Discussion Boards | Reviews | News | Trip Planning | Shop | Travel | Site Map

Disney Trip Report Archive An archive of reader-submitted trip reports

- Look in: MousePlanet WWW

[ Return to Index Page ]

Mike Banks -- December 2000 -- Walt Disney World (DL / WL)

December 9th - 14th 2000

Pre-Planning:

Originally this trip to WDW was to be an anniversary surprise for my wife, Becca. Through a couple of side jobs at the architecture firm I work at I was able to hoard a few dollars and began planning our trip. Unfortunately a few of the jobs never panned out and I didn't have enough money to pay for our trip without using a credit card. Becca pays the bills in our house so if this was to be the surprise I wanted it to be it would have to be paid by money orders. By the time June rolled around I realized that if we were going to get to WDW I was going to need help so we started to talk about going back in December.

My new plan was to upgrade our hotel and surprise her when we arrive at the resort. I had a little money left over after I pay for the upgrade so I planned on ordering tickets to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and I thought it would be nice to have flowers delivered to our room on our anniversary.

July 18th,

Nothing has been finalized, or even discussed for that matter about our December trip. Dates for MVMCP were announced not too long ago and even though our trip is not definite, it probably is a 95% chance we're going, I ordered our tickets for December 11th MVMCP. Besides if we don't go I could probably sell them and get my money back anyway.

August 14th,

Over the past month we have talked more and more about our December trip and decided we are definitely going. Good thing since my tickets to MVMCP came in a few weeks ago. I have been looking into airfare and there are quite a few flights for under $200 round trip. That works out well since coming back from a cruise we took in April I gave up my seat and was offered $400 in Delta dollars good for 1 year. I had to wait a total of 9 hours in the Atlanta airport (5 hours by myself) but now it pays off. I called tonight to try and get Dec. 9th-14th at Coronado Springs but there was no availability for that week. I wasn't really too concerned about it because I read about this all the time on R.A.D.P. and know that if I keep calling back it will probably open up. Even if it doesn't we'll probably just stay at Dixie Landings or what ever they'll be calling it when we get there. Besides this resort is just a front for the Wilderness Lodge where we'll actually be staying. Hopefully I can pull this off without Becca finding out about it.

August 20th,

After trying 4 separate times to get into Coronado Springs with no luck I decided that I would make our reservations at Dixie Landings (DL). DL did have availability for that week and after my MKC discount we were booked for Dec. 9th-14th at a total cost of $550. While I was checking availability for CS I had the CM look into WL and they had a courtyard view remaining and it was in my price range. I'm waiting a week or so before I start calling for those reservations, just in case there is any paperwork that might clue in Becca as to what I'm doing. Still hoping I can pull this off.

September 28th,

After trying for about a month, probably 8 calls in all, I was able to get a woods view at the Wilderness Lodge for Dec. 10th- 14t. They didn't have a standard view available with the MKC discount so I decided to get my foot in the door at WL and take the woods view. I have no idea what the difference between the views are, maybe we're looking at trees instead of a parking lot. I'll keep trying to get a standard view but I don't have to worry about not being able to stay there if it doesn't become available. Since I could only get a room from the 10th and not the 9th we're going to have to stay at DL the first night and transfer hotels. Even if a room is available with a woods view I don't think we'll take it only because I can't afford that extra night on my own. Remember this is a surprise upgrade and have to pay for the WL without letting Becca find out about it so MY funds are somewhat limited. WL for 4 nights is $725, which combined with the one night at DL for $110 brings our hotel total up to $825. I cancelled the 10th - 14th at DL and now I'm just hoping Becca likes her surprise and doesn't worry about the extra money that was spent, after all we kind of wanted to keep this trip on the less expensive side but I figure it's o.k. for me to spend a little more money on us, it is our anniversary.

November 9th,

A quick update on what has been going on. We came up with a loose itinerary and decided that on our anniversary we will be going to the parks. I called and made priority-seating arrangements for Crystal Palace for breakfast and at San Angel Inn for dinner. We have always wanted to eat in the Mexico pavilion and we decided that our anniversary was the perfect time to eat in the romantic setting. I made sure to tell the CM at reservations that they were our anniversary meals. Let's hope we get a little surprise. In the past couple of weeks I've had a couple close calls and my surprise was almost exposed. Luckily I was clever and quick enough to cover it up. If she had any suspicions I think she would have figured it out. Now I'm faced with the dilemma of when to tell her about the resort switch. I decided not to try and change the reservations any more so we will be staying at DL for the first night and then transferring to WL for the rest of the vacation. She will want to unpack as soon as we check in. I was hoping to have our bags transferred with out her knowing but I don't think there is any possible way to do that. Besides I'm sure during check-in they'll reveal our checkout day and then there will be an express checkout envelope on our door. Who knows maybe I'll let her read my pre-planning trip report.

