Rosebud
03-27-2003, 02:52 PM
Part 2
Cast – Me and DD Valerie
2nd trip to Disney for Christmas, but this year we would also be there for New Year’s Eve.
Day 4 – 9, December 18 – December 23
I’m cheating here because I don’t really remember when we did what. If I had written this when I first got back I would have remembered, but I was so busy getting ready to bring my DD back two weeks later that I just didn’t do it. First thing to know is that unlike my friend planalp, I don’t plan. Well I do plan a few things, but very, very few things. I don’t do PS unless it is a special occasion and that doesn’t include holidays, so I had no prior PS. The things I remember planning for this trip were to go to MVMCP, which I covered in the first part. I also planned to go to the meet at Beaches and Cream that Kaycee set up on December 21 – that will be in this part. I also planned to be at MK on Christmas Day and watch the Christmas parade – loved, loved, loved doing that last year. It was so cool to be sitting at the MK on Christmas Day watching the parade – it just felt so special – however, those plans changed. I also planned to be at EPCOT for New Year’s Eve. In between Christmas and New Year’s we were going to visit my parents in southern Florida. Besides those things that had special times/days we planned to see Candlelight Processional – missed it last year. Also, the storytellers around the world – missed them too. Visit the Osborne Lights at MGM – did that last year and wanted to return. Visit the different resorts to check out holiday decorations – something we also did last year. Visit COP more than once since they don’t always open it. I think that is about it for my plans.
Day 4, December 18
The hotel we were at had a continental breakfast, but found out it was no longer the same as before. They still had cereal, fruit, krispy crème donuts and juice, milk, coffee, and tea, but no longer had the bagels, toast, and english muffins. That was quite disappointing. Despite the fact that we closed the party down the night before, I did manage to get up and pick us up breakfast before they stopped serving – that is when I found out about the change. Valerie can’t tolerate too much milk and the donuts are too rich for her – both things give her bad stomachaches, so we weren’t too happy about the change. Normally when going offsite I pack a toaster, but since we didn’t previously need it here I didn’t this time much to my disappointment. We did pick up some other breakfast items and on some days Val just ate cereal with a very little milk.
Back to Day 4 – 10, December 18 - 24
Anyhow after breakfast the first day we probably took a nap – remember we had a long trip and we were at the party the night before. OK, that is just an excuse because most days we slept in. Usually I woke up and got breakfast and then back to bed for a while. On very few days we left the room early. Generally we had lunch at the room before going out for the day. The hotel had a microwave that anyone could use and I packed my camp stove so I either cooked something or made sandwiches for lunch. Sometimes we made dinner at the hotel too. The hotel also had barbeques but I forgot the charcoal and we had enough other stuff to eat so I didn’t bother with that. Having that fridge sure saved a lot of money, which was a good thing because this was a long trip on a very limited budget. Since the trip was so long and we had APs we didn’t feel like we had to get up and go all the time – it was heaven.
The first few days there the parks were not very crowded – not deserted, but not as crowded as they would become over Christmas week.
EPCOT
One of the things we did for this trip was concentrate on hitting the Story Teller stations at EPCOT. Each country had a little spot set up and about 5 or 6 times a day they had a holiday story teller dressed in character come out and tell you about holiday customs in their land. They also had a sign set up basically telling you what the story teller said, but it was much better hearing it from the story teller (we did notice at least one place that there was slightly different stuff on the sign). In America they simply had Santa and kids sitting on his lap. The only one we missed was Norway because the day we chose to do that, the person had the day off or something. We really enjoyed listening to all the others. We did most of them before Christmas and a few after New Year’s.
One day we hung around watching Miyuki – we each got one of her creations. She is pretty good about noticing people that come for more than one “show” and making sure they get one of her wonderful candy creations. We were glad that was one of the reversed budget cuts that Disney made and we let her know too.
