Rosebud
03-27-2003, 02:51 PM
Cast – Me and DD Valerie
2nd trip to Disney for Christmas, but this year we would also be there for New Year’s Eve. This time we had APs too, so we could come and go as we pleased – last time we depended on the generosity of my CM friends for free tickets, which limited our park time.
Day 1 – December 15, Finally on our way
We drove down, leaving way latter in the day than I planned. We had decided to take our time and stop two nights driving down, and I reserved two rooms ahead of time so I wouldn’t waste time looking for cheap rooms. Unfortunately, we were a little ambitious about how far we should drive the first night – only because I got stuck having to deal with stuff at home and didn’t leave as early as I would have liked. We finally found our hotel at about 2:00 in the morning and got to sleep pretty darn quickly. The room was okay, but the hotel was right next to the highway and our room was the very closest to the highway - wasn’t too bad until morning time though. The room was also on the 2nd floor and the end farthest away from the steps and no parking spaces nearby – oh well, that is what you get for checking in so late.
Day 2- December 16, Still on our Way
I set the alarm pretty early and got up and went across the street for McDonald’s breakfast. We ate in the room, got ready and were back on the road, not too early but not too late. I had decided that we were going to cross the FL border in the morning, after the welcome center was open, so we could get our free sample of O.J. – we missed it every other time we have been there lately. We picked a hotel close to the border and arrived at a decent hour. The room was clean, and well away from the highway, with parking nearby although it was still on the 2nd floor. The only problem was it was very damp – turning the air conditioner on helped some but we were anxious to get out of the room the next morning.
Day 3 – December 17, We make it to Florida and the Big Party is Tonight
We were out and up pretty early and made our way over to the Huddle House for breakfast and then we were off on the short drive to Florida. We stopped at the welcome center got our free OJ sample – just okay juice, but I knew that and didn’t care – we just wanted to have a proper welcome to Florida. Picked up some brochures and were quickly on our way. We made one other stop at the Russell Stover Outlet store and got some samples and found a really good deal on a box of dark chocolates, so had to buy it – yum, yum. Off again. We finally made it to Orlando, and to our hotel.
Unfortunately we couldn’t afford to stay onsite for this trip, so I booked our favorite cheap offsite hotel the Magic Castle. The thing I have discovered about hotels around Disney is they can change so much from trip to trip so quickly. We were there last Christmas and the place was wonderful. It had been freshly painted then – that fresh paint look was gone, but that was understandable a whole year later. However, last year the cleaning had been so wonderful (I’m never very impressed with the cleaning when I stay onsite, but was very, very, very impressed at this hotel last year). This year the cleaning job was just not that good – maybe we just had a cleaning fanatic for our maid last year (I went back in mid January and had a better room, but the maid was still not as wonderful as last year – I definitely must have had a cleaning fanatic last year). Oh well, it still had the great fridge which came in very handy – they are not full size, but much bigger than the ones Disney charges for.
Tonight we were going to MVMCP! About a year ago we discovered that the only way my DD could avoid feet full of blisters was to wear flip flops – not the real flimsy ones, but a little thicker with the material straps. Last year’s flip flops were rather worn out, so off we headed to Wal-Mart to pick up some new ones and a few other supplies. We couldn’t buy them at home because it was winter, but figured we could in FL – wrong! The lady told us they hadn’t come in yet because it wasn’t the proper season – huh, we thought we were in Florida. We knew from experience that sneakers wouldn’t work, so we picked up a pair of the cheaper ones to see if they would work. She ended up wearing those to get on certain rides because the older ones fell off too easy, but in general they just weren’t good. I needed a new camera battery and some film, so got that too and we were off.
The excitement was finally about to begin! Off to the MK for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. I hadn’t ordered my tickets early enough for them to send them home, so I had to stop at the Will Call window. I had lost my confirmation number, so I was a little nervous and prepared to cry if necessary so they would let us is. She asked me for an ID or Confirmation number, so I had no problems. Took the Ferry over and in we went. First stop was to purchase the limited edition Christmas Party Pin for that night, then off to the snow on Main Street.