December 6

I think I managed to pull it off. A couple of weeks ago the balance of our original DL stay was due, $450. Instead of sending that check to the Walt Disney Travel Company for DL I had to make the check payable to Walt Disney Attractions for our WL stay. What made this difficult was the fact that I NEVER write checks, so I had to somehow write the check out without her getting suspicious. I think I did it so now we're all set for our stay. I also had to tell her that I was unable to get tickets to MVMCP when in fact I've had them since July. It was tough to see her so disappointed but I had to stick to the plan. I still don't know how I'm going to tell her about the surprise. It is now less than 3 days until our trip and it feels like this week has been dragging. I normally don't do this but I'm going to write my preliminary itinerary:

Sat - arrive, head out to AK, to MK for MSEP

Sun. - Epcot in the morning and MGM in the afternoon

Mon. - MGM in the morning and MVMCP in the evening

Tue - Day Off, resort hopping, DD in the evening

Wed. - anniversary - MK in the morning, Crystal Palace, Epcot in the afternoon, San Angel Inn

Thu. - breakfast at a resort, leave for home

December 9

After dropping off our dog, Barty, at "camp" last night we woke up at 5:40 this morning. We took Barty to a house that watches Basset Hounds while you go on vacation, as it turns out it was a much better option than kenneling him. Back to today, luckily we were so excited about this trip because I set the clock wrong and we overslept by about 20 minutes. As it turned out we had plenty of time and we were out the door by 6:15, yes in the morning. We arrived at Becca's parents house about 10 minutes later and picked up her father who was going hunting this morning so he was awake anyway. We were dropped off about 25 minutes before our flight took off and by the time we got to the gate we one of the last people to board the plane that was only about 1/4 full. We flew to Atlanta where we caught our next flight after about an hour wait. I thought that Kate Hudson was on the plane but Becca says I'm crazy. We landed in Orlando right on time and began the fun walk to baggage claim.

The weather was so beautiful, of course compared to 10 deg. In Buffalo it's not tough to beat that. On our way to get our bags it was clear in the way we walked that this was going to be a more relaxed and a slightly slower paced vacation than our past trips to WDW. We picked up our Mears transfer tickets and waited for our bags to come out. After having our bags lost once this is always a risky time for us but after a short wait we had our bags in hand and were waiting for the next Mears bus to DL.

We were squeezed into the next van and after a stop at CBR to drop off a couple we arrived at DL where the rest of us were staying. Baggage claim was very crowded so we decided to hold on to our luggage until we saw what the check in was like. I'm glad because the line was about an hour long. We decided that since we already had our park hoppers that we would hit the park. I changed into my shorts and we grabbed the next bus to AK. It's so nice to climb back aboard a Disney bus; to just sit there and look at everything Disney owns.

We walked into AK, taking a picture of the AK Christmas tree along the way, and we strolled to the back of the park to grab a bite to eat at the Tusker House. We split a rotisserie chicken and grabbed a seat outside. Halfway through dinner a band started to play. They were we stayed and watched the band for about 20 minutes after we had finished our meal. From here we went to Kilamanjaro to get a Fastpass (FP) for one of the last rides of the night at 4:45. We walked by and the time was until 4:15 so I wanted to wait a little bit, by the time we went to get our FP only 2 minutes later the FP was closed for the rest of the day. The line wasn't long to begin with so I wasn't too worried about riding it later. We made our way back towards the Tree of Life where we saw ITTBAB. Good show and more importantly good seats. I think this 3-D show more so than the other two can be less effective if your seats are to the sides.

We saw that Tarzan Rocks started in 5 minutes so we headed there, stopping on the way to ask a CM what the construction next to the Tarzan arena. They told us that it was going to be a roller coaster. That would be a great addition to AK. We were seated about halfway through the first song right near the exits. This show was very fun and full of energy. Becca and I both enjoy it very much. It's funny to watch the old people get up and leave halfway through the second song when they realize it wasn't what they thought it would be. After the show we headed back to Harambe stopping off in Asia on the way. I wanted to go on Kali River Rapids but by this time it had gotten a little cold and the sun was starting to go away. Besides we still had to check in and I didn't want to have to check-in to DL wet. We still walked through though and even saw an ape hanging out on the top of the concrete pillar in the ruins.

On our way to Kilo we walked through the slightly hidden path, which is always a fun thing to do, you feel so isolated; it's almost spooky. We made it to Kilo by 4:30 and walked through the queue all the way without stopping until we were seated in our truck. The tour wasn't as good as other times we've been on it before. We think that most of the animals were already taken to bed. After the ride I was hoping to get some night shots of the Tree of Life but we still had about 45 minutes until dusk so we decided to skip it and go back to DL and check finally check-in. In front of the entrance to the park there was about 100 high school age kids dressed in formal wear, we thought that maybe they were having an event at Rainforest Café.

