Merry is NOT an Option ~ Live from WDW w/ Pics :)

[happybratpack]

This is a super special trip for the simple fact that it will be SOMEONE's (aka L below) first holiday trip to the World! (and I've been waiting years to get back for the festivities so woohoo for me too!)

This isn't a commando trip, but we do have some general guidelines so we don't end up people watching at the MK everyday like usual. ;) It's a HOLIDAY trip so we'll be submerged in Merry-ness and feeling festive 24/7, no exceptions. The first order of business at arrival is Mickey Santa ears.

I'm desperately trying to find us the Disney Crocs before we go. I'm a devoted Crocs fan, but L needs some Disney-encouragement so these should do nicely. I know he secretly wants to be hot like me and wear his Crocs with socks. :rotfl:


The Cast...
Maryann aka happybratpack, 33 (eek) ~ (M)

Larry aka enchanteddisney, 38 (double eek, ha ha) ~ (L)

Us on a previous trip…

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Concentrated effort will be made not to wear the same clothes previously photographed in. :blush:



Travel Details & the Budget…

Wednesday, November 29th until Wednesday, December 6th

Two roundtrip non-stop flights from DFW to MCO ~ $354.20

Magical Express - Zippo

Seven nights in a standard room at the AP rate for the Carribean Beach Resort ~ $780.00
(Inaugural trip to CBR, the only mod we could book w/ the AP rate so we’re trying it out!)

Food, snacks & drinks ~ $750.00

Tickets ~ Zippo
(still using the same AP’s that have already seen 2 full weeks there this year)



“Special” Fun planned…

Doing the Christmas Party TWO nights – November 30th and December 5th!

Holiday Sleigh Ride at the Wilderness Lodge

Visiting all the resorts for holiday decorations and partaking of the holiday fun at all the parks

Spending some serious time taking pics of the holiday decorations and searching for Hidden Mickey’s

AP Preview of the Nemo Musical at AK on December 2nd

Mini-Golf at Winter Summerland since we always say we’re doing it but never do and it fits in nicely with the MERRY theme. :banana:

Christmas Shopping!


Our (planned) Dining Adventures…
(reviews & pics to come with everything we filled in w/ too)

~ Main Street Bakery
~Tangierine Café in Morocco
~Crystal Palace for Bfast
~Afternoon Tea @ the GF
~Lunch at the 50’s Prime Time Café
~Dinner at Cape May Café
~Tusker House
~Dinner at Boma
~Lunch at The Brown Derby
~Lunch at Le Cellier in Canada

My fingers are crossed for some chilly holiday-like weather! :cold:

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[OhMari]

Love the Christmas Theme colors.Have a great trip and let me know when you get back, so I can move your TR down to the regular board.
OhMari, Trip Report Moderator

[happybratpack]

Love the Christmas Theme colors.Have a great trip and let me know when you get back, so I can move your TR down to the regular board.
OhMari, Trip Report Moderator

Thanks! I'm so ready for the holidays it's not funny!

I am going to try to do a daily report when I'm there (hopefully).

:banana:

[serendipity]

I love it! I'm so excited to hear about everything. I'm also jealous that you're leaving so soon! Take lots of photos for me!!!!

[happybratpack]

I love it! I'm so excited to hear about everything. I'm also jealous that you're leaving so soon! Take lots of photos for me!!!!

We're on a photo mission this time so there will prob be WAY too many pics!!! Thanks again for your awesome reports, they've made the last week fun for me to follow. :)

[WDW Poly Princess]

[COLOR=Red][COLOR=DarkGreen]Travel Details & the Budget…

[COLOR=DarkGreen]Wednesday, November 29th until Wednesday, December 6th

Two roundtrip non-stop flights from DFW to MCO ~ $354.20

Magical Express - Zippo

Seven nights in a standard room at the AP rate for the Carribean Beach Resort ~ $780.00
(Inaugural trip to CBR, the only mod we could book w/ the AP rate so we’re trying it out!)

Food, snacks & drinks ~ $750.00




Big stack of lime green Mickey Heads- Priceless! :D

[happybratpack]

Big stack of lime green Mickey Heads- Priceless! :D

:rotfl2: You crack me up, I need to add that.

Leaving in the morning FINALLY!! Of course, we both have the endings of the flu so hoping something magical happens overnight and it goes away!

[DebIreland]

Excellent start! :thumbsup2

Concentrated effort will be made not to wear the same clothes previously photographed in.

:lmao: Don't worry - we can select your sleeves in Photoshop and alter the colours if you like. Then it's more like "oh I have so much money I bought 10 of these tops :snooty: rather than "I don't have very many clothes :(". :teeth:

Can't wait for more. Have a fantastic trip!

[Blaynexox]

Yay!! Great pre trip report - cant wait till you get back so I can hear all about it!! Sounds like SOO MUCH FUN! I am SUPER jealous!! .. have fun fun fun ! Cant wait for the trip report ! :thumbsup2

[happybratpack]

Hi guys!

