Tag Archives: Citizens of Main Street

Day 181- Dapper Day at Magic Kingdom

Posted on by
1

Today is Dapper Day at Disney World! I am beyond excited! This is a fun day and there will be so many beautiful Dapper Day visitors, and they will be dressed to the nines. The day is sunny and it says it will be 88 degrees today, but it ends up reaching a very hot 90 degrees in the late afternoon. Even though it’s hot today, there are a few clouds and a good breeze.

We arrive and they are just beginning to park in the Villains parking lot, so the traffic is at a standstill as they are getting the traffic redirected. It doesn’t take very long to get traffic moving again and they are filling up both the left and right sides of the Villains lots now. There are a ton of people arriving – I mean a ton! Soon, we are parked and walk to the Transportation and Ticket Center. There are people going to the ferryboat and the Monorail. After a short wait in line for the Monorail, we are on our way to Magic Kingdom. 

We disembark and head for bag check, where every table is open. There are so many strollers and bags being checked. Today there are so many people. Soon, we are heading to scan our MagicBands and enter onto Main Street USA. When it is busy, I enjoy seeing all of the families taking pictures, so happy to be here! You can hear all of the “oohs” and “ahhs” as they see Cinderella’s Castle for the first time. As you can see, the crane is now gone and the path to the right of the castle is open again!

I am looking to get a picture for Dapper Day! So, we are heading for Cinderella’s Castle… I want our picture to have Mickey and Walt Disney’s statue in it. “I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing — that it all started with a mouse.” 

Now, we are off to find the citizens of Main Street USA. Oh, we see Ms. Trumpetto! She is looking beautiful (as always!). She is a lovely, happy lady. You must meet her the next time you visit; she is very fun and so spunky! As we are fixing to take a picture, she says that she needs something more, something fancy. “Oh, you want my furry critters?”  “Sure, that is wonderful!” Then, she is so cute and gives one of the weasels, as we affectionately call them, a sweet kiss! So very funny! As we cross the street, there are seagulls flying past us, trying to get to the crackers a little family spilt! It is surprising how quickly they swoop down, in and out of the traffic flow. Then, we turn and see the most dapper family and ask if we can take their picture! 

Ms. Trumpetto lets us know that Ms. Beatrice Starr is here. Soon, we find Ms. Starr and say, “Hello!” She is so vivacious. She noticed my fur collar and said, “I missed you, Henry.” She said that he was her ferret and oh, how she had missed him!  I said, “Oh, I call them weasels, ‘cause a weasel gave them to me!” She started laughing and said that a weasel is just a flat ferret! We all laughed and then tried to get a picture! As we are blowing a kiss, Ms. Starr begins to laugh and laugh and laugh! She is adorable.

Next, we met Constance Purchase. She was dressed in a beautiful purple dress and had a parasol! We had not met her before today, and she was a delight to meet.

The Dapper Day group is having a meet up at the PeopleMover at noon, well, that is right now. We know it will be very busy getting everyone on the PeopleMover. I think we will skip this meet up.

We have not had any hot beverages yes, so we are going to the Main Street Bakery to grab some tea and coffee. Twinkie gets her drink and goes to find a table while our drinks are being made. We join her and sit in the shade of a yellow umbrella. Everyone seems to be facing the same way since the sun is already bright and it is getting hot. I saw a nice family sitting at the table next to us, so I asked if I could get the son to take a picture for us, and the older sister jumped up and took one for us and it turned out great. Her brother was so disappointed. So, I asked the dad if we could get the son to take a picture of us with the castle, she did a great job, but I would like for him to be our hero and help us out. Every guy needs to be a hero. The dad nodded and the mom looked surprised, but the dad loved that we understood that dudes, young and old, like to be heroes!

Soon, this area is full. I see a dad waiting for a table, so we offer ours to him since we thought about moving to a cooler area of the park. As we step into the walkway, a couple stops us for a picture. 

We move to another area, and soon another Dapper Day couple sits down at a table next to us, so they begin chatting with us. We just met them earlier; they brought their 2 nieces and a nephew. Their nephew wanted to come for Dapper Day, so he asked them if they would drive! Too neat that he asked his aunt and uncle to come to Dapper Day with him! They’ve just come from the PeopleMover and tell us how busy it was, the line zigzagged and it wrapped all the way back to Space Mountain. The funniest thing was that they took a video on their phone that they showed us, and it lasted a few minutes, she was surprised that it had taken them that long to walk that far. 

Twinkie takes a picture of them in their dapper finery and we have a fun time visiting. Soon, a man walks up and tells us that we, my kids and I, should have a picture of us sitting there. We say OK and he takes one for us, as his family sits across the way watching and smiling. He asks if we would mind taking a picture of him and his family in front of the castle. Not at all! So, Twinkie hops up and snaps a couple of pictures for them.