The bus arrived after a short wait and we were on our way to DL. Once we got there the wait to check-in was only 15 minutes so our decision to postpone our check-in was a good one. Standing in line Becca made a comment about us not getting a good room for our week here. Realizing that in a couple minutes she'll know my surprise I told her that we could change rooms tomorrow. She said that we'd just stay in the room we are assigned. Finally we were called up to the desk. I gave the man behind the desk our information. After greeting us he looked at my information and started to type the information into the computer. He stated that we're checking out on the 10th (tomorrow). I said that was correct, Becca immediately said that we are staying until the 14th, I corrected her and told her that we are checking out tomorrow. It was at that point she figured something was up and I told her that we'd be staying at the Wilderness Lodge for the rest of our vacation. She was so excited. My surprise was a big success.

After getting our room location, in one of the mansions, we made our way to our room, finally. After walking forever we finally found our room. It was the same exact room as the one we stayed in at Port Orleans. None of my requests that I asked for were met. We called for our bags and watched a little of channel 18 while we waited. About 45 minutes later our luggage finally arrived. We didn't unpack because of our resort change tomorrow so we freshened up and headed to the bus stop waiting for the next bus to MK.

We walked down a very crowded Main St, the parade was going to start in 5 minutes, and stopped at Casey's Corner for our dinner. We both got hot dogs and split fries on the patio. As we started to eat the MSEP was coming right down Main St. It was the perfect meal. When we finished our dinner we swam upstream past all the people who were walking toward the hub after the parade. We took refuse in the candy shop where we bought a couple big cookies to enjoy later. We walked toward the castle along with the rest of the horde. We finally settled down right off the hub on the Tomorrowland side of the castle. There was a tree slightly obstructing the view, which is probably why this spot was still available. When the fireworks started the tree wasn't really a factor and we both loved the show. In all the times we've been here I think this is the first time we've sat and watched the whole showing of Fantasy in the Sky. After the show we stayed put for about 15 minutes and waited for the streets to settle down a little bit.

Once it cleared out a little we walked to the teacups and then through Tomorrowland. We kind of wanted to go on Buzz but the line was 50 minutes long. Needless to say we didn't wait. Instead we walked down Main St and found a bench on one of the side streets off of Main St. We sat here for about 20 minutes, it was so nice to sit and rest at the parks. Becca enjoyed the rest too and was surprised that we've been at WDW for half a day and haven't started running around the parks. I told her though that this trip was going to be different and we were going to make a point of taking it easy this trip. After we refreshed ourselves we continued down Main St. to the camera shop where we browsed while waiting for the second showing of MSEP. We ended up watching the MSEP from the porch of the exposition building. About half way through the parade the most wonderful thing happened, the people in front of us left and freed up the rocking chairs they were sitting in. We were able to sit on the porch and watch the parade while relaxing in the most comfortable seat in the house, and to top it off we were right next to the exit for when the parade ended.

Luckily we were near the exit because by the time we made it to the bus stop, which was the furthest away, there already was a 2 bus wait. Eventually the busses started pouring in and we were on our way back to DL. We had originally thought about going to the hot tub but by now we were way to tired so we decided to just head back to our room and go to sleep after watching a little TV.

December 10,

I got up a little earlier than Becca this morning because this is probably the only time I would be able to get some pictures of this resort. I took about a roll of pictures of the property and by the time I got back to the room Becca was just about ready to head out. A short while later we were at the bus stop waiting for the next bus to Epcot. It was such a beautiful day, the temperature was already in the mid 70's and there was a warm breeze. I can't even stress enough what a beautiful morning today was. This would be the same every morning through out our vacation.

We arrived at Epcot at about 9:30 with breakfast on our mind. We made a quick atop at the Fountain View Café so I could get my cheese Danish for my dessert after our traditional breakfast at the Wonders of Life pavilion. I was in for a little disappointment this trip because since my last visit they have stopped serving their breakfast burrito. I had to settle for a waffle; at least I have my Danish. After breakfast we skipped the attractions in the pavilion and walked down to Test Track where I picked up a Fastpass for about an hour from now. To pass the time we walked through Mouse Gear to see what they have to offer. I was looking for the official 2001 WDW album, which proved to be very difficult to find. We didn't buy anything and walked over to the Land where we took the boat ride though the garden. Becca didn't care for our tour guide, she said he didn't seem into it, I liked him because he didn't talk a mile-a-minute and I could understand him better than most tour guides. Either way we'll continue to ride this every time we come to Epcot.

After the Land we made our way to TT where I rode while Becca waited for me. Our next attraction was Ellen's Energy. We just missed the next showing so we waited outside. Everyone around us was enjoying nice cold beverages in line, which made Becca and me so thirsty, but we didn't want to lose our spot in line so we decided to get a drink after. I'm glad we didn't leave the line because when we were let in we sat in one of the coveted seats along the back wall. By now it was about 2:00 and we were anxious to get to the Wilderness Lodge. We made a stop at the Art of Disney store and then walked on Spaceship Earth.

