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Stacey Fox -- November 2000 -- Walt Disney World (CBR)November 28 - December 4, 2000 Cast of Characters:
When we were making wedding plans, our first choice was a tour of Ireland. But I wasn't sure if we would be up to non-stop touring on someone else's schedule, especially after the rigors of a wedding. But I was nervous about going somewhere to just "relax" since Scott had NEVER been on a vacation before. In my mind, WDW was the perfect in-between location (in addition to being my favorite place on earth)! After much gnashing of teeth, Scott agreed. (This is a man who teased me for 3 years about my devotion "a corporation bent on global conquest.") Well, it was magic. Scott is a true convert. We even made two more trips to WDW on the annual passes we bought on the honeymoon. Background: We were definitely suffering WDW withdrawal since going three times in 1998-1999. Even worse, our normal July family pilgrimage (grandma, mom, sister, me and Scott) to WDW was cancelled this year due to my sister's June wedding. (Those things are expensive!) We HAD to find a way to see the Millennium festivities. Scott and I originally had plans for an August budget vacation, but some unexpected medical and financial issues made that a non-event. We had a nice upturn in finances in late summer and made the decision to go during holiday season. All of the deluxe resorts were booked solid, and so were the moderates I wanted to try, but I was able to snag a room at All Star Music at the MKC rate of $74.50/night (tax included) for November 30 - December 4. With all of the publicity surrounding the millennium, I was thrilled to have any room! I put the deposit on Amex and crossed my fingers. I was in the second round of interviewing for a new job (headhunter called me, I wasn't really looking), so everything was on hold. I got the new job (yea!), and since my new company works closely with Disney (perfect fit!), my boss said "of course" when I mentioned our tentative plans. Scott and I did the math, and decided we needed more time. So I called CRO, and was able to extend our original reservation for 6 nights (November 28 - December 4). Since we had some extra $$$, I kept trying for a deluxe or moderate, but none to be had at the moment. I had been pricing airline tickets and found a Southwest fare of $129 each out of Midway. Not my favorite airport, but the best I could find at O'Hare (an hour closer) was well over $350 each. So Midway it was. However, coincidentally with receiving my boss' approval, United Airlines announced a sale to try to woo back dissatisfied customers from the summer fiasco. So I called United and was able to use frequent flier miles for one of the tickets and reserve the other ticket at the sale fare of $187 (tax included). Woo hoo! You will see throughout this planning report that we were lucky MANY times planning this trip! We also decided to rent a car so we could easily get to the other resorts to see the decorations. Now that we were set, I really began to hit the Internet to start making plans. Since this was our first holiday trip, we wanted to see as much of the festivities as possible. I called CRO (yet again) and bought MVMCP tickets for November 30 (hoping that it would be less crowded since it was a Thursday) and arranged the CP dinner package for .December 1 (Le Cellier for dinner). I was surprised that the CM could make Le Cellier reservations since I was outside the 60 day window I THOUGHT applied to all park restaurants. When I asked about the timing, the CM wasn't sure. So, slightly panicky, I asked about PS at Rose and Crown for December 3 (our last night - a tradition). I was able to secure 7:20 reservations, which was a bit disappointing, because I don't think reservations that early can stay for Illumunations. But I'll keep working on that. Maybe someone will have to cancel. (Hey, a girl can dream!) Being the persistent one, I kept calling CRO, and in mid-September, I was offered a king room at CBR for the MKC rate of $127/night (tax included). I snapped it up, but held onto the ASMu reservation mainly for budget reasons. As much as I really wanted to stay at a nicer resort, could I really justify the expense??? (Of course, this didn't stop me from continuing to try to secure a reservation at a deluxe resort!) And in late September, my persistence really paid off in a Wilderness Lodge reservation at $205/night (non-MKC rate). We were now in the possession of, count-em, three sets of reservations. SIDEBAR: I've already caused a discussion on RADP about the ethics of this, but I want to state my case again. At NO time when I called was the entire WDW property full. I always had the option of at least one All Star resort, but I was hoping for a deluxe or moderate of choice. While I DID have 3 reservations, I never took a potential vacation away from some other family. Someone else may not have been able to reserve the resort of their choice, but so what. Neither did I. (I was hoping for BWI.) At least rooms were available at 60-75 days out in the Millennium. So, for the last time -- no, I'm not remorseful that I had 3 sets of reservations. SIDEBAR END. After a few days of discussion, we decided our budget could withstand the CBR king room, so I cancelled the ASMu and WL (boo hoo) reservations and moved all the Priority Seatings to the remaining reservation. Then the week of surprises began. Friday night I went to bingo with my mom (don't ask, she's addicted) and won $300. Four days later, I went to my usual Tuesday night bingo (five years running with Gram and the ladies), and walked out with $550 in winnings. When I went to TDS on Wednesday to buy the five-day hoppers with my winnings, I got another windfall. Purchasing two hoppers (MKC rate), a video, and a sweatshirt (Christmas present, I swear!), the CM gave me the MKC discount on MY ENTIRE ORDER! The hoppers ended up costing $187 apiece (tax included). As if this isn't all enough , on Thursday (same week, remember), I found out . . . Can you guess? sit down . . . I'M PREGNANT! We weren't planning to "try" until January, because of my new job, but I'll take this miracle! We've had our difficulties in this endeavor (reason we ended up not going to Disney in August), so this makes us feel very very blessed. After the first shock wore off, we thought for about 10 minutes before deciding we're still going to Disney. By late September, we know where we're staying, we've got cheap airfare, I've paid for 1/2 the room already, and we're sitting pretty (and pregnant). On Saturday night, September 30, I set my alarm clock for 5:55 a.m. (Central). I wasn't calling for Cinderella's