I love days like today, where we meet tons of people and they take pictures of us and with us. We get to explain Dapper Day to a lot of people who ask us about it, and it is so fun! I love talking to and meeting so many happy people.

We have lunch at the Plaza Restaurant. The kids have wanted me to try the gluten free cheesesteak sandwich. They went with some friends and said that it was over the top delicious. So, here we are. I love the ornate woodwork and detail! It is so art nouveau in all of its décor, absolutely fabulous.

As we are leaving, we can hear and see part of the parade. We see Rapunzel, Ulf, and Flynn, and we see Maleficent’s fire breathing dragon, and some of the other floats as we walk toward Tom Sawyer Island. This is where the next Dapper Day meet up is today. We stop to get a picture with the Liberty Belle riverboat and walk on around to the launching of the boats to cross over to the island. It is so very hot, and we meet a nice family as we are crossing. They are from Texas and close to where we lived. The mom says that the kids are having a little trouble with the heat since Texas has been so cold this winter. I totally understand the difficulty of the transition from cold to hot, especially on a humid day like this. I do let them know there is a rope bridge and barrels to cross if they have time to find them.

Once we arrive on the island, we turn to the left and find the rope bridge that leads to Fort Langhorn. This fort is so much fun! Escape tunnel? We just had to go through to find out where it lead, and we popped out at the back of the fort. Now we go back around and explore the rest of the fort. Oh, look, Dapper Day people! As we get down the spiral staircase, we find that the wind has died down. It is hot on this island. I think we need to find something cold to drink. It is suggested that frozen apple juice is at Gaston’s Tavern, better known as LeFou’s Brew. Sounds wonderful to me, so we make our way over to Fantasyland, where Gaston’s Tavern is just past his statue on the water fountain.

As soon as we have our LeFou’s Brew, we head outside to see Gaston talking with the guests who have come to meet him. It is so very fun to watch, and today there are so many Dapper Day people watching since the line to meet him is now closed. As we watch, the cutest Dapper Day Baymax with his dapper bowtie, Mickey Mouse ears, and his suspendered pants pops up as he’s being carried by a dapper lady! Too cute! With our Brew in hand, we go to find a place to sit and finish our frozen apple juices. As we are sitting, I get a picture of the sparkly fireworks from the Dream Along with Mickey stage show. We stop for a beanstalk picture at Sir Mickey’s, pictures in front of doors at Cinderella’s Castle, and since the crane is gone we can go to the wishing well for pictures.

Today has been fun, hot, and so enjoyable! I love interacting with so many people and I enjoy Dapper Day with so many dapper people! It has been a very good day. With the hot weather, I think we constantly were drinking water and other yummy beverages. Please keep yourselves hydrated, and make sure your kids are drinking enough and you will have a great day at Disney World!

Day 87- Magic Kingdom and Meeting Scoop Sanderson

Posted on by
Reply

Today we were going to have a quick trip to Disney’s Magic Kingdom. But, we were having so much fun that it turned into a much longer trip. The sun is shining and the wind is blowing. We park, ride the tram to the Ticket and Transportation Center, get to the Monorail and it is packed! After two Monorails come, fill up, and leave, we get to board and head to Magic Kingdom. It is beautiful today!

We arrive and there are so many people! We see that the ferryboat has arrived, just as our Monorail is unloading. Happily, there are so many security guards to check bags, that the lines only have about five people in each line. Really, it doesn’t take too long. We wait a bit to scan our Magic Bands, but the lines here move quickly too, and it isn’t bad at all.

As we step through the gates, we are near the Mickey Mouse in the front garden, in front of the Train Station. I get a picture of Tooti with the poinsettia Mickey and the train, just as it pulls into the station! As we enter Main Street USA, we see Hildegard Olivia Harding, one of the fabulous Citizens of Main Street! We are instantly translated to this era as she says, “We are so close, ladies, we are so close! Soon we’ll win the right to vote!” Oh my, I had forgotten that it hasn’t been that long since we women didn’t have the right to VOTE! It is the coolest feeling to see her fighting for our right to VOTE! Women, we need to appreciate those who have fought for our rights.

We run into the Uptown Jewelers shop to see if they have seen Scoop Sanderson. No, but they told us to look for (boy, do I feel like a kid right now!) the Dapper Dans, and Scoop should be near them. However, do be sure to give the Dapper Dans a proper greeting so they won’t be too let down that we are looking for Scoop and not for them. OK! We step back out to Main Street USA and search for Scoop Sanderson. Twinkie is the funniest thing when she is on a mission. She gets focused, waves, and hop-skips when she sees him! Oh, look! She finds him. He is very entertaining to get to meet and to visit with! We were laughing so much.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY SCOOP! What a character he is. We have a nice chat with Scoop who graciously lets us trade pins with him. Scoop is so nice! He’s one of the most fun characters to meet in Magic Kingdom, do be sure to look for him on your next visit!

