Trip Reports

Time of Year: Fall
Travel Method: Plane, Shuttle Service
Resort: CBR
Accommodations
Ages Represented in Group: Elementary, Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Rookie
Comments: Paul's report describes his family's trip in late November. In addition to a nice play-by-play of each day's activities, he summarizes each day with a list of "impressions and pointers." These are fun to read, and would be particularly helpful for rookie trip planners (some of us trip report authors tend to gloss over some details that we are very familiar with, but which the new guest may not be.)


November 20 - November 28 1998

Cast: Paul, age 39 and main organizer of the trip and author of this Trip Report; Kathy, wife, age 40; Kelsey, eldest daughter, age 8; Jessica, youngest, age almost 5.

Preface: It has taken many revisions to write this Trip Report and to be quite honest, it is not my best effort. However, I hope some may benefit from it. I need to publish it now or I will never finish it. Please accept in advance my apologies for any errors in writing.

Background: The decision to go to WDW came about roughly in the fall of 1996. Some small talk between Kathy and me and then ultimately the kids. I jumped immediately at the opportunity to go to WDW. None of us had ever been there. I had been to Disneyland when I was about 18 years old. I still remember how great and special Disney was/is. I got right into doing research. Travel agents, web sights and friends. We decided on going during Thanksgiving time. There were several reasons for this. One, the weather would be much more tolerable. Two, we are not big on taking the kids out of school (not because of the work they would miss, just the example we would be setting) so they would only miss about 1 days.

After much reading we were leaning staying at the Caribbean Beach Resort. Now we haven't made reservations yet and it is around March/April timeframe. I start discussing our tentative plans with a friend at work who has frequented WDW. When I mention the time we are going, he tells me to hurry up and make reservations in order to get what I want. He explains how popular this time of year is (boy was he right). He also told me how to get the free planning video, which I did immediately.

So, in May of 1997 we make our reservations. We plan on arriving the Monday before Thanksgiving and depart the Saturday after (this, as you will find out, changes). We ask for a 2nd floor, water view room in the Barbados village, since we vacationed on the island of Barbados prior to having children. This will also change. At the time of our reservations, we also make reservations for the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue. We figured if we don't want to do this, we can cancel when we get there.

For the next 18 months we make, what I prefer to call, refinements to our trip. I make arrangements to be picked up at the airport by Tiffany Towncar (read some pretty good reviews about them on RADP). I also made about 10 calls to CRO for various reasons. And we end up that we will leave for WDW on the Friday before Thanksgiving (rather than the Monday of Thanksgiving week). There were several reasons for this. One, everything we read was the closer to Thanksgiving, and that weekend, the more crowded it would be. Two, our plane schedule got changed. We were going to depart at 7:00 AM on Saturday (which changed from our original plans of Monday). I figured that getting up at 4:00 AM to catch a plane with the kids was ludicrous. The whole day would be shot because everyone would be tired. So, we decide to leave the afternoon before.Friday (luckily, there were rooms available at CBR). I usually don't like to spend the extra money to essentially just sleep. But in this case, in just made sense. This ended up being a very wise decision.

Planning for the trip became pretty much a hobby for me. I was always sure to include the whole family on everything. I simply wanted to read, view, talk anything that had to do with Disney World. And I did. My biggest, and quite frankly, best "find," was the rec.arts.disney.parks newsgroup. I didn't discover the group until November 1997. I actually heard of it a month or so earlier but I couldn't access it since the only way I got to the Internet was through work and work doesn't have a news server. Well it wasn't long until I discovered DEJANEWS.Thank God!

We made changes to the village we wanted to stay about three times. We settled on Aruba. We had heard that this was one of the first bus stops and we wanted to get on a bus where we could sit and not have to wait for another bus to come along.

Lastly, remember that this Trip Report has been written with the WHOLE family in mind. That is taking into consideration the ages of all. No we never did Space Mt. and many may find that just appalling. However, we as a family still had a very good time.

