Februrary 2014 Characters

Take a look at all the characters I met in February.

January 2014 Characters

See all the characters that I met in January.

Using FP+ as an annual passholder

Now that all the Walt Disney World parks have done away with paper fastpasses, fastpass+ is your only option. As a local passholder, I can not get a magic band to make my selections ahead of time. So that means that I must get to the park, go to a FP+ kiosk, and make my three selections for the day.

I went to the FP+ kiosk in Liberty Square and I was the only person there. A CM outside handed me a paper with the list of all the FP+ attractions on them. Then inside, a CM with an iPad was there to make my selections. He asked for my first selection and I told him the Rapunzel meet and greet. He scrolled through the list on his iPad and informed me that there was not one Rapunzel FP+ available. I then asked for a Cinderella FP+ and that was available. I then chose one for Journey of the Little Mermaid and one for Space Ranger Spin. The times that were chosen for me worked except for the one for Space Ranger Spin, so I had the CM change it for a little later. Once all my selections were made, I took a picture of the iPad so I'd know the times for my FP+'s. I was a bit confused by the fact that the CM told me to take a picture of the iPad so I'd know the times. You'd think that they'd have a better way of handling that, like maybe printing out your times for you. They don't even need a full sheet of paper, it could be the size of a paper fastpass.

I had no problems using FP+ (except that I couldn't get one for Rapunzel) but that doesn't mean that I liked it. I didn't like having to make all my selections for the day at once. I didn't like being limited to only three for the entire day. I also think it's very unfair that if you're a local annual passholder you can't make your FP+ selections in advance because they haven't given us access to that yet.

If you need to make your FP+ selections the day of, just look for a FP+ sign, pick your attractions, and remember to write down or take a picture of your times so you don't forget.

The end of the Celebrate A Dream Come True Parade

The Celebrate A Dream Come True Parade at Magic Kingdom ended yesterday after nearly a five year run. It debuted on January 23, 2009 and I was there for the first one too. There will be no afternoon parade at Magic Kingdom until the spring when the new Festival Of Fantasy Parade debuts. Yesterday, the Celebrate A Dream Come True Parade ran twice; at 12:30 and 3:30. I watched both of them. I watched the 12:30 one outside The Hall of Presidents. I started to get emotional when I saw Bert and he thanked me for coming. He then got Mary's attention, they posed for me, and Mary made the hand gesture for "I love you." It was so sweet. Then Drizella spotted me and waved. She came over to me, gave me a big hug, and told me that "This is it" since her family wasn't invited to be in the new parade. I will miss Drizella so much. She was always so much fun to photograph. She was full of life and her expressions were the greatest.

I thought about watching the second parade near the end of the route but it was over an hour until the parade started and the area was pretty full. I then decided to watch the last parade in my usual spot in Town Square across from the Confectionery. A few little touches were added to the last parade. The ribbon dancer was back in the beginning of the parade and I was very surprised to see her. Also, Jiminy Cricket had an umbrella, the Queen of Hearts had a flamingo, and Jafar had his staff.

I got emotional during the last parade too. It again started when I saw Bert. He and Mary waved and posed for me again. Mary also made the "I love you" hand gesture to me. They are two incredibly sweet people and I really appreciated it. Drizella came through and waved to me a bunch of times. Ariel was sweet, as always, and waved to me.

While I am very happy to see a new parade, it was sad to see this one go. It wasn't an amazing parade but for me, it was about who was in the parade. I have seen some of them for years and I am going to miss seeing their faces so much. I can only hope that many of them will be in the new parade.

New (to me) Characters I Met This Year

This year I was able to meet thirty-four characters that I have never met before. I really can't believe that I met that many. My favorite of all of them would have to be Lumiere. He was my number one character to meet and I really never thought I'd get the chance to meet him. I am looking forward to see what characters 2014 will bring.

In January, I met Lumiere, Cogsworth, Chip, Ludwig Von Drake, The Big Bad Wolf, Fifer Pig, Fiddler Pig, and Practical Pig.








I met Silvermist in April.

December Characters

Take a look at all the characters that I met in December.

Limited Time Magic - Secret Santa Autograph Cards

As part of Limited Time Magic, autograph cards were given out at Magic Kingdom for a week. All meet and greet characters had a card. I was able to get all twenty-nine in one day without even meeting some of them. All the CM's that I got cards from were very nice and accommodating. They all had no problem giving me two cards. Duffy's handler even gave me five and asked if it was enough.

I apologize that some of the pictures of the autograph cards are blurry. I didn't realize how bad the lighting over my kitchen table was when I was taking the pictures.

I met Duffy first and he had a very short line.




I got Pluto's card from a CM without meeting him.


I got Merida's card without meeting her.


I met Alice and the White Rabbit since I was the first person there to meet them.

Christmas Day Parade Taping

The Christmas Day Parade was taped at Magic Kingdom on Saturday. I got to Magic Kingdom around 8:00 am and went to find a spot on Main Street to watch the taping. I was able to find a spot behind people. I stood there for over two hours and never saw a thing. The sun came out, it was hot, and I had to move. I decided to go to Town Square and just get pictures as the characters came out. I'm glad that I decided to move because it took five hours to tape the opening performance.

After they were done filming the opening performance, the parade floats came out. I watched in Town Square as they came around to go in. The biggest surprise was seeing Huey, Dewey, and Louie for the first time. I had my head down when their float first came into view and I looked up, saw them, and just stood there in shock. It took me a minute to actually pick my camera up to get pictures of them.

Doc McStuffins was also out. I saw her as she was going in and only got a picture of the side of her. I was hoping that she'd be in the parade but she wasn't.

November Characters

Take a look at all the characters that I met in November.

The Rainy Day Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It!

Did you know that when it's raining, they do a Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Rainy Day Cavalcade? No? Me either. I was at Magic Kingdom and it was raining pretty hard and I decided to leave. I was near the hub and they were playing music that they don't normally play. I didn't think much of it until I saw vehicles of characters coming though. I didn't get many pictures and they aren't very good either. Every time I took a picture, I had to lift up my poncho, get soaked, and try to keep my camera dry.