In the time we’d been chatting with Angela and Adam, it was clear that Marceline had pooped… so it was lucky we were still standing right next to the restrooms. Jo grabbed the changing bag and walked with Marceline into the ladies loos. Within ten seconds she was walking back outside. There were big queues for the changing tables, so she said we’d have to go somewhere else. I said I’d see how busy it was in the gents’ toilets, so picked Marceline up and walked in, and luckily it was empty. A few minutes later we were on the move again walking through Liberty Square and cutting through Frontierland into Adventureland. Our next FP was for Pirates, but it had only just gone live, so we figured we’d fit a couple of other attractions in before setting sail.

First up was Aladdin’s Magic Carpets… which was showing a ten minute wait (but was actually more like five minutes). Again, Marceline failed to grasp the concept of queuing and waiting… so there was a lot of saying “no, Marceline, we have to wait”, and then doing that hand rolling thing I mentioned before. Back in January, when we went on these sort of Dumbo-esc rides, Marceline seemed not entirely impressed… but the response this time was much better. She kept saying “flying”, and then when we got off said “again... flying again!” When we told her we were going somewhere else and we could go on again later, she started to have a little tantrum. I know she’s really young, and doesn't understand everything, so both Jo and I knew we were going to experience a little of this sort of behaviour on this trip.





As we went to collect our buggy, we could see that the next Tiki Room show was about to begin, so we quickly joined the queue and walked into the theatre. Marceline enjoyed the singing birds, but I think she was more impressed with the guy sitting behind us wearing a Stitch hat.













When the show was over, we left and decided to go straight over to Pirates to use our FP. There was a constantly moving queue, and we pretty much walked all the way through the queue line and onto a boat. I reminded Jo that there was a photo now taken just before the drop and that we should do some sort of silly face. She said she’d forgotten all about it, but would do it. Well, we got to the photo point two minutes after I’d reminded Jo that it was there… and she’d forgotten about it already!





It was your standard Pirates experience... you know, some bell at the front of the boat taking pictures with the flash on, a family behind you talking loudly about something that happened yesterday… your typical POTC BS.

Even though we’d had a large breakfast, the rules of eating don't always apply when on holiday in WDW, and especially if you’re on the Dining Plan… so I suggested getting a Citrus Swirl (the king of Disney ice creams) to share. I'm still disappointed that they've moved the location of where they sell these, but obviously, the much hyped (but not better IMO) Dole Whip always had bigger queues. We decide to get the Citrus Swirl float… which has Orange Fanta in the bottom of the glass. Marceline's eyes were bursting out of her head when she saw the giant ice cream in front of her… and she couldn't wait to get her hands on it. While her and Jo got stuck in, I quickly did a voice memo to recap breakfast, and the morning’s events up to this point.





Between the three of us the float was demolished in no time, and with our sugar levels now at maximum, it was time to wander across to the other side of the park and into Tomorrowland. We parked up the buggy and used our FP for Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. Marceline sat on my lap, and when the lap bar came down she grabbed for the gun, which seemed pretty positive. Her interest in playing with the gun ended after about 30 seconds though… and another 30 seconds after that her interest in the attraction as a whole seemed to wane, as she turned herself round so her head was in my chest/shoulder… the position she adopts when she wants to sleep! I half-heartedly grab the gun and try to take aim and play, but it’s not my best performance and my score is pitiful.



Marceline seemed pretty tired, so we figured a ride on the TTA Peoplemover was in order. There was a bit of a queue, but it moved fairly quickly. The CM that was staggering the line at the bottom of the travelator was talking like some sort of carnival showman... “Ladies and Gentleman, step right this way and board the Tomorrowland Transit Authority’s vision of the future!” As we walked by he said “make way… we have Pickle Rick here… Pickle Rick, I say!” He’d obviously spotted my patch and was clearly a Rick and Morty fan! On the Peoplemover, Marceline fell asleep, as always, and when we got off we managed to get her into the buggy without her waking up.





We decided to leave MK for the day and to head over to Epcot for the rest of the afternoon. While walking down Main Street we quickly stopped in Uptown Jewelers to see if they had either of the two Dooney & Bourke bags that Jo had her eye on (the Disney Dogs one I mentioned in the PTR, and a Christmas design that had been released on the day before we arrived). Unfortunately for her, they didn’t… and apparently they’d had the Disney Dogs bag very first thing in the morning, but they’d completely sold out and didn't know when, or even if, they’d be getting any more in.