It was finally time to check into WL. We decided not to take the bus to WL, instead we took the monorail to the TTC, then the mono to MK where we took the boat to WL. It probably took us about 20 minutes more but it was worth the extra time. Although this wasn't our first time to this resort actually checking into WL made it seem incredible, having the Christmas decorations up made the resort look beautiful. We were assigned room 4014 which the woman at the counter claimed overlooked the new vacation villa's. I had requested the other side on the 5th floor. Becca asked me if I wanted to ask for another room. I said no and decided to stay with what was given to me. We started walking to the elevator on the villa side which confused me because I thought that our room number would have placed us on the other side of the resort. When we got off at the 4th floor I soon realized I was right, we ended up walking back up the wing and past the lobby before we finally got to our room.

Everything I had read about the size of the room was just about dead on. It did seem to be about the same size as the room we were just left at DL. I think the larger beds make the room seem smaller and I also think that if the wall for the balcony weren't there the room would feel much larger. Our view was o.k. We could see the west corner of the Contemporary resort and part of the monorail between the trees. If we had gotten the 5th (like I requested) or even the 6th floor our view would have been much better.

We settled in the room and unpacked while we watched a little football. Becca was getting hungry so she walked down to the Roaring Forks where she bought a Philly cheese steak and also bought a refillable mug. After we finished our snack we laid down for about 30 minutes before we started to get moving again. Once we finally did get moving we grabbed a bus to MGM.

I can't even describe the amount of people at MGM tonight. I have NEVER seen a park this busy, and we've been here in the summer and during Supersoap weekend. Becca and I figured there were a couple things that contributed to this, it was a weekend, and there were two showings of Fantasmic tonight and the Osborne light spectacular that evening. After waiting in line for 10 minutes just to get in we fought the crowds all the way to ToT where I picked up a FP for 2 hours from now. I tried to get one for RnRC but it was already all taken for the evening. I met up with Becca in the shops along Sunset Blvd. We decided with the crowds we would try and limit what we were going to do tonight so we decided on Muppetvision. The theatre was about 1/4 full so we were told we could sit where we wanted to.

After Muppetvision we walked around the corner and walked through the Osborne Light Spectacular. I thought the lights were nice, but I just don't think it was as impressive as other people did. The person behind the scene who had to set up all the lights and check the each bulb after if the lights don't work impressed me. We walked out of the lights with just enough time for me to run ahead and go on ToT before my FP expires. I was hoping to see some of the Osborne lights from the Tower but I wasn't sitting in the right seat for that.

Becca was waiting for me at the entrance to Fantasmic. I was surprised to see a couple thousand other people waiting with her considering it was 7:50 and the show was suppose to start at 8:00. Becca said they still weren't done cleaning up after the first show. Eventually we were let in (slowly) and were finally seated by 8:10 and the show eventually got underway a little before 8:30. We've seen this show 3 times now and all three times we were seated in the same section, weird huh? After the show we decided to wait for the crowds to clear out, we always hate the sea of people running out after the show. With everyone leaving before us it gave me the perfect opportunity to get some night pictures of the ToT. I've taken pictures here at night before but this time I have my tripod so I was able to do a few more things with the pictures.

After a snapping off a few shots of Sunset Blvd. at night we walked over to the Friendship launch where we caught the last boat launch of the night. We got off at the Yacht & Beach Club with visions of cheeseburgers and milkshakes in our heads. Luckily our travels led us to Beaches and Cream. We were seated at the countertop and enjoyed what is consistently our favorite meal every time we go to WDW. When we were too stuffed to eat anymore we walked down to the Beach club where Becca relaxed for a few minutes and watched The Practice while I took a few pictures of the Boardwalk since I had my tripod on me. I met up with Becca in the lobby and we walked out to the bus stop. It's funny to look back at our trip here in January where we did the exact same thing, walk to the bus stop at the beach club at night. What's funny is that in January it was about 45 deg at night and they had space heaters at the valet desk that we used to keep warm while we waited. This time around it's about 75 deg and beautiful at 10:30 at night. We did the whole bus transfer thing at Downtown Disney and before long we were in our room where we fell fast asleep.

December 11th,

I woke up really early today. I wanted to get to MGM this morning and take some pictures down Sunset Blvd. before the rope drop so there weren't any people in my pictures. MGM was opening at 9:00 today so I was hoping to get there around 8:30 so I made sure I got to the bus stop a little before 8:00. 30 minutes later I was still there and I had seen every other bus at least twice. Eventually the bus showed up and I was on my way to my favorite park.

When I got off the bus I boogied over to the rope drop. The wait was only a couple people deep so I was able to get some good pictures, once the cm's finally moved out of my way. At 9:00 we were slowly walked down to RnRC, ToT wasn't working yet. I was wondering why they didn't have it running as if it was a teaser for the people waiting to get down the street. I was one of the first 20 people to get to RnRC so I figured I'd get a FP for later, by the time I my pass the line was almost to the entry to the RnRC courtyard. Luckily just after I got my pass a CM said we could use the Fastpass entrance as a secondary standby entrance. This got me to just about the same place I was before I left the line.