Day One:

Friday, November 20th

Travel Day. Take kids out of school at 12:30PM. Come home and change into shorts and sweatshirts (it's about 45 degrees) and leave at 1:30 for airport for 2:45 flight. We take off and land on time. Jessica slept most of the way while Kelsey colored, read and slept just a bit. We arrive at MCO at 5:30PM. Jaml, from Tiffany Towncar, is waiting near the baggage claim, at the bottom of the escalator for us. Within 15 minutes we're on our way. Stop at Goodings Supermarket to pickup beer, snacks and breakfast food. We're dropped off at the Caribbean Beach Resort at approximately 8:00. Check in is very quick (no line or waiting). In about 10 minutes, a Disney Van is whisking us and our luggage off to our room. We are staying in the Aruba village of the CBR, room 5264. Nothing special. The rooms are clean and just big enough for us. The atmosphere definitely has a Caribbean flavor.

After unpacking a little, we head to Old Port Royale for dinner at Captain's Tavern. We find the food to be mediocre (not only here, but throughout WDW).

Back to the room for bed at about 10:30 PM.

Impressions and pointers:

The kids are somewhat subdued. I don't think they quite know what to make of all of what's going on. Because we get in at nighttime, it's difficult to really get a good feel on this special trip.
Tiffany Towncar was a very good move. However, our driver did nothing exceptional. He was very polite and talkative (though not a chatterbox). He seemed to team up with an airport employee to have him do the lugging of our luggage. I tipped him 5 bucks and when we got to CBR I gave Jaml a ten-dollar tip.
I called the room controller five days in advance of our arrival, three days in advance and then the day of our arrival to ensure we got the village and room we requested. This worked like a charm. The room controller was very accommodating.
We were very impressed with the efficiency of check in (getting in at night also helped). Being driven to our rooms in the Disney CBR van was nice. Another 10 bucks to the driver/bell hop.he did the most work and deserved it.
The room was really nothing special. Just large enough for the four of us. The carpet was a bit stained. We got a water view room on the second floor but this was no big deal since there was a big palm tree blocking the view of the lake. For those of you interested in putting the kids down and sitting out on the walkway, this is very doable at CBR. My wife and I were hoping for balcony but you can simply sit right outside your door and have a relaxing drink while the kids snooze.
Day Two:

Saturday, November 21st

First Full Day. 6:30 AM Mickey Wakeup Call. I shower and head to Old Port Royale with the refillable mugs for coffee. After I return, Jessie and I take a little walk around the CBR campus while waiting for Kelsey and Mom to get ready. The excitement is definitely upon us. The video I started taking at that moment is priceless. Jessie proudly holding her room key and making sure Dad tapes her while she is holding it. I know this sounds pretty simple, but it's things like this, a five year old having her own room key, is special. Jessie and I head back to the room. We eat breakfast in the room (doughnuts). Then Jessie, Kelsey and I stroll a bit while waiting for Mom. We then head for Epcot and arrive about 9:30 AM. Spaceship Earth looks pretty crowded already so we head towards Honey I Shrunk the Audience. This ends up being a mistake for two reasons: 1) we never make it back to Spaceship Earth and 2) HISTA was a hit with the exception of Jessica. She simply didn't like it (but she didn't cry or scream) and seemed a bit withdrawn for awhile. We then decide to see Circle of Life to hopefully mellow Jessica. After that we head to Living with the Land. Jessica didn't want to go so just Kelsey and Mom go. I'm not sure why Jessie opted not to go. Could have been HISTA or maybe she was tired. Not really sure. By now it's 11:00 and the kids are getting bored with Epcot.already!!! I checked the schedule of events and see that at World Showcase at 11:15 there is a Character Experience scheduled. So, we head for World Showcase just in time. Jessie and Kelsey are elated with seeing so many characters and being able to get autographs. We first encounter Tigger and while I'm getting my camera ready, Tigger comes right over and starts hugging ME! The characters were very approachable and virtually no waiting to get pictures or autographs. The kids are almost overwhelmed at the number of characters and they end up with about a dozen autographs (Chip, Dale, Piglet, Tigger, Snow White, Pluto to name a few). The Genie was somewhat left out at one point so he starts dancing with my wife. What a riot we all had. After this, we roam for about hour more. We do a tad bit of shopping, get Donald's autograph by Mexico. We were about to head on a boat to go to the American Adventure for lunch only to decide we need to go to the hotel. Jessica is becoming a tad cranky and uncooperative (besides, it was a bit hot.in the low 80's). We planned on taking mid day breaks anyway so this was fine.