We exited MK, headed up the ramp and boarded a monorail to the TTC. We got off and walked to the Epcot platform and waited at the far end in an empty bay. Since she’d fallen asleep on the TTA, Marceline had remained asleep, so we thought we’d be able to get to Epcot before she woke up… but we were wrong. When it was time to board the monorail, a rather heavy handed CM slid the gate open with such force that it made a really loud ‘metal against metal’ crashing sound which startled Marceline awake and caused her to instantly start crying. And she didn’t stop for the next few hours! (Seriously, that’s not an exaggeration!) She cried/sobbed all the way to Epcot. She cried and whined as we went through the security check. She continued when Jo and I grabbed a drink at Starbucks (I don't know what we both got as the voice memo is just me talking about Marceline crying!)

Marceline had come away with a bit of a cold, so we thought we’d try and give her some Calpol… but she wouldn’t even let the syringe near her mouth and REALLY went into meltdown mode at this point! The sort where people walk past looking at you because it’s so loud and there’s a floods worth of tears and snot streaming down her face.

We took the decision to simply walk through the park, out through the International Gateway and back to the hotel to see if we could get her down to sleep for a few hours. Being able to walk to our hotel really softened the blow of having to leave the park. I was actually pleased with having the moniker #beachclubW***** (I can’t write the rest of that word, but you’ll know what it was) handed to me by a few friends who were throwing a little jealousy at me before the trip… which was ironic as they were staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge! Not exactly some rundown motel on the I-4!





We got back to the room and the only way Marceline would settle was if she was laying on me. A couple of times I thought she was fully asleep, and when I tried to roll her off of me and onto the bed she woke up crying again. We seized the opportunity, with her being so tired and drifting in and out of sleep, to give her some Calpol. Unlike an hour earlier, we managed to get her to take the full dose. It seemed to do the trick as this time when she went to sleep, she stayed asleep! After about two hours, she woke up about 5:45 like a new person. Full of smiles, super happy… the Marceline we thankfully get to see most of the time.







While Marceline had been asleep, I’d said to Jo she should take a solo trip to Disney Springs to see if they had the Dooney & Bourke that was released this morning (the one I’d cancelled our Via Napoli ADR for!) She said there wasn’t a lot of point as she’d seen photos and videos of the queue outside Ever After Jewelry Co from earlier… the shop didn’t open until 10am, but the queue was already 20 people long at 5.30am! She’d also seen on Twitter that they were completely sold out everywhere on property… so she was pretty gutted to say the least. But as always, she tried to put a positive spin on it, saying “well it just means I have more money to spend on other things… there are quite a few Alex & Ani bangles I like too!”

[Happyhaunt1000]

The plan for the evening had been to have a look at the some of the Christmas food booths and decorations in Epcot. So after Marceline spent ten minutes doing another toilet-roll relay, we started getting ready to leave. Marceline didn’t want to get straight into the buggy as we left the room so we let her walk. This was a mistake, as what would normally be a two to three minute walk to the lift and then down to the lobby took ten minutes because Marceline kept stopping to stroke things… like this ‘sparkly’ sideboard!



Once we finally made it down to the lobby, Marceline had to say hello to gingerbread Stitch. This which would become a routine for whenever we arrived or left the hotel! Gotta say though… the sculptures were really bloody impressive.


A very enthusiastic ‘cheese’ face!



We got to Epcot and headed left, past the UK and Canada pavilions having a little look at the Christmas decorations before stopping at the Yukon Holiday Kitchen booth. We decided to try the Traditional French Canadian Touterie - with Canadian Ketchup. Basically it was a meat pie. A not-that-great meat pie, and the ketchup was the most interesting thing on the plate. As are the rules when dining at an Epcot festival, we ate this from the top of a trash can. Don’t pull that face… you know you’ve all done it at least once in your life. And if you haven't, you’re clearly not doing Epcot festivals right!













With the subpar pie eaten, we continued to Showcase Plaza and the Feast of the Three Kings booth. There was nothing there we fancied eating, but the area had some nice decorations.















