After
that we said our good-byes. We'd be seeing most everyone that
night at Pleasure Island. We headed out and caught the boat to
Epcot. Decided to get off at YC/BC so that we could check out the
decorations at both resorts. Both were very pretty, and the Beach
Club had a large Gingerbread Carousel that was really impressive.
Outside they had a beautiful poinsettia tree. We walked over to
Epcot and entered through the International Gateway. We found
Princess Aurora greeting guests just on the other side. She was
kind enough to pose for a couple pictures that we could give to our
daughter Madison after getting home - her favorite!
We walked through the UK, and on to Canada where we saw Santa talking
to the excited crowd. We headed in to Le Cellier to see about
sneaking in for a late lunch, but they were booked solid. We
really didn't have a lot of time anyway, so it worked out for the
best. We continued on toward Mexico, but ran into the Epcot bus
full of Characters dressed in their holiday best! We took a few
minutes to see a few of them - the lines weren't too long.
On to Mexico, were we decided to grab a bite to eat at the San Angel
Cantina. It was actually very good, and I'm surprised we had
never tried here before. We continued on around the World
Showcase. We didn't have a lot of time this afternoon, so we only
saw a few countries, and then headed back to the resort. We
needed a little time to rest before heading to the Boardwalk for
another MouseFest event. The bus came fairly quickly, which was
nice, and we were back to the WL pretty quickly.
 After a short nap, we got up and got ready for our BoardWalk and
Pleasure Island meets that evening. But first I had a little
surprise for Kristen. We walked down to Roaring Fork and filled
our mugs with hot chocolate. Then headed out to the main
entrance. I told her I had a surprise, but she had no idea what
it was going to be. As we exited he lodge, she immediately saw
the 'sleigh' and horse parked over near the far wall. She said,
"Oh, look at that! - Wait, is THAT the surprise?" :-) Yup,
we are the first sleigh ride of the night!
 We walked over, and met Terry the driver and Lucky - his large and
beautiful horse. The sleigh was very pretty. Bright red
with seating for at least 4 adults, and a quilt in case it got
chilly. It was even decked out with runners and Christmas
lights! We got a few pictures along with several other very
interested guests. The sleigh was drawing a bit of a crowd, and
it was fun to climb aboard and head out - even with everyone
watching! :-)
Terry had even added jingle bells to Lucky to finish off the effect and
we headed out the main exit. We followed the road to leave the
resort, but turned off on the path to Fort Wilderness. We went
about half way to FW, and then turned around and headed back to
WL. Terry took the sleigh up near the bus loading area, and
crossed over the walkway to VWL, around past the quiet pool, and around
to the pool bar near the lake beach area.  We turned around,
headed back to the bus loading area, and then up to the main entrance
again. The round trip took just under 30 minutes. Terry was
very friendly, but also gave us quiet time to chat and enjoy the ride
as well. He said that the sleigh rides had booked up quickly, and
were doing so well, that Disney was considering adding them year
around. I think they would be very popular with WL guests.
|
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I
slept right through until about 7am the next morning, so I really WAS
tired! At least I woke up feeling better and ready to hit
MGM. Kristen was recovered as well and ready to go. We
caught the 8am bus, and arrived at the park shortly after 8:30.
We met up with several others from the site waiting for the park to
open. They let us in a bit early and we got together for a group
photo with those that had already showed up. 
They dropped the
rope at 9:00am and we were off for ToT and RnR. We waited just a
few minutes for everyone to show up, grabbed RnR fastpasses and then
about 3/4 of us headed for ToT. Kristen passed on this one - not
being too sure of her stomach yet. She had lots of people to wait
with though. Cheri, Margaret, Elaine and Stinkerbelle passed on
ToT! BetsyAnn, Matt, Dennis, Jim, Alicia, AmyA, SusanL and
WillCAD all did the big drop, and we got the picture to prove it!
:-) It was a great time, and the wait was only a few
minutes. By the time we finished, it was time for RnR, so off we
went. Kristen braved this one, and it was another great
ride! We got a great group shot outside of RnR!
We all headed off to grab a bite to eat at Staring Rolls, and then
split off a bit. We ended up doing the Haunted Mansion set (fun,
but not enough time to explore), and then walked right in to
Millionaire. Matt and WillCAD made the board twice, and WillCAD
was in the top position when we left! It would have been great if
he had made the hot seat! :-)
Both
Kristen and I really enjoyed the ride, and it was a highlight of the
trip. After returning we grabbed the car from the Valet service,
and headed to the BoardWalk. Deb Wills (AllEarsNet) and Shontell
Crawford (DVC by Resale) were having a Wine and Cheese party.
They had invited Webmasters and Authors that had attended the MegaMeet
the day before, along with DVC members that Shontell knew. It was
a wonderful get together, held in a Grand Villa. All guests were
welcome to tour the unit - which was incredibly beautiful. I
didn't take pictures though... even though I really wanted to!!!
Thought that would be a bit rude. :-) The units are HUGE,
and this one had 3 balconies, that ran the entire length of the one
floor villa (some are two floors). It had a magnificent Boardwalk
view, and it was great sitting and chatting on the deck. It was
great having another chance to chat with some of the people I had not
had time to chat with at the MegaMeet. And about half way
through, AlicaG showed up after sneaking out of Fantasmic a bit
early! :-) We had plans to ride over to Pleasure Island
together, and headed out around 8:30. 
It took a bit for the car to come back from Valet, and as we were
loading up the car Alicia saw AmyA, PaulF and a DIS moderator (sorry -
forgot his name...) coming out of the Boardwalk. Amy was going to
catch a bus to Downtown Disney, but since we were headed there anyway,
with room in the car, we were able to safe her some bus time by giving
her a ride. 
We ended up being a bit late meeting the PI crew (sorry guys) - waiting
for the car and the drive over took longer than we thought. We
found everyone waiting in the Adventurer's Club, and after going
downstairs, I got to try my first Kungaloosh! Very tasty!!
:-) We stayed here for awhile, and it was a lot of fun.
They have different rooms, where they do skits or shows for the people
in that room. We wanted to make the 10:30 Comedy Warehouse show
so we headed out in time to grab a quick snack and get in line for the
show. The Gyros were very good (from a little stand back toward
the entrance) and we waited a bit before they let us file in for the
show. 
The comedians did a great job and we all really enjoyed the show.
Kristen and I were amazed at how well they could ad-lib the show.
It really was very funny. After leaving we gave 8 Trax a try for
a little while, and then headed out to watch the fireworks.
Kristen, Alicia and I were ready to go after that. We said our
good-byes, and headed out. This would be our last meet, so it was
sad to be leaving. We dropped Alicia off at the Contemporary, and
then headed back to the WL.