We're here now, we were at the Christmas Party last night and it rocked! Total fun, low crowds - if ONLY it were a little cooler! We so packed for colder weather and were really hot in jeans during the day.

Not a lot of time now, but wanted to say hello and add a few pics just for fun, I always like to see "live" pics so will try to do all week. I'll do the actual TR when I'm back. :)


Larry surprised me before we left and a box of Disney Crocs came to my office on Tuesday!! I KNEW he'd crack and has even agreed to wear red Crocs with socks. ;) (You should see the looks he's been getting) I swear we've had 20 people come up in the first couple days asking about them.[/COLOR]
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I wanted to share these too, we spent a lot of time at the Contemporary yesterday checking this out and looking for the Hidden Mickey's. It's just so amazing.

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[DebIreland]

Gorgeous pics! :cloud9: Your hubby is a very brave man wearing those crocs. :teeth: Looking forward to reading more!!

[Blaynexox]

Loving the pics .. cant wait for more! I cant believe that that display was out of food!

[mousehouselover]

Oh man, I want to go during the holidays.....

We're thinking about trying to go next year with the youngin's. Hopefully we'll be able to pull it off. (It would be so much easier if we can get the free dinng offer....)

[amamed1]

Love the trip report so far, it makes me even more excited to go...

[happybratpack]

We went to Cape May for the clam bake tonight and checked out all the holiday decor so thought I'd share. :)

(Thanks for all the nice comments!!)

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[happybratpack]

Gorgeous pics! :cloud9: Your hubby is a very brave man wearing those crocs. :teeth: Looking forward to reading more!!

Thanks everyone!!

You guys would not believe how many grown men have asked him where he got them. :rotfl2: Tonight at Cape May one of the guys from the kitchen asked him so he could wear them to work instead of the plain ones. The red is pretty out there, but we saw men in bright orange and hot pink today so it's all good. ;)

[WDW Poly Princess]

Ok, I officially want to EAT your trip report! All that chocolate!

[happybratpack]

I have a ton of pics from here, but most need editing so I'm not close to even starting yet. Here's a couple just for you WDW Poly Princess. ;)

A package of 3 shingles was $6, I just had them w/ tea tonight and they're yummy!

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[Blaynexox]

oh man! I want gingerbread now .. i guess a gingerbread latte from dunkin donuts will have to do! .. yummy!

[happybratpack]

Well, we're still in the room at 11 am. :( L is feeling pretty under the weather and eventually we're headed to AK and Boma for dinner tonight. I took video of the dancing lights at the Osborne Lights last night so hopefully can get that up on youtube soon.

It's still warm, but I saw it's supposed to be high in the 60s on Monday and Tuesday. :Pinkbounc This is good since we're almost out of short sleeve shirts. ;)

A couple Photopass pics from the party the other night and MGM yesterday. I've been pretty happy this time around w/ the Photopass pics, but some of them have broken cameras that give me 3 chins and an 8 month pregnancy look. :lmao: (I guess I shouldn't "borrow" these pics, but we will be buying the cd at the end so I think it's ok) pirate:

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[MissMichelle]

LOOOOOVING your Live report! I am so jealous! One day I will be brave enough to take the kids out of school and take them at this time of year...

How are the crowds??? ;)

[Cass]

Your report is amazing! Have a great time at DAK today.

I am staying at AKL in 11 days, please get some pics if you can :goodvibes

[happybratpack]

LOOOOOVING your Live report! I am so jealous! One day I will be brave enough to take the kids out of school and take them at this time of year...

How are the crowds??? ;)

I'd LOVE to take L's kiddos for the holidays. The crowds are odd to be honest. The best luck we've had with attractions has been at the Christmas Party. During the day we've pretty much walked on HM, Pirates, Philharmagic but Peter Pan, the mountains, etc were untouchable during the day (and still pretty long at MVMCP). Right when Epcot's extra magic hours started last night we walked right into Turtle Talk w/ Crush and were almost alone on The Land. Soarin'/Test Track was still 40 mins at 11 pm and Mission Space was only 10 mins. The new Nemo ride has been a walk on everytime we've gone on no matter the time of the day - we love it, I think it's a great addition to the park. We went to the Wonders of Life our first day and it was a ghost town, I don't think most people realize it's open.

The common areas of the parks haven't seemed to crowded really - easily found a spot on Main Street for both Wishes and Holiday Wishes as well as the parades. The resorts seem packed though. The transportation has mostly been full except for a couple times. Anytime close to peak times of the days we've been standing on the bus and waited through 3 buses last night to get home from Epcot. We're at CBR and not all that happy to be honest, but there's nowhere else to move to w/o putting out almost another 1k to move to a deluxe. I'll cover all that in the TR - the resort is gorgeous but I really don't see us staying here again.

