Trip Reports

• Time of Year: Holiday Season
• Travel Method: Personal Car
• Resort: All-Star Music, Fort Wilderness Campground, Wilderness lodge
• Accommodations: Standard Room
• Ages Represented in Group: Infant/Toddler, Elementary, Adult
• WDW Experience Represented in Group: Veteran
• Comments: This is the granddaddy of this year's Christmas trip reports! If you didn't know there was a contest going on, there wasn't...but I think Michele's wonderful narrative would have won top honors! During the course of the trip, the Warners stayed at almost every resort at WDW (ok, I exaggerate a bit here). I guess one reason why I enjoyed the report so much is that Caleb and Michelle's two children made me think about what my family's trips to WDW will be like in a few years....I can't wait!

The Original Plan...

Hubby (Caleb, 31, Systems Analyst), Wife (Me, 32, Stay-At- Home-Mom), Daughter (Katharine, 4 1/2) and Son (Patrick, 1 1/2) were to leave for WDW on December 10th and arrive at Fort Wilderness on the 12th for 4 nights. From there we were to move to the Wilderness Lodge for three nights and then on to the Contemporary for a 3-night Jolly Holidays package. We planned to leave WDW on the 22nd and drive to Maryland for Christmas with Caleb's parents.

And Now For What Really Happened...

We were preparing to leave on the 10th. By the 7th I had just about finished packing and getting ready. Then...on the night of the 7th a snowstorm knocked our power out.

When we woke up the next morning we called the electric company only to be told that we would not have power returned to us until late Monday (the 9th). No power meant no heat. We were not too happy about this. Suddenly realizing that we had Annual Pass vouchers burning a hole in our suitcase Caleb and I looked at each other and said "Let's leave today!". So we did!

THE JOURNEY: We left Putnam around 2:00pm (I managed to cook my dad's birthday meal before we left. Thank goodness for my gas stove!) and headed to Maryland. We arrived at Caleb's parents' house around 9:30 and pretty much went straight to bed.

We were planning to leave around 7:00 the next morning so we wanted to get a good night's sleep. Just before we went to bed we heard a weather report forecasting snow for the area so we decided not to leave until 9:00. Waking at 7:00 we found not a trace of snow and were sorry we had slept in. Oh well! We got ready and got back on the road by 9:00. We stopped for lunch in Richmond at 12:00 and it was at this point that we realized we had left and important bag (camera, Katharine's fanny pack, Christmas Cards, make-up, etc.) in Maryland. We called Caleb's mom and gave her the Fort Wilderness address and she promised to send the package out the next morning. I also called CRO and asked if we could extend our FW reservation. They said that there was plenty of availablity and made the changes. We ate lunch and were back on the road by 1:00. We continued until we got to South of the Border where we made a brief pit-stop at 5:30. None of us were very hungry so we continued on our way. A couple of hours later we stopped for some fast food and to fill the car's gas tank.

By the time we got on the road again the kids were tired and quickly fell asleep. At this point we were not sure how far we would travel that night and decided to play it by ear. By the time we reached the Georgia border we knew that we wouldn't be able to stop until we got to WDW so since the kids were sleeping peacefully we decided to drive all the way. I was very thankful for the 70mph speed limit in Florida! We arrived in the WDW area around 1:15. We stopped at 2 motels advertising very cheap room rates and both were full. The three other places we tried all wanted $60-70 so we decided to try the All-Star Music. We arrived there around 1:40 and I went to check-in. The Front Desk CM was terrific. She worked quickly to get everything settled and then told us how to get to Rock 4. We arrived there without incident and found our room. I put the card/key into the door, pulled it out, the little green light came on...and the door wou ldn' t budge. ...SIGH... Back to the Front Desk.

Caleb and Katharine headed there in the car while Patrick and I decided to walk. On the way I found a house phone and called the FD instead. A nice CM named Colin came to get me into the room and, after a large push to the door, succeeded in doing so.

I had Patrick with me so he and I stayed in the room and waited for Caleb to return with Katharine. While we were waiting I decided to hang the "Privacy Please" sign on the door so no one would disturb us early in the morning - we definitely wanted to sleep in! - I opened the door...OOPS! ... no I didn't...the door wouldn't open!

Patrick and I were now stuck in the room. Laughing because I was too tired to do anything else I again called the FD. They sent the FD CM who had checked us in and she let Caleb and Katharine into a different room a few doors away. Then she came back to help Patrick and I get out. She finally managed to get the door open and we were freed! She said she would arrange for a late check-out for us and then said goodnight. I think we all finally got to sleep by about 2:30! What a welcome to WDW!

DAY 1: (Tuesday, December 10th)

We considered our first two days at WDW to be "free" days as we had not planned on having them. We woke up around 9:30 and had a chance to examine our All-Star Music Room. It was larger than I had expected, clean and very nice. Katharine and I walked up to the food court to get some breakfast to bring back to the room while Patrick and Caleb showered. We got a variety of bagels and pastries plus drinks and the total was about $10. We took the food back to the room and ate. Katharine had seen the Piano Pool on the WDW planning video and I knew she would love to try it. The night before had been very chilly but the day turned out bright and sunny so she and Caleb changed into bathing suits andheaded for the pool. The spent about 45 minutes swimming while Patrick and I walked around the resort . We found the pressed coin machines near the arcade and so began our collection. We met them back in the room and all got ready to go and check in at Fort Wilderness. I had paid for the room the night before so we had Express Check-Out so we just left when we were ready. We made the short drive to Fort Wilderness and checked in around 11:30. Our site was available so we drove straight there and set up our gear. We had site #1328 which was located on Tumbleweed Turn.

We have a large tent plus a dining/screen tent. It took us about an hour to get everything set up. We were all very hungry by the time we finished so we decided to go to the Trail's End for lunch. We hopped aboard the Dale Bus (interior FW bus) for the short trip to the Pioneer Hall area. The Trail's End was busy but there was no wait for a table. Our server, Nancy, came over quickly and took our drink orders and told us to help ourselves to the buffet. There was a large salad bar, soup, chili, a variety of breads, hot dogs, hamburgers, fried chicken, pizza, spaghetti and more, plus a large selection of desserts and fresh fruit. Our meal was very good and the total, including tip, was $26. From here we walked over to the Settlement Trading Post to get Katharine an autograph book. We found some more pressed coin machines here and a few more right next to the Pioneer Hall Guest Services window. Our collection was growing!

We headed back to the campsite to regroup and figure out what we wanted to do next. Katharine said that she wanted to ride Body Wars first so EPCOT it was! The kids spent some time at the Playground next to our loop and then we caught the Boone bus to the TTC. We stopped at a ticket booth and had our AP vouchers changed into actual APs and then took the monorail from there to EPCOT. We got there around 4:15 and were heading to Body Wars when we noticed the lack of a line at Spaceship Earth. We changed gears and rode this first. Katharine liked everything except the filmed lightning. She thought the space scenes were great! I like Jeremy Irons naration although I did miss hearing Walter Cronkite. Given the choice between the two I think I would have to choose Walter (more because he is familiar than anything else).

As we left the building I noticed it had turned cooler. Since we could not all ride Body Wars Katharine and Caleb went off to do this while Patrick and I went to buy him a sweatshirt. By the time we had accomplished our mission Patrick had fallen asleep in the stroller. I got the shirt on him without waking him and we headed for the Land (our pre-arranged meeting spot) stopping briefly to see the Fountain Show. When we got to the Land I realized that they do not allow strollers in the building and it was getting very chilly outside. The nice CM at the door saw that Patrick was sleeping and told me we could take him downstairs in the elevator. Patrick and I waited on the benches just inside the door until Caleb and Katharine arrived and we then went downstairs for dinner at the Sunshine Season Food Faire. During dinner Katharine told me all about Body Wars and Caleb mentioned that she had exclaimed "Mayday" throughout the ride which provided entertainment for the gentleman sitting next to her. Katharine gave the ride a "thumbs up" and declared it her favorite ride at WDW! (Of course it didn't have much competition since it was the first ride she went on!) After dinner Katharine and I went to see Food Rocks while Caleb waited with Patrick who was now awake but not very chipper. Katharine loved the show and it would become our "Most Visited Attraction" by the end of the trip. It was now about 6:45 and we decided to head back to Fort Wilderness. We caught a monorail back to the TTC and a Boone Bus back to the loop. We were all tired and in bed by 8:30!

DAY 2: (Wednesday, Dec. 11)

I woke up around 6:30 and went over to the Comfort Station to shower. There were 4 showers, one of which was handicapped accessable. The showers were clean and all 4 were available. After I finished getting ready and returned to the site Patrick was awake so I dressed him and the two of us went to the Trading Post for milk and juice for breakfast. The were having a porch sale and I found two HoND frames with Esmeralda and Clopin (K & P's favorite characters respectively) marked down by 50%! We bought them and the breakfast items and headed back to the site. By this time Caleb was awake so he headed to the showers while I roused Katharine (generally not an easy task) and got her ready. After our light breakfast of Cheerios, Nutragrain bars and juice/milk we caught a Boone bus for the TTC where we again took the Monorail to EPCOT. We found the AP entrance and Katharine went through (she didn't have to do the finger scanning thing), Caleb and Patrick went through and then it was my turn. As I would come to realize during our trip the finger scanners just didn't like me! I reached for my license but the CM just buzzed me in without asking for it. I guess I looked honest! Katharine wanted to see Ellen's Energy Adventure so we headed there and were just in time for the beginning of the pre-show. Katharine thought it was funny (she's a big Bill Nye fan!) and didn't realize that there was more to the show. We then moved into the vehicle loading area and ended up in the front row. We rode the rest of the ride with Katharine holding my hands over her ears as it was incredibly loud.

Caleb and I enjoyed the show much more than the old one but we also both moved the special screen from the old pre-show. Katharine also enjoyed the show and said she wanted to do it again, but then she noticed we were right next to the Wonders of Life pavillion and decided she would rather ride Body Wars again. We went in and she and I got in line, only to find that there was no line.