I had thought about do a CP package, but decided my budget was too limited for that. I definitely was going to actually go in and sit down this year (last year the line was too long so we just kind of peeked for outside for a little bit) and watch the show, but hadn’t really planned when. We were walking around one day and happened to be in the area when the early show was about to begin – there were tons of seats still available, but we decided it was too light out and we would rather see it in the dark so we passed. On December 22 we were walking by just as the 2nd show was beginning and there was not too many people in line for the last show. It was also not too cold and clear and we didn’t know what other days would be like, so we got in line and waited. We used that time to relax and have a snack and talked to some people around us. The time flew by quickly and then it was time to be seated. Even without the package we ended up with pretty good seats. We were on the aisle in the very center row about 2 or 3 back from the package people. I thought we actually had better seats then some of the people that bought the package so that made us happy. There was a really good CM standing by and had us singing Christmas Carols as we waited for the show. Valerie and I of course sang wonderfully, however some others in the crowd were really lacking in singing skills. Actually it was pretty sad when I stopped to listen, no one seemed to be in synch not to mention those that were out of tune. It didn’t matter though because we were all having a great time. Even though the weather wasn’t too cold the benches were awful – then soaked up all the cold and made you colder than you would have been. We were glad we weren’t there on a really cold night.
AK
We love AK, but hate it during the heat of summer, so we spent a lot of time there. I don’t think we arrived here once before noon. Generally the park was not crowded on any of the days we were there. We did find out from someone, sometime during our trip that they had gone at noon one day and the park was closed – so I guess we just picked the right days to go there.
There was that usual crowd bottle neck in Africa and most of the days/times we were there the train to Conservation Station (forget what they call it now) had kind of a long wait. We were there one day though when there was no wait so over we went. Love to see them bring out the different animals and talk about them. We were there kind of late though, so didn’t get the full benefit of seeing the different animals. Since someone here informed us that the animals in the petting area were actually rare goats and such, we did take a little more time out in the petting area. There was one goat that kept trying to eat people’s things – he got hold of someone’s map they had stuck in their back pocket – so people please try to be careful in this area so the animals don’t eat something they shouldn’t be. At this point it was actually getting late in the day and the animals were going to be put away for the night, and they knew it. I believe it was a Llama that was the first to show signs. He was walking in a figure 8 right next to the gate they would let him through. A couple of us were trying to encourage him to come a little closer so we could pet him, but he pretty much kept to his little path. When the CM started unlocking the gates to the pens more and more excitement started building up in the different animals waiting for their turn to go in for the night. At one point the goats started really moving and circling you had to be careful to not get in their way. Even though the animals were going to bed, the building was still open so we went inside for a little bit more.
We went into the “Sounds of the Rainforest” booth to get off our feet and relax. I can’t actually relax in there though because in all of Disney this is the one place that freaks me out a little. I have no problem with any of the roller coasters, AE, ToT or anything else, but when they start making me think there is a big old snake there – I get a tad nervous, and have to convince myself it is just in my mind. The snake in HISTA doesn’t bother me at all, but this is just too real feeling to me. On our way out of the building we started looking for the hidden Mickey’s in the mural. There was a CM there that started having a few different groups each find 5 hidden Mickey’s. We actually found more than that and she presented us with a Hidden Mickey Search Certificate – pretty cool!
At one point or another we did all the rides except Kali River Rapids. Did the safari several different times, and with all the times I have been on this, and that has been tons, I still think the best time is the very earliest rides in the morning. However, this trip we never made it in the morning so we settled for whatever other times of the day we were there. We did see a lot of animals, it just doesn’t compare with the amount you see in the mornings. We had previously seen all the shows at AK except Pochohantas so we did that this time. One day we went for the animal training show which was short but interesting, and another day we saw the actual show. We also saw our personal favorite show there – no not The Lion King, but the Flights of Wonder. I know the CMs have a job to do, but it does get to be a little annoying when they try to force you into certain sections when there really are no crowds. We did manage to get a good seat though, so all was well. Had one of the birds fly right over our heads – you could feel him/her go by. I asked my DD if maybe we should give the Lion King Show another try, but she said no. We had seen it before and we just weren’t as impressed as everyone else seems to be. It was no big deal to me that she didn’t want to bother, maybe I’ll check it out again on another day, but I really don’t think it will change my opinion.