How cool, we finally were there! After checking out our special party map while standing in the snow (nice snow, not like the stupid stuff we have at home), we decided to head to Tomorrowland for cookies, hot chocolate and possibly a picture. No line for cookies and cocoa, but there was a slight line for pictures. The guy said about 15 minutes – not bad, but he said it would be shorter during the parade and later at night so we decided to wait. We tried to figure out where people got the Christmas Party buttons (not pins) – some clueless CMs told us to pick them up at Town Hall, but luckily we asked someone wearing one and they told us they gave them to you when you got your picture. Saved us a trip back up Main Street, we then turned around and headed for Adventureland, picked up more cookies and cocoa (no wait) and checked out the picture line there. It was much shorter (less than 5 minutes), so we got in it and brushed our hair and decided on our pose – picture was waiting for us when we got home, but we got gypped. You are supposed to get a picture for every person and we only got one picture. No lines for Pirates, so in we went. Afterwards decided which shows, in which order to do them. We asked more than more CM which shows were only for the party and were told all of them were only for the party – not true. I think you could have seen all of them, not during the party but that was okay.
We lucked out with a very, very low crowd for this party – heard the one at the end of the week was terribly crowded. We did pick up more cookies and hot cocoa and went to see the Diamond Horseshoe Review Christmas Show – the first Christmas show of the evening, but not the last. I don’t remember the order we did, but we totally enjoyed ourselves.
I wanted to be on Main Street for the fireworks because of the 360 fireworks for that night, so we didn’t get a good look at Rudolph and almost entirely missed him flying because he doesn’t come out before the fireworks like Tinkerbell, but somewhere in the middle.
For the parade I also wanted to be on Main Street, but towards the end near the castle, so we could see the parade coming through the snow, but we weren’t getting wet from it. We got a spot right at the end across from Casey’s, right next to the walkway – the CM told me it was my job to tell people that they couldn’t stand on the other side of the rope, so I did my best anytime someone stopped. It was the perfect spot we wanted and we didn’t really wait all that long for it. While we were waiting we had more hot cocoa and cookies – that ended up being our dinner for the night (I think lunch too).
The lines were very, very short for all the rides – I didn’t check out Space Mountain or Splash Mountain so they may have been long, but I doubt it. We did do Pooh and the line was quite short. However, we hardly rode anything because we were there more for the shows and stuff. We did do things that typically have long lines and no FPs that we wouldn’t normally bother with, such as Dumbo and Goofy’s Barnstormer. We like Goofy’s when there are no lines because you can just ride a few times with out exiting. I think it takes longer walking through the queue line at Goofy’s than the ride itself, so if you can ride more than once, it’s a good thing.
We had purposely planned to do Toon Town because we wanted to check out Donald’s tree farm and check out the party pins from previous parties – that was the only place you could buy them. It was later in the evening when we got there and when we went to the tree lot, there was no Donald and no sign that he would be coming back. All of Toon Town was quite deserted, but I still didn’t think that was right because the party was still going on for I think another hour at least. I found a CM and found out he was indeed coming back, so we waited a few minutes and there he was. He did look quite cute in his flannel jacket and hat – remember he was selling Christmas Trees. However, between the excitement of no Donald and riding Goofy’s barnstormer, we totally forgot to check for the old pins – we did get a couple later in the week, but probably not with as good a selection.
We had a wonderful time at the party and were really glad we managed to get there for the party early in the week, because Alixag told us that the party at the end of the week was really crowded. I think I heard some other parties had been crowded too, so I think the trick is to go to the ones during the middle of the week if possible, because locals probably hit up the ones on the weekend. If you are thinking of going to Disney at that time of year and are only planning on buying single days passes, I would highly recommend going to the party during the week because it cheaper than a one day pass and everything is open – also doesn’t appear to be crowds during the week.