The ride was great and since I wasn't meeting Becca for almost 2 hours I knew I'd be riding it a few more times. I decided to check on the status of TOT, it wasn't running yet, no big deal I figured I'd just run over to RnRC and ride it again. Just before I got in line I heard some very disturbing chanting and singing, since I couldn't understand what they were saying I knew this was a place I didn't want to be so I decided to get a locker and store my camera while I went on the rides.

By now it was about 9:45 and ToT still wasn't up so I went over to RnRC where I saved my FP for a little later since the standby line was only 15 minutes. On my way there I picked up a FP for ToT. After the ride ToT was finally up and running so I made my way to the lobby. Today was definitely a great day and got even better when I sat in the seatbelt seat. Next I jumped over to RnRC where I did use my FP this time followed by another ride on the tower. It was a little after 10:30 now and I still hadn't eaten anything so I walked down to my favorite café at the corner of Hollywood and Sunset. I ordered a cheese Danish (of course) and a Toll House cookie and ate them under an umbrella while I waited for Becca. It was another absolutely beautiful morning today. I walked through a few of the shops on Hollywood while I was waiting. I was looking for possible Christmas gifts but never really found anything.

It was now a little after 11:00 so I grabbed a seat on a bench and waited for Becca. I kept my eye on the pin-trading cart because I knew there was an R.A.D.P. meet scheduled. I noticed about 8 people gathered around their pin books and figured that was the meet. Since I don't own any pins I figured I wouldn't have much to contribute so I stayed on the bench and at around 11:15 Becca came walking down the street. We talked about each other's morning on our way down to the lockers. We stuffed some of Becca's gear into the locker and noticed the locker above us had its key still in it. I was excited with the thought of returning it for the $2 refund when I noticed that the people who had the locker left it open with all their stuff still in it. We closed the locker and returned the key with an explanation to the CM what had happened. I was glad we came across the locker before someone else stumbled onto it, I have had stuff like this happen to me and it can really suck.

We only had a few things left to see so set out to knock these off and get on to the next park. We started off with Voyage of the Little Mermaid and then walked over to Hunchback of Notre Dame. Along the way we saw Wheezy from Toy Story 2, unfortunately we didn't have our camera with us, it was in the locker, he would have been a great addition to our character picture collection. After the two great shows we had done most everything we needed to do so we made our way to the exit with one last time on ToT for good measure. We picked up our stuff at the locker and grabbed the next Friendship boat to the International Gateway at Epcot.

We had a couple of goals this afternoon at, our first was lunch at Mexico, which is a must every trip, and the second is to buy a stein in Germany for my boss' Christmas present. We took advantage of the all day locker thing, checked our stuff and made our way to Mexico via Friendship across the World Showcase Lagoon. At Mexico we bought our combination platter and slit it at a table with a great view across the lagoon. We ate our lunch and made our way to Germany before the birds that were being fed attacked us. I don't understand why people insist on feeding those damn things. Anyway on with the trip report, we stopped in Norway but decided to skip Maelstrom because of the line. We stopped off at China only for about 5 minutes, just long enough to take a couple pictures and rest up for a second or two.

Finally we made it to our second stop. We immediately started looking at the steins and eventually bought a great stein that depicted the Berlin wall and even had a piece of the wall on top. It was perfect for him. We stopped in Italy and took a look around the shops. I looked through a book called 360 Italy or something like that that showed some beautiful pictures of Italy. After Italy we had the munchies so we stopped in America and bought a funnel cake, once again we didn't catch the American Adventure, and we continued on to Japan. On our way there the freakiest thing happened. Becca was about 10 feet in front of me eating the funnel cake and a seagull came down and hovered above her for about 5 seconds before it swooped down and took a piece of funnel cake right off of the plate. It totally freaked out Becca and she refused to anymore of the funnel cake. I finished off the funnel cake while watching the drummers and waited for Becca to come back from cleaning off all the bird germs.

We made it to Morocco just before Tapestry of Nations began and started walking around. We were surprised to see a new fast food type place in the pavilion. Becca was still craving sweet, she didn't have much of the funnel cake, but nothing looked to appealing to her. Becca walked around a little bit and I took a walk through the little art gallery. Some of the pieces they had were incredible. I was in there for about 10 minutes and no one so much as opened the door the whole time I was in there. Too bad more people don't know about it, it's a great little place. We followed ToN down to France where we bought a pastry from the bakery. We ordered a "marvelous" and all I can say is that's the perfect name for it, it was delicious.

