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Eva Greguski -- December 2001 -- Walt Disney World (Offsite, WL)Our First Anniversary Trip
Cast of characters:
Making an appearance:
Welcome to my trip report!!! Opening statement: This was the best trip Bryan and I ever took together and was perhaps my best vacation ever (and we travel a lot!). In light of recent political events I was a little concerned about traveling and leaving my beloved New York behind but we truly needed a break. Bryan has been VERY busy at work (he is a kitchen designer) and I pounded out two grant applications before we left (I work for a museum) and we were pooped. We had a lot of family involved in the September 11 tragedy and emotionally we were pooped. We were in desperate need of a vacation and Disney was the cure. I was a little skeptical of the quality of our vacation, since Disney hit its guests with a barrage of changes to schedules, resorts and entertainment in the two months before we left, and I hated to spend so much money on a trip only to be disappointed. This trip exceeded all of my expectations and I am happy to report that the Disney Magic is still alive and well in my family. Now, on with the show!!!!!!!!!! Days 1 and 2: The Journey Planned: Thursday, December 6 Planned: We will start the drive during the middle of the night and try to get as far south as South Carolina. Getting out of the northeast is....ummmm....a pain. We will try to leave sometime between 3AM and 4AM so that we can get past DC by 9am. I am not thrilled with driving early in the AM but it is better than battling NYC traffic during rush hour. Goal: to reach Florence, South Carolina. What really happened: We decided to drive about one month before were due to depart and about a week before we left I though we should leave on Wednesday night after work and get a leg up on the trip. We wanted to stop at Bryan's sister and brother-in-laws in Jacksonville before hitting WDW. We saw them a couple of months ago but Bryan's nephew was celebrating a birthday and we wanted to spend the night with them. At the last minute my boss pushed me to submit a grant application for funding to the State of New York and Bryan had a huge design project he needed to finish. Wednesday proved to be extremely irritating and took forever, but we both managed to get out of work by 4:00 and met at home. We were borrowing my brother-in-laws car (my car has almost 100,000 miles on it and Bryan's pick-up, though new, is not great for long term trips) so we had to drive to Oyster Bay to meet his brother and exchange all of the junk into the Saturn. We got to Oyster Bay before 6, loaded up (we had a TON of junk) and were on the road shortly. Filled up at the local Hess station (most expensive gas of the trip - $1.22/gallon) and we were on our way!!! The trip was rather uneventful, with the exception of a nice, big, ugly truck spitting a rock up at our windshield on the Cross Bronx Expressway. We came back with a nice little dimple in the windshield and still haven't gotten it filled yet. It's on the list to do after the holidays. We made it to Fredericksburg, VA at 12:30AM and were pretty pooped (we had both been working since 7AM). Bryan was fighting a bad cold and had slept most of the way down so I did all of the driving. We checked into a Quality Inn off I-95 (clean and cheap), split a yummy Italian hero while watching Power of Attorney (late night TV is terrible) and went to bed. Nothing like eating onions and salami before bedtime. A little bit of a later start on Thursday - I set the alarm for 6AM but we didn't get up until 6:30. Bryan was still battling the cold and wasn't moving too quickly. And here's a hint: never eat a foot-long Italian hero after midnight. Burp. We managed to leave the hotel by 7:10 and were on our way. A little traffic in Richmond (three accidents), managed to pass South of the Border by 12:30 (tacky!!!) and stopped for lunch at a Wendy's in South Carolina by 1:30. When we got out of the car in SC I forgot how much warmer it can be in the south!!! Florida, here we come!!! We got to Bryan's sister and brother-in-laws in Jacksonville by 6:30. Bryan's nephew turned 2 that day and we were just in time for dinner. His brother-in-law had been fishing in St. Augustine earlier in the day and his sister made up Cole slaw, baked beans and the works - it was pretty good. Little Robert was really cute and walked around holding two fingers up in everyone's face. I guess he was realizing it was his birthday. I won't bore you with any more details of the trip since it is all family related, but we finally checked in around 1:30AM - another long day. Bryan slept in Robert's new Little Tikes Racing Car Big Boy Bed and I slept on the floor. I was so shot that it was nice to sleep anywhere. Friday, December 7 Planned: Up and at 'em'! Today we hit WDW. I want to leave by 6AM so that we can be in Florida in the early afternoon. We may or may not be visiting my SIL and BIL and Little Robert (our nephew) that day - plans are still loosey goosey. Robert turns two the day before - he is such a cutie! We check-in to Vistana Villages (just opened on International Drive last May) and we might try to see something at WDW that evening. If we are shot we might just unpack, swim and relax. We have both had a tough two months at work and we are looking forward to sleeping, eating and relaxing! Knowing my impatient behavior, I know we will probably hit Downtown Disney that night to do some shopping. No PS planned for the day. What really happened: Well, as you read above, we did stay with our family to celebrate with the Birthday Boy. We didn't leave Jacksonville until almost 10AM and we wanted to drive to St. Augustine (about 20 minutes away) to check it out. The weather was really gorgeous (low 80's, no humidity) and we wanted to take advantage of the sun. Wouldn't you know it, the Olympic Torch was being run through Jacksonville and St. Augustine while we there and the traffic was kind of lousy. Although, it isn't every day that you see something like that and it was kind of neat!!! We stopped at a Denny's for a late breakfast, early lunch and the team managing the torch run ate right next to us! We eavesdropped and heard how they were planning on moving on to Daytona and then Miami. Insider information!!! We moved along and got to Vistana Villages at 1:15. This resort is gorgeous!!! Our villa wasn't ready yet so we looked around at the pool, walked around the lobby (nice furniture and a 20 foot high REAL tree) and went to Publix to stock up on groceries. We got back to the villa by 2:15 and it was ready - we were very impressed. The villa was 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, full kitchen, dining area, living room with wet bar, washer/dryer (stacked almost full size), pantry, 2 person whirlpool tub master bedroom and screened porch/deck. Our villa overlooked the pool and children's playground and was a two minute walk to the main and quiet pools. There is also a nice lake/fountain that is turned on from 7:30 AM until 8PM. Bryan was really impressed with the quality of materials the builder used (nice tile, Corian countertops, solid oak cabinets) and I thought the décor was really nice for a Florida-style resort. Not that I don't like Florida, but I am not very fond of pinks, light blues and wicker furniture. The villa was decorated in browns, greens and reds and was very attractive. The pool was very large - their flyer said one of the largest in Orlando (297,000 gallons to be precise). The pool had zero-entry depth, a smaller spray fountain for kids, a waterfall, a lap area with two lanes and a sports/volleyball section. There was also a nice quiet pool and two hot tubs. There were plenty of chairs and tables and many of the tables were placed under cabanas out of the sun. This resort definitely gets a big thumbs-up from us and I would recommend it for anyone who wants or needs to stay off-site. It is located on the southern portion of International Drive and is a really quick drive to WDW and is next to Sea World. We checked the distance on the odometer one morning and from our front door to the Magic Kingdom parking lot was 7 miles. Not too bad. We unpacked and I told Bryan that since the weather was so nice we should try to get some swimming done in case it got cold that week and we couldn't use the pool (it never did). It was at the precise moment that I was floating on my back, looking at the big, blue sky did I realize that I was finally on vacation. All of my troubles seemed to float away in that pool. Since Epcot was the only park staying open late that evening we decided to go there. Even though we thought we might just relax at the condo, I knew we had AP's burning holes in our pockets and I wanted to see WDW. We showered, got dressed and drove over to Epcot. Ahhhh..... to be back at WDW again. Headed over to Test Track - our traditional first Epcot ride. Single riders lane took no time at all and we were on our way. The CM loading people into the pre-show area was kind of funny and put us in a good mood. The ride was fun (it's always better at night) and it was enough to get us in the Epcot mood. We made our way over to the World Showcase and marveled at the decorations. Epcot really puts on a show for the holiday season - I can't imagine a more beautiful place. The Disney Horticulturalists deserve some special recognition - I thought the decorations actually rivaled the topiaries in the Flower and Garden Festival. We did not get to see the Impressions de France movie on our trip last August so we went over there first. The movie had a 20 minute wait, so we thought we would get a quick snack at Boulangerie Patisserie. What we thought would be a speedy breeze through the line was an excruciating lesson in bad French and worse parenting. There was a mom in front of us with three bratty kids. The kids insisted on touching everything in sight while the mother read each tag out loud at the top of her voice in a terrible French accent. "What would you like Little Jimmy?" "I don't want X or Y Mom, whine, whine, whine, I want the most expensive item on the menu and I won't eat any of it." Almost 20 minutes later we had a croissant and an orange soda, scoffed it down outside of the theater and were sitting in the movie. I love this film - the scenery, the music - all perfect. Next up: an unsuccessful attempt at trying to see the American Adventure. There was a lengthy wait and we needed some real food (croissants are yummy but not very filling), so we grabbed some a burger and chicken sandwich at the Liberty Inn. We sat near the front next to an enormous gingerbread house. Although not real gingerbread, the house was cute and kids loved having their pictures taken there. We shopped in Heritage Gifts afterwards (that shop must be raking in the dough post September 11) where we selected some postcards and a Flag Mickey Pin for one of my co-workers. The line was incredibly long and I couldn't wait to get out of there - I can get claustrophobic. We back-tracked to Norway after the film so that we could ride our Viking ship and watch another little film (we usually stay for it - it's short and sweet and I think the little boy looks like Bryan's brother) and we nosed around the shops until Illuminations started. We grabbed a portion of railing near the front of the World Showcase and watched the show. It was stunning (as always) and we joined the mob as he walked back to the car. This was a great first day at Disney. We got back to the condo in less than 10 minutes, went swimming again and got to bed around 11:30. A perfect day. Saturday, December 8 Planned: OUR FIRST ANNIVERSARY! It's hard to believe we have been married a year already. It has been wonderful and I hope we have many more happy ones. We love Epcot and want to spend the day there, shopping and seeing some of the holiday decorations. We also want to see Cranium Command and Universe of Energy, two attractions we missed last August. We planned our first of two Candlelight Processional dinners for this night and are eating at the San Angel Inn at 5:45. We will see the show at 8:15 and our scheduled host is Phylicia Rashad. What really happened: Up and at 'em! I awoke a little before 7AM (which proved to be a pattern for most of the vacation) and made breakfast while trying to shove Bryan's lazy butt out of bed. He managed to get up by 7:15, at the same time breakfast was done. We sat on the patio and had a nice leisurely meal, watching the fountain on the pond and listening to the waterfall in the pool. We exchanged anniversary gifts (Bryan gave me a beautiful leather scrapbook outfitted with some of our favorite pictures of each other) and I gave Bryan a signed book of Pablo Neruda poetry. A great start to our first anniversary. Showered, dressed and hit MGM by 9:30AM. This was going to be a longish-day since we had a CP Dinner Package reservation for the evening and would be closing Epcot that night. The security lines at MGM looked like they were going to be a NIGHTMARE but it wound up only being five minutes or so. There is so little room behind the ticket booths to set up checkpoints that it is like Grand Central Station trying to get through the turnstiles. Crowds proved to be light but we headed over to RnRC anyway, in case the crowds got busier through the day. No wait for the ride and we zipped right through to the briefing room. We decided to skip getting another FP for the ride since we wouldn't be at MGM that long anyway. We love this