We get some lunch at the CBR Food Court. Then it's to the Aruba swimming pool. We spent about an hour swimming and go to the room for a nap. We have 7:10 PS at the Garden Grille (which we changed that day from 6:30 with no problems) in Epcot for a Character Dinner with Mickey, Minnie, Chip and Dale. Minnie was a no show. Not a big deal. The kids enjoyed themselves. I expected something a bit more. I don't know what. I can't put my finger on it.

After dinner we head over to World Showcase for Illuminations. We stake out a position right near Mexico. The show was spectacular. My oldest isn't really much for fireworks and loud noises but she endured it just fine. After Illuminations, we are able to get on a bus rather quickly and get back to CBR at 10:00 PM. Not bad.

Impressions and pointers:

The kids didn't really take to Epcot and we were not really surprised. Just disappointed but only in a selfish way.Kathy and I wanted to see more. But because we are a family and this was for mostly the kids, we weren't fretting much.
Anyone touring with children in the same age group as ours (I am referring mostly to our 5 year old) I would like to stress a couple of things: Build in a mid day break and make it flexible!!!! If you've planned on taking a break at 2:00 and one of the youngsters is acting up at 11:00. Take the break at 11:00!!!!! If one person in your group is unhappy you can bet everyone will be. All this comes down to is basic parenting. Listen to your instincts.
There is one thing we would not do again, and didn't. After taking that mid day break, do NOT go back to the same park you just toured. I don't know if it's psychological or what, but it's nice to go someplace "different" in the evening.
Day Three:

Sunday, November 22nd

This was the most anticipated day by all. Magic Kingdom. We start getting up around 7:00. I shower and head to the food court for coffee. We have breakfast in the room. We get to the bus stop around 9:00, the bus arrives ten minutes later. We arrived at MK at 9:30 AM. What an awesome sight. The entrance into Main Street. The quaint shops. And the castle. Quite a spectacular sight.

We take a leisurely stroll down Main Street and head for the castle for some photo ops. We then head into Adventureland to Splash Mt. We took our time, taking in as much as we could. The girls are really into it.

When we get to Spalsh Mt., Jessica opts out so Kelsey and I go. The line is fairly short and moves fast. We're through in about 20 minutes. Kelsey and I loved the ride. The final plunge is actually a bit disappointing. Nonetheless, we really liked the ride and didn't get very wet (we were in 2nd to last seat).We now head to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

The line for BTMRR is also short and moves fast. When it's time to get on the ride, Jessie decides not to go. Mom and Kelsey go on the ride as I wait with Jessica to do the swap. Mom and Kelsey return and Dad and Kelsey go on the ride. The ride is pretty decent, but nothing too adventurous.

We now decide to go It's a Small World since we figure Jessie would like it. We get in line and we're on the ride in about 15 minutes. We're in the front seat, which is kinda of nice. Jessica really enjoyed the ride and we video taped virtually the whole thing. When we get off we then head to Mickey's ToonTown Fair and ride Goofy's Barnstormer. We knew Jessica would enjoy the smaller roller coaster and she did. In fact, we HAD to do it a second time. Altogether for both rides, about 30 minutes of waiting. Total ride time about 1 minute.

The girls want to see Minnie's house, and we obliged. The line is pretty long and it is getting a bit hot as lunchtime fast approaches. The wait is about 20 minutes. The girls enjoyed going through the house but they expected more (like hands on stuff to play, etc.). I find it to be quite boring and not worth the wait.

We decide to eat at Aunt Polly's on Tom Sawyer's Island. So we take the Walt Disney World Railroad to Adventureland and then the raft to the Island. We have sandwiches and afterwards decide to go on the Jungle Cruise. Enroute, there is a steel band playing with a limbo contest going on right across from the Pirates of the Caribbean. Kelsey joins right in as Mom, Dad and Jessica watch.