breakfast, but I wanted to eat a late dinner at the Crystal Palace after MK closed before MVMCP (thanks WDWIG and RADP for the great idea). I started dialing, and dialing, and dialing (while Scott is snoring away next to me). Finally at 6:01 a.m. the phone rang, and rang, and . . . WAS ANSWERED. No problem getting PS at Crystal Palace for November 30 at 6:10 p.m. After jotting down the information, just in passing, I asked "So, I don't suppose there's anything left at Cinderella's breakfast for November 30, party of 2, any time, is there? And, to my surprise, I was offered my choice of 9:35 or 8:20. I elected to sleep in and took the 9:35 reservation. I hung up the phone in shock, and went back to bed. When we really woke up a few hours later, Scott asked if I got the Crystal Palace time. When I told him not only did I get Crystal Palace, but also the princess breakfast, he was somewhat in shock since we had just been reading on RADP how difficult those PS are to get. Then Mr. Wonderful asked "Great, you're carrying a princess, aren't you?" (Pink would be fine with me, but I'll take healthy any day, thank you very much.) In early October, I decided that I had one more reservation to make. We had taken the Hidden Treasures tour of Epcot last time we were at Disney, and really enjoyed it. (OK, Scott absolutely loved it and I enjoyed it.) I had planned on surprising Scott with the Undiscovered Future World tour, but he actually read about the Yuletide Fantasy tour and asked if I'd like to take it. When I asked him if he'd prefer the Future World tour, he debated for a few days and decided he wanted to take the Yuletide tour since we might not get back to WDW during the holidays. By the time I tried to book the tour, the only available date was November 29th - our first day at the World. Fast forward to November 19th, when good friends of ours from Philadelphia called to say they'd be in the world on November 28th and 29th. This was a last-minute trip for them as they were driving their youngest daughter to southern Florida for a job she had that started on December 4th. We agreed that we'll try to meet up on the 29th. As I was preparing to send our room request fax, I called CBR (yes, again) on Saturday night inquiring on the renovation status. I've been a bit nervous about the state of the rooms at CBR. I must have called during a slow time because the CM I spoke with (Sean) took a lot of time to explain to me that only Barbados 11, 12, and 13 have been renovated, but carpeting had been replaced in several other buildings throughout the resort. He then went through the available king rooms for check-in on Tuesday and ended up assigning us to a newly carpeted non-smoking room with a water view in Trinidad South. What a wonderful way to start our trip. I didn't even have to send the room request fax! Then I called CBR guest services this morning, and made 5:00 PS for the Fantasmic dinner package at Hollywood & Vine for December 2nd. We have tickets for the second show! In the meantime, I've paid for the room, the hoppers, $1000 extra on the room account for meals, souvenirs and Christmas presents. All in all, the planning has been a rousing success! The Revised TENTATIVE Plan: November 28th: late departure (8:55 p.m. out of O'Hare), into MCO after midnight. Pick up National Rental Car (fantastic Internet rate), and drive to CBR. November 29: Yuletide Fantasy tour, try and meet up with Philly friends, Coral Reef for lunch, MSEP at 6:15 p.m. November 30: Cinderella's Royal Table for breakfast, check out resort decorations, Crystal Palace for dinner, MVMCP December 1: Sleep in, check out more resort decorations. EPCOT: ToN, CP, Teppanyaki for lunch, Le Cellier for dinner. Can we do Illuminations too? December 2: Studios: Hollywood and Vine for dinner as part of the Fantasmic package. No RnRC or ToT for me this trip, but Scott loves them, so I'm trying to convince him that I don't mind if he goes alone. (It's a small sacrifice.) Must see Osborne lights while we're here. Maybe Jellyrolls late tonight. December 3: Park at Beach Club for lunch, then EPCOT: Rose and Crown for dinner (hopefully combined with Illuminations, but this might not happen). I'm still trying for a later set of PS. After EPCOT closes, stroll through Beach and Yacht Club (ice cream, anyone?) December 4: Breakfast TBD, flight home leaves at 12:20 p.m. Well, that's what we have planned! If you've gotten this far, you deserve a gold medal for tenacity! Trip report to follow shortly. November 27th - Pre-travel Day I had thought about using Gifts of a Lifetime to do something special for Scott, since he's been so wonderful about the baby. He's been so excited to be "taking the baby to Disney for the first time." I tried to plan something with Jane, but I've had enough nausea and morning sickness that I couldn't commit to a time that we'd be somewhere for the pixies to work their magic. (Plus it was pretty expensive.) So I put together a "Disney Dad Survival Kit" and gave it to Scott on Monday night. I had it hidden in one of the suitcases, and asked him to put a jacket in the suitcase. When he found the Disney bag, he asked what it was, and I told him that it was a gift from me and the baby. He started digging, and found four Mickey bottles, four Pooh pacifiers, a 2000 t-shirt in his size and a smaller matching onesie for the baby, a small Pooh picture album for bragging, several Pooh bibs, a Pooh picture frame, and a hat. We had ourselves a bit of a tear-fest, and eventually tried to sleep, knowing that we'd be sleeping in Disney the next night. Have you seen the commercial where the kids are too excited to sleep and so are the parents? Well that was us Monday night. I finally fell asleep around 2, and Scott was still awake. He says he didn't fall asleep until after 4, but he didn't have to get up for work! Travel Day -- November 28th Original Plan: 8:55 p.m. departure out of O'Hare, into MCO after midnight. Pick up National Rental Car (fantastic Internet rate), and drive to CBR. I had to work today while Scott had the day off. I HATED being at work knowing he was at home and his vacation had already started. (Yes, you're seeing a jealous streak here.) I was checking the flight status all day, and it was "on time" every time I checked. I finally left work at 4:30, and headed for home. I changed into a comfy track suit, we loaded the luggage into the truck, and drove both the car and the truck over to my grandma's house. We putzed around for about an hour, and mom drove us to the airport. On our way to the airport, Mom comments how it's nice that we're on time, since every time she drives someone to the airport, their flight is ALWAYS delayed. Scott just