ride - probably in our top five favorites at the parks. I love standing in the fenced in area watching the anxious looks on guests' faces as they watch their "limo" take off at lightning speed. What a thrill the RnRC is! We decided to skip TToT since it destroys our stomachs (especially when we ride RnRC before or after it). We walked over to the Big Blue Hat and I have one word to describe the experience: DISAPPOINTMENT. The little trivia machines that they placed under the hat were the same ones we saw the year before at the Main Street Exposition in the Magic Kingdom. The volume on the machines are set rather loud, so it is hard to hear what your machine is saying with so many other ones going off at the same time. The hat proved to be a big souvenir joint in disguise, so we headed off to see "Walt" One Man's Dream" exhibit. One word for the exhibit: THRILLED. As disappointed as I was in the hat (although I am not really sure what I expected there) was as happy as I was with the exhibit. I am an art curator and librarian and have curated over 20 exhibits myself (with a much lower budget than the Disney Company ;) ) and I was very impressed with the show. This is a definite must-see if anyone travels during the 100 Years celebration. There were original models from both Disneyland and Walt Disney World attractions, Walt's original four-plane camera, clips from various movies, interviews and television appearances, Walt's original office and tons of movie memorabilia and souvenirs. We visited the attraction twice and are heading there again during our May trip. We watched the fifteen-minute film at the end of the exhibit, and although I have seen most of the clips before, I really enjoyed it. Our goal for this trip was to see things we have never taken the time to see before - one of those things is the Hunchback show. There was still a lot of time left, but it was kind of hot and very sunny so we walked down to see the show. On the way over we had one of those nice "Disney CM interactions" - a CM from out-of-no-where asked us about the weather, were we having a good time, where were we from, etc. She was in a pants suit so I guessed she was an exec - we didn't care - it was nice that she asked. We arrived at Hunchback with a half-hour to spare and I went in search of something to drink while Bryan got us some seats. I couldn't find a drink cart ANYWHERE so I gave up and sat with him to wait for the pre-show. The pre-show was a juggler named Randy who we saw on the Boardwalk last August - he is very funny and a great juggler. He got the crowd riled up in time for the show. We thought the show was "okay" and we will probably not see it again. Hunchback was not my favorite movie and I thought the show was really long (about 1/2 hour). I also had problems with the sound - their mikes seemed so distorted and loud that I could really not understand anything they were saying (and I have good hearing). I was glad I saw it but not overly impressed, so we went in search of something we both knew we would love - The Muppets. No need to elaborate here - if any of you have read my reports you know this is one of our favorite attractions. The courtyard, the hallway leading into the pre-show, the pre-show itself and the show - it's all great. I got a chance to stand near the front of the pre-show area and read all of the crates and boxes. They are a hoot. Time for lunch! We hit Pizza Planet up for two pizzas and a Coke. We ate outside - the weather was beautiful - and I did some people watching while Bryan blew about $5 of our hard-earned money on the arcade games. We thought it was time to go (it was about noon) and we left for Epcot. Getting into Epcot was much easier than getting into MGM. I am sure it is because it was later in the day, but Epcot has so much more room to breathe after you pass through the ticket booths. I was thrilled to see how beautiful the entrance way was in the daylight (despite the huge granite walls) - the poinsettia trees looked gorgeous. Before we checked through we picked up our CP badges at the pseudo-Guest Relations to the left of the real Guest Relations. I have never been there before (I think it is a Group Office during the rest of the year) so I almost didn't know where I was going. Our customary first-ride at Epcot is Test Track - we are never sure if we will get to ride it later in the day. We walked on through the singles line and even managed to get into the same car! Sixty miles per hour later we were on solid ground (with messier hair!) and looked to go over to The Wonders of Life pavilion. Cranium Command, here we come. The audience didn't seem to like it as much as we did (although it was mid-afternoon and everyone seemed kind of pooped) and it dawned on me that the attraction was actually getting kind of dated. I think the movie is really funny but I bet some younger visitors don't even have any clue as to who some of the characters are (anyone seen Bobcat Goldwaithe lately?). Still, we had a good time and played around with some of the stuff in the playground for a little while. Bryan decided he was thirsty so we split a large lemonade (yum) and a box of character cookies (yuck) at Pure & Simple. Bryan wanted to play some games over at Innoventions so we left. Since we were at Epcot the night before we didn't really feel like rushing through attraction after attraction. I agreed (reluctantly) to play the silly racing game with Bryan and twelve other guests. We got our ID cards and waited in line for our turn. I came in second place (Bryan came in eighth) and we thought the game was kind of fun - although Bryan blamed his sad finish on a broken joystick. I needed to run over to buy a Figment t-shirt over at the Imagination Pavilion for Bryan's brother. I e-mailed WDW Merchandising about a month before our trip, knowing I wanted to buy the shirt for Christmas and I wanted to use my CP discount (thanks Wendy*darling for the e-mail tip!). This turned out to be the most trying transaction of the trip. The CM barely spoke English (he was an older man who was clearly NOT on the College Program) and it took a long time for him to figure out how to apply the discount and send the package up to the front of the park. He was very nice and I felt very bad for him but it took us almost a half hour for the shirt to be rung up. I was also a little more than skeptical that I would ever see that shirt again. Luckily, it started to ran while we were in there and we managed to wait it out while purchasing the shirt and sending funny e-mails to friends at home in the pavilion. Here's a tip for first time visitors - Spaceship Earth NEVER has a line after 2pm. I always shake my head at the hundreds of guests who wait 20 or 30 minutes first thing in the morning for a ride on Spaceship Earth when the majority of the day enjoys no lines. We took a ride (and it broke during the last internet part) and Bryan fell asleep listening to Jeremy Irons. We have been on this attraction so many times that we both have the script memorized. I nudged him awake and told him I was starving - time to head to Mexico! A quick ride on El Rio (I love the Mexican Small World) and it was time for dinner. Our PS was for 5:45 but we checked in at 5:15 since I was hungry and whining. I never, ever eat dinner so early but we had already walked around two parks that day and I guess I had worked up an appetite. Our server was very nice (I wish I could remember his name) and the restaurant was only half empty so we had time to talk to him. He only had five weeks left of the College Program and although he loved Florida, he was looking forward to going back to Mexico to finish his schooling. He was already starting to scout some jobs in Canada for next summer when he was done with school and we told him that we were impressed that he would be so well-traveled all over North America! We ordered some sodas and nachos for an appetizer and noshed on the chips and salsa he brought. I thought this was the best meal of our trip (maybe tied with Le Cellier later in the trip). As we ate our appetizer, a mariachi band played in the pavilion, adding just the right amount of atmosphere. We had originally made a CP reservation for Rose & Crown but decided that San Angel would be a little more romantic. We were both glad we made the switch. I ordered the Filete Motuleno (beef tenderloin, peppers and plantains) and Bryan ordered the Plato Mexicano (beef tenderloin, chicken enchilada and chili relleno) and we both enjoyed it. By the time we were half-way through our dinners we began to regret eating pizza earlier in the day and wish we had saved more room for dinner - it was delicious. We finished up with a chocolate chimichanga for Bryan and fried rice pudding for myself (mmmm.....) and just barely managed to roll out the door. We never order all three courses and can't believe that we tried to eat everything. However, it was a wonderful meal and we are planning to go again on our May vacation. We waddled over to Norway since we had time to kill before our 8:15 Candlelight show. I wanted to do a little shopping (whopping 15% discount at Epcot and needed to take advantage!!!) so we looked around and actually did not really find anything we wanted. We were looking mostly at Christmas presents, so regular souvenir stuff was kind of out of the question. A quick ride on Maelstrom (everyone was waiting for the Tapestry of Dreams parade) and we were through the pavilion in 20 minutes - and we even stayed for the movie. We poked around in the shops for a minute (love those sweaters!!) and I decided it was time to get a move on to the American Gardens Theater for CP. It was barely 7:00 and there were already more than 50 people on line for the next show. As we waited HUNDREDS of people lined up behind us. We have never done the CP before and I can't imagine standing on the standby line - they were obviously not going to get seats. I think there were actually a dozen or so people who got in from the standby line but not much more. It rained a little while we were waiting on line, but we passed the time talking to a group of women behind us who were leaving for the Disney Cruise the next morning. They had been staying at the Polynesian for a three nights and were really looking forward to the cruise. We are booked for a 7 night cruise in December 2003, so we fully understood their excitement. I don't think words can describe how lovely the Candlelight Processional was. We made sure we sat under the awning in case it rained (I left the ponchos in the car) but the sky actually cleared up quite nicely. My only complaint about the whole thing was that it was like pulling teeth to get a program. I guess someone was supposed to hand them out as you walked in but no one was. I walked up to a CM and asked for one and was told "someone will come by and give you one." How were they going to find me? Bryan and I played the annoying game of bugging some CM's to give us one until we found one that did (annoying to the CM's, not to us - sorry CM's). I understand that they are trying to seat, etc., but the program portion was very poorly organized. Many other people around us grumbled about not getting one also and the CM who was supposed to hand them out never did come around (I didn't think she would). The music was just beautiful and Phylicia Rashad was a wonderful narrator. Her voice is so clear and crisp and I was hearing from many of the CM's that she was the best narrator of the series. Bryan and I both play in local community bands/orchestras and we were very impressed with the whole performance. I especially liked the trumpeters playing on the wings in front of the "stained glass" windows. The high school groups that performed with the Disney CM's were also wonderful - both nights we attended the performance I was very impressed with the student groups. Kudos to the choir!! The end of the performance brought chills to everyone in the crowd - everyone stood during the Hallelujah Chorus (as is customary) and it sounded awesome. The last piece played was "Let There Be Peace on Earth" and doves were released at the end and "snow" making machines started making "snow" on the audience. What a great evening. We were really exhausted by the end of the night and decided to skip Illuminations and beat the crowds back to the car. We managed to see some fireworks on the way out but got back to the condo before 10PM. We used our Jacuzzi in the condo and were in bed by midnight - what a long day and a wonderful anniversary. We had another long day coming up tomorrow, so we watched a little TV before snoozing off. Bryan had been complaining about a sour smell in the condo (more to come on this later), so I told him to stop whining and I rolled over and fell asleep. I was exhausted but happy from such a great day. Sunday, December 9 Planned: An MGM day is planned. Although, we originally planned MK for Friday (when our flight was supposed to arrive) so we might go to MK in the AM while it is slow and hop to MGM later in the day. We didn't make a PS for tonight since we are planning to reserve a Fantasmic Dinner Package. We ate at Hollywood & Vine last time - any suggestions for this trip? What really happened: Since we were at MGM for the first part of the day yesterday we decided to make it to the Magic Kingdom for opening. I managed to kick Bryan out of bed by 7AM, we ate a quick breakfast on the patio and got ready to go. Bryan's mom was thinking about meeting us for a couple of hours that day and we were waiting to hear from her. She finally called us by 8:15 and said she would call us when she got to the Magic Kingdom. {Note: Bryan's grandmother moved in with his mom this past fall. Since then, Patty has been an absolute saint and has managed to take care of her and not go insane. Bryan's Nana, though very nice, is almost 80, VERY set in her ways, and I think is starting to suffer from a little dementia. I love my mother-in-law and was very glad that Patty would be able to take a break and spend the day with us at the "Happiest Place in the World."