It was Christmas, so one day we visited Camp Minnie Mickey to visit all the characters in their holiday finest. We did this during the Lion King Show so it was basically walk up and get your picture taken. Last year we didn’t make it until after Christmas, and they still had the Character Christmas trees up but the characters were no longer in costume so it was nice to see them dressed up this time. We also got a chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich from Chip & Dale’s cookie hut one day. It was good, but the ones in the Main Street Bakery in MK are much better. The reason was the ice cream. At AK they use this little square block of frozen ice cream and at MK they scoop 3 fresh scoops of really good vanilla ice cream. They are about the same size cookies and about the same price, but MK ones are better, although I think the chances of getting a warm cookie are better at AK.
Of course we also checked out the animals you see while walking around. One day while heading down the main path towards Africa I noticed someone on a little side path standing and looking. I figured something was there so we went to investigate. We realized it was a CM feeding one of those giant birds. Pretty cool they came right up next to us grabbed their fish and ran off to eat it, before coming back for another one. We also thoroughly explored both of the walking trails. Everyone goes through these trails way faster than we do. We love to sit and watch and listen to the CMs talk about the animals. Got some really good views of the gorillas this time, however, the tigers were not so fun to watch as previously. The bats were so good the day we were there either because of the cold weather – not so many of them either. We also enjoyed watching those monkeys in Asia – they are not really monkeys but I can’t think of what they actually are. They had a cute little baby this time. At the end of one of the trails, I think the Pagani one, they had a big cage that is open. When we got to it there was these 3 little boys in it getting their picture taken. One of the kids was hanging upside down in the cage and it was a really good picture, but his parents missed it. He got tired out and so they took a regular picture. Then this other little adorable boy came that had his face painted like a lion or tiger or something and made this little roaring motion – too cute! At that point the other kid had rested so they went back in the cage and he managed the hanging trick for his parents – glad he did because that is a picture that they will really love later. After watching all this we decided we needed to get a picture in the cage too – everyone is a kid at Disney you know.
MK
I don’t really have much to say about this park. We did the usual rides and stuff. We never did SM on this trip. My DD did this ride for the very first time in the summer and I’m not sure I would get her on it again, and since most days it was chilly when we were in the area I never bothered trying. I am sorry that I didn’t return to the Diamond Horseshoe Review to see their regular show. We saw the Christmas one, but didn’t go back and now the show is going away. We did however go see COP more than once during the trip. Whenever I’m in Tomorrowland and it is open, it usually means there are crowds so I talk to people I realize are newbies and tell them they really need to go check it out. I figure the more people there the more they will open it. I remember when every seat in there would be full, but sadly now it is usually less than half full. One good thing though was that they kept it open until 10:00 and previous times that closed at 5:00 – they even have it marked that way on the sign, which they turned around. As the days grew busier we started to avoid this park. One other thing that comes to mind is the day we ate at Columbia Harbor House. Valerie went upstairs to get a seat while I got in line. When I got out of line I tried to go upstairs, but they had closed off all the stairs. It took me awhile walking around the restaurant to figure this out until I finally snuck upstairs. There were still some people up there eating, but they were trying to close the area down. Since my DD was already waiting with a seat then didn’t seem to mind that I came up. We sat over the walkway and warmed up and did some people watching – good fast food place and a good seat.
MGM
I wanted to see the movie again in One Man’s Dream, but when we went there I fell asleep. That sometimes happens to me at Disney. I’ll be perfectly fine, but put me in a comfortable dark seat and I nod off – not because I’m bored, I just can’t help it. We didn’t actually do a lot in this park, but found out that they opened Tower 4 at ToT early so we definitely visited there.
Also went to our favorite, WWTBAM. We were excited to find out the new prize for this was a cruise! I really, really wanted to win that cruise. In another few weeks Valerie wouldn’t be able to play anymore, so we tried a couple of times (more than a couple) to get in that hot seat. As usual we made it in the Top Ten but this time neither of us got in the hot seat. Valerie wanted me to get up there before her because she was convinced this time I would win. Last time I made it to the million point question when sadly I lost. It was disappointing to make it so far and lose, but I would have been devastated if I had lost a free cruise – I would have enjoyed a trip to NY, but I can drive to NY and have been there more than once and I really don’t care if I ever meet Regis. However, a Disney Cruise would have been way cool! Anyway, it just wasn’t meant to be this time. We did see one guy that got to the million point question though. I warned Valerie that if I knew the answer I would cheat and yell it out, but I had no clue so I didn’t say anything. Unfortunately he didn’t know the answer either and guessed wrong.