gives her A LOOK and says, "don't jinx us." So what do we find when we check in? Yep, delayed an hour! Thanks, Mom. So we find a bar with a TV, park ourselves in front of the Duke-Illinois game, and Scott proceeds to drink enough beer for both of us. Our flight is finally posted, and we head to the gate around 9:00 for a 10:00 departure (one hour and ten minutes late). We found out later that Duke won. Go Blue Devils!! The flight was pretty uneventful and very empty. We slept most of the way down, and landed in Orlando at about 1:00 a.m. We called Mom and Gram to let them know we landed OK, and Scott went to collect the luggage while I went to start the paperwork for the rental car. I was the only one at the National counter, and even the agent here was impressed with my Internet rate of $117 (tax included) for a full-size car. Then I handed him a United frequent flyer coupon for a one-day free rental or a one-class upgrade, and my final rate ended up $94 (tax included) for the whole time. What a deal! At 1:30 in the morning, there weren't a whole lot of cars to choose from, and we ended up with a gold Grand Prix SE. We headed out of Orlando International towards WDW, and got there $2.50 lighter in the pocket. (3 tolls!) There was NO ONE on the roads the entire way there! It was very weird to be driving on this huge highway all alone. Apparently this was a female reaction, because Scott didn't think it was a big deal. ("We're from Chicago - of course people drive all night there!" said in a rather sarcastic tone.) We finally arrived at CBR at about 2:15 a.m. and were registered in about 5 minutes flat. We confirmed the $1000 credit on the account, received our room cards/credit cards, and headed over to Trinidad South. OH MY GOD! WE'RE HERE!!! We've got a king room with a water view. The room is newly carpeted, and the tropical colors are just what this couple from Illinois needs. We immediately put on the Disney Information channel on the TV, and just flopped down on the bed. Too excited to sleep, I unpacked Scott's things into drawers (I can live out of a suitcase; he can't) and put the toiletries out on the bathroom counter. Scott set up a wake-up call for 7:30 and we finally fall asleep around 3 or so. Day One -- Wednesday, November 29th Original Plan: Yuletide Fantasy tour, try and meet up with Philly friends, Coral Reef for lunch, MSEP at 6:15 p.m. We got the wake-up call, and it was hell getting up early, until realization struck that we were at DISNEY!!! We got up, Scott went to get us some breakfast from the food court, and after a quick voicemail message to the Philly folks (let's try to meet at Epcot at 12:30), we drove to Epcot for the Yuletide Magic tour. We were the last ones to arrive, and the group was off by 8:55. Our tour group consisted of 12 people and 3 guides. I think 2 of the guides were observing the 3rd guide, who did almost all of the talking. We were driven to the backstage area of Germany, entered while it was totally empty! We walked through Germany, Italy, and America while the guide pointed out special holiday decorations in each pavilion. We then drove to the Studios, and entered in the backstage area near the backlot tour. We walked through the backlot area across to the main tree outside the Great Movie Ride, and then down towards Beauty and the Beast. The guide pointed out several points of interest in the decorations, and we were off towards the Magic Kingdom. As we pulled up backstage behind Main Street, I took one look at the castle, and I was in tears. Quickly put the sunglasses on so nobody would notice and we entered Main Street and walked around looking at the different decorations in the different stores. We then drove over to the Wilderness Lodge to see the magnificent tree in the lobby. The Wilderness Lodge was the first resort built with Christmas plans in mind, so there is a large electrical circuit box in the lobby floor directly underneath the spot where the tree is placed every year, and the railings that overlook the lobby are wired with electrical sockets especially for the decorations that are hung there. Every resort since the Wilderness Lodge is built with holiday decorations in mind and wired accordingly. We headed back to Epcot and returned to the front entrance at about noon. The tour was nice, but we wouldn't do it again. Scott especially had hoped that more of the resorts would be included, but it was a nice start to our trip. (You'll see that Scott's wish comes true by the end of the trip). We went into Epcot and went on Spaceship Earth since there was no line. We went back to the entrance by about 12:20 to see if our Philly friends were able to make it, but we left by abut 12:50 when they hadn't shown up yet. We headed over to Coral Reef and were seated immediately even though the PS was for 1:30. I ordered the Cream of Lobster Soup and the Rock Shrimp Appetizer and Scott ordered the crab cakes and the grilled tuna. Scott said his lunch was great. The soup was wonderful, but one of the toppings on the shrimp immediately triggered the pregnancy nausea. Scott claimed I turned an interesting shade of green, which clued him in that something was wrong. I had to move the plate to the other side of the table, but even that didn't help. I tried to sip some Sprite as Scott signaled our server to PLEASE take the plate away. Once the smell was gone, I started to feel better, and Scott was able to finish his lunch (quickly) and we left. We walked right out to get some fresh air, and I felt better right away. I sat down on a bench and Scott returned to Coral Reef to fill out a comment card because our waiter had made such a fast reaction to our "situation." We decided to go back to the room and rest until I got some energy back. When we got to the room, we had a message from our friends saying that they were going to the Studios first and suggesting we meet for Illuminations on the bridge between France and the International Gateway. We rested (OK, I slept and Scott walked around the CBR), and took a bus to the MK at around 5:00 for the MSEP scheduled for 6:15. We grabbed two stools across the Liberty Square Bridge at Sleepy Hollow right along the moat, and decided what we wanted to eat. I had a "craving" for chicken strips, so I headed over to Columbia Harbor House, but they had closed at 5. I ended up at Pecos Bill's for a cheeseburger and fries, and returned to our seats. All I could manage was a couple of bites, so Scott finished my dinner and we sat down to wait. The place filled up by about 6, but we had a table and stools, so we didn't feel crowded at all. The parade came by at around 6:30, and we had a great view of everything. No one is allowed