} We got to the TTC by 8:30 and the crowd was already kind of large. We were not able to get on the ferry until 8:55 - a little frustrating since I knew all of the resort guests were able to wait at the front gates before 9. One more reason to stay on-site. They chose a family with two little girls to count down the opening of the park (they were very cute) and our "officially" began. We rode the WDW Railroad to the Frontierland stop and ran down to Splash Mountain. It was very warm already (in December!!) and a weekend day and I was expecting a lengthy line for Splash. There was almost NO ONE in the Splash area! The place was like a ghost town. It took a few minutes to walk through the queue (that is a long queue!) and we were on our way! We sat in the second row and there was a man in the front row sitting by himself - he was wearing a white oxford shirt. The poor guy got drenched - not just a little wet by completely soaked. I have never seen anyone get so wet on Splash Mountain. Bryan told me he saw the man in the bathroom and asked if that "moldy smell" ever goes away. I laughed when Bryan told me this because we think that Splash Water is the grossest smell at WDW. Frontierland was still empty so we decided BTMRR was up next. The queue had almost no one on it and we sat in the very last car in the very last seat (I never sat there before). We both thought the ride whipped us around a little more than sitting in the front, but we liked it better. I wanted to hit Peter Pan next because there is almost always a sizeable line by midday, so we walked over to Fantasyland. As I read these reports I think, "everyone must think we are nuts" since we zig and zag all over the park. Since we are frequent WDW guests we try to hit our favorites and don't mind skipping certain rides sometimes. Peter Pan was also a walk-on, although we broke down over the London scene for about three minutes. That is one of my favorite parts so I didn't mind. Bryan wanted to ride Buzz so we took the back route over to Tomorrowland. As we passed the Speedway I asked if he wanted to take a spin. Bryan kind of rolled his eyes and said "I drive to work 40 miles a day - why do I need to squeeze myself into a kiddie car?" but he agreed. I have a great husband who manages to placate every one of my stupid whims. I felt really bad at the end of the ride since I hated it (I haven't ridden Speedway since 1989) and told Bryan I didn't need to ride it again for another 10 years. He didn't even say "I told you so!" but gave me a little smile when I said it. I remember LOVING this ride when I was a kid but find absolutely nothing enchanting about it now. Smelly, loud and bumpy are three adjectives that come to mind - at least the ones I can post on a family website. Bryan was in the car behind me at the loading area and some dumb kid RAMMED into him when I was trying to get out of the car (he rammed into me on accident). The CM yelled at the kid, but the kid got out of the car so fast that I don't think he heard her or cared. Okay - now time for some real fun - BUZZ LIGHTYEAR!!! Another walk-on (and it wasn't even 10:30). My joystick was broken (really - it was!) and I only scored 2,000 points. Bryan kicked my butt and scored over 200,000. He thought I was lying about the joystick until he got a stinker later in the week and didn't score high at all. I still enjoyed the ride, even though he always beats me. SPACE MOUNTAIN!!! Yet another walk-on. I was able to sit in the front of the car - I have never been able to sit in the front before. It was very windy but fun! I like wild coasters, so Space Mountain seems kind of tame, but it is still a lot of fun. Sitting in the front increasing the thrill a tiny bit but it is soooooo windy up there. Okay - let's recap - by this time we managed to ride Splash Mountain, BTMRR, Peter Pan, Speedway, Buzz Lightyear and Space Mountain and it was not even 11AM!!!! That doesn't include one potty break and a couple of minutes lingering in a couple of stores along the way. Since we were on vacation and we are grown-ups, we decided to do something neither of us were allowed to do as kids - we were going to get ice cream before noon!! I know, not exactly the most thrilling achievement and not exactly daredevil behavior, but we thought it was risky. What would our moms think??? We split a root beer float and a cone at Auntie Gravity's and watched the traffic on the Speedway. There was a little boy and his dad at the table next to us and I thought "that kid is so lucky to be eating ice cream before lunch. Oh wait - so am I!" Patty still hadn't called us so Bryan checked out his cell phone. Turns out that the cell battery was dead - I was a little annoyed. How would we ever find her? Well, nothing we could do about it now so we rode WEDWAY. After WEDWAY we walked back towards Main Street to look for a pay phone to call his mom. It was then where I realized how spoiled we are - I had no idea where pay phones were since we usually have our cell. Turns out they are under the train station near the locker rentals, although Bryan could not remember Patty's cell number. I was kind of annoyed (don't ask me why - I get irritated easily at dumb situations like these) and I was wondering how in the heck we were going to find his mom in the MK without a prearranged meeting spot. We didn't even know what time she was coming. I was sitting on the bench looking at a map while Bryan tried his step-dad at work when Patty walked up to me sitting on the bench. I asked her if she had a mom-homing device and she laughed. I am glad that mini-crisis didn't last too long. Bryan's brother gave us a Fire Department patch to drop off at the Main Street Firehouse so we went over there and looked at all of the patches for a while. There were tons from the New York area - at least six of our local fire departments I was able to pick out right way. I asked the CM behind the counter if these were all they had and she laughed. "No," she said, "we get tons and tons of them and we rotate them." We bought a shot glass (I mean, toothpick holder) for Bryan's brother and decided we should get some real food for lunch. We headed to Casey's since it was so nice outside and we had booked a Fantasmic Dining Package for that evening and didn't want to eat too much. Three hot dogs, one French fry and a large orange soda later we were all stuffed. Shouldn't have eaten that ice cream. Ahhh.... Patty wanted to see the condo and it was beautiful out, so we decided to drive back to the condo and go swimming. Patty loved the condo and told us that she could stay with us Tuesday night through Thursday. Mike (Bryan's step dad) had to work early Tuesday but would be joining us later in the day for dinner and MVMCP. Patty only hung out for an hour or so with us at the condo and decided that she should get back to Bryan's grandmother. Since they only live an hour away we were glad Patty could see us, if only for a couple of hours. The pool had the most amount of guests in it since we had checked in - about 12. There were some kids playing volleyball and others playing with floats so we swam in the quiet pool. Both were really quiet, although we had this one to ourselves. We had a 4PM Fantasmic Dining Package reservation so we could only swim for an hour. Showered, dressed and got to MGM by 3. We walked around and looked at some shops and then walked over to Hollywood and Vine to check in. Since we had hot dogs only three hours before I wasn't starving, but I figured since I wouldn't be home until late I should eat. Besides, I thought this would be the only time we would see Fantasmic during our trip so I had better eat up. Hollywood and Vine was yummy as usual - one of my favorite dishes is the root beer sweet potatoes. Sounds kind of gross but they are actually very good. Bryan loves the meats and they had some sort of mashed potato (can't remember what kind) that he really liked. I made a strawberry shortcake of sorts at the dessert bar and was really stuffed. Bryan actually skipped dessert (I think the first time EVER!!) but we both left satisfied. It was heading towards 5 and we walked down to the theater (show started at 6). We were one of the first ones in the Dinner Package section so we sat the furthest over to the left and in the front row. What great seats!! There was a CM stationed next to us selling glow-in-the-dark stuff and we talked to him for a while. Every 2 - 3 minutes a kid would come up to him and ask "how much is that" and the CM would tell him. "With or without tax" the kid would say. I thought this was so funny. Here was a place that attracts kids from all over the world and all kids act the same. Same questions, same response when they don't have enough money, some tactic at trying to pry more money out of their parents so they can get the glow-in-the-dark wand/sword/spinner/hat/fill in the blank. I thought the kids were cute and the CM was a trooper for answering the same question 300 times. Fantasmic was very good and the seats we had were great. I don't really know why people complain about the dinner package seats - the theater really isn't too big that you can't see the action. I wouldn't walk in 5 minutes before the show started and expect to get a great seat, but get there early, relax, and you will have a great time. The weather was really nice too, clear and not too cool. We had a great view of the character boats and got a little splashed at the end. What a great show. Since the park wasn't closing until 7 and it was just after 6:30 we decided to take a whirl on RnRC. Let's see - that's Splash Mountain, BTMRR, Space Mountain, and RnRC - all in one day! RnRC was a walk-on and we were in our "limo" in less than 10 minutes (including the pre-show). Our picture came out really funny but we decided to take a pass and wanted to see the Osbourne Lights. Apparently everyone else left in the park at that time had the same idea and we were walking against the traffic that saw Osbourne during Fantasmic. New York Street was crowded but fun - everyone was in a great holiday mood. We decided to pass on using the glasses for most of the walk but kept them to bring home to look at our own Christmas tree. It is kind of hard to walk while wearing them but they are kind of cool. I don't know what kind of reaction I have to Osbourne - I guess "tacky" but tacky in a fun way. I can kind of see why the town wouldn't want this up - it is an overwhelming amount of light, not to mention a huge drain on a town's energy resources. It is fun to see so many lights but I sure wouldn't want to live next door to the Osbourne family. ;) We have street in our neighborhood that gets into "Christmas Light Wars" and they make the newspaper every year. Each family (I think there are seven) has to out-do the others. It creates a huge traffic jam but it wouldn't be Christmas without the gaudy decorations. I honestly didn't expect to get through so many attractions this soon into our trip, but we were having a great time. We managed to ride many of our favorite rides and saw so many Christmas decorations. I never, ever expected to do Fantasmic and Osbourne in the same night but it was really easy. The crowds were so cooperative that we were able to really enjoy ourselves on this trip. We headed back to the condo after Osbourne and watched "The Practice" before hitting the sack. We had a fun-filled day and wanted to take it easy the following morning. It looked like Animal Kingdom was up for tomorrow and we wanted to rest a little before we exhausted ourselves. Monday, December 10 Planned: My in-laws, Patty and Mike, are joining us today. They live in Ocala, Florida and instead of visiting them in Ocala we always meet in WDW. We planned AK for today, but are flexible since Mike isn't thrilled with AK (Bryan and I like it a lot). I am really looking forward to seeing the new parade - the costumes look great! We have a PS planned for 1900 Park Fare for 6:30PM. Ever since I read Carol's review of this buffet I have been dying to go. I hope it is as good as I have heard! What really happened: We were pooped from our big day yesterday. I never expected to fit in all of the coasters in the "mountain range," Fantasmic and Osbourne Lights all in the same day. We slept in (until 7:30) and ate a nice leisurely breakfast on our patio. The weather was still cooperating so I asked Bryan if he was up for a swim. He was - so we spent a couple of glorious hours in the Vistana Villages pool. There were actually a couple of kids in there, so we opted to swim in the quiet pool, where we were all alone. Clouds starting rolling in around 10:30, so we called it quits, showered and headed for Animal Kingdom. Heading towards AK I was getting REALLY hungry. All that swimming had worked up an appetite and we discussed where we should eat. I was really upset the Flame Tree was closed (seasonally, at least) and I wasn't in the mood for Pizzafari's or Tuskers. As we approached the entrance I thought "Hey! What about Rainforest?" Rainforest