After the ride we met up with Caleb and Patrick who were wandering around the pavillion and we stopped for some apple juice at the snack bar. The Anicomical Players were just beginning a show so Caleb and Katharine headed over to watch while I stayed with Patrick at the table. When they returned we got ready to go. As I stood up I saw Sport Goofy across the pavillion so I grabbed Katharine and her autograph book and we went to see him. This was her first autograph and she was quite pleased. When we got back to the table Caleb took Patrick to meet "Foofy" as he is one of Patrick's favorites. We then headed out and toward World Showcase. When we got to World Showcase we walked toward Canada as we were going to have lunch in Morocco. As we passed through France I spotted a Clopin plush at one of the push-carts. We had been in search of this item for a long time (well, actually since Caleb had seen one in the Heathrow airport but didn't buy it) and I immediately purchased one, only to find that it was ON SALE! Wow! I gave Clopin to Patrick and then notice the Djali plush. Katharine had been told that she could pick any plush character she wanted and I asked her if she would like Djali. She said yes and I then found out the Djali was on sale too! Both of them came to little more than the original price tag on each. From here we walked over to Morocco. When we got there we found Aladdin and Jasmine in the courtyard. Katharine grabbed her autograph book and got in line (a pro already!). After getting their autographs we headed in for lunch. We were seated immediately at a table just off the "stage" area (actually a large marble floor-space in the center of the dining room). Caleb and I each ordered the Emir's Platter which had Vegetable CousCous, a pastry filled with beef, another filled with chicken, almonds and cinammon (Yummy!) and a skewer of meat. He chose chicken and I chose beef and then we split them.

Kathrine chose the Brochette of Chicken which came with french fries and which she shared with her brother. She also tried some of my cous cous and liked it (It was delicious.). Shortly after we got there the entertainment started. A man came out and began playing a variety of instruments. Shortly thereafter the belly dancer came out dressed in gold from head to toe. Katharine was enthralled. She began to dance and then removed her cape under which she was wearing a beautiful beaded top and long flowing gold skirts. Katharine was mesmerized. Then she came over and asked Katharine to come dance with her. I began kicking myself because I had not brought the video camera and our still camera had not yet arrived from Maryland! Katharine danced with her for quite a while and then the whole restaurant applauded her. The look on her face as she returned to the table is one I will remember for the rest of my life. It was one of those moments I will look back on misty-eyed when she is grown and a part of me is glad it was not documented anywhere. It is more special to me simply as a memory. The dancer then made a round of the restaurant and then returned to the central stage. Before she left she asked Katharine to come up one more time and K nearly leapt out of her chair! It was a wonderful meal, a wonderful experience and well worth the $50 price tag (including tax and tip).

After lunch we decided to head over to the Studios for the rest of the day. As we passed through France we noticed the silhouette artist setting up her supplies so we decided to have one made of the kids. We actually bought 4 copies, all framed, so we would have copies to give the grandparents for Christmas. It was very affordable, $40 for four copies, and we were very pleased with the finished product. From here we walked to the International Gateway and caught a boat to the Beach Club where we transferred to a boat for the Studios. We arrived at the Studios and I again had trouble with the finger scanners. They again buzzed me in without ID and we were off down Hollywood Boulevard.

We decided to do Muppetvision 3D and on our way we stopped at the Sci-Fi Diner to see if they had any late afternoon Priority Seating times available. They gave us a card for 3:45 and we were off to Muppetvision. Katharine loved the show and really enjoyed the 3D effects.

After the show we headed toward Star Tours. Katharine and I rode while Caleb stayed with Patrick. Katharine just loved this ride and decided she wanted to do it again. This time she rode with Caleb while I went for a walk with Patrick. Caleb and Katharine rode two more times while I waited with Patrick and then we headed for the Sci-Fi. We were a little bit early so we stopped to enjoy the Hollywood Hit Men who were performing just a little way down the street. They were great and I was pleased to see that they were still around. After their show we headed to the Sci-Fi to check in. The CM said we would be seated shortly so we sat to wait. We then noticed that Patrick had a "full load" so Caleb went off to change him. Of course it was just about this time that they called our name! I explained the situation and the CM said to let her know when the rest of our party returned. A few minutes later I let her know that we were all present and we were seated immediately. Originally we had planned to just get some desserts but we decided, instead, to have a light dinner. The kids shared the mini-burger meal (more than enough for two with small appetites) and Caleb and I shared the Chicken Tender appetizer and an order of onion rings. Our waitress, Sherry, was terrific, spending a lot of time with Katharine, and we really enjoyed the restaurant.. The chicken tenders were some of the best I have ever had. We all shared the Cookie Monster dessert and our total was $23, including tax and tip.

After dinner we decided to head toward the Tower of Terror. We stopped first at the Great Movie Ride. They only had one side of the line going so we did not have a choice of hijackings. We ended up on the gangster side and Katharine really enjoyed the action, at least once she thought of it as being in the middle of a play! After the GMR we headed down Sunset Blvd.

It was dark by the time we got to the Tower and this made it all the more foreboding. The attraction opened just a few weeks after our last visit in '94 so we had never experienced it before. Katharine decided that she did, indeed, want to ride so she and I headed for the line. The CM at the line entrance measured her against the sign and said that because she was so close a final determination would have to be made at the elevator. I was a little nervous that she wouldn't be able to ride. We went through the "pre-show" area which I thought was extremely well done. The line to the elevators was a little long but it only took us 10 minutes to get to the front. The CM at the elevators didn't look twice at Katharine and we ended up in the front row next to a very nice couple who had ridden before and could explain things to Katharine. The man was rather tall, however, and the bar rested well above my knees, let alone Katharines. I was a little concerned about her safety but just put my arm around her and held on. We got to the first stop and I could tell she was a little nervous. Then, when the car started moving forward I could tell she was really nervous. We did the drops and came to the end and she said she would never go on the ride again. We stopped to buy the picture (in which Katharine has her hand firmly planted over her eyes!) and then met up with Caleb and a sleeping Patrick at the exit. Caleb then went to get in line (we completely forgot about the switching off option) and I asked Katharine if she wanted to go with him. She again declared that she never wanted to go on the ride again and no sooner did Caleb leave than she changed her mind! Oh well, he was too far gone already so I promised her we would do it again sometime. We waited on a bench with a woman who had chickened out and Katharine proceeded to give her a blow-by-blow account of the ride.

The woman couldn't believe that Katharine had done it. Shortly thereafter she changed her mind and went to get in line! Caleb came off the ride and gave it a thumbs up and we then headed back to Fort Wilderness.

We took the bus from the Studios to the Wilderness Lodge and planned to catch the Boone bus from there back to the campground. Katharine decided that she would like something to drink so we went into the Wilderness Lodge and found Roaring Forks. We bought one of the WL mugs (we would be staying at the resort the following week), which we filled with soda and Katharine and Patrick got some juice. We also shared one of the very large Rice Krispie/Cocoa Puff treats but decided we liked the unspoiled Rice Krispie treats better.

After our snack, during which we filled the mug two more times...already a bargain, Katharine asked if we could stay to see the animal show. Caleb and Patrick headed back to Fort Wilderness while Katharine and I waited for the show. Regan from Discovery Island came with a King Snake (appropriately named Elvis) and a Screech Owl. The show was a lot of fun and Katharine really enjoyed it. After the animal show was over James from WL Guest Services came out with a copy of Peter Pan, a large basked of mints and some souvenir picutres and declared it was Storytime. Not one to pass up a story Katharine asked if we could stay and I said yes. After the story James asked some trivia questions and the child who answered correctly received a mint. He made sure every child got one and only one mint (not an easy task since there were at least 15-20 kids there) and then asked some harder questions, the answering of which would be rewarded with one of the photographs. Katharine was chosen to answer a question and received a 5x7" picture of the characters in front of the Castle. After this we caught a Boone bus back to Fort Wilderness. When we got back to the site we found that our package from Maryland had arrived. Yeah, we now had our camera! We unpacked the box and then went to sleep.

DAY 3: (Thursday, Dec. 12)

This morning I managed to sleep later than 6:30 and was awakened at 7:30 by Patrick saying "Hi! Hi! Hi!". We all got up and got ready to go and then drove to the Village. We arrived around 10:00 and the parking lot was already very full. After finding a space we headed to the World of Disney. I had heard a lot about this store and was not at all impressed. It just seemed to me to be a lot of wasted space. In any event we looked around for a while and Katharine found an Alice in Wonderland doll that she wanted to spend her money on. I also found a Belle dress (the blue one with Mrs. Potts and Chip embroidered on the apron) that I bought for Katharine. We are taking her to BatB on Broadway for her 5th birthday in June and the dress will be perfect! We also bought some postcards to send to Katharine's friends at home.

Caleb went to put the package in the car while the kids and I sat to write out some of the cards. When he returned we ventured over to the Rainforest Cafe where we were to meet Carla (faeriedustbunnies) and her hubby/SO for lunch. We had arranged to meet at 11:00 with the stipulation that if either of us were not there by 11:15 we would go ahead and eat. Not knowing who I was looking for we waited until about 11:25 before going in. We had one of the priority seating coupons so I wasn't worried about a line. When we did decide to go in, however, there was no wait so I put the coupon away for next time. We were seated in the Gorilla room and Patrick was enchanted. Katharine didn't particularly like the thunderstorms but didn't over-react. She just sat quietly and played with Alice until they were over. I had heard a lot about the Mojo Bones so Caleb and I decided to split an appetizer order of them. They were incredible! We each ordered the tuna sandwich rolled in a pita and while I thought mine was great Caleb declared his "too fishy". The portions were huge. The kids shared a chicken nugget child's meal. There were 8 chicken nuggets so there was more than enough for the two of them. We had no room for dessert after all that food, although I think I will make sure to leave some next time. They looked incredible. The total for our meal was $44, including tax and tip.

From the Village we drove over to the All-Star resorts. We wanted to collect the pressed coins from the AS Sports and drop off a comment card concerning the wonderful job Nadia (our check-in CM at the AS Music) had done on our first evening. We were scheduled to meet another Internet friend, Nancy Ford, and her husband, Kirby, in the Magic Kingdom at 3:00 so we then drove to the Polynesian and took the monorail to the Kingdom. It was only 1:45 so we took the train to Toontown. I was surprised by the number of characters out and about. We saw Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Chip & Dale, Mary Poppins and Governor Ratcliffe. After getting autographs and posing for pictures Katharine noticed the Barnstormer. She and I got in line while Caleb and Patrick waited for us at the train station. It only took 10 minutes to go through the line and Katharine loved the ride. We had enough time for one more ride so she and Caleb went this time while I stayed with Patrick. While we were waiting Minnie Mouse came into the station area and sat on a bench near us. It was fun to watch all of the families come to meet her. For a short time there was no line to see her so Patrick wandered over and tried to share his crackers with her.

When Caleb and Katharine returned we caught the train back to the Main Street Station where we were to meet Nancy and Kirby. We were going to be sharing our Breathless Cruise with them the next night and they had asked if we could meet in the MK one day to ride Splash Mountain together. We met up with them right away and they had saved seats upstairs at the station for us for the 3:00 parade! We watched the parade and I enjoyed it a great deal. I do think they need to rethink the stopping and the interacting with the guests. I imagine it's fun if you are in the parade but it sure is boring for the rest of us watching. There were a couple of times when there was absolutely nothing to watch and I noticed several people near me who seemed to be getting restless. Other than that I thought it was a great parade and I especially liked the "Remember the Magic" theme song.