Now, we are going for our coffee at Starbucks. It is very nice and not so busy right at this moment! We see another Citizen of Main Street! She is at the Main Street Bakery and browsing the pastries in the case. She is adorable to watch as we listen to her vintage speaking patterns. What a treat to get to see a Citizen in the Main Street Bakery! We get our coffees and are having lunch for breakfast. 😀 As we head back down Main Street USA, we get in front of Tony’s and The Chapeau. I take a moment to look at the green building on the end. As I do, I see the early 1900s Main Street USA, and off in the distance I see Space Mountain. It is like the past is right beside me, and in the distance is the futuristic Space Mountain. Walt Disney grew up in this era that Main Street USA is set in, and he dreamed about the future that we live in. Amazing.

We have reservations for Tony’s Town Square Restaurant. The dining room is so very cozy and beautiful to sit in. They have the best gluten free spaghetti and meatballs! We are seated quickly and our waiter is very nice. We have our drinks, and soon the Chef comes out to let us know what is gluten free, they can even do gluten free turkey meatballs! We will have two of the spaghetti and meatballs, and one chicken Caesar salad. We were totally surprised that our food came out so fast! Our waiter added the grated cheese, and we were ready to taste our first bite.

It was the most awesome spaghetti and meatballs that I have had in months! I could not believe how wonderfully awesome the flavors are. Our table got really quiet as we were savoring each bite. We are smiling and our faces say it all; it is so good! Definitely, this will be on our “best places to eat” list! The service was great.

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin is our next stop for a FastPass+. As we made out way to Tomorrowland, I noticed that I had never realized that the supports for the PeopleMover are shaped like spaceship legs that look like they could telescope up if the “spaceship” ever needed to take off. COOLEST thing ever!

The FastPass+ line for Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin is very, very long. When we finally entered the building, the little girl in front of us was crying a little bit, and her parents were trying to cheer her up. She was about 10. I smiled at her mom and I asked the little girl, “Hey, do you want to beat your Dad’s points?” She said a soft, “What?” Her mom was listening, and she said that I asked if she would like to beat her dad. The girl gave a little smile and said, “Yes.” I looked at Twinkie as I said, “There are some targets that have high points.” Twinkie filled in the details. The girl was so happy and cheered up! I also said that she should hug her dad after she beats his score! She laughed and her mom was also laughing. Tooti got Galactic Hero and claimed her badge.

We walk around, through Tomorrowland and towards Fantasyland. We see the Fairy Godmother as we turn towards Prince Charming’s Regal Carrousel. We step into Sir Mickey’s gift shop to check pins. Now, we make our way around Cinderella’s Castle. When the shows are going on in front of the castle, they close off the path through the castle. Never fear! There are paths on wither side of the castle that will take you around. It takes a little longer, but on our way down (facing the back of the castle, we went to the right) we could see Peter Pan running onto the stage. Smee and Captain Hook are hiding out on the bridge from the castle to the stage and Smee is waving at all of us as we pass down the path to the front of the castle. It is so cool!

We enjoy browsing the shops as we head back to the front entrance. I love seeing the Christmas decorations within each shop! I love Christmas at Disney! Well, time to go home for the day. It is a very sunny day, and it was a very pleasant day at Disney!

Day 60- Magic Kingdom and the Holly Jolly Trolley Show

Posted on by
2

It is a fabulous day in Florida and the weather is amazing! The skies are blue and the clouds are just beautiful and wispy. It is hot, in the 80s, with a perfect breeze. We are going to Magic Kingdom.

We see three deer as we are driving to the Transportation and Ticket center! I love Disney’s deer; they are so peaceful and beautiful. It is busy going to Disney, and the atmosphere is happy. The traffic was good and the parking is great! We park way at the far end and have a good walk to the tram. There is one pulling away as we get close, and the other one is waiting to pull up, with a third one waiting behind them. I love how Disney does things with excellence.

We get to Magic Kingdom and it is nicely busy. It doesn’t take very long to go through bag check, scan my MagicBand, and look around for the kids! They are way over there! We get onto Main Street USA and Tooti hears the Holly Jolly Trolley show! It is so cute and so fun! I have never seen them before! After they finish the show, we are off to get breakfast! We see the Victorian ladies, who are some of the Citizens of Main Street, and later we get to see the Fire Chief. I love all of the characters that are sprinkled throughout Main Street USA.