One day we happily stumbled into the “character singers” – I don’t remember what they are called, but they were doing this wonderful Christmas Carol theme show. It was really funny and amazing. You had to be there to truly appreciate it, but I’ll try to explain a little anyway. One thing they did was to sing the words to a certain carol to the tune of another one – that has got to take a lot of practice to not slip into the real tune. They also were changing from one carol to another when a phrase or word would be the same in one song and the next, but two totally different songs – they continued that through quite a few songs. They also did a very non-traditional 12 days of Christmas – had a couple of audience members participate too. For all you newbies out there, don’t make the mistake of just going to the “regular” attractions – stop and watch the impromptu shows like these. It is one of those magical things that you can’t plan for. Actually, I think they probably had them listed on the schedule of events, but many of these characters do impromptu things too when they are not scheduled for these shows. In any event it is something you couldn’t plan ahead of time because you would have to depend on the time the day you get there. I’m just trying to point out that there are many other things to enjoy at Disney besides the rides, attractions, and regularly scheduled shows.
It was Christmas and at MGM during Christmas you have to see Osborne Lights. Last year we went as soon as the park closed right after our last ride on ToT and had plenty of time to enjoy it with no crowds. This year we were in the area closer to the opening for the night before the park closed so decided to walk over to see it snowing. The crowds were unbelievably huge, so we quickly left there and decided to return after park closing. When we came back, the crowds had thinned out but there were still quite a few people. Last year there was only a handful of people the whole time we were there. When we first got back there they were filming some kind of Christmas thing with Mickey and Minnie in the little square in front of the church. We watched for a few minutes, but you couldn’t hear anything, so we quickly moved on. This year they didn’t run out of the 3-D glasses so we kept putting them on and off to check out the angels. We took our time walking through and were amazed at how crowded it still was when we left. It was still snowing when we left, so I guess if it is busy they keep the snow going. Last year we didn’t see any snow at all there.
That is about all I have to say about the parks for this part of our trip.
December 21 – Meet at Beaches and Cream
I believe the meet was set for 1:00 so we decided that would be our lunch, so no need to eat before we got there. We managed to get out of our hotel and were doing okay on time until somehow I missed the turn into the Yacht/Beach Club – I wasn’t paying attention and was actually thinking it was a little further down. I thought we could go down and make a quick turn around, but before you knew it we basically drove all the way around EPCOT or MGM (I don’t remember which one) before coming back to the turn. Paid better attention this time and we decided to try the parking at Yacht Club to see if it was a little better than the Beach Club. I think the parking was a little better, but once you get inside I think the walk from Beach Club is a little closer than from the Yacht Club – maybe because I didn’t know where I was going from that direction. We were about 15 minutes late so were hurrying in and didn’t even notice Lynn (Planalp) outside. Went in and told the hostess we were meeting some people and she informed us the internet group was outside. Lucky for us it was one of the warm really beautiful days. As soon as we went out we spotted Lynn and she spotted us. Val and I split the Brownie Sundae – it made a good lunch. We sat with Kaycee and her family and had a lovely chat with her sons. Her boys were very sweet and enjoyable to talk with. The problem with this place is that there was not enough room for us inside to sit together and the tables outside didn’t move so we kind of were split up. It would be a good place for a small group to meet, but I wouldn’t plan a bigger group meet there. It was fun meeting some new people as well as seeing some old people. Before we knew it pictures were being taken, and everyone was off to do their own thing. Val and I took the opportunity to visit both resorts Christmas decorations while there so we didn’t have to make a separate trip.
So far up to this point there had only been one morning of rain and we had avoided it by staying in bed until lunch time. Every other day had been wonderful. Some days warmer than others, but much better weather than we had the previous year.