When the parade was over we hopped back on the train for the ride to Frontierland. I was a little bit concerned about Katharine getting on Splash Mountain but she made it! Thank goodness for fashion. I think her chunky-heeled sneakers really helped to push her over the top as far as the height requirement! Nancy, Kirby, Katharine and I all got in line while Caleb waited with Patrick at the baby-swap area under the train station. The line was about 20 minutes long but was, of course, well worth it. I just love this ride! Katharine had a blast and we bought the picture at the end not only because her face showed absolute joy but because we had ridden with our new friends. By the time we got out to Caleb and Patrick, however it was about 4:45. We had a 5:00 priority seating at the Crystal Palace and we didn't want to chance it so Caleb decided not to ride.

We headed for the CP and checked in on time. We were seated immediately and noticed that the restaurant was only about 1/3 full. Oh well, guess Caleb could have ridden Splash Mountain after all! Our server came out right away and took our drink orders and then Katharine and I headed for the buffet. Just before we got there, however, we noticed that the characters were heading for our side of the dining room and that they were just a couple of tables away from ours. We decided to postpone dinner and waited first for their visits instead. Eeyore, Tigger and Pooh came in quick succession. Patrick was nearly beside himself. He kept blowing kisses to them before they got to us and then hugged, kissed and patted them while they were with him. Katharine was very patient in waiting for them to finish with her brother before getting to her. She asked each for their autograph and took their pictures with her small camera.

After the meet & greet we again headed for the buffet. There was a large salad bar with various salads and peel & eat shrimp. On the hot buffet were pasta dishes, baked chicken, a couple of fish dishes, vegetables and carved turkey and beef. There was also Pooh Corner, a child-sized buffet for kids featuring mac & cheese, chicken fingers, pizza and more. Caleb and I filled our plates twice and the kids also ate more than normal. The dessert bar had soft-serve ice cream with various toppings, apple cobbler, assorted cakes and cookies and strawberry shortcake fixings. We easily managed to stuff ourselves and then asked for the check. Just as it arrived the fireworks started. Our server told us to go outside and watch the show and worry about the bill afterward! Only at WDW! We all enjoyed the fireworks and then went back inside where Caleb paid the bill. I noticed that the characters had left the floor during the show and I asked a CM when they would be back out. She said they would return in a few minutes so we waited for them. When they came out we asked the CM with them if we could get a picture with all three and she was more than accommodating. We all put on our Mickey-ear Santa hats and got into formation. Pooh sat on the floor in front of the rest of us and indicated that he wanted to hold Patrick on his lap. We had been taking pictures with our Christmas cards in mind and we knew that this was going to be the one. Now we just had to develop the film and get the copies made! Again I felt the Disney magic!

We left the CP and headed down Main Street. Everyone was setting up for the Very Merry Christmas Party as we left. We headed toward the resort monorail platform and it took forever to get on a train. The didn't seem to have enough trains for the crowd and it took about 45 minutes to get back to the Polynesian. From there we drove back to Fort Wilderness.

Caleb and Katharine headed off to the Campfire program to see The Jungle Book while I stayed behind to put Patrick to bed and do some laundry. They returned around 9:30 and we all went to bed.

DAY 4: (Friday, Dec. 13)

This morning we were awakened around 8:00 to Patrick chanting "Mickey, Minnie, Pwuto, Foofy, Simba...ROAR". After a quick breakfast at the campsite I spent a few minutes finishing off my roll of film and then we headed off-property to get it developed. We found a 20-Minute Photo place on 192 and waited while the pictures were processed. The two pictures of us at the Crystal Palace were great but only one was shot horizontally so that is the one we went with. We ordered our reprints and then headed back to WDW.

We parked at the Beach Club and walked to the International Gateway. I again had trouble with the finger scanners but this time finally got it to work. We started around World Showcase toward Italy where we had a 12:00 priority seating. As we passed through France we saw Quasimodo, Esmeralda and...CLOPIN! We stopped to get pictures and autographs and then were on our way. When we got to the American Adventure we spotted Pluto with reindeer antlers. Looking around we noticed that we had hit the character jackpot! Mickey and Minnie were out, dressed in their Christmas best, Santa Goofy was close by, Chip and Dale had their caps and scarves on and we even found a couple of the Reindeer (turned out to be Comet and Vixen). We spent some time meeting and greeting and then were on our way.

We arrived in Italy at about 11:45 and went to Alfredo's. They do not start seating until 12:00 so we waited in the lobby until our name was called. We had a lovely banquette table. Caleb ordered the lasagne, I had the Fettucine Alfredo and the kids shared a child's meal of the same. They gave us sliced Italian bread and a bowl of olive oil seasoned with garlic to dip it in and our server took our drink orders. The food came quickly and was very good. Patrick loved the fettucine and Katharine ate a fair amount. We passed on dessert and decided to work our way back to France and the Patisserie instead. Our lunch total was $45, including tax and tip.

As we were leaving the Italy pavillion we noticed a "Kidstop" area. We wandered over and saw that kids were busy making necklaces using pieces of string and Mickey Mouse shaped pasta. Katharine wanted to make one so we waited for a seat and she went to work. In the meantime Caleb stopped by one of the carts to buy her a World Showcase passport. They were validating the passports at the activity area so when Katharine was done with her necklace she got her first passport stamp.

We then walked toward the American Adventure and found out that they were validating the passports in the Liberty Inn at another "Kidstop" location. Here they were making Christmas ornaments using colored beads and pipe-cleaners. Katharine made a lovely wreath and had her passport stamped.

In Japan there was no "Kidstop" location so Caleb and Katharine went into the store for the validation. When she came out she was all excited and told me that the "girl wrote bottom to top and backwards (right to left). We talked a bit about different kinds of writing and then we moved on to Morocco. Again, there was no "Kidstop" here so we just had the book stamped. Katharine was fascinated by the Arabic that the CM used to write her message, especially because she wrote from right to left.

We moved on to France and stopped at the Boulangerie Patisserie for dessert. Caleb had an apple tart, Patrick and I shared a chocolate mousse/meringue/cake confection and Katharine had a cup of chocolate mousse. As we left France we noticed their "Kidstop" location. They had set up easels among the kiosks and kids were painting away. There were no available easels when we got there so Katharine had her passport validated and we walked to the International Gateway. Katharine noticed Belle and we went to meet her. There was nobody behind us in line so Belle was able to spend a good amount of time with Katharine. She found out that we were headed to the Studios and told Katharine to make sure to see her in her show.

We left EPCOT and Caleb and Katharine took the boat to the Studios while Patrick and I drove over. We met up on Hollywood Boulevard around 3:30 and decided to catch the 4:00 show of Beauty and the Beast. We arrived just as they were beginning to let people in and ended up with excellent seats in the 2nd row. We really liked the pre-show entertainment and the show itself was very well done. When it was over and the characters were taking their bows Belle and Katharine made eye contact and Katharine got a special wave. This made her day and her excitement and happiness made mine!

After the show Katharine and Caleb went to ride Star Tours while Patrick and I walked around a bit. This was my "home park" when I was a WDW CM so I wanted to check out everything that was new. I even ran into a couple of people I had worked with, which was a nice bonus. Patrick and I had some time to kill before meeting up with Katharine and Patrick at 5:20 so we got some popcorn and soda and people-watched for a while. We then met the others in front of Sid's and left the Studios.

We had a little bit of time before our 6:30 priority seating at O'Hanas so we stopped by the Caribbean Beach and Port Orleans for the pressed coins. We then drove to the Polynesian and had the valet park our car. We found the Poly's pressed coin machines and added them to our collection. We arrived at O'Hanas at 6:00 and decided to see if we could be seated early. It was not a problem and we were seated immediately. Yoko, a CM, took us to our table, stopping first to show us the dessert tray and to pick up some bread for our table. This bread was terrific! Our server, Heather Rae, was terrific. She had three tables seated at once so she did a sort of group explanation of the meal and then took our drink orders. Another server brought us a tray with some salads and dipping sauces for our meats along with some duplings and other appetizers. While we were beginning our meal the hostess called for all kids to come up for a coconut race. Katharine and I went up and she got a coconut and a broom. All of the kids lined up and then used their brooms to push their coconuts around the restaurant. They had to cross under a grass skirt, held high by two servers, and each child then received a handful of sno-caps spooned from a large, beautiful shell. Katharine returned to the table with her prize and we allowed her to have a few sno-caps to celebrate the race. By this time we had been served a dish of vegetable lo-mein (yummy!) and Heather Rae had brought our drinks. She then came back with long skewers of sausage, chicken legs and turkey and we began the feast. Everything was delicious. When we had finished these the strolling entertainer called again for the children to come up and each was given a hula hoop. After an amusing time of trying to get them to hula hoop they were told to take the hoop to an adult sitting at their table. Since I was already up with Katharine she decided she must take the hoop to Caleb. When all of the adults assembled on the floor it was their turn to hula hoop. Now, Caleb is a great husband and father, but he just does not have hula hoop hips! It was a lot of fun for us to watch him try though! When we returned to the table Heather Rae was back with skewers of beef tenderloin, ribs and very, very large shrimp. Wow! This whole meal was excellent. We had no room for the a la carte desserts so Heather Rae brought us 2 pineapple quarters and a bowl of caramel. I never thought these two would taste good together but they were incredible! We will definitely be going back to O'Hana on future trips. Our total was $75, including tax and tip.

After dinner we waddled out to the car and then headed back to the 20-Minute photo place to pick up our reprints. We then drove to the Yacht Club which we had planned to explore before our 10:00 Breathless Cruise but Patrick fell asleep in the car. Caleb decided to stay in the car with him while Katharine and I went into the hotel. I sat in a chair and assembled our Christmas cards while Katharine watched The Land Before Time on a nearby television. It was very near the end of the movie and when it was over a CM from the Bell Services Desk brought out several videos for her to choose from. She chose Mary Poppins and settled down to watch while I finished the cards. We dropped the cards in the lobby mail drop just as Caleb and Patrick came through the front door.

We all headed out to the marina to meet up with Kirby and Nancy for the Illuminations Cruise. We all boarded the Breathless and our driver took us for a ride over to the Studios and then to EPCOT. We parked directly under the bridge near the International Gateway and the driver got out and moved Caleb and Katharine from the back seat to the front so they could have a better view. The driver then stood under the bridge during the show. It was a great way to view Illuminations but I wouldn't pay the $125 for it. Kirby and Nancy had offered to pay for the cruise with their Food & Fun coupons and it is well worth the 4 coupons it took. The view was good but you couldn't see many of the countries. Since this was Holiday Illuminations that didn't matter as much as it would have with the old show. The Breathless was a great way for us to see the show without fighting the crowd.