Oh - we've seen the Dream Team a LOT. In fact, two of them watched The Making of Me with us and I thought for sure the Disney Gods were going to bestow something exciting but I guess they just wanted to watch the movie. :lmao: We actually rec'd a great Wish from another guest in the form of two Gold VIP tickets to the Candlelight Processional our first night.

I'm going to try to get L up and moving, I feel so bad he's sick since I was sick last week and I guess passed it on. Nothing worse than being under the weather here. :(

[OhMari]

I hope he is feeling better. Love the picture of you 2, you guys look great.
Do they make a new Gingerbread house every year?

[Blaynexox]

Love the pics! So cute!

[serendipity]

I LOVE the live report. Thanks so much for sharring the magic with us. I really love the shots of the candy pinnocchio scene. I hope L feels better!

[UtahMama]

I wonder if it'd be in poor taste to climb on the carousel and start eating? I could claim I've been on a low-carb diet and couldn't help myself!

I saw the houses on the Food Network and that alone would be worth the trip! I LOVE the lights and decorations! I have only been to DisneyLand during the holidays but if they were to offer free dining at WDW during this time of year, I'd have to go!

Your pictures are adorable, YOU! :p

[aimhi]

Love the trip report...it's so great that you are doing it...i will be reading this daily and when you are leaving I will be checking in. This is going to make the next few days feel as though I am almost there. Your great! :cheer2: :cheer2:

[StitchIsOurHero]

I am loving your report so far--I love the live pics. I hope L feels better soon. . .sending pixie dust your way. :wizard:

The food pics are gorgeous! That gingerbread house is amazing! Have a great time!! :thumbsup2

[Angelrose]

What beautiful pictures! Can't wait to read the rest of your report.

[Angelrose]

well darn, I tried to put them elf in my siggy but forgot how to do it. Oh well.

[Stitch's O'hana]

Thanks for your live report and pictures! My mom and I will be coming this Tuesday!!!!!! Hope the weather stays good! Did you get you Mickey Mouse Santa hat's at MVMCP? We are going on Dec. 7, it will be our first time! We can't wait!!!!!

[happybratpack]

Hello everyone!!

Thanks for all the sweet comments, I was dragging when we got back here but this perked me up. :)

We had a late start this morning and got back here early (for us) tonight so L could get more rest. We went to the AK for a few hours during the day, it was pretty crowded. At about 3:00 EE was 50 minutes, we walked onto Dinosaur and we used FP for the Safari but the FP times were only an hour out. We spent the rest of the time on the trails, exploring and taking pics. I was surprised how crowded the trails were today.

After dinner we went to the MK. Mistake. Ugh. It was July crowded in there, complete madhouse. Pirates was 50, Space was EIGHTY, Small World was 20, Peter Pan was 45 I think. HM & COP was pretty much walk on, but the TTA actually had a line down to ground level. The common areas were madness, we headed out during Wishes.

Weather...when we got to AK it was pretty toasty and late afternoon the cloud cover cooled it down. Tonight was one of the coolest nights since we've been here I think but still comfortable in shorts and tshirts. It's so seasonally confused here right now - people in everything from halter tops to fleece.

OH - one big thing I didn't realize and was completely bummed about. When we went to the AKL tonight for dinner I was SO looking forward to the gingerbread display. I didn't know the Chef had left and they didn't have it this year. :( There were a LOT of people there looking for it. That was going to be the holiday pics on here for the day so instead I'm going to attempt to post the ones from CBR. It's all behind glass so they didn't turn out all that great. The buildings matched the food court buildings. I'm going to go ahead and start the first couple days reports because I'm afraid of getting back home to Christmas madness next week and not getting it done. Plus we're back in the room and I have nothing to do. ;)

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[happybratpack]

Thanks for your live report and pictures! My mom and I will be coming this Tuesday!!!!!! Hope the weather stays good! Did you get you Mickey Mouse Santa hat's at MVMCP? We are going on Dec. 7, it will be our first time! We can't wait!!!!!

OK, I suppose this is pathetic but I took this pic last night. ;)

The striped ones are the hats only available at the Christmas Party, the red Mickey & Minnie ones are available everywhere and we've seen the Pluto ones a few places. The Santa type hats are around $17 and Pluto was $28 but he lights up so it's justifed. :rolleyes1


We're going back to the party on the 5th, I bet you'll have a blast on the 7th!


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[happybratpack]

ETA: I'll post sep resort and dining reports but will add the pics and such in this one as I go.

Hello!!!

We left on Wednesday morning, November 29th from DFW. The flight was awesome - even more so since it was only $154 each RT on AirTran. ;) Empty, smooth and early to Orlando - as a fearful flier I can't ask for anything more.

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Our bubble was burst pretty quickly to get off the plane to this... (and it continued off and on the entire day) Magical Express was pretty speedy, we waited in the airport about 10 minutes, then on the bus maybe 15 before heading on our way. It's still the old video on there from last years Celebration.

