Trip Reports

Particulars:

Travel Dates: December 4-8, 1997
Who: Me (Aileen - my 3rd trip to WDW)
Cassidy (my daughter, age 5 1/2 - her 2nd trip to WDW)
Bob (my Dad - Cassidy's Grandpa)
Carol (Dad's wife, Cassidy's Grandma)
How: Aileen and Cassidy on Airline Award Tickets from Baltimore MD
Dad and Carol by car from Upstate New York
Where: Disney's Polynesian Resort
Planning:

This trip began within days of returning from our May visit to WDW. It started out with just Cassidy and me going to see all the special Christmas shows and decorations and to enjoy some special time together indulging what maybe the only passion that two people 32 years apart in age can share equally.

No more had I booked the hotel package (Polynesian with Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party) and secured 2 airline award tickets (US Airways from Baltimore to Orlando) then Dad and Carol decided to join us. This trip was going to be dangerous - 4 juveniles with no grownup to watch us.

Much e-mail was exchanged to firm up where we wanted to eat - and then finally, October 5th arrived and I got to make all the 7am calls for Priority Seatings. I got a lot of mileage out of this one, since Dad and Carol were "suffering" through a 16 day cruise through the Panama Canal - I can't wait to retire. We got all the restaurants that we wanted and most of our seating times were within 15 minutes of our desires.

Packing was fun - 5 days in Orlando in December meant bringing clothing from several seasons - the good news was we were warm and dry. The bad news is I didn't have a good excuse to add to my Disney sweatshirt collection - so, who needs excuses!

Thursday, December 4, 1997

We woke to a cold rain, but we were going to WDW! Cassidy was so excited that she didn't even cry when we left in the shuttle and Scott (husband/daddy) was waving good-bye. We arrived at BWI without a hitch and checked our bag (knowing it would be much heavier on Monday. Flying on "free" tickets meant we had a connection in West Palm - this flight was a little late departing because of the heavy rain - we had our first ride even before the tram at MCO. Dad and Carol were waiting at the gate in Orlando and we were off. Our bag was waiting for us when we got down to baggage claim and we arrived at the Poly about 3:30. Check-in was smooth, but Dad and Carol couldn't figure out why I took so much longer to check-in then they did - well, I had to take care of all the Candlelight Processional dinner packages for that evening - my belated Anniversary gift to them - if you wait long enough an idea will finally come to you!

We dropped our stuff in the rooms and headed over to the TTC for the ride down to Epcot. Cassidy and I had to pick up Annual Passes - I had told Scott that they were only a little more expensive then 5 day passes and that this way we could go back sometime in 1998 without ticket costs - boy, do I know where all my commission dollars will be going in 98... Cassidy and I met Dad and Carol at the Garden Grill - we big kids decided that a character meal would be the most fun for all of us. I thought the food was better then expected - not great, but good - and the characters were great. Cassidy had a blast greeting them and taking pictures.

Then it was off to the Candlelight Processional - we arrived a little late, but had no problem finding seats - the only problem we had in fact was having to move a couple of the stantions holding the ropes so that Dad's wheelchair could roll down the aisle. George Kennedy was the narrator this evening and he was just amazing, as was the whole event - the singers were among the most talented I have ever seen and the woman signing the show was awesome.

After the show, we saw the Holiday IllumiNations and did some shopping (the 15% discount was much appreciated). Cassidy found some hidden energy and danced for a long time on the lighted sidewalks. We left and headed up to the monorail to get back to the hotel - Cassidy and I were able to ride in the front of the monorail - so, for her it was the perfect ending to an almost perfect day - she was sad because we didn't get to ride Figment yet.

Friday, December 5, 1997

We woke early and caught the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom for breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table - this was Cassidy's favorite meal in May and it turned out to be again this trip. Cassidy was wearing her new Belle dress and couldn't wait for Belle to see it. I can't be sure, but I think it may have been the same Belle we saw in May and if she wasn't, she was equally as good. I'm sure I saw Cassidy's head swell when Belle told her that she remembered her and how nice it was to see her again. Cassidy was floating on air by the time we finished breakfast and had kisses on her checks from Belle, Snow White, and Cinderella. I had to be sure to take pictures so Cassidy could see the lipstick.