After the limbo contest, we now head over to the Jungle Cruise. We wait in line for almost 30 minutes. On the ride the girls were quite amused by all the "animals" they saw. They even grunted with us grown ups at the puns. Unfortunately, our boat was somewhat lame even though the Capt. was trying his best.

It's not quite 2:00 PM and Jessica is hanging in there, very, very well. She's becoming a bit tired, not cranky, but we told her we were going to go watch a parade and then head out. She agreed and we headed to the hub. We staked out our real estate right on the curb at precisely 2:00 PM for the 3:00 PM parade. Good move on our part. The crowds started to build right after we settled in.

I was familiar with the kids being asked to be part of the show and I prepped them for it. Sure enough, they got their stickers and would be part of the Snow White segment. The parade was truly super. Listening to the music and watching the characters and performers, it was at this time I truly felt the magic. I remember thinking to myself that it was only Sunday and we still had five more days (of course I knew it would come too fast but I can certainly say this vacation was moving very slow.thank God).

The show ends with Kelsey and Jessica in the parade holding hands with the Happy. We now head out of the park which was a major task as we followed directly behind the parade. We get back to our room by 4:00 and the little ones took a nap. We decided to take it easy this night and went to eat at the Food Court. In bed by 9:30.

Impressions and pointers:

Although we (I) had a Tour Plan for MK written up, it quickly got pushed aside. I honestly think that, especially for first timers with little ones, a TP is not necessary. I believe all you need to know is the lay of the land - VERY WELL and what attractions you and the kids really want to see. I was very familiar with what the attractions were and where they were located. The same is true for the restaurants and food courts. Even knowing where the WDWRR stops were was a help.
Day Four:

Monday, November 23rd

We sleep in a bit this morning. I'm the early riser so I 'm up around 7:00 by myself. Head to Port Royal for coffee, which has now become the routine. Once again we have breakfast in the room. We head to the bus stop around 9:00 for our trip to Animal Kingdom. This is our first and only "problem" with transportation. A bus doesn't arrive until close to 9:45. The bus makes a quick stop at Blizzard Beach before continuing on to AK. We arrive at 10:30. Today is already a bit on the warm side.about 75 degrees and heading towards the mid 80's.

We leisurely stroll towards Camp Mickey Minnie. We want to see the Festival of the Lion King at 11:30. By the time we arrive the line is so long that a "sellout" is announced for the show. So we go to the Character Greeting area and wait in line to see Pooh. We wait for about 20 minutes. Luckily for us, and Pooh, the wait is in the shade. The kids really love the characters. Getting autographs, pictures and hugging is a thrill.

It's about 11:45 and we decide to get in line for the 12:30 showing of Festival of the Lion King. Kathy and the girls then head back out to get some refreshments while I hold our place in line. The wait goes somewhat quickly and we head into the theatre. We are about three rows back for the show. This show does NOT disappoint. It is done in true Disney fashion. Great performers, music and the like. And the kids LOVED it. Jessica used up almost all of her film on this show.

After the show we get a small bite to eat. Kathy and I notice that Jessica is starting to become uncooperative. We try to convince her to go on Kilimanjaro Safari but she just doesn't want to go. So we go to the Boneyard in Dinoland. Both the girls have a lot of fun here. But as far as Mom and Dad are concerned, it's nothing more than a "themed" playground in which it is very difficult to keep a close eye on the kids.

After the Boneyard we start heading towards Kilimanjaro Safari in hopes of changing Jessica's mind or at least get Kelsey plus Mom or Dad on the Safari. No such luck. The heat is bearing down and the crowd is thickening. It's time to go back to the hotel for a break. Tonight is E-Ticket night and we were sure we are going to do it.

We had enough to snack on at AK so the kids want to go swimming when we get back to the hotel. So everyone gets changed and as we are ready to go to the pool, it starts raining. So we stay in the room and the kids fall asleep. This was a pleasant surprise as well as a much-needed rest.