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Tradition states that the MK has to be the first and last park each visit so we checked into the Caribbean Beach Resort, the room wasn't ready so stored our carry-ons and were on the bus by about 1 pm. Once we arrived we got new AP's because the last ones were the cheesy Lights, Motor ones and since that is my least favorite attraction I didn't want to look at it anymore. ;) Shallow, I know, but L was even more sour when his new pass was Cinderella instead of something manly and cool like the Tink one I got. (In case anyone cares the tickets are the new Dreams ones)

The lines into the park were zip and we were on Main Street before we knew it. In the rain, but on Main Street. Since L had waited AGES to get his hair cut so he could have it done here he was looking a little - a lot - ragged. We made a beeline to the Barber Shop where we lucked out with Michael after about a 5 minute wait. As you can see, the man can perform miracles. :rotfl2: (L won't read this till we get back)

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All we did at the MK was hang out on Main Street and check out the holiday decorations. Here's a shots even though it was dreary outside. (better ones to come later in the trip)

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We decided to grab a bite to eat so he grabbed Casey's and I the Bakery, we lucked out with a table right outside the Bakery to people watch.

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Shortly after sitting down we had this lovely parade come by... (they were setting up for the parade tapings)

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We wandered around Main Street a little more, picked up our red Minnie & Mickey Santa hats and caught a great holiday performance...

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We headed out and hopped on an *empty* Monorail to go to Epcot - Part 2 of the day on the way!

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[happybratpack]

Welcome to Epcot! We arrive without fanfare, getting in was a breeze. We made sure to get the mandatory Photopass pic at the entrance. Again, all those chins - Disney should fix those cameras. :rotfl2:

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I was super excited to hear that Wonders of Life would be open while we were there - L had never been in there since he was a Disney Virgin till he met me. It was pretty dead and I thought the pavilion looked great. (well, the parts that were open anyway) The Dream Team was skulking around (I'd say flitting, but they didn't bestow any surprises while we were there so they're skulking) ;) They even watched the Making of Me with us. So we did that, Cranium Command and Body Wars then just hung out at some of the exhibits in there.

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Corny, I know, but what the heck. :joker: After that we headed over to ride the new Nemo attraction. I had read mixed reviews but we were both really impressed by it. There wasn't a wait at all and since this is a continuous loading ride hopefully it will keep the waits down. The "Clam Mobiles" seemed narrow, we both fit but it was cozy. Of course, we've ran into that a few times this trip so maybe we're just widening. ;) The first time I was on it I had leaned forward most of the time so I could look left and see what was coming. The second time I stayed sitting back so I could only view what was directly in front of our car and it was MUCH better.

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We decided to hit the Character Connection, it was pretty dead in there. I love that they added this, we always have fun. The Photopass guy for Minnie had some scanner issues and left us there with her for a few minutes. Next thing I knew her and L were pretending they were on Dancing with the Stars and had quite the audience. :banana:

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We headed towards the World Showcase and caught the tree lighting, very cool. Hopefully we'll see it again tomorrow night. It was quite crowded during it and since I'm vertically challenged I find it frustrating sometimes.

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We were going to eat fast food somewhere but at the last minute decided to try something new so we picked Restaurant Marrekesh in Morocco. It was very interesting, I though the building was beautiful and the entree was awesome. We had Beef Brewat Rolls for appetizer, the Seafood Platter, we both tried some non-alcoholic fruity drinks that were delish and topped it all off with Moroccan hot mint tea. (We just split everything) Very good meal, it could have been great but the waiter left quite a bit to be desired. To make up for the lack of service the live music and dancer rocked. Nothing like a tall, skinny hot chick to make you feel like a tub-ola eating a bunch of fatty food. :teeth:

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After dinner decided to try to get in to see the Candlelight Processional. We hadn't bought a dinner package yet but thought maybe we could get in there in the standby line. HA - it was like three countries long and insane. So next we figured we'd stand at the back of the theater and at least hear the music. Great plan till it started to pour buckets and at that point we gave up. We started walking away and another guest came up to us and asked if we were going to watch the show. We told her we didn't have tickets and couldn't get in and she whipped out two GOLD VIP tickets and took us to the rope. We were escorted all the way down to the front and seated in a small roped off section on aisle five with her family!!! It rocked, John O'Hurley was the guest narrator and he was awesome. The woman who was signing in front of us was just mesmerizing, I think I watched her the majority of time. Took several pics and lots of video which I need to edit. It wasn't easy for pics in there since we didn't want to use flash so nothing really captures how great it was. I have to admit, when they were taking us down to our seats we both were kind of teary-eyed. Goobers, I know.

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We caught Illuminations w/ the holiday addition - just awesome. We'll take pics at the one later in the week.