it was. I have only been to a Rainforest Café on Long Island (which closed last year) and Bryan had never been, so we decided to try it out. Their seating system was a little weird, so I can see how it can get backed up. You stand on line to tell them how many and then you stand on another line to wait. Why don't you just stand on one line, give your name, and wait until you are called? Ugh, too many lines. However, we were really lucky since it was barely noon and the place was still pretty empty, and we were seated in about 5 minutes. I ordered quesadillas (off the appetizer menu) and Bryan ordered a China Salad and we got sodas. I was glad I only opted for the quesadillas - they were HUGE!! They are also not your typical quesadillas - they were wrapped in pitas instead of tortillas and were full of chicken and veggies. Yummy. Bryan enjoyed his salad (it was also huge) and we probably left half of the entrees behind on our plates. We liked the Rainforest (we sat right near the three gorillas) and will probably be back for lunch again. We also wanted to check out the bathrooms on our way out because we heard they were pretty cool - they were. Perfectly themed to match the restaurant. Okay - now where should we head with full tummies? It's Tough To Be a Bug, of course! Nothing like the smell of a stink bug to settle the ol' stomach. Several laughs and stings later we left and headed towards Festival of the Lion King. The crowds were really low today and it was easy to meander through the pathways of AK. There was hardly anyone on line for the show, so we walked around a little and checked out Camp Minnie-Mickey. Chip and Dale were dressed in all of their holiday finest (hats and scarves and it was 80 degrees!) and looked really cute. We queued up for the show and headed in to the theater for my favorite show at Animal Kingdom. The theater was filling in slowing and I was afraid that the crowd wouldn't be rowdy enough for the show. The crowd participation at FotLK is so interactive and fun and I think it is an essential element. The theater eventually filled up to about 80% and the show began. The performers were fabulous - about half of them we saw the previous June when I saw the show for the first time. The fire twirler did drop his baton (not on purpose!) exciting a huge gasp from the audience. He managed to get it together and finished up the show swimmingly. The performers are so high energy - I find it very hard to believe that someone couldn't enjoy themselves at this attraction. Okay - we made a short (mental) list of attractions that we have never been to and wanted to see during this trip and it was time for another. Rafiki's Planet Watch had been calling our names and we made the LOOOONNNNGGGG walk over to the train to Rafiki's. We had a short wait (about 5 minutes) before the train pulled up. All aboard!!! We were on our way. I felt like I was riding a train in Jakarta - luggage piled on top, opened along the sides and elephants in the distance. It was a neat ride, but the sky was looking more and more ominous and I was afraid we would get drenched when we got there. Our trained arrived and we wandered through the pathways to get to the main building. Rafiki was standing in the large lobby, posing for pictures, and we snapped a couple with the baboon. Bryan wanted to see some of the exhibits, and I watched the lab techs and vets at work through the large, glass windows. After 20 minutes or so inside we decided it was time to go outside and pet some animals!!! Well, it was a little smelly (it was getting really humid) and the place was mobbed with kids and goats, but we both armed ourselves with little brushes, preparing to brush the silly old animals. An overly anxious goat tried to eat the buckle on my purse, but Bryan caught him just in time and nudged his nose away from my hip. It was starting to get a little weird in the petting corral (I think it was mating season for the goats) and we washed up and headed out. It was pretty funny - Moms and Dads reaching for their kids and scooting them quickly out of the love pit. "They are playing rough honey - don't try to brush them now." We washed our hands (the fountain was really cute but it took me a while to find the soap) and checked out the little shop next to the petting area. Our assessment: Rafiki is cute, although the only active area of the entire place is in the petting zoo. The demonstrations/exhibit areas/observation windows were a little inactive and needed a little pizzazz. Not crazy rides or loud videos, but maybe a little more human interaction and/or curators on hand giving demonstrations where visitors can get up close. We enjoyed it, but probably won't return for a while. It was almost time for Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade - so we wandered along the route, looking for a place to watch under cover - it was really getting threatening. We managed to find an empty table outside Pizzafari, but soon vacated it when we saw a large family scrambling for some seats. We staked out a spot on the porch of Island Mercantile, which was a much better viewing spot for the parade. Then, the rains came - a literal deluge. I wasn't sure if the parade would go on since it was raining very hard, but we began to hear the music and I figured we might as well stick it out. Well, luck was on our side and at the sign of the first float the rain stopped! We could finally move out from under the awning with the hundreds of other guests and enjoy ourselves. The parade was fun, with each float outfitted with its own music and characters. My only complaint (isn't there always something?) was that the music "bleeds" from one float to the next. Oh yeah - one more complaint - I didn't really like Minnie's song. Oh well - you can't win 'em all. We really liked the parade and thought it was a nice afternoon addition to the Animal Kingdom. It was getting late and we wandered around the Mercantile for a few minutes before leaving. One the way out we managed to get some fabulous pictures of ourselves in front of the Tree of Life (the park was really slow that day) and watched some birds in the Discovery Island section of the park. On our way out we shopped a little bit in some tents that were set up outside of the front gates. There were some great Christmas ornaments in those tents - not just Disney, but many beautiful Animal Kingdom inspired ones - but we resisted the temptation to buy and just looked around. I could have spent our retirement savings in those tents, but Bryan was getting hungry and was urging to get over to the Grand Floridian for our priority seating at 1900 Park Fare. A shortish (Animal Kingdom is so remote!) drive and we made it to the Grand. It was a Monday night and the valet parking area was backed up - I was a little surprised since the parks seemed so empty. I guess a lot of guests were returning from days in the parks or were checking in to the hotel or for dinner, so we self-parked (saved the $6) and hiked over. It was a little after 5:00, too early for dinner, so we walked around and checked out the new volcano pool. It was very nice - I especially liked the "beachy" feel to it and all of the kids in there seemed to be having a great time. There were tons and tons of poinsettias in the planters and the resort looked really beautiful. We got tired of walking and it was time to eat. 1900 Park Fare had just opened (it was a little after 5:30) and they managed to seat us almost an hour early. We had never been here before and we were impressed - the restaurant was coolly relaxing and very beautiful. Soft colors, soft music and active characters. Fun, fun, fun!!! The restaurant only had 10 other families in it, so the buffet was quiet and everything was very fresh. We had a wonderful server (Jerry), who managed to keep our lemonades filled and our plates cleared. Here's a tip for those who enjoy character meals: GET THERE EARLY!!! We find that if we make a PS shortly after opening, the characters make it to your table several times during your dinner. We really liked everything about the restaurant and will be back. I especially liked the citrus glazed carrots, and although I forgot to get the recipe, was able to closely replicate it for our Christmas dinner. At the end of our meal Patty showed up to scare the bejesus out of us one more time. We thought she might join us for a little while that day, but she called us early that morning to say she would just meet us the next morning. Patty managed to get her mom set up for life without her for the next couple of days and was able to make it to WDW an evening early. As we filled up on dessert, (delicious brownies, key lime pie and strawberries with cream!) Patty waltzed into the restaurant. We did not expect to see her and were quite surprised. Our server was really nice and got her a lemonade (no charge!) while we finished up. I wanted to ride the monorail to do a decorations tour and Patty and Bryan were up for some serious picture taking so we took off. The Poly was our first stop - and I was really disappointed. There wasn't a giant Christmas tree to be found (although I really don't know where they would put it) and there were only spotty decorations around lampposts. We had toyed with staying here for a few nights at the end of our trip and I was glad that we chose the Wilderness Lodge. Not that I don't love the Poly (I do), but it is more of a resort that I need during the dreary winter months of New York. It was so warm, though, that it really felt like Tahiti and not like Christmas at all. We have the Poly on our minds for a late winter trip one of these days. Neither of us has stayed there in more than ten years and it is certainly calling our names. Next up: the Contemporary. A largish tree downstairs and a few decorations scattered throughout, but again, not as many inside like I expected. I liked the large tree outside (very simple and very pretty), but was disappointed in the interior. I wanted to buy some T-shirts for MVMCP that we were going to the next night. Bryan bought me a cute Mickey fleece from the Disney Store before we left and I was hoping I could wear it for the party, but it was too warm for any sort of heavy clothes. Patty was into shopping Downtown, so we left one car at the Grand and drove down together to shop. Downtown Disney was lively and very festive. There was a choral group from a local high school performing Christmas carols and they were very good. The World of Disney was crowded and we almost left empty-handed. There were hardly any T-shirts to be found - a CM told us that everyone was snapping them up because it was unseasonably warm. We finally found some nifty Santa Mickey T-shirts and left very happy. We were all a little tired and it was getting late, so it was time to head back to the condo. We drove back to the Grand Floridian, retrieved our car, and caravanned back to Vistana. We needed to hit a Wal-Mart/K-Mart/Target to get Bryan a cheapo belt (he left his at home and had spend the last several days hitching his shorts up), so we hit the Wal-Mart SuperCenter on 192. I was glad that Patty was able made it early, and when we got back to the condo we sliced up some cheese and crackers, had some wine, and chatted and watched TV. It was getting late, so we called it a day and hit the sack. It was a fun day with some old favorites (ITTBaB, FotLK), a new attraction (Rafiki) and some good food. Tomorrow was going to be a long day, so it was nice to call it a day early. Coming up: MVMCP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tuesday, December 11 Planned: The big day - MVMCP! We ordered these tickets the first day they went on sale. Besides the CP, this is the event that we are looking forward to the most. We are planning on spending the day at the MK and returning later that night for the party. We gave a PS at Chef Mickey's for 5:15 - giving us enough time to eat and get back to the gates before the 7PM opening. I wanted to get a PS inside the park but was unsuccessful - oh well. We love Chef Mickey's. What really happened: Unfortunately, I forgot to record our morning doings in my Passporter, and my details are sketchy as to what we did the morning of MVMCP. I know we swam for a little while - Patty stayed behind in the condo to watch a little TV and relax. Again, we ate a nice, leisurely breakfast on the balcony (the weather was just beautiful!) and left a little late for Epcot. I vaguely remember riding Ellen's Energy Adventure and Test Track (probably Test Track first) and going through Ice Station Cool. Lunch was at the Electric Umbrella - kids meals for Patty and me, a chicken sandwich for Bryan. (No - I don't have incredible memory recall for meals - I saved the receipt!). After that we hit the world showcase and hung out in the Mexico pavilion for a little while - Mike called Patty to tell her he was coming down from Ocala earlier than he expected since he finished up with work early. We made plans for all of us to meet at the Contemporary for 4:30 for our 5:15 PS at Chef Mickey's. I wanted to go see the American Adventure before we left for the day (we had missed it on our August trip) and this memory sticks out in my head because of what happened to poor Bryan. We arrived at the pavilion with plenty of time to spare, so we looked around in Heritage Gifts and watched kids getting pictures with the American Santa and Mrs. Claus. It was warm, so we went inside to rest in the rotunda until the next show started. Almost every bench was taken, but we