Kathy goes to Port Royale for a pizza and brings it back to the room. After pizza we get freshened up and then catch the internal bus to the Guest House to buy our E-Tickets. With tickets in hand we're off to MK and arrive at about 5:30.

There is some small confusion when we go to exchange our E-tickets for the wrist bands at City Hall. We are told to stay in line at City Hall and wait for the next CM. When it 's our turn, after waiting about 10 minutes, we were told to head outside of City Hall and right next door is where the exchange is being done. So we have to wait about five more minutes. I was a bit perturbed and as I complained, no one seemed to care. I still had to go outside rather than wait at the counter at City Hall.

We get our wristbands and staked out our position for Spectromagic at just about 6:00. We are on the inside of the circle, on the curb, at the beginning of Main Street. The crowd is getting larger and larger and our timing is perfect as we get a "front row seat" for the 7:00 show. We enjoy a game of "I Spy" as we wait for the show. This is a good game, in retrospect, since it allows you to see things you might not really pay attention to.

SpectroMagic is SUPER. The lights dimming on Main Street; the sound system as Jiminy Cricket makes his announcements; the parade slowly making its way towords us as we see the reflection of lights off the buildings. The WHOLE family enjoyed the show and we video taped most of it. Disney is truly magically. I am truly amazed at how well Disney does things. Also, MK at night gives a totally different perspective.

As we walk up Main Street, after the parade, towards the castle, the view is breathtaking. Since it was not 9:00 yet (when E-Ticket starts) we went into the bakery for some goodies. Coffee for Kathy and me, hot chocolate for the girls and brownies for all. Well, as we're eating the fireworks start. The girls and I head out for the show and once again, we are simply in awe. As the fireworks end it is now close to E-ticket time. However, we have to ride Dumbo first. For Jessica's sake. Due to the line and slowness of the ride, it costs us about 20 minutes of E-Ticket time.

E-Ticket works fairly well but I have to be honest. I believe that the wait in lines are about equal to the day before when we arrived to MK early in the morning. Note that we only rode the following:

BTMRR (about 5 times since Jessica got brave and ended up really liking it)
Splash Mt. (this was the longest wait and only Mom and Kelsey went.they got pretty soaked)
Haunted Mansion (just Kelsey and Dad went)
We want to do more, but Jessica couldn't/wouldn't go on very much and it was 11:00 already. We decide to call it a night in order to avoid any mass exodus at midnight.

We stroll down Main Street and it's sooooo nice. Very little crowd. The music, the smells, the shops. A memory I will not forget.

We take an un-crowded bus back to the hotel and are in bed before midnight. Whew, what a busy but great day.

Impressions and pointers:

We would have liked to seen more of AK but we got a late start and the heat was a bit much. Also, AK is laid out poorly, in my opinion. Narrow pathways and long hikes to each land make for a long, exhausting day.
We found that the guide books were right on target when instructing people to stake out a position one hour in advance for parades.
I think E-Ticket was good. We would have gotten better mileage out of our tickets had the kids been a bit older (most notably, Jessica). Be that as it may, walking down Main Street at 11:00 PM in a virtually empty park is a fond memory (captured on videotape as well).
I also found it interesting how Disney handles the end of day at the park on a ride. On Dumbo, for instance, they rope off the ride exactly when the park is to close and everyone in line at that point still gets to ride. They don't try and get an early start by closing the line early. Nice touch.
Day Five:

Tuesday, November 24th

Relaxation Day - No Parks. Everyone sleeps in, except for Dad. I perform my ritual of getting coffee at the Food Court. I really enjoy the short walk. Quiet and serene. Everyone else is up and ready at about 10:00 AM. We have a small breakfast at the Food Court. The weather is again on the warm side and the kids are just happy to stay at the hotel for the morning and go swimming. So we hang out at the pool for the morning and relax. Around 1:00 we get changed and decide to go to Downtown Disney to make some purchases.

We go to Disney's Days of Christmas and make several purchases for family and friends. We browse several other shops and stores. The somewhat mellow pace is a nice change. While we are in the Disney Store we run into a friend of ours' daughter. She lives in Florida and we had tried getting in touch with her the day before. She used to work regularly at WDW as a character but has now moved on to other things. We invite her to dinner but she is unable to join us.