It was getting late in the afternoon and we wanted to get back to the resort for a little rest before Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party tonight so we walked out the international gateway and took the boat to Boardwalk where we started back to WL via DD. We got back to WL around 5:00 with plans to jump in the hot tub. By the time we walked from the bus stop, got to our room and opened the sliding doors onto our porch we saw that it started pouring outside. This was the first time we haven't been in the park in the middle of a downpour. Staying at a "deluxe" resort made it that much better because we were able to open the sliding door and keep checking on the status of the rain without people walking by like in the moderates. The rain started around 5:30 and we were pretty confident that by the time we had to leave at 7:30 it would have stopped.

We took a well-deserved rest and watched a little TV. At 6:00 a Fantasy in the Sky was scheduled so we took a seat on our balcony and hoped to be able to see something over the trees. A few minutes later we had an incredible view of the show, and the best part about enjoying the she is that when it was over we could walk a few short steps and we were back laying down in our beds, dry. The rain let up so we decided to walk around the new vacation club property. We walked down to the bus stop and took the turn right at the end and walked through what we thought would be a lobby area. The lobby turned out to be an elevator and hallway, which led to the back of the building. We walked between the pool and WL and then by the beach area on our way back to our room.

Once back at our room we packed a bag and started out to the dock to grab the next boat to MK for the party. There was quit a line at the dock waiting to get over to MK and we were able to squeeze on the second boat that came by. The first thing we wanted to do was to get our locker so we didn't have to do it later. We shoved a few things in the locker with plans to come back later and made our way to Tomorrowland past the people that were already lining up for the first Christmas parade. We started off on Buzz Lightyear where Becca beat me pretty soundly. It always takes me a couple of games to get a hang of shooting that gun. We walked by Space Mountain after Buzz where I picked up a FP for later.

We decided to avoid the hub and walk over to fantasyland and go on a few of the rides over there next. We started off with Winnie, which had a surprisingly short line; most of the kids were probably waiting for the parade. From there we went on Snow White and then the carousel. On the carousel we saw that Dumbo also had a short line so we went on that next. In all my trips to WDW this was my first time on this ride. I really enjoyed it and I'll be sure to keep my eye open on future trips for short lines here.

It was now time for my FP at Space Mountain so we made our way to back to Tomorrowland, along the way Becca stayed at Cosmic Ray's while I ran over to SM. After the ride I met up with Becca at Cosmic Ray's where we ate our dinner. I got the double cheeseburger and Becca had me buy her the children's chicken nugget meal. She was too embarrassed to order it herself so she had me do it. We grabbed a seat on one of the porches just as the fireworks were starting. Unfortunately we couldn't see anything because of the roof but it was still nice being outside on another beautiful night and not having people stepping on your feet.

After dinner we walked across the hub and went to Pirates of the Caribbean, which was a total walk-on. From here we continued to Frontierland where Becca grabbed a seat for the parade while I went on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. After the ride I met up with Becca and we sat for about 15 more minutes before the parade finally made it down to us. The parade was great and since Disney decided to put some other nonsense on Christmas Eve instead of the holiday parade it was nice to see it. After the show we went the opposite direction of the crowd so I could go on Splash Mountain at night. I absolutely love this ride. It's one of the best examples of Disney Imagineering IMHO. To take a basic flume ride and turn it into a ride that is almost worth the admission price by itself is amazing. I finally saw the bird that sticks its head down and chirps "F.S.U.", or at least that's what it sounds like. There was no wait for the ride and I could have stayed on and rode again but I know Becca was on the verge of passing out so I skipped the ride and we started toward the exit and the boat back to WL. Before too long the boat arrived and we were stumbling up to our room and passing out.

December 12th,

After our late night last night planning a day off for today was the best decision we've made this whole vacation. We didn't roll out of bed until around 10:00 today and just enjoyed not having to rush out of the room this morning. Once we finally did get out of bed we decided to grab a bus over to Fort Wilderness and have breakfast at the Trail End Buffet. To make our day off even better it was raining a little bit this morning and we were dry in our room instead of dodging the rain in one of the parks. After a good, and cheap, breakfast we walked around FW since we hadn't been there before. We want to stay here in the future if for no other reason than to be able to ride a golf cart around, they're so cool. It was still sprinkling a little so we didn't really walk around too much; we walked back to the bus stop and took the quickie bus tour of the rest of the grounds.

By the time we got back to WL it had stopped raining and had cleared up completely so we decided to grab our suits and head down to the pool area. It was early afternoon and it had turned into another beautiful day. We stayed at the pool for about an hour where I alternated between the pool and the hot tub; I even went down the slide a few times. I was the oldest person to go on it without a little one but hey I'm on vacation. We could have stayed in the sun all day but we still wanted to go to DD and do some shopping so we cleaned ourselves up and grabbed the bus to the marketplace. We stopped in almost every store but only bought something's at the Christmas store. Eventually we made it to World of Disney hoping to find my CD I wanted. I couldn't find it anywhere and thought I wouldn't be able to find it when Becca came up to me and told me that they had a few disc left at the Boardwalk. That was all I needed to hear we walked to the bus stop and caught the next bus to Boardwalk.