2nd trip to Disney for Christmas, but this year we would also be there for New Year’s Eve. This time we had APs too, so we could come and go as we pleased – last time we depended on the generosity of my CM friends for free tickets, which limited our park time.
Day 1 – December 15, Finally on our way
We drove down, leaving way latter in the day than I planned. We had decided to take our time and stop two nights driving down, and I reserved two rooms ahead of time so I wouldn’t waste time looking for cheap rooms. Unfortunately, we were a little ambitious about how far we should drive the first night – only because I got stuck having to deal with stuff at home and didn’t leave as early as I would have liked. We finally found our hotel at about 2:00 in the morning and got to sleep pretty darn quickly. The room was okay, but the hotel was right next to the highway and our room was the very closest to the highway - wasn’t too bad until morning time though. The room was also on the 2nd floor and the end farthest away from the steps and no parking spaces nearby – oh well, that is what you get for checking in so late.
Day 2- December 16, Still on our Way
I set the alarm pretty early and got up and went across the street for McDonald’s breakfast. We ate in the room, got ready and were back on the road, not too early but not too late. I had decided that we were going to cross the FL border in the morning, after the welcome center was open, so we could get our free sample of O.J. – we missed it every other time we have been there lately. We picked a hotel close to the border and arrived at a decent hour. The room was clean, and well away from the highway, with parking nearby although it was still on the 2nd floor. The only problem was it was very damp – turning the air conditioner on helped some but we were anxious to get out of the room the next morning.
Day 3 – December 17, We make it to Florida and the Big Party is Tonight
We were out and up pretty early and made our way over to the Huddle House for breakfast and then we were off on the short drive to Florida. We stopped at the welcome center got our free OJ sample – just okay juice, but I knew that and didn’t care – we just wanted to have a proper welcome to Florida. Picked up some brochures and were quickly on our way. We made one other stop at the Russell Stover Outlet store and got some samples and found a really good deal on a box of dark chocolates, so had to buy it – yum, yum. Off again. We finally made it to Orlando, and to our hotel.
Unfortunately we couldn’t afford to stay onsite for this trip, so I booked our favorite cheap offsite hotel the Magic Castle. The thing I have discovered about hotels around Disney is they can change so much from trip to trip so quickly. We were there last Christmas and the place was wonderful. It had been freshly painted then – that fresh paint look was gone, but that was understandable a whole year later. However, last year the cleaning had been so wonderful (I’m never very impressed with the cleaning when I stay onsite, but was very, very, very impressed at this hotel last year). This year the cleaning job was just not that good – maybe we just had a cleaning fanatic for our maid last year (I went back in mid January and had a better room, but the maid was still not as wonderful as last year – I definitely must have had a cleaning fanatic last year). Oh well, it still had the great fridge which came in very handy – they are not full size, but much bigger than the ones Disney charges for.
Tonight we were going to MVMCP! About a year ago we discovered that the only way my DD could avoid feet full of blisters was to wear flip flops – not the real flimsy ones, but a little thicker with the material straps. Last year’s flip flops were rather worn out, so off we headed to Wal-Mart to pick up some new ones and a few other supplies. We couldn’t buy them at home because it was winter, but figured we could in FL – wrong! The lady told us they hadn’t come in yet because it wasn’t the proper season – huh, we thought we were in Florida. We knew from experience that sneakers wouldn’t work, so we picked up a pair of the cheaper ones to see if they would work. She ended up wearing those to get on certain rides because the older ones fell off too easy, but in general they just weren’t good. I needed a new camera battery and some film, so got that too and we were off.
The excitement was finally about to begin! Off to the MK for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. I hadn’t ordered my tickets early enough for them to send them home, so I had to stop at the Will Call window. I had lost my confirmation number, so I was a little nervous and prepared to cry if necessary so they would let us is. She asked me for an ID or Confirmation number, so I had no problems. Took the Ferry over and in we went. First stop was to purchase the limited edition Christmas Party Pin for that night, then off to the snow on Main Street.