We leave Downtown Disney and get back to the hotel to get ready for the 7:15 showing of the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue. I bought our tickets at the Guest House on Sunday. We had made reservations 18 months ago when we first made reservations at WDW CRO (we figured if we really didn't want to go, we could cancel.but we didn't). I had read that getting to Pioneer Hall can be confusing and you should allow plenty of time. We leave CBR a little before 6:00 and take the bus to MK. We then take the green flagged boat, I believe, to Fort Wilderness. We arrive at the boat dock a little after 6:30. Pioneer Hall is about a football field away, maybe a bit more. I really don't see what the big deal is in getting here. Anyway, we have plenty of time on our hands. We check in and get pictures taken. We have to time to kill so what do we do? Make more purchases.

It's a little after 7:00. Show time. The doors open and we head in to table number 23. Second row from the stage, right in the center. GREAT seats. We order drinks and our waiter explains how things work. From beginning to end the show is a HIT. It is truly a highlight for the WHOLE family. The best part was when Dad got picked on.twice. Dolly, one of the characters, came down off stage and pulled my chair, with me in it, right around so I was facing the main part of the audience. She sat on my lap and well, I'm not going to do this any justice, let's just say I was a bit embarrassed. Later in the show, near the end, Dolly and the other characters yelled out my name and Dolly headed right down to our table and planted a kiss right on my cheek. I thought my wife and kids were going to wet their pants. A good portion of the show, along with my participation, was nicely videotaped by my wife. Truly a highlight of the trip.

After the show we reverse our route to get back to CBR. In bed by 10:30.

Impressions and pointers:

Taking a day off from touring is important. We never felt we weren't getting our money's worth by not getting to a park. This day was as much fun as the others. It was enjoyed by ALL.
Do the Doo!!! The Hoop-Dee-Doo was an enormous hit. The kids still talk about it and their favorite character in the show, Six Bits.
Day Six:

Wednesday, November 25th

We make this another "no rush" day. We wake up on our own and of course I'm up first at about 7:00 (the internal clock just won't change). I do the coffee thing again. We're all headed to MGM today and arrive by 10:00. Christmas decorations are up. It's not really too crowded. Temperature is in the mid 70s heading up to the low 80s. We stroll over towards Tower of Terror. The wait is about 30 minutes. Jessica has no interest in going on the ride. She goes with us into the "preview" room where Rod Serling gives background about the hotel, etc.

We then move along in line, asking Jessica if she would like to ride. The answer is still "No." So we end up doing the baby swap. Mom and Kelsey go on the "ride" as Dad and Jessica head down the back elevator to wait. I get a priceless snapshot of Kelsey and Mom after the ride. I check with Kelsey to see if she will do the ride now with me. A resounding "Yes!" Lucky Kelsey. Although Jessica doesn't want to do a lot of the rides, Kelsey gets to ride twice.

We get a small bite to eat and then make our way to see the Muppet Movie. Somewhat of a long line. About 30 minutes total. But as Disney does so well, you're always moving. So the wait seems less. We're given our 3-D glasses and we wait in the "holding" area. Jessica holds on to the glasses but will not put them on. Her memory of HISTA is still quite fresh and doesn't want to take any chances. The show is really good and worth the wait. I wish we did this first before HISTA. Oh, well. After the show, we stop over at Mama Melrose's to make PS for Thanksgiving night (even though we have PS at Spoodles). We do some browsing and then go back to CBR at roughly 2:30 for a swim and relaxation.

We get freshened up around 5:00 and I convince everyone that we should go the ESPN Club for dinner. So we arrive at MGM around 6:00 and take the boat to the Boardwalk. It starts raining. We are protected under the canopy at the dock but when we arrive at the dock at the BW, we make a mad dash to ESPN as the rain is really coming down. The wait is 15 minutes for a table (cannot make PS here). We're seated near the main screen and it is a tad loud.not the people.the TVs! Food is pretty decent.