SOOOOO....we were pretty happy with our day and at about midnight made it back to CBR. We had called to get our room, Aruba 5655. Of course we have no map with us so we wander and wander. We finally find the room and were just not happy. It was quite beat up inside, the beds were like rocks and sqeaked, we weren't happy with the location and according to the front desk there was no other room we could move to. *We're not resort snobs, we're just as happy at Pop as a deluxe, we do it all.* At about 1:15 am we're on the phone to the manager, Ann, and asked to be moved to another resort - either another moderate or Pop so not to spend any extra money. We explained all the issues and she said she understood. She called around, there was no other resort to move to unless we paid about $175 extra a night to move to AKL or WL. Since it wasn't planned it just wasn't possible so we agreed they would find us another room the following day and in the meantime would bring an egg crate for the bed.

By 2:30 am we had the egg crate and settled down for the night, the next morning we had bell services pick up everything and are supposed to check in the following night after MVMCP to get the new keys, room assignment. (which would be like 1 am, ugh)

Since we're still here I will wait to give a full resort report, but some quick opinions. By the state of the room we were in and the one we have been moved to I wouldn't have thought the rehab was as recent as it was. I don't mind big resorts, PO doesn't bother me at all with the walking. That said, this place is HUGE. I read it, I heard it, but I guess it didn't click. It adds a lot of time to a bus trip to make all the different stops. My other big complaint is having the front desk in a sep (and not close) building than the food court/shop. I guess I don't get it - it's been a big inconvenience several times. The grounds here are gorgeous and well maintained, I am looking forward to some serious hammock time at some point. I can see why others love this resort, but it's just not a good match for us. I really wanted to move but since it's not in the stars am making the best of it. :)

Coming up is the Magic Kingdom, Afternoon Tea at the Grand Floridian and MVMCP on Nov 30th. Stay tuned! (I'll post live reports/pics in the meantime - hope this isn't horribly confusing)

Thanks for reading!!!

[Blaynexox]

Im loving the report! keep it coming!

[Cass]

How nice about the Gold passes to the candlelight processional! Magic from another guest is pretty special :)

[snoopy two]

Great report! I am wondering if you have been into the Country Bear Jamboree? I read on another report where it is not in the Christmas show. Is that correct? We are headed down next week, and I will miss the holiday bears if that is true. Thanks.

[bsusanmb]

I just love you report! I am here right now too and I have never seen it so crowded the first week in Dec. Keep the report coming.

Guess I will get those tickets to MVMCP for this week. Did you get to see how they tape the parade? I think that would have been interesting.

[Cinderella2004]

Great pictures!! Great report!!!

I know exactly how you feel about CBR. I felt the same way while we were there many trips ago. Not that there is anything "wrong" it's just not "home" to us.

Seeing all your pictures makes me really miss WDW at the Holiday time. DH and I watched the special on the food network yesterday, and he said, call and book it!!! LOL....since we're going in Feb, that's just not in the budget. BUT....next year I do believe we'll be there for some Holiday Cheer.

I can't wait to see/read more!!!

[happybratpack]

Great report! I am wondering if you have been into the Country Bear Jamboree? I read on another report where it is not in the Christmas show. Is that correct? We are headed down next week, and I will miss the holiday bears if that is true. Thanks.


It's not. :( We were bummed too. Before the parade at MVMCP the bears were out running around, playing with people.

Sorry...

[aimhi]

Wonderful report...I am in awhh with the fact that you have all that energy to come back to the room and put this all together. Me after all day and night in the park all I want to do is hit the sheets, and dream on a pedicure with a fab. foot massage. I will keep checking this out. Sorry to hear that you are not thrilled with your hotel, that stinks. Have a great day today!

[MinnieMommy]

Great report! You're getting me VERY excited about all the Christmas decos!!

[Stitch's O'hana]

OK, I suppose this is pathetic but I took this pic last night. ;)

The striped ones are the hats only available at the Christmas Party, the red Mickey & Minnie ones are available everywhere and we've seen the Pluto ones a few places. The Santa type hats are around $17 and Pluto was $28 but he lights up so it's justifed. :rolleyes1


We're going back to the party on the 5th, I bet you'll have a blast on the 7th!


http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/DSCF9617.jpg

Thanks so much for the picture of your Santa hat's, I love them! I know my mom will love the MVMCP one for sure! Have an awesome time on the 5th, that's the day we are coming( we will get at the airport at 2:30). Plan on going to EPCOT after we check in at Pop Century!

[MissMichelle]

Still have me extremely entertained! Can't wait to read on...Love Minnie and "L" dancing..what a sight that must have been....Food from Morocco looked YUM. I was there in February and again in September and since finding the DDP have vowed to try it all....too bad I have to wait until NEXT September! WAHHHH..

Keep it coming ;)

[happybratpack]

Hi Guys!!

I took some pics of the Dreams merchandise for the YOAMD board...here's a link in case anyone is interested. I didn't want to post both places so here ya go:

http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=15829519&postcount=42

[happybratpack]

Helloooooo!