managed to snag some seats next to the elevator. The rotunda always reminds me of a large bank - oil paintings, velvet covered benches and lots of marble. A CM gave a short talk about the Hanukkah tradition, using some props from a display. She was very interesting and I enjoyed the presentation. She told us that American Vibe was coming out shortly and that we should sit right under the dome of the rotunda to hear the best sounds. American Vibe came our shortly and started with a song I did not know (nor can I remember what it was). They sang a couple of holiday numbers and were very good. Now comes the embarrassing part. Let me preface this with: my husband is extremely shy. He would rather crawl into a hole than draw any sort of attention to himself. For the first dance at our wedding he was bright red the entire time, even though he was surrounded by family and friends. When it comes time for audience participation Bryan is often the quite observer, watching everyone else have fun. Not that he doesn't enjoy himself - he just prefers to watch rather than participate. One of the performers in Vibe, a young blond woman, was looking for a strapping man for her part of the performance. Bryan, though incredibly shy, often sticks out because he is 6'4", and looks even larger when he sits next to me (I am 5'2"). Immediately she pulls Bryan out from the crowd and starts singing "Santa Baby" to him. I thought Bryan's head would explode - he was so red. The entire time Patty and I were laughing our behinds off, and Bryan looked like he was going to cry. She really got into it - I think she sensed how shy and embarrassed he was. I suppose I should have been jealous but I was too busy laughing. Bryan took it in stride and practically ran back to us when it was all through. I thought he was a good sport about the whole thing. It was getting later and we all thought it was time to head over to the Contemporary. We had our Christmas T-shirts in the car and needed to clean up and change before our big night at the Magic Kingdom. We got to the Contemporary about 4:15 and Mike was already waiting for us at the bar outside Chef Mickey's. We still had an hour to wait before our PS, so Patty joined Mike for a drink and Bryan and I took the elevator up to the roof to the observation deck. It was a beautiful afternoon, and we spent about 30 minutes up on the roof, enjoying the view. We re-joined Patty and Mike for dinner and were able to sit down about 5:00. We had never been there for dinner (only breakfast several times) and we didn't really know what to expect. We sat next to a family who lived near us (also from Long Island - only Nassau Country instead of Suffolk) and we chatted with them for a while. They were die-hard Met fans, so we talked about the Mets and life back at home for a while, until our server came to greet us. We enjoyed dinner, although it was very similar to the menu we had the night before at 1900 Park Fare. We had a great time and liked dinner as much as we liked breakfast. Bryan enjoyed the prime rib, I like the shrimp and salad bar and Mike and Patty liked the desserts. The side dishes were very good and I thought that everything was hot and well prepared. Mike was kind enough to pick up the check for all of us (what a great father-in-law!) and we headed for the bathrooms after dinner to change for the big night. We walked over to the Magic Kingdom and made it to the gates just after opening. Main Street was like a big party - a brass band was playing at the base of the Christmas tree and it was snowing on Main Street. When we first decided to go on this trip we had toyed with not going to the MVMCP because of lack of funds. I would have sorely regretted not going, this evening was so beautiful. The MVMCP and the Candlelight Processional were the best evenings of our trip. We had all decided to try to fit in as much holiday-doings as possible and not worry about the rides as much, since we were getting so much accomplished during the day. We checked out the schedule and decided that we all wanted to see the Diamond Horseshoe Revue, since the holiday one is different than the one shown during the day. If I am not mistaken, the holiday Diamond is shown daily around Christmas time, but I am not sure. I bought us some sodas and we sat and waited. The show was wonderful and very funny, although Mike was really disappointed that the dancing girls were no longer part of the show. The singing cowboy led everyone in a rousing rendition of "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" - it was great fun. At some point Mike was picked on during the show, probably because we were sitting at the end of the table and he was wearing a Santa Mickey Ears hat. I loved this show and this is a must-do for any MVMCP goer. Next we stood on line for our photos (really short lines - crowds were very low that night) near Liberty Square. The first parade was going to be running soon, and although we had planned to see the second parade, we watched the first since we were already there and the crowds were not very large. I heard a lot of CM's saying that these were the smallest crowds they ever saw - we were glad we picked a Tuesday night to go to the party. The parade was wonderful - I loved the "Toyland" song. The floats were very nice - and there were so many clowns, toys, reindeer, etc. Next up: Haunted Mansion! We knew we didn't really care about rides, but since we were already there we might as well ride. I love the CM's on special nights - they act differently on E-ride and MVMCP nights and really seem to get into it. I guess they know that anyone participating in these special events are Disney Die-Hards and really appreciate any extra effort. The CM scared everyone in the stretching room by running behind everyone, spooking random guests. Our ride was over soon and we decided it was time for cocoa and cookies. By the time our cocoa and cookies were polished off, it was time for the fireworks!!! The only fireworks show I can compare this to, is the Fourth of July fireworks I saw ten years ago. The show started out with the usual Fantasy in the Sky show - without Tinkerbell coming out of the tower. Bryan was really disappointed - but I told him I think another surprise would fly out. Wouldn't you know it? As soon as Fantasy was over there was a short narration about Christmas, and out flew Rudolph from the Tower window! The fireworks went on another five minutes or so, and they started to surround us as we stood on the bridge to Tomorrowland. The show was fabulous, and it was worth the price of admission for the parade and the fireworks alone! Mike was very tired - he had been working since 5AM - so we decided to see another show so he could take a nap if he wanted to. ;) We watched "Mickey's 'Twas the Night Before Christmas" which was okay. I would probably skip it on our next MVMCP since the cheese-factor was a little high, but it was relaxing enough and the sets were cute. The kids were a little too bubbly for me, although I think this show wasn't made with cynical Gen-Xers in mind. Mike managed to sneak in a short nap and Patty enjoyed herself. Patty and Mike decided to take off and Bryan and I wanted to ride a few more rides while there was still some time left. We walked on Space Mountain (no one was riding anything that night because the crowds were so low!) and decided to back-track to PotC. Adventureland was empty and CM's were barking outside the attractions, calling for visitors. The night had almost an E-ride feel to it. We rode Pirates, then Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride, and decided to call it a night. We fit in all of the special Christmas events we wanted to see, in addition to a couple of our favorite rides, and had a wonderful time. It was only a little after 11, so we spent some time on Main Street, and enjoyed some people watching and browsing in the shops. Belle was dressed in her Christmas finery, signing autographs under the snow. We walked back to the Contemporary and drove Patty's car back to the condo (she left in Mike's car) and we got home in about 15 minutes. We had such a wonderful day and talked about going to MVMCP when we visit again in December 2003, after our Disney Cruise. For anyone thinking about going to MVMCP: do it!!! When we planned our trip, we weren't sure if we wanted to spend the money since we could have a nice meal for the price of admission. This party is worth eating hamburgers for your entire vacation. I think we got lucky with the crowds, since we waited for nothing that night and were even able to slip in two photograph sessions (the photographers told us to - they didn't have enough guests taking photos!). The free cocoa and cookies were good, the souvenir buttons are cute, and the holiday shows are worth it. If you go with the holiday mindset you should have a wonderful time. Rides weren't that important to us, since we could ride them any old day. MVMCP is a special event and we wanted to make the most of it. Patty was watching the news and Mike was sound asleep when we got back. We had a few cookies, talked a little bit, and were sound asleep by 1AM. We had such a great day. This trip was certainly the best yet! Wednesday, December 12 Planned: Patty and Mike are leaving early so that Mike can go back to work. They may rejoin us later next week. We are planning this day for Epcot (at least the daytime) and made a PS at Garden Grill for 1:10. This is another eatery we have not yet frequented. Should be a good one. Might see Osbourne Lights tonight if we didn't catch it on Sunday. What really happened: This was another late morning since the day before had been jam-packed. Mike had to leave for an early meeting in Orlando (he works for Target) and would meet us later in the day. Patty decided to stay until the next day, since she had the time and Bryan's grandmother was doing okay by herself. We didn't leave the condo until after noon (went swimming and took some video of the condo and the lobby), and arrived at the Garden Grill with plenty of time for our 1:10 PS. We were seated right away and were served almost instantly. I was a little disappointed in the price - I know it used to be around $15 for lunch and now it was $21.99 - a little steep for lunch. We liked the food and enjoyed the scenery and the character interaction was very good. Chip and Dale spent a lot of time at our table and Farmer Mickey saw us twice. The mashed sweet potatoes and fried catfish were both very good and our server was wonderful at keeping our glasses filled with iced tea and lemonade. Funny, when we were finished (almost exactly one hour after we sat down) the restaurant had made exactly one rotation, and we got off exactly where we started. This was a nice restaurant and we would probably return here. I had mentioned that I wanted to see the Stars and Motor Cards Parade at MGM, so we rushed to make what we thought was the 3PM show. When we got to the turnstiles I asked the CM where the parade started and she told me that we just missed it - oh well. We were not having luck getting to see this parade and would never get to see it this trip. Mike called Patty and told us that he was close to the park - we would all see Beauty and the Beast together. Bryan and I have never seen this show and Patty loved it - so we were looking forward to it. We had plenty of time to relax in the theater and were able to grab some great seats. The show was very good - and I was happy since I love the movie. Bryan also enjoyed it - and Mike took another nap. He has seen this show more than a dozen times, so we forgave him. The costumes were also really nice - I made a mental note to take my grandmother to see this when we visit WDW with her in May. We grabbed some snacks outside of the theater (ice cream for Patty and Mike, PowerAde and a pretzel for Eva and Bryan) and did some people watching. It was almost time for another Millionaire show, and we decided that we would all like to do that. I have seen Millionaire five times and have made it to that Top Ten board each time and have never been to that darn seat. This time I would make it to #3 (!) and wouldn't get up there either. The first girl who made it to the seat lost on the 200 point question (she was British and it was about American money), although I think she answered wrong on purpose since she seemed like she didn't want to be up there. The second fellow made it to the seat and stayed there until the 500,000 point question, where he lost. I was hope we would see a 1,000,000 winner. This was the last show of the day, so my hopes for becoming a Millionaire were dashed. We decided to see "Walt: One Man's Dream" again, since we liked it so much the last time. Patty and Mike had not seen it yet, and they really enjoyed it. They especially liked the park models. We skipped the film (we had just seen it a few days before) and wanted to see Osbourne Lights again before Fantasmic let out. Osbourne was great fun, and Patty told us that they had added a number of things to the display since she saw it two years ago. Like I had said earlier in my trip report, I do think it is tacky, but fun. We skipped the glasses all together this time, and just enjoyed the lights without them. Osbourne is a lot of fun and it worth seeing if you are in MGM during an evening. Bryan really wanted to see the Muppets one last time before we left, so we hurried over and made it to the last show of the night. There were only about 30 other people in there, so we picked seats dead center