Our destination is Starbucks, inside of the Main Street Bakery! We grab some fruit, my Carmel Macchiato, and the kid’s green teas! This is a very busy place, but they are very fast and our order is in. It takes a few minutes until mine is ready, but it is so worth it! This Starbucks is always on point. YUM! Now, we are heading for my favorite place to sit at Tomorrowland Terrace. We have a blast having breakfast at Disney’s Magic Kingdom! I took a look around and there are a bunch of retired couples having breakfast here, too.

As we are sitting there, a cast member checks on us, “Yes, we are doing great!” He asked if we would like some trivia. Did he say trivia? Why yes, we love trivia! He asks if we have a map, and Twinkie pulls one out of her bag. He says, “Please forgive the dirt and fences,” and he points to our left. I said that I love construction, it means there are new things being built… the piles of dirt and “mess” are perfect for me! He chuckles, and shows us what they are building right across from us! There are huge additions for the hub, allowing for easier traffic flow, and additional standing areas for fireworks. I love construction and change!

We finish our breakfast. As we start to leave, the group has changed to younger families eating and enjoying a break in the shadow of Cinderella’s Castle.

A cute ice cream passed by!

The kids did some pin trading. Then, we got “I’m Celebrating” buttons! Today is day 60! I have been to Disney 60 days in a row! Oh, Happy Day! It is an absolutely beautiful day at Disney’s Magic Kingdom!

Day 8- Magic Kingdom

Posted on by
2

Magic Kingdom!  Yes, it is a beautiful afternoon at Magic Kingdom.  Oh!  There is Marie, she is just coming out and going to take pictures.  We stopped for our Starbucks on Main Street and then started for the Little Mermaid ride.  As we got closer to Cinderella’s Castle, a man hollered, “Obviously there must be a Starbucks here!”  I said, “Yes, they are located in the Bakery on Main Street.”  Laughter and a shout of thanks and we continued on our way.

View of the Grand Floridian from the Monorail
On Monorail Gold…
Welcome!
The Train is at the station
Marie!
Stopping for coffee…
Starbucks!
Greeted by Anthony!
Starbucks in Main St. Bakery
Starbucks in Main St. Bakery

I took a minute to enjoy all of the flowers in the Rose Garden. If you are a flower lover, it is a nice spot to rest your eyes and take in the picturesque moment.

Rose Garden near the Castle

We stopped to see the clowns performing near Storybook Circus, then, we scanned our fast passes for the Voyage of the Little Mermaid!  I love this ride.  You sit in a huge seashell and are taken through the most magical ride; you feel as if you are seeing the whole movie in living color.

Watching the clowns…
hehe!
The Little Mermaid…
Under the Sea
Love the stone look!
Walking into the ride…
Shells to ride in
Little Mermaid!
“Underrrr the seaaaa!”
Hidden Mickey!
So fun!
Even leaving the ride is pretty!
Outside…
Walking by Beast’s Castle

Next stop is to meet Elsa and Anna in Princess Fairytale Hall.  We got in line and in a few minutes we met the ladies behind us.  Seems we met some fellow Texans!!  The mom shared that they come to the parks several times a year and her daughter runs in the Disney races!  How fun!! I know Tooti has wanted to do a runDisney race for a while. Her daughter-in-law was with them and she had the coolest book that she brought with her for the characters to sign.  I love these ladies!  It as a storybook, and she showed us where Cinderella’s stepsisters had rewritten their part of the story and autographed their page.  I have to find that book…  New project!

Princess time!
Princess Fairytale Hall
Anna and Elsa
Beautiful!
Snow White and Mulan

 We saw some of the Citizens of Main Street, including the lovely Victorian ladies, Victoria Trumpetto and Beatrice Starr, as well as Fire Chief Smokey Miller!  They are truly a delight to get to talk to!  Mary Poppins was holding a little girl’s hand and walking near the entrance. Beautiful.

Fire Chief Smokey Miller & Victoria Trumpetto
Fire Chief & Me
They are sooo funny!
Not dramatic at all… 😉
Victoria Trumpetto, Beatrice Starr & Us
We saw Mary Poppins, too!

God just seems to put the right people in my path. I loved today, even on the way back to the parking lot.  On the monorail, a lady kept kind of peeking around at my kids and me; she looked like she wanted to say something.  So, I said, “Hi, how are you?”  “Fine, thank you!”  Still, she looked like she wanted to talk, so I continued, “Where are you from?”  “Canada!”  “Oh, cool, we have a friend that is from there.  When we take pictures of Canada in Epcot, he always comments!”  That made her laugh and tell me the wonderful blessing her son is.  He and her daughter-in-law are renewing their vows for their 20th anniversary and he brought everyone with them.  Also, her daughter, who is 49, just got married for the first time on Friday, and then Sunday after the wedding they came to Disney!  We got to celebrate the wonderful things that are happening in her life and it is so fun to hear people’s stories!  I love this most of all!

Heading back on the tram!