After dinner the rain has pretty much stopped except for just a tad of drizzle. We're a little disappointed because we would have liked to stroll around a bit. But we're not down all that much. We figure to get to bed early tonight since tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we will be going to MK for EE (and it's our last full day at WDW).

Impressions and pointers:

MGM is really a pleasant surprise. I liked it a lot. We all did. There is a sense of not having to rush at MGM.
Day Seven:

Thursday, November 26th, Thanksgiving

We get a Mickey wakeup call at 7:00 AM. Everyone is generally up at the same time. And, for a change of pace, Kathy goes and gets coffee and Mickey waffles. We all get a kick out of the Mickey shaped waffles.

This is an EE day for the Magic Kingdom. We decide to take advantage since 1) this is our last full day, 2) the forecast for BIG crowds now that Thanksgiving is upon us, and 3) this will really be our last opportunity to tour MK. We're at MK by 8:45. Crowds are pretty light. We wander around a bit, get some coffee and eventually do Dumbo first, then Small World and then BTMRR (all things Jessica enjoys). Crowds are starting to swell as it's approaching 11:00. I try talking Jessica in attending the Christmas Country Bear Jamboree. For some reason she's not interested and Mom and her wait as Kelsey and Dad head in. The show is really, really good. I really wish Jessie had gone. She would have loved it.

We can feel the crowds getting quite large so we start heading for the exits. It's about noon now. Feeling a bit sad knowing this our last trip to the Magic Kingdom. As we head out, we take a short trip on the Monorail to TTC and grab a bus to Downtown Disney. Here we get some lunch at McDonald's (nice Thanksgiving dinner, huh?) and shop a bit more. We leave for CBR and do some swimming. Afterwards we decide on Mama Melrose for dinner instead of Spoodles. We do this because we want to see the Osbourne Festival of Lights.

We take the bus to MGM around 7:00PM and go to Mama Melrose for dinner. There is about a 15-minute wait for our table and by the time we are seated the restaurant is emptying out. We have a nice dinner and afterwards we walk over to check out the lights. As we are walking on New York Street we experience some light snow (fake snow is falling all over the place.looks to be made with soap). This is really pretty neat.

As we go see the lights, we get special glasses to wear. By putting on the glasses and when you look at the little lights, you can see small angels around the Christmas lights. We also have a nice photo op with Goofy dressed up as Santa. The walking tour of the lights takes about 20 minutes and is really a sight to see. We then see Minnie and try to get pictures with her and the kids but no such luck. Minnie is done for the night.

We take a nice walk back to the bus and get back to the hotel by 10:00. Our last night in the World. It is very sad but in a lot of ways it's going to be nice to get back home. We have great memories, pictures and video. Can't wait to see them all.

Impressions and pointers:

Anyone going to the MK on Thanksgiving should only do so if you can manage the early morning. I'm sure by early afternoon there was major gridlock.
MGM really died down after dinner and the crowds were small. I suspect people were getting ready for FANTASMIC. We didn't see FANTASMIC. Probably a mistake but things didn't work out.
The festival of lights is pretty decent. I'm not sure if it's a must see, but if you have the opportunity, you should do it.
Day Eight

Friday, November 27th

Travel day. Bittersweet. Sad to have to leave but also happy to be getting back to sleep in my own bed, eat at home, relax. We snacked on Pop Tarts and doughnuts, and packed right after showers. Called luggage service to pick up our bags to put in storage for later. We did a tad more shopping at Old Port Royale. We then hopped on the bus for Downtown Disney. It's only about 10:00 and we checked out the House of Blues and Virgin Records. We grabbed a small lunch at Wolfgang Puck Café.

We then go back to the Guest House and arrive about 12:45. We wait about 15 minutes for Jaml from Tiffany Towncar to pick us up and he's right on time. Got to the airport by 1:30 for our 3:00 flight. Handed Jaml another ten spot and we check right in.

Jessica slept the whole way to Philadelphia and Kelsey read two books. We arrive on time at 5:30. We then get our connecting flight to Rochester at 6:30 and arrive by 7:30. Yiaya and Popou (Greek for grandma and grandpa) meet us and take us home.

Boy it's nice to be home!