How cool, we finally were there! After checking out our special party map while standing in the snow (nice snow, not like the stupid stuff we have at home), we decided to head to Tomorrowland for cookies, hot chocolate and possibly a picture. No line for cookies and cocoa, but there was a slight line for pictures. The guy said about 15 minutes – not bad, but he said it would be shorter during the parade and later at night so we decided to wait. We tried to figure out where people got the Christmas Party buttons (not pins) – some clueless CMs told us to pick them up at Town Hall, but luckily we asked someone wearing one and they told us they gave them to you when you got your picture. Saved us a trip back up Main Street, we then turned around and headed for Adventureland, picked up more cookies and cocoa (no wait) and checked out the picture line there. It was much shorter (less than 5 minutes), so we got in it and brushed our hair and decided on our pose – picture was waiting for us when we got home, but we got gypped. You are supposed to get a picture for every person and we only got one picture. No lines for Pirates, so in we went. Afterwards decided which shows, in which order to do them. We asked more than more CM which shows were only for the party and were told all of them were only for the party – not true. I think you could have seen all of them, not during the party but that was okay.
We lucked out with a very, very low crowd for this party – heard the one at the end of the week was terribly crowded. We did pick up more cookies and hot cocoa and went to see the Diamond Horseshoe Review Christmas Show – the first Christmas show of the evening, but not the last. I don’t remember the order we did, but we totally enjoyed ourselves.
I wanted to be on Main Street for the fireworks because of the 360 fireworks for that night, so we didn’t get a good look at Rudolph and almost entirely missed him flying because he doesn’t come out before the fireworks like Tinkerbell, but somewhere in the middle.
For the parade I also wanted to be on Main Street, but towards the end near the castle, so we could see the parade coming through the snow, but we weren’t getting wet from it. We got a spot right at the end across from Casey’s, right next to the walkway – the CM told me it was my job to tell people that they couldn’t stand on the other side of the rope, so I did my best anytime someone stopped. It was the perfect spot we wanted and we didn’t really wait all that long for it. While we were waiting we had more hot cocoa and cookies – that ended up being our dinner for the night (I think lunch too).
The lines were very, very short for all the rides – I didn’t check out Space Mountain or Splash Mountain so they may have been long, but I doubt it. We did do Pooh and the line was quite short. However, we hardly rode anything because we were there more for the shows and stuff. We did do things that typically have long lines and no FPs that we wouldn’t normally bother with, such as Dumbo and Goofy’s Barnstormer. We like Goofy’s when there are no lines because you can just ride a few times with out exiting. I think it takes longer walking through the queue line at Goofy’s than the ride itself, so if you can ride more than once, it’s a good thing.
We had purposely planned to do Toon Town because we wanted to check out Donald’s tree farm and check out the party pins from previous parties – that was the only place you could buy them. It was later in the evening when we got there and when we went to the tree lot, there was no Donald and no sign that he would be coming back. All of Toon Town was quite deserted, but I still didn’t think that was right because the party was still going on for I think another hour at least. I found a CM and found out he was indeed coming back, so we waited a few minutes and there he was. He did look quite cute in his flannel jacket and hat – remember he was selling Christmas Trees. However, between the excitement of no Donald and riding Goofy’s barnstormer, we totally forgot to check for the old pins – we did get a couple later in the week, but probably not with as good a selection.
We had a wonderful time at the party and were really glad we managed to get there for the party early in the week, because Alixag told us that the party at the end of the week was really crowded. I think I heard some other parties had been crowded too, so I think the trick is to go to the ones during the middle of the week if possible, because locals probably hit up the ones on the weekend. If you are thinking of going to Disney at that time of year and are only planning on buying single days passes, I would highly recommend going to the party during the week because it cheaper than a one day pass and everything is open – also doesn’t appear to be crowds during the week.