Once we finally got to the Boardwalk we made a beeline to the gift shop where we finally got our hands on the 2001 official album for WDW. I asked if I could ship it back to WL and I was told by the CM I couldn't. I didn't know if she was joking because I thought on previous trips I had shipped back to other resorts from here. It wasn't that big of a deal since it was so small I didn't mind carrying it. This was my anniversary present and I have listened to it several times since coming home from our vacation. I especially like the Splash Mountain and the Beauty and the Bees tracks, in fact I think I'll listen to them now. On the way to the Boardwalk we decided to have dinner at the ESPN club. We have never been there and we thought this would be the perfect time to eat here. The restaurant was only about 1/4 full and the service was great. The food was really good also. I had chicken fingers and Becca had a chicken sandwich we she sent back because it was slightly undercooked. The waitress returned with a completely new dish. If anyone goes here make sure you stop in the bathrooms.

When we finally left ESPN it was around 6:30 so we stopped at the bakery's where we bought some cookies and snacks for later tonight in the room. We just missed the boat to MGM where we were going to grab the bus back to WL. While we waited on the dock we were treated to the tree lighting ceremony in the garden nest to Flying Fish. That made the wait go by quickly and before too long we were on a very crowded boat to MGM. What was surprising about that is the fact that it was 6:55 and MGM was closing at 7:00 tonight. It didn't concern us too much since we were just here to jump on our bus, which got us back to WL by 7:30.

We stopped and bought some milk on our way up to our room. I wanted to take advantage of the beautiful evening so I slipped into my suit and went down to the hot tub, again. The pool wasn't very crowded and was made even better because I was able to sit back and watch all the exhausted people as they walked by my on their way back from MK. Everyone looked so jealous, it was great. I began feeling tired so I knew it was time for me to jump out and go back up to the room. Once back in the room I joined Becca in eating our deserts while we watched TV. Before too long our lazy day got the best of us and we were asleep before too long.

December 13th,

Today was our 3rd wedding anniversary and our last full day at WDW. We were having breakfast at Crystal Palace today at 9:00 but despite our early bedtime last night we just made it to MK just before our PS. Our breakfast was more expensive than yesterdays at T E Buffet but the food and the atmosphere make the price difference not so hard to handle. After we were too full to eat any more we walked over to Liberty Square going across a bridge that I don't remember being there last time we were here. When I got back home I checked my park map from our last trip and sure enough it wasn't there. Last time we were here there were Lion King topiaries. Once in LS we went on Haunted Mansion, which we didn't have a chance to do the other night. From HM we walked through Fantasyland where we took a trip to never-Neverland. After Peter Pan we walked through the castle stopping in front of the carousel to listen to a brass band play some Disney tunes.

Once we reached the hub we headed over to Tomorrowland to hit a few rides we haven't gotten to do yet. It was just about 11:00 and a line was forming for the first showing of Carousel of Progress. We waited for about 10 minutes but they still weren't' letting people in so we decided to go on TTA while we waited. By the time we rode down the ramp at TTA they had began seating for CoP. The show was great, a Disney classic, but we were subject to foreigners who couldn't understand the concept of continuing all the way down the row until all available seats are full.

We only had a couple of things left to do, ride Splash Mountain and ride the train. We decided to take a walk to the Toontown train station and got on the next train, which happened to be the Walter E. Disney. We took the train all the way to Frontierland where we jumped off the train just long enough to get a couple FP for SpM. We thought we'd have to wait for the next train but the WED was still there, as if it was waiting for us, so we took an empty row on the last car. We had an hour before our FP time so we figured there was no better way to spend an hour at MK than taking a couple laps on the WDW Railroad. The ride was great and all too soon the hour was up so we got off at the Frontierland station and walked right by the hour long standby line and basically walked right on. The ride was great despite the fact that we were on a boat full of teenage gangsta wannabe's who were more concerned about their hair not getting wet and when the girls did get wet the left no doubt that they weren't happy about it. I don't know why people like them would waste their, or their parent's money by being someplace they don't want to be.

We were finally ready to call it a day for MK and head back to WL. We walked out through Adventureland where I walked through Swiss Family Treehouse so I could get a glimpse of the new Aladdin ride. I was only able to see some excavation work being done. Before we left we were sure to pick up a Dole Whip float, yummy yummy. After walking through the Main St shops one last time we left the park and jumped on the next boat too WL, I love taking this trip, traveling on the water is such a relaxing way to travel.

Once we got back to WL Becca stopped at the mercantile to do a little shopping while I went up to the room to change for the pool. Wouldn't you know that the maid was still in our room. I wasn't sure what to do so I walked to the end of the hall and waited for her to finish. It took about 15 minutes before she was done and by that time Becca had finished her shopping and was waiting with me. When we finally got in our room I put on my suit and went down to the pool while Becca stayed in the room for a little longer. She eventually joined me down at the pool where we stayed for about an hour before going back up to the room getting ready for Epcot tonight. When we got back up top the room Becca had wrapped my CD we bought yesterday and it was waiting for me on the bed. We didn't bring a CD player with us so I had to wait until we got home.