to stand on the bridge during the parade, so we basically had a front-row view with real seats. I'd recommend this spot as a great viewing area! Along with the masses, we walked towards the front. A lot of people were staying for the 7:00 fireworks, which caused some major traffic jams, several arguments, and one almost fist-fight. Two men almost came to blows as the first one was walking and fell over the other man's kids who were seated on the curb at the curve where Main Street meets the hub. The second guy had attitude to the people around him even before the first one fell over the kids, but really became verbally abusive when the first one tripped. So much for the happiest place on earth. The crowds finally lightened about 1/2 way down Main Street, and we walked over to the Yacht/Beach/Boardwalk bus line. We boarded the bus and planned on exiting wherever the first stop would be and walking to Epcot. The first stop was Yacht Club, so we exited, and walked through the Yacht and Beach Clubs to see their decorations before we entered Epcot. The nautical-themed decorations at YC were stunning. The main tree had schooners as some of the ornaments, and the wreaths all had schooners in the middle. The BC also had pretty decorations, and a gingerbread carousel. Mary Poppins was greeting near the tree, but there were too many kids in line for us to stop. We walked into the International Gateway and walked into Epcot. As we walked towards Great Britain, the smell of the fish and chips booth triggered me, so I walked very quickly through Great Britain (promising Scott we'd return as soon as I felt better) and headed towards the Millennium Village. We walked through the Village looking at the displays, but didn't really linger until we got to Sweden. We really liked the egg seasons, and took our time at that exhibit. We stopped to grab a quick bite (flan for me, Mideastern sampler for Scott), then decided to ride the Jerusalem simulator. Correction -- Scott rode the simulator, I sat in the non-moving seats. (Why do you have to walk upstairs if you can't ride the simulator? What if it's a wheelchair or a limited mobility situation? That just doesn't make sense to me.) We finished looking through Millennium Village and walked out and towards the France bridge. We DID meet up with our Philly friends, and watched Illuminations together. Afterwards, we all agreed that while this new version was nice, we liked to old one better. (This opinion later changes.) We finished the evening at Boardwalk, where our friends were staying. The decorations at Boardwalk were beautiful, and we took a ton of pictures. We checked out their room (yes, I'd like to stay here someday), and walked back to the bar (three beers and a Sprite, please). When last call was announced, we decided that we were all tired, and made plans to meet for breakfast the next morning. Scott and I took a taxi from the Boardwalk back to the CBR, which was a quick inexpensive trip. Day Two -- Thursday, November 30th Original Plan: Cinderella's Royal Table for breakfast, check out resort decorations, Crystal Palace for dinner, MVMCP While we had PS for Cinderella's breakfast, I didn't have the heart to cancel breakfast with our friends (who were leaving right after breakfast). So, breaking my husband's heart (he made me write that), we called to cancel our PS, and drove to Boardwalk for breakfast at Spoodles. We had an excellent and very reasonably priced breakfast buffet. For $12.50, we were stuffed! The buffet was excellent, everything was piping hot, and if there was anything that we didn't see, we only had to ask our server and the kitchen would prepare it. One of our friends ordered a ham and cheese omelet and couldn't stop raving about it! After breakfast, we hugged good-bye, and our friends left. Scott and I towards Epcot, when I had a stroke of genius and suggested we look at the decorations at the Swan and the Dolphin. Mr. "I Want to See All the Resorts" jumped at the suggestion, so we worked our way around the promenade past the Beach and Yacht Clubs and into the Dolphin. The decorations were pretty, and the tent-effect was really neat, but I don't think I'd like to stay here. (Unless it was for a convention and work was picking up the tab!) We walked across to the Swan, and walked around to see the resort. I'd prefer the Swan over the Dolphin for some reason. Scott prefers the Dolphin. (Men!) We took some more pictures, eventually making our way back towards the Boardwalk. We drove back to CBR for a rest (doctor's orders), and actually went to the village pool to lay around for a while. I swam in the heated water and was a bit chilly coming out, but it was worth it to say I swam in November! We put on some warmer clothes and headed out for our PS at Crystal Palace and MVMCP. We decided to see if we could park at the Floridian so we could drive home when we were ready to leave, and we didn't even get questioned as we drove in. We parked and walked into the Grand Floridian and stopped short. There were Christmas carols playing and the lobby was absolutely breathtaking. The tree was decorated in Victorian theme, and there were full-sized wall mirrors as part of the tree decorations. As we walked through the first level, we came upon a gingerbread store. That would be a store made out of gingerbread. No lie! Apparently there is a wooden form that is covered in gingerbroead. There was a salesperson in the store smiling broadly as we walked around with our jaws dropped. The attention to detail was amazing. We took about half a roll of film as we walked around the store. We walked upstairs to be greeted by a six-piece string and brass ensemble and a singer. The carols were live! Scott and I just looked at each other and at the same time commented, "maybe it IS worth it to stay here." As we walked through the second level, we came across a gingerbread house on a cliff with a train circling below. The back of the house was to the opening over the lobby, but we could walk to the side of the house and see that the inside was decorated in candy and gingerbread like a real dollhouse. The detail in the stairs and rugs and lamps was simply amazing. (I'm going to run out of adjectives soon!) As we rode the monorail for the first time, we agreed that we'd scrimp and save sometime in the future just to stay at the GF for a weekend during the holiday season. OK, maybe sometime in the far distant future, but we can dream! We arrived to the MK in time to watch the fireworks from the area near the Plaza Restaurant. I cried during the Second Star to the Right prelude (damn hormones!) and Scott just hugged me. Sometimes he's just such a nice guy! We went over to the