Impressions and pointers:

Downtown Disney was a nice way to end the trip. If we had a later flight we probably would have gone to a park to use up our last remaining day (but now we can save it for our next trip!).
We did have 9:00 PS at Wilderness Lodge for a Character Breakfast and blew it off. Probably another mistake since we wanted to check out WL as a possible place to stay on a subsequent trip.
Overall Comments / things I would do differently / Some Review:

Research, research, research! You cannot do enough of this. My top four resources (in no particular order):
Deb Wills; web site at www.wdwig.com
Brian Bennet's web site at www.hometown.aol.com/DVClubber/dvchome.htm, for trip planning, especially trip reports. I think TRs are worth reading!
RADP
The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World by Bob Sehlinger (sp?)
To help spread out costs, make all your reservations early. The first night is billed when you make your ressies, so there's one day paid up. Get your plane reservations as early as possible. We did so, 11 months prior, and got this cost out of the way. Get your admission tickets ASAP. They never expire (at least the kind we got)! Unfortunately for us, AK was new and we had to wait for the new tickets (not really that big of a deal). We opted for a 6-Day All-In-One Hopper vs. Length of Stay since LOS is just that. Only good for the length of your stay.
We found that a formal itinerary is NOT necessary. There are several reasons. We like to go with the flow and allow for impromptus. Hey, you're on vacation! I only suggest that before you go, know the lay of the land.WELL! Know what restaurants are where and what kind of fare is served. Know where all the rides are and what kind of attractions you and the kids may want to see. Be sure to include performances that allow you to sit and relax.
Get fanny packs for everyone to keep essentials (we also carried a very small backpack).
Put a small pad of paper and a pen to jot down notes of your trip so you can write a trip report or simply remember what you did when.
Most surprising expense for us was water. We drink virtually no soda. And although we filled our water bottles at the hotel every day before heading out, we still ended up buying, on average, five to seven bottles of water each day at the parks!
I can not over emphasize taking a break.whenever they are needed.
We found that it was much more fun to head out to a different park after our midday break (instead of returning to the same one).
If I had to do it again, I would get a better hotel. Probably Wilderness Lodge or a Bungalow at the Villas at Disney Institute. I wasn't overly impressed with CBR. It was okay, nothing special.
We would probably make it a point to be sure to visit another resort, probably for a meal, to check out for any future trips.
Do the DOO. Everyone enjoyed the Hoop-Dee-Doo. It is a must see on our list.
Go to the parades. These are very special and a super treat. One must heed the advice of the tour books and regulars. Stake out your position for the parades one-hour ahead of time. You will get prime choice real estate.
Enjoy the little things. It's just as important to have a cup of coffee or hot chocolate and a brownie at the Main Street Bakery as it is to go on Splash Mt.
Here are some time estimates from CBR to: Epcot ~ 10 mins, MGM ~ 5 minutes, Downtown Disney ~ 8 minutes, Magic Kingdom ~ 15 minutes, Animal Kingdom ~ 15 minutes (included a brief stop at Blizzard Beach).
We should have done AK early instead of mid morning. It got crowded fast (of course our late night the night before also added to us getting a late start).
Bring the video camera.EVERYWHERE!! Our first night we didn't bring it to he Character Dinner. A mistake we never made again.
Take as much video as you can without feeling hostage to the camera (I actually wish we had done more). The same goes for the still camera. Take lots of pictures and bring lots of film.We brought 12 rolls plus two one time use cameras for the little ones. used them all up.
As I think back when we were first planning the trip, here were my top concerns and how they played out:
Crowds - this never really became an issue and there was no need for concern
Priority Seating - again, this also never became an issue. We made PS for a few meals and changed them a few times while there with no problems
Hoop-Dee-Doo - would it be worth it? You bet!
Paul M

__________________
You just read a trip report that was originally published in our MousePlanet Trip Reports column.

Reader-submitted trip reports have always been an extremely popular feature here at MousePlanet. In order to improve the search functionality and shorten the time from when you submit a trip report and the report gets published, you can now post your trip reports directly to our Trip Report forums. The forums are moderated, but reports should become available for reading very quickly.