Cast – Me and DD Valerie
2nd trip to Disney for Christmas, but this year we would also be there for New Year’s Eve.
Day 4 – 9, December 18 – December 23
I’m cheating here because I don’t really remember when we did what. If I had written this when I first got back I would have remembered, but I was so busy getting ready to bring my DD back two weeks later that I just didn’t do it. First thing to know is that unlike my friend planalp, I don’t plan. Well I do plan a few things, but very, very few things. I don’t do PS unless it is a special occasion and that doesn’t include holidays, so I had no prior PS. The things I remember planning for this trip were to go to MVMCP, which I covered in the first part. I also planned to go to the meet at Beaches and Cream that Kaycee set up on December 21 – that will be in this part. I also planned to be at MK on Christmas Day and watch the Christmas parade – loved, loved, loved doing that last year. It was so cool to be sitting at the MK on Christmas Day watching the parade – it just felt so special – however, those plans changed. I also planned to be at EPCOT for New Year’s Eve. In between Christmas and New Year’s we were going to visit my parents in southern Florida. Besides those things that had special times/days we planned to see Candlelight Processional – missed it last year. Also, the storytellers around the world – missed them too. Visit the Osborne Lights at MGM – did that last year and wanted to return. Visit the different resorts to check out holiday decorations – something we also did last year. Visit COP more than once since they don’t always open it. I think that is about it for my plans.
Day 4, December 18
The hotel we were at had a continental breakfast, but found out it was no longer the same as before. They still had cereal, fruit, krispy crème donuts and juice, milk, coffee, and tea, but no longer had the bagels, toast, and english muffins. That was quite disappointing. Despite the fact that we closed the party down the night before, I did manage to get up and pick us up breakfast before they stopped serving – that is when I found out about the change. Valerie can’t tolerate too much milk and the donuts are too rich for her – both things give her bad stomachaches, so we weren’t too happy about the change. Normally when going offsite I pack a toaster, but since we didn’t previously need it here I didn’t this time much to my disappointment. We did pick up some other breakfast items and on some days Val just ate cereal with a very little milk.
Back to Day 4 – 10, December 18 - 24
Anyhow after breakfast the first day we probably took a nap – remember we had a long trip and we were at the party the night before. OK, that is just an excuse because most days we slept in. Usually I woke up and got breakfast and then back to bed for a while. On very few days we left the room early. Generally we had lunch at the room before going out for the day. The hotel had a microwave that anyone could use and I packed my camp stove so I either cooked something or made sandwiches for lunch. Sometimes we made dinner at the hotel too. The hotel also had barbeques but I forgot the charcoal and we had enough other stuff to eat so I didn’t bother with that. Having that fridge sure saved a lot of money, which was a good thing because this was a long trip on a very limited budget. Since the trip was so long and we had APs we didn’t feel like we had to get up and go all the time – it was heaven.
The first few days there the parks were not very crowded – not deserted, but not as crowded as they would become over Christmas week.
EPCOT
One of the things we did for this trip was concentrate on hitting the Story Teller stations at EPCOT. Each country had a little spot set up and about 5 or 6 times a day they had a holiday story teller dressed in character come out and tell you about holiday customs in their land. They also had a sign set up basically telling you what the story teller said, but it was much better hearing it from the story teller (we did notice at least one place that there was slightly different stuff on the sign). In America they simply had Santa and kids sitting on his lap. The only one we missed was Norway because the day we chose to do that, the person had the day off or something. We really enjoyed listening to all the others. We did most of them before Christmas and a few after New Year’s.
One day we hung around watching Miyuki – we each got one of her creations. She is pretty good about noticing people that come for more than one “show” and making sure they get one of her wonderful candy creations. We were glad that was one of the reversed budget cuts that Disney made and we let her know too.