in the theater. I think I have lost count of how many times we have seen this, and we always laugh at the same parts. I wish they sold a video of this attraction - I would watch it all of the time. The park was closing soon and the Fantasmic crowds were streaming towards Osbourne, so we decided to go back to the condo. We had a short day in the parks, but it was still fun and relaxing. Mike went back home and we made plans to see him after we checked into the Wilderness Lodge. Patty came back with us, since she was staying until the next morning. Bryan and I went swimming, although we packed it in a little early because it wasn't much over 65 degrees. The hot tub proved to be not much warmer than the pool, so we watched some TV, put together some dinner from what was lying around the condo (no one was very hungry since we had an enormous lunch) and watched some TV. Another great day - though not as action-packed as the others. Thursday, December 13 Planned: MGM again! Whatever we missed earlier in the week we will try to hit while we are there. I love that MGM is the focus of the 100 Year Celebration - it is forcing me to explore the park more than I ever have before. PS tonight at Cape May Café - another first for us. I hope this one is a winner too. What really happened: You might notice a pattern emerging here - we did not follow close to our plans for this trip. We were pleasantly surprised by the lack of crowds on this vacation and the good weather, and we were able to accomplish so much more than we had anticipated. We scrapped the plan for MGM and decided upon Animal Kingdom instead. The weather was looking good for the day, and we have never spent a completely dry day at AK. Patty left us by 9AM and we made plans to see her again the following Sunday, after we checked in to the Wilderness Lodge. Breakfast was at the condo, another leisurely morning on the balcony. We made it to AK shortly after 9, missing the Awakening but before the crowds got large. We hoofed it over to Dinoland since I wanted to see the new Triceratops Spin. We rode it (yup - it's just like Dumbo) and we got a pretty good view of the new Primeval Whirl, which we hope will be open for our trip in May. We decided to give Dinosaur another try, since the last time we rode it we didn't enjoy it at all. Too jerky and too loud without much of a point. Our opinion didn't change too much this time around, although we didn't dislike it as much as we did last time. The ride was a walk-on and we were happy we didn't have to wait for it. I wanted to see Tarzan Rocks! Bryan wasn't really interested, but I told him I would buy him a Coke and he agreed. He was glad I talked him into it. We have never seen it before and I wasn't sure what to expect. My only complaint was that the walk to the theater was REALLY LONG - almost as long as walking to Fantasmic on the Dining Package. It was kind of hot that day (and it was December 13!) and we were glad to have a soda with us. The show was much better than I expected - the acrobatic "monkeys" were fabulous. The title "Tarzan Rocks" has kind of turned me off, but I enjoyed the show. Aside from Tarzan's horrible wig (it looks really fake) we loved the show and were impressed by the rollerblading, skateboarding and acrobatics. I was glad we saw this and made a mental note to see this on our next trip. After Tarzan I wanted to see Flights of Wonder, which is another show we have never seen. We loved it - Bryan especially liked it and asked me why we waited so long to see it. The theater is nice and small, so everyone has a great view. It is interactive, and many of the guests could get involved by providing an arm for birds to land on. The tourist character in the show is very funny and there was actually a lot you can learn. We graded this attraction a solid A and would surely return. If you have children who enjoy wildlife they will definitely enjoy this attraction. Safari time! This was our first trip on the safari for this vacation, and it was kind of hot, so we were concerned that we wouldn't get to see too much. Our safari ride was fine, and we waited only 5 minutes before loading into our vehicle. We saw plenty of animals, despite the heat, and noticed that we saw a sleeping lion (again!). We wonder how our own cats can sleep so much until we see their big cat relatives and see that there is no escaping feline laziness. After saving Little Red we were back in Harambe and wanted to eat. Lunch was at Pizzafari, where Bryan had an Italian sub and I had penne. We shared a large lemonade and sat on the porch, next to a family from three towns away from us. We noticed a tote bag that of them was carrying that was labeled with the name of a local hospital and they told us they were from Long Island. There seemed to be a lot of New Yorkers on vacation that week, and they seemed to be as delighted as we were by the pleasant weather we had been fortuned with. After lunch I wanted to see Pocahontas. Bryan had no idea what to expect, and I just wanted to see some cute woodland creatures. This show was short and definitely for the under-8 set, but it was cute and I was glad we saw it. I loved the porcupine - the way they waddle around is so funny. One thing I don't understand: why, when the CM's tell you that the first four rows are reserved for children under 10, do adults plop themselves down there? Directions, people! Listen to directions! We were thinking of leaving, but wanted to see ITtBaB one last time before we left. We didn't think we would be back to AK again on this trip, so we wanted to hit our favorite attraction before we left. It was funny, as always, and I remembered to hold my nose closed when the stink bug came out. We were kind of tired and wanted to do some more swimming before we had to leave the condo the next day. We spent a couple of hours in the pool, since we had plenty of time before our PS at Cape May at 7:30. We swam, showered, and left for the Beach Club around 6 since we were hungry earlier than expected. We parked, looked for the restaurant (we had never been there before) and checked in early. They were able to accommodate us early and the CM asked where we were from. I told her and she told us that she is from Ronkonkoma - before she retired and moved to central Florida. Small world! Ronkonkoma is only 10 minutes away from us. This really was a small world - we had never seen or heard from so many NY'ers during the off-season. Dinner was wonderful and we will DEFINTELY be at the Beach Club again. Kat was our server and she was excellent - she gave us tips on how to approach the buffet (take an extra bucket for steamer shells) and how to manage the dessert side of the table (there are tons of desserts). I can't remember how many steamers I ate, and even my land-lubber of a husband found plenty of stuff to fill up on. He pronounced this the best buffet on property (next to his favorite 'Ohana) and is begging to return again soon. After dinner we spent some time walking around the resort. Neither of us have stayed at the Yacht or Beach Club and this was a resort that was definitely going on our list for a future visit. Stormalong Bay is awesome and Bryan really liked the beach area. I especially liked its proximity to Epcot, our favorite park. After dinner we walked over to Epcot to catch Illuminations. We still had quite a while left on our parking pass, and had enough time to ride Test Track and El Rio before the show. We found the absolute BEST SPOT for viewing Illuminations, without hanging on to a table at Cantina San Angel or by making a PS at Rose & Crown. Unfortunately, this spot is often reserved for special events, and we were lucky enough to be there on a night without a special event planned. There is a small landing near the bridge between England and France (actually there are two landings) with an obvious entrance. It is a series of two patios, one larger than the other, with several planters and steps. That night there was a wedding going on next to our patio (what a great wedding!) and we watched the wedding while we waited for Illuminations. We could see Rose & Crown from where we stood - we had a great viewing spot for the show. The show was excellent (again) and we raced back to catch the ferry to the Beach Club, with 10 minutes to spare on our parking pass. We got back to the condo by 10:30PM, packed up everything we weren't going to need for the morning, and loaded a few things into the car. We were switching over to the Wilderness Lodge the following day, and although we were excited to be back on property, we were sad to be leaving this beautiful villa. We had really enjoyed our stay at the Vistana Villages and were sad to be leaving. One last night of relaxing on the balcony and it was time for bed. We watched Law & Order on A&E and hit the sack by midnight. It was going to be an early morning and a longer day tomorrow. Friday, December 14 Planned: We move from Vistana Villages to the Wilderness Lodge - I can't wait!!! We have to check-out by 10AM and will check-in to the WL as early as we can. AK planned again. We always start out following the traditional MK-EP-MGM-AK schedule but will deviate if the weather is bad. I can't wait to see FotLK again - I love that show. I think we will swing over to Epcot that night (our usual end-of-day park). No PS for tonight - now that I am looking at my schedule I don't know why I didn't make one and I can't think of one I am dying to make. I guess we will see where we are by then and make a PS while we are there. What really happened: We were simultaneously happy and sad to be leaving Vistana Villages. Happy, because we were finally staying at the Wilderness Lodge, a resort we have both wanted to stay at since we were gliding across Bay Lake and saw its incredible façade; and sad, because our stay at the Villages was wonderful. We had a marvelous time and the condo was excellent. I would recommend very highly to those looking for an off-site option to consider the Villages. It often rents for under $100 per night for a 1-2 bed condo, although we traded through RCI and got it for $114 for the week. And because our accommodations were so cheap, we were able to tack on three wonderful nights at the Lodge. I had read about the largest McDonald's in the World on the internet, and we decided to see it for ourselves after checking out. It was only a little ways up the road, and we had lots of time before checking in to the Lodge. I was so disappointed - the place was an absolute dump. I am not a big fan of McDonald's, and was sort of hoping for something kitschy, not disgusting. We should have known as soon as we pulled up that it was going to stink - there were some rather unscrupulous characters hanging out in the parking lot when we arrived. We ordered a little bit for breakfast (we ran out of cereal the day before), waited forever (there was no one else there) and sat in their dining area. It was dirty and strange. It looked like they were trying to theme the area and didn't succeed because there wasn't one dominant theme in the place. The kicker was when this guy came out of no where to sit at our table and ask if we wanted to go on a timeshare tour. I was so turned off - I thought about writing McDonald's a letter to let them know how horrific this place is, but I never did do it (out of sheer laziness). Any McD's exec should be disgusted by this place. I never felt such a relief when we drove back on Disney property. That experience was enough to make me never want to eat off-site again. Although, I know there are very good places to stay and eat (excellent, in fact), I had no desire to be anywhere except on WDW property. We drove to the WL and checked in rather early - before 10AM. Our room was not ready yet (we didn't expect it to be) but we were given a card to call when it was ready. The CM wished us a happy anniversary when we told them our name (nice touch!) and told us we should be able to call back any time after noon to find out where we are staying. We bought our refillable mugs, walked around the pool area, and dropped left our luggage and mugs with Baggage Services before taking the ferry over to the Magic Kingdom. I love how close the MK resorts are to the front gates of the MK - I guess that is why they call them the MK resorts! We caught the train and rode around to Frontierland, rode Splash Mountain (almost no wait!), saw the Christmas version of Country Bears (a little less creepy than the regular version) and it was time for lunch. Neither of us had eaten much at the dirt bag McD's, so we were hungry for some real junk food - so we split a double cheeseburger and large Coke at Pecos Bill's. We walked around some shops in Frontierland, and I noticed what time it was and asked a shopkeeper CM if I could use the phone to see which room we had. He was very kind to let us call and we found out we were in room 1147. I wrote down that we called at 1PM, so we were able to check in earlier than the standard 3PM. We rode Haunted Mansion (again) and decided we should find our room and get settle for the next few days. We had absolutely no idea where this room was - room 1147 is on the south side of the Lodge but is BELOW the lobby. I had booked us in a standard view but we had been upgraded to a Courtyard - a fabulous upgrade that was completely unexpected. I never pay for a luxurious view since we are so rarely in the room anyway. I appreciated this upgrade and once we found the room (we asked a very nice CM who seemed to have been asked this question before) we