DAY 5: (Saturday, Dec. 14)

We woke up around 8:30 and headed to the showers. When we were ready to go we decided to have breakfast at the Trail's End. We took the Chip bus to the Pioneer Hall stop and walked to the restaurant. We arrived around 9:45 and there was a line out the door. It moved quickly, however, and we were seated in about 15 minutes. Our server took our drink order and we headed toward the buffet. There was a great deal to choose from, including scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, mini Mickey waffles, french toast, a "breakfast pizza", fresh fruit, cereals, buiscuits, bagels, donuts, oatmeal and more. The total for breakfast was $23, including tax and tip.

After breakfast we headed toward the marina and rented a couple of Water Sprites. We spend a half an hour zipping around Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon with Katharine alternately shouting "Go Faster! Go Faster" and "Slow Down! Wait for Daddy and Patrick!". Ah, the mind of a 4 year old!

After returning the Water Sprites Katharine and Patrick played on the large playground nearby while I went to buy River Country tickets for Katharine and Caleb. We headed back to the campsite where they changed into their swimsuits while I started a couple loads of laundry. I put Patrick down for a nap and they headed off to swim. They spent about 4 hours at River Country but stayed mainly in the large heated pool. Katharine gave the place a thumbs up.

In the meantime Patrick woke up and we all decided to head for the Magic Kingdom. I was a little nervous about the crowds as it was a Saturday but we figured we could always head to EPCOT if they were unbearable. We waited for a bus and decided to take whichever one came first. The Boone bus was the winner so we rode to the TTC and took the monorail from there.

We arrived at the MK 3:20, just as the parade was making its way down Main Street. Caleb took the kids to watch whatever they could while I went to rent a stroller. Okay, first stress-filled moment of the trip. There were not any available strollers for rent and the line was quite long. I decided to wait as I figured that as soon as the parade was over some strollers would be returned. Well, I was right, but Strollers and Wheelchairs must have been understaffed because they could not seem to process the returns and give them to those of us in line. Soon people started leaving their strollers all over the place rather than wait to actually return them and utter chaos ensued. I finally managed to get a stroller and we headed into the park.

By this time I was bordering on grumpy and felt as if we had made a big mistake. We hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast so we headed for Tomorrowland and Cosmic Ray's. There were fairly long lines at all of the registers but we decided to wait. Katharine wanted a hamburger so we all went with burgers. It was just easier that way. I read the menu and noticed that the only kids' meal they had was chicken nuggets. I was going to get Katharine a regular hamburger when I noticed that they had a double-burger on the menu. Katharine never eats the bun so I got one of these and removed the second patty for her. Caleb also got a burger and Patrick ended up with the nuggets. I must say that this was one of the best hamburgers I have had. It really was great. Our total for dinner was $16. Oh, and of course as soon as I sat down with the food I glanced back and every register was line-free! ...SIGH...

After dinner we decided to head to Fantasyland to see how long the lines were. We came to the Mad Tea Party and Katharine asked if we could go on it. The line seemed a little long but we decided to wait. It actually only took about 15 minutes to get into a teacup and we had a great time. Next we walked to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. The line here was only about 10 minutes long...my spirits were lifting. In quick succession we went on Snow White and the Carrousel and then we noticed there was no one waiting for the Lion King show.

We walked over and the CM said a show was just about to start. Great! Patrick had been saying "Simba...ROAR!" for days now so it was about time we filled his request. This show opened just about a month after our last visit so I had never seen it. I was very impressed and equally entertained. The kids loved it too and we left the theater singing the Circle of Life.

We walked toward Peter Pan, my all-time favorite, but the line was quite long so we decided to save that for another day. We walked across the way to Small World and rode that instead. At first Katharine didn't want to ride as she thought it might be scary. By the time we got off the boat, however, she was begging to get back on. We managed to convince her to head for Big Thunder Mountain instead. On our way we detoured to the Haunted Mansion but it frightened Katharine and we said we would try again in the daytime when it would seem less scary.

On to Big Thunder! The CM at the front of the line was distracted as we got in line so he did not tell us that one of us should wait near the exit with Patrick while the other two waited in line. So...we all waited in line. It only took about 20 minutes to get to the front of the line and then Caleb and Patrick went through the car to the exit platform and waited there for us. Patrick was not pleased about not being able to ride. Katharine really enjoyed the ride and when we got off she asked if she could ride again with Caleb. The CM said sure so off they went while Patrick and I waited outside.

When they returned we all headed to Splash Mountain. Caleb and Katharine went through the line (about 15 minutes) and rode while I waited with Patrick. He was getting a little restless and I knew that Caleb was tired so when they returned I suggested that Caleb take Patrick on the WDW Railroad and then back to the campsite while Katharine and I rode Splash again and stayed for Spectromagic. Caleb thought this was a great idea so off they went.

Katharine and I rode Splash again and then headed for the Plaza Restaurant for a treat. We ordered an ice cream sundae to share. It was absolutely huge! When we left the Plaza I noticed it had turned quite chilly and although Katharine had a sweatshirt on she was also wearing shorts. We looked on Main Street for some sweatpants but there were none to be found. I bought her a large WDW sweatshirt instead and used her solid purple sweatshirt as sweatpants instead. (Odd-sounding I know, but it did the trick.) We then went to wait for the parade.

We found a spot on the curb down near Tony's and waited about 25 minutes for the parade. Katharine really loved this parade and was just thrilled with Snow White came over and told her she was pretty. She also got a handshake from Mary Poppins and a personal wave from Cinderella. It was a great evening. After the parade we headed toward the Fort Wilderness ferry. I noticed that Katharine was coughing a lot. On the ferry back she coughed so hard that she spit up a little. I took her back to the campsite and got her cleaned up and put her to bed and then I washed out her sweatshirt. She didn't cough much that night so I thought things were fine. Oh...how wrong I was...

DAY 6: (Sunday, Dec. 15)

We all slept in and woke up around 8:30. Caleb said he felt a little bit achy but thought it was from the chilly air the night before. We got ready and headed to EPCOT. We rented a stroller and then headed to the Land for our 10:55 priority seating at the Garden Grille. This ended up being our longest wait for a table and we were not seated until about 11:15. Breakfast here includes biscuits and gravy, cheesy grits, sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, cheesy potatoes and pull-apart cinammon rolls.

No sooner did we sit down than Patrick spilled a pitcher of cream that was on the table. Shortly thereafter he managed to spill his cup of apple juice. We helped to clean up the mess and then settled in for breakfast. Chip, Dale, Farmer Minnie and Farmer Mickey make the rounds during meals at the Garden Grille and we all received straw hats to wear. The kids also received souvenier cups with their drinks. We really enjoyed this meal but our server was less than adequate. He brought the initial skillet quickly enough but then proceeded to ignore us for the rest of the meal. He finally brought our check and I asked if we weren't supposed to get cinammon rolls. He said yes we were, why? I told him we hadn't gotten any and he looked at me with a puzzled expression and asked if I wanted some to go. I said that I would rather eat them before we left and he seemed confused. He finally went and got some and we ate them as dessert. We still hadn't seen Minnie anyway so this gave us time for her to get to us. Our server finally came back and we gave him our resort ID. It took about 15 minutes for him to get back to us. Needless to say our displeasure was evident in our tip. Our total for breakfast was $34 and it was only later that we realized that they hadn't charged us for Katharine.

We left the restaurant and, since we were in The Land, we had to go to Food Rocks. Just outside the entrance we found Rafiki and Timon so we stopped for autographs and pictures and then headed in to the show. This was Patrick's first FR experience and he really enjoyed it.

After FR we left the Land and headed to Imagination. We had not yet seen Honey, I Shrunk the Audience so we decided to do that first. I had been warned about the mice so I when I sat down I made sure to sit Indian-style in my seat. Katharine's legs weren't long enough to hit the floor so I didn't worry about her. I must say that this was one of the best shows I have ever seen. I had worned Katharine about the semi-scary parts so she knew what to expect and she gave the show a thumb's up too. She particularly like Quark's finale. After HISTA we went to Journey Into Imagination which Katharine and Patrick both loved.

When we left Imagination I checked the time and saw that we still had about 40 minutes before the 2:30 RADP meet so we headed for a last ride on Horizons. I have always loved this attraction and still do but I can see why WDW wants to replace it. It seems old now and I think the space could be used to much greater advantage. In any event I video-taped Horizons and then we headed to the Fountainview Cafe for the RADP meet.

It took a while before I notice Alicia sitting at a table with her nametag on. We sat with her and her husband for a while and then I decided to take a look around to see if I could find anyone else. I found Barb (Gardenia), Mike and Julie Bachand and a man without a nametag chatting at a nearby table. Well... the man turned out to be...Kenny! It was great to meet everyone. I noticed a family come up on the patio looking as if they were searching for someone. I didn't approach them and a few minutes later realized that they fit the description of Jeff Spencer and his family. Jeff has confirmed that this was, indeed, them and I am sorry we didn't get a chance to meet. Maybe next time! In any event, we had a lot of fun chatting with everyone and made sure to take some pictures before we left. Barb handed out "red-dot" pins from Mama Lani (thanks Mama!) and we all shared our WDW stories. The meet broke up around 4:30 and we headed toward Germany as we had dinner plans there.

We passed through Norway and Katharine said she wanted to go on the ride there. We got in line and waited about 25 minutes to get on a boat. Caleb and Katharine stayed for the film at the end while Patrick and I went to look around the gift shop. We met up a few minutes later and continued toward Germany. As we approached the pavillion we noticed Snow White and Dopey. We stopped for the necessities and then went to check in for dinner. We shared a table with another family but they didn't seem too interested in chatting so we concentrated on the show. It was much the same as I remember except they had added some Christmas touches. This was my first experience with the restaurant's new buffet format and I must say I was very pleased. My family is ½ German and I grew up eating the foods served here. They were all very well prepared and I had a great time! (Of course the ½ litre of Beck's probably helped too!) Near the end of the show they asked for the chidlren to come down for a dance. After some coaxing Katharine decided to go and was quite pleased with her choice when they handed out chocolate coins. We passed on dessert and decided to head back to Norway for some pastries instead. I have long been a fan of the Rice Cream served there and just had to get my "fix". Our total for dinner was $50.

On our way to Norway we passed through China and Katharine and Caleb stopped to get her passport stamped. She also made a Christmas Card in which the CM wrote a Chinese greeting. While Patrick and I were waiting for them to catch up we entertained ourselves with a rousing rendition of "If You're Happy And You Know It". By the time we were finished we had attracted a few other toddlers who happily joined in. We ended up ordering two Rice Creams, a jam-filled waffle and a cinammon roll which we all shared. Yum! Dessert cost $11.

After dessert we decided to head back to the campsite but of course we had to stop to see Food Rocks AGAIN! We also did the Living with the Land boat ride which Katharine really liked. After this we did head back to Fort Wilderness for our last night there. Caleb was still not feeling well so he and the kids went to bed while I got some things packed up for the next morning.