I had thought about do a CP package, but decided my budget was too limited for that. I definitely was going to actually go in and sit down this year (last year the line was too long so we just kind of peeked for outside for a little bit) and watch the show, but hadn’t really planned when. We were walking around one day and happened to be in the area when the early show was about to begin – there were tons of seats still available, but we decided it was too light out and we would rather see it in the dark so we passed. On December 22 we were walking by just as the 2nd show was beginning and there was not too many people in line for the last show. It was also not too cold and clear and we didn’t know what other days would be like, so we got in line and waited. We used that time to relax and have a snack and talked to some people around us. The time flew by quickly and then it was time to be seated. Even without the package we ended up with pretty good seats. We were on the aisle in the very center row about 2 or 3 back from the package people. I thought we actually had better seats then some of the people that bought the package so that made us happy. There was a really good CM standing by and had us singing Christmas Carols as we waited for the show. Valerie and I of course sang wonderfully, however some others in the crowd were really lacking in singing skills. Actually it was pretty sad when I stopped to listen, no one seemed to be in synch not to mention those that were out of tune. It didn’t matter though because we were all having a great time. Even though the weather wasn’t too cold the benches were awful – then soaked up all the cold and made you colder than you would have been. We were glad we weren’t there on a really cold night.
AK
We love AK, but hate it during the heat of summer, so we spent a lot of time there. I don’t think we arrived here once before noon. Generally the park was not crowded on any of the days we were there. We did find out from someone, sometime during our trip that they had gone at noon one day and the park was closed – so I guess we just picked the right days to go there.
There was that usual crowd bottle neck in Africa and most of the days/times we were there the train to Conservation Station (forget what they call it now) had kind of a long wait. We were there one day though when there was no wait so over we went. Love to see them bring out the different animals and talk about them. We were there kind of late though, so didn’t get the full benefit of seeing the different animals. Since someone here informed us that the animals in the petting area were actually rare goats and such, we did take a little more time out in the petting area. There was one goat that kept trying to eat people’s things – he got hold of someone’s map they had stuck in their back pocket – so people please try to be careful in this area so the animals don’t eat something they shouldn’t be. At this point it was actually getting late in the day and the animals were going to be put away for the night, and they knew it. I believe it was a Llama that was the first to show signs. He was walking in a figure 8 right next to the gate they would let him through. A couple of us were trying to encourage him to come a little closer so we could pet him, but he pretty much kept to his little path. When the CM started unlocking the gates to the pens more and more excitement started building up in the different animals waiting for their turn to go in for the night. At one point the goats started really moving and circling you had to be careful to not get in their way. Even though the animals were going to bed, the building was still open so we went inside for a little bit more.
We went into the “Sounds of the Rainforest” booth to get off our feet and relax. I can’t actually relax in there though because in all of Disney this is the one place that freaks me out a little. I have no problem with any of the roller coasters, AE, ToT or anything else, but when they start making me think there is a big old snake there – I get a tad nervous, and have to convince myself it is just in my mind. The snake in HISTA doesn’t bother me at all, but this is just too real feeling to me. On our way out of the building we started looking for the hidden Mickey’s in the mural. There was a CM there that started having a few different groups each find 5 hidden Mickey’s. We actually found more than that and she presented us with a Hidden Mickey Search Certificate – pretty cool!
At one point or another we did all the rides except Kali River Rapids. Did the safari several different times, and with all the times I have been on this, and that has been tons, I still think the best time is the very earliest rides in the morning. However, this trip we never made it in the morning so we settled for whatever other times of the day we were there. We did see a lot of animals, it just doesn’t compare with the amount you see in the mornings. We had previously seen all the shows at AK except Pochohantas so we did that this time. One day we went for the animal training show which was short but interesting, and another day we saw the actual show. We also saw our personal favorite show there – no not The Lion King, but the Flights of Wonder. I know the CMs have a job to do, but it does get to be a little annoying when they try to force you into certain sections when there really are no crowds. We did manage to get a good seat though, so all was well. Had one of the birds fly right over our heads – you could feel him/her go by. I asked my DD if maybe we should give the Lion King Show another try, but she said no. We had seen it before and we just weren’t as impressed as everyone else seems to be. It was no big deal to me that she didn’t want to bother, maybe I’ll check it out again on another day, but I really don’t think it will change my opinion.