After freshening up we headed out to Epcot. Taking the bus would be too boring so we of course made the trip a little fun. We wanted to take advantage of the boats as much as possible so we took the next boat over to the Contemporary where we took the monorail to the TTC. We timed it perfect because as we walked up to the Epcot monorail we were the first people there so we asked for, and was given the front seat. I always like getting the front on the Epcot run, Becca says I'm loser but I know she loves it as much as I do.

Once in Epcot we walked right through Future World to World Showcase. We started at Canada where we walked to the waterfall in the back and walked back out past Le Cellier and through the garden. This is such a beautiful pavilion. Next we went to the Millennium Village, other than exploring the computers at the Saudi Arabia section we didn't really do too much in here. It was almost time for Tapestry of Nations so we grabbed a seat on a curb right at the beginning of the UK pavilion. This turned out to be a great spot. We were right at the start of the parade. The show was great, I enjoyed it much more than last time, the improved weather probably had a lot to do with us having a better time. After ToN we walked through the UK shops.

It was now almost time for dinner so we made our way to Mexico. Mexico was incredibly crowded and it took us a few minutes to even check-in. We were told that it would probably be about a 10-minute wait so we took this time to go on El Rio del Tiempo. After the ride we still hadn't been beeped so we rested against the wall watching the glass blower work and band play in the courtyard. After another 10 minutes we were finally paged and seated along the water. The seats were very good except for the fact that we were next to the waiter station and 3 or 4 wheel chaired guests thought this was the accessible exit and cleared out all the chairs and trays full of dirty dishes to get out. This was the only draw back. We ordered a nachos appetizer which was delicious and I had a strawberry margarita which was even better. I ordered something with beef and thought it was o.k. Becca really liked her meal. Overall we enjoyed our anniversary dinner and would eat here again.

We had about an hour before Illuminations so we took this time to set up the tripod and take some evening pictures for SE while the fountain was going. As I was taking my pictures a CM, who was also taking pictures of families, came over and gave me a tip on settings for my camera. After a few shots we wrapped it up and took a seat along the lagoon about halfway to Mexico. Just like at MK the other night we were able to sit against a fence until the show started. This ended up being a good spot to watch the show, we had a great view. After the show we decided to go with the crowd and head back to our resort. A quick bus ride and we were back at WL in our room. We watched a little TV, ate a few snacks and went to bed on our last night at WDW.

December 14th,

Our last day at WDW and we were awake at 8:00. We weren't going to any parks today and could have slept in but were unable too. I did lie in bed for 20 minutes and just looked out our porch reliving our vacation. Before too long Becca was awake too and we decided to start our day. I began to pack as Becca went downstairs to get us something to eat. When she came back we went on to the porch and enjoyed our morning snacks. Time was going by too fast and it was time to leave our room so we checked our bags and went down to the boat dock. We waited for the next MK boat to take a loop on the MK monorail.

The trip was great and after we took a seat under the monorail tracks while we waited for the boat to arrive. We ended up waiting for about 15 minutes, which was just perfect for us. We were able to sit in front of MK and take in the entire atmosphere on another beautiful day at WDW. We enjoyed our last boat ride back to WL and went into the bathroom where we changed into our suits to take one last dip in the pool before we had to go back to the frigid north. The pool was great, I love being in the pool while geese swoop down and swim around the pool with all the guests. After a little swim, where every time I'm in the pool the sky was cloudy and as soon as I got out the sun came out too, we grabbed lunch at roaring Forks and ate outside on the patio. After lunch we changed out of our "summer" clothes and put on our "winter" clothes and said our good-byes to the resort. Normally we're rushing around to parks on our last morning but we both said how enjoyable it was to take off this morning, and it also made it easier to go home for some reason.

We claimed our luggage and waited for our Mears bus to show up. When I called Mears yesterday I told them my flight was 30 minutes later than it was so we were scheduled for the wrong bus time. We boarded the bus with plenty of time but started to get scared when we realized the bus still had to stop at Cont, Poly and GF. We let the driver know we were running short on time and he was kind enough to drop us off first. We rushed to the gate, after checking in, only to see a ton of people waiting to board the plane. As it turned out the plane took off about 20 minutes late so we had plenty of time. The flight to Cincinnati was good and there was only a short delay for our connecting flight. The people at the gate next to us had a different story. They were going to Albany and were waiting for the plane from San Antonio, which hadn't even left the airport yet. Delta was able too find a spare plane that was laying around somewhere so all those people who were waiting ended up taking off shortly after us. We made it back to Buffalo without any problems and after a short drive we were reunited without with our dog and on our way home.

Mike Banks

banks37@localnet.com

Mail a Comment to Mike Banks

[ Return to Index Page ]