DAY 7: (Monday, Dec. 16)

Caleb and I got up early to pack up the gear while we let the kids sleep. He didn't complain of achiness today so I thought it had passed. Katharine, too, had no more serious coughing bouts so I thought we were free and clear. We managed to pack up the campsite in record time before waking the kids in order to pack up the tent and air mattresses. We got everything done by 9:00 and then went to check out. After this we headed to the Wilderness Lodge. We arrived there at 9:30 and had the Bell Services CM take our luggage. I then went to check in and was told our room was all ready. Great! We headed upstairs to find it and I was thrilled to see it was located right on the lobby on the sixth floor. A perfect location. We went in to find the bunk beds we had requested and Katharine was up on top in record time! I decided to take a quick shower while we were waiting for our luggage to arrive but called Lodgekeeping for a crib first. By the time I finished showering both the luggage and the crib were there. I dressed and we were off to EPCOT for our 11:30 lunch at the San Angel Inn. We went to the bus stop to wait for an EPCOT bus but a Crockett bus was waiting so we took it to the TTC and then monorailed to EPCOT. I had heard some bad things about the transportation at the Lodge but so far so good.

We arrived at EPCOT and headed for Mexico. I had made the priority seating for 11:30 because that is when they start seating and I figured we would have a better shot at a waterside table. My planning paid off. We were seated right at the water's edge and we all enjoyed watching the boats go by during the meal. I ordered the Mole Poblano, Caleb had a dish I do not remember the name of (layered tortillas, lettuce, veggies, chicken, etc.) and the kids shared a beef burrito kids' meal. Caleb and I also shared the Tostada con Pollo appetizer. The food was great and we agreed that the San Angel stays on our favorites list. Our total for lunch was $45, including tax and tip.

After lunch I went into one of the shops off of the main plaza to see if they had a particular shirt in stock. I had received one of these shirts as a gift on our last trip and had worn it so much it finally deserved to be retired. They had the shirt in stock (a white cotton shirt with peach embroidery) and I even managed to find one in the same colors for Katharine. After making my purchase we went on "El Rio del Tiempo" and then headed out of the pavillion. We noticed a "Kidstop" location near the exit and Katharine stopped to make a crown and to get her passport stamped.

After this we headed toward the Wonders of Life pavillion so Katharine could ride Body Wars again. While there we also went to see Cranium Command and then we headed back to the Wilderness Lodge to explore a bit. Had I known we would get sick the next day I would have stayed in the park that afternoon, but hindsight is, of course, 20/20. Patrick fell asleep on the way back to the WL but managed to wake up just as we were laying him in his crib. I decided to give him some time to settle back down so I went to put on a load of laundry while Caleb and Katharine got ready to go swimming. When I got back I stayed out in the hall watching the lobby below while they headed toward the pool. I soon realized that Patrick was not going to go back to sleep so I got him in his bathing suit and took him down to the pool.

I realized that Katharine's Djali was missing and remembered her playing with him in the lobby when we checked in. I called down to see if they had him and they said that they didn't. I tried to call Dining Reservations to make arrangements for Katharine to go to the Cub's Den that evening but their system was down and remained so for the entire afternoon. I went down to collect the dried laundry and when I returned to the room the message light on the phone was blinking. It was the Front Desk and they *did* have Djali! Just then everyone returned from the pool so I got Katharine dressed and we went down to collect Djali. The tag around his neck said that Wendy had found him in the lobby. Katharine's mouth fell open and she said "Wendy found him? Peter Pan's Wendy?" I played along as we walked to the Cub's Den. We got there right at 5:00 and I asked if they had room for Katharine that evening. They did so I left her there, telling them I would pick her up at 6:30 for dinner, and went back to the room. We relaxed for a while and, at 6:30, went to get Katharine for dinner. Although I had told them I would be picking her up for dinner they had fed her. AARRGH! Oh well, at least she ate her entire meal! That was a first.

We were going to Whispering Canyons and I knew that Katharine had wanted to do the pony races there so she came along anyway. A child's dinner is only $5.95 so we paid for her and just let her eat what she wanted. Patrick eats enough for both of them so we didn't feel like it was wasted money. Katharine ate some corn-on-the-cob while we worked on the rest. We noticed a lack of festivity in the restaurant which surprised me since I had heard a lot went on here. We finally went to ask if there would be a stick-pony race that night and they told us they couldn't have one while the holiday entertainers were performing in the lobby. We understood this and waited for the 20-minute performance to end. Even when it ended there didn't seem to be any activity so Katharine asked our server, Katie Coyote, if there was going to be a race. She said she would get one going and she did. Katharine had a great time and didn't even notice that she didn't get a "prize". (They had run out of ice-cream certificates.) After this another server in the area noticed Patrick and had great fun pushing his high-chair from table to table so he could be part of other families. Surprisingly Patrick seemed to love all of this, even though he is going through a shy phase. He was finally returned to us in time for our dessert of cobbler and ice cream and then we paid the check. Our total was $55, inluding tax and tip.

After dinner Katharine begged to go back to the Cub's Den so I took her back for another hour and a half. She made it just in time for the Discovery Island animal show and later told us she was the first one picked to pet the alligator. At 8:15 Caleb took Patrick down to see the animal show in the lobby and he came back upstairs saying "Animals, animals, gator, gator." Caleb put him to bed while I picked Katharine up. She really enjoyed the Cub's Den and we decided to send her back on another evening if possible. We relaxed in the room for a while watching the Disney Channel and then we drifted off to sleep. Katharine wanted me to be her "Bunk Buddy" so Caleb had the nice Queen-sized bed to himself that night. This would turn out to be a trend over the course of our stay!

DAY 8: (Tuesday, Dec. 17)

We got up at 7:15 and got ready to go. We filled our WL mugs with hot chocolate and headed for the boat to the MK. We just missed one so we waited about 20 minutes for the next one. We arrived at the MK around 9:20. Caleb and Katharine were feeling a little sick. We rented a stroller, put both kids in it and headed for Adventureland. We found Baloo and stopped to meet him and then headed for the Jungle Cruise. There was no line so we quickly were on a boat and on our way. Aimee was our guide and it was nice to see women finally working this attraction. When I worked at WDW in 1990 both the Jungle Cruise and 20K were male-CM only attractions. Katharine really liked this ride and Patrick kept shouting "Animals!".

After the JC we asked Katharine if she would like to try Pirates but she said no. Instead we headed for Splash Mountain again. Katharine and I waited in the line which took no more than 5 minutes to go through. After the ride she and Caleb went back in and rode again. We then headed to Big Thunder but by this time the crowds seemed to have caught up with us. We had 12:00 priority seating arrangements at Spoodles but Katharine said she wanted to stay in the Magic Kingdom instead. Since we were going to Spoodles for her anyway (and their make-your-own-pizza) we didn't mind the change in plans.

We had had just a light breakfast so we decided to get an early lunch and headed toward the Columbia Harbour House, stopping in Frontierland and Liberty Square to get Katharine's MK passport stamped.. I was sad to see they no longer offer fried shrimp but settled on the chicken strips instead. The kids also shared a chicken strips basket and Caleb had the clam chowder in a bread bowl. Our lunch total was $19. The chicken strips were really great and Caleb gave a thumbs way up to the chowder.

After lunch Katharine seemed tired so we headed back to the Wilderness Lodge. Caleb, Patrick and Katharine all napped (and Katharine NEVER naps) while I explored the hotel. It is now my favorite resort at WDW and the holiday decorations were just beautiful. I was a little sad that we only had two more nights there and secretly wished that we could move our Contemporary package here instead. I headed back to the room around 3:30 to wake everyone up so we could get ready for the Hoop-Dee-Doo Review. Katharine seemed warm and was still very tired but managed to get up and get changed. We left the Wilderness Lodge around 4:00 and caught a Boone bus to Fort Wilderness. Again no trouble with the WL transportation. We arrived at Fort Wilderness at 4:15 and I went to check in for the show. When I had made the reservation I had requested a table on the floor as I thought it would be easier for the kids to see the show. When I checked in I asked if my request had been honored and it had been.

We had some time to kill so we headed for the petting farm. Katharine went on a pony ride and then we spent some time feeding the goats and chickens. I have never heard Katharine laugh as hard as she did when those chickens came running for the feed. It was quite a sight! We headed back toward Pioneer Hall around 4:40 to find some of the Fort Wilderness staff holding sing-along on the porch. Everyone seemed to join in and it was a lot of fun. We also had time to browse the carts they have set up in front of PH and found a man making necklaces. Each necklace had a vial filled with water hanging from it and in the vial was a grain of rice with a name on it. You could have your own name done and Katharine asked if she could get one. They weren't very expensive ($11) so we said yes. She chose some purple beads to go on it and the man wrote her name on the rice (not an easy task with a 9-letter name!). She proudly wore her new necklace as we got in line for the show.

Seating began a few minutes later and we were escorted to our table. It was pretty far back but we had chairs that were taller than those in the front so we had a perfect view. They even brought Patrick 2 high chairs, one stacked on top of the other, so he would be able to see. We have been to this show before and it was pretty much the same. The food was very good and our server, another Katie, made sure we had plenty of everything. She even took it upon herself to bring Katharine some plain pasta and fresh fruit when she saw she wasn't eating much. Unfortunately this had more to do with her cold than with a dislike for the fare. Katharine did manage to eat some food and enjoyed the show very much. I was glad to see she seemed to be feeling better.

One thing...the show was the same as it always has been but they did sing a number of Christmas songs which was very nice. After dinner we boarded a Crockett bus back to the Wilderness Lodge. We were back at our room by 7:30 and Katharine went right to bed (WHAT???). She didn't even want to go down for the Animal Show so Caleb took Patrick down. They came back to the room about 8:30 and Caleb and I relaxed for the rest of the evening while the kids slept. At about 3:00 Katharine woke up in the middle of a coughing fit. She was very warm but we didn't have any Tylenol with us. I remembered that the shop at the All-Stars was open 24 hours a day so Caleb decided he would head over there to get some Tylenol. He stopped at the Front Desk to make sure the shop would, indeed, be open and the CM, Paul, told him he could get him some Tylenol from the Mercantile. He opened the store, got the medicine and took the price tag so he could charge it to our room. Caleb was back in 10 minutes and Katharine was able to go back to sleep right away. Thanks Paul!