It was Christmas, so one day we visited Camp Minnie Mickey to visit all the characters in their holiday finest. We did this during the Lion King Show so it was basically walk up and get your picture taken. Last year we didn’t make it until after Christmas, and they still had the Character Christmas trees up but the characters were no longer in costume so it was nice to see them dressed up this time. We also got a chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich from Chip & Dale’s cookie hut one day. It was good, but the ones in the Main Street Bakery in MK are much better. The reason was the ice cream. At AK they use this little square block of frozen ice cream and at MK they scoop 3 fresh scoops of really good vanilla ice cream. They are about the same size cookies and about the same price, but MK ones are better, although I think the chances of getting a warm cookie are better at AK.
Of course we also checked out the animals you see while walking around. One day while heading down the main path towards Africa I noticed someone on a little side path standing and looking. I figured something was there so we went to investigate. We realized it was a CM feeding one of those giant birds. Pretty cool they came right up next to us grabbed their fish and ran off to eat it, before coming back for another one. We also thoroughly explored both of the walking trails. Everyone goes through these trails way faster than we do. We love to sit and watch and listen to the CMs talk about the animals. Got some really good views of the gorillas this time, however, the tigers were not so fun to watch as previously. The bats were so good the day we were there either because of the cold weather – not so many of them either. We also enjoyed watching those monkeys in Asia – they are not really monkeys but I can’t think of what they actually are. They had a cute little baby this time. At the end of one of the trails, I think the Pagani one, they had a big cage that is open. When we got to it there was these 3 little boys in it getting their picture taken. One of the kids was hanging upside down in the cage and it was a really good picture, but his parents missed it. He got tired out and so they took a regular picture. Then this other little adorable boy came that had his face painted like a lion or tiger or something and made this little roaring motion – too cute! At that point the other kid had rested so they went back in the cage and he managed the hanging trick for his parents – glad he did because that is a picture that they will really love later. After watching all this we decided we needed to get a picture in the cage too – everyone is a kid at Disney you know.
MK
I don’t really have much to say about this park. We did the usual rides and stuff. We never did SM on this trip. My DD did this ride for the very first time in the summer and I’m not sure I would get her on it again, and since most days it was chilly when we were in the area I never bothered trying. I am sorry that I didn’t return to the Diamond Horseshoe Review to see their regular show. We saw the Christmas one, but didn’t go back and now the show is going away. We did however go see COP more than once during the trip. Whenever I’m in Tomorrowland and it is open, it usually means there are crowds so I talk to people I realize are newbies and tell them they really need to go check it out. I figure the more people there the more they will open it. I remember when every seat in there would be full, but sadly now it is usually less than half full. One good thing though was that they kept it open until 10:00 and previous times that closed at 5:00 – they even have it marked that way on the sign, which they turned around. As the days grew busier we started to avoid this park. One other thing that comes to mind is the day we ate at Columbia Harbor House. Valerie went upstairs to get a seat while I got in line. When I got out of line I tried to go upstairs, but they had closed off all the stairs. It took me awhile walking around the restaurant to figure this out until I finally snuck upstairs. There were still some people up there eating, but they were trying to close the area down. Since my DD was already waiting with a seat then didn’t seem to mind that I came up. We sat over the walkway and warmed up and did some people watching – good fast food place and a good seat.
MGM
I wanted to see the movie again in One Man’s Dream, but when we went there I fell asleep. That sometimes happens to me at Disney. I’ll be perfectly fine, but put me in a comfortable dark seat and I nod off – not because I’m bored, I just can’t help it. We didn’t actually do a lot in this park, but found out that they opened Tower 4 at ToT early so we definitely visited there.
Also went to our favorite, WWTBAM. We were excited to find out the new prize for this was a cruise! I really, really wanted to win that cruise. In another few weeks Valerie wouldn’t be able to play anymore, so we tried a couple of times (more than a couple) to get in that hot seat. As usual we made it in the Top Ten but this time neither of us got in the hot seat. Valerie wanted me to get up there before her because she was convinced this time I would win. Last time I made it to the million point question when sadly I lost. It was disappointing to make it so far and lose, but I would have been devastated if I had lost a free cruise – I would have enjoyed a trip to NY, but I can drive to NY and have been there more than once and I really don’t care if I ever meet Regis. However, a Disney Cruise would have been way cool! Anyway, it just wasn’t meant to be this time. We did see one guy that got to the million point question though. I warned Valerie that if I knew the answer I would cheat and yell it out, but I had no clue so I didn’t say anything. Unfortunately he didn’t know the answer either and guessed wrong.