After breakfast, we gave Cassidy the lead and followed her to whatever ride caught her fancy - she was so proud to take Grandpa on the rides in Fantasy Land and keep him from being scared. We had planned to go back to the rooms for a break in the afternoon and then return for dinner and the Very Merry Christmas Party. Well, Cassidy decided to take a nap in her stroller after lunch and since we were all enjoying ourselves and the crowds weren't bad, we decided to stay. This seemed like a good move at the time - we went over to Liberty Square to watch the parade - while we were waiting to get the elusive parade participation sticker for Cassidy, the Colonial Fife and Drum Band came marching up the street. When they stopped in front of us, I figured we would be treated to some good music - but it was even better - the bandleader walked over to us and asked if Cassidy would like to hold the flag. She got to wear a three corner hat and hold the flag while the band played. When they were finished, the leader read a proclamation announcing that Cassidy from Maryland was an official Founder of Freedom. Cassidy was still floating when the CM's arrived with the parade stickers. Doing my best pushy mother routine, I walked up and asked for a Beauty and the Beast sticker for Cassidy. Well, you'd think that this was the best thing to ever happen to her - she was so serious when the coaches explained what they had to do - she was worried that she might drop a plate. After she helped set the table and danced, she told us that Belle blew her a kiss from the float.

As we were checking-in for dinner at the Crystal Palace (Eeyore is my favorite) I realized that I didn't have our vouchers for dinner or the tickets for the Christmas Party. Well, dinner was an easy solution - I just charged Cassidy's and my dinner to our room and then took the vouchers to the front desk the next day and got dinner credited. The party tickets were another matter though - after eating, Cassidy and I made the mad dash back to the hotel (thankfully Dad and Carol are more organized and had theirs with them) to pick up the tickets and return to the park. Cassidy and I laughed all the way to the Poly - about how silly I can be and enjoyed our ride in the resort launch. We took the monorail back to the park - after carefully making sure that I had Cassidy, the tickets, room key, etc...

The Christmas party was even more then I imagined it could be. We saw Belle's Enchanted Christmas Show first thing and after the show Cassidy told us that Belle had given her another kiss. I'm afraid that I missed it because they invited all the kids to sit on the floor up front. Cassidy and I rode the carrousel before we walked over to Tomorrow Land for Mickey's Twas the Night Before Christmas. We caught most of the shows and had our picture taken before lining up for the second parade - wow! The parade is without description - much better then any other parade I had seen - already I want to go back... We left after the parade and went back to the hotel for some much needed sleep - Cassidy couldn't wait and was asleep in her stroller before we were out of the park.

Saturday, December 6, 1997

We all slept late this morning - how nice it felt to wake up on my own instead of to the telephone wake up call. Somehow the Christmas Carols weren't as pleasant as hearing Mickey's voice. Keeping things low key this morning meant having breakfast at 'Ohana's with the characters. Cassidy's luck held for this meal and Dale was at the table when they called all the kids to parade around the restaurant. Dale escorted her over and walked with her for the whole parade - boy, did she think she was special. We all enjoyed the food - ate much more then I should have - but, I hoped I would walk much of it off before dinner.

We left 'Ohana's and started for the Disney Studios. We planned to take the bus, until we found out that getting back would require several buses, since our late dinner at the Brown Derby would not allow us to catch the last direct bus. Well, Cassidy had heard bus and she was going to ride a bus - so, Dad and Carol drove down and we rode the bus. We walked out the door together - and amazingly arrived together - a bus arrived just moments after we walked out and they had to wait for the valet to bring the car around. So, I guess sometimes Disney transportation really does work...