DAY 9: (Wednesday, Dec. 18)

We woke up around 8:00 and got ready to go. We were headed to the Studios and this was our first encounter with transportation problems. We waited at least 20 minutes for a bus which wasn't so bad, but some people at the front of the line had already been waiting 20 minutes when we got there. The bus finally arrived and we were on our way. Katharine struck up a conversation with the two women behind us and they chatted all the way to the park. We got to the Studios around 9:45 and headed for the Tower of Terror. Katharine was very lethargic but in fairly good spirits and wanted to ride the Tower again. We all got in line and found there was no wait to go into the library. Once through the pre-show we waited in a very short line and Katharine and I were on the elevator in about 2 minutes. Caleb and Patrick took the "regular" elevator to the exit and waited there for us. To our surprise we found ourselves seated right next to the two women from the bus! Katharine was not as scared this time and decided she liked the ride much better in the daytime. When we got off the ride and found the others she decided she wanted to ride again with Caleb. The CM said this was fine so off they went. They returned about 10 minutes later and we headed out.

On our way I decided to get Katharine a ToT T-Shirt so I stopped in the gift shop. I went to pay for the shirt and gave the CM my resort ID. She processed the card and said it came up declined. Hmmm? I asked her to try again and she did, with the same results. I had had to replace my ID at the WL the night before as it wasn't opening our room door so I figured something must have happened there. I told the CM this and asked her if she could call the hotel. She looked as though she didn't believe me and suggested that I may have overspent my limit. I assured her I had not spent $3,000 and she asked me, in a rather snotty tone, if I was sure. I asked again if she could call the hotel and the CM at the next register said it was possible. My CM informed me that it would really take up too much of her time but she would do it. Frustrated I gave her my last $20 bill and paid for the shirt, making a note to find a cash machine in the near future.

From here we headed to Star Tours and Katharine rode with Caleb. It was now about 11:15 so we headed toward the Soundstage for lunch. We had a 12:00 priority seating but we figured we would see if any characters were out in the courtyard. We found the Beast, Prince John, the Sherrif of Nottingham and Tigger. We did the necessary stuff and then checked in at the Soundstage. It was only about 11:35 but we were seated in 5 minutes. The lunch buffet was quite extensive including various salads, fresh fruit, breads, baked chicken, assorted hot vegetables, beef stew, mashed potatoes, sliced pork and more. The kids' buffet had Gypsy hot dogs (hot dogs and cheese wrapped in pastry), chicken tenders, mashed potatoes, corn, mac & cheese and french fries. There were a couple of extra "stations" around the room with breads and other goodies on them. The dessert table had wonderful cakes along with jello, cookies, sprinkled cupcakes and more. The characters here were all wonderful and very attentive. We saw Belle, Clopin, Quasimodo, the Genie, Meeko and Aladdin. Caleb and Katharine still weren't eating very much (which really stinks when it's "All You Care To Eat), but their spirits were good and we had a great time. Our lunch total was $45, including tax and tip.

After lunch we stopped to collect the pressed coins from the machines by the door and then headed for the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playscape. Katharine had a lot of f un here and even made a new friend, Laurel. The two of them played together for about a half hour and then we had to leave for the Hunchback Show. We arrived just as they were beginning to let people in and we managed to snag some seats on the center aisle right next to the stage. We were about 7 rows back and I was a little afraid Katharine wouldn't be able to see much but it worked out fine. The show was really great and we enjoyed the pre-show juggler as well. At the end of the show when the characters come down the center aisle for their "curtain calls" Quasimodo spotted Katharine, dressed in her Esmeralda outfit and clutching her Djali, and knelt down to see her. He shook her hand and told her she looked beautiful and when he left she was beaming. After the show we headed back to the Wilderness Lodge. Katharine was supposed to go to the Neverland Club that evening but she seemed very tired and we decided to wait and see. When we got back to the room there was a message waiting from the Front Desk saying we could extend our stay at a special rate if we wanted to stay. Caleb said we should find out what the rate was and I got very excited about the prospect of staying here a few more nights. I called down and explained that we had a Jolly Holidays package at the Contemporary for the next three nights but would love to stay on at the WL if it could be switched. They said they would look into it and call me back. In the meaintime I remembered my problem in using my resort ID for charging so I headed down to the Front Desk with Patrick. While I was there I mentioned the situation and asked if they had been able to make the switch. Everything was taken care of in about 10 minutes and we actually saved about $100!

As we were leaving the Front Desk a group of WL staff came out with jingle bells and had a sing-along in the lobby. Patrick and I stopped to watch and dance a little and then we headed back to the room. Katharine had fallen asleep and didn't wake up until about 4:30. She was a little warm so I called the Neverland Club and told them she wouldn't be coming. I went down to Roaring Forks and got her a peanut butter sandwich. It was a double-decker sandwich and was served with grapes and a large Rice Krispie treat. A real deal for $3! It was supposed to get very cold over the next few days so Caleb and Patrick went off for one last swim while Katharine ate ¼ of the large sandwich along with some of the grapes. Her spirits really seemed to pick up and she was no longer warm so I again called the Nev. Club and asked if they still had room for her. They did so she and I headed over. We took the Boone bus to the TTC and walked to the Polynesian from there. I dropped her off at 6:00, got my beeper and headed off to the Marketplace. I managed to finish my Christmas shopping and then headed back to pick her up. I arrived at 8:00 to find her watching a movie. The CM on duty said she had eaten some dinner and had kept busy at the Arts and Crafts table. I paid for her stay and we headed back to the WL.

We arrived there around 8:30 and Katharine went right to bed. Patrick was already asleep and Caleb was relaxing and watching TV. I still hadn't had any supper so I headed down to Roaring Forks and got a burger which I brought back to the room. Caleb thought it looked good so he decided to go get one too. When we finished eating we relaxed for a while and then went to bed.

DAY 10: (Thursday, Dec. 19)

This was the day we had planned to switch hotels so I hadn't planned much else. Now that we were staying at the WL we had the whole day free. I had to go down to the Front Desk to check out and then check back in as we were going onto a package. While I was going downstairs I also decided to do a couple of loads of laundry. Caleb decided to take the Lodge tour at 9:30 so I moved our breakfast priority seating time back to 10:30 from 10:15. The Lodge holds a "Ladybug Release" every Thursday at 10:00 and since Katharine loves ladybugs we decided to check it out. Unfortunately it was so cold (temps in the 30's and 40's) that the release was cancelled. The kids and I hung out in the lobby watching The Lion King on the TV near the Front Desk and then met Caleb at Artist Point at 10:30. The breakfast here features Pocahontas, John Smith, Meeko and Governor Ratcliffe. For several days before this Katharine and I had peeked down into the restaurant from the overlook on the floors above to try to catch a glimpse of the characters. Now we were finally here. The characters were all terrific and the food was okay. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't anything spectacular. The wheat pancakes were actually very good, as opposed to what I'd heard on the group, and we also had french toast, bacon, sausage, potatoes and scrambled eggs. They also serve a bakery basket to start the meal. Children under three are free, as with all fixed price meals, and Patrick received his own complimentary plate with eggs, potatoes and a pancake. Katharine still wasn't eating but she managed to finish her chocolate milk so at least she was getting some fluids. Her spirits were good but she still looked very tired. The characters at this breakfast all played it up and we all had a good time.

After breakfast we decided to go to the Magic Kingdom. We had left our winter coats in Maryland on the way down so we put on turtlenecks and sweatshirts and set off. We decided to take the boat but after 5 minutes of waiting on the dock we were frozen so we changed our plans. Instead we decided to head for the bus stop and take the first bus that happened by.

We ended up taking the Crockett bus to the TTC and then another bus to the Marketplace. We figured we could take other buses from there to various resorts but we ended up spending our time in the Marketplace instead. It was pretty empty, probably due to the cold, and my mother-in-law had given me some money to find something for myself for Christmas. Even though the Marketplace was empty the World of Disney was PACKED! I spent some time looking around and found absolutely nothing. I really am not impressed with that store.

We stopped to get the pressed coins at Guest Services and then headed back to the Wilderness Lodge. Katharine and I began the hidden Mickey hunt while Caleb and Patrick napped. We found 7 of 10 before it was time to get ready for dinner. Oh, while we were hunting the staffmembers came out again for another sing-along. Debbie from Bell Services noticed Katharine and asked if she would like to ring her jingle bells and sing with them. Katharine went right up with them and had a wonderful time.

We were to meet up with some internet friends at Chef Mickey's and just made it for our 5:30 priority seating time. They had not yet arrived so we waited at the Outer Rim. We finally met up with them about 5 minutes later and checked in with the hostess. We were seated quickly and our waitress took our drink orders. She noticed that we were two families and asked if we would like separate checks. Very helpful! We enjoyed getting to know our new friends between trips to the buffet. I was impressed with the food selection. There were a variety of salads, peel and eat shrimp, hot dishes, vegetables and sliced turkey and prime rib. The dessert table had various cakes and pastries, a soft serve ice cream machine and a really neat toppings bar. Katharine was very quiet during the meal and fell asleep about ½ way through. We were at a table against the wall so we laid her on the floor out of the way and she napped through the rest of dinner. Chip, Dale, Minnie and Mickey all stopped at our table and we visited Goofy in the entry. I enjoyed the dinner but was concerned about Katharine so really didn't get into the festivities. I want to go back on our next trip so we can really enjoy the place.

After dinner we headed back to the Wilderness Lodge, stopping first to get the Contemporary's pressed coins. As I looked around the 4th floor Concourse I couldn't help but be thankful we decided to stay on at the Lodge. It was just so much more homey and much more our styles. We'll save the Contemporary Tower and it's wonderful views for a future stay when the castle is back to normal.

We took the monorail to the TTC and then the Boone bus back to the Lodge. Katharine went back to sleep just as soon as we got her into bed and Caleb and Patrick went to see the Animal Show in the lobby. I realized that we had left Katharine's WL mug on the table at the Contemporary so I called Chef Mickey's. They had the cup but when I said I wouldn't be able to pick it up until the next night they said it would be at Lost and Found. When the "boys" came back Patrick went to bed and Caleb and I watched TV for a while before going to bed ourselves. I could feel the beginnings of a sore throat and hoped I was not coming down with The Bug!

DAY 11: (Friday, Dec. 20)

This is the one day I would love to erase from memory. When Caleb woke up he couldn't open his eyes. They were crusted over and stuck shut. The teacher in me immediately thought "Pink Eye!". When Katharine woke up one of her eyes was in the same condition and it frightened her. After calming her down and wiping away the gunk I called our doctor at home. One of his staff said they would call a perscription into a local pharmacy for us but they weren't sure if this were possible since we were so far away. After a quick call to the local Walgreens I assured them it was fine. Feeling relieved we went down for breakfast at Whispering Canyons. The food was the same meal served at Artist Point but here it was served in a cast iron skilled and placed on a lazy susan in the middle of the table. Oh, the only difference was that here we got waffles instead of the french toast...an improvement in my opinion. Our server never let our orange juice glasses get more than half empty which was very welcome, considering our health status! I didn't think they did anything special at breakfast but at one point one of the servers led us all in an abbreviated version of the hokey pokey. We had a lot of fun and I was happy to see Katharine polish off her milk and actually eat a little something. I was more concerned about her lack of food intake than I was with her cold.