were very happy with it. Our balcony was literally 20 steps away from the main pool and we were less than a two minute walk to Roaring Forks. The room itself was very nice - we had asked for a king room and were nicely accommodated. I also found out that these are the handicapped rooms and may ask for one again in the future. My husband has a VERY BAD back and is rather tall and his left leg can be almost paralyzed when his sciatica acts up. It can be very difficult for him to maneuver around two queen or two double beds and getting into a smaller bathroom with a high tub-wall can be hard. The walk-in shower and ample room around the bed is wonderful and he had no problems at all, where he has had some problems in smaller hotel rooms. We decided to scrap going back to the Magic Kingdom and swim in that awesome pool! We have only walked around the pool area and have never physically been in the pool, so we had no idea there is a current in the pool. I was also THRILLED with the water slide. I think, at one time, I was the only one waiting for the slide that was over 4 feet tall. I didn't care. Bryan waited for me at the bottom and laughed. I watched one kid try to offer another one $10 if he let him cut him, and I told him that by cutting him he would also be cutting me and I didn't have $10. There was no more talk of cutting after that. We didn't have any plans for dinner, so we took the ferry over to Fort Wilderness and ate dinner at Trails End. Dinner was great (and cheap!) and Bryan really enjoyed himself - he had never been there before and I haven't been in a few years. We liked everything except the buffalo - we gave it a whirl anyway because our server had suggested it. When Bryan asked how I liked it I told him that it tasted like the buffalo put cologne on before he was cooked. Neither of us cared for it very much but liked everything else. Funny thing: our server asked us if we were CM's when we sat down. We laughed, because the CM asked us the same question the night before at Cape May, and we told them no. I asked why he asked us that and he said that we seemed like we knew were everything was and seemed confident at WDW. I told him that we just come a lot and that we should probably be CM's! He was a great server and we enjoyed our dinner. We spent some time at the Settlement Trading Post after dinner - I wanted to buy my parents a new Fort Wilderness Wheel Cover for Christmas since theirs has almost disintegrated off their RV. I also took some notes on prices at the trading post so I could post them on Intercot for my fellow FW visitors. Bryan poked around, debating on whether he would buy a new T-shirt, decided not to, and we took the bus back to the Lodge. It was a quick trip (less than 10 minutes) and we decided to go for another swim - the evening was beautiful. The pool was much quieter this evening than it was during the day, and I suspected that most guests were still at the parks. We swam for over an hour and sat in the hot tub for another 30 minutes after that. It was getting a little noisier (the parks were beginning to close) and it was almost time for the water pageant. A quick trip back to the room to change and get some insect repellant and we parked ourselves on the beach to watch the pageant. I haven't seen this show since I was fifteen and remembered really liking it. Bryan immediately started laughing - he thought it was cute but was kind of turned off by the Casio Keyboard style of music. Still, we both liked it, although a couple had decided to start fighting while we were waiting for the pageant. Something about not being able to find each other, etc. It was kind of annoying but they left before the show started. It was almost 10 and we were kind of pooped. I wanted to get up early to hit the MK for opening the next morning so we called it an early night. We first walked around the Lodge for a little while, enjoying the fire and oohing and aahing over the Christmas decorations before we returned to our room. We watched a little TV, I read for a while, and we were asleep by 11:30. The Lodge had quickly jumped to the top of our list of favorite places at WDW and we were excited for another day. Saturday, December 15 Planned: We had originally planned for this to be an EE day, but since they have been canceled, I think we will sleep late and spend the morning enjoying our resort. Bryan and I have never made it to an EE (and I guess we never will) but don't really care about EE anyway. I think we wanted to do it because we could. Bryan can't wait to sit in that hot tub at the WL. PS for lunch at Whispering Canyon Café at 1:30PM. I have heard mixed reviews about this place and if it stinks, I did not want to waste $70 on dinner (it is $7 cheaper per person for lunch). I am hoping the negative reviews are wrong. No firm plans for the night. We will probably finish at MK since it should be the only night Spectromagic is running and we will get to see it. And it is only a short boat-ride away from the WL. What really happened: Since EE had been canceled about two months before our trip, there was no need to rush around to try to try to make it to the MK before 7:30. I woke around 6:45, showered, and left for Roaring Forks around 7:30 to get us some bagels and donuts for breakfast. Bryan slept a little (his back was acting up a little bit the night before) and I woke him before I left for breakfast. He was dressed and ready by the time I got back, so we ate on our patio and caught the first ferry over to the MK by 8:30AM. We waited at the gates with a few thousand others and were about 6th in line for our turnstile. A family with three little kids was chosen to open the park that day and we had a great time cheering them on. We were able to hop right on the Main Street Trolley (first ride of the day!) and made it down Main Street in no time. The crowds seemed very light, even for a Saturday, and we intended to make the most of it. I told Bryan that I wanted to hit Fantasyland since it would be a zoo by mid-day and he agreed. We walked on Pooh, Snow White, Peter Pan, and Small World - all before 10AM. Next we headed for Splash (walk-on) and Haunted, and I wanted to see the regular Diamond Horseshow Revue - good, but not as funny as the Christmas show. We split a Birch Beer and my receipt says 10:24AM - we managed to fit in 8 rides and attractions in less than 1 1/2 hours. We rode Jungle Cruise after the show and it was corny (as usual). We love that ride, and it is only really good if your driver knows it is as corny as you do. It was now noon and it was time for the Tiki Birds! I had downloaded the script to Tiki before we left home and I made Bryan sit through the ENTIRE show so that we could hear all of the wise comments at the end of the show. He had never sat long enough to hear everything in the theater before and had only heard them when I downloaded the script. The Enchanted Tiki Room is a great show for adults and I would recommend it to anyone who likes wit and sarcasm. Since we were near PotC, we just had to ride it. Here is where we encountered the longest line of our trip - about five minutes. The crowds were getting a little thicker and it was almost time for lunch. Pirates was a gas (as usual) and we decided to take the train back to the front of the park rather than walk. We were getting really lazy and wanted to fit in as many "convenience" rides as we could. A quick ferry ride back to the Lodge and it was time for our 1:30 PS at Whispering Canyon Café. We had a short wait (the restaurant was VERY busy and loud) and we were seated in less than 10 minutes. Cactus Chris was our server and was very nice. I think he about our age (late 20's) and did not engage in any crazy shenanigans, but joked with us all the same. In fact, we actually enjoyed watching the servers more than we would have liked being the victims, and we had a great time at this restaurant. We each ordered the Canyon Skillet, Bryan had two Sam Adams and I had a Coke. We really liked lunch - although I do agree that the brisket is not as lean as I would like it. I did enjoy everything else - the ribs and chicken were very good and the baked beans were excellent. We really liked this restaurant, though it is not for the faint of heart. It is loud and anyone, at any time, can become prey to the servers delight. It was a beautiful afternoon and the pool was calling to us. Bryan wanted to rest his back and I wanted to swim in that great current and head down that slide. We got our mugs from our room, filled up on lemonades, and staked out two deck chairs for a few hours. We had a great afternoon, and I told Bryan that I could die right then and be pretty happy. The pool was pretty crowded, so after a while we tried the quiet pool, but it was freezing and we went back to the large pool. We swam until 4PM, took showers, and headed back to the MK for an evening out. By this time the park was pretty crowded, as it was only opened until 9PM and Spectromagic was only running on Saturday this week. We got some FP's for Buzz and rode Wedway while we waited. We rode through twice and got some ice cream at Auntie Gravities before our FP time came up. Bryan had a broken joystick on Buzz (boo hiss) and this was only the second time I was able to beat him on this ride. Bryan wanted to play some Arcade games, so I played a bowling game while be burned through about $5 in quarters on a Star Wars game. We walked to the back of the park, where I could ride Goofy's Barnstormer (I love this ride!) and managed to talk Bryan into riding the Teacups. He promised we could, if I didn't spin the cup. "Oh, I won't spin it!" I told him. I lied! Of course I spun the cup! Who doesn't??? We rode PotC one last time before heading back to the Lodge. Neither of us were very interested in watching Spectromagic, since neither of us cares for it very much. I LOVED MSEP and was very sad to see it go. I don't really like the music for Spectro (I really liked the Baroque Hoedown) and those white dolls at the beginning really give Bryan the heebie jeebies. We skipped ahead of the crowds, went swimming again, and hung out in the hot tubs for about an hour. We talked with a couple who were leaving on the cruise the next day (they were honeymooning from CA) and two men who were from Florida and were visiting WDW with their families. Everyone was very nice and we chatted about senseless stuff for a while. One of my favorite things about WDW is how you can talk to almost anyone anywhere about anything. Most everyone is so relaxed and really enjoys themselves there. We got changed out of our bathing suites, ate a light dinner of chili and chips at Roaring Forks and did the Hidden Mickey quiz in the Lodge before turning in. Bryan is a Hidden Mickey Freak and was delighted to find out there was a formal quiz. He even found some things that looked like Hidden Mickey's that weren't listed on the sheet. We got to see a lot more of the Lodge that night than we had the night before. We explored the upper floors and found some smaller fireplaces and balconies that we didn't know were there. We retired around 11PM. Patty and Mike were meeting us the next morning and we wanted to get up early to swim and enjoy the resort before they got there. Another great day! Sunday, December 16 Planned: Our last full day! Boooooooo!!!! Another day at Epcot and another Candlelight Processional dinner package. We chose Le Cellier this time and are really looking forward to it. We have only eaten there for lunch and the dinner menu looks great. Alfrie Woodard is scheduled to be our narrator tonight. What really happened: We got up early again (around 6:30) and went swimming around 7. It was delightful to be at the pool so early in the morning - although there were all sorts of gnats and mosquitoes all over the lamp posts and the ladders and railings around the pool. At one point Bryan almost touched the railing until I yelped - there were so many bugs! There were only 3 other people in the pool - one serious lap swimmer and a mom and her daughter. By 8AM there were several other people, so we switched over to the hot tubs before we returned to our room to get ready for the day. A quick breakfast at Roaring Forks (in our bathing suits and shorts- I love the informality of the Lodge) and we showered, dressed and waited for Bryan's parents. They are usually late, so we didn't rush. I waited for them in the lobby while Bryan blew some more money on video games. As I waited I saw the funniest thing ever - it was coming from the Whispering Canyon Café. A man (in his late 20's/early 30's) and his dad (late 50's) were both celebrating their birthdays at the Café. A CM made them ride stick ponies through the lobby singing "Happy Birthday" to themselves at the tops of their lungs. That lobby is 5 stories high, and I am sure there wasn't a soul at the Lodge that didn't hear them. I almost bust a gut - this was so funny. It was peak check-out time - around 11AM - so tons of people were in the lobby witnessing this event. Bryan missed the whole thing - too bad - I guess video games were more important. ;) Patty and Mike finally showed up a little before noon and tried to get themselves a CP reservation for the evening. Because we didn't really plan a day with them, we weren't sure if they would be able to stay for dinner and they decided they would. We couldn't get them added on to our reservation at Le Cellier, but they were able to get a PS at Akershus and we would meet up for the show. We finally made it to Epcot by noon, a little