Inside the Studios, we saw the Beauty and the Beast show, The Hunchback show and the Great Movie Ride. After the HoND show we went over to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground - Cassidy quickly made friends and the big kids sat down and had coffee and hot cocoa. Dad and Carol wanted to see the Indy Stunt Show, so I went to find Cassidy - she decided that she wanted to stay and play, so we agreed to meet at the exit to the stunt show, knowing that the playground would close at dusk and allow us to reach the exit at what we figured would be about the same time. Cassidy and I got to the stadium (after buying preview Animal Kingdom Eeyore and Tigger - Eeyore is the most important because he is carrying the maps!) and discovered that there are 2 exits - well, I picked the wrong one first but we were quickly back together with dad and Carol. We walked over to see the Little Mermaid and arrived just after a group went in and the next show wasn't for 30 minutes - so, we decided that we would go see the Osborne Lights and Cassidy and I would catch Mermaid first thing Sunday morning. I have never seen anything like the Osborne Lights in my life - I can really understand why his neighbors were up in arms over his display - it must have backed traffic up to the next county. As things turned out, it was good that we didn't wait for the Mermaid show, as we were able to leisurely walk through the lights. We arrived at the Brown Derby at 7:10 and were seated just past 7:15 (our PS time). Our meal was very good - probably one of the best I have had at WDW. We were seated across the aisle from the piano and Cassidy was entertained by the lovely music. As it got later, the woman playing the piano started playing requests from the children for Disney songs. She even asked them to sit with her while she played their requests.

It was kind of magic walking to the car after dinner - the street was practically empty - I was able to photograph the Christmas Tree without anyone standing in the way! Cassidy saw the mechanical pony and decided to give it a ride - I think she could have sat on that stationary horse for an hour if we had let her - but the adults were ready to relax. So, it was back to the hotel. Cassidy talked Grandpa into going to the arcade and playing some games, so I went to the snack bar and got drinks for everyone and then it was off to bed.

Sunday, December 7, 1997

We had decided last night that Cassidy and I would catch the bus to the Studios and then over to Epcot to meet Dad and Carol at the Fountainview Café. We figured that even if someone had to wait, this would be an enjoyable place to do it.

Cassidy and I saw Voyage of the Little Mermaid and stopped in a couple stores - including the candy shop where she selected cookies and chocolate coins to bring back to her class. We also purchased Disney chocolate bars for her teachers, both of whom are chocoholics. Then, it was off to Epcot.

Dad and Carol were waiting for us when we got there and we spent a little more time relaxing - I desperately needed more coffee and Cassidy had to have a snack. After that, we stopped at the Discovery Center to complete my homework assignment - gathering up as much information as I could on holiday celebrations around the world for the teachers. We went over to Journey Into Imagination - Dad and Carol went to see Honey I Shrunk the Audience and Cassidy and I finally rode Figment. (Cassidy was not going on HISTA because in May that mean snake stole her hairband - fortunately we recovered it from lost and found) We played upstairs at the Image Works for a few minutes and then met up with Dad and Carol.

We went over to World Showcase and Cassidy began working on her homework assignment - to find out how Christmas is celebrated in other countries. Cassidy and I talked about which counties were in World Showcase, so she could concentrate on 2 or 3. She picked Mexico (we have friends who live there), Italy (Dad's side of the family hails from Italy) and France (Belle is from France!). Of course, these were the best laid plans and reality didn't quite match - Cassidy decided to do the activities at all the Kid Stops and had a blast doing them - I even tried a couple. Somewhere between Norway and China, we lost Dad and Carol - but after looking for a while, decided that we would catch up with them for dinner.

About the time we reached the American Adventure, I was beginning to regret losing Dad and Carol, as they had my jacket and the setting sun caused a rapid decrease in temperature - it just meant that I had to stop in more stores. We did indeed find Dad and Carol in Morocco - right after Cassidy met Princess Jasmine - the picture from that meeting is interesting to look at - Jasmine's costume contrasted by Cassidy's fleece jacket. We had 6:30 PS, but were able to be seated at 6:00, right by the floor where the belly dancer performed. We all enjoyed our meals - the big kids decided to share, so we could try more of the entrees and Cassidy loved the kids shish kebab. After dinner, we continued our walk around the world, ending up by the Rose and Crown for Illuminations. Since I didn't have to drive, a pint of ale seemed the perfect accompaniment for me - it was cocoa and coffee for everyone else. Then, it was back to the hotel to pack - yuck!