After breakfast I headed off to Walgreens while the others went to rest in the room. I got to Walgreens and they had no record of our perscription. Uh-oh. I went outside and used a pay phone to call our doctor. They said they wouldn't be calling in the perscription until after 1:00! Sure...now they tell me. Frustrated I headed back to the Lodge.

I met up with the others and Katharine and I finished the Hidden Mickey hunt. We took our completed sheet to Guest Services and received our prizes. By this time Patrick was napping and Katharine decided she wanted to rest too. I left her in the room with Caleb and then went down to the lobby to sit in front of the fireplace. (It was another VERY cold day.)

At 1:30 I called Walgreens to make sure our perscription had been called in before I went over there. It hadn't! I called our doctor again and they said they didn't know when it would get done. They are usually terrific but I was feeling very frustrated and angry by this point. I begged them to call it in ASAP and they said they would do what they could. I went back to the room and explained the situation to Caleb. He, too, was frustrated and his eyes were very itchy. He called the doctor and also asked them to do what they could. I waited a little longer and called the pharmacy again. This time it had been done so I headed off to pick up the medicine. I got back to the Lodge around 2:45.

We had reservations for the 5:00 Jolly Holidays Dinner Show and a bus was to pick us up at the Lodge at 4:00 so we got ready and headed downstairs around 3:40. We were just in time for another staff sing-along and once again Debbie from Bell Services found Katharine and had her join in. This time Jonathan, the leader of the festivities notice Katharine and introduced her to the "audience". She was very happy. I even noticed a member of the WL staff taking Katharine's picture, perhaps for some staff photo album?

We had to leave the sing-along before it was over so we seperated Katharine from her bells and headed outside. There was a Mears bus waiting with a Jolly Holidays sign in the front window. I thought it was strange that they were using outside transportation and wondered if perhaps Disney owns Mears. Anyone know? Anyway...we made it to the Contemporary Convention Center by 4:10 and waited for seating to begin.

We expected a long wait but they actually began letting people in at about 4:30. We were escorted to our table and found that it was just one back from the main stage. I looked around and wondered how on Earth the people in the back of the hall could possibly see anything. It really is too big a hall for the show and I feel sorry for anyone who got stuck in the back. The round tables were each set with 10 place settings and I noticed that there were two high chairs set up at our table. I felt relieved that we would be sharing our meal with another young child. There's nothing worse than finding yourself seated with a bunch of other people who give your child nasty looks all evening!

Our dinner companions did not appear for quite a while. We helped ourselves to the salads, bread and wine, making sure to leave the appropriate amount for the others. The salads were okay and the bread was very sweet, more of a pound cake. I found myself longing for a plain old dinner roll! Two of our table-mates, a couple from Ontario, arrived at about 4:45 and we chatted with them for a while. At nearly 5:00 our other companions arrived. They were a family of 4, also from Ontario. Their daughter was 4 and their son 1 ½. It was perfect!

Katharine was feeling a little warm and didn't want to eat anything. Patrick, on the other hand, ate with his usual gusto. I found the meal to be okay, but nothing spectacular. I couldn't believe we were paying so much for so little. I was thankful that it was included with the package price. The show was very good and I was glad to see sign-language interpreters incorporated into it. Although Katharine didn't eat she seemed to enjoy the show and at least stayed awake through the whole thing.

When the show was over we headed into the Contemporary to collect our mug that we forgot the night before. I spent about 20 minutes waiting in line at the Front Desk, only to be told that Lost and Found was closed for the night. AARRGH! I headed back upstairs to find my family and noticed that Katharine was laying on one of the couches. We had tickets to the Very Merry Christmas Party but I realized that she wasn't really feeling up to it. She was also coughing quite a lot. We decided to go in and get our picture taken and ride a few rides, but to make it an early evening.

We took the monorail to the MK and entered the park. The temperature was dropping and it felt like it was only in the upper 30's. Again, we didn't have our winter coats. Patrick was wearing a T-Shirt and two sweatshirts. Katharine only had one sweatshirt so I stopped on Main Street and bought her a larger sized shirt to put over the one she already had. I also bought the kids Pooh mittens. They were $11 a pair and I was kicking myself for leaving ours home.

We skipped the parade and headed for Fantasyland. As we passed the castle we heard an announcer saying that the outdoor stage show would not be performed because of the cold. I guess the dancers' safety was the reason. It really was VERY cold. We made it to Fantasyland and walked onto Dumbo. After this we rode Snow White (walk-on), Peter Pan (walk-on), Peter Pan again (10 minute wait this time), and Small World (walk-on).

There was a short line for pictures at Small World but we knew we wouldn't be in the park much longer so we decided to wait. It took about 10 minutes to go through the line and get photographed. We also were given our VMCP buttons.

After this we went into Pinocchio's to get something to drink. We managed to get Katharine to drink her apple juice and then we headed to the Haunted Mansion. We just missed getting in so we waited for them to open the doors again. Katharine was really coughing by this time so we decided this would be our last ride. Katharine said she was having second thoughts about the HM but decided to go anyway. I don't think she really liked the ride but she did keep her eyes open for the whole thing.

We exited the HM and stopped to make a decision about what we would do next. Caleb said he was tired and would be happy to take the kids back to the Lodge if I wanted to stay. I thought about it for a few minutes but decided it wouldn't be much fun without them so I decided to head back too. As we left the MK and waited for a monorail the fireworks started. We weren't able to see very much but did see some of the peripheral stuff that was shot off near the monorail platform. Katharine was asleep on her feet so I picked her up and she fell asleep in my arms. We took the monorail back to the TTC and went to the bus stop. There was a Crockett bus waiting but no Boone bus. We knew that the Crockett bus would get us to the Lodge eventually (after going through Fort Wilderness) so we decided to take it. We figured that even a long ride in a warm bus was better than sitting in the cold. We made it back to the Lodge around 11:00 and called it a night.

DAY 12: (Saturday, Dec. 21)

We woke around 9:00 and I checked everyone's health status. Katharine seemed to have gotten better and everyone else was still the same. I knew I was coming down with it but vowed to finish our vacation before I let it get to me.

We had had lunch reservations at the Prime Time for the day before that I had cancelled because of the turn for the worse in our health. I had rescheduled for 11:00 this morning so we got ready and headed to the Studios. We went to the bus stop only to find that we had just missed the Studios bus. Since it was already 10:00 and we had had bad luck with the Studios bus before we decided to drive.

We arrived at the Studios at about 10:30 and walked to the Prime Time. We decided to wait in the lounge until they opened the restaurant at 11:00. I was able to check in and I asked if we could possibly be seated at one of the dinette tables with the Tvs. They wrote the request on our card and at 11:00 we were escorted to our table...just what we wanted! Our big sister Shannon came to take our order and immediately chastised Caleb for putting his elbows on the table. Katharine had been looking forward to eating at the place where they "yell at the Moms and Dads" so she was quite amused by this. I looked over the child's menu with her and was thrilled to see they offered Spaghettios. Now I am not usually thrilled to give my child Spaghettios, but I knew it was something that she would eat plenty of and at this point that was all I was looking for. We ordered a hot dog for Patrick, Caleb got the soup & tuna sandwich and I ordered the meatloaf. Caleb also ordered a milkshake but Shannon informed him he would not get it until the meal was served as she didn't want him filling up on ice cream. When lunch came his milkshake looked so good that Katharine and I decided to split one. It was quite yummy and very filling. between that and our lunch we had no room for dessert. Our lunch total was $48 but well worth it considering my daughter actually ate something.

We were doing so well this morning that Caleb and I decided to add an extra night at the All-Stars and stay until Monday. Now I know we had been at WDW for nearly two weeks already but I really felt like we were leaving on a down note. I figured one more day would do us good and we didn't have anywhere to be until Christmas so it worked out fine. I called CRO from a pay phone to make the arrangements and then it was off to Star Tours.

Katharine rode twice - once with each parent and then we decided to try the Monster Sound Show. Caleb was picked to be one of the Foley artists so it was even more fun than usual. He did a great job and we gave him a rousing round of applause when he was finished. On our way out we stopped in the Soundworks for a while and made sure to do the 3D audio activity in the sound booths. Katharine thought this was neat and she also enjoyed some of the other activities found here.

Next we went to the Great Movie Ride and rode on the Western side. We again ended up in the front row but this time Katharine wasn't as scared because she knew what to expect. Our driver, Rennie, had her help him out with some of his dialogue and she was sorry to see him get shooed away by the cowgirl bank-robber. He finally returned and when the ride was over he gave her an Honorary Oscar award for bravery. She was thrilled.

We had reservations for the Candlelight Processional that evening so we decided to head to EPCOT. Our car was at the Studios so Patrick and I drove while Caleb and Katharine took the boat. At the last minute I remembered to give Caleb Katharine's AP. I hate to think what would have happened if I hadn't remembered! We met up at the Land pavillion and saw Food Rocks one more time. We then rode Living with the Land again as well.

After the Land we decided to head toward World Showcase and our 5:00 priority seating at Les Chefs de France. We bought some hot apple cider in Canada on our way and arrived in France at 4:50. We checked in at the restaurant and were seated about 5 minutes later. I had been told that we would have a limited menu to choose from but this was not so. We had a choice of soup or salad for an appetizer but after that the full menu was wide open. Caleb ordered the tenderloin and I ordered the prawns. Katharine decided on the chicken and pasta but made sure I ordered it without any sauce. Our waitress was great and I enjoyed speaking my limited French with her. When our meals came she realized that the kitchen had put sauce on Katharine's meal and took it back. She returned a few minutes later with a completely sauceless dinner and Katharine was very pleased. She ate fairly well and drank all of her milk...very encouraging. My dinner was excellent and Caleb declared his to be superb as well. Patrick enjoyed sampling all of our dinners but seemed to enjoy Caleb's the most. For dessert Caleb ordered the Grand Marnier soufflee while I ordered the Creme au Caramel. Katharine received a dish of ice cream which she shared with her brother. The whole dinner was wonderful and in adding it up I realized that it would have cost nearly what we paid for the CP package.

After dinner we headed back toward Canada so Katharine could get her passport stamped. She also had her face painted with a beautiful candy cane. We stopped into some of the shops as I was still looking for something to spend my mother-in-law's money on. I didn't find anything and noticed that many of the shops no longer stock unique merchandise. Most notabe was the toy shop in the UK pavillion. It used to stock Paddington bears and other uniquely British toys but now contained mostly Winnie-the-Pooh merchandise, most of which could be found elsewhere in the park. In any event we headed toward the American Adventure and spent some time here letting the kids run around before the 7:30 show.