latter than we wanted since this was our last day. No matter - the weather was great and we were having such a good time. We hit the Living Seas first - the first time on this trip. I love the narrator for the movie - we usually skip it but I really wanted to see it this time because we haven't in a while. We took the "hydrolators" to the ocean floor and watched some fish for a while. Nothing exciting was going on so we left. This pavilion is in dire need of a rehab and I think that only the movie is worth doing (unless the manatees are being fed - but how long can you watch a manatee eat lettuce?). The Land is next! We got some FP's for the boat ride and ate some lunch while we waited. This is our favorite Epcot lunching spot, and we decided to eat light since we have an enormous dinner ahead of us that night (veggie soup for me and Italian hero for Bryan). We nosed around the store until our FP time came up and we boarded our vehicle. The tour was good (as always) and I think that we could recite this cruise narrative by now. Our CM skipped some of the narration, but that's okay since we know it by heart. We shopped a little bit after the cruise - Mike was looking for a grab bag gift for work and Bryan and I wanted to buy some new T-shirts. This was another day for a 15% discount (love that CP package!) and we wanted to make the most of it. I bought a cute little T-shirt, only to find out when I tried it on that it was a kid's shirt! I had to return it to the Wilderness Lodge Mercantile the next morning (they were very nice about the return since we were going home) and left without a T-shirt. :( We did Spaceship Earth for one last time and Mike fell asleep (again!). We wanted to do a little browsing around the World Showcase before dinner, so we headed for El Rio del Tiempo before we started our shopping extravaganza. We browsed in shops all around the World Showcase looking for Christmas gifts for our friends and families. We found some neat chopsticks for my brother in Mitsukoshi and some pfefferneuse and a chocolate covered pretzel for ourselves in Germany. I was really disappointed to see that a delicious almond cake that I bought in Germany last June was not there, but was glad to see these yummy Christmas cookies. Tapestry of Dreams was starting when we walked out of the stores and we stopped to watch for a little while. I was really disappointed in the parade since I loved Tapestry of Nations so much. All the parade was the ToN dressed up a little differently with wind chimes and bells. Not a different parade at all - only jazzed up a little more. Should have left a good thing alone. We decided we should try to check in to dinner a little early since the lines for the CP were so long the last several nights we were there. Patty and Mike left for Norway and we high-tailed it over to Canada. We didn't have a reservation until 6PM but tried to check-in early because we were getting hungry. Unfortunately this was the first crappy encounter we had with a CM during that entire trip - and I am still trying to blame it on a busy night. She was the CM checking in guests at the podium and we asked her if we could check-in early. She was extremely short with us and told us to come back at exactly 6PM when our reservation was and that we might have to wait an additional 15-20 minutes past that. I was a little annoyed - if we waited until at least 6:20 to be seated, how would we ever make it over to the theater in time for CP? It was our fault for making the PS time, but she didn't have to be so rude. We are also told that we need to check in early when we make the reservation, so I was a little put-off by her. We watched the Canada film (where another CM yelled at some guests three times for talking - what was up with these Canadian CM's tonight?) and looked around the shops. We checked back in to Le Cellier at 5:50 (NOT 6) and waited about 25 minutes to be seated. I was started to get really worried that we wouldn't make our CP time and decided that the next time we do this we will see CP first and then eat. Our dining experience more than made up for the crabby CM at the podium. We had Alicia as our server and she was wonderful - very friendly and helped us make some difficult dining choices. Isn't it nice to have the quandary of whether to order soup or mussels for dinner? I love vacations. I ordered the Prince Edward Island mussels and Bryan ordered the cheddar cheese soup and the mussels were the best I have ever had. They were huge and there were plenty of them. The white wine sauce they were cooked in was delicious and Bryan really enjoyed his soup. We filled up on pretzel bread and waited for the main course. Bryan ordered the strip steak and I ordered the filet mignon. I was going to have duck but decided on steak at the last minute. We both ordered medium and they were cooked to perfection. We finished up with a crème brulee (for myself) and Walt's Chocolate Cake (for Bryan). When Bryan's cake came out of the kitchen someone at the next table yelled "Is that as good as it looks?" It was - both desserts were divine. Our meals at San Angel Inn and Le Cellier were the two best we had during the trip. I noticed that most of the other diners were CP guests and there was such a light atmosphere in the room. This was a great dinner and I was glad that it was such a great meal after cool treatment at the podium. As I was eating the crème brulee I noted to Bryan that I would check out William Sonoma when I got home to buy myself a little kitchen torch so that I could make it. He thought I was joking about the torch and said "I already have a blow torch - why do you need another one?" I explained what the smaller torch did and he supposedly understood. Then I told him that maybe he wasn't so deserving of having this delicious crème brulee since he was so wise. He then said to me that a torch might be useful. He said "whenever people come over for dinner you can set their plates on fire." Ahh.... my husband, the gourmand. We finally finished dinner around 7:45 (we rushed) and we practically ran over to the CP line to look for Patty and Mike. We figured if they didn't find us they would save us a couple of seats - the line was enormous! They were the third people on line and the CM let us join them - I thought that was very nice and would have stood at the back had there been a problem. On line behind us were two employees from Universal (an accountant and a human resource manager) and Mike managed to get all sorts of Universal dirt from them as he waited. They love the CP and try to attend a couple of times every year. Our narrator that night was Alfrie Woodard and she was great. Not as good as Phylicia Rashad, but a good narrator none the less. She was not as clear as Phylicia and her diction was not as good, but she is a first rate actress and we were not disappointed by her appearance at the CP. Patty and Mike really loved it (they had seen it three years before and noted that it was a little different) and were gearing up for their next CP on Christmas Day (Gary Sinise was their narrator). We decided to skip Illuminations since we wanted to lounge around the pool at WL before we headed home in the morning and Patty and Mike needed to get back to Ocala. We said our goodbye's at Package Pick-up and told them we would call when we got back to New York. We quickly found our bus and were back to the Lodge within 10 minutes. I think we were the only ones awake on the bus - everyone else seemed so sleepy and quiet. We were giggling about something (I don't remember what) and I realized later that we must have looked like idiots to the sleepy crowd. We packed up a few things and went swimming for an hour before bed. We filled up our mugs and hung out in the lobby for a little while before we hit the hay. As I write this trip report I am getting that same sickening feeling that I get each last night of our trip. I was bound and determined to not cry, and we talked about how close Christmas would be when we got back. Monday, December 17 Planned: Check-out from the WL and start the drive back home. I really don't care what time we leave, and we will probably poke around until noon or so. We have to be back at work on Wednesday, but since work is so slow for both of us the week before Christmas we don't care how tired we are when we get back. Tuesday, December 18 Planned: Arrive back home, recap, and relax before the last minute Christmas blitz. This is our favorite time of the year and we really enjoy the craziness and joviality during the season. Final thoughts: We decided to skip a park visit on Monday morning and hit Downtown Disney instead. Bryan was afraid that if we went to a park we would never want to leave and we would never get home. He was right; so we went shopping. The ride home was fine (we almost hit a dog on a dark stretch of I-95 in South Carolina) although hitting New York City is like hitting a wall of bricks. Traffic is always awful (whether 3am or 3pm) and NYC drivers are kamikazes. We honestly don't mind the drive until the last 50 miles - we have to drive through some part of New York to get home (we live in Eastern Long Island) and all of the nice thoughts of what happened on our vacation all dissipate when we see the "Welcome to New York" sign. This was the absolute best vacation that we ever took together. Everything worked out great - the drive was fine (except for the above mentioned NYC), the hotels were wonderful and the food was plentiful. We always like to fit in a visit with Bryan's mom when we are in WDW (since she lives so close) and she was able to spend a good amount of time with us. Still, we were also able to spend a lot of time alone together, something we really appreciated. The hotels: perfect. I wish I could afford DVC because our timeshare experience at Vistana Villages was only marred by the fact that it wasn't on property. We have looked into DVC but we honestly cannot justify the expense, especially since we like to try out all sorts of resorts and we often use the Fort Wilderness Campground. A few nights at the Wilderness Lodge was the perfect ending to our trip and allowed us to wind down a little bit before our 19 hour drive home. I cannot say enough about either location and would highly recommend the Villages for a quality off-site stay and the Lodge for a comfortable and cozy on-site visit. The food: wonderful. This is where we spent the majority of our budget. We scrimp and save and rarely go out to dinner so that we can enjoy ourselves on vacation. For every trip to a local Red Lobster or steakhouse is a thought "we could eat at X or Y on our next trip to WDW and save this money." We like all sorts of foods - from nice sit-downs to Casey's hot dogs. We aren't picky, although we want a quality experience, no matter what we spend. We have our favorite counter-service stops, buffets, and sit-down restaurants. I am including a short list of where we ate at the end of this report. The parks: I was expecting a somber experience with all of the cutbacks but I was pleasantly surprised. Almost every CM we encountered was pleasant, helpful and seemed genuinely happy to serve our needs. Because the seasonal crowds were rather low we were able to talk with many of the CM's and really enjoy our stay. The parks are beautifully decorated and Christmas time is probably the most magical time of the year to be in the parks. I am including our budget breakdown for anyone that is interested. I am not too shy to share this information, since everyone planning a Walt Disney World vacation knows what certain things cost - no need in keeping this stuff a secret. I should note: we are two adults in our late twenties (no kids) who sometimes indulge in occasional libations and not-so-nutritious snacks. After all, we are on vacation! We also do not buy a lot of souvenirs since we visit WDW regularly. On this trip we bought a few more souvenirs than usual, since they were Christmas presents. I am not including the figures for that stuff in the budget, since I would have spent that money at home on Christmas anyway. Lodging: $544.00 total $114.00 fee for Vistana Villages (we used our timeshare - 1 week) $430.00 3 nights at WL - standard view - fabulous rate I found in the New York Times in September 2001. Tickets: $0.00 for park admission $72.96 two tickets for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party We are AP holders so we saved a considerable amount of money by not having to purchase passes. Gas, tolls: $332.41 This includes gas (round trip), tolls (from New York - which is where most of the tolls are), two nights motel on I-95 and food on the trip (a couple of stops at Denny's). Food: $712.39 Food for two adults from December 7 through December 17 - includes two Candlelight Processional dinner packages. We were treated to dinner one night at Chef Mickey's by my in-laws, so $65 should technically be added to the total. This also includes a stop at Publix. We had a full kitchen in our condo, which afforded us a tremendous meal savings (especially when it came to breakfast). Our dining strategy usually includes an entrée for each of us and a shared large beverage if we are dining counter service. Occasionally Bryan will order a beer. Publix: $43.94 Dec 7: $22.72 Liberty Inn (late lunch - $15.13) Boulangerie Patisserie (croissant, soda - $4.09) Popcorn cart (Illuminations - $3.50) Dec 8: $89.01 Pizza Planet (lunch - two pizzas, one beverage - $15.14) San Angel (CP dinner package - $69.86) Pure & Simple (soda, cookies - $4.01) |