Crystal Palace to have dinner with Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore. The place was only 1/2-full, and we took our time eating and visiting with the characters. I made Scott take a picture with Eeyore, since Scott has Eeyore-like tendencies, and the favor was returned with Pooh came around. I LOVE WINNIE THE POOH! Scott took a couple of pictures and as Pooh walked off, I teared up again. I couldn't help it. I was thrilled to be at Disney with my wonderful husband and pregnant and the world was just perfect then. I soon composed myself, we gave our MVMCP tickets to the waitress and we were allowed to exit the restaurant at about 7:15. We were told that it took that long to empty the park so those eating in the park didn't have to go back to the front to get wristbands. Unlike an E-Ride night, almost all the attractions were running that night. We headed towards Fantasyland, but the entrance to the castle was closed, so we walked around towards the Teacups (not for me this trip) and started with the Pooh ride. When we walked out into the store, we fell in love with a little Pooh/Tigger romper and made it our first baby purchase of the trip. Scott also bought me a Santa hat with Pooh ears, which I wore for the rest of the night. We walked out of the Thotful Shop and WALKED ON TO DUMBO. I've never ridden Dumbo in my whole life because the lines were usually 2-3 hours long, so this was very special. Some of the Dumbo's had Santa hats on them! They must have been glued or taped on because they didn't move during the ride. (The hats were gone the next time we were at MK.) I sat in a purple Dumbo and Scott sat in the elephant in front of me to take my picture with the Pooh hat. He says I was grinning like a little kid! We did all of the Fantasyland rides and sat down to watch Belle's Enchanted Christmas - our first MVMCP show! It was a cute show with Belle re-enacting the Enchanted Christmas story using a lot of little kids as the characters. It was adorable, and I could see Scott charmed by the little kids. I know what he was thinking - he can't wait to bring our child to WDW!!! After the show, we headed to Tomorrowland, rode Buzz Lightyear (I am a lousy shot and Scott the Marksman beat me big-time) and headed into the Tomorrowland Theatre for Mickey's Twas the Night Before Christmas. This was a great show with the characters and the Kids of the Kingdom re-enacting the famous story with Christmas carols and dancing throughout. After the show, we headed towards the Castle for the fireworks and another show. The fireworks were special - they went off all around the hub, and instead of Tinkerbell, Rudolph flew down from the Castle! A special plus - during the fireworks, the space shuttle lifted off, and we could see it clearly just to the right of the castle. We even saw the boosters break away and watched the shuttle long after the fireworks ended. The forecourt show was delayed a bit, but we stood our ground on the curb just right of the main stage. The show was good when it finally started, and was Christmas carols with different Kids of the Kingdom and more characters. Similar to the last show, but it's Christmas, and you can't have too many carols at MVMCP! After the show, we sat down right on the curb to wait for the 11:15 Christmas Parade. We had front row seats, but we were cold. Scott got up to get us some cocoa, which made a huge difference. The parade was right on time, and the floats were glorious. Of course, all the characters were represented, and the final float was Santa. After the parade, we went into Adventureland and rode Jungle Cruise (spooky at night) and Pirates of the Caribbean. We got our picture taken in Frontierland (didn't wait too long, did we?) and finished up the evening at Haunted Mansion. We exited Haunted Mansion at 1:02, and realized two things: (1) we had an absolutely magical night, and (2) we were exhausted. We took the monorail around to GF, and were back at CBR not long thereafter. It worked well driving this evening! We definitely didn't set a wake-up call! Day Three - Friday, December 1 Original Plan: December 1: Sleep in, check out more resort decorations. EPCOT: ToN, CP, Teppanyaki for lunch, Le Cellier for dinner. Can we do Illuminations too? I woke up around 10, but there was still snoring coming from the next zip code, so I grabbed a book and read for a couple of hours. I had a couple of granola bars for breakfast when I got hungry and around noon, I hopped into the shower, and as I was getting ready, the lug (oops, was I thinking out loud?) eventually woke up and decided to shower also. We took our time today and decided to head straight over to Epcot. We stopped in at Custom House to pick up our lanyards and vouchers for the Candlelight Processional. There was a special Candlelight Processional pin on the lanyard but neither of us were really into the pin trading thing, so the lanyards went into the backpack until later. We parked at the Beach Club and walked towards Epcot. At the entrance gate, we had a slight delay as we had decided to upgrade our five-day hoppers to annual passes. The difference was a bit over $100 each, but if we can find a way to come back in the next year, it will definitely be worth it (and even more if we can get AP rates at one of the resorts). If not, well . . . we've just wasted $200. (I'm pretty sure we'll be down again with the baby!) We walked through Great Britain and Canada and took our only venture into Future World to shop at MouseGears. We had a 15% discount as part of the Candlelight Processional package and decided to do our major souvenir shopping with the discount. We had numerous requests for 2000 sweatshirts from various family members, and did some Christmas shopping, etc. and exited about an hour later having dropped over $400 (after the discount)! Thank goodness that about $200 of that will be reimbursed from those requesting souvenirs, but still! That bill kind of hurt. We arranged for the two huge bags to be shipped to the room (one of the best amenities!) and walked back towards World Showcase. We stopped at Mexico for some nachos just to tide us over and saw the tail end of the Tapestry of Nations parade. We definitely wanted to see the whole thing, so planned on coming back early on Sunday to see it. We walked into Mexico and stopped to look at the pottery exhibit on the left hand side. (Did you know the display changes every 60 seconds? Most people don't stand around long enough to ever notice.) We took the boat trip into Mexico, but I thought it had been changed! We didn't notice anything different. We looked through the market but nothing caught our eye to purchase. (Sticker shock from MouseGear