Katharine and I got in line at about 7:05 because we thought it was getting kind of long. When we got over there it turned out that the long line was for people without the package. Our line was rather short but we decided to wait anyway. We stood behind a family who's daughter was performing that night. They were very proud and it was a lot of fun to chat with them. Caleb and Patrick found us about 5 minutes later and seating began about 5 minutes after that. The narrator for this performance was Joseph Marcell. For those of you who have seen the Fresh Prince of Bel Air you would have recognized him right away. He played Jeffrey, the butler, on the show. He has a lovely British accent and his rendition of the Christmas story was wonderful. At the end he was very gracious and asked us to applaud the young people in the chorus as they were our future. It was very moving. I had never been to this show before and was very glad we had saved it for last. The chorus was wonderful and I found myself filled with the Christmas spirit. Katharine fell asleep about 5 minutes before it ended so we plopped her in the stroller and headed out of the park.

We took the tram to the parking lot, found our car and drove back to the Wilderness Lodge. We put the kids to bed and I packed up some of our things. Caleb made a trip to the car with some of our bags and then we went to bed.

DAY 13: (Sunday, Dec. 22)

I woke early and packed up the rest of our things. I reminded Caleb that we had a 9:35 priority seating at King Stefan's and then went down to the Front Desk and checked out but told them we weren't out of the room yet. I then drove over to the All-Star Music Resort and checked in. I made it back to the Lodge by 8:30 only to find that Caleb had not yet gotten Katharine up. I got her out of bed and dressed in record time which did not make her very happy. It was finally warm enough for her to wear her Alice in Wonderland dress that I had made her for Halloween and she looked very cute. Caleb took the rest of our things to the car and then we headed for the bus stop.

The first bus by was the Studios bus but I remembered that it had stopped at the Grand Floridian before it went to the Studios. We hopped aboard and rode to the Floridian where we got off. We stopped at their quarter press machine and then got on a monorail for the ride to the MK. We headed directly for the castle and checked in at King Stefan's at 9:20.

Katharine spotted the Fairy Godmother who was sitting in the foyer and she went to talk to her. Katharine was wearing her red Guest of Honor nametag so the FG knew her name but she also noticed that Katharine was dressed as Alice so she insisted on calliner her Katharine-Alice-In-Wonderland. She spent some time with Katharine and asked her to give Peter Pan the message that there are 136 songs about rainbows. Katharine promised to tell him and we were called upstairs. I have always enjoyed eating at King Stefan's but I must say that this was just about the worst breakfast I have ever had. The scrambled eggs were fine but the bacon was rubbery, the sausage was not flavorful, the banana-stuffed french toast was nothing like that at the Poly and was quite inedible and the potatoes were just disgusting. The characters, however, were wonderful. We saw Cinderella, Snow White, Belle and Peter Pan. I had been under the impression that there would be more characters but we were quite pleased with those that were there. When Pater Pan came by Katharine gave him the FG's message. He asked her to tell the FG that Lucifer had gotten loose in the kitchen. Katharine promised to tell her and did so on the way out.

After breakfast we headed toward the Mad Tea Party in the hopes that we would find Alice there. She wasn't out when we arrived so I asked the CM with the characters, Marcella, when Alice would be coming out. She said it would be about 5 minutes so we went on the teacups and then waited. When the new characters came out Alice was not among them. Marcella found me and said it would be another 30 minutes before Alice came out. I told her I didn't mind waiting but asked if she could check to be sure that Alice would be out then. She went off to ask and came back to tell us that Alice was on her way. Katharine was thrilled. We waited near the walkway where the characters come onstage and when Alice came out she and Katharine walked hand-in-hand over to the Tea Cups. I captured the whole thing on video, including the many people saying "Oh look, it's a little girl dressed just like Alice!" This made our day and Katharine was just beside herself. We thanked Marcella and made a note to stop at Guest Services to comment both her and Alice. As we were walking away from Alice Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum spotted Katharine and began poking each other and pointing at Katharine as if to say "Look at that!". They came up to Katharine and really played it up for her. They signed her autograph book (backwards!) and both kissed her hand. We then spotted the Queen of Hearts who also made a big deal about Katharine's attire.

After this incredible experience we headed for Tomorrowland. We had not yet been on any of the rides there and this was our last day in the MK. We went on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority and both Katharine and Patrick loved it. When we came to the unloading area there was no line so we asked if we could ride it again. The CM gave us the thumbs up and we were on our way. After this second ride Katharine wanted to ride the Astro Oribters. The sign said the wait was 45 minutes but my breakfast was not sitting well with me so I didn't mind sitting with Patrick and waiting for them to ride.

After this we stopped to get some Mickey Mouse ice cream bars. I made sure to film the kids as they tackled them as I have film from two years ago of a then 2-year-old Katharine doing the same thing. While they were eating their bars we spotted a trash can rolling through the crowd. To our surprise it spoke! Apparently it was looking for the end of the line for Space Mountain which stretched back to the entrance to the TTA! Katharine was very entertained by this and spent a long time watching it.

All of a sudden I realized that we had left Katharine's rice-grain necklace in our room in the WL. It had been hanging from a picture frame to keep it from harm and we had completely forgotten it. I called the WL and spoke with Lodgekeeping. They promised to send someone to get the necklace and said it would be waiting for us when we stopped by later that afternoon.

Katharine wanted to ride the Skyway so we got in line in Tomorroland. The sign said the wait was 40 minutes but we didn't wait more than 15. When we disembarked in Fantasyland we rode Small World again and then stopped at the Columbia Harbour House for a snack. Caleb and I shared some chicken tenders and Patrick had a hot dog. Katharine, who was still not eating, ate the animal crackers that came with Patrick's meal.

I really wanted to see the Christmas parade so we staked out a spot in Frontierland near Pecos Bill's. Katharine and I sat and saved the spot while Caleb took Patrick on a train ride and went to Mickey's Starland to get Katharine's passport stamped. It was now only 2:00 and there were people everywhere. Caleb and Patrick made it back by 2:40 and we waited for the parade. When Cinderella's carriage came through I noticed that it was the Cinderella we had met at breakfast. She spotted Katharine, waved and asked her if she was having a fun day. Katharine shook her head yes and watched the rest of the parade with a big smile on her face.

When the parade was over we decided to leave the park. It was getting very crowded and we were getting tired. On the way out Katharine asked to ride the Pirates of the Caribbean so we waited 20 minutes in line and rode it. It was our last ride at the MK for this trip.

We left the MK and Caleb decided to take the monorail to the Contemporary to pick up Katharine's cup. He took Patrick with him while I and a now-sleeping Katharine took the boat back to the Wilderness Lodge. I stopped by the Front Desk and explained our situation with Katharine's necklace and the CM went down to Lodgekeeping to get it for us. We then met Caleb and Patrick out at the bus stop and we headed for the car.

We drove to the All-Star Music Resort and found that our rooms were in the Broadway building as I had requested. (Katharine would rather listen to Broadway cast recordings than most anything else.) We fully intended to head to EPCOT for a couple of hours but ended up deciding against it. Patrick and I went to the food court to get Katharine a hamburger and I realized I was feeling very hot and woozy. I figured it was because of the lousy breakfast and the fact that I was hungry so when we got back to the room we ordered a pizza. Caleb went to pick it up while Katharine worked on her burger. She was very tired and decided to go to bed early. Caleb returned with the pizza and a sleeping Patrick in his stroller. Caleb and I ate the pizza while Patrick napped. When he woke up he ate some pizza and then proceded to go to bed for the night. I, too, was very tired and fell asleep very early.

I woke up coughing an hour or so later and proceded to get sick in the bathroom. Oh great! This was not exactly what I had planned when I thought about staying an extra night! I was now functioning on an empty stomach again so Caleb went to the food court to get me a hamburger. I really thought the coughing was what caused me to be sick but apparently not as shortly after I ate the burger it happened again. I decided to just go to sleep and actually managed to get a pretty good nights rest.

DAY 14: (Monday, Dec. 23)

We had every intention of stopping by the Studios before heading for home but it never happened. We woke up around 8:00, got some breakfast stuff from the food court and ate in the room. After this we asked Katharine if she wanted to go into the park and she said no so we got in the car and began our trip North.

ENDNOTES:

We really did have a wonderful vacation, despite our illness. There was a lot we didn't see but that is nothing unusual. I left WDW feeling more relaxed than I have in a long time. I think all of the down time at the Wilderness Lodge did a great deal for my mental health. If you have to be stuck somewhere with a sick family when you are on vacation that is the place to be!

SOME OTHER OBSERVATIONS:

1. The refillable mugs at the resorts are a great deal if will be there for more than a few days. We were at the WL for 6 days and definitely got our money's worth.
2. The castle wasn't as garish in person as I thought it would be. I do miss the old, traditional castle but thought this version was kind of festive.
3. The Wilderness Lodge was wonderful and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone. The service was top-notch and the resort's theming was perfect! Our Woods View room was right off the lobby and it was wonderful to open the door every morning and smell the wood burning in the fireplace and see all of the decorations in the lobby. Very magical.
4. We drove to WDW so we had our car, but we really preferred taking the WDW transportation. We had no problems and experienced very few delays taking the buses from both Fort Wilderness and the Wilderness Lodge. Perhaps things have gotten better since reports were made of problems or perhaps we had good luck. In any event we only took our car a few times and then it was because we were running late for something.
5. The Breathless Illuminations Cruise was a lot of fun but I would never pay $125 for it. I am glad we were using Food & Fun coupons! (Actually we were *planning* to use F&F coupons but our guests paid with theirs instead.)
6. Christmas time is a wonderful time to be at WDW. If you go then make sure you schedule some time to resort-hop so you can check out all of the decorations!
7. The Jolly Holidays Dinner Show was great but the meal was pretty terrible. Also, the hall is far too big to allow everyone to see.
8. The Candlelight Processional was absolutely terrific! I enjoyed it much more than the JHDS and was glad we had purchased the dinner package. It really put us in the Christmas spirit and we will make sure to do it again should we ever find ourselves at WDW in December.
9. I really enjoyed our RADP meeting and only wish some of the others had been able to find us.
10. Having APs really was wonderful. We didn't feel like we had to get a whole "day's worth" in the parks and could come and go as we pleased. They really helped make our trip very relaxing.
11. We did no touring plans. The only plans we had were meal plans and other than that we just did what we felt like when we felt like it. This, too, really made our trip relaxing.
12. Sure, we didn't see everything, but we saw what we wanted to and had a great time.

Well, that's it...finally! Bet you thought I'd never stop! (No need to send nasty or sarcastic comments!) If anyone has any questions please feel free to email me. I'm finally getting the house back in order (what with the trip and all the kids' Christmas "loot"!) so I find myself with a little more free time now!

Oh, and finally...T minus 254 days and counting!

Michele

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