We left there, turned the corner and Marceline suddenly saw it… the main Epcot Christmas tree! She was bouncing up and down in the buggy and just kept saying “ooooh, lights Daddy. Big tree… ohhhh, twinkles!”















After a few quick pictures we walked down to Mouse Gear. We’d seen people wearing Christmas light necklaces (new ones with Mickey shaped bulbs included). As we walked to MG we passed a couple of booths selling Christmas and festival-specific merchandise, but didn’t stop as we thought it’d all be in Mouse Gear. Well, guess what… it wasn’t!

There didn’t appear to be any festival merchandise in there… it was just their standard Christmas stuff. On the last trip we missed out on certain things because we didn’t buy it when we saw it. We thought we’d just get it later in the trip. Bad idea. Most of the stuff we wanted had sold out! So to avoid that happening again, we made purchases tonight. Items included a Mickey shaped wreath, a large Stitch stocking, a Disney throw and a large Christmas tote bag (that were both part of the ‘spend $X, get this for $X amount‘ deals they always have on.) We also found the lights and bought a set for each of us. Only Marceline wanted to wear them now, so we gave her a set and turned them on for her.



We walked back to World Showcase and stopped outside the Mexico Pavilion for a couple of Photopass pictures, then went inside to ride the Three Caballeros Gran Fiesta Tour. Inside there was some huge Dia De Los Muertos exhibits promoting the new film Coco. After taking a few snaps, it was on to the attraction. Marceline really enjoyed it and was getting more and more excited each time she spotted Donald throughout the ride. As we were getting off the boat at the end of the ride, Marceline kept saying she wanted to go round again. We told her that we had to get off and she could go on again ‘tomorrow’… cue a mini tantrum with no tears (she probably had none left after earlier!)











Now, months prior to this day, I’d been chatting with my friend Helen (HelenJNT on the Dibb) and we realised that our paths would cross and we’d be at WDW for a few days before Helen and her husband Andy flew home from their trip. They had a super packed schedule but would be in Epcot on that Sunday evening so we provisionally said if we were both in there at the same time we’d meet up, say hi and have an Eggnog! This then became known as ‘The Nogoff’.

I’d messaged Helen earlier saying that we were in Epcot, but based on Marceline’s meltdown, we weren’t sure for how long. After we came out of the Mexico pavilion, I messaged her again saying we were in World Showcase and would be taking a slow walk towards France, before leaving through the International Gateway. Helen and Andy were round by Germany, and we arranged to meet in the American Adventure Pavilion (because I’d read that there was a booth there selling eggnog!)

In all her research before the trip, Jo had seen an item from the African Outpost that she wanted to try… so on the way to America we stopped and she got the Warm Caramel Stuffed Salted Pretzel - with soft serve ice cream and chocolate sauce. She also wanted the Hot Cocoa with Armarula Liqueur, because she has an obsession with Armarula like no other person I know. I read the menu when we got there and spotted the word ‘eggnog’ on the drink list, didn’t bother reading the rest, and just ordered it. It wasn’t until I saw the CM pulling a pint that I went back and read the drink description properly. I wasn’t actually getting an eggnog, I was getting a beer. A Shipyard Eggnog White Porter to be precise. It wasn’t bad. There was a slight ‘noggy’ flavour… but I kind of wish it was it was an actual full pint of eggnog!







I tried some of Jo’s drink and thought it was ok (she obviously loved it)... but I was less than impressed with Jo’s other choice. I tried a bite of the pretzel and I didn’t get any of the caramel stuffing... and I found the pretzel to be super dry. Again, she had a different opinion thought it was good. Marceline had a bit of the pretzel (and a little of the ice cream) but was getting into a right old mess, so she didn’t have much. The ice cream was melting fast, and as we were walking along, we were leaving a trail of ice cream behind us! (They’d served this on a plate, not in a bowl, so it was going everywhere!)



One thing we’d noticed as we were waking round was just how empty the park was! It was a little over 30 minutes ‘til illuminations and not only did the Pavilions seem empty, but there was hardly anyone scoping out their spot in preparation to watch. We got to the American Adventure and met with Helen and Andy. We had a little chat about what we’d been up to so far (obviously they had way more to tell as they were getting to the end of their trip and this was our first proper day).

Helen handed me a gift to add to the backpack... a pin. Not just any pin, but a special night-time safari pin that they’d been given when they did (can you guess?) the night-time safari at Animal Kingdom Lodge. It was very kind of them and it’s definitely going on the bag for next trip (so everyone thinks we’re special and did the safari ourselves )

Then it was time for the #nogoff to begin… except there was a problem. The booth selling the eggnog was shut! All the excitement had been for nothing. We’d not done enough research to see that the festival booths closed earlier than the rest of the park… so no #nogoff could take place! We eased our disappointment by getting some grey goose slushes from the booth in the France pavilion (yes, that was still open as it’s a regular booth that’s always there).

We then found a spot to watch the fireworks and settled back to enjoy the show. Unfortunately, Marceline still isn’t used to fireworks… and even though she likes the ‘pretty sparkles’ she doesn’t enjoy the loud bangs. I don’t think I’d ever realised just how loud the bangs were until
I was stood there, holding Marceline and trying to cover her ears from the noise. I could feel my bones rattling as some of them went off! During the points where the fireworks stopped and the projection/lightshow started, she’d raise her head, have a look round and join in with everyone clapping in appreciation for the fireworks that she’d just been hiding from!





When the main show ended, there was a little extra Christmas display… which had explosions even louder than the main show. Again, Marceline was cowering against me the whole time. It was pretty good, as good as anything in the main show… but I couldn’t really see how it was Christmassy!



We walked towards International Gateway and said goodbye to Helen and Andy. It had only been a quick meet-up, but was lovely to see them again. We walked back to the resort and before heading upstairs to our room we thought we’d have a quick look at the Beach Club merchandise in the shop, and to see what else that had. Given that it was gone 10pm at this point, we literally flew through without really stopping to look at anything. By 10:20 we were back upstairs and getting Marceline ready for bed. Just like the previous night, she’d gone straight down, but hadn’t gone straight to sleep… so Jo and I sat silently round the corner on the floor waiting for her to fall into a deeper sleep.





We left it 10 minutes before venturing round into the main room and switching one of the lamps on and getting bits together for the following morning. By 11pm we were in bed and not long after, both sound asleep.

And that was our first full day in WDW. It certainly had its ups and downs. The full on meltdown that Marceline had after being woken up at the TTC was unlike anything we’d experienced with her before. But hey, what better time to go through it than on the first proper day of your holiday! Other than the mini tantrums she was generally in a good mood... she loved meeting the characters, and her enjoyment of the attractions was so nice to see.

I hope you’ll come back for Day 2, where we’re surprised by Disney’s Hollywood Studios and have a fantastic HOME-cooked meal in Disney Springs.

Thanks for reading… and remember, I love you byeeeeeeee xx

#nonogoff
#marcelinemeltsdown

[Lizzim]

Yay! A mostly positive day with only a few minor blips

[mick]

We always found the first day was not the success we hoped when the children are so tired after the travel day and time adjustments,
I am sure it will get a lot better

Joan

[Dixiechic]

Another great read. It’s great that Marceline is not afraid of the characters - my two used to run a mile in those early years. ‘Beachclubbeepers’ - love it! Hopefully you all slept better ready for day two

[piglet100]

She did so well for the first long day after all that travel! ds will be 21mths when we go and so this is helping me prepare for the likely 'emotional moments'!

[TheHunts]

Marceline meeting stitch is the cutest 😍 love Jo’s t-shirt!

[Lisa_Lollipop]

What a fab first day! The photos with Stitch are brilliant The food at Ohana looked lovely, such an amazing view from your table too!

Lovely to see a cameo from Helen and Andy, such a shame the #nogoff didn't quite go to plan!

So many lovely photos... are these all taken on your phone? Or do you have an actual camera too?

Looking forward to the next instalment!

[Guest]

Ugh! I remember Isabella’s first few days, everything set her off , she’d cry so loud people thought I was beating her !
I don’t think jet lag is their friend bless them .
Thankfully they get better although even at 6 she still has moments where it’s like a hostage negotiation exercise but nothing can talk her down...
Great start 👍🏻