was still in effect.) We walked through the Stave church into Norway but there was a bit of a line for the Maelstorm, so we kept walking. We read all the holiday displays around the World Showcase and ended up at Le Cellier for our 5:30 PS. For those of you that don't know, the Candlelight Processional dinner package consists of one appetizer, one entrée, one dessert and unlimited refills of non-alcoholic beverages for one set price. We chose the second tier of prices because we enjoy Le Cellier. We have eaten at Le Cellier each time we've visited WDW and it's one of our favorite places. We were really looking forward to eating here, especially since it was $42.50 no matter what we ordered. We definitely planned on getting our money's worth! Well, fate had other plans for us. We were seated fairly quickly, and ordered drinks (iced tea and Sprite). Scott was disappointed to see that his favorite (veal shank) was no longer on the menu, but quickly recovered as he read the menu. We started with appetizers -- crab cakes for Scott and shrimp cocktail for me (dangerous, I know). The appetizers were excellent! I'm not a crab cake fan, but Scott's was wonderful and the shrimp was good also! But when our main course came, we had a bit of a dilemma. Both of our steaks (porterhouse for Scott and mushroom-stuffed filet mignon for me), which we ordered medium, were barely cooked. We both can handle medium-rare, but these were much closer to rare. We prepared to ask that our steaks be cooked a bit longer, but our waiter had disappeared. As we waited, we noticed tables around us getting plenty of attention, but we were totally ignored. After a while, we finally decided to brave the meat, and dug in. We were able to eat the steaks, but they certainly weren't up to the usual excellence we've had at Le Cellier. Our beverage and water glasses were dry to the bone and we had both finished as much of our meals as possible when the mighty Mohammed re-appeared asking what we'd like for dessert. He never even asked if we enjoyed dinner, and we both had at least 1/3 of a steak left on our plate! Whatever. Scott ordered the Millennium special for dessert and I had the crème brulee. We also asked for drink refills, which never came. When we left, we did complain to the manager. (We always compliment good service through asking for a manager or on comment cards, so we feel we can express dissatisfaction as well.) He was gracious and offered us a meal on him during our stay if we'd like to return, and insisted that we take his card "just in case." A bit of a disappointment, but we'll try one more time on another trip. OK, enough of the downer -- It's time for Candlelight Processional! We got into the incredibly long line somewhere in the middle of the Japanese pavilion and prepared to wait. At about 8:05, they started letting the package guests into the seating area. Scott found some great seats about 1/4 of the way back right in the middle. We read through the programs and realized that our night was about to take a huge turn. As the orchestra took their places, the conductor came on stage and Jon Secada was announced as the evening's guest narrator. The Voices of Liberty started singing, and suddenly, the lights went off. Cast members who volunteer for this event dressed in green entered the stage from both sides, and the student choirs dressed in white robes entered from the back of the theatre walking up all the aisles carrying candles and singing carols. No big shock - I started crying again. It was beautiful and so peaceful. The students gathered on risers on either side of the stage behind the orchestra and the green-clad volunteers mounted a Christmas-tree shaped riser in the middle of the stage behind the Voices of Liberty (clad in maroon) and Jon Secada. Jon Secada started reading the Christmas story, and stopped several times as the choir sang carols. The program took about 45 minutes, and I wasn't the only one crying. I saw lots of women (and several men) wiping their eyes throughout the performance. At the end of the show, there is a passage about the fact that Christ grew up in poverty, never traveled more than 200 miles from home, never ran for office, . . . but yet this was one of the most important and people in history having an impact that is still felt worldwide in the 21st century. The theatre was silent as the audience listened to the end of the performance. There was thunderous applause (really!) at the end of the show, and as we exited, our mood had totally changed. Scott and I were both quiet as we walked around the Showcase looking for a spot for Illuminations. We stopped in an open area between Italy and Germany, and just stood for a while caught up in the beauty of the performance we had just witnessed. When we could find words, we agreed that it was one of the most special Christmas events we had experienced together. We had a much better view of Illuminations this time, and started to change our minds about liking this version better. We still hadn't decided when we left, and walked back to our car at the Beach Club. Scott got a "wonderful idea" to go see some more of the resort decorations. So we headed for the Polynesian, and as we pulled in, Scott got so flustered (I'm still not sure why) that when the security at the gate welcomed us with "Aloha," Scott's response was "uh . . . hello - a" (which I immediately claimed as my battle cry for the trip - I'm so mean). I started laughing uncontrollably, but managed to stop when Scott tried to pull into a row of parking that must have been for valet only, because there was suddenly a security post about 6 inches from my face. I screamed and dropped to the seat as Scott hit the brakes. He reversed and immediately drove out of the Polynesian parking lot. He seemed shaken, so I calmed down and asked him to go back and try again. I told him I knew he really wanted to see the decorations, but ruined the moment when I asked him to try this time not to try and dispose of me (and the baby) in the Poly parking lot. We both laughed, and he looked calmer. (Yes, that's my husband! And yes, I have quite a dry sense of humor!) We walked around the Polynesian for a while, but weren't totally impressed with the decorations. We thought we would take a look at the Shades of Green decorations, but were informed by the security guard at the entrance that only military members were allowed on the grounds. (Are there some military secrets I don't know about there??) Oh, well. We pulled out of the SOG entrance area and went back to CBR. We were back in the room by midnight, and decided to not set a wake-up call. Day Four - Saturday, December 2 Original Plan: December 2: Studios: Hollywood and Vine for dinner as part of the Fantasmic package. No RnRC or ToT for me this trip, but Scott loves them, so I'm trying to convince him that I don't mind if he goes alone. (It's a small sacrifice.) Must see Osborne lights while we're here. Maybe Jellyrolls late tonight. We slept in a bit today, and hit the shower at around 10. We weren't sure what we wanted to do in the morning, so we got into the car and started to head toward the food court, when I asked Scott if he wanted to look at the decorations at Coronado Springs and eat breakfast there. His face lit up, and off we went! The decorations were very pretty here, and the food court has been re-organized since we visited last summer. Now you stand in line to be seated before you go into the area where the food stations are. (Is that the way the 10% is earned?) Scott got an excellent breakfast platter, and I got a bagel with cream cheese and tomatoes (my all-time favorite simple breakfast). We left CS, and decided that this was THE day -- we were going to see all the resort decorations. So we headed over to the All Stars complex, and were pleasantly surprised. We started at Sports, and worked our way through Music and Movies, and we agreed that these resorts were MUCH nicer than we had anticipated. (Although we wonder how crazy they are in the middle of summer!) We agreed that we'd definitely stay at an All Star resort to save $$, especially as our family grows. In order of our preference, we'd like stay at Movies; if not Movies, then Music. The Sports complex would be our last choice - not because it's bad, just because we both like the others better. Continuing on our mission, we headed over to Port Orleans, where we both really liked the decorations (and where Scott would love to stay someday). We stopped to shop in the Jackson Square shop, which had a nice selection of 3X sized shirts for Scott.(Why don't more of the shops carry size 3X? There are a lot of big-sized men AND women who are much larger than the standard 2X.) After PO, we headed over to Dixie Landings, and walked around in the wonderful unseasonably warm weather. We finally returned to CBR, and headed over to the Trinidad South pool, where we dozed and swam for a couple of hours. It was actually hot in the sun, and a wonderful sort of "down time" for both of us. We went back up to the room around 3:30, and were heading to the Studios shortly thereafter. We headed straight for the last Beauty and the Beast show - my absolute favorite Disney movie, and of course . . . (all together now) . . . I cried. But not for long. We gathered our things together after the cute show, and headed to our PS at Hollywood and Vine. The buffet had a good selection, and I was doing fine until Scott returned with a plate of BBQ something and pan-seared salmon. I made a hasty exit and waited for Scott on a bench outside in the nice, fresh air. When Scott was done, we made a beeline (with the rest of the park crowd) to the Osborne lights show. Whatever we were expecting, this was so much more that I can't even find words. It was great - there were lights literally everywhere! We were pushed along through the streets by the gigantic crowds that were at the Studios to see this display. Quote of the night (not by Scott): "Honey, I wanted to decorate like this, but you said it would look like white trash." We laughed sooo hard at that one! After the lights, we took a quick ride on the Great Movie Ride and try as though I might, I couldn't convince Scott to go on ToT or RnRC without me. He stood firm that this was a trip for both of us, and he'd have more fun wherever we went together. (Awww!) So we worked our way slowly through the shops and headed towards Oscar's where we were pointed through a set of gates towards the Fantasmic Dinner Package seating. We wound around through the backstage area until we came upon the back entry to the theatre area. As the line of dinner package folks wound through the seating area, many people started jumping down and choosing their own seats throughout the 3 or 4 sections that were reserved. Scott and I decided to do that as well, and as we stepped down into the next row, the CMs started shouting (literally) to stay in line. So we felt rather guilty, and got into a line in the second row of bleachers with some others who stopped moving down when the shouting began. There were some people in "line" who were really angry with us, but we stopped as soon as someone said something. Most people just ignored the CMs, and there were quite a few people who had already staked out seats throughout the sections -- at least 100 or so! We enjoyed the battle between good and evil in Mickey's imagination, and were glad that we made the PS and didn't have to stand in a long line. When Fantasmic was over, the Studios were closed, but we weren't tired, so we headed over to Downtown Disney. Scott found a really cool sweatshirt and I picked up a few Christmas gifts for some friends. We ordered a personalized ornament at the Christmas store, but there's such a backlog of personalization orders that we probably won't get our ornament until after Christmas. It will still be pretty next year! We headed for CBR around 11:15, and when we got back to the room, I was really feeling sick. I'm not sure why, but my stomach was way upset. Scott headed over to the food court for some Sprite and something bland to calm my stomach. He said the CMs were really helpful in making suggestions as to what might work. He ended up bringing back some bread, a chicken sandwich, and some fruit. I gambled and had some fruit and for whatever reason, the fruit made me feel much better! We turned in around 1:00. Day Five - Sunday, December 3 Original Plan: Park at Beach Club for lunch, then EPCOT: Rose and Crown for dinner (hopefully combined with Illuminations, but this might not happen). I'm still trying for a later set of PS. After EPCOT closes, stroll through Beach and Yacht Club (ice cream, anyone?) I woke up around 10, and got ready while the lug (er, my wonderful husband) slept. Then while Scott was getting ready, I packed up most of our stuff so we wouldn't have to do it tomorrow. We couldn't decide where to eat, so we ended up parking at the Polynesian and heading over to the MK to see if we could walk in to Cinderella's for lunch. I was trying to make up missing breakfast for Scott. But they were totally booked, so we looked around for a while, and ended up eating at the Columbia Harbor House. The clam chowder was really good, but for some reason, I don't like chicken strips any more. This is a weird pregnancy! The MK was totally crazy crowded, so we hopped a boat to Ft. Wilderness to see the decorations