Just got back to the room, phew. We went to Epcot today and here's the scoop: Mid-afternoon Soarin' was 120 minutes, Test Track was 100 minutes, Mission Space "said" 10 mins but we waited 15 and prob still had a good 30 ahead of us when we got out of line. Maelstrom was 30, The Land was pretty much a walk on and I forgot to check Nemo. Crazy busy. No FP's left on the big attractions. We did the Behind the Seeds Tour in The Land, pretty cool and I'll post pics in the TR.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/IMG_8617.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/IMG_8676.jpg

We headed to Downtown Disney tonight - it wasn't any more crowded than usual. It's starting to cool down - folks coming in town soon the highs the next couple days are in the 60's. Woohoo!

In the meantime, here's some holiday cheer from the Boardwalk!

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/DSCF9781.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/DSCF9778.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/DSCF9783.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/DSCF9784.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/DSCF9779.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/DSCF9797.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/DSCF9796.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/DSCF9793.jpg

[StitchIsOurHero]

Oh those holiday pics are beautiful!! Thanks again for posting them--it puts me in the holiday spirit!!

Thanks for posting the YOAMD stuff, too. I love the shirts with the "Where dead men tell no tales", etc. Those are great!! I can't wait to get one in March!!

Have fun!! :cheer2:

[Stitch's O'hana]

I am sooooooooooo excited, I only have to go to sleep tonight in my own bed then in early a.m. we leave for Disney World!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:banana: :woohoo: :banana: :woohoo: :banana: :woohoo: :banana: :cloud9:

[Cinderella2004]

Love the pictures!!! I'm off to check out the merchandise, can't wait for Feb!!!

You guys sure are getting around to lots of resorts, that's GREAT!!!


Hope your DH is feeling better.

[piglet50]

thanks for the report and pictures. they're great and make me want to be there. hope you continue to have a great time.

[mrp4352]

I didn't think it was possible for me to get more excited about my trip (4 days, I leave in just 4 days!). However, I think you have proven me wrong!

[aimhi]

Has anyone ever told you that you rock!!! Your pictures and post are just so great. I hope that you are having the time of your lives. I will be joining you soon just 2 more sleeps in my on bed then Mickey here I come. :wave:

[serendipity]

Oh no! I'm at the end. I love it so far! I'm sorry to hear that it's so crowded though. I'm suprised, I would figure it would be dead this time of the year :(. Glad to hear you're making the most of it though! Thanks for the pictures of everything, you have a gift for photography!

[happybratpack]

Hello! On to day two!

We went to the Magic Kingdom, we were supposed to be having breakfast at the Crystal Palace but after the room issues the night before we didn't get up in time. :( It wasn't too crowded (see pic) and we had a lot of time to just wander around and enjoy being there.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/IMG_7196.jpg

We stopped at ate at Pinocchio Village Haus, of course by now I'm starving so I order double of what we could actually eat. Veggie pizzas and Figaro Fries, complete bloated city but it was good. ;)

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/DSCF9185.jpg

The other reason this was such a bad idea was because we were having tea later that day and we always pig out there. We spent some more time at the MK, Fantasyland was packed but walked on POC, HM and Philharmagic. Since we had tea plans and wanted to see some of the resort decorations we hopped the Monorail to the Contemporary where we spent WAY too much time hanging out and admiring the holiday displays. (more pics in a previous post)

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/DSCF9241.jpg


On to the Grand Floridian where we spent ages looking at everything and wandering around aimlessly. ;) (Can you see why we haven't gotten much done this week?!)

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/IMG_7235.jpg

There was a young couple there with their tour guide from China, they had just gotten married. Don't think we're weirdos, but she was just gorgeous so we snapped a couple quick shots while they were having their pics done by the tree. I thought her flowers were too cool so thought I'd share.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/IMG_7274.jpg

We spent WAY too much time at the Gingerbread House and then buying shingles that I've been eating in the room all week. I posted a few pics of the house in another post somewhere up there. It really is amazing and if you have an opportunity to see it I definitely would.

It's Tea Time! This is one of my absolute favorite things to do at WDW and tend to make it a long drawn out process and eat WAY too much. We had the Grand Tea and it rocked, but I wish we had skipped that giant lunch earlier in the day in order to enjoy it more.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/DSCF9284.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/DSCF9290.jpg

We were feeling a full and lazy after that so decided to go out on one of the balconies at the GF to rest and enjoy the views. They were cleaning up another wedding when we got there earlier and had left all the flowers as centerpieces on the tables SO we screwed around with taking pics for about 30 mins. ;)

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/DSCF9301.jpg

The plan was to hit the Poly next to check out the holiday decorations, but we wasted too much time doing nothing at the GF so it was back to the MK for MVMCP! We arrived about 5:30ish, got our bands and headed in. LOTS of people were leaving and the crowds were looking relatively low. We visted all the Photopass people around and just hung out on Main Street for a while. We watched the regular Wishes and then it seemed they cleared out the non-party peeps pretty quick. We picked up our MVMCP hats (they were FLYING off the shelves in Fantasyland) and headed for our hot chocolate and cookies. Again, eating - do you see a theme?