Monday, December 8, 1997

After checking out of the hotel, we headed over to the Magic Kingdom. Dad and carol wanted to pick up Guest of Honor badges (we had done that in May) so we decided on a meeting time and place (Walt's statue) and went off. Cassidy saw the checkerboard table on the sidewalk near Tony's Town Square and we had to sit down and play. It seemed so magic sitting there, watching the Christmas Tree, listening to the music and playing checkers with my daughter - I wanted to be depressed that we had to leave that evening, but I just couldn't be. After finishing our game - Cassidy won, of course - we started walking up Main Street. When we got to the side street where Donald's Tree Lot was we realized that a character was in there and I asked Cassidy if she'd like to get an autograph - what a silly question and in we went. I was so surprised when it turned out to be Donald himself and quickly decided to take the picture vertically to go in the "Peek" Donald frame I had purchased for Scott - it was perfect - Cassidy and Donald in his Santa hat, in the Donald frame for Christmas - and Cassidy promised to keep the secret! After that we headed off to meet Dad and Carol.

After we regrouped, we went over to FantasyLand to repeat all of Cassidy's favorites - Grandpa and Cassidy flew Dumbo again, since he wasn't afraid to go high anymore. We went over to AdventureLand next and rode the Jungle Cruise. After that, Cassidy agreed to try Pirates of the Caribbean - as long as it wasn't too scary. I promised that if she thought it was too scary, we could skip it - right up to the point of getting in the boat. Well, when we got off she announced that it wasn't scary, it was funny! (I'm hoping by our next trip, she'll be willing to try the mountains) We spent some time shopping at the House of Treasure - Cassidy had to have some pirate stuff and then decided on lunch at El Pirata Y El Perico Restaurante - yummy taco salad.

After lunch, it was time to start heading towards the gate and then the airport. Dad and Carol dropped us at the airport - they were planning to spend time visiting friends and family before driving back north. Cassidy and I had to stop in the Disney Store in the terminal because we were both sad to have to leave. Our flights home were uneventful - we left Orlando on time and had a smooth flight, arriving in Charlotte on time. We left the gate in Charlotte on time, but had to be deiced (the only thing in flying that makes me nervous), so were about 15 minutes late getting to Baltimore. After retrieving of luggage, we walked outside to find the shuttle waiting for us and 20 minutes later we were telling Scott all about our trip - except this time I wasn't doing the talking, it was the new disneyphile in the house.

Random Thoughts

The holiday decorations were phenomenal - I had read so much about them on RADP and in guide books, but I still wasn't prepared - now, how can I make a holiday trip an annual affair?

We loved the Poly (we were in the Oahu building) - it was convenient

to everything and I found Disney transportation convenient - however,

we didn't try to get to other resorts. I'll learn about this on our

next trip

Cassidy and I have started a list of things to do the next time we are at WDW - like use the pool at the Poly - it was too cold this trip. Cassidy added spending a night at the kids nightclub (Neverland Club)

thanks to the bellman who described it that way!

One of the best things we did this trip was letting Cassidy set the pace and pick and choose activities. Since this trip was for her and me to enjoy each others company in our favorite place, it worked great - and we did the Disney Commando thing in May.

We found all the meals to be good - since we did a number of character meals, the atmosphere always made up for any lapses in food quality - but in all cases, I would eat at any of the restaurants again, with or without characters. For those of you that keep track of these things our favorite restaurants were: Aileen - Hollywood Brown Derby, Cassidy - Cinderella's Royal Table - breakfast.

I learned a lot traveling with my dad - I thought it was just strollers that were invisible, but I found out that wheelchairs are too - boy, was I tempted a few times to run over people that darted in front of us.

Guess that's it - now, it's back to planning our trip in October - Cassidy asked to go to Mickey's Halloween Party and how could I say no?

Aileen Toner

ace213@erols.com

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