there. This is another one of Scott's places to stay. (Not in my lifetime! I DON'T CAMP.) The decorations were nice, and we hopped a bus and got to see many of the loops as we headed toward TTC and eventually the Wilderness Lodge. OK, I might stay at a Wilderness Cabin, but that's as far as I'm willing to go. (Aren't I a nice wife?) At the Wilderness Lodge, Scott wanted to see the train room at the Villas, so we ambled over to the Vacation Club side. Oh, I'm in love with the villas. If we ever buy into DVC, I'd definitely stay here! After a few envious moments, we headed back to the Polynesian and drove back to CBR for a rest. It was too cool to swim, so I took a nap, and I think Scott walked around the grounds again. We were up and out by around 5, and drove to Boardwalk, thinking we'd try to make Jellyrolls tonight. We really wanted to see ToN, and we walked around the WS waiting for 6:15. We got to Italy and staked out a prime spot, when an announcement was made that due to high winds, ToN was cancelled. Boo hoo! That's what we get for waiting for the last parade on our last day at WDW! Once we knew there wouldn't be a ToN, we headed for the American Adventure. We really enjoy that show. After the rousing sow of patriotism (and I didn't cry!), we headed for our PS at Rose & Crown for 7:20. We have a tradition of spending our last night here watching Illuminations, but I didn't think that would work this time. Our PS were early, and I didn't think we'd be allowed to linger from 7:20 until 9:30. We checked in at about 7:25 and were given a pager and told we could walk through the pavilion. We hadn't been gone five minutes when the pager went off. When we returned to the podium, we found out that the manager had paged everyone with a PS, and he waited until all 14 parties had gathered, and explained that the lower patio was extremely cold, but whoever wanted to sit there could be seated immediately and stay for the show. Those that didn't want to eat on the lower patio would be seated on the upper patio (which had portable heaters and clear tarps set up) or inside, but probably would not see as much of the show, and would not be allowed to the lower patio when the show started. (A bit of attitude here, but whatever. It probably was a pretty stressful situation for him.) We opted for heat, and asked if we could take a quick walk to the France pavilion. I had noticed that there was a special perfume that was only being sold at Epcot and nowhere else in the U.S. It seemed affordable, and I thought it would be a good Christmas gift for my gram. The manager told us we probably would have the pager go off and have to run back, but we said we'd gamble. Sure enough, just as we entered the France pavilion, the pager went off! (I think it was intentional.) We took a quick jaunt into the perfume store to sniff the special perfume (it was awful!) and turned right around back to the podium. We were seated at about 8:00 and led to a table on the back of the upper patio right next to a heater. It was a great table! The wait staff was really busy, but our Susan was superb. She kept Scott's beer glass full throughout the night, and kept my water glass full as well. We weren't planning on waiting for Illuminations as we had been a bit disappointed in the new version, but our dinner took awhile, so we decided to stay, and it was a great decision. We had an outstanding view of the globe and really got to see the scenes as the globe rotated. That made a huge difference in our opinion of the show. We both now agree that we like the new version of Illuminations better than the old version. After Illuminations, we walked towards the Boardwalk, but decided we were both too tired for Jellyrolls. We stopped at the Boardwalk bakery and took our goodies back to the room. We reminisced about the trip for a while, and were soon snoozing away. At least I was. Scott couldn't bear to sleep, knowing our trip was almost over. He says he fell asleep around 3, and I believe it! Day Six - Monday, December 4 Original Plan: Breakfast TBD, flight home leaves at 12:20 p.m. I woke up at around 5:45, and when I looked at the clock, I realized that it was a Early Entry morning at MK. Thinking I could let Scott sleep and still hit a couple of rides, I got up and started getting ready. Scott must have heard me in the shower, because when I came out of the bathroom, he asked me what I was doing. When I explained, my superwonderful husband decided to wake up and come with me to MK! We were dressed and totally packed by 7:15. Our express checkout was not yet on the door, so we stopped at Custom House one last time to pick up the printout. Found out that we had spent $16 more than our credit, which wasn't too bad! We estimated really well. (And we're getting about $200 back when we pass out the souvenirs later this week.) After congratulating ourselves, we stopped to fill up the gas tank and proceeded to park at the Polynesian one last time. We were in the MK by 7:55, and headed toward Fantasyland. We rode Pooh first, and grabbed a fastpass for later. We then rode Snow White, the Carousel, Peter Pan, It's a Small World, and the Haunted Mansion before returning to use the fastpass for our final ride of the vacation. After Pooh, we walked up Main Street for the last time, waved good-bye to the castle, (yes, I was teary-eyed behind my sunglasses) and took the monorail back to the Polynesian. We stopped at the Kona Coffee Stop for coffee and cocoa, and were on the road by about 10:30. We didn't know what to expect on 417 on a Monday morning, but there was no traffic at all, and we got to the airport by 11:15. We returned the car, and were going to curb check our luggage when we noticed the United counter was empty. We checked our bags, stopped in a bookstore for some reading material and headed to the plane. Scott wasn't feeling real well (only coffee all morning), so we stopped for a burger for him and a fruit smoothie for me. The plane boarded on time and we actually arrived back in Chicago at 2:15 - 10 minutes early. The Wrap-Up We had a wonderful time, and we didn't find any crowds. We were probably lucky in that respect, plus since I couldn't ride anything that would cause "waist trauma" we avoided the big ticket rides where we probably would have seen the crowds. For 5.5 days, we did a lot. There were some things we didn't do (Animal Kingdom, Jellyrolls, Future World, miniature golfing), but we don't mind. We know we'll be back (probably within a year since we have APs now) Thumbs Down:
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Stacey Fox staceymfox@aol.com Mail a Comment to Stacey Fox |
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