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/IMG_7349.jpg

I typically won't wait in more than a couple people line for a character, but I couldn't pass up Beast & Belle in Fantasyland. Beast was a hoot playing with the hat.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/IMG_7345.jpg

We skipped the first parade and caught the second, during the first we were able to ride Splash and Thunder Mountain multiple times. I really enjoyed the parade but Holiday Wishes really made the night for me. :goodvibes

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/aIMG_7431.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/aIMG_7475.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/aIMG_7517.jpg

We actually hung out on Main Street till about 1 am, taking pics and just soaking it all in. The night was great...then we got back to the resort. If you'll remember the first night we asked to be moved which they were going to do during the day. We spent quite a bit of time at the front desk, then outside while they figured out what they had done w/ the luggage that was no longer in storage but in the room, then we hung out a while longer waiting for someone to take us to our new room, it's after 2 am now. We're in a great location in Jamaica now, still a hike but much better. No mattress pads for the room when we got there and they still aren't here 4 nights later. :rolleyes: This room is in much better shape than the first one in Aruba so that's good.

Tomorrow....MGM! Thanks for reading!

[happybratpack]

ETA: We went to the Poly to see the gingerbread/chocolate display but they're not having it this year. Just FYI in case you were making a special trip there to see it. :(

Today wasn't horribly crowded, but the Cheerleaders are officially here. You could hear them all cheering back and forth at both the MK and MGM today. They're EVERYWHERE.

The cold front came in! It was definitely more festive tonight - chilly but not freezing. Pack accordingly. ;)

Wait times at MGM for TofT and RnR were about 30-40 mins mid day and the same tonight at EMH. Osborne Lights were dead come about 10 pm, definitely the best time to see them!

One of the window displays at MGM I thought was cute - it's all Snowman Mickey antenna toppers. :)




http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/DSCF9887.jpg

[serendipity]

maryann- thanks so much for continuing to post. Sounds like you had a great day at the MK! That's a great shot of you and the castle! Tea time at GF is so much fun! You have me wishing we had done it during our last trip. The pictures you took of the fireworks are BEAUTIFUL....can't wait to hear more!

[Blaynexox]

wow great installment! I loved all the pictures of the fireworks and I am still amazed by all the great holiday pictures! Keep it coming! :teeth:

[aimhi]

Thank you again for the wonderful post...it looks as though you are having a great time...about those cheerleaders??? I am wondering if that is going to make things a bit more crowded this week. I guess I will find out I leave tomorrow. I was sad to hear that they didn't have a gingerbread house in the poly. I was looking forward to seeing that everyday.

[kaysmommie]

Your trip report is the best! Love all the pictures. I really wanted to go this week and see everything decorated for the holidays. Thanks for sharing with us who don't get to go. It's sound kind of crowded though and this is the sane week we would go next year. Might not work with the kids. Oh and the cheerleaders would probably drive me insane. Have a wonderful trip!

[redheaded mama]

I am loving your trip report. We just got home from our trip. We were at MVMCP on the same night. My kids loved walking on the rides. The fireworks were wonderful!!! It was a magical evening. The weather was hot and the parks crowded. Thanks for your report. I am reliving our trip through yours. By the way, our trip had a similar theme. EATING!!! The food was great. :cool1: I look forward to reading more.

[makinorlando]

OH - one big thing I didn't realize and was completely bummed about. When we went to the AKL tonight for dinner I was SO looking forward to the gingerbread display. I didn't know the Chef had left and they didn't have it this year. :(



Thanks for the 411 on the AKL display. I took Dsis there on Sunday before they flew back home after their vacation and was SHOCKED to not see the display. I didn't have a chance to track someone down to ask about it, but was going to call this week before Tara and I head back that way.

I didn't realize there was one at CBR. Is it in the food court? I was there twice last week with DSis, and didn't even notice it!!!!

Enjoying your report.

Yes - it is SEASONALLY confused here right now! I bought a new winter coat (first in 4 winters that I've lived here, so I am sure we WILL not have really COLD weather the rest of the year!)


ETA: We went to the Poly to see the gingerbread/chocolate display but they're not having it this year. Just FYI in case you were making a special trip there to see it. :(

Today wasn't horribly crowded, but the Cheerleaders are officially here. You could hear them all cheering back and forth at both the MK and MGM today. They're EVERYWHERE.

The cold front came in! It was definitely more festive tonight - chilly but not freezing. Pack accordingly. ;)

Wait times at MGM for TofT and RnR were about 30-40 mins mid day and the same tonight at EMH. Osborne Lights were dead come about 10 pm, definitely the best time to see them!