One day we happily stumbled into the “character singers” – I don’t remember what they are called, but they were doing this wonderful Christmas Carol theme show. It was really funny and amazing. You had to be there to truly appreciate it, but I’ll try to explain a little anyway. One thing they did was to sing the words to a certain carol to the tune of another one – that has got to take a lot of practice to not slip into the real tune. They also were changing from one carol to another when a phrase or word would be the same in one song and the next, but two totally different songs – they continued that through quite a few songs. They also did a very non-traditional 12 days of Christmas – had a couple of audience members participate too. For all you newbies out there, don’t make the mistake of just going to the “regular” attractions – stop and watch the impromptu shows like these. It is one of those magical things that you can’t plan for. Actually, I think they probably had them listed on the schedule of events, but many of these characters do impromptu things too when they are not scheduled for these shows. In any event it is something you couldn’t plan ahead of time because you would have to depend on the time the day you get there. I’m just trying to point out that there are many other things to enjoy at Disney besides the rides, attractions, and regularly scheduled shows.
It was Christmas and at MGM during Christmas you have to see Osborne Lights. Last year we went as soon as the park closed right after our last ride on ToT and had plenty of time to enjoy it with no crowds. This year we were in the area closer to the opening for the night before the park closed so decided to walk over to see it snowing. The crowds were unbelievably huge, so we quickly left there and decided to return after park closing. When we came back, the crowds had thinned out but there were still quite a few people. Last year there was only a handful of people the whole time we were there. When we first got back there they were filming some kind of Christmas thing with Mickey and Minnie in the little square in front of the church. We watched for a few minutes, but you couldn’t hear anything, so we quickly moved on. This year they didn’t run out of the 3-D glasses so we kept putting them on and off to check out the angels. We took our time walking through and were amazed at how crowded it still was when we left. It was still snowing when we left, so I guess if it is busy they keep the snow going. Last year we didn’t see any snow at all there.
That is about all I have to say about the parks for this part of our trip.
December 21 – Meet at Beaches and Cream
I believe the meet was set for 1:00 so we decided that would be our lunch, so no need to eat before we got there. We managed to get out of our hotel and were doing okay on time until somehow I missed the turn into the Yacht/Beach Club – I wasn’t paying attention and was actually thinking it was a little further down. I thought we could go down and make a quick turn around, but before you knew it we basically drove all the way around EPCOT or MGM (I don’t remember which one) before coming back to the turn. Paid better attention this time and we decided to try the parking at Yacht Club to see if it was a little better than the Beach Club. I think the parking was a little better, but once you get inside I think the walk from Beach Club is a little closer than from the Yacht Club – maybe because I didn’t know where I was going from that direction. We were about 15 minutes late so were hurrying in and didn’t even notice Lynn (Planalp) outside. Went in and told the hostess we were meeting some people and she informed us the internet group was outside. Lucky for us it was one of the warm really beautiful days. As soon as we went out we spotted Lynn and she spotted us. Val and I split the Brownie Sundae – it made a good lunch. We sat with Kaycee and her family and had a lovely chat with her sons. Her boys were very sweet and enjoyable to talk with. The problem with this place is that there was not enough room for us inside to sit together and the tables outside didn’t move so we kind of were split up. It would be a good place for a small group to meet, but I wouldn’t plan a bigger group meet there. It was fun meeting some new people as well as seeing some old people. Before we knew it pictures were being taken, and everyone was off to do their own thing. Val and I took the opportunity to visit both resorts Christmas decorations while there so we didn’t have to make a separate trip.
So far up to this point there had only been one morning of rain and we had avoided it by staying in bed until lunch time. Every other day had been wonderful. Some days warmer than others, but much better weather than we had the previous year.