Polly asked if we could do most of her birthday celebration activities on Birthday-Eve this trip as she wanted her birthday to be quite relaxed and more flexible. Both girls always struggle to sleep the night before any big event, and often get so excited that they are physically poorly, so we all decided this was a good plan!
The day started by waking up around 6am to pack and check out of Portofino Bay, before grabbing an Uber to head to Disney. We were checking in to Grand Floridian for 6 nights. Apart from the universal part of the trip and the cruise, the hotels are all covered using DVC points and we are still in rollover mode from cancelled trips. We knew about the construction and weren’t too worried as we don’t tend to hang around in the lobby as it never feels thar relaxed to us. We dropped our bags and checked in and headed straight to Magic Kingdom where we made rope drop. This wasn’t the plan (we only needed to be there for our breakfast reservation) so the girls and I went into the Emporium where they immediately found something to spend their gift card on, and then went for some photos on Main Street while Steve got his coffee! As we were heading to Fantasyland, the welcome show started and both Donald and Daisy saw the girls from backstage and waved/ pointed at them which made their morning as the ducks are their favourites. We rode Pooh before heading straight to meet Mickey.
We had our breakfast reservation at 10.15. I chose this time because I knew the food would swap to lunch at 11, and as I’m not a huge breakfast fan it meant we’d all get something we enjoyed. It also meant we paid the breakfast price which was great! We haven’t done Crystal Palace for a lot of years, and I don’t think the food is quite as good now, but it perfectly fine and the characters were great which is the main reason we were there. Polly has loved Pooh since she was a baby, and hugging the characters made for a perfect meal.
It was then almost time for the girls’ Bibbidi Bobbidi appointment. The girls couldn’t wait to see their special Fairy Godmothers and loved that Aimee (Polly’s godmother) took them to the changing room this time as well as doing the makeover. They’d chosen to be the stepsisters this time, which was quite a challenging sew, but they absolutely loved their dresses and the fact they were a proper pair. If you have two children you can request that you wait until there are two chairs close to each other, which we always do, but it can mean waiting a bit longer.
The girls loved their makeovers, as always, and spent the whole time chatting away, before handing over the gifts they’d made (mini godmother peg dolls and friendship name bracelets). We’re so lucky to have made such special Disney friendships.
Our godmothers we’re going to walk us over to meet the stepsisters, but it was storming quite badly so instead we decided to go and get some photos at Sir Mickeys. Anyone can do this, not just Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique guests, and it’s one of the girls’ favourite things to do. They had an amazing photographer who was doing all sorts to get the best shots of them, including lying on the floor!!
Afterwards the rain had eased but characters still weren’t out, so the girls and I went to meet Cinderella while Steve stayed on lookout. Cinderella was a great meet (the girls normally avoid face characters as they get very awkward around them) and as we exited the stepsisters were there do we jumped in the back of the queue and hoped the rain would hold off.
The cast member who was with the sisters asked if we’d mind letting people ahead to be last in line, which we didn’t mind at all, and realised when we got to the front it was so the sisters could not only spend more time with the girls, it was so they could walk them through the park. They were with them almost 10 minutes and it was the funniest, most amazing meet ever.the girls couldn’t stop smiling!
When the sisters said goodbye at the back of the Christmas shop, it was 5 minutes before the parade so we found a front row spot there and watched the parade before heading to Columbia Harbour House for a drink and a cool off.
A quick ride on the carousel and we decided to call it a day and head back to the hotel. We’d had a notification at 11 that our room was ready, so we knew we’d be able to get in (it would have been ready at that time anyway as it was 5pm) so we headed straight there before calling bell services for our luggage. We unpacked the necessities before heading to Enchanted Rose for a quick drink, and finished the day with Polly’s request of French Onion soup room service, and Cheaper by the Dozdn in bed, which was the perfect end to a perfect Disney day.
Polly slept relatively well (Winnie, not so much!) but they were still awake just after 5.30am full to the brim with Disney birthday excitement. Luckily, the birthday fairy got the memo and delivered a few presents to the hotel, so they spent some time opening those.
We’d changed plans for today so many times, but as Polly only had two requests: to eat French onion soup and hug Daisy we eventually decided on Grand Floridian breakfast followed by a bit of time in the pool and then Magic Kingdom for the afternoon. The girls had no idea that my parents flew in yesterday, so we’d arranged for them to meet to surprise the girls at breakfast. They came in just as we’d sat down and the girls’ faces were an absolute picture.
We had a lovely breakfast together, although Polly’s 3 courses of onion soup, steak and birthday cake was an interesting choice. Afterwards we decided to have a few hours in the pool as I always think it’s crazy to stay at the lovely resorts without spending any time there, before getting ready to go to Magic Kingdom.
We arrived earlier than planned so grabbed a mini kitchen sink before scoping out a parade spot. We managed to find a shaded spot just near Frontierland and set up there. It was still crazy hot, and the parade seemed to be really slow, but the girls loved it, especially when Wendy came over to chat again. She always remembers the girls which is so nice for them.
Winnie knew Donald would be on the float, but Polly was really hoping that Daisy would be walking so she could hug her, and her wish came true. Afterwards a lovely lady came up to us and said she’d filmed it, and offered to air drop the video to me, which was really nice of her.
So that Winnie got her Donald hug fix, we’d decided to head over to Pete’s Silly Sideshow just as the parade passed us as we knew we could make it there while queues were short as everyone would still be stuck on Main Street, and it worked brilliantly. While we were meeting him he shouted (quacked?) across to Daisy to tell her we were going to meet her too, so it was a quick exit and back into the tent! This queue was longer but we didn’t mind as it was lovely and cool. Daisy and Minnie were lovely and when we left them we walked straight into Chip & Dale so met them too!
We decided to get something to eat and opted for Pinocchios where we got 3 kids meals which was more than enough. Winnie had spilt her drink on her, and was also really tired after practically no sleep, so we decided to do Carousel of Progress then Steve and her would head back whilst Polly rode Space Mountain with me for the first time. As always, Steve managed a Power Nap during the show!
We said goodbye and Polly and I headed for Space Mountain. hadn’t ridden it for years and I think our face on the photo says it all! I asked Polly what she thought and her response was ‘I feel slightly underwhelmed!’
We then decided to walk back to the hotel, stopping to buy lollipops for the fireworks on the way. Polly’s feet were aching so she ended up taking her shoes off and walking in just socks. We had a lovely chat and it was so nice to have some special time with my birthday girl.
Back at the room we all got showered and washed hair before heading down to watch Happily Ever After from the harbour. It’s a lovely spot to watch from as it’s not at all crowded, but the park definitely has more atmosphere.
Straight to bed afterwards (a benefit of watching the fireworks in your pjs!) and the girls were asleep in seconds after Polly declared it her best birthday ever.
Doodle & Peg Do Disney 