One of the window displays at MGM I thought was cute - it's all Snowman Mickey antenna toppers. :)






http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/DSCF9887.jpg


More good info on the Poly. (Well bad news that they don't have one, but good that I know it!) That'll save us another stop!
Don't you just love that window? I have to go back and get a picture of it - I noticed it when we were on the other side of the street on the way out of the park trying to keep up with my Dsis and friend who don't get the photography obsession!!!!

[edgechc@hotmail.com]

Wow what I Great trip! I was there leading a Grand Gathering from Nov 27 to Dec 1st. I think we were at the same MVMCP on Nov 30...

It was the first time for all 9 of us, so we were a little spoiled I think...

I loved the VIP passes you got. We were able to get Fast Passes for our group for Soarin or Everest and then had to leave b/c of tired rugrats so we would pass them off at the bus depot to incoming guests from our resorts!

What a great time...

That is until the last day when I managed to lose both the Treo Smartphone (on Soarin') and the Camera (in a Taxi, while trying to retrieve the Phone from Epcot). Both were found, but the mail is slow....

I guess I should really file a trip report myself......

[happybratpack]

Hi Guys!!

We did our second MVMCP tonight, it was much more crowded than last Thursday but still a great time. We walked on Space, POC and HM; Peter Pan was still 20 mins at about 11 pm. A word to the wise - if you're wanting the striped Christmas Party Santa hats like we're wearing buy them FIRST thing when the party starts. They're only putting out a limited number each party and they're gone FAST. I bet we had 20 people coming up to us trying to find out where else they could get them tonight.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/mvmcp4.jpg

It's still quite cool although there were a few hours in the afternoon I was too hot in a sweatshirt. Cheerleaders everywhere and I have to say that the cheerleaders themselves haven't been half of the pain their Mothers have been. :rolleyes: I'm not a stick in the mud, but the cheering on the rides and such REALLY irks me.

We were at Epcot this afternoon - make ADR's if you haven't. We went over on a whim and could only get into Nine Dragons. Soarin' was between 50-70 mins, MS was 20-30 and TT was 50-60 consistently. Hope this helps.

We head home tomorrow evening so I'll be finishing the TR from there. Hope everyone coming in has a super time!!!

ETA: When we got here last week the garland across Main Street was up, they took it down right before the parade taping and it still hasn't been put back up. Pic below from today...

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/mk1.jpg

[happybratpack]

I didn't realize there was one at CBR. Is it in the food court? I was there twice last week with DSis, and didn't even notice it!!!!


It's in the food court in a glass case across from the Grab and Go section. We missed it the first couple days too, for some reason it's easy to miss even though it's right in the middle of everything. :)

[makinorlando]

It's in the food court in a glass case across from the Grab and Go section. We missed it the first couple days too, for some reason it's easy to miss even though it's right in the middle of everything. :)


Thanks!

Bummer about the garland - did they move the tree to Town Square yet? If not that could be why they have not put it back up. They move it all in one piece from down by the castle to Town Sq using a crane.

[LovintheLodge]

Enjoying your trip report. Love the picture of you guys on the sleigh with the castle lit in the background. Nice photos!

[Disneymom2AA]

You have included so many beautiful photos and I only have 9 days until our upcoming trip and I didn't think it could happen, but you made me even more excited!!!

Thanks for sharing~Have a safe trip home!!

[happybratpack]

Thanks!

Bummer about the garland - did they move the tree to Town Square yet? If not that could be why they have not put it back up. They move it all in one piece from down by the castle to Town Sq using a crane.

Nope, they haven't moved it yet so that would explain it. Although - when we were there today we noticed the wires for the garland was back up. Hopefully they'll get it done soon!

[MissMichelle]

So sorry you are on your way home today, but I can't wait for you to get there and give us with more photos and more XMAS spirit WDW style ;)
Have a safe trip home!

[Blondie]

One of the window displays at MGM I thought was cute - it's all Snowman Mickey antenna toppers. :)


http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/adoptiontrail/DSCF9887.jpg

You and I were there at the same time! I remember the rain as we were landing on the 29th. Thank goodness that was the only rain we saw!

Looks like you and I have the same good taste in picture taking, here's my shot of the same thing! I took my photo as we were leaving at night---and I also bought one of those antenna toppers!

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y138/StellaBella05/WDW%20at%20Christmas/117_117.jpg

[monymony3471]

What a great way to do a TR. We were in Epcot when you were, and we so got caught in the pouring rain. I stood outside the Candlelight processional for a bit too. But we were a party of 6.

Thanks for sharing all the great pictures.

[fairy43]

You did the trip we are doing on nov.29 to dec 7 how was CBR? we are looking foward to it I try to plane a disney meal once a month,for the big count down. Thanks for giving your budget its fun the flight is about the same price and you got a better deal on the resort cant wait to here more about